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Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Crimson Greatwyrm: Part 1
Hot on the Grastaean dirt roads, six figures kicked up the dust while they tore across the open fields. Their destination was the giant volcano that was blowing out black smoke from its chimney. "By the way," Flash yelled, "I remembered that there's something about Grastaea surrounded by mana! Will it stop the lava or not?" "We receive sun and rain just like Equestria, and small flying animals like birds can pass through the barrier too. The same will apply for smoke and lava." Cleo responded. "Wait, animals from Equestria can pass through here?" Rarity raised, "So that means that we can too!" "Yeah, we can get into Grastaea without taking that misty-stepping portal." Adagio responded, "But good luck trying to get through acres of thick trees, bushes, and terrain!" "Fair point," Sweetie and Flash accepted. "We should bring a bike next time!" Big Mac suggested, The crew, completely tuckered out, had stopped in the front of a large red cave entrance of the one and only Mount Adolla. Above them, the volcano's fumes had completely obscured the sun, enshrouding the group in a dark shadow. "We're here." Cleo introduced, "Although you don't seem interested to help your teacher in the first place." "Despite our personal feelings..." Rarity shrugged. She pulled out a tube of sunblock and lotion from her left pocket dress and the blue essence from her right. "We'd feel absolutely guilty if we'd let our teacher walk into a volcano without people who're perfectly capable of clearing any threat in there; If you don't count the Flamewyrm that is. Would you like some?" "You kids never cease to surprise me." Cleo smiled, "Thank you Rarity. I'd like some lotion, but no need for sunblock." "Rarity even wanted me to fight too," Flash added, revealing a long black bag behind his back and pulling out the Hero's Sword, "Not before she lectured me to be careful around them. If you ask me, a bad wound is as good a lesson." "Ah brought the bag of clothes." Big Mac responded, pulling out a large school bag, "They're a bit wrinkled due to me stuffin' them in. Ah went n' got Francesca's clothes back durin' that half-hour breathin' practice fer you 'Dagio." He pulled out Francesca's hat and passed it to Adagio. "And I get to carry this!" Sweetie revealed the Loving Hand behind her back, "I feel like slapping someone painlessly with this thing!" "I still have an issue having to change clothes before transforming." Rarity sighed, collecting her clothes. "Surely we can do something to change that?" "Deal with it after we see this through," Flash responded, applying the musky suncream on his skin. Rarity rolled her eyes and scurried off to a private spot. "Speaking about Ms M..." Sweetie pulled out her phone. "... It's 9:59 and she's not here!" "She must have run the moment the earthquake happened." Flash suggested, "On the other hand, she might be 'passionately' crazy enough to go in anyway." "If we don't calm the Flamewyrm, we'll all perish anyway." Cleo reminded, "Adagio? Are you ready?" "Well..." Adagio looked uneasy, "You know I've steered clear of this area because we're dealing with Flame fiends. Right?" "This will be different." Cleo assured, "We have two healers, and our fragile swordsman here." "Hey!" Flash frowned, "No snarky retaliation like before?" Sweetie questioned, "As I said, a good lesson learned from a bad wound." "Then don't forget your lesson to breathe." Cleo jumped in. Flash grumbled again. "All changed!" Estelle returned. She was dressed in her usual attire while cradling the clothes of Rarity in her arms. "Alright then, my turn." Adagio nodded as she pulled out a silver dagger in her pocket and tapped the blade on her heart. A flash of light burst forth which blinded everyone and nullified all sounds. In an unknown realm filled with clouds and skies of green, Adagio opened her eyes to see herself standing in the air and all her clothes replaced with an enveloping layer of wind. "Here goes nothing!" Adagio struck a playful pose as the magic did its job. The Dazzling slowly shrank in height and body while her thighs grew out at the same time. When both were done, her chest slowly grew on its own to match the image of the Cheerful Merchant. Adagio blushed at the sight of her growing bust and gritted her teeth in a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "Good thing I'm alone here." The next step was for her hair to turn into a compressed and raging gale that covered her hair and ears. It violently did away with the curly long hair and cut itself short and straight. In addition to that, two pillars of wind rose on Adagio's head and were moulded into a pair of sharp bunny ears. Adagio struck one cool pose before all her wind-obscured parts burst outward into a bright light. "Alright!" Francesca raised her fist in the air, "Now, lets--GAWWWW!!!" She felt the air forced out from her body from a sudden rope choking her chest and her legs. "Yyyeeeah," Sweetie winced, "I tried to warn you that you weren't dressed as Francesca, but I don't think you heard me when you started transforming." "Dam..." Francesca gasped, "... it." "You boys go on ahead and wait," Estelle commanded, pointing into the cave, "We'll deal with this tight spot." The boys looked at each other with awkward faces, then turned away from the girl situation and walked in. A tsunami of heat tore through the hallways of red rock, which lead deep into a large platform. Similar to the Waterwyrm's Cradle, there were stalagmites and stalactites, but black as coal, formed by lava into igneous volcanic rocks. The boys also noticed that way below them was a boiling lake of magma, bubbling and raging under the Flameworm's influence no doubt. Flash and Big Mac looked at each other and gulped. If what they knew about natural volcanoes was true, they should be dead right now. "Sup guys!" Sweetie called to the boys, "What's in there?" "Oh." Flash turned around to see Sweetie, Estelle, Cleo, and a very relieved Francesca, "Just contemplating how we're still alive when we're INSIDE a volcano." "Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, "A volcano may be a source of natural disasters and human deaths, but it is still a part of nature for both our eras." Cleo explained, "As such, Mount Adolla is abundant with Flame mana. From the mana, combined with the Flamewyrm's control, humans and other animals are protected from a majority of volcano-related deaths. One obvious example is temperature." "Yeah." Flash nodded, "We could die in many ways just by getting close to magma, but here it feels like the hottest summer day. Heck, we don't even need those fire suits!" "Then I believe there was also the case of poisonous gas. Sulphur Dioxide?" "Okay! I'm very blessed that this volcano allows all of us to live!" Flash laughed loudly, "In fact, I'm wondering why you girls aren't shocked about this fact either!" "Well," Estelle chuckled, "Walking inside a volcano is a first, but I've seen and done things that make this endeavour quite tame in comparison." "You know me." Francesca laughed, "I'm not human or sylvan. I do prefer places with water though. Volcanoes are for dragons... Where I'm from!" "Hey hey! Let's not derail our mission here. We're going to find the Flamewyrm and ask her to stop the volcano from erupting." Sweetie snapped. "Sorry," Flash scratched his head, "I'm just not used to this... World." An ear-splitting roar flew from the depths of the volcano, spurring everyone to shield their ears and shaking the ground around them. "Eeyup." Big Mac uncovered his ears, "Brunhilda." "Come to think of it, this will be the first live dragon I'll see with my own eyes." Flash trembled, "And based on her history, I don't know if I'm going to live to tell the story." "Flash? Are you... Scared?" Sweetie noticed, "Your legs are shaking!" "Oooh..." Francesca gave an evil smile, "It seems the idiot that's hungry to fight is getting cold feet! How is it that a young girl like Sweetie Belle has 'bigger balls' than you?" "Oy! Don't joke about that!" Flash snapped, "And I said I'm not a kid anymore! I'm in CHS for Goddess' Sake!" Sweetie added, "You're not the only one who can use 'body part' jokes," Francesca answered, followed by sticking her tongue out. "Alright Ms Cleo." Big Mac sighed, "Do ya know the quickest way to the Flamewyrm's lair?" "She's living in the Crater area. It's just across that bridge." Cleo asked, pointing towards a very wide slithering bridge crossing over the lava lake, with only five natural and thin rock foundations to support it. On the other side lies another arch tunnel. "I-Is there a safer way?" Estelle nervously chuckled, "Because this bridge has incredibly flimsy support!" "... Sorry." Cleo sighed, "One way in and out. On the other hand, I've discovered a few shortcuts that can lead us there from experience." "You would come here often? Why?" "Enemies in my time wanted to conquer the volcano for the mana, as well as a stepping stone to invade the Halidom. I've had to guide a few of my allies there to repel that onslaught. That being said, the shortcuts are past this bridge." "I guess complaining won't get us anywhere. I'd better jump over this hurdle." Estelle gulped as she braved forward. Slowly and delicately, she placed her left armoured boot forward, then her right one. With every step, she paused to hear the faintest bit of cracking, but none were heard." "Don't be such a Scoots sis..." Sweetie smirked as she passed her normally, "This bridge is wide and stable." "Well excuse me for being careful!" Estelle retorted, "But since you're on it, It does make me a little more confident." Seeing her younger sister walk ahead, she began to accelerate her walking speed and proceed in the pace of walking through the most beautiful garden-- "Guys!?" Flash stood at one unprotected edge of a bridge and peered down. "It seems like the lava levels are rising!" "Eeyup," Big Mac confirmed from the opposite edge. "Most of the rocks have submerged." "Eyagh!!!!!" Estelle launched off the ground and landed on a single foot. "Don't scare me like that!" "Check it out for yourself..." Flash gestured, pointing a stiff thumb over the bridge. "I will pass, thank you!" Estelle growled, trying to regain her composure. "Oh wow..." Sweetie looked over, "There's one lone pointy rock standing in the middle of the magma. It's like a quarter height of the Calvitol Hill monument in Washington S.C!" "I'd gauge the distance between us and our molten graves to be about a hundred metres from here. Much lower levels when we first entered." Big Mac estimated, "Stop with the volcano and death words! You're raising red flags here!" Francesca hissed, "And ALL of you get a move on! Seeing you yap and complain to one other is boring!!!" A voice of grandiose and maturity shook the very volcano. All the women (except Cleo) screamed as did all of the men. "My goodness. Are all of you babies or something!?" The voice continued, "Kids from my time have bigger balls than all of you combined!" "Who are you!?" Flash yelled with a voice crack, "Show yourself!" "Why don't you guess? You should know who dwells in this volcano." The voice laughed. "Uh..." Francesca spoke, "Maybe we do, but we're not giving you the satisfaction by answering." "How rude of you! If you know who I am, then you know I can reduce you to ash right here and now!" The voice growled, "Okay, Franny." Big Mac comforted, "Let's not stoke the flames here." "And I said stop with the words!" She snapped, "Hello? Excuse me! I was talking to all of you!" "Come on Francesca," Flash chuckled, "Are figure of speeches too hot for you?" "I said stop!!!" "Hey! Must your rudeness continue!?!?" "Cool down Francesca!" Sweetie warned with a small chuckle and giggle. "Now you're just being a jerk!" "Alright, alright." Estelle jumped in, "We've had our fun okay? Otherwise, Brunhilda's going to literally send us to hell-- Oops." She panicked, "Okay, that wasn't intentional. I didn't mean to make a pun!" "Too late. You have exhausted my patience. Maybe this should help you heed me!" The voice growled, The cavern began to shake once again. Rocks cracked and pebbles fell, falling into the depths of the rising lava. "Wooaaah!" Flash desperately tried to stay upright. "Earthquake again!!!" "No..." Cleo held her arms out for balance, "This is just a tremor! And yet this is exactly what it was like when the Prince and I first came here!" "Sorrrrry!" Sweetie yelled an apology as she fell over. "There!" The voice responded, and the tremor stopped. "If you intend to pull any more jokes and distractions, look over the bridge and reconsider." "Aww dang..." Big Mac and the others looked over and winced in horror. The stalagmite that resembled the Calvitol Hill monument had become a small cone island around the sea of magma. But it didn't end there. In front of everyone's eyes, the magma sea continued to rise, scoffing up every solid surface of the minuscule cone rock. It was as if a young child calling out for hopeless and impossible salvation, only to be swallowed up by the depths of the molten swamp. "Urgh..." Flash and Estelle stepped back in despair, contemplating the fate of that mini igneous monument. "Sixty meters away from us now," Big Mac calculated while sweating all over. "Ah say we be humble and listen to the Flamewyrm." "Agreed." Cleo responded, "We get it, Brunhilda. We'll listen!" "Really? Does everyone here listen?" "Okay! Okay!" Francesca yelled, "I get your point! I'll shut up and let you speak!" "I said sorry already." Sweetie spoke, a bit shook but strong in her voice, "Don't melt us. We'll be good people!" Flash desperately looked towards the entrance where they came from. "I can send the lava up faster than you can run. You won't even make it to the entrance by the time your feet and legs have melted! If you chicken out, I will do exactly that and more, setting this volcano to erupt!" Brunhilda warned. "Flash! Don't you dare run!" Sweetie commanded, "Aren't we in this together?" "We are! That's why I'm thinking of a way to bring all of us to safety!" Flash responded, quickly examining his surroundings to see what he could use. "Perhaps if we work together, we can chip off a piece of volcanic rock that can support all of us so we can float out over the chimney..." "Flash!" Sweetie erupted in anger. "You are a dumb idiot and a coward! Have you forgotten why we're here in the first place!?" Everyone froze at the little teenager's rebuke. Flash stared at her silently. "Sweetie Belle!" Estelle intervened, "That was uncalled for!" But Sweetie ignored her. "Flash," Sweetie continued, "Even if we do escape, Canterlot won't. The only way we can stop our home from becoming the next Pompeii is to confront the person who'll cause it. That means seeing Brunhilda in person. You don't want to see Scoots, Mr and Mrs Sentry die... Right?" Flash pictured his beloved family coughing and spluttering in the thick volcanic ash, falling lifeless and purple on the floor, then swept and burned away by the red liquid of death. "Like hell I'm going to let that happen!!!" He shot up with a furious visage. "Good." Sweetie gave a thumbs up, "Because seeing my friends lose faith in what they do makes me lose faith in them. Got it?" "Alright then, Sweetie." Flash acknowledged with a nod. "And one more thing before we listen." "Yes?" "I'm sorry." Flash confessed, "For losing my resolve." "You know..." Sweetie calmed her face and gave a smirk, "The Goddess you believe in is supposed to build your resolve. Not me!" "Alright then Flamewyrm," Flash turned around with newfound morale, "I won't run. For the future of my family and friends, I'll tackle whatever you throw at me, even if it means my life!" "In that case, consider my first test passed!!! Congratulations!" Brunhilda announced. "Huh!?" Everyone was baffled. "My first test was to see whether humans like you would still be as brave, brash, reckless and supporting as the humans I knew from my prime! You were a pretty pathetic boy in the beginning... Flash was it? But that sudden boost of confidence in you reminds me of Prince Euden! Oh, if only he'd be motivated when I'd try to pep him up. Perhaps I should have taken pointers from you Sweetie Belle!" "Oh... Well... You're welcome I guess?" Sweetie Belle awkwardly responded. "If you were attentive in the beginning, I would have explained my trial to you. But hey, you've completed the first one!" "How many are left?" Estelle asked, "Two. And they will take place further in the volcano. So I shall do the explanations of this trial while you continue to go deeper." "Then you know what that means," Francesca spoke, "Saddle up!" "'Saddle up' faster please." Brunhilda added, "If you don't get to the designated point in the next five minutes, I will raise the magma levels." "Then let's gallop!" Big Mac rallied and the six adventurers rushed across the bridge no longer disturbed by its stability and deep into the tunnel. "My trial consists of three stages. Each stage will test your trust, bonds, and friendship. Not to mention your endurance, power and skill." "Sounds like something out of a cartoon. Though it's even more insane considering what you're going to do if we fail." Sweetie shared as she ran. "If you keep up what you did for the first step, the other two should be easy pickings! Though if you fail, then kiss goodbye to the Halidom and Canterlot City. That reminds me, I should tell you the reasons why I'm turning my home into a time bomb." "That's very messed up." Flash narrowed his eyes, picking up his speed. "Five of you are outsiders to Grastaea. Ever since you've entered these borders, all of you have been making a name for yourself. You've perked my attention once two of you met Mercury." "In our defence, we haven't been doing anythin' bad in yer eyes." Big Mac informed, "Fiends are yer enemy, and the Halidom was part of yer home. We've been clearin' them out and reparin' the facilities respectively." "My point exactly. You've been helping the poor Belle Healer who lost all contact with her dragon allies and holed herself up in the Halidom as the entire world changed around her. You are benevolent people! Not like what all those newspapers and media says!" "I appreciate the compliment, but what you said about Ms Cleo is not true." Estelle argued, "She has been keeping in touch with 'outsiders' like us and even contributes to our society!" "Ah. Vegetables, flour and produce from the eternally large garden, not to mention being a foster mother. You have a point there. But what if I told you she was more than just a healer and a caretaker?" "..." Cleo remained silent but continued running. "Bah! I'll explain later! Anyway, you'll be nearing another bridge with some different branching paths. Those are the Magma Mires. You'll come up to a signpost. I want you to go the route that says 'Crater'. Don't go into the other ones, unless you want to run into fiends. You have my word as Flamewyrm." The six emerged from the tunnel to another long and wide bridge, to which they see many other bridges branching off, true to what the Flamewyrm said. "There," Flash pointed to a lone rock, carved and curved into a crude signpost. "Huh..." Cleo inspected the mysterious symbols and markings scratched on the rock. "I can see that this sign is recently new. Etched in our language..." Then found familiar letters and words beside every mysterious symbol. "And in yours." "Fiends... More Fiends... Crater... Rocky Fiend Road... Terror's Approach..." Estelle read, "You know, not a lot of these places are nice names for locations, but it's very thoughtful to whoever made this post." "I appreciate it." Brunhilda responded. "Now hurry up! Three minutes have passed! Your destination is a network of tunnels that have been named the Volcanic Caverns!" "You're a pain, as well as a monster, Brunhilda." Flash grumbled, "I'll make sure I deal with you personally once I find you." "Spoke the boy who hasn't killed a single fiend and needed the motivation from a child to not flee! I roast demons like them for breakfast, you amount to a single biscuit!" "Grr..." Flash growled, "She's has a point." Cleo agreed, "You really were pathetic back then," Francesca responded, trying not to laugh. "Eeyup. Sorry." Big Mac nodded, Estelle just placed a hand on the teen's shoulder and meekly smiled. Sweetie just sighed and shook her head. "Let's just get moving," Flash grumbled. The six adventurers said nothing more to each other as they ran down the path to the crater. A few seconds later, they arrived at a large network of different-shaped tunnels. "You made it in less than five minutes. Wonderful! You'll need as much distance as you get." "Second task. What's the game?" Estelle demanded, "Well, I have some good news for you! The Volcanic caverns before you are where my second and third game will occur!" "Well, that's a relief." Francesca exhaled, "I hate this trial the moment it began." "I don't blame you, given you've been mocked for a while. I know that feeling too well! There is some bad news, however." "And that is?" Cleo asked. The ground shook in response, but weaker than the previous times. Rather, a long crack formed under the ground of the adventurers. "Watch your feet everyone! You're standing on a flame geyser!" The six immediately took notice of the crack forming under them and turning red and yellow. A massive surge of heat could be felt rushing into their legs. "Jump!" Flash warned. Estelle and Francesca leapt to the left of the crack as the others leapt to the right. From the crack rose a wall of fire and lava stretched itself as tall as two doors on top of each other. "You will be tackling the tests separately!!!" Brunhilda announced, "Team on the left? I believe you are called Francesca and Estelle, you will be tackling task three. Let's see how strong human support is against the elements! You'll be entering the tunnel close to you." "Against the elements? Must be a battle," Estelle and Francesca spoke in unison. They looked at each other in confusion, then dismissed it with a scowl. "The other side will be taking task two. How does a sprint sound to you? You'll be entering the furthest tunnel to your right." "Guess you won't be using your sword Flash," Sweetie responded, "Whatever, I prefer lances anyway." Flash dismissed nonchalantly, though his sourness could be heard underneath. "The tunnels you take will have multiple branching paths, but only one will lead you to your goal. The bones of a large dragon. That's where all of you will reunite." "The catch is we have a time limit. Yes?" Flash asked, "Exactly." Brunhilda responded, "Mr Fancy Mathematics here said that the lava is approximately sixty metres from where you stood at the entrance. That level hasn't changed from where you are standing right now." Brunhilda took a deep breath and declared the most important rule. "With every full minute passed, you will feel a small tremor. That would be me bringing the magma five metres up." "Oh no..." Everyone's stomach began to lurch. "Meaning you have exactly twelve minutes till the lava reaches your feet. At least one from both teams must make it to the Dragon bones to stop that clock. Understood?" "'At least one.' So you are expecting some of us to die here." Flash arched his eyes in anger. "Work together if you don't want to prevent that. It's the only way all of you are getting out of this place alive. The moment I say 'go', I will start the clock. Prepare yourself!" "This is not exactly supporting," Estelle yelled over the lava wall, "But I expect to see all of you on the other side alive." "Right back at you!" Sweetie called back, "You and I made a promise Franny, and I will make sure I see it through!" "You really are desperate to learn." Francesca whistled, "But fine!" "Here goes!" Everyone chanted, "GO!" Brunhilda roared and the teams were off. Each galloped into their respective tunnel and swearing to themselves that they'll reach the end. At least, before their own lives do. TO BE CONTINUED...
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Crimson Greatwyrm: Part 2
Through the tight igneous caverns, the fighting duo turns into corners left and right while keeping their eyes open for any dead-end roads. The two adventurers could not slow down; there was no luxury of wasting time when all odds were stacked against them, especially when the ground shook a few seconds ago. 11 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 55m "How despicable." Estelle growled out loud, "To think that the noble Flamewyrm would stoop so low by forcing us to play her game to save our home." "Not all dragons are quick to make friends and allies. The Greatwyrms and I held trials for worthy humans and royalty as long as I lived. As for humans today, I've made my challenge a lot easier for precious diamond snowflakes like you." "I cannot think of anything worse than what you're putting me and the others through!" Estelle retorted, "Estelle," Francesca chimed in looking a little disappointed, "I think the original challenge would be fighting her." "Correct!!! Would you like to try it? I'll stop the lava and bring all of you together so we can have a fair fight!" "I stand corrected. I think the gauntlet is a wonderful challenge for me!!!" Estelle nervously laughed. "You're entering the first of three zones. And be warned that the fiends shall come from above because the type of fiends that appear out of thin air is random. I went and caught them on my own. Good luck! I shall check on your other companions." "There!" Francesca pointed to a blue-ish mansion-like gate ten metres ahead of them. Its ethereal colour and aristocratic design gave a familiar image to the girls; it was a gate identical to the one that barred them from escaping the golem in the forest. "Very straightforward." Estelle deducted, "Defeat the enemies, we get through!" "Hey!" Francesca jumped in, "Keep in mind the risk of fighting fire with the wind," "Thanks for the reminder. I will double my efforts on the offensive and the healing!" "Get ready! I can hear them falling!" Red jars and mushrooms fall from the shadows above like rain. The jars land with a solid clang and reveals a thick red oozing liquid with pupil-less sclera inside each and every one of them. The shrooms bounce up and down, spinning comically until they came to a stop. Then they hop upright to face their prey. "Do you know the tactic 'Hit and Run'? Do it." Estelle commanded, "Do it." "No need to tell me what I already know!" Francesca dashes for the enemies. Any of the slimes and shrooms close to her spinning body were thrown from her combined might of swing and weapon. But the shrooms caught in that attack had only so much as a scratch upon their caps, and the slimes only wobbled on the spot as if the dagger had harmlessly passed through their gelatinous body. Those who got attacked set their attention to their attacker and began to chase down the fleeing merchant. "Regardless of whether it's physical or magical attacks, the elemental mana of anyone determines their damage in battle," Estelle mumbled to herself while watching Francesca dart to and away from the fiends. "And I must admit. If Francesca's old weapon was made of wood, then surely Flash's stick would have dealt some damage back then! Maybe it's the mana Flash lacks that got him injured... and useless. If that's the case, how can we rectify that?" "Hey! Estelle! Have you forgotten what we did in the Forest!?" Francesca yelled as the entire group of fiends barrel towards her like a train. "Sorry!" Estelle responded. She grabs her Loving Hand and holds it to her hip with the hand pointing at the horde; charged with the Preacher's Mana. "Take this!!!" She taunts and fires a barrage of light orbs (at a very slow fire rate) that peppers the horde. The fiends' reaction of pain and instability from the orbs' sanctifying pain instantly proves to Estelle the importance of the Elemental match-up. "Keep at it, Francesca!" Estelle cheered as her orbs of light turn a few of the fiends into black dust. "You're doing great!" "How are the four of you?" The Flamewyrm's voice slithers through the runners' ears. The laid-back farmer, the child-like teen, the suddenly-confident fool, and the Belle Healer said nothing back as they rushed down what seemed to be an endless tunnel with corners and crossroads similar to what the preacher and merchant went through. "Silent I see, no matter. As this is a lethal obstacle course, I have only one teensy thing to say, be careful of your surroundings." "Ms Cleo?" Flash growled while showing no signs of slowing down. "What type of 'lethal' traps does the volcano contain?" "Small fire geysers for one." Cleo answered with a deep breath, "They can leave any person burning if they ever get close... Speaking of, we'll see some right when we turn the corner!" True to her word, the team turns into a long runway covered with glowing and steaming Xs of red and yellow and immediately halt. Each of the X-shaped geysers is scattered all over, some in the middle of spouting out the fiercest of fires. "Ooh!" Sweetie pointed a finger, "I can see a pathway that avoids the geysers completely!" "Good eye," Flash complimented as he follows the tiny finger tracing a meandering rocky path; a safe passage between all the violent flame-throwing geysers. "But remember, we're fightin' against time here," Big Mac reminded. "This runway's 'bout two-hundred metres long, and a majority of the safe path don't provide a quick route through. We'd lose valuable time if we slither through the safe zone." "Assuming that the geysers are safe when they're not active." Flash theorises, just as the floor begins to rumble "Think you guys can handle going in and out of danger while controlling your emotions? Namely, fear?" "What about you?" Sweetie asked, "You sound a bit mad and agitated for your last sentence. Was that tremor a bit triggering to you?" "I'll be fine," Flash grunted, "I can handle things a little better when I'm a teensy bit on the angry side." "That is a recipe for disaster." Cleo disagreed, "How about some further information? These geysers have their own times to spray and stop and yes, they are harmless when they're not active. However, they will always give a signal before they erupt. Allow me to demonstrate with the one in front of you." The teenagers focused their eyes on a geyser in front of them. Its x-shaped crack calmly churned the red, orange and yellow terrors underneath. Cleo nonchalantly marched forward and placed both her feet and entire body on the dormant geyser. "Woah!" Big Mac jumped, "Eeep!" Sweetie Belle shook, Flash just blinked two times. "See?" Cleo twirled around, with her dress and pigtails flying as she did so, "No harm. However..." As she stepped out, a ball of fire began to inflate straight from the middle for the first two seconds. The third second enabled the ball to burst and release a small jet of flame that burned and roared like its similar counterparts afar. "It looks like a Bunsen Burner. Sounds like one too." Big Mac examined, "Though big, natural, and probably forbidden in classes." "Aside from seeing the geyser about to eject, you'll also feel the heat underneath your shoe," Cleo concluded as the fire geyser ceased spouting. "Is that all you need to know about them?" "Sounds good to me," Flash responded, "When we run, we keep an eye on the geysers we step on. Is that alright with all of you?" Big Mac, Sweetie and Cleo looked at each other and smiled, 10 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 50m "First time you've ever been helpful." Sweetie giggled. Flash smiled back and gave a bow. "Then after you!" He gestured, "Since you're so confident, I insist! Quickly if I may add. I fear that the demonstration has just cost us another minute!" "Fine! Through the fire and flames!" She yelled and launched off into the geyser field. "Ah'm feelin' some Dejà vu here..." Big Mac gulped and ran after her. "Go ahead, Ms Cleo." Flash gestured again, "I'll take the end of the line." "If you insist." Cleo shrugged and dashed off. "Alright. Check your footing, but keep an eye on others too!" Flash mumbled to himself. "Let's get running!" Sweetie Belle takes the front of the pack as she flashes a smile full of cockiness but determination. Her small effervescent body turns the little bubbly girl into a crystal-clear entity of grace amid the geyser field. Her arms and legs ebb and flow to create a rapid but smooth current across every rocky ground or sleeping geysers. When one of the upcoming geysers roared up into Sweetie's way, she meanders around it with wavy spin. Further ahead, a group of geysers erupted simultaneously creating a nigh-impenetrable wall of fire with only a slim path the width of a gutter. But Sweetie didn't lose her initial confidence and squeezes through every fiery nook and cranny without pausing or stopping the stream of her dance. Finally, she pierces through the last of the walls and stormed forward along the path. Not a single part of her skin or fabric was tainted by those flames. Such a performance, Sweetie thought, would make her graceful and perfect sister jealous. Big McIntosh trails behind her with an attitude that belies his usual gentle self. He makes huge and fierce strides while rampaging across the two-hundred-metre field and trampling over every safe rocky floor and risky inactive geysers with his feet. But what of the geysers ready to explode? Along his charging route, he sees one five metres ahead ignite a small little flame. He knew exactly what this particular geyser has awakened. That's when one single thought pops into his mind. Nope He grits his teeth and floors his internal accelerator to shoot beyond his current speed. His trampling steps turn into stampeding blasts that can almost shake the ground he stood upon. His strides turn into long leaps as with each leg down, he propels it with a force that it took the rest of his body briefly off the ground like a jet in the air. His strength and determination combined are as vigorous the geysers themselves. It was this equalization that brought Big Mac to challenge the uncontainable geyser head-on... And left it erupting behind his back. He overwhelmed that geyser's surge and many others who had dared to catch him after that. A young teenager nearing adulthood. A man who was known to be gentle and humble, only to reveal an empyreal spirit in the face of danger. Cleo was the next-in-line of braving the field, and she does so with a sharp gaze. Every geyser on the infested field exploded and roared with very little chance to predict. Such an intimidating sight would strike fear into any human or sylvan who would pass by, causing them to turn and run. Everyone, by instinct, would choose the path that would not risk their very lives, and shy away from anything that would steal them from their place of comfort. But Cleo was not like any of them. She, regardless if it was her own will, has lived through many times of comfort, times of victory, and especially times of pain, loss and suffering. These events have built her heart and soul to be fearless against the disasters of nature. There had been nothing new in traversing Mount Adolla back then, and certainly nothing new now. The geysers' attempts to intimidate the Belle Healer were only tiny embers that flickered and fizzled in the endless abyss of Cleo's focus. Cleo quietly but swiftly pounces from one inactive geyser to another; sometimes she stops on the slithering rock path for a small break. When some of the geysers decide to act instead of intimidating, they find that their target has already vanished above their heads. For a healer, she was a thief in the dark, and no force of nature could ever hope to catch her. And jogging in last is none other than Flash Sentry. Willingly choosing the tail end, he keeps a watchful eye over the others ahead of him, and where they tread. But judging from how they moved and how close they were to the finish, he chuckled and smiled in relief. He came to rest at the rocky path and scanned the remainder of the track. It's his turn to make a move. How will he be able to get across? "Boom!" Sweetie exclaimed as she landed on the other side with a splash. "Phew!" Big Mac ripped through from behind and slowed down to a simmer. "Made it," Cleo had revealed herself to the first two with an exhale. She had stealthily made her way through the fire and flames and past the imaginary white line. "And we're all unharmed! Wooo!!!" Sweetie cheered and jumped. "Great work everyone!" "Heh..." Big Mac gave a calm smile, "Clashin' with death ain't so bad after all." "I wouldn't be so complacent with it." Cleo suggested, "Regardless, I'm glad to see you all alive and unscathed." "Thanks, Ms Cleo," Flash responded, "When you're with us, we feel encouraged to brave the riskiest of challenges and trials." "Muh?" The three blinked and turned to the Spiky-haired boy. He was standing between them and the remainder of the course. "What's with the puzzled faces?" Flash raised an eyebrow, "How... How did you?" Sweetie started speaking, "I heard you say you'll be last to go!" "Which I did." Flash nodded truthfully, "But judging by where you're standin'..." Big Mac pictured, "It looks like you've ended up as the first to get across!" "It appears I have." Flash looked around and nodded in agreement. "So in that case, it means you've overtaken us!" Cleo continued, "But we never saw you in front! How!?" "Well..." Flash gave a look of thought, "My Bojutsu teacher always told me to be a torch that would illuminate the perilous road. If I do that, then no adversity in neither battle nor race will be difficult. To follow that up, I took a small example from the Goddess' book to 'Be Still, and know that I am Goddess' (at least the 'Be Still' part). You know, like the devout, strict, disciplined and rigid killjoy I am." "The words that you used are sooo not like you." Sweetie responded, "Except for the killjoy part. People seem to cringe whenever you walk into their sight. Not that I'd agree with them." "May Goddess bless you." Flash scratched his unsmiling face. "But... You did act cowardly a moments ago." Sweetie changed her mind. "You should be embarrassed!" "We are dealing with a DRAGON in an ACTIVE VOLCANO. How can I not be scared, temporarily, that I act bravely or rationally? I say 'temporarily' because... I just remembered how I got across those geysers." As Flash continues his scanning, the words of his teacher and religious text comes to mind. To focus, he shifted all his energy and soul to his sense of sight. He skims his eyes across the remainder of his geyser-occupied path once more, then closed his eyes in focus and prayer. Now with a mind of clarity and a steadfast heart. He opens his eyes to face the field. Multiple rays of yellow burst from where he stands and stops at the end of the road. Some of them went in a zig-zag pattern, others went straight forward without any turns. He traces each line and inspects where it will lead, and where it will turn when in danger. The first line he examined, he shook his head, and the line disappears like a light turned off. One-by-one, the lines exit at the command of Flash's disapproval, and at a very fast pace. Then he pauses at one particular line and traces it with great caution. Unlike the ones before, the boy nodded in approval. The lines after it vanish in the place of the approved one. The judgement has been made. This is the absolute route for the best time and survival. Clearing his mind, a silent prayer of thanks, and one deep breath; He fires off. Flash zips through across the guiding light with a scintillating balance of strength, agility and reaction. He bolts and zig-zags around every raging geyser firing off, and devotes all that he has learned to run on the way of truth and life. He always believes that alongside his training and actions that it also involves the inner drive and faith. At times that he would doubt himself, his abilities, he'd remember that he has faith in someone watching from above, who had faith in him. And yet, there was a new hidden power to his training and actions that enables him impulsively surge past the runners who went first. Something that he was unaware of. Everything was planned. The geysers had no chance to blackout Flash's plans. And yet, the revelation of his finishing position was indescribable for the boy himself. "I've got the reflection fresh in my mind," Flash responded as the floor shakes again, "But I think we should keep on moving. Is that alright if I tell you later?" The other three nodded, "We'll hold you to that," Cleo answered, and the four continued dashing forward, the first segment completed. 9 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 45m "Damn!" Francesca plunges her dagger through the remaining shroom and pulls it from its deteriorating corpse. "We took two valuable minutes for this verse," "We need to rethink our strategy for whatever comes next," Estelle responded. She grabs Francesca's hand and together they dash towards the path once obstructed by the blue gate, now gone like the vanquished enemies. "What have you learned Preacher?" Francesca asked as they turn to the right. "An extremely short and easy time if you face enemies using their elemental weakness. But that also goes vice versa if you face enemies whose element is your weakness! Surely you could use an attack with more power?" Estelle replied as they turn to the left. "Now that I think about it... I could use my skills more often instead of reserving it for the big boss," Francesca suggested, "Your mana and weapon work as one. When you hit the enemies with your attacks, it charges your power needed to execute your skills. Once your skills are topped up, you can't pile up that energy further until you use your skills." "Interesting! It's a good thing you remembered such a valuable piece of information at a time like this!" "I'm not so sure if the same goes for you though," Francesca countered, "You're the healer. I think it's best if you save your healing skills for when we're almost down for the count," "By that logic, you're quite right! It appears I have a lot more to learn about Grastaea and its magic," Estelle humbly agreed. "I've done some meditating and extending my mana limits a few days ago when the four of you weren't around and learned a new skill. This one takes a little more to charge than Peregrine Blade, but I can feel it's almost ready at the moment. Probably a few more enemies to hit or slay," "Just don't overextend yourself," Estelle warned, "I can heal you, but I can't bring you back to your feet if you go down." "You may have a lot to learn, but you're doing it quickly! Here we are; the second 'zone'," Francesca introduced and they stopped on a large square area. Like before, another gate similar in design stood tall and the sound of falling and screeching voices can be heard above. "That screeching..." She perceived, "Goblins." Four stumpy grotesque creatures land around the girls, trapping them in the middle. Red in colour, claws on their fingers and toes, a battle tunic on their torso, spiny pad armour on their knees, shoulders, and elbows, a warrior's helm designed and fitted for their heads, and a vicious mace in their hands. The four goblins rear their heads and chant their battle cry; a horrid and grating wail that throws their human and sylvan foe in disarray. "I see they like to fight dirty," Estelle winced, "Then we shall hold nothing back!" "Wait!" Francesca stopped, "I can still hear more!" Two extra goblins fall from the darkness above, one on each end of the square floor. Unlike their armoured brethren, these goblins are dressed from head to toe in red robes, three pairs of earrings, and topped with a cowl with mystical patterns. Their choice of weapon? It's a wooden staff with a gem on its top. "Now this fiend's new," Francesca analysed, "A goblin that casts magic?" Estelle guessed, "It definitely sounds and looks like a new foe." "Well yes, but no. They are called Gobmancers, but these ones don't dress the part, nor are they holding the right weapons." "You've certainly done your homework! Allow me to answer. These types of goblins are known as Gobhealers; so I'm sure you know what they do. The flame variant of this demihuman is pretty hard to find. I hoped to catch four of them but alas. Consider yourselves lucky." "Hey, why are you helping us?" Estelle demanded, "Do you want to kill us or--" The flame goblins shriek their battle cry, intruding the conversation. "Do any of you have manners!?" Estelle turned to the goblins "It is rude to interrupt a conversation with painful and unrelated babbling! This calls for some punishment... And I'll start with you!" She charges towards a goblin with The Loving Hand, with the golden palm shining brightly, raised above her. "LOVELESS HAND!!!" Estelle nobly screeched and slams the hand down creating a violent crumbling sound and a burst of dust. When it settled, the goblin was flat as a pancake, armour and all, and the ground it stood on was hammered and cracked. "Now." Estelle turned to the rest, slapping the Loving Hand on her hand like a teacher would slap a ruler on theirs. "Does anyone dare to join him?" The remaining goblins growl angrily and leapt towards the preacher, not paying attention to the merchant patiently waiting on their blindsides. "Right where I want you. Peregrine Blade!" Francesca chanted, The predatory dagger runs through all the three goblins and sends them crashing into a piled heap, followed by Francesca delivering the final fourth hit to send them flying again. "There!" Francesca laughed while dancing on the rumbling ground, "That should deal lots more damage! Knock them down Estelle!" "Understood!" Estelle slings her projectiles. The bolts from the Loving Hand hit their mark directly, but then came an unexpected, yet familiar-looking green light illuminating the falling goblins. The flying goblins landed flawlessly with delighted squeals. The girls winced; all their efforts were for nothing and they just remembered why. "Gobhealers," they responded together. "Change of plan!" Francesca runs forward again, "Take out the healers! The Loveless Hand of yours could help!" "I can't. It works like the skills!" Estelle moaned, "Fine. Stick to orb throwing!" Francesca grouched. "I'll work harder!" Francesca darts towards a gobhealer in the distance and dealt a mix of stabs and slashes on his robes and skin. Instead of fighting back, the gobhealer retreated away from her while managing to evade the slow but persistent volley of yellow orbs. "You're rather smart to run!" Francesca complimented, "But let us see how long you can run until I--" "Be careful!" Estelle yelled, "Aaargh!!!" Too late to move or listen, a goblin clubs her directly on the temple. Francesca slips over with her head violently pulsing and her body burning all over. Estelle could see a trail of... red leaking down her hair? "Yes. They are quite smart. Smart enough to use the same tactic we did!" Estelle sighed, "But that's what I'm keeping an eye on! Healing Faith!" Two green hands sandwich Francesca and interlocked their fingers in prayer. After glowing brightly and disappearing, the merchant jumps up and darts to Estelle's side all treated and mended. "How do you feel?" Estelle asked, "My head's still ringing. And my pain sensors are still on overload." Francesca reported with wobbling eyes, "But I could feel the relief on the wounds as well as my mana." "So you feel lots of pain when getting knocked over by the element you're weak to. Is that right? I don't think I can keep up!" "Learn later, win now!" Francesca snapped, "The fiends know their role in a fight, hence the gobhealers retreat if they come close. What if I grab their attention and you sneak up? And don't worry about the normal goblins. They're too slow to catch up." Estelle proposed, "A fair tactic that I'm willing to risk my life on. I'm counting on you preacher!" Francesca saluted and launches off. Estelle nodded and followed behind. Estelle dived forward, slipping by the mace-wielding goblins, confronting her target. The fiend's eyes squint in suspicion, the girl's weapon is similar to his! So how did it perform a melee attack? This enemy is confusing... "Caught you hesitating..." Francesca whispered in the Gobhealer's ear. Estelle and Francesca launched their ambush attack and held nothing back. Even if the fiend's nature to Flame would weaken Francesca's strikes, it could not change Estelle's. He could not heal himself after healing the goblins and could not get away in time. There was nothing left of him when the girls relented their assault; merely a mix of small green lights and coins. Two fiends down, four fiends remain. "I'll deal with the goblins!" Estelle commanded, "Go defeat that healer!" "Well someone's acting brave!" Francesca teased, "But be my guest. Have fun!!!" "I'm going to teach you a lesson you won't soon forget! Yaah!!!" Estelle taunted. Shaking the Loving Hand at the three goblins releases the slow volley of orbs likes before. After a few hits or so, the mace-wielding goblins decide to club this annoying preacher instead of the merchant. Observing their behaviour, Estelle retreats from the agitated goblins until there was enough distance to shoot some orbs, then rinse and repeat once they get dangerously close. Francesca, in the shadows, lunges forward at the lone gobhealer. The Gobhealer decides to fire a few vile orbs of energy and Francesca responded with rolling away from them. Surprisingly, Francesca took one of them straight in the face, but she charges on, right into his space. "Nice try!" Francesca sneered, "But you should have retreated, idiot. Now fall!" And with that, Francesca slices the healer to dust with style. "Francescaaaaaaa!" Estelle jogged towards her, with the horde chasing after her. "These grotesque goblins somehow got faster!" "I can't do everything Est." Francesca rolls her eyes with a shrug that screams 'not my problem'. "Set them up. Use your newly-learned Force Strike or something!" "Oh! I actually forgot about that!" Estelle remembered, "Keep watch!" Estelle turns with a sharp right away from Francesca and ran harder and further before coming to a halt. Turning around, she stands tall, lifts her head, tenses her muscles and drives every bit of energy into her lungs until she could feel that tingling sensation build up. "Huuuhhhahhh!!!" Estelle thrust the Hand forward with a high-pitched grunt, right in front of a goblin. The terrifying yellow beam bursts forth and skewers the goblins at different parts of their bodies and held them in place while delivery immense amounts of divine pain. Had Estelle not put that extra distance during her running "Now Francesca!" Estelle yelled, "Get them!" "Perfect call!" Francesca grinned deviously and rushed up from behind, "Take my second skill! Windwhistler!" Two sharp whistles echoed throughout the cave, and with each whistle appears a wide deep gash in the goblins torso. It was too late for the goblins to realise what had happened and fizzled away into black dust all at once. The area is clear of enemies, and the blue gate fades from their view. With an approving nod, the girls continue their sprint, hopefully, with time to spare just after a second rumbling. "Your judgement calls are shaping up fast!" Francesca confessed, "I'm impressed!" "That's awfully nice of you. Perhaps I should practice that Force Strike more often, as with many other things. Speaking of which. Windwhistler?" "Pretty cool huh?" Francesca winked while spinning her dagger around. "Two dagger slashes with a heavy dose of force and speed that it makes a whistling sound!" "Amazing. It would motivate me to learn my second skill quickly!" "Not enough time for that though," Francesca reminded, "We need to reach the final zone quickly. Speaking of which, I'm sure the running trial is a cakewalk compared to the fighting trial." 7 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 35m Meanwhile, a large boulder rolls down a path with a care-free attitude. It never notices that its round body covers up the entire path and anyone who gets in its way would be crushed. Then again, a boulder never speaks for itself, it only does what it does when something or someone is strong or smart enough to force it to. Four tiny bipeds just so happen to stumble on its path without the strength to stop it. They now have no choice but to flee forward down the winding path... Or end up like paper with ketchup and salt. "Aaaahhh!!! I did not sign up for a Daring Do experience!!!" Sweetie yelled, "Is it rotten luck that we have no space to dodge it!?" Big Mac yelled, "No... Every path with rolling boulders is like this!!!" Cleo apologised, "Brunhilda! How cruel can you get!? Forcing visitors to run for their lives just to get to you!" Flash yelled, Barely escaping the rolling boulder, they enter a path filled with between large curved bones with sharp ends protruding out from the ground or the walls. "Dragons have some impressive ribcages!" Flash admired. Even he couldn't help show interest at something new when angry. "Didn't you say they were immortal though?" Sweetie asked, "I also said they weren't invincible. This large dragon perished through fatal wounds, deep within those caves. As the volcano began to develop, it took their remains as part of its design." Cleo explained, "I wonder what they feel like..." Sweetie gradually approaches one. "Don't!" Cleo yelled out, "Those bones are incredibly flimsy and weak! If you just get close to them, they'll topple over on you!" Sweetie immediately stopped. The bone, on the other hand, rattles and shakes until it snaps in two. The top part falls on the ground and slams into a million pieces with a nasty crunch... Just a door's length away from the young girl. "That was a close call." Cleo sighed in relief, "But I hate to say this. The bones you see up ahead? They have the same condition." "... Oh, bother." Big Mac moaned in a dignified way. "We could use the fishing rod tactic. One of us could bait the bones, then get reeled out before it falls. But now that I think about it..." Flash looked at the road of bones, "We can't afford that time after going down a path with a boulder on our tails. Can't believe that took about two minutes." "We got seven minutes left, with no idea how far we are from the dragon's skull." "Oh dear, I feel rotten for leaving you in the dark!" "I beg your pardon?" Flash looked around again, "I shall shed some light on the situation, as well as some apologies." Brunhilda announced, "First off, I mentioned Dragon Bones being the goal, but I wasn't specific. The skull of the Dragon is your goal, so you have my apologies. Given where you are, however, you are pretty much halfway there! If you survive the falling bones, there is one last obstacle course between you and your destination! But this one will be incredibly long and dangerous than what you faced so far. Good luck!!!" "Hey Mac, do you remember running across the geysers?" Flash nudged, "Course," Big Mac responded, "You could do the same for the toppling bones. Charge on through without fear." "Only because Ah knew how the geysers work. Not the bones though." "If you keep an eye on the bones, you can tend to predict where and when they'll topple, but only once you get as close as Sweetie has. When you do, well... You have to make some quick decision thinking then and there. I know some people would hit the brakes and try to back up. Sad to say that they're the ones that got hit." "And who are the ones that don't?" Flash inquired, "Those who, as you say, bait them to fall, or run under them before they could fall." "So charge on through without fear. Now ah feel confident." Big Mac smiled, "Be careful though. Even if you may zoom past some, there are more strung along sharp corners or tight pathways. Be careful if you slow down, or at least turn the corners." "No worries. Ah can do this!" "You can do this Mac!!! Go! Go! Go!" Sweetie jumped and cheered, "Remember what I can do if you mess up. And also remember that I can only do it once in our current situation." Cleo reminded, "We'll follow behind. I have faith in you." Flash added, "No sweat," Big Mac grinned, tilting his head and stretching his legs, "Here ah go!" Big Mac pushes off with a mighty start and powers on like a fireball. Focusing heavily on the path ahead of him, he lunges forward with large stomps as he slips past the carnage of large bones shattering onto the igneous surface. Then he finds the cave leaning heavily to the right, filled with just as much of those flimsy bones waiting to fall. He knew that to make a safe turn, he would have to slow down; That can't happen, or he will end up underneath a falling one. He veers to the left then slams his balance to the far right. Those following behind would have described what they witnessed as a bullet on fire turning a very narrow corner without even scraping the cavern walls. Where the route leads, Big Mac was uncatchable, burning through all the falling bones without a single graze from beginning to the end. Big Mac roars as he skids into a halt. He looks at his body; not a single wound. Just dust that merely caught on his clothes. Feeling victorious, he looks behind to capture the dusty carnage that transpired behind him. Hopefully, his friends had come out unscathed too. To his surprise, the three of them jogged out of the dust devil with no wounds of their own. "My greatest thanks for taking the danger." Flash nodded, "Aww come on, ya didn't go through the danger?" Big Mac grumbled, "Sorry, I should have told you that unlike geysers, these types of 'traps' aren't infinite." "Don't worry! We really love that you cleared the path for us!" Sweetie comforted, "That's okay," Big Mac chuckled, "At least you can easily catch up! Now that ah feel it. This lil' leg of the race took less than a minute!" The ground shakes and rumbles, and Big Mac's face turned from cheery to gloomy. "Not cool Mac," Flash and Sweetie groaned, shaking their heads. "Let's keep going," Cleo suggested, "We only have one final part to clear," 6 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 30m "Congratulations!!!" Brunhilda applauded, "You are now out of the Volcanic caverns, and into the Crater, where your final leg of your trial awaits! And be warned. What I have in store for you has pain guaranteed to the runners! As for the fighters, even worse!" "Thanks for recognising our guaranteed pain for the past zones," Francesca mumbled, "Oh, Goddess!!!" Estelle shrieked, "I can see the lava so close to us now!!! I can feel its heat... We're going to die!" "Let me help you with a number. The lava is 30 metres away from you." "Like we needed that!" "Don't stop running girls, because the path I directed you through is the path to--" "The... Was it seriously that close!?" Estelle slowed down. Across a ten yard bridge lays a giant head devoid of everything but grey and charred bone. Noticing the horns on its head and one on its nose, and the shape of the face, the girls have found themselves facing a Dragon's skull, with a large black chain wrapped around its maw. "Then what are we waiting for!? Let's go!" Francesca laughed and rushes ahead. "Not so fast. Did you recall me mentioning a third zone?" "Yes?" Estelle asked, "You have only completed two zones. You've still got one more, and it happens right in front of the dragon's skull." "Then bring it!" Francesca taunts as the two arrive. "What's the last pathetic challenge?" "Just one pathetic enemy. Do you remember the time when two of you tried to get in the Windwyrm's Den?" "A fight with another golem fiend." Estelle threw up her arms, "That's it. I'm done with this." "Throwing in the towel does NOT suit an ally of the Prince. I assure you, this one is easy. One, it's not the hefty golem you remember, and two, I made sure that this one wasn't those 'menaces'. It'd be quite unfair given how disadvantaged you already are. Meet... the Igneous Golem!" The Igneous golem landed firmly on his two rocky legs and given his size, created a giant shockwave that launched the girls a little into the air. Unlike the golem in the forest, his pupilless eyes and face is part of his main body instead of having a head and neck, and on the top of it, a small mini volcano surrounded by what looks to be a stone-edged crown. The golem roars at the girls, displaying the contents of his toothless and tongueless mouth; nothing but completely soft and molten palates. As for the arms and legs, there were many mini trails of magma connecting all the limbs together despite piled up with rocks of different sizes and shapes. The magma trails also have flowed over the golem's hands and knuckles, if any human gets touched by that, the consequence is obvious. "Easy my flank!" Francesca roared, "Everything has always been a disadvantage to me!" "Certainly you have other adventurers that you can use back in the Halidom? Presumably, someone who isn't weak in a Flamefight? Even the Timid Preacher could beat him single-handedly!" "I can't do anything about it you know. We've been trying to put food on the table that we can't prioritise finding Wyrmite!" "Listen, I'd love to talk more, but you need to fight this abomination before it kills you. I can't tell it to stop you know." The golem roars once more and lurches forward. "Here we go again." Estelle sighed. Around the same time, from another exit. The running team was met with an uncomfortable heatwave, and they were certain on where it's coming from. "30 metres doesn't seem that bad." Sweetie peered at the rising lake of magma, "Basically 15 doors long!" "I'm getting dizzy here." Flash groaned, "And my body feels like it's ready to sweat." "Mah's skin's gettin' itchy as well," Big Mac grumbled, scratching himself. "And ah feel sick in the stomach." "Then it seems the Flame Mana is overwhelming the three of you." Cleo concluded, "We must hurry." "Check it out! There's the goal!" Sweetie changed her attention, "One Dragon skull in the distance. Check." Big Mac confirmed with his eyes, "We're actually going to do this! Not like we had problems in the first two legs anyway." "Be honest. None of you would survive if I wasn't around." Cleo gave her trademark glare. "One mistake from you and it's straight to Hell or whatever you believe in." "Hang on. There's some commotion at the skull." Flash looked harder. "That would be your fighting friends. Busy with an Igneous Golem." "Igneous Golem? A Golem with the Flame element?" Big Mac asked, "Correct!" A sudden wave of terror crashes into their consciousness. "If you don't want them to die, you'd better join up with them. The remainder of this path leads you right to them! That is if you can get there alive..." "The third leg," Big Mac pointed in front of them. It is a very narrow road filled with ten sharp hairpins with eleven straight paths, each about seventy-five metres long, connecting them as one long snake. But it isn't how crazy long the final stretch was. The geysers, the boulders, and the sharp bones have made a vengeful return. "What better danger is there than using the previous obstacles in one segment? Time for your review test!" "Brunhilda, you SUCK!!!" Sweetie insulted, "And you sound like the Prince's Faerie Companion. She's a sassy pain in the rear." Brunhilda retorted, "Excepting the line you'll start at, each of the lines has a certain trap into it. Line 1, 5, and 9 contain the geysers; 2, 6 and 7 are the boulders; and lines 3, 4, and 8, the bones. As for the last line, please wait a moment..." Three goblins with robes, a staff on one hand, and a crystal orb on the other are dropped onto the mentioned final line. "These fiends will motivate you!" "Ms Cleo? What are those?" The three turned to the sylvan. "Gobmancers." Cleo responded, "They like to strike from a distance. Sometimes they cast fireballs or an explosion on wherever its enemy is standing." "How very organised. It sounds fun, but we still need to push through in time." Flash stretched his limbs, "Or else..." "Mark my words Flash. We will get through this alive, and we will save everyone in Canterlot." "Hmph," Flash snorted. Back at the fight, Francesca launches a flurry of daggers directly towards the golems' front as Estelle supported her with unrelenting firepower. The Igneous Golem lurches forward and slams his fists down, but Francesca nimbly rolled out of the shockwave and hopped on the fiend's rocky arms. "Be careful you don't touch the magma on its back!" Estelle warned, "Just stick to firing your balls and beams," Francesca grouched, "And heal me if I get banged up! Now for my next trick..." With her dagger, she stabs the Golem's top repeatedly and violently while keeping a firm grip on a rock with her other hand. To the fiend, everything felt like itchy mosquito bites and tiny bits of hail. But it was definitely concerned about the bloodsucker sucking away its health bit by bit. "I'll turn up the power!" Estelle alerted. With that, she ceases her regular staff attacks and changes into launching force-charged beams, which pierced into the golem's body, though unable to skewer him through. The girls' creative attacks are bringing forth a decent stream of damage without getting hurt, but the golem remained unflinching. "Just how tough is this thing!?" Francesca moaned, "If this golem won't feel pain, then we will just have to hit harder!!!" Estelle growled. "And I've got a good example ready to go!" With a tight grip, Estelle's Loving Hand begins to shine once more as the preacher advances. "About time!" Francesca laughed, "Looks like its challenge completed for us!" "You'll never be prepared 'fore' this! The LOVELESS HAND!" Estelle commanded and whacked the golem into the air like a golf-ball, just as Francesca hops off safely. The two girls watch the golem fly through the air in a comedic way, then ungracefully drops into magma with a big splash. "Lava hazard." Francesca golf clapped, "Impressive." "I agree!" Brunhilda chimed in, "But, you might want to take another look again." As the splash died down, the Golem reveals himself to be floating on the lava with his arms (and presumably legs); dripping all over in magma, but completely unfazed by it, much to the girls' jaw-dropping horror and fear. "Launching giant fiends to their deaths is a truly effective strategy." Brunhilda explained, "At the same time, there are ways where it can be ineffective as proven by yours truly. Good thing this fiend is drawn to hit you with his own strength. Otherwise, it would just stay there and attack you from a distance. Especially when--" The volcano shakes once again, interrupting the Flamewyrm's speech. "--that happens. You'd better start pelting it with attacks or else you'll be swimming in lava too! Oh wait, I forgot. You'd burn the moment you touch the lava." "This is bad," Estelle panicked. First seeing the Lava rise five meters higher, then at the Igneous Golem swimming towards them. "This is really bad!" "Then do something!" Francesca harshly repeated, "You attack at a distance. Fire some beams at it!" "R-Right!" Estelle nodded. 5 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 25m "Oh, Goddess! I'm starting to feel the heat now!" Sweetie moaned as a new geyser, one whose shape covers the width of the path, calms down. "And I'm not talking about these geysers! I'm talking about the lava here!" "No kidding. We're really running out of time here." Flash responded while keeping watch of everything possible. "Mac! Duck!" He yells. Big McIntosh ducks; just in time from a scorching fireball aimed at his head. "Thanks, pardner!" Big Mac gave a thumbs up and reached the hairpin leading to line 2 - the line of boulders falling from above rolling into the liquid magma below. "Sweetie Belle, Big Mac, you two go on ahead." Flash ordered as he and rest catch up, "You go with Ms Cleo." "Like before? What do you have in mind now?" Cleo inquired, "Can any of you multitask?" "Checking social media while eating dinner? I can do better than that!" "First of all, that's really bad table manners, Mum and Dad would kill me if I did that. And second, what about watching the obstacles and the fiends up ahead?" "Ooh." Sweetie bit her lips, "That's a different story," "Exactly. That's why I suggest I slow down and watch the Gobmancers, while you guys focus on the obstacles ahead." "What about you then? You'll have to go through the same things too." Big Mac countered, "I don't have to move around to dodge geysers and bones. Moreover, those Gobmancers tend to aim their shots at targets who are closer." "You are quite a strategist Flash," Cleo complimented, "Perceptive of your enemies, and a spotter for your allies." "I will make sure that all of us will face Brunhilda together," Flash vowed, "Understood then. There's no need to tell me what my role is," Cleo nodded, "But don't be afraid to call out if you're injured." "Thanks, I will." Flash nodded with a warm smile as he stood up and cheered. "Alright, guys and girls! Let's hit it!" The three runners advance rapidly through the first three lines; they dodge the geysers, outrun the boulders, and navigated the falling bones with caution. However, they made sure that they are aware of the space around where they walk and kept their ears open for their spotter's warnings. "Heads up Ms Cleo!" Flash called out. Cleo rolls forward, away from the Gobmancer's fireball and continued running. "Fireball heading your way Mac, at a slow speed. Just find a spot that you're not currently standing on." Flash continued. Big Mac responds with a smile as he waits for a bone to drop and break, then carries on through with the slow fireball missing its farmer by a considerable metre. Him, Sweetie Belle and Cleo decided to wait at the hairpin to line 4 and signalled for Flash to join them, and he did. Unsurprisingly, he had no problems with the first three lines of traps (and that line 3 traps can't be reused). "Lines 4-6 - Bones, Geysers, Boulders," Flash announced, looking very confident. "Same trick as before?" "Eeyup. Sure." Went Big Mac and Cleo respectively. "May I do the bone baiting?" Sweetie asked, "I know what to do." "Would Rarity mind?" Flash asked, "Nah. She's better off focusing on fighting," Sweetie stuck her tongue out, "Sure," Flash chuckled, "Yay!" Sweetie jumped for joy and ran up, "I'll follow behind her just in case," Flash spoke, "You think you guys can do the spotting?" "Ah'll volunteer," Big Mac responded, "Ah reckon ah get the easy job after bein' the first to run the bone field," "Thanks." Flash gestured, "But hey, do NOT take spotting as 'an easy job'. Almost everything can kill here, you're making sure that doesn't happen!" "Woah." Big Mac raised his hands, "Okay. A-Ah got it. I won't be complacent." Flash nodded gently in response, then tailed Sweetie. Through the falling sharp bones, she flows on through. She switches between diving forward or ebbing backwards to avoid the bones. "Head down and yer feet movin'!" Big Mac alerted, "They've opened fire!" And she heeds the farmer's warnings, though, given the type of trap, she could spare the time and look at those firing. She giggles. Two of them were aiming straight for her, while the third's trajectory would end up hitting the bone. 'What shoddy aim!' She thought as she splashes past the bone with a laugh. "WATCH OUT!!!" Big Mac roared. "What?" Sweetie spun around in confusion. Then it struck her, the bone she had just past was falling towards HER. The third fireball that struck the bone changed the falling piece's direction, and no one anticipated such a possibility. Big Mac's message came too late, and Sweetie was unable to move from the falling bone. And yet some blur tackles her just out of the way... replacing her as its victim. Big Mac, Cleo, and Sweetie Belle hear the nasty crack once again, horrified that the cracking could be more than just the bone. From looking around, Sweetie deduces her saviour from that unexpected trap, was neither Big McIntosh nor Ms Cleo. It was him. The dust settles to reveal Flash Sentry lying head down, filthy, and lifeless. "NO!" The three runners yelled in unison. Seeing their friend and ally like this, the farmer and the healer rushes to Sweetie's side, "We need to carry him to a safe spot." Cleo warned, "Not only will those bones hurt people but stun them too." "Thank the Goddess..." Big Mac sighed, "He's still got a pulse." "Flash... Goddess... no..." Sweetie spoke, though with a complete loss for words. "Sweetie, Flash will be fine." Cleo comforted, "Right now, you need to clear the rest of the line." "But... Wait... Can't you heal him?" Sweetie stammered, "I can. But as I said, it's only the--" "Do it." Sweetie interrupted, getting her speech back, "We'll be fine." "Agreed." Big Mac nodded, "He promised to get us through alive. We're holding him to it." "You're right. In that case..." "I know." Sweetie stood up, "I'll clear the path... And thank you." Cleo nodded. This sense of acknowledgement seems to put the two at a deep understanding, something that can't even be interrupted by the mountain shaking. 4 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 20m "I wish I could help," Estelle sighed, "I really do! But my staff orbs and force strikes aren't making a single dent in him!" "Don't be-- so pessi--mistic!" Francesca growled while dodging the Golem's fist, "Every shot counts to build up your more reliable healing (and lethal) skills!" "Th-That's true..." Estelle spoke reluctantly, "Here it comes! Its arms are in the air!" Francesca warned. Slamming his fists down again, the Golem watches Francesca nimbly rolling away once again. He recognised this pattern, however, and quickly retracted his arms. The moment Francesca realised she was going to hop onto nothing but air, the golem swung his hand and caught her in his grip. He tightens his fist, and the crushing might makes the merchant scream. "Oh dammit!" Francesca wailed and choked, "This... again," "Fight it!" Estelle advanced, "I'll rescue you!" But as she said that, a worry struck her - How can she rescue her? There's not enough energy in her to bring forth the Loveless Hand, and all her other attacks do not faze it; to what extent can she do? Use Estelle's strength as Big Mac pointed out back then? "Hang tight," Estelle comforted while winding up her fists, "I'm going to get a little physical here." "Urk..." Francesca groaned in pain, yanking her arms out of the grip, "Just hurry it up... I don't know how long I'm going to be stuck... And this thing is staring at me!" The Igneous Golem looks carefully at his catch, wondering what he should do. Crush it? Smash it? Actually... He feels a little bit weak. A Sylvan snack would do then! He brings Francesca closer and opens his jaws wide. Francesca's eyes widened in the realisation of what this fiend has in store. "Estelle help!!!" Francesca's screams in panic, "It's going to EAT ME!" "What!?" Estelle froze a giant look of despair washes over her face. Her window of opportunity has been severely reduced. If she doesn't act now, Francesca... No... Adagio's going to be eaten! And yet... What can she do!? Bringing out Estelle's best won't be enough to save Francesca! There has to be something. Anything!!! Wait a minute... Anything? The image of Sunset, Twilight, Pinkie, and all her best friends appeared in her mind, holding out their magical geodes as if they were getting their picture taken. Of course!!! Magic! How could she have forgotten these weeks!? She used it the first time against those fiends, and it worked! It was only then that once given the powers of Estelle, she adapted instantly on using the essence of the New Alberian adventurers to fight fiends. But then again... Estelle can't use it as she is, and who knows if her magic could be enough to wring the golem free? And that's not to mention she'd be the most vulnerable. Aside from being exposed to great danger, these clothes would hinder her movement-- "I have no other option!" Rarity snaps out of her worries, "I will save you Adagio! Even if it puts my life at risk... Because that's what friends do!" "Estelle, what are you--" "Disengaging!" Estelle chanted, pulling a silver staff out of her heart. Once yanked out, Estelle was enveloped in a body of yellow light. When it was gone, Rarity took Estelle's position, stance, and even her clothes (although very ill-suited) "I should have taken out that stupid headpiece!" Rarity complained, "It tangled up my hair! Never mind..." Countless clusters of diamond crystals appear from the air and clumps together in Rarity's palms. It then forms itself into a weighty hammer; one that resembles a legendary hammer in comics. "I won't let you eat my friends!" Rarity declared and throws the Diamond Hammer aimed at the golem's hand. This time, the Igneous golem reacted to this unexpected attack. Though the hammer shattered on contact, the strike sent a painful resonation throughout the golem and causes him to wail and drop his meal. Rarity captures the falling merchant in a clear cut diamond ball and levitates it away from the golem (with Francesca in tow). "Are you alright Francesca?" Rarity inquired, releasing the ball. "Yeah. Still got my dagger," Francesca nodded, dusting herself. "That was a close call. I..." "Save the thanks and hugs for later." Rarity interrupted, "Tell me, what is the strongest weapon in Grastaea?" "Hard to choose. What are you looking for?" "If the Golem is sturdy and hard-plated, I'd like a type of weapon that can be wielded by normal people, and that can tear those traits apart!" "All the soldiers and adventurers of New Alberia use one of eight weapons when in combat: Sword, Blade, Dagger, Axe, Lance, Bow, Wand, and Staff." "I like the sound of the axe," "Slow but heavy. Sure you're up for that? Given that you're not wearing the right attire?" "The only article of clothing that fits me is her slipper-like shoes. I regret calling them boots earlier. I can make do with these wrong sizes for now." Rarity picks up the Loving Hand, "Please forgive me, Estelle. I know the Loving Hand is not intended to hurt others, but allow me to borrow it as a part of my axe to slay this fiend!!!" Once again, Rarity's magic diamond clusters appeared out of thin air, but this time attached itself onto the Loving Hand until it was completely enveloped. Then, more diamond pieces form around the Hand's head (or in this case, hand) and create the axe's head. While the but and shoulder was all jagged or cut blunt, the entire edge of the axe was smooth, thin, and razor-sharp. "Your magic..." Francesca's jaw dropped, "Is pretty awesome and practical." "Wait!" A voice came from the east of the maw, a familiar girl in pigtails running towards them. "Ms Cleo!" Rarity spoke, "You made it through!" "Yes..." Cleo panted, "But we have a problem..." "What about Sweetie and the others?" "That's the problem. Big McIntosh and Sweetie Belle. They're in... They're in critical condition!" "No way!!!!" Francesca and Rarity yelled together, "I don't have enough energy to heal them, and Flash is doing his best to keep them conscious... The only one I can think that can heal them is you, Estelle." "You're right." Rarity nodded, magically commanding her diamond axe to shatter apart, "Looks like I still need to rely on Estelle after all." "Not to worry." Cleo noticed the Igneous Golem walking towards them, "I'll gladly take your position to fight if it means you can save your sister and friends." "Thanks," Rarity nodded, bringing out the silver staff and touched it with her heart. A yellow light swallows up the girl and the staff while displaying her body outline. The staff breaks down into orbs of light and gently burrow their way into the girl's heart. Then, she begins to change in front of everyone. Her body only had little changes to her upper torso and her messy hair went back to pigtails. Finally, the yellow light fades; presenting Estelle once more, with, of course, the colours of Rarity. "I just noticed," Estelle examined herself, "Despite Flash saying I look like a mature woman, I feel from her body that Estelle isn't significantly older than I am." "When I first met the prince, he was in his late adolescent years." Cleo informed, "But save it for later!" "I'm on my way!" Estelle yelled and charges down the runners' path. "As for you Francesca, come with me!" "Wait. Aren't we fighting the golem? What's going on!? And what happened to the brat!?" Francesca inquired. "Fiends are what happened," Cleo responded as the ground shakes once again. "Then Flash threw up this plan on an angry whim." 3 minutes remaining - Distance from Magma: 15m "My head feels sick..." Flash moaned upon Big Mac's back, "But my body... my body feels fine. Did you heal me, Ms Cleo? Thank you but... you should've saved it for later when others were injured," "Don't push it. We supported her." Sweetie scolded, "You gave us a promise that ALL of us will get through this alive. Me, Big Mac, Ms Cleo, and especially YOU." "You still had a pulse, but you were stunned. We're not takin' any chances fer the Gobmancers to send ya to the Boot Hill." Big Mac added, "If you did pass away, you would be breaking your promise. We would be pretty mad and upset. So would you." Cleo concluded. "Alright you guys, I got it." Flash conceded, "I can run on my own again by the way." "We've just past the geysers and the boulders. We're reachin' the hairpin to Line 7 soon." Big Mac informed, "By the way, it's hard to carry you and dodge the fiend's fireballs at the same time. Ms Cleo took over my spottin' position. Ah reckon once we reach the hairpin, you take the spottin' duty." "Sure." Flash nodded, "I will stay with you Flash," Cleo briefed, "Also at this range, the Gobmancers would feel confident in using their second spell. It carries more damage than their fireballs." "No worries. You've got us covered as always. Right Flash?" Sweetie cheered, "Yeah yeah." Flash laughed as he slowly hopped off. "Take care," There were only four lines left to complete. And Flash's eyes were ready to watch out for his friends once again. If the group recalled the order, it was Boulders, Bones, Geysers, and the Gobmancers at the end. Flash analysed the situation of line 7. The boulders on this line were faster than the previous ones, and not to mention that by the rate they drop, the boulders would trap anyone between them. That being said, Sweetie and Mac together were able to maintain their distance from the boulders behind and front. The Gobmancers won't be able to hit the two with their fireballs either, as their targets were constantly moving. But something terrible was going to happen... Flash notices one of the Gobmancers looking at something else instead of casting fireballs with their friends. It had his twisted wand held high and orb glowing red while looking away from the two walkers. "What's going on with that guy?" Flash spoke out, and it hit him. The odd Gobmancer was focusing his sights right on the hairpin after the boulders. On the hairpin, a red circle began to form. The edges of the circle are formed by what looks to be air currents made visible by being red in colour. It is reason enough to convince Flash that the Gobmancer is responsible. "Ms Cleo?" Flash called, pointing at the red ring. "Is that what I think it is?" "That's the explosion spell!" Cleo gasped, "Or at least the preparation. Either way, I've told the three of you what it can do. They need to dodge it the moment they clear the line!" "No..." Flash stammered, "It's very unlikely they can..." "What do you mean!?" Cleo turned around, "I thought you would..." Cleo trails off her voice as soon as she saw the teenager. He was shivering and sweating all around, with a face of one who's eye-to-eye with his greatest fear. "The boulder in front of them is not only blocking them from seeing the hairpin, but also limiting their speed and space! They won't be able to slip out that quickly!!!" Flash responded, "What about them running past it before it goes off?" Cleo suggested, "I've been watching remember? For the entire run..." Flash reasoned, "Big Mac can only outrun something if he's at peak speed. And Sweetie also needs a great deal of speed to dodge it as well... The boulder, despite rolling fast, is not enough for the two to reach that level, and the path and hairpin have extremely little space to dodge!" "Then what about 'baiting' it?" Cleo continued, sweating like he is, "They'll get crushed by the boulder from behind!" Flash raised his voice, "No matter what I plan, they'll still get hurt! And you just used Elder Cure! Unless you have another skill I'm unaware of." "It's not a healing skill." Cleo shook her head, "It's a--" "... Dammit!" Flash spat and yelled out, "You two! Once you clear the boulders, you need to run to the next line immediately! No matter what, do not slow down or stop at the hairpin!!!" "Huh?" Sweetie yelled back, jogging between the rolling boulders. "One of the fiends is planning to hit you with a nasty spell. He's set it up around the hairpin!" "Wait, Flash, my second skill!" Cleo stopped, but Flash wasn't listening. "Cleo let's hop on the line. Just so we can get to them quickly... if the worst-case scenario happens!" Flash ordered then turns back to the two. "Just don't stop! We're going on the boulders right now!" "Well, that ain't good." Big Mac gulped, "Explosion spell on the hairpin huh?" He exits the boulder line, "We'd gotta run." "He means now!" Sweetie yelled and tackles the farmer. "Woah!" Big Mac takes a few steps back but was able to halt and catches the girl in mid-air. "But we're too late Mac," Sweetie spoke as she finds him and herself inside the red circle, "We're done for..." "Wait... Aw no! Ah'm mighty sor--!" Big Mac just realised his unconscious mistake as the Gobmancer swung his wand down. A loud explosion occurs in front of Flash and Cleo. Though the boulder in front has shielded their eyes from the victims within the pillar of fire, two distinct screams of pain slipped around; the fate that has befallen the two students. "McIntosh!!!" Flash screamed in a fearful response, "Sweetie Belle!" The two remaining runners got past to see what had transpired. The circle of burning air was no more. Rather it had turned the area it covered into nothing but shades and the putrid scent of burning, including the bodies lying on the ground... lifeless. "Goddess!!! Noooo..." Flash approached the two and falls to his knees. He looks at Big Macintosh, lying on his back. His eyes are staring widely and bleakly to the sky. His jacket, shirt, and jeans turned pitch black, with large portions of it breaking away into ash and dust. His cheeks, his hands and his arms, had a horrifying mix of dark red and black, black looking bubbles, shrapnel-induced wounds, and mini traces of fire burning his skin. Even worse, Flash could see parts of Big Mac's clothes melted onto him. Flash covers his mouth and nose. He couldn't comprehend what was worse. The sight of his friend at death's door, or the smell he's giving out. He turned to Sweetie. Lying face down, most of her hair had been singed, losing her natural shine and curls to resemble the wavy image of a fire burning away. Her jacket had completely burnt away, and half her skirt is gone too. Her skin didn't receive as bad treatment as Big Mac's. Whether it was fortunate or not, there's no denying that she could not survive it either. "Cleo..." Flash wept, "You look over Sweetie. Ladies should be checking on ladies." "Flash..." Cleo began to tear up, "Don't give up... It's not over yet..." "Please..." Flash sobbed, "What can we do? What can I do?" He couldn't take it any more. Big McIntosh. Sweetie Belle. He only got to know a lot about them through 2 weeks ago, thanks to that unexpected trip. Because of that, he finds himself more at home with them, he shifted his priority from his studies and hobbies to sharing time and fun with them. Though most people would think it as a chore, deep down he enjoyed working and hanging out in the Halidom together. Even when he was training alone, he enjoys it when someone was watching. Now they were gone; done in by the group of Gobmancers who, by the looks of it, were now apathetically shifting their sights on him and Cleo. This pain... upon people he deeply cares for, even if for a very short time... caused by those with the face of silent indifference... it hurt Flash incredibly. All this sadness, all this despair. All of this brought him to tears... and for him to snap. "You're right Ms Cleo." Flash responded, "It's not over yet." He stands up, wiping away his tears. "Flash?" "These Gobmancers..." Flash grits his teeth and tenses every muscle in his body. "They are going to die." "Flash, calm down!" Cleo warned, "Don't let your anger cloud your judgement!" "Ms Cleo!!!" Flash grabs the Healer's hands, and stares at her with a wrathful gaze, "You need to get rid of them fast!" "What do you mean?" Cleo responded. Scared yet confused. "One, it will relieve us of danger. Second, you need to build up energy to use your skills." Flash responded, "If I were to strike them down, it would amount to nothing as I have no skills of my own. You're the healer, you need it more." "Oh... You're right!" Cleo's eyes widened with hope. "I saw that face." Flash growled, "Seems like you've got it." "What if it's not enough?" "Then meet up with the girls," Flash instructed, "Find Estelle, get her to come and heal us. As she's fighting with the golem, I'm positive she has her Healing Faith ready! If not, then tell her to get going once she has it ready! I'll stay here and do as much as I can to keep them alive!" "Yes. I understand." Cleo nodded, "One more thing," Flash added, "After you tell Estelle, you have to touch the Dragon's skull with Francesca before you can get back to the golem! Heck, yell to the damn Flamewyrm that both of you have touched it!" "Touch the skull? I do not understand... The golem is in the way..." "There's no time!!!" Flash yells the moment he feels the ground shake, "We've got less than 3 minutes left before we all die! I know I'm burning with anger, but all the more for you to trust me and go now. Please!!!" "... Okay, Flash. I've trusted you ever since you protected the Halidom from the fiends." Cleo nodded, "I'm sorry that I have to do this." "I trust you too, Ms Cleo!!!" Flash bellows back as she runs ahead, "I know you can do this!!!" "I'm sorry Flash." Cleo spoke under her breath, "I still do not understand why we have to." She runs past the falling bones without hesitating. "And not being clear with your orders is a really big flaw for a tactician or strategist, because it gives doubt. Especially if the people you command are friends." She rolls past the geysers in her quiet and stealthy self. "Then again, the soldiers of Dyrenell Empire aren't friends with the commander or their strategist. They'll follow orders, even if it's the dirtiest trick of all because according to them, pawns and soldiers must be sacrificed to guarantee a victory. Especially if it would save a nation from the brink of annihilation, or the last step that would achieve a long-lasting peace." And finally, she approaches the three Gobmancers, who look back at her with sharp, yellow, eyes. "You three..." Cleo glared, "Have caused far too much pain and trouble!" The fiends respond with targeting their fireballs at her. Cleo swiftly rolls underneath the fire and launched two purple orbs, as befitting the staff weapon. Unlike Estelle, it takes only one of these purple orbs to vaporize a single fiend, and with both landing a direct hit, the two front Gobmancers collapsed into dust. The final one raises his wand to cast one more spell, but Cleo swiftly stepped forward and blocked it from swinging, thanks to her own staff. "I remember you." Cleo blinked, "You're the one who cast that explosion. In that case..." With the locked staff, she slides the Gobmancer to the edge, dragging its feet across the rock. "You and the fiends will harm innocents no longer," Cleo vowed and pushed it off the edge, and into the lava with a thick splash. The fiend showed no signs of floating, and as Cleo could tell, it would never surface again. Then she gulps. The lava is itching ever closer right now. Unfortunately, those three gobmancers did not give her enough energy. There's no time. She needs to get Estelle. "Wow, you guys really had it rough," Francesca responded after hearing the story. "Sorry. This is as much as I can say without making a nasty remark." "You can apologise by touching the maw," Cleo responded as he dodges the golem's swing. "Come on!" "Pretty easy!" Francesca nodded as lunged forward towards the skull and placed a hand on it. It felt smooth, a little chip here and there, and the feeling of small but gritty grains too. "Brunhilda!" Cleo calls out with her hand on the maw, "Francesca and I touched the Dragon's Skull! What are you going to do!?" "What am I going to do?" Brunhilda boomed, "Talk of course! I'm very, very furious... and yet impressed." "What about?" Francesca demanded, "Let me make myself clear. You have NOT completed my challenge. To do that, you must complete everything I have thrown at you. That being said, the golem behind you is the only task left. The runners have completed theirs." "We completed ours? You are losing me here." Cleo responded, "Then it would have been your loss. However, I am a dragon of my word, so I will choose not to play coy and explain what you have done. Or rather, what the pathetic boy Flash wanted you to do." "He had a reason for touching it? ... By Ilia, I forgot!!!" Cleo's eyes widened again, "Exactly. It seems the biscuit's anger does not cloud his judgement, but the opposite. Instead of charging forward and killing those fiends, he wanted to send you because he knows how Grastaean combat and mana works. I was suddenly disturbed when he also wanted you and Francesca to touch the Dragon's maw, playing on exactly what I just said. I want to burn him immediately for taking the mickey out of me and my unclear words, but I will do no such thing. He was the one who adhered to my rules and conditions, and he shall be rewarded for doing so. All of you shall be rewarded." "A reward for all of us." Francesca repeated, "That means the lava!" "Congratulations. At least one runner and fighter have reached the dragon's maw. You have successfully stopped the clock. Your lives are safe." "You're right. I never thought we could do that!" Francesca sighed with relief, just as the golem let loose a frightening roar behind them. "Oops. Let me correct that last part. You are not out of the fire yet. You still have to beat that fiend!" "I still hope there's something I can use!" Flash growled. He manages to recover what's left of Big Mac's bag. As he scours through the contents however, everything was burned (or melted). Apples, snacks, water bottle, bandages, and Rarity's clothes. For some strange reason, Adagio's clothes didn't burn. He pulls out his own black bag. Though it was used to carry the sword, it still carried supplies of his own. Especially water, disinfectant cream, and bandages. Not even the bone from before could damage it. "This is going to hurt Mac... Bear with me!" Flash warned as he poured the water. Big Mac groaned and whimpered for mercy as the water splashes onto his burns and wounds. Flash panicked. First Aid wasn't something he was familiar with, but it's good to know that despite all this pain, he was still alive. But... What can he do after that? "Goddessdammit!" Flash cursed as the last drop of his water fell. He pulls out the disinfectant cream, then paused. Mac's body is wounded all over - Which wound should he start with!? "Flash..." A faint voice spoke out, "Mac?" Flash knelt down, "Was that you? Can you hear me, Mac?" "No..." The voice coughed, "In front of you..." "Sweetie Belle!?" Flash looked forward. To his absolute surprise, Sweetie was on her own two feet hunched over in pain. Though her jacket has completely burned away, her inner shirt and singlet remained intact to cover her body (though there were a few burn marks). Her entire skin was riddled with wounds thanks to the shrapnel caused by the explosion, but any fire has only charred her skin, rather than warp it completely. None of her clothes had melted into her skin, even though she still smelt like a burning bush. Only a small fire lingered on her soft cheeks, attempting to burn through into muscle. But the shock of disbelief doesn't end there. A blue light traces around the site of the active burn and begins to 'eat' away at it. Once it had collected together into a small ball and disappears, all that remained was the black char on the skin. The same charring as her arms, hands, legs-- "Don't peek Flash..." Sweetie moaned, trying to cover any holes on her skirt, "I know you're better than that." "Sorry." Flash quickly looked back down to Big McIntosh. "But how are you--" "Conscious? Not badly burned?" She brushes her hair to one side, "I don't know either... But how is Mac?" "Badly burned." Flash responded, "You can tell." "Cleo can't heal us." Sweetie spoke softly, "She's cast the spell for you." "I..." Flash clenches his fist, "If that couldn't work, I called for Estelle." "Oh. That's nice. If I recall correctly, her spell greatly heals the most critically wounded person in the group." "But it's going to be a while to get there..." Flash grumbled, "Come on Mac. Hang in there. Help is on the way!" "Don't die on us, Big Mac." Sweetie encouraged, lisping slightly, "I know you've been through worse." There was no response, "Big Mac. You wanted me to keep my promise," Flash growled, "Well that's what I'm trying to do. You have to stay with us!" "Please... Think about those you love. Applebloom, Applejack, Granny Smith, your entire Apple Family. Don't leave them behind..." Sweetie wept, A pair of green hands held together in prayer slips between the two teenagers and stops above Big Mac. Then the hands part from each other and laid themselves on him. The hands burst into a bright green light to engulf the farmer then faded instantly. Big Mac was left with all of his skin cured of scorches, burns, and wounds. "Those hands..." Flash blinked, "Healing Faith?" "Indeed." Estelle steps forward to them, "It looks like I came in the nick of time." "Rarity!!!" Sweetie smiled with joy. "There there..." Estelle smiled back and gave a hug, "You do seem worse for wear Sweetie, but not to worry. I'm sure we can find a way to fix your hair. Just as how we've fixed Big Mac here." "Hey Mac, speak to me. Are you alright?" Flash turned back. "...Argh..." Big Mac slowly moves his eyes and body, "You're alright big guy." Flash patted his shoulder, "Take it easy and slowly." "Ah... That was..." Big Mac slowly sat up, "I still feel it." "Don't worry," Flash wraps one of Mac's arms around him, "We'll get you to the end. Just tell me if it hurts..." "Don't y'all... Ah can rest here." Big Mac protested, "We only have less than a few minutes left." "If Brunhilda is reasonable, we won't have to worry about the rising lava anymore." "What do you mean?" Estelle asks, "In her rules and conditions, she said 'At least one from both teams must make it to the dragon bones to stop that clock'." "And that condition is achieved." Brunhilda spoke up, "Thanks to your quick memory, you have saved yourselves from melting." "Hold your jaws guys." Flash warned, "We've got to bring our farmer out to safety first." "But you still haven't saved yourselves from the golem. You may want to do something about that." "Thank you, Estelle, but we can take it from here. Go back and help Ms Cleo and Francesca." "No," Estelle refused, "Why? Having healers on deck are essential against fiends who have the advantage over us." "Ms Cleo can sustain herself and Francesca, but we desperately need the power to beat the golem. I propose you go instead of me." "Huh?" "Desperate times like these calls for desperate measures." Estelle explained, "You're the only one with the powerful weapon. I can see you've even attached it onto your belt. Be a shame if you never used it, mmm?" Flash paused for a moment of silence, then grabbed his black bag and passed it to Estelle, "There's snacks and very little supplies for small wounds and cuts in here. Moreover, please take your time on the geysers." "I will," Estelle smiled, "We will," Sweetie corrected, "Stay safe you three," Flash nodded back and ran off. Time has stopped "I'm getting exhausted here," Francesca moaned, "I'm risking my tail just to keep up the pressure!" "You're not the only one," Cleo responded, "You've got backup!!!" Flash yelled. The Spiky-haired teenager charges at the golem with the sword drawn. Emitting a loud warcry, he plunges it (with one hand on the pommel, and another the handle) into the Golem's sides. Then he quickly pulls it out and follows with a horizontal slice that perfectly cut out a part of the rock. The Golem screams and stomped around only to stumble and fall over thanks to the cut. "Woo!" Flash laughed, "Now that's a reaction of pain! Maybe I should take up swordplay!" "Meh," Francesca scoffed, "I prefer Rarity's magic, but I can't be a chooser here." "Yes, because I expect a wind dagger and a light staff to make a fire fiend scream." Flash chuckled, "Now can we break this thing already?" "Ancient Aegis," Cleo utters. A blue dome, engraved with cryptic runes, covers an adventurer each with Flash and Francesca feeling a tight sensation on their skin and bones. "Don't falter. Keep on fighting!" Cleo responded, Francesca and Flash start an unrelenting flurry of blades, desperate to knock the hulking rock apart. Unfortunately, the golem stood up and retaliates with a sharp backhand, knocking the two away. However, Francesca did not react as badly the last time she got hurt; and Flash felt the blunt force fade after a while with his bones still intact. "Hey!" Flash moved his limbs, "I'm not broken! That's a nice skill!" "A spell to enhance durability," Cleo explained, "Only lasts for fifteen seconds. Now let me fix any wounds of yours up. Elder Cure." A green light bursts within the two fighters, repairing any wounds with a youthful sensation. "Say, what have you and Est tried when fighting this thing?" Flash inquired, "We did this..." Francesca answered, and quickly whispered to him and Cleo. "Seems good," Flash nodded, "Mind if I try it?" "Dagger users are known to be swift and dexterous. Swords? You're better off staying on the ground." "I have an idea," Flash proposed. "But I'll need to wait for the opportunity." "Scatter," Franesca spoke, and the three jumps from the Golem's attempt to smash them flat in one go. "Hup!" Flash latches onto the Golem's knuckle and plunges the sword into the golem's hand. The Golem could feel his presence and flings him around. Flash did feel a little in his stomach but he held on thanks to the sword he lodged into the stone; he uses it to vault himself up on his two feet. "Smart," Francesca shrugged, "But good luck trying to climb to the top." "This thing moves so much!" Flash grumbled, "I have to make it in one jump!" "No, wait! That's reckless!" Cleo warned but he didn't listen. Flash takes one deep breath and jumps, pulling the sword out while at it. Cleo and Francesca couldn't believe it; his jump sends him flying two metres above the Golem. It took no effort for him to land perfectly on top of the Golem's crown either. Since when did this mortal Equestrian achieve such power to do so? Certainly not from his 'bo staff' training! "Guys? Let's bring this thing down together! Concentrate your strongest attacks when I stab it!" Flash commanded, "Again, no need to tell me what I already know!" Francesca moaned, "Make it count!" Cleo encouraged. "Here goes." Flash takes a deep breath once again and lets out a bloodcurdling roar. "Raaah!" Flash drives the sword down the golem's volcano top. The Golem opened his jaw wide, unleashing a powerful gale filled with the sounds of pain. Though it almost blew the two girls away, they knew that this is the most vulnerable state the golem has ever had, and now it is time to deal the finishing blow. "Perish!" Cleo commands, firing the purple beam. Striking the golem right in the mouth, breaking down its molten palates. "Windwhistler!" Francesca chanted. Two sharp whistles, two powerful slashes in the same site. The Golem pauses, frozen in his actions after the last slash. "We did it." Cleo smiled victoriously, The golem drops his arms, fell to his knees, and leaned forward, crashing to the ground. Flash was still on the golem as it fell, but safely jumped off with the sword in hand. Bang! The golem explodes, releasing a tremendous amount of black dust that hit the ground in a massive wave, which disappears almost immediately. "That's a sight for sore eyes." Francesca laughed, "I actually did it. I defeated a golem in a disadvantaged state. I am so powerful." "We're right here you know." Flash frowned, taking a knee. "Fighting fiends solo is impressive, but never forget that fighting together is a surefire way to achieve and cherish victory," Cleo added, "Yeah yeah." Francesca covered her ears, "I don't need another lecture from someone late to the battle," "I think they contributed a lot in my opinion," Estelle disagreed. "You were watching?" Francesca turns to the voice. "We sure did," Sweetie responded energetically, despite looking weak. "Had I known you'd come, the three of you would also be healed when I cast the spell. I'm so sorry," Cleo apologised "No biggie," Big Mac coughed, supported on each side by the sisters. "Ah'm alright now." "And that is my entire challenge complete! Congratulations to all of you getting here alive! Now, I'll open up the maw, and calm down the lava. Meanwhile, you guys should give thanks to each other for what you've done!" "What is she talking about?" Sweetie moaned, "Brunhilda doesn't make sense sometimes." "Oh, yeah. Estelle? Or rather, Rarity?" Francesca remembered, "Mmm?" "Thank you for rescuing me back there. I'll admit I might not have survived getting eaten. I feel like... I can rely a little bit more on you." "That is wonderful to hear Adagio." Estelle gave a hug and smiled warmly, "My feelings are mutual. I would love to start understanding you more from now on." "Sure..." Francesca twitched, "But you don't have to hug me so quickly." "Flash?" Cleo turns to the teen in question, "I want to say thank you too. For thinking quickly," "Oh. That's really nothing." Flash chuckled, "You're the one who stepped forward without me telling you the entire story due to time constraints." "True, but if I doubted your plan, it could mean the difference between life and death. Don't sell yourself short." Chink! The chain bounding the Dragon's maw snapped into pieces. Without it, the maw opened wide, revealing a path further inwards. "Well then?" Rarity led, "Let's confront the Flamewyrm once and for all!" TO BE CONTINUED
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Crimson Greatwyrm: Conclusion
"Flame Slimes, shrooms, goblins, and gobhealers," Big Mac grumbled, "Honestly, y'all got the easy task," "You wouldn't do any better on the fighting team." Francesca smirked, "Given that many enemies can just drop you in one hit. You screaming and running around is worse than a liability." "Relax everyone," Sweetie laughed, "We all got out of this alive. Definitely hurt, but alive. Though, there must be a way to fix the hair and clothes or Mum and Dad will smell something fishy." "Flash dear? You seem to have something on your mind." Estelle noticed, "Would you like to tell me?" "Well, the first thing is Ms Cleo's second spell. It strengthens the body's resistance to physical injuries... Would it have been possible to resist fire?" "This isn't the first time I got buffed by those runes so yeah," Francesca answered, "Any defensive enchantments caused by whatever will protect whoever from all kinds of attacks." "So that means before the last part of the race, Ms Cleo could have done that, or rather I should have asked her to. Wait a minute..." Flash went pale, "Nonononono!" Sweetie grabbed Flash's arm, "Do NOT beat yourself up over this! It's over. We're still alive in the end. And even if Ms Cleo used it beforehand to protect Big Mac and me, what would have happened to you against that Golem?" "Rather you than me." Flash reasoned, "You guys mocked me for being a pain-eater after all." "There was a high chance you could have died without it." Cleo countered, "And I will not take it." "How about the second thing then?" Estelle changed the subject, "Just going back on what I thought about this morning. We rushed over to Mount Adolla to stop it from erupting and find Ms M. Turns out Brunhilda set the Mountain to blow on purpose, just to get us here. Then she forced us to undergo a life-threatening test for her own entertainment while we're doing this to save our own lives and Canterlot. Now that we've done all that, she kept her promise and we're likely getting an audience with her. That's fine, but Ms M is still nowhere to be seen." "In her defence, every Greatwyrm holds a lethal trial like that. It's what the Prince and I had to overcome for us to make a pact." "Well with all due respect, she should know that there is no one in Equestria who has Dragonblood, nor is there the necessity of a threat. Has the prince been forced to make a pact because a dragon threatens to destroy a village?" "No," Cleo answered, "But should something like that happen, he'll do it." "Goddess, there is absolutely no way I can be him." Flash groaned, "While we're on the subject, we can continue the discussion about Ms M. You know her right?" "I do," Cleo responded, "Whenever we had a small break, my mind turns to a theory I realise to be flawed. If she was truly a descendant, you would not have known her as you've been holed in the Halidom for the rest of the world to change around you. So, who is she?" "... I don't think I have to answer anything about that." Cleo gave a coy smile without looking at the group, "Why not?" Estelle asked, "Don't we have a right to know? And especially if it concerns our history teacher?" Cleo stops in her tracks. "Because I don't need to tell you," Her coy smile turns into a wide and devious one, "You will discover her secret today," "No..." Flash's eyes widened, Estelle covers her mouth in shock Sweetie Belle gasps loudly, "You're kiddin'..." Big Mac spoke astounded, "Is our history teacher a dragon? The bloody Flamewyrm of New Alberia?" Cleo said nothing and continued walking forward. "Ey! Ms Cleo! Don't leave us in shock! Just tell us!" Big Mac pleaded, limping after her with the other three students. Francesca was the only one left in the dust, "Umm..." Francesca coughed, "Being taught by another race isn't so surprising. In my dimension, that is." "Here we are," Cleo leads the team into the Crater beyond the dragon's maw. "The Flamewyrm's Abode," "Wow." Sweetie looked around, "The shape of the ground looks exactly like Mercury's home." "And the same goes for the Windwyrm's," Big Mac noted, "Only that there are lavafalls." "Now where is that Dragon?" Francesca spoke, "I'm sick of hearing her voice echo around the place." "Hey! Are you there Brunhilda? We come in peace!!! Well, sorta frustrated, but not hostile! Also, are you our history teacher?" Sweetie called out. No one responded. "Do you think she left the volcano?" Flash asked, "No... Ah, can feel it in mah body that someone else is here, watchin' us." Big Mac answered, "The heat. It doesn't feel like the magma from before." "Hey everyone! A treasure chest!" Estelle yelled, pointing with delight. She hopped towards the valuable box and opened it with a light kick. "What!?" The preacher was stunned. What lurked inside the chest was no rupies, bat wings, weapons or mana. Instead, there were... "Papers," Estelle picked up a few, "Just normal A4 sized papers! Who would keep such a trifle item as treasure!?" "What!?" The group rushed over, "Wow," Flash picked up a few, "You're right! And from the looks of it... 'Which one of these people have NOT been appointed the president of Equestria?', 'Write a summary about the Great Depression and expand on one example of a major event'." He read, "These are test papers for Equestrian history!" "Oh, it doesn't stop there." Big Mac responded. He held out a page for everyone to see. Printed in the middle was the image of a horseshoe; shaped to resemble a 'C', "Do you know what this means?" "Yeah." Sweetie snatched the page for her own look, "That's the Wondercolts logo. These test papers... are from our school! And that smell... it's perfume!" "Congratulations students!!! Or rather... surprise!!!" A familiar voice echoed throughout the cave, "You have done well to make it this far! I suppose I have to reveal myself now. Here I come!" The sound of footsteps echoed. "Hang on..." Mac scratched his head, "Those steps sound like heels..." "Oh My Goddess... it really is her!!!" Sweetie exclaimed, "I'm really what exactly?" Ms M walked into their view, "A history teacher at Canterlot High School? Then you are correct!!!" "Ms M!" Estelle jumped in shock, "What are you doing here!? Are you really Brunhilda!?" "Strange, this is the first time seeing you, and yet you know me..." Ms M turned to Estelle, Francesca and Cleo. "Who are you? What are you doing with three of my students? And what are your motives for doing so?" "I can explain..." Estelle tried to speak. "No need to," Ms M laughed, "I am merely jesting, Rarity. And I believe the one who's 'Francesca' is the girl named Adagio! Lovely to meet you! As for you. You're the one who's been taking care of my four students in this unexplored land." She turned to Cleo. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ms M." Cleo stepped forward, "Or should I say, Ms Mym?" Ms M smiled. "You still haven't changed a bit, Cleo; A funny little creature as always. It has been a long time since I've been called that name," Ms M addressed, "Mym?" Francesca repeated, "Isn't that?" "So you also know Ms Cleo as well?" Estelle started, "We do," Ms M nodded, "We have fought a long time ago, under the banner of the late Seventh Prince of Alberia; He was Ruler of New Alberia and my darling." "So are you really her? I mean really really??? Mercury did say it's possible but--" Sweetie asked. "And she is right, dear Sweetie." Ms M coughed, then spoke in a powerful voice. "To Canterlot City, and the entirety of Equestria, I am Ms M. A history teacher that works at Canterlot High School. 'Mym' is a name and appearance I borrowed from a companion of Alberius a thousand years ago. As for my true form..." Snapping her fingers, a large pillar of fire envelops her entirely. When it subsided, a large red dragon was standing in her place. Everyone that was not Cleo dropped their jaws. The dragon standing before them matched horn for horn, jaw for jaw, eyes for eyes, wings for wings, and every single part of her was identical to the artwork of the 'Greatwyrm Brunhilda'. "I am the Flamewyrm Brunhilda." The dragon mightily announced, "The mistress of crimson, the inferno clad, and the flame that guided the path of Alberius the Founder and his descendant, the late Prince Euden. Although..." She dropped her seriousness, "... I guess I'm guiding young students to historical enlightenment with my flame now." "Mind. BLOWN." Sweetie spoke, "Everyone in CHS would flip if they found out their teacher and co-worker is a dragon. Literally!" "Heavens to Betsy..." Big Mac dropped his jaw, "Pretty as a peach doesn't begin to describe you," "Ms Brunhilda. On behalf of me and my friends, I'm SO sorry if you listened to any sort of snide or rude remark against you made by us. Please forgive us!" Estelle spoke, "Well, I'm happy to see that you're showing us your true identity," Flash growled, "But did you really have to go through all of this, just to get our attention???" "Guilty as charged. Then again, things run differently between your world and mine. Keep in mind though, my Ms M self is also a part of me. Would you take your history teacher as someone who'd blow up a volcano and kill many humans?" "..." Flash blinked, calming down a little, "I'd believe that if you were a human, but you're not. But just to play along, you are a very strict teacher who no fear of scolding or 'burning' students whenever they'd be disruptive in class or break any rules. Like preserving mana and nature in Grastaea, you maintain order and discipline to prevent chaos and destruction. Now that I've said that, I just remembered that you've been calling us 'humans' as Ms M. I thought you're just trying to act superior. Turns out you really are by race." "Hey! Looks like you've calmed down instead of blowing up on me! Perhaps you should have done the same for your Ms Cleo by heeding her when she talked about her second skill back at the Gobmancers explosion. A bit too hasty there, mmm?" Flash went pale once again and turns his face away. "That's too harsh Mym." Cleo glared, "You know he was responsible for two lives." "Even more! I'm his teacher, that's what I do. Teach students and give them feedback! If it were the Equestrian army, you'd suffer more than just salt on the wound! People would hate you, you'd lose your rank, you get the idea." "Actually..." Estelle added, "There were times when you were helpful. You told us about the Gobhealers." "And you informed us about what the third part of the race is." Big Mac added, "Even though we woulda found out by ourselves, you told us anyways." "Okay, I won't sugarcoat it. I was known as a wrathful dragon back then, and I still am today. But the actions that earned me that title is all but in the past. Kindling a marriage with my darling prince has allowed me to open up to other humans and the world." Brunhilda sighed, "As I fought alongside them, the more I learned about how precious we are to one another, though I would never know that if not for him. I made a vow to never wage war on his kind unless there was a good reason, and why I decided to become a teacher in this era." "Hold the phone," Sweetie stopped, "You married Prince Euden?" "Now THAT's a lie!!!" Cleo intervened, "Mym is just obsessed with his Highness. She thinks of the dragonpacts as 'marriage'." "Bite your tongue, Cleo!!!" Brunhilda hissed, "A dragonpact is serious business! Any breach of the pact can kill the human and dragon. With no greater pain and punishment, there's no other reason than it being a symbol of love!" "True. A pact is sort of a synonym for marriage," Estelle added, "But given that the prince made pacts with multiple dragons, I don't think marriage was the main intention for these pacts. Sorry Ms M-- I mean Ms Brunhilda!" "Besides..." Cleo glared, "You know how uncomfortable your advances are on his Highness." "Shut it..." Brunhilda pouted, "If you think you can criticise me of my approaches, then you betray your own feelings for him! Not just you actually. You, Elisanne, Estelle, Althemia, Orion, Naveed, and many other girls too, hide their feelings from him, and give him the cold shoulder whenever he's dense! Philia was the only one who constantly showed her love for him, and Malora was competitively flirtatious!" "So it is true, Estelle does love the prince." Estelle smiled, "Aren't Orion and Naveed guy names?" Sweetie raised her eyebrows, "If so, that means the Prince is so awesome that even guys want him!" "This is not what Ah was expecting from stoppin' an eruptin' volcano." Big Mac remarked. "Ah actually fought we'd be fightin' a dragon, not havin' this awkward chat with a dragon that turns out to be our teacher." "We were given that option, we turned it down." Francesca noted, "Trust me, it's a bad idea." "As much as you like talking, would you like to do it in a more comfortable place? A volcano is hardly the right area for you to socialise. I'd fly you all back to the Halidom, but I can only carry three at best." Brunhilda offered, Everyone's pupils grew big, and their jaws dropped again (except Cleo and Flash). "Did you just say you can fly us?" Sweetie repeated. "I sure did, but I can't carry all of you sadly. You need another dragon to help!" The siblings looked at each other with sparkling eyes, "Can you still give us a flying trip for another time?" Estelle pleaded. "If you like!" Brunhilda winked. "Yes!!!" The siblings jumped for joy. "Then let's head back." Cleo encouraged. "On foot." "That reminds me." Brunhilda spoke, "Cleo hasn't made any fiend-repelling enchantments in the Mountain. We're bound to come across some, which will be important for you, Cleo and Rarity. You'll need to heal Big McIntosh back to health before we make the long trip back." "Is everything alright back in Canterlot?" Rarity spoke into her phone. She was now sitting on a small stump near an unlit campfire on the Halidom Castle grounds changed back to her normal self. "Rarity! I'm glad you're alright. It's been an hour and a half, but there have been no signs of any earthquakes after that according to experts and there's no magic influence either. The folks are not afraid to exit their homes now." Sunset responded, "Applejack and the rest of us all gathered together, save for you. How's the other world?" "Still standing. Next time, all of you MUST come along! It takes magic to a whole new level, and I should introduce it to you as friends!" "I'll let everyone know about it. When are you coming back?" "We're staying with Adagio for Lunch, then we'll come back in the afternoon." "Adagio huh... Listen. Applebloom and Scootaloo mentioned that you're going to teach her how to sing again. I get that she's been by her own for a few months under someone who's been steering her in the right way, but I'm still very much concerned that this can give her the power to wreak havoc again. Are you sure you're going to go through with that?" "I have absolute faith in her," "What if she takes advantage of that and attacks?" "Then... Then we'll stop her. Sweetie, McIntosh, Flash, Ms Cleo, and me." "The rest of us will always pitch in if all of you can't hold her back." Sunset comforted, "Just be vigilant. See you tomorrow?" "Sure. Goodbye!" Rarity finished, ending the call. "Hey, Rarity!" Sweetie ran over, "Let me tell you, you NEED to try out the Halidom baths. They are so big and beautiful that it puts our same old bathrooms to shame!" "Sweetie!!!" Rarity embraced, "I'm so glad you're back to normal. It's amazing to see that Ms Cleo's healing magic could repair the colour and shine of your hair!" "I guess that's the secret behind 'Elder Cure'! Makes you feel young again, literally." Sweetie laughed, "Oh, did you also that Ms Cleo deals in sewing as well? She was able to repair my clothes as well as Big Mac's. Heck, she even made my entire jacket from scratch, and it looks exactly the same! I think you and her could be new best friends, or even master and apprentice!" "She's dedicated to taking care of the Halidom and its residents." Adagio approached, "She's pretty much the Mother of everyone back then, and even now too." "I couldn't have said it better myself," Ms M followed behind. "You're another example Rarity. Cleo replicated your clothes from scratch in ten minutes!" "Yes, I should properly thank her-- My goodness!" Rarity jumped, "That is... certainly some outfit you have on!" "You like it?" Ms M winked. "This is what I usually wear when I'm travelling around here as a human. In Canterlot however, I would not blend in so well." Her smart-casual top and skirt was replaced with a long regal robe of purple and big white furry linings that were held together by a red silk belt with gold ends around her abdomen and a black dress with some red armour that fit sensibly on her chest, and pair of long tights that reached up to her thighs with black battle boots that had white fur sticking out. But what was more concerning was that replacing her glasses was a small tiara on top of her head and a pair of curved horns on the left and right. And just behind her... A red scaly tail was sticking out underneath her black shirt and robes. "Now that we're at it, the Halidom really went down the drain when everyone left," Ms M noted, "Almost every facility is dilapidated, and there's no one keeping watch, taking a walk, or sitting near the campfire; it's so barren!" "Well, we have been working on renovating the place," Rarity responded, "If recall correctly, we've rebuilt one Dojo and the five elemental altars." "Hold on for a moment. Did you just say YOU built it?" Ms M prompted, "Yeah," Sweetie nodded, "What's wrong with that?" "Ha ha ha ha!" Ms M bursts into laughter, "Humans and Sylvans, actually repairing and upgrading facilities!? My goodness, how backwards has New Alberia become?" "Hey, that's nothing to laugh at, people do this for a living." Rarity frowned, "Ah, I suppose so. My apologies." Ms M bowed, "You see, development projects in the Halidom aren't done by humans or sylvans." "It's the Smithwyrm's job," Big Mac finished the sentence, walking out with a towel, "Ms Cleo told me as such. Course, we don't have them around so it's up ta us." "That is true. Again, please forgive me for my sudden outburst." Ms M continued, "Either way, I'm glad to hear that the Halidom is slowly being rebuilt. Actually, I can help you with that." "You can?" The three teens perked up, "Since the Halidom is a part of the Mistholt and the neighbouring forest, protecting this castle also comes with his territory. He'll be able to call for the Smithwyrms to return and build this place up in no time!" "Who?" Sweetie asked, "Dear me, Sweetie, I'm disappointed that you forgot! Do I have to re-lecture you on your Grastaean history? The guardian of the forest, alongside Cleo, is a dragon!" "Midgardsomr?" Big Mac answered, "Correct! Extra marks to you Big Mac!" Ms M nodded, "And before you say anything, yes. Mids has been rather aloof lately. He rarely comes by his own home because he made a promise to the Prince after his passing, to make sure no fiends would dare invade the land. He's been doing that for centuries now, and Elysium knows it's taken a toll on his mind. That's why Jupiter is being his psychologist of all things, can you believe it!? All the Greatwyrms, myself included, have really hit the bottom of the barrel!" "Jupiter. He's the Lightwyrm and the jerk of the group, right?" Sweetie asked, "Oh yes indeed!" Ms M grumbled, "Ah, but forget about him! If you'd like, I'm more than happy to fetch Mids if you want to! But you'll to have to convince him to join you, just like you did with me!" Everyone fell silent, save for a few birds chirping, and Cleo and Flash exiting the castle. "It's time for lunch everyone!" Cleo called, but no one reacted. "Oh dear, did we come at a bad time?" "Not at all! You're just in time!" Ms M responded, "It's a good thing you're here too Flash. You were a part of this as much as they are." "Huh... Okay." Flash slowly nodded and walked over to his friends, "... So what's going on?" "To forge a pact or an alliance with humans, each Greatwyrm designed a trial to test the Prince and his companions. Do you remember me mentioning that?" "You told us," Rarity raised her hand, "But you didn't tell the other three." "Now you are informed," Ms M walked forward, "Our trials are to test humans on what we dragons hold most dear individually. This was what I've always had in mind when I made a trial for Prince Euden and for all of you." Sweetie gasped loudly once again, "No way!" She said, "Are you actually going to... Are you???" "You came to Mount Adolla without any intention of taking my trial but to prevent it from destroying your own home, as well as to save your teacher. Alas, I forced you into doing my challenge, and you've still completed it in the end. As such, you deserve the same reward." "Oh my goodness, we've got a dragon in our ranks!" Sweetie screamed while jumping, "About that Sweetie," Ms M corrected, "We're dragons. Like every animal in existence, we have our own autonomy as well as our own feelings and voices. Please treat us with respect; the same way you do with your kind." "Sorry," Sweetie apologised, "One more thing and this is important." Ms M's tone went fierce, "The bond between a human and dragon is the most important part of the pact. Before we lend any king or queen their power, we must learn their intentions on what they will use it for. At the same time, we also fight for things that WE want." "I'm very confused. How?" Sweetie asked, "Perhaps you can give an explanation, 'Ms' Cleo?" Ms M gestured, "There was a time when one of Prince Euden's siblings had made a pact with Mercury, she was promised that the ocean she loves would be protected by his wealth and power. Turns out it was a straight-faced lie. He just wanted her power to crush his enemies," Cleo explained, "Oof..." Sweetie bit her lip, "That's pretty low for a ruler. I wouldn't want to be his friend if he'd use me like that!" "Honesty for loyalty? I get it!" Rarity exclaimed, "It's the same thing as friendship!!!" "I couldn't have said it better myself," Ms M smiled, "Our bonds... Our 'Dragalia'. Is composed of exactly the same virtues that true friends would hold with each other. Do you understand?" "Friendship? Absolutely. It's what makes me strong too!" "Then let's begin. Rarity, Adagio Dazzle, Sweetie Belle, Big McIntosh and Flash Sentry." Ms M got on one knee and bowed humbly, "Inspired by your strength, and your bonds with each other, I am willing to make a pact with you, if you so wish to." "W-Wait!" Sweetie protested, "Neither of us has Dragonblood! Wouldn't this cause some sort of disaster?" "No. This pact is made by word." Ms M looked up, "You won't get a pactstone out of this, but the results will be the same. In an era where so much has changed, I have decided on my own that this should too. Normally, it's humans who seek pacts with dragons, not the other way round. I would not have budged to meet you, if not for my darling, and Cleo here too!" "If we say yes?" Adagio prompted, "Well, I ask that you do me a favour, and I'd like to know your motives for using my power." "And if we refuse?" Big Mac continued. "Nothing really. But I'm more than willing to help you out where needed." "You're already doing that Ms Brunhilda," Rarity laughed, "Even if you're a dragon, we've known you as our teacher first and foremost!" "I suppose so!" Ms M smiled, "Well big sis?" Sweetie asked, "Your decision!" "Are you sure? Then don't be surprised!" Rarity nodded. "Ms Brunhilda. I decline--" "What!?!?" Sweetie, Big McIntosh, Adagio, and Cleo gasped in shock. "Let me finish!" Rarity retorted. "Pardon me... I decline if it was a pact as the ones you had back then. This pact is just like asking me to be best friends, and I'm more than happy to put that trial behind us and accept!" "Oh..." Sweetie, Big McIntosh, Adagio, and Cleo sighed in relief. "But... I understand how important these trials and pacts are to you, so I won't forget about that. As Dragalia goes both ways, I am more than happy to tell you my motive. Not sure about the others." "Actually, we do have one unified motive," Sweetie raised her hand, "It's also why we've been coming here all the time!" "And that is?" Ms M askes. Cleo and the four teenagers turned their eyes and heads to one particular being. "Really guys?" Adagio frowned, "You are idiots." "We want to support Adagio in her change to be better, plain and simple." Big Mac answered, "Since yer a CHS teacher, you can always support and help her adjust back to school! Now as fer my motive..." "You don't have to tell me ALL your personal motives," Ms M laughed, "I can learn that as your teacher!" "Okay then," Rarity shrugged, "Now what can we do for you?" "Ever since I've parted with New Alberia seven-hundred years ago, I've learned and adapted to the many changes in humanity. That being said, there are issues of being a teacher that can get on my nerves. Do you think you can help me with that? Like heeding my words when you misbehave or cutting some slack about me if I punish another student? Oh, and uh... I'd also like you to help me be a better teacher that students would love." "By Ilia, you have changed SO MUCH!" Cleo exclaimed, "What happened to the prideful and fiery Flamewyrm?" "Fiery Love! That's what happened!" Ms M blushed, "Constantly chasing for my darling's affection has shown me important things. After his passing, he'd want me to live my life as a happy and loving wife! Besides, a wife must also be loving with kids! That is what I'm trying to achieve!" "Mym, your students are right next to you. Did they need to hear all that?" Cleo was aghast, "Oh never mind... Do you think you can still do that with your teacher?" Ms M pleaded, "If ya ask me, Ah'm mighty honoured to learn yer true identity." Big Mac chuckled, "Sure, Ah'll be a bit more attentive," Rarity, Flash and Sweetie nodded in agreement. "In that case, let all who have witnessed know, that I acknowledge these five to be a steadfast ally and friend!!!" Brunhilda announced, "But if your motives take you towards a dark path... If you use me for granted..." The teenagers shivered, "A-Are you going to burn us?" Sweetie asked meekly, "I shall roast you with detention, as well as to make sure you don't venture down that dark path," Ms M responded, "But if choose to embrace this path and bring harm to all your friends, then I shall reduce you to ash." "We understand," Rarity answered, "I wouldn't hurt my friends, Ms Brunhilda." "That is all I have to say as Flamewyrm. Now, I must reward you as your teacher! For assisting me in my research AND coming to save me!" "Huh... I actually forgot about that." Rarity blinked, "To Rarity, I present to you... my Scaldscales!" Ms M pulls out five red scales, each covered in flames. "I know you've been wanting them ever since you saw one from Mids. Go on! They won't burn you!" "Oh. My. Goddess!!!" Rarity's eyes sparkled madly, "I can have them!? Yes! Yes! YES!!! This truly is the best reward ever!!!" "Sweetie Belle?" Ms M turned to the youngest teen, "How would you like me to help you present the next episode of 'Sweetie's Little Steps of Life'? I've got plenty of secrets of the Halidom that you've yet to find as a historian of Grastaea!" "YES!!! That would be sweet!" Sweetie nodded, her eyes also sparkling like her sister's. "Just let me know what date you would like to do it," Ms M chuckled, "Big Mac?" "Like ah told the summonin' lady, Ah'm fine without a gift," Big Mac responded, "And yet you've done so much... You're lucky that I can't think of the best reward for you right now... But that will change!" Ms M pouted, "I hate to stop the generosity but, I'm getting hungry. Perhaps we can do this after lunch?" Adagio interrupted, "That's right," Cleo remembered, "I made some Alberian delicacies as well as a pot of delicious Honey Tea. It gives plenty of energy!" "Sure! We could take a break." Flash agreed. "I'm getting hungry anyway." "But--" Sweetie spoke, "We can always receive presents later," Flash interrupted, "I'm sure you understand how important food is to study. Right, Flamewyrm?" "A fair point. I am getting hungry myself." Ms M nodded, "And please call me between these names - Brunhilda, Mym, Ms Brunhilda, Ms Mym, or good old Ms M. No need to call me Flamewyrm." Cleo's meal was judged as delicious by all the people invited, but neither Adagio nor Flash reminded the group about getting their just desserts. Instead, they went back into teaching Adagio how to sing again. The poor siren still had problems with refining her pitch but was able to hit all the basic eight notes in an octave. After two hours of helping her out, it was time to leave. The CHS students gave her a small songsheet picked out just for her, wanting her to study it the next time they come around. Waving goodbye to Cleo and Ms Mym, Adagio led the four teenagers to the small glade in Rovetelle, where the misty portal rests. That's when Adagio had one rather large parting message. "Remember, your heart must desire to go home if you want the glade to take you there. Don't think about going to some faraway place. You'll regret it." "We know!!! We're sure to get a handle on how this works after two to three weeks!" Rarity frowned, "Good, now's there something I'd like to get off my chest before all of you go home. And don't tell Cleo this either," "Hiding secrets from your mom? How rebellious!" Sweetie teased, "Actually, this message is aimed directly towards all of you." Adagio corrected, "Ever since you guys came, you have been nothing but pain in the necks and persistent nuisances. I've been getting very emotional and have been questioning my existence for the past two weeks thanks to you." "Your welcome?" Big Mac nervously responded, "Yes. Thank you. For stepping foot into this place, and into Cleo's life. She's been happier ever since she's met the four of you. As someone who wants to get on her good side, I owe you for that." "No problem," Sweetie gave an okay sign, "But... that's not everything... is it?" "Fine," Adagio gritted her teeth and took a deep breath, "I also want to thank you for sticking by my side back at Mount Adolla. I'll admit it without being shy, I would have been toast if it wasn't for the presence of all of you. And yet here you are... doing everything you can to help me, even wanting the Flamewyrm/your history teacher to support me too. Are you sure there isn't any motive?" "Well..." Rarity sighed, "We do have a motive, but it's nothing underhanded or evil. Given your state, I understand WHY you'd think we're helping you do this out of pity, but no. We see you want to change for the better and because of that, we want to support you all the way." "Love your neighbours as you love yourself. Yesterday's enemies are today's allies." Flash quoted, "Sunset sought redemption to Rarity and the other girls before you and the Dazzlings showed up. There's no rule saying you three can't do the same, even if it's been a long time and people still haven't forgotten. As Rarity said, we'll support you if needed," A tiny blush appeared on Adagio's face, "'Dagio, Ah'm mighty happy to have met you in person. No matter what sin you've committed against us, Ah'm willin' to forgive. What happened in the past stays in the past. You chose to move forward." "Stop, you guys are embarrassing me." Adagio nervously looked away, "Look, whatever your reasons for coming here, I'm not against it anymore. In fact, I don't mind if you come around more often. It'd make Cleo happy and it would make me happy too," "Aww..." The two sisters felt fuzzy, "Thanks for telling us!" "Let me give you a hug!" Sweetie opened her arms, "Just go home already!!!" Adagio snapped, "Okay then. Bye-bye!" Sweetie laughed, "See you next week!" Rarity waved, "Take care, ya hear?" Big Mac nodded, Flash just nodded. One by one, the CHS students walk into the misty path, turning into silhouettes and later vanishing into the mist. "What am I doing?" Adagio mumbled to herself, "I did not just feel soft over the philosophies of humans! My only ambition is to rule the world and bring every race to kneel! Whatever! I'm not taking the long route back home!" And with that, she strolled into the mist with her heart yearning for the Halidom. "Flash? I thought you were going home." Cleo spoke, "My heart wanted to see you specifically. There are things I must discuss, alone," Adagio was whisked back to the Halidom's balcony and saw the conversation. "What is the idiot--" Adagio started, "Shh..." Ms Mym interrupted, "It seems that Flash has something important. Perhaps we should listen from afar..." "No wonder why you haven't been talking after the Volcano. What's going on in your mind?" Cleo inquired, "Guilt. Sadness. Shame." Flash uttered, "I'm talking about that one blunder that I could have prevented." "Do explain," "The gobmancer that attacked Big Mac and Sweetie. Had I not interrupted your explanation of the second skill, I would have used it. And they wouldn't have been damaged so badly." "Ah... Yes. I remember that." Cleo nodded, "But I forced you to come along without letting you have the opportunity to cast it. I'm so sorry." "Flash, it's over. Big McIntosh and Sweetie Belle have been healed. Everything is fine in the end. As I said, if I performed Ancient Aegis on them, what would happen to you and Adagio? I understand the importance of reflecting on mistakes. If you're so intent on seeking punishment, do some household chores with me." "No, THIS is the punishment I deserve," Flash shook his head, and took out the Hero's Sword, "I'm returning this to you. To Prince Euden." "... I beg your pardon? I gave this sword to you as a gift! How would giving back something like that be a punishment to you!? More like you're hurting me!" "Please listen to me!" Flash raised his voice, "This gift means a lot more beneath the surface, doesn't it!?" "What are you talking about!?" "I'm sorry for raising my voice," Flash apologised, "Ever since I came here to learn more about the people of Grastaea, I first went to those adventurers whose possessions you've given to us. As I read through them, I am convinced that these gifts are related to us one way or another." "..." Cleo suddenly went silent, "Rarity. Her mannerisms and attention to detail is always the talk of the students. Of course, she's also very tough and thoughtful, she's able to handle situations through words, or even through might. Estelle acts just like her, with being very well mannered as a teacher, and very attentive to people's emotions. Whenever she sees signs of bad behaviour or frivolity, she will confront them head-on without an ounce of fear of getting backlash. Heck, she even took down some giant sea creature that was posing a threat to a holiday area. If Estelle had the same voice as Rarity, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart." "... Can you give another example?" "Sweetie Belle. Do you remember the time when Rarity, Adagio and Big Mac went to the forest? You and I found Sweetie singing in the room belonging to Pia. When she was singing, there was mice watching. Sooner or later you told me that those mice came from the original mice who became Pia's friends. Is it me, or is Pia's singing voice identical to Sweetie's?" "Then what about Big Mac? And Adagio?" "Big Mac... Well, I don't know much about him. Even though I occasionally hang out with his younger sister, she never talks much about him. He's a man of few words, but I can see that's not the case ever since he's part of the party. As for Vixel, he's a rather mature and tolerant person, though he has harboured past insecurities that do affect him every now and then. A troublemaking past, and history with the Harmonia Choir. There is one similarity, in that they both have a desire to sing. That is a small hobby though. Adagio... Well... There's only one thing I can remember about her, and that she's manipulative for her own gain. Granted most merchants and businessmen are manipulative too, but Francesca's an honest merchant. She does things honestly, and always satisfies what her customers WANT." "You have been doing your homework." Cleo nodded, "Although you guys may look incredibly different, your personalities and behaviour remind me of the allies I know. Yes, this is what I had in mind when choosing what gifts to give each of you. However, I genuinely want each and every one of you to keep it." "I still want to give this back." Flash sighed, "As I read the Prince's bio, I truly come to find myself relating to him. His care for his younger sister, his family, his duty as a prince and ruler. He'd go for plans that would amount to fewer casualties for his men or civilians. He'd spare those who are out for his blood or the blood of his allies. Heck, he took down one of his siblings countless times, and he'd give him mercy! I'd be lying if I didn't say I was inspired." Flash looked disappointed, "But after today, I realised that I'm not like him. I screwed up doing things that he values the most. I wanted to run in the face of danger and difficulty. I can't carry his sword any longer. It's an insult to his memory!" "No... Flash." Cleo protested, "We all make mistakes, even the Prince." "What nonsense am I hearing!?!?" Ms M erupted, "Brunhilda!" Flash backed away, "Th-That's not what I mean--" "That's Ms M to you, Flash!" Ms M marched forward, "Prince Euden didn't die for future generations of his kind to become people who get depressed just because they failed at playing wannabes!" "B-B-B-B-B!" Flash stuttered, "I am your teacher, and as someone who's been observing you in class and in the playground as per my duty, you do share a LOT of traits with the Prince! You look out for your fellow bandmates, your fellow friends, and especially your family; given how you reacted to Sweetie's words about them! And do you want to know something? That's fine! That's alright!" Ms M roared, "Yeah but--" "But NOTHING!" Ms M snapped, "We all make mistakes! Stop beating yourself up over it! If it still troubles your heart, you can always just talk with any of us! It's what we teachers and counsellors are here for mmm? Don't let it convince you of the most ridiculous things, saying you can't have Euden's sword just because you don't think you're worthy of it!" Flash averted his eyes, desperate to avoid Ms M's wrathful gaze, "LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Ms M grabs Flash's cheeks, locking his face towards hers, "Surely your parents have taught you manners! What happens if they found out you were acting like this!?" "I'M SORRY!" Flash yelled back, "I don't know what I can say back to you!" "Ahh..." Ms M simmered down a little and let go of his cheeks, "It seems fear clouds your judgement; you're not able to talk back with a smile against those who think ill of you." "Only because what others say is not true. But what you have said, some parts are true." Flash defended, "When I first met you in class, I saw a cheerful fellow who smiles and helps others in times of trouble and injustice, a very good person. Dull or bland? Pish posh! If I was your age, I'd give them a punch to make sure I'm not to be messed with! I'm actually impressed that you'd be shrewd with your words, instead of picking a fight out of anger." Ms M shared, "M-May I explain why?" Flash meekly raised his hand, "Go ahead," "Anger always ran through me when I was young. I'd give bullies a chase around the school with something to hit them with until I'd tire out and just leave them be. When I do catch them and give them a taste of my fist or a large textbook, I get disciplined and suspended. First through my teachers, then through my parents. They taught me the importance of anger and verbal abuse, and so I've learned to keep my anger in check. Well, I went further with my anger, instead of letting it cloud my thinking, it would support it." "It would explain a lot on what I've seen today," Ms M responded, "But back on the topic, I just--" "Mym, may I?" Cleo intervene, "How about I make something clear?" "Sure!" Ms M smiled, "Flash, I choose Euden's sword FOR your gift because of similarities. But, I gave you a gift in the first place because you did as much as you could do to save the Halidom." "Agreed." Ms M responded, "As one who helps others in times of trouble and injustice, you earned that gift." "I... I understand then," Flash bowed his head, still looking sad. "In that case, I'll keep on holding onto it." "Cheer up Flash!" Ms M ruffled his hair, "That reminds me, I haven't given you your reward for the trial. As I've watched, you've taken up very difficult roles and problems in the running challenge out of your own worries and kindness. I wanted to give you two gifts. The first one is this Strong Halberd crafted by yours truly." She pulls out a lance with a rather eccentric design. The head of the spear seemed to have combined two weapons together - The usual spearhead, and the head of an axe. "You said you prefer lances right? As I use lances in my human form, I think this little dear would find a better owner in you." "Wow..." Flash's eyes shone, reflecting the halberd in his eyes. "It looks wonderful..." "As for the second gift... Cleo? Flash has shown us many surprises about himself during the challenge. I think he's ready. Do you?" "Just one question Flash..." Cleo turned to the teen, "Do you know how you were able to cross the geyser field and leap up to the Igneous Golem's top? And if this isn't a stretch... How you managed to pierce him straight on through with the sword?" "... I finally do." Flash nodded, from being sad into a neutral expression, "It was a deep breath. Like what you've been constantly telling me to work on." "Indeed, and now's a good time to let what's giving you that power flourish. Please sit down on the courtyard chairs, and close your eyes in meditation." Cleo instructed, Flash went over and did so without a word. "Next, hold out your hand, then focus your mind on where your heart is." Flash holds out his hand, and Cleo places hers on it. "Thank you for keeping up with my nagging and goosing on taking deep breaths." Cleo thanked, "Now I shall explain why. As I've told you, Mana is the source of all life and magic in Grastaea. Every inhabitant harnesses it to do their jobs. Crafting weapons, enchanting jewels, and especially developing your potential in battle. Even if there is only a fragment of Grastaea in this world, mana still flows within it. You've been breathing in that mana." "The mana you breathe stays in you. Sometimes it increases on its own." Ms M continued, "The things you did was mana supporting your physical strength - the mana INSIDE you." Flash froze, "Thanks to you, I have learnt that the humans of Equestria are capable of storing and harnessing mana without the use of the essences." Cleo concluded, "It also helps that you already have expertise in fighting so you know what to expend your mana for. If you ask me, learning to fight is the hard part." "So... what are you going to do now?" Flash asked with his eyes closed, "I will be taking a good amount of mana that we have collected and pour it into you. If you're still meditating, you'll find that you'll soon be staring at something else rather than the insides of your eyelids." Cleo answered, "Woah..." Adagio whispered to herself as she saw everything that unfurled, "Ah! I almost forgot! Why don't you come and witness it with us Adagio?" Ms M beckoned, "Oh!" Adagio jumped up, "If you insist. Sorry for eavesdropping!" "It's all fine. I was eavesdropping too," Ms M laughed, "No problem Adagio," Cleo smiled, "Now hold still Flash, it's going to get a little weird. Don't worry though... After this, you may be able to really work on that blue speck you had on your spear on Thursday." "Wh-Whooooaaahh!" Flash yelled at the top of his lungs. "This is my second gift!" Ms M declared, "I have asked Cleo to unbind and bring forth the power lying dormant within you. Within all Equestrians! From this point onwards, you can harness mana!!!" Brunhilda: The Crimson Teacher, Adventurer, Greatwyrm The End
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 2
"Hi Everyone!!! Welcome to Little Steps of a Secret Life! I'm Sweetie Belle, charming and easy-going guide of the wondrous world of Grastaea!!!" Sweetie greeted, facing her phone. "In this episode, I've got many wonderful friends to assist me. Teens and grown-ups, eager to dive into this enigmatic civilisation lost in time. Say hi you guys!!!" "Oy!" Rainbow Dash called out, "When were we a part of your little video? Rarity just invited us to come; pretty pumped about it too." "Of course I would!" Scootaloo nudged Rainbow, "I really wanted to see this place ever since Sweetie invited me! And is that a freaking volcano in the distance!? Is THIS the reason behind the Earthquake yesterday!?" "Better you don't share this with anyone else but the people around here Scoots," Flash laughed, "And don't worry Rainbow, just go with the flow. Feel free to make some colour commentary or jokes if you feel like it," "Whoever built this castle a fair distance away from the volcano certainly has no fear, and not to mention it's right next to a mountain that reaches the clouds! I still can't believe no one can see it outside this place. For a kind of magic that can't be traced by normal means or Equestrian Magic is certainly something!" Twilight's eyes scanned around, "Then you should listen very closely to when Sweetie's going to be talking about mana, Ms Twilight" Ms M, dressed in her teacher clothes, laughed. "Or I can give you an extra lesson!" "Ooh! Like the little pieces of bread?" Pinkie squealed, "Are we going to eat them after? I'd always like to try new things!!!" "Well, you two? This is the place Ah've been hangin' out in." Big McIntosh walked into view, followed by his two younger sisters. "Nothin' nerdy 'bout it." "Never said y'all were nerdy," Applejack responded, "But this definitely feels like the medieval fantasy times. Ah really like it!" "It's like the movies we watch at home." Applebloom laughed, "Are there any goblins or elves here?" "Well, we have Sylvans," Cleo nervously answered, "We tend to live in the forests and a majority of them often uses bows for combat. At the same time, other sylvans live in cities alongside humans, and carry out the same occupation." "Do you also happen to have other exotic animals?" Fluttershy prompted, "Aside from dragons of course." "That will be tricky. I've seen animals from Canterlot and the rest of the world perch here for a rest. It will take an animal expert to tell which is which. Although if you're willing to try, I can assist you." "It's great to see you again Adagio! You... haven't changed!" Sunset nervously struck a conversation, "Neither have you." Adagio glared back, "Hey look, I'm sure Rarity has told you that we're looking out for our school. Right?" "Since when was I thinking about the past?" Adagio snapped, "I'm just making sure you guys don't mess anything up in the Halidom." "I stand corrected. You have changed! At least, your priorities!" Sunset laughed in response, "Don't worry. Rarity told us everything. I'll be on my best behaviour, though... I'd be happy if you were our guide too!" "I knew you'd say that." Adagio groaned, "Sweetie blackmailed me into helping her, and Cleo said she'll be very happy to do so. She thinks it's a way for me to reconcile with my past." "And there you go!" Sweetie concluded, "Now without further ado, let's go!!!" The Interior Halidom "This is the throne room of New Alberia!" Sweetie presented. "As you can see, there's a little flair to this area without just looking like some generic long hall. First off, it's the ceiling that's rather far away!" The girls and guys on the tour look up and looked amazed. The throne room was about five stories tall, and the walls above their heads have a combination of small balconies and alcoves, with the alcoves having seats inside it. The throne itself was on an elevated position, with a very tiny flight of stairs and rails leading up to it. "The throne room looks like a theatre hall. It looks nice since you can fit many people in for a court hearing or whatnot." Flash described, "The throne room is used for many purposes. It's a place to set up festivals, social events, musical concerts, galas, anniversaries. We managed to fit a giant cake that I made by myself, and not to mention getting teapots to fly around and offer tea to anyone who feels like it." Cleo explained, "Your Prince seems to party a lot. What do you do normally?" Sunset asked, "From where I'm from, the princesses would always sit on their thrones with guards on their sides, probably heeding messages or doing administrations." "If Notte were here, she'd probably say that it's boring for Euden or any other royals to sit down, maybe even make a joke about the year," Cleo explained, "But as said, this room is made for many purposes; serious or casual." "I feel I would get along with this Notte!" Pinkie chimed in, "Does Eudie sit down all day, even for 'casual purposes'?" "No. He's quite an active person, he rarely sits on a throne. In fact, he doesn't hang out around here all the time. He'd go to the kitchen, the store, the tavern, any shared dorm, just like what we and all the people living in the Halidom do." Cleo continued, "We'd stand quite close in the throne room and talk about what's been going on in our lives..." She smiles and laughs, "... all while bobbing our heads from side to side..." "Ms Cleo?" Big Mac clicked his fingers, "Oh!" Cleo jumped, "My apologies. I was just at peace for a while there. Why don't we head off to the art gallery next?" "The art gallery!" Sweetie cheered, "The Halidom has a wonderful art collection; a trove of marvellous paintings composed of artists way before our time. Isn't it wonderful? Why don't we take a look and see what strikes the interest of my friends!" "The Davian Wetlands, Lakeside Euphony..." Fluttershy read some of the painting titles. "Aromatherapy? Old Harp? The--The Halidom's Picnic?" She giggled, "The artists certainly like to draw anything they feel like. And yet... It's really charming to see an artistic flair to everyday activities and life." "Hey! Check it out! Some pictures with the silver frames have you on it, Ms M!" Pinkie Pie pointed to another wall of paintings "Is that your close friend? She dresses rather scantily, but it shows that she's got a neat cup size! Did this take place at a cosplay cafe? What were the two you trying to dress up as? Also, I REALLY love your friend's dogs! They're so cute as they're eating and drinking! But uhh... Wouldn't that kill them?" "Glad to see you've got lots of questions Pinkie," Ms M laughed, "This is one of my fellow friends Cerberus, and her dogs Coco and Mimi. This painting was us in a Fireside Gathering. That's also what this painting is called by the way." "Cerberus?" Sunset perked up, "Huh. Is that her nickname?" "Oh no! That's her real name!" Ms M expanded, "She's a dragon," "That makes things even more complicated." Sunset peered closer, "Now that I take notice of her 'ears' and the dogs with her, I can certainly see why she's called Cerberus. However, the fact she's called a dragon puzzles me. I wouldn't call her an actual Cerberus either from where I'm from..." "Hmm..." Cleo strolled over, "I've heard little about where you come from thanks to Adagio. There are beings from both our words that seem to share the same name..." "These paintings tell a lot about the cultures of New Alberia. As you can see, they celebrate the same festivals as ours!" Sweetie pointed to yet another line of paintings, but this time with gold frames. "No kidding! This looks like you celebrating Hearth's Warming Eve!" Rarity pointed out, "And that's you down there Ms Cleo. I really like your Hearth's Warming Eve outfit! Did you make it yourself?" "Yes. I still have it here too!" "Aww..." Sweetie moaned, "But the way you positioned your arms covered up your belly button. Dang it!" "Fine, I'll tell everyone watching. My 'Hearth's Warming' Dragonyule costume does bear my midriff." Cleo rolls her eyes, "Yes!!!" Sweetie cheered, "Just because I rarely follow Sylvan fashion trends does not mean I'm not one of them," Cleo glared. "By the way, is the prince in any of these pictures?" Twilight asked, "On the same picture that Sweetie's looking at, he's the blond guy with a long cowlick, putting on that little crown made out of decorations," Flash answered, "Him???" Twilight took a close look, "His face looks too kind and compassionate, and he doesn't have that regal air around him. Also, it looks like he's wearing a hoodie." "That is what everyone said when they first met him, but appearances can be deceiving." Cleo responded, "He has the power to turn into any dragon that he makes a pact with, and he could share that power to others too." "Oh, that's really cool!" Rainbow, Applebloom and Scootaloo exclaimed, "But it's his kind and compassionate heart, with a tinge of justice, that even the shadiest character joined him and adapted their behaviour." "Ohhh..." "Hey, can I ask a question?" Rainbow pointed to a silver-framed painting of two women smiling together named 'Glittering Dragonyule', "Are they humans or dragons? It looks too real to be just cosplaying..." "Yep," Flash took a quick look and nodded, "They are dragons. The left one is new to me, but you're right to say that their 'cosplay' looks real; horns and long ears. The woman on the right, however, is Jeanne d'Arc again! Is she wearing more than just her armour?" "For the Dragonyule festival, or Hearth's Warming Eve as you call it. I made this costume on her and Mym's behalf," Cleo answered, "So even Dragons can get down to party!!! I like them already!" Pinkie growled, "Do you have any? Can we see them?" "So uh yeah... If you'd like, I can show you a few images in detail per episode if you like!" Sweetie announced, back onto her phone, The exterior of halidom: Castle Grounds "The group has split up to do their own sightseeing, so I'll just briefly go to the places and show them what's going on!" Sweetie gestured, "Let's go to the vegetable garden. This thing is so big and amazing as it can grow almost any vegetable regardless of the season! Can you believe that? Mangoes! Pineapples! Pumpkins! All fresh and ready when you need it! Let's overhear the three people see if they get anything!" "Well colour me surprised!" Applejack took off her hat, "Explains why yer able to grow so much produce to sell daily! Hats off to you Cleo, Ah can always hold a good and hard Chief cook and bottle washer in high regard!" "Taking care of the Halidom is my utmost duty ever since Alberius," Cleo spoke with dignity, "Though I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with 'bottle washing'." "Ah never asked this. How are you able to grow different seasonal plants?" Big Mac asked, "It's no secret. Just hard work and dedication. You till the garden and plant the seeds. Then you water them every day. Some grow fully in about 3-5 days. Others may take 2 weeks." "That's even more impressive, but that ain't answerin' the question." Applejack frowned, "What causes them to grow so fast, and protect them from the weather?" "So that's what you mean, my apologies. In that case, examine the soil for yourself." The two country siblings knelt and grabbed a small handful to feel. Sweetie joined in too, squeezing the soil between her palm and fingers. "The soil feels a little normal to the touch..." Applejack investigated, moulding the compost into a ball, "Not sandy, clumps together well. It's standard soil, except--" "I can feel somethin' flowin' through my body," Big Mac interrupted, "You too?" Applejack raised her head, "Yep! I feel it as well!" Sweetie chimed in. The soil was indeed as normal as Sweetie could remember from rubbing it. However, something else was rubbed into her skin and through her senses. It felt like ointment mixed with that earthy and minty sensation, yet it had no odour to come with. "Aside from having good soil bought from the garden centre, exposure to Mana adds more properties that drastically increases growth rate and crop quality, without any use of fertiliser. That being said, it will attract bugs more than often." Cleo explained, "Well, Ah declare..." Applejack laughed, "Ah like yer land!" "Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, "And with that note, let's head to the next part!" "What we have next is the Halidom's former main source of income and nourishment for dragons. The Rupie Mines and the Dragon Tree! These mines produce rupies, which is the currency used in their time. As you can tell from their choice of design, Grastaean civilisation really holds dragons in high regard!" Sweetie informed, She holds up one rupie. It was a tad bigger than the Equestrian bit, but not as thick. As mentioned, the head side was that of a dragon. "I wonder how much these rupies will go for," Twilight mused out loudly, "The minerals that come to make this coin actually has a decent price." "Sounds like we'll get rich either way!!! Say... You don't mind if Ms Cleo would let us have some?" Pinkie asked, "And over here is the Dragontree!" Sweetie gestures to a palm tree with a mix of green and red dragonfruit. "This fruit is part of a Dragon's nutritious diet and a way to extend their limits to their strength!" "Oh wow... I never knew there'd be so many variations! I've examined one for myself..." Fluttershy picked off a big succulent dragonfruit. The skin was bright with a brilliant red, with even white flowers growing on it. "But I can still tell how ripe and soft it is, despite being a fruit from a long time ago! I can see how the animals at the shelter are so fond of them. Now if only I had something to cut it in half... I'd be happy to try it for myself!" "And PSA," Sweetie whispered, "This nutritious energy applies only to dragons. Us humans wouldn't take their juices well. We'd probably die!" "Eep!" Fluttershy jumped, throwing the fruit into the sky, "Y-You should have told me that sooner!" "Excuse me?" Ms M walks into the camera's range, catching the falling dragonfruit, "Who says a dragonfruit is life-threatening to humans? Let me show you that it's safe to eat..." Holding the fruit with one hand, Ms M bites it clean in half with one snap of her jaw. "Here you go!" Ms M passes half of the fruit to Fluttershy while chewing up the half she bit off. Fluttershy stood astounded, so did Sweetie, dropping her phone along the way. "What's with the look? I told you it's not poisonous." Ms M encouraged after swallowing. "Granted, it may not give you strength as it would to dragons, but it's still delicious for all! Go on!" Fluttershy blinked a few more times, then accepted the fruit with slow hands, "Th-Thanks," She said. "Never mind what I said about Dragonfruits! Even humans can eat them! Moving on!" Sweetie nervously chuckled into her phone after picking it up. "Now this place will blow your mind... Behold the altars of the five elements!" Sweetie introduced, The five altars stood firm, with their respective orb floating in the air. Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at each of the orbs with open mouths and wide eyes. How rare is it to see an orb of all things float in the air, and with such mesmerising patterns within! "Flame, Water, Wind, Light, and Shadow..." Sweetie spoke in a mystical tone, "These are the distinct elements of mana that flows through everything that has life; Which I'll explain right after this tour! It is said that these altars are also able to bless and empower anyone who is attuned to their element in their own ways. The Flame ignites fighting spirit, the Water clears the mind, the Wind breathes great wisdom, the Light illuminates the soul, and the Shadow brings out hidden potential. Every person in Grastaea is attuned to one of the five elements, and they can use it to support their daily lives!" "Hey, Sweetie!!!" Applebloom called to her, "Do you know what element you're a part of?" "What? Uhh... what do you mean?" Sweetie turned around, "Since you were talking about how the elements can be a part of humans, I figured you'd have one attuned to you too!" Scootaloo reasoned, "Oh, really? About that..." Sweetie chuckled, "I should add another PSA. The entire elemental attuned thing? That's only seen with natives of Grastaea. As far as I know, it doesn't work with today's humans, we can't even use mana in the first place..." "Aww..." Scootaloo and Applebloom groaned. Behind one of the altars, someone was overhearing their conversation. "Today's humans can't use mana?" Rarity spoke to herself, "I find that... hard to believe... ever since the Volcano. Not to mention I'm feeling something from the Shadow Altar again..." Rarity knew that her thoughts wouldn't be enough, she needed some answers. "Before we end this small landmark tour, there's a pair of training dummies near the edge of the upper level of the castle. That's where the rest of my friends are!" "Hiya! Hah!" Rainbow Dash yells and laughs as she swings a sword around two training dummies mentioned by Sweetie. Sunset watched with a smile, and at a distance. "This is so awesome! I can wield a real sword here!" Rainbow Dash cheered, "Not every bit of it is fake. It feels, moves, and swings like a real sword back in medieval times!!!" "Be careful that you don't lose your grip!" Sunset spoke nicely, "It also hurts and cuts like the real thing!" "Girls?" Flash called from behind, Sweetie and the girls turned to see the blue-haired teenager march towards them with four weapons in his hands and arms, "Here's the rest of the weapons we have Sunset," Flash offloads them next to her; an axe, bow, wand and staff. Then Flash unhooked two weapons hanging on his belt buckle and adds them to the pile. Finally, he reached for his back and pulled out a lance, the last remaining weapon to join the pile. "Interesting," Sunset picks up the lance. Almost everything was made in iron, coloured in grey. There's a little surface between the pommel and the spearhead, most likely for better grip. "Wow, puts the lances back home to shame!" Sunset chuckled, "Then again, they never really seem to come in use..." "I don't know what you mean by 'back home', but these are the most standard-issue weapons that the New Alberian army uses. However, there are much stronger weapons that can only be built by dedicated blacksmiths." "Like the one you still have on your back?" Sunset points out to the Strong Halberd, "Mmm-hmm. Ms Cleo said weapons like these are rare to find hanging about, and thus soldiers turn to blacksmiths for crafting new weapons. What's more, is that these weapons can be upgraded even further." "I thought you'd be using the sword Ms Cleo gave you," "Two things." Flash hesitated, "One, I'm more experienced with long two-handed weapons. Two, a weapon like Euden's carries a special meaning to it. I only feel right using it if I asked for his... well... if I could see clearly what he could." CLANG! A spinning soldier's brand passes through Flash's hair and collides with the Halberd behind him, ricocheting into the air. Flash catches it. "Oops! Lost my grip there!" Rainbow rushes over with a laugh, "Sorry about that! Almost took your hair off!" "Not almost, Rainbow..." Flash passed the sword back to Rainbow, smiling with his eyes closed, "You did," The upper half of Flash's hair fell into pieces. All of his spiky strands had been sliced right off, leaving behind a flat top for his hair. Rainbow's face went pale instantly. "Oh My Goddess. I am so sorry! I-I didn't mean to give you a shoddy haircut!" "You wanted to cut my hair in the first place?" Flash innocently tilted his head, "That's very kind of you! But I must agree with you. For the hairdo of a family man, it is rather shoddy. What say I give you a few--" Flash takes the halberd and arms himself in full view. "--pointers for next time?" "I said I'm sorryyyyyyy!!!" Rainbow yelled and takes off. "Ha ha ha!" Flash cheerfully gave pursuit, "I'm only kidding! I know you didn't mean to do it on purpose! I really don't mind! I forgive you!" "Well..." Sunset blinked, "That's a new side of Flash. Sort of... but... It's kinda funny seeing him like this." "For some reason," Sweetie nudged, "I feel like agreeing with you!" Mana: The life-source of Grastaea. "Alright! Here you'll find probably one of the most awesome things that you have never seen anywhere in the land, until today! Mana! As I mentioned earlier, mana is capable of supporting many things in everyday Grastean life. Today, however, we'll be looking at how Mana brings out one's martial and magical abilities! Now I've brought some new people you may not have met. Please come forward!!!" Rarity and Adagio walked into the camera, dressed and essenced as Estelle and Francesca respectively. "These two young women are fighters from the Grastean era, two shining examples of using Mana! This one Estelle. She's a preacher of the Church of Ilia. That's the main religion in Grastaea by the way. Estelle lends her aid in battle as a healer, as that open hand on a stick she wields is her staff! Converting her mana into healing energy isn't the only thing she can use it for. She can also turn part of it into various damaging projectiles. If you'd like!" Estelle took a deep breath and swishes her staff. Every swish launches an orb that sails slowly through the air and fizzles away after travelling a few metres forward. Then Estelle closes her eyes and grips her staff. With a loud war cry, Estelle thrusts her staff and launches the yellow piercing beam. All the spectators clapped earnestly at the show, though most are capable of doing things better, it was still something that excites them greatly. Francesca was next to show her strength. With the Bejeweled Dagger in hand, she performs multiple stabs and slices in less than 5 seconds, a wonderful display of her dexterity; which was something rare to the girls watching. "Now, each of these adventurers has access to certain techniques that can only be unleashed in the heat of battle. It uses a great amount of mana and the element they are attuned to," "If I may come in," Ms M spoke, "These sorts of techniques are known as skills, and I cannot stress to you how powerful they are. Whether they can harm like Francesca's, or heal like Estelle's, whenever they unleash a skill, an invisible veil of mana would envelop them. This veil will make them intangible, and will deflect, nullify or 'phase' over any physical or magical threat until the skill has been completed." "I didn't know that!" Estelle and Francesca spoke in unison. "Become invincible by being weeby? That's so overpowering, and sneaky! I like it!" Pinkie laughed, "I'm... Not sure what you mean by that Pinkie. However, I can say that this veil is not invincible. Many enemies have found ways to break that invisible and intangible veil," Ms M warned, "Be very careful!" "Hey umm... May I say something?" Flash raised a hand, "Yes?" Sweetie and Ms M spoke in unison, "Do you really think it's impossible for humans, of this era, to use mana?" "As far as I know, yes." Sweetie spoke, "Really?" Flash stands up, "May I try?" Everyone looked at him, "Go ahead," Cleo gestured with a hidden smirk on her face, "Having a go is essential!" Ms M gave a thumbs up, winking at Flash. "Okay then..." Flash took a deep breath, "Haaah--" The mystery behind the adventurers' current existence: Essences "Okay, watchers! We're back inside the Halidom. Now what we have here is something extremely top-secret... If you're wondering how people like Estelle and Francesca made it to this day and age, it's because... well... It's hard to not sound frank or blunt, but they have passed away over the many long years." "Let me take over for this one," Ms M walked up, "All of these adventurers have left behind a great deal of legacy, history, and memory to the Kingdom of New Alberia and the Prince. There is a secret place in the Halidom that is able to summon these adventurers and their power - we call them 'essences'. These essences contain everything from their body, their strength, their knowledge, their wisdom. If a human puts an essence into his or her heart, the human would turn into the adventurer with its powers! Like with many things. The more someone walks around in that essence, the memories, skills, and whatnot can be shared with them." "So for example, say if there was an adventurer who's an expert in archery. If I keep walking around in their shoes, I could become an expert archer myself!" "When you put it that way, yes." Ms M nodded, "But you've got limits in your original body. Even if you remember how to use bows and arrows, will you be strong enough to carry a bow let alone fire with it?" "Ah, I see your point." "Now. We're going to this secret place to acquire more essences. Believe it or not, we can't film or take a picture in there at all. Not out of respect, we literally can't." Ms M instructed, "So I'm going to go there and summon them myself! Is it okay if you can wait for a while, Sweetie?" "Ooh! Ooh! I can't wait to see what you pull out! I wonder who's the lucky adventurer we pick?" Sweetie squealed with excitement, "Adventurer? As in just one?" Ms M raised an eyebrow, "How about I bring back TEN?" "Wait... You have enough Wyrmite for ten summons!?" Sweetie gasped, "Even better! I have this!" Ms M pulls out her wallet and takes out a red and gold ticket with the face of a pink-haired faerie and the number ten to show the camera. "This is a tenfold summon voucher. Give it to the summoning lady and she'll summon ten things without even needing to pay a single wyrmite!" "Oh, that is so amazing!!!" "Alright! After that cut, Ms M's come back from the summoning pool, and I've brought along someone who's well versed on the adventurers living in the castle!" "Glad to be of help!" Flat top Flash pointed at the camera with a wink, "Don't do that," Ms M shook her head, "Ms M? If you please show us the results..." Sweetie gestured, "There's no special orb. But this should be a welcome result!" Mym held out a silver tray with ten items. There were. 2 Silver Pactstones 1 Gold Pactstone 4 Blue orbs 2 Gold orbs And a small bowl of water. "Sadly, we can't use the pactstones as of now," Ms M responded, "But don't worry, we can always break these things down into Eldwater! Which is what this bowl contains. But what we're interested are the orbs... Do your thing Flash!" Flash walks forward and gave held one of the orbs in his hands. After a second of guessing and thinking, he nods and goes to the next one. "Okay then," Flash responded, "Pick an essence, I'll take you to the room of who it belongs to." "I'll choose this one!" Sweetie points at one of the gold orbs, "Very well then, follow me." "The adventurer you picked is the Mercurial Lancer, Aeleen." Flash entered a room full of gardening tools, medicinal herbs and equipment, armour, and a winged helmet on the bed. "A lance user attuned to the wind, she is a knight who's extremely skilled with her weapon, although she has a fear when it comes to fighting." He showed Aeleen's biography picture to the two girls, then to the camera. "Why is it that she'd be scared when she can fight?" Sweetie asked, "It's more of a fear in herself," Flash continued, "It is said that in the heat of battle or if she feels hostile, her personality... changes. She becomes a bit bloodthirsty, compared to her kind and mild-manner self. She's been helping Ms Cleo with the garden, although said bloodlust would come forth when she finds bugs in the crops." "Ooh, that must have been a hard time for Ms Cleo." "Her bio says she also a nurse," Flash continued, "It would explain the medical equipment, but she also brings that expertise to battle. She carries a staff, and for some intriguing reason her elemental attunement is water instead of wind." "..." Sweetie looked at Flash funny, "... I know what you mean," Flash nodded, "How can someone with such a personality shift be able to make it as a nurse? Well, Aeleen was still a kind woman at heart, and it says that she has handled it quite well." "Alright then, next one!" Sweetie points to a blue orb this time, "You picked Zardin, the Hopeless Narcissist," Flash introduced, "Oh Goodness! What is that smell!?" Sweetie held her nose, "That sort of cologne is too much!!!" "He has two jobs. Knight and Beautician." Flash coughed amidst the musky swamp, "As a knight, he's a sword-wielder attuned to water, and carries a mirror for vain purposes wherever he goes. He also fights as a beautician, attuned to light and wielding a blade. For him, beauty is everything. Spill anything on him, mess his hair, or touch his face, and he'll pull away to fix himself before coming back into the fray, with a newfound grudge against whoever did him dirty." "What's a beautician?" Sweetie asked, "The person giving beauty treatments. It can include facials, nail painting, plastic surgery, those sorts of things." Ms M responded, "Well, that explains everything!" Sweetie choked, "I can't take it in this room anymore. The place does look elegant and beautiful, but it smells so good that it's bad! Let's leave!" "This is Alain's room." Flash continued, "Mocked as Captain Craven, Alain was a former military advisor-turned-fighter. His specialty is the strategy and management of falling back. He fights with a lance, and uses flame mana." "Running away huh?" Sweetie looked around. The room was full of tools, items, traps, and maps. "I'm not a fan of 'retreating', but he definitely does come prepared." "Retreat is probably one of the most important things to consider." Flash turned around with a smile, "Have you ever heard of 'live to fight another day'? If people don't want any trouble, then their instinct is to run." "Chill Flash. It's just my opinion. Okay?" "Okay. But I'd like to see if you'd stick to it in the face of danger," Flash chuckled, "Would you send a couple of your friends knowing that they may get injured or perish unless they don't get pulled out?" "Wow, Rainbow was right. You really do retaliate." "You must be aware when lives are at stake." Flash spoke, "Even your own. Otherwise, you'll regret it, just like the time I got clawed in the chest." "And yet you still want to fight them?" "With everything in my body." Flash nodded, taking a deep breath, "And I'd be more than happy to show you that I can." "Okay then, Flash," Sweetie interrupted, "We can talk about that after we finish recording. With everyone." "Okay," Flash relaxed, "This will be fun..." Ms M smirked, "I take it you know what happened too, Ms M?" Sweetie turned around, "I do," Ms M nodded, "Here's Vida!" Flash opened the door, "Wow..." Sweetie blinked. The room was filled with lockpicks and knives, placed in an organised manner, all thanks to Cleo no less, "Is she some sort of psychopath addicted with knives? I feel like I'm looking at the Jester's room here!" "Vida is an amateur thief and an expert in lockpicking. Admittedly, she is called the Knife Fanatic." Flash stated bluntly, "She wants to find the legendary knife or dagger in this case; it's a pity that she never found it before her passing. The collection of knives are obvious in that she uses a dagger to fight, sprinkled with the mana of shadow. In this case, she's very much motivated by legends, biographies and tales. Her main ambition in life is to become a legend like the tales she reads," "It sounds like someone I know..." Sweetie places her chin between her thumb and index finger, "Rainbow Dash?" Ms M answered, "I can see that..." "Oh yeah, you're right!" "Here, we have Nicolas," Flash showed the biography image to the camera, "They call him 'The Walking Encyclopedia'." "Twilight would love this place," Ms M laughed, "It's a haven for her!" "No kidding," Sweetie looked up, "This guy needs to use a ladder in his own bedroom just to get his books!" "He's a high-ranking student of the Caldia Magic Academy... Well, what do you know? There are schools in Grastaea. Again, very obvious, he uses magic via a wand, and given the colour of his clothes and the bio, he's one with the wind like Aeleen," Flash reads, "Now that I mention it," Ms M pondered, "Nicolas is really similar to Twilight as well! I know that any subject that fancies their eye becomes a borderline obsession for study." "I wouldn't put it that far," Flash mellowed, "If she did, she'd be spending less time with the girls, and more like what happened before the Friendship Games. Actually Ms M, were you there for the Friendship Games?" "I started teaching here after the games, but before a majority of the students, and the Principal and Vice-Principal left for Camp Everfree." "However, he does have his reasons for working so hard. And that's because he has a desire to learn magic, but never had the natural talent for it. Staying in the Halidom, he found that living and fighting alongside the prince and the rest of the crew would inch him ever closer to his goal of showing that magic can be learned by anyone, more than just staying cooped up in the library." "Wow, so he really is like our Twilight!" Sweetie smiled, "That's cute!" "So then," Ms M placed Nicolas' essence onto his desk, "We've got the last golden essence. May you show us the way Flash?" "Oh, I think it would be a bigger surprise if he was there at the same time." Flash smiled, "Eh?" Big Mac turns to the sound of an opening door, "What a coincidence Big Mac!" Flash raised his arms in joy, "To think you'd be here at the same time!" "What's up?" Big Mac asked when he saw Flash, Sweetie and Ms M come in, "We've acquired the essence of the man who's baton you're holding!" Ms M answered, "And obviously, the one who lives in this room," "Vixel?" Big Mac smiled, "Nice. Think Ah'd get a chance to take the field usin' him?" "If you want to!" Ms M shrugged, "Tell you what, since you've been given the gift, why don't you read out his bio for us?" Flash offered, "Everything? Then Ah'd be readin' 'til the cows come home!" Big Mac protested, "Then just briefly state what Vixel's about. Element, Weapon, small description and history," Sweetie instructed, "'Kay then," Big Mac nodded, "Mind if Ah do it... fancily?" "Knock yourself out!" The three replied. Big Mac clears his throat, takes a deep breath, and spoke in a very refined and mature tone, taking out that accent. "Vixel is a conductor who's led various choirs and orchestras. Though he does have a rather... troubled past." Big Mac informed, "Additionally, he also plays the violin and piano as an accompaniment. His recent appearance was with the Harmonia Choir, a Choir he joined as a child. Ever since the Prince helped the Harmonia Choir through a dangerous incident, he became a part of New Alberia's allies." Big Mac takes a deep breath, then continues. "The Musical Maestro offers his staff, healing power, and the mana of light to the battle. In other words, he's quite similar to the likes of Estelle." Big Mac closes the bio, "How's that for an introduction?" Big Mac asked, returning to his usual voice. "Wow..." Sweetie blinked, "That voice was like buttered toast!" "Oh my..." Ms M blushed, "I knew you were a part of the Pony Tones, but I never knew you had a way with voices. If you're trying to make me swoon, it's working." "It's no biggie," Big Mac chuckled, "By the way, why did you end up with a bowl of Eldwater from the summoning?" Sweetie asked, "Any duplicate essence of an adventurer will turn into Eldwater." Ms M answered, "As such, the essence that got replaced is an essence that we already have." "Ahh..." The three teens nodded, "Say, do you have another of those tenfold vouchers?" Sweetie asked, "It's the only one I have on me, they don't grow on trees." Ms M frowned, "At least not in this time of the year." And that marked the end of the episode. The girls and guys pass around Sweetie's phone, wondering what Sweetie had recorded. "It's more like a vlog in the beginning, and it only becomes a presentation when you talk about mana and those essences..." Rarity replied, "Then again, I really can't judge which is better since this video skit is not a part of your assessments anymore." "I'll keep on experimenting," Sweetie replied, "If that's alright with you," "Hey Sweetie, can you please cut out the part where I accidentally lopped Flash's hair off?" Rainbow nervously requested, "I insist you keep it!" Flash laughed, "Forgiveness without forgetting is actually a better thing than forgiving and forgetting. Of course, it's not supposed to keep a grudge, but it does prevent a friendship from making the same mistakes." "Besides, not everyone is cool all the time," Applejack laughed, "Ah think it's better that you have yer clumsy moments! It's what we like about you!" "Oh, that's comforting..." Rainbow grumbled, "Ooh! Speaking of looking clumsy. Why don't you give the Vida essence a try Rainbow?" Pinkie suggested, "And you can try Nicolas' Twily!" "Uhh..." The two girls blushed, "I'd... rather not." Twilight declined, "I'd be wearing someone else's skin, and that's absolutely disgusting. So hard pass!" Rainbow declared, "No offence Adagio and Rarity." "Huh, I actually never thought of it that way." Rarity lightened up, "Me too," Adagio agreed, "But I don't think I mind it so much anymore." "To be honest, neither do I!" Rarity winked, "Maybe--it's--the fact that you had to wear them--*gulp*-- to fight back those fiends you've been talking about," Fluttershy suggested while eating the half dragonfruit. "Ms Cleo," Sunset asked, "Is it okay if you'd allow me to come here often? I'd like to learn more about Grastaea." "I'd like to too! It too interesting to pass up such an opportunity," Twilight added, "You are more than welcome," Cleo smiled, "But it would be nice if you do occasionally come for a cup of Honey Tea for a break. I'm happy to talk too!" "Can I join in as well?" Apple Bloom raised her hand, "Now that I've been here, I really feel like coming here more now too!" "As long as it doesn't interrupt your studies now and then," Ms M laughed, "I'm glad you've all enjoyed your time here!" Sweetie thanked, "So uh... I'd like to move onto something important... Flash?" Everyone turned to the teenage boy, "If it's about you deleting the part of me attempting to power up, I'm over it." Flash chuckled, "No Flash. That's exactly what I want to talk to you about, no jokes." Sweetie stared intently, "... I'm listening," Flash nodded, "Do you know the reason why I cut that part out?" "You said that humans in this day and age are unable to harness mana." Flash answered, "But in this case, what I just did disproves that." "Flashy can use mana now!" Scootaloo nudged, "It's basically borderline magic! Cool right?" "You told Scoots 'bout this?" Big Mac asked, "Instead of us?" "Scootaloo is the first person I'd share my secrets to, but I haven't told Mum and Dad," Flash answered, "But since you're all here, I can tell you. After the trip to the volcano, I wanted to go back to the Halidom instead of home to settle an issue. Once that was done, Ms M and Ms Cleo said I was ready. They helped me dig deep into my heart, and unbound the lowest part of the mana circle. You know what I'm talking about right, you two?" Adagio and Rarity nodded, "I feel really light and fast, and I can control a spark within my body." Flash responded, "But I decided to do some 'meditation' before going back home. I've extended some limits of my strength and endurance, learn how to Force Strike with Lances and... I even got my own skill." "Is it related to that blue speck?" Sweetie asked, "Oh yeah," Flash winked, "But it's no longer a speck. The energy stored from sliding the lance on the ground can envelop the entire thing. Then I aim the lance at a particular target and bang. It fires a high-speed cannonball made of lightning that can pierce through even the toughest of fiends. I dub it 'Lance Cannon' and tried it out in the forest." "Lance Cannon? Sounds... dangerous. Kudos for the name!" Rainbow gave a thumbs up. "So you're using a lance." Sunset places a finger to her lips and spoke quietly, "It's like your pony self," "So which element do you belong to?" Applejack asked, "Take a vote. Raise your hand if you think its flame," Flash instructed, "Just tell us Flash," Sweetie frowned, "It's light," Flash revealed. "Called it!" Sweetie and Scootaloo yelled at the same time, "I was leaning on light too by the way," Fluttershy added, "Huh... I was thinking of fire," Rainbow mentioned, "Flame," Cleo corrected, "Same thing," Rainbow shrugged, "But it doesn't end with Flash," Ms M spoke, "Though most of you haven't had any experience in fighting, you've also been taking in mana through all the times you've visited. Adagio? Since you've been here the longest, you should be able to use mana if you put your mind to it, instead of relying on Francesca's body." "Huh..." Adagio stood straight, "Big McIntosh, Sweetie Belle, you've breathed in enough mana for it to affect you. In fact, you've been protected by it recently, Sweetie Belle. Can you remember?" "I do!" Rarity jumped up, "You could still move when Big Mac couldn't! If it was because of mana, then I know how it protected you, my dear little sister. You're attuned to water!" Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gasped, "I-I can use mana already?" Sweetie stammered, stroking a particular part of her cheek. "As far as I can see, it's only been used as an emergency barrier for flame attacks," Ms M corrected, "Wait... Does that mean I can too?" Rarity asked, "But of course!" Ms M turns around, "You've been in New Alberia for as long as your younger sister has! If you wish to work on it, you can easily possess another form of magic!" "Holy hay..." Rainbow hooted, "Major revelation!" "Two magic powers at once..." Sunset repeated, "Equestrian magic and Grastaean magic. And in the human dimension no less!" The four teenagers look at each other. By casually visiting an old enemy trying to reform, the land of Grastaea bestowed to them the gift that all Grastaeans have. Just what are they going to do now? Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 2 The End? Next chapter: A Fighter in Pain
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
A Fighter in Pain
Ever since the revelation, the four CHS students were spacing out when they got back home. They said not a single word as they ate save 'thank you' and 'goodnight' and continued like this next morning when they went back to school on Monday. "You four seem to be hung up about what happened." Sunset confronted them at recess, "Why is that?" "I'm not hung up," Flash defended, "But it will take some time getting used to. And well... Okay, I'm sort of hung up. I still haven't told mum and dad the truth about going out every weekend, let alone the mana thing." "Same here." Sweetie raised her hand, "After giving it some thought, I still can't feel any of that water mana around me now." "Whole lotta heavy reflecting," Big Mac answered, testing his grip, "It's one big surprise after 'nother. Castle in the mist, different human-like races that age older than we do, usin' the power of former heroes, then realisin' we're capable of usin' the same power they do." "And what's so wrong about that?" Ms M approached, followed by Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack, "Whilst the three of you I understand, I don't see how this should come as a shock to you, Rarity." "What do you mean?" Rarity responded, "Pinkie has told me all about what happened when you first experienced magic. What happened with Adagio and the Dazzlings, what happened at Camp Everfree, and how you were able to make Sunset and Twilight see a brighter path together. If you want my opinion, I think our mana magic is far tame compared to yours." She scoffed, "'Ponying up'? And I thought humans and sylvans shapeshifting into dragons was crazy enough." "Nuh-uh! Turning into dragons are way cooler!!!" Rainbow Dash disagreed, "Though Flutters and I do get to fly when we pony up since we also have wings!!!" "It's not that we think it's a burden," Rarity explained, "It's just us making sure we're a bit more conscious about how we act. At least for me." "Well, that's what Ms M and Ms Cleo are here for." Twilight jumped in, "I'm no expert in Grastaea's power, but those two surely are. In fact, it's wonderful that we have one of their famous dragons as a teacher. She's a trustworthy one. Right?" "Yeah! And besides, magic is magic!" Pinkie jumped up and down, "If you don't want to harm anyone, I'm sure your new mana powers won't do that! You do have it in control... do you?" The girls and guys looked to Big Mac and Rarity. The reluctant ones exchanged a few glances, then nodded with a smile. "Alright, we'll be okay then." "You don't have to worry about anything you two..." Ms M continued the explanation, "Flash here only just received a big amount of mana. But it was also thanks to his current fighting skills that he's now capable of fighting fiends. You need both to actually deal damage with mana. As of now, I can sense your mana to be a subtle barrier." "Speaking about Mana," Sweetie turns to Flash, "What was it like meditating?" "Well..." Flash pondered, "Wh-Whooooaaahh!" For a brief moment, Flash felt Cleo's hand slip away, only to be followed by his seat. Next thing he knew was that he was falling at frightening speeds. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he wasn't in the Halidom anymore. Rather, he was in black and empty space, falling into a bottomless abyss. "This is my second gift! I have asked Cleo to unbind and bring forth the power lying dormant within you. Within all Equestrians! From this point onwards, you can harness mana!!!" The voice of Ms M stopped Flash in his freefall, with some invisible air holding him up. Then he was whisked sideways, then upwards, then downwards again, and then to the side. This force was throwing him in all directions without caring for gravity like a ragdoll getting pulled around by a rollercoaster. Falling sideways once again, Flash spotted a circle of light getting bigger and bigger; he's heading towards that thing at full speed. The spiky-haired boy closed his eyes as the light of the tunnel engulfed him whole. When he opened his eyes, he found himself floating in the middle of yet another bottomless space. What was different was that there were so many clouds circling him, with a night sky filled with various stars shining or flying beyond that. Above him, there were countless feathers of light descending slowly, dancing as they pass through or around him, towards the vast skies below. "What is this place?" Flash spoke. His voice, though quiet, echoes loudly across the vast space. "Am I tripping?" "You've arrived, good. Now... can you spot a column of large floating circles?" That was Cleo's voice. "Uh... Yeah! It's just a few metres below me!" "Make your way towards it. Use your mind to navigate your body." Cleo instructed, Giving it a test, he was amazed! To move with your mind, the more you think about what direction you want to go to, the faster you fly! Flash couldn't help but have fun now that he's got a grip. "Hey, do you want to get stronger or not? Go to the circles now!" "Okay..." Flash pouted and flew to his destinations. There were five large floating circles, each floating above another. The circles were black in colour, and each had crystals of different colours and shapes attached to it, each having a faint but present light glowing in its core. Between each floating ring was a statue, who also had a light glowing in its core like the crystals. "What am I seeing here?" "These are the mana circles." Cleo introduced, "Specifically, YOUR mana circles! Everyone in Grastaea has one deep within their heart and soul. Should anyone choose to fight using mana alongside their physical skills, this comes to play. You can say that mana can be improved and controlled by one's willpower." "How does it work?" "Right now, you can see that the circles are really dark and dim. That's because they are bound. Everyone new to fighting with mana starts off like that. What you want to do is unbind them, that's what I'm transmitting mana to you for. I'm going to do that now..." A massive surge of light green energy burrowed through the clouds and danced around the mana circles. "Now Flash, you can control the mana that just flew in. Use your mind to direct them towards the bottom-most circle." "Hrah!" Without any other question, Flash grunted and focused, sending the green dancing motes straight to its target. The green lights burrow into the circle and turned it green. Flash could hear a hum from the circles, increasing in pitch. Then all of a sudden, a large shattering sound occurs, with the green circle breaking apart like glass. A much thinner circle remains from the shattering, but it looked brighter than before, and the small intricate patterns of the circle could be seen more clearly. "I can tell from your expression that you've successfully unbound your first mana circle. Now, I'm going to send in another helping of mana, and I want you to fill those nodes. They're the crystals you see down there." "So that's what you mean by nodes back when Rarity was meditating as Estelle. Is there a specific rule according to what type of 'node' I put it in?" "The green node shaped as ovals wrapping around a heart extends your health and makes defeating you hard. The red node shaped like the blade of a sword enhances your strength and thus your power overall. The purple crown that nestles a circle and a thorn reveal a hidden ability or skill that existed when you were born. The blue-coloured book that you see every day works either red or green in a personal and anecdotal way." "Nice rhyming." Flash chuckled, "Thank you. Now here comes the mana. Use it to fill the nodes." "Righty-o. Three purple nodes, four green nodes, two red nodes, and the blue node which seems to fill the purpose of a red one," Flash examined, "You know what? I'll sweep the board! Ha!" Flash waves a hand, and the mana splits apart and flies into each and every node and lighting each and every one of them up. "Alright, you're done here. Leave the place." "How?" "Use your mind." Cleo sighed, "Give it some thought..." "Hrrr... wooah!!!" Flash felt a big grip around his body which pulls him away from the circles and into the clouds. That's when he woke up. "That was a crazy ride. If you said I was on a psychedelic trip, I'd believe you!" "Mana is not a drug, Flash. You will do well to remember that," Cleo glared. "So is that what you felt like when you were doing your meditating?" Flash asked, "Right down to the same atmosphere!" Rarity agreed, "Probably because both of you share the element of light!" "When I woke up, I had really weird feelings around my body and mind, as if I've learned something new and it is burning comfortably into my senses and muscles. How should I relate to it? Like feeling the pain after anesthesia wore out, except its not pain, but 'enlightenment'." "I get it!" Rainbow raised a hand, "I know what it feels like before and after surgery!" "Then let's pray we never find out what it's like. Okay?" Rarity asked, "I can't imagine the pain people would go through!" Nothing else interesting happened in school today, so everyone went back home, though Flash decided to break the ice on what happened; to the most important people in his life. "Mum? Dad?" Flash announced over the dinner table, "There's something I need to tell you." "Interesting. You never really discuss with us about something serious." Mr Sentry mused while munching on some lasagne. "Hmm..." Mrs Sentry spoke, "Is it related to you going to the park every day?" "Yes." Silence filled the air. Mr Sentry and Mrs Sentry put down their cutlery and swallowed. Scootaloo (who was invited over) did the same but was unsure and a little afraid in the sudden change of atmosphere. "Explain," Mr Sentry ordered in a stern tone. "We won't assume." "The park that I go to with my new set of friends almost every weekend isn't just some ordinary get together and hang out. Within that park is a secret which only me and those friends know." "Who are your friends?" Mr Sentry prompted. Flash took a big swig of his water and spoke. "Honest CHS students. Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Big McIntosh," "Yes, I recognise their names." Mrs Sentry nodded, "I believe you are friends with Sweetie Belle aren't you Scoots?" "Mmm-hmm!" Scootaloo nodded, "Then do YOU know about the park's secret as well?" Mr Sentry turned his head, "Y-Yes, sir!" Scootaloo sat up straight, shivering and shaking. "Honey, stop pressing her! This isn't the courtroom!" Mrs Sentry gripped her husband's shoulder. "Pardon me..." Mr Sentry coughed and adjusted his throat and tone, "When did she tell you?" "Actually Flash told me about it two weeks ago. And Rarity told her friends too." "Flash..." Mr Sentry crossed his arms with yet another serious look. Mrs Sentry gave a worried look again. "Believe me, I would tell you. But..." "What doubt do you have in us that would prevent you from telling the truth?" Mr Sentry spoke sharply, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you!" Flash blurted out, "At least not without evidence." "And yet you blame me for treating the house like a courtroom?" Mr Sentry raised an eyebrow, quickly changing to a jesting tone. "So that means you've gotten evidence about this secret spot in the park?" The mum continues the questions, ignoring her husband. "A few photos, and something else." Flash pulled out his phone, "Here..." The parents gazed through the photos of the Halidom, Rovetelle Forest, and a long shot of Mount Adolla. "Interesting..." Mr Sentry spoke, "Is this the volcano responsible for the earthquake a week ago?" "Yes," Flash nodded without hesitation. "But that's not all. I'd like to present more information about this secret." "Please do," "The secret place you see right now is the remnants of an era not inscribed in our history. The castle you see here contains records that define the civilisation living in that era from cultures, political systems, beliefs, and most importantly the source behind it all. This civilisation has discovered something called mana. It is defined by them as the source of all life and magic. Almost everyone is capable of storing mana in their bodies and controlling it as part of their everyday lives." "Give a few examples," "Farming, the ability to use magic, and fighting. Mana can be harnessed in five different forms, which are the elements of this world. Fire, Water, Wind, Light, and Shadow. Everyone is attuned to an element, though there are people that can use mana that does not correspond to their own element." "Sounds like a video game, if you pardon my bluntness." Mr Sentry scoffed, "But regardless, can you please tell me how you intend to claim all this history as real?" "I present myself," Flash boldly answered, "What!?" Mr Sentry raises his brows, "Flashy?" Mrs Sentry got startled. Scootaloo said nothing, but she was sitting on the edge of her seat. "Whilst the civilisation no longer exists, the mana they harness is still here, confined within this secret area. And..." Flash pulled himself back and stood up, "... it turns out I can harness it too. Would you like to see?" "Dear..." Mrs Sentry looked shaken, "You should have told us this from the beginning!" Mr Sentry blinked, but he showed no signs of fear or worry, "Then show us what you can do with this 'mana'." Mr Sentry accepted, "But if you break anything, you're going to pay for it." "I won't break anything Dad. I promise." Flash nodded. He took a deep breath and held it in, "Haaaa... Haaaa!!!" On Tuesday, Flash was nowhere to be seen at school. He wasn't present at his usual spot, and he wasn't hanging out with his usual friends. To the students who ventured into New Alberia, it came as a worry. "Scoots, is Flash feeling sick?" Sweetie approached her best friend, "Huh? No! He's fine! I was invited to his house for dinner yesterday, and he wasn't under the weather at all! Well... except for the fact that he... you know, I think you should get your sister and Big Mac for this conversation too." "He told his parents about Grastaea!?!?" Rarity yelled, "Woah! Calm down Rarity!" Scootaloo pacified, "That's just who he is. Did he not tell you last week when we were doing Sweetie's project? He'd tell me and you guys first before his parents!" "But that would lead to him being banned from going out there again. They'd even chase us down!" "No no no! Mr and Mrs Sentry isn't like that! They're more... open about the situation, and aware of what Flash can do. And we've all seen that, right?" The other three exchanged nervous glances and nodded, "So..." Big Mac jumped in, "What was their judgement?" "Just a few stern words and lectures from dad." Flash chimed in out of nowhere, "Woah!" Sweetie, Rarity and Big Mac jumped, "Can you not appear out of nowhere?" Sweetie snapped, "And where in Equestria have you been this morning?" "Clinic. I was feeling a little under the weather when I woke up, so mum whisked me there for a quick check-up. It was just exhaustion and a little overworked. So they prescribed me a small tonic to take after every meal, which I did after a quick breakfast. Sad to say, it was not serious for me to be taken out of school for today, so I came back during recess. I bumped into Applebloom, and she told me you were looking for me." "Okay," Sweetie shrugged, "But you got to admit, Mum seemed awfully calm and easy-going about all this." "Mrs Sentry's always calm and easy-going if it's around you, Mr Sentry, and my mum and dad!" Scootaloo argued, "Still, for her to say that it's really similar to 'Chi', you'd think she'd be a little worried!" Flash laughed, "... What?" Big Mac, Sweetie and Rarity looked astonished, "Flash showed them the same thing he did to us regarding mana." Scootaloo explained, "And the first thing Mrs Sentry did was look relieved. Scratch that, she looked really excited. She said, 'Wow! It's just like what I do in my Tai Chi classes regarding Chi. But this one exists!'" Big Mac, Rarity and Sweetie Belle released a suppressed laugh. "I think your mom's more simple-minded than easy-going Flash," Sweetie smirked, "Take that back," Flash and Scootaloo rebuked, giving her a vengeful stare. "W-Woah!!!" Sweetie held out her hands in defence, "It's a joke! It's a joke!" "Sorry," Flash shook it off, "I'll just say my mum looks out for everyone and trusts them so. End of story. But yeah, Dad's completely fine with what I got, and he believes me too. His stern word for me was to keep a tight cap on my mana. If I can't I have to make it so." "Wow. Your parents sound pretty strict yet calm about this. I know our mum would lose her mind and panic!" Rarity complimented, "That being said, I never told them about Cleo or Ms M. Or the fact that we're doing actual fighting over there too." "Ah... speakin' bout Ms M. She came to me after class, told us to meet in the Halidom after school. Something important." "Sure! We can head there!" Flash smiled, "Hmm..." Sweetie took a gander at Flash. Something about his behaviour today bothers her but she doesn't know what. "Sweetie Belle, why are you looking at Flash?" Scootaloo noticed, "Do you find it odd that he's being a bit cheerful after going to the doctor's?" Sweetie asked, "No, not really. Why are you worried?" "Well... yeah," "Never thought you'd be interested in an everyday bloke like him." "Everyday or not, he's an important companion over in Grastaea." Sweetie firmly reasoned, "I'm kidding!" Scootaloo chuckled, "Wow, and I thought you'd be the one to make jokes on him!" "Good afternoon students," Ms M, with her half-dragon outfit on, greeted. "So, what's important?" Flash asked as they sat around the unlit fire. "I have found Midgardsomr," She announced, "He's staying in the Dornith mountains for the week." "Nice!" Sweetie punched the air, "If we find him, we find the Smithwyrms. That means castle construction will be easy! We no longer have to do the work!" "Yes, and the Smithwyrms still take rupies instead of Equestrian currency, so payment costs are all covered." Cleo added, "Unless you still want to keep doing work and me paying you, finding and convincing him to come back seems like the more practical choice." "The Windwyrm will be more convinced if humans or sylvans were to seek his aid, rather than another dragon. So all of you should come with!" Ms M added, "Dornith Mountains. Is that the massive mountain south-west of here, reaching up the clouds?" Rarity asked, "Yes, and I will tell you this. The mountain is the Lightwyrm's roost. As such, there is an abundance of mana which helps keeps people like us alive when we would not survive." "So we won't have any breathing problems at high altitudes!" Big Mac figured, "Correct." Cleo nodded, "But you'd run out before you'll even get there. It will be a tremendous hike." "Aw man..." The students groaned, "Have you been to Mount Dornith, Adagio?" Sweetie asked, "Never... the only areas I've frequently been in the forest and the lake. I didn't go to the volcano because you already know, and the Mountain is too far away and high up to climb. Cleo has a lack of stamina too so we're mutually against going there." "I didn't have to scale so high above the mountain to repel any Imperial attacks. The only time I did scale the summit was to find the Lightwyrm, and we were in a bit of a rush. Now that we have all the time, I'm more than willing to go." Cleo clarified, "How about Friday after school this time? Earlier the better!" Rarity scheduled. "We go back home, outfit ourselves with the right gear, and head off!" "Sounds like a plan," Big Mac agreed, "Let's do it!" Flash also punched the air, "Remember to bring your weapons alongside important supplies. Even though there's a small village up there for rest, it's the only one that hasn't been warded. Fiends will be present." Cleo instructed, "Speaking of, your halberd is kept nice and warm Flash." Ms M informed, "I think we should keep any weapon we find here. It'd be too suspicious if you're carrying around a lance or axe in Canterlot!" "Thanks, Ms M. Which reminds me, would you and Ms Cleo be interested in having dinner with me and my family?" Flash invited, "That's surprising. Why's that?" Cleo asked with a puzzled look. "I trust my parents a lot, so I told them about this place. I never told them about you or Ms M's secret, however." "Is that so? That's fine. But I still don't see why you'd go out of the way to invite me." "Because why not? I think you could get used to a lot more people than just us and the people you deliver veggies to," Flash replied, "They love hosting for guests, and they'd be thrilled to meet you too!" "Is that so?" Cleo's eyes widened, then she gave a smile. "Well when you put it that way, it sounds lovely! I'll think about it." "Wow, I never knew Flash had balls," Adagio whistled, "He'd drag his parents into this? Over dinner no less?" "I feel something bad is going to come through all this..." Sweetie gulped, To convince the parents, the CHS students mentioned that they are going on a 'bushwalk' in the Mayleaf Trail within the park after school on Friday, most likely returning for dinner. For Mr and Mrs Belle, Rarity and Sweetie's parents, they found it a bit odd to see their neat and clean eldest daughter partake in an activity where she's bound to sweat and get dirty. "It doesn't hurt to try something for the first time! Besides, we went to Camp Everfree. I mean I did." Rarity reminded, "Well... I guess you're right." Mrs Belle chuckled, "Sorry for being forgetful," "In any case, if you need some help with getting gear ready, don't hesitate to let us know!" Mr Belle suggested, "And make sure you've got any of your work or assessments in due time!" Mrs Belle added, "No worries!" "A bushwalk? Funny that the first time you'd do it is with your friends, and not dad and I." Mrs Sentry listened, "I promise to get my homework done, no worries." "Hmm... between you and me, is this 'bushwalk' involving this secret garden of yours?" "I told you mum," Flash rolled his eyes, "It's not a garden, it's a secret nation." "All the more to tell the truth!" Mrs Sentry looked at him with puppy-dog eyes, "Why don't you tell me specifically?" "Okay..." Flash sighed, "There's a mountain in the secret nation. My friends and I are going to be hiking up. There won't be any phone reception up the mountain, but there is on the ground. I'll text you before climbing up." "Sounds wonderful, let me help you pack your gear then. And if you find any trouble, use that special mana of yours to protect yourself and others, promise?" "I promise mom!" Flash promised, gripping his mom's pinky finger with his own. "A bushwalk eh?" Big McIntosh's Grandmother, Granny Smith, repeated, "Sounds right up yer lane! Just remember ta stay safe, ya hear?" "Will do Granny." Big Mac smiled as he walked out of the living room and towards his own, "Hey," Two girls of different ages waited for him there, "Applejack, Applebloom. Ya thought of knockin'?" Big Mac scratched his head, "Excuse me if Ah forget ma manners when you make baloney 'bout yer situation." Applejack spoke sarcastically, "Bushwalkin'? More like doin' somethin' big in the other world!" "Oh. Lemme guess... Sweetie Belle?" "Scoots too," Applebloom added, "Ah overheard 'er talkin' about hikin' sticks and insect spray with her one-sided brother." "No worries. I ain't gettin' into any fights. That's Rarity, Dagio, Ms M, Ms Cleo, and now Flash's job." "Yeah well, Ah don't feel any better when our respective best friends n' big brother goes into trouble without us," Applejack explained, "Then, by all means, come if you want." Big Mac offered, "Ah got a debt to pay. Adagio and Ms Cleo saved the four of us and even invited us to their home. Now their home's very much run down since they're the only two livin' in it, so ah personally promised to fix their castle, aside from helpin' reform 'Dadgio. What we're seekin' up the mount is a Dragon that can call a few other dragons that can fix everythin' lickety-split." "But that mountain is littered with those nasty critters... fiends?" "If anyone gets injured, we have two healers in Cleo and Rarity. Heck, Ah can be a third too!" "Now that's too many healers. Ah know mah video game logic; ya need a hard hitter. Any sword users?" Apple Bloom asked, "'Dagio uses daggers, and Flash uses a lance as you know. Balances healing and damage, no?" "Hmm... 'y'all good to go then!" Applebloom smiled, "Don't 'y'all good to go' him!" Applejack warned, "This ain't a video game, it's reality!" "Listen, ah promise to take good care of mahself, and Ah ain't alone in this." "Ah guess so partner." Applejack elbowed him gently, "Ah don't particularly care what happens to Flash or Adagio, but you better keep an eye on Rarity and Sweetie, okay?" "Okay sis," Big Mac promised, And finally, the day had come. The four students prepared their clothes, their packs, and everything else. With a subtle nod from each, the four students made for their homes to pick up their tools and meet at the park. But just as Flash could leave the grounds, a girl stood in his tracks. "Scoots! Judging by your face, Sweetie must have told you about the trip up the mountains." "I've known you since we were primary school kids, that something like this is a Sunday drive. I'm worried about something else." "That's very sweet of you Scoots. What's it about?" "Flash, have you told them about how... 'serious' you can get?" "I made a small joke about that ever since the picnic. Why's that?" "You and I know that is no joke, and that you want to hide it for good reason. Otherwise, you'd scare them away from you." "Okay then, my best buddy, how about you do something for me? If anything goes wrong to me it's up to you, to tell the truth about me to the four. Okay?" "Sure thing. I'd do it even without your permission," "That's rude," Flash smiled, "Sweetie's my best friend," Scootaloo gave a playful smirk, "And even if I kept my mouth shut, she'd pry it open if it regards you. Probably try to pry open yours too." "Really? And why would she do that?" "She's very interested in you ever since the picnic. She wanted to know a lot about the relationship between you and I. It's as if... she likes you!" Flash ceased smiling. "So you have been paying attention. That reaction doesn't belong to a dense guy." Scootaloo caught on, "I'll make sure she'll be in safe hands. I'll make sure everyone is," Flash sighed, "I know you will," Scootaloo reached on her tiptoes to pat his shoulders, "But in the case you get serious, let them know how it happens and why." With everyone saying their goodbyes and see yous to their friends and family, the group departed for the Halidom, and with Adagio, Cleo and Ms M in tow, their journey to find Midgardsomr began. Their destination was Mount Dornith, who's pinnacle reached up to the clouds and perhaps just piercing through. Alongside many lesser (but just as tall) mountains, the entire range was given the same name as its highest - The Dornith mountains. Travelling south-west from the Halidom, the group waded through the windy forests for about ten to fifteen minutes before they start to see the number of green lush trees decreasing bit by bit. "Welp, no more trees," Adagio pointed out, "Looks like we've reached the border." Replacing the green atmosphere was a yellow-ish orange landscape of rocks and elevated plateaus, save for one wide valley path sandwiched between them. From soft dirt to solid rock underneath their feet, their senses pick up many changes - The humid temperature, the dust upon the winds, and as expected and feared, the ever slight incline of the road. "Welcome to Kleifheim, the city situated in the Dornith Foothills." Cleo waved her hands at a giant ghost city. Most of the buildings were as tall as Canterlot High School and Canterlot Mall, but was inhabited with dust, rubble, and torn up fabric stuck within the walls. On the outskirts of the broken city, there were the traces of tents firmly pitched outside, if not for yet more fabric torn up and worn out tent pegs. "Goddess! This blows!" Sweetie dragged her aching feet along, "Out of every place we travelled to, this journey is the worst!" "I shouldn't have consumed half my water supply," Rarity heaved her body, her inner clothes all covered in sweat, "I thought we'd be halfway!" "To be honest, Ah've never trekked across the country desert," Big Mac panted while wiping his slippery forehead. "It's clear..." Flash got on his knees, "I am still unfit for the outdoor world," "Oh finally, you actually show a sense of regret and anguish like every other normal human should," Adagio spoke as she was wobbling all around, "All that cheerful energy is gone," "Callin' the kettle black there, Ms pot." Big Mac panted, "Unless sirens suffer from fatigue too," "If the sirens in your world are related to dragons, then I assure you that you wouldn't run out of energy," Ms M responded, completely cool and joyful, "That being said, I don't blame the state you are in. Not even Rainbow Dash or CHS' high-endurance athletes would come here without taking a knee." "The consider yourselves lucky." Cleo exhaled, "There is a running source of water despite the city's deserted state. Fresh, I assure you. I believe Mym knows where it is," "Oh, bless you!" Rarity exhaled in joy, "Remember, this city isn't warded." Cleo reminded, "So someone must accompany you to fight off fiends," "As teachers supervise students, I shall do that." Ms M volunteered, "Follow me Rarity, and anyone else who wants to need to refill," "We all should go," Flash suggested, "We can explore on our way there," "Fair enough," Big Mac agreed, "Better safe than sorry," As Flash suggested, the five teens took the opportunity to observe the history and scenery of this sizable city in the mountains while making their way towards the water source. It was almost a quarter the size of Canterlot, with the architecture looking to resemble various desert cities they saw in pictures of the Middle East, combined with some structures that resembled aqueducts from ancient history. The group could notice that buildings with towers used to be painted with various colour of red, blue or green. Buntings were tied from window to window or spire to spire, still hanging with torn or discoloured triangular flags. Big Mac was amazed that a civilisation like this has stood long enough for its beauty to be observed by him. It was as if this place took inspiration from various countries in Europe and not just the Middle East. "Here we are," Cleo pointed at a small area on the aqueduct walls. The source of running water they were looking for was from a sizable fountain gushing out into a stone basin. "Wow!" Rarity quickly refilled her water bottle, "This is perfect! Just by looking at the basin, the water here definitely looks fresh!" "Times when I was able to meet with Midgardsomr, I come around here to drink every now and then. It's well taken care of if you ask me! And yes, there's nothing contaminated about this place," "Don't mind if Ah do!" Big Mac took his turn, "My turn," Flash raised his hand, "I'm going to-" *Shuffle* "What was that!?" Everyone spun around with their weapons drawn (at least those who had them). The group scans their surroundings. No silhouette, no out of place shadow, nothing but the dust skittering on the rocky terrain. "A reminder," Cleo warned, "Adagio, Rarity, you'd better suit up." "Right," The girls made a beeline for Sweetie Belle and pulled out the set clothing of their respective adventurers. "Wait..." Rarity paused, "If we're going to change clothes, what was the point of gearing up in the first place?" "Oh dear, that must have slipped my mind." Ms M pondered, "We could have changed earlier on, and leave our hiking gear in the Halidom!" Rarity realised, "Oh, what was the point anyway!" "Complain later, change now!" Adagio snapped, "Oh fine!" Rarity grumbled, "But seriously, this transformation is very inconvenient! If it were to change our bodies, the clothes should also change too!" "For once, I agree," Sweetie added, "I can't believe I have to carry your clothes." "Well you coulda' asked me to pack or tote some of the clothes." Big Mac responded, "Funny..." Sweetie frowned, "Normally Flash would call us out for complaining with another annoying piece of logic..." "Oh, he ain't convinced that the sound wasn't a piddlin' matter so he's gonna check it out," A chill ran down Sweetie's spine, "He'd better not be alone," "He is," Big Mac answered, "But don't worry. If he sees those varmints, he'll skedaddle back to us." "Well, I don't like him tempting fate!" Sweetie responded, "Now he'll probably laugh at that," Big Mac assured, Flash stepped around the city, silently prowling the empty bazaar. With his new powers and a neat weapon, he was confident that he could take on any fiend. But he did promise, he'd return at the sight of fiends. "Alright Flash... keep focused." He told himself, "If the enemy is hidden from view, he's not hidden from sound," He closed his eyes and focused. With his sight fading to black, all he hears is the silence of the once-thriving city only with the high winds blowing faintly. Though it may seem as he's putting himself into danger, his tough training had allowed him to move away from fully relying on sight, and to work up his reliance on sound and his other senses. And just as he hears that shuffle once again, "Hey!" Flash pointed his spear at an abandoned stall, "Eep!" "I heard that..." Flash marched forward, "Are you a friend or a fiend?" No response, "You better say something," Flash got closer, "Or else I'm going to strike!" "No!" A girl hopped out from behind, holding her arms out in defence, "What the!?" Flash lowered his lance, "Who are-" The girl turned tail and ran off before he could even finish. "Hey! Wait! I'm not going to-" Giving pursuit, the blue-haired teen stopped in his tracks as he lays his eyes on the most tremendous sight. "Guys!" Flash backtracked to the fountain, "I've found something you want to see!" "Told ya," Big Mac chuckled, "He came back for us!" Sweetie rolled her eyes, "What is it?" The Francesca-fied Adagio inquired, "For you to just run off like that... are you becoming an idiot again?" "Two things," Flash ignored the dazzling merchant, holding up his fingers, "I think I found the path to the big Dornith mountain, and let me tell you... what a sight!" "And the second?" The Estelle-ified Rarity prompted, "That sound from before, it's a human girl." The group went dumbfounded, "I beg your pardon. What?" Estelle asked again, "A girl... She had short white hair with her ends dyed purple. She was wearing a white shirt with long purple sleeves. She had long pants on... and judging by its design, way unsuited to an environment like this." "That's rather overly specific... are you sure you're not pulling our leg here?" Ms M raised an eyebrow, "No, I... ugh, never mind. Let me just show you where we're going to next." Flash grumbled, "What in Tarnation!?" "You're kidding me!" "Forget it, I'm not climbing that!" "... That's it, I'll be ruined!" Upon an elevated veranda, Big McIntosh, Sweetie Belle, Francesca and Estelle dropped their jaws at the colossal mountain, sharp and jagged, tall and intimidating. What's worse, not only was it piercing through the clouds but a storm most ominous and unnatural circles up and down its body like a snake. It was as if they were looking at a terrifying image of a Heavenly Kingdom, yet it was 'kind' enough to allow anyone passage via its steep and naturally terraformed path. Though there were some traces of wooden bridges to connect any isolated cliffs and mountains. "My feet will be covered in blisters after this!" Estelle protested, "Surely we can fly to the top!?" "Good idea! But I refuse," Ms M icily responded, "Students need their daily exercise!" "This is too much of an exercise!!! Not even Rainbow or the Wonderbolts would do something like this!!!" "I guess we know the guy who will die first in the zombie apocalypse team." Flash chuckled, "I can complain however much I want, Flash Sentry! I do not want to hear your quips!" "I rest my case," Flash laughed, "But any case, the sun's still in the sky. We can take our sweet time to go to the Windwyrm's vacation spot," "Mids' vacation spot is on the summit," Mym pointed, "To get there, we'll go through a long system of natural and man-made bridges called the Dornith Crossing, then climb up the Sandscald Cliffs. After that, it's one short but steep path." "We have to go rock climbing too!?!?" Estelle bellowed, "If there was, I would have told you, and I'd be willing to fly you." Ms M calmly spoke, "But no. There's a spiral path ascendable for humans, but you may need to lift your legs and... require two people for certain steps." "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!!!" Flash encouraged, "Why are you so energetic?" Francesca grumbled, "Of course. Flash is attuned to light, the same as this region. It must have strengthened his natural recovery." Cleo answered, "Great. That answer couldn't be more infuriating." The team's journey to the summit begins. They walked upon the paths of rock, held up high by uneroded and unworn stone foundations. They carefully tiptoed across the typical wooden bridges against the breezy wind. The atmosphere around them felt awfully familiar. "This is like Mount Adolla all over again," Big Mac shared, "'Cept that it ain't lava underneath us... just a bottomless chasm." "Not helping Mac!" Estelle retorted, "This path seems much steeper than the valley path we crossed back there," Flash analysed, "As I said, take your time here." "Okay!" Francesca plopped down cross-legged and pulled out her water bottle, while the others went to find something to sit on. Sweetie was the only one left standing, and something was on her mind. "Hey Flash? Can I ask you something?" She asked, "Yeah!" "Did Scootaloo say anything about you watching over me and the others?" "No." "What? She definitely would have told you to do that!" "Haha, she said MORE than that. But mum's the word." Flash laughed, "I don't know that idiom," Sweetie replied, "It's a secret." Flash answered, "But regardless, you can count on me to watch your backs!" "You're a good guy Flash. Strong too. You were a fool ever since we stepped foot in Grastaea, getting yourself recklessly injured by something you don't know." Sweetie smiled, "But now, you're a different person with new strength, and you've proven that you are good with lances. It's... really nice that I can see you change with my own eyes, and I also believe that you can beat that same enemy." "Oh Goddess, Scoots was right!" Flash whispered to himself, "What was that?" Sweetie Belle picked up, "N-Nothing!" Flash looked back with a smile, "So I want you to be careful. I don't want you repeating that reckless action!" "I understand, Sweetie. I promise you, I won't let a fiend touch you. Or at least, they'll have to go through me first." "Thanks, Flash." Sweetie beamed, "But relax! We haven't even bumped into a single fiend back at Kleifheim. I say we take our chances and get moving!" Fifteen globes of dark light burst all around the resting party, leaving behind a group of fiends of different types. "I was about to say don't tempt fate alongside your bravado. Looks like they beat me to the punch," Sweetie patted the teen's shoulder with a disappointed look, "Good work Flash. No hard feelings." Flash drew the Strong Halberd without a word, with Cleo, Estelle and Adagio did the same with their weapons. The team observed their adversaries, there were five slimes and four goblins hopping and advancing without any shred of organisation, all attuned with light. They turned to the other six fiends, new and unfamiliar in everything. "Three oversized rats, two mad-looking bulls... and a lizard on two legs wielding a sword and shield." Francesca observed, "They're nothing," Taking offence, the rats leapt towards them and swung their abnormally sharp claws. "Argh!" Flash got slashed in the middle of his chest, "Yeow!" Estelle got nicked on her lower leg, "Why you-" Francesca got sliced on her upper chest... which left a wobbling sensation. Infuriated, she lunges her dagger forward at the rat and misses. The rat swiftly leaps back to where it first appeared, hissing and chattering with its four sharp teeth. "They move and evade fast. Hit and run is their tactic." Cleo advised, "The best way to take them down is to chase them down and hit just as fast. You're suited for the job Francesca, "Duly noted," Francesca saluted, "That being said, you can also get their attention and have someone strike their blind spot," "Now that is my style!" Francesca gave a toothed grin, "Hey, idiot! I want you to distract these fiendish rodents!" Flash couldn't respond. He was busy staring down the shock rat that attacked him. "That's the same place where I bled..." Flash fumed, "You asked for it!" The shock rat leapt forward with his claw up once again. Flash bravely held this lance in defence. With a loud clash, the Shock rat's nails hooked onto the pole and was unable to carry out its attack. "Third time's an omen pal," Flash shook his head. Immediately, Francesca dashed to the rat's side and repeatedly stabbed the fiend all over until it collapsed into dust. "Thanks. You actually did what you're told," Francesca lightly nudged Flash's arm, "Think you can do the same for the rest?" "Seems they've got it handled," Estelle asked, "How about we take care of the easy enemies?" "Very well, let's be quick about this. Up close" Cleo nodded. They turn to the Spark slimes and Lustrous goblins and marched forward, firing their magic with deadly accuracy. It took Estelle about five to six orbs to take one out, but a single shot from Cleo's staff. "Of course!" Estelle laughed as they defeated a slime each, "Shadow beats light!" "It may be far from home, but the mountains are where my offensive power excels!" Cleo laughed back, "Ah, but it's also where your defensive power diminishes!" "True..." "Are you two ladies done?" Ms M asked, "Oh. Uhh..." The two ladies paused, "That's okay. May I have a go at them?" Flames ignited on her hands, "Ooh!" Estelle looked intrigued, "Sure! Have fun, Ms M!" "I will!!!" Mym roared and charged forward at the three slimes. "Dragon Claw!" She chanted, The flames on her left hand... no... her ENTIRE hand, shifted into a giant dragon's claw caked in flames. With a terrifying swish of her claw, the Spark slimes were reduced into melting droplets and pot fragments. "Oh. My. Goddess. I could feel that force..." Estelle's jaws dropped, "Terrifying, yet... a blazing extravagance!" "I'm honoured, darling!" Mym overheard, "Hey scrappers! Are any of your skills prepared?" "Yes!" Came Flash and Francesca's response, while chasing down the frisky Shock rats. "Good..." Mym smiled, grabbing the four Lustrous Goblins with both her claws and throwing them into the air. Before they touched the ground, she revealed her dragon tail within her dress and batted the fiends towards the two. "Wallop all the goblins and rats in one blow!" "Don't tell me what to do!" Francesca growled, "Peregrine Blade!" Enchanted by mana, the dagger flew like the falcon, intercepting both the goblin and rat groups and piercing them through. "Go, idiot!" Francesca caught her dagger, "Hrah!" Flash took a deep breath and slid the spearhead on the rocky ground. It turned blue, crackling with electrical energy. Tightening his grip, the boy aimed his charged lance at the staggered fiends, "Lance Cannon!" He chanted at the top of his lungs; the chant to fire that lance. The blue energy launched off with a bang, as loud and fast as a cannon. The electric cannonball, its physical force and magical energy combined, bowled into the horde and vaporised every single trace of the fiends it enveloped. "Aww yeah!!!" Flash raised his lance to the air, "I have the power! I! Am! awesome!" The joy he felt was indescribable. What he did rivals even the pony magic Rarity has!!! "A solid stance," Cleo judged with a smile, "Exceptional," "An A+ on power and skill execution!" Mym graded, "Brilliant!" "For first impressions... I can appreciate it," Francesca shrugged, A small blush appeared on Sweetie's face. To see a classmate of his train hard and follow instructions in a humbling and embarrassing way. Now she was certain that all the training has paid off. It was extremely admirable too! Estelle was about to say a compliment but was interrupted by the rumbling sensation underneath their feet. "Right, the bulls." Estelle remembered, "Hey Cleo. How do we take care of those fiend types?" "We classify them as bison. As for how, well... would you stand in the way of a charging bull in your world? Oh and, they may also swing their tails and rumps as weapons too." "Ah, very well. You heard Ms Cleo!" The two Bearded Bisons were on a mad rampage against their targets, kicking up an unruly amount of dust and smoke. Mym, like the fearless dragon she is, unleashed her Dragon Claws once again. This time, she held out her claws and caught the bison without being pushed back. Even fiends followed the law of forces, and within its unholy body, something snapped. "Oh, I'm not done with you!" Mym closes her talons around the bison and repeatedly slams it on the ground. Sometimes swinging it overhead before slamming it down. After ten times, she lifted the bison to the sky, "Today's lunch and dinner is fiend beef; roasted by... The Flames of Passion!" With a huff, the Crimson Teacher spat a beam of purple-pinkish fire. It did not linger, and the speed was quick and instantaneous that it looked like she was breathing a laser. "Oops..." Mym dropped a heap of ashes onto the ground, "I overdid it, again. I'll never be a good cook let alone a good partner!" The second Bearded Bison charged towards the party of four. Flash bravely confronted it by attracting its attention and dodging his charges and body checks. As he does so, Cleo and Estelle focused their relentless attacks on it. Sometimes, Flash was able to nick or pierce a little of the fiend's neck, weakening its lethal power. "On the shoulders!" Flash commanded. From the side, Francesca pounced on the bison and began stabbing its shoulders, swapping at every side when possible. Enraged, the Bison unleashed its hidden fury and tossed the merchant off its back. "Gotcha!" Big Mac caught Francesca safely in his arms, holding her like a princess. "Eh heh heh..." Big Mac chuckled at the dumbfounded merchant, "Thanks. Now put me down already..." Francesca instructed. "Phew..." Big Mac spoke to himself after seeing the merchant dust herself off, "Not gonna lie, those legs were... fit as a fiddle!" "Alright! Release the beams!" Flash signalled. The two staff wielders fired their force strike, piercing the leg muscles in both the front and the back. The bison was now immobilised, and all it took for Flash was to knock its head low and drive the spear through the shoulder blades. The bison went limp and lifeless in an instant. Pulling out the halberd, Flash twirled his body and lance, dancing to some imaginary Caballoespanan music ringing in his head. "Ole!" Sweetie Belle and Big Mac exclaimed as Flash struck the final pose, as the bison disintegrates behind him. "Now we just have one enemy left..." Flash turned around, "The Lizardman!" Without any emotional movement, the lizard turned around and fled, "Hey! Get back here!" Flash gave chase until the voices of Sweetie and Scootaloo popped into his mind. "On second thoughts," Flash slowed down, "Let's advance as a team!" The Tawny Lizardman scampered up the crossing, nearing the Sandscale cliffs. It thought for a moment that he would lose its pursuers but was proven wrong when he turned back. The seven human-like figures did not fall behind, running as fast as the bison. "You're cornered," Estelle warned, "Unless you promise to leave us be, we have no choice but to defeat you," The lizardman hissed at his pursuers and arms himself, "You have chosen poorly," Flash chanted, readying his halberd, "Flash..." Sweetie warned, "Fire at will!" Francesca commanded. Estelle and Cleo launched a slow barrage of orbs at the fiend. It just raised its shield in defence, "Hang on..." Flash observed. The bolts made a direct hit, but the Tawny lizardman was unaffected, adamantly holding up his shield. Confused, Estelle threw one orb, and that's when everyone saw it touch a blue dome composed of hexagons and fizzle out. "Cleo, you never told the kids that this fiend's shield wasn't for show." Ms M looked disappointed, "Well pardon me if I'm unable to educate the kids on all the fiends beforehand. Besides, you and I know that fiends appear randomly in every sense of the word." Cleo groaned, "So he can block projectiles. I will remember that." Flash answered, "Can it be broken?" "Yes. With 'force'." "Is that so? Then I've got the force right here!" Estelle smiled as the Loving Hand began to glow. The preacher charged forward, her staff raised high. "Wait! I actually meant a force strike!" Cleo warned. The preacher wasn't able to listen and leapt high into the air, "Witness THE LOVELESS HAND!" Estelle drives the hand down, colliding with the hexagonal dome and pushing it and the fiend into the ground. "What?" Estelle leapt back, "But how!?" "When Cleo said 'force', she meant the Force Strike," Flash explained, "You could have told me the actual attack instead of leaving it vague!" Estelle blasted, "Now I have expended my most powerful attack for nothing!" The lizardman, still with his dome-creating shield raised, hopped out of the crater made by the Loving Hand and marched forward. "Leave it to me!" Flash bent his legs and pulled his lance back. With one loud grunt, the student lunged forward with his lance and pierced through the dome, cleaving the shield with the axe-part of the spearhead, and straight into the lizard's chest. Flash drove him past the crater, then shoved it off his halberd, pushing him back into it. "Careful Flash! You're fighting right next to the edge of the cliff!" Ms M warned, "Got it!" Flash acknowledged. Black liquid oozed out of the fiend's wound, evaporating before it even stained the rocks. The lizard looked at his assailant and made a frightening combination of hisses, clicks and squeals. It sharply swung one of its legs up and forward, kicking a cloud of dust, pebbles, and rocks into the teenagers face. "Argh!" Flash reels back, his eyes closed in pain. "Flash!" Everyone yelled. The fiend did not let this opportunity go to waste. The lizardman hopped out of the crater and charged for him, sword at the ready. "Flash! Be careful! He's going to get you!" Sweetie yelled, but it was too late. Flash was unable to hear the girl's warnings as the fiend stepped into range and aimed for Flash's neck. But in the blink of an eye, Flash blocked the slash with a quick flick of his lance. With his eyes closed, he lowered his body and tripped up the lizardman's legs. Once the fiend's body touched the ground, Flash ran the spearhead at the source of the sound. The lizardman was impaled once again, and this time for good. "Ooh..." Flash dusted off his eyes as the final fiend disintegrated. "Flash! You made it!" Sweetie, Estelle, Big Mac, Cleo and Ms M cheered, "That was a close call!" "Yeah..." Flash looked back with a big sigh of relief, "That was a close call." And with one foot towards them, the crater in front of him cracked in half. The faces of relief turned into faces of horror as both sides looked at each other for one last time before the ground fell apart, sending Flash into the chasm. "Flash!!!" Estelle exclaimed, "Flash Sentry!!!" Sweetie's voice exploded into fear. She ran over to the edge. All she could see was the outline of the boy when he fell through the clouds, which was soon covered up. "Out of the way! I'm going down!" Mym roared, already transformed into her true form. The Flamewyrm jumped off the crossing and dive-bombed into the cloudly chasm below. "But... how... how?" Sweetie told herself, "How can the ground crumble?" Then it hit her. She looked at the crater, now cut in half. The ground was originally stable, but slamming the lizardman with his shield onto the ground was like hammering a nail with such force that its shock waves affected even its surroundings. Sweetie turned to her older sister who was also pale and shaking all over. It seems she too knew how it happened. "No... Flash... I... Don't tell me I set this up... I... I..." "Stop!" Big Mac and Francesca grabbed the preacher and shook her, "It's not your fault, it was an accident!" They spoke in unison, "But... in this case..." "It's going to be okay," Cleo assured, holding the preacher's hands, "Everything will be fine. Mym's going to save him, and we can heal him quickly..." In response, Brunhilda emerged from the chasm, her wings flapping with strict balance. "Ms M!" Sweetie looked back, "Did... you..." The Flamewyrm's arms and claws were empty, and everyone bore witness to that. "Is... he...?" Sweetie looked up to her face, The Flamewyrm closed her eyes, her jaws and mouth etched upward. A large tear trickled down her eye as the dragon shook her head. Sweetie clasped her mouth. She too began to cry. "I'm sorry... I cannot find a single trace of him." Brunhilda declared, "Oh, Goddess..." Sweetie broke down, "Scootaloo... Mr and Mrs Sentry... everyone... Flash... I'm so sorry..." "S-Sweetie Belle?" Francesca reached out, "I'M SORRY!!!" TO BE CONTINUED Next Chapter: A Fighter in Death???
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
A Fool in Debt
"Ooh... my head..." Flash sat on the ground, "What happened? Oh yeah, that's right... I was falling... then I must have hit my head... that probably explains why I'm here..." Flash looked around. There was nothing but darkness as far and as close as he could see. He couldn't even see his arms, hands, or legs. Only feel them. "There's no chance I'd ever survive falling from a mountain." Flash stood up, "Guess I'm dead. Except..." He touched his face; it wasn't red or uncomfortable. He blinked; no tears poured out. "... I don't feel so sad or scared about it." His lips curved into a smile, "That's funny... lots of people would cower and be afraid or at least cry about leaving those they care about... And I certainly do have people I care about. Maybe because I've lived following the Goddess' love and example? That I won't be afraid of what's to come at my time's end? I guess that's why people would consider religious humans, not 'human'." He burst out laughing, "What am I talking about? I sound like a complete looney just contemplating and talking to myself! Goddess, I feel like such a wreck! I'm dying, I'm not sad or afraid about it, I'm trying to figure out why, and now I'm contemplating human thinking and philosophy and religion! Look like I've learned something new. No matter what you believe after death, you're never resting in peace!!! Hahahaha!" Then he felt his entire body crack, with pain blaring everywhere around his body. "Owowowow..." Flash yelped, "Okay, okay... I got it... I'd better start figuring out which unknown realm I'm in before I really lose it... Eh?" His leg and ankle refused to budge, "That's odd... I just stood up on my own. How did..." A light interrupted his train of thought. A bright and beautiful light appeared at a distance. "Ohh... so this is the light at the end of the tunnel... And I can see the outlines of my hand!" Flash observed, "But... my legs don't seem to move anymore." Then he noticed the light grew bigger and bigger. It was closing on him, "Ah..." Flash smiled, "Looks like I don't have to walk towards it. It'll take me anyway..." "Hey!" A girls' voice snapped, "Are you with me?" "Huh? Who's there?" Flash asked, "Whatever you do, don't go into the light!" "What? But... isn't that the way to peace?" Flash asked, "Look, I know life sucks and all, but there are always people making it beautiful! That's what makes life worth living!!!" "Oh relax," Flash laughed, "I'm not committing suicide, and yeah, I believe what you said but... as of now, I can't move my legs, and that light's coming for me." "Don't worry. Hang in there... I'll get you to a place soon enough!" As the light inched closer and closer, Flash could hear someone running. Towards his direction too. "Well, maybe come quickly?" Flash politely asked, "I'm starting to see my body thanks to the light! See if you can follow my voice!" "I got you... I got you..." A hand grabbed his. Flash turned around to see an extremely familiar face. It was the girl he saw in Kleifheim. Short white hair with purple highlights at the end. Her eyes were light blue, and she was wearing that casual white and purple shirt. She looked two years younger than he was, but what intrigued him was the colour of her body. It was the same colour as Ms Cleo's and Ms M in human form. "Hey! You're the girl that ran from me! How the heck did you get here!?" Flash asked, "Ah, you're still moving! As I said, help is on the way... just hang in a little longer." The young girl wrapped an arm around him, then the other on the back of his knees, "Careful, my legs seem pretty heavy and banged up, so please be with-woah!!!" With a simple grunt, the white-haired girl lifted him like a princess and carried him away from the approaching light. "You'll be in good hands," The girl smiled, "Everything for you is going to be fine." "What is going on? How can you carry me so easily? And where are you taking me?" "It's okay... It's okay... It's okay..." The girl repeated over and over. Flash began to feel drowsy from her voice and words and blanked out once again. "Uhh..." Flash slowly lifted his eyelids. He's in a bright place once again, but it didn't feel like the light from before. Using his eyes, he saw a window... that light... it's from the sun! He could feel his body senses as usual, but his legs didn't weigh him down like before. But with that being said, when he tried twitching a muscle, his body responded in sharp pain. His ears were the next to come back. Some beeping and booping. Also the humming of some machines. That gave him a hint of where he was... a hospital. Wait... a hospital? If he's half-awake, could feel his senses, and recognise he's in a hospital... there's no mistaking it. He's alive! He's miraculously alive!!! But it will take a while for him to fully open his eyes. Right now, he can only rely on half-sight, the temperature on his skin, and what's touching him. The warmth and soft fabric on his front body is a blanket. The cushioning on his back? A mattress. Oh yeah, and it should be obvious that he's wearing a hospital gown. However, something was restricting both his arms from moving. He can feel something poking into his left hand, so it must be that thing they call an IV drip. But for his right arm, he felt pressure on the farthest half, close to where his wrist is. His eyelids no longer felt heavy so he opened them in full view. Turning his attention to his right arm, his eyes contracted in horror, "Oh, Goddess!" Two young girls were sitting next to him, their hands tight and their heads resting on the entire length of his arm. He looked forward and saw a group of familiar faces just outside his room, squabbling with some nurses and doctors. One of them spots him awake, and she broke into a wide smile. "Flash!!!" Mrs Sentry spoke to the rest, "He's awake!" They smiled at their friend, sibling and son and entered the room. Even Adagio came. Rarity went to wake up the girls upon the patient's arm. "But Flash..." Scootaloo yawned, "I'll stay with him till he wakes..." Sweetie moaned, "I'm awake you two," Flash chuckled, The girls gasped, then beam widely, "You're alive!" They squealed, "Yowch!" Flash winced, "That was a message to say that you can let me go! Not squeeze me harder!!!" "Humourous as usual. You have returned!" Mr Sentry nods, "Okay, you two," Rarity tapped her sister and Scootaloo, "Give him some space. How are you, Flash?" "I'd like to know why two young children are clinging on to my arm. Don't tell me you called the FBI! I swear I'm innocent!" Flash panicked, "Oy!" Scootaloo slaps him on the head, "We're freshmen. Big Mac's a senior. You, Rarity, Rainbow and the rest are borderline sophomore and junior. And not to mention you guys already have your driving licences! You're only two to three years older than us!!! Do we still look like lolis to you?" "Er-hem!" Mrs Sentry cleared her throat, "P-Please don't use that dreadful term, Scootaloo. It makes things confusing and awkward," "I'm kidding, I'm kidding..." Flash laughed, "You're old enough to make your choices. And the fact that the two of you are turning fifteen this year!" "Really?" Cleo whispered, "I almost thought they were as old as Pia, given that Sweetie's singing voice almost fits hers." "You guys must have had fun when I was out..." Flash grumbled, "Nope," Big Mac shook his head, "We were extremely worried." "So in that case, how am I alive?" "You were very lucky," A doctor took over, "Your bones weren't fractured let alone broken when you were found. That being said, it did open up a lot of wounds around the body in both small and big, meaning you could have died from blood loss." "So that explains why my body feels so painful." "Unfortunately those wounds will need stitches. The operation can happen today and will only take about two to three hours, and be staying overnight. Is that alright with you?" "Uhh..." "The doctor discussed it with us. We all suggest you go for it," Mrs Sentry encouraged, "Well, in that case... why not?" Flash agreed, "Are you sure?" The doctor asked, "Yes." Flash nods, "And doing it today is good," "Very well. I'll notify the operation room to get ready. Meanwhile, I'll leave you all to share what happened," The doctor responded and leaves the room. "Anyway, as Big Mac said, we were all worried." Sweetie explained, "We almost thought we lost you!" "The hospital was able to contact us thanks to your phone." Ms M explained, "Hard to believe it was still intact after the fall!" "When we told Scootaloo, she immediately called your friends!" Mr Sentry added, "Ah... right, I haven't introduced you guys yet," Flash looks to Cleo and Ms M, "We've already done that. Your teacher Ms M, and Cleo." Mrs Sentry assured, "A very nice name, Cleo." After a lot of talking and catching-up to cheer up the bedridden boy, it was time for the surgery to happen. Everyone was nervous; standing or sitting in the waiting room. "I do hope he'll be okay..." Rarity nervously spoke, "The report says nothing dangerous was lodged into the large wounds, except maybe a few dirt and pebbles, but they'll also be cleaning that too." Mr Sentry replies, "This operation is low risk. If it happens to be fatal, then this would be a one-sided argument against them in court." "I just remembered that you remarked none of us experiencing the pain after surgery big sis," Sweetie narrows her eyes, "You have a bad case of foreshadowing." "It's not intentional Sweetie..." Rarity retorts, pulling on Sweetie's cheeks. "Hey... everyone?" Scootaloo piped up, "There's something I need to tell you guys. It's about Flash," "Huh?" Big Mac and the rest of the visitors perk up. "Flash would tell you sooner or later. But in the case of trouble, he asked me to speak on his behalf," "Oh... I see what this is about." Mrs Sentry nods, "What is there about the idiot, I mean- him, do we not know?" Adagio asked, "Take it away Scootaloo," Mr Sentry gestures, "Flash has been working hard on being nice and goofy, which might have made him a little unpopular because of how carefree and average it is. But deep inside he has something that could scare off any kind of person. That's the real reason why he's unpopular." "Flash? Scary?" Big Mac asks, "Right..." "She's right," Mrs Sentry supports, "And believe me, I too was horrified. And not in a good way." As night falls, Flash gets ready to turn in. He wipes his sutured wounds with a wet towel, then applies some lotion and a new bandage. He then turns off the TV with the remote, all while still in bed. "It's really impressive how you can take care of your wounds all by yourself, you don't even show the slightest expression of pain. But really, don't hesitate to call us for something else." "No worries there. I still need to rely on you; such as needing to go for a walk or to the toilet." Flash laughed, "You have a way with supportive words, even when we should be doing that to you." The doctor chuckled, "Really? Well, let's see if you change your mind if I ask you this question. How did I get here?" "Someone was carrying you. She's a strong gal if she could do that." "Someone was carrying me? Who?" "She's about a girl your age. White hair with lilac tips maybe?" The doctor explained "She's got quite a positive reputation around Canterlot. Anyway, parts of her hair looked like horns, but never mind her appearance. She's been carrying wounded people on her own to this hospital." "I wasn't the only one?" Flash raises a brow, "Yes. I don't know when she started doing this but... I've counted about fifteen times she came to the emergency ward with an injured person on her shoulders or back. It didn't matter regardless the gender, the reputation, or even when we noticed that one of the people she brought here had a criminal record." "Wow," "But it's not just the hospital. The girl also hangs around the stores, helping shop owners with any heavy load, free of charge. And she's also helped find lost things too. Cats, dogs, even small or common items. She was courageous enough to climb a tall tree just to bring back a child's balloon." "She's dedicated to helping others, giving them hope and joy in a time of pain and hardships. That's seriously amazing," "I couldn't have said it better myself," The doctor agreed, "I was able to chat with her over some coffee, and I asked why she did these things." "And?" "She's seen many people suffer at a young age. Because of that, she dedicates her life to making others happy and hopeful in times of hardships. Even she could tell I was suffering, given the stress and worry of working as a doctor in a hospital. When you are unable to save someone's life or trying to find a way to deliver some bad or stressful news, it really hurts inside. It makes you question whether you're a good doctor or not. After talking with her, and with her giving me copious amounts of encouragement, I could lift my head a little bit... I mean I wanted to keep this suffering bottled up, but I never realised how... nice it feels having a pair of ears to listen, and for her to encourage me to keep on being a good doctor." "... Is she single?" Flash whispered, "Hmm..." The doctor frowned, "Sorry. Bad joke," Flash apologised, "It's not about that. Yes, her personality is a point of attractiveness, but I think you should know one thing about her. Are you willing to hear this?" "Sounds serious," "I may have only been a doctor for two years," The doctor closes the door and shuts the blinds, "But as someone who's spent years of study in science, I still truly cannot comprehend everything about the world we live in." "Is this girl hiding a secret?" Flash deduced, "I was going home one night, heading to my car. Before I could start the engine, I saw that same girl scampering off into some alleyway which I knew had a dead end. Suddenly, there was a flash of light. And then... with the moon as my only source of light... I saw her... flying in the sky." The doctor exhales, "She has wings!?!?" "More than that... She didn't even look human... her body was smaller than before... she had claws where her feet were, and it had a tail too!" The doctor's fingers start to tremble, "But those features... don't tell me," "I believe what I see. As a man of science, I hold to my claim. There's no mistaking what I saw that night... the girl who's been helping us... helping this small city... is a dragon!" Flash looks him in the eye. A doctor, mired in uncertainty and disbelief. Now that he thinks about it... the description of that girl was almost the same of what he saw back when he was unconscious... what is going on!? The next morning, Flash sat up in bed once the sunbeams hit his eyes. "Oww..." Flash moaned as he stretches his arms. Wait... He's not feeling any pain right now. The only thing he feels is just the presence of the stitches. Pulling back his sleeves to check, he was right. The hole of red that the strings tried to cover up is gone, not even the scabs are present either. "Good morning!!!" Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Big Mac, Adagio, Cleo, Ms M, Scootaloo and Mr and Mrs Sentry piles into the room, "This again!?" Flash yelled, "Did you guys sleep overnight!?" "No. We went home," Rarity answered, "But we did some scoping out when we left. Like where your room was situated via the window." "I asked the nurse who was in charge to open the blinds once you're asleep because you sleep better with the blinds open," Mrs Sentry continued, "Wait... what? That's not true!" Flash protested, "Exactly. Your friends shared additional information about 'mana' and showcased another of its uses. Healing magic, on you." Mr Sentry explains, "You healed me when I was asleep?" "With Healing Faith from Estelle, it worked in an instant!!!" Rarity snaps her fingers, "All your big wounds closed up!" "Although Estelle's healing skills repair wounds greater on an individual target, keeping the wounds stitched together supported its effectiveness." Cleo briefed, "So when the doctor and nurses come in, I think they'll find you ready to be discharged!" Adagio laughed, "You guys... you're so kind..." Flash teared up, "Just imagine if the hospital or a clinic was able to use mana to heal people... so much can be saved!" Mr Sentry exclaimed, And Adagio was right. The doctor was a little surprised that the boy who was wounded and had undertaken surgery yesterday was strong in his muscles and reflexes today. But after a quick second opinion, they concluded that he was back to full physical health. With a snip of the sutures, one last shower, and filling out the medical report, Flash was discharged. The family treated him, and the rest, out for a big lunch. Flash could have never been happier. Not because the food was extremely delightful and cheap, but his parents were able to start on good and friendly terms with Cleo and Ms M. Their in-depth conversations about occupations quickly changed into a discussion about deep philosophies and subjects, even if it may be a bit uncomfortable for him to hear. But come Sunday, Big Mac texted a message that he and the girls are meeting in the Halidom again in the afternoon, wanting him to come. "Don't you think you should rest for a few days?" Mr Sentry suggested, "Look at me right now and tell me if I don't look well," Flash answered, "Outside, and inside. And I won't be getting into anything dangerous. I promise," Mr and Mrs Sentry look at each other, then nod in unison. "Okay. But you're to walk and take it easy. No intense activity. Promise?" Mrs Sentry assured, "I promise," Flash repeated, "Good. Now be gone!" Mr Sentry chanted, Into the Mayleaf Trail and emerging from the misty portal, Flash entered the Halidom castle grounds. There he sees his three classmates, the siren, and the castle's mom sitting around the unlit campfire. "What's up?" "First off, this belongs to you." Big Mac revealed, "Hey! That's the halberd!" Flash gasped, "How did you find this? Did you make a new one?" "No. It's the same one Mym gifted you." Cleo shook her head, "After we spent about an hour trying to look for you underneath that chasm, we found it sticking out of the grass back at the Halidom with a note tied to it; revealing that you ended up in the hospital." "And then you told Scoots and my parents." Flash deduced while taking the lance. "Alright then." "You're not interested in your saviour?" Adagio frowned, "I know who she is... or what she is. If you can carry a teenage male from the mountains to the hospital in time to be saved, you're not human. What I want to know, is who this dragon is, and her name." "Her name is Hinata," Sweetie answered, "Ms M told us that she was one of many dragons formally pactbound with Prince Euden. She wasn't as strong as Ms M or the other Greatwyrms, but she was devoted to helping humans, sylvans, and other animals that have suffered. The catch is that she doesn't make her presence known because of a dragon law that prevents them from meddling in the human world without good cause. Though if you ask me, what she's doing is more than a good cause." "The doctor told me he saw her in a human form... and that she could turn into a dragon..." "Seven-hundred years and she learned to take on a human form? The only dragon I know who could do that is Mym." Cleo exhaled, "If that's true, then Hinata could carry on her altruistic duties and any other person would be none the wiser." "Then she's already made her presence known..." Flash shook his head, "Well, I gotta find her..." "Nope," Big Mac refused, "You ain't goin' back up there..." "Mac, I gotta give credit where its due," Flash shot back, "She saved my life. I need to let her know how thankful I am- scratch that. I owe her." "Oh give me a break," Adagio scoffed, "No wonder why you're insufferable... you're just a straight-up kind and nice guy." "Honestly, I don't see why that is a flaw to his reputation." Rarity responded, "It would benefit him greatly for the future. He'd be a wonderful support worker." "I appreciate you sticking up for me and planning my future career," Flash laughed, "But I must confess that even I have limits to my patience," "And you're humble. Blech," Adagio retched, "No wonder why no one notices you," "About finding Hinata. You won't have to worry about that." Cleo responded, ignoring the comment, "Mym's off to find her now. She's observant enough as your teacher to know that you'd never leave someone alone without your gratitude." "I'm starting to see Ms M in a new light now..." Rarity shared, "I thought she was a fiery, bad-tempered teacher who always roars and yells at others for their bad behaviour or misconduct, but she really looks out for others." "Agreed," Flash nodded, "Speak of the devil!" Sweetie pointed to the sky, "She's flying down right now!" The Flamewyrm made her descent while being watched by the people below. She landed gently at a distance next to the campfire. The humans and sylvan stood up to greet her with a smile but froze a second later. "What the-!?" Big Mac exclaimed. "Oh no!" Sweetie and Rarity held their hands to their mouth. Adagio raised her eyebrows in shock. Curled up in the Flamewyrm's claws and arms was a white and purple dragon covered with countless cuts and bruises, bleeding all over. "Helllp... meeee..." The little dragon sputtered, "Hinata!!!" Flash rushed over, "Ms M, what happened!?" "She was being pursued by an abominable number of fiends from the ground and the air and couldn't find any spot to hide and rest. An eyefly shot her wing and sent her crashing down for all the ground fiends to rip into her. I interrupted the fight and roasted as many fiends as I can, especially those that could fly. But I couldn't stay and fight forever, so I rushed back home to you so you guys could heal her!" Brunhilda reported, "Thanks..." Cleo nodded, "Can you put her down?" "Here..." Brunhilda gently eased the little dragon on the grass. "Elder Cure," Cleo chanted, A green light burst within Hinata's bleeding body, easing some of her cuts and bruises. But it was not enough to heal her fully. "The wounds are too many, with most cutting incredibly deep," Cleo examined, "Be careful..." Hinata muttered, a little better than before. "What is it?" Flash asked, "These fiends... I can feel their lack of relent. They'll continue... pursuing... me..." "Hinata..." Flash carefully placed a comforting hand on the little dragon's scales, "It's going to be alright... If they're coming after you... I'll fight them off." "What!?" Everyone did a double-take, "Are you crazy!?" Adagio yelled, "Only if I don't know what to do... which is not the case." Flash growled, "I have to cover Hinata while you guys heal her up." "But don't you need to build energy through fighting to use any skill or spell?" Sweetie asked, "There's another way," Cleo reminded, "Which we need to prepare ourselves. Adagio, Rarity, get your essences and clothes ready. Sweetie Belle, Big McIntosh, follow me." "Actually," Big Mac raised a suggestion, "Just fer this time... may ah throw mah hat into the ring?" "You want to transform too?" Adagio and Rarity spoke in unison, "Using who?" "Hinata's at death's door... y'all need healers badly. Didn't we just get one a few days ago?" Cleo paused, then nodded. "Yes. That would be for the better." She agreed, "Do you know where his room is?" "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, "Then the three of you get changed now," Cleo commanded, "It's just you and me, Sweetie," "Where are we going?" Sweetie asked as the mentioned three dashed up to the Halidom, "Another emergency summoning?" "No time for that," Cleo responded, picking up Hinata, "We're going to the art gallery. The paintings aren't just for show." "I know what I'm going to be doing," Flash clarified, taking up the halberd. "Flash..." Cleo raised her voice in warning, "I'll fly ahead first. Thin out their numbers before they even get to our bridge," Brunhilda planned, "If I don't intercept them, their numbers may be enough to overwhelm all of us." "Understood, then I'll stay at the entrance... you'd better stay unharmed, Ms M." Flash agreed, "Flash, I'm a dragon. We're the strongest kind out of all life!" Brunhilda scowled, Flash raised an eyebrow and gestured his head towards Cleo and Sweetie, "... Okay." Brunhilda corrected herself, "I'll be careful." "Ms Cleo, Sweetie, take care of Hinata. Okay?" Flash turned around, "I promise." Cleo nodded with determination, "Hinata. Things are going to be okay... I promise you that..." "Heh heh..." Hinata coughed, "You sound like... Euden..." "So says Ms Cleo and Ms M. But honestly? I'm nothing like a prince, let alone one as kind as he is..." "That makes you even more alike..." She laughed softly, "I trust you, Flash..." "Okay, talk time over." Flash shrugged, "Get going!" And with that, the three groups took off. Brunhilda to the skies, Cleo and Sweetie to the Halidom, and Flash to the entrance gates. He put down his weapon and sat on the stone path cross-legged. "Sweetie... Big Mac... Rarity... Ms Cleo... Ms M... even you Adagio..." Flash whispered, "I won't blame you for doing so... but please don't think ill of me if you see what I am about to do." Rarity barged into the Loving Preacher's room and found the preacher's clothes neatly folded on the bed with a fresh smell. They were washed yesterday. "Oh how I hate being rushed," Rarity moaned as she stripped down all her clothes, "But looking your best is wasted if there are none to see it!" She pulled out her blue essence, "Well, here we go again!" Adagio rushed into the Cheerful Merchant's room and did the same thing. After turning into her sylvan alter ego, she groaned at the difference between her own body and Francesca's. Regardless, she quickly put on the merchant's undergarments and clothes and reached for her hat, hanging on the hooks of a coat stand. Big Mac went into the Musical Maestro's room and grabbed his biography. He flipped the pages until he saw the man's full-body portrait. "His outfit's more complicated than Estelle or Franny. And he wears piercings?" Big Mac groaned, feeling his ears, "This is gonna hurt..." He took off his jacket, shirt, and trousers. "But Ah'd rather make mah ears bleed than lettin' a dragon die!" He noticed the gold essence sitting on the Maestro's desk and took it. Under Big Mac's will, the essence changed into a gold staff, "Here goes," Big Mac gulped and pressed the staff onto his chest, causing a burst of light. In the art gallery, Sweetie frantically walked around a bowl of water sitting on top of a small pillar holder right in the middle of the area. Many things were going on in her mind. The state of the dragon named Hinata, the instructions Ms Cleo gave her, the anxiety of waiting for her sister and friends, and of course Flash and Ms M who were braving the front lines, all while Scootaloo's story echoed in-between. "Sweetie!" Estelle rushed into the room with Francesca in pursuit, "We're here." "Thank goodness." Sweetie exhaled, "Okay, I'll make it quick. Ms Cleo said these aren't ordinary paintings. They give numerous blessings to those who need them." "Wait... they can grant power?" Francesca jumped, "Cleo never told me that!" "How does it work? I hope it doesn't involve jumping into them!" Estelle inquired, "Ms Cleo gave me a demonstration. She dipped her hands into this bowl of water and touched one of the paintings." Sweetie recollected, "I take it its not ordinary water?" Estelle asked, "Nope, this is Holy Water. To prove that such a thing is not a scam, just do what Ms Cleo did. Dip them in, then touch a particular painting. She told me that certain paintings should help benefit you specifically. First, she wants you to touch the painting called 'The Chocolatiers', Rarit- I mean Estelle. You'll find it in the Seasonal exhibition where they display the valentine's based artworks. It's gold-framed and has Ms Cleo and three other girls making chocolates. Francesca, Ms Cleo wants you to get 'Resounding Rendition'. It has a singing woman and a man playing the piano behind her. And Big Mac-" "Yes?" A tall and well-refined man walked into the room. The girls turned and looked astounded, "Big Mac!?" Estelle blurted out while blushing, "That's... wow..." Francesca held her nose while looking weak, "Dayummmm..." Sweetie Belle bit her lip and gave a cheeky smile and nod in approval. The man was all dressed in a navy blue shirt, vest, slacks, pointed shoes with copper trims. He wore a long coat of white alongside a cravat nestled upon his neck that flutters at the slightest change of air. But it wasn't just the clothes that were magnificent. The man's face was very supple, lacked freckles. His medium wavy hair housed a wonderful shine, and his eyes were perfectly sharp. If it weren't for the hair, eye, and skin colour, the girls would not have recognised this dashing man to be Big McIntosh; transformed into the Musical Maestro, Vixel. "Oh wow... I... I need to take a photo of you," Estelle spoke, "Applejack and Applebloom would riot!" "Don't," Vixel spoke, "Please," "You're even using that buttery voice back at episode two for my 'Little Steps of a Secret Life'!" Sweetie winced, "You're making my heart race without even trying!" "Do you have anything to say, Adagio Dazzle?" Vixel asked. "No..." Francesca looked away, trying to hide her face, "Just don't look at me..." "But wait..." Estelle peered, "Your ears are really red!" "I..." Vixel groaned, "Give me a break, this is my first time wearing ear piercings. It got messy, so I had to find the bathroom to wash my fingers and ears." The girls giggled, and Vixel sighed as a reaction. "Alright, we had fun." Sweetie laughed, "Anyway... Big Mac... no. Vixel! Yeah, you're the conductor playing that piano. Ms Cleo told me. Speaking of her, she wants you to get your hands wet here and place them on 'New World Escort'. It's located where the silver-framed paintings are, should have a woman wearing blue with hat and feathered skirt, followed with a blond-haired sylvan." "Got it... but uh... the three of us wear gloves and greaves?" Vixel gestured, "... Hurry up and do it," Sweetie frowned, "Ms Cleo brought Hinata near the entrance while getting a staff ready for our new healer. Meet her there once you're done." "Yes Ma'am," The three saluted in unison. With a firm nod, Sweetie ran out of the gallery. "Is it me, or has she become a lot more... forceful?" Vixel asked, "She gets to the point, that's rather mature of her..." Estelle added, then a sudden thought struck her, "Hey wait! Why did you say yes, Francesca!? Normally you would say 'don't tell me what to do!!!' Or something rude as that," "Your sister is more devious than you think," Francesca retorted, "And subtly manipulative... I can sorta relate," Realising they were wasting time talking, the three adventurers took out their gloves or greaves, dipped their hands in the water one by one, and ran off to their respective paintings. Estelle found the artwork meant for her. She found the artwork cute. Ms Cleo teaching three other girls on how to make chocolates. But admiration should come for another time. She looked at her soaked hands. It doesn't feel any different to normal water, and there was no odour from it either. She looked back at the painting. Shaking off any doubt, the preacher pressed her hands directly onto the middle of the painting, while the other two did the same thing. The water on their hands fizzled and bubbled violently, giving a tingling and ticklish sensation to the adventurers as it began to disappear. Estelle immediately pulled her hands away but the water continued fizzing and giving off this weird energy-like light. But as it fizzled and disappeared, Estelle could feel a boost of mana in her body. By the time the fizzing stopped, she noticed that her hands were completely dry, the painting she touched left absolutely no stain or water trail, and her body and mind telling her that her magic tank was full! "This castle has an endless trove of mysteries," Estelle thought to herself as she met up with the others and ventured outside. "Next thing I know is that the Halidom has a hidden treasure guarded by a hidden dragon!" "There you are! About time!" Sweetie spotted the two healers and the dagger-wielding merchant rushing out to the grounds. "Estelle, can you use your healing spell now?" Cleo asked, "As a matter of fact... I somehow can without even having to fight..." Estelle answered as she took a deep breath, channelling the mana given from touching that painting, "Healing Faith!" The hands of prayer gently rest their light upon the wounded dragon, further healing her wounds. "We're not out of the woods yet, but this should extend the time," Estelle assured. "Thank you... so much..." Hinata whispered, her voice slowly coming back. "Now Ms Cleo, about the artworks..." "I will explain their secrets later. Right now, we need to join the front lines." Cleo responded, "Sweetie, can you watch over her?" "But I want to watch the fight!" Sweetie protested, "Not a good idea," Estelle reasoned, "We need to keep Hinata as far from the fiends as possible. They may bypass us for an easy target." "But someone also needs to heal Hinata. As you said, she's not out of the woods." Sweetie suggested, "She has a point," Vixel suggested, "... Fine," Estelle relented, "How far can our healing borders reach?" "Halfway up the first slope, closest to the entrance bridge and gate." Cleo estimated, "Sweetie and Hinata can position themselves there to watch the fight and get the healing." "You got it," Sweetie carefully picked up Hinata, "I'll promise not to get into the fight. Though I'm more than happy to pick up a dagger." "NO," Estelle and Cleo glared, "Just kidding," Sweetie nervously chuckled, Back on the bridge, Flash was deep in meditation and prayer while sitting cross-legged on the grass. His thoughts turn to his memories... he remembers a time when he saw a bunch of young kids ganging up on a single one. Their faces were filled with smirks and grins, kicking the sole kid and filling their air with laughs of mockery. Flash then focused on the girl in the middle. He could hear crying, perhaps sobbing, as if she didn't deserve this at all. Flash tensed his knuckles. All of a sudden, the kid bullies had their eyes glow yellow and transformed into those cloaked fiends in the blink of an eye. As for the bullied girl, she turned into a little dragon; specifically Hinata. "No... I won't let you..." Flash vowed with bitterness in his voice. He opened his eyes. The bridge before him was empty. Not even a single trace of a fiend. His dragon teacher was not back either. She still must be thinning their numbers up ahead. Even so, he's going to get ready anytime soon. But maybe, just maybe... "Flash!" A familiar voice called for him, "Estelle," Flash answered without looking behind him, "And I assume Francesca, Vixel and Ms Cleo?" "Me too," Sweetie joined in, "And I've brought Hinata with us," "Nuts," Flash sighed, "I was hoping that you wouldn't witness this. If the fiends happen to slip through." "To see you fight? We know already." Francesca grouched, "You've shown us that your martial arts are the real serious deal." "Oh no." Flash stood up and picked up his halberd, "This is a different kind of serious. One that really influences my strength... and pretty much everything else." "Just tell us Flash. Stop beating around the bush." Sweetie snapped, "Before you guys knew me at CHS, I wasn't the goofy and nice guy..." "So you being violent was true!?" Estelle exclaimed, hitting an epiphany of Flash's hints, "So Scoots told you when I was unconscious." Flash started stretching, "Even so, I doubt you'd still change your mind if you see me... 'relapse'." "Everyone!" A red dragon yelled from the skies, "I couldn't burn them all... too fast and too much. I'm completely exhausted, I need to rest..." "Ms M," Flash turned to the Flamewyrm, "What are the enemies like?" "Fiends of three different elements soon to approach the bridge. Water, Shadow, and Light. Thankfully there are no flying fiends, but you'll be facing all the fiends we've met so far." Brunhilda answered, "All the fiends? A slime couldn't be that fast..." "I know what you mean." Brunhilda responded, "But those slimes did not look normal... something must have happened to them." "If their speed was enhanced, can their might get enhanced too?" "Likely... it would explain how light fiends could seriously injure a light dragon such as Hinata." "Then that means we need to step it up..." Flash faced forward, "Estelle, Vixel, Ms Cleo. If any enemies slip by, please take them down. If not, I'll let some through that can be easy for you to handle. That way you can heal Hinata up." "Sure," "Francesca? I know you hate being told what to do... but just in case I give it my all, can you fight alongside me?" Flash continued, "Just this once, Flash." Francesca sneered, "But I'd like to know. How much negative energy did you develop from that incident?" "I can't measure such a thing." Flash readied himself, "But I know how to build it up and hold it in. Then let it out when needed." "I'm going to have to rest up," Brunhilda moaned, changing into her human form, "But if there's anything you need to get from me, let me know!" "If there is one thing that I've learned about Flash, nothing tops how frightening he is when he gets serious. When he gets serious, he gets angry. And when he gets angry... he gets smart." Scootaloo spoke, "He doesn't let anger cloud his judgment." "He told me about it." Ms M nodded, "And I assume the three of you know why?" "Flash wasn't the talking type as a child." Mr Sentry explained, "He's one who would go all fisticuffs if someone looks at him funny or just gets him angry. He'd often start punching when getting into arguments, mostly doing more damage than getting hurt himself. Suspended, punished, you understand. Some 'brave' classmate of his chose to play a bad prank on him just to see how he reacts. He scribbled all over Flash's show-and-tell homework with a permanent marker, some coarse language, silly pictures, and possibly some rude comments about the teacher. Flash told me he actually likes the teacher, he would never say anything bad about her behind her back." "That kid has problems," Big Mac lurched, "I agree, but the damage was done. Flash was laughed at by his class and reprimanded by his teacher, unfairly. Needless to say, it tipped him over. So once Flash figured out the culprit, he took a chair and chased him around. We received a call to say Flash was expelled after that incident, even if the kid did confess. Then again, I agree that beating someone with a chair until they were unconscious and bleeding was way out of hand." The teenagers, Cleo, and Ms M dropped their jaws, "We made sure he would never do something like that again. We ended up being strict with him for about two to three months." Mrs Sentry sadly confessed, "He was a problem child?" Sweetie gasped, "Never!!!" Scootaloo and Mrs Sentry defended, then the mother continued. "Even if we don't agree with his actions, we at least understand why. But he promised not to do it again, and we managed to teach him how to deal with bullies in a non-violent way." "Flash moved to my primary school suggested by my mum." Scootaloo took over, "And for sure, he got bullied. But most of them end up without any bloodshed, and he pretty much got the last laugh whenever he and the bullies head off to any of the teacher's offices. It was also the place where I started to connect and learn more about my family friend. We played together in the playground, we studied a little together, sat and ate our lunches together, alongside going over to each other's house, probably my first ever sleepover buddy. He was really clumsy and funny but he was sweet and I wanted to spend more time with him; even if we were in different grades and classes. Then I saw that side of him. From the kind and forgiving person I know, he turned into a merciless vigilante." Flash took a deep breath, puffing out his chest. As he exhaled, his body released some blue sparks for everyone to see. Flash did it again, with the same result. "I can sense them..." Brunhilda warned, "They will come right about... now." A black miasma enveloped the forest path, teeming with glowing emotionless eyes. One by one, slimes, goblins and hounds of the three mentioned colours emerged from the viscous fog. Flash widened his eyes at their intimidating sight, then narrowed it down into an unforgettable glare. The teenage boy took a deep breath for the third time. This time sparks of yellow flew out his body instead of blue. Everyone could feel its charge, perhaps a few tufts of their hair sticking up, and the sound of electrical crackling was louder than normal. "Is this Flash's mana?" Sweetie asked, "Yes." Cleo nodded, "It's natural for one's emotions to influence their mana. And after learning about his story... he's sure to control this spike." "So one day, Flash invited me over to Sunday School. Despite what people say, it's quite intriguing yet fun at the same time! When we were done, Mr and Mrs Sentry still had the service ongoing, so we told them we'll go home first. But as we passed by a small play area, a bunch of classmates my year surrounded us. The group actually invited me to play with them a few days ago, but I declined because it happened on the same day Flash invited me, and he invited me first. They didn't take it very kindly when they found out I turned them down for Church. And... judging what they were about to do. I can say they were extremely prejudiced against religion in general." Scootaloo looked down, and everyone gasped. "No... did they hurt you?" Sweetie fearfully inquired, "Do you want me to take over Scoots?" Mrs Sentry asked, "No... thanks." Scootaloo smiled back, then looked to Sweetie, "Yes. They jumped me, bruises and all, left me crying. Flash first stood in the way, but the ringleader of the kids punched his stomach without him getting ready for it, so he went down. But once he was able to stand up, and see what was going on. He snapped the moment he saw me harmed and crying..." "By Ilia..." Cleo cursed under her breath, "My 'classmates' hurt me. But Flash? Even after that stomach blow, he left them far worse." A Spark Hound charged ahead of his pack. Its eyes and face were not focused on the lone lancer in front of him, but the sight of the bleeding dragon on the hill, cradled by a human. Flash could tell what the hound's priorities were too. The lone Light-attuned fiend rushed forward for its prey as its instincts told him, but choosing to ignore the fighter earned him an axe flying through its mouth, cutting its fangs, between its teeth, and straight through the rest of its body. The hound buckled over and lay splat on the ground; horizontally split in two. "Don't screw with me..." Flash turned back to the horde. "If you want to claim this dragon's life... you've got to claim mine first!" The horde said nothing, but their gazes upon the injured dragon began to falter. "Face me! COME ON!" Flash roared, as loud as a dragon. "Remember when I said he becomes smart when he's angry? That was shown in how he fought. He didn't just focus on raw power and rage. He constantly kept an eye on those who surround him. Of course, he always got knocked down and then some, but he wasn't as stunned from the first time. He retaliated, tenfold what he took. Two kids if I remember, got socked in the ribs just once, and they never stood back up." The horde charged, wave by wave. The hounds and the slimes were the first to advance. Flash acknowledged that the slimes' speed was faster compared to the ones at the Dornith Mountains, but it didn't hamper his spirit at all. The first slime who dared got close to him was booted like a football off the bridge. Then, he swung the axe-part of the halberd through the slime crowd, decapitating any slime that has gone by, and breaking every jar with a single slice or stab. One of the hounds decide to pounce at Flash, but he delivered a counter punch that sent him flying off the bridge. Flash wanted to pause for a moment, to just contemplate how his punch could send a fiend as large and heavy as a wolf flying. But he remembered that as long as there are fiends around, he can't let them through. If he does, then Hinata... "You didn't forget about me! Did you?" Francesca zipped over and cut down the rest of the hounds and slimes that got past. "Francesca... Adagio..." "Your way of taking down an army is fearsome, and that awakens a hunger I haven't felt for a long time. Too bad I can't feed on it anymore, so my alternative way to nourish that is by fighting alongside you." Francesca responded, tackling a hound and tipping it off the bridge, "Thanks..." Flash nodded, hooking a slime and swung it at the horde. "But I want you to remember something when you fight." "I've got two big ears tucked in this hat willing to hear," Francesca chuckled, "Oh yeah, and not to mention that he used anything to his advantage. The fences, the playground equipment. Oh and given that he's very fancy with his legs, he must have started his martial arts already. If he were to be serious and angry now, he'd probably use this mana to his advantage!!!" "Check it out!!!" Sweetie observed while applying some healing balm (fetched by a tired Ms M) on the dragon, "Some fiends have passed through the two of them!!!" "True to his word..." Vixel nodded, "I'm even surprised he's gotten Francesca to agree with him! They're only letting through the Purple fiends... which means they're shadow based, and you and I are healers of light!" "He truly is something. Few could use their anger to bolster their strength without any tell of weakness." Cleo smiled, "In that case, are you all prepared?" "Let's teach those brutes a lesson they won't soon forget!" Estelle nodded with determination, "Especially you Vixel. Do you know how to use a staff?" "I remember Estelle's motion back in the forest." Big Mac tapped his staff. It was a common Staff of Affection, but it would do. "And do you know his healing skill?" "I did the whole focus thing as Estelle did on her first time, but I still managed to figure out its name. It's rather interesting, seeing the Prince of this Halidom in Vixel's view. No doubt he was a charismatic man." He glares at the incoming fiends, "Now I am fully prepared. Yes, let's get going!" "Take them down!" Sweetie cheered, giving a thumbs-down taunt. The three healers marched forward, slinging out their slow but power-packed orbs at the straggling shadow slimes. Even Estelle and Vixel were brave to use their own staffs for a melee weapon. Whereas the Loving Preacher would slap her foes to no end, the Musical Maestro seemed to have some familiarity with swordplay! "I read his bio. It is said that in his troubled past, he has learned to wield a blade or sword. I was able to bring use his experience to the foray," Vixel noted, "Okay..." Cleo shot down a few more slimes, "This should be enough for me. Elder Cure!" A rejuvenating green light exploded in every fighter and dragon, healing any acquired wounds and giving them a youthful feeling. Then it was Estelle's turn, "Healing Faith!" Estelle chanted, The green, floating, praying hands came back a second time, resting their palms on the wounded dragon. "All her wounds are nearly gone now!" Sweetie reported, "Then one last spell should do the trick," Vixel cleared his throat and announced his spell, "Spirited Song!" From his staff, seven musical staves flew out from Vixel's staff and travelled through the air in presto tempo, leaving behind a trail of notes as each flew into the ears of every adventurer. Within their minds, the sounds of a grand orchestra performed for their brain. It was staggering, mesmerising, and one could say that the instruments, as well as the conductor, truly filled their piece with spirit. Hearing such motivating music had stimulated everyone's recovery. But this time, it brought something else... "Ahh... looks like Vixel's healing spell has a regenerative effect," Cleo spoke, "The perfect spell for this occasion!" "Regen? Ah! You mean healing over time!" Sweetie clarified, "Sweet!" "Vixel's healing magic is like music to one's ears," Francesca noted, "Not bad... I actually like it!" "Looks like the three of them got their healing powers. In the nick of time too..." Flash replied, still focused on the invading fiends. "You were getting a bit tired there..." "Well, you got hurt during the process!" Francesca called out, "And speaking about enemies, we've cleared the slimes and hounds, but we've got the goblins, basilisks and gobmancers and healers... this is endless!" "Then stand back Francesca, I've got my skill ready..." Flash warned, sliding his spearhead on the bridge, "And mark my words, this is no ordinary cannon anymore." The spearhead was charged with yellow energy instead of blue, similar to how Flash's initial blue sparks changed. But when he held the spear up and towards the oncoming horde, the merchant could feel a violent shockwave emanating from the spear... "Luminescent Cataclysm!" "Luma what-" The spear fired a giant yellow beam, covering the entire walkway of the bridge and catching all the fiends upon it. Francesca, the three healers, and even Sweetie and Hinata were swept off their feet from such a shock wave. But the teenage boy firing that laser stood firm, strong, unrelenting and fierce like the expression upon his face. The giant beam lingered for five seconds before it ran out of energy and died down. The bridge was completely empty of fiends, not even a trail of disintegration was left. And the black miasma occupying the other side? Reduced to billowing smog. Flash took a knee after that skill, drained immensely of his mana. Everyone behind him was devastated, even Ms M who came out just at the right time to witness the teenager's power. "Flash... just..." Francesca stammered, "What you just did... you could give Starswirl a run for his bits!" "Complete decimation..." Vixel spoke, awestruck. "Is it over?" Sweetie yelled out, "No..." Flash yelled back, examining the miasma's remnants, "I can feel one more enemy up ahead." The smog subsided and revealed a Giant Tawny Lizardman with his shield raised and that pesky blue hexagonal dome around it. "The commander of that horde..." Flash observed, "Bigger than the others..." "Hold it Flash," Estelle and the rest of the healers ran up, "You've done extremely well..." "Hinata?" "Her wounds are no longer fatal," Vixel reported, "She's in good hands now." "I'm glad..." Flash gave a sigh of relief, "You said it wasn't over," Cleo warned, "So let's take it from here. Are you up for it Francesca?" "If it's just a single enemy, we can do this." Francesca stretched her legs, "Flash needs to take his rest," "Don't get cocky!" Flash warned as the four charged on the enemy, "He may hold some nasty surprise!" "So yeah, once I was able to move a muscle without pain, I called Mr and Mrs Sentry. By the time I put the phone away, almost every one of them was flattened. One particular kid chose to stay back out of Flash's fight. Once he was the last boy standing, he began pleading and begging for forgiveness and apologies." "By the time we received the call, the two of us hurried towards the park as fast as we could... and we saw our son holding him by the collar, ready to deliver a knockout blow. I was about to yell to say stop, but... Flash didn't punch him. He lowered his fist then softly lowered him." Mr Sentry continued, "His words to that boy was 'Don't you dare jump on her again. If I find out that you did, I won't hold back, even if you got on all fours.'" Mrs Sentry finished, "Seeing him beat up several kids was just as traumatic the first time I learned about what he did in his previous school, but when we demanded what was going on, he was honest. And this time... I felt relieved, maybe a little proud." "How can you be proud of a son who commits violent acts?" Cleo raised an eyebrow, "He admitted that he beat them down because they beat me up, and why they beat me up. I was a witness so I could support what he said." Scootaloo explained, "And then Flash went on to say he accepted his punishment, and even went forward to ask to fix their wounds." "What he did to that child long ago was very unforgivable without punishment. This? Still unforgivable without punishment. However, he did it to stand up for his friend, and there is no way I'll let him and myself forget that, even if his methods violate the law." Mr Sentry responded. "Though if Flash was meant to kill... then it would be a different story." "Everyone has the right to their own opinion," Mrs Sentry spoke, "But to convert that opinion into beating up dear Scoots is too far. Even more when she's not the one deserving of their prejudice." "But all in all, I think I learned what makes Flash tick after hearing his past," Scootaloo smiled, "After he got kicked out of his old school and getting disciplined by Mr and Mrs Sentry. If you hurt or mock him, he'll laugh it off as he does now. Hurt or mock those he cares about? He will retaliate..." Cleo and Estelle simultaneously launched their force strikes, piercing the Giant Lizardman's dome with ease. Exposed, Francesca set-up the lizardman with a flurry of slashes across its torso, ready to Vixel to deliver three sharp thwacks on its scale-covered skull. Enraged, the Lizardman nimbly lept back then lunged forward, catching the Maestro in the chest. "Urk!" Vixel staggered back keeled over, "This is a first! To get stabbed in the chest!" "Watch out!" Francesca snapped, dropkicking Vixel away from the lizardman's downward swinging tail! "Ouch..." Vixel moaned, slowly getting back up, "A simple push with the hands would do." "You're welcome!" Francesca retorted while parrying every strike of the Lizardman, distracting it from the firepower of the healers fighting from a distance. "Thanks," Vixel smiled, "As for these wounds, I can fix them. Spirited Song!" He cast his spell just as the Lizardman swung his sword at him and deflected the slash immediately. "Look at them," Flash laughed and smiled, "They're not afraid anymore." "You really do value your friends, even with that serious side to you." Ms M laughed. With Sweetie and Hinata following behind, "Ms M..." Flash asked, "Would you fear me now that you saw what I was like before?" "You should probably ask your kind that question..." Ms M placed a hand on his shoulder, "I'm a dragon, there very few things that I share a fear alongside humans. Your own angry and serious form is fearsome, but it doesn't come close to the horrors I've seen. Moreover, the important thing is that we know WHY you get angry, all six of us. If people knew that, they'd be less scared of you. I've never seen my darling get as angry as you, but I know that he would get serious when it comes to fighting for things he cares about." "Still comparing me to the Prince," Flash chuckled, "Get used to it," Ms M massages his shoulders, "Woah! Hey! that feels nice." Flash sighed, "No moaning weirdly, you hear me?" Ms M warned, "Then what do you think Sweetie?" Flash asked, "Do you fear me? Am I scary?" "We'll talk after the battle is over," Sweetie raised a finger to her lips, "But I still think you're a good man like I said two days ago." "By the way... I'm still boggled about the lizardman." Ms M changed the topic, "How so?" Flash inquired, "You remember when I told you that they were too fast for me? You should have noticed," "Yeah, I do..." "Well... I felt an uneasy form of black mana seeping into their bodies. It would explain why they were stronger and faster than before." "And why?" "I can feel black mana oozing out of this one." Ms M pointed, "But I swear that the name is at the tip of my tongue..." "Hang on... oozing with black mana???" Sweetie chimed in, "But... I don't see it oozing with black mana..." "You know these types of fiends, Sweetie?" Flash asked, "Of course! Francesca, Ms Cleo and I were walking in Myriage Lake when we came across three of those oozing black mana fiends. I believe they were called 'Menaces'. They posed a big threat because not only were they strong, they could even nullify Francesca's essence and turn her back to Adagio. Ms Cleo was unaffected because the mana was her own." "Oh yeah! That's what they were called! Thanks, Sweetie!" Ms M thanked, "Very interesting. Everything we learn about fiends is important. We should be careful with these enemies from now on." Flash nodded in gratitude. The three (plus Hinata who was listening) laughed and smiled for a brief second... "Pull out, you four! Retreat!!!" Flash desperately howled at the fighters, "Don't fight it any further!" Ms M commanded, "Be careful sis! That fiend's a menace!!!" Sweetie warned with panic, "RUN!!!" Hinata yelled, "Menace!?" Estelle, Francesca and Cleo froze, "What's a menace?" Vixel asked. As an answer, the Giant Tawny Lizardman tensed its muscles and breathed a thick haze of black upon the four. Hastily, the fiend dived in with its sword raised high. Painful roars and grunts followed. The spectators could only watch in horror as the haze subsided. The Fiend was covered in purple smoke, towering above bloodied bodies, and one hanging on its sword. Only Cleo was barely standing, using her Elder Cure skill just in time to keep them alive. "NOOO!" Sweetie, Flash, Ms M and Hinata were all horrified and surprised. Then Flash, seeing his newfound friends defeated, snaps once more. "We need to get them out..." Flash growled, "Then I'm going to kill it!!!" "Wait Flash!" Hinata spoke out, "Let me distract it! I've rested and healed enough to go back to fighting!" "Are you sure?" Flash turned around, "Yes." Ms M nodded, "And I have a proposition for you Flash. I want this fiend gone as much as you do. So can you listen to my plan?" "I'm listening," Flash nodded, "In the end..." Scootaloo continued, "Flash got scolded and in trouble again. But he did do his best to clean and patch up their wounds alongside Mr and Mrs Sentry. Even I chipped in. Then he went to apologise to the kids and the parents. Oh for sure, they were furious from what happened, even Flash was afraid. However... they didn't sue him or press charges against Flash. It's because Mr Sentry's a lawyer, and I'm sure that they know their kids were in the wrong, doing something like that." "I HATE that my occupation is used as a form of intimidation." Mr Sentry growled, "I only just gave them my business card because they brought up the idea of going to court and they froze." "Even you were a little angry that your best friend's daughter was beaten up. And your expression when talking with them showed it." Mrs Sentry added, "That's why they thought challenging you was a bad idea." "You are a rough family... no offence," Sweetie frowned, "And we were rough on him too. After that, he's learned never to raise a fist when someone he knows and cares for gets insulted or framed. And no more trouble popped up from him anymore." "I remember..." Rarity witnessed, "One of our friends was accused of trashing the gymnasium and preventing her from entering the fall formal, but he managed to gather up evidence and clear her name." "And she won the formal." Big Mac smiled, "Flash, you truly are a joy in the world." Adagio was pushed off the fiend's blade and fell down with a nasty plop... She groaned. Her body was pierced, her clothes were tight again, and then there's that annoying smoke and light billowing from her heart. It was such a miracle that she was still alive, but not for long she thought. She looked towards her and saw Rarity and Big McIntosh lying motionless on the floor. They too were bloodied and wearing clothes that didn't fit their sizes and had that light stained with black blotches on their chests where their heart was. "Adagio!" Cleo called, "You need to take these two to safety!" "Argh!" Adagio grumbled in pain, "I... can't... move!" "I'm holding it back," Cleo continued, holding the Lizardman's blade with her staff, "Just... try!" "Got it..." Adagio winced, feeling pain as she pushes herself up thanks to that wound. It was lucky that her legs were still working. She hobbled over to her two allies and slowly tugged on them... "No... they're too heavy for me!" Adagio shook her head, "I can't..." Her face dropped when she saw her guardian pushed to the bridge's edge, and thrown over. "CLEO!" Adagio shrieked. After that, her eyes went dim, her face went pale. The lizardman now has its sights set on her and began marching forward. The siren couldn't do anything now. She knew she was going to die. But then she looked at the two she was trying to tug... seems she won't be alone. But even so... Instinctively, Adagio sat their bodies up, wrapped an arm around each, and held them tightly. Adagio had never done something like this in her life. Not once had she embraced her sisters, let alone her enemies. And yet... her sisters had been long missing, and her caretaker tossed to her death. Those two, enemy and irrelevant human scum, were the closest thing she had left. She tightened her grip. Tearfully waiting for her demise... "I won't let you touch them!" A shining veil of flame halted the Giant Tawny Lizardman's advance. Stirred, the fiend raised his shield against the shining breath of an able-bodied dragon. "I won't let you terrorise them any longer!" Hinata vowed, The Lizardman sneered and readied its sword, but not until a loud roar broke its focus. To its side, Brunhilda flapped her wings, carrying Cleo in her claws. "You're alive!" Adagio scowled in relief, "I can't believe it..." "No one dares to throw a trusted ally of mine over the cliff..." Brunhilda carefully dropped the shaken Cleo by Adagio's side. "We need to make this quick," Flash warned, "We're fighting for their lives!" "Woah Woah Woah!" Adagio raised an eyebrow, "Are you?" "Adagio!" Sweetie reached the group, "Thank Goddess you're still breathing!" "Never mind that!" Adagio rudely pointed, "Is the idiot RIDING Brunhilda!?" "I am," Flash nodded, adjusting his posture and seating on the Flamewyrm's shoulders, "And we're shutting this thing down!" "Hold on Flash, here I go!!!" Brunhilda roared, rising to the air with another intimidating roar, "Ready yourself!" she commanded, and Flash held out his weapon. Brunhilda swooped down against the Great Lizardman and banked to the right. Then she turned around and dived once more, banking to the left. To Adagio, Hinata, and Sweetie's surprise, the menacing Giant Lizardman had been disarmed; the sword, the shield, and the claws holding them. "Got it!" Flash yelled as he looked down below and saw the Lizardman roaring and screeching in pain. "Then it's time for the finishing blow. Off my shoulders, onto my hand!" "You mean claws," Flash corrected as he got up and hopped down onto her claw. "Whatever. Assume the position!" Brunhilda grouched. Flash held the lance in front of his face, then Brunhilda grabbed his entire body and held him like he was a spear himself. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Brunhilda rasped, "The mana of Grastaea has pushed my body's limits beyond what I can imagine." Flash replied, "I'll come out unscathed with this. I'm more worried about your accuracy." "I won't let my students down." Brunhilda twisted her torso and pointed her other claw at the menacing fiend, "Surely you don't aim to do that!" Cleo watched, "Go long!" Brunhilda roared and threw the teenager downwards. "Raaaahhhh!!!" Flash emitted a loud warcry as he hurled towards his target. His body let loose yellow sparks and glowed in yellow as his entire body combined with his spear turned into one brilliant yellow bolt. The menace desperately raised his head and spat out the menacing haze from before, enveloping Flash in its smog. But Flash shot through the haze, and drove himself and the spike on his lance straight into the Fiend's throat, "Nice Try..." Flash thought to himself, "...But this mana and power are my own! You can't get rid of it!!!" "But after that incident, word spread throughout the primary school and everyone. Whether they were students below or above him, even teachers. They kept well away from him if they had the choice. When Flash asks for any spare stationery, anyone close to him would give it straight away, maybe even ask him to keep it. And they would fearfully decline if Flash offers one. For any PE activities, he was first picked because whoever's the captain doesn't want to feel the 'Wrath of Flash'. It took everyone about a month and a half for the kids and teachers to see that Flash isn't so scary if no one picks on me. Once someone got brave enough to prank him, and he laughs it off or tells the teacher, they eased up. But for sure, I bet they wished never to see him again. Maybe when people grow older and laws started becoming more strict, he was frowned upon." "Who knew Flash was the tough guy in his primary school years? When he's not dancing or on the guitar, he's the calmest person in CHS!" Rarity responded, "But going to that Sunday School, alongside being family friends, had given me something to remember from that day. We all have emotions that people may not like to see, but even the most fierce man has feelings too, and I'm sure some people would regret hurting others like Flash. He apologised to me if I had scared him in any way... and honestly? He didn't need to in the first place. He stood up for me, and after we got to know each other rather than be family friends. But regardless, he promises to continue adjusting that serious behaviour." "... Okay, I'll admit it." Adagio broke the silence, "He doesn't sound so dull anymore." "As I said, Flash was going to tell you about this. But even if he was still conscious, he'd get worried and afraid about telling you, and that clouds his judgement. He really trusts the four of you ever since you stumbled into the hidden land. Remember, he doesn't go berserk unless its someone he truly cares about. I'm helping him to adjust his ways even today, but I also accept him for who he is. Would the four of you do it as well?" Flash picked himself up from the ground and dusted his body. He looked down to see that his menacing enemy has long been disintegrated, his halberd lying down where it used to lay, except... "I'm sorry Ms M," Flash picked up the lance with one hand, and a broken spike with the other. "I broke the weapon you gave me," "It's fine," Brunhilda laughed, landing and changing back to Mym, "I've learned how to repair it, and I'll do it without any charge." "Ms Cleo? Sweetie? Adagio? You okay?" "Holy crap... you were terrifying and self-sacrificing..." Adagio coughed, "If the other two were still conscious, they would have got a heart attack!" "After everything you did and was done to you, you've definitely given me a heart attack Flash..." Sweetie glared, "Right..." Flash bent down and placed Rarity's arm over his shoulder, "Can you help me, Sweetie?" "Of course..." Sweetie quickly hopped and slung Rarity's other arm over hers, as well as pick up the Loving Hand, "I may not be in good shape, but I can pick up Adagio..." Cleo stumbled, "Let me help!" Hinata volunteered, and shifted into her human form, "I can take the load!" "You and I need to talk, Hinata." Mym glared, hoisting Big McIntosh up like a princess, "But after we get these three healed and cleaned," Everyone needed to take a bath. After Adagio, Rarity, and Big McIntosh were cleansed and healed, the group took a long soak in theirs. Flash admitted (to himself) that it felt really good. "..." Flash looked in the water, seeing his own reflection. "Flash? Y'okay?" Big Mac noted, "I should be asking you that..." Flash looked back up, "You were almost going to die. This is the second time." "Well thank the Goddess... and the others," Big Mac smiled, "Yeah, really..." Flash looked away. Big Mac looked concerned, but he knew why. After the bath, the group met in the kitchen, with Cleo preparing a new take on pumpkin soup for everyone. "Oh boy, my mum and dad are going to kill me when they find out we did this. I promised them not to get into any fights," Flash grumbled, "Flash, is there something you want to tell us?" Rarity asked, "Ah... right... are you sure?" Flash raised an eyebrow, "Scoots may have told us everything, but I'd like to hear it from you." Sweetie answered, "I mean we know your childhood story." "Yep," Flash sighed, "That childhood story was true, I had hoped I wouldn't show it but... just seeing Hinata being hurt by those fiends... And then you three... I couldn't stand it. Then again, I would have to tell you sooner or later... sucks that I had to demonstrate it." "Flash..." Rarity reached out and grabbed his hand, with Sweetie grabbing the other, "The girls and I talked about it, and as your classmates, Big Mac included... we're sorry about the times we've made fun of you. Can you forgive us?" "Even the lightest of jokes at other people's expense can weigh heavily," Flash shook his head, "But it is forgiven. Mostly because I have something to apologise for too," "And?" "I want to say sorry for not being fully honest or transparent to you. As Scootaloo told you, I didn't have many friends because of what I did. People feared to get close to me, but I to them. So that's why I worked on being a chill and nice guy. But even if we said to others that we were friends, deep inside I couldn't accept that if I didn't tell you what I was back then." Flash lowered his head, "And there you go again, being Modest." Adagio groaned, "Look at me, idiot. What you did, you did for someone else. Me, Aria and Sonata? We did it for ourselves to become powerful and controlling. What you did is 'noble', despite how brutal you can get." "I hate to say it," Rarity smiled, "But I agree with Adagio. Thanks to Scootaloo, we know how and why you get angry. And because of that, we do still like you for who you are." "Whether you're a goofball or a gremlin, you caring for others never changed one bit. Though of course... we'd be happy to lend a hand for you to change..." Big Mac chuckled, "Really?" Flash raised his eyebrow again, "Come on Flash!" Sweetie laughed, "Scootaloo and your parents shouldn't be the only ones to keep an eye on you. We should too!" "And to do that, it means becoming friends!" Rarity concluded, "You guys..." "We'll be friends. Always... and of course, you can too Adagio!" Big Mac laughed, "Yeeah... how about no?" Adagio gritted, "Really?" Ms M and Flash giggled, "Then why were you hugging Rarity and Big Mac when you were at death's door?" "Argh!" Adagio blushed, "I should have known that you noticed!" "Don't forget about me Flash!" Hinata squeaked, "I've saved you before, and you've saved me back! I would be more than happy to be friends with you and spend lots of time together! Will you?" "I can't say no to that either, Hinata... which reminds me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for saving my life." Flash smiled, And everyone began laughing. As they did, Sweetie took a while to breathe and look at her sister, her friends, her teacher, Ms Cleo, and the little dragon. After everything they've been through, she's noticed that she's learned a whole lot about others when in this place. Especially Flash Sentry... who knew that he was Scootaloo's closest family friend? Normally, if someone rarely talks about another, then that someone wouldn't care so much, and yet Scootaloo never told her about it and she still loves him! Now, she can definitely see why. Although... "Thank you so much for taking care of Flash by the way." Mr Sentry thanked, "It's great to see that he has friends and teachers caring for him." "Well, he's helped us too." Rarity chuckled, "Who says we can't be friends just because he helped us a few times?" "Hey... Sweetie?" Scootaloo tugged, "Yeah?" Sweetie turned around, "Lower your voice a little," Scootaloo tugged her friend a distance away, "Why?" "This is important. You are my bestest friend, and I really like you more than you think. You and Applebloom." "Of course! The same for me!" "No... I like all of you the most!" Scootaloo persisted, "Okay, I get it... so is that the most important thing?" "Do you want to know why I rarely talk about him to the two of you?" "No?" "Because I don't want you to get involved. I was ready to take on others, but who knew it would first be you!" "What do you mean?" Scootaloo gripped Sweetie's hand hard, "He's mine. Understand?" The Foolish Fighter The End Next Up: The ?????'? ???? ????
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Siren's True Form
It was incredibly unfortunate that the weekend dedicated to meet Midgsrdsomr has not been fulfilled due to unforeseen circumstances. However, it yielded a new bond between another dragon and further understanding of the new world within a normal-looking park. Of course, it also developed more bonds between a certain group of friends... and their related family. "I'm so sorry mom, and dad." Flash apologized, "I broke my promise, but it was because Ms Cleo's home was in danger!" "Judging by the fact that Ms Cleo, Ms M, and your new friends are with you, you don't seem to be lying." Mr Sentry stared, "If what you said was true, you're not worthy of punishment either." "Why?" "You are dense, my dear child." Mrs Sentry laughed, "Don't you remember? You acted rough back in Primary school because you wanted to protect and stand up for someone. Cleo's home is no different. I'm proud that you did it!" "However, it does concern us that you and your new friends are fighting such a world in the first place!" Mr Sentry raised his voice, "Ms Cleo told us everything there is to know about Grastaea and New Alberia, and what the five of you have been doing. Even gave us a small tour yesterday when you were still in the hospital." "Such a magical place!!!" Mrs Sentry smiled, "Oh I was swept away by almost everything! I'm sure you all felt the same!" "Honey..." "Sorry! Sorry! Yes... as much as there are wonders, there are also horrors. And for all of you to fight those horrors... It's horrifically horrifying!" "But it's not-" Sweetie protested, "-what you're aiming to do in the first place. Ms Cleo told me." Mr Sentry interrupted, "You want to help rebuild the Halidom, even getting paid doing it. As you find materials or helpers, the 'fiends' get in the way. It tells me a lot about what the people had to face in that era. But I believe this matter should be addressed for another time. AFTER you find your wind dragon." "Wait... what? You're just letting us do this? To fight?" Rarity looked in disbelief, "At least for Flash. I can't speak on behalf of your parents." Mr Sentry corrected, "We know about your special powers thanks to demonstrations and Ms Cleo's tour. However, I would suggest you all NOT to get ahead of yourselves. Even dragons and superheroes are not immune to death. Mrs Sentry and I would be more than happy to accompany you, but we do have our obligations, like work. I trust that you'll be safe in the hands of Ms Cleo and your history teacher." "Eeyup," Big Mac gulped, "Judging from your faces, I'm guessing you haven't told your parents about New Alberia. I encourage you all to try." Mrs Sentry suggested, "Your purpose in New Alberia is very good but also very dangerous, so you need to let them know that. I'm happy to stand by your side and support you!" "Seriously?" The students and siren spoke in unison. "Of course!" Mrs Sentry gave an open-mouthed smile with her eyes closed, "A friend of my son is a friend of mine!" Though Big Mac, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were still hesitant to tell their parents about the Halidom, they could not forget that easy-going smile of Flash's wonderful supportive mother. She even became the opening topic for Monday in the school canteen. "Your mum is very nice and pretty." Sweetie dreamily looked at Flash, "What can I say?" Flash copied Sweetie's dreamy expression, "I'm a lucky guy!" "I'm more concerned that you're not embarrassed about your mom. Fluttershy has problems with her brother, but you don't seem to have any issue with your fam," Rainbow moaned. "And why should I? I love her for everything she was and is! Same with dad!" "Oh! So you're a suck-up to your parents, I see!" Rainbow snickered, "Oh, they can be quite fearsome and strict at times," Flash countered, "Now are any other questions, or is it just jabs at me and my family?" "Just one," Fluttershy raised her hand, "Why did you learn to fight? We've never seen you do any martial arts except for Scootaloo and now Rarity telling us..." "Mom's recommendation to keep my violent self in check and most importantly to learn restraint." "You know what? I take it back Flash... you're not boring. You're actually kind of a badass protecting a castle." Rainbow smirked, "I take no pride in badassery. And me being a fighter is a need-to-know basis. But, I promised my friends that I would try to be a bit more trusting." "You surely are a good man, Flash!" Pinkie laughed, "Speaking of which, how's Adagio?" "My enemies are getting worried about me?" Adagio raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure they're alright?" "It's been months now," Rarity answered over a cup of Honey Tea in the Halidom, "And because of Sunset, she wants to how you've been doing. She's convinced that you are not as power-hungry and manipulative like before." "Well good for her!" Adagio moped, "Remind me why the four of you are here again? Don't you have anything to do at school?" "We've tackled some assessments already, making time for you!" Rarity smiled, "Remember that we're here to help you regain your singing voice while we're rebuilding the Halidom!" "Wow, I honestly thought you'd have forgotten." "We had a busy few weeks, but a promise is a promise." Rarity smiled, "So we're going to be helping you throughout the week!" And that's exactly what the team did. Every day after school, the students resumed their singing tutorship. From Tuesday to Friday, the siren slowly began to find her pitch, and slowly found singing practices fun. "Can we stop singing about liking flowers and daffodils and all sorts of other nature stuff? It's making me cringe!" Adagio rasped, "How about the 1-2-3-4-5 song?" Sweetie suggested, "NO," And when the weekend rolled around again, the four students decided the time has come. Their siren in rehabilitation is to sing one song! "Which one do you think would be perfect?" Flash asked over the phone on Friday night, "The one Big Mac picked! It's called, 'Find the Magic'! He thinks Adagio would like it, it resonates with her life right now!" Rarity answered, "Sweet... it's great that we could focus on helping her this week, now that Hinata and Ms M are finding Midgardsomr in our stead," Flash sighed, "Flash, I want to ask you something... about your mana," "You sound serious. What's up?" "Do you think... do you think I can be able to fight as you do?" "But I thought you already have something. Don't you have that geode of yours that gives you the pony ears like Camp Everfree and all the times after that?" "Call it exploring new possibilities. I'm interested in how you're able to harness it quickly when the four of us haven't even got a grasp on our own." "Okay then... from what Ms M and Ms Cleo told me, they said that me learning some martial arts beforehand helped me to control my mana alongside breathing. So maybe you should give it a go and do some deep breaths yourself in the Halidom. But if you ask me, mana isn't learned just through fighting. You should try and grasp mana that befits your nature. Like making clothes," "Now how can I do such a thing?" Rarity frowned, "Ms M showed me some examples through a few adventurer biographies. Mana was used to make weapons for New Alberia. Courtesy of three particular blacksmith sisters. The middle sister Ramona uses fire mana to control the fires of the furnace to adjust and shape materials into dangerous blades or steel. Once it's done, she gives the blade to her younger sister Renee. Her responsibility is to cool and temper them with water." "Sounds like a very mundane job. But, it's probably for the best given her age," "You might be surprised. The heat for the blades, thanks to Ramona, is far too great for ordinary water to cool down. That's what Renee's use of water mana is for. It is through her that the water is enchanted to simmer such weapons crafted in extreme fires. She is capable of using fire and wind mana though." "I see. Then what of the eldest?" "Rena is responsible for infusing mana into any finished weapon. It's what gives the weapons enhancing abilities and new fighting skills to its wielder." "Okay then. I'm convinced that maybe it is possible to use mana for clothes making, but I don't expect it to come when I'm making clothes as normal." "You're right. You'll probably need some method to control it. Last I've seen, Sweetie's mana was used as an instinctive barrier. Maybe you can ask Cleo to help you? I'm sure there are tonnes of mana that revolve around the castle thanks to defeating fiends and whatnot." "I'll think about it," "Oh and one more thing..." Flash stopped, "If you intend on using mana, try using it in tandem with the magic you and the others girls have. It's possible, and I think it would be a neat combination of power!" "Perhaps..." "I don't think I've asked... but what element are you? We know that Sweetie is water, and I am light... what do you think you would be?" "Thinking back on experiences with the elemental altars, I am certain that my mana is the antithesis to your element: Shadow." "Spooky... but I have no reason to see you as an enemy because of powers. Think we can still fight together as friends?" "That goes without saying Flash!" So on the sixth day, the four students confronted the siren with their test. "You think I'm ready to sing?" Adagio asked surprised. The four students smiled at each other, "Yeah!" Three of them jumped and cheered, "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded with a small smile, "And we've picked a song just for you!!!" "Hold on a second... can't I just sing the song that's been trending lately? I can at least remember the words," "True, but when it comes to singing, a good singer is one who sings from the heart. Sings with their feelings and memories." Rarity explains, "So we found a song you'd best relate to," Flash pulled out a sheet of lyrics, "Here you go!" "Find the... magic?" Adagio read, "Huh... wow... this... are you trying to make me depressed?" "I'm sorry... did it hit too deep?" "Straight to the core," Adagio frowned, "But you're right... I do feel interested in this song." "Here, we've got the music for it too. Why don't the four of us sing first, and then we can go through the lyrics together?" "Sure," Adagio nodded, "Hit it," "Ready everyone?" Rarity stood up straight, "No dancin' please," Big Mac stopped, "Jus' sing," "Fine..." Rarity frowned and hit play. A synthesiser started playing chords in A minor. It was a slow song, not a lot of instruments, and it felt very sad and melancholy. Adagio looked at the four students, each putting on a persona of sadness. "Where do we go?" Rarity sang, "Every day's the same. Did we lose the magic, magic, magic?" "So ordinary..." Sweetie Belle took over, "Stuck on repeat... Gotta find the passion, passion, passion." Then Rarity and Sweetie Belle sang together, in different vocal ranges. "These days go round and round, round and round!" "Gotta break away..." Big McIntosh and Flash Sentry responded with their own vocal ranges while also in tune, "Find a great escape..." "Round and Round and Round-" Flash and Rarity sang, "-Round and Round and Round-" Then Sweetie and Big Mac. "Oh..." Rarity vocalised, maintaining her sorrowful look "Oh-oohhh..." Then all together, the four sang the chorus, each with their able voice range. "Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find the magic..." "Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, let's find the magic..." Adagio was speechless, moved to tears. This song when sung at once... it brought back so many memories... memories of her fellow Dazzlings... her sisters. Cleo also overheard the singing and came out to hear what was going on. She too was taken aback by the melancholy aura of the song sung by the students as they touch the second verse and continued... "Thank you for listening!" Rarity bowed, "Well? How was it?" "Amazing..." Cleo applauded, "It really brought a tear to my eye. Though for Adagio, I think you brought a waterfall instead." "I'm not crying because I'm moved..." Adagio defended, "It's... I just feel like... If I was singing this... I think Aria and Sonata should be here too..." "Yeah," Flash stretched his arms, "I think the song fits the three of you. But it was Big Mac who suggested the song." "You?" Adagio turned to the farmer. "Ah've tried putting mahself in yer shoes. And make no mistake that Ah'd be very upset when somethin' close to you, yer pride, is taken away or destroyed... becomin' human. You feel helpless, desperate, you wanna find another reason... but then you've been given the chance again when Ms Cleo found you... but from there, Ah guess you still want to pick up what's left of you or try to find somethin' new. To be fair, Ah was lucky enough that this song sounds similar to what you think..." "Wow... I... I don't know what to say..." "I'll take yer reaction as thanks," Big Mac smiled, "Why don't we try singin'?" "Okay then," Adagio wiped her tears and took a deep breath, "Bring it," And so it begins. The team decided to tackle the training by having Adagio sing one line at a time. They went over every single line, correcting some pitch mistakes, or the way certain voices are pronounced. All the lessons in the weekdays had paid off immensely, as it only took less than a minute for the siren to sing a line at a self-acceptable level. In ten minutes, the siren got through the last line and was able to sing through it in one go. "Yes!!! You did it!!!" Rarity and Sweetie raised their hands for a high-five. Adagio blinked for a while, then high-fived them with a surprised smile, "Mission accomplished Mac," Flash beamed, "Eeyup," Big Mac beamed back, bumping knuckles with him. "You were wonderful Adagio." Cleo complimented, "Granted, it's not as amazing as when you first sang back in the musical showcase, but you've certainly recovered a lot!" Rarity evaluated, "I think you've got the talent to sing!" A voice spoke, "If only someone was kind enough to show me some performances of that musical showcase, I could make a much more constructive opinion!" "Ah! Ms M! Nice to see you here!" Rarity looked to see the history teacher walk towards them, followed behind by a teenage girl with white hair, "And the same goes to you Hinata!" "Good afternoon to you too everyone! I'm glad that we were able to hear Adagio go through the one full round." "So what's up?" Flash asked, "We have found Midgardsomr." Ms M announced, "And this time, we'll be able to meet him today. Are you guys prepared?" The four humans, the siren, and the sylvan looked at each other. It is indeed, the weekend. And they have more than enough time. It's almost a month now, but they can finally achieve what they owe Cleo! "We can do it today," Rarity nodded, "Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, "Oh yeah!" Sweetie clenched her palms, "I'm in!" Flash gave a thumbs up, "More than ready," Adagio smirked, "Love to have the place I live in renovated." "But before that," Rarity paused, "Do you think we can prepare?" "Never thought you'd ask!" Cleo smiled, "There's a lot we have to discuss!" "First, I'd like to see if I can add to my 'Mana Circles' as Estelle." Rarity offered, "Understood," Cleo nodded, "And this time, I think you can do it yourself. You can direct the mana within this castle and guide it into your body." "Right... Here we go..." Rarity put on Estelle's essence and closed her eyes... "I'm in!" Estelle yelled. Her voice echoed through the endless boundaries of the mana circles. The atmosphere near identical to Flash's, which she knows since Flash and Estelle are of the same element. "Good. With the mana you have, you can try and fill out every node of the mana circle you have. Once you do, a statue floating just above the circle should react." Rarity furrowed her brows and tensed her arms. She held out a hand and aligned it with an unlit node. Streaks of blue appeared from all around and buried itself into the node, turning it on. Rarity did the same for every unlit node. Once every node on the circle was lit, all the nodes released a wisp of light, conversing onto the mentioned statue. It looked like a stamp with a sharp stem pointing to the top. It also happened to have a pair of small angelic wings. "What you aim to do here now is to send not only mana but some elemental light orbs towards that statue. I've got someone to bring some already. This process is not called unlocking, but unbinding. When the statue is charged, it will unlock the second mana circle above." "Here goes!" Estelle put both her palms out at the floating statue. The winged stamp began to shake and rumble until the was a loud shattering sound. The small wings upon the statue grew in size and changed from an angel to a dragon. The small statue launched a blue ball of light to the darkened circle floating above. Once the blue ball aligned itself, it exploded. All the darkened parts of the circle shattered like glass, leaving behind a circle similar in shape to the one below it. As it shattered, the Preacher could also feel something shattering in her body. "And that is your second mana circle unbound." Cleo concluded, "Now feel free to fill up these nodes if you want." "I choose to fill them all!" Estelle grinned, "Well?" Cleo asked as Estelle opened her eyes, "How did you feel?" "I feel healthier and stronger..." Estelle answered, "Oh! And I feel more memories stirring in my mind... it could be the possibility of Estelle's second skill!" "Wonderful..." Cleo smiled, "Flash? McIntosh? Would you like to meditate too?" "Sure!" Flash nodded, "Me?" Big Mac pointed to himself, "As Vixel," Cleo added, "Aww, y'all really need me to fight from now on?" "More than ever Big Mac," Ms M nodded, "Midgardsomr is in the Binding Ruins. It's east from the Halidom, between Mount Adolla and Myriage Lake. But more importantly, the ruins are filled with shadow-attuned fiends. We need as much light as we can get." "Honoured," Big Mac grinned, "Ah'm ready to be enlightened," Flash had his second mana circle unbound and halfway filled. Big McIntosh as Vixel had his First mana circle filled as well as his second unbound and halfway filled too. Strengthened and essenced, they headed to the art gallery. "So." Estelle stated, "What is the secret behind these works of art?" "Though they do look like works of art, they house a special power that grants particular abilities and enhancements to those who are anointed with holy water. These special paintings are known as 'Wyrmprints'. How are they special? It's because the artists, like most of Grastaea, use mana to imbue their works with blessings." Cleo explained, "I like it... I really like it!" Flash nodded approvingly, "For a single castle, New Alberia is armed to the teeth with military power! Countless adventurers, pactbound dragons, and paintings that can buff both!" "Other nations are much more powerful than you think..." Cleo warned, "But in any case, there is a large archive regarding the paintings as well as the benefits they give. Read it and decide what wyrmprint you need. Our bodies can use a maximum of two." "Got it." "Flash?" Ms M strolled in, "I've fixed up the Strong Halberd for you. Good as new!" "Wow!!!" Flash took the weapon, the spike upon the spearhead sharpened and bright. "Thanks so much!" "Training with Arctos to make weapons of our own really paid off," Ms M gave a smug grin, "After all, most crafted weapons here require fire as hot as mine!" "Looks like we need to find Arctos if we want to make really strong weapons!" "We will get there someday. I promise." Ms M promised, "By the way, where is the little crusader?" "She's going to our homes to fetch something." Vixel answered, "Hinata's going with her for protection." "To get what?" Cleo asked, "Our rides!" Sweetie exclaimed, walking into the art gallery with Hinata (in human form) by her side. "They're parked near the melee training dummy outside." "Wonderful!" Estelle huffed with pride, "And with that, we have everything we need. Is everyone ready?" "Yeah!" Everyone cheered, "Very well then everybody," Estelle encouraged, "Let's roll out with style!!!" The Flamewyrm and the little white dragon soared through the sky, hovering above six colourful dots emerging from the forest. On the ground, four bicycles raced across the flatlands, riding on the dirt path without any sign of slowing down. Leading the pack was a bike of purple, ridden by the Loving Preacher and carrying the Belle Healer as a passenger, though not without the protective helmet and kneepads. Following suit was a smaller lilac bike, with a pretty and durable basket at its front, carrying bags filled with supplies from the Halidom. Sweetie Belle was the rider of this peculiar two-wheeler. Flash was next to follow, racing upon a navy blue mountain bike with a yellow streak, maintaining a steady balance while keeping up passionately on his pedalling. He too had a basket attached on the bike's front, carrying exactly the same thing Sweetie has. And last but not least was the Musical Maestro and his big red bike. The owner often uses the bike as part of his deliveries, though today he is carrying the cheerful merchant on the passenger seat as his package for the day. "How are you doing Ms Cleo? Comfortable?" Estelle asked, "Having to hold up my skirt as well as grabbing on to you is extremely problematic. If I fail on one or the other, we're bound to crash! On the other hand, you're going the right way!" "That's good to know. Luckily, Estelle is just about the same size as me. It would be a nightmare if it was someone whose legs are too short to reach the pedals!" "How about you Francesca?" Vixel spoke, "Are you fine?" "Yeah, I'm good." Francesca replied, her arms tight around Vixel's sides and her body in contact with his, "But uh... are you sure you're okay yourself?" "I am. Why would I not be?" "Are you not feeling... aroused or distracted?" Francesca prompted, "No... not at all." Vixel coyly smiled, "In about five-hundred metres, turn right." Brunhilda instructed, "How quaint, acting like those GPSs made by humans," "Got it!" Estelle yelled back. "You have arrived at your destination," Hinata reported, "The entrance to the Binding Ruins!!!" "Phew!!!" Flash put on the brakes, "That took about... a ten-minute trip! Not bad!!!" "I must admit," Cleo hopped off the bike, "It has beaten travel time on foot by a lot..." "It reminds me of that delinquent's 'Chariot' back then..." Hinata wondered, "By the way, Ms Brunhilda," Flash turned to the Flamewyrm, "I remember that around your time, you and the dragons' universal agreement of peace with humanity were that they ceased all sorts of technological advancements that would damage nature and your homes. Do bikes count?" "Having to live in a time where humans are so deep into their technological advances can be infuriating. However, I have seen a select few that seek to minimise its damage to the environment and inventions that run on human strength rather than constant abuse of mana. Your bicycles are one such example. The materials used are somewhat similar to those in weapons, and I find it clever and wonderful. That being said, I still think one other invention just beats it." "And that is?" "Your mobile phones!" Brunhilda changed into Mym and held out a smartphone, "Long-distance communication is amazing! As for what is needed to keep a device like this active, Light Mana is a good alternative!" "So are you saying I can become my phone's power bank?" Flash realised, "It's very much possible! You just have to discover how!" Mym answered, "I'm starting to love this place even more!" Flash gave a wide smile, "Oh, and before you call me out about 'Double Standards', remember that I said that I have seen many of these technological advancements being very sensitive to nature. It goes to show that even humanity today are conscious about the many homes of dragons and other animals smaller than both of us. If I have a problem with some governmental plan that would lead to things like deforestation or whatnot, I guarantee you there will be many who agree with me. I will not resort to my crimson fires though!" Mym added, "Humanity seems to have their own in a verbal sense." "Thanks for sharing Ms Mym," Flash smiled, "Happy to hear your opinion," "Alrighty then, back to the matter at hand. The Binding Ruins," Mym responded, Before the team set off, they looked at a map to see what the ruins would look like. From a bird's eye view, the Binding Ruins looked like they were in a large pit crater surrounded by curved mountains. The way to access the ruins was through a tunnel within one of the curved mountains that would lead them directly to the entrance of the man-made temple. However, as they gaze into the aforementioned small little tunnel, something ominous was blowing out of it. "Grr..." Flash furrowed his brows and bared his teeth, "Flash?" Sweetie noticed, "A-Are you alright? You look like your serious self again." "I'm not. There's something about this place that is making me mad." Flash grumbled, "It feels like I'm staring at someone who's harmed or hurt someone whether through physical or verbal abuse and is proud of such lowly acts." "Now that you mention it." Estelle added, "I can feel it too. There is a great source of negative vibes and emotions stemming from the other side of that tunnel." "I've never been here before either." Francesca gave a whiff, "Do you know what this place is about Cleo?" "The Binding Ruins is one of many places where a sacred shard is kept; the ones used to seal away the demon Morsayati. As the shards lose their light over time, the dark power of Morsayati replaces the hollowness." Cleo answered, "That's dangerous! Surely SOMEONE would be smart to check on these shards every now and then!" Estelle protested, "They did. King Aurelius, Prince Euden's father, personally saw to it with the Tutelaries, the tribe overseeing these ruins. However, it also ended up becoming the catalyst for the original Kingdom of Alberia to fall and become the Dyrenell Empire." Cleo nodded, "But how?" Vixel inquired, "Aurelius was possessed by Morsayati, who chose to take the moniker called 'The Other'. He then proceeded to chase down Zethia and branded Prince Euden as a traitor. He needed her power to revive the rest of his power residing in that particular shard." "Wait! The very same Zethia that took over Aurelius for the Dyrenell Empire!?" Sweetie exclaimed, "So she was actually a good person that aided your Prince!" "Yes..." Cleo lowered her head in sorrow, "And once he had achieved that... the Other took over her body. With King Aurelius returned to his senses, he shielded Prince Euden, who had been chasing after her while making pacts with all the five greatwyrms, from her ambush. He sacrificed his life doing so." "No..." Sweetie Belle placed her hands on her mouth in tears, "That's so sad! So King Aurelius and Zethia were really good people!" "The story goes much deeper than that I fear... but that is for another time. Midgardsomr is here to mourn for Prince Euden, for this was the place where the Prince has lost two of his most beloved people. We must find him before he flies away." Cleo responded, "Got it," The five Equestrians responded, "I assure you, the negative feelings you experience from ruins are things you will get used to. We need to search this place thoroughly. So let me lead you." Cleo instructed, "Say uh..." Francesca asked as the group ventured into the tunnel on foot, "Does anyone feel hungry?" "No." Estelle answered, "Rather, I feel like I've lost my appetite." The ominous tunnel was just the tip of the iceberg. When the team emerged on the other side, the atmosphere was beyond comprehension. Though they could see the silhouette of the sun towering above them, the light it gives was unable to pierce through the dome of clouds enveloping the ruins. With only flames of blue as a source of light, the ruins were as dark as the caves, or a place where the night is eternal. "This place just screams 'Final Boss' lair' in videogames." Sweetie nervously gulped while walking upon the man-made stone path. "Trivialising the demon of darkness as a small final boss is a very big sign that you don't take many things seriously..." Mym rattled, "This place makes my hair stand on end..." Estelle shivered, "Just how big are these ruins?" "Four equally large sections connected linearly. The entrance which we are now in, followed by the Interior halls, the Recesses, and finally the Terminus at the end." Cleo answered, "Let's just hope we're able to find our way out..." Flash grumbled as he turned the corner to a dead end, "Unlike our trip to Adolla and Dornith, the ruins here are like a maze," "But on the other hand, I see treasure," Vixel came across another dead end, except it had the presence of a treasure chest. He went towards it and knocked it open with his staff, "How wonderful," he smiled as he collected its contents. "The people made sure to inscribe artistic patterns on their walls and arches," Estelle examined, "But given that this place is used to house something evil... Is there the possibility of traps?" "It only starts from the interior hall, and deeper within." Cleo answered, "Only two traps, spikes that pop out from the floor, and fire-breathing statues." "Oh, that doesn't sound too bad." Francesca sighed with relief, "Then woe to those that fell to them." Cleo warned, "The spike traps are laced with poison, and the statue's flames are sure to linger on the body. I cannot cure such afflictions, for a reminder." "Okay okay, I take that back then..." "Now along the way, we are bound to find closed doors that require opening." Cleo informed, "They are large doors that not only have some carving art etched onto them, but will also have a purple looking orb in the middle." "Like this?" Estelle pointed at a stone arch door matching her exact description, "Yes." Cleo nodded, "Now from there, we need to find the switch to open it. It should be somewhere in the dead ends near here." "This one?" Sweetie approached a purple crystal floating above a hole. "Excellent. Give the jewel a spin or a whack." "Open sesame!" The girl grabbed the crystal and gave it a mighty spin. As it did, the crystal lost its floating ability and dropped perfectly into the hole. Once it did, the stone doors began to rumble and move, sliding itself and revealing a new path." "Oh, I see!" Sweetie recognised, "It's like a slot! You need to put the crystal inside it!" "Yes." Cleo agreed, "And now, we can make our way to the next part of the Ruins." "Hey Hinata," Flash spoke, "You seem awfully silent for a while... something on your mind?" "Well..." Hinata twiddled her claws, "Even if I'm a dragon, this place still gives me the creeps." "So not all dragons are made equal huh?" "I've seen dragons bigger and older than me fall to that demon." Hinata shuddered, "Hearing their screams and seeing their lifeless bodies, it's cruel... if it were me, I wouldn't want to set foot in this place for my entire life. This is only the second time I've done so." "When was the first?" "With Prince Euden and his companions." Hinata explained, "With him at my side, I don't feel any fear to venture in. Like what I'm doing right now with you." "Hinata, you are a very sweet and kind girl." Flash smiled, "You guys rescued me, remember? And as I said, you remind me of the prince. Now that I mention it, why didn't I think about making a pact with you after you saved me?" "Well, I really appreciate that you put your trust in me as well as my friends but... neither of us have dragonblood, nor is anyone related to Euden's family. I'm afraid we can't make this pact lest it hurts one of us." "Oh, that's okay. Just a small pinky promise would do!" Hinata smiled, "Sounds good to me," Flash turned around while walking backwards, "If it's anything like Ms M, then my dream is to help-" "Stop!" Hinata commanded, grabbing Flash with her talons, "Muh?" Flash froze, SHINK! A collection of spikes laced with purple substance shot up behind Flash, then slowly sank back underneath. Flash turned back to the front. Behind him on the floor was a large octagonal tile filled with holes and dripping with that purple substance from before. A few seconds later, the spikes poked their heads from the holes, before shooting themselves up tall, almost up to Flash's height, then slowly sank down once again. "Looks like I owe you again Hinata," Flash swallowed hard, "Maybe let's focus on finding a safe spot first so we can properly make the pact." "Agreed." Hinata nodded back, But as mentioned by Cleo, the traps didn't end there. The team discovered more of the octagonal spike traps scattered on their path, and then came the dreaded statues. They resembled four-legged animals sitting on their behinds, like cats and dogs. But for their heads, the Equestrians could not identify the animal it tried to resemble. One, they couldn't stop to examine the statue. Two, it was breathing fire; examining it is hazardous. "Well now... how are we going to get through this?" Vixel asked, "Ever heard of 'Stop, Drop & Roll'?" Mym reminded, "Well, just the roll part. We roll underneath them!" "Oh... fair enough." Estelle shrugged, "But..." Sweetie raised her hand, "I don't think I can do it without hurting my head," "Oh don't worry about that, then just roll using your sides! As long as you stay low, you won't get burnt," "Are you serious?" Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "There you go!" Mym laughed, "You're doing it!" "Yeah yeah..." Sweetie rolled beneath the flames "This... is... embarrassing... and... my... clothes." She muttered whenever her mouth was facing the ceiling. "Okay Sweetie, you've safely passed underneath the fires." Hinata observed, "You can stop now." "Finally," Sweetie got up and frustratingly dusted herself, "Goddess... that was an embarrassment." "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention." Mym remembered, "You could always just wait for the statues to stop breathing fire." And just as she said that the statues stopped. Immediately, the rest of the team dashed over before the statues turned on, "Oh COME ON!!!" Sweetie bellowed, For two sections, the team made it through without any difficulty or any interference in the first place minus the traps and switches. And as they enter the Recesses, the process was... just about the same. Switches, traps, and not a single fiend to be seen. But just in case, the team thought not to say anything about the situation and just hurry to the end where possible. After all, they were here to find the Windwyrm and leave afterwards. "How much do you want to bet that Midgardsomr's at the Terminus?" Sweetie guessed, "Sweetie, betting is not a good idea..." Estelle hesitated, "We've searched every nook and cranny of the past two sections." Flash laughed, "But to humour you, I'll take you on. How much are you betting?" "I thought you were a religious man, Flash," Vixel looked concerned, "Are you stepping into sacrilege here?" "Ten bucks!" Sweetie wagered, "Too much," Flash shook his head, "My limit is at zero," "What!?" Sweetie jumped, "But that means nothing!" "Exactly," Flash nodded, "Betting is not a good idea," "Flash!!! You goody-two-shoes!" Sweetie pouted, "You may never know what happens next, Sweetie." Flash sighed as he jogged forward of the pack, "You may never know if you--oof!" Flash walked into a fence, bumping himself on the head and preventing him from moving forward. "Oh no..." Estelle, Cleo and Francesca froze. "Let me guess..." Flash walked back while looking at the wrought gates of blue flames. "We can't go through unless we have to fight some fiends... right?" As an answer, ten shadow goblins appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the team of eight. Then ten shadow gobmancers appeared behind the shadow goblins, surrounding the team of eight. And for the third wave, ten large zombie-like fiends with sharp ribs protruding from their chests and squatting down appeared behind the shadow gobmancers. "A new enemy..." Hinata warned, "Those large looking fiends are called ghouls. They're as beefed up as those lizardmen, but slower and obviously lacks the shield. However, these things are incredibly hard to move or push, and unlike the lizardman, they are capable of a ranged attack. So try not to fight them face-to-face. Otherwise, it'll vomit something nasty." "Noted," Flash readied his halberd, "Let's get cracking!" Flash struck first, skillfully thrusting the lance twice into the shadow goblin in front of him. The goblin fell to its knees, and then on its body, before finally disintegrating. As the first blood was drawn, the ring of goblins leapt forward, giving the team no chance to escape from the wrath of their clubs. "Congratulations Flash!" Mym sarcastically retorted as she clawed an opening, "You truly are a reckless fighter! Now all of you get out before we truly bite the dust!" "S-Sorry!" A wounded Flash apologised as he and the rest hurtled out of the ambush. "I just didn't expect them to hit back so hard!" "It seems you've forgotten the obvious matchups Flash," Estelle groaned in pain, "Whereas shadow is weak to light, light itself is weak against shadow!" "Oww..." Francesca moaned, "You okay Vixel? Sweetie?" "A-okay..." Sweetie gave a thumbs up, "I honestly thought I saw my life flash before my eyes. Good thing I had a meatshield to hide behind!" She patted Flash, "A few cuts. I tried to cast some of those orbs, but they were on me already." Vixel sighed, "Guys watch out!" Flash grabbed Sweetie and shielded her from some incoming bolts of darkness. As they exploded on his back, A searing and ominous pain struck the boy as if someone invisible hand was choking his neck while turning his irises black. "Awwkk..." Flash's fell to his knees, his eyes black as the night and emitting smoke. The team screamed, "Flash! Stop that!" Sweetie gripped his collar, "You can only be a meatshield when I need you to be!!!" "We need to find a space where we won't get surrounded," Francesca yelled as she parried one of the shadow goblins, "We'll never be able to focus when enemies are all around us!" "Leave it to me!" Hinata flew to the air, "Take this!" She releases a blast of purplish yellow fire, burning three gobmancers and two shadow goblins who were unlucky enough to get in front of her. "Make for that corner over there!" She pointed, "It will take some time before I can use my Shining Breath again!" "I got our teenage lancer, Sweetie." Vixel hoisted Flash up, "Follow Estelle! I'll keep up with you..." "Not yet..." Flash moaned, his eyes still blackened, "I can still fight..." He lightly gripped his halberd and made a small slash at the nearest fiend... a ghoul. The limber fiend looked at its assailant with its glowing yellow eyes and crawled towards them. "Flash!" Mym saw the scene, "Can you stop, attracting, trouble!? By my scales... you're a much better fighter and decision-maker when you're actually angry! What happened to you!?" "Well, we've got our back against the wall." Francesca noted, "What now?" "It's a good thing that I anointed myself with that 'Chocolatiers' painting before we left. Turns out it fills up the mana for skills right from the start! I have my healing skill ready. Or rather... two healing skills ready!" "Use it!" Vixel yelled as he began flinging orbs at the approaching fiends. "Flash has taken much damage as is!" "I'll use my second one!" "So Estelle, I've been noticing," Spoke a kind prince, "Yes?" Rarity asked, acting as if she was directly part of the conversation as Estelle, "I've noticed something about you as a teacher," "Now what could that be?" Rarity thought to herself, "From what I've read, those kids can sometimes be mischievous. Of course, they have been met with the Loving Hand plenty of times!" "Despite your discipline as a teacher, you really do reach out for your students! And you are a fine preacher as you strive to be!" "Why, thank you for your kind words!" Rarity smiled, "Even if I'm not actually a preacher, let alone the actual Estelle..." "But recently, I saw you defending the kids from a nasty fiend ambush... that takes some serious guts," "Huh?" Rarity raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall that written in the biography..." "You're like a Guardian," The Prince complimented with a smile, "And with the Grace of a preacher! A gentle defender and a healer for those kids." "Ahh..." Rarity perked up, "I see now... I think I know what Estelle's second healing spell is called!" Then everything, including the prince, faded into white. "I will protect and heal everyone! Guardian's Grace!" Estelle chanted, swiping the Loving Hand downwards. Instead of hands, an ethereal green shield with the crest of the Ilian Church landed at Estelle's feet. The impact of the shield created a shockwave that raced across the entire room. As the shockwave passes under the feet of each and every dragon and fighter, they all experienced a soothing sensation that lingers, the confidence that they are being watched by a trustworthy defender. "Hey!" Vixel looked at his disappearing cuts, "The effects feel incredibly similar to my Spirited Song!" "HP regeneration," Flash slid himself off McIntosh's back, "Thanks Estelle, I'm ready to go." "Flash," Francesca snapped, "Don't be an idiot! I can tell that the preacher's second skill doesn't heal someone greatly. You've still got those blackened eyes!" "Maybe..." Flash chuckled, staring down the ghoul he nicked, as well as a pair of Shadow Goblins and Gobmancers. "I'd call it a compromise... this is going to be fun." "Flash!" Sweetie yelled as the lancer marched forward, "What are you doing!?" "I'll give you a hint, Sweetie." Flash grinned, "The more I'm close to dying... the fighting spirit within me could be never more than alive!" Flash lunged forward with his spear out, forcefully striking the four goblin fiends and snuffing them out. Then quickly stepped out of the ghoul's attack from behind. Flash swept low, chopping off the ghoul's leg and tripping it over. Then he raised his halberd high and swung it down, forcing the axe-end of the halberd into the ghoul's head. The ghoul roared and jerked around, but Flash pulled his weapon out and jammed it down once again. This time, it was enough for the ghoul to perish and burn away. "You see..." Flash laughed while stretching his neck, "I used the blessing of a particular wyrmprint that bolsters my strength when I'm near death. 'Hanetsuki Rally' I believe it was called. It's some Hinomotoan pastime." "Oh..." Went the rest of the team, "But I do recall that its temporary," Flash noted as he felt the Guardian's Grace mending his wounds, muscles and eyes, "So let's make the most of it!" "Alright then Flash," Estelle shrugged, "Fire away everyone!" "Looks like I got your back again Flash," Francesca moaned, "Let's get this over with quick. My stomach is rumbling!" With a vantage point on their side, the team found their footing in the fight and turned the tables. With their back guarded by a wall, all enemies had to focus on them at the front, and it was perfect for the staff users to focus their fire in one direction, covering their two front liners. Francesca clawed at the two shadow goblins who charged for her. Francesca juggled between which goblin to fight, excessively gutting one goblin while making two wide cuts across the other. She was extremely mad that both of them weren't screaming in pain much less still alive. It was a nice that the three healers were able to deal the finishing blow with their orbs. For Flash, he faced down the three remaining goblins. "This will be easy," Flash smirked as his energy and eyes fully came back, "One!" He hooks one of the goblins by the body and throws him into Cleo, Estelle and Vixel's orb barrage. "Two!" He swings his lance, beheading the second with the axe, "And three!" He spun his staff and stabbed the last with the spike. "That's all the Shadow Goblins taken care of!" Next targets, the Shadow Gobmancers. There were only five left, but they decided to stand at a considerable distance and pelt shadow bolts at them or summon pillars of darkness beneath their feet. "Split up and attack!" Estelle commanded, "Take one each, be careful of the ghouls!" As one gobmancer conjured a circle underneath the heroes, they rolled out of its way before it could claim them, running in different directions. Cleo rolled forward, dodging the shadow bolts sailing at her, then proceeded to give three stunning thwacks on the gobmancer's head. Not letting him retaliate, Cleo charged her mana and let loose her Force Strike, the decisive spell to end the gobmancer. Likewise, Flash, Estelle, and Vixel were able to finish off theirs with ease. Only Francesca had to struggle and even swallowed a pillar of darkness when she stumbled into the gobmancer's range. "Argh!!!" The merchant was launched off her feet, stained by darkness, straight into the slow-moving ghouls. "We got you!" Vixel, Hinata and Flash ran to Francesca's support, repelling the ghouls from their prey. "Ms Cleo! You and me? We Force Strike together!" Estelle warned, "You got it," Cleo nodded, "Yah!" They pointed their respective staffs at the sole shadow gobmancer, and their beams pierced and vaporised it in an instant. "Sweetie?" Estelle looked around, "Where are you?" "She's with me," Mym called back, holding onto the young girl's hand, "Hey Ms Mym?" Sweetie asked, "Why aren't you helping out?" "Call it a precaution... something tells me these ghouls aren't the only things left we have to fight." And last but not least, the ghouls. Estelle tended Francesca's wounds with her Healing Faith, while Flash and Hinata fought their way through the first ghoul ahead of them. Hinata fearlessly rends through the ghoul's flesh with her claws, then Flash jumped in to deliver a few axe-bladed swings with his own. "No kidding! Three swipes, and it looks like he didn't budge! For my buff to run out already, what misfortune!" "I told you! Those guys are beefy!" Hinata sighed, "Get out of the way!" Vixel warned, "The ghoul's going to vomit!" Hinata grabs Flash and drags him just out of the ghoul's purplish-black, burning 'lunch', reaching all the way to the wall. "Holy moly!" Flash shivered, "That is ridiculous!" Vixel said no word. Instead, he rolled to the side of the ghoul and charged his body, "Here's my version of a Force Strike!" Vixel exclaimed, firing the laser. A direct shot to the head, but it still wasn't enough to take it out." "You've got to be kidding me... yah!!!" Flash charged forward and swung hard. A downward, diagonal strike, the halberd landed perfectly on the hole caused by Vixel's Force Strike which allowed it to cut through. With its face cleaved, the ghoul fell over and fizzled away. "That took too long," Flash panted, "And so much energy..." "We've still got eight left..." Hinata gestured towards the growling fiends, "Oh, I've had enough..." Flash growled, "I'm gonna line 'em up and bowl them over!" He struck the halberd across the hard surface, setting it to spark and crackle with electricity. Then he pointed it to the ghouls, aiming to make sure all fiends were in the line of fire, then chanted, "Lance Cannon!" The halberd fired its brilliant blue cannon, ripping through all eight ghouls and fizzled into sparks once it made contact with the ruin walls, "The cannonball doesn't explode? That's a letdown," Francesca narrowed her eyes, "And check it out... even though most of them have lost a few limbs, they're still moving." Sweetie smirked, "Hey Flash! Your Lance Cannon's nerfed!" "I give in," Flash sighed, "I think I've met my match here," "Okay then," Sweetie laughed, "Franny? Sis? Vix? Ms Cleo? Why don't all of you cheer Flashy up by finishing them off? Even if they're not gone in one shot, I don't think they need any more effort and dodging." "Alright then. This is for you Flash!" Vixel smiled as he fired three orbs at the nearest ghoul, putting it down for good. "You've done well," Cleo smiled, Force Striking the one close to her, as well as another one behind it. "You were amazing, Flash!" Hinata laughed, kicking the fourth ghoul across the face, her nails ripping off its flesh. "Hah! Rah!" Estelle took a physical approach, giving the fifth and sixth a powerful slap, slamming them to the ground. "Say nothing about it!" Francesca smiled, creating a small little gash on the seventh ghoul, and it crumbled in an instant. "Thanks, guys," Flash smiled, walking over to the final straggling ghoul and kneeing it in the face. All eight ghouls burst into dust, leaving the dragons, humans and sylvan victorious. "Alright then," Francesca wiped her forehead, "Now that all the enemies are done, let's get going..." But the blue gate barring their way remained standing. Instead of disappearing, ten fiends appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the team once again, "Oh GIVE US A BREAK!" Sweetie threw up her arms in anger. All ten of them were the same, but they were an unidentified type to the team. They were on two legs, large in size, and wearing a suit of armour. Whilst the suit of armour was baffling, the particular giant size of these fiends gave the Preacher and the Merchant traumatic flashbacks. "Oh no..." Francesca looked to Estelle with shaking eyes, "... Golems!" Estelle cried, "And attuned to shadow no less!" "Goddess, I'm pooped." Flash grumbled, "But there's no rest. We've got to mow them down again, build up those skills." "Hey Flash, since you have your own mana circle, do you have a second skill you could unleash?" Estelle asked, "Sorry." Flash shook his head, "I couldn't prepare for that," "Even when three of us are attuned to light, fighting ten golems right after fighting thirty fiends will tire us out," Vixel analysed, "Then it's a good thing I didn't move a muscle," Mym stepped forward, "I hope you understand why..." "Yeah yeah..." Sweetie rolled her eyes, "Just in case of an emergency," "If you wish to fight, then so be it..." Mym chants as she begins to transform into her dragon form, "But let us aid you with the heavy work!" "And you've got me with you!" Hinata saluted, "I'm supereffective against these guys as well!" "So, class..." Brunhilda flaps her wings, "Are you ready for a demonstration?" "Not without me, Flamewyrm!" A grande voice called from above. From the murky fog above, a large figure dived towards the area, covering it in dust and gravel. Before the adventurers very eyes, a mighty gust blew the dust away to reveal a large green dragon. His body and tail were all in scales, with a belly and chest of faint yellow. Yellow spikes protruded from its muscular arms and upper legs, as well as on the lateral frontal part of his wings. More importantly, the dragon had eyes of red, horns curved backwards and upwards, and green spiky hair styled in a way that looks like one of Flash's shows from another country. Everyone (except the fiends) dropped their jaws. The dragon's green colour and mentioning of their teacher's title could only bring up one name. "Midgardsomr!" All the Equestrians squealed with joy, "Finally!" Brunhilda laughed, "About time you showed your old mug, Windwyrm!" "Yes, it has been far too long. Now, how about we dragons lend our strength to our old friend and her new companions standing before us?" "You read my mind!" Brunhilda roared, "Let's get em!" Hinata punched the air, The three dragons took to the air. Brunhilda spun around, unleashing her fire known to reduce one to ash upon the Nightmare Golems, causing their armour to melt. Hinata was craftier. With her small size, she zipped in between the golems, clawing them in places where they couldn't reach, before finishing her show with another dose of her Shining Breath. With the golems half-way through melting and being blinded, the Windwyrm hovered over the middle, "Uh-oh!" Hinata warned the people, "You guys better hit the corners!" "I shall rend you asunder!!!" Midgardsomr yelled. With one nightly flap of his wings, he created six powerful tornados that went in six separate directions. The golems were too large to dodge the Windwyrm's Tempest. All the ten golems remained frozen once the gales zipped through them, then exploded into paper-thin shreds. It was only ten seconds, and ten of the most durable fiends were gone before they could even cause damage. The equestrian and alberian spectators were blue with shock, seeing everything regarding the might of the dragons they ally with. They didn't even notice that the blue gate that barred their way had now disappeared. "My apologies," The Windwyrm landed, facing the humans, "If I have scared you with my might," "N-No need to..." Estelle stammered, "Y-You saved us the trouble of fighting," "Don't be hard on him, guys! Midgard's much calmer and 'rational' than I am!" Brunhilda laughed, "In fact, he's the one who was interested in humans like you! He's the first dragon to be pactbound with Alberius, and my darling!" "I am Midgardsomr," The Windwyrm roared, "The Lord of Maelstroms, master of the Mistholt, and the storm who kept the former King Euden and his companions from harm. It does my immortal body good to see you well, Cleo. And it is an honour to meet you, inhabitants of the world outside the mana barrier." "Sure, the feeling's mutual." Flash chuckled nervously, "I must apologise Cleo. I have consigned myself to this place, never for the time to visit you or the Mistholt, where it is my domain and my home." "It is forgiven Midgardsomr. I know how important it is to mourn," Cleo gracefully replied, "Not just that," Midgardsomr corrected, "While it is true that I am here to mourn, I am here to shield what's left of our lands from the never-ending influx of fiends. When I made my flight to the Dornith Mountains, the fiends had already filled the ruins when I returned." "Wait... you mean fiends were continuously spawning here? That must suck for you; having to stay there to fend them off!" Sweetie exclaimed, "As long as it keeps the land safe, I shall take this mantle till my very last breath." Midgardsomr sighed, "Midgardsomr, what have you been guarding the rest of Grastaea against?" Cleo asked, "A foul source of black mana. Though we thought the shard was drained of it, it has replenished overtime to open a rift for fiends to pour out. It is fuelled by the dreaded source of the Other's power; the Flow Eternal." Brunhilda gulped, Hinata gasped. "What is the Flow Eternal?" Vixel asked, "The Flow Eternal is the river of power used by the Other. It is his strength, his life force, and one too powerful for mere dragons and humans to quell. This is because the Flow Eternal is composed of all negative emotions in the world, exhibited by humans and dragons. Hate, anger, resentment, all the emotions that draw the fine line between men and demons." Midgardsomr answered, "I understand what you mean," Estelle nodded, "It explains why we all feel so worked up. We're reacting to this Flow Eternal thing." "Then it is fortunate that I have come along to see you, Midgardsomr." Cleo sighed, "Thanks to so many people in the Halidom, we have learned to seal away any source of darkness. There is a certainty that I can seal up what's left of this dark shard, now that the Other no longer exists in this world." "Hmm... perhaps you are right. Follow me. The path ahead will lead you to the Terminus, where the corrupted sacred shard lies." "Well, you heard the dragon!" Sweetie encouraged, "So let's get moving-" "Hold," Midgardsomr commanded, "I advise that one of you remain here, or at least outside the ruins." "Wha-!? Who and why???" "I refer to you," Midgardsomr pointed at the merchant, "Huh? Me? What's wrong with me?" Francesca inquired, "I can see beyond your guise of King Euden's companions. Unlike the Preacher and the Conductor of Music, you evoke peculiar energy; one that is neither human nor sylvan. What are you?" "Oh... you mean the real Adagio?" Estelle explained, "Yeah... you're right. She's not human." "So what might you be? Unless you speak, I cannot deem you fit to venture deeper." "Okay then," Francesca sighed, "... I'm what's known as a Siren." "Siren?" Midgardsomr, Brunhilda and Hinata repeated, their faces confused. "I hail from a parallel dimension within the world outside." Francesca explained, "A Siren like me is known to sing and entrance. But with our voices, we can also influence anyone to release and express their negative emotions and feelings. This is what we sirens feed upon, and thus grow stronger." "I see... then that explains why." Midgardsomr nodded, "Though you share similar ways, you are not related to the siren in our world." "Hang on, you have sirens in your world too?" Estelle gulped, "One of different nature composed to your friend." Midgardsomr explained, "But that is for another time. I must apologise. But for the sake of your friends, you must not go any further." "... You're afraid that I can feed on the Flow Eternal..." Francesca deduced, "... And thus regain my magic powers." "What!?" Estelle jumped, "But I thought your amulet was destroyed! You can't absorb negative energy anymore!" "Exactly," Francesca agreed, "As much as I hate to say it, I've become just an ordinary human girl. As far as I know, I can never get back that power ever again." "... I see," Midgardsomr spoke, "My apologies for your loss." "Think nothing of it," Francesca smiled, "I've got a new life now, with Cleo and the four of them. I used to hate their guts a lot when we first met, but as they spent time with me... I'm starting to seem them in a new light... and I'm also trusting them more than ever. I think it goes to say that you four are actually fr... friends." "Aww! Adagio!!!" Estelle teared up, "You are so sweet!" "It's not just you who has a new life, Adagio." Cleo added, "You've given me new life too. A new purpose to live when all my companions had passed away." "That being said, I won't deny that getting close to this Flow Eternal could cause serious problems for me. I've been feeling hungry ever since I set foot in this place. If that's the case, I'd be more than happy to wait here while you do the sealing." "No," Estelle protested, "You're not staying, you're coming with us." "Huh?" Francesca blinked "Are you sure about that?" "Seconded," Vixel raised his hand, "It's as she said. Her amulet is broken. Even if the Flow Eternal doesn't need that amulet, then I trust that she can resist it." "Yeah..." Sweetie nodded, "That's right! If I couldn't trust her, then what type of friend am I!?" "But if something does happen to me..." Francesca shuddered, "You may have to end up harming me!" "From observing you, that situation won't come up." Flash sighed, "And even if it did... we'll snap you out of it. No questions asked, and we promise to not hurt you beyond healing." "She put her life on the line to save me and her home," Hinata shared, "She has a good soul that won't be swayed by desires!" "Yes." Cleo finally agreed, "I trust Adagio too. She has come a long way from when I first met her. No matter what Adagio, I promise to be by your side." "Aww... you guys..." Francesca quivered, "Now you're going to make ME cry!" "If your friends support you, then I should back their confidence." Midgardsomr lowered his head, "But in case you feel ill from what's coming, it is still your choice. You can retreat anytime." "Thanks, Mids," Francesca gave a thumbs up, "I'll remember that," "Then all of you follow me," Midgardsomr started trudging forward, "There is a rift that must be sealed." Beyond where the blue gate used to lie, was a long staircase upwards, into the dark mist that towered over them. The Equestrians said nothing as the scaled the steps and entered the miasma. No complaints, no expressions of being scared. Whether it was their confidence after all that fighting, or with the mighty dragons by their side, no one could tell, nor did they want to bring up the subject. It was a mere five minutes that the party had reached the end. Standing before them, was the room is a large chamber with an altar at the far back, elevated on a podium. Just a bit beyond that, as if it was a part of the wall, rests the rift. It was a black portal swirling inwards, its mere presence warping the space surrounding it. As if the tear within the fabric of space was uncanny, it stagnated the air to make the five Equestrians from the outside sick to their stomachs. "Here it is," Midgardsomr introduced, "The Flow Eternal..." "Yeah..." Sweetie reached, "My stomach muscles are starting to ache." "It feels heavy..." Estelle took deep breaths "Like the feeling of guilt, anger, and sadness, after having a large argument with friends." "Alright then, no more remarks. We need to close this rift right away." Cleo stated, "I shall get onto it," "Is there anything we can do to help close the Flow Eternal?" Flash fumed, "The more I'm exposed to it, the more serious I get," "No kidding," Sweetie nodded, "Your change in tone is back," "No need," Cleo smiled, "I can do this on my own. It may take a while, but we can use this time to rest for when we march back." "Hey Midgardsomr, that reminds me." Vixel turned to the Windwyrm, "After Ms Cleo fixes the seal, do you think you can do us a small favour?" "A favour? State it," "Ms Cleo and Francesca saved our lives when the four of us 'outsiders' ventured to this world. To pay her back, we offered to help her rebuild her home, the Halidom. So for the past few weeks, we've been doing some manual labour, and for finding materials in this world, she lent us the essences of her former allies to clear out any obstacles along the way. Then we met Ms Brunhilda here, and she told us the best way to rebuild the Halidom in a short time is to find you. Do you think you can help us with that?" The Windwyrm stared beyond the Maestro's eyes, and deep into the farmer's. "... I am the Guardian of the Mistholt." Midgardsomr spoke after a few seconds, "Although Cleo was tasked to protect the Halidom since time immemorial, the Halidom is also part of the Mistholt. Indeed, I too see to its additional renovations and upgrades. I am the one who calls the Smithwyrms to work. For accompanying Cleo to seal the Flow Eternal and releasing me of my long burden, it's the least I can do for her and you. As long as you have the necessary funds and materials for the workers, which I am sure there is." "So after all this..." Estelle chimed in, "We've done it. After almost a month, we're finally going to pay back our debt! Ms Cleo and Francesca can begin living in style, and we can finally access more parts of the Halidom!" "You and Cleo should live a lot comfier now," Vixel turned to Francesca, "You guys totally need it given all you've been through." "Despite what I said in the Halidom, it doesn't change how lonely I may get." Francesca rolled her eyes, "How about you visit us more? I promise you after all this, I'll be a bit less annoyed by your presence." "If you insist," Vixel blushed. Indeed, it seemed that things were about to come to a wonderful end. But then something terrible stood in their way. After a few minutes of talking, the ground began to shake. "What's going on?" Francesca started, "It better not be something bad!" "Everyone?" Cleo started to panic, "That would be the portal... it's behaving haphazardly." "This presence..." Midgardsomr sensed, "Everyone, stand back! You too Cleo! Something is trying to come through!" "But the seal-" "Do it! If your mana is still connected, you may be pulled in!" "G-Got it!" Cleo nodded and quickly departed. The portal crackled and roared, releasing purple sparks all over the place. As it did, the gigantic face of a yellow-eyed lion with teeth lining its jaws and two tusks protruding from its furry cheeks, emerged from its dark dimension with a roar. "Oh no!!!" Hinata yelled, "a Manticore!!!" "What!?!?" Francesca turned around, "So Manticores exist here too!" "Oh no you don't!" Brunhilda roared, "You're not going to bring your ugly self into this world! Take this!" She flapped her wings and rammed the Manticore's skull with her shoulder. "Ooh! That's bound to break some bones!" Sweetie commentated, "I didn't see that coming... allow me!" Midgardsomr joined in. He hovered into the sky, and with a flexible twist of his lower body, he brought his heavy and scaled tail down on the Manticore's head like a hammer. This time, the humans and sylvan swore they could hear some crunching. The manticore roared in pain, but it still persisted to move forward. "Hey! I said you're not coming in!" Brunhilda repeated, winding up for another shoulder charge. But the manticore opened its jaw and spewed a purple flame in her face. The Flamewyrm sprung back, "Yeargh!" Brunhilda shrieked, "Ms M!" Estelle cried. The Manticore turned his head towards the Windwyrm, catching him in that very same breath. "Awaaahhhh!" Midgardsomr was pushed back, his scaled corrupted with darkness. "Midgard!" Flash yelled. With the dragons out of its way, the manticore moved forward, revealing its thick purple mane. But it paused again... there are still those small humans as witnesses. The beast had enough breath for this. "Forgive me, Sweetie..." Flash apologised, and pushed Sweetie far from his direction with a kick, "My apologies, Francesca..." Vixel did the same, grabbing the merchant and throwing her further from the manticore. "What was that for-" The two girls started to speak just as the Manticore unleashed his fire once again. Its breath swept across the field, hitting Estelle, Vixel and Flash. Was it not for the latter, the two girls would have also been in the range of the fire. Cleo was at the manticore's side, so she was not hit. Hinata too was fortunately out of its range. "Everyone!" The girls changed their tone. The three light-attuned adventures were blown away by the fire, slamming into the walls and landing in a heap. "A-Are you okay sis?" Sweetie reached for her sister, "Holy... Crap..." Estelle choked, her face and skin turned purple. "I was incredibly wrong... this fiend far overpowers the golems we've fought... and my body hurts so much... I don't know if I can take much more of this..." "No no no... hang in there sis!!!" Sweetie yelled, "Cleo! What the hell was that?" Francesca demanded as she examined Vixel, "Why are the three of them purple!?" "Poison..." Cleo answered as she checked Flash, "The manticore's breath is poisonous." "That's no good..." Sweetie started shivering, "We don't have anything to cure it!" "Don't know... until you try..." Flash grunted, clutching his stomach in pain, "In my bag... stomach medicine... antidote... mum suggested to pack it... pray that modern medicine... can... cure... these... afflictions!" "I got it... Hinata?" Cleo asked, "I'm going to take care of these three... you need to push that thing back!" "Yes ma'am!" Hinata saluted, "Here I come!!! Raaah!" Hinata resorted to a headbutt, colliding with the manticore with all of her strength. Miraculously, the manticore's damages to his skull had it to reel from the little dragon's headbutt, pushing the mane back into the portal. The manticore would not let this stand, but a flaming claw struck his face when it wasn't focusing, followed by another direct strike from a green tail. "You're still okay!" Hinata gasped at the two greatwyrms, "Yes but..." Brunhilda winced, "The Manticore's poison isn't detrimental to our health... but it is weakening our strength!" "Then we must constantly strike!" Midgardsomr panted, "We cannot let this thing emerge!" "I'll do one better, for harming and poisoning my students!!!" Brunhilda retorted, grabbing the fiend's face, "I will burn him then and there! Hraah!" "Wait!" Francesca called, charging forward, "Let go. Let me handle this!" "Francesca!!!" "I can do this! I've been saving my two skills for it!" Francesca yelled, "Let go!" "... Midgardsomr?" Brunhilda looked to him, "Take your best shot, Adagio!" Midgardsomr yelled. "This is the final blow..." Adagio whispered to herself once the dragons retreated, "This is how I can finally prove myself!" In a split second, two footsteps from the manticore's face. She puffed up her chest, breathed in the air, and yelled at the top of her lungs. "Peregrine Blade!" Instead of throwing the dagger, Francesca jumped into the air, and her body was surrounded by the image of the peregrine falcon. The green falcon screeched, slashing the fiend twice with its blade-shaped wings, then twice with its flesh-piercing claws. The falcon then disappeared, leaving the merchant on her feet. "Windwhistler!" With her next chant, the dagger she equipped extended into a large green blade with holes. With the sound of one sharp whistle, the manticore's face was split in two. The manticore could no longer make a noise. Instead, its halved head drooped down and crumbled into the dust like all the other fiends. "You should have pulled your head back in when you had the chance." Francesca sneered, "Oh My Goddess..." Vixel spoke, "That was incredible!" "Vixel!" Francesca turned around with astonishment, "You're okay! But how?" "Modern medicine actually worked!" Sweetie responded. She was patting Estelle's shoulder, who was no longer purple and sitting up straight. "Just let me administer Flash..." Cleo replied while passing a measuring cup to Flash, "And then I can heal you all." "Glug... glug..." Flash raised the cup to his lips and gulped up the tonic. "Ooh... It's... I can feel my stomach feeling better already..." "Yes. It's a miracle that we managed to defeat the manticore at an early stage given our level." Cleo sighed, "Anyway, Elder Cure." "Now that, feels SO much better!" Estelle sighed with relief, feeling the magic rejuvenating her body. "Thanks, Sweetie. I think I can stand up now." "Same here," Vixel stood up, as did Flash. "So uh... is there going to be any more fiends popping out of that heck hole?" Flash asked, "... No." Midgardsomr observed, "The rift seemed to have expended a lot of energy to try and push the manticore out of the portal. It will take at least more than half-a-day to recover." "How do you know that?" Francesca asked, "I have been staying here for more than a few centuries fighting. I have come to observe the shard's behaviour. This is the first time I've seen a manticore appear. However, we were able to stop the manticore before it could cause any damage." "Yes yes... I shall go seal it now. It will take about 5 to 10 minutes. But that is more than enough time." "Finally!" Flash laughed, "We won! We actually did it! Yes!" "Woo!!!" Sweetie and Hinata cheered, "We did it!!!" "Yes..." Estelle smiled, "I feel like striking a pose of victory! Th-That's not weird. Is it?" "Oh don't worry Estelle!" Brunhilda laughed, changing back into her human form. "We all do that!" "Yeah! Group pose!" Sweetie cheered, "Come on Francesca!" Vixel called over, "You're the one who dealt the finishing blow, you're every bit as part of this team!" "Alright then," Francesca laughed, "Just let me... take a deep breath... It was a doozy trying to vary how my skill works." "Francesca..." Midgard spoke, "No... Adagio. I truly thank you for putting yourself at risk." "Woah! Watch the saying there..." She chuckled, "But I understand what you mean. It's our home, I'd do whatever I can to protect it." "It would not harm your reputation if you chose to hold back in fear of the feeding on the Flow Eternal. But still, you fought with us, resisting its influence. Your bonds with Cleo and your friends are truly transcendent." "Oh, you..." Francesca sighed, "Really. I'd say it took a while, but it all worked out. So hey! Are all of you listening?" "Yeah?" Sweetie and the rest of the team turned to face the merchant, "Cleo, Sweetie Belle, Flash Sentry, Big McIntosh, Brunhilda, Midgardsomr, Hinata, and yes. Even you Rarity. Thank you for always staying by my side, supporting me through my toughest time..." Francesca bowed, "Aww..." Went everyone, "... and thank you for being complete fools and idiots!" She looked back up with a wide grin. "Huh?" A dark aura enveloped Francesca. Everyone turned pale. "So this is what the Flow Eternal tastes like! It's... wow... I think I found a new favourite food!!!" "No way..." Midgardsomr's eyes dilated, "Adagio, you did not just..." Flash sternly spoke, "You did not just dupe us!!! How can you just go and start indulging yourself!?" "Hey!" Francesca pouted, "It's a free healthy meal, and I'm hungry! Do you know how many unfortunate people there are in this world that go hungry?" "But you said you couldn't absorb negative emotions anymore." Sweetie protested, "Oh, I meant that," Francesca explained, "If I had the amulet with me, absorbing all the negative emotions from this swirling vortex is easy and I wouldn't have to stay close to it. It's just like how negative emotions can stem from you guys. However..." She turned to the vortex, "The Flow Eternal, rife with negative emotions, feels like mana! And in that case, I can absorb it just by breathing in this air right? The Grastaean way!" "Adagio!" Cleo raised her voice, "Woah woah woah!" Francesca held out her hands, "Calm down! You've still got the Flow Eternal to deal with, right? It's better for all of us if that thing is sealed. I'm nearly finished eating anyway so take your time!" "Adagio, what you are absorbing is not just negative emotions, but also Black Mana mixed with it." Cleo explained, "I won't deny that it has power, but it will drive you into a frenzy. You'll go crazy... insane... go berserk!" "Go berserk? I think that will suit me nicely! I am a siren who feeds on negative emotions after all." "Adagio! Stop it!" Estelle yelled, "I thought we're here to help you!" "And you did! You helped me find a new source of magic to feed on. To regain my powers... so I can return to what I have been since birth!" "Adagio, wait..." Vixel warned, "We don't know what Black Mana is... if you just slurp it up without giving it a shot, you may lose your control over your body!" "Oh Mac, I never took you for the caring type..." Francesca blushed, "But it's too late... I'm full, and I feel more powerful than ever!!!" Everyone froze. Francesca, the merchant before them... No, the siren within the merchant. She was standing tall and proud, smiling victoriously and deviously. "Oh, and for the record, I was intending to dupe you, but honestly? You really needed my help in taking out the Manticore. I had to take in some of that Flow Eternal in order to pull out those skills!" "So what you said by resisting..." Midgardsomr growled, "It was a lie." "I don't know what much about the sirens in your world, but allow me to give you a crash course on the sirens of Equestria. I am a being that spreads disharmony to all inhabitants of my homeland through song, and feed of their negative energies to make myself stronger! Unless you're a dragon who's magic can rival Starswirl the Bearded, your power is NOTHING compared to what I am. NONE of you, scare me!" "How dare you! After all we've done for you and you treat us like this!? I ought to knock you and your ego down a notch!" Mym roared, and her mouth began to heat up. "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Francesca tutted, "Don't Ms M!" Estelle pleaded, holding her teacher's arm, "We don't have to resort to violence!" "You're right, we don't," Francesca whispered in their ears. The girls jump forward, shocked to see the merchant silently slip behind them, "You guys were being sincere because you like me, and I acknowledge that. I'm aware that long ago, I've manipulated people to become my nourishment. But now, I feel really grateful for you guys doing my bidding. So of course, I'd like to say thank you. To each and every one of you for taking care of me, fighting alongside me, keeping me alive, and to never give up hope, finding my true self again. Oh and Sweetie... I'm a siren of my word. So once I finish up some business, I'll teach you everything about becoming a siren! But don't be mad at me if you can't do anything at all after my one-time-only lesson." "I... argh..." Sweetie growled, "Cleo, thank you so much for giving me a home and a job when I'm was all alone. I'll promise not to bring harm to Grastaea, but don't expect me to come back. Where I'm going, I'm staying permanently!" "Adagio... I took you in so you could see a new perspective of life..." Cleo glared, "Not for a path of destruction and carnage," "Oh! There is just one more person I need to thank!" Francesca gasped. A white circle appeared on Francesca's heart, and the merchant placed a hand inside it to pull something out. The moment she did, a violent pillar of wind engulfed her, spitting out articles of the merchant's hat, clothing, and undergarments. "Eww!" Sweetie retched as she peeled a pair of underwear from her face. Once the wind subsided, the crew stared in disbelief. Floating in the air thanks to a pair of translucent wings was Adagio Dazzle, with a completely new set of clothes and accessories. Glittering purple boots, a vibrant sparkling dress, her fingerless gloves replaced with spike bracelets, her spike hairband growing in length and changing to an ominous colour. The siren beamed at the dumbstruck and fearful faces of her friends and caretakers. Estelle swallowed hard; except for the amulet, Adagio looked exactly the same when she turned into her half-siren form during that musical showcase as she remembered. "Thank you so much, Francesca." Adagio landed, spinning a silver dagger on her fingers, "You're the one who helped provide me a new alias, identity, and a cover-up of my true self so I could get along in life." Then she dropped the dagger and began stepping on it, "But I hate, hate, HATE having to step into your shoes! I hate the fact that I had to masquerade as you! A rabbit with the intelligence of a human! You and the rest of your sylvan kind are scum, just like the humans!" "Adagio! That's racist!" Mym shrieked, "But do you know what I truly hate about you?" Adagio continued, ignoring Mym "The fact that you have needlessly thick thighs and a large bum and bust!" "Ouch," Sweetie cringed, "I knew you couldn't handle body jokes." "But now everything has changed." Adagio stopped her stomping and regained her smile, "The power of the Flow Eternal runs through me. All that hate, resentment, jealousy, so abundant... I can go further beyond!" "Further... what!?" Estelle repeated, "You should be honoured, Rarity. And everyone here." Adagio explained, "Because for after so many years, I, Adagio Dazzle, have the power to break free from the rules of this dimension! I can now return to my true form!!! Hahahahahahahaha! AAAH-HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" With her laughing, streams of orange light began to gather around her body and spin around. The light grew brighter and brighter, and suddenly released a burst of light that blinded everyone in the room. Once it subsided, Adagio was replaced by a long floating hippocampus-like creature (towering over the dragons) that had aquatic features such as fins, fishtails, scales, and yet the face and head of a horse with hooves and front legs. The siren opened her eyes. It was a moderate gamboge in colour. But what was the most striking feature was that on the middle of her neck, just above her hooves and front legs. There was a black hole, with a shadowy flame burning inside. "This is worse than I thought..." Midgardsomr spoke, "I cannot tell whether she is a dragon or a demon." "A-Adagio?" Hinata spoke, "Silence, lizard!" Adagio screeched, "I am more powerful than all the dragons combined in Equestria! Even you, or all five greatwyrms, are nothing but mere reptiles that I can squash whether I feel like it or not!" "Adagio!" Estelle shrieked, grabbing on the siren's tail, "Get a grip on yourself!" "And get YOUR grip off me!!!" Adagio rebuked, giving her tail a firm whip. The preacher flew backwards, hitting the wall. "Sis!" Sweetie cried, "Now with this power... I can grasp more than just the world around me... in fact, I know just where the gateway to go home is!" Adagio laughed as she flew upwards and out into the open air of Grastaea. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots Canterlot High School; the dreaded school where she lost her powers. From there, she could sense the magic of transportation hidden within the statue in their courtyard. Bingo. "Prepare yourself Little Ponies!" Adagio roared, flying towards the direction of a particular mirror, "I will show all of you that I am the strongest magical being in Equestria and one that you WILL bow down to AS YOUR RULER!!!" Back in the ruins, the remaining eight stared at the clouds above them, their bodies and minds shaken, ridden with so many clashing emotions. "Adagio... no..." Cleo looked down, seeing Francesca's clothes. Next to it was the silver dagger, the essence of Francesca. Despite her new boots, the soul seemed invulnerable to her force. But more importantly, the green pactstone pendant had also fallen from Adagio, it's necklet snapped in two. Cleo picked it up and showed it to everyone. "What have we done?" Rarity spoke out, deep from within Estelle's body, for what had transpired struck her and everyone right down to their very soul. TO BE CONTINUED Coming up: The Siren's Dragalia
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Siren's Dragalia
Author's extra note: If you find any links within the story, let me remind you that they lead to songs. Once you open them (separately) and they start playing, feel free to listen as you read, until the story says they stop singing or whatnot. Enjoy the chapter! Adagio shoots through the sky towards her destination, a statue located in the entrance courtyard of a certain high school, where she had lots of bad memories, though not for long. "Ahh..." Adagio laughed to herself, looking at the scales on her body and hooves that have replaced her hands. "It feels good to be truly me again!!! This power is amazing... I feel like I could take on an entire pony armada!" Her speed accelerates, "Well, no better time than trying it out! Look out Equestria! Your siren is coming home to become ruler of all!!!" But just as she said it, a strange feeling comes from behind. "What the--" The moment she turned her head, her eyes and face gaped wide open. Out of nowhere, a giant tower of grey clouds flew after her, spinning and swirling. Desperate to lose her pursuer, the large siren picked up her pace to outrun this sudden vengeance of weather. But the Cumulonimbus showed no sign of slowing down on the siren, and once it grabbed ahold of its tail, the siren was pulled in with a slurp. "Argh!!!" Adagio was thrown into the hollow eye. Surrounding her, the grey clouds ran around her like wolves, sometimes with green lashes of wind. The siren attempted to escape, but the moment she touched her hoof upon the clouds, it bit back with a sharp gale that could pierce her digit. Not giving up, she tried it twice, then three times, each with increasing force. But the more she flung her power at it, the harder the retaliation, so much that the soft tissue muscles within her hooves began throbbing. "You've got to be kidding me!" Adagio growled, "Of all the times, why must nature of all things get in my way!?" "Because it's my power!" A voice boomed from above. A large figure slams its body right onto the siren, pushing her down, piercing the tower of grey, and ramming her into the ground, creating a pillar of dust, rock and dirt. "Perhaps you have forgotten. I am the Lord of Maelstroms." The figure, Midgardsomr, announced, "I can manipulate the weather when the need for a looming threat arises." "Just don't let us humans take advantage of your power. Otherwise, we'll be controlling nature and THAT would be unnatural!" Flash warned with a laugh, "Very funny Flash." Estelle coughed, " Now, where did we land?" "My storms managed to stop her just before she reached the forest that separates our worlds..." Midgarsomr responded, "Right above a familiar place." And it was true. Once the dust subsided, the two humans noticed that the crater Adagio was slammed into was located next to five elemental altars, the ones they rebuilt. Behind her stood the castle. The tower of grey that hovered above them broke apart and spread across, blocking the sun and creating shadow upon the Halidom. "Maybe push the fight to another place?" Flash nervously suggested, "It took a lot of my mana to restrain her. You have my apologies." Midgardsomr bowed, "And I also advise you to be wary... the impact was not enough to rend her unconscious." "Apology accepted," Estelle slid off Midgardsomr, "We'll make sure not to cause as much collateral damage, though I can't say the same for Adagio..." "I'll admit it." Flash followed behind, readying his lance, "Hurting Adagio is a sin, but the Goddess wouldn't sit and let a friend fall to the dark side." "The feeling is mutual..." Estelle gripped the Loving Hand, "Let's hope she'll forgive us!" "Grr..." Adagio's voice growled from the crater, "You think you can take me on?" She lifted her fin-covered head out the hole and bared her fangs at the three, "Fine then! I'll demonstrate my power!!!" "Flash, I know you have your preferences and reasons for choosing a lance, but I'm sensing some growing power stemming from Adagio. If you have the Prince's sword, please use it!" Estelle suggested, "Sorry." Flash lowered his head, "I was getting comfy with the lance, so I didn't bring it along..." In the Sentry residence, Mr Sentry stood in front of the living room dresser, gazing down at the Hero's Sword. His eyes dart to the left, then to the right. No one was watching, not a single soul. He lays a firm finger upon the hilt, then quickly retracts it. No reaction, no response, no scary spirit popping out. Confident, he gently grabs the hilt with his left hand, then the sheathed blade with his right. He proceeds to the garden, brightly lit by the sun. At a safe distance from the door, and his bare feet pressing down on the grass, Mr Sentry draws the blade from its sheath, and could not help but marvel at its illustrious design. As if the beautifully crafted hilt was stunning, the sword's fuller and central ridge were lined beautifully, even sporting a small hole within the blade. The edge had also a unique shape, as compared to the ones seen in medieval history. He plucks a tuft of grass from the green and drops it upon the blade. His eyes widened as the grass split in two the moment it touched the edge. Such a beautiful weapon yet it does not sacrifice any of its sharpness. How can such a blade keep these qualities after a long time? He could no longer deny it. This sword, though the law states it is legal to carry a sheathed sword that is not concealed in public (though it's probably longer than the legal size), is far too dangerous. Just by looking at it... if anyone were crazy enough, this sword could slice through brick and concrete, and it wouldn't dull or break. And that image was enough for the stern father to give in to his desire... to swing it. "Ha!" Mr Sentry grunted as he swung the sword down with a single hand. He could hear the force whipping through the air. With a no-nonsense expression, he excitingly added his other hand to the grip. "Tah!" "Hyah!" "Rrrah!" With every grunt, he slices the space in front of him - each with a different angle, direction and exaggerated stance. This is the perfect moment! With his arms out straight, he holds the sword to his side, pointing the tip away and perpendicular to his body. Then, he begins spinning, round and round, picking up his inertia and turning into a tornado. "TARRRRRYYIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" He halts his spinning and horizontally tore through the wind with a mighty horizontal slash and the most intimidating war cry. Little did he know that his finishing position landed him staring... at his wife. Mrs Sentry watched the entire show at a safe distance with that kind and motherly smile, while calmly recording the entire show with her smartphone. Once he finished that move, she quickly changed to photo mode and snapped a few pictures of her straight-laced husband, complete with that awkward posing, and 'terrifying' face. After hearing the photo clicks, Mr Sentry relaxes his jaw muscles, picks up the case from the grass, and sheathes the sword without any sound. "Did you?" He spoke firmly, "I did," Mrs Sentry gently nodded, holding up her phone, "Everything." "... I can explain, honey." Mr Sentry spoke without losing any sort of composure, "Another memory for our family album?" Mrs Sentry asked, Mr Sentry raised an eyebrow, "Yes. I will accept that choice." "Flash certainly has your genes!" Mrs Sentry giggled, "Not a word to him, Scootaloo, their friends, our friends, or anyone." Mr Sentry narrowed his eyes, "Of course not..." Mrs Sentry winked, "They'll find out by themselves anyway." "Rarity, was it?" Midgardsomr asked, "For this fight, I shall follow your strategy. What is your gambit?" "What Flash said, though I'd prefer 'knock some sense' into her." Estelle responded, "But easier said than done. You've fought things that come from the Flow Eternal, do you have any tips?" "The black mana, in general, has corrupted many a dragon and man alike. They have traded power in exchange for their minds." Midgardsomr repeated, "Dealing with them normally involves exhausting their energy through fighting, but this may not be the case for Adagio. She seems to be in control. I've seen only three people capable of doing so, one of them being the Other." They watch the Siren pull herself out. "She was the type to be manipulative and controlling when she and her Dazzlings came to our school." Estelle shared, "Even though she's not as cruel now, I won't be surprised if her previous attitude could allow her to control it. Guess it means getting rough!" "Hey!" Adagio snapped, fully out of the crater, "How long are you three gawking over there? Didn't you want to fight me?" "I'm afraid that I cannot pinpoint a weakness to her as of now." Midgardsomr apologised, "No need to apologise," Estelle paws a foot on the ground, "We came here fighting, we stick to fighting! Now charge!!!" The three fighters charge forward without any warcry. Estelle casts the first stone, "Take that, and that, and that!!!" The preacher fires an orb with each 'that'. The first two hit Adagio square in the head with the third scoring a hit on her eye. She flinched from those two shots, then growled at the pain on her eye. Flash dashes around her rear, then towards her. "Taiyah!" Flash cried. Holding the Halberd like a baseball bat, he makes a wide-reaching swing. Flash could tell that her scales were made tougher than the golem as they clash. If he didn't strengthen his grip, his attack would just have bounced off! Pushing harder, Flash carries his attack through, leaving a visible white scratch on the scales. "I felt that idiot," Adagio growled, turning her head. "How about this!?" Adagio lashes out her tail, catching the teen right where his abdomen is and throws him back with a nasty whipping sound. "Flash!" Estelle exclaimed as the teen skids and rolls over to her side. "Ooh..." The teen got back up, "It's just a scratch, but those scales on her tail are no joke! I could feel them cutting into me." "And yet you're not bleeding profusely!" Estelle looks at his body. There were indeed fresh slits upon his shirt and jacket, but the wounds on the skin did not bleed. "I grew, and I trained." Flash nodded assuringly. He turns to Adagio and yells, "I felt that too Adagio!" "Interesting... you don't seem to be taking this seriously compared to the last time we fought!" Adagio floated up and faced the trio, "Oh, we're taking this seriously alright." Estelle retorted, "We're here to stop you from doing something you'll regret!" "Your small orbs are as damaging as spilling soda onto my face!" Adagio grinned, "Whatever happened to the magic that was able to destroy my own?" "Is it not obvious?" Flash responded, "We're friends! Remember?" Adagio fell silent. "And even if we must get rough, we're not going to pull something like that again," Flash continued, "Estelle! Take note of her body... do you notice the black hole?" Midgardsomr whispered, "I see it..." Estelle spotted, "If I recall from the last time we fought, a gem occupied that spot." "That is where the black mana is residing," Midgardsomr focused, "Perhaps if we could focus our attacks there..." "Good idea, why don't you back up Flash for that plan?" "You have a second one?" "In case things don't go well, I'm calling my friends and use the Magic of Friendship to depower or at least turn her into a human again!" Shielding Estelle, the Windwyrm patiently got ready, watching the teenage boy courageously talk with the giant siren. "Look Adagio," Flash spoke, "What you did, and what you're attempting to do, is crazy." "Are you kidding!? I told you, this is my true form!!!" Adagio mocked, "I have been pursuing my magic for months! Ever since I lost it!!!" "I understand that! But that isn't the only thing you lost!" "Oh quit stalling already!" Adagio snapped, "Get out of my sight!" Adagio lashed out her tail again, but the Windwyrm intercepted it with his body, taking the brunt of the whip. "Grr!!!" Midgardsomr growled, spitting as he did so. Flash froze, Adagio's claims of being stronger than a Greatwyrm was no joke. "Listen to your friends..." Midgardsomr grabs ahold of her tail, "... They took you under their wing when no one accepted you. All of them forgave you and wanted to help you change. No matter how much power you accumulate, it doesn't give you an excuse to revert to your old ways!!! Do you not feel humbled?" "You sound like a worse version of Cleo and her lectures!" Adagio spat. A surge of anger shot through the Windwyrm. With it, he yanks the siren up close and slams his head upon her chest. The siren grimaced at such a blow but quickly turns it into a devious grin. "Nice try, bud." Adagio scoffed, ramming a hoof into his chest, pushing him back a considerable distance. "Argh!" Midgardsomr stumbled, roaring in pain. Flash swore at himself. It looks like he needs to fight now. He charges forward with his lance raised high, yelling at the top of his lungs. "Seriously? You're charging just like that?" Adagio looked appalled, "You are an idiot through and through. Your funeral!" For a third time, she swings the tail at his legs instead of the chest. Flash nimbly jumps over without any difficulty to her surprise. Hastily, she swings her tail again, hoping to clock him in the head when he wasn't looking. To an even bigger surprise, Flash turned around and held his lance steady, right for the tail to slam into. Not only did Flash take no damage, but the Halberd's spearhead also ended up piercing straight through her scales and into the flesh of her tail. The siren screamed and thrashes her tail around, the lance still stuck in her. "Seriously? You're swinging just like that?" Flash retorted, "This is how you hit your finger instead of the nail!" "Shut up!" Adagio screeched, slamming down on him again. Flash nimbly dodges it as her tail collides with the dirt ground. The force caused the lance to come free, flying in the air. Midgardsomr, feeling a little better, swoops up to catch it and pass it back to the teenage boy. "Thanks, Mids." Flash clicked his tongue, "Now, do I have your attention, Adagio?" "Nice ploy you made," Adagio spat, "But... I know you aren't one who would resort to just using cheap tactics. Where's that smiting light in you, that destroyed that menacing lizardman?" Flash winced but charges forward once again. Adagio shakes her head at such a response and swoops her head. Instead of the tail, perhaps taking a bite out of him should send a clear message she thought! But alas, she completely forgot that the Windwyrm was keeping watch over them. Right above her head, a green tail crashes down, hammering her into the ground once again. Following that, the idiotic teen hopped onto her snout, then bounced to her head. Once he landed on her body, she could feel him run across, swinging that axe-attached lance to and fro, cutting into her upper body. Once he reached the tail, he hops off while still running, takes a deep breath, and grinds the spearhead across her scales. "Hey! Adagio!!!" Flash yelled, running back to her front, "Grr!!!" Adagio snapped her head back up, and spotted the teen right in the range of her head, "That's it!!! I don't care if it will give me indigestion, I'm going to eat you whole!" "Then open wide!" Flash pointed the lance at the siren's gaping jaw, "Lance Cannon!" The cannonball wasn't able to fit into Adagio's mouth, so it exploded on her face. The siren's head blew back, with her body following behind, crashing into the newly rebuilt lance dojo. "Uh-oh." Flash sweated, "I've called the girls, you two." Estelle came over, "They're on their way!" "We've got things covered over here." Flash pointed over, "Except I accidentally destroyed the dojo we spent so long working on." "Flash..." Estelle frowned, "Oh! So you were stalling!" Adagio roared, floating out of the debris. "In that case, playtime's over! I'm going to vaporise you!" "Everyone! Stand behind me!" Midgardsomr warned, "I can sense lethal energy stemming from her body!" "But what's going to happen to you!?" Flash protested, "You might get more than wounded!" "I do not mean any offence, but I fear you may not be swift to evade her attack." "Become ash!" Adagio took a deep breath, but just as she was going to release her deadly attack, another large figure crashes into her from above. It was the Flamewrym, with two humans and a sylvan on her back, as well as a small white dragon fluttering alongside them. "Surprise!!!" Sweetie chanted, hopping off Brunhilda with Vixel and Cleo following behind, "And sorry about that Adagio! But what you're doing is crazy!" "That's exactly what Flash said," Midgardsomr informed, "That was fast! I thought you said the gate needed a while to seal!" Estelle gasped, "Oh it did," Brunhilda clarified as she jumped off Adagio, "Five to ten minutes to seal the flow eternal," "But five minutes or less if there's more than one doing the sealing!" Sweetie smiled, "We chipped in by learning the incantations and expending our mana. Ms M, Hinata, Vixel, even me! Used up every drop of mana." "This is absolutely ridiculous!" Adagio flew back up, completely furious, "How many times do I have to get interrupted before I can do something!?" "As many times until you stop running away!" Hinata retorted, "Adagio," Cleo announced, holding up the silver dagger, "We did this so we can talk sense into you. To save you from making a mistake you'll regret!" "I've done so much damage, do you know how dirty my hooves are?" Adagio sighed, "I care NOT! WE care NOT!" Brunhilda growled, holding Francesca's clothes, "You can always wash it off, no matter how much there is!" "Yeah, under a new identity that I hate," "Then no more hiding," Vixel challenged, holding out the pactstone, "Come out, show everyone how much the Adagio Dazzle has changed over the years." "Alright then, let me make myself clear. I've gotten my body and powers back, I'm complete again! I don't have to stay here anymore! I know how to get back home now!" Adagio hammered, "Adagio!" Estelle rebuked, "There is absolutely no way that you're complete!!! You are missing a lot of things, important ones too!" "Argh! Enough already! I'm sick of all of you telling me that 'I'm better than this' when I clearly am! Do you want me to show you how 'better' I am than all of you? Perk up your ears and listen, because I'm going to show you the Siren's power!" "Hey!" Brunhilda snapped, "You know that power is not what we meant by being-" "BLOCK YOUR EARS!!!" Estelle hollered, Whether or not everyone heeded the Preacher's words, the siren floats upwards and begins to sing. An eerie yet mesmerising melody with no lyrics or words, spread through the air. "No!!!" Estelle grimaced, "I can't... block it out... Sweetie... run!" "Run?" Sweetie grumbled, "Why should I run... in fact." She glared at her sister, her eyes turned green, "Why the hell do I always have to do everything you say!?" "What?" Estelle turned around, "That's not true, there were many times you-" Sweetie paid no attention to her words and pushes the preacher/her sister to the ground, "Leave me alone!!! I'm not a little girl! I have my own life!" "How dare you!" Estelle glared back, her eyes also turned green, "Don't you take that tone with me, you brat!!!" She took her hands off her ears and leapt back up, right on top of her younger sister. The two of them began engaging in a punch and slap fight, bringing a big pain to the spectating Maestro. "Adagio!" Vixel croaked, "Please stop this! You don't have to needlessly bring us to fight one another!!!" Adagio ignored him and continued singing, "She's a stubborn person, I'll give her that." Flash grimaced, "Reminds me of Sunset back at Fall Formal." "How can we stop her?" Vixel asked, "Throw a rock or brick at her! She's tougher than she looks, so it won't hurt her feelings!" Flash suggested, "I shot a Lance Cannon in her mouth, and she's still standing!" "That's... something." "But you know what? I should have snapped and used Luminescent Cataclysm instead..." Flash growled, "Flash! That would cause serious damage!" "Yeah!? Well, she's caused serious damage to us already!!!" Flash lashed out with a fist, striking Vixel in the head, "Hey!" Vixel landed on his bum, "That was uncalled for!" "Oh I'm just getting started," A green-eyed Flash rolled up his sleeves, "I promise you I won't kill, but I've got several fists for all the times that the girls bully me while you just sat there and laughed!" "You... dammable... fool!" Vixel got back up, "You of all people know how to take a joke! What is this poppycock rage you speak of!?" And like the rest, the Maestro's eyes turn green as he starts a furious brawl with the blue-haired teen. "Adagio... how could you..." Cleo lowered her head, "I raised you... took care of you when you were at your weakest... and yet once you achieve something strong... you use it upon your friends? Upon me!?" Suddenly, Hinata rammed her head into the healer's body, "And what was that for, Hinata!?" Cleo spat, "That was for giving me bread for so many years at the Dragon's Roost!" Hinata, under the siren's hypnosis, argued, "You know I wanted Juicy Meat, but you always give it to the stronger dragons instead of me!!!" "Curb your tongue!" Cleo growled, now at mercy under the Siren's song, "I've treated all dragons with respect. It's Euden who decides who gets what! I just do the cooking, blame him!!!" "By the Holywyrm!" Brunhilda growled, "Not a human, not a dragon... you are a complete monster, Adagio Dazzle!!!" "If Hinata can fall prey to this siren's song, we need to stop that singing!" Midgardsomr warned, "Oh please! We're the Greatwyrms! And I'm a teacher for humans! Do you honestly think I can be hypnotised by this ugly version of a 'siren'!?" Brunhilda laughed, "Oh, Flamewyrm..." Midgardsomr coughed as he spotted her eyes, "Your eyes of green tell me otherwise..." "Shut up!" Brunhilda tackled the Windwyrm, "You and your infatuation with the humans! Just because you were the first to ally with them, does that make you the leader of the Greatwyrms!? Damn you and your ego to the Void!" "I never mentioned anything about who was the strongest, let alone the leader!" Midgardsomr refuted, "Besides, after my humbling experience as a human, I learned one important thing about humans... they have no respect for any authoritative or educational figure! They'll step on their teachers, whine and complain to their friends, family, or social media, and they do nothing to push their lives forward! It explains why humans always fight with each other! They only care for what they want!" "That may be true..." Midgardsomr growls, "But like you and me, they are capable of change. All people have the ability to be good!" "No, Mids..." Brunhilda stares into the Windwyrm's now-green eyes, "If any of them breathes.... they're irredeemable scum!!!" A joy sang within Adagio's mind as she watches her hypnotised allies fight with each other. The sisters in their rigorous slapping match, the boys roughhousing it with each other, Cleo swatting the little dragon with her staff, and even the two 'Great'wyrms trying to rip each other apart with their claws and jaws, with Brunhilda clearly having the advantage. "This is why I am better than you, Dragons. Even you cannot resist my song!!! My song inflicts you with the power to bring out the worst in you, and afflict it on foe and friend alike!!! All of you will fight with each other, break yourselves apart, and those thoughts behind it? Nourishment for my power!!!" Adagio thought to herself, "But wow, those singing lessons paid off! If only I still had my siren jewel with me, I could absorb all that energy for myself! Now let's turn up the pitch more and-- UNGH!!!" Out of nowhere, a force chokes the siren's throat. Adagio's singing ceases in an instant, which in turn brings the rest of the team back to their senses. "What?" Sweetie blinked, "Huh?" Flash stopped, "Were we just fighting?" Hinata gasped, "The song!!!" Brunhilda pointed, Realising the singing has stopped, the group looked up. The orange siren before them looked clueless as they were. "What the!? What just happened?" Adagio looks at herself, then the group below. "Laaa-ack!" Trying to sing again, the choking force returned a second time. Frustrated, she tries a third time, then when something terrible happened. After the third choke, the black hole in Adagio's chest spewed flames of black, covering her entire body. The siren drops out of the air, thrashing around. "SKREEEEEE!!!!!" Adagio shrieked in pain, "I knew it..." The dragons went, "Black Mana?" Estelle fearfully spoke, "No need for us to tell you," Brunhilda warned, "Except that a very few can control black mana. Not even--" "Dragons. We know," Flash interrupted, "Midgardsomr told us," "Get this thing out of me!!!" Adagio screamed. As she thrashed around, her size destroyed the five elemental altars. "No! Stop!" Estelle demanded, "We've done so much building the Halidom!" "There's no way she can listen to anything at this state..." Midgardsomr shook her head, "Now that I think about it, the situation has gotten worse. The Black Mana from the Flow Eternal is beginning to control her." "So, the Black Mana is too evil for someone like Adagio to use!" Estelle closed her eyes, "If she can use magic through song, then the black mana seems to prevent her from doing that in order to stay in control." "Then that means Adagio really has changed for the better... That's it. I can't bear to save her by hurting her when she's already in pain!" Estelle opened her eyes in determination. "If that is what you wish, then I shall follow." Mids nodded, "You mentioned that you and other companions have fought against her before. Right?" "Yes, three of them." Estelle answered, "We overpowered them and broke their amulets to prevent them from using their magic..." "What did you use to win?" "The Magic of Friendship." Estelle explained, "We overpowered their voices and song with each and every one of us banding together. I just hope Sunset and the others come here on time..." "We may lose Adagio soon with every second we wait... why don't we give it a shot?" Brunhilda suggested, "Huh? You?" Estelle raised a worried eyebrow, "But that is Equestrian Magic! Not Grastaean!" "True." Midgardsomr realised, "But Adagio was able to return to her original form after consuming the Flow Eternal. Make no mistakes that there are differences, but Adagio went for it regardless because negative energy is what she had always relied on to fuel her magical might. With the way I see it, us dragons can try and harness that same magic." "But--" "Do you remember the comparison you made about Dragalia weeks ago? Our pacts with humans? It's like 'friendship', and I agreed with you on that! I made that pact with all five of you. I'll do my best to make sure our bonds can substitute that magic!" Brunhilda reminded, "Hey!!!" Sweetie snapped, "Don't leave us out of this!" "Sweetie Belle!?" Estelle turned, "If Scootaloo calls Flash her brother when they're just friends, why can't I call you my friend too? Whatever you and your friends did, I'm sure we can do with you too!!!" Sweetie declared, "If I recall, the moment I regained my mind during the battle against the Dazzlings and the Rainbooms, you encouraged me to sing with you. I'm more than willing to do it again; whether it's beating back an enemy or saving a friend." Flash explained, "And we're friends, aren't we?" Vixel added, "We aren't magic people unlike you or Applejack, but I'm sure we can sing together. I implore you to give us the chance for us non-magic people to help," "You have my assistance too..." Cleo marched up, "We all want to save Adagio as much as you do. Ever since you came, all of you have been my dear allies and companions. It would be an insult not to call you my friend." "Just so we're clear, I still owe you guys and girls a pact! So consider me as your friend too!" Hinata chimed in, "Everyone..." Estelle looked at her companions. "You're right... you may not have the same magic the girls and I have... but we are friends. It is worth a try!" "Since you are the one who can use the magic of Equestria, we're counting on you to lead us. We won't let you down!" Brunhilda stated, "Then you'll need this," Sweetie ensured, rummaging through her pockets, "Catch sis!" Sweetie pulled out a familiar purple geode necklace and threw it towards Estelle, who neatly catches it. "The geode! Of course! But in that case..." A circle of light appeared where Estelle's heart is. "I'm sorry Estelle. Is it okay if I can use this myself?" The preacher reaches into the circle and pulls out the silver staff, enveloping herself in a cocoon of light, and transforming back into the stylish and generous girl. "Now..." Rarity pulled the necklet over her head and rested it on her neck and shoulders, "I hope this works... are we in this together, everyone?" "Yes," Cleo nodded, "Eeyup," Vixel smiled, going back to his Big Mac voice. "We're with you!" Sweetie pumps her fists, "Without any doubt or question!" Flash roared, "My mind is clear, and my power is yours!" Brunhilda vowed, "We're all here to save our friend!" Hinata yelled, The geode necklace began to glow. A radiant purple light that soothes the eyes, "My goodness! It actually works!" Rarity exclaimed, "This is wonderful!!!" She turned to the giant writhing siren, "Hang in there Adagio!" The geode glowed brighter and brighter, its light wrapping around Rarity's hair and her clothes. Her hairstyle changes into a ponytail, curling all the way down to her ankles. Following that, a pair of white pony ears protrude within Rarity's hair. Her hair also covered her normal ears, so it was hard to tell whether she had two distinct pairs of ears to the dragons. But instead of replacing Estelle's unfitting clothes, it magically changed its size to fit Rarity, and its colours to match her style. The soft white colour turned to extraordinary purple with diamonds embroidered on it. The outer cape changed from navy blue into crystal blue, and the tail-like belt behind that cape turned purple like the gown but also had a chain of diamond shapes as a pattern, and a blue diamond dangling at the end. And although Rarity did not have Estelle's hairstyle, the small hat worn by the preacher transformed into the hairband used to hold Rarity's exquisite ponytail together. Though her greaves and shoes remained the same, Rarity could not believe her eyes with her all-new form. "Amazing!!!" Rarity looked at her new set of clothes, "It suddenly fits... and the colours match my previous forms! It seems you really want to help, Estelle. I'm sorry for casting your essence aside. In that case..." A diamond disk scoops up the Loving Hand and carries it to Rarity's grasp. At the same time, the silver staff, the essence of Estelle, lifts itself off the ground and flies back into Rarity's heart. "You're our friend too. Let's work together!" Rarity invited, "You... have... my... support... wielder... of my soul..." A faint voice responded, "I beg your pardon!?" Rarity looked around, "D-Did you respond?" "Rarity? Hurry!" Flash panicked as he sees Adagio slam her tail on the castle, "Delay this further and Adagio will end up destroying herself and the entire Halidom!" "S-Sorry! Here goes nothing..." With a gentle push of her feet, Rarity floats up. She hovers slowly towards the siren, with her new Equestrian and Alberian friends following on foot. One by one, they too float up to equal height with Rarity. "Do not worry Adagio..." Rarity announced, "I will not strip you of your powers... no. I won't strip you of what you worked so hard to acquire what you lost. We promised to help you... and we will keep it!" Adagio responded with her thrashing and screaming but gazes at the bearer of generosity floating above her. Rarity nods sincerely and holds out her hands, letting the Loving Hand float by her side. Behind her, a ghostly image of Estelle herself appeared, pressing on Rarity's back. With her hands, Rarity conjures up a mystical ball of fire, eager to escape from its magical confinements. "Everyone!" Rarity rallied, "Let's save Adagio with the magic formed by our friendship. Dragalia Style!" With a clap of her hands, the purple fireball explodes. The fire it contained roared and spreads outwards, engulfing the seven friends, as well as six particular girls that just arrived. "SKRAAAAAAA!!!!" Adagio screamed and shields her eyes as the purple fires swallow her whole. The siren opens her eyes. She's not dead? Not on fire? No... she was floating in some whimsical dimension... which seemed to relieve all that pain she was feeling before the blast. A song began playing throughout the never-ending mimsy... a slow song that she remembers hearing today. Her eyes widen as three teenagers, two dragons, and one parental guardian appear before her, their own eyes and expressions filled with solemn sadness. "Where do we go?" Sweetie echoed, "Every day's the same..." Big McIntosh sighed, "Did we lose the magic? Magic? Magic?" Flash continued, "So ordinary," Brunhilda released her voice, a little bit off-pitch, "Stuck on repeat..." Hinata followed, even more out of tune. "Got to find the passion, passion, passion..." Cleo sang, completely fluent and flawless in tone and articulation. "These days go round and round, round and round," Rarity appeared in the middle of them, leading the bridge, "Gotta breakaway," The other six responded, "Find a great escape..." "Round and round and round, round and round and round... Ohh" The seven all sang together. With the siren watching with painful eyes, something magical occurs once they went into the chorus. Each of the singers released a pillar of aura, which twist and turn around each other. From its coalescence sprang forth two giant astral forms. A large unicorn, with a translucent body of purple, and a large dragon with little wings and a translucent body of green. Both had soft-lidded eyes instead of sharp and fierce, and respectively galloped and flew around each other, following the rhythm of the song. Once the chorus was finished, the two forms approach the siren in pain, without any trace of hostility. The unicorn holds out her hoof to the siren, who shies away with pain and fear. But the unicorn showed no sense of giving up and inches closer, holding out her hoof again. The dragon did the same, holding out his claw. The siren alternates her gaze on both figures and slowly did the same. But the black hole upon the siren's chest burns through her bodies and nerves, causing her to retract her hooves and screech in pain. The unicorn and the dragon saw its source, and they exchange glances and a nod. The green dragon revealed a large green crystal with tiny thin fragments floating below it. He passes it to the purple unicorn. "Sing..." The seven voices chanted in unison, "Sing..." "Sing Adagio!!!" Rarity yelled, "You can beat the darkness trying to control you!" "SKREEEEE!!!!" With one last piercing shriek, the siren grabs the dragon's claw with one hoof, and the unicorn's hoof with the other. The green crystal between all three figures begins to shine, causing the black fumes to keel, flicker and weaken. "Ka..." The Siren coughed. "Ka... Ca..." Realising it may lose its host, the black hole released a cloud as black as the night, distorting and warping the siren's helpers. But the siren took one big look at the flickering unicorn and dragon, and with one last push, opens her mouth. "Can I find the... beauty... In the simple things..." She croaked, "Can I learn to see it? See it?... See it?" The dragon and the unicorn widen their eyes. Their siren, the one they need to rescue, had managed to sing, and bring forth the impetus for her power and control. Cut off from its host, the Black Mana flees from the hole, scattering and screaming as it slowly disintegrates into its non-existential demise. The hole with the siren was no longer dark and corrupted. To replace it, the green crystal carefully inserts itself into her, and the singing began once again. This time, the Siren joins in, flying with the other two. "Let's... find the magic..." Adagio smiled as she sang. The last line before she blacks out. "Do you think she'll be alright?" Twilight asked, She and the rest of the girls joined up with the team, surrounding the sleeping Adagio, who after the entire ordeal, changed back into a human. As she rested, Vixel changed back to Big Mac, while Hinata and Brunhilda changed into their human forms. "She's back to normal..." Cleo assured, "There are no more traces of black mana within her. And yet it left behind something that she can control on her own." "The pactstone," Flash answered, "It's glowing green... and if I recall... don't these stones allow shapeshifting?" "It does indeed," the human Ms M responded, "Who knew that something like this could happen?" "Magic is truly a tangible thing," Fluttershy mused, "Heh... Dragalia Style," Rainbow snickered, "It sounds so cringy, but you made it sound awesome and... I mean the entire thing was awesome! You not only conjured a unicorn but a freaking dragon with it! You three are something!" "It was a blast!" Hinata giggled, "Hey umm..." Big Mac started, "Sunset, Applejack, girls, can Ah ask somethin' of you?" "What's on yer mind?" Applejack asked, "May y'all be... forgivin' to her? Ah know she may have caused more than jus' a mess here, but she ain't do anythin' bad, ever since the CHS showcase." "Say what?" Applejack blinked, "'Dagio's changed from what she used to be." Big Mac vouched, "And she's makin' an effort to be friendly and supportive. Given her actions back then, she had to take a pseudonym and a body change. Otherwise, no one would accept or acknowledge her. Alongside savin' our flanks, she's even fought beside us with no problem. In fact, Ah did remember sayin' she really considers us friends! Ah know what she said back then stings, but Ah'm not throwin' away mah faith in her because of that. Ah'm sure she has a reason." "Say, Big Mac, when have ya talked so much?" Applejack raised an eyebrow, "And why of all people would you use it to defend her?" "Ah've already said mah piece," Big Mac placed a hand on his heart, "And Ah mean it. Forgive me sis, but as much as Ah take yer words to heart, Ah also take hers." Applejack lowered her hat and broke into a smug grin, "Heh heh," Applejack laughed, "Ya know, with that judgement, Ah don't know why ya ain't popular with women!" "Me? Popular with women? Why would ya make such a statement?" Big Mac mumbled, scratching his hair. "Don't worry Big Mac," Sunset smiled, "We're not going to boo her or chase her out. That's Ms Cleo's judgement. And judging her... I think Adagio will stay." "And besides!" Pinkie chimed in, "Now that we know who's been delivering our supplies and greeting us, we too can see that she's trying to change!" "Gah!" Adagio woke up, "What the!?" She found herself sitting on the ground, and the crowd was bigger than before. She looked at her hooves, turned back into hands and fingers. That can only mean one thing. "I'm... I'm back to being human..." She spoke, "So much for absorbing all that dammed Flow Eternal..." "Well..." Sweetie tilts her head and chuckled, "It wasn't a complete failure... check out what you're wearing around your neck." The presence of a green pactstone surprised the siren. It wasn't the fact that the necklet she purposely broke was magically repaired, but the fact that it was glowing with a familiar power. "As long as you're here in this dimension," Rarity explained, "You will remain human from what I've heard. However... why don't you explain, Midgardsomr?" "Your true form is recognised as a dragon." Midgardsomr explained, "As Cleo told you, a pactstone is required for a human or sylvan to shapeshift into a dragon. However, what you have is special. This pactstone is linked to you; because it contains the power only you can harness as a siren in your world." "In other words, you're like me. Except you have a limit on how long you can stay in your true form." Ms M smiled, "But at least you can change at will! Isn't that wonderful?" "I... I... You're not messing with me... are you?" Adagio stammered, "No Adagio..." Cleo walked forward, "You have gained back one of your most important things. And I'm happy for you." "I share that same sentiment..." Flash smiled but sighed, "But at the same time, I can't ignore that doing so has left most of the Halidom beyond repair... part of which is my fault too." He looked at the direction of the Halidom, prompting Adagio to do the same. Her eyes blinked with disbelief, the elemental altars, the lance dojo, the various mines, the lone dragontree... the facilities that were repaired by her and her visitors had crumbled apart. They were in a worse state than any of the dusty, untouched facilities. Even the Halidom castle itself... its balcony was gone, split in half and broken on the ground. "Well..." Adagio lowered her head, "I really am in big trouble now. Am I?" The students, dragons, and sylvan look at each other, then nod in determination. "Do you really feel that way?" Big Mac started, "Come on, Mac. I had no intention of destroying the Halidom. I just wanted to go back home to Equestria and conquer it as I had planned to with my returned powers! I've been stuck in this world for thousands of moons!" "Wait, what?" Flash blinked, "Not now..." Cleo rebuked, "What were you thinking Adagio?" "Cleo..." Adagio moaned, "Look, whatever lecture you're going to throw at me, I get it..." "Oh," Cleo tilted her head, "So, I take it you regret what you have done?" Adagio took a deep breath, and burst out with frustration, "Yes, I do." She groaned, "I'm sorry for destroying the Halidom, sticking my mouth into things I shouldn't be eating, and... I'm sorry for calling you scum!" "Well that was quick," Sweetie's eyes narrowed, "Then why the speciest slurs in the first place?" "Old habits die hard..." Adagio sighed, "When I got the negative emotions from the Flow Eternal, I felt powerful. It was like I was back to my old Equestrian self but better. When that happened, I felt like I could go back to my real home, which means I'd be leaving you behind. I couldn't resist going out with a bang by making you all feel a sense of negative feelings! But after that mana choked my mind and throat, absorbing the Flow Eternal was a bad mistake." "Adagio..." Ms M sighed, "I may not be your teacher, but I am extremely disappointed in you for such behaviour. Even if I believe that you're older than the equivalent of a thousand moons, you're just another reckless, rebellious, ambitious and hot-headed teenager sent my way for detention AND counselling." "Oof," "Ouch!" "Oh ho ho!" "Hah!" All the present CHS students exclaimed, "You are now officially THE best teacher in CHS," Sweetie grinned, "Are you sure you're the Flamewyrm? Or the Roastwyrm?" "What in Tartarus do you mean by that!?" Adagio seethed, "Now now!" Ms M waggled a finger, "Bad language, I assume, won't get you anywhere. As for what I mean, any student that had to see me during detention were of things such as disorder, misconduct, and doing things that cause more harm to themselves than others. All for the cause of 'breaking the system' and other irrational hatreds. But in reality, this is due to their extremely blatant shortcomings. Given the stories about you, do you REALLY think you could conquer Equestria?" Ms M raised an eyebrow, "Huh?" Adagio looked puzzled, "What?" Everyone went, "Just because you're able to return to your true form by gulping down some dark energy, do you think you can take on different worlds alone?" Ms M explained "Please. Even dragons aren't that stupid!" "What did you say!?" Adagio flared up again, "She's right you know." Flash turned back, devilishly smiling back at her, "I guess it's true for sirens. The older you grow, the more forgetful you are!" "Hey!" Adagio roared, "Stop with the words!" "Okay okay," Flash chuckled, "I'll explain it directly. Even if we don't stop you, I don't imagine you succeeding in taking over the Pony Equestria anytime soon. Do you uh... know anything about that Sunset?" "Ohh!" Sunset smiled back, "I got it! Yeah... listen, it has been more than a thousand moons since you were banished from Equestria. Let's just say that there are a lot more ponies who are stronger than before, and not to mention the ones responsible for banishing you are still alive and well; call it a little side effect of sealing magic." "Huh!?" Adagio jumped, "Let's do some basic math," Ms M giggled, "If a powerful pony was strong enough to banish three Adagios to this dimension, and then stripped of their powers by seven humans, what would happen if one Adagio returns to her dimension?" "One Adagio would become zero!" Pinkie beamed, "Because she'd be done for..." "Three of me?" Adagio repeated, "Oh... aww... nuts..." "I assume that you didn't care a lot for them since you've been calling them 'idiots' when we first met but..." Sunset deduced, "You definitely miss Aria and Sonata's company after some actual time alone." Adagio took a deep breath, buried her head in her chest, and let out a long sigh. "... Yeah..." Adagio gave in, "I really do..." "Look on the bright side!" Sweetie smiled, "At least you've got your true form back! Must be a long time, right?" "Wait... you wanted me to have my true form back?" "We said..." Rarity corrected, "We promised to help you find your voice as well as your magic, we just didn't expect that slurping up the Flow Eternal allowed you to return to your true form. However, your voice allowed you to purge that black mana and combined with the magic of Grastaea, retain the opportunity to change into your original form! As I said, we didn't expect you magic to come back like this, but now that you're back to your senses with your powers again, I'd say this was a success!" "Even after what I said?" "Ya 'polagised already." Big Mac smiled, "Ah think ya truly didn't mean those Goddess-forsaken words. Did ya?" "... No..." Adagio grumbled, "I guess that sort of attitude is a bad way to build a friendship." "Do not worry," Sunset assured with a caring smile, "You will learn, just as I did." "And you have us to help!" Ms M winked, "Everyone..." Adagio looked up. Her eyes slowly capture everyone's happy smiles. The seven girls that destroyed her amulet, the three magicless students who courageously stood up for and against her, the three dragons (or two dragons disguised as humans) that she tussled with, and the purple-haired sylvan who had looked after her ever since she separated. "I'm..." Adagio started tearing up, "I'm so sorry... for tearing up this place... for that stupid stunt I pulled... and thank you for saving me again... all of you are really caring friends..." Cleo strides towards her, accelerating with every step. Her eyes were filled with tears, though her face had such an endearing smile. With a small bump, the healer hugs the siren, sobbing and laughing. "Apology accepted," Cleo smiled, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be so emotional... All is forgiven." "Well?" Ms M looked at the four CHS students, "Do you forgive her too? Go hug her already!" The four smiled back as they dash forward and join the hugging. "What you did to us and yourself was disturbing, but I forgive you Adagio." Flash remarked, "And not just because I was told to forgive. I myself, was forgiven and had the opportunity to change from my horrid actions. And as I've been told time and time again, you should have that chance too." "What he said," Big Mac added, "Ah'm sure we all 'ave our mistakes and regrets, but family and friends can forgive. As you said, we're yer friends. Ah'll forgive and support you." "First of all..." Sweetie differed, "I'd like to renegotiate our deal... you continuously teach me until I know how to be a siren." "Sweetie Belle..." Rarity sternly spoke, waving the Loving Hand. "But aside from that, I forgive you too!!!" Sweetie quickly added, "If you really wanted to break my heart Adagio," Rarity stated, "Then it would be leaving us and Ms Cleo without saying an actual goodbye... do you still want to leave the Halidom?" "After what happened? Definitely not... I've got to fix what I broke... and I also must find Aria and Sonata too. I don't think I'll be leaving this dimension anytime soon." "You really have changed Adagio," Rarity smiled, "As Ms Cleo did back when she took you in. I'll support you from here on out. We'll all help find them." "Oh stools." Flash's head shot up in fear, "We forgot one important thing," "What is it?" Hinata raised an eyebrow, "Our bicycles!" Flash exclaimed, "We left them back at the ruins!!!" Everyone groaned, "I'll go get them," Ms M sighed, "Why don't you focus on your embrace?" The next day, when the clock hit noon, the sound of hammering, sawing, and cute growling dominated the entirety of the Halidom. A flight of copper coloured dragons as big as Hinata were off to work, equipped with leather eyepatches and silver hammers as large as their heads. For each broken facility, a Dragon creates a construction site around the facility with wooden boards and construction curtains as a safety measure, then start hammering away within. After five minutes or so, the dragon packs up everything and reveals a facility all good as new. The humans were amazed at the speed of these dragons. "It is why they are called 'Smithwyrms'." Midgardsomr explained, "Whereas human constructions may take months or years to build, the Smithwyrms, with their knowledge and skills, drastically shorten building projects into mere hours or days. The longest time they took was about three days and sixteen hours, while a mere three seconds for the shortest time." "..." Big Mac's jaw dropped, "But I must mention, it is only for these particular facilities and buildings." Midgarsomr added, "And the reason for the longest time was mostly for upgrading facilities. I'm not sure about other works." "M-May Ah?" Big Mac gestured, "Ask for their secrets? Go ahead! I may be a guardian of the Mistholt and the Halidom alongside Cleo, but these dragons are also honest workers I called to help. Not to worry, Cleo will handle their payment." "I'm amused that dragons need money." Sweetie blinked, "You humans have written fairy tales and fantasy novels where Dragons hoarded gold." Hinata nudged, "In reality, Dragons have many different desires be it material, mental, spiritual, belonging, or whatever." Hinata nudged, "There's a dragon my size who's the complete opposite of me. He just LOVES money, as well as mingling in human society." "Excuse me..." Big Mac approaches a nearby Smithwyrm, "If it's okay with you, may I observe how you build?" "Hmm..." The Smithwyrm floats down, "It is rare for a human to be interested in our work. Are you a builder?" "Working on the farm back home, Ah had to do lots of building, demolishing, repairing, those things. Mah friends and Ah rebuilt some facilities using your blueprints." "Aha... That explains why some of the altars AND that lance dojo looked to be recently renovated. Well, how can I say no to a fellow builder? Sure, come with me. No need for a hard hat either!" As Big Mac enters one of the sites, Adagio makes a beeline for the girls. She was red all over, tuckered out. "I need a break..." Adagio panted, "I only just cleaned a third of the grand dining hall. Remind me why such a room exists in the Halidom when I just normally eat my meals in the kitchen!!!" "Well, about more than a hundred friends fought alongside Prince Euden, and that's not counting the Alberian army!" Cleo laughed, "Perfect to take a rest." Rarity chuckled, "Now that we're all level-headed, how does it feel having your form back?" "Honestly?" Adagio answered, "Disappointing." "Wow, there is nothing that pleases you." Sweetie looked cross, "Let me explain, Sweetie Belle. A witch irreversibly turns you into a frog. However, a friend of yours can grant you the power to reverse it, but only for a certain period. That's exactly what happened to me. Do you know how suffering it is, when the form you were born with is trapped away behind some gate that only opens for a short period?" Adagio retorted, "I can see the logic in that," Rarity understood, "But keep in mind that in the human world, almost anything that comes from Sunset and Princess Twilight's world will turn into something we're familiar with. If I recall correctly, the Spike belonging to Princess Twilight is actually a Dragon in that world. I should also mention that this change goes both ways. Any human who crosses dimensions into the pony world will end up becoming a pony! I speak from experience if you doubt me... aside from a sinking cruise ship, crossing dimensions and turning into a pony was the worst way to go for a Spring Break vacation. But what you should really take out from this is that if you do go back to the pony world, I'm sure you'll change back into a Siren!" "Huh... I shall remember that." "But as for now," Sweetie slapped Adagio's shoulder, "We can show you that being human in this confusing world isn't that bad! And besides, you can start to sing again! Isn't that good?" "You know what? I hate to say it... but you're right," Adagio gave a sly grin, "It does feel good to know I can at least sing... but it's not up to the level when I had my amulet," "Then we'll keep working on it. Maybe start to sing some more joyful songs! You in?" Rarity offered, "Goes without saying... although. I'm still a little iffy about going to CHS again when people are going to recognise me... even if I'm wearing a pactstone instead of the usual amulet!" "If it makes you feel better," Sweetie supported, "I'm strutting around with a pactstone on my hairband, and Big Mac has it on his wrist. Oh yeah, and as proof for Hinata making a dragonpact by word with us, Flash will be attaching a yellow pactstone on his zipper!" Something shatters within Adagio, Cleo and Rarity, and they face the young girl with puzzled looks, "Come again?" The three responded in unison, "Jacket zipper, not the fly. Oops." Sweetie corrected with a giggle, "Perhaps you can change too, Sweetie Brat." Adagio spoke bitterly, "How about you stop making these sorts of jokes?" "Rarity and Sweetie Belle. May I have your attention?" Midgardsomr spoke up, "Yeah?" The sisters spoke in unison, "The Flamewyrm, or should I say, Ms M, has told me about your deeds and actions ever since you accidentally stumbled into this strange world. The same with Cleo. Though you have also strived to assist Cleo as well as Adagio, a former enemy, I humbly thank you for protecting the Halidom while you're at it, as well as keeping in touch with the Dragons." Midgardsomr lowered his head, "You're too kind Midgardsomr," Rarity curtsied, "And like Sweetie Belle, Big McIntosh, and Flash Sentry, we too have created a bond with this place and those who live here." "Well, I'd also like to offer something that I know would make your time here worth staying." "I can't imagine what else..." Sweetie pondered, "Would the two of you like a ride on my back?" Midgardsomr offered, The sisters gasped deeply, their eyes looked as if they could pop out of shock and surprise. "A-Are you sure?" Rarity stammered, "Brunhilda told me that you were interested in riding on a dragon, and both you didn't have time to enjoy the flight when we were chasing an ally in trouble. So this is the least I can do for you." The sister's eyes sparkled, and their mouths opened into a teeth-revealing smile. "Wooooooooooooooooooooooo!" Rarity and Sweetie hollered as they launch off the ground, sitting on Midgardsomr's shoulders. "Before I start flying around," Midgardsomr asked as he hovers, "Where would you like to fly?" "Maybe perhaps around all the five places we've been through. The forest, the lake, the volcano, the large mountain range, and even the ruins!" Sweetie suggested, "You seem to play it safe..." Midgardsomr noticed, "Do you not want to fly above your home?" "But that's going outside the mana barrier. Won't you be spotted?" "I do not mind," Midgardsomr responded, "I want to see how much the world changed for myself," "Then do it!" Sweetie cheered, "Your choice, Rarity?" "Okay then, I'm all in!" Rarity smiled, "Hold on tight!" Midgardsomr yelled. With a single and mighty flap of his wings, the Windwyrm shoots off towards Canterlot, with his passengers cheering and screaming with joy. "Ah Mym, you sure do bring joy to your students," Cleo watched from the grounds, "If anything," Ms M smiled, "It's because they found out my identity, as well as completed my trial. Then again, I wasn't surprised by what Rarity went through. She and her friends are such brave girls to go through their trials. Kind of reminds us of our Darling Prince. He's far from the strongest, and yet he has to shoulder a nation on his own, against his blood. Along with that desire to save his sister, he never let us forget that it was every single one of us supporting him, that he overcame so many adversities." "He always treated us as friends, rather than subjects." Cleo added, a single tear from her eye, "I miss him... I do truly. But it is a joy to see such a will and friendship exist today." On the repaired Balcony of the Halidom, Adagio watched the Windwyrm and the sisters soar away with forlorn eyes. "You'd better keep your promise..." Adagio sternly spoke, "We will, 'Dagio. A promise is a promise," Big Mac whispered, "Oy!" Adagio jumped, "Can you not do that!?" "Sorry," Big Mac smiled, "Jus' wanted to keep you company." "It's not really needed, but I appreciate the gesture." Adagio looked away, "It's going to be tough, finding your sisters, but even tougher if you return to Canterlot again." Big Mac leaned on the rails, "I can always just go to another school," Adagio shrugged, "I heard of another one, Crystal Prep Academy?" "Actually, Ah was thinking of just goin' back and doin' yer everyday delivery job fer now." Big Mac suggested, "It kept you in Canterlot fer months, so it's best stickin' to it." "You make a fair point," "However, Ah take yer words to heart..." Big McIntosh turned stern, "... Ah believe that you won't harm anyone when you go out. But Ah don't think the Canterlot locals and students would feel the same... but little did they know that they rely on you, the delivery girl of Alberia Markets." He holds out a silver dagger, "Ah promise that they will get ready fer you. But is it okay if you can still keep up bein' Franny for just a bit longer?" Adagio takes the dagger without a word. She moves it around for a bit, then sighed. "I guess I can." Adagio exhaled, "Thanks for the pep talk, Freckles." "Freckles?" Big Mac raised an eyebrow, "Yer a funny gal. Rude one minute, mellow the next." Adagio returns a sarcastic smile. As they did, Flash strolls up with a collection of music sheets in his hands. "Hey guys and girls, what did I miss?" "Nothing for your nose to poke into," Adagio sneered, "Really? In that case, I won't share some sheet music I found while cleaning the art gallery." "Sheet music in the art gallery?" Adagio tilts her head, "Never heard of such," "Well, that's the thing. There was a small room at one of the far corners of the gallery. Inside there was a lone painting of a woman with teal eyes and hair, dangling blue star earrings, and in a very nice outfit. Anyway, I cleaned the room up since it was technically part of the art gallery. That's when I noticed that there was a small table with an antique folder. I saw the music jutting out of the folder, so I thought I'd give it a peek." "Do you know what it's called?" Big Mac asked, "Which one, the Song or Painting?" "Song," "Sadly, I don't know... I haven't learned a crumb of Grastaean language BUT, how they write music is similar to ours; using a scoresheet. I've hummed it a bit, maybe if we get Cleo, we can sing this next!" "I'm intrigued. How does it go?" Adagio asked, "It goes like this..." Midgardsomr glides across the skies, sailing over the Rovetelle forest, and right out of the invisible mana barrier that obscured anything within its dome from view. A few seconds later, he and his passengers fly above the city of Canterlot. First, they circle Canterlot High School, with its Wondercolts statue as a landmark. Then, they glide over the street that the two sisters live in, with the dragon making sure his passengers could see their house. Then they went even bigger, hanging over Canterlot Mall, Crystal Prep Academy, the Equestria Land theme park, and even mulling about Canterlot's central transport system, where all methods of transport such as buses, trains, taxis, ferries and cruise ships meet. People who spotted the Windwyrm's faint shadow couldn't help but look towards the sky, trying to confirm their belief that what they saw on the ground was that of a dragon. Some missed the chance, but others did and were bombed with many mixed emotions. Some feared the dragon, others were amazed. Though they were about as big as a small pencil dot, Rarity and Sweetie could make note of their friends and their family members. Needless to say, they did all this with faces beyond ecstatic and shaken. "This is such a wonderful time!" Rarity laughed as she tried to calm down, "Beats any ride in Equestria Land!!!" "You think? I'd take this over a trip to space!" Sweetie Belle laughed, "Are you two comfortable?" Midgardsomr asked, "Do let me know if you find it hard to breathe." "No! Not at all! You're really considerate Midgardsomr!" Rarity responded, "Many dragons differ. Some have wings, some don't. But for a dragon such as me, we've always seen humans and their nations as little dots upon a map." "Yeah, I can see that," Sweetie looked down, "But ever since Alberius the Founder and King Euden, us humans and dragons came to meet each other on equal ground. How should I describe it? Bring us down to the ground, in a gentle way." "All you dragons have so much respect for him. Ms M, Hinata, you..." "Remember that long ago, we were at war with humanity. But once the demon that sought to exterminate dragons was not above exterminating humans who were in his way, we called an important truce and bonded together to protect our home from him. As sad as it is, even the most immortal of dragons may forget that promise over time. But when Alberius and Euden sought our help, they struck in us an important memory of our bond. So even if they have departed to Ilia's side, I honour our bond by protecting the land and all of its inhabitants; dragon, human, or any form of life from the evil we've fought against when possible." "You know..." Sweetie patted Midgardsomr's scaly neck, "I'd imagine most of us humans running in fear at the sight of a dragon, but after meeting you three, you seem like really friendly people to hang out with!" "A lovely idea, but alas times have changed. Simply making our presence known would call humanity to arms," "I can see that too..." Sweetie sighed, "In that case, how about we follow Ms Cleo's example and introduce you and all of Dragonity bit by bit? Cleo always wanted visitors in the Halidom, so that way us humans would expect that around the place, there be dragons that won't eat or burn you without really good reason!" "I don't think you have to add that eating and burning part..." Rarity objected, "Then what about you?" Midgardsomr asked, "Now that you've fulfilled your debt in a world before your time, would you still come around?" "Are you kidding me!? Of course!!!" Sweetie laughed, "As we were paying it off, I've really come to love this place! Now that a majority of the Halidom will be fixed, I want to revel in all the new facilities!!! And I know Flash and Big Mac are interested in the people and the geography there respectively!" "But of course, we also have an old enemy turned friend. We want to help support her as much as possible, so she'd have a happy life!" Rarity added, "You really do carry the spirit of Euden, all five of you. He always called everyone who joined him his trusted friends and claimed that it is with them that he has power, just like how the Magic of Friendship works. In that case, how about a few more minutes of flying? Perhaps I can do a few... 'tricks'?" "Nonononono!" Rarity frantically shook her head, "Yes, yes, YES!" Sweetie gleefully nodded, "Hmm... perhaps we should preserve your sister's sanity," Midgardsomr responded, "Aww... you can always fix your hair, sis!" Sweetie moped, "I'm not always about the hair you know!" Rarity refuted, "We don't have any safety measures upon this ride!" "But Rarity does have a point, perhaps next time..." Midgardsomr smiled, "I'll hold you to that!" Sweetie pointed, After some wind-whipping fun, it was time for the Windwyrm and the two sisters to return to the Halidom. As they flew over Mayleaf Park, someone was watching them from below... deep in the waters. "Ever since the passing of the King and ruler of New Alberia, as well as almost all of Grastaea, only the dragons and one sylvan, remained in time." The figure spoke, "But even so, the evil that the bonds of Human and Dragon faced still lingered too, unchecked by its creator, releasing fiends into the remnants of our world." It spots a fish passing by its face. "There is no lighter way to put it. The Flow Eternal's resurgence comes from the very fuel it takes in, the negative emotions of humans and dragons. Even if such evil is hidden from the naked eye, the feelings of every living being can pass through even the strongest of barriers. They are responsible for its emergence, for the fiends that pour through. However, what would humanity today make out of all this? If they were made aware of the Flow Eternal or dragons, would they be weary, or would they not care of the suffering it brings to nature and its protectors and governors? Humans back then would take from nature's bounty and use it for their own means." It closed its eyes, "But it would be foolish and narrow-minded not to consider the other side of the coin, just as Dragons do. For even if both presences are hidden, humanity also treats nature with respect and love, and they also treat each other with the same thing. Sure, there have been some in-fighting between groups, but dragons have experienced the same with their kind." It opened its eyes again, a hue of red. "Even when separated and forgotten, whether by their own fate or this world, both kinds will come to meet once more... will they clash? Or join hands? History has been through both... it is up for the present generation to decide..." The being swam to the surface and emerged its head out of the water. With the sun shining down, the being's head was of blue with purple-magenta horns. It was the Greatwyrm of Water, Mercury. "But if it were up to me, I will protect the lives in the land or sea as I vowed to myself, before meeting Prince Euden. No one of dragonblood exists in a changing world, but it doesn't mean we cannot fight alongside them. There will always be a way to rekindle the bond between Human and Dragon. There will always be a way to find Dragalia..." She looks at the green lands surrounding the pond. Many metres north of her, rested a few rowboats and a small wooden pier. Beyond that, were some picnic tables, a playground, a labyrinth, and a path that leads into the forest. "Somewhere over the horizon... I can sense a great evil growing, yet I do not know when it shall strike. All existing dragons may throw all their might towards it, yet I am unsure whether we will succeed... If we were to have a greater chance of success, we need all the help we can get. Rarity... Adagio Dazzle... Flash Sentry... Big McIntosh... and especially you, young Sweetie Belle. The five of you have grown to accept and befriend the world we Dragons come from and learned the many powers that humans from our time had harnessed. I know how it feels to protect something so dear, so you must be ready for the trials to come... for the trials of myself, and the other Greatwyrms. Alas, I fear that may not be enough..." She closes her eyes in prayer, "For all those who gave their lives to protect this ever-changing world, whether dragon or man, please grant me the courage to face humanity once again... not just to the five kindhearted beings, but to all. For the trials ahead are to be ready against the evil upon the horizon... and all our lives may be at stake." The Siren's Dragalia The End But Sweetie's Little Steps of Life is on the way!
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 3
"Hi Everyone!!!" Sweetie winked and waved, "My name's Sweetie Belle..." "... and welcome to Little Steps of a Secret Life!!!" Everyone posed. "Ooh boy! Today I have something wonderful in store!!! It will be shorter than the past two episodes, but it's packed with quality content!!!" Sweetie announced, "We're going to go through something very juicy! We're going to learn not just Grastaea, but a mythological world that shares the same name with our nation! Heck, we're going to pull some very interesting tidbits and similarities with these two worlds! Then, we're going to show you some scenic walks of the nearby lake! And finally, we'll end this with yet another ten new heroes to introduce! And remember, if you really want, just comment down below if you want to take a look at the art gallery I talked about last ep! Now with that, let's begin!" "Welcome to the Halidom!" The others chanted, gesturing to the Castle. "Cut!" Mr Sentry commanded, "Impressive! And it only took five takes." "Yes!" "Alright!" "Nice work girls! And guys!" The actors, which were everyone who had appeared in Sweetie's project so far with the addition of Hinata as a human, high-fived each other and cheered. "Thanks a lot for helping, Mum and Dad," Flash thanked, "It's nice to get some better help to film things. It's hard to film something like this on the phone." "I'm due for air and a walk after being cooped up in the office." Mr Sentry nodded stoically. "My job hasn't blown up either, and I would do anything to spend time with my son and his friends!!!" Mrs Sentry gave her heartwarming close-eyed smile. "So this is the Halidom." Mr Sentry looked around, "I can't put my finger on it, but there is something here that convinces me it isn't just a cheap imitation for a theme park. It feels like a real castle, one that isn't turned into a historical site." "Say..." Mrs Sentry tugged on Mr Sentry, "I thought I heard there be dragons here! Like the one we saw yesterday, flying in the sky?" "You saw that!?" Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Flash exclaimed, "Ah..." Mrs Sentry smiled, "So it is true!" "Midgardsomr is off setting up the scene for our second video." Ms M informed, "Sadly, he won't be able to be seen on camera. But you may see him with your own eyes!" "That's more than enough, thank you, Ms M!" Mrs Sentry curtsied, "You can call me Mym," Ms M curtsied back, "You know, seeing adults getting all buddy-buddy like this makes me think they're trying to relive their joyful teenage life." Rainbow Dash joked, "Oh trust me, Mrs Sentry's teenage life isn't what I'd call 'joyful'." Scootaloo joined in, "Scoots..." Flash warned while clenching his teeth together, "Nothing!" Scootaloo corrected, "Nothing at all!" Different worlds with similarities! "And rolling!" Mrs Sentry signalled, "So!" Sweetie Belle sat in one of many tables in the Halidom's Dining Hall, "Here I have two knowledgeable people of our two respective worlds." "Alrighty!" Ms M turned to Sunset, "So, I HEARD about Equestria's mythology. A world where ponies and magic romp instead of humans, and plenty of extraordinary creatures not seen in our world!" "Indeed," Sunset nodded, "And what's even more interesting is that these beings share names and even similar features with actual beings of Grastaea! I mean, there's the Cerberus, Roc, Manticore and Chimera..." "Yes!" Ms M pulls out a folder of drawings and paintings, "Most of the beings in your mythology are considered unique, but for Grastaea, they are categorised as a species of either two things. A Dragon, or a Fiend." "I know about the Dragons in Grastaea. They govern nature, are worshipped as deities, and just powerful beings that are immortal, though not invincible. Now, I'd like to learn more about fiends. What are they?" "Fiends are terrible creatures from another world." Ms M shuddered, "They target humans and dragons, and would destroy any place that house life, from small villages to castles if they have the power to." "Yikes!" "The Manticore and Chimera from Grastaea are each a unique type of fiend classified as Therion. Each of them has five variations following the five elements of Grastaea." "Interesting... " Sunset pulled out two photos of a Manticore and Chimera in the Pony World, "Like this?" "Aww, that's colourful and cute... although they may look vicious, they don't look as intimidating compared to here!" "Well, there could be a reason behind it. Both the Chimera and the Manticore are capable of communication. While the Chimera is known to be a predator to ponies, the three beings that make them up tend to squabble a lot from the information. As for the manticore, they don't tend to stick in herds as ponies do, but there have been two stories of two named manticores where they were on good terms with the ponies. One built a castle for two royal sisters as a favour for restoring his home, and another where a pegasus confronted him with kindness when he was enraged, and it helped calm him down and be friendly when he showed her the source of his rage." "That's sweet!!!" Ms M blushed, "If only Grastaea's Manticores were like them, it would be a much safer place! What are their names, by the way?" "The one who built the castle is called Melvin, and the other is called Manny Roar," "Very... intriguing names... almost too similar to ours?" Ms M raised an eyebrow, "Perhaps!" Sunset smiled, "Then I'll show you my Manticore and Chimera! Their flame variants to be specific," Ms M presents her pictures like she was dealing cards, so Sweetie Belle, Sunset and Mrs Sentry (with the camera) could see. "Oh, dear..." Sunset winced, "I can see why they may be a threat. Their lack of pupils, excessive fur and marks, and fierce gazes make them look like intimidating apex predators, and they're quite massive too!" "You got that right, darling. When enraged, the Chimera is capable of increasing in size and strength. We call that phenomenon Overgrowth." "Though the manticore looks identical to ours, it seems the Chimera lacks the goat head! It only has the parts and heads of the lion and the snake. Although I can note the two goat-like horns protruding from the lion's mane." "Now let's look at some benevolent dragons, shall we? Roc and Cerberus. What do you know about them?" "Cerberus is a three-headed hound and the gatekeeper of Tartarus. Tartarus is like the underworld or hell of their world. That being said, if anyone gives him a belly rub, he can get tamed pretty easily." "Quaint! That's exactly like my Cerberus! Except that she's a dragon, and belly rubs aren't her thing." "Yeah... about your Cerberus, I don't think she's neither dog nor dragon. She just looks like a red-haired human with dog ears, very minimal clothing, and white fluffy dogs for hands. "I beg your pardon?" Mrs Sentry chimed in, "Mrs Sentry!" Sweetie moaned, "No no no!" Ms M halted, "Keep it rolling, I have to refute her inane remarks!" And presents a picture of the Grastaean Cerberus. "And what's wrong with that? She's still a dragon!" "You weren't kidding!!!" Mrs Sentry blurted, "Oh My Goddess!!!" "See!?!?" Sunset raised her tone, "Even SHE gets it!!!" "I-I'm sure there's some perfectly good reason!!!" Mrs Sentry stammered, "We're aren't living in their world, so we may never know! If Cerberus was around, I'm sure if I ask her, she'll explain why she identifies herself as a dragon!" "Alright then," Sunset sighed, "Let's not fall apart. What about your Roc?" "Here," She pulls out the picture of a large and charming bird, "Now this looks like the Roc from pony mythology!" Sunset compared the Roc with her own, "Despite it being called a dragon, what is their behaviour? Over in the Pony world, they're big predatory birds that prey upon ponies and are drawn to the scent of dragons!" "Your Rocs can eat Dragons!? Wow! Perhaps the Pony world isn't so safe after all!" "Only when they're hungry. If not, they are calm birds that can understand but not speak the language of ponies. Still not a good idea to cross one though." "Well, our Roc isn't one to feast on humans. In fact, one of the stories of the Roc denotes her as a Mercenary Dragon, lending her services." "Wow!!!" "And her rates are very generous... as long as you shared her dreams and wishes of her late human partner." "And that is?" "To bring peace to the continent." "Oh..." Sunset, Sweetie and Mrs Sentry felt a warm feeling in their bodies and tears up. "What a darling dragon!!! Very benevolent!" Mrs Sentry smiled, "I agree... the feels!" Sweetie choked, "Dragons and Humans really do share a very close bond for a long time. For the ponies and their dragons, it's just starting to build." Sunset explained, "Well, what do you know? These are really nice tidbits!" Sweetie concluded, "And that's it for this segment, can we give thanks to-" One of the doors burst right open, letting in a bunch giggling teenage students: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Flash Sentry, and Big McIntosh. A rather irritated Adagio Dazzle was trailing behind them, "Hold it right there!!!" Rainbow yelled. "And keep the camera rolling!" "What's going on?" Sweetie turned around, "You need to get this on tape!!!" Pinkie giggled, "We've done some similar research, and found yet another similar name to both the worlds: The Siren!" "The siren???" Sunset and Sweetie gasped, "And that's why-" Adagio grunted, "I'm trying to demand them to tell me what they had discovered, and why they're giggling like idiots!" "Ah, right. I think now's a good time to mention it!" Ms M giggled too, "Are you familiar with the Siren?" Sunset asked, "Yes! In the Pony mythos, as well as Grastaea's!" "Oh... then what is the Siren in Grastaea like? Fiend or Dragon?" "Hmm..." Adagio stopped, "Let me guess... is it a really strong and nasty fiend?" "Sorry darling, but in Grastaea, the Siren is a dragon!" Ms M answered, "Woah!" Sunset and Sweetie gasped, "So that explains why the pactstone worked on her..." Rarity whispered, "And guess what? We managed to find a picture of what the Grastaean Siren looks like!" Rainbow laughed and presents a small picture directly to the camera, "Uh... THAT'S the siren!?" Sunset's jaw drops, "Oh dear. Here we go again," Mrs Sentry sighed, "... Yeah," Ms M chuckled, and everyone fell laughing, "Aww, man! I can just imagine Adagio in that!!! She would be ridiculous and yet better at the same time!" Pinkie laughed, "Argh! Can you please explain!? What are you talking about behind my back!?" Adagio bellowed, "Alright folks," Flash laughed, "Jig's up. Let's show her already, and get ready to hightail it out of here." "Here you go 'Dagio," Big Mac pries the photo out of Rainbow and hands it to the Siren. "This is yer Grastaean counterpart," The moment Adagio lays her eyes onto the Siren in the picture, her entire body froze and it felt like her eyes were going to explode, "No..." Adagio scoffed in denial, "No... no... no no no no NO!" She screamed, "WHAT IN TARTARUS IS THIS!?!?!?" She turned to Ms M, "How is this posing beach bimbo with horns and a tail, a dragon let alone the SIREN!?" "As I said," Ms M calmly smiled, "Things work differently in both worlds!" "Quick! Let's take a picture, then photoshop it with Adagio's colour and face! That way you'll be so much more attractive than you were back then!" Pinkie suggested, "Grrr... RAAAAHHH!!!" Adagio bellowed with her head to the sky. The green pactstone began to glow and stir until it unleashed a great pillar of wind masked covered Adagio as she slowly grows and morphs her body. When the wind pillar dispersed, Adagio had transformed into her true Siren form, "THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE!!!" Adagio snapped at Mrs Sentry and the camera, "Not some human with dragon features!!!" "Not if we have anything to say about it, RUN!!!" Pinkie laughed, leading the escape through the door they came from. "Grr!!! Accursed Humans!!!" Adagio growled, "Adagio? Your inner, childish Amane is showing!" Flash laughed as he exits the hall. "Shut up nerd! And Amane is NOT a kid! She's 24 years old and a woman grown, dammit!!!" Adagio flew after them, "Well..." Sunset blinked, "What just happened?" "Okay... that was out of the ordinary. But once this is over, I need to take another look at that siren!" Sweetie demanded, "I'll leave the editing to you, Sweetie." Mrs Sentry responded, after stopping the recording. "Now, are we ready for a swim?" Lake Trip!!! "Cannonbomb!" Pinkie screamed while in midair, just before she hit the water. The resulting wave of water swept over Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack as they laughed and clapped at their friend's explosive performance. Close by, Rainbow and Sunset cheered for a three-way game of chicken fight; Pitched between Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom, who were riding on Rarity, Flash Sentry, and Big McIntosh respectively. "Go Scoots! You can push them down!" Rainbow backed up, "Set them straight Applebloom!" Sunset cheered, "Hahaha!!!" Sweetie laughed, "Then watch in fear as I topple your favourites-" "Boop," The next thing she knew, the young girl was shoved from her sister's shoulders and into the clear drink. A pesky little gang-up followed with laughter, "Truce over. It's you and me now!" Scootaloo turned to Applebloom. Applebloom gave a dark smile, "Bring it on, chicken!!!" She taunted, gesturing with her hands. "Oh come on!!!" Sweetie shot her head out of the water. "Ganging up is no fun!" "It's okay Sweetie..." Rarity stood up, "Why don't we go and keep your audience company?" She pointed to the dry bank, where Adagio, Cleo, Ms M, and Mr and Mrs Sentry sat observing the teens. "Right!" Sweetie swam over, "Well? Isn't this wonderful??? Myriage Lake, one of Grastaea's largest lakes, and current home of the Waterwyrm." Mrs Sentry slowly moved the camera to film the long stretch of the lake. Making sure to include the village of Woodhaven on the other side of the lake, as well as the Waterwyrm's cradle. To be honest, even Mrs Sentry was taken aback by the beauty of the lake. "Clear waters as far as the eye can see!" Sweetie continued, "Mostly thanks to the Waterwyrm who lives here, keeping the waters clean with pure water mana! Do you think she could help clean up some of our waters too? It'd help all life!!!" "How about we fix our mess?" Ms M suggested, "Aww! You're no fun!" Sweetie moped and responded with throwing a wave of water towards the teacher. Ms M swiftly dodges it but did not expect the man sitting behind her. Everyone stopped playing and turned their attention to the scene. "Uh-oh..." Sweetie Belle gulped. Mr Sentry stood up, all drenched over. He turned to the young girl with a vengeful stare. Sweetie was completely petrified, "S-S-Sorry!!!" Sweetie Belle croaked, "If you really wanted to play with others, you should have asked them instead of forcibly including them, young lady." Mr Sentry scolded, "It is rude..." "I-I" Sweetie started to tear up, "Flash!" Mr Sentry commanded, "Yes, dad?" Flash swam over. Mr Sentry stripped down to his swimming attire (which is just a pair of swimming briefs). Revealing a lean and slim chest, with a little bulge on his tummy. "Euch!" All the CHS students and Adagio exclaimed, and Ms M and Cleo stifled a laugh. Mrs Sentry on the other hand? She burst out laughing, "Sorry girls!" Mrs Sentry laughed, "But my dear husband isn't as ripped as you think!" "Because of her reckless actions, your girlfriend and I will be going into a chicken duel in the river. You are to be her mount. Understand?" Mr Sentry briefed, "What!? She's not my girlfriend!!!" Flash roared, "He's not my boyfriend!!!" Sweetie roared at the same time, "If you say so," Mr Sentry answered unflinchingly, "But your actions to Flash when he was hospitalized tells me otherwise," "Sorry about that, Sweetie," Flash sighed, "Dad's a rather eccentric guy when it comes to scolding people in different situations. That being said, he won't take no for an answer," "Ooh! Ooh! Can I be your partner dear?" Mrs Sentry spoke with excitement, "As always, my love. Would you like to be the mount or the chicken?" "Let's go easy on them, I'll be the mount!" "WHAT!?" Everyone exclaimed, "Get ready you two!" Mrs Sentry passed the filming camera to Cleo and stripped down to her swimming attire; a decent two-piece swimsuit with ruffles. "WHAT!?!?" Everyone exclaimed again. It wasn't the choice of swimwear that they were shocked about, but the body of the mother herself. Her arms, legs and core packed a little tone and muscle, compared to her husband. "Your mum looks more fit than your dad. How?" Sweetie demanded, "Mum's not a gym person. She does, however, practice Tai Chi every day." Flash calmly answered, "So uh... do you still want to do this? I can vouch not to do this, and they'll stop." "The only thing I'm weirded about is your dad wanting to participate in a game of Chicken after I splashed him on accident." "Keep this between you and me," Flash whispered as his parents jump into the river, "But despite dad's strait-laced and silently religious attitude, deep down he wants to have fun too." "Oh! Well in that case, how can I say no?" Sweetie smiled, "You'd better hold on to me!" "I won't lose to my old man!" Flash nodded and ducked into the water. Resting her legs around his head, he stood up, lifting Sweetie along with it. Mrs Sentry did the same, hoisting Mr Sentry up. "Shall we begin?" Mr Sentry offered, "Fight!" Pinkie yelled, "You know..." Cleo frowned at the two chicken fighters, surrounded by the cheering students, "I think I should stop recording this thing," "No," Ms M grinned, "This is fun!" Summoning Time! "Phew!" Sweetie laughed in relief, "Now that we all had fun, and cleaned ourselves up, it's time for our last segment of the video! Summoning the essence of the adventurers of New Alberia!!! I wonder what we're going to get?" "Wyrmite?" Flash asked, "Here you go," Rarity plopped a giant pouch on his hands, "1200 to be exact!" "Throughout our exploration of Grastaea, we managed to acquire the right amount to summon ten heroes once again!" Sweetie explained, "Alright, here goes nothing!!!" Flash nodded and walked up the stairs with Rarity and a few curious girls following him. That's when Sweetie gave the cue to stop filming. As they waited, a loud kerfuffle was heard from above. Immediately, Cleo and the parents went up to see what was going on, while Adagio and Big Mac stayed behind with Sweetie. It was impossible to film on that island. "Dude!!!" Rainbow ran down the stairs, "That was awesome!" "What happened?" Big Mac, Adagio and Sweetie asked, "The summoning circle in the sky!" Twilight explained, "It just turned... colourful! Like a rainbow!" "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "It means," Cleo walked down with a warm smile, "This summoning session has yielded the essence of a very powerful adventurer." "Huh???" "Check it out!" Ms M winked as she introduced the rest of the girls, the parents, and finally Flash, carrying a tray of 5 silver pactstones, a bowl of eldwater, a blue orb, a gold orb, and to the shock of the three, a glittering rainbow orb. "Wow!!!" Sweetie's eyes sparkled, "That screams super super rare!!!" "Sadly, two of them are duplicates, which had turned into eldwater." Flash reported, "As for the other three, I have felt their aura, and know exactly who they are." "Mrs Sentry?" Sweetie gestured. The mom flashed a thumbs up and started recording again, "Everyone? We have a very special pull! Today you will experience a very powerful hero that joined the ranks of New Alberia! We only have three new entries, so we'll start from blue, to gold, and then to our powerful rainbow essence! Lead the way Flash!" "Certainly!" Flash chuckled nervously, "???" Mr and Mrs Sentry noticed their son's behaviour. This isn't usual behaviour for summoning a legendary adventurer. "O-Our first adventurer is Philia, The Love Seeker!" Flash announced, entering the mentioned adventurer's room, "A bowgirl attuned to the element of wind, Philia goes wherever fate takes her, believing in the destiny that she will find a soul mate that she would never be apart, no matter the distance." "She sounds like she's got her head in the clouds," Rainbow snickered, "Ooh!" Mrs Sentry looked through the adventurer's possessions, "Sounds like someone is itching to get married! Look at all the information about weddings, clothes and, parties!" "All these accessories she acquired are symbols of romance," Mr Sentry assessed, "And yet her clothes denote her as a traveller, rather than a city girl." "Hey," Fluttershy noticed, "Isn't that... the prince?" She fished out a picture of Euden with a heart shape drawn on top of his head. "Ooh!" Pinkie squealed, "Philia thinks the Prince is her soul mate! That's sweet!" "Say, Ms M," Rarity remembered, "You said you love the Prince, but it seems like not only Estelle, but even she loves the prince too. Weren't you worried about all this competition?" "My Darling was the type of person who really didn't show any sort of interest in romance... in fact, he's trying to avoid it! Especially her, he was pretty much on his guard." Ms M answered, "You equally made him uncomfortable too, Mym." Cleo reminded, "A couple of girls have the hots for my darling, I can't blame him. I'm not so worried about Philia though, she's WAY out of his league." "Well, as long as she allied herself with the Prince," Flash hastily placed Philia's essence on her desk, "She's an ally to us! Now, let's keep moving shall we?" "Our hero in gold goes by the name of Patia, the Spirited Swallow!" Flash introduced, "This Shadow Lancer is the Vice-Captain of the White Sparrow Corps, a group of knights in service to New Alberia! She is a nimble and agile fighter, but her speciality is charging into the fray! Like of like some people we know!" "Ooh! She's got plenty of patrol logs and notes, and yet... she's quite perceptive of the area she patrolled in. What's this about a street vendor being unable to refurbish his store." Twilight read, "So when a thief was running away, Patia purposely tackled this store so that when her captain had to apologise and recompensate for the damages, the shopkeeper turned out to be pretty happy that he wouldn't have to pay for renovation costs!" "Wow! I wouldn't even think that far! She's playing some four-dimensional chess there!" Rainbow admired, "Man, she is pretty awesome for a knight!" "Oh? And she's some got some cookbooks too," Sunset noted, "She does cooking on the side?" "Actually," Cleo coughed, "It was to save the Sparrows from certain doom. You see, their captain's cooking is nutritious, at the cost of... edibility." The group responded with some painful faces, "Let's hope I never eat this captain's food," Mrs Sentry gulped, "And for our special famous adventurer, we have drum roll..." Everyone responded with their 'drum rolling' on their legs. "... Louise!!! The Doting Sister!!!" "What!?" Everyone paused, "Doting sister!?" Applebloom shuddered, "That's the last title Ah would give to a strong adventurer!" "I'll explain. Like Philia, she is a bowgirl of the wind." Flash continued, "And if there's one thing that is the core of her amazing housework and battle prowess, it's caring for her brother! Their parents passed away when they were little, so she had to take care of him. She's grown to be a bit too attached as she did so, but once the two of them came to the Halidom, the people helped her come to terms that her little brother has to grow up independently, as well as help find something for herself. Painting for example," "This portrait painting is quite excellent," Mr Sentry looked at a framed painting hanging on the wall, "I assume that must be her brother." "Lowen is his name, and he's also an adventurer too. But we can talk about him once we get his essence." Flash answered, "Hey sis, Louise is a nice gal and all but... I hope you kinda don't become like her in the future," Applebloom remarked, "Very funny Applebloom, Ah'm in no essence similar to her at all!" Applejack snaps, retaliating with a noogie. "Well everyone, I think that was a great recording session!" Sweetie announced in the Halidom kitchen, "You guys all did great!" "Yeah!" Everyone cheered, raising their mugs of warm, sweet Honey Tea to the air. "Sorry that I didn't say anything at all," Hinata apologised, "I couldn't think of anything to add to the situation, and I had to stay behind in the Halidom to clean..." "No worries Hinata, there's always next time!" Sweetie cheered up, "Phew! That lake party was a doozy!!!" Flash chuckled, "You had fun, did you dad?" "... Do not remind me," Mr Sentry turned away, "I never knew your dad would just go down from one simple nudge..." Adagio blinked, "And he had all that dominating energy..." "Oh yeah! I'm going to the toilet. Be back soon!" Flash laughed and dashed out of the kitchen. "... By the way," Mr Sentry turned around, "Did you ever notice Flash's behaviour when he was carrying and doing those summoning introductions?" "I sorta did," Sweetie added, "But I had to maintain a good face for the camera." "Bet he was peppy about Louise and all, you did say he was very excited about the adventurers of New Alberia." Hinata guessed, Flash stomped across the hallways and entered a very familiar room. He wasn't heading for the toilet at all. "Alright, buddy." Flash slammed the door shut, turned on the room's lights, and approached the blue orb, "You've got a lot of talking to do..." "Oh, It's you... the one who felt like my prince, but isn't..." "Glad you can come to terms with that, Philia. I've told Ms Cleo and Ms M SO many times now that I am not the prince." "Huh!? You can hear me!?!?!?" "Ever since I touched your essence." Flash explained, "But all the others couldn't. Not even Ms Cleo or Ms M. You've always been crying 'My Prince! Where are you, my Prince? Cleo! Mym! Where am I? Where are you taking me!? Where's the Prince? Where's Melody and Cibella!?!?' That's what you've been yelling all the time until we dropped you in your room and left. It irritated me to no end." "Well what would you do if you're helpless!? Perhaps you know what's happening to me!?!? I feel so weird. My arms and body feel like I'm in some vast space, yet my eyes can only see what's around me! This is my room and all, but I can't move around!" "Oof, I don't know how I can put this lightly..." Flash sat on her bed, "I can hear that tone in your voice... am I... dead?" Philia asked, Flash looked at the orb and gloomily nodded, "No... no no no... nononononoNO!!! This... This must be a mistake!!! I should be with my Prince! My soulmate before I die! How could this happen to me!?" She shrieked, "Philia, if it makes you feel any better... the Prince has passed away too, as did everyone else. Only the Dragons are alive since they're immortal. Ms Cleo is also alive too. A thousand years have passed, according to Cleo and the dragons." "No... we all died? This can't be real... no!" The voice cried, "I mean... if it really is a thousand years I understand. I wouldn't live that long but..." "Do you remember anything?" Flash asked, "Well... that's the thing... I don't recall dying... and somehow, I could remember all the times I've spent with my prince, as well as everyone else in the Halidom... there has to be a mistake." "Well look at the bright side. You're still alive in the spirit. Literally." Flash answered, "You see, I'm not talking to an exact body of you, it's more like your entire conscience and heart has been stuffed into this tiny changeable orb that Ms Cleo called an essence." "Essence... no... I've never heard of that..." "I don't think you would." Flash nodded, "These essences are composed of everything about a particular individual. You wouldn't have seen them in your time, because you and the others wouldn't need any assistance from departed heroes when you're a part of your nation's strength. These essences allow someone to take on the strength and appearance of a particular adventurer. Take us for example: If I use your essence, I would turn into you; hair, body size, and all. The only thing that doesn't change from me are colours of my hair, eyes and body." "Ugh... that's... not a nice mental image if you ask me... but at least that explains why I can't move around." "Well hey, you're quick to adapt. Cool!" Flash encouraged, "So... who are you? And why do you call Cleo and Mym Ms'?" "My name is Flash Sentry," Flash greeted, "And I am a student of Canterlot High School. Ms Cleo I call out of human decency and formality, and she saved me from fiends. As for Ms M... she's my history teacher, and that's how I knew her until she revealed she was one of the Greatwyrms a few weeks ago." "Wow. Mym is the last person I would expect to be a teacher for humans!" "You and me both..." Flash chuckled, "You know, you're pretty nice to chat with, not so obsessed with the Prince all the time. Then again, I'm not sure you can do that when both of you are dead." "Phooey..." "Hey..." Flash got an idea and got off the bed, "You said that you can't move around, but what if I do this?" "Woah!" Philia gasped, "Are you lifting me up?" "I am," Flash nodded, "I am carrying your essence. You said you can't move right?" "Yeah?" "I can't leave someone in your condition alone. Being unable to move anywhere with no one to talk to. Might as well see how the world changed for yourself, and to have someone to talk it through with you. Well, the only person to talk to." "Really? Thanks! That's very sweet of you! No wonder I found you similar to the prince, you've got the kind demeanour as him!" Philia thanked, "Yeah. Like I mentioned before, I get that a lot from those two." "Well, now that I mention it... while I couldn't remember exactly how I died... I remember how I suddenly woke up and became this... I just felt as if the Prince had taken me by the hand, that was enough to make me wake up..." "Interesting..." Flash held the essence in his hands, "Must be because I touched your essence..." "Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go already!" "You still have that traveller blood in you," Flash chuckled, "Alright then!" Flash opened the door, turned off the lights, and departed the Love Seeker's room, remembering to shut the door on his way out. Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 3 The End? Next Chapter for Volume 2: Riding the river of history
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
Rivers of history
Two weeks have passed since the Halidom was fully rebuilt by Midgardsomr and the Smithwyrms. The mines were re-opened, the smithy's furnace was burning, the elemental altars repaired to its glory, and not only was the lance dojo rebuilt, but so were the other seven weapon dojos. Then many other unique facilities were open for exploration. But life still carried on for Cleo, the remaining original inhabitant of the Halidom. She tended the garden of food and flowers, cleaned the castle, assigned deliveries, and many other things that contribute to life in Equestria. But not one day passed without joy thanks to the Halidom that she had cared for. It was back into its fully built glory. It raised her spirits, as well as the others who currently live here or visit. And yet the Halidom's existence was kept in the mist, like the magic that rests within Canterlot High School. The two forces began mingling with each other ever since those two weeks, and slowly did their influences of each other grew. A young teenage girl pulled a wagon full of baskets packed with vegetables up to the back door of the CHS cafeteria. "Ms Smith?" The merchant cheerfully called while knocking on the door, "It's me! Francesca!" "Ahh... comin'!" Granny Smith, CHS' teacher and lunch lady, opened the door. "It's mighty swell to see you again! How's you and Cleo?" "We're all good!" Francesca gave a teeth-bearing smile, "One large basket of carrots and tomatoes!" "Ah've seen many different trucks come n' go carrying tremendous quantity." Granny Smith remarked as she took the basket, "But you and Cleo have to be the most memorable. Living so close to Canterlot, and packed with the highest quality like the finest of steers. Though... that shiny red wagon o' yours looks familiar..." "It was given as a gift to help with the deliveries!" Francesca explained, "In fact, the one who gave it to me is a student in this school. Big McIntosh?" "Well, Ah'll be darned! No wonder why that wagon's familiar! It's mah Grandson's ol' toy! It explains why he was shinin' and oilin' that ol' thing. That's very sweet of 'im!" "He's your Grandson!?" Francesca jumped, "An' soon to be graduating!" Granny added, then gave a coy smile, "Glad to know that there's some potential soulmates for him!" "No no no!!!" Francesca protested, "I mean he did help me out whenever he saw me, but only for a few times! He's a kind bloke, but I don't think he's interested in me!" "Well that's a darn shame, Ah think you'd be a good match." "Yeah, as if I'd ever want to fall in love. Let alone with a human!!!" Adagio growled to herself, "Though somethin' baffles me. He ain't told me one bit about him knowin' you. How did ya meet?" "Well..." Francesca stammered, "On second thoughts, ya got more deliveries to tie up. Ah'll ask him mahself," "Sure thing!" Francesca casually saluted, "Let me help you unload the food..." "Well, everyone," A teacher addressed the class, "Before we start the lesson, I want to say a few things. It's been an honour, teaching you all the way from your freshman years to now. And as much as a farewell eventually happen, I cannot stress about the bigger world you will enter. College, the workforce, maybe a future family!" "Huh..." Big McIntosh opened his eyes. Did he ever talk about his future with his family? His thoughts ponder to his Grandmother. "I wonder if I should talk about it with her? Then again..." He looked at his wrist, where a red pactstone and its fragments were magically wrapped around it like a bracelet. "Ah don't think Ah told Granny about 'Dagio, Ms Cleo, the Halidom, and the Dragons... do Ah... should Ah?" In one of the school hallways, Rarity strutted down its invisible catwalk. Every student and teacher she passed had their eyes on her and their minds turned into a frenzy. Though she was wearing the same designed top and mini skirt. A few modifications made it stand out. First, the sleeveless top's light-blue colour had changed into velvet red, the diamonds changed into small flames, and engraved on the neck part was a shining red object instead of the round gem. Her skirt remained purple, but it had a red object similar to the one on the top embroidered near the edge. As for her two shoes, each of the shoe's blue crystal has been replaced with the very same red object. "Rarity!" Sunset spoke out, "Nice clothes you have on today..." "Why thank you!" Rarity stopped smiled back, "I decided to do some modifications on my current clothes, such as changing designs and the possibility to fit in accessories, but I think it turned out pretty well!" "I'm glad you do but I think you'll get a lot of people scared. Whenever you move, you're on fire. Literally." Rarity raised an eyebrow and twirled around. As usual, the skirt and top would follow with the momentum as it does. However, the moment the clothes and shoes were in motion, they began releasing flames. "... My point exactly. Those 'red accessories' are Ms-- I mean the scales of a Dragon, are they?" "But of course!" Rarity stopped spinning, "Does it look good?" "Doesn't fit your hair, but it does look nice on its own!" Rainbow replied, "But it better not change into the feathers of a Mockingjay... does it?" "I'm not that advanced in making clothes!" Flash took his morning classes with an ounce of silence and hard work. Through Maths and History, the teenager quickly wrote down sums and long paragraph answers respectively. When it came to the beginning of his English classwork, he had his eyes glued to the literary text and its questions. His face was confused and desperate, how was he going to solve this? He scratched his head as he rummaged in his pencil case and pulled out a pen. Leaving it open, a blue marble was nestled within his stationary. "Hey..." A voice whispered to him, "How about I explain it to you...?" A full minute later, the teenager swiftly jotted down his answer in quick but neat writing. The English teacher watching over the class took notice. "All right class. Please note on your exercise books where you put your answers. I will come around and collect them," The teacher announced. "And today you won't have any homework given how hard you've worked," The class cheered through whispers as the teacher moved forward one at a time to collect her student's books. "By the way Flash," The teacher paused at his desk, "I noticed you were confident in your writing today. That rarely happens, given that you take quite a lot of time to come up with only one line for an answer." "It's uh..." Flash embarrassingly confessed, "I had a lot of help at home," "If you want my opinion, at least having a go on writing down any answer is progress enough. At least it will tell me what you're struggling with." "Yes ma'am," Flash gulped and went back to his seat, "She has a point you know," The voice whispered again, "Just put as much as you understand of the story according to the question!" "Says the free-spirited traveller crazy about fate and love. Have you ever been to a school, Philia?" Flash whispered back, "You're welcome, Flash. Anyway, a lot of tales and stories bring forth lots of feelings and messages from the authors. Whether it's about love, about the heroics of an individual, or even ones to convey how depressing reality can be, like Norwin's books for example." Responded Philia. "When you put it that way, you sound SO much smarter than what your bio says." "Speaking about school and smarts, where is Mym? I haven't seen her at all!" "She's chaperoning a Geography Field Trip for the Freshmen. Coincidentally, it's a bushwalk in the Mayleaf Trail." "Over here! Over here Applebloom!!!" Sweetie Belle called. Catching that signal, Applebloom tossed the circular disc at her friend's direction and watched it spin through the air. Unlike the last time they played, the frisbee was far too high for her to get. "Jeez Applebloom!" Sweetie moaned as the frisbee sailed away behind her, "I told you not to throw it that high!" "Mah bad! Ah'm just tired after the bushwalk!" Applebloom apologised, "Surprised you haven't been tired. Actually, Ah shouldn't be. All that travellin' in that part of the forest got you fit!" "Yeah yeah, excuses excuses." Sweetie moaned, "I'm just going to go get it." And jogged off, "Hurry back Sweetie!" Scootaloo called, "You don't want to get Ms M mad!!!" "Wow, Applebloom really packs a swing," Sweetie spoke to herself after spotting the frisbee next to the pond, "Any higher or stronger and it would end up in the drink!" She hurried down and picked it up with gentle hands, completely unaware of the figure floating on the middle of the pond. "Good Morning Sweetie Belle. Out playing with your friends today?" The figure greeted in a calm ladylike voice. "Good morning Ms Mercury! It's a school field trip today, but we've finished and now having lunch in the park!" Sweetie looked at the figure and smiled before quickly running back to the picnic area. Once she took a few steps, she froze. "Ms... Mercury?" Sweetie realised what she just said and slowly turned around. "Indeed I am," The Waterwyrm nodded, swimming closer to the edge, "Though I am nowhere near old or certified to be called such a title." "What are you doing here? How did you get all the way from Grastaea to here?" "The misty steps in the forest isn't the only gateway between the two eras. The one I used merely involves travelling on the water. As a matter of fact, the water source from this pond came from my world. The humans built this pond as a means to prevent the water from flowing into the urban area." "Huh? Really? I don't see the source..." Sweetie peered, "This is quite a large pond," Mercury remarked, "And given that it unwisely matches the colour, it's hard to make out the blue buoys. The rules that the humans made about fishing and boating here is not to go past them. Beyond that lies the river run-off. The current is far too powerful for anyone to paddle upstream, nor is there any opportunity to walk or take a break." "You created that current, did you?" Sweetie raised an eyebrow, "Guilty as charged," Mercury nodded, "I am a part of nature's waters, as they are a part of me. However, I do have a small offer that might interest you. Would you like me to take you up the river? Show you another way to enter Grastaea?" "Oh, now that would be really interesting! Although... I'm not sure I can take up that offer..." "Ah. How rude of me. You have your field trip. Then how about after your important duties?" "Sounds fun! Let me see if Rarity and the others would come along too!" "About that..." Mercury stopped, "Please forgive my selfishness, but this small trip up the river is for you and you only." "Huh? Why???" "A small face-to-face chat is something that I prefer instead of a full group. Besides, even if I am one to travel the seas without breaking a sweat, I'm afraid I can't carry all of you either." "A secret trip, huh?" "Something like that," "Honestly, I'm down for being just the two of us but... there's this cultural warning around here today. It's called 'Stranger Danger'. I'm sure you're a dragon that won't take advantage of others, but many people might not agree." "Then how about a teacher?" A voice boomed behind Sweetie. "Ms M!" Sweetie turned around to see her crimson-haired teacher standing proud with her hands on her hips. "Something felt awry in the park." Ms M adjusted her glasses, "A familiar presence of water mana, followed by Sweetie taking her time to bring back a simple frisbee? Good thing I volunteered to go find her instead of the others!" "Good Morning to you too, Brunhilda." Mercury nodded, "To be frank, I'm pleasantly surprised that a fiery dragon such as you could pull off the vocation of a teacher for humans. It is also a coincidence that you'd be the one leading this field trip." "I volunteered to take part because the trip involves the park, but all the organisation was from the Geography department." Ms M clarified, "In that case, I'd be more than happy to take both of you. Is that okay?" Mercury negotiated, "I'm fine. It also gives Sweetie an alibi and reason for not going home after school." Ms M agreed, "It better not be detention. I haven't done anything wrong!!!" Sweetie protested, "Detention would make things suspicious. Let's just say you needed to run a few errands." Ms M laughed, "So... we meet here at around half past 3?" "A perfect time. I can give both of you a ride on my back. Just make sure you are in the form as you are Brunhilda." Mercury informed, "Ooh! Dragon riding dragon!" Sweetie giggled, "Spicy!!!" "You are born with such a... weird mind." Ms M frowned, "Speaking of which, don't say that back in school." After school, Sweetie and Ms M, dressed in her Mym identity and looks, went back to Mercury. Unlike before, Mercury was on land rather than in the pond. "Punctual, I like that." Mercury greeted, "You sure no one was around while you were waiting?" Ms M asked, "I am very observant. Thank you, Brunhilda," Mercury frowned, a little insulted. "I had to tell Rarity that we were going somewhere secret, and she allowed me on the condition I tell her everything that transpired on our private trip. She also offered to take my schoolbag home." Sweetie replied, "Well then, hop on!" Mercury offered. Without a word, the student and the teacher hopped on the Waterwyrm, and she moved into the water with ease. "Uh... is it okay if you can minimise the splashes? Rarity would get mad if I got my clothes wet." Sweetie asked, "Do not fear, I can slow down the current." Mercury swam from the accessible pier of the pond, past the floating blue buoys, and arrived at the mouth of a fast descending river five minutes later. "This is how I was able to enter Equestria as a Dragon," Mercury explained, "It's geographically hidden behind some hills about a kilometre from the pond." "Wow, the tall hills makes the river look like a gateway! And given the width of the river... it actually looks like a water ride..." "Ah, but we're going in reverse! I hope it is fun for you!" Mercury smiled, "And now for my next trick..." She took a deep breath and growled at the rivers. Immediately, the river deaccelerated from its gravity-induced current and stopped when it became the pace of an escalator. "Wow..." Sweetie gasped, "But then again, you ARE the Waterwyrm!" Continuing upstream, the three arrived at an extremely large lake. To the east of them lay a giant ghost city floating upon the waters. "Ooh!" Sweetie pointed to the architecture, "I've never seen this monument before in the history books!" "This is Saint Lotier, also known as the Aquapolis." Mercury introduced, "This large floating metropolis had been under my protection ever since its founding." "Ah, Aqua plus Metropolis. That explains the name!" Sweetie realised, then paused, "Wait... did you just say you protected this place? But didn't the Halidom say not all of Grastaea remained?" "Even a long-living sylvan like Cleo has her reasonable limits," Mercury explained she swam into the city waterways, "Saint Lotier is further from the Halidom than any of the current landmarks, and the dry road between them is obstructed. The only way to access this place is by air or sea." "Ahh... then what's the story behind this lookalike of Istallia's canal city?" "The Aquapolis existed way before Alberia and New Alberia. When it was first built, I did not like it one bit. You see, back then humans never wanted to venture close to the sea, do you know why?" "We could drown," Sweetie shrugged, "But since you're asking me, I bet there are dragons in the sea like you!" "Yes. Like me, many other kinds of dragons ruled the sea. I know many of them by name. Vodyanoy, Leviathan and Poseidon are some examples." "Vodya-what now?" Sweetie tried to repeat, "That's a mouthful..." "Continuing on the story, I went up against the people of Saint Lotier, not because they decided to build their homes around my domain; I understand why. It was because the city began polluting the waters at a rampant rate. I was set on chasing them away because of their actions, with force if I begrudgingly had to. Likewise, some of the people were set on destroying me completely for the sake of their city. That's when a prince of the land stepped in between us, adamant for peace despite all the blood that has been currently shed. He brought up the differences that divide and prevent us from coming to an understanding, and yet he would be willing to give up anything for the sake of peace between us." "So what did he do?" Sweetie asked, "Sacrifice his life for the sake of you and his people?" "In a way, yes. I attacked the people of the land as a response to them polluting the sea and its life. It was my love-bound duty, being this sea's guardian. To the prince, he was the guardian of the land and its people. He proposed that we exchange roles to show that we can truly understand each other." "He chose to go under!? There must be something that he did give up then!" Sweetie gasped, "That's why I agreed with you when you said that he sacrificed his life. To be truly correct, he traded his life upon the land to live in the sea. To demonstrate his ambition for peace, he drank a potion that had permanently transformed him into a giant fish. His people and I bore witness to his act, and it was with his 'new' form of eyes, did I now believe that Dragons and all the people of the land can come to a mutual understanding. So I fulfilled the oath we made: I turned my fins into legs and told the people what I believe. I vowed then that as long as I stay on this land, I would amend my ways and atone for my mistakes so we can walk together on a path of mutual understanding... or in your terms, a path of friendship." "Aww, that's a touching and wonderful story!" Sweetie clapped, "But uh... I hope the people didn't take advantage of you and continued doing bad stuff! That's not being friends!" "I'm humbled that you care about my wellbeing, young Sweetie." Mercury nodded, "I assure you, they did not. I also learned first-hand that what happens on land can affect the sea too, so I aid any human that share the ideal of protecting the two worlds. Like King Alberius and Prince Euden." "Since you're here, what's your story of meeting the humans, Ms M?" "Pardon me if I can stop you right there," Mercury spoke up, "Perhaps before Brunhilda, I mean Mym, could tell her story... can you tell me yours?" "Me?" Sweetie Belle pointed to herself, "Now I'm a little humbled here... there's honestly nothing interesting to talk about me if it's related to dragons. The only dragons I've met are you two, Midgardsomr, and Hinata," "Are you sure?" Mercury raised an eyebrow, "Ever since you came to my den at Myriage, you have been nothing but a spring of immense curiosity and eccentricity. All five of you have been, though mostly you." "Oh really? Well, given that you haven't been with humans for a lot of years now, you can say we have changed a lot!" "Well, yes. But I'm also curious about what happened two weeks ago, the day when the one named Adagio assumed a Dragon-like form, and the fact that your sister is capable of using magic that we've never seen before, and yet Dragons and any Grastaean-era people can replicate it." "Ohhhh..." Sweetie looked at the Waterwyrm dead in the eye, "You want to know about that?" "Everything, especially the history behind it." Mercury's eyes shone a little, though she still maintained her formal speech. "Well, you're just in luck!" Sweetie beamed, "Thanks to what happened, Rarity was clean on coming out with all the stories about the magic that I wasn't aware of. How Rarity and her friends got those magical powers and geodes, the origin of Adagio, and basically how all this magic started!!!" Sweetie first wanted to find a spot to stand and stretch her legs before she would tell the story. So Mercury dropped her two passengers onto the smooth stone pathways and gave Sweetie some time to walk around and take in the sights. The young girl couldn't believe her eyes. The Aquapolis had remains of small homes to large buildings with pointed spires and round roofs, ruined gates and towers which lead further into the heart of Saint Lotier, and the large castle standing in its middle. "If you're wondering whether there is some form of royalty, it is not ruled by a King, but a Lord. Last I remember before this beautiful city fell to ruins like many others, the lord that ruled this place was the father of one of Prince Euden's closest companions. You could say that it was through a repaired family relationship that Saint Lotier has an alliance with New Alberia." Mercury informed, "Cool!" Sweetie stopped on top of a bridge, "Now that reminds me! I said I'd tell you the stories of my life! First off... a bit more about myself. I'm sure Ms M knows already, but I have two bestest of friends! The three of us call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" "Coincidentally, Sweetie's two 'bestest' friends are related to the other Equestrians that come here. Applebloom is Big Mac's youngest sister, while Scootaloo is family friends with Flash." Mym added, "I see. A very small world. But may I ask, what is a 'Cutie Mark'?" Mercury inquired, "Equestrian Culture. Everyone has a picture or symbol that they display on their clothes or possessions. They represent the wearer's personality." Sweetie explained, "I wish I could give some examples, but you probably need to see their actual attire so you could understand." "Or I can just show you mine as an example!" Mym interjected, rummaging through her pockets. "You know, I'm surprised by how you were able to attain some sort of citizenship and a job in Equestria without exposing your true identity. Then again, I could ask the same for Sunset and Adagio..." "Darling," Mym smirked as she pulled out an Equestrian ID card, "When you're a dragon that lives a long life, you're able to mingle long enough in human society that you can legally become an Equestrian citizen without cutting any corners. Granted, I needed to have a legitimate address of residence, so I traded in some rupies for money to buy the cheapest apartment, attend college and university, and get a teaching career. Admittedly I feel bad for humanity the longer I spend time with them. Though many interesting technological advancements try their best not to destroy nature, certain actions that this country had done back then affected future citizens and generations in the worst way possible that aren't wars. Everything is getting dreadfully expensive!" "I can certainly see why you chose to be a history teacher. You literally were a part of it!" "And that is the best way to learn my dear," Mym winked, "My cutie mark is located on the right-hand side of the card." Mercury and Sweetie peered at the hornless and neutral expression of their respective dragon and teacher, then moved their eyes to look at a large crimson-coloured heart covered in reptile-like scales and hot blue flames. "It isn't complicated that my Cutie Mark would include fire, but it also represents my love for the prince, fuel that burns brighter than my initially recognised power. Even though he has passed away, my love for him is eternal. He supports and cares for human and dragon alike, as long as they are of goodwill. It's why I chose to assume human form and began to be a teacher for the many other generations of humans ahead like he would want." "Yeah, you mentioned that." Sweetie nodded, "It suits you!!!" "Then it brings up the question." Mercury pondered, "Why must you use another example of a Cutie Mark instead of your own?" "I... well..." Sweetie nervously stretched her arms, "She doesn't have one, and neither do her two friends." Mym spoke, "That's why they call each other the Cutie Mark Crusaders. To find something of their own that can be acknowledged by all." "Ms M!" Sweetie growled, "Why do you have to blurt it out!?" "Haha," Mercury chuckled, "It seems like the humour that humanity exerts still remains the same." "Anyway," Sweetie sighed and sat on the bridge's edge, "Let us start when my sis first came across the magic of friendship, where Sunset was the bit-- I mean the biggest dictating jerk in all of CHS." "When my big sis Rarity first entered CHS, she met four others at the Freshman Fair. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. They became very close friends. Then somewhere along the lines, Sunset appeared out of nowhere and began controlling the entire school's student cohort, separating them into cliques and like-minded social groups via underhanded or threatening means. At the same time, she was also responsible for sending false messages to Rarity and her friends, destroying their relationships." "By Elysium..." Mym fumed, visualising the story in her mind, "That's what she was like? The nerve!!! Surely Celestia and Luna would interject!" "The Principal and Vice-Principal did absolutely nothing. Probably didn't want to get roped into student business. But that's in the past. Around the time, there was the Fall Formal dance, a competition where students vote who best girl in our school is. Around that time, another girl came in out of nowhere, Twilight Sparkle. She was one who stood toe-to-toe against her, mended my sister's friendships, rallied the students to vote for her instead of Sunset, beat Sunset's attempt to frame her and kick her out of the comp, and overall won! Though apparently, there was a time that Sunset was able to acquire this demonic form and brainwash everyone including me, Flash and Mac. But Rarity and her friends beat her down using the magic of friendship like us weeks ago, and thus we branded her to be the worst person to be close to after that. Oh, and apparently, both Sunset and Twilight Sparkle aren't from this world, but the pony world." "But, isn't Twilight in our school already?" Mym asked, "She doesn't seem like one who'd go for the princess role." "I'll get to that later," Sweetie scratched her head, "The next incident was where we first encountered Adagio. Adagio and her Dazzlings made their appearance in the CHS musical showcase, though I learned just recently that they're sisters. I was still upset and distrusting of Sunset, but this incident definitely redeemed her in the eyes of me and everyone else at school." "Given that Adagio found refuge here, I'm certain she must have done something as horrible as Sunset used to." Mercury guessed, who was also visualising the stories like Mym. "Similar to what Sunset did. They want to control Equestria, but with a different method." Sweetie recalled, "She, Aria, and Sonata turned the entire showcase into a big heated battle of the band tournament. Hypnotised everyone, including the teachers, and made them aggressive and competitive against each other, all just to feed on our negative emotions to power themselves up like the power-hungry sirens they are." "Were you a part of the showcase?" Mym asked, "Of course! So were the others except for Big Mac. We beat Derpy and her band but lost against Flash's band, then he lost against Adagio's. Coincidentally, Sunset was able to communicate with the Twilight over in the pony side to team up with Rarity and the others to form the Rainbooms. When the Dazzlings showed their siren power and tripped up Twilight, Sunset stepped in and destroyed Adagio's amulet, thus saving the school. After that, we booed the Dazzlings away and you get the rest of the story from Ms Cleo." "Adagio split up from her sisters, then ended up walking into Grastaea where she stayed." Ms M answered, "Back to what you asked, Ms M, there's something you should know about the Pony world." "Mmm-hmm?" Mym raised her eyebrow, "It's an alternate world to ours. You see... the next incident that Rarity, Sunset, and the others faced involved our Twilight Sparkle." "... Pardon?" Mercury responded, "The Twilight Sparkle in OUR world. The human." Sweetie added, "Ahh... so the one who transferred here from Crystal Prep is the human and not the pony?" Mym clarified, "The one and only. The other 'Pony Princess' Twilight did not come for this incident or the next. Our human Twi was very interested in the magic stemming from the school, given that the past two incidents revealed its existence. Also, the Principal and Vice-Principal was now aware of the magic that Sunset and my sister can exhibit at any time. Anyway, this event involved the Friendship Games. It's an inter-school competition between CHS and Crystal Prep." "Uh-huh... but what has this Twilight Sparkle done?" Mercury continued with the questions, "Steal the magic of Equestria for the sake of research and college. It prevented the other Twilight from coming here, caused Twilight's dog Spike to speak, and messed up the events of the Friendship Games, though WE were accused of using magic against the rules. Near the end of the games, Twilight unleashed all the magic she stole and gained an evil form, unafraid to use magic to get what she needs. From that situation, Sunset saw a mirror of herself before becoming friends. With a few more convincing words, she destroyed the device that was stealing magic, got it back, and manage to snap Twilight out of her evil form. In the end, Sunset promised the human Twilight that they'll help each other be proper friends, Friendship of Magic like usual, everyone's a winner, and Twilight transferred here." "And after two weeks, I started teaching in CHS." Mym pieced together, "But you guys didn't care at the time. Most students didn't anyway." "And finally the last incident where Rarity and her friends obtained that special geode necklace." Sweetie Belle finalised, "What's supposed to be a fun camping trip turned into almost a horror drama. The camp they went to, Camp Everfree, was in a bit of a financial crisis, with a businessman wanting to buy it off, and remodel the whole forest into a spa resort," "Deforestation huh?" Mercury raised an eyebrow, "That's one of many reasons why the Dragons opposed humans long ago." "So one of the councillors actually discovered pony magic within the campsite and used it to try and save the camp, though it did more destroying and scaring. On the other hand, exposure to the new pony magic unlocked new magical abilities within Rarity and the other girls." "Like that crystal hammer and axe?" Mym asked, "Bingo!" Sweetie gave a thumbs up. "But anyway, the girls saved her and the camp and brought those new powers home without having to grow pony ears." "And that's that! I may have skimmed over some parts just so I wouldn't bore you. I did say I'd keep it brief!" Sweetie Belle concluded, "Well, there's also the time where Rarity, the girls, and Flash went on a cruise that sank out at sea. However, all passengers not only survived but managed to get back to civilisation by finding a portal on the island they were stranded on and marched through the Pony world AS ponies back to Canterlot High School! Wacky, huh?" "Your kind really has gone through some wonderous adventurers." Mercury smiled warmly, "Not to worry. I now understand at least the story behind Adagio's masquerading reasons as well as the magic of the pony Equestria. Has anyone in your school wondered whether or not she'll come back?" "No... I think they've tried their best to forget about her. However, I'm sure that if she does come back, they're going to give her evil stares and stay away from her." Sweetie shrugged, "Thank you for sharing stories with me." Mercury bowed her head, "In return, I have a gift for you. But I think I'll give it when we return to the park." "Deal," Sweetie nodded, "Well... shall we go back?" "Sure!" "Wait..." Mym interjected, "Didn't you want to hear my story? I promise you it won't take long!" "You can do it on the way home," Mercury assured, "Hop on!" "Thanks so much for the trip Mercury!!!" Sweetie thanked with a smile, "It was really fun!!! I love riding dragons!" "It is no worry," Mercury bowed again, "As for my gift..." She dipped her head into the pond and pulled out a small little ticket. "Woah," Sweetie gasped, "This is... isn't this a voucher for the summon?" "It is," Mercury nodded, "Yay!" Sweetie accepted it and danced happily away, "I hope it's someone good! Let's go summon it!" "Wait up then!" Mym called back, "Before you go, Brunhilda, I have one thing to ask of you..." Mercury stopped, "Oh?" Mym turned around, "What about?" "Our duty as Greatwyrms," Mercury spoke sternly, Sweetie Belle ran all the way from the park to the Mayleaf Trail where the portal resides. With her heart set upon revealing this new adventurer, the misty portal took her directly up to the summoning island above the clouds and the Halidom. "Hey! Summoning Lady!" Sweetie yelled, "I want to summon something!" "Hmm?" The hologram of the summoning lady flickered on, "Ah, Sweetie Belle. Good afternoon. You said you wanted a summon? Then you know the procedures." "One single summon, and I have this voucher to pay up for!" Sweetie held the voucher to the air, "Are you sure about your purchase?" "Yeah!" "Very well, I shall begin the summoning." The voucher in Sweetie's hand turned into a ball of light, which flew around and dove straight into the circular pool. Within it, the light grew bigger and bigger. "Hah!" The summoner raised her hands to the sky, sending the light towards the sky where it undergoes yet another transformation into a familiar pattern of circles and glyphs. "Come on..." Sweetie clenched her fists, hoping that the blue three-pointed symbol would change colour. To her joys, it did change into a bright yellow colour with five-points, but no further. The symbol coalesced into a gold orb, then slammed down on one of the 10 outer circles, changing into a three-pronged lance. "An adventurer of the lance, my congratulations." The Summoner bowed, "Would you like me to bring it towards you? Free of charge." "Yes please!" Sweetie accepted hastily. The summoning lady waved a hand, and the lance flew up then gently into the Crusader's palms. "Have a nice day, Sweetie Belle. Be sure not to get into trouble. The summoner lady smiled and disappeared. "Well?" Mym came up the stairs, "Anything good?" "Adventurer essence!" Sweetie held it out, "A lancer with uncommon skills and talents!" "Wonderful! We could always use an extra hand," Mym nodded in approval, "Do you want me to give it to Flash so he can run by who this is?" "Actually..." Sweetie looked back at the lance, "This essence feels familiar to me... I can feel a hint of wind..." "That narrows down the list of adventurers..." Mym began thinking "But I also feel some... music... and singing!" "By Ilia! You are one lucky little brat!" Mym gasped, "You know who it is!?" Sweetie gasped back, "Names escape me!" "Three-letter name. It starts with a P," Mym tested, "Pia!" Sweetie screamed, "This is the adventurer who's choir book was gifted to me!!!" "So, now that you have your own essence... do you want to start fighting alongside Rarity and the rest?" Mym encouraged, "Oh... umm... you know what? I may want to take a rain check on that..." Sweetie nervously chuckled, "Sweetie," Mym sighed, "As your teacher, I'd like you to be upfront with me. Besides, it's obvious by your expressions that you really want to join in the fight," "Uhh..." "And let's not forget when you told me and Mercury your stories, your tone carries a little hint of jealousy. That you're not a part of something cool, amazing, an opportunity to be a heroine... and the opportunity to discover your calling; the symbol for your own cutie mark." Sweetie puffed out her chest, then exhaled in defeat, "Am I really that much of an open book?" Sweetie sighed, "Actually, it was Mercury's observation." Mym confessed, "She told me about it when you were running off in the park." "Ahh..." "But she also added something new." Mym continued, changing into a serious tone, "Something that might make you consider your true feelings and opportunities." "Like... what?" "Mercury foresees something deadly for both of us soon... but she doesn't know what." Mym explained, "What she does know is that this is a danger that requires both the cooperation of humans and dragons, and she wants to help the five of you." "She wants to join us!?" Sweetie gasped, "I wouldn't call this a joyful opportunity." Mym frowned, "Given her proposal, it's serious business." "Okay..." Sweetie returned to a neutral expression, "What does she want?" "To put all of you into a trial of her own making. Just like I did," Sweetie's spine froze entirely, "I'm sorry?" Sweetie blinked, "I know this may sound counter to her offer but she wants to train the five of you to be ready for this threat, alongside making a pact with you. That's what her trial is going to be about," "T-Trial!?" Sweetie repeated, her voice filled with denial and discomfort, "Mmm-hmm," Ms M nodded, "But not to worry. It won't be life-threatening... I hope." "Really!? Another one!?!?!?" Sweetie screeched, Riding the Rivers of History The End Coming up: The Aquatic Guardian's Trial
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Aquatic Guardian's Trial
"Really!? Another one!?!?!?" Rarity screeched, "Shh!" Sweetie shushed, gesturing to the floor of her bedroom, "Not so loud!" "Facing one challenge from Ms M was a brush with death," Rarity retorted, "Now there's another!?" "Look, I know the last dragon trial was extremely dangerous, but we've overcome it by its rules. We can take this one!" "I appreciate your optimism, but we don't know what this trial is about!" "The venue is at Myriage Lake. My guess is something harder than a watercoaster. Unless that scares you already," "You have a daring mind if you're comparing an amusement ride to a Dragon!" "At least we can prepare for it, we have until this Saturday. We'll train as much as we can in the Elemental ruins, or if you're daring, teach some fiends in the Binding Ruins the power of The Loveless Hand!" "You know, I thought sealing the Flow Eternal would have stopped any fiends from reappearing in the ruins and yet... they still do." Rarity sighed, "If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't as bad as when the Flow Eternal was active. It just spawns fiends in the same rate as the forest, lake, volcano, and mountain range." Sweetie reminded, "And we all know that isn't enough to cause a catastrophe!" "You have a point," Rarity cheered up a little, "And besides!" Sweetie gleefully pulls out the gold orb, "Your little sister has an essence of her own!!!" "Oh?" Rarity raised her eyebrows, "Well that's something. I thought we were going to save up on wyrmite until the next episode of your show!" "Mercury gave me a single summon voucher as thanks for chatting with her," Sweetie beamed, as the orb turned into a lance, "And coincidentally, it belongs to Pia!" "Fabulous!" Rarity beamed back, "To think we have gotten three of the heroes whose possessions were gifted to us. All that just leaves is Flash with the Prince," "Hmm..." Sweetie looked troubled, "Getting the Prince's essence won't be as simple as summoning. He's the one who can, as well as let others, transform into any pactbound dragon. Do you really think the summoning lady can bring the Prince's essence?" "We can always ask!" Rarity hoped, "Alright then. Looks like we'll spend time after school training. We'll need to call the boys and... wait. Does Adagio and Ms Cleo have mobile phones?" "Hmm... I don't think so..." Sweetie pondered, "Maybe we can get one for them on their birthdays!" "Sweet Apples... another trial? Ah could remember the pain... but if it jus' involves water, Ah ain't afraid at all." Big Mac responded, "Look I understand the reasons behind the Dragon Trials. But with all due respect, I don't know if I can personally stomach another trial after the one in the volcano... just kidding. Four days worth of training will be more than enough to take on Mercury's challenge." Flash joked, On Tuesday, Rarity had all the necessary supplies to start and recover from a two-hour-long session of training. After saying goodbye to her best friends, she met up with her sister and the two boys. "Everyone is accounted for," Rarity counted, "Let us be off!" She spun the Loving Hand like a baton and pointed it towards the direction of the park, "Uh Rarity, what did you pack?" Flash noticed, "A towel and a water bottle would be sufficient enough." "Flash, Flash, Flash..." Rarity condescendingly shook her head, "Personal hygiene is extremely important. Sweat is an extremely strong odour, and can stick on your skin and clothes!" "Point taken," Flash shrugged, "I agreed to change bath towels every Wednesday, but mum insisted that I change it the moment it stinks up, which happens after two to three days! I must be doing something awful if I sweat and stink so quickly. But still, I'm curious about what you've packed," "Flash, you spout too much info for your own good. But anyway, I packed a fresh set of clothes, my shampoo and body soap, a towel to wear into the baths and a towel to dry! Also, some deodorant. Same with Sweetie," Rarity counted, "Don't Ms Cleo provide towels and soap?" Big Mac reminded, "The Halidom is shared by many folks, after all!" "Point taken!" Sweetie mockingly repeated, "I told you they'd remember, Rarity!" "Yes well, pardon my forgetfulness!" Rarity rolled her eyes, "Now if you keep on rubbing it in, I'll slap you for needless provoking!" "Hold it!!!" A fiery voice bellowed at them, "Aah!!!" The four turned around with their hands in the air. A tall teacher with purple-red hair stormed towards them, "Physical Abuse, whether targeted or two-way, is not endorsed in this school!!!" She fumed, then flashed a playful smile, "Save that for when you go to the Halidom!" She calmly suggested, "Ms M," Sweetie exhaled, "Please don't do that again, I thought you were another teacher!" "There is no other teacher like me," Ms M chuckled, "I've been 'criticised' by fellow teachers about my strict and 'volcanic' behaviour. No one would dare take my tone with the students." "Well that also led to your silent but infamous reputation among the students," Sweetie countered, "If you weren't such a devoted teacher, I'm sure the students would petition to axe you!" "Anyway, I thought I might accompany you to the Halidom!" Ms M offered, "As your teacher and keeper of our bond, I am obligated to help you train!" "Well aren't we blessed? This trial's going to be a walk in the park with you to train us!" Flash smiled, "Thanks aplenty, Ms M!" The four CHS students and CHS teacher briskly walked out of the school, and down the streets towards their destination about a couple of blocks away: Mayleaf Park. Within the park is the entrance to a large bushwalking trail, aptly named the Mayleaf Trail. And within the Mayleaf Trail... "You know the drill everyone," Ms M informed the students in front of a tree arch, where a thick layer of mist rests in its area. "When you enter the mist, think about the Halidom. Maybe a specific area of the Halidom. You can also think about Adagio or Cleo too, but if they happen to be doing something that requires privacy... let's not think about it, you have been warned." "We've done this many times already," Sweetie moaned, "We're not going to mess up!" "There are such things as carelessness." Ms M frowned, "Maybe you're not the only person who had come across the mist. Others may have ventured into the portal but never mentioned it to the public because their desires have potentially led them to an unreturnable fate." The four gulped. "Duly noted," Sweetie squeaked, "How about we all reach the Halidom's courtyard?" "Sounds good," Ms M approved, and the other three nodded in agreement. "Now, let's go!!!" One by one, the CHS crew ventured in. First Sweetie, then Flash, then Big Mac, then Rarity, and lastly Ms M. All five members thankfully were whisked right where they needed to go. The dirt path underneath their boots turned into hard stone, as the foggy mist cleared around each of them, revealing a large area filled with facilities below them, and a large castle towering above them. "You have reached your destination," Flash cooed. "Now, where's our Siren n' Sylvan?" "Adagioooo?" Sweetie hollered, "Ms Cleoooo?" "Who's ther--, oh. It's YOU." Adagio poked her head out from one of the Halidom's open windows. "Hang on a sec, I'll get Cleo and come down. Hey Cleo!!! We got visitors!!!" A few five minutes of awkward silence, the humanised Siren with her curly luminous vivid orange hair with yellow streaks and purple outfit with studded spikes exited the Halidom interior, followed by a girl with large purple twin-tails, a stylish dress of black and white, white over-knee socks, and a collar bell tied on each shoe. "Good Afternoon everyone." Cleo curtseyed and smiled, "How was school?" "Same as always," Rarity responded, "But we've got some news to share," "Given that Mym is here with you in her 'Ms M' attire, I assume it's something big," "The Waterwyrm is giving us a challenge as Ms M did," Flash explained, "Is she? That's... odd. She'd never heed anyone to complete a trial." Cleo reacted, "Ms M did the same thing. By force, I might add." "You're never going to get over that, are you?" Ms M sighed, "A trial from the Waterwyrm," Adagio chuckled, "If it's anything to do with water, I'm going to crush it!!! Well... me and Francesca," "I may have skimmed some details with you, Sweetie. So I'll explain as best as I can." Ms M apologised, "Mercury says she senses something dangerous, hence wanting the five of you to take this trial." "I know the first half, but for the second half... five of us?" "Neither Cleo nor I can take it alongside you." "What??? Why!?!?" "She told me, in her unbiased view, that the five of you are very much capable of holding your own and each other. There's no need for us to hold your hand. Now that I think back on it, she's right!" "I fail to see why..." Rarity objected, "Cleo is a healer while I, a dragon, can also fight in a human form with a lance. You, on your own, have two healers, a lance-user, and a dagger-user who's capable for turning into the equivalent of a dragon herself!" The five blinked, "She's right," Big Mac spoke, "Didn't think that one through," "But what about-" Rarity started, "Which is why I am here with you," Ms M interrupted, "Cleo can help you expand and extend your mana, staff, and dagger skills, I can help with lance training and how to be a dragon, Adagio." "It sounds like a wonderful idea. I will be happy to teach." Cleo nodded, "Listen up, class." Ms M announced, "As you know, Mercury's trial will be at Myriage Lake on Saturday. If you have any plans for the weekend, you need to choose between this or your plans. Otherwise, I will let Mercury know, and she can at least change or extend the trial date." "Nope," Big Mac shook his head, as did the others. "Wonderful!" Ms M smiled and set her self aflame with the swish of her hand, "From now until the trial, you are to address me as Ms M or Ma'am. No Mym, Brunhilda, or whatever," The fiery silhouette spoke, "Mercury has hidden the details of what the trial will entail, even from me. But, she wants all five of you to be present and prepared. By Ilia and all the Dragons, Ms Cleo and I will see to it!" When the flames disappeared, gone were Ms M's glasses and teacher's outfit, replaced by her semi-human attire; armour, horns, tail and all. "Any questions?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, "No, Ma'am!" Went the four students, "Whatever," Went Adagio, The four days of promised training were nothing but challenging. Rarity and Big Mac were assigned healing training in the Binding Ruins. Cleo's regime was to prioritise and focus on the offensive skills as staff could give. As far as the students' basic knowledge of the weapons went, the staff was the slowest of the eight, as well as having the lowest damage output. That being said, its Force Strike was considered to be the best out of the ranged weapons by a mile. "Healing Faith!" "Spirited Song!"" "Healing Faith!!!" "Spirited Song!!!" By landing attacks on any target, Estelle and Vixel, respectively Rarity and Big Mac's equipped essence, built up the energy necessary for their healing spells. When they were ready, they summoned hands of prayer and healing melodies respectively. This process is repeated again and again. If one were to stand outside at the entrance's ruins, they would hear the over-the-top chanting combined with the melody. "This is exhausting..." Estelle sighed after her twentieth time according to Cleo's count, "Who knew that healing someone who's already at full health would be so demotivating? Can't we just improve the magic through our mana circles?" "True, but what we're also training here are your reactions and focus as a healer. Your allies can go from healthy to severely damaged within a split second or a single hit. You need to make sure you aren't distracted by any means. It's like playing a sport. Take for example tennis. If you get distracted even just for a millisecond, a ball may sail past you, costing a point. Or worst-case scenario hit you." "I despise it when you have a point..." Estelle grumbled, If fiends were not popping up as fast as the two healers took them down, they would move to a new area. Sometimes, the enemies they faced were as fragile as glass; defeated by one or two shots. Other times, the enemy was large and sturdy, requiring even more orbs or Force Strikes to take down, even with the elemental advantage. "Oh COME ON!!!" Estelle moaned, staring down a Shadow Lizardman. "Er... I mean, I understand there are different elemental versions of fiends, but did it have to be the specific one who..." She shuddered, "Easily brushed us aside like clumps of dust?" "No," Vixel gallantly shook his head, "Oh come on, McIntosh! Why don't you say more than your usual few-worded self? You weren't like this when we first came to Grastaea!" "Like you, I do not have fond memories about that Menacing Lizardman. However, this one lacks the very things the Menace had. One, it's much smaller. And two, it lacks the very aura that earns such a classification." "What!?" "If it makes it easier, just attack the fiend with nothing but Force Strikes. His shield will be useless against it. Watch." Vixel took a deep breath and lunged his wooden staff, named Staff of Affection, at the target. A brilliant yellow ray shot from the staff' crooked top, piercing the Shadow Lizardman through its chest. It wasn't enough to kill it when the ray disappeared, but it instinctively raised its shield in both ways: The one in its grasp and the blue hexagonal dome. Indifferent, Vixel took a deep breath and fired again, shattering the hexagonal dome, shooting through the shield, and burning a new hole in the fiend. The Shadow Lizardman felt its senses burn away, before falling limp on the ground," "It seems someone likes to complain a lot," Cleo evaluated, "I was going to tell you guys to stop at thirty skills, but you've earned yourself ten more Healing Faiths. If you want to be motivated with healing, be my guest and brave a hit or two." "You wouldn't do that..." Rarity challenged, "20 more. Now." Cleo glared, "That's on you sis," Sweetie chimed in, watching the training. Flash's training involved fighting with his most proficient weapon, the lance. Unlike Adagio, Rarity and Big Mac, Flash had prior knowledge in fighting with a weapon. Once he was able to a certain source of power breathable only in Grastaea, he was able to fight without the essences of New Alberia's adventurers. He wasn't sent to the ruins to fight fiends. Rather, his lesson was a fiery crash course on lance-play by Ms M on the Halidom Castle Grounds. "Ha!" Flash swung his wooden lance from below, "Tricky!" Mym commented as she deflected the upward swing, "And it's impressive that you know your distance between your lance and the ground!" "Bo Staffs come in different lengths. It's important to learn the length of your weapon. It is considered an extension of one's limbs, after all." Flash responded, going in for a forward lunge. "Clever," Mym chuckled as she slapped the oncoming spearhead with the back of her hand, "You focus on technique, but your strength desires more," "Woah!" Flash stumbled forward from the redirection but quickly moved his back leg forward to stop his fall then drove the hand furthest from his body on the spear, angling it towards the Flamewyrm. "Nice recovery," Mym blocked the retaliation with her lance, "But like I said, strength... and awareness!" She slipped her tail behind both of Flash's legs and swiped them off the ground. "Woah!" Flash yelped as he fell backwards and hit the grass with a painful plop. "Ow..." With Mym seeing the boy down in pain, she stepped over Flash, pressing her weapon on his neck, "Well?" Mym looked smug and triumphant, "Feeling blessed and prepared yet?" "That's underhanded..." Flash groaned, "Don't complain! Weren't you the one who was able to anticipate Adagio's tail, back when you were fighting her?" "That was a real fight. This is just sparring training for the lance!!!" "You must be aware of what's around you at all times, fiends would take that sort of advantage. In the old Dragon Trials, they were real fights too. Anything goes, until one is side is convinced that either they are outmatched, or worthy." "Fiends taking advantage huh? I thought they were dumb and had one-track minds." Flash mumbled, "Except-" "But I was proven wrong when I got dust kicked in my eye, I know." Flash finished, "Can you get off me now? If you step any closer, I'm going to be called a pervert by our spectator over there." "What?" Sweetie Belle called back, Adagio's training had two distinct lessons which were strenuous in both athletics, acrobatics, and willpower. The first session involved raising her dagger proficiency in her Francesca form, and it took place in the Dagger Dojo. Compared to the lance dojo, the dagger dojo was filled to the brim with obstacles, stepping stones of different heights, and narrow pathways between walls of differing heights, not to mention training dummies on wheels. It also mixed with some modern gymnastic equipment like vaults, beat boards, and parallel bars. "Remember, Adagio. A dagger does not cut or pierce as deep as the other melee weapons," Cleo instructed as she nimbly hopped from one stepping stone to another while performing tricks and spins alongside swinging her dagger, "The main strength of a dagger user is how swift they are. Through our hopping and dashing, these are the opportunities that we use to strike. Notice how fast they swing per second, and how quick they are to approach the targeted enemy from a distance. Alex, a former assassin and ally of ours used those basics to the fullest. Sneaking in the shadows, taking their target. She helped teach some of our dagger-wielding adventurers too, for the sake of New Alberia's protection, even me." "She sounds like a nice femme fatale... but why let someone like her join you?" Francesca inquired as she hopped along, "She's not the only assassin his highness had invited," Cleo responded, "At least two assassins as far as I can remember from the top of my head joined. He also enlisted mercenaries, disgraced soldiers and officers from different nations, travellers, and even to those who had crossed blades against New Alberia. Did I not remember telling you that?" "Slipped my mind," Francesca apathetically spoke, "Never really turned an eye to history," "Perhaps you should heed it, given your next period of instruction," Cleo suggested, finishing the stepping course, "Okay okay." Francesca nodded as he finished the course, "One more question though... whenever you wield a dagger, why do you dress like you're in Hearth's Warming Eve?" "Oh, this?" Cleo playfully shook her head, ringing the bells attached to her red and white hood, "Well, like with the essences, the costume, weapon proficiency, as well as the mana comes as a package. You see, I'm not attuned to Shadow in this state. For a festive occasion, my desires and will for these days changed it to Water. I'm not the only adventurer who has these 'alternate' styles, though I'm sure you can tell which is which as I've compiled them in the biographies." "Huh, never knew that could happen. And again, never really read the books myself. Hey, shorty! If you can hear me, can you get some bios of adventurers that have alts?" Nothing came back. "Shorty? I'm calling you! Aren't you supposed to respond!?" Francesca called again, this time moving towards the place where Sweetie watched. "Uwahhhh..." Sweetie sat on the floor, her head and eyes spinning around. Francesca was surprised, "Woah, shorty... what happened to you?" "Too... fast... 4 me..." Sweetie moaned "Oh my. We must have been darting around the dojo a lot," Cleo deduced. Adagio's second training was with Ms M, and a special one at that, happening on the Castle Grounds like Flash. "It's been a long time since you were in your true form, I heard. The problem is that it's temporary, and it follows the shapeshifting procedure. That's what we'll be learning today." Mym explained. "So uh..." Francesca fiddled with the green pactstone around her neck, the source behind her new transformative ability, "How does it work?" "The dragonblood in my Darling's family line allows him and others to shapeshift into the many dragons he made pacts with. Something he can also do is allow his allies to shapeshift as he can, regardless if royal or not. When shapeshifted, the dragons' strength and known abilities will be added to your knowledge, and no damage will come to their human form. However, shapeshifting is very taxing to the mind and body so humans and sylvans aren't able to hold their form for long, and getting hit as a dragon will reduce that time even further. You are quite a special case. Since you have your own 'Dragon' form, you don't need dragonblood or a pact with a dragon to transform. But like my Darling and the rest of the humans and sylvans, your true form runs on borrowed time and energy." "Is there a possibility to extend that time?" "Of course there is!" Mym assured, "The main influence is the bond you have with the dragon that you shapeshift into." "So basically I can't extend MY time." Adagio looked disappointed, "We don't have a proper 'pact', and I don't know how I'm able to increase the bond when I'm a siren." "Hmm..." Mym thought hard, "... Well, I guess you can experiment for yourself. Liiiike... increase the number of bonds you have? Make new ones? I can see you have lots of care for Cleo. What about improving the ones you have? Make new ones?" Francesca's face went pale. "I know. Friendship. A point and plot device in many TV shows and Video Games, very cliche. But that's because it has a lot of value in real life." Mym elaborated, "After all, it was its power that brought about your downfall. You and your sisters. Sweetie told me the story," "Tch," Francesca spat, "Alright, enough bad memories." Mym changed the subject, "There aren't any strict methods for shapeshifting. Just simply call for the dragon's power with your voice and soul. For example, my darling would focus would say 'Dragon, I invoke thee!'. Or you could be snazzy and over-the-top, by posing, calling for the dragon to give you their power, but not before some witty description of the dragon's powers and nature." "That is cheesy and embarrassing." Francesca shuddered, "I beg to differ. I find it very charming when my name and powers are called like that," Mym giggled, "But if you prefer the simple way, then sure. Do you remember how you transformed back at Sweetie's little video gig?" Francesca's eyebrows furrowed, "They were picking fun at me by lumping me with your ridiculous version of a Siren." The merchant answered, "I needed to show my true form on camera, and to get back at those Rainbums..." "Then that should be how you can transform. When you find a need to pull it out, do it. Show the world your true form..." Mym smiled and gave a beckoning gesture with a single finger, "... Show me what you got," Mym taunted, Francesca looked at Mym in the eye then gave a wicked grin. The pactstone began to glow. "You really want to take that tone with me?" Francesca got onto her tiptoes and lifted off the ground. "Even when you fell to my song? Alrighty then..." Streams of orange burst from the pactstone and flew into Francesca, making her body glow orange, and for her Brillant Rasberry eyes to turn Gamboge. "Witness my alluring form and fall!" Francesca laughs explodes in a violent storm of wind. Once again, an enormous golden hippocampus took the merchant's place once the wind subsided. The siren looked at her two hooves, her tail, and then her back. It was just as she remembered before her exile to the human world. The only difference is that the green pactstone was embroidered on her chest, rather than an empty black hole, or the crystal that made up Adagio's former amulet in the human world. "I must admit..." The siren opened her jaws, "It feels nice when you stop and feel what it's like to be back in your true form." "Still though, it's impressive that you're somehow larger than me... I dare say you're even larger than Zodiark!" Mym complimented, "In that case, let me join in the fun!" Mym floated off the air and closed her eyes. On her heart, a red fire came to light, growing in intensity by the millisecond. At its peak, the fire exploded, engulfing Mym whole and transforming her into her true form: The Flamewyrm Brunhilda. "So, Adagio..." Brunhilda flapped her wings, "Would you like to demonstrate how you would fight as a 'Siren'?" "Fighting hmm???" Adagio thought, "Well... I could swing my tail, snap my teeth, oh! And this!!!" With a deep breath, Adagio turned her head to the sky and fired a large magical ray of vivid amaranth to the skies. It penetrated various layers of clouds, shooting up to the stratosphere before dying out. "Few things can withstand its power without being vaporised completely," Adagio grinned, with her sharp teeth. "So you weren't talking a big game about your powers. You really could have torn a hole through Midgardsomr if you tried!" "You bet I could," Adagio grinned, "Now, I can show you the extent of my spe--" Before she could finish, Adagio's scaly body started glowing abnormally, as if she was a light turning on and off repeatedly. Suddenly, the Siren combusted into magical energy, leaving Adagio hanging in the air in human form. It didn't take long for the siren to realise she had turned back into the cheerful merchant. "Wah!!!" Francesca squealed as gravity pulled her down, landing her bottom on the grass. Nearby, a little spectating crusader paused a stopwatch with a click and a 'beep'. "Sweetie?" Brunhilda, still in her dragon form, turned to Sweetie, "How long did it take?" "About 7.6 seconds," Sweetie reported, "You were timing me???" Francesca looked at the youngest of the CHS students, "And what for-- that's how long I last!?!?" "As of now, dear siren. As of now," Brunhilda assured, "As I said, there is always the possibility of extending that time. A good thing to know is you don't have to be your normal self in order to transform. You can do it in the guise of someone else!" "So make more friends huh? Easier said than done!" Francesca grouched, "I think it's the perfect opportunity to do so!" Brunhilda responded, "Cleo is filling out the paperwork for you to return to CHS! I'm sure you can make friends in no-- oh that's right. I see what you mean." "If I may suggest something," Sweetie piped up, "Why don't you start with Sunset and the rest? I know they're the ones who destroyed your magic, but they're also the ones who have the heart to forgive! Or maybe it doesn't have to be with students, you can do it with the teachers or others outside school! Like your customers!" "I guess... you have a point," Francesca gave a puzzling look, "Still trying to wrap my head around doing that though..." At the end of each student's training, the four gathered together to meditate and use the castle's stored mana to build up their own in every day of training. "We have almost a limitless supply of mana from skirmishes and fights long ago." Cleo answered, "That being said, essences start with empty mana circles. If you plan to fill up the mana circle of every single adventurer, it may deplete our stock immensely." "Uh... Ms Cleo? Ms M? Can you hear me?" Estelle asked, "We can," Mym responded, back in semi-human form. "I'm trying to direct mana into some nodes, but it seems to be rejecting the light. Am I doing something wrong?" "If you're putting it in a purple or orange node, you'll need to absorb some elemental orbs or dragon scales." Cleo called back, "We've brought all of them out here just in case." "It's that small statue in the middle... I can tell it needs orbs and mana, but it's still rejecting me." "Hmm..." Cleo pondered, "Maybe you need a little more experience as Estelle," "Woah!" Vixel exclaimed. As he did so, some light elemental orbs that were brought along vanished. "Oh my," Mym observed, "You must have learned a new skill or ability..." "Come on Vixel," A shaven piano instructor encouraged, "You're playing too smooth! Too mellow! Too kind!" "Eh?" Big Mac looked to the shaven man with gelled hair and a bright suit. He then looked in front of him, sitting in front of a grand piano. "Allow me to play it once again Vixel. What it means to play a piece Agitato." Naturally obeying his offer, Big Mac stood up and let the piano teacher demonstrate. After one deep breath, the conductor body pressed the keys aggressively, with the tune replicating its force. Big Mac could see it in his fingers, hear the aggressive tone. It was like the music and style resembled an erupting volcano. Strong, loud, and angry. "Ah..." The piano instructor noticed the conductor's dropped jaw. "It seems you can understand. Tell me, what does it feel like?" "It's as if there was a war, and an army unleashes an overwhelming Assault on their opponents." "Yes. YES! Now you have it!" The piano instructor nodded, "Perhaps you can try it this time?" "O-Okay..." "Remember this well, Vixel..." The teacher stood up, "If you want to dive back into the world of music, you must accept the world and its terms into your very life force..." And with that, the teacher and the piano faded away, leaving Big Mac all alone in a glowing space. "Ohh... so this is what Adagio and Rarity had to go through... good thing I have figured out the name already." "Agitato Assault!!!" Vixel yelled, snapping everyone out of their focus. "Woah, Big Mac! Pretty loud there, don't ya think?" Flash jumped, "Apologies," Vixel stood up, "I just learned the name of Vixel's second skill." "That's great. Day by day, your powers will grow. I am sure you'll ace Mercury's test in no time!" Mym encouraged, "Speaking about powers..." Flash blinked, "Why haven't you joined us, Sweetie Belle?" "Eh?" Sweetie, watching alongside Cleo and Mym, pointed to herself. "I mean, out of the five of us, you're the only one dressed to get physical. Yet for the past two days, you've done nothing but watch and assist Ms M and Ms Cleo." "Well... I wasn't given any training regime, unlike you guys." Sweetie shrugged, "So I'll just do my best to help out around here..." "Hmm..." Mym took a thinking pose, "Maybe we should remedy that. Why don't you join in with this meditation? Create some ripples in your Water-attuned Mana?" "Oh... I honestly forgot about that," Sweetie gulped, "Okay... I'll try..." But that meditation proved unfruitful. Sweetie was unable to tap into her mana circles or whatever they were called, let alone even throw herself into that realm like the others. Sweetie was a little unhappy about that when they went home and decided not to do that anymore. So for the fourth and final day of training, Flash came up to her. "Take this," Flash offered his wooden lance, "Why?" Sweetie asked, "Yesterday, Ms M told me that you got the essence of Pia on your 'solo after-school trip'. Beats why she or Rarity didn't tell me sooner... If I recall, Pia is a lance user like me. This is a good opportunity for you to learn the lance yourself with me and Ms M!" "Really?" Sweetie took the lance with sparkling eyes, "In that case can yo-- uh-oh..." Her spare hand fumbled through her pockets, "Oh peanuts." "... You forgot to bring her essence. Did you?" "I uh... yeah I did." Sweetie returned the lance, scratching her head. "Left it at home," "Then why don't we go get it?" Flash suggested, "What?" Sweetie looked afraid, "It's just a simple walk to the misty portal in Rovetelle, teleport to your room, get the essence, go back to the park and teleport back to the Halidom! I'll come with you if you want!" "Nonononono!" Sweetie protested, "I mean, I really appreciate that you would do this for me, but our parents are at home. They would be super shocked to see the two of us magically appear in our room!" "Then how about teleport outside your house?" Flash suggested next, "Knock on the door, tell mum and dad you need to pick up something, maybe I can come in and introduce myself, and then we'll go!" "If YOU come along... mum and dad are going to get very suspicious! They jump into conclusions when they see me or Rarity with another guy. And regarding boyfriends... they're rather strict about it." "Oof," Flash bit his lip, "I understand your situation, but this IS the last full day of training. Are you sure you don't want to do this?" "Really. But thanks for suggesting it. I promise that I'll bring it tomorrow. Maybe have some quick training before the trial!" "Okay then. Pinkie promise?" Flash asked, "Pinkie Promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Sweetie promised, "Okay then. And remember the severity of a broken pinkie promise." "Got it!" Sweetie smiled, "You have a rather soft spot for her! A special soft spot at that..." Philia giggled as the two watched the young teen hop away, "Don't make me leave you at home too." Flash forcibly chuckled, And then Saturday came, the day of the Waterwyrm's Trial. All five participants came to the Halidom early, bringing along their confidence and all they have trained. "I managed to bring it this time!" Sweetie exclaimed, proudly producing a gold trident in her grip, "Good." Flash gave a thumbs up, "Why don't we grab some wooden lances and I can show you the basics?" "Oh yeah!" "Sweetie got a new essence? Since when?" Adagio noticed, "This Monday, when Mercury took Sweetie to an undiscovered part of Grastaea. Mercury gave her a summon voucher, and she got Pia. Ms M was with them too." "... And why did neither of you tell us?" Adagio raised an eyebrow, "More importantly, WHY did Ms M not include Sweetie in lance training with Flash!?" "... We forgot okay!?" Rarity defended, "Don't rub it in, or I'll slap you with the Loving Hand!" "Ha! Don't blame me for your own mistakes!!!" Adagio taunted, "I've done nothing to upset you!" "Break it up," Big Mac budged in, "Speaking about our teachers, where are they?" "Oh." Adagio remembered, "They went to help Mercury with the preparations." "I hope they can share prior knowledge beforehand," Rarity nervously shook as the three spot Flash and Sweetie returning from the Lance Dojo with what they need. "Okay Sweetie, the important thing about what I learned in Bojutsu, is to never wildly thrust or swing the spear. Otherwise, it will drag you along. You must maintain a solid stance." Flash instructed and stomped his foot as a pointer. "They are the foundations for when you move your arms, hands, and body." "Okay!" Sweetie nodded, "As for holding it, make sure you find a grip that's tight and comfortable for you. If your grip is loose, your weapon can get knocked off easily. Too tight, and your hands will needlessly cramp, and that is painful. From a scale of one to ten for grip, a seven or 8 should suffice. Now, there are three ways you can hold it, and they differ by the space between your hands upon the lance. Just remember, one palm must be facing up like this..." Flash angled his wooden lance to a straight horizontal line. He slipped his right hand underneath the lance and held it in a grip. "Then the other palm should be facing down like this..." With the left hand (used to angle the lance), he let go and grasped the staff from above. "Ideally, it's better if the hand that's close to the bottom of the lance, or close to you, has its palm down. The hand that's holding the lance further away is the one with the palm facing up. Try it out!" "Ooh... I see." Sweetie nodded, following the instructions to a T. "Now." Flash continued, "Depending on how you hold it, you can use the lance to have a better advantage to strike or block. It's not wise to stick to one hold unless you want to practice. In battle, you may have to swap between holds to successfully hit your target, or block a blow. For some strange reason, the Grastaean fighting style of a lance only uses one hand instead of two to thrust and strike the spear. A bit risky if you ask me. So let's just learn it in the bo staff way." "Wow," Rarity and the other two listened and watched, "Flash could be a good teacher!" "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, "Hmm... I think Sweetie's better off learning magic than martial arts. Just my opinion," Adagio grouched, "Oh look! They're back you two!" "Ms M! Ms Cleo!" Sweetie gasped. "Good Morning..." Cleo responded in disbelief, "Why, hello..." Ms M squeaked, Sweetie and Flash dropped their lances, Adagio, Big McIntosh and Rarity jumped. Stumbling over to greet them were two downtrodden and pale-faced woman. "What happened!? Is everything alright?" Rarity addressed, "Has a horde of fiends invaded the Lake?" Flash asked, "No..." Cleo shook her head, "But Mercury told us a lot more on the trial's aim. And the many restrictions!" "Restrictions?" Big Mac repeated, "Yes. Forget using your essences, Mercury's not having it." Mym started, "WHAT!?" All five yelled in disbelief, "And forget using weapons too. No fighting involved." Cleo added, "WHAT!?!?" Only Flash and Sweetie yelled a second time, "What kind of a trial does Mercury have!?" Rarity exclaimed, "Surely it must involve combat! Or don't tell me it's another obstacle race of death!!!" "Yeah..." Mym shuffled, "I think it's better that you come and see. You can still bring your essences and weapons if you want, but you're not to bring them into the 'exam room' if you know what I mean." "..." Flash silently pondered, Despite the disbelief, the five Equestrians travelled on foot to the Lake with Cleo and Mym leading them. Once they reached the hill, they were greeted by the vast, clear lake below them. "Man, this place always seems to retain its beauty," Rarity looked relieved, "Makes me almost forget about the trial's uncertainty!" "Hey! I can see Mercury!" Flash pointed at the edge of the lake. Floating on the water was a blue but familiar speck, along with a much smaller mark that he couldn't make out. The group continued downhill, where the blue speck became bigger and more detailed until it formed into the one and only Waterwyrm. Right next to her was an ordinary yet spacious rowboat. "Good morning," Mercury bowed in greeting, "And welcome to my trial. I am impressed yet humbled that you have come despite my conditions." "Yeeeah, that's what we what to know..." Sweetie Belle started, "Why no essences and weapons?" "Two reasons. One, I designed my trial where it will test not your abilities using former allies, but your own strength and magic. There is no excuse now, given that the five of you are capable of using mana on your own. Brunhilda showed me as such." "You showed her the results of our training?" Flash asked, "And besides, most of their training have been done WITH essences!" "By knowing the extents of your abilities," Mercury explained, "I tailored the trial that would challenge you, but not put you in danger. You can rest assured that I have taken strong safety measures." "So no risk of dying? Okay, that makes me feel a little better." Adagio hummed, "My second reason is this... they are pointless." Mercury continued, "Wait what?" All five went, "Your challenge is this. You are to get from one end of the lake to the other where Woodhaven stands. You must get there by water." "'Strong safety measures' my flank!" Rarity retorted, "We'll drown from exhaustion!" "Of course you will," Mercury stifled laughter, "That is why this rowboat exists," She gestured to the rowboat. The group looked at the boat, then back to the Waterwyrm. Then back to the boat, and back to the Waterwyrm once again. "So let me get this straight..." Flash started, "Your trial is for us to get from one end to the other on a boat. Is that it?" Mercury slowly blinked in response, then nodded. "That's not a trial!" Flash roared in criticism, "That's a simple camp activity!!! No wonder why you don't need essences or weapons!!!" "Oh I assure you, there are differences. Take a closer look in the rowboat." Mercury gestured with her head, Still riled up, Flash decided to take a peek as she offered. The rowboat seemed ordinary. It had four wooden planks which were the seats for the boat. There were no leaks or holes, and it looks stable in the water. The only thing missing was the presence of oars or paddles. "Something missing?" Mercury asked, "You took away the oars and paddles?" Flash looked back, "That would make travel even more frustrating!" "There is no need for that either..." Mercury continued, "For I will be steering your boat with my powers over water! And do not underestimate me... I will be making this hard!" "Oh..." Flash dropped, "So we're playing mechanical bull over the water. Now that is a little challenging, though still... not what I was expecting from a trial made by DRAGONS." "If you wish to see it that way. Then so be it." Mercury answered, "Now listen carefully. Only four of you will be going in that boat. One of you will stay behind and give support." "Who's the odd one out?" Rarity asked, "The one who put in the least amount of training in the past four days." "So... me." Sweetie pointed to herself, "Yes." Mercury nodded, "Adagio Dazzle, Flash Sentry, Big McIntosh, and Rarity. You will be the ones setting sail. As you've also noticed by now, you won't have any life jackets for this." "So let me guess. If we all fall into the drink, we fail!" Adagio exclaimed, "If any of you fall in, you fail. You must start over. Be sure to hang onto the boat if you do fall. I'll drag you and the boat back." Mercury nodded again, "Despite it not being dragon difficulty, it does sound easy. I'll take what I can get. But let's not underestimate it." Flash sighed. He marched forward first and placed a foot on the boat. The boat wobbled a little, alerting Flash to be careful. "Relax. Even if you fall in the water now, it will not count. The trial begins only when I say so." Mercury clarified, "Good to know!" Flash gave a thumbs up. "Aight, let's get this over with!" Rarity was the one to hop in next, then Adagio, and finally Big Mac, sitting at the back of the boat. Each one carefully stepped in, and each sat on the plank, from front to back, the order they entered the boat. "Are you ready?" Mercury asked, "One more question," Rarity asked, "Are we allowed to touch the water without falling in? Like paddle with our hands?" "Sure. But it won't do you good against my powers." Mercury warned, "Wait!" Sweetie Belle stopped, "What about me? How can I 'support' them?" "I almost forgot. Cleo?" Mercury asked, "Here," Cleo walked to Sweetie and passed a small device to her. Then she went to the boat and passed the same to Big Mac. "Walkie-Talkies," Rarity noticed, "Cute," "I assume you know how to operate them." Cleo responded, "If not, then all you have to do is hold down the orange button on the side, then talk into it. The other will receive your voice." "Okay," Sweetie rolled her eyes, "Are you now prepared?" Mercury asked again. The four rowers looked at each other and nodded. Then they looked to Sweetie, who took a long deep sigh and nodded back. "We're ready." Rarity answered, "Then let the trial begin!" Mercury declared. Without moving a single muscle, the boat started to move, as if it was moving around like a water ride. "'Bon Voyage', as you humans say it." "Hey... is it just me? Or am I disappointed about this being our trial?" Flash asked, "You and me both," Rarity sighed, "Even though I'm grateful that we won't die, I was expecting something more... exhilarating and something that defies human perception." "Then I guess we can make the most of it," Adagio laughed as she changed her sitting position to laying on her seat with her head against her hands, which was against the edge of the boat, "Let's just relax our way through, and reap the rewards when we finish this!" But the three would eat their words soon. The boat continued moving slowly, but a small wave suddenly knocked into the left side of their boat. "Woah!" Flash, Rarity and Big Mac gasped. Adagio was caught off guard, finding her self looking directly at the water, "Watch out!" Big Mac quickly grabbed on to the edges of the boat and tilted it against the wave, saving Adagio from sliding off the boat. Instead, she fell to the floor of the boat, a little drenched by the water kicked up by the waves. "Ow!!!" Adagio snapped as she quickly sat back up. Suddenly, waves and currents from all directions struck the boat, throwing the passengers to and fro. "Hrgh!" Big mac grunted, tilting the boat harder and quicker, straining to prevent the waves from toppling them over. Catching a glimpse, Rarity grabbed the edges of the boat closest to her and joined in. "We can't underestimate it!" Big Mac warned, "We're gonna need to rock the boat against the tide! Everyone put yer hands on the edges, and tilt it when Ah say so! And Ah'll also mention how much y'all should tilt!" Flash and Adagio looked at their senior student and nodded in response. With all four pairs of hands on edge, the team quickly but carefully angled the boat as to not be pushed over, but also not to take in water that could upset their balance. "Li'l to the left! Lil' to the right! Lean forward!!!" Big Mac kept shouting directions and commands every second. It was tricky, it was wet, it was scary, but the team managed to remain on the boat, with the invading currents seemingly giving them a nice push. "Okay, this is sort of challenging now." Flash responded as he swayed from side to side, "I take it back!" Back on shore, Sweetie watched as the boat valiantly balanced itself from the oncoming abnormal waves with a long sigh. "What's wrong, Sweetie?" Mercury asked, "I don't know how to feel about this. Lots of mixed emotions." Sweetie sighed again, "Oh? And why's that?" "One, I kinda regret not raising my voice and asking them to include me into the training. Then again, I never could 'unlock' that water mana inside me. I also kinda regretted not bringing my essence yesterday so I could learn to swing a lance or two." "So I've heard," Mercury answered, "But seriously, why must you give me the lamest role of this challenge? I might as well be doing nothing but spectate!" "Sweetie Belle, a boat out in the middle of a sea storm is the most fearful thing known to man. If the boat is destroyed, there is no chance of surviving. All the sailors would drown!" Mercury responded, "Words of hope and encouragement can be the line between life and death." "Really?" Sweetie moped, "Go ahead and say something! I'm sure they'll appreciate it!" "Fine..." Sweetie pouted, and pressed the 'Talk' button, "Hey sis, Adagio, guys, keep it up. You can do it," Sweetie talked into the walkie-talkie, with an emotionless voice, "There... happy?" Sweetie looked back, "Great," Mercury nodded, then hid a small grin, "They'll need it." Ms M and Cleo, who were watching alongside Sweetie, felt a great disturbance. "Sweetie," Ms M spoke up, "I have a confession to make. I purposely omitted you from training unless you brought it up yourself. Which was only on the third day." "Huh?" Sweetie raised an eyebrow, "You didn't want me to train?" "Not exactly. It meant making decisions for yourself." Ms M answered, "Sometimes, you can't be included all the time. You need to let others know that you want to join in. We'd be happy to make a training programme for you. But I really should have thought something up for you right from the get-go." "Oh... a little too late now, don't you think?" "I think now is a good time to say it..." Cleo jumped in, "When we came back looking sick, it wasn't because everyone's training went to waste." "I don't understand," "Those four days of training were important." Mercury elaborated, "You all needed it. All that information Ms M gave me was how I crafted the particulars of the test but in a rather deceptive way. You see, the decision of who was going to stay behind was not of who trained the most or the least. I decided who will stay behind while the others go boating." "Huh!?" Sweetie turned back, "You mean you WANTED me to stay behind!?" "Yes," Mercury answered, "You purposely excluded me out of this challenge!" Sweetie lashed out, "You gave all the hard work and responsibility to them! I'm nothing but a spectator and helper from behind the lines! I'm just the errand girl!!!" "Oh no, Sweetie." Mercury shook her head, "I'm afraid you are mistaken. In fact, you have this..." The Waterwyrm revealed her hidden, devious smile. "The other way round," All of a sudden, an explosion in the lake went off with a loud bang, as loud as the largest balloon being popped. "What the!?" Sweetie looked to the lake. There she saw the small rowboat, surrounded by floating bubbles out of nowhere. Those bubbles were big enough to envelop the largest human being. "Mayday Mayday! Sweetie! We're in trouble!" The walkie-talkie screeched, "Rarity!" Sweetie gasped at the familiar voice, "Are you okay?" "Are you okay!? Does it look like we're 'okay'!?!?" Another voice, Adagio's, rudely responded, "These freaking bubbles suddenly rose from the lake, and one of them exploded like a bomb! It almost knocked us over, but all of us are completely drenched! Bubbles aren't meant to do that! And they're massive too!" "See? I told you they'll need it!" Mercury chuckled, "Mercury, what the hell did you do!? Did you summon those bubbles!?" Sweetie lashed out again, "But of course. I am the Waterwyrm. They heed my command after all." BANG! "Oh Goddess! That one exploded as it was floating on the water! I swear it launched us up in the air!" Flash yelled, "And the others are closing in slowly!!! If they explode when near us, we're going to do more than just tip! We'll be blown away!" "Mercury!!! Stop it!!! You'll tip them over!!!" Sweetie bellowed, "Dear Sweetie Belle. Did I not say I was making this hard? Please activate the walkie-talkie." Mercury instructed, Sweetie growled but did so, "Can you hear me, you four?" Mercury asked, "I have used some deception here. Those bubbles are made by me. They will explode if I will it to." "I should have known... you baited me into thinking this was easy!!!" Flash growled, "Mercury, there's no way in hell we can get through this on our own!" Big Mac blubbered, "What are we s'posed to do!?" "Simple! Let Sweetie support you!" Mercury responded, "What!?" The four exclaimed, "What!?" Sweetie exclaimed, "See? You're not excluded from this trial Sweetie. You have to support them through the end!" "Are you KIDDING ME!?!?" Sweetie screamed, "How can I support them through that when I'm all the way over here!? Unless I have your powers, I'm absolutely useless!!!" Then Mercury gave the biggest smile of all, as much as her jaw and teeth can take, "Then let it be so..." She calmly responded, "... I'm sorry, what?" Sweetie's ears pricked up, "Are you still holding down that 'talk' button?" Mercury asked, "Y-Yeah." Sweetie nodded, holding the walkie-talkie back up, "I know you may not believe me now, but deceiving you is a stain on my own heart. Listen well, because I will reveal my real intentions behind this trial." Mercury announced, "... We're not the ones being tested, are we? We're part of the test!!!" Adagio shrieked, "Yes." Mercury answered, "The one whom my trial is really testing, is the one who's mana is attuned to Water. Coincidentally, she also happens to be the one with the least experience in that field. That, Sweetie Belle, is you." "M-M-M-M-MEEEE!?" Sweetie stuttered and shook, "Do not worry, boat team. I have paused your movement, and I will not detonate those bubbles." Mercury assured, "But first off, I will let you know how Sweetie will be tested. In a moment, I will be giving Sweetie my powers. With it, she will be 'supporting' you from here on out. She will steer your boat to the end while defending you from all my attempts to push you off." "Oh nononononono. You can't DO THAT! Sweetie's has never prepared for something like this!!! You don't even know if she can survive just getting your powers!!!" Rarity objected, "Oh no... I assure you it will be fine. Flash was given a burst of mana that unlocked his circles, yet it didn't work for Sweetie for some strange reason. Then again, she hasn't learned any form of combat or proficiency with a weapon. So I thought to myself... what if Sweetie could awaken to the magic expertise of mana? Perhaps the mana the Halidom had stored is not enough, but a Dragon's mana can give that boost!" "Ms Cleo!!! Ms M!!! Are you hearing this!? Are you just letting this happen!?!?" Rarity roared, "I have considered their words of warning as I made this trial. Even so, I sorry to say that it is not your choice to make Rarity." "Excuse me!?!?" "Sweetie is in High School. She is old enough to make her own choices now. Unless you or your parents still need to guide her around?" Mercury challenged, "I..." Sweetie stuttered, "I..." "Sweetie!!! If you can listen to me, I believe in you!!!" A voice called out, "Flash?" Sweetie called, "Rarity is just looking out for you as sisters would. She doesn't want to see you hurt. Otherwise, it will be pain that will persist until the grave. Honestly, I'd protest if it was Scoots being put on the spot." Flash answered, "Look, the difficulty of being an older sibling is that one of our main responsibilities in life involves taking care of you. Sure, we may argue and fight, but in the end, we still love you. Whenever the school gets under attack, Rarity and the others would save it. Not just because she trusts in her friends, but there are just as many people in CHS she cares about, like you. Right, Rarity?" "Y-Yeah..." Rarity reluctantly agreed, "But I know that you grow old as we do. Sometimes you face things in life that we have. Sometimes those things we don't like, and thus try to steer you away from it. But now I've realised... those things we don't like? They'll always be there to haunt you, and sometimes, you're left with no choice but to face it. If that's the case like now, there's nothing that I can do to intervene... but only to have faith in you and cheer you on!" Flash yelled, "Flash..." Sweetie frowned, "This isn't a good time to be flirting with me," "Oh, you know what I mean!!!" Flash seethed, "He certainly knows his words," Mercury chuckled, "And as I said. The choice is yours. If you choose not to take the trial, I shall detonate those bubbles and send your sister and friends into the drink. They will survive, but it means you'll have to start the test back here. Of course, all of you can leave and come back to try again after you train, but I guarantee you there's no way you can do that." "..." Sweetie looked to Mercury, "... Alright then. Bless me with your powers." "A wise choice," Mercury smiled and presented a bubble filled with pulsating water. Sweetie could feel a tremendous force from it. "This bubble contains a very high degree of my mana." Mercury informed, "Drink it, and you will be able to command the waters as I can." Sweetie looked at Cleo and Mym, who nodded with determination. Hearing the speech from Flash, they didn't have time to mope or look ill. "It won't kill me. Will it?" Sweetie asked, "No." "Okay then..." Sweetie stepped up to the bubble, "Down the Hatch!" Sweetie pressed her lips onto the surface of the bubble and began to suck it in. The bubble gradually decreased in size as its volume was forcibly ingested by the young crusader until it became flat as a pancake, to which it was slurped up completely. Once she drank it all, Sweetie stood motionless, dropping the walkie-talkie, "Sweetie?" Cleo asked, "Are you okay?" "Ugh... Ahhhhh!!!!" Sweetie looked to the sky and screamed as blue beams of light shot from her eyes, nostrils and mouth. The sound of her pain, as well as the force of the mana, erupted through the air for all present to hear, "Hey!" Sweetie stopped abruptly, as did the lights and the sounds, "That didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would!" "Sweetie!!! What was that!? Are you okay???" Rarity screamed from the walkie-talkie, "Oh! Sorry about that!" Sweetie picked it up, "It felt as if some force was burrowing into my muscles and blood. Yet it didn't even come close to the pain of a needle! I exaggerated, sorry!" "You could have fooled me!!!" Rarity retorted, "Well, I do feel like I've taken in a lot of weight, except my arms or legs or belly doesn't feel heavy." Sweetie danced around, "And it feels like there are bubbles inside me. Like I'm pumped with water!!!" "Oh..." Mym fainted, "That's a relief," "So uh... how does this work?" Sweetie asked, "Controlling the waters all boils down to your will." Mercury instructed, "If you want to form a wall, then simply desire it so! But remember, use your mind. Think outside the box. Okay?" "Okay..." "Brunhilda? I believe that is your cue now..." "Okay okay, I'll change..." Mym shot back up and transformed into her true dragon form. "It's a battle between you and me..." Mercury continued, "We will be positioned on the sides of the boat, at a distance. You'll have the land to stand on. From there, you can see anything that comes towards the boat. Of course, there may be things you may not see thanks to the horizon obstructing you. That's when you have your sister and friends to relay information." "Okay, sounds fair..." "Alright Sweetie, hop on," Brunhilda instructed, Sweetie and Brunhilda flew forward towards Woodhaven but landed on a safe area on the creekside, the dry pathway between the village and the route back to the Halidom. Mercury simply entered the water and swam to the far left of the boat, setting herself parallel to both the boat and Sweetie. "I will give you some practice!" Mercury yelled, "See if you can get rid of those bubbles!!!" "You don't have to yell back. I can hear her." Brunhilda noted, "She says that you can practice your new powers by getting rid of the bubbles. Once you do, I'm sure the trial will begin." Sweetie, without a word, lifted a hand. In the middle of the lake, an arm with a small hand rose from the waters. In the view of everyone from the boat, the tiny hand slapped the bubble, sending it flying quite far away. Once it stopped, the bubble exploded, too far for its shockwave to rock the boat. Immediately, the arm went around flicking or punching away the rest of the bubbles, to which all exploded at a safe distance. "Hey sis, you hear me?" Sweetie spoke on the walkie-talkie, "Yeah. How does it feel?" "Like playing in the water," Sweetie responded, "Listen, there are things that I may not see clearly, so I'll leave it to you and the others to be my eyes, okay?" "You got it. Oh and one more thing..." "Yeah?" "I have faith in you too. That what I really should've said instead of running my mouth. We all do." "Go get 'er." Big Mac chimed in, "If you lose, I'm not teaching you to be a siren!" Adagio threatened, "But more importantly, show her you're not someone to be messed with." "Thanks, everyone," Sweetie responded, and put down the Walkie-Talkie. "Are you ready?" Mercury called from a distance, "Are you ready?" Brunhilda relayed with an easy volume, Sweetie looked to the boat, then to Cleo who remained at the lake's entrance, then at Brunhilda, and finally at the blue figure far away. As she did so, her large round pupils slimmed and shrank to become a small thin oval with sharp edges. At the same time, her brilliant sap green irises changed into a fierce red, just like Mercury's. "I'm ready," Sweetie nodded. "She's ready!" Brunhilda called back, "Wonderful. Then let the real trial begin!!!" Mercury declared, TO BE CONTINUED Next Chapter: The Aquatic Crusader Rises
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Aquatic Crusader Rises
Additional note: There will only be two songs that go with the story. The first one, however, should be played till the next music link comes up. Enjoy!!! "Can you hear me, waters?" Sweetie mentally spoke to the lake before her, "I know I may be new to this, and that this is temporary... but I want you to help me protect my sister and friends till they reach the end of the lake!" She looked to the boat, then to Cleo. "..." The water responded, "Please? I promise I will be a good girl and protect the waters! Even if I don't have control over you after this!!!" Her head tucked low. An invisible force gripped Sweetie's hands, spooking her with its sudden cold touch. The force, however, slowly turned warm, and such a feeling reminded Sweetie of... "Water... it feels like... water!" Sweetie internally gasped and looked back up. The force lifted her hands to her chest and transferred an undecipherable message into Sweetie's mind. "Sorry, I don't understand," Sweetie responded. As a response, the force took control of her focus and pointed her at the Waterwyrm across the lake. "Mercury... I can feel her power... tremendous, strong, and deep like the oceans." Sweetie described. The force then changed into a pressure point on Sweetie's heart. A pressure so tremendous, strong and deep; just as Sweetie described Mercury. "But of course, Mercury gave me her powers... so I'm supposed to be just as strong as she is. Even if I just got these powers, should I still command you like Mercury? Like a dragon?" The watery force gave one last squeeze on her hands, then let go. "I understand..." Sweetie nodded with full conviction and steeled her focus. She pictured the demeanour and actions of Mercury in her mind, then the lake, bowing towards the Waterwyrm, to her. Mercury loved the ocean and life that dwells within, and that's why she took the mantle of its protector and wielder. "I'm ready," Sweetie nodded. "She's ready!" Brunhilda called back, "Wonderful. Then let the real trial begin!!!" Mercury declared, The boat began to move again. This time at a faster pace. It was obvious to the boat crew that it was Sweetie pushing them on. "Remember, keep your eyes open. If you need me to slow down, tell me without hesitation." Sweetie instructed, "Understood," Rarity reported, "You hear that everyone?" "Yes Ma'am! I got the front!" Flash saluted, "This will be fun," Adagio grinned, "I've got my eyes on the right side and the Waterwyrm." "Eeyup. Got yer back." Big Mac volunteered, "Then I've got our left," Rarity responded, "And you're going fine, Sweetie." "Flash, you are taking a BIG risk; bringing me along to the boat." Philia warned, "It's okay Philly, I'm not going to be using your powers." Flash cheerfully responded, "No Flash, it is not okay. I may not remember my death, but I remember everything beforehand: My attempts to get close to the prince, the gifts I bought for the prince, shopping with Cleo, cleaning up messes in the Halidom with Melody, cleaning up messes in the Halidom made by Melody, and experience from fighting Mercury in both her forms." "Say what?" Flash perked up, "Mercury. Everyone in New Alberia has fought in the 'Original' Dragon Trials. Because my usual self is attuned to Wind, I've always been assigned to fight Mercury alongside other Wind-attuned allies; never the other four dragons. I've done this so many times that I can recognise most of her attacks." "And that means you could tell me, and I can warn Sweetie." Flash deduced, "Yes," "Okay. But why tell me now?" Flash questioned, "I will keep my mouth shut if you want me to." Philia responded, "But since you keep bringing me along, I heard everything that the others have said, such as why Mercury made this trial. If there is an unknown oncoming threat but the Greatwyrms STILL need to test you, then I, in good nature, can't let any of you fail; even if it means breaking the rules. I believe that fate will lead us through our destined ways, but we also have to make sure to whip it into shape if it ever goes awry!" "So what you're trying to say is that fate exists as long as it is whatever you want it to be." Flash elaborated, "In other words, you're basically saying you're making your own fate. But that's just me." "Well? You may not be using my abilities and powers, but you are using my information. It's all up to you." "..." Flash pondered hard, "Flash?" Rarity noted, "Are you talking to someone?" "It's nothing," Flash dismissed. Mercury started her assault by raising many large explosive bubbles from the lake and set them a target: The rowboat filled with Equestrians. "Sweetie, there are tons of bubbles coming from all around!" Adagio spotted, "Some moving slow, some moving fast. Some move alone, some move in groups!" "I don't know the exact distance, but if those bubbles get close enough to us and explode, we won't survive! Just make sure they explode as far away as possible!" Flash advised, "Easier done than said," Sweetie growled, "Let's try this out!" Like lifting a box, Sweetie raised a wide wall against the numerous bubble clusters. When the closest of bubbles touched the wall's downflowing current, it burst and released a frightening explosive sound. As the water vapour receded, a hole was found in the wall. The bubble clusters were the next to touch the wall and exploded in a chain reaction once one the closest their group made contact. Though the wall was peppered with holes, the bubbles from one entire direction had been cleared. "Unf..." Sweetie grimaced, "It feels like I was pelted with baseballs!!!" "You've never played baseball," Rarity questioned, "Whatever! Back to punching and flicking them away! I'll start with your side, sis!" Sweetie announced and put up her fists like a boxer. "Hya!" She delivered an uppercut, which was translated perfectly to a fist of water in the lake, launching a bubble into the air. "Hya! Hya! Hiiii-Ya! Ya! Ya! Ya!!!" Sweetie grunted, uppercutting bubbles one by one with each 'ya'. One by one, they exploded high in the air, away from her sister and friends. "Having fun?" Mercury laughed, "Let me change that!" With a squint of her eyes, the next bubble that the fists of water punched, exploded on contact rather than be launched. Not only did it make the fist lose its form, it inflicted sharp pain on Sweetie's own hand. "Yeowch!!!" The crusader winced, "She's not making this easy at all! But if I survived burning to death, then this should be nothing!!!" "Hey brat, an idea." Adagio's spoke harshly from the walkie-talkie, "If she's giving you any problems, why don't you throw them back at her?" "And what can that be?" Sweetie asked while rubbing her injured hand, "Those bubbles... send it towards her!" She whispered, Sweetie raised her eyebrows then gave a wicked grin. "Now what is young Sweetie Belle doing?" Mercury raised an eye as she spied a water-made butterfly net softly catch the remainder of bubbles from the starboard side of the boat, "She seems to be having fun!" Just as she made that remark, the bubble-filled net wound back and launched the bubbles straight towards her direction! Caught by surprise, Mercury quickly created a transparent bubble and enveloped herself in it. When the bubble bombs made contact, it didn't explode. Instead, they decreased in size and volume as the watery shield absorbed them all... only to spit them back out behind them undisturbed and without changing its direction. It was like the bubble just phased through the shield and the dragon in its protection. "That was very cunning of you, Sweetie." Mercury frowned, "No doubt someone advised you to do that. Now, where were--" Interrupted by yet another volley of bubble bombs hurled her way, the Waterwyrm sighed and chuckled as each bubble osmose into the shield and pass out on the opposite side. She then noticed that the young crusader had conjured more water butterfly nets to catch the rest of the bubbles and throw it at her. "Oh, Sweetie. You won't get anywhere with trying to harm me with my own powers. Not while I have this shield of my own." Mercury laughed, "If anything, it serves as a mere, annoying obstruction of our little gameboard." Mercury abruptly halted her train of thinking. An obstruction? No! After clearing and throwing all those bubbles, Sweetie focused on the boat. She increased its speed towards Woodhaven, the village on the other side of the lake, their goal. "Oh no you don't!" Mercury snapped, 1/4 of Lake crossed - Trial 25% complete "That's it, Sweetie!" Flash cheered into the Walkie-Talkie, "You can do this!" "Good girl!" Adagio grinned, "When everyone is distracted, you gain precious time to make your move!" But just as they enjoyed their smooth sailing, countless geysers erupted, and intense whirlpools formed before their path. "STOP THE BOAT!" Flash yelled. As a response, Sweetie slowed the boat into a halt. Everyone's smiles turned to guises of fear, as they watch the geysers reach as high as the hills, "You see this Sweetie?" Flash asked, "Yeah," The walkie-talkie responded, "I can't see you... but... hold on a second..." And cut off, "Mercury!!!" Brunhilda bellowed across the lake, "Sweetie needs to see what's from above! Is that okay?" "... It is allowed," Mercury bellowed back, "You may take to the sky with her!" "Gotta support you with the best view!" The walkie-talkie cheerfully remarked, "But don't get distracted by the dragon-riding girl. Just focus on what's in front of you!" Despite her warnings, the boat crew looked to the starboard and watched the Flamewyrm spread her wings and jump into the sky with the little crusader on her back. As they lunged forward and soared over the maze of geysers and whirlpools, Rarity noticed something strange about her little sister... and it wasn't the determination and courage of guiding the boat. "Sweetie... her eyes..." Rarity whispered to herself, "Okay, I'm going to steer you all through the geysers and the whirlpools. And be careful, if the boat so touches any of them with the tip or the hull, it will be tipped over or swept away, so don't rock the boat!" Sweetie planned, "Baby..." Flash joked, "Wha?" Big Mac, Adagio and Rarity looked puzzled, "Song references." Flash elaborated, The boat resumed its movement. Only this time the passengers could feel a sense of stability, rather than bobbing up and down as regular boats on the sea would. "So that's how she plans to do it," Rarity observed, "Clever." The boat sailed straight into the maze of geysers and whirlpools without fear, slowly it squeezed through every geyser, and meandered around the edge of every whirlpool that comes in its way. "You're going really well, Sweetie," Flash encouraged, "Even with the fearsome occurrences of nature happening around us, I feel as safe as a kid riding in the Old Mill boat trips, like the 'Small World' one, and the Tunnel of Love..." "You went into the Tunnel of Love as a kid???" Big Mac questioned, "Yeah, but 'Tunnel of Love' my foot. It was pitch black, there were so many creepy sounds, there was nothing 'lovely' about that ride that I spent that whole time clutching my mom. As I grew older, I realised why it was called the Tunnel of love, and that clutching was intentional. Still, never going to go back to that sort of ride again." "You have such a weird perception of things..." Adagio looked uncomfortable. Big Mac shrugged in 'respectful' agreement. "I didn't say I would make this easy you know..." Mercury boomed, "Let's add this into the mix!" Bloop. Hearing the sound from behind, the passengers turned around to see a familiar big bubble, half-submerged in the water... seeking their trail with great speed. They panicked. "Sweetie???" Rarity snatched the walkie-talkie from Flash and spoke, "You've got a bubble coming after us..." "I heard Mercury, and I see it!" Sweetie responded, "And I'm already focused on keeping the boat and you stable!!!" "Look, it's fine if you get us wet." Rarity answered, "Just don't let us fall into the lake!" "Thanks for the heads-up," Sweetie moaned, "But seriously, do you know how hard it is to play marble labyrinth in your mind? That's what I'm doing right now to guide you there!" "Say..." Flash spoke up, gesturing to Rarity to give back the walkie-talkie to him, "How does controlling the waters work?" "Mercury says it boils down to my will, but what she really means is every ounce of my own self: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual. When I was flicking those bubbles from before, I was doing the actions myself, while using my mind to carry it to the particular location on the lake." "I see. Well, if you try and get rid of that bubble, we're going to be bobbing up and down again. We might even end up straying into a geyser or whirlpool!" Adagio warned, "Okay! Okay! I'll do by best to get you through quicker!" "If I may suggest..." Flash took the walkie-talkie back, "Instead of trying to delicately balance us, why don't you build a safe track through the maze? The only things you need to focus on is making sure the track is stable when the boat rides on it, and that boat is at a speed where it can get away from the wannabe-Jaws bubble." "Like a train track?" Big Mac added, "Oh... that ain't a bad plan!" "... Thanks for the advice, Flashy. I think I know what to do!" "It's all up to you!" Rarity cheered, "Attention passengers. Due to the pursuit of an obsessed bubble, this open-aired Tunnel of Love ride will now be changed into a River Rapids ride! So don't worry, Flash! All you have to do is hold onto the seat, no need for your mom!" "You overheard!" Flash exclaimed, followed with the other three giggling at his reaction. "But regardless, everyone should be doing it." Sweetie continued, "Because it's going to be a bumpy ride!!!" "Now this is easier said than done for us," Rarity swallowed, "The seats are the only thing we can hold on to for dear life!" "Oh!" Big Mac's head shot up. "What?" Adagio and everyone else turned to him. The elder big brother hopped off his seat and slid himself down. Lying on the bottom of the boat, he grabbed onto Adagio's seat. "Oh!" The other three repeated then smiled at each other (Adagio gave a wicked grin instead). They all followed suit, making sure that they had enough space to fit. Flash and Rarity squeezed down on the front half of the boat, holding on Rarity's seat, while Adagio slipped next to Big Mac on the back half, holding on to her own seat. With their backs covered by the boat and the seats as their 'safety bar', the passengers were ready. "Well look who's thinking outside the box!" Sweetie communicated, "Is the track done!? I feel like that bubble is going to come soon!" Flash yelped, "Yeah! Yeah! I've got it!" Sweetie responded while secretly snapping a few photos of them, "Hang tight!" The bubble was in fact, 10 metres away just as the boat jerked forward and away from certain doom. With the boat now bobbing with the nature of waves and water, the speed Sweetie set for them caused it to violently jump up and down, kicking up a spray with every hump and every sharp turn. It was fortunate that the lake wasn't saltwater, it would have greatly irritated the passengers. "Having fun???" Sweetie asked, but no one could bear to talk. Thrown around from side to side, they couldn't risk losing a grip just to hold the walkie-talkie. Furthermore, they could not help but yelp and cry doing so. "Looks like you've suffering down there. In that case, I've got one more fun trick up my sleeve. You really want to hang on to this now..." Sweetie warned. As the transmission ended, the boat stopped rocking. "What do you have?" Adagio grabbed the walkie-talkie. As a response, the boat tilted backwards, alerting the passengers. "Don't move..." Sweetie hopped back on, "What I'm doing right now is creating a ramp of water that will take you way above the maze!" "You can do that? Why didn't you think of that earlier!?" "I needed a long straight path that can get the boat up there without hitting a geyser." Sweetie reasoned, "At least we can bypass it all!!!" Flash chuckled, "Not exactly. I need to beat Mercury's reactions. If I take my own sweet time making this ramp and bridge, she's going to kick a hole into it!!!" "Then what?" Rarity asked, then froze, "Oh no... you don't mean..." "Yep!!! After all, what goes up must come down!!!" A big chill froze Big Mac's spine. In his fear, he placed a hand on Adagio's hand and gripped hard. "Hey! What are you doing!?" Adagio shrieked, trying to wring her hand free, but to no avail. "Have you ever been on water rides before, Adagio?" Sweetie asked, "No! I've been spending most of my time in the Halidom! I don't have the funds or the gall to go to a theme park!" "Well, you've just been on two types now! The 'Small World' boat ride and the river rapids ride! Now the one you are about to experience is the most popular of all!" "Is that so?" Adagio raised a smug eyebrow, "I'll be the judge of that," "Adagio, the reason why it's popular is that it's a white-knuckle ride!" Rarity quickly shared as the boat began sailing upwards, "White... knuckle? Doesn't that mean...?" "Yep. Extremely thrilling, exciting, and scary." Flash nodded, "... We're heading down a big drop once we reach the 'top', are we?" Adagio realised, "Eeyup..." Big Mac squeaked, "And it's going to be an extremely fast drop!" Adagio added, "Ohh yeah..." Flash dryly chuckled, "Better hold on..." "H-Hang on! This boat is not like the boats for the ride!" Rarity protested, "If I recall, the hull is normally flat! The moment we go down, the boat will not lie flat on the drop! We might as well be dropping from the air!" "That so huh?" Sweetie moaned, "In that case, I've got just the thing to help you keep on!" "We're all ears!" Adagio called back, "One. Keep that walkie-talkie tight. Don't you dare lose it!!! Two, keep your hands on the seats, don't lose your grip! Three..." "Three? Three what?" Rarity gulped, unaware that the boat was back up straight. "Smile!!!" Sweetie yelled from above, as the boat tilted forward and rocketed down the steep drop of water. "Yiiiaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!" Rarity screamed, her eyes closed shut. "Woooooooooooo!!!" Flash yelled at the top of his lungs, all while keeping a hard grip on the seat. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!" Adagio roared as her hair went crazy in the wind, Big Mac's screams were extremely high-pitched and everywhere that it was inaudible. But despite the science, the water slide seemed to have grabbed on to the boat as it rapidly descended, making sure it doesn't slip off its path till it hit the bottom. A large explosion of water can be heard as the boat hit the lake, kicking up a massive splash and soaking the four passengers entirely... "Did..." Rarity opened her eyes, "Did we get through?" "I..." Flash sat up, his hair drooped down thanks to the water, "I think we've reached the bottom. We got through!" "Hey! You four okay?" The walkie-talkie fired up, "You didn't lose the thing, did you?" "No..." Adagio pulled it out of her stockings, "I got it..." "Then that's great! You've all passed the maze, and you're now halfway across the lake!" Sweetie reported with glee. "So, you can go back to sitting on the seats!" "I feel like staying where I am for a little longer..." Flash chuckled, lying back down, "I'm too wet to move my legs..." "You can also let go Mac." Adagio frowned, "My hand is dying under yours!" "Th-Thanks, 'Dagio." Big Mac sighed, letting go. "A-And sorry," Adagio rolled her eyes and grumbled to herself as she rubbed her pressured hand. "I'll say one thing after this." Rarity slowly stood up and groaned at her soaked clothes, "I am never going to go on any rides with a big splash anymore!" Half of Lake crossed - Trial 50% complete "Phew!" Sweetie wiped her forehead, "That was a close call!" "It was," Brunhilda agreed, "Unless you're talking about deciding to hold the boat to the water just before they went down the big splash. Or are you talking about the quality of the photos you took as they plummeted down?" "Uhh... yes!" Sweetie innocently grinned, quickly stashing her phone away. "Now that the maze has passed, I think we can return to the ground." As they were about to go, her fingers started to twitch. "Actually no..." Sweetie stopped, "We gotta stay here. I feel something strong coming from the water... two big things." "It seems Mercury's power allows you to sense any disturbances in the water! Better than me, that's for sure! So, what is the problem?" "Two big things are going to rise... from both sides of the boat!" And she was right. Two tremendous walls of water shot up from the lake, towering over the boat on the left and right, reaching about 10 metres into the sky, and stretching 400 metres long. "Uhh... everyone?" Sweetie pulled up the walkie-talkie, "Are you seeing this?" "You must be very short-sighted if you can't!" Adagio sarcastically responded, "This looks like one of those stories where the Goddess' chosen parted the sea..." Flash chuckled, "If that's true, then I don't think we're the Goddess' people in this scene... more like we're their pursuers! And we know what happened to them!" Rarity exclaimed, "Sweetie, quick! Pull us through! I don't think we have enough time to turn back out and go around these walls!" "Okay then!" Sweetie nodded. Imagining the gas pedal of a car, she pushed it down with her foot and watched as the boat went faster between the walls. "I'd get the boat out faster if I were you..." Mercury laughed, "After all, all of you know what I'm about to do next!!!" The water walls wobbled and trembled, plainly in the sight of everyone involved in the trial... "I just realised..." Flash spoke up, "Even if Mercury is poised to save us, or if we're wearing lifejackets, I don't think we'll survive the impact!" "Can your mind stop wandering from issue to issue!?" Adagio scolded, "Sweetie, now would be a good time to stop them from shaking..." Rarity warned, "Hup!" Sweetie lifted her hands. Columns from both sides of each wall shot up diagonally, attaching themselves to the walls from top to bottom, holding them in place. "I said I won't make this easy!" Mercury growled, "Show me the limits of your mental strength!" "Uh-oh..." Sweetie blinked. The wall persisted rocking back and forth, stretching the supports until it broke off with a snap. Once free, the walls decided to tip and fall, with the boat in both their ways. "Sweetie!!!" All four passengers yelled in horror, Sweetie summoned two giant hands and arms which grabbed the top of a wall each and pulled hard, like trying to pry open a double trapdoor, preventing it from flattening the boat. "Errrrgh..." Sweetie grunted, mimicking the pulling with her hands. "Is that all you can do?" Mercury growled and increased the pressure. "Argh..." Sweetie frowned, her hands being pushed downward, "I... change... style...". Quickly, she knelt and pushed her hands up. In the lake, the hands and arms of water followed suit, pushing up the walls from underneath. "Come on, Sweetie!" Flash cheered, "Hold tight! We've just passed the halfway point of these walls!" "Argh..." Sweetie clenched her teeth, "I... can't... talk... when I've got both hands on the walls!" "Uh... Sweetie?" Rarity asked, "Come on..." Sweetie pushed her hands harder and higher, "These things are getting heavier by the minute!" "Sweetie! The walls are slowly leaning forward... and you've stopped moving the boat!" Rarity screeched, "What!?" Sweetie gasped as she tried to keep her aching arms still. "Sweetie, I hate to be a jerk, but not moving this darn boat away from certain doom is making me desperately frustrated at you!" Adagio snapped, "Why don't you try controlling water then!?" Sweetie retorted, despite Adagio not being able to hear, "When you've got the darn dragon trying to flatten you with walls, I gotta put all my mind into making sure that doesn't happen!" Then Sweetie gasped, "Mercury, you big fat lousy lizard!!!" Sweetie bellowed, "So that's why the boat isn't moving. You're distracting me with your 'mental strength' test!" "Yeowch..." Brunhilda winced, "That's a bit too far..." "Sorry!" Sweetie spoke harshly, "It's Adagio's fault! She's the one who provoked me!" "Hey, Sweetie?" Big Mac spoke up suddenly, "Ah'm here to 'pologise on behalf of 'Dagio. We jus' remembered that you control the waters with yer mind." "Yeah yeah, I'm sorry..." Adagio groaned, "Rarity and Flash are trying to make it up by paddling with their hands if you're wondering." "Never let up!!!" Flash yelled, "If ya can still 'ear me, Ah have a proposition. Mind you, this is n' all-or-nothin' plan, but Ah can't think of any alternative to get us out." Big Mac continued, Sweetie looked up, though she was beginning to sweat, looked enlightened. "Ah'll take yer silence as a yes. Devote as much strength as you can to kick us an' the boat over yonder. Get us out before the waters crash down on us. If ya can't... at least ya tried." "That's a crazy plan..." Sweetie huffed, "But given that Mercury's piling on the water, it's something! Ms Brunhilda... I need you to tell them! I can't reach for the walkie-talkie!" "Hang on! I'll put you down on the ground!" Brunhilda responded, "Then I'll take over the comms!" "Sure!!!" Back on the boat, the water walls leaned closer and closer, ready to claim the boat and its passengers a whole. Though it may defy gravity, the water maintained its wall-like shape and did not drip as it tilted over. Not only that, the flow of the water down the walls did not create a splash. Instead, it flowed down into the watery surface as if it was still a part of the river. "So uhh..." Flash called, "Can you two please help us?" "Ah can," Big Mac sighed, "But y'all know we can't paddle enough to get out of this." "Never let up!" Flash repeated, roaring with vigour, "Oh, shut up!!!" Adagio lashed out, "Can you hear me kids?" Mym's voice spoke out, "Ms Brunhilda!!!" Rarity responded, "I thought you were in Dragon form! How are you using the thing?" "Easy! I changed into human form so I can get a better grip!" Mym responded mockingly, "Now listen up, Sweetie's willing to try your plan, McIntosh. But you'd better hold on to something tight! Maybe back under the seats again?" "Really? But it's so wet down there!!!" Rarity and Flash moaned, "Stop moaning!!! Unless you want to fail the test and get poor Sweetie to do this again, stay tight!!!" Mym scolded, "Yes Ma'am," Flash and Rarity diligently nodded and slipped back down, their back of their bodies submerged on the damp wooden floor. "You too, Mac and Adagio." Mym added, "And be careful with your head! Tell me when all of you are set up." "We're prepared!" Flash reported, "Get ready to kick us, Sweetie!" "Got it," Mym responded, "I'll make sure to count!" As she released the 'talk' button, the teacher looked to the struggling crusader, "Are you sure about this?" Mym asked, "I can't think of anything else when you've got this... but I know what to do... so tell them to get ready on a count of three!" "Okay then," Mym nodded. Sweetie closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel and picture the boat's location, through the water, and pinpointed where she needs to kick. "... Got it!" Sweetie opened her eyes, "Start counting!" "Hold on boat crew! Sweetie's about to kick in three! One..." Mym started, "Two... Three!!!" "Raaaaaaaaahhh!" With one last force, Sweetie pushed the walls an inch up then swung her right foot down and forward. Converted to the power of water, a small soccer boot struck the boat's behind, blasting them forward. Immediately, Sweetie went back to holding the walls but failed to withstand its weight once she let go. Sweetie's body and mind caved to the weight of the walls, and she fell on all fours, so too did the walls crash on the lake's surface, kicking up a massive splash and replicating the terrifying sounds of the sea closing up. "Huh... Guh..." Sweetie lifted her head, looking at the receding spray. "Did... Did it work?" "Flash, Rarity, Adagio, Big McIntosh. Report in!" Mym called, "Everyone! Did you make it?" "HOLY GODDESS! That was close!" The walkie-talkie crackled to life with Flash's voice. Hearing his voice, both Sweetie and Mym gave a big sigh. "It was indeed..." Rarity sighed, "The only thing the wall did to us was create a ripple that could have knocked us over. Good thing we were still under the seats like before!" "Ya did amazin' Sweetie..." Big Mac laughed, "Take a knee an' rest yer head." "No... need..." Sweetie took deep breaths, but with a smile upon her face, "My energy's coming back quick... best I can do is get the boat to the end ASAP!" Hitting the gas again, the boat jetted forward, furiously heading towards the goal. 3/4 of lake crossed - Trial 75% complete "We're nearly there!!!" Flash announced as he looked forward, "I can taste land!!!" "Full speed ahead Sweetie!" Rarity instructed, "You have done so much for us... just a little more!" "I agree," Mercury boomed, "You have performed well with numerous surprises, Young Sweetie. No doubt all of you hold a firm trust with each other. But I'm afraid this is checkmate." From the waters, a large bubble wand was formed a hundred metres ahead and placed its round loop right in the way of the speeding rowboat. "Sweetie!!! Stop!!!" Flash warned once he noticed, but a moment too late; the young crusader couldn't steer around it in time. As the boat passed through the loop, it carried with it a long film of soapy water and stretched it far from the wand until the tail snapped off. Once it did, the soapy film enclosed itself, trapping the rowboat inside its bubbly grasp, and lifted it into the air. Without the water pushing it along, the boat slowed down as it floated forward, till it came to a halt. "There is no escape from my prison." Mercury responded, "Normally this prison would explode with you guys in it after a certain amount of time. However, I want to do this ANOTHER way..." With a loud roar, Mercury slowly opened an oval-like portal of deep blue, expanding it right over the bubble-captured boat. Looking up, the Equestrians saw a terrifying maelstrom of water beyond the portal, eager to be unleashed. "Not again!!! First, she dropped two walls on us, now a huge tsunami!!!" Adagio deduced, "And we're stuck in this bubble..." Flash added, "Hey, Sweetie! Think you can pop this?" "I'll try!!!" Sweetie responded. First, she conjured up a sewing needle out of water with the sharpest tip. "I like your style," Rarity commented. But when Sweetie lightly tapped the bubble with the needle, the prison didn't burst. She poked it a second time. Then a third. Frustrated, she rapidly stabbed at the impervious bubble, until she gave up and sent the giant water needle back into the lake. "Careful you don't poke us!" Flash warned, "Next tool!" Sweetie mumbled, this time bringing out a giant hammer and nail. She rammed the nail onto the prison and hammered away, each swing with added power. But the prison did not show a crack let alone burst. "Pop, you stupid bubble!!!" Sweetie screeched as she changed the hammer and nail into an electric drill and drilled upon the surface. But it had no effect either. "GRAAAAHHHH!!!" Sweetie roared and resorted to bringing down a water-morphed katana with the longest blade and the sharpest edge. Instead, the blade was lodged into the bubble, instead of cleaving it in two. "Sweetie!!! Are you trying to kill us!?!?" Adagio's voice crackled, "How about give some pointers to pop this darn thing!?" Sweetie harsly retorted, "Hmm..." Flash looked around him. Despite Sweetie's sharpness and knowledge about popping bubbles, it wasn't enough. Not to mention, there's still the maelstrom above them. And it seems that it's beginning to... drip... "This isn't good... if Sweetie can't get out of this prison, we're going to lose! And I don't think we can outrun such a thing given how far it stretches! If we can easily get out... we need some shield against that thing above us!" "There must be some way we can support her!" Rarity began thinking, "But what!?" "Wait!" Flash remembered, "Rarity! Your Geode! Do you have it with you?" "Yes? I would never leave the house without it but-- Oh! I see what you mean! I can create a dome around us!" Rarity gasped, "But... would we get disqualified by doing so?" "Mercury made this challenge to test our own strength and magic. She clearly said no weapons or essences from the Halidom. But your projection magic is your own; the magic of Equestria is fair game!" "Wow idiot. You have a good point." Adagio nodded, "Now that I think about it... this is the same stunt you pulled back at Mount Adolla with Brunhilda's challenge!" "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, "And if Mercury is still adamant on saying no then... no. Let's not consider defeat. We're going to stick to our word!" Flash decided, "Alright then..." Rarity pulled out her geode necklace, a purple diamond shard enclosed in a white sphere. She raised her palms, took a deep breath, and began conjuring her translucent shield. However, an invisible force bumped into her, sending her a little stunned and dazed. Shaking it off, she tried again, but it came with the exact same reaction. "It's not working!" Rarity exclaimed, "I can't build a shield around us!" "What? Why? Don't tell me your geode is faulty today!" Adagio gasped, "It doesn't work like that! It's worked before! Whether in Equestria or Grastaea! I could use it in the Halidom, the Volcano, but not here!" "Then it only means one thing," Big Mac spoke up, "It's this darn bubble prison. Not only does it trap us, it prevents us from doin' absolutely anything on the inside but move our bodies!" Hearing this, Flash closed his eyes and took a deep breath. From the outside, it looked like he was trying to get something out... "You're actually right!" Flash exhaled, "I can't channel my mana in here!" "That's it, popping the prison is our priority!" Rarity announced, "Ey! I asked you to give me some support here!" Sweetie's voice roared, "Otherwise, you're all going to sink!" "We're trying to! We can't do anything to protect ourselves as long as we're in the bubble!" Rarity stammered, "After all, it's not like we're the ones who have the powers of a Dragon!" "Hold it!" Sweetie commanded, "Can you say that last part again?" "We're not the ones who have the Dragon's power..." Rarity paraphrased, "You do." "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!?" Sweetie laughed to herself, "I can just copy Mercury's own Strength!!!" "Interesting... do you know how?" Brunhilda asked, "I gotta think like her!" Sweetie answered, "No worries... I know you're trying to help when you're not supposed to!" "It is all down to you, Sweetie. I know you can complete her challenge!" "Alright then!" Sweetie stretched out her arms and palms forward, "Think of Mercury... be her... and attack as her! Hmmph!" With her grunt, a sharp bolt of water fired from the crusader's hands, zipping across the lake, and piercing through the aqueous prison (thankfully through no one). Popped free, the boat fell back on the lake. "Didn't see that coming," Adagio responded, "But you did it!" "We're not out of the water yet, in all senses of the word." Flash answered, "Rarity?" "Right!" Rarity nodded and focused. With a firm lift of both her hands, a diamond-constructed dome formed around the boat. "Now Sweetie!" Rarity spoke into the microphone, "Keep on pushing this boat! We've got our protection!" "Do you?" Mercury interjected, "I applaud that you remember using your own powers, but will that be enough to protect you from what's to come? It may protect you from a direct hit, but the force of the oncoming water from above would push your shield down into the water; all of you with it." "Are you kidding me? Really going to throw doubt and suggestion at us?" Flash yelled back, "Rarity..." Big Mac grumbled, "Did you make a dome? Or a Sphere? Because if it's jus' a dome... we're gonna get flattened by it, unlike a sphere." "Oh no..." Rarity gulped, "Let me fix that!" "Too late!" Mercury announced, "Allow me to show you defeat! Waters, heed my command!!!" "No!" Adagio yelled, the only human sound that could be made before the maelstrom above was released with a loud roar. Quickly, she held her nose, breath, and closed her eyes to get ready for the impending deluge. Any second now, the four of them would be struck by water... and they would be thrown into the lake's deep. It would only take about three seconds for their waters to reach. One, two, three... "Four?" Adagio opened her eyes, surprised that she was still dry. To an even bigger surprise, so were her three companions, all awake and confused as she was! Did Rarity's shield stand strong against the crashing torrent? No... Looking beyond the diamond dome, she could see yet another bubble enveloping them again. A giant stream of water was fast but smooth in cascading down the bubble's surface, moving at a different pace from the falling waters around it. Once the fifth second passed, the deep blue torrent poured no longer, revealing the sun in its sparkling reflective glamour. "What... just... happened?" Adagio mumbled, "That was a close one!" Sweetie sighed over the walkie-talkie, "Rarity! Get rid of your shield! I'm going to boost you all the way to the end!" "R-Right!" Rarity complied. Once the shield was down, the boat accelerated off again. "Hold on!!! We're nearly there!" Sweetie yelled, "Too fast! Too fast!!!" Flash yelled as the four were violently driven across the remainder of the lake's width, then flung over (along with the boat) when they hit the pier and landed on dry land. "Oww..." Rarity winced, "That was the worst landing..." "But... we got through... we did it... she did it..." Flash laughed, "And without my help too. Nice job guys!" Philia added, "Thanks... but maybe not mention helping me in the first place, no offence." Flash chuckled, "There were times I felt like asking for it. Either way, it's good to know that when the time comes, you've got our backs." "Ohh..." Sweetie gave one big sigh and lay down on Brunhilda's back, "That was so exhausting... I'm so done with this challenge... but at least... I beat it." As she smiled at the sky, her red dragon-like eyes quivered and diluted, then slowly changed back to round pupils and green irises. "Sweetie, I am so proud of you... let's go and meet the others over at Woodhaven." Brunhilda congratulated, "There she is!" Flash cheered as he saw the Sweetie and Brunhilda touch down. As the young girl hopped off, Rarity ran first. "Well done Sweetie!!!" Rarity smiled with a big hug, "You were so amazing!!! You really have grown, and I can't believe I had to go through this to truly see it for myself!" "Thanks sis..." Sweetie chuckled, "I'm glad I was able to prevent you from falling in..." "Yeah..." Rarity nodded, then paused, "Hang on... your eyes are back to normal!" "Huh? My eyes looked weird? I never felt that..." Sweetie responded with confusion, "Oh, never mind then... either way, congratulations for passing the challenge!" "You were a solid performer." Adagio clapped, "I might as well consider you a dangerous threat like your sister and her friends if I consider going 'evil' again." "I'll take that as a compliment!" Sweetie grinned, "Eeyup," Big Mac gave a thumbs up, "Thanks for your support as always, Big Mac!" Sweetie laughed, "What about you, Flash? Anything to say?" "I always believed in you, Sweetie. Sure, you may like to avoid doing some things, but when forcibly put to the test, you pull through. You are the MVP!" Flash smiled back, "Though I am curious. How did you protect us from that big waterfall?" "Oh! So uh... during the first obstacle, when I was tossing her bubble bombs at her, she protected herself with this special shield. I copied it and put it around you guys before the waterfall hit you!" "Indeed. Congratulations, young Sweetie Belle. You have successfully passed my trial, despite the odds." Mercury smiled as she swam over, with Cleo on her back. "First off, I apologise if I had put you on the spot. But that is what challenges and trials are for." "No worries," Sweetie innocently smiled, "So..." Mercury continued as Cleo hopped off, "How do you feel? Having completed the challenge?" "Exhausted, heavy, sweating... I didn't think using your magic would be as stressful as playing sports!" Sweetie groaned, "Well, it goes to show that in order to overcome difficulties for anything, you need a lot of sweat and tears." Cleo added, "And you've certainly gone beyond my expectations!" "Thanks, Ms Cleo." Sweetie giggled, "In that case, Sweetie Belle, let me make this official." Mercury decreed, "You have completed my challenge, and I shall honour your intuition, courage and all that you are by making a Dragonpact with you and your friends." "If I may interrupt..." Rarity chimed in, "Don't look to me to decide to accept or decline. You did this task all by yourself, so you make the choice!" "Aww Rarity..." Sweetie teared up and hugged her again, "That's the best thing you've ever done as a big sister!!!" "Yes yes," Rarity sighed, "Now go do it." "Sorry! Sorry," Sweetie turned back to Mercury, "Mercury? I accept the Dragonpact. Even if we may not have the blood as the late Prince Euden did, I hope that our word-created bond will be strong and unbreakable like his. And may we also become super-strong allies and friends!!! Of course, we'll do our part in making sure not to harm the seas and the oceans! And anything else you need?" "The protection of the oceans to your extent is good enough for now. But... what can I do for you?" "You said that there was something bad that was coming soon? Well, I don't want it attacking our home as much as you do! So, I want you to train us. Make all of us capable of defending Canterlot and everyone who lives here!" Sweetie responded, "A very noble cause, I shall do that I can." Mercury lowered her head, "I believe you now have two Greatwyrms pactbound with all of you." "And three dragons overall!" Big Mac calculated, "Oh! Before I forget, let me give back your powers." Sweetie added, "Now how do I do it?" "No need to worry, just place your hand on my head. I can take it back from there." Mercury answered. As Sweetie did so, a blue transparent appeared between Sweetie's palm and Mercury's head. After five seconds, the light stopped, with the transfer complete. "Phew!" Sweetie laughed, "My body feels sooo much lighter now that your power's gone!" "If we face dangerous enemies, I would be more than happy to lend you my powers once again. You did show great control and creativity over it." Mercury offered, "Sounds nice! Wait a minute..." Sweetie paused, "I can still feel some power left. You haven't taken everything yet." "Are you sure? I took back the exact amount of power I loaned to you." "Doesn't feel like it... it seems I've got enough energy to do this..." Sweetie faced the lake and held her right hand out, with her left grabbing hold of the right wrist. As if given some mental command, she fired a bolt of water like before. The difference was that it was not as sharp or powerful, and it only travelled five metres before dissipating. Everyone was taken aback, including the Waterwyrm. "I see." Mercury smiled after a while, "If we're looking at this logically... then what's left behind is yours." "Huh!?" Everyone gasped, "I'm gonna ask you to stop right there..." Sweetie sarcastically laughed, "You're basically saying that this leftover energy belongs to me?" "Well, why don't you find out for yourself? See if you can seek out your mana." Mercury suggested, "Seek out mana? You mean to meditate? I've tried that two days ago, didn't work." "Then try again. When it comes to these things, you'll always have to try more than once." "Okay then..." Sweetie took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, and hummed as she closed her eyes, "Ommmmm..." "Remember," Cleo reminded, "Focus on your heart, let the mana enter your thoughts." "You told me that last time, and the only thing I had was just staring at the blackness of my eye...lids..." "Sweetie?" Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Kyaaa!!!!" Sweetie screamed out of nowhere, causing everyone to cover their ears. She did so after three seconds, then stopped. "Yep..." Flash spoke, "She just went through that entire flying through her head procedure... and now she's in," "No way! I can get in!" Sweetie announced, "All I see around me are deep blue clouds, water bubbles, and snowflakes! It feels like I'm underwater, while it's snowing at the same time!" "That's exactly what I felt in my Dragonyule attire and style," Cleo responded, "That's the look of the Water Mana Circle, alright." "As I said, I have taken back all the powers that were mine. If you still feel magic inside your body... then that magic is rightfully stemming from your own mana." Mercury concluded, Everyone gasped, "You should be proud of yourself Sweetie." Mercury continued, "Not only have you shown me your courage and wit with my powers, but you have also discovered your own. Should you continue to practice shaping your mana and magic, you can fight on your own without an essence." "That's really great! This is the best reward I've gotten from any test!" Sweetie laughed, "Well, now that you have made a new pact and discovered your newfound powers, what will you do?" Mercury asked, "Hmm..." Sweetie opened her eyes, exiting her mana circles, "I'd like to start training. Seriously if I might add." "And what would that be?" Brunhilda asked, "Aah, the Halidom." Mercury looked around, "It has been a long time since I've set foot on this land," "The Roost is still there if you want," Ms M pointed to the floating island, "If you want some nibbles or intricate items," "Yes, perhaps I shall consider that," Mercury nodded, "The five Equestrians show a lot of promise, but I fear that all of us have a lot to do if we are to combat this incoming force." "You always have a hunch for these things," Ms M sighed, "And normally, you end up being right for the most parts. I assume this means we need to get the rest of the Greatwyrms?" "That goes without saying." "Well leave it to me." Ms M volunteered, "I can set up a meeting with Mids, Jupiter, Zodi, and Chthonius!" "Yes. As for our five Equestrians... I will need to review the training schedule you have for them. You better not be running them ragged! A lot of exercise requires a lot of rest." "Don't worry! I'll be mindful of them..." Ms M assured, "I'm a bit puzzled by Sweetie Belle's choice." Mercury continued, "Instead of exploring the boundaries of her water mana, she opted to train her physical prowess through using an essence of our allies." "She also did mention that she pinkie promised Flash that she would train with him. She's sticking to her word." "Is that so? I understand then," "You have a rather soft spot for Sweetie..." Ms M narrowed her eyes, "Let me guess... is it her mana? Or is it just how 'young' she is for her age?" "Both. She is a wonderful human being, just like her sister and friends." "Alright, everyone!!!" Flash announced as he walked out of the Halidom, "It is with great honour that I can officially announce our newest fighting member! Let me present to you... Sweetie Belle Pia!" "Wow..." Ms M and Mercury looked at the little girl that stepped out behind him, "The look suits her," Ms M chuckled, After an eventful day, the team broke up and went back to their usual daily activities until the sun had set and the moon has risen. Even though it was deep in the night, there were plenty of shop lights still open and people walking around the street. Truly, Canterlot was peaceful and quiet, even at night... or so they thought. There was a voice, singing throughout the streets in such a high pitch that no human could hear it. Only the animals could, to which they responded with barking, hissing, or squeaking, but the humans never spared a suspicious thought to their reactions. When a voice sneaked into the dead-end of an alley, a small crack in space formed. And within it? Observing golden eyes... The Aquatic Guardian and her Crusader The End Coming Up: The Parent-Dragon Meeting
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Dragon Meetings
"Mym! Are you there? It's me! Euden!" A young man called, "My Darling? Is that you?" "There is something I must tell you... come with me." The Prince beckoned and waltzed down the Halidom hallways. The human Flamewyrm alluringly followed, hoping to reach her beloved with dancing steps of her own. Down the lane, up the marble stairs, and into his own personal chambers. "Come..." The Prince gently held her hands, "I need to talk with you about your love... our love," "My Darling!" Mym gasped with shock, "Surely you jest! You would NEVER approach me with this!" "I do not jest, Mym. This is important to me as it is to you." Euden started, "I have given a lot of thought about your love. And I will confess... until now, I have never seen the importance of your magnitude to my life... and I want to apologize..." "No!" Mym shook her head, "You don't have to! What really matters is that you have acknowledged me! That much is more than forgivable!" "Mym..." The Prince worded slowly, "I'm afraid you will never forgive me..." "I would dare not! As long as we are pactbound, we are destined to be together!" "Which is why you will never forgive me... for the pact we share will part..." "What???" Mym went pale, "No... I said I was fine with the differences in our ages, remember?" "Look, it doesn't matter how old we become!" The Prince bellowed, "I will pass away! Whether by age or in battle!" Mym backed away with a yelp. Never had she felt such rage and frustration from her kind Prince! The prince realised the reaction from his voice, then exhaled, "I'm so sorry Mym... It's just... you know how much I yearned to get Zethia back. That's when I realised out of everyone, you supported me because you cared for me just as I did for her... I realised that only too late." "Darling..." Mym slowly placed her arms around the Prince, and drew him into a warm hug, "You are the only one for me, ever since our paths crossed... I love you so much, even should our pact wither away." "What if I wither from this world?" The Prince responded, "I could not fathom leaving you alone." "Don't say that dear..." Mym placed a finger to his lips, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it..." "Mym..." Euden gently pried her finger away, "I hope you're ready to when it comes. But... would it be selfish of me, to ask that I remain by your side in memory and spirit?" "Of course not!" Mym shook her head, "I would do anything for you!" "Then promise me... the love and care you harbour... share it with others." Euden requested, "Just as you shared it with me, share it with the other humans and sylvans, now and in the future generations to come... you and I know the bonds between human and dragon is far more precious than all the riches in the world. Very few humans make a dragonpact. Please bridge that bond out to those who can't. Only then can mankind truly see the importance of our bond... our Dragalia." "Darling..." Mym teared up, "I will promise to do that... for you, I will try and lend my aid to humans without Dragonblood." "Then..." The Prince smiled, "As long as we share that love, we will always be together." And gave her a big long hug, "Oh, Darling..." Mym smiled back, "I promise you, I will forever treasure the time we have that we are together!" "As will I. But I hope you will be ready for when we must say goodbye..." The Prince laughed, "I will," Mym promised, "I... will..." Ms M's eyes opened, facing the ceiling of her bedroom in the pitch black of the night. A tear ran down from her unblinking eyes. "Goodbye..." She wept, clutching her custom-made plush of the Prince, "... My Darling..." As the sun rose beyond the horizon, a smartphone vibrated and 'beeped' sharply. Irritated, the Crimson Teacher swung her fist down at it. Instead, she heard a nasty crunch and froze. Calming down, she slowly hopped out of bed and picked up her phone, tapping the 'dismiss' button. She rubbed her eyes and adjusted her tank top, then propped her Euden plush upright on the bed. "Ugh... I need to keep my temper in check..." Ms M sighed at her inanimate victim, "... This is the third bedside table this month!" Ms M waddled towards the bathroom and looked at the mirror. The white of her eyes was a little red, her face all pale and groggy, her hair all ruffled and sticking out. She was truly a mess. "I had that dream again..." Ms M spoke to her reflection, "No... a nightmare. I mean, a memory of my past! ... Argh! I can't think! Gotta get ready for work again!" In ten minutes, the human dragon took a quick and thorough shower, dried her entire body, gently brushed her hair, lightly put on makeup, polished her horns, buffed her wings, filed her tail, and put on a fresh set of clothes, ready to take on the world. Walking into the living room of her own flat, she poured herself cereal and milk and checked for events and reminders on her phone while still thinking about her dream... and her bedside table. Meeting with Principal and Vice-Principal about Adagio (3rd Period) Meeting with Belles, Apples, and Sentries about Adagio (After School) Meeting with the Greatwyrms about the five (7 pm) Ms M narrowed her eyes. Today was definitely a different day. Usually, she would go to school, greet and teach the students, fulfil the assigned duty on the schoolyard, go back to teaching, stay after school to plan for tomorrow's lessons, fly around Grastaea and Mount Adolla to maintain the volcano's mana and slay some fiends to protect the peace, have dinner or drink at home or in the shopping area, then return home and sleep. No. The meetings today would not only affect her future but possibly all of Canterlot. She sculled down her cereal and milk in one go, wiped her mouth and lips, double-checked her bag, and exited the flat. Ms M strode down the dining street, where restaurants of different sizes lined up. Ms M would always take a big whiff with every store she passes. The smell of meat in Pide Paradise, the best place for Turkish Cuisine. The scent of fried patties and chicken in Dragali Burger, Canterlot's own local fast food joint with great tasting food and comedic service. The warm and exquisite aroma of Spring Rolls, Pho, Com Chien, and many more Vietmarese delicacies in The Floating Lotus. Then there was one particular restaurant always had a long line of hungry people waiting outside; Kagutsuchi Kitchens. It was a Neighponese Barbecue Restaurant only open on the evening and night; providing the best quality meat, fire and sauces said to be made exactly like its nation of origin. This overall fusion of culture and dining experience earned its popularity among the locals, though only partially. Its main glamour was their trademark Kagutsuchi Fried Chicken available all-day. Fried to a golden crisp, a single bite through its harmonic sensations of crispy and soft skin and its succulent flesh would unleash a tremendous flavour of the likes that Equestrians had never known. It was a favourite snack and dish for both young and old, listed as one of Canterlot's must-haves in various food magazines, and even had a special mention in one of Equestria's National Radio stations. Canterlot High School. Despite the Maroon-tiled roof and Fuschia-painted walls as its colour scheme, its design boasts inspiration of the Medieval Castle. On every corner of a roof, rests a golden-like bust of a horse or crown. Between the eaves of these decorums had carefully measured and lined parapets, resembling the battlements on castle turrets. To top it off, reaching for the sky was this castle-like tower, complete with flag and room, situated on top of a glass dome with diamond patterns. In the entrance courtyard, there lies a magnificent statue of a proud horse placed on top of a large pedestal with a glass mirror on each of its four sides. After living in this nation for Goddess knows when, Ms M could never grow tired at marvelling the school she had the honour to work in. Off the street and onto the courtyard, she spotted a group of girls talking outside the entrance to the school building. Teachers commented that they were a melting pot of hardworking, troublemaking, yet supportive students. To fellow students, they were popular yet humble, and well-respected by most. To the Principal and Vice-Principal, they were model students that hold the values of Canterlot High School dear to their heart. This in turn supported the entire school cohort and staff through incidents and adversities, metaphorically and literally. After being acquainted with one of them, she could definitely confirm those claims! "Ms M!" One of the girls called and waved to Ms M, "Good Morning!" "Good Morning, Rarity!" Ms M called and waved back. Amidst her other friends waving back, Ms M noticed that the fashion-focused girl had her smartphone out while in discussion with her other friends on what it was showing. Perhaps the latest fashion trend, Ms M thought as she left them be and entered the school building. "What gave ya' the idea to pursue this?" Applejack asked, "Aside from completing two challenges made by Dragons," Rarity shared, "I confess that I'm a little inspired and a bit envious of Sweetie and Flash's endeavours to acquire their own powers and magic over in Grastaea." "Oh..." Rainbow gave a smug look, "You just don't want to be outplayed by your little sister. Eh? Eeeeeeh?" "It doesn't mean I want to leave behind the powers of New Alberia's former fighters. As I said, I really like Estelle's style... and her Loving Hand." Rarity 'innocently' smiled back. "W-Well, I think it's totally your style!" Rainbow quickly chuckled with approval and gave a double thumbs-up. "Other than that, this would also be a wonderful opportunity to prepare for any future incidents if someone causes a ruckus with any Equestrian magic-enchanted items of artefacts." Rarity added, "Or worst-case scenario, fiends." "Yikes!" Pinkie gulped, "I've seen some pics about them last time we visited the Halidom. They look super scary!" "Not to worry," Rarity assured, "The magic we have is more than enough to repel them!" "That's so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "That means you'll never have to go thirsty! Man, I want mana already!" "Oho! It is not for the faint of heart. But should you seek to discover your mana, then by all means!!!" Sweetie laughed like a noblewoman, "But seriously, all you have to do is come around to the Halidom often and make sure you breathe in tons of the air there. And maybe get on the good side on the Greatwyrms." "Show us what you can do!!!" Applebloom encouraged, "Hmm..." Sweetie's eyes swept the hallways. Which target would be perfect for a demonstration? Overload the drinking fountain? Cause a frothy mess from the Janitor's Mop Bucket nearby? Or maybe... she stopped upon Diamond Tiara - a classmate of the same year, and a condescending bully. She and her sidekick, a bespectacled girl of cornflower bluish-grey hair and skin known as Silver Spoon, were making a loud mockery over another student, with light olive blonde hair and light grey skin, that paid no attention to what was in front of her and slammed into a locker door. "Look at Diamond, and watch where her sparkling, 'priceless', Diamond Tiara hairclip flies," Sweetie informed. With one eye closed, and making a finger gun gesture... "Boom," Sweetie whispered. A thin bolt of water shot from her fingertip. It sped towards the girl in question, arced itself towards the hairclip, and knocked it right out of Diamond's hair. Diamond's head was pulled back from that force, creating a sharp sting of pain from her hair. The next second, she noticed her hair clip was gone, and the hair it held together in disarray. This time, it was the student's turn to laugh at the little bully, as did others passing by. Even Silver Spoon couldn't help but laugh at her best friend. "H-Hey!!!" Diamond rasped, "I... what... who did this!?!?" "Oh, that is so cool!" Scootaloo laughed as soft as she possibly could, "Yes..." Ms M chimed in, "It surely is." The Cutie Mark Crusaders ceased their laughs and swallowed hard. "G..." Sweetie slowly turned around, "Good Morning, Ms M..." Ms M disapprovingly shook her head. "I understand that Diamond and Silver are consistently condescending to almost everyone," Ms M sighed, "But two wrongs don't make a right!!!" "It was her idea!!!" Applebloom and Scootaloo defended, "Hey!" Sweetie retorted, "Save it," Ms M snapped, "Fortunately, I have a lot on my plate today, so I won't keep you in for lunchtime as a punishment." "Phew..." The crusaders sighed with relief, "I'm not finished. Expect a rough disciplinary course alongside training in the Halidom, Sweetie." Ms M continued, "And this time, the two of you will be joining as well!" "What? Oh no..." Applebloom moaned, "Oh yes!" A sly smile came from Scootaloo, "But what about Diamond and Silver? Derpy doesn't deserve their mockery!" Sweetie defended, "Don't worry, I'll make sure to humble the two of them. You have my promise," Ms M assured, "In that case..." Sweetie's frown turned into a smile, "I'll hold you to it! See you at the Halidom?" "I sure will!" Ms M winked, After sending the three on their way, Ms M turned around to the bewildered Diamond, ready with a set of stern remarks. "Uh-oh..." A spectating student whispered to his friend, "Out of the fire..." "... And into Ms M's jaws!" The friend finished, After two history lessons carefully organised for their respective year group, and thankfully an uneventful time of recess duty without any issues, the first meeting that decides Canterlot's fate was about to take place. Ms M strode to the Principal's Office and knocked on the door. "Come in," A mature feminine voice instructed. "Principal, Vice-Principal." Ms M greeted the two as she entered the room. The elder one sat behind a well-organised desk. The younger, stood next to the Principal. "Punctual as always," Principal Celestia addressed. She had long wavy hair with a radiant combination of hair colours, and a light gold dress shirt with the cutie mark of the sun. "Please have a seat," "Can I get you something to eat?" Vice-Principal Luna offered. Her equally long and wavy hair had colours that similar to the clouds and sky at night, and wearing a purple collared-dress shirt (with the cutie mark of a moon on the collar) and a leather belt around her waist. "No thank you," Ms M politely refused as she eased down on the chair and glanced at a clock in the room, "This will only take but a few minutes." "I'm afraid it will take much longer than that." Celestia responded as she pulled out a completed application form from her desk drawer, "Allowing her into the school after what she did to everyone is madness." She slid the form into Ms M's view, with a small mug shot of a smirking Adagio. "Granted, it was a few months after you started working here." "I've heard the stories from both the students and Adagio herself." Ms M nodded, "Then you know why we are against this. To be frank, I'm amazed that the media and the Educational department did not notice!" Luna added, "The only school who knows about magic is Crystal Prep, and they've agreed to keep this a secret. If other schools or third parties find out, they may misinterpret this force as a threat to the students or worse, the entirety of Canterlot." "I am on very close terms with Adagio's guardian. After a few months under her strict but kind care, it would be remiss for her not to have another shot at education. And a chance to redeem herself." Ms M reasoned, "Admittedly, she's only appeared during the Mane Event music showcase. After that, she was never seen again. There's no official record of enrolling those three into the school, but it could be possible that they... mesmerised us into letting them in." "And with all due respect, I haven't met her guardian. What if she raised her to be the opposite of what you expect?" Celestia questioned, Ms M was about to open her mouth until two sharp knocks came from the door. "Oh! That must be her." Ms M turned around with glee. "Come in!!!" "I beg your pardon for being late," The visitor apologized as she walked in. "The only directions I got for the school was to get the 'visitor's pass'. It also didn't help that a majority of the students just stared at me rather than help. Thankfully, one of them snapped out of it when I had to ask for directions." The Principal and Vice-Principal's jaws dropped. "My! What--long and thick hair you have!!!" Luna blurted out, "And your height! You're--" "Luna!" Celestia coughed, "Thank you for your compliment." Cleo curtseyed, "That being said, I think your hair is just as fascinating. It's almost as if I'm seeing the moon in the night sky!" "Apologies for my younger- I mean the Vice-Principal." Celestia stood up and offered a hand, "I believe you are Adagio's Guardian? My name is Celestia, the Principal of Canterlot High School." "Indeed I am. My name is Cleo," Cleo shook hands, "I was hoping to meet you. I take it Mym didn't tell you that I would come?" "No," Luna shook her head, then stared suspiciously at Ms M. "I hope I didn't miss out on anything," Cleo continued, "Not at all," Celestia assured, "In fact, it is a perfect time. As you have been taking care of Adagio Dazzle for these past few months, I presume you know her history here?" "I do." Cleo nodded, "And I know that her actions justify against enrolling her. However, I can ensure you that she is unable to repeat her past misdeeds to the school." "And why is that?" "She, as well as some students, said her magic was destroyed when she lost to the Rainbooms," Cleo reported, "I see... when did you first meet her?" Celestia continued, "Many months ago, on one rainy day..." Cleo reminisced, "I saw her lying on the ground, famished and exhausted. I couldn't just leave her there, so I took her back to my home and gave her refuge. Of course, when I learned about her stories and history, I was very disturbed that I was giving refuge to some power-hungry manipulator. However, I could sense that somewhere deep inside, she harboured regret of what she did; having her only tie to her original identity destroyed, and separating from Aria and Sonata. From her story, I decided to personally take care of her and forge her a path to be forgiven." "An interesting choice..." Celestia complimented, "But I imagine it didn't go as you wanted," "Her initial negative attitude is what I would expect from someone who wanted to control others and wanted attention. We'd occasionally have fights with each other. I even threatened to kick her out if she didn't pull herself together. But as much as we argued about how to live life, she couldn't bear to leave when I gave her the opportunity, and that's when I realised that she truly had a desire to change, to atone her wrongs..." "May we ask the reason why?" Luna jumped in, "She and I share a common history filled with loneliness, sorrow, loss, and regret. Because of that, she was willing to stay and change alongside living with me from then on." "I see..." Celestia blinked, "Then if I may also inquire, what has Adagio been doing with you these past few months?" "I sell fresh produce to the Canterlot locals through self-delivery." Cleo stated, "When Adagio came, she became responsible for deliveries to our customers. As her negative reputation spread throughout the locals, no one would likely accept her service if she went as herself. So, I had her put on an unrecognisable disguise and identity so no one could tell the difference. But going on, she is starting to dislike going into town as a disguise, so that's why she and I decided to ensure that she can be accepted as her changed self in Canterlot." Celestia fell silent, as did Luna. An uneasy atmosphere of silence hovered over the four ladies. After that, the Principal spoke up. "You have a very compassionate heart, Ms Cleo." Celestia opened, "But your care alone will be hard to reach her within the school. If she relies on your care and presence to show her reformed self, it needs to be replicated within CHS." "But if we were to guess..." Luna followed up, "We assume you have some people in mind, Ms M?" "I do," Ms M chuckled, "One, yours truly. And two, the seven students who defeated Adagio, along with four normal ones. They've been keeping in touch with Adagio, and they're trustworthy enough to assist her through school. I've talked with them beforehand, too." "May we know their names?" Luna pulled out a notebook, "So we can notify them, of course." "Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Big McIntosh, Flash Sentry, and the other new student I've recommended." Ms M listed, "You have her enrolment form. Right?" "Accepted." Luna reported, "The IT tech crew are now applying her details into the school system. We will expect the two of them to start together next week." "Start together? So does that mean you'll accept Adagio?" Ms M gasped, "Luna and I gave this some thought before the meeting. Following school values, it should be fair that we give her a second chance. But we have a condition," Celestia clarified, "I'd like to see a weekly report on her behaviour, and how you and the other students encouraged her. You are to hand it in before every new week." "I can do that," Ms M firmly nodded, "... I still think this is a crazy move..." Celestia sighed as she picked up a stamp and dabbed it in some ink, "But we shall be the judge of that when she comes." With a loud thud, the large word 'APPROVED' right in the middle of the paper. "Oh, and one more thing," Celestia remembered, "Should she cause havoc intentionally, I will expel her from the school AND put your actions into question, Ms M." "I won't let you down, Principal," Ms M stood up and saluted, "Then this meeting is over," Celestia concluded, "It's wonderful to meet you, Ms Cleo." "The pleasure is mine," Cleo curtseyed again, "Mym? Can you guide me back out, please? I'm afraid I'm still unfamiliar with the school." "No problem," Ms M smiled and opened the door, "After you!" "Hmm..." Celestia mused as the door closed. "I have no qualms about Ms M's diligence and strictness to teaching and discipline, but I do worry comparing it to Adagio's previous actions. It's not her magic that the school is wary of, but her own personal ambition." "If Adagio was still the same as she was before, then one way we can get her to listen is to remind her that she has no power. Sunset and the other girls are proof of that." Luna suggested, "But for teachers like us, Ms M will have to be so imposing that even an immortal magician would cower from her existence alone. Her ferocity and assertion should match a fearsome beast. A dragon, for example!" "AAAAACHOOOOOO!!!" A sneeze as loud as a volcano erupted outside the room, spooking the sisters. "Was that Ms M?" Celestia asked, "Well, at least she's as loud as one!" Luna joked, The fourth period of study involved teaching the senior class. Ms M had to be extremely thorough with her classwork and material. "In your last year of high school, it is your last opportune moment to improve your overall grades. Furthermore, the structure of your upcoming history exam will resemble the ECT and SAT tests. And I implore you to ask any question if you are still unsure about a topic or subject. Don't you DARE 'wing' it on your exams," Ms M warned, "Now, we're going to be discussing Equestria's contribution to the Second World War..." After the gruelling class, Ms M calmly dismissed the class, though she noticed that Big Mac was rather slow in packing up. "McIntosh?" Ms M came over, "You seem slower than usual. Something amiss?" "Uh... nope..." Big Mac gave a weak smile, making Ms M frown. "It's better you share what's plaguing your mind. Let it out with words to support that sorrowed soul of yours." "Applejack and Applebloom pitched a hissy fit at me..." Big Mac relented, looking out the window, "Apparently, they received a picture of me holding 'Dagio's hand during that challenge by Mercury last week." Ms M froze, though she still tried to maintain a caring smile. "I didn't think... Sweetie would have the nerve to send it to your siblings." Ms M spoke, "Wait... ya know?" Big Mac looked into her eyes, "I apologize," Ms M sighed, "When Sweetie was guiding you through the water maze from above, she snapped a few photos of the four of you and your creative ways." "Ah... 'splains it," Big Mac blinked, "This is a big misunderstanding. Applejack and Applebloom should know that you were holding onto dear life." "They knew 'bout my fear way before this," Big Mac responded, "Ah held on to Granny Smith an' Applejack when we rode one as a kid. The speed n' the splash made mah heart stop." "The only one to blame here is Sweetie. And me for not noticing." Ms M defended, "This isn't your fault!" "Take it easy, Ms M." Big Mac shrugged, "Ah'll get over it. Besides, Ah know they're jus' concerned about ma wellbein'. Ah'd feel the same if an enemy yer tryin' to forgive is gettin' cosy with a loved one." "If that's what you believe, then I'll trust you. But if Applejack and Applebloom are still bugging you about this. You have to let them know the truth. And I can be your witness too." Ms M offered, "Appreciated. Glad to know you've got mah back, Ms M." Big Mac smiled, "But we're goin' to bring the focus on 'Dagio soon. It's gonna be a lot of work when she starts comin' back." "Of that, it will." Ms M agreed, "For all of us." Ms M had free time for the final period of instruction for the day, so she quickly strolled out of the school and returned with a hot piping box of Kagutsuchi Fried Chicken. The fried savoury smell of the chicken squeezed through the cracks and smidges of every classroom door she passed, spurring the attention of hungry-eyed students and teachers. Quickly, she fled into the confines of her office before the final bell of the day rang. The members of the second meeting are about to come in a few minutes, and she'll need to be as hospitable if she can get if they can agree to her proposal. Ms M set up her classroom as a meeting formation in less than a minute, then dashed out with bated breath. She breathed a sigh of relief once she spotted CHS' loving lunch lady Granny Smith standing with four casually dressed adults around the Wondercolts statue. Two of the adults were conversing with two other students, who Ms M recognised as Flash and Scootaloo, before sending them on their way home with a smile and wave. "There she is!" Granny signalled, "There's our history teacher!" "Granny, Mr and Mrs Sentry, and Mr and Mrs Belle!" Ms M greeted, "Thank you so much for taking the time to come," "No worries!" Mrs Belle, a Pale Fuschia lady with Indigo and Persian blue hair styled in a beehive. "It sounds rather exciting!" "I hope this doesn't mean our children are misbehaving... are they?" Mr Sentry questioned, "Absolutely not!" Ms M shook her head, "The four of them are on their good behaviour, and are doing well in History! That being said, it is related to them... as well as another new student. First, we should go to the front desk and get a visitor's pass for all of you." "Lead the way!" Mr Belle, a light grey well-built man with a dark greyish brown hair slicked to the back with bushy eyebrows and a small moustache. "Hey..." Mrs Sentry gave a curious whiff, "That smell. Isn't that... Kagutsuchi Fried Chicken!?!?" "Oh! Er... it is. You've got quite a sharp nose, Mrs Sentry!" Ms M awkwardly complimented, "I... bought a box to share in case any of you were peckish!" "Aww!" Mrs Sentry melted, "That is so sweet of you!!! My strait-laced husband caused quite an awkward situation while on our way here that only Kagutsuchi's signature dish can diffuse!" "Is tripping over a cutpurse and returning the stolen bag to the victim a detriment to social reputation?" Mr Sentry declared, "Of course not. In fact, your actions would do the Goddess proud! But even she would feel embarrassed that after returning the bag, you spat out the most ridiculous one-liner with a voice crack to top it off! Living out one of your endless unachieved childhood moments?" Mrs M countered, followed with a shared chuckle out of everyone. "We are done talking about this," Mr Sentry spoke firmly, "Let us go." They first made their way to get their visitor passes, the six adults sat in the meeting-oriented classroom, posed to hear what the teacher had in store. "So as I mentioned, there will be a new student coming to Canterlot High School, and a group of students will be helping her transition to school. Your children are a part of that group." Ms M briefed, "Oh, that's lovely!" Mrs Belle clapped her hands, "Well, this is also a big ask from them too. The new student has been known to be a 'troublemaker' due to an incident long ago. The students and most of the locals has a bad impression on her." "Is the new student Adagio Dazzle?" Mr Sentry deduced, his lips covered with canola oil. Granny Smith widened her eyes. "You catch on quick, Mr Sentry." Ms M nodded, "Are you madder than a wet hen!?" Granny jumped in, "Is this official!? Did the Principal allow this!?" "Yes..." Ms M bit her lip, "I know it's hard to take in, but as a school who values team spirit, camaraderie, and friendship, forgiveness and acceptance is an important aspect within all three values." "Adagio Dazzle? Such an intriguing name... what has she done for the school to turn sour on her?" Mr Belle asked as she wiped his fingers with a serviette. "She and two others forced many CHS students to competitively be aggressive to one another for a musical showcase, and for the staff to go along with it." "Hearin that I've been singing along to a tune that encourages fightin' don't feel right." Granny testified, "Worse, Ah 'ave no recollection of it, but Ah had some nightmares about seein' mah own children tryin' to ." "Yikes..." Mrs Belle uttered, "That sounds extremely unnatural!" "Well actually--" Mrs Sentry started until she felt a subtle nudge. "Never mind. It's irrelevant to the issue." "Now, the school and your children are giving her a second chance, and I would like to ask if you, their parents, would give the same assistance when necessary." Granny and The Belles shivered. The Sentries remained calm. "We've met her before. Outside, and where she resides." Mr Sentry shared, "Compared to Flash's impressions back during this music showcase, she certainly has changed for the better over the past few months. She may look intimidating with her gaze, tone, and her clothes, but Flash and the others visited her quite often, and she's not against that." "Basically, there's a hard-to-get sweetheart within that spiky and prickly outside!" Mrs Sentry giggled, "So the two of us can be inclusive to her!" "Well it seems that there are some good and bad things," Mrs Belle spoke, "But I'm afraid to say that neither Hondo nor I know anything about her. We even don't know what she looks like!" "Would you like a picture?" A seventh person entered the room, "Oh, thank you!" Mrs Belle accepted from Cleo's hands and observed the girl in the picture, "She wears purple, huh? That's quite stylish! Though the spike accessories do make her look like a delinquent. And that curly orange hair! How did you get a-- hang on..." She glanced at the sudden appearance of the purple-haired sylvan, "W-Who are you!?" "I am Cleo," Cleo introduced, "Adagio's Guardian. You must be the parents of Rarity and Sweetie Belle. It's wonderful to meet you." She turned to the rest, "And good to see you again Granny, Mr and Mrs Sentry... and Mym." "Oh!" Mrs Belle spoke, "Nice to meet you too... wait, WHAT!?" She performed a double-take, "You raised this troublemaking girl?" Mr Belle spoke, "No," Mr Sentry defended, "Adagio and her sisters instigated this incident on their own. When it was foiled, the three ran off, broke apart from each other. It may sound cruel but true - they were homeless girls who didn't have any parental figures to support their growth until Cleo found Adagio." "Oh... I see," Mr Belle sighed, "Sorry for misjudging." "It is fine. If there is anything else concerning Adagio, I can answer them." Cleo offered, "Well first..." Granny asked, "How did you take care of someone like her?" "Where to begin..." Cleo began. Just like with the Principal and Vice-Principal, she told a similar story to the parents. To Granny and The Belles, they were quite blown back. "You have to be one of the most loving and patient people to encourage her to stay. To go even far as to disguise her identity to work in the community is definitely convincing to me that she has changed!" Mrs Belle answered, "Oh Ah agree. She definitely sounds pretty as a peach now. Better than some smooth-talkin' salesmen Ah know..." Granny slowly nodded, "Still... Ah never would 'ave thought the energetic delivery girl Francesca would be Adagio... and just when Ah teased her 'bout bein' a good match with Big Mac last week..." Everyone fell silent and stared at the Apple Granny. "What?" Granny raised an eyebrow, "Ah want to see mah own grandchildren growin' up and settlin' down, you know. There ain't no problem with that." "But in any case, if we do meet her in person, we'll be sure to include her and offer any support." Mrs Belle agreed, "What do you think?" "Sure thing!" Mr Belle gave a thumbs up, "What about you darling?" Mrs Sentry asked, "Fine by me," Mr Sentry nodded, "Since she's goin' to be part of the school soon, Ah'll treat 'er with the same respect as every other student!" Granny stated. "Thank you so much, everyone." Cleo curtseyed, "And if there is anything else, don't hesitate to contact me." "Sounds good! May I have your phone number?" Mrs Belle requested, "Sure," Cleo pulled out a brand new purple mobile phone, "Including the area code, it's (174) 217-4123," "Ehh... got it. Thank you!" Mrs Belle keyed in, "Interesting..." Mr Sentry spoke to himself before raising his voice, "In that case, let me give you mine..." After a quick exchange of phone numbers, it was time to bring the meeting to a close. "Thank you for coming today," Ms M greeted, "I hope I haven't taken too much of your time..." "Not at all!" Mrs Belle bashfully chuckled, "Sure, I was expecting a delivery from Shadowsun, but Rarity and Sweetie can pick that up for me!" "Y'all take care now, y'hear?" Granny smiled, "Bye!!!" Mrs Sentry waved as The Belles and Granny departed the classroom. "You should be heading home too." Ms M turned to The Sentries, "Flash and Scoots may get a little naughty if parents aren't around!" "Should they do that, they would be grounded for a month." Mr Sentry crossed his arms, "And they've experienced what it felt like." "You have an extremely tight leash on your son." Cleo shuddered, "You make us sound like we treat him like a dog! That's rather mean-spirited..." Mrs Sentry winced, "We, or at least I, treat him like a puppy!" "I don't think that helps your case..." Ms M spoke uncomfortably, "We have two questions that require answers." Mr Sentry interrogated, "Let's start with the easiest. How did you get a phone, Cleo? Given you're living in a castle and all, I don't see any home phone. Should be important given that you're running a business." "Mym and I went shopping for one last Sunday. I chose this particular phone because it's rare to see a device that matches the colours of my hair. I'm still a bit new to using this 'mobile phone', but it's rather similar to a device wielded exclusively by one of our former allies..." "'Wielded'?" Mrs Sentry repeated, "One of New Alberia's heroes used a phone as a weapon?" "Let's not deviate from the main point," Mr Sentry reminded, "But I wanna know how she does it!" Mrs Sentry pouted, "Does she throw it? Blind enemies with its flash???" "The latter answer," Ms M revealed, "Oh..." Mrs Sentry blinked, "Okay." "The second important question... why didn't you tell Mr and Mrs Belle about how Adagio was able to really control the school? Or that she's not human either?" Mr Sentry continued, "That's a very good question!" Ms M raised an eyebrow, "But how did you learn that?" "Sweetie's videos. We assisted her with filming." Mrs Sentry responded like a student answering a teacher, "She transformed into a Siren in front of my eyes, and the camera too." "True. But not the answer I was expecting," Ms M rephrased, "Okay... but do you know about the incidents of CHS beforehand?" "We do." Mr Sentry replied, "Granted, we just learned everything about it today. Flash and Scootaloo gave us a quick rundown before the meeting, as they said it's important we know." "The two of them trust you a lot," Cleo complimented, "Trust is important in the family, as it is in friends and clients." Mr Sentry declared, "It means admitting secrets and vulnerabilities to one another, but for being honest or having a confession, it means supporting and empowering each other to do what's right, instead of solely berating or scolding. Of course, hiding secrets like these is a sign of distrust, and I will not tolerate that. Which reminds me... I need to find the right punishment for Flash for not telling me all this beforehand." "W-Woah!" Ms M paused, "Don't you think that's extremely authoritarian?" "I assure you, we would not be so cold and heartless. A sign of trust is a sign of care and love," Mr Sentry explained, "On the other hand, we had to be a lot stricter given that Flash got expelled from one school, and suspended in the next for seriously harming other students out of 'noble' anger, to put it truthfully." Mrs Sentry added, "Of course..." Ms M slapped her head, "Why did I forget that? Anyway, what I'm getting at is Flash trusts you a lot that he would tell you this event. What about Rarity, Sweetie, and Big Mac with their respective parents?" "They should," Mr Sentry remained adamant, "Such a danger must be reported. Otherwise, it would leave their parents extremely distraught and upset." "You have a point darling, but so does Ms M," Mrs Sentry interjected, "As kids grow into teenagers, it's natural that some things they experienced in life would be kept to themselves and friends that were with them. At worst, teenagers foolishly want to break free from their parents by intentionally doing things without their permission and not letting them know about it. At best, teenagers don't want to rope their parents into their own troubles because they believe it would make life harder for themselves, and their parents. No offence, but I think some would criticise how we raised our child as tyrants." "Hmm..." Mr Sentry remained silent, "Very well. It is up to them, not us. In that case, that is all from me." "In that case, we'll leave too! Thanks once again, and thanks for the chicken too!" Mrs Sentry waved goodbye and led Mr Sentry out of the room. "Surely Mym, you could have moved this particular meeting to another day. It would save all that travel time in between for making progress in cleaning more bedrooms and taking out clothes to dry." Cleo moaned, "Says the girl who uses the misty portal to whisk herself wherever she desires. You know it doesn't take so long to reach your destination!" Ms M rasped, "But you know how long it takes to go back home." Cleo glared, "Fair enough. Worry not though, I will fly us to our third and final meeting of the day. Aren't you gonna be happy to see the last two Greatwyrms after so long?" After packing up all they need, the two Grastaeans snuck out to the car park behind the school, where not a single soul was seen in the dusk sky. With the coast clear, Mym took a deep breath and enveloped herself in a body of faint flames. Her hands and arms grew in size, morphing from skin and fingers into scales and talons. Horns protruded from the temples covered by her hair which curved downwards then outwards. Wings sprouted out from her back, and her tail sprouted from below. With one obscuring burst of fire, the teacher transformed into her true form, a large red dragon known as Brunhilda - The Flamewyrm, and the Crimson Sweetheart. "I hope your dress clothes are okay..." Cleo noted while holding the dragon's bag of teaching materials, "Sometimes I have no idea how you could come fully dressed when you turn into a human, but also wear clothes made by others. I hope they don't burn up every time you transform." "Do not fear, Cleo." Brunhilda laughed, "Though my mana is of fire, it preserves the clothes I wear. Besides, I'll be wearing this to the meeting anyway. Now hop on!" The Flamewyrm lept into the air and boosted forward with a mighty flap of her wings. The two soared above the Canterlot business district and travelled over Mayleaf Park and its widespread forest beside it. As they continued flying above the forest, both Brunhilda and Cleo felt a surge of energy within their bodies as they passed a certain point. Once they did, an entirely diverse geographical region revealed itself before them. What only consists of thick trees and empty skies were magically replaced with a castle breezy forest, a vast clearwater lake, a steady volcano, a towering range of mountains, and many more things hidden within the eyes of the world. "Hold on Cleo! I'm going to make a sharp turn to the left!" Brunhilda warned, "I got it!" Cleo replied and clutched on to her shoulders. With a hard bank to the left and a lift in the wings, the dragon veered west towards the Dornith Mountains and boosted forward once she aligned herself. "Now approaching, Dornith Mountains!!!" Brunhilda announced, The Flamewyrm gracefully landed on the thunderous summit of Dornith's highest mountain, where four other dragons waited. Two of them were Midgardsomr and Mercury, the Windwyrm and Waterwyrm respectively. "Welcome, Flamewyrm." Midgardsomr greeted, "For the Dragon to call the Greatwyrms together, it is a surprise for you to be the last to arrive." "The previous meeting with the parents took longer than expected. And I had to consider passenger safety," Brunhilda retorted as she let Cleo off and coated herself with fire. "Oh??? You wish to discuss this in your human form?" A yellow dragon with teal-coloured eyes playfully chirped. Unlike the other dragons, the dragon had wings instead of arms and claws, thin black legs, a beak instead of a jaw, and the exterior of his scaly body and tail grew yellow feathers with black tips on his wings and tail, or red tips poking out behind his head. If not for his black curved horns and his featherless chest and underside of his tail, one would mistake the Lightwyrm Jupiter to be a bird. "Yes," Ms M emerged from the fire, with not a single tear or burn on her clothes. "Not only do I have the duties of teaching and making appointments, wearing this attire has a personal significance to our discussion." "I can sense a looming threat that dares to impact not just our own hidden land, but the land occupied by today's generation of humans." Mercury warned, "Should this threat fall upon us, I wish to defend them all. However, that involves the cooperation of Dragonkind, and who better than to start with us?" "Well, Chthonius is missing..." Jupiter counted, "Are you sure you forgot to invite him? Yeah, I mean he's experienced death before, but he's still alive!" "He has turned down the offer, so instead I told him of my proposal. He answered that if the plan works for all five of us, then we should seek him out." Ms M explained, "And what, pray tell, is your proposal?" Asked Zodiark, the Shadowyrm. Like Mercury, he stood on all fours, but a majority of his purple scales, flesh and bone had horrifically rotted away over his existence, from his skull all the way down to his spine and tail. One glance at his purple-eyed glare from his almost-hollow eye sockets would strike fear into those who dared approach his presence. "To rekindle our bond with humanity. For centuries, we have lived and protected them from the shadows, as we promised Prince Euden after our tragic but inevitable parting with him." Mercury answered, "With this threat, we can only do so much. Thus must we seek humanity's aid once again." "Ooh! You sure about that?" Jupiter looked excited, "If humans today would see us, they'd run away screaming, yell at us to stand down, or attempt to strike us down with their weapons, which if you ask me, are completely worthless compared to Grastaea's prime!" "Not all humans are like that," Ms M retorted, "We met with a rather unique group of young humans that know of our existence. They are capable of harnessing the workings of mana, as well as the powers of the same allies we've fought alongside. Aside from good character and attitude, they do have a magic of their own." "Really now?" Jupiter raised his eyebrows, "Do tell!" "They may not be royalty or carriers of Dragonblood, but the magic and power they harness come from the same values that define our bond with humans." Ms M explained, "As you know, I have taken my life as a teacher to help empower and teach students the skills necessary to take on the outside world. But ever since five of them had walked into our world and showed their promise of bettering the Halidom where we once lived, I thought to put them through a little test or challenge of my own making. They blew my expectations as they completed it. As such, I formed a pact with them through word, and since then assisted them in any Grastaean mysteries, alongside classwork." "Speaking of which..." Cleo directed her tone to Jupiter and Zodiark, "If any of you felt the corrupting disturbance of black mana last month... it has something to do with those five Equestrians." "Tell us the story of what happened in the Binding Ruins," Zodiark demanded, "First, we came to the Binding Ruins in order to seek Midgardsomr to call the smithwyrms and rebuild the Halidom. This eventually led us to seal the Flow Eternal..." Ms M started, "... But one of the five Equestrians, who wasn't human, absorbed it in an attempt in order to regain her true form and fulfil a grudge against those that exiled her from her homeworld." Midgardsomr continued, "So the other four, as well as Cleo, Brunhilda, and I, brought her back to her senses..." "... their efforts intrigued me, and I wanted to know more about them. Last week, I personally went to meet one of them, and to put all five of them through my challenge." Mercury picked up, "Just like Brunhilda's, they completed it. I in turn gave them my pact by word." "I get it!" Jupiter deduced, "So you want the rest of us to rekindle our bond by putting your unique humans into trials or challenges of our own. Just like how each of us tested the Prince's strength and character!" "Yes," Ms M replied, "One little problem. If this threat affects both the humans and us, why don't we just parley with them and forge an alliance? It would save time needed to organise a silly challenge! Plus, today's folks just aren't up to the standards of the Prince and his fighters..." Jupiter challenged. Mercury whacked the back of his head with her tail as an answer. "We all know we DON'T work like that. Alliances are temporary and can be ceased at any time without the knowledge of both parties. The only way we can truly lend our power with humans is to personally understand their soul and strength." Mercury scolded, "Furthermore, it doubles as training for the Equestrians so they can grow just as strong as our former allies." "Heh..." Jupiter smirked, "Your accommodative personality hasn't eroded in the past centuries. The humans you briefly described already had my attention so I'm in. No! Wait... I want to be the first to put them through the wringer!" "Are you sure???" Cleo sharply asked, "It will take some time to prepare, and I must learn of the humans' nature." "Here," Cleo dug through Ms M's bag and pulled out copies each filled with information of the five Equestrians, "Mym and I filled out a personality and behaviour report for each of them." "Perfect," Jupiter took a set with his beak, "This will speed things up very nicely..." "You can have them too, Midgardsomr and Zodiark." Cleo added, passing each of them a set, "And if possible, I'd l like to know if you want to be second or last." "Thank you," Zodiark thanked as he took the papers, "As for when, I do not mind. Let Midgardsomr have the first pick." "Hmm..." Midgardsomr paused, "Having fought alongside them a month ago, I can faintly remember the extent of their abilities. If I truly want to test their power, I want to do it at a point where they have truly improved. Perhaps a challenge that could individually test each of their mettle." "So does that mean you'll be the second?" Mercury asked, "No... my challenge will take a lot of time to prepare, and I will need to reach out to some of our dragon allies. As such, I hereby choose to be the last of us to challenge them." "Wow..." Ms M blinked, "You sure?" "I am sure," Midgardsomr nodded adamantly, "Very well." Zodiark agreed, "Then I shall produce the second challenge." "Interesting..." Cleo mused, "Midgardsomr was the very first dragon to form a pact with Prince Euden out of the five. Now, he's opted to be the last." "Set it up to your conditions and your objectives to your heart's content. You can test either one or all of them. Think outside the box, use the environment to help. Remember, if anyone gets dangerously hurt, you need to postpone the challenge and get a healer like Cleo on the ready. Try to formulate a challenge that can push their limits, but don't you DARE think about killing them." Ms M instructed, "I'm looking at you, Jupiter. If I see any influence of wounding each other, I will reduce you to cinders!" "Okay okay..." Jupiter held up his wings. "Right, are there any other questions?" Ms M asked, "Nope!" Jupiter laughed, "I've got just the plan for them!" "None at all," Zodiark shook his head, "I do have one," Midgardsomr spoke, "Do you have a prediction on when this threat may come? Or at least what it is?" "I'm... afraid that I don't have an answer for either of them. While I can sense things with my mana, I will also need more than just one of my senses to detect any trace of the threat. All I can say is it doesn't stem from the waters." Mercury sadly shook her head. "Hmm, then perhaps a preparation is necessary after all," Midgardsomr concluded, "I mean, we can try searching it out." Cleo suggested, "Most of my deliveries are handled by Adagio, so I can use my free time to go patrol Canterlot. Hinata can do the same when she's free." "You mean that little fafnir of light?" Jupiter remembered, "I thought she stuck close to the Dragon Law and helping others without being seen!" "She's grown stronger," Ms M smirked, "Enough to assume a human form!" "Dang." Jupiter whistled, "We really need to keep in touch with the rest of the dragons." "In this case, this meeting is over." Ms M announced, "Thank you so much for coming." Once everyone had said their goodbyes, Brunhilda dropped off Cleo back in the Halidom and flew back to her apartment, making sure to transform in a well-hidden spot before walking out in the streets at night. The Crimson Teacher made it back to her apartment without any problem. Following her routine, she took out some leftover curry from the fridge and heated it up with her heat rather than a microwave or stove. With her meal gobbled up, she took another shower, though a much longer one where she lathered soap on her human skin with great care. Leavin the bathroom with her usual clothes that she sleeps in, she checked and ticked all the meetings today on her phone, and added some more notes for the days to come. After an hour of going through both her schoolwork and dragonwork, it was time to go to bed. Holding her Euden plush tight, she tried to drift away to sleep, but alas... two things kept her awake. One was that she forgot to make a time and date to go replace the bedside table. And the other was the fear of the Lightwyrm's challenge for her students... out of the Greatwyrms, he was an extremely, crafty one. The Dragon Meetings The End Sweetie's Little Steps of Life Part 4 is next!!!
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
Sweetie's Little Steps of a Secret Life: Part 4
"Thanks, you two. For helping me clean the rooms." Cleo thanked, "It takes almost forever just cleaning each room one at a time." "No problem!!!" Flash winked, "Eeyup," Big Mac nodded, though with a puzzled look. "Judging by your expression, I assume you must imagine how many allies had been residing in the Halidom. Well, about more than a hundred, including the envoys from Hinomoto, Taiwu, and North Grastaea who would stay here temporarily now and then." Cleo estimated, Big Mac and Flash's jaw dropped. "I had help. Well, HAD. Everyone had timetables, duties and responsibilities in the Halidom; cleaning it is one of them." Cleo rolled her eyes, "And frankly, the 'maid' of the Halidom causes more messes rather than clean!" "You mean Melody?" Flash asked, "Exactly!" Cleo sighed, "Even if she has become an inseparable ally, I still question her status, or rather her entire self, as a maid to this day!" Cleo paused and turned around. "How did you know I was talking about her? I've never introduced her to you, nor do we have her essence!" "I uhhhhh... read some of the adventurer bios of the rooms I cleaned! Melody was one of them!" Flash responded, "You really are smitten with the people of New Alberia, aren't you?" Cleo smirked, "I was partly named after a war hero." Flash blushed, "At first, I sort of disliked it because people kept on comparing me to him. Then I hated it even more that such a hero was involved in something as gruesome as war. But over time, I realised that the things he had did when no one else would. The many burdens he took on when he was originally just a down-to-earth person... it was wrong for me to despise him. He was a hero. Now I to read through every story of heroes, like the ones here in New Alberia. Very kind people; others can relate to some of them too." "I see. You hold people in high regard." Cleo complimented, "Smooth save," Philia scoffed, "Spare me the sarcasm. Whenever I'm engrossed in conversations, a slip of the tongue is frequent for me." Flash scoffed back, "But now that I think about it, why keep me a secret? Nothing is threatening your life or reputation if you tell others about me." "I uh..." Flash pondered, "A secret backup plan to stay ahead of any situation. That way all of us can suffer less if we make any error or mistake." "You sound like Alain, except you prepare to advance instead of retreat." "Thanks," Flash chuckled, "Now you'd better hurry with the cleaning. Didn't Sweetie say to get ready to film in ten minutes?" "A reminder and a self-esteem booster! Given your bio, have you ever considered what you would do if you somehow got married?" Flash laughed, "Oy..." Philia gave a stern growl, "What's with the 'somehow'?" "Nothing whatsoever." Flash gulped, "Goooooooooooood Afternoon everyone!!!" Sweetie announced, "My name's Sweetie Belle, and welcome to this short episode of Little Steps of a Secret Life! I'm afraid we don't have a big crowd like the last episode, and that we don't have enough content to make a regular video. Many of you may be asking 'then why are you making one anyway'?" She pulled a raspberry and stood proud, "Because such an excuse is pathetic! The greatest of content creators are defined by making what little they have, and opening it up into something marvellous for all to see!" She heroically declared, "That's the spirit!" Hinata yelled offscreen, "The Halidom has so much more secrets! From the ordinary to the extraordinary! Even though the Kingdom of New Alberia is refined and gallant, it's surely ahead of its time in the case of style: They have such an adorable mascot!" "Wait... what?" Ms M questioned offscreen, "Cut!" Sweetie gestured. "We have a mascot?" Ms M responded, Notte: New Alberia's Mascot!!! "This is Notte. And she's not just a cute faerie or emergency food! She was a lifelong companion of Prince Euden and the Auspex Zethia ever since she existed. Before Euden split apart and raised his own nation, the three of them were inseparable! Of course, this energetic faerie has been a fountain of support and confidence to all people of the Halidom, whether rain or shine!" Sweetie Belle introduced in the Wyrmprint gallery. "Also, it might sound ridiculous at first," Ms M started, "But faeries had interaction with dragons way before humans and other kinds have. What's more, they are also distant kin of Dragons!" "No way," Sweetie dropped her jaw, "Seriously!?" "I'm serious," Ms M firmly nodded, "Their odour stemming from their mana is similar to a Dragon, though tiny and minuscule. What's more, a Faerie's nature and beliefs align with the dragons, so they have a mutual understanding compared to that of humans. That being said, some dragons wouldn't treat faeries with the same respect." "Yikes!!!" Sweetie winced, "Oh, I'm afraid discrimination exists within the Grastaean era. Heck, we had one nemesis whose core strength and beliefs were that the strong cull the weak, which is only achieved through the destruction of entire races until one is ultimately left standing. Evolution and 'survival of the fittest' he claims." "That's too extreme!" "And that was why he was known as the Agito. People with beliefs and methods so radical that they would not hesitate to rip the world a new one if it means achieving their desires. But back to the topic, here are some art pieces of Notte. Would you take a look at how adorable she is?" Ms M offered, She gestured to the wyrmprints that featured the pint-sized, pink-haired faerie. "This is her making flower crowns with the Prince and the Auspex in 'Happier Times' before everything went down." Ms M described, "Then this is her with Maribelle and Karina celebrating Halloween, the Grastean equivalent to Nightmare Night, as the most dastardly Trick or Treat team: 'The Plunder Pals'! Oh! And then there's her all gussied up to spread roses and happiness for Valentine's Day, also the Grastaean equivalent to Hearts and Hooves Day, as 'The Petal Queen'!" "She definitely seems like a small bag bursting with fun!" Sweetie laughed, "If she were here, I think she and I would get along nicely! Are faeries immortal?" "Sadly, no..." Ms M shook her head, "They too have a lifespan like all the other kinds." "Aww..." Sweetie drooped, "That's heartbreaking!" "Now that I think about it, I did remember saying you were similar to her..." An idea popped into Ms M's mind, "How about..." "Are you ready, Sweetie?" Ms M chuckled, bringing the girl and herself to a hill with a mysterious signboard with ten small pictures of different items in the middle. "Remember how it goes!" "O-Okay then." Sweetie nervously chuckled as she dusted off her dress and cleared her throat. "Ready... now!" Ms M signalled, hitting the record button. "Check out today's bonus!!!" Sweetie chirped, making hand gestures around the first picture on the top-left. It was like she was presenting a prize in TV game shows. After silently counting to five, she playfully spun around once and struck a pose with her finger pointing towards the top right corner of the signboard, separated from the ten. "Have some skip tickets too!" She continued. After another five seconds, she spun back to her original place and gestured to the big board once again, this time focusing on the picture adjacent to the first one. "And coming tomorrow..." She gestured around it. Then after five seconds... "... The adventure continues!" Sweetie galloped forward towards the camera then veered to the left. "Wonderful!" Ms M laughed while she stopped the filming, "You definitely fill Notte's shoes to a T! But I'm a bit disappointed that you didn't go with 'Tee hee!'" "Yeah, no." Sweetie rolled her eyes, "I'll end up being like someone in one of Scoots and Flash's Neighponese Animes! Why do you want me to do this in the first place?" "When Notte was still alive, she would come to this place daily and say those exact things with poses of her own." "And why exactly?" "Never really asked. It was some routine of hers that I found funny. It's as if she was a part of a welcoming committee who's obligated to give things whenever people come to the Halidom." "Free stuff?" Sweetie raised an eyebrow, "That would be a wonderful incentive for tourism!" "It would!" Ms M agreed, "Now let's go back. Decided which dragon you want to study today? Hinata's knowledgeable about other fellow dragon friends. She would gladly take over for me!" "I'll tell you once we get back!" Sweetie cheerfully responded, "But man, I just wish I was alive at the time so I can get daily free stuff. Some of those pictures on the board are wyrmite and summon tickets. I would LOVE that!" Little did they know that all the way back in the Halidom, ten clusters of golden crystals magically materialised in the Halidom's storage room, right in front of a cleaner. "Huh..." Big Mac picked one up, "New Alberia's jus' a gold mine of mysteries... wonder if Ms Cleo knows this thing." Dragon showcase: Agni Sweetie, Hinata and Rarity stood on the Halidom balcony with Flash filming them. Behind him, Big McIntosh was studying a map in silence. "Behold," Sweetie presented a picture, "The Rapacious Firelord, Agni. As you can tell, he is a dragon that always stands on his two hind legs, has a black underbelly with a brilliant red all over, but man! Just look at the aesthetic of his horns! And see how part of his chest protrudes? It looks like he's wearing a chest armour that's as hot as fire!!!" "Is it me, or do the colour of dragons also represent the element they are attuned to? Like the adventurers?" Rarity asked, "Some of them," Human Hinata responded, "And some dragons are also capable of learning and using different elements like the adventurers. For example, Jeanne D'Arc is a light dragon by origin. But with her Dragonyule or Hearth's Warming outfit, she uses water attacks and magic instead. One of her special skills is that she can fire an ice beam that can freeze enemies!" "Oh, that sounds so sick!" Sweetie gasped, "And if she's water-attuned in that outfit, does that mean I can make a shapeshift into her if we had dragonblood?" "Don't forget the pact! That's one of the most important things between Dragon and Human! Both of us draw power from it!" Hinata reminded, "But yes, you can!" "How many dragons do you know can be adaptable with their mana?" Rarity asked, "How about... every dragon?" Hinata smirked, "If humans and sylvans can take in new forms of mana and elements, then dragons can too! Only if they feel like enjoying the festivities, that is." "Fair enough," Rarity shrugged, "Speaking about that, dragons have also different beliefs and temperaments. Some detest the presence of 'man, while others cherish them. Agni was mostly the former. He would scorch anything and everything in the world if he feels so, even if a lesser being gets in his way. But treat him like a deity and give him offerings, and he'll agree not to cause harm to an entire kind if even one of them offers him food. He'll even fight for you too!" "Yep, definitely sounds like a God that wants appeasement... or just a gangster demanding protection money," Sweetie grumbled, "Speaking of which, there's more than one Agni," Hinata added, "Multiple Agnis? Oh, Goddess..." Rarity shuddered, feeling a surge of goose pimples. "There are just as many of the same dragons. But out of the light fafnirs, there's only one named Hinata; me!" Hinata winked then realised what she just said, "Oh stools! Shouldn't have said that!" "No worries Hinata," Sweetie laughed, "We've got all we need anyway. Flash? Stop the recording." Special summoning interruption!!! "Wow, everyone!!!" Sweetie gasped, holding four summon vouchers at the camera, "Wouldn't you believe this? I know I said that we may not have enough. But lovely Hinata here graciously granted us four summon tickets! These things allow us to summon an adventurer instead of using our low cache of wyrmite! How did you get these things?" "Some fiends may drop them. But it's pretty rare for it to happen." Hinata responded, "I collected these four tickets within a month before I stopped fighting fiends and helped out with the people in Canterlot. Of course, I never really relied on the power of former allies since I was a dragon, but now that you need them, it's the least I can do!" "Thanks aplenty! Ms Cleo and I will be heading up to the summoning area. Stay tuned!!!" "And we're back!" Sweetie laughed, "Four tickets yielded four essences and no pactstones! And since we didn't collect any eldwater either... they're all new adventurers we haven't seen! Oh, and we'll throw in another adventurer that we acquired outside filming!" "Here you go," Cleo held out a cushion with three blue orbs and one gold orb. "Our new adventurers." "So Flash! Can you use your sensory powers and show us the spirits we've received?" Flash whisked his hand around the orbs and nodded. "Easy as! Now, let's start with the blue ones!" "First we have Xiao Lei, the Boundless Arithmetician. She was raised in the culture of Taiwu, and finds joy in solving problems with numbers and calculations. That being said, her life and childhood revolved around exactly that, which is a good thing that maths keeps her happy. As in service to fighting, she uses magic drawn from light-attuned mana, and channelled through the wand." "A math geek eh?" Sweetie looked around the orientally-decorated room with unique and distinct measuring instruments. "Then again, the things she keeps in her room doesn't surprise me! Say, you think she would help with my maths homework now and then?" "Not only would she solve academic tasks, but almost everything that maths deals with. Finances, architecture, distance, anything!" Cleo explained, "Check it out!" Sweetie grabbed a long magic wand with an upside-down pentagon frame construct with two horns and tassels sticking out from it as its head. Within the pentagon were columns of almost flat beads. They clicked and clacked together as Sweetie moved them with her fingers. "Is this another measuring instrument?" "Hang on..." Rarity paused, "I think I've seen this before... wasn't this some early form of a calculator used in Haysia?" "Indeed," Flash supported, "It is called an 'abacus', and it was used in Taiwu as an important part of life. Most definitely was it used to calculate total prices alongside pen and paper before calculators and cashier machines existed." "If such an item already exists here, just how it exists as a relic today..." Rarity pieced together, "It's very possible that the era of Grastaea could really have been from our history." Flash finished, "Yet for some reason, this era was not recorded." "Geez, you guys are really becoming theorists," Sweetie gave a puzzled look as she put the abacus wand down, "Shall we continue?" "Door number two, Rodrigo!" Flash introduced, "According to his bio, this guy wields the sword and the element of Shadow. If his dark armour that covers all but his mouth was a dead giveaway. No one has ever seen his eyes or entire face." "Yikes!" Sweetie shivered at his image in his bio, "He looks fearsome and cunning with that smirk!" "But here's the plot twist. Despite his Dark Knight appearance and experience growing and surviving as a mercenary, he is one who always expresses his sincere positive feelings through giving gifts. You can see the many types of gift boxes and non-perishable gifts that girls would like. Tragically, he's very misguided on his main choice of gifts though. what would you think if you received fiendmeat as a gift?" "Pardon?" Big Mac spoke with a voice crack. "Fiendmeat! You know... beef from cows, pork from pigs... meat from fiends! Fiendmeat!" Flash repeated, Rarity's hands shot up to her mouth. Sweetie felt queasy in the stomach. Cleo just rolled her eyes. "You're kidding me... people EAT fiends!?!?" Rarity shrieked, "I can explain." Cleo interjected, "Rodrigo is a Mercenary, and so he had grown on surviving in the rough. It's how he found out that fiendmeat is nutritious despite the looks, and the pelt it yields are good for warmth. It took a long camping journey with a Hinomotoan Chef and a Peckish Princess to try it for myself... and admittedly it was quite delicious if made the right way. Course, I wouldn't have known about the knowledge if not for him. He's a maladroit soul, but a kind one. Alas, he really couldn't think of anything other than fiend-related trinkets to give me... in fact, his room is full of accessories and figures carved from the remains of fiends. It looks atrocious, but I would not dispose of it in memory of him." "Wait. He gave gifts to you?" Flash's pupils shrank in realisation. "He gives it to everyone, but mostly me." Cleo sighed, "Big Mac?" Flash whispered, "I think... Rodrigo had a soft spot for Ms Cleo..." "Eeyup..." Big Mac nodded, "Poor guy..." Flash gave a small salute, "I know exactly how you feel, buddy. Even today, guys are STILL conflicted on what gift to give to our special someone! To you, our dear brother. We don't know what we do!" "Amen..." Big Mac lowered his head. "I'm right here." Cleo glared, "His experience as a mercenary does not excuse for his poor choice of gifts or to express his feelings. But don't you dare assume I feel nothing after his passing!" "Awkward..." Rarity and Sweetie Belle nervously spoke in unison. "Our last blue essence belongs to the Quiet Mercenary, Jakob." Flash introduced, "Wielder of the lance, and the power of water." "Oh come on..." Cleo groaned, "Both of them were summoned on the same day?" "And there you have it! It seems Ms Cleo has a second misunderstood person crushing on her!" Flash announced, "One more out-of-line word from you, and I will force you to clean the rest of the Halidom rooms on your own." Cleo declared with a glare furious than normal. Flash quickly avoided her gaze. "So back to Jakob," Flash he turned back to the camera, "As his title suggests, he is a mercenary who is a man of few words. Kinda like you, Big Mac." "Not exactly," Cleo calmly interjected, "Unlike Big Mac, Jakob has troubles finding the right words to express what he feels. Though he prefers communications with his actions, he still tries his best to talk to others. Yet for some reason, he always follows me around like a ghost in the night. Whenever I try to confront him, he just flees." "Ohh... Ah get it." Big Mac spoke, "Jus' another shy guy who worked as a merc." "I met him by chance before he came to join us at the Halidom. He was the only one barely clinging on to life after his entire mercenary company perished. I did what I did, and it motivated him to join us later. I learned about his history from the Prince and Ranzal. He was forced to become a mercenary after he was raised by one when his real parents perished. While it may sound kind-hearted, the forcefulness discouraged him from speaking or giving his opinion, being ordered to do what he was told. Course, like Rodrigo, I never knew that he had feelings for me... until it was too late." "Bless your heart, Ms Cleo." Rarity comforted, "In fact, the people residing in the Halidom really look out for each other; knights or mercenaries, or even different folks. So many different people coming together, just like us." "Aww... a little dark but reminiscing moment..." Sweetie smiled, "Now for our Gold orb we pulled... it's this guy, Luther! Water and dagger." Flash guided the group to another bedroom. "Huh... not many accessories here." Rarity looked around, "Well, except for the large mirror and... wooden platform? Is Luther a dancer?" "Indeed he is," Cleo answered, "Also known as the Passionate Dancer, his dedication and his encouragement for everyone to join in is something unique. Though it makes them look like idiots in my honest opinion. However, I cannot deny that it does lift the spirits and convictions of everyone by a lot, and he is great distractor for Ranzal at the time, which helps a LOT." "What dances can he do?" Sweetie Belle asked, "I'm afraid I don't know the specifics of dancing. If anything, he just dances whenever music is heard - flawlessly in harmony to the music's style! He'd sometimes pair up with Orsem, a sylvan who's just as into dancing, though dancing on ice mostly." "Hmm..." Flash scratched his chin as he examined the essence, "You have a very interesting style Luther... one that I'd like to know, as a music man myself." "As for the adventurer we obtained outside the show... we have Pia!!!" Sweetie introduced this time. "She's a young Budding Vocalist who not only is a hardworking singer of the Harmonia Choir, but she's also clever with a lance and the power of the wind!" "Which reminds me," Flash pulled out a book, "We never talked about what the Harmonia Choir is. The Harmonia choir is a choir that sings a multitude of carols, songs, and other things. They are very popular for their angelic voices, and they have been touring around Grastaea. Now, the owner of the choir is, believe it or not, a dragon by the name of Maritimus. A fuzzy and kind one! Just hugging and rubbing against his fur will keep you warm! That is if he'll let you..." "Anything about this young girl aside from singing?" Rarity asked, "Oh! She has plenty of mice as friends!" Sweetie remembered, "Unlike Luther's ducks, the descendants of Pia's mice still exist today!" "Mice?" Rarity raised an eyebrow, "Low blow to the Luth, Sweetie." Flash stated as a tear ran down his eye. "She's called them many names: Mr Mouse, Clam Chowder... Ham Hock... is it me? Or am I getting hungry?" Sweetie giggled, her mouth drooling a little. "Sweetie, you're drooling." Rarity pointed out, "And don't think about bringing the mice home for their own sake. Opal will not hesitate to eat them." "Okay okay, I got it..." Sweetie rolled her eyes, "Cut, Adagio." "Done..." Adagio hit a few buttons, "Is this episode over?" "Yep!" Sweetie gave a thumbs up, "Good, I'm tired..." "Don't forget to turn off the light as you go out!" Cleo reminded, "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded. Making sure he was the last to go, turned off the lights, and sent the entire room to darkness. Then, he left the room and closed the door. He found it interesting that after a month, he and the rest of the Equestrians associated 'turning the lights on or off' in the Halidom as simply lighting or extinguishing a candle that could impressively light up an entire room. "Thanks a whole lot for doing the entire filming, Adagio!" Sweetie thanked, "I'm not in the mood to be a part of your stupid show for today, but I know you won't take no for an answer." Adagio spoke grouchily. "You know me quite well now!" Sweetie smirked, irritating Adagio. "You know, I think we should keep a list of all the adventurers we have so far. I mean, the names given within the Grastaean era are far different to ours, well... except for some, like Berserker. Even so, I can't remember them all. Also, we should probably record Francesca and Estelle's bio and history too!" Flash suggested, "You seem to be a lot more interested in taking part of Sweetie's New Alberia hobby now..." Rarity pointed out, "Who couldn't resist the temptation of an unexplored era? There are so many things that we can discover and find about our past, which can also bridge to what we are capable of today!" Flash explained, "Yeah! That's what I feel too!" Sweetie laughed and bumped fists with Flash. "Glad you're having fun!" Ms M strode over, "Now that your hobby is over, you'd better join Applebloom and Scootaloo with their meditation near the elemental altars." "Oh..." Sweetie lowered her head, "Okay..." "I'm sorry. What did she get punished for?" Rarity asked, "Using her own water mana to knock Diamond Tiara's hairpin out of her hair and messing it up." Ms M summarized, "Sweetie..." Rarity frowned, "But I assume Diamond Tiara did something to warrant such behaviour... right?" "Yes." Ms M nodded, "Berating Ditzy Doo, I believe. Or perhaps her friends called her 'Derpy Hooves'?" "She deserved it," Rarity and Flash responded in unison. "Eeyup," Big Mac agreed, "She's still a freshman. As she grows older, she'll change. You might be surprised!" Ms M assured, "We'll be the judge of that," Sweetie scoffed, "But before you go..." Ms M stopped, "There is something important that you need to know." "And that is?" Adagio asked, "Your next Greatwyrm challenge." Cleo answered, "The Lightwyrm Jupiter had messaged us not so long ago that his challenge is ready for you, conditions and all." The five Equestrians groaned, "Hoo boy... here we go again!" Sweetie nervously smiled, "What does it entail?" Rarity asked, "Two parts." Ms M briefed, "The first test is to reach the summit of the highest mountain in Mount Dornith. I believe we attempted to do that a month ago." "And the time where I fell off it..." Flash added, "Oh dear..." "In that case, we must stay far away from any edges if possible," Ms M guided, "Anyway, once the five of you get up there, the instructions for the second half of the challenge will be given by Jupiter himself. He also says that no prior training or preparation will be needed. Just your own selves." "Hmm..." Flash narrowed his eyes, "That is really suspicious..." "I share that same notion," Ms M frowned, "But I'm afraid he won't reveal it. Anyway, there are two important conditions that he set. He says that there is no deadline to the challenge, but he will leave the path for fiends to continuously spawn there starting tomorrow. This is a consequence should you 'lay off' the challenge." "Just like how teachers would take away a percentage of your total score for every day you handed it in late! That's scary!" Rarity jumped, "Second," Ms M continued, "The only information he's given us about the second half of the challenge is that only two of you are chosen by him to run it. They are..." She turned to the senior student farmer, "... Big McIntosh..." Then to the blue-haired teen. "... And Flash Sentry. The boys of the group." "Uh-oh..." The boys worryingly turned their heads to each other. Sweetie's Little Steps of Life The End...? Next up: The Lightwyrm's Provocation Flash's record of acquired adventurers: Silver essences: Francesca, Estelle, Zardin, Alain, Vida, Nicolas, Philia, Xiao Lei (NEW!), Rodrigo (NEW!), Jakob (NEW!) Gold essences: Aeleen, Vixel, Patia, Pia, Luther (NEW!) Rainbow essences: Louise
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
The Lightwyrm's Provocation
When Ms M was meeting the parents to talk about Adagio... "Hey Scoots, why don't you hurry on home first? I've got something on my mind." "That's rather rare of you. You'd normally go home straight away." Scootaloo questioned, "Do you have something?" "I need some fresh air... and some time to myself. " "Time to yourself? For what? Anything on your mind bro, I can lend an ear like always!!!" Flash stopped and stared at the Cerise-haired girl. "I appreciate you always being there for me, Scoots. But this one I think should go alone, or at least between me and the Goddess." "Is this about you being angry?" Scootaloo prompted, raising an unconvinced eyebrow, "It's been an entire month since you last did this. And we ALL know it was for a really good reason!" "Well since then, things haven't been the same." Flash explained, "You know about the trials with the Greatwyrms. And I fear that getting through this will possibly mean this 'angry' phase coming back in the future." "Well snap." Scootaloo expressed, "In that case, don't take too long okay? And where will you be going?" "Mayleaf Park," Flash answered, "Okay then. See you tomorrow!" Scootaloo called. Flash waved goodbye as he split off and went towards the direction of the park. Flash arrived at the park just as the sun began to set. As it did, it turned itself and the skies surrounding it, into a bright flaring orange. Many people - couples and families, young and old, knew it was time for them to leave. For Flash, however, it was the perfect time to be alone. Finding a spot between the pond and the picnic area, he looked to the skies and closed his eyes in prayer for a minute or two. "Thank you." He ended and sat down on the grass, "Ahh, such a beautiful sunset... don't you think Philia?" "Huh? Well... yeah. It looks just as beautiful a thousand years ago when I was still alive." Philia spoke, "Forgive me for being nosy, but may I know what you prayed to your goddess for?" "Praying for regrets and forgiveness, thanks, and support for what's to come." Flash summarised, "Regrets? What about?" "You overheard my conversation with Scoots, right? About me being angry?" "Yeah." "When I get angry, I become an almost different person. One who's willing to get bloody. I get angry for good reason, but it doesn't pardon me from the actions I do. The times I did so, I've gotten into trouble that risked my future. I got expelled from Primary School, or rather a school I attended when I was a kid in your context. And it could have been even worse from what Dad said since his job involves studying a lot of laws." "I see... and I assume your thanks is about having a second chance to go back to school again?" "Yeah! Among a lot of other things. A family that forgives me and having friends that can accept me. Especially Scoots. She was my first best friend." "If anything happened to her, I'd imagine you would get angry!" "Oh, I did." Flash nodded, "But never mind that. The next thing I prayed for was guidance and courage for the upcoming trials with the Greatwyrms, school, my anger, and just anything in general, whether I expect it or not." "I see." "Even though you asked, it's honestly a little weird sharing my prayers with you. I only did this sort of thing with my parents and Scoots, but only because they shared their prayers with me - that and we have the same faith." "Oh, I don't think it's weird. At least you're open enough to share it with me! Or is it because I'm already dead? Regardless, you ain't the only person I've met who prays a lot. Plenty of religious people live in New Alberia and fight alongside the prince. I'm friends with one of 'em too!" "Really? That's reassuring. Speaking of trials and your current state... I'd like to take one now with you." "Me? What do you need ol' me for?" "Philia. If I were a spirit like you and learned that I died a long time ago, I would freak out." Flash explained, "And I'd probably feel really sad if I see that the world around me is unrecognisable." Philia went silent. "Are you okay with what's happened to you?" A long silence passed, and the lovestruck spirit began to sniff and sob. "Did you really have to bring that up?" Philia asked, her voice taking on a load of weight. "Better out than in. Mum taught me that herself. And remember, this is only just between you and me." "It should be obvious to you!" Philia shrieked, "I don't remember how I died, or how everyone else died. But most importantly, the prince and I never had our happy ending together! I am not okay at all; this is the complete opposite of my destiny! And... and!" She began to sob. "In the end, my destiny was to die lonely. Never to be married to anyone, let alone the prince." Even if she were a spirit, Flash could feel clouds as heavy as a boulder pushing down on his shoulders, while at the same time unleashing a torrential rain that added discomfort and attempted to push the doors to his mind shut. Within that essence, was a soul who lost all meaning and purpose, an unfulfilled life. "I'm sorry." Flash spoke after a minute of crying, "It was insensitive of me to ask of your feelings. I won't ask anything more personal of you." Philia continued weeping. "But next time you do want to talk about it, or anything, please share it with me." Flash continued, "I promise you, even if you're bound to this essence, I won't leave you alone." Again, there was no response from Philia. "Well, I guess it's time for us to go home." Flash stood up and turned to the park exit. "You're going the wrong way..." Philia coughed, "I live in the Halidom, or at least haunt the place..." "But you're living with me and my parents, and you're definitely not haunting us." Philia stopped crying. Though she continued sniffing and breathing heavily. "Why did you... bring this pain about?" Philia demanded, pausing halfway to sniff. "Because I want to listen to your true feelings." Flash boldly answered, "Ever since you've been teasing and supporting me for the past few days. Honestly, I did fear it may bring pain, but if there was ever the slightest chance that it would make you feel better by sharing it with others, just as I share my own embarrassments with my parents and friends... I had to go for it." "You really suck at understanding girls." Philia grumbled, "But you're very lucky that you feel like the prince to me." "I'm not forgiven, am I?" Flash sighed, "Nope. And talking more won't help you either. Just take me 'home'." She ordered, "Got it." "That being said, I'll hold you to it if I feel like speaking my mind. Otherwise, I'll never forgive you." Philia added. "As I said, it's a promise!" Flash nodded, giving a thumbs up and a goofy grin. "You're right. You're definitely not the prince." Philia scoffed in response, "But that doesn't mean I take back what I said either." But as Flash continued walking, he became immobilised out of nowhere. Simultaneously, Philia's senses and movements were rendered immobile too. "Huh!?" Flash gasped, "I-I'm stuck!" Philia panicked, A giant invisible hand grabbed Flash from behind and yanked him backwards. Another giant invisible hand grabbed Philia from the front and yanked her forwards. "Oy!" Flash grunted and tried to break free but to no avail. "Hey! Let go of me!" Philia growled. A small blue light flashed into both their planes of existence and the hands dragged the two towards them. The moment the two touched the light, it spontaneously grew into the size of a giant, swallowing them whole. They screamed as they felt their insides break away like dust. Once the light was gone, Flash found himself alive and in one piece, standing in the same spot where he froze. "What just happened?" "I don't know... all of a sudden I could feel someone pulling me into some light." "Same here. You okay?" "Yeah. My eyes are good, and I can move my body!" "That's good, I'd be worried if something happened and- wait... did you just say that you can move your body?" "Yeah. The first time we met, I said I could feel my entire body, but it was just suspended in the air and uh... huh? Ahhh!?" "What's wrong?" "Where are you!?" "I haven't even moved an inch! What do you me--wait... my head... my arms... I'm not moving!!!!" "No way, no way! I need a mirror!!!" "Go to the pond!!!" Flash spun around, rushed to the pond, and had both their fears confirmed. The reflection staring back at Flash was not him at all, at least entirely. His vivid cornflower blue irises turned turquoise, and his sapphire blue hair into dirty gold. More importantly, his orange, or to be more accurate, his pale, light greyish amber skin had turned into fair ivory - the very same colours Philia sported as depicted in her biography. "Flaaaaash..." Philia started, feeling grounded, vibrant, and uncomfortable. "Philiaaaaa..." Flash responded, feeling floaty, empty, and equally uncomfortable as she did. "What the hell just happened!?" The two screamed. Today was Thursday, the day after Sweetie's fourth episode of Little Steps of Life. At lunchtime, Rarity and her friends were at the canteen for a super-duper priority one important meeting, as Pinkie would put it. "Alright everyone," Rarity began, "Adagio will be returning to CHS at the start of next Monday, and make no mistake that she's going to be the person to avoid for all the other classmates! I hope all of you would treat her fairly and kindly. As I said, she has changed a lot." "Y'all don't have to convince us, 'Dagio's already done that, and we forgive her." Applejack chuckled, "That bein' said, it will take some time for the other students to do that." "Yep. And there are no magical mishaps that have been happening around school." Rainbow added, "Hard chance for an opportunity to do something good! N-Not that only chaotic and life-threatening events can redeem her." "Why don't we think about normal common things? For one, the freshman's fair is a few weeks from now. She can definitely help out with our stalls!" Twilight suggested, "Yes. Principal Celestia and Ms M told us that it would be perfect for her to prove that she isn't who she was for all of Canterlot." Rarity explained, "Still, whose idea was it to spread the Dazzling's antics all around Canterlot and made them enemies?" "Hey, I only did it to protect the school and everyone else." Rainbow frowned, "And besides, I never knew that she couldn't hypnotise the whole school anymore until recently." "So you never considered forgiving someone?" Flash cheekily challenged, "Spare me your snark!" Rainbow interrupted, "Besides, you booed them off too! What's not to say that you also took part in warning everyone about the Dazzlings?" "I did that the first thing to my mum and dad, and I got a big scolding in return." Flash took a deep breath "I uh... completely forgot about the time when I did something very bad but was forgiven and given a second chance. I completely regretted ever thinking of spreading messages afterwards. Supporting her now is how I want to make up." "Sheesh! You have like, tiger parents!" Pinkie joked, "It's complicated," Flash summarised. "Well, we're definitely going to include her with us, no questions asked." Sunset agreed, as did the rest of the girls. "I-I'm concerned with just one thing though..." Fluttershy raised a hand, "Don't you have a challenge with a dragon that begins today? I think his name was Jupiter. Sweetie and the crusaders were talking about it." "Ah, about that..." Flash started, "We've decided to tackle this on Saturday when we're all done with schoolwork. Also, we plan on training and figuring out how to prepare for any surprises in his mysterious second half of the task." "Oh really?" Pinkie raised an eyebrow, "Then how would you prepare for something like that?" "Ask a teacher? Specifically, Ms M?" Twilight suggested. "That's... actually what we were going for." Flash started, "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded in agreement. "Well, that was anti-climatic." Pinkie and Rainbow pouted. "We're meeting her in her classroom in the second half of lunchtime. That being said, I want to invite all of you would like to plan and share valuable ideas with us if you're not busy with anything else, of course." Rarity offered, "Sweetie and the crusaders will be coming too!" "Well, I haven't got anything for the rest of lunchtime." Sunset accepted, "And while we're at it, there would be a lot more to write about Grastaea for the princesses and everyone else back home!" "I'm free too!" Twilight exclaimed, "As am I," Fluttershy graciously nodded, "Oh yeah!!!" Pinkie jumped and cheered, "Count me in," Applejack finger saluted, "Looks like we're all in!" Rainbow gave a thumbs up, "Let's check out our draconian teacher!" "I was not expecting ALL of your friends to come to this meeting today." Ms M started, "But I welcome you all the same. That being said, I'm still on the fence with you Pinkie." Pinkie giggled in response. "Anyway, will you be taking Jupiter's trial today?" Ms M continued, "We've decided..." Sweetie started, "To do it on Saturday afternoon. I know it means almost three full days of fiends, but we'll be very careful in making our advance." "Are you sure this is wise?" Ms M asked, "For today, tomorrow, and Saturday morning, we plan to use that time to learn everything about the challenge, and how we can best organise ourselves for the long trek to the Summit," Flash answered, "Flash, since when did you become an egghead like Twi?" Rainbow raised a hand, "I have very painful memories of this mountain range." Flash explained, intentionally cracking his voice on the 'very'. "And I don't want it to happen again." "Ohh..." The girls remembered. "Then that is a wise choice!" Ms M smiled, "Very well. Let me explain the challenge for our new strategists. Jupiter has tasked the five to climb the summit, then for only McIntosh and Flash to do an unknown task. Though he said that he will officially start today, there is no deadline for the team to complete it." "But the catch?" Rainbow asked, "As you know, fiends still pour into Grastaea, and there's no particular pattern to them appearing. These otherworldly things are a natural enemy to dragons and nature, so it's part of our duty to stop them. Jupiter oversees the Dornith Mountains so if he'll zap any that he sees. But starting today, he's going to leave them to continuously spawn in the mountains for us to fight our way through. Also, there is only one route up to the summit on foot, so it would be hard to go around any fiend clusters." Ms M answered, "Yikes! Now that doesn't sound like fun... does it?" Pinkie asked, "So that explains the almost three days worth." Twilight calculated. "And by no particular pattern, you mean there's no fixed number to how many appear every day?" "Eeyup!" Ms M mimicked, "And which region of the mountains they appear too." "I think it's a bit too risky to leave 3 days just for training and preparing," Sunset advised, "Agreed," Twilight supported, "Yeah! Ah reckon y'all tackle the darn thing right now!" Applebloom added, "Woah there, that's a bit hasty." Applejack shared, "But they've got a point. 3 days is too much." "Then how many days would you think is enough?" Rarity asked, "I think we should hear everything that Jupiter has in store first." Twilight suggested, "Then we can figure out the right day to do all we need." "In that case, let's go over more additional rules." Ms M continued, "Jupiter will not allow Mercury or I to assist you in the trek up to the summit, only to spectate." "What!? No dragons!?" Sweetie jumped, "That's not fair! We rightfully earned your aid!" "Not the greatwyrms since we're more of an 'obligated' type. Remember, we promised the prince not to bring harm to the future generations of mankind, as well as protect them. Other dragons do not promise the same thing, since most of them aren't fond of humans before the prince." Ms M corrected, "On that note, Jupiter will allow other dragons who've made a pact with you on their own accord." "Sweet! Except we've never seen let alone befriend any other dragon but you and the water one. Oh yeah, they're supposed to be 'hidden'." Rainbow spoke cynically, "How the hell can we find one when they actively try to blend in?" "Actually..." Flash stood up in realisation, "We do have one." "Wait, really!?" Rainbow jumped, "Hinata!" Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Big Mac, and Scootaloo gasped in unison. "Bingo!" Ms M clicked her tongue and gave a cool pointing gesture, "Funny enough, she flew over to Jupiter yesterday and demanded to assist you his challenge!" "Wow!" Sunset looked impressed, "Now that's a dragon who fits his bill!" "Okay, Hinata will be joining us. Next, dealing with the fiends." Flash continued, "If I recall correctly, every single one of them is light-attuned. That means any shadow-attuned adventurers will be effective against them whereas light-attuned ones won't. On the other hand, the light fiends can also deal more damage to shadow adventurers, so we'll feel as much pain as they do." "So that means the five of you need to consider using different essences if you want to plough through without any difficulty." Fluttershy deduced, "How many of these shadow adventurers do you have?" "Last I recall, three." Flash pulled out his list of adventurers, "Vida, Patia, and Rodrigo." "AKA, the knife nut, vice-charger, and fiend wrapper. That's a pretty trio." Sweetie joked, "Jokes aside, I'm sure we can use a day to try them out and get used to them before we march." Rarity offered, "But first, we need to pick our models for this. Adagio would have no problems breaking into Vida since both she and Francesca are dagger users. As for Patia..." Everyone turned to Flash. "On second thoughts, never mind." Rarity concluded, "I..." Flash gave a big grin and put his hands together, "... actually wouldn't mind giving her a try IF push comes to sho-" "NO." All the girls commanded, terrifying Flash with their glares and their unison. "... Okay." Flash squeaked, then resumed his normal voice, "Then how about you, Sweetie? You were interested in learning the lance ever since you got Pia's essence." "True." Sweetie nodded, "But I wanna give Pia a shot. Is that okay?" The group looked at each other, then back to Sweetie. "I guess that will be fine." Rarity shrugged, "I can try using a lance instead." "Wait." Ms M interrupted, "You must have at least a healer on the team. That way, any errors or mistakes that lead to harm can be healed. It will be problematic if you get injured early on, and you don't have anything to heal it with!" "Don't we have Ms Cleo for that?" Rarity tilted her head, "She's also not allowed." Ms M coughed, "What!?" The students yelled, "It's a test for the five of you. Not Cleo." "... Fair enough." The students sighed and shrugged. "Well let's see..." Flash went back to his list, "We only have two healers - Estelle and Vixel. Both are light-attuned. Given the pickle we're in, we can only rely on one." "I've filled out two of those mana circles in Estelle, and have learned both her skills. I can't seem to get to her 3rd circle." Rarity recalled, "Same here with Vixel." Big Mac raised his hand, "Healing Faith heals one person greatly, while Guardian's Grace heals everyone over time." Sweetie recollected, "But I don't know about Vixel's moves." "Actually," Big Mac remembered, "If Ah can recall... Spirited Song is similar to Guardian's Grace, but there is one special effect Ah noticed when we we're trainin' our healin' fer Mercury's challenge." "Really? I didn't feel different at that time. What was it?" Rarity asked, "Ah felt a little stronger after usin' the healin' fer a few seconds. And it showed when Ah could sweep the fiends n' only three to four hits rather n' five to six." "A strength boost? Neat!" Scootaloo gave a thumbs up, "That would definitely help taking out fiends with ease!" "But Ah don't know if it was jus' me, or if it affects everyone. Need to give it another try." Big Mac warned, "Also, I don't know what Agitato Assault does." "That's something we can test out alongside using the new heroes," Sunset suggested, "Actually, I do have an idea." Pinkie shot up, "What if a good way to train all that is just go to the mountains and shave off the fiends that appear daily? That way, you won't have to worry about facing so many days worth all at once! Though it wouldn't be fun in my opinion." Everyone looked at Pinkie with their jaws dropped. "How... How did I not think about that!?" Rarity exclaimed, "That is a big brain idea!!!" Sweetie laughed, "Looks like you've been beat, Flash." "Wait." Twilight stopped, "How far is the mountain?" "From the Halidom to Kleifheim, about 15-20 minutes. Scaling up the mountain from there? I'd estimate... 30-45 minutes without taking any breaks." Ms M estimated. "Hmm..." The students went back into thinking mode. Going there and back would take at least two hours! "I... guess we can make a compromise of our previous plan." Flash suggested, "We should find a place where we can make a base camp. Kleifheim would be the perfect place." "That's not a bad idea. That abandoned city would be perfect." Rarity agreed, "Um, y'all do know we have school. Right?" Applejack and Applebloom spoke in unison. "We have the misty portal!" Big Mac countered, "It takes us wherever we desire. So we can warp to Kleifheim and start our trek there! Of course, we do have to make the return trip on foot. But once you reach the portal, you can desire just to go back home." "Ohh!" Everyone remembered. "Well, in any case, we'll test our plans after school. Then see what we can learn from it." Ms M summarised and pulled out a map of the Dornith Mountains, "The ideal places where we can do some fiendsweeping are the areas surrounding Kleifheim as well as the abandoned city itself." She highlighted the long trail between Kleifheim and the forest border on the south-east with a pencil. "Zamshire Pass." She named, "This is the 15-20 minute trail to get the Kleifheim. Then..." She circled an area a little north of the city. "The Dornith Crossing. It takes about 10 minutes to reach it from Kleifheim, and then another 10 to the Sandscale Cliffs. But we'll stick to clearing fiends situated in the Crossing." "Fine by me!" Everyone exclaimed, "Wonderful! Now to our supportive friends, would you like to join the party?" Ms M offered, "Hmm..." The girls pondered loudly. "Hrah!" A swordsman clad in black and red armour swung his sword horizontally, cleaving a row of yellow slimes. Then he took two steps to the left towards a yellow shroom and effortlessly sliced off his cap. "Well?" Sweetie asked, walking towards her, "How does it feel, Big Mac? Or should I say, Rodrigo?" "Not bad." The fighter gave his sword a shake, then looked at the disintegrating fiends. "Ah can get used to a sword!" "Do you know any of his skills yet?" "Eeyup. Would ya like to know the tale behind it?" "Nah it's fine. Adagio's giving Vida a spin in the upper areas of the Zamshire Pass. You wanna watch?" "Sure." "Alley-oop!" A short teenage girl with pale orange skin and short vivid orange hair twirled through the sky with her dagger her in hand, cutting and gutting through any fiend who dared jump in the hopes of tearing her apart. With a perfect landing, and a current group of fiends crumbling away, the girl stood up proud. "Yep. Easy as!" Vida chuckled. "The muscle memory I learned from Francesca works well in this body!" "That's wonderful to hear! Now... what do you really think about Vida?" Applejack beamed. "We have some very similar fashion tastes like fingerless gloves, long tights, and tall boots! Though hers is a bit taller than my normal one. I could go without the hair and neck ribbon though," Vida inspected her clothes. "That being said, everything else is sorta creepy for my taste. I mean, I thought it was weird that her dress-like coat was heavier than a rain jacket, and it turns out she's got a large supply of knives hidden in it! I mean, the small dagger strapped onto her leg isn't even enough for her! She really is a knife nut!" Then she calmed her voice, "But overall, I like her better than Francesca because, reasons." "Reasons?" Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie, looked at each other. "I think I know what it is." Sweetie chimed in with a big smirk, "But mum's the word!!!" "Grr..." Vida gritted her teeth. "Ah think you moved well yerself, 'Dagio." Rodrigo complimented, "Tsk, way to state the obvious." Vida rolled her eyes, "I guess you want me to ask you how Rodrigo went?" "Nope, but Ah'm happy to anyway!" He chuckled, "Ah like him. Ah like swingin' the sword, I've got a picture on how one of his skills work, but Ah still prefer Vixel more. Maybe that's why Ah'm not tryin' to replicate or put on a different voice." "Ahh." Vida nodded, "Well, pity that we've decided to bring Estelle instead for healing duties. The conductor's more of a buffer anyway!" "No worries." Rodrigo shrugged, "Aww..." Rainbow pouted, "Something on your mind?" Vida noticed, "I've been thinking back to the time when I said that essences were sort of like wearing someone else's skin... I want to eat those words after seeing how it actually works." Rainbow smiled, "Okay." Vida shrugged, "But once I read through Vida's bio myself, Oh My Goddess! She's so quick, agile, a treasure hunter and unbeatable lockpicker! Able to outsmart the traps surrounding any treasure, and capable of unlocking any safe or door with her tools! If she can easily bypass a magically locked door with just a lockpick, she definitely deserves being labelled, 'awesome'! I don't know whoever gave her the title 'Knife Fanatic'. Makes her sound like a psychopath if you ask me! Say, is she in our history books? Did she find the legendary knife?" "Sadly, no." Sweetie shook her head, "That being said, we never really checked if her name appeared in the history books." "Uncool!" Rainbow yelled, "Is it me, or does anyone find it weird seeing Rainbow glorify a thief?" Vida asked, "Wouldn't be the first time. Rainbow also likes Daring Do, a fictional character who raids temples and steals their artefacts." Pinkie seriously responded. "Hey!" Rainbow snapped, "They're Treasure Hunters!" "Yeah yeah!" Pinkie and Applejack teased, "After seeing it," Rainbow continued, "I honestly want to try it out. The 'essence' thing. Kinda jealous that I'm not doing the test." "I'll remember that," Vida rolled her eyes, "But as of now, I'm using it." "Speaking about essences," Rodrigo remembered, "Where're the others?" "Up at Kleifheim." Applejack stated, "Rarity, Flash, Hinata, Ms Cleo and Ms M are prolly making sure the rest of the girls are takin' their own sweet time explorin' without any fiends ruining their fun." On the roof of one of Kleifheim's two-story buildings, Sunset stared at the tallest mountain of the range with a pair of binoculars. The summit had a ring of stormy purple clouds around it and was intricately connected to a shorter mountain via a long ascending natural rock bridge. "What a spectacle!" Sunset exclaimed, "So this is where the long part of our walk will be. Seems fair enough. What do you girls think?" No one responded; save for the sound of chatting, flickering flames, and a flavoursome aroma from below. Sunset sighed. "This trip was to ensure that the path to the challenge will go smoothly... and they're interested in an afternoon snack!" On the ground floor of the house, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Rarity (dressed and essenced as Estelle) sat around a small rusty but durable dining table, watching Cleo whip up a familiar hearty stew in a portable cooking pot over the wood-fueled hearth. Furthermore, the Sylvan was dressed in a vibrant orange dress that wasn't frilled or spread outwards compared to her normal skirt. She also wore a dark-green and tartan underdress below the orange, and a small short-sleeved fair coloured jacket, which shoes geared for hiking, and a black floppy hat decorated with a yellow rose and purple berries. More importantly, the outfit also involved changing her thick drill-like twintails into one long bushy ponytail, that reached down to her ankles, and revealing her furry purple and black-tipped bunny-like ears, sticking out the top of her head. "My goodness, Ms Cleo! You never told me that you have an outfit suited for outdoor travelling and camping! And I must say, it also looks perfect for the catwalk! Form and Function brought equally to their fullest!!!" Estelle complimented, "You are too kind, Rarity." Cleo smiled as she continued stirring, "To be honest, camping outdoors and hiking up mountains was something I neither desired nor was I built to do. But once I learned that there were so many new foods that can only be found in the wilderness, I acquired the will, the equipment, and these clothes to ease the stress! Though ironically, this is still indoor cooking." "Your ears!" Fluttershy squeaked, "It's so fascinating to see ears like those in real life... to see a sylvan!" "Not all sylvan ears look the same, but I do see why most humans in your time would compare them to rabbits." Cleo took out three bowls from her rucksack. "I'll assume that Sweetie didn't show you her first video of her project, so I'll tell you from experience. A majority of sylvans live in forests and woods, hence the moniker 'Child of the Woods'. That being said, I was in servitude to Alberius, the Founder and his descendant, Prince Euden. As such, I had lived mostly in a castle." "I'm sure you didn't spend all of your childhood living in the castle and serving." Twilight asked, "Do you remember the times when you were young?" "Sadly..." Cleo sighed as she poured filled the bowls with the stew without even a single drop spilled, "I'm afraid it has been nothing but fog in my mind, just like my memories with Alberius. The only memories are as clear as day are Euden's and New Alberia." "Can I touch them?" Fluttershy asked, holding out a hand, "If... it's alright with you... but... I must... feel..." "I'm sorry Fluttershy, but you are not allowed to touch them." Cleo declined as she placed a bowl of stew and a spoon in front of each girl, "But if anything, it would be my pleasure to share sylvan culture and tales." "Aww..." Fluttershy pouted, "But I understand. And I would love to know absolutely everything about sylvans!" "May I join in?" Twilight added, "I would never pass up learning about something undiscovered by the experts!" "Very well then, but do remember to eat as you listen..." Cleo chuckled, "Then perhaps I should start with Luca and Sarisse..." "Hmm..." Estelle pondered as she sipped some of her stew and partly listened to the sylvan's stories. "Was it really a good idea for Applebloom and Scootaloo to explore the crossing with Flash, Ms M, and Hinata?" "Yee-haw!" Applebloom yelled at the gorge below. "Yee-haw... Yee-haw..." The gorge echoed back. "Roar!!!" Hinata copied, with a roar down the gorge. "Roar! ... Roar! ... Roar!" The gorge echoed back, a little stronger than Scootaloo's. "Wow, you've got a mighty voice, Hinata!" Applebloom complimented, "Then again, Ah wouldn't expect anythin' less than a dragon!" "Oh, you flatter me!" Hinata giggled as she flapped her wings, "Not all dragons roar, but it does feel good on the chest!" "Say, do you think you take me underneath those clouds?" "Ooh, I'm not sure." Hinata shuddered, "While I can carry you down, carrying you up will take lots of energy. I'd have to put you down and rest often, and that would take a long time!" "And I'd advise doing so in the first place," Mym chimed in as she approached them with Scootaloo, "Safety is always a priority, dragon-assisted or not. Besides, why not ask Flash for a personal experience?" "Yeesh..." Scootaloo shivered. "I can't imagine getting all those cuts and wounds as you fall..." "Fine..." Applebloom rolled her eyes, "Speaking about him, where is he?" "He said he was going to do a little more training on his own. He wanted to learn and try something new." "Like what?" "A new weapon!" Flash called from behind, "I thought of learning more in the ways of combat. And started with the bow!" He held out a light brown wooden bow with white and gold-trimmed shoulders near the arrow mount, serving as a grip. "This is a Composite Bow I found around in the Halidom armoury. Doesn't look like the composite bows of today, but it feels eerily similar, given the diverse materials used." "Ooh!" Applebloom and Scootaloo expressed their interest. "Of course." Mym remembered, "You're also a weapon nut, given that you wanted to try some smithing." "Man, I hope we can find the blacksmithing dragons." Flash sighed. "Anyway, I've cleared everything in the Crossing, and I'm satisfied with the training." "That's wonderful." Mym gave a thumbs up, "Now, why don't we all head back to Kleifheim? I heard Cleo's making some of her hearty stew, and that dish is so wonderful for human and dragon alike!" "Yay!" Scootaloo cheered, "Finally! Ah'm hungry." Applebloom exclaimed, As the group turned their sights back to the abandoned city, Flash put a finger to his lips and made a subtle shush expression. A shush was returned, alongside a giggle that no one but Flash could hear. After one-and-a-half hours, the expedition team had learned as much about navigating the mountains, examining its enemies' strengths and weaknesses, and enjoyed a heartwarming meal. Now, it was time for the students to collect their schoolbags left at the Halidom and convene at the misty portal in the glade. "That was fun!" Pinkie cheered, "We should climb up for real this time! Or can we explore the volcano next?" "Are you kidding!?" Twilight jumped, "It's an active volcano! We'll perish just by going in there!" "Oh not to worry," Mym chuckled, "The heat won't kill you. Jumping into the lava? That's a different story." "Thank you for assisting us, everyone!" Rarity thanked, "Without all of you helping, we wouldn't have gotten so many ideas that could help us scale the mountain!" "Yep." Flash continued, "And all that leaves is for us to prep our shadow essences to the best they can!" "Thanks, I guess..." Adagio huffed, "At least I can use someone other than Francesca." "No worries! See you next week at school?" Rainbow laughed, "Ughhhhhh..." Adagio uncomfortably groaned. "Oh! I almost forgot! What do we all think would be a good time for our challengers to set off?" Mym asked, "I don't think three full days are needed anymore." Sweetie answered, "Including today, I think we can head off tomorrow right after school! Meditation isn't that hard!" Everyone else nodded and expressed their agreement. "Can Ah borrow the sword, Flash?" Big Mac asked, "Jus' fer Roddy." "No problemo!" Flash gave a thumbs up. "Umm... may I ask something?" Fluttershy raised her hand, "Sure!" Mym acknowledged. "How are you guys going to get to the summit?" Fluttershy asked, "We'll bypass the Zamshire Pass by using the misty portal to go to Kleifheim. Then we march all the way to the top." Flash briefed. "I see. Now please don't get mad at me, but I do have another suggestion..." Fluttershy looked at the foggy pathway, "Can you use the portal to... take you all the way to Jupiter's summit?" Everyone fell silent and exchanged glances. "Ms M?" Flash spoke up, "Did Jupiter say anything about the means to get to the summit?" "If I can greatly recall..." Mym pondered for a few heavy seconds. "Strangely enough... no. He only said that Mercury, Cleo and I can't help, so we can't fly you to the top, and Hinata isn't strong enough to carry all of you." "Sorry!" Hinata bowed in apology, "But he never mentioned NOT using anything else, like the support of your friends, or the misty step." Mym continued. "So, despite all we planned for, it is a viable method. Meaning we can take as long as we to train, fight, or just muck around. When we feel ready, we can just whisk ourselves to the top." "Change of plan?" Rarity announced, "Yeah." Unenthusiastic answers came from everyone. In the summit of the Dornith Mountains, the Lightwyrm Jupiter paced around his lair, his nails creating a little spark whenever he slid them across the floor. "Where are those 'willing' Equestrians!?" He boomed, "For two days, they only ventured up to the Dornith Crossing and clearing the fiends there without even bothering to climb the Sandscald Cliffs every afternoon! I do know that those past two days those young humans have to go to school, but surely they know that my challenge is of greater priority! It leads to saving the world, and it's a lot more exciting!" He turns his back towards the entrance to his lair. "Furthermore, not all of the humans were present in Kleifheim those two days, one of them being my first person of interest. Where is the other one? That spiky-haired boy, Flash Sentry!? It is well in the afternoon now. And no doubt are the Sandscald Cliffs and the bridge between here and there swarmed with fiends! Did they give up? If they gave up and have forgotten the challenge altogether, they are in SO much trouble! They are going to get the sternest of lectures from me, oh yes they will!!! The Flamewyrm should have chosen better champions but nooo! She had to choose a bunch of teens because they're her precious students! She's taken the prince's promise too far and became a teacher, the most underpaid and stressful occupation! What an absolutely simple min-" "I'm a what now?" A sharp voice came from the entrance. "Flamewyrm!!!" Jupiter jumped and hovered in the air. He turned back to the entrance, where not just Mym, but Cleo, Hinata, Adagio, and the 12 CHS students stood clean and calm. "We have arrived, Jupiter." Rarity, as Estelle, greeted, "And uh... sorry if we interrupted your monologue?" "Again. What did you say I was?" Mym repeated, "Ever since the prince's passing, you became less of a rascal and is now a respected member of the community. You even became Midgardsomr's therapist when you have absolutely no experience of one whatsoever! Who's the more simple-minded here?" "Never mind that!" Jupiter landed, "How in Grastaea did you get here all uninjured or exhausted? You didn't hitch a ride on Brunhilda, did you? That is prohibited!" "Here's a hint." Flash scratched his head, "How does an Equestrian get into the world of Grastaea in the first place?" Jupiter paused for a moment, then screeched. "Of course!!! That misty portal!!! I should've known!" "If it makes you feel any better, we're still going to clear out fiends for our trip back down." Pia added, "Bah. In that case, I might as well commend you for taking advantage of my forgetfulness. As long as you reach the destination, that's all that matters." Jupiter cawed. A drop of sweat slithered down Mym's cheeks upon hearing his words. "Now back to the matter at hand." Jupiter coughed, "Welcome to my humble abode!!! Pay no attention to the ominous, crackling, purple storm clouds above us! Like how Brunhilda can control the volcano, I control these thunderclouds. They won't zap you unless I feel like it." "Assuring..." Adagio, as Vida, groaned. "To the Equestrians taking my challenge and to the Equestrians supporting them, it is a pleasure to meet you. Behold!" He spread his wings out. "I am Jupiter, the one and only Lightwyrm!" "Hello." Big Mac, as Rodrigo, greeted without his usual accent. "Introductions are over, now let's get to the test! As I have said, I applaud you for conquering the summit and completing the first leg of my task. Even though you cheesed your way up here by teleporting! Now, may my chosen step forward?" Flash and Rodrigo did so, with careful and slow steps. "Cautious today, aren't we?" Jupiter noticed, "I applaud your approach, but your second task will require none of that!" Jupiter raised his head to the sky and gave a piercing shriek and flapped his wings. Streams of yellow-coloured electricity surged from every quill on his body and shot upwards into the purple clouds. The clouds lit up, thrusting bolts of lighting at each other combined with the deafening cracks of thunder. Everyone covered their ears. "Is anyone reminded of that time where we saved everyone from a sinking cruise ship from the magic of the storm king?" Rainbow yelled, "I do!" Sunset yelled back, "But none of the winds, and all of the thunder and lightning here!" "Ba-bam!!!" Jupiter cawed, and 20 orbs of yellow electricity descended from the clouds, arranged themselves into a circle, and slowly spun around him. "The two of you are to break the orbs!" "... Wait... that's it?" Flash asked, "Of course not!" Jupiter laughed and scattered them all over the lair. Some hovered close to the ground, some up in the air. Some orbs remained still, and some moved in different directions and speeds. "Reminds me of that one minigame where you need to break the targets in order to continue. I hated that particular game." Flash noted. "What's the catch?" Jupiter tilted his head, "I will be evaluating both of your performances as you break them and I will decide whether the two of you pass or not. If you pass, congratulations! If you fail, no need to fear! Those who failed can do the test over and over again till you pass!" "That sounds pretty safe and generous!" Estelle noted, "Doesn't involve getting wet or burned, unlike the previous ones!" "You're not going to get over it. Are you?" Mym sighed, "This is your criteria: your character." Jupiter continued. Flash and Rodrigo looked at each other. "Come again?" Rodrigo asked, "Surely you know what I mean by that!" Jupiter repeated, "Breaking targets may be similar to your physical education exam or perhaps some martial arts test, but I'm not bound by convention. Hence, I choose to test you by character, and not by your physical prowess. Of course, your character and compatibility with each other can influence those!" "I see..." Rodrigo pondered, "Then it just means we have to work together!" "Couldn't have said it better myself, Rodrigo!" Flash chuckled and equipped his lance. "Say..." Fluttershy noticed, "Flash still brought along the bow and arrows. If I remember, he only started training with it at the lake for the past two days... do you think he's able to use it?" "Beats me," Applejack shrugged, "Ah went to tag along with Big Mac so Ah'm not sure what Flash was up to. That bein' said, Ah think it's a wasted opportunity that he didn't come to you or me for a few pointers in archery." "Before I forget, Scoots?" Flash called, "Here you go Big Ma- I mean Rodrigo!" Scootaloo held out the prince's sword with both hands, "Don't go wild with it!" "I won't," Rodrigo assured, taking the sword and drawing it from its sheath. "I am ready, Jupiter." "As am I." Flash spun his halberd. "I like that confidence!" Jupiter complimented, "Challengers, step to the middle of the lair. Spectators, step back a little. I'll make sure the orbs don't fly anywhere close to you." "Got it," Estelle nodded and gestured to everyone. Flash and Rodrigo took a few more steps forward and stood ready for battle. "Ready... Go!" Jupiter announced. Flash turned around and dashed towards the spectators, his halberd parallel to the floor. He lunged it forward at a stationary lightning orb five feet away from him. The small little orb popped with a 'bzzt!' sound once the tip of the halberd pierced through its body. Then Flash turned his head back and swung the halberd horizontally, with the axe part slicing another orb behind him. Rodrigo spotted two slow-moving orbs about to align. Gripping his sword, he slashed downward with precise timing, taking them down with one go. Then he noticed one above him diving down and quickly followed up with an upward slash, cleaving the fifth orb in two. "A quarter of orbs down in less than 5 seconds!" Twilight measured, "A fast start!" "Of course they'd go fer the slow or stationary movin' targets!" Applejack predicted, "Easy pickin'!" "I think it's rather common for any living predator to go after the easy target." Vida frowned. The boys each managed to find another stationary target ripe for the picking and quickly advanced to them. But when they struck... "Huh!?" Flash looked astonished as the orb zipped a foot away from the lance's range. "Woah!" Rodrigo panicked as his orb sidestepped his swing and circled to his back. "Not fast enough," Jupiter called from the sidelines, "Try again!" Rodrigo chased after the evasive orb but it floated back or to the side every time the knight took a step towards it. Flash had the same problem, with his target refusing to stay in-line of the halberd's stab or swing. "Oops! Ya missed!" Jupiter laughed, "It's always the fast-moving targets..." Flash sighed, backing up to Rodrigo's position. "There should be a pattern. Jupiter just can't throw them willy-nilly..." Rodrigo noted, "Or can I?" Jupiter chuckled, "Don't let him get to you. You can do it!!!" Pia cheered. But they didn't. Every orb that was within the boys' range slipped away or spun around them in circles. With every miss and fumble, Jupiter had the audacity to mock and laugh at them for a full minute. "Swing and a miss!" Jupiter chanted at another of Rodrigo's failed slashes. "Learn to aim, boy!" Jupiter taunted when Flash was unable to spear an orb for the umpteenth time. "Takin yer own sweet time, eh partner?" Jupiter snickered at Rodrigo again, imitating the accent of the apples. "Stop spinning your meat skewer around! Thrust it out faster!" Jupiter howled at Flash, laughing with glee. "This dragon is beginnin' to tick me off..." Rodrigo growled, "Like Swe- I mean Pia said, don't let him get to you!" Flash encouraged, "If we can't chase them..." He took a deep breath, slid the halberd's spearhead across the rock floor, and charged it with light mana. "... We can shoot em'!" But as Flash did so, Rodrigo noticed that the five buzzing orbs suddenly froze, halting all movement. Flash raised his lance and aimed at one of them. "Lance Cannon!" He yelled and fired. The blue cannonball of energy shattered the orb upon impact and exploded when it hit the wall. "Woah!" All the girls went, then cheered. "Awesome!!!" Rainbow laughed, "I wanna try that!!!" "Until this day, I had never considered Flash using something similar to magic." Sunset observed with great interest, "I... wow." "A very interesting skill!" Jupiter called out, "Lance Cannon, was it? Impressive for someone who was never born in Grastaea!" "Finally! At least we got one." Flash sighed with relief, "But I'm going to need a lot more poking and swinging if I want to build the mana for another shot!" "Flash wait!" Rodrigo stopped, lightly grabbing Flash's shoulder, "I noticed something. When you used your skill, the orbs stopped immediately." "Ohh!!!" Flash gasped with delight, "Then that makes things a whole lot easier!" "Hold your horses. I know you're always the plan maker, but is it okay if I take the reins here?" Rodrigo proposed, "Really? In that case sure! I'm listening." Flash eagerly nodded. "Alright, here's the plan..." Rodrigo started, then started whispering. "... You got it! I'll move by your command!" Flash agreed and backed away from the dark-armoured knight. "What were they talking about?" Hinata asked. "I couldn't hear them." Scootaloo shook her head. "Get ready, Flash!" Rodrigo commanded. With his free hand, Rodrigo gripped the blade of the prince's sword and gritted his teeth. "Kaaaa..." He growled. The blade-gripping hand began crackling with shadowy energy, which then seeped into the blade, slowly dyeing the steel grey into sharply tinted purple and black. The four flying orbs paused once again as if the knight's unleashed energy had paralysed their spherical bodies. Then, a streak of light shot towards each of the immobile orbs, sweeping them up and lining them in single file right in front of Rodrigo. "Now!" The light exhaled, revealing itself to be Flash. "Bonecrusher!" Rodrigo roared, lifting the purple blade to the right of his head, and slashing it diagonally down. The slashing motion fired a spherical bolt of shadow from the charged blade, piercing through the lined-up orbs, and crushing them into dust when they pierced through. Though it was eerily similar to the Lance Cannon, the sound created from the collision of this particular bolt and orb, was so loud and devastating that everyone who witnessed would know the skill's namesake is undoubtedly guaranteed to whoever gets in its way. "Yes!!!" The audience cheered, "Impressive!!!" Jupiter boomed, "Alright!" Rodrigo and Flash exclaimed, their hands locked in an arm-wrestling handshake. "We're halfway there now..." Rodrigo counted, "Now all that's left is..." The boys looked up, where the remaining ten orbs mockingly danced out of their reach. "Any ideas, Flash?" Rodrigo asked, "One of us can launch the other and start swinging!" Flash quickly answered, "We'll use our mana to boost our strength!" "I don't know about that, chief." Rodrigo observed again, "Even if we can throw each other that high, these things just move too fast for us." "Well, the only thing that guarantees a hit is our skills, and we both just used ours!" Flash looked worried, "We have to do something!" "Flash..." A voice called out to him, "It's time..." "Hey, Rodrigo?" Flash placed a hand on his shoulder, "Are you sure you don't want to try the launch thing?" "As I said, I don't think it will work." Rodrigo sighed, "I mean, you can try firing at them with the bow you brought but... I don't know if you'll hit them." "You're right. I can't..." Flash sighed in defeat but raised his voice for all to hear "... but she can!" "Who???" Everyone, including Jupiter, spoke with astonishment. "Sorry, buddy. I know we're supposed to do this with teamwork, but no hard feelings if I try to fire at them myself." Flash continued as he strapped the halberd on his back and pulled out the composite bow. "No offence taken." Rodrigo assured, "I'll let you handle things. I can take your lance." "Thanks." Flash chuckled and passed the halberd to Rodrigo. Then he stepped forward, pulling an arrow from the quiver he brought along, and nocked it onto the bowstring. "Very intriguing!" Jupiter called, "Let's see if your aim is better than your lance!" "It's not." Flash admitted as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a blue marble. "Flash!!!" Cleo gasped, "Isn't that the essence of our own adventurers!?" "I'll explain later," Flash responded, "Right now, I'm turning this situation around!" He raised the essence into the sky, took a deep breath, and spoke in a triumphant voice. "Philia!!! I need your help!!!" The blue marble within his hand shattered and unleashed a fount of green wind. The wind engulfed Flash's hand, then spread across his entire arm, underneath his clothing, to every inch of his hair and body. Everyone watched in awe as the spiky-haired teen stood completely in peace until the winds wrapped around his body exploded, revealing his body and hair changed into the colours of the girl he called for, just like what happened on Tuesday, and the following days he had trained in secrecy. "What in tarnation!?" Rodrigo and the Apples exclaimed, "That's impossible!!!" Sunset and Twilight pointed, "Ohh!" Fluttershy jumped, "Yikes!" Went Rainbow, Estelle and Pia, "Freaky! I like it!" Pinkie gave a thumbs up. Vida cringed in response. "Flash?" Scootaloo called out. "No." Cleo shook her head, "It looks like Flash, but his colours are... I've never seen this happen with an essence! Ever!!!" "It's..." Ms M and Hinata started. "Yep!" The palette-swapped Flash turned around and gave a cute wink, "It's one of your long-old allies. Philia!" "Woah!" Went Rainbow, "Even your voice has changed!!!" "As Flash said, he'll explain later!" Philia assured as she curled her forefinger on the string above the arrow, her middle and index below it, then drew the arrow back, aiming it at the orbs above. "This is mere target practice for every archer in the team!" And to prove it, Philia fired the arrow, which turned green in a split second as it left the bow. The green arrow flew swiftly into the air, and landed a direct hit on one of the fast-moving orbs, shattering as the arrow flew through it. "Nice!" Applebloom quickly turned from surprise to joy and applauded wildly. Philia could feel a little warm inside from the compliment, but she needed to focus. She pulled out two arrows, nocked them both, drew them back with a method that accommodates both arrows, and fired them in the air again. Two more 'bzzt's were heard. "This sugarcube's a better shot than both of us!" Applejack exclaimed to Fluttershy. Philia pulled three more arrows at once, and repeated herself, with successful hits. Everyone dropped their jaws to see the sheer finger dexterity and marksmanship of the girl that possessed Flash's body. To top it off, Philia pulled out two more arrows but instead of nocking them on the string at the same time, she nocked, drew, and fired in quick succession. Two more orbs shattered at once, leaving three behind. "Nice!!!" "Three more left..." Philia gave a determined smile, "... And I know just how to easily pop them!" "You sure about this?" Flash's voice echoed in her mind. "Oh, I am!" Philia nodded and held her bow out. With a violent hiss, the bow glowed and released a mist of green that sprayed across the lair, and stopped the orbs dead in their tracks. She grabbed the bowstring and pulled it back while closing her eyes. The bow channelled with the girl's mana of the wind, attracted an intense concentration of wind, stretched it out, and formed three arrows out of it; all nocked and ready to fire. "Scattershot!" She chanted and fired them. Though they flew haphazardly, all three arrows perfectly hit their targets, creating one unified cracking sound. "Phew!" Philia wiped a sweat off her brow, "We did it! We completed the challenge!" "Not me Philia. You did." Flash responded, "Thank you so much for your help." "I... I'm... I'm absolutely at a loss for words for what happened!" Estelle remarked, "But... there's no more orbs... it's safe to say that... challenge complete?" "Everyone?" Jupiter called, "The two boys, with their surprise guest, have cleared the lair of orbs. The test is complete!" "Alright!" "Yes!" "Well done!" All the girls ran towards the two, cheering and congratulating them. "Ah knew you could do it, big brother." Applejack patted Rodrigo's back, "Both of y'all are a well-oiled machine!" "Thanks, sis..." Rodrigo blushed underneath his helmet, "Honestly, I think it was a shared contribution to all three of you, but congrats are due regardless. High five?" Vida asked. Rodrigo smiled warmly as the two slapped their hands together. "Flash... no. Philia." Cleo spoke, "Is that really you?" "Yes, Cleo, Mym and you too Hinata! Nice human form by the way!" Philia greeted as her borrowed body began to glow green. "Oh dear!" She noticed, "Looks like my time is running out after that skill! Not to worry, I can always communicate through Flash." The glow grew in intensity, obscuring every facial feature of Flash, until it dissipated in a split second, leaving Flash behind, returned to his normal colours. "Ahh... sorry about that." Flash chuckled, "For keeping this a secret I mean. A month ago, on the day when we recorded Sweetie's third episode, I somehow woke Philia up just by touching her essence. Her voice could be heard by no one but me." "Uh-huh..." Estelle nodded, "Continue." "As what Flash said, I couldn't move my body except for my head, and I could only see outside of the blue essence. It's like I'm a spirit bound to the thing!" Philia continued. "I see!" Ms M nodded, as she looked above Flash. "So what Philia said is that she's like a spirit bound to the essence and she literally can't her move her body except for her head." Flash repeated as he revealed the blue essence that appeared back in his hand after he transformed back. "Yeah, we get that." Pia rolled her eyes, "You don't have to repeat what she says." Flash and Philia paused. "Wait... you can hear her?" Flash gasped, "You can hear me?" Philia gasped at the same time, "Not only that," Hinata noted, "We can also see her!" "What? Where!?" "Above you." Sunset stated, and everyone else pointed at the ethereal green spirit, fully clothed in her original outfit, floating above Flash. Flash followed their finger and jumped when he saw Philia's floating spirit. "Oh My Goddess!" He exclaimed, "They're right! I can see you too!" "Huh!?" Philia looked down at the girls and Flash, "You're right! I'm not where the essence is and..." She examined her hands, arms, body and legs, and gave them a small shake. "I can actually feel and move my body again! And since now I'm like this... I can actually fly? Yay!!!" Philia jumped for joy and flew to the air, only to slam her face on a blue forcefield. Everyone winced at the sound of the collision and gave concerned looks at the dizzy spirit floating down. "I guess I can't..." Philia groaned, "... fly so far." "I think I can assume that there's a restrictive distance you have to be from your essence," Cleo noted. "We'll remember that." Flash chuckled, "Sorry about the surprise Jupiter. So, we've popped the orbs. What do you think of our character?" "Thanks for bringing the attention back to me!" Jupiter chirped, "Yes. Now, even if I did say I won't evaluate how fast they did it, did someone take their time?" "Two and a half, approximately." Twilight estimated. "Good time! A very good time! No doubt that it was the results of how you worked together!" Jupiter complimented, "Think we've aced it?" Rodrigo asked, "Or was pulling Philia out not allowed?" Flash gulped. "What? No! Your surprising spirit companion is more than allowed! As I said, I'm not bound to convention. As long as you completed the test, that's all that matters!" Jupiter reviewed. "That's rather concerning." Estelle frowned, "If you were a principal or a teacher, and your creed is similar to that. I can't imagine how many students would step on one another or cheat just to get full marks!" "If that happened, it would be very entertaining, to be honest." Jupiter chuckled, "Anyway! Now, I'm going to disclose more about how I evaluated your character. You see, everything that happened within those 2 and a half minutes tells me a lot about you. How you analyse, discuss, and react to certain things." "Ah, no wonder why you taunted us," Rodrigo recalled, "Yes. You see, your character is important to how you go through life. How you act towards others, what you believe is right or wrong, and so on so forth. Your very being influences others, whether small or many." Jupiter explained, "However, no matter where you are, you will always face situations that will take you out of your comfort zone. Sometimes, it may even change your core beliefs. Such are the effects of debates or elections." "Get on with it." Pia snapped, a little irritated. "But what people may tend to think is that it's not the influencer who gives the final say. It's you who decides to change according to the situation. Of course, the usual influencer or activist would try to say otherwise. But the decision ultimately falls onto you." Jupiter responded, "What I aim to see in the test is how you push the boundaries of your own choices and beliefs, as real-life dilemmas would. This is what determines whether you passed or failed my challenge. Am I clear so far?" "By that, it means facing our weaknesses?" Rodrigo clarified. "More than that. It means facing the things that you naturally want to avoid or want to forget entirely." Jupiter answered, "That is the influence of your character. Now, get ready for your results..." Everyone held their breaths. Pinkie did a little drum roll with a snare drum she brought out of nowhere. "Rodrigo? Or Big McIntosh? Pass! macte virtute!" Jupiter declared with joy. Everyone burst into cheers. "Yes!" Estelle and Pia cheered, "Alright!" Rainbow and Sunset high fived. "Yay..." Vida unenthusiastically clapped. "Way to go, Mac." Flash smiled, shaking Rodrigo's hand. "Couldn't 'ave done it without you." Rodrigo smiled back, changing to his 'original' voice. "Yes. Now for our final candidate. Flash Sentry?" Jupiter continued. Pinkie made a drum roll again. "Fail! You suck!" Jupiter declared with glee. Everyone burst into cheers once again but went dead silent a second later. As Jupiter's declaration repeated over and over in their heads, their happy faces went confused and pale. Everyone slowly turned towards Jupiter and Flash. Flash, the only one who didn't join in the cheering, looked at the Lightwyrm full of disbelief and insecurity. "I-I'm sorry." Flash chuckled while taking deep breaths, "C-Can you repeat that for me?" "You suck!" Jupiter laughed, "Not that part, the one before it!" Flash laughed back with uncertainty. "Did you really just say I--" "I did! And I mean it!" Jupiter interrupted, "You failed, Flash! F-A-I-L. Fail!" "WHAT!?" Everyone roared. "Yeesh! Tone the volume down, will you?" Jupiter moaned, "I... why?" Flash turned cold, dropping the bow. TO BE CONTINUED Next Chapter: Conquering wrath
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
Conquering Wrath
"Why?" Flash turned cold, dropping his bow. "I wanted to see the two of you push the boundaries of your own choices and beliefs. Unlike Big Mac, you hardly did any of that," Jupiter answered. "What? That's ridiculous! I worked with Rodrigo, listened to his plans and ideas, and I even apologised for taking out the orbs in the air!" Flash protested. "Your friends can tell you the answer," Jupiter explained, "To all of you watching, was Flash really cooperative?" "Well, he was very innovative and smart when it comes to his fighting skills," Sunset explained. "He's quick and awesome." Rainbow complimented, "Not once did have any trouble let alone argue with Rodrigo." Fluttershy continued, "He's a kind, helpful, and cooperative brother, just like always!" Scootaloo spoke proudly. "You hold him in high regard! Good." Jupiter nodded, "Now this, is the stinger; Is this any different to how he usually is?" Expressions on confusion appeared on their faces. "No. He's a guy who gets along with everyone, rarely tries to pick a fight, except for that time with the Dazzlings." Applejack recalled. "Thanks for the guilt trip, Applejack." Vida scoffed, "As for me though, this 'kind-to-all-kinds-of-people' behaviour makes him an extremely boring idiot to hang around in my book, but it remained consistent as the time I met him. I don't get why this consistency nets him bad marks." "I've only met him for a month, and he's a kind and patient guy, who also stands up against a few people who've been wronged. I haven't seen anything drastically different." Philia shared, "I remember the time he even got injured trying to assist us in taking down a magic-related incident. It does speak volumes about his kindness, as well as his courage to help someone." Fluttershy interjected. "Yeah." Scootaloo joined in again, "I mean, he always brings out the best image of himself to others! It would be a completely different story if he-" Her voice quickly cut off, and fearfully gasped in realisation. "No!" She stared at Jupiter, "Is that what you're aiming for!?!?" "That's right!" Jupiter gave a thumbs-up... or wings and claw-up. "Scootaloo, was it? For the sake of your brother, I suggest you let him find the answer for himself. The same for others who get it too." "I..." Flash reluctantly spoke, "I... don't get it." "Then perhaps another round of orb breaking will jog your mind!" Jupiter suggested and made a high-pitched cry to the skies. Orbs of lightning descended from the purple clouds, but only half of the original number. "I see," Flash observed the haphazard flying orbs. "10 for each person. I take it I'm on my own here?" "Well, I did say you can use your pocket Philia." Jupiter shrugged, "But you still got to figure out what's holding you back as you do so. Maybe you'll find it even more on your own." "I..." Flash started, then closed his mouth. "Alright then, better do it again than talk. Let me just get my halberd." "Here you go." Rodrigo passed the halberd, stick first. "Thanks." Flash walked back to the middle and stood ready in both stance and weapon. "Are you ready too, Philia?" "All cooled down, and ready for another volley!" Philia floated towards him. "Then... begin!" Jupiter declared and sent all 10 orbs flying around the place without any rhyme or reason. Not a single one remained still. "Wait!" Pia protested, "That's a completely different pattern! That's not fair!!!" "Hmm..." Flash watched the flying orbs. He gently reached out and placed the halberd's axe part in an orb's way, but it sailed underneath the weapon. "These things are going faster than before. I don't think I can accurately hit them in one go!" Philia warned. "I have an idea." Flash recollected, "These orbs will stop if you unleash your skill. And to do that, you need to expend a ton of mana. How about..." He took a deep breath, channelling mana from his spirit into his body. Instead of bursting out into a skill, a yellow aura began to appear around him. "Hey look! He's 'powering up'!" Pinkie joked. "No, wait!" Twilight noticed, "Look at the orbs!" "They're... They're slowing down!" Philia answered. "That's right." Flash nodded, "But there's just one catch." With a quick pull of his front arm, the halberd shot up axe-first, cleaving the slow orb in two. "It only works if they only get close to me." "Woah!" Everyone jumped at the realisation. Jupiter furrowed his brows. "Shall we?" Flash gestured with a smile. He zipped towards the cluster of orbs, taking deep breaths as he did so. Whenever the orbs attempted to fly away from him, they found their acceleration and speed reduced greatly. The second orb managed to dodge a poke by flying to his left but was too slow thanks to his field of mana to escape a second time. The teen instantly pulled back his weapon to position, and follow up with another poke, this time hitting the target. Flash proceeded to follow suit with every orb that got close to him, breaking them with the flawless execution of numerous staff spinning and striking techniques. After one full minute, only two orbs remained untouched, to which they fled to the sky. "They're still too fast for me to hit." Philia reported, "I'm sorry if I can't be of any more help!" "Don't say that!" Flash encouraged, "You have been! In fact, don't you know that we only have two orbs left?" "... Oh right! I forgot!" "Here goes. Philia! Please help me!" Flash summoned, pulling out the blue essence once again. With the sound of shattering glass and another veil of wind enveloping Flash, the boy changed in colours and voice. "This will be easy!" Philia taunted as he pulled out the bow and channelled her mana into it. The bow turned green, created the arrows of wind, and froze the orbs high above once again. "Scattershot!" The wind-charged bow fired the three haphazard flying arrows, which struck the orbs perfectly once again. "1 minute, 15 seconds!" Twilight recorded. "Mah Goddess." Rodrigo let his voice slip, "That's even faster n' before!" "That's gotta be a passin' mark!" Applebloom exclaimed, "Ah ain't seen anyone work that fast!" "No..." Scootaloo whispered. "It's going to be another fail..." "Whut?" The Apple siblings turned to her. "I don't understand..." Sunset argued, "Just what does he need to do?" "Something..." Scootaloo swallowed, "Ms M and Ms Cleo should know what it is, but I'm surprised Sweetie, Rarity, Adagio, or Big Mac doesn't know." "We do?" Cleo and Mym looked at each other, "But wha-" Then it hit them. "The personality reports!" They both answered. "The what?" Rainbow asked, "Don't worry Rainbow." Scootaloo assured, "You'll see what I mean. If he wants to pass, that is." "Well?" Flash, who regained his body, turned to Jupiter, "How's that for breaking limits?" "Fail," Jupiter spoke unamused. "Oh come on!" Flash frowned, "I said I was not going to judge you on your physical skills. Sure you've done it a lot faster on your own but that's your physical skills, not your character! Again!" Jupiter ordered. "Oh give me a break!" Flash threw his arms up. Flash repeated the task over and over again, breaking orb after orb, and was graded fail after fail from the Lightwyrm. With every retry, Jupiter made the orbs faster, erratic, unpredictable, and to the point where all the spectators, including Cleo and Mym, felt that the Lightwyrm was making it unfair and impossible. However, Flash always learnt something new about his mana with every retry, and the numerous ways to use it, and began to rarely use Philia's power. For one, Flash was now confident to channel his mana into his legs to leap high into the air and jump from wall to wall. Then he found out that just as he can channel mana into his halberd, it can be separately used as a ward to slow the orbs down as well as a way to launch himself high into the sky with the energy stored inside. He even destroyed some orbs with his own bare hands and legs. As long as he continued channelling his mana through his body, the presence of his mana can slow these orbs down and give him superhuman abilities. Jupiter wasn't feeling it, however. The spectators still had no idea what either party was trying to achieve, except for the usual three. For the fifteenth try, Flash didn't even bother watching at the fast and furious orbs. He took a deep breath, channelling his mana into his legs, and leapt high into the air. As he soared, he took another deep breath to charge his halberd with mana. The moment he began slowing down, he held the halberd above his shoulder, pulled it back, and threw it back down, impaling the rocky ground with a crack. He then raised his right fist, filled it with light and electricity, and dove towards the halberd, his fist turning into a shooting star as he fell faster and faster. Jupiter sensed danger and flew to the spectators with his wings spread out. "Get behind me!" Jupiter commanded. "Haaaaaaarrrgh!" Flash roared, striking the base of the halberd with his mana-charged fist. The collision of two strong bodies of mana unleashed a tremendous explosion of light and electricity, hitting the 10 orbs and shattering them all at once. Thankfully, the damaging force didn't go as far as the spectators, but it did almost sweep them off their feet if it wasn't for Jupiter shielding them from a majority of the shockwave. As the force and dust died down, Flash was balancing on his halberd with his fist. He bent his legs, pushed off the halberd, and landed back on the ground with his two feet. Within the mess, Twilight stopped the time. About half a minute was taken. "Phew..." Flash pulled the halberd out of the ground, "That was wild!" Everyone else was speechless. "That... was... awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Really?" Flash chuckled, "It was something I pieced together from the recent tries. I think... well maybe... it could actually be made into a new skill!" "Super cool!" Pinkie gasped, "What's its name?" "Hmm..." Flash put his hands to his chin, "It felt like an attack that one would use to finish off their opponent and end the battle in those shows. So maybe a name that reflects that. Decisive Blow... nah, too common. End Strike... no, 'end' doesn't work well." "May I suggest a name?" Jupiter offered, surprising everyone in the room. "S-Sure! Go ahead!" Flash gestured. "Resolute Strike." He named, "In other words, a powerful strike that is performed without a single trace of uncertainty. Hesitate only a little, and it would lose all ferocity and power. Only a determined and strong-willed character that would risk his butt into issues and situations far beyond his league for the sake of others, can exhibit the astounding level of mana witnessed today." Everyone went speechless at his suggestion and description. "Wow," Flash spoke after a few seconds. "That was the most encouraging thing you've ever said!" "It is just a mere suggestion... I'm sure your friends have better names!" "Nope." Hinata shook her head, "I think that name is perfect!" And everyone else nodded. "Resolute Strike." Flash repeated, "I'll take it. Thanks for the name, Jupiter. I assume... it's a pass?" Jupiter gave one big sigh and shook his head. "Flash..." He started, "This is the fifteenth time. Did you ever think I was being unfair?" "If it was..." Flash reasoned, "I'd be stuck right now on my third go. But no. I managed to shatter them time and time again, all thanks to that little slow-down trick. You did say as long as I can break them all, that I'd complete it." "You know." Jupiter changed the subject, "There are terms to negatively describe someone as resolute as you are. Stubborn, stiff, and dense. Which is what you are right now." Flash stopped smiling. "There is one uncertainty. I don't know what I'm missing out. What does it take for you to give me a pass?" He asked. "Well thank you for asking!" Jupiter groaned in satisfaction. "Your flexibility of your mana, as well as your adaptation to those challenges are beyond exceptional. But didn't I tell everyone right at the beginning that I would be judging your character rather than your physical abilities? It's been fifteen turns, and you haven't even figured it out yet? Or are you trying to deny it so much, that you would keep on doing these tests until I give up and just let you go?" "I don't know what you're talking about." Flash maintained his taciturn face. "Alright then. You leave me no choice." Jupiter grumbled. "Flamewyrm, apologies in advance, but your student demands it." "I'm sorry?" Mym asked, "Listen up, Equestrians. I will make a pact with you." Jupiter announced, "But there is just one catch. Flash Sentry must be kicked off the team. He's better off being a kitchenhand or an idol. Any life-supportive job that doesn't involve fighting!" "What!?!?" Everyone exclaimed, "We can't do that!" Estelle objected, "He's an important friend, and he's also the strongest! Sure, he was reckless before, but now that he's got the power he's irreplaceable!" "And despite being an idiot, he's not a pain to fight alongside." Vida added, "I don't even a have single complaint. If I had one, I'd kick him out in a heartbeat." "Hey!" Flash retorted. "All true and valid points." Jupiter agreed, "However, there's is one critical flaw that I've seen here. Should he not show or fix right now, he'll be holding you back!" "What do you mean holding us back!?" Pia lashed out. "He's always been focused on the enemy, or focused on objectives! Especially when he's--" She gasped halfway in realisation. Jupiter smiled at her reaction. "For my test, I learned about each of your personalities and your actions to prepare." Jupiter explained, "What I saw in Flash today was not even touching what he can do. Sure, he may have learned a new skill and all, but that's not even close to his real strength... or rather his real mentality. That only comes with a certain emotion. That emotion is one he desperately wants to block." Vida, Estelle, and Rodrigo gasped in realisation too. "You want to see him angry," Vida revealed. "Bingo!" Jupiter flapped his wings, "And that's why I said Flash is dense! When I said it was a test of character, surely he knew that his anger was an important area for marks! Are you going to deny that, Flash?" Flash looked up at him with a no-nonsense gaze. "Even if I try to hide it, you won't see it anyway." He countered, "No one here got seriously wounded, that's the only thing that will get me to rage." "Ahh, but I'm afraid that's too close-minded for an excuse. Do you think of your anger as some terrifying rabid fiend that you desperately try to cage and unleash it?" Jupiter asked, "Many have been hurt or mentally scarred more than they should have. I've been scolded and forced as such. Should I show it in Canterlot, there's no doubt that I would be considered antisocial, even get thrown in jail; despite good reasons." Flash reasoned. "Hah!" Jupiter howled, "A load of bull plop, I say!" "I beg your pardon?" Flash raised an eyebrow, "That's uncalled for." "No. It isn't." Jupiter stood proud, "And here's why. You think you can cage your own anger like a beast as a way to control it. Not only that, but you also think that anger must involve blood or bruises! I tell you now, that's the dumbest thinking ever." "Are you kidding!?" Flash roared, "I've known and seen for myself how much suffering and pain it causes others! There comes a point where people will get the idea, and even then, the damage would be irreparable!!!" "Nothing ever goes the way you want things to be. Happens to all living things." Jupiter remained calm. "But have you really considered other ways of expressing anger?" "Anger will always lead to violence, and that is unacceptable. My parents told me as such, the Goddess spoke as such, and I've seen as such. It is a dangerous sin I recognised in childhood, and I'm humbled that they forgive me for committing it." "Oh, I'm aware..." Jupiter haughtily spoke, "But I'm afraid I do not agree." "I get that." Flash sighed, "Not everyone believes in the Goddess and her words, so they think they can belittle others or do all sorts of lows. I have nothing nice to say about that, so I won't say anything." "You misunderstand." Jupiter corrected, "I do not agree with what YOU think about the Goddess, about anger, and hurting one another. If anything, you've forgotten a lot about the actions and choices of the Goddess you believe in." Flash widened his eyes and glared at Jupiter. "First of all, anger doesn't instigate the idea of hurting one another, nor is it the only one that leads to it. All life has harmed one another for many different reasons, better or worse." Jupiter continued. "Greed, for example. One young prince, known as Dane, was a humble ruler who found no greater joy than seeing his family and subjects happy. But once he opened his eyes to the larger world around him, the many secrets outside his nation, he found inspiration, resplendence, and the need to seek it. That turned him into one of the worst people ever. Killing his father to take the throne, sending his people to conquer nations, killing many lives, taking endless treasures of the world and wives, and become an Emperor. And guess what? Not a single regret when struck down, and on his deathbed. He rather chases things he doesn't have, than live content with the unknown." Everyone gasped, Flash's pupils constricted and he clenched his fists. "Ah..." Jupiter noticed, "Makes your blood boil, doesn't it?" "Anyone's blood would boil," Flash growled, his mana crackling around him. "But if he was from your time, it's more than a millennia ago, and history at that time had already recognised him as the worst person to ever live. I shouldn't flare up from something that long ago. It's not worth it." Then Jupiter opened his beak with a twisted smile. "Then what if I told you that there was someone who opened Dane's eyes? Just like the serpent who caused humans to turn against the Goddess? Oh yeah, he's still alive too!" "He's still alive?" Flash growled, "Yep!" Jupiter winked, "And you're looking right at him!" All the Equestrians gasped at his words. "You!?" They screamed. "No..." Flash's face fell. "That's impossible. I know you've been called capricious and a jerk, but you wouldn't stoop to such evil!" "Oh Flash." Jupiter chuckled, "That is THE most close-minded statement. Ever." Flash snapped. "You want me to be angry? Then wish granted!!!" He seethed. The blue electrical mana around him turned yellow and released a big but harmless shockwave that caused everyone but the Lightwyrm to stumble. "Good!" Jupiter chuckled as he hopped away from the spectators while remaining calm, "It makes you smarter, apparently!" Flash said nothing but kept an angry gaze at the Lightwyrm as he came to a stop. "By the way." Jupiter added, still unnerved, "Since you're now in your 'best state', answer me this. Why do you get angry?" "Because people I know and love were unjustly harmed." Flash responded, equipping his halberd, "Whoever harmed them, they'll regret it! As for you, who instigated someone to commit mass genocide, what do you have to say for yourself!?" "It was all for entertainment!" Jupiter shrugged, "I've always found humans amusing and entertaining, and Dane brought that in spades!" Immediately, Flash slid the spearhead across the ground and aimed it at Jupiter, fully charged with his wrath-tempered mana. "Luminescent Cataclysm!" He yelled and fired the yellow beam once again, unchanged in power and force a month ago. Jupiter stood firm and took the beam full force. To everyone's shock, it neither pierced through the dragon nor did it push him back. The Lightwyrm stood perfectly still, letting the beam flux within his body until it died down with a puff of smoke after five seconds. As the smoke receded, Jupiter puffed his chest out all mighty and proud, electricity and light crackling around his body. Flash looked in horror; compared to the fiends, it did absolutely nothing to the dragon. "Ahh... now that is some power! I love it!" Jupiter exclaimed, breathing with excitement. "He enjoyed that!?!?" The horrified audience screamed. "No doy!" Jupiter smirked, "We're both light-attuned! Any attacks of the same element will have a weaker effect than normal!" "I'm not done yet! Hyaaaaaaaah!" Flash charged forward, his halberd ready to lunge. "Guess what, Flash Sentry. You have finally passed!" Jupiter declared. Flash stomped his foot down, forcing himself to stop. "I passed?" Flash spoke, his face filled with so mixed and contradicting emotions. "Well, I just wanted to see if you were amenable to reason first. You see, Ms Cleo and Ms M stated that when you are angry, you think and act skillfully, clearly and rationally. I thought that to be impossible for humankind but since you stopped abruptly, I'm starting to rethink that. Now, while it is true that humans are entertaining to me, I haven't disclosed the entire story with Dane. Are you willing to hear that? Or are you willing to strike me again? The choice is yours!" With no hesitation, Flash lowered his weapon. "Talk." He demanded. "It's no secret to all humanity about my existence back then, and that I was the one who led Prince Dane to this life of evil. Remember what I said about nothing going the way we expected? Well... that was me with him." "Then why approach him?" "As I said, humans like you are amusing. For a kind that is objectively inferior to dragons, you can achieve such astounding progress through creativity and ingenuity! That's why I myself approached humanity and offered my guidance to individuals who show promise to broaden that creativity, achieve the impossible for their kind, and provide free entertainment in return! Dane was one such individual." "So you're like a teacher." Flash deduced, "And a darn good one as they claimed. All those I've guided are met with great success. Glory, riches, heralds of salvation, all that good stuff. They saw me as a trainer for heroes, and respected me and my name." Jupiter stated, "But then Prince Dane came along, he did this, and everyone started hating you." "Pretty much." Jupiter rolled his eyes, "Sick of being vilified, I immediately lost interest in all of humanity for that close-minded thinking without considering my track record. It is, as they say, one rotten apple spoils the entire barrel!" "So what did you do then?" Flash prompted, "I isolated myself in the mountains for many years, until one human man actively climbed said mountain and desperately asked for my aid. Can you guess who it is?" "King Alberius," Flash answered. "I wanted NOTHING to do with mankind for being such simple-minded people, including him, so I decided to toy with him and chase him off by asking an impossible task." Jupiter continued. "If he wants my power, he must kill a family member of his or a thousand strangers; a test to see what gives the value of life. Connections or numbers. You know what his response was?" "What?" "He slapped me on the cheek!" Jupiter laughed, "Told me to stop acting like a little child and man up like the dragon I am!" Everyone but Flash burst into laughter. "Is that actually true!?" Rainbow looked to Ms M, "Yep!" Ms M smiled, then they laughed even harder. "Do you know how humiliating that is?" Jupiter wheezed, "Still though, even I have to admit that he's right. As weird as it sounds, the nerve for him to strike me got me back that interest in humans and their progress again. So I formed a pact with him." "I assume you did the same thing with Prince Euden. This 'impossible' test of yours." Flash crossed his arms. "Yeah. He and his older brother scaled the mountain at the same time and sought my aid. I told them that to decide who gets the pact, one has to 'simply' kill the other. Euden was strong, in both combat as well as his emotions. He wouldn't kill his brother, even told me to shape up too, lest he forces me. And there's my story, The End. Well? Do you believe me? Or not?" Jupiter tilted his head. Flash looked behind him, where Big Mac and all the girls stopped laughing and looked right back at him. In particular, Flash turned to Ms M, then Vida, and finally Sunset. He turned back to Jupiter and gave one long sigh, calming down. "You know, no one would make friends with you if you keep on acting like this." Flash started. "But you DO have a point. Even if Ms M had clarified your story to be true, only judging you for Prince Dane's actions, compared to the others you guided, is indeed 'simple-minded'. And yes, it still has been more than many millennia." Flash took another deep breath, then continued. "I'm sorry, Jupiter, but even if being angry makes me better and more 'amenable to reason', it will still chase others away, and make them fear me. I'd rather be known as someone average but at least approachable. Especially my friends." He confessed. Jupiter smiled. "macte virtute, Flash. Not only have you truly passed the test, but you have also proven me wrong. I have seen, with my own eyes, that you do have control of your anger. I have seen no one establish it as you do." Jupiter bowed in respect, "But even the world and all of life will provide countless unknown situations that will test your anger and your patience more than I did. Allow me to guide you to use that anger without violence, as well as the rest of your friends." Jupiter bowed, "I..." Flash took another long sigh. "Then I won't apologise for hitting you for speaking out of line. Though I didn't hear the entire story before hitting you, so I really should!" "Oh, I intentionally hid my story. I deserve it." Jupiter chuckled, "Still though, to think you'd go through something rough while putting on a smile!" Flash spoke with concern. "I could say the same for you, you know." Jupiter chuckled and held out his wings. "Anyway, I admire your willingness to keep an open mind and to better yourself. Thus, for completing my challenge, I desire to make a pact with you and your friends." "And I accept." Flash grabbed it and shook hard, "But before I ask how you can help us, what do you want of us to promise you?" "For you Flash, though it may apply with everyone, always remember that you are capable of controlling your emotions. If you cage it and let it loose like a beast, then it would be considered a sin, as your Goddess says. And don't let the fear of the unknown hold you back, you have many allies to brave it with. Walk together, and achieve many things. It will lead you far, and it's amusing for me anyways." "Sounds good to me." Flash chuckled, "In that case, I'd like you to guide us all in return, as you always have." Next Monday, it was back to school. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo were hanging out in the hallways before class beings, talking about the weekend that passed. "Jupiter zapping all those fiends we bypassed is pretty scary but so cool and powerful at the same time!!!" Scootaloo giggled, "You know it may sound weird, but after meeting Jupiter, I'm starting to get a little less scared of thunderstorms now since we've got one on our side!" "Well Ah'm amazed that you 'ave dragons on ya side in the first place! Even scarier learnin' our very own teacher is one as well. And ain't the both of 'em part of this Greatwyrm group or somethin'? They must be big stuff!" Applebloom shared. "Oh, they sure are!" Sweetie beamed, fiddling with her blue pactstone-adorned Alice band "And now we've made pacts with three of them! Only two remain - The Shadowyrm and the Windwyrm. Honestly, I'm a bit bummed that Midgardsomr still has to test us even though we fought alongside each other once." "Don't worry! All of you swept through them as if they were nothing! Two more challenges shouldn't be that hard!" Scootaloo encouraged, "Hmm???" Another girl their age butted in, "Now what are the three losers without cutie marks talking about?" "Oh. Diamond." The crusaders turned to face the Diamond Tiara-adorned girl. "If you must know..." Sweetie Belle frowned, "We're talking about dragons." "Dragons?" Diamond scoffed, "Dragons! Holding some discussion about a non-existent creature? Is that crazy or what, Silver!?" She turned to her bespectacled sidekick, Silver Spoon, who nodded and giggled in response. The crusaders groaned. "Hmph, that goes to show how close-minded you are." Scootaloo scoffed, "Just because there hasn't been any sighting, doesn't mean they don't exist! You should explore a bit, be adventurous!" "Oh My Goddess..." Silver stopped smiling. "How old are you girls again? Or are you just... crazy? Yeah, I think I'd go with crazy!!!" And the two laugh in response. "You know..." A spiky-haired teenager butted in. "Crazy they may be, that's not a bad thing at all." "Wha- Flash!!!" Scootaloo jumped, "Whose side are you on!?!?" "But the three of them do have a point." Flash turned to the terrible duo while munching on a ring-shaped cookie with very smooth icing. "A little exploration never hurt anybody. Who knows? Dragons can come in many shapes or forms. Heck, they're even powerful enough to take on a human disguise! You may find one living next door!" "Hey!" Silver Spoon moaned, "Who asked for your opinion?" "And why are you eating Extravaganza Rings?" Diamond added, changing the subject. "No one has those biscuits but me!!! In fact, they're only available for the coolest and elegant of people!" "Is that what they say?" Flash pulled out another ring. "That's a very nice compliment for everyone! I found packs of it at the supermarket. Thought I'd like to try something new." "Wha-!?" Diamond went pale. "You're lying!" "I wouldn't lie." Flash shook his head, "Anyway, all of us in this school has seen and experienced magic, something that a lot of people wouldn't believe. What makes you think the existence of a dragon wouldn't be so farfetched?" "Unless it pops out from those cracks back in the Friendship Games, I don't believe it." Diamond puffed. "Fair enough, you have a point yourself." Flash shrugged, "But even so, just because you have a more believable opinion or even a fact, it doesn't mean you must mock others over it. For one, it doesn't get you a lot of friends, and two, the people you mock will hold it against you. Take for example me..." And suddenly, Flash furrowed his brows, bared his teeth, and stared straight into the eyes of the two girls. "... because they're still my friends." He growled in a frightening tone. "And if you so ever make them cry..." He held the biscuit in front of his face and snapped it in half with one chomp of his teeth. "Eep!" Went the two girls as he slowly and menacingly munched the biscuit into pieces. "You know..." Flash continued in his stern tone, "These are very tasty. The quality does match its price, though I personally think it's still a bit expensive." "Down, boy," Scootaloo smirked, nudging Flash. "It's just a mere attempt of trying to be superior. Pretty weak ones, too." "Woof!" Flash barked and panted, changing back to his goofy self. "Guh!" Diamond spat, "He's just as crazy as you are!!!" "You flatter me." Flash laughed, "But remember. Only IF you make them cry, or hurt them very badly." "Hmph!" Diamond pouted, "We would never go that low!" "Then you're awesome!" Flash gave a smile and two thumbs up. "You're definitely taking Mr Jupiter's initial advice about expressing anger!" Sweetie chuckled. "Sure you still don't have anything against him?" Applebloom asked. "What happened with him is pretty much the same story to a lot of other well-known celebrities or workers in news, or court cases that Dad worked into bedtime stories. The main difference is that Jupiter's a dragon, which brings the mentality that inferior beings who look up to bigger beings would always think they are perfect. One little stumble or 'wrong' choice, and all faith is lost." Flash explained. "He means extremely well, and I understand that." "Hey!!!" Silver Spoon exclaimed, "Isn't that-!?" Entering the school was a teenage girl that no one could ever fathom returning to CHS once again. The brave girls who stood against her months ago now walked alongside her showing no sense of hostility or reluctance, and yet everyone could tell that they were not in the least bit hypnotised. The entire cohort, every student and staff member present, fell silent in fear as they could look at no one but the girl that put them under her spell months ago - Adagio Dazzle. "Now that I think back on it. Jupiter is nothing compared to this challenge." Flash broke the silence. "This is going to be rough." The Lightwyrm's Provocation & Conquering Wrath The End Next Chapter: An unwelcome return
Equestria Lost: Dragons beyond time
An Unwelcome Return
The starting Monday was an assembly period, so all students squeezed and organised themselves into chairs as instructed by their teachers. Rarity guided the two new students to the front row, close to where they can step up to the stage. Everyone present was still horrified at the return of one of them, for she had left an unforgettable 'first impression'. As Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna walked onto the stage, everyone fell silent. "Good Morning, students." Celestia greeted with a graceful voice. "Today for this assembly, I would like to introduce you to two new students, or should I say..." She started to falter. "One student we're familiar with, and another we're unfamiliar with?" "How subtly subjective," Adagio whispered sarcastically under her breath. "Forgive me." Celestia sighed as if she overheard, "Can the two of you please come up?" "Don't worry Adagio." Rarity tugged, "Just be yourself! And tell everyone you're not the same girl as before!" Adagio stood up and went towards the stairs with the new student in tow. Dread silence filled the air, rather than applause. Adagio went up to the podium. The entire audience, to no surprise, was giving her the cruellest and unwelcome of glares. 400 students, 20 teachers, and other staff members. Adagio merely glared back rather than show any signs of humiliation or weakness. "Hello again, Canterlot High School. For those who do not recognise me, my name's Adagio Dazzle." She spoke loud and clear. "And I'm the same girl who controlled you all months ago in that the battle of the bands, forcing you all to adore me." A few 'huh?'s shot up from the audience. Adagio continued, "And now I'll be properly attending this school like all of you. How crazy is that?" The crowd went nervous, which Adagio could easily perceive. "I know what you're thinking. 'But what if this crazy girl will mesmerise our minds again?' Well, let me make one thing clear. I can't do that anymore. It's impossible. Sure, I may be wearing something new..." She scowls as she takes off her green pactstone necklace and shook it at the entire school. "... But this little trinket can't do anything compared to the old one. The previous gem was what allowed me to sing and mesmerise you, and absorb your negative behaviour. That shattered when I lost. In conclusion, I can't manipulate you guys, and if I really were to do that, I need the rest of my Dazzlings, which you can clearly see I don't." The audience felt a little awkward, which spurred them to continue glaring. "Oh, and before you think I'm lying to you, I've seen three other students with the same stones as I do, albeit in different colours and different ways of wearing it," Adagio added. The audience started whispering to themselves again. Students who were sitting next to either Flash, Sweetie, or Big Mac noticed their pactstones. They politely pointed at them, to which the three simply nodded back. "Anyways," Adagio concluded. "I hope to work well with you and all that. And..." She made one long groan. "... I hope you can give me the chance to show that I'm not the same person as before." "Thank you." Celestia thanked as a fuming Adagio left the podium and hopped down the stairs as the hall remained silent. "Now, the next student. Can you come up and introduce yourself, please?" "Sure!" The new student, a below-average short girl with short white hair with purple highlights at the end, light blue eyes, sporting a long-sleeved white and purple shirt, with long purple track pants. "My name's Hinata, and I'm looking forward to studying and making friends with you all. Though..." She nervously scratched her hair. "I also want to be of help to everyone!!!" "Heh, you never change." Ms M chuckled. "Thank you." Celestia thanked as she came back to the microphone. "Please make them feel welcome in CHS. And I'm not saying this while being mesmerised. I mean it." Adagio exhaled. It didn't take a genius for Rarity to know that even the siren is feeling uncomfortable despite appearances. "Now the next item. I'd like to inform everyone that the year 10 group will be having their DIY trebuchet contest tomorrow as arranged by the Physics department. May everyone hand in their projects to the science teachers today if possible." Every sophomore, including Rarity, groaned in disgust. "What's going on?" Adagio raised an eyebrow. "It's nothing that you have a hand on." Rarity assured as assembly ended, "It's our Physics group assessment. Though all groups are marked individually, there is the competition on who makes the best trebuchet in both distance and accuracy." "And yet I can feel a lot of tension within the students." "Well..." Pinkie butted in, "One of my group members can explain it to you! Hey!" She yanked over a male student by the ear. "Yeowch!" He grumbled. "Quick moment! I'd like you to tell my new best friend here why everyone is so grumpy and grouchy about the Trebie competition!" Pinkie stated. "Seriously!?" The male student glared at Adagio. "Oh fine... everyone's on edge because of the prize for winning the competition: Tickets to Equestria Land!" "Equestria Land?" Adagio tilted her head. "Isn't it that theme park?" "But of course! Everyone loves theme parks, but this one is probably the best around all of Equestria! They add at least a new ride every year, and their light parades are absolutely heavenly!!!" He sighed, "Of course, such a prize makes everyone try their best. At the same time, it's also pulled up some nasty rumours of groups sabotaging other groups, and of course some intimidating staredowns and arguments!" "Wow." Adagio blinked, "I don't even have stir a finger, and they're already spilling out their dark sides." "Look, I'm an honest guy. I know this thing has nothing to do with you, but you'd better not pull anything funny like you did the last time you were here!" The student warned. "And if I did," Adagio smirked. "What are you going to do about it?" "Oh, I'll-!" "Thanks, buddy!" Pinkie interrupted, "I'll see you at lunch with the rest of our group? Take care!" And sent him off with a butt bump. "Yeowch!" The student hopped off while yelling back, "Stop doing that, Pinkie!" "Don't worry!" Pinkie giggled, "He may be grumpy, but as he said he's an honest guy! And he means well!" "Tch." Adagio spat, "I'm not bothered by him." "Adagio." Rarity sighed, "You've made yourself very clear, but it doesn't hurt to be at least approachable!" "And what? Cop rejection, embarrassment and insecurity like Sunset did back then? Yeah, that's not my style." Adagio retorted. "And you don't have to drag others down to your level either..." The rest of the day ended up with Adagio making sure to avoid communicating with any other student except the girls and two guys. On the bright side, the siren did not stir any trouble with the students and teachers. In fact, even some teachers admitted that she was a bright student. "I'm impressed." The Maths teacher analysed her exercise book. "You grasp algebra quickly. Clear-written equations, and not a single careless mistake!" "Eh. It's nothing." Adagio shrugged. "Well then, I'll be keeping an eye on your performance." The teacher returned the book. "That is, I mean your work here in maths, not in general." Adagio just rolled her eyes in response. When it was time to go home, Adagio waited outside for a while until Rarity and the rest of the girls arrived, and they started walking home. "Well? How was school?" Sunset exclaimed. "Boring." Adagio moaned, "All the students did nothing but glare. Though there was that one P.E class where someone argued that a player cheated. It was amusing but only for a little while." "Well, I don't blame you. Most of the time I'd nod off." Rainbow Dash sympathised. "In that case, why don't we go do something fun???" Pinkie suggested, "We can go to the arcades, watch a movie, find new clothes, anything!" "Yeah. About that." Adagio coughed, "Remember when I said I got kicked out of a lot of things?" "Oh, right. Silly me!" Pinkie gave a dumb look for an apology. "And Cleo needs me to come back home immediately after school. Lots of vegetables to harvest and deliveries to fulfil." "Oh, right! Francesca. I got it." Rainbow gave a thumbs up. "See you tomorrow?" "Sure." Adagio rolled her eyes. "Alrighty then!" Rainbow put on a blue necklace. "Time to go the scenic route and get back home in time!" And she bolted off, whipping up the surrounding winds and leaving behind a rainbow trail, as well as her friends' hairdos. "So..." Adagio looked to the girls. "I assume that's the magic her geode has?" "Yep." Fluttershy nodded, brushing down her hair. "The Geode of super speed. The geodes we have really fit our own styles and hobbies, I should add." "Wooo!!!" Rainbow sprinted down the road, turning every corner in ninety degrees without slowing down. She zoomed past the shopping street, past Equestria Land, around the docks, up the hill, and almost through all the region of Canterlot. "Aww yeah!!!" She laughed as she dashed towards the direction of her home. That was until a green blur crashed right into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Both forces caused each other to go from 30 miles an hour down to zero. "Awwwwhh..." Rainbow groaned, "That was not what I expected. What was that anyway!?" "Down... here..." The blur that hit her groaned back in response. "Woah!" Rainbow jumped back on her feet and grabbed the talking blur "You can talk!?" "Of course I can!" He responded. "I'm a dragon after all. Now take your hands off me-" The two paused. Rainbow held the little dragon out. It was green with its pointy ears as big as its wings, two long horns of cobalt blue, located just above the spot between his yellow, sharp-pupil, eyes. Most intriguing of all, was a small bushy tail, looking a little like a bird's. "AAH!!!" The two of them screamed. Then deep in the middle of the night, the living room lights were still on in Pinkie's house. "This is going to be the best midnight snack ever!!!" Pinkie giggled as she put some finishing touches to a double-layered cake. "Thanks for making the cake as always, sis," A sapphire bluish-grey coloured, greyish violet haired girl in her dull plain pyjamas spoke in a monotonous tone. "Boulder was hungry." "Boulder's a part of the family too, Maud!" Pinkie cheered, "Course, once we're done with this, I'm going to make another for my group tomorrow! If we don't win the comp, then this cake will do!" "Pinkie..." Maud, with her half-closed brilliant turquoise eyes, looked outside the window of their house. "We have a spy..." "I think for the group cake, I was thinking of going strawberries but then I realised, I remember my group members having a great dislike of it! I was thinking going good ol' vanilla flavour but that is now so boooring!" "Pinkie?" Maud raised her voice, now pointing a finger. "Something's on our window." "But what about lots of sprinkles? Hundreds and thousands? Or Millions and Billions? Maybe I should stick a few icing blocks together and make a trebuchet!" "Pinkie." Maud gripped Pinkie's shoulder, her monotone voice louder than ever. "Yes?" Pinkie beamed. Maud gently gripped Pinkie's face, and turned it to the window, with a pair of yellow sharp-pupil eyes behind it staring back at her. "Oooooohhh!!!" Pinkie's eyes dilated and her mouth shaped into a wide O. On Tuesday, some students, one of them being Pinkie, went to go check on their trebuchets, all placed in a safe a storeroom with windows at recess. "I'm so excited! Are you excited? I can't wait to see our beloved funnapult win us those tickets!" "We never decided on a name Pinkie." The same group partner grumbled. "Calm down!" But as she opened the door to the room, the students were greeted with a floor littered with blocks of wood. Some of them were separated from another, and some had snapped in two. Even the elastic bands and counterweights were either broken, chipped, or lost. "What in the--" The male student started. "How the?" Another student behind him gasped. "But we've all worked so hard on it!" A third student gasped. "Grr..." The three students turned to each other with rising anger. "Uh-oh." Pinkie swallowed. Meanwhile, in a rather peaceful corner. Adagio finished organising her locker and joined Sunset, Flash, and Hinata on a walk down the hallway. "So, how does attending a human school feel like?" Sunset asked. "Well..." Hinata pondered, "It's very intriguing, to say the least. They teach a concept I know of differently, mostly oriented for humans I assume. But other than that, the other students seemed a bit reluctant to ask me about who or what I am. Is it because I'm with you Adagio? And I don't mean any offence to that." "They'll get used to you. Every new kid's gone through this awkward situation. That is, every new kid who's not infamously known as a violent or manipulative person beforehand." Flash reminded. "I never thought you'd be on the same boat as Adagio," Sunset spoke. "I keep it hidden from almost everyone for a reason." "Well, I guess it was best I learned about recently than when I was... you know." Sunset shrugged. "It's all in the past, and we've changed," Flash assured. "And the same goes for you, Adagio." "Sure, whatever you say." Adagio rolled her eyes again. "Speaking about changing for the better," Sunset remembered. "I should also let you know that for the past months when you were not here, we've been handling incidents that involved magic from our own Equestria. Some of the locals used it for their own gain, but we've resolved and stopped them." "Woah, you're not human, Sunset?" Hinata gasped. "Yeah. Adagio and I were born from a different world and didn't have human forms. When we came to this world, we gained human forms - the ones you're looking at right now." "Ooh!" Hinata's eyes sparkled. "Well, how did you come here?" "I was banished here, to be accurate." Adagio explained, "But the mirrors below the statue outside the school is the gateway between worlds from what I've been told. Originally, the gateway only opens after thirty moons, but now Sunset and the ponies on the other side were able to reopen it with their own magic." "I know that look Hinata," Flash smiled, "And yes, people in this world can go to their world. Heck, it was our way back to civilisation!" "I don't get it..." "We, along with the girls and other students, went on a cruise trip that got wrecked due to the magic from the world Adagio and I were from. Maybe call it the Pony World for easier clarification. We managed to save everyone on the ship, and we discovered a different portal that took us to the Pony World, and then we hopped back into this world, coming right out of the Wondercolts Statue." Sunset explained, drawing an imaginary pathway and map. "Oh. I get it," Hinata deduced. "I should also say that we humans also changed forms when in different worlds." Flash gulped, "It was weird for everyone, having to hunch over and walk around on all fours. Creepy." "So you turn into ponies in that world! Cool! Does that mean I'd turn into a pony if I went into your world?" Hinata excitingly spoke. Sunset flinched, "About that, I'm not so sure. You see, dragons do exist in the Pony World, and not in secret either." "Aww..." Hinata pouted. "I wanted to feel what a pony is like..." "And I'm not sure you'd stay as a dragon because--" Sunset continued until a loud kerfuffle crashed over their conversation. "That doesn't sound good." Flash noted, "This way!" The four came across another hallway filled with a crowd of students yelling and arguing with each other. Some were fighting back tears as they point fingers of accusation. Some looked tough and furious, while not mincing any of their curses and words. "That's not good!" Hinata panicked, "Everyone's fighting with each other!" "Hey! Pinkie!" Sunset called, "Ooh! Hiya Sunny! Flashy! 'Dagio! 'Nata!" Pinkie rushed over from the crowd, "Good to see you here!" "Nata? That's a cute nickname!" Hinata giggled, "But anyway, what happened?" "Oh! All the trebuchets in the science storeroom are all destroyed! And everyone's now pointing fingers at each other for sabotaging the entire thing!" "Wait what!?" Sunset jumped, "That's impossible! I thought the teachers said it would be secure!" "Beats me..." Pinkie shrugged. "Is there magic involved? Someone?" Sunset continued. "As a matter of fact... no." Pinkie shook her head. "I couldn't smell any magic there." "Hey!" A student called out, "Maybe it's her!!!" And pointed at Adagio. "Huh?" The five jumped and was surrounded by the mob of students. Once against each other, now all in agreement of a single culprit. "No, wait..." Another student yelled, "It's definitely her!" "Wha-- no!" Pinkie disagreed, "That's not true! She wouldn't do it!" "Yes, she could, and would! As someone who mesmerised the school and causes chaos, she'd benefit out if it!" Another yelled back. "Not true! I was with her for the first two periods of class! She wouldn't have the time to go to the storeroom!" Hinata defended. "She doesn't have to! She can just mesmerise someone and order them to go sabotage the trebuchets!" A third student countered. "We all know how that feels!" "Calm down everyone!" Flash raised his voice, "Didn't we all hear her say that she couldn't hypnotise or mesmerise people anymore?" "She lied!" Went several students. "Everyone, I can ensure that she's telling the truth or not! I can use my geode and--" Sunset tried to speak over them, but the hoard of comments and students drowned out her voice. "I knew her coming back was a bad idea." One could be heard. "She's nothing but trouble!!!" "Get her out of the school!" Another yelled, "In fact, get her out of life!!!" "Welp..." Adagio shrugged, "At least you guys tried." "No..." Flash clenched his fist. "This is not right... this is not right at all...!" "Let me explain again Flash. Anger is a good thing. You just have to control it for a good cause! Sure, you may use it to bring bad people to justice, but also defend the innocent! And not with fighting either. Your anger is enough to get other people's attention." Jupiter shared. "And how can that work?" Flash asked. "Your parents are a great example to follow from! I heard your father's a defence lawyer. In court, that means they try to find the truth and declare whether one is guilty or not guilty." "Yeah. And he doesn't like it when people in the wrong go scot-free and vice versa. In fact, mum and I would go out of our ways to make sure he doesn't blow up! And doing that is hard to tell when he always looks strict." "So you'd understand that he'd get angry, but he would never resort to hitting others." Jupiter responded, "Now, I know that a majority of humans would try not to follow 'their parents' footsteps', but can you see that his way of expressing anger shows how much you care about the victim. Just as you do when someone gets injured." "..." Flash sat in silence. "This may be one of many issues that can test your anger," Jupiter assured. "Your own friends can be falsely accused. Now I understand if you don't have any evidence, it's hard to defend someone. But out of all people, you should know your friend best. You would know that they wouldn't or couldn't do a sort of crime. You just have to let your anger amplify your voice, rather than your fists." "I see." "And remember. You only get angry because someone was wronged." Jupiter warned. "Don't be a fool to use your anger to push the ideas and agendas of yourself or others." "Sounds like something Mum would say." Flash smiled, "And don't worry Mr Jupiter, I won't. Seeing examples of those types of people deter me far enough anyways." "QUIET!!!" Flash roared, his mana and voice shaking the floor. Immediately, every student had thought a teacher had come to the scene but went puzzled when they saw a science teacher arriving on the scene with confusion on his face. "You must all have lost your minds if you think Adagio had anything to do with it. We all were there when we sang with the Rainbooms. We shattered the Dazzling's pendant. She CAN'T mesmerise people anymore, she's innocent!" Flash growled out loud. Immediately, all the students turned on Flash with sceptical glares. "Oh yeah!? Why are you suddenly the white knight for her huh? Simp!" A student yelled back. And then all students began yelling at Flash and continuing the accusations. "Wh-What's going on!?" The science teacher demanded. "Sorry about that sir." Pinkie rushed up to him, "But all the trebuchets are destroyed, and they think it's Adagio's fault." "Wait... what!?" The teacher jumped in shock, "But I checked on them this morning! They were fine!!!" "And that's what we're trying to find, sir." Flash chimed in, ignoring the insults and towing Adagio along. "Is there a camera in the storeroom?" "W-Well yes! The storeroom also contains dangerous chemicals, so of course, we need to make sure to keep a close eye on it!" "Can you get it?" Flash requested. "We need to find out who did this." "S-Sure... but are you sure it's not Adagio?" "It's not her." Flash glared, "But as I said, I want to find out who did this." "O-Okay!" The teacher quivered, "B-But I'll need to let Vice-Principal Luna know about this if it involves cameras!" The Vice-Principal was shocked to see Flash, Sunset, Adagio, Hinata, Pinkie, and the science teacher knock and enter her room with a horde of angry students behind them. As Flash explained the entire situation, Pinkie rushed back outside and grabbed the same group member from before. "Seriously? Again!?" The male student moaned, "Stop doing this Pinkie!!!" "This was a bad idea, getting those tickets as a prize." Luna moaned, "But be as it may, we want to see the truth too. Let me get the security files out." Luna quickly navigated through the computer system and pulled out the security footage. "When was the first sight of the destroyed trebuchets?" Luna asked. "Start of recess!" Pinkie exclaimed. "When was it last seen intact?" "The first period of today!" The teacher answered. "Hmm..." Luna examined the footage. She pinpointed and confirmed the two points given, and carefully closed the gap. After a few seconds, her eyes opened up in disbelief. "What is it?" The unintroduced student asked. "It is not Adagio." Luna judged. "But the culprit is something not of this world either..." "Not of this world!?" Sunset, Flash, Hinata, Adagio, and the science teacher exclaimed. "This..." Luna scrolled back the video a bit, then turned the laptop to the seven witnesses and pressed play. The video showed all the trebuchets lined up on a shelf, all intact. Then five seconds later, a green blur flew in from an open window and crashed into the shelf, destroying it and the trebuchets it stored. Once the dust cleared, the little green wrecker stood up all dazed, then horrified at the mess he made. Without any haste, it flew back up and out the window it came in. "What the!?" The student gasped, "That... what the hell is that!?!?" The teacher spoke horrified. "Wings, horns, eyes..." Hinata gasped under her breath. "It's him..." "Adagio..." Sunset started. "Is that???" "Yeah." Adagio nodded in unison. "It's a dragon." "You know what this is?" Luna asked. "I know it may be hard to believe..." Flash started. "But it's a dragon." "That's impossible!" The student objected. "Dragons don't exist!" "But it is possible for them to come here. After all, magic does exist." Flash countered. "We've all witnessed it with our very own eyes." "Urgh..." The student grumbled. "Look, if it doesn't convince you. Let me remind you of what happened, and to cut out any sense of doubt." Flash gave an angry face. "Remember. Adagio can only mesmerise people when she sings with her old pendant, and with her Dazzlings. Now, her old pendant was destroyed, and Aria and Sonata aren't here. Plus, Adagio can barely sing." "How dare you!" Adagio snapped. "Furthermore, I've been in the same class with Adagio for the first two periods. She didn't even move from her desk, let alone sing," Flash continued. "Same here!" Hinata responded. "I'm another witness," Sunset joined. "I've been with her too, and she did nothing. I'm convinced I don't have to use my geode to see whether she's lying. Unless you dou--" "Geez! I get it!" The student roared, then breathed heavily. "Look... I already believed when I saw that green dragon. If it is one. As I said, I'm an honest guy, and I can see that Adagio had nothing to do with it." "See?" Pinkie giggled, "I told you he means well! It's why I dragged him here!" "Adagio, I still don't like you over what you did but..." The student sighed. "I'm sorry, for falsely accusing you. I'll live content with it." "Whatever." Adagio rolled her eyes. "In that case." Luna closed her laptop. "I shall notify Celestia and the rest of the students. I take it that means the contest is cancelled today?" "Of course." The teacher sighed. "Honestly, I'm glad it wasn't you, Adagio. I'd be worried if any student would do that, regardless of past crimes." "Don't get too comfy with it." Adagio glared. "She didn't do it!?" "Bullshit! The teachers got mesmerised!!!" The students quarrelled once again when Luna disclosed the news about the culprit and Adagio's innocence. Of course, such rude language was expected and heard by the teachers, which they responded by ensuring a free one-way ticket to Ms M. Adagio didn't mind. She may not be believed by the students, but most of the teachers and the Vice-Principal seemed to agree. The contest was extended for next week, so students were able to repair or build their trebuchets again. Adagio and Hinata were even offered to join a team. "I'll be fine." Adagio declined. "Never wanted the tickets anyway..." "Having you here is a prize enough!" Pinkie cheered, hugging Adagio. "Get off me." Adagio bitterly commanded. "But thanks I guess, for sticking up for me." With that, school ended without any more hiccups, and everyone went back home safely. That night, however, Applebloom was walking down the empty streets with some plastic shopping bags, with only the lamposts giving her an illuminated path. "Ahh cow dung. Ah got lost again." She sighed. "Ah should've asked Big bro or sis to guide me along. Or brought mah phone along for that matter!" She could feel an invisible yet cold finger run down her spine. "An Ah'm gettin' the feeling that Ah'm being watched..." She swallowed. In response, an ethereal light blue wisp floated out of hiding, circling the little teenager. "What in the hay? Ah've never seen somethin' like this before..." She stared at it in wonder, unaware that a pair of eyes were watching her from behind. With a heavy breath, the shadow sneaked towards the girl, who had her back to him. But alas, he didn't pay attention to the wisp above her. The moment he took a few steps forward, the wisp dived down and struck him on the head. Applebloom shrieked when she heard a loud growl of pain followed by a loud crunch. Turning back, she saw the figure, all dressed in black, lying unconscious. The wisp, a little stunned after his strike, returned to its original position - circling above her. "Are..." Applebloom looked at the blue wisp. "Are you tryin' to protect me?" The wisp paused and bobbed up and down in response. "W-Well, thanks..." Applebloom thanked, nervous that she had to be greeting a ghost of all things. "Th-Then can you take me home?" The wisp bobbed up and down again and floated down the street, leading the eager girl back home. In doing so, the two of them passed by the school, unaware that a familiar pair of yellow eyes were peeking into the school kitchen... and slipping into a carelessly unlocked door. On Wednesday, cries of despair and desperation erupted in the school cafeteria. Inside the kitchen lay open empty cupboards, plates, bowls, industrial fridges, and traces of half-eaten vegetables, meat, and boxes. "This is a mighty disaster!!!" Granny Smith echoed, "We've been ransacked last night! All the food prepared for today, gone like the wind! The students will have nothin' to eat!" "Try to calm down." Luna assured, "Is there any way that we can solve this?" "Well, all we jus' need is a large supply of new ingredients. Vegetables, meat, anythin'! We can get everything ready, but Ah don't know how we can get it in such a short time!" "Granny?" Applejack, Big McIntosh, Applebloom and a few others ran in. "We got here as fast as we could. Well... Sweetie was adamant in bringin' her friends along, which also includes 'Dagio fer some reason." "It's called 'inclusion', Applejack," Sweetie spoke sassily. "Oh cool!" Scootlaoo gasped as she peered into the kitchen, "The entire kitchen? Someone must have been hungry!!!" "Who would've eaten that much?" Applebloom asked, "Hmm..." Adagio peered at the scene, then an idea popped into her head. "Hey, everyone." Adagio raised a hand, "Eeyup?" Big Mac turned around. "I take it you need a fresh supply of food?" Adagio gave a devious smile. "Yeah." Granny Smith nodded. "But to make a hollerin' to any of our providers will take a while. Ah don't know if they're any that are- wait a minute..." She gave back a coy smile. "Are you thinkin' 'bout Ms Cleo?" "Exactly!" Adagio snapped her fingers. "If there's anyone who has an abundance of food to give in a short amount of time, it's Alberia Markets!" "She's right!" Sweetie gasped, "I completely forgot about that!" "Would she agree to do so on short notice, though?" Applejack questioned. "She'd better." Adagio bit her lip, "Otherwise, she isn't the same person that took care of me!" "It's a good plan." Big Mac agreed. "We're actually on close terms." "Yes. We've met her last week." Luna nodded reluctantly, "But, how close is she?" "Closer than you think!" Sweetie giggled, "We can quickly grab it if need be!" "Surely the other staff members can do that. We don't have to get you all to-" "It's okay, Vice-Principal." Granny Smith assured. "They'll be able to do this before the dang school bell rings!" "... Okay then, I trust your judgement," Luna confirmed. "Go." "You'd better keep up everyone!" Adagio laughed as she dashed out the cafeteria, "The last one to the park's a rotten siren!" "Oh Ah ain't losin' to you 'Dagio!" Applejack chased after her, all fired up. "Ooh! Can we come along too?" Scootaloo asked. "Sure! The more the merrier!" Applebloom invited. And the three crusaders ran off. "Take care Granny, Vice-Principal." Big Mac nodded and departed. "In that case, Ah'm gonna make a call." Granny Smith pulled out her phone and dialled a number. "Ms Cleo? Howdy-do! It's me, Granny Smith. Look, there's a heap o' trouble at the school. You see..." All the way in the Halidom, Cleo was in the endless garden, picking out the best vegetables. "Cleo!!!" Adagio called out to her. "Ah! Adagio." Cleo beamed at the sight of the CHS students. "And good morning to you, Apples and Crusaders!" "Mornin Ms Cleo." Applejack tipped her hat, "Listen, we need a big favour from you." "Canterlot High School is in desperate need of food?" Cleo answered. "That's actually why I'm here right now." Everyone jumped at her response. "Ya know?" Applebloom gasped. "Granny Smith called me beforehand and told me all of you would be coming, and how much produce will be needed," Cleo informed. "You got a mobile phone?" Adagio pointed. "Bought it last Sunday with Ms M." Cleo answered. "Anyway, we need to be fast if we want to beat the clock. Adagio, Big McIntosh, can you help?" "It's my job." Adagio shrugged. "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded. "We can help too." Applejack offered, "Us Apples worked on the farm before, not just an apple orchard." "Then, by all means, I'd be honoured!" Cleo agreed. "Then what about us?" Sweetie pointed to Scootaloo and herself. "There should be a set of baskets and boxes to store the vegetables in. Oh, and you'll also find the wagon there too." Cleo instructed. "Aye aye!" Scootaloo saluted, "Let's go, Sweetie!!!" "Eeyup, Nope, Eeyup, Nope, Nope, Nope, Eeyup." Except for Big Mac, the vegetable pickers swiftly pulled out every ripe vegetable with silence and concentration. Whenever they completed a row each, they dropped their harvest to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle - the packagers for every basket and box. "Remember. It's a puzzle. A very delicate puzzle!" Scootaloo reminded herself as she carefully fit every corn, cucumber, carrot, and leek into a box with the utmost care. Then separated the turnips, tomatoes and potatoes in the baskets. "Maybe I'll pack a dragonfruit for good luck!" Sweetie giggled as she placed a red ripe dragonfruit into her basket, then loaded it on the red wagon. After one hour, the wagon and a few large merchant packs were fully loaded and ready to go. "Tremendous work everyone." Cleo applauded. "Sad to say, I believe the school has started without you, but you've definitely saved her lunchtime." "We're not out of the woods yet." Scootaloo stood firm, copying Mr Sentry. "We need to deliver this to Granny Smith intact." "I can be your escort for any stray fiends," Cleo assured. "Not to worry." "Wait." Adagio paused. "I need to get changed first." "For what?" Asked Sweetie. "I need to change into Francesca! If we're bringing boxes and baskets from Alberia Markets to CHS, I need to make others know that it's the usual merchant doing the deliveries! People will get suspicious if I just go as is..." "You really are considerate." Cleo complimented, "But that won't be necessary. As I said, I will be coming along too. And we can take the misty portal directly to Canterlot High School's kitchen. You can be seen as a helper, which I'm sure the Vice-Principal knows." "Fair enough then." Adagio shrugged. "Let's go. And be careful, you're carrying an amount of food worth at least hundreds to feed the school." "I rest my case," Cleo giggled. *Bang Bang Bang* Went the back door of the CHS kitchen. "Yup?" Granny Smith opened the door. "We're here!" Cleo and the students greeted lively, blowing back Granny. "Well Ah'll be!" She chortled, "Ya really did bring it!" "We can check right now, so we know that you have enough." Cleo reminded, passing her a list. "We'll let the kids bring it to where you needed." "No need." Granny Smith took the list and peered through it. "The lunch ladies and Ah will unpack the goods. You kids get to yer class. Luna's notified the teachers of yer responsibilities. Extremely grateful to y'all. Ya saved lunch! Especially you Adagio. Yer the one who came up with the idea." "Well..." Adagio gave an evil smirk. "Just make sure to reimburse us with the exact amount." "Adagio!" The girls frowned. "Naw, she's right." Granny chuckled, "Deal's a deal. That's how things work." "And besides." Cleo chuckled. "Francesca enjoyed making money." And so, the entire school body was unaware that they could have nothing to eat for lunch, save for a few staff and students. None questioned Adagio, the Apples and the crusaders when they arrived late in class, at least directly. Some were, however, puzzled that the mentioned six received a small bowl filled with sliced pieces of an unknown fruit on their lunch trays. "Wow!" Sweetie closed her eyes with a joyful smile as she chewed the fruit, "The Grastaean dragonfruits are really tasty!" On Thursday, Adagio decided to hang out with Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Twilight at lunchtime. "What in the world..." Rarity grumbled at her phone. "A majority of the students are giving you a bad name on social media. Absolute lies and slander! And they're also calling Flash a simp too. The nerve!" "Yeah? Well, I don't have a phone or laptop. So I don't care about that!" Adagio scoffed. "If you ask me." Fluttershy spoke nervously, "There are some social media platforms that are full of it. So I only use it just to communicate with friends." "Trash talk is trash talk!" Rainbow laughed, "Don't listen to those idiots. You should trust us, and most of the teachers are fine with you already." "There it is!!!" A student called. "Get it!" "Hee hee hee!!!" An echoey but suave voice responded, "You ladies gotta work harder if ya wanna catch me!" A wisp turned sharply into the hallway, with a trio of exhausted girls on its trail. "Goddess... I'm absolutely beat!" One of them, a student named Rose, dropped to her knees. "Somebody... avenge us..." The second, named Daisy, croaked. "Hey!" Fluttershy and the others ran over, "Are you okay?" "We're fine... some water would be nice though!" The third student, Lily Valley, tried to smile. "But that creepy thing's been hitting on us! Get it!!!" "Hey hey hey!!! The five of you really stand out from the other girls!" The girls turned to see the wisp floating above them. "Is it looks? Poise? No... it must be something powerful! In each one of you!" It continued. It swept across each of their eyes. "I must know all there is about you. Lay onto me your beautiful splendour." "Oh, I'll show you my splendour alright." Adagio stretched her fingers and palms. "But you gotta get close so I can give an example or two." She lashed out. "Now come here!!!" "Woah!" The wisp swerved under Adagio's hand. "Fiesty! I like that!" "It's not a good way to make friends if you're constantly being creepy with your flirting!" Twilight called back. "I knew the five of you were different, you've got the hots for little ol' me! In that case..." It started zipping away. "Time to play hard-to-get!" "It won't be hard, getting you!" Rainbow growled, "Not when I shift into super speed!" "Wait, Rainb-" Fluttershy warned. "Yeah!" Rainbow launched forward, her hands wide open. "You're fast!" The wisp chuckled, "But..." He sharply braked. "Do you have good stopping power?" "Woah!" Rainbow blinked in dismay. She put on the brakes but was not enough to stop her from crashing into the wall, knocking her dizzy. "Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy gasped and galloped towards her. "Well then." Twilight turned to Rarity and Adagio. "You think you two can catch it?" "Leave it to us!" Rarity nodded firmly. "Whoops... time for me to spirit away!!!" "That's our line, you no-good ghost!" Rarity retorted. "Come back!" The two girls charged towards the womanizing wisp, taking over the pursuit. The closer they got, the worried it became. "These girls are fast! Though not TOO fast unlike that one... welp, every wisp for himself!" And began to put the effort into shaking them loose. "He went to the right!" Rarity spotted the wisp faking a left turn. "He's made a sharp left!" Rarity watched it slow down and make a big turn. "He's making a 180! Get him!" Adagio warned. Rarity stopped in her tracks and lept towards it with a hand wide open, and caught it in one fell swoop. "Yes!" Rarity exclaimed successfully as she prepared to land. "I got it!" "Mmm-mmm! No no no!!!" It taunted back. "Eh?" Rarity gasped. She could feel a pull in her arm. "You're kidding me..." Adagio watched as the blue wisp, undeterred by gravity, dangled Rarity in the air. "Careful now!" The wisp chuckled and twisted around, "I'm gonna wring free!" "Nya! No!" Rarity yelped as the wisp slipped out of her grip with a pop. Forgetting that she was still in the air, the fashionista landed on her legs and knees, emitting a loud growl of pain. "Rarity!!!" Adagio ran over and knelt. "Are you okay?" "I'm fine..." Rarity winced. "Is this thing really a ghost? I could grab it, and it's strong enough to lift me into the air and break free!" "Hee hee..." The wisp chuckled. "You wanna know what I really am? Better catch me!" And bolted away, giggling and laughing as he did so. "I think I landed too hard on my knees," Rarity caved in. "I have to stop running for a while." "Okay. I understand," Adagio nodded. "Just me now, huh?" "I know you can do it, Adagio," Rarity encouraged. "Get it for all of us!" The mysterious wisp charged into the cafeteria, blasting open the double doors. All the students stopped whatever they were doing and gasped and stared at this uncommon blur floating above them with silent confusion and anxiety as if this eyeless sphere was looking back. Adagio entered soon after, gritting her teeth, and showing no signs of exhaustion. "You won't be going anywhere now..." Adagio threatened. "Hmm..." The wisp responded. "I must commend you. You really are a persistent girl." With a running start, Adagio place jumped on the corner of one of the cafeteria tables and launched herself high in the air, catching it with both her arms and slammed it onto her head, knocking it out. Then, she landed a foot on the table without touching or flipping any lunch trays or bowls and hopped back onto the floor. Despite the existing opinion of the siren, every student and staff that watched exclaimed with 'woah's and 'ooh's. "Gotcha!" Adagio grinned as she squeezed it tight. "Adagio!" A familiar voice called out. It was Rarity. "And you've brought the rest of the band, too!" Adagio chuckled as she turned to the seven girls, the three crusaders, the two guys, and the little dragon in disguise. "Some of the students and staff saw the chase. So we had time to gather everyone up and know where you went." Rarity explained. "And we're all equipped with our magic!" Rainbow stretched her arms, "I'm ready to give this little skirt chaser from the afterlife a piece of my mind after that rope-a-dope!" "Wait." Rarity stopped. "I don't think this thing's a ghost... watch your hands, Adagio." With a whisk of her hand, a hollow crystal sphere formed around The wisp. "Then what is it?" Twilight adjusted her glasses. "From observations, it definitely looks and moves like one. A wisp, they call it?" "The problem is though..." Adagio explained, juggling the crystal sphere. "Compared to that lovestruck simpleton staying with Flash, Rarity and I could grab this thing, and it was capable of strength. I think it's some sort of live thing in the guise of this wisp." "Hey! I heard that!" Philia snapped, popping out of Flash's pocket. "Adagio?" Applejack stepped forward. "Ya hit the nail right on the head!" "Wait... you know about this thing?" Rarity and Adagio spoke together. "Applebloom, Big Mac, even Granny Smith. Best to prolly explain this in a less-crowded barn." Applejack suggested. "And we gotta steer this thing straight outta here..." "Let me out!!!" The wisp roared after it woke up, "Let me out!!! I demand to be released!!!" "Zip it, you!" Rainbow pushed her face onto the crystal sphere. "After what you've pulled, you have every reason to be jailed!" "No fair! This wasn't part of the deal Applejack!" "Excuse me? Ah never recall you tellin' us you were a skirt chaser!" Applejack retorted. "Don't ya know this sorta behaviour's not accepted in society?" "Hey girls?" Flash spoke up, "Maybe we should move this to another place. Before our busted ghost does anything rash." "Eeyup." Big Mac agreed with a nod. "Then..." Rarity started as she and her thirteen friends walked out of the cafeteria. "Where can we take this thing? I mean, I would normally take this to either the principals, but I'm not sure how they can deal with something like this. In fact, WHO can deal with something like this?" Hinata and Sweetie gasped with an idea. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Hinata?" Sweetie beamed. "I sure do, Sweetie!" Hinata beamed back. In the history classroom, Ms M glared down at the caged wisp, placed in front of her desk. The wisp, though its appearance was a little obscured by the patterns of Rarity's projected cage, wobbled as it gazed back. "Well well..." Ms M started. "What are you doing on this side of the world, you little imp?" "F-Flamewyrm!" The wisp trembled. "I-It is tremendous to see you in your fiery beauty! And you've become a teacher for humans! Truly humbling!" "Talk about a 180 in behaviour," Sweetie mocked. "You know what he is as well, Ms M?" Fluttershy asked. "It takes a dragon to easily detect a dragon." Ms M explained. "But the fact that this fool has involved a few of our students, the higher-ups of the school rightfully deserves to know." "So that means the Principal and Vice-Principal will be coming." Sunset guessed. "Sunset, I assure you. Though we may be different, even us dragons comprehend right and wrong, commendations and punishment, which is what he'll be facing." Mym explained. "Besides, it wouldn't be a punishment to him at all, given his character." "Oh, I don't mean that. I was just guessing, is all." Sunset added. "They both know that magic happens around here, and the Vice-Principal's seen a dragon before on video." "Wait, she what?" The people who weren't present in Luna's office on Tuesday spoke confused, including Ms M. "Ooooohh..." Pinkie went wide-eyed. "So that wisp there is a dragon, huh?" "Indeed." Ms M nodded. "Now.. can you reveal your true form to everyone?" "Well..." The wisp paused. "I'm a little cramped at the moment. The young lady who created this sphere, may you please release me? I promise to be on my best behaviour!" "It will be alright, Rarity." Ms M assured. With a nod, Rarity removed the cage, and the wisp puffed up and up to the point that it exploded (harmlessly) into a puff of smoke. When it subsided, a short-tailed dragon the size of a microwave was sitting on the table with short yet muscular legs out. His floppy ears went down to his belly, while his wings spread far from the width of his body. His horns pointed towards the sky, curved like a very thin 'S', and was orange to yellow with a pattern of horizontal lines. Pinkie made a big gasp while jumping in the air for dramatic effect. "Heeeeeyyy!!!" She zoomed right into the little red dragon's face. "Those eyes make you similar to Welly!!!" The group gave even more confused looks. "Nice to meet you, ladies." The red dragon bowed. "I am the Kindling Imp." "The imp is a very common type of dragon, to the point that it has variations of all five elements. As you can tell by his colour and name, the Kindling Imp is flame-attuned." Ms M explained. Out of nowhere, five loud knocks, each a second apart, came from the door. Everyone started to panic, except Pinkie. "Ooh!" Pinkie perked up. "That's the secret knock I told my older sister! Can I let her in, Ms M?" "A-Are you sure about that?" Ms M swallowed. "Yep! And like me, she knows!" Pinkie squeaked, "Come on in, Maud!" "Ms M. Classmates." Maud greeted dully as she slammed the door open, then shut once she got in. "Maud." Ms M nervously greeted back. "So... what is the story between you and Pinkie?" "This..." Maud held out a stone-coloured Gym sack, packing something alive. "Let... me... out!!!" The bag gave a muffled demand. "This is a little friend we made this Monday. And is also the culprit behind Canterlot High School's food emergency yesterday!" Pinkie declared and snapped her fingers. Maud opened the bag and loosened a blue dragon the same size as the Kindling Imp. This one had a much longer tail, with a fin at the end of it, resembling a fish. As for her horns, they resembled wings and were positioned just on top of her eyelids, making it look like eyebrows instead. "Introducing, Queen Welly!!!" Pinkie introduced. "Technically, her real name is 'Wellspring Imp', but saying that is a mouthful, and honestly? It's hardly a name fitting for her! She has appointed me as her herald, messenger, and chef, and Maud as her escort! Isn't that nice?" The imp lowered her head in greetings. "And I'm completely lost..." Sweetie sighed. "Speaking about lost..." Rainbow chimed in. "Look who's here!" She gestured to the window, where a third dragon was waving outside. The same green dragon that Rainbow bumped into last Tuesday. "Hello everyone," The green imp greeted as Rainbow let him in. "I am the Zephyr Imp." Rarity held her head in exhaustion. "I never thought I would say this, but seeing three new dragons on the same day is making my head hurt." "Well, it definitely changes the situation entirely!" Ms M started. "So I assume YOU were the one who messed up the trebuchets?" "I did." The Zephyr Imp nodded. "And I am here to apologise for my reckless flying." "And Welly's here to pay us back!" Pinkie added, "Queen Welly." The Wellspring Imp corrected. "But yes, this is true. It would be remiss for a Queen, or anyone in particular if they did not give back what they took. Hence, I shall reimburse this educational institution for my meal." "She doesn't seem to mind Pinkie's nickname." Twilight tried not to laugh. "Well, how about that." Adagio raised an eyebrow. "Dragons having a sense of dignity! Unlike this little red twig..." "Now that is a cold blow!" Kindling Imp winced then smiled. "Too bad I'm all flames!!!" "This meeting was definitely not how I expected it to go, but I'm very happy that the two of you are owning up as well." Ms M admitted. "The people you should apologise to are the ones who run the place, and maybe the students and the lunch ladies/gentlemen too. The former will be coming here soon." Three normal knocks came from the door. "Ms M?" Luna called, "The Principal and I are here." "Come in!" Ms M responded. The two sisters opened the classroom door and saw the history teacher, fourteen of their students, and three winged creatures sitting on the desk, all staring back at them. "Umm..." Celestia broke the awkward silence. "Did we come at a bad time?" "No." Ms M frantically shook her head. "This is exactly what we need to talk about. I'd like to introduce you to the Kindling, Wellspring, and Zephyr Imps. Dragons who'd like to confess." "D-Did they come from the world of magic?" Celestia wearily asked. "No." Sunset shook her head, "Rather, they are from this side of the world." "Dragons existing in our own time..." Luna clasped her mouth. "If there truly were such sightings, then the world would be declaring it out to everyone. And yet an elusive type of species stand before us in the flesh!!!" "Wow. I would never have thought humans would be so interested in our existence. Normally people would just bat an eye to the likes of us then continue prodding around their own lives!" The Kindling Imp chuckled. "I guess that's what happens when Dragons had isolated themselves from humanity for hundreds of years. Not to mention that humans don't live that long as we do!" The Zephyr Imp reasoned. "Fellow dragons, let us not forget our purpose here." The Wellspring Imp reminded. "The three of us are here to give an utmost apology for things that we have done to this school." "Did what?" Celestia and Luna looked at each other. "You are known as the Principal. Yes?" The Zephyr Imp started. "Principal Celestia." Celestia corrected, "But I do not mind regardless." "And I am Vice-Principal Luna. If you're wondering." Luna added. "I want to apologise for my reckless actions. For I was the one who flew into your premises and destroyed numerous wooden contraptions on Tuesday. I believe they were called trebuchets? As Rainbow said." The Zephyr Imp declared. Luna gasped. "I thought you looked familiar!" "I want to declare an official apology for eating throughout your kitchens yesterday without asking." The Wellspring Imp declared. "And I have come here to repay it. If you may, Maud..." The unenthused girl rummaged through the gym sack again and drew an assortment of sparkling rings, bracelets, pearls in strings, and all sorts of gem-adorned jewellery. Except the Pie sisters', every human, including dragons disguised as humans, jaw was dropped. "Not fake. All genuine. I checked." Maud added, causing everyone's jaw to drop further. "Deep breaths..." Celestia told herself. "It's just someone paying back what they owed the school. I mean, never mind that it's a dragon who pays people back with treasure!" She took another deep breath and blurted out. "How did you get all this!?" "Queen Welly has a secret cavern where she stores lots of treasure!" Pinkie reported. "She calls it her kingdom, and we're not her only subjects, plenty of different animals too." "And my subjects will be greatly rewarded for their services." Welly declared. "As is befitting of a benevolent queen." "Hey..." Applejack whispered to Pinkie. "Are you and Maud actually her subjects? Or is this some game between you and her?" "I dunno, AJ. It's really funny to see a little dragon act like a queen, but given that we're literally paid in gold, she's absolutely serious." Pinkie whispered back, "But she's pretty flexible. If she ever needs us, she'll seek us out." "I see..." Celestia calmed down and turned to the Kindling Imp. "Now that leaves you. You are the one responsible for making the girls uncomfortable?" "Well, I can't blame them for being so drop-dead gorgeous. And the same goes for both of you!" The Flame Imp winked. "Hey! There shall be none of that around us!" Luna roared. "Do you do this to every woman you pass by, regardless of age!?" "Regardless of any kind, actually. Humans, Sylvans, even birds and fish!" He raised his hands and gave a smug grin. "Oh, Goddess. He's even worse than I thought!" Rarity exclaimed, "I... have nothing to say about that." Fluttershy shared, but gave up halfway. "Hey, Kindling Imp... ya know what? How 'bout Ah call you Kindl instead?" Applejack started, "Ooh! Nice nickname! Sure!" The flame imp nodded. "Are you goin' to keep puttin' shoes in yer mouth, or do ya want to bring up yer little trace of grace?" Applejack questioned. "Grace?" Everyone spoke up. "That's right y'all. And it's grace that earned him shelter in our barnyard. We only learned that he was a skirt chaser today though." Applejack declared. "Ya see, Applebloom wanted to do late-night shoppin' alone yesterday, but she got lost. To make matters worse, some nasty guy was stalkin' her!" Everyone gasped in shock. "But then he, as a wisp we saw today, smacked him unconscious, then led me home." Applebloom finished. "But instead of leavin', he decided to show his dragon form to us. Or rather, Big Mac." "I smelt something nostalgic on him," Kindl explained. "So I followed him to school the next day to see if I could find more of that scent, then I lost myself when I saw so many ladies around. I apologise!" "Hmm..." Celestia sighed. "Now I'm truly in a predicament. I appreciate that you apologise for your actions, but I don't know know how I can punish you for it. You're not part of the school so I can't punish you like students. However, calling the police would make matters even complicated." "Ooh!" Pinkie jumped up. "I have an idea!" "What do you propose?" Luna asked. "Make a pact with Rarity and the others! They're the ones who might have been giving you nostalgia, as they're the ones who've been visiting the Halidom all the time!" "The Halidom still stands!?" The three imps gasped. "The Halidom?" Celestia repeated, "I've never heard of such a place!" "Yep!" Pinkie nodded. "It's the name of the place where Adagio is staying!" "I... see. And I assume you have control of these pacts, Rarity?" "To put it simply, yes. Alongside Adagio, Flash, Big Mac, and my sister." Rarity admitted. "The five of us have been handling matters with dragons, just like any magic-related matters!" "Well..." Celestia cleared her throat. "Do you have anything to say about this, Luna?" "It's like our past incidents all over again." Luna shook her head. "But these three situations did not escalate to their level, thankfully. Furthermore, we've seen how you managed to bring all these incidents to a close, so I am more than confident that you can handle these dragons." "I think so too." Celestia nodded. "Now the three of you. I can see that you are of good and noble nature, so I can forgive you for your mistakes. However, please don't be so reckless, ask before you eat, and be civil." "Of course!" The Zephyr Imp saluted. "You have my word as Queen." Welly bowed. "How can I say no to you? I shall be a good dragon." Kindl bowed too. "That being said, making a pact with you would be rather... complicated." He turned to Rarity. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that." Hinata jumped in. "It's just like making friends!" "Is that so?" Welly raised an eyebrow. "Very well then." "Phew!" Flash sighed with relief. "Glad this turned out well!" On Friday, Celestia gave an email to everyone that the investigation of the flirtatious wisp has been solved, and will no longer haunt the school again. All the students and staff felt relieved, but then they remembered that the student who caught The wisp in the canteen was none other than Adagio. Immediately, they try to dismiss and deny it in their minds and continue glaring at Adagio to ensure that she was unwelcome in this school, not that she cared anyway. "Don't worry Adagio." Rainbow wrapped an arm around the siren. "They'll get used to you." "Besides, you're very much welcome here now. Us, and the teachers. We got your back if anyone falsely accuses you of something." Fluttershy added. "Way to state the obvious you two." Adagio rolled her eyes. "But again, thanks. Speaking of which, what about the little imps?" "Zephiel's a wandering dragon, but I let him know he's more than welcome to crash at my house. By the way, Fluttershy gave him that nickname." Rainbow answered. "For my own sanity. Three people I know go by the name of Zephyr. Him, another dragon, and my ridiculous brother." Fluttershy explained. "Fair enough. What about you, McIntosh? Everything good with Kindl?" Adagio turned around, "Forgiven." Big Mac answered, "He's a good heart n' hand back home," Applejack added, "And he'll be that way if it means making Applebloom, Granny, and Ah feel happy and safe, so he's a keeper!" "As I said about Welly yesterday, she's flexible and understands that Maud and I have lives. She'll come only if she requires us. I would really love it if she comes around for fun or dinner though! The more the merrier, human or dragon!" Pinkie jumped in. "And don't worry!" Rainbow chuckled, "They also said if they sense any of us in great trouble, they'll come to see us. Guess that's our way of showing our Dragalia! Unless you beg to differ, Hinata?" "Nah, it's cool." Hinata gave a thumbs up. "We all have different needs and wants like every form of life." "Thanks, everyone." Rarity thanked. "For sticking with Adagio, as well as the entire existence of dragons!" "When we realised Ms M was a dragon. We came to terms with that." Sunset chuckled, pulling out her magic journal. "That being said, would it be okay if I write about the existence of you to my friends in the Pony world?" "Oh! Not at all!" Hinata approved. "And I don't think Ms M or any dragon would mind either! Given that dragons already exist in your world!" "You know..." Rarity spoke again, "We all should hang out together for the weekend. And this time, you must come with us Adagio. Tell Ms Cleo you have a day off. Please?" "You really are desperate." Adagio groaned. "And what do you want me to come along for, anyway?" "Clothes shopping!!! I work in the Carousel Boutique, so I'll make sure it's absolutely my right that you'll be given service!" "And we can make sure the places we work will allow you to dine or shop in," Twilight added. "It's fair by now that we should all be giving you a chance!" Adagio glared at the girls, but it wasn't convincing them that she was not interested. "I can tell you're hiding your joy!" Pinkie giggled. "You're such a prickly person but so enthusiastic inside! What's the term used by Flash and Scoots' animes?" "Shut up." Adagio gritted her teeth. "And speaking about prickly..." Rarity added. "Maybe a new set of clothes could also make you and Hinata more approachable!" "Me too?" Hinata looked at her clothes. "What's wrong with them?" "Don't take it personally, but spiked clothing is a fashion statement to others that you're... unapproachable." Rarity explained. "And as for you Hinata, your style is really... basic." "Basic!?" Hinata jumped. "More than just that, I think you need a makeover too, to give yourself a little more pizazz and style rather than try to match your true form. As I said, don't take it personally. And who knows? There will be something that you would find a whole lot better!" "Okay then!" Hinata beamed. "I'll be happy to go out with you!" "Wonderful!" Rarity pulled all the girls together. "And of course, we need to invite the crusaders and the guys too! We're all in this together! How about we all gather together at Canterlot Mall at lunchtime?" "Lunchtime? Why not the morning?" Twilight asked. "I have something in the morning." Rarity replied. "Something new." "And done and done!" In the history classroom, Ms M signed the page of her weekly report on Adagio and stamped it with CHS's school emblem. She smiled to herself. For Adagio's first week, the school really had to have uncommon incidents. Thankfully, she wasn't the cause, and to make things better, she contributed to solving it. A very good report, in conclusion. As Ms M began to pack away, a familiar dragon tapped on her window - the Kindling Imp. "Kindl!" Ms M greeted as she opened the window. "A bit daring that you would come back after what you did yesterday, but I digress. How can I help you?" "Someone wanted me to relay a message and a plethora of information. The Sylvan in the Halidom was pretty busy, but she told me that you can read through it instead." Kindl answered. "Technically I'm a bit busy too, but I'm happy to take the message. Who's it from?" "The Shadowwyrm. He says that he is ready to share the details of his challenge with the girls and guys." Kindl announced. "The information consists of what he wants them to do, and his chosen." Ms M's face turned serious. "Who did he choose?" She asked. On Saturday, in a large studio hall in one of Canterlot's community centres, two masked adults, both dressed in thick white layers of nylon, stared at each other without moving a muscle. "En Garde!" A third adult, dressed like the adults without a mask, signalled and put her arms and hands out wide. The two masked adults each raised a sword and put one foot forward. "Pret..." She called, then rotated her palms towards the two and yelled, "Allez!" In the split second, the sharp sounds of foils clashing, foot stepping, and yells and grunts of aggression rang through the entire studio. The third adult, refereeing the bout, watched amidst all the distracting noises, keeping a sharp eye on the duelists' swords as they vigorously collide, swing, eager to control or overpower the other, until one vigorously danced right around the other, and struck its wielder right underneath the armpit. "Halte!" The referee commanded, and the duelists ceased. She then gestured to the fencer that managed to land a strike on their opponent and nodded. "And that..." The winning duelist took off her helmet, revealing her pale silver face and hair of pure cobalt with gold-yellowish shades. "... Is fencing in a nutshell." She explained to a group of mystified teenagers. "It's swift, it's strong, it's smart, and it's certainly fun!" "There are three different styles to fencing." The losing duelist took off his helmet, revealing his brilliant red short hair with brilliant white and blue streaks, to add to his moderate grey colour. "We will talk about them in greater length in later lessons down the road. Today, we shall just go through the basics - The many warm-up stretches and exercises one must do to ease into the movements of fencing. Then, we will fit all of you into your attire, and your foil, then go through some basic drills in wielding the sword." "But before all that!" The first lady laughed. "Why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves? My name is Sabre Reverie, but you can all call me Ms Sabre! I've been practising fencing ever since I was just a teenager, and have participated in the previous World Games. I'm also the peppy energetic wife of Epee here!" "Hello." The gentleman raised his sword to his nose in greeting. "I am Epee Trinity, born in Prance and bilingual in both Prench and English. I have practised fencing in all three styles from the age of seven. I have also participated in the previous World Games representing Prance. It is where I met Sabre for the first time, and we started dating after the games, which led to our marriage a year later. In short, I am the direct and statistical husband of Sabre." "Bonjour tout le monde ! " The referee stepped forward. "Je m'appelle Fleur Foil. Je viens de Prance, comme vous pouvez le constater. Je suis professor d'escrime. Je ne parle pas anglais, mais je peux comprende. Alors Monsieur Epee traduira pour moi." "This is Fleur Foil." Epee translated. "She's also born in Prance and is a fencing instructor. She doesn't speak English but she can understand it. So she'll allow me to translate for her when she speaks. Is it okay if I can talk about your hobbies and experience in English?" "Oui." Fleur agreed, "Ms Foil first joined a fencing club at the start of her University and has grown exponentially. A pivotal member to winning numerous regional and national awards in all of the three styles, and representing Prance in the World Games, has won a bronze medal in the Fencing - Foil event. She's very fond of animals, food, and dancing." "Now with that out of the way." Sabre took over. "Let's go from left to right and introduce yourselves and why you're interested in fencing! Starting with you!" The leftmost student stood up and exclaimed. "My name is Rarity, I'm a student at Canterlot High School, and the reason why I want to join fencing is that... I want to grow in a way that I can protect myself and especially others!!!" An Unwelcome Return The End Next Chapter: The King's Challenge
portal to dreams
pre
This is the part where I meet new and old people!(secret not really) *** *** *** *** Man, when we got a view of the town, it was beautiful. I could simply look at it all day but then a song in the crack of my head popped out.i decided to hum it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_DKWlrA24k Twilight was just reading a book when she heard humming. She looked up to the human and saw that he was crying and humming a nice sounding song. She thought of the song as very peaceful and harmonic. He then started to sing the song with a great voice that she never could have guessed that he had. "Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high, and the dreams that you dream of once in a lullaby-y-yy-yyy." "Somewhere over the rainbow... bluebirds fly. And the dreams that you dreamed of dreams really do come true-oh-ohh." "Someday I will wish upon a star, wake up where the clouds are far me." This really got to her. She now felt differently about Ponyville and her friends. This song told her everything about peace and harmony, about wishes and happiness. About dreams and feelings for better. This really made her feel different about the town she called ponyville. "Where trouble melts like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me, oh" "Somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds fly and the dreams that you dare to, oh why, oh why can't I?" "Well i see trees of green and red roses too, i'll watch them for me and you and i think to myself what a wonderful world." (P.s. different music video but the same.) Twilight heard the whole thing while they were landing in Ponyville and thought about the song. She was going to think about it later, but before axel went out of the carriage he wiped the tears off his eyes and went onwards with twilight. "So where are we going?" I asked still wavering a little. "To my house. You'll get to see Ponyville tomorrow morning" "I'm not sure. Can somepony you trust follow me? All these ponies are giving me the dirty look, and I don't mean to make trouble." "Don't worry, they're friendly." Twilight assured "Fine. Let's just get to your house. It's almost night time,"i said,"forgot to tell you i'm more of a night person so i can't sleep at the night." I told her. "And we're here." "Your house is a library?" I asked "Yup." she replied "Your library is a tree?" "Yes..?" "Won't it burn down?" I asked "Don't worry, I enchanted the house so it won't catch fire." She reassured me "I guess that makes sense." We entered through the door and then twilight called out to someone or something. "Ohhh spiiike! I'm home!" she shouted "Oh, Twilight! I missed you, you were gone for...." Spike paused to look at me. This 'spike' thing looked at me and then yelled, "Monster!" He jumped at me and then started to rip at me with his claws. I could feel something warm in its stomach and then I could see a fire in the back of its throat so I really started to kick him off, but he kept a tight grip. "Spike, stop!" I could hear her scream. "No, its trying to attack us!" "Then he belched at me, while I blocked my face with my arms. I got scorched really badly on my arms and this was the third time when I almost died. I could hear twilight screaming at spike and then it really got black again. The darkness welcomed me to a cold place in which I could live in for eternity. I woke up in the hospital, but this was different. I was being raced to the hospital in a stretcher when I woke up. I swear if, I almost die one more time, I will think that Equestria is really hating on me. I was on the hospital bed being treated for my really bad burns and scars that really got to me because of that thing. They put alcohol on my scratches which was everywhere, which really burned like a bitch. I could see twilight in a chair waiting for me to wake. I was already awake, but my eyes weren't opened. Just a little slit of my eyes were opened, so I decided to open my eyes completely. "Hey twilight. Now you see what happens to the average Axel in Equestria." I said. She was startled a little, but eased up. "This has happened to me three times. I still have the gash in my arm and the fire made it worse, not to mention the seizure" She looked really sorry about all this happening to him. If she had just written a letter to spike, then this would have never happened. And then she thought of what her friends would have done if he were to walk alone. Applejack would have certainly bucked him to death, Rainbow dash would have Sonic Rainboomed him, and Fluttershy... Well.. Anyway. She really didn't want to think about all this. She ran up to axel and started to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. If I would have.." She said while crying her eyes out. "Look, it's not your fault. What's destined to happen is going to happen, Twilight. On a less important note, you're hugging my wounded arm and it's really starting to hurt a lot" She immediately backed off. She didn't want to hurt him any more than she already has. She dried up her tears and started to calm down. "Can you send a letter to Princess Luna and princess Celestia that i'm hurt and in the hospital again?" I asked "Also, add to the letter for Luna. Tell her not to worry and I'm going to be fine, so that she doesn't have to come see me." "Ok." Who would have ever thought that axel would get hurt again after his seizure. She teleported in and wrote down a letter for both the princesses, but then she remembered that spike wasn't there so she decided that she could try teleporting all the way in Canterlot. Meanwhile, in Canterlot... ******************************************* "Good night, Lulu" Celestia said to her sister. "Good night Tia. And can you stop calling me that embarrassing name, please?" "No, I simply love that name." she said before she half chuckled-half yawned. "Well then, I'm.." They were interupted by a blinding purple light when Twilight entered.she dizzely came to the two sisters. "Uh, hi princesses, I've got these two letters for you and luna." "Why didn't you just use spike?" Celestia asked. "Um, long story, but he's in trouble." she replied sheepishly Both Luna and Celestia grabbed their designated letter. "Would you mind sending me to the hospital in Ponyville, Princess?" Twilight asked Celestia. "Why?" both the princesses asked. "You'll find out in the letters. Can you please just send me there?" She asked one more time. "Very well, twilight." said Celestia. There was a blinding flash of gold light and she was gone. "You should read your letter, 'Tia'." Luna mocked. "You too, 'Lulu'." she answered. They then read it for ten minutes. "Dear sister, he's been injured again!" Luna said. "Now, now. Calm down Luna. The letter says not to worry." Celestia assured her little sister. "But it does seem that he's been severely injured in the arm where he had the knife cut." "May I visit his dreams?" Luna asked. "Very well." Celestia answered. Back in the Ponyville hospital... ********************************************* Well, I fell asleep because of all the pain, and then I thought of ponyville. Then it suddenly struck me that town was where I spawned! Then I dreamt of the castle and then Luna was there. "Hello, axel." Luna said "Hi, princess" "Are you in my dreams again?" I asked "Yes." "Well, if you want, I can dream of how I look so you can see the injury if you want." I said "Yes, I would like to see that." Then I dreamt of how I look like injured. "Oh my, it's even worse then I imagined." she said on the verge of tears She the came up to me and looked at the arm. She then started to shed tears of how it looked like. "Luna, this is why I didn't want you to visit me. I knew that you were going to get upset about this" I said to her gently. "Please, just be safe next time." She said still crying some tears. "I will. I just don't want you to be upset. You're the only person who matters to me." I said while crying a little. She also blushed at this comment. She knew this already, but each time he said it, it was like the first time he said it. ******************************************* Next time, the real chapter: "Ponyville: Part 2." Hey, Pinkie's still here. Pinkie: Yup me: Do you mind if you get me a rainbow cupcake? Pinkie: Yes, but it'll cost you something.*lshe said murder like* Pinkie: It'll cost you 5 bits. me: But, it's even more.. *mumble* fine, here. Yay, cupcake!
portal to dreams
ponyville part 2(in the hospital)
by the way before i start this is not edited if you see a mistake please comment thank you! ******************************************************************************************************* there were still tears in luna's eyes she was scared for axel. she was starting to regret the choice of letting him go off in to ponyville. "are you sure your going to be fine here."she sniffled. "i will just give a chance, just please don't worry."my voice still wavering from this whole chat. i walked up to her and hugged her. "please just don't worry i don't want to make you upset, i don't want to see your pretty face to be covered din tears." when i said this luna was blushing furiously, this was the first time he had said this and she felt a pang of love for him.but she knew this could never happen with a mortal and immortal. "now please go luna i don't want to upset you anymore over my conditions."i said. "but,"she said but was interrupted by me. "no just please go i don't want you to get you upset, i'll send you a letter when i am at full strength."i said. "please feel better i will visit you on my free time."she said. "that's fine princess but please don't worry over me."i said to her lastly. after that everything went black and then i heard voices and saw light. *groan* "he's awake doctor."said a nurse which i later found out was called Red Cross. "very well then remove the bandages so i can see the burns."said a doctor. "ah."i said. *groan* when they removed the bandages they saw how bad it was the skin was really close to black and some started to peel. but the real grotesque part was the arm the one i got stabbed with, its stitchs werer burnt and the arm was not fully healed so they could see the flesh burnt and bloody, dry with old blood but still bleeding a bit.once you saw you could see bone a little i am even surprised the muscle grew back a little. "Dear celestia!, we have to desinfect that wound and stitch it before it gets worse."the doctor said as red cross got some string, alchol(gonna sting like the flames of tartarus)and bandages. "now put in the alchol to neuralize the wound."the doctor said. *groan*"aaaaaaaaaaaaa!"i screamed. "put him down!"he said to red cross. they put me down while they kept rubbing the alchol in my arm. "there done,now to put in the stitches."he said,"keep him down this will hurt and if he isn't careful it will stab in to his arm." he then started to put in the stitches. outside in the waiting room of the Intensive Care Unit.(The I.C.U.) ********************************************************************************************************************* "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" that scream was blood chilling to Twilight she was frightened to what was happening to axel. she really blamed this on herself if only she warned spike about the human this would have never happened. then she thought of an idea. what if she introduced her friends to him then they wouldn't harm him but help him if he sets foot in ponyville again. so she started going out of the hospital and made an appointment to the hospital so all her friends could see him in the same room.this time she couldn't mess up. back with the process... ************************************************************************************************************************ *groan*"it hurts a lot and my head is pounding."i said tired. "here take this migraine and it'll help your headache,"the doctor said,"and you will stay in this hospital for a week to test and see if your healthy enoguh to survive out there." "thanks, may i get your name doctor?"i asked. "why sure axel it's Dr.feel well"(stereo typical also just made it up)Dr.Well said. once he left i looked at my arm, it was bandaged up, everytime i moved it it hurt like a bi*** and really i don't see how this could get worse but then i saw a pink blur come and jump on me. "aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"i screamed in pain and from fright the pink pony frowned and i felt like there was some tear in the space continuem by this action. "pinkie!,get off of him!"some voice said, then i recognized it as twilight. pinkie got off but she looked sad that she couldn't get on me. "i'm sorry about that axel,"twilight said,"she's a little hyper." "i can see because she hurt me all over."i said a little irritated "i would like you to meet my friends."she said. then i saw 4 more ponies come in.one with orange fur and blonde mane, another one that has white fur and purple mane which i recognized as rarity,she recognized me too plus fluttershy if i remember right and lastly there was a cyan pony with a rainbow mane. once rarity and fluttershy saw they came over and started to hug me and say "they thought i died and that they felt bad about everything" and then fluttershy whispered into my ear: "i really liked that hug, it was the first hug i ever got from a stallion."flutters said and blushed, i blushed at this fact. "it seems you already know two of my friends then axel."twilight said "well it's a long story it might answer some questions if you want to hear it."i said. "I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR STORY!"she said like a fanatic. "Ok well it all started.."i then told my whole month, but i left off a couple details about fluttershy and luna. ********************************************************************************************************************** next chapter:Let's get on with this! that's the name i'm serious.
portal to dreams
lets get on with this
this is still not edited if someone here is an editor please come to my rescue! any way back to story! ************************************************************************ "So let me get this straight."said Applejack,"You came here with no memory?" "that is correct."I stated. "And you made a life with the fabulous princesses?"Rarity asked. "Also correct."i said once more. "And you got to stay at that awesome castle and meet the awesome Wonder Bolts?"Rainbow Dash asked with a hint of jealousy. "Yes but i only met them once only on a duty Luna assigned to me."i said. "Did you get to see the beautiful garden and cute critters?"Fluttershy timidly. "Yes I did but it was only when I thought about my life and what i did."i said a little wearily. "Oh, i'm sorry i didn't mean to..."Fluttershy was going to until i said. "It's fine it's all in the past i don't need to think about it."i said "DID YOU GET TO HAVE PARTIES?"Pinkie said hyperactively. "No i didn't mo time for paties in work time."i said "That's really boring.. *gasp*IKNOWWHATISHOULDDOISHOULDTHROWYOUAWELCOMETOPONYVILLE PARTY!"Pinkie said.i was confused on what she just said because i didn't really hear it. "I still think it's my fault that you got hurt more."Twilight said depressingly. "it's fine i told you nothing is your fault."i said to her. i tried sitting up but it didn't end well. "gaaah!"i screamed in pain. "please let me help you!"twilight said "no it's fine it's just my arm."i said. "what happened to it?"applejack said. "well remember i said that i stabbed my arm in the beginning well spike burnt the stitches and fire got in it and made it worse."i explained. "that must feel terrible darling."rarity said. "it's worse than said."i said "um, if you don't mind can i see how bad the wound is?"fluttershy said. i took of the bandage and showed all of them how bad my wound is. they all gasped in unison to see how bad it is and theni took off my shirt to show my burns. they were stuck in place.they couldn't believe how a baby dragon could make such wounds. then they all came up to me and hugged me to make me feel better "ow."i said they let go immediatly "sorry"they said in unison "it's ok i know yuo were trying to make me feel better but you should all go home i don't like to make ponies worry over my sake."i said it was turning night.it was almost done with visiting hours. "i'm in here for a week so just don't worry, you all must be tired so go home and get some sleep."i said they all left with a sad look on there face. they look as if they did all of this to me.weird. so i decided to go to sleep. i ended up in some town that i didn't recognize but there were these ghost that look like humans but had no faces. "so this is your dream axel."said luna. "hello luna."i greeted her. "hello to you too."she said "they look like you, is this a city of your people?"she said "i don't know i don't recognize this town but all i know is that these people are humans."i said "interesting."she said "by the way i don't mean to sound bossy but, luna don't you have work to be done?"i asked "well i have different forms many one that is working now and others that go into others dreams and nightmares."Luna said. "well that makes sense."i said "Are you feeling alright?"luna asked "yes i'm fine, how are you doing in the castle princess.?"i asked "i'm doing fine but it's rather plain with out you here even shine bright isn't herself when i told her the news of you leaving and getting hurt."luna said "oh."i said "well tell her i said hi and also not to worry and i'm going to be fine."i asked her to do. "very well."she said. then she remembered the talk of last night and a talk from the castle when he was there. "Do you remember that you said that you wee starting to get attracted to ponies now?"luna asked. "yes i remember"i said. "who are you attracted to?"she asked "can we skip this question?"i asked rather nervous. "no just please answer."luna said rather demandingly "fine,i'm attracted to *mumble**mumble*"i said with a small voice. "Speak up axel." Luna said "I'm attracted to....you."i said nervously. she blushed rather ferociously, and her whole face turned pink. "When did this start?"she said still not recovering. "well,"i started rather nervous,"four weeks ago, when i went in the wrong chambers i was surprised by your cute face sleeping in your bed and i was rather attracted but i went away as fast as possible and scolded myself about even thinking about it."i said. luna blushed even more "oh,my."she said "so pretty much i just wanted to say i love you."i said now she lost it. she actually fainted on the spot. "Luna!, Luna!"i yelled. i picked her up and put her on the bench. i sat next to her and let her use my lap as a pillow. it was at least a couple of minutes before she woke up.once she saw that she was on my lap she fell off the bench. "are you ok luna."i asked "yes i'm fine."she said nervously "but you very well know that i can't love you axel you know this."she said "yes i know the princess may not find love only with other princes or immortals."i said rather sad "w-we can still be friends right?"she said nervously "yeah, but it won't be the same."i said "bye, luna"i said then i ended that dream. **************************************************************************** well next chapter:finally in ponyville! my heart is broken *sniff*
portal to dreams
finally in ponyville
not edited!back to the story! ************************************************************************** the week passed by slowly i was stuck with sadness. i shouldn't have said my love for the princess. i wouldn't be like this. every time i she tried talking to me i either shut her off or ran away. but by the look on her face i could tell she felt miserable too.every time twilight and her friends came here there was a letter from the princess. i only left her one letter and it said. Dear Princess Luna, stop sending me letters please. I am sorry but i can't be the same because of the other day. please just leave me alone. signed, Axel Equinox i stopped with that simple letter. but what i didn't know is that twilight was peeping at what i do to see if i was safe. she saw me writing the letter and saw how miserable i was. she was thinking of a plan to make me happy. because she thought she owed him for letting spike burn him and all. then she thought of something. maybe making some friends he will get over it then maybe he will learn to love someone else. so after one week of grief and sadness i got out of the hospital. Dr.Well said to take of the bandages on my arm and upperbody to put on burn cream and also to be careful with the stitches on my arm.twilight lead me to her house this time with spike looking rather ashamed of his actions a week ago. "hey spike perk up, it wasn't your fault."i told him "but i burnt you."he said rather ashamed. "it's fine if there was a weird monster i would have done the same thing you were brave enough to protect twilight with your life."i said to him proudly "well yeah, but it's still bad that i did it to you."spike said "it's fine everything come and goes."i said with a sad smile. "so where do i sleep twilight?"i asked twilight. "there is a extra bed upstairs that i keep just incase of guests staying over."she stated "ok"i said "where does spike sleep?"i asked "he sleeps in that snug basket there by the library."she said "well thank you for giving me a home here."i said "oh it's nothing anything for the princess."she said "huh."i said "well i'm going to bed."twilight said,"and if you still can't sleep at night help yourself to my books." "ok"i said once she had gone upstairs i looked at the library. i had to be careful with spike beacuse he was asleep and he looked rather adorable in that puppy position.so skimmed the library's selections and found one rather confusing. it genre was a clop fiction? i felt an aura on the book as if saying do not read it so i left that section of the library alone. i was starting to get tired because my sleep schedule reverted back to one of night so i went upstairs and found the bed twilight was talking about. i took off my clothes and pu on some shorts and a plain white t-shirt(by the way if your asking where i got this clothes it's because the princesses noticed i didn't have any other clothes and theydecided i should get some clothes and ordered it from someone here in ponyville.)i got in the bed only to feel someone in with me.twilight felt someone get in the bed with her and she woke up startled.she saw it was axel. "why are you in my bed?"she said in a whisper "oh, sorry."i said quickly. i quickly got out but tripped and fell on my arm and then on my face i got knocked out from the pain only for two minutes(wow new record)but saw twilight standing over me.i blushed.once twilight saw in what position she was in she backed off immidiately.i decided to just get in my bed not hers and go to sleep and forget all of this happened. "i'm sorry i got in your bed twilight."i said "it's ok just go to sleep."she said quickly once i went to sleep i was dreaming the same dream i now have. about thhe city with the ghost of people. then i saw the dark blue sparkles that looked like the night sky come after i knew what that signified. so i started to run and try to find a hiding spot. i found one in an ally and curled up and i softly cried on my knees trying to get over my obsession of luna but i couldn't.once the dream was over i could feel dry tears on my eyes. i tried looking for the bathroom and found one but got confused with the faucet controls.but i figured it out after a moment.i could see that twilight was still asleep. i decided to go down stairs to the kitchen to make breakfast. "hhmm,what should i make for breakfast?"i asked my self. i decided on some oatmeal. i learnt the recipe in canterlot i have to say the food there is richer in taste than any place there is i bet. once i maded i could tell spike was up he groaned and yawned but once he caught a whiff of the sweet smelling oatmeal he perked right up. "want some breakfast spike or am i going to have to finish this by myself?"i asked him i served him a bowl and heard from twilight that he it's gems and i have to say this 'assistant' is really expensive to keep.while i was rummaging through the kitchen i found some gems and smashed a ruby in to dust.(don't ask how i did it but lets just say my legs are going to kill me for the next couple of days)once i gave spike the bowl i sprinkled half the gem powder on it. spike was suspicious on what it was so i told him what it was. "it's ruby dust spike."i told him "oh, boy!"he said rather happily he tried one bite. "dear celestia, this is really good!"spike said rather awe struck. "well i learnt it from the best."i said to him "from who?" he asked "from the chefs in canterlot."i told him "they told you there recipe?"then he looked at his plate," no wonder it's so good." "well eat up your food is getting cold."i told him i went upstairs to wake up twilight.she was still sleeping. i was surprised at this. it was really latet and she's still asleep. i decided to wake her up *poke**poke* *groan* *poke**poke* *mumble**mumble* *poke* "i'm up"she said rather tired "your breakfast is getting cold"i said "i'll be down in a minute."she said "ok"i said i went down stairs to see spike licking his bowl clean with his long snake tongue. "you want seconds spike"i asked him "yes please"he said i served him some more and put on the rest of the ruby dust for him.he ate it hungrily once he was done twilight came down still looking a little tired. "hey sleepy head want your breakfast yet."i asked with a smile still trying to forget the dream and everything before. "yes please."she said with a yawn. i gave her a bowl and served myself some too. "had a good sleep last night?"i asked her "not really, you?"she asked my smile disappeared "no not really"i said rather glum "oh sorry i didn't mean to.."i cut her off "no it's fine lets just eat."i said to her "ok"she said once we were done eating i called her upstairs while spike went over to rarity's botique. "uhm, twilight can i ask a favor?"i said to her blushing "oh, what is the favor?"she said "well you remember how dr. well said i need to put on burn cream everday?"i asked "yeess and?"she asked "well i can't reach certain places and i need you to rub it on me, you don't have to if you don't want to."i said rather nervously. "oh,uhm, ok if it's just that."she said with a blush so i sat on the bed and gave her the cream then i started to unwrap the bandages and i saw that my burns were starting to heal nicely but my skin still had a black tinge to it.Once twilight had cream on her hooves she started to rub my arms. "ooh~ that feels nice."i said. all twilight did was continue and blush at the comment. "can i ask you something?"twilight asked "sure."i reponded "don't get upset but i know that you love the princess."she said "oh."i frowned at that "please don't get upset but i was watching over you and i saw you cry, why?"she asked "i guess i can tell you but please don't tell anyone else"i said with a frown. "ok i pinkie swear."she said. i was confused on what that was. "ok,you already konw that the princesses can't fall in love with mortals or anyone tht isn't a royal, right?" "yes i do recognize this law."she said "and you know that luna can enter anyones dreams right?"i said "yes i do recognize this too."she said "um, can you keep putting on the burn cream please?"i asked "oh, yes." she said once she started to put on the cream again i cooed in pleasure "well, when luna entered my dream she checked oon me to see if i was fine but she brought up a subject i asked 5 weeks ago, it was when i started to get accustomed to the life here and well i started to get attracted to ponies she asked who i was attracted to and well it was her but i.. told her i love her i shouldn't have it ruined everything between us..."i said lastly and some tears started to roll down my cheek, but twilight caught them. "don't feel bad."she started "why shouldn't i?"i said "well atleast you told her you love her that's a thing."she said with a weak "well yeah but i wish there wasn't that rule."i said rather down. "thank you for putting on my burn cream."i started to wrap the bandages on my upperbody and on my arm when twilight said. "why don't you make some friends?"she said "sure."'i said weakly "and maybe if that works out you can find some one else to love."she said with a wink "oh, um ok?"i said so next step lets go outside and make new friends! ************************************************************************** next chapter:finallyin ponyville part 2! i wonder what's going to happen in the next chapter!
portal to dreams
Finally in Ponyville(part 2)
Nothing to really say. So yeah have any ideas comment below thanks! ******************************************************************** Once I got out it was even more beautiful in the daylight.The town is very marvolous(oh sh** i think rarity rubbed off on me)than i expected because i've only seen it from a sky view and when i was running in the beginning but really didn't get to see anything. "So are you going to just stand there Axel?"Twilight said with a smirk. "huh, oh sorry just finally got a good veiw of this town."i said still standing there. "well come on then let's see if you can find a friend."twilight said,"oh i forgot i have to meet up with pinkie for nothing in particular"she said with a nervous face. i could easily tell she was lieing.she needs to learn how to lie some day. "so, uhm, you should be fine on your own for now."she said with a nervous smile. "fine just go."i said to her,"also, learn how to lie." "oh uhm, BYE!"she quickly got out with a speed that matched with pinkies *sigh* "well i don't think anything can go wrong today."man murphy's theory was on me.Once those words left my mouth a blur of blue put a clothe on my nose and i got knocked out like that. once i woke up i was in some type of basement with only a single light above and this pony. "where am i?"i said "and who are you?" "your in my basement and i'm lyra."she said proudly and i can feel there was some lust in here eyes. i then noticed i wasn't tied up "wait...you didn't tie me up?"i asked "no i wanted to observe your body."she gave me a smile that completly said lust. i blushed but then said"but you know you could have gotten away with more if you tied me up...oh sh**" she then started to creep up on me with a chlorofome rag and some rope.she then pounced up on me but i side stepped her. i admired in my mind about the facts of adrenaline but i couldn't think about it now.The next pounce i did the same except this time lyra lost her footing and fell on the clothe and knocked herself out.i knew this was going to be a while so i decided to make a tea and a cake when she wakes up so we can have a little...talk.(F*** alot of ponies are really rubbing on me)i went upstairs to see my surroundings but it turned out i was still in the library.then i thought why she would say that.then i could think that if a pony was carrying an unconcious human all through town it would be REALLY suspicious. I had made the cake right about the time the tea was ready.about 10 minutes later when all the things were settled on a table downstairs she yawned and she was finally awake. "eat"i said to her demandingly she looked at me as if something happened to me but saw the food infront of her(i decided to also make sandwiches because i saw that it was turning evening)she decided to take a sandwich and i served her a cup of chamomile tea. "why are you doing this?"she said. "why were YOU doing this?"i said to her "well i was interested humans in all my life time."she said but i cut her off "how do you know about humans?" ************************************************** Next chapter:talking with lyra! sorry that this chapter was so short but like i said running out of ideas so until next time!
portal to dreams
Talking with lyra
well sorry for the late update but let's get on with this ************************************** "well, I guess I can trust you if you promise not to tell anyone."Lyra said "I pinkie swear"I said, the i felt a shiver down my spine and looked up and saw pinkie in some....spy gear? but i decided to ignore it and looked at Lyra. "When I was just a filly i used to be bullied by some mean colts and it all happened in a library this one to be exact... *********************************flashback*************************** "No! You can't have it!"Lyra screamed, she was being bullied down for her bits. "Come on guys let's get her!"He said(*not good at coming up with names*) They started to corner Lyra to the mythology section *Whimper*Lyra was scared.The lead colt started to charger up some medium force magic.Once he released this magic lyra made a really weak force field.The magic formed into a ball and it sailed straight at her. It broke the shield and sounded like breaking glass. This magic left no mercy for her and knocked the wind out of her.She blacked out.While she was out the colts stole all her bits and kicked the bookshelf to make all the books fall on her. Lyra immediately awoke with pain everywhere on her body. she poked her out of the book pile.A final book fell out of the shelf and fell on her head and opened of her to show a mysterious creature she never seen or heard of before ,so she picked it up and studied it. It...was...AMAZING! This human creature was said to be very intellectual and had HANDS.this made more sense then grabbing things with hooves even she could not comprehend this. *********************back to present****************************** My jaw was hanging open. I was surprised that a pony would hurt another.I thought that everyone was friendly to one another ,but i guess not.I have yet to learn the ways here. "Why would they do that to you?"i said almost ready to lose my temper. "i...don't know."she said with a tear in her eye. *don't lose your cool axel just stay calm*i said in my mind with a breath "And that's why i want YOU!"she pounced at me and grabbed me but i started to run up the stairsbut lost my stepping and she started to make out with me. I started to grab her and try to get her off me but a part of me wanted to let her do her thing.I finally got her to come off for ten seconds. "STOP!"I shouted but she didn't listen she kept making out with me but i didn't want this. i started to lose my mind. I actually started to give in and started to climb up the stairs with her. My hand sstarted to go down to her flank when something surprised her and me. ********************************************************************* Next chapter: It wasn't my fault! My god, I can't believe i did that back then! Pinkie:Me Neither AAAAAAAAHHHHHH! *pant*pant* Pinkie you have to stop doing that! Pinkie:nnot a chance!
portal to dreams
It wasn't my fault
Sorry for the short chapters also I'M SORRY *sob* for the late updates*starting to bawl* ************************************* When that door slammed open I was so surprised I dropped Lyra and I almost had a heart attack. It was Twilight and she said "Axel I'm..."she stopped in her tracks. "uh, hey Twilight..."I said. "See ya, twilight and you too!" and Lyra ran out the door. but I saw that she winked before she left. . . . . . total silence in the room, Twilight's mouth agape from the surprise "W-what was t-that?" she said still in surprise. "Well you see, Uhm, IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" i said yelling to her. "*snicker*Didn't expect you to lunge out and already get a date with some one in that short of time." she said. she was now laughing in full blast, I didn't expect her to forgive me that quickly. she was on her back already in full blast "And what was that about you going for her flank?" she said now trying to stop from her laughter. "Uhm, well I...can't explain." I said finally, "But it's like there was no difference, like she was any regular female." "Hmm, it seems you are getting used to Equestria." she said much more serious "This conversation has been getting awkward, sooo I'm just going to go over to the kitchen and make us some dinner " I said Then I ran off and made some simple vegetable stew. We quietly ate our dinner but I said one thing to her. "you need to lie better, anyone can see your lying." I said to her. all she did was sit there and had wide eyes that she had been found out. after dinner I just changed into my night clothes and brushed my teeth. once Twilight had settled down in her bed and went to sleep I stared at the moon. I had decided to apologize for my rash behavior with the princess. so I went to sleep and awaited the princess. . . . . . this time I was in a pond one I didn't recognize. it was very beautiful.i sat on the ground awaiting her arrival. there was nothing and no one not even the blue mist. where was she he did not know *********************************** *groan* Luna was still upset she wished that axel would stop trying to run away and would at least speak with her.she hadn't been doing her full potential in her job and was more depressed than usual. Just once would she like to hear his voice. She just couldn't get it out of her mind. Her sister tried to cheer her up but nothing worked so she decided to give her some time. But each day she just got more upset and she needed to do something quick or else something bad would happen. Celestia decided to assign an arrangement for axel and luna. she decided it for two days from now for she knew from all the accidents he wouldn't like to travel for a while. so until then... *********************************** THE NEXT DAY! finally outside without anyone to bash my head in and kidnap me. "Hey Twilight any places you recommend me to go?"I asked "Hmmm.... why don't you try sweet apple acres, they have the best apples in Equestria." Twilight recommended "which friend of yours is there?"I asked "Apple Jack... you know the orange one with.."twilight was interrupted "yeah I know...well I don't need directions because I can clearly see the farm from here...well see yah Twi!" I shouted while I was running towards the farm. it was 20 minutes before I got there man it was farther away than it looked! Once I got there I saw apple jack, but I also saw a large burly red pony and he was hurling RIGHT TOWARDS ME! but instead of ramming me he takes out his hoof. I was still in a position that was embarrassing but he said "why howdy there partner" noticing that I wasn't broken in any way I wiped myself off and coughed and said "hi" I took out my hand out and shook his hand. apple jack was running over and smiling she said "ah knew it was a good idea to tell mah family you were here" I sighed in my head. she noticed my expression and said "well if ah didn't tell Big Macintosh here he might a' clobbered you down" my....god. that sounded like a threat. "well come on in, our house is your house" applejack waved her hooves over to a barn. know that sounded much kinder. once I was inside it looked much homier. like I actually belonged there. I saw an old green pony that smiled when I came in, she knew about me too. I didn't see them come through the door but there were three fillies one yellow with red hair, one orange with purple hair, and lastly one that looked like a cute little marshmallow with purple and pink tooth paste hair. they were silent when they saw but like they were linked they said "MONSTER HUNTER CUTIE MARK!!!" MY GOD I had to cover my ears. it was like banshee screaming in to my ear. THAT BAD. but while I covered my ears, they were still ringing, they pounced on me and put me down. I was still on the ears thing I thought I fell down by my self but then I looked back to see who made that sound only to find three fillies on my back. "SWEETIE BELL, SCOOTALOO, AND APPLEBLOOM GET OFF OUR GUEST THIS INSTANT!" apple jack was screaming at them they looked very down. they knew that they were going to get scolded later. but applejack...you know what just going to call her AJ. but anyway she put on a smile for me and said "why don't you have a seat?" she said in a friendly "why don't I get you a fresh batch of our world known cider. *CRASHHHHH* something just busted through the door and said "cider?" I saw it was a sky blue pony with a rainbow mane. "Rainbow dash AGAIN!" AJ screamed "whelp, I'm a sucker for apple cider" she kinda laughed "well your fixing the door AGAIN!" she was still screaming at her "and as y'all can see we have a GUEST here!" she pointed her hoof towards me and looked back at her "oh, you mean that monkey?" she pointed at me as well "well that was very mean" I said "SEE you hurt his feelings. we're supposed to make him feel at home!" she yelled the moment she said home I had a glum expression. both of them saw it before I left the barn. they tried to reach me but I ran to the library. I went to the basement. if you want to know I made the place homier. my personal room. but... Next time......MEMORIES! god I don't want to remember it hurts HMM don't see pinkie oh well
portal to dreams
Memories
starting to get back in to the biz of things again, so yeah maybe new chapters on Saturday, sunday, Friday. probably only on those days I will update the stories. ********************************************************************************************************* but...I felt another seizure this time more of when I left my....home. I started spazing out on the floor and then I saw my family except their faces were still a blur I heard "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" then I saw a man come up to me and say "happy birthday son." he handed me a multi tool.so that's where I got the knife. so I suspected that he was my father. then came up a woman. "happy birthday honey." she handed me a silver ring but underneath was a secret compartment with picture. *gasp* a ring! I had to check it later! there were other gifts but they were on a different table in gift bags. then my mother put down a cake. the chocolate cake. the candles were lit and they all said "BLOW OUT THE CANDLES!" my mother came up and said "make a wish honey" in a voice as smooth as silk I scoffed at the idea but did it. I couldn't hear what I said but once I said it a portal came in and swept me away all I heard was screaming but one I heard the most "MY BABY!" that's all I ever saw I woke up and saw I was fine and not in a hospital but on the floor of the basement. "The RING!" I yelled I looked at my finger it wasn't there. I checked my pockets not in there but I found the multi tool I searched for it in the library but didn't find I went downstairs sat on the sofa only to cry. *sob**hic**sob* another memory quickly flashed by it was the portal it took my ring. I kept crying I didn't hear it but someone came in. not one but two ponies. rainbow dash and AJ. they heard my sobbing and ran down stairs . "Now what are ya' sobbin' for?" "It*hic*took my *hic*ring."i could barely say it. "what do you mean ring?" rainbow dash said. she continued "we never saw you with a ring before." I calmed down and said "when I came here I had a ring but the portal took it." they looked at me with a questioning look "you wouldn't know" they just looked at me "well since your here do you want to stay for dinner?" they smiled at me and said "yeah I guess ah' can stay" "I guess I can too" I went up stairs but because of me having visitors I made a lemon meringue for dessert, a fruit salad as an appetizer, and vegetable stew as the main course. but as I was lastly making the salad I had a huge headache I fell banged my head on the counter and them I remembered something it was me writing an application for a .... college? it was called the blue cordon a culinary school? as I saw this i went in deeper and saw that I was in a trainee outfit and I was cooking some dishes it was all in fast forward i saw many days working. then that's when i woke up but i felt.....different. i felt like i had more potential. but again i wasn't in a hospital but in my bed. i saw some medical tape on my head when i looked at the mirror but then i saw rainbow dash and AJ snuggled together by me in my bed i saw the time it was late then i heard the squeak of the door it was probably twilight then i saw the position i was in so i jumped out of the bed made sure they were still asleep and ran down the stairs and met twilight half way. she looked tired but i heard her stomach growl. "so where were you missy?" i giggled in my head "in sugar cube corner" "where?" "i'll tell you in the morning." she was walking over to the kitchen\ before she made it there i saw if the was still food. there was. i served twilight quickly but with care. she saw the three courses and smiled at me. she ate everything but i ate some myself for i was hungry too. she said "i'm tired i'm going to bed. thank you for the supper." i to was sleepy but then i remembered rainbow & AJ were there. i tried racing upstairs but i saw that twilight was already fast asleep i was relieved i took AJ to our sofa and rainbow to a different sofai put my blankets on them i pulled of my clothes and put on my night clothes and brushed my teeth and put my dirty clothes over in a laundry basket. and went off to sleep this time i was in a white plain. nothing there. but i saw one pony there. i bet you can guess. no not the princess well while you guess I'm gonna end the chapter still wondering where pinkie is PINKIE WHERE ARE YOU! well until next time!
Weaving Memories at Amore University
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"Just answer them AB, they might leave if you just give em what they want." Scootaloo stated in a lowered voice, but clearly everyone could still hear. A sigh escaped her as Apple Bloom replied, "Fine... just ask yer question..." Diamond Tiara glanced about before leaning over the table. Which in turn made the rest scoot forward. As Sweetie Belle leaned forward, she failed to anticipate her large breasts dipping into her food; ketchup covered her shirt. While she panicked to wipe away the condiment, Diamond Tiara simply continued with her question, "You live on a farm, with tons of animals and such. If anypony knows if what that quack was saying was true, it would be you Apple Bloom!" Apple Bloom blinked in confusion, sitting back in her seat, "All honestly, Fluttershy takes care of the animals most of the time. Ah remember Applejack goin ta help her one time, but when I asked her how it went, she turned all red and wouldn't speak to me or Mac for a month after that." "So it's true!" Silver Spoon retorted out loud. Frowning at the loud mare, Apple Bloom squeaked, "I didn't say that!" "Sure sounded like it, why else would she have turned red like that?" Diamond Tiara crossed her arms, glaring at the CMC. Suddenly, a few more mares placed their trays down, leaning forward, "You guys talking about sex ed?" "Colgate, Raindrops, Babs?" Scootaloo calls out, startled by their sudden appearance. "Ah don't think tha table is big enough!" Apple Bloom frowned, but sighed as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had to scoot closer to her. Everyone managed to fit at the table, and Raindrops called out to the others, "What should we do? What if the stallions want to rape us?!" Scooting forward, Colgate spoke up, "We should all look out for one another! Watch each others backs!" "I know one thing!" Babs Seed stated with a frown, "I'm never going to face any stallion! If they can't see my front, they can't get to my vagina!" "Good idea, Babs!" Apple Bloom raised her voice, smiling to everyone. "Say no to facing stallions!" Scootaloo smiled, raising up her drink. "Say no to facing stallions!" Everyone called afterward, clinking their drinks to Scootaloo's. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Luckily it didn't seem that many stallions were at the Strip right now. As they ate, they could hear Cloud Chaser and Flitter speak up, sitting in chairs they had pulled up behind the Cutiemark Crusaders. The group seemed determined to stick together until they were back to the mare's campus, "Did you hear, Flitter? Vinyl Scratch is working as a waiter here at one of the restaurants!" "Really?" Flitter asked excitedly. Diamond Tiara stopped, frowning at the twins, "Vinyl Scratch is a huge DJ icon, why would she work here of all places?" Apple Bloom glanced to Diamond Tiara long enough to answer, "You can't stay on campus unless you are a student or if you are employed. I hear she's friends with Octavia, the music teacher, and so she wanted to stay on campus, but they wouldn't let her stay so she got a job." "I saw Dinky and Berry Punch dressed as waiters too, I wonder if they are working for extra bits?" Sweetie Belle stated sweetly, holding onto Scootaloo's and Apple Bloom's arms. "Hey look, everypony, it's Buttons." Daimond Tiara snickered, pointing, "Somepony should go over there and see what they were learning in sex-ed." Everyone glanced over, watching as Button Mash slipped bits into a sole machine, placing his drink on a nearby stool. Everyone knew that you couldn't bring drinks or food into the arcade, so that was probably why Button's was here, instead of over there. Not to mention this particular arcade game just so happened to be one of his favorites. "Let's take a vote, and I vote for Sweetie Belle." Silver Spoon stated, pointing her hoof at the white mare. "W-why me?!" Sweetie pleaded, staring over to Button's. "Come on Sweetie, you hang out with him back home. Just go up to him." Scootaloo stated, "Besides we should know what they are learning." Releasing Scootaloo's arm, Sweetie looked to Apple Bloom to rescue her. Apple Bloom nodded her agreement with the group, "Yeah! We might as well see what he knows. Go for it Sweetie Belle, you know him better than we do." Hanging her head in defeat, Sweetie Belle slowly got up from her seat. The entire group watched her as she neared Button Mash. Then Bab's called out, "Don't show him your front!" Sweetie Belle took her advice, turning her side toward the brown colt, inching herself closer, "Hi, Button..." "Hi." Button merely replied, rapidly pressing buttons on the arcade game. "S-so... what did you learn today in sex-ed?" Sweetie asked flatly, thinking she was containing herself fairly well so far. She looked back to her friends, and they merely edged her on, pointing to Button. "Cheerilee shown us some odd pictures of naked mares, but I didn't pay much attention. I'm almost to level hundred on my Joy-Boy." admitted Button's, not once looking over to the mare. Glancing back at her friends once more, the entire group used their hands to signal her to go forward. Scootaloo became far more impatient than the rest as she called out in a loud whisper, "Keep going!" Letting out a sigh, Sweetie turned her gaze toward the focused Button, "Was there... anything specific you learned today? What exactly were the pictures?" "GAME OVER~!" the game cried out, making Button's slam his hoof down, "See what you made me do?" Frowning in defeat, Sweetie returned to her friends, head hung low. Apple Bloom patted her on the back, smiling, "It's okay, Sweetie Belle, no harm done." "What a failure!" Diamond Tiara stated, crossing her arms as she got up from the table. "Wait up for me!" Silver Spoon called out, chasing after her friend. "We could always ask the Professor?" Babs's Seed stated. "He's a stallion, remember?" Apple Bloom retorted, making the entire group sigh, not knowing what to do about the new predicament.
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Rainbow pumped her fist in the air. They caught up with the others, and Kirito told them, "By the way, that girl that I was with was named Asuna. She's he other one in my own party. I would appreciate it if you could add her to yours." he pulled up his menu, and the others did the same. After linking her to their party, Applejack asked, "Why did she have that hood 'n cape on? Ya think she's tryna hide somethin'?" Kirito stared. "I guess we'll find out sooner or later."
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Episode Four: Casualty
11.31.16 12:18P F#01 A twig snapped under Sunset's boot as it laid on the dirt path leading up the mountain. Its nonexistent life was taken immediately, but its killer felt no remorse. It was one of hundreds of snapped sticks on the long journey, and there were hundreds more to come. Sunset paid it no notice, instead keeping on listening to the constant bickering between Kibaou and Anon. Kibaou growled, "If this walking goes on any longer, I'm gonna pass on before we even reach the freaking boss." Anon rolled his invisible eyes and retorted, "Then maybe you should have lost some pounds before playing an active game. A lot of pounds." BURN. Pinkie said at the back of the group, "Dayum, I wish I could think of good comeback lines like that. Hey Rainbow, think you could teach me how to do good comeback lines? You're really good at it." Rainbow answered, "Maybe sometime, when we're not occupied with, oh, life and death." Twilight was bringing up the rear, panting heavily and clutching her chest. "I guess others of us should have lost some weight as well." Pinkie grabbed Twilight's shoulders. "You don't mean that, do you? Not all of us are fat blobs! I mean look at me! Look at this bodehhh..." she started to do a sexy-dance before Sunset smacked the back of her head. Kibaou said, "Some things are impractical to some people. Maybe when we're done, you can do that dance again..." "Speaking of impractical," Rarity said. "I once saw the absolute epitome of impracticality. Derpy once came to school wearing a burgundy top with a light brown skirt! And on top of that, she had yellow shoes!" she shuddered at the mere thought. Everyone else groaned pretty loudly, but Agil chuckled and said, "Someone actually wore that color combination? That's pretty impractical, all right." Every head turned to Agil with their jaws hanging down to the ground. Agil said, "What, I took an interior design class, okay?" Sunset nodded and said, "Interior designing is pretty interesting, if you know what colors go with whatnot." A man in Anon's party said, "Like that awesome brown-and-offwhite combo they wear in Attack on Titan? That's pretty dang cool." Rainbow said, "Oh man, I love that show. Can you believe Armin's scream was the number 1 ringtone of 2015?" "Ringtones?" someone in Agil's party said. "People still vary with their ringtones? All I've heard recently is that freaking PPAP song." Applejack said, "Ah will never understand the popularity of that song." Anon, slightly ticked, said, "If we're all done going off on irrelevant topics, might I suggest we stop and have lunch? We obviously still have a long way to go." Everyone agreed this was a good idea and all found stones and logs to sit on. The forest scenery was beautiful in the middle of the day, with the sun casting rays through the leaves and the branches. A spider crawled out of a tree and stopped on Kibaou's sandwich. He immediately hacked them both to pieces, gaining 1 XP, much to everyone's amusement. During the rest of the time, Anon read from the guidebook, about the different locations of items and details about enemies. Most people paid attention, except for Pinkie, who always found a way to get distracted, and Kibaou, who was fuming about his lost sandwich. After lunch was over, they packed up and kept walking, although there was less conversation than before. The massive tower in front of them was imposing enough, but the fact that it was at least ten miles away was just scary. Still, they kept on walking. Walking as if their lives depended on it. Which they did. 11.31.16 06:48P F#01 Anon slammed his sword into the ground before him. "Alright everyone, this is it. And before we go in, I have just one thing to say: Let's win!" All the parties silently agreed, and Anon slowly pushed open the heavy wooden door. "Let's do this." The door creaked open to reveal the darkness behind it. Nothing moved, nothing made a sound except the twenty pairs of boots walking down the corridor. Kirito realized he was probably the only one present who had completed this level before. He prayed that his past experience would let everyone advance to the next level, to complete one step to freedom. A pair of red eyes appeared at the end of the hall. Instantaneously, light flashed through the corridor, causing the walls to glow different colors and slowly ripple as if they were made of magma. An enormous creature fell to the ground from where it had jumped. Its body resembled Rufus from Street Fighter, while its head was a mix of a bull and a wolf. Its flesh was a dull shade of red that seemed to barely cover the pulsing veins beneath. It wore a red tunic with black leggings, and had a gray diamond marking on its stomach. It carried an iron shield in one hand and a massive battle axe in the other. It had a truly ghastly appearance that, if it had appeared in real life, would make even the bravest of men cower in fear. Everyone wanted to do just that, but they stood their ground with their swords drawn. Three small sentinels appeared next to it, each brandishing a stone club and wearing knight's armor and helmets. All four started charging at the ready group of fighters. Anon thought to himself, "This is what we've all been waiting for. This goes to all our fallen friends." he raised his sword and yelled, "ATTACK!!" Most everyone immediately rushed at the beasts, yelling their own battle cries. Twilight and Rarity stayed slightly behind, while Sunset, Rainbow, Applejack, Kirito, and Asuna ran at them full force. Anon followed as well, keeping a pretty safe distance to issue orders. There was a metallic clang as Agil's axe connected with the beast's own. Applejack and Kibaou soon followed, slicing at the monster's axe while it parried their attacks. A man jumped behind the boss's arm to dismember it, but was effectively blocked by the wooden butt of the axe. The turmoil became so chaotic that Anon had to stop everyone before they all killed themselves. "Squad A and Squad C! Switch!" The two teams immediately traded their places on the battlefront as the mighty weapon whizzed through the thin air where they had momentarily been. "Here it comes, Squad B! Block!" Agil affirmed, and he and his party held their weapons out as the boss's axe came into contact with them. They all were knocked slightly back, but no one was hurt. "Squad C, keep guarding and get ready to switch! Now!" Sunset yelled to the others, "Now's our chance!" She, Pinkie, and Rarity took a forward stand in front of the others, who all jumped out of the way and countered another blow. The monster's nostrils flared as its arm flew behind it. "Squads D, E, and F, keep the sentinels off us! We're going in!" Kirito said, "Roger that," and looked in Asuna's direction, but she was already off and running. He took off after her and reflected a hit from a club. Asuna kicked a sentinel's breastplate off and cut out a nice piece of its stomach. She then rushed ahead with her sword pointed forward, saying, "Number three!" Kirito stopped. Thoughts ran through his mind. "I thought she was only a beginner, but she's incredible. She slices so fast I can't even see her blade." Asuna dashed around a sentinel, blocking its strike and then whipping it over and blasting it to pieces. Her cloak settled around her figure once again. Kirito smiled slightly and complemented her, "Nice going." He didn't have time to notice if she responded as another sentinel leaped in front of him and swiped its club at him. He parried it and knocked it away with a solid hit. Rainbow, caught in the fray of fighting the boss, yelled to him, "Kirito! You can do this! We're all counting on you guys!" Kirito clenched his fist and rushed at the sentinel, blocking each slice it delivered. He nearly stabbed through its helmeted face, but another player beat him to it by cutting off its head in a clean stroke. It died in a burst of glowing triangles. He and the other player quickly shook hands, then went right back to fighting. Except there was nothing to fight anymore. The boss had ceased attacking. It threw its axe and shield into the air and they landed with a clank behind it. Sunset wondered, "Did we really get rid of its three health bars already? We might actually beat this thing!" Kibaou laughed, "Looks like that guidebook was right." Anon yelled, "Stand back!" The group turned around to look at him, but he was running at the currently unarmed beast. "I'll go. I can handle this thing!" Kirito stopped. "Wait," he thought. "Weren't we supposed to surround it with the entire group? Is this even wise?" The boss reached behind it and pulled out--a longsword with two points on the end. The exact opposite of a Talwar. Anon kept running. Kirito thought, "That's not a Talwar, it's a Nodachi! It's different than in the beta test!" He wanted to stop Anon before he got killed, but found himself unable to move. He just gathered all his strength to scream, "NO!!!" Anon, glowing sword in hand, turned around to look at Kirito, as did everyone else. The beast leaped into the air and wall-jumped off the vaulted ceilings. It was moving almost too fast to keep track of. And then, it dove straight down and slashed open Anon's chest. Kibaou yelled, "ANON! NO!" Anon's body flew across the hall and thudded as it came to a stop on the other side. The monster landed in front of the group and roared right in their faces. Pinkie cowered behind Rarity, who was cowering behind Twilight, who was cowering behind Rainbow. They couldn't take their eyes off of Anon's motionless body or the beast that was sure to devour them. Kirito ran over to Anon, healing potion at the ready. "Why did you try to take it alone?" he asked, putting the bottle to Anon's mouth as the other's health bar was draining. Anon pushed it away. Kirito gasped. Anon weakly said, "You were a beta tester,weren't you?" This came as a shock. Anon able to figure out Kirito was a beta tester, a fact Kirito was making a point to keep secret. "You...were after the rare attack bonus item." This was an even bigger shock. The ordinary players had no clue that the bonus item existed. "You mean you were a beta tester too?" Anon nodded and smiled slightly. "Please...defeat...defeat the boss..." His body began to glow. "For everyone..." With that, Anon disappeared in a burst of light and ceased to be. The others stared at the scene in horror. No one wanted to believe what just happened had actually happened. Kirito couldn't bring himself to cry. Instead he thought about how Anon had taken routes he would never have taken. About how Anon always stood by the other players while Kirito only cared about his own survival. Asuna appeared by Kirito's side. "I'll go too." Kirito gathered his voice and courage and said, "Thanks. Let's do this." The beast roared. Kirito and Asuna ran at it like they had done with the sentinels. It was the exact same as the sentinels, only bigger, Kirito was telling himself. All the other players were on the ground, ready to admit defeat. Twilight couldn't believe any of this had happened. But she noticed that Kirito didn't give up. She admired his courage. Kirito lunged at the boss with a wide-ranged slash. Its Nodachi glowed and crossed with his sword. Kirito shook it off and yelled, "Switch!" Asuna jumped high in the air to catch the top of the boss's head, but it was wise and swung its sword at her in midair. "ASUNA!" he shouted. Asuna's cloak was ripped to shreds, but she was unharmed. As the hood and cape came off, they revealed lots of long brunette hair, shining brown eyes, and a well-developed figure. Kirito couldn't help but stand there and stare. He had given a few thoughts as to what she might look like, but he never would have imagined that she would look so... ...beautiful... He came to his senses as the boss's sword crashed down a few feet away from him. He spun around and hit the sword multiple times, while each hit was blocked. The monster raised it suddenly, and brought it down. It cut a straight, shallow gash along Kirito's stomach. He launched backwards and knocked over Asuna. His health bar was depleted quite a bit, but not enough to finish him off. That was the beast's intention as it raised its sword once again, ready to dispose of its two attackers. The blade came down on--another blade. Kirito opened his eyes and saw Rainbow standing there, holding off the heavy Nodachi. The boss fell back, ready to attack again. Asuna looked at Rainbow, then Kirito. Rainbow looked down at Kirito and said, "We'll hold it off until you recover." Agil stepped forward and agreed with her. All of his men, and the six students from Canterlot High rushed at the beast with their swords in attack position. There were several seconds of intense fighting before the boss leaped in the air and thrusted its sword into the ground, causing a shockwave that blasted everyone away. It then rushed at the floored Agil and Rainbow, ready to finish the job. Kirito got to his feet and yelled, "I'll finish you first!" The two blades crossed again, but this time, Kirito's was glowing. He cut a slash across the boss's upper body, then yelled to Asuna to switch. She did, and she stabbed through the beast's belly and made a deep gash around the left half of its body. Kirito then cut all the way through its body at the same time Asuna did, causing it to fly in the air. It began to glow a light shade of blue before imploding. The boss was defeated. Kirito was exhausted from the sheer agony of the past ten minutes. The difference of this fight and the one in the beta was overwhelming. And Anon... Asuna put a hand to her racing heart and said, "I suppose we can move on to the second floor now." "Yeah," Kirito wiped a load of sweat from his face. He got down on one knee and tried to gain his strength again. "WE DID IT!!!" Everyone started cheering and jumping around. Pinkie got a party cannon out of absolutely nowhere and shot it. "If there's a party, there's gotta be loads of confetti!" A small viewscreen appeared in front of Kirito. It read, "Congratulations, you got the last attacking bonus! Coat of Midnight" Applejack came up and patted his shoulder. "That was some mighty fine swordplay if Ah say so myself." Agil helped him up and said, "If it weren't for you and Asuna, we would most likely all be dead." "Well..." the group started clapping before Kirito could finish his sentence. It was quickly stopped by an angry "WHY?!" They all turned to look at Kibaou. "Why did you let Anon die?" Everyone gasped. "Let him die?" Kirito was in shock again. "OF FKING COURSE! You knew about that technique the boss used! If you had told us about it before we started, he wouldn't have died!" Everyone exchanged awkward glances. Someone in Anon's party said, "I know! He's probably a beta tester! That's how he knew all the attack patterns! He remembered them from the beta!" Someone else said, "Come on, any other beta testers here? There shouldn't be, since none of us knew the boss's moveset!" All the members looked around at each other. The six CHS students knew none of them were beta testers. Others were not too sure. Kirito was fuming. "This is bad..." He remembered Anon's final words: for everyone. But then he saw the rare item in front of him. Agil confronted Kibaou again. "Come on, there..." He was cut off by the sound of laughing. Kirito was laughing. "Beta tester? Ha, don't even think about comparing me to those noobs." Asuna and Sunset exchanged glances. This was getting weird. Kirito got up and continued, "The 10000 beta testers were bottom-level beginners who didn't even know how to collect items. All you guys are better than they'll ever be." Kibaou growled. "But I'm not like them. I made it to a higher floor than anyone else in the beta test. The reason I knew those attack patterns was because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors high above us. I know more than any guidebook or info broker. Lots more." Rainbow didn't like this. Kirito was starting to sound evil. Kibaou thundered, "That's worse than a beta tester! You're just cheating!!" His party members started yelling it with him. "Cheater! Cheats, cheats and cheating!" "You're a beta tester AND a cheater!" "BEATER!!!" The voice of unknown ownership hung over the crowd like a dagger. "Beater..." Kirito repeated. "I like that. I am a beater. From now on, don't confuse me with all those other testers." Kibaou's jaw was hanging open. Kirito opened his menu and activated the Coat of Midnight. It immediately appeared over his simple blue tunic: a majestic black cloak with silver studs and a decorated base. Rarity saw it and fell in love with it at once. If-no-when she escaped the game, she was going to design one just like it. Possibly a unisex version. Kirito smugly brushed past everyone and walked up the stairs to the next floor. Sunset, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, and Asuna ran after him. "Wait!" He slowly turned around to face them. Asuna spoke up first. "When we were fighting the boss, you called me by my name. How did you know it?" Kirito pointed in the air. "Right about there, you can see an HP bar with the player's name. You can see mine, can't you?" Asuna looked. "Kirito? Your name's Kirito?" He turned away again. "Yeah." Asuna laughed. "Oh, I'm so stupid. It was there the whole time and I didn't notice!" Rainbow whispered to Applejack, "I saw it as soon as we got introduced. What took her so long?" Applejack shushed her to let Kirito talk. "If the time ever comes when someone invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down. There are limits to what a swordplayer can do." "But, you're going solo." Kirito opened his menu and disbanded his party. The door opened and Kirito walked away. The seven girls stood there in disbelief. They weren't sure whether to follow him or not. They weren't sure whether they would even see him again. They weren't sure if they would even make it out alive.
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Episode Five: Unraveling
5.15.17 1:37P F#08 Several months had passed since the victory in the floor one dungeon. The girls were progressing at a decent rate, occasionally meeting up with Kirito, Asuna and Agil. Kibaou hadn't been heard from in a while, so everyone assumed the worst. They were on floor eight now. The previous six bosses had been a challenge, but they overcame. With Kirito's guidance, the game was starting to be a little easier and maybe even fun. This floor had an abundance of good restaurants and cafes, one of which the girls were at. They were seated at a table, talking about the last few months over tea and breadsticks. "You know, darlings, I find it quite odd that the last boss barely put up a fight. Maybe it's because the creator is being more lenient and changing the computers to make it easier for the players?" Twilight put in, "My guess it that the software is faulty on that front. Since this is the first version of the released game, there should be a few bugs." "Ah'm jest hopin' that he don't start releasing patches." Applejack remarked, taking a sip of tea. "If the rest of the bosses are a piece o'cake, that's really good enough fer everyone." "Mmm...cake!" Pinkie giggled. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "But it was still kinda disappointing that the last boss was so easy. I mean, it was a giant freakin' SPIDER! What the hell! We don't want EASY fights with giant freakin' spiders!" "You'll find, Rainbow Dash, that most people would prefer their lives over difficult fights with giant spiders," Rarity remarked dryly. Sunset nodded. "Besides, if we get out of here, we can go play Skyrim and fight all the spiders we want." "IF??" Everyone glared at her. "Well, it's true! If we screw up on something or just don't have enough experience, we won't make it out!" "What a reassuring positive outlook," grumbled Rainbow. "Well, we won't screw up and we will get enough experience." Applejack said. "Ah've learned one thing, and that's to always assume the best." A waiter came to their table to refill their tea and give them more breadsticks. Pinkie immediately grabbed two and shoved them both into her mouth, making them look like walrus tusks. After the waiter left, Twilight asked, "Is it too much to assume that all these creatures that we fight are indigenous? I mean, the creator put them there, but do they respond to climates like real creatures?" Rainbow laughed. "That sounds like something Fluttershy would say." She immediately thought about how worried Fluttershy must be for all her friends, how she might never see any of them again. The others sensed this too, as it brought a heavy silence down on the group. No one said anything for a few minutes. Sunset broke the silence after a bit by saying, "Uh, so how many of you have seen the rock garden at the edge of town?" Rarity perked up. "A rock garden? Oh, I just adore rock gardens! They're so charming and serene, and they're always beautifully arranged!" Applejack adjusted her hat and said, "Well then, why don't we just go and see it?" Everyone agreed. They got up and walked out the door as Twilight paid for the food. It was a clear afternoon with fluffy clouds in the air. A gentle breeze was blowing, causing the trees to sway. On the way to the rock garden, a large snake threatened them, but Applejack stopped it with a well-timed stab to the head. Everyone was a little on edge after that, but the first glimpse of the rock garden eased it. It was magnificent. There were plants in baskets hanging from the walls, there were birds singing and playing in the trees, and there was a fountain in the center with shiny coins at the bottom. Sunset and Pinkie sat down on one of the benches facing the fountain, while Twilight and Rarity went to look at the massive flower arrangements. Rainbow and Applejack stood and leaned on the fountain, watching the water splashing up in the cool air. Rarity was right. The whole area gave off an aura of serenity, which made the girls feel the most comfortable and happy they had since Akihito Kayaba ruined everyone's lives. They stayed there for about an hour, basking in the peacefulness the garden radiated. When they decided to leave, they joined up and prepared to walk out the door. Sunset heard a faint sound that nobody else seemed to pick up. It sounded like...crying? She listened again. It was definitely crying, and it was coming from one of the more secluded areas of the garden. "Stay here, I'll be right back," she told everyone. She then walked off in the direction of the noise. The others were confused, but they stayed around. There were shadows from the afternoon sun cast darkly over a large portion of the area. Sunset followed the crying until it got loudest, and then she found the source. It was a girl about thirteen, wearing a hooded t-shirt and tight red jeans, and whose brown hair had two large curls on either side of the front. She had a simple broadsword laying at her side. She was sitting in a corner facing away from the main part of the garden, with her head buried in her knees. Sunset felt a sharp pang of pity at the sight. She knelt down next to the girl and gently patted her shoulder. The girl looked up with tears streaming down her face. From the redness of her eyes, it looked as if she had been crying for a long time. Sunset introduced herself and asked, "What's wrong? I heard you crying." The girl wiped her eyes and said, "M...my sister...and the pigs...and that big one...a-and..." before bursting into tears again. Sunset stroked her head and comforted her, "No no, it's ok, it's ok. You can tell me what happened." The girl slowed down and gave a big shuddery sigh. She began in a shaky voice, "Me and my big sister had just come here today, and we saw some wild p-pigs. And...she wanted to fight them for fun, but one gave her...a...huge blow to her ribs...and she..." She was desperately trying not to cry again. Sunset's eyes had tears too, and she said, "No, I understand what happened. I'm really sorry." "And...she told me...to make it out in one piece...and tell Mom and Dad...that she's sorry-y..." Sunset wiped her eyes. "I'm so sorry. That must be devastating." She thought back to her own parents, their faces of betrayal as she turned her back on them permanently, as she went into the human world to never return. She shook the thoughts away and started to help the girl to her feet. She gave her a handkerchief to blow her nose and wipe the tears from her face. After the girl had calmed down some, Sunset asked, "What's your name?" The girl sniffed and replied, "Miu Nomura. I'm a middle school student from Japan." Sunset smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad to meet you. I'm just sorry it had to be under these circumstances." Miu nodded silently. Sunset said, "Come on, I have some friends who would probably like to meet you. I'm sure we can take care of you." Miu nodded and answered, "Oh, that'd be fine." Sunset held her hand and they walked back together to the waiting group. "Finally!" Rainbow yelled. "We didn't think you'd ever come back! What were you doing back there, touching your..." she held her tongue when she saw Sunset had company. "This is Miu. Her sister was killed by a pig this morning." Sunset explained. "And I was back there comforting her, NOT pleasuring myself, as you seem to think." Rainbow wanted to say something back, but she saw the girl's tear-streaked face and held back. Eventually, proper introductions had been made and Miu seemed less traumatized by her sister's death. She never smiled, but it was noticeable she was feeling better. The older girls quickly grew attached to her, and they were sure she could have an official place in their friendship. 5.15.17 9:13P F#08 They had only known Miu for about six hours and already they felt like they could teach her all the ropes of swordplay. Even though they knew none of the details. The only things they knew were taught to them by Kirito, who was probably off on another adventure of his own. Miu had told them more about her life, like her secret crush at school, her best friend's dating experiences, and the fact that she really enjoyed playing the piano. Rarity saw this as a personal bonding moment, and that's where she was now. The rest of the girls were outside the hotel doing various things. Rainbow was smoking a makeshift cigarette, made from a rolled-up piece of leather and some tobacco extract. Twilight walked up and said, "You know, that's not very good for your lungs." Rainbow shrugged and said, "It won't affect me in real life. There's no age limit for smoking here anyway." Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "Fine, have it your way." As she walked off into the semi-busy street, someone else caught her eye. It was a man with blue hair and a blue jacket with lightning bolts on it. He looked like a spitting image of... "Soarin?!" The man looked up from his menu. "Rainbow?!" Rainbow threw away her cigarette and rushed to give her soccer teammate a Dutch rub. "Why, you old son of a bitch! I didn't expect to see you all the way up here!" Soarin rubbed his head and retorted, "Neither did I! I thought you would be dead at the floor one boss!" Rainbow socked his arm. "Dry up. So how have things been with you? Is the rest of the soccer team here?" Soarin grinned. "Yup. They're staying in the inn over there. As far as I know, they're still fighting over the choice of drinks." Rainbow laughed. "They haven't changed." "Yeah..." Soarin stopped. "Hey, listen. Umm, if it's not too awkward or anything, would it be too much to ask for, you know...a hug?" "A hug?" Rainbow had no idea what relevance this question held. "You know I don't do hugs." "Nuh uh, I've seen you when you're with your lady friends. You just haven't hugged someone of the opposite sex before?" "Well..." Rainbow was stuck. Her dad never showed her any affection. "Well, maybe just this once." Soarin raised his eyebrows and opened his arms. As they embraced, Rainbow felt a strange feeling that she did not expect. It was the same feeling she got when she bought an Xbox One S, but it was stronger. She pulled away and looked at Soarin. He poked her face and said, "You've got a little...red or something there." She touched her cheek, which was warm. Was she...blushing? Soarin turned to leave. "So, you free to go on a quest tomorrow or something?" "Uhh, yeah, sure." "Cool. See ya then." He pointed his fingers like guns and made a firing sound before walking back to his inn. Rainbow went into the hotel, a little dazed. She couldn't possibly have feelings for Soarin, could she? She cleared her mind and went in the room where all her friends were. They had dinner and settled down for the night. Tomorrow would be a strange day, with Soarin and a new girl. Rainbow could only hope it would turn out normally. Fluttershy opened the door to Rainbow's room, where Blaze was sitting there with her. His gaze didn't change as he saw her, instead he said, "I guess you want to see her now." Fluttershy nodded. Blaze got up and left the room. Fluttershy sat down on Rainbow's bed and looked at her obscured face. The Nerve Gear was still humming, the only thing keeping Rainbow alive. Also the thing that could be the cause of her death. Fluttershy picked up Rainbow's warm hand and held it in hers. She started crying, her head bending down and touching Rainbow's hand. Fluttershy didn't notice when a single tear escaped from under the Nerve Gear and rolled down Rainbow's cheek, landing on the soccer-themed bedspread. It was a moment witnessed by none.
VRMMOEQGRPG
Episode Six: Regret
5.16.17 8:00A F#08 The hotel room door burst open as Soarin marched in, tooting a bugle as loudly and tone-deaf as humanly possible. "Rise and shine mofos!!! We got a root-tootin' rip-roarin' adventure to go on, and--" Soarin's voice trailed off as he saw the entire female section of the soccer team wearing nothing but their underwear. Revealing underwear. Soarin had no idea Fleetfoot used C-cups. He unconsciously licked his lips. The girls screamed, covered their bodies up with their sheets, and started to throw things at Soarin. He rushed out of the room covering his head, groaning "Sorry, my bad! Jesus Christ!" As he left, Spitfire slammed the door behind him so hard that it rattled the windows. The fact that the weak hinges didn't shatter was impressive. After several moments of awkward silence, Spitfire whispered for the room to hear, "The only reason we still keep him around is because he's the only one who can do a recovery powerhouse kick! Got it? The other girls seemed reluctant to agree, but they nodded their heads anyway. Spitfire peeked out the door and rolled her eyes when she saw Soarin sitting in the middle of the hallway rubbing his neck. "Serves you right, punk," she sneered, while adjusting her flowered bra. Half an hour later, the female members of the soccer team were downstairs in the lobby. Fully clothed. Some wore extra clothes just to spite Soarin. They found him snickering with the guys on the team. Spitfire picked up "milk machines" and "change of pants" before she pulled him up by his ear and yelled in it. Soarin submitted immediately, followed by a chorus of fake apologies. "Don"t any of you guys get any ideas. You will regret it." Spitfire glared daggers at Wave Chill and Silver Zoom, who cackled like idiots. Before the battle of the sexes could turn into a cold war, High Winds asked from the rear of the group, "Where's Zelda? He did agree to go with us, didn't he?" "I'm here, I'm here! Hold up!" The so-called "Zelda" was Wind Waker, a rather laconic and timid boy of fifteen. He was an astounding goalie, and was announced student of the week six times in the past year. Fire Streak stood up and rubbed his hands. "Welp, the gang's all here. Now we just wait for Little Miss Hotshot." Cloudchaser raised an eyebrow. "Who is this Little Miss Hotshot now? I'm pretty sure we all logged on and everything." Soarin scratched the back of his head. "Rainbow Dash. I forgot to tell you girls." This elicited a collective gasp of surprise and excitement. If their star player was here too, then they could all beat the game as a team. Spitfire smirked. "Speak of the devil." They all turned to look toward the door, from which entered Rainbow. "Heyyy, guys! What's shakin' yall?" Rainbow greeted her old schoolmates with fist bumps and Dutch rubs. Spitfire gave her an overview of their experiences, as well as their plan for the near future. By the time she was finished, Rainbow's friends had entered the hotel and greeting everyone. The rules didn't specifically say the players had to use only swords to attack. Several team members had bought rubber balls weighted with a small amount of sand to use as a replica soccer ball, as well as a projectile weapon. Lightning Dust rubbed her hands. "So, who's ready to get this show on the road?" Rainbow yelled, "Let's go blow a hit on those motherfu--" she was cot off by Sunset's hand slapping over her mouth. "There are children present," Sunset growled, gesturing towards Miu. "I would kindly suggest you refrain from your usual profane mannerisms." Rainbow pulled Sunset's hand off her face. "Okay, geez. It's not like she hasn't heard that shi--um, stuff before. I mean, she goes to freakin' middle school! If you ask me, the kids swore a hell of a lot more than they do now." Spitfire chuckled and adjusted her glasses. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's because they had just learned they could use those words without their parents' knowledge. Until the principal finds out." "Sombra? Oh yeah, that guy was pure evil. Remember when he suspended that one kid for a week just for farting in class?" "Yep. Heard his parents built an outhouse for him so they wouldn't have to bother with his lavatorial duties." "Hehehe, doodie." "Um, it's fine if you use those words." The timid voice of Miu interrupted the crude discussion of the high school students. "My big sister used them all the time. She did just to spite Mom and Dad." Miu shifted her feet. "I miss her." Blaze came over and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, dear. That must hurt a lot." Rarity said, "But you're safe with all of us now, darling." She looked up at the large group of athletes and added darkly, "I think." Everyone put their hands up defensively. "Alright, good. Now should we get going, everyone?" Several people pumped their fists in the air. They all stepped out the door on another adventure. 5.16.17 12:48P F#08 The group was continuing their long trek up the mountainside. The air temperature was dropping, so everyone started to put on warmer clothes. Except Pinkie, who claimed she wasn't cold in the least. Applejack looked at her in her Harley Quinn-esque outfit and sighed. The walk became steeper and more uncomfortable as time passed, so the group decided to take a quick breather. Rarity half-asked, half-pleaded, "Are we almost to the top of the mountain yet?" Spitfire stepped back and scanned the area above them. "Nope, I'd say we've got at least another half-mile to go. Sorry for you." Rarity slunk down to the dirt ground, accidentally soiling her fancy getup. "Carry on without me, darlings. I'll stay here, and when you come back you can tell me how it was." Miu sat down next to her. "I'll stay here with you so you won't get lonely." This gave everyone the warm fuzzies. Miu and Rarity had formed a surprisingly close bond over the past day and a half. It was shocking, really. The other girls liked her because she reminded them of their dear friend Fluttershy, but Rarity claimed she was just like her little sister Sweetie Belle. Whether this was true or not, they still wanted to protect her to their utmost ability. Spitfire shrugged. "Suit yourselves." She turned to the rest of the group and yelled, "Alright, losers! Let's get a move on! Christmas Village is only half a mountain away!" Twilight turned to Applejack. "This Christmas Village, is it true that they celebrate the holiday every month of the year?" "Yer askin' me? Why don't ya ask Miss Captain over there? Ah don't know why we're even comin' up here." "Okay. Captain Spitfire, ma'am!" "What?" she answered, not turning around. "Why are we going to Christmas Village?" "I thought we gave you the dirt already. We're after a rare elixir that doubles EXP and attack power for one entire floor. We get it by defeating a reindeer boss that shows up only on the day of the month Christmas is celebrated, which is the sixteenth, for some strange reason." Twilight adjusted her glasses. "Ah. Thank you." Soarin added jokingly, "And to eat lots of dee-licious ham aspec." He received several slaps to the back of his head. The rest of the walk was relatively quiet, with less wildlife noises. They had reached a layer of thin clouds surrounding the top half of the mountain, and it was snowing lightly. It felt a little like Christmas, but there was a gloomy sensation mixed in as well. It was all rather eerie. Pinkie clutched her body with both arms. "Okay, I might be getting a little cold now." Applejack rolled her eyes and gave her a spare coat out of her inventory. Pinkie accepted it and grinned sheepishly. Finally, they all reached the top. And no one expected the beautiful sights they were greeted with. There were quaint cottages packed neatly on either side of cobblestone streets. The stores had little signs hanging in front of them to indicate the materials being sold there. The people were milling about merrily, with some singing well-known Christmas carols and others riding horse-driven sleighs. It might have been the middle of May, but they all wanted it to be December again. As they split up to explore around, they all came together in the middle of the town, where an enormous tree stood. Its branches were sparkling with tinsel and fancy ornaments. "Whoa momma," Rainbow breathed. "We could have one helluva Christmas party here. If that's what we were here for, that is." Lightning Dust glanced in her direction. "Well, we're not. Although you do have a good thought, we're after the more important stuff." It was starting to get dark, and the snow was coming down in big, fluffy flakes. Just like an ideal white Christmas. Spitfire announced, "We're gonna hang around for a little while longer, then well get a move on. That powerlixir isn't gonna wait forever." "Miss Rarity?" "Yes, Miu, darling?" "I'm getting chilly." "I know, me too. Maybe we should have gone with our friends instead of staying here. Heaven knows when they'll be back." Miu nodded slowly. "Miss Rarity? I think I should tell you something." "What's that, darling?" Miu quietly cleared her throat before beginning. "I'm a terrible friend. My best friend Yuuki had a crush on a boy at our school and she wanted me to help her win him over. She finally went on a date with him, but then she found out he was already going with a girl in eighth grade. She blamed me and yelled at me and told me we were through. That was the day before my sister Akiko started the Sword Art Online. I'll never see either of them again..." By the end she was choking back tears and wiping her eyes. Rarity pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm sorry, darling. They say friends come and go, but family is forever." As soon as the words left her mouth, Rarity immediately wished she could take them back. That was the exact opposite of what Miu was feeling. She might not ever see her family again, and the only friends she currently had were the girls from Canterlot High. Rarity knew all of them were in danger of dying at any given time. Rarity felt a sharp mix of pain, sorrow, and guilt within her heart. She tried to shake the thoughts away, but they remained, seemingly implanted in her very soul. She knew that her friends could be dying up there. For the first time in a long while, she felt helpless. Afraid. Alone. With a girl at her side who felt the same way. Alone. 5.16.17 9:00P F#08 The bell inside the clock tower struck nine. Spitfire looked up from her menu. "It's time." The rest of the group slowly got up to follow their hotheaded leader. They could all come back victorious and with a rare item, or they could never come back at all. Sunset, who was striding just behind Spitfire, turned to look at her comrades. No one was smiling. They looked like part of a funeral procession, and they might as well have been. They entered the dark forest, illuminated somewhat by the fuzzy moon shining its light on the piled-up snowdrifts. When they were fully in the forest, they stopped in a rather large clearing. Spitfire checked her menu for info, then nodded grimly. "This is the place." As if on cue, two bright streaks of light shot across the cloudy night sky. One departed, and they did not see where it went. The other, however, rocketed downward and impacted into the ground hard enough to shake some snow off of the trees. As the powder settled, a monstrous reindeer towered before them, its nose and eyes gleaming an evil shade of red. Its nametag hovered above it, revealing the creature's name to be Rudolph the Unchained. A fitting name for such a terrifying creature. It pawed the ground, steam shooting from its nostrils. Spitfire ordered the group to split in two: One for assault, and one for surprise attacks. Rainbow, Sunset, Applejack, and Pinkie were in the assault team, while Twilight was on the defensive. Spitfire roared at the monster, as well as her teammates, "FOR THE GREATER GLORY OF HONOR AND OUR OWN LIVES, ATTACK! NOW!!" The reindeer charged, its razor-sharp antlers colliding with swords as the wielders held it back. Soarin, on the defensive side, ordered his troops to attack from behind, leaving it vulnerable for the assault team to finish it off. This was easier said than done. The reindeer had a disgusting eye in the back of its head, making it impossible to sneak up on it. Some fools dashed in but were blown back by a fierce kick from the deer's hind leg. They both died immediately. Soarin screamed, "NO!" before the monster's tail sprouted teeth and grabbed him and another one of his friends, Lightning Streak. They were hurt upon landing, but they were still alive. The assault team was trying their hardest to defeat the beast, to no noticeable avail. High Winds had managed to clip the right ear, but was impaled by a sharp antler. She was lying on the ground, moaning as her health slowly drained away. Wave Chill and Surprise had both stabbed into the beast's massive chest, lowering its health and stats. They had both been trampled, though, causing intense pain before the world faded away. Rainbow had barely noticed the deaths of her friends since elementary school, as she was busy trying to get a hit in to dismember something. Without warning, the beast let out a massive roar, knocking Rainbow, Spitfire, and a few others off their feet. It charged once more, and Rainbow closed her eyes, preparing for the worst. But someone screamed, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Wind Waker, "Zelda", slashing furiously at the monster's face. He cut off a large portion of the red nose, sending blood flying everywhere and tainting the snow. A hoof brought down on Zelda's body as the beast entered its godmode. Most everyone saw this, and they cried out as the timid, antisocial boy paid with his life saving several others. They got up and gave it their all, swords swinging, hitting, missing. For their fallen comrades. The area started to heat up as the reindeer began to give off a fiery radiance. It leaped in the air and spread its now blazing hot legs just far enough to take everyone out in one shot. Everyone put up their swords as a last-ditch attempt to fight. They knew it would be hopeless, and it would all be over. And then a flash. A sword came swinging at the reindeer and effectively cut a massive gash in its underside. The beast fell on its side and gave one last roar before disappearing in an array of lights. Kirito dropped to the ground and sheathed his sword. He turned to look at the battered bodies of the ones who put up a fight. The powerlixir had been rewarded to him. He got it out of his inventory and three it on the ground in front of him. "Take care of this. You'll need it from now on." With that, he turned and trudged off back toward the village. The ones who knew him knew something was wrong and silently thanked him. Everyone else was mourning the loss of their friends. Sunset bowed her head. Their deaths were not in vain. She was just glad Miu witnessed none of this.
The Fetishes of Ponyville
pre
"Do you know what this is Twilight?" Celestia asked coyly before she opened the book. "No princess; I've never heard of magic that only works at night..." Twilight answered innocently as she examined the age darkened exterior of the tome. As soon as Twilight answered, Celestia opened the book and handed it to her student before standing up and walking over to her desk that had a bottle of vintage wine and two glasses prepared for her by her servants. "This book was locked away by Starswirl the bearded after his old nemesis Aphrodis tried to use it to enslave all of Equestria..." She explained as she took a sip of the aged beverage. Twilight looked on in awe as the beautiful princess explained the history behind the book she was holding. "But what spells could be that dangerous?" she pondered aloud as she read through the pages. Celestia swayed towards the bed where Twilight was sitting and gently sat next to her; the princess's form rested against the younger woman's frame. She was always very close to Twilight, but this was far too literal and Twilight found herself becoming a little uncomfortable with the way her teacher was pressed against her. "They're love and lust spells..." Celestia whispered softly into her student's ear as if she was sharing a forbidden secret. Twilight shuddered lightly as she felt her teacher's warm breath brush against her ear. "Ce...Celestia...." She moaned lightly before realising that she'd forgotten to address the princess properly; Twilight jumped up from her seat, her face was a burning red as she tried to hide behind the large book. "I'm sorry!... I... I meant Princess... it's just you... you... you caught me off guard and..." Celestia giggled to herself and patted the spot where her pupil was sat. "I understand dear; this tome isn't for the faint of heart, please sit and I'll resume the lesson." Almost as if captured by her words, Twilight found herself obeying the silky voice of her mentor and within seconds she was once again sat uncomfortably close to the older woman. Twilight could feel the princess's warmth enveloping her small body and her breath brushing against the back of her neck; the sweet scent of fine perfumes filled her nose as the princess wrapped her arms around her and pulled her close, she was so close she could feel Celestia's heart beat synchronising with her own. "They say that these spells can make anyone into a mindless slave of lust who's only desire and need is to please their master..." Celestia explained as she slowed her breathing to match her student's. "But.... But princess why would you show me this?" Twilight asked, finally becoming used to the feel of her mentor's body as it wrapped around hers. Finally, after several moments in her teacher's embrace she felt the silky smooth skin of Celestia's fingers running along her bare leg and up the edge of her skirt. "Princess... what're... you..." she gasped as the confident royal fingers traced circles on her pale flesh. "I've had my eyes on you Twilight..." The princess admitted softly as her hand ventured further up her student's thigh. Twilight began breathing deeply as she tried to resist her mentor's touch; then, before she could say another word she felt the princess's lips cover her own and silence any protests she had. As Celestia kissed her she could feel her resistance fading and her body growing hot in response to the princess's touch. "Ah!" Twilight gasped as she felt the older woman's velvety fingers slip between her legs. As Twilight wriggled beneath her teacher she could feel the older woman's breath becoming heavier; she smelled so sweet like peach blossoms on a sunny day. The sun princess claimed her student's soft lips over and over with tender licks and kisses as her worldly fingers explored the purple haired bookworm's body. Twilight gasped as Celestia probed the ever dampening patch on her panties. Celestia bit down lightly on her student's lower lip causing her to tremble in ecstasy as her resistance finally surrendered and she found her hips grinding against the royal's palm uncontrollably, but to her dismay Celestia withdrew her sticky fingers and sat back leaving the beautiful bookworm whimpering for more. "patience my dear..." she grinned sinfully as she ran her tongue along the wet length of her fingers; Twilight tasted delicious she thought to herself as she picked up the tome once more. Twilight's vision was fuzzy and she could barely draw breath, but still she could tell that the princess was manifesting a spell from the ancient book of lust. "Pr.... Princess stop...." She protested weakly. Before she could summon the strength to escape she felt something wrap around her wrists and ankles and slowly tighten just enough so she couldn't slip from their grasp; Twilight pulled and writhed against the tentacles that were summoned from the centre of the magical scripture. Fear flashed across the young woman's face as she realised that the slimy ropes of flesh were slowly snaking their way along her body and tickling her most sensitive areas; at first they were gentle with their exploration, but the more Twilight struggled the more aggressive they became. She could feel each stroke that caressed her soft skin, one tentacle drew itself along the length of her remarkably long and slender legs only letting its very tip make contact with her skin coaxing a light moan from the beautiful bookworm; she squeaked lightly as another snake-like appendage began slinking its way along her ticklish back. As the magical tentacles toyed with her precious student's body princess Celestia licked her lips and slowly ran her soft fingers down her neck and along the thin white silk straps that held her dress on; her fingertips caressed the laced edges of her dress slowly revealing more of her creamy royal flesh with each motion until she removed her shoulder straps and began sliding down her white satin dress to cool her ever warming body. Celestia purred under her own touch and gently turned the page to find yet another lust spell. "Oh my... this seems promising..." she smiled mischievously and began tracing circles with the eldritch energy the emanated from the tip of her finger. "Ah!! Prin.. Princess..." Twilight whimpered as she bit her lower lip; she was scared but oddly excited. With a snap of her delicate fingers the princess summoned a glowing ball of pink mist that levitated just above her open palm; she gently blew on the magical gas almost kissing the energy with her dark crimson lips before it dispersed towards the bound young woman. The gas was heady and sweet with each breath full dulling evermore reason as it began driving all logic and reason from her mind; her sweet purple shaded lips took another shuddering breath of the intoxicating aroma as one of the probing tentacles began removing her sodden underwear to let her juices run down the inside of her silky thighs. The sight of her beautiful pupil's pussy dripping with sticky nectar drove the princess insane with an aching lust and she knew that before too long she would have to taste Twilight's untouched flower. But before she could drink from the sweet pool of her student's body she would need to make her completely hers in body, mind and soul... "This magical mist will make your first time far less painful than it normally would be; this way you can enjoy the night magic as it was intended...." The princess reassured her dazed pupil before revisiting the tome for the next spell. Another snap of the royal fingers and the slimy pink serpents began their true work; within seconds the free roaming tentacles found their way to the bookworm's most sensitive areas; she flinched lightly as one of the magical appendages began wriggling its way up Twilight's asshole, with every millimetre it probed the young woman let out a pained whine before a deep sigh of pleasure. Finally, it came to a halt and began stroking the inside of her body with gentle caresses; just as she'd gotten used to the sensation of the first tentacle she felt another wrap around her quivering pearl of a clitoris and begin lightly twisting, squeezing and tickling until the moans she'd supressed so well came screaming out of her like a tidal wave of pleasure. "Twilight..." Celestia grinned. "How do you feel?" she asked as she swayed sexily towards the gasping purple haired beauty. "I... I feel hot princess..." she gasped as the tentacle in her ass began wriggling once more. "It's strange... please make it.... St...." she was cut off as the princess kissed her deeply; her tongue swirled around with the princess's letting her taste every inch of the royal's mouth. She moaned passionately with every lick from the princess's experienced tongue; as they kissed she tried to focus on Celestia's taste in a vain attempt to stop herself becoming a mindless puppet of lust, the princess's mouth was warm and aggressive, it tasted like sweet wine and bitter dark chocolates with a hint of cherry. The princess giggled like a school girl as she noticed the subtle taste of apples and oats lingering in her pupil's mouth; Twilight squeaked as Celestia lightly bit the tip of her tongue and the princess went wild. The tender caress of her lips became deep savage kisses that took the very breath from Twilight's lungs and left her begging for more; her clear lavender eyes were cloudy with lust and longing. She cried out again as the magical limbs that teased her body began to rub their full length along her slippery, burning hot pussy prompting yet more shuddering moans and gasps from the beautiful young woman. Celestia couldn't hold back any longer and willed the spare tentacles to tear through the bothersome garments that hid her favourite student's full beauty; within moments Twilight's clothes were reduced to tattered, sweat and love juice soaked rags. Twilight let out a scared whimper and tried to pull her legs together to hide her shame, but it was no use, the harder she pulled against the tentacles the stronger they became. Finally, she let herself go limp and let a few tears roll down her cheeks; she couldn't believe this was happening, she couldn't believe that Celestia would be so rough for her first time. The deviant smile that crossed the princess's face softened and she planted several light kisses along her pupil's neck as an apology. "Please relax my dear, it'll feel really good very soon..." Celestia used the tips of her fingers to trace a delicate trail from the nape of her pupil's neck down to her burning hot nether region; as she ran her hand between Twilight's thighs she felt her student's body tense once more, but as she grew used to the sensation of the princess's hand she began to relax. "How does it feel Twilight?" Celestia asked with a soft whisper letting her breath lightly brush against her student's ear. "It... it tingles..." Twilight gasped desperately and flinched with each touch from the royal. The princess circled her student's sensitive clitoris several times before venturing further into the sticky, drenched lips between her thighs. Twilight's moans and whines intensified as Celestia slipped her fingers in and out over and over, stopping just short of Twilight's hymen; after all she didn't want to take her virginity before she was more relaxed. With another gentle kiss on her student's lips the princess drove her fingers deeper and took her prize; Twilight screamed lightly at the sudden pain, but as her teacher massaged her clitoris she began to calm down and let the pain subside. Celestia licked her lips at the sight and brought the blood tipped fingers to her mouth giving them a light lick before returning them to the moist cavern where they belonged. Twilight flinched again as the tentacle in her ass began wriggling more aggressively, but the bigger concern for the beautiful bookworm was that she was starting to enjoy it; she wanted her teacher to show her the magic of lust and sex, even if it meant surrendering her very soul to the royal. "Please... don't sto....." She whimpered as she felt her teacher bringing her closer to orgasm. "I'm sorry my dear can you repeat that?" Celestia smiled cruelly as she withdrew her hand and began licking the sticky juices from her elegant fingers. "Please... princess.... give me more... teach me... pleasure...." She begged in a weakened, quivering voice. With that Celestia knew she'd conquered her student's body, but she couldn't have Twilight climax before she did; she was a princess after all and she needed to be shown proper fealty. With a snap of her fingers the tentacles released the beautiful student and withdrew from her nether regions, leaving her as a heaving mass of sweat and sweet juices. She wept lightly as her pussy ached with longing. "Please..." Celestia cradled her student and brought her head close to her own soaked loins as if leading a thirsty dog to water. "Now, now my dear student, you mustn't be selfish; you should serve your princess before serving yourself. Do you understand?" Twilight nodded meekly as she answered. "Ye...yes princess..." The princess was gorgeous; her skin was like delicate porcelain and as soft as silk, her hair looked almost ethereal in the dim light that filled the room and her body was tall and slender like a model's. Her soft, pale skin was covered in sweat and felt hot under Twilight's caress; the beautiful bookworm couldn't hold her self for more than a second and began planting weak kisses on her teacher's wonderful body as she moved towards her lips. Each kiss was followed by a lick that glided across the princess's body; first she ran her tongue down the soft mounds of flesh that were Celestia's breasts then back up to meet the sweet pink nipple before suckling upon it lightly. Celestia gasped gently and used her fingers to guide her pupil's lips to her more sensitive areas; she ran her finger tips down from her graceful neck to her navel, her own light touch followed eagerly by Twilight's in experienced tongue. The princess let out yet another pleasure filled gasp as Twilight licked around her belly button before being drawn further down towards her aching, dripping wet nether region. Twilight wanted to venture further, past her teacher's white satin and lace panties; her teeth bit down on the fabric barrier that separated her from the sweet pool that hid beneath. Slowly, gently the purple haired beauty pulled the underwear down Celestia's smooth, creamy thighs, drinking in the seductive scent as she did. Finally, after what felt like an eternity she could see her prize, waiting for her to taste it; Celestia spread her legs wide enough for her student to get a superb view of her dripping pussy and beckoned her closer with a single motion. As she approached Celestia's pussy, she drew deep breaths to enjoy the smell of her teacher's lust; her breaths became longer and more desperate as she finally got her first taste of the sweet musky juices. Her licks became more rapid drawing more and more sweet liquid from the princess's body as her tongue ventured deeper into the warm, wet flesh tunnel. "Ahh..."Celestia moaned as she ran her fingers through Twilight's long purple hair. Twilight gasped for air between each lick before her teacher pulled her closer once more; her mind was still very fuzzy, but she remembered what made her feel good from before and slowly she lifted her head up to suck on her teacher's clitoris. "AHHHHH!" Another scream of pleasure echoed from the princess as she twitched and wrapped her long legs around Twilight; the purple haired beauty smiled slightly knowing she was pleasing her mistress. Twilight licked her teacher's pussy lovingly and ran her fingers through the sticky, heady juices that trickled down Celestia's soft skin using her nectar as lube to slide her finger gently into the princess's ass. Celestia recoiled slightly in surprise, but quickly relaxed and allowed her gorgeous young student as much access to her body as she needed; she wasn't surprised at how quickly Twilight had learned to please her, she was a quick study after all. "MMMM..... AHHHH!!!!" The princess moaned as her favourite student fingered her ass more rapidly and slipped her tongue deep in and out of her vagina. Celestia screamed passionately as she pulled her student's head deeper between her legs almost suffocating her with her seductive scent; Twilight licked and gasped with each twitch of Celestia's body, feeling her come closer and closer to orgasm. Finally with a moan that could be heard in Apploosa Celestia arched her back and came to a shuddering climax that coated her student's face with sticky, sweet love juice. Twilight continued to lap at her teacher's quivering pussy for a few moments before she felt Celestia's body go limp from exhaustion; she moaned lightly herself feeling unsatisfied, her own young pussy left to ache as the princess enjoyed her orgasmic bliss. The princess smiled and gestured for her student to come closer, and in her lust filled state Twilight had no choice but to obey despite the need left unattended between her legs. "You... haaahhh... you learned well Twi... Twilight, you... mmm.... Deserve a reward..." Celestia gasped breathlessly and planted a deep kiss on her student's lips. Her heart raced as she felt the princess part her lips and slip her tongue into her eager mouth; she felt like her mind had once again lost all reason as the princess gently wrapped her tongue around hers. They kissed for a few more moments, just long enough for the princess to recover her concentration and re-summon the magical tentacles. Her fingers intertwined with her student's as the solar princess willed the serpentine limbs to their work; some coiled around Twilight's body, other smaller ones spread her dripping pussy lips and soft ass cheeks in preparation for her true reward. Suddenly Twilight felt two large writhing tentacles push into her drawing gasps and moans as they did; she drew a deep trembling breath as the magical serpents slipped in and out of her over and over again. Twilight bit her lower lip and let out moan after moan with each push the tentacles made, she was close to climax; she wanted to come so badly that she almost wept, then with a silent scream of ecstasy she came, twitching and trembling before falling limp on top of her teacher's soft comforting body and into her warm embrace. "Prin...cess... I.. lov..." Before she could finish her confession Celestia silenced her with a deep gentle kiss; Celestia cradled the young bookworm until she drifted off to sleep. The princess smiled at her student, she looked so cute while she was sleeping, it was a shame she couldn't remain like this forever, but by morning the lust spell would have worn off and she would only have faint, fleeting memories of the night's activities. Celestia giggled slightly as she thought about Twilight's last words before she fell asleep, the lust spell wouldn't make her say something like that no matter how much she'd succumb to it's effects; maybe next time she wouldn't need the magic of the night. "Interesting..." *** A week had passed since Twilight's last lesson and despite how much she tried to recall it she couldn't remember a single word; instead whenever the she tried to draw upon the night she only found fleeting fantasies of sweet kisses and wonderful mind blowing sensations that made her feel hot and bothered. But these lustful thoughts were the last of her concern; she needed notes on that lesson or her studies would suffer, doing the only logical thing, she decided to write to the princess. 'Dear princess Celestia. I'm having trouble remembering the lecture you called me to Canterlot for last week and worse than a simple lapse in memory, I seem to be having...' She paused for a moment as the sordid thoughts crossed her mind. "How do I put this?" she quizzed to her self. '...Distracting thoughts that I'd like to discuss with you. Your faithful student Twilight Sparkle.' With that the letter was posted and she quickly retreated to her room to indulge in the fantasies that plagued her.
Hearth's Warming Eve: A Princess Promenade
pre
While the audience gasped, the crew ran to pull Clover off the stage. Big Macintosh pulled off her hood. "Okay?" he asked, as the rest of the crew removed her "bonds." Minuette flashed her brilliant smile and nodded. "How did I do?" Director Dash smiled. "Pretty well. The hood helped muffle your voice just enough, so that the audience never noticed the switch." "And my next scene?" asked Minuette. Director Dash winked. "Your next scene will be historic." *** The house lights were down, but the stage was brilliantly lit. A thick carpet of fog moved uneasily over the boards while heavy clouds drifted slowly on wires across the set. Mister Breezy's effects crew wafted tufts of smoke over the stage, giving the set a sense of space and movement. From a great distance, came the howl of the windigos. Up in her sound booth, Vinyl Scratch set needle to turntable. Thunderbirds are go! she thought, gleefully. Down in the orchestra pit, Octavia grimaced. Pre-recorded music! The idea! Still, she glanced at the other members of her quartet, let's add some richness to the production, shall we? Ready? And... now! The Ride of the Valkyries swelled and filled the hall. Commander Hurricane (Derpy Hooves) and Private Pansy (Scootaloo) swooped into the set, leveled off and soared. As a practical matter, although both actors were pegasi, both "flew" on harnesses. One good, real flap would carry a pegasus completely off-stage and hovering in place would look ridiculous to anypony with wings. So the pegasi relied on skillful wirework to move them to their marks on stage while the actors mimicked convincing flight postures. From the wings, Rainbow Dash watched intently, looking for flaws. Beside her stood Twilight Sparkle, ready, as ever, to lecture. On stage, Commander Hurricane soared proudly. "Be alert, Private Pansy!" she ordered. "You never know where enemies might be lurking!" Alarmed, Private Pansy fluttered this way and that, searching for enemies. But in the end, she returned to Commander Hurricane, puzzled. "I don't see any threats, Commander. Just... snow." Hurricane turned. Her expression was masked by her great helm. Sotto voce, she said, "Private, we have been hunted since we left Pegasopolis. Prepare to fight well and, if necessary, to die well." Out of the vapor that covered the stage, there arose... monsters. Lumpy, bumpy shapes (Snips, Snails and Twist, in costume) capered beneath Hurricane and Pansy. From behind the clouds, deformed creations of tooth and claw (Miss Cheerilee and Silver Spoon) threatened and mocked the travelers. Other distorted animal shapes drifted across the stage, modeled by Rarity and Pinkie Pie, propelled by Mister Breezy's fans. Commander Hurricane hefted her spear and stabbed at one. It burst like a balloon. But then others came, two, four, then a dozen, swarming towards the pair. Hurricane and Pansy hovered back to back, striking furiously with their spears, while the cloud monsters pranced and guffawed at their struggle. "You understand," whispered Twilight Sparkle, in the shadow beside the stage, "that there were no real cloud monsters. Hurricane made no mention of them in her Apologia. They were the invention of later writers." "I think I know about clouds, Twilight, sheesh!" replied Rainbow Dash. "When you spend as much time as I have working with them, you get to know them pretty well. But here's the thing: the shapes of clouds are funny sometimes. You look at them and see things. This one looks like a bunny, right, and that one looks like a tree. Eventually, you realize that their shapes aren't out there, they're in here," she tapped her head. "Maybe I don't know the right way to say this, but look what's going on here: Pansy sees only clouds and snow, okay. But Hurricane sees monsters: her failure, the shame to her family, the death of her tribe. Her mighty spear is useless, because she fights Fimbulwinter, a monster that cannot be slain, because it has no heart. Her soul is painted everywhere across the sky, because she can't escape herself." Rainbow Dash hugged herself. "I've felt that way, sometimes. Like everyone can see who I am, except me." Twilight looked at her friend. "You've thought a lot about her, since you played the role," she whispered. Rainbow Dash nodded. "Originally, I just wanted to write this little story about Hurricane and Pansy. About their relationship at this moment. They are separated by rank, class and caste," Rainbow Dash said softly, spreading her forehooves. "Yet they have eaten together, berthed together, fought and bled together. Strangers, yet closer than sisters. Hurricane, driven by duty and fear, is plunging into the depths of her soul and probably to her doom. "And Pansy follows her. Quiet, mysterious Private Pansy. Pansy followed her, into the storm. Hurricane leads, not knowing where to go. And Pansy follows, knowing only that her place is beside Hurricane." Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I dunno, maybe that sounds stupid. But that seems very romantic to me. I guess I stink as a writer, so I went back to a re-telling of Hearth's Warming Eve. That's close enough, for me." Twilight Sparkle was thoughtful for awhile. "I would like to read that story, Rainbow," she said. Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe later. I've got work to do now. Look!" Commander Hurricane was charging about the stage, stabbing, thrusting and slicing frantically with her spear at the cloud shapes. Private Pansy struggled to stay near Hurricane's side and poke at anything that looked threatening. But her most frightened looks were directed towards her commander. The cloud monsters danced and mocked. The windigos roared. And still the strange cloud shapes came on, even larger and more twisted than before. At last, Commander Hurricane could tolerate no more. "Enough!" she shouted, tearing off her tall helm, glaring at the uncaring storm, tears streaming down her face. "Come at me! Kill me, if you will! But spare my people!" The clouds parted and from the heavens a shaft of light shone upon Commander Hurricane and burned upon her brow. She hovered worn and gaunt amidst the clouds. Her eyes were amber; her mane, gold; her coat, the gray of thunderclouds. She held aloft the Spear of Bellerophon and screamed: "My blood for my tribe! My heart for my family! My spirit for their safety! What ransom can I pay, that will let my people live?! I will give you all that I am: flesh, bone and honor! I, Hurricane of the House of Bellerophon, pledge this, if only you will spare my folk! "I beg you! I... I beg you. Please!" But the cloud monsters just laughed and danced about her while the windigos bellowed. The clouds shifted. The light dimmed. Commander Hurricane grimly set her jaw and put on her heavy helm. She motioned to Private Pansy with the spear of her illustrious grand-sire. And the two of them flew on, into the endless, merciless winter. *** The stage went dark. After a heartbeat, everypony in Ponyville Town Hall began to stamp. Not raucously, not loudly, but slowly and with quiet dignity. They applauded Derpy and Scootaloo. But also they honored the memory of the doomed Commander Hurricane and her faithful Private Pansy, both of whom now lived again in their hearts. Twilight was breathless. "I still can't believe that's Derpy! I thought she was joking when she told me that you had cast her for the part of Commander Hurricane. But I was so wrong! She's amazing!" "I knew that Derpy was perfect for this role as soon as I heard her first reading," whispered Rainbow Dash. "Do you know why? Because Derpy is not afraid to make a fool of herself in public. She will take risks, put everything she has inside of her on stage and dare anyone to laugh. "Derpy is braver than I am," admitted Rainbow Dash. "She's not afraid to lose." *** "Derpy? Hi!" said Twilight Sparkle, approaching the little pegasus backstage as she rested. "Miss Sparkle! Hi!" said Derpy. For a moment, she was her usual self, smiling cheerfully, amber eyes bright. Then Derpy faded and shrank back into herself. She nibbled at a crust of bread and sipped some water. She's lost so much weight! thought Twilight. Derpy had always been delicate, but now she looked so frail. "I was very, very moved by your performance, Derpy," said Twilight hesitantly. "Thanks, Miss Sparkle! I did my best! For you and for Ponyville!" said Derpy. And, again, the embers in her eyes flared up feverishly then faded away. Scootaloo galloped up. "Miss Hooves! I found some apple juice for you! You should drink this! Apple Bloom brought this down tonight just for you, fresh from the farm! She added a few things Miss Zecora gave her to make you strong! Please! Just drink a little!" Scootaloo danced around Derpy with a worried look. She glanced up at Twilight. "Make her drink this, Your... Twilight! Please!" Scootaloo looked desperate. Derpy gently pushed the cup away and cradled Scootaloo's face between her hooves. She smiled. "You have been such a good friend! In my worst moments, you have made me laugh! When I fall, I beg you, take my spear! For one sunrise only, hold it high, in memory of me. Then cast it aside and forget. Forget me, because I have killed everything I have ever loved." Scootaloo looked confused and scared. "Commander Hurricane! Attention to orders!" said Princess Twilight Sparkle. Derpy, tired, sad and drawn, pulled herself to attention. Twilight Sparkle looked down on Derpy sternly. "As your Princess, I command you! Drink!" Without a second thought, the good soldier drank Zecora's potion. After a moment, Derpy smiled. "Wow! That was good!" Finally, the lights in Derpy's eyes came on and stayed on. Scootaloo rushed forward to hug her. "Ha ha ha! Hay, Scoots," laughed Derpy, hugging her back. "We did okay, didn't we? You were great!" "Miss Hooves..." Scootaloo began. "Derpy," corrected Derpy Hooves. "Derpy, you were awesome!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Ha ha! Thanks, Scoots! Hay! Why don't you get yourself a fritter and some cider? Right over there, go on!" Scootaloo cast a backward glance at Derpy, smiled, then trotted towards the concession table. "She is such a good girl," sighed Derpy, looking after her. Twilight Sparkle approached Derpy Hooves. "How did you do it?" she asked. "How did you immerse yourself so much into the character of Commander Hurricane?" "It was easy, Miss Sparkle," said Derpy. "I just imagined those mean ol' windigos trying to hurt my family and I got angry. Really, really angry. Angry enough to just throw myself at them and do, well, bad things. So I guess I understand Commander Hurricane a little bit. "Still, I'm happy that this play will be over soon, 'cause I'm kinda tired of being so angry and upset all of the time. Commander Hurricane must have felt like this through all of her trials. Imagine that! "Muffin top?" Derpy offered. "I can't eat this. The role, you know."
Hearth's Warming Eve: A Princess Promenade
Clover the Clever and the Heart of Fire
"So," declaimed the Mayor, "the three tribes searched to find a new land to nourish their peoples." Madam Mayor told the story of the discovery of paradise: a bright, green land of brilliant blue skies and sparkling rivers. The brown soil, redolent of fertility; the dancing white clouds; the stony places, that offered treasures and secrets. "They found this green and pleasant land, untouched by the snows. But, sadly, not long untouched by distrust!" Madam Mayor spoke of the acrimony of the three tribes and of the blizzard that followed them. "In the end, the leaders of the three tribes collected into a tiny cave, where their anger exploded!" *** Commander Hurricane was the first to enter the cave. "So this is where my journey ends," she whispered. "In the dark, under the ground. That my life has come to this...!" "Commander?" asked Private Pansy, entering beside her. Hurricane straightened. She pulled back her shoulders and tidied her wings. "It is nothing, Private. I will fight to the last. To the very last. For me, even this small ground will be Pegasopolis. For a time. Come! Attend me!" (In the orchestra pit, Octavia signaled her quartet. They turned as one to the tense strains of Luna Aeterna.) The pair advanced into the cave, followed by Princess Platinum and Clover the Clever. "It's small and... untidy, yes," declared Princess Platinum, glancing about haughtily. "But as the seat of power of the Princessipality of Nova Unicornia, it may suffice." "I am sure it will, Your Highness," replied Clover. "Once we rid ourselves of these... interlopers." Platinum batted her eyes. "Yes, we shall have to do something about that, shan't we?" Clover bowed. They entered the cave and settled opposite the pegasi. "Caves! I love caves! Do you crave caves? Caves are my faves!" exclaimed Chancellor Puddinghead. "Y'know, Smart Cookie, I was born in a cave that I built with my own hooves!" "Really, your Chancellorship?" asked Smart Cookie. "No!" grinned Puddinghead as she bounded into the middle of the cave, followed by her advisor. A chill, blue light infiltrated the chamber. From without, came the voice of the windigos. The three tribes sullenly regarded each other. "We oughta' try t'make friends with them, your Chancellorship," said Smart Cookie. "Smart Cookie, give me your hoof," asked Chancellor Puddinghead, sweetly. "Wull, okay, but why..." said Smart Cookie, proffering her hoof. Puddinghead forced Cookie's hoof down. Hard. Painfully. Then she released it. Smart Cookie smacked herself in the face. "Stop hitting yourself," Puddinghead laughed. "That's what happens, when you hold out your hoof," said Puddinghead, suddenly very, very serious. "Here's the problem," Puddinghead said quietly. "We can't grow food in a cave. We need land, Sun and water. And these ponies," she nodded towards the pegasi and unicorn groups, "are in the way. We have to get rid of them." Private Pansy paced the cavern, uncertain. She looked back at Commander Hurricane, then scratched a border between herself and the other ponies in the cave. "This is New Pegasopolis," she said, mostly to herself, close to tears. "This black space, below the Earth." She encountered a small stone and thoughtlessly moved it aside. The unicorn and earth pony parties were furious. "We cannot allow this incursion into our territory," hissed Clover the Clever. "Do not give them even an inch or you will appear weak!" Princess Platinum held her head high and declared, "That rock is clearly on the Unicornia side of the cave and it belongs to us! There! I claim this, and all its precious jewels, for the mighty Kingdom of Unicornia!" "I claim this rock for my people!" shouted Commander Hurricane, standing beside Private Pansy, scuffing it back to her side. "Oh! You found my rock! Give it here!" exclaimed Chancellor Puddinghead, seizing the stone. "Sedimentary, limestone, interesting inclusions," she noted, looking at it critically. She blew thoughtfully into her bubble pipe. "But otherwise it's just MINE! MINE! MINE! Because, well, EARTH PONY: ROCK, DUH!" "You groundwalkers are just so stupid!" shouted Hurricane. "You cloudwalkers are brutes!" insisted Platinum. "You weird guys are just weird, so that's that!" declared Puddinghead. The cold, blue light pressed against the ponies. The windigos at last appeared, over the ponies' heads, cantering like the souls of the dead in the weird shadows. And, inexorably, the entrance to the cavern closed, covered in ice, turning the chamber into a tomb. "Okay, that's it, we're screwed," said Chancellor Puddinghead, hunkering down inside herself. "No! Please, no!" cried Private Pansy. She battered herself against the wall of ice, to no avail. "I can't die this way! Under the Earth, away from the sky!" "Private! Compose yourself! Attend me!" ordered Hurricane. Shamefacedly, Pansy returned to her commander's side. Hurricane embraced Pansy. "Let us face the end together. If you see me in Elysium, raise a cup to me, my beloved comrade." "All hope is lost," whispered Clover the Clever to Princess Platinum. "Now, think only of our people, Princess! In this dark time, let the other tribes fend for themselves! "Let them all die," hissed Clover. Princess Platinum rounded on Clover, enraged. "I hate you! I have always hated you! You usurped my place with my father! You whisper and poison everything around you! I only want my folk to live and be happy and yet for days you've only spoken of death, death, death! Monster!" "S'cuse me fer buttin' in," said Smart Cookie, trotting forward. "But that ain't Clover, Ah reckon. Not th' real Clover. Ah've been watchin' you an' you just ain't right. Ah've read all of Clover's work. She is smart an' kind. You are not. "And yer shadow's all wrong, too, ain't it? Don't turn away! Ah've noticed how you stay away from th' light. Ah gots no quarrel with changelings, but y'oughta 'fess up now. Who are yuh?" Clover the Clever chuckled. She walked forward to the sound of golden bells. "Smart Cookie," she said, shaking her head, "you are the one that I always feared most. The rest of you are too stupid," she glared at Princess Platinum, "to look beyond the ends of your noses. "But now that I've won, what's the point in games? Behold! Behold your master!" With a flash, bang and a cloud of smoke, Clover vanished. To be replaced by: "Star Swirl the Bearded!" cried Princess Platinum. "My father's most trusted advisor!" The audience gasped. I hate this, thought Twilight. Star Swirl was introverted and eccentric, sure, but he deserves to be treated better than this. "Yesss!" hissed Star Swirl, flinging his starry cloak around him, the bells on his hat and cape jingling maniacally. "For too long," he declared, pacing about the stage, "have I suffered the follies of lesser folk! Smaller minds! Little ponies," he sneered. Wow, Lyra's really getting into it, thought Twilight. She looks good with those bushy eyebrows and that little beard. "I found the windigos, starving and afraid, in one of the dark corners of Tartarus. I raised them up! I freed them! Oh, my children, what music you make!" The windigos bellowed and pranced, circling closer and closer to the leaders of the Three Tribes. "I have used my knowledge and the wealth of the Unicorn Kingdom," said Star Swirl, "to breed distrust among the tribes. It was so easy. Your hatred of one another was a flower that only needed a little care to bloom! A word here or there was enough. My delicate windigos battened on your fear and anger and grew strong!" Now we all give our little speeches, join together and have a big fight with Star Swirl. Once he loses his "magic hat," he loses all of his powers and we save the world, sighed Twilight. Oh, Rainbow! I had hoped for better than this from you. Star Swirl gloated. "Now you are all gathered here into a tiny place where I can control you all! The snows will sweep over the world! Then my legions of fire zombies will emerge from their hidden barrows and cover all the lands with hot swarming evil!" "'Fire zombies,' what?" blurted Twilight, startled out of character. This isn't the way we rehearsed this, Lyra! "Aren't they delightful?" exclaimed Star Swirl, tapping his forehooves. "They're like regular zombies, but on fire! Ha ha! Ha ha ha! BWA HA HA HA!" Lyra! thought Twilight. What are you doing?! Then a hooded figure appeared at the mouth of the cave. With a flash of light, the ice burst into a snowy cloud. "Liar! Impostor!" shouted the figure, stepping inside. "Oh, what is this, now?" said Star Swirl, annoyed. "It is I, the true Clover!" declared the newcomer, pulling down her hood. Lyra Heartstrings trotted proudly onto the stage. How did she do that? wondered Twilight. She looked at Star Swirl, baffled. Minuette, is that you? But how did you switch places? Do you know a teleport spell? "How did you escape my dungeon?" snarled Star Swirl. "If I told you about the weaknesses of your prison," smirked Clover, "that wouldn't be very 'clever,' now would it?" Star Swirl the Bearded rushed forward to stand over his apprentice. "I will not be mocked! Bow down before your master, child!" thundered Star Swirl. "I raised you up from nothing! You are no more than a rock farmer's daughter with a speck of talent! How dare you challenge me?" "Because I know you for who you truly are..." said Clover, as she suddenly swept off Star Swirl's hat. Star Swirl had two mismatched horns: those of a goat and a deer. "Discord!" exulted Clover. The audience gasped. As did the cast and crew. *** The shape of Star Swirl the Bearded fell away, and grew, length upon length, into the serpentine form of the dreadful draconequus: Discord, the Great and Terrible. "BWA HA HA HA HA!" bellowed the Lord of Chaos. "BWA HA HA BWA HA HA HA HA!" Discord wiped a tear from his eye. "I do love a good 'BWA HA HA.' So relaxing." (Down in the front row, Fluttershy looked to her left. She discovered that Discord's seat was now occupied by an adorable button-eyed Discord plushie. Fluttershy clutched the doll to herself and looked back to the stage, confused and alarmed.) Twilight Sparkle fired up her horn. No time to retrieve the Elements of Harmony! I'll do what I can to protect everypony! she thought, desperately. "Clover the Clever," sneered Discord. "You would have done better to cower in a hole with your master! You will beg for mercy before I am done with you!" Twilight startled. Wait! Is Discord... acting? "You cannot conquer me, villain, as long as I wield this: the Crystal Heart of Fire!" Clover held aloft a heart-shaped crimson gem. "Drawn from the roots of the Crystal Mountains, blessed by the Sun and Moon, illuminated by Love and powered by Friendship," she cried, "there is no evil it cannot overcome." Discord snatched at the gem. He flipped it around and held it to his eye. He even gave it a thoughtful lick. He smirked. "Do you think this tiny bauble will conquer me? Powered by friendship, is it? Oh, reaaa-ly?" He clutched the gem in his eagle claw. "You disappoint me, Clover. Truly, you do, child. I had such plans for you, but you have fallen into hope and foolishness, much like your master. You are ridiculous! Look around you! There is no friendship here!" Discord swept his lion paw around the cave. "Look at yourselves!" Discord stalked around the ponies and pointed at them, one by one, mocking. "There is no generosity there, only avarice! No nobility in that one, only pride! No leadership in her, only folly! No wisdom, only cunning! No loyalty, only cowardice! No honesty, only expedience!" Discord stood in the middle of them and roared, "How can you think to deny me, to turn away my windigos? We are your guests! You invited us in!" The blue light of the cavern nearly covered them all. The windigos celebrated. Commander Hurricane trotted forward. Her expression was dark and fell. She raised her spear. Then she knelt swiftly and laid down her spear before the assembly. "I will fight no more forever," she said, quietly. "I have hurt my people with my pride. My family suffers because of my anger. I, Hurricane of the House of Bellerophon, surrender to my sisters gathered here. Command me, I beg you." Hurricane lifted her great helm and tossed it aside. Princess Platinum advanced and knelt near Hurricane. She said, "I know I have been petty and selfish. Vast treasures have been arrayed before me and I only desired more, while I ignored the greatest treasures of the world: my people. I have loved no one and liked myself even less. Now I, Platinum of the Unicorn Kingdom, cast away my old life and will try with all of my heart to become a good and generous Princess. From this night on, I will live for the prosperity of my people and for all of ponykind." Platinum set aside her crown. Smart Cookie looked at Chancellor Puddinghead. "What?" responded Puddinghead, indignantly. Smart Cookie tilted her head. Puddinghead rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine!" She tossed away her hat and plopped down between Hurricane and Platinum. "That was a pretty nice hat," she said, wistfully. "But I have to admit I only became Chancellor because Mom and Dad and my focus group told me it would make me more popular. Now I, Prunella of the Puddingheads, give away my really, really nice hat and promise to try to get ponies to like me just for myself! All I've ever wanted, really, was to gather together with lots of good friends and celebrate our lives! Just like tonight. I love all you guys!" she exclaimed, hugging Hurricane and Platinum. "Ouch!" said Discord, looking down at his eagle claw, dropping the stone. The Heart of Fire burned. The gem, now glowing brilliantly, ascended. Its warm, rosy glow threw back the icy blue. The cave, once so dark and oppressive, was transformed at once into a great hall, full of life and merriment. The circling windigos quailed before its light and fled. Pansy stood beside Hurricane and lightly stroked her back. Hurricane wept. Clover crouched beside Platinum. Platinum cried and pulled Clover close. Smart Cookie and Puddinghead just glanced at each other and grinned, knowingly. All six of them looked around the circle and found only their loving sisters looking back. And the Heart of Fire blazed. Discord hissed and twisted like a serpent before its light. Desperately, he tried to bat the flaming gem away, but he could not bear its brilliant glow. "Away! Take it away!" he shrieked. "Its light pierces my heart! My very soul! Oh, woe! Take it away! Great treasures I will give you! All the kingdoms of the world shall be yours, if you spare me this!" "I'm sorry, Discord, truly," said Clover. "But Fimbulwinter has taken away everything we had, even our sins. We have nothing left to offer you but our friendship." Discord squirmed and cried, his claws clutching at the black, uncaring skies, "NOOOOOOOO (gasp! gasp! gasp!) OOOOOOOO! "All of my devious schemes, exposed! All of my dastardly plans, undone! Curse you, Clover the Clever, for you have defeated me! Curse all of you little ponies, until the end of days!" Discord writhed like the mad thing he was, spinning across the stage until he collapsed into a panting heap. He struggled to rise. Fell. Struggled to rise again, but only slumped to the ground. He shivered and shook, then seemed to shrink and whither beneath the brilliant light of the Heart of Fire. "All of my beautiful wickedness!" he sobbed. With that last painful cry he fell back and lay still. The stage was silent. "Is he... is he...?" began Private Pansy. Suddenly, Discord heaved and gasped. "Oh, why is it so dark? Mother? Father? Is that you?" he called, piteously, clutching at the air. "I hear your sweet voices! Do you hear me? Your baby is coming home!" Discord crawled desperately to Chancellor Puddinghead and drew her close. He made one last anguished attempt to express his soul so that he might finally be understood. "Pickle barrel," he whispered. Discord collapsed onto his back. A white lily sprang up from his chest. His long tongue unrolled from his mouth as black X's appeared over both eyes. A bucket manifested beside his goat leg. He kicked it. And lay still. After a moment, Smart Cookie stepped forward. "Well, Ah guess he's...," she said. Then Discord's inert form began to rise. And glow. Oh, for goodness sake, thought Twilight Sparkle. As Discord's body ascended, he was transformed. He now wore a robe of glittering samite. A harp appeared in his lion paw and he plucked at it gently with his eagle claw. His mismatched wings flapped as he drifted upward, a sad yet beatific expression on his face. A tiny halo appeared over his head. And then, finally, Discord touched the Heart of Fire and winked out. Madam Mayor Marigold looked up into the lights, uncertainly, as if afraid that Discord would come plunging back down. After a few heartbeats, he didn't, so she continued. "Um, well, then. After the defeat of... Discord, the six ponies gathered together in sorority, and kept the Heart of Fire alive with their tales of adventure and humor, and with the songs that became the winter carols we all sing today! "At last, the ice receded. The snow melted, as did their hearts. "The three leaders and their trusted advisors vowed to live together in harmony in the new land. And together, they named the new land...." "Equestria!" shouted the audience, crew and cast. *** After the curtain fell, the actors came out to receive their applause. Diamond Tiara and Truffle Shuffle trotted out first, followed by Miss Cheerilee and the rest of her students. Silver Spoon, Twist, Snails and Snips made woo-woo noises. Truffle kissed Diamond's cheek; Diamond blushed. The audience laughed and stamped. Twilight Sparkle trotted out, holding her head high. But the applause grew louder as Lyra Heartstrings and Minuette took the stage. Pinkie Pie and Applejack walked out and did a bit of business, juggling the helms, hats and crowns between themselves. Everypony laughed. Derpy Hooves came out timidly, pushed along by Scootaloo. They held each other as Ponyville cheered. But when Discord came out, the crowd thundered. Everypony in Ponyville Town Hall stood and shook the hall with their approval. Discord was taken aback. "Hello-ooo! I'm evil," he said, waving. "You all kind of hate me, remember?" But the Ponyville audience loudly stamped their approval and welcomed him, cheering. And Fluttershy was the loudest of all, jumping and hooting with delight. Discord faced the applause of Ponyville and the Lord of Chaos blinked. "Oh, well played, Ponyville," Discord said quietly, rubbing some dust from his eyes. "I suppose I'll just have to start looking out for you little ponies. You're so... entertaining." And so, with the rest of the company, Discord bowed to his friends in Ponyville. *** Rainbow Dash was the last to come out, pushed on stage by Mister Breezy and Big Macintosh. She smiled, embarrassed, as Ponyville applauded. One more bow, and then it's over. If you're going to do this, girl, now's the time, Twilight Sparkle told herself. She took a deep breath and pushed herself forward. She loosened the strap that kept her wings hidden under her gown. She advanced to the front of the company. Princess Twilight Sparkle spread her wings before all of Ponyville. "Everypony!" she called. "May I have your attention? Please?" "Princess!" "Your Highness!" "Princess Sparkle!" The crowd cheered. This is who I am now, she thought. I am Ponyville. I am more than myself. Head up, girl! Stand tall! These are your friends. Hug them with your wings, as Derpy would. "Everypony, thank you," began Twilight. "Speaking as one of the company and crew of Hearth's Warming Eve, I am warmed by your appreciation. We will hold your approval in our hearts forever." Go on, she told herself. "But, if I may, I'd like to share something personal." Twilight Sparkle folded her wings. Under the lights, she appeared small. She took another deep breath and revealed her soul. "You are all my strength and my heart," she said. "I bless Princess Celestia for leading me to you. Here, in Ponyville, is the dream of Hearth's Warming Eve made real. Ponies of the Sky, of Magic, of Earth, we live together in love and tolerance. Every morning, I awake, excited to have one more day in Ponyville, the best place I can imagine. I am a part of Ponyville. And Ponyville will always be a part of me. "Since I first came here, some things have changed." Twilight fluttered her wings and the audience laughed quietly. "My friends have become stronger." Twilight smiled down at Fluttershy, in the front row, clutching her Discord plushie. "Ponyville has become stronger." Twilight glanced at Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who winked back. "I have become stronger, because of the wisdom, the caring and the friendship you have given me." Twilight Sparkle stepped up to the edge of the stage. "I'm a little scared right now. What do these mean?" Twilight shook her wings. "What kind of princess will I be? Celestia and Luna are as different as, well, day and night. I have known Cadance since I was a filly, yet there is an ineffable aura of mystery about her that confounds me. In such illustrious company, who am I? "May I ask a favor of you all? Please, in the new year, help me learn who I should be. Help me to become even stronger. Help me to be a good princess." The audience was silent for a moment. Everypony looked at each other, thoughtfully. Then, from the Princess's Booth, a voice exclaimed: "Wull, a 'course we'll help! Yer darn tootin', we will!" The audience exploded with laughter. YER DARN TOOTIN', WE WILL! they cried as one. Of course, we'll help! Twilight! Princess Twilight! My friends, Twilight wept. You are all my friends. Down in the orchestra pit, Octavia looked at little Sweetie Belle and her children's chorus. "Go on, dear," she encouraged. "Now's the time." Sweetie Belle looked uncertain. "Are you sure, Miss Octavia?" Octavia smiled. "Even in Canterlot, it's always like this. Ponies are just ponies. Go on. Princess Twilight, all of Ponyville, needs you now." Sweetie Belle straightened her robe and stepped forward. She nodded to Apple Bloom, Pipsqueak and the other kids. She began to sing and soon the rest joined in, as, eventually, did the entire audience, cast and crew: "The fire of friendship lives in our hearts As long as it burns we cannot drift apart Though quarrels arise, their numbers are few Laughter and singing will see us through (will see us through) We are a circle of pony friends A circle of friends we'll be to the very end!" Then there was laughter and hugs and some in the audience realized, joyfully, that Hearth's Warming Eve was not about some ancient characters in a silly play, but about themselves, right here, right now. So, in the Ponyville Town Hall, the three tribes embraced. Laughed. And went out for warm muffins, strudel, sweet cider and cocoa. *** "Was that authentic or what?" squealed Rainbow Dash. "I cast Discord as Discord! Top that, Canterlot Theatrical Society!" Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle stood out on the steps of Ponyville Town Hall, under Luna's brilliant winter night and paused for a moment, just to breathe. The happy crowds were gone. Miss Cheerilee had ordered her students to their homes. Big Macintosh had collected Granny Smith and his sisters, singing to them as they all plodded home. Derpy had gently asked Scootaloo to spend the night with her and her family and Scootaloo had agreed. "Okay. You. Discord. Spill," commanded Twilight Sparkle to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash bounced gleefully and grinned. "Originally, I just wanted to do a re-telling of the Hearth's Warming Eve story, but with 20% more oomph. More heart. More drama. Y'know, like in the Daring Do books. "But when I invited Fluttershy to audition for the play, Fluttershy told me she couldn't be in the play because she would be in the audience, escorting Discord! Discord had told her something about wanting to see the play so he could get caught up on 'current events.' (Discord is way old!) "I knew I had to do something. "I think I know a show-off when I see one, Twilight, and Discord is a major show-off. The only thing he likes better than his goofy gags is an audience. I think that's why, although he's been pretty darn mean in the past, he hasn't physically hurt anypony. He needs ponies around to laugh at his jokes and to give him applause. "If Discord had just been sitting in the audience, he would have become, I dunno, restless eventually and made a mess of things, just to get attention. So I brought him into the show and gave him a sweet part, so that he would want the play to succeed. This was the same trick that Daring Do used with the bad guy in The Skull of Yorick, if you recall. "But I wanted it to be a surprise, a twist ending, right? Dunn Dunn Dunnn! So I stuck Star Swirl the Bearded into the play as the bad guy, so that all of you in the cast would think that he was the villain. Only me, Lyra, Minuette and Discord knew the truth. "And I think Discord did great!" Rainbow Dash laughed, jumped up and did a barrel roll. Princess Twilight Sparkle felt humble. She stepped forward and embraced Rainbow Dash. "Discord did great," she said. "You did great. You are both amazing." Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight quizzically. "Um, duh! Rainbow Dash! Rhymes with awesome. Look it up!" And they laughed together, then went back inside for warm apple fritters and hot cider. *** The morning after the Hearth's Warming Eve pageant found Twilight Sparkle once more at a cozy table by the window in Sugar Cube Corner. Derpy Hooves had already come and gone, clutching a big bag of muffins. She winked and laughed at Twilight Sparkle, before she leapt fearlessly into the winter sky. May the Sun shine warmly upon you and your family, my friend, thought Twilight. She sipped her hot chocolate. Twilight heard the clatter of tiny hooves on the stairs. She looked up to see the toddler twins, Pound and Pumpkin Cake, tumbling into the room. The twins spotted Twilight and stopped in astonishment. "Twi'woo!" exclaimed Pound, the baby pegasus. "Spickle!" agreed Pumpkin, the baby unicorn. "Hee-he-he-he!" they both laughed as they charged across the bakery towards her. "Now why are you two up so early, hmmm?" asked Twilight, collecting the two eager, bouncing children. "Come up here and sit by Auntie Twilight. That's right. Uh-oh! Somepony needs to blow his nose! Okay, here's a paper napkin. Big blow! Good! And another one! Good job! How are you doing, Pumpkin? You're fine? All right! "Now, since you are both being so good, Auntie Twilight will give you both a treat." Twilight broke off two small morsels of her cinnamon bun and gave them to Pumpkin and Pound. The twins chortled happily as they munched. Very slowly, so as not to startle them, Twilight Sparkle spread her wings and used them to draw the children close to her. "How is that, now?" she asked. "Are you warm enough?" Pumpkin cooed with delight. Pound regarded Twilight's wings with awe. They both snuggled up against her, warm and safe. Derpy was right, of course, thought Twilight. Wing hugs are the best. Twilight hesitated for a moment, then chanted, softly: "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! "Here comes Pound and Pumpkin Cake!" The twins giggled and wiggled beside her. That was how Carrot Cake found them: Twilight Sparkle quietly sipping her hot chocolate while his children peeped out from beneath the warm blanket of her wings. "My apologies... Twilight," Carrot Cake said. "These little rascals are so rambunctious these days." He stood shaking his head ruefully at the twins. "It's perfectly all right, Mister Cake," said Twilight. "It's wonderful to have a little visit with them." Pumpkin and Pound looked at each other smugly. Carrot Cake stared at his shoes for a moment, then stood up straight, squared his shoulders and said, "If it's all right, Twilight, I'd like to ask a favor. We've got a big catering order today. The new year, you understand. Pies, cakes and new bread. Me and the Missus and Pinkie will be awfully busy trying to fill it while also managing the store. It would be a big help if you could, maybe, look after the little ones for a few hours, this afternoon?" Princess Twilight Sparkle of Ponyville looked up at Mister Carrot Cake and, from the bottom of her heart, she smiled. "Thank you, sir. I'd love to."
The Voyage of the Mareitania
pre
"I'm... sorry that I ruined dinner last night." She said while looking down and rubbing one of her forelegs with the other. "Can you... forgive me?" "Sure... I guess." Steel replied, unsure of how to properly respond to what was going on. "Just uhh.... try not to do it again." "Oh you don't have to worry about that." Celestia said, making Steel look up at her. "I'll be sure to watch what she eats from now til the end of this voyage. And do excuse the way my student is behaving. She's never really been in this position before. I'll be sure to talk to her about this in private once we're done here." Twilight's eyes shot open after hearing that before she turned and looked at Celestia with a frightened expression. "Very uh.. well then. Is there... anything else you need?" Steel asked. "No. That is all that we came here to accomplish." Celestia replied. "We'll be on our way now. Have a good day, Captain Blade." "Thank you. Same to you as well." He said before the three of them walked away. Steel followed them outside and watched them until they disappeared inside. "Well..." He thought before turning to walk back onto the bridge. "That was... interesting." As Steel began to take charge of the bridge, Dotted Line walked through a corridor in the First Class section of the ship. A few beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead as he moved along. "I hope everything is alright." He said to himself as he looked down at a paper in his magical grasp. It was a passenger manifest containing the names of all the passengers on board and which room they were staying in. As he walked, he glanced between the paper and the numbers on each door he passed until he stopped in front of a door. "Room A5: Princess Celestia + 8." He said in his mind before putting the list back and knocking on the door. He could hear a few whispers behind the door before he heard hoofsteps approaching from the other side. "Password?" A mare asked on the other side. "Password?" Dotted asked. "I'm sorry. I don't have time for games. I am Dotted Line, Chairpony of the Red Apple Line and owner of this liner. I wish to come in and speak with Princess Celestia." A few more whispers could be heard before he heard somepony undoing the lock before opening it. In the doorway stood a light purple colored unicorn mare with a purple and cyan streaked mane. "Sorry." She said. "But uh... Princess Celestia isn't here at the moment. I'm sure she'll be back in a bit though." "Oh." Dotted replied as he looked at the mare, who seemed nervous as she stood in front of him. "Well. Would you mind if I come in and wait for her then? It's important that I speak with her." "Uhh.... sure. I guess." She replied before stepping aside and allowing him to enter. Once inside, Dotted heard the mare close and lock the door behind him. "Right this way." She said as she walked in front of him down a small hallway. "Uhh... girls? We have a visitor so make sure you're presentable!" A few more whispers could be heard as the two of them stopped in front of a closed door that Dotted knew led into the parlor room of the large cabin. "So how long will it be before Princess Celestia returns?" He asked. "Shouldn't be too long." She replied before opening the door. "I think they just went to go speak with the Captain." Dotted nodded as he walked inside to find Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack lounging around on the various chairs and couches in the room. "Uh... Starlight? What's he doing here?" Rainbow asked as she looked at the mare. Dotted recognized that name from the various newspapers he read before looking at the mare. "He's just gonna wait here until Princess Celestia returns. Apparently he needs to speak with her." "Oh. Uh... alright then." "So..." Dotted said as he took a seat next to Fluttershy on the couch she was on. The butter yellow pegasus quickly scooted to the far side of the couch in response. "Are you all enjoying the voyage so far?" "Oh I'd say it is wonderful so far, darling." Rarity replied. "Except for what happened last night." "Yeah." Applejack added. "I uh... didn't expect Pinkie Pie to throw up her meal." "I don't think anypony did." Dotted replied. "How is she by the way?" "She's doing alright, I suppose." Starlight said. "She's with Celestia and Twilight." After she said that, the room fell into an awkward silence as each of the mares kept glancing between the lone stallion and each other. Dotted himself was growing a bit uncomfortable by this. But he needed to stay and speak with Celestia. As he opened his mouth to speak again though, the sound of the door leading into the room opening cut him off. "Oh Chrysalis!" An unexpected voice said. "This pony food is not sitting well for me." Each of the mares immediately looked at the door with frightened expressions as the door swung open far enough for Dotted to find a changeling standing in it. His eyes shrank in horror as Starlight hit the changeling in his head with her hoof. "Scythe! You idiot!" She called out. "What'd I do?" He asked as he rubbed his head before looking at Dotted. "Oh..." "Ch-ch-changeling!" Dotted cried out in horror before he was suddenly tackled to the floor by Fluttershy. Dotted struggled as she stood over him, trying to get up. But she had the leverage to keep him down. "What... in Equestria is going on here?" He grunted while still trying to get up. "Well... So much for keeping a low profile." He heard Starlight say before seeing green magical flames engulfing each mare in the room, revealing a room full of changelings. Dotted looked on in horror as they all circled around him before one of them spat some green gunk on his horn. He tried using his magic, but found that whatever that stuff on his horn was, it nullified his magic. "Help! Somepony help me! Changelings!" He cried out at the top of his lungs, hoping somepony nearby would come to his rescue. "Scream all you want, pony. No one can hear you." The one holding down his limbs said. "Our brilliant Queen has soundproofed this room." "Wh- what are you doing here? What do you want?" "We'll let our Queen answer that." Another one replied before they lifted him onto the couch. Once done, one of them continued sitting on him to make sure he wasn't able to escape. Dotted continued struggling to get up, but the weight of the changeling on him proved too much to overcome. Eventually, he stopped struggling and just silently observed as the various changelings conversed with each other about what to do with him. After a few minutes, he heard three knocks on the door leading into the cabin. The changelings all looked at each other before one of them transformed into Starlight Glimmer and left to go answer it. Each changeling froze in place, some visibly shaking while others gulped audibly as the sound of the door closing could be heard. "What do you mean we have a problem?" A loud voice called out before the changeling disguised as Starlight got thrown into the room. Soon after that, Dotted's eyes grew wide as he watched Chrysalis, former supreme leader of the changelings, enter the room. "I'm sorry!" He said in her voice as he quickly crawled before groveling in front of her. "It just sort of happened and I didn't know what to do." "Drop the disguise." Chrysalis bluntly ordered. "I can't take you seriously in that." "Yes! Of course!" He replied in Starlight's voice before shifting back to his true form, still trembling in front of her as two other changelings flanked her sides. "And you two..." She growled before hurling both of them to the ground beside the trembling one. "I should've known better than to have you two come with me to speak with the Captain. Especially you!" She continued before pointing at one of them, who just curled up into a trembling ball. "You better hope that he doesn't know Twilight that well. Otherwise this whole plan could be ruined!" She then looked up at the others who were shaking before narrowing her gaze at Dotted. "And who was it that created this whole mess?" "Scythe!" The one who was on top of Dotted replied. "He's the one that came in here without being in disguise." "Aw, come on! I didn't hear that he was here. And you all know I don't like having to pretend to be that little dragon!" Scythe protested before a growl from Chrysalis silenced him. Chrysalis then approached him while the others made sure to be away from him. "Well then. How about I stuff a rag down your throat, tie a rope around your wings and hooves, and throw you overboard in the middle of the night! Would you like that?" "N-no!" He stuttered. "Then prove to me that you deserve another chance." "H-how can I do that?" "Simple..." She replied before pointing toward Dotted. "By taking his place." "What?" "And you'd better make sure not to draw any suspicion and blow your cover again. Because if you do, I will personally give you a beating like you've never experienced before!" "Y-yes, my Queen!" He quickly replied before transforming into an exact duplicate of Dotted. "Now get out of here before somepony notices that he's gone." "Of course!" Scythe replied in Dotted's voice before racing out of the room. Chrysalis chuckled softly, amused at how quickly he rushed out before turning her attention to her new prisoner. She proceeded to walk over and sit down beside the couch before gently running a hoof through his mane. This made him shiver with fear, which brought a smirk to her face. "And what am I to do with you?" She asked rhetorically. "You're not the pony I'm here for. But I can't let you leave this room now that you know our little secret." "Wh-why are you here then?" Dotted asked. "Who are you here for?" "Well..." She replied. "I suppose there's no harm in telling you the plan. Especially since you're not going anywhere." She then cleared her throat. "I'm sure you're aware of what happened at the hive, right?" "You getting your kingdom taken from you by Starlight and her friends? Yeah. I heard about that." This response made Chrysalis growl and glare at him. "Yes." She said through gritted teeth. "My number of loyal followers decreased dramatically after that. To where I hardly have any competent soldiers left." This made each changeling shiver in fear. "So in order for me to reclaim my throne and exact revenge on Starlight Glimmer and the rest of those ponies she calls friends, I need an army. Not one like I had before. No. A much better army. And somepony to rule beside me as King of the changelings. Somepony who, with the right amount of training and guidance from me, could make a most feared and ruthless leader." "And... wh-who are you after?" This made Chrysalis chuckle for a moment before looking Dotted right in his eyes. "I'm here... for your Captain." "Steel?!" Dotted exclaimed in surprise. "Forget it! He'd never join you!" After hearing his response, Chrysalis merely smirked before patting the restrained stallion on his head before getting up and going over to the window, looking out at the calm waters. "Oh. I'm sure I can persuade him to join me." She replied before turning back to look at him. "After all. It'd be such a shame to see this ship that he loves so much being sent to the bottom of the Equestrian Ocean." This only made Dotted's pupils twitch in fear as Chrysalis began to laugh in a maniacal fashion.
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Six
Chrysalis smirked confidently as she watched Dotted lay helplessly on the couch. The sight of seeing him in this state pleased her. She knew that her plan was a risky one. A single misstep is all it would take for it to all come apart. But there was no way she was going to back down. It took a lot of skill and luck to get where she was. Several weeks of scheming, scouting, and training all led up to this point. But now with the unexpected addition of a key pony in her custody, she felt things would progress easier. Especially with that pony being the owner of the very ship they were on. "Now what should we do with you?" she asked in a rhetorical tone. "Obviously we can't trust you to remain here by yourself. Even with your magic being blocked." Dotted just silently glanced up at his goo coated horn in response. The green slime felt weird yet warm on it. Whatever it was made of certainly proved to be too much for him to overcome on his own. He sighed as his eyes drifted back to look toward Chrysalis. "Can't we just throw him overboard and be done with him?" One of the other changelings in the room asked. "No," Chrysalis replied. "If we do that, there's a chance he'll get rescued and reveal us." "What should we do then?" Chrysalis rubbed her chin as she looked back and forth between Dotted and the rest of her soldiers. "One of you will remain here and make sure that he doesn't go anywhere," she said before pointing over at a door that led into a small closet. "And just to make it easier, we'll put him in there." "Of course," the changeling replied before the small group swarmed around the captured stallion and lifted him up before taking him over to the closet. With one of them opening the door, the rest tossed him into the small area. Dotted grunted as he landed on the floor with a thud before the door was slammed shut behind him. Soon after, he heard the sound of furniture being moved, presumably in order to block the door from being opened again. Dotted just laid quietly on the floor and glanced around at his surroundings. The only source of light in the room was from the keyhole just beneath the knob. A tear slowly formed in his eye as he repeated what Chrysalis had said over and over again in his mind. "What do I do?" he thought before getting up into a sitting position. "I need to get out of here and warn Steel. But how?" As he thought about various ideas, his eyes glanced up at his goo-coated horn. "First things first though. Let's try and get this cleaned off. Hopefully my magic will be usable once this stuff is removed." With that decision made, Dotted began feeling around the small area, hoping to find something to help get the goo off of his horn. As this was happening, Steel stood on the starboard bridge wing. He smiled as he looked ahead, seeing nothing but calm blue water. This made him feel confident in his ability to command. Everything as far as he knew was under control and going smoothly. "Just a few more days before we'll reach Mareseilles," he said to himself before the sound of hoofsteps approaching him. Turning to look at the source of the sound, he found Port coming toward him with a small paper in his magical grip. "What you got there, Port?" "Ice warning, sir," he replied before giving it to Steel. Once he had it, he took a look. "It's from the Cadenza," he said as he began reading. "Says they've spotted a few icebergs well south of where they usually are." Once he took a look at the coordinates that were mentioned, Steel folded the paper and placed it in his pocket. "If anypony needs me, I'll be in the chart room." "Yes sir," Port replied before Steel started walking toward the bridge. As he walked, he was hoping that the location of the bergs weren't going to pose any hazard to his ship. Upon entering the bridge, Steel gave a quick salute to the helmspony before entering the chart room which was located right next to his quarters. "Alright..." he said to himself while bringing up a chart for the Equestrian Ocean. He then took the message out of his pocket in order to find the location of the reported bergs. After a few minutes, he found that the supposed location of the bergs were close enough to the route they were on to pose a risk. "Looks like we'll have to divert course," he thought before turning to walk out of the chart room and back onto the bridge. "Everything alright, Cap?" Port asked from outside. "Just need to adjust our course. That's all," Steel replied before looking at the helmspony. "Turn to heading 110 and proceed on that course until I say otherwise." "Aye aye, sir," the stallion replied before he started turning the wheel to the right, making the ship list a few degrees to port. Once on the new course, Steel looked at the clock that was mounted on a nearby wall before making note of the time. "We'll take a bit of a southeastern detour," Steel said as he walked back out on the wing to join Port. "That should hopefully keep us away from any stray icebergs." "Good thinking," Port said as the two of them looked out ahead of the liner. During the day, icebergs would pose no risk to the ship due to them being as visible as a cloud in a clear blue sky. It was during the night that concerned the young Captain. If there was no moon or waves, icebergs would be nearly invisible until it was too late to avoid colliding with them. With the new course, Steel was hoping to avoid that problem. As the minutes passed by, another thought came to his mind. "Have you seen Dotted anywhere?" he asked before looking toward his friend. "He's usually somewhere around here, but I haven't seen him in a while. Figured he'd be up here asking why I turned the ship or something by now." "Last I heard he was gonna go talk to Celestia about the incident during dinner last night," Port replied. "But that was hours ago." He then rubbed his muzzle in thought for a few seconds before looking back at Steel. "I'll go see if I can find him. Want me to send him up here if I do?" "Sure," Steel replied. "I've been meaning to ask him about what to do once we get to Mareseilles." Port silently nodded before proceeding toward the stairs leading down to the boat deck. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Cap," he said before descending the stairs. Scythe walked down a corridor filled with ponies conversing about random topics. Some of them would stop and smile or wave at him, prompting him to quickly wave back before moving on as quick as he could. Being disguised as a pony was much better than a little dragon, but this one was difficult. He had no idea how to act or behave like the stallion he was pretending to be. After several minutes of walking, he found a door leading out on the boat deck. Once outside, he breathed in the fresh air and looked up to find himself near the third funnel which was just spewing out black smoke. He then turned his head and looked out toward the open ocean and breathed deeply, trying to calm his nerves. "Just play it cool, Scythe," he thought while looking out at the sea around the ship. "No reason to panic." "Oh hey there, Dotty," a stallion's voice said from behind, causing the disguised changeling to freeze up. "How was your meeting with Princess Celestia?" Scythe slowly turned around to see a green unicorn stallion in a black Officer's uniform in front of him. "Are... you talking to me?" he asked in Dotted's tone. "No. I'm just talking to somepony else while looking at you," the stallion replied in a sarcastic tone. "Of course I'm talking to you." "Oh... right. My mistake." "Anyways," the stallion continued. "Cap wants to see you up on the bridge." "Cap?" Scythe asked while looking confused. The green unicorn tilted his head slightly. This made the disguised changeling begin to panic in his mind. "Crap! He's on to me!" "You alright, sir?" the stallion asked. "I mean I get that you're under a lot of pressure right now. But you seem.... a bit off." "I'm.... fine," Scythe replied. "Now uh... I'll just be going now to see... Cap." With that said, Scythe began to move away from the stallion as quick as he could. "Other way, Dotty!" he heard the stallion call out before looking back to see him pointing in the opposite direction from where he was going. "I know that. I was just uh... wanting to take the scenic route." "Uhh... alright," the stallion replied. "I guess I'll see you up there then." After he said that, the stallion turned and walked away, leaving the disguised changeling alone. Once he was sure that he was in the clear, Scythe breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. After an experience like that, maybe pretending to be a little dragon wasn't so bad after all. Back on the bridge, Steel kept looking at the clock mounted on the wall behind the helm, keeping track of how long they were on the new course. He had decided to keep on the course for at least an hour before turning back to Mareseilles. Soon, he heard hoofsteps on the steps leading up to the wing. Turning his head toward the sound, he saw Port had returned but without Dotted. "Where's the boss?" Steel asked while looking behind Port for any sign of Dotted. "He's coming," Port replied. "I bumped into him on the boat deck near the third funnel. He seemed.... a little off though. Not sure if it was because of his talk with Princess Celestia or just stressed because of this voyage." "Is he usually stressed from voyages?" "No. He's always had a calm attitude on crossings," he said. "Maybe it's because of the 'important guests' onboard." "That's possible," Steel replied as he kept looking between Port and the deck below. "Where is he now?" "He said he was gonna take the scenic route here," Port replied. "So I'm guessing he's gonna come around on the other side." "Well. If he isn't here in the next 15 minutes. I guess I'll go out and find him myself. I really would like to know what all is needed to be done once we arrive in Mareseilles." After circling around the boat deck to the other side, Scythe eventually made his way toward the steps leading up to the port side bridge wing. During the journey to this point, he realized that he'd soon be face to face with the pony that was the target for their mission. But he'd be doing so disguised as a pony he has no idea how to behave like. "Well.... Here goes nothing," he thought to himself before beginning the climb up the stairs. Once on the wing, he looked out ahead at the water in front of the ship. "Ah. There you are," a voice said, making the changeling freeze up before he turned to where the voice was coming from. Standing just inside the doorway leading into the bridge was the pony that his Queen had so much interest in. "I was beginning to think I'd have to come find you myself." "Well. Here I am," Scythe replied in Dotted's tone. "What uh.. was it that you wanted to talk about?" "Follow me," the unicorn replied before motioning for him to follow. "I just want to talk about what all needs to be done once we arrive in Mareseilles." "Crap...." Scythe thought while nodding with a sheepish smile before following the pony inside. As he stepped onto the bridge, the changeling looked around at all the stuff in the room as he followed the unicorn through a doorway leading into what he could only assume to be the pony's personal room. "So since this is my first crossing as a Captain," the pony said before sitting down at a small table beside a window looking out at the boat deck. On the table were some folders with different labels on them. "I just wanted to be aware of anything that needed to be done once we arrive." As he was talking, he was also looking through some of the folders that were on the table. Scythe just stayed next to the door, trying not to be visibly freaking out while mentally panicking on the inside. Steel looked up from the folders to see his boss still standing near the door. As he looked, he couldn't help but notice that something was indeed off about the chairpony, just like Port had stated earlier. "You can take a seat if you want, sir," Steel said before gesturing for the other pony to sit down. "Na-na-nah. I'm fine right here," Scythe quickly replied. Steel just raised an eyebrow in response while tilting his head. Something was definitely wrong here. But he wasn't quite sure what. "Are you alright, Dotted?" he asked. "You seem like you're about ready to have a panic attack." "You have no idea how right you are," Scythe thought before clearing his throat. "I'm... fine," he replied. "Just uhh... got other things on my mind right now." "Well. Can you at least answer some questions for me?" "Uh... Sure. I... guess." "So..." Steel said before looking through a folder. "How many tugboats do you think we'll need at Mareseilles? Just so I can get a message out before we arrive." "Uhh...." Scythe replied while his heartbeat increased. He had no idea about anything involving ships. "I don't know?" This answer made the unicorn look up from the folder and look directly at him. "Oh...kay?" Steel replied before looking back down at the folder. "I guess I'll try and figure that out myself then." He then looked at the report about the amount of coal in the bunkers. "Who would I need to talk to for getting more coal once we start getting ready for the return trip?" "I uhh.... don't know?" Scythe replied while slightly shaking. That's two questions that he's sure the pony he was impersonating would've had answers for. "I see," Steel replied. By this point, he was beginning to think that something was very wrong here. The two questions he had asked were something that Dotted should have known the answers to instantly considering the amount of times he had been to Mareseilles. A possible explanation was starting to form in his head, but he wasn't sure if that really was the reason. "Is this really Dotted?" Steel thought while looking at the other pony in the room. He looked like Dotted. He sounded like Dotted. But the way he was standing mere inches from the door instead of sitting at the table like he did yesterday was sending a signal of something not so pleasant to think about. On top of that, he didn't seem to know anything about what to do about when they arrive at their destination. As he kept looking at what seemed to be his boss, an idea came into his mind. He'd ask one more question. But this one was going to be so easy for Dotted to answer that if he didn't say the correct response, he'd know for sure. "Alright boss. I have one more question to ask," he said. "But first, I need to show you something." "Like.... what?" "Well come over here and I'll show you." Scythe nodded quickly before he started to make his way over to the table. Once there, he slowly sat down in the chair on the other side. Once he was seated, he watched as the unicorn's horn lit up in a bluish glow before hearing the door that he was nearby close. The sound of the latch on the door made his pupils shrink before the unicorn made something long and black with a brown colored handle float over to them in a blue aura of magic. The changeling's heart began to pound as he watched what soon was revealed to be a sword floating in the unicorn's magic. "I just wanted to show you how clean my sword is," Steel said while holding up the blade in the light of the sun. "It's so clean, you could see your reflection in it." Scythe sheepishly smiled as he indeed saw the reflection of his disguise in the polished steel of the sword. "So anyway. Last question, Dotty," Steel said while looking directly into his eyes. "What is.... this ship's name?" Scythe immediately froze up in the chair upon hearing that question. He couldn't understand why he'd ask a question like that. Unless he figured out that the pony he was speaking to wasn't the pony he thought he was. It was at this moment that the disguised changeling knew he was cornered. He had no way out of this situation. If he answered wrong, the jig was for sure to be up. But if he answered right, then maybe he'd be able to escape and quickly make himself scarce. "I'm waiting, Dotty." "Umm...." Scythe replied, trying desperately to think of the name of the ship. "Boaty...McBoatface?" "Boaty.... McBoatface," Steel said before chuckling. "Well. That's quite an interesting name." His facial expression then turned to a more serious one before looking directly at the pony in front of him. "Too bad that it just isn't the name of this ship." Immediately after saying that, Steel used his magic to grab 'Dotted' by the neck and squeeze tightly. Scythe immediately grabbed at his neck in desperation before he was hurled against the wall behind him. Still trying desperately to breathe, he could only watch as the unicorn got out of his chair and come up to him before placing the blade of his sword gently against his throat. This sudden shock was enough for Scythe to lose focus and drop his disguise, revealing himself before the stallion in front of him. "Well would you look at that," Steel said as he was now looking at a changeling being held by the neck in his magical grip. "Now I've got two more questions for you. First. Who are you? And second. Where... is... Dotted Line?"
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Seven
The scene inside Steel's cabin was tense as the stallion continued to hold this new prisoner of his against the wall with the blade of his sword against the changeling's neck. The look on the stallion's face was one of anger. Yet he seemed to be restraining himself from taking any further actions than what he was already doing. The look on Scythe's face however was one of shock and fear. He never thought he'd be in this position so quickly. As he tried relentlessly to escape from his captor's grip, the sound of the stallion clearing his throat made the changeling stop struggling and look directly into his eyes. "So," Steel said. "Are you gonna answer my questions?" "Scythe!" the changeling blurted out. "My name.... is Scythe!" "Scythe huh?" the stallion replied while maintaining the pressure of his blade against the changeling's neck. Not enough to slice through the skin, but sufficient enough to get through to the changeling not to try anything. "Alright then, Scythe. Why are you-" "Captain? Are you alright in there? I could've sworn I heard something hit the wall." Port's voice called out from the other side of the cabin's door to the bridge, interrupting Steel's question. "Port! Get in here!" Steel ordered, prompting his First Officer to open the door and come in. Once inside, Port gasped at what he saw. "Captain! What's going on?" "This changeling here was impersonating Dotted," Steel replied. "And now I'm trying to get some information out of him." He turned back to look at Scythe before narrowing his gaze. "Why are you here, Scythe?" he asked. "And where is Dotted?" "Your friend... is with the others," Scythe replied, struggling to speak as the blade against his neck was making it difficult for him to breathe. Sensing this, Steel released his grip and allowed the changeling to fall to the floor with an audible thud. Scythe instinctively gasped and breathed heavily before coughing a few times. "My Queen has him as her prisoner," he said as he looked up at Steel. "And where would they be?" "They're close. That's all I'll say." "Port. Summon the Master-at-Arms," Steel said while keeping his eyes on the changeling. "I want him in shackles and his power blocked with a dampening ring." "Yes, sir!" Port replied as he looked at Scythe. "Should we also take him to the Princesses and the Bearers? Surely they'll know what to do with him. And they can help us get Dotted back too." "That's not a bad idea," Steel replied. "But we don't want to alarm the passengers by taking this changeling through the corridors. Get the Master-at-Arms. Then get the Princesses and the Bearers and have them all come up here." "Aye, Captain!" Port said before rushing out of the room, leaving Steel alone with the changeling. Steel's eyes continued to watch Scythe, who just remained still on the floor. "You're smarter than you appear," the changeling said before looking up at the stallion in front of him. "It's no wonder my Queen is interested in you." "What are you talking about?" "The reason we're here in the first place," the changeling continued. "It's you. You're the one my Queen wants." "Me?" Steel asked while raising an eyebrow. "Why me?" "I wasn't sure to be honest," Scythe replied. "I was questioning it myself until now." He then looked up at Steel who immediately pointed the tip of his sword just mere inches away from the changeling's face. "You seem smarter than the average pony. But then again, I wasn't really giving you a challenge since I don't know anything about ships or this... pony that I was pretending to be." "That's true, I guess," Steel replied. "You clearly weren't prepared at all. Dotted would've easily had answers to the questions I asked." He then shook his head a few times. "What the fuck! Why am I giving you advice?!" he shouted. "Where is Dotted?!" "I already told you. My Queen has him as her prisoner." One of Steel's eyes twitched as his patience was wearing thin. "You realize what's gonna happen once the Princesses and the Bearers get here. Right?" he asked. "I know exactly what's gonna happen, pony," Scythe replied. "My Queen's plan for you and this ship will succeed." "Oh yeah? How so?" "You'll see," Scythe replied before looking down toward the floor. Sensing that the changeling wasn't going to continue talking, Steel just kept his sword ready in case he tried anything. As the situation in Steel's cabin was progressing, Port was making his way through the corridors of the ship. Following close behind him was a gray colored earth pony mare in a black colored uniform with a MPD badge pinned to it. On her back was a pair of satchels containing various tools to do her job. As they passed by the passengers, they made sure to keep their expressions calm. But some of the passengers could be heard whispering as they went by. "I don't like this," Port said as he walked. "Something's off. I can feel it." "What do you mean?" the mare behind him asked as the two ponies stopped in front of a door leading into a cabin. "This feels... too easy," he replied while making sure that no passengers were around. He then knocked three times on the door before stepping back. Soon, they heard hoofsteps on the other side before the door opened. Both ponies were soon surprised to find Princess Celestia standing in the doorway. "Can I... help you?" she asked in a confused tone. "Sorry to disturb you, Princess," Port replied. "My name is Port Side, First Officer. And this is Detective Copper Top, Master-at-Arms." "Greetings, your Majesty," Copper Top added before taking her hat off. "Again. Sorry to bother you," Port repeated. "But Captain Blade requires you, Princess Sparkle, and the rest of the Bearers on the bridge immediately." "Oh? What for?" Celestia asked while raising an eyebrow. "Well," Port replied before once again making sure that no passengers were around. "We've got... a changeling... being held by Captain Blade as we speak. He's requested your assistance." "I see," Celestia replied. "Well then. Let me get the others and we'll meet you there shortly." "Yes, ma'am," Port replied as Celestia closed the door leading into her cabin. "Come along, Detective. Let's get going." "Right behind you," the mare replied as the two began walking away from the door. "You know. When I volunteered for this assignment from the MPD, I never thought that something like this would be happening. I figured it'd be an easy gig." As the two ponies walked away, Chrysalis dropped her disguise and pressed her ear up to the door, making sure that they had indeed left. She then walked back into the parlor room where the rest of the changelings she had brought with her were. Inside, the seven remaining changelings were seen just sitting around on the furniture. "Not even two hours," she said as she entered the room. "Scythe couldn't even last two hours out there." "Yes!" one of the changelings blurted out before pointing to another one. "You owe me fifty bits!" Chrysalis cleared her throat, making the excited changeling freeze before looking back to her with a feared expression. Meanwhile, inside the small closet, Dotted Line's ears had perked up when he heard that the changeling who replaced him was caught. "Ha! I knew making Steel Captain was a good idea," he thought while pressing his ear up against the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. "Who was at the door, my Queen?" another changeling asked. "Two ponies who claim that Captain Blade has Scythe in his custody. They're requesting that we go up to the bridge." "All of us?" another one asked. "No," she replied. "Just the Princesses and the Bearers." She then pointed at the one sitting on the couch in front of the blocked door leading into the room where Dotted Line was being held. "You will stay here and guard the prisoner. Make sure that he stays in there." "Yes, my Queen," the changeling on the couch replied. "Right," Chrysalis said before transforming back into Princess Celestia. "Let's not keep the Captain waiting." Hearing her say that last sentence in Celestia's voice made Dotted's spine shiver. One by one, he could see green flashes through the keyhole before listening as all but one changeling had left the room. Soon enough, the only sounds that could be heard were the waves and the occasional groaning of the ship's hull. "Now. How can I get out of here?" Dotted thought to himself, sensing an opportunity now that there was only one changeling in the room instead of eight. As he thought of ideas, one suddenly came into his mind. One that should work. "Hey uh... changeling?" he called out through the door. "What do you want, pony?" the changeling replied. "I had a big breakfast with a few mugs of apple cider before I came here," he said. "So I uhh... need to use the bathroom." "Go in there then." "I really would advise against that. This whole room would smell awful then." After saying that, he could hear the changeling sigh before the couch in front of the door could be heard getting moved. "Fine," the changeling said. "But don't tell the others that I let you out. I'm supposed to keep you in there." "You have my word." Dotted replied as he was getting into position for his next move. Soon, the latch on the door was undone and the changeling opened the door, only to receive two back hooves to the face as Dotted bucked as hard as he could. The changeling was flung across the room, crashing into the wall on the other side. Dotted turned around to find the changeling had been knocked out and seemed to be not getting up anytime soon. "Excellent," he thought to himself before he quickly rushed out of the room, making sure to stop in the bathroom to use a towel to wipe the goo off of his horn. Once done, he tried picking up a toothbrush on the counter. As expected, with the goo off, he was able to use his magic once more as the toothbrush was held in a blue aura of magic. A smirk appeared on his face before he went back into the room where the unconscious changeling was. Seeing that he was still out cold, Dotted wasted no time in exiting the cabin. "Gotta warn Steel!" he said to himself before he began running as fast as he could toward the bridge. Despite what was happening, everything else seemed to be going on as normal. The ship was still plowing through the waves at 24 knots but was off course. With Steel distracted by what was going on, he wasn't in a position where he was able to tell the helmspony to return to the heading for Mareseilles. Inside the cabin where everything abnormal was happening, Steel still had his sword at the ready in case Scythe tried anything. The changeling hadn't moved at all since Port left. The silence around the two was deafening until it was broken by three knocks at the door. "Captain!" Port called out from the other side. "I'm back with Detective Copper Top!" "Enter!" Steel called out in response, prompting Port to open the door and allow the mare to step inside before entering himself. Once both were in, Steel used his magic to close the door. "Alright changeling," Copper Top said while reaching into a satchel before pulling out a set of shackles. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you by the country of Equestria. Do you understand these rights as I've read them to you?" "I suppose," Scythe replied before Port used his magic to place the shackles onto the changeling's legs. His eyes then watched as a magic dampening ring was placed onto his horn before it started producing a yellow glow. "Now that he's in shackles, what do you want done?" Copper asked while turning her head to look at Steel. "We'll let the Princesses decide that," Steel replied just before another three knocks on the door leading into the cabin could be heard. "Captain Blade?" a familiar voice could be heard asking through the wood. "You asked for us?" "Yes. Come in," he replied as Port opened the door and allowed Princess Celestia and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to enter. Once inside, all eyes were on the now shackled changeling as he was surrounded on all sides. "So how exactly did this happen, Captain?" Celestia asked. "How did you discover that this changeling was aboard?" "He was impersonating Dotted Line, our Chairpony," Steel replied. "Quite poorly if I might add. He clearly didn't know how to behave like him at all." The changeling could only produce a sheepish smile as he watched Celestia circle around and stand beside the Captain. Steel looked up at her as she gave a stern look toward the changeling. "He was also saying that Dotted was still on board. Though he wouldn't tell me exactly where he was." "I'm... right here, Steel!" a voice called out from the door, prompting everyone in the room to look in that direction. Standing in the doorway was Dotted Line, who was clearly out of breath from having sprinted all the way to the bridge. "Dotty!" Port exclaimed. "Is that you?" "Of... course," Dotted replied while gathering himself before looking up at all of the ponies in the room. He then turned his attention to Copper Top. "How many shackles do you have in those satchels of yours?" "Just a few left?" Copper replied. "Why do you ask, sir?" "I want all of these changelings placed under arrest!" he ordered before looking directly into Celestia's eyes. "Especially her!" "Change...lings?" Steel asked before looking around to find Princess Sparkle and the rest of her friends having panicked expressions on their faces. He then looked up at what he thought was Princess Celestia, who only glared back at Dotted. "The jig is up, Chrysalis," Dotted said before pointing a hoof at Celestia. "For you. And the rest of you lot." Steel could only look back and forth between Dotted and Celestia before he heard her sighing, making him look up at her. "I should've known better than to leave you with only one incompetent guard," Celestia said in an angered tone before Steel watched her horn light up in a greenish glow. Immediately afterward, he could see green colored magic around the necks of Dotted, Port, and Copper Top. Each of them began struggling as Steel watched on, seeing the Bearers reveal themselves to be changelings. He stepped back in shock and awe as he watched what he thought was Princess Celestia, the kind ruler of Equestria, reveal herself to be none other than Queen Chrysalis. Soon, the small group of changelings turned their attention to Steel. They all pounced at him at the same time. Seeing this, he tried his best to defend himself with his blade. But one of them spat some green goo onto his horn. Steel's eyes grew wide as the blue aura of his magic around the handle of the sword disappeared, making it drop to the floor before he was overwhelmed by the small group of changelings. The stallion struggled as best he could, but he wasn't strong enough to resist the combined strength of six changelings. "What... are you doing?!" Steel grunted as he looked at Chrysalis before seeing that each of the ponies she had in her magic were struggling to breathe. "Let... them go!" "In due time," Chrysalis calmly replied. "But first I want you to promise that you will surrender and not resist me." "Steel!" Dotted grunted. "Don't.... do it!" "If you don't," Chrysalis continued saying. "Then you will watch as your friends perish before I unleash my changelings on every other pony that is on board this vessel." "Steel!" Port cried out as his hooves flailed around, trying desperately to get free. "Enough!" Steel cried out. "I surrender!" Hearing this, Chrysalis smirked before releasing her hold, allowing the other ponies to gasp for air. She then signaled to the group of changelings to get off of him, which they did immediately. After they got off of him, Steel only glanced up at the goo on his horn. It felt warm and slimy, which made him feel uncomfortable. He then looked over at his friends, who were still catching their respective breaths. "Are you all good?" "Yeah..." Port replied. "I think... we're good." "Now," Chrysalis said, gaining everyone's attention. "I want all of you ponies, every passenger, and any other crew you have off of this ship." She then turned to look at Steel. "Except for you, that is." "No!" Dotted protested. "We're not going to just abandon this ship!" Chrysalis glared at the pony who dared to defy her before her eyes landed on Steel's sword. A smirk appeared on her face before she grabbed Dotted by the neck once more. Only this time, she also took hold of the blade and placed it against his throat. "You will do as I say," she said in a commanding tone. "Otherwise this one will perish." Steel could only look on as a changeling spat more goo onto Dotted's horn before another did the same to Port's. With all the unicorn magic in the room now nullified, the sense of danger was increased. "I'm still down here," Scythe said, making Chrysalis look down at him. She then used her magic to remove his restraints before letting him get back up. Once back on his feet, Scythe turned his attention to Steel and just winked before joining the rest of the changelings. Steel merely just glared back at him in response before looking back at Dotted and Chrysalis. "So how exactly are we going to get this ship completely abandoned?" Port asked. "Yeah we have 16 lifeboats. But that's not enough for all of the passengers and crew on board." "Not to mention the fact that it would only be a matter of time before they'd get picked up by another ship," Steel added. "Then you'd have every possible ship in the Navy out looking for this ship." After hearing this, Chrysalis rubbed her chin in thought while keeping the blade against Dotted's neck. "You have a good point there, Captain," she said. "I knew I wanted you for a reason." "What exactly... do you want me for?" "You'll find out. In time," she replied. "But first. I want you to stop this ship." Steel just stood there for a bit, prompting Chrysalis to motion with her eyes at his sword against his friend's throat. He then sighed before nodding. "Very well," he said before exiting the cabin with Scythe and another changeling escorting him. Once on the bridge, he looked at the helmspony before whistling to get his attention. The helmspony looked over only to audibly gasp at the sight of the changelings. Steel signaled for him to remain quiet, prompting the pony behind the wheel to nod. Steel then went over to the brass engine telegraphs before getting up on his hind legs and moving each lever to the 'Stop' position before moving them to the 'Finished with Engines' position. As he was doing this, Chrysalis turned her attention to Port Side and Copper Top. "Now I want you two to follow me," she said before exiting the room with Dotted and her remaining changelings in tow. The two remaining ponies did as requested and followed her out onto the bridge. Chrysalis then stepped out onto the bridge wing with Dotted and the blade at his throat next to her. Once out on the wing, she looked up at the wireless telegraph cables that went up to the transmission lines strung up between the masts. With one magical blast from her horn, she vaporized all of the cables. "Wouldn't want any unwanted messages getting sent out now. Would we?" she asked rhetorically. "So how exactly are you going to have all 2,000 passengers and 799 crew members get off of this ship then?" Port asked. "Since using the lifeboats is no longer an option." "Simple," Chrysalis replied before she then used her magic and shot at one of the doors on the boat deck. "Go see for yourself." Tilting his head in response, Port obliged and went down the stairs before going over to the door. Once he got there, he opened it to find a field full of grass on the other side. "Now," Chrysalis called out. "You and this mare here will get every pony on this ship and send them through to that location. And make sure to tell them all not to try anything heroic. Or else," She then motioned with her eyes down at the blade. "Is that understood?" "Yes.... ma'am," Port replied before he and Copper Top began doing as they were told, with the remaining five changelings following them to make sure that they didn't try anything. As the liner drifted to a halt, Steel, the helmspony, Scythe, and the other changeling stepped out on the wing and saw what Chrysalis' plan for getting the rest of the ponies off was. "You do realize... how long it's going to take them to get every pony through that one portal?" Steel asked. "We're going to be here for a while." "I've waited for weeks to get to this point, Captain Blade," Chrysalis stated as she watched the first ponies go through the portal. "What's a few more hours?"
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Eight
As time slowly passed by, Steel could only look on as he watched his passengers and crew be shuffled through the portal. Where the location on the other side was eluded him as Chrysalis didn't say. From time to time, the stallion would glance over at the changeling Queen as she continued holding Dotted as her leverage to get what she wanted. The sight of his sword being used for evil intentions made him feel sick. But there was nothing he could do with his magic being nullified by the goo on his horn. While continuing to watch, he kept a wary eye out on the horizon. He prayed silently that a random ship would spot them and investigate. But each time he looked, there was nothing but open ocean. Suddenly, a loud hissing sound could be heard coming from the four funnels. This made each pony and changeling on the deck jump in surprise before covering their ears. "What... is the meaning of this?!" Chrysalis shouted over the noise while covering her ears as best as she could. "I told them not to try anything!" "Just calm down!" Steel shouted in response. "They're venting the steam from the boilers since the engines are stopped!" Chrysalis just groaned after hearing that while Dotted did the best he could to keep his ears covered as well. Steel, however, didn't bother covering his ears. He was used to the loud noises after having served on steamships for so long. But with the crew below now venting the steam out through the funnels, that meant that there wouldn't be any steam left for the turbines. Mareitania would soon be adrift without any way to move under her own power until the pressure was built back up. "Not exactly sure where this is going," he thought while looking on as the changelings began to guide the other ponies through the portal again. "Why would Chrysalis go through all this trouble just to get me alone on this ship?" As he continued to think, he looked up at what remained of the wireless telegraph cables as they hung from the transmission lines above. The ship's main means of communication with other ships destroyed with just the top portions of the cables swaying with the gentle rolling of the ship from side to side. This made him gulp as he wondered just what else she was capable of doing. After roughly 20 minutes, the hissing sound of the steam being vented died down as the last of it escaped through the valves on the funnels. Once the noise stopped, Chrysalis uncovered her ears and smirked before looking down at Steel. "Soon it will just be you, me, and my changelings on board," she said. "And then, my plan for revenge can begin." "Revenge?" Steel asked. "What do you mean? And why would you need me and my ship?" "All will be revealed once we are alone," she replied. "And I can assure you that you will benefit tremendously from it." "If I even agree to go along with it," he thought to himself while watching the changelings herd the ponies on deck into a steady line. One by one, he'd watch as the ponies enter the doorway and go through the portal. Most of them would look up at Steel with looks of fear plastered on their faces before going through. This made the stallion feel powerless as there was nothing he could do to help them. He then looked over at Dotted, who gave up struggling against his captor's grasp. His eyes remained locked on the doorway that each pony on the deck was being ushered through. "So where exactly is that portal going to?" "Hmm... I made sure that the portal would lead them to a field located somewhere in Equestria. Exactly where though, I'm not sure. And to be honest, I could care less." "And what exactly is stopping them from trying to get help once they go through?" he continued. "I guarantee as soon as one of them gets a message out to the right ponies, the entire Equestrian Navy will be out looking for this ship." "That would be true," she replied. "Except for one little... surprise I have in store for all who go through. You see. Once they go through the portal, they're free to do whatever it is they want. However, they won't remember what is going on here." This made Steel look toward her with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "My magic will wipe their memories of everything that they've done in the past week. How will they know what we're doing if they can't remember even being here to begin with?" "Okay. That's some advanced level of magic there," he said in his mind. Soon, the last of the passengers were sent through the portal. All that were left were the stokers and engineers from below. As they came up onto the deck, Steel could see that some of them looked beat up. As if they tried resisting against the changelings. Each of them were then turned and guided by the changelings toward the portal. "Captain Blade!" one of them shouted before stopping and looking directly up at where Steel and Chrysalis were standing. "Why are you letting them do this to us?" This only made Chrysalis chuckle as she moved to stand directly beside him. "Because he doesn't have a choice! That's why!" she shouted back at the pony. "I am the one in charge here now, pony!" Before the stallion could respond, he was shoved through the portal by two changelings. Chrysalis smirked before turning her attention to the rest of the crew on the deck. "I suggest you all hurry along now," she said. "I'm beginning to grow bored." "And if we refuse?" a stallion coated in coal dust asked. "Just do as she says!" Dotted cried out. "Or else she's going to kill me!" "Not if we all rush her at once!" another stallion shouted. "Do you really want to take that chance though?" Chrysalis calmly asked before levitating Dotted up and over the side of the wing all while the blade was still against his throat. "Now. Should any of you try anything other than going through that portal, I will slice his throat and then send him down into the water below. And with the amount of blood that will just be gushing out of his neck, he'll be shark food within minutes." She then turned to look at Dotted. "Mercifully, you'd hopefully be dead before the first shark arrives." "Please!" Dotted cried out desperately. "Just do what she wants!" Steel just stood quietly while looking down toward the wooden deck. He couldn't bear the sight of seeing his boss dangling several stories above the ocean with his sword at his throat. The stallions on the boat deck could see that by continuing to defy the Queen, they risked the life of their employer. "You failed us, Captain Blade!" one of them called out before the group began to go through the portal. "I hope you realize that!" Steel only closed his eyes as tightly as he could while clenching his jaw after hearing that. His pride and confidence were already shattered before that. But hearing that just made him feel as low as he had ever felt before. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes as he tried to keep himself together. Chrysalis looked over at him and could see that what his crew was saying affected him immensely. Seeing his spirit now visibly broken pleased her. Once the last of the stokers and engineers were through the portal, all that remained were Port, Copper Top, the helmspony, and Dotted as the last to go. Seeing this, Chrysalis brought Dotted back in from floating above the waves. "Alright, you three," she said. "Leave us. Now." Copper Top just glared at Chrysalis before she was forced to go through by three changelings. "Get moving, pony!" Scythe said to the helmspony before kicking him down the steps from the wing to the deck. The thud from him landing made Steel open his eyes before looking at what the changeling had done. Sensing that he had nothing left to lose at this point, he looked over at Scythe before hitting him in the face with his right hoof as hard as he could. This sent the changeling falling down the same set of stairs before landing on the deck next to the helmspony. "Steel!" Dotted cried out while his eyes darted back and forth between the blade at his throat and the pony that owned it, worried that Steel's actions might have just cost him his life. "What are you doing?!" "Oh calm down, pony," Chrysalis replied. "I've threatened to do more to that one for less." She then smirked while observing Steel breathe heavily with a look of anger on his face as he looked down at the downed changeling. "Cap?" Port said while looking up at Steel after doing his best to help the helmspony up. Hearing his friend speak made the Captain's anger slowly fade before he looked at both his First Officer and the helmspony. "I'm sorry, Port," he said. "I'm sorry that I failed you all." "You didn't fail us, sir," the green unicorn said. "You're just sacrificing yourself for our safety. If anything, you've saved us." Steel just looked away once he heard that. "I know you don't feel that way now, sir. But I hope that you eventually will." "Alright. That's long enough," Chrysalis said, interrupting the moment before setting Dotted down and grabbing both ponies on the deck with her magic. She then hurled both of them through the portal. Once that was finished, she turned and looked at her group of changelings as they were helping Scythe up. "Search the ship and make sure that there are no other ponies aboard." "Yes, my Queen," one of them replied before they all went off before disappearing through various doors. With just the three of them left, Chrysalis turned her attention to Dotted. "Now it's your turn. I suppose I'll let you say your goodbyes. But make it quick," she said before going down the stairs before stopping outside the door where the portal was. Once it was just the two of them, Dotted scooted the sword over to Steel. The blade stopped just in front of the red stallion, allowing Steel to see his reflection in the polished metal. "Steel," Dotted said, making him look up at his boss. "I don't know if we'll see each other again after this. So I just want to say... thank you." "You're thanking me?" Steel asked in a surprised tone. "For what?" "For doing your duty," the white unicorn replied. "As a Captain, you're responsible for each creature on board. And because of your actions, no pony perished from this. That was the best possible outcome from this situation." He then rested a hoof on his friend's back. "I don't know what exactly she has planned for you and Mareitania. But I'm confident that whatever it is, it isn't anything you can't handle." "I'm not so sure about that, sir," Steel said after sighing. He then looked down at Chrysalis, who still had her eyes locked on the two stallions. "I'm about to be left alone with her and all of her other changelings. Anything can happen once you go through the portal." "That's true," Dotted replied as he glanced over at Chrysalis before looking back at Steel. "But whatever does happen, I just have this feeling that... things will work out. I don't know how or when. But something in my gut is telling me that you'll be alright." "We don't have all day, pony," Chrysalis called out, making both stallions look at her. "Guess that's my cue to head out," Dotted said before saluting Steel. Seeing this made the young Captain's eyes begin to water as he saluted him back. "Take care, Captain. And be safe." "You too, sir," he replied while trying to keep back the tears. After hearing that, Dotted took one last look around before descending the stairs, leaving Steel alone on the bridge wing. Once he got to the door, he stopped and turned to look back up toward him one final time before entering the portal. As soon as he was through, Chrysalis slammed the door shut before using her magic on it again, presumably closing the portal. Steel just gulped as she slowly turned her head to look up at him. "Now we're all alone, Captain Blade," she said while beginning to walk toward the steps. "Just you. Me. And what's left of my changeling army." "I suppose so," Steel replied while watching her climb the stairs. "So why exactly did you need me and my ship?" "Well. Now that it's just us, I'll tell you," she said as she climbed back onto the bridge wing. She then walked over and stood directly in front of Steel, closer than the stallion would've liked. But he didn't dare to move since she was the one in control now. "It all began after Starlight... Glimmer... turned my hive against me." The stallion in front of her could tell that whoever this pony was, she had quite the amount of hatred if just saying her name angered her. "After I managed to escape, I rounded up as many changelings that were still loyal to me as possible. Sadly though, that number was very small compared to what it once was." She then ran a forehoof along Steel's mane, making him shiver in response. "I was now a Queen without a hive and hardly any subjects left," she continued. "For months, we were forced to hide ourselves among you ponies. Feeding off of any amount of love that we could find. But it sadly wasn't enough. Some of my followers abandoned me, choosing to return to that traitor, Thorax!" She then reached around the back of Steel's head and pulled him close, making him feel very uncomfortable as she pressed him up against her body. "However. Things suddenly took a turn when I saw a flier for this voyage," she went on to say. "And as soon as I finished looking at it, an idea came to mind. I was in need of a new hive. And a new source of love to feed off of." This made Steel's pupils shrink once he heard what she said. "Sweet Celestia!" he cried out in his mind as he trembled. "She's not gonna do what I think she's gonna do. Right?" "So that is why I've done all of this," she said. "We're going to turn this ship into a mobile hive." She then looked down at Steel before using her magic to levitate him off the deck and up to where their eyes were on the same level. "And you... will be my new King. And together, we will exact my revenge against all who have wronged me!" "Woah woah woah. Back it up there," Steel blurted out. "King? As in King of the changelings?" "Why yes," she replied. "A big leap from the rank of Captain, I suppose." "Why me though?" "Well. You are the Captain of this ship," she replied. "So already that made you a leader. And if I'm being completely honest. You aren't so bad to look at. For a pony." "I uhh... Thanks? I guess?" he said in response as his cheeks began to turn a brighter shade of red than the color of his coat, completely caught off guard by what she had said. "And as my new King, you will rule beside me as we create a new generation of changelings who will, in time, allow me to get my revenge against Glimmer, Thorax, and anypony else who has wronged me!" "Wait. You're saying that you... and I.... are gonna...." "Of course. How else are we going to create a new generation of changelings?" she asked. "Why would I agree to do that?" "Well. I can assure you that if you agree to be my King, then you will have all kinds of.... benefits," she replied. "I know how to please a stallion like you in ways that you never thought could be possible. My methods of extracting love has left legions of stallions... wanting more." "I uh..." "So what do you think, Captain Blade?" she asked in a seductive tone. "How would you like to become my King?" "Can I... at least think about it for a while?" he asked, making Chrysalis frown before she looked away as if she was thinking. Soon, her eyes widened before a smirk returned to her face once again. "Of course," she said as she placed him back down on the deck. "I want you to fully appreciate just how rare of an opportunity this is." She then turned around and began walking toward the stairs going down to the boat deck, giving her flank an added swing. Steel couldn't help but notice it before quickly looking away. "I'll give you some time to think it over, Captain," she said before descending the stairs. "But I can assure you that you won't be... disappointed if you say yes." After saying that, Chrysalis finished walking down the stairs and began walking aft toward the stern before turning to walk through a doorway, leaving Steel alone. Once he saw her disappear inside, he looked down at his sword as it laid on the wooden deck. Instinctively, he tried picking it up with his magic before remembering about the goo on his horn. As his eyes drifted up, he decided that this wouldn't do. "Time to get this gunk off," he said to himself before going back inside the bridge. Seeing it now devoid of activity made him sigh as he entered his cabin. Once inside, he went over to his personal bathroom. As he stepped in, he tried to turn on the light. However, nothing happened. "Oh. Right. No steam. So no generators. Which means... no electricity." Thankfully, Celestia's sun was shining bright enough to allow him to still be able to see. Once he saw his towel hanging on the rack, he reached out and took hold of it with one hoof before wiping the green goo off of his horn. "That... should do it," he thought while looking at the goo on the towel. He then shivered before tossing it into the hamper. He then turned and looked at a bottle of soap on the ledge of his bathtub. The white bottle was soon engulfed in his blue colored magic as he levitated it over to him. Seeing the bottle floating in the air made a smile return to his face before putting it back where it was. Once finished, he made his way back out onto the bridge wing before picking up his sword, making sure that no changelings were around to see him do it. After being fairly sure that he wasn't being watched, he took the blade back into his cabin before placing it back in its scabbard. He then levitated it and secured it back on the mounting hooks above the door. Having his sword back where it belonged made him feel slightly better as he exited his cabin again. As he stepped out onto the bridge, he went over to the helm, resting a hoof on it after stopping beside it. "I don't know how things are going to play out, Mareitania," he said. "I'd really rather not see you become a changeling hive. But I... just don't know how we're gonna get out of this." The ship's hull just groaned after he finished talking, as if the ship itself was responding to her Captain. Steel just looked through the bridge's windows out ahead of the liner. The water around the ship was calm and the skies above only had a few clouds. As he stood beside the helm, the sound of hoofsteps on the stairs leading up to the wing made him turn to see a pair of changelings approach him. They both soon had looks of surprise on their faces as they noticed that the unicorn no longer had goo on his horn. "I see you removed the nullification gel," one of them said as they stepped inside the bridge. "Not many ponies realize how easy it is to do that." "I mean. All it took was a towel," Steel replied. "Wasn't that hard." "Indeed," the changeling said. "It's so simple. Yet many ponies in a similar position to you are in tend to let their fear of us control their actions. Thus their magic remaining useless." Steel just rolled his eyes as a silent response while looking at the two. "So what brings you both here?" "We were told by our Queen to give you a message," the other changeling replied. "She would like to have dinner with you at sunset." "Sunset?" the unicorn asked while checking the time on the clock mounted on the wall. He then had to mentally remind himself that without electricity from the generators, even the clocks on the ship were useless. So instead, he turned and levitated a pocket watch out of his coat pocket. The usual time for sunset was still several hours away. "She hopes that you will have made your decision on whether or not to join us by then," the changeling continued to say. "Trust me when I say this to you, pony. This should be the easiest decision of your life." With that said, the two changelings exited the bridge, leaving Steel alone once again. He let out a long sigh before looking at the large wheel beside him. "What am I going to do, Mareitania?" he asked before looking out at the ocean ahead once more, thinking deeply about Chrysalis' proposal. "What am I going to do?"
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Nine
While the sun began sinking down beneath the horizon behind Mareitania, Steel merely just sat in the crow's nest at the front of the ship. He never had the opportunity to do this before. So with his ship mostly abandoned aside from those he didn't want on board, he decided now was as good a time as ever to experience something new. As he sat high above the deck, he could see for miles around. From this perch, he'd be able to spot any ships in the distance. But to his surprise, he hadn't seen a single ship at all. This lack of maritime traffic concerned the young stallion as he was certain that the ship was in a part of the Equestrian Ocean that was well traveled by other merchant ships. Then again, Mareitania had been adrift for several hours now. So it was hard to tell exactly where they were. As he continued looking around, he soon heard the fluttering of multiple sets of wings approaching. He soon found himself surrounded on all sides by eight changelings. "Greetings, pony," one of them called out. "Uh... hello," Steel replied as he looked at all of them. "It is time, pony," another one said. "Our Queen is expecting you." "Alright," he said. "So where are we going to eat?" "Our Queen said that she would like to eat in your cabin," the changeling replied. "Fine," the unicorn said. "What are we having for dinner?" "You'll find out as soon as you get there," Scythe replied, making Steel look at him. Upon closer inspection, the stallion could see a bruise where he had struck him in the face just hours before. "Get moving," he continued. "Our Queen is famished!" Steel simply rolled his eyes before climbing onto the rope ladder and descending down to the deck. Each of the changelings followed him to make sure he didn't try to escape. Not that there were many options available. Even if the stallion tried jumping overboard, he was certain that they'd catch him before he'd even touch the water. Once down on the deck, he looked over toward the bridge, sighing as he knew that the decision he'd have to make would have to be made soon. Would he join Chrysalis and her small army, turn his beloved ship into a floating hive, and betray his country? All to become King of the changelings. Or would he refuse and risk Chrysalis killing him and sinking his liner in an act of rage? With all eight changelings escorting him, the lone stallion started his journey. Once he reached the superstructure, he climbed up one of the two ladders to get on the boat deck. He then walked over to the stairs leading up to the starboard bridge wing and slowly made his way up to the bridge. His group of followers merely continued looking on as the unicorn entered the bridge before stopping just outside the door leading into his cabin. He sighed to himself before opening the door and stepping inside. Once through the door, he found Chrysalis sitting at the small table next to the window. On the table were two glasses filled with what looked to be apple cider. He could see that the one in front of the changeling Queen was half empty. After hearing the door open, Chrysalis turned to look at who it was. Once she saw it was Steel, her facial expression turned into one of seduction as she motioned for him to take a seat at the other end of the table. Steel silently nodded before he started walking to it. He was then startled by what sounded like the cabin door being slammed shut. He then turned around and had his thought confirmed as the door was shut before the Queen used her magic to lock it, ensuring that it would just be them in the cabin. "Welcome, Captain," she said as Steel walked over and sat down at the other side of the table. "I trust my subjects didn't give you too much trouble?" "I suppose," Steel replied as he got comfortable in his chair. He then used his magic to levitate his hat off before placing it on top of the dresser on the other side of the room. "All they did was escort me here." "Good," she said. "At least they can manage to do that right." After she said that, Steel looked down at the drink in front of him. It looked like apple cider. But it didn't really smell like it. "What exactly is this?" he asked while pointing at the glass. "That?" she replied. "Just a drink that I like to have on... special occasions." Steel simply raised an eyebrow while looking between the glass and her. "A little... appetizer that I like to share with those I deem worthy before the feast can begin." "You mean... dinner. Right?" "Feast. Dinner. It's all the same. Isn't it?" "I guess so," the stallion replied. "So uh... what's in it?" "It's a secret," she replied. "But I haven't had a complaint from any other stallion I've served it to." Steel once again looked down at the drink, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But aside from the smell, he couldn't see anything in there aside from the liquid. "Why don't you give it a try and see for yourself?" Steel's eyes just kept looking back and forth between the glass and Chrysalis. Deep down, he had a feeling that something was off about the drink. But he really wasn't in a position to refuse to do as she wanted. Even with his magic fully restored, he was still outmatched by the Queen given what she was capable of doing. "Guess I don't really have a choice," he said in his mind before he used his magic to pick the glass up. He then placed the rim of it against his lips and began drinking it. Chrysalis looked on as the stallion gulped down half the drink before setting the glass down. "Well?" she asked. "What do you think?" "Has a bit of an.... interesting taste," Steel replied. "Can't quite put my hoof on it. But it was good, I suppose." "Good," Chrysalis said while a sly smirk could be seen on her face. "Can I ask you a question though?" "You just did," the changeling Queen replied before chuckling. "Smartass," he said. "But seriously though." "Go ahead." "How did you and your changelings get by the checkpoints back at Manehattan?" he asked. "I thought those things were designed specifically to detect changeling magic." "Well," Chrysalis replied. "When you're disguised as Sun Butt and the rest of those... annoyances. Ponies tend to not question what you do. When we arrived at the gate, I simply told the ponies guarding it that we were in too much of a hurry to go through their little device." "So they just... let you through?" Steel asked before taking another few sips from his drink. "No questions asked?" "Indeed," she replied. "You ponies can be so easily fooled sometimes." As Steel listened to her, he couldn't help but begin to feel a bit light headed. He shook his head a couple of times, which seemed to do the trick. He then took hold of the glass once more before downing the rest of the liquid content within. Once the glass was empty, he looked over at Chrysalis, who was just staring at him with her eyes half lidded and a seductive smirk. "Feeling alright, Captain?" she asked in a tone that made the stallion feel like she already knew the answer. "I'm.... fine," he replied right before his vision started to become blurred. The light headed feeling returned once more. However it felt stronger now. He rubbed a forehoof against his head, shaking it a few more times while his breathing became slow and heavy. "What.... exactly was in.... that drink?" "Shhh...." Chrysalis replied. "Don't worry about it, my dear." Steel shook his head a few times once more before getting out of his chair. As he stood, he felt like the room was spinning rapidly. He tried staggering over toward the door leading to the bridge. But he soon fell over roughly halfway there and had no strength to get back up. As he laid on the floor, he could hear Chrysalis chuckling before seeing her hooves stop in front of his face. "And now... the fun begins," she said before Steel drifted off into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, back somewhere in Equestria, Dotted Line sat on the side of a dirt road. The sun shined brightly in the clear blue sky, making him sweat as he just silently looked around at his surroundings. His mind, however, was struggling to figure out exactly how he got there when the last thing he remembered doing was falling asleep at his home in Manehattan. This whole situation was strange as when he woke up in a field seemingly in the middle of nowhere, he wasn't alone. He was in the middle of a large group of ponies ranging from those clearly extremely wealthy down to ponies covered in coal dust and oil. As the hours ticked by, the ponies all wondered off in different directions, leaving him alone with just one other stallion. At least this one was one that he knew. "Port?" he asked, gaining the green unicorn's attention as the two sat by the road. "How exactly did we get here?" "Your guess is as good as mine, sir," he replied. "Last thing I remember was sleeping in my hotel room. Next thing I know, I'm waking up surrounded by ponies who I have no idea are while in a place I don't think I've ever been to." Dotted nodded as his friend's situation was similar to his own. He then couldn't help but notice that he was wearing his First Officer's uniform. "Why are you in uniform?" he asked. "I thought I told you that those clothes were to stay on the Mareitania." "I.... could've sworn I left it there, sir," the green pony said as he looked down. "This whole situation... is strange." "Agreed," Dotted said while nodding. He then looked around before seeing a large red colored earth pony pulling a cart of hay bales and buckets filled to their brims with apples approaching. He got up before motioning for Port to do the same. Once his friend got up, the two walked out into the dirt path and signaled for the stallion to stop. The earth pony came to a stop just in front of the two unicorns as his path was now blocked by them. "Can I help you?" he asked in a thick country accent. "Good day there, kind sir," Dotted said while smiling at him. "My name is Dotted Line, chairpony of the Red Apple Line." "And I'm Port Side," Port added. "First Officer of the EMS Mareitania." "Well. Nice to meet y'all," the earth pony replied. "Name's Big Mac." "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mac," Dotted said before bowing. "You two look more lost than a peach farmer at an apple sale," Big Mac went on to say. "An astute observation, my good sir," the white unicorn replied. "If you could be so kind as to tell us where exactly we are, it would be very much appreciated." "Eeyup," Big Mac replied. "We're right outside of Ponyville," "Ponyville?" Port asked. Big Mac silently nodded before pointing his hoof in the direction he was going. "Town's just down the road from here," he replied. "If y'all want, I can give you a ride down there." "Splendid!" Dotted replied. "How much would we owe you?" "Shoot. You guys wouldn't need to pay me," he said. "Looks like y'all could use some help anyways." "Thank you," Dotted said before he and Port climbed on the cart. The two unicorns took a seat on the hay bales as Big Mac began pulling once again. As they went along the road, Dotted felt it polite to continue having a conversation with the stallion. "So uhh... Big Mac. Do you live around here?" "Eeyup," he replied. "Sweet Apple Acres. I live there with my granny, Granny Smith, and my two little sisters, Applejack and Applebloom." "I see," Dotted replied. "Well. I'll be sure to tell them about your good deed if we see them in town." "Well. Applejack ain't here right now," Big Mac replied. "She's with her friends on some sailing trip." "Ah. I see," he said. "You know. We're actually having a voyage of our own soon as a matter of fact. In roughly a week." "Oh yeah?" "Indeed," Dotted replied. "The maiden voyage of the Mareitania." "Well. I wish y'all the best of luck with that then," Big Mac replied while approaching a hill. The two unicorns observed as he pulled the cart with ease up the slope. Once at the top, they could see the town that Big Mac was referring to. Port looked around until his eyes caught sight of the train station just on the outskirts of the town. "Could you drop us off at the train station, big guy," he asked. "Eeyup," Big Mac replied. "Excellent," Dotted said. "Once there, we can get tickets back to Manehattan. And once we get back there, we can continue making preparations for the voyage." He then looked down at Port's uniform before another thought came to mind. "I'm sure Captain Blade is wondering where in Equestria we are." "Yeah," Port added as Big Mac approached the train station. "Hopefully he's doing alright." "Oh.. Celestia.." Steel softly groaned as his eyes slowly opened. "Where... am I?" Once his eyes were fully open, he could see that he was in his cabin, laying on his back in the middle of his bed. The only source of light coming from the moonlight shining through his cabin window. He then felt that each of his hooves spread apart from each other. As he tried to move though, he found that he couldn't. Looking over, he could see his forehooves were restrained to the mattress by green colored magic. His eyes drifted down to find his hind legs in a similar state before noticing something else. "What..?" he asked while looking at his shaft, standing fully erect. "Ah. Good," a familiar voice said. "You're finally awake. I didn't think that my drink would've been so... effective on you." "Drink?" Steel replied, his mind still clouded as he watched Chrysalis approach him before stopping beside the bed. He watched her eyes look over the stallion's body before stopping to look at his shaft. She then licked her lips before turning to look back into Steel's eyes. "You certainly are bigger than most of the other stallions I've done this to," she said. "I'm sure we'll have all kinds of... fun." Before Steel could think of a response though, Chrysalis moved her head forward until her lips made contact with his. He could feel her tongue force its way into his mouth. The slimy intruder rubbed itself all over the stallion's tongue, mixing her saliva with his. The taste was weird to say the least. After a few minutes, Chrysalis broke the kiss and moved her head back while a thin strand of saliva was the only thing keeping them connected. The changeling Queen then licked her lips once again, moaning softly in approval. "Mmmmm. Yes," she moaned. "I can already taste the love." "What... are you... doing?" he asked as his senses were still dulled by the effects of the drink. "Don't worry, my dear," she replied before gently running a hoof along his horn. "Like I said. I know many ways of pleasing stallions like you. Just relax. Don't fight it. And let it happen." After saying that, she climbed onto the bed and straddled herself above his body. She then moved her head down and opened her mouth, showing off her fangs and forked tongue. Steel could only look on as her tongue made contact with his face. She licked his lips, sending a shiver down his spine, before it started working upward. The stallion's eyes closed as the wet appendage glided between them and up his forehead until it reached the base of his horn. Soon, he could feel it work its way up to the tip of his horn. This inadvertently made a moan escape from his mouth. Hearing this, Chrysalis smirked before she started to take the horn into her mouth, gently suckling on it as her tongue wrapped itself around it. The feeling was warm and slimy as he could feel something else happening once his entire horn was inside her mouth. After a minute or so of this, she slowly took his horn out of her mouth before licking her lips again. "There," she said as she stared lustfully at what she had done. Even though he was still feeling the effects of the drink, he could feel what she did. His horn was once again coated in a thick layer of green nullification goop. The warm and slimy liquid felt strangely good, making him moan again. Seeing that he was still under her influence, Chrysalis lowered her flank down and gently rubbed her wet pussy along the length of his shaft. This made her let out a moan of her own as she continued this a couple more times. "Mmmmm...." Steel moaned. "That... feels... good." "Likewise, you handsome stud," she replied. Clearly her drink had taken full control and his will to resist her was blocked. Coming to that conclusion, she turned herself around and presented her flank to him. Her pucker and marehood were exposed for his eyes to see. She then laid down on top of him, pressing her juicy marehood and asshole up against his muzzle. "Time for a little fun," she cooed as he could feel her drooling on his shaft. "Pleasure your Queen." After saying that, she opened her mouth once again and allowed her tongue to begin lapping at the cock in front of her. While she was doing that, Steel began doing as instructed and began licking her wet folds. Even though a portion of his mind was internally screaming to stop, the effects of the drink pushed him on as his tongue glided up and down. Chrysalis moaned loudly before she took his shaft into her mouth and began to suck on it. Once she had his cock inside her mouth, Steel could feel her tongue wrapping around it and starting to jerk it as she was sucking. This sent waves of pleasure surging through his body as the pressure of his inevitable orgasm began building in his sack. As the two continued pleasuring each other, he dipped his tongue inside her soaked pussy. This made her let out a long and muffled moan as she welcomed the penetration of her love canal. The love she was sensing from him was delicious and overwhelming. Something she was eager to have more of. While his tongue was acting like her own personal toy, she pushed her head down until the stallion's entire shaft was in her mouth. The tip of his cock was halfway down her throat as her tongue wrapped around the base of his cock. Steel's moans were growing longer and louder as his orgasm grew closer and closer. His precum was steadily leaking out the tip and was giving the changeling on top of him something new to taste. She quickly lapped it up and started sucking on the tip like a straw, wanting more of the delicious liquid. As the stallion's tongue explored her pussy further, it brushed up against a sensitive spot, making her gasp and press her flank down against his muzzle. When he felt this, his tongue started focusing on that area. The taste of her sweet juices fueled him on. While his mind was pleading to stop, his body was behaving on its own and just kept going. Suddenly, Chrysalis moaned loudly around his shaft as her orgasm occurred, sending a wave of fluids into his mouth. Steel swallowed all of it as she grinded herself on his muzzle. Feeling satisfied for the first time in so long, she wanted to repay him by giving him what he wanted. She dipped her head down once again, taking his entire cock into her mouth. The stallion's moans were being muffled by her flank, but she pressed on. She even lit up her horn and began massaging his sack with her magic. "Cum for me, my King," she said in her mind as she moved her head back, lapping at the tip of his cock. "Stuff my stomach with your seed!" After several minutes, Steel could no longer withstand her onslaught of pleasure. As she licked the tip of his shaft and squeezed his sack with her magic, she was rewarded with the first of many spurts of hot, fresh stallion seed. Spurt after spurt of his cum was shot out like being fired from a cannon. She let out a lustful moan as she swallowed all of it, not letting a single drop escape her lips. After draining his sack of cum, the changeling Queen took the cock out of her mouth and gave the tip a soft kiss before getting off of the stallion and laying down beside him. Seeing that he was worn out from this, she lit up her horn and made the magical restraints disappear, sensing that he was going to be fully cooperative from this point. "Mmmmmmm....." she moaned softly as she gazed at him. "I haven't felt this good in so long. My stomach is simply bulging with the amount of delicious seed you put in there." Hearing this, he looked down to find that she wasn't kidding. Her belly protruded outward slightly as she ran a forehoof along it. "I can't wait to feel you fertilize my eggs and create a new generation of changelings," she cooed while looking at him. "Oh... yeah?" he asked as he breathed heavily. "In fact. Why don't we find out just how good that would feel," she seductively suggested as her horn lit up once more. Looking down, he could see his shaft and sack be enveloped in her green colored magic before feeling a tingling sensation. After several seconds, her magic faded as his shaft was once again rock hard. Seeing this, she moaned as she got up and once again straddled herself above him. But as she was doing this, he could feel the effects of the drink beginning to wear off. Soon, he felt like he was fully back in control of himself just in time to get a sense of the situation. His eyes darted back and forth between her eyes and her flank as she lined her marehood up with his shaft and slowly started lowering itself down. Seeing this, the will to resist finally appeared as he shook his head a few times. "No!" he shouted, making the changeling stop as her flank was mere inches above the tip of his shaft. "What... was that, dear?" she asked in a tone that was mixed of seduction and annoyance. "I said no!" he repeated, his sense of resistance gaining more strength. Hearing this, the Queen frowned at him. "Why?" she asked, clearly upset at this show of defiance. "You were happily enjoying my body just mere minutes ago. What changed?" "That... drink of yours wore off! That's what changed! Now get off of me!" Upon hearing that, the Queen huffed as she remained in her position. She was honestly bewildered by the resistance that this stallion had. She had just given him a preview of what he would have if he had chose to join her. Pretty much any of the other stallions she had done this to would've happily agreed to be her King had they proven to be satisfying to her. This one though. He was different. He was the first one that truly satisfied her. But it was he who was rejecting her. This made a new feeling emerge within her. The feeling of rejection. The pain that she had inflicted on so many was now being inflicted on her. This pony had the audacity to reject her? A Queen? She was gracious enough to spare the lives of his friends, his passengers, and his crew. And this is how he repays her? This made the feeling of anger build up inside her as she got off of him and got off the bed. But just as he started to get up, she took hold of him with her magic and threw him across the room in an act of rage. Steel cried out just before smashing through his private bathroom's door, coming to a stop within. Once that happened, he let out a long and painful groan as he slowly rolled over and tried to stand. "You.... have made.... a big.... mistake!" she said through gritted teeth as her horn lit up once again. This time, it was enveloped around his neck as she lifted him up and brought him close to her. His hind legs flailed in the air as his forehooves tried in vain to help him escape. "Unlike so many before you. You were the first to truly satisfy me," she said, making him look at her. "And yet. You reject me? No stallion rejects Queen Chrysalis!" "I... just... did!" he said defiantly. This only made her angrier as she tightened her magic around his neck. "You would've had anything you wanted," she continued. "Power. Adoration. Love. Pleasure that most stallions could only dream of." She then let out a sigh before glaring at him. "I gave you a mere glimpse of that. And you choose to not give me what I want?" "Fuck.... you!" "I thought that you would be different," she said while looking into his blue colored eyes. "I thought that you'd be my King and give me a new generation of changelings to rule over. But now. Now I see that you're just like the rest of my useless subjects." "I... am... nothing.... like them!" "Clearly," she replied before releasing her hold on his neck, letting him drop to the floor. "At least they know when to obey their Queen." He then watched as she turned and began walking toward the door leading out to the bridge. As he started to catch his breath, he could only lay there and watch as she stopped and turned around to look at him. "Enjoy these last few minutes while you can. Because after all," she continued before glaring right into his eyes. "No ship should go down without her Captain!" After saying that, she slammed the door shut. The stallion then watched as the perimeter of the door became encased in green magic. Shaking his head a few times, he got up and quickly made his way over to the door before trying to open it. However, it wouldn't budge. "Come, my changelings!" he heard Chrysalis call out from outside. "We're leaving!" He then rushed over to the window to see Chrysalis hovering just off the side of the ship. "Yes, my Queen!" a changeling shouted as he watched her eight changeling followers join her. He then pounded on the glass a few times as they all put a little distance between themselves and the ship. "What are you gonna do?!" he shouted before seeing Chrysalis turn to look back at him. Once her gaze rested on the liner, her horn lit up once more. As the seconds passed, it grew brighter and brighter before she sent a blast of magic directly at the ship. Steel braced himself as best he could for impact. But the liner heeled over toward the left side upon being struck, sending Steel falling backwards onto the floor of his cabin, sliding over to the opposite side of the room. Soon, he felt the floor level out as the liner slowly righted itself. The hull groaned loudly as the ship then began tilting to the right. As soon as he felt this, Steel's pupils shrank as he slowly got back up and made his way back to the window in time to see Chrysalis and her followers fly away from the ship before disappearing from view. As the seconds ticked by, he could feel the ship listing more and more to starboard. "I need to get out of here!" he said before making his way into the bathroom and repeating the process of removing the goo on his horn. Once it was off, Steel rushed out before trying to open the door to the bridge again. Like before, he couldn't get it to open at all as the green colored magic continued enveloping the edges of it. "You fucking bitch!" he called out while looking up to find his sword still on the mounting hooks above. He then took hold of it with his magic before removing it from the scabbard. The polished metal blade shined brightly under Luna's moonlight. He then put it back in before securing the strap around his body. As the stallion continued struggling to think of ways to escape the cabin, the liner's list to starboard increased by a few degrees. Steel estimated that if this kept up, it wouldn't be long before the liner would capsize. His attention then turned to the window. His blue colored magic enveloped the latch as he undid it before slowly opening it. A sigh of relief could be heard as he climbed out of the window, thankful that Chrysalis had forgotten about it. Once outside, Steel quickly grabbed his hat with his magic and placed it back on his head before he rushed back onto the bridge, looking for a specific instrument that would tell him how bad the situation was. "Where are you..." he said to himself while using his horn to provide light before his eyes rested on a gauge mounted on the wall behind the helm. It was the ship's clinometer, a tool used to see how bad a ship is leaning to one side or the other. Thankfully, it didn't need electricity to function. As the stallion squinted his eyes, he found that the ship had an eight degree list to starboard. "Okay," he said after looking at where the needle was. "I still have time." Steel then made his way out to the starboard bridge wing. Once there, he tried looking over the side as best as he could to hopefully see the extent of the damage. Unfortunately, he was unable to see anything. He then descended the stairs down to the boat deck. Seeing all of the lifeboats still secured in their davits made the unicorn shudder as visions of what the situation on deck would've looked like had there been passengers aboard still played through his mind. "I need to get down and see the damage," he said while rushing down the deck. However. Trying to navigate a listing ship in darkness with the only source of light coming from his horn was something he didn't really want to do. In order to get down there quickly, he'd have to do something that he learned about in school, but had never tried to do since. That being teleportation. He breathed deeply before closing his eyes as he pictured Boiler Room One in his mind. He then channeled the magic in his horn before executing the spell. Soon, the stallion found himself on a metal floor instead of a wooden deck. He then used his horn to illuminate the room before looking around to see that he was in fact inside a boiler room. The hull around him groaned loudly from down where he was before the sound of water could be heard not too far away. Looking in the direction of the sound, he found that it was coming from Boiler Room Two, the one located directly in the middle of the ship. Struggling to keep on his hooves, he passed through the open watertight door between the two boiler rooms. Once through, he went over to the small space between the boilers where the stokers would keep the fires lit. But now, each boiler was cold and dark. Seeing this sent a chill down his spine as he then looked ahead at the wall of metal separating the boiler room from the two coal bunkers on the starboard side. He could see water shooting out through the small spaces between the four doors that would open to allow stokers to get more coal and the wall around them. Out of instinct, Steel lit up his horn and closed the huge watertight doors, sealing himself in the boiler room. He then looked back at the four coal doors as water continued coming in. Lighting his horn up once more, he started encasing their perimeters with his magic, much like Chrysalis did to his cabin door. Once done, the water ceased coming through them. But now the metal wall began groaning loudly. The stallion knew that the thickness of the wall wasn't much. Those bunker walls were designed to hold back coal. Not water. Something he was trying to get this one to do. But as the minutes passed by, the groaning of the metal told the Captain that it wouldn't be long before the wall would give way to the sea. One by one, he watched as the large sheets of metal started bulging out toward the room, signaling that the pressure inside the bunker was at the wall's breaking point. Steel reacted to this by widening his magic to now envelop the entire wall. At this point, the whole side of the room now glowed bright blue as the stallion's magic was now the only thing keeping it up. He knew that as soon as his energy was spent, it wouldn't take long before the wall would collapse, sending water crashing into the boiler room and dooming him to a watery grave. "You're right, Chrysalis," Steel said as the final words she said to him played in his mind over and over. "No ship should go down.... without her Captain." He then gritted his teeth and began to increase his magic's power. "But I'll be damned if I go down.... without a fight!"
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Ten
As the light of the coming dawn cracked over the horizon, a lone vessel could be seen slowly navigating through the waves. This ship was a large wooden vessel, painted white with a single gold stripe wrapping around the hull. Three masts towered above the deck with each having enormous sails attached to them to catch the wind, thus propelling the ship forward through the waves. On the stern, the name Solar Wind could be seen in big gold letters as the flag of Equestria flew proudly from the flagpole just above. On the deck, members of the Royal Guard and Equestrian Navy were seen doing various tasks ranging from washing the deck and tightening the ropes connecting the sails to the masts to standing watch and cleaning the thirty cannons housed below on the gun deck. Toward the back of the ship, a blue colored unicorn stallion could be seen standing next to the ship's wheel. This stallion was wearing a white Captain's uniform along with an eyepatch covering his left eye with ends of an obvious scar seen protruding from both the upper and lower parts beneath. Standing next to him was none other than the Princess of Friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle. The alicorn was visibly happy as she held a compass in her magical grasp, glancing down at it every once in a while before setting it aside. The ship was sailing on a northwestern course after sailing northeast ever since they left the seaside city of Mareami several days earlier. The reason for their trip? Relaxation. The stresses of being a Princess were starting to become too much for the young alicorn to handle without some time to relax and not worry about anything. So it was suggested by Princess Celestia that she and her friends take the royal frigate out for a pleasure cruise on the Equestrian Ocean. "Well, Princess Sparkle," the stallion said as he looked out ahead of the ship. "Looks like we're in for another calm day of sailing." "That looks to be the case, Captain Broadside," the alicorn replied. "Not that I mind, of course. I'd rather we not run into any storms out here." After saying that, she let out a small yawn as she had just woken up not long before coming up on deck. The rest of her friends were still sound asleep below. This didn't bother the young Princess as she enjoyed watching the sunrise from time to time, depending on how much sleep she had gotten the night before. With the ship on its current course, Twilight looked out toward the starboard side as she could see the sun begin poking up from the horizon to the east. In a few days, the ship would arrive in Horseshoe Bay to take on some supplies before setting off for Manehattan. As she watched the rising sun, her quietness was interrupted by three loud clangs from the crow's nest high above. "Ship spotted off the port bow!" the lookout called down, making both Twilight and Captain Broadside look up before looking in the direction the pony above was pointing to. From where they stood, the two ponies could only make out that it was a large ocean liner, evidenced by the four huge red and black painted funnels. However, something was clearly off. There wasn't any smoke coming from the funnels, indicating that the ship wasn't moving. And the entire vessel was listing heavily toward her starboard side. "Looks more like a shipwreck to me," Broadside said as he turned the ship's wheel to the left. When he did, the Solar Wind leaned over toward the right as the ponies on the deck signaled for the sails to be folded up. Slowly, every other pony on the deck began pulling on ropes. This in turn made each of the sails get folded up, making the ship slow down. "We can at least see if they need some assistance." As they got closer to the liner, Twilight looked on as a sense of worry started creeping into her mind. From where she was, it seemed as though the ship was completely abandoned. However, all of the lifeboats were still aboard, locked in their respective davits while covered up with canvas. "Wait a second..." she heard the Captain say as he walked away from the wheel and over to the side closest to the other ship. "What are you doing, Broadside?" Twilight asked while grabbing the helm with her magic. As the frigate drifted to a stop with some distance between it and the liner, the Captain's eye widened as he stared at it. "I recognize this ship!" he replied. "It's the Mareitania! My little brother's ship!" "Your brother?" the Princess asked after letting go of the wheel now that the frigate had stopped. "Who's your brother?" "My little brother, Port Side," he said while not breaking his gaze on the ship. "He's the First Officer." As they talked, they could hear the large iron hull groaning as it sat in an unnatural position with many of the portholes on that side slipping beneath the waves only to come back up again. "Port!" Broadside called out. "Port Side!" Sadly, no response was heard from the massive liner. As the two ponies kept gazing at what was in front of them, hoofsteps from the stairwell leading up to the deck could be heard. "What's going on, Twi?" Applejack asked as she, Starlight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all came up onto the deck. But as soon as she asked, she could see clearly what was going on as the large ocean liner dwarfed their ship considerably. They all let out a gasp while they made their way over to where their friends were, both fascinated and horrified at the scene before their eyes. "I know this ship," Rarity said as she gazed at one of the flags flying at the top of the mast near the stern. It was a white flag with a red colored apple in the center. "My shop was commissioned by the Red Apple Line to make uniforms for the crew." "How long do you think it's been like this?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm not sure," Twilight replied. "I can't imagine that a ship this big could stay like this for more than a few hours." "Isn't this ship supposed to be on its maiden voyage or something?" Starlight asked. "I could've sworn I saw an ad for it in the paper before we left Mareami." "Well if that's the case, I'd say it's off to a pretty bad start," Rainbow replied as she stood next to her. Always seeking to have an adventure, the rainbow haired pegasus then took to the air and flew out toward the seemingly abandoned ship. As she flew, the lack of any signs of life aboard sent a chill down her spine. Once she arrived over the ship, she landed on the boat deck between the second and third funnels, making sure to balance herself on it before looking around. "Rainbow!" Twilight called out as she and Starlight followed the pegasus mare before both of them landed on the deck as well. "Be careful! We don't know what happened here." After she said that, the hull groaned once again before the deck slanted further toward the starboard side. All three mares stumbled before regaining their balance and then watched as a couple of deck chairs slid off the side of the ship and down into the water below. Looking up, they all saw the ends of three cables hanging from some other cables strung between the two masts. "Are there any other ponies aboard?" Starlight asked. "If so, we need to get them off before this ship sinks!" "A ship this big would take a lot of time to search," the alicorn replied. "I have no idea how damaged it is. So I can't know for certain how long we'd have to even attempt a search." "Well. What about a thermal detection spell?" the unicorn asked. "We could use that to at least see if there are any ponies aboard without actually going inside." Twilight's eyes widened as she listened to her pupil's suggestion. A thermal detection spell would be the answer to their problem. The spell would allow them to detect any source of heat. It was normally used at night when searching large areas for lost ponies. But here, it would be perfect. The cold waters of the Equestrian Ocean would make any source of heat, no matter how small, be visible to them. "Alright," she replied. "We can give that a try." Starlight nodded silently in response. "With this ship being so big though, we'll have to split up and meet in the middle." She then looked over at her pupil as she began floating in her turquoise colored magic again. "I'll head up to the front. You start from the back. We'll meet here in the middle of the ship." "Got it," the unicorn replied before she and her friend flew off in different directions. "Be careful, guys!" Rainbow called out while choosing to hover just off the side of the tilting liner. Soon, both mares arrived at their respective starting points and landed on the deck. Each of them then lit up their horns and started to look all around the ship. As they walked, both mares' vision changed. All they could see now was blue, with a tiny bit of orange coming from where Rainbow was hovering. As each mare began making their way back toward the middle of the ship, both of them started to see something else. A new source of heat could be seen down in the bowels of the ship. Sensing this, Starlight cut her spell and rushed off toward Twilight, meeting her on the deck next to where Rainbow was still hovering. "I got something!" she called out before stopping in front of the alicorn. "So do I," the Princess replied before cutting her own spell. "I think we've got the same one." "Wait. There's only one pony aboard?" Rainbow asked. "How?" "I'm not sure," Starlight replied. "But whoever this pony is, they're producing a large amount of heat." "Where are you picking the heat up from?" Twilight asked. "Down there," the unicorn replied before pointing her hoof back behind her. "Go next to the third funnel and they'll be straight down." Seeing this, Twilight nodded before looking back at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow," she said. "Fly back to the frigate and tell Captain Broadside that there's a pony still aboard this ship." "Can do!" the pegasus mare replied before flying away, leaving the two mares behind. "Come on," Starlight said. "Lets go get that pony!" And with that said, both mares disappeared in a flash of magic. Inside Boiler Room Two, Steel could be heard panting and grunting as he desperately tried to keep his magic together. Holding back a solid metal wall against the incoming water for so long had clearly taken a toll on the stallion. His forehead was covered in sweat as his legs were starting to wobble. Each sheet of thin metal had bulged outward to where they were touching the magic barrier. From the glow, the stallion could vaguely see a small pool of water had already started to form between the wall and the magic. "I guess... this is.... how I.... die..." he said between gasps for air as he could feel his magic weakening. The glow of his horn slowly started fading as the groaning of the wall grew louder. Soon, Steel no longer had the strength left as the magic around his horn disappeared, making the magical barrier do so as well. The stallion collapsed onto the metal floor as water began shooting through the coal doors once again. As he laid there, he looked helplessly up at the wall while listening to the groaning of the metal being pushed to the breaking point and to the sound of rivets breaking under the stress. This kept up until a seam between two of the sheets of metal split open, allowing a torrent of cold seawater to surge into the boiler room. Steel instinctively closed his eyes and put a hoof up in a useless attempt to shield himself from the incoming water. But as the seconds passed, nothing happened to him. This made the shaking stallion open one eye and peek over his raised limb to see a mixture of purple and turquoise colored magic holding back the wall of water. He raised an eyebrow while tilting his head before the sound of two mares grunting behind him caught his attention. Looking back, he spotted where the sound was coming from. In the mixed color's glow, he saw a light purple unicorn with a purple and turquoise colored mane standing next to who looked to be Princess Sparkle just as he found himself being grabbed by the turquoise magic. Glancing back at the water as he was pulled back, he could see only the purple magic was now holding back the water. "I got him, Twilight!" he heard the unicorn say as they moved toward the watertight door leading into Boiler Room One. Seeing that it was closed, the unicorn set him down before using her magic to open it. As soon as it was opened, she looked back and grabbed Steel once again. "Come on!" she shouted as she raced through, pulling the tired stallion along with her. Once in the other room, they both looked on as the alicorn slowly backed her way out of the room. Once she was through the doorway, the unicorn closed the watertight door, prompting the alicorn to cut her magic once the door was closed again. After doing that, they all could hear the water surging into the boiler room. Luckily, no water was entering the room they were in. As they listened, both mares lit up their horns to allow them to see, illuminating the room in turquoise and purple. Steel however just laid there, having no strength left to stand. "If you're here to finish me off, then just do it already," Steel quietly said, prompting both mares to turn and look at him with confused expressions on their faces. "Excuse me?" the alicorn asked. "You heard me." "What are you talking about, sir?" the unicorn asked while looking at the alicorn who was equally as confused before they looked back at the stallion. "We're here to save you." "Don't lie to me," he weakly replied while looking at the two of them. "You must've seen that this ship was still floating." He then chuckled softly. "So you two came back to finish the job." "I don't understand, sir," the alicorn replied. "We're not here to hurt you. I'm Twilight Sparkle and this is Starlight Glimmer." From where he was, the stallion could only look at the two mares in front of him. His eyes darted between the two of them several times before he looked down at the metal floor and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry," he softly said before slowly standing up, slightly wobbling in the process. "But how do I know you're telling the truth?" Twilight just raised one of her eyebrows and started rubbing her chin in thought as Starlight smacked her own forehead and groaned. "Why would we lie about that?" she asked in an annoyed tone while looking at the stallion in front of her. "Did you hit your head or something?" "What's your name, sir?" Twilight asked. "Steel," he responded. "Steel Blade." He then dusted off his uniform of any coal dust. "Captain of this ship." "Okay," she replied. "Do you think we're changelings or something, Captain Blade?" "Well... At first, yeah," he answered. "But now, I'm not sure. I don't think changelings would've been able to do what you two just did." "Why would you think that we were changelings?" Starlight asked. "Because this ship was taken over by them," he replied as he shook. "They were disguised as you two, Princess Celestia, and the other Bearers." After hearing him say that, the two mares looked at each other once more. "That doesn't make any sense," Twilight said. "Why would the changelings do this? I thought they were reformed. Thorax would never allow any changelings from his hive to engage in this kind of activity." "It wasn't Thorax, whoever that is," he said, prompting both mares to look at him again. "It was Chrysalis." Hearing that name stunned both mares as they just gasped while staring at him with shrunken pupils. "Did you just say.... Chrysalis?" Starlight asked. "As in... Queen... Chrysalis?" The stallion just silently nodded. Seeing this, a look of anger appeared on the unicorn mare's face. "What would Chrysalis want with this ship?" "She wanted... to turn this ship into a mobile hive," he answered. "And she tried to get me to join her." "And you clearly refused," Twilight said. "So she must be the reason why your ship is like this." "Eeyup." "How damaged is this ship anyways, Captain? Or do you know?" "If I had to take a guess from what I watched that bug do," he said. "I'd say just one compartment is damaged. Boiler Room Two. But I'd need to check on Boiler Room Three to be sure." "One compartment," the alicorn repeated. "Out of how many?" "Twelve," Steel answered. As they talked, Steel could sense the floor beneath him become easier to stand on. Feeling this, he looked back toward the flooded compartment. Now that the water had the entire boiler room to flood instead of just the bunkers on the starboard side, the ship began to return toward an even keel, with only a slight list now. "How many can flood before this ship sinks?" Starlight asked. "Two," he answered. "Any more than that, and she's finished." "Alright," Twilight replied before wiping her forehead in relief as she was happy to hear that the ship wouldn't sink. "So. How exactly did this all happen, Captain?" "Do you want the long version? Or the short?" he asked. "You can tell us once we get back up on deck," Starlight replied before turning to Twilight. "I'm sure the others are probably worried about us." "I suppose you're right," Twilight replied as her horn glowed brighter. In a flash of purple, Steel found himself back up on the boat deck with the two mares. He then turned around to find a small frigate floating not too far from his liner. As he looked, Twilight stepped over to the railing and waved at the ponies on board the frigate as she lit up her horn once again, teleporting the trio onto the Solar Wind. Once they appeared on the deck of the frigate, all of the ponies around them cheered as they saw that Steel was rescued. The stallion just smiled sheepishly until he saw another stallion wearing a uniform similar in style to his walk up to him. "Welcome aboard the Solar Wind, Captain," he said before saluting, prompting Steel to salute in response. "Captain Broadside, Equestrian Royal Navy." "Steel Blade," Steel replied before both stallions stopped saluting. "How did you find my ship?" "Just a case of right place, right time it seems," Broadside replied. "We were sailing for Horseshoe Bay when we found your ship." He then looked over at the Mareitania before looking back at Steel. "Tell me. Where is my brother?" "Your brother?" Steel asked, surprised by what was asked. "Who's your brother?" "Port Side," he replied. "Your First Officer. Where is he? Rainbow Dash said that you were the only one aboard that liner. Yet no lifeboats have been launched from what I can see. So where is my brother? Or I guess I should say. Where are your passengers and crew?" "I'm sorry," Steel replied. "But I... don't know where they are." An awkward silence filled the air as the frigate rocked gently from side to side after he said that. "You don't know?" Broadside asked as his eye visibly twitched. "What do you mean you don't know?!" At this point, the naval Captain's tone had changed to one of anger, frustrated that this stallion had no clue where any of the other ponies that were on his ship, including his brother, were located. "You're the Captain! How do you of all ponies not know where they are?" Steel visibly shook as the stallion stepped to within inches of their muzzles touching. "Answer me!" Broadside demanded. The red stallion continued to silently shake as his eyes closed. He was doing his best to hold himself together in front of all the ponies on the deck. "Easy there, Broadside," Twilight said in a calming tone, stepping in between the two stallions while facing Broadside. "Captain Blade's obviously been through a traumatizing experience. Getting angry at him isn't going to solve anything." The naval Captain looked at the alicorn in front of him before leaning to the side to see Steel still shaking with his eyes closed. He then breathed in deeply before sighing heavily, calming himself down while nodding. "You're right," he replied. "I apologize. I'm just worried about my brother. That's all." "I understand," she said. "But taking your anger out on him isn't the way to go." After saying that, she turned around to face the other stallion wearing a white uniform. "Captain Blade. Do you know what happened to all of the other ponies on your ship?" Hearing her ask that in a calm tone, Steel's shaking slowly stopped as his eyes opened to look at her and Broadside. "I know what happened to them," he replied before taking a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I just don't know where they are." Soon, the memory of what happened the previous day flooded into his mind. He then took another breath and looked at the ponies in front of him. "Like I said before. Mareitania was taken over by changelings." This statement made all around except for Twilight and Starlight gasp in surprise. Even Broadside looked stunned by that. "Chrysalis had my boss being held as her hostage," he continued. "With my sword against his throat. I couldn't do anything about it since my magic was.. blocked by some magic nullifying substance." "Go on." "She wanted the ship completely abandoned aside from herself, me, and her little group of changelings she had with her." "How does she have any changelings still loyal to her?" Twilight asked before looking over at Starlight. "I thought Thorax said he got to all of the changelings that weren't at the hive the day he took over." "We'll have to have a talk with him when we get back home," she replied. "Let's focus on what happened here though." "Right," the alicorn said as she turned to look back at Steel. "Sorry. Please continue." "At first, she thought we could fit all of the ponies on board in the lifeboats," the stallion continued. "But when she realized that the boats wouldn't be able to carry each pony, she came up with a plan to send all of them back to Equestria through some magic portal." "A portal?" Broadside asked. "You're saying that she had every pony aside from you go through a portal?" "Yes." "Where did the portal send them?" Twilight asked. "Chrysalis told me that it sent them to a field somewhere in Equestria. And that it would erase the memory of everything they did in the last week to cover up what she was doing here." "I see," she replied as she rubbed her chin while thinking. "Well. That might be a problem when we get back. But it'll have to wait until then. There's nothing that can be done about it now." She then looked back at Steel. "So why exactly did she want you to join her?" "I'd.... rather not talk about it," he replied before shivering again as the memory of what happened in his cabin and the thoughts of what would've happened flooded into his mind. Sensing that particular issue was one that the stallion clearly didn't want to discuss, the alicorn decided not to push further. Instead, she turned around and walked over to the railing while looking at the now fully abandoned Mareitania. The list that the ship had originally when they first saw it had clearly decreased. But now, the liner posed a navigational hazard if left alone to drift. "What are you thinking, Twi?" Applejack asked as she, Starlight, and Rarity joined her at the railing. "I'm just trying to think of what we should do next," she replied. "We can't just leave this ship behind while we continue on to Horseshoe Bay." "True," the earth pony said. "I don't think this boat can pull that ship either." "No. That ship is way too heavy to be towed by the Solar Wind." "Preferably, I'd rather not see anything else happen to a ship that beautiful," Rarity said. "Just think of all the time spent by artists and interior decorators. All of their hard work and time on the verge of slipping beneath the waves." "Well. What should we do?" Starlight asked. "Captain Blade?" Twilight called out, making the stallion walk over to them. "How many ponies would you say would be the absolute minimum needed to crew your ship?" "The minimum?" he replied. "What are you suggesting?" "Well. We can't leave it here," she said. "It'd pose a hazard to any other ship, especially at night." "True," he said while rubbing his chin in thought. "With Boiler Room Two completely flooded, we'd really only have Boiler Room One that we can use for getting steam." "I don't think that would be necessary, Captain," the alicorn replied. "What do you mean?" "How many engines does your ship have?" "Four," he answered. "Four steam driven turbine engines." "Well," the alicorn said. "Starlight and I could use a spell on two of them to make them run on their own." "Hold up," Applejack interrupted. "Are you talking about that same spell you used on a snowplow back when we were wrapping up winter?" "Yep." "Are you sure that's a good idea? It didn't work out so well back then." "Hey. I've learned how to control it since then," she replied. She then looked back at Steel. "So how many ponies would you need?" "Let me think," he replied while looking over at his ship. "If the two of you can get some of the engines going, then I'd still need at least two pegasi to be lookouts and a couple others that can fix up some meals. It's going to take at least a couple of days to get back to Manehattan." He then looked at the alicorn and the rest of her friends. "So you're... offering to help me get Mareitania back there?" "Of course," Twilight replied. "What do you say, girls?" "If it means keeping such a beautiful ship from meeting a dreadful fate," Rarity replied. "I'm in." "I'm sure Rainbow and I can help out with what you need," Fluttershy added. "Sure we can!" Rainbow exclaimed. "We'll keep an eye out for anything you'd want to avoid." "Pinkie Pie and I can definitely help out when it comes to providing food," Applejack added. "Provided there's enough on there." "We were stocked for a voyage from Manehattan to Mareseilles," Steel replied. "And for the return trip as well. I'm sure that the pantries aboard will have plenty of items for you." He then looked back at his ship. "There's still the matter of the damage to the hull," he said. "Even if we get the ship moving again, more water will just get forced in." "Leave that to me, darling," Rarity said. "Patching a hole is the same anywhere you are. Whether it is for a dress or in this case, the hull of a ship. I'll have that taken care of for you in no time." As he listened, Steel looked over and saw Captain Broadside walk toward the group. "We'll sail along with your ship as your escort back to Manehattan," he said while walking before stopping in front of his fellow Captain. "The Solar Wind may not be as fast as your ship would normally be. But I think we can keep up with you now." "Yeah," Steel replied. "I'm sure we'll be lucky to hit 10 knots." "Well what are we waiting for, girls?" Pinkie shouted as she bounced around in a circle before stopping next to the side of the ship. "We've got a ship to save!" After saying that, she jumped overboard, making every other pony rush to the side where she jumped from. They all then watched as her tail began spinning around rapidly like a tiny propeller, pushing the mare through the water toward the liner. "Did.. you all know she could do that?" Steel asked while looking what she was doing before looking toward Twilight and the others. They all just started chuckling in response. "It's Pinkie Pie," the alicorn replied. "Don't question it. Trust me."
The Voyage of the Mareitania
Chapter Eleven
As the sun rose above the sea in a clear blue sky, the plan for getting the derelict liner back to Manehattan was soon put into motion. Twilight and Starlight were busy down in Boiler Room Two, clearing it of water before Rarity could begin her work on patching the hull breach. While they were doing this, Steel showed Applejack and Pinkie Pie the large pantry which was used for storing ingredients for delicious meals that Chef Michelin would've had prepared for the passengers. With the generators still without steam to power them though, that meant that all the refrigerated foods had gone bad. It also meant that the ovens couldn't function properly. So the meals would have to be as basic as possible. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash flew above the listing ship, watching the horizon from above. Fluttershy meanwhile waited in the crow's nest for when her friend would get tired. Then she'd take over. Their task would be to keep an eye out for any other ships or hazards that would need to be avoided. With no electricity or steam, the rudder and steering gears were locked in the position they were in when the steam was vented out. Luckily, that was not going to be a problem since they were locked in the position they'd be in if the liner was simply going straight. In order for the ship to maneuver however, Twilight and Starlight would have to use their respective magic to slow or speed up the two turbines they'd have running. Thankfully, Mareitania was equipped with a voice pipe for just such a situation. A means of communication from the bridge to the engine room and vice versa. Steel would be positioned on the bridge. And should the ship need to turn, he'd relay the information down the pipe to the two ponies in the engine room. With the water being cleared from Boiler Room Two, Steel could sense the floor beneath him leveling out. This made a genuine smile appear on his face for the first time since yesterday. Standing alone on the bridge, he placed a hoof on the large wheel beside him and sighed before tapping it a few times. "Don't worry," he said as though he was talking to the ship itself. "We're gonna get you back to Manehattan." "Captain Blade!" Twilight's voice called out through the voice pipe. Hearing this, Steel turned around and walked over to the pipe. "Yes, Princess Sparkle?" "Please. Just call me Twilight," she replied. "We've got most of the water in your boiler room cleared out and that hole in the wall is now patched up," she replied. "Rarity and Starlight are going topside to inspect the damage from the outside. Can you meet them up there?" "Of course," the stallion replied. "I'll be waiting for them." "Great," she said. "I'll still be down here if needed." After she said that, Steel exited the bridge out onto the starboard bridge wing. Once outside, he looked over at the Solar Wind as it waited for the liner to get moving once again. Having the royal frigate escorting his ship back to Manehattan will obviously be something that will be plastered in the headlines of newspapers all across the country, something that was both good and bad. Good for the extra free publicity for the Red Apple Line, something that he was sure Dotted would be very grateful for. But also bad as this extra attention would surely alert a certain changeling Queen that this ship and the one pony aboard didn't go to a watery grave as she intended to. But with the protection of the Bearers of the Elements, he felt as though everything would be alright. Soon, the stallion descended the stairs down to the main deck before walking aft. As he walked, he kept thinking about how lucky he was. Had Princess Twilight and her friends shown up any later than they did, he certainly wouldn't be alive. Soon, his eyes caught sight of Starlight Glimmer and Rarity as they appeared on deck in a flash of turquoise colored magic. "Hello there," the stallion said, gaining the attention of the mares. "Hello there, sir," Starlight replied. "I'm sure Twilight already gave you the details about that hull breach." "Yes," he said before stopping in front of them. "I'm very thankful for everything you all are doing for me and my ship." "Darling, it is our pleasure," Rarity replied. "And honestly, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that this ship makes it safely back home." This made the stallion smile as the two mares walked over to the railing. He joined them as they all looked down, trying to find the damage to the hull. "So what exactly are you going to do for the damage out here?" he asked as he looked at the others with him. "I'm going to lower Rarity down into the water with my magic," Starlight replied. "Then she's going to find and assess how big the hole out here is. Judging by what the condition this ship was in when we first got here, I'm guessing it's going to be a fairly good sized hole." "It wouldn't surprise me," he said in response as Starlight ignited her horn, enveloping her friend in the process before the white unicorn was lifted off of the deck and over the railing. As he looked at Rarity, he gave her a quick salute before she was lowered down. "Once she finds the damage, she'll do what she did down in the boiler room and patch it with a magical shield," the mare continued. "As long as it will be watertight for the duration of the trip back, that'll be fine," he said as he watched Rarity be lowered into the water. He then watched as she slipped beneath the water. "She can still breathe. Right?" "Of course," Starlight replied while not breaking her focus. "She's perfectly fine down there." Steel just silently nodded as he looked over the railing. After a few minutes, he could see the water glow with a shade of sapphire blue before the deck beneath him started leveling out. His eyes grew wide as soon, the ship returned to an even keel. Looking back down, he could see what looked to be the top portion of a white colored shield attached to the side of the ship. Shortly afterward, Rarity's head poked back up above the water. "We're good to go, darling!" she called out as Starlight lifted her out of the water. Once she was lifted back on to the deck, she turned around and gave a small salute to the stallion. "I can promise you that those patches will hold until we get back to Manehattan." "Thank you," Steel replied as a tear formed in his eye. Not one of sadness. But one of joy as he was overwhelmed by feelings of happiness. In a show of gratitude, he gave each of them a hug. They both smiled before returning the favor in the form of a small group hug. Once done, the stallion stepped back and looked out at the Solar Wind. He could easily see that Captain Broadside was watching the liner for when it would begin moving again. "Well," he said before turning to look back at the mares in front of him. "Let's get this ship under way again." "Yes, sir," Starlight said before saluting and smiling. "I'll head back down to the engine room and wait for your orders." After saying that, her horn lit up. Seconds later, she disappeared in a flash of magic. Once she was gone, Steel waved out to the frigate. He then watched as Broadside looked to salute before he could be seen turning around and presumably giving orders to his crew. Seeing that, Steel and Rarity began making their way to the bridge. "How long do you think it'll take for us to get back to Manehattan?" she asked as the two walked. "Depending on the speed, maybe a couple days or so," he replied. "Could also depend on the weather too." "I haven't heard of any storms coming up," she said before they started climbing the stairs up to the bridge wing. Once up there, they could see Rainbow and Fluttershy resting in the crow's nest. As Rarity stayed on the wing, Steel entered the bridge and went over to the voice pipe. "Prin... Twilight," he said into the pipe, remembering what she said before. "Are you both ready?" "Yes, Captain," her voice replied. "We're ready to go." "Alright," he said. "Let's go. Half ahead then." "Half ahead," she repeated. "Got it." Down in the engine room, Twilight had several lanterns hung up to provide a sufficient amount of light. She then walked over to Starlight and stopped before looking at what was in front of them. Two massive turbine engines that would spin the two central propellers. When they first arrived in the engine room, the two mares decided that it would be easier to control these two instead of trying for the two outer ones since they were directly next to each other. With each mare lighting up their horns, the two turbines were enveloped by purple and turquoise colored magic respectively. Each mare grunted as the engines slowly started to come to life. As a result, the two bronze propellers they were connected to began turning once again. "This... is a lot bigger... than a snowplow," Twilight grunted as they pushed the two engines up to half their speed. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead, making her wonder if they'd be able to sustain this all the way back to Manehattan. "You doing okay, Starlight?" "Never... better," the unicorn replied as she was in a similar position to the alicorn. "This... is definitely going to be... a workout." With two of the four propellers now churning once again, the large liner slowly started moving through the water. When he could sense this, Steel couldn't help but smile. But soon, the first test of maneuvering would have to begin. Once he felt the ship was up to a good start, he walked over to the voice pipe. "You both doing alright down there?" he asked. "We're... fine," Twilight replied. "It's just... a little bit harder than I imagined it'd be." "Alright," he said. "Well it's time for us to begin the turn toward Manehattan. So I'm gonna need the starboard engine to go astern while the port engine stays ahead." "Starlight!" he heard Twilight call out. "Reverse your engine!" He heard an audible groan in the background, making him feel bad for the two mares down there. Stepping away from the voice pipe, he walked over to the compass mounted in front of the helm. After a few minutes of nothing happening, the direction of the ship started to change. With the starboard turbine reversing and the port one still going ahead, the bow of the liner was slowly beginning to turn to the right. On board the Solar Wind, Captain Broadside watched the ship as it very slowly circled around his frigate. The sight of the ship moving on its own without any smoke coming from the funnels made him feel uneasy. However, as the ship got turned in the right direction, he motioned for his crew to lower the sails. With the large sails now catching the wind again, the frigate was on the move once more. It didn't take long before the smaller vessel was sailing side by side with the enormous liner. One being propelled by the wind, the other by the efforts of magic. With a speed of between roughly 7-8 knots, the voyage ahead of them would certainly be a long one. On the port side bridge wing of the liner, Steel stood watch alone. Rarity had volunteered to go assist Twilight and Starlight, figuring the magic of three would be better than two. With the morning sun now facing his back, Steel breathed a sigh of relief before turning his attention to the frigate sailing next to them. He watched as the crew of the small vessel worked hard, washing the main deck and tightening the ropes while a couple were seen climbing the large rope ladders up to the crow's nest. Seeing this made a sense of relief come to him. He was thankful for not having to do that while in the academy. He was also thankful for having an easier time navigating the ocean without relying on the wind. Steam power was now the preferred method of propelling ships through the water. Something that he wished he had instead of having to rely on Princess Twilight, Starlight, and now Rarity to do. "Gettin' hungry, pardner?" he heard Applejack ask from behind him. Turning around, he found the earth pony mare holding a plate that had what looked to be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on it. The sight of the delicious food made the stallion's stomach growl as he realized that it had been almost an entire day since he last had really anything to eat. "Hope you like it," she continued to say. "We don't really have many options to work with." "Given the fact that I haven't eaten since yesterday, I'll eat just about anything at this point," he replied before taking hold of the plate with his magic. As soon as he took the first bite, he let out an approving moan of satisfaction. He then followed it up by devouring the rest of the sandwich. This made the mare in front of him chuckle before she stepped aside to show that she brought a small serving cart with her filled with mugs of apple cider. The stallion picked one up with his magic as she picked up another with her hoof. "Here's to a safe trip home," she said before the two clinked their mugs together. After that, they both chugged down the liquid contents within their respective mugs. Once they were finished, Applejack chose to stay on the bridge wing to keep Steel company. As they stood and watched, they could see Pinkie Pie climbing the rope ladder leading up to the crow's nest where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were while keeping plates of sandwiches perfectly balanced on her mane and tail. "Okay. Seriously," Steel said as he watched the pink mare. "How is she able to do that?" "Like Twi said," Applejack replied. "It's Pinkie Pie. Don't question it." This response made the two laugh as the two ships continued on their course to Manehattan. ~Three days later~ At the Red Apple Line headquarters in Manehattan, Dotted Line sat alone in his office with stacks of papers in front of him. But his focus wasn't on them. It was more toward the fact that once he and Port Side arrived back in Manehattan, they found that the Mareitania wasn't there. Neither was Captain Blade. "Why does it seem like some kind of elaborate prank is being played on me?" he asked himself as he got up before turning to look out one of the windows. The sky above the city was clear, signaling a perfect day. "Why does every pony I talk to say that today's a different date than what it really is? And how exactly did I manage to lose track of where my brand new 32,000 ton liner is?" The white unicorn remembered arriving at the pier where he thought the ship was docked only to find it empty with workers saying that the ship had already left. But when he tried sending out a message to the liner, he got nothing in response. He then remembered having a message sent out to Mareseilles yesterday in hopes that somehow, the ship would be there. But the Harbor Master there said that the liner had yet to arrive. After spending several minutes looking out his window, he turned and walked to the door before going out into the hallway. Looking to his right, he saw Port Side talking to what appeared to be some reporters, each of them wearing press caps, satchels, and cameras strapped around their necks. As soon as the green stallion saw his boss, he waved for him to come over. Raising an eyebrow, Dotted began walking toward them. "Dotty!" Port called out as the white unicorn entered the main lobby. "I got some good news for you!" "Oh yeah?" he asked in a depressed tone as he continued walking toward them. "Like what?" "Well. You know your new ship?" one of the reporters replied. "The one out on her maiden voyage?" "Yes?" Dotted asked while looking at the reporter. "What about her?" "She's been spotted by one of our pegasi reporters," the stallion replied. "But she ain't alone. She's being escorted by the Solar Wind it seems." After saying that, the stallion levitated a photo out from a satchel pocket before allowing Dotted to take hold of it. Once he did, the white unicorn's blue eyes grew wide as he couldn't believe what the picture showed. It was definitely the Mareitania. But it looked to be moving without any smoke coming from the funnels. And sailing just off her port side was indeed the royal frigate, the Solar Wind. "How... long... ago was this taken?" "About an hour ago," the stallion replied. "Which means they should be coming into the harbor any time now." "Well. Why are we still standing here?" Dotted asked before rushing over to the glass doors, making sure to give the photo back to its owner. The stallion opened the doors and rushed down the stairs to the street as he could see groups of ponies looking to be rushing toward the harbor. Seeing this, Dotted, Port, and the reporters followed suit and began running as quick as they could toward the docks. "Sir?" Port called out as they ran. "What should we do once we get there?" "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!" Dotted replied. After several minutes of running, more than the white unicorn had spent in Celestia knows how long, the small group arrived at the docks. Both stallions quickly went through the security checkpoint before they rushed along the Red Apple Line's pier, hearing various tugboat whistles as they ran. When they reached the end of the pier, the sight before them was something they never thought they'd see. "Dear... Celestia..." Port said as he and Dotted just stood motionless while looking at what was in front of them. Down the river from where they were, they could see the Solar Wind being escorted by two tugboats, one on each side. Not much further behind them was the enormous Mareitania along with a flotilla of ten tugboats. Ponies could be seen lining the piers while they watched the ships pass by as pegasi flew overhead. The sounds of cheering could be heard from all of them. Many camera flashes were seen by reporters as they documented what was going on. Soon, the liner arrived in front of the pier Dotted and Port were standing on. Looking up toward the deck, the two stallions saw what appeared to be Princess Sparkle along with the rest of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony standing on the forecastle just next to the first mast. They were all waving at the two stallions, prompting them to wave back. Looking up toward the bridge, they saw Steel and a purple colored mare with a purple and turquoise colored mane walk on the starboard bridge wing before stopping at the side. The stallion then saluted the two of them as the mare used her magic to float down to the others standing on the bow. However, it appeared that the ponies on board the liner seemed to be the only ones as no others could be seen. The two stallions then noticed the large white magical shield on the hull. This made Dotted groan as he could feel the financial impact of having to put the ship in dry dock for repairs. "Captain Blade better have a good explanation of what all is going on here," he said while looking at Port. "Don't worry, sir," Port replied as the tugs began maneuvering the ship into the berth. "I'm sure once everything settles down, he'll have quite the story for us." As all of this was happening, a lone unicorn mare stood on an old abandoned pier. One that was surprisingly devoid of spectators. This unicorn had a green coat along with a brown mane and tail. On her flank was a ladybug cutie mark and around her neck was a camera, similar to the reporters. The mare stood still, looking at the scene going on just across the river from her. "Hmm...." the mare said to herself as she looked through the camera at the stallion on the bridge wing. "I certainly wasn't expecting to see you or your ship again, Captain Blade." Putting the camera down, she watched silently as the tugs pushed against the liner. As she was doing this though, she licked her lips while thinking about the stallion in command of it before sighing as she remembered that fateful night. "You really were the first one that ever truly satisfied me. Perhaps it's a good thing you somehow managed to survive after all." After saying that, the mare turned and began walking away from the edge of the pier. "Don't think that you've seen the last of me, my dear. One way or another. You will be mine! Because like I told you before," she said as her eyes flashed bright green. "No stallion rejects Queen Chrysalis!"
Tales of an Outsider
pre
He nodded before he started to walk forward till he looked over to see if the mare was following him. "Well let's go. The sooner we find it the sooner we can get it delivered, right?" he told her, a small smile on his muzzle. She nodded, giving a small smile back, and they began their search for the missing package. They went door-to-door, asking each pony if they had received a package addressed to someone else. Unfortunately, no matter how many times they tried, each one had denied any knowledge of said package before apologizing and wishing them the best of luck finding it. Soon their search came to an end, with Ditzy hyperventilating once more as she panicked yet again. Spark frowned as they finished their search, looking at the grey mare he is quick to rush to her side and comfort her once again. "Easy Ditzy it's not over yet. Tell me, what did you do next?" She looked left, then right as she tried to calm herself down. "I don't know! I think I went home!" Spark just did his best to keep a strong, comforting face for her, rubbing her back and doing his best to keep her calm. Thankfully it seemed that it was working, her breathing slowly returned to normal as she looked over at the red pony, a small smile on her face. "I...I'm sorry Spark. You must think I'm a mess, huh." She said, looking away with a sad expression on her muzzle. Spark is quick to shake his head. "No! Not at all." He said before he quickly went silent. Ditzy looked at him with surprise as he turned away shyly, his coat hiding his blushing cheeks a bit. Soon he calmed himself enough to turn and face her again. "I...I don't think any less of you for this. So what if you made a mistake, they happen to the best of us. All we got to do is move forward." He told her. The grey mare listened closely to his words, her heart slowing down as the panic eased from her body. Gently, she smiled, and even leaned in to nuzzle him a bit. "Thanks Spark, that's a lot more than what most ponies would have said to me." She said. The red colt once again froze up at the affection, blushing even harder as he allowed her to nuzzle him. "Um...n-no problem...D-Ditzy. I-I'm just...saying the truth." He stuttered, to which she giggled lightly. It was that moment then that a mare had walked by, a brown fur and a gray mane pony with a scroll cutie mark upon her flank. She turned to Ditzy and smiled. "Ah! There you are! I wanted to thank you for delivering my hair dye!" she said. Ditzy looked at the mare, confused. "Mayor Mare, you're here! But... I lost the package!" The mare, who was apparently the mayor, gave a good hearty laugh. "Oh, Ditzy! You delivered my package yesterday!" "So I didn't lose it?" Ditzy asked, the rest of her stress quickly vanishing from those words. "No, dear. You're fine!" said the mayor. "You hear that?" said Ditzy, turning to Spark. "I'm fine! I didn't lose it!" The red pony took this moment to calm himself down, but when he heard that she was in the clear, he smiled happily at her. "That's great! I told you all would work out in the end!" He said. It was at that moment that both her eyes locked onto his, making her appear like any other pony. With an ever present smile, she hugged him tight, lifting him a few inches in the air. "Thank you so much for supporting me!" she said, feeling very grateful. This caught him by surprise as he looked down at the mare, blushing rather heavily once again. Unlike before, she didn't show any signs of letting him go, no matter how long he stood there. Slowly, he reached his hooves around her and hugged her back, if a bit softer than her, his rear legs dangling off the ground. "N-No problem Ditzy. I'm just glad that I could help." He said, trying to hide his shyness again. She eventually let him back down after realizing what she was doing. "Ah! Adorable!" said Mayor Mare as she walked away. "Adorable?" Ditzy tilted her head, confusion in her voice as she wondered what the mayor was talking about. Spark however, knew just what the mayor was talking about, which made him blush even harder as he shuffled on his hooves. Ditzy noticed this and patted him on the head. "There there. You must've had too much coffee if you're moving that much." "Y-Yea...coffee..." He simply said before he fell silent for a few moments. Looking back at her, he asked, "So...besides finding the package, what else is there to do today?" "Oh!" She reached into her mailbag and pulled out a few letters. "There isn't as much mail as there was yesterday. Could you deliver these?" she asked, giving him the letters. Happy to change the subject, he nodded and took the letters, looking them over. "Of course! I'll be back quick." He said, and with a smile and a wave he was off. The addresses on the letters would take him down the south road, allowing him to explore the town even further. It wasn't all that hard to find the recipients. Just a drop off and he was on his way back, finding the ever lovely, ever gracef--ever smiling Ditzy. She waved as he approached her. "Good job delivering those letters!" she cheered. He found it rather cute how she makes such a big thing out of nothing, rubbing the back of his head as he smiles back. "I-It wasn't that hard like you said." He said. He looked around the place before he asked, "So, anything else that needs to be done? Maybe I can stay at the office and do a bit of organizing?" "Oh, yeah!" she replied. "There's a lot of mail that needs to be organized!" She grabbed Spark's hoodie in her teeth and began to drag him along as she flew, hurrying to get to the office. It wasn't long until they actually reached it. After dragging Spark through the door, Ditzy flew over the counter and flopped into a pile of letters before poking her head out. "We gotta sort all these!" Once he fixed his hood and makes sure the top of his head is still covered, he looked over at the pile of letters and the silly mare who was in them, chuckling a bit as he nods. "Sure thing Ditzy." He said, walking over and eager to begin. They then began to sort mail, separating the junk from the legitimate. Ditzy looked out the window to her left, noticing the time slowly passing by. She turned to Spark, just staring at him. "Um.." She started to say before she fell silent. This caused Spark to look back at her, but she just looked away and focused on her work. As they continued with organizing, Spark couldn't help but to look at the mare every so often. For whatever reason he found her to be rather funny, and she seemed to always know what to say and when to say it. Ditzy herself was enjoying her time spent with the colt, even if it had only been a couple of days, he had been nicer than most of the ponies that she knew. Still, she isn't really sure what to talk about, the silence extended as they remained quiet. Thankfully it was Spark who came up with something as he looked around the room and found a photo standing on the desk. The photo contained the image of Ditzy in front of her house. Sitting next to her was a small filly, one that bore a striking resemblance of her, even sharing her blonde mane and tail. In the corner of the picture were the words "Happy Mother's Day!" written in childish writing. "Cute kid." He said softly, a small smile on his face. Ditzy smiled and nodded in agreement. "That's my daughter. She's adorable, isn't she?" He nodded and glanced over at the pegasus mare. "She is very adorable. How old?" "She's only nine years old," said Ditzy, smiling. "That was taken when she was only seven." "She seems like a very nice daughter." He stated, looking back at her. "I bet the father is rather happy about her as well, yes?" He asked. At this, the grey mare frowned, looking away slightly which caused Spark to grow worried. "I-I'm sorry if I said something wrong, I was just-" "It's not your fault," she quickly said to stop him from panicking over nothing. "It was before she was born, so she never really knew him." She looked him in the eyes, her smile there if a bit forced. "I...I do miss him at times, but I manage to make the best for my little filly." He could see the pain that she was feeling from mentioning him, and in response he quickly walked over to her and placed a hoof on her back. "I'm still sorry for bringing bad memories." He said softly. Slowly, the mare smiled and nodded before she fell silent. Suddenly she brought him into a tight hug, causing the colt to stiffen up for the third time that day. "Thanks Spark." She said, to which the red stallion just blushes, still rubbing her back as he hugged her shyly in return. After a few moments she broke the hug and continued organizing the mail the time slowly ticked by as they continued to talk to each other about random things, the atmosphere a lot lighter thanks to the picture. For the rest of his time there, Spark enjoyed talking with the mare about whatever she wished to talk about, most of it involving her kid in some way. She even promised to invite him to see her someday, which he politely tried to decline, but she was persistent, so he told her he would think on it. As the day drew to a close, he helped her to pack up the place and lock the office down, both ponies smiled at each other as they did so. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" He asked her. To his surprise, she shook her head. "Not this time. It's my day off tomorrow, but perhaps the next day. In fact, I think it's your day off as well." He blinked as he heard this. "Oh...ok then." He simply said as he gave a nervous chuckle. Ditzy just giggled at his shyness before she nuzzled him again, causing him to once again blush. "Till next time!" She called out as she headed for her home. Spark stood there for a few moments before he managed to wave farewell to the mare. Turning to head back to his room, he went over what he has planned and realized that the party that Pinkie was making was going to be tomorrow. He let out a small sigh as a shiver went down his spine. "Ok...it's just a party. Nothing bad will happen...right?" He told himself, still unsure. Unable to really do anything about it, he just took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself down as he hoped for the best for whatever was going to happen tomorrow. (Line) The next morning was filled with the chatter of birds as Spark followed his instructions, leading him to the Crystal Castle. He had found the note taped to his door earlier that day, telling him to follow its instructions. Outside of the castle, he could see Twilight talking to a familiar young filly, Apple Bloom. Seeing somepony familiar brought a small smile to his muzzle as he walked on over, giving a small wave to them. "Hey Twilight, hey Apple Bloom." He greets them. "O-Oh!" Twilight became flustered, trying to hide her previous conversation. "Hello, there, Spark. What brings you here?" She asked before she remembered why he was there. "Oh! I know why you're here! How silly of me!" she said. "Are you ready for the--" "Did ya find yer talent yet?" Interrupted Apple Bloom, smiling. This got a rather mixed reaction from the stallion, who decided to just sigh as he shook his head. "No I didn't, and I doubt I'm going to anytime soon." He said. He then leaned down to better speak to her. "Really, it's not a problem for me. I've lived this long without it, so I can live a few years more not knowing." He explained. Little does he know that the princess was listening in rather curious about what was going on. When he does look up at the mare, Twilight just coughed into her wing and smiled to cover up her eavesdropping. She looked to Spark and spoke. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? It could improve things, right?" Seeing that the Alicorn overheard him, he stood upright again and shook his head. "No, I doubt it will. Besides, it may be something I don't want, or I may go on forever trying to get something that I don't even know how to get." He sighed again and looked down at the frowning filly. Giving her a comforting smile, he gently pats her head. "Besides, it's not all that bad. I've got plenty of time to find it, and even if I don't, at least I can see fillies and colts getting their own such as yours. Speaking of which, it seems that you and those other two have similar cutie marks, I'm guessing you all found them around the same time?" "Yeah!" said Apple Bloom. "It was after we discovered we were good at helping others find their cutie marks!" she said, which caused him to blink in surprise. Twilight smiled at Apple Bloom's enthusiasm. "They really can help you if you ever want it. But I understand if it's rather sudden, especially when we have the party getting set up. So for now... are you ready for that party?" He looked over at Twilight with a small smile and a nervous nod. "As ready as I'll ever be. And Applebloom, I...I'll think about it." He said, the last part going to the yellow filly. This seemed to satisfy her for now as she waved bye to the two grown ups and headed out, most likely back to continue with her chores on the farm. With a smile in return, the Alicorn just nods as she lead him into the castle. The first thing he saw when he passed through the doors...is that it is flipping huge. He has never seen a place so big before. He thought the outside was impressive but inside was amazing. Eyes wide with surprise, he looked around the room carefully, wanting to see everything that he can. Every single room was made entire out of crystal. The walls, the chairs, the tables, even the toilet was made out of pure raw crystal. As they walked through the place, Twilight would explain the purpose of every room in detail, listing functions and rules. "And this room is room 23-B. It's actually my favorite B room, because it has this neat little notch in the corner there. I don't know what it's for, but the Tree of Harmony must've put it there for a reason, so I won't question it!" As she goes on explaining each room, Spark could feel himself starting to fall asleep, which is surprising considering he is used to walking for long periods of time. Shaking his head awake once again, he smiled up at Twilight as he stopped her for a moment. "I-It's a rather big castle Twilight, I never knew there could be so many rooms in one castle." He said. He then paused for a moment to ponder on something, before finally speaking up. "Um...so...I was wondering..." Upon hearing him finally speak up for the first time since they started the tour, Twilight looked at Spark with interest. "What's up? Is something wrong?" She had a bit of concern on her face. She was worried that he may be getting bored or that she went overboard with the whole tour, as she is known for doing, but thankfully Spark just shook his head. "N-No, nothing is wrong." He quickly replied. "I just...did Pinkie keep her promise? About there not being a lot of...p-p-ponies?" "Oh, definitely!" she answered. "It's just us seven...and one extra," she said. He blinks, giving her a nervous look. "O-One...e-extra?" He asked nervously. "Yes. She's a student of mine. Oh! And of course, there's my assistant, Spike. He's a baby dragon, but he doesn't bite. He's very well-behaved!" she assured. She realized the issue rather quickly as she saw his anxious face, causing her to worry that may be one too many ponies for him to handle. "Um, that's not too much for you...is it?" While she couldn't see it under his hood, his eyes were closed as he just focused on taking a few deep breaths. Thinking it over, it was just two extra ponies, and they both are well known to her as well, so it shouldn't be a problem. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and gave a small, if shy smile. "T-That...that should be fine." He said. Even with the smile, Twilight could tell that he wasn't super excited about the party anymore, and she gently placed a hoof on Spark's shoulder. "Spark, if you ever feel uncomfortable, tell me, okay? We are all here for you, no matter what. If adding two more ponies is too much for you-" "No!" He shouted before covering his mouth in shock, his blush coming to full force on his cheek. She waited for him to calm down as he replied in a softer tone. "I mean, n-no, it's fine, really. I...I think just two extra are fine, if they are as nice as you say they are." She smiled at this. "Of course! I bet you will enjoy their company very much!" She told him. "So, ready?" She gently removed her hoof from him to give him a moment to prepare himself mentally. Seeing that she was really concerned for him lets him smile a bit more and nods, his mind somewhat at ease. "Ready." He simply said. "So...I guess we shouldn't keep them waiting?" She nodded and led him to one of the upper rooms, the dining room. It was filled with streamers, balloons, a few games, and a record player in the corner. Pinkie was there with a huge smile on her face, giggling excitedly. "SURPRISE!" she shouted. "Pinkie, it's not even a surprise anymore if he knows," said Twilight. She giggled. "Seems that it got him anyways." "Huh?" Twilight looked next to her for Spark, and realizing he isn't next to her, she heard a small shuffling. She continued to look around and soon found the red pegasus trying to hide behind her, his hooves holding onto her sides as he tried to make himself seem smaller. At the same time, however, his wings which were stuck under his hood, tried to spread out to make himself appear bigger instinctively. Thankfully the hoodie was made of strong stuff, so it didn't rip. Twilight raised a brow. "Are you okay there, Spark?" "Is this gonna be like last time?" asked Dash. "Don't be rude, Dash," said Rarity. "N-No, I'm f-fine..." He said, slowly coming out from behind the Alicorn, if a bit shakily. He took a few deep breaths and then exhaled before looking at the others. "Just a bit...surprised is all..." Seeing how he was fine, Twilight gestured to a new unicorn, whose coat was the color of lilacs. Her purple mane was striped with colors of light blue. "This is Starlight. My pupil." The mentioned unicorn walked up to Spark as she gave him a welcoming smile. "Nice to meet you!" said Starlight, extending a hoof for a hoof shake. He smiled shyly as he nods, extending his hoof and lightly shaking hers. "Um...n-nice to meet you Starlight. Name's Spark...though I guess you already knew that if Twilight told you." "I've heard a little bit about you," she said. She let go of Spark's hoof and gave a friendly smile. "Um...l-like what?" He asks, a bit curious. "Oh, not much. Just your fear of crowds. And how you're new here," she said before giving a blink. "Huh...not the best first impression I think." She quickly realized what she said as she recovered. "I mean for me! Not you, you're fine, I just-" "It's fine." He said, quickly waving a hoof to try and get her to stop. "Just...don't worry about it." Starlight gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head. As the awkward silence grew larger, the two of them just looked at anything but each other, though when Spark looked back at her finally, she did the same, and seeing the look in her eyes, he knew that she didn't mean anything rude, and he was able to manage a small smile of thanks, one to which she responds in kind. With that the tension was lifted and the unicorn can't help but to feel relieved that he didn't retreat into that hoodie of his. "Hey there!" said a voice from behind. He turned around to see a small, purple baby dragon, just like Twilight said. She wasn't kidding about him being a baby dragon. He held a gem in his claws. "So uhh... Twilight told me you were new, and I didn't have anything to give you, so... I got you one of my gems" He handed Spark the gem, smiling at him. Spark blinked at this as he stared at the gem, a bit unsure what to make of such a gift. He was surprised to get any sort of gift at all, let alone a gem from a dragon of all creatures, and now this young dragon was giving one to him. Looking at the dragon, he asked, "A-Are you sure? I-I mean, I don't have anything to give you." Spike waved a hand, dismissing the concerns. "It's no problem. I don't really need it. I got more of 'em." Still unsure, he nevertheless nodded his thanks as he pocketed the gem in his hoodie. "Um...t-thanks Spike, that...that means a lot." Spike gave him a thumbs up. "No problem!" As he walked away, Pinkie slid forward, wearing sunglasses with a false mustache attached to them. "Hey! It's your party, and I got some jokes! What do ya call a fish with no eyes? A FSSSSHHHHH" Sadly the joke went well over his head, and he just gave a sheepish smile and a shrug. "Um, that's a...good one?" He said cautiously. he doesn't want to offend them after all. Especially Pinkie. She...scared him a bit. Pinkie continued the horrifying joke list. "Well, what about a DEER with no eyes? NO I-DEER!!!" The pegasus could feel his face actually flushing from these jokes, as they didn't seem to be that funny, at least to him. They also didn't seem to be ending as the pink mare got ready to tell yet another one. Thankfully, Starlight came over to help him out of the awkward situation. "Hey, Pinkie? I think we're low on punch," she said to the pink mare. "What?! Already?!" Pinkie ran off to the table to check on the punch bowl. He let out a small sigh of relief as he looked at the unicorn. "Thanks for that." "No problem," replied Starlight. "I couldn't help but notice you weren't exactly getting along with Pinkie. She can be a bit overwhelming." He nodded. "She's nice, don't get me wrong, just a bit much for me." He admitted. "Plus it doesn't help that I...I-I don't really know how one parties." Thankfully, Starlight took this news much more calmly than Pinkie. "So you've never been to a party before? Like, ever?" He nodded. "Never at all." A thought came to Starlight's mind as she heard this. "You know... back in my village, I was quite the party pony. I could teach you." He looked up with surprise. "R-Really? You'd do that for me?" "Yeah! It's easy!" she said to him. "You just gotta learn the ABC's of partygoers." He looked around for a few moments, and while he saw nothing he can really do off the top of his head, he knew that she was being honest with helping him. Looking back, he nodded shyly. "O-Ok." He simply said. Grinning, she lead him to the first stop, the snack table, to show him all the different food that was there. He had his pick of different cupcakes, cake, ice cream, and all sorts of other desserts and sweets. Next on the list was games, to which Starlight showed him a few that were present. Once a few were explained, they played a quick pin the tail of the donkey, to which they somehow tied on. As she went about showing him the party and the different things that one can do there, the other mares started to group up a bit to talk to each other, along with how the guest of honor was doing. Twilight, holding a drink in her magic, took another sip before resuming her conversation with Rainbow Dash. "You know, I think Spark is handling this pretty spectacularly." "Yeah! Sure, he's pretty quiet at first, but he's not the worst conversationalist I've seen," replied Dash. "The dear's certainly got a good head on his shoulders," said Rarity to Fluttershy. "Oh, certainly. He's very sweet, too,"replied Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie turned to Applejack, still wearing the odd mustache glasses."Think he likes it?" she asked. "Without a doubt," said Applejack. "And...what about me? I did notice how nervous he gets around me. I mean...more nervous than normal." "Not to worry Pinkie!" The farmer comforted her. "Just give him some time and try not to overdo it with your normal stuff and he is bound to like you as well." This got a smile from the party mare as she nodded her head. Twilight's topic took a different turn. "What do you think his cutie mark will be?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "What I wanna know is why doesn't he have it yet? He's a fully grown stallion." "He does seem reluctant to talk about his past, like Fluttershy told us," commented Twilight. She took another sip before continuing. "Do you think he's keeping a secret?" Rainbow Dash looked at Spark from across the room with a suspicious look. "There's one way to find out if he is." She said, and before the purple mare could stop her, she was off flying across the room. She walked over to Spark, giving him a fake innocent look. "So, Spark. I heard you're pretty shy." Said pony blinked as he turns to face Dash with a slightly confused look. He was talking with Starlight a bit about different music that could be played at a party when the cyan mare showed up. Hearing her question, he just nodded slowly. "Y-yea...I would say I am." he said. Dash rested a foreleg on Spark's head, resting it, which caused him to quickly back up and adjust his hood. "So, if you don't mind me asking... why so mysterious?" she asked, smirking. Once he was sure his hood was still in place, he gave a nervous look to her. "S-Sorry Rainbow, but what do you mean, m-mysterious?" She walked closer as he backed away, closing in slowly. "You know... the whole lack of a cutie mark and your past. You don't gotta be so mysterious. It's not like you're an evil villain or something, right?" His eyes go wide as he quickly shakes his head. "No! N-Nothing like that!" He said, though he was starting to shake a bit now with how close she was getting to him as he continued to back up a bit. It wasn't long until he was pressed up against the wall, Dash's face in his. "Well, c'mon! What's wrong? Why are you hiding? What are you hiding?" Now any normal pony would either be telling her right away their deepest secrets in the hopes of getting her to back off, or just telling her to back off in general. Sadly for Spark, his fear prevented him from doing anything of the sort, and instead he just cowered in place, ears pressed to his head as he avoid her gaze, shaking against the wall, even letting out a small whimper. It's at this time that a certain lilac unicorn is quick to step up and save him once again. Starlight tapped Dash on the shoulder. "I don't think this is a good idea Dash. He doesn't seem very keen on sharing his personal life." Rainbow Dash just looked at Glimmer a bit before shrugging and walking off. Starlight held out a hoof to Spark and gave him a comforting smile. Feeling her hoof in his, he gave it a small squeeze as he took a few minutes to calm himself down, the unicorn sitting next to him as she patiently waits with that calming smile still on her face. Meanwhile, Twilight approached Rainbow, almost glaring at her as she said, "Rainbow! What was that about?" "What? I just wanted to see what was up!" answered Rainbow. "Just because I say something seems off, doesn't mean to go and interrogate him!" argued Twilight. During this Starlight continued to keep Spark company, even going so far as to rub his hoof with her own as he held hers. After what felt like forever for him, she finally asked, "Are you ok? Do you wish to leave? I'll understand if you need some more time to yourself." As he took in a few shaky breaths, he began to calm down as he slowly stood back up, his shaking having gone down. "I-I-I am. T-Thanks Starlight. And I...I-I think I can manage now" He said. Looking back at her, he smiled lightly, showing that he is very grateful for the help. It's at this point that he also realized they were still holding hooves, which of course caused him to blush as he quickly pulled his hoof back, but not without some hesitation. Starlight, just giggled at the cute reaction, letting it go for the time being as she doesn't wish to make him even more uncomfortable. "Hey, um... great party, right?" she asked, trying to make conversation. It was clear that Spark needed to take his mind off of Dash. He closed his eyes for a few moments as he breathes in and out, calming himself down. Once calmer, he opened his eyes and smiled lightly at Star. "Y-Yea, it is. Though I don't think it's a fair assessment, since it's the only party I ever went to...or ever had." He admitted. Starlight just flashed a smile. "It's not a problem. Now come one! It's time to dance!" She said. She took him by the hoof and led him by the record player, where the music was playing. She then released his hoof as She began to dance to the music. Of course he was unsure what to do as he watched her dance, his body just locking up. As he watched her, he couldn't help but find that she danced rather nice, most certainly much nicer than he ever could. Of course it isn't much of a comparison, considering that he hasn't seen many others dance before, let alone danced himself. He soon noticed that he was staring at her, his eyes had wandered over certain parts of her that caused him to blush even harder. Thankfully the unicorn didn't notice it and he was able to turn away to avoid getting caught. "Um, S-Starlight? I...I don't know how to dance either..." He admitted, dragging a hoof across the ground. "Just follow my lead!" She told him, and suddenly she took his hoof and began leading him into a fast-paced twirl, forcing him to keep up. It certainly caught him off guard, his cheeks flaring even more red as he stumbled to keep up with her. The minutes slowly tick by as he did his best to keep up with her, feeling very embarrassed with each failed step and mistake, and he made a lot of them. Thankfully Starlight was kind enough to just keep on encouraging him, helping him along with the beat. It wasn't long before he soon memorized the steps, moving in somewhat unison with her. He was rather surprised with how quick he learned how to dance, though following her lead and being forced to ignore the rest of the surrounding area did help. He wasn't the best dancer, but he managed to get by, and the most important thing was that he was actually having fun! He smiled as he kept on dancing, following her movements as he does so. "See? Now you're getting it," she said, seeing how he was feeling much more at ease. He laughs shyly and gave a nod. "Only cause you are a good teacher." He told her as he trid his best to follow her movements. As he kept on having fun at his new party, Twilight was still busy confronting Dash about her "plan". "You shouldn't have confronted him like that, Dash," said Twilight angrily. "It was your idea," Dash replied. She rolled her eyes and crossed her forelegs. "No, it wasn't," said Twilight. "I just said it seemed odd." "Well, now that his guard's down, I can just ask again," said Dash. Before the Alicorn could stop the cyan mare, she was already headed back to Spark who was still dancing with the lilac mare. Dash went back over to Spark, another smirk on her face. "So, maybe we got off on the wrong hoof here... What I mean is, Maybe you could share just a little bit more about yourself?" However, it didn't seem that Spark was listening to Dash, his eyes still locked with Star as he just danced away. At this moment, he was the happiest he has ever been in a very long time. After a few tries with Dash, he did finally hear her, and slowly stopped dancing as he looked over at her before looking away with a nervous sigh. "I...I'm not...sure Rainbow." Dash tried to speak again. "Seriously, I don't think it's cool to hide stuff from your friends. Just a little bit of a story?" He was surprised that she considers him a friend already, for once again they had only just met. "Wait, w-we...we're friends?" "Uh, yeah!" she affirmed. "That's why we threw the party!" He looked over at Starlight for some confirmation, but she just continued to dance, not really paying attention to the conversation. Spark remained silent as he thought this over. It does make sense why they would throw this party, and consider him as a friend. However he was still skeptical, having been tricked one too many times during his life, and after a good while, he nodded slowly. "I...I really don't wish to...to talk about it Dash, even if...i-if we are friends" He admitted. "I'm sorry, you must...hate me because of it." He looked away in shame, already afraid she was going to kick him out or do something even worse. However, Dash did none of that and instead smiled as an idea popped into her head. He was new to Ponyville, that was obvious. If he hung with his new friends, then maybe... "Hey, you wanna hang out sometime after this? I can show you all the cool places to hang out around here." she asked. If she could get him to get used to her, than maybe he'd reveal more about himself. He blinked in surprise as he heard this, but still he pondered on it for a few moments. He was going to stay here for a while, and he couldn't work all the time. Plus there are only so many things he could do by himself, even if he is used to being alone all the time. Looking back at her, he smiled and gave a small nod. "I-I...I guess so. Just...no more interrogations please?" She nodded. "Deal! I'll see you at the end of the week!" she said as she walked back to Twilight. He watched her go for a moment before turning back to Star, who was resting after dancing so much. "Hey Starlight, I'm gonna get some food, you...you want anything?" He asked. He is sure that she said it's just the right thing to bring snacks to others when you go for them yourself. She smiled. "Um... some of that cake would be nice," she said with a smile. Giving a nod, Spark headed over to the table as he looked for the cake. As he found it, he also got a plate for himself of a couple of brownies and ice cream. As he gathered the food, Twilight took this moment to approach him, walking over with a cupcake. "Want one? Be careful, Pinkie made it and said it's a surprise cupcake, so I don't know what flavor it is." Of course as soon as she said the pink mare's name, he became skeptical. However, he did have the ones that he bought before, and those were good, so he doubts that these would be that bad. Nodding his head, he reached for the cupcake and, after inspecting it for a few moments, he took a bite. To his surprise, the cupcake was actually cotton candy flavored, and not anything like hot sauce or rose flavored as he had suspected in the back of his mind...though the rose one did sound kind of good. "So, I noticed that Dash asked you if you wanted to hang out with her. Might I ask the same thing, but with me? I have a large selection of books, and we can even visit the local museum." He looked at her in surprise as he paused eating the sweet. Hearing her offer, he thought it over before looking at her again. He felt that he could sense a pattern going on here, but regardless, she had been nice enough so far, so he nodded. "I...g-guess so...I mean, I'm not that interesting so-" He starts to say, only to be interrupted by her. "Great! I'll see you this weekend! Maybe after Dash's scheduled day?" She gave him a big smile, hoping he'd accept. He blinked, surprised by her excitement as she blushed, realizing that she interrupted him. "Sorry, just really want to know what it's like traveling from different places constantly. It just seems like such an interesting lifestyle." She explained. He nodded. "That's fine, and I would be happy to do that as well." He said, feeling a bit more comfortable with her explanation. She smiled and nodded her thanks before heading out. Making sure he had all the snacks, he brought them to Star, giving her the cake as he starts munching on the brownies and ice cream, feeling rather content with himself. As he talked with the unicorn, he couldn't help but think of everything that has happened so far since he got here. He has gotten a good job, some nice friends, and they even threw a party for him, something which he has never had before. Honestly this was turning out to be one of the best places he stopped at, even if it is temporary. He shook his head as he focused on the positives, smiling as he listened to one of Star's stories. He will worry about the rest for later, but for now he was going to do something he rarely got to do when he was a foal: have fun.
Tales of an Outsider
Peeking his Head Out
The rest of the week had come and gone, with Spark coming and going to work. Each time he was there, Ditzy would entertain him with tales of her daughter. She had just learned how to use magic. Ditzy had made it perfectly clear that she was very proud of her daughter. Every time Spark had to leave, the mailmare would give him a lollipop for the road. They would normally give them out to foals who had to come by and get their parents' mail, but that didn't mean the two workers couldn't indulge in the same candies. He had been curious about what Rainbow and Twilight had planned for him, especially the pegasus, for she didn't mention what they would do besides her showing him some cool places. He had to admit he was worried about what she had planned, but at the moment he trusts her to not take it too far...for now. It was the last day of the week and he was smiling as he hummed to himself, feeling rather happy from the relaxing week so far. He had talked with the other mares during that time whenever he saw them, though he saw AJ the most because he went to the market often to buy supplies, and her apples were indeed amazing. She also kept her promise on the fritters, to which he was grateful for, and now he was getting a good amount of food stocked up for when he next heads out. For now, with nothing to do at the moment, he just did his best to enjoy his time here, lollipop in mouth as he suckled it, not really focused on anything else. Then, from out of the blue, came even more blue. Rainbow Dash tackled Spark to the ground, cheering in victory. "You ready for a fun-filled adventure, kid?!" He gasped as he got tackled to the ground, nearly choking on his treat. Quickly recovering, he looked up to see Dash as she pinned him to the ground, her face rather close to his yet again. Blushing in embarrassment, he wasn't really sure what to say except to stare at her with wide eyes, but the rainbow mare just took it as a yes. "Oh, yeah!" she exclaimed, pumped up on adrenaline. "It's high time I showed you all the best places to hang!" She took him by the hoof and began to drag him across the ground. Eventually, after noticing the slowdown, she looked to him and stated, "This isn't working." She then wrapped her forelegs around his waist and lifted him off the ground. "Hang on, Spark!" As he felt her about to lift him off the ground, his eyes wide with surprise still, he quickly tried to wiggle his way out. "H-Hold on! I can-" He started to tell her before she just launched up into the air, carrying him a good distance over the town. Ponyville looked rather small from up above... oh... It wasn't small... Dash was just flying upward... and upward, and upward, and upward. Of course this caused him to just stare downwards in a mixture of fear and amazement. He had never been this high before, and seeing the land from such a distance, it caused his natural pegasus instincts to strain his wings open against his hoodie, but he snapped them shut all the same, not wanting to rip it open. Dash soared above the clouds, and off in the distance, Spark could see an entire city made from the fluffy white material, just floating in the air effortlessly. Now Spark has heard about Cloudsdale, being a pegasus and all, but he himself has never been there before since the location and his own abilities made it a bit challenging for him. Looking around, he could see all sorts of pegasi walking or flying around, doing this and that as they went about their day. "Pretty cool, huh?" asked Dash. She zoomed over the city and swooped down. Right before hitting the ground, she stopped. She slowly lowered Spark before she dropped him right on the clouds, making sure to catch him if he went through. He panicked as he got dropped, expecting to fall through the clouds. But of course he lands on them with a soft thud...face first, but still soft. "Ha! I knew you were a pegasus!" Coughing a few of the clouds from his face, he looked up as she stated the fact and he shook his head. "Y-yea, what about it? It's not like I was trying to hide it or anything." He says a bit defensively. "Yeah, but you're always under that hoodie. Take that thing off. It cramps your style," she said. The red pony's eyes go wide as he quickly does the opposite of that and tugged his hood down even more. "NO!" He exclaimed, the sudden sound causing the rainbow mare to actually flinch. Seeing how he snapped, he took a few deep breaths and forced himself to relax a bit. "S-Sorry Rainbow, but I...I don't feel comfortable taking my hoodie off around public." "Geez, no need to yell about it." Dash rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, yeah you can keep the hoodie on for now, but eventually I will get it off you. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, next week! If not next week...well, you get the idea." She finished with a sly grin. He shivered as he heard this statement, and looking at her he can tell that she wasn't joking around. To try and take her mind off of getting his personal space invaded in the near future, he changed the topic. "So...why did you bring me here? This isn't exactly in Ponyville" He asked. She grinned. "I know, but I was able to get some things worked out and thought I would bring you here first before showing you around town, because...I'm taking you to the Wonderbolts show!" She said, throwing her hooves in the air in excitement. THAT got a gasp from him. "Wait, the Wonderbolts? As in, THE Wonderbolts?" He asked. "Uh, YEAH!" she answered. "B-But how?! I mean, they are so expensive and almost always filled up. How in Equestria could you-" He started to say before being interrupted once again. "Duh, you're talkin' to one!" She replied with a smirk. Now Spark is normally a level headed pony. Shy, yes, nervous, of course, highly anxious, most certainly, but level headed. He has seen many different things, met many different creatures, and has been to many different places. However, the one thing that he never did get to see was a Wonderbolts show. It was a dream that almost all pegasi wanted to go to at least once, and the red pony was no exception. Of course, being the one that doesn't listen to the news or even pay much attention to media whenever he is in town, realizing that the one he was facing is in fact in that amazing group caused his mind to pause and do a double, then a triple take...before he just properly fell over and fainted. Rainbow Dash nudged the pony with a hoof. "Spark? Spark, wake up!" She tried to shake him awake, but he remained out cold. "Hoo boy...now what?" She asked herself. She had made plans for them to watch the show, and it wasn't like she could leave him here. Quickly making up her mind, she picked him up again and swiftly carried him to the show herself. Spark slowly regained consciousness. As he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was no longer laying on soft clouds, but on something cold and metal. "Wake up! C'mon, you're gonna miss out!" shouted Rainbow. Shaking his head, he looked around trying to find where he is. "R-Rainbow? What...what happened?" "Ya passed out, that's what happened!" she answered. "But that's not important now! Check it out!" She pointed out to a racetrack that was slightly below them, far off on a separate cloud. Spark took this time to look where he was and noticed he was was sitting on some bleachers, the seats facing a racetrack of some sorts. His eyes went wide as he realized just where he is now, and he started to panic, expecting to see many other ponies sitting around them. However, a quick look around showed that there isn't any other ponies in sight, just him and Dash. He turned to look at the speedster with confusion. "W-where...where are the other ponies?" "There aren't any others. I called in a favor and we're gonna put on a private show just for you!" she exclaimed, holding Spark by the shoulders. His mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. Instead he just stared at the mare in shock. He could feel his heart racing as he slowly started to realize just what Dash did for him. "W-what? but...but how? Why? I mean, I just...I-I..." "I just thought it would help you out with your fear and such?" she said. "Would make enjoying the show rather hard if you were panicking all the ponies. That's what friends do, we help out one another and make sure they enjoy awesome things in life! Especially when you're friends with me, cause then you get to see things like this!" She pointed out to the racetrack, where the other Wonderbolts were grouping together. Instead of pointing out that he has been doing fine all by himself, he looked to where she was pointing and gasped. He can see four of the Wonderbolts standing in the center, getting all prepped up and ready to go, and quickly he went into fan mode, forgetting who was next to him and just where he was in general. "Omygosh, I can't believe it! That's them! The real life Wonderbolts! There's the courageous leader Spitfire, who has been in charge of them for as long as I can remember and is such an amazing leader. Then there's Fleetfoot, she's so graceful, I remember even having a crush on her when I was little, and then Soarin, just so powerful! Each of his wing strokes look like they can cause a tornado! And then Blaze, such passion when she flies..." He said. He continued to go on and on about them, naming the amazing things they have done and all the skills and talents they have, but Rainbow, knowing all of this herself, only really was interested in the bit about his crush with Fleetfoot. Rainbow Dash put the tidbit of information away in the back of her mind for later. Perhaps she could use it somehow to make him feel even happier...if the mare in mention was willing. As for now, it was time to fly. "Just sit back, relax and enjoy!" she said with a smirk. She then flew off towards the group. He is a bit confused as to why Rainbow was flying over to them, but only for a moment. He quickly remembered that she was also part of the team, causing his excitement to grow even larger. He sat there on the bleachers, looking down at them with wide eyes as he tapped his hooves in joy. He felt so much joy now, like a foal in a gift shop told he could take any toy he wished. With Spitfire in the lead and Dash in the center, the Wonderbolts raced into the air. They went this way and that, performing incredible maneuvers such as loops, rolls, and strafing. They went through hoops, around walls and pillars, through clouds. It was a spectacular sight for Spark. It was then that they flew up extremely high. They flew so high that it started to get very difficult to even see them. He looked up at the flying ponies, trying to get some sort of visual on them, but sadly he couldn't get anything. Slowly he started to worry, hoping that they are ok and wondering if this was part of the routine. Soon, he could make out their faint figures as they sped down, with Rainbow Dash now in the lead. The air around her crackled with static as a cone formed around her. It wasn't long until, suddenly, a ring of rainbow colors burst outwards from her, the pegasus flying at extremely high speeds that other pegasi could normally only dream of. It was the legendary Sonic Rainboom! Eyes wide, mouth agape, Spark could only watch in awe as he saw the rainboom. He watched as they all circle around Dash as she just raced across the sky. While his eyes are locked on the rainbow mare, even after such a spectacle, he couldn't help but to glance at the lighter blue one every so often, watching as her white mane blew in the air. As his eyes fell upon Fleetfoot for the sixth time, she looked back and smirked with a wink. They exchanged glances for only went a moment before they all had to turn, ready to land back on the track. He froze as he saw the wink, his mind braking to a halt. Did she just...no, she couldn't have...did she? As he went over what just happened, it's then that he realized how he was nearly spilling out his love for the Wonderbolts that he must have said something about his young crush for Fleetfoot...and Dash heard him! He doesn't have much of a chance to recover as Rainbow high-winged her teammates and headed back to the bleachers to which she quickly noticed Spark's worried look. "Uh, you okay, dude?" He shook his head as he looked over at her, and after a few shaky breaths he was able to calm himself down and gave her a rather large smile. "That was amazing!" He said, rather giddy with excitement. "You were all like woosh! Then you dove down and made a huge BOOOM! Then you guys did those fancy turns and flips and Fleetf-" He started to say, going over the routine that they did, only to stop himself at the last part. His cheeks slowly turned red as he looked over at her, too nervous to say what he almost did say. However, she already knew just what he was thinking about and had a pretty good idea what she could do to make him even more happy. Dash wrapped a wing around Spark, pulling him close. She then pointed over to the group. "How'd you like to meet her and the rest of them? She's right there." His eyes went wide, mouth open as he looked behind her, he saw the sky blue mare talking to the others. With how nervous he was, he can only manage a small nod, his cheeks so red that they could be easily seen even through his red coat. "On one condition," she said, looking smug. His mouth closed quickly as his blush faded a bit. He looked at her curiously, giving her his full attention as to what this condition might be. Seeing how she has his attention, she smiled as she just said two words. "No hoodie." His eyes went even wider than he thought possible, his heart racing even faster then the Wonderbolts he just saw. He went over all the facts through his head, trying to find the pros and cons to going with what Dash had just said. On one hoof, his hoodie was his main mental defense, plus the main way he hides his unusual "gifts" from others. It kept him more relaxed and comfortable so he could go out and interact with others...sort of. On the other hoof, these are the WONDERBOLTS! One of his heroes was right there, and Rainbow was willing to bring him to them...and Fleetfoot, who he was starting to realize that he may not be fully over that little colt crush he had on her. Plus he could still hide his horns without the hoodie by using his long mane, it was just a bit more difficult to pull off, but he could do it. His mind racing, it took a good minute or two before with a sigh, one of the sides finally won. Looking at her, he lowered his head and took a deep breath before exhaling, then in a very soft voice, says one single word. "Ok." "Good choice, kid," said Dash. "Now, c'mon. Off with it. That thing goes against the one thing all pegasi love: Freedom!" As much as he hated to admit, she was right. He does love his freedom. The only issue that he has is that he is scared about having so much of it. That and the fact that it helps to hide his horns. Still, with another nod, he slowly reached up to his hoodie, getting a grip on it as he looks back at her, seeing how eager she is to see it off. He starts to slowly pull at it before stopping. He just realized another issue that may happen with the mare, seeing how into flying she is. "Um...p-p-promise not to...l-laugh?" He asked. "Why would I laugh? If you're hiding some freakish accident under there, that's only gonna make you look tougher," she replied. He wished that were the case, but seeing how she wasn't going to laugh, he nodded again and starts taking his hoodie off. Slowly he pulled it back, first getting it off of his back, and then with a bit more effort, off his head and on the ground, making sure his mane covered his horns before he fully took it off. With his clothes off, she would be able to see that his mane style was rather similar to her own, ruffled and unkempt, like he never bothered to comb it (again, mostly to keep his horns hidden.) As she looked him over, the thing that would really catch her eyes were his wings...and the complete wreck they were in. They were a mess, feathers bunched up, primaries with split ends, broken secondaries, the whole works. It was like he never cleaned or preened his wings in his life. Even as he gave them a ruffle, a few old feathers get jostled out, floating down and landing on the ground before them. Rainbow Dash stared at the hideous crime against nature, her heart having dropped at the sight of those mangled wings. "What the hay?!" She rushed over and brushed her hooves across them, trying to get them down and smooth them out. "Spark, this is unacceptable! These wings are your pride and joy! How in Equestria did they ever even get this messy!" "Rainbow!?" He cried out as she rushed to try and clean his wings for him. Quickly he took a few steps back as he tries to stop her, but the mare just kept at his side, never stopping her hooves. "Please, just...just let them be, they're fine. I just-" He tried to speak, only for her to interrupt him with a stern look. "Don't even try to stop me!" she said. "If Fleetfoot saw you like this, she'd be disgusted! Wing maintenance is chapter four in the Wonderbolts guidebook! Tarturus, it's the very first thing any pegasus learns when they grow up!" She couldn't seem to get it down. Seeing as she had no choice, she took a deep breath and steeled herself. "Brace yourself, I gotta use my mouth." "Wait, you gotta do wh-" He started to say again, only for the mare to already lean in and take a wing into her mouth, slowly preening his wings. His eyes went wide as his cheeks flared red, and he shuddered at the new sensation, even causing him to let out a pleased whimper. He had never had somepony touch his wings in such a way, let alone preen them, so now his mind started to get overwhelmed with sensations. Dash blushed with embarrassment at having to do this. No pegasus should have wings this unkempt. The fact that his were in such a shape brought up many questions for the rainbow mare to ask, most of which she had a feeling he wouldn't answer. She would use her tongue to wet down the feathers and keep them in place, each touch sending chills up Spark's spine as he bit his lower lip, doing his best to cover up his pleased sounds. "How long," she paused as she licked down more feathers, "have you been wearing this hoodie?!" He gave a small moan, trying to cover it up with a hoof this time as he felt that tongue of hers do its magic. Hearing her question, he tried to get an answer out with shaky breathes. "F-F-For...F-For a while. I...I-I got it...ah....got it at a store. It...It h-heaaAaalps...with...with my anxiety a-and d-dealing with...Mm...c-crowds..." Dash finished with one last lick to the base of Spark's wings and stepped back to see how much she got done. Sadly, with the time limit to meet the Wonderbolts in pony, she didn't have enough time to really clean them up. With how messy they were, it would be a challenge even for her to bring them to proper standards, but they would have to do for now. "Why would you even have a hoodie for earth ponies and not pegasi? Today I'm gonna get you one so that your wings can fit through. Tarturus I'm surprised you can even fly with such messy wings as those." Before he could stop himself, he found himself speaking up in the heat of the moment, "It was the cheapest one I could find, and it doesn't matter to me if my wings are exposed or not anyways, or too messy for me to fly..." Once said, he quickly looked down in shame, hoping that she wouldn't know what he means by saying that. However, Rainbow is quick to figure out just what that means, her eyes going wide as she looked at the red pony. "Wait... You're a full grown stallion who can't fly?!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him. "Please tell me you're joking! This just has to be some crazy joke, yes?" She nearly begged him. To be fully grown and not know how to fly...that was unheard of! He wished he could just smile and laugh it off, to just take off right then and there and get her to laugh at a rather funny joke. Sadly, all he could do was just stare at the ground as she shook him, his eyes slowly started to water a bit. Rainbow's mind was filled with so many questions, the main ones being why he couldn't fly and how his wings got so messed up in the first place. Before she can ask any of them, he raised a hoof to keep her silent. "P-Please, just...j-just not now." He said, looking up at her with a rather painful and pleading look. "Can we...can we j-just go and meet the others...please?" He asked. "I-I'll...talk about it later...p-p-promise. I just...j-just don't want to talk about it now...p-please..." Seeing how much shame he was in got her to shut up, a frown on her face as she stopped shaking him and nodded. Rainbow Dash had reached her conclusion: She may not know what was wrong with this pony, but she was going to help him and the look in her eyes said that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Spark..." She looked into his eyes. "After this, I'm going to help you, whether you like it or not. You'll thank me for this." Seeing her very determined look, the stallion just nodded his head, in no position to argue with her. She then grabbed him by the waist and flew him over to the track, gently putting him down before landing right beside him. He was a bit surprised with not only her dropping it at least for now, but with her helping him to the area where the rest of the Wonderbolts were. Looking at her, he gave a small smile and a light blush. "Dash, t-thanks for...well, for everything really. For not pushing me too much this time...and for taking me to see the Wonderbolts perform." He said. His eyes held a lot of hurt in them from past memories, but they also showed his care for the rainbow mare, letting her know that he really was thankful for what she has done for him. "Yeah, I know I'm awesome," she said with a smug look on her face. However, she kept the bragging to a minimum for now, knowing that the sooner he got to talking to his heroes, the better he would feel. "Now get over there. Fleetfoot's waitin'." Blushing once again, he nodded as he let her lead him to the waiting Bolts, feeling his newly preened wings twitch. Even if they weren't fully cleaned, for the first time in ages, he could feel the air through his clean feathers, feel just how everything in the current felt, even if he wasn't flying, something just felt different, more...new. As they reached the group of Wonderbolts, the leader, Spitfire, walked over to Spark, having replaced her goggles with her signature sunglasses. "Well, look what we got here. Dash was lucky we owed her. How are ya? Did you enjoy the show?" It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts with what just happened earlier, but he was soon a bit more of his normal self, giving a small smile and a quick nod. "I-I did, it was amazing Spitfire. I thought it was the BEST show that I ever went to! I mean it was the only show I ever went to, but still! You all went so high up, then did all those twists and turns and-" He stops himself as he realizes he was rambling, coughing into his hoof before giving a nervous laugh. "I...I really enjoyed it." He said in a softer voice. "Sounds like he loved it," said Fleetfoot as she approached. "Seems like you are a very big fan of us, huh?" As he saw the sky blue mare approach, his eyes went a bit wider as his cheeks heated up even more. He was very glad his coat is red at this point as he sputters out a few words. "V-V-Very...very b-big...very big f-fan of you really...I mean ALL of you, not just Flee-I mean you're amazing too I just...and then...." He slowly fell to silence, his heart racing a mile a minute as he tries to think of some way to cover up his blunder and failing at it. All of his was making him wish he had his hoodie back on, his hoof itched to tug the hood over his head to cover up his embarrassment. Fleetfoot wrapped a wing around Spark and pulled him close to her. "I like this kid. He's got enthusiasm!" she said. She reached her hoof onto his head and began ruffling up his hair. That was when she noticed the horns. While it did surprise her, the way his mane kept them hidden told her he doesn't want others to see them and after a second, she looked at him in the eyes and smiled before she covered up the horns so anypony else could see them. While normally any sort of interaction with his head and mane would cause him to instantly back away and double check himself, he was in too much of a mix of awe, shock, and slight infatuation to really notice her do it. He didn't even know what she was smiling about, just assuming it was because she actually enjoyed him for some reason or another. He only smiled shyly back as he blushed even more, heart beating even faster as he gave a small, happy laugh. "Hey," she said, "Come back anytime. I'd be happy to chat." He blinked. "R-Really?" He simply asked. "Of course!" She nodded with a smile. "Wouldn't want to let a big fan down, now would I?" He smiled even larger. "T-Thank you! That means so much to me!" He said, nearly dancing on his hooves as he smiles in glee, which caused the others to chuckle at the reaction. Thankfully he was too happy to notice, otherwise he would be a blushing mess again. "Want an autograph?" she asked, nodding to Dash to go grab some paper and ink, who quickly went to go grab those items. "Yes!" He shouts, only to cover his mouth from the sudden outburst. This time he noticed as his shyness took over once again. "I-I mean...if that's ok?" "Definitely!" she replied. Dash came back with a piece of paper and a small bucket of ink. Fleetfoot dipped her hoof into the ink and then stepped on the paper, leaving her mark. He slowly took the paper in his hooves, looking at it in awe. Gently, he waved it around to air it out and dry the ink faster, and once it was dried, he gently folded it and held it close to his chest. "T-Thanks Fleetfoot, I'll cherish it greatly." He told her, unable to hide his smile even if he wanted to. "Alright, ponies. Wrap it up," said Spitfire. "We've got a meeting to attend in fifteen minutes." Fleetfoot rolled her eyes. Not another meeting. She looked at Spark and leaned in, whispering, "Don't be so scared of those horns." His eyes went wide when she said this and he looked over at Fleet in shock. How did she...when did she... However, by the time he was able to collect his thoughts, they are already gone, leaving him alone with Dash. Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he just lets himself be thankful that she didn't point it out to the others as he lets Rainbow fly him back to the bleachers to collect his hoodie, to which he put it back on before letting her take him to the sky again. "S-So...now where to?" He asked. Dash, disappointed that he donned the hoodie, sighed. "Clothing store. I'm still getting you a new hoodie." Hearing this, he let out a small sigh and a nod as he lets her fly them to their new destination. Dash sat on the bench outside of the dressing room, waiting for Spark to come out. She was just on the edge of sleep when with the push of the curtain, Spark walked out, wearing a new hoodie. This one was very white, yellow lightning bolts down his side as his wings came out from clouds. Looking himself over, he gave a small twirl as he looked over at Dash. "So...how about this?" He asked, though his voice already showed his uncertainty for it. Dash stirred from her half slumber as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. When she looked at Spark, she grinned, liking what she saw. "Totally awesome! That is a keeper for sure!" She exclaimed. Despite what she said, the look on his face remained unconvinced, giving another twirl to try and change his mind, but instead he just sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure this one's for me though. It's just too bright." He sighed. She frowned as he said this. "Really? But it suits you so well! So not cool." She sighed, leaning back. Thinking it over some more, she brought a hoof to her chin. "I suppose we could see what you'd pick. Maybe you have better taste." He nodded as he turned and entered back into the changing room. After a few more minutes he came out with a different hoodie. This one was bright green with a yellow star in the center on his chest, along with some vines along the side. "I thought this one seemed...interesting." Dash stared at it for a solid few seconds before she just burst out laughing. Spark could feel his embarrassment slowly getting higher as she continued to laugh, but before he could go back and hide in the changing room, she quickly said, "If you wear that with your red coat, you'd look like some sort of Hearth's Warming decoration." He paused and gave himself a second look over. She was right, he did look like some sort of holiday decorations. With a relieved sigh, he gave a nervous chuckle. "Yea, I supposed I look very much like a Hearth's Warming tree." He said, the mare calming down as she just smiled at him. With her laughing fit over he walked back into the room, another few minutes went by before he stepped back out. This time, he came out with a dark black hoodie, one that seemed to fit him a bit too tight. "Mmm...I-I don't think this one is...w-working either..." He said as he tried to take it off, finding it way too uncomfortable to wear. The speedy mare gave him an incredulous look. "Did you even check the size tag before you put it on?" She asked. Seeing how he was having a difficult time taking it off, she walked over and helped to help pull it off as well, straining with her teeth. He grunted and, with a bit of effort, they finally get it off, causing him to land on his rump. "Not with that one. it was with the others so I assumed it was the same size as the rest." He said. Sighing, he looked down at his hooves. "I...I-I don't think this is working. None of them really fit for me, and even if they do, I just...I just prefer my old one so much more. I'm already used to it and all, so why change it?" He asked. Dash frowned as he mentioned this, giving a shake of her head. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "Wait, if you don't want to change into a new hoodie...then we change the old one!" she exclaimed, smiling at the idea. She wrapped her forelegs around Spark and flew out of the store, heading out of the city. "Hang on! We're gonna dash!" It still took some getting used to for him to be yanked all over the place, and he is quick to hold on tight to her forelegs as she flew him out of the city. He barely managed to grab his own hoodie before he is swept away. "Warn me before you do something like this!" He stated. Dash swooped downward, ignoring the protest as she just sped right along. It seemed that she was going much faster than before, like she was racing the sun itself. His eyes were wide as he feels the raw power from her wingbeats taking them closer and closer to the town. They were going so fast that he swore she was about to pull off another Sonic Rainboom, with him right in the center!. Thankfully, before that could even happen, they had already returned back to Ponyville, and the rainbow mare swooped down as she landed him back on the ground. "Alright!" she said as they landed. "Follow me! If anyone can fix that old thing, it's Rarity!" He nodded as he slowly followed her, quickly putting his hoodie back on as he walked behind her. As they walked, he noticed that there were a lot more ponies walking about, and a lot of them seemed to be focused on Dash, giving her a greeting or a wave or some sort of happy remark. In doing so, with how close he was to her, he started to feel the eyes of the other ponies soon on him, be it real or imagined. He shivered as he felt his heart race. He could feel himself closing up and slow down even more. Dash turned to look at him after a moment, and upon seeing him starting to freeze up, she knew that she had to do something to help him. She wasn't about to let him freeze up like at the first party, so she grabbed onto Spark and quickly sped off in a hurry, leaving a temporary trail of rainbow colors behind. It wasn't long before she had reached the boutique. She set him down with a grin, then looked at him. Narrowing her eyes, a question popped into her head as she asked, "Aren't you suffering from heat stroke or something under that thing? It's summer!" He took a few moments to catch his breath after such a quick grab, and hearing her question he shook his head. "N-Not really. I've gotten used to it. Plus I've had a few enchantments placed on it to keep me cool in hotter weather." He blinked as he realized that he didn't say anything about that during their shopping trip. "I...s-should have said that before I guess." "Would have been nice to know before, but oh well." She shook her head and opened up the front door, walking in with Spark clung to her side. He wasn't exactly sure how many ponies would be in the boutique at first, but when he saw there were none, he relaxed. "Hey, Rare!" called Dash. "Coming, Rainbow!" answered Rarity. She soon came into view out from behind a hangar collection of clothing. "Oh! Hello, Spark! Are you here to try out the newest craze?" "He just needs his hoodie fixed so he can fit his wings through. Isn't that right Spark?" said Dash. He nodded shyly as he looks at his hooves, too nervous to really say much of anything. The white mare smiled. "Of course darling, it's not a problem at all! Now, do you mind taking that off for me Spark?" She asked him. The red pegasus hesitated as he looked down at his hoodie, and after a small nudge from Rainbow, he slowly took it off, taking a deep breath before removing it completely. Once naked again, he held the clothing over to the seamstress. She smiled as she took the hoodie in her hooves. "Just wait here for a few minutes and I'll be right back. This is just a simple change, so it shouldn't be any longer than ten minutes, twelve tops!" She walked over to her work table and grabbed the scissors in her magic. Meanwhile, seeing how they have some time Dash gave a grin to Spark. "So, how'd you like Fleetfoot?" The memory of the Wonderbolt caused him to blush once again, looking away shyly as he smiled lightly. He can't help but remember the feel of her wings as she wrapped him in a small hug, even her smell was interesting to him. Despite her seeming to know about his horns cause of his lack of awareness, he can't help but feel giddy with the encounter. He said nothing as he just stood there shyly, but fortunately Rainbow didn't need to hear him speak as one look at his face said it all. She laughed a bit as she saw his look. "So, what's the deal with the hoodie? Why's it so important? Does it have anything to do with why you won't tell us anything?" He can feel the blush fade as he heard those questions, letting out a small sigh. Looking around, he found a couple of seats and walked over to sit down on one, with her following suit. He looked at her for a moment as he decides that he may as well tell her a bit about himself. After all, she did do all of this for him, so it was only fair. "I already told you, t-the hoodie is to help me with my anxiety, and I...I wasn't lying when I said I travel a lot, or why I came here in the first place. I prefer smaller places, and when I heard that this here was rather small and the ponies are kind, I thought to make it my next resupply stop. Normally I try camping away from others, cause I...I-I'm too nervous to be with them." He said. Dash stared at him with wide eyes of disbelief. "So... you just... stay away from ponies? Why would you do that? Why do it in the first place? HOW can you do that in the first place?! Who in their right mind would-" She started to say. "I'm not the most social of ponies, in case you haven't realized it." He reminded her. "Even so, no pony ever...no CREATURE would ever want to be alone in such a state!" She stated. "There is just no reason to live by yourself like that. Even Cranky has some friends around here, and he isn't that sociable either!" Sadly, Spark just stayed silent, his gaze staying away from her as Dash slowly calmed down. Seeing the look of distress, she frowned and began to reach over with a wing. As she is about to gently pat his back, her eyes landed on his flank as a possible idea comes to mind. "Are you it's not because of that?" She asked, pointing to his cutieless rear. He looked at it as well, but otherwise remained silent. He wasn't really sure about his blank flank, never really putting much thought into it. He had much bigger issues at the time. "I...I'm not sure. It just...never was a problem with me before" He admitted, making Dash is even more curious than ever. What could be a bigger problem than having no cutie mark, even as an adult? Before she could ask anymore questions, Rarity came back from the table with his improved hoodie. "Here you are, darling! Tailored to your frame and size! I noticed it was a little stretched out, so I made a few adjustments to make it feel much better. Now it'll fit perfectly!" He blinked as he heard this, and looking it over, he couldn't help but notice that she was right. It did look a lot better, and seemed to be as if he just bought it all those years ago. Picking it up, he gave it a few quick look overs before putting it on. His wings popped through the new holes, and he gave them a small flap as he looks himself over though that did cause a few loose feathers to fly out. Seeing the feathers and the rather messy state his wings were in caused the unicorn's eyes to go wide with shock. She was about to ask Spark about them when a glance from the rainbow mare caused her to stop. Rainbow just shook her head and made a zipping motion with her hoof, indicating that now wasn't a good time to talk about it. She closed her mouth and nodded in understanding as the stallion finished looking over his improved hoodie. "Thank you so much Rarity, how much do I owe you?" He asked with a rather large smile. "Oh, darling, there's no charge at all," she said. "Think of it as a welcome gift!" His eyes went wide as he looked at the mare, surprised with the generous gift. "R-Really? I mean...I can pay for it, it won't be-" He started to say, only to be interrupted by her. "Darling, I insist!" she said. "I won't let a crime against fashion like you had earlier plague you! The fact that you couldn't even let those magnificent wings be free when you wore those, it just makes me feel like I did something right." She said, a twinkle in her eyes. Spark, hearing about his "magnificent" wings, just blushed as he looked away. He knew that his wings were still a mess, even after the quick preening that Rainbow did for him, but it still made him feel happy regardless. "T-Thanks, that means a lot." He said. "Think nothing of it dear!" She replied. With a smile, he started to head on out with Dash when the door opened and in walked a certain yellow mare. Fluttershy smiled when she saw Spark. "Oh! Hello, Spark! Hi, Dash. How are you, Rarity?" He smiled shyly and waved at the mare. "H-Hey Fluttershy, what brings you here?" He asked. For whatever reason he can't help but to feel more at ease whenever the kind mare is around him. "I was just here ask Rarity for the tiny sweaters I ordered," she said with an innocent smile. Tiny... sweaters? Head tilted to the side, he looked at her with a confused look. "Um...what?" Realizing his confusion, Fluttershy giggled to herself. "For some naked mole rats I've been nursing back to health. They can get rather cold." "Ohhh ok." He said, nodding in understanding. It was at this point that his stomach rumbled, causing him to blush as he hid himself under his hood a bit, dirty wings ruffling a little. "Oh! You must be hungry!" deduced Fluttershy. "Would you like to come over to my place for tea? We never did have our meeting." His eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. Looking up, he quickly apologized to her. "S-Sorry Fluttershy, I-I was busy getting settled in, a-and then there was the whole party, and it just...s-slipped." She just smiled at him and shook her head. "No, I completely understand. I forget things, too. Besides, the party was just that same day, and we didn't really have time to reschedule. I know, why don't we all go now?" she suggested. Rarity, overhearing her, walked over. "Well, I HAVE met my quota today. Why not? I'll close the boutique for today." They all looked at Dash, who looked back in confusion. "What?" "Do you want to come?" asked Fluttershy. "For... tea?" Dash rolled her eyes. "I mean, I guess I could." Seeing how it was going to be a small gathering, Spark gave a nervous smile as he looked at the others. He had to remind himself that this isn't so bad, since he will be with others that he knows, and one of them is basically kindness incarnate itself. Fluttershy set out the teacups and lifted her teapot over them, pouring in the hot tea. "Be careful," she said. "Don't let it burn your tongue." Spark nodded as he carefully picked his tea up, taking a small sip from it before letting out a small sigh, the taste resting on his tongue. "Mmmm..." He hummed, feeling content with the drink. Rainbow Dash looked at the odd water in her cup, reluctant to drink it. "So uh... you wouldn't happen to have any hot chocolate, would you?" She asked hopefully. "I'm sorry, Dash. I'm fresh out," she replied before sipping her own tea. The cyan mare groaned as she looked back at her tea again before taking a slow sip, drinking it anyways. She quickly gave a slightly disgusted look as she placed the cup on the table, just staring at it carefully. "So, Fluttershy, how was your week?" asked Rarity. She took a sip of her drink with a smile, clearly enjoying the tea much more than her speedy friend. "Oh! My week was wonderful, thank you," answered Fluttershy. "I ran into a few squirrels who were very polite yesterday. I helped them gather some nuts and even clean their den out." "Well they just sound very much adorable! And what about you, Dash? How was your week?" asked Rarity. "Huh?" Dash looked up from staring at her cup. "Oh! Yeah! Just took Spark here to see the Wonderbolts!" she bragged. "He was so excited, too!" "Oh? Did you enjoy it, Spark?" asked Rarity. He smiled as he recalls what happened only a few hours ago. "It was amazing! I've never been there before and seeing them for the first time...it was a dream come true." He said, smiling. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time," Rarity replied, smiling. "You must've been so excited." He nodded. "I did, and Dash even got me to meet them as well! Even met Fle-" He started to say before he fell silent, looking down at his cup of tea for the moment in shyness. "You ok, Spark?" asked Fluttershy. He gave a nod of his head as he tried to speak again. "I-I met...um..." He tried to say, only to again fall silent, still unwilling to really say anything due to how embarrassed he is about how he acted in front of her, so Rainbow had to be the one to speak up. "I introduced him to Fleetfoot. He's a pretty big fan of hers." "Oh! I remember meeting Fleetfoot," mentioned Fluttershy. "She was very nice." He nodded, his cheeks heating up a bit more, his wings ruffled a bit which caused a few feathers to drop onto the couch. This got the shy mare's attention as she looked at his wings in surprise. "I didn't know you had wings Spark, but...um, why are they such a mess?" She asked. The heat from his shyness faded away as he avoided eye contact, just looking at the cup in his hooves. He still felt too ashamed to look at the kind mare, or at anypony in general. This caused Fluttershy to look at him in worry, placing her cup down as she walked up to him. "Spark?" She asked again, and even now Rarity was looking on with curiosity. With the wings the main attention of the group now, the stallion could feel all their eyes on him, slowly making him close up as he tried to move deeper into the cushions. Even with how uncomfortable this was for him, Rainbow knew they had to talk about it sooner or later, so why not now and with friends willing to help him. She sighed, putting down her tea. "Spark's wings were a mess. Heck, they were even worse than this before. The only reason I saw them is because I told him he had to take his hoodie off if he wanted to meet the Wonderbolts." "Don't you think that was a bit forced though?" Rarity asked. Dash shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? Anyways, I tried to pr-um...fix them up when I saw how bad of a state they were in, but not even I could fix them up completely" She finished, blushing a bit at how Spark twitched during his first preening. The other two mares in the room looked at her in shock, Fluttershy with a slight red tinge to her cheeks, knowing that preening can be sensitive to other pegasi. "What? But how is that possible?" The kind pegasus asked. She looked at her with a shrug. "I don't know, he didn't tell me. But he...um..." This time she paused, unsure how to say what she wanted next. She still found it hard to believe herself. Fluttershy was very much worried as she waited for Dash to finish. "He can't what?" She asked. The rainbow mare is about to finish when to all of their surprise, Spark beat her to it. "I can't...I can't fly..." He said softly. They all looked at him in shock, eyes wide and even Rarity's mouth open wide for a few moments before she closed it. Fluttershy just remained silent as she took in that information before she finally found her voice. "But...but even I can fly," she said. "How is it you don't know how?" "Darling, what could possibly keep you from reaching your full potential?" asked Rarity. He just remained silent as he looked at his cup of tea, trying to think up of something, anything, to say to them. Sadly nothing came to mind, and the longer he tried, the worse he felt. His hooves started to shake and his eyes got a bit moist as he kept his head down, not willing to look at the others. Dash walked over and wrapped a wing around Spark. "Hey... it's okay. We're here for you. It's what friends do." He shivered at her touch and was about to back away when he felt another wing softly wrap around him on the other side. Looking next to him, he saw Fluttershy, who was sitting next to him smiled kindly back. Her smile just melted his heart, slowly easing the pain, and while it still hurt to recall, he knew at that point that he had nothing to fear from them. Taking a shaky breath, he took one more sip of his tea before placing it down, his eyes closed. It took another few minutes before he was able to find the words to speak. "I...I wasn't taught how to fly by my parents, or by anypony really." "Why didn't anypony teach you?" asked Fluttershy, frowning. Again he hesitated, but the feeling of their wings around him soothed him enough to continue. "Cause the caretakers were too busy to deal with a single foal when they had dozens of others to take care of." He said softly. When he mentioned caretakers, the mares in the room became silent, their eyes wide as they realized just what he meant by that. They looked at each other for a few moments as they collected their thoughs before looking back at him. Rarity put her tea down and looked at Spark. "Spark?" she asked. "Were you...?" He doesn't even bother to speak, just giving a small nod, his eyes starting to leak small tears. "But... an orphanage? That's for foals who...who..." Dash tried to put two and two together, to understand what he was saying, but all she felt was a deep-seated anger. "Did your parents just... leave you?!" The two other mares were equally upset, but they didn't raise their voices, not wanting to make him even more sad. The fact that he was an orphan more than surprised them, but the fact that he was left to his own devices as a young foal, when he was in the most need for help...that is just unheard of. The red pony shrugged at this, nearly flinching from the anger coming from her. "I-I don't...k-k-know. I was found at the...d-doorsteps of the place in a bundle of...o-of blankets with only a letter for my name. M-Maybe they did l-l-leave me...m-maybe they...t-they were too...a-ashamed..." He can feel his words slowly getting a bit harder as he sniffled, the tears slowly increasing. This made the girls rather confused. "Ashamed? Who'd be ashamed of their foal?" queried Fluttershy. "And for what reason?" asked Rarity. My damn horns. He thinks to himself. Of course he isn't going to say that to them, not now. He knew that if he made any mention of his horns that they would shun him just like everypony else. Instead he shrugged, his body shaking even more. Fluttershy took Spark into a big hug, her forelegs wrapped around him. "You poor thing..." He shuddered as he was taken into the hug, his forelegs automatically wrapping around her as he hugged her back, his muzzle nuzzling into her neck. His tears slowly started to stream down from his cheeks, staining her fur. Fluttershy could feel the wet droplets against her coat. She could only imagine the pain he'd been put through. "We're here for you, Spark." She whispered in a soft and caring voice as she gently rubbed her back. He nodded as he kept on lightly crying against her, his wings fluttering behind him a bit, letting a loose feather fall out. Dash backed away a bit to give him some space letting the animal loving pegasus to take over with comforting him. As she looked at his wings, she shuddered, remembering the mess they were before they came back from Cloudsdale. As she looked, she connected two and two together and spoke. "That's why you don't even bother to preen them, cause you never knew how to in the first place." She said. He nodded. "But...why not bother trying? Even a poor attempt is still better than letting them break down right on your back." He sniffled a bit more before he turned slightly to look at her with one eye open, giving her a glance before looking away. "I-I didn't s-s-see a point in taking care of them...w-when I...I c-couldn't use them anyways. W-Why...why bother, why even...w-why should I even tried." He explained, his grip on the yellow mare getting a bit tighter.. "That's still no excuse!" shouted Rainbow, eyes narrowed. "These wings are what make you special! Don't go hiding them!" "Dash, calm down," said Fluttershy. She shook her head. "Sorry Flutters, but he needs to know that this is no way to live. Just on his own with nopony to help him. Not knowing even the most basic of things to do as a normal pony." Upon hearing the word normal, he shuddered, but Dash continued without noticing. "Somepony needs to help him." The words slowly sank into him, and as soon as she fell silent he almost growled as he snapped, head raising up from its rest against Fluttershy as he glared at her with a surprising amount of anger. The sadness was gone from his eyes, only to be replaced with anger. "What's the point! Nopony cares enough to take the time out of their day to bother helping me! They all think they have more important things in their lives! It's always about them and they never take a second glance at the misfit like me!" He shouted, the sudden change in emotions causing all of them to gasp, though Rainbow was the first to recover as she glared right back. "It still isn't right!" She shouted back, causing him to flinch. "Being left alone and having nopony...no, noCREATURE to help you! It's wrong! You need somepony to help you!" She shouted back. The power behind her words made Spark huddle closer to Fluttershy, the mare gently holding him to her. He sniffled as the tears started to form, but he remained staring at her, both in pain and anger. "Then who!? Who would even bother to help somepony like me." "I am." Those words caused him to fall silent, his eyes wide with shock as he just stared. She took this moment to continue. "Because not only are we friends, but I don't let my friends down! Not only am I gonna to help you with living here, but I'm gonna teach you how to fly as well!" He was quiet as he just looked on in shock, his anger now gone, only holding confusion. "W-What? But...but how? I...I'm nothing. I can't even help myself." He said, his self doubt once again crawling through. However, Rainbow just smirked, not giving that emotion a chance. "Don't you remember who you're talking to?" She turned and grabbed his cheeks, squishing his face a bit as he got him to face her. "You're talking to Rainbow Dash, the Wonderbolt!" He is stunned a bit from her squishing his face, and he quickly breaks away from her hooves as he slightly glares at her. "But I'm useless. I can't-" "Hey! You think I'm gonna back down just because you're having a little trouble?! Cause you have no faith in yourself? No way! This is my mission now!" she exclaimed. "And when you've learned how, as a reward, I'll take you flying with the Wonderbolts!" He sniffles a few more times, slowly thinking over her offer. He still doubted himself and his ability to actually learn to fly, but the way Rainbow spoke, the passion in her words, it did make him think...perhaps there's a chance after all. He slowly looked up at her and right into her eyes, both of them holding each other's gaze. "P-Promise?" He asked, wanting to really make sure that she was telling the truth. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" she replied, making odd motions. While the motions were odd, he did remember Pinkie doing them as well, and she kept her promise by keeping the party small. He looked around at the other two mares, seeing only comforting smiles from them. Finally, after taking a few deep breaths, he let out a small sigh and nodded. "Ok...I trust you Rainbow." She grinned. "Alright! By the end of the month, I'll have you high in the sky!" she bragged as she slapped his back enthusiastically. He nearly stumbled from the pat, but he couldn't help but chuckle a bit, the last of his tears drying up as he smiled lightly. Her positivity is infectious, his own self doubt melting away and being replaced with hope. "T-Thanks Rainbow Dash, I...I can't wait!" He said, his wings fluttering again...and a few more feathers falling out. He looked at them and blushed a bit. "P-Perhaps I should find a place to help me p-preen...and maybe find somepony to teach me..." Dash blushed. She didn't really think that far. She rubbed the back of her head as only one option came to mind. "I um... l-look, I..." she cleared her throat. "I'll teach you and help you out for the first few times," she said quickly. Fluttershy blushed, but Rarity couldn't understand the embarrassment. He blushed even harder then the shy mare as he heard this. "Y-You...you s-s-sure?" He asked shyly. Dash turned her head away as she sweated. "Y-Yeah... no biggie, right?" He nodded, his face still as red as ever, while Rarity finally spoke up, confusion in her voice. "Not to be rude, but...what's the big deal of teaching him to preen? Isn't it you just teaching him how to take care of his wings and keep them clean?" She asked. "Oh, Rarity!" Fluttershy blushed an even deeper shade of red. Dash blushed as well, but she was able to face the white mare. "Wings are pretty sensitive," Dash explained. "They're like... the feel good sensitive. Touch 'em in the right place and... you get the picture." Rarity had a reddish tint on her face as she realized just what she meant. "O-Oh...oh my..." She said softly, covering her mouth with a hoof. Dash just rolled her eyes and sighed. Of course this just makes Spark get even redder as he slowly leans into Fluttershy to try and hide from the rest of them, clearly shy about even thinking about such a thing. Fluttershy, knowing just what he was going to go through, could only do one thing, and that was to just pat his head with a wing.
Tales of an Outsider
Making Magic Happen
The date was set. At the beginning of the week, Dash would be teaching Spark all she knew about flying. The only thing to do now was wait. In the meantime, as the next day came by, Spark was walking down the street to the castle, having been told by Ditzy that today was his day off, he was able to get right to Twilight to hang with her today like he promised her. He wondered if the others told her about what he said as he reached the front door. There was enough time left yesterday, so they most certainly could have told her on that day. In any case, he took a few deep breaths, and with a tug on his hood and a ruffle of his still messy wings, he raised a hoof and knocked on the crystal door. The door opened, revealing the princess of friendship herself. She walked out, greeting Spark with a smile. "Hello there." She greeted him happily. He smiled a bit nervously as he waved back. "H-Hey Twilight." he said. As she looked him over, he would notice a few changes on him, the most obvious one is his hoodie being redone and made to look like new, as well as the wings that now were out and in the open air, if a bit messy still. Twilight tilted her head when she saw his wings. "I didn't know you were a pegasus," she said in a curious tone. He couldn't help but to give a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, n-no?" He said. "I-I guess I didn't really make it known, I just kept them under my hoodie cause...um..." He fell silent as he looked away in slight shame. While he did get the weight off of his chest, he still felt ashamed for talking about it. Twilight, however, knew what he was talking about. "It's okay. Very understandable," she said. "Are you ready to go?" He blinked as he looked up at her, but quickly calmed down as he guessed, "They told you, I'm guessing?" "Hm? No. Simple observation," she said. "It's easy for me to figure these things out. Besides, your wings look like they haven't seen a day of preening in their life...no offense." She added, not wanting to insult him. He sighed and traced his hoof on the ground as he heard this, but Twilight quickly moved to comfort him. "Hey, not everypony knows how to preen their wings so easily. I remember when I first got my wings, I had no idea how to take care of them. It took me a few days of studying, and with Dash's help I was able to figure it all out." He blinked upon hearing Dash helping her, and rather quickly the image of them preening each other rose into his head, his cheeks lightling up. Thankfully he was able to shake the naughty thought from his mind as he looked at the princess. "S-So, um...s-shall we go?" He asked, hoping she didn't notice. Thankfully, it seemed he was fine, and she just kept on smiling and gave a nod. "Of course, follow me!" She said, closing the door behind her as she took the lead. As they walk, he glanced over at her. "S-So...what do you have planned for us?" He asked. He does remember that she mentioned a possible trip to a museum, but he just wanted to make sure. "I had a trip to the Ponyville museum planned!" she exclaimed, looking rather excited. Seeing that hadn't changed, he smiled lightly and nodded. "Oh, that sounds like it would be fun and relaxing." He said. He is actually interested in the history of different places, always loved to learn new things whenever possible. As they reached the building, Twilight let out a squee of excitement. "Ooh~. This is only my eighty-third time here! I'm so excited!" He raised an eyebrow at this. "Eighty...third?" He asked slowly. "Uh huh!" she answered, grinning. "Not as many visits as I'd like." He can feel a sweat drop as he followed the Alicorn to the building, looking it over curiously. It certainly seemed rather large, and that thought caused him to shiver as he realized the potential for crowds. "Um, it w-won't be too...c-crowded, yes?" He asked. "No it should be fine, it's kind of empty despite its size to be honest." She answered. She than let out a sigh as she kicked the ground lightly. "Nopony ever really goes here except me," she added, frowning. He felt himself relax a bit as he heard this, but then he frowned as well when he saw the sad look she had. Taking a few steps closer, he slowly reached a wing out and, carefully, as he rarely has done this if ever, places his wing on her back. "Well...I'm happy you're bringing me here." He tells her, giving a small smile. She blinked in surprise as she looked at him. "Really?" He nodded. "Yea, I do like learning new things, be it about a town I'm visiting or anything regarding the locals. And even though the place is rarely used, it just means we get to spend more time looking around, yes?" He said. She rubbed her chin in thought. She didn't really think of it like that. Sure she enjoyed sharing this with others, but the silence to just think over the exhibits is rather nice as well whenever she went here on her own. She smiled back at him and nodded. "Thank you, Spark." She said, extending her own wing and wrapping it with his own, their feathers tangling up a bit. He can't help but to blush at the smile she gave him, and just nodded in response. "J-Just speaking the t-truth." He said. Soon they entered the building, and once inside, He could see Twilight quickly grinning happily. Twilight pointed to a display case containing an old barrel. "There's the pride and joy of the museum! That barrel's existed since Ponyville was founded!" He tilted his head as he looked the barrel over. While nothing that would really excite him, it did seem rather interesting. The fact that barrel existed during the very first days of Ponyville meant it was really old, yet it looked like it hadn't aged a day. Clearly some magic was involved and that got his curiosity. Glancing at her, he asked, "Wow...um, h-how did they keep the wood from rotting?" "Magic, of course!" she said. "It's a spell that stops inanimate objects from rotting." "I mean, I know it's a spell, but what kind of spell? Is it a protection spell, or some form of enchantment? Oh, or maybe even an anti aging spell?" He asks. Clearly his knowledge of magic is a bit above average for the normal pegasus, something that caught the Alicorn off guard. "Wow, you know about protection spells and...wait, there's an enchantment spell that prevents aging?" This caused her to do a double take as she looked at him with even more curiosity. He nodded. "There is, though from what I heard it's rather complex and almost impractical. It was used during the older times when there weren't many other options in the field." He explained. She couldn't help but to look at him in awe. "That's amazing!" She stated excitedly. However, she quickly calmed herself as another question popped up. "But...but how do you know so much about magic? You're a pegasus, not a unicorn...no offense." He nodded. "None taken. I know that I can't really use magic, but I always found it so amazing with what it can do, the unique limitations it has despite being so powerful, and everything about it." He explained as they walked away from the barrel. it's at this point he notices his wing is still on her back, but as he tried to pull back, her own wing locked with his, their feathers getting stuck against each other, causing his eyes to go wide with slight confusion as he looked at her. "I'm so glad I've found somepony who's just as interested in magic as I am!" she exclaimed, not knowing the current predicament with their wings, which just made his cheeks red. He gave his wing a slight pull to try and free it, but it still does nothing. Realizing she was holding onto him a bit tighter, he gently nudged her. "Um...T-Twilight...our wings?" He said softly, blushing even more now. It took Twilight a few moments to realize what he meant, but when she found out, she blushed as she realized their wings were entangled. After a few moments she was able to help get them untangled. He gave a few flaps of his wing as he pulled it back against himself. "Um, s-sorry about that." He said. "S-Still not quite used to my wings being free like this, and the new...um, s-sensations with it." He explained. When his wing was on her back, it actually felt rather nice, though it was the first time he ever used his wing like that. Twilight just gave a nod as she cleared her face from the embarrassment. "It's okay! I understand," she said. "I had a few issues when I first got my wings, so it's...not really anything new." He tilted his head in confusion. "Really?" She nodded. "Oh yes! When I first got my wings, as a pony who never had them in the first place, let's just say it was very hard to keep them against me. They always wanted to be spread out and open. Made sleeping almost impossible!" She said, laughing at the memory. The thought of trying to sleep with stiff wings that just wouldn't go down made him laugh as well. "That doesn't seem pleasant at all." He agreed. "No it wasn't. Thankfully after a while I was able to get them under control." She said. They both laughed it off for a few moments before smiling at each other, the tension lifted from them. After a few moments of silence Spark broke the silence first. "Anyways...a-about the magic. Maybe you could...you know...show me some stuff afterwards?" He asks. "E-Everypony tells me how great you are with magic, and I was hoping...you know..." He doesn't even need to finish as she heard this, an even bigger smile on her face "Sure!" she answered. "I'd be happy to!" He blinked and looked at her. "R-Really?" "Of course! There isn't that many chances when I get to teach a new pony about the wonders of magic, even if they can't use spells. Magic is something that should be shared with all ponies, big and small." She said. The response caused his heart to flutter as he smiled, and he had a huge urge to just huge her tight, but he held himself back, mostly because he had no idea what that may cause if he did hug her. "Ok...yes, great!" he said with a smile. "Um...shall we continue?" She gave a nod and continue their trip, showing him everything of interest in the museum, which to her was everything. Spark learned about the founding of Ponyville, its culture, and its main trade, which was surprisingly all apples. "And over there," Twilight continued, "is the picture of the Apple family when they had first arrived in this land." He looked over at the picture, his eyes wandering over all of the ponies. "They seem...happy..." He said softly. The sudden change in his demeanor didn't go unnoticed by her as she gave him a worried look, Spark's eyes locked onto the family picture. While she knew she shouldn't intrude on his personal affairs, Twilight couldn't help but speak up. "Did... something happen to them?" He blinked as he looked over at her with some confusion. "W-What? With who?" She hesitated before saying, "Your family." He hesitates for a few moments before looking back at the picture, letting out a small sigh. "I...I don't know." He replies before glancing back at her. "Did the others...t-tell you about...about what I said...yesterday?" He asks. She just nodded her head as he looked back at the picture, and she could see his eyes start to water. Carefully she moved a bit closer to him, putting a hoof on his back. When he looked at her, she just smiled and gave him a gentle pat. "I...I'll understand if you don't wish to talk about it." He gave her a weak smile at this as he hesitantly shuffled himself a bit closer to her as well. "I...I guess I should tell you the same thing then....that I told the others." He said. He remained silent for a bit longer before with a deep breath to keep himself calm, he told her the same thing that he told the others, about being an orphan and having no pony to teach him how to fly. She remained silent the entire time as she looked at him. She could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke about what happened, and it just made her feel sad as she listened. She wish she knew that there wasn't anypony out there who would do something so terrible as to just ignore a foal, but sadly she knew a few ponies who would do anything for their own gain. Once he finished, Twilight wasn't able to stop herself in pulling him into a hug, even nuzzling his cheek. "I'm so sorry Spark." She simply said, holding him close. He just remained frozen there once again, surprised with such kindness that these mares were showing him, but he just gently wrapped his hoof around her and held her back. They remained like that for a few minutes, just holding each other in front of that picture, and soon he gently pulled back, wiping the few tears that had left his eyes. Looking at him, the princess smiled comfortingly, and he soon smiled back, just happy to have somepony to share this with, even if it wasn't everything he was willing to share, it was a small part of his life that had a big impact. "Twilight, I...I'm sorry for-" He tried to apologize, but she just quickly shook her head and covered his mouth with a hoof. "There is no need to be sorry Spark. We all need somepony to talk to, and me as well as the others will be here to listen to your words." She explained. He couldn't help but to blush as he nodded, glad to hear those kind words. "Now, let's finish this place and go to the gift shop. I want to get you something to remember this trip, ok?" He gave another nod and they continued through the last few exhibits, where they witnessed a reenactment of the founding of Ponyville and saw the original town sign. After it was all finished, they went over to the gift shop, where there were actually some pretty neat knick knacks. "The snow globes are always a tourist favorite," she said as she levitated one off the shelf. He looked over the globe with interest. "It does look rather nice..." He admitted. Within the snow globe was a replica of the first few buildings ever constructed in Ponyville. "I wish I could go back and see it when they first arrived! How the place must have looked back then" she said, peering into the glass orb. He nodded, leaning in to better look at the globe. He was very tempted to buy it, but he wasn't sure if he could keep it. When he leaves it will be in a bag for most of the time, and he didn't wish to break it either. After a few minutes of silence, he shook his head as he made up his mind. "Y-You know what, I think I will buy one." He said, giving her a small smile. "Great!" She took the globe in her magic and floated it over to the counter. "Just this one, please." The stallion, seeing the same mare for the four hundredth time, sighed and placed it into a bag before handing it back to her. "Fifteen bits," he said. Twilight looked at the stallion in confusion. "What? Last time it was only ten bits!" "Materials are scarce nowadays," he said boredly. "Gotta charge more to cover the cost." She peered at him with suspicion as she hovered fifteen bits over and onto the counter. Realizing just what she was trying to do, he tried to stop her. "Y-You didn't have to pay for it, Twilight." He said softly, feeling a bit embarrassed with the fact of somepony paying for him. Twilight looked surprised. "What? No, it's okay! Nopony should leave the museum without a memory of this place. And I did say I was going to buy one for you." Before he could continue, she paid for the globe and placed it in the bag before taking the bag and holding it out for the red pegasus. He gave a small smile and nodded his thanks as he took the globe and pocketed it into his hoodie. "T-Thanks Twilight." He said. She just smiled at him, giving one last glare at the cashier as they left the shop, heading back outside. He followed her out as they head back to the castle, his hoodie a bit heavier with the new gift. "So Twilight, I have to ask, how did you become an Alicorn?" He asked. Realizing that he may have offended her, he blushed as he added, "N-Not that it's a bad thing or anything, o-or that you d-don't look good as one, I mean y-you're very a-a-attractive, n-not in a romantic way I mean not that isn't possible I would find you romantically attractive I'm just not sure if I do I just mean I'm not trying to hit on you or anything I just-" He kept on rambling as he tried to recover his blunder, only digging the hole deeper and deeper. Thankfully, she was kind enough to recover for him, even if she blushed a bit at how much he was saying how attractive he is. "Well," she said, cutting him off before he could accidentally summon the demons of Tartarus with his stammering words, "It wasn't really a choice for me. It's not that I mind, though. It was just a test I had to pass. Thankfully, I did. If I hadn't, my friends would've all led miserable lives." Now he was curious as his talking stopped and he looked at her with his head tilted slightly. "Wait, what? How? And what test?" "Well my friends all had their cutie marks swapped, and they were doing things that the others would have done, making them very miserable like I said. And as for the spell, it's nothing special. Just had to complete one of Starswirl's spells," she said, as if it were a simple chore like taking out the trash. He blinked. "Wait, Starswirl's spell? As in THE Starswirl?" She nodded. "Took me a while, but I did it!" "Wow..." He looked in awe at the Alicorn with new found respect, before he realized he was staring and turned to look away, blushing a bit. "W-Wish I was as smart as you. Whenever I got a chance to even glance at one of his spells, it always seemed to go over my head." He said, frowning. "I'm sure you'll understand it some day," she assured. "Trust me, you'll figure it out. But I'd like to ask... why study magic when you..." "When I can't use it?" He asked. Twilight felt like she'd just stepped on a magical landmine. She slowly nodded before she added, "You never really told me how you got into it, and most ponies that get into magic are only unicorns, rarely are they any other kind of pony, due to unicorns being the only pony to use magic...besides Alicorns." She paused as she looked at him for a few moments, and when he still said nothing, she continued. "I mean, not that it's a bad thing, personally I'm glad to see somepony besides a unicorn take such an interest in magic and wanting to learn all about it, and the fact that you want to learn it all even if you can't use it just makes it more interesting, and I just-" She kept going on and on, seeming to be going on a tangent just like Spark had with her becoming an Alicorn. Seeing her react in such a similar way, he gave her a comforting smile. "I-It's ok, I don't mind you asking that question...for once." he said. "Honestly I'm not sure myself. I first saw magic being performed by a stage magician all those years ago. I'm not sure what her name was, but she had a beautiful azure coat and shining silver mane and tail. When I saw it done, I was hooked on it. Even if what she did wasn't always real magic, it got me into it, both stage and real magic, and I just wanted to learn as much as possible." He sighed as he recalled the pleasant memory. "Just wish I could remember her name so I could thank her for getting me into magic..." The description of said magician didn't go unnoticed by the mare, causing Twilight to chuckle nervously. "I think I know who you're talking about." His eyes went wide. "Really?" He asked. "Um... not only that, we've got kind of a history together," she said, nodding. How Trixie could've inspired somepony stumped her, but it did gladden her heart to know that she inspired somepony in such a way. "Oh?" He gave her a curious look. "I would very much like to-" He started to say, only to realize they were back at the castle. "Oh, we're here." He looked up at the sky and realize that the sune was starting to set. "A-And it's starting to get late..." He frowned, a small sigh escaping his lips. "I-I guess I should be going now..." He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Um...t-thanks for the trip, a-and...and the gift." Twilight just smiled and nodded before she looked at the sky, seeing the first star twinkling into view. "Look up there!" He quickly looked up at what Twilight was pointing at, and gasped when he saw the sparkling star. "Oh wow...it looks rather pretty." "You know, some ponies say that if you wish on the first star to appear at night, your wish will come true!" Spark can't help but raise an eyebrow. "I thought that was only with shooting stars?" He asked. "Nope. You can make wishes in many different ways. This is just one of them." she explained. "Oh..." He looked back up at the star before looking at the Alicorn. "Um...h-how do you do it?" "You just focus on the star with all your will and think to yourself what you want to wish for!" She explained simply. Nodding, he looked back up at that star as he slowly closed his eyes. Focusing all that he can on the star, he slowly thought his wish before whispering it to himself. After a minute of softly speaking, he opened his eyes, a small but bright smile on his face. The star seemed to twinkle even brighter from then on. Twilight looked at Spark, noticing his naivety. She couldn't let him go just yet. "Hey, Spark?" He blinked as he looked at her curiously. "Yea?" "You don't have to go just yet. I did promise I'd show you some magic, remember." she reminded him. His eyes went wide as he remembered. "Oh right, I forgot." He looked back up at the growing night sky. "B-But...but isn't it getting late?" "Well, I DO have a guest bedroom. You can use that for tonight." She opened the door wide, walking in. She kept the door open for Spark. "Come on!" He blinked as he heard this. "Um...y-you sure? I-I won't be a b-bother?" "I'm pretty sure I can handle one guest," she said, smiling. He thought it over for a few moments, and unable to find any reason to decline, he walked in, smiling and giving her a nod of thanks as he entered the castle. After setting up his things in the guest bedroom, Twilight walked in with a trail of books floating behind her. He looked over at the books, eyes wide with how many there were. "Wow, that's a lot of books." He said softly. "Oh, these? Just an hour's worth," she said. "I brought a few you might like to read. They're guides on potions and how to make them." She floated one of the tomes over to Spark. Hearing about potions does spark his interest. "Really? I've never tried doing anything potion related. I was more focused on reading about spells and enchantments and such." He said as he took one of the books and gave it a quick look over before flipping it to a random page. The page in question showed a list of instructions on how to brew a mixture for night vision. "Potions have always been a way for creatures without magic to make their own magic in a sense," explained Twilight. He nodded. "Makes sense. I guess I just overlooked it." He said. "Are we gonna try to make one now?" "Mhm~." She floated over a cauldron filled with water. "We'll be trying the most basic of potions: the color change potion." He was a bit worried about possibly messing it up and making a mess, but as it stood, he trust her. Nodding his head, he looked at the cauldron before looking back at her. "Ok...so what first?" He asked. She floated over a table of random and assorted ingredients, smiling. "First, we need gem dust." She told him. He nodded as he looked over for the item on the table. "Dust, dust...." He murmured to himself before his eyes lit up. "Aha! Dust!" He took the dust in hoof and turned to face her. "How much?" "About two cups full," she answered. "And afterwards, you add in some daffodils. Plants and gems have been known to activate something magical when mixed together properly." Nodding again, he grabbed the cup and carefully measured out the gem dust before pouring two cups worth into it, then grabbing a few daffodils and, after a nod from the mare, put a few of them in as well. "Ok, what next!" He asked unable to hold the excitement coming from his voice, causing her to giggle. "Easy Spark, no need to rush." She reminds him, getting a sheepish look from the pegasus. "Now we wait for a few moments." After a few seconds, the water in the cauldron turned green, glowing and bubbling from the mixture of magic dust and plant matter. "Now we mix it up. While we do, you must very carefully add in EXACTLY two and a half cups of milk." Spark gave a nod before he took the spoon and started stirring the cauldron of liquid up, being careful not to spill a drop. Looking over at her, he gave a nod to let her know that he is ready for her to add the milk. She gave him a curious look. "Don't you wish to add the milk in?" She asked. He shook his head. "I...I'm too scared I may mess it up, so..." She just smiled. "There's nothing to be scared of, and it's easy enough to do it." She told him. Seeing how he wasn't going to be swayed so easily, she just shook her head. "Ok, I'll do it this time, but next time you add the milk." He nodded his head in agreement as she grabbed the milk and carefully measured out the exact amount. Shye then hovered the cups over the cauldron and poured in the milk, a flash of light coming from the green water. "And now... the final ingredient: chalk. Any color will do." He blinked his eyes a few times before shaking his head to clear his vision from the light flash. After hearing the final ingredient, he nodded and looked over at the different colored chalk. "Hmmm...what color do you want Twilight? I kind of what to go with red cause it's my favorite color...and the color of my coat as well...and my hoodie..." He said. "Come to think of it, a lot of things I own are red." He added, giving a sheepish smile. "Go with red, Spark," she said, happy to see the giddiness on his face. "You're doing very well." Smiling at the compliment and glad that she was ok with red, he quickly grabbed the red chalk and slowly placed it into the pot. As soon as it touche the liquid, it starts to change color, slowly shifting to red. "Oooh...pretty!" This got another chuckle from the mare, finding his actions to be so darn adorable. She pointed to a spout on the side of the cauldron. "Now put a flask under there and fill it up." He did what she said, and soon he had a rather red looking potion. "This is amazing! Um...what's it supposed to do?" He asked, blushing. He kind of forgot in the excitement of making the potion. "A single drop will turn the object red, just like the color of chalk you put in," she explained. "Now let's try it!" Hearing this, he looks around to see just what he should turn red. "I guess I should have done a different color if I wanted to do it on myself." He partially joked. Twilight laughed lightly upon hearing this. "Perhaps for another time." She said. She then floated over a simple blue lamp that had been resting on the guestroom table. "Try it on this!" Nodding, he slowly poured a single drop onto the lamp. Rather quickly, just as she said, it turned red. "Wow...does it light the room with red light now?" "Um... no," she answered. "The colors are only for looks and don't actually affect the important properties of the object. If you want it to turn red, than it would have to be poured on the lightbulb, not the lamp itself." "Oh..." He said as he looked at the once blue lamp. He then turned and smiled happily at the Alicorn. "This is an amazing spell-I mean potion. Why, I bet you could make all sorts of different color changes." His eyes go wide as an idea popped into his head. "Maybe even make it so that you can be camouflaged to your surroundings?!" Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "I've never thought of it being used that way before..." She said softly before she shook her head. "Applications like that would normally be useful for battle, though. Ponyville is... fairly peaceful?" She laughed nervously, realizing how untrue it was about Ponyville being safe. "Not only that, but Equstria hasn't had any major conflicts in over one thousand years." He shrugged. "Who said anything about using it for battle? I was talking about a really fun game of hide and seek." He said, laughing at how much fun it would be. As he laughed, he realized how silly and foalish he was being, causing him to stop laughing as he blushed. "S-Sorry, I-I've...I've never had this much fun before Twilight." Twilight looked at him, confused at his apparent shame. "There's nothing wrong with that," she said. "You saw us playing games at the party, didn't you?" He nodded. "Don't feel ashamed to play games, even if you're fully grown. I still find myself thinking of the old games my brother and I used to play." He looked at her curiously. "You have a brother?" He asked. "Oh, yes! Shining Armor. You've probably heard of him. He helps run the Crystal Empire with Princess Cadance." He pondered on it for a moment before he gave a small shrug. "The name sounds familiar. I think I've heard of that pony and Princess Cadance being married while under an invasion of some sort, but that was awhile ago." Twilight nodded in confirmation. "Yes, there was an invasion, but it's okay now. The girls and I helped take care of it. We couldn't have done it without Cadance or Shining, though." He looked at her in slight awe as he listens, and with a soft voice, he asks, "C-Can you...can you tell me about it please?" He asked. Twilight hopped up onto the guest bed, sitting down. "Well...I don't know, it's a long story..." She said slowly, giving a glance to him and seeing the rather cute pleading look he gave her. Unable to really resist too much, she just giggled and nodded her head. "Oh very well. It all started when I got a letter from my BBBFF, or Big Brother Best Friend Forever..." And from there, she told him about her adventure, from learning about her brother's wedding to the changeling invasion. Every bit had been explained in great detail, the story having lasted well past midnight. Spark listened with rapt attention, not saying a single word as she told the tale. During this, he climbed up and laid down on the bed as well, looking at her the entire time, the mare laying down next to him as well. As it started to wrap up, he can't help but smile, glad that all worked out in the end. "Wow, that's rather impressive." He said. "I'm glad that you were able to find your real foal sitter." He sighed as he laid his head down a bit. "I am sad about the changelings though. They were only trying to find a way to live, even if it was rather mean." "Oh, they're fine now!" she said. "They're under a new leader. His name is Thorax." He perked up upon hearing this. "Really?" He says before speaking to himself. "I should tell Cuddio about that, he'll be happy to hear it." "Cuddio?" Twilight looked confused. "Oh yea. He's a changeling that I met on my travels. Nice guy, doesn't take love unless he has to...well, didn't I guess." he paused. "I haven't seen him in a while, I wonder how he's doing. Or if he changed as well. I think he told me he was separated from the hive after a failed invasion on some ponies a while ago, one he wasn't too happy to partake in." "Well, I hope he finds his way back home," said Twilight. She suddenly let out a huge yawn. Upon seeing the yawn he too yawned as well. "Oh, is it that late already?" He asked, looking outside at the night sky. "Mhm... it's past midnight actually." Twilight hopped off of the guest bed and walked towards the door, hovering everything she brought in behind her. Before she reached the door, she looked back at Spark and gave him a smile. "Goodnight. I hope you rest well and I hope you enjoyed the potion making. Next time I promise to show some actual spells." He nodded in understanding. "Of course, I really liked making that potion with you." He replied. He is about to get under the covers when he paused, turning to face her. "Hey, Twilight? C-Can you...um...I-I just..." She stopped walking out and turned to face him curiously. "What is it?" she asked. After a few moments of silence, he motioned her to come closer. Seeing this, Twilight set her things down and approached the bedside. Once she is right next to the bed, he quickly reached forward and wrapped his forelegs around her neck, pulling her into a deep hug and startling the mare a bit. "Thanks Twilight, for making this one of the most fun days I've had in a long time." Twilight, not sure what to do, just stayed still, letting him hug her. All she could do was smile at such a positive response. "You're very welcome, Spark." She said softly. She felt very happy with how happy he was glad to see that she could make his day so bright with just some simple potion making. He kept holding her close, not minding that she wasn't hugging him back, but after a while she does return the hug, making him hold her just a bit tighter. He rested his head against her shoulder, his eyes closed as a few tears gently rolled down his cheeks and onto her coat. Feeling the tears against her shoulder, she gently turns her head to look at him. "Spark?" she asked. "Are you ok?" He shook his head lightly. "Y-Yea, just...just happy." He then stayed silent, and while the Alicorn is curious as to why he is getting so emotional, she can feel just how happy he is, and not wanting to ruin the moment for him, just gently stroked his back, nuzzling his cheek lightly with her own. After a few minutes of them hugging it out, she gently moved him off, to which he smiled, wiping his eyes dry. With a few words of good night, he is soon alone in the room, the potion items she brought with her gone as well. Taking his hoodie off, he snuggleD under the covers, his eyes slowly closing as he fell asleep. He was going to miss this place when he leaves.
Tales of an Outsider
Stretching his Wings (Sexual Intercourse)
CHAPTER 5 The next morning... "WAKE UP, MAGGOT!" Spark gasped as he was startled awake, his eyes flew open as he looked around, trying to collect his thoughts and figure out who in Equestria was shouting in his ear. Who he found was Rainbow Dash as she hovered over his bed, wearing a strange jacket and sunglasses. "Are you ready to fly?!" He slowly uncurled himself from under the sheets, sighing nervously as he quickly made sure his mane is hiding his horns as he does so. "Um...y-yes?" He asked nervously. He forgot that today would be when she taught him how to fly...or at least tried to, in his opinion. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU, MAGGOT!!! ARE YOU READY TO FLY?!" She shouted again, making him reel back in shock. The shouting didn't really help him as he just nodded vigorously trying to get her to quiet down. "Y-Yes!" "Then eat this and meet me outside in five minutes!" she shouted, tossing toast atop Spark's face. He somehow was able to catch the toast as Rainbow flew out of the room, Twilight walking in soon afterwards. "Um...h-how did she know I was here?" He asked the Alicorn, toast in hoof. "Oh, she asked me," answered Twilight. "You'd better hurry. She can get really rough if you don't do as she says." "T-That wasn't rough?" He asked in shock, eyes wide. She shook her head. "Not really, she can be a lot more tough if needed." She paused as she noticed Spark was on the verge of hyperventilating, and quickly added, "But she won't overdue it. She's many things, but she isn't unreasonable. Just relax and follow her lead and you'll be fine." He took a deep breath to calm himself down before doing as she said, quickly eating the toast while making sure not to spill any crumbs on the sheets. Once eaten, he got up, put his hoodie on and with a wave to the purple mare as well as another thanks for letting him stay over, he was quickly rushing to get outside of the castle. Rainbow Dash awaited him outside, tapping a hoof to the ground. When she saw him approach, she smiled eagerly. "Alright, maggot! It's time you learned how to fly! First, we're going to try a few exercises!" He nodded, feeling his muscles tense as she kept calling him maggot. He would try and ask her to stop, but he had been called way worse before, and being called a maggot isn't all that bad, at least to him. Before Spark knew it, he was grabbed and placed atop the roof of a building. On the ground in front was a rather large trampoline. Once on the roof, he quickly wrapped his hooves on it, his wings flaring as a few dead feathers flew off. "R-Rainbow! W-What is this?!" "This exercise is called 'Winging it'! You're going to try flying on your own right now. I need to see how bad this case actually is!" He gulped as he looked all the way down at the ground, his eyes locked onto the trampoline before he glanced back at the hovering mare. "W-What!? Is this really supposed to help me?" He asked, the fear evident in his voice. "Uh, yeah! I need to see what you're doing wrong so I can correct it!" she answered, rolling her eyes. "Hey, who's the teacher here?!" He stares at her for a few moments before letting out a defeated sigh. "You are..." He said slowly. Twilight's words ran through his head, reminding him that Rainbow was just trying to do her best to teach him to fly. And if Twilight trusts her, then so does he. Besides, she is a Wonderbolt, so she should know how to best fly. He glanced back at the ground, then at her, and with a deep breath, he slowly extended his wings, giving them a few flaps...and jumped. As he fell, his wings caught the air effortlessly, causing him to start to drift down. With a few flaps, he is suddenly shooting into the sky, whooping with joy as he soared among the clouds... ...Is what he wished happened. Instead, he cried in fear as he plummeted down, wings flapping without a rhythm or reason as he spun in the air. After a few moments he landed on the trampoline, bouncing up and down a few moments before coming to a stop, resting on his stomach, his heart pounding madly in his chest. Dash floated down to Spark's level with a raised eyebrow. "That was some of the messiest flying I have ever seen! I don't think that should even be called flying!!" He gave her a deadpanned look at that. "Really? I never would have guessed..." He said softly. "I would say it was more like falling with style!" Shouted Pinkie, who suddenly appeared from behind Rainbow. "Not now, Pinkie!" shouted Dash. "Can't you see I'm busy giving lessons?!" "Oops! Soooorry!" said Pinkie as she twirled her tail, hovering up and away. "To infinity! And beyond!" They both watched as the pink mare just seemed to hover away before disappearing around a building, Dash being the first to focus back on the training. "Anyways...don't mind her, she's just being Pinkie. As for your flying: there's no rhythm, no pattern. You've gotta have a rhythm when flapping, or else you're just gonna keep falling." He sighed and nodded. "I-I know, but...but I don't know how." He said. He was doing his best to ignore Pinkie's strangeness, as it just hurt his head to try and even look at what she does at times. Instead he just did his best to focus on the cyan mare's words and his own reading into flying...at least with what few books he did read on it. "You need a drumbeat. More importantly, you need music!" she said. He blinked, head cocked to the side in confusion. "Music?" "Yeah!" she answered. "Flapping your wings to the music is important!" He could safely say that nothing he had heard has told him he needed to listen to music. "Ok...so...how do I do that then?" He asked. "Wait here." Dash said before she zoomed off and came back a few seconds later with a pair of headphones. "Got these as a gift from Vinyl Scratch. I never really used 'em." He tilted his head at the headphones. "Ok...but how will those work, they aren't even attached to anything?" He asked as he got up into a sitting position on the trampoline. "Uh... magic?" replied Dash, as if that were obvious. "They were enchanted by Vinyl to play beats." "Oh..." He gave a small facehoof as he realized just how stupid his question was, and looking them over one last time, he put them on and over his ears. Once on, she pressed a small button on the side of the headphones, making steady techno music play. "Ok!" she said. "Try flapping to the beat!" As the music played, he slowly nodded his head to the beat, his eyes closed as he tried to focus on it. Steadily, his wings extend, and he started flapping them. Of course he wasn't on the beat at all for the first few minutes, and even when he does get it right the way his wings were flapping didn't seem to be too natural and almost a bit forced. Dash rubbed her chin, thinking hard as he looked him over. "Don't force it. It's no good if you force it. Forcing causes destabilization and that causes panic. It has to come naturally, so just do what feels right. Even if the right thing is wrong, it's still a start where we can work on." Of course he couldn't really hear her as the music was playing, only seeing her lips move when he opened his eyes, but he already felt that something was off and he started making himself relax. As the minutes ticked by, he slowly started to get the hang of the beat, his wings flapping a bit more normally, a little more naturally. Even then, the way they bent was still not right, showing that he really is a novice with such wing skills. She grinned as he started to get into the rhythm. "Stretch out those wings!" she said. "You're almost there! Stretch em out as if you're gonna soar!" Once again he guessed what he wanted him to do and started beating his wings faster, doubling the beat he was listening to. It was at this moment that she realized a possible problem with this. "Wait... are you even listening?" she waved a hoof in front of his face. "Hello?" As he saw her waving a hoof across his face, he paused his flapping and removed the headphones off of his head. "Were you saying something? It's kind of hard to hear with these things on." He said, giving a sheepish smile. "Yea...figured as much." She sighed before giving a shake of her head. "Let's take a break for now." She looked at his wings, noticing they were messier than how she had fixed them. "Have you even been trying to preen them?!" She scolded him He flinched as he took the headphones off, placing them to the side before shaking his head. "N-No, I...I haven't..." he said, looking away from her in shame. She let out another great sigh. "What am I gonna do with you?" She said as she rubbed her chin. After a few moments of silence she gently placed a hoof around him and pulled him close. "Listen, I did promise to help teach you about preening as well, but you need to start making an effort to do them on your own, even just simple washing is better than nothing." Realizing she may have been a bit too harsh, she quickly adds, "Not saying that you knew how to preen when we didn't do anything yet, just wanting you to know that you need to be paying attention with this, cause of...I mean..." He waved a hoof to get her to fall silent as he nodded. "I-I know, cause it's...i-it's personal stuff." He said. Again silence fell and this time a solid minute passed before he spoke up. "Rainbow, if you don't want to-" She covered his mouth before he could even finish that. "Don't you even think about finishing that sentence! I promised I would help, and I don't back out of a promise." She stated. Now determined to start and help him out, she wrapped her forelegs around his waist and carried him high onto a roof, out of view. He looked around as they land on the roof, seeing that they were very much up high yet at the same time hidden from most of the other ponies. He then put two and two together and he blushed as he looks over at the mare. "W-Wait, here?! N-Now?" He asks, nerves kicking in. "It's fine, it's not like we're doing anything too crazy, and I want those wings preened now. The longer they stay that messy, the worse it is for you, so the sooner the better. Besides, this part of town is less traveled by most other pegasus, so it's not like they will spy us during this." She reassured him. Before he could complain more, she said, "Now, lay down and relax your wings." Seeing no way out of it, he shivered a bit as he does as she said, laying down and taking a few deep breaths to relax himself before he was able to relax his wings. Once relaxed, she walked up to his side and sat down next to him, her hoof rubbing his back. She gave him a comforting smile before leaning down and taking his first wing into her mouth as she began to preen, making sure to get every individual feather with her tongue. As soon as she started, his complaints were thrown out the window, the worries about being exposed to others, including other flying pegasi vanished as the red pegasus gasped from the pleasure and shuddered, laying on the roof as she preened and cleaned his wings. "F-Fuck!" he shouted, the sensation so much stronger than when she last did it. He quickly covered his mouth as he heard himself, his cheeks even brighter than his red coat. "Relax Spark!" she whispered. "It goes better if you just relax." She did her best to tell that to herself as well, but sadly this was getting even to her as she focused on his wings. Spark could feel her wet muscle bury itself deep underneath his feathers to get them wet, lining up a few feathers and fixing a few broken ones. Every moment of contact was bliss, her tongue seeming to find spots that he didn't even know existed.. "W-Why...n-n-not in...mMM....p-private..." He tried to ask again, his mind racing with all these new feelings. However Dash didn't hear him as she just continued preening him. His heart raced as the pleasure coursed through him, and it was at this point he remembered he was supposed to be learning from this. He looked over his shoulder to watch her, trying to learn from what she is doing even as his wings slowly start to extend on their own. Dash kept her focus on his wings, making sure to fix and clean every single feather that she could find. When she finished with one feather, she lined it back up before moving to the next. So focused was she that it took a few minutes before she noticed just how high his wings were spreading, causing her eyes to widen as she realized what was happening. She knew a wingboner when she saw one. She paused the preening and pulled her head back slightly in shock. "A-Are you...?!" Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Spark. Having never felt such sensations before, it was all new to him. "I-I don't...w-w-why are my wings moving like this?" He asked. Giving a few grunts he tried to fold them back, but to his surprise he found out that he couldn't. "I...I-I can't m-m-move them..w-why? Why c-can't they...m-move?." He whimpered softly, another small moan escaping his muzzle. Dash blushed an intense red. This pony was actually getting off just from her preening him. Of course she wasn't faring any better at the moment, all his moaning and verbal pleasure causing an effect on her as well. Her own wings twitched as she looked on, his feathers flicking the air lightly. Thoughts slowly started to cross her mind, very lewd and naughty thoughts about this stallion before her before she shook her head to clear it, though it doesn't stop her neithers from swelling a bit, the heat blooming between her legs. She had been in a bit of a dry spell as of late, so to be in such a situation as they are in now was slowly breaking her defenses. It didn't help that he was acting rather cute with the way he doesn't know what a wingboner was, trying to get his wings to go down even though she knows that won't happen so easily. Even with all of that in mind, she had to finish preening him first, and she wasn't going to just stop and rub one out till his wings were all clean. "J-Just...hold still!" she said before leaning down and licking at the edges of the next wing. He nodded as he tried to do just that, wings extended as he took deep breaths to try and calm himself down. His eyes, however, stayed locked on her, and he couldn't help but to look her over as this strange feeling grew even more. As the minutes slowly ticked by, Spark would feel something starting to grow under him, slowly sliding out as it hardens. It took a few moments before he realized that it's his stallionhood, sliding from his sheath and hardening under the ministrations of the rainbow mare. He blushed deeply as he realized this, wanting to back away and stop her. Despite knowing this and wanting her to stop, he found himself unable to do so, eyes locked as he watched the pegasus continue to preen his wings. The mare herself was getting lost in preening his wings too, her eyes partially lidded as she nuzzled into a few primaries, moving them aside before diving back in with her tongue. Her breathing was rather deep, inhaling his scent as her focus went from preening his wings and teach him into a more pleasurable mindset, preening him just for the sake of her own delight. She placed a hoof around his back as she gently leaned on him, making him shiver from the extra touch. Rainbow could feel his heartbeat through his wings, pumping the blood and keeping them straight as they are. Her body was starting to act on its own, her tongue teasing a few secondaries without her even meaning to. As the licking slowly finished, Spark shuffled a bit more to try and get comfortable, but this just caused his cock to slide out from under him and hang to the side, pulsing lightly as it rested on the roof and next to Dash. She didn't notice it at the moment, however, too much into fixing his wings as she is. Her hoof, not doing anything, slowly started to wander on its own, reaching under her and rubbing her lower belly, teasing herself lightly. She grunted as she felt the teasing appendage, but didn't stop it, her mind getting more lost as she felt herself touch her swollen mound, wet and dripping with her arousal. She shuddered and tried to cover up a moan at the touch, her eyes shut tight as she rubbed herself. Both of them were so focused on what the other was doing that neither of them noticed how deep into the preening they were getting. Spark had given up on keeping any sort of mental notes while she had mostly finished cleaning his wings and was now just preening purely for fun, her rubbing hoof hidden from sight. She gave his wing a slow lick across the center, matting down the feathers with a great amount of saliva before licking it back up, panting as her hot breath washed over them. With a few more licks, she finished, nearly gasping and almost letting out a whimper from how her hoof teased her clit. After finishing, she stopped and caught her breath, her eyes locked onto his wings. They seemed to be in so much better shape now, even if both were a panting mess. She gave it a few more looks and was about to comment on how much better they are when her eyes caught something lower. Glancing down, her eyes went wide as she saw the rather large shaft poking from under him. Spark wasn't faring any better. With the mare finished, he was just a panting wreck, eyes glossed over, his breathing labored, and his shaft throbbing almost painfully. After a few moments of catching his breath his eyes focused enough to notice her staring at something, and when he followed her gaze, he gasped as he quickly did his best to cover himself up. "SHIT!" He said, hooves covering his groin and growing member. "I-I didn't mean...I wasn't g-getting...I mean I was, but...b-but not in that way...not that you aren't you're a-attractive, I just-" Rainbow quickly placed a hoof over his mouth, thankfully it wasn't the hoof she rubbed herself with. "Sh-Shut up!" she shouted, before covering her own loud mouth. It took a few moments of them just staring at each other before she resumed speaking. "I-I can't just carry you back down there like that!" she whispered. "Ponies will freak!" He tried to apologize once again, but the hoof on his mouth prevented him from saying anything. As the silence went on, Rainbow's mind went through all sorts of scenarios that could possibly help him. She knew that this was a rather tense situation, the fact that they are both high over their heads on lust and he is clearly inexperienced with such a thing. She wouldn't be surprised if he's a virgin. Looking back at his cock that he was still trying to hide, she thought over ideas. She had to help him, get him to relax and calm down enough so that it would go away, that much is certain. However, could she really let something that amazing go away unused? She hadn't had any action for a few months now, and it was killing her inside to the point that she was thinking about it almost every day. But he is nearly in shock, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings by making him think she was into him. She knows what it's like to have her first sexual moment, and how attached one could get to the other, and she didn't want the same thing to happen to him. He is attractive in his own right, maybe not the buff she was looking for, but most certainly a good catch if he ever got out of his shell. But they just met! Sure he has been here for a couple of weeks and he has been slowly opening a bit more every day, but to just dive into something so intimate so quickly? She was fine with it, but she doubts he would be. But she can't let him go out with that out. It looked way too painful as well, the large...throbbing... She shook her head as the mist of lust started to take her mind, her breathing getting a bit deeper. She had to help him somehow, so...so why not in a way that would make it pleasant for both of them? She gave a mental nod as she finally made up her mind, and a quick look over the rooftops showed that no pony was around. Seeing nopony, she gently pushed Spark over and flipped him onto his back, his shaft now fully exposed to them both. Eyes wide, he once again tried to cover himself up, crossing his legs in front of him. "R-Rainbow! W-What are you-" "I gotta get it back down. Can't just... let it stay like that when I fly you back down." She said, her voice a bit husky with that arousing mist. She pushed his legs out of the way and gave his cock a good look over, seeing just what she was working with, the stallion freezing and doing his best to not move a muscle. Just as she thought at first glance, it was rather decent sized, perhaps ten inches, which is just above average for most ponies. Of course she has seen much bigger before, but his was not to be laughed at. The head flared lightly as she looked, giving a twitch as he tried to remain still. The medial ring itself looked rather thick, again average but a good average, and her mouth watered at the thought of how it would feel in other places. She leaned forward and stuck her tongue out, placing it on his shaft right below the medial ring and sliding it up, causing him to moan in shock from the new, more intense feeling. As she gave it a taste test, her tongue licking up the sides, her eyes stay locked on the pole before her, wanting to see just how it reacts to her touch. Once she reached the head, she latched onto it with her mouth, lips lightly holding the tip in and giving it a gentle suckle. Huh...once again not the worst she's ever had, but not the best, either. Her tongue swirled around the throbbing cock, making sure to give it the attention it needed. Her focus on the member was so intense she almost missed the pre till she tasted it as it leaked from the head, making her pause as she sampled it. It had a unique flavor to it with that bitter aftertaste, nothing too crazy, but certainly addicting in its own right. Wanting more, she focused her attention on the head, lapping at it and trying to draw out more pre. As soon as her mouth was on the head, he gasped, his body freezing up as he looked down at her. He isn't completely in the dark with such activities, but hearing and reading about them are much different than being part of it. Moaning, he instinctively reached a hoof to her mane, rubbing her head as the head of his cock leaked pre, aching and throbbing in her maw. The feeling of his hoof on her head caused Dash to pause as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. Seeing the reaction he had on his face, she smirked and felt the need to make him squirm even more, wanting to see what other reactions she could get from him. She slowly started taking more of him into her mouth, inch by inch sinking down her maw. After a good while she had the first half of his cock in her mouth, her lips only a few inches away from his medial ring. Holding it in her mouth, she licked around the shaft and gave it a small suckle, which caused him to nearly jump in surprise and moan. She quickly reached up and covered his mouth once again, making him look down at her. Her eyes told him to stay quiet, and with a nod, she slowly removed her hoof and places it on his stomach, rubbing him lightly. With that taken care of, she could finally focus on what she wants: properly sucking him off. With another suckle and a muffled groan from Spark, Rainbow started bobbing her head, sliding the rod in and out of her mouth. With how fast this was going it was leaving the stallion in a bind. He wasn't sure what to do or say, but the pleasure the mare was giving him was amazing! He gently thrust into her mouth, panting as he ached for release. Even after just a minute of her sucking him, his hooves are stuck on her head, his hips gently trying to thrust into her mouth. Rainbow looked up at him with her magenta eyes, finding his reactions to be rather funny. Feeling him try to buck into her mouth, she held him down, preventing him from moving as she took control, sucking him harder as her tongue wiggled on the underside of the shaft. She wanted to really give him a ride, and seeing how he wasn't going to last long, she took a deep breath and sank as low as she could. The head of his cock quickly met the back of her throat, making her pause, but only for a moment. She quickly pushed onward, sinking his cock past her tonsils and into her throat., squeezing the head tight as her lips reach his medial ring. She holds him steady as she sucks and swallows before sinking more down, inch after inch sinking into her throat. Soon she had the rest of his shaft in her mouth and throat, her neck even bulging a bit with how deep she took him. She held him there, eyes locked on him as she watched for any interesting reaction, and she wasn't disappointed. Spark was squirming like mad, his hooves stuck in her mane and pushing her down, even if she was preventing him from thrusting up, she knew he wouldn't let him off till he came. It was clear he wasn't going to last long as she kept him lodged deep inside of her throat, his cock lightly dragged against the walls of her throat. It's started to make his mind go numb with the pleasure that he was feeling. Doubling over, he pushed her head down harder with both hooves as he again tried to thrust himself into her throat, acting very much like a horny teenager with his first blowjob...which isn't far from the truth here. "D-Dash I...I-I-I'm gonna..." Hearing those words, Dash's throat tightened on Spark's shaft, the mare's body trying to swallow hard, walls tugging on the foreign object. It was as if she were milking him of every last drop. She pretty much was as her eyes stayed locked on his as she just swallowed and sucked hard. She was hoping for him to last just a bit longer, but sadly he couldn't stay focused for much longer, and with a few more thrusts into her squeezing throat, he held her head down as he came, spurting his seed down her throat and right into her belly. Dash's wings spread out wide, the blue pegasus gaining her own wingboner as she took every last bit of seed into her stomach. She moaned softly as she swallowed as much as she could. When the last of it left his nuts, she slowly pulled back, sliding him out gently, making sure he was watching her as she did that. With a pop, he left her mouth, his cock wilting lightly as they both caught their breath. Both were left panting after what just happened, slowly coming to their senses. Rainbow was still a bit muddled with her heated sex pulsing against her, begging for some attention, but she ignored it as she realized that the full extent of what just happened was going to crash onto him at any moment. As she just stood up, she let out a small cough to clear her throat. "Um...p-preening's done..." He blinked for a few moments as he finally fully realized just what happened, and eyes wide he looked over at Rainbow. "W-Wait, y-you just...and I just...b-but...b-b-but..." He stuttered as he tried to make sense with what just happened. Thankfully, while Rainbow is a bit distracted with it as well, she was waiting for this moment, and knew she had to choose her next words carefully. "It was just...proper procedure," she lied. "A stallion can't focus on flying if he's...a-aroused..." Sadly, when she saw the raised eyebrow on Spark, she knew that she would have to tell him the truth, for even he wasn't buying that lie. She rolled her eyes. "Ugh...fine...I guess...at first I was trying to help you get it down, but in the end I just kinda...lost control of myself. Was in the zone so to speak." He looked at her a bit harder for a few moments before he nodded. "Oh...Um..." He hesitated, his cheeks much redder than normal. Even with that, the tone of his voice showed her that he was starting to very much doubt himself, and she had to act fast. Dash, not wanting him to worry about it, quickly added, "I-I didn't mean anything by it, really! I-I mean you're good looking and all, but this was just to get rid of that boner you had, ok?" She paused as she looked away slightly. "I'm sorry if you thought I had a thing for you. I do care for you, just not that much. I really think you're a good friend, shyness and all." He started to ponder over her words, as well as the feelings that he just had. While most of them were new, he wasn't sure what he felt was love for the rainbow mare. Rubbing the back of his head, he finally said, "I-I can understand...I think. Honestly, I-I'm not sure what I felt myself." As he continued thinking it over, he began to freak out a little. Normally when two ponies do such things they become a couple, at least from what he has heard. Now that they did it, does...does that mean... Thankfully, Rainbow guessed what was going through his mind and quickly reacted to comfort him. She patted his back with a wing, blushing as she looked away. "Look... it's not a bad thing. This stuff happens. And it doesn't mean we have to hook up either. Um... but it's not like you should be ashamed of it. I should've stopped when I heard you... moaning." Hearing her words did comfort him a bit and looking at her, he asked, "Y-You...sure that...that it's ok? W-We're not...not a couple?" The last thing he wanted was to offend her. She nodded. "It was just a one-time thing. Sure, you can feel embarrassed, but not ashamed. Believe it or not, I...I've been down that whole shame road before." This caught his curiosity. "Y-You have?" "Y-Yeah..." She looked the other way. "Done a few things...with a Wonderbolt..." Now he is very curious. However, seeing her look away he guessed that she didn't wish to talk about it, and nodded. "Um...y-you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Dash." he told her. Hearing this, she faced him again and gave a small smile "Thanks. Um... W-We should really try flying again," she said, trying to derail the topic. He nodded as he goes to stand up, but that is when he caught a whiff of a strange scent, something he hasn't smelled before. "Hey...what's that smell?" He asked, looking around as he sniffed the air. It took Dash a second before she realized that he was smelling her arousal, her eyes widened in shock. "P-Probably nothing!" She said, sitting down. Spark isn't convinced though as he slowly followed the scent, his eyes closed as he moves his head around. Dash can feel her heart rate rising as he got closer, slowly lowering his head. She knew she has to do something, be it telling the truth or making something up. Seeing how things have been going so far, she decided to just go all in and tell him. "I-It's me, okay?!" Silence filled the air for a few seconds. "I'm the one who smells..." He opened his eyes as he realizeed that she is right and the scent is coming from her. "Wait, why do you smell? Didn't you take a shower today?" He asked, confused. Her face turned beet red. "Of course I showered! I'm just..." She squirms a bit. "I'm turned on, I guess. You squirming and moaning was...really arousing." "Turned on..." He said to himself as he thought it over. It took a few moments but he soon did realize what she means, his cheeks going red once again. "O-Oh!" Eyes wide, he looked at her before turning to face away. He was about to offer her some space and privacy before an idea popped into his head. "W-Wait, you helped me s-so...so how about I help you?" He asked, turning to face her once again. "Wh-What?!" She looked at him as if he had asked her to jump off a cliff. "Wh-Why?!" He was silent for a few moments as he wondered why he would suddenly ask that himself, but he soon continued. "I-It's only fair. Y-You helped me s-so..." He paused as he waited for a reply, but as the time ticked on, he grew worried that he said the wrong thing as he quickly turned to look away again. "I-I'm sorry if that was too forward, I just wanted to help, I didn't mean to offend you or anything like-" She blushed as she heard him apologize, her mind going over his offer. It does make sense, she helped him and he is just wanting to return the favor. She is mostly surprised with the fact that he offered it in the first place, but that wasn't going to stop him. "Yes!" She said before covering her mouth with her hooves and blushing. It seemed her own excitement for getting some sort of action got her excited. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts before nodding and giving a smile. "I mean, yes, that is fine." He blinked at the sudden outburst, but was just glad he could return a favor back after all the nice things these ponies have been doing for him. "Oh, um...o-ok." He said. He waited for a few moments before he realized a very important detail: he had no idea what to do, "Um...s-so...what do I do?" She chuckle at this. "You really are rather new, aren't you? Not that it's a bad thing. Anyways, I'll help you out, so don't worry about messing up." She assured him. Getting a nod in return, she laid down on her back and spread her legs, her marehood winking in the open air. He watched as her puffy lower lips gently dripped her juices, causing his own arousal to spike slightly. However he is more focused on helping her than he is on himself. That and his anxiety was preventing him from getting another erection. He gently walked over to her before sitting down in front of her. "Um...s-so...so what do I do." He asked. "I-I've...I've never done this before...as you may have g-guessed..." She kept her smile as she motioned him to lay down, which he does so. Soon, he is laying before her, his head just inches away from her pussy. "Now just take it slow for now, start with licking my marehood." She said. While she would prefer he just dive right in, she doesn't wish to make it too difficult for him. "Um...o-ok." He said. He leaned down slowly before extending his tongue out and gave her folds a small lick to test her out. He blinked as he finds the taste to be...rather interesting. Not great, but not bad. Wanting more, he dove back in and pushed his face against her marehood, tongue lightly gliding up and down her wet folds. She closed her eyes, letting out a soft gasp of surprise from his sudden eagerness. "Ohmigosh..." She pushed forwards, making Spark go a bit deeper. "Th-That's it, just like that..." He blushed upon hearing her moan, but continued on regardless. He found her taste strangely addictive as he closed his eyes and pressed even harder against her. Raising his hooves he placed them on her thighs to steady himself as he kept on licking at her, pressing his tongue harder and harder against the treat before him. "Ooohhh... D-Don't ever stop," she muttered, her lust-infected mind taking over. "I need it deeper...f-faster..." She quickly brought her hoof to his head, holding him down gently as her need to go faster soon overtook her worry for making him worry. She started to grind herself against his eager mouth. "P-Push...push your tongue in Spark." The red pony gave a muffled gasp against her heated sex as he was pushed in, but otherwise he continued. He was worried about her touching his horns and finding out about them, but thankfully it seemed she missed, and the worry was very brief compared to what was happening. Not even bothering to nod, he did as she said andpressed his tongue even harder between her lower lips. Soon, he felt her petals part, and his wet muscle is suddenly inside of her, wiggling around and licking her inner walls. He groaned at the feeling of her squeezing his tongue, finding it to be so different and amazing. Once he was inside, he quickly went with what his gut told him to do and that was to start thrusting his tongue, pushing it in and out of her tight tunnel. His hooves wrapped around her legs and her hooves pushing his head down, they were both locked so deep that nothing short of an earthquake would stop them. She tightened her walls around his tongue, almost as if it were being hugged. Her wings spread out from under her and flapped from the stimulation, her heart was pounding as she started humping against the red pony's face. "I-I should hang with you w-way more often... W-We could do this more," Dash muttered, not really knowing what she was saying. All she wanted was the continuous bliss to just keep going. Spark however, did hear this, and blushed at the thought. He pushed that thought aside to worry for later though as he just licked her insides up, eyes closed tight and hooves moving down to rub her flanks as he ate the colorful mare out. Her walls twitched, pressing down on Spark's tongue. She mentally cursed herself for being so quick to pop, blaming her lack of any recent action. "I-I'm gonna... ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh!" He kept a tight hold on her as he felt her walls clench, his muzzle stuck between her thighs as she wrapped her legs around his head suddenly, preventing him from moving. Doing his best to stay focused, he tried to thrust his tongue in deeper, and as he soon touched a very special spot right inside of her, causing her to finally goes over that edge. She shuddered as her body experienced the blissful high that was an orgasm. If she had any second thoughts, they were gone in that moment. She released a moan as her marehood left juices on Spark's muzzle. The smell of her juices was intoxicating as he quickly drank it all up, his head in a bit of bliss from the flavor. Her hooves and legs held him down the entire time, almost making it hard for him to breath as he looked at her face with wide eyes. Eventually she started to relax, her heart pounding and her wings splayed out, her body was a wreck as she came down from her orgasmic high, releasing his head from her hold as she let her head fall back, resting on the roof, a panting mess. Slowly, as she came down and rested in her afterglow, he finally was able to pull back, licking his lips clean and giving her a curious look. He felt rather out of breath, but if it was from her holding him down or the effort of pleasuring her, he wasn't sure. "S-So...did I do good?" She let out a whimper as she nodded, cheek rubbing the ground. "Y-Yeah..." He smiled happily as he leaned back, feeling rather happy with the blissed out look that she has, the effort leaving him in a rather giddy mood, though he still is worried if she is ok, for she looked very tired. "Um...i-if you need a moment I can-" He started to say before she interrupted him. "J-Just a moment..." Dash replied, waving a lazy hoof at him. Slowly she sat up and stretched her limbs before she looked back at him, blushing a little. "Y-You did good..." He blushed back, rubbing a hoof behind his head. "W-Well...I just did what felt right a-and...um...you know...it's just the r-right thing to do...right?" She gave a sheepish smile. "R-Right!" "P-Plus I had a good teacher..." He added. This definitely got her in a happier mood, chuckling as she gave his shoulder a small smack with her hoof, making him wince. "You damn right I'm a great teacher!" She said with a huge smile. He rubbed his shoulder from the love tap, but otherwise he smiled back. They fell silent for a few moments as he looked at her, and rather suddenly, Spark leaned to her and hugged her close, nuzzling her neck. "T-Thanks Rainbow." She looked at him, noticing a twinkle in his eyes. It seemed that she got something in him to actually relax. For her, it's just one step to get him to open up, but for now, she was just glad he is so happy. She smiled and wrapped a wing around him. "You did good. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you!" She replied as they broke the hug. He chuckled and nodded in understanding. "I know, and I promise to do my best to make you proud!" "Damn right you will!" She grinned. "Now come on, we got practice to do!" and with that she wrapped her hooves around him and carried him back to the ground. They spent the rest of the day attempting to train Spark and although he still couldn't fly at the end of the day, he did walk away knowing quite a bit more about Rainbow Dash.
Tales of an Outsider
Reveal
CHAPTER 6 It has been about a week since his small "session" with Rainbow, and just as she said, nothing really changed between them. Well, that isn't entirely true. She did become a bit more open with him, and teased him whenever she got the chance. While she made it clear she was fine with doing more of their "preening breaks" and made sure he knew that as well, he always declined going further, and she never pushed him into it. She did, however, convince him a few times, but they never went beyond simple hoofjobs and the occasional oral attention. During the rest of the week when he wasn't busy training with Dash or learning to preen, he spent his time either finishing his packing to get ready to leave, or talking with one of the other girls. In fact it was that which he was doing now, having been invited to meet the gang at the Ponyville Park. Around this time, there were no fillies or colts, as they were all in school, making it the perfect time for a picnic. Plus it made it easier for Spark not having to worry about a possible crowd. As he walked, he couldn't help but think of all the ponies he has met here, and all the new friends that he has made. Even if he has to hide who he really is, they are all rather nice in their own way. Applejack could be trusted to lend an ear out and offer her opinion on something. Pinkie Pie could put a smile on his face, even if most of the time she scared him a bit. Rarity was very nice, and kept on offering to take him to the spa, which he politely declined, as he was busy practicing his flying with Rainbow. As he recalled their many attempts, he still can't help but to blush at the first time when they did those...things. He always kept that memory in a deep spot, saving it for later dates. Then there was Twilight. She seemed to know what to do, and how to have the most fun, at least in his opinion. Sure a few of those things seemed boring at first, but in the end, he learned so many new things, and while most of them such as spells he would never use, it just made him happy to know it. And finally Fluttershy. He smiled as he recalled the times spent with her. Always talking about her animals, and willing to give him a shoulder to lean on when he was having a rough day, or a painful memory came out suddenly. She even helped him through the town in a rather crowded day, holding his wing with hers as she lead him. He smiled as he reminisced those memories, and slowly a frown formed as he remembered that he will be leaving soon. Shaking his head, he decided to make the most of his last couple of days here as he reached the park, looking around for where the girls may be. Suddenly a noise came from behind, and it sounded a lot like...squeaking wheels. As he turned around, he saw a large trailer, and it seemed to be rolling down a nearby hill at an alarming speed...right towards him. As the trailer wheels on closer, he gave a yelp of shock as he quickly started to run with it in hot pursuit. Soon he reached a bend and quickly moved to the side, just barely avoiding it. The trailer, as it reached flatter ground, slowed down until it came to a halt. The door swung wide open, revealing a rather familiar blue unicorn. She stepped off of her trailer, looking around. "Huh... am I early?" She asked herself, confused. As the pegasus shook his head, he looked over at who nearly ran him over...and froze. "W-Wait...y-you're..." He started to say, but was unable to finish his sentence because of the shock he was going through with seeing another of his idols. "Yes, it is I! The Great and Powerful Trixie!" she announced, taking off her hat and bowing gracefully. "I'm guessing you want an autograph?" He quickly nodded. "Yes!" He shouted before covering his mouth and blushing. It was like the Wonderbolts all over again. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before trying again with a very shy smile. "I-I mean...if it isn't a problem..." "Of course it's not!" she said, floating out a photo and pen from inside her trailer. She quickly signed it before hoofing it over to Spark. It was a signed photo of Trixie herself, smiling smugly. He smiled back as he looked it over before carefully folding it and putting it inside one of his hoodie pockets. With that done, he looked back at her happily. "I-I just...I-I just..." He tried to speak, but is unable to get the words out right...or at all really. "Do not fret, my loyal fan! For the Great and Powerful Trixie can read your mind!" She waved her hooves around, trying to act like she knew what she was doing. "Yooouuu... are inspired by Trixie! Is that right?" she asked, grinning. Even though he knew she couldn't read his mind (as far as he knows), he is still impressed with how she guessed and nodded in response. "Y-Yes! After watching one of your shows, I went through studying many different spells, from stage spells to powerful blasts, to everything in between. There are just so much we can learn from magic and it's all so fascinating and I just love you for bringing this to me and-" He stopped as he realized he just said he loved her, covering his mouth and blushing brightly. Trixie laughed nervously, writing that off as just some fan jabber. "Trixie is flattered by your words! Now, if you'll excuse me, Trixie has some friends she is waiting for!" At the mention of friends, he realized that he almost forgot his own date. "Oh yes, I almost forgot I have some ponies I need to see too!" He said. Looking around, he realized not only was he in the right spot, but that they are the only ones here and that caused him to become rather confused. "Actually...they said they would be right here..." "Odd... Trixie's friends said they'd be here, too," she said, looking around. From over the hill, Twilight and her friends, Starlight, and Spike, walked towards Spark's direction. "Ah! There they are!" announced Trixie getting the pegasus's attention as he looked over at "Hello!" Called out both Spark and Trixie before they looked at each other with surprise. "Wait, you know them? Of course I know them," They said to each other before they both just stopped talking as they stared at each other in confusion. As they met up, Starlight ran over to Trixie, hugging her. "I'm glad you could make it, Trixie," said Starlight. "Really, I thought you'd be late again." "Late? Trixie is never late!" answered the blue unicorn. "Remember the party I invited you to? We were going to greet you-know-who into Ponyville?" reminded Starlight. Trixie blinked, confused. She looked at Spark, then at Starlight, then back to Spark again. "Oh! This is him?!" Starlight nodded, motioning over to him. Trixie, realizing her mistake, rubbed the back of her head and looked at Spark before approaching. "Uh... Hello, my loyal fan! I um... Trixie wants to apologize. We were unable to attend your party. I was...um...busy with other activities." The pegasus just smiled lightly as he nodded. "It's ok, I understand. Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is a very busy pony, right?" He said, willing to give her some leeway. Trixie nodded and rubbed the back of her neck. " Indeed we are. However, in order to make it up to you... How would you like to witness a private show?!" His eyes nearly sparkled at the thought, giving a quick nod. "Yes please!" He shouted, causing the other girls to giggle at how adorable he was being. She grinned. "Then take a seat! Trixie shall astound and amaze you!" she said, running into her trailer to get ready for the show. As Spark looked around for a place to sit, he saw Starlight waving to him, smiling. He smiled back as he walked over and sat down with her. "How in Equestria did you get Trixie here?!" He asked her. "Believe it or not, we met at the spa here in Ponyville," replied Starlight. "We both have bad pasts, and we bonded over that." He blinked as he heard this, glancing at the trailer before looking back at her. "You've had...bad pasts?" He asked, confused. Starlight nodded. "Um... I kinda stole an entire village worth of cutie marks, forcing everypony to be equal..." His eyes go wide with surprise "W-What?" He asked, eyes wide from surprise. "It's a really long story," she said, trying to dismiss the whole thing. He was curious to know more, but before he could a loud voice boomed forth. "Mares and gentlecolts! Witness the awesome power of the great and powerful Trixie!" A plume of blue smoke erupted in front of Spark and his new friends. As it dissipated, it revealed Trixie with a large chest beside her. He grinned as he saw the unicorn appear on the stage, already stomping in applause as he watched eagerly, his curiosity for Starlight forgotten for the time being. He was gonna watch his magician idol perform once again, something he had dreamed of ever since he first saw her show. Trixie would begin to perform all variety of tricks. Birds flew from her hat, Trixie sawed herself in half, and she had even levitated without magic. As the show went on, each trick would be more great and powerful than the last. They then came to the last trick... "And now, for my final trick, I'll need my assistant and a volunteer!" Trixie looked at her group of friends, grinning. Of course Spark's first reaction was to quickly make himself seem smaller, not wanting to be picked out for the trick. As much as he loves the show, he still wasn't a fan of being the center of attention. Trixie looked at Starlight, who nodded and winked to her. "How about..." Trixie pointed directly to the one pony who didn't want to be seen. "Spark!" He eeped as he tried to make himself seem even smaller, leaning behind Starlight as he did so. "M-M-Me?" "I'll need help from a pony who truly believes in Trixie! Who better than my number one fan?" She continued her grin. He gulped as he looked around at the other smiling ponies encouraging him to get on stage. He was about to decline when the lilac unicorn spoke up to encourage him. "It's just us Spark, no pony else around. We promise not to judge you." She said in a comforting tone. He tried to decline again when she continued. "Plus it's with your magician hero. What better chance do you got then this to do something like this?" He looked back at her for a few moments before looking at the magician. Closing his eyes, he took a few deep breaths to help calm himself down. Star was right, it's just his friends, no pony else, so he shouldn't be worried about it. They have been so kind and understanding to him so far, he felt he could trust them enough with this. Opening his eyes, he gave a very nervous smile and a nod as he shakily got up and walked over to the mare on stage, soon standing next to her. As soon as Spark stood next to her, Trixie waved her hoof and Starlight floated four bags high into the air. "For my final trick," said Trixie, "There will be four bags. Three are filled with heavy sand. Only one is filled with water!" Trixie then pointed to the crowd. "It is up to the crowd to choose which bag Spark must stand under. His very life...is in your hooves!" Upon hearing this, his eyes widen with fear. "W-Wait, what!?" He said, legs shaking. "You have thirty seconds starting now!" she announced, and the crowd started guessing. "Far left!" shouted Applejack. "Second from the right!" suggested Twilight. "No no, ALL the way to the right!" cried Pinkie. As they continue to make guesses, the red pegasus just stood there, lightly stepping in place as his nervousness built up. He can trust them, they will pick the right one. And Trixie won't get the trick wrong, he has faith in her. The crowd grouped together, wasting away the seconds. Then, finally, Twilight shouted, "Second from the left!" the rest nodded in agreement. Spark looked over at Trixie, who nodded and motioned for him to go there. With a gulp, he slowly walked over till he was standing under the bag that they mentioned. As he stepped into place, Trixie gave a small, knowing smirk, which caused him to get even more nervous. "And now my wonderful audience! Let's see if you picked the right one!" She said. Everypony fell silent, not a single sound was made. Even Spark was quiet as he watched intently for what would happen to him next, his curiosity overriding the anxiety he has for a few moments. When her horn glowed, all the bags poured out their contents, sand hitting the ground around him and water pouring out onto Spark, drenching him. As he looked up in awe, he saw the water pouring right down over his face, and as he felt the water pour down on him, the red pony can't help but feel a sense of relief wash over him as well. Once the impromptu downpour was finished, he smiled delightedly at the others, glad to see them pick the right choice. However, he soon realized that they seemed more shock than normal, his head tilted to the side in confusion. "W-What's wrong? She got it right, yes?" He asked. Still they say nothing. "W-Why are you looking at me like I've grown-" He started to say, before his eyes widen in realization. Slowly, he reached a hoof up and placed it on his head. As he felt the horns, he realized that the water matted down his mane and pulled his hood down, causing his horns to be shown...and he was in the middle of all of their attention. As he stood there in shock, the reactions of the others were somewhat mixed, if slightly similar with the mares. Twilight stared at him in confusion, at first wondering if Spark had been messing around with potions. However, she was quick to see that with the reaction that he had he had them for much longer, and was quick to piece things together and realize that he had been hiding them for this entire time. Applejack was rather unsettled by the unnatural features, a look if wariness on her face. She had an almost weirded out look. To her it wasn't right. Unicorns have horns, pegasus have wings, and earth ponies have neither. The only other ponies that would have both were the princesses, and he wasn't a princess. Plus, he had two horns that curved inwards, not one. Fluttershy could only look on in worry for Spark, hoping he wasn't too scared. A concerned expression was on her face. She wasn't sure what to make of his horns, being confused as much as the others, but she knew that he wasn't happy with what happened, and wanted to comfort him, but the shock of those horns stopped her. Rarity stared with wide eyes, more surprised than fearful. The horns did give him an interesting look...but he's a pegasus. How does he have horns and wings? Rainbow Dash grinned, thinking how awesome the whole thing was. She was confused with why he would ever hide such amazing things, it made him look so much more badass. Starlight, having seen the horns, was not as shocked as the rest. Rather, she had suspected it earlier that he was hiding something. There's no way a colt would keep their hood up all the time unless they were hiding something. Of course, she had no idea he had horns, and that is what caught her off guard. And Pinkie... she wasn't even looking. Her face was stuffed in a jar of cookies she had brought with her. Seeing them all stare at him in such a way, it brought him back well past to his younger days, getting ridiculed by the other foals, being neglected by the adults...his heart rate spiked, his breathing increased. He could feel the panic welling as his eyes start to water. Quickly, before anypony could say or do anything, he rushed away, tail tucked between his legs as he ran as fast as he could. Soon, he was out of the park and out of sight, leaving the mares left to wonder what just happened. A few of them, namely the three who were told about his lack of flying skills, were starting to piece it together. They all looked at each other and it was clear that they needed to talk about what just happened. Starlight reached out a hoof. "Spark! Come back! We can talk this through!" But her words either did not reach him, or he was too embarrassed to care as he kept on running. Trixie had realized her mistake the moment he took off running. This was her fault, and she knew she had to do something, but what? Should she play it off like she didn't do anything wrong? But this was her fan, she thought to herself. Somepony she had actually inspired. Sure, she had other fans, but she hadn't ever inspired them in the same way she did for Spark. As the magician thought this over, Starlight turned to the others. "Girls. Group meeting." Twilight nudged Spike, who had fallen asleep during the first half of the show. He opened his eyes, confused. Twilight motioned for him to follow as she and the others gathered around. "So uh... Did anypony else see the weird little horns on the top of his head? That ain't natural." "Applejack!" scolded Rarity. "The poor dear's probably scared half to death!" "So that's what he was hiding," said Dash. "Don't know why. Those horns made him look twenty percent cooler!" "Wait, Spark has horns?" asked Pinkie, ever smiling. "Neat!" "You weren't watching?" asked Starlight. "Of course not! Who could pay attention on an empty stomach?!" answered Pinkie. "So, he has horns. So what? I don't see the big deal," commented Spike. Everypony looked at him. "...What? Rarity and Twilight have horns, so why is it strange for him to have one?" "First off, he's not an Alicorn or unicorn, like Twilight or Rarity." AJ explains. "And second, he has two of them. Plus, they ain't normal horns either. They're all curved and such." "This is obviously a sensitive subject for him," explained Twilight. "He probably thinks we'll judge him or something." "By the looks of it, it seems he already thinks we do." Fluttershy stated. "You all saw how terrified he was when we saw them. Plus it would explain why he acted in such a way before, with how he avoided talking about his past. And...oh dear..." She slowly fell silent as she realized some rather important connections with that and his wings, the others noticing her reaction. "What is it Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked. "Maybe...maybe this is why he never learned how to fly, or how nopony would help him." She said, getting the speedy pony's eyes to go wide as she realized that as well. "Um, excuse me, I know that you girls know, but perhaps fill the rest of us in on what you two are talking about?" Applejack asked curiously. This time it was Rarity who spoke up. "Well darling, it's kind of a long story." She said, and went on explaining what Spark told them during their tea time, about him being an orphan and never learning how to fly. As she told them, Trixie, having stayed quiet during this, knew what she had to do. She had to correct her mistake. Seeing how they were going to be busy talking for a while, she ran off in the direction that Spark went earlier, hoping to catch him while the others were still talking. She looked through the streets, trying to find the scared colt. It took a while of searching, but after some time, she was able to find out that he had ran back to his room. As she walked up to the room, she was about to knock on the door when she heard shuffling hooves and moving objects. A few moments later the door opened suddenly, revealing the red pony with his bags on his back. His hoodie was still wet from before, but he had his hood up once again, covering his head and a good portion of his face. His eyes widen as he looked at the unicorn mare, surprised to see her here. However, he was still running on fear, and his mind in terror, he quickly rushed past her and made a dash to the outside. Before he could make it, Trixie grabbed him in her magic. "Oh, no you don't!" She pulled him back in and slammed the door shut, locking it. "Trixie nee-... ahem... I need to apologize..." Sadly, the terror struck pony wasn't really paying attention to the mare, as he is brought back inside and tossed onto the bed. As he looked around, he does the first thing that comes to mind and that is to hide under the covers. He closed his eyes as he whimpered, hooves over his head. "P-Please don't hurt me!" He cried out, and it's at this point that Trixie realized that he isn't just scared in general, but terrified. If anything, he was in panic mode and was trying to run from any source of danger. Realizing that she had to take this slow and carefully, she stood a good distance away from him to not terrify him anymore. "I'm not gonna hurt you." she said softly. "Relax Spark, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm not upset or anything, I promise." She felt rather awkward doing this, as she never really helped a pony calm down before, so she was just going with what she assumed was the right way. Thankfully it seemed to work as his breathing slows down a bit, the shivering moving to a stop. After a few minutes he slowly peeked out from under the covers, looking over at her with surprised eyes. "Y-Y-You're n-not g-gonna...h-hurt me?" He asked, hoping she was speaking the truth. "No," she answered. "Why would I hurt the only fan who was actually inspired by me in a good way?" He stayed silent as he thought it over, and she gave him a few moments before she added, "I'm really sorry for putting you in that situation. Can you ever forgive me?" He looked at her, his eyes stayed locked on her own as he tried to calm himself down some more, with little success. Slowly, he does calm down enough to think somewhat properly again. As he slid out from under the blankets, he took a few more deep breaths as he looked away. "W-Why? D-Don't you t-think I'm...I'm a monster?" He asked in shame. "No!" She shouted, and then quickly covered it up and continued at a calmer tone "You're not a monster." Trixie assured. "Sure you have those...things, but you're still a normal pony." He closed his eyes as he turned away, the tears threatening to spill again. "N-No...I'm not..." He said sadly. Trixie frowned as she walked over and hopped onto the bed with him, sitting down next to him. She wiped away the tears with her magic before gently turning his head to face her. "You are a pony. Do you doubt the great and powerful Trixie?" she asked. As he looked back at her, he couldn't help but blush with how close she is to his face. Looking into her eyes, he can see that she really did believe he is a normal pony, and slowly he started to relax a bit more, the rest of his panic subsiding. As he looked at her, Trixie smileed lightly, pulling his hood down to let his horns show fully. He flinched automatically and is about to hide again, but the mare stopped him as she just calmly holds his hooves with her own. After a few moments, she tried again, and he doesn't stop her as she pulled his hood down, his horns once again in view. "I...I'm a monster...a mistake..." He said softly, just repeating the same things he had heard during his childhood. "You are none of those things." She encouraged him. "Trixie was the real monster a long time ago, so she knows the difference, and you? you're a pony." This got a small sniffle as he wiped his eyes. "Y-You were?" He asked, surprise easily shown in his shaken voice. She nodded. "Trixie has done bad things. Things...Trixie would rather not talk about. But if you wish, Trixie...I can tell you my story." He stayed silent as he looked at her, clearly curious and wanting to know just what happened to such an amazing mare. However, because of his nervous nature, he remained silent, not wishing to push her since she didn't wish to talk about her past. She waited for a few minutes to see if he would say something, but when it was clear he wasn't going to ask, she just nodded her thanks in response. "Perhaps one day I will be more willing to tell you that story. All I wish is for you to know that none of us think you are a monster." He just glanced at his hooves with a sniffle. "I...I don't know..." He said softly, still not fully convinced himself. The years of hardship and insults had taken their toll on his mind, and even now he sometimes thinks that what they said is true. She frowned as she thought of a way to convince him when an idea came to her mind. She smiled softly, her cheeks dusted with a light pink. "Do you need more convincing that you're not a monster?" Spark looked back up at this. "H-How can you convince me t-that...that I'm not a monster?" He asked skeptically. "Monsters are those that don't have a heart, and don't care what they do to others. They only think about themselves and will do whatever it takes to make themselves feel better. They have no emotions nor are they kind or helpful. Plus..." She paused for a second before just jumping into action. Without giving him any time to prepare, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Spark's, staying there for several seconds before she pulled away. "Monsters aren't supposed to be cute," she finished, her blue face turning a bit more red. His eyes went wide as she kissed him, nearly sputtering as he just froze up, sitting there staring at her. His wings are quick to react, though, becoming erect in their wing boner as he just looks at her. Before he can even think of anything to say, there was a knock on the door, slightly startling both ponies from their stupor. "Spark? Are you in there?" Twilight called, knocking again. "We just want to talk." He remained silent as he looks at the door, still unsure what to say, even as Trixie just got off the bed and walked to the door herself. She would have liked to have a bit more time with the pony, but she also knows that he is need of his other friends to talk to him. Once she reached the door, Trixie turned the handle and let Twilight in, who looked at Spark with concern on her face. "Spark, we're your friends. We wouldn't judge you just for having those horns." Even as she said that, he started to back up a bit before his rear hits the wall that is against the head of his bed, and he started to kneel down as he whimpers. The fact that there were so many ponies out, even if they were his friends, makes him super skittish, nearly ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Plus it didn't help that they all knew about his horns. Thankfully one of the mares was quick to respond. As he cowers, Fluttershy rushed to his side before he can do anything else and wrapped him up with a wing, pulling him close as he comforts him. "Shh... it's okay. We're not going to hurt you," she said, trying to calm him down. "Spark, we could never judge you for what you look like," said Twilight earnestly. As they continued to try and soothe him, something finally snapped inside of him, the red pony slowly looked over at them with his green eyes, almost glaring at them. "H-How can I believe you! Y-You just think I-I'm a monster like the others, a hellspawn, a...a-a d-d-demon..." He stated, causing them all to wince. The girls look at each other as they hear such venom from a normally shy and kind pony. Clearly he has been hurt before, but they had no idea how bad until now. Now, however, they were going to get to the bottom of this. Twilight shook her head. "We don't think that... Why would we ever think of that? Who would even call you such things?" She was going to say more but a quick glance from Fluttershy got her to pause her questions. His eyes start to water as he looked away, clearly not wanting to talk about such events. However, Starlight was having none of it as she walked over and gently turned his head to look at them with a hoof, making sure to use a gentle voice as she spoke. "Whoever hurt you isn't here anymore. You can trust us. We're your friends, and friends don't abandon each other cause of some little thing like this." He took a shaky breath, the pegasus slowly started to calm down again, and he glanced at them for a moment before turning away. Seeing this Star added, "If you really don't wish to talk about it, then we won't-" "Ev...Everypony hurt me..." He said softly and rather suddenly, his eyes watering as he tried to hold back his tears. The lilac unicorn looked at the others, who just gave her confused looks like hers. She turned her attention back to Spark. "Can you explain?" She asked, looking concerned. He hesitated, looking away as he stays silent, but a nudge from Fluttershy gets him to look back at them. After a few minutes of silence, he finally speaks up. "I-I...I grew up a-alone in town. T-The caretakers...they never bothered to help or take care of me c-cause...cause of this." He starts to say. While Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity all told the others about his past, they were still surprised by it. Twilight looked to Spark. "What happened to them?" He just shrugged. "I-I don't know. I was left on the doorstep o-of the building, only my name on some paper...a-and my necklace." He closed his eyes as he tried to stay relaxed, Fluttershy being a rather large help as she kept rubbing his back, the words just falling from his lips. "T-The only one w-who helped me was the owner of the place." "S-She raised me up for the first years of m-my life. Those were the only good times I had." He gave a light smile as he recalled those times before sighing and turning away. "B-But she was old and...and died by the time I was supposedly six." As he talked, the mares couldn't help but feel sad with how Spark was brought up. Being raised up with no parents, then having the only one who was supposed to raise him pass away...it couldn't have been easy. A fact that AJ understood quite well. "Um... I know what it's like to live without yer folks..." said the farm mare, even making eye contact with Spark. He paused his story as he looked over at her with surprise. "Y-You...you do?" She nodded with a sad smile. "Mhm... I really do miss them..." Spark nodded in understanding. "I-I'm...I'm sorry Applejack." He says. She looked up and gave him a polite smile, but when her eyes locked onto his horns, she is quick to look away. He saw this and frowned upon seeing such a familiar action. "Y-You're scared of my horns, aren't you." He simply stated. She knew that he caught him, and just gave a saddened nod. "I don't particularly find them natural," she replied before she quickly added, "I won't make fun of you, though. Yer a good pony in my book, horns and all." He stared at her for a few minutes to see if she was telling the truth, but seeing how she has been honest with him so far, and seeing that she wasn't lying to him then, he gave a small nod. "Thank you Applejack." He said before taking a moment to breath. Fluttershy rubbed his back some more and he leaned into her a bit and continued his story. "T-The others...they thought the same as you did. They didn't think it was natural. But they took it further. They...t-they thought I was a d-d...dem...a creature of Tarturus." He closed his eyes as he started to shake once again. "The a-adults...they would either avoid me or ignore me out of fear, while the k-kids..." Finally, he gave a sniffle before he slowly started to cry, tears sliding down his cheeks. Unable to continue, he nestled his face against the yellow mare's chest, to which she quickly held him close, whispering soothing words to calm him down again. It didn't take much for them to connect two and two together, each of them looking at each other. They were hoping that it was just verbal abuse, a couple of them even knowing a bit about such thing, but then Twilight spoke up, asking the question that was on all of their minds. "They physically hurt you, didn't they?" She asked. He nodded once again, getting a few gasps from the girls. A few of them had to grow up with such things, and they knew what it's like to get bullied in their life. Fluttershy and Rainbow for instance were almost always bullied in Flight School, but they had each other to help themselves through the trying time. It was clear that Spark had no pony to stick up with him. The shy mare continued to rub his back, doing her best to not tear up before him. "Is that all that happened? I hope that's it..." Sadly, and to the surprise of the rest, he shook his head. "N-No..." He sniffed as he recalled that one fateful night. He started to tell them about that night, when he was busy walking from the park. He normally went there to relax, being one of the few places he could feel safe. The night was cool and he was even smiling at the time. Then a pony, he isn't sure who, came from the darkness and snatched him, pulling him between some buildings. He tried to escape, but all he got was a slap to the face and a punch to the gut to make him stop. As he lay there in pain, the guy was murmuring something about how all hellspawn and demons have to be cleansed from the world, and as he was talking, he pulled out a knife. The girls' eyes widen as he continued on, the stallion walking over to him and pressing it against his throat. His eyes went misty as his mind played back that dark time. He could feel the blade as it dug into his skin, his flesh, the blood flowing out as it started to pierce his throat... Then it was suddenly gone and he could hear some scuffling before it suddenly stopped as soon as it started. He sadly can't remember much after that as he passed out, but from what he learned he was saved by the main caretaker's husband, one of the few ponies who was "nicer" to him than the others. "H-He was able to just save me before I...b-b-bled out..." Spark finishes. His hoof slowly goes to his neck, where he can feel the scar there even after all of those years ago. "T-The worst part was instead of feeling pity, the kids and adults just...u-used it as fuel against me." This time he didn't cry, just whimpered as he shuffled closer to Fluttershy, the mares looking at each other with mixed responses. Fluttershy wasn't able to hold back her tears after hearing this, and she just held him close as she silently cried for him, her cheeks getting wet during it. She hugged him tight and refused to let him go, though he didn't want to leave at all at the time. Rainbow and Applejack just looked at each other, both of them shocked with such an act of violence. Twilight didn't know what to say, and neither did the rest of them. They could only stare on in shock. The only one who spoke up was Starlight. "Whoever that pony was, they were clearly not right in the head," she said. "They should've been in a hospital." He shook his head. "N-No, he was j-just...one of the more vocal ponies that hate me. E-Everypony in the town thought I was some monster from hell..." He admitted. "You mean everypony there was like that?" She asked, shocked. He nodded. "Y-Yea..." It's at this point that he shivered, still rather cold with the wet hoodie on him. The others noticed this and Twilight was the first to speak up about it. "Spark. Please take that off before you catch a cold," She said. Before he can even say anything, Fluttershy was already tugging on the hoodie, and after a few moments she had it off of him, tossing it to the side. He blushed as he is now fully exposed to them, though at this point it hardly mattered considering his horns were in plan view the entire time. Twilight looked closer, examining the horns. "I've never seen anything like these. They don't look like any other horns I have seen before." As she tried to take a closer look, Spark pulled back, whimpering, and Fluttershy gave the Alicorn a stern look. "I'm not sure he wants us to stare at them right now." She said, patting the red pegasus to keep him calm. Twilight nodded sheepishly. "Oh, right. Perhaps he should get some rest? It is pretty late." She suggested, the others nodded in agreement. At that, the pegasus yawned, causing him to blush as he looked away. "I-I...I guess I should go sleep then..." He said. With that, instead of getting settled in the bed, he got up and slowly walked to his bags as he started to gather them up. The group gave him confused looks as he finished packing his stuff up. "Wait... what are you doing?" asked Starlight. "I'm heading out to make camp." He said. "But why? Aren't you staying here?" Asks Trixie, who had been silent up till now. He shook his head. "I was, but again it's only a temporary stay. I got my bits and supplies that I'll need to keep me going for the next few weeks as I travel to the next town, wherever that is." He explained before glancing at them. "Remember, I travel a lot." As they stare at him in shock, it was Rainbow, who once again remembered him telling her that he didn't hang out with others a lot, who finally realized why he stayed away from others the way he does. "It's those horns, isn't it?" She asks, causing him to turn to face him. "That's why you travel. Cause those horns and being afraid of what others may do to you." He paused as he looks at her before nodding, then hefting the bags on his back. Without saying another word, he started to head out of the room, letting out a small sigh as he does so. "I-I...Thanks for everything you girls have done for me." He said softly, his eyes still wet from before. To his surprise, he finds himself unable to leave the room, a blueish force field blocking his way out of the room. He turns and looks at the group confused, only to see Starlight's horn lit up. "There is no way we're gonna let you continue living such a life. Heck it's not even a life at all, running away from everypony." She said, Twilight and the others nodding in agreement. He frowned as he looks at her. "Why should I stay? I'll just get you all in trouble, and sooner or later somepony will hurt me again. What's stopping it from happening all over again?" "Duh, we are!" The cyan mare stated as she walked up to hm and wrapped a wing around him. "If anypony picks on you, then they have to deal with us. It's what friends do after all." He shook his head before moving away from her. "N-no, I can't ask you to do that for me." "We don't care if you ask or not. We don't let those kinds of things happen." She continued. Looking back at the others, they saw that they were all nodding in agreement, and as much as he tried to find one of them to not back her up, to give him some excuse to leave, he found none. He was left speechless as he heard this, looking at all of them. Seeing them all smile and nod in agreement, he wasn't really sure what to say. All his life he has known pain and loneliness, but now these girls are all wanting to change that for him. With that said... He looked away and sighed. "Still, even if I stay here, I can't stay in this inn any longer. It's too expensive to stay for long term." He explained as he got off the bed. "I was just going to camp out by that forest for a few days before heading out-" "Nuh uh, sugarcube," said Applejack, silencing quickly. "We're here for you, and we won't let you pack up and leave like that. Runnin' is no way to live." He looked at them for a few moments longer before he shook his head yet again. "Fine, but I still can't stay here in this inn. Like I said, too expensive." Twilight smiled. "That's easy enough to solve. You can stay at the castle." She offered. His eyes widened with surprise. "B-But I don't wish to be a burden. It's really fine for-" he started to say only to be interrupted by the Alicorn. "I think that it will be much better than camping out in the Everfree Forest." She added. Seeing him open his mouth to retort, she stopped him and continued. "None of that, your princess commands it, and you can't refuse," she said, finally finding SOME use for her authority. This left his mouth open, speechless with the fact that she actually ordered him to stay at her castle. As his mind tried to get around it, Fluttershy nuzzled against his side, causing him to look at her and see the rather large smile on her face. He did remember how much she wished for him to stay here, and it seemed that she is getting her wish after all. Taking a few deep breaths, he looked over at the girls before him, all of them with comforting smiles, letting him know that he wouldn't be all alone anymore. He remained silent for a good few minutes, the silence stretching out before with a small nod, he finally agreed. "Ok...I-I'll...I'll stay here for now." The group cheered and Twilight wrapped a wing around Spark. "Trust me, you'll love life here." He couldn't help but blush at that, and without warning he wrapped his hooves around her, hugging her close, along with Fluttershy. "T-Twilight...Fluttershy...everypony. T-Thank you so much." They just smiled as they hugged him back, the rest of the girls quickly joining in on the group hug. As they all got closer, Spark expected for his anxiety to kick in and push them all away like normal, but this time, he was just...relaxed. Even as he was smothered among all of them, he felt more protected than any other time during his life. Perhaps today is the start of something new. Perhaps he finally gets to live life just for himself. Perhaps...he can just live.
Tales of an Outsider
Family Night
The next day, Spark awoke in the guest bedroom, having stayed there the night before. As he stretched, he rubbed his eyes with his hooves before looking around a bit, confused with where he is. As the memories of last night wash through him, he can't help but give a hopeful smile before shaking his head. He did hope this worked better than those other times he has had so called friends. In fact, the only other being he has really been friends with was Cuddio, and he has no idea where he is now. Still, seeing as it was already settled and he was now living with a princess of all ponies, he got up and left the room, doing his best to navigate the castle as he made his way to the dining room. It takes a bit, but soon he finds the room, and looking inside he sees Twilight and Spike were sitting together at the very end of t:he table, eating stacks of pancakes. He smiled as he saw them, walking to the fridge and grabs one of the salads he had brought from his own stash. Since he wasn't traveling anytime soon or at all at the moment Twilight allowed him to keep the extra food in their fridge, despite him saying otherwise. It was really hard to say no to any of them really. As he took the food out, he went over and sat by them. "Um, morning." he said with a small smile. He was a bit unsure of himself, not really used to such a situation, but thankfully they were all understanding. Twilight smiled in his direction. "Good morning, Spark! Glad you could join us! There's a stack in the middle for you. I had Spike make extra in case you wanted some." Looking at the stack there, he pondered on it for a few moments before giving a small shrug. "Um...perhaps one. I don't want to over eat." He said before taking one of the pancakes and placing it next to his salad. That and again he didn't want to overstep, even if they were given to him. Twilight took a bite of her meal, swallowing before speaking again. "What are your plans for today?" She asked, curious. He shrugged upon hearing this. "Not really sure. I...I'm kind of at a loss." he admitted. As soon as he said this, he paused his eating as he just looked down at his plate. This was the first time he had ever tried to settle down ever since he left his home village...anyways, it was going to take a while for him to get used to it. Thankfully Twilight noticed this as she quickly thought of something for him to do. "Well, if you want, I can help you get started on finding a nice little home of your own near the castle. There's a few that haven't been sold yet," she said to him. Looking up with some surprise, he smiled as he nodded in agreement. "That does sound rather nice, though it will have to be aft-" He stopped speaking as his eyes went wide with shock. "Work! I forgot about work!" He shouted, and quickly finished his meal before leaping out of the chair. "SorryIhavetogonowbeforeI'mlateforworkbye!" He quickly said so fast that Pinkie would be proud before he rushed out in a blur, leaving both Alicorn and dragon to blink in surprise. As he rushed across the streets, hoodie already on and hood up, he made good timing to the post offices, but once there, he is shocked to find that the door was locked. Worried, he started to pace around the entrance, trying to find out why it is locked in the first place. As he was focused on the door, he didn't notice a certain grey pegasus walking over from behind him, giving him a rather curious look. "Spark? What are you doing here?" Giving a jump, the red pony turned to face Ditzy as he gave her a worried look. "I'm sorry for being so late Ditzy I kind of lost time and I had been busy with so much stuff I know it isn't a good excuse but-" He quickly stopped talking as he saw her giggling, causing him to blink in confusion. "Um... w-what's so funny?" After a few moments of laughter, the mare calmed down as she smiled at him. "Nothing, just... it's Sunday, silly." She said. Upon realizing that, he blushed as he finally sat down, pawing at the ground. "O-Oh, Sunday...s-so no work... right..." He said, very much embarrassed. He glanced at her from under his hood. "Um... w-what are you doing here then?" "Oh, w-well I was getting some snacks for my daughter, since we were out of them." She explained, motioning to her packs on her back. He nodded as he goes back to staring at the ground shyly. She focused an eye on him, noticing his embarrassment, but not really sure what to say. After a few moments of silence an idea popped into her head as she smiled at him. "Would you like to join me and my daughter today?" His eyes went wide with surprise as he looked at her. "W-Wait, me j-join you.? I-I'm not sure, I-I mean, not that its a bad thing, I just...I d-don't want to intrude on whatever you already have planned." He said, looking away shyly. She quickly flew in front of him, smiling. "That's dumb thinking! You should join us! We'd enjoy your company!" She said. He remained silent for a few moments, looking around the place as he thought over his options. After a while, he smiled lightly and nodded. "O-Ok, if it isn't that much of a bother." He said to her. She lets out a small squeal of delight. "Ah! That's wonderful!" She grabbed his hoodie in her teeth, dragging him along to his surprise. This mare had some strength. He staggered along, trying to keep his balance as the mare pulls him with her to her home, which they arrive within a few minutes. Once there, he straightens his hood a bit before looking at her. "Y-You know I can walk myself." He says, though upon seeing the look on her face, he quickly adds, "N-Not to be mean or anything, I just...you know...nevermind... She tilts her head in confusion before nodding. "Okay! Sorry about that!" She hovers up to the front door and unlocks it with her key. "I hope you like orange juice!" He nods. "Orange juice is fine." He tells her as they walk in, the mare closing the door behind them. As they walked in, a young filly runs up to greet her with a big hug. "Mommy! I found a caterpillar!" Ditzy patted Dinky's head, smiling. "Is it making its cocoon?" "Not yet! He's eating the leaves!" she answered. She then turned to Spark. "Hello!" He couldn't help but smile as he saw the energetic filly, giving a nod back. "Hello there, I'm guessing you're the one that Ditzy has been talking about so much?" He asked. "Uh huh! She talks about me to ponies a lot!" she said, a big smile on her face. The energy she was giving was making him rather happy as well, reaching over and ruffling her mane. "I can see why. You are just such an adorable filly. You don't give your mom too much trouble, do you?" "That'd be pretty mean!" replied the filly. "Oh! I forgot to check on the caterpillar!" she cried, running out the door. "She's VERY energetic!" said Ditzy. "She knows how to watch herself though while I'm away." "I can tell." He said, chuckling lightly. "I'm rather happy with how playful she seems to be." He looked around the building a bit before looking back at the grey mare. "S-So, um...what were you two going to be doing?" "We were gonna watch a few movies. It's our mother/daughter night!" she answered with a small smile. He nodded. "Very well, you need me to help in any way for setting up, or-" He started to ask, before the mare shakes her head. "I've always got a lineup of movies~." He nodded again as he walked over to the couch and sat down. Ditzy walked over. There was a DVD player on the TV, which she opened up. "Any suggestions?" Spark opened his mouth to say something, but slowly closed it as he inspected his hooves. "I-I've...um, I've never actually seen a movie, so...so I don't really know what to suggest." He said. There was a small gasp from behind him, and turning around, he saw Dinky staring at him with wide eyes. "You've never seen a movie?!" She jumped up onto the couch, bouncing Spark a bit. "Mama! He's never even seen a movie!" Ditzy smiled and patted Dinky on the head. "That's ok, sweetheart. At least he's watching one now. Would you like some popcorn?" The red pony gave a nod. "I-If it's not too much trouble." "I'll get it!" Dinky shouted as she ran off. Spark couldn't hold back his laughter as he watched the little unicorn filly rush off to grab the snacks, he then turned his eyes back to Ditzy. "She is very adorable. I can see why you love her dearly." "Moooom! The popcorn is everywhere!" cried Dinky from the kitchen. Ditzy smiled nervously and flew into the kitchen. Of course Spark wasn't going to just sit there. He quickly got up and followed her. The kitchen was a complete and total mess, with popcorn all over the floor. Ditzy was grabbing a broom, sweeping up some of it. As Spark looked around, he found the filly giving a small frown on the outskirts of the mess, and he walked up to her before leaning down to better talk to her. "So, what happened here?" He asked, curious. Dinky smiled. "I didn't know what to press, so I pushed all the buttons." This made Spark utter a small laugh. He looked around at the mess. Giving her head a small ruffle, he leaned down and starts helping the mother/daughter duo with cleaning up the popcorn. As they cleaned, Dinky talked about her day at school, speaking of lessons and friends and a few books. Ditzy happily listened and commented as she swept, obviously enjoying the time spent with her daughter. Spark also listened as well, finding the little filly to be so damn cute. As he cleans the floor, his hoof bumps into Ditzy's, causing them both to pause as he stammers out some apologies, though she just waves it off and smiles back. After they had finished cleaning, they were soon back at the couch, the tv ready as the grey mare went through the different movies to choose from. "Here we go. Rolling Skies: A Love Story," she said as she inserted the disk. As Spark settled down, Dinky was quick to jump onto the couch and sat next to him, causing him to blink as he looked down at her. Seeing her look back at him with those innocent eyes made his heart melt a bit and he couldn't help but smile back. Ditzy sat down next to her daughter, wrapping a wing around her. The movie's protagonist seemed a lot like Spark, especially when it came to childhood. They had both been hurt by judgement. The protagonist went on to meet an oddly familiar mailmare, falling in love with her at first sight. He worked with her, and eventually, after she had invited him to her home, he asked her out. She agreed, and from there on, the movie depicted several different scenes of their romance until the very end, where they got married. During the entire movie, Spark would smile at the small things that the stallion did for the mare, and even laugh a few times at some of the more funny parts. Glancing at Ditzy every so often, he would notice, to his surprise, that she would be looking back at him before turning away. Once it was over, the red pony gave a small yawn as he stretched his wings, Dinky stretching her own limbs as well. "That was a rather nice movie." He said, smiling. Ditzy nodded. "Yeah. It was very sweet and romantic. I love romance." Nodding, he looked around the place for a few moments before asking, "So...what else do you guys do during mother daughter day?" "Oh, this is normally it. After watching a whole marathon, we eat dinner and then go to bed, "she answered. He blinked as he looked at Dinky, who nodded. After a few moments of silence, he shrugged as he leaned back against the couch. "I-I guess I can stay for a bit longer." He says, giving a small smile. Ditzy smiled and put on the next movie, which was a comedy. There was nothing particularly special about this one. It was simply about a stand-up comedian who learned how to laugh again. He was a very good comedian and he got the ponies in the room, including the ones watching the movie, to laugh at most if not all of his jokes. As the hours ticked by, Dinky rested her head against him, looking a bit tired, He couldn't help but realize how nice it must have been to have a family. As the thought came to him, he felt a small tear leaking from his eyes as he remembered his own lack of a childhood, but thankfully he shook it off as he went back to focusing on the movie. All too soon the last movie was over, and with a yawn, Ditzy got up from the couch and stretched her limbs. "What a great movie night!" She said before looking at Spark with a warm smile. "Thanks for joining us, Spark." He blushed and gently waved his hoof. "I-It was nothing, really. I enjoyed the time with you two." He said, looking at Dinky for a moment, only to see that the filly was asleep. "I should probably get her to bed," said Ditzy, picking up her daughter. He nodded as he got up. "Need help bringing her up?" He asked, to which she shook her head. She looked into his eyes for a moment before walking up the stairs with Dinky. Once she came back, she led him to the door and smiled at him. "Have a good night, Spark. I hope to see you again soon, and perhaps we can hang out again like this? Dinky really enjoyed your company," She said. He nodded. "Of course, I enjoyed hanging out with both of you," He said, and with a final farewell, he headed on out. Looking up at the sky, he sighed as he saw the stars and the moon all out, and stopped in the town center to just watch the sky for a bit.
Tales of an Outsider
Magical Memories
After a few minutes of star gazing, he headed back to the castle and entered the building. As he walked around he realized that Twilight was nowhere to be found, though he assumed that she was just asleep. As he walked down the hallway, he saw one of the doors open and glanced over in the room, curious. Inside Twilight was sitting in a chair, reading a book, seeming very much absorbed in it. Surrounding her were massive bookshelves with thousands of books stocked. She looked up and noticed Spark, smiling and waving a hoof for him to come in. He looked around the room as he entered, his eyes wide with amazement. "Wow, this is...a lot of books." He said. She nodded. "These books originally came from Canterlot. Princess Celestia thought it'd be nice to give me a few." He nodded as he looked at her with a small smile, tugging his hood instinctively as he did so. Even now he kept his hoodie on, something Twilight has noticed, and while she didn't wish to push him on it, she did think he doesn't really need it when around her. After a few moments of thinking it over she spoke up. "Maybe you should try walking around the castle without your hoodie?" she suggested, smiling. He paused as he looked at her with surprise before he quickly shook his head. "I-I kind of...p-prefer to keep it on, if that's ok? It helps to keep me calm with...l-large groups and to hide my...um, y-y-you know..." he said, looking down at his hooves in slight shame. "But Spark, you don't have to worry about it here. Everypony who would be here knows about your...you know." she reminded. "I-I know, but-" "Please?" She asked again, giving him big puppy eyes. He looked at her, stuck between a rock and a hard place as he tried to resist, but sadly his lack of dealing with such things proved to be his undoing as he sighed and nods his head. "O-Ok...I-I g-g-guess." He slowly took the hood off, and soon he places it on the floor for the time being, looking at her with a nervous look. She smiles in satisfaction. "Doesn't it feel good? You don't have to wear it all the time." "Um...I-I guess." He said, though his voice didn't share her conviction. His horns, having not bothered to cover them up with his mane this time, poked out on top of his head, the sight just begging for her to examine them. After a moment she placed the book down and got up, taking a few steps to looking at them closer, which caused him to back up a bit. "Um...w-w-what are you doing?" She squinted her eyes as she studied them. "They're just such a curious sight. If you'd like, I want to run some tests." He shuffled on his hooves, but before he could protest, she once again gave him those big eyes of hers. "Pleeeaaase?" He blushed as he once again tried to resist...and once again failed. "Ok, ok!" He said. "I-I'll...you can d-do some tests." She squee'd in joy and ran out the room. She eventually returned with a large machine on wheels. "I haven't used this in a while!" He gulped as he looked at the machine in worry. "Um...i-it won't h-hurt me...will it?" She looked at him, looking smug as all Tartarus. "This old thing? Nah. It's harmless." She floated a few stickers from the machine onto Spark's forehead, near his horns. He could feel himself starting to breath rapidly as she takes the stickers closer to his head, but before he can panic he took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. After a few minutes of keeping his eyes closed and calm, he looked back at Twilight, seeing that she stopped what she was doing and was patiently waiting for him to calm down. He gave her a nod of thanks and allowed her to continue. As she placed the stickers on him, he shivers at how close they are to his horns, but otherwise he remained still. Twilight switched on the machine, the metal box beeping and buzzing for a few moments before it spat out some paper from a slot in the side. She picked up the paper and read it over, becoming confused a few moments later. "Hm... that's definitely odd." He blinked as he looked over at her curiously. "Um...w-what's odd?" He asked. "Your magic output," she said. "It's higher than the average unicorn..." This caused him to give a surprised look. "B-But...but I'm a pegasus, not a unicorn..." He said, confused. "Exactly, that's why it's so odd...Perhaps it's the horns?" He gave a small shrug. "M-Maybe? I really don't know." He sighed as he sat down. "I-I mean...t-there is that one time that they..." He started to say before falling silent. The purple unicorn noticed this, however, and was quickly curious. "That they what?" she asked, looking at him with more interest. Spark, clearly anxious about such a subject, was gonna decline when he saw her preparing to do the puppy eyes. Not wanting to suffer such cuteness, he quickly starts to answer. "W-Well...t-they...I..." He hesitated again, still having a hard time telling it, and this time Twilight walked up to him and sits before him, offering a wing to his side for comfort. She can see that it wasn't a good memory, whatever it was. "I'm here for you. You can tell me," she assured. "It will help if you tell me about it." He nodded and after he took a few more moments to calm himself down, he finally continued. "I-I...I know that they keep growing back n-no matter what...w-what happens to them." He said. This got her curious as she tilted her head at him. "They... grow back?" She shook her head with a small chuckle. "Spark, that's ridiculous. They shouldn't be able to...I mean... Well, how can they..." She tried to say, but as she looked at him and noticed the serious look on his face, she fell silent and stared back. "They...they do?" He nodded. "T-They do. I...I've tried to...t-to..." He looked away once again in shame, though this time the Alicorn realized just why he was so upset about telling her this, her eyes going wide with shock. "You've...tried to..." She went silent, tightening her wing's grip on him. "Why?" He stayed silent as he remained looking away from her. "I-I...I was two years into my self isolation, if you want to call it that." He started. "I-I...I got so s-sick and tired of all the ponies either staring at me, o-or just...just refusing me any sort of help outright. I...I j-just..." He sniffed as his eyes start to water. "I couldn't take it anymore. So I...I b-bought a knife a-and..." he fell silent as he quietly teared up, a few of them falling and landing on the floor as he took in some shaky breaths. Twilight was speechless, her eyes wide as she just sat there, frozen in shock. To think that he would be so desperate as to try and cut off the horns himself, using a simple knife. Of course there is such ways like having a surgeon help, and she has heard of a few ponies do such things, but to do it by himself, with no help or medicine? The next moment she quickly wrapped her forelegs around him, giving him a sort of double hug with both wings and legs. She could feel herself shivering a bit from this sudden information intake. He closed his eyes as he felt her hug him, a bit unsure what to do. Eventually he returned the motion, his forelegs wrapping around her as he rests his head against her shoulder, slowly calming down. At this point Spike walked into the room, noticed the moment they were having, and then slowly walked backwards out of the room. Twilight shook her head at his actions before she turned her attention back to the pegasus. "We're here for you, Spark. I promise you won't go through anything like that again." She promised him. Spark didn't even notice when the dragon entered and left the room, so focused he is on the mare before him and the tears he was shedding. After a few minutes he finally calmed down enough to pull back. Glancing at her, he looked away before finishing his story. "N-No matter how many times, they would just grow back within a f-few minutes." He shivered as his wings tighten on his sides. "T-There was...s-so much...so much b-b-blood..." He coughed as he thought back to that, another shiver going down his spine. She winced sympathetically as she heard the word "blood", knowing that unicorn horns actually bleed quite a lot when damaged or broken. If his horns are anything similiar to a unicorns biology wise, then there would be lots of it. She rubbed his back a bit longer and then pulled away. "Just relax, I'm here to help. No one will make you go through that again." She said again. As the minutes ticked by, wanting to think of something to change the subject, an idea popped into her head...along with her stomach. "Why don't we get something to eat? You must be hungry." At this his stomach growled, causing him to blush as he shuffles on his hooves., the mare just gave a small giggle at the sound "J-just a bit..." He said, already starting to calm down a bit at the mention of food. She smiled at him and led him into the kitchen, a room he had never seen before. There was a variety of pots and pans hanging from cabinets, and there were stoves made from pure Crystal. He looked around curiously at the many crystal objects before looking at the purple mare curiously. "S-So...so what's for dinner?" "What would you like?" she asked. "We've got beans, celery, eggplants, radishes, daisies-" "Actually..." He looks around the kitchen for a few moments before he continued. Looking back at Twilight, he tried again, "A-Actually, can I make something for us?" She blinked in surprise. "What?" He nodded. "Please Twilight? It's the least I can do after all you have done for me." He explains. Seeing how he wasn't going to take no for an answer, she giggled and nodded. "Alright. You can make us something." Smiling, Spark was quick to start working on grabbing a few items before getting ready to cook. He was eager to make something for his hostess, considering how nice she and her friends had been this entire time. As the minutes ticked by, he was so focused on making the food that he barely notices Twilight still standing there, watching him work. Twilight smiled and waited, watching Spark work. She figured that since he travelled a lot, he'd have picked up some recipes from other locations. She was rather excited to see what he made. Plus Spike would most certainly appreciate the break. It took some time, but soon he has a pot simmering with hot water, along with a few chopped up veggies inside. As he stirred, he glanced over at the Alicorn, noticing that she was watching with interest, which caused him to blush. "U-Um...y-you can come and watch if you really want to." He says as he focused back on the pot. She grinned excitedly and walked over, watching. "What do you cook when you're travelling?" He shrugged. "Nothing special. When I travel...ah, was traveling, I would make simple things that didn't require a lot of supplies. I had to save up and manage my food, if that makes sense." He said, to which the mare gives a nod of understanding. "In this case, I'm making a simple stew I learned from a griffon a while ago, minus the...the um...m-meat..." He shivered a bit before shaking his head. He had nothing against meat eaters, he just would rather not see the insides of an animal if he had a choice. "A-Anyways, it's just a veggie stew, which can be filling without needing to use so many ingredients." She frowned as she heard "meat". "I'm sorry... meat?" She asked, glancing at the pot suspiciously. He nodded. "Griffins eat meat, and I was taught by a griffin how to make this. The first time he made it was with meat...though I-I...um..." He paused as he looked away for a moment. "I-I didn't realize it when I...tried it." Silence fell down as she looked at him in shock, though he was quick to add, "I-I got real sick afterwards when he realized his mistake, so he taught me a more vegetarian friendly stew." He motioned to the pot. "Like I said, no meat in this stew, just veggies and some spices." "Oh wow... you should never try meat," she said. "It can hurt us really bad." He nodded. "I-I was only ten, s-so...didn't really know at the time." He admitted. Twilight looked at him with wide eyes once again. "Y-You ate meat that young?!" He nodded again. "Y-Yea. I, um..." He stopped what he was doing as he just stared down at the pot before looking back at her. "I-I guess I didn't really say how I left the town...did I?" She shook her head. "If you'd like to share?" she asked. He slowly stirred the pot a bit as he thought it over. They already knew so much about him, he wasn't sure if he should share any more, still afraid of what they may think. However, feeling a wing on his back, he looked over and saw her smiling, kind face, making him realize that they wouldn't judge him. With a sigh, he nodded. "Ok...b-but no more questions for tonight after that, ok?" She nodded. "Of course." She stepped back, giving the red pony some space. He continued to stir the pot for a few moments before he spoke up. "I...I was eight when I left my town." He finally said. Her eyes, once again wide, mouth agape in shock as she just stared at the pony, who went back to focusing on his cooking. She wanted to ask more questions, to ask ANY question, but she remained silent, knowing that she promised no more questions for the night. Instead she just placed a wing over his back and nuzzled him a bit, which caused him to blush and look back at the mare, who just nodded her thanks before pulling herself back. He gave a small smile of thanks before he went back to stirring the pot. After a few minutes the food was soon done, and he carefully filled a couple of bowls with the stew before carrying it over to the closest table, motioning her to join him. "Food is ready." He said. She smiled as she walked over to him and takes the seat, the pegasus watching her carefully and a bit worriedly as he hoped that she does end up enjoying it. She took a bite, smiling brightly as she savored the flavors. "Wow! This is really good!" He blushed as she smiles at him, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. "I-I mean, it's ok..." He said, only for her to shake her head. "No really, it's great!" She told him, taking another bite and just enjoying the taste. He smiled shyly as he nodded his thanks and started to eat his own stew, just glad that she did indeed enjoy it. Spike walked in, smelling the meal. "Twilight? You cook something?" The purple mare shook her head. "Not me, it was Spark. He made some veggie stew." "There's plenty more if you want it." Spark adds. Spike nodded. "Sure!" He sat down with Twilight and grabbed a bowl, tasting. "Eh... it's okay," said Spike. This caused Spark's heart to sink a bit, but before he could hide it, Twilight was already slightly scolding the dragon. "Spike! He worked hard on that just for us!" she said. "What?" Spike seemed surprised. "I didn't mean to offend. I'm just saying it has room for improvement." He motioned Spark over and he looked into the stew. "What you wanna do is grind up some daffodils. They help bring out the flavor," he said, trying to give sincere advice. Spark tilted his head as he looked at the stew with thought. "I-I...I didn't think of it like that." He said as he rubbed his chin, Spike gave Spark a thumbs up. "If you want, I can teach you other recipes as well." He stroked his chin a bit more as he thought it over before he gave the small dragon a nod. "Ok, I...I wouldn't mind that." He said as he gave a small smile. Spike added the ground-up daffodils to his bowl and resumed eating, making Twilight roll her eyes with a smile. "So, Spark. Think you could share some of your travels?" She asked before quickly adding, "Only if you want to of course. I know I said no more questions, but..." He blinked as he heard this, a bit unsure as to what he should say. After a few moments of thinking it over, he nodded, deciding that it wouldn't be that bad to tell some of his stories. "I-I suppose, but...I'm not sure where to begin...or what to tell in the first place." He admitted before he looked at his bowl sheepishly. "I..I just don't think my stories are that amazing really." "I know that's not true. You must've encountered some things with all your years of travelling." He shrugged. "Besides Cuddio, I tend to keep to myself." He admit. He paused as he recalled something. "Though...there was this one time with a chimera..." Twilight's ears perked up upon hearing this. "A chimera?" "Yea. It was interesting to say the least." He said. "I was walking down the path, doing normal traveling stuff, you know? I heard these strange voices in the distance talking about all sorts of things, though I couldn't hear what they were talking about. Curious, I got closer and soon, when I peered out from some bushes, I saw this chimera arguing with itself...himself?" He paused as he tried to think what the gender would be before he gave a shake of his head. "Anyways. I noticed that they were arguing about how one would be so annoying and such, and basically just mad at each other, so...I kind of...stepped up and said hi and offered to talk to it." He admitted, turning away to his stew as he gave a sheepish smile. "And what did it say? Did it hurt you?" asked Twilight, hanging onto every word. He shook his head. "No...thankfully. It almost did but I was able to talk with it. After a while, I got to know it a good amount just with talking, and soon even had its heads in a better mood. Once they were all better, we just went our separate ways" He gave a shrug at the end of his tale. "It was one of my more...interesting tales, I guess." "Wow! I cant believe you befriended a chimera!" she exclaimed. "Any other creatures?" He shook his head. "None that I know of. At least not to that degree. At most I was neutral with the other creatures. You know, the whole 'stay out of each other's way' sort of thing." He admitted. "Huh... that's interesting..." she said, deep in thought. He nodded as he looked at her for a few moments. He blushed as he turned away when he realized he was kind of staring at her. "I...did you really think that was interesting?" He asked. "Yeah. Most monsters would just try to harm ponies," she said. "Maybe we're just doing things wrong." He nodded. "W-well, it kind of helps when we are both monsters." He said as he gave a painful chuckle, his hoof automatically slid up to his horns and touched them lightly before going back down as he focused on his stew. This caused Twilight to frown. "You need to stop viewing yourself like that," she said. "But it's true..." He sighed, looking away. Seeing how he needed some comfort, Twilight got up from her seat and walked over to him as she wrapped a wing around him yet again. "You're not a monster. I've fought many of them. You're just misunderstood." He remained silent as she hugged him, his mind in thought. They stayed like that for a few minutes before he glanced at the stew, realizing that it had started to get cold. "L-Let's finish the food, it's getting cold." He said before shyly adding, "A-And after we finish eating...can you...show me some magic?" She smiled and nodded, glad to see he was feeling better so quickly, and just as happy to perform some magic for him. They finished eating in silence, and later on, she led him into the library, Spike following as well. Once in the room, she sat down and looked at him eagerly. She floated out several books. "I think today I'll teach you about magical artifacts." He smiled eagerly as he leaned in, ready to learn. Spike, on the other hoof, gave a small groan as he waved at them. "I think I'm just going to head in for the night." He said, walking out of the room. "Night Twilight, night Spark." "Goodnight, Spike," replied Twilight. "Now, where were we?" "We were going to talk about artifacts." He reminded her rather eagerly. "Ah, yes!" she said, smiling. She brought out a small crystal sphere. "See this?" He nodded. "This is a memory sphere. It takes a memory and turns it into a picture that you can see inside the sphere." His eyes are wide as he looked at the crystal before him. "Woah...how does it work?" he asked. "And all you have to do is touch your head to it," said, touching Spark's forehead with it as a quick example. He half expected to see something, but when nothing happened he looked at her curiously. "Um...nothing happened..." "You also need to focus on a certain memory for it to work." She added with a giggle, getting a sheepish nod from the pegasus. "Oh..." He simply said, and when he looked up at her, she just motioned for him to think of a memory. Seeing no harm in it, he pondered over his choices for a few moments, his mind going over all the possible memories he had. It was rather hard, however, since he hadn't had many memories that he wished to recall. However, after a bit of thinking, there was one that did pop up, and with a nod, he lets her know that he is ready. She took the crystal and placed it against his forehead as he closed his eyes. Slowly, the crystal glowed for a bit before dimming down. "Let's see if it worked," said Twilight. "Tell me what you see." He looked into the crystal for a few moments before his eyes widen and he let out a small gasp. There, plan as day was the memory he was thinking. In the crystal was him, as a young foal laying in his bed, an elderly mare sat by him. She held a book open in her hooves as she was reading a story to him, the younger Spark smiling lightly as he cuddled against her. Twilight couldn't help but stare curiously at the memory, even giving a small smile as it reminds her of the times her parents or even her brother would read her a story. When she went to speak to Spark, she saw he was just staring at the crystal in shock, even taking the crystal and holding it in his hooves. Worried, she gently poked his shoulder with her hoof to get his attention. "Spark...?" He shook his head as he looked at the mare. "Mind telling me what this memory is about?" He returned his gaze to the crystal before responding to her. "I-It's me with...w-with Sweet Heart. One of my more fonder memories of her. She was reading one of my favorite books before bed." He told her, giving a sad smile. Twilight walked up to Spark and carefully took the orb in her magic, looking at it carefully. "You really miss her, don't you?" He nodded, letting out a sigh as he does so. "Y-yea..." He said, his eyes started to water. She patted Spark gently on the back with her wing, giving a sad smile. "Hey, I bet if she saw you now, she would be happy for you." He looked at her questioningly. "Really?" "Of course! Not only are you a kind stallion but you are helpful as well. And you have us as friends who will always help you out." She said, giving him a nuzzle, which caused him to blush even more, though he doesn't pull back. He remained silent as he looked at the orb. Even as his tears gently slid down his cheek, he can't help but to smile at the mare. Gently, he leaned in and hugged her, nuzzling her neck back. "Twilight...thank you for this. It...it showed me that despite my harsh past, I...I had a few good things to remember." It was her turn to blush as he nuzzled her, feeling uncertain again. After a few seconds of processing, she just smiled, letting him nuzzle her. It was only far after all. It took a few moments to realize what he was doing, and when he did, he backed up, blushing as he shuffles on his hooves. "Um...s-sorry." She smiled at him. "It's fine." She then looked at the memory orb before holding it out to him. "You may keep that if you'd like." Eyes going wide, he looked at the orb before looking back at her. "R-Really?" She nodded. "Of course! I don't need it and I think you will like it more than me." Spark looked at the orb once again, looking at the picture of Sweet Heart reading that story. His heart ached as he smiled, and Twilight can't help but to look at it with him. They just sat there, looking at the image for a good while, neither of them saying anything. Finally, after a good while, the red pony spoke up. "I...I wish I could read that story again..." He sighed. He smiled as he tucked the orb away under his wing before giving a small yawn. "I...I'm rather tired now. I think I'll head to bed." She nodded. "You get a good rest, Spark. I'll be here in the morning." Giving a smile, he turned and left the room, waving night to the mare. After a few minutes of walking, he placed his things to the side and got into the bed. As he started to get comfy, he paused and grabbed the orb, once again looking at it. "I...I miss you Heart..." He said, letting out a small sigh as he held the orb close, feeling his eyes lightly water as he started to fall asleep.
Tales of an Outsider
The Relaxed and The Unseen
The week went by rather smoothly, which was a surprise to the colt as he wasn't expecting it to go as such. During that week he spent his time talking to the other girls while also reading a bit from the library in the castle. Twilight would often hang with him as well during this time, both of them talking about random things that he found in the books that caught his interest. He also found himself spending more time with Ditzy and her daughter outside of work, something which he found to be very enjoyable. Whenever Ditzy had to run an errand, Spark would offer to look after Dinky, and they would play and have lots of fun together. To him, it felt like a part of his foalhood being back. As for Trixie, he never really got a chance to talk to her much after the incident with his horns. The few times he saw her she was more than happy to greet him, but otherwise she was busy doing a chore or another important thing. In any case, Spark was just happy that she meant what she said before, though he still wishes to talk about that kiss. Today, with work being done, he was busy looking around for a possible blacksmith to fix something when he ran into Fluttershy in the market area, who was carrying a small book with a broken buckle on it. He was so focused with his search that she saw him before he did. "Oh! Hello, Spark. What brings you here?" He blinked before looking around for a few moments before seeing her, then he smiled as he saw the yellow mare. "O-Oh, hello Fluttershy." He greeted her. "I was looking for a possible blacksmith to fix something of mine." He told her. "Um...w-what are you doing here?" "Oh, I was just here to get my book fixed. It won't stay closed anymore," she said, showing the broken buckle. He looked at the buckle of the book, and curious he also looked at the title, wondering what kind of book she may be reading. What he saw made him confused, for it was called, "How to speak animal." Couldn't Fluttershy already do that? "Um...don't you already know how to...you know..." He asked, pointing at the book she was holding. The yellow mare tilts her head rather cutely. "I can what?" she asked, seemingly clueless. "You know...to...t-to, um..." He tried to tell her in some way that he thought she knew how to talk to animals, but instead he came up with nothing. Instead he shook his head and gave a sheepish smile. "Never mind." He said, his wings giving a rustle. The shy mare looked at said wings and was happy to see that they were in much better shape than before, though she is sad he is still wearing that hoodie at all. She smiled and looked at Spark's jacket. "You really shouldn't wear that all the time. No one should hide such pretty wings." He blushed at the compliment and looked away shyly. "I-I...I don't have...n-nice wings..." He said softly. Fluttershy tilted her head. "You don't? But Rainbow Dash said they were." He blinked and glanced at her again. "She did?" He asked, very much confused. Fluttershy closed her eyes with a smile. "Oh, yes! She's commented on it before. Said despite how messy they were they can be a real nice pair if properly preened on a daily bases." Now this confused the red pony, having no idea when Dash would have said something like that. Or why, more importantly. True his wings were a whole lot better thanks to her sessions (none of them getting any more out of hoof as of late, thankfully...besides some light teasing from her) and he has been able to maintain his wings on his own now, at least at a basic level. She does make sure that he is always keeping his wings clean whenever they practiced flying and he does still have issues keeping them clean sometimes. Looking at the pegasus mare, he just nodded his head as he gently kicked the ground. "O-Oh..." Was all he could really say, not sure what else to do besides that. He felt a bit more self conscious of his wings now and the possible attention that they might get, which caused him to ruffle them up. In doing this, he winced and gave a soft grunt as a rather large cramp he had been dealing with once again ached through his joints. Fluttershy noticed this and frowned. "Oh dear, are you ok? It looks like your in a bit of pain." He nodded his head. "Y-yea, just...just a small cramp, it's nothing." He said as he gave her a comforting smile, trying to shrug it off as nothing. As another wave of pain washed over him his wings twitched as he nearly staggered, quickly catching himself. The shy mare wasn't having any of it. "I think you should go see a doctor, it can't be-" "NO!" He shouts before flinching back at his own voice. Shy also flinched back, her eyes wide as he looked at him with surprised. "S-Sorry, I just...not a fan of doctors. T-Too...too invasive." "Still, you need to get that dealt with. It doesn't seem like it's doing you any good, and I know Dash can be rather tough when it comes to flying, and thinking about you being in so much pain..." She falls silent and just gave him a sad look. He sighed as he eased his wings a bit to fold them on his back before he turned to face her. "M-Maybe...but I haven't had a problem with it before." He told her. It is true, he has never had an issue with it before. "And her training isn't that hard. my wings are-" He started to say before wincing again as yet another shock of cramps shook through his back. Fluttershy saw the saw the wave of pain once again pass through him, and then an idea popped into her head. It was another opportunity to help him, and it was so convenient, too, considering things. "Why don't you come to the spa with Rarity and I? We normally have our spa sessions on this day of the week." Hearing about the offer did cause him some pause, but he shook his head. "N-No, thanks, I don't wish to intru-" he gasped as he stiffened up, his cramp getting a bit worse. "Feel that? That's your muscles saying otherwise. I'd feel bad if you didn't come with us and relaxed," she said with a worried look. "B-but I..." he tried to tell her, but as soon as he made eye contact with her, he just froze up. Looking into her eyes, seeing the worry that she held for him, it just brought his heart to a near standstill. "Please." She said so kindly and softly. "For me?" He blushed like mad as he looked at her, and after what felt like an eternity, he finally looked away and gave a nod. "O-Ok...I...I'll go." He said, glancing back at her with a sheepish smile. She gave a wide grin in response. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm actually going after this if you'd like to join me!" As he heard this, he realized he almost forgot why he came here in the first place, and said, "Oh, I almost forgot I needed to-" before he got another cramp. Seeing how they weren't going to go down anytime soon and that he should get it fixed sooner rather than later, he just nodded his head, forgoing his original reason for coming out. "I-I...I think I'm ready whenever you are, Fluttershy." He said, still blushing. She smiled and quickly finished what she was doing. Once done, Fluttershy led him to a rather nice building. It was pristine on the inside, without a single spot. At the desk were twins, one blue and one pink. Spark, of course, huddled close to the yellow mare once they walked inside, still feeling very much nervous about going to a spa. Plus the way those two looked at him with such curious eyes made him nervous. Thankfully his hood is up as always, so he took comfort in that. The blue one looked over to Spark and Fluttershy with a smile. "Ah! Velcome! Ve have been expecting you, Fluttershy! And who is zis?" "He's a very good friend, and he'll be taking the same treatment as Rarity and I." "Ah! Vell, ve'll need some payment, yes?" she said. Fluttershy nodded and reached into her bag to grab the bits. This caused the red pony to look at her in surprise. "W-Wait, you don't need to pay, I can-" he tried to say, only got the yellow mare to shake her head. "Nope. Don't waste your bits. You need this." Seriously, what was with everypony paying for him? He blushed even harder, feeling rather thankful for how nice they all were, yet at the same time wishing he could pay for his own things. But it was already done, and with it out of his hooves the twins led them to their first destination, the steam room, where Rarity was just about to walk in herself. "Oh! Fluttershy, darling! I was beginning to wonder if you'd make it this week!" exclaimed Rarity. She hugged Fluttershy tight before noticing Spark. "Oh! Spark is here as well?" The red pony just smiled shyly and gave a nod to the white mare. "Um...h-hi Rarity." he greeted. "Hello, darling! Are you here for a treatment?" she asked. 9 "Y-Yes. Fluttershy...c-convinced me to join you two...i-if it isn't a bother, of course." He said, pawing the ground once again. "Not a bother at all!" she replied. "Come, come! Let's not dally." She opened the door, letting a burst of steam flow out. Fluttershy gave a small smile to him, encouraging him to walk in. As he started to breath slowly to calm himself down, Lotus was quick to speak up. "I'm zorry, but I must ask zat you remove your clothing before entering ze steam room.." She told him. "You don't have to worry though, I can hold onto it in one of our lockers." This got him to nearly freeze up, and is about to decline when he saw the look on Fluttershy's face. it was one of slight hope, seeing if he was finally going to take his hoodie off, even if it is for a little bit. Not wanting to have his only major protection be damaged by the steam, he nodded and slowly took his hoodie off, and soon he was naked once again, holding it over to the blue mare. Fluttershy almost squee'd at the progress. Sure it was necessary for him to get into the steam room, but it still counts in her mind. Rarity walked in first before sitting down on a bench. She patted the spot next to her. Feeling rather naked without his hoodie, he hesitated for a few moments before the shy mare gently nudged him into the steam room, that smile always on her face. Giving a nod, he walked in and sat down next to the unicorn, Fluttershy sitting down next to him, so now he was between them both, which just made him even more nervous, and it showed as his wings flexed and twitched from his anxiety. The yellow mare is quick to pick up on this. "Don't feel nervous, Spark," said Fluttershy as she sat down. "This is a place to relax in." "Indeed, no anxiety is allowed in these halls while you are here." Rarity agreed with a smile of her own. He nodded and took a deep breath before carefully exhaling. He closed his eyes and began to focus on just trying to relax. Slowly, he could feel the tension melting away from his body, the steam gently soaking into his fur, and he gave a small smile as he started to relax. The two mares smiled as they glanced at each other, slightly surprised that he actually started to calm down, but very glad to see Spark finally relaxing. "See, darling? All anypony really needs in order to relieve stress is a simple trip to the spa. It works wonders!" exclaimed Rarity. "Then after this are hooficures, mud baths, and the jacuzzi. The last one's my favorite," said Fluttershy. He blushed at the mentioned other activities, especially the mud bath one. However, he would talk about it when it happened. For now, he just smiled and nodded in agreement. "I-I...I guess so," he said. "So how have you been doing?" asked Rarity. He tilted his head in thought for a few moments before he replied. "Can't really complain. Everything has been going rather well for me...which is surprising. Normally by now I would have expected to be run off cause of my...w-well...um..." He paused as he looked at the floor, still too shy to say it, even though the girls knew what he was talking about. After all, the steam had matted his fur enough so that his horns were now in plain view of them both. Sensing the tension starting to build up, Rarity quickly tried to think of something to change the subject before turning to Fluttershy. "So um... How are your animals?" Fluttershy smiled in return, understanding what the white unicorn was trying to do. "Oh, they're just fine! So, Spark! Have you gotten off the ground yet?" He shook his head as he looked at the kind mare. "N-No, not yet. I did learn how to glide a bit, so...t-there's that at least." he said. He didn't notice how the white mare looked at his horns, most likely for the best considering how he already thinks about himself. Fluttershy looked at Spark's horns as well and smiled. "You know, they're not so bad. They're like animal horns. I really like animals." He wasn't really sure how to take that, but the fact that she even liked them at all caused him to blush even more. "R-Really?" He asked, his cheeks bright red, even visible through his coat. She nodded and smiled at him while he just stayed silent in embarrassment. Rarity found the whole thing to be rather adorable, giving a small smile as she tried to contain herself from it. (One Hour Later) "...and she says to me, 'Zat iz vhy ve use ze towels in ze first place!'" Rarity finished in a joke. Spark laughed as he heard the joke, unable to stop the small chuckling fit as he did so. It had been a relaxing hour in the steam room, both of them huddled a bit close to him, Fluttershy more so than Rarity. it seems they were a lot more into cuddling and such here than other places, and for a pony like Spark it took some getting used to. However, after a small nuzzle from the shy mare and that amazing smile of hers, he just couldn't say no and allowed them to practically hold him. Plus it helped that the steam room was acting like a sedative for his mind, keeping him nice and relaxed. It was almost like the sauna had a magical effect on all of them. Rarity removed her cheek from Sparks's and looked at the clock on the wall. "Ten more minutes until hooficures, darlings." She reminded the yellow mare, grinning excitedly. He groaned as he got up from his spot, shaking his wings a bit before closing them. They still were a bit cramped, but not nearly as much as before. "Um...I-I'm not sure I want to do that, I'll be honest." He said with a blush, looking at his hooves. They seemed fine to him. The girls gave him curious looks. "Why not?" asked Fluttershy. "They can be very relaxing." He still shook his head. "Maybe so, but I...I just don't think that it's a good fit for me." He said. It was then that his wings gave a jerk as he winced, though he was able to hold it together, the two mares easily saw the wince. Thankfully, Rarity perked up as an idea popped into her head. "Darling? Would you like to get a massage instead?" asked Rarity. He tilted his head in confusion at this. "A massage? Um...w-what's a...massage?" He asked. He knew what a hooficure was, but not a massage?! This got the mares to stare at him with incredulous looks. Rarity laughed nervously. "That's a very charming joke, darling!" She laughed for a bit more before it slowly died down, leaving a confused Spark to look at them both. "Um...I don't think he's joking Rarity." Fluttershy stated. The white mare's eyes went wide with shock. "Oh... oh dear no. That's not acceptable. No one should go their whole life without even hearing of a massage," said Rarity. He just stared at her as she began to nearly go on a tangent. "It's simply not right. I will personally ask Lotus if she'll give the massage." As this went on Fluttershy noticed that Spark was still just as confused as before, and she gently tapped his shoulder to get his attention. "It's like a back rub," she explained. "You'll love it." Spark raised an eyebrow at this. "Um...I guess?" He agreed with a nod. If it's just like a back rub, than it should be fine for him...he hoped. "It's settled," said Rarity, finally having calmed down enough from her moment. "We shall go in," she glanced at the clock. "Five minutes." Flutters looked at Spark with heavy thoughts on her mind. The biggest question, however, was if he'd ever considered settling down during that time. It wasn't that big of a thought since he had already decided to stay in Ponyville, but the question remained still. In any case, Spark remained leaning back, a small smile on his face as he sighed, doing his best to enjoy the rest of the time in the steam room. During this time the girls chatted to each other about their day and about some sort of book series that they were reading. "But if Miss Penny Pinched wasn't so blind to his true worth, the book would have ended happily. I don't understand why they ended it on such a sour note," questioned Rarity. "I think it delivers a strong message. Ending it happily just means you can get away with what you've done to others without consequences. I'd say the book ended fairly," reasoned Fluttershy. Spark was so zoned out with listening to the two talk that he didn't even notice when the doors opened and Aloe peaked her head in and announced, "Ok dears, the hooficures are ready!" "Oh Aloe, by chance can you have your sister massage Spark here? He has never even heard of a massage before." Asks Rarity. "Oh mon dieu! Zat's just not acceptable!" Aloe said, eyes wide with shock. Spark just sank a bit in his seat, still unsure as to what the big deal is with not knowing what a massage was. "Vut ov course Rarity, I zhall lead him to the room." Nodding her thanks, the two mares getting up from their seats and stretch their legs out, letting small, satisfied sighs before glancing at the red stallion. "Good luck, darling. Fluttershy and I will be getting hooficures." Rarity said, giving him a comforting smile. He swallowed as he looked over at the pink mare who smiled at him, and with a nod to himself he got up and left the steam room after looking at the other two one last time, both of them still giving him comforting smiles. As he followed the spa pony, he couldn't help but to sweat a bit at what may happen next. And it wasn't from the steam room. Aloe noticed this as she looked at him worriedly. "Iz somezing ze matter, dear?" the pony asked as they walked. He quickly shook his head. "Oh, no. I just...t-this is my first time in a spa. A-And...and first time getting a massage." he told her. "Oh I noticed and it iz rather adorable!" She said, giggling. He blushed at the fact that she did notice, but she quickly added, "Fear not. Lotus and I are trained in ze art of relaxation, and ve vill not judge you on the fact that youv never been to a spa before. If anything, it juzt makes us more determined to make your time here zat much more enjoyable!" she assured, smiling. He smiled lightly back, finding her confidence to be rather reassuring. Soon they reached an empty room where Lotus was busy tidying up. "Zizter! Spark here is in need of a massage. And this iz hiz firzt time, so make it a memorable one for him!" She said grinning. The blue mare paused as she looked at her sister first, then at Spark with some surprise. "Oh, hiz first time? I shall make sure it is very pleasant zen indeed!" Lotus agrees. She motions him over to her, to which he follows and stands next to her. Aloe, seeing he is in good hoofs, leaves the room to attend to the other two mares. After a bit of finishing up, Lotus has one of the tables set up. Looking over at Spark, she patted the large table beside her. "Lay here, pleaze. On ze stomach." He gave a small nod as he first sat on the table then laid down, face down as she instructed, adjusting himself so that he was looking forward comfortably. He didn't know what to expect at first, but before he could even guess, the pressure of hooves were on his back, slowly pressing down on his spine. He started to panic a bit as a rather strong feeling of pain began to build up, making him wince as he quickly tried and pulled back from it. Thankfully, seeing how he reacted, Lotus was quick to respond and comfort him. "Hold ztill. It only hurts for a second. Trust me on zis, pleaze." He didn't say anything for a few moments before giving a small nod and doing as she said, slowly relaxing once again. As she pushed down, the pain returned, but as she had promised, his back popped loudly, giving him immense relief. His eyes went wide and he grunted at the pop before letting out a large gasp and then a long sigh. Now fully relaxed, his muscles were loose enough for the blue pony to get to work. It was like he had stepped into the ether itself, his body feeling more relaxed than he had ever been. No stress, no worries, not even a single thought plagued him throughout it all. It was amazing how this could happen from just a bit of back rubbing, at least in his opinion. He sighed as he allowed the mare to fully take over his body, the relaxation flowed through him like water over rocks. He was starting to even feel a bit hazy from the massage, his mind getting muddled in being so relaxed, never having been so calm before in his life. It was almost addicting to him and he didn't want it to stop, not even for a second. Especially with how they managed to rub the pain right out of his wings, doing it so effortlessly and as to not cause any lewd thoughts to enter his mind. He barely even noticed other ponies were touching his wings he was that relaxed. It went on like this for the rest of the hour, the time slowly going by, while at the same time it felt like no time at all. His sense of time was rather off during it, so he had no idea if it was an hour or ten minutes when she finally lifted her hooves off of his back. "Iz all done, sir! We hope you have a good day,~" Lotus said with her cheery smile. He blinked his eyes as he looked around with slight confusion as he realized he had dozed off a bit. He looked himself over and gave his wings a few flaps, surprised with how smooth the movements felt. Moving his legs a bit showed the same thing as he just smiled at the twin. "Wow, I...I feel amazing. Thank you, you are amazing!" He said with a large grin She giggles at the compliment. "Iz no big deal! We do zis every day after all.~" Lotus walked over to the counter and picked up a pamphlet before bringing it over to Spark. He looked at the paper curiously as she brought it over. It appeared to show what specials the sisters offered each day. Massages seemed to be 20% off on Tuesdays. Seeing what it was, he just smiled his thanks as he took the paper. "Um...s-still though...t-thanks again." He said, his cheeks heating up a bit as his shyness started to return to him. It was at this point that Rarity and Fluttershy entered the room, having just had their hoof treatments finished. "Hello, darling," greeted Rarity. "How was your massage?" He smiled at the two as he gave his wings a ruffle. "Amazing! I never felt so relaxed in my life!" He said, letting out a small sigh at the memory of it. Of course he blushed right after he realized how he acted as the two of them giggled at his happiness. "Well, I'm glad you had a good time," said Rarity. "We should do this again next week," suggested Fluttershy. "Honestly, you looked like you really needed that treatment." He thought about it for a few moments, idling kicking the ground as he did so. He had to be honest, he really did enjoy it, plus spending some more time with Fluttershy was very nice too. It was something he rarely got a chance to do. "I-I...sure, if you're there I won't m-mind..." He says rather softly, but loud enough for them to hear it, his cheeks going red once again. Fluttershy gave him a quick smile, happy to see him smiling as well and of course more than pleased to hear that he wanted to continue doing this with them. It was at this point that he looked at the clock and realized how late it was getting. He gave them a small smile before saying, "I think I should head back, it's getting rather late and I need to get some sleep for work tomorrow." He told them. "Well, alright, darling. Sleep well!" replied Rarity. "I hope you have sweet dreams," said Fluttershy. He nodded his head and with a wave to the two mares heads out. Looking outside, he took a small breath and exhaled before heading back to the castle, a bit of pep in his step thanks to the miraculous massage. Little did he know, that a certain pony was watching him from beyond a few stalls, watching his every move.
Tales of an Outsider
Chaotic Dates
Fluttershy stood outside, feeding her animals by setting out plates of vegetables for them. "There you go, little ones. Eat up.~" Angel looked at his plate of carrots and then back up at his owner, tapping the ground with his foot. "Angel, I couldn't find any cherries this week," defended Fluttershy. The pesky bunny simply tapped his foot even faster. "Well, I could use raspberries instead. Would you like that?" she asked. The tapping went slower, the bunny thinking it over before finally answering with a small nod. Fluttershy went inside her cottage and came back out a minute later with a bag of raspberries. She took a few out and sprinkled them on top of the carrots, leading to a satisfied Angel Bunny as he started to dig into the salad.. As she watched her bunny eat, she couldn't help but to think about Spark and the improvements in his confidence, making her smile. "You know Angel, I think Spark would have a nice time meeting all of the animals here." Angel listened, still eating their lunch. He did remember seeing the red pony when he was first here for tea, watching from a hidden nook in the room. He was kind of curious to know more about him, for he had to agree he was very much like his owner. Fluttershy continued. "He really is a lot like me. Shy and nervous and scared of judgement, but at the same time he just wishes to help as much as he can. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if..." Angel waited for her to finish her sentence, being patient since the rabbit had received his meal. "Sometimes I wonder if I should... ask him to go someplace with me. Not too fancy. Just a relaxing place where we can talk about our feelings and maybe even share a laugh or two." She finished before she let out a small sigh. Angel squinted his eyes in skepticism, causing the butter colored mare to look confused at him. "Why are you looking at me like that...?" Fluttershy felt nervous. "I'm not asking him on a date or anything..." Angel just continued to stare, this time raising an eyebrow at the denying comment. After a few moments Fluttershy rescinded her statement and said, "Well, maybe... I mean, he's really sweet. It was only yesterday he went to the spa with me and Rarity." She fell silent before she sighed. "Who am I fooling? I can't ask him out. What if he rejects me?" This caused the bunny to give a facepalm, seeing his owner once again going down their own rabbit hole of anxiety. Before she could go any deeper, he quickly jumps up to her and stamps on her hoof a few dozen times in the only way a bunny could This got Fluttershy to snap out of her thoughts as she looks right at her bunny. "Angel!" scolded Fluttershy. She was about to say more but was quickly silenced as she continued to look at his serious expression. "Y-You...You'll help me?" she asked in surprise, which caused Angel to give a nod in response.. It was at this moment that her door would receive a knock, causing them to both stop what they were doing and look at it before looking at each other, the bunny just motioned for her to answer it. Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy crept to the door and slowly turned the handle before opening it. The door slowly opened to reveal Spark, who stood there with a shy smile as always. "Um, h-hey Fluttershy." He said. "I...I think I may have left my snow globe here when I...um, s-showed it to you." He told her, a sheepish smile on his face. Upon seeing the very pony that she was just thinking about asking out, Fluttershy's brain froze. Was this her chance? It had to be her chance! This could be the only possible chance she ever got! ...SLAM!!! She quickly slammed the door in his face from her anxiety, rapidly turning around as she placed her back against the door. She then looked to Angel Bunny on the floor as she realized her mistake. He simply gave a deadpan stare as he pointed to the door, tapping his foot. As she realized that he was right, she swallowed her fear and then slowly opened the door. "Um... C-Come in!" As she reopened the door, the stallion's eyes were wide with shock, frozen in place as he just looked at the mare. He had no idea what just happened, and part of him was too scared to ask, so instead he just slowly nodded his thanks and walked in. Seeing the bunny, he smiled at him and reached into his pocket and pulled out a cherry. "Hey Angel, I found some fresh cherries in the market, thought you might want one." Fluttershy smiled at such a kind gesture. Angel looked at the cherry in surprise. He had no idea how this pony knew about his love for cherries. Little did he know that Fluttershy and Spark both talked about her animals and she happened to talk quite a bit about Angel himself. He quickly snagged the small fruit and shoved the whole thing into his mouth, pulling off the stem. As he munched on his food, he stared carefully at the red pony before he gave a small nod. He's ok...for now. Fluttershy led Spark into the back room, where she had put his snow globe. "I was surprised to see you'd left it." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Y-Yea, I guess I just got excited someone gave me something and wanted to show it off, even if it seemed stupid at the time." He said with a nervous chuckle as he took the snow globe back and put it in one of his pockets. The kind mare gave a small frown at that. "Spark, it's not stupid to show others a gift that you got." She told him. This got him to smile lightly at the mare as he gave her a nod of thanks, to which she returned the smile in kind. It was at this point that they fell silent, neither of them really sure what to say to the other. Normally they would have quite a few things to talk about, but for some reason neither of them could think of anything to say. It was during this time that Angel stood on an inactive lamp, his cherry having been finished just moments ago. He gave Fluttershy a small stare that gave her shivers, the look clearly obvious that he wants her to get a move on and make her move. She looked at Spark and, with a nervous smile, she rubbed the back of her neck. "Would you...u-uh..." She started to say before her nerves got to her once again, making her fall silent. He blinked as he tilted his head. "W-Would I...what?" He asked, confused. Unsure of herself again, she looked back at Angel, who just continued to give her the stare, this time motioning with his head to keep going. Fluttershy closed her eyes and took a deep breath before slowly opening them, locking onto Spark's own eyes. The stallion couldn't help but to get locked into her gaze as she finally found the words to finish her question. "Would you like to... g-go out with me somewhere?" He just remained a bit confused as she finally answered him. "I-I mean, sure...but we already went out before, I'm not sure how that is so hard to-" This time the bunny does facepalm himself as he listens to Spark's confusion. Quickly bouncing off the lamp and to the red pony, he jumped up and slapped him across the face. This got Spark to go wide eyed for a moment as he placed a hoof at the spot of impact, about to ask the bunny why he did such a thing when his eyes locked back onto Fluttershy's. Just seeing the gaze she was sending him, and the anxiety along with the determination behind them soon sent the message across. As he looked back, the full weight of what she really meant hit him, which caused his cheeks to blush extremely red. "W-W-Wait. Y-You want...t-to...to go out...with...with me?" He asked, eyes wide with shock. "As in...a-as in a...a-a-a...a-a d...d-date?" She remained silent for a good few moments before slowly she gave a small nod to confirm it. "I...yes." She blushed an intensely colored shade of red, but she still kept her eyes locked on him. He just stood there, completely speechless and unsure what to do or say. Here is this mare who is asking HIM out. Him, out of all the other possible ponies, and not only is she super nice, but she is also extremely attractive and very much like him in so many ways, including with her own shyness. Seeing how she may be starting to back away from it, he quickly shouted. "Yes!" Before he covered his mouth. The sudden shout caused the mare to give a start, eyes wide with shock from the outburst. He took a few moments before he repeated himself at a more normal tone. "I-I mean, yes please. I-I would...I would love to go out with you, o-on a...d-date..." Inside her head, Fluttershy couldn't help but to squeal in delight. He said yes! He actually said yes! Outside, she coughed and nodded. "Th-That's splendid. I...thank you, Spark..." She said as she gave him a slightly bigger smile. He blushed even harder at such a kind face and just nodded his head. "Um, y-yea." He said. Looking around he isn't really sure what else to do, and just coughs a bit as well. "Um...s-so...." As he fell silent once again, Angel jumped up and slapped Spark again, this time on the back of the head, getting the gears in his brain to start turning again. The slap was just what he needed as he shook his head and added, "S-So...where do you wish to go for our...um...date?" "I was thinking of a wildlife preservation park in a town not too far from here." She quickly said, causing the stallion to blink in surprise. It seemed she already had the whole thing planned out. He quickly nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. So...tomorrow?" He asked. She nodded in response. "That sounds lovely." He smiled back. "That's...um, g-great!" He said. He looked around for a bit and, seeing how he doesn't really need to be here anymore, he said, "S-So...till then?" "Until then.~" She said, feeling herself feel more and more excited as she continued to talk to him. He nodded and slowly backed away, his eyes locked on Fluttershy, but not of fear. He was starting to see her in a bit of a new light. Sure he thought she was attractive before, but now he was really looking at her, and for some reason he just couldn't look away...at least till he tripped on his own hooves. The small stumble caused Fluttershy to make a move to catch him, but he managed to catch himself and he gave her a sheepish smile before fully turning and heading out the door, closing it behind him. As soon as the red pegasus left the house, the butter colored mare finally let loose a soft, but high pitched "EEEEE!" as she jumped in place, clapping her hooves together in excitement. She flashed a smile to Angel, who gave her a thumbs up. How a rabbit has thumbs, we may never know. As the two ponies started to get themselves ready, a single thought popped into both of their minds: "Wait, what do I do on a date?" (line) This thought plagued Spark the entire walk back, including when he entered the castle and back into his room. As Spark looked through his closet to find something to wear for tomorrow, if anything, he is still lost by that one single thought, unsure how to answer it. Suddenly... an answer to his question came...one that he certainly would have never expected. "A date...? With Fluttershy of all ponies? You're better off teaching Schmoozy to tap dance," a voice said in Spark's head. He blinked at the sudden voice in his head, quickly looking around for the source of it. "W-Who said that!?" He asked in shock. "Why, I did, of course," replied the... lamp next to his bed? And what was on it would haunt his dreams. A face was present on the lampshade. "Now, if it were the cross-eyed mare, I could certainly help, but Fluttershy? Oh, Spark my young colt, you ask for FAR too much." It said. Yup, it was indeed the lampshade that was talking. He just fell silent as he stared at the face on the lamp, eyes wide with shock, mouth open and wings spread as if he was ready to take flight...if he could fly that is. "Is there something on my face? No, wait! Is my face on something?" Two drumbeats and a cymbal sounded out of nowhere, as if to finish a joke. Sadly the pony just remained silent as he stared at the inanimate object that was now animated, his brain locked up with what in the world was going on, for he had no idea who...or what...was talking to him. "Oh, for chaos' sake! Some ponies don't know good comedy material." In a flash, the face on the lamp vanished, and standing in front of Spark was... A fucking whatchamacallit. "Hey! I can hear you two buffoons narrating! If you're going to introduce me, then do it right!" said the amalgamation of creatures to the sky. He had a long body, with the paw of a lion, the claw of a bird, a hoof, and a dragon leg. It was a creature only heard of in legends: the draconequis known as Discord, Lord of Chaos. "That's somewhat better. Work on your descriptive skills." He stared up at the sky for a few more moments before he looked back down at Spark to look at his reaction. Of course Spark knew about Discord, what pony didn't? Still, reading up about him and seeing him right in front of him are two very different things. And while he also knew Discord was reformed, he still had a bit of fear for the Spirit of Chaos. All he could do was stare at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to do next. The chaotic spirit tapped his chin in thought. "Now, what were we...Oh right! Dating Fluttershy! Anyways, I think you're in way over your head," said Discord. "Fluttershy is a sophisticated mare, and she can't just date ANYpony." He just looked even more surprised at this. "S-She can't?" He asked, more confused and worried now. "Oh, absolutely not.~" He looked at you and winked before turning back to Spark. "We will need to change a few things. Mostly your appearance and how you act." Again he just stared at Discord, his expression telling it all: he wasn't following him. The draconequis let out a small sigh. "Oh boy, we're gonna have a lot of work I see." He said. With a snap of his fingers, he conjured up a door in midair. He opened it up, revealing a walk-in closet room on the other side. He then grabbed Spark by the hoof and yanked him inside, closing the door behind him. The door jerked and twisted in odd ways, making various different shapes and oddly hilarious noises before reopening again, spitting out a finely dressed Spark. Spark was now wearing a rather fancy tuxedo, with his front half fully covered and coattails draped along his flank. Discord pulled a mirror from Celestia-knows-where and showed it to Spark. After gathering his wits and calming his nerves, he finally took the moment to actually look at his reflection. He had to admit, he did like the look, it was rather nice and...dapper, top hat and all. However, something inside of him told him that this wasn't right, and at the moment he hesitated, slowly taking his hat off and looking down at it. "I...I'm not sure she wants me to dress up like this..." He says softly. Discord, seeing he needed just a small nudge, decided to tone it down just a bit in order to push him in the right direction...or his direction really. "Hm... If not the look, then the personality," said the draconequus. "I've been reading your fic, and so far, it's a little bland. I find that you're not very assertive, and the readers love somepony who is assertive, not some walk over stepping mat. Now this confused the pony as he looked at Discord, head tilted to the side. "I...what?" he asked. "Oh, right," he remembered. Spark clearly wasn't aware of being in a fanfiction. Oh, the dilemma of not being real...a dilemma that clearly didn't bother Discord. "You need to be... braver. The whole victim aspect of the story is just too much." He snapped his fingers and with a poof, he was then on a therapist couch, arm over head as he lay there in a dramatic pose. "Oh, woe is me, doctor! Please help me! I have tiny little nubs that everypony keeps making fun of, even though the unicorns have freakishly bigger horns." Of course, Discord didn't mean all tha-- yes, yes he did, but it was meant to get Spark angry, to get him to show even the slightest bit of spine. If some random pony wanted to date Fluttershy, Discord had to make sure it was the best for her, not just some simpering colt. Sadly all that did was make him upset, cringing at his words as his already small self confidence goes down the drain. Hearing those words just made him look at his hooves in shame. Seeing that his words didn't have the effect he wanted caused Discord to face palm himself as he realized that he is going to have to take a slightly different approach. He gave him a deadpanned look. "Really? By chaos you are not making this easy." He stated, the couch poofing away as he stands back up. "Of course having two writers write me out makes things a bit more difficult." He added to himself. Discord stroked his small beard, trying to think up a proper solution. That's when it hit him. "Oh! You're one of THOSE characters!" He snapped his fingers, and instantly, Spark had found himself in a dirty old alleyway. At the end of the alleyway was Fluttershy, looking scared as two menacing ponies dressed in black approached her. "Hoof over the bits and ya won't get hurt, little mare!" one of them said. Discord flashed into existence next to Spark. "Oh no! Two horrible ponies are about to hurt Fluttershy! Whatever shall we do?!" Spark was at first in shock and was about to jump in and save her, but when he heard how Discord was taking it all so nonchalantly, he realized that this wasn't even real, making him glare at the chaos spirit rather harshly. Discord raises an eyebrow as he looks back at the pony. "What, not even this?" He said trying to get some sort of reaction. When none came, he just sighed and shook his head. "Ok fine, let's keep it more normal." He said, and with a snap of his fingers they were back in his room. "Let's see, how about-" "No!" Spark cried out before he quickly covered his mouth, the spirit just raising an eyebrow at the reaction, his fingers in mid snap. After a few seconds he continued. "I-I mean, no more, please. I...I don't know how to be...you know...assertive." Discord rolled his eyes and crossed his mismatched arms. "Well that much is obvious." "I know..." He paused as he shuffled on his hooves a bit before he took a deep breath. He knew that, despite all the crazy stuff that he did and said, Spark knew that Discord was right. He had to figure out some way to get a bit more confidence. Then it hit him, Discord was great friends, perhaps best friends with Fluttershy. If anypony could help him, it would be the spirit of chaos. "Can...can you help me?" He asked, looking up at him. Discord sighed, a bit annoyed, a bit lazy, and a bit bored. He honestly thought this would have been quick and easy. He tapped his chin with his clawed hand as he thought it over before he gave a small shrug. "Alright I'll help, but only because I want to see how this story ends." He said. "Let's see... I could make it easy by just forcing you into a new personality, but SOME ponies would question the ethics and morals of such a thing. Looks like class is in session." Discord snapped his fingers and Spark was suddenly in a desk chair, along with a teacher's desk for the spirit himself. Discord, now sporting a teacher outfit, pretended to get up off the chair he was suddenly sitting on when he paused and looked around his desk. "Oh, where did I put that apple..." He pretended to ask himself...just when an apple appeared in front of Spark. Cautiously, the red pony picked the apple up and held it out for Discord, the spirit looking up just at the same time. "Strange, I thought you were bigger?" He said to the fruit, his eyebrow raised. Just as he said that, the apple suddenly grew tenfold, towering over Spark...and then landing on top of him, crushing him and the desk and chair he was on to the ground. Discord just picked the apple up with his clawed hand before poking it with a straw as he started to suck it, making it grow smaller and smaller till the whole thing vanished through the straw, leaving a slightly flattened pegasus on the ground, who popped back to normal a few seconds later. As the chaotic being finished the apple, he gave a loud belch before tossing the straw to the side. Seeing as his new "student" was ready, he grabbed a pointer and caused some chalk to float to the blackboard as it started drawing rapidly. Once finished, Discord pointed to the floating chalkboard with a cruddy drawing of Spark surrounded by angry looking ponies. "Okay... you find yourself in the middle of a crowd of bullies. They saw your horns, and now they wanna make themselves look big by picking on you. What do you do?" He blinked as he was placed back in a new chair in front of a new desk, and after he adjusted to it and heard his question, he tried to think over the answer. However the memories of exactly those times slowly crept back, making him shiver in fear. Seeing this, Discord just shook his head, not needing him to answer it as his reaction gave him all the answers he needed. "By chaos, this is gonna be even more difficult than I thought!" Diacord conjured up another image. This time it was Spark, but with only one other pony. "On your way home, a mare spots your horns by chance and asks you if you are okay. What is your response?" Perhaps someone with the kindness to ask if something was wrong was the answer. For some reason he felt something whisper into his ear. He turned to see who was whispering, but saw nothing. As he turned away, the mini Discord that was behind him snickers before poofing, letting Spark think it over. He took a few moments before saying, "Um...I-I say I'm fine?" Seeing how he actually gave an answer, Discord smiled as small horns were blown around him, along with a small amount of streamers. "Good! Perhaps there's some hope for you yet!" He switched to the next image. It featured an ominous looking villain. "You're faced with an evildoer. Twilight and friends are down. What do you do?" This question confused him. "Um...w-why would I be involved in something like that?" He asked. "Are you aware of how often they fight villains? Always on a Saturday for some reason too," Discord replied. "No idea why really, you think they would choose other days. I myself went with Wednesday, but it didn't seem to catch on. Now, go on. What do you do?" It took him a few moments to think it over, for it was a hard one. He couldn't run away, not with what they have done for him, but he can't fight either. He's no fighter, even if he wants to. He racked his brain for a few minutes before letting out a small sigh and a shrug. "I-I guess...I try and help stop it but...b-but how? They fight all sorts of villains, they even beat you! I...I can't compare to that!" "Oh come on! Everypony has SOMETHING to contribute, even if it's small and most likely not gonna make a difference. You could easily do something simple, like go find Starswirl or the princesses? I'm sure there's something," said Discord. Hearing that did boost his confidence a bit. He could just go and find more help, such as the princesses or even some royal guards. He nodded his head as he looked at the draconequus, new determination in his eyes. Discord waited, remaining silent as he looked at the pony who was just looking back at him. After a few minutes of rather awkward staring, he looked at his watch, eyes widening when he saw what time it was. "You think we could hurry this up? I have a poker game at four and I'd rather not be late. The Smooze is not exactly reasonable when it comes to scheduling." The pegasus blinked in surprise before he realized he didn't actually say anything. Quickly he said, "I-I...I could go get help...maybe the royal guard or somepony else." Discord smirked. He felt like a good teacher. "Good. But personally, I would've delivered a bit of martial arts justice, myself." He said, making a few judo moves as he pretended to get ready to fight an invisible enemy. "Umm...what?" For some reason, Spark felt like he was being...pushed to the side, as if he was a main character who was slowly being shown off by him. Discord realized this, knowing he wasn't sticking to his script...or the fanfiction. "Nevermind. Let's focus on your mannerisms, shall we?" He snaps his fingers, a table appearing with white cloth draped over it. Spark was suddenly sitting at one end while a... body pillow of Fluttershy was sitting on the other side? Again he blinked, Spark looked even more confused than before. Not sure what to do, he just stood...er, sat there, hooves on the table as he looked around for where Discord was, unsure what he was supposed to be doing. Within a second of looking, and a small poof later, he spotted the face of Fluttershy on the pillow moving, Discord's eyes having replaced her pretty blue ones. "Spark, honey, does this pillowcase make me look fat?" This threw Spark off guard, the red pony blushing as he just quickly went to his shy self. "N-No, it's very slimming." He said. He didn't even notice how quick he got into the roleplay, so focused he is to try and learn. "Are you saying I'm too skinny?" The Fluttershy pillow asked, giving a frown. Spark had better think up something, and quick. "N-No! I-I just...I mean...I...I-I-I..." Slowly he started to lose himself, and after a few moments of stuttered silence, he just melted under the table, hood over his head and hooves holding his face. The pillow rolled her eyes and went still, face returning to its neutral smiling expression as Discord phased out of it. Looking down at the pony, he tapped Spark's noggin. "Really? You're gonna just lay there and not even try to say something?" He asked. Shivering, the pony slowly looked up, spying the draconequues from under his hood as he gave a sad, sheepish look. Discord stroked his chin, thinking over the problem. "Perhaps that's a bit too complicated. I mean, really, what stallion could possibly fully understand a mare?" He poofed away the body pillow and sat in the chair that once held it up. He reached forward, grabbing a teacup from thin air and raising it to his lips, drinking from it. "Euugh..." He made a face of disgust. "Too bitter... Tell me, do you like your tea bitter or sweet?" Spark was silent for a few moments before slowly sliding his hood up a bit. "Um...s-sweet is better...at least for me. It's ok if you like it bitter though." He said. He took a long look at Spark, then put on a pair of thick square glasses. "Whether it's sweet or bitter, it doesn't really matter, because in the end it's going to your stomach. See, that's how life is. Making things fun isn't a requirement, but it does make things better, just like how having a certain flavor in your tea can make it more enjoyable. Not sure if you can tell where I'm going with this." The pegasus just shook his head. "Neither can I." Discord grinned. "I supposed a bit of thinking was in order, but then I went to that and I thought, 'What am I doing?'." Very much confused, the red pony just stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head. "I...I think I'll just...um...something...else..." He said as he got up and took a few steps. In an instant the place was back to normal as he walked over to the door and turned to look at the draconequues. "I'm...I'm gonna wash up. Um...t-thanks...I think." Discord appeared on the other side of the door once Spark had opened it. "Oh, but you still have so much to learn. We haven't even talked about what spoons you need to use for soup. What are you going to do when Fluttershy needs to cross the road and there's a puddle in front of her?" "I-I think I'll manage. Besides, it's getting late and I-" he started to say, only to look out the window. It was rather bright in the morning instead of turning into a sunset, almost as if the rest of the day and night had just gone by. Very confused, he looked around outside to see ponies getting up to do their daily tasks already. He remained as he just looked outside, a very confused look on his face. Discord took this time to float next to Spark as he unrolls a calendar. "Hmm, seems our teaching took longer than I expected." He said, the calendar showing that it is already the next day...and just minutes from Spark's date with Fluttershy. Upon seeing just how close it was for his date, Spark's eyes go wide with shock. "Oh no! I'm gonna be late!" He shouted before rushing out the door, leaving a bemused Discord to look after the running pegasus. The spirit of chaos just watched him go as he then turned to the calendar again. "Thankfully I still got some time for my poker game, which is indeed at four...pm today." He said, grinning as he gave a wink to the reader. With that he gave a snap of his fingers as the scene changed back to focus on Spark as he ran down the hallway. Running down the hall, he made his way to the bathroom, quickly washed himself up before looking around for something to wear. After a few moments of finding nothing he just decided to stick with his normal hoodie and quickly ran out of the castle. As spark ran out, Twilight noticed something amiss as he passed by her. "Spark! Your hoodie's down!" Thankfully he heard her just in time as he ran outside, pulling his hood up to cover his horns as he continued to hurry along. He had no idea how it went down, but when he was dealing with Discord, he really had no idea about anything. Soon he reached the train station where they had agreed to meet and as he stood there catching his breath, he looked around for the butter colored mare. There Fluttershy was, adorned with a little blue flower in her mane. The moment she saw Spark, her face lit up. "Oh! Hello!" She greeted him, clearly pleased to see that he made it for their date. Seeing her, the red pony smiled and walked on over, stopping just in front of her. Opening his mouth to speak, he gives a soft "Hi" back as he looks around nervously, rubbing his forelegs together. She repeated the same motions, rubbing her forelegs. "Um... Are you ready to go? I packed a lunch." It took a while for him to respond, but as he looked back at her, he saw that she was just as nervous as he was, maybe even more so. Seeing this gave him a bit of comfort, knowing that he isn't the only one who is a nervous wreck, allowing him to give her a small smile. "Sure, a-and the lunch sounds like a good idea, thanks." He told her. Fluttershy saw the train approaching, rolling along the tracks. As it approached, it slowed down until eventually coming to a steady stop. The doors of the cars slid open, and from the front of the train out came a pony with a conductor's hat. "Hm? We don't normally get ponies this early." This made Spark rather confused as he looked around for the clock tower to see what time it was. Seeing it was only 6:30 made him even more confused. "Um...r-really? Why is that?" He asked, curious. "Well, the train normally leaves at about 8:30, and most ponies don't really show up until around 7:30 or 8:00" The conductor checked his watch. "...Yep. Pretty early." All he could do was give a sheepish smile as he glanced at Fluttershy, seeing her giving a small frown as well before looking back to the ground, unsure of what to say. "O-Oh..." The pony looked at the couple, seeming to assess the situation. He could already guess that they were most likely on some sort of date with how they were acting, perhaps their first date ever, and he didn't wish for them to just wait for the first few hours just so they can get to wherever it is they are going. "Hm... I guess you could hitch a ride with Wheelie, but he's a bit of an... eccentric stallion." Seeing how there is still some hope of getting to the nature park sooner rather than later, he looked at Fluttershy, silently asking her what she wanted to do, to stay for a couple of hours or go now. She looked at Spark, then at the conductor. She really did want to see the animals. She gave him a small nod, smiling hopefully. Seeing her nod, Spark smiled back and looked at the conductor. "If it's ok with you for us to ride now, that will be nice." He told him. The conductor smiled, glad that he could have helped them with their small problem. "He's over there, by the side of the station. You really can't miss him." Spark gave a quick nod of thanks and walked with Fluttershy to the side of the station. However, when they reached the side, they were stunned to see an air balloon that probably shouldn't be flying, the balloon having been patched up with duct tape and glue. Standing next to the balloon was a gray stallion with a white mane. He looked to be very old, wearing aviator goggles and smiling. His eyes were closed and it seemed like he was snoozing, though it was very hard to tell if he is awake or not. They both looked at each other for a few moments before Fluttershy took the lead, the butter colored mare gave a quick glance to Spark before she turned to the old pony. "Um... Is that your balloon...?" "Eh?" The old-timer blinked slowly before responding with, "That ain't an air balloon. That's muh sister. Of course, I'd appreciate it ya didn't call her a balloon." He walked up and leaned forward, whispering into Spark's ear, "She's gained a few pounds. I don't really care, but she might." He blinked slowly at the random talking, his ear giving a small flick of confusion. "Um...o...k...we...we w-were wondering if you could give us a ride." He asked softly, glancing at his date every so often, seeing that she is just as confused as he is. "Yeah, I can give ya a ride. Just need to find my tractor," he said, climbing into the air balloon. "Gosh darn it, missy, where'd ya put muh tractor?" Fluttershy gave Spark an uneasy look, a bit concerned for the old-timer. He shared her look as well before looking back at the old stallion. "Um...do you need any help?" The senior poked his head out from the air balloon. "Wha?! Nah! I got it!" Wheelie said. He then pulled out what appeared to be a... motorcycle? "Yeeeehehehehehehe! I found muh tractor!" "But... that's not a tractor," said Fluttershy. "Shhhhh. It don't know that yet! Gotta ease it into the lifestyle. He gets nervous!" Wheelie replied. Spark just remained silent, his eye blinking every so often as he stared at him, confused Wheelie grabbed a helmet from the air balloon and hopped into the motorcycle seat. He would then pat the leather behind him. "Eh? C'mon, then!" And without further questions, the two climbed on into the basket. As soon as they were in, Wheelie seemed to turn the handle in his hoof before getting a loud roar from the engine. With that the balloon took off quickly into the air, and they quickly experienced a rather bumpy ride as they flew in the sky. Twists, turns, and several bike tricks littered the path ahead of them as the old pony just laughed and grinned the entire time. Fluttershy, who was very scared of the whole thing, clung tight to the basket as they flew through the sky, her red date doing the same as well. At one point a rather hard turn caused Spark to tumble against Fluttershy, who quickly grabbed him to steady him on his hooves. As he wraps his forelegs around the mare to keep himself from falling, they looked into each other's eyes and gave each other a sheepish smile, yet neither of them let go of the other. After about an hour of travelling, they had finally arrived at their destination, quickly hopping out of the balloon and landing on the ground. Turning around, they bid the old pony adieu as he just waved back and flew back into the sky, heading back to Ponyville in a rather hectic flying pattern. Once the pony was out of sight, Spark let out a small sigh of relief. "That was...different..." he said, mostly because he was unsure of what else to really say. Fluttershy looked over to Spark with doubts in her mind. Things were a little bumpy to the start of their date. What if there was another bump? "Spark?" She slowly said, looking up at him. The red pony however remained silent for a few moments, looking out to where that older pony went, but once his mind was back, he shook his head and looked over at the mare, a small smile on his face. "Oh, um...l-let's go see the animals. I'm rather excited to get going." He says a bit eagerly. Fluttershy smiled at him, relieved to see that he is still eager for their date despite such a...strange start to it. "Oh, absolutely! Maybe we can see the monkeys first?" "Of course." Spark agreed. "Lead the way Fluttershy." Fluttershy smiled and gave a nod of her head, quickly walking to the wildlife preservation park. Once there it was much easier for them to get in than it was to get there, simply paying for the tickets before walking inside. Soon, Fluttershy and Spark were walking through the area, looking at the different animals along the way. The yellow mare smiled as she looked over at Spark. "I really appreciate you coming with me." She said, her cheeks tinted with a light red. Spark smiled as he looked at her, a small blush forming on his own cheeks, thankfully hidden because of his red coat. "Oh, um n-no problem Fluttershy. I...I really do enjoy spending time with you, no matter what it is." He says, wings giving a small flutter. She smiled back at him, her wings giving a single flap. "So, which animal is your favorite so far? I couldn't possibly choose. I love them all!" He chuckled as he heard this, pondering it over for a few moments. After a while he just gave a small shrug. "I'm not sure. It's so hard to choose a favorite when they are all amazing in their own way." He said. Fluttershy nodded in agreement before her ears suddenly perked up. "Oh! Did you hear that?!" She turned and pointed at a far-off exhibit. "I hear them" Spark, however, heard nothing. He tilted his head as he looked at where she pointed with a confused look. "Um...hear who?" He asked Fluttershy grabbed onto Spark's hoof and pulled him along with her. As they reached the exhibit, Spark noticed only one kind of animal: a sloth. He tilted his head as he looked at the slow creature. "A sloth? How did you hear that?" He asked. The sloth slowly turned its head, looking at Spark with a lax expression. "They have a very distinct language," replied Fluttershy with the biggest grin. He just looked at the mare for a few moments as he tried to process what she just said. He had no idea that sloths even made any sort of sound, nor did he hear said sound when she heard it. However she can understand animals so he decided to take her word for it, the red pony just turning back to face the sloth once more. "Well...he is rather cute." He said, giving a small smile to the slow moving critter. The sloth returned the smile, its mouth spreading wide very slowly. Fluttershy smiled back as well. "Isn't it exciting?" He nodded back at her as he looked at the sloth. His legs getting a bit tired from all the walking they did around the park so far, he decides to sit down and just watches it, glancing at Fluttershy every so often. He isn't sure what to do or say, now they are alone and on a date. Mostly he doesn't want to mess this up, and that worry just keeps his lips shut tight. Fluttershy noticed his quiet behavior. This was a bit more quiet than usual to her, and she was a bit worried that she did something wrong. She turned around and faced him. "Are you okay?" Hearing this he just nodded his head. "Y-Yea, I'm fine." He says with a small smile, though the nervousness is easily seen on his face. Clearly able to tell that he is not fine, she continued. "I wouldn't want to be rude, but it'd help you feel better if you wish to talk about it," she said to him. It took him a few more moments before he glanced back at her, than away, then her, than away again. Finally, he just groaned and slumped down, hitting his head on the railing. "This is terrible, I suck at doing good dates." He said, groaning. Fluttershy hesitated, but then she patted his head. "It's okay. You're just overthinking it." Spark isn't so sure about that as he sighed and kicked the ground lightly. "Still, I've never been on a date...never even thought I would be on one, and now I...well, here I am, unable to think of a single thing to talk to you about." He said. He remained silent for a few more moments before he looked back up at her for some reassurance. Fluttershy patted his back again. "Well, if it makes you feel better, I've never been on a date, either. I don't know how these things are even supposed to go." This caused him to look up at her in slight surprise. "R-really? But you're so beautiful. How could no one ask you on a date?" He asked. The moment he called her beautiful, she blushed. "I guess it's because I don't go out that often. I'm usually content with tea at home." He nodded his head. "Yea...that does sound rather nice as well." He said. He realized that he may have offended her as he quickly added, "N-Not that I'm not enjoying this, I mean I am, I just-" Thankfully the small giggle that popped from her is enough to get Spark to fall silent. "I don't mind it at all, and perhaps we can do that one time as well. J-just...just the two of us." Fluttershy added, giving a small smile back to the stallion. Spark blushed as he realized he nearly panicked as well as the suggestion of another date, smiling his thanks and agreement at the kind mare. He then looks out at the animals some more, still smiling. "This is rather nice." He said, slowly leaning his head against her, not even realizing what he was doing. Fluttershy, however, noticed, but she didn't say anything. Although she didn't exactly have super strong feelings for him, she did enjoy his company. And he is very sweet and kind...and cute... She mentally shook her head as she continued to watch the animals frolicking in their habitats, her eyes mainly on the sloth. She knows that she really likes Spark enough to ask on a date, perhaps even like-liking him, but for it to be full blown love, she was still unsure. Of course, Spark was still a bit confused with himself as well, not knowing fully about this new emotion of love. He had never felt this way for another pony before, and it was so new and raw that it did feel like he was falling in love with the butter mare. Of course he isn't sure if it's normal, and he didn't want to scare her off after just their first date. Still, it is something that he really likes, and as long as she enjoyed his time, then he was going to enjoy her time as well. He remained silent for a bit longer before looking up at her and noticed how quiet she was. Wanting to break the silence, he racked his brain again for some topic to talk about, and to his surprise he managed to find one. "What else do you like to do in your spare time?" "Oh!" Fluttershy started thinking. "Well, I do like tending to my animal friends, walking through the fields, sometimes even reading a book. Oh! And Discord and I sometimes have tea together." He did recall how she and Rarity were talking about that one book at the spa, and is rather curious about it himself. He also remembered Discord and just how he tried to "help" him, but he quickly tossed that thought to the side, not wanting to ruin the mood he is in. After a few moments of some more silence he freezes up as he heard a loud rumble, the sound caused him to quickly stand straight as he looked around, but after another growl he realized the only creature making such a noise was the one in his belly. Fluttershy nearly flinched in surprise, but when she realized it was Spark's stomach, she couldn't help but to give a giggle. "Oh! The food! I almost forgot!" She double checks her pack to see if it's all still good, and with a nod turns to face the red pegasus. "If you want we can eat lunch now." During their time walking around Spark also forgot that Fluttershy packed them some food. He gave a nod of agreement. He was very hungry himself, plus the fact he didn't even have breakfast made him even more hungry. Looking around he saw a table and bench to the side, and with a motion of his head he walked over there, sitting down and looking over at the shy mare as she quickly followed suit. She sat down on the other side before laying out a blanket from her basket, placing two sandwiches on it. Once the sandwich is before Spark, he nods his thanks and picks it up with his hooves, taking a bite of it. He pauses as the taste hits his taste buds and his eyes go wide with shock. "Wow, this is amazing!" "Oh, it's nothing, really. Just the same recipe as I usually make. I'm sure you've had sandwiches just like it," Fluttershy replied, giving an embarrassed smile. This made him blush as he realized he was making a big deal out of nothing, but instead of backing down, he persisted. "I...I still really like it." He said, smiling lightly at her, a light blush on his cheeks. Fluttershy's wings flapped in excitement, the light pegasus happy to have someone compliment her. Her eyes roamed over Spark's face, just enjoying the kind and cute look that he has as she thought of something over in her head. After a few minutes of thinking it over she finally spoke up. "Spark?" The red pony paused his eating as he looked up curiously at the mare. "Yes Fluttershy? What is it?" "Am I too shy?" Fluttershy asked. This caught him off guard as he looked at her with some confusion. "What, no. Why would you ask that?" He asked. She smiled slightly. "Well, I guess I'm afraid of what other ponies think of me sometimes." There was a message here... Could Spark understand it? Sadly that was not the case because his limited social skills made it hard for him to pick up on the more subtle clues of such interactions. Thankfully he made up for it with heart as he quickly scooted closer and wrapped a wing around her. "Well, I think you're very kind and loving and...and I just feel very lucky that you asked me out here." He said. He blushed very hard after the words left his lips, but this time he forced himself to look at her and kept smiling, even as his heart beats at a few dozen miles a minute. She looked down, a little saddened that he couldn't receive her hint, but she still smiled regardless. She'd get through to him someday. It was just a matter of time. As they enjoyed the rest of their day, Discord would be watching from afar. There were a few emotions stirring within him. Part of him liked Fluttershy, but another side of him liked Spark. There was something about Spark that stirred the chaos magic inside of him, and it often tickled his fancy, even if Spark was a little hard to get through to. Whatever happened though, he just knew that this was going to be a very interesting tale...
The Return of Mr. Bun
pre
"I am?" Rainbow asked. "Yeah," Twilight said, pointing to the clock. "Oh, heh." "Anyway, I think that's everyone who could make it," Twilight said. "Yep! Let's get this party started!" Pinkie said as she turned on the music. Fleur watched as three of the six other ponies present started dancing, specifically Pinkie, Twilight (badly), and Fluttershy. Rarity, who herself wasn't on the dance floor, but was obviously considering it, asked Fleur, "why don't you join them? There's plenty of party to be had." "In a minute. I just want to see the dance first. Don't want to make a foal of myself out there, after all." "I guess. Just don't wait too long. This is a rather short record," Rarity said, before joining the trio in dancing. Fleur watched them for a few more seconds before deciding to throw caution to the wind and joining them as well. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who had been bobbing for apples, as was tradition at Pinkie's parties, turned to watch the newcomer strut her stuff. Applejack said, "she's not bad. Not as good as Pinkie or Fluttershy, but far better than Twilight." "Of course, most ponies are better dancers than Twilight," Rainbow said. "True, but she doesn't need to know that." When the song ended, Fluttershy left the dance area and head to the bathroom. Everyone else stayed put, waiting for the next song to begin, though Rainbow noticed that Fleur had watched Fluttershy closely as the latter headed for the bathroom. She wondered about this, but didn't comment on it. Fluttershy, meanwhile, was getting some aspirin and making a mental note not to stand so close to Pinkie when they were dancing, as their bonking heads, though unseen by everypony else, had given her a headache. As she filled a cup for herself and took out two pills, she thought I hope Fleur is enjoying herself. Fleur had to say she was, though she wondered why Fluttershy went to the little fillies room mere minutes after arriving. She assumed she would take care of her bladder before leaving unless she was going to be late. She put it out of mind as Pinkie asked, "Having fun?" "Oui. It's great to have the chance to drop the whole refined act and act a bit silly every once in a while. I have to ask, though, do you have anything more low fat? I must watch my figure after all." "I can get some fruit for you, if you want, but other than that all we have is punch." "Fruit will be fine. I just have to stay away from the sweets," Fleur said. Pinkie disappeared into the back of the store and Fluttershy reappeared from the bathroom and stood near the punch bowl as the third song started, watching the other ponies dancing, Applejack and Rainbow having joined the others after the first song. Fleur thought this is working better than I thought. Just have to hope that Fluttershy stays on the sidelines for the next song as well, before increasing the intensity of her moves, and nearly accidentally knocking her flank into Applejack's side. She put a bit more space between herself and the others to make sure that wouldn't happen again, and listened to the music, waiting for an opportunity to make an exit. When the song finally wound down, she walked off to the sidelines, panting a bit, and poured herself a bit of punch. Fluttershy, she noticed, hadn't gone back out to the dance floor, and in fact had refilled her own punch. She moved to Fluttershy's side and said, "I thought you would be back out there." "No, I'm still a bit dizzy after I bonked heads with Pinkie." "Oh. Do you need an aspirin?" "No, I went and got one already," Fluttershy said. "Oh. I see. Anyway, I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you alone, because I wanted to ask you something." "Yes?" "Would you like to go on a date with me?" Fleur asked. "A date? Like a date date?" "Oui," Fleur said, putting on her most winning smile. Inwardly she was wondering what the difference between a "date date" and a "not-date date" was, which was doing a wonderful job of distracting her from her nervousness. "Um, sure. If you want," Fluttershy said. "Mervellioux! I'll leave the details up to you, unless you want to go all the way to Canterlot?" "No, that's okay," Fluttershy said, then, thinking of a way to buy herself some time to figure out where to take Fleur, added, "I can come by the Carousel Boutique to meet you tomorrow at six. Is that okay?" "That works for me," Fleur said as Fluttershy noticed the slightly scary look in the Prench pony's eye of a filly waking up on Hearths Warming Day had returned, along with her own trepidation. "Who wants to play 'pin the tail on the pony?" Pinkie yelled as soon as the record ended. The other six ponies and one dragon present moved to the picture of a tailless pony, and Fleur moved next to Rarity. Rarity, noting Fleur's rather large smile, which she thought would have extended from ear to ear if not for her small muzzle,, asked, "I assume Fluttershy said yes?" "Oui. She said she'll come by the boutique tomorrow at six. I can't wait!" "I'm sure. For now, though, let's focus on the party, Okay? Pinkie might be bothered if it looks like you're distracted." "Okay, I'll try." Fluttershy, meanwhile, said to her old friend Rainbow Dash, "Fleur asked me out on a date." "Really? And what did you say?" "I said yes." As a grin spread across her face, Rainbow said, "Good on you for not missing the chance to date a beautiful model. By the way, why didn't you ever tell me you were a fillyfooler? I mean, everyone know I'm one, myself." "I was scared to." Rainbow facehoofed, but said nothing as Applejack made the first attempt to pin the tail on the pony. As the game progressed, word about Fluttershy's date spread amongst the other partiers, surprising all of them, though all were supportive of it, aside from Spike, who was confused about why two mares would get romantically involved with each other, though he didn't seem to have any issue with it. Twilight said to him, "I'll explain when we get back to the library." "Okay." At the end of the game, which Pinkie won, and Fleur got last in (she blamed the fact that the fake pony was at the height of the other six ponies and not her. This didn't explain why the tail had ended up over its head, though), Twilight asked the tall unicorn, "So, I heard you and Fluttershy are going on a date?" "Oui. Tomorrow night," the still grinning prench mare said. "Out of curiosity, did you ask Fluttershy out, or did she ask you out?" "I asked her out. Why?" "So, did you give Mr. Bun back as a way to get close to her and ask her out or...?" The grin disappreared from Fleur's face as she said, "I gave back Mr. Bun because it was a good way to befriend one of my favorite former models of all time, and I'm sure it was important to her. My asking her out was because Rarity told me she was single and I decided to take a chance. Why?" "Curious as to why you held on to him for so long is all." Fleur said nothing, instead moving back towards the party. Twilight wondered how well her date with Fluttershy would go, making a mental note to ask her about it the day after tomorrow. An hour later the festivities ended and everyone headed home. As Fleur and Rarity walked back to the boutique, the former said, "Even if things don't work out with Fluttershy, I'd love to come by every once in a while just to attend Pinkie's parties." "So I assume you had fun?" "Oh, yes. I had a great time, even if I have some pink frosting in my coat and mane now." "Yeah, sorry about that. Rainbow has been starting cake fights at Pinkie's last few parties for some reason," Rarity said. "Don't worry about it. I'll just need a long shower." "By the way, did Fluttershy say where she was taking you?" "Non, she just said she'd come by the boutique tomorrow at six to meet me. That's it," Fleur said. "Okay, then I'll let you know when she comes by." "Please do. And do let me know what she's wearing. I must dress appropriately for my first date with her." "Of course," Rarity said.
The Return of Mr. Bun
The first date
Fleur awoke the next morning, feeling light and refreshed. Going to the guest bathroom, she remembered why when she saw the note she had taped to the mirror: "Date tonight with Fluttershy. 6:00". Seeing that, she focused on making herself look completely immaculate. After all, if you get a date with one of your heroes, you must look your best. About 15 minutes later, Rarity came in and said, "Oh there you are. Hurry up or your breakfast will get cold." "Sorry. I got carried away. I'll be right down," Fleur said as she fluffed her tail a bit more. "You could make yourself pretty after breakfast. Actually, tell you what, I'll take you to the Ponyville Spa after lunch so they can make you look and feel absolutely lovely for tonight. Just come down for breakfast." "Fine," Fleur said. After heading down to the first floor, Fleur and Rarity sat down to their meal of hay waffles and apple juice. As they ate, Fleur asked, "So, how good is this spa?" "I go there once a week with Fluttershy and always come out looking and feeling amazing. Trust me, it's quite good, especially for the money." Fleur took a second to consider Rarity's looks, and had to admit that she did look great, though not as great as Fluttershy, and wondered how much the spa had to do with that. Changing the subject, she asked, "So when are you going to be delivering those dresses?" "Tomorrow. I've already sent my clients letters letting them know where I'll be to deliver them. I just wish I could get your dress done before tonight, but I ran out of royal blue fabric and I'll need to pick up some more. I didn't realize I was so low on it." "That's fine. I can wear one of the dresses I brought if Fluttershy comes wearing one of her own." On the edge of town, in a cottage full of wildlife, Fluttershy was starting her day, As she went about feeding her animals, she was reminded, via a picture of Fleur sitting on her coffee table, of her date tonight. She sat down to her breakfast and decided to see if she could get a reservation at the nicest restaurant in Ponyville: The Alimentaire de Chevaux. After feeding her animals and herself, she set about deciding what she was going to wear, and making sure she was all brushed out and clean. Makeup would come later and would likely be minimal. She then headed out to Sweet Apple Acres, wanting to talk to Applejack about her usual apple delivery. It took her only a few minutes to arrive at the vast apple fields that made up Sweet Apple Acres and another minute to arrive at the farmhouse. She knocked and was greeted by Big McIntosh. She said, "Hi, Big Mac. Is Applejack up?" "Eeyup," Big Mac said, then into the house "AJ, it's Fluttershy." Applejack came to the door and said, "Oh, hi Fluttershy. What brings you here?" "Yes. I wanted to talk about your apple delivery." "Why? Is something wrong?" "No. I just need about a dozen less apples next month. Some of my critters migrated north and I haven't been able use the last of the apples you gave me," Fluttershy said. "Oh, sure. I can do that. Thanks for letting me know ahead of time." "You're welcome." "By the way, you have a date with that Fleur de Lis character is tonight, right?" Applejack asked. "Yes, and I'm looking forward to it." "So where do you plan to take her?" "Well, I'm planning to see if I can get a reservation at The Alimentaire de Chevaux, and hopefully not have Fleur laugh at the name of the restaurant," Fluttershy said. "Why would she laugh at it?" "Because I know just enough Prench to know it means horse food." Applejack chuckled and said, "Oh, yeah, that is pretty funny. Still, I don't think she'll make a big deal out of it. Isn't she your biggest fan or something?" "Yes, but I'm a bit nervous about all of this." "Well, I'm sure it'll all work out in the end. Have fun tonight." "I will, also do you want me to come by to walk Winona later?" Fluttershy asked. "Of course. The usual time." After a lunch of veggie burgers, the first time Fleur had ever tried them, she and Rarity headed to the spa to freshen up, and, for Fleur, to prepare for tonight. When they entered, Rarity remembering their conversation that morning, said, "it may not be as nice as what you're used to in Canterlot, but it's still a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, trust me." "I'm sure it is,. Just looking at this place tells me that it's one of the nicer spas I've been in, especially compared to the ones in Manehatten. I'm not sure what it is about that place but the spas are awful." "I am glad you approve," the normally silent Lotus said. Rarity said, "So am I. Anyway, the usual for my friend and I." Aloe, who was obviously in a good mood, especially after she saw who the mare who complimented her spa was, got up and opened the door, letting her two clients in. Their first stop was the steam room, where Lotus poured water over the hot rocks as Rarity and Fleur conversed. Fleur asked, "So, do you have any advice for tonight?" Rarity said, "Certainly! Anything in particular you want to know?" "Well, I guess how I should act around Fluttershy on this date? I mean you know her far better than I do." "Of course. The main thing I could say is she seems to like your friendly, happy personality, so I would try to play that up." "I'm not sure I couldn't if I wanted to, since I'm so excited for tonight. Anything else?" Fleur asked. "Um, well, I imagine she's going to be nervous about tonight. Sure, she knows she's your hero, but I would still go easy on her, just so she doesn't get too worked up." "Okay, I can do that. Anything else?" "Um, one last thing," Rarity said as she noticed just how close Fleur was sitting to her, "keep the touching to a minimum, especially on a first date, and no kissing on the first date either," Rarity said. "I knew about the kissing, but not the touching I admit. Still, I should be able to handle that." "Good," Rarity said with a smile. For a while afterward, they simply made small talk until they were getting their massages, when Rarity asked, "So why did you ask Fluttershy out on a date?" "Um...Well, when I heard she was single I got this idea in my head. I thought I should take a chance, since the worst that could happen is she said no. Which would hurt, but I could handle it. After all, may as well take a chance and be denied than wonder what could have been." "I see," Rarity said, considering her own missed opportunities. "Actually, now that I think about it, I know somepony in Canterlot you might like. If you want, when I go back, I can get him in touch with you," Fleur said. "Is it Prince Blueblood? Because if it is, I will have to decline." "I'm not that mean. I was actually thinking of another stallion. Have you ever heard of Lock Tight?" "No, but I assume he's a locksmith?" Rarity asked. "Oui. Also, he's the son of one of my uncle's business partners, and a good friend of mine." "Well, if you're endorsing him, sure, send him my way. I'd love to meet him." "Excellent, I'll talk to him when I return to Canterlot," Fleur said. "Thanks." A half hour later, they were done with their spa treatment, leaving both mares feeling lovely, while leaving a couple hours before Fleur's date with Fluttershy. Outside, Rarity said, "Since we have some time before your date, why don't we work on your dress some more? It won't be ready for tonight, but maybe it'll be ready for your next date." "Sure. Can I get touch up my makeup first, though?" "Of course." Back at the boutique, as Fleur put on her makeup, Rarity got her dress out and looked it over for signs of any mistakes, like dropped stitches. A few minutes later, Fleur came down from the guest room, and took the dress, putting it on, and letting Rarity begin her work. As she started, Rarity asked, "So, do you still plan on wearing this on your return to Canterlot?" "Oui. As long as it turns out as amazingly as your sketch suggests it will." "It will, don't worry." "I'll hold you to that," Fleur said. Rarity ignored this and focused on the dress, glad Fleur was being so good about holding still after a few of her other recent clients' fidgeting. After a while of working in silence, she asked, "So, How do you think Fancypants is going to react when he hears you got a date with your hero?" "Well, he already knew I was a fillyfooler, though he insists on using the term lesbimare, and was rather supportive of my attempts to find another mare to date, but, on the other hoof, he seemed sure that meeting Fluttershy would not end well. So really, I'm not sure. The letter I sent him this morning did mention our date tonight, so he probably knows by now." "Well, lesbimare is the polite term for it, I generally only hear fillyfooler used in an insulting context. Also why did he think your meeting Fluttershy would end badly?" "I don't rightly know. All he said was never meet your heroes, they will always disappoint you," Fleur said. "Maybe he was burned when he met his own heroes. I know that's happened to me once or twice." "Maybe. He actually hasn't told me much about his past." "Maybe you should ask him about it," Rarity said. "Maybe I should. I do kind of wonder how he became so important after all." Silence descended over the pair again, as Rarity worked on a difficult part of the dress. After a long stretch, Fleur asked, "What time is it?" "About five fifteen. We still have some time before Fluttershy is supposed to arrive." It was almost time for Fluttershy to head to Rarity's and she was checking to make sure all of her animals had been fed after putting on her dress. She topped off the mice's food and got and a few extra fish for the weasels, before being satisfied that all were well fed, being careful not to ruin her dress. She headed up to the bathroom to look herself over before leaving. After making sure she looked perfect, she left the house and headed for Rarity's, flying all the way to keep her dress clean. A few minutes later, and 15 minutes early, Fluttershy knocked at Rarity's front door, and Rarity said, "That must be her." Fleur then disappeared, partly completed dress and all in a flash of light, teleporting quietly to the guest room, just as planned. Rarity then opened the front door. "Oh, hi Fluttershy. You're here to meet Fleur, right?" "Yes. Is she here?" "Yes, she was getting ready last I saw. I don't think she was expecting you this early, though. I'll go get her. Feel free to make yourself at home in the meantime." "Thank you," Fluttershy said, entering the boutique and sitting down on a nearby cushion. Quietly cursing her inability to teleport like Twilight and Fleur, Rarity made her way up to the second story, and knocked on the guest bedroom's door, saying, "Fleur, Fluttershy's here." Fleur called, "Just a minute!" before opening the door and asking, "Is she wearing anything?" "Remember the dress she wore the first day you arrived?" "Of course, how could I forget? That's what she's wearing?" "Yes, that the one," Rarity said. "Excellent. I have the perfect dress in mind, then. Just give me a minute to put it on." "Of course. Take your time." A few minutes later, Fleur came out, wearing a surprisingly simple light blue dress, and looking over Fluttershy's own choice of clothes. "Bon, I'm not outdoing you." "Bon?" Rarity asked. "Good in Prench. So shall we head out, Fluttershy?" "Of course," Fluttershy said, making her way to the front door. Fleur followed her, and Rarity noticed that the taller unicorn's eyes seemed to be firmly locked on a certain (covered) part of Fluttershy's anatomy. Actually what Fleur was focusing on, or so she insists, was the back of Fluttershy's head as she was following her. Once they were out the door, she picked up her pace to get next to Fluttershy, and asked, "So where are we going?" "The Alimentaire de Chevaux," Fluttershy said, doing her best not to cringe. "The Alimentaire de Chevaux...did someone have a bad sense of humor? Because you know what that means right?" "Yes, but even though the name is silly, the restaurant is actually pretty nice." Fleur didn't say anything in response, instead electing to wait and see how silly this restaurant would be. After a few seconds of silence, Fluttershy, obviously a bit uncomfortable, asked, "um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you ask me out?" "Rarity asked me that earlier actually, though it is a fair question. The reason I asked you out was because I heard you were single and I decided to take a chance on you being willing to date a unicorn mare. Also, I'm curious. Why did you say agree to a date?" "Because you've been so nice to me and you were the one to give Mr. Bun back to me and I didn't want to make you feel bad." "Saying no wouldn't have made me feel bad. Honestly, I was halfway convinced you were going to turn me down," Fleur said. "You were? Why?" Fluttershy asked, turning down the street with the restaurant at the far end. "Because I didn't know if you had any romantic interest in mares, and even if you did, I didn't really expect you to have any interest in me in particular. Obviously you did, though." Fluttershy didn't respond, but she did quietly wonder why Fleur would think she wouldn't be interested. Sure I had my eye on Rainbow, but Fleur gave me Mr. Bun back and has been so nice to me, why would I turn her down? A minute later, she stopped and said, "Here we are, the Alimentaire de Chevaux." Fleur looked at the restaurant, thinking, Hmm, not the nicest restaurant I've ever seen, but it is far nicer than I thought a restaurant in a small town like Ponyville would have, while giving an approving nod for Fluttershy's benefit. They went inside, an Fluttershy said to the Miatre d', "Um, I have a reservation for two at six. Should be under Fluttershy." The Maitre d', obviously trying not to look like he was staring at Fleur (and, judging by Fleur's eye roll, failing miserably), looked over the reservations and said, "Ah yes, here we are. Please follow me," while gesturing with his forehoof. He led them to a table for two by a large window and, after they sat down, presented them with menus before asking, "Now may I get you two anything to drink?" "A glass of red wine for me," Fleur said. "Apple cider, please, if you have any," Fluttershy said. The waiter wrote this down in his notepad and trotted off. After he disappeared from sight, Fleur said, "You weren't lying when you said the restaurant was fairly nice. I like it. Even if it isn't like those in Canterlot, it's far better than I expected from the name." "It is the nicest restaurant in town." "I can tell. Anyway, what are you going to have?" "Um...I was thinking the tomato tulip soup with breadsticks," Fluttershy said. "That sounds delicious, though I have to admit I'm not a fan of tulips." "And what are you getting?" "Uh..." Fleur said, looking down at the menu again. "The ratatouille looks good." Flutterahy nodded and looked back down at her own menu, waiting for the waiter to return with their drinks. A moment later he did so, before asking, "Are you ready to order?" "Oh, yes," Fleur said. "I will have the ratatouille, s'il vous plait." "Of course, and you, mademoiselle?" the waiter said to Fluttershy. "Um. The tomato tulip soup with breadsticks, please." "One ratatouille and one order of tomato tulip soup with breadsticks. Okay. I will bring your meals out as soon as they're ready." "Merci," Fleur said. As the waiter walked away, Fleur asked her date, "So I was wondering, how did you find your talent for animals? Rarity mentioned you grew up in Cloudsdale, and I don't recall many animals that high up." "Well, um, I met all the animals after I fell from Cloudsdale," Fluttershy explained, wondering is she really going to believe this? "You fell from Cloudsdale? How does that happen?" Fluttershy told the tale of how she was being defended from bullies by Rainbow Dash, internally cringing at the memory, and how she fell from Cloudsdale after starting the race the blue speedster was running. She then described how she was saved by butterflies and met all the animals on the ground. Fleur seemed almost disbelieving at first, before her expression softened and she said, "That is one of the more out there things I've heard, I admit." "It's true. You can ask Rainbow if you don't believe me." "I didn't say I didn't believe you, I just said that it was one of the more unusual things I've heard." "Oh," was all Fluttershy said. Judging by the long swig of cider she took right afterward, Fleur guessed she was a bit uncomfortable and decided to help her calm down. She took a minute to get her thoughts in order then said, "Before I forget again, I'd been meaning to ask you how you always manage to look so amazing all the time. I don't think I've ever seen you look bad even during my visit here." Fluttershy seemed to guess what Fleur was up to, but still visibly relaxed, and Fleur smiled a bit internally. Still it took her a second to speak, and it was to say, "Um, it just stays this way most of the time, even when Rainbow Dash dragged me out of bed to get cider with her once it was just like this. And if it ever does get messy, my animals and Rarity are happy to help straighten it out. And I don't think I've ever seen you look anything but lovely yourself." "Thank you for thinking so, but I do have magic to help me out. I can just cast a simple spell to keep my mane in place before I go to bed and never have problems with it again. I was at a loss for how you did it, since you don't seem to have unicorn magic. Unless you're secretly an alicorn?" Fleur said with a chuckle. Temporarily preventing further conversation was the arrival of their food. The waiter asked, "the ratatouille?" "That would be mine," Fleur said. The waiter placed the dishes and bow in front of their respective owners and said, "enjoy your meal," before leaving. Fleur gave him a quick thanks before turning back to her date and asking, "Can I steal one of your breadsticks?" Fluttershy passed one over, and watched Fleur take a big bite of it, as she said in a slightly hesitant tone, "I still can't believe that one of Equestria's top models would want anything to do with somepony like me, let alone give me back one of my prized possessions and ask to go out with me." "Why is that? You were Equestria's top model once upon a time, back when I was basically a nobody, who happened to be fascinated by you." "Um, because you're so amazingly famous and beautiful, and I kind of imagined you being...stuck up and snobby like some of the models I met." "I can see that, unfortunately. I have to work with those same models you describe, and I can see how the perception they bring would skew your views towards me. By the way, was it some or most?" Fleur asked, spearing a piece of eggplant on her fork. "...Most." "That sounds more like what I've dealt with," Fleur said with a sardonic smile. They spent the next half hour talking about various things and overall getting to know each other better before they finished their food and the bill came. Fleur paid most of it, though Fluttershy insisted on paying for at least part of it, despite being on a much smaller budget. On the way out, Fleur said, "That was fun. we should do it again soon." "We should," Fluttershy said, "does next week sound good?" "That sounds perfect. I think I can set something up for us in Canterlot, if you don't mind going." "That sounds nice, actually. I'd love to go."
The Jewellery Box
pre
Twilight whipped around, and just as Rainbow had said, the shimmering outline of Pinkie Pie hovered in the air like vapour. She gaped. "Two of you?" she choked. "Well, he cracked a joke, didn't he?" said Pinkie, waggling her hooves. Like Rainbow, she was young and strong, her mane as curly and her smile as wide as ever. "Boy oh boy, is it nice to have feet again! Whee!" And she began to bounce around the ruined throne room happily. "Still random after five hundred years," commented Dash, shaking her head. "Well, how am I not all... corporeal?" asked Rarity. "If you ask me, the darling boy has been more than generous. He's been a near-martyr!" "An' he's honest as they come," Applejack declared. "There weren't a word of a lie in any o' that, I could tell." "He just used magic, too," Fluttershy said. "I don't know," said Twilight after a moment. "Maybe we'll find out." "Can you... hear something?" said Spike, still frowning. His new voice rumbled like a thunderclap, and he seemed embarrassed by it, ducking his huge head. Yet for all its intimidating volume, it was still recognisable as Spike's voice. It had his inflections, his intonations. It was still her Spike speaking. "Oh my gosh," Twilight breathed, before hollering at the top of whatever passed for her lungs in this half-life. "Spike! Spike, it's us! Spike, don't close the box! It's us, we're back, we're here!" Celestia cocked her head. "I thought... no. No, I can't hear anything." "Arrgh, call yourself a goddess?" Twilight raged. "Spike! It's me! Spike, so help me, if you don't hear me, I will ground you for a month! And you'll have shelving duty for two months, and I won't help you with magic in any way! Spike! Spike!" "Don't need help. And I've always done all the shelving anyway," he grumbled. Then he looked rather confused. "Consarnit," Applejack said, stunned. "I don't believe it. He can hear her!" "He must be hearing me at the subconscious level... maybe he can hear all of us," Twilight said, stifling a scream of frustration. "This is becomin' a very weird day," said Applejack. "I'm just pleased there is a day," Fluttershy said dreamily. "Oh, I missed seeing the birds and the leaves..." "...and the dragons taller than a palace..." Rainbow muttered. "Shut up, Rainbow," Twilight snapped, her attention riveted to the dragon. Celestia was giving Spike a very strange look. "Are you... all right?" He ducked his head again." Uh. Yeah. It's like something just out of ear-shot... it's probably nothing." "Nothing? Nothing?! How dare... that's it mister, five hundred or not, you are so grounded!" "The greed?" asked Celestia delicately. Spike blinked very hard for a couple of seconds, eyelids the size of doors squeezing shut. Then he straightened a little. "It's not the greed, I know how the greed feels. No, it's something else, something... weird." Then he bit his lip, looking around at the huge amount of damage he had caused. Gigantic fangs glittered. "Maybe we should have done this outside." "That's what I said!" yelled Pinkie, waving her insubstantial hooves in exasperation. "Well, if you had grown to an average dragon's adult size, you would have fit in the throne room," Celestia said archly. "I should have remembered that you were always one to stand out amongst the crowd." Spike snorted. A massive plume of thick black smoke rose from his nostrils, and the sound bounced from Canterlot Mountain. The echo was deafening. "Hah. Now I am a crowd. Where can I go, like this? Where will I live?" "There is a cave in the mountains above Ponyville..." A smile flitted over Spike's vast, sad face. "I remember it. Fitting. Let's hope nopony scolds me out of it." "They have other things on their minds right now, like struggling to survive. The refugees are still pouring into Hoofington, and the last dispatches report that Fillydelphia has been hit. They don't have much time, Spike." "I know," he sighed. "I know. I don't understand why Ponyville is still standing." "I think he is saving it for last. Who knows why he does anything?" "I'll bet you can guess. You know him better than anypony," Spike said, and shifted slightly on his haunches again. "This is sort of tight. How can I get out of here without destroying the whole palace?" "I will teleport you to Canterlot Mountain, outside the city." "Good idea. I don't want to start a panic." Celestia beat her wings and soared with weightless elegance to alight on Spike's huge, muscular shoulder. "The ponies of Canterlot will have seen you by now. But you will not start a panic, Spike. You are something of a legend." Spike wrinkled his snout. "A legend. Me." The Princess gave him a sidelong glance as she settled on the smooth purple scales. "Oh, you think you've gone unnoticed, do you? Yes, my friend, you have almost as many tales surrounding you as I do." "That's preposterous." "Is it? They've been whispering about you for centuries. The dragon scribe of Ponyville! The dragon who knew the Six! The scholar, arbiter, diplomat, teacher and historian; the one who judges nations. Negotiator of the Bridling Peace Accords, hero of the Griffon Magewar Crisis, the one who solved the Bay of Serpents fiasco, and the one who made Dragonsdorf cease their raids into Equestria. There will be enough ponies in the know to tell them that they are in no danger from a purple dragon named Spike." "He did what?" blurted Twilight. "They know me as a baby dragon," Spike boomed unhappily. "And Bay of Serpents was in 152AL - almost three hundred and twenty years ago." "They know you as a dragon, first and foremost. A dragon that has lived his whole life in the service of Equestria," she said firmly. "They know you are a magical creature. And they can see me with you. You will give them heart, and hope. They desperately need it." He pulled a face, before looking back down at his claws through the hole in the ruined roof. "This isn't me," he said quietly. "I don't know if I have the power to reverse this. I've finally allowed myself to want them... and now that I have I don't think I'll ever be able to stop." "You were always meant to be this, my friend," said Celestia. "You are no monster. You are utterly glorious. You are astounding." "Spike the Astounding," he said grimly. "Hooray for me." She tapped his scales with one hoof in admonishment. "All this bitterness never did suit you. Besides, you are forgetting. You will not die this way. Your scales will not mummify you. You will be able to move. Haven't you tried it yet?" He lifted one paw, holding it close to his chest to avoid ruining more of the crumbling roof. He tentatively folded his fingers and they bent with ease, claws flashing in the muted light. "I can move," he said with dawning wonder. "I can move my toes. Look, Princess, they bend!" His narrow face was filled with a sort of bemused astonishment. "Oh, that feels..." "I did warn you," she said gently. "You came very close to being completely immobile, Spike." "I didn't like the risks," he said, still watching his paw flex with that expression of amazement. "I still think I'm lucky to have my mind." "I have been around for a very long time," said Celestia, tipping her head. "Credit me with a little wisdom. I knew that you of all dragons would never again allow your mind to be lost in the greed." "I'll listen next time," he said, and put his paw back down to the throne room floor. Then he raised the other, regarding the Elements of Harmony still clasped between his claws. The casket looked like a pea in his grip. "How do I... use them?" "It is different for everypony," she said. "You must study them and work it out for yourself. I have faith in you." He raised one eyebrow. "Oh, don't overwhelm me with details or anything. Do you think that reference guide would still be knocking about?" She smiled. "Possibly." He looked at the Elements for a moment more, before nodding his head. "Let's do this." Celestia stood upon his shoulder. "Very well. Hold still, and I will teleport us." "Need a hoof? You can tap my magical core, if you like." "I have enough power to spare, Spike." "But the Zone--" She gave him a rather smug little smile. "I am the Guardian of the Sun. A mere teleport - even one with this much mass displacement - is no great trial." Spike rolled his eyes, huge glittering pools of green. "Showoff." "You are becoming less despondent, I see." "I don't know," Spike said thoughtfully, holding himself very still as Celestia's horn began to glow. "It's like... wanting them so much has brought them closer. I can almost hear them. It's... nice." "Spike!" Twilight screamed. "You can hear us! Spike, we're here!" Celestia smiled. "I am glad. Hold tight." Spike nodded. "Right. Don't want them to fall out, hang on." And he closed the casket before Twilight could call out again.
The Jewellery Box
Chapter 2
Not mine, no money, no sue. Chapter Two Light. Colour. Sound. Sensation. One timeless moment they were absent, and then with tearing, ripping abruptness they were there, stabbing relentlessly and with painful accuracy into their lulled minds. Twilight could feel the others screaming around her as they were once more pulled into the world outside the casket. "Which one of you...?" asked Pinkie shrilly. "Wasn't me!" Dash howled. "Wasn't me this time!" "Rarity?" Twilight whirled her attention to where her friend's presence quivered and shook. "Not me either, I assure you!" came Rarity's frantic voice. "I wouldn't even know where to start!" "Uh..." said Fluttershy. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Well, you said there was a pull, and there was this pulling, and so I thought, just maybe, if I tried to pull back like you had..." said Fluttershy wretchedly. "No, guys, guys this is good!" Twilight called over their clamouring voices. "We're out of the box again, we're out!" "I cain't hardly bear it, Twilight!" Applejack said. "I cain't see, it's so bright. How's anypony s'posed t' be able to think after bein' squeezed through that tunnel o' light?" "Calm down," Twilight said, trying to sound more in control than she felt. "Everypony, just calm down and get adjusted. We'll get used to it eventually." "I think it's fun!" said Pinkie brightly. "You would," muttered Applejack. "Let's just take a moment to get our Selves under control, and then we can start to figure out where we aaaaaAAAAAH!" Twilight's voice swooped upwards into a scream as she saw the massive shadow, the giant claws, the teeth. Then she scolded herself. It's Spike. Of course it's Spike. She didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing him like this. "Easy, sugarcube," Applejack said. "He's a bit much to take in, isn't he?" said Rarity with gentle understanding. "Y... yeah," said Twilight, gazing up at her little assistant as he gradually came into focus. He seemed to be coiled around himself, his tail wrapped neatly around his side as he lay on his belly on a grey gravel surface. The place was in fact quite dark, though the pale cool light of the moon was spilling in from somewhere and etching all the shadows in deepest black. The walls and roof were also grey stone, broken and ugly. A cave then, Twilight surmised. Smashed and shattered rocks littered the ground. Spike barely fitted into the place at all, and Twilight had the somewhat bizarre thought that he must have crawled in on his elbows. The Elements of Harmony twinkled up at him from within the casket before his feet. It looked ludicrously small. He seemed to be talking quietly to himself. The rumbles could be felt as a trembling of the air. "Where are we?" wondered Dash. "I think it's that cave the Princess was talking about," said Fluttershy, edging closer to the mammoth dragon. "The one over Ponyville." "Nothin' doin'," Applejack said. "Spike'd never fit into that cave. Heck, a normal-sized dragon found it a bit on th' cosy side." "I think he redecorated," said Rainbow Dash, nodding her head towards the piles of broken boulders. "Looks like he smashed his way in." "Simply love what he's done with the place," said Rarity with a nervous giggle. "I remember that dragon. He had absolutely NO sense of humour," said Pinkie. "Oooh, I wonder if Spike snores?" "He does," Twilight said absently. "Or at least he did." "Aaaaaaand cue the smoke problem all over again," said Rainbow Dash. "No. Nopony tells my Spikey-wikey to leave Ponyville," said Rarity firmly. "Not exactly the most pressing issue right now, you guys," Twilight snapped. "Yeah, why was Fluttershy the one who got pulled here?" asked Pinkie. "The box is open," said Applejack. "Any one o' us coulda been pulled." "Element of Kindness, remember?" said Rainbow Dash with an impatient lilt in her voice. "Last time, I got pulled because he was being all loyal, right? So is he being kind now or what?" "Is he alone?" asked Rarity. "Cain't tell, there's dragon as far as the eye can see," said Applejack after a beat. "He's just looking at them," said Fluttershy. "Just looking at them and talking." "No, there!" Twilight said suddenly. There was a tiny, ant-like figure on Spike's paw not far from the glowing casket. It crossed her mind that it would have been much easier to see what was going on had their presences remained in the Elements - which was a ridiculous thought. As before, their Selves had materialised a little way from their velvet-lined prison. "Is that a pony?" whispered Pinkie. "Reckon it could be, it's pretty small," said Applejack. "C'mon, let's get closer." Together they moved towards the dragon's head. Twilight had to repress a jolt of fear. Even though she knew this was Spike, her Spike, she had never seen or heard of any living being that could even come close to how titanic he had become. He was built using the same scale as geography, not creatures. It was difficult to convince herself firstly that such a giant could be real, and secondly that he truly meant no harm. She could feel the others quailing a little as well. She got a hold of herself. This was Spike, the dragon she'd hatched and raised from infancy. He'd never hurt anything that wasn't gem-flavoured. She led them onwards. Spike's voice rumbled through the walls of the cave, his words slowly becoming more distinct as they came closer. Pebbles on the cave floor bounced with the subsonic vibrations. "... so shy, but you didn't want to cross her," he said in a half-whisper. "She could stare down a photograph when she was mad. She loved animals. She would have loved you. I can say that from experience, you know. I've got previous. She was very beautiful, very kind. They all matched their cutie marks, you know. See the little sparkly butterfly? Hah, that's right, it's flying over your head. Whoosh! Aaaand whoosh! Can you catch the butterfly?" "Are we being... shown off?" said Rainbow. "Awesome." "Did you hear a reply?" Rarity said. "No," said Twilight. "If he's talking to somepony, they're not talking back." "Well, that's extremely rude," huffed Rarity. Fluttershy pulled them near and hushed them. "Um, I think I've figured out why I was the one pulled through," she whispered. "Don't just yank like that, Fluttershy," Applejack began, but she was quickly interrupted by another sharp 'shh' from their usually meek friend. "What in tarnation has gotten into you?" Fluttershy was practically glowing with delight. "I also think I might have worked out why he's the only one talking," she added. "In his palm. Look." Twilight turned her attention to Spike's claw - and gaped. "It's so sweet," Fluttershy crooned. "Oh wow, do you think it's his?" gasped Pinkie. "How could it be?" Twilight said, staring at the little thing curled up in Spike's paw. "He stayed a baby himself for five hundred years!" Nestled in the hollow of Spike's palm and yawning owlishly was a brightly coloured little dragon. It was only slightly larger than Spike himself had been at his hatching, with rounded spinal spikes and a blunted tail. Spike's paw stretched out all around it in every direction, reminding the stunned Twilight of a kitten sitting on a double bed. It wasn't even as big as the single purple scale it rested upon. The baby was a burnished coppery orange, with royal blue spines and a sweet and sleepy face. The features were soft and unfinished, with a snubbed snout and round, dimpled cheeks. The underbelly was a slightly paler orange, and the head-fins which were yellow-green on Spike were the perfect blue of oxidised copper on the little infant. It yawned again as Spike delicately stroked the tiny back. It wriggled once and laid its head down, watching with half-lidded bright blue eyes. Then the little thing opened its toothless mouth and began to fuss loudly, wailing and wriggling. "I know," said Spike, still in that carefully quiet voice that nevertheless made the walls shudder. "You miss them. I know, I'm sorry. Shhh, I've got you. Look at the shiny gems and gold, little one. Look at how they sparkle. That's it. Shhh." "He's... turned us into a baby's mobile," said Rainbow flatly. "Well. Slightly less awesome than I was expecting." Spike stroked the baby's back again with the smooth curved topside of one claw. His foreleg rippled with strain- the only indication of the immense effort he was making to keep his newly-grown paw under control. The tiny dragon curled up under the touch and whimpered, before wailing uncomfortably. Spike sighed. "I'm not allowed to stop talking, huh?" he said wryly. "You like the noise." The baby gave a loud cry that was half-protestation, half-laugh. Spike hummed tunelessly for a while until it settled again. Then the humming turned into soft words once more, whispering through the cave like a gale. "I'll bet your mum and dad talked to you a lot. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner, little one. The way I am now, maybe I could have done something. Heck, if I could figure out how these things work, I might even have been able to stop him. But there's lots of children without parents around Equestria these days." Spike broke off and sighed again. The baby pushed itself up onto its soft little forepaws with a cross mewl. It was obviously not grown enough to support itself properly, and its hind legs dragged, kicking petulantly. Its head bobbed and wobbled on its neck, and Spike eased it back down onto his palm. "Sorry, sorry, I'll keep going." He began to hum once more, but this time the tune became words after only a couple of bars. "You haven't got the hang of this sleep business just yet, have you? All you know is that you're tired and unhappy, and that somepony took your mum and dad away. I'm just a lonely old dragon who smells all wrong, not much of a substitute for a mum or dad. Well, at least I can keep talking." The claw, innumerable times the size of the infant, kept stroking it with infinite care. "An orphan," said Fluttershy in a hushed voice. "Yeah, I managed to get that," said Rainbow Dash, rolling her eyes. "I've got you, little one. You're safe now," Spike said in the gentlest voice imaginable. It was astonishing to hear it coming from this fierce-looking behemoth. He smiled self-deprecatingly. "Little one. Would you listen to me. It hasn't even been two days. I think I'm getting too used to this whole being big thing. It's too easy. I suppose that's for the best, though it would have been nice to be able to hold you... or anypony else for that matter. Oh..." His gigantic eyebrows rose in concern as the infant wriggled unhappily once more. "Oh, I think I remember. I'll bet I know what the problem is..." Twilight almost fainted - though Celestia only knew how she would have managed that - when Spike pursed his jaws and blew a thin stream of fire over his palm and the baby. Curling green flames flickered through his fingers, and she tried to stop herself from gasping in fright, but couldn't. "That's better, isn't it?" Spike rumbled, his palm ablaze. "What did he do?" screeched Rarity. "Spike! Just killed! A baby!" Twilight shrieked, her mind a fizzing hive of panic and horror. "Wait," said Fluttershy, an intent look on her face. "I think I can see it... it's... sucking its paws." "It's... not bursting into flames and turning into a cute smudge of charcoal?" Twilight said. "Apparently not," Rarity said. "It's just rolled over. I think it's finally falling asleep." "Hang on..." said Pinkie slowly, her brow furrowing. "Dashie... he told us once. I can't exactly put my hoof on it. But he had the hiccups and there was a Griffon and it all ended with Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony..." "Oh yeah! Fireproof!" said Rainbow Dash, whirling to point a hoof at Pinkie. "Dragons 're fireproof!" The relief was staggering. "Fireproof!" Twilight echoed. "I'd forgotten." Fluttershy smiled at the tiny little shape curled up comfortably inside a bonfire. "It looks ever so much happier now," she said, before spreading her insubstantial wings and fluttering over to peer into the raging green fire. "Whoozawoozums! Whooza sweet widdle dwagon? You are, yes, you are!" "Always sounds like she's hit her head when she sees somethin' small an' cute, don't she?" asked Applejack rhetorically. "Thought that'd do it. I used to get so cold when I was real little," Spike said, relaxing his long neck and watching the fire dissipate harmlessly in his palm. The coppery dragon was sizzling a little, but it seemed quite content as it stretched and cooed inside the flames. "They used to have to bundle me in insulation blankets. I looked like a spacepony in a silver suit. At least I can keep you warm like a dragon should be kept warm, with proper dragon fire. Yeah, you liked that, didn't you? Nice and toasty." "He did look like a spacepony. I had photos. He was adorable," Twilight said, her soul lurching at the memory. "He'd shiver until I thought he'd shake his bones loose, and he used to crawl under so many covers I thought he'd suffocate." "Oh," Spike said, following the sparkling blue eyes back to the casket. "Interested in them again, are you? Okay, we talked about that one. How about this one? This one was for the happiest pony in the world. She made everypony just as happy as she was, just by being around. She could do amazing, impossible, totally random things and she could be really, really freaky on occasion. I've never seen anypony eat like her. I think I was the only one who could even come close to keeping up, and that's only because I had the ol' dragon stomach advantage. See the blue? It's a balloon, that's right. Same colour as your eyes, little one. No, no, no, not for eating. Claws off these, no grabbing. These are special. That reminds me, I'll have to get you some limestone or sandstone to chew on when you start growing teeth. Oh, hey, give that... oh, drat." The miniscule dragon curled up around the Element of Laughter, and promptly fell asleep. Spike snorted ruefully, and began to ease the necklace from the infant's tiny but determined grip. "Aw, let it keep me!" Pinkie said, nuzzling at the baby's head. "We can have adventures! Pinkie and the dragon! You and me, kid!" "Oh, isn't it just so precious?" Fluttershy said, her face soft and fond as she peered over Pinkie's shoulder. "Er," said Rarity. "Y'all 're seein' what I'm seein'?" "I know," said Twilight tersely. "Three of them now. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and now Fluttershy." Rainbow Dash regarded the two other ghostly ponies with a sullen expression. "Don't forget, you guys, I was first," she said. "Because I am totally the best." Fluttershy eagerly looked herself all over, her wings rustling, before she caught sight of Rainbow Dash's face and ducked behind her mane with a squeak. "Why not us?" said Rarity indignantly. "I want hooves again, no matter how see-through!" "So once we're... invoked, we stay invoked," Twilight said, her mind churning as she stared at the faint outlines of her three friends. "Got you," Spike said, finally tugging the necklace free. It only just looped over the tip of his pinkie-claw. He laid it back down into the casket with an awkward tilt of his paw, and then gave the Elements a long, troubled look. "How do I use you?" he muttered. "I mean, taking in a foundling is more than generous," Rarity continued, unwilling to let the subject go. "Why, I would go so far as to say it is the most generous thing I've ever heard of!" "But I'm not sure he thinks of it that way," Twilight said. "Maybe he thinks of it as the right thing to do, as opposed to the generous thing to do." "Hang on, I think Twi's on to somethin' here," said Applejack. "I think it's the only thing to do," Spike rumbled. Twilight froze. Spike was looking puzzled again. He had a lot of face to look puzzled with. "We've gotta get through to him!" Rainbow Dash hissed. "Twilight, Rarity - you guys were closest! Talk to him! Get him yappin' again!" Spike blinked, before he roughly shook his head. "I've got to face him, and soon," the dragon continued muttering to himself, laying his head down on the cavern floor. His eyes, each a glittering green pond, continued to stare at the Elements with worry flickering in their depths. "But I've got no idea how to use you. Why did Celestia give you to me? Why turn me into this when I don't even know the first place to start? "Since when do you call the Princess by her first name, Spike?" said Twilight, moving herself towards him. His teeth were taller than any pony, and she shuddered in the deep, secret places of her spirit. "Since I stopped a war between Griffony and Equestria," Spike retorted. Then he tried to look at his own mouth in astonishment. "Holy guacamole," breathed Dash. "Holy guacamole," echoed Spike. "I'm gonna flip any second now," announced Pinkie. "Am I... imagining things?" Spike said, his eyes now impossibly wide. His head lifted slightly as he swept the empty-seeming cave with his glance, searching every corner. "I knew I could feel something. I knew it. You're... here, aren't you?" "Yes!" Twilight shouted. "Yes, Spike, it's us, we're all here!" Around her she could hear the others calling similar things, begging their last friend to hear them. "Did I call you?" Spike wondered, reaching out his free paw. It hung in the air for a moment, reaching for something he couldn't ever obtain, before sweeping through the cave from left to right. It swept straight through the misty figure of Pinkie Pie, and she let out an unsteady little 'oo-oo-oo-ooh!' Her image rippled as though underwater. Spike lowered his paw and stretched his neck out into the musty air of the cave, his whole body tensed and his breath hitching slightly. "When I wanted you so much... did I wake you up? Did I bring you here?" he whispered like a gale. "Or is the... the greed finally driving me mad?" "Oh, you dumb dragon!" Rainbow hollered. "It's the Elements, we're in the Elements!" "Guys," Spike said, and broke off on a sob. "Oh, Luna, I don't care if I'm crazy or not. I've missed you. If you can hear me, I missed you..." "If we can hear you? You sound like a thunderstorm when you whisper! How could anypony not hear you?" Rainbow Dash stomped her hooves angrily. "It's like a hole in the world. Like a crack running through the middle of me. I can't even come close to describing how much I've missed you. I don't know how you can be here," Spike continued. His eyes were suspiciously shiny, though his face was carefully, rigidly calm. "El! Em! Ents!" Dash yelled. "What?" Spike's head jerked a little and his eyebrows lowered in concentration. Rainbow's eyes lit up, and she flew right up to his eye-level. "Listen up, ya big doof, I said, El! Em! Ents!" she begged. He blinked. "What's the alphabet got to do with anything?" "No, the Ele- oh, I give up," Dash said and dropped to the ground in a pile of defeat. "Spike, it's me," Twilight said. "Can you hear..." There was no doubt that he had heard her. His breath stopped, and he began to tremble. "T-twi..." he said through a mouth that appeared to have gone numb with shock. "He heard you," said Rainbow, before her head thudded onto her hooves. "After I did all that, he heard you. Oh, that is so, sooooo not fair." She ignored Rainbow Dash's moaning and moved even closer to her little dragon - now such a vast creature, but with the same earnest soul. "Spike, I'm here. You're not alone. We're all here." "You..." Spike said, before he bent his head. His colossal shoulders were now shaking uncontrollably, and Twilight knew another brief moment of fear. Now that the focus of his greed was fulfilled, would it make him begin collecting again? The moment passed in a flash as Spike's head lifted slowly to search the cavern. His eyes were now brimming, but doubt was suffusing his face. The moonlight made his scales gleam silver. "I can't see you." "We're not physical, Spike," Twilight said gently. "But we're still here with you." "ELEMENTS!" Rainbow howled. He blinked again. "Elements? Oh, the Elements of Harmony?" "Jeesh, finally!" "But I don't know how," Spike said. "I didn't even manage to fill in for Rainbow Dash. Twilight was the one who did all the fancy magic, I was just a secretary!" "You gigantic jerk, I didn't say use the Elements, I said we're in theElements!" "You were never just a secretary!" Twilight fumed. "You're my number one assistant!" He grinned even as a tear cut a track down his cheek. "I can sort of feel you being angry, Twilight... sorry. I know I was more than a secretary." His expression grew soft and wistful. "I wish I could see you." "You and me both," Twilight said, moving her Self closer to him. "Though I'd settle for being heard right now. What do you have to fight, Spike? Why is this dragon an orphan? Why is the Princess so scared?" "Yeah, I'm scared," Spike said after a pause. Then he wiped at his shiny eyes with his paw, and sighed. "I'm terrified, actually," he admitted. "He... didn't answer the question," said Applejack. "But he could understand 'scared'," Pinkie put in. "He's only picking up parts of what we're telling him, I think," said Twilight, gazing up at her little boy who had grown up. Who had rather overdone it on the growing up, in fact. "Aw, lame!" Dash groaned. "Maybe if I fly up there and shout at him again?" "Fly...? That's gotta be Rainbow Dash! Nah, I didn't get wings," Spike said with a wry smile. "I suppose I just don't get them. Sorry, Dash. Guess we'll never go flying together... not that I could keep up." Dash tipped her head back in frustration. "No, no, no, who is this big bad guy? Who? WHO?" Spike raised an eyebrow. "Oh no. Seriously? Owloysius is there? You're kidding - right?" Dash screeched in frustration and stomped her intangible hoof. "This is completely impossible! He knows I spoke, but he can't understand what I said! Rarity, he'll listen to you, get onto it!" "Rainbow Dash, some decorum, please," Rarity said, her voice shaking slightly. Twilight could feel her presence moving near, drawing up close to the dragon's head. "Spike?" she said. "Spike, dear... it's me." Spike's eyes instantly filled with tears once more. "Milady," he breathed. Twilight could feel her friend's emotions veering wildly. She pulled her essence close and held her tight. "It's okay, Rarity," she said, trying to squash her own surge of feeling. "It's okay." Spike gave his mammoth forelegs a glance, before his head bent in shame. "I never wanted you to see me like this again," he said in a voice that dragged like broken glass over stone. "Spikey..." Rarity said helplessly. "It's not the same," Twilight said in her sternest and most parental tone. "You know it's not the same." "But Twilight, I gave in," he said. "I promised on your graves that I would never..." "No you didn't," Rarity said. Her voice rang with conviction. "You used the greed, instead of it using you, as t'were. You didn't give in - You faced your fears and sacrificed yourself for the good of others. It was a brave, noble and generous thing to do, and you're an absolute hero, darling. You're still my hero." He paused, before his glossy eyes warmed. "Oh, milady," he whispered. "You never did let me finish what I was going to say." Rarity's sudden burst of love and guilt buffeted them like a storm. "He can hear you too," said Rainbow Dash blankly. Then she leapt into the air and whooped. "Aw, yeah!" Spike jerked back. "What was that?" "Flipping. Any... second... now..." said Pinkie, her eyes very wide and her pupils tiny dots of shock. "Rainbow Dash, do stop behaving like some uncivilised ruffian," Rarity said in a trembling voice. "This is really difficult," Spike said, swallowing hard. "I don't quite know what you just said. I don't think it was pointed at me. I'm not actually hearing you at all, so you know, not with my ears at least. It's in my head. I can sort of feel that you're here, and I can sort of feel what you mean to say. I'm guessing that I'm getting a lot of it wrong. I'll get better at it." "How can he do that?" asked Pinkie. "How should I know?" said Twilight. "Talk to him, that might make it clearer. Let's practice for a little while. Girls, try to keep the babble and the bickering to a minimum, okay?" Spike's lips twitched, and to their amazement he began to chuckle. "Aaaaaand I remember that feeling. Twilight just told everypony to get into line, didn't she?" Applejack began to laugh as well. "He's got you there, Twi." "Was that Applejack?" Spike said eagerly, rising a little from his curled position. "Careful of the baby!" Fluttershy scolded. "Whoops, sorry Fluttershy." Spike glanced back down at his upturned palm, before freezing stock-still. "Ohmigosh, Fluttershy?" "Eeep!" Fluttershy squeaked. "He heard that too!" said Pinkie. "This is incredible!" Twilight said, staring up at the shocked dragon. "There's never been anything like this before. We've broken the boundaries of magic as we know it! Oh, I wish I could get to my library. I need to look this up! Maybe there's something in the..." "Is... Twilight having a research moment?" Spike said, his body still frozen. "Give the dragon a prize," Applejack drawled. "What was that about keepin' babble to a minimum, Twilight?" Twilight ignored her with lofty disdain. "Spike," she began, and hesitated as she looked up into those eyes, those big, puzzled, familiar green eyes. They gazed right past her with wordless longing. He swallowed again. "Twilight." Twilight couldn't think of how to say it all. Her mind had drawn a complete blank. Her heart was too busy breaking and demanding the impossible: that he should look down and see her. "Um..." she faltered. "Well, I know it's been a long time... and, uh..." "Oh, in the name of everything nougat...!" Pinkie exclaimed. She took two very determined bounces to land before the dragon's nose, and fixed him with a glare. "Right, Spikenator! Listen up and listen good! We're in the Elements of Harmony! We don't know how you use 'em either, although Twilight might have some idea because she's Miss Magicky-Wagic. The baby is real cute. You're real big and it's sorta-kinda-a-lot freaking us out, but it's all okay and we're not angry or anything. You're actually lookin' pretty sharp there - as well as extremely spiky and dangerous. Did I mention big? We missed you - well, actually we didn't because we'd forgotten EV-ER-Ything, but once we figured it out, then we missed you. We're fine, except three of us seem to be ghosties and three of us are disembodied minds just zipping about. If you could do something generous, honest and magic toot sweet, that'd be just superly fantabulicious. Oooh, and also, if it's not too much to ask, could you pleeeeeeeease with hot sauce on top tell us what the big Equestria-annihilating threat is? Plus the Dark is boring, so don't close the box. This flip-out has been brought to you by Pinkie Pie courtesy of the Elements of Harmony. The End." Spike looked bewildered. "That... was Pinkie Pie, right? Being extra, super Pinkie Pie." Twilight groaned. "Yes." "Uh huh," he said, before the faintest trace of a rather familiar, cheeky smile crossed his face. "Pretty sharp? Y'think?" Twilight pulled herself back from all the teeth, teeth, teeth. "Well, that's... one way of putting it." "You look marvellous, darling," said Rarity staunchly. His eyes glimmered. "Thanks, Rarity." "I think he's getting the hang of it," said Rainbow Dash, peering up at him. "So... you're ghosts?" Spike's gaze flickered over the moonlit cave. "Three of you? Did I get that right?" "I don't know about ghosts, exactly," Twilight admitted. "But Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are sort of... visible to us. The Princess couldn't see them though, and if anypony could, she could." He rocked back in shock. "The P-Princess? You saw all that?" "We're in the Elements, Spike," said Applejack wearily. "He's a bit slow for a Professor, ain't he?" "It's a bit of a shock to find out that your childhood friends, dead for centuries, are suddenly talking inside your head from inside a bunch of necklaces and a big crown thingy," Spike retorted. "Cut me some slack." "Well, either he's got the hang o' it, or he can tell when he's bein' insulted," said Applejack. "Sorry, sugarcube." "S'okay, Applejack. So you were there when I..." Spike trailed off. Then he bit his lip. Rarity's presence trembled for a moment. "Yes," she said. There was a very uncomfortable silence. Twilight could only imagine how Spike must be feeling, knowing that his dead friends had seen him as a five hundred year old child turning slowly to stone. Then arguing with the Princess. Then growing to the height of a castle... "Are you... okay?" she asked softly. He scratched for a moment at the rocky ground with his empty claw, and then slumped. "No, not really. This is too much, and I'm... I'm frightened." "Tell Twilight," she murmured. "Tell Twilight, and the troubles go away," he recited the old and comforting phrase, and smiled sadly. It faded too quickly, and he heaved a great sigh. Smoke gusted through the cave, eddying in billows and creating strange shapes in the moonlight. He studied his claws for a long moment in silence, before his mouth opened and he began to speak in a soft monotone. "Well. I'm scared about what I have to do. I don't know if I'll ever get the Elements working. Before, I didn't care so much if I didn't make it, but what about Equestria? What about the little one here? She has nopony of her own any more. And now you... you're here. But what if you're not here, and I'm just going crazy? Or if you are, and I have to give up my life to defeat him? I'd be leaving you. Again. Not to say that I'm not happy you're here, I so, soooo am, you have no idea, it's just... hard to believe." He stopped, breathing deeply for a moment, before continuing in a voice that faltered even as it boomed. "I kind of... need you. It's sort of the reason I'm like this now. You're the focus of the whole thing. I need you in order to be whole, you see. Well, you know that if you saw. I don't know if I can believe that you're here - and what happens if I do? Does the greed take over? Do I go mad? I... I'm almost more afraid to believe it than not." There was a short, tense silence. Spike broke it with a wry little huff. "Oh yeah... and finally, I'm worried that it feels so natural to be so big." He shifted a little on the gravel floor of the cave, before looking down at the claw that held the baby. "I was really as little as her when I hatched, wasn't I?" "You were even littler," Twilight said, the memories welling up within her (doll, basket, bottle, chortle, blanket, toy trains, gems, soft afternoons spent sleeping in a warm huddle, tiny claws in her fur, tears that stopped when she gathered him up in her embrace, little arms clasping around her neck, the smells of powder and linen and smoke). "You were so tiny I could put you in Smarty Pants' clothes. You hated it." "Wherever did you find the little darling?" Fluttershy asked. "On the edge of Celestia's Zone, not far from here," Spike said heavily, still looking at the curled shape of the infant. It was sucking on one of its paws again, and it twitched a little as it dreamed its baby dragon dreams. "I took the long way home from Canterlot so I wouldn't scare anypony, and I came across her parents' bodies just outside Froggy Bottom Bog. He must have overlooked her - I almost did, she's so tiny. I very nearly didn't hear her crying." "Will you... keep her?" asked Rarity. "How can I?" he said, stroking her tiny back again, before looking up and around at what was to him a seemingly-empty cave. "I can't promise to be there for her. I could die, remember." Rarity pulled Twilight's Self towards hers, and enmeshed her so tightly it was painful. "Oh, my Spikey-Wikey..." she moaned. "You mustn't. You can't!" Spike smiled again, the same sad little smile. "Not even to be a hero, milady Rarity? Not even to save Equestria?" "Spike," Twilight said gently. "I can promise you one thing, at least. We are really, truly here. You're not crazy. We've been in the Elements of Harmony all this time. You called us out of the Darkness. You're not alone, and we'll help you in any way we can." The huge green eyes widened, before slamming shut. Spike tucked his chin against his chest and held very still for a long moment. He didn't say anything, but Twilight understood. Eventually he raised his head and wiped at his eyes with the heel of that gigantic hand. "So," he said crisply before clearing his throat. He was obviously trying to bury his emotions with briskness. The great voice was thick with suppressed tears. "Alright, I'll act as though I believe that. How did I call you out?" "You were being loyal," Twilight said, going along with the change of pace for his sake and adopting a businesslike tone. "And that invoked the Element of Loyalty. That pulled Rainbow Dash out of the Darkness, and she dragged the rest of us along too. My theory is that because you kept being loyal it strengthened Rainbow even further until she could regain a sort of physical form. When you made a joke despite how sad you were - a really bad joke by the way - Pinkie was able to do the same. And when you opened the casket to entertain the baby..." "...I was being kind," Spike said slowly. "But... I wasn't really... I was just doing the right thing." "The right thing was the kind thing, Spike," said Fluttershy, brushing a wing over the sleeping baby's head. "Oh, she's soooo sweet. What's her name?" Spike's eyes clouded over, and he looked down at the tiny little dragon with an oddly protective expression. "I don't know. I guess I'll have to give her one." "She likes me," Pinkie said with a toss of her curly mane. "You should name her after me!" "Pinks, we can't call her Pinkie, she's not pink!" pointed out Rainbow Dash. "See, she's like, orange." Spike rolled his eyes. "Well, we should name her after Applejack then." "Y' said what? I was orange?" Pinkie was evidently rather taken with the idea of naming the little orphan after herself. "Pinkamena!" she declared, waving her shadowy hooves. "See? She even looks like a Pinkamena!" "An' that's just another way of naming her Pinkie," said Dash with exaggerated patience. "Besides, I wouldn't saddle anypony with a name like Pinkamena," said Spike. Pinkie's ears flattened. "And what's wrong with Pinkamena?" "Well..." Spike gulped and began to backtrack like a pro. "Er... it's just so... individual? Th-there can be only one P-pinkamena?" Twilight watched with a sinking feeling as a little pink ghost bullied a giant among dragons into stammering like a foal, and wished fervently for her body. She'd never felt such a strong urge to facehoof before. Pinkie looked mollified, but only just. "All right then, mister, I'll let that one slide. This time. How about Pie?" "Pie the dragon? She'd be a laughing-stock! Absolutely not," Spike vetoed. Then he flinched. "Don't throw anything!" "Uh," Fluttershy said. "Diane?" Spike looked down at the sleeping baby again. "Diane. That could work." "Fine, Diane it is," Twilight said with a touch of impatience. "Now, please tell us who is it that killed Diane's parents? What is the Princess so worried about?" Spike's mouth became a tight, flat line. "Can't you guess? Who did the Elements defeat?" Pinkie bounced eagerly. "Oooh, Black Snooty?" "Sort of," Spike said, and turned his head away. "And who else?" "Discord," said Rarity slowly. "Right," Spike said. "It's Discord. But it's not just Discord." "The Princess said that... somepony had been captured," Fluttershy said, ducking under her long mane again and peering out with one large frightened eye. "Right again. Princess Luna. Somepony freed Discord, but instead of immediately creating chaos like last time, the first thing he did was capture Luna." Spike's low voice dripped with anger and grief. "He fed her lies, crazed her mind with illusions and built up her resentment until..." "Nightmare Moon?" whispered Twilight. "Yeah. But it didn't stop there. Somehow he stripped her of Nightmare Moon's power, the ultimate manifestation of her resentment and jealousy, and then took it into himself," said Spike. His gigantic muscles bunched in fury, though his voice remained quiet. "She's in his palace, we think. He can't kill her, so he's imprisoned her." "Nightmare Discord?" blurted Rainbow Dash. "He was already a nightmare! He didn't need help!" exclaimed Rarity in pure horror. "But he was just a sort of powerful trickster!" Twilight said. "He never seemed to want to actually hurt anypony, just create mayhem and have some silly laughs!" "Not anymore," said Spike. "Nightmare Moon needed to dominate and control, right? She wanted to eliminate all competition, and become the sole ruler of her domain, the sky. She was prepared to kill anypony in her path with any trick she could muster. Well, he's inherited those traits. He still laughs, sure, but usually while he's knee-deep in blood. Chaos must rule, and there can be no challengers. There's no chocolate milk rain this time. No upside-down buildings or funny cotton candy clouds. Instead, there's what happened to Trottingham." Twilight was afraid to ask, but she braved it anyway. "What happened?" "It's now at the bottom of a brand new sea. He didn't bother evacuating it." Fluttershy's hooves clamped over her mouth, and Rarity choked. "Appleoosa has been on fire for three months now, and not even rain can put it out." Spike snorted bitterly. "That's assuming it gets normal rain, of course. No pegasus beyond Dodge Junction has dared to do any weather duty for half a year. Celestia has managed to keep central Equestria free of his powers, but everything beyond that is under his control. He even manages to get inside Celestia's Free Zone every now and then, when she grows tired from repelling him and maintaining both the sun and moon. We've had rains of poisonous snakes, rains of acid and rains of rotting meat. And that's not even the worst of it." "I don't want to hear," gasped Fluttershy. "Oh, no, please stop!" Spike's great head turned back to them. "I'm sorry, Fluttershy," he said quietly. "What's happened to Ponyville?" cried Applejack. "What about our home?" Spike drew his outstretched palm towards his face, and regarded the little dragon sleeping within it. "That's what's so strange. Nothing's happened to it yet. Celestia's protecting it, as I said, and I've been here of course. I think he has plans for it. Discord won't have forgotten Ponyville in a hurry." "Guards? The army? The Wonderbolts?" Rainbow asked desperately. He pulled a rather sardonic face. "The latest Wonderforce is currently under the impression that they are sparrows, and he used the army to grit his drive, I believe," he said. "The Canterlot Palace guard are all that's left, and there's not many of them in the first place. Do you really think they could stand up to the combined power of Nightmare Moon and Discord?" "Splat," said Pinkie. "Splat," Spike agreed. "So that's why it's all up to you," said Twilight. "Yeah, all up to me." Spike sighed and stroked the baby's back. His claw moved with utter tenderness. "Getting colder. S'cuse me." He blew another gentle stream of fire over the tiny dragon, which didn't even stir from its slumber. "A fully-grown dragon armed with the Elements of Harmony," Twilight mused. "I can see why the Princess thought it would be a good idea..." "Except the dragon in question has no idea how to use them. Everything I've tried has done absolutely zip," he said, flames playing around his teeth and tongue as he spoke. "Can you remember anything about how they worked?" She concentrated. "Magic made them complete. The others are dormant without it. I gathered the power of the Elements together with my magic, and funnelled it through myself." "It gave her spoooooooky eyes!" Pinkie said. "Spooky eyes with bad-guy-smashing powers!" "I just focused like crazy on my own Element," offered Rainbow. "Loyal to the max, that's me." "I did the same," said Applejack. "Just thought about bein' honest hard as I could." "But... I don't use magic," Spike said, looking lost. "The Princess said you had the magic of dragons in your bones..." Twilight began, but Spike was shaking his head. "I know, I know, as a dragon I do have magic... but it's inherent magic. It's like the intrinsic magic of Earth ponies or pegasi. It's in my body and my fire, not my mind. I can't consciously direct it like a unicorn can." "Since when do you use words like 'inherent' and 'intrinsic' in normal conversation?" said Twilight, taken aback. Spike quirked an eyebrow. "Professor Spike, Dean of Ponyville University and Extremely Senior Lecturer in Equestrian History, International Politics and Law speaking." "Whoa," breathed Rainbow Dash. "Twilight, he's a bigger egghead than you ever were!" He shrugged. "I had to do something with five hundred years, and I live - lived - in a library. So I started a university." "Oh, Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, wonder and shock bubbling up inside her. "You... you...!" He looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well. After the Bay of Serpents fiasco, it seemed appropriate. I like books and writing, I'd just made Equestrian history happen, and as for law, I've always been interested in what's fair. I was working on my fourteenth doctorate before all this happened." "I am..." Twilight managed, "so proud right now. Really. I may explode." Spike's shoulders straightened, and he smiled bashfully. "Thanks, Twi." "It's your university?" breathed Rarity. "Well, no, I started it, but it's not my university anymore. I handed over the Chancellorship two hundred and seventy-three years ago, which wasn't soon enough for me. I hate administration; it's like hell, but with filing, reporting, budgeting and tacky desk ornaments. They insisted on making me Dean in perpetuity about eighty years ago. That's okay though; I like the extra contact with the students, I like teaching, as much as I can like anything these days. I get why you tried to stuff my ungrateful head with facts now, Twilight. Oh, guess what, the Magic Faculty named the main research building after you. Neat, huh? The Twilight Sparkle Magical Research Facility. And the Horticulture and Agriculture departments have been staffed by whole branches of the Apple family for years now. We should just call 'em the Apple Faculties and leave it at that." Applejack sounded utterly floored. "Now, ain't that somethin'!" Spike's last words pierced Twilight's mist of astonished pride, and it was with a cold shock that she realised that none of them had remembered their families. Nopony could even remember their old age- or their manner of death. It was as though they had been encased in amber in their young adulthood. She couldn't even frame the question. There were some things she simply couldn't bear to hear. "Spike, that is extraordinary," Rarity was gushing. "Simply extraordinary!" "Extremely Senior Lecturer?" said Rainbow Dash. He actually flushed. "The Vice-Chancellor gave me that title, said it was fair. And I'd just turned four hundred and ninety-six." Pinkie gasped, her intangible hooves rising a clear foot from the ground. "Spike! Your birthday! We've missed so many, oh, it's a tragedy, a disaster, no - it's a national emergency! Arrgh, quickquickquick, where's my party cannon, where's my party cannon!" She whirled like a top, her eyes spinning as though expecting to see an ethereal cannon suddenly appearing out of nowhere, all the while singing 'Happy Birthday' at the top of her lungs. Spike threw back his head and laughed. The walls trembled and shuddered as though there were an earthquake, and he stuffed his paw into his mouth in a futile attempt to keep the noise down. "Oh, Pinkie!" he gasped between great heaving laughs, his voice distorted around his claws. "I missed you Pinkie... I missed you all so much!" "Loud," groaned Rainbow Dash, her hooves over her ears. "Way too loud!" The sound had woken the baby. Twilight privately thought that it would have woken a corpse. Apparently when a dragon released thirty-eight years worth of pent-up laughter in one go, it was an awful lot. The little dragon's eyes fluttered and she kicked her legs feebly with a whimper of protest. Spike immediately sucked in a breath and held it as the booming echoes of his laughter died away. "You woke up Pinkie Junior," said Pinkie accusingly. "Well, sorry," he hissed back. "I'm not used to having lungs the size of houses, so excuse me if I need a little while to adjust! And her name is Diane!" "Shhhh, little one," Fluttershy soothed. "It's all right. It's all quite all right. Spike, I think she would like her head rubbed. And perhaps you could warm her up again. She seems very tired still." His eyes softened as they landed on the baby, and he nodded. Then he blew that thin stream of fire over the tiny coppery dragon. Her forepaw twitched absently as she was bathed in green flames. He then picked up a boulder (it looked like a peanut in his claws) and held it under the fire for a good few seconds, before placing the glowing, sizzling rock down beside his palm. "There," he said, stroking her head with extreme delicacy. "There should be enough ambient heat from that for a while. Don't want to put it in my hand: it might roll over and squash her." The little dragon stretched like a sleepy cat, yawning with a tiny toothless mouth. Then she rolled over and curled up into a tight little ball. Twilight melted at the familiar sight. Spike had slept like that for years, his nose wrapped in his paws and his tail encircling the lot. His yawn obviously surprised himself as much as it did them. He belatedly covered his mouth, but Twilight had caught a glimpse of that cavernous maw, filled to bursting with bloodcurdling teeth. She shuddered. "Spike," she said in as reproving a tone as she could muster. "What?" he said. "Yawning's contagious!" "Oh," said Rarity in surprise. "I'd forgotten. You need sleep and food and things, don't you..." "Sorry," he said, and yawned again. The view was indescribable. Twilight steeled herself. "Quite all right, darling," Rarity said. "We'll be here when you wake up." "I just hope..." Spike said muzzily as he laid his head down on the cavern floor again, "... this isn't... some sort of dream." "Tell you what, Spike," said Twilight, watching the huge eyes begin to flutter closed, "I'll wake you up. Just like old times, what do you say?" "Just like... old times," he mumbled, and began to snore. "I missed you too," she said softly. "I missed you too, even if I didn't know what I was missing." The six of them drew together and held each other close as they watched over the sleep of their last lonely friend. The moonlight bounced from his scales and from the Elements in the open box. Jewelled motes of light twinkled through the night air. Hulk write comment, smash puny 'Add Comment' button!
The Jewellery Box
Chapter 3
Sorry for mega-long wait, everyone. But look! More! Not mine, no money, no sue. Chapter Three "Spike! Wake up!" "Unngh." "Spike!" "Fi' minutes, Twi," he grunted. Then his head snapped up, an expression of awe and disbelief on his face. "Ohmigosh, Twi!?" "No, you didn't dream it," she said, laughing at his gobsmacked expression. "We're really here." Spike glanced down at the Elements of Harmony, glinting in the morning sunlight. "Oh." Diane was awake and sitting up. She was amusing herself by kicking her hind feet into the air and rocking backwards along her back. Every now and then she was able to grasp one little foot, and she would immediately stick it into her mouth and gum messily all over it. There was drool everywhere. Spike regarded her with a slightly dismayed expression. "Well isn't that dainty." "Don't bathe her," Fluttershy instructed in a capable tone quite unlike her normal manner of speaking. "You won't be able to hold her properly, you're simply too big. Wipe her down with a damp cloth. She's hungry too." Spike shook his head. "You see any damp cloth around here? Nah, dragons do it like this." He blasted the baby with another short burst of fire and she giggled, grabbing at the flames with jerky, uncoordinated movements. When the fire cleared, the drool was gone and her scales were perfectly clean. "You dragons, that's your answer to everything," said Applejack with a chuckle. Spike smirked and slowly stood, gently depositing the infant onto his snout. He couldn't quite straighten his legs without bashing his spine and head against the cave roof, and had to half-crouch. He looked rather comical with a baby sitting upon his nose peering about curiously. "Right," he said, before stifling a yawn. "Food. I'm starving." "How are you going to manage that?" Rainbow asked. He shrugged with a wry quirk of his mouth which inadvertently displayed several feet of overlocking fangs. "I'll scrounge something together." "How about Diane?" asked Fluttershy. "Ah, got something for her at least," he said, and began to crawl out of the cave into the sunshine. He dislodged a few more boulders as he squeezed out onto the ledge where, once upon a time, Fluttershy had made a cranky red dragon burst into tears. The day was cold and crisp, though the sun was shining. It had that dusty, papery feel of cold mornings that Twilight had always loved. Below them, the valley stretched out and Ponyville dozed in the thin dawn light. It was bigger than she remembered and none of the buildings were familiar. However on the opposite rise, just where they had always stood, she could make out rows and rows of apple trees. The air was so peaceful. It seemed impossible that beyond those mountains, unspeakable chaos was ripping the world apart. Spike was only just able to stand on the ledge. His hind and forefeet were skirting the edges; if he rose up onto his hind feet, his head would be level with the mountain's summit. There was no possible chance that he hadn't been spotted by the ponies far below. With a jolt of amusement Twilight saw that his hind feet were still slightly pigeon-toed, just as they had been when he was little and primarily bipedal. "Ooooh, that's better. I've got a kink in my back," he groaned with a catlike stretch. The pop of his bones sounded like the firing of heavy artillery. Then he sat back down onto his haunches and neatly curled his tail around his feet while his eyes scanned the ground. "Now where are they..." "What do baby dragons eat?" Pinkie wondered. "Just about anything, in my experience," Twilight said. "It's getting them to stop that's the trick." "Ha ha, very funny Twilight. Aha! Here we go," he said, triumphantly flourishing a branch that had obviously been torn from a tree. It was laughably small in his claws. "Found them growing wild on the way here. They should be all right for a while." "Apricots?" said Applejack dubiously. "Ain't she gonna have a problem with the stones?" "She could choke," said Fluttershy, worry in her eyes. "That's why I'm gonna help," Spike said patiently. "I fed her twice yesterday. We did okay." "How..." began Twilight, but she was silenced as Spike cleaned off a surface with a quick blast of fire and shook the branch vigorously over the warmed stone. Apricots fell and bounced, and he squinted down at them, before nodding. "Should be enough. I wish I could get some milk into her, she needs the vitamins. She'll get her teeth soon, though. That should make feeding her a lot easier." "Listen t' you, you're a total expert," said Rainbow Dash. Spike pulled a face, before squishing the apricots to mush with one press of his thumb. The pips were left standing in the orange pulp and he bent his head close, squinting, and flicked them out one by one. "I've seen a lot of generations come and go. You pick up some stuff." "No matter how girly?" teased Twilight. Spike snorted. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. The way I see it, there's nothing tough about letting a baby cry when you can do something about it." "That's a very mature attitude, Spike," said Rarity, surprised approval radiating from her. "Five hundred and twelve, last birthday," Spike said absently as he lifted the baby off his snout with care and put her down in front of the pile of apricot mush. The baby launched into the mush like a fox attacking a henhouse. Her little paws immediately reached out and she crammed a double handful into her mouth. Well, the initial target was her mouth. In practice, the stuff ended up on her face, spines, fins, feet and belly. The little dragon romped happily in her breakfast, thoroughly smearing her just-cleaned scales. Then Diane craned back to babble enthusiastically at Spike, who smiled down at her with such gentleness that Twilight felt her imaginary heart stop. "There we go, Diane. That's better, isn't it?" he rumbled. "I'm sorry, Spike darling, I didn't mean to be offensive," said Rarity. "I keep forgetting how old you are. It just... doesn't seem quite real." Spike cautiously scooped apricot gunk off Diane's head. "No offense taken. And in case you've forgotten, I'm probably the largest dragon alive and you're the invisible dead pony talking in my head from inside a magic golden necklace. I could probably write a book on what doesn't seem real." "What are you gonna eat?" asked Rainbow. Her face was dubious, and Twilight couldn't blame her. Where in Equestria was there enough food to feed a creature as immense as Spike? He shrugged. "Don't know. I'll wait until she's done before I go find something, and then we can start working with the Elements. Maybe now that you're here I'll have more luck." When Diane had finished eating, she was cleaned, burped (producing a decent flame maybe two inches long, which according to Spike meant that she was cleaning out her flame-ducts) and set to playing in the mouth of the cave. For about ten minutes the two dragons were absorbed by a game that seemed to involve a big tickling claw and a lot of giggling on Diane's part. Spike even chuckled a few times when the little thing flopped inexpertly onto his claw in what was unmistakeably a novice pounce, wrapping her paws around it with a little 'rawr!' and gumming messily all over it. "Easy, tiger," he murmured, the bass rumble of his chuckle drifting over the valley. She looked up at him with the jewel-like eyes of a dragon, her little mouth locked on his claw. Pinkie crowed with delight. "Yeah, you show him who's boss, Pinkie Junior!" she cheered. Gently extracting his claw, Spike replaced it with a gnarled branch of the apricot tree that had provided her breakfast. Diane examined it thoroughly for a few seconds, before flopping over it and beginning to wrestle it into submission with her jerky, uncoordinated baby movements. Despite the gravity of the situation she looked so adorably serious that Twilight couldn't help but laugh. Fluttershy was almost swooning. When Spike made to pull away, Diane made a warbling noise that was faintly querulous. He leaned down to carefully press the side-most tip of his snout against her little ridged back and blew eddies of smoke around her. Discarding the branch, Diane rolled over and grabbed at the smoke, cooing excitedly before beaming at Spike with toothless glee. She then returned to studying the branch with infant fascination, and Spike turned to the business of feeding his newly vast self. It turned out that Twilight's banter earlier had been more correct than she knew. Apparently dragons really could eat just about anything. She watched from the cave mouth in astonishment as Spike stripped several scrubby mountain trees of their leaves (prompting a rather vivid flashback to when he had once done the same to Applejack's beloved farm), ate several dozen boulders (apparently granite was extremely boring but filling - the draconic equivalent of bran), demolished a cliff-face looking for gems (no luck), and spent the next few minutes picking his teeth with a gnarled branch (a chilling sight, if Twilight was honest with herself). Finally he threw the remains of the branch down into the valley below and licked his lips. "Well, that was the worst breakfast ever," he said. "I could sure do with that gem-finding spell of yours, Rarity." "I didn't know you could eat all that," said Twilight. "I didn't know either until I went to Dragonsdorf for the peace treaty," Spike said, standing once more and shaking out his neck. "It wasn't in any of my books, and nopony in Equestria really knows all that much about dragons. That trip was a real education, though most of them despised me because I refused to grow up. That became the thesis of doctorate number seven, actually. Ungh. I wish it hadn't been granite, bleagh. Shale's way better. More crumbly." "It's a far cry from cake," said Pinkie. "Oh, don't be mean," he grumbled. "Unless they make 'em eight feet across, I'm gonna miss out on cake from now on." He struggled back into the cave (dislodging some more stones around the entrance) and returned with the open casket. "Okay then," he said, placing it down on the ledge and sitting back on his haunches. His neck snaked down to peer at the gold and jewels glittering in the sun. "Um. Hate to say it, but they look really tasty." "Spike! You are not eating the Elements of Harmony!" Twilight barked. He scowled. "Of course I won't! What do you think I am?" "A dragon who just ate rocks for breakfast, that's what!" "Twi," he grumbled. "I'd never eat them. Leaving aside the fact that you're somehow tied up in them, they're the Elements of Harmony!" "You ate my dad's wedding ring," she said pointedly. "I was two!" "And my mother's heirloom diamond choker," Twilight remembered. He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Give me a break here! I wasn't even old enough to talk when I ate that!" "I was going to inherit that one day!" "How was I supposed to know it was special? It was right there in the kitchen where you usually gave me my gems!" "It was in a locked velvet box!" "Come on, Twilight! It's been five hundred years, don't you think it's time to drop it?" "Nopony'd think you two had ever been apart, the way you've gone right back to your teasing," Dash muttered. "You still snark at each other just as much as you always did." Spike coughed as Twilight harrumphed rather uncomfortably. "Right," he said. "Well. Uh, shall we get started?" "Yes, okay, so... Elements," said Twilight, gratefully seizing the diversion. "What have you tried so far?" Spike tipped his head, staring thoughtfully at the jewels. "Not that much. I can't get them over my fingers, so I can't wear them--" Pinkie sniggered. "--so I tried holding them in my paw and concentrating. It didn't work, obviously." "Hmm," said Twilight, thinking hard. "What else have you tried?" asked Rarity. "Well," he said, clearly uneasy with what he was about to say. "Promise me you won't get angry?" "Spike," said Twilight warningly. "What did you do?" asked Applejack. He took a deep breath. "Well, you know how my magic's in my body... and my... f-fire?" "You. Didn't." He winced. "I... sorta blew fire on them. It didn't hurt them!" he added hurriedly. "You WHAT?" yelled Rainbow Dash, and Spike jerked backward against the mountain, causing a slight tremor as his back slammed against the rock and dirt. "It didn't hurt them," he repeated in a more defensive tone. "The gold didn't even get hot. What was I supposed to do, sit on them? It was the gentlest flame I could produce--" "Spike, we're in those things!" bellowed Applejack. "Y' coulda killed us!" Spike scratched his face. "Um..." "Well, fine, not killed exactly. But you know what I mean!" "I didn't know you were in there, did I?" he tried to say, but Applejack was having none of it. She was pawing at the ground with one hoof, her head tossing and snorts of anger coming from her nose. "Don't you ever do somethin' like that again!" she said, eyes flashing. "Consarnit, if I could get my hooves on you, I'd whip twelve types of tarnation outta your sorry hide, dragon or no!" "AJ?" said Rainbow Dash conversationally. Applejack whirled. "What now, Rainbow?" she snapped. "Nice hat." Applejack rolled her eyes. "What in Equestria is that supposed t' mean?" "It means nice hat," Pinkie supplied. "Because your hat is nice!" "Why not me?" Rarity wailed. "Oh, this is the worst, the very worst! Possible! Thing!" "Y' mean," Applejack began, and then she looked down at her hooves. Her eyes widened. "Those're mah hooves, then," she said in a very shaky voice. "Hey there, little darlin's. I missed you." "And I don't even have a chaise longue!" Rarity continued in a tragic voice. "Honesty," said Twilight, trying to be glad for her friend. "You told the truth, even though you knew it would make us upset." Spike looked a little lost. "Am I following this right? Applejack's made it to Ghost Level?" "That's right," Pinkie chirped. "Because you were honest with us!" He carefully unplastered himself from the mountainside, and held one paw over Diane's little head to stop the shower of pebbles and dirt from landing on her. "Well, that was a lesson from a long time ago," he said. "Be honest and don't mess about with owls, for they are subtle and quick to point out what an idiot you're being." "Y' still tried to melt us," said Applejack stubbornly. She was trotting on the spot, watching her feet move with every sign of enjoyment. "I didn't, I promise," Spike said, the fins either side of his head lifting earnestly. "I was really careful. That flame wouldn't have melted chocolate!" "Chooooooclaaaaate," Pinkie said with a long, wistful sigh. "Spike, I command you to do something generous!" Rarity said imperiously. "Oh brother," Twilight sighed. Applejack reared forwards and bucked at thin air. "Yeee-haw, now that's a feelin' I've missed!" she cried, and did it again. "This isn't getting us anywhere," said Twilight with barely-suppressed annoyance. Her friends were appearing all around her, and now it was only herself and Rarity without some sort of physical form. Though she knew it could hardly be blamed on Spike, she was beginning to feel upset with him for not invoking her first, and even a bit jealous of the others. Spike cringed a little. No doubt he could hear her irritation - he'd always had that ability. "Twi?" She sighed. "Let's just concentrate on the Elements again, shall we?" "What else can we try?" asked Rainbow, pulling a face at her own ruby necklace. "Can you put them on your spikes?" asked Fluttershy. "They look... uh, really pointy." The last word was squeaked rather than said. Spike almost went cross-eyed trying to focus on the razor-sharp length that hung over his forehead. It had been the highest and largest of his baby spines, and remained the longest now. It curved out above his brow nearly to the length of his snout. "Won't they fall off?" "Let's try," said Applejack. "Ain't no harm in trying." Twilight squashed her surge of annoyance. Spike carefully lifted out an Element and pinched his spike between two claws. He was so clever with his forepaws, Twilight mused. Those huge claws could lift a tiny necklace and soothe a baby, as well as rip stone from a mountain and uproot whole trees. His penmanship had always been neater than hers, too. More fine motor control than even her magic, she supposed. It seemed there was something to be said for opposable thumbs. The Element slid over the tip of the green spike a little way. He slowly exhaled, and very gently released the spike. "Looks like it's staying put," said Rainbow Dash. Pinkie took one look, and broke into hysterics. Spike scowled. "Ignore the comedian, Spike. D'you think you could use it?" asked Applejack, her head tipping as she squinted up at the tiny necklace surmounting the giant. He grimaced. "I'll try. Which one was it?" "Kindness again," said Applejack after a brief frown. "S'pink." Spike closed his eyes and his eyebrows knitted together as he concentrated. The necklace seemed to shine a little brighter in the morning sunshine, but no beam of light came from the jewelled butterfly. "Stop, Spike, it's not working," said Twilight. There was a sinking feeling where her stomach should be. He blinked open. "Nothing?" "Nada, zilch, zip, zero, bugger-all, diddly-squat, Sweet Fanny Apples," Pinkie said cheerfully. "It looked a bit shinier, but that's it," said Rainbow. "Maybe Fluttershy should be up there?" said Rarity. "Up... there?" said Fluttershy, her voice fainter than her outline. "Doesn't look like she's jumpin' fer joy at that idea, Rarity," said Applejack. "Well, it's just... so high," the pegasus said, trembling a little and ducking behind her hair. "And... Spike is... a vry bg drgn..." His face fell a little. "Oh." "Now, I'm sure Fluttershy isn't afraid of you, Spike dear," said Rarity loudly, before hissing, "Fluttershy! You're hurting his feelings!" "No, no, I understand," Spike sighed, carefully unhooking the necklace. "Fluttershy's afraid of dragons... and now I'm probably the biggest one ever." "I'm not scared of Spike," Fluttershy said, making herself even smaller. "It's just an awfully big change." Pinkie nodded. "Awfully big everything." With an internal wince Twilight thought back to the many times she had been afraid, taken aback or simply shocked by Spike's new and fierce appearance. "Look, it's just something we're going to have to get used to," she said in as comforting a voice as she could manage. "You're still our Spike." "Is it just the size thing, or is it the... the teeth?" Spike asked in a neutral voice. "Or something else?" "Allofit," mumbled Fluttershy. "Well, I'm not afraid of you," announced Rainbow Dash. "Hah, as if! Fish out my necklace and let's do this thing!" With a sigh so small Twilight almost missed it, Spike laid the Element of Kindness back in the casket and drew out the glinting Element of Loyalty. "Do I have to put it on my head too?" he asked a little plaintively. Pinkie bounced happily, giggles escaping her as she chanted, "Do it! Do it, do it, do it, doitdoitdoitdoit..." "Pinkie," Rarity snapped. "But it looks so funny..." Spike sat back onto his haunches and arranged the necklace on his palm with deft strokes of a claw. "Okay," he said, sweeping what was to him an apparently-bare rocky shelf with his gaze. "Maybe you can just sit in my paw with the Element? We'll see if that works..." "Worth a try," Applejack agreed. "I can't see you, so tell me when you're there," he continued, lowering his upturned paw to the ground. Rainbow Dash gulped at the sight of that ring of huge claws, and set her jaw. Her wings spread, and she flew with unusual caution to settle in Spike's palm. Her feet gingerly alighted on his scales. "Okay, I'm in," she said. "I can't feel a thing," he said, staring intently at his palm. "I'm standing right here," she said, and stamped her hoof twice. Then she let out a yelp as the paw began to rise into the air. "I'm okay, I'm okay, just lost my balance..." "How come his paw ain't passing right through her?" wondered Applejack. "Does it look like I know?" said Twilight, watching as Rainbow rose higher and higher without twitching a feather. He brought his forepaw up close to his face, and Twilight stifled a nervous giggle. It looked like a scene from a fairy tale - a fairy tale turned upside down and inside out. "Now what?" Spike rumbled. "Let's both concentrate on it," Dash suggested. "Maybe it'll take both of us." "Okay then." His eyes slid shut again, and his brow creased in thought. Rainbow Dash lowered her head and placed her forehooves either side of the Element of Loyalty, giving it a determined scowl before her eyes also closed in concentration. Twilight held her breath - no mean feat. Considering. "Anything?" Pinkie whispered. "I cain't see," Applejack whispered back. "Shhh!" hissed Rarity, her Self buzzing with anticipation. A minute passed. "How about now?" Pinkie whispered once more. Disappointment washed over Twilight. "I suppose that didn't work either," she said, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. Spike's eyes opened, and he regarded the Element glumly. "Guess not." "Look, we'll just keep trying," said Rainbow, lifting her head to smile at Spike. She jerked back with a slight gasp at how near the giant face was, looming over her like that. The smile faltered for a moment, but she bolstered it quickly and it became a grin of challenge. She tossed her mane. "There's no way some dopey little necklace is gonna defeat us! It's just no match for our awesomosity!" "Maybe..." Rarity said, as Spike lowered his paw to the ground again. "Hmm?" "Well, it's just a thought, but perhaps the reason we can see Rainbow Dash is because she's not entirely in her Element anymore? She was... what was that word you used, Twilight dear?" "Invoked," Twilight replied, not sure where Rarity was going with this. "Precisely, invoked, thank you Twilight. So when you invoked her, could it be that you called her into the world and completely out of the necklace... and so your connection to the actual Element of Loyalty was lost?" "Unlike us!" Twilight finished. "Great idea, Rarity! Spike, try it with the Element of Magic!" "A-hem?" "Oh, fine, Magic or Generosity," she said sullenly. Spike shifted a little on his haunches, his eyes trained to his palm. "Is she off?" he asked nopony in particular. "Yeah," said Rainbow, flying the last few feet from his palm to the ground. "I'm off." "Spike?" asked Twilight. "Look, I'm sorry, Twilight," he said, picking up the Element of Loyalty and putting it back into the casket. He kept his eyes fixed on his fingers as they moved. "I want you to make it to this Ghost Level too, you know I do..." "But you're choosing Rarity," Twilight said, rather hurt and trying (unsuccessfully) to sound practical and unaffected. "No!" He lifted his head and gazed past her, his face imploring. "I want you both back. I'm not playing favourites, and it's got nothing to do with the torch I've carried for Rarity all these years. You're the closest thing I've ever had to a family of my very own - my mother, my sister and my best friend all in one - Twilight, do you honestly believe I could ever choose anypony before you?" She looked up into his eyes. They were filled with that yearning again, and perhaps it was her imagination but she thought she could see a touch of fear. "I just can't use your Element, Twi," he said, and his claw brushed over the star-surmounted tiara. "I can't touch my magic the way you can." He was still for a moment, the claw hovering over the crown. Then he tapped the purple necklace. The amethyst chimed under his clawtip. "But I know how it feels to be generous," he said. "That, I can do." "Spike, I didn't mean to..." Twilight began, now feeling a little bewildered and extremely upset. "Sorry, no, that was my fault," he said, roughly shaking his head. "I said that badly. I'm too used to missing you, I guess. This still seems so unreal and I keep thinking that it's all in my head, or that you'll just disappear. Not that I can see you anyway, but..." "We're really here, I promise..." "I want to believe that, I want that so much. I don't wanna be that crazy guy who talks to himself all the..." "I just want to have hooves again. A face, a body, eyes... I know that might not seem like such a big deal when you can't see any of us at all, but..." "No, I get it. After all, look what happened to me. I'm not myself anymore, and it feels both wrong and right..." "I guess you do understand it at that... I just - I suppose it felt like you were deliberately choosing against..." "I would never do that, never. Not to anypony, and especially not to you, Twilight..." "Were there ever two ponies as bad as you at gettin' to the point?" Rainbow cut in. "Spike's a dragon, not a pony," Pinkie said helpfully. "Hah, um," Spike said, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes darted to the left in embarrassment. "Oh, look at that, Diane's falling asleep, be right back!" he exclaimed, and turned to where the baby was nodding and yawning. The six of them were abruptly presented with his side, a huge expanse of purple that effectively hid his face. There was a silence. "Did he just say--" Rarity began. "Yes," said Fluttershy, eyes enormous. "Oh." There was another silence. "So he's loved me for--" Rarity started once more. "Uh-huh," said Applejack. "I see." The emotions now flooding from Rarity could have flattened mountains. "I didn't know," she whispered. "Horseapples," Applejack retorted. "Y' always knew how he felt." "Well yes, but I didn't think he'd..." she said, but her voice faded away. Then she pulled herself together (figuratively) and said, "I never thought to look beyond... I didn't think that, after I was gone, he would still..." "Oh my," said Fluttershy soulfully. "He's loved you for five hundred years. Oh, Rarity, how romantic!" "Romantic!?" Rarity almost shrieked. "It's horrible! I didn't want him to pine forever! I didn't want to hurt him! I didn't want that!" "He's a dragon, Rarity," said Twilight, looking up at the vast scaled wall before them. She was trying not to see it as a metaphor, really she was. "I didn't think of it either. What they have, they keep. They're not exactly famous for letting go." "And what he had - no, has - is love," murmured Fluttershy. "He never had hope, but he had love, and so he kept it. For you, for all of us. No wonder he's been so lonely. He can't move on. Everything he is simply won't let him." "An' so it's still there, ain't it?" Applejack said. "He's still got all those old feelin's, even covered over with centuries o' denial. He kept them safe. Landsakes, now, that's why he was able t' grow up, ain't it? Wantin' something with no hope o' ever gettin' it." "But we're here!" burst out Rainbow Dash. "Don't matter," Applejack said, pushing her hat back on her head. "We're here, an' yet we're not. Five hundred years is a long, long time. He's missed us an' loved us, but he ain't let himself want us, not 'til he opened that there casket and burst through the roof. No wonder he thinks he's goin' dolally, hearin' us but not seeing anypony at all. He just let loose five hundred years o' wishin' without hope. I'm thinkin' that's a special sort of torture." "Oh, and not to mention that he was afraid of losing his marbles and going totally stark-staring building-stomping pony-chomping ca-RAY-zy," Pinkie said, her ears drooping. "An' there's that too," Applejack agreed. "I'm thinkin' that he don't trust his own brain since he grew. He's too afraid o' last time." Rarity was unravelling, her sadness and guilt and admiration and astonishment (and something very much like reluctant love) flying through them like knives. "No!" she said angrily. "No, no, no, no, NO! Oh, that is the very limit! The darling lonely thing, hasn't he given up enough? He can't give up hope too. He shan't. Rainbow Dash, I am somewhat amazed that I am about to say this... but you were right! We are going to make him see us if it is the last thing we do!" "He can hear us," Rainbow Dash pointed out, frowning at Rarity's choice of words. "Maybe seeing us is the next stage," said Twilight. "We have to make him believe," Rarity declared. "He can't give up hope. He simply can't!" "Rarity," Fluttershy said, looking down at her hooves. "He might be giving up his life." Rarity's burst of anger and denial sent them reeling before they were hit with shockwaves of her despair. Then they became aware of a low, rumbling noise and Pinkie pursed her lips. "Is that... a lullaby?" "Oh," Rarity said with a little gasp, her voice snapping from outraged and tearful to soft and nostalgic in the blink of an eye. She'd always had the ability to change emotional tracks as fast as thought. Twilight rather envied that ability. Rarity was exuding a longing so deep and natural that it spoke to them all on the most fundamental level possible. "My mother sang that to me... I remember," she said softly. "Me too... and I sang it to Spike," Twilight said. Memories, sweet and childish, rose unbidden: of a tiny soft claw wrapped around her hoof, of scales nuzzling against her fur, of big green eyes full of regretful tears as a beloved toy merrily burned, of a little body that clung trustingly to her when the night was too big and scary to understand. Through them all she could hear that puckish little chortle. "I sang it to that giant dragon there - half a millennium ago. Isn't that just completely incredible?" If she'd had a throat, it would have been blocked by her heart. "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head," Fluttershy sang under her breath, and Applejack gave a little laugh. "Aw, now, Apple Bloom loved that song," she said. "One o' her friends could bash it out like nopony's business, but she liked it the way Granny sang it, all soft an' sweet an' crackly. Apple Bloom..." Applejack trailed off, and then took a huge breath of realisation. "Oh Celestia, mah sister, Apple Bloom! G-Granny, Granny Smith. Mac--" "Squirt," said Rainbow, her tone faintly wondering. "It was my Sweetie!" Rarity exclaimed. "When mother sang it to Sweetie Belle, she learned it in two shakes of a pony's tail! Oh, I must know, I must! What happened to my darling Sweetie Belle?" "No." "Twilight?" said Pinkie curiously. "No? 'No' what, sugarcube?" "I think we should steer clear of this topic," Twilight said in a voice of steel. "I can't remember anything that happened a few years after moving to Ponyville. How about you?" After a few puzzled glances, it was determined that they were all in the same boat. Despite the return of many of their memories, they couldn't yet remember beyond a few years after Twilight and Spike had taken over the Library. Beyond that was all still a yawning blank. "Girls, listen to me. I know you're remembering your families now, but think about it. Whatever happened to our families, do you really, really want to know? What if it was horrible? We can't do anything about it now, and knowing will only torture us unnecessarily. Also, I don't know how I died. None of us do. Anything could have happened to them. Anything could have happened to us. If it did, could you bear to hear it?" Twilight paused for a breath she didn't need to take. "I'd rather have them alive in my memory than hear about their deaths. And I don't want to hear about how I left hi-them." "Easy fer you to say, Twilight, your family's sittin' right there, larger than life!" Applejack said furiously. "An' life's never been larger," said Rainbow Dash dryly. "Oh, really? My mum? My dad? My big brother?" Twilight snapped back. "You see them here? No! No, we should let Spike decide. He's the one who knows." "They ain't his kin!" "But he knows us, and he'd know what we should hear," Twilight said. "I trust him to do what's best for us." "But Spike's just... well, he's..." "He's five hundred and twelve years old. It's been a long time since Spike was truly a baby," Fluttershy said quietly. "His judgement is likely to be more measured than any of ours. I agree with Twilight." Spike turned back to them, his body moving silently but inexorably, like an iceberg. "Shh, guys," he whispered. "I just got her to sleep." Pinkie blew a disdainful raspberry. "So? She can't hear us, can she?" "Spike," Rarity began. "Yeah?" He sat back down and rubbed at his eyes. His hand stopped as he registered the tone of her voice. Concern flew over his features. "Wait, are you okay? Is something wrong?" "We have two questions," Twilight cut in. His brows began to lower. "Oh...kay?" "First one," she said shortly before Rarity or Applejack could interrupt, "do you really and truly believe that we're here? And second one," she forged on, ignoring his brief intake of breath, "we can't remember anything beyond a couple of years after you and I moved to Ponyville. We can't remember what happened to us or to our families. If there was something you could tell us," she paused and looked up at him, "would you?" He was silent. "Spike?" Fluttershy ventured. He was as still as the mountain behind him for a long moment, and then his shoulders gradually straightened - as though preparing for a confrontation. Yet he remained silent, breathing deeply as he thought. Smoke curled from his snout and created wild and elusive patterns in those iridescent dragon eyes. "I don't know if you're here," he finally said. "Sometimes I think you are, and sometimes I think I'm crazy. I don't know if letting myself believe will force the greed out of control. I don't know if what I did in order to grow up drove me mad. It could have. We're not the most stable of creatures, dragons." "But darling..." Rarity said anxiously. He raised his chin and spoke right over the top of her protests. "I'm not telling you a thing about how you... how you died," he said evenly. "Good," Twilight said. Her natural curiosity shrieked at her, but she squashed it with grim determination. Spike looked down at his paws. "If you're really here to hear it, of course," he added with such consummate bitterness that it took Twilight's breath away - in a purely metaphysical sense. "We'll find a way to convince you," she said, ignoring the trembling of her voice. He snorted softly, darkly. "Ah, but Twilight, what if that's the last thing you should do?" This - this was what five hundred years had done to her little friend. Turning to stone was a mere trifle compared to this, the true heart of him, the very barest bones. The cynicism in his voice was devastating. Applejack's perceptive words kept echoing through her mind. He was the one who loved without hope and was left behind. His head lowered a little more as he began to speak. "Sweetie Belle was a singer," he said. It sounded like he was reciting from a script in his head. "Jazz, mostly. She became famous for her big throaty numbers. She had a long full life, married twice, had three foals. She was happy. Apple Bloom was a handymare. She and her partner, Candlelight, adopted a pegasus called Shooting Star. Star was a nice little filly who later took on the name Star Apple. Big Macintosh married, had a whole boatload of children. The Apple Family is still the biggest in Equestria - even after what happened to Appleoosa. Scootaloo was a stunt-flyer for Canterlotian Pictures, best in her field. She got married to a famous director - no foals though. She didn't want kids of her own. We used to joke that I was everypony's uncle and she was everypony's auntie. She stayed my friend until the day she died, and never left Ponyville. The memories were like old friends, she used to say." As he spoke, Spike's voice fell into the rhythmic, dreamy cadences of somepony who had escaped into memories. With growing concern, Twilight realised that he felt more alive there than in the real world. To him this was not a recitation of his friends' lives, but the list of those who had left him behind. In the real world, everypony was dead. It was little surprise he was having difficulty believing them. "The Cake Twins both produced more Cake Twins, who produced yet more. Pumpkin named her daughter Laughter Cake. There's a suburb in Ponyville called Caketown now, and the family is full of entrepreneurs in hospitality and event management of the first order. You'd be proud, Pinkie Pie. Oh, also Pinkie, the rock farm is now in the hooves of Blackbird Pie, who is descended from Inky. His cousin Custard Pie runs a little joke shop in Ponyville proper. Fluttershy, the animal sanctuary now covers forty hectares east of the Everfree Forest, and has the largest rabbit colony in the world. Your mum and dad and sister ran it after you ... left, in your name. Your sister started the Animal Hospice program in your honour. Twilight, your mum and dad passed away peacefully at a ripe old age and within five years of each other. Your brother married his true love and they had a wonderful bond. It was the sharing of equals, the kind of real-world day-to-day warmth and comfort that is so rarely seen. He lived his life to the utmost, loved her to the fullest. She didn't stay for long after he died. And that's all I'm going to say." The silence that fell was as thick and suffocating as a shroud. "Th..." Twilight said, and then bolstered her courage. "Thank you, Spike." Applejack had her hooves pressed over her mouth. Rainbow Dash was wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Pinkie was smiling through her tears, and Fluttershy had her head bowed and her face completely hidden from view. Spike looked like the stone he had so nearly become, his face fixed and impenetrable. The four insubstantial ponies and the great beast were completely still. To Twilight, it looked like a photograph at a funeral. She was slowly beginning to understand what he had undergone after their... their departure, she decided to call it. She hadn't understood such soul-deep loneliness before this. Oh, perhaps she had been lonely before Nightmare Moon and Ponyville but she hadn't really known it, so perfectly content with her books and her studies and her little dragon companion. She was now convinced that what she had felt was a mere puddle compared to the depths he had plumbed. After hearing the roll-call of all that had left him, two things were made abundantly clear: that he had never really moved on (though she hardly needed more proof of that), and that she couldn't really begin to fathom it. She couldn't even consider the deaths of her parents and BBBFF with any real clarity. It was too distant, too abstract, too unreal for them to be dead. For Spike, it had been all too real. Worse, it had remained real through the long, lonely centuries that had followed. "How is he even sane?" whispered Pinkie, as though hearing Twilight's thoughts. "So if that's over with, let's get back to the Elements," said Spike, his face carved in stone and his eyes flat. "Darling," Rarity said miserably. "Please believe that we're here with you. We won't ever go away without you ever again, I promise." He inhaled slowly, and then exhaled a long, smooth stream of smoke. "The Elements," he reminded her. "The Elements," Twilight repeated dully. She felt hollowed out, peeled and cored. She wanted to rage at the scepticism with which he was protecting his sanity, and at his stupid self-destructive martyrdom. She wanted to shatter the loneliness that was eating away at him, bite by savage bite. She wanted to hold him tight and feel his little arms fling around her neck with that clumsy, joyous abandon one more time. Maybe Spike wasn't the only one lost in the swirl of memories. She wanted his eyes to part the layers of whatever magic was separating them, and see her. Spike fished in the casket, and drew out a gleaming Element of Harmony. He studied the amethyst for a few seconds, before laying it gently in his forepaw. "Come on then, milady," he said in a voice so full of resignation that it almost made Twilight howl. "Let's think about generosity." ~**~
The Jewellery Box
Chapter 4
So, uh.... sorry? About the long absence? I just finished another degree. I have been working my butt off. Huzzah, more qualifications, more debt, and no more butt! Chapter Four It wasn't working. Spike had concentrated on the necklace in his palm for what seemed like hours, and they'd tried hooking it over every bit of his enormous body they possibly could. It had even enjoyed a small sojourn on his tail before they finally gave up. "Impossible!" Rarity declared in despair. Spike ran a hand over his spines. "I guess that's not the answer, then," he said. He was still speaking in that carefully neutral tone that made Twilight want to scream. Rainbow Dash trotted over to peer into the casket and scowl at the heaped jewels inside. "Stupid things," she muttered. "C'mon, get workin' already!" "What else should we try?" Spike asked. "What haven't we tried?" Twilight said, frustration with herself and the Elements and even with Spike's eternal loneliness all fusing together to form one great lump of irritation and guilt. "I know you probably..." Spike said, only to be interrupted by a belch and gout of flame at least sixty feet long. Rarity screamed, Fluttershy made a noise like a squashed kitten, and Twilight had to quell the instinct to bolt. Where would I run to, without feet? she asked herself sarcastically, even as she belatedly recognised the signs of a letter exchange. The fire formed into an enormous scroll, and Spike grabbed it from the air with deft claws. He unrolled it and his eyebrows rose as he read, his eyes skittering across the parchment. Then he slumped back, staring into the distance. "Oh no." "Uh-oh," said Rainbow Dash darkly. "What's happened?" asked Pinkie, hopping nervously from hoof to hoof. "That was from the Princess, right? Did Nighttime Disco do something?" He raised a foreleg absently, not really paying attention to anything at all, and began to rub slowly at his temple. "That's it then. We're out of time." "What is it?" asked Applejack. He refocused on the letter, and his eyes turned flinty. "Hoofington. Hoofington's been hit." Rainbow's ears lowered even as her pupils shrank in fear. "Hoofington? But that's..." "...just west of Ponyville and Canterlot," he finished. "I know. He's pushing the border of the Zone again. It won't be long." "Hang on, you guys, didn't all those Fillydelphia refugees go to Hoof...ing...ton..." Pinkie said, trailing off in the face of their fierce glares. She closed her mouth and sat down with a thump. "Um. Just ignore that." "Did the Princess say what happened to it?" Rarity quavered. He looked grim. "She did." He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to. Fluttershy was in tears. "Oh, those poor ponies," she said. "Are there any survivors?" Applejack said. Her hooves were planted firmly, and her jaw was set. She looked like she was ready to go buck Discord in the face all by herself. "They don't know," Spike answered. Then he squeezed his eyes closed, rubbing at his temple some more with a grimace on his face. "We can't wait anymore. We don't have time. I have to go." "But Spike, you've got no way of using the Elements yet; you'll lose whatever advantage you have..." Twilight said through the sudden, icy shock of fear. Her frustration fled as the implications hit her. She simply couldn't lose him, not after forgetting him and not after finding him once more. That bleak roll-call had brought the past smashing through the warmth of their strange little reunion, and now reality was threatening to demolish the splinters. "Doesn't matter," he said distantly. "The longer I wait, the bolder he gets and the more ponies die. Trottingham, Appleoosa, Salt Lick City, Manehattan, Bitsburg, Fillydelphia... and now Hoofington. Where next? No, I've got to find him and stop him, or die trying." "Spike!" Rarity exclaimed in horror. "No, no, no, no, no..." Twilight began to moan. "You'll be killed!" said Applejack, stamping one hoof. "Spike, this is suicide!" He was as calm as still water as he replied. "Maybe," he said. "But I took on the duty, and duty has been my life for so long that I just can't seem to kick the habit. I've got to try, and I've got a better chance of success than any of the ponies in his path. Better me than them." "At least work with the Elements for a bit longer," begged Rarity. "Rarity, it isn't working, anypony can see that. Who knows? Maybe they need danger to activate. If not, well, nopony's going to miss a dusty old dragon academic anyway." "We will," Twilight tried. The corners of his mouth turned up the slightest bit. "Thanks, voice in my head. Good to know." "What will it take for you to believe us?" she growled, made fierce by her fear. "We're here, Spike, and you'll be missed. So, so much. You can't just walk to your death like this!" "You'll forget me again, Twi," he said, lifting his head and staring out into the aching blue expanse of the sky. "You won't remember how to miss me." Twilight recoiled as around her the others loudly gasped. Well. He had certainly learned to hit where it hurt. She couldn't bear the idea of forgetting him all over again. The Dark grinned in her memory. She hated it more than Discord. Spike hauled himself to his feet, as ponderous and inexorable as tectonic plates shifting. "First things first. I've got an errand to run," he said, peering over the rocky shelf at the valley below. "Whatcha gotta do?" Pinkie asked. He jerked his head towards the sleeping Diane. "I've got friends... well, not exactly friends..." he said, and then sighed as he crumpled the letter in his claw. "More like colleagues. They'll take her in. I hope." "You're leaving her behind," stated Rainbow Dash. "Yeah, you all should recognise how that goes," he said tartly. Then he sighed again, wincing. "Sorry, I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I want to take her and keep her, of course I do. I could love her easily, I think. She's so... new. She's brand new and fresh and innocent and full of wonder. I need a bit of that in my life." "But she's only a baby," Twilight interrupted, looking up at his pained eyes. This world outside the casket seemed intent on stabbing her in the heart. Really, she was fortunate that she didn't have one. "You want to keep her with you, but you're afraid she'll get hurt - or worse. Where you're going is no place for a child." He was still for a moment, and then gave a short nod. "I'm glad she's too young to know it. It's no fun, being left behind." "Just you watch," Twilight said, and then laughed despite herself. "She'll have her own adventures without you. You won't be able to stop her. It'll drive you crazy." He smiled. "I'm sure it will." They both knew that for the lie it was. "Right then," he said, and turned to the sleeping baby. Diane was sprawled on her back, all four paws in the air and her stubby tail flung loosely to one side. It looked awkward, but she seemed perfectly comfortable. A little orange flame danced on her lips every time she exhaled, and her left hind paw twitched in her dreams. Spike chuckled at the sight, before tenderly scooping the little thing into his paw and depositing her back onto his snout. "Well, time to go scare everypony out of their minds." "But the Princess said you wouldn't make ponies scared," Pinkie said, her head tipping. He glanced down at the Elements of Harmony, and frowned. "She was being kind. You think I haven't heard your little gasps, the way you sound strangled when I yawn or smile? You all almost had conniptions when that letter came through. Fluttershy's simply the only one who can admit to it." "Now, that ain't true, Spike," Applejack said, her eyes narrowing. "I don't know what's happened over the last five hundred years t' turn the happiest l'il feller I knew inta such a gosh-darned pessimist, but you listen up and listen good. I ain't scared o' you. None o' us are, I'll wager not even Fluttershy. She's scared o' dragons, but not you. Yer always gonna be Spike first an' a dragon second to us, an' don't you ferget it. You're a bit much t' take in, I'll admit, but you'd never hurt a fly an' we know it. An' from what the Princess said, so does everypony else in Equestria!" "Even if you would, how could you? We're all ghosties!" Pinkie laughed, waving her hooves mysteriously. "Whooooo!" Spike jerked back. "Uh..." he faltered. "Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but is this really the time?" "You can believe anythin' else you like, sugarcube, but you ain't goin' out there t' save the world thinkin' yer some sort o' monster," Applejack said firmly. "Not if I can help it." "I said you looked marvellous, darling, and I meant it!" said Rarity in a ringing voice. "It's one heck of an awesome wicked look," Rainbow chimed in. "I might even go so far as to say it's radical - but hate to break it to ya, you're not quite at Rainbow Dash-levels of radicalosity. Sorry, big guy." "You're actually very...um, beautiful," Fluttershy said, smiling timidly. "I said so back when you were in Canterlot. I suppose I just need a little time to... adjust." Spike was opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water. "For goodness' sake, Spike," Twilight said with a blend of exasperation and fondness that felt as familiar as breathing. "You never did listen to me the first time. Remember, I said we just needed to get used to it. And we will. You're still our Spike, and you're always going to be. Don't you dare think otherwise just because you're all grown up now." "But Twi..." Spike mumbled. The slightly-panicked, slightly-shy expression on his face was priceless, and she dredged up a laugh from somewhere. "Give ponies some credit, Spike," said Rainbow Dash. "So they'll be a bit shocked at first. Big deal! They'll get over it." "Anyway, don't tell me you've forgotten what Fluttershy does t' things that scare her? She stares 'em down until they run home cryin' fer their mamas," Applejack added. "Ah, well," Spike said, fidgeting with his claws like a bumbling teenager. His mammoth size, his bashful face, the fidgeting and the baby draped over his snout made him the most incongruous sight Twilight had ever seen. "I, er, don't think I'm likely to be doing that..." The tension was gradually lifting as Twilight watched her friends cajoling Spike into having some faith in himself and in ponykind. He was visibly sheepish as they wheedled and declared and reassured and berated - a very different reaction to how he'd once responded to praise. To her surprise she found that she almost missed his proud grin and ridiculous preening. She shoved the possibility of his death out of her mind. That just couldn't happen, despite all his certainty and calm fatalism. The universe could not be so cruel as to give them back to each other and then rip them apart. She refused to dwell on it any longer. To distract her mind from it, she tried to see a bright side. After a brief struggle she told herself that no matter how bleak things were, at least they had just made some definite progress reconnecting with Spike. The tenseness generated by their previous topics had not quite dissipated, but the atmosphere was definitely lighter. No doubt there were a million more sore spots yet to be prodded, but at least they'd cleared one major hurdle and identified several more. Centuries, she reminded herself. He'd had four whole centuries alone to remember all the conversations left unfinished, words left unsaid, actions never taken. He was harder and older and colder than the Spike she knew, but her Spike was truly still there, buried under layers of loneliness and brokenness, waiting to be uncovered. It would take time. But then, everything worthwhile always did. He was beginning to blush as Pinkie made up one of her impromptu songs for him. The chorus was along the lines of "A great big dragon with a great big heart!" His cheeks darkened to that so-familiar shade of violet, and Twilight's laugh bubbled up with far more ease. Celestia only knew how long it had been since he'd blushed like that. She loved it intensely. "Guys, stop," he said, cringing. "I get it. You can stop now. Please." "There's my Spike," she said, letting all the love she felt for him at that moment infuse her voice. Her Spike, hoarder of the Elements of Harmony, Champion of Equestria, Dean of Ponyville University, ambassador to the world and five hundred and twelve years old (last birthday) - blushing like a schoolfilly after her first kiss. What other dragon would do that? Pinkie concluded her song with a boisterous dance routine, belting out the high note with gusto. Spike tried to glower, but there was a lightness in his expression that hadn't been there before. The scowl didn't quite have the impact he was obviously hoping for. "Leave off, guys, come on." "We'll have no more o' this nonsense, then?" Applejack said sternly. "Hold that head up, kiddo. You're a dragon. Be proud that yer the best one there's ever been, would you?" Spike forced a smile, and his back straightened stiffly. "A bit better," Rainbow said, wrinkling her nose. "That's not a real smile!" Pinkie said, her face outraged. "You think Pinkie Pie doesn't know a fake smile when she sees one? Quit with the phoney-baloney, Spikester! Oooh, don't you make me bring out the big guns! There's plenty more songs where that one came from!" He actually laughed out loud, a rich and rolling noise, and Pinkie clapped her hooves together. "That's it! Now you got it!" He leaned back against the cliff again, grinning. "Okay, now I understand all the gasping and scared noises. You're just jealous you don't look this good." "Actually, yes," said Rarity tightly, her aura pulsing with irritation. Spike's face fell a little, but he rallied magnificently. "I don't really see how I can keep the casket open while I travel," he said, changing the subject. Sensible move, Professor Spike, Twilight thought in amusement. "Not the Dark again," Rainbow groaned. "I don't want to put you back in," he said. "Any ideas?" "Maybe you could hook the necklaces over a branch and carry it," said Fluttershy. "What about the big crowny thing?" Twilight said. "That'd fall off." "I'll just carry them," Spike said. "It'll be awkward, but I think I can do it. Let me know if I drop any of them." Tipping the casket out into his paw, he closed his fingers around the Elements and tucked his fist against his chest. Then he began to clamber down the mountain three-footed, clinging with his free forepaw and gouging huge furrows in the rock. As his head drew level with the rocky shelf, Pinkie bounced over and landed on the top of his head beside the foremost green spike, before turning and beaming at the others. "Come on, you guys!" she hollered. "Or you'll miss the dragon!" Rainbow Dash perked up and flew over to land on his shoulders, followed by Fluttershy (who had her eyes closed and nearly overshot him). Applejack seemed a little hesitant at first, but eventually charged with her head thrust forward to land with a mighty jump on his snout and skittering straight through the sleeping Diane who was sprawled bonelessly on his scales. Spike didn't even blink as the farmpony scrambled in front of his eyes up onto the top of his head. Pinkie grabbed her forehooves and she pushed herself up the rest of the way with a mighty thrust of her strong hind legs. "And what about us, might I inquire?" Rarity said haughtily. She was answered by a yank as Spike drew further down the mountain. Twilight and Rarity were sent hurtling through the air as their mysterious connection to the Elements reached its outermost limit. The sensation was similar to the 'pulling' their Selves were able to use in the Dark, only this particular pulling made Twilight feel extremely queasy. She looked down at the ground far below as she began to float above Spike's industriously climbing body, and had to suppress a squeal of alarm. The valley opened up underneath her Self like a hungry maw. "I shouldn't have asked," Rarity moaned. Twilight pulled her close, and they drifted steadily downwards at Spike's rate of descent. "It's okay," she said, trying to keep the nausea out of her words. "Just don't look down." "A little late for that, darling," Rarity said in a green sort of voice. After reaching the valley floor it took Spike no time at all to reach the unfamiliar wood that now bordered Ponyville. His long legs ate up the miles as though they were nothing. Ponies scurried through the streets below like ants as he approached, and he began to slow as he entered a grove filled with hummingbirds and wildflowers. Then he lay down on his belly and sighed. "What?" asked Pinkie, bouncing from his shoulder to his foreleg and trotting around to peer up at his face. "I'll just wait here," he said. "I don't want to try going into town. I'll start a panic, and besides I don't think I can make it through the streets without causing serious damage. They'll send somepony out to talk to me, I'm sure." It was with a shudder of relief that Rarity and Twilight finally caught up with him. Floating through thin air without free will was somehow sickening. "Thank heavens that's over," Rarity said shakily. "I hear that," Twilight muttered. "This is the outermost part of the animal sanctuary," Spike said, waving his closed fist to indicate the grove. The jewelled hummingbirds flitting through the sunshine gave it a dreamlike, almost fairy quality. It suited him, Twilight thought reflectively. His glittering scales and pointed features made him seem as otherworldly as his surroundings. Even his size didn't seem out of place in this sundrenched grotto - rather, he could have passed as one of the dragon-kings depicted in the ancient tapestries hung on the Palace walls. Spike carefully lifted Diane from atop his snout and laid her gently amongst the nodding flowers. As he began to draw his forepaw way from her a sleepy smile crossed her face, and she wrapped all four paws around the tip of one of his gigantic claws. His intake of breath was very loud. "Stay strong, sugarcube," Applejack said quietly. Spike froze as the baby dragon rubbed against the claw with slow, lazy strokes of her head, and then she curled her tail around it as well, huddling into a little ball. His eyes grew warm and sad. "I knew wanting things was a bad idea," he whispered. "Guys? Can you hear something?" asked Rainbow, frowning. She stood up on his shoulder, her head cocked and her body tensed and ready. "Oh dear," quavered Fluttershy. The sound of twigs crackling underhoof was coming from the trees before them, and with a muffled curse and a stumble a pair of ponies came crashing through the tree line. The stallion was a pale blue unicorn with a dark blue and white striped mane and tail cut quite short. Square-rimmed glasses covered a pair of purple eyes, and his flank was adorned with a strange cluster of starbursts and numerals. The mare was a small but angular earth pony, with a cherry-red coat and a dark purplish-red mane the exact shade of ripe blackberries. Her eyes were a startling yellow, and her cutie mark was a pair of beribboned masks, one smiling and the other crying. The stallion halted at the sight of the dragon and the mare crashed into his back, sending them both tumbling across the meadow. Spike's mouth twitched. "Get off me," the mare hissed. "I would, oh light of my life, but you're standing on my tail," the stallion hissed back. "Well, why didn't you say so?" the mare snapped, and tried to move her legs. It wasn't the most effective of techniques, and the pair fell into an even more complicated jumble as they tried to extract themselves. "Need a hoof?" Spike asked dryly. The stallion tore to his feet with a mighty wrench and smoothed back his mane. He was visibly trembling, but he was standing tall. Behind him the mare painfully got to her feet. "Ow," she said grumpily. "Uh..." the stallion said. His pupils had completely shrunk in terror. "Mr... D-dragon..." "Oh, shove over, Pothy dear," the mare said brusquely, shoving the frozen stallion to one side. She marched up closer to the recumbent giant and squinted up at him. "Professor Spike? That you?" He nodded. "I was hoping they'd send you two. Yes, it's me." She didn't move a muscle, but somehow the tension bled out of her. "Thought so," she said, nodding her head. She then jerked it at the stallion, who was regarding her sulkily. "This one didn't believe me when I said so, though." "Well, how was I to know?" the stallion said defensively. "Professor Spike's a little fellow, quiet as a mouse, barely moves, never leaves the library. It didn't make any sense! Still doesn't!" "Oh, for pony's sake," the mare sighed. "Aren't you a scientist? How can you not know anything about a dragon's maturation? The professor wrote the seminal work back in 478AL- didn't you read it?" "I'm a magical scientist, not a biologist," the stallion retorted. "Anyway love, the Arts have even less to do with it, so how would you know?" "Did you even see the Drama Faculty's production of 'The Apple Orchard' last year? The whole final act is about the Professor and the accident! I won three Golden Haystacks for my portrayal of Cheerilee! Honestly sweetheart, you could try to pay a little attention to my work," she said, before turning back to Spike with the dignity of a queen. Rarity herself could not have matched her. "Why the sudden change of heart?" she asked. Spike watched this exchange with a sort of amused tolerance. "I need a favour, Star Quality," he said, ignoring her question. "You want us to move every book in your library up to that mountain you've been sitting on for the last two days?" asked the stallion with dry sarcasm. "You've sent the whole town into an uproar, you know. There's all sorts of mad theories." "You're the expert on mad theories, Hypothesis," said Spike with a little smile. The stallion, Hypothesis, jerked backwards. "Whoa. That's... one heck of a smile, Professor." Star Quality frowned, her face growing suspicious. "Actually," she said slowly, "I've never seen you smile before." "I haven't had a lot to smile about," Spike said. "Maybe Hypothesis has a point," Star Quality continued, her eyes narrowing. "Professor Spike never smiles. He's famous for it. It's historical record that he swore on the memory of the Six that he'd never grow again - and you need your own postcode. Besides, the Professor doesn't have a monopoly on purple and green. How do we know you are who you say you are?" Spike's eyebrows shot up. "Are you crazy?" Hypothesis whispered urgently. "That's a dragon, the biggest damn dragon anypony's ever seen! If you make him angry he'll eat you alive! Do you want to leave Dawnie without a mother?!" Star Quality shook the stallion off and gave Spike a challenging look. The little angular pony held herself still and proud, an ant challenging the anteater. "Well? Some proof would be nice," she said politely but firmly. Spike seemed a little flummoxed, and he blew out a gusty sigh of resignation. "If that's what you want. Uh... My name is Spike Sparkle, I'm five hundred and twelve, I've lived in the Library since 1AL and I'm the Dean of Ponyville University. I was once your student advisor, Star. You had a problem with your voice tutor and asked me to mediate. You also applied for extra time to finish your final assignment because a touring company had asked you to join them in a production of 'The Merry Mares of Windsor'. I had to refuse, but I allowed that your performance could count towards your Practical mark." Star Quality's mouth fell open. "Sparkle?" Twilight blurted. "Was that all true?" Hypothesis hissed. She closed her mouth and nodded dumbly. "He is Spike, then?" Hypothesis pressed. "Yes," she said. "Please shut up, sweetheart." "I need a favour," Spike repeated. "Why did you do this?" Star Quality asked. Spike's mouth bunched in frustration. "If I tell you, would you let me finish?" "Sure," said Hypothesis, stepping on Star Quality's hoof before she could open her mouth. "Um, she's very sorry. Go on, Professor." For answer, Spike opened his clenched fist. Gold and jewels glittered in the sunlight, sending dazzling reflections around the fairy glade. Hypothesis gaped. "Are those..." "Yes," Spike said. "What I wouldn't give to get my hooves on them!" he breathed. "The actual Elements of Harmony! The most magical items in the world! Oh, I'd kill to get them into the lab..." Spike growled under his breath. Uncomfortable harmonics bounced from the nearby mountains. Hypothesis froze. Star Quality rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, Professor, you know how he gets." Spike closed his fingers around the Elements again. Twilight loosened her chokehold on Rarity's Self. She hadn't even realised she was holding on quite so tightly. "The Princess gave them to me," rumbled Spike, before lifting his head and looking towards the west. "I have to use them." "Against the... the Nightmare Chaos?" Spike nodded. Hypothesis swallowed. "Oh my word." Star Quality just looked up at him with open mouth and wobbly knees. "So what's the favour?" Hypothesis continued, nudging his partner sharply. "It's this," Spike said, and carefully raised his other forepaw, unhooking his claw from Diane's grip. The tiny dragon had been hidden from the two newcomers' sight by Spike's mammoth paw, but now she glinted in the sunshine like polished copper. "She's an orphan I found near the edge of the Zone a couple of days ago, hidden in the bushes beside the bodies of her slaughtered parents," Spike told them. "She'll need somepony to look after her. She doesn't have any teeth yet, so only mushy foods will do. After they come in, she can eat anything and everything. Oh, lock up your jewellery, or she'll snack on it. Gems are like sweets to a dragon. Careful of rubies - if she eats too many she'll get hyperactive. She likes being talked to and sung to sleep. Until she's about four months old she'll sleep most of the time; I think she's about two months old at the moment. When her teeth come in, remember to give her sandstone to chew on. It's soft enough for her to digest, but hard enough to give her gums some relief, 'cos believe me, teething for a dragon is no fun at all." Twilight remembered that with a little lurch. He'd cried piteously as his fangs grew in, sharp and unbelievably hard and bigger than his little mouth could handle. It had been a year before he'd grown into them. She wished she'd known about the sandstone trick. "We're cold-blooded, so she'll need a lot of warmth," Spike continued, looking at Diane with soft, sorrowful eyes. "Until her internal fire's big enough to keep her warm she'll get cold really easily. She'll have a fire talent eventually. All dragons do, like my translocation-fire. Hers is orange, so I expect it has something to do with sight. Maybe farsight, who knows." "You want us to take her?" blurted Star Quality. "Yes," Spike said, his breath catching in his throat though his face was unchanged. "I want you to take her." "Now that there was a lie," Applejack whispered. "But, Professor..." Hypothesis said, eyeing the dragonette dubiously. "Please. Take her," Spike snapped. "I can't. You're the only two I can think of who can do it. You've done a great job with your own daughter. Dawning Wonder is a happy, clever, well-adjusted little filly. And you wouldn't treat Diane any differently just because she's a dragon." "Diane?" asked Star Quality with gentle enquiry as she trotted closer to the baby dragon, who was beginning to wriggle uncomfortably, reaching out with her little arms for Spike's claw. Spike was silent for a second, and then he lowered his paw again to stroke the baby's tiny back. "I don't know her real name, so I named her Diane. That was Pinkie Pie's middle name." "Laughter," Star Quality said, her expression shrewd. Spike nodded, and then turned his head away. "After all she's been through, I hope she finds reason to laugh," he said. "I don't know the first thing about dragons," said Hypothesis blankly. "You'll do fine," Spike said, still stroking Diane. She was almost fully awake, her eyes blinking and her little legs beginning to kick. "Twilight didn't know the first thing either, and she didn't muck me up too badly." "Hey!" Twilight said indignantly. "That was Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic," said Hypothesis. "I'm not her! I'm just a normal unicorn!" "Twi was a child when she hatched me," Spike said. "All Diane really needs is somepony to care for her." "But... the fire?" Hypothesis said, a little wild around the eyes. "Keeping a dragon? Professor, I don't know..." "She's not just a dragon," Spike said with a little edge to his voice. "She's a personality. She's an individual. She's young, but already she's curious and intelligent and a little bit bossy and very affectionate. Just be kind to her." "Well, naturally, but I don't..." Hypothesis tried to say, but Spike cut him off. "Check the guide I published late last century for anything you're really worried about, otherwise just use your common sense. She'll set a few things alight, but she won't have enough flame to do any real damage until she can handle it. She's just a baby. Look at her." "Oh my," said Star Quality as Diane's blue eyes opened completely - iridescent dragon eyes as bright as gemstones. The baby gave a little grunt and rolled onto her belly, pushing herself up onto her forepaws and blinking. She burbled as a hummingbird flittered past her eyes, and then craned back to look at Spike and her face lit up with the uncomplicated and joyful smile of all infants everywhere. "She is just a baby, isn't she," Hypothesis murmured. "A baby like any other." "And she needs what any baby needs," Spike said, and smiled back down at the little face, his own poison-green dragon eyes glimmering. "Mummy?" came a voice from within the trees, and four ghostly ponies, two disembodied minds, two university academics and a giant dragon jerked in surprise. "Daddy? Where'd you go?" Star Quality whipped around to Hypothesis. "That's Dawning Wonder! I thought you told her not to follow us!" "I did!" he said, shaking his head in exasperation. "But you know what she's like with adventure!" With dainty steps a little filly crept out into the clearing, her purple eyes wide as she gazed up at Spike. "Uh, Mr Dragon?" she said in a small, piping voice that nevertheless didn't shake in the slightest. "Have you seen my mummy and daddy? Toffee Nose said they came in here, but he was just teasing me, wasn't he? Or did you eat them? I'll scream loud enough for your ears to fall off if you eated them, just so you know, and then I'll magic you good." "Twilight...?" whispered Applejack. "Mah memory might be a bit wonky still, but that l'il filly reminds me a lot of..." "Her cutie mark, just look at her cutie mark!" whispered Fluttershy. The little unicorn filly's coat was purple, the exact mix of her father's pale blue and her mother's bright red. Her long loose mane was as purplish-black as her mother's but with a streak of bright red through it, and her large eyes were clear mauve. On her flank, a red star shone. "Hello there, Dawning Wonder," Spike said. "Your mummy and daddy are here, safe and sound." "Oh, so you didn't eat them!" she said, deflating in relief, before her face brightened. "Mummy, Daddy, you're all right! Look, Mummy, I made it frough the woods without getting a single burr in my coat! I didn't trip at all, and neither did Clever Clogs! Look!" She held up a doll which, as advertised, had rather large hooves. "That's lovely, sweetheart," Star Quality said soothingly, shooting a glance at her husband and then up at Spike. "You were supposed to stay behind though, remember? Daddy told you. You broke your word and disobeyed Daddy, Dawnie, and that means no dessert and an early bedtime tonight." "But Muuuuuum..." "You know the rules, young lady," Hypothesis said. "But there's a dragon and Toffee Nose was teasing me and I was all jumpy that it had eated you and I was getting reaaaally nervous and so was Clever Clogs and then I thought I could help!" she said, skittering over to her mother and pressing lovingly against her. "I wouldn't let you get eated, promise! I'd do the magic to make it stop. I'm a big pony, and I can do big pony magic. Promise!" She threw out her little chest proudly. "I know, my poppet," said Hypothesis, smiling. "But everything's okay. This isn't the kind of dragon that eats ponies. This is the nice kind." "Oh, good, I'm nice too!" Dawning Wonder said, rounding on Spike and giving him a bright and energetic smile filled with innocence. "I'm glad you're not a mean dragon. I don't like screaming, it makes my head hurt. Are you going to stay and be friends?" "Ah, I'm actually leaving, Dawning Wonder," Spike replied. "I've been Ponyville's friend for a long time, though." "Wow, wish I was friends with a whole city," Wonder said, looking up at Spike with owlish envy. "This is Professor Spike, poppet," said Hypothesis. "You've met him before." Dawning Wonder gave him an unimpressed look. "No," she scoffed. "Prof'sor Spike is all little, and this is the biggest of big dragon. You're mixing them up, Daddy." Hypothesis opened his mouth to try and explain, and shut it again as his wife giggled at him. "Woweeee! She looks just like you, Twilight!" hissed Pinkie Pie. "But she acts sorta like you, Pinkie," Twilight said, wondering if the little filly really resembled her that much. She was ashamed to admit that she couldn't remember. "Except she seems to have a touch of Rainbow Dash's more... foolhardy tendencies?" said Rarity delicately. "She did come to challenge a dragon, after all." "The squirt's got guts," Rainbow Dash said with grudging admiration. "Why d'you have to go, nice dragon?" Dawning Wonder asked, before noticing the bundle of scales batting at the flowers and making their heads bob and sway. "Whoa, a baby one!" "Well, that's torn it," said Star Quality wryly as her daughter tore over to the dragon cub and bent her head close. Blue eyes met purple, and Diane reached out with one forepaw to bat experimentally at her mane. "Oh," said Dawning Wonder in a stunned voice. "She likes me." "Torn what?" Spike asked, watching the youngsters with a bittersweet expression. "Nopony can change Dawnie's mind once it's made up. Oh, look at the pair of them, thick as thieves. Well, I guess that's that." Hypothesis gave his wife a faint look of surprise. "We're adopting the dragon?" "We're adopting the dragon," she said firmly. Spike closed his eyes and took a couple of long, deep breaths. "Thank you," he said eventually. His voice was rather faint and raspy. Hypothesis studied Spike for a moment. "You've really become attached, haven't you? I'd never have believed it. The Stone Professor and a baby." Spike's eyes snapped open, and he met Hypothesis' eyes for a second. Then his gaze slid away. "You'll understand more when you read the guide," he mumbled. Star Quality's face became thoughtful as she looked between the baby dragon happily playing with her daughter amidst flowers and butterflies, and Spike's closed-off, forbidding expression. "Oh, I remember," she said softly. "It's that special way a dragon's greed works. You want to keep her." Spike's eyes grew flinty. "It's not about what I want. It's about her. Besides, I probably won't come back." "Professor, I'm sure that's not..." Hypothesis began, and then he sighed. "Don't," Spike said, and heaved himself to his feet. "There's no use pretending otherwise." The two ponies took an involuntary step backwards as the dragon rose to his full, awe-inspiring height. "All our hopes go with you, Professor," said Hypothesis, pulling himself together. Spike didn't answer, but his eyes landed on Diane with an expression more telling than words. "Can I just have a..." he said, and then checked himself. "Take all the time you need," said Star Quality with an understanding glint in her yellow eyes. "Dawnie, the Professor wants to say goodbye to the baby." Dawning Wonder looked up from a game that seemed to involve poking the baby's soft little belly and then giggling together. "The nice dragon? He's not staying?" "I have to go, Dawnie," he said, and then slowly extended his empty paw towards the filly. "Could you give me Diane for a moment?" The filly didn't seem the least bit afraid of the spear-long claws or the foot that dwarfed her entirely. Instead she gave a solemn nod and gently laid Diane on Spike's open palm, before backing away with careful, respectful steps. Spike brought the baby dragon up to his face, and smiled as she wobbled about, trying to focus. Her eyes met his, and then she made an indistinct noise of triumph and lunged for his face. Her soft claws caught on the scales of his nose, and his breath hitched as she purled affectionately, nuzzling against him. "Be a good girl, Diane," he said quietly. "You won't remember your parents, and you won't remember me, and that's for the best. Have a good life. Be happy and clever, and don't make my mistakes. Remember, you were named for laughter." Diane cooed and burbled, patting at Spike's nose and talking back in some baby language only she could understand. Spike curled a finger around to stroke her head the way she liked, and she blew a bubble of contentment. "Be good for your new family, little one," he whispered like the breeze brushing the flowers. "I wish it could have been otherwise. I wish you could have been mine, but there's a bright little filly down there who wants to love you, and even a doll called Clever Clogs, and maybe one day there'll be a basket and books and a library." His eyes flicked down to the filly standing below, and a faint melancholy smile crossed his lips. "Amazing, the way history repeats itself." He held her there for a beat more, before lowering her down. Diane's soft little claws couldn't hold onto his scales and sustain her weight, and so she was rocked backwards in his palm as they lost their grip. She let out a mewl of protest that became an angry wail as Dawning Wonder picked her up in her forehooves and held her close. Spike lifted his chin. His face was unreadable. "Well," he said. "I'm off." "This is unbearable," Rarity choked. "I can't watch this." "We'll tell the city, Professor," said Star Quality, and she bowed her head in profoundest respect. "We'll tell the whole of Equestria. You'll be remembered." "Look after her," was all Spike said as he began to turn away. "Professor Spike!" Hypothesis called after him. "We'll look after her, I promise! I swear it on the Six!" Spike hesitated before taking his next step. He half-turned his head back to them and nodded once. Diane was struggling in Dawning Wonder's embrace, her little arms reaching for Spike as he began to walk away. "Shhh, baby," the filly said. "It's okay. The nice dragon's got to go be a grown-up and do somethink important, but I can look after you now." She rubbed her furred head against Diane's scales as the baby began to sob and hiccup. "You can be sad, baby, that's okay. I'll be here. I'm Dawnie. I'm gonna be your big sister, Diane." Spike bit down upon his lip hard as Diane's wails rose in pitch, but still no expression crossed his face and his pace continued without pause. With his head held level and his eyes dry he left the sundrenched fairy grove without looking back. Twilight's worry competed with the sudden lurch of nausea as she and Rarity were ignominiously jerked through the air yet again (and she wanted to have a word or two with whoever was in charge of this ridiculous half-life. How could an entity with no stomach or internal organs get nauseous?). Once she had adjusted - reluctantly - to the feeling, she peered up at Spike's impassive face for a clue as to how to comfort him. His eyes were beginning to shine, but other than that it was carefully, rigidly blank. Behind them, voices were slowly fading. "Do you think we can live up to this responsibility, love?" "We have to. Look at what he's done for Equestria, and what he's about to attempt. This is all he's asking of us in return. I'm going to go speak to the Chancellor and the Mayor the minute we get back - it can't ever be forgotten. Besides, just look at the pair of them, Pothy." "I see what you mean. So, our dragon daughter, huh? She looks sort of sleepy still, even though she's crying." "He said she likes to be sung to..." "Oh, Mummy, can I? I know a good song." "In a moment, Dawnie. Give her here and I'll rock her, and you can hold Clever Clogs. Careful with her little neck as you pass her, she can't quite hold her head up properly yet. Nice and gentle, that's it. Babies are fragile. Oh, she's so soft! Pothy, pat her head, see?" "Oh wow, she is. So soft and smooth. Somehow I thought she'd be hard, like the Professor was." "She's brand new, Pothy, and the Professor was aging unnaturally. I'll show you the script of the play when we get home. Oh, would you just look at those dimples. You are a little cutie, aren't you Deedee?" "Deedee?" "Well, Pinkie Pie's middle name or not, you can't call a cute little scrap of adorableness like her by a big haughty name like Diane. My babies get nicknames as sweet as they are. Don't they, my little Deedee? Oh shhh, little one, shhhh. Dawnie, stroke her head a little. Her eyes are blinking a lot, see? That means she's tired." "Ohhhh. Like this?" "Good girl, my poppet, Daddy's very proud of you. You're going to be such a wonderful big sister. Oh, the poor little thing, she just won't stop crying. There, shhh, there's a girl, there's my new little girl." "Well, she's lost her parents and her new parental substitute within a few days. I'd be howling a lot louder than her, believe me. Ready, Dawnie?" "Ready, Mummy." "Pat her scales, that's it. Gently does it." "Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now, it's time to go to bed. Drift off to sleep, there's another day behind you..." "Did they just diss my name?" Pinkie whispered indignantly. Spike reached the end of the little wood and the lullaby was lost amongst the birdcalls of the morning. His eyes were brimming. "Spike," Twilight said miserably, dragged along behind him like a balloon on a string. "I'm here for you. Talk to me." "So am I," Rarity said in a weak little voice. "She'll be fine," said Fluttershy, standing up on Spike's shoulder and turning back to try and see the new and strangely assorted little family through the trees. "They seem like nice ponies. They'll look after her." "No, I mean I'm here," Rarity said somewhat louder, and it was with a shock that Twilight realised that her Self was no longer wrapped around the nebulous sense of Rarity's Self but around a barely-perceptible unicorn with elaborate curls and thick-lashed eyes. "You're here," she said blankly. "It would seem so," she said. Her beautiful face was unhappy. "Oh hey, Rarity's got legs!" Rainbow exclaimed, peering over Spike's haunch to gawk at the unicorn skimming along in thin air. Applejack joined her and then whistled low. "Whoa there, Rarity. I clean fergot how frou-frou that mane o' yours was." "I would very much appreciate it if I could climb up onto your shoulder, Spike dear," Rarity said in a stiff voice. She was keeping her eyes averted from the grass passing beneath her immobile hooves. Spike stopped as he reached the foot of the mountain, and flopped down onto his haunches. "Where are you, milady?" he said, scanning the ground. "I seem to be stopping by your left forehoo - uh, paw," she said as the nauseating ride slowed, "the one holding the Elements." "Uhhhh," Twilight said, her grip on Rarity tightening. "I hate that flying thing, I hate it. Rainbow Dash, you're insane. Nopony should do that, nopony at all." With glacial slowness Spike leaned forward and reached out with his empty paw. "On you get," he said dully. "Well, you got yer wish then, Rarity," Applejack said, trying to lighten the mood. "You've got yer feet back." "I didn't want to get them back at Spike's expense," Rarity muttered as she stepped lightly onto the broad palm, still wearing Twilight like a metaphysical fur. Then she looked up at his huge, blank face with anxiety in her large eyes. "Darling, what can I do?" "Nothing. There isn't anything you can do," he answered, raising his hand level with his neck and holding his paw still as she clambered out onto his scales. After a few moments he asked, "are you off yet?" "We're all on your shoulders, Spike," said Fluttershy. "'Cept me, I'm on your head," said Rainbow proudly. "There must be something I can do," Rarity fretted. "We're ghosties," Pinkie said. "Remember?" "Everypony except Twilight, that is," corrected Applejack. "Yeah, everypony except me," Twilight grumbled, feeling horribly selfish for complaining about such a thing when Spike's heart was breaking in front of them, and yet not being able to stop herself for a sackful of bits and the original manuscripts of Star Swirl the Bearded. She wanted to be real - or as real as she could be - and despite being the Element of Magic she was the one lagging behind. "Girls," Fluttershy said, her face serious as she shook her head and beckoned them close. The five insubstantial ponies and Twilight gathered together and bent towards her. Fluttershy glanced nervously over at Spike for a moment, before bending even closer. "Don't you see what's happening?" she whispered in a voice that even Twilight had to strain to hear. "Every time one of us has become, well..." "Corporeal?" suggested Rarity. "Not quite," whispered Librarian Twilight. "But let it pass." "It's always come at an emotional cost to Spike," Fluttershy continued, ignoring the interruptions with unusual determination. "We first saw Rainbow Dash when the Princess called on his memories of us, which must have upset him terribly. Then Pinkie Pie - he was already hurting after what he had to do to grow, and so he made a joke to hide his feelings..." "And you, Fluttershy," interrupted Rainbow, "he knew he'd have to give up Diane, but he let himself get close to her anyway 'cos she needed it after her parents died..." "Me," said Applejack in blank realisation. "He 'fessed up about blowin' that fireball on th' Elements, even though he knew we might hold it against him." "And he just gave Diane the chance for a good life when he wants to care for her himself," said Rarity in a low voice. "The selfish thing to do would be to keep her, but he let her go instead." Twilight turned her attention to Spike, hunched forlornly beneath them. His great head was off to one side of their little huddle rather than above them, and Twilight realised that it was bowed - in acceptance or anguish, she couldn't tell. There was a lurching where her stomach should be, and just one thought flew through her mind. She couldn't be the cause of yet more pain for him. "I don't want to be a ghost," she said abruptly, directing her attention back to the huddle and filling herself with as much determination as possible. "I'll stay like this forever. I don't mind." She forced herself to believe it, despite the fact that she'd been complaining only two minutes earlier. "Twilight," Applejack said in a sympathetic voice, moving to where Twilight's Self hung in the air like a faint scent. "I understand where you're comin' from, but maybe..." "But nothing," Twilight said curtly. "I won't hurt him. He's my son and my brother and my best friend and he's already in the kind of pain I can't even begin to imagine. I'm not going to add to it. He already half-believes that he's going mad. Celestia only knows how he's stayed so strong." "He was always mighty stubborn," Applejack said. "But have y' thought that maybe all o' us need to be out o' the Elements invoked-like before he can use 'em?" "I don't see why," Twilight said. "We never had to." Rainbow shook her head. "Yeah, but how's he gonna use Magic, huh? Like he said, it's..." she wrinkled her nose, "in-herent? That right?" "Inherent," Twilight confirmed. "Listen," Fluttershy said. "He's a draaaaagon," Pinkie drawled, rolling her eyes with theatrical exaggeration. "Y' don't say," Applejack deadpanned. Pinkie blew a raspberry at her farmpony friend. "So he said he's got magic of the body and fire," she elaborated, waving a random hoof for emphasis. "Yeah?" "But we've tried the body, and he tried the fire," Twilight said, frustrated. "Listen," Fluttershy said. "I dunno if just hooking them all over him is really tappin' into his body's magic," said Rainbow. "It was a hoot, though!" Pinkie added. "Well, can you think of anything else?" snapped Twilight. "Well, if you weren't takin' out yer frustrations on us, maybe we could!" Applejack snapped back. "I'm worried about Spike!" Twilight yelled. "We all are!" Applejack shouted. "I get that it's personal fer you, Twi, but there's no need t' bite mah head clean off!" "Listen!" Fluttershy yelled. They turned to her. She shrank back a little, and then steeled herself. "You were getting a teensy bit loud there, girls," she said, and then turned her head with a significant glance. Twilight followed her gaze to see Rarity standing high on Spike's collarbone. His head was still downturned, but his neck had arched back towards her in spite of himself. None of them had noticed her leaving. She was talking softly to him, one hoof trying unsuccessfully to stroke the shield-sized purple scales. Spike had his eyes closed, and his expression was one of hopeless regret. Twilight was suddenly incredibly ashamed of herself. "I'm sorry, Applejack," she said quietly. "Me too, Twi," Applejack sighed. "Me too." "I don't want to fight," she said. "I just want him to be okay, and..." She couldn't finish, but the rest of them could hear her unsaid words. Rainbow Dash gave the space her Self was occupying a doubtful look that needed no translation, before turning back to where the faintest suggestion of a unicorn tried to comfort a dragon with more issues than the Equestrian Inquirer. ~**~
The Luck Dragon and the Moon
pre
Nick smiled as he whispered to Luna, "He may have my charm, but he has your blush." Penny was okay, until she saw Celestia. She got on the ground and bowed. "That won't be necessary, I'm just a normal pony like everyone else here. Just call me Tia! All my friends do.", Celestia smiled as Nicky pulled out a chair for her. "Thank you.", Penny smiled, taking a seat. As they ate, Penny was talking to Nick. "So I hear you're getting a new game, is it true?", she asked with interest. "Yes, it's true. A funny one this is, Super Braveheart Maker. You get to make your own levels and play them and other exciting stuff.", he sighed heavily, eating his pancakes slowly. "Is there something wrong, Nick?", Tia asked with concern. "It gets exhausting, sitting and watching a screen day in and out. I just wish I could go back to being a normal plumber, or maybe something else.", he said sadly. "Can't you just quit? From what you tell me, it's sounds like you have enough power on the production to do so.", Luna said, worried about her husband's welfare. "I could, but I'd really hate disappointing all those kids who play my games....I'd have to sleep on it.", he sighed. After breakfast, Nicky and Penny spent the rest of the day exploring the Everfree Forest with Nick. "Is this really where you met Nicky's mom?", Penny asked. "It sure is, long, long ago when she was a young filly, barely your age.", Nick sighed, his graying mustache twitching. "I'm making you feel old, aren't I?", Penny apologized. "It's no big deal, I get that a lot.", he grinned. When it was time for Penny to leave, she thanked Nick and Luna for having her over, before kissing Nicky till he almost fell over. He stood there with his mouth gaping open, before Nick whispered to Luna, "Think I should stick some broccoli in there?" Luna giggled, resulting in Nicky closing his mouth and smiling. > Break A Leg, Physically and Sarcastically On the way to school, Stella was having a nervous tick. "Is something wrong?", Penny asked with concern. "I have a crush on Ratchet!", she exclaimed, before blushing really red. "It's okay, just tell him how you feel! He'll understand!", Penny smiled. "I don't know if I can...", Stella stuttered. "Of course you can! You're Nick Braveheart's daughter! You're strong! Believe in yourself.", Penny grinned encouragingly. So during Math, English and History classes, Stella sat next to Ratchet but said nothing. During Lunch she said nothing. But during recess, on the top of the wall, she was about to confess her feelings, when someone thought it was funny to push her off, resulting in her falling 10 ft to the ground. She tried to get up, but the pain was too great and started crying. Ratchet and Pipsqueak (Who had become a teacher) saw this and ran over to help her. They took her to Nurse Sweetie Belle's office, where she examined it, "I'm afraid you have a broken leg, Pipsqueak would you please call her parents?" "Sure thing, Sweetie! I'll put that brat in detention while I'm at it.", he replied. "Thank you, Nurse Sweetie Belle.", Stella sniffed as she bandaged up her leg. "No problem, dear. It's my job. And please, call me Sweetie.", the nurse smiled, "How's your dad?" "He's doing a lot better now that he's quit his old job! He even told us he got a new job here! Do you know what it is?", Stella asked. "I do, but I can't tell you, it's a surprise.", Sweetie Belle smiled. Stella turned to see Ratchet was still there with a worried look. "Thank you, Ratchet.", she grinned before planting a kiss on his muzzle, "Would Saturday be alright for a date?" "Y-Y-Yes!", he smiled, mouth hanging open. Nick and Luna dashed in. "Are you alright?", Luna asked, examining her bandaged leg. "I broke my leg, Mom.", Stella said, hugging her mother. "Thanks, Sweetie.", Nick smiled, carrying Stella on his back. She winked at Ratchet before he vanished from her sight. The next day, Stella went to school in a wheelchair, with Ratchet being her personal nurse, not because he was asked to, but because he wanted to. Nicky and Penny met them outside the school. "Are you two finally dating?", smiled Penny. "Sort of, considering I can't go anywhere by myself. At least I always have Ratchet beside me.", she replied. "Anything for My Little Star.", he said, kissing her forehead. Stella giggled. It was time for class! Today in history, the teacher, (Yes, her and Big Mac got married) made an announcement. "As you all know, I'll be retiring today..." "Awwww...", groaned the class. "But you'll have a new teacher! Boys and girls, may I introduce In-The-Nick-Of-Time Braveheart!" Nick came out from behind a shelf and walked up to the teacher's desk as the class applauded Nick gave Cheerilee a hug as she smiled, "Missed ya, Nick! It's good to see you again." "I missed you too.", he looked to the class before starting his speech. "I'm very excited to be here today! Now I want you to know that I might be more serious than your old teacher, but if no one does anything stupid...", he said this last part looking at the jocks and bullies present in the class. "Now to begin today's lesson, we'll start with when I was younger than you, about 6000 years ago..." After school, Penny kissed Nicky before going home with her aunt. And Ratchet kissed Stella before walking home with his parents. "That was a great lesson, Dad! Was it all true?", Bella smiled, jumping on to his back. "I was there, of course it's true.", Nick scoffed. "Dad, I like your being a teacher, but why?", Stella asked. "It's just a hobby. And besides, I retired from my old job, remember?", he smiled, pushing his daughter's wheelchair home and Nicky and Bella following. Tonight was the Ponyville High Talent Show, and everyone, teachers and students, had their acts ready. Luna, Octavia, Nick, and Nurse Sweetie Belle were the judges. There were many acts, to name a few. First up was Ratchet and Stella (She was out of her wheelchair and using crutches). juggled oranges with their noses, which made Luna laugh and give them a 10, Octavia handed out a 8, Sweetie Belle gladly gave a 10, and Nick raised a 9. Next was Nicky and Penny, who did a rendition of "Who's on First". 9s all around. Pipsqueak did a special hat dance, Nick gave him a 9.5, while everyone else gave 8. The principal preformed a daring tightrope routine. Perfect 10! Bella did a solo fire eating stunt. Another perfect 10! And a scolding from Luna to not play with fire. And a few others preformed their acts before it ended. The judges all whispered to each other before announcing the winner: The P.E teacher, Rainbow Dash, who preformed a miniature Sonic Rainboom. Finally the show ended, and everypony went home. On the way home, Luna told the kids how impressed she was of their acts while Nick nodded and smiled in agreement. After they put the kids to bed, and got in bed, Luna looked at Nick and smiled, "Our children are so talented! They get that from their father." "Oh honey, you're talented too.", Nick retorted, but to no avail. Luna was fast asleep. > Cadance: The Match Maker Bella was feeling lonely. Nicky and Stella already had their special someponies, and she was still alone. To make things even worse, Hearts and Hooves Day was next week! So she sat at the table, helping her mother peel potatoes, while Nicky and Ratchet took the girls for a double date. Nick came in from his garden and washed his paws as he panted, "My Dragon Lilies are bursting with color!" "Yes, they look beautiful, darling! Now be sure you water them everyday, except when it rains. Feed them every other week or so. Oh, you wouldn't happen to have any of those gem bushes you were talking about, would you?", Rarity smiled, trailing after Nick inside. "Yeah, I'll go find some tomorrow! Thanks for helping me out, Rarity! Won't you stay for dinner?", Nick replied, drying his paws and walking over to check on Luna and Bella. "I'd love to, but Sweetie already invited me to tea at her house, and I'd hate to disappoint her. You take care now, and be sure to attend next week's Gardener's Club Meeting!", Rarity answered, giving him a hug before leaving. Nick then turned to Bella and saw a sad look on her face. "What's wrong, honey?", he asked, kissing her forehead. "Dad? You know how Nicky has Penny, and Stella has Ratchet? ", she asked. Luna immediately saw why Bella was so upset. "Honey, you'll find your special somepony. It just takes time. Your Aunt Tia is still looking for hers.", she said, putting her wings around her in a hug. "When? When will I find my special somepony? No one loves me! I'm just an ugly hybrid!", she cried, tears streaming down. "You're not ugly, you're beautiful like your mother! And cuddly, like me.", Nick smiled, brushing her poofy fur. "I hope you're right...", she said, drying up her tears. Meanwhile, outside, Cadance was outside, watching the above dilemma, rubbing her hooves together as she formed a plot to help her sister. The next day, Bella didn't know why she was here, all she knew was that Cadance had invited her to the Crystal Empire for the day. And now she was sitting at a table eating cake with her sister Cadance, with a thoughtful look on her face before saying, "I know your hearts are lonely..." Bella gagged on her cake. "What?!", Bella exclaimed. "Look, I'm the Princess of Love, for crying out loud! I know these kinds of things. Anyway, before we start, I wanna tell you about how I met Shining Armor..." It was a sunny day in Equestria! I decided to go visit Papa and Mama. I made it to Canterlot, and walked into the castle. "Mama? Papa? Mama?", I called out. "They are gone, Luna turned to the dark side and was banished, your Papa was sent to the Everfree Forest to hide. I'm sorry, Cadie. But he was being hunted for his fur. I hope you'll understand.", Aunt Tia replied, coming down the stairs. "Yeah, I understand...at least I know he's okay.", I sighed. I then noticed a new guard, who was very handsome, and looked lost. "Umm, excuse me for interrupting, Princess, but can you tell me how to get to the barracks? I kinda got lost.", he said bashfully, blushing when he looked into my eyes. "Ahh...you must be the new captain! Cadance, I want you meet Shining Armor, Shining, this is my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.", Celestia smiled. "But you can call me Cadance! And the barracks are behind the castle!", I said quickly, trying to not blush. "Thank you, your highnesses!", he bowed, rushing away. "And that's how I met Shining Armor!", smiled Cadance after finishing her story. "And the moral was...?", Bella asked. "You've got to chase your man down! Now you are going to find a boyfriend by next week! With my advice!", Cadance smiled. Bella spent the rest of the day jotting down notes on a Saturday! Within 3 days, Bella found her true love. Bella had met a colt named Sonic Boom, who was probably the fastest student at Ponyville High. Back at the Crystal Empire, Cadance congratulated Bella. "Well done! See? There's always somepony out there for everypony!", she smiled. "Well we better get going, Hearts and Hooves dance is about to start!", grinned Bella, nuzzling Sonic Boom. That night, Bella's wish for a special somepony came true!
Christmas Break
pre
"Sure," Sunset smiled. Mr. Cowbell handed Jackson the car keys. "Drive safely. There's a lot of snow here." "Don't worry, Dad. I got this" The teens drove off leaving the parents to catch up with one another. .
Christmas Break
Ice-Skating
Logan, Jackson, Sunset, and Chloe had all decided to try out ice-skating at the lake nearby that had just frozen over. "Have you ever been ice skating before, Sunset?" Chloe asked. "It's really fun if you haven't." Sunset shook her head. "I actually never did. I don't think I've ever did any type of skating before." "Don't worry, babe. I haven't done any physical activities since I retired from them," Logan told her. "Hell, I haven't even done ice skating before so however bad you are I'll be ten times worse." Sunset, Jackson, and Chloe all laughed. "Man I haven't done anything physical for a LONG time. I just went from being a competive athlete to a sweaty esports player," Jackson sighed. "Same, my dude." Logan said. They spotted the lake and pulled in the parking lot. They got out and went to the front to get thier ice skates. It was for free. They fitted them on and looked at the massive lake where other people were skating. People of all ages and sizes. Some were really skilled while others not so much. Logan felt Sunset grab his hand and whispered, "We can learn this together." Logan smiled and took her hand. They slowly approached the ice. "Woah!" Logan gasped as he nearly tripped over. "Don't fall yet! We haven't even got on yet!" Sunset giggled. While this was the first time ice skating, Logan did do roller skating before. But that was a long time ago and it's not exactly the same on ice as it is on wood. They approached the ice and slowly started to skate. Logan figured to do this he would need to slightly raise one foot to the side while repeating the process on the other foot. Sunset saw and followed his move. Once they got the hang of it, they started to pick up the pace a bit. They saw Chloe do a figure eight skate followed by a layback spin and topped it off with a triple axel. "Damn, you good!" Logan said. "Thanks! Is this first time for you guys?" She chuckled. "You bet." Logan looked at Jackson who had already fallen. "And we can tell we're not the only beginners here." Sunset and Logan continued to skate. They felt like they could go a bit faster so they started to speed up a little bit. They continued to hold hands as they skated on the frozen lake. "If you want I can teach you some basic moves on the ice," Chloe offered. "Sure, what you got in mind?" Sunset asked. "Well this one is a really good one for beginners. It's called the bunny hop." Chloe began to demonstrate. "For this one, you need to get a good momentum. Follow what I do." She began to move around on the ice, swaying her feet to the side. "Once you get enough momentum pay closely attention. You want to quickly kick your back feet infront of you and switch it back fast. Make sure not to kick to far." "Ok doesn't sound hard." Logan said. He tried it out first. He began to move by swaying his feet side to side gaining more speed and momentum. Here goes nothing. He began to kick his back foot in front of him but he had misplaced his footing and landed hard on his side. "Oh my god, are you ok?" Sunset asked worried. Y-yeah I'm fine." Logan groaned holding his side. "At least I didn't break anything. Lemme just get up hold on." He tried to get up but the ice was making it difficult. Sunset went over and helped him up. "Thanks." "Not bad," Chloe smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get that move down in no time. And before you know it, you can do the more harder ones." "Wow. So how are you so good at skating?" Logan asked Chloe. "I've been watching YouTube videos and tricks on how to ice skate. And I've been doing it since I was like really young. Like seven years old." "I thought you only did cheerleading and you quit." "Nah, I also did competetive ice skating. What you thought Jackson was the only athlete sweat?" Logan laughed. Speaking of Jackson, they saw him fall over a third time while he tried to do a jump spin. "Careful, there buddy!" Logan said laughing. "I know you're cracked at almost every sport but don't get too overconfident." Now it was Sunset's turn. She followed the same moves as Logan and when it came to do the bunnyhop, she also lost her balance and fell on her stomach. Logan grabbed her hand helping her back up. "I can see you two have never skated." Chloe giggled. "But don't worry, ice skating is very hard to do, even at a basic level." She then showed off some of her own moves such as a Biellmen spin, another triple axel, a quadruple jump, and the triple lutz. Jackson, Logan, and Sunset can only stare in amazement. "My dude, did you know Chloe is a god at skating?" Logan asked. "Hell nah, I thought she only did cheerleading!" After they skated for a couple more hours, it was getting dark and they gave back thier ice skates and headed home.
Christmas Break
Arriving at Manehattan/Christmas Party Plans
Abigail had just gotten off the plane and sat down on the benches in the terminal. She had recieved a text from Theresa to meet her here once she got off the plane. "Abigial?!" Abigail looked up and saw her friend walking torwards her. She smiled. "Theresa, how great it is to see you again!" They both shared a warm hug. "Thank you so much for even bothering to come all this way," Theresa said gratefully. "I really do appreciate it." "Hey, that's what friends are for," Abigail said. They walked outside to the parking lot and drove over to Theresa's. Once they arrived there, they went inside and the latter wasted no time opening up her laptop and showing Abigail the footage. "This is the incident that took place," Theresa explained. "I wasn't there but..." They watched the footage. Theresa pointed to showed a stranger eating his food. Nothing out of the ordinary. After he was done, he went to the restroom to wash his hands. Again, nothing unusual there, but Abigail knew something was about to happen. She couldn't have been more right. People frantically rushed to the restroom trying to pull open the locked door. The next thing they knew, the cops and ambulance arrived at the scene. They broke open the door and placed the man onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. His face was deathly white and the bathroom reeked of vomit. "Oh my..."Abigail said. "Based on what I heard, that man had screamed from inside. Calling for someone to call for help. All those who witnessed say he was perfectly fine before he ate. So they concluded that we poisoned our food." "I can't believe it. I just can't." Abigail gasped. *At the scene* After the police and ambulance left, one of the customers got really angry. "Is this what you feed your customers?! Some type of poison?!" he snapped at one of the waitresses. She flinched. "What? No! I don't understand. I don't know how-" "Quit your lying! I saw you were the one who bought the plate over to that man! Do you know how much trouble you are in?! Not just you but the whole resturaunt!" The Sous Chef came out. "Sir, please stay calm. I can assure you my waitress here or any other waitresses or waiters had nothing to do with the incident." he told the angry customer. "Do you have any idea who you're talking to? He pulled out a badge and showed it to the chef. "My name is Jason Axton and I'm an attorney. When I'm done with you, your resturaunt will never open again!" he stormed off. The waitress who was there looked on nervously. "He doesn't really mean that...does he?" she asked shakily. "I think he might," the Chef replied sadly. "Call the Owner. Tell her everything that just happened." "Yes, sir. Right away." she dialed the owner and told her everything that had recently occured. "After I recieved that phonecall I immediatley knew something was very wrong. I know non of my workers would ever do something to harm anyone." She groaned in despair. "What am I going to do? If we lose this, a lot of my workers would be without jobs!" Abigail put a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "We must not give up so soon." she said. "So yeah, my family and my friend's family will be having a huge christmas party near the holidays." Logan said as they ate. "You should defintley come, Sunset. It's going to be a good one." "Why not, after all it would be nice to meet your family." Sunset smiled. "Is it going to be here?" "Oh heavens no!" Mr. Blackwood laughed. "We would be crushed to death if we had it here! It's going to be at the huge log cabin. Its designed to hold 3 families in it." "Wow..." Logan said. "I never actually been there before. So when do we leave?" "In a few days. We gotta make sure we get everything ready first." Mrs. Cowbell said. After they were done eating Sunset excused herself to the restroom. She closed the door behind her and took out her journal. Dear, Princess Twilight How are you doing? For me. I'm not doing too bad myself. Logan's family and his friend's family are having a big christmas party later this week and he has asked me to come. Of course I accepted. I just hope his family likes me. I also met his two childhood friends and they are some of the nicest I've ever saw. I'm feeling a lot better now. I might finally have another chance to be surroudned by those who care about me. - Sunset Shimmer.
Christmas Break
Traveling
Sunset, It makes me happy knowing you finally feel at home. You don't know how lucky you are to have someone who won't leave your side and for the two new people, from what I could tell they seem to be really nice. At least I hope so anyways. Hope you have a great holidays in your world. your friend, Twilight Sparkle "Woah, dude look at this!" Jackson said as he showed Logan his phone. "Didn't this used to be your mom's resturaunt?" "Yeah she already told me what had happened," The article read "Abigail Good Eats threatened to shut down after poison incident." "I just can't help but feel that Gilda's mom had something to do with it..." Logan said. "Is Gilda the one who um," Jackson said but didn't feel comfortable saying it. "Yes, she is," Sunset answered. "And her mother is trying to defend her saying she has a mental illness!" "Not Abigails!" Chloe said sadly. "That's my favorite resturaunt to eat at!" "Really?" Logan asked. "I actually never been there, despite my mom running it. I was still really young." "It is," Mr. Blackwood said. "And I must admit, it's mighty good too. There's just something about that food that takes you into a heaven when you take that first bite." "I just can't believe Abigail's would do something horrible," Logan muttered. "Me neither, but I don't think it was any of the workers! They were all super friendly. Definitley didn't look like they would hurt anyone!" Chloe wondered. "You don't think...that Gilda's mom set up the whole scene just so she can get money off of Abigail's and bail her daughter out do you?" "It seems likely," Sunset said. "And it seems exactly like the kind of cruel thing she can do!" "But Sunset, if Gilda's mom is here, then how can she set the whole thing up if Abigail's is all the way in Manehattan?" Logan did have a point. But again, it's too much of a coincidence that out of all Resturaunts, Abigail's is the one who gets sued. "Anyways, are we almost there yet?" "Not yet, another hour or so," Mrs. BlackWood replied. "Hey, Logan you never told us about your new school!" Chloe said. "Oh yeah, well for starters it's a lot bigger than yours umm oh yeah and the cafeteria food is a complete upgrade to Canyon High's." "What's the name of your school?" Jackson asked. "Canterlot High. Our mascot is basically a horse a something, I don't know. I haven't been to any pep rallies yet." "Wait you said the food there was better than the your old school?" "It is, I almost forgot it was school food." "Lucky! Our food is complete dog water and always has been!" "I'm sure it hasn't always been like that," Sunset assured. "Sunset, my and Chloe's parents went to the Canyon High before us. They can literally confirm how terrible it is!" "It's true," Mr. Blackwood said. "40 years ago it sucked ass, and 40 years later it still sucks ass" "Damn," Logan sighed. "That's probably one reason I'm glad I moved out hehe." Applejack recieved a group chat text from Rainbow Dash when she got home. Has anyone seen Sunset? She's not at her apartment ? I didn't. Have you checked around town? She can't be far. Maybe we can try to throw her a imsupersuperduper sorry party I haven't seen Sunset either, but I know she's probably with Logan. I don't think Sunset is ready to be our friend again. I was really mean to her! Don't blame yourself Flutters. I was probably the worse bitch out of you all AppleJack turned off her phone and sighed. Maybe Princess Twilight would no something about this, but unfortunatley the only way to communicate with her is through Sunset's journal and she figured the portal is closed off until for a really long time.
Christmas Break
Arriving at the crime scene
"Oh my goodness!" Abigail gasped. "What in the world?!" "I know...it's awful!" Theresa also gapsped. "As soon as I recieved that phone call I knew we were in huge trouble!" The entire resturuant was closed down with police tape all over. It was not a pretty sight. Abigail could feel a dread inside her. This wasn't the resturaunt she founded. This was supposed to be more than that. Even though it was a high end, it was really meant for anyone to feel at home. To be surroudned by your loved ones. To have the best dining expirence possible, but instead, it had completley turned upside down. "According to the news, I just found out yesterday that the poison was tetrodetoxin." "What? But isn't that-" "It is pufferfish poison, but we don't sell pufferfish in any way or form." "Strange, so that means someone must have had to bring it in, but that begs the question: Who?" "Y-you don't think it was one of-" "I highly doubt that," Abigail reassured. "I know my workers are some of the kindest people you will meet but we should play it safe and start to question. You know maybe one of them bought it by accident." "You're right." Abigail saw a middle aged man walk torwards them. "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you we were meeting someone today!" Theresa said. She gestured torwards the man. He had dark brown hair and wore a buttoned down collared t-shirt and work pants and shoes. "This is Brandon Stone. He's the current Sous Chef until well...you know." Brandon smiled at Abigail. "Brandon, this is Abigail. She's the original founder of Abigail's Good Eats." "Pleasure to meet you, Miss." he said while shaking her hand. "It's a real honor to meet the founder." "Thank you, and please, call me Abigail," she said kindly. "Brandon will be helping us crack this case, along with a few others." Theresa said. Brandon nodded. "Let's not waste any more time." "You're right." Theresa agreed. "We need to get as much people as we can on this. The more people we have, the more chance we can get preventing our doors from closing for good!" Jason got a call from his "boss" when he got back to his apartment. "What is it?" Did you poison him? "Yes, Isabell. I did. Remember I get half the earnings when we sue this restruaunt. How much are we going for? Ten million? Twenty million? All of it! "What?! Are you kidding?! That's like over 2 billion! What do you even need that cash for anyways?!" That's nothing for you to know. You can do it can't you? "I mean I can try...but I gotta make sure no one finds the truth." Good. I need every last penny out of them! Jason hung up and put his phone on the nightstand. Next to it, was a bottle of Tetrodetoxin. Abigail and Theresa decided to analyze the footage looking for any suspicious people and clues. So far they haven't found anything eye opening yet. Brandon had decided to call up every one of his chefs, waiters, and waitresses and question them about the incident. A lot of them denied ever having any contact with the toxin, but some did confess. However Brandon knew they only did it because the stress was getting to them. This was evident when after they confess they could not provide a description of the customer that had been poisoned. and they thought maybe if they confessed, the resturaunt would still be saved. "We might have to do a search on every one of our worker's homes and belongings." Brandon told Abigail. "If it is one of our workers, then our case might be a little easier to solve. If it isn't then it's going to be a lot harder." Abigail sighed. "Very well then. Me and Theresa looked over the footage again and no one seemed to have any suspicious behaivor. There were no avoiding cameras, no hoodies or anything to cover the face." "I'll try to find an attorney soon. No matter what happens we should get the best help we need." Brandon said. "Police!" a voice was heard knocking on the front door of Jason's apartment. He quickly took off his attorney suit so he looked like an ordinary man with nothing better to do at home. He opened the door and saw a police officer in uniform. "Good evenin, officer. How may I help you?" "We just want to do a bit of questioning regarding an incident that took place recently," The officer explained. Jason looked over and saw another police officer questioning another person at his house. "Certainly and I think I know what you're here for." He led the officer inside. "Coffee?" he offered. "I'm good, thank you." they sat down on the couch facing eachother. "Now I think that when something like this happens we start to blame ourselves." Jason began. "Like why didn't I see something or why didn't I do anything? Because surely, this case would have been solved a lot quicker." "Would you mind telling me where you been for the past few days?" The officer asked. "Of course. Yesterday I was out grocery shopping you know to buy food and supplies. The day before I ate at Abigails. Need me to tell you what I got there?" "No need." "And the day before that, I worked out at the gym until I got home around midnight." "Now..." the officer said. "We had gotten word that a certain toxin was used. More specifically Tetrodetoxin. Would you happen to know anything about that?" Jason looked over the officer's shoulder and realized he had forgotten to hide the small bottle of Tetrodetoxin! All the officer had to do was turn around and the truth would be right there, but the former kept a calm expression. "No, Ofiicer. I have aboslutely no idea." The officer noticed an attorney badge on the table stand on the side of the couch he was sitting on. "You're an attorney?" the officer asked a bit shocked. "I am. I've been practicing law for over seven years." "I am so sorry. If I had known, I would not have wasted your time." The officer said as he got up to leave. "Don't worry about it. You're just trying to do your job like everyone else." Jason reassured while smiling. "Anyways you have a great night, Officer." "You as well," the latter replied as he left. Jason breathed a sigh a relief. That was a close one!
Christmas Break
News and New Policy
"Popular resturaut now facing a major lawsuit that could potentially threaten to shut down it's doors for good." said a news anchor. "Never in almost twenty years this resutraunt had opened had this ever happened before. Brianna has more on the story." "Thank you. Last week Abigail Good Eats has gotten in some serious hot water, all because of an incident that nearly cost a customer his life." Brianna cleared her throat before continuing. "Last Thursday a man, who he he asked not to identify, had suffered a poison attack MOMENTS after eating. People who were there all heard him scream from the bathroom. Vommiting and asking someone to call for an ambulance." "I honestly don't understand. I don't have any clue whatsoever." Brandon said to the camera. "Never in my years of working here have we had something as bad as this." "Just the next day, police have identified traces of a lethal poison: Tetrodetoxin." "I don't have any idea, nor do my workers have any idea how it got there." Brandon said sadly. "That's Fugu poisoning and we don't even sell that type of fish. The only fish we serve is salmon, tilapia, and tuna." "in another story, after speaking to government officials they have decided to outlaw all firearms." Brianna said. "After, a fatul incident that happened not too long ago, everyone is now prohibited from owning any guns in thier household. These include more lethal weapons like the Uzi machine gun, the glock .45 caliber, and the m1911 pistol. Anyone who posseses these weapons could face a charge up to $500,000 and if things get bad, up to ten years in prison. There are only two exceptions for this new policy: "If you're a police officer or if you're a veteran." Micro Chips had a sick feeling in his stomach. He knew exactly what incident. No. He not only knew, but he played a major role in all of it. Even though he was let go, he still couldn't get the feeling of guilt off his chest. He blamed himself for being a coward. He hated himself for it. He figured Gilda knew that he was let go and was no doubt filled with rage. In the crazed state she was in, there was no doubt she would go after him when she escaped. Yes, when. Not "if" because Micro knew just what Gilda was capable of, but this was by far her worst. Her other accomplices were also facing charges but not as severe as thier leader. It wouldn't take long for everyone to figure out what he's done but there's nothing he can do about it. Maybe just stay at home forever? Never show his face again? "Maybe I should move to a different state and change my name/" he thought. He turned off the T.V and looked at the time. It was almost midnight and his parents, who were very reliefed that thier son was not thrown in jail, were still at work. He went to his bedroom and closed the door. Tommorrow is a new day The next morning, Micro started to wake up from a loud knocking on the front door. "Police!" He started to go downstairs and answer but his father, Disk Drive. Had already answered it. A police officer stood at the front of his doorsteps. "Mornin, Officer." Disk said a bit nervously. "Can I help you?" "I'm just here to inform you about our new gun law that had just been passed out." The officer said calmly. He showed Disk a search warrant. "In case you haven't heard, we're outlawing all fire arms. We need to do a search on your house to make sure you don't have any." Disk saw more police officers at other people's house. "So are guns like banned forever?" "I'm afraid so." Disk stepped aside to let the officer in. "Someone check the upstairs while I check the main floor," the officer said to his walkie. "Right away, sir." a voice responded. Another officer came in and started to search the entire upstairs. "Honey, what's happening? What's going on?" Disk's wife, Ada Drive asked worried. "Why are these officers here?" "There doing a search around our house for any weapons we have." Disk said. Both officers searched everywhere. From every room, cabinet, not to mentions spaces underneath furniture. "I searched up here. There doesn't seem to be anything here," said the officer upstairs. "Copy that." said the one on the main floor. After he too was done searching, they decided to patch things up and leave. "Wait! Officers!" Ada said. They stopped and turned around. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves against a home invasion?" "I'm glad you asked that, ma'am because there is a much safer and efficient way. We're working with government officials to bring a new home security that people can use." The first officer explained. "It's an A.I system that you can set up to only allow certain people in your household, such as your husband and son. How it works is it saves and recognizes your facial features to let it know you and other people are accepted here." "If anyone who is not on that "whitelist" enters, an alarm will sound and we will be notified immediatley to put a stop to it." The second one added. "I guess that's understandable," Ada sighed. "Well thank you, Officers." "No problem, Miss. You folks have a nice day." he said and they left the house. After they shut the door behind them, Ada began to research about this new "home security" system. She looked it up on the computer. "CDAI" Ada read to herself. "Canterlot Defense Artificail Intelligence." Introducing the brand new Artificial Intillegence that can help protect your home from dangerous invasions! Easy to use! All it requires is a facial feature from you and people you choose. Also includes 24 hour real time survelliance. Alarms that notify police, when you're away, you can set it up to monitor human motion detection and a notification will be sent to you through our new app under the same name. The app also allows you to monitor your household. Ada read the price and was shocked to see the price. $7,000. "What?!" she nearly spit out her water. Yeah, it's an advnaced security system but that seemed like too much! She groaned and closed out of the tab. Is this really the best way?
Christmas Break
Evil Plan
"And I expect you with all the money! Not a penny less!" Isabel said through the phone. "That pitiful resturuant needs to be shut down!" Jason was in his apartment as he was waking up. He groaned and told her she was being crazy if she thinks he can pull it off. "This shouldn't be impossible for you! You're an attorney aren't you?! Just look presentable and they'll believe every word you say!" Jason sighed. He didn't have any arguments left. "Okay. I'll get your money but I get to keep half! If you get caught you...do not...know me!" "Fine!" Isabel snorted. She hung up and dialed another number. The phone started to ring until an answer was heard. A female's voice on the other end. "What is it, Isabel?!" Her voice sounded irrated. "You still haven't paid me for my service the last three times!" "Mia, darling. Don't worry, you'll get your payment once I get enough. I've just been short on cash latley. I just need you to do two more and I won't bother you ever again." "Are you fucking with me?!" Mia sounded angry. "You said that for the last three times and I still haven't gotten paid! What...could...you...possibly want?!" "It's very simple." Isabel sent Mia a photo via text. A picture of Abigail and one of Logan. She had been spying on them some time prior. The pictures clearly shows thier facial features and thier entire body. Mia recieved these pictures and recognized the woman immediatley. 'Wait! wait wait! That's Abigail Pace! She's the founder of the renowned resturaunt! Why exactly would you want to have her dead?!" "It's a long story. But I'd appreciate it if you can take care of her and her son for me." "She is not an average person! You better have some big cash for me!" Isabel grinned like a psychotic person. "After this, you'll be overflowed with so much cash, you can just retire." "Ugh! Fine! But this better be the last time you call me!" Isabella hung up and smiled to herself. There can be no witnesses "Woah!" Logan gasped in awe. There was a massive log cabin. Not one, not two, but three stories high built with an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a beautiful snowy landscape, and a cozy rooms. Sunset looked at the cabin amazed too. "This is really beautiful!" Sunset said squeezing Logan's arm. "God someone tell me I'm dreaming..." Jackson breathed. "This is the second most beautiful thing I've seen right behind my 10-0 score against Logan." Logan looked annoyed then laughed and Sunset and Chloe joined in. "Hey, man don't get your hopes up. Once I start training seriously you're not going to get a single win on me!" Logan teased. "I don't doubt that, bro." Jackson smugged. "Anyways this looks so sick!" "For real though. hopefully it can fit three families." Mr. Blackwood pulled in the driveway and they all got out and got thier stuff. As Logan was getting his luggage he noticed Sunset's journal on the floor. He picked it and handed it to her. "You dropped your journal." "Oh thanks," Sunset said. She grabbed it and that's when it began to vibrate. "Yo, what in the hell kind of journal is that?!" Jackson said confused. Sunset smiled sheepishly and told them it was a notepad. They seemed to bought it. "The rest of them should be coming here tomorrow. Let's hope the last people here cleaned up after themselves." Mrs. Cowbell said. "Why don't you kids go have fun? We'll start working on the inside." "Alr, Mom if you say so." Jackson said. "Come on guys." Jackson said to Chloe, Logan, and Sunset. They walked down near the snowy forest path. Jackson picked up a pile of snow off the ground and made it into a ball. "Hey, Logan remember our snowball fights?" he smirked. "Yes, Jackson. I remember getting hit in the head over 50 times." "Yeah...sorry about that, it's habit for me to aim for the head." "Oh it's no problem. I was just amazed you even managed to do that 50 times..." Sunset put her hand over her mouth to hide her snickering. "It's okay, Logan. Jackson couldn't even hit me once even when I was two feet away." Chloe said. Logan and Sunset began to laugh. Jackson looked embarassed. "Ayo, I thought I said no one knows about that!" "Oopsies!" Chloe smiled innocently. Jackson grinned. "I was going easy by the way." "Cap..." Chloe laughed. "So cap" "Nah, nah even Logan knows. He knows me at my prime..." "Yeah, buddy..." Logan said failing to hide his laughing. They continued to walk down the trail that led deeper into the snowy forest. Meanwhile Mr. Blackwood entered the cabin and turned on the lights. "Well look at this!" He gasped. Inside was fully furnished with a large kitchen, A grand living room, and many other rooms. Not only that, but it looked brand new. Like there weren't any previous owners before. "Oh I just got a text from my sister!" Mrs. Blackwood said as she pulled out her phone. She read the text and told them her sister and her family were going to come by later today. "While we wait, how 'bout we start cookin something?" Mrs. Cowbell suggested. "I'm thinking about a nice ham." "Oh you mean the one I make!" Mr. Cowbell chimed in. "Honey, you know I make a good chef." "I don't know. Remember when I told you to cook Christmas dinner last time and you put the ham in the Microwave?" Mr. Blackwood put his hands over his mouth as he tried hold sustain his laughing. "Damn. you're house must have had some strong ass microwave to cook that whole entire meat! But don't worry, it was really good!" "Good evenin, Miss. Can I see your ticket please." The flight attendant said. Mia showed them her ticket. She was wearing a light brown fur jacket with a black skirt and heels. However she wore a blonde haired wig to avoid getting seen because in the magazine section her real face was shown with the words 'WANTED' written underneat it. Not only that but a six hundred grand reward for anyone who can find her. Mia showed the flight attendant her ticket. "Manehatan...I heard that place is getting pretty crowded." "I'm just going going there as a vacation." Mia said calmly. "Well I hope you enjoy your flight. You have have a nice one, Ma'am." The flight attendant smiled as she handed her ticket back. Mia boarded the plane and took her seat. The only thing on her mind was find and kill those two targets.
Christmas Break
New security system
"Thank you ma'am you have a nice day." The delivery man said as he left. Ada took the quite large box inside her house and set it on the table. "Okay this better be worth it," she grunted. Inside was a tablet like object with 6 mini cameras that could be attached around the house. On the box was a QR code that when scanned took her to the app that connected her to these cameras. The tablet itself was also able to attach to a wall. She turned it on and a robotic female voice came up. "Thank you for choosing CDAI. With our advanced technology, you're house has a signifcantly higher chance of staying safe. To begin please state your first and last name." "Ada Drive" She said. "Thank you. Please remain still." The machine scanned her face from top to bottom and when it was done, it made a ding sound. "Is there anyone else you would like to add to the accepted list?" "Yes" "Please state their first and last names" "Disk Drive and Micro Chips" Ada told the machine. It seemed to process it until it responded. "Facial scanning required for them." "Disk! Micro! I need you for a second!" Ada called out. Micro came first. "Hey, mom what you-" He was cut off when he saw the new CDAI machine in the living room. "WOAH! I didn't know you actually bought that!" "It was 7 grand! Now I need you to let it scan your face so it can put you on the accepted list." Ada told her son. Micro complied and the machine scanned his face the same way it did with her. After it was done it was pending for the last person. Her husband. "Could you call your father in here? Disk came next. He had the same shocked expression as Micro did. "Honey, what is this?" "It's the new security system. I need you to let it scan your face so you're on the white list" Ada explained. Her husband looked a bit surprised but nonetheless he let the machine scan his face. "Scan complete. Enjoy your new security system." The robot voice said "Let's hope that was worth 7 thousand..." Ada muttered. "Think, Abigail, think!" Abigail whispered quietly to herself. She was in the hotel room sitting on the couch while Theresa and Brandon were trying to come up with ways to prove the restaurant's innocence. "If I was a criminal, how would I sneak a poison into a restaurant?" "You okay?" Theresa asked. Abigail managed a small smile. "Yes, I'm fine...It's just difficult trying to figure out how it happened." Her smile quickly faded into a sad expression. "I can't help but feel like it's my fault." "Now what makes you say that? You weren't even here when it happened!" Theresa said. "I mean don't you think I should placed a strict person check for anyone entering or exiting the place? I figured since it wasn't something like an airport it wasn't needed, but now I see how wrong I was." Theresa put a hand on Abigail's shoulder. "I want you to listen to me. This is not your fault. No one would have known something like this would happen. Especially at a high end restaurant." She smiled kindly. "Whatever happened after you left you must not blame yourself, okay?" Her friend smiled back, albeit weakly. "Okay, I won't." "Hey Theresa, Abigail. You'll never believe this but check this out." Brandon gave his phone to Theresa as he showed them a news page about the restaurant. It had apparently been updated just a few hours ago. She scrolled down to the new part as he explained what it was. "So you know how the poison was tetrodotoxin right?" "Mhm" "Well it was but it wasn't pure." "What do you mean, it wasn't pure?" Abigail wondered. "I mean it was not from an actual pufferfish. The police found out that the poison was made in a lab." "But I thought that type of poison couldn't be made." Theresa gasped. "This city is known for having a very high rate of illegal substances," Brandon said. "So it probably won't be long until we find out who the culprit is." "Um if it makes you uncomfortable answering this then you don't have to but how much are we being sued for?" Abigail asked. "If we lose this case, then we'll get sued for about 2 billion," Theresa said sadly. Abigail felt her heart sank a little. "Wow...just unbelievable," she muttered. "Now I know we needed as much help as we can get so I called up one of my friend. He's an expert in this sort of situation and he'll be meeting us tomorrow." Brandon said. "Who is he?" Abigail asked. "He used to work as a detective until he retired just last year. When he saw what happened to the restaurant, he called me asking if everything was okay. I told him everything I knew and he said he'll try to help us out." "You think he'll be able to crack this case?" "He's was an expert. He solved over 300 cases so I don't have any doubt he can solve this one. I figured if he can help us catch who bought the poison in, then we can save the restaurant."
Tilt
pre
She was almost too senseless to feel triumph. For a moment she hung there, stuck against the chest, relieved to not be spinning. The she head G.A.P. yelling something. The sea pony was closing in. "Don't make me do somethin' terrible," muttered Applejack, mostly to herself. "I'm a cornered rat now, don't make do it." She pressed the bubble membrane against the sharp tines of the trident, and finally managed to tear three holes in a barrier that had resisted all other abuse. Perhaps the trident was magical enough to break the spell; made about as much sense as anything else that was going on. Water started rushing in. Applejack didn't care. Maybe she would drown, maybe not. Maybe she was unraveling the spell, maybe not. Maybe Trixie would be able to help her now, or again maybe not. Better to take a crazy chance than go quietly into guaranteed doom. "You're ruining the perfect game!" shrieked G.A.P. The voices of all the other sea ponies rose into a thunderous musical shrieking with her. "Give me that!" Applejack saw G.A.P. rushing toward her and sighed, "If you insist." She tore herself out of the deflating bubble, pulled the trident out of the treasure chest and stabbed it right into the sea pony. --- 'TILT!' flashed the screen. "Argh!" screamed Trixie. She fell to the ground with a terrible stabbing pain in her cutie mark. With a gush of water a full-sized trident burst through the glass that covered the playfield and lodged itself in the shed's ceiling. Figuring that all bets were off now, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom rushed over to the machine and started pulling its soaked components out to find their sister's ball. "Hang in there Applejack!" said the filly. "We'll get you out!" "Don't you foals," said Trixie weakly from her crumpled position. "That's cheating. It isn't over." --- The explosion of the glass overhead had released enough water so that there was now a surface for Applejack to swim to and catch her breath. She did exactly that, pushing her way past a crowd of panicking sea ponies. Once she was done gasping she started yelling at her gigantic siblings, "I'm here!" Over here!" Before they could do anything to help her a magical glow seized and paralyzed them. "Cheaters!" bellowed G.A.P.'s voice. The other sea ponies echoed her words like a chorus of angry ghosts. "A whole family of cheaters!" In the blink of an eye Applejack was wrapped in a new bubble. "No!" she shouted in frustration. Through the pink membrane she saw her brother and sister magically shrink until they too were wrapped in bubbles of their own. "Leave them alone!" They fell into the water next to her, powerlessly pounding their hooves against their prison membranes. 'MULTIBALL MODE!' declared the screen on the backbox. --- Trixie's horn was glowing against her will. Somepony was controlling her, making her cast spells. No prizes for guessing who. "Release Trixie at once you insolent conjuration! Ow!" Trixie's horn floated upward, yanking her to her hooves. What she then saw made her realize that for the second time in one day she was out of her depth; not a record, but increasingly common. G.A.P. was now physically present at full size and floating in the air above the Sea Pony Symphony. Her form flickered erratically, a sign that her magical essence was destabilizing. If she unraveled the results would likely be catastrophic for anypony too close to her. Trixie tried to run, but her horn refused to follow her hooves, so she mostly kicked up dirt. "Keep playing!" demanded G.A.P. The magic pulled Trixie up to the wrecked pinball machine and slapped her against it painfully. "Your destiny can no longer be denied, and we are running out of time!" The machine's glass protection was gone, and the playing field was a mess of puddles, crackling short-circuited lights, and half transparent illusions. Trixie dutifully pulled the bumper to keep the crazed spell happy, and soon found herself playing with three balls simultaneously: one with a familiar orange center, one red, and one yellow. She could hear the Apple family members yelling and protesting in tiny voices while she juggled them around the malfunctioning bumpers. SCORE: 29.889.900.000 pts. G.A.P. turned excited back flips in the air. "Yes! Yes! Keep going!" Trixie risked a quick glance up at her own jubilant teenaged face. The flickering was getting worse. It was only a matter of time. "Get out of here!" she said to Granny Smith and the two remaining fillies. "I can still pull this off, but you need to be as far from this thing as possible!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, nodded, and got on opposite sides of Granny Smith to help her move faster. "The show isn't over!" said G.A.P. "What is about to happen deserves an audience." 'WHIRLPOOL MODE!' flashed the screen, which flickered from a terrible growing rumble deep inside the machine. Trixie's pupils dilated in terror when she saw the sheer magnitude of the magic coming their way. There wasn't even enough time to shout another warning. An impossible deluge of water blasted out of every opening in the Sea Pony Symphony. With a malevolent life of its own it swirled outward in a circular motion, filling the shed, dragging along the crates and tools and other stored items in its current and sweeping the three retreating ponies off their hooves. Within seconds Trixie found herself stripped of her hat by smashing waves, hanging off the front of the floating pinball machine, spiraling around the downward funnel of a liquid vortex that plunged into extradimensional darkness. She heard the walls of the shed being torn to splinters, and felt the ancient dust of the collapsing ceiling turning to mud in her mane. "Keep playing!" commanded the sea pony, who was now floating above the center of the whirlpool. "How!?" screamed Trixie over the hurricane roar of rushing water. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle zipped past her on top of a crate, clinging to each other with the tearful yet brave recognition of a young end on their faces. They were followed shortly by Granny Smith, who rode astride the spare market wagon like it was a theme park ride. "Yeeeeeehaaaah!" whooped the elderly pony with more raw energy than she had mustered in years, apparently forgetting she was in danger. G.A.P. and her chorus answered Trixie's question. "No pinball feat is impossible for us! Once we are reunited the amusement halls of Equestria will tremble before our combined greatness!" With all other possibilities exhausted, there was only one gamble left. Trixie pulled herself onto the machine's playing field and carefully stood up on it like a surfer to better confront the delusional spell. She was pleased to see, even in her terror, that her cloak was billowing very dramatically in the spiral of the whirlpool's motion. "There is no 'us'! There isn't even a me, at least not the way you think of me. My pinball glory was an illusion, just another show." "What!? Explain yourself!" "I got that high score by cheating! Your whole existence is a lie!" 'TILT!' flashed the machine's screen. G.A.P.'s entire body flexed and twisted beyond the very limits of what a living creature could endure, her mouth gaping a voiceless scream. The truth was a wound to the very core of her misbegotten existence, setting a fire that burned from from the inside out. Trixie felt sorry for that decaying piece of herself; for all its corruption it had tragically done the only job it understood and deserved a rescue. No chunk of ego left behind. She waited until the force of the water started ripping apart the 'Sea Pony Symphony', until she was spinning as close to the writhing sea pony as she was likely to get, then leapt right into her. SCORE: 29.920.140.100 pts. NEW HIGH SCORE! The short-circuiting speakers gargled their last: Shooo beee dooo, shoop shoo bee doooouuhhghxrlzkkzzzzzzzzz-* --- Silence. Peace. Nothing but blue light in all directions as far as the eye could see. Applejack floated, drifted, suspended as if in the warmest of tropical waters, but there was no fear of drowning. She wasn't breathing at all. No pain, no dizziness, just a serenity that permeated her body and left her reassuringly numb. Celestia preserve me, she thought. Is this it? Did I fail? Is this what a cutie mark is like on the inside? Or did Trixie blow us all up with that last stunt? After a timeless moment somewhere between enlightenment and void she became aware of two muffled but booming voices arguing all around her. The first was Trixie's. The second was adolescent Trixie's. "You're a fraud!" said the adolescent petulantly. "You've always been a fraud and you'll always be a fraud! You don't have any special talent at all!" "Not exactly," said Trixie. "I'm good at pretending to be good. My talent is not letting boring old truth get in the way of a good show." "That's just being a liar. There's no real glory in that. How can you live with yourself? How can you expect me to live in you?" "Do you want to know what I learned from that summer of pinball? I worked hard to be a real champion, but it all led to nothing, and I was smart enough then to see I had hit a wall. I had a choice. I could keep training and training and end up like all those other sad chumps who didn't know when to give up, or I could just skip all that wasted effort and go straight to the glory. So I cheated, and I put on a great show, and I made sure lots of ponies were watching when I cast you on that machine to seal the deal. I bragged about it for weeks. What do you think happened then?" "... Your lies were exposed and you ran away like you always do?" "No. I retired from pinball. My performance became a legend back in that old amusement hall, and there are still ponies who think of me when they imagine a pinball wiz. I achieved glory, and while some ponies might say it feels better when it's earned, to me it felt good enough. Sure, sometimes you have to run when the rubes figure it out, but for every Ponyville there's a dozen other towns where they still speak my name with awe. " Applejack couldn't believe what she was hearing. Evidently she wasn't the only one. "You're crazy," said the adolescent. "You don't feel any guilt at all?" "Should a stage magician feel guilty when she performs illusions for a cheering crowd?" No response. Trixie went on. "Come on kid, you were part of me once, so if I'm crazy you are too. Do you want to rejoin me and taste some glory, or just fade away like a loser?" Another timeless moment passed. Then Applejack was suddenly sucked upward, up through the blue light, up out of the watery substance, up into the air... and then down into mud. "Hwuurkgluh," was the sound she produced when she tried to gasp and disgorged the water from her lungs instead. Something else came out of her mouth too. It took her a second to focus her dizzy gaze on it. A translucent pink pinball. She quickly crushed it under her hoof. "Is everypony OK?" asked Apple Bloom nearby. A chorus of coughs and moans answered her. Applejack stood up and looked around her. Her friends and family were all scattered around in the mud of what had been the shed's dirt floor. The shed itself was gone, except for some half-buried wreckage. In the center of the devastation sat the collapsed remains of the Sea Pony Symphony. Its legs had been snapped off, its backbox cracked open, and its playfield was little more than a tangle of twisted wiring. Trixie was sprawled in front of it, face down like a worshiper. "You a'right Trixie?" she asked. The unicorn sprang to her hooves with startling speed. "Never better," she declared, and threw her cape out behind her dramatically. At least it was meant to be a dramatic gesture, but since the cape was covered in mud it only managed to swing around and slap Scootaloo off her shaky hooves. "The great and powerful Trixie has triumphed once more through the might of her magic and the cleverness of her cunning. Applause are not necessary, but certainly welcome." "What happened to G.A.P.?" asked Sweetie Belle. Trixie turned to inspect her flank and seemed satisfied with its unchanged state. "She and Trixie have become one again. All it took were some words of wisdom and experience from an adult to a child." Applejack pulled her soaked hat out from under the pinball machine and plopped it on her muddy head. "Right. Wisdom. You know, I'm mighty grateful and all for your savin' my hide Trixie, and I'm gonna make sure you get a real reward for your troubles, but we gotta have a talk here. I heard that whole conversation you had with G.A.P., and as the Element of Honesty I can't say I approve." Trixie magically peeled the mud off herself and cast it aside. "Trixie graciously accepts your gratitude and rewards, but has little need for your approval." "Hear me out now. What you did here today was real, not some illusion. You saved our lives. You didn't do it clean, and you probably did it more fer yourself than any kind of noble sentiment, but you did it all the same. Are you really so sure that doin' the right thing don't feel better than fakin' it all the time? Isn't the satisfaction just that little bit sweeter than make-believe?" "What, are you seriously trying to reform me with a lecture?" "Lecture nothin', I'm offerin' real help here. Folks 'round these parts respect me, and I'd be willin' to help you make a better second impression in Ponyville. You could set yourself up here in town as an entertainer for a while, but legit this time. I ain't sayin' it wouldn't be hard and humblin', but it would be real, and I'll bet you anythin' ponies love a genuine redemption story better than a tall tale. Whatta ya say?" Trixie looked at the mud-splashed faces around her. Sucker faces, yes, but also honest faces. Peaceful faces. "I say Fillydelphia is calling my name, but perhaps Ponyville is due for a real encore. Someday. Now, let's pack this cursed machine into a crate, bury it six feet under and put a serious security spell on it just in case." Applejack cringed. "If it's all the same to you I think we'll take our chances and pass on the security spell." --- They chose a remote corner of Sweet Apple Acres for the burial site. All seven of them worked together to make sure the Sea Pony Symphony would never see the light of day again. It felt like a funeral, except with more joyous laughter and smiles of relief. Big Macintosh pushed a sizable rock on top of the whole thing afterward just to be safe, and Trixie used her horn to draw a fitting epitaph on it: SEA PONY SYMPHONY HIGH SCORE 1. A.J.!. 29.897.320.100 pts. As they all walked back to the farmhouse Sweetie Belle felt a musical impulse and started to sing. "Call upon the sea ponies when you're in distress..." The looks she got put a quick stop to that. THE END
Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Girl Ghouls
pre
The students grimaced as a cold bony hand slapped Dracula around the face. "You've five seconds to get back downstairs before I start ramming garlic down your throat." Dracula disappeared once more in a puff of smoke and reappeared next to Miss Grimwood downstairs. "I see she's still the same old Mrs Bones," he stated to the Headmistress whilst rubbing his sore cheek and proceeding to laugh of the whole incident. "Anyway, before I go Sibella there's one more surprise I've planned for you. He snapped his fingers and the drawbridge dropped with a loud bang followed by the front door swinging open, allowing the raging storm outside into the entranceway. "I know how much your sports competitions against the cadets next door mean to you and how disappointed you feel that you've never been able to win either, so, I found and sponsored you a gym teacher," Dracula announced. "GYM TEACHER," all the older girls exclaimed as one just as Shaggy appeared in the doorway. It was a well-known fact at Grimwood about the lacking of a specialised gym teacher due in part to a lack of funds and in part due to the fact no one who wasn't either a monster themselves or completely insane would be willing to teach a bunch of monsters. Thirdly, there was also the significant security risk associated with hiring outsiders who might leak confidential information about the school or worse, cause the students harm. "Like, thanks, it is really coming down hard out there. And sorry about the howl, I was unsure how else I could catch your..." Shaggy paused momentarily as he caught sight of Dracula. "Attention," he finished before stating the obvious, "Drac, I had no idea you would be here." "Sibella wanted to fly all the way here from Transylvania and, as I felt she was old enough to do so, I let her but only with me accompanying her as it was her first long distance flight. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything bad happened to my precious Sibella due to my negligence and I expect you to take just as good care of her whilst she's at Grimwood, understood," Dracula somewhat explained, somewhat threatened. Shaggy gulped nervously, his knees knocking against one another in fear. "Understood, Count." Sibella went rosy cheeked on the stairs in embarrassment. "Dad, I'm not a little ghoul anymore, I can quite easily look after myself. But thank you daddy, I'm sure with his help this will finally be our year!" A mixture of howls, screams, cheers and squeals greeted Sibella's declaration. "Hey, what did we miss?" Scrappy enquired, letting go of his uncle's tail. Scooby had had to be dragged in from the van and immediately shot off and hid under a nearby rug upon his release. "Ah, so you brought the dogs to," Dracula said as the cacophony of noise subsided. "I wondered if you would. I see he's still as big a coward as ever," he finished, stabbing a finger in the direction of the cowering Scooby. Shaggy placed himself between Scrappy and the Count before the former said something he regretted later. "Scooby is who he is, that's all that matters. And as you've very well seen, he's never one to shy away from danger when his friends need him," Shaggy said in a tone that clearly told Dracula not to push the subject any further. "Understood. Now, if you don't mind, I've some business to attend to with Miss Grimwood before I depart. It was good catching up with you again Shah-gee and we'll catch up again at Halloween, hopefully with the first of many trophies, for your sake," Dracula responded with a toothy grin. Shaggy's knees started knocking once more but he refused to back down. "Got ya. Look after Sibella, help all the girls win a volleyball match. Anything else?" "My, my, you've certainly developed a bit more of a backbone Shah-gee since we first met," Dracula said light-heartedly. "I think you and your dogs will fit in perfectly here at Grimwood. Miss Grimwood, I'll wait for you in your office, try not to keep me waiting for too long." And, after one final wave to his daughter, Dracula disappeared in a puff of smoke. "Still the same old Drac," Shaggy muttered to himself whilst letting out an almighty breath of relief as he offered out his hand to Miss Grimwood. "Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, mystery solver, race car driver, reluctant werewolf and now, apparently, gym teacher extraordinaire." A ghostly white floating hand reciprocated the offer. In the past Shaggy would have baulked and run a mile at such a thing but now he didn't even flinch and just shook it. "Miss Griselda Grimwood, headmistress of this finishing school for girl ghouls," Miss Grimwood stated. "If you wouldn't mind helping Mrs Bones getting the students back to bed that would be much appreciated as I'd better not keep the Count waiting. Handy here and Octavius will collect your luggage and show you to your quarters once you're done. "Rones?" Scooby said, suddenly popping up at Shaggy's side out of nowhere. Miss Grimwood chuckled and gave Scooby a pat on his head. If someone had been super attentive, they might have noticed Miss Grimwood's smile flicker but it was so swift it would have been super difficult for even the keenest of eyes to tell if it had truly happened or not. The tone of her voice though could not hide the fact that something was definitely wrong, in spite of her best attempts to hide it. "Aren't you a good boy. And what's your name?" She asked, scratching Scooby behind one of his ears. "Scooby Doo," Scooby replied. "And I'm his nephew Scrappy," Scrappy nipped in. Miss Grimwood let out an audible gasp as her eyes fell upon Scrappy. "Plane crash," Scrappy said robotically before Miss Grimwood had the opportunity to ask the obvious question. Miss Grimwood raised an eyebrow in response but didn't push the matter any further. "Alright then. I'll see you all at breakfast tomorrow but if you're hungry now, as I'm guessing you will be after such a long drive, Octavius will show you to the kitchen after you're done here. Help yourself to whatever you fancy and there should definitely be a couple of bones lying around for you Scooby. Just no munching on Mrs Bones if you know what's good for you, okay? Huh, where'd he go?" This time it was Shaggy's turn to let out a chuckle as he pointed to where Scooby was bounding up the stairs barking wildly. "You said the magic word, FOOD. I'd better go and ensure he doesn't scare the students half to death, or vice versa. And return this one to her bed." He lifted his left arm to reveal Winnie's jaws clamped on it. "RAT! GIANT RAT," Shaggy suddenly heard Scooby exclaim from upstairs. "Oh no, not again!" Harriet's voice suddenly squeaked from upstairs. "Get away from me you filthy mutt!" This was followed by Mrs Bones barking commands. "Down! Sit! Stay!" "Erm, uh oh, looks like I should have asked sooner, how's you dog with cats because one of our girls is half-cat," Miss Grimwood enquired uneasily. Shaggy bolted for the stairs, with Winnie still hanging off his left arm, Scrappy following in his wake. "Scooby Doo, you leave that poor girl alone you hear me," Shaggy yelled as he did so. A loud crash followed by a scream that was obviously Harriet, was all Shaggy received in reply. Miss Grimwood thought momentarily about assisting but knew her presence was needed more urgently elsewhere. Especially if she was going to get an answer as to why her new gym teacher had a zombie dog that radiated the magic of one Vincent Van Ghoul. * "Okay, would you like to tell me just what is going on and why my new gym teacher has an undead dog for a pet or... are you drinking my vintage bourbon?" "With a shot of blood, yes. It's very nice I must say. Oh, and I'd like to ask you the same question," Dracula replied. "To be precise, why your friends at the Interdimensional Demon Defence Division (IDDD) instructed me to persuade Shah-Gee to take residence here at the school as a teacher without him knowing they were involved in doing so. I'd show you the letter but it self-combusted, as is the norm for any correspondence received from the I triple D once it has been read." Miss Grimwood's eyes widened in surprise. "They did what?" "I can guess from your face that you didn't know?" Dracula questioned before taking another sip from his drink. "Well, I did think it strange that you were willing to partly fund a gym teacher for the school but considering how much you adore your daughter, I didn't really give it as much thought as I possibly should have," Miss Grimwood admitted, walking over and pouring herself a large glass of bourbon. She needed it after the day she'd had. "So, I guess we're both a little in the dark then as the mortals say?" "Very much so but that doesn't mean we can't try to piece together the pieces of the jigsaw we do have. Firstly, the IDDD want Mr Rogers at the school for one reason or another. Secondly, he must have strong ties with one of the highest ranking IDDD agents, Vincent Van Ghoul, as the warlock resurrected..." "Wait, did you say Van Ghoul was involved?" "Yes, I'd recognise that magic anywhere, why?" "Because if he and Daphne Blake are both involved, we're looking at something so powerful, it has the possibility to change the world as we know it. No wonder the I triple D were trying to cover it up so badly," Dracula stated grimly. "Daphne Blake? How's she involved? And, oh, you mean that spike of malevolent magic two years back that caused a significant shift in the balance of good and evil in the world?" Miss Grimwood enquired. "I knew the IDDD couldn't be trusted on that one but trying to find out anything they don't want you to find out about is virtually impossible. There security is tighter than Fort Knox combined with the Whitehouse." "Exactly. I found that out the hard way a few times myself before being told in a rather abrupt letter to cease my attempts to infiltrate their base of operations or find myself and my family residing in a vacuum bag. Considering the message was delivered via a high velocity stake that shattered one of my castle's windows and very nearly took my head of, I decided it best not to push my luck, especially as I'd just found out Vana was pregnant with Sibella," Dracula explained. "I see, so how did you find out Mr Rogers was involved with Daphne Blake?" Dracula collapsed onto the floor and pressed his back up against the desk and looked up to the ceiling. He let out a deep breath and then began. "Two years ago, when I first met Shah-gee, he was just like his eldest dog, terrified of practically anything that wasn't food but a happy and jolly fellow who enjoyed life to the fullest. Then, a year later, it was like a totally different werewolf turned up to the Monster Road Rally. He was cold, aloof and there was a steeliness to him that wasn't there before. I've never seen any monster ever change so much, let alone in just a year. Don't say this to anyone but his change in demeanour even frightened me to a degree and I'm one of the most powerful monsters on the planet." "Okay. So what? You got the Hunch Bunch to tail him to try and find out more?" "No," Dracula clearly lied before wilting under Miss Grimwood's gaze as she offered him a hand to help him back to his feet. "Eugh, how do you know me so well?" he grumbled. "I taught you for nine or so years of your life remember? Before I opted to make Grimwood a school for girl ghouls only," Miss Grimwood deadpanned, pulling Dracula back to his feet. "Of course," Dracula stated with a roll of his eyes. "Anyway, getting the Hunch Bunch to follow Shah-gee did me little good, aside finding out he now ran an orphanage for ghosts." "Well, that sounds a little peculiar," Miss Grimwood nipped in. Dracula held up his hand to cut her off. "I asked him about it discreetly, stating I'd heard rumours of such, and he was happy to discuss the whole caper. A stressful situation involving hillbillies, murder, a loose gorilla, creepy butlers and a treasure hunt amongst a lot else but overall and, quite bizarrely, he seemed at peace with the whole thing. I'd tell you the full story but time is of the essence right now and we seem to be getting nowhere with solving just what the I triple D is up to or how Shah-gee is involved." Miss Grimwood, who had taken in what Dracula had said in stunned silence, eventually responded. "I'll ask him about it when I get five minutes. Right now, I go back to my initial question, how did you find out Daphne Blake was involved? Drac reached into his waistcoat and pulled out a photo. "I'd practically given up but decided I might as well have the Hunch Bunch tail Shah-gee to the airport when he left after the race. It's a little blurry, as they had to remain a good distance away to avoid being spotted, but I'd recognise that ginger hair and purple jumpsuit anywhere." Miss Grimwood took the photo and examined it. It seemed to show Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy boarding an airplane where a woman was standing waiting for them in the doorway. Miss Grimwood sighed. "Yep, that's definitely Daphne Blake and now I have some idea of what's going on and I don't like it, not one bit." "You do?" Dracula responded, unable to hide his surprise. "Only a vague outline but enough to be worried. The IDDD must have had something insanely evil that they didn't want anyone to know about trapped and it managed to break free. For some reason we have yet to uncover, Mr Rogers was brought on board to help Blake recapture it that caused him significant mental and emotional stress, thus the change in personality you reported. Mr Van Ghoul meanwhile was likely their handler and the one who oversaw the entire mission. Anyway, after months of tracking and trying to recapture whatever got loose, they must have finally cornered the evil abomination only for it to lash out, kill his dog and then get away again in the ensuing chaos," Miss Grimwood theorised. Dracula stared Miss Grimwood for a moment utterly speechless until finally he managed to utter, "That actually is a good theory but still leaves us with several massive questions. Like, why do they want Shaggy at the school? Why resurrect his dog? And most importantly, what was unleashed?" "This is the part you're not going to like. I believe that whatever unholy demon escaped has some kind of link to Mr Rogers and his dogs, most likely he's the only one who can re-imprison it. But, after nearly losing his dog, he walked away before the job was completed and now, without fear of being captured, the IDDD fear that monster is planning something big, something that involves the school, or, more accurately, what it sits on," Miss Grimwood went on. "The fracture," Dracula said barely above a whisper as he helped himself to some more bourbon. "Precisely." * On a rocky outcrop surrounded for miles all around by a gloomy forest filled with gruesomely deadly creatures sat a castle that had laid derelict for years until very recently, Castle Revolta. That was until its owner, Revolta, the Witch of the Web, had returned after finally being released from her insufferable prison after so many years of entrapment alongside twelve more of the most evil and diabolical monsters ever to have lived. It was from her castle that she had opted to bide her time, allow her power to grow, and plot her next move whilst monitoring the situation. And so, it had proven a wise decision, as one by one her brethren were defeated by a bunch of bizarre misfits and returned to the chest from whence they had been released from. Even Asmodeus, the most powerful of them all, had fallen, but not before landing a couple of fatal blows that had inevitably caused the bunch of misfits to disband and give her more time to perfect her scheme. She just wished he'd taken these two idiots with him in the process so that she didn't have to listen to their pathetic pleading right now. "ENOUGH," Revolta bellowed sat atop her throne of bones. "I have no need for failures, so begone from my sight before I banish you to the beyond for good." "Oh, please be merciful your highness, all we want to do is help," Weerd pleaded. "Help, help? All of my brethren have been returned to the chest because of your incompetence," Revolta snapped, firing a bolt of lightning at the two quivering ghosts at her feet. "Yow," Weerd and Bogel screamed in tandem, leaping into the air. "The only good you two have done is that now I don't have to share this world with anyone. I shall rule it entirely alone with obedient and competent minions fulfilling my orders to the letter." A sinister smile suddenly crossed her face. "Actually, maybe I was too harsh, there is one way you could help me." "Anything your mightiness, anything," Weerd beseeched, grovelling at Revolta's feet. "Grim Creeper, take these two to the laboratory, we have tests to run," Revolta sneered. "Yes Revolta," a strange, dark green plant like creature with one eye replied appearing from the shadows. "Erm, tests?" Weerd replied, looking a lot less sure of himself than a moment ago. "Don't worry, they won't hurt, much," Revolta replied wickedly. "They'll hurt a lot."
Taking Flight
pre
He quirked a little smile. "That's true..." He watched the scenery go back, the quiet returning. Gabby was a friend, a good friend. Who cared a lot about him. She never hesitated to leap into action if she saw something she could do to improve things around herself, especially if Spike was involved. "Be right back." He scooted off towards the bathroom, not because he needed it for its intended purpose, but to gaze into the mirror provided. "She never noticed you," he told the dragon he knew he'd find in that mirror. "Until it was too late..." And there was somecreature... "I'm her." He could imagine it, Rarity's mane draped over his shoulder. "She's waiting on me to notice, to react... To say yes... or no..." He could just be quiet... stay in that nice spot. Until that day came, when she found somecreature else, much as he had. He would finish being Rarity. He would be left behind, with not a creature to blame but himself. Or... Or... he could give an answer. He could try. He could reach out and give it a try. Maybe it'd work out? A knocking from the door made him jump. "Excuse me," came a muffled male voice. "Someone in there?" That was polite speak for 'please finish what you're doing' in public bathroom speak. Spike ran the water a hot second, not that he needed it. "Comin' out!" he shouted. He scooted past the pony, and several others that had formed a line, oops. The line was moving again without him in the way and he hurried past it to plop himself in the seat he started from. Gabby was right where he had left her, reading one of the brochures that came with the train. "Hey." The quiet returned, but he fought against it. "Gabby." "Yeah?" She looked up at him, the pamphlet lowering to her lap. "Everything alright?" "Yeah..." The quiet threatened to return. "I mean no." She was looking at him intently at that. "Gabby..." He reached, setting a hand on one of hers. "Thanks." "Aw!" She curled her fingers around his, squeezing him right back. "What are friends for." "Lemon and Moon are friends," he noted. "But they aren't here... Uh, I mean, you're a friend... but I... think maybe more?" Gabby's cheeks began to go red. "I care about you!" "Yeah... Yeah! I get... that. I really do." He squeezed her hand, an anchor. A dangerous anchor. "Gabby, I don't know how to do this, but wanna try... being a... thing?" Gabby's response was not a yes or a not. She began to vibrate a little, then increasingly more as giggles erupted at the same tempo. "Uh..." "Yes!" She pulled him towards herself, and they were in an embrace suddenly. "Yes!" Spike smiled in the smothering embrace, a touch overwhelmed, but... happy... "I'll, uh, do my best." "Do your best what?" She let him sit back up to look him in the eyes. "Oh, about the griffons? I'll help!" "Not that..." He rubbed behind his head awkwardly. "I don't actually know how to do the, uh... boyfriend thing." "You're kidding." She was suddenly leaning in so far her beak pressed against his face. "You're a pro at it." "What?" Her eyes rolled. "Pretend I'm Rarity." That got his cheeks burning with new vibrance. "What?!" "I'm not kidding." She folded her arms cross her chest. "The way you acted around her was pretty spot on. Maybe a bit much, but about there. Don't worry, I'll return the favor." She burst into fresh giggles. "Being a 'thing' means we both get to gush at each other." She suddenly grabbed his cheeks. "Like how cute you are." She was pinching his cheeks and rubbing them as she laughed with obvious joy. Was it that simple? Had that all worked out so... No catch? "You're really cute too." "Aw." "And, uh, pretty." He glanced off. "When I see you showing off for Rarity and Sassy, it takes my breathe away." "You sly dog." She suddenly thumped him in the side with a fist, but her cheeks were on fire. "Stop that!" She hid her face behind her hands, giggling a bit oddly, caught off balance herself for a change. "I'm not pretty." "Yes you are," he insisted, smiling at the embarrassed griffon. "And you're super nice, and awesome to be around. I always know I'm in for a fun day any time you're around." "That goes both ways, you." She flopped back against the seat she was in. "A Spike day is always a good day. So... thanks, for inviting me... to the game, you know? Your friends are great too! I... mean... they're my friends too now? But they were yours first, so thanks for sharing." "You're very--" He didn't get to finish, being smooched on the cheek by Gabby without warning, and without even noticing the movement until it was happening. Everything was quiet again, but it was not a tense quiet of unsaid words. "--welcome..." She had a hand over his, but sat back. "I thought you weren't interested." "Huh?" "You never said anything... until you did." Spike could imagine that. He had made it through much the same thing... "Why didn't... you say something?" "I didn't want to scare you off. We were friends. I didn't want to ruin that... You're my best friend. My best best friend!" She squeezed his hand gently. "I didn't want to ruin that, you know?" "Yeah... I do..." He squeezed her hand gently in return, smiling. They had a long ride before reaching Baltimare, but it was with his new girlfriend, and not so new best friend. The ride went by surprisingly quickly. "Great job, Spike." Twilight sat upon her throne, her mane wafting in a breeze that wasn't there. "You calmed down the situation quite nicely. Oh, let me introduce you to someone." "Hm?" She gestured to a young unicorn filly with her nose buried in a book. "Welcome Luster Dawn. She will be my personal student." Spike let out a little 'huh'. "Like Celestia used to do." "Well, yes," admitted Twilight with a faint pinkening. "I learned on my own the joy of being a teacher, and I want to pass it right along. Luster?" The filly looked up. "This is Spike, a dear friend of mine and an agent of the crown." "Hiya." Luster inclined her little head at Spike towering over her. "Nice to meet you." And back to reading she went, not distracted for long. "Work in progress," awkwardly defended Twilight. "No offense taken. I remember another little filly that was even worse when she started." He waggled his brows at Twilight. "I was not!" She huffed, but thought back on it. "Maybe a little..." She coughed into a hoof lightly. "Be that as it may, thank you, Spike. You've done Equestria, and me, proud." "Glad to be of service." He snapped a salute that looked better with his mature arms allowing the proper motion. "Gonna celebrate with my girlfriend." And off he went. "Girlfriend?" But it was too late to ask Spike. Twilight was left, confused.
Taking Flight
6 - Comparing Notes
"Spike, my boy." Discord paced restlessly in his chaotic abode. "It's been too long." "Yeah..." Years? "How are things? How's Big Mac? The girls?" Discord hiked a brow. "That's a lot of questions. Gonna ignore that last one. The girls visit you often enough for you to have that answer." He curled around Spike, floating in the air. "My, haven't you grown! All tall and strapping. You must be in the stage your tormentors were in." "Tormentors?" A moment of consideration passed. "Garble? Wow, haven't seem him in a second. Wonder how he's doing..." "You keep asking about other creatures." His twisted form brought him up to thump his nose against Spike's. "Make a fella think he's not cared about." "No no no! Of course not." Spike nudged Discord away, who unfurled like a greasy noodle, which he was if looked at in the right angle. "There's a lot I'm out of date on. How about you go first." "Now there is a reasonable suggestion." Discord puffed with contentment. "Spike, have you kept up your end of the bargain?" "Hm?" "How many players are in your O&O game? No fibbing!" A bright light began to shine harshly down on Spike. "I can tell." "Oh, right!" Spike clapped his hands together. "That went great! Got three players, besides me. One of them, Moon Dancer, is the one running it and it's... really different." "Now we're getting somewhere." Discord nodded along, looking happier for the turn of the conversation. "Pinkie and Rainbow Dash entered ours, putting us at the same number. Coincidence? I doubt it." He snorted softly with a little smirk. "I'm the one running things, as you had requested it. Funny thing." "Hm?" "Well, I've been around the block a few times." Emphasized with him taking a casual jog along the walls of his home. "So I get to take them on accurate historical journeys, but they don't know that. Don't tell them, shhh..." Spike snickered at the idea. "But, knowing you, you probably add a few little touches." "Just a few," he assured, springing back to an upright position. "But they're doing great! Alright, your turn." Spike considered for a single question to ask. "Does... Ponyville feel different? You know, with us gone?" "That's not a fair question." Discord shoved him with enough force to easily topple his older, younger, self, but the grown Spike swayed mildly at best. "Of course it has. It helps that the girls visit Twilight and get updates on things. But other things are just different. As a chaos spirit, I know these things. It's not a bad different all around, but is it different? Of course." "Yeah, guess that was kinda obvious, thinking on it..." He shrugged softly. "But that was mine, your turn." Discord giggled boyishly. "Good of you to be a fair sport about it. Spike, you certainly have matured." He ruffled the top of Spike's head, mussing his fins. "Now... You're in a new place. Make any new friends? Make any new friends?" His brows waggled with dangerous implications. Spike returned the earlier shove, sending Discord floating away in laughter. "I've made some new friends. Got to know most of the ponies, and some other creatures that work in the castle. I get to meet new folks all the time these days." He gave a little huh. "I basically took Twilight's place, come to think of it. I'm the one solving all the friendship problems." "Sly girl." Discord pushed up on Spike's chin from below. "She wears the crown and sends you off in her place so she can keep the royal plot on the throne." "Well, yeah?" Spike shrugged softly. "Somecreature has to do both of those things, and doing both would be hard, uh, if not impossible. So we split it up. I like solving these things, keeping creatures on track." "Look at you." Discord swatted Spike on the back with a loud slap. "All grown up and mature." He sniffed softly. "So proud... But those are all 'loose' friends. Tell me about your favorites. You know that's what I was asking about." "O-oh... Well, the O&O group were all creatures I knew from before. Moon Dancer, Lemon Drops." He chuckled softly. "She's great. And Gabby." "Hold up." Discord pulled out a remote from nowhere, rewinding the scene back to when Spike was saying 'Gabby'. "Right there. Your eyes are shining. Zoom and enhance!" The camera, which most did not know of outside of Discord and Pinkie, pulled in tight to Spike's frozen frame, revealing the glint, the sparkle. "Knew it!" With a final button press, reality was allowed to continue. "Could you, like, never do that ever again?" Spike rubbed at the side of his head, throwing off the effects of the reality distorting he was part of. "Forget that noise. Tell me more about this 'Gabby'." Discord leaned in with a mischievous look. "This the same one you used to hang out with? The griffon?" With a pop, a Gabby appeared, smiling and waving with her usual vigor, though she was a bit younger than the real model. "Nice girl, if I remember." "She's great." Spike waved at the fake Gabby, expecting her to be an illusion, but he thumped against a material thing. The Gabby pouting at being struck. "Uh, sorry?" Gabby silently turned up her beak. "That's a little creepy... So... Gabby... We..." "You didn't?!" "I didn't say anything yet." flatly noted Spike. Not that this put much a stop to Discord, giggling with joy. "You did!" Confetti exploded from all directions. "My boy's all grown up and he has a girl! A griffon? I did not see that coming, which is my favorite, if we're being honest." He swirled around Spike to push him towards the couch. "You simply must tell me every little thing. We're going into overtime!" So, this one time, Gabby wanted to get matching outfits. I usually dress for the occasion. You know, show off who I am and what I'm there to do. Gabby insisted that part of that was getting in sync with your +1. What I didn't realize what she meant was that she would be there, to be that plus one, a lot more often. At first, that was actually really neat, but there was a limit to, uh, that. She was, and is, super cheerful, and I love that energy, but it's not always what we need. Don't even get me started on the... Alright... fine, so... I got a call to the dragon lands, you know, to meet up with Ember. Dragons are not super cheerful, myself maybe excluded. So there's Gabby, pointing at dragons, being her usual chipper self. Now, don't get me wrong... I love it. I love... her. Her attitude is great. But... the dragons were not ready for that. I had to keep her fur from getting burnt off. And she got mad at me for 'coming down' on her. I was just trying to protect her! So... I had to put my foot down. She did not like it, but she wasn't the one being sent on those jobs, I was... "We're a team!" She shook me by the shoulders. "You can't leave me behind." "You..." I was so frustrated. "Twilight did not send a team. There is no team." And... that hurt her. I could tell I messed up right then and there, but she was gone while I was being surprised by it. I had messed up, bad. Just to make it super clear, she didn't show up for the next game. Lemon Drops was eating her chips, her traditional gaming food. "So what'd you do, Spike?" "What?!" I hadn't told them anything yet. "You two are a thing now." Lemon snorted with a half smile. "If she isn't here and she isn't, you know, dying of some strange disease, it's because you two got in a fight." Moon Dancer adjusted her glasses with her magic, looking at me. "Lemon Drops is likely correct." As if she knew much about those kinds of relationships. "We cannot continue without Gabby." She thrust a hoof at me. "It is your quest to retrieve your party mate, or the world will suffer." So the session was a short one, with me given a quest to handle outside of it. She wasn't hard to find. She still had a job. A job she had been blowing off to go with me on my job. It was a window day, there she was, posing, but not smiling as brightly as she usually did. Though maybe that had to do with the fact that she could see me walking past. I slipped in, but didn't go straight for her, instead heading up to Sassy Saddles. "Sassy, how goes?" "Spike." She smiled gently. "Perhaps you can help notch this seam." She pointed past me, towards the curtain that blocked sight of the front window. "She is not herself." "Yeah... " I rubbed an arm, feeling bad about it. "About that. You want her as a model, right? She can't do that if she's off with me, can she?" "Not very well," she confirmed. "But she is..." She glanced left and right and leaned in close, whispering, "in love." Sassy cleared her throat. "So I was trying to be patient. I won't put a pin in the search for love!" "Right..." What a spot to be in. "Twilight sends me on all kinds of important missions, for Equestria. Not all of them are safe. I can handle it." I thumped my chest. "I'm a dragon, and I've got, you know, tons of experience." Not gonna lie, I was proud of that. "Gabby is wonderful, don't get me wrong, but she's... I don't want her to get hurt." Discord shook his head slowly. "So... which was it? Did you take her along or stick to your guns?" He was suddenly holding two six shooters, a long straw poking free of his mouth. "I don't see a lot of other options there." "There's always a third option." Spike waggled his brows with a chuckle. "We... made a deal. She got to come along for at least one in three missions. I got to pick which ones those would be, but at least one in three. She also got named as my official assistant." Discord burst into a new round of chortles. "Oh, I can only imagine she was happy about that." "You kidding? Yeah... she wears that medal around any time we go on a mission. I just make sure she's not going on the ones that could get her hurt, uh, at least obviously. No dragons, no yaks, and she can do without trying to mediate anything involving Kludgetown." "Huh." He patted Spike's shoulder lightly. "Not a bad ending. I really should visit that place." He tapped at his chin. "I hear they have a real respect for the bipedal thing." "Maybe you'll like it," offered Spike without full confidence. "So tell me about what kinda trouble your group's getting into." "Since you asked!" Discord was all too happy to regale Spike in the tales of his brave, if sometimes foolish, adventuring party and the troubles he'd put in their path. It was a lovely meeting, ended with promises to meet up more often from then on. "It's simply too much." Discord shook Spike lightly. "To be apart for so long. Time and space is just a suggestion for me. We have no good excuse." He leaned in a little. "In fact... if you warn your Moon Dancer ahead of time, I could stop by for a cameo or two, hm? Now that could be all sorts of fun." Spike smirked, an expression Discord had not expected. "I should warn. Moon Dancer knows the rules, all of them. Try to wiggle around them and she will catch you and call you on it. She's a great storyteller, but breaking the rules is not allowed. If you can handle that..."
Taking Flight
7 - Not Always Working
"A whole week!" Gabby grabbed for Spike's hand. "Can you even imagine?" Spike gently held her, fingers working between hers. "Gabby, we get to hang out all the time." "But not just... relaxing, you know." She hiked a thumb at herself. "I'm working with Sassy, Rarity, or you. Not that I mind doing that, you three are great, but it's still work." She suddenly swung around, thumping her head against Spike's. "And you! When's the last vacation you got, huh?" "Been a while." He frowned as if thinking back for the time. "Longer since I didn't spend it with Twilight." Gabby squeezed his hand, bringing their joined hands up into view. "Twilight is a sweetie, but you two are not attached." Spike snorted with a sudden grin. "I seem to be attached to a new lady." "Darn right," laughed out Gabby, dancing back and taking Spike with him. He was large enough to resist, but did not, coming along with her joyful motions. "And I know just what to do!" "Go to a convention?" She hiked a brow at his idea. "Close, but no." She brought him to a window and pointed out to a lonely tree in a park in the city. "See that?" "The park?" Spike shrugged at it lightly. "What about it?" "Not the park." She waggled her finger. "The park is everyone's, but I claim dibs on that tree, and you're coming with me." This was somewhat confusing. He hadn't seen her show interest in the tree before. Yet, there they ended up, a basket in either of their hands. "I brought snacks," she gladly reported, jiggling her basket. "What'd you bring?" "A drink, like we agreed." He smirked a bit. They had gone over plans. "And some reading." "Ooo." She leaned over as if to get a peek inside the closed basket. "What kinda reading?" "The kind I won't get to do until we're set up." He tickled at her with his free hand, prompting a brief moment of giggles and dancing as she tried to return the favor. "Alright alright, race ya!" And she took off into the tree, soon parked on her chosen branch. It was not a fair race. "You never told me where we're going." Spike landed a little further up on the branch, hanging his basket on a smaller branch so it could dangle within reach. "But we made it." "This tree has a secret." Gabby was grinning the grin of a secret kept. "Wanna know?" "Uh, sure?" He reached into his basket, drawing out his book, a large thing that unfolded across his lap. "What's the secret?" "For one, I planted this tree." She reached up to a hanging apple. "Well, not from a seed. That'd take forever." With a soft twist, she drew it free, popping off its stem into her hand. "Worked it out with Applejack, brought a cutting and planted it right on the tree that was here, so now you have an oak tree with a few apples on it." A trick not quite possible on earth, but that was not a place either of them had to worry about. "Huh, that's... kinda cool." He watched the bright red apple being waved in the air. "So that's what makes it 'your' tree?" "Yup." She crunched her beak down, taking a big bite of the apple. "Mmm! Not bad. Wanna try?" She held out the apple by the tips of her fingers towards Spike. "Grown with love." Spike leaned forward, taking a chomp just to the left of her own bite. "Hm, not bad." She burst into giggles. "Not even any hesitation." "Why should I?" He flipped the page in his book. "I've put my lips on that beak before." That got her to color, taking a fresh bite of the apple instead of replying, at least at first. "Sly dog." "We're not past the mirror." His eyes wandered over the book and its mysterious contents. "It was crazy good luck that we both got off at the same time." "The best kind of luck." She waggled the apple, reduced to about half its former glory. "I mighta had something to do with it." Spike looked up from his book. "Did you ask Twilight?" "The princess? Nah." She waved that off. "She's got enough on her plate. But I heard you were getting a week, so I just made sure I would too." She suddenly flopped forward onto her belly, half-hanging free of the branch. "So we could just, you know, enjoy it?" He reached for her available beak, brushing against it gently. While some think that a beak is like a nail, that isn't true. Gabby could feel it, and colored faintly. Her gentle smile revealed her thought of it, accepting her boyfriend's touches along her sensitive beak. "So when're you gonna tell me what you're reading there, nerd." Spike broke into a short fit of laughter. "Fat insult that is, coming from you." He tapped her on that same beak, getting her to sit up. "It's a book of ancient dragon folk stories." Gabby inclined her head at that. "Are you... still looking for what you are?" "No..." He rolled his shoulders. "Well, maybe a little? I don't feel as lost about that these days." He waved to Gabby. "I have a great friend, a few actually... I have a purpose. I'm... respected." He reached up to fiddle with the medallion that signified his station. "Left mine at home." She slid back upright, perching with a grin. "You never take yours off." "Huh? Yeah..." He lifted it a few inches. "It means a lot to me." Her hands closed on it, capturing it in a fit of feline possessiveness. "I bet. It means a lot to other creatures too. It means you're respected. It means Twilight trusts you." She tugged lightly at it. "It means Equestria trusts you." "It means a lot," he lamely repeated. "So why did you leave yours, if it's so important to everycreature?" She released the pendant, just to grab Spike by the cheeks. The book tipped over in the sudden attack, but she snagged it with a feline footpaw before it could get far, not that she was paying it mind in favor of gazing into Spike's eyes. "Because, to me, it's about my connection to you, and I don't need to prove that to you, or anyone else. It's there to remind me, to smile at..." Spike reached down to reclaim the book, bringing it back to his lap. "Gabby?" "Hm?" "You have doubts too, huh?" She stiffened. "Not judging." He snorted softly. "Like I'm in any position..." He waved at his pendant. "I shout... to say it's all real, what I've earned." "I keep it close and quiet," echoed Gabby a bit more quietly. "It's alright." He set a hand on hers, closing his fingers on her gently. "We all have those. I don't think less of you." "You're the best." She brought their bound hands together to smooch Spike's hand. "But the thought of losing it, or damaging it, that scares me, so I leave it home where it's safe. Besides, if we're not on a mission, what do I need it for?" She shrugged with a silly grin. "Got what it means right here." Spike leaned in and smooched her beak. "I don't have something that shouts 'you' in it." She twirled the apple at the end of a claw. "Well, you have one thing now, and you can see it even when you're working half the time." "I can?" He looked around, but nothing was in sight that he took notice of. "Dummy." She bounced the half-apple in her hand. "I planted it for us. You see a nice big apple, you can think of us. And if you wanna, take one... I won't complain." He looked up towards the castle and his room in it. It seemed so small from there, in the tree. "Hey, I made something for ya." He set the book aside and grabbed for his dangling basket. "Hope you like it." Gabby's fists were clenched, little giggles of excitement bubbling forth as she watched him work to unwrap a small container. "Uh..." She inclined her head at the treat being offered. "Is that an eclair?" "Not just any eclair," countered Spike with a confident smile. "This eclair is from Gustave le Grand, a--" "--Oh!" She grabbed the edges of the glass bowl they were held in. "Wow! He's hard to get your hands on. And you got a handful here." "He's tricky, but not so tricky I couldn't get a special treat for you." Spike gestured at them. "Go ahead, try one." "You are too much." And she popped one right into her beak halfway, a loud slurp revealing that she siphoned out some of the cream inside. "Mmm! You gotta try this." Her beak snapped shut, cutting it in half. "Go on. Food's better with company anyway." Spike was ready to refuse at first, but thought better of it. If Gabby wanted to share, denying her would upset her, and for what? Better to share the joy. He grabbed an eclair and licked some of the frosting off. "Huh, yeah, not bad at all." A big chomp that sent some goo splattering followed. Gabby burst into giggles, grabbing a napkin to dab up the mess Spike had made on himself. "Enjoying that a little too much, Spike?" Spike allowed the cleaning to complete, knowing it was another moment where it was better to let it happen. "I'll slow down. I wasn't trying to a mouth full of cream like you did." "Your loss." She displayed her cleaned tongue. "Best part. By the way, there is something I wanna do, later..." "Yeah?" He managed to finish off the rest of his treat without repeat errors. "What's that?" "I want us to introduce each other to our parents." She waved a hand between herself and Spike with a big grin. "Uh... Do you mean Night Light and Twilight Velvet? Sure, they'd be glad to meet you." He nodded, unsure episode fading away. "Not those two, but sure, why not?" She shrugged gently. "I mean visiting the dragons, but not on business. And you have to come to the griffon lands, but also not on business. I want you to meet the griffons important to me, and I want to meet the dragons important to you, and they should all get to know we're important to each other." As eager as she appeared, Spike did not quite match it. "Huh..." "Don't be like that." She tickled lightly at his ribs. "It'll be different when we're not trying to get something specific done. Just a social trip, say hi, get to know some creatures." "Let's start small." He held up two fingers close together. "Gabby, would you like to meet my parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet?" He nudged with his head. "They live just that way, right here in town. I bet if we can ask, we can see them this week, during our time off." "Oh my gosh!" Gabby began to clap eagerly. "That sounds great! We'll start with that. What kind of ponies are they? They must be alright, they raised you and Twilight." She paused a brief moment. "Is one or both of them neurotic?" Spike smirked at that. "One, but he's harmless. He just likes to have a schedule for things. No harm in that, right?" "Where Twilight got it from." She rolled her eyes expansively. "I want to meet them, yes!" She grabbed Spike up in a firm embrace, smooching either of his cheeks in the death grip of love and affection. "Let's do it!" "You got it! You got it!" he assured, trying to peel her free with laughter of his own. "I promise. Soon as we're done here, I'll swing by, say hi, and see if we can't set up a time to go on by."
Taking Flight
8 - Meet the Folks
"Come in!" bid a unicorn mare with a bright smile. "Who would have thought it would be our little Spike that'd bring home somepony first." "Somecreature, isn't it?" came the call of a male from deeper inside. "Right on time. Attaboy, Spike!" Spike chuckled softly at that. "Made sure we were on time." Just the way dad liked it. "Hey!" He advanced to give Twilight Velvet a warm hug, returned with a wrapped arm. "Mom, meet Gabby." He gestured back at her in a wave. "She's the best." "Stop it!" squeaked Gabby with a blushing smile. "Well she must be." Velvet waved for Gabby to come in. "No creature less than that would get Spike to bring them home, hm? Now, you two have come so far--" Spike glanced over his shoulder, the castle within sight. "Not that far?" "Hush." Velvet pointed to a tray of snacks on the front table, Night Light seated just beside them. "Refresh yourself. I was just getting the drinks." "Ooo, cookies, smell fresh." And so Gabby went to try some. "You bake?" "For special occasions," sang Velvet from the kitchen where the sounds of light preparation could be heard. "Like when one of my sons brings home a special somecreature. Oh. Oh dear. It's hard to even think about, that we're 2 for 2 on that. Spike!" Her head poked free of the kitchen. "Is Twilight any closer?" Spike snorted at that. "As if... She's not even looking." Gabby rubbed at her beak, sending a few crumbs flaking away from the cookie she had demolished. "Your cookies are really good!" "Thanks." Night Light was grinning. "Ten minutes for refreshments, then we have some games to play." He clopped eagerly. "I have quite the evening planned out." "To the minute," finished Spike with a little smirk. "Dad, you know you can relax a little, right?" "But I am relaxed?" He inclined his head softly. "And happy to spend it with you two." "A happy family." Velvet set down a previously floating tray with a big caraffe and many cups arranged around it, already filled with sloshing offering. "Cookies without something to drink? Hardly fun." They had a quiet moment, sipping and nibbling. Gabby broke the quiet. "So, hey, you two have lived here, like, forever?" She waved a hand at the building in general. Night Light shook his head. "While it can feel like that sometimes, we both came from outside this house, and moved to it, together." Velvet bobbed her head. "One of our first big decisions, as a married couple. Haven't regretted it! A stable place for us, and for our children. It's nice to have a place where even they can return to, when they have things to share." Night looked between Spike and Gabby with a considering hum. "At what stage of courtship are you, exactly?" "Darling." Velvet thumped him lightly, hoof applied to the side of his head. "There are nicer ways of asking that." Spike took a sip to cover the urge to cough. "Uh, we're special somecreatures to each other?" Gabby laughed a little manically. "We haven't decided that yet. I mean..." She fanned herself. "Spike is great, don't get me wrong. But he's busy, and has a whole world to deal with. I can't just--" Velvet's hoof found Gabby's beak, silencing her with a silent press. "I hear somecreature working very hard to talk herself out of things. Like a certain stallion I knew once." Night began to color. "It's about time to start the games!" he blurted perhaps a bit louder than required. "I hope you're ready." His magic swept away most of the clutter on the table, moving it off to a counter out of the way. "We have quite the array of tests ready." Velvet snickered softly. "He hasn't gotten better at that." She drew her hoof back from Gabby. "Say what you mean. You only live once, may as well make the most of it. Nothing like the thrill of the moment to really make you feel alive," counseled the adrenaline junkie that was also a caring mother. "You'll regret it later if you don't." Gabby turned to find Spike already reaching for and taking her hand. "There's no rush," he assured. "We're cool. Let's just enjoy being each other's +1." She thumped head head against his. "Plus one against being bored or lonely. I'll take that bonus." The two laughed together at their roleplaying humor. Velvet did not get it. Instead she drew over a floating small box. "Let's begin with this, a classic!" Game night began properly. Some of the games had to be explained to Gabby. Griffons didn't spend much time playing board games with their friends, but she was a quick learner and eager atop that, and she even won some of the time. Not that she was too pouty when it didn't go her way. "Wow, you have so many different games." She threw her hands wide. "How do you even pick which one you want to play?" "That's what a schedule is for." Night Light looked quite confident in his logic. "Speaking of that. I believe it's time to enjoy some dinner." Velvet's nose danced. "I think you're right." She bounced to her hooves and with a lively trot was lost to sight. She re-emerged in almost no time at all, a large tray floating in her magic. "I hope you brought your appetites!" And down it went right where the board games had been. Night had cleared the space while Velvet was going, the two working in harmony without a word between them. "Now, we knew who our guests were this evening, so we made double sure to have exactly what'll tickle your tastebuds." Velvet was humming a drumbeat, her magic focusing on the top knob of the cover. "Ta da!" She wrenched it free to reveal a dish that smelled of fagrant spices, glittered with gems, and hints of... "Fish?" Gabby perked up. "Wow, you went all out." Velvet set the cover aside and sank down. She grabbed a serving knife and spoon and got to work dispending the treats to everycreature that offered a plate. "Now, in case you thought so, fish isn't an unknown thing with us ponies. We prefer vegetarian food, a lot, but a little fish isn't bad for you." "This recipe came from my grandma," added Night Light. "Minus the amethyst flakes." Spike could see the flakes were distributed just so, making it easy to serve him a glittering plate and others without. "You shouldn't have." Really, they could have offered him a shaker! Though, warmed gems that were cooked alongside of the food did gain a different flavor. He took a nice crunchy bite with a soft mmm of satisfaction. "I think we made the right decision." Velvet raised a hoof, met with Night Light as the two clapped in solidarity in their joy at their decision. "Now less talking, more eating!" Things became quieter, at least in conversation. The sound was replaced with eating for a small time. "Spike." Night Light was slurping up a last bit. "What's it like? You and Twilight. She's calmed down a bit, but you're still going all over the world. You must see some things." "The stories I could tell..." "I got some!" Gabby was bouncing in place a little. "I got to go with him sometimes. There's so much out there, and I was a bit of a traveler before I met Spike." She snortgiggled. "Maybe that's why we get along so well?" Spike wobbled a laden fork at her. "Not just that." And away it went with loud crunches. "But yeah, seeing the world is great. There are a lot of things outside of Equestria. Not that Equestria is bad." "You kidding?" Gabby leaned forward over the table. "Equestria's great, and we get to go to places, and come back to Equestria. That's a win win right there." She nodded firmly, pausing her eating to slurp up some drink. "What about you two?" Night Light inclined his head towards Velvet. "Well, I'm not the adventurous sort, but honey here, that's another story." "Stop that," she weakly defended, a smile on her face. "I like new and exciting things. That's why I got together with Night Light." Both Spike and Gabby looked between the two unicorns, trying to figure out how Night Light qualified in that way. "What?" Velvet extended her tongue. "He's the only stallion that is new and exciting every day." She threw a leg over his withers, drawing him close. "And he puts up with my hijinks. I get him, and he gets me." "And I have no complaints." He touched his nose to her cheek. "Even if I sit on the side, I'll gladly cheer you on, my thrilling wife." "And knowing you're there, cheering me on, means a lot." She returned the gesture, smooching his cheek. "And you keep me on track." A little giggle burst free of her. "And on time!" "I do what I can." Night Light sat up proudly. "Now, all done with dinner?" Spike set his plate down. "It was great!" Even as Gabby echoed that, Velvet was eyeing Spike. "You realize, you're getting some to take home." She pointed at the serving platter. "If it shines, it's yours, dear son of mine." "I got it!" Night Light's horn was already glowing, getting some plastic trays to secure the extra food in, popping the tops on and setting it just in front of Spike. "There you are, all set. Now! Next step of the agenda." Gabby leaned over, whispering gently, "Wow, he really did plan it all out, didn't he?" "Every step," assured Spike with a wry grin, helping get dinner put away. "So what's next?" "Now I take her away." Velvet returned, the dishes all put away for later cleaning. She hooked Gabby with a leg and led the confused griffon away. Night Light nodded at Spike. "And that leaves us. So... son, there are things we should discuss." He glanced over at a clock. "And we have fifteen minutes to do so." That surprise was planned? Of course it had been. "What's up?" "You're an adult now, Spike. You get to choose what you do and where you do it." Night worried his hooves together. "I'm not challenging that. I'm your friend as much as a father, at this point. You could walk away, never talk to me again, not much I could do about it." Spike paled at the idea. "I'd never!" "Which is why you're a good son and dragon." He set a hoof on Spike's shoulder. "My haven't you grown." Spike snorted at that. "Everycreature points that out." "Because it's true, but setting that aside." Night cleared his throat. "It's well past time we discussed the birds and the bees." Spike darkened instantly. "Woah! Um." "Don't be embarrassed. You are past that age, and you have a girlfriend." He inclined his head towards where Velvet and Gabby had vanished. "It's time to learn what that means, and how to do it safely, for both of you." Spike sputtered. It was just not the conversation he had expected to have with Night Light. "Dad, I know how that works!" Night inclined his head faintly. "You do? Who taught you?" Spike blinked owlishly at first before a little frown replaced the expression. "Dad... I've read how many comics? I've been in how many kingdoms? Let's be real. I'd have to be blind and mute to not have a least half a clue." "I thought those comics were rated safe for foals..." Night Light tapped at his chin, having perhaps second thoughts on the safety of those comics. "Uh, we still have time... I just want you to know that we're here, and, uh, if you two decide to have foals, er, chicks, um..." There was no one word... oh! "Children! If children are in your future, do not hesitate to come to us. We're here." Spike took Night's right hoof in hand. "I know, and it means a lot... We're not... at that stage... but..." "If you do," completed Night with a gentle smile. "Don't forget us. Besides, if Velvet doesn't get to see her grandchild, she may well hunt you down."
Taking Flight
9 - The Other Side
"It's time to have some serious girl talk." Velvet willed the door shut behind them with barely a click of it latching. "Now, you are a griffon, and I am a pony. Mothering has some differences, I can only imagine." Gabby blinked owlishly at the sharp pivot in the conversation. "I guess? Griffons do the egg thing. Ponies don't. But dragons do!" She clapped her talons together. "So me and Spike are on the same page there." Velvet seemed to consider that. "That's good. So... you have a nest figured out?" Gabby ribbed the older mare. "Griffons don't need a nest. What am I, a wild animal? Though, come to think of it, anyplace you put an egg is technically a nest, so not much escaping that, hm... Anyway, why are you asking about that?" Her eyes suddenly widened. "Did you lay an egg? Do you need help?!" Velvet gently warded the concerned griffon back. "We're here for you, not me. I've had my children quite successfully." She raised an ear. "Two the old fashioned way, one by adoption. No complaints. But you are just at the start of that road, and I wanted to talk about that, with you." Gabby inclined her head, rubbing along her beak. "Huh, but I don't have an egg." "Yet." Velvet walked around Gabby further into the room. "But you will." "I will?!" Gabby gasped out with amazement. "I thought you get a bit pudgy when that happens." She glanced down, yep, still a trim belly right there. "In the future." Velvet considered the chipper female that had captured her son's attention. "Do you and Spike... do things that would make eggs?" Gabby began to color vividly, a good sign in a way, implying she at least understood what sorts of things Velvet was implying. "N-no! I mean..." She began to worry her fingers together. "He's so busy, and so am I... Besides, there's a lot of ways to show you care besides... that." She began to shuffle in place, nervous energy rebounding on itself. "Oh wow..." "Deep breaths." Velvet set a hoof against Gabby's side. "I'm not trying to rush you, just see where you are. This is a long jump that every lady has to decide for herself when she's ready to make that step. And I'd be a lousy mother if I just shoved you over the edge." A thought tickled. "Do griffons actually shove chicks that don't know how to fly out of their nest?" Gabby burst into laughter. "Well, yes and no." Velvet only pricked with curiosity. "You see, when we're that small and fluffy." She fluffed up, fur and feathers going full floof. "Falling doesn't really hurt so bad. I mean, we don't like it, but, unless something goes really wrong, our parents can pick us up and we try again." She spread her wings on her back. "Until we get it right." "Huh." Velvet sat and lifted her shoulders. "I can't even argue that. If they're not hurt." She looked Gabby up and down, who could apparently fly and didn't suffer any visible damage from the method. "But back to you, and your eggs." Gabby's color returned quickly. "I don't have any of those. I won't until... you know..." "I don't, but I can guess." She skulked around Gabby like a predatory cat. "Do you want to be a mother? Now, don't get me wrong. Mothering isn't an 'everycreature' thing. It's alright if the answer is no." And yet, an answer was requested. "I don't know?" Gabby's knees came together. "Raising a chick of my own... I'm not sure I'm ready for that. I'd try my best, promise!" Her bright expression began to return. "Of course I would. I'd owe them that much. And I bet they'd be super cute!" She balled her fists with a happy little giggle at the imagined chick. "Oh gosh, would it be a boy chick or a girl chick?" "Could be either," deferred Velvet with a gentle smile. "Spike understands the importance of a family. I'm certain he would do right by any child of his, and you two are more than welcome to come to us, for advice or help." She leaned in a little. "Wouldn't be the first of our children. If Shining wasn't so far away, we'd foalsit our grand-child so much more often." "Thanks." At first, a smile, but dimmed with thought. "But I'm not ready." Velvet nodded. "And that's fine. We'll be here when you are. Just don't forget us, that's all." She waved Gabby closer, smooching the griffon on the cheek as soon as she was close enough. "No pressure." Gabby burst into giggles. "You got it, Mom." "Aw." Not that Velvet argued the title as she reared up to get a leg over Gabby. "Let's see what the boys are up to." And so it was that the family night ended without any dramatic explosions. "My turn next," whispered Gabby. They were in the throne room. Twilight was talking to some foreign dignitaries in a very dignified way, 10 points to her. "The train goes right to the griffon lands, that'll be the next easiest spot." "Right to the edge," countered Spike quietly, eyes on the exchange with Twilight in it. "You want to go that badly?" "Yes." She leaned in against him, one arm snaking around to hold him. "Please?" This was a difficult thing to say no to. "We can talk after it's all done in here." But delaying it, that was possible. But only for so long. The moment the meetings of the day were done, Gabby shook Spike from behind. "Well?!" "Well what?!" He danced away from his shaking girlfriend. "Oh, visiting the griffon lands?" "Yes." She closed the distance. "We visited your folks. That was fun, but we have more folks to visit." "What are your parents like?" He looked beyond her, as if Gabby's parents were hiding just out of sight. "They nice?" "Not my parents, exactly." She fidgeted a moment. "But I have friends, good friends. They'll want to meet you, and us, as a 'thing', ya know?" "Everything alright?" Twilight joined them suddenly, walking right up to their private meeting. Gabby squeaked in surprise. "Oh, hey Twilight," she half laughed out. "I mean Princess. Princess Twilight." "Twilight is fine," she assured. "We are friends, are we not?" Twilight looked to Spike. "Everything alright?" Spike snapped a salute, though it faded fairly quickly. "Gabby wants to take me to the griffon lands to meet some friends of hers." Twilight smiled at the idea. "That sounds nice. While you're there, check in on Gilda. I wonder how she's been over the years." Spike thought back to that angry griffon, so long ago. "Huh. I'll see if I can't find her while I'm there." "So you're coming?!" Gabby grabbed Spike's left hand. "Great! I'll go get us some tickets." Twilight's hoof came down lightly on their union of hands. "I won't have that. Spike is now on official Equestrian business, so we'll handle those tickets." Spike drew his hand back. "You don't have to do that, Twi." "And yet, it is done." She turned away, mane flowing in wind that wasn't there. "I look forward to your report." She returned to her throne with a satisfied smile. Gabby burst into light giggles. "Your 'boss' is pretty nice." She danced away a step. "Pays to have sisters in high places, huh? Alright, I'll get my stuff ready!" And off she went in all the hurry she could muster. Spike's attempts to wiggle free, foiled. So he got himself ready for a trip instead. He met Gabby, waving excitedly, at the train station. "Hey." He put an arm around her, the two walking along the platform towards the ticket counter. "You already grab the tickets?" "Should I have?" That was answer enough. "Spike and Gabby," he announced to the pony behind the window. The stallion inclined his head. "Huh... oh!" He reached out a hoof and pulled a ticket closer. "Right. Here you go." And he slipped it through the window towards them. "There's a note with it." There was no note physically attached to the tickets. That was on the hoof of the pony. "Her royal majesty wishes you a safe and productive trip." Gabby giggled with joy. "Aw, she's a sweetheart." Spike fired a thumbs up. "We're on the case." He turned in place to get the castle in view. "Thanks, Twi." And off to the edge of the platform they went to wait for the proper train. "When does..." He found the time on the ticket. "Woah, we have a few hours." "A few hours, with you? How will I ever survive?" lamented Gabby with a thick layer of false melodrama. "Hey look!" She pointed to a small stand. "They got comics. Any of your favorites?" Gabby was not huge into comics, but she liked what made Spike happy. Spike wandered over to have a peek at the small selection. A comic book shop it was not. The big names were there, the most popular ones that might move at a train station. "Huh." He plucked one up. "You ever try this one?" "Me?" Gabby accepted it in kind. "What's it about? You know I don't usually..." "This one's special." A grin spread on his face. "It's about a plucky little she-yak." Gabby inclined her head, but began to flip through curiously. "Are you buying that?" asked the stallion that operated that stand. Spike set down a bit that seemed to satisfy him. "Some ponies, thinking this is a library." But the coin was accepted, and the complaints died away. Gabby was starting to read. "Huh..." She turned the comic on its side. "Wow." A little giggle escaped her as she flipped on to the next. "She's kinda cute." "Yeah. Reminds me a little of Yona." He directed a pointing finger at the book Gabby held. "With more magic." Gabby snorted at that. "What is it with giving their characters magic powers?" Onwards she flipped. "Good thing she had friends though." "It's a classic five person band." Spike got a chance to explain some of the core tropes that people who enjoyed that media just sort of... knew... "Huh." Gabby tucked the book under an arm. "I like her though. You were right." She shook her head. "Oh no, I'm a comic reader now!" Spike smirked at that. "The library has that series, uh, the older generation. It was still good. Some ponies insist it was even better." He shrugged at that. "I say it's just as good, just different, you know? Still, the library's free, so..." "So, I get to pull a Twilight." She thrust up a pointing finger. "And go to the library! But not right now." She settled that hand on Spike's far shoulder. "We have a griffon empire to visit, hm?" "Yep." Spike leaned out over the tracks. "Train coming." It was not theirs. Other trains would come and go. Besides the comic stand, there was a snack stand. They idled their time away as best they could, but their train did eventually arrive. Settling on their seats, Spike leaned back. "So... did... mom bring up anything... odd?" Gabby began to color. "A little." "Sorry about that." Spike held up a hand. "I didn't put them up to it, I promise. They were on me too. Parents..." "Yeah..." She glanced away a moment. "Look, uh, Spike? Most griffons don't have much a connection to their folks, like that... It was... awkward... but I'm not sad it happened. It was... It's nice they care about us. It's nice... I kinda wish I had more of that, before." Her beak turned in a smile. "So I'm not mad at your mom. Your dad though, total dork." They were on their way, with no bad feelings between them.
Taking Flight
10 - Griffon Empire
The train chugged away, little puffs of smoke escaping from its engine as it fled away from Spike and Gabby. "Here we are!" Gabby waved gladly over... not much. "This way." She waved with boundless excitement, starting away from the platform. "Wanna fly? Way faster." "Sure." There was no particular advantage to hiking it that he could see. They launched together and soared over the land that his friends, long ago, had to trek. "Rainbow must have been so mad." "Rainbow?" Gabby flew about Spike, facing him and going backwards. "Dash?" "Yeah. She and Pinkie came up here once before, to Griffonstone. Is that where we're going?" "Nah." She twirled back around. "Griffonstone's alright, but that's not where I'm from." She pointed off, still ahead, but at an angle. "Griffopolis!" Spike blinked owlishly at that. "Are all griffon towns like that? I mean starting with 'griff' and all. Ponyville's the exception, on the pony side." Gabby laughed at Spike's confusion. "Ponies scream pony with every town's name they have. We're just more honest about it." Spike pondered the names of Pony places. Baltimare, Manehattan, Canterlot... He chuckled softly with realization. "You are not entirely wrong on that one. Well, dragons don't do that." Gabby stopped so quickly Spike thumped against her. "Do dragons even have towns?" she asked, hovering there with a quizzical expression. "Uh... Not like griffons and ponies do." He shrugged at that and pointed past Griffonstone, which was passing on their right. "Is that it?" He could see another town, a little further, though clearly separated by some miles. "Griffopolis," sighed Gabby with a smile. "Missed you." She swooped in, diving towards her home, though it was still some distance away. Spike gave a powerful flap, catching up to her side, the wind rushing by them in their hurry. "Hey, so why did you leave in the first place?" Gabby let out a tepid 'eh'. "Well... Spike... I'm not exactly the 'typical' griffon." She rubbed one arm with the opposing hand with a nervous chuckle. "Most of them were... kinda weirded out by... this." She waved over herself. "It can't be that bad." He reached for her hand, squeezing lightly. The reassuring gesture was enough to get a smile to return, faintly. They came in for a landing at the edge of the town. It was about Ponyvillian in scope, a small town, spread out. Unlike Griffonstone, the houses were more often one story affairs. Often with thatch rooves. Spike gave an appreciative 'huh'. "Not bad. Griffonstone was bigger on stacked houses." "Yeah..." Her eyes lit up. "Gerald!" She waved wildly at a griffon going overhead. They paused, inclining their parrot head down at them. "Gabby? You're still alive?" He landed in front of them. "And you have a dragon." Gerald looked over Spike with wariness. "No fire, eh?" Gabby swatted Gerald on the back. "You joker! Spike, this is Gerald. He's a fisher. He can catch dinner like it's nothing." "It's a living." Gerald shrugged, his white and brown spotted tail flicking behind him. "So what does your dragon buddy do?" Spike quickly produced his medal. He had taken it off, but out it came when asked. "I work for Princess Twilight Sparkle." "Yeah?" Gerald squinted a little. "Ponies got it easy." Gabby suddenly slid between the two. "Ponies have their own problems," she hurriedly threw out. "You know what they say, grass is always greener, right?" "That's a pony considering their lunch." Gerald smirked with clear satisfaction at his humor. "Anyway, gotta fish." And he took off without any further delay. Gabby rubbed behind her head. "Well, one friend down. Gerald." She waved at the departing form. "Nice guy, once you get past the prickly exterior." She leaned in closer to Spike. "That's what griffons are. They have a tough shell, but once you get past that, they open up." "Not that different from most dragons then." Spike slipped his medal away. "Especially around not-dragons. Uh... which you aren't..." Rather than bother Gabby, she seemed to smile at that, beaming. "If you put up with mine, I'll put up with yours. We'll be even!" With balance found, she continued leading the way into the town proper. "I wonder if my house is still..." "You had a house?" Gabby looked over at the surprised Spike. "Of course I did. Where else would I sleep? I mean, I have slept in some funny places..." She shrugged at that, but a building came into view. "There you are! Wonder if it's still open." She broke into a jog towards it. "Still open?" He snapped two fingers as they approached. "Somegriffon else could have moved in?" "I wasn't here to call dibs." Gabby gestured at the building. "So if any other griffon wanted it, who'd stop them?" She marched up to the door and knocked firmly with the back of her hand. "Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!" The door opened outwards so quickly it thumped Gabby back and away. "Whattaya want?!" demanded an older female griffon, scowling at Gabby. Spike waved at the recovering Gabby with one hand. "She used to live here, sorry." "Yeah." And with that short statement, the door was closed. "And stay gone," came muffedly from inside. Gabby sighed with a little laugh. "So, that's out..." She turned in place, taking in the lay of the land. "But no point crying over spilled milk. Spike, prepare to be treated!" "Treated?" He followed after her to a building with a long opening along its side at about chest height. There were stools in front of it and a few tables beyond that. Gabby parked right in one of those stools with a big grin. "Gary! You're still here." The griffon inside, a classic eagle/lion blend, turned to face Gabby as he came closer, poking his head out. "Tailfeathers! Gabby? Is that you?" "Sure is!" She thrust out a hand and it was met in a loud clap. "And I brought a friend." She eagerly waved at Spike. "This is Spike, and his tastebuds are waiting to be taunted." Gary chuckled softly. "If he's with you, I'll give him the local price, but that won't protect his tongue. Is he ready to handle this?" Spike inclined his head faintly. "How hot are we talking here?" "Oh, oh no. Not hot." Gary chuckled with dark ambitions. "More... sour. Trust me, you'll know it when you have it. Two specials, coming up! Gabby, where ya been? Figured you flew the coop forever this time." The sounds of sizzling could be heard, licks of flames teasing upwards from inside. Gabby gestured at the kitchen opening. "Gary is a perfect example of what I said. We're total chums. Weren't at first, but now? Gary, been in the pony lands. I'm a fashion model? Can you believe it?!" "Get out!" he called, though not turning, his eyes on what he was preparing. "Ponies like griffons like that? Woulda never figured." Spike could smell the food and it was... something... Hints of that sour that had been promised teased in it. He did his best to reserve judgement. Some food was an... acquired taste... "So..." "What?!" Gary poked his head free. "It'll be ready in a minute, cool your butt." And back in he went to cook. Gabby waved it off. "Don't take it personally. Gary gets in the zone when he's making his specialties. Gary, be nice to Spike. He came all this way to say hello." "Yeah, thanks. They treating you right, Gabs?" Gabby leaned over towards Spike. "See? He cares. Tough outside, soft inside." Her voice raised, "Yeah. I have a nice job and the city's real nice. They don't have your cooking though." "Then it ain't got nothin'," assured Gary as two plates slid out into view on that lip. "Two specials up! Eat 'em before they lose the special flavor." Gabby snatched both, setting one in front of Spike. "He's not kidding. This is best right off the fire." No more delays available, Spike reached for the fork... that wasn't there. A glance aside revealed Gabby was just chomping down, her face practically buried in the local delicacy. "When in Roan..." He lifted the place and took a bite. No tepid little nibble. Food had to be eaten properly! A real bite! It was just as sour as advertised! His face scrunched at the powerful tastes and smells, but he would not be defeated, not so easily. Gabby's loud smacks and slurps were encouragement enough. It became his job, his duty! He finished that plate, setting it down, empty. "I'll be..." Gary was watching him. "Ain't never see any creature, griffon or otherwise, finish their first plate of that." Gabby pushed back her plate. "You kept up with me. That is impressive." She licked over her beak with a soft 'mmm'. "I half expected you to take a taste and ask for something else." Suddenly, a hand, thrust out through that window slit at Spike. "Anycreature that can demolish their first plate of the special? They gotta be alright." Spike accepted the hand with a queer smile. He hadn't realized he was doing something extraordinary. "Thanks. Gary, right?" "And you're Spike," he returned. "I'll remember that. Did you actually taste it? Or did you just inhale it." Spike ran his tongue across the inside of his mouth. "It's an interesting flavor... At first, it was..." He spread his hands out. "Way too much... But there were hints of other things. They came out when you got past the first, uh... bit?" "Ha." Gary withdrew back into his place, some scrubbing sounds heard. "Alright, you tasted it then. Good on ya. You come back with Gabs, I'll show you other things, broaden your horizons. Gabs, you ain't the champ no more." "Aw!" She huffed with a bit of a pout on her beak. "Spike! I was the champ at first timing, then you came along and--" She pantomimed shoveling food into her beak. "Down the hatch like it was nothing. Gotta say, I'm impressed." "Only because you were there." He rubbed behind his head. "Honestly, I didn't want to wimp out..." "Aw." She smooched his cheek suddenly. "You were brave, for me?! That is so sweet!" "Gag me." Gary peeked out from his hiding place. "Gabs, where you staying? Are you staying?" "For a few days." She held up two fingers close together. "Speaking of that, my old place got snatched." "That'll happen," agreed Gary without much emotion on that. "You need a roost?" "Do you have space?" Gabby gestured between Spike and herself. "We need a place to stay while we visit." "Both of you?" His eyes moved to Spike. "One condition." Spike hiked a brow. "That condition is?" Gary thrust a finger out at Spike. "You're so good at stuffing things in your mouth, put it to work. Every day you haunt my place, I try out a new dish on you. I want an honest review, no holds barred. Hurt my feelings, I can take it." "He isn't lying." Gabby nodded easily. "You don't make food this specialty by having a thin coat." "Damn right. So, deal?" Spike considered the scowling griffon. "Alright... I won't be scared away by a new food. You're trying to find new good flavors, right?" "They are good flavors," huffs out Gary. "The trick is finding the ones griffons besides me can appreciate. Anyway, my place has a second level. Attic space really. You can crash there." A little smirk spread. "You two are a thing, I can tell. You'll have to get real cozy, but that shouldn't be a problem, right?" Gabby colored. "Gary! Um, but... yes... Spike is my special somedragon." She reached to scoop him on in a one armed embrace. "Thank you. You're the best." "You just can't get enough of the special." The smile implied he was alright with that arrangement. "Let me finish cleaning up in here and I'll show you where you'll be." "I know where it is!" Gabby pointed off. "Sure, but only one of us has the key, genius. Seriously, one second." They'd have to wait a moment for cleaning to be complete. But they had a place to stay. The trip to Griffopolis could proceed!
Taking Flight
11 - HOAs
The food he was eating actually tasted just fine. It was the mouthfeel. Like he was slurping worms, living worms that somehow twisted and turned as he slurped. "That's gonna turn off some griffons," warned Spike, not that it was stopping him from enjoying breakfast. "Not a bad taste though." "What?" Gary leaned in with a fresh scowl, one of the favorite expressions of griffons so far. "Living worms is frickin' traditional!" Gabby giggled at the outcry. "Well, sure, yeah, sorta. But most griffons don't actually go for worms these days." Her eyes were on Spike's meal. "Does that actually taste like worms?" "Nah." Spike slurped up what was dangling from his mouth. "But it feels like it! The taste's alright, try it." He snatched a wriggly strand and offered it to Gabby. "Yeah, try it," encouraged Gary without delay. Gabby let out a little nervous laugh as she accepted the suspiciously wriggly thing from Spike. "I prefer fish. Poultry's not so bad..." "You've eaten worse," taunted Gary. "Stop delayin'!" "Alright alright!" And into her beak it went. She did her best to crunch it as quickly as possible, but it was still wiggling on the way down, unbothered by her rapid chews. "Oh, wow... Spike is not wrong." Gary huffed, storming off. A sharp knocking came from the door to the house. Spike looked to Gabby with a shrug. She raised a hand to her beak. "Who is it?" "Who is that?" came a reply female voice. "Gary, you have some explaining to do," she continued shrilly. "Get out here!" "Blast it all." Gary had returned. "Is that Galadriel?" "Yes it is," stormed the muffled female voice. "Open this door!" Gary placed a hand over his face, claw tips working through facial feathers with a weary grunt. "Right, right... Comin'." He trundled towards the door with a grumble. "Whattaya want?!" he demanded as he threw open the door. "Wrong question." The griffon hen already had a severe expression for Gary. "Your house is rated for two griffons at most." Her eyes went past him, to Spike and Gabby. "But you have three creatures here." Gary shrugged softly. "I only count two griffons." "Don't get cheeky with me." She pointed at Spike. "He counts. And even if he didn't." The finger of accusations turned on Gabby. "You didn't inform us of new relationships, so we'd still have a problem with a sudden new couple even if it was just her." "For crying out loud," Gary grunted out. "She's staying over a few days. We ain't married. We ain't doin' nothing." He hiked a thumb at Spike. "He's testing my food. That a crime too?" "Is it food you plan to sell?" She leaned forward, beak clacking. "Professional food selling, out of your home? That's against the policies and you know it." "Buzz off!" "You first." She waggled a quill at Gary. "You live here, that makes you a member of my Home Owner Association. You're welcome to relinquish ownership of this home at any time. Please do." She half turned away. "You repaired the upstairs window. Good." She made a mark in a pad. "I don't have to repeat that. You also toned down on the offensive odors. Only one complaint this last week. A good job... for you. See if you can get that down to zero, hm?" Gabby leaned in towards Spike. "This is part of why Griffopolis looks neater than Griffonstone." She gestured at Galadriel, still chewing out Gary as she was. "Some griffons are in charge of little parts of the city. They keep it clean and nice looking." "By bossing everyone else around," finished Spike. "Does she ever do any of the fixes she asks for?" "I do," replied Galadriel, not even looking at Spike and still a room away. "If a building is unoccupied, then it's my job to keep it in good shape until a new griffon moves in." Gary threw up his hands. "Look, I'm trying. Spike, tell her. The food I made today smelled just fine." Spike shrugged lightly at that. "Tasted good, smelled fine." He decided to leave out it's appearance and mouthfeel... not relevant to the bossy she-griffon. "You're getting better? Good." Galadriel shrugged as she entered without asking. "Let's have a quick look around." "There's nothing interesting in here." Gary trailed after her with a disgusted grunt. "Aren't you supposed to give me a warning before you go walking through my house?" "Once a year I get a surprise visit." She prodded at him with her quill. "Now seems like a fine time for it, with these sudden, unregistered, guests." She fixed Spike in her fell gaze. "You're not wanted in any griffon territories, are you?" "Who, me?" He hiked a thumb at himself. "Nah. I'm an official ambassador of--" "Uh huh." Galadriel had already stopped listening, instead eying the interior walls. "You'll want to repaint in here within the next six months." A scratch was made, noting that observation. "Let's look at the kitchen." And off she wandered towards the next room. Gabby tugged at Spike's arm. "Quick," she whispered in a hiss. He took the hint, and they left Gary to deal with her alone. Not that there was much they could do for him. "Huh, and he puts up with that?" Spike shrugged at he did a slow circle. "Better question, are all the griffons in charge of that like... her?" "Mine wasn't as bad." Gabby laughed nervously. "He'd just shove a list of things under your door and you had to get 'em fixed! He didn't go inside. 'If I can't see it, it's not my problem,' he'd say." "Huh..." Spike gestured back at the house they had escaped from. "He gonna be alright? She did not seem like the happy or forgiving type." "Gary's a warrior." Gabby punched at the air as she began forward. "And most griffons like that are loud, but they want griffons in their houses, or they gotta do it. Unless he does something really bad, she won't kick him out." "So... they can only yell?" Spike hiked a brow. "I'd expect that to work with ponies, but griffons?" Gabby counted on fingers. "They can yell. They can throw you out. Or they can tattle on you." She hiked a thumb at a building just a little taller than the others, a full two and change stories tall. "The sheriff lives there. They can tell him if someone's breaking the rules." "That they set?" "That they set." Gabby nodded at that. "You're given the rules if you move in. Don't like it, move somewhere else. Those are the rules. Oh! Before you think it's all on their side. They gotta ask the griffons that already live there if they want to change the rules." She burst into a titter of a giggle. "I remember mine doing that once. That was a big argument, but we settled it." "Huh..." The griffons of Griffopolis had their act together in a way Griffonstone did not, but it came with prices. "I bet the houses with nicer bosses are more valuable." "You'd think that." Gabby shrugged softly. "But you can't see how nice they are when you're flying past trying to find a place. The meaner ones usually make things neater. Neater means more griffons want to be there." "Oh..." It came together how that'd work out. "That's interesting." Different than pony ways by some measure. "One time I thought about being one of those." She hiked a thumb back at Gary's house. "But it's harder than it looks, and I'm, uh, too nice." She laughed with a big smile. "The first griffon that wouldn't do their part and I kinda broke down and did it myself, and then they got mad I did that, and... It didn't end well." She waved it off. "I tried a lot of things before I ended up visiting Ponyville, and I tried a lot of things there, come to think of it... Shoot, I would never have guessed I'd be a fashion model." She struck one of a collection of poses she had ready for the window. "Attracting creatures into the store. I'm not even that pretty." Spike fired both finger guns at her. "And now I know you're lying." Her cheeks warmed as she burst into merry laughter. "Spike!" She punished him with a warm hug that was eagerly returned, the two laughing as they wandered away from Gary's home. "Let's visit the pond." She pointed off. "Griffons gather there all the time, to wash, themselves or other things, or just to talk. You can meet some more of my friends there, probably." "Sounds fun." With a nod, they set off on the search for new adventure. The pond was not far away. The sounds of splashing water came first, the happy cry of children, the gossip of adults. As it come into view, they could see the young ones splashing one another in a fierce competition of whom could be made the most wet. A curious contest to wage, with them all being in the water to start with. Gabby was smiling a bit. "Aw, I remember playing that..." Spike ribbed her from the side. "Who said only they get to?" "Huh, what--" She trailed off as he jumped into the water. "Spike?" And then she was splashed, squealing in surprise. "You!" And she bent down to scoop up water to send back at him. They joined in the frivolity of splashing one another wildly, soon both in the water where it was easier to scoop up great big handfuls to send in the direction of the other. "Gabby?" Both paused to look at an elderly griffon hen that was squinting at her. "Who else could it be, a grown griffon playing like that. You haven't learned what shame is." Gabby laughed, a noise as tense as it was genuine. "Caught me. Um, hey Granny." "Hey yourself." The older wagged her cane meaningfully. "Come out of there and talk like a grownup." The two emerged, dripping. "And what's that with you?" The hen examined Spike intently. "You always did make strange friends." "Guilty, but not ashamed." Gabby twirled to get an arm around Spike, pulling him closer. "This is Spike, my special somedragon. Say hi to Granny!" "Hey." He raised a hand, wiggling a few fingers at her. "Nice to meet you, miss...?" The old griffon rolled her eyes. "Just stick with Granny. It's what they all call me." They suddenly jabbed at Gabby with the end of her cane. "Not that they're mine." "We love you too." Granny bahed and turned away, though Spike did see the hint of a smile, hidden from Gabby. "What are you doing back here? I thought you ran off to live with the ponies, and here you are, with a dragon? A dragon?! I always knew you were... a special griffon... but this just takes it a whole new level." Gabby squeezed Spike, her hand at his middle. "Spike is a total sweet puff, like me! It's part of why we get along so well." "It's true," hurriedly added Spike with a quirk of a smile. "We'd both do anything to get things right." "Well, hm." Granny nodded slowly. "You came here. That's a hint that maybe you're not just making that part up." The cane waggled at Gabby. "What is it you're doing these days? Nevermind, I don't care. Just tell me it's going alright." Gabby burst into giggles. "You haven't changed. I'm doing alright, Granny, promise." She crossed her chest solemnly, though the part with placing something in her eye seemed to confuse the elder. "We came here because I wanted him to meet some of my old friends, introduce him to them. If we're gonna be a thing, no secrets." Granny raised a wrinkled brow at that. "Oh, to be young again. You'll learn in time. Some things are a secret for a reason."
Taking Flight
12 - Thanks for Coming
Gabby twirled, pulling Spike along. "So, this is my town!" She threw an arm out wide. "What do you think of it?" Her tail was lashing with excitement, her bright eyes locked on him, eager for that reply. Spike tapped a foot with thought. "You want my honest take?" "Yes!" She bobbed her head, squeezing his hand between both of hers. "What do you think?" "Well... To start, they're griffons." She cocked a brow. "Is that bad?" "No! No... But it comes with a few expectations, that they meet." He reached up his free hand towards her cheek, gently brushing the feathers of her face. "But I met some nice griffons, and some less than nice ones. I can feel you, here. Maybe not as concentratedly awesome, but I can't penalize them for that." "Aw." She suddenly clapped her hands on his cheeks, cradling his face. "You keep saying such nice things about me!" "I only speak the truth." He held up a hand in solemn oath. "Yeah yeah." She did not sound convinced. "Today, a treat!" "Yeah?" She pointed down the road. "Gonna take you to a show! You never saw any griffon plays. They're not like pony ones, at all. I've seen those, and these, and yeah, different creatures." She grabbed for one of his hands anew. "Let's go!" Spike followed along after Gabby, laughing at her eagerness, but he had a smile of his own, catching some of that spirit along the way. "I'm sure it'll be great." It... was something. Spike emerged with Gabby at his side. She was hooting and cheering, slapping him on the back. "Did you see that part? And the sword!" She made a swinging motion. "Agh, if only..." She fell against him, playing dead. "Yeah... saw it." He shook his head a bit. "Are all griffon stories so... violent? It was like... Like the adventures of Captain Astounder, turned up to eleven!" "Who?" She righted herself. "You alright?" Her joy turned to concern. "Oh man, was that not your thing? I'm sorry!" "Hey, hey!" He took her hand between his. "Hey. You put up with a lot of stuff for me. You don't really like comics, right? That's, uh... alright, we're not twins, and even twins aren't that..." "I got that book," she defended. "With the yak?" "Where is it?" He flashed a cocky grin. "I noticed it quietly fading away." Her cheeks began to burn. "I thought the yak was very nice, but I couldn't quite get the... everything else?" "And that's alright." Spike patted her hand. "We like our own stuff, and we like each other, but we don't have to like each other's stuff." "Yeah..." She did not appear entirely satisfied. "Gonna read the next chapter of that." Spike raised a dubious brow. "Don't do it just for me." "What if I want to see what's next?" She flashed a big grin. "I may not be super into collecting them like you are, but I liked the story." "Hey, that's cool." Spike bounced away with a quick thumbs up. "I'll show you where--" "--Nuh uh. You said that was the old series. That's a different story. I already started. I want to finish it where it is now." She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "If I like how it goes, maybe that can be another story I read?" "Huh, alright." Spike allowed that, his smile warming. "Cool that you like it. Now I'm gonna have to read it." This got a blink out of Gabby. "You're the one that pointed it out. I thought you'd have read it already?" "I'm a comic fan." He put both hands to his chest. "I knew about it, sure. But I know a little about a lot of comics. Doesn't mean I actually read it." "But now you will." She tapped her chin. "You get paid more than me. If you're going to read it, just pass it to me when you're done and we both win?" "Score." They met knuckles to knuckles in a fistbump. "I'll put in your address for where to deliver it to. This is for you. I read comics pretty fast, then we can talk about it." Gabby burst into little giggles, hands trembling in balls. "That sounds like a lot of fun!" Spike turned on the side of the road, taking in the views. "So where to next?" "Uh." "What?" Spike lifted into the air a few inches, wings flapping steadily. "I'm having fun." "Glad to hear it... But, uh, I... Oh!" She pointed with a sharp thrust of a finger. "The peak!" "The peak?" Following her pointing, he saw it, a tall outcropping of stone near the edge of town. "Huh. What's that? Besides a peak, that is." "It's a very special place." She lifted into the air much as he had and soon began to lead the way across the city towards the rock tower. "And we won't leave without seeing that, so this way!" The two soared low over the city, approaching the landmark rapidly. "So." He drew up aside her. "What's so special about this spot?" "It's special," she assured without specifics. "And I'm not going until we see it. Together." He could hear the seriousness in her tone, so he didn't argue it further. Besides, what was the harm of looking at, or from, a tall rock? They landed gently on its side, on a tiny trail that led the rest of the way up. "Mind your step," she warned, shimmying along, flat against the rock. "Why aren't we flying the rest of the way?" They were so close. Surely it would have been easier to just finish their flight than to make that last bit on the too-narrow walkway. "The wind gets nuts right at the top." She stepped over a crack carefully, sliding forward. "Trying to come in for a landing up there will send you flying, or crashing. Maybe both? Let's not find out." Spike followed the motions she performed, making the slow climb up to the top. As the wall gave way to the floor, the wind battered against them with the soft whistle of powerful gusts. She had not been lying. "Nice." He could see out across the entire town from there. It was like a... toy or an art piece, all the houses seemingly perfect from so far away. The people, simply gone, lost. "They call this..." Gabby danced a little, uncertainty fluttering in her. "They... It's Couple's Point. They say if two griffons come up here and see the same thing, out there--" She waved at the miniature city before them ."The same thing, it's a good sign they'll be together forever. The more exact the match, the better." He was not a griffon, but he had the sense to keep that to himself. "See the same thing? We're already at a disadvantage then." "Huh? Why's that?" Her eyes darted from thing to thing so far below. "It's the same city. Don't worry about not being a griffon." "It's not that." He tapped her hand but once. "I didn't grow up here. The town's great, but my view of it's not gonna be the same as yours." "So..." She rocked a little in place. "So if you do pick the same thing, it'll be even more amazing." "But if I pick something different?" Gabby shrugged a little. "Then we know what to blame, huh?" She crouched down, getting a bit of chalk and two slates that were hidden nearby. "Here's how it works. We write what we see, top three. The order matters, but even getting the same things in a different order's still pretty nice." She offered a chalk bit and a slate towards Spike. "Once we have our three things down, then we can compare." "Huh." He accepted his tool and looked at the city anew. "Huh... Well..." "Write it, don't say it," reminded Gabby as she began to scratch at her pad. He nodded slowly, and the marks came. "And..." A last thing added to the tally. He tucked the sheet against him. "All set?" "Mmmm. Mmmm..." Her chalk danced in the air as her eyes darted wildly from thing to thing. "There are so many things..." "The idea is the first three." Spike smiled gently at his ruffled girlfriend. "So don't stress so much on the best, just the first three." "Right... right! First three." She hurriedly scribbled something and slapped down her chalk on the lip of the board. "There, three. No more delays! Ready?" "Ready." He held up his board, the writing facing himself. "One." "Two." Spike held the board, ready to flip it. "Three!" They both twirled their boards to face one another. Her eyes swept rapidly over Spike's writing. "Lots of griffons? Gary's house, aw that's nice." Her face colored suddenly. "And where my favorite griffon came from." She punched his shoulder right in the middle of a laugh. "Stop that!" "You don't look that upset." He took his turn to read hers. "The house I grew up in. Hey, I remember that. Shame we couldn't go in it." He snapped his fingers. "Where we played chick games." Gabby squirmed a little. "I was hoping you would think of that." "It was fun." He looked to the third one. "Really, it was. We were just two creatures having a great simple time. You don't get to... be that every day. I'll remember it. Hm. The lake?" Brought up, he could see the lake, shining clearly, the setting sun casting a brilliant shade across it. "It does look nice. Good choice." "Not a single one," grumped Gabby, but that sulk faded quickly. "I said I wouldn't pout!" He snagged her, one arm slipping around her midsection. "I came here for you, Gabby. The rest is bonus. When we leave here, I get to keep you, and the memories we made. The way I see it, that's way more important than any specific thing here. Uh, not to talk down to your friends." "I get it, silly." She leaned in against him and pressed down, urging them both to sit there, facing the sunset. "Right now, I think I want to just watch that sun dissapear with you. Is that alright?" "I couldn't think of a better way to spend the evening." They leaned against one another and things grew quiet. Not an akward silence. There simply wasn't anything that needed to be said at that moment. They were comfortable in the presence of the other, and they stayed still until the sun had entirely sank away. "Good job," Spike broke the silence with. "I wonder at times how much effort Celestia actually puts into Sunsets." Gabby burst into laughter at the idea. "Oh wow. Just imagining her trying to get artistic with that, for how many years she's been doing it? That'd be crazy!" She leaned in and bonked her head against his. "Wanna ask her when we get back?" "She's retired," he reminded, looking thoughtful. "But we can try to track her down, ask her about it... I bet she'd laugh." "Well good." Gabby squeezed him firmly. "Means she isn't mad." "Yeah... Gabby?" "Hm? "Thanks, for the idea, and for taking me." He squeezed her in closer, nestling against her warmth even as he shared his own. Dragons were full of heat. "This trip was way more fun than I was worried about. You should write to Gary more often though. I think he misses you." "I should!" she stated with a firm conviction. "Write all the griffons here! One big letter for them all to share. Gosh, why did I let those connections go so cold? Seeing them reminded me how much I loved them so much!" She stood up smoothly. "Let's get down before it gets too dark." "Good idea." And he joined her on getting down past the dangerous winds. They'd fly the rest back to Gary's, to rest. Their trip was coming to an end. But it was hardly a bad one.
Taking Flight
13 - You Talk So Well
Spike stood at attention. He was one of several of Twilight's attendants, there to assist her. She was speaking with a bipedal feline. "I feel confident both of our people will enjoy this trade." Twilight was nodding at the cat. "I'm glad we could come to a reasonable agreement." "I admit," The queen of Abyssinia gestured at where a board was set up, dense with numbers and figures. "When this first came out, I was a bit... concerned, but you broke down the numbers with an admirable skill, hm." She trailed off into a soft purr. "I hear you were the one that liberated us to start, from the Storm King, curse his name." Twilight folded one ear back, but it came back up quickly. She had not yet gained Celestia's skill at a stoic face, though perhaps it did not suit her. "I will not take entire credit for the aid it gave your people. He had attacked Equestria." She gestured around. "At the time, I was acting selfishly, and I won't lie." "Noble, to decline that credit..." The queen tapped the ends of her fingers together, hands close. "But you did defeat him, even if only for yourself. His passing freed our nation, and many others beside. Have you been speaking with them?" A whisper came up besides Spike, "Wow, she looks important!" Spike put out a hand, gently barring Gabby's forward progress. "Shh, they're negotiating." "It is my hope." Twilight paced lightly through the throne room. "--to build a more global connection of allies, of friends. Equestria is a proud country, but it is only a single country. Together we can accomplish so much more." A jeweled hoof rose. "Not in conquest, but side by side, towards things that benefit us all." The queen extended one finger at the board of dense figures. "Like a little trade agreement, hm?" "Exactly so!" Twilight's face was a mask of joy. For that instant, she was not a queen. She was the old Twilight, simply delighted at having done something. But it passed. "How are your trading depots and roads looking, on that note?" A suffering sigh was the reply. "A work in progress." But Twilight was far from dissuaded. "We can lend a hoof. Spike?" He stepped forward, emerging from the others. "There you are." Twilight waved him closer. "This is Spike, an assistant, my brother, and skilled dragon that assisted in the defeat of the Storm King." The queen turned to behold the strapping young adult of a dragon. "Well, hello." Her eyes wandered up and down. "You cut a different figure than I expect of a dragon, in not a displeasing way. Why are you showing off your brother, Princess?" Twilight waved the implications away. "I can send him with you to help clean things in Abyssia. Equestria won't get the trade it wants if their goods can't reach you, and your goods can't reach us. It's in both our interests that the trade roads and the end points are in good order." Twilight took a step forward, not letting up on that momentum. "With that settled, your kindom will have a good step towards recovery. A stable and prosperous world is, again, in all our interests. Happy neighbors--" "Don't wage war," completed the queen. "I see the logic. I won't turn down the help, but he is but one dragon. His arms look fit--" Her eyes trailed along his lines. "--But he is still but one. How much difference can he--" "--I'll help!" Gabby waved wildly. Twilight chuckled softly. "May I introduce Gabby. She is Spike's assistant." "Oh yeah!" She hurriedly got her pin out and put it on, displaying her position as she jogged forward. "Nice to meet you!" She thrust out a hand with a bright smile and a near total lack of grace. The queen studied that hand a moment. Rather than clasp it, she offered her own hand. "Charmed." Rather than getting a peck on it, she got grabbed. Gabby toke hold of that offered hand with both of hers, shaking vigorously. "We're gonna clean up super great, trust us!" Spike gently peeled her back and away from the startled ruler. "She's very eager," he explained. "And she'll put that enthusiasm into the job." "Then it'll be done in no time." The queen smiled, dusting herself off. "Princess Twilight, I accept their aid. One question... What product of ours are your people specifically waiting for?" Twilight threw a wing out wide, knocking into the board of numbers. It flipped over, revealing a map of Equestria. "As you can see." She ran feathers over towns that had smaller charts under them. "The towns closest to you would be delighted to have a closer source of food than they currently rely on." The wing fanned over to some larger cities. "Abyssia has already been recovering remarkably, I'm told. Manufactured goods are always in demand. That's the nature of advanced countries. It is a benefit to have another at our flank. Even when they are similar, Equestrian brands and Abyssian brands will move just on their origin and the subtle differences that come from that. This aside, I feel certain Abyssian minds will think of things Equestrian minds may miss, and the opposite will be true." The queen raised a finger to her chin. "This is sensible..." Her eyes darted to Gabby. "But, I'm told, you reached out to the griffons. They aren't industrial. What brought you to them?" Gabby blinked owlishly as her people were brought up. Twilight inclined her head. "They have... a longer road to navigate. But, as neighbors, we are glad to lend a hoof. Our rail network was already connected to them. Having that end in a mess is hardly a benefit to us." She gestured at Gabby. "Besides, we are allies." The queen returned her attention to Gabby. "Gabby, was it?" "Yes, ma--Your Highness." Gabby performed a proper curtsey. "Griffons have a lot to offer." The queen smiled at that claim. "I do not feel this is a topic between us. Do the griffons have a leader to converse with?" Gabby's cheer diminished a little. "Not exactly," she admitted. "We're more... of a federation, yeah!" The queen's brows rose together. "Federation, there's a term I do not hear spoken often. How well spoken you are." Even as Gabby looked pleasantly surprised at the compliment, she was turning back to Twilight. "I will leave those affairs to you. It is not my place to do so. Between us, I look forward to a long and fruitful alliance." She brought her hands together silently and bowed. Twilight dipped her head in kind, the two leaders respecting one another. "A new and wonderful day of friendship. If you would, give Spike directions to where they can begin work." "Certainly." A snap of her fingers, and her own attendants hurried forward to meet with Spike and Gabby and provide that information. "About those rails of yours. A rail line would expedite things quite nicely. Think of how much more we could move consistently." The political talk was not ended. But Spike and Gabby's part in it did. Spike closed a door with his back, leaning against it a moment. "That could have gone better." Gabby hiked a brow. "What do you mean? We have a job. She seemed happy about it." "Uh..." Spike rolled a hand slowly. "You didn't see anything?" "Any what?" Spike patted her shoulder. "Never change." That got a smile from her. "But she was not talking nicely about griffons, or you." This got a fresh blink from Gabby. "She said I talk really good." "It was a, how do you call it, backhanded compliment? She was saying she did not expect a griffon to talk well. That you did was a surprise." He let out a slow breath. "Don't stress. We'll show her in action just how much we can get done." "We got this." She offered a hand that was met in a firm clap with one of Spike's. "So if they're talking all fancy, why aren't their... things more together?" "On some levels, they are pretty together." Spike shrugged softly. "They got trashed by the Storm King, but they bounced back pretty good. I'm hoping we can get it all sorted out. We're helping, not doing it all ourselves. It's more a show of sincerity, rather than dragging them out of a pit." "That does sound easier than..." She trailed a finger through the air. "Getting all of the griffon kingdom together." She deflated. "That would be quite a challenge." "Hey, not your fault." He rested a hand on her shoulder. "You've been with me, supporting me as I talked with them about exactly that kind of thing. We're making progress. It just isn't overnight." "But it is with these cats." She threw her hands wide. "Not fair." "Nocreature promised it would be." He went in, touching his snout to her beak, the two sharing a moment of quiet togetherness. "But we'll make it work, for all of them." "Yeah!" Her mood rebounded with her smile. "We can do it, together." Their hands met in more of a clasp than a slap. "With the two of us, we can't fail. We'll get those cats to land on their feet." Spike snorted in an aborted laugh. "You'd think they could do that on their own. Either way, we'll lend a hand." Gabby began to giggle. "That's a thing we have." She wriggled her fingers. "No hooves to lend here." "I love my pony pals, and family, but I'll stick with hands, thanks." He patted his belly with a content smile. "Go on and tell your boss. We don't want to surprise her with your vanishing." "Good call!" And Gabby threw open a window. "I'm on the ca--" the rest of her statement was drawn and cut out as one as she took flight away. "See you later!" She waved from an already good distance, headed to the fashion store she was employed at. "This won't work." Sassy shook her head. "I think this is something I can not put a pin in." Gabby followed her as she paced. "Is this a bad time? I didn't--" Sassy wheeled about, placing a hoof on Gabby's beak. "Shoosh. As much as we adore your presence; the fans love you, it is clear that your ambitions lie elsewhere." She angled her head towards the castle that couldn't be seen from that angle. "I am afraid--" "--I'll call it off," blurted Gabby, ringing her fingers. "Spike can handle one trip on his own." "You... Don't..." She cringed back as Gabby looked more and more ready to weep. "Let us make this a selvage, nice and neat. I am not angry at you, nor is Rarity. We wish the best for you." "But you're... firing me... I messed up again!" "No no no, not a single stitch out of place," assured Sassy. "But your thread belongs in a different pattern." She walked firmly for the entrance of the shop. "There is a joy in your face I don't get to see often." "I can smile better." A forced smile sprang to being on her face as she followed Sassy along. "See?" "That is not what I mean." She glanced over her shoulder at the false smile. "When you are taking flight, to make the world a better place? That is when you smile, truly... That is where your thread is needed." She sat on her haunches beside the door. "You are always welcome back here... I hope we have become friends, over the time we spent. This isn't me chasing you away..." She paused with a frown. "I suppose it is a little... This isn't your job, but I'm not angry at you. Rarity will undoubtedly weep when she hears... Neither of us wish you anything but the best, the absolute." Her magic drew the door open. "But I want to see the brilliance of your design. Will you show it to me?"
Taking Flight
14 - Where Cats Make Messes
Spike stepped off the air ship, reaching a hand back that soon had Gabby's hand placed in it as she hopped free to join him. "Welcome to Abyssia!" "Huh." She turned slowly to take it all in. They had arrived on a small pad. It wasn't a full airship dock, those were, reportedly, further inside their territory. The periphery was lucky to have a tower here and there that a ship could pull up alongside and not much else. Gabby jogged to the edge of the platform to get a better look at the immediate area. "I think we're in a suburb?" "That checks out." Spike joined her, looking over the small community. "And it's these suburbs that are slow in recovering." He hiked a thumb towards the city in the distance. "The cities are already humming. The rural places are farming and ranching. The suburbs are stuck in the middle." Gabby clapped her hands firmly. "Alright! Let's get to getting things in order then." Spike waved her towards stairs that lead down to the ground level. Flying was an option they could have taken, but flying around an airship dock was asking for new sorts of trouble. "They have crews doing that. Our job is to join them. For better or worse, we're dealing with an intact government. We follow their lead." "Huh." Gabby hopped step to step. "That's less dramatic, but we'll help. Not like I don't have time." Her sunny mien faded a moment, but it rebounded almost as quickly, perhaps forced. "Huh?" Spike let her get ahead of him just so he could snatch at her. "Everything alright?" "Everything's fine! What makes you ask?" "I know you?" He cocked a bit of a smile. "And you're not super subtle." "I can be super subtle," huffed Gabby as she stepped out onto the ground floor, looking around. "As if you're that much better." "Not gonna argue that." He stayed at her side. "We're both open books, and I'm reading you." Gabby burst into laughter at the mental image. "Am I any good? I bet the plot's kinda tired." "What? No way." He made a casual left right wave. "Best comic I've ever seen. But the protagonist is keeping a secret and I wanna know what it is." She thumped his shoulder. "You're not gonna give up." But he just shook his head. "Fine... Fine. I'm not a model anymore. I went and got fired, again. Now let's--" "--Fired? Sassy fired you? Did you do something wrong?" "We should focus on our job here, or do you wanna be fired too?" She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "Well, yeah, first, this is Twilight. Pretty sure I'm safe from that. Second, checking in on a friend? Doubt she'll be mad about that. So what happened?" "Spike Sparkle?" A new voice had entered the conversation, a nervous looking cat ringing his paws. "Equestrian delegate?" Spike turned to face the new cat. "Hey, that's me." He hiked a thumb at himself. "But it's just Spike." Hardly the first time his name got honorifics thrown onto it. "Are you with the--" "--Builders guild." The cat bobbed his head quickly. "Is she the assistant?" He was looking at Gabby. "Hello, um." He pulled out a pen, unusual for not being a quill. "I didn't get your name, just that you were there. Can I have that?" "Gabby." She leaned forward a bit, watching the stick make its writing. "Huh, what is that, a pencil?" The cat seemed confused a moment, but he angled the pen at Gabby. "This is a pen, ball point. It's like a pencil, but the tip doesn't go dull or break." "Neat!" Gabby had learned a new thing and this pleased her. "So what do you need us to do?" "Technically... nothing." He half turned away, tapping his pen on the pad. "Any work you do is work not being done by a guild member." Spike hiked a brow at that. "We're here to get the trade ports ready for action. Them being open will give you plenty to do." "Right right." He tucked the pad away. "You both have wings." He gestured with his pen at both of those mobility-enhancing limbs. "We have jobs you could save time with. Not that we couldn't get it done ourselves." "But we can get it done a bit faster, for you." Spike shrugged softly. "If it helps, we're already paid. You can take credit. I don't care." Gabby shrugged expansively. "Yeah, we just wanna help." "That actually does improve things." The cat seemed less nervous as he led the way away from the skyship tower towards abuilding still in scaffolding. "You'll join this crew first. Guys!" He shouted that last part, getting a dozen feline heads peeking out from around the canvas covering at him. "Flying helpers from Equestria." He hiked a thumb at Spike and Gabby. "Volunteers." "Volunteers?" One of the cats, a female, half-laughed. "Just out of civic duty? This isn't their civic." A male pointed at Spike. "Hey, I know that one. The hotshot dragon. Spire?" "Spike," he corrected, even if he did puff a bit. Being recognized was always a nice boost to the ole' ego. "Just tell us where you need a hand and we're on the case." "We're ready!" Gabby struck a dynamic pose with a sure grin. "Got wings, and hands." She wiggled both named bits of anatomy. A feline hand waved from closer to the top. "Up here," called a male voice. Gabby launched herself upwards to join them. The work began. As promised, the work crew was a fair bit ahead of what one might expect a war ravaged country, at least compared to many other kingdoms Spike had visited before. Materials were being brought in and work was proceeding smoothly. They were helping, but they were not enabling the action on any level. It was perfectly clear the cats would have gotten it done even if they had never shown up. Still, they were accelerating it, and that was the goal. A sharp whistle caused the cats to set their tools aside almost in unison. Spike emerged from the hidden structure in progress. "That a warning whistle?" A rotund female laughed at the idea, waving a greasy ladle at Spike. "That's the meal break whistle. Now, you aren't a guild member." She grabbed a male cat trying to rush past her. "You. These two put in good work?" "Huh? Oh yeah." He leaned in. "And they aren't being paid." The large she-cat released him. "Huh, well, sounds like you get fed." She gestured at the table of steaming vittles. "Recharge, break's half an hour. Then we get right back to it." Gabby snapped a sharp salute. "Aye aye, ma'am!" And she hurried up to join the line, a plate soon in her hand. Spike was a few people behind her. "Nothing like good work to build a good appetite." "You can say that again," laughed out a tom cat ahead of him. "Thanks for the hand. Saving us a lot of time we'd normally have to wait for support equipment. Flying is basically cheating." "Total cheats," agreed a female abyssian between them. "But I'm not against a cheat when it's an option." The work resumed with a new whistle, subtly different, that summoned the cats away from their food back to work. Gabby nudged against Spike on the way. "They're on task. That's a nice change of pace." "Huh, yeah." He nodded, thinking of it. "Not often we just lend a hand when things are already moving in the right direction. Let's keep it up." Gabby thrust forward a hand, met with a balled fist in a fistbump as they took off back to their posts. At the end of the day, the building was still covered in concealing canvas, but it was a building closer to when it could stand free and ready to use. A subtle thing. "We're staying here." Spike gestured at a building they were coming towards. A two story affair that was wider than it was long. He saw a small sign. "Yep, this is the one." It had a small number above the name of the place. "Twilight arranged it for us. We get a spot while we're here." "We've worked without it before," half-laughed Gabby, heading inside with Spike. "Won't complain about a proper bed." Spike went for the front desk. "Spike and Gabby, from Equestria?" The male cat at the front desk looked confused at the two of them before his eyes went to his papers, flipping through them. "Oh, yeah! Sorry." He snatched one paper out. "Here we go. One suite." He grabbed a key with the same hand to hold both in the same hand as he slapped them down in front of himself. "Payment has been arranged." He tapped at a seal of Queen Abyssia. "You're good for your stay!" He glanced away and back. "Don't tell her I forgot you at first. I see a lot of creatures every day." Gabby collected the key with a smile. "Hey, we've been working all day too. We're all tired." Spike bobbed his head once in a firm nod. "Yeah, been there. You found us, no big deal." With a last thumbs up, they headed for their room. "So, uh, looks like we're sharing." Gabby peeked at the single key. "He did say 'suite', right? Doesn't that mean, like, a really big room?" This was not correct. The suite was not one large room. Rather it was a series of connected rooms. It had a living room, a bedroom, and a bathing room, each seperated with a proper door. "Huh, nice." Spike wandered about, checking it out. "Hey, they even have a kitchen." It was a mini kitchen, but more than enough for a visiting person to enjoy. "I think Queen Abyssia is showing off." "Showing off?" Gabby was leaning in from the next room over. "How so?" "There's no way Twilight asked for this specifically." Spike turned in place, taking it all in. "She probably just asked for 'a place' and this is what she picked. Queen Abyssia that is. She's showing they're not a backwater." "Works for us," came her dwindling voice. "Wow." "Wow?" Spike jogged to catch up with her. They were in the bedroom. "Oh." There was one bed. It was a large bed, fit for a queen, but it was one bed. "Oh." "Yeah..." Gabby rolled her shoulders slowly. "I mean... we are a thing now, right?" She gestured at the bed. "So... maybe that isn't so odd anymore?" Spike pointed back towards the living room. "Look, if you want, I'll crash on the couch. We've had way less comfortable. No pressure." He held up two hands, only to have one of them be taken between two of her hands. "Gabby?" She pulled him gently. "Spike, I trust you." She squeezed gently at Spike's captured hand. "Let's just try it out. I think... we'll be alright. If either of us are uncomfortable, we'll just talk it out, like adults." "Which we are," he agreed with a laugh. "Alright... Then... Dibs!" He jumped past her suddenly, landing on his desired side of the bed and stretching out languidly to make it perfectly clear what part of the bed he was claiming. Gabby giggled at the display, but cocked her head as a knocking reached them. "Who is it?" "Room service," came the muffled response. "Dinner." Gabby clapped her hands. "It comes with dinner? One moment!" She hurried to the door. The moment she opened it, a tray was wheeled in by a smiling she-cat. "You arrived just in time," she half-sang, setting out trays on the table there. "Eat up! The royal suite gets the best." She flashed a rather dramatic wink. "We make sure of it. Oh, would you like a drink? There's water right here." She pointed to a carafe half-tucked way. "But we can bring juice, or harder beverages as you prefer. Just let us know!" They had arrived in Abyssia. It didn't seem like it'd be a bad trip at all.
Taking Flight
15 - One Divot Per Bed
Bellies filled, the lights blown out, and night rapidly approaching, the two were cozily tucked in for some quality slumber, knowing there would be plenty of work to do the next day. But neither could sleep easily. They sat there in the quiet darkness, knowing the other was less than a foot away, sharing the same bed. Were they thinking of them? Did they know they were thinking of the other? What was appropriate, or not? It could be argued that even being in that position to start was a breach of propriety, but neither dared moved in the darkness. "Spike?" "Yeah? "Asleep?" Spike snorted at the question. "If I say yes?" "I'd call you a liar." She flopped over, facing him. "I can't sleep." Spike rolled onto his back, looking over at her without turning entirely. "Me neither." "Spike?" "Yeah?" "I'm... really excited... This is a big deal. A really big deal..." "Sharing a bed?" "Sharing a bed, alone." She waggled a hand in the gloom. "Just us, together. We're both adults, Spike. We can do whatever we want, and we decided on this... together." "We sure did." Spike swallowed heavily. "Gabby, I'm not going to... take advantage." "Spike?" "Yeah?" "First, can you stop responding to that the same exact way." She reached out, tapping the end of his snout. "Second, I'm a grown griffon. Respect that. If I didn't want to be here... I wouldn't be. Accept that I made a decision." "Yeah..." He swallowed thickly. "You did." He propped himself up. "Gabby?" "I will not say 'yeah'." She sat up, looking over at him. "What's up?" "Gabby, do you mind?" He reached out. She did not resist as he took her hand, squeezing her fluffy digits between his scaled ones. "Gabby... Thanks, for being here. For accepting me. For... being you." "Aw." She squeezed in kind, things growing quiet a moment, only to be broken with the sound of an almost silent peck on his cheek. "Spike, let's get some sleep, but I'm not letting go." So they did finally get some sleep in, hand in hand. The next day, the work came for them. More accurately, they went to the work. Joining the local guild, they lent their hands and wings to the task. A startled cry was followed by a sharp command that seemed to echo as others joined in. Spike leaned over the side, head poking free of the covering cloth that concealed the building. "Everything alright?" "I'm alright!" assured Gabby, but the fact that she was on a stretcher disagreed with her statement. She was hiding her hand under an arm and her teeth were set, still smiling despite whatever had happened. Spike landed lightly, descent slowed just enough to make for a proper entry. "What happened?!" "Just a hand in the wrong place at the wrong time." Gabby rolled her eyes as she was hauled away. "I'll be back on duty in a few minutes. It was more surprising than anything." "This looks a little more serious than you're giving it credit for. Let me see." He couldn't see the affected hand, hidden as it was. "Should we get a doctor?" "You should get back to work," she ordered with a little frown. "We're already down one flier, don't make it two." Spike set a hand on her forehead. "I'm right here. Don't feel bad calling me, alright? Promise me." "I promise." She stuck out her tongue in defiance of his protectiveness. "I'll be just--oof." She had just been set down, the workers already marching back to work. "See? They got the right idea. Go on, shoo!" Spike snapped open his wings. "I'll get back to it then, but if you need me, call. Don't hesitate." And soon he was gone, flapping back to where he had been working. It wasn't even half a shift later that Spike was set down next to her, looking more amused than in pain. "They could use a few safety rules." "Right?!" Gabby rolled over to face him. "I think they're in a hurry. Everything was fine, then it... wasn't, in a flash." "That sounds about right. We had a good tempo going." He gestured with one hand, the other not joining the fun. "Board down, nail, inspect, next board down. I didn't finish putting the board down and the nail came." "Wow, that is exactly what happened to me." Gabby huffed in annoyance. "Those cats need to slow down if they want to get this done." She rose up and peeked at her hand, flexing it softly. "I'm alright now. I'm gonna give them a piece of my mind. If they want this done quickly, they gotta slow down!" She stormed off to do just that. Spike watched her go from where he was still flopped on his stretcher. He wasn't sure how successful she'd be, but wished her luck regardless. The Abyssians did need to hear the advice. And so it was that she found one of the forecats in charge of things. "Hey." But he wasn't paying attention to her, instead watching a heavy beam being lowered into position. "Important bit of feedback." "Wait your turn." He gestured in broad sweeps to the left, then a stop motion. "Because if this comes down wrong, it'll my by hide." Gabby looked up where the cat was focused to see the beam herself. "Yeah that is kinda big," she allowed, quieting herself until the beam settled down and was swarmed over by scaling cats that began to secure it in place with calls and shouts. "Alright, now are you free?" The forecat turned towards her. "You're one of the fliers, aren't you?" He directed a finger at the wing that peeked up above her shoulder. "Why are you down here?" "I was helping, but the workers--" She hiked a thumb at the partially covered building. "--They're in such a rush it isn't safe. I wasn't hurt too bad, but it did knock me out for a few hours, and that's more wasted time than if they just did it right, and safe, the first time." "You look alright." His shoulders lifted in a limp display of a lack of empathy. Gabby threw an arm around the cat, directing him towards where Spike was laid out on a stretcher. "You got two fliers and you managed to knock them both out in the same day. We want to help, we totally do. Don't make it more dangerous than building already is." "Look." The forecat folded his clipboard under an arm. "You are not in our usual operational book. Not to say we mind the help. We're ahead of schedule, and that's great." He fired a thumbs up for emphasis. "But this is the pace we work at. It works for us. You're the new ones, not us." Gabby could but stare at him a moment, struck to silence by the refusal to slow down. "And you don't ever get in accidents?" "Me? Hope not. The workers? Sometimes, but not often." He shrugged softly. "They don't get paid much not workin'. My crew knows what they're doing. We have a solid record." "I see." Gabby wandered away with a frown, tapping at her beak as she returned to Spike's side. "How'd it go?" He was sitting up, but did not move to rise. "You don't look like they said 'sure'." "He didn't... But he did say something that got me thinking." She sank down next to him. "And I feel kinda dumb, since I've said this about griffons before. You can't 'fix' people like that. They do things their way. You have to... get on their level. They're not being fast. We're slow." "Slow? I didn't--" She put a finger to his lips, earning his quiet. "We're the new ones here. They got a tempo going. It's working for them. If we want to be good guests, we match them, not ask them to match us." "Huh..." Spike smiled. "Wow, that's some deep thought right there. Good on you." "I have those once in a while." She stuck out her tongue as she hopped back to her feet. "I'm gonna get back to it. And I'm gonna keep up with the cats!" Spike watched her stride away with renewed confidence. "Knock 'em dead." He'd seen her look like that before. She was hard to dissuade in that mode. It made him want to get involved. He flexed his hand experimentally, but didn't rise. "If I can't keep up, I'll just get in the way." He kept himself seated rather than trying to force himself to go get hurt again. "Do as the cats do." So Gabby got to it, hastening herself to match the flow of those around her, even if it felt like she was hustling. The cats were going at that speed without prompting. Nobody was shouting at them to hurry up, except her when she fell behind. It was just the pace that the abyssians liked to do the work at. Accelerating to match, no more accidents came to harass her that day. The shrill whistle of the end of the day sounded and she landed triumphantly. "Good job!" She shared a few shoulder pats and high fives with cats going past her, getting promises of another day of work the next day. She found Spike, standing. "Feeling better?" "Yeah, but I didn't get much more work done," he admitted, rubbing behind his head. "Unlike you. They were talking about you." Gabby lit up. "Good things, I hope!" "Very good things. You surprised them." He took her hand and they started back towards their hotel. "They thought we were both slow and not very good at this and you just came back like a hurricane. Really impressed them." "Wow, gosh." Gabby burst into merry giggles. "I was just going with the flow. I wasn't any faster than they were." "Must have been a big difference." He stole a kiss from her cheek, getting a fresh giggle from her. "I'll match it tomorrow, promise. Let's knock this project out." "Together!" She thrust up her free hand. "Gonna be great. If we keep going at this pace, shouldn't take long. How many are we helping with, actually?" "That is a great question." In their room, he grabbed a scroll and got to writing. "And I know how to find out." Dear Princess Celestia Twilight, Just kidding! We're on the job and making progress. How many arrival docks do you want us to oversee? Just checking in, not complaining, promise. We're doing good so far, after some adjusting. These cats are fast! Your Faithful Brother, Spike Gabby held out a hand until the quill was surrendered. She added 'And Gabby!' and a big heart next to it. "There." Spike nodded with all proper gravity. "And to send this off." He puffed flames in a delicate green swirl that engulfed and sent the letter away in a cloud of sparkles. "One advantage to being larger is the return postage is a lot less awkward." Gabby raised a brow. "Hey, yeah... weren't you attached to the old princess?" "Was." He wagged a lone finger. "But new head princess, new attachment. My letters come and go from Twilight now. Which I'm alright with. As I wrote, she is my sister. I want to get her letters." Gabby slid around behind him, easily done with him sitting. She hugged him from behind, hands on his chest as she stood. "Does it bother you, doing that?" "Why should it?" Spike shrugged softly. "It's a magic I'm good at. If you could do it, I bet you would too." Gabby was lost in her imagination. "If I had mail breath... Wow, that'd be neat!" It was in that moment that it clicked. "Oh. Yeah, guess I wouldn't be upset either. That's a neat super power. I don't have any of those." She shrugged helplessly. "Just a griffon." "Just the best griffon." He rose to kiss her. He had meant to get her cheek, but ended up getting her beak instead as she turned at the wrong, or right, moment. It was the first, not the last, kiss of the evening.
Taking Flight
16 - Trade Enabled
"We finish today," informed the cat. "No choices on that." Neither Spike nor Gabby was sure why the sudden decision. It was their third depot, but suddenly it just had to be completed that day. There wasn't much to be done for it but to pitch in and help keep the speed up to match the other cats working hard beside them. The day passed barely before they even know it. There wasn't time to be bored. There wasn't time to daydream. It was only the call of the same shift boss that got them to stop. That and there wasn't more to do. The depot was done, all the parts where they needed to be, another crew hurrying in to paint and touch up and make it all look nice. Furnishing was hurried inside, converting the empty shell of a building into a space where business could be done. One of the cats went behind a counter as it was slid into place. And there he was, ready, just as the first wagon came in, a pony pulling it, two of them, with one riding at the top with a smile. "Nice place ya have here," called Miss Jubilee. "Oh, Spike." She waved a hoof at the dragon. "I didn't expect to see you here. A pleasant surprise." Spike and Gabby advanced as one, meeting Cherry as she was helped down by the same stallions that had pulled the wagon in. Gabby laughed. "We went all that way to run into familiar faces. Not complaining. Had a safe trip?" "It wasn't that far," she assured with a wave. "The boys know how to get me where I want to be, usually." Her thoughts went to the time it went awry, but she shoved that aside. "Now, I hear there are kitties that want a nice big bushel of cherries and they have nice things to trade for 'em." Spike gestured at the building, paint almost glistening with how new it was. "Come on in. I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." And so she did exactly that, met with an enthusiastic call of the cat on duty there. Trade could officially begin in earnest between Equestria and Abyssia without obstruction. The boss of the job wiped his paws clean. "Nice job! You all did great. I'll put in a good word for bonuses." His eyes went to Spike and Gabby. "Except you. Can't give a bonus when I'm not paying you in the first place. Still, thanks. I'll send a good word to your princess. Up to her what she does with it." He offered a thumbs up. "Everyone else, go home. I'll call when the next project is ready to start." A communal cheer of celebration rippled. They did not all go home. It was time for a party and they got right to that instead. Gabby squeezed Spike's hand, a thing they did more often. Hand holding had become an allowed thing. "I think we're done here." "Hm, yeah... Let's check right quick though." He drew her along to where the boss was enjoying some drinks amid loud cheers. "Hey." "You're still here?" The boss raised a fuzzy brow at Spike. "Want to join the party?" Gabby burst into laughter. "That answers our question nicely, but yeah, let's." She tugged at Spike in return and soon they were part of the festivities. They had completed their job and enjoyed a few hours of celebrating with new friends. "Say." One just slightly tipsy she-cat was looking at them. "If you want, I'll put in a good word. You could join our guild properly, get paid, get things done." Spike shook his head though. "We gotta get back." He hiked a thumb in a vaugely Equestrian direction. "Twilight would get pretty sad if her brother just abandoned her for a job like that." "Suit yerself!" She wandered off to find others to pester. Gabby stuck out her tongue. "Not sure I'd want to be on fast forward forever anyway. Let's get back home." "No arguments there." He looked up at the airship platform. "We'll have to catch the next one headed in the right direction." Gabby instead pointed at the wagon Cherry Jubilee had come in. "Or we get a ride, then catch a train." "Huh..." He shrugged softly. "If her pullers don't mind our weight being added." "Only one way to find out." She started towards the wagon, where her stallions sat patiently. "Hey, fellas! Room for two on the way back?" One of them took off his hat in a polite tipping. "Afternoon, ma'am, Spike. That's up to the misses." The other nodded in quiet agreement. "We'll go where she tells us to, so we ain't yer problem." Gabby patted the side of the pony. "Even if you would, we don't want to be a drag, literally in this case. So checking in with you two seemed nice." "Right 'ppreciate it." He nodded lightly. "But you two don't look so heavy." "We can handle it," joined his friend. "Unless Miss Jubilee gets a lot of things to bring back." As if on cue, a new wave of cats descended on the wagon, grabbing baskets of cherries like a swarm of locusts, picking the wagon clean. A second wave, mixing with the first, began to load up the wagon with new baskets with what the cherries had been traded for. They were closed, unlike the cherry baskets, making seeing what Miss Jubilee had traded for difficult. When the two groups left, the wagon seemed less full. Whatever was in the baskets didn't get an equal number of cherry baskets. More valuable? One of the stallions took an experimental step. "Got lighter," he reported. "Won't be no problem carrying you two." "What's this ah hear?" Miss Jubilee was returning, descending the steps of the completed trade depot. "You comin' with us, Spike... Hmm..." She tapped her chin, looking at Gabby. "No offense or nothin', but ah don't recall yer name." "Gabby." She thrust out a hand at Jubilee. "Spike's assistant and +1." Jubilee laughed with a burst of joy. "Spike! You have a +1 and you didn't tell me?" She looped around Gabby, examining her from all angles without taking her offer of a hand. "She's a cute one. There ah was thinkin' you'd end up with a pony, bein' raised by us and all. But no, a griffon? Not that that's a bad thing. You feel like a good creature from where ah'm standin'." "Thanks?" Gabby looked unsure of how to take what was said exactly. "Are you alright with us catching a ride with you?" "'Course you can." She reared up by the wagon, which was hint enough. She was plucked up by the stallions and placed on the cushioned seat on top. "But there's only room for two ponies at best up here. Someone's ridin' in the back." Spike moved to mount the wagon from behind. "No big deal." But he had a Gabby plop down right next to him. "Don't you want the comfier seat?" "I want the seat that has a Spike. Comfiest seat in the house." She hooked an arm around him and leaned against, clearly ready to accept that spot. Jubilee could be heard laughing above. "You two are adorable. Alright, boys, take us home!" And the wagon began to move, carried forth by the loyal stallions. "We did good. Those cats have all kinds of interestin' things to trade fer." One thing Spike noticed as they went was that the cats were not just working on the end points. The road they traveled along was smooth and firm. The wagon barely trembled as it passed over the freshly paved paths that led to the border of Equestria, where it faded back into dirt. The dirt was relatively even, but not paved. "Huh." He nudged at Gabby. "Now I feel bad. The Equestrian side's not up to the Abyssian side." Gabby shrugged softly. "Tell Twilight to hide an Abyssian guild. They work fast and they work hard." Spike considered that as the wagon rolled along. "Some ponies might get upset if their princess goes hiring from out of the country." Gabby hiked a thumb out the back of the wagon. "She's just hiring them to expand from their country. It's not that odd. Not like they're coming to the center of Equestria or anything. Just connect the road they made to one of the pony cities." "Hm, maybe." He shrugged softly. "Outside my pay grade. I'll bring it up to Twilight and let her decide. She is the princess and all." "She gets to make those calls," agreed Gabby. "But you know there's a chance she'll ask for your opinion, right? She's still your sister." "That isn't changing," he laughed out. "Thank goodness." "Aw." Gabby pressed her cheek to his. "You two are so close," she gushed in a warm way. "Must be nice, having a sibling." "When you don't want to yell at them, they're the best." He leaned back against her. "Can't wait to see her again." Their journey to Abyssia came to a successful close. "So, Spike." Not that Gabby let it end quietly on that note. "One thing." "Hm?" "Well... we proved we can exist... you know, together... and not yell at each other or get mad about silly things." Gabby fidgeted with poorly disguised nervousness. "So, I was thinking...." "About?" He reached for her hand, squeezing her for comfort. It seemed to work, a smile spreading on her face. "I was thinking we could move in, together." She waggled her free finger between herself and Spike. "Share a room, like we did here... It was nice, being with you." "You two do know we can all hear you, right?" came Miss Jubilee's voice from above. "Not that we mind, but jus' thought y'aught to be aware of it." A noise between a chuckle and a giggle. "Please, do go on." Spike colored swiftly. "Um... I mean... Sure? We got along just fine." He squeezed her hand more firmly. "You want to move to my room?" He had the larger one to start. Advantage of being the princess' brother there. "My bed is not large enough for the two of us." A loud equine snort came from the front. One of the pullers, likely. "We're not doing anything!" Gabby laughed at that. "Holding hands isn't too naughty." Which they were still doing. "But I feel safe... with you." She leaned in, nuzzling her beak to his snout. "Spike, this is off topic just a little, but you really did grow into a fine dragon. I remember when you were a little thing." She burst into giggles. "Thought you were amazingly awesome even back then, but now your outsides reflect your insides and I love it." "You haven't changed." The difference of a few years of development. Gabby was still a young adult, but Spike had just joined her at that stage. "You're exactly the same amazing griffon I first met." His fingers squeezed at hers'. "Maybe even better." "You tease!" She paused at a loud whistling cheer from above. Miss Jubilee was clearly enjoying their romantic talk, which drove her to a blushing stop. "Maybe we should finish this back at the castle?" "I don't care if they are listening." A fresh whistle. "Gabby... I... I want to say it where other people can hear it. Gabby, I like you, a lot. A lot lot... Um... Gabby..." "I love you, Spike," she cut in. "I love you, Gabby." he countered, finding it easier to get out after she had said her part. "Aw," echoed three ponies, their romantic conversation clearly the entertainment of the trip for all involved. They embraced fully, thumping over onto their side on the bottom of the wagon. Jubilee knocked on the ceiling from above. "Ah don't mind the nice talk, but ah do have to draw a line here. No rockin' the wagon!"
Midlight Daze
pre
"Oops--! Nearly got away from me..." She chuckled at the recovery. "Never knew it was so pretty from this spot. Right, Fluttershy?" But the same could not be said for her friend, who had remained silent, and pensive, if a bit listless. ... Well in the midst of public spaces, yet still secluded enough for a bit of privacy, it was a comfortable distance removed from the hubbub of the park goers around them, and the hustle and bustle of the market a stone's far far throw away. Here, lovers could kiss, parents would hear out or advise their children, or friends simply share the view. For them, they could just talk. Again, it took her a bit of time. She was never used to speaking at this volume, barely so even with her own family. But with Rainbow, it didn't take much effort at all. ... With a bite, she mustered the bit of pep she needed to start. "... I made a friend today," she said through the celery she chewed into cud. ... "Oh, I see," Rainbow replied simply, letting a bit of silence settle. "That's good!" ... "She was really nice, sort of like you." ... Having spent their foalhoods together, it had taken time for a young Rainbow to discover, but eventually she figured out that the trick to getting Fluttershy to talk lied in a three-pronged strategy; talk on her terms, keep it short and sweet, and add a healthy dose of pauses from time to time. It had worked ever since, and now was no different. It was the skeleton key of sorts to gently unlocking her introverted doors and coaxing her out of her shell. "Really now?" Rainbow got another bite in, piqued at the notion of any degree of semblance between her and this mystery mare. ... "But then I lost her in the market... I'm not sure though. ... "I-it's almost as if she disappeared into thin air, just before you showed up." She took another bite of her celery, finishing her third stick. ... ... A bit longer of a pause this time, for her sake too. Some weeks of prep work and backlog for the coming season had preoccupied Dash as of late, and she hadn't any breakfast today, or dinner last night for that matter. "Ain't that a shame..." She mumbled through a mouthful, halfway through her second burger. She wished she bought another, or at least, some hay fries. These didn't seem enough, now she was nearly through them. "Maybe she had somewhere she needed to be--" "But why would she do that--just up and leaving!? I thought we were friends!... She could have just turned and told me that she had to go, and I never did anything mean to her...well, I did accidentally waste all the jam she bought this morning... But then she even treated me to a delicious brunch, and we had a great time together at the market! We were running around, and eating snacks, and looked at a ton of doobobs and thingamadads, and, eating, laughing, and smiling," Fluttershy gushed in exposition. "It was so much fun!" With that much volume, gusto, and earnestness coming off the supposedly meek pegasus as leaned in, the evolving roller coaster of emotions she embodied caused Rainbow to tilt back. That was a first for her life-long friend, surprising the speedster much, much more than she anticipated. All with the flourished mix-up of those words before the end. A few passersby down the hill had even twitched ears at the kindly candor that infused her raised voice, which some mistook for a diamond in the rough vocalizing and warming up in some secret practice session. She never usually acted like this outside of cute and fuzzy animals, that's for sure. Now, Rainbow wished she had bought drinks, because that outburst almost gave her hiccups. "I didn't even catch her name..." She trailed off. Well, she actually had. She remembered having heard it and even having managed to say it right, but for the life of her, it was like the very detail itself was whisked away with her presence in a puff of smoke! It made no difference. The meek though currently outspoken mare looked off to the distance as Dash beat hoof to chest when she wasn't looking. Even when she had her good friend beside her, it felt like she was high up and all alone. "... I-it was like I was up Mt. Canter." Rainbow quirked her head at the remark, letting loose a bit of a cough. "That's a left field comparison, if I've ever heard one." "That's because!..." She hesitated. "B-because... It was... I-it was like... ... "... it was like...," she trailed off again from sheepish whispers into near zero decibels toward the end. "Couldn't hear that last bit, Shy." "It was like talking to..." she mumbled quietly, though only less so. "Uhh, come again?" "An echo, Rainbow! An echo!... It was like talking to an echo..." Shy crossed her arms gruffly in the huff of a pout. ... It took a moment to load in those words, but that was it. That was the crack that broke the dam... "AHAHAHAHAHAHAH--hic! Hahahahahahahahah--hic!" Rainbow guffawed just before she could swallow that last bite, bits of hayburger sputtered to the grass. ... Well, that and some other thing she had in mind. "Rainbow, you promised you wouldn't laugh anymore!" Fluttershy reacted, nearly spilling her box of celery, which Angel caught with a saving paw. He was thankful he caught them, since she usually gave him her leftovers. "Ahahah, sorry, Sh--hic! One second." Rainbow quickly flew up and teased out a bit of water to drink from a nearby wisp of cloud with a rapid maneuver, then returned in a jiffy. "Ahah. Well, it's just--I've just never seen you so hyped... no, fixated over another pony... Other than me, of course, because--" "You're awesome," Fluttershy, though back to her usual volume--mimed as she had expected, and heard dozens of times before. She was there for Rainbow's glory days. But really that was Awesome Code for dependable and loyal, which she was ever lucky at all to find in a lifelong friend. Had the dice tumbled differently and their circumstances were changed in very certain ways, somehow... well, no use lingering on that. Her best friend is in the here and now, being just that and lending a good ear. "I know, I know." "And don't you forget it! But seriously, you can have other friends aside from me--and Angel," she quickly added, following a glare from the rodent she had become accustomed to sense by now. "Even better if you make them yourself. You know, for a quick second there, I almost thought you were running over to that Apple stand, pining for a hot slice of that lonesome red stallion. Although he does look a bit on the young side for his size. But that's just fine and dandy!" The notion made Fluttershy blush mad something fierce and nearly retreat into her mane with added wing cover for good measure. But Rainbow headed her off, going on with words that rang true and close to heart. "But no matter how many more friends we make, as long as we keep thinking about each other, we'll still be us after all." Rainbow looked at her straight. "We'll still be friends." ... Then she sighed into the sight of a cloud drifting before the sun. Drifting clouds were an anchor for her, as it had worked for most foals who excelled well at flight school, yet needed some guidance for one reason or another. It was a natural sight and an easy level off that most pegasii visualized to calm down. And after a moment's silence, she felt herself return to her rock star self. "Ahah! Listen to me, getting all sappy." She couldn't help but join with her old friend as she laughed it off. Not that she was just pulling words out of her flank. They made more than their fair lick of sense, but for Fluttershy, it was more of the memories and experiences they shared as fillies, and Dash's presence--those were her anchor. Those were what brought her up when she was down and raised her higher when she needed someone to believe in and carry her through. And of course, there were plenty of reasons for moving out. She was well past that age already, that much was a given. The cottage was practically a gift from that old mare who at this point seemed nigh a saint of harmony herself, considering how little Fluttershy had even paid. And while there were a good hoofful of vets in Ponyville, most pet ponies graduated from their circumstances into becoming assistants or even better yet, attempt at becoming full-fledged veterinarians themselves in bigger faster growing cities. Throw her a good novel and she was A-OK, but Fluttershy was never good with the ol' text book and the insanely mountainous ask of memorization that such academic endeavours demanded. She had always preferred the company of animals, learning about them hooves on, seeing them through as they adjusted to harmonic life, and then adopting them off to good forever homes. Her cutie mark had always attested to that, though she had struggled for the longest to find another stable niche even in Cloudsdale. Ponyville was one such option to spread her wings, so to speak. But so were other country towns, such as Frogton, Trottingham and Hollow Shades with the Aris Estate and all Hippogriffs there, given the affordable real estate. Even the surrounding cloud towns had seemed appealing, such as Pinionton, Loftsville, and even the griffon-centric, Talonsheim. She and Rainbow had some friends and distant relations in some of those places. And that last one--well, she heard that they were more well-adjusted than most, if Cloudsdale's own griffon population was anything to go by. But in the end, the cottage by the Everfree was a stroke of luck. All the cute woodland creatures she now got to take care of, that was a blessing upon boons of happenstance, more than she could have ever asked. This niche had turned into her sanctuary, a corner all her own in all of Equestria. All because she had chosen Ponville; chosen Rainbow Dash. It was always good to have a good friend you knew well already here, and whenever you could, it was always good to go together. ... Though deep down, she knew this was never a fully open street. She knew Rainbow was so much better than her, as a pony and as a pegasus. The best flier in flight school, even outdoing the best of the colts, hippogriff AND gryphon cubs. She had also made a lot of friends back in Cloudsdale, and was a shoe-in for the next Wonderbolts tryouts, given her accolades. On the other hoof, she was a shut-in of no renown, who had barely made it out of flight school, and knew no pony outside her family, Rainbow, and those bullies. In the end, that was it. The thing that bothered Fluttershy. Although, none such things bothered Rainbow Dash. It was another bright and early day in Ponyville. And it had turned out to be a busy day for the prismatic pegasus to say the least, after the liveliness of today's ruckus. From the building complex adjacent to Town Hall, she left the Weather Control wing just after sunset, and climbed high into the chill of high altitude before entering a leisurely glide back down. While a bit taxing especially at day's end, she did this sometimes to get a peek at the sun rounding the corner off the edge of the world. During such fleeting moments at the peak of her ascent, when she gazed at the daily wonder, sun-drenched and entirely alone in the biting cold of the high altitude, she often pondered on the majestic beauty, the impossible magickal prowess needed to ferry one radiant globe across the sky on a daily basis, and how far that reach extended... if the world really did end just beyond the horizon like they told her. And all the more so again, since this doubled for the night as well, and that there was a whole 'nother sky she was missing out on. Then as quickly as those ponderous thoughts raced in her mind, she would lock them away in a box for another time, then glide back down to earth, resuming whatever it was she took a break from. Though in this instance, that meant touching back down in front of Weather Control. By all rights she should have been off homeward by now. Nearly every pegasus on her team was dog tired, and had already left. However, after having joined them and picking up slack, she had volunteered earlier to do the write up, to make it up to her team, and because she thought it would do good for her references to take up more tasks of responsibility. Her mouthwriting was so-so, with some higher ups making snide lip about her reports capping off at a schoolhouse level. Whatever, she could shrug that off. But undeniably, her skill with hoofwriting was perplexingly bad, even when she found herself excelling at nearly every physical sport she had set her mind to. Rainbow shrugged, thinking the comparison might have been bad or unnecessary. She just needed to write this report. And so, she wrote. And then some hours and botched pages later, she hoofed it over to the desk pony. "Here's today's writeup, Silvers," she said, dropping the manila folder onto his desk, waking up her fellow staffer. "Ugh?--oh! Thanks, Dash. You're a life saver," the four-eyed unicorn replied as he woke from his nap. And that was the last she saw of it, another item on his pile, as much as she pitied him for being a glorified stapler. Anywho, it was done. Time to rest. Touching down on the steps of her cloud home and fiddling for the key in the dark, she was wont to seek out the special custom cloud bed she had ordered from Talonsheim and the comforts of sleep that were certain to follow swiftly. The clock had started chiming as she struggled in the dark, trying to orient the key right and not let it fall. Its predecessors had occasionally escaped her hooves come these late nighters for better pastures to rust away in, like some random bush or roof below. The damn things needed cloudproofing, that's what... or just a good ol' key chain. Yeah, that was simpler. She had to make a note of that sometime. By the time she came in, she had counted ten tolls of the bell in total, so dinner would be a hassle at this point. The idea of skipping dinner again didn't sit with her well. Still, she reasoned the double deluxe burgers she had earlier would be enough to last her well at least to breakfast, though she still wished she had added a bit more to that to tide her over. Through the main doors, past the living room that still vaguely smelled of droppings, up the stairs, and down a short hall stood her darkened bedroom, just waiting for her to crash in and fall asleep like a log. However, as quickly as she had made her way through the house, her approach to the bed slowed to a crawl, as if she had been sapped of all the energy and moxie she ran on throughout the day. It made the menial task of removing a saddlebag rather difficult and quite annoying, as the straps seemed to turn animate and catch all over her. Neither her feathers nor tail were spared. Even limbs and wings had given up the ghost and lost all their coordination. Groaning with impatience, she resorted to wrenching the thing off, oh so ready to simply crash for the night. But before she could even set hoof to bed, her motions ground to a halt, and then she--as much as she disliked, slowly pulled away. A worm had popped up in her head at the most inconvenient time. A worm she had planted there herself, as much as she wanted to ignore it; a reminder. Her conscience was a persistent nag at the back of her mind, and for the inattentive ear she begrudgingly lent it... it was still right. Retreating from the bed, she pulled at the corner slip that had errantly stuck out from her saddlebag, and took it to the desk nearby. Switching on the lamp and pulling the writing set close, she unfolded the thing out. The bold letterhead of the blank and slightly crumpled though nonetheless officiary sheets of paper made her think twice about what she was about to do. 'Ponyville Enforcers Debriefing Form,' they read, along with several pages of scratch otherwise doomed to the shredder for drafting or mulch. Rainbow Dash dug deep into memory, though most ponies would laugh at her efforts, especially the faces she would make when engaged in something so mundane. And most her friends would forgive her for such a quirk, for she was a pony of performance and presence, ever rooted in the here and now. It was perfectly normal for most to forget what they had eaten the day before, sometimes even as recent as their midnight snack. But Rainbow had both speed, focus and tenacity, though she often blithely counted the last two as the same. She held a lofty dream after all, one so close to heart. And that was to join the Wonderbolts with flying colors, pun intended. Though if she were a bit more honest, there was more to it as well... No, she could think about that later. In the moments as she tapped pen to inkwell and pondered the day's events, she considered it a miracle at all that she even remembered to do this in the first place... But she had to. This was the least she could do, after putting her friend in danger, wandering the woods for days on end. Even after having paid her so many visits at the hospital, she could never live it down. No matter consolation nor assurances of forgiveness. "Let's see," she started off quite hushed. She began scribbling thoughts in an outline on the scratch. She only had a few blank forms on hoof, scarcely enough for replacements, she reckoned. So, she had to make them count. The first things that came into mind were the easiest to recall; her duties at day's end. 'So, as soon as I got back from lunch, there was an emergency at the edge of the Everfree Forest.' She had even begun scrawling stick figures, landmarks, and adjoining diagrams to boot, as well as some bullet points that almost resembled a messy timeline. It helped her organize, which she realized she should have done to expedite her work earlier. 'Late morning, Blossomforth reported on some unusual wild clouds that were putting out strange thunderbolts. For some reason, they were pulling in clouds from the rainwater reserves, and shocking most pegasus with decent wing power. Specifically, the ones who came within kicking distance, while ignoring weaker fliers like they weren't even there. 'Naturally, us pegasii aren't bothered much by weather magick and are kinda tough puppies against it, too. But the lightning was SO strong, we had to put on rubber suits that were specially made for non-pegasii ponies of the weather team. By mid-afternoon, the market had to be cordoned off when a bunch of pegasii and a few ground staff got caught in a really nasty blast. So, they had gotten some days off for their trouble. Poor Thunderlane. Hope his eye's alright.' It was the second time tonight she had reminded herself of his sorry sight being flown away in a gurney. Dash hoped for the best for him and as well as avoiding such a fate in the future. 'It was also bad since the suits weren't made for flying, and all non-pegasii staff didn't even count to at least a dozen ponies. So even after modifying them all, not many senior members could go up to help. It turned into a bottleneck, but with me joining in, a bit of elbow grease, and key tight maneuvering and corralling, we were able to contain the storm to the Everfree just before nightfall. The eggheads on the team said it could spread back out again, but not for a while with the safety spells they put in place.' "Now...what else happened today?" She had started at the end, now she might as well end at the beginning. A perplexing way to work, but it worked for her. So far, Dash couldn't recall much apart from the day starting slow. 'I was up bright and early, but all there was to do was securing the reserve clouds to where they should be and putting out the strays from the Everfree. The going was super slow and boring...' That part was fine at least. Eight pages on the earlier version of the report she had written was long report work enough, and she had detailed the minutia of that as well as she could already. She wasn't looking to switch out those leaves as well. 'And then, that report came in over from Promenade Street. So, I jumped at the chance when the reserve call came.' "Reserve call, huh..." That word had rung a loud bell of its own, even as the memories now recalled to her without effort. The Wonderbolts were a wing of the Equestria Military, that much she gleaned the when she had first aspired for a spot their ranks, even as a filly. But now, she and every pegasus around her, friend and would-be rival alike, knew without a shadow of a doubt she was more than good for it. Application required having a good pedigree as a pegasus, which she had in spades, and whatever else that entailed, she could work for. 'Physical fitness? Check. Graduation from flight school with Maxima Alarum? Check. An awesome repertoire of aerial maneuvers? Check, and still growing, baby! A recommendation of seniority from a Weather Station and inclusive history of work at any recognized Equestrian Township?... Well, no. Not just yet.' That last one was a work in progress. She had about close to two years down, but that was nowhere near enough. And it wasn't like she could speed up the days either. Oh, if only she could. But thinking about Fluttershy whom she had left behind when she moved and was thrilled to be reunited with... she couldn't shake the thought of exploring a fall back which had firmly planted itself into her mind. And so, a few months before her meek friend had bought herself that cozy cottage--in that creepy corner of town which she had managed to turn into a haven all her own, no less--she made the choice to enlist for the Ponyville Reserve Barracks. Her pinions told her things were brewing anyhow, what with all the hubbub going on in the restless world. And so, enlist she had. It had been slow goings since, with the rare drunk or ruffian here and there. But it was earlier this morning of all mornings, that this reserve call had summoned her to a strange case. A cleaner pony had been found knocked out by a puddle of some strange goop-like substance. She had arrived at the scene shortly after the call went out, with the alabaster mare who had made the call having soon with paramedics. Upon examination, the stallion in question did not seem to be any worse for wear. Though apart from being put to sleep, he would have to be treated for the shards of glass he had fallen over, which had dug into his barrel and face. The fault here laid with the mare's eager sister who had wanted to practice her first aid and opted to drag the unconscious stallion away as he lay over the glass when nopony was around. The stinker had explained that putting him in a fetal position was optimal, which she had learned on a school trip to Ponyville General Hospital. Ironic, since her meddling had ensured keeping him there for longer. 'Big brain time, eh, twerp?' If only she hadn't overextended her magick and closed her eyes, she would have seen the poor sap's blood streaking on the street as she pulled him like a brush. Luckily for her, his eye was in the clear, blood loss was negligible, and the scars had been but flesh wounds. Just in time for Rainbow to stop her too. From there, questioning either of the sisters had not revealed much else. Not that she could get much out of them, as the elder had scolded the younger in an embarrassed fit. Speaking of the strange concoction, she couldn't even get any samples. In passing, before his nap had knocked him out, Silvers had brought up her lacking the necessary gear to collect some in the first place. The substance itself on whole had already shriveled up anyhow, and what remained had mixed with dirt and blood by then. So, even if she had come back later, it would have been too muddled to be useful, and the rain from the up-until-then contained Everfree squall would washed away since. And any chance of getting even a contaminated sample from the cleaner at the hospital would have been sterilized off him in his treatment. "Now, here's the tricky part." However, the substance did leave a faint stain on the ground and a bit of a lingering scent, not that she had the strongest of noses. But it was a trail anyhow, which she had tracked from Promenade, cutting into Cantering, and then sharply leading down the entire way of Red Leaf Ridge, ending up at Ponyville Market. And of all ponies to find at the end of the trail, it was her best friend, foalhood friend, Fluttershy. What was she doing there? Well, groceries likely. But what had she to do with the pony of interest? From her approach in the air, it was hard to make them out. Not to mention, the market's rules on flight among other conduct. Regardless it was hard to see them from afar. She often heard the eggheads back at flight school talking about the risks of refractions and mirages while flying. Considering this was still the beginning of her career, it was about time she opted for a pair of flight goggles with anti-flare tints and light filters. Rainbow likely had spent sizeable amounts of luck by now, skimming more than her fair share of accidents by a feather. Managing that Sonic Rainboom back then as a filly was amazing, no doubt. But it should have amounted to an adult's wing's worth of luck at least. And while she hadn't the eyes of a hawk griffon, it was rather peculiar to see them together. Almost like... ... "Nah!! It couldn't have been. I'd have so much on my plate, you wouldn't believe..." That was what she convinced herself of. She couldn't even place what tribe she was, though her tail had given a bit of her away. Lots of ponies have similar builds, coats, and manes. On the other hoof, while the colors of direct family descendants usually tracked and made sense, most were wacky, and the subject on the whole was far from well-documented or studied even now. Given that her own mane and relative semblance to her parents against discrepant comparisons to some foals and their parents in the neighborhood, Rainbow couldn't help her initial curiosity. She had wondered about the matter in great earnesty for nearly a couple of months, it would surprise her friends to discover that as a filly she had even tried to--ugh... do egghead research, but found any academic material too complex and ponies who could possibly offer an explanation out of reach. That had definitely something for eggheads to look into--that is, if the principality had since funded such research at all. Although signs now seemingly pointed 'no.' But that aside, there in lay the mystery. The identity of this mystery pony. This was a small case in a podunk town. But Rainbow dreaded another nagging thought, the thought of it getting bigger and bigger somehow. As crazy as others would call her over a hunch, something in her cutie mark told her it would, although she had mostly kept such far-fetched hunches, as infrequent as they were, to herself. But as far as she was concerned, this did not have to include Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash brought a resolute hoof down, promising to keep her out of trouble. But the heady gesture had shaken the desk, and while she saved her scratch with the all the scribbles and outlines she had made note of, the inkwell had clattered and so had splattered the forms at the bottom of the stack which she hadn't managed to swipe away, imparting a blotch that ate over half the pages. "Agh, ponyfeathers!" There goes her plan. Blotting as the ink turned the page black and opaque with her stained disappointment. She would have to rise even earlier than usual to beat early birds like Dizty, who worked at the adjacent Post Office wing as a mailmare, and moonlighted occasionally as a security guard for the entire complex. And considering that mare's work ethic--second to only Dash's sheer awesomeness, that would be nigh impossible outside a stakeout of sorts, which that was more trouble that she had initially accounted for. Or did it have to be? It was a gamble for sure... A call left in the hooves of the Sisters of Luck; Mistral Wind, and August Gale. A childish sentiment to hinge this bet on an ancient fairy tale, for sure. But Celestia knew very well how many times she had prayed to the actual living sky deity herself, only for her hopes to left hanging so indifferently. Not that Rainbow could blame her now. She knew better than her foalish younger self. At least she wouldn't be setting herself up for disappointment. In any case, she would only know once she actually got there. So, left with only one option, there was nothing for it. She gathered her notes, scarfed down a bag of fish chips Gilda her griffon friend had sent over, and skulked her way back into Weather Control. It was one of the oldest buildings in town after all, dating back to when the mayor and her sister were still in the Royal Guard, or so the grapevine told her. In any case, the town's weather team was as tight a ship as Cloudsdale for an establishment that received a lesser slice of the subsidies pie. I.E, they had to make the most with what they had to make fetch happen, which in the specific case of this old building that simply beg to be repaired, that meant a bunch of peculiar and tedious chores across the departments, such as singing to a squeaky cabinet, or jimmying a door shut with some secret hoofshake. Yep, it was a strange place in a little town. As another hardworking pony in the rank and file--one of the hardest by her reckoning, Rainbow was the often the last to leave and left--purely by accident!--a particular window unlocked, the very window behind the Resources desk where she had dropped the report off. This was the first stroke of luck that came her way, for bless her did the Mistrals by the light of the moon. Rays shined down on the window that had been left unlocked, or unbarricaded in this case. It had been broken for a year now and the heads were too lazy to get a fixer upper. Or they probably forgot. Laggards probably took the damn sticky it was pinned on and rolled it with some old toby to smoke. She could tell as she quietly sidled her way in, from the bit of smell that they did, as much as they covered traces of their indulgences well. Now if only the documents were still there. However, that Silvers unicorn was a thorough enough guy with his work, and he was usually very particular about keeping things organized. But maybe--just maybe, he hadn't filed it away behind some locked cabinet yet. Rainbow dreaded what she would have to resort to if it had past that point, if her report was no longer there. But wouldn't you know it, it still was, right there in the middle of his desk in the room. A second stroke of luck, an August gust of wind answer to her foolhardy bet. 'That Silver Write must have had enough for the day and called it quits when I handed it over,' she thought. He didn't even bother sorting it onto the 'IN' rack as he so diligently did on the usual, nor had he even shut the back window with a chair as the last one out. And in this case, she was doubly lucky as she wasn't the one make sure the windows were locked tonight as well. Though she could hardly blame him, and it showed. He was getting sloppy lately, at least for his own standards. Poor pencil pusher had been mired with backlog for months now, due to a transition from the older filing system. Something or other about broad sweeping changes. But she didn't care about those. What Dash did care for, though, was her double stroke of luck. "Buck me, did I ever luck out..." She exclaimed as she tippy-hooved her way in. And so, she took her place at the desk after drawing the curtains close, lighting up a small inconspicuous candle, and quickly taking pen to mouth with a good dab in the ink well. It never smelled or tasted good when she had to write. She sucked in as much spit as she could, so it wouldn't dribble down the length of the pen onto the paper. Dash also missed pencils, though for some strange reason, pony society in general would shoot strange looks at those who had yet graduated from the elementary tool. What a wacked notion. However, that didn't change the fact that she had to use pen and ink for work now. With all her notes somewhat organized and the original leaves as additional reference, she quickly wrote up abridged replacements for parts of the original report. And about half an hour or so, the deed was done. It was as if Fluttershy was never there. With a sizeable yawn and neck-cracking stretch to match, Rainbow made her way back home. Of course, she had closed the window on the way out, but she would have to hoof it earlier than usual, to come back and nudge the chair into place later, if only to cover her trail. Though she might not need do so at all, given Weather Control's rather apparent state of disrepair here and there. Others had left it open before, and there really wasn't anything of value in the building, not that there were such characters in Ponyville. The sound of a lone shingle shattering making its way to her ear sometime after she had taken off attested to that. The frequency of those had been rising since the start of the year. Not that the brass cared...yet. Would the building have to crumble before they would acknowledge the need for maintenance? Rainbow swore if she had better superiors worth their salt as pegasii, she'd honestly be higher up the ladder now, on account of all her hard work. Ah, well. She had done what she came to do. Anyways, homeward. Now. Through the main doors, up the stairs, and down the short hall, she flung wide the doors to her room. Strangely, her saddlebag was more cooperative this time around, and good on it too. She swore the straps on this old bag were about to tear in places, which would call for a visit to a tailor. Good thing a new one opened up not too long ago, just near to her home's anchor... 'Hmm... So, almost neighbors, huh? Was it that purple-maned mare the one good with the needle and thread? She did give her sister an earful though, and then some!... Or was it that poser of mine...' She wondered with shudder about that peculiar pony, thinking she had seen her own apparent doppelganger come out of that tailor shop sometimes. Dash never cared to look into it, but coincidences were always strange regardless. "Ugh, let's pin that on the Later board for now," she whispered to herself. Tucking herself into her bed that was practically a nest, she pulled the covers over to stave away the cold breeze and inherently chillier altitude that came with living up in the air. As she drifted off to sleep, Rainbow Dash gave herself over to hindsight in examination of what she had just done. 'Hmm, shouldn't Shy owe me for this? She still hasn't paid me back for those birds. The living room still kinda smells too...' ... 'Ah, no biggie,' she quickly concluded and then shrugged off as she closed her eyes and settled in. Her thoughts returned to that afternoon, about the heart to heart they had on that quaint bench in the park. The part that definitely didn't need to be on the report. She was surprised her friend was getting along well in town, apart from today and a few hiccups. Though a pick-me-up pep talk was the farthest thing from unreasonable. Dash had given her friend the most earnest and heartfelt advice she could muster. That had teased out the widest ear to ear smile out of her as she fell asleep, and shoved off for sweet dreams. Well, that, and the thought of making her mark in the history of Ponyville AND Flying. "Hehe, I rock..." Rainbow whispered before shuffling beneath the covers and finally drifting off. ... And this was it. This was the thing that bothered Fluttershy. "Oh, yeah! Lemme show you before I forget..." Rainbow eagerly chirped up, rummaging a newspaper out from her saddlebag and leafing over to the provincial section of the news rather eagerly, nearly tearing parts of page as she did. "Look, look!" It had bothered her for all her life ever since she realized as a gangly little filly, what it meant for her as a pegasus and as a pony... Even for its thick and bold typeface, the banner for the caption was printed rather modestly on the paper before leading down into the column that reported the milestone, which occupied a little less than half the page. More a footnote really, given the greater happenings in the world. And at first, she was eager to hear her out and cheer with her too. To share in what had her best friend so stoked. But to Fluttershy's sudden dismay, it might as well have been an accusation. But before Dash could go on, a passerby interrupted them, calling on them from the foot of the hill. "Umm, excuse me?" A stall pony, Rainbow reckoned by the looks of her get up, hailed. "Ugh, of all the times..." She cursed inwardly, somewhat perturbed as she turned. "Huh, Posey? We're kinda having a moment here..." She recognized the pony from the market as she approached her. The auburn-maned cream coated mare rummaged for something out from her bag, and went on to explain. "Ah, I'm sorry, Dash. It's just I recognized your friend. She was by the shake stall and left this. Hers, yeah?" "Oh, thanks! We owe you big time!" "Ah, no biggie. I'm worried about your friend, though. Fluttershy, yeah? Saw her run through the place like a hound out of Tartarus, and my partner mentioned seeing her stuff by the shop. When I came for my break, I saw you two out here and got her things from lost and found. She gonna be alright?" But for Fluttershy, it was almost as if it all flew in one ear and out the other. The meaning of their words was lost. Concern, surprise, gratitude, relief. All that caught in her ears were the binary differences of the null of silence, and the melding warbles of voices and surroundings alike. For her mind was focused on the words that the journalists wrote into the milestone column that captivated her. She could not turn her eyes away. This more than the other headlines Dash skimmed over or nearly ripped out to get to the page, such as 'Strange Storms All Over,' 'Far Folk Afoot,' 'HRL Pact Signed,' or even the largest headline of them all printed on the front page, 'Northern Legend Stirs'; all of them ignored, for none took hold of her attention so unyieldingly as the one that accused her very soul. She could not tear her eyes away. "Yeah, she's fine now. Just a bit tired I reckon," Rainbow said with a glance back. "Oh, by the by, is that squall over yonder gonna be a problem?" The mare asked, a concerned hoof pointed southward towards the Everfree. "Ah, no. Team's got it under wraps," she assured as she inched her way back, which the other mare took as a que. "And thanks again!" "Good, good. You too, Dash. Thanks a bunch for you guys' hard work!" Posey bade as she returned to her shift. Rainbow lingered halfway up the hill as she traced the acquaintance walking back to market. That whole exchange happened, but Fluttershy hardly heard it, if at all, as intensely fixated as she was. She had finished reading by now and was staring into space. Rainbow settled back bench-side with the parcel in tow, depositing it between them, which shook her back up to the here and now. Though she didn't even recognize it was hers. "Oh--umm, sorry. What was that?" She asked. "Lucky you, that's what. A very thoughtful pony came from the market and returned your stuff. You should meet her sometime and thank her. Posey Bloom's her name" Rainbow answered matter of factly, before picking up the paper. "Oh, thank goodness! I will, a-and Angel will be very happy," she said rather absent-mindedly, setting it beside the bunny as he moved on from the fruits onto the hummus his mistress had abandoned. "Now, where was I... Oh, yeah!" Rainbow remembered, picking up where she left her enthusiasm and holding up the paper up for her to read. Although Fluttershy already had. 'Fillydelphia Achieves New Record: 910 Wing Speed in Annual Reservoir Acquisition,' it read. "Isn't that amazing!?" Rainbow bellowed quite loudly to the turning of a few heads in the park. Rainbow really couldn't contain herself with this bit of news. "They beat those uppity Canterlotians by a WHOLE THIRTEEN WING POWER." She had even matched their haughty motions and famous nasal sounds to a T, before miming the paper into a roll and swinging it as bat. "Yeah! Smack that 'undeniable two-hundred and fifty-year-old record of superiority' right outta here!!" With a well-practiced mask, Fluttershy only nodded and wore a smile at the spectacle her friend made as she cheered, the news holding entirely different meaning for her. "Oooh, wouldn't it be great if we get a chance to break that record someday? I mean, Ponville's a few years shy of half a century, but how does that matter anymore? They've picked newer towns like Trottingham, and Hoovsborough before. But--woah! Just the thought of getting the chance..." She could only nod and smile for her friend this time, letting her go off and gush about flying high, flying fast, and flying best; the natural things that made a pegasus happy. After Rainbow had ran out of steam, Fluttershy thanked her from the bottom of her heart for being there for her. She had only recently made a proper move into town after all, the next week or so marking her second month since getting her cottage. Rainbow on the other hoof had been here for just over two years, and even graciously let her room with her for some weeks in the meantime. Back the precocious pegasus had leapt rather eagerly on the chance to move out, which naturally amazed Fluttershy, a late bloomer by many estimates. In any case, a pegasus mare in a hazard vest had waved at them from a distance, a signal as much as any that time was up. They hugged and said their farewells with Rainbow dashing off to her weather duties, and Fluttershy waiting on Angel for a bit more, as the greedy bunny had gorged himself on more than his fair share. Not even her remaining green sticks were spared. A distended tummy took some time to reduce, and she didn't want to waste Rainbow's kindness like she had earlier... with Cissancgo. She thought about them both after Dash had left. When the growing shower and rumbling thunder forced her out of the park, she pondered about them on the way home, their visages imposing on nearly every pony she happened to glance at in her hurried stride to outpace the drizzle behind her. Her thoughts wandered in their general notion even as a couple of clients persisted through the rain and visited for consultations, which she barely managed to not botch. Hazy visions of who she was clashed against day dreams of who she thought she ought to be--neither Rainbow, nor Cissancgo, but a neat ideal spliced in-between. And it, more than once, nearly led to her making a mess of the house as she made her rounds to tend to the creatures that called her cottage home. After tucking Angel Bunny to bed, and nearly ruining several times a day that had ended fairly well, she decided some time winding down with a novel and a cup of chamomile tea would do her good. But it didn't... One mare that loomed over her ever in mind, now had become two. One she had known as her best friend for the better part of her life, and seemed the ideal pegasus. And the other... Well, most likely a decided friend or she wouldn't have spared her the time of day, let alone walk with her all the way to market, unless it was something else entirely. But what did she know? Nothing at all. In any case, she was most definitely the more well-adjusted pony between them. And yet, they, two strangers, had hit it off so easily. She wished they could have talked more than they had. She wished she had gotten to know her better. She wished she hadn't disappeared so neatly without a trace. She wished she knew exactly where she had run off to. She wished she could have seen her face clearer and sat there quietly for longer in the sincerity and smile of a newfound friend. She could still talk to Rainbow Dash, that much was a consolation of its own solace. But the notion of her also came with its own... detractions. Oh, how she longed to be relieved of these apparitions that bother her to no end. And yet she believed in them, the things she so feared and anxiously gave power in a little spot of their own in her head. It had been another bright and early day in Ponyville. But the close to Fluttershy's day would only be the exact opposite. Later that night, the clock downstairs would strike incessantly to the dead night of the new day, gloam-skied and moonless. And only well past then would her mind tire and eyes finally close shut. Only then would she find sleep, and dream. Dream restlessly. Dream to be a better pony as these two were...a better pony who wasn't Fluttershy. ... That night, it began to snow.
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
pre
A resounding thud sounded from a hallway he passed. He readied himself to deal with the possible assailant, only to find no one in the hallway. Instead, there on the ground was a golden goblet with ems encrusted into it. It lied on the ground adjacent to a trail of coins that trailed down the hall towards a now open door. Stepping into that door was a figure dressed up in an oddly covered overcoat with an open blue umbrella hiding their features. "Hey! Wait!" He shouted but the figure did not act like it heard him. It just stepped inside with no faltering in its stride. Mysterio rushed after the figure, but did not find them inside the chamber. Instead, he found what he was looking for. In the chamber was a great deal of chests and shiny items. He opened one to find a great deal of treasure probably worth tens of thousands or more! Already he could feel the rush of ideas about what he could do with this newfound wealth. Then he reminded himself of the reason why he needed those gems, and immediately closed the chest and rushed to find the Zebra and Dragon who needed them. Had he paid more attention to his surroundings, he might have noticed the figure with the umbrella stepping out of a hidden passage in the wall. The being said not a word; only flipped an object in his hand like a coin before leaving. That object happened to be the lock to the chest Mysterio took with him. [}0{] It was touch-and-go for a while, but having the chest full of gems was the greatest help for the dragoness. Thanks to Zecora's mixtures, she had enough strength to eat the glittering stones, and with each one she visibly reached a better state of health. Seeing this was enough for Zecora and Mysterio to each sleep soundly knowing that come morning, there would be three characters up with much to discuss. So it was the next day that a zebra, a dragoness, and a Master of the Arcane Arts found themselves sitting in a large and aged dining hall about to talk about many things. Mysterio went as far out as he could with the breakfast arrangement of different fruits and nuts that he picked earlier. The prize of the table was the tea set that was polished and used for the occasion. It wasn't much, but his guests appreciated his gesture as even they could tell he gave them the best rooms in the castle to sleep in while he stayed in a place they weren't aware of. The dragoness in particular looked as if she appreciated the mixture of gemstones in her servings, for she ate with gusto. While no longer just a placement of skin over a skeleton, she was still a skinny thing. Yet it was apparent that every bite into a jewel showed an increase her vitality. There was definitely more life to her today. "I am glad that you are now well enough to speak. It makes it easier to discuss matters now that you are both guests in my castle." Mysterio started the conversation with. He did not eat, which left the two others at the table wonder if he was capable of doing so. "As is polite, let us introduce ourselves to one another. I am Mysterio, a Master of the Arcane Arts, and current Lord of this castle as it were. I greet you both with the hope that you will be much more pleasant company than the other inhabitants I have run into in these woods." "As I have greeted once before, Zecora is my name. I am an herbalist in the Everfree's domain." She smiled at the dragon. "I see that you appear better thanks to my art. To see you up and about brings joy to my heart." They waited for their third guest to answer. "I am Tsavorite." She simply said. Her voice was a more husky and humble tone than the deep voice of the zebra, which was probably expected of a dragon. Yet it was clearly taut due to nervousness and a bit of worry that she was expressing as a whole. "What an interesting name." Mysterio commented trying to lighten the mood. "That is a type of gemstone, is it not?" "It is." She said as she bowed her head. "I thank you for saving me. I owe you my life." "It isn't mine to take." Mysterio responded. "Nor do I think it is Zecora's either." "We helped because it was the right thing to do. We did not do it to be indebted by you." Zecora stated in agreement. "You owe me nothing for this not done for a bill. Your debt is more towards Mysterio for wanting you to live was his will." Tsavorite still did not raise her head. Instead she placed a claw to her heart and repeated herself. Again Mysterio shook his domed head. "Indeed, but like I said, your life is your own to do with it as you please." Tsavorite was still adamant about this. "Still, what you did for me requires a life debt to pay off. As such, my life is now yours to do as you see fit. Such is the Noble Dragon Code." "Is there nothing I could do or say to sway you?" Mysterio pleaded, knowing this was beginning to become a circular argument. "No, for the code is adamant that should you spare a dragon in dire need and near death, there life is debited to yours." She bowed her head in sorrow. "For this I would grant you each a boon, but I have no horde to give nor home to return shelter to. All I have is the life you saved." There was personal story in those words, but Mysterio needed information on some more basic things in this setting before he could even touch that subject matter. "Perhaps we could discuss this more as we get to it. I have a great number of pressing questions, and your actions show how my ignorance in other cultures may lead to unforeseen consequences." "First off, assume that I know nothing about this place and its inhabitants. What are the basics if I were to properly habituate in this...'Equestria' was it?" "Yes, Equestria is the name of this great illustrious realm. It is mostly inhabited by ponies with Princess Celestia at the helm." Zecora explained. "But surely you should not find that strange! They are the dwellers with the widest range." "I know not of the 'ponies' you refer to." Mysterio answered. "In my realm they are...quadrupedal beasts of burden used for transportation and assistance in pulley labor. You are the first one I have ever met that has bipedal features and the capacity to speak and think such an intelligent capacity." Now this surprised the other members at the table. That sounded nothing like a Pony at all. It sounded like Mysterio knew only a beast of burden facsimile of what a Pony should be. "What about dragons?" Tsavorite asked. She knew ponies were the most widely spread type of residents in Equestria, but Dragons spread a bit farther to parts they were not as willing to settle. Surely this stranger must have met one of her type of kin in his lifetime! "That is different. None have shown themselves in my realm beyond what we consider myths. I have heard a multitude of stories about them and their kind. However, there are so many supposed facts in them that it is hard to tell what is factual and what is fictitious." He explained with his arms crossed in discomfort. He was not blind to how every word he spoke seemed to disturb them further. "Still, you too, Tsavorite are the first I have ever seen." Neither knew just how to respond to that. Just what kind of world did he come from? "Perhaps it's best I don't speak more on this matter. It's clear that our worlds are too different to accept it all at once just yet. It is better to take it in increments as we go forward." "It's probably for the best. Still, how did you get here if you came from a land that seems farther than Equestria's borders?" "That I wish I could tell you, but the details are feeble at best. I was at a... good-natured gathering...in which many sorcerers and other fellows of the impressive sort assembled to meet up, sell their wares, and to overall have a good time." That seemed to be a good way to explain a convention to an anthropomorphic dragon and zebra. "I was haggling wares from a merchant and made a great bargain. I was even offered a chance for employment from a third party to which the merchant acted as an intermediary. The very next thing I recall is waking up in a forest and about to be attacked by a pack of those 'timberwolves'." "And that is where you struck them with fear." Zecora recalled. "I'm assuming not long after you took residence here?" "Well, I tried to find civilization, but the closest I found was this derelict castle." "I'm surprised you have lasted this far. The Everfree is full of predators and other things bizarre." "Yet you reside here." Mysterio quipped. "Yes, I do, that is true. But I know well how to live here, unlike you." "Perhaps, but surely you cannot deny the benefits of residing in a castle! Back home I would be lucky to even find a room at an affordable price. Here I am the lord of a place that shall be a wonder to come for a social call." He stood up and spread his cape in a grand sweep. "Thus, I have retitled it 'Wonder Castle'. It shall be a place of majesty, dignity, and grandeur! The perfect place to hold my stratagems for my ultimate goal! I admit it will take much work to bring it up to my specifications. However, doing so may be a sufficient usage of my time, which it seems I have much to spend. " Zecora and Tsavorite had different reactions to this proclamation. The dragoness insinuated surprise and awe at haring such dedication. It gave a glimmer of a smile to her face. Yet the same could not be said for Zecora who had a slight look of apprehension at this news. She found it was best to address the ruins they were currently in. "I know a bit of these ruins that you have recently acquired." Zecora began. "This place was where a battle between the day and the night transpired. Two goddesses came and brawled for what they believed to be their right. Only the one of the day left after sealing the one of the night." "But in order for you to understand their fight, I must first bring a few other things to light..." And so Zecora spoke of a history in which three tribes of ponies grew alongside each other in Equestria. There were the Unicorns, which could cast magic and control all that it pertained to. The skies and the weather were under the domain of the Pegasi. As for the land itself, that was the territory of the Earth ponies that were known for their strength and their connection with nature itself. It was centuries spent in oppositions with each other, but ultimately they united under one banner which would be led by two sisters who exhibited the traits of all three tribes: Princess Celestia of the Day and Princess Luna of the Night. While they defended their kingdom with their almighty abilities, eventually a rift formed between them that led to the younger Princess of the Moon attacking The Princess of the Sun in their home at the previous capitol. While the current capitol was Canterlot that did not lessen the fact that they were currently in the ruins of what was once the most important place in the realm. "Many centuries of peace where established hence. Although sometimes at another's expense. Still from that battle none have come here to lay root. They believe it to be cursed so neither do they loot. Plus we are deep into the woods of the Everfree. Being here is to have doom be more or less a guarantee." Mysterio was enraptured by this tale as simplified as it was. He filed it into his mind later to see if the library would have more to say on it. "Interesting," Tsavorite commented. "None have come to the very least restore the foundations?" Zecora shook her head. "None would come out of fear for the Everfree. What good is an old capitol if it brings death to you or me?" "Quite. So what you are saying is that in all this time, not one person-being they pony or even dragon- has come here to reclaim this ruin for any reason?" Mysterio asked. "When you say it like that, it sounds like foolish superstition." Zecora frowned. "But still, that is mostly why you find a lack of competition. If you are so stalwart in your mission, then I have no way to counter your ambition." Mysterio took those words to mind, but found very little he could say to sway the argument reasonably to his favor. The place had cultural significance, but at the same time this seemed to have a few resources he needed for his endgame. It was more pertinent that he investigated that library now that he knew it was speaking in an authentic fantasy setting and not one based in fiction and metaphors. As for everything else, well he was only making the best out of a bad situation after all! "I don't believe I have much else choice, Lady Zecora. I have said it before, and I will say it again. I am a stranger in a strange land. I must therefore do what I can to adapt until I can find a way to meet my ultimate goal. To do so will require a long list of objectives to be completed before anything I formulate to be fully realized."" Mysterio answered solemnly. "Besides, what harm would it be to make this place more bearable to host company? Surely you cannot deny that this place would need a good remodeling after such a climactic battle. Even you must admit to give it that would not bring any strife to anyone." Zecora said nothing for a long while as she contemplated Mysterio's stance on claiming the castle. On one hand, there was really no reason she should prevent him from doing it. He did not seem to want it out of maliciousness, and surely anything of value or danger would have been removed from grounds to Canterlot and its archive centuries ago. On the other hand, having him here may have given him a prime position to invade other territories based on its location in Equestria. Still, as much of a sorcerer he claimed to be, he had yet to show anything a simple Solar Guard couldn't handle. That and he was but one being and all on his own for the most part. "I have yet to see you bring actual harm to this land. So I suppose I may still be willing to offer a hand." She relented as she turned towards Tsavorite's direction. "You stopped this poor dragon from becoming deceased. A hand in friendship I can offer at least." Mysterio was relieved to here that. "You have my thanks, and a promise that so long as I am treated well, these inhabitants have nothing to fear." "That's good enough I suppose. I'll still be cautious of you and your strange clothes." Mysterio tried to hide his flinch at that. It seems she did catch on to his movements earlier. "But if I am wrong to give you the benefit of the doubt..." A wide smack revealed the shattered cup that Mysterio had set next to his plate. The culprit was the staff in Zecora's hand now lying next to her seat. "I will not even give you the chance to cry out! After all, let me tell you something not so funny. I am capable of taking a bugbear's life and their honey." Now that was a serious claim! Mysterio had no inkling of whatever this Bugbear was like in the woods, but just the fierceness of that statement was enough to make him forever note to never be on this mare's 'list'. "Of course! I wouldn't expect one who walks freely in this Everfree Forest to do anything more." He then turned address the dragon in the room. "What about you, Tsavorite? Do you feel concerned with my presence here?" "No, nor do I have no reason to dissuade you from coming here." "But if you were willing, I would ask if I may help you in your goal as part of my debt to you." "Wouldn't you rather just go home?" Mysterio asked. "I am willing to offer you room and board for the time of you recovery, but you may find that they may lack in the quality to your standards." "It does not matter. I have no home to return to." "And why is that?" He asked, noticing her eyes beginning to water. It didn't take a genius to notice something was wrong. She composed herself to speak her troubles. "For reasons I would rather not say, I left my homeland, in order to find my own place. However, a few weeks ago, another dragon came across my lair. Rather than face me in proper combat, he waited until I was well into sleep and smoked me out in my own cave. While I fortunately was able to escape, I had to leave it and my horde behind." What could a person really say to that? For a long time Mysterio said nothing. He could feel the stares of his guests bearing into him. One was hoping to be allowed to stay here, while the other waited to see what kind of decision the Master of the Arcane Arts would make and base their judgement upon it. It was with that mental reminder of what he now was that started the chain reaction in Mysterio's mind. For he got an idea, one that would have been considered stupid, maybe even suicidal if any other thought of it. "What if I were to get your hoard back from this loathsome thief? What if I were to drive him away and to take back everything he stole from you plus interest?" "Then you would have my most solemn oath."Tsavorite looked hopeful. "I would serve you as I promised. Your will would be my will. All would be for my master." He was not any fool or cheap practitioner of magic tricks. HE was Mysterio! A man capable of so much more! "Then I would accept your offer." Mysterio sat forward with his hands folded in resolve. "I will make my first step in establishing my goal to return your hoard to you. I swear to accomplish this or to go down in flames. Failure is not an option!" As he stated this, for a moment his helmet glowed in a blue glimmer, before once again resuming its trends of lighting up with his speech. "Now, tell me, Tsavorite. What can you tell me about this dragon that has taken your precious treasure away from you? I'll be sure to show him why mistreating a sorcerer's subordinate is a horrific mistake to make." [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 4-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 1]
The sun shone brightly in the sky as it was intended to do. The only difference now was that instead of being an object of positive energy and cheeriness, it was instigating further misery upon the individual trotting bellow it. To her it was an object that was hurting her on multiple levels. It was a symbol of intense heat and the length of time she would suffer under it. At the same time, anywhere else in Equestria, ponies would probably be praising it and the monarch (or diarch now) that raised it to give light to the day. Perhaps if it was another time, and she wasn't suffering the effects of dehydration and exhaustion, she could appreciate it as well. But then again, can you really blame a pony for hating the sun after spending who knows how long wandering into what amounted as a desert? Trixie just about had it with this direction she was taking. It had been days since she'd seen so much as a sign of any sort of pony settlement. She should be trying to make more bits to cover her loses after the great fiasco in Ponyville. Unfortunately, she had forgotten what happens when big news hits the ears of 'country bumpkins': they spread the word. Word spread far and wide of a blue unicorn showmare who led an Ursa Minor into the town of Ponyville to inflate her ego only to lose control of said beast and nearly cause the town to suffer because of it. Gossip seemed to follow wherever she tried to set up another show. At first she was able to earn enough bits to get some new clothes and a decent meal or two while facing a crowd that would laugh at her performances. But as she moved on, like a game of telephone-if such things were to exist in this realm-the stories whispered behind her back seemed to become more spiteful and nasty. The story seemed to evolve into a tale of a con artist who was more talk than talented and couldn't take on an Ursa Minor newborn, to a crazed lunatic who forced two innocent young colts to act as bait for an Ursa to attack the town. By the time she reached the entrance of the last town she stopped in, she found herself being chased out by a mob with pitchforks, torches, and rocks of all things! With that came the last straw. Trixie knew her time as a showmare was done. No longer could she show her face in any civilized setting without being laughed at best and driven out at worst. So she set out to journey and perhaps find some place to find...something...anything...she wasn't really sure anymore. She just knew that each step forward had to in some way be another step away from the horrid state her life had become. She was lucky that she was capable of eating foliage and flowers raw otherwise she would have starved by now. At this point, she'd give up her long locks of hair for some water. All she had was a sack full of used up supplies and the clothes on her back. At least this time she was dressed well enough with a simple outfit consisting of a slightly worn out blouse and pants. She would have hated to feel more undignified to be stuck in only her night clothes again. "Where do I go?" she spoke out in the driest tone of voice she could gasp out. "I don't...want to die here." She faltered onto the dirt and minimal foliage that covered the earth she walked. Trixie Lulamoon was unconscious in what seemed to her to be the middle of nowhere. Had it really been so, it may have been the end to her story right there. Yet, it wasn't quite the middle of nowhere. Oh it was still a dessert like setting as far as the eye could see. However, in the distance there could be a large and fragmented looking settlement that could be made out. For a few minutes more, a large and imposing figure was traveling from there on a pathway that eventually came across the unconscious unicorn. Unlike the pony, in the glare of the sun it could be barely noted as to what its features were like. The shadows that it did create did make out that its features were more canine than equine. Whatever it was, it appeared to be collecting scrap that it placed into a barrel that it wore like a backpack. When it came across Trixie, laying their unconscious, it seemed to be contemplating on how to react to this unexpected change to its daily routine. "Only trash get buried here." The large figure said with a feminine sound of annoyance. "If yall's trash, then at least ya'll be useful to someone who could use the extra paws." She threw the passed out mare over her shoulder as she walked towards her previous location. "There's always a better use for stuff ponyfolks throws away after all!" She walked calmly back to her place of residence. The closer she got to it with every step, the more the structure in the distance revealed itself. As it turned out, it was a massive junkyard, a place where most things find their end. That is, except for a couple of things that would find a new beginning. After all, one's junk could sometimes become another's treasure. [}0{] If there was one thing that could be said that Mysterio did right, it was plan a scheme. For every heist, robbery, and outright attack he performed there was a great deal of ingenuity and planning that had gone into it. Why the cartoons even went out of their way to show strong clues of it with his every appearance. From the blueprints layouts of the buildings he would appear in with his special effects magic, to his holograms of fully thought out settings to use as diversions or escape routes, Mysterio was one master of not just manipulating his environment, but his opponents into positions that he controlled. The problem was that unlike Mysterio in his comic and cartoon scenarios, Ethan was limited on resources. He lacked a great deal of Mysterio's usual materials to plan around with. He didn't have any sort of financial backing like Mysterio did when he worked for big names like the Kingpin. He certainly didn't have a studio filled with old props he could salvage from. At most, he had a library, and maybe some suits of armor for what he now knew were equine-descended people. But even with that he lacked any tools to create anything that would be a significant boost to his scheme like a robotic duplicate or an elaborately disguised weapon. Rather than derail him, Ethan still felt he had amazing capabilities in planning out a heist such as this. He sat there at the desk taking notes on what he could learn about dragons that could be useful. It wasn't just that the library had a good sized section of material to read up on either. He had a direct source of draconic knowledge from his newly enlisted subordinate, Tsavorite. He used the term subordinate to only denote her status as a lower rank. He didn't want to come across to her as a Master who owned her, but as a leader with a new employee. While her code of honor seemed to dictate her into thinking he owned her life, he did his best to counter argue and take a stance that she wasn't subservient. It was a circular argument that led his decision to soften his image as a mighty sorcerer to her. So it was a couple of days since Zecora declared her to be healthy enough and felt she should return home, that he decided that if Tsavorite was going to stay and choose to serve him willingly, she had best to comprehend just who she was pledging her service to. To do that, he decided to do the one thing to get her to start understanding him a bit. He recalled the first time he decided to let her catch a glimpse of his true self behind the globe. [}0{] "Now Tsavorite, what I am about to show you may perhaps be the most horrifying thing you have seen in your life." He said to her that day as they stood in the library. "I ask that you try your best not to scream, or to let your fight-or-flight instincts attack me as a reflex." "What are you-" Tsavorite started to question, before her mind seized her voice. The sound of something unlocking occurred as Mysterio reached for the part of his head that connected with his shoulders. A great hissing gave out a cloud of steam as he lifted up the globe and lowered it around his arms to hold it. The Dragoness' eyes widened at the sight of Mysterio without his helmet. "It's!" "Yes?" "IT's!" "Yes!?" "It's very underwhelming." Well that certainly took the wind out of Ethan's sails. He had been ready to give a speech about how he was nothing to be disgusted by, only to find that his big reveal was met with monotony. "I mean no offense Lord Mysterio, but I was imagining that you were something much more horrific, like a collection of eyes, or," She shuddered. "Tentacles kept under that helmet. Instead, your features are just plain, albeit peculiar." 'Peculiar?' He was expected her to say 'bizarre' or 'uncanny', but 'peculiar'...now that was practically insulting! "How so?" "Like those round ears of yours. They just stick out on the sides of your head." She tilted her head as she considered why they weren't on top of his head like most beings. "That is very strange." "I'll have you know my ears are fine!" They weren't that round, were they? They stuck out a good angle from his head like any other person. Still, the sensitive topic gave him a bit of a tic. "At least I have them! I don't see you with any, so how you can listen eludes me!" Tsavorite seemed to either be unaware at Ethna's displeasure, or ignoring it because it didn't deter her survey of his features. "And that fur on your head. You don't have it anywhere else except over your eyes." She continued. "What sense does that make?" "I could have it on other parts of my face if I wanted." He was capable of growing facial hair just fine! "I just choose not to." "And that nose." She flicked at it with a claw, not seeming to care at how he flinched. "What purpose does it serve sticking out of your face like that?" "Yeah, well, what purpose does having a spike on your nose serve?" he said as he poked a finger at her said appendage. The two stared down one another before they finally ended up laughing at their fight over nothing. "Thank you for that. I needed a pick me up." Ethan said as he placed his helmet back on. "Still, why do you choose to hide your features? I understand you look strange compared to ponies and my kind, but I do not think it is something to be disturbed by." She tilted her head as she also noted his voice not having the echoing tone "Although, I admit, it is quite unexpected to realize that your voice is much more...youthful without it. Still, it is nothing to be ashamed by." "While I appreciate your acceptance, I think I should keep my 'true form' hidden for now. I don't yet know if my being a human is accepted as well by others in this realm." Maybe when he got the courage to show Zecora what he looked like he could feel more relaxed with the thought after her reaction, but until then, the helmet stays on. His voice returned to echoing with a deep resonance as he placed the orb back to its proper place. "Besides, I feel...good when I am in the full attire of the mantle I inherited." [}0{] From that moment on, Tsavorite seemed to become friendlier and at ease with how she reacted around Ethan. She still held onto the idea that she had a life debt to repay to him with to be certain. At the very least, she wasn't as hard pressed to act subservient to him. She still asked to help when she could, but she seemed to take comfort in not being expected to attend to him and being able to speak up more. While Ethan felt relief that he wasn't unintentionally taking advantage of someone, he found himself even more hard-pressed to come up with a plan to take down this red drake that drove Tsavorite from her home and hoard. This wasn't helped by how he noticed that there stores of gems were only getting smaller with every day that passed. While he wasn't blind to how much the dragoness needed to eat to keep herself healthy enough, he knew that there was a clock ticking that was counting down to when she would start fading into that emaciated state once again. She was getting better if the lack of ribs and her skin filling out where any indication. God forbid that her condition would start worsening again because he couldn't drive a red dragon away from this cave in the mountains somewhere. "If I had just one more tool to make a plan possible, I could do this, no problem!" Ethan thought aloud as his annoyance grew with another piece of paper being torn up for its implausible design. This one involved getting all the suits of armor and melting them into projectile that he could launch at the drake. The problems with it were too out of the question. He had maybe a week to build this launcher which with his skills alone would take him a month, and as far as he knew, he had no welding torch substitute as Tsavorite was not strong enough to breath fire to so much as scorch the metal. This was the eighth attempt at planning out an idea and it was already late afternoon. Yet each one from planning a cave-in, to creating an army of robotic knights was deemed too implausible due to a lack of time, resources, and chance of success. "I need to perform a miracle." He banged his head onto the table top he was working on. "But even a miracle needs a hand." He looked towards his helmet that he set aside like a desk ornament. It was like gazing into a crystal ball, only he was trying to see a way to make his own future into something he could control. Well, he supposed it couldn't hurt to voice his question to the tool that helped him survive here for so long. "You've been a really helpful hand. I don't suppose you could show me anything up your sleeves that could take out a dragon?" In an ironic twist, the suit decided to do just that. With the utterance of that question, one side of the square-like gauntlet he wore on his right arm slid open to reveal a hidden compartment. What he found was a collection of items that would make his miracle happen! [}0{] "Tsavorite!" Mysterio proclaimed as he knocked onto the door of the bedroom. "Are you decent? I have something I must show you!" "Come in." She yawned as she woke herself up and made to get out of bed. It was late into the night and knowing Mysterio, he probably got her up for something truly important. Throwing the covers off of herself she stood out of bed straight and at attention to hear what he had to tell her. "Well, then I must first inform you that-" his words faltered as he stood in the doorway. His express was difficult to read because of his helmet, but he seemed to be frozen for some reason. "Is something the matter?" Tsavorite asked. She was worried about why the sorcerer had stopped in place. Did she not address him properly or unintentionally insult him somehow? She knew he was not strict to ceremony, but perhaps she should have shown more respect as he entered. "I'm terribly sorry about entering at this time of night! I'll discuss this news of mine in the morning when it better suits us." He spoke quickly with what dignity he could muster. Apparently he was the party that did something embarrassing. The globe helmeted figure hurried to step out and close the door as quietly as he could. Tsavorite could only blink as she was flabbergasted as to what she may have did that caused such a reaction in him. [}0{] As Ethan settled himself to sleep in a bedroom some halls away, he found that he was far from tired. His mind kept racing with questions and difficulties of the cultural faux pas he just walked into. "She sleeps in the nude, yet nothing is indecent when she is uncovered." He had to ask himself aloud to classify the validity of what he just saw. "How does that work or make sense?" Evidently, Ethan would be finding it hard to fall asleep that night with his mind bringing up questions like 'why a person wore clothes if it didn't appear that they really needed them?' and 'If this was the female draconic form, then what was the male's like?' [}0{] "So what is this matter that you wished to tell me?" Tsavorite asked as they sat down to eat breakfast. "I have found the method in which I will drive that dragon from your home!" He pulled out a handful of objects and placed them onto the table between them. "Behold! I have right here the key components to my spells for this errand of mine." There were metal cubes that had hollowed out holes on each side. They were not much bigger than a dice, she supposed but they didn't seem to appear that interesting. There were also some vials of what appeared to be some different colored liquids that bubbling and in some cases glowed. "What makes them so significant?" She wondered as she continued eating her daily serving of gems. "Surely this can't be all you'll need to take on a mature dragon, Mysterio?" "Oh, you'll see!" He held up one of the cubes to her eye level. "This cube for instance is one of the keys to my great victory. One in which I'll show just how powerful of a sorcerer I am! Now, first I must go over the fundamental of my great plan." [}0{] As the two sat down and were discussing matters of strategy, two others were discussing their own approach of dealing with Red Dragon that had begun preparing for a hundred year nap. "Sister, tis madness!" Luna proclaimed at her sister's decision. Her plate of breakfast nearly went flying at the impact of her fist upon the table. It had the added effect of not only showing her strength that contravened her youthful stature, but also had the servants discreetly leave the dining hall to avoid what they thought to be a fight between two goddesses. "Do you think I don't know that, Luna?" Celestia argued back, trying to keep her voice calm and composed. "Do you really think I am unaware of the risk that I am having Twilight and the Element Bearers undergo for this?" "But not even a squad of the Royal Guard to accompany them?" Luna raised. "Or at the very least, to send the Elements of Harmony to them? It is a full-grown dragon for Mother's sake!" "I know that, Luna, but our hands are tied. Their sovereigns may be civil when it comes to discussion, but it does not take them much to remember that we have come to a ceasefire, not an actual treaty of resolution. A handful of them would love to reignite the flames of war, literally and figuratively." She explained. "I am still in discussions with their High King if the Elements of Harmony should be considered a war power, or not. So far they have diplomatic power according to them, so they at least know that they are not to be harmed lest they become the instigators." She continued with a quick drink from her glass to cool her nerves. The next point was just as, if not more, frustrating than the last to her. "As for our soldiers, whatever squads that are not out patrolling right now are being reevaluated by our Colonel since her coming out of retirement." She rubbed her forehead in annoyance at the results of that disruption to her forces. "Already, I am forced to give each of them a week's worth of paid leave to recuperate from how far she is driving them to meet 'her qualifications'." Luna had to raise an eyebrow at that emphasis of 'her qualifications'. "Is she that harsh of a drill instructor?" "Let's just say, I am surprised Shining Armor didn't throw away his badge when she volunteered to reevaluate him as the new Captain of the Royal Guard. Candace is already sending me letters of how the vacation she planned to spend with him is now dedicated to treating his wounds as he is bed-bound in the infirmary. " Despite the outcome of that incident, it at least kept Shining from being in a position to hear about his sister being sent to negotiate with a dragon and to go AWOL to rescue his B.L.S.F.F (Best Little Sister Friend Forever). "In any case, I find that we are hard pressed to lend much help, at least in time, to avert possible disaster. We'll just have to see what they are capable of, and hope that they have what it takes to deal with the situation before we can send anything that becomes available." It was then that Luna noticed the look in her sister's eyes. Despite her best to maintain the regal presence of the Princess of the Sun, she could see that image was blemished. Her regalia were askew, showing she did not take the concentration she usually had placing them. Her hands that were holding the glass to sip from were shaking. It was only slightly, but she spotted them. Even her hair did not seem to flow at the same angle that it usually did by unseen wind. In that moment, Celestia did not have the picture perfect appearance of the Beloved Princess of Equestria. Instead, she had the look of a mare that sent her filly out into a dangerous world. Only, this filly was Twilight, not a progeny of her body, but of her wisdom and teachings. To lose her was something she knew her sister never wanted to experience with her prized student. Especially, when she considered how her sister seemed to hint at how she despaired losing her and something else some time back. "Tis would be easier if we were back in the old days. We wouldn't have to worry so much about the consequences of driving a dragon from blowing smoke on our lands." Luna sighed out as she recalled the age in her youth-her actual youth mind you!-and how dragons were not but adversaries to defeat, not political rivals in civil games. "When a dragon dared to think it could just take a hundred year nap, we gave it a list of reasons why it was a bad idea. Usually with our fists repeatedly being inflicted on its face." That seemed to cheer up Celestia a bit as she gave a giggle at the image of how her sister and her fought of dragons like the warriors in the tales of old. Such simpler times indeed! "That's part of the problem, Luna. Growing up means being responsible for your actions, and in this case we must be sure to act in a manner that is not going to restart a war that nearly tore the realm apart." She stated with an exhale of her own. Still, Celestia tried to remain positive. "I'm sure Twilight and her friends can come up with a way to resolve this matter peacefully. With any luck, a solution to our problem will be found and they'll find themselves back in Ponyville safe and sound." That was all that they could do at that moment: Hope for the best and pray the worst never came to pass. Little did they know that the next day something would occur to alter the events that should have transpired; something...wonderful! [}0{] On this day, the sun shone steadily as it was intended to do. Only, it did not shine as brightly due to the smoke layer that was developing in the sky above. It almost seemed to be reminiscent of an active volcano. Yet it was not a spout of lava that the smoke was originating from, but the entrance to a cave that was located near the peak of a mountain. "Now are you certain the smoke shall dissipate the moment this drake leaves?" Mysterio asked as they neared their destination. The trek up this mountain was long and treacherous, but it seemed they made good time to be there with the midday sun. "I believe so. Dragon smoke tends to dissipate quickly when a dragon is awake for a good while, so it stands to reason that it should cease when he is driven out." Tsavorite rationally stated as she shuffled behind him. Despite Mysterio reasoning that he only needed directions, she still insisted on personally leading the way to her old den. The fatigue of the journey was clearly present in her as she traveled along; showing that she still had some ways to go before being fully recovered from her brush with death. Still, Mysterio gave no argument to deter her decision to come. He made concessions to stop when she needed, but brushed it off by stating how his suit was like a sauna (whatever that was). As for the sorcerer himself, he was hard to read with that dome head of his. He did not give the semblance of being worried as they drew near to their destination, but neither did he give off an aura of confidence. The best way Tsavorite could describe his current emotional impression was neutral determination. "This should be far enough." He declared as they reached the turn to the clearing before the cave. "You should wait for me here so that you are not harmed in the crossfire. Try not to let him know that you are here. I'll be back as soon as I've driven him out." "Are you certain you will not need my help to deal with him?" She asked as she sat on a flat rock to rest. She tried to hide her weakness, but the journey was just too strenuous for her at her current state. There was no way the sorcerer didn't notice. "Tsavorite, the trip here alone has tired you out more than it has me. You can barely stand up to him as you are." He wrapped himself up in is cloak as he turned and steadily walked to the cave. "Trust me. I will handle this!" Tsavorite looked like she was about to protest more, but realized the futility of doing so. She could do nothing more, but watch him from a distance, muttering whatever well wishes she could in hopes for his success. [}0{] While Mysterio gave off a presence of being stoic to his upcoming challenge, Ethan was doing his best to remain calm and not break into a run for it. 'Come on, Ethan, this is no different than the time you tried out street magic and ran into those gang members.' He thought as he tried to reason out the situation by recalling a previous time in his life when he was this scared to act. 'Of course, while those guys would shank you if you didn't hand over the money you pulled out of their ears, they weren't big enough to tear you in half with one bite, or burn you into a crisp with fire breath.' As he approached the entrance to the cave, he could already make out the rumbling snores of the beast that lied inside. As much as he tried to disregard the volume as an echo, he knew that whatever was making the noise was big. He was half tempted to make some form of 'bigger boat' line, but his mind blanked out for a moment as he heard a loud coughing noise, followed by a flicker of light, or what was probably flame. 'Well, if I fail, hopefully I'll be a pile of ash in a blink-' He punched his fists together as a last chance effort to psyche himself up and abandon his fear. 'What am I saying?! I've got this! I'm a master of sleight of hand. Sure it's a dragon, but he'll be no different than any other lout once you've shown what tricks you are capable now!' It was with that conclusion that Mysterio began his latest performance of his art. "Hear me, dragon!" He pointed accusingly towards the cave entrance. "I come here to face you for your transgression!" There was no answer. Only more snores and smoke exited the cave. Not a sign of anything so much as a red scale or spine. This raised Mysterio's ire, so he raised his voice to reflect this disrespect to his demand. "I said I come here to punish you for the crime you have committed! Now come out from there, or so help me, I will drag you out from their like a hatchling!" Now that started something! For in an instance, the smoke stopped puffing out. There was a loud series of thuds that started to get louder as something large drew near the cave. Mysterio readied himself into a fighting stance as the being stepped out into the daylight. If Tsavorite was nearly seven feet, then this dragon was around three times that height, give or take. He was built like an armored reptilian Adonis. Seriously, if his musculature didn't determine him to be a threat, it was how his red scales seemed to shine with a heated gleam, while the yellowish ones of his torso was like a Kevlar vest of gold. It was like if Brooklyn from Gargoyles took up Goliath's training regime and got boosted into the Incredible Lou Ferrigno while becoming a C-rank kaiju. Heck, he even wore a loincloth that reminded him of the type they wore in the Gargoyles cartoon, only it had a linked chain instead of a leather belt. The only difference seemed to be that he had no hair, but extensive spines that stuck from a long serpentine neck. His needle like snout revealed sharpened teeth ready to bit him. Or in this case, drawn back to yawn. "-Yawn- Now who is this that disturbs my slumber?" Mysterio composed himself into a more respectable persona and stature. When his cape started fluttering in the wind, he began his introduction to this opponent before him. "I am Mysterio, the Lord of Wonder Castle and a Master of the Arcane Arts!" He raised a fist in fury as he continued. "I come here to reclaim the territory and property of Tsavorite the Dragoness! You may remember her as the green dragoness whose hoard you have stolen for your greedy black heart!" The Red Drake raised a brow at that declaration before chuckling out. "Really? You come here on behalf of that slítere?" "Slítere?" Mysterio whispered. Inside his helmet, Ethan saw his HUD immediately pull up a translation protocol and a brief explanation appeared on the side of his view. 'Slítere' was a term that in Old English had connotations of being a waster, destroyer, or a consumer of food; in other words, a gorger or glutton. Seeing that this was some form of insult, he pointed accusingly at the drake as he furthered emphasized his stance on the matter at hand. "I come here on behalf of my newest subordinate who has shown me a prime example of one who exhibits Dragon culture. You on the other hand have proven to be nothing more than a smokepot!" The Drake stopped laughing. His eyes glowered in anger as he angrily questioned that accusation. "What was that?" Now if there was one thing you did not call a dragon, it was a 'smokepot'. From Tsavorite's brief explanation when he asked for some insults to throw at him, this was the one that did not only imply weakness, but impotence. To call him such would be to call him 'wickless', which she warned might send him over the edge. "Are you deaf as well? I came here to face a dragon, but instead I find a smokepot that only needs to be put out!" Mysterio proclaimed, not caring about how much his words were driving the drake into a rage. He was on a roll. "So while it is not worth even my piss to do so, I will oblige you with a moment of my time to receive your apology as you get the hell out of here!" The Red Drake flared his nostrils as he heard this slight to his character. "HOW DARE YOU-" The Drake began to rear back its long neck, only to find his words interrupted again. "How? Simple! I dare it, and you just take it like lumps of coal you poorly maintained furnace!" The Red Drake roared with a mighty bellow that could be heard for miles. If there was any evidence to how angry he was, it was that smoke was constantly pouring out of his mouth as his eyes gave off a fiery glow as they glared into the reflective surface of Mysterio's visage. "You think I am going to leave MY dwelling and hoard because of the demands of a foolish jester who claims to know magic?" He clenched his clawed hands as the sharp spines along his neck seemed to flair out. "You think I would give up this entire sum of treasures for the sake of a wasteful Slítere?I have taken this treasure as my own, and therefore, only I am entitled to it, you cheap conjurer of tricks!" "I am no mere conjurer of tricks! I am Mysterio! And I'll only need three spells to end you!" He held up three fingers to emphasize his claim. He then dwindled down to one, before giving off a snap as he initiated his first spell. "Magicis Mistius!" A deep mist surrounded them. Unlike his usual green mist, this one was more of a yellowish tinge. It spout from Mysterio and expanded into a deep fog that hid everything from view. Mysterio was no longer able to be seen, but the drake knew he was there by his sense of smell. This was but a poor form of concealment from a predator such as himself. "You dare to call ME the smokepot, but all I see is one who unleashes a load of foul air!" He raised his wings as a bright orange glow gathered in the back of his throat. "Now perish in flames!" He ignited the dense mist with his breath of flame. That was a big mistake! The mist ignited and became a massive burst of sound and light as it detonated into a shower of colorful explosions. The drake felt disorientation hit him with the force of a rock slide. Were he a lesser dragon, that move may have finished him. "That was just my first spell, but I am giving you one last chance to flee, before I change my mind." Said Mysterio's voice as it came from behind him. "So if I were you, I would take it because I would be too frightened of facing my most primal fear as a dragon." The Red Drake turned and entered the cave as quickly as he was able to face the spellcaster. He just stood in the center as if waiting for his arrival. "I'll watch you burn before I see you claim my treasure trove," He growled out as he readied himself for another breath of fire. The sorcerer did not cower in fear, or make any move to avoid the incoming attack. Instead he slowly gave out a noise as his glassy orb-like head blinked out a light in a repeated motion. He was not making noises at random, but was actually laughing aloud like he understood a great joke. The Red Drake ceased his developing attack to ask him what was so hilarious. "And what could a fool like you find so funny? Have you finally succumbed to hysteria in my presence?" Mysterio just waved him off as he started to calm down. Though he was still chuckling a bit, he settled himself into a coherent enough state to talk. "Look around you, Drake! I've already taken it!" He spread his arms wide as he spun about the room. "Every piece from the biggest gem encrusted chalice to the smallest golden coin is gone! Nothing in here remains but rocks and the shifting piles of dust!" The Red Drake at first didn't believe this. Then he noticed the fact that the only thing occupying this cave was himself, some stones, and this spell casting thief. There wasn't so much as a single piece of gold or jewel to be found. "The Treasure!!" The Red Drake exclaimed as he frantically searched about the chamber for any glimmer of it. But all he found was a collection of useless pebbles and stones. "Where is it?! What happened to it?!" Mysterio just stood there with his arms crossed, enjoying the Red Drake's displeasure at this change of fortune. 'Part one of the plan: Complete!' Mysterio proclaimed to himself in joy as he thought back to the plan he solidified yesterday. [}0{] As the two had finished their breakfast, Ethan and Tsavorite were discussing the plan that he had come up with for their attack on the Red Drake. Ethan had improvised a model of the mountain out of various things he could find to get his point across. What looked like a salt and pepper shaker on their way up a pile pf various dishes was in fact a representation of Mysterio's great scheme. "Now the key to the plan is making sure he gets outside of the cave long enough." Ethan stated as he pointed to the part of the mountain that had the entrance to the cave. The teapot was placed menacingly out of the tilted bucket that was the cave that was filled with some of Mysterio's golden coins to represent the treasure. "Why is that?" the Dragoness asked. "Because how else am I going to rob him blind?" He then took the coins one by one as he explained this part. "He just needs to be outside and not anywhere near the treasure for about two minutes. Then we won't have to worry about the treasure for I will have taken it in that time." He jingled the coins in his hands, before opening his palm to reveal that they were gone. It was a simple sleight of hand for him, but Tsavorite saw it as an amazing magic technique. "Amazing!" she exclaimed excitedly, before remembering the targeted prize was a lot more than a few coins. "But how will you possibly take all of his treasure in such a limited time?" "Why with my magic off course! If a human magician is capable of making a statue about a hundred and fifty feet tall disappear, then a sorcerer of my caliber can certainly make a cave full of treasure disappear in just two minutes." Ethen placed a hand behind his ear, before taking the coins out of it. "Maybe three at most." While that was an impressive claim to make, Tsavorite still looked worried at the prospect of attempting such a thing. "But what makes you think you even have a chance?" She countered. "This is a dragon in his lair. With his hoard surrounding him, he will be strongest due to his greed." Ethan saw the honest worry in her glance. Despite the reptilian nature of her pupils, they were still able to express such anxiety with no chance of misrepresentation. It amazed him how relatable an expression was, and thus compelled him to find a way to alleviate it not just for her sake, but for his own similar feelings he was trying to hide. "Let me tell you a story about an earlier man who took the mantle of Mysterio and the greatest trick he ever pulled." He began as he told her one of the most severe appearances of Mysterio in all of comic book history. "It was against an opponent who was said to be unbeatable. His bones were unbreakable, and had a healing factor that made him immortal. He fought with claws that jutted out of his fists that were composed of this same metal. His fury was that of a wild animal, and he was the best at what he did, but what he did wasn't very nice to say the least." Tsavorite seemed to flinch at this image of such a monster. Ethan noticed, but continued his tale. "One day, it was up to this Mysterio to subdue him. He knew right away that the odds were against him. In fact, those that heard of his assigned task probably considered him a dead man walking." He then banged his fist on the table, nearly causing the mountain of dishes to tumble over. "But he was able to accomplish his goal with the skills he had against this supposedly unbeatable foe and left his in a state in which he would never fight again for years to come." "What did he do?" Tsavorite asked, immensely curious how a magic user could defeat such an unbeatable foe. Ethan seemed hesitant to answer at first, before succumbing to her curious stare. He tried to word it as lightly as he could. "This Mysterio used the opponent's enhanced senses and animalistic rage against him and broke him with but a few simple spells. The warrior thought he was fighting a congregation of his worst enemies in a massive battle royale in his home." "And what else?" Tsavorite asked, knowing there was something that he clearly was hesitant to tell her. Ethan was silent for a good while, before finally getting the nerve to tell the dragoness just what was the ending to that story he was trying to avoid saying. "When his mind cleared, the warrior found forty dead bodies not composed of his greatest villains, but his dearest allies." He continued despite the gasp Tsavorite gave at that revelation. "The blood on his hands made him lose his will to fight and nearly to live. All of it was thanks to a couple simple spells from this sorcerer." Tsavorite actually looked a shade greener than she should at the story. Ethan could only hope that his moral on the spot could ease her into a better understanding of why he said this story. "The reason I tell you this is not so you are aware of the violence that was done, but to let you know the potential anyone who takes up the mantle of Mysterio is capable of enacting." He tried to explain as he absentmindedly twirls a coin in his fingers. "Not everyone is unbeatable. Sometimes one's greatest strength can become their greatest detriment." "But the way that one...person...did it is unimaginably cruel. Yet not only are you not the first Mysterio, but this is the legacy you have chosen to inherit?" She looked wearily at him as she had to ask, "Would you ever even consider doing such a thing so...horrible?" Ethan felt really guilty at that question. That wasn't what he wanted to convey to her. He certainly wasn't that kind of person like that Mysterio. That still did little to alleviate the rotten feeling that hit his core. Yet, he still was able to collect himself into a determined attitude as he affirmed his good intentions. "I don't think I would kill a dragon's loved ones for a mere pile of gold." He asserted with a slam of the golden coins in his hands onto the table. He gave a smile as his emphasized his confirmation. "Besides, if this plan goes well, I won't even have to wound him to get back your treasure." [}0{] So far the plan was going well. While the explosive gas did some serious damage onto the dragon, it was nothing close to being fatal. While it did harm the drake, which broke a bit of the unspoken rules he gave to Tsavorite, he didn't see it as a failure on his part. Rather, he viewed it as a good sign in how was able to rattle the supposedly sturdy creature into acknowledging his capabilities as a fighter. That and the fact that he somehow took the entire hoard away in such a limited amount of time clearly shattered whatever confidence the drake had at his own competence. "Now I have gotten what I came for, so you may as well be on your way." Mysterio nonchalantly shooed at him like you would a cat to get away from your doorstep. "A big strong Drake like yourself is sure to find more treasure elsewhere. At the very least, you won't starve without it like poor Tsavorite seemed to when you wrongfully claimed it." "Give it back!" The Red Drake demanded with gnashing teeth. "Give it back or I will burn you and everything that is set around here!" "I will not! I have taken it and thus am entitled to it, as said by someone quite recently, I'm sure." He then flicked his cloak back as he threw a pointed towards the exit. "Now be gone before you rile my wrath against you further!" The drake let loose a mighty roar. Mysterio only took that to mean 'No'. "Have it your way then!" Mysterio curled his cape tightly around himself as his visage glowed with a green light for a moment. "My second spell will be a warning shot so you can understand my capabilities." [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 5-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 2]
[}0{] So far the plan was going well. While the explosive gas did some serious damage onto the dragon, it was nothing close to being fatal. While it did harm the drake, which broke a bit of the unspoken rules he gave to Tsavorite, he didn't see it as a failure on his part. Rather, he viewed it as a good sign in how was able to rattle the supposedly sturdy creature into acknowledging his capabilities as a fighter. That and the fact that he somehow took the entire hoard away in such a limited amount of time clearly shattered whatever confidence the drake had at his own competence. "Now I have gotten what I came for, so you may as well be on your way." Mysterio nonchalantly shooed at him like you would a cat to get away from your doorstep. "A big strong Drake like yourself is sure to find more treasure elsewhere. At the very least, you won't starve without it like poor Tsavorite seemed to when you wrongfully claimed it." "Give it back!" The Red Drake demanded with gnashing teeth. "Give it back or I will burn you and everything that is set around here!" "I will not! I have taken it and thus am entitled to it, as said by someone quite recently, I'm sure." He then flicked his cloak back as he threw a pointed finger towards the exit. "Now be gone before you rile my wrath against you further!" The drake let loose a mighty roar. Mysterio only took that to mean 'No'. "Have it your way then!" Mysterio curled his cape tightly around himself as his visage glowed with a green light for a moment. "My second spell will be a warning shot so you can understand my capabilities." 'Now to show off just what kind of mind-screws I can throw your way!' He thought as he fully prepared his latest 'spell'. He threw open the cloak and revealed that something was taking the place of his right hand. No longer was it the yellow-green gauntlet with a rectangular wrist portion with intricately etched symbols on its faces. It was no longer even the hand of a man like himself but the...living and breathing maw of...The Red Drake!? "What-" The drake was interrupted by the maw unleashing a torrent of flames upon him that were enhanced in their intensity by the yellow mist that once again suddenly surrounded him. He didn't have time to question where the mist came from because of their end result being truly painful. The flames set him ablaze! Were he not a fire drake, they would have severely wound him. Even still, as durable as he was due to his alignment they worsened his disoriented condition with their concussive burst and searing capability. "As a sorcerer of my capabilities, it is mere child's play to reconstruct the attack of a drake such as you." Mysterio stated eagerly as he held out his dragon for a hand like a cannon. It roared jeeringly at the being it mirrored. Mysterio stroked it like a feline as he continued his lecture. "But allow me to show you what I can do with a little bit more...imagination. You've wasted enough of my time, and I would like to settle this matter today. So I hope you'll enjoy watching my final spell in action. Watch as we begin with the first part." The drake head on his arm closed its maw to give off a malicious smile. Before The Red Drake could dwell on seeing himself look so viciously...at himself, it began to bubble and stretch until it clearly settled into a complete metamorphosis. The scales were no longer red, but were transmuting into a violet hue. There were no longer extensive spines, but greenish ridges along the neck and atop the head. Great horns crowned this new monstrosity as it was clearly the head of a greater drake than even he ever hoped to become. But what frightened him more was how this drake opened its mighty jaws and behind rows of teeth, a bright light could be seen emitting from the back of its throat. It was a very intensely white light that was blinding to see. "That's-!" The Red Drake was frightened at the visage for he recognized this mighty violet Drake among drakes and the charging shot it was readying. "You know it? Good!" as he outstretched his left hand next to the glowing violet head of the dragon. "Then I don't have to explain the basis to get you to understand how I contributed to this wonderful attack for now you shall witness the next part." Another violet dragon's head merged out of the previous one and onto Mysterio's other hand. It was already charging up with its own power that it clearly desired to unleash. The two of them were like a pair of conjoined draconic twins that dared to hold a pair of stars in their maws like jawbreakers. As Mysterio readied the salvos, he recalled how he came up with this step of the plan. [}0{] After easing Tsavorite about the tale of the Mysterio against the unbeatable warrior, Ethan found himself in the library, asking the dragoness about any information about dragons that could be useful. He had already gone over insults (definitely planning on using 'smokepot'), but now it was time to ask more about dragonfire and the like. The plan depended heavily on this information in order to be successful. "Now we get to the climax of the plan. When I asked you about dragons breathing fire, you said that there are many different types of fumes and flames a dragon can unleash. Even those that breathe something like fire can have different colors. So which one is the most deadly and the most feared?" Tsavorite pondered this carefully, for the answer of this question was similar to explaining which type of gemstone was the most nutritious to her; it was difficult to explain if you weren't a dragon to understand it. "I would have to say it depends on the dragon. Most follow the general rule that the dragon with the hottest breath give the brightest attack. Therefore, they would only back off if they feel their own attack would not outshine the others so to speak." "But which is that type that drives all the others away?" Ethan emphasized. "Which one is the type that the moment you see the dragon rearing its head back, you start running for your very life? I get the impression that there is at least one type that every dragon stays as far away from as they can." So that was what he wished to know. Tsavorite knew now what he wanted to hear. The dragoness took a breath as she gave the answer to that and tried not to shudder at the possible implications as to why he wanted that information. "Every dragon, from hatchling to elder knows of one type to flee from. Those that are targeted are vaporized nearly instantly. Not even ashes remain. It's said to be hot enough to burn even the Sun Goddess herself. No lie, I know historically she was hit with it once and the fact that she survived was only due to being magically tied to the sun. Even with her godly nature, she still suffered burns that made her bleached whiter than her natural fur as the tale goes." She shuddered as she imagined the type of breath that all dragons feared. "The attack comes from the jaws of the High King Violetmaw himself! The moment that he opens those large fangs and a light glimmers from the back of his throat, everyone in the vicinity starts fleeing to avoid a searing end! For no one would be foolish enough to stay still to the attack known to many as 'The Vanishing Flare'!" [}0{] "Now you have a choice, Red Drake: either take your divine punishment like a proper dragon and be decimated by me, or flee like the yellow-bellied lizard you are." The Dragon heads opened their maws wider as the searing light built up in their throats. "I highly suggest you do the latter because I won't have a thing left to remember you by when these two attacks go off." 'Flee! Flee! Flee! Flee! FLEE!! FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE!!!' The thought shouted in the Red Drake's mind. It snapped him out of his frozen stupor as he turned to the entryway of the cave. Like a minor prey to an apex predator, he decided to not take the risk of attempting to face this attack head on. Oh by Celestia, did the Red Drake fled! He didn't give a DAMN how the sorcerer was conjuring it, but he wasn't going to take the full impact of TWO salvos worth of 'The Vanishing Flare'! Still, despite the drake clearly running for it, Mysterio still motioned to unleash this attack upon his opponent. "Dou-ble...Van-ish-ing...FLARE!!" He shouted as the two beams flowed out from the gaping maws. The Red drake heard this and took to the sky as fast as his wings could carry him. He nearly broke them trying to raise him up with such speed, but was almost glad as he saw the beams missing his clawed feet by mere inches. He just barely avoided death! To think that the sorcerer was capable of not just copying the signature attack of the Dragon High King himself, but to double it was immensely horrifying! Thus, the Red Drake just kept flying as far as his wings could carry him! All that ran through his mind was how close his hundred year nap came to becoming the final sleep. His departure was witnessed by a few individuals. One of which was a green dragoness who used to live in that cave. Tsavorite just stood by with her widely surprised expression. She looked towards the caves' entrance and back at the Red Drake flying away in the distance as if one of the sovereigns was on his tail. To think, from her hiding place all she saw was Mysterio mutter a few words as he conjured that mist around him. She noted how he threw something into the cave-probably a rock-and past the drake before luring him inside. She heard great shouts, but could not make them out beyond what sounded like Mysterio's laughter and the Red Drake's distress. And yet he not only got the Red Drake to fight him, but he did something even more unthinkable. Judging by the torrents of bright light that the drake flew away from, Mysterio somehow conjured not one, but two instances of the great attack of Violetmaw himself! "You can come in here now Tsavorite! I doubt he'll be back anytime soon by the speed he's flying out of here!" Mysterio's voice echoed from the cave. She hurried to meet him inside to be certain that he was alright from this clash. Inside she found nothing more than the cavern walls and piles of rocks and stalagmites. There was nothing in there except the lone Lord of Wonder Castle himself. Mysterio was just standing in the center of the cave with cloak wrapped around him as if expecting to be attacked again. "Over here." said a voice behind her. Tsavorite immediately turned to face it, and was surprised to see Mysterio already behind her leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in nonchalance. She turned back to see the one she saw in the center, but he wasn't there. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? "Are you alright Tsavorite? You looked surprised to see me alive and well." He held a hand in front of his 'mouth' in mock surprise as he asked, "Did you doubt my ability to keep my promise to you?" "No, but that didn't mean I wasn't worried that the Red Drake wouldn't wound you in some way. I am amazed that you not only drove him away, but did it in such a way that I am not sure how to describe it." She was just too dumbfounded for words to display how amazed she was at the way things turned out. Yet one thing still bothered her that she knew she had to ask. "But how did you take away all the treasure?" Mysterio gave out a laugh as he readied to reveal a magician's secret to his subordinate. "It was very simple. I didn't." He snapped his fingers. "Revealous!" The cavern was no longer empty, but instead was filled with the piles of treasure it previously displayed. Scrooge McDuck himself would hand over his nephews for a chance to swim in these piles of gold, jewels, and other such wonderful pieces of splendor. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes at the sight of it all to be certain that she wasn't imagining it all being in front of her. "I simply cast an illusion on him to make him believe he was facing me in epic combat while ultimately hurting only himself. As for the cavern, I placed a spell that would only allow those to see the cavern and not the treasure." Mysterio sounded smug as he tilted his head a bit in satisfaction of his actions. "What do you know? It only took two spells for me to reclaim your horde! Do you doubt my level of sorcery now, Lady Tsavorite-?" Mysterio found himself off his feet and in the embrace of a most grateful damsel who was no longer in distress. "Thank you, Master Mysterio!" Mysterio could only coyly show nonchalance at the praise. "You're welcome. But how many times must I tell you I don't own-" He stopped his thought as he could clearing hear a clopping sound in the distance that was drawing nearer to the cavern's entrance. Tsavorite let him go so that he could get a closer look at whoever was coming before they entered. What he discovered shook up a few things that he considered factual about this world. Unknowingly, he was also glimpsing a few individuals who would forever change his life as he knew it, even as it was now. There were six individuals, all female by their features, and each one was more unique looking and colorful than the next. They were all humanoid equines (equinoids?...humaniquines?...Ponies!) While he recalled some features being similar to those he noticed in Zecora, there were some clear differences that went beyond how they each looked a bit younger than she. The first had purple fur. She had long hair with bangs, or a mane, that was dark violet with a pink stripe and a purple stripe. She was dressed in a business casual outfit that consisted of a blue buttoned up blouse with a red bow, and a purple skirt that had an emblazoned logo of a pink star with tiny white ones surrounding it. It seemed to be the same symbol that matched the tattoo like marks in her thighs. Overall, she certainly had a studious vibe about her. The next one was pink furred with a pink and poofy mane. It reminded him of cotton candy. She was dressed up in a small blue sweater, a white shirt with a heart, and a long pink skirt with a yellow and two blue balloons on the side. She too had a similar mark on both of her thighs. She had a bubbly and excitable energy that emitted from her. The third one was a sky blue furred equine character that had a shortcut main of rainbow colors. She was dressed in a dark blue track outfit that had a short top that showed off her hard earned abs and a pair of shorts. The markings on her thighs-for Mysterio was beginning to notice a pattern-was a cloud with a primary colored lightning bolt. She seemed more hotheaded and prone to fighting if how she kept shadowboxing the air was any indication. If anything, the more intimidating one might have been the cowgirl dressed one arguing a bit with her. Her clothing was a simple red plaid shirt and jean shorts. She had orange fur and a straw yellow mane with a brown Stetson on her head. The mark on her legs was a trio of apples. She was clearly the more strength oriented one of the bunch with her musculature that was even thicker than the blue one. This next one was definitely a model of elegance. She had white fur with a purple curled and stylized mane. If she didn't dress somewhat casual with a long sleeved white shirt and black skirt with trio of diamonds on her thighs, he would have sworn he was looking at one of them of noble upbringing. That and she seemed uncomfortable with the idea of having to sit on the dirt covered rocks. Still, she seemed to be trying to comfort the last member of the party. It was a yellow furred one with a long pink mane. She shyly sunk her head into her long sleeved yellow sweater. She also wore a green with butterflies that he assumed would match a mark on her thighs were her skirt not covering a good deal of her legs. This one seemed to be frightened at her own shadow by how skittish she moved as she sat. The features that stood out to Mysterio were that the purple and the white one had spiraled horns on their foreheads while the yellow and the blue ones had wings. He knew Zecora explained that Unicorns and Pegasi existed, but he didn't think he would encounter them out of the blue like this. Mysterio found himself disturbed by a number of reasons. Not only did they exhibit colors that in no way would he associate with horses, but they were dressed in clothing that was so...modern! He had expected to be in a world in which the inhabitants lived in villages and had tribal upbringings. Yet already he saw a few dressed up no differently than any young woman he would encounter back home. Just what kind of world did he find himself in and how diverse and widespread was it? Tsavorite interrupted his thoughts as she had to ask why the spell caster was so quiet. "Who is coming?" "It looks like six of those...ponies that Zecora mentioned. Two unicorns, two pegasi, and two...earth ponies. They seem like a colorful bunch, but harmless enough." He stepped back towards her as he continued reporting his findings. "They looked like they were appreciating how the sky was clearing up, so maybe they were just here to negotiate with the Red Drake to stop emitting the black smoke?" "If they were, then that means they aren't going to be much trouble." She sighed out with a hint of relief. "Ponies and Dragons are currently in a type of agreement of non-violence. As far as I know, so long as they don't fight dragons, dragons won't fight them and vice versa." Ah! So in a sense, they had the advantage here. This gave Mysterio an idea. "Listen, Tsavorite, it's probably best if I don't reveal myself to them just yet. I'll disapperate myself and retrieve a method to move this treasure back to the castle. Can you handle things here until I return?" He clasped his hands together hopingly. "I believe so." She nodded her head. Then she realized what he just said. "But what-" "Good. I'll be back." He said, before fading out of existence. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes again at that to make sure her Master had not just been a figment of her imagination or something else of the sort. "Oh, good, you're awake." said a voice of a figure entering the cave. The green dragoness turned to see an approaching purple Unicorn mare addressing her. She gave a bow as she used her magi to set up a presentation behind her, and began by first introducing herself. "Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria. Ponyville, to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke. Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?" She reasoned, hoping the dragoness would be amenable to the request. She'd hate to have Rainbow Dash try her attempt next, and more than likely start up a war in the process. "Of course." Twilight's ears perked up at Tsavorite's nod in agreement. "It would be best if I do it posthaste before that no good thief comes back!" Now this was certainly news to the young mare. "Thief? Was this lair stolen?" "Yes, you see, this was my home, until a few days ago a no good crimson thief came and cast me out. He wished to take my hoard for his own and take a century nap on top of it. Seems that he was also uncaring enough to allow his smoke to spread through the sky in a way that would make the nearby land only suitable for himself." She hugged herself as she thought of the one responsible for getting it back. "Were it not for the help of my master he would still be here, causing problems for us both." "Master?" Twilight asked, honestly curious. "Yes. My master. A sorcerer of incredible power and ability." She affirmed with a slight smile. "He was more than capable of taking care of that robber and driving him far away." Twilight was surprised at his new information. She had never heard of a dragon taking to serving a master before. Even Spike, her number one assistant, saw her more as a family member to help out than some leading individual to follow. From the way this sounded, this dragoness willingly chose to serve this being. As for this character, they must have been a powerful unicorn to take on a full grown drake like Celestia's letter suggested. "Hey Twilight! Are you ok in there?" A voice shouted into the cave. "If you're not being eaten, or a pile of ash, give us a shout! I'm going in there and kicking the first dragon flank I see!" "Dagnabit, Dash! Just hold on a second!" Another voice sounded off. This one seemed as if it was straining to hold something back. "We don't want ya to go startin' up a war like Twilight said!" Seeing the green dragoness perk up at the threat of incoming violence, Twilight's ears drooped in embarrassment. Leave it to Dash to assume diplomacy would be the first option to fail. "You don't mind if my friends come inside, do you?" She nervously asked. "They mean well. It's just that well we spent this whole journey expecting...well..." "Believe me; if you arrived a few minutes earlier, they would have seen something to be afraid of." Tsavorite nodded in understanding. "You may as well let them in. I'd rather they not think I am enjoying some fresh fried unicorn." "Thank you." She bowed her head, before calling her friends over. "I'm ok girls! We're just talking. You don't have to worry; she's a really nice dragoness!" That seemed to get all the voices to calm down. The five remaining ponies cautiously stepped into the cave, their faces lighting up at the fact their friend was safe (or in the white one's case, at the sight of so much treasure!). "Dragoness?" The Blue one asked. "I thought we were supposed to face a big, red, mean, fire breathing dragon!" "You just missed him, Rainbow Dash." Twilight answered. "Apparently someone else got to him first." "Darn!" Rainbow Dash punched her fists together in frustration. "Now how can I prove how awesome I am?" "Never mind that, Dash. Instead, why don't ya tell us whose this here dragon that's next to ya then if the red one's gone an' skedaddled." The orange mare in the Stetson hat asked. "Oh this is..." Twilight started, before she realized she never asked her what her name was. She would have started freaking out then, if the dragoness didn't introduce herself. "Tsavorite. I am the dragon who lived here before I was driven out by that Red Drake." "Oh, that's so sad!" Said a soft and nervous voice. Tsavorite noticed that it came from the yellow pegasus mare that was shyly peeking out from behind the blue pegasus. "Are you still hurt, Miss Tsavorite?" "Not as much as I was before I was able to find help. I was much worse off then to be certain. Thankfully I found someone who was willing to help me recover from the near death state I was in. Not only was he willing to offer me a place stay, but he was willing to put himself on the line to reclaim my hoard. For that, I am willingly able to I owe him my life." Before she could go on further, Tsavorite then found her vision blocked by something pink and hyperactive. Somehow the pink mare had gotten on her shoulders and was looking at her eye-to-eye upside-down. She felt her checks get smooshed by the mare's hands as she was given one of the most enthusiastic greetings in her life. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! I like your name! Tsavorite is such a pretty gem! At least I think it is! I only saw it so many times, growing up on a rock farm! I tend to get it mixed up with Peridot! Which is funny because Tsavorite is a type of Garnet, and you wouldn't get those two confused with each other, especially when you see how one is an alien scientist, while the other is a fusion fighter! Still, I have to say I think I prefer Rose Quartz! -Deep Gasp!- I hope that doesn't hurt your feelings because I think you still have a pretty name that is perfect for a dragoness, although being that you are the first I have met-Deeper gasp!-This calls for a 'You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn't get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her' Party. I should get onto setting that up! Be right back!" The Pink blur was gone leaving a shaking Tsavorite, who noticed somehow she had an invitation in her had for a 'You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn't get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party' with her name on it and the words 'Super-Duper Guest of Honor' highlighted and underlined with a star next to it. "Umm...thank you?" "Don't worry about anything she said too much, Darling. That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie." The white one calmly stated as she introduced herself. "As for more, I am Rarity, fashionista extraordinaire and owner of Ponyville's Carousel Boutique. I must say, I am not one for the color green, but you certain make it work for you with your different shades of scales. And that outfit! Why it's intricately artistic design is marvelous! Why it truly reflects the yellowish shine of your eyes!" "That's very nice of you-" "Don't fall so easily to her compliments, Miss Tsavorite!" The orange mare said as she nudged the white unicorn aside a bit. "I reckon she's just trying to butter you up like a flapjack at sunup!" The white unicorn places a hand to her breast aghast at the accusation. "I beg your pardon Applejack, but I would never-" "I seem to recall a certain somepony saying that the way to a dragon's treasure is through flattery and hollering!" She got up in her face and pointed accusingly. "Maybe if we were still dealing with this no good Red Drake, I'd let him get his comeuppance. Seeing as this dragon looks skinnier than an apple sapling in winter, I won't let ya do such a low and dishonest thing on my watch!" "Well, I certainly wouldn't resort to such a thing just to take advantage of our host. That would be most inappropriate as a guest!" Rarity angrily retorted while absentmindedly rolled one of her curling strands of mane with a finger as she then muttered. "Besides, I said 'pony charm'. To be 'hollering' is to be uncouth!" Twilight just sighed at the sight of another argument about to spark from those two. Honestly, one day she was going to figure a way to get them to become better friends, if it meant to do something like keep them looked up in the same spot for a night. But that was a matter for another time. She had a dragoness in need of relocation to deal with right now. "So I'm not sure how familiar you are with the territory rules regarding dragons in Equestria, but I'm afraid to inform you that this mountain is too risky of a place for a dragon to be, especially since the chance you may...smoke, means it would pollute our sky in a wide radius for a possible century. So I'm afraid on behalf of Princess Celestia, I must ask for you to find another place to dwell in for the sake of the other inhabitants nearby. If you could pack your things, we could help you find a new location to suit your needs." Tsavorite didn't even hesitate, for she knew how to answer the suggestion. "That won't be necessary. I already know a decent place in mind. Of course, being that it will hold my treasure, you understand why I won't allow you to come along. If you could just provide carts, then I'm sure he would take care of the rest when he returns." Her arms crossed as she also raised her eye ridge and sternly added, "I will even pay you for your services so you don't have to sneak away gems that you think you can get away with." They all turned to look at Rarity who sheepishly placed the diamonds she was taking back into the pile. She immediately gave a curtsy as she frantically began apologizing to their host. "I'm deeply sorry! That was very unbecoming for someone like me-" The dragoness held out a hand to ease her. "It's fine! Just be warned to never steal from a dragon. You may not like the consequences." "Consequences?" Rarity nervously swallowed air. "Like what?" "Let's just say, that the only things that can be daring enough to wrongfully take a dragon's hoard, are other dragons." Tsavorite grimaced as she looked to the cavern's entrance, hoping her master would return soon. [}0{] Elsewhere, Ethan was traveling with great speed to a source of manual labor that he knew off the back of his hand. Another time, he would be amazed at seeing the other things he was discovering that he could do as Mysterio. Heck, he should be more impressed at how with but a few of the tools of the villain's collection of tricks he was able to get a dragon of all things to flee for his life. Instead, his mind kept focusing on the different implications that were brought to him with just the sight of those six young mares. 'So if they have the mindset to dress in such a manner, then they may be much further in their technological level...which could mean...!' Before he could complete that thought, he found himself at his destination. To be within its boundary would require him to keep his wits about him, so he stowed those thoughts away for later. Right now he had a labor force to recruit. Fortunately they were one he knew how to bribe...and ensnare! The Manticore Pride looked up at the strange figure that calmly walked up to their lair. The males growled threateningly while the females stuck close to their cubs at the ready. Each alone was a threat in themselves without the added incentive of keeping their pride mates safe. Yet Mysterio had no fear towards them. He knew how deal with these felines after all. "Well, hello there." Mysterio folded his arms behind his back. "Would you like some fish?" A deep green smoke started to roll in from behind him. The Manticores could do nothing but breathe it in and find themselves hanging onto every word the apparent sorcerer had to say. "Good kitties get fish!" He clapped his hands together in a gleeful manner as he spoke as calm and enchantingly as a TV Host. "Now I have a job for you kitties, so be good!" [}0{] As Mysterio was gathering up his workers, Tsavorite was doing her best to lead the efforts to pack up her hoard into something more manageable. Normally, this would be considered an impossible undertaking. Fortunately, there were a number of advantages in the group that was there. You had Applejack, one of the strongest earthpony mares in Ponyville. She bucks the majority of an apple orchid of trees every day as the sun is sure to rise. Moving piles of treasure was not that different from moving bushels of her family's money crop. If anything, the most noticeable difference to her was that she got to carry the bushels of her harvest in gilded jars covered in jewelry. Gaudy as they may be, she was definitely asking to keep them when they were done with this task. That and she thought they would be perfect for her strength training! Her willingness to work the problem with a show of strength was met with another who wanted to show off her capabilities in speed. The pegasus who claimed to be able to clear the skies around her hometown in ten seconds flat, decided that this was another competition with her athletic rival. Rainbow Dash flew diligently like a blur moving gems with such a pace that she may as well be causing it to rain treasure into manageable piles. Behind her as if she could match her speed was Pinkie Pie catching whatever valuables Rainbow Dash missed or dropped, and tossing them into a great big pink wheelbarrow. Apparently this task of moving heavy material and managing it was nothing new to her after growing up on a rock farm. Still, one had to wonder just how she packed a wheelbarrow for 'wheelbarrow emergencies' all the way up here? Still it seemed the others were too preoccupied to concern themselves with the question. Such was Rarity, who was gleefully enjoying being one of those in charge of managing the treasure. As much as Rarity liked to praise gems, she knew how to appraise them. With a speed that would make her athletic compatriots impressed, she categorized the treasures based on quality and type. Yet she still took Tsavorite's warning to heart. Sure it would be easy to separate a few more gems into the pile meant for the ponies, but she fought off the temptation to take more than their fair share of the treasure albeit with some sorrow. As for her fellow unicorn, Twilight Sparkle found herself enjoying greatly this wonderful motivation that needed her skills in planning, organization, and execution. After sending word to her assistant in Ponyville, to get some carts and leave them at the base of the mountain-Tsavorite was insistent that they were dropped off there and no further-Twilight was doing her best at utilizing her special talent: Magic. While Rarity was seamless her he applications of magic related to gems and jewelry as clearly shown in how she not only organized and appraised the treasure while simultaneously shining and polishing them, Twilight spent a great deal of her life studying up on every spell she could. Here was the perfect situation to test out some of spells she had previously little reason to utilize before. Such spells she used included ways of making the bigger and heavier pieces as light as a feather, to magically magnetizing them so that they could clump together, to even shrinking the piles for an impermanent amount of time to better transport them. Twilight felt good knowing that spells she'd thought would never get to employ beyond her days learning them with Celestia's supervision. May she be proud of her student! That left a yellow Pegasus seemingly without much to do. She wasn't among the strongest or fastest of her friends, nor was she capable of magic so there was not much she thought she could do to help them with their efforts. Yet she wasn't entirely discouraged by the thought, for she knew how to use her own strengths to contribute to the situation like her ability to make friends with other animals. Fortunately, they were coming in handy with helping out the dragoness herself, for it seemed she was taking her time to rest up and eat some gems of her reclaimed treasure. "So, Fluttershy, you seemed to still be a bit nervous to be here." Tsavorite ate a few more rubies before continuing. "Am I that imposing of a creature to you still?" "Well, no, but I was worried you would be big, scary, and mean -eep! Sorry!" Fluttershy quickly withdrew into her sweater in a manner similar to a turtle. "I understand." Tsavorite tried to reassure her. "We dragons tend to have quite the reputation for being such creatures." Fluttershy peeked out a bit. "So you're not like that?" "Not now at least." She then exaggeratedly puffed her cheeks and spread her wings out as she spoke in a deeper tone of voice. "Maybe after I put on a few dozen more pounds. I'll be back to the 'big' for sure, but we'll have to see if I'll even be in the mood to be 'scary' or 'mean'." The yellow Pegasus giggled a bit at that. "I hope not. You seem too nice to be that kind of dragon." Tsavorite felt glad that she got the young mare to feel easier around her. "Well, I certainly try." "Welp! That there should do it!" Applejack smacked her hands together as she let the last bit of treasure drop into a pile. "Course, I coulda had done it before sundown. There was no need for you and Rarity ta rush the process with your magic, Twilight." "Now Applejack, these are not your apples, which you always emphasize on their natural quality and how not one bit of magic goes into their production or harvest." Rarity chided before Twilight could say a word. "Besides, as much as I'm sure you and Rainbow Dash would love to continue your little contest further, we have to be sure that we are prepared to introduce ourselves to our host's special guest who will be transporting all this treasure." The girls almost forgot about that. In their effort to gather the treasure into manageable piles, it seemed to slip their minds that the reason why they were even able to do so was because of the valiant efforts of Tsavorite's master. "Rarity's right! We shouldn't be arguing about this." Twilight reasoned. "I for one would like to learn more from this sorcerer. He must be quite accomplished and knowledgeable to be able to drive an adult dragon away from a hoard like this." "Right! This apparent 'sorcery guy'. Who was somehow able to get a dragon to just leave. And not end up a burnt crisp. "Rainbow Dash asked with finger quotes. "So Tsavory, anything we should know about this 'master' of yours?" Tsavorite tilted her head a bit. "Just that he may look...rather strange." "How so?" Applejack asked. "Well, he's not a pony, which is probably why the ceasefire is not in danger of being broken." "Really?" Twilight's eyes widened at that, as did the others'. "Then what is he? What is he like?" The dragoness scratched her check as she pondered where to begin. "Well to start...he has the most unusual looking face." "Huh?" They all asked aloud. [}0{] While the girls were learning more of the one that Tsavorite called her master, elsewhere was another figure heading towards the mountain. He was a tall and buff stallion with crimson fur and long blonde locks for his mane. He was dressed in a simple set of overalls that seemed just big enough for a towering and muscular fellow like himself. Sewn onto the main pocket near his pecs was a patch of a green apple cut in half with the seeds on display. This pinnacle of stallions was Big Macintosh, of the Apple Family, and older brother of Applejack. Overall, the day was going pretty well for him. The sky was clearing up again, which eased his mind in how the danger his sister and her friends ran straight towards seemed to pass. When young Spike came to him about a letter he received via dragonfire-still had to get used to that form of mail delivery-he found himself having to get five carts together from whoever could spare them and deliver them to the mountain because apparently they needed help moving the dragon's treasure trove somewhere else. Now ordinarily, a strong stallion would be able to successfully pull a cart, let alone five good sized ones like he was doing. It certainly helped that they were empty, and not loaded with anything more than a few empty baskets, rope, and some tarp. Still, it certainly gave an illusion of being much stronger than he looked to the love-struck mares in town, and having that fellow Snowflake (or Bulk Biceps as he was known on the stage) declare them rivals in might again! "Pardon me, my good sir!" a deep voice interrupted his line of thought. "Eeyup?" Big Macintosh stopped to turn to see who was addressing him. He nearly dropped his wheat when he glimpsed who was talking. The figure was wrapped up in a purple cloak. Within it, he could see the hints of an outfit with green armor by the looks of it. His gauntlets were a more yellowish green than the rest of him and were covered in all manner of symbols that he couldn't make sense of. The oddest part about him was his face, or rather lack of due to him having a shining reflective sphere where his head should evidently have been. It was like a crystal ball, or some sort of glassy globe that couldn't be seen into. To make it even stranger, he was leading what looked to be an entire pride of manticores, one of which he was standing proudly upon its back. "Are those carts to be used for a certain purpose?" The mysterious figure asked in an echoing tone of voice. "Eeyup." Big Mac curtly answered. The figure tilted his 'head' a bit as he asked, "Might I know it?" The red stallion just pointed towards the mountain. That seemed to be enough to get his reason across to the orb-faced person. "I see. So you were just going to leave the carts there, correct?" "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded. Seeing as how this character seemed to know the specific instructions he was given, the stallion could only assume that this was the odd sorcerer that Twilight's letter seemed to suggest keeping an eye out for if he came across him. "Good fellow! I'll take them from here. You best be on your way back home then." The distinct being then declared as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a sizable sack, "Here's some coin for your trouble. Keep the change!" The Red Stallion caught the bag as it was thrown at him, and gave a peek into the contents. What he found was a number of coins that at first appeared to be bits. After giving one a good bite, he found that they were all of high quality gold. His eyes widened at this as he looked to see that the figure was already on his way to the mountain with the carts being drawn by a few members of the beasts he was escorted by. Ordinarily Big Macintosh would probably follow the apparent fishbowl headed figure that was leading a pride of Manticores to a place that his sister and her friends were currently adventuring at. "EeNope!" But he turned around, deciding that whatever was happening was certainly not worth the headache. It was bad enough that his old pal Shining sent a letter trying to convince him to keep an eye on his sister (boy did he still have that sister complex!) and to go take out the dragon on his own before they packed up and left for the mountain he lived on. Strong as he was, his muscles had nothing on being set ablaze! Besides, he had a very good teacher who taught him that sometimes it was better 'to trust a hunch and to avoid a bad crunch' as she would say. And his instincts seemed to be pointing to get back home as far as he was concerned. Besides, he was certain that Applejack and her friends could handle it. This fellow couldn't be worse than Nightmare Moon, so how much trouble could he be? [}0{] His introduction was certainly one to stick out in the memories of the six element bearers. Granted, they were not sure what they were expecting when they knew a bit more about this sorcerer who went by the name Mysterio. It certainly wasn't a whole pride of Manticores climbing up the mountainside while the unusual figure of Tsavorite's description sat on top of the one in the lead. "Hear me! I am Mysterio! A Master of the Arcane Arts!" He proclaimed with his arms outstretching his cape. "All should take heed for even the deadliest of beasts are but subjects to my will!" They starred him down in their own ways. Some were worried. One was intrigued. The last two were stern faced, and moved towards him in a scrutinizing manner. Mysterio was expecting the blue Pegasus with the rainbow mane to perhaps be one to confront him. He was also expecting the Stetson wearing one to be alongside her, but she appeared to stick protectively close to the worried looking yellow pegasus and the white unicorn. Instead, the one trotting alongside her was the pink mare with the cotton candy-like mane. While Mysterio showed no reaction to the two staring mares that were now a few feet away from him, Ethan felt a bit anxious under his helmet. He felt a strong sense of uneasiness at how serious they looked. That is, until their stern expressions were broken by their sudden surges of laughter. "Hee-hee-hee-hah! His face does look -hee-hee-! Like a giant pearl! -Snort!-"Pinkie Pie giggled. "No way!" Rainbow disagreed with a guffaw. "His head looks more like...-heh-...a fishbowl!!" Rainbow and Pinkie broke down into rolling laughter. While this coused their friends to sigh out at their antics, this was not as well received by the one who they were in hysterics over. "Fishbowl?!" Mysterio bellowed at the most irksome insult to ever infuriate him. It was a crystal ball for crying out loud! "I am a great and powerful sorcerer! A lord of a castle! I demand respect for my station!" That pronouncement seemed to dim the mood as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie slowly settled into a less frenetic state of being. "Oh great, it's another blowhard like Trixie." Rainbow Dash huffed out. He seemed to give them a long look before replying to that comment. Or at least as long of a look he could convey due to his lack of features. "I know not who this 'Trixie' is, but I assure you, I am no mere 'blowhard'." He vehemently affirmed as he got off the manticore. He wrapped his cloak around him as he decided it was better to show them. If one were to look closely he was tapping his fingers alongside his wrist before starting his scene. "I find it most irksome to be greeted with such a response! And to not even be graced the names of those who find my appearance so humorous! For shame!" He raised a hand to where his forehead could have been as he seemed to get into a most artistic lament. Around him, it seemed that everyone suddenly found themselves in the audience of a theater stage. There, Mysterio was giving a soliloquy like a thespian. "Alas we find ourselves among fellow strangers to these parts. We hope to find companionship, but instead daggers to our hearts!" It seemed as though a spotlight suddenly feel upon him as he fell to his knees on a dark stage. The next instant everything returned as it was, leaving a whole cast of characters wondering just what happened. "Oh I'm so sorry Mr. Eeyo!" Fluttershy came to the side of Mysterio to rest a hand on the downtrodden spellcaster. "I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie didn't mean to poke fun of your face. It looks rather nice and...um...shiny." 'My face...?' He discreetly gave a look in Tsavorite's direction that was hidden undernearth his helmet. She seemed to be hiding a slight grin of her own at that tidbit. 'Oh! I see!' "Well, I suppose that is alright. I shall let it pass (this time!). Still IT is most inconsiderate to refer to my countenance as a 'fishbowl'." He stated as he picked himself up. "Also, my name is pronounced Mysterio, as in 'Mysterious', not 'Mr.' like 'Mister' followed by an 'Eeyo'. I take no offense to that mistake knowing that my name must be much stranger than yours...umm..." "Fluttershy." She whispered most shyly. It was barely enough of a decibel that he was able to catch it, but he did. Seeing how their friend introduced herself, the others quickly gave their names. "Twilight Sparkle." "Rainbow Dash." "Applejack Apple!" "Rarity Belle." "Pinkie Pie, Hee-hee!" "Err...yes! Those!" Mysterio tried to not sound too perturbed at that, so he quickly sped up to get to his point. "So with that matter out of the way I would like to say that it is a pleasure to meet you all, but alas, I must insist we set up to make our departure posthaste." "Oh must you go? We haven't even had our 'You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn't get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party'! You got an invite to it and it even has a gold star! Lucky!" Lo and Behold! There in his hand was an invitation to a 'You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn't get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party' for Tsavorite, and it was address to Mysterio. "Well! I am...Errrrrr...." The lack of logic due to all kinds of rules being broken was making Ethan under that mantel of Mysterio dizzy. "I believe my master is right. It is best we get going." "That and I am sure that the Manticores wouldn't want to leave their mates and cubs waiting all night for their return." "Errrr...Yes! Of Course! We wouldn't want to do that!" Finally Ethan's wits were quickly returning to him. "They are a...motivated volunteer task force, but they have to return once their task is done. The sooner the better!" "Well, I suppose that makes sense. Earlier I sent a letter to my assistant to have the mayor arrange for some carts to be brought to the mountain." Twilight replied, before noticing them already hitched to go. "And I see you found them. I certainly wasn't expecting the way they would be brought here." "Indeed I have. It was certainly a very nice gesture." Mysterio answered before quickly redirecting the conversation to address the next thing that stood out to him. "I also see you've reorganized the treasure. Although I could have sworn the cave was full of it when I last gazed upon it." "Well, there still is! You see, using our combined teamwork, we not only moved the treasure into more organized sections, but using some of Star Swirl's principles of gem resonance we were able to alter it in ways that would make it easier to carry." "I see." Mysterio sounded impressed at seeing the results of their efforts. Judging from what he could see there was some interesting making at work. From the knight's helmet that was the size of a pencil top, to the gold statuettes that were not being crushed under what should be heavier stones, there were certainly some magical alterations that made these much smaller piles. "That would certainly make it much easier to load up the carts and carry them to our location." "Yessiree!" Applejack bellowed. "Now we'd best be moving if you-" A green mist suddenly poured in, breaking whatever train of thought she had going. "Now, ladies, would you kindly start loading up the treasure into the carts?" Mysterio asked with such benevolence. "I would appreciate it, and I'm certain my dear subordinate Tsavorite would as well-l-l-l-!" Surely it wouldn't hurt to help them load the treasures into the carts. After all, it never hurts to help! "Never hurts to help." Twilight mumbled as she and the others started to get to work on loading the carts. "Mysterio! What are you doing?" "I'm doing what I must! I'm making sure that we can leave this encounter all behind us!" [}0{] "But you said-!" "I know what I said! I'm not doing this to harm them, but to protect them!" Oh did he ever wish he could still rub his eyebrows with his helmet on! The gesture as it was looked ridiculous with Mysterio doing it as he was. "Believe me, trust me, and remember I'm not the type that would do something despicable just to get what I want. I'm only doing this for the good of everyone involved." "Fine." Tsavorite relented after a long while of thinking quietly. She choose to serve this man, so surely she could put her trust into his decisions no matter how harsh they seemed. They surely must have a well-meaning intention for him to do so. "But just so you know, I also promised them that they could keep some treasure for their trouble." Mysterio just placed his hands across his back as he walked towards the wagons being loaded up to oversee their progress. "A surprisingly munificent offer to make. The other member of your species did not appear to be that giving. In fact, I believe he would kill me if I so much as asked for one mere coin at the time." The dragoness merely shrugged as she followed him. "I am not like him. My disposition is more attuned to being a waster, not a hoarder." "I see." He gave a nod before pointing exuberantly at her. "Well, I am but a man of my word, and thus have kept my promise to return your horde to you. It is your choice to do with it as you wish, but remember, I have your oath!" Tsavorite thought long and hard at that. There was much that this man had done for her in the short time they knew each other. He had not only saved her life, but placed his own on the line for her. So she only had one answer to that pronouncement. "You certainly earned it, Master." "Umm...excuse me." Mysterio immediately turned to face the shy speaking mare. Unlike her friends who were busy at work loading up the carts, she nervously stood there as if contemplating what she should do. 'Interesting. She wasn't affected by the suggestive chemicals.' He pondered as he kept a steady gaze at her reaction. "Ummm...Mr. Eeyoo-I mean Mysterio! Umm...What did you do to my friends?" She rang her hands together as she withdrew into her sweater a bit. "They seem very...dedicated to the task-Not that it's a bad thing! It's just rather...weird to see them act like this." Oh, if Ethan was in a better situation, he would have not had to resort to such trickery. Yet he could not rescind his actions; only try to improve the situation he was now stuck in with more trickery. In this case, it was to talk his way into making things not seem as dastardly as they appeared to be. "My dear, I was merely trying to help your friends." He emphasized with a congenial tone of voice. "With this suggestive spell, they will not only be able to work faster and longer without much need to rest, but they will also have the benefit to forget meeting me." "Why would you want us to forget meeting you?" The yellow pegasus shivered. "Is it for a...terrible reason?" "OH nothing malicious! Just that...I'm very worried about making a first impression!" He countered as quickly as his mind could come up with it. "If I am to formally introduce myself to your species, I would want to do it in a way that I can be sure to make a good impression on them." Fluttershy peeked out a bit further from her sweater at that reason. "A good impression?" "Of course! Think about it! I'm a power master of magic who just drove a dragon away, and here I am after the battle being practically ambushed by a group of your species as I am leading a manticore pride to pick up the hoard of another dragon that serves me and appearing as if I am heading to battle. Does that sound like the type of person you want to walk to your house?" "I suppose not-" Before she could finish, Mysterio was already patting her on the back (making sure to avoid her wings) like a reassuring salesman. "Then there you go! As long as you permit me to influence your friends so that they will not remember me, I will ensure no harm will befall them on my part." He then quickly made the gestures of one of the most well-known oath that humans tended to make. "Cross my heart. Hope to Die! Stick a needle in my eye!" Fluttershy gasped at that promise. "You would really do that if you broke your promise?" "Well...I shouldn't have to if I keep my word. So please feel at ease knowing that I will not harm your friends." He continued his walk to the rest of the mares who were surprisingly finishing loading up all of the treasure to take it away. "Umm, o-kay. I trust you." "Good! Now there's just one more thing I need to ask you before we head on our way." Mysterio confidently got upon the back of his Manticore mount. Like a classic magician, he pulled out a long red strip of cloth from his gauntlet. "I'll need you to wear this." [}0{] Much later when it was nearing sundown, the outskirts of the Everfree Forest were the sight of a most intriguing gathering. Six mares (five under some magical ensnarement while the sixth had on a red blindfold) and a pride of Manticores were gathered around an orb-headed figure with a dragness by his side giving them thanks for all the work they did today. "Now remember, only good kitties get fish when I have some to spare." Mysterio shouted to the Manticore pride. "Now go home and enjoy the rewards of such good work!" The Manticores left with little noise and strolled into the treeline. It seems they left steadily, but quickly to probably hurry home and enjoy the baskets of fish they were carrying. "As for you six." Mysterio addressed the mane six. "Thank you for help. I'm sure your parents will be proud of such wonderful daughters they raised!" They gave no true response to that. For six of them it was because of their state of ensnarement. For the sixth, it was due to her being nervous of the blindfold she was wearing blocking what was going on. "Umm, Mysterio. Could I take the Blindfold off now? It's been so long and I would really like it off, if that's ok?" "Of course! You were such a good sport today, and I thank you for that Miss Fluttershy. In fact, you all were! Why don't you all just go home, hug your loved ones if you got them, and then sleep in tomorrow for a job well done!" He then clapped his hands into applause as gave his final instructions. "Make sure you go home safe, quick and avoid any danger that comes your way until you get to your front door. Return those cart and put the treasure you earned in a safe place, and the moment you awake you'll be back to your normal selves with no memory of Mysterio and his secret lair." 'Go home, hug loved ones if you got them...sleep in tomorrow for a job well done...go home safe, quick ...avoid danger until you get to your front door...return carts...put treasure in a safe place...forget Mysterio and his lair...' The entranced mares moved in a swift and orderly fashion as they too began their journey home. Applejack was pulling a train of shrunken down cars behind her. Fluttershy removed her blindfold, to find that she was not that far from the route to her own cottage. Before she could take off, the sorcerer had one more thing to say to her. "As for you, Miss Fluttershy. Remember to tell them tomorrow what I told you to say." Mysterio said as he started walking into the Everfree. "And make sure they are safe!" Fluttershy waved goodbye as she flew to hurry after her friends. "I'll be sure to tell them. Goodbye Mysterio. Goodbye Miss Tsavorite!" "Take care!" He shouted as a mist enveloped himself and his scaly fellow. Slowly it enshrouded the scenery until only the light from Mysterio's face could be seen. When the mist finally dissipated, there was no sign of them whatsoever. [}0{] When evening conclusively hit, there were two individuals feeling elated at their new fortune. "So now we wait and see what happens." Ethan said as he gazed at his helmet that he took off. He was currently in what would now be known as 'The Treasure Room', which was previously a large chamber that was barren with a high ceiling that existed under the castle. "I'm surprised she took your deed as well as she did. She and her friends showed such spirit and integrity I was certain they would become fine allies for you." Tsavorite remarked as she ate a few gems. She was lying on a great big pile of them, curled up in a near feline manner. She was elated to be surrounded by such goodies once more. Still, there was one thing that was bothering her and she had to ask, "So what was the true reason you wanted them to forget you and this place, master?" Ethan carefully considered his words. Initially, he wanted to talk to them and to ask them all sorts of questions. When he first heard of the pony races, he thought for certain that they would help him in so many ways. But considering the cultural tells that he noted of Tsavorite and Zecora at the time, he thought that they would be too primitive to have what he needed. But the way they were dressed...it changed a lot of things he thought he knew about this world! And that in many ways terrified him! What was their society like now? It was clear the library he had access to was a few cultural renaissances out of date. Not to mention he clearly had little idea of their capabilities. Their magic capabilities and feats of strength made it possible to carry all this treasure that he thought would be a couple weeks' worth of work in less than a day. For crying out loud, this bunch looked like civilians yet from what Tsavorite told him of the time she spent with them they were sent to deal with the Red Drake. "I guess I simply desired to meet them in a more prepared setting." He said with conviction as he placed his helmet back on. His voice deepened once again as he decreed, "In any case, we'll certainly have to prepare ourselves to be in a first-rate condition to greet the pony race. Only then could we be assured of being taken seriously when they know of us." "By your will then, Mysterio. You've shown that you can keep your word by your actions." She nestled a bit deeper into her pile of delicious jewelry. Sleepiness was catching up to her and her dragon instincts were telling her that her hoard was safe again for her to find rest in. "I can only -yawn- place my trust in you further. After all, my life is yours to do with...as you will." Ethan wanted to argue against that point again, but felt that the dragonesses could use her rest, so instead began to look positively towards their newly earned wealth. "I suppose. Still, can you see it, Tsavorite?" He extended his hand towards the chamber as if mapping out the constellations. "All this treasure and with it the beginning of a great number of wonderful things to come!" "Yes, and with you -yawn- needing it as a resource to accomplish your goals I'll be sure...to make my hoard last us the month." "Well, I'll be certain to not abuse the privilege considering..." He stopped raving as the dragoness' words finally reached him. "I'm sorry, did you say a month?" "Well, I can eat a great deal of gems per day. So at most what we have is about enough for me to eat in about a month. Two if I don't snack in between meals." She smiled assuredly with her eyes closed. As Tsavorite opened her eyes to bid her master good night she noticed that Ethan started to sway side-to-side uncontrollably. "Master?" Ethan fell back into the gold pile, and was motionless. "Master!" Tsavorite exclaimed as she rushed to his side. Was it something she said? [}0{] <Congratulations on your victory. You found a way to win without going the truly easy way about it.> Ethan felt as if he was weightless, but the feeling quickly passed as he became aware of the sensation of something...comfortable. He was in a grand armchair. Where that was placed was another story. It was a grand library that had shelves that reached great heights. They were filled with all manners of books. Each shelf meet into a ceiling that seemed to depict a night sky that was depicted well enough to suggest that perhaps one were gazing at the true constellations. And yet, all of it, had a tinge of a lunar green light was covering everything in color. <So it looks like you've done well for yourself.> The voice continued. <But what will you do next I wonder?> "Who are you?" Ethan asked. He was concerned with a number of things: Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here? Yet the most prevalent question in his mind seemed to be this: Who was this figure that was talking to him despite not even having a head, let alone a mouth with which to speak? He wore a large coat of blended colors and looked as if he stepped out of a painting. He sat across from him at a grand and round table in which an opulent tea set, snack dishes, and other baubles were elaborately set between them. <You may call me...The Quidam.> The headless entity replied in that oddly mellow tone of voice. <Now, I suggest you take some tea. We have much to discuss about our arrangement and only so long to go over it.> [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 6-Making a Mark [Part 1]
In Equestria, one of the most cherished aspects of the world was the sunshine. The brightness and the temperature seem to always be glorious and uplifting to all who dwelled in the realm. It felt motherly and tender as well as invigorating due to its intensity. In fact, there was a myth that the sun was so powerful that the Pegasus race was made to create stormy weather in order for the inhabitants to maintain their appreciation for it as well as the land to continue to grow and prosper. Yet while so many gave reasons to appreciate the sun, there was one individually cursing its brightness and heat. However, to be fair, she had been cursing a lot of other things lately as well. In the past, she would have been recognized as the shapely unicorn in a magician's outfit. Now, she would hardly be recognized in the dirty and rumpled flannel shirt and overalls she was forced to wear. By Tartarus, she hardly recognized herself nowadays! 'Stupid sun! Stupid dirt! Stupid workload!' Thought Trixie before muttering. "I was a graduate of Illusion Magic and on my way to fame and renown. How did I end up here moving around garbage?" "Because we founds it in our hearts to give you some grub, clothes, and a place to sleep!" Said a voice behind her. She was an intimidating figure. Her shape was wide and broad and emphasized by the tight strains that were apparent on her shirt and overalls. Yes she was plush, and plump, but she had a great deal more muscular aspect about her despite her curvy face suggesting otherwise. That, and her chest played a prominent aspect in further emphasizing her bulky stature with each letter of the alphabet it must of bypassed. Her tail stuck out from her wide backside and was a ruffled appendage that looked like it could give quite the smack if one wasn't careful. All in all, she was the very model of what one could imagine a junkyard dog to be. For that was what she was. A Diamond Dog to be certain, but one who ran a junkyard. She seemed to be a Border Collie type based on the way her fur was patterned to focus more brown fur around her eyes and streamed down her neck like a long mane of hair. It was quite the contrast to her grayish coat and golden eyes. Normally, they were the type of Diamond Dog that were renown for being built lean for running and one of the considerably more sensuous appearing types of the species. Despite the alteration in size, girth and demeanor, there was still a sense of that majesty in the gaze of this Diamond Dog. That and the way her outer fang was curled up suggested a sense of sassiness that took little to no nonsense when work needed to be done. "Yeah! So keep working! It takes lots of works to keep scrappy yard nice and perty!" Said a more chipper and youthful voice of somedoggie sitting on her shoulder. This one seemed to be a petite type of doggie, but was also clearly a puppy. You could tell with how she dressed in a blue shirt that depicted a pink bunny as well as a faded pink skirt over a pair of pants that were as orange as her short kept hair. It had a black ribbon with a bow near her right ear. She had a grayish coat collar as well but around her right eye was a black mark like a bullseye. She stifled a giggle with a large forepaw with three clawed digits and thumb while her big toes curled in mirth. This pair was Bo (the collie) and Norah (the puppy). Here they were in a desert that lied between the border of the evergreen trees and whatever dry and hot spot that those ponies claimed would make a good frontier town in what was known as Clutter Coulee. It was a junkyard filled with the leftover scrap and broken down remnants of times gone by that was currently being worked over by the place's newest guest. Her job was simple: sort out the good scrap from the large piles of refuse. It was simple work, but certainly not easy! "This could go so much faster if you'd just let me use my magic" Trixie began to light her horn, before she was startled into stopping by Bo literally putting her foot down. A resounding boom echoed out as she gave a low growl at the attempt to cheat at the work that needed to be done. "None of that! It's enough that we lets you use it to makes the more yucky stuff get gone. Besides," Bo crossed her arms, unintentionally further emphasizing her endowments, and raised a fanged lip to show more teeth as she snarled, "the last thing we needs is you getting any ideas of cheating yourself out of work by makings it invisible, tiny, or whatever you ponies think up!" "Yeah! So don't worry about it, pretty pony. Just keep working and you'll be done in time for supper!" Norah giggled from her perch as Bo turned to head for other parts of the junkyard she had to work on. 'Pretty! Pretty her plot!' Trixie thought as she recalled the true reason for why she toiled so hard and why the little pup was watching her so discreetly over Bo's shoulder as the two Diamond Dogs walked away. Her hand unconsciously reached for her newest accessory to her outfit: a collar with a bulb as its centerpiece. It was junky looking, but the story behind it was not so worn in her memory. [}0{] "Get this thing off of me!" Trixie yelled. She woke up one morning to find a new accessory around her neck. The decorative style was too childish to be Bo, so she knew the culprit had to be the pup, Norah. "Trixie is not some canine you can collar like she needs to be walked! She is her own mare!" The unicorn tugged with all her might, and even tried her magic, but the collar would not come off no matter what trick she tried to attempt. For something probably scrapped together it was surprisingly resilient. "No! I don't like it when No-good-dirty-ungrateful-charity-stealers take advantage of my Big Sis and run off before Paying up what they owe!" Norah pouted with her arms firmly crossed before she pointed at the mare that was nearly twice her size. "So you are gonna work hard until you pay back EVERY Little thing you owe for us saving your puff-up plot!" "My plot is not puffed-up!" She rubbed her backside subconsciously as she defended it. It was the natural size it was meant to be for her curves; No magic alterations whatsoever! "Besides, even if I decided to go off on my merry way, what would a pup like you even do if I say no?" It was at that question the little pup gave out a wide smile like she just heard the punchline to a very inside joke. "Well, let's look at another guest I gave one of my pretty collars too." She pulled out from her skirt pocket what looked like a soup can connected to a string. "Come in Mr. FluffyStuffy! This is to supper sexy puppy gal, Norah! Do you copy?" Trixie noticed that as she followed the string, it went a long ways away from them. It ended with another can on top of a box in which a faded yellow bear with a red shirt was sitting. He too was wearing a similar collar, but due to his size, it was used as a belt instead of being worn on its neck. "What's that MR. FluffyStuffy? The work is too much? You would rather lie around and do nothing?" She then pulled out a box with a big switch inside and flicked it. "Well TOO BAD! LOOks like YOUR TIME is UPPPP!!!" The bulb on the collar blinked green, then yellow, until it ended in a red glow. The moment it did, the bear exploded into a miniature snowstorm of stuffing and felt. Norah burst into tears and sobbed as she felt the bits of cotton land near her bottom paws despite the distance. "You see that bear! I liked THAT BEAR! I even LIKE-LIKED him! I slept with him ENOUGH TIMES to consider debating if I should become a ONE-STUFFED-ANIMAL pup!" She then stared down the now shaking unicorn with tear stricken fury as she declared, "I don't even know you!" She just ran off crying, leaving a near catatonic Trixie, who realized just how her life fell into the hands of a lunatic. [}0{] Trixie shook her mane furiously as she struggled to lift bigger and heaver heaps of scrap to their proper piles. "I was the 'Great and Powerful Trixie'! There is a record of her graduation from a prestigious academy! Trixie is NOT...huff!... a collered...errgh!... beast of burden...ugh!..for a couple of..arr!...damned dogs!" With that, she tossed the contents she was holding onto the larger pile and began to catch her breath. As she did so, he furry began to die out and be filled with a heavy sorrow. "How could have Trixie...how could have I fallen so far?" She sighed as she continued her job. For despite how much she hated it, she could do nothing else to change her situation. And so Trixie found herself continuing to work hard. For she always felt eyes on her at some point of the day. It didn't help that Norah seemed to find a way to always show up and check on her progress at the most inopportune times. But what could she do? She wished someone would come and help her get her life back on track, but who was out there that would even be capable of getting her out of this dump? What could they offer to make her situation less bleak. [}0{] "I will give you half the world!" "I'm sure you will, Shubby. I'm sure you will." Ethan muttered as he continued to push the buttons on his Vita. So far his Factory Desco named Shubby was wiping out all contenders of this level in the item world of Disgaea 3. Yet despite the carnage-simulated or not-he still found himself down in the dumps. He turned off the device as he sighed out to look at his current surroundings. Like for instance, the fact that all he had to do was reach down next to his hip and already in his hand was a ruby as big as his palm. "Here I am doing what most of my kind would kill for to be able to do: lying in a pile of treasure that stretches as far as the eye can see! The wealth that would make any man live a life of comfort and perhaps a dozen lifetimes more if invested properly." He then sadly tossed the gemstone back into the pile. "And all of it is going to someday end up in your stomach!" He turned to face the other occupant of the treasure chamber who was currently trying to figure out how that strange device her master called an 'eye-foene' had made the voices and pictures that moved. Seeing his attention was on her, she handed it back to him carefully using her tail to do so. "My apologies, Master Mysterio, but were I but another type of dragoness I would probably grant it all to you without hesitation." She stated as she took a handful of treasure to eat as if it were cereal. If there was anyone that Ethan could say was reaping the full benefit of their newfound wealth, it was Tsavorite. She was in much better shape than when she first came crawling to the front door of the castle. No longer was she the skin and bones reptile who appeared to be ready to pass out at a moment's notice. In fact, she even appeared to be developing curves that further proved to possess a feminine figure as the slight tightness of her wrap and flowing sarong seemed to suggest. Her height had to have gone through a boost as well because Ethan swore he was not that short compared to her and she now seemed to be more comfortable with using her tail like an extra appendage. It startled him to find that one morning at breakfast, he was only tall enough to reach her gaze if he tilted his head up. It was almost intimidating and again he was grateful for his expressionless helmet. Still, Tsavorite seemed loyal to her new master despite a size gap developing between them. Albeit, Ethan still felt as if he needed to prove himself as one that was worth serving. Call it intuition or paranoia, but he felt that if he were to keep a dragon in his employ, he must make certain he kept her well-fed or else something terrible would come to pass. At least, that was one of the things his now apparent benefactor told him to be weary of. [}0{] "Who are you?" Ethan asked. He was concerned with a number of things: Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here? Yet the most prevalent question in his mind seemed to be this: Who was this figure that was talking to him despite not even having a head, let alone a mouth with which to speak? He wore a large coat of blended colors and looked as if he stepped out of a painting. He sat across from him at a grand and round table in which an opulent tea set, snack dishes, and other baubles were elaborately set between them. <You may call me...The Quidam.> The headless entity replied in that oddly mellow tone of voice. <Now, I suggest you take some tea. We have much to discuss about our arrangement and only so long to go over it.> "Arrangement?" He began to ask before he recalled something about this character. "Wait a minute-!" The tea set shook as his fist slammed down onto the table. This was that stranger he met that day at the convention! "YOU ARE THE REASON I'M HERE, AREN'T YOU?!" Ethan roared out in fury. <Settle down, now.> The Quidam calmly stated as he took a teacup and started to gather sugar cubes to drop in it. <We haven't gotten much time to settle out a dispute-> "You call taking me from my home-MY LIFE!-a dispute?!" The young man leapt from his seat and began a hurried rush to reach the other occupant of the table. "I show you a dispute!" As he was barely a few feet from reaching his hands towards the being's nonexistent neck, Ethan found he could not move a muscle, let alone take another step forward or backward. He couldn't even blink! All he could do is be still there in midair. <I'm sorry but any other time I would be willing to humor you, but right now I feel there are things you must know, and must be willing to learn if you wish to survive this game you have been thrown into.> The Quidam continued to drop cube after cube of sugar into its/his tea, and giving no indication as to why his guest was frozen in such a state. <Hate me all you like, but please, let me give you some insight into your situation.> Ethan gave no response, for what response could he give? He was frozen! Still, The Quidam took his silence as agreeableness and in a split moment, the young man found himself sitting in the chair as if nothing uncouth just occurred. The table was set up neatly again and the host just kept placing sugar cubes in his/its tea as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place. So Ethan just sat there, now able to move, but not finding the reason to do so. <Thank you. Now what has happened to you is both privileged and unfortunate. You are Displaced. Your life, your realm, and everything you ever knew is beyond your current reach. For that, I am sorry. But if it helps, I could say that there are worse things that could have occurred to you that have been inflicted upon others who have been displaced by more unsavory types than me.> The Quidam explained as he swirled his teacup with a spoon. There was no recollection of where he got it as he continued. <However, you are not entirely ill-starred, for not only will I as your displacer do what I can to assist you in this journey you are undertaking, but you have been given access to a budding ability thanks in part to the façade you once played.> "Façade?" Ethan said, finally having the will to ask a question among many. <Façade. Persona. Guise. Character. You may know it by another moniker for it goes by many names, but in layman's terms, you put on a costume to become something more than what you presented in your daily life and now it has allowed you to have access to amazing abilities and feats you thought you would never be capable of.> Ethan thought hard about this. That statement alone possessed so many implications he could hardly consider where to begin. "So I have this power? And it's just beginning?" <That's right, Mysterio.> The Quidam nodded, or at least gave as much of a nod as he could due to lacking a head. <Or should I say, The Magician? Either way, you are only beginning to unlock the great potential you have access to.> "Why me?" Ethan immediately asked. <Why not you?> The Quidam preparedly answered. "Don't give me that..."The young man stopped himself from getting angry again. It wouldn't help, and apparently this...The Quidam wouldn't appreciate it to say the least. "I mean why am I 'Displaced'? Why am I the one here out of every guy that was on that convention floor that day? I wasn't the only one there. I certainly wasn't even the only Mysterio Cosplayer that day. So why me?" For a long while, the headless one was silent. The only sound he gave came from the swirling of his spoon. <I cannot really tell you. Not yet at least. There are factors and machinations that can only allow me to give you so much knowledge. For the reason why you were picked, it is one of the many mysteries that you'll have to solve as a Displaced. Perhaps I was bored and went with my instincts for the most interesting fellow in the room and see what he would do if he was somewhere else. Perhaps I just was in a rush for time and found myself taking a person who was as displaced in their world as they are in this one. Or, perhaps it's because there is just something wonderful that shines about you that you have yet to discover yourself.> He took the teacup and tilted it backward. Instead of spilling down the jacket collar, the liquid seemed to slowly disappear with every supposed sip. When the cup was emptied entirely, the odd stranger continued. <My time with you is growing short, so I can only offer you this advisement for now. Be sure to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. On that note, be sure you employ plenty of friends and have plenty of friends to employ. Be sure to keep those in your employ well fed and properly clothed. Be sure to not fall to the illusion of appearances for you'll find yourself surprised by the true selves behind the ruffled curtains. And remember, if dreams can't come true, then why not pretend? Any questions?? Oh he had plenty of questions! But the first one to come out was: "Is this all in my head?" To which The Quidam started to laugh as the green room they were in started to fade away. <Of course this is all in your head! Everything you see is an illusion filled with false values, ideals, and pathways until we find the truth in it. The question is what makes this any different than the world you see when you are certain you are awake?> The Quidam poured himself another cup of tea, before waving farewell to his fellow guest in this apparent realm of dreams. <Until we meet again.> And thus Ethan would wake up to the sounds of a worried dragoness, feeling more tired and confounded than he ever felt in a long time. [}0{] 'Displaced.' The word itself was two syllables, but it felt like it had a weight of two tons. "Master?" Ah, he had more pressing concerns to care for such as his more prominent issue of his financial/food resource. The concerns of The Quidam could wait. He mentally slapped himself into focus as he threw on his helmet and got back into his 'Façade'. "Worry not, Tsavorite. This is but a mere hurtle we must overcome for my plans to be realized. While I admit having a dragon's hoard at my reservation to use would be quite the boon for my scheme to come to fruition, it being yours stresses certain needs to consider. " He leapt from the pile and slid down, thankful to the special gimmicks Mysterio placed in his boots. "On one hand, we need it to help pay for further resources for our cause. On the other, it is not just our treasury, but your nourishment and provisions. Thus finding another source of this income and sustenance is imperative because you too take priority; for as it is said in my land, 'If you take food from the servant, eventually the master will starve.' Besides, I find it that without the assurance of equipment and other workers, we won't be able to get by in this world we have yet to be introduced to." He finished as he stood with his cloak wrapped about him. His draconic ally was impressed by his quick show of acrobatics, but still brought up another issue. "But you already introduced yourself to quite a few ponies." Ah, now that was something he wanted to avoid discussing once more. It was an argument brewing and yet neither wanted to bring up to a squall. So Mysterio tried to blow it away quickly. "Yes, but what are they, but mere citizens who have just an inkling of my power." He diverted the trail of conversation. "Besides Zecora, they are only under the impression that I have a great deal of power backing me up were you are but a subordinate." "I thought I was." Tsavorite remarked with a clawed digit scratching her chin. Mysterio quickly rebutted that. With a determined finger pointing up he corrected her assumption. "You are currently my chief subordinate since coming here! As such, it is my job to ensure that you have underlings of your own who you can lead, who are ultimately underlings of me. Only then can you alleviate your stance of serving me by ensuring that others serve me well and as well!" The dragoness had to contemplate that phrasing for a bit. "...I suppose that makes sense. All is for my Master after all." Mysterio nodded his head, seeing that she took to that form of cajolery well. "Good!" He started to head to the stairs out of the treasure chamber. He raised his hand to indicate that the dragoness should follow him. "Now we must get to our agenda! First order of business: we must conduct the interviews!" Up the stairs they walked and into a series of hallways until they reached another hidden staircase that was barricaded by a shelf. As it slide aside, the two found themselves in the main location of Mysterio's research: the library. As they reached a table, Mysterio pulled out a chair for which Tsavorite could sit upon. As she sat as best as she could due to her tail and wing set, Mysterio took all the books he could find on the subject in question and whatever spare parchment he could gather and with a ballpoint pen he found in his bag, prepared to take notes. Thus the first interview would begin with his 'chief subordinate'. "I need you to tell me everything you can about yourself." He began as he sat at the head of the table. "Master?" Tsavorite was taken aback a bit that she was the first subject of these interviews. Mysterio continued. "As a Master of the Arcane, it is no secret that we have to deal with subjects such as familiars, magically conjured creations, and contractually enforced compatriots. However, this realm is based on magical laws and regulations I have yet to fully study and commit to memory. I don't want to do something that will offend you, harm you, or worse...kill you." She nodded her head at this reasoning with a smile. "You are most considerate." "I hope so. Now, shall we begin?" Thus the interview began with Mysterio taking note on what qualities made up the female dragon. While his curiosity wanted to burst out at times with this opportunity of draconic cross-examination, he tried to keep the questions from delving into too personal subjects. Still, he asked for her to give a basic answer for things that would be considered basic knowledge. Dragons came in all shapes, colors, and sizes, albeit that they tended to be large, scale-coated, and fearsome flyers. Most breathed fire, but as she once stated before, the color, temperature, and element they breathed could also change depending on the type. They ate gems, as well as meat albeit in these last few centuries they didn't feast on anything with sentience (usually). They were born from eggs, and a dragoness carried them in her body for a few months before laying them in a secure location. Depending on the dragon, it could just be in a secret nest in their lair, or a breeding location that occurred near the time of Great Migration. They were long-lived creatures that were able to count their lifespans in centuries, yet their maturity rates and growth depended on their cornerstone attribute of greed. This placed the importance on a dragon's horde as not only a resource for food and power, but a sign of their social standing among others of their kind. It was at this point that the term 'Slítere', was brought up and well, this was where things got a little personal. Tsavorite paused as she contemplated answering what the term meant. With a bit of a heavy breath she replied, "It is a label that implies gluttony." "I see." Ethan, for he had his helmet off at this point, nodded quickly. He placed his writing hand down to try to ease her hesitance. "We can speak more on this matter later, Tsavorite, for I can tell it is not one you feel like dwelling on. I only ask that you tell me anything pertaining to it that can affect your status as one of my subordinates." Tsavorite did a surprisingly human thing and bit her lip in a tentative manner. It would have been comical for Ethan to see another time, but it the fact that it unintentionally revealed some of her sharpened teeth made him nervous. After a long moment, she seemed to gather the confidence to confide a bit more of her personal complication with him. "I'm different than the other dragons in a number of ways. Dragons emphasize the aspect of greed. It is our most innate branch of sin. Except for me, my chief aspect is gluttony. Unlike dragons whose growth is based in the size of their hoards and their desire for more, mine is based more on...ingestion. Everything I do is dependent on the calories I store up, from my breath to my strength. So you don't have to worry about a growth spurt of a few feet to my height every time I get a new gem to my hoard." She then sheepishly turned her head as she embarrassingly gave a visual aide of spreading her claws out to her arm's length as she stammered out, "Only that I may get too wide to roam the halls with all the gems I'll probably gorge on due to my hunger. I'll certainly grow larger than any dragon based on greed (especially side-to-side), but I'll have to keep my appetite in check if I am to survive." Ethan could only blink at that admittance. His pen was long forgotten as he thought of all the complications that would arise with that. "That would be a problem. It wouldn't due to have you reach a size were you wouldn't be able to even fit in a doorway, let alone a hallway." He then looked as he immediately recalled that they were currently in a library that had books written by those who saw magic as an everyday circumstance. "Perhaps we can find a solution to that." [}0{] They searched the shelves for books that would suggest anything from health and fitness to cosmetic changes. "Are you certain something like that would exist, Master?" "Tsavorite, if there is one thing about magic I know it's the main four incentives of spell work: Fame, Fortune, Fun, and...Intercourse." The 'Four F's of Business Incentive' seemed to work well on contemplating things back home, so it stood to reason that they would still work here in Equestria even if these tomes were written centuries ago. "What about to benefit others for the good of all?" She asked as she took a tome labeled 'Advanced Alchemy for Artistic Academics'. "I'm sure there are those that still pursue that interest. But the real go-getters who create the more intensive spells want one if not all of those things no matter what type of magic they pursue." No, he didn't find anything close in this copy of "Fortune Folly's Fantastic Spells for Frequent Use'. Tsavorite was still adamant that the drive to create magic was able to be simplified to just four basic lines of reasoning. "What about longevity and vitality?" She continued as she gazed into 'Helping Heart's Home Remedies for Harmonic Home Living'. "That would still fall under fortune. Someone invents a spell to heal, extend life, youth, or push back death; he does it to earn what the people would pay him to do it." Nothing in this copy of 'Count R. Clockwise's Creative Charades and Countermeasures", but he was going to save this one for more reading later. "Even those that heal for good still hope for some form of recompense in return. They don't have to be selfish, just practical." "So then beauty-" "Would probably fall under the first, although more than likely the fourth. How many stories are there in which a sir or a dame wish to be made beautiful for a magical price after all?" Tsavorite had no point to argue against that. Even dragons has such fairytales, albeit they were usually the ones who took such pretty dames and sirs for their own possessions. "This must be it!" Mysterio, found something in a tome entitled 'A Multitude of Malleable Magic for Models and Magicals'. He quickly perused the contents until he found something that looked like it could work. "Here! According to this page, this is a basic series of glyphs for magical storage." It basically came down to ensuring that these glyphs stored magic. The caster would set them onto the subject and their fat would essentially be converted into magical energy to make room for more caloric energy. The energy would be stored in the subject's body in a way that allowed it to be used at their own discretion. Any weight they would put on would be compressed and possibly well hidden away. Already it sounded like a winning situation. "So what is the catch?" She may be a dragon, but even she heard enough stories to know that when magic was involved there was always a cost to pay for what you desired. "Well, it says here that you are still required to use the magical and caloric energy you store up, otherwise the repercussions will be... disconcerting."Mysterio lightly summed up as he read the next few pages. "How so?" "Well, it goes on to describe an incident in which a songstress named Creme Brule used it to keep an 'inviting and pleasant form' while singing at the tavern she worked at. She'd forgotten about the glyphs, and assumed they were tattoos she faintly recalled getting in her youth. One day, after years of becoming the new matron and being happily married with three children, she found herself waking up on the floor below her bedroom and finding herself immobilized by years of stored flesh and adipose. Apparently her storage seal finally ceased working from years of storage without release and her fat was thick enough to not only cushion her fall as she rolled out of bed, but not jostle her awake as she fell through the floor. She only woke up due to her husband and some other workers breaking a wall and struggling to get her on a cart to the nearest healer." He tried to not chuckle at the picture of a team of anthropomorphic stallions trying to devise a pulley system to lift the poor engorged mare into a cart but the idea was like an old Merry Melodies cartoon. "Quite the embarrassment for her when all her neighbors came to see the commotion." "So if I were to use this method, I would be thin so long as I used my power?" "Well, no actually, this is more of a compressor. You'll still put on the weight and appear heavy, but your appearance will only be a fraction of you 'true size'. You'll lose the weight the more energy you use, but don't forget that you'll only appear smaller than you actually are." So it wasn't perfect, but it seemed to be the best bet they had. "I'll take it." Tsavorite agreed after much thought on the matter. "Ok then. I'll just need to organize the glyphs." Mysterio said, while also thinking, 'And figure out just how in the world I am going to perform actual magic.' He quickly walked to the desk he set up as his main place of study, while also perusing the book for any helpful footnotes. Hopefully there was something that could indicate a way to use magic without a unicorn horn. [}0{] A couple of hours later, Tsavorite decided to check up on her master's progress. So there she walked to his study section and found him continuously creating archaic symbols on parchment. While some were crossed out and smudged attempts, as they went on they became more standardized and formal. What were more interesting were the glyphs that were written in a reddish ink. Those ones seemed to glow with an uncertain light to them. "How goes the research, my lord?" Mysterio was startled a bit out of his intensive study session, but was quick to regain his composure when he saw who it was. "The glyphs themselves are simple, just repetitive. Each one is set to convert a certain amount and store a certain percent and vice versa." He noted as he gave the final touch to the latest line he worked on. "Now they have to be used to shape themselves into a crest or an insignia. So do you have anything in mind, Tsavorite?" The dragoness seemed sad for a moment as she contemplated what she could use, but brightened as she thought of something. "What about your mark?" "Huh?" He was certainly not expecting that! "Your mark. You do have one, right? Master?" "...Of Course I have one! As a castle lord, how could I not?" He quickly composed himself as he hastened to draw up something that could suffice. Fortunately he had something he used as a kind of crest when he did commission work. In a few quick strokes, he hurriedly drew up what would be his seal. "In the language of the Japanese-a people who live in a mysterious land that I know of-this would be the kanji, or symbol, for sorcerer. However, with my alterations, it will recognizable as my insignia." He dramatically explained as he gave it the final touches under the impressed eye of his subordinate. The truth was the symbol was in fact a visual pun. It was indeed based on the Kanji for sorcerer. However, Ethan wrote it with all the strokes connected, which made it appear like the letter 'M' was in a large letter 'I'. This made it also a reference to his last name, McIntyre. Thus he found it to be quite the logo to hide into the works he was commissioned to make whether threaded or etched. By placing it in an eye, he was certainly giving it the final touch needed to make it a worthy emblem for the Master of Illusions, Mysterio. "So now the question remains: Where should I place this mark?" Mysterio asked. Tsavorite tilted her head as she thought about it. "Is there anywhere the spell is dictated to be placed?" "Well, according to the spell, since this is more of a 'cosmetic' type of storage, it is recommended to hide the fact it is in use. It suggested that a good way would be to trace the glyphs to blend into the 'cutie marks'" He gave her a quick look over, being sure to not let his eyes linger long enough to be considered improper. "But you seem to lack these 'cutie marks." "Yes, we dragons do not develop special tattoos on our thighs like the ponies do." She gazed at her legs as she made certain no such mark did exist. "However, I am not quite sure if I would feel comfortable wearing a marker there." He was glad that he could hide his blush well. The very thought of placing a tattoo on such of surface was well...improper to say the least. "Then perhaps the back would be the best option. You want it to be somewhere easier to conceal if the worst came to pass." "Like what?" "Like it being overloaded or canceled. While the text here says it should be fine to store the energy and release it at the wearer's discretion, I wouldn't put it past anyone with the knowledge of what it does to not take advantage of it. That and I do not think having it go straight to your thighs would be the best thing in a stressful situation." "I suppose not!" Tsavorite stuttered with a smirk. As bothersome as that would be, she still found humor in the idea. "So, shall we do this?" 'So soon?' He thought before voicing it, "Are you certain you want this right now? There are still other options to consider than this one." "There may be. But for now, this is the best option we have. I do not wish to become a burden upon the one I wish to serve. Besides, all this seems to indicate is that I am given the opportunity to bear my master's mark like a true subordinate!" Mysterio had nothing he could say to such a declaration. Tsavorite was just too determined for him to deter in any way. After a long drawn out sigh, he spoke at last. "One day you are going to tell me why I can't convince you to stop thinking like that." A hiss of smoke let out as he took off his helmet and became Ethan once more. "But for now, lie on your belly, extend your wings to a comfortable position, and pray I don't screw this up. This will take time, so be prepared to wait." So after Ethan took off the suit and changed into something more comfortable, he came back to begin his task. Tsavorite lay on the ground, hunched like a feline at rest. She had removed the wrap from her torso to leave her back bare and ready for his work. So with a ballpoint pen in hand and a well of ink prepared, he crouched near her and started recreating the glyphs into a "Mark of Mysterio". "I hope you can forgive me for any discomfort you have. This is my first time doing something like this." Tsavorite raised an eye ridge at that. "Surely you have experience in seal work?" Ethan just shrugged as he etched in more symbols. The faintest of ink were sticking to the scales, but the glyphs were still recognizable. "Well back in my high school-err, academy days I was...an apprenticing metal worker and tailor." Now that was unexpected to hear! "Really? Then how did you become a master of the arcane?" "Well, that came about through my...main sources of study. The crafting techniques were to provide income for my expenses." That sounded like an acceptable substitute to 'I sold cosplays and commission work for money alongside my aspirations to act and perform'. "The point is, I may not be an expert tattooist, but I certainly know how to etch and sketch on armor. And you my dear are practically covered in the finest quality of it in all of human fantasy." "...Really?" She certainly perked up at that. A bit of draconic pride glimmered in her eyes. "Oh yes! Many tales have been told of 'dragon scale mail'. How it could withstand heat, weather, magic, and time." "How do humans acquire it?" Tsavorite was curious. How was it that humans even acquired dragon mail, indeed? Now that was something Ethan hesitated to explain. "...Depends on the story. Sometimes it's given to them by a fantastical merchant, sometimes they go on a quest to find it in some treasure trove, or they could...you know...kill a dragon for it." "...Kill a dragon for it?" She snarled a bit. A greenish smoke seemed to seep out between her teeth. It was obvious that the thought of humans killing dragons to get their scales was angering her, so Ethan began doing his best to soothe her. He started with a slight massage of her scale as he did his best to continue etching the glyphs. His words were hasty, but he hoped they would do the job of calming her down. "Well now, I don't mean just any dragon! They aren't beasts you kill on a whim! I mean the greedy smokepots who would take another's treasure and set others ablaze for the heck of it. You know..." He whispered in her ear, or where it should have been if she were human. "...like that red drake." The smoke died down as she considered that train of thought. "I suppose I wouldn't shed a tear of he were skinned and worn like some...person's garments." "Well you're thinking that humans would wear it like a fur coat or scarf that was freshly killed. I'm pretty sure that they would just take a layer's worth you would shed and use it to craft a tunic. It's not like we can parade the fact that the dragon was killed to get it and everyone accepts it as truth. A lot of the time, no one believes a person when they claim to have slain a dragon. Usually because that person is telling their story in a bar, and has had plenty of drinks so what do they know?" "Oh." Tsavorite was a bit silent before she spoke up again to apologize. "Forgive me, master, for I thought that you were implying something more troubling than some tales told around a watering hole." "No worries, Tsavorite. Just don't try to set me ablaze the next time I mention something about my culture." He hid his nervousness with a smirk as he whispered conspiratorially. "It ended pretty poorly for the last dragon that tried to do that." 'Now for the moment of truth.' He bit hard into his thumb, and got it to start bleeding. He rubbed the bleeding digit upon his palm as he readied himself for the main event. Tsavorite's nostrils flared as she recognized the metallic smell of a certain crimson liquid. "Master? What are you...?" "Before, you were a skin and bones reptile starving for food and attention. No longer will you ever live in fear of experiencing such a thing again. From now on, you will thus be known as Tsavorite, The Gem Gourmet." He slammed his palm into the mark on her back. "Now rise, and be welcome as my vassal." Tsavorite gave a hiss as she felt the glyphs gave off a searing sensation into her scales. Yet, it didn't feel hot, but rather cold and chilling. In a few ways, it was thrilling, but it passed quickly. When it ceased, she couldn't help but to let out an enthusiastic cry out as she got up with her arms and wings spread wide. Unfortunately the action also knocked back Ethan. Embarrassed, she muttered a quick apology as she helped the human to his feet. "Sorry, master. I should have been more composed." Ethan quickly bandaged up his hand with a clean enough ripped piece of drapery as he swayed a bit back and forth. "It's fine." He waved away with his bandaged hand. "So it worked right?" "I think so." She turned to show off her bare back. Upon her green hued scales and between her wings was the proud eye mark of Mysterio. "I certainly feel as if a new responsibility has been placed upon my shoulders." "Good. Because I would rather we didn't try that again." He woozily nodded his head. Yet even when he stopped, the room still seemed to move about. "Now do me a favor..." "Yes, master?" "Put a top on. Because it's cold in here..." Ethan barely uttered his thought before passing out. As he fell forward, he got a closer look at the torso of his draconic subordinate before his consciousness faded out. Tsavorite caught him, but in doing so drove his face further into her bosom. She still had yet to realize her social faux pas she was committing. [}0{] <I say! You are certainly entertaining to watch!> "Huh?" Ethan found himself once again seated at the table in the green room. Hosting the pleasantries was that headless being who called himself/itself The Quidam. <I am most impressed!> He began as he started to gather sugar cubes into a tea cup. <You figured out a way to get magic to work for you. Care to tell me how you got it to work? Or are you going to remain entitled to your secrets, Mr. Magician?> The enthusiasm in that tone was something akin to an eager child in adults clothing. For Ethan, he saw it as an opportunity to maybe get some answers from this supposedly powerful being. "I will tell you, if you can tell me a few things. And no suddenly making everything go away like a faded dream!" Ethan adamantly added the last bit. He didn't want to go through that again. <...I suppose, but I am only able to tell you so much. You have to solve your own mysteries.> He took a spoon, swirled the teacup, and chugged it like a shot glass before he said, <Now as a sign of good faith, you may ask the first question.> "What happened to me?" <...I already explained this, you are Displaced...> "I got that! But what happened to get me here as Mysterio?" He looked at his hands as he emphasized his inquiry as to what was changing about him. "Why was I able to do the things I did? To figure out how to survive? To use my tools as if I crafted them myself?" <That is part of the power you have taken with the Façade. In particular, it is due to the items you have acquired giving you more knowledge and skill to work with them as you develop a further ease into manifesting it properly. In time you may unlock more of its depth, but remember that you are playing with a part of someone who may be different from you.> "What is that supposed to mean?" Ethan asked, but The Quidam refused to acknowledge the question. So he tried another one. "Why this world?" <There is a mystery that needs you to solve it. And a multitude of individuals involved in it.> The Quidam immediately raised a hand to stop Ethan's angry rebuttal at the vagueness of that statement. <I am sorry, but there is only so much I can tell you without influencing your decisions. That, and it involves a long and tiresome history of individuals of great power and will fighting for their own selfish desires. But! I can tell you that this world is one that leans more towards the light, thus it was a safer one that you entered.> "That's...comforting..." Ethan said, although he wasn't sure it was true. <Good!> The Quidam poured another cup of tea, only this was meant for Ethan. <Now, how about that magic? How did you do it?> Ethan took the cup and sipped. It tasted like his favorite brand of soda after taking a bite from one of his dad's burgers on a bright summer day! "The footnotes kept saying that magic is in all things: from the smallest pebble to the biggest tree in the forest. That as long as you have the purest of intentions, you'll have the strongest of results. I also remembered that Fluttershy seemed to take my promise to not hurt her friends most seriously." He took another sip of the tea as he finished his thought. "So I reasoned that if intention is the key, then maybe the ambient magic in this realm would fill in the rest if I gave something crude, like my own blood, as a sign of the deepest level of a promise I can give to another." <Well now, that is certainly something! Quite a breakthrough you had!> The Quidam prepared another cup for himself/itself. <Albeit, you are only partially right, but you are heading to the right line of thinking on your part.> "What?" Ethan was ignored as The Quidam was more concerned with the tea. <I would be more concerned with what your actions may result in upon a dragoness such as her. She is a Slítere, after all!> There was that word again. Ethan would definitely have to see what more there was to it than what Tsavorite was willing to be forthcoming with one of these days. The Quidam certainly wasn't giving more insight as he/it just shrugged shoulders and seemed to sigh out. <Still, all you can do is accept responsibility and all that I suppose.> "And just what does that mean?" <It means what it means, for I say what I say! For now, we must prepare for another day!> The Quidam recited. <Before I go, however, I feel that you could use a hint. Do you recall that little bauble you bought that day besides your 'costume'?> The young man's thoughts turned toward the gem he also purchased that fateful day. "Yes." Almost as if it was always there, he found the box in his hands, wanting to be opened. Before he could do so, The Quidam reached over to keep the lid closed. <Keep this secret and safe! This is your charge, for knowledge is absolute power and absolute power corrupts absolutely.> The being's hands gently let go as the box opened wide. <This will help you, but be warned: Some things are not meant to be known to the unready.> Ethan looked into the brilliant light of the glowing blue bauble. It was beautiful, wonderful, and enlightening in more ways than he could count. <I know of your current ambition, and if you want it to come to pass, you must trust in me and the gifts you have been given.> The Quidam said to the entranced Ethan. <Now let it guide you to the next step of your journey. Let it show you where you are supposed to go now.> [}0{] Tsavorite tried her hardest to keep calm, but she still felt the sense of worry gripping tightly to her chest. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, it had been hours since her master had slipped into unconsciousness. His vitals seemed ok for he still breathed, but she knew very little of what considered as normal to his species. She deliberated on going out to find Zecora to maybe help him, but the fact she would have to leave him alone to search for the zebra herbalist was not ideal. So she waited, seated and curled up against the chair he slept in as she waited for him to awaken. The moment he gave his first twitches as he stirred up, she was alert and at attention. "Master!" She exclaimed as she drew his attention. Ethan stared into space for a moment or two as he regained his bearings. When he was back into focus, he looked toward the dragoness and asked, "Can you fly, Lady Tsavorite?" "Of course!" Tsavorite practically preened. Such a question meant that there was something she could do and excel in. "Good! Because I now know where we must go and I'll need you to get there." Ethan said as he stood up and headed to his suit placed reverently on a nearby table. He began donning it piece by piece as he explained his request. "I had entered a state of...intense meditation after giving you my mark. While doing so, I had a vison of a place where we can acquire supplies that are necessary to further my goals. Thus we have our heading." The final piece was in place as he put on his helmet, once again becoming the full persona of Mysterio. "We must take to the skies and seize what they call 'Clutter Coulee' for ourselves!" [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Bonus Issue-Concerned Parties and Concern about Parties
The sun rose that day like the constant cosmic marker of the beginning it was. Yet, to the well trained eyed, it may have seemed a bit different than the normal. It seemed to rise with a hint of sluggishness as if it too was struggling to get up out of bed. It was almost comical but then you remember the fact about Equestria's sun: its motion is not guided by the universal powers of gravity and planetary alignment. No, instead, its movements are based upon the will of a goddess. The goddess in question, Celestia, stood upon her balcony as she looked at the sun she raised a few hours before. Even now, dressed in nothing more than a white negligee and slippers, she looked like the regal figure that would make the burning celestial orb rise on her whim. It was something she made certain occurred for over millennia. The times were it did not happen could be counted on one hand with the most recent involving the return of her forlorn yet dearest sister, Luna. "Sister, art thou well?" Speaking of which, here she was now. The blue alicorn with the body of one many, many...many years her junior and adorned in pajamas of purple with black kittens. "I may hast been gone for some time, but I seem to recall the sunrise being more fluid than that." "Of course you would notice. You always had an eye for detail, down to the tiniest star." Celestia sighed. "If only I could be so observant." "It isn't hard to notice when one realizes that by now you would normally be at the table breaking your fast as I also eat with you before preparing for bed." Luna gave a slight grin, before faltering into her question. "Now what troubles you?" Celestia was quiet for a good long moment before curtly answering. "Twilight never sent me a Friendship Report." "Well perhaps she was simply tired from her journey home." Luna began, trying to elevate the tension building up on the balcony. "You don't understand, Luna. In all her years as my student, Twilight has never failed to send me some notice of her situation. Whether it was a simple note that said she was too sick to come to a lesson, or a long apology for being up all night researching material related to a new spell she learned, I always received some confirmation of her status in some shape or form." To hear such a claim made Luna fear the worst for her newly formed friends. "You don't think-" "Oh, mother above, no!" Celestia quickly ceased that thought with a hand to her heart. "If they were...if the worst came to pass, we would both be...well informed. Those that are connected to The Elements never quite forget the bonds that they formed after all." The message was clear and unspoken: If they died, they would certainly know. Luna took a bit of comfort in hearing that, morbid as it was, but still worried over her sister's implication. "I am certain Twilight will respond as soon as she is able. She simply must be working hard on this report due to it involving a diplomatic mission. So it can be reasoned that thy worries are simply unfounded." She tried to perk not only her sister, but herself. "She is your student after all! Surely we art both simply making an issue out of nothing!" Celestia sighed, but gave a hint of a grin. "You are probably right, Luna. Twilight always was able to keep a calm mind when it mattered most. I'm sure she is probably spending the time write now just trying to come up with the proper wording to convey what happened yesterday." [}0{] "Errgh! Why can't I remember?!" Twilight banged her head on the desk for what was perhaps the fourth time. In front of her was a blank sheet of parchment, and an ink well with a feather dipped at the ready. Yet despite using every method she could think of, she couldn't recall the most important part of yesterday's events. It was a mystery that confounded her and derailed her entire day. From waking up with no recollection of how she got into bed, let alone how she was able to get home with her friends, to discovering that she slept in TWO HOURS beyond her usual wake up time her whole schedule was just thrown off today! "Are you sure I didn't say anything about yesterday, Spike?" Twilight asked out in near desperation at the other occupant in the room. "I seriously doubt I wouldn't tell you anything about the trip or to make even a note to send to the princess." The individual she was speaking to sighed as he had already gone over this multiple times. He was a young lad, but was not of the pony species like Twilight. He had purple scales, and green rounded spikes running from the top of his head to near the end of his tail that were evident of a reptilian nature. Instead, he was a young drake, who was no bigger than a colt despite his protests of at least being a few years younger than Twilight. Still, you would make the mistake of thinking he was just a kid due to his simple purple t-shirt and green shorts he wore. This was Spike the dragon, the loyal assistant to Twilight Sparkle, and practically her younger brother in all but blood. "I'm telling you Twilight, that's what happened. You came inside, saw me, picked me up in a great big hug, carefully put me down, and went to bed." He shrugged in his own state of confusion. "I figured that you were probably worn out from dealing with the whole dragon problem, so I let you sleep in for five more minutes like you usually set. Yet somehow I couldn't get you up for a couple more hours!" That was surprising for the purple unicorn to hear. "Not even with-?" "Not even with any of those contingencies you ordered!" Spike ran a clawed hand through his head spikes as he explained a bit further. "I tried the alarm clock, the smelling salts, the air horn, and even splashing you in the face with water, but nothing woke you up! At that point, I was worried you were under some sort of spell that needed 'true-love's-kiss' because you were clearly breathing by the sounds of your snoring." "I do not snore!" the unicorn protested. The young drake squinted his green and slit-pupil eyes vehemently as he argued back. "Well you did this time! And you wouldn't stop or wake up until the clock chimed 10:00 on the dot!" His protest disappeared as he took up a defensive front with his hands waving about. "It wasn't my fault, Twilight! I tried to get you up! I swear!" "I believe you, Spike. However, this whole situation is concerning. I haven't slept in that late since I was a filly!" Twilight pulled out her checklist as she saw that by now she should be having lunch instead of trying to play catch up with what should have been a daily routine. "Even if I was to skip out on my creative spell work period, and to minimize my mealtimes to ten minutes, I would still not catch up to my daily schedule! Still, I don't know why I can't recall a single part of yesterday that took place after we entered the cave. I mean, I faintly recalled meeting a dragon, but I don't think it was red...or a drake...maybe it was a she?" "Well, maybe Fluttershy would know." Spike muttered as he looked at the list as well to see if he could be helpful in reorganizing it in some way. "Huh?" Twilight broke out of her faint musings. "What makes you say that?" "Well, I remember how she said something about getting together today to go over stuff as she was picking up her animals." Spike remembered. "She didn't say what, but being that it was after you went to bed, I'd figure it was no big deal at the time." "Did she say where and when?" "Well, she said that she would come by later, but she seemed to be trying to think where to meet." At that moment there was a knock on the front door. Twilight went down to see who it could be, only to find the yellow Pegasus in question with the rest of their friends waiting to enter. "Umm...can we come in?" Fluttershy asked quietly from her spot behind Applejack. Even among friends, Fluttershy lived to embody her name. Still, she seemed especially nervous today for some reason, which made the pile of mysteries Twilight had going through her mind consider her to be especially involved in some way. "Fluttershy said she has something to tell all of us." Rarity started to explain as she entered. She was carrying a large hat box in her magical grip alongside her. "She wouldn't expand further until we all agreed to meet up. Oh Spike, would you be a dear and set this on the table!" "No problem, Rarity! Anything for you!" He eagerly reached for the box. When the white unicorn ceased using her magic, he found himself struggling to lift it. Strike that, he was struggling not to drop it and possibly be crushed by it. Still, he tried to play it smooth as he placed it on a table in the center of the room next to some chairs. "That wasn't so hard! I could have mistaken it for being empty. Heh-heh...still what is it?" "That, Spikey-wikey is one of the reasons' why I thought coming here at Fluttershy's insistence was a wise choice." Rarity gave a slight grin as she sat down. The other three mares were already seated, but were a bit preoccupied with wondering what could be in the box. The fashionista then looked pointedly at Twilight in a manner that suggested that they should get on with their business. Twilight took the hint to get the conversation going to the point. "So Fluttershy, what is this about?" Fluttershy nervously withdrew into her sweater as she mumbled a bit. "Come on, Shy! This isn't a presentation at flight school!" Rainbow huffed in annoyance. Yet, she still seemed a bit gentle with how she was trying to nudge her fellow pegasus into speaking up. "Um...well....first of all...." Fluttershy looked around at the others. "What do you remember about yesterday?" "I remember getting pumped up to face off against a drake!" Dash grinned. But then she faltered. "I don't recall if I did though." "Same here." Applejack agreed. "I remember getting ready and going with you gals up that mountain, but for what happened after, I have as much recollection as a rattlesnake has left feet." "Ok. How about today? Anything unusual happen?" Pinkie jumped up into a handstand on top of the hat box as she rushed into her day's events. "I slept in late, which as much as I enjoy dreaming, I usually get up before the sun comes up to help the Cakes get the day's goodies all goody and ready! Instead, It was when the clock went 'ding-dong' ten times instead of six that I finally leapt out of bed and had to hurry up and help all those hungry customers get some yummy foods!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, and yet somehow perfectly mimicked the sounds of a cuckoo clock's hourly chimes in her retelling. At least until she fell back into her chair in a tired heap. "But I wasn't able to be as fast on my hooves today because I very tired and sore too! -Gasp!- Do you think there was a plot to keep me asleep by a rival bakery to sabotage all of the Cakes' business?!" "I do not believe that is the case, Pinkie dear. I normally do not partake in sleeping in since I have to open the shop at a certain hour, so I must take the time to especially prepare myself." Rarity twirled her mane a bit as she gathered her thoughts. "However, I suppose I needed a couple hours more of beauty sleep, but I was certain that was only because of the harsh environment we had to tread through yesterday." "I woke up at 10:00 too, which is surprisingly early!" Rainbow Dash complained, making it seem like it was a really bothersome thing. "I mean, why would I get up that early? It's not one of my workout days and the weather can wait till I'm ready to deal with it, right?" "Only you would think that was early!" Applejack huffed as she crossed her arms. "I was supposed to be up and about ready for the chores by the time the sun got up, only that didn't happen! Instead, I got another lecture of responsibility and not staying up late from Granny. Land sakes, I haven't gotten one of those since I was barely old enough to wrangle in the sheep." "Wait, you all woke up at 10:00?" Twilight asked, noticing a pattern. The mares, besides Fluttershy nodded. "So did I! Spike even said that nothing else he tried could wake me up any earlier." Twilight went on to explain her morning to the others. The mares looked at one another as they could all clearly see something most unusual was afoot. "So what happened?" Rainbow asked. "Sounds like some form of magic, but why would we all be effected in such a way?" Rarity pondered. "And why can't we remember our events beyond going into the cave? Most peculiar." "Well, uummm...I know what happened yesterday." Fluttershy muttered. All eyes went to her and she instinctively withdrew her head into her sweater again at them. "What happened?" "Well..." She settled her feathers that anxiously stood up on her wings as she took a breath to begin. "I suppose it all started when we finally reached the dragon's cave. Only, there wasn't a red drake, but a green dragoness..." And thus Fluttershy told them the story of what they couldn't seem to fully recall. It was of how they reached that cave expecting to have to find a way to convince a drake to leave. Instead they found a green dragoness named Tsavorite who was previously driven out by a greedy drake. She wasn't big, scary, but rather nice. Yet she served a sorcerer named Mysterio. At that the story changed tone. It was revealed that he used his magic to drive away the red drake, take control of a manticore pride, and cast a spell on the mares that not only made them vulnerable to suggestion, but also was the cause for their memory loss. And it was through this act that they all moved the dragoness' hoard to a location that was secret to all but Tsavorite and her master. He said he did it to avoid 'making a bad impression' on them, but even Fluttershy gave the indication that she didn't believe that reason for a moment. Each mare had their own reactions to this apparent and blatant use of 'Mind magic'. Twilight was of course startled. Strike that, she was immensely distressed. Mind magic was forbidden and with good reason. It was capable of doing a horrid assortment of dark affairs: making the innocent into slaves to the user's whims of self-indulgence, turning one's own kin against the other, and hiding debasement to one's self just to name a few examples. To think that she had no recollection of what this sorcerer looked like or even his name was disturbing for how could she report his crimes to Celestia? Rarity was scandalized. Growing up as lady of class (albeit with more 'humble' origins) she grew up up hearing stories of males using charms to get their desires sated whether they came in honeyed words or spiked drinks. To think that she could have possibly came close to something of that nature, with the forbidden form of 'Mind Magic' no less caused her to instinctively withdraw herself into a curled up seating position. Even with Fluttershy's reassurance that nothing that untoward occurred, she felt as if she was nearly burnt by something malicious. Pinkie was sad. She didn't look like it coming into the library as she was trying to keep up her normal (for her) public image. Yet even with her exuberance, she felt a bit off her 'Pinkie sense' making her tap her hooves as if she was on pins and needles. It meant she was off her party track and needed to reschedule one that she accidentally skipped to make up for it. It may seem senseless, but for the party planner it was a great concern for she never missed a party that she planned even on the spur of the moment. However, finding out that she was made to forget one that she wanted to throw was enough to deflate her normally poofy mane in sorrow. Rainbow Dash was mad. She was mad at the fact that she didn't get to show off her skill against a dragon. She was mad that somepony else took care of the problem. She was mad most of all at how she was apparently beaten by a magical blowhard who claimed to be 'great and powerful'...again! The next time she ran into this Mysterio guy, she would be sure to show him why it was a dumb idea to mess with the fastest flyer in Ponyville. Applejack was even angrier at the situation than Rainbow Dash. As a member of the Apple family with their humble and rustic upbringing, she had a natural aversion to magic from the start. Yet for her it went much further than that. Needless to say, the next time that sorcerer decided to show up, he may find himself getting a heavy beat down from the mare that bucked apple trees as part of her daily routine. Fluttershy was a witness to all this, and so she felt bad at being the one to tell her friends this information. And she still had a more destressing detail to tell them. "Um...But that is not all." "What else is there?" Twilight asked. "Well, umm, I'm not sure if Mysterio was just not aware of how well our other senses are...or that maybe he just didn't know about how well I could navigate the area..." "Well, c'mon. What is it?" Applejack nearly pushed. Rainbow Dash's patience was thinning out as well. "Yeah Fluttershy! Spit it out already!" Fluttershy reflexily blurted out her theory. "I think his home is around where we met Nightmare Moon Because we came out of the Everfree Forrest!" "Huh?" "What?" "Say what?" "-Gasp!-" "Dun-Dun-DUUUH!!" "Well, the route we took wasn't the same, but I recall that before we started going underground, I smelt that musty smell that was where we found the Elements." This was definitely worse news as it got Twilight to start pacing as her mind raced with the dastardly possibilities of Mysterio's possible location. "He's not only close to Ponyville, but the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. If he's found something there, or makes a move with something from that environment then Equestria is in great danger! We have to tell the Princesses and get the Royal Guard here as soon as possible!" "Maybe we shouldn't!" When she saw all the eyes on her, Fluttershy hid her face in her mane. "-Eeep!- I mean, maybe we could...not send the royal guard after him." "Fluttershy, darling, mind magic is some of the most punishable and crucial magic to be used on somepony. The fact that he used it on us, uggh!" Rarity shivered. "I don't want to consider what he might of done had you not been somehow immune to his magic." "But he didn't do anything! He said he wouldn't!" The other mares looked at each other unsure as to why Fluttershy was trying to stick up for Mysterio, albeit in a timid and reluctant fashion. "Why are you trying to defend him, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "Sure you weren't affected by his spell, but that doesn't make what he did any better." Rainbow Dash was questioning this as well. "Yeah, you should be hoping he gets put away too!" Fluttershy looked most unsure as she recalled something more personal she learned about the one named Mysterio. "Well, it's what he said when I asked him why he really felt it was better to erase our memories of him." [}0{] The treasure chamber was being organized nicely thanks to the five mares doing their best to utilize their talents to get the job done. Were it not under some form of enchantment, Fluttershy would find it just as amazing as she did when she saw her friends do the same at Tsavorite's old mountain cave. Instead she felt sad seeing her friends act so...automatically, without any of their enthusiasm or spirit being shown in their work. It wasn't right, but there was nothing she could do but sit there in a pile of treasure with her knees in her arms and her wings wrapped around her as she felt more helpless than usual. "Is there anything I could do to make you more comfortable, Miss Fluttershy?" Mysterio said as he walked by. "Oh, no thank you." She shook her head. She didn't want to impose any more than she was probably bound to. The sorcerer just nodded, and was about to turn away before he was suddenly stopped by Fluttershy's words. "Mysterio, um sir, I've been thinking about how you said you wanted to make sure you made a good impression with my friends which is why you wanted to erase our memory of meeting you." The yellow pegasus steeled herself as best as she could to get her point across. "But I don't think that is the reason at all." The sorcerer tilted his round head as he gave the impression of turning his full attention towards her. "Oh? Then what do you think is the reason?" "I think...I think you are trying to avoid something that will happen if you were to introduce yourself to us. That you are trying to stop something worse from happening by using something that should be bad." Mysterio said nothing, nor did he move to give any hint that she guessed right. Still, Fluttershy continued with a personal experience of hers. The young mare didn't smile, nor did she frown. She just told the story as simply as she could for it was a moment of her life that was definitely mixed in emotions that were hard for her to determine right away. "It's like when my mama was worried when I moved out of my home that she made sure that I understood what was in the Everfree Forrest. She stayed with me for a little while when I moved near there. It was there that I first saw how harsh nature could be for a pack of timberwolves hunted down a family of bunnies that lived near my home. To think that timberwolves don't even need to eat being made out of wood, yet they have hunting instincts that are very mean and scary. Yet it was also because of that event that I met my pet bunny, Angel." Mysterio was still silent, but it didn't seem like he was looking in her direction anymore. If anything, he looked deep in thought. Fluttershy finished her point with this. "Everyone tells me that there is nothing to be afraid of and that I shouldn't feel so shy. I understand that, but I'm still frightened all the time. But it's not just at how scary the world can be, but at how even when something should be ok there is still something there watching and waiting to get you. It may sound unreasonable but it's what keeps me going in spite of my special talent." For a good while she sat there, waiting for the enchanter to say something. At this point, she was not the only one, for she could see in the distance Tsavorite stopped focusing on her meal and was inconspicuously watching out for her master's reaction. With a sigh, Mysterio finally spoke out. "There is just something about you six that frightens me immensely. I don't know why, but it feels as if each of you has something very deadly about you." Fluttershy was certainly not expecting that answer. "Even me?" "Even you, Miss Fluttershy." Mysterio nodded in affirmation. "In fact, you may be the most frightening of all! The others right now don't seem to make me feel weary seeing as they are busy with their work. Yet, your being here seems to be unnerving in more ways than one." Now this news was something Fluttershy was certainly not anticipating to hear that anypony-that anyone could be afraid of her. "I had hoped I could just have you all wave this whole thing off as nothing more than a dream, one in which you felt like you accomplished what you came to do, despite another doing it for you." He gave a slight shrug. "It would help me in the long run." "Well maybe we can help you. It seems we were able to do so much together to help Miss Tsavorite." She looked hopeful. "Shouldn't we be able to help you more without this spell?" "If only it were that easy." He focused his attention on Tsavorite, who seemed to be directing the mares to gather bits and pieces of the collection into the wagons they brought with them. "Yes, you six seem to be quite courteous and I am grateful for such. I am most thankful especially for all you were willing to do for my dear servant, Tsavorite. However, you six are but a handful of individuals in a population of what? Hundreds, thousands, maybe millions? Who's to say that all of you will be just as welcoming or as tolerant?" "But we can be, Mysterio." Fluttershy got up and started to float in place as her wings began to flap in her new determination. That determination seemed to dissolve entirely as Mysterio confronted her. For at that claim, Mysterio turned to face Fluttershy directly, causing her to flinch as he had a way to break her argument. "Really? Because I've heard differently. I've made a friend who gifted me with the knowledge to save Tsavorite's life. She told me of a town beyond the borders in which she lived where she is constantly eschewed. Knowing her appearance, I guessed that she must be an entirely different species than what they know. Imagine my surprise, seeing the six of you gathered here, with your multitude of colors, appendages, and figures. Now this may be just my eyes distorting my perspective, but I find myself thinking this:" He spread his hand towards the five mares that were now just standing still, their work complete, and now waiting for new orders. Yet Mysterio used them as examples of his major remonstration. "All she has that differs from you on the surface is that her color pallet is monochromatic instead of rich and vibrant. Yet, she is an outcast from your whole society. What do you think is going to be the reaction if I were to make contact? I who am one of the strangest beings you have ever come across?" Fluttershy slowly lowered herself to the ground. She felt that there was nothing she could say to counter Mysterio's words. She wanted to say he was wrong, but even if she wasn't so shy, she did not feel that she had the will to speak against him. Mysterio sighed in displeasure. "I'm sorry about my opinion, Miss Fluttershy, but that is what I believe. Tomorrow if your friends ask you what happened, tell them what happened. But don't lie on my behalf for that will only be a lie against yourself. Instead, tell them that I am sorry for my choice to act on this decision, but that I don't for a minute doubt that they would have acted in a similar manner if they could." [}0{] "That's what he said. So I don't think we can judge him that harshly." Fluttershy finished. There was a good deal of thinking at that as each listener considered what Mysterio meant with his words and his subsequent actions. "It's like Gilda." "Huh?" Twilight turned to find that Rainbow Dash of all people was the first to break the silence. "Back at flight camp, she was given a lot of shit for being the only griffin to attend." The blue Pegasus huffed and she tried to shake off the feelings of the last time she saw her old 'friend'. "It took a while for us to somehow become friends, and even with the way she is now I'm not sure what caused her to open up to me." Not wanting the mood of the group to sink even lower due to the mention of Gilda, Rarity was the next to speak up. "Well, I don't want to simply advocate a possible abuser of mind magic, but I suppose if there is one thing to be said, he did pay us for our services." "Say what now?" Applejack asked. "Well how else do you explain this?" Rarity opened the hat box she carried with her. Only the contents revealed were not anything hat related, but rather an abundant collection of immaculately polished gemstones and gold pieces. "I would certainly remember if I recently purchased such fine stones for my lines, darlings. Since I cannot, I can only assume they were given to me by our apparent...benefactor." "That don't excuse the fact we've been worse than lied to! At least when yer telling a lie, yer only gonna get yerself in trouble when the truth comes out. With this darn 'Mind Magic' we can't even find this varmet to bring hims to justice." Aplejack was unyielding in her opinion. "It's like trying ta lasso a dust devil: Impossible! Yer just grabbing at dirty bits of thin air." "I don't know about that, dust devils are dirty, so they got to be able to be touched since everything they touch is dirty. Maybe Mysterio is just as dirty, but does that mean Tsavorite is dirty, too? I hope not, because I still need to give her that 'You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn't get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her' Party." Pinkie stuck out her tongue. "It's not her fault her boss is a meanie-beanie who didn't want to party-hardy!" "What I think everyone is saying, Fluttershy, is that we still have to tell the Princesses." Twilight reasoned aloud as she decided to break up the craziness from going further than it had. Fluttershy conceded at that. "I know, but please, Twilight. Try to make it sound...a bit nicer..." The purple unicorn kept a tight lipped expression towards that request as she simultaneously went over the facts that she knew. Her conclusion was that this would not be a report she would ever look back on with favor. "Spike, take a letter!" "Right away!" the young drake saluted as he got a parchment and pen ready. Thus Twilight began to dictate her letter. [}0{] Dear Princess Celestia, To start off, I wish to apologize for the tardiness of this report. Due to unforeseen circumstances I was not able to send it as promptly as I should. Rest assured that we in Ponyville are fine and that I will be sure to never be late with a Friendship Report again. As you are well aware, my friends and I were given the task of negotiating with an adult drake into relocating to another dwelling for his hundred year nap. The other Element Bearers and I prepared ourselves to undertake this journey to the dragon's place of residence and were ready to give it our best attempts to assure everything went to plan. However, they did not. Now this is account is based on the observations of Fluttershy for reasons that will be later explained, but apparently the drake in question had in fact stolen the lair and treasure from a female dragoness named Tsavorite. The dragoness served a master, who in retaliation to his servant's mistreatment, personally cast out this malefactor using his skills and prowess as a master of the arcane arts. Lady Tsavorite told this explanation as well as other details of her master, named Mysterio. He is a sorcerer and lord of a castle. Sadly, besides Fluttershy, none of us can recall enough detail to aptly describe him. That is because of his magic which is most disconcerting: he appears to be a spell caster who is capable of performing 'Mind Magic'. He was able to subjugate an entire pride of manticores to being servile to his will. More notoriously, he cast a spell on us to not only erase our memory of meeting him, but to entrance us into moving the treasure to another location and be unable to recall just where it resides. It seems it even had a wide post-cast effect, for those off us that were affected did not feel the effects of the suggestion leave us until we all awoke at 10:00 a.m. this morning. Already it seems this Mysterio is guilty of breaking one of our most scrutinized laws regarding magic. IF that wasn't enough, we suspect that he has taken residence somewhere in the Everfree Forest. While his actions and location are to be given a great deal of concern, Fluttershy was somehow immune to his magic. She has gone on to tell us these events that have transpired and who was involved. Also, she is surprisingly adamant in supporting Mysterio's side of the events. According to her testimony, Mysterio tried to erase our memories so that he could avoid the conflicts of a confrontation with him. While I know that we would certainly use more peaceful forms of diplomacy, he seems to be under the impression that we are a more discriminatory-prone race. At least, that is what I understood from Fluttershy's secondhand account of his words. Princess Celestia, I honestly don't know what to do. You've taught me that 'Mind Magic' is one of the most corruptible forms of magic and that those that use it on a whim are a dangerous sort. Yet Fluttershy swears that this Mysterio didn't mean to harm us, but instead had a misguided notion to protect himself and perhaps us by trying to make us forget him. Normally I would take his words to be nothing but lies, but the oath he swore seems to be above the level of a 'Pinkie Promise' (which according to Pinkie Pie even you would dare not break). His servant also paid us with a very substantial amount of treasure for the help we provided which when considering what little we know of Draconic culture is practically unheard of. So perhaps he is not as bad as he seems but could use a reeducation of proper magical conduct? Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle P. S. Please, please, please! Do not tell Shinning about this! I heard how he got injured the other day due to a training accident of some sort and knowing him, he probably tried sending some of his recruits to come and check up on me. I'll write to him to tell him I'm fine, but I don't want him to overreact. The last thing we need is to have him go AWOL after he recently made Captain of the Royal Guard. [}0{] "Oh, Twilight!" Celestia let out a tear as she finished the letter. She was overjoyed to receive confirmation that her student and her companions were alright, but saddened by this new development that required her counsel. "Of all things you must be tested with, I certainly did not foresee this!" "We shall hunt for this scoundral at once!" Luna bellowed as she readied herself to take flight. Twilight was her newest friend, and she and the other mares brought her from the darkness and back into the light. To think somepony would dare try to turn them into beings without wills drove her absolutely livid. "After that we shall truly teach him the meaning of pain-" "Luna, that's enough!" Luna stopped with a startled scoff. "Sister! Don't you care-?" Immediately she stopped that sentence because she saw her sister give a determined glare despite the tears. She was angered as well, and was trying to hold her composure. "I care. But what can we do?" Celestia wiped her eyes as she regained her cool, calm and collected bearing as best as she could. "We know very little of this foe other than conjecture." "We have a multitude of methods to hunt for him!" Luna lowered herself to fly to her sister's gaze. "By nightfall alone, we can search the Dream Yard for him!" "Yes, but there are other factors to this we must consider before we act, lest we end up aggravating an already volatile situation. I made that mistake once of assuming the worse, and seeing an enemy, only to end up creating one." She didn't specify which one, and unfortunately Celestia found that a good number could be specified in that statement; especially, in her next avowal. "I made that same mistake again of not hearing the other side and ended up losing my sister." Luna nearly dropped out of the air at that reminder of why she was estranged for a time. "Sister-" "And I keep making that mistake and finding myself losing more than I gain." Celestia continued with lament. "Is this to be my sin? To constantly make enemies instead of friends for the sake of my little ponies?" Luna was quiet for a while, before she considered her sister's words long enough to at least be less obstinate for the sake of dealing with the problem. "Then what do you suggest, dear sister? This Mysterio cannot simply receive a mere slap-of-thy-wrist for his transgression. In my time, we had public executions for illegal use of 'Mind Magics' as well as sentences to the Gates." Celestia knew that, for it was because of Mind Magic that the Gates to Tartarus were opened last. Still, she felt the perplexity of her royal duties for she had to play the parts of a diplomat, and a judge simultaneously. "Luna if I could, I would have the guard search the Everfree with a spear in one hand and a comb in the other. Even if we had the numbers, I dare not consider it. There are much more dangerous things now dwelling there since the time you saw it last." She breathed out heavily as she made her decision. "As of right now, we are to regard this 'Mysterio', under scrutiny. If we have an opportunity to meet with him, then I shall give him an audience under the rules of diplomacy. However, without a doubt, he will be considered an enemy of the kingdom at the moment he shows his true colors as one who dares to harm my little ponies." Luna conceded to that decision. She may not like how they had to wait for a possible enemy to show their hand, but she trusted Celestia's judgement. "Then by thy will, sister. So mote it be!" Thus was the day that the being named Mysterio would be known by those of the Royal Guard as a suspicious character to be given audience to her Royal Majesty for questioning. Yet a few days later, he would be given more priority for royal inquiry when certain events took place involving a small junky corner of the desert known as 'Clutter Coulee'.
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 7-Making a Mark [Part 2]
"Everyone wants a bit of joy. Whether it is from opening a shiny toy from the packaging, reading a newly released story, or seeing a child's face light up at a successfully performed magic trick, that wonderful feeling is what everyone wants to have." That was the philosophy of why a man opened a shop called 'McIntyre's Magnificent Merchandise'. It was a reasonably small store found in the downtown area of the city; a decent spot due to being near a few eateries, a candy shop, a neighborhood, and a college in walking distance. The name was coined as a reflection of the man's history of being a simple, but respected stage magician, who decided to try his hand at selling wares such as magic tricks, gags, games, comics, and other such commodities. He thought calling it after his family name was respectable, but the man's son thought it wouldn't be as appealing to have the name blazing in the window without it being a bar. Still, Stuart McIntyre had the final say in what he wanted to call his store and his son, Ethan, really had no complaints to the place where he would spend his long summer days. "That is why I decided to open this shop. To give people what they really want: that semblance of joy." Stuart finished his thought as if he had not said any similar speech in the past. He then looked back at the door, only to find that his audience was only composed of one person and not another customer was in sight. "So where is everyone?" The contrasts between the father and son were outstanding. Stuart was a man of a robust build and presence that was signature of a stage performer. It helped that he was wearing a white buttoned up shirt, red bowtie, and slacks as if he was preparing to go onto the stage and perform a few tricks to dazzle a crowded house. He was a descent height and constitution, whose mustache curled with a whimsy that was still respectable. Even though he wore a copula hat to hide his thinning black hairline, he still looked like a man who could jump into a rendition of a Shakespearean soliloquy if given the request. Yet, besides him was a young, skinny teen with an unremarkable face currently at the age of fifteen. His brown head of hair was spiked about as if his fingers were enough of a comb for him to use on it. He too was dressed in a similar faux magician's outfit, but on him it seemed a bit off with his lack of presence unlike his father. He barely looked like he could run a mile for gym, let alone lift the crates of comics and other merchandise that the store demanded for his position. It didn't help that Stuart's son couldn't have appeared anymore bored with life as he had his comic in hand and sat on a stool behind the counter. Despite the surplus of intriguing wares surrounding him, he seemed to ignore them instead for the story in which Spider-man was facing off against Jackal, Morbius, Dok Ock, and a back from the dead Mysterio. "What do you expect? It's the opening weekend of Toy Story 3. Even though it's summer, everyone and their kids is in a movie theater whereas we are sitting here waiting for some unlucky geek to swing by with nothing better to do." Ethan said nonchalantly as he turned the page without so much as looking up at his father's incredulous expression. It seemed that the movie theater a few corners down was essentially taking away his business and there was not a thing the once 'Great' magician could do about it. "Ah, what do you know? You're only knowledgeable in the few tricks I taught you, not business models!" Stuart muttered with annoyance as he looked at the clock and saw it was time for lunch. The man got up and started to head towards the door. "Now I'm going to go get us some food. Looks like it's Subway's turn to make us lunch. Promise me you'll still be here at the register and not sneaking off to read the rest of that comic. We could use some money, son. And serving customers properly is the best way to do it." Ethan waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be here." "Promise me." "Fine! I promise that I will be here at the ready the moment a customer comes in asking about a comic, game, or some other gag we sell. Until you come back, this place will be the same as you left it, so help me God!" Ethan raised his hand in mock salute as he gave a smirk at the hamminess of his performance. He then went back to The Amazing Spider-man# 141. "After all, who else can you expect to make sure this place keeps running while you are gone?" "Yeah, well just for that, I'm going to take my time in deciding my sandwich." Stuart smirked as he laughed in a false evil manner. "You'll just have to take the turkey and enjoy it, because I'm the boss here!" "Whatever, old man!" His son shouted at him as he left through the door. "Better make mine a footlong, or don't bother coming back!" [}0{] Ethan felt a sense of dizziness overtake him despite waking up. It wasn't grogginess that was hitting him, but a sensation of vertigo due to something else. When he recollected himself and fold he was unable to rub his eyebrows due to his domelike helmet, the memories of his current situation came back to him. "Master, are you alright?"Tsavorite asked as she looked over her shoulder to gaze upon Ethan in Mysterio's attire hanging tightly to her shoulders. "I'm fine. Never better." Ethan lied in Mysterio's echoing voice. The distortion of the suit's speech made it so that his panic was not apparent to his draconic companion and current flying conveyance. Sure any other time, Ethan would probably be imagining flying across a magical land on the back of a dragon, but actually doing it seemed to remind him about why he hated flying on a plane when his dad traveled for one of his shows. That, and knowing planes had seatbelts, as well as actual seats and did not require you to hang on in what was essentially a piggyback ride a few stories above the ground had something to do with it as well. "Well you seem to be shaking a great deal. If you are cold, I have no problem carrying you and embracing you tighter so you can better feel my warmth." The dragoness offered, thinking that was the issue at hand. "No!-I mean, that is not necessary. I am fine in that regard." Being on her back was nerve-racking enough. Having her essentially hold him like a babe to her bosom, while being forced to gaze at the distance to the ground...well he didn't want to get motion sick as well as scream in alarm if she started to descend while flying in that manner to say the least. "...Are you sure?" "I'm fine. How much further until we reach our destination?" "I don't believe much further. Although this method of finding it is not necessarily something I can judge well." She looked down to take a peek at the object that was hanging from a bangle around her wrist. "Are you certain this is the best method of finding the way from north?" The object was an old potion bottle that was round at the base, but contained a liquid mixture with a hint of reddish tinge and glowed in a mystical glare. The light source emanated from a needle that not only floated in the round container, but was vibrating as it pointed the direction for her to fly in. While the young man had kept aside "Count R. Clockwise's Creative Charades and Countermeasures" for another day, the book "Fortune Folly's Fantastic Spells for Frequent Use" did come in handy after all. In particular, the spell that enchanted the needle to point the direction to a location that it was used to write its name. While it was a simple method of magic, and was certainly leading them somewhere, it still had some serious flaws that made it apparent why it was a magical novelty. On one hand, it seemed to be a constant direction that was definitely not north based on the compass app on his phone. On the other, while knowing the direction to go in was helpful, and having a companion who could fly made it easier but it gave no indication as to how far they had to go to get there beyond glowing brighter the closer they got to it. The other major annoyance was that this spell needed to be recharged, which meant Ethan had to constantly recreate the ritual after a few hours. It was certainly an annoyance to keep pricking one's finger to keep the magic going, and to use part of their supply ration's to sterilize to parts to avoid infection. Speaking of which, he noted the state of their stash for the trip and found that they were running low on nearly everything. "It's the best we have for the time being. Hopefully we will reach it today. Otherwise we will have to come up with a way to get more of what we need out here." Now that was a terrible joke! To be forced to find anything out here in this desert beyond the rocky terrain and blaring sun. Sure, they had advantages that made this environment more bearable like the climate settings in his suit, or Tsavorite's draconic genetics. But those things wouldn't be much help when they finally ran out of water, food, and--for the dragoness--gems. Ethan in particular couldn't help but to notice how when they camped for the night, he was woken up by a low grumble that he found to be coming from Tsavorite's stomach. God help him, but the reason for his apparent lethargy was that he felt the need to sleep in sessions because Tsavorite unknowingly sleep-ate nearby rocks and minerals she instinctively sniffed with her serpentine tongue and dug out. The munching reminded him of what he imagined to be the crunching human bones. He didn't sleep well after that thought to say the least. Still, his mind ran in frustration as to what was this whole journey for? Why take the excursion to this place known only in his thoughts as 'Clutter Coulee'? What was there that could be so important that he could be one step closer to his main goal? "I know there is an easier way...but it is my choice anyway...don't let me waste my time, in futile thinking any more..." The young man who wore Mysterio's armaments stopped his pondering as he took notice of the tune Tsavorite was murmuring as she soared through the skies and realizing that he knew it quite well. "Is that 'Fly in the Freedom'?" "Hmm?" The dragoness stopped her humming as she felt her thoughts unclouded from the sky's spell on her senses. Flying for this long did tend to have one linger into 'Skyway Hypnosis' if one wasn't to careful to maintain a level of alertness. "What was that, Master?" "That song you are humming, is it 'Fly in the freedom'?" She pondered for a moment, before shrugging as best as she could with the sorcerer on her shoulders. "I am not sure of its name. Only that it was playing on that 'eye-fone' of yours when you lent it to me last. I really enjoy it if it is." "Well, you seem to be able to sing it wonderfully enough. I'll be sure to lend you my music more often." Now that was an interesting thought! To think that something like his music would be a welcome commodity to share was something Ethan found some excitement in. But before he could consider other songs to entrance his draconic subordinate with, he caught a glimmer of something shinning on the desert plains below. The makeshift bottle locator was glowing with a brightness that would make any Christmas tree envious in response. "We are here!" Mysterio proclaimed as he motioned for Tsavorite to land. [}0{] "So this is Clutter Coulee." Tsavorite stated as she gazed upon the place's magnificence, or rather lack thereof. She had been expecting maybe a township, or possibly a trading post; something that would be well-to-do enough to have resources to his cause. Instead, she found something even dingier. 'Clutter Coulee' was a scrapyard. It was surrounded by a high metallic fence with a grated gate. Heaps of organized odds-and-ends could be seen piled at heights above these walls. A couple buildings could be seen inside which gave the impression that someone worked here, or possibly lived here if the juxtaposition of the hot desolation of the environment surrounding it was any indication. Still, that may have been a stretch because they too look worn down like the scrap piles surrounding them. "This place looks like it has nothing to offer us, Master. Perhaps it would be best if we quickly requested some water and be off on our way. Although, I admit, there is doubt we shall find even that here." Mysterio seemed to cross his arms at that, but pondered for a bit before committing himself to journeying into this place they traversed such a length to reach. "In my land we have a saying, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure.' Now that can be taken in a number of ways." Mysterio announced as he leisurely strolled toward the front gates of the place. "People, or ponies in this case, have no idea that the things that they discard and disregard can still be useful." "The discarded can still have a use?" For some reason the words rang a cord in the dragoness' heart, but before she could dwell on them, her master made to announce himself with a few bangs on the gate with his fist. [}0{] "To whomever owns these parts, let them come forth for I have business to discuss!" "Who is that at this time of day?" Trixie asked aloud as she stopped her work for a moment. She was currently shoveling scrap into piles alongside the two Diamond Dogs. They too stopped their work to perk their ears at whatever this male voice just shouted. "Is it a customer, big sis?" Norah excitedly asked with a skip. Customers were a good source of shinnies so long as they got their scraps that they were looking for. "Sounds like them guards ponies. Probably wants more metal bits so they can makes more armors and spears." Bo said as she took up her shovel and trotted towards the lever near the entrance. As she struck it, the chains that it controlled gave a shrieking groan as they lowered the gate to open for their latest guests. The one standing the tallest was a dragon. Bo was surprised to see one out here in this desert; even more so since there was practically nothing of value to be had among their pile of scraps. Yet here was this female who had green scales shimmering in the sun, and dressed in the minimal garb of one who has lived in the lush jungles she assumed. She gave a pointed stare at the Diamond Dog that was as evenly matched to the point on her nose. However, even she seemed to be outclassed in strangeness by the being standing next to her. It was a figure garbed in a green bodysuit and adorned in a purple cloak. Yet what was even stranger was the lack of a face. He, for the musculature was clearly a male, had a shining crystal sphere for a head that glimmered in the sun like a mighty pearl. It seemed to light up even more vibrantly as he spoke out: "I am Mysterio! A master of the arcane, and soon to be the new proprietor of these premises!" [}0{] Mysterio couldn't believe who it was that stood behind the gate of this junkyard property. As it lowered, he expected to find perhaps an earthly colored bipedal stallion that ran the place. Instead, he found a bipedal canine, and a female one at that. The way she was dressed and the way she carried herself showed that she was a hard worker who was not to be trifled with. Despite the other differences to her appearance in comparison to a pony, a few stood out the most. For instance, she had sharper claws at her digits as well as paws at her feet. She had natural chomping bits outside her jaw that were not amongst her teeth. Her overall body type was broad, plump, but muscular and she was blessed with 'magnificent tracts of land'. They might have even been equal in size to his helmet. Yet that maybe had to do more with her being at least two heads taller than he as well as thrice as broad. Yet she was a part of the junkyard scene with how she was dressed in a pair of dark overalls and a flannel shirt of plaid. Overall, Mysterio summed her up in one thought: Here was a doggie version of Ellie from Borderlands 2 who looked ready to kick his ass. "So big talk coming from a strange pony..." The female junkyard dog started to comment, before she took a closer gander at him. "You ain't no pony I've ever seen. What are you?" "I am a man of the human race, and a skillful sorcerer. That's all I will say on that matter." He unfurled his cloak a bit as he stood with his arms folded. "Now, if you don't mind, I would like to carry on with my day. So let us begin the negotiation in order for me to acquire this place of business properly." "Over our doggie doornails! Right, Big Sis Bo?" barked a more youthful voice. Running up to the large bipedal collie, was a little scamp of what probably amounted to a puppy. She wore a blue shirt with a pink bunny as well as a faded pink skirt over a pair of orange pants. She had short orange hair with a black bow near her right ear. The more distinguishing marks she had seemed to be the black mark like a bullseye around her right eye and her larger forepaws and hind paws. They seemed even bigger than the larger dog's and were almost bigger than her face, muzzle and all. If the big doggie was Ellie, then this little one had to be like Tina: tiny, but explosively dangerous enough to get you killed for underestimating her. At least, that was what Ethan felt when he looked her over. "You mean 'dead as a doornail' bodies, Norah. But she's still right. What make you think I just bow to you?" Bo asked with her paws on her hips. She seemed to lose a bit of her sternness at her sister's misuse of a phrase, but regained it quickly enough to maintain an intimidating stature. It was certainly working, for already, Tsavorite was subtly moving to get into a range to attack; something that Mysterio most definitely wanted to prevent from occurring. So in order to maintain control of this rising situation, he did what he felt was necessary: he prepared to play a hand to change the direction of this game they were playing. "Let me be clear, I do not believe I can make you become my servant. Nor do I consider that I have much of a chance to take away this place from you so that I may be able to accomplish my goals." He then snapped his fingers as he quickly revealed a fan of playing cards in his grasp. "However, perhaps I can propose a wager? It can be a contest of your choice in which we compete against the other." "Doggie-pile-driver-off!" The younger pup gleefully barked. She seemed to ignore her sister's irate look as she immediately called the challenge and her terms. "Winner knocks the loser to the ground and keeps them there to the count of ten! If Bo wins, you give Bo shinies until you die!" "Shinies?" "I think she means gems, master. They are Diamond Dogs and thus they desire them nearly as much as I hunger for them." Tsavorite quickly explained. 'Diamond Dogs, huh?' So this was another species that Mysterio would need to investigate. He put that thought aside for later as he swiftly came up with his terms of the challenge. "Very well then! If I win, I will get to use this scrapyard in anyway I see fit to do. Will that suffice?" "Fine!" Bo held out a hand-er, paw-out as she stated the final terms of this apparent. "But remember, no help from your dragon friend and no backing out when you lose!" "Done!" Mysterio agreed as he shook the offered paw. "Now, when shall we start?" "We starts...right now!" Bo growled as she tightened her grip and threw the costumed man over her shoulder. "Master!" Tsavorite was ready to run to his aid, but stopped when Mysterio quickly righted himself in midair and landed calmly on his feet. "Stay back, Tsavorite!" He swept his cloak behind him as he readied into a battle worthy stance. "I can handle myself against this one alone!" Immediately he had to take a great leaping dodge to the left as the large she-doggie rushed at him like a bull seeing red. When she failed to impact him, she quickly turned about-face and began to swiftly release a flurry of hard hitting punches. Mysterio found himself dodging a practical hailstorm of clawed fists as he did his best to avoid every strike made towards him. The suit seemed to help, for its HUD could display every incoming attack's direction of impact. However, the lack of sleep and the effects of the desert climate seemed to be affecting him with every successful dodge he was able to force his tired body to make. If this was a battle of attrition, then already he was falling behind in the race. Fortunately he had a few more tricks up his sleeves. Like an actual energy attack! "Sortilege salvo!" He curled up his palm as a magenta burst of energy came flying out towards the Diamond Dog. However, she was not only quick enough to dodge it, but did it in a surprisingly agile way. She leant back and contorted her body into a side kick that hit Mysterio with enough force to knock him back aways. Mysterio fired a few more shots in her direction. However, not only did she dodge them, but she actually battered a few of them away with her bare paws! "You thinks I don't suspect magics in fights? I faced off against trickier fillies than you!" Bo bellowed as she rushed Mysterio again. Mysterio was able to stand up again, but was not fast enough to start dodging all of her strikes. This time he was forced into a more defensive position as some of her hits were just to close to dodge. The suit gave him some protection, seeing that it was probably made to take blows from Spider-man, but again he knew that he could only do so much before Bo could claim this fight as her win. He had to make a plan to change the outcome of this match and fast! 'She's quick! Even for one as bulky as her, she's surprisingly quick on her feet. Not to mention she is pretty well versed with throwing those punches but with one handicap.' He tried to avoid that line of thought, but there was one reason (or rather two big reasons!) as to why not all of her punches were hitting him with the impact that they should of at this close range. 'But can you blame her with them at that size, it's a wonder that she can see me over them, let alone reach me-' It seemed that maybe Bo was getting wise to her attacks not having the bite that they should, because she gave an annoyed bark before winding up to give a greater blow; one from her tail with the force of her FULL weight behind it! The impact was enough to through him off balance, but fortunately he was able to catch himself into a roll, and quickly regained his footing. 'That tail is something else! She knows it well enough to use it to make up for her lack of reach. However, that still leaves the glaring weakness of her technique available for me to exploit!' He stayed crouched as he heard her steps come closer to him. Each one sounded off with a bounding thud, but the key detail was that they were consistently hitting the ground one after the other. 'Wait for it...now!' instead of getting off his feet, Mysterio slid his body right towards her left foot as she got into his range. With his whole body behind that move, he was able to knock her off balance While also kicking up a large dirt cloud. "You are an excellent fighter, but you seem to be unwilling to let more than one foot off the ground!" Mysterio chide as he appeared to shimmer brightly in the sunlight. He was about to proclaim himself victorious, but was made silent by how she was no longer falling towards her back. Rather, she stopped herself by the strength of her tail. It was enough to give her time to have both of her paws to catch the ground again. "Enough of this! I will finish this NOW!" like a mighty spring, her tail was able to launch herself up onto the pads of her feet and with that, she leapt up and prepared to body slam the sorcerer in a finishing move. [}0{] While this entire match was going on, there was another spectator to the fight: a blue unicorn mare named Trixie. She was watching from the shadow of one of the sheds, but could clearly see everything well enough. Believing it was not as forthcoming, but that wasn't as surprising considering the way her life has been going these past few weeks. A sorcerer and a dragon. Of all the things Trixie saw come to this desert junkyard, these two were not a part of it. The Dragoness was tall and looked strong enough to be a viable threat. However, her ostensible master was what drew her eye more. He had a crystal ball for a head, a spoke as if he was capable of magic greater than she could imagine. Granted, when Trixie first saw him, she was still unsure of his actual capability. She knew the boasting game among practitioners of magic after all. It could have turned out that he kept that dragon as some sort of enforcer, and thus perhaps was only a spellcaster who was rich enough to keep powerful servants to do his dirty work. That line of thinking stopped the moment he told the dragoness to stay back to deal with Bo's challenge on his own. It was cemented further by how he was remarkably dodging Bo's strikes and capable of striking back with powerful magic. Even more so, was that he was able to knock the bitch off of her feet. This sorcerer was strange to be certain. Yet perhaps he was the answer to Trixie's wishes of late. Too bad it seemed that he too was about to fall into the diamond dogs' 'indentured servitude'. 'If only...' She thought as she saw Bo about to body slam him. Then she found herself gasping in surprise as he seemed to fade away like a mirage before Bo slammed face first into the dirt. [}0{] Bo couldn't stop as she felt the dirt kiss her muzzle. The 'hyooman' couldn't have teleported, for there was no flash, or burst of noise like when other things blinked to another spot. The shiny headed figure just stopped being there. Before the Diamond dog could dwell on the how, she felt a new sensation that was hitting her body. She couldn't seem to pick herself up, but she soon discovered why. Her legs were tied tightly together by Mysterio's purple cape. They were knotted securely together to her wrists in a way that made it practically imposible for her to get off of her belly. "Who's on top?" Mysterio crossed his arms as he mockingly joked, "It seems I'm more on top than the top dog around here." "But how?" Bo asked as she tried to use her strength to break free. Yet whatever material the cape was made from had to be sterner stuff than any rope that Bo could break. "How indeed?" Mysterio shrugged as he laid a boot on Bo's back. "10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Looks like I win, all the same." He grasped the purple strand and with the flourish of the tablecloth gag, he pulled the cloth from Bo's appendages and placed it back upon his shoulders. Norah rushed to her sister's side to help her up while also giving Mysterio mean looks. He walked calmly towards his dragoness companion as he began to preach of his victory. "As for my winnings-" "We are not serving some shiny-headed-trickster-cheater!" Norah barked angrily with a tear or two dripping over her bullseye. Mysterio stopped in place as he turned around to correct the evident misunderstanding. "Servitude? All I desire is the right to obtain whatever scrap I see fit to use and the methods of which to craft with it that you have here." That seemed to cause the Diamond Dogs and their unseen observer's eyes to widen. "That's it?" Bo asked. "Of course!" Mysterio spread out his arms in exasperation. "What else would I want that you could possibly give me?" "Perhaps a meal would be acceptable as well as a place to stay the night?" Tsavorite interjected as she drew Mysterio's attention. She gave a sheepish look as she held out the bag of supplies they carried with them. Only now it seemed to be bereft of certain goods. No doubt, it was due to the nervous hunger of the 'Gem Gourmet' at the sight of her master getting quite the near defeat handed to him. "...Really Tsavorite?" He then sighed as he addressed the two Diamond Dogs. "I'd hate to impose more, but it seems that my servant decided to eat the last of our supplies as we fought." Despite the lack of a face, Mysterio somehow managed to give a shamefaced demeanor, and the dragoness gave an apologetic expression. Despite their previous scuffle, Bo just couldn't help but to feel sympathetic enough to give a bit of hospitality. "So long as you don't stick your noses up at our cooking!" She gave a canine smirk. "We don't waste food around these parts." [}0{] "What a day!" Mysterio sighed out as he sat down in a shaded corner of the yard. Tsavorite took off to follow Bo and Norah to make arrangements for their staying the night. He trusted her judgement, and thus found himself taking it easy for a moment that he absolutely needed. He could practically see steam coming out of his suit due to him roasting in there. This suit was made for playing tricks and taking hits, but this heat was something else. 'Kicking up the dirt was enough to hide that holocube for a quick diversion.' He then took a few stretches to try and work some kinks out of his muscles as he tried to think of a way to cool off. 'So I was only able to get the upper hand by some quick thinking. I'll still need to work on my act if I want to keep up this charade.' A mug suddenly floated into his range of vision. "Hmm?" It was surrounded by a magenta glow. Clearly it was the sign of magic at work. "You look like you might need a drink." A feminine voice spoke as a tall figure stepped into his view. It was a blue unicorn mare. She possessed a silverfish mane that was tied up with a worn rag. She was also dressed in a pair of overalls and flannel shirt which were dirty with the signs of working here. Yet it seemed out of place on her, as if she wasn't originally meant to wear them. No doubt, they must have been old hand-me-downs that Bo must off outgrown at some point of her life. Overall, she was certainly pretty as far as these ponies go, but that made it more prudent that she didn't belong to this junkyard setting. Mysterio calmly snatched the mug from the air as if it was a normal occurrence. "Thank you kindly, miss...?" "Lulamoon. Bellatrix Lulamoon. But you may refer to me as Trixie." She gave a smile as she thrusted out a hip to lean against. "Your use of magic was most impressive. I was unable to see how you were able to cast that final illusion so flawlessly and with no sign of a traceable tell that are caused by spell work. Just how did you manage to pull it off with such little time has Trixie most curious." Mysterio was no fool, and neither was Ethan. He knew the look of a woman...or female...who clearly was after something he had. Many a woman could try their wiles, but he was a man who kept his secrets close to the vest. It certainly helped that she was being obvious in her stance. "Well, it is a trade secret my dear. I doubt that it would remain as such if I were to tell it to everyone who asked me how." He swirled the mug of water around as he considered just how he could possibly drink it with his helmet on. Still, he could at least humor her a bit. "Besides, what would a unicorn with such a skilled eye for magic such as yourself need with a mere parlor trick like that?" That certainly was enough to preen the mane of Trixie. It had been a long time since she had heard any such compliment. "Very astute for you to notice. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie. I am the one who is capable of matching any challenge and trick any pony alive dared to throw at me..." She started to stand with a bit more pride as she recalled her early days of 'showmareship'. Yet her flare of esteem simmered down as she recalled she was not upon a stage, but in a shaded corner of a junkyard she was forced to work in. "Or at least I was. Now Trixie is just the humble and unrecognizable scrap pillar collector." Mysterio knew that look pretty well. "Life threw you one too many lemons?" Trixie scoffed as she kicked a nearby rock with her hoof. "More like stones! Trixie remembers the last town she was in had a rock farm!" Ouch! Mysterio didn't like the sound of that; too literal for his tastes by the way she reacted. "Sounds like they didn't take a 'stage incident' well." Her gazed upon the water as he saw a reflection of the two of them standing apart, and decided to impart something to a fellow magician. "Then can I, the Great Mysterio, offer a piece of advice to a lovely young...mare such as yourself?" "Yes!" Trixie was ecstatic to see what this sorcerer had to offer her. Maybe it was a powerful spell to make her dreams come true! Or perhaps a magical amulet that could boost her power a hundredfold! "Find another act." She dropped her jaw at that. "What?" Seeing her reaction, Mysterio waved a hand as he explained his suggestion a bit further. "I'm not saying to quit. That would be a waste of all your time and effort. It would also make your naysayers think they've one. Rather, find another way to give them what they want. Only then will you find that method that has your audience captivated to your own plight." As he finished that, a drinking straw appeared in his sleeve. The moment he carefully picked it out, a tiny induction port opened in front of his mouth that was the perfect size for it. Hazzah! It seemed Mysterio had a way to drink while in costume after all. 'What do you know, he was prepared for any situation!' He immediately stuck the straw into the port and started sipping as much of the cold water as he could. 'Find a new act...?' Trixie wondered just how she could do that. Having completed her task, Tsavorit choose that moment to reconvene with her master. "Master, I've made the arrangements and it looks like we will be staying in the 'guest cabin'. Miss Bo says that there will be another we will have to share it with." "That would be me." Trixie answered as she saw an opportunity to grasp. "And who are you?" Tsavorite readied her wings as she looked questionably at this new unicorn trying to become familiar with Mysterio. "This is Miss Lulamoon or Trixie as she is known." Mysterio introduced as he paused from his sipping. He gave the same curtesy for Tsavorite's introduction as he announced her as well. "Trixie, this is Lady Tsavorite whom I have dubbed 'The Gem Gourmet." The dragoness kept a straight face until she held a claw out with a grin. "It's a pleasure." Trixie grabbed it to shake. "The pleasure is mine!" "I hope we won't be a nuisance due to having to share such close quarters." The dragoness stood taller and tightened her grip. Her subtle way of appearing bigger while showing more teeth made her unspoken message have a bit more edge. 'Keep your distance, mare! My master is beyond your paltry tricks!' "Do not fret! Trixie is used to making due with worse!" The unicorn's grip tightening as well as maintaining eye contact also aided her unspoken response to that. 'This dragoness thinks she could tell me to back off! I'll show her!' The two stared down the other. Mysterio just sat and drank his water, unknowing that there were silent daggers flying between his two acquaintances. "Food's ready! Eat up or you'll get nothin'!" Bo's voice rang out as a dinner bell started to ring. "Ah, nothing to cement a new bond of companionship than a well-cooked meal!" He stood up and dusted himself off to be ore presentable."Well, shall we ladies?" "We shall/We shall!" The two females exclaimed as they followed his lead. Neither was willing to let up their pace to make way for the other. [}0{] It was an interesting meal to be certain. Not because of the dishes being served. The main course was chili beans hot from the pot. Bo was at least kind enough to make another pot without the ground beef for Trixie's sake, but the way the smell wafted nearby and seeing the dogs dig into it made her nauseous and nervous. No, what made everyone ate the table wide eyed was who else was planning on participating in the meat filled dish today. "You don't mind meat?" Norah asked. Here they all were at a table made of scrapped materials like at a rubbishy picnic. She and Bo had planned to share the meat inclusive meal with the dragoness, but they didn't expect that the round headed being would scoop up a spoonful from the pot into his own bowl. Yet here was Mysterio eagerly swirling a spoon in his bowl to mix up the chili. "So long as it's cooked properly, I'll eat it and tell you if I enjoy it!" "You are weird, Mr. Eeyoo! Even if you are some 'hyooman'." Norah didn't bother with a spoon, and just dove her muzzle in to scarf as much food as she could. "I'm sure I will get that a lot." The 'human' set his bowl down to cool. He was also waiting for a proper opportunity to take his helmet off to eat. The young pup wiped her muzzle with one of her forepaws as she asked a question she'd been having all day. "Still, how cans you eat with no mouth or holes?" "Norah!" Bo chided with a pointed spoon from her own bowl of chili. While Norah ate with a ill-mannered gusto, she certainly had manners of a proper host, and thus wished her sister wouldn't ruin the nice mealtime they were all sharing. "What? He doesn't has one!" Norah defensively retorted. "I do. It's just that my face looks...really scary!" That appeared to excite the young pup. "Really?" "Yes. It may give you nightmares for weeks to come!" He facetiously raised finger in a warning as he tapped his shinning orb of a head covering. "So don't look when I take this helmet off, alright?" Norah was far from deterred at the prospect. "Now I gotta see!" Bo adamantly put a stop to that. "You better not! Last time you gots that scared we hads to get you a new bed." Everyone at the table developed smirks, and were holding back laughter at the implication. Norah waved her paws about as she embarrassingly defended herself. "Not because of that!" Bo shook her head in annoyance as she explained further. "I wish! That would be better than you setting explosives to gets the monster that you said was living under it!" Tsavorite raised a surprised eyebrow at that. Trixie seemed to blanch and look even more appalled at that bit of information. Mysterio noted the way she also rubbed her neck in which a junky looking collar with gaudy lights was adorned. "So Norah, you've got an unusual name." That seemed to distract her into a calmer state of being. "Not really, all doggie names are based on our qualities or other things that are easy to recall. When we was fighting, I was able to be very sneaky and no-doggie could hear me until it was too late! So I was named 'Norah'." The way she pronounced it was 'No-rawr', which was an interesting tidbit to Ethan. It seemed that names for Diamond Dogs had a story behind them. Granted, names in his world could work in a similar manner, it seemed they had a more active quality here. "So why do they call you Bo?" Mysterio asked, trying to further explore the topic. Unfortunately, he seemed to have stepped onto another landmine, by the expression that developed on the older female Diamond Dog's face. Norah didn't seem to notice as she explained it with a poem of all things, and a surprisingly familiar one at that! "Little Bo Peep, loose her sheep, don't know where to find them. Leave them alone, and then they come home with wagging tails behind them." Her pup sister recited. Mysterio tilted his head at that recitation. Apparently some things were truly universal. He'd definitely have to explore that at a later date to be certain! "Well that sounds very ni-" "It is name of prey, not hunter!" Bo bellowed as she slammed a fist onto the table, leaving a crack on its surface. "It double insult because it is shorter than 'bow-wow'. It is name for..." She lost her anger and seemed to fall into a depression, with her ears and tail lowered. Norah's ear drooped as well as she realized she slipped up again and her sister was the one hurt by it. "What kind of name?" Mysterio asked gently without trying to push her. He had to know. At this point, if there was some sort of cultural deviation at work he would pay attention to it. The Diamond Dog sighed out. "It is a name for a runt." If his eyebrow could rise any higher, his helmet would have cracked. "You are a runt?" "Norah may have been born from a latter litter, but I am the runt of my bunch." Bo answered with a bit of bite back in her voice. "As if magic-man didn't know!" "I did not. You must understand Miss Bo, I am from lands far beyond here, and every culture is as strange to me as mine is probably to yours." He then raised a hand to his 'chin' in consideration as he commented. "In fact, you are the first 'Diamond Dog' I have ever seen." "Really?" Norah asked in honest surprise. "You know no things 'bout Diamond Dogs?" "Truly." The man nodded as he folded his hands. "You could have told me any number of tales and I would have to consider the possibilities of their truth. Why..." He unfolded his hands to reveal a pair of Queen playing cards he set on the table. The Diamond Dogs as well as Tsavorite and Trixie looked intrigued at the designs of a human woman in a suit of diamonds and hearts as he went on into a dramatic tale to lighten the mood. "You could have told me you and your sisters were lost princesses of a warrior culture, the two of you on the run with nothing more than each other and a song in your hearts." He waved his hands quickly over the cards as the two suddenly became a set of royal flushed of each suit in a ordinate pattern. "You could then impart to me the adventures of how you had found, fame, fortune, power, and love along a widespread journey in which you ended up here as a couple of successful entrepreneurs in a form of working retirement." "Magic-man sounds crazy, and silly!" Norah clapped. "Can we hear more?" He shrugged. "That depends on you. It is your story to tell after all." "Aw...guess I'll has to think it up and make it real special!" "I'm sure you will." Mysterio looked around before conspiratively whispering."Perhaps with puppets, or something similar. Everyone likes those kind of stories from my experience." "I gots stuffed animals!" "Then why don't you practice? We will look forward to your reiteration of this wonderful stream of proceedings!" He said with a pat to her head. "Huh?" Tsavorite quickly translated her master's words into simpler terms. "We would love to see your show!" "Ok!" Norah scampered away to fetch some props for her storytime. This left the adults in the room alone to carry on the uncomfortable conversation. "So why did you think I would know you were a runt, Miss Bo?" Mysterio asked when he could no longer catch sight or sign of the young pup. "It's quite obvious if you knows us Diamond Dogs well. It is plain for all to see." Bo sighed as she held out her paws. "I eats lots. I works out lot too. And no matter what I do, the mark of a runt never leaves me." Her paws were about the same size as a normal human hand. Besides being padded like a canine's and slightly plush due to her weight, the only other thing of note was that she had three fingers and a thumb unlike the five fingers he himself had. He supposed they looked average as far as anthro paws went, and couldn't find any sort of marking on them. He was about to disregard her admittance that they were the sign of her runt status, but then he realized the comparison to her sister. Despite the pup's age, she clearly had enlarged paws that were made for digging and would definitely make a deep impact into hard surfaces. Her bottom paws were a similar manner in that he recalled as they fought, he had to be quick on her feet to make up for her lack of reach. "So the fact that your paws are smaller than what I assume are the norm are what make you an outcast?" He asked. "You says it like it is just an inconvenience. But to Diamond Dogs, we needs to be bred strong to serve our lot in life. These are not paws of digger and fighter." She shook them in restrained fury. "These are paws of clan bitch at best!" Bo took a few calming breaths as she composed herself. "So I show other dogs, I not just baby oven! I am BO! The Diamond Dog that is smarter than the rest!" She still gave a bit of a snarl as she looked directly at her guests at her table. She was especially pointed at the one who beat her today. "So now, Mysterio, what do you wants with this place I works so hard to keep safe from bad dogs like those I runs away from long ago?" Mysterio said nothing. For what could he say? Looking discreetly at Tsavorite and Trixie, he saw that they too felt bad at this insight into Diamond Dog culture. Bo was a strong female, and apparently had worked hard to get to this place by the sounds of it. The idea that she had escaped a life of being a breeding machine was disheartening to say the least. After a bit of deliberation, he finally spoke what he hoped would placate her concerns. "I said it before. You could have told me that you were the queen of these lands! You could have said that you reign from the distant mountains to the tree line as a benevolent and beautiful ruler and I would have to consider it. I would need you to prove it, but I would still consider it a possibility. I never considered you lesser, and even after our...small exhibition, I do not think of you as some...doggie only good for one thing." He held out a hand as he did what he felt was the best way to assure her she was not worthless. "After the insight you've given, I think you have a great deal of untapped potential that could be amazing to see when it's fully realized." Bo tilted her head at this. "What are you saying?" "What I'm trying to say is that I'm offering you a new beginning. You can forget all this mistreatment because of your culture's stigma and become one of my subordinates. Lady Tsavorite can vouch for me as a ruler." Mysterio turned to her, and she nodded firmly at that. Bo took consideration in that. Dragons were a proud race, and their word in regards to those with power carried weight. Still she was not as convinced at this sorcerer's words. "Norah and I works ery hard to avoid slavery. What do you offer that's so different?" Mysterio thought this was a fair inquest. He crossed his arms as he showed a thinking pose. "Well, to start, how about you tell me what you want. Name it and I shall see about acquiring for you." "The Heart Stone!" shouted the young pup who revealed that she had been listening to their conversation this whole time. "Norah!" Bo shouted though it was unclear if her admonishment was due more to Norah hiding, or her apparent request. "What? He said anything, didn't he?" She waved a stuffed grey doggie in one hand and a white unicorn with wings in the other as she excitedly barked. "So he can help us find it!" "What is this 'Heart Stone'?" Mysterio asked. "It just stupid dream that should just lie with sleeping dogs." Bo moaned with annoyance as she looked at her sister looking too wound-up at the apparent prospect of acquiring it. "There's no way even you'd be able to find it. Better dogs have tried and failed for the last eon. Of course, that's what's gotten us Diamond Dogs into this mess of our parts of the world to start with." "Oh really?" Mysterio asked. "Yep! No-doggie has ever found it." Norah barked as she held her stuffed animals together as she seemed to get ready to tell a story with them. "No-doggie has seen it! Yet everydoggie has been looking for it!" "Ever since the day that cake-gobbler Celestia sent our kind's old head honcho, King Crunch into Tartarus!" [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 7 1/2 ?-The Origin of the Bandit Age
Long time ago! Like, so long ago that even your grandma's grandma's grandma was calling it old! Therewas once a mountain that had feelings because of a great treasure called the Heart Stone! This Heart Stone was the prettiest and most shinniest of shinnies to ever exist in everything! It was worth enough to give whoever owned it whatever they wanted. And what the Mountain wanted, was to have the Hart Stone forever. It seemed like it would, but The Mountain was afraid that someone was gonna take away this very special shiny, so he used his mountain magic to create a super awesome guardian beast known as Crunch the Rockdog! He was a ginormous stone doggie and equipped with a black collar of black lava rock, which made him indestructible! Even more fearsome was how he could turn anything into stone! And yet there was one problem: He didn't have any feelings! In fact, it seemed that anything with feelings deserved to be turned to stone for being weak because of them, and so he did! But then some stuff happened and he got them! When Crunch had feelings, he realized that things were not weak because of them, and so he decided to stop turning things to stone unless they deserved it! But then the feelings caused the great Rockdog to realize that he was lonely! So very lonely! So lonely that not even the talkie mountin could make him feel better. So he left to find a reason to beat his loneliness away. Eventually he came across a group of somedoggies who were digging up for shinnies and other good stuff. He spent plenty of time there and after showing how much of an Alpha dog he was, he came across some female doggies and then -poof!- started up the next age of Diamond Doggie clans! So Crunch had it all: he had pack leadership, the shinnies, and the bitches! ["This job is bitchin' good!" said Crunch as he sat comfortably curled up on a padded rug. There were several female doggies all lovingly curled next to him, or attending to his needs with a smile. ] But then the ponies came because the Great Mountain died, somedoggies were not so nice to the ponies, and some other reason that no one can remember. There was a great battle in which Crunch and Celestia faced off. ["You're going down, you mangy mutt!" Celestia roared as she flew over Crunch. "We'll see about that, you dumb pony!" Crunch barked back as he pulled out some shades. "Psssh!" Celestia sounded as she fired out a solarbeam!] While Celestia's power was intense, Crunch was indestructible to even her powers of the sun! ["Why isn't it working?" Celestia, dumbly asked. "Bitch! Your sun ain't got a thing on me!" Crunch roughly answered with a smack to her face from his paw.] But alas, he had to let the cheater win because reasons! So Crunch was overthrown by that sunbutted cakegobbler they call a princess. They put him on trial for some crimes they said he did to the ponies, but nodoggie cares about lies like that! What they do care about is what he was going to say on the day the ponies were going to sentence him to the gates of Tartarus. Would it be good words of advice? Would it be a goodbye to all his baby mommas he'd be leaving behind? Would it be who gets to lead Diamond Dogs after he's gone? No! For Crunch knew the question which would upset Celestia the moment it was asked of him: ["Hey, Big Boss Crunch! Where did you put the Heart Stone?" A random doggie yelled out as the surrounding mutts asked as well.] It was a question that the crowd of different packs demanded to be answered! One that would change the history of the Diamond Dogs to come! ["Don't you do it!" Celestia glared as she saw the smirk widen on the Rockdog's face. "Ima do it!" "Don't you do it!" "Ima do it!" "Don't you dare-"] And with a great big growl, Crunch declared to all the doggies who gathered for his big farwell: ["The Heart Stone? Why, it's right where I left it. It's yours if you can find it. But you'll have to search the whole world! If you want it, you can have it. So seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place it is buried! But remember, Finders Keepers Losers Weepers!"] Aww, snap! He just accidentally a bandit age to last around a thousand years? He did! So it was then that Diamond Dogs around the land began to search the whole world for the Heart Stone! For the Law of Finders Keepers decreed that whoever found it, owned it! And whoever owns it gets to be the king of all the Diamond Dogs and get all the goodies that comes with it: Fame, Glory, Shinnies, and Bitches! To this day, no one has found it, but when it is, they will say that the one to lead all the packs will be- [}0{] "Big Queen Bo, and her little sis, Princess Norah!" The pup then threw her toys in the air as she cheered. "Hooray! The End!" Norah had her stuffed toys give a final boy at their performance's conclusion. There was dead silence from those gathered at the table, but finally Mysterio started a weak series of hand claps to get Tsavorite and Trixie to start hesitantly applauding this pup's show as well. "Well, that was...certainly something, Norah." Mysterio commented. "Well done." Her big sister, Bo was not as amused, for she had a paw to her face as she sighed out, "Norah, just...just no." "What? That's the story and Ima stick to it!" Norah pouted, before tossing away the ragged plushie that represented Celestia with a huff. "Now where are my cookies?" [}0{] The ORIGIN OF THE BANDIT AGE ... ... ... ACCORDING TO NORAH ... END! [}0{] As for the rest of the story... [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 8-Making a Mark [Part 3]
Young Ethan was just about finished with his comic when it happened. He had just got to the part where Ned revealed to Peter Parker that Mysterio had died in prison a year before, when the bell to the entrance rang. Seeing that his father had left to fetch lunch less than 10 minutes before, he assumed it was him. It wouldn't be the first time he forgot his wallet on some shelf while busy dealing with the back inventory. "What, did you leave your wallet in the back..." he started to snidely comment before he looked up and saw what really made the bell ring. He was tall and broad shouldered, with his features darkened by long exposure in the sun. He looked roughed up with his patchy hairline and his unshaven stubble. His clothing was thick like it was set for winter, yet torn at the edges probably due to moths and rodents. Overall, he looked homeless, vagrant, and crazed. But Ethan disregarded all of that in an instant and instead was focused more on the dull and roughed out revolver in his hand. The man pulled back the hammer and lifted it at the ready as he then demanded the teen to empty the cash register. [}0{] The sun rose up as schedule over Clutter Coulee. However this time, there were a few more faces rising up as the light peered through the window of one of its shoddy cabins. They were no bigger than sheds really, but it seemed they were sturdy enough to be considered acceptable shelter's from the environment's scuffles. Yet, one of them had a green scaled dragoness, curled up outside its door, as if to keep watch from potential threats. She perked up as she heard footsteps inside, followed by a jingling of the knob. "Did you sleep well, Master?" Tsavorite was already up and about by that time the door opened. Like a good subordinate, she stood outside the door at the ready. "Fine enough, Tsavorite." Mysterio murmured as he stretched his joints and muscles. The suit he wore may have had its ways of being comfortable to adorn, but did not act as a proper substitute for pajamas. Another thing he still needed to look into getting on a growing mental checklist. Another thing that he needed get done was to get his draconic accomplice to understand she could tone down the lengths of her subservience. Despite Mysterio's request that she could sleep in her own room, she insisted on keeping watch outside. "It seems no Diamond Dogs, or Unicorns saw fit to assault me as I slept. An excellent job of keeping me safe!" Tsavorite smiled at the praise, although seemed to keep a suspicious eye at the other cabins nearby. Specifically, at the one next to theirs in which a certain blue mare should be still lying asleep. "Perhaps we should make our departure soon. It would be better to leave before the sun gets too high." 'And that mare to get out of bed.' -Rumble!- She held a claw to her belly, while blushing at the attention it was drawing to her. "Of course, it would probably be best to ensure we are fed and resupplied for the journey ahead. It would be a terrible thing to find ourselves unprepared for such a trip!" "Hmmph! I'm sure that's the only reason to not rush!" Trixie smirked as she trotted past them. She was already dressed in her work outfit for today. Only, it seemed to be a much cleaner, and prettier one based on how the shirt was floral print with violets, and...was that eye shadow she was wearing? "Still, it seems rather rude for a servant to rush her master along without so much as a goodbye to their hosts. You'd think you'd know better!" Tsavorite flared a bit of smoke from her nostrils at that. "Oh, I am sure that she only wants us to avoid that glaring sun at its highest point. She is my wonderful chauffeur and method of traversing the desert after all." Mysterio chided as he strolled to the table they all gathered at last night. Tsavorite, ceased her ire at that comment. That seemed to brighten up the dragon's mood from the mare's observation as hers seemed to sour. Yet, she still made sure to blow a big smoke ring at Trixie's face as she walked by for it, leaving the blue unicorn as a coughing mess despite her efforts to get up earlier to be more presentable today. Point to the dragoness. Still, Mysterio was ignorant to this little squabble behind him as he faced toward the two Diamond dogs. Already, he could recall a conversation that took place last night as he offered Bo a position in his potential organization. [}0{] As the others had gone to sleep, Mysterio felt he should try one more time to ask Bo for her agreement to a partnership. For despite his willingness to earn it, she declined the proposition and offer for her allegiance. She didn't give much of a reason why, but Mysterio did not how she seemed to keep a good on his interactions with Tsavorite and kept Norah a bit closer to her as she seemed to widen at the thing on Tsavorite's back. "So there is nothing I can do to make you change your mind?" Mysterio asked now that they were alone. The two sat across from one another at the table. Bo gathered up the dishes and set them aside into a pile to wash later, as she looked up at the now seated sorcerer. "Nothing. Not even the Heart Stone, because I knows that promise is about as empty as a dried vein of shinnies." She answered with no hesitation. "And don't think you can have another bought and have me bet on it either." Mysterio crossed his arms at that idea being tossed aside. "I seem to recall we fought and I won." "You means you cheated." Bo huffed out. "I don't know hows you did it, but I knows that for a minute you disappeared despite my nose telling me you were there." Well, that was an interesting tidbit to put aside for later. He knew he lucked out, but he didn't realize just how close he snuck victory out from the female. "Besides, you saids all you wanted was your pick of the scraps and permission to use my tools." She shrugged. "Aint nothing about becoming your slave while you're at it." He took offense to that accusation. "But I am not trying to make you a slave-" "Tell that shit pile to your dragon 'friend'!" Bo barked, before quickly calming herself due to the night air willing to wake her sister up with her echoes. "I don't knows how you gots her eager to please you and do what you says. Maybe a favor, or maybe that weird magic of yours, but you can't hide something like that mark on her back and not know what it implies." "Well, I can assure you that it is a magical seal to assist her with an unusual affliction. When I asked how it should look, she asked for my mark. I never really wanted to give it to her, but she insisted on having it." Ah, so now he was getting an idea of why she was not as accepting to the idea. "Maybe we are at a cultural impasse, but what do you think it means?" Bo stared down the round headed sorcerer, and seeing that she was getting no reaction, she instead desired to go for a more direct approach. She reached her paws to unhook her overalls' straps from the front. Then after pulling it down for a bit, she reached for her shirt and started to lift it up near the bottom of her breasts. Mysterio immediately drew his cloak to block his range of view as he stuttered in surprise at the Diamond Dog's forwardness. "Miss Bo! Please! Keep some decorum-!" "I ain't flashin' ya my teats like a bitch in heat, you idjit!" She barked out over her armful of chest-flesh. "Look closer!" Hesitantly, he lowered his cloak to examine what she wanted him to see. What he found was something he would not forget. It was clear that Bo had been in a series of fights based on the scars and marks in her fur. also, despite her girthy appearance, it was clear that she was of a more muscular body type because he could still glimpse her ab muscles on her torso. Yet the thing that stood out was the mark that was a contrast to her fur and skin below her breasts. It seemed to be some sort of reddish mark that was etched with shapes like wings, or perhaps a furry crest of fur. It did look like it had a face it was trying to hide. It all seemed overshadowed by the dominant part of it. The most obvious aspect of it was the golden paw print in the center. Had he raised his palm to it, Ethan would have found the paw print to be bigger than his own hand. "I didn't get this here mark 'cause it looked badass! I got this when I earned my place at my master's side. The things I did to get it are a life I woulds rather leave lying down." She explained as she set her clothing back in order. "I won't say them much, but there were times whens I was a beast, an attack mutt, and others whens I was a pet. Slowly I worked to become a full clan sister. When I was at that point, I was able to takes what I could and gets as far away from there as possibly. And yet I was one of the lucky ones in this way of life." He hadn't much to say to refute that. "So you won't be taking my offer then?" "Woulds you? Knowing whose you are and your own history?" "I suppose you have a point." He started to get up. "Still, I hope that we can still be considered acquaintances and not foes." "I don't know." Bo mumurred, as she also recalled how the sorcerer looked as he took off that helmet to eat. He was certainly no Dog, that was for certain. "You do has that strange face." "Always the face!" He muttered annoyingly. At least it was 'stange' and not 'silly-looking' like Norah laughed at. "Take the unicorn!" Bo barked out before he stepped out of earshot. That stopped his train of thought. "Say again?" "The unicorn. She ain't nothing much but a complainer, but she works hard and I'm sure a magic hyooman like you will find a use for her." She then gave a canine grin as she added. "Maybe she can serve ya drinks, cause she can't cook for shit! Think about it!" It didn't take long for the human to realize that the undertones were saying much more than what her words were affirming. "I'll think about it!" He nodded in agreement. "Goodnight, Bo!" [}0{] So here they all were gathered around a decent breakfast of hash browns and scramble eggs. Mysterio was certainly looking forward to eating it once he took his helmet off. But first, he found there was a matter of business that needed to be addressed. "So, Miss Lulamoon." He began, drawing the eyes of everyone at the table. "Yes?" She quickly lowered her fork and tried to straighten up her appearance a bit. "Well, last night, I was discussing certain matters with Miss Bo here and she suggested that you are...not as happy working here as an employee." "It could be said. Maybe not quite the way Trixie would put it." She nervously answered seeing Bo raise an eyebrow and Norah give a pout. "Well, in any case, I considered it and thought that perhaps I could offer-" "But she can't leaves! She still owes us!" Norah interrupted. "Norah-" Bo started to reprimand. "No! She has to stay to pay off her stuff she owed us!" The pup yelled out as she held out a little box that had a flip of some sort on it. "Otherwise, she gets punished!" Mysterio and Tsavorite had no idea what the device was, but Bo seemed to recognize it immediately. "Norah!" Her eyes widened at the device as she looked at the collar Trixie was wearing. "You didn't-?" But that question was interrupted by the sudden explosion that burst through the front gates. Everyone at the table flinched as they turned their attention to the smoke rising where the gates once stood. "Now what was that?" Mysterio asked as he readied himself. "RAIDERS!" Bo bellowed as she hopped to her feet and grabbed Norah. Norah dropped the device as she was picked up with a speed that bellied someone of her sister's size. "Find a place to hide!" 'Hide? There is nowhere to hide!' Mysterio started tapping at one of his wrists as he withdrew a couple of holo-cubes. 'We're boxed in here and they know we have nowhere to go!' "Master, look out!" Tsavorite shouted as something flew in his direction. Mysterio hastened to fire off an energy blast from his palm, as he took not at what flew at him: a long rusted spear. He gazed at the figures that were starting to rush into the grounds. They were wild, and had mangy fur. Some had deep scars, while others seemed bulkier and more muscle toned. They were dressed up for a desert lifestyle, but not in a way that would hinder their speed. Rather, they wore simple clothes that were enough to keep them covered, but clearly identified them as thieves. Bo called them Raiders. Mysterio saw them for what they were: a pack of Coyote descended Diamond Dogs that undoubtedly had foul intentions for them based on how well armed they were. As soon as they saw the sorcerer and his draconic companion, they began to growl and ready their collection of spears, axes, and chains. It was not the first time Ethan stared down a weapon. Hopefully it wouldn't be the last! [TO BE CONTINUED...] {OMAKE} "Now everyone, what I am about to show you may perhaps be enough to drive you into insanity." Mysterio stated as he readied his hands to his helmet. "I ask that you try your best not to scream, and remember that I am not a predator to be feared." "Maybe you should-" Bo started to question, before her he little sister interrupted with a paw over her mouth. "Not now, Big Sis! This is going to be good!" The sound of something unlocking occurred as Mysterio reached for the part of his head that connected with his shoulders. A great hissing gave out a cloud of steam as he lifted up the globe and lowered it around his arms to hold it. The eyes of the Diamond Dogs and the unicorn widened at the sight of Mysterio without his helmet. "It's...!" "Yes?" "IT's...!" Trixie seemed more wide eyed. "Yes!?" "It's so lame!" Norah yelled out. "What!?" Ethan yelled. "I thought you said it was going to be scary, and gives us nightmares forevers."Norah pouted with a huff. "Instead, your real face turns out to be so super silly!!" "Oh come on!" Ethan threw his helmet on the ground as he had enough of this. "I risk a lot to bear my soul like this, and you treat it like a joke? Fine. Whatever. I'm just going to go eat now." He sat back down and started to eat the chili. It was a few bites in that he noticed Norah was sitting attentively next to him, staring like the puppy she was. "Can I help you?" Ethan asked. "How can you hear with your ears on the side of your head?" Norah asked. "Errgh." Ethan slumped his head to the table, as he knew the pup was about to begin a series of questions. "What happeneds to all your fur? You stuck your face in a river and washed it away?" As that was going on, the other two females were asking their own questions to Tsavorite. "So he really has no fur on his body? Beyond his mane?" Bo asked as she continued to eat. "He claims that he could choose to grow fur on his face, but I haven't seen so much as a whisker sprout in the time that I've known him." "That's really weird." Trixie commented as she looked at the sorcerer's features. She supposed he was handsome in a way, but certainly no stallion with his pointed nose and comparatively flatter face. "It aint natural, is what it is!" Bo took a sip from a mug she had in hand. "How does he keep warm without much fur?" "It seems his species is more reliant on clothing. Of course, that is just a theory." Tsavorite answered as she ate her meal in large spoonfuls. "Wonder what he would look like without his armor." Trixie muttered. Tsavorite slammed her spoon to the table as she reared her wings up in a more aggressive manner. "As if you would get the opportunity!" Trixie narrowed her eyes as she met the dragoness' gaze. "And what does that mean?" "What do you think it means?" Bo just watched this argument develop with an amused glint in her eye. IT reminded her of how some of her pack sisters would argue over males that stroked their fancy. 'Y'know, those two don't even knows if they are comparable with hyoomans to be fighting like that!' She then turned her attention to notice how her little sister was still continuing her onslaught of questions despite Mysterio trying to ignore her. Yet every once and awhile would answer her questions. 'As for you, to be willing to go this far for some scrap, what are you really after?' It was a question that would be answered another time.
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 9-Making a Mark [Part 4]
Ethan was not having a good time. He had traveled a long way to get here for some meager scraps. He had spent days traveling across a desert through a method of flight. He hated flying, or at least greatly disliked it! Still, he knew it to be the quickest way to get back to his current residence, so he was thinking that would be the problem he would have to worry about the most today. So he planned on spending the last moments before the trip composing himself and giving a final farewell with perhaps another companion to travel with them. He didn't even get to have the dignity of tasting a regular breakfast platter for the first time in a long while. Why? Because he was currently in another realm, fighting off bandit Coyote-men, with a jungle savage dressed Dragon-woman. That was a sentence that was just said about the situation! Maybe a month ago, he would have flipped to it on television, or skimmed its pages in a comic shop, but never in his previous life would he ever believe he was the star of such a fantastical notion! Yet here he was using every skill in his currently known arsenal to fend off these attackers. From smoke pellets, to actual energy blasts from his palms his fought these mongrels off; because of course he was dressed up as his favorite supervillain as he was doing this! Being dressed up as Mysterio seemed to have its own perks. While these bandaits clearly used brutal tactics to get what they wanted, he could use a bit more finesse. He could jump with better agility due to the equipment in his boots. His gauntlets could match a blow for these big pawed being's own four-fingered punches. And best of all, none of these Raiders could throw back one of his energy blasts, or bat it to the side like Bo did during their little skirmish. If it weren't for their greater numbers, the tech using, magic faking individual would have nothing to fear about this strange event in his reality. Another time, Ethan would probably wake up and laugh at the ridiculousness that happened in his reverie the night before. This was no dream, or nightmare, for he could feel every sensation of the events transpiring before him. The burst of wind from an ax's slash as it nearly impacted his shoulder. The near penetration of a spear into his ribs that he dodged at the last moment. The vibrating rustle of a chain and ball that nearly pulverized his back echoing with the volume of a rattlesnake. The evidence of this being too real was overwhelming. And yet it was not as much frightening as infuriating that he was feeling this level of flight or fight. For as he fought, a more peculiar train of thought came to his mind. Here he was facing down bipedal dogs with bladed weapons and the intent to kill. He was merely hindering their efforts with the faintest luck and over pushing his body's current conditioning. Yet with all of these factors in mind, he did not feel as afraid as he did when he faced those six mares. And that exasperated him. 'Why is this not as worrisome?' He thought as he elbowed a coyote in the throat. 'Is it because of what I have already done?' For in his time in this strange place, Ethan had done a great many things in this land with the mantel of Mysterio. He had driven away a pack of tree-wolves, and enthralled a pride of manticores. He had befriended a Zebra-woman in some capacity as a neighbor. He had saved the life of a dragoness, and had even taken her treasure trove back from a greater dragon. He had done many wondrous things, but it seemed that his mind kept going back to his main regret since waking up in that forest clearing. 'Why them? Why was I so afraid of them?' He spread out his arms to fire off a cacophony of energy shots, to drive back the ten different coyotes about to rush him. 'These dogs are ready to take my life for all the trouble I'm giving them. Yet with those six, I felt as if they could...erase me!' "Master, Help-!" Tsavorite's cry was soon silenced. "Dammit!" Mysterio yelled as he turned his attention to where he saw his draconic subordinate last. He let himself get too unfocussed to not notice her plight. He knew these coyotes outnumbered them twenty to one, yet hoped she would be capable of handling herself. But sadly, it appeared that this pack knew how to get the drop on her. He could see that she was roughly scratched up and somewhat wounded despite her draconic scales. Her wings were tightly bound to the ground in a multitude of chains. And yet her image was even more greatly tarnished by the too small muzzle being set over her jaws. It was a heartbreaking sight to see his new friend being treated so shamefully. It was also a very distracting one as he found himself being lassoed in chains by a good number of these coyotes. "Let go, you mangy mutts!" The diamond dogs seemed to ignore his exclamations for they already began discussing what they were going to do with him. "This one might fetch Big Price! Has a Very Big Shiny for head!" One coyote spoke to his comrades. "Can do magic tricks, too! But may be too troublesome to reteach!" said another. "Might be easier to chop of its head and sell the shiny!" A third spoke out loud. Tsavorite seemed to be more desperate to escape her bonds at that. Unfortunately, the dogs piled on top of her with more numbers and started to beat into her with whatever bludgeoning weapons they possessed to get her to comply. "Unhand Trixie this instant!" shouted another voice being dragged to the greater number of diamond dogs. "She's not afraid to unleash her wrath on you mongrels for thinking she's some sort of property!" "Muzzle this one, too! She keeps talking lots, and tries to bite despite placing anti-magic shiny on her!" shouted one of the mutts holding her by her arms. It was him and two others that were keeping the blue unicorn from escaping. Mysterio could see that her horn was trying to conjure some form of spell, but seemed to be canceled out by a rough gem encrusted ring newly placed upon it. It did not seem that Bo and Norah were faring any better. Despite Bo's best efforts to hide her sister, it seemed to be for naught as the two were chased into the fenced walls of the scrapyard. "Don't look back, Norah! Run!" Bo shouted as she fought back the raiders trying to rush the two. "Get out of here!" "But Bo!" Norah shouted as she was thrown by her sister to the top of the fence. She could do nothing, by stare sadly at her sister getting dogpiled by the coyotes. "GO!" the larger female barked out as she was buried into the swarming pack. The sound of chains and locks were further proof that they got her. 'There's got to be something I can do!' Mysterio angrily thought as he tried to pull himself free from his captors. "C'mon, Mysterio, you always have at least one more trick-" The inside of his HUD lit up with a series of diagnostics and a question popped up. Ethan looked at the inquiry with dubious eyes as he found himself getting what he needed at the opportune moment. "Would I like to use one last escape trick? Of course I would!" he muttered before quickly skimming the images popping up. Seeing the desperation of Bo trying to shake off her captors solidified his reseolve. He then knew what to do, and what had to be done. "Magicis Fugam Vestimentum!!" Mysterio shouted the command as a deep purple mist began to pour out of his form. As he did so, his cloak wrapped around him in a torrential spiral and like a drill-pointed rocket, he flew out of the chains that bound him with a clatter and past the raiders. He knocked back a great deal of them back as he pierced through their numbers with the forced of cannonball covered in sandpaper. "Don't lets him escape!!" A bigger one shouted to his fellow pack members. But none could catch the swirling cloak as he flew over the fence and into the distance. "Where did he goes?" One stupidly asked as he tried to stare out in the distance, only to see the sun glare into his eyeballs. "HEY! The pup's gone too!" Another shouted as he pointed out Norah was no longer on the fence. This caused three sets of eyes to perk up in particular. The three female consociates of Mysterio realized that the sorcerer left with the young pup in his flight away from there. While some would prefer to have gotten free as well (Trixie!), other conceded that he was at least able to get the pup away from Clutter Coulee and the Raiders. "Norah..." Bo thought as she found herself too bound and muzzled to do much more than shed a few tears. "Be safe." [}0{] Norah was certainly safer than she was a few moments ago. However, she was not any happier about her newfound flight towards freedom. For one thing, it was a like being held tightly in a spinning purple tornado. Despite the struggling she made, she could not free herself from Mysterio's grasp. Even though a part of her knew that to have him let go of her at this heights would be suicide in more ways than one, she couldn't bear the thought of abandoning her sister like she was unwillingly doing. "Go back!" She screamed at Mysterio as they flew. "Bo, needs help!" "I know." Was his simple response. "Why'd you leaves her behind?" a sniffle embodied her pleas. "We needs to help her!" "I know." Again was all he replied with. "We gotta-" "I know!" Mysterio had enough of this. In an instant he set himself down on the desert floor with Norah sitting down in a heap. He tried to reason with the pup as to why they could not rush back. "Look, Norah, I want to help your sister and my friends, but we have to be smart about this!" "It's not smart to leave them behind! It's dumb! Very dumb, and you're dumb for thinking it!" Norah argued like the child she was. "Arrgh!" Mysterio smacked his helmet. He was getting nowhere with this kid. "Look, we need to plan quickly. You seemed to be the resourceful youngling while your sister clearly knew more about the scrap piles than she was letting on. Do you have anything we could use? Anything at all might help us out?" Norah thought hard, and quickly came up with something. But after doing a quick search of her pockets, she gave a sad whimper at how she was missing something. "I hads a bomb, but I don't haves the controller no more." She dishearteningly explained. "It would probably still be strong enough to take them all out if I coulds make it go boom." A bomb that strong in this junkyard? Mysterio had to know where it was to avoid it going off prematurely then. "Where is this bomb?" "Around that puffed-up-plot mare's neck!" "...What!?" He immediately realized that he had seen the thing! It was that junky looking collar Trixie wore. Well he certainly would not be using that if there was a chance of blowing her up for sure! "Yep, but I don't know where the controller is. So the only ways for it to blow up is if someone removes it from her neck and leaves it for a minute." Norah nodded assuredly, not realizing she revealed that the situation was much worse. 'Like some raiders who would undoubtedly try to take it off to sell her perhaps!?' Ok, now the bad situation had gone from a 9 to a 10! He would definitely be calling Bo out for letting her sister do such a slavery trick, but now he had a shortened deadline to meet because he had no idea how long he had to prevent a bomb from going off and possibly taking everyone else with it. "This is not good at all!' Ethan thought. He could barely keep focus under pressure! He could barely keep up his façade of being the composed and cunning sorcerer. Instead he kept feeling the vertigo of the unspoken question swimming in his head: Would this be another murder he would have to try to prevent? [}0{] Ethan could barely keep his thoughts coherent. He was more still than a statue, and judging by how pissed the vagrant was at his lack of a response, he may soon find himself as stagnant and lifeless as one forever. In his stillness and shock, sound was strangely dulled and colors seemed to fade out. He could not hear thee motion off cars driving by outside, nor feel the boiling blood that was rushing through his body. Yet the ringing of the door's chime was amplified like a cathedral's mark of the hour as his dad walked into the store with a bag of sandwiches in hand. "Ok, they were out of Turkey-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" The vagrant turned to face the older McIntyre man, but before he could even point his gun at him, a sack of large submarine sandwiches flew into his face. It was soon followed up by the rushing tackle of an angered father with enough force to slam him into the glass countertop and break it! The gun went flying out of his hand as the two grown men as they slammed into the glass display of comics and figurines. They then tumbled away from the new collection of shards, and began a wrestling match on the floor. The two men were a garbled blender of furious punches, chokeholds, and slams upon the rough carpeted floor. Stuart was a magician, who had enough experience with tight spots, contorting his body, and resisting things that tried to limit his mobility. This meant that he knew how to read an opponent and to get them to think they could hold him down, only to find another blow appearing into their peripherals. It should have given him enough of an edge to win. The vagrant however was more willing to fight dirty, and despite being on the losing side the longest it all changed as he went for a sucker punch into Stuarts' kidneys. With that hit, Stuart lost his concentration long enough to find himself gasping for air and trying to compose himself to continue. Unfortunately, in those precious seconds, the vagrant quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife. The older McIntyre could do nothing as he witnessed the vagrant ready his arms to stab him in the throat! [}0{] Despite his cool exterior, Norah took his silence as a bad sign. She began to weep heavily thinking that not even this powerful magic-man couldn't save her Big Sis. Hearing her bawling was enough to get him to snap out of it and come to a realization. 'Terrified...mortified...petrified...stupefied...FEAR!' That was it! He had a plan! "Norah. You said you received your name by how sneaky you can be?" He asked as gently as he could. Norah wiped her snout on her sleeve as she tried to settle down her waterworks. "Yeah...-sniff-...so?" "So I am going to need your help most of all if I am going to succeed! I will be using some of my more noxious conjurations against these brutes." He couldn't use his fumigations before due to the rush of the ambush, but now he had the edge of surprise! He reached into his wrist gaunlets' compartments and pulled out a great handful of holo-cubes. "But I will need you to spread out these...special talismans around the place if I am going to finish them off with something so frightening, that they will run out with their tails between their legs and never return." Norah looked dubious at the cubes. She had seen shinnies that were bigger and prettier. Yet she trusted the sorcerer's words for what other choice did she possibly have? "But how cans you be so sure that they will be afraids?" Mysterio reached a hand out to help her to her feet. He thought carefully of a good enough answer, and thus imparted to her, "Because I am a human. And it stands to reason that the only things monsters should fear are worse types of monsters. And I've done worse with less." [}0{] Back in Clutter Coulee, things were not looking good. The place was a scrapheap, but now it looked to be even more of a mess. This was due to the once carefully set piles and homely looking shacks being razzed for anything useful or valuable by these raiders. For that is what they did: find something of value and take it to either sell or be used. These raiders were known as The Desert Ash Pack. They had strength in numbers and were infamous for taking this part of the desert as there territory. At least, they thought of themselves a known well enough. Never before had they thought of taking their activities to somewhere beyond their imied borders until the idea came to their Alpha. For he thought that the best way to start getting up in the worl, was to get all the scrap and materials they could procure. That way they could get even better stuff to fight, and enjoy like those others packs seemed to. Thus their boss Quarry was seen as a lot cleverer than his fellow pack members in that way. It was why he was alpha after all despite being an eye-patch wearing spear user. "Now, we"ll take the shinnies and whatever else that is valuable for us!" He snidely proclaimed as he watched the other dogs gather up whatever goods they could find into their sand wagons. They were the vehicles they used to traverse the desert and took turns pulling. Now they would be filled with their newfound goodies in exchange for the explosive payloads they brought. One way or another, there would be another explosion today. "And thus we will start becoming a more respected pack than those stupid Morning Howlers." "What abouts the females, boss?" Ah! Now that was a bonus to Quarry's scheme. He thought this day would only get him some scraps and more exercise by taking out a pony workforce. Yet besides that strange Shiny-Headed figure and his magics, there was just these three females. Not much of a challenged to his pack as far as things went down. It gave himself a few more things to add to his future sales earnings. "A Unicorn could go for a fair price if trained properly. They says the horned one are able to point to the biggest shiny deposits!" He flicked her horn, frustrating her, but proving that Trixie's magic jamming ring kept her helpless to her situation. "Not to mention, they can make extra for being a buyer's favorite colors!" If it weren't for the muzzle, Trixie would have spat in his face. Still, Quarry moved on to gaze at one of his biggest prizes of the day! A Dragoness! It took twelve good strong coyotes to keep her subdued even now, but as it were, these chains and shackles would keep her from being a problem. "Sellers would pays very good shinnies to get dragons! Hecks! We might just keeps her to makes more to sells." Now that would be a way to rake in riches! "Eggs alone are impossible to get on the market these days." Now it came to their last captive. Sure he was disappointed that her pup got away, but it looked like he was able to get the better deal. She seemed like a strong type of Diamond Dog Bitch. She certainly knew how to fight seeing how she took on more of his pack than the dragon to be sure that pup got away! At first he thought of her as a Bulldog, or a Bernard type. But no, even though she must had been eating lots to get big and strong, she was clearly a Border Collie. There was no hiding that type of beauty, no matter how 'plushy' she got. Even with her runty paws, she could be worth something in the 'pet shops', but something about this one seems to ring a bell in his head. "As for you...You seems familiar?" He pondered as he tried to get a closer look with his good eye. She was chained up pretty good with his pack-mates nearby, so he was in no danger. She seemed to mumble something that was longer than a sentence. Feeling he could humor her, he took the muzzle off her for a minute and lent her an ear. "What's that?" He expected to hear her plea for her life. What she gave had more bite to it. "You've messed with the wrong bitch!" Bo barked. Using all the strength she could muster in such a confined space, she shoved her muzzle forward and bit into the coyote's ear. The ones holding her bound struggled to get her loose, but could only do so at the cost of a piece of it coming off as they pulled her back. "Arrgghh!" Quarry held onto his bleeding wound with anger and pain. So if that was how he was treated for being a little nice, then he would return the favor with interest. As soon as he got it bandaged, the lead coyote barked out his orders. "Strips them! They want to be means to our kindness, we'll be meaner back! Loads them onto the wagons and make sure the powder is ready to go boom! I want everyone else to know we of Desert Ash are not pups to be messed with!" The scum were only too eager to comply. The thing that seemed to lack more in this environment besides water was female company in their group. So of course it wasn't a moment longer when the three captives felt clawed paws gripping at their clothes. None of them needed another reason to hate these mongrels. But at the sound of the first ripping of cloth, they each debated on what they could do about it. As it stood, their options were vastly limited. Yet, Each of them still had one trump to play. 'If I use this, I am going to have to take every one of them out.' Bo thought as she readied a constrained paw into the dirt to channel her hidden ability. She may go down and never see her sister, but at least she would never be a pet again! 'I can't let even one live.' Tsavorite thought as she readied her flames. Even with her jaw shut, they lit hungrily at her bindings. Her thoughts went to her master and hoped that he would never hear of the secret to her terrible power. 'The risk of others finding out about it are too much!' 'I am going to have to be sure that it is only them who are dealt with. The price is going to be too much to pay, otherwise.' Trixie thought as she prepared herself to die. She may have sunk low, and made bad choices that would prevent her seeing Elysium, but she would rather die quickly in an explosion than become a whorse for these mutts for years to come. They were all planning to go down in one final gambit. Then all of a sudden, a deep green fog bank rolled into the scrapyard and enshrouded them like deep security blanket. The Desert Ash Pack grew nervous while each female felt a bit of hope return to them. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?" A deep voice rang out and demanded the attention of all. [}0{] -Crack!- The Quidam looked up from the book He was reading. The being was sitting at the table that was set up in Ethan's dreams. Perhaps he was on break from his duties, or breaking the monotony of its duties. However, that did not matter because he knew the sound of something breaking when it wasn't supposed to and it wasn't coming from His break. The Quidam drew attention to the teacup that was set nearby. Normally there would be no blemishes on this artistic drinking piece. Yet on its surface was a crack of the worst kind! Not only was it marred by a deep fissure on the fine china, but the crack did something considered impossible in any other reality. It spread. Not only was the crack extended to part of the table, but to the 3rd-dimensional boundaries above the liquid layer. Thus despite being relatively tiny, it was monumentally worrisome for breaking conventions and known laws. The Quidam knew what such an instance provided an omen to. <Oh dear! It seems that the strain is becoming too much!> He turned to face the nearby bookshelves and quickly swapped Its/his current reading material with an immensely thick tome with the Emblem of McIntyre. By commands that went without saying, the pages turned until it seemed to settle on one particular instance of Ethan's subconscious memoir. The Quidam stared intently into the pages of this particular chapter. Only instead of words forming sentences, they were starting to paint a picture. [color=#6aaafdd]<Was there more to you than you initially expressed to me?> He pondered as he stroked a nonexistent chin. He gazed upon the memory as it reached its climax. [}0{] -BANG!- The knife clattered onto the floor. Soon after a body fell across from it. Only this one had a bullet wound in the back near the heart. Stuart gazed at the blood that had splattered upon his shirt. Not a drop of which was his. He then gazed at his son, who was hyperventilating at what he just accomplished with the smoking pistol in his hands. In the scuffle between the two men, it had flew put a few inches from him. Seeing his father get into a fight and about to get stabbed, the boy--no, young man--immediately took it upon himself to end the treat. Ethan dropped the gun, and it landed with a thud that deafened him. In his mind the sound was not as loud as the corpse crashing on the floor. And that was already louder than anything he could imagine. Maybe it was the dizziness of the shock, or the smell of smoke with iron, but he found himself vomiting for what felt like hours, and yet he still could not hear a sound. "SPEAK!!" His father's voice finally reached him in the haze as the sensation of being shaken started to steady into stillness. "You alright?" Young Ethan said nothing. Instead he flung himself into his Father's embrace and cried like never felt like crying before. "It's alright, Ethan. You'll be ok! You did a good thing!" Stuart tried to comfort his son as best as he could. "Just stay with me! So long as I'm around, you'll never have to be afraid of guys like him." Ethan blubbered on, not aware of anything but the salty blur of tears pouring out of him. While deep within him he knew that he did what he had to in order to save his father, he felt filthy and a much deeper sense of shame. It was something he would forever try to suppress, but never really forget. That was the day that Ethan first caught a glimpse of a much more terrible world and hoped he would never find himself encountering it again. [}0{] The Quidam sighed as it now cemented the conclusion of what was happening. <Oh my! It appears as though our hero has fractured.> It wouldn't be the first time He witnessed such an occurrence, but Ethan seemed to give the impression of avoiding the issue. Now all that stood by was the hope that thins would not worsen. It was very hard to repair a façade when one broke their own self-built character. [color=#6aaafdd]<Hopefully he can remain in control this time!> [}0{] All eyes were on Mysterio. His expressionless visage stared back at them. Yet his posture conveyed something that went past anger. Beyond coherent fury! Something far worse and primal. All the coyotes raised the hair on their necks at the feeling in the air. Despite bearing their teeth, they were weary of the foreboding feeling in the air. Bo recalled it when she met her pack-alpha for the first time. Trixie felt it once before when she found herself staring eye-to-eye with an Ursa. And Tsavorite recalled it as a lingering feeling that chased her as she crawled on her belly, until she found herself at that ancient entrance to her Master' castle. Some might call it death, but that wasn't the right name for it. Still, it was a sensation that would impart two particular truths of the universe to this captive audience: No one ever wants to be near a hero when they snap. No one ever wants to be there when a villain laughs. Isn't that what he read in a book somewhere, Ethan thought. It seemed oddly fitting to him for after all he experienced; getting ripped from his life; struggling to survive the environment; fighting a number of large predators including a fricken DRAGON! Yet seeing these females getting stripped of whatever clothing they possessed was a nail too far in the coffin of his sanity. Mysterio shook in place for a while until it occurred to all that he was beginning to go into a loopier state of mind. "Why...are you...trying...so hard...to get me to frown? Men...go to jail. Animals...get...put...DOWN!!" He spoke with dark humor. For what else would fit the notion of what he was hesitant to say, but now assured: he was not dealing with humans, but animals! And animals only responded to power! Otherwise they would know not to tear up your fancy clothes! Or to take a shit on your nice green lawn! So these mongrels would need a lesson that involved either a great deal of power or and exorbitant amount if pain. "I am going to show you what death feels like! I am going to have all your senses experience it!" It was on that day, for a time at Clutter Coulee, that Ethan embraced the madness of Mysterio's Façade and did both. [}0{] For a while, no one did anything. Eventually Quarry got tired of the stillness and wanted to get on with this day. "So, the spell slinger is back?" He spat as he twirled his spear in boredom. "Bah! Just catch him and cut off his head so we cans starts going home!" "Boss, we needs to let her go!" Shouted one of his underlings. That statement drew his attention away from his weapon."Says who?" "Says this marks on her back! She already branded! Laws of Finders Keepers says we can't takes her!" The mutt pointed out. Quarry took a better glance at what he was talking about. There on the back of the dragoness was a fancy brand of an eye between her wings. When one of the dogs ripped off that clothes she wore for her tits, it had the added benefit of no longer hiding this mark like before. Of course, Quarry didn't care either way. "You's stupid? This is prime method to get serious shinies! You think this magic fool knows what he has? Finders Keepers or not, she is ours now!" "But boss, I think he wants her-Bleck!" The scout ceased speaking when a metal pipe burst out of it's chest where it's heart once was. "No, I want her back. Back! Use your elocution, you stupid mongrel!" Mystero chided with a wagging fingertip. "Mmmmsstrrrr?" Tsavorite mumbled through the muzzle. She wasn't the only one shocked at the brutal speed and efficiency of that act performed. The surrounding pack mates and fellow captives were struck with surprise. They didn't even see him move from that spot he previously stood. Yes, he showed he could do magic, but this went beyond teleportation. This was blinking into existence. "Be with you in a moment, Tsavorite. I must impart proper speaking exercises upon these mangy dogs." He whimsically answered as he pulled out the pipe and twirled it about like a dancer's cane. He leaned on it with the steadiness of a gentleman. "Let us use our words now! Repeat after me: How now brown cow." "Kill this runt of a bitch!" Quarry roared in command to his pack. Magic or not, his pack would dog-pile him and slaughter him to pieces! Four bigger members of the pack took the lead of the charge. Each readied their own vicious blade to slice their opponent to chunks. Yet Mysterio barely gave any sign of being anything but calm. "I SAID-!"He picked up the pipe and began fighting back with the calculated motion of a macabre dance routine. For the standard grunts, he struck back against each strike towards his person and parried with better skill. As for the big four, he showed a much deadlier use of force. "How!" One strike pierced through the back of this coyote's neck. "Now!" Another got a piercing strike in the ear canal before he could turn his spear to point. "Brown!" This one received it from the bottom of the jaw. "Cow!" And this one ironically didn't see the long shaft piercing him through the eye coming. "There!Was that so hard?" But none of these dogs answered him. Either they were dead, or scared nearly to death at how easily he dispatched them. Angrily, he threw the pipe at the crowd of dogs, causing some to flinch backwards as they felt his presence become much more hostile. "Imbeciles! I expect beings that wear clothes to be able to respond like proper gentlemen. Instead I find animals who can only dream while wearing pants!" A few of the braver grunts grabbed their axes and spears and decided to charge at the sorcerer for their fallen brothers. "And furthermore...!" His gauntlet grew red as he reached out towards these few brave mongrels. "It is very rude to try to interrupt me as I am trying to impart my wisdom! So you now have holes in your bodies! BANG!" Like a rapid fire machine gun, he unleashed a torrent of red shots of magic in their direction. As great leapers the coyotes were, they had no way of avoiding the assault in midair, so of course they felt every shot pierce into their bodies and exit out the back. It was probably the last thing they felt, for they didn't react when they crashed into the ground like fallen hailstones. "Now...what was I saying?" Mysterio asked. Yet he found no answers from the fallen besides the groans of pain from the not-quite-dead. "Useless vermin! Fine! I shall see if someone else is willing to help me!" Tsavorite felt her muzzle loosen. Trixie and Bo felt theirs become less tightened as well! The reason they found was because Mysterio was immediately present nearby removing them. Not just for all of them together, but for each one of them. "Now ladies.."Started the first. "Am I wrong to think..." Spoke the second. "That you are not animals to be sold...?" The third continued. "But females to be respected with dignity?" All three spoke together. And then like a dream faded back into one Mysterio. "I am sorry for the way you have been treated. I demand that it stops now!" He looked to the coyotes that still held the females in chains and said in a smooth command. "Release the prisoners!" And without thought, or hesitation, the coyotes did. They gently let loose the chains like obedient dogs, and stepped back at The sorcerer's hand motions on. Mysterio stared down at the sad sight before him. Tsavorite already had little in the way of clothing with her simple garments. So she gave no reaction to her lack of sarong and top. But her wings still stretched and drooped around her like a cape, for she still felt a bit of shame at being captured so easily to the raiders. Trixie had a deeply teary expression as she hugged herself as best as she could. For she was probably the one out of the three with her clothes the most intact. Her overalls had deep tears in them like a tiger has stripes, and her shirt was long gone. The straps to her overalls were cut off by the rough claws of the dogs so they could not remain up. Yet she still had enough to cover herself modestly so long as she kept her arms tight around her chest. It was certainly better than Bo. Her outfit had entire handfuls off it haphazardly ripped out. It was to the point where it would be better to replace the outfit entirely, than to see what patched up nightmare would be made when resown. The worst parts were how he noticed that there deepest tears were directed to her more intimate spaces like her bosom, showing just how much these animals lacked decency. Bo was clearly mad at the transpired events as well because she angrily stared down her captors as she rubbed out were she felt the chains chaff. "My sister better be safe, Mysterio! Or you are gonna wish these mutts kept me chained up!" She barked as she noticed a lack of Norah with Mysterio. "Believe me. Even if you feel it necessary to strike me down, I would still never wish that upon you. Upon any of you!" He sighed sadly as he took off his cloak and gave it a few shakes. As he did, it grew longer until it was big enough to wrap around the three females, which he did like a security blanket. "I apologize for not coming sooner. I should've done more earlier to prevent you from getting treated as you did. But I had assumed that they were like you, and were reasonable. But now I know better. Animals can't be reasonable. They can only be redirected into understanding the pecking order!" He snapped his fingers. "So let them see why they should never take what I consider to be part of my dominion!" The green fog became more thick and pronounced. However, it was condensing towards Mysterio and spiraling around him like a cyclone. "Get him!" Quarry demanded knowing an attack when he saw one. He knew he only had so many pack mates left to work with, but together they could still get this spell weaving bastard with his back turned to them. Yet not one of his remaining pack members moved or made an effort to ready their weapons. "I said to get him!" Quarry yelled again, with a bit of confusion. Yeah, he could sense that he was tough, but the still had the advantage of numbers. Surely they weren't scared of just this one lone individual? One lower rank pack mate pointed at what they were seeing that was keeping them in place. "But Boss look!" The green fog that enshrouded the area kept being sucked into Mysterio's body. And yet it seemed to be doing more than that. For as it passed over the carcasses of their fallen pack members, it was as if time was going backwards. The open wounds and seeping pools of blood began to close up and evaporate. Even deadlier wounds like the one who was stabbed in the eye seem to regenerate. As they each began to reach a somewhat intact form, a few let out coughs that sounded dry and cracked. Somehow, Mysterio was bringing them back! They were still battered and bruised, but they were alive! One of them woke up with a start, followed by others. Soon they all were awakened and aware as well as filled with immense fright at what they just experienced. "He killed us! He killed us then he unkilled us!"shouted the one who was stabbed in the throat. Yet he spoke fine, and had no wound to speak of! "How could anydoggie hope to match such scary power?" Their cries of alarm and terror were halted by a hurricane of maniacal laughter. The laughter's source was a man, called Mysterio. "YOU CAN'T!! DON'T YOU GET IT!? I am a MASTER of the ARCANE!!" He pointed to them like an imbecilic congregation to which he was administering. "I can make you feel death! I can make you disbelieve life! I can make it so you will experience untold pain and unspoken pleasure consecutively or simultaneously." A glimmer of reflected light quickly drew his attention. Over by the fence, reflecting it from a mirror shard, he saw Norah. She gave a thumbs up at the ready, while her detonator was in her other hand. Her mission was successful. Now it was up to him to get the final act started. "Pardon my forwardness, but I am going to need this!" He spoke softly to Trixie. She scooted a little at how he was reaching towards her chest. "What are you-?" His hands however, were grasping upon her collar, which he promptly ripped off of her with the speed and grace of a table trick. "Don't worry, Norah said it would explode in a minute after removal. Plenty of time to do this!" Mysterio then raised his voice to address the crowd. "Don't believe me? Then let me show you a glimpse of HELL!" It ascended into the sky for a few dozen feet, until it reached the farthest point it could remain in sight. Norah pushed the detonator, and it exploded. The burst was far enough to avoided hitting anyone, but that was not the point of Mysterio's move. "Praecipite aperiri portam inferni repente!" He shouted as his hands glowed and made exorbitant motions. He must have made over a dozen motions that would have made a ninja look ridiculous were it not what was happening above him. The explosion spiraled and twisted, while also spreading wider like dough under a roller. It also gained the properties of a storm cloud, for it shifter from a fiery orange to a nightmarish black with red lightning running through it. Them suddenly the head of a lava skinned canine burst through its surface as if to pounce on this crowd below. It has nine eyes and six rows of teeth. It did not bark, but roared with the sounds if tormented beasts. It was a demonic Doberman worthy of Satan. Yet what made it more frightening was not just it's countenance, but the dark tentacles and shriveled claws of other creatures dragging it back in as if to get their own turn at momentary freedom. Thankfully for all the portal closed and vanished the moment the creature's head was dragged back in. It was about 20 seconds, barely enough time to get a drink, or cough out a sentence. But it felt like an eternity to that audience that knew what it was like to be nothing more than battered bunches of fur and blood that were buried in the sands. Heck, Quarry passed out in a mere seven seconds after witnessing the beast burst from the cloud. These Diamond dogs were curled with their tails between their legs. Some peed themselves, but no one would make fun of them for it considering the reason why. Those that could still walk, started to grab their pack mates who couldn't and hastily chucked them upon the wagons. They didn't care if it meant leaving behind their earning or their weapons. They didn't even care how mad Quarry would be when he finally woke up and saw how far away they travelled to get out of there. The Desert Ash Pack knew that they were too close to becoming their namesake to give a damn! "Who is you?" One stupidly asked as they were about to leave. "I am Mysterio! One who is a master of the senses and of the illusions you consider reality! I am the one who will not only break your body, but your mind! To me, life is but a dream and only those who live with dignity deserve to take part in it! All who live like animals will be left broken in the dust! The rest will end up meeting a fate more dignified than the cowardice of dogs!" His hand extended out to the desert as if directing these dogs out on their exodus. "Now go and spread the word to your masters: Clutter Coulee is now under my protection as a part of the Wonder Domain!" And that was the parting message to the Desert Ash Pack. For they all fled into the sands as if Tartarus itself was coming after them. Then again, considering who they crossed, perhaps that was the case. Had he been been anyone else, perhaps he would have been more thorough and exterminated them. Yet, if they were eradicated, then who would be left to talk about him? To praise him? To fear him? To challenge him? To fear him? No! Mysterio knew he risked making new enemies by letting the Desert Ash off as easily as he did to speak of him, but he knew it was for the best. It was not a question of how, or why, he just knew it. Just like he knew how to conjure up such a nightmare and how to save his...friends. Yes, they were his friends, weren't they? It was at that instant that Mysterio seemed to ease up and a bit more of Ethan seemed to return to the forefront. "Good grief, was that not a chore to deal with?" "Master Mysterio!" Tsavorite cheerfully called out. He turned to face her, only to find himself pulled off his feet, and helmet first into a dragoness' embrace. "Oooff! Tsavorite! Go easy on me! I just took out a mongrel mob!" "I never doubted your victory for an instant! Even when you left, and it all seemed lost, I still held hope that you would return for us!" She imparted with great sincerity. She finally let the magical sorcerer down, who tried to play off his bashfulness at the praise and the dragon's state of clothing by dusting himself off. "Well of course! How could I think of returning to my castle without my dearest friends and supporters?" "Friends?" Tsavorite asked as if the term was a bit unusual to her. "Well, we are friends, are we not?" Mysterio tilted his helm as he counted off on one hand. "You, me, Trixie, Bo, and-" "Norah!" Bo ran past the two of them, with her mind set on one thing: getting to her sister! The poor pup was just standing still staring at shock of where her bomb exploded and apparently ripped open a portal to Tartarus with Mysterio's enchantment. The bigger sister shook her younger with a hesitant motion, fearing the worst. "Norah! Are you ok? Say something!" "I blew up a hole into Tartarus!" She broke into a wide and wild grin as she started to dance and cheer. "I am the greatest Diamond boom expert to live forevers and evers!" "Oh, Norah!" Bo sighed with her eyes rolled. She still smiled at her sister's antics. "Don't ever change!" "Why would I? I saved you Big Sis! And I only needed one bomb to do it!" That soured Bo's mood a bit. "About that. You know you're not supposed to use bombs like that collar one!" "I know, but Trixie was asking for it when she kept callings you a fatass behind your back!" "She what-?!" Bo shook her head to keep on track of the lesson. "Even still, you know better! It could have backfired or Mysterio's spell wouldn't have worked, or something else coulda' gone wrong and I would have lost you forever." Norah sniffed a bit as she knew her sister had a point. "I'm sorry, Big Sis! I won't do it again! I promise!" Bo hugged Norah deeply a she admitted. "Still, it was lucky you were there to help save the day as disturbing as it was. I may have nightmares for weeks from that thing showin' up!" "Who's the scaredy pup now?" The pup teased with her tongue out. "Why you-!" Bo wedged her into her large bust with one arm as she began to noogie her sibling with the other. She playfully demanded her to surrender to her attack. "Take that back!" "Nvvr!!" Norah mumbled. She would never give up! Not even to her Big Sis' Knockout Noogie attack! Mysterio chuckled a bit at the sister's happiness. It was indeed confirmation that it was worth it to see those two reunited. Teavorite heself seemed to brighten up at the sight, and that made himfeel happy as well. 'Maybe that's all you need to get by in this world. A bit of happiness and a person to share it with.' "Master Mysterio!" But that line of thought would have to be placed on hold. For another person called out to him, and it wasn't Tsavorite using the term 'Master'. No, this came from the blue unicorn, rushing towards him. She was wrapped up in Mysterio's cloak, which apparently shrunk down from its larger size. She held it tightly as she gazed gladly at the mirror visaged person who helped save her life. "Ah, Miss Lulamoon! I thank you for your contributions to my spell today. I hope you are well, all things considering." He considered taking back the cloak, but considering how he was restraining his eyesight around Tsavorite, thought it would be best to avoid another female with wardrobe issues. Trixie stood still in thought as she carefully composed herself as best as she could. When she finally found the words, she spoke with as much dignity as she could muster. "First, Trixie would like to deeply thank you for coming to her rescue." She bowed her head. "Had you not come...well Trixie would rather not think of the possibilities!" The sorcerer patted her on the shoulder. "There, there, Miss Lulamoon. You are safe now! Nothing to fear!" "Still, there is one thing I must do for saving me from...something that horrible!" Trixie then to everyone 's surprise did something that no one who knew of her prideful persona would do. She took to the ground in genuflection and touched her horn to Mysterio's feet. "Trixie is but a mere magician, but perhaps under your great tutorage she can truly become Great and Powerful! Trix...No, I know it is pretty presumptuous of me to ask for this honor as if it were a favor, but I can think of no other way to repay you without my body being a token. I promise to serve you faithfully and to be loyal to your cause!" Her horn glowed with magic as she spoke her request aloud. "Please, oh Master of the Arcane, make me your apprentice!" Ethan had to blink a few times under the helmet at that. A magical unicorn was not only swearing loyalty, but asking to learn magic from him? As a sorcerer's apprentice? "...Ok, sure." He answered. "Can't see anything going wrong with that." After all, he just pulled off being able to unleash Hell to some Coyote Bandits. How hard could tutoring magic be? [}0{] <How hard, indeed!>The Quidam thought aloud. <Famous last words, perhaps?>. He then poured himself another cup of tea. The same cup that had the crack that affected nearby space, and yet it still held the liquid with no problems. <You still have yet to realize the consequences of your actions, though.> He swirled the cup, debating to sip, even with no head to speak of. <Not just in this realm of the mind, but the others as well.> He finally decided on drinking it, and was surprised a bit at the taste. <Bitter! Yet Spicy! And also Sweet!>. The Quidam remarked. <Perhaps it is reflective of the direction you are heading in.> He turned his attention back onto the manuscript with the emblem of McIntyre on the cover. It was not painting illustrations, but instead was reciting quotes that were building up foundations to support the upcoming events. One in particular stood out in shining script. "'All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.'" <Well that is certainly foreboding! I can only hope things can turn out well for him.> He closed the tome and set it down on the table before it floated back onto its place on the shelf. <Still, I think he's proven himself ready for the next step. But first, let us see what has has transpired to bring such a quote to mind.> With that, The Quidam stood from his seat as he felt it was time to...take a walk...and see what was happening in the realm that caught the interest of a being such as he. [}0{] Mysterio... ...Far and wide the story of that one man who came to Clutter Coulee was uttered... ...and yet the reactions to that name were all the more interesting... [TO BE CONTINUED...] > Bonus Issue-Making a Mark [Epilogue]-Word Gets Around <I know how it will happen being that I have seen it happen before. Word begins to spread. Like fire it lights the fuse. It is only a matter of time before it reaches the keg and explodes. Even then, will you be blown to bits? Or there to enjoy the fireworks?> [}0{] |The Good Boy| Across the desert plains was a lone stranger. He stood an impressive height of over six feet, yet seemed to have a pretty skinny build about him. Yet what seemed to be odder about him was how he was dressed. The usual desert inhabitants with sentience dressed for the dessert in cloaks. He too had one, but it could also be seen that he wore a dirty Hakama under it. His large Diamond Dog Paws were covered by gloves big enough to fit them. He also covered his features in a large straw hat. However, a tail that could only belong to a Shikoku Inu could be seen sticking out from his clothes. That and the handles of three swords. It had been many days since the Stranger encountered other beings like himself. He had simply been wandering this desert in search of food and drink, or the very least a means to achieve it. He got by well enough. A Dog with his skills always knew how to make due. Yet he always did his best to maintain honor. An exile he was, but he still tried to be a good boy! Sometimes he had to sell his skill with the sword order to survive. He never took jobs that he considered abrasive or discouraging. Yet he did work occasionally with unsavory packs. For instance, The Desert Ash asked him to help once or twice defend their territory from other packs. He would turn them down once or twice if they tried anything disruptive like raiding, and from these three members' poor conditions, it appeared their latest attempt at hitting a big score failed immensely. "Stranger! You got to help us!" The first coyote yipped as he padded to the sworddoggie. "A mage-no! A Death Master! He came and killed some of us and then unkilled them! So we needs helps to beat him!" A taller second coyote cried. The Stranger had to tilt his head at that. A Death Master? Just what had Desert Ash stick its noses in? "It true! He even was powerful enough to punch a whole Tartarus!" The third and shortest coyote yelped at fear of the recollection. "So we have been tryings to gets more helps to take him ons! You is the first we thinks to asks! Won't you helps us?" "We will pays you for your help!" The tall coyote reached into the folds of his clothes for whatever he could find. "Lookit! Here are a few shinies to start with!" He pulled out a few gems of decent size and color out. But what drew The Stranger's eye and nose was the cloth he unintentionally pulled out as well. It emitted a scent that he hadn't smelt in years. Could it be-? "Ain't that a piece of that Bitch's clothes?" The first one asked. "Yep! Must have pockets it in the scuffle." The taller coyote nodded in confirmation. "Doubt you would have liked her, stranger! She was tough as a bull." "And nearly bigger than a bear!" The third added to which all three coyotes laughed. "Definitely not the first thing you go for at a pet shop-!" -Chink!-Snickt!- "Ulp!" The third one collapsed as blood spurted out of his body. When he hit the ground, a collection of slashes were revealed to be gouged into his torso and arms. The other two coyotes looked at their fallen pack mate and back at the stranger in fear. He had a pair of long and surprisingly well kept swords pointed at them. Seeing that he had their attention, he lowered one and started etching into the dirt bellow. {TALK HONEST-LIKE} Was what he wrote into the sand in Doggie Script. Followed by, {WHAT YOU DO TO HER?} "I didn't do nothin' to her! Alpha wanted to take her as bonus for raiding the junky place! But this Magic-fellow came and stopped us!" The first coyote nodded frantically as he tried to explain. "We thought he ran away when we try to takes the pup, but he cames back and-URK!!" -Snickt!- This coyote said the wrong thing and thus he too fell as a cut up mess! This left the tall one who realized that the Stranger seemed to be a bit bigger than even he. He began to sit with his tail curled in the Doggie form of surrender, knowing that as the one who pocketed the cloth, he was destined for the worst fate. The Stranger started to etch again with a sword. {WHICH WAY TO HER?} The coyote raised a shaking hand towards the direction of Clutter Coulee. {NOW WHICH PAW DO YOU FAVOR?} The coyote breathed heavily as he finished reading. He braced himself as he answered without wetting himself, "R-R-Right.." He then howled until his throat went hoarse and his body wore out into unconsciousness. The pain of having a limb crippled like that would do it! The Stranger didn't care for this coyote's plight. He let him off easy by breaking the limb instead of cutting it off. That and taking their supplies and canteens! But now he had to hurry. He remembered her well. That sweet, shapely She-doggie back when he was still part of a pack! Sometimes he thought of her, and how she would tease him with acting and dressing like a japoniese schoolfilly when they swung by the pet shop she inhabited. It was the special treatment he would get for keeping her and her sister safe from more rough types of doggies. "Please take good care of me, sworddoggie-san, desu~!!" He remembered other things as well of course, but he found himself thinking more fondly of the times he spent watching out for Bo and Norah. It made him feel good about being a darknu-. The Stranger shook his head rapidly as he regained focus. He had a long trek to go and could not afford to loose his sense of direction. Hopefully soon, he would find himself standing in front of that she-doggie and protecting her from this wicked 'Death Master'! [}0{] |The Warlord| Back at their headquarters, the rest if the Desert Ash were not faring any better. While some had parted to acquire some much needed supplies(booze!) to help their recovery, the rest dragged their near carcasses to their den in hopes of resting with at least minimal nightmares. Instead of finding their lair empty like they left it, they found it occupied by female Diamond Dogs! To think that any other day they might have been excited to encounter female attention. Such a thing to them was like finding a cactus full of fermented juices: a celebration! But not these females. For those of the Golden Nailed Pack were infamous to even desert outskirts lowlifes like Quarry. There were several packs that one would never hope to face, and they were one if them! They stood out by having their members consist mostly of female dogs. Sure that implied that some of them were pretty and attractive to the coyotes, but they pushed that aside after the first glance that they knew the truth: Each of them were more than capable of giving a dog a hard time in a fight! From the simple digger types, to the more sleek breeds like Collies, these femmes were built with the muscles that crafted the amazons! Even more unnerving was that it was a pack mostly of hyenas; a species whose members were some of the most brutal of dogs, and females were naturally bigger and stronger than most males. Each of them was dressed simply, yet exotically for the Zebrican savannah with fur pelts and clothing that were made to show off their physically impressive prowess. They were hunters by trade, and had to be better trained to face off against the beasts that lived there. They were also rich as shown by their golden ornaments of all kinds. Some carried weapons, like halberds, spears, and whips as well as a few bowstrings. But it was clear that a great deal of them had no problems fighting barehanded, for they had the muscle mass to back it up. Even with all that said Quarry was facing the worst of the brush. For who else was there to confront him, but the big bad matriarch of the Golden Nailed herself! She stood at a whopping 7 feet, give or take. It was a bit harder to tell with her wild mane of hair that was long to her tail, yet spiky all the way to the top of her ears. Then again, her body was all the more distracting than her height with her massive musculature and curvature that would make even hardworking stallions and appearance crazed mares weep in envy. Her biceps and hamstrings were thick trunks of might. Her paws, already enlarged by Diamond Dog genetics, were further boosted by her choice breeding and had a long nail tempered with gold polish at each fingertip. Her clothing was a golden yellow with black rosettes spread about. Which contrasted with her darkened fur and darker spots upon it. It was open like a vest, yet strung together in ropes like a corset, showing off her back, goods, and abdominals. Even still, her outfit did it's best to contain her more prominent bust with how open it seemed to be. Yet almost as a joke, covering her 'bazongas' were large green eyes that were printed onto her top. It had a furry collar like a lion's mane; perhaps it was? She had a studded belt and matching skirt that completed the ensemble. So overall, her outfit was reminiscent if a wildcat ready to prowl. She was adorned in gold jewelry of all types. From wearable types like rings, bangles, and anklets of gold to her more prominent piercings like her earrings, nose ring, and bellybutton piercing. Her most outlandish one appeared to be the gold necklace she wore. It not only was a collection of gold links, but of teeth that came from the jaws of a large rockodile! Gold was the theme of this femme. Gold jewelry, nails, even her eye color! Yet it all paled in shine to her body's centerpiece: a branded tattoo of a lion's face with her paw-print emblazoned in gold on her muscle-ridged back! Quarry only caught a glimpse of it, but he knew that the moment he saw that symbol and the other she-doggies that wore it, he and his pack were done for! Hyenas were matriarchal, and none stood to be more prominent of their attributes today than the Golden Nailed's current Malkia(queen), Zolotaya. To sum it all up, this bitch was jacked, stacked, and loaded as well as one of the strongest warlords in the Diamond Dog realms! Currently the mighty alpha was crouched down to make eye contact with the smaller one. She didn't say a word, but gave a simple signal to one of her underlings. She was a smaller, but still pretty tough Labrador who came by with a case that was promptly opened. Zolotaya used only two fingers to reach for one of the contents which were a couple rows of fanciful looking cigars. For a moment, she seemed to debate internally about her decision, but then went through with placing it into Quarry's maw. She then snapped two of her golden nails and produced a spark to light it. Quarry didn't even smoke cigs, let alone thick cigars of strange weed, but considering that the paw that lit it was already bigger than his muzzle, he didn't feel compelled to state that fact. He tried his best to hide his sputtering cough from the smoke, but the widening grin on the hyena's face told him she knew, she just didn't give a damn! "So, Quarry is it? You know why I've come here?" She spoke with an accent that seemed a bit deeper than a hyena and more like a Laika or a Husky. The Desert Ash Alpha weakly shook his head in negative, not daring to speak. "No? Den tell me den, your pack has been trying to make a name for itself round dese parts. Ever hear of a place called Clutter Coulee?" Quarry thought about lying, but nodded his head yes to at least keep her talking with a calm edge. "You know who owns Clutter Coulee?" She asked before gazing around at the other Golden Nailed members scattered in attendance. "Because last I checked it was home to my dear 'former pack-sister' Bo and her own little-pup sister, Norah?" Quarry's eyes widened as he realized why Bo seemed so familiar when they met. It unfortunately told Zolotaya what she needed to confirm. "Imagine my surprise, when a few of my scouts I keeps nearby comes and tells me that a dragon flew dere!" She widened her own eyes dramatically in mock surprise as she went further into her tale. "I knows, right? So I'm ready to go help my siblings if deys are in trouble, currently comrades or not! Den word reaches me that dis group of yippee upstarts wants to raid out nearby scrapyards, starting with Clutter Coulee." A massive paw reached out and grabbed Quarry by the head. It gripped tightly as if it was about to crush his skull like a berry, but then let go. The coyote was huffing the cigar desperately to calm down for the hyena was becoming angrier with every second. "And then, blah-blah-blah! I eventually get here to kick ass and take names or pelts, wheechever first, of these pups of lowly bitches who think they can get away with it! I have my pack come here when it is clear to wait on them like good hunters. Only dere is no sport! No Challenge! To make it worse, I find this group of pups licking their wounds with their tails tucked over their asses and one of them has this," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrap of cloth that she smacked Quarry in the face with enough force to redden his muzzle. It was a piece of Bo's shirt undoubtedly ripped like a trophy by one of Quarry's pack. "tucked into their pockets like dirty hankies!" Quarry spat out the cigar, and immediately went into a tangent to explain the Desert Ash's side of things. "We didn't do nothing to them! Honest! Had we known they was with you-!!" He immediately stopped as Zolotaya laid a single large pointer finger over his mouth. The action alone was enough to put her well manicured nail a few inches from his last good eye. "Shh-shh-shh! Don't waste 'nother word! I'm sure your pack is going to give me a good yarn!" She smiled a canine grinned as she teased with the possibility of just fully blinding the dog. But it still wouldn't be enough. Oh no! She had worse in mind for this pup of a putrid bitch! "But it has to be shown that I don't like it when others touch my sisters against their will. So look on the bright side: you'll be getting your weight in gold!" With her other paw she thrust her nails into his chest in a pronged grip. Only, as her eyes began to glow with a golden hue, it could be seen that ripping his organs out was not her intention. It took Quarry a minute to catch her meaning, but as he did, the cold paralysis had already begun to set in. He howled in agony and grief as it spread from Zolotaya's grip. He glanced quickly at the spot, before the pain of his heart seizing stepped in. What he saw would have stopped it regardless: From the contact point of Zolotaya's nails, was a metallic yellow shine spreading into his clothes, flesh, and open wounds! It took two minutes for his consciousness to fade. But had he been able to speak, Quarry may have described the sensation of being transmuted into gold as a mixture of drowning while boiling then freezing slowly. The other Desert Ash pack-mates gaped in horror at their alpha's death! The Golden Nailed members seemed to find it humorous and none more so than their leader who was hackling like the hyena she was! "Oh da look on his face when he gots da joke! Priceless!" She wiped a tear. "I swear, I slay me sometimes! Huh!" One of her fellow hyenas stepped forward with a couple others to pick up the golden Quarry statue. "What you wants to do with him now, Malkia?" The Alpha settled herself down as she nonchalantly waved a hand to shoo the statue away. "Have him melted down into rings or somethings! Big Boss Crunch knows how much we can make off of such cheap material as dis dud of a pup." She didn't really care, so long as it wasn't jewelry she'd end up wearing. Besides, she had more pressing concerns to get back to as she stared into the frightened eyes of the remaining Desert Ash. "As for da rest, well now..." She gave a gleaming gaze as she struck a pose, knowing she had their undivided attention, lest they meet the fate of their late alpha. "Won't you tell dis Mama Jama why a dragon came to Clutter Coulee and who was riding it to cause you all to roll on your bellies in fear, before I even set one paw in here?" By the time their business was finished, Desert Ash would be a distant memory thanks to the 'corrective counseling' of Golden Nailed. As for their leader, whether it was from the news, or the new fragrant sent of blood in the air, there was the rancorous laughter of a hyena echoing out into the night. After all, no prey could ever hope to escape the one known as the Zolotaya Romashka "Dhahabu Chui" ("Golden Leopard") Kravinoff, heir of the clan Kraven. [}0{] |The Bar Patrons| Elsewhere, near the border of the desert and closer to the edge of the badlands, was a ramshackle town with no name anyone cared to mention. One of its main attractions was a bar whose name its patrons tended to get too drunk to recall. But to those still sober, they could read the sign that decreed it as "The Drunk Skunk Tavern". It was here that the last few members of Desert Ash were drinking away their troubles and having some good hard liquor would make them numb to their woes. These few were planning on deserting the pack (ironically not knowing they were currently the last of it!),which would be a great big stain on their reps. But who could blame them, considering what they just went through? "So, how about we goes to the southern mining towns? We is bounds to finds works there as diggers!" "You stupid? We needs to gets underground!" Another shot down the idea as he kept frantically sipping his mug. "Otherwise HE's going to find us!" "Who's going to find you?" A voice interrupted their scheming. The coyotes turned to face the one who asked the question, and immediately found their tails wagging! She was a Collie type Diamond Dog. Her fur color was a deep midnight black with white central fur. Her form was tall, shapely, and wrapped up in a long green dress that showed off her curves. At she wasn't alone! She had enough friends for all of them that each possessed a similar stature and dress. "You can tell us. I won't bite! Not certain about the others though~!" She gave a wink at that! Her friends giggled and even made chomping motions as they ushered the former Desert Ash members to their table. The coyotes were practically salivating at the thought of being able to get with this doggie's company. So of course they hurried to sit down, and have a few more rounds, thinking their luck was getting better. "So what brings some nice, strong doggies this way? Nothing bad, I hope?" One of Collie dogs asked. "Nothing major! Just got into a fight with our former alpha over dividing the shinies, and so we decided to leave!" One of the coyotes said, trying to sound impressive. "Yep, especially after this last job! Was not worth the trouble!" Another one added with a sip of his drink. "Not worth dying fors! For sures!" "Dying? Sounds pretty dangerous! What happened?" Another asked as she tiptoed her nails up a coyote's neck. "If you're up for telling us, that is! Wouldn't want to be considered nosy in somedoggie's business now!" This coyote gleefully shivered at the sensation. "Not at all, so longs as you pretties don't get scared!" "Oh, I think we'll be alright with you handsome doggies around to keep us safe!" The lead Collie teased. "I don't know, I tend to get nightmares easily, and need somedoggie to curl up to to keep them away!" One softly cried. This made the slightly inebriated coyotes only more eager to tell the story! And so they did. They spoke if how their alpha planned to make their pack a new rising star by gathering scraps. They first struck a scrapyard known as Clutter Coulee and expected to be easy pickings for their large pack of desert raiders. Only, it was to their surprise, being visited by a sorcerer and his dragoness servant! The Collies' ears perked up at that as well as many of the other patrons of the bar! Even the bartender was noticeably leaning more towards their table as he tried to show discretion by wiping glasses clean. The dogs continued as they increased their enthusiasm by the booze they drank. They spoke of how they drove the sorcerer into fleeing with a pup, while leaving behind his draconic servant to be captured as well as the 'fatass bitch' of an owner and her 'big, yappy unicorn pet'. The Collies seemed to be hiding a sense of distaste at their plans for them. Still, one had to ask, "So it sounds like you are pretty successful. Why are you all so scared then?" The former Desert Ash gave a long hard look at each other before finally taking a last shot of liquid courage together. At this point their words were starting to slur, but the fear had yet to be lost from their voices. "Because he cames back, and cames back PISSED!" "He said stuff like 'Mens go to jails! Doggies get puts down!' Or something likes that!" "And he started killing us while singing about brown cows!" "He was crazy!" "And that's not the worst things!" The Collies looked at the frantic dogs with worried curiosity as their leader asked, "What were the worst things?" The coyotes shuddered as one of them finally spoke out, "He is Death Master!" "Bullshit!" A random patron shouted out. The bartender seemed to take offense to the phrase, but could not tell who said it. Everyone in this bar was fully enraptured in this tale. The coyotes seemed a bit too drunk to care that their conversation was not so private as one argued back, "No, it's true! He just snapped his fingers and we all started to get up fine like we were just beaten and bruised. Not stabbed to death like this doggie here!" "Yeah! He stabbed me through the eye! I felt it go through my face, then blackness, then I wakes up with just a black eye!" He pointed out his wound around his eye, but then pointed at the bruise at the back of his head. It was the perfect match for a piercing attack! "And then he opened Tartarus for a moment!" Another concluded. "There was this horrible demon that nearly gots out before he closed it back up again! It's head alone was bigger than an Ursa with six tomes the teeth!" The entire bar went silent at that. Before they were at least whispering amongst themselves, but now they were all dead silent. "So how did you escape?" The Collie leader asked. "He let us go." A coyote finally admitted. "So long as we never set foot in Clutter Coulee and spread his message!" "What message?" At the instant she uttered the question, all the coyotes stopped in place before sitting up straight and began speaking as one with their their eyes dulled out and said. "He is Mysterio! One who is a master of the senses and of the illusions you consider reality! He is the one who will not only break your body, but your mind! To him, life is but a dream and only those who live with dignity deserve to take part in it! All who live like animals will be left broken in the dust! The rest will end up meeting a fate more dignified than the cowardice of dogs!" They all simultaneously lifted their glasses as if to toast to him. "Now go and spread the word to your masters: Clutter Coulee is now under his protection as a part of the Wonder Domain!" They each took their mugs and chugged them in one smooth drink. When they set them back on the table, they took notice of the frightened stares of everyone in the room. "Somethings going on? Why is everyones staring like that?" One coyote asked stupidly. He had no clue what just occurred with his pack mates. "I think you should call it a night, dears!" A Collie leant close. "Seems you had way too much to drink!" "A night? But I am not -hic- sleepies yet!" One felt the drunken sense of drowsiness approach him. "Oh, but it probably would be best if you go! You have been through a lot already! Doesn't seem right to ruin your night on top of it." Another Collie added. "But you could makes -hic- all betters if you want to!" A coyote stupidly said. His implication was not lost to these females. The Collies giggled as the leader pointed out, "Believe me, we aren't those kinds of bitches! Still, are you sure you want to show us all a good time?" "Of course! We faced -hic- a sorcerer who could open Tartarus and kill then unkill us! You shouldn't be -hic- such a challenge!" At that, the females all gave a very straight-faced expression with pursed muzzles. Their leader then gave a quick tilt of her head, as an indicator to 'go for it'. So they each paired up with a coyote and got in close. Some sat next to one and snuggled in close while a few were more daring and sat in their laps. Each of them slowly led their partner into a deep kiss. Their leader was currently sitting front to front in a coyote's lap. Her muzzle was inching closer and closer to his as she slowly asked, "Remember when I said I wouldn't bite?" "Yep!" The coyote was excited at the prospect of finally having something go right for him for a change. She got in close to whisper into his ear, "I lied." And then lowered her lips onto his own for a deep and dominating kiss! The coyote was feeling immensely good. The feeling of the female's mouth playing dominate to his own was an unexpected turn, but he would rectify that with his own technique-! He suddenly opened his eyes as he felt like a deep sense of emptiness was filling him up after taking away all the pleasure and joy he felt. It was slowly replaced with fear, but that too was being taken away from him! He moved his eyes to see his comrades were facing similar struggles as each female held them down with a surprising amount of strength.no matter how they punched or kicked, they would not release their lip-locks! Eventually he noticed a couple coyotes stopped moving altogether and were tossed to the floor like drooling sacks of flesh. He looked back to this female kissing him and noticed now that her eyes were glowing green with power. She gave a flirty wink as he let out a muffled scream. A moment later, he was nothing more than an empty shell in the shape of a dog. The females all wiped their mouths as they took a swig of their drinks to wash out out the taste of canines on their tongues. A few smacked their lips, while a couple even burped at the raw emotional energy they just consumed. "Not bad, for a dog! Never expected to taste such potent magic! An interesting vintage to be sure!" The leader said. Only now she began to look less like a Collie with how a curved black horn sprouted out of her head and blue translucent wings with holes exited her back. She looked at her other party members and saw that they too were entering similar states of 'undress'. She couldn't blame them. The magic mixed into the emotions they drained were potent enough for these changelings to loose control of their disguises. It was quite fortunate that it happened here in badlands territory. Had they been seen like this near Celestia's kingdom, it would be their heads on the chopping block! Still, it also helped that these changelings were such big tippers to the barkeep. Otherwise they would never get away with this being a near regular risk at The Drunk Skunk. "Sorry about the mess, Rusty. Hope this covers it." One of the changelings said as she threw a sack full of bits and gems at the barkeep's counter. "-Sigh- You're lucky I ain't a bouncer no more. Otherwise I'd have you bouncing out of here like a tumbleweed in a sandstorm!" The Minotaur barkeep snarked as he set his rag over his shoulder. He was nearly eight feet of Black Angus beef, and strong enough to keep the different patrons of the bar in line. So long as they followed his rules, and paid their tabs, he was fine with whatever they did. This was Badlands territory and so it goes. "Now you know the rules: if you changelings start snacking, you better get packing! Now go! Lest you scare out my customers and have me loose more moolah!" "Alright! We're going!" The lead one said. "Come on, ladies! It's a long flight to the hive, and her majesty is going to want to hear all about this 'Mysterio'!" [}0{] |The Unrequited Romantic| As soon as the Changelings left, things began to settle back into the status quo of the bar. Many however were discussing this new sorcerer on the seen, and his apparent capabilities. Necromancy was a lost art and one of the blackest, but to be able to open Tartarus for even a moment? Now that was hard to believe! Yet one of patrons of the bar found the torch of hope that had been nearly dowsed by despair in his heart, relit again as he heard the Diamond Dogs story. He looked like a simple earth pony with a muddy green coat and an avocado green mane. His clothing was a simple dark green tunic, pants, and a green beanie with orange trim and a puffball. He looked considerably weaker than the other patrons that consisted of Minotaurs, griffins, dogs, and brigand stallions and mares. But as that last group showed, looks could be greatly deceiving, and he was better than any changelings in that regard. 'If he could open the gates to Tartarus, then maybe..!' He pulled out a photo album, which was probably his most prized possession he currently had. But perusing through it, the stallion was nowhere to be found. Instead there were many pictures involving a lizard-like creature of similar coloring to the stallion. But what drew his heart more was the creature it interacted with. They played games like badminton and taking walks in meadows. The pictured were faded and made in a time before color cameras. Yet they still held tightly to the happy moments they captured involving her. She was a lovely thing of feline design. The pictures showed her in a southern dress that clung well enough to her figure. Her fur coat was a dark shade, but her hair was a much lighter tone and kept in a well rounded up style. He remembered that he liked her look, and dared to mention it to her. She would argue that her look and appearance had many flaws, but he would argue vehemently that she could not be more beautiful. 'If only she stayed away from that witchweed!' He thought, finding anger towards himself again at his past self's lack of courage! It was one of many mistakes he would rectify! Now more so that there appeared to be an individual who was strong enough to help him free her from her imprisonment. With that, he felt his anger evolve into determination towards his goal. "Surely, this Mysterio wouldn't mind the services of a Chameleon like me?" He mumbled as for a moment his eyes shifted into something more reptilian. For that was his true nature. He was not a pony, or a changeling, but a Reptilian named Rep. And even now after many years there were individuals who would pay good money to find him. He then finished his brew and then paid off his tab. Come morning, he would be gathering all he needed to make the journey to Clutter Coulee and find this Mysterio. "Catrina." Rep thought. "Soon, we'll be together again!" [}0{] |The Colonel| Private First Class Comet Road knew he had drawn the short end of the stick as he hurried to deliver the message he received. The dark furred unicorn in Solar Guard armor was not looking forward to this meeting he had to undergo because of an incoming message. It was a magically transmitted scroll that was ranked top secret with a clearance higher than his own to see it. Normally, that would just imply that he go to the highest authority on the base, and hand it to them before going away thus giving that interruption to his duties little thought. Unfortunately, that highly ranked figure was HER. "Colonel Liebe, sir!" He knocked on the door to her quarters. As it opened he stood ramrod straight and at attention. Out came an intimidating Pegasus of high military rank. She was dressed up in a black uniform that consisted of a form fitted coat with red trimmings and black shorts. She had long boots with buckled straps placed over long black stockings. Her gloves were white and creaseless. Placed on the top of her head was a black hat with her winged badge as its centerpiece. She had other badges, and ranking strips as a part of her ensemble, but she always made sure to keep her hat straight. It kept her hair from flowing near her eyes like her daughter after all! "At ease, private!" She spoke in a Germane accent as she gave a salute back. "Vhat matter requires my attention?" "This message arrived, sir! It requires your attention as it is from one of our scouts in Badlands territory, sir! It may be important enough to be given to the princesses after your consideration, sir!" Comet Road hoped he would be dismissed soon, before Colonel 'Tough Love' started doing one of her favorite pastimes: giving out impossible orders. It was right next to training her lower ranked subordinates to the ground! "Understood! Consider dees a job well done, private! Perhaps down zhe line you shall make lieutenant yet!" She took the scroll into her possession before barking her order for the training exercise in the meantime. "Now have zhe squadron get ready to do 70 pushups in zhe snow!" Of course she would say something like that! "Sir! I beg forgiveness for correcting you, but it is a sunny day, and there is no snow to be found, sir!" "Noted! Then get zhe Pegasi teams to get on zhat first! I better see snow in zhe next 15 minutes, or so help me Celestia, I will have you all doing 140 pushups and zhe obstacle course with mines 20 times! Is zhat understood?" "Sir, YES, SIR!"Comet Road yelled as he has prepared to march speedily to the other guard members to tell them what they had to do this time. "Then go!" She commanded with a fist trusted into the air. "March! March! Left, right, left!" Comet Road got out of there as quickly as he could, mentally preparing himself for the bad news he would have to give to his fellow guardsponies. After today, there would probably be more filing for leave. This did not currently concern the Colonel, for she was occupied with the contents of the message that was given priority to her eyes to glance over. As she did and reread it, she found herself feeling a hint of worry at its contents. With one of the key notes being about a sorcerer named Mysterio, she knew she had to forward this to the Princesses immediately! If not for Equestria, then for her daughter who incidentally encountered him before. "Fluttershy," she thought as she flew up high to head toward the Pegasi Post station. The sun reflected off her pale yellowish fur while the wind made her pinkish mane in a ponytail like a comet trail flowing behind her. "just vhat have you found yourself entangled in?" She would have more words to say to her Princess, insubordination be damned! It was bad enough she hid the mission request from her and days later revealed that she sent the Elements to negotiate with a dragon into relocating. Fluttershy was especially afraid of dragons (to be fair, she had plenty of fears)! Then the Colonel received a letter asking advice on how her daughter should deal with her encounter with a person named Mysterio. Again, Celestia only just sent the memo to her about how this new sorcerer on the scene was to be brought in for questioning. It was as if Celestia was deliberately keeping things from her as if she would go AWOL or something! Oh she would definitely be having words to say to her Princess! [}0{] |The Princesses of The Sun and The Moon| "Well, she is certainly...most colorful with her tongue, dear sister!" Luna tried to let out a laugh, but saw her sister was still disturbed. It took a few days for the message from Colonel Liebe to arrive by the Pegasus Postmare, but when it did, Celestia knew why her colonel chose this method to pass the message forward despite the urgency. The two princesses were in their throne room, having dismissed their courts for the day. This was a priority message, which meant one thing in particular: it involved a possible threat to the kingdom. What they found, when you excluded all the choice words Harte Liebe had for her Princess, was a report involving Changelings, Diamond Dogs, and above all else, Mysterio possibly committing crimes involving Necromancy and Breaching a Hole in TARTARUS of all things!! "To be fair, I should have considered to at least have told her more about her daughter's activities sooner. But she was always one of my more... impulsive mares-in-command before her retirement. Still, I should have known better than to hide things from a mother like her." She rubbed her eyes to try to take the edge of the message. "But still, even mentioning my cake habits as a reason for my lack of foresight?" Luna bit back her rebuttal for that. Celestia did have a bigger habit of cake binging since she returned. Besides it would only lead to her sister making fun of her still appearing to be a much younger filly, despite being a mature adult. "In any case, I am more disturbed by this Mysterio's current activities than anything else in this report." She shook the parchment as if the words would magically prove she was wrong to assume. "Necromancy! Why did it have to be Necromancy! At least with Mind Magic, there was a misunderstanding excuse to give, but this!" The White Alicorn mare walked to her throne and sat down upon it in a heap. "Mother, why must I be tested so?" Luna hovered over to her own throne next to her sister and patted her assuringly as she said, "Thre there, my sibling. We now knoweth to consider that gent a threat, and shalt now dealeth with him accordingly." "That's just it, Luna! We still don't know if Mysterio is!" Celestia looked at the scroll, but it still gave her no answers that she was looking for. "What is his goal? What does he want? Who is he? And what is this Wonder Domain he speaks of? So many more questions and we still have yet to even properly encounter him. All we have to go on is rumors and even the possibility that they are right is frightening!" Luna tilted her head at that as she did consider the possibility that these rumors were but old bar tales told over pints of ale. "Tis true sister, these words do cometh from a rabble of malt-worm dogs who is't were expecting to romp in the sheets with these females!" She recalled the report saying such, as well as the coyotes' ultimate fates. "Perhaps they were but tales told by bards hoping to impress thy ladyfolk? We have certainly heard more honeyed words and claims of impressive feats in our early days of holding court!" "That may be true." Celestia admitted. Luna continued the line of reasoning. "Besides, surely if Tartarus did indeed open as they claimed, you and I would have felt it like a jailer feels a wall burst down in a cell!" Celestia felt a bit more relief at being reminded of that fact. "Also true, and yet it still bothers me on two fronts." The Princess of the moon raised a brow. "Indeed? How says?" "For one thing, the report claims he was fighting back against a raiding party of these coyotes, the Desert Ash Pack. So he was in his rights to face them, albeit his methods are highly disturbing." True, self-defense was acceptable, but Necromancy and conjuring Tears in Reality were hardly the methods to excuse with it, even in Equestria! "The other thing was that he was clearly protecting these females, including one unnamed unicorn mare." There was an implication that Luna just understood as a part of what was bothering her older sibling. "Art thee declaring that gent couldst beest an ally?" "Well I am at least saying he may not be our enemy. At least for now," Celestia then looked down at her notice at an important detail that made this such a priority message. "Our scout made this report near the Badlands territory from a bar named 'The Drunk Skunk Tavern'. It is a known hidey-hole, if you will, of some of the most wanted outlaws and runaways in the many realms alongside Equestria. And some of them are already interested in meeting Mysterio for one reason or another, especially if the rumors of Necromancy and Opening Tartarus are true!" Luna didn't need her sister to speak further about why that was a really bad thing! "We must find him, and soon!" She fluttered out of her throne as she prepared to gather all available guards to spread the word. "Who knoweth what couldst occureth if he aligns with the wrong sort!" "Without a doubt, Luna! We must find him!" Celestia proclaimed as she stood up and began her stroll to find an inkwell and quill. Sure she could conjure one, but she felt she had to retrieve a particular one that she used when writing important letters to Twilight. For this next one bound to be a most important one to get across and she felt nothing would boost her luck of late than a letter written with a fine feather donated from her pet phoenix, Philomena. [}0{] |The Student| Dear Twilight, I hope you are doing well, my student. Your letters reporting your activities and studies regarding friendship assure me that you are, but I myself was taught to never assume anything. I wish I could be writing to you about happier times, but I must get to the point of why I am writing this letter to you. I have recently had word reach my ears about that strange sorcerer you encountered named Mysterio. It has come to my attention that he is a spell caster who may be capable of other things beyond Mind Magic. What he can do, I cannot say for certain due to the nature of the information involves some second-hand accounts and rumors. However, it does make it pertinent that I am to meet him in order to properly gauge his character. I understand your hesitance for such a prospect, but rest assured that I have dealt with worse long before your great grandmares were even born! Should he turn out to be like the worst sort we assume, then I shall have no problem of dealing with him as I would any threat to my little ponies. Then again, perhaps it will not come to that. The news I received regarding him involves him protecting not only his draconic servant, who you may have already met, but three other young females with one of them being a unicorn. Perhaps this Mysterio is a more honorable sort than we initially supposed? In any case, I must now reach the major point of this letter to you. If you see Mysterio, whether alone, or with your friends, do not engage him! By all means, interact with him how you would a stranger coming to your door, but do not provoke him with violent or furious exchanges! I know it is much to ask of you and the other Element Bearers, especially after his usage of Mind Magic towards you, but I humbly suggest you do not make him an enemy. As said before, I have no doubt I could deal with him if he is a problem. I however, cannot say the same for each one of you. So please, takes these words to heart and consider that maybe the better thing to do if you meet him, is not to ready a fist to strike, but assure that a hand raised to shake is a promise of friendship and a much more powerful form of magic! I trust your judgment for after all, you are my precious student. Your Faithful Teacher, Princess Celestia P. S. Please inform Fluttershy that her mother sends her regards and that yes, I do know how to tell the difference between a quill and fork. She'll know what I mean. [}0{] Twilight considered all the words in the letter she held in her hand. It was certainly a lot of food for thought to say the least. "So what now, Twilight?" Spike asked after she finished orating Celestia's writings. "I don't know, Spike. It certainly is a lot to think about." Twilight gazed out her window as she looked towards the goings on of Ponyville. "I mean, what can I say about Mysterio that hasn't been said?" "How about what Celestia suggests? To show him friendship is magic?" Spike shrugged. "Well, we tried that, but that got us all mind wiped, except for Fluttershy." Twilight recalled, or rather didn't. "Only Fluttershy wasn't affected. The rest of us were not so lucky." "Maybe then she is the key to reaching him! She can't be affected by his magic, and from the sound of that conversation you had about him, was able to understand a bit of his thinking." Spike remarked. "So why not have her take charge if you meet him again?" "Spike, you realized you just suggested that Fluttershy should take charge, right?" "I know, I know. It sounded crazy as I finished saying it, but it seems like crazy is what we need to do!" Twilight pondered that suggestion a bit. Considering the track record of dealing with threats in Ponyville included giving an Ursa Minor a lullaby and massive bottle of milk, perhaps crazy was the way to go. "Maybe you're right, Spike." Twilight nodded. "Tell you what; I am going to have a letter sent to Celestia, requesting that she meet with you personally on official business together what intel she can give on Mysterio and his skills." Spike nodded in agreement. He wouldn't mind getting to see Canterlot again, especially without Twilight around making a total homework assignment of it, no offense! "Ok, but what are you going to be doing?" "I'm going to be busy trying to break the news to the girls that they can't give Mysterio the beat down they have been looking forward to giving if he ever shows up here." Her demeanor brightened up at the possibilities of how she could do it, with one in particular in mind! "Maybe I'll finally get to have the slumber party I always wanted." "Maybe! Just remember, the Pegasi have a storm scheduled." "Oh, I am sure things will be fine. It's not like the girls will be fighting indoors because of bad weather!" [}0{] |The Shamaness| "I am a compass needle pointing forth, not just a straight forward bearing like north!" Zecora could sense the nearby storm building. The clouds above the trees had been darkening for days, but they would soon become ready to unleash their built up torrents. It would hit Ponyville soon. That was not the only turmoil building up around these parts of the Everfree though. "I am a compass needle pointing forth, not just a straight forward bearing like north!" She was not blind to the truth, or deaf to the rumors, for like the fluttering leaves of the wind, they even reached her. From the tongue of a stallion she held dear of all things, she heard about Mysterio and one of his exploits regarding the bearers of the Element of Harmony. Of how he used his powers for possibly selfish and deluded reasoning. "I warned him if he was evil to prepare for a fight! Has he dared to challenge me out of spite?" She scrunched her eyes tighter as she tried to her inner focus. Currently she was outside her hut, meditating, and considering what she should do about the situation. She tried locating Mysterio, but he was gone from the ruined castle. Perhaps he left for parts unknown, or perhaps he had further business elsewhere. Perhaps he was a con artist who left town the moment he was discovered. She did not know. "I am a compass needle pointing forth, not just a straight forward bearing like north!" What she did know was that a storm was due to come, and she had to do her best to maintain her mood. So she was deep in meditation, tying to center herself as she was set on her staff, upside down like a batpony. The universe was orbiting around her; she was but a compass needle in the cosmic landscape- -KABOOM!- The large sound of thunder nearby cracked loudly above her as she shook out of her trance and landed flat on her haunches. Apparently, as much as she tried to bury her frustrations, she still came across more as a lightning rod than a compass needle. "There is only one way to not receive another shock." She gazed down at her hand and how the electricity was flowing through her fingers as she tried to disperse it back into the clouds. "Mysterio and I must sit down and talk." She grabbed her staff from the ground and thrusted it into the earth, letting the lightning channel from her body. Now was probably a good time considering how the storms affected her, and vice versa. So she began her trek to Castle Wonder, were she would wait for Mysterio to meet with her. Hopefully he would return soon. It was almost time for her to go for her supply run, and she would rather take her mood out on a willing opponent like him than a town that called her a witch. [}0{] Far and wide the story of that one event was beginning to shake up the world. ...From the highest influences of Royalty... ...To the shadier fringes of known society.... ...One name was whispered and spoken about... ...Mysterio... ...Some would want to find him, to stop whatever scheme he was undoubtedly plotting... ...Others would seek him in hopes to achieve their own goals with different levels of benevolence... ...but all of them agreed on one thing... This being called Mysterio was beyond a doubt capable of shaking up the world! [}0{] [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 10-The More You Learn...[Part 1]
It had been a few days' trip from their start at Dodge Junction, and were they any other type of species it would have probably taken them much longer to get here. However, these three broad and hardy individuals had the benefits of being Minotaurs. They had the advantage of being able to travel with these wagons full of junk at a steady pace across this desert climate like an afternoon jog. Due to their immense strength and stamina, it was ideal to have a team such as them pull such a heavy load a long distance. It was a really substantial cargo indeed for word had reached the town that Clutter Coulee was more than willing to triple the usual scrap load sent their way. Being so eager to have a place willing to deposit the refuge from their developing town, they eagerly hired the Minotaur team to deliver it posthaste. For the three minotaurs pulling it, this meant having two full wagons that two would pull while the third pushed. The distance and heft of the loads gave them some leeway for breaks, which they were only so earnest to take their time with. They were in no hurry, for they knew the junkyard dog who owned the place and how much of a patsy she was since it was just her and that pup most of the time. What's the worse she could do? Sit on them? When they finally arrived to their destination, their leader couldn't help put to raise an eye at the state of the place. Sure Clutter Coulee was a dump, but it looked like it had gone through a tornado, explosion, and Ursa Major Rampage at the same time. The walls were nearly threadbare and missing gaps, while the shacks he could see inside had hastily hammered over coverings that where plain to see. Even the piles of junk looked like they had been placed in the ringer. There was no gate at the entrance so they didn't bother announcing themselves; not like they ever did before. Normally their jobs entailed ensuring the junk pile they carried was properly organized as a part of their service. But that was more work than they were willing to bother with, so why start the trend now? "This place looks more like a dump than usual!" The lead Minotaur said as he tugged on the straps of his overalls as he surveyed the greater mess the place of refuse was. He then looked to his similarly dressed companions and gave his orders. "Let's hurry it up fellas! The sooner we dump this lot, the sooner we can enjoy our time off while heading home!" The rest cheered at that news as they just began dumping the wagon's load haphazardly at the busted gates of Clutter Coulee. That is until their whooping and hollering caught the attention of its owner who rushed to meet them as fast as her shorter paws could carry her steps. "Oh no! Like I told you dunderheads many times before, you dump that there junk into its proper piles!" Bo barked as she saw that once again these junk delivers were making a mess that would make more work for herself and her crew. The head Minotaur just waved her away uncaringly. He had a good couple heads of height over the junkyard dog, so he knew she wasn't much of a threat to him and his teammates. "Oh stow it! Just be glad we are even giving you this scrap to work with for your cruddy place." The others nodded in agreement with one even vocalizing, "Yeah, so quit your yapping and just let us do our job so you can get on with yours!" That did nothing to get Bo to back down. Instead it made her angrier. "I'm warning y'all, the three fools I sees better be busy fixing their mistake or else!" The lead bullheaded lummox laughed at the threat instead of taking it seriously. "Or else, what? You gonna sic your sister on us?" "Or some skinny armed pony that you tired out?" The third jeered with the full innuendo intended. The three of them laughed at that, which only further shortened the fuse of Bo's temper. Before she could even take a step to prepare a swing at them, business practices be dammed, another voice spoke out. "You wish she would. Unfortunately, both are currently busy, so I shall have to suffice." The minotaurs stopped their guffawing as a new face steeped into her view. This was someone they had never seen as part of Bo's crew nor expecting to encounter in their lives. Dressed up in a similar set of overalls as the Diamond dog and a buttoned up shirt to match. She didn't fill them out a fully as Bo so she didn't have the stoutness of her figure, but she certainly had her beat in height and presence due to the other details of her form: greenish scales, leathery wings, and a long rigid tail. Everything was prominently at display as she crossed her arms and stared displeased at her similarly dressed companion. Clearly she wasn't amused at these junk suppliers' attitude toward Clutter Coulee's owner. "What was that? Sorry, it's a bit hard to hear you over my friend's stomach rumbling. It's been some time since she ates a decent meal in these parts besides my tasty Beef chili." Bo sardonically asked with a paw raised to her ear. "So woulds you care to rephrase that?" Seeing the dragoness lick her lips and give a glint of her teeth at that, the minotaurs immediately blanched and changed their tune into one with more frantic humility. "We meant to say we would be happy to get it in order!" said the head of the trio. "Right fellas?" The other minotaurs were quick to nod their heads. Bo seemed to perk her mood up at that as she spryly replied, "Well good! See that you gets those piles done before I change my minds about whats I'm cooking today! Take care now!" Bo then walked away wiith a pertly sway to her steps. The dragoness moved to follow, but not before making a 'watching you' gesture with her clawed fingers before joining her friend in a stern conversation. When they reached out of earshot of the now frenzied workers the pair of them finally let go of their austerity and laughed at how much of a joke they played on the rude minotaurs! On a nearby roof of one of the shacks, Ethan saw the two amused at the hastily working junk crew and how they were now busy pointing out their mistakes which they were all too eager to correct under the gaze of the Owner and her new draconic friend. "So woulds Miss Tsavorite really eats them?" Asked Norah who was looking at them as well while messing with a couple of stuffed animals. "Of course not!" Ethan said, but thought, 'At least I hope not!' Normally he wouldn't doubt his friend and servant, but just recently he found a startling secret about her. [}0{] It was after the battle against the Desert Ash Pack. Evening was approaching and everyone was doing their part to get dinner ready knowing they would need the meal to refresh themselves after quite the auspicious day. While the duties of food preparation mostly fell on Bo, with the assistance of Norah and Trixie, the actual setting of the cooking pots and utensils came to Ethan and Tsavorite. Ethan, who was outside his Mysterio suit (much to the shock and stares of his compatriots of how he looked in simple clothes), was busy setting up the wood for the pile. Unfortunately, Bo could not find the matches she used the night before as Clutter Coulee was still a bit of a mess from the raiders' earlier assault. He was gazing about in hoping of finding something to light it up until it occurred to him that he was struggling at setting up a cooking fire with a dragon! A dragon who he could not recall breathing fire the entire time he's known her! Suspicious of that factoid, he eased the question to her. "Say Tsavorite, couldn't you simply light this pile with just a breath?" The dragoness stumbled a bit at the pots and stands she carried as the question was asked of her. "Um...well, Lord Mysterio, there is an issue with that..." "Now that you mention it, Trixie can't recall you breathing one bout of flame while we were getting captured earlier!" Trixie stopped her task of chopping vegetables as she too realized that one of her new acquaintances was supposed to be a fire spewing dragon. "Did you forget you could breathe flame?!" "No! I didn't forget!" "Then what's the problem? A few bursts of fire could have made this whole problem be solved faster without ya boss' mumbo jumbo!" Bo asked with a bit of bite. She was vigorously chopping meat (which Ethan hoped was domestic and not sapient now that he considered it) as she also realized that the battle could have gone a bit easier. Tsavorite took that comment personally. It might not have been intended, but it implied that she forced Mysterio to act because she was very unwilling to dirty her own claws as it were. "It wasn't as if I wouldn't have used them in the end! The breath I create takes a great deal of strength out of me and I had already spent it facing a good number of those brutes. Also they muzzled me before I could let it lose! Had I even been given the chance, it would still be too great a risk for us all even with that pack taking the brunt of it. My flames are too hungry to consider who's in the crossfire!" "Are they that hot?" Ethan pondered aloud at that choice of description. For he recalled many instances in fantasy of super-hot flames that could consume all they touched because they burned at such an intense heat. "Not quite the way I would describe it. Perhaps a demonstration..." She glanced about before finding a suitable target to test her ability upon. "Miss Bo, which pile is stuff you want to get rid of for good?" Bo quickly made a decision seeing the glint in the dragoness' eye on the many remaining piles of scrap and refuge nearby. "The one on the left. Over yonder!" "Watch carefully, everyone!" Tsavorite cautioned as she took a deep breath. When she swallowed enough air she opened her jaws and a glint of light emitted from her throat before she exhaled an outbreak of greenish flames. When they covered the pile it was like a greenish cascade of tongues over the rubbishy surface. The dragoness then ceased her attack as she started to catch her breath again as it seemed the outburst took a bit out of her. Ethan could almost swear she looked a bit leaner after utilizing her flames, but before he could consider that, Tsavorite pointed to the pile, "See how my flames react to what they touch?" Everyone looked at how the pile of refuse was burning away. Only it wasn't burning away as one would expect. It was rather dissolving like it was under the duress of something corrosive instead of burning hot. It took a few minutes but when the pile was fully melted, it left a still burning mist like moss as the only remains. "Ain't never seen no fire eats junk like that! It even took away part of the nearby stones!" Bo remarked as she was astonished at the fire Tsavorite conjured. "Uh-uh!" Norah agreed as she stared in awe at the way the scrap pile dissolved in the light. Trixie said nothing, but her wide eyed stare was enough convey how she would reconsider her plans to deal with her rival for Mysterio's attention. 'Have I?' Ethan thought as he felt there was a sense of something familiar about the green flames eating the pile as it did. But where could he had possibly seen a dragon breathing acidic flames before in his life? It was impossible to consider, so he let the matter go for now. Besides, it seemed the dragoness wasn't done with her demonstration as she leaned down until she was at eye level with the remains and did something even more unexpected: She began to suck them up! It was practically a green pond of brilliant emerald tongues in a misty cloud that appeared toxic to breathe in let alone touch. Yet Tsavorite drank and drank until it was all gone from the eye and down her gullet. When she was finally done, she wiped her mouth as she addressed all the wide eyed stares at what she just did. "Pardon me! It's the only way to keep them from spreading wild that I know of. Plus, I would hate to waste food like that!" She bashfully covered her mouth as she stifled a hiccup. "So Miss Dragon Lady can eats garbage, just like that's?!" Norah gaped with a wince. Even one who grew up with junk found the idea of eating garbage disgusting. "Well no, I do not eat trash...but I can break down things like I do gems. Although I would much prefer a good amount of them like I keep in my hoard, I suppose I can make do with this useless metal. These scraps are basically minerals anyways, so I get the full nutritional value from them as well as killing off any bacteria." She nodded as if that made more sense. "I hope that is not a rude request that I ask to partake more in these piles later?" Everyone could only blink owlishly at that. It seemed that any counter argument was either pointless due to the little sense it made to refuse, or that they dared not to admit the logic in what she just asked and make sense of it. So Bo broke the silence with a hesitant, "I suppose it woulds be rude to makes certain one of my guests was nots being fed properly. So longs as you asks first, I can allows it." "Most splendid!" Tsavorite grinned as she went to work on a similarly discarded pile and began cooking it for her feast. Seemed she would be enjoying her meal a little earlier than the rest of them. "Of course you better note I'll be watching the fine silverwares from nows on!" Bo sharpely addressed to Ethan before muttering, "And consider this going into your tabs for all the headaches y'alls been givings me!" Ethan was too transfixed by the sight of his draconic companion converting garbage into an edible plasma. What concerned him the most was the look on her face when she completed the task of eating the entire flaming substance. It was only for a moment, but he could tell it was not satisfaction one would have after consuming such a substantial amount. It was more than lingering hunger, too. It was a hungry gaze that called for something, but what it demanded was something more primal that she feared to satiate and that fear was felt by Ethan as well. [}0{] Ethan shook his wandering thoughts as he felt they weren't that necessary or wanted right now. At any rate, he at least felt Tsavorite seem to be eating well enough now. Bo was surprisingly more open to the idea of Tsavorite consuming the unwanted scrap metal as part of her daily intake seeing that some of this metal was just too junky and broken down to be of any other use than to make bigger piles. Instead, he joked to himself, that it was going into making a bigger dragoness! Already he could tell that she was slowly beginning to fit better in Bo's discarded hand-me-downs and was now another foot taller. Clearly she was being well fed like he swore to her, so he doubted he really had much to worry about her in that regard. Right? Anyhow, Tsavorite seemed to becoming pretty close friends with Bo. While he didn't pay much attentions to their discussions, albeit overhearing them seemed to indicate some talk over purities and uses of certain metals and the best ways to find gemstones, he felt happy that they seemed to be getting along pretty well. The dragoness seemed to be getting along fine with her pup sister as well. Young Norah kept asking for flying lessons, and details for how big her hoard was and its location, which she swore was for curiosities sake and definitely not for stealing reasons! He wished it could be said the same for Trixie, but despite their polite conversations, they didn't seem to get along that well at times. In particular, the dragoness gave a smoky snort at how his new apprentice too regarded him as 'Master Mysterio'. New apprentice. Now that was another thing to add to his list of unexpected events in his life. Sure, that list included a great deal of content of things he had also learned about his comrades, but having a Blue unicorn-woman ask him of all beings to teach magic was a gold star on the spreadsheet. Trixie was eager to learn from him, yet impatient to how he taught. To be fair, she immediately assumed that the 'great sorcerer' would be imparting to her a multitude of spells to add to her magical repertoire. The day after she made her oath of apprenticeship, she got up bright and early at the crack of dawn thinking she would be utilizing her spell work to its fullest potential. She was prepared to cast spells that would conjure great beasts, or unleash devastating occurrences upon her enemies! Instead, she discovered that her teacher was starting her from beyond a beginner's level, and would not be using magic until, as he put it, "properly prepared to perform his type of conjurations". So here she was, sitting at a table with his deck of playing cards trying to succeed in naming each card she would draw without an iota of magic being used. To a unicorn this was nearly demeaning if not infuriating! "3 of Diamonds!" She called out with her eyes clenched, hoping to finally achieve a streak of five cards in a row! Her teacher promised an actual spell to practice if she could achieve fifteen, but considering the days she spent doing this, she'd never get it at this rate! Opening her eyes, she looked at the card, "Dammit!" And saw it was the 4 of Hearts! She slammed it onto the table as she crossed her arms and pouted, "This is impossible! What this has to do with magic, Trixie doesn't know, but she is certainly feeling more foalish with every attempt at this!" Ethan saw how annoyed she was, so he came down from his perch and headed to his apprentice (still strange as it was to call her that in his head, but considering his life now!) and figured it was time to get her to understand why he was making her do this for reasons beyond hiding his current nonexistent magical abilities. "So is my apprentice really going to give up?" He asked to garner her attention and trying not to laugh at how embarrassed she looked at realizing he was watching her efforts. "Or are you just going to give up believing that you are learning anything?" "Trixie doesn't want to give up! But this is ridiculous! Trixie already knows cards tricks! She could make any card she wants to appear in her hands!" she said as she used her magic to levitate the cards to her hands to shuffle them. Only to have Ethan swipe them from the air and start going through them to be certain all 52 were there. "That's not the point, Trixie! The point is you must learn one of the most fundamental aspects of magic." He lectured as he shuffled them intricately, while noting for himself their order. "Which do you refer to?" She asked as she noted how well he shuffled cards with his hands despite having an extra digit on each more than her. The young man tilted his head as if pondering to give her the answer before deciding to hand her the deck back to prove his point. "How about a test to see if you pick it up?" He said as he crossed his arms and patiently stood still. "Here they are, now shuffle them in your hands, without magic." It almost made her blush, were his look not so determined seeing him watch her shuffle the cards. Each motion she made was carefully played before her audience of one. For even though this wasn't a stage, she felt that she was performing and under great scrutiny for her ability to captivate her audience. It was a fleeting sensation, and one that she felt was over too soon when finally, she finished and held out that deck in her palm and readied herself for the next step. "Now draw the one on top without showing me, and I will call it." Ethan directed as she motioned to do what she was told. He could not see the card with its back facing him, but he declared its depiction as if he knew for certain. "The card you are holding is the 7 of Clubs." 'Lucky guess.' Trixie thought as she looked and saw that it was in fact that card. Ethan didn't hesitate as he commanded her to draw again. "Now the next one. That one is the 9 of Hearts." Trixie drew it and saw that the call was right, too. "Again! 3 of Spades." So was that one. "Jack of Diamonds." And that one. "5 of Spades." And that one! "4 of hearts." And that one!! "10 of hearts." And THAT ONE!!! "8 of clubs." Ethan widened a grin at how Trixie was looking more flustered with every card he called correctly without giving any indication as to how he knew. "I can keep going, if you want." Trixie dropped the deck onto the table as she stared intently at her teacher. "How? Are you using magic to read my mind? Is there an illusion you cast on the deck when Trixie wasn't looking? Did you hypnotize me into thinking I am seeing what you are saying?" Ethan blew a raspberry at those accusations. As childish as it was to do, it was enough to snap the near frenzied mare out of her state. Plus, as much as he could have done those things (being Mysterio after all), that wasn't the key to this trick and more importantly the lesson. "Hardly! A magician never reveals his secrets, but this one is something you need the train in: memorization!" He started picking up the cards that were dropped and shuffled them, only now being more piercing with how he was glancing over each one as he shuffled. "In that one instance of shuffling, I memorized the order and paid attention to the motions of the cards shifting. At my level, it is a breeze to know what every card in that deck is and where each one stands at any given time." "Any card?" Trixie asked. Ethan leaned the new deck to her so she could draw the top one, which she did. "You just drew the Ace of Hearts, didn't you?" He smirked as if it was really a question. "...Yes!" Trixie stammered as she recognized that the gap between her and her new master's level of skill was fathoms more than she previously thought. Seeing her dejected look, he decided to provide some words of comfort to make her less discouraged. "Trixie, I am not trying to to baby you. What I am showing you is how I learned things like control and tactics. Things that I am certain are expected to be picked on during your own personal exploration than practical magic, which I promise we will get to eventually! You just have to be patient and trust me, you'll get it!" He patted a hand on her shoulder as he let out a light laugh. "I can tell because you wouldn't find it so boring if it was too difficult to understand, right?" The unicorn looked brighter at that acknowledgement. "Right!" "Good! Now just keep at it! Your goal is to know 10 cards as you draw them. If you can do this, I will begin teaching you more sleight of hand. Maybe even a few card tricks of my own that you probably never heard of!" The apprentice's good mood faltered a bit at that news. "But..!" Only to have her complaint stopped by a raised pointer of Ethan's. "And what did we agree on?" Trixie huffed as she tried not to pout after being given recognition by her teacher. "You're teaching Trixie magic as you were taught!" "Correct! Like I said, my magical knowledge is different than yours. But trust that what you will learn will help you become the 'Great and Powerful' Trixie you claim to be!" He handed her back the deck. "Remember, sometimes it isn't so much what cards you are dealt, but ensuring you can control what's being played. Keep at it, you're doing fine!" He decided to part away from Trixie, seeing as she was now looking more determined to meet her quota. Hopefully he pulled enough of a charade that she actually learned things from him. He would hate to disappoint her too with how he wasn't quite the spell caster she thought he was. "Seems that there is more to magic than simple chanting and expanding energy." A voice interrupted his musings. He turned to see Tsavorite standing nearby, apparently watching his interactions with his apprentice. "Although I suppose there must be otherwise everyone could perform it with no hesitation." "I suppose some are better at it than others, but there are some things than should be learned before further deepening into the studies. As with most things." He unintentionally had been avoiding her lately, Ethan realized. Perhaps it was an indirect sense of caution he felt with learning a bit more about her; knowing that even now she still had more secrets. But how could he consider her his friend if he wasn't even willing to make small talk with her? "So, you have an ability that lets you get away with eating a lot more than gems, huh?" "Yes. Does that worry you, Master Mysterio?" 'Yes, I actually does!' He thought, but instead waved his hand in dismissal, "No, no! Of course not! It's a very impressive ability! Although, there goes my plans of having a barbecue over dragon fire, lest you'd be the only one dining!" He joked, hoping she wouldn't take that as an insult, but she took it in stride as she felt more comfortable speaking to him once more. "Surely a great sorcerer such as yourself could cook a grander meal than I ever could with his magical skill?" "Bah! Consider one of my weaknesses reveled; I can't use kitchen magic to save my life! I am stuck using the cookware like any mortal man!" He dramatically sighed as he ruminated on how at most he could cook pastas and flip burgers, but fine dining would forever elude his comprehension. He changed topics to hide his perceptible embarrassment. "I don't suppose dragons can use magic, can they?" Tsavorite chewed a lip at the question, mulling it over at first on how to properly convey the words. "Dragons have a magic of their own since were are considered by many to be living forces of nature. Albeit, I personally will never be able to cast spells like the unicorns and other naturally proficient species could. Still, I suppose it is not that hard to pick up on things to at least understand them especially with how much experience I have gained in my lifetime." "Sounds like you might know some interesting skills to practice from years of observation." Before he could stop himself, the question popped out from his lips. "Dare I ask, how old are you?" He was expecting her to reveal a birthday not far from his own. What he got made him rethink another bit about how he saw Tsavorite and her draconic nature, as well as dragons in general! "I am not that far from the first half of my first century. Perhaps a decade more, give or take a summer?" She seemed most unsure of the specifics, as if it was no big deal to forget perhaps a decade of time! 'She's fifty or sixty?! But she seems my age, or only a year or two older than I am at most!' To think she spoke of it like it was not that far from turning twenty-one. Ethan himself wasn't even old enough to drink, yet this female friend was old enough to share drinks with his grandparents! A burst of laughter interrupted their conversation as the two came to realize that their conversation was being overheard by others. Trixie in particular was still shuffling her cards, but seemed to find Tsavorite's age particularly humorous. "Well, I suppose we should respect our elders!" Trixie smirked. "You are probably filled with wisdom, And Trixie being a mere twenty-two summers old will have much more time to learn!" Tsavorite seemed to flush a bit at that as a tick developed in her eye. But before she could quip back at the mare, Bo decided to make her presence known by doing it for her. "That still makes you just an upstart, Trixie! Though I don't like pointing it out, I may as wells. I'm around 26 summers, not that much older than yous, dumb mare. Not sure if that's the same as our Doggie calendars, though." Bo sighed. 'After all, No one wants to hear how their maiden days are goings aways!' Norah just heard a mention of ages and thought it had to do with preparing a birthday party! So she leapt from her place on the roof of a shack as if it was no big deal, and hurried to tell her own age in hopes that maybe it would lead to so good treats when the time came. "I'm 9 and a half summers!" She proudly declared to everyone, before pointing dramatically at the other females present. "When I am 10s, I will finally gets to be respected like you older ladies!" 'Older?!' The other three twitched at the child's choice of wording. It seemed to draw the knife in further when she spoke it with such chipper youthfulness. "What about you, Boss Mysterio?" Norah asked with blissful ignorance to the sour mood she caused. "As a Sorcery guy, you must be very old to be as powerful as you are!" 'What does age have to do with being powerful in magic?' He thought before considering all the prime example of magic users that were impressive in fantasy: Gandalf, Dumbledore, Yen Sid...it seemed they all were well into their maturity as he concluded with, 'Then again, how many powerful sorcerers gave in to the long bearded look?' "Sadly, that is not very true. I am still in the youthful phase of my life. Not quite sure if our calendars match up, but I am twenty years old." Everyone else just stared at him. Norah looked at him in childish wonderment at how he was twice as old as her, while the others had their own reasons for being incredulous at that tidbit of information. 'He's even younger than I and still a Master of the craft!' Trixie thought before internally gasping. 'Wait! Does this mean that...it is Trixie who is ...the mature one in this matchup?!' 'Goodness! To achieve much in such a short amount of time! I will have to work harder to match his impressive standards!' Tsavorite thought with determination after the shock of how much younger her chosen lord was than her. 'I will have to double my efforts to show him I am more than capable of meeting them!' 'This young chump is going to be in charge?' Bo was heatedly flummoxed. 'Well, tan my fur, he better be real smart or so help me I'm taking Norah and just boltin' for the nearest proper settlement!' Norah however was just amazed at the revelation for other reasons. 'Wow! He's twice as old as me! Like are all magic uses at least that older?' 'Wow, they all seemed so surprised to hear that. Maybe I should've lied and said twenty-five?' Ethan thought as he took noticed the looks he was receiving for such an admission. 'Still is it really that surprising?' Oh if only he knew! [}0{] Much later from that awkward situation, Ethan was busing himself with another important item on his agenda. For after the debacle with the Desert Ash pack, he had been trying to figure a way to head back to base camp. Even if he were to get more supplies to make the journey with Tsavorite across the skies once again, and assuming he would even risk flight again, he still had to factor in three new traveling companions. Even just taking Trixie wouldn't be an option any more, for Bo adamantly informed him how despite saving her life and that of her dear sister, he still had a tab to pay. So naturally, the first step was to establish what kind of working affiliation he had with the Dog sisters. To do that, he spent the day formulating a contract. Using parchment and ink, he spent the past few days in his spare time drafting and writing one that would benefit the both of them working together. It wasn't as wordy as the ones he knew of back home, and since he was not a lawyer, he doubted it was airtight. But at the very least it was a sign that he treated them like proper business associates which seemed to be more than what most of this world's inhabitants were willing to do. Hopefully they took it well that he worded the terms that he did. Surprisingly they didn't, but not for what was written but how it was written as he came to discover another secret about himself. "What in Tartarus are you tryin' to pulls here!?" Bo barked after perusing the documents for a good minute. She had first been astonished to see Mysterio come up with such a thing as a matter of respect, but after seeing it with a spot for her and Norah to sign, she felt angered at being treated like a poor sucker! "Well I understand the wording might be a bit complex, but I tried to present it plainly so-" "Then why'd you write it in this confounded script!? Why not something that can actually be read so I can knows you aint trying a double-cross or three on us!?" "I'm sorry?" Ethan pursed his mouth closed at that before going over it in his head. "Wait! You can't read this?" "You're darn right better be!" Bo simmered incessant at the contract. "And to think you would try such a low down scam as to write it in some unknown script-" But Ethan interrupted as he firmly gathered the contract. "This writing here! You can't read this?" Bo was about to extend her tirade, but seeing the serious look Ethan was giving at the question she stopped and cooled off her fury. "Well, no, I can't read it." "Tsavorite, Trixie, come over here for a moment!" Ethan called out, not caring that the two were eavesdropping the whole time to watch this business unfold. The two rushed to his request as he held out the contract towards the two of them. "I want you to tell me what this paper says." The two skimmed the pages as best as they could, but it only was a minute into it that Trixie was the first to break the silence. "Trixie can't understand it! It's not in Equestrian, and not in any old magical script she recognizes." "I am afraid I cannot read it either. It's not any form of Draconian script or other language I've encountered." Tsavorite sighed as well, disappointed that she too was not much help. "Well it certainly aint Doggie Script! So what's going on here!?" Bo asked. Ethan just brooded over the contract as he took it into his own hands. The words were to him plain as day in plainer English. Suddenly, it occurred to him what may have been happening, but he needed to test it. "Ok, I need each of you to write this sentence in every language you know: 'Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs'. Can each of you do that for me?" He asked as he gave each of them a back of a page to work with as he hurried to acquire the writing utensils he worked with. "But what does that-" Trixie started to ask. "Trust me! I hope to God I am wrong!" He shouted back as he went to get the ink to work with. When he came back he found four individuals giving worried glances, but willing to do his request and so each of them took turns writing that sentence. What he hoped to find was that there would be a collection of glyphs and letters he had never seen before. Instead he found a collection of sentences, albeit in different sized fonts, but all written the same: Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. "GOD DAMMIT!!" Ethan roared as he ripped the papers in furious anger. It was more than adequately expressed for the others flinched in fear at him doing something worse with his magic. But instead he just slammed his head down onto the table and mumbled furiously at himself. Seeing that he may not conjure something in his anger, Tsavorite braced herself as the first to approach the human, hoping her dragon genetics would be enough to withstand his potential lashing out. "Master-" "Please don't start with that now, Tsavorite!" Ethan lifted his head to look at her. "I just came to realize that I am cursed!" "Cursed?" Trixie asked as she kept behind Tsavorite as a shield. "Yes, cursed! For you see, everything you all write and say is plan to understand for me, and that should be good." He flippantly waved his arms before slamming them on the tabletop again. "Except nothing besides the words from my own mouth can be understood by others!" He recalled as he was looking over the documents, the time he sent flying and hearing Tsavorite hum the words to the song 'Fly in the Freedom' and how she said: "I am not sure of its name. Only that it was playing on that 'eye-fone' of yours when you lent it to me last. I really enjoy it if it is." The song has its title written on the iPhone screen, and the lyrics themselves are part of the refrain! How would she not know it was that if she was clearly singing it...Unless the words she was singing were not some that she herself usually spoke! "Let me guess, right now we are all speaking some foreign tongue that pertains mostly to the ponies or something, right?" Ethan rubbed his temples as everyone looked incredulously at him. "Of course! We are speaking normal Equestrian right now!" Trixie stated. "It is the primary language of the realm after all!" "So if I asked Bo and Tsavorite to say something in their native tongues, because I doubt they grew up on speaking the language of ponies their entire lives, what would happen?" He pointed a finger at the two. "Go on, try it?" The two were hesitant to do as asked, but seeing the glare Ethan was starting to give, they both complied posthaste. "What would you like me to say, my lord?" Tsavorite said, only this time her voice came out in a hardier tone than her usual vocal pitch. "This is too crazy for me to deal with!" Bo replied, only it seemed her lips were not matching the sounds she was making. "I swear, if you can understand this, then I am most impressed with your capabilities at linguistics!" "Then be impressed, Bo!" Ethan gave a sarcastic laugh at seeing the Diamond Collie's eyes widen and Tsavorite looking worried as he met her gaze. "And really, Tsavorite, you can say whatever you want so long as you don't mind that I can hear it!" He laid his head down as he tried not to break down further. "Because I can understand everyone and everything, but it looks like nothing in this world can understand me!" [}0{] The Quidam closed the book he had been reading as he thought long and hard about that last line read. Even he a being as grand and nearly infinite as he felt a little iota of sorrow due to his empathy for the displaced young man. <Is that what you really think? That there is nothing in that world that can understand you?> The headless one pondered as he looked at the table set for tea. Only this time, in this inner world he appeared to get the gist of something not seen before. For it was a study room set up for a nice luncheon after a study session in this chamber with walls the color green. Thus far only he was present and he was but an entity intruding upon the scene. Where were the guests? Where was the host? Not here that's for sure! <This place could use a bit more enlivening up. You could use more livening up!> He twiddled his blue bowler hat. <Well, I considered you ready to take the next step! So if nothing in This World can understand you, then perhaps Something from Another? Perhaps that will help you cheer up from this depressing down turn?> He gazed at the crack in space that was set over the table. Only instead of being in a tea cup, the Quidam set it on a tea pot. He then picked up said pot and seeing it stick to the vessel, poured himself a few cup of tea and set them at different spots. Yet with each pour, instead of hot water, out came a different object from another place in time and space. <I normally am not one to boast, but I think this time I can be a most welcoming host!> He grabbed a cup at random, not really caring about the token that was in it at tossed it into his bowler hat where it disappeared into a glowing portal. <Now shall we see, what our dear Mysterio does when another Displaced comes for tea?> [}0{] Ethan just wanted to be alone. He would apologize to his companions in time, but for now he just wanted to take a bit of a stroll away from it all. He wouldn't wander the desert on his own without proper protection, so once again he was Mysterio! The Master of Arcane Disaster! 'Even that title is too pompous for me!' he thought as he looked up at the sky. Night was approaching. Soon the stars would be blinking into view almost instantaneously. 'And another thing, Kingdom Hearts hard it wrong! This sky looks nothing like the one back home at all!' The first one appeared, slowly followed by others in a sequence. Ethan jokingly focused on the first as he hammily went into a soliloquy. "Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have this wish I wish tonight." 'I wish I had a way to get off this crazy train!' He wanted to shout, but knew nothing would come of it. Except for that star to suddenly come crashing down in front of him...wait, what!? "Mother FU-!!!" He dove out of the way as the thing impacted the surface. It was a fiery shockwave that gave off an earsplitting shatter. Mysterio 's cloak was wrapped tightly around Ethan like a cocoon, before it unraveled to reveal him panting in the domed helmet. As he was sprawled on the ground, he gave himself a minute to compose himself before standing up and dusting his outfit. "Way to answer that request, Universe!" The young man in a super villain's facade tirade ended as his attention was drawn to the object in the crater. Whatever it was, it gave off a hum as if calling out to him. "Well now, I suppose I better see what insanity fate has decided to present me with this time!" He murmured as he approached the object, not fully comprehending just what had been sent his way: A gamble for salvation, or another hazard to his sanity! [}0{] [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 11-The More You Learn...[Part 2]:The A-Maze-ing Crossover Special
Ethan cautiously approached the crater, prepared to face a great number of possibilities. Considering how his so-called adventure had been going, he expected to find a massive chunk of space rock with deadly radiation, or even a crashed spaceship. Hell, he wouldn't be surprised to come across some sort of venom symbiote, because why the hell not!? Oh, he was still surprised by what he found, but not because of its presented danger, or a complex shape. Rather, because he was almost killed by one of the last things he ever expected to come from the stars: a box... a cardboard box! "A cardboard box? I was almost killed by a cardboard box!" He gazed into the heavens, and if it weren't for Mysterio's helmet, the expression of 'What the Hell, God?' would be plain to see. "Well when you ask for hope, expect them to deliver the package promptly, I guess!?" Considering that this apparent package came with great force, and didn't burn on re-entry, he was hesitant to touch it. So instead, he leaned in a bit closer to glance at its details, letting his suit's HUD do more of the work at trying to make sense of it than his mind currently could. At first glance, it looked no different than any other cardboard box you would use for your daily machinations. It had the logo for some produce company, for emblazoned on its sides was "THE APPLE", albeit upside-down. It seemed large enough to hold a person if crouching, but there was not much else to note for its surface. Yet it seemed to be emitting some form of...radiation?...presence?...He really needed to practice more with this suit's skills because he had no idea what he was looking at other than that it was making his suit's warnings go off! For crying out loud, it was empty and barely even cosplay prop quality! What could be so dangerous about it, other than it coming from space like a comet? Ok, fair enough! Still, the question was, what to do now? Walk away? Hardly an option considering that this was something he was meant to find. Also, as cautious as he was, he felt a compulsion to see what would happen if he were to touch it like so- He immediately jumped back the moment his gauntlet made contact with its coarse surface. For the moment he did so, it began to vibrate and emit a sound; a voice with a message!: "Hi, my name is Maze, I'm a magical cyborg ninja. I do a number of things well; Combat, Stealth, Peeping and I'm a half decent cook. If you need help and I'm available and willing, I will endeavor to arrive quickly. Though I will expect compensation; I have my own ideals and will not fight on the behalf of yours for free. I'm also not an assassin; you do your own dirty work." -DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE BOX!- It finished the last sentence in a much deeper voice, but he knew the vocal resonance of a woman when he heard it. At least, he thought he heard it, for it felt more as if the message was being spoken in his mind like recalling a memory, than being spoken aloud. Of course, this only proved the box was clearly magical. "A magical cyborg ninja?" sure, he could believe that. Why not have a box from outer space bring him a cyborg ninja? He waved his arms sarcastically and stated, "I suppose all I have to do is chant 'Come forth oh mighty magical cyborg ninja' and then this box will surely-" The box jumped and tumbled onto the floor with its opened side against the dirt, then shifted back and forth slightly. The clearly-no-longer empty box then started to rise off the ground, a pair of legs appearing from within. Finally a whole figure stood with her back to Mysterio as she tossed the box aside haphazardly. She had short, unevenly cut hair and was clad in a tight and tactical looking, though not unstylish, suit. A technical looking sheath with some kind of triggering system hung at her hip. Though, other than a what looked like a few seams and what could be data ports on her exposed skin and maybe the sword, 'cyborg ninja' didn't really come to mind to look at her. She stretched and looked around, noting her currently crater bound position before finally turning to see her summoner. "Ah, there you are!" she delivered brightly and climbed out of the crater to stand before the magician. With what looked like a somewhat ornately gauntleted arm resting on her sheath, she offered the exposed right hand to him "Hiya! I'm Maisie, my friends call me Maze." Mysterio just stood there, wrapped in his cloak like the imposing figure he played. On the surface he appeared indifferent to the new development, but inside, Ethan was dumbstruck! Sure she was dressed in something that seemed from an anime, and was the first individual he encountered that was actually shorter, maybe only 5' 6" to his own 5' 11', but there was no denying it; standing before him was another human being! Maze arched an eyebrow at the unmoving Mysterio. "Were you expecting something a bit more dramatic?" Seeing the young woman staring at his lack of response, he quickly steadied a hand towards his cloak, hoping to not flub his first instance of human contact in such a long time. Now to play it like the smooth villain he pretended to be, "Hardly! Although with such a boastful proclamation, I had expected you to be taller. Still, I suppose even a Master of the Arcane such as myself cannot complain when assistance is offered! I am Mysterio, and am charmed to make your acquaintance, Miss Maze." He finished with a dramatic flutter of his cloak, hoping he nailed the right pose as he reached her extended palm to shake it in greeting. Surely that was enough to ensure that his first impression was spectacular! "Yeah, I got that much from the outfit" Maze failed to hide her amusement as she shook his hand, "You go by that or you got a real name?" 'Outfit?' Ethan questioned in his head before trying to further clarify. "I suppose 'Mysterio' is more of a title, but that is the moniker you may refer to when addressing me. It's how everyone of this realm knows me, and I doubt it needs changing!" "Just Mysterio then, got it. Actually I don't use my old name anymore either, I mean I changed so much that... well, it just didn't seem appropriate anymore y'know?" Maze delivered back as she took a more casual stance, waving off the memory of her old life. Her smile then grew a little bigger "Just don't be surprised if I start call'n you 'Misty'." 'Misty?' He hadn't used any mist yet. Not that he would since this Maze had yet to show any threat, but the possibility she knew what he really was; well, there was one way to test her! "So long as you don't refer to me as 'Fishbowl', I believe it is acceptable!" "Nah, I always liked Mysterio. Didn't read the comics much but the show was cool. Besides, I don't know if I'm quite as skilled enough in Spidey style banter to get away with it. I do try though." Maze shrugged. She KNEW!! "You know about Mysterio!?" Ethan broke his lordly character a bit, which with Mysterio's voice still projecting from his helmet made it a bit more humorous to hear. "Like for really reals? You know about the comic and animated character? Like it's really a thing in the world, no questions whatsoever!?" "Well yeah, granted Mysterio's lower tier on his rogue's gallery but come on; it's Spider-Man, probably Marvel's most popular character... well except maybe Wolverine." Maze answered honestly "No offense on the lower tier thing of course." "True, I suppose the argument could be made-" He shook his head. "NOT THE POINT! You know about pop culture! So you know about our world, don't you!?" He pointed accusingly at the ninja as if daring her to deny the claim. "Our world?-OH! Oh oh oh!" Maze realized and got excited, even bouncing a little as she brought her hands up "I get to pop your cherry! Oh I figured it might happen but so soon?! Oh you're in for it now!" Maze laughed and dragged the costumed man to a large rock nearby and gestured to it. "You're gonna wanna sit down for this. Oh but take your helmet off, this won't be any fun if I can't see your reaction." Ethan looked to the rock, and back to Maze. As far as he knew concerning his situation, it involved a Merchant who sold him some items and was now under the watchful gaze of some headless being called The Quidam. But now that somebody else may be in the same metaphorical boat, he had no doubt her tale would make him wish for a more comfortable seat. So like an astronaut preparing to breath fresh air, he reverently removed his helmet. He placed it between himself and the girl as he simply looked her in the eye and sat down. "Very well. Let's hear it." "So let me guess," Maze started, still standing with hands on hips "You were cosplaying, probably at a convention, when some creepy guy offered you the singular most Perfect little trinket to complete your ensemble?" Ethan recalled the Merchant, eagerly playing the part of creepy entrepreneur while also recalling how he bumped into The Quidam only moments before. "Was it that obvious to guess?" Maze chuckled. "No, it's just apparently the most common story. There's some variation but yeah, that's the staple" Maze admitted before softening her tone "You and I are part of a group known as Displaced: Picked up from one world, changed and then dropped into another; that other being almost always some variation of Equestria... or Equis or whatever they wanna call it. Or at least so far as we know if what I was told is true. There could very well be displaced in other 'Non-Pony' worlds but that seems to be the running theme for now." "Other variations of Equestria?" Ethan looked about as he thought about what he had seen and encountered so far in 'This Equestria'. "So I am guessing you were put somewhere else then?" "Yep; some follow alternate timelines, in some the ponies are anthro, mine for example, some almost completely different, and of course some are just like the show. The variations, well... vary-" Maze rattled off before being interrupted. "Show? What show?" Ethan asked almost deaf to the rest of Maze's words the moment he heard that particular tidbit. "This is all based on a show?" "You mean you haven't figured it out?" Maze asked, pure amusement gracing her face "Well y'know how Mysterio is from Marvel right? Well Equestria comes from a franchise oft' considered strictly the realm of little girls and was originally a marketing cartoon for cheap plastic toys; a little show titled 'My Little Pony'." "Never heard of it!" Ethan answered as he rubbed his head in dismay. "I suppose it must not exist in my world, right? Dare I ask what it is?" "Oh..." Maze's face dropped to a contemplative pucker, she hadn't expected him to have not even heard of it with how the media jumped all over bronies. "Well that may take a bit of explaining then. But I suppose if there are multiple Equestrias then there being multiple Earths would make sense, too..." Maze muttered the last bit as her attention grew distant. Snapping back after a moment she shook her head and continued. "Sorry! Well to summarize: My Little Pony is a show about ponies, shocking I know" Maze added playfully "They're colorful, they can talk and they have all kinds G-Rated adventures in friendship and other such rainbow-tastic stuff. The first three iterations were about as you expect from such a show, pretty much barbie-esc entertainment. But the show's fourth generation... let's just say it got a lot better and a lot more popular. It's that iteration most of the Equestrias out there seem to be based on. Now truth be told this is only my second time in another Displaced's Equestria and only the first were I was actually summoned, but I'll try to answer whatever questions I can." Oh, did he have questions! How many worlds were there? How many other Displaced were out there? Why was he apparently in one that had anthros that participated in slavery and other dark details if it was all based on a kids show? Why was he thrown into this cosmic game of sorts? Why him of all people in all the universe? He had so many questions to ask her, but the first one that came out was: "What does all of this have to do with that headless being called The Quidam?" Maze just blinked a couple times and finally asked with a cocked eyebrow. "...Who?" [}0{] Had he had a nose, The Quidam would have had his tea spurt from it at the reaction of the realm's latest guest. Instead he seemed to shake a bit more with good humor as he carefully watched how his current chosen reacted to this other displaced and her truths. "<Seems that he is taking it much better than I thought! He hasn't broken down in tears or tried tearing her apart. Always a plus!>" The Quidam took the teapot in the Green Room and prepared another cup. "<Still, where displaced gather, trouble tends to follow like a butterfly to a hurricane!>" As if answering to the call, he heard a crackle go off. Knowing of only one thing to be the source of the noise, he drew his attention to the crack in space. It began to widen, only a smidgen but that was still not necessarily a good thing. "<Speaking of trouble...>" The mindscape shimmered slightly as a new presence found its way in. An older, balding man, dressed in a simple 'business casual' ensemble, adjusted his glasses as he took in the environment and found the headless figure standing politely with a cup of tea. "<Well if it isn't the good Doktor!>" The Quidam raised his cup in greeting. "Quidam old boy! So Zis iz vhere you've been hiding youself!" the bespectacled man announced with a german accent as he caught the headless one in a quick hug "Zo good to zee you again!" "<You as well! Come, sit!>" He motioned to a nearby seat at the tea table. "<I should have expected such a marvelous mademoiselle would be one of your charges. She is after all a product of sciences which you have certainly dabbled in.>" "Ah yes. Normally I vouldn't follow vone of mine so far, but zis girl she... but yes, sorry zhe intrusion Qui' but well..." the Doktor glanced over to the room's small fissure "Zhe door vas open as it vere." "<Indeed.>" The Quidam gave only the slightest indication of looking at the crack now about the size of an index finger, but decided it would be best to keep that worry at bay. Besides, a good host was always composed in front of his guests. "<Well, I suppose it was only good fortune that of all us Displacers, it was at least a more reasonable sort like you that came across it. So care for some tea as we discuss this latest 'test subject' of yours?>" He took another cup and poured it full of tea for The Doktor. "Vhy zank you, yes! Zhough I prefer 'charges' to 'test subjects' dear Qui'- I do still care for zem after all. Had I not, I vould have simply left Maze to drift in zhe voids" the Doktor said as he drank "Can you believe zhe girl made a blind jump!? And vithout being summoned! Zank chance I managed to guide her zomewhere suitable... And here I zought my broken little accidental vould be zhe one keeping me keeping me on my toes! Oh but I do so love zis kind of exciting data!" "<Truly astonishing how they just continue to surprise you! Just when you think you've seen it all, they find something new to present.>" The Quidam then started scooping sugar cubes into his tea. "<Of course some of those surprises are not always benevolent, but for the most part it's enough to keep ourselves preoccupied with our great tasks in this cosmic game of of ours.>" He kept putting cube after cube of sugar into the cup. For anyone else it was worrisome, but not for The Quidam. It wasn't until the twentieth cube he stopped for a sip. "Zat sveet tooth of yours..." the Doktor chuckled "Vhen zey do zose things yes, my unintentional zough... only recently is she finally getting involved now, and only after I introduced new variable. But enough of mine, what of zis 'Mysterio'?!" Doktor asked excitedly "I hear you even went to 'zhe troll' to in ensure you got him!" "<Oh you heard about that! Well, I suppose it was bound to get around sooner or later. His services aren't cheap after all. Still, loath as I am to admit it, I haven't been having much luck with getting new charges since....>" The Quidam stopped his words, and was still in sad recollection for a good moment . "<In any case, let's just say I feel this one is going to turn out better than the last one. Besides...>" He took a long sip from his cup that let out a loud slurp. "<I still got good taste, no matters what the others tell you!>" "Oh don't feel bad Qui', ve all have our failures. Zough yes, I've noticed it iz getting harder to lure new charges, especially with His methods if some of my recent attempts are anyzing to go by... I zhink these humans are developing a kind of instinct about all zis... hmmm, actually zat may require further testing..." Doktor drifted off in sudden thoughts. "<Wouldn't surprise me! My current one needed quite the push to even go for the lures He let dangle. Why it took even one of THOSE baubles to be included in the pitch to get him here!>" The Quidam seemed proud at how how that slight swindle over the Merchant's control of IT was a bonus to acquiring his latest charge. "Oh, zo you finally gotten it back zen... You've been after zat for a vile now. I do hope you know vat you're doing zough, many vouldn't take zhe risk." Doktor replied a bit more seriously now. "<Oh, He seemed to take it in good stride!>" The Quidam waved off, not mentioning how the trade included giving that mercantile troll a Tesseract to play with. "<Besides, Mysterio down there has had it for around a month now and has yet to use it for anything other than increase his survival knowledge.>" He seemed ambivalent of the fact Ethan had such an object in his custody, but the way he spoke of it led to the impression that it wasn't something a mortal should possess on just a whim. "<In any case, I doubt I am only one of us who ever acted irresponsible with his charges.>" He shrugged in dismissal. If he had a face, he would be squinting his eyes pointedly at The Doktor. "<Besides we're not here to discuss past mishaps, but instead hope we don't make new ones!>" He raised his cup toward the Doktor. "<To our Displaceds' future! May it run its course smoothly!> " "Or at least be interesting!" Doktor returned the toast. But as their cups clinked, the crack in space seemed to roar as the mindscape started to shake about as if undergoing an earthquake. "<And this is why we can't have nice things!>" The Quidam sighed as he returned his attention to the two displaced who were going to have their conversation interrupted by a most rude guest. "<Because the moment you open your door to allow gents, the ruffians come from down the lane!>" "At least it'z interesting! And should give zome good data too!" Doktor added in good humor before scooting forward to watch as well. The Quidam just gave the Doktor a blank stare. Or at least as blank a stare one could give when you have no face. "Oh don't give me zat look." [}0{] "Me? I'm from Metal Gear, or well... sort of..." Maze answered "I was dressed as a bunch of characters, most of them cyborgs from Rising, though also a few 'less enhanced' humans and just ended up a simple looking yet also more complex mix. I guess that explains why I'm less... shiny and more human looking than the typical Metal Gear Cyborg. So I guess you could say I'm more from it in spirit since I'm not any established character." "Spirit, huh? I can respect that. I mean, my original costume was inspired by The 90's animated Spider-man. Made it myself and used whatever I could find to craft it." Ethan gave slight smile as he recalled the homemade cosplay. "Even parts from an old gumball machine of all things. Now though," He glanced over his current suit, wiggling his fingers as he noted all the technological odds and ends of it. "I think I'm made of some stolen tech from other characters from the comics, but still stuff Mysterio would use. Definitely more than the animated series showed off, though. So what can you do, Miss Cyborg Ninja? Any gimmicks of your own?" "Plenty, probably too many. On top of the typical perks of being a cyborg I-" Maze started only to be interrupted by the sound of "...that a fighter jet?" Ethan perked up immediately at the sound. It certainly sounded like it. Having flown on Tsavorite's back, he knew it wasn't a dragon making the noise. But as he turned to see the speck in the distance grow closer, he had to double take at what he was seeing. "You got any sort of telescope on you? Because I hope I am wrong." He reached for his helmet and quickly locked it into place. His hud immediately reacted to the incoming aircraft zooming in on his HUD. All the warning signals it could have started to go off as it was clear to him what it was the moment a certain spider logo appeared in his peripheral. "It..." Maze blinked and squinted, her enhanced vision letting her see a bit more detail as it approached. "It looks like something from Power Rangers." "Oh, it's worse than that! This is a power ranger's grandfather! And one that belongs to my nemesis!" It was a blocky spaceship that was mostly black, but also had yellow and red parts to it that were most notable. The yellow was mostly concentrated in a feline-like head piece while the red parts had web detailing. It was a vehicle of sentai design, and one that Ethan recognized for its notoriety: It was The Marveller; Known throughout fandom as Spider-man's Megazord! "LEOPARDON!!" Mysterio pointed in determined outrage at the sight of the giant robot of his arch-enemy. As if calling its name was a signal, the ship began a transformation. Opening up and refolding certain compartments, it slowly became a massive bipedal behemoth of a robot made for the Amazing Webslinger! "Like from that weird Japanese Spider-Man?!" Maze asked with a wide smile, far more excited than her counterpart. "SUPAIDA-MAN!!" Mysterio raised a fist in fury as he gazed upon Leopardon in flight. "WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE TO TORTURE ME SO WITH WHATEVER FORM YOU TAKE!?" "Hey relax," Maze said calmly "Fighting giant robots is kinda my thing." Mysterio stopped his ranting for a moment. "Oh don't get me wrong, I love fighting robots, too! BUT HE KNOWS WHAT HE DID!!" The grudge of Mysterio towards Spider-man's sins would never be forgiven, Giant fighting robot or not!! The giant robot landed before them and then slowly rose... As a song began to play for all to hear? "Is it playing its theme!? Is it mocking us, or am I going mad at the sight of its awesome, yet cruelly ironic presence!?" Mysterio asked out to the heavens as if the stars had the answer. "No that's me. Sorry, I don't have much control over it" Maze added offhandedly with a shrug as she smiled up as the visitor "Picked it up from some sirens and now it just kind of happens." "Oh....so it's just a thing with you?" Mysterio deflated a bit at that explanation. "I am not sure if I should feel relief or disappointment at how acceptable that answer is." Maze and Mysterio looked up at the Sentai robot, which just stared silently back as the music continued to blare from nowhere. After a few more awkward moments the pair glanced at eachother and then back up, Maze finally yelling, "...ARE YOU GONNA DO ANY-" *CRASH* Maze's question was immediately answered by a giant fist driving into the ground just before them, sending the two flying back. Mysterio was quick to get to his feet as he noted Maze was also quick to flip back and slide along with the momentum. "I'm no expert on Metal Gear, but I seem to recall facing giant robots being a selling point. Any tips?" "Don't let it step on you and hit it really, really hard!" Maze responded playfully as charged sword drawn straight at the massive machine. 'Don't let it step on you. Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Maybe cause all it would take is a few steps to reach me!?' Mysterio thought sarcastically as he decided to move about the area to avoid being trampled. 'Still, how does an under six foot fellow like myself take on an over 40 meters tall machine?' While Mysterio was strategizing Maze reached their foe and leapt to halfway up its shin and, sword sparking, delivered a spinning slash... that stopped dead against a spider web shaped energy field. "Well this complicates things" Maze muttered before being launched like a hackey sack straight past Mysterio, tumbling and bouncing along the ground. She finally caught herself and rose, hands on her hips. Battered and bleeding but still functional, she called out "Any ideas?" "Besides not dying by trying to hug it?" Mysterio quipped. "Well, it is a larger opponent and needs keep balance and understand its reach, so...try to use that against it?" "I don't think its reach is that much of a handicap!" Maze called as she disappeared in a flash of violet light and reappeared in front of him, blade held ready against a barrage of missiles. She cut the first wave out of the air, peppering the pair with shrapnel but gladly taking the lesser injuries over explosives "I'd talk fast if I were you!" "Ok, give me two seconds!!" He started speeding through his mind for everything Leopardon could do. It had a sword finisher, its head crest could be launched like a boomerang- "DODGE!" Maze yelled stopping the magician from his thoughts as that very crest flew straight at them, forcing them apart as they jumped out of it's path. Maze was the first to stand ready only to see a massive, detached fist literally rocketing at her, it's owner running right after it. "THAT IS SO COO-!" was all she managed before it struck. It had a rocket punch-! And seeing how the robot's wrist was open after launching it gave him an idea. "That's it! We need him to use the rocket punch again!" Unfortunately, he had no idea if Maze could hear him finding herself now quite some distance away, nor did he have the time to reach her to inform her as Leopardon was just a few steps from crushing him. 'No time to inform the lead actress of the script's revisions! Instead, it's up to the a method actor to direct the improvisation and hope she can follow his lead well enough!' So the first step of his plan went into action: releasing a heavy mist. His suit let out great clouds of smoke normally used to release hallucinogens, but this time to simply hide himself from plain view. 'Hallucinations won't work on a machine! But getting it to stop seeing me instead of seeing something else is the point in this case!' The fog grew thick enough to come up to Leopardon's shins; not enough to even reach it's torso, but more than enough to hide Mysterio from the naked eye. 'Undoubtedly as a robot it has to have other ways of targeting an enemy. Maybe heat seeking, or bio-rhythm scanners.' Mysterio reached into his sleeves and pulled out a handful of holo-cubes and started haphazardly through them as he ran through the fog. 'Fortunately, my little toys are more than capable of mimicking such things since they were made to fool the 'Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger' after all!' Leopardon seemed to be searching the fog, unsure of its current target's whereabouts. It sensed multiple moving targets despite the logic that there was only one left to face. It's confusion was the opportune moment Mysterio was looking for! 'So while it's distracted, and thinking I am in the fog,' He hurried to the leg. 'I'll be praying that Mysterio's magnetic boots are not bullshit and will help me get to the final stage of the plan!' The wayward fist finally returned as the automaton searched, jostling Maze off from its surface as it reconnected. She met the ground hard but thankfully hidden by the fog. Definitely worse for wear she groggily pushed herself up as best she could, blood flowing freely from her nose, mouth and several new gashes across her form. "I don't feel so good..." she groaned as she hit her enhanced vision, trying to find her summoner through the fog. At first she thought she saw him, but but then caught multiples of him running about the fog. She stood holding a limp arm and finally spotted one a bit different than the others, less hollow... walking vertically up Leopardon's leg. "You look like you are having a bad day!" One of the nearby Mysterio copies spoke up to her. "Not as easy as they make it look in the games, I suppose?" Spoke another running by Maze. "Then again, I am still impressed you took a hit like that and lived!" A third complimented. "Well done!" A fourth clapped as it stopped in front of her. "Yeah yeah, cute trick" Maze quipped with a smirk, though not failing to notice the holograms' unique features "Now what you got planned?" "Well, I got good news and bad news!" The currently clapping hologram stopped as it pointed towards the real Mysterio currently making its way up Leopardon's back. "Considering your condition, which would you rather hear first?" "Let me guess; you want it to punch me again" Maze deadpanned; Good news bad news? Yeah, she knew that kind of plan all too well "Right?" "Well, one of us is a rather squishy illusionist, while the other is a durable cyborg." Mysterio's hologram shrugged. "Also, I am already nearly in position and ready to-" "Yeah yeah, whatever it is just hold on. He ain't gonna be holding still..." Maze interrupted and popped her shoulder back in with a painful cringe "Now don't blink! You're not the only one who can put on a show!" Showing an ability far greater than her injured state would suggest, Maze vaulted from smoke at the mech again, immediately grabbing it's attention. The cyborg landed deftly on its attempted kick and ran straight up to its face, dragging her sword all the way along her electric wake. The damage was minimal thanks to the energy field, but that wasn't the point. Bracing on it's face she sprung off, provoking another barrage of missiles. Missiles quickly cut and even ridden higher. "THAT ALL YOU GOT YOU CHEAP MEGAZORD KNOCK OFF!?" And then came the raised fist, firing once again only this time to have its target disappear in a quick flash of violet light. "He's all yours Gumball!" she called as she reappeared and began to fall. 'Gumball!? ...Well, it's certainly better than 'Fishbowl'' Ethan thought as he hung on for dear life. The upside was that Mysterio's magnetic boots worked wonderfully on the giant robot's metal body. The downside was that he had to keep moving or else risk falling off to his doom! Currently he was trying to get over the robot's shoulder and up to the arm. Having Leopardon focus on Maze was a fine part of the plan, but he forgot to include the factoid that he was essentially trying to jog on a dancing skyscraper with how it tried to get her. 'Still, now's my chance!' Finally getting on top, Mysterio stood tall before reaching into his suit for the next key item for his performance. He held a few more holo-cubes the size of oranges instead of the usual dice ones he employed. "Oh Leopardon, you are magnificent, but unfortunately, I'm going to have to do to you what Quesada did to Spider-man! Break up one of your wondrous components and leave you a shattered mess!" Before Leopardon could lose focus on Maze, Mysterio scurried up the arm until he was at the closest distance he could be to toss them. The cubes flew true and sailed through the air, shifting into one last hologram each: Giant green spiders that had the Mark of Mysterio on their backs like a widow's mark. "Taste my irony, SUPAIDA-MAN!" Mysterio laughed as he flipped two birds at the robot's face. It had turned its attention towards him at the sight of the big bugs crawling into its wrist port, but was too late to stop it from happening. The spiders crawled inside and within a minute or two would the fireworks go off. "I'd 'stick around', but I'm afraid of catching a horrible case of 'explosions'! I hear it's spreading this time of the year!" Mysterio then deactivated his magnetic boots and took off in a great leap away from the appendage. Leopardon reached out with his other mighty hand for him, but found its attempt gravely interrupted by the great explosions going off in its open wrists. They started with a few booming bursts of glimmering heat, but soon a chain reaction started up that spread from the wrist, and up to the elbow. What was once a mighty limb of possible alien design and ingenuity, was now a great scattered throng of burnt casing shards, interior motor fragments, and chunks of other scorched metal. Among this collection of falling debris was Ethan trying his damndest to jump from piece to piece in hopes of getting to the ground safely before the explosions reached reached him as well! "Shoot! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot Shoot!" His frantically muttered as he used his boots to their fullest potential. 'I am a magician, not a 'flipping' acrobat!' It certainly wasn't easy trying to avoid the robotic scrap avalanche, especially since under the costume, he was only playing a super sorcerer. Sure Mysterio's gimmicks made this parkour possible, but seeing how the residual heat and occasional scrape still touched him, he felt as each jump was only a second away from avoiding being impaled, fried, or splattered. 'Can't do this all day!' He was gasping for air at this point, as he felt sweat drip throughout his face. There was a last minute gambit he could try, but Ethan was unsure if it would work. Still it was better than nothing, so he gripped his cloak as if it was going to spread wings. 'So my only hope is that Mysterio picked up flying or else I'm going to find myself arguing against an angel for a second chance in the next act!' With that desperate detail in mind, Mysterio dove towards the ground, hoping to be able to make the distance and stick the landing. 'C'mon! I know he's not a Marvel, but please let me glide away like Batman!' Amazingly it worked! Mysterio was gliding away to safety from the reach of the Robot and its deadly case of 'explosions'! He was descending from the night sky with the grace and majesty of a owl about to snatch a mouse. 'Marvelous! Now how do I get down-' "OH SHIT!" He landed the hard way onto the ground, tumbling like skipping ball, getting tangled up in his cape! Thankfully his descent was relatively slow to avoid serious injury. However, feeling the desert landscape as dusty and rocky slammed into him was no way to conclude such an outstanding feat. When he finally stopped rolling he felt so beaten up that all could do was mutter out a weak, "Ta-daaahhh...ugh!" Slowly, with all the dignity of crash test dummy, he pushed himself up and got back to his feet. "Uggh, take that, Leopardon! I the Great Mysterio just blew up your fricking arm! And I am not even a megazord or whatever!" He was too damn tired to keep up the full Mysterio persona. Besides, seeing his accomplishment, he doubted the robot would care about his less gracious manner of speech. Leopardon looked like it had seen better days, scuffed up and scratched sporadically throughout its body. Yet the most glaring flaw in its appearance was the gapingly broken off segment that remained of its arm. The rest was probably now the debris surrounding its feet. The rocket punch it unleashed, with nowhere to dock, came crashing down like a meteor next to it. The robot had no way of emoting with the way its face was designed, but seeing as how it was lifting its other fist in Mysterio's direction, it could probably be best assumed to be most displeased with what happened to it. "Go ahead! Do it! I'll just blow up your other arm, too!" Mysterio shouted as he reached for more explosive holo-cubes. Leopardon however didn't seem to be willing to go for the temptation; Instead it reached for its other hand and started ascending up into the air. Before Mysterio could do anything to stop it, even assuming he could, it had had become little more than speck and flew far away into the night! "Yeah! You run away! Smartest thing you ever did! And I'm including the time you faced The Thing!" Mysterio shouted after the long gone Leopardon. He huffed a bit more in frustration, before finally feeling the need to sit down and take off his helmet, for he desperately needed some fresh air after that whole mess! When the dome came off a sweaty and out of breath Ethan could only ask. "Did all that -huff- really just happen?" "No, it's just a dream!" He heard a woman shout "This is all a reflection of your fear of squirrels." Ethan groaned as he got back to his feet, picking up his helmet as he turned to walk to in the direction of the voice. It was a bit of a distance, made more wearisome by the aches and bruises he was feeling, but he found the source alright. "You know, if this were a dream, I suppose that makes you the pretty damsel I was supposed to rescue from the giant behemoth's clutches. Way to ruin the scene, Maisie!" He would laugh, but considering he was barely able to stand he decided to just sit down indian style in speaking distance from the cyborg. He found his new compatriot laying flat on her back, limbs spread wide. She glanced over to him, a bit too damaged to really put forth more effort than that. Her systems were already stopping her bleeding and beginning repairs but that last little burst took a good chunk of her reserves. Still hurt too. "In my defense; the giant robots back home don't have energy shields, not non-magical ones at least" she delivered first with a tired smile "And I'm no damsel." "Nope, you are not!" He agreed with a grin. He then broke into a bit of a posher accent as he hammily declared. "Damsels are boring to star with; Only good for being eye catching and noisy. A magnificent actor such as I needs the best co-stars to keep the show going on! And you fit the bill!" He leant over with a hand held out. "So I may be new at this whole 'Displaced' business. I may be...very uncomfortable with the ideas it brings to mind...But you know, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it brings people like you and me together. So, let's try this again before another giant robot comes and makes trouble for for us: Hello, Maze was it? It's nice to meet you. Need a hand up?" "Thanks" Maze returned with a bit of humor as she took the hand and started to raise. The magician grunted and had to re-brace and use both hands; Maze was a lot heavier than she looked "And yeah, just Maze, short for Maisie. Sorry Voltron got away, you'll probably have to deal with that again now." Now that was thought that could sour Ethan's attempt at a good mood! Still, he kept up a brave face as he focused more on trying to help his new friend to her feet. "Oh don't...err!...fret about it! That thing's bound to be....cowering away for a good long while!" She must have been carrying some heavy equipment on her or something! Maybe he was just that exhausted? "Besides! Errgh! Mysterio shouldn't fret when Spider-man gets away, so why...-huff-...should I..err...when I scare his...giant robot into running?!" Finally, he got Maze standing, but at the cost of knocking himself on his back! "Whew! Like I said, why should I worry when I clearly showed I can take him just fine!" He tried to play it cool as if he totally meant to do that, but how could one play off landing on their ass when trying to do the gentlemanly thing? "Nothing to worry about!" Maze chuckled as he looked up at her, trying to play it off. She reached down and hefted him straight up with ease, now that she was standing herself. "Sorry 'bout that. All them shiny inside bits can tend to make us cyborgs pretty heavy, y'know?" she waved off the incident and started looking around "So... Now what?" That was a very good question. What did one do after facing off against a giant robot? It wasn't like one just went back home and ate dinner like nothing hap...pend-! "Oh crap! I left them back there after having a fit!" Ethan smacked his forehead as he realized he originally walked out to get some time to himself to cool off! Now that this whole incident with Leopardon occurred, and considering the noise it must of made, "They gotta be freaking out about the noise, if not the sight of the 'Giant Golem' in the distance!" He looked about, trying to find Clutter Coulee. He was completely turned around with all the fighting and walking he did tonight. Not to mention that he had very little light to see the distance he must be from the scrapyard. "Hey Maze, do you have a flashlight, or something to see...What am I saying? You're a cyborg! Do you have night vision goggles?" "Googles? No sorry, I have enhanced vision but all my systems are integrated" Maze answered "What'cha look'n for?" "It's a junkyard known as Clutter Coulee. I left a group of companions there after...Well, I was upset at something and came out here originally to cool my head. Anyways, if you can help me get there and make sure everyone's alright, it's another favor I'll owe you!" He held out his helmet "I'd do it myself, but my equipment isn't as long ranged as your stuff probably is, and I'm still trying to figure out what most of my readers even are trying to label." "You can see through smoke but not in the dark," Maze quipped as she began to search. Her HUD soon outlined a series of jagged structures piled high that couldn't be much else other than a junkyard. "Come on, I'm pretty sure I found it..." She started hobbling towards it with a notable limp and an arm held close, the walk somewhat quiet at first. She figured she'd get a concern out of the way before they met whoever his friends were. "So you want them to know about all this Displaced stuff? I was told some prefer to keep it to themselves." "I would rather you didn't!" Ethan immediately answered. Trying to hide his abruptness, he then went on to say. "I don't think it would be a good idea to let them know about this 'Displaced' business, or anything about our world. Don't want to break the 'World Order', 'Prime Directive', or whatever you want to call it! As far as they know, I am Mysterio, a master sorcerer, from a distant land who ended up here because of a magical mishap." He then pondered aloud. "Come to think about it, I think I've only told Tsavorite that much. I still need to let the others know about that!" "Well in that case I'll try this now," Maze stated before another cardboard box materialized, top open. A transparent screen suddenly projected in-front of her, a small red highlighted 'calling' message in the middle. A face suddenly appeared on the screen "Hey it worked!" "MAZE!" yelled a flustered aquamarine unicorn "The hell did you go?!" "Sorry! I guess this stuff just happens. How long's it been?" Maze apologized as the pony just sighed. "About an hour" her friend answered before asking the obvious "And how are you already hurt?!" "Oh relax, I'm fine. And there's only a little time difference, so no worries!" Maze brightened "I'll be back before ya know it so just tell everyone to chill out." "Fine. I'll let the others know, just... be careful" she replied, hand to her temple. "I always am!" The screen disappeared as the pony rolled her eyes with a scoff and she turned back to Mysterio "Sorry, last time I jumped I ended up gone for four months when I thought it'd only be a week. So yeah, another thing you'll wanna watch out for out there." "I'll make a note of that. Although, forgive me for finding that another thing to worry about." Ethan said as calmly as he could muster. "So I see you made some friends with the locals. Any tips on how to properly introduce oneself to the Pony population? Seems every type of person here has some bone to pick with me for one reason or another." Considering his track record of how he encountered this realm's inhabitants, that was putting it a bit lightly. Maze however, just started laughing. "Oh you're asking the wrong girl Gumball! Until recently I was a wanted criminal and feared as 'The Bloodletter' ...actually most still think that" Maze explained, noting the questioning look after "...long story." "How long are we talking?" "Long enough" was all she said, her expression growing a bit more somber. Her attention soon focused on what looked like a pair of taller figures heading to meet them "Well it seems our bit of fun gained someone's attention. So what do you want to tell them? Another human, or mostly human, suddenly here might raise questions... assuming there aren't others here that is." "There aren't. As far as I can tell, you and I are the only beings in this entire world who have five fingered hands and call themselves members of the 'Hyooman' race." he gave finger quotes before placing his helmet back on his head. "So, here's the thing. I mentioned before they think I am a powerful sorcerer and would like them to keep that opinion going. Think you can play along with my charade, following my lead? As a favor from one displaced to another?" "What like a demon summon or something? I really don't think it'll be hard for anyone to figure out we're the same species but sure, why not?" Maze shrugged. "Good. Then let us begin our interactions with my fair subjects!" Mysterio dramatically proclaimed as he waved to the two familiar figures heading their way "Good evening ladies! It seems as though I found the perfect method of venting out my frustration. Do forgive us for the noise! I had hoped to not disrupt your evening more than I already have!" Maze's eye's widened slightly at the sight of them, or rather at the pony of the pair. It was Trixie, not her Trixie of course; her Trixie didn't tower half a foot taller than her, but she hadn't really expected to run into another of her so soon. "Holy hell, you're ponies are Amazons..." She quietly muttered sideways to the illusionist. "Really?" Mysterio whispered back without motioning his head, his helmet hiding his look of surprise at the tidbit "They seem to be of normal size to me." "Hmmm and here I was getting used to being tall..." the cyborg trailed off. The dragoness and unicorn reached Mysterio and Maze at last, most happy to see that their chosen leader was ok. "Thank goodness you're alright!" The dragoness exclaimed as she reached them first. "We tried to get here as soon as we could, Lord Mysterio. I am deeply sorry for not being with you when that Great Golem appeared. Please punish me as you deem just!" She lowered her head in a solemn bow, as if expecting to be struck for her foolish mistake. "I wouldn't go that far Tsavorite!" Mysterio quickly raised his hands to placate her. "I was the one who wandered alone to calm my frustration. That is on me, not any of you! Besides, it was quite fortunate that as usual, I was prepared if such an occasion, as unexpected it could be, would happen! So I would like to reassure you that I was in no real danger as Miss Maze here could validate." The two turned their attention to the other person in front of them and simultaneously widened their eyes at her. "Who is she!?" Trixie asked sharply as she glanced about Maze. The Unicorn noticed immediately the similarities with her Master's unarmored form, and internally concluded her to possibly be a female 'hyooman'! Already that made her a being to be weary of in her struggles for her master's attention and it was already bad enough she had Tsavorite to compete with! "She's not like anything Trixie's ever seen before, except you, Master Mysterio!" "Indeed! I would even say she looks a bit similar to you, except for some aesthetic differences. Is she a member of your species?" Tsavorite asked, unsure if she would like the answer either. "Hardly!" Mysterio proclaimed, ignorant about the true reason why his subjects were hesitant about Maze possibly being a human female. "She is my summon! A demon from another plane of existence capable of taking down multitudes of golems such as that one and shrugging off their pitiful attempts at damaging her! The reason she appears like a female of my kind is because her true form is much more terrifying and would be too great of a distraction for our fight." Mysterio felt proud at how quickly he thought up that load of baloney. It at the very least seemed to placate both Tsavorite and Trixie's worries. Though he wasn't nearly as proud as Maze was with the wicked thought he'd given her. A devilish smirk graced her lips and she waited as the unimpressed unicorn looked her over her injured form. "Demon? Hmph! She hardly looks-" was all she managed before letting out a sharp shriek when Maze suddenly snarled at her, her skin all at once flashing to a fiery crimson with a burst of red electricity. The cyborg even summoned a pair of her mechanical tentacles, also camouflaged, to add to the mix. Maze chuckled darkly as she straightened; Glowing gold eyes stared out from under electric blue locks... she even managed to have her octocamo form subtle horns and pointed ears. "Hardly looks what?" A flanged voice finished for the mare. Trixie blanched as she tried to maintain a brave face despite how badly her hooves were shaking. Even in her overalls she could feel her knees buckling together. "Umm! Trixie deeply apologizes for whatever she was going to say about her master's summon!" "Indeed! Truly a fearsome creature you can control!" Tsavorite nodded a bit as she was more impressed with Mysterio's skill level in magic if he was able to have a demon like this in his command. Mysterio tried to hide his shivers at that shocking transformation with a nonchalant shrug. "I wouldn't necessarily say control. Rather employ, as I do with each of you. Only her contract is much stricter in order to keep her from...going rampant! Besides, I still owe her payment for her services. One does not merely bring forth forces from another dimension and expect them to do as they are told for free after all!" He nodded solemnly at that information, to which the two couldn't disprove the logic. It seemed to make sense. "Trixie supposes that is true." Trixie hoped that this would be magic she would eventually learn. The payment portion she could deal with later, but knowing she could summon something like this Maze would give her an edge in so many situations! "It does seem fair." the dragoness agreed. It was understandable to her how Mysterio must be using some form of powerful magic to keep her in check. Perhaps it had to do with the matter of payment. "So what manner of payment do you have to present for this Maze's service, my lord?" "Oh I don't know..." Maze sang, maybe having a bit too much fun with the act "Dragon souls are fairly valuable... Or I could alway use a fresh source of pony magic..." The woman smiled wickedly at the pair, making sure to show off those canines. Yeah, she was definitely having too much fun. The two paled at those particular forms of payment. Thankfully Mysterio interjected with a loud and dramatic sigh. "Really Maze! First you jokingly ask for my firstborn when we met, and now the souls of my first subordinate and apprentice! Is there no way to satisfy your rapacious nature that we can all agree on? For old time's sake?" Maze leaned forward and mock whispered to the girls. "I didn't ask for his first born, honestly I wasn't sure if he'd even ever get laid" She winked at the scandalized expressions of the unicorn and dragoness. "Besides, what would I do with it? Eat it? Raise it? The hell with that!" Mysterio said no words, but his crossed arms conveyed his disapproval at that claim of his 'game'. "In any case, I think we should best be on our way. We can discuss proper payment later, Maze. Assuming you would like to stick around a bit longer, I suggest you maintain a more conservative form before we enter Clutter Coulee. I myself am but a guest there, and it would be bad manners to have you show up...in such a provocative state. I doubt our host Bo would appreciate you scaring her young sister." "Fffiiiine" Maze bemoaned, turning back to normal as the metal tendrils dispersed in a flurry of particles. She was really starting to like the whole demon look "I'll probably just have to do it again though, if they're anything like this one." Trixie gave a worried glance towards her magical teacher, but only received a shrug in return. "Fair enough. But let it not be said that I, Mysterio, was so rude a guest that he could not even have his summons show a little decorum." He then addressed his subjects. "Now then, ladies, shall we get going and assure Miss Bo that all is well and that I even have found a wonderful collection of scraps for her premises to collect? Who knows what she can do with that pile that golem so carelessly left behind!" "I am sure she shall be most impressed with them, master!" Tsavorite concurred. "Such a golem of that size and might will surely have left behind considerable fragments that she could have forged into a multitude of things!" 'Or it could be just set aside for you to feast on, and that you just don't want to ask! Admit it you insatiable dragon!' Trixie thought with a eyebrow raised as she noticed her draconic compatriot seemed all too eager at the prospect of this golem leaving behind scraps. "Well this may be your show" Maze interjected "But I suggest we move it along to proper lighting... or at least catering." "Indeed, that would be best! A meal would be suitable for our discussions for your services. Of course, that is assuming you are willing to partake in our hosts' cooking." Mysterio motioned for everyone to follow his lead to Clutter Coulee. "So how about it Maze? Care to stick around a bit longer? Bo makes one 'Hell' of a bowl of chili!" "...With meat?" "With meat." Mysterio nodded. "Then hell yeah," Maze smiled and actually started toward the yard before the rest, quiet grumbling barely heard "So tired of all this veggie pony food..." Tsavorite looked pleased at the thought of the meal, while Trixie appeared a bit disgusted at the prospect of another carnivore and their 'meat fixation'. She'd stick with the veggies, thank you very much! "So let's get going before we have to face another nuisance to our evening plans!" [}0{] Back at Clutter Coulee, Bo and Norah were doing their part to keep themselves occupied. After Tsavorite and Trixie left to help Mysterio when that massive golem came flying over the junkyard the two of them stayed behind. Well rather, Bo stayed behind with the intent to ensure Norah wouldn't run off into the ensuing battle, despite her protests of being able to take it on as 'The Greatest Diamond boom expert' since the last clash. Bo didn't even try to humor her insistence that she could blow a hole in it's ugly face parts with stuff from her 'special toy chest'. "How much longer do I gotta do this, sis?!" Norah whined, stirring the large pot of tonight's dinner. Chili again, but this was made fresh as could be since Bo forced her to take her time with every step of its preparation. "Until I can smells it being ready to serve. Remember, you burns it Norah and everyone's gonna knows it was your faults for not watching it!" Bo yelled back at her sister from her perch. She was up on one of the shack roofs, using a pair of binoculars to look out for the others while using her other sense to keep watch of her sister's progress. She had a keen nose for the food, and sharp ears for the pup. "Besides, I can sees them coming so it won't be much longer!" "So the fight's over alreadies!? But I was gonna break out my shiniest toys for thats kitty-faced golem!" Norah complained, greatly disappointed. The idea she missed it, and had no excuse to bring out her best stuff was enough to droop her ears, until she noticed her Big Sis' pointed glare as she set her binoculars down. "And just where was you keeping these 'toys' of yours?" "Nowheres!" "Norah!" Bo had a warning tone in her voice, to which the young pup finally answered with a hint of skittishness. "Well, nowheres important! Just in the shed near my cookie stash!" Norah tried to grin as innocently as she could. Bo however was not pleased at that news "What!?" But before she could address the issue further, her ears perked up at the sound of footsteps drawing closer. Turning her attention back into the field, she saw the group she hoped return, however with one more to their number. She caught sight of something helping Mysterio out, but was unable to tell what it was from the distance. Now that it was but a few meters away from the gates, it appeared to be a female of whatever the heck Mysterio was....'Hyoomans'! A "Hyooman' female! "Ok Norah, that pot is cooked enough. Set the table for six!" "Six?" Norah asked as she started to count on her paws. Seeing her sister try to solve the puzzle, Bo quickly gave the reason. "Looks like Mysterio's broughts himself another guest! And a weird one like him!" "Really? Does it have ears on the sides of its head and hardly any fur, too!?" She asked in excited curiosity. "Yep, and I thinks it's a girl likes your age since it's so short!" Norah seemed most excited at this news! It had been a long time since she met a pup around her age, albeit this would be a human pup. It was the chance to make such a new friend that she hurried to set up the table as quickly, yet neatly as she could! Bo, however kept a close eye on the gate. Sure, she was starting to trust Mysterio and had forgiven him for his earlier mishap with the contract earlier in the day, but was still suspicious of the new company he kept. She seemed to be smaller than the others, but that sword was definitely no ceremonial piece. True that if it came to a fight she didn't doubt her own skills to take her on and get her to work for any trouble caused, but again her main weakness that prevented her from using her all was currently humming songs while setting the table. So she would play 'good host' as Mysterio would say, but be ready to break out her 'special technique' the moment the short hyooman so much as tapped her hilt. "We're back, Bo! And we come back with excellent news of victoriousness!" Mysterio proclaimed the moment he stepped through the entrance of Clutter Coulee. He spread his cape dramatically as it fluttered in the wind. Trixie and Maze turned to their dragoness compatriot to see she was in fact providing a soft breeze with her wings. She stopped when she noticed their stares, and muttered a quick, "Apologies!" "Oh no judgements here; I wish my friends would help more in my attempts to be cool" Maze chuckled "They usually just give me crap for trying." "Yes, VICTORY!" Mysterio went on without faltering. "For you see, one of my greatest enemies sent for a great golem to attack me while I was most vulnerable. As I am currently before you, unharmed and still standing, I assure you that it was no trouble at all to drive away." "No trouble, huh? Then what's with the states of yous and your new friend there?" Bo wisecracked at how dirty and hurt he and this new companion of his looked. "I seems to recalls hows y'all gots chased and struck about from that big things rampage through the desert." "...You saw that?" Mysterio deflated; his hopes for giving his confidantes a tale of his awesome feats against Leopardon were a bit tarnished. "Yep! It was awesome, although Bo saw mosts of its from the Binoculars!" Norah remarked as she skipped to the rest of them. "That part where you crashed into the ground was the funniest!" "It was pretty funny!" Bo smiled. -snnrkk!- Mysterio turned to find the other three ladies were also holding in their laughter. Apparently they too didn't miss his landing. "Oh come on!" "Hey you got off lucky, it never even hit you" Maze countered. That drew Bo's attention back onto this new face. "Don't thinks I gots your name, little one." She leant down, to meet eye level with Maze. "I saw whats you could do out there. Granted, I thoughts you were another of this magic fellow's tricks, but seeings you looks a bit older in the face, and smell like metal, I get the feeling you are not just some female 'hyooman' like he would have us believe." "Perceptive, this one" Maze commented. "Very astute observations, Bo." Mysterio sighed as he composed himself from his earlier embarrassment. He gestured to Maze as he began introductions. "This is Maze, a summon in my employ who was a great help in defeating that mighty creation known as Leopardon. Maze, This is Bo, the proprietor of Clutter Coulee and her younger sibling, Norah. We have a working relationship thanks to recent events." "Nice to meets you." Bo held a paw out, to shake. "Back at ya" the cyborg returned "Now what's this I'm told about chili?" "That it's flippin' delicious!" Norah pounced over to her sister's shoulder and perched. "Cause I mades it! So it's gotta be great!" "Better than mine?" Bo smirked, as her serious mode disappeared at her sister's enthusiasm. "Wellllll.....I wouldn't says that!" Norah decided to answer truthfully. "But if miss Mazey-lady likes it, then it's gotta be one of the bestest evah!!" "Well then I can't wait to find out!" Maze happily replied to pup. She however grabbed Mysterio to hang back as the rest made their way to the table, asking quietly "I smell like metal?" "They're scrapyard dogs that know their metal purities and minerals like art appraisers. They can probably smell your cybernetics and think you're carrying something high end. Plus with Bo..." He gave a discreet nod to her as she was preoccupied with her excited sister. "I have yet to know everything she's capable of. So she's probably has a secret or two that makes metal easy for her to locate and craft with." Even with the explanation Maze still stood a bit confused as Mysterio moved to join the others. She lifted her new arm and gave a tentative sniff, then just shrugged and joined them as well. Soon as Maze sat down, everyone began to partake in the meal in their own way. From Trixie trying her best to maintain dignity by using her magic to control her spoon as she was taught, to Norah just digging into her bowl like the pup she was. Even Ethan had taken off his helmet and ate diligently and still talked lordly despite getting meat stains on his face. It wasn't long until the conversations started and soon everyone was actively being amicable in some form or other. Within an hour it could be cemented that everyone at the table had some form of camaraderie with one another. "So is Maze-lady like Boss Mysterio's little sis?" Norah asked as the conversations opened a new topic. "Because you both seems similars with your ears and furs, but different because they're different, too!" "Little sis?" Maze giggled "No, we're not related. I'm also pretty sure I'm the oldest one here too." "How much older? Cause Mysterio's twice as olds as me, and he's younger than all the ladies heres!" Norah asked, not noticing how said ladies were now finding their empty bowls especially interesting. "Well, technically speaking, I'm over twelve hundred years old," Maze said causally "...Technically." "Wow, that's stupendously old!" Norah exclaimed with wide eyes. "So do all humans live that long? Are you older than dragons then? Do all females have hairs like yous? Do they all end up as short as you are? Do they-" "Oh dear, she has started to give you the marathon, too." Ethan grinned as he saw Norah keep asking question after question at their new female guest. "Best start answering as many as quickly as you can, because she's not going to stop until you start talking back!" "No, typically humans don't live nearly that long... but then I'm not entirely human" Maze began quickly "Human hair tends to come in as many styles as ponies, if not as many colors and I'm actually a little above the average height. Now, does anyone else want a turn?" Norah still had plenty of unanswered questions, but a serious look from her big sister and her instruction of "Don't be rude, Norah." made her nod her head that it was no longer her turn to talk. "So, Trixie wonders if you are proficient with any sort of magic?" Trixie asked first. 'If not then at least that's one advantage in Trixie's favor!' "A little bit" Maze smirked and actually did one of Trixie's, or at least one of her Trixie's signature magical flourishes that she kept to herself; sparkly streams and everything. "How'd you do that!?" Trixie slammed her hands to the table in a gobsmacked expression recognizing its similarities to her own. "How indeed?" Maze just smiled back and winked at the pony mage as she took a drink. "So you can do magic as well as fight victoriously by Lord Mysterio's side." Tsavorite remarked as she noticed Trixie's reaction. The idea of a greater vassal than her, made her appetite return, but alas, no more meat was to be found in her bowl. So she started to bite into it instead. "-Chomp- Apologies, Miss Bo. As I was saying, Lady Maze, do you believe you'll be staying long in Master's service? -Crunch- -Crunch- He did mention a matter of payment you have yet to fully settle for your services so far." Bo sighed at her friend's apparent disregard for not eating more than what was served. 'This is why she gets the metal bowls. At least she left the silverware alone!' "No I, uh... won't be staying long" Maze arched an eyebrow. She knew dragons could eat gems and other minerals, but they didn't usually eat the dish with it. She was an odd one "And we still have to discuss payment. But that can wait till we're done..." [}0{] It wasn't unitl later in the evening that Ethan found himself able to be alone with Maze once more. Bo and Norah had gone to sleep, Trixie and Tsavorite had gone to their own ways as well, but not without giving their own suspicious glances at Mysterio's 'Newest servant'. Still, 'Mysterio' made absolutely sure that the two of them would be alone enough for their continued discussions about 'Displaced' matters. "Thank you again for playing your part tonight, Maze. I know it probably wasn't easy. Sorry for anything unseemly I may have done or made you feel." Ethan started as he kept pace alongside his fellow displaced. "Aw forget it, it was actually kind... of fun..." Maze started before lagging behind at the particular sight of the magician's dragon subordinate indulging herself on another pile of scrap a few rows down "...So she is a glutton." "Hmm...? Oh, Tsavorite! I suppose she is. Granted when I first met her, she was starving to death because some bastard drake stole her hoard. That was quite the adventure, let me tell you..." He noticed Maze seemed to be a bit engrossed with watching his draconic subordinate enjoy her midnight snack of broken down metal. "Is something the matter? Because I'm starting to worry about my main servant bursting into flames with how hard you're staring at her, and yes, I know she's a dragon!" "I hope you know what you're doing with that one" Maze commented,still observing the dragon woman "Now Tsav seems like a nice girl and maybe they're different here than my world, but gluttons aren't like other dragons... Greed, Lust, Sloth, and the rest? They're just desires and compulsions; they can be tempered, controlled and even satisfied. But hunger..." Maze looked back to him, a notable concern clear in her eyes. "Hunger is a NEED. One that, barring the extraordinary, typically only ends at death. Normal dragons can be destructive but even they eventually stop. The gluttons though? They just consume. It may be callous but I lose little sleep knowing the gluttons of my world are gone and their secrets with them..." Maze trailed off, watching Tsavorite again as she finished her meal and wandered off. "So yeah, I hope you know what you're doing." Ethan considered her words quite carefully. "Believe me, I hope I know what I'm doing, too. There are times when I say that to myself every day since I've gotten here. So anything else you can give me as advice?" "Well you could be mindful of similar changelings, some in my world delved into those arts too" Maze said, her gaze distant in an unpleasant memory before snapping back "But if you're talking general displaced stuff... well, I could give you the 'primer' I originally got but that would probably make things worse." 'Changelings? Primer? Worse?!' Ethan was tempted to ask, but he'd rather get some actual sleep tonight, so he decided to politely decline. "Probably best that I'd just stick with what I have then. Who knows if the rules of this world are even the same? For all I know, there aren't even these 'changelings' to be found here." "You want the show at least?" Maze offered simply "It could help prepare for the future, it's certainly... well, sort of helped me." Now that he knew the answer for sure. "Definitely not! No offense, but considering what I've encountered here, I think I would rather not know what horrors maybe heading my way considering the rating system for my life has gone from 'G for General Audiences' to 'PG-13' with possible 'R-Rated' sequences! Plus..." Now this took a great deal of honesty on his part."Plus I don't think I want to find out about how certain characters might be considering how I reacted to them, and still feel towards them. I'd rather meet them again on my terms and hopefully for the better." "Hey that's cool, just an offer" Maze shrugged "Well if that's that then I suppose it's time I've been on my way. Don't wanna wear out my welcome." With that Maze walked ahead a bit summoning her box and twirling it about her hand. "Say goodbye to the others for me, and sorry if I messed with Trixie too much; we're actually rather close back home and I just couldn't resist." "I gotcha. I suppose I would do something similar if I encountered alternates of my friends, too." Ethan felt he should ask something about her payment, or try to think of a cool way to say goodbye, but there was one question that he had to ask before she left. "Say Maze..." He turned away from her gaze as he tried to formulate the question. "I noticed your wording of how you spent some time in your world. Over 1200 years, right? And you don't look a day over 20, heh-heh....but I've seen what you can do. I also know what I can do...for the most part, as well as what I did to others here." He was rambling, he knew it! But it was hard to put this question into proper words. "Look, I was never a saint, but be honest; In this story based on ponies, dragons, dogs, and who knows what else, are we..." He was shaking his helmet in his hands as he stared at the distorted reflection of himself on its surface. "Are we the villains? Is that what our role is as 'Displaced'?" Maze sighed and considered her answer. "I'm not gonna lie to you Misty; most of that twelve hundred years I spent imprisoned and for good reason... let's just say I'm pretty sure my sins are worse than yours. And yeah, some of the stories relayed to me were not positive, some downright terrifying" Maze admitted sadly, but then smiled "But then there are people like Sun, who helped me when I was on death's door without a second thought. And who told me of countless others either doing good or just simply trying to get on with their lives. Or even trying to make up for past mistakes... like me." She sighed again, only now a bit more contently. "I'd say we're whatever we make of ourselves" Maze said before her grin grew a bit challenging "And to hell with whatever those displacer pricks have planned otherwise!" That lightened Ethan's mood. "I guess you're right. So I'll just try to be better, and make up for my mistakes when I can then." He looked back at his helmet, not as focused on the surface, but rather more determined to make Mysterio work on making up for his faults since coming here. From mind-wiping those mares, to making his subordinates believe him to be a sorcerer capable of greater feats than he could perform, he knew he would answer to them all in time. But not yet. "Anyways, I'd rather not make my last moment with someone who gets this whole 'Displaced' mess end on a downer note. Besides, I still owe you for a lot today!" Ethan then tilted his head at that. "Speaking of, how can I pay you back? I'd offer treasure, but sadly I left it in my other castle, believe it or not!" "Oh don't worry" the cyborg smirked before twirling a handful of the illusionist's impressive little holo-cubes about her fingers, the box open held above her head "I already got it! Call if you need me! Laters!" And with that Maze dropped the box, disappearing into it's depths with nothing but an echoing laugh left behind. Ethan picked up the box, but as expected, there was nothing there. So he began to fold it up reverently and was amazingly able to get it down into the size of a playing card. The sliver of cardboard fit nicely in his suit's pocket that suddenly appeared, to which he could only exhale halfheartedly and say, "Goodbyes are not forever, goodbyes are not the end. They simply mean, 'I'll miss you, until we meet again!', right? Well, at least she was able to pull a fast one on me, being she's that good." He then smirked as he thought of the last trick he was able to pull on her before she left. "But then again, I did sneak one by her, too! So who's the better at this game of sleight-of-hand, Masie?" [}0{] "<Well, my charge has regained a bit of hope in this encounter. That is great for my observations, but is it the same for yours, Doktor?>" The Quidam asked his fellow displacer as the two watched Ethan return to his place of rest after Maze had left to return to her own tale, so to speak. "<Does this development bode well for your experiment?>" "Oh it vent about az I expected it to; valuable data yes, not terribly surprising zough" the bespectacled man commented "Az she zaid; giant robots are kind of her M-O. Zough good for yours old boy! He'z got quite zhe interesting life ahead of him even more zo now zat he'z been initiated, no?" "<That is...one way of stating it. Another would be that he's on his way to a grand adventure, while another is that he's...Up the creek.>" The Quidam seemed distracted as he was focused upon the crack that had cause some unexpected things to occur in an already unconventional situation. "<Forgive me for doubting you, my friend, but are you certain that arachnid-inspired automaton was not one of your creations, or involved with your sectors of the realms?>" "Qui, I don't even like directly interfering vith my own chargez. You zink I vould just drop something like zat into another's I respected?" the Doktor returned flatly "Granted a few have slipped through my notice here and zere but no; zat vas not from vone of mine." "<Nor was it from any of mine.>" The Quidam remarked as he rubbed his nonexistent chin in thought. "<Most troubling, and yet exciting! Still, troubling, all the same.>" The Quidam gazed upon his current Displaced, as he was about ready to dream. Amazingly, he seemed to be sleeping well after the day he had. "<Well, in any case, I will certainly watch out for anything else that my 'Mysterio' seems to attract. I don't quite know yet if I will do anything more, but I will certainly watch out!>" The Quidam laughed a bit, but even it came a bit hollow at the attempt of easing the mood of the room. After all, if Leopardon came upon the Displaced, then who's to say something of greater hostility wouldn't follow? "<Still, it was good to see you and your dear Maze come for a visit.>" "And zank you for having us! And as much as I vould love to study zis unknown variable, like my charge, I must be going" the Doktor rose with a smile "Zank you again for zhe tea, and good luck." The scientist gave a courteous nod and moved to the crack, mindful to not widen it any more when he stopped and turned again. "Oh and don't be a stranger old boy, zhe otherz and I hardly ever zee you anymore." "<But being a stranger is the one quirk I have besides my looks!>" The Quidam struck a pose with his hands to emphasize his lack of a head. "<Because 'Nothing' is better than 'Anything', right?>" "Fair enough" the Doktor smiled "Until next time Quidam." And then he was gone. The Quidam stopped waving his goodbye. The Doktor was definitely right, it had been a long time since he had seen any of the others. Perhaps he should work on changing that? He had the best reason to do so with this current displaced of his. Speaking of which... "<I think it's time he and I had another chat.>" The Displacer thought about his Displaced. "<He has discovered quite a bit, but I'm sure there is plenty more for him to learn.>" [}0{] [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 12-The More You Learn...[Part 3]
*Ethan felt the surrounding stars like they were millions of eyes set upon him. It made him feel naked on a cosmic stage. Yet he was determined to ensure that he met the expectations of his interstellar spectators. He couldn't tell who was watching him, but that didn't matter as he soon found himself falling from this starry night and crashing into the regular streets in which he would walk to his campus. Without a falter in his steps, the young man rushed on the sidewalks and towards the shore side in the distance. He only knew then he had to hurry to catch up to a lone figure in the distance. He could barely make out his face, but he could see him on the cliffs near the beach throwing a bouquet of roses into the sea. Even though he seemed forlorn at doing it, just seeing him standing there was enough to make Ethan smile. He hurried to increase his pace to meet with him, but found his steps faltering with the interrupting thoughts of the others he had met lately. From the wise Zecora, the loyal Tsavorite, the majestic Trixie, the resolute Bo, the joyful Norah, as well as a few others he had yet to recognize, he caught fleeting glimpses of them seeming to smile at him. Yet all those notions were shattered by ITS arrival! Out from the sky soared the Marveler. Like a ferocious beast on the prowl, it charged by, only ignoring him because it had caught better prey to settle itself with. "Help! Someone! Anyone!" The figure of the young mare called Fluttershy cried out from a lone window as the great ship flew away into the sun. The figures of five other mares could be seen trying to fight their way out, only to fail as nothing they did could break them out! Ethan, now garbed up as Mysterio was there huffing and puffing as he tried to recall just how he got here and why the Marveler would go so far as to capture these six mares who gave his soul such a feeling of unease, but couldn't develop a proper supposition because the mighty mechanical menace Leopardon was standing in his way! "Another Leopardon?! I don't care if there are a hundred of you!!" The fictitious sorcerer shouted as he ran up the spider-themed megazord's leg, dodging every shot being fired at his direction. "I'll take everything you send my way you Spider-man-piece-of-!" -POW!!- But his leap into Leopardon's face was haltered with a mighty smack from its mechanized backhand! In a few seconds he found himself painfully impeded into the side of a cliff. It was uncomfortable, to say the least, but Mysterio had no time to dwell on it. Leopardon was looking at him menacingly as it prepared a rocket punch to finish the job! "No! Not this time!" Mysterio yelled out as he reached within himself to draw forth all his remaining strength. He broke free from his rocky confinement and prepared a kick towards Leopardon with literal burning determination coming forth from his body. "OOORAAAAAAAAAHHH!!" Mysterio roared out with absolute resolve as he pushed himself off the cliff and like a missile, kicked off into Leopardon's face. He pierced through with explosive power, destroying its faceplate and exiting the other side, leaving the megazord headless! As he landed back onto the ground, Leopardon feel on its knees before falling forward and exploding into nothingness. "-Huff!- -Huff!- Now that wasn't such a chore!" Mysterio muttered as he shakily looked about for the Marveler, but it seemed to have flown far away by now. "Now where could that other Marveler have gone?" A series of claps stopped that train of thought as Mysterio turned to realize he wasn't alone in this canyon by the shore, but actually had a spectator to the events the whole time. One that was shaded under a blue umbrella and lacked any facial features as well as a head. <Well done! I was unsure about your range of vision, but boy do you dream big!> "You!" Mysterio yelled out as he saw The Quidam clapping at the fight he just undergone. It was then he realized that all he went through was a dream that was nothing more than entertainment to this mysterious being. <Me?> The Quidam pointed to himself as he turned to look for any others Ethan might be pointing towards. <What did I do?> "You sent that mechanical menace after me and Maze! Didn't you?" Mysterio demanded to know. For who else would send that mechanical monstrosity his way but the one who throw him into this insane state of affairs to begin with? The Quidam seemed to take the accusation in stride however. <Why do you assume it was me, like I am some sort of deity that finds it a riot to throw things your way?> "Really? You're really asking that?" Ethan crossed his arms as he was no longer dressed as Mysterio, but as the everyday young man he was before he met this figure. <It may shock you, but I wasn't the cause of Leopardon coming your way. Nor do I know whom is the cause.> The Quidam shrugged as he closed his umbrella and set it into the ground like a stake. <What I do know is that you have taken a step further into the Displaced affairs, and like a true champion, you have taken the duties and responsibilities of such a vocation with dignity and responsibility. Congratulations!> "Congratulations!" Tsavorite clapped as she appeared behind him. "Congratulations!" Zecora also materialized as well. "Congratulations!" Followed by Trixie. "Congratulations!" Bo came next. "Congratulations!" After her came Norah. "Congratu-" Maze began, before Ethan punched it into a puff of blue smoke reveling it and the others to be nothing more than conjured facsimiles. "Enough!!!" Ethan blustered out as he found The Quidam stopped making copies. "This isn't a something you can blow over with a joke involving some reference that is a decade old. This is my life being played with!" <Fair enough. I apologize for my inappropriate behavior, but you must understand I am proud of how well you are taking things and exceeding my previous expectations!> The Quidam gave a humble bow before reaching into a pocket and searching for something. <In fact, the reason I came here was to ask if you felt ready to take the next step of your journey and forge a token of your own.> "My own what?" <A token. A symbol or object in which others can hear your creed and call you forth to their side. Sometimes it is for combat, others it is for recreational purposes. Some see such summons as a service to earn payment, while others see it as a means towards forming bonds of all sorts.> The headless being finally found what he was looking for. <In any case, your choices are your own, so I hope you choose wisely and accept the responsibility that comes from them.> He tossed the object to Ethan, who was quick to catch it. However, he couldn't describe what it was he now held. It was smaller than a penny, but felt heavier than a boulder. Yet he held it like it was light as a feather and stiff as a board, despite the dryness his hands felt at its possibly sticky texture. <So make of that what you will, with your will! And I will get back to you on that!> The Quidam suggested as he picked up his umbrella. <Remember! Conjure the object and craft into it your creed and be sure it is as perfected as you wish it to be. This is something others will use to judge you from afar before calling you forth and judging you up close!> The object settled itself into a shining jewel of a marble as Ethan brought his attention back to The Quidam who seemed to be taking off. "Wait! I still have questions about this Displaced-!" <And that's all well and good! Except I am sad to say our time for this meeting has been...cut shorter than I hoped.> The Quidam didn't seem to give much notice to Ethan's concerns. <You have more important matters you could be dealing with.> He then turned to face Ethan with his umbrella poised like a blade. <Like that sword about to stab you in the head!> Ethan took a few hesitant steps back as he felt a foreboding feeling coming from the figure. "What are you talking-?" <Look alive, Ethan! You best be quick, or else you're going to die before even having a chance to open your eyes! Let alone, complete your ambitions!> [}0{] -SHING!- Ethan opened his eyes as he immediately rolled himself off the bed. A good thing he did, too! For a second latter and that blade piercing through the shack's wall would have also buried itself into his ear canal. "Too close!" Ethan yelped as he threw the tangled covers of them any hurried to his costume. He had taken it off, after the long ordeal of the night and gone to bed. Now he was doing his best to get it on as he saw two blades begin to cut through the wall and trace out an opening to let somebody get in to finish what they started. 'Good thing this isn't my first time getting into costume under pressure!' While costume changes were not a challenge for this theater major, his opponent was much quicker than any stage director. Thankfully he had a head start by sleeping in the main outfit like a pair of long johns. By the time he had set his helmet to lock into place as the final touch of his outfit, the blade wielding attacker had burst through the wall and in a cloud of dust the glimmer of three long and shiny objects was all the warning the human had this assailant was going for the kill right off the bat! 'Wait! Three!?' He immediately raised his arms in a crossed block. 'That implies he is holding more than two! But how?' -Clang!- -Clang!- -Screech!- He got his answer as he got a good up and personal look at his accoster. Dressed up in a desert cloak and a straw hat, he could make out wolf-like physical features and slightly enlarged paws proving he was a Diamond Dog. However, what drew the cosplayer's attention was the two swords in each paw his arms were struggling to hold back with his wrist guards, while the third was clenched in the canine's jaw and aimed for is neck. Ethan lucked out that he got the domed helmet on in time because he would have been beheaded if he had not! 'If those swords were actual katanas, I'm sure Zoro would be suing!' Mysterio thought as he pushed the dog back for a momentary let up. The dog proved to be too well prepared for it, as he not only was quick to resume his stance, but to break into a series of swings with no hesitation. He gave Mysterio no time to concoct any of his tricks. If anything, he barely gave him any time to block or parry, let alone strike back. "YOWCH!!" Mysterio cried out at a strike that cut through his suit on his left arm. Those blades were actually sharp enough to cut through their material! He almost lost his focus at seeing the blood begin to drip down the green layers in a shocking juxtaposition. Seeing the blood also gave the sword-wielding doggie more determination as he increased the speed of his strikes even faster. 'FOCUS! If I pause, he'll cut me! If I hesitate, he'll kill me! Yet blocking like this is going to tire me out at this rate!' Mysterio thought frantically as he struggled to keep up with the hastened series of bladed forays. He was in no condition to take on this Diamond Dog as he had done with those members of the coyote raiders. The lack of sleep and recovery from the previous night's events was already hindering his survival efforts and the bloody wound was slowing him further. But he still had one idea that could be crazy enough to work. 'Blocking like this is getting nowhere!' His gauntlets started to glow brighter and brighter with every parried strike he made. 'But it is distracting him from realizing how close he is getting to me! Too close to DODGE!' When his gauntlets glowed their brightest, the doggie-swordsman (swordsdoggie?) only then realized that he was only five paces away from the sorcerer's range. It was a lesson learned too late for Mysterio let out a massive burst of energy from his palms that caused him to fly out of the shack due to the great concussive force. "Next time, see me in the morning if you have something you want to say to me!" Mysterio quipped, too tired to consider if that line was cool or not. That and the wound on his arm was really starting to get to him. The doggie stood up from a crouch, definitely worse for wear, but not dead or with a hole punched into him like Mysterio hoped. It seemed he was able to focus the attack on his swords, which had battered them into cracked up pieces, showing that whatever metal they were forge from was pretty strong. However, the blades slowly started to reform themselves into more complete conditions as the cracks seemed to seal themselves up before his very eyes. 'What in the world?' Mysterio couldn't believe it. Were they some sort of magical swords? Was that how they were able to cut into his arm? "How DARE YOU!!??" Roared out a deep voice before a great emerald blur charged at the swords-doggie like a launched boulder and knocking him into a pile of scrap metal. Mysterio found his questions interrupted, but didn't mind the cause. Tsavorite had entered this battle, and she was angry! "You come to strike MY Master while he sleeps and dare to even have him BLEED! I shall ensure you spill twice, no, THRICE as much just to start with!! Then I shall have my flames feast on the rest!!" Already, Tsavorite seemed to be doing good on her promise, for the swords-doggie was already bleeding pretty badly due to the debris he landed in. Seeing that he now had the dragon he avoided awakening in his surprise attack to contend with, he was about to make a tactical retreat. Unfortunately, as the diamond dog tried to jump free he found himself unable to move. Glancing at his paws, he saw his entire body was being held in place by a glowing purple aura with other loser metals binding his limbs in place. "Oh no you don't! The Great and Powerful Trixie says you get the full impact of her draconic associate's furry!" Trixie was also pissed at this assassin that dared to attack Mysterio. She was dressed in only her nightwear, and yet with her magical aura lighting up her body and flowing through her mane looked every bit the infuriated enchantress. She held out a hand that she was all too eager to clench, but felt that would end things too quickly. "Whatever's left gets to face Trixie's wrath next!" "I doubt there will be anything left, Trixie! I don't leave leftovers!" Tsavorite snarled with a smoking huff from her nostrils. "Why, I'm certain I can take off his head with one bite-!" "NO, DON'T!!" shouted another figure as she hurried to get in between the dragon and her target. "What is the meaning of this, Bo?" "This is all just a big misunderstandin'!" Bo held herself up with her arms spread out. Despite her large nightgown making her look like a ghost, she still gave a resolute presence of her own against the enraged dragoness. "Let me take him somewheres else!" "He attacked my Master! He should lose his head just for the thought of that!" Tsavorite fumed. She knew Bo as her friend, but this was going beyond the limit of her tolerance. "Indeed! Trixie may not get along with you, but even this is pushing away whatever respect she has for you!" Trixie retorted in agreement. "That's enough." Mysterio said as he stepped forward and gained everyone's attention. He ignored their stares and focused his own attentiveness on the doggie assailant. The moment the owner of Clutter Coulee came into the picture, he was prepared for the sword user to stab into that back that was turned towards him. Before he was struggling to hold up his blades despite his unicorn apprentice's magical hold. He was clearly going to fight his way out of here. Then as he sniffed the air around him, he unexpectedly looked as if something about Bo surprised him and let go of his weapons. Trixie's disturbance by Bo's defense of the dog stopping her magic gave him a perfect opportunity. Yet the lack of acting on this chance at freedom meant there was more going on here. "You've seemed to know when you've lost. I am in my right to end you where you stand." He held up a hand glowing with energy as he reached towards the dog. The dog could have reached towards his blades, or even barked out some form of indignant comeback. Instead he bowed his head at acceptance. Before he could make another move, Mysterio felt Bo place a paw on his shoulder. "Please." Bo begged with her ears drooping in sad humility, but that wasn't the only thing the cosplaying sorcerer noticed. 'She's actually fighting back tears over this guy!' He considered as he looked back and forth between the two dogs as he came to his decision. To others, he appeared to be still, until he lowered his hand that stopped glowing. "Fine. It's your home, Bo. Not mine. Nor yours, Tsavorite and Trixie." He began to walk back to the shack he resided in, heading toward the door instead of the gaping hole in the wall as a last chance to maintain some decorum for tonight. "I will trust your call, Bo. Just be prepared to face the consequences if my trust is wrongly placed." Sadly, whatever dignity he hoped to maintain was beginning to fade alongside his feelings of consciousness. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to stop this blood from exiting my body posthaste! Before the fainting at the sight of it kicks in. Like now-!" He barely got to finish as he passed out, leaving a frantic group trying to catch him before he hit the floor. [}0{] <Back so soon? Has it even been ten minutes?!> The Quidam greeted with mock surprise at seeing Ethan again after their last meeting. Ethan however was not as amused. Here he was at the table of the Green Room, surrounded by bookshelves, and once again was with the headless being who 'employed' him. Even with no face, he felt as if he was giving off a smug expression at how soon it took for him to enter the realm of dreams. "Whatever. Just give me some of that tea. I need a drink!" Ethan moaned as he rubbed his temples. <Fine, fine! Just cool off as you do, less you won't be able to tell if it is the tea that burned your tongue!> The Quidam chided as he presented a cup and saucer to Ethan. Ethan didn't even bother to comment how it didn't exist a second ago. He had enough to deal with. After a long sip, he decided to put his concerns with Bo and her 'new guest' aside to bring up another topic. "So about the Displaced-" <Again, there is only so much I can tell you.> The Quidam interrupted, but his charge waved him off expecting that retort. "Oh, at this point, I'm going to assume that you'll let me in on things as they become relevant. I may as well get used to that." He took another sip, as he further composed himself. "But I still have questions, such as what am I supposed to do?" <That's up to your own discretion. I am but a witness to observe you, but I don't judge you any more than you judge yourself.> The Quidam pointed into a passage of a book he was now holding. <From what I've seen so far, you are participating in heroic acts, but at the same time you are setting off villainous vibrations. Yet the most I can do at this point is remind you that the responsibility of your actions is yours and yours alone.> Ethan was silent as he contemplated what he did lately to warrant such a divided achievement. The last thing The Quidam said had him asking, "So if I wanted to destroy this world? Or if I wanted to go ballistic on it by destroying its cities and enslave its citizens to make them enact my desires simply because I wanted to?" <I would be here, watching, and possibly drinking tea as you divided the inhabitants into piles of 'now' and 'later'.> The Quidam took a sip with an unconcerned slurp, yet perked up as he added, <But would you want to do that?> "...No." Ethan answered. "I would feel the guilt wouldn't be worth whatever minimal pleasure at doing such a thing." <Then we have nothing to worry about for now.> The Quidam settled his cup onto the saucer in front of him, seeming a bit chipper at that admittance. <Now, have you given any thought about your token and creed?> The object that Ethan was given last time floated from his pocket, and onto the table in front of him. He couldn't describe it just yet, because the moment it settled on one thing it shifted into another. All he could currently note about it was that it was there and waiting for what he settled on it to be. "I have, but I am curious as to what suggestions you would make?" <Well, we seem to have some time to talk, now don't we?> The Quidam shrugged. <So how about some suggestions through visual aid?> As if rising from a lake's surface, the walls surrounding them rippled as the bookshelves morphs into stands and other sills for displaying. What they featured was a collection of some of the most wonderful, yet oddest assortment of odds and ends that Ethan had ever seen. From small things charms, rings, and possible ranger morphers, to larger objects like swords, statues, and even a Beacon from Borderlands! All of it was there and yet Ethan couldn't tell if he was absolutely amazed or frightened at the amount of possibilities laid before him. Still, his reaction was enough for The Quidam to stand up and point dramatically with his umbrella, knowing he had this Mysterio's full attention. <After all, your fellow Displaced have created quite the collection of tokens to be inspired by. I'm sure you would like to make something that will be just as eye catching to say the least.> [}0{] While Ethan was busy in a dream discussing what to make of his token and creed, his two friendly subordinates were busy at work trying to make him better. Here in Trixie's room (As Ethan's still had that cut out hole in the wall that needed repair) they had him on the bed and outside of his armaments, which were surprisingly easier to remove than they thought. Another time they might have been distracted by the sight of their master's state of undress, but now they were busy treating the wound on his arm with Trixie's magic, some bandages, and other medicines supplied by Bo. The she-doggie herself was busy locking away the swords-wielding intruder which was fine considering both these ladies would rather keep their master away from the dogs as their feelings towards the incident had yet to cool. Yet even that fury was placed a bit to the side as Trixie noticed something about Mysterio's current state. She was doing diagnostics with her magic after sealing his wound to stop the bleeding, but came to discover the sorcerer's current mana level. Ordinarily to do such a procedure would be just a precaution like checking one's temperature for a fever. This time it led to a more serious discovery that the young magician needed to address and attend to posthaste for the result was immensely troubling! Magical exhaustion was surely hindering Mysterio for what else could her findings mean? "His stores are so low. Too low to assist in his recovery." Trixie commented. "Can you assist him, or not?" Tsavorite asked with hastened worry. She felt so helpless at not being able to assist Mysterio. That and she didn't want to consider the ramifications of seeing him bleed as he did because she was not there to defend him from the start. 'Hmmph, you have no right to complain, you gluttonous reptile. You would think his chief subordinate would be more considerate to her master's safety.' Trixie grumbled as she recalled that Tsavorite was busy snacking instead of keeping her post near their master's cabin. "Of course I can. Trixie has been trained to deal with magical exhaustion as well as first aid being on the road as often as she has traveled." Her horn swirled with magic as a gathered orb concentrated on the tip. It was around the size of a tennis ball and seemed to spiral in a multitude of directions. "It certainly helps that Trixie is a capable spell caster as this technique does have its risks." She then gave a smirk as she leaned closer over Ethan's sleeping face. "Although, Trixie has heard that the transfer process would be best performed with a kiss!" A slight grip on her shoulder from Tsavorite pulling her back stopped that notion. "Don't you even dare-!" "Trixie was only joking! Besides, I would rather to let our 'sleeping prince' continue to dream as he heals up." When the mana was fully emitted into the sleeping patient, the glimmer seemed to cease, albeit, the rhythm of his breathing seemed to quicken a slight bit. "Now we wait." The dragoness' claws creased against each other as she looked only wearier. "There is nothing more we can do?" "Trixie has done all she can for him. His would is closed, and his other bruises are supplemented, but his bandages may need changing later. His blood loss should be counteracted by the new mana that is jumpstarting his reserves into replenishing again." Trixie still couldn't help to ponder aloud. "Although it was strange to see him at such a state." "How so?" "Well when Trixie first saw his other bruises, she wondered why they hadn't recovered as fast if he clearly has to possess a high mana count. After using an examining spell, she found a shocking discovery: his stores were extremely low! Almost to that of a newborn." She sighed with a tilt of her head as she gazed at Mysterio's sleeping state, as she considered how much rest he would need. "But that's impossible! There's no way he would have survived this long as that if it were the case. The spells he cast would have killed him for trying, let alone being used as freely as he has done." "You're mistaken then." Tsavorite proclaimed, knocking away the notion of her master being weak. "Besides, as you have said, he has been casting a great deal of powerful magic lately. That must be the reason why his stores were so low." "I suppose that's the case then." Trixie agreed. "There is no way he could have possibly pulled any of his spells if he did." "In any case, Trixie thinks she shall go and practice more of her magic today. Mysterio will surely be impressed by how far she has come to meeting his criteria for his task. If it appears that he needs more mana, then perhaps we shall try adding yours to the mix later." The mare then got up and started to head out the door. "I trust you'll be here to keep a good eye on him?" "Hmmph. Says the apprentice who hinted at harassing him in his sleep." The dragoness turned up her horned nose, before softly replying. "Still, I admit he chose well considering how you were able to tend to him in ways I couldn't. Thank you, Trixie." Trixie gave a slight grin as she nodded before leaving. They may be unspoken rivals, but at least they both knew enough to respect the other's capabilities. However, the moment the unicorn left, Tsavorite felt herself going down on her rump as she sadly sat down next to her master's bed. She felt terrible at her failure of being his servant. Admittedly, Trixie was not that far from the mark for her being away from her post at Mysterio's resting place due to her hunger. But it was more than just something that could be satiated by the scraps she snacked on these days. She felt it with every inch her being gained. Her skin was starting to feel tighter and her scales were starting to dry up in places that were not as easy to reach. "Really starting to itch." She noted at how her scales felt around her master's mark. Those scales that were etched with his runes seemed to particularly irritate her. She recalled that the spell mentioned 'releasing her stored energy' which seemed from what she could tell be tied to her flames. Naturally she used her flames to burn away those stored calories she must have been storing up discreetly which is why her growth seemed to be less erratic than it used to be. However, feeling her instincts driving her to seek her hoard alongside these physical symptoms meant one thing: her body was going to undergo a 'Serious Shedding'. "I'm sorry, Mysterio. I have failed you and ask for your forgiveness for allowing you to be harmed to such a degree. Even after the fact, I was not able to even treat your poor health as you once did for me. How can live up to repay your life debt if I cannot even do that?" She spoke to him softly as she gazed at his sleeping form. "But perhaps when we return to Castle Wonder I will become the proper retainer to your will." She considered what changes her body may undergo for her latest 'Serious Shedding'. After all, dragons were made to adapt and the deeper connection she felt to Mysterio as her Master's magic recovered told her that when it happened, she would be much more suited to serve the sorcerer's ambitions. The occasionally glowing mark on her back seemed to tell her so. [}0{] Ethan wasn't sure how long he talked with The Quidam. Nor did he recall just how many tokens they discussed and spoke of. All he knew was that when he woke up, he felt much more different then he had before. It was like waking up from a nap in the shade as you breathed in the scent of the perfect glass of lemonade. That feeling of zest permeated his being. "Why do I feel so tingly?" Ethan asked as he looked at his arms. The only change besides being outside his costume, was the bandages on his arm for his wound. Perhaps it was some form of high from the blood loss he was recovering from; he did lose quite the amount from that slash. He didn't see any bruises on him, or any scars which was good. Perhaps he was simply feeling better now that wasn't being irritated by the lingering effects of battle and fatigue? "Master! You're alright!" Tsavorite cheered as she saw him awake. Seeing her sitting near his bedside, Ethan couldn't help but to imagine her there watching him the while time as he slept. Heaven help the one who probably tried to make her wait outside. "Of course I am." Ethan couldn't help but to wisecrack. "It would take more than a fancy hunting knife to do away with me after all!" Tsavorite frowned. "Please do not joke about that, Master. I will understand if you are still upset." "Upset?" "I understand if you wish to punish me." "Tsavorite, please! I'm alright!" He appreciated Tsavorites loyalty, but again she was pushing it too much. He wasn't that kind of master! Still he had to ask, "How bad was it?" "You lost a good amount of blood, and your previous wounds were not recovering as they should. Trixie examined you and came to discover that your mana stores were critically low. So she transferred some of her own into you to jumpstart your healing processes." It took a full minute of mental silence for Ethan to process that statement. When his brain rebooted he flinched forward from the bed and immediately questioned the results of that medical decision. "And how did that go!?" He hastily asked before regaining some composure. "I mean, I am an entirely different form of being than either of you. It could have gone terribly wrong!" "Admittedly, we were worried about that. Fortunately, we had a few more advantages with Trixie being familiar to the technique. Unicorn mana is universal for a quick transfer when depleted to such a critical level, and I was more than happy to procure my own if you needed it. Trixie's seemed to do the job just fine, but we gave a bit of mine when it seemed you were still recovering slower than you should have been." Ethan looked at his hands as he considered this revelation. That tingling he was feeling was quite possibly the sign of something his body was undergoing to having magical life energy from both of his loyal subordinates. As if having his mind messed with to understand the nearby languages wasn't enough, now he was carrying some sort of new syndrome in his body. 'Well since I never had 'mana' to begin with, I'm certain that is exactly the reason my stores would be incredibly low! I just hope that this doesn't lead to anything like 'magic cancer' or suddenly growing new sets of arms!' Not that he wanted them to know that he never originally had this 'mana'. Still, he had no choice but to play off his worries as being concerning. "Well I suppose I need to be more aware of that. Being that it seems I need to utilize so many high-level magics lately, I tend to forget that it takes much longer to restore my reserves. Thank you for caring for me after the hassle of last night." He then realized another matter to consider due to being out for so long. "Speaking of which, whatever became of that sword wielder who attacked me?" At the mention of that, Tsavorite turned her horned nose up and let out a fume of smoke in anger. "He's been locked up." Ethan waved away the smoke, knowing that Tsavorite wouldn't due such a thing unless she was still mad. "You sound like you don't approve." "Master, he struck you and tried to end your life!" She snarled before calming her tone down so she wouldn't yell at her master. "I know it is not my place to question you, but how could you show mercy to him?" "How could I not? Yeah, he attacked me, and considered the individuals that have been doing it lately, I should have just taken him down no questions asked." He thought carefully about his words to ensure they were understood. "But I think there is more going on here than we know. For one thing, Bo was adamant about defending him." Tsavorite grumbled at that reminder. It appeared she still held a bit of a grudge at the Diamond Dog at that. Ethan knew he had to say his suspicions to not just calm the dragoness, but to ensure she didn't lose her newfound friendship with the scrap-giving doggie. "She wouldn't do that just for any mutt. No, she would step in front of us, her newest friends because we wouldn't know that he was someone important to her." "What?" The dragoness tilted her head at that line of thinking. "How do you reach that conclusion, Master?" "It doesn't take much magic if you are trained to read into people based on observation. Due to my choice profession am pretty good at doing cold readings to a degree." Ethan waved off like it was no big deal. "This assassin tried to strike me down first because he knew I would end him quickly if I awoke. He did what he could to avoid encountering you as well as Trixie when he could have taken either of you out when you were both deeply asleep. After our fight, when all three of us had him cornered, it could have turned into his lead when Bo stepped in front of him, blocking us, but having her in front of him. He had ample opportunity to strike at Bo, or even take her hostage with her back turned to him. Her being a bigger dog than him would have no hindrance on his capabilities. Instead, he basically surrendered the moment she came into the picture." He pointedly made eye contact with Tsavorite as he went on to say. "Bo also makes a point to keep herself appearing strong-minded and proud, yet she was holding back tears at the possibility I would kill him then and there. She knew I could do it, and nothing she could do would stop me...except my choice." Tsavorite said nothing, but any signs of fury seemed to be slowly dying down as she took to her Master's words. "I let him live, but everyone knows that I just as easily could have taken his life." Now it was time for the final verbal blow. He launched it with the bandaged arm placing a hand to her shoulder. "Kind've like what I did with you, right?" "I suppose." Tsavorite admitted as she turned her head away, finding the closeness of their gazes to be a bit much if her blushing was any indication. Ethan took it to be slight embarrassment to how forgone she was at being mad at Bo for taking the assailant's side. "Give it time, Tsavorite. I'm sure you'll find yourself more at ease with my choice." Ethan nodded. "Now, let's go see the others and tell them I'm alright!" [}0{] He found Trixie and Norah at the table they usually ate at. Each was doing their own thing with Trixie practicing the card exercise, and Norah tinkering with some sort of device strapped to a stuffed bunny, and eating some cookies from a tin. While Trixie was definitely glad to see that he was all right, Norah seemed very confused at his current state of being. "What happeneds to your arm, Boss Mysterio?" She asked innocently. Ethan found this to be a bit confusing, but looking at the other two present at the table told him enough. Trixie found her cards suddenly more interesting to look at, while Tsavorite seemed to suddenly find a need to head to some more piles to arrange for a snack. It seemed neither one, nor her sister apparently let the young pup in on the events of last night. "I was actually more injured from that fight with that golem than I originally thought." Ethan lied well enough. That was partially true. Maze may have taken the brunt of that fight with Leopardon, but that didn't mean he didn't get his fair share of bruises in the scuffle. "But you seemed fine when we were all eating together." Norah pointed out. He merely shrugged. "Well, I hid it pretty well. I'm sure you know what it's like to hide an injury from when you play rough outside." She couldn't argue with that. "True. But Big Sis says you shoulds be more responsible and come forwards for help if that happens." "And that is good advice I certainly will follow next time! Especially if it means I get more of these cookies!" Ethan was enjoying Norah's 'get-better' snack of cookies from her stash. Although he couldn't put his finger on what flavor they were, but it was tasty. Norah grinned her teeth in agreement. "Yep, Doggie biscuits make everything better!" "Pffft-!" Ethan spit out his bite and developed a coughing attack at that revelation. "You ok?" "-Cough- Yeah, just -cough- swallowed too big a bite." Ethan pushed the dogs' treats away from him. "I think I should hold off on the biscuits for a bit." "Ok...Oh! Are we evers going to meet that Mazey-lady again." She asked with an eager wag of her tail. Ethan was certainly not expecting to be asked that. Honestly, he himself wondered that question. Considering the recent revelations of his situation there was no telling when that would be or if it would be. Could be tomorrow, or possibly never considering she probably was busy dealing with her own issues and adventures. So, all he could answer with was another excuse with a bit of optimism mixed into it. "Not for a long while, I'm afraid! She's very busy with her home dimension! Off battling golems and saving other magic users!" He shrugged again. "You know how it goes!" "I guess." Norah sighed. She already missed the mysterious 'Not-hyooman-but-looks-like-a-hyooman'-hyooman-female. "Well enough about that and my problems. What about you? Sleep well?" "Yeah but I had this weird dream!" Norah scrunched her eyes as she tried to remember all the details. "Oh?" "Yeah! There was this strange doggie, who carried swords like a Darknut uses!" He had to tilt his head at that term. "A what?" "You knows, a Darknut! One of those swordsdoggies who goes and saves princesses from evil villains like those old stories. I thinks he cames by and looked at me before disappearing in the darks like a ghost!" She looked up at wonder at the sorcerer as if he could interpret her dream. "Could my dream has some sort of secret meanin' or somethin'?" 'Besides the fact it sounds like that dog came into your room to check on you? Probably.' He would rather not say it like that to the little girl and possibly scare her. "Maybe it's a sign that you'll meet an old friend of some sort?" "Maybe! Wonder who it could be?" "Yeah, me too." He noticed Bo was walking towards another one of the shacks with a plate of food, and it was not one that any of them occupied. "So Bo seems pretty busy." "Yeah, Big Sis was busy movings all that junk from that kitten-faced golem into a pile this morning." Norah told Ethan who found that information odd. "All by herself?" Norah was the one who shrugged nonchalantly this time. "Yeah, I mean she's used to it, and the others were busy fixings you up, but she dids it. She's been busy in that shack with somethings, but I figures it's probably another of those tinkerings of hers." "Really, then I'd better go thank her then for moving all that." He then reached behind the pup's ear and pulled out a gold coin from the Quidam's case. "Here, it's not a biscuit, but I'm sure you'll find a way to have fun with it." He then walked away, trying to hide a smirk at how Norah was now shaking her head about to try to get more gold coins she didn't know she had. It was an innocent trick, but he needed a pick me up considering how serious a conversation he was about to have. [}0{] Bo came out of the shack with a heavy sigh. At least the plate she held was now bereft of food. However, she perked up when a voice spoke up to her. "You know, I am not surprised you weren't with the others at the table. Awkward conversation would ruin any appetite. Yet here you are about head into a shack that I know no one has taken up quarters in." Ethan then crossed his arms, pointedly having his bandaged one displayed at the forefront. "At least no one until last night, right?" Bo tried to keep up her tough front, but found it hard to keep with Ethan looking at her with equal determination. "He's locked up in there tighter than a bolt in a metal beam and not causing any more troubles. Ain't that enough?" "Consider my suspicions less on the fact he tried to bleed me out, and more under the basis that this guy you were nearly groveling to ensure I didn't obliterate him right then and there." He raised an eyebrow with a hint of a slant to his shoulders. "I mean, we may not know each other that long, Bo, but even I know enough to notice you don't just grovel for any stranger." The she-doggie was tight lipped at that. Still her silence was enough for Ethan to know that he was tapping at a nerve, yet not fully striking. "Bo, I swear, if you can give me some insight on what exactly might have been going on, from what you can say, I will not harm, or seek revenge on him for what may be a misunderstanding." He then decided to go the whole length of the oath, as he recalled that such a thing seemed to carry weight in this world when he did it for that yellow Pegasus mare. "Cross my heart and hope to die." Unknown to him, but in sight of Bo, his fingers depicted a glimmering trace over his heart. Bo took it to be that the sorcerer swore on his magic, and thus felt a bit more ease that he would at least listen to what she had to say. "Like I said, I'm a guest here, and not a dictator, so whoever you wish to keep as company is up to you. But at least give us a solid explanation as to why this guy who straight up wanted to kill me is someone you don't want me or the others to deal with." It still took her a few breaths before she finally came forward with some information of how she knew this stranger less hesitation. "Remember earlier when I mentioned I was once a pet?" "I recall a bit of that, yes." Ethan nodded. "Well, in that business, I garnered the attention of a few admirers." "And he's one of them? An old client who sought your 'creature comforts'?" Ethan immediately guessed, to which Bo seemed to stutter a bit at his presumptuous interruption. "No...yes...Well, it ain't in the way your thinkin'." She sighed as she felt herself falling into a flashback of those days with the swords-doggie. "He was a Darknut, one under the Bone of Scone, and one who still acted a bit like those old ones in the stories. I was but a young bitch, who could only wish that he would purchase and take me and Norah out of that shop." 'But he never did.' Was not spoken but conveyed with how Ethan didn't recall any mentions of him when she showed him the mark of the pack she reached clan status with. Not wanting to trample her feelings any further, he decided to get more into the heart of the issue. Already he was getting a good idea of what had happened. "Based on what Norah told me about her 'dream' of seeing a 'Darknut', I'm guessing he was searching the place for his fair maiden, but came across the "Evil Wizard' keeping her prisoner. Well, then why was he more focused on 'Stabbing the wizard' than 'Saving the Princess'?" He asked in quotation marks. Bo seemed to give an embarrassed grimace as she answered with a nail to her maw. "I was a...more svelte bitch in those days. He didn't seem to recognize me until after I stood in front of him." Well that explains his reaction to her scent. "So why doesn't he come forward and tell us his side of the story." "Because he won't!" Bo's mood took a dive. "He ain't sayin' a word, not even to me! He won't even look at my direction!" The she-doggie seemed to be breaking further as she instinctively reached out and dragged Ethan into a hug. "Ooomph!" "I knows I've changed a lot with all the times that went by, but does he hates me now?" Her depressed state was blinding her to how Ethan was struggling to get out of her embrace. Still she blubbered on. "I mean -sniff- it's bads enough the others are mad because I didn't let him bite the dust, but now he won't even talk to me even thoughs I knows he knows me!" Any other time, Ethan would be feeling pity for the crying she-doggie. But right now, he was starting to lose feeling of everything as he was squished tighter to Bo's bosom. 'Must...escape...need...air!' He wasn't sure what happened, but one instant he was struggling to breathe in Bo's hug. The next he was standing behind her, gasping for the wonderful treasure known as oxygen. "-Huff- -puff- I will be sure to bring it up -huff- when I speak to him." Bo turned around to see the sorcerer placing his helmet on after regaining his breathing rhythm. He was once again dressed up in his full armaments. Where they came from when he was dressed in the simple clothes he wore underneath, was anyone's guess. Before she could stop him though, he had already stepped through that shack door. Bo could only wipe her tears and hope that the sorcerer would keep the oath he swore by. [}0{] Ethan, now once again donning the mantle of Mysterio, wasn't sure what he would find when he entered the shack. It was space of not much more than a bed and a pot in the corner for 'bathroom needs'. What he wasn't expecting was the sudden heaviness he was feeling the moment he stepped inside. It was as if someone turned up the gravity, for each step he took was an exercise in lifting his feet. At one point, he leaned on a wall to balance himself, but found that he was being pulled into it further like it was coated in some form of adhesive. As he righted himself, his HUD popped up with a message: {MAGNETIC DISTORTION DETECTED: ADJUSTING MAGNETIC POLARITY TO COMPENSATE} In about a second, he found himself having no trouble moving about the shack. He'd question it later, because right now his audience had drawn his eyes upon him and his ability to move freely throughout this apparently magnetically wonky prison cell. Looking at the Swords-doggie minus the desert cloak, he got a better idea at what he was. He wore a Japanese looking robe like a samurai, along scarf wrapped around his neck, and even had the wooden sandals at his bottom paws. His cloak and hat were set next to the bed. His physical features were a mixture of grey and white fur like a wolf. He wasn't exactly like a husky, but more like one of those Japanese dogs...Shikoku Inu! That was the breed! Thank you, comic books, and anime for odd factoids like that! What made the scene stranger than being stared at by a samurai dog was the way he was imprisoned. He had thick metal bands around his wrist, ankles, and waist, yet they each were linked not by chains. No, instead there were lines of black ball bearings the size of grapefruits that seemed stuck to one another. Just by looking at them, they looked only long enough to give the wearer enough room to sit up in the bed, and use the pot in the corner. Again, the use of magnets was filed away for later as he decided his audience had waited impatiently. "Good day. I am Mysterio. I would offer my hand to shake, but I wouldn't be certain you wouldn't try to cut it off, now would I?" The swords-doggie pointedly looked up. MYsterio gazed up as well to find that the dog's swords were in their hilts and imbedded into the ceiling like an action figure's accessories in its plastic case. "Ok, fair enough. However, that still doesn't excuse your attack on my person." Mysterio crossed his arms as he laid his threat. "I could make it so that you wake up in the middle of the desert, thinking you are nothing but a beast, and will crawl on all fours like one for the rest of your life." The Dog furrowed his brows in anger at that, but remained silent. He seemed determined to not speak a word. "But I won't!" Mysterio uncrossed his arms. "I don't know what you think I am, or how you heard of me, but I can tell by your actions that you were expecting a different scene before you came here. One in which I am taking advantage of Bo and her sister through some form of enslavement or other dark deed. Not one in which we are but business partners and allies." He stepped forward some more. While he knew the dog was retrained he still kept a sense of caution as he did so. The Dog seemed to scurry back a bit as the sorcerer approached. It was slight, but Mysterio could see that he acknowledged he had the advantage here. "Then again, that tough as nails bitch is out there crying over how the one person she wished to see again won't even talk to her, despite all the trouble he's in. It so happens that one of the things I was taught was to never let those who make your friends cry get away with doing so." He raised a hand that already had an orb of energy at the ready like a baseball. "So tell me, Swords...Doggie! What does it take to get you to bark?" The Dog still wouldn't speak. He just looked more upset. Mysterio had to compliment his determination. So far he was withstanding he attempts from striking at his heart with a mention of a crying Bo, to threatening his life with an attack at the ready. Not that he would, for he felt compelled not to let it grow more than a bluff. But then the dog huffed out a sigh as his ears drooped, and reached for his scarf. Reverently he removed it to show that he wasn't wearing it to keep warm, or even to look cool. No, he was wearing it to hide the state of his throat. It looked as if some wicked claws attempted to behead him but took his voice box instead. "My God-!" Mysterio blurted out, losing his composure for a moment. No wonder he was so silent. And he was rubbing salt in that wound without knowing it. The Dog made a wiggling motion with his hand, and Mysterio finally understood it to be a request for something to write with. He hastily searched himself for something to work with, ironically enough the same papers for that failure of a contract the other day. He held up a pen for the dog to take, which seemed to indicate a sense of trust developing between these two. The dog's handwriting was messy due to his large paws trying to work with the smaller pen. Ethan noticed that his hand made motions that looked like he was drawing paw prints, but his mind had already interpreted them into a message: {What would you like to know?} "How about how you heard of me? I mean, I am a great sorcerer, but tell me how does a stranger like you come to hear about me being all the way out here?" And that was the start of there long conversation. By the time they were done, Mysterio had much to consider, but he knew one thing for certain: They had to hurry to Castle Wonder for Clutter Coulee was compromised as a headquarters. {Omake} <So have you finally made up your mind?> The Quidam asked. Ethan nodded as he set the pen down and breathed over the freshly written ink. "That should be the final touch. Any more and I think I would be trying too hard." <Indeed! Truly the artist's paradox at work. But I am curious, why did you choose this to be your token of all things?> The Quidam asked as he looked at his chosen's creation. "Well at first I thought my holocubes, but that could be disasterous if the technology got into the wrong hands or one that wasn't meant to have it. Maze I can trust with it, but who knows who else could understand how it could be abused." He then looked at the other components of his suit as it was displayed nearby in a case like a suit of armor. "The same could be said for anything of Mine-I mean Mysterio's. If I want to share it, they'll have to earn it." <Not a bad line of reasoning. Well put. Yet are you worried about others not taking you seriously considering the grandness of some of these tokens?> "Who says there's not more to it?" Ethan asked as he held up the token. It looked like a card made to homage the Tarot deck, with a star in the middle that had his personal crest at its core. Underneath the picture was the words 'THE MYSTERIO'. On the back however was his creed. "After all, Magicians have been doing wonderful things with naught but simple playing cards for centuries. Who's to say I haven't hidden a few secrets within this token?" <Oh wonderful indeed! I hope to be able to see where this card of business and pleasure may take you!> The Quidam clapped at that revelation. <Now, to add the final touch!> Ethan nodded as he recited the creed he spent a long amount of dream time crafting. He was no poet, but he hoped it conveyed the right message. It was how he would be introduced throughout the multiverse after all. To those who find themselves disenchanted, Or seeking a helpful intrusionist, Receive this token and creed I've chanted, I am your supportive illusionist. Do not take my services for granted, For I can shift from an ally to foe; From sorcery, to figments implanted I am their grand master: Mysterio! So can you handle one of my esteem Or shall you fall victim to my great dream? With those words he decreed his token forged and completed and tossed it expertly into The Quidam's waiting bowler hat, where it would somehow go from there to anywhere and nearly everywhere in existence. "There. Now that we have that done, where do we go from here?" <I believe it is time for you to awaken. Your subordinates seemed to have done their part in fixing you!> Ethan looked at the clock. It showed that it was a Quarter-to-Smiley face, due to using emotions instead of numbers. Again, it would probably make less sense if he was awake. "I suppose you are right, so how do I-" And in an instant, he was gone, leaving The Quidam alone with his thoughts. The Quidam however seemed to be preoccupied with what was left in his place. It was a large decorative hourglass that seemed to have blue, lime-green, and emerald-green sand mixed together. <That certainly wasn't there before. Your subordinates must have done some renovations while I wasn't looking.> The Quidam merely shrugged. <Oh well! I doubt that the consequences will be as explosive as that crack.> At least he hoped so!
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 13-The More You Learn...[Part 4]
Mysterio had just gotten done conversing with the imprisoned swords-doggie. They had talked about several things involving himself. Unsurprisingly the Coyotes (or The Desert Ash Pack as he was told their name) had been spreading word about him as some form of 'Death Master' due to their belief of one of his illusions being a form of necromancy. Another time he might have patted himself on the back for pulling off such a feat of renown, but the next bit of news deterred that sense of pride and curb stomped it. Word had spread about the sorcerer named Mysterio and how he could perform feats such as 'raising the dead' and 'opening Tartarus' to other parties as well! One of which the swords-doggie informed him through writing was heading here at a pace that drove him to strike the night before the day they were due. It was now afternoon and Mysterio was feeling an urge to kick himself at letting it be known Clutter Coulee was under his protection, and not expect anyone to come by to refute it! Still, he did his best to step out that door and walk calmly out despite the moment before being when his helmet's HUD thought to inform him of several bio-signs waiting for him outside that were not Bo, Norah, Tsavorite, or Trixie. He gazed about the collection of unwavering glances in his direction, neatly folded his hands behind his cloaked back, and politely said with a bow, "Well, good afternoon!" Surrounding him and the shack he exited was some of the toughest looking dogs he had ever laid eyes on. The Coyotes he fought before could only wish they came across as powerful and organized as this pack based on their presence and stances alone. They consisted of female dogs which was obvious based on their appearances and apparel. They certainly weren't dressed for the desert, but rather looked like they would be right at home in the Savage Land. That or Themyscira based on how ripped some of them were. Seriously! From the bigger dog breeds he could recognize like Hyenas to some smaller ones like Pomeranians, if they weren't built like they could tear apart a tank, they looked like vicious track stars that could easily beat the blood out of him after slitting his throat with a well sharpened nail. Already he could tell that they were leagues above those coyotes he fought before based on how strategically they surrounded him. The larger ones that looked like they could out muscle him in close quarters stood by at the ready. Next to them were their sisters who looked skilled with their choice weapons that included halberds, spears, and whips. Farther back were those who had arrows notched at the ready to fire at him. Going back to his experience fighting the coyotes, he felt confident facing those thinking they were but slavers who fought with pointed sticks and had large numbers but few brains shared among them. He also had Mysterio's tech- magic to put them in their place. But after encountering the Swords-Doggie with his strange metal and skill level, he was even more unsure of his competency if this situation went south. He wasn't as immortal as he thought; rather less 'squishy' of a sorcerer as he should be. Fortunately, it seemed his choice in being polite was the right call as these were unsettled a bit by his lack of fear or tenseness at their presence. They looked at one another as if they were expecting more from this strange figure. Yet their distraction didn't last long as a figure stepped forward from their ranks; one that Mysterio was not expecting to encounter amongst this crowd. She was a higher member of the pack based on her much more elaborate dog collar and how she stood a head taller than most of them, but the later could have more to do with her fur. It was thicker around her upper torso, wrists, ankles, and the tip of her tail, with an opposing hue of color where it was thin enough to show off her thickened and well-toned limbs. With her body type being that muscular, and with how she was dressed in the pelts and furs of past hunts he wouldn't be surprised to mistake her for an anthrosized lion from a distance. Yet it was definitely the color of her main patches of fur that would keep him from that conclusion. It was a startling contrast to the desert landscape to see something so white, and the only thing more juxtaposed was seeing this type of dog breed presented before him as the biggest threat of this pack surrounding him. "Afternoon is good, I suppose." The Poodle (of all breeds!) greeted curtly with an accent that sounded Russian. Her head's fur-style looked like a Ushanka, or other form of hat, so perhaps she was or at least some Ponyland equivalent. 'Yeesh, and Maze thought the Ponies here were like Amazons! She's like Ludmilla Drago if she really took up her husband's training regimen after becoming a poodle!' He internally quipped at this apparently Russian-sounding Diamond Dog in charge. Just standing a couple of meters before him and having to look up to meet her eyes was more than enough to have him do everything in his power to not throw a flinching hand down and trigger her into attacking. She had to be the alpha, for who else could give the example of reaching an intimidating stature despite stereotypes toward your breed? Before he could dwell further on her surreal nature, a young voice piped up drawing the sight of all of them towards the source. "Runo?" Norah asked in childish wonderment at the sight of this Amazonian poodle and her mob of warrior dogs. "Little Norah?" The Poodle signaled for the others to lower their weapons from her as she moved towards the pup to inspect her closer. 'They know each other?' Mysterio pondered as he looked at the reactions of everyone. Sure, the pup might have known her name from it being on her tag, but her next act told him otherwise. "Runo!" the pup pounced onto the larger femme's torso, showing that even with her obvious strength was pushed back a step by Norah's enthusiasm. "It is yous! You're still alives after me and Bo went our own ways!" "Little Norah!" The Poodle, now identified as Runo, exclaimed with a more cheerful demeaner. "You is alright?" "Of course!" Norah nodded. "Me and Big Sis have been makings our fortunes in this scrapyard since we saws yous all last! Even making new friends like the Magic-Boss Mysterio here!" "Ya? Well den, we shall see your big sis about how she is doing and hear more of your tale!" Runo seemed to be placated now it was confirmed Norah and Bo were all right. Or perhaps they had some code of starting fights around children. In either case, the dogs seemed to lessen their stances to fight, but kept a good eye on Mysterio. "She is fine, da (1)?" "You tell me. I am but an entrepreneur trying to do business with Miss Bo and her junkyard. Considering that I have yet to see her or my companions, I can only assume they are preoccupied." The Sorcerer did nothing to show hostility in his words, but the message was clear: Any hostilities enacted today would be on their heads, not his. While he was certain if it came down to it he could break for an escape, the fact that these femmes got the drop on him and Tsavorite or Trixie had yet to make an appearance, he assumed that he might risk their lives in doing so. "You assume much, Sorcerer!" Runo let Norah down as she widened her clawed hands before forming them into fists that were large enough to be equivalent stone hammers. "OR perhaps I assume enough?" The sorcerer moved his own gauntlets from his back towards his front with a holo-cube hidden in his fingers. He crossed them to avoid triggering the pack's eagerness to spring into action, but was ready to drop them the second her saw one of their toes so much as twitch. "Where are they?" "Right here!" Bo shouted as she stepped towards the crowd, drawing everyone's attention toward the junkyard dog. However, everyone's eyes seemed to widen more on the state of the two walking next to her. "Sorry for the wait, y'all, but these two were abouts to light a powder keg the size of Zebrican Manticore and that would be pretty bad knowin' y'all's tempers!" Walking very closely to one another was his two subordinates. Or rather, one was walking while the other was unfortunately unable to. That was because they were both bound to one another back to back in what looked like a pair of barrels, only made of that strange black metal instead of wood. Tsavorite served as the main mover seeing that she was the larger of the two and free to use her legs, whereas Trixie looked like an oversized toddler in a shoulder carrier that bound her body up to her neck. Neither had access to their arms, and to make it more laughable, Tsavorite had her snout bound by a metallic ring while Trixie had her mouth free to use for many choice words! "-and shove it right below that flapping tail of hers! That is just when that bitch wishes Trixie is done, but that's just what she's going to do to start-!" Apparently Tsavorite had had her fill of Trixie yelling in her ear, for she used her tail to swing at the magnetically connected container on her back, causing it to rapidly spin. Trixie unfortunately had the displeasure of feeling the swirling displacement until the dragoness used her tail to stop her right-side up. Tsavorite gave an amused glance, wishing she could laugh, but immediately ceased when Trixie looked dizzily at her and said. "Oooh...You realize if Trixie gets sick...ugh...she is not to blame for you being in her way...Ulp!" Tsavorite couldn't speak, but her narrowed glare was enough to convey the message, 'Do it, and die!'. Bo just ignored the two's antics. Instead she focused on being sure she maintained control of the situation. "I hads to be sure they wouldn't cause trouble. The last things I need is either you or my ol' pack to wreck this place even further, Mysterio! And don't give me that look, Runo! I've seens this sorcerer's magic first hand. If he wasn't willing to hold back for the sakes of me, Norah, and his servants, he would wipe you all off the desert floor." 'That is utter bull, but I'll take it!' Myterio thought as he took advantage of Bo's embellishment of his capabilities. It gave him the confidence boost he needed to walk up to his limb-locked friends, and even bump shoulders with a few of these feral femmes while he did so as if he owned the place. He looked at the two, making sure they were unharmed. "If I promise to keep these two from acting out, could you release them from your binding? I'd do it myself, but I'd be worried about the repercussions of using my spell work against your...techniques." Honestly, he had no idea how to undo whatever Bo did, but on the plus side, it sounded like he could do it easily! Bo nevertheless accepted his request knowing that Mysterio was true to his word. She stepped towards the two imprisoned members of Mysterio's forces, and tapped her nails against the metal. A second later, and the entire metallic object transmogrified into sand! Trixie slid of the dragon's back and landed on her rump dizzy but annoyed. Before she could give the she-doggie a piece of her mind, Mysterio stepped in to stop her with a hand on her shoulder as if to say, 'Now's not the time!' "Now I hope you don't mind Tsavorite, but I'm gonna need you to keep the binding on your maw. We may be friends, but I know how...hungry you get when some-doggie tries to fight your Boss." Bo said with a comforting tone, but a quick wink was a big indicator that she was throwing breadcrumbs for the three of them to work with. "And that's not mentioning whatever magic Trixie here can pull being Mysterio's apprentice." The three got the message that playing along would be in their best interests. That and the surrounding dogs perking up at these tidbits was more incentive to keep up their tough personas. "Quite right, Miss Bo. So why don't you and Norah catch up with your old comrade then?" he tilted his head toward Runo who looked at this occurrence with amused scrutiny. "I'll keep an eye on everyone here." "Does that sound agreeable, Runo?" Bo asked the she-doggie in charge. The two shared a glance together, but before a silent conversation could start, Norah had scampered up her Big Sis' back and onto her shoulders to meet the direct eye contact of the she-doggie huntress. "Oh please! Please! Please!" Norah asked excitably to the Diamond Dog poodle as she gave a puppy-eyed stare as further incentive to go along with it. "Big Sis and I would loves to hear how every-doggie's doing back at the old den!" Bo raised an eye with a smirk, knowing that despite the time apart and the intense training regime of her old pack, they still had a weakness she could exploit: Norah's puppy antics! "It sounds good. It has been too long!" Runo relented, finding even her tough demeanor softened by the pup's adorableness. She still brought it back to the forefront as she addressed the other Golden Nailed members with this to say, "Rest of you, remember! I may be Beta, but that just means it takes Alpha to keeps my tail in line! So, be on your best behaviors and keep in line for both of us, ponimat'(2)?!" The pack barked in agreement that they understood. Mysterio and his group almost felt compelled to yell their agreements alongside them due to her dominating presence she gave off with her decree. To think, that this huntress was just the second-in-command, the Beta, of the pack! Mysterio was certainly not looking forward to seeing who the leader was if this was an inkling of he being even more domineering! "Kayfova(3)!" She clapped before walking alongside Bo. She scratched Norah on the chin with a paw that could have easily encompassed her muzzle, and receiving happy yips in return. Doing so caused he to smile as she asked, "You lead the way, da?" "Of course! I know just to place to gets privacy, and it has been a long time. Lots to catch ups on!" Bo seemed especially cheerful and eager to catch up to this fellow she-doggie. The two could be seen chatting away as the three headed off for a more private setting. This left Mysterio to figure out how to break the tension that was left over among all the attendants. 'Well, looks like they are going to be a while. May as well try to get something out of this.' He looked towards Trixie, who's inner fire seemed to be dying down as her angry stare was met with a few dozen eyes that were willing to return the glare in full while holding weapons. He decided to break their glaring contest with a snap of his fingers and kept making a swishing motion with his hand. The she-doggies looked confused at what he was doing. Yet Trixie perceived it as being a signal to hand him back the deck he had lent her for practice. With his cards in hand, and a bit of a strange green aura forming over his figure, he began to intricately shuffle them as he knew for certain he had everyone's interest in what he was about to ask. "So, ladies, can I interest you in a game of ...gin rummy?" The moment he saw a few of them looking towards one another and start whispering, he knew he had them and that made his inner con artist shiver in glee! [}0{] An hour or so later, it seemed that inner con artist was well satiated with the prizes of its latest pursuit. While these females were skilled hunters and mostly lived in a place with ferocious beasts, apparently, they were never warned about the perils of the one known as the 'Card Shark'! From the instance they realized they were in his territory it was already too late and they were hooked and sank deeper and deeper into his grasp! Fortunately, he was a merciful creature and had a stronger code of ethics when it came to card games and women: Never take more than you can carry, else you shall get carried away! If there are women present, then that means dignity is never put aside. Granted, these were female anthromorphs, but the principal was the same, dammit! It was when they were about to start throwing in their clothing, that Mysterio drew the line and started to purposely lose a few rounds to keep them from going that far. As much as he liked using his magic hands-and cards! -he was still a gentleman, and wanted to ensure that if anything, he didn't take away their dignity. That and he was certain that his two subordinates were about to start a war with how disgruntled they look at the first she-doggie who was willing to throw in her top and start a chain reaction with the others who lost most of their possessions. (He swore he saw Trixie's mane begin to flare up and Tsavorite nearly burst her maw binding open at that!) It was after that they too joined in the game, and risked what little bits and accessories they had into the pot as well! Surely their master would go easy on either one of them and graciously grant them the winnings. Right? By the time Bo and Runo came back, they were surprised to see the she-doggies, the dragoness, and the unicorn mare bereft of most of their golden accessories and money while Mysterio was trying his best not to look snide about his new collection of treasures. "Sorry ladies, got gin again!" He held out his hand to show a straight from one to nine of clubs! "Looks like I'm keeping this pile of treasures! ...Except for this one." He pulled out a golden ring from the pile and tossed it back at the female who was about to shed tears at its loss. "You dropped this in earlier, not thinking it would be lost. I'd be careful of that. A lesser man wouldn't mind taking away a woman's wedding ring, let alone a dog's!" "Thank you!" The she-doggie gratefully exclaimed as she hastened to put it back on her finger, never willing to part from it ever again. "I woulds never bets it away but-" "Pride gets the better of us at times. It's understandable." He shrugged. Seeing the three Diamond Dogs return, he set his cards down and stood up from his seated position. "So, did you enjoy your talk?" "We did." Bo crossed her arms at the sight of the magician and his winnings. Unlike Norah who looked amazed at all the shiny objects he now had, she was not so impressed with how greedy it made him appear. "Seems you made out like a bandit." "Did I?" He then snapped his fingers. The pack looked about one another as each one whispered in surprise. All their accessories were returned to them, as if they were never taken! Tsavorite and Trixie were shocked at the shift in their misfortune as well for they too regained what they had bet and lost. All that remained front of Mysterio was a pile of golden coins that the she-doggies lost to him earlier in the game's beginning rounds. "All I seemed to win was this pile of loose change. Oh well!" He gathered the coins up into a sack, and recollected his cards as he up and walked away. "Better luck next time, I suppose." Tsavorite and Trixie hurried to catch up with him after their amazement settled down, leaving an astounded crowd behind that included a large Collie-mix and a toned-up Poodle blinking owlishly at the twist of their perceptions. "You see what I mean? That one is shifty, tricky, but at the end of the day, he's very nice!" Norah explained with childish matter-of-factness. After what she had experienced these past few days, she solidly believed Mysterio was a force she considered 'good', not 'bad' like other adults in her life seemed to suggest. "I see." Runo nodded as she noted how Mysterio performed. She would wish to hear the pack's observations, but from what she could already discern was enough. He was indeed honorable, and powerful. Judging from the odd scent in the air, he had the entire pack enthralled at some point during their games. Perhaps that was how he could win games of chance, but it was difficult to say without experiencing it firsthand. It was definitely a clear sign he could have done more to them and didn't because he chose not to. And that finalized her decision that this was indeed a worthy target who had caught the interest of her Alpha. "Before you go, Sorcerer, I have message to convey from my Alpha." Mysterio stopped as he heard Runo calling to him. 'That's right, as tough as Runo seems to appear among this group of Amazons, she is an understudy...so who is the main actress?' He turned to face Runo, almost bumping into his other friends as he did so, but stood tall as he asked, "And what, pray tell, is that message?" Bo looked nervous at the news that Runo had a message to give, while Norah looked eager to hear. Both had their own perceptions as to what it meant to be a subject of this Alpha's attentions. "My Alpha...My Malkia, who leads us of the Golden Nailed has heard about your skill. How you are magic user strong enough to control death and open Tartarus itself on whim. She has hunted the most ferocious beasts and slain the most menacing foes. And she has given me the honor of relaying her words." She said with a hand to her breast in salute before her reverent look became a threatening smirk as she said, "Her words were thus, 'Run fast, Death Master. You who has made this world more interesting. There are many who wants to chase you, but I want to be the one to catch you!'" The Golden Nailed pack broke into a bout of laughter at the words of their Alpha conveyed to the one named Mysterio. Norah looked excited at that! Her old Alpha thought Mysterio could make a good playmate! Bo however looked even more worried. She knew how such a decree played out. She was once an more active member of Golden Nailed after all! Tsavorite looked angered at this claim to her Master being like prey. Let her, or any other try to take her master! They would never get past her! Never again! Trixie looked alarmed at the news, but developed a haughtier look as she reminded herself internally that her teacher was the best sorcerer she had ever seen! It was hard to tell what expression Mysterio conveyed due to the nature of his helm being a round shiny object like a pearl. "And who is this, Malkia, who leads you all?" Runo raised her arms and formed her large paws into a heart shape under her top. Doing so at first seemed to provocatively emphasize her bust, but it also highlighted another importantly detail of her person. That was the mark of a lion's face with a golden paw layered over it on her chest. In an overwrought manner, she proclaimed the name of the one to which she served. The one whose mark graced her body as well as those of her clan sisters. "She is Zolotaya, Heir of the clan Kraven, whom we all bear her mark proudly knowing that we are her kin as she decreed it so!" That pronouncement had quite the effect on the supposed 'Death Master'. Outside his expressionless helmet he confidently said to her, "Well tell your Alpha, I, Mysterio, hope she has legs strong enough to chase me, and arms strong enough to grasp me! For like the stars in the sky, I shine brightly, yet forever remain out of reach!" But on the inside, he faintheartedly cried, 'KRAVEN!!! As in Kraven the Hunter!? God Almighty! What am I going to do!?' [}0{] 'What am I going to do?' Spike asked himself for what felt like the tenth time that day. Growing up in Canterlot most of his life, Spike found a sense of ease wandering the city streets and castle as he did. Seeing some of the places he would walk by like the small shops and districts was refreshing. Donut Joe's place was the highlight for the best sugar crystal donuts he so loved! He even got to swing by to see Night Light and Twilight Velvet to assure them that their daughter was all right and not panicking being away from the Royal Archives she used to trek daily. They shared a laugh at seeing that she now officially lived in a library! He couldn't see Shinning as he was apparently away on some official business, but his parents promised to let him know he at least stopped by. All in all, it was a good break from his daily routine of being Twilight's assistant and straightening out the books that she had the poor habit of letting stack up from her study sessions and other such tasks. Of course, he still had his mission to complete. He didn't just get this opportunity to visit the capitol and the castle on a whim, as much as he wished. Any other day he would eagerly hope to traverse to the castle of the Princess who practically raised him and Twilight when Velvet and Night were busy with their tasks as Archmagi. While he was meeting one of the two mother figures in his life, (Three depending on how he felt about Twilight that day), the matter of which they were meeting was outside a friendly visit. No, instead it was official business for the subject of their talks was a Mysterious figure whose unseen presence seemed to be causing ripples into their lives: Mysterio! Spike had hoped that he would have a bundle of information to prepare into a report to Twilight that would take days to organize and provide him an excuse to extend his stay in Canterlot. Instead he found very little that could make up the length of one of his dictated letters to the Princess. "So that's all you know, your majesty?" Spike asked as he finished his quill strokes on the parchment. The two of them were sitting calmly at a table among the royal bookshelves he one spent a great deal perusing for Twilight when she stayed at the castle. Across from him however was not the purple unicorn, but her royal highness, Princess Celestia. She had put aside her Day Court duties for this nice break from her royal routine. Yet even coffee and cake (for he was one of the few who knew how she truly felt about tea) didn't seem to lighten the discussion as much as she hoped it would. "I'm afraid so, Spike." The Alicorn sighed with a mug to sip as she composed herself. "I wish there was more that I could say, but honestly everything you see in that report is nothing more than the culmination of rumors." "I'll say!" Spike perused the details again. Already it sounded like something from one of his comic books with how this figure seemed to be doing things he would never thought possible without the Princess' doing. "Sounds like this Mysterio is pretty scary if he can really do all these things. Yet why are you going to tell me this stuff if I'm not even allowed to tell Twilight?" And that was another thing that bothered him. Celestia warned him about writing what he discovered right away. Instead asked him to tell her later when she was back at home, and then decide if they should tell the rest of their friends. "Spike, you know I trust her very much. As my student, she has had access to things that not just anypony, except those of the royal family had a right to. Why some might consider her, as well as you, practically my heirs. That alone is enough to make her a pony of interest." And that was a big part of the problem. Mysterio might not be considered a threat to the crown, but he certainly might have already been guilty of assault against one of its prestigious representatives as well as other ponies of interest. "So far, the only ones that even know of Mysterio's presence here in Equestria are myself, Luna, you, your friends, and a few of my most trusted officials. But the number that know of Twilight's encounter with him is even less! Their reactions to that has me hesitant to even send a diplomatic party to him in case any of them were react poorly and trigger him into attacking. And before you say anything Spike, consider this: Not even Shinning knows about Mysterio's misconduct to Twilight, and even I worry about what he would do if he found out!" That stallion alone would get the moon for his sister if she asked and it would take Luna herself intervening to stop him in his crazy attempt. If word reached him of how Mysterio used mind magic on her, well, it was bad enough Colonel Harte Liebe knew. She didn't need TWO highly ranked military officials with a quarrel against a sorcerer who could be a skittish ally. "I guess that's true. I can kinda see where you are coming from." Spike nodded as he took a slice of cake more than Twilight would let him have had she been here. "So I guess I'll just tell her when she picks me up at the train station that I may have gotten carried away with my free time that I just put off any reports about Mysterio to her." Wouldn't be the first time he got lazy and put of his homework. Oh, Twilight would be annoyed, and might even give him extra chores and put off giving him his allowance, but he'd sacrifice a bit of his liberties if it meant keeping her safe a bit longer with what he could do to help. "Still, that leaves me having to tell Twilight why I was unable to write to her as I was sent here on 'official Royal Business' and not supposed to be on vacation; let alone for a few more days than expected! I hope you can appreciate my sacrifice, your majesty! This means I won't be getting my issues of Power Ponies this month!" the young drake bemoaned as he stared pointedly at her, hiding his mouth's expression behind a cup. It was a very sly grin. "Oh, my poor little drake! How will he ever survive?" Celestia held a similar expression behind her own cup as she bemoaned in a motherly fashion. Twilight might be Celestia's 'studious surrogate daughter', but Spike was a 'surrogate son' to her more mischievous side. '"I'm sure Twilight will come to forgive you. There are worse things than being unable to write, after all!" [}0{] Back in Ponyville, Rarity was busy reading a novel of...passionate romance of the ages. She was enjoying a break from her daily workload of dress designing and decided to take it at the library. The unicorn figured it might be nice of her to do so considering the previous slumber party she ended up enjoying with her friends Twilight and Applejack. Applejack ironically had a similar idea for she too was there looking for books regarding agriculture and other harvesting tips. While both were seated, and appraising their topics, their third friend was not so relaxed as she was currently busy trying to do some sort of magic that judging by her annoyed grunts was not doing what she wanted. "Land sakes! Is she still tryin' to change that paper into some sort of 'nother magical doohickey or what 'sit?" Applejack asked as she watched Twilight end up burning a hole into another letter and going from annoyed, to now hastily trying to put the fire out on her desk with a telekinetically pulled flower vase. "That's the third time she's done that after rewriting the darn thing! Can't she just warp it away and then call it a day?" Rarity set her reading glasses off her nose with a huff as she too found Twilight's magical mishaps too distracting to delve into her reading. And it was such a good part, too! "If only! Sending things a great distance like Spikey-Wikey can takes an amazing amount of power, precision, and other factors that you must consider. Otherwise you end up destroying the object in the attempt, or misplace it somewhere on the route. Twilight seems to be a bit out of practice from such a form of magic if she is having this much trouble with it. I must say, she is acting like this is her only option for messaging without our dear drake around." The unicorn knew why Twilight was so adamant to perform the technique. After she had written a Friendship Report for their party, she realized she had no direct line to send her mail besides Pegasus Post. Rather than use that method, or even wait for Spike's return, she instead opted to try to warp the letter herself, only to have it burst into flames. It was humorous to see that night, but seeing her still fail with it now was not so funny. "That isn't to say she can't do it. It's more like if you tried to plow those fields of yours after months of doing nothing but apple-bucking, darling. You end up not being used to not needing much strength at first for such a task." "Really? You mean Miss Student-of-the-Princess is just too strong to send a letter through magic? She can take on Nightmare Moon, set an Ursa into bedtime, and cast spells that were taught to her by our own ruler, but that?" Applejack was now trying her best not to break into a chuckling fit at saying it aloud. "Should I even point out that it's not just letters that she's having trouble with since Spike went on his trip?" "Probably not!" Rarity giggled as she agreed that the two had enough fun at Twilight's expense. "Twilight, darling, please just take a break. I miss Spike, too. However, this is not making it better." Still the purple unicorn was determined to send a letter to Spike as she prepared another piece of parchment and dipped a quill in ink. "But I know I can do it! I used to do this when he was sick or when Celestia and I took longer lessons outside the castle! Just one more attempt!" "Now don't that sound like Rainbow tryin' to beat me in a cider competition! Twilight, before you go off and light your horn again, do you even remember what you were goin' to ask Spike at this point?" Applejack questioned. Twilight was just about to write her letter again, but then actually considered her friends' concerns and realized how distracted she was. "Um..." Her ears lowered as she sheepishly lowered her quill. It occurred to her then that she barely had an inkling of what exactly she wanted to put into her letter now. Each attempt to create something became more frantic with her frustrations at failing what she considered a simple spell. "Well, I know part of it involves our friendship lesson..." "And..?" The mares asked in unison. "I get it! I shouldn't let my worries and frustrations get the better of me." Twilight groaned out at their smirking expressions. Still, she calmed down with appreciation at how they cared about her feelings. "I suppose this situation could be more serious than just missing Spike and realizing how much more I need him here. There are certainly worse things than being unable to write." [}0{] "There are worser things than beings unable to writes, ya knows!" "Pardon?" Ethan said as he turned towards the Diamond Dog at work, and very important work at that. For she was busy tinkering with the way to get them from Clutter Coulee, across the desert, and all the way back to Castle Wonder. Considering how busy the two of them were at their tasks, he was surprised to have the silence broken by her bringing up that topic of all things. "I says there are worser things than beings unable to learns Doggie Script and Pony Talk." Bo said as she pushed herself from under the object she was hard at work soldering bolts and tightening sprockets. Said object was raised above her by more chains with those strange magnetic ball bearings and gave her enough room to roll about its underside on a wheeled platform for her leisure. "For instance, not being taken seriously in your ideas just cause your paws are smallers than the dunderheaded diggers of your species." Ethan could only shrug at that personal anecdote. "True, but it still doesn't change the fact that someone has messed with my head, Bo. Someone made it's that I could survive, sure, but also that I would be limited on what I could learn and teach others. It's beyond unnerving and insulting! Besides, look at yourself now! You're clearly showing how wrong those dunderheads were about you!" Bo seemed to take a bit of pride at that declaration. She deserved the praise of course for her hard work as it validated why Ethan had an urging to come here of all places. The other-worlder had come originally looking for a source of materials for what he needed to make. Yet it was through a vision from the mysterious being known as The Quidam and his brilliant stone that he was compelled find something here. At first, he thought it was to do what he did best with junkyards; recycling what others considered junk and making them into art. However, by spending more time at Clutter Coulee he found another truer reason: to acquire a machinist for his team! And what could provide better proof of acquiring such a person than seeing her work on completing a side project years in the making, now with a renewed purpose to finish it! Here they were in a garage that Bo claimed as her main work space and Ethan could still hardly believe the surreal nature of what he was witnessing. For while the object looked a bit more old-fashioned than the ones he knew of back home, he could still be awed at the fact in this world of mythical creatures and magic, there was the equivalent of a Big Rig Truck being created and assembled. Bo may be a dog, but he was amazed at her skills and the time frame in which she could work with to essentially make a breakthrough in transportation with her 'Pony-less carriage'. What would take probably weeks of factory labor was nearly completed in a couple of days thanks to her muscle grease, his helping hands and newfound smarts, and whatever power she seemed to hold over shaping metal with such ease! "Diamond Dogs tend to be terrible at crafting things themselves. Oh yous still gets the ones who makes things and can dos a pretty nice jobs with it. But the most of them don't have the patience to work with their oversized paws to be artsy and creative." Bo groaned as she reminisced about her people's narrow-mindedness. "So when it comes to greaser work like fixing things it is left to the pet-ponies or the runts who don't have to be careful with their paws." She got up and grabbed more tools to continue with her tinkering as she prattled on her story. Ethan followed suite, paying close attention to this insight into the dog's culture with rapt attention. It seemed the she-doggie was finding herself eager to have such an attentive pupil for she kept talking without any loss of speed or care to her task at hand. "Lot of the time, I ended up having to go into tight spaces, or using pony tools to fix pipes and sprockets for whatever reason since I was considered only so useful as a pup. Turns out my small paws makes me great at tinkering!" She grinned before letting out a sigh. "It's just too bads no dogs really cared abouts it." "No dogs at all?" Ethan dared to ask. He thought that a culture that seemed to emphasize gem collecting and pack behavior would appreciate a good tinkerer or two. "Well there were a few who could appreciates it, but doggies in general don't think it would be easier to use fancy machines like ponies do. Like think of big digging machines for shinies; no dog would want something that big and cumbersome to maintain when they have a pair of big trusty paws for digging. Add the fact that I was a runt and a potential pack bitch with no named clan to back my barking, and you'll find that my hobby was nothing more than a dream." She laid back down on the roller platform and had a sad frown on her muzzle as she muttered, "Didn't help that there wasn't much option to show it off in the pet shops." "I'm sure had you the opportunity you would have outshone any of the others there besides you!" Ethan tried to emphasize as he handed her a toolbox. Still he had to ask because there was still a detail that he couldn't wrap his head around, "So what are these pet shops like?" A few days ago, Bo would have avoided answering the question, or had even gotten mad and the Hyooman for daring to ask it. But considering what she did for her, especially regarding her regained paramour, she didn't feel as dismayed at the inquiry. "I'm sure ya'll hyoomans probably haves them in your territory or at least something similar!" Bo nonchalantly replied from her low position as she got back to winding in the nuts and bolts. She may not feel as upset by it, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted to dive into the topic. 'Lady, you have no idea about my definition!' Ethan thought as the logo for Petco appeared in his mind. He may never look at it the same way again if this was leading into what he was thinking. "Maybe, maybe not. But I'm not going to judge you based on what it could be. Unless maybe that's why you let Norah put an explosive collar on Trixie despite claiming to hate slavery-" The hardworking she-doggie banged her wrench against the side of the vehicle as she immediately barked out, "Her collars are not for 'Slaves'! They are signs of 'Pets'!" "And there's a difference?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Bo. We're comrades now! Enlighten me to the cultural ideals I am clearly ignorant of! What makes collars so important for Diamond Dogs that..." Ethan stopped himself as he almost asked what he wanted to know, minus any sense of tact. Bo caught on to what wasn't said nonetheless, and seemed to feel a hint of appreciation for him doing so. It was something she herself was worried about bringing up now that...HE...was back into her life. Needing a distraction, she decided to explain to Ethan why collars played such an important role in the ways of Diamond Dogs. "Ponies gets these cutie marks when they come to find out their purpose in life." Bo counted on her fingers as she went over her points. "Don't have a clue what dragons or griffins gets. I knows minotaurs get nose rings, but Diamond Dogs don't get things like that. We gets collars made for ourselves by ourselves." Ethan said nothing. Mentally he was taking note, despite seeming to be standing still as aboard. Bo continued knowing she had his full attention on her every word. "Collars are not signs of ownership like brands! Collars show that you truly belong! That you are not strays, but a part of something with worth and value." She grumbled. "At least, it does for the most part. You can thank the Bandit Age for losing that distinction to other species." Ah, the Bandit Age. Ignoring Norah's wonderful adaptation to it, he guessed it could be the reason it seemed the Diamond Dogs lacked the cultural extent the ponies seemed to possess, based on what he perused in the castle library. "So collars are like...licenses?" Ethan asked, thinking in terms of how they were used in his world. That was the closest he could think of at the top of his head. Bo scratched her muzzle as she considered this term, and found it would probably be the best one to use. "Kind've. They can shows who is mated and who is family, but just having one is a sign that you are not nobody. You have a name! You have a life! A purpose! An existence! So long as you have that collar it is yours!" She rubbed at the spot on her belly where underneath her overalls that brand was certain to be. "Brands and marks are different. Those things tend to never go away and you'll always carry it with you. You remembers this mark I showeds you?" Ethan nodded. How could he forget considering she partially flashed him so that he could see it? "You mentioned that you didn't just get it to look badass, as I recall." "What you don't know is that it actually covers up several others that I got over the years." She grimaced as she recalled the number, but gained a bit more hopeful expression as she remembered the last one on top. "It's a mark that Zolotaya herself wears as her promise that we of her pack are boundeds not just her, but she is bounds to us too! She placed her mark on me personally, and it shall be the last mark I will ever wears of that nature." "Sounds like it was quite the reprieve from a life of servitude." He commented. "I mean you sound almost proud to have gotten it." "Hardly, but perhaps you will gets why." She huffed, but saw the hyooman was attentive to her every word despite his commentary, so her story progressed. "In Diamond Dog values, slaves are weakest members on the doggie-pile who gets captured, sold, and traded around for all sorts of reasons by other packs; one of the better ones is to stock the pet shops. Pet shops are not like slave auctions. You are fed, groomed, and respected much better than slaves ever do! More importantly, you gets a way to gets adopted by customers. You may have to spend your time trying to show off your skills, or be entertainment, but then you have ways to become part of better packs who wants you and other chances." Sounds like Pet Shops weren't as bad as he feared. Granted they probably were much worse than he could imagine in actual practice, but at least it sounded like they weren't just bordellos. They kind've sounded like they could be open to hiring perhaps workers or bodyguards if the skills were sought after. But he was getting distracted and there was still more to hear. "For a while, I was just tossed around, doing what a slave's life dictates in my puppy days. But at least what I did kept Norah, who had not even been old enough to earn her name, safe and innocent. Eventually I ended up with her at a pet shop for a long time. Time enough that I grew into quite the pretty bitch despite my runtiness, and had a few admirers. One in particular, who you know, I missed very much and hoped would buy us...!" She spoke with pride, and self-respect. Ethan nodded as he was getting a good idea of her contexts so far. Not heavy in the risque details, but it seemed Bo at least was making it sound like she was at least...better in her pet shop days with more opportunity. Especially considering her previous comment of having admirers, it sounded like there was a hopeful turn. "But then it happened!" Or perhaps not based on how her pride seemed to dim. "What did?" He had to ask. Bo seemed undecided as to how to address this next point. Not that it was embarrassing, but more like it would put her at a disadvantage to the sorcerer. "You remember Norah's story about how we Diamond Dogs are descendeds from Crunch the Rockdog?" "How could I forget?" No seriously, how? That story was told through stuffed animals and Norah's enthusiasm made it more...memorable to say the least. "Well, there is more to it than that. Sometimes it shows up more than usual in his great-grandpups. Like with me, and with...him." Now this was an interesting detail! "How so?" At this, Bo gave a genuine smirk, knowing she had the perfect opportunity to show up the powerful sorcerer at something even he probably could never do! She sat up in front of him, making sure to keep eye contact on her captive audience. "Watch carefully now." She said as she held out the wrench in her paw. At first, Ethan saw nothing out of the ordinary as she held it in her nails. Then, like a ripple in a pond, a shadowy tinge began to spread throughout the tool until in completely engrossed it. It became blackish gray with a brownish tint. Ethan was no geologist, but after seeing Bo dip the wrench into the toolbox and a having a bunch of nails and screws stuck to its surface was proof enough that she somehow turned it into some form of magnetite or similar mineral. "How did you do that?" He asked with honest amazement as he looked forward to the answer. The explanation of what she did would also explain the magnetic prison cell and the binding that she could put Tsavorite and Trixie in! "Some Diamond Dogs have such a connection to the earth that they can make other things into a certain kind of rock! The stone type I make seems to be pretty special because it can draw other metal to it, too!" Bo's smile reformed into a sad glance as she recalled the rest of her tale. "But the way I founds out about it was a terrible thing." Before he could ask 'How?', her story continued at a much more furious pace as the tension built up the more memories she evoked. "Back in my days in a pet shop, I woulds...do my business while Norah was safe and away from trouble. One day, a doggie thought he could get to Norah and have fun with her while his pack-mates were keeping me preoccupied. I could hear her yip in distress as they were about to corner her!" She barred her teeth at that, making herself look more than a bit ferocious as she recalled the feelings of absolute rage at those dogs. "I wanted these dogs dead for even thinkin' about touching her! So I felt a deep instinct in me and mades it so he and his pals never could. Next thing I knew, they were statues that were drawn to each other like tingly metal, and shattered when they crashed together!" She calmed herself down, which Ethan was more than thankful for, seeing that everything metal in the garage started to shake as if wanting to fly towards her! "I was afraid I would be cast out, or worse, put down, but instead I was put for sale for a much higher price!" She looked at the wrench in her hand as focused on returning it to its normal state, before tossing it carelessly back into the toolbox. "I was traded around packs doing dirty work for rougher bosses until one pack I was a part of got the dumb idea of taking on one of the Big Bosses of the Diamond Dogs: The Golden Nailed. Of course, he got most of them killed and I was one of the few that was worth a damn. Their Alpha, Zolotaya, bought me and Norah as pets and eventually made us part of her pack." 'I'm guessing that's the lead into her business with the Golden Nailed Pack and...Miss Kraven?' He was still unsure what to make of that name being here, but that was a problem for a future issue, now wasn't it? Right now, he was busy hearing an ally bear a bit more of her soul to him. "But that's all I will says for this story. The point is that I lived through quite a lot, and hoped Norah never understood what was really goings on arounds her. For the most part, she never seems to act like anything we were doing in our lives from when we were slaves to when we was pets was some sort of game; one in which we would wins better lives and wear pretty collars." It took her a while, but she had a lot to say in hope to get the hyooman to understand her line of thinking. "So when I noticed her occasionally giving our workforce these collars she made..." "You just hope it is a pup playing pirate with no idea what 'pillaging' actually means?" Ethan summarized with how he comprehended Bo's feelings to why Norah's collar giving wasn't meant to be as corrupted a concept as it should have been. Bo perked up at his understanding. "Yes! It's like that! Anytime a drifter or such came by they did their work, and left when they met the debt. You can dig around if you don't believe me, but not once did I ever think that these collars Norah passed out were explosive." Her ears dropped as she moaned. "I should have known better." Ethan crossed his arms as he thought carefully on his next words to Bo. He still had his reservations to the ideas of 'Pets', 'Slaves', and 'Identity' that these collars seemed to signify. However, knowing that he personally felt that he had to keep his own cultural norms and standards somewhat secret to his friends, he felt that he barely had a right to judge them on their customs that were long ingrained into them. If anything, it wasn't like she was defending them with pride. Rather, she was hoping she could forgive them for appearing comparatively vicious, yet sadly unchangeable. "I suppose it's understandable then. You only thought Norah was picking up on things with a child's understanding, not realizing that she was learning more than you wanted." That was a fair point to the she-doggie who had the unfortunate task of being the lone model of her younger sister's behavior. He still was sure to ask, "So, nothing happened to your previous workers?" "Nope! I made sure they left when the ponies or other deliveries came and gave them a ride to some dwelling places. Never heard from them again after, but they left here alive!" She nodded vigorously. "I believe you." Ethan nodded his assessment. "Norah however should change her behavior to collars though if we are to work together. She'll also still have to ask Trixie to forgive her, but I don't think it will be as bad as you think." Bo had to raise a brow at that admission. "No? Why not?" "Because the bomb wouldn't have gone off had Trixie removed it. It only blew up because she found the detonator." He recalled how Norah found the detonator and used it to explode the bomb as well as how the thing did not go off in the time she mentioned it would when he ripped it off. "Otherwise, why would she had made the effort to find it alongside the task I gave her?" "So she is not such a bad dog?" Bo asked with a sense of renewed hope. To which Ethan chuckled a bit. "Oh, she's still a little scamp, but you can rest assured, you are doing a good job of keeping her from becoming bloodthirsty!" He then had another curious thought considering that the Diamond Dogs. "Now you bring up another question: what about your own collars? Judging by the ones I saw those 'Golden gals' wearing, you and Norah probably had some that were very fancy." "Oh, I still got them somewheres safe. Besides the chances of Norah losing hers, they would brings too much unwanted attentions. Considering who gave them to us, they are worth much more than the gold they are crafted from." Bo shrugged, before gaining a devilish grin and posturing like a poster girl. "Besides, as if I needs more attentions given to my cleavage!" Ethan snorted at that! "I'm sure your boyfriend will appreciate the lack of distraction." Bo giggled a bit at that, but the mood slowly died as the unasked question resurfaced between the two. "So, he had a collar there?" The human finally decided to lead into the unaired topic. "...Yes. He did. One that denoted him as a Knight of the Bone of Scone. One of our Big Boss Packs" Bo breathed out softly. "But now he doesn't have that, nor...-sniff-...his bark." "How bad is it, Bo?" Ethan asked. "I mean, I can guess, but..." "When a doggie's collar is taken away, they lose everything with it: Their pack, their mate, their purpose, their identity; Everything! They are made to be nobody! Oh they can start from the bottom and possibly regains everything they hads except...-sniff-..." Tears were starting to trickle in her eyes and yet she still focused on finishing. "...When they are made barkless, they are marked for death! For even if they have the best digging claws, there ain't no doggie who would trust one who can't even barks for help if a tunnel collapses! Or bay at the moon to extol the dead! He can hides it, but if any packs know for sures, especially the Big Bosses...!" Ethan patted her shoulder in soothing circles as she regained her focus, and stopped her tears. "I gotta finish the motor carriage! I can always cry later when I'm halfway gone from here, right?" Bo quickly got herself back to work, feeling that she shown quite enough of her softer side today. Ethan nodded as he moved to help the she-doggie as best as he could, yet his thoughts still wandered to these recent events with a new insight as to what was going on. 'Two lovers reunited, but only to discover one marked for death. And here I am to bear witness to this story.' Ethan recalled just why this truck was made especially important. It was the parting phrase that Runo said as she and the pack of huntresses left. She whispered it to Bo, but it was told with him close enough by to hear it. Judging by the poodle's knowing look, he was meant to hear it as well. "Remember what I said, Sestra (4). Our Alpha gave you a bit of leeway when leaving, but that only goes so far over others who we see as prey. Still, I won't tell her about your 'vlyublennyy shchenok' (5), for old time sake. Dosvedanya (6)!" Just the way she looked at him was enough for him to understand that the one she referred to as prey wasn't just him. Already it was clear that he was not on the best terms to start with for this pack and whatever good will he had was hanging by a bit of twine. Still, he made a motion to express a few more parting words and gifts he handed to her for Miss Kraven. Perhaps it was overtly reckless to do so, but the fact Bo now divulged such a great deal to him was proof that it was appreciated. Even if she didn't, he felt he would have ended up doing the same. He always did have an issue with reacting heedlessly to how others that badmouthed himself or those in his care. [}0{] If there was a lesson he learned from all this, it was that there was an expansive truth to 'No news is good news'. The incident in his dad's shop was graced with how the hefty press and the prevalent news vans missed reporting it. Whatever sources that caught notice of the incident, seemed to bury it in the later pages and smaller segments of their chronicles. At least any solid facts didn't reach much beyond blurry details and unsupported hearsay. Unfortunately, the rumors of what happened still spread their roots across the nearby people and reached the ears of his teenage peers. It would have been one thing if he was receiving sympathy when he returned to school at summers end. He would have appreciated a never-ending tide of condolences and other students asking if he was ok. It would have been irksome, but understandable. Yet somehow by the end of his first week back, the rumor mill devolved into him becoming a potential threat to the entire student body! People started avoiding him when they didn't have to encounter him. Those that did seemed to be metaphorically tiptoeing around him as if he had broken glass pouring out of his shoes. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, he just couldn't get them to understand that yes, something bad happened to him, but he was still a good guy! No one seemed to get this! Not the counselor he was 'recommended' to make appointments with, not his teachers, nor his acquaintances. He barely had what he considered friends, and they seemed to suddenly find excuses to sadly not have time to hangout or at least study with him. All it did add up to was the feeling of being choked by an unfeeling grip. It was pouring into a cycle that was making him sad, anxious, and standoffish to start off with. Now it was really eating away his tolerance for things and Ethan's patience was thin enough as it was! It finally came to a burst one day when a certain Robbie Cutherland said the wrong thing at the wrong time. For you see, he thought it would be quite hilarious to make an off collar joke about the owner of McIntyre's Magnificent Merchandise not being much of a man if it took his wimp of a son to keep the place safe from thieves. Maybe there was more that he was about to say that would have made the others at his table laugh during lunch. Maybe not. There certainly was no laughter when that so-called football star found himself bleeding on the ground due to having a large biology textbook slamming his head into the table! And into the bench! And into the ground...repeatedly! "You can say he's a shitty magician, or that he can sell better stuff! I'd bring it up to his attention and he'd get better! But you call him less of a man because I pulled the trigger! THEN I'll JUST HAVE TO WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR F*KING FACE YOU #!##!##!" Ethan roared with each pounding. It took half the football team to retrain him and even then, they were unsure if it was shock at seeing the skinny armed nerd doing what he did, or that his anger made him that much stronger that their numbers were needed. Robbie wouldn't be well enough to play another game for the rest of that year. Not just from his injuries, but from the shakes he would get whenever the crowd roared in his ears. Still his problems were small nuggets compared to the wide berth Ethan now got whenever he would step into the cafeteria and hallways. It was hardly any surprise that despite being a hardworking and respectable student, he faced a few days' suspension for that. To be honest, he was glad, because he was feeling a budding desperation to start ditching if it meant he would avoid the whispers and suspicious looks behind his steps. He expected his dad to punish him or berate him, but in a twist of events, he saw the older McIntyre was doing his best to hide the hint of pride at his son standing up for him again and showing he wasn't as broken as he feared. He lost his privileges but he felt a bit happy at seeing that he gained a bit more respect. Still it was a harsh period in which young Ethan would learn to cherish those that would eventually stand with him despite being told he should be avoided at any cost. [}0{] He needed a break from the garage. The memories of his high school days weren't something he wanted to sink into. Besides, it seemed Bo was taking some time to herself. The fact she was using her now unconcealed abilities over metal made the work go much faster, so he wouldn't be surprised if he was holding her back by being there. Besides, he had other business to conduct in the meantime. For instance, the young pup who was looking over a pile of miscellaneous items while trying not to question the other person at the table across from her: The 'Barkless One'. He never gave a name in their conversation, nor would Bo reveal it. All he seemed to have to identify him was his swords. One of which he was cleaning while tempering its cracks with careful touch of his one nails. It seemed he too had similar powers to Bo's powers (He should come up with a name for it, unless there was already one) for he started to trace intricate words and sybols on them, before going for more cartoony ones when he noticed Norah started to watch what he was doing. She giggled a bit at seeing a cat chasing after a mouse. "What you got there, Norah? More loot?" Ethan asked as he stepped to the table and sat down with them. The two dogs barely seemed to notice him nearby until he greeted them. "Just some shinies some pups I knews gave their mommas to pass on to me if they saw me." That threw him for a loop. Sure, he could tell some were married based on their reaction to that one who bet a ring, but also mothers? Not exactly something he would consider when facing them at the end of a spear or other pointier object. "Looks like they must have missed you as much as you missed them." "I guess." She didn't sound that happy about that which both male figures noticed. "Looks like you got something on your mind." He sat next to her. "Want to talk about it?" "It's tricky." "Try me." "Well...you knows that me and Bo are sisters, but did you knows we don't even knows what happened to the rest of our families?" Ethan shook his head no. "Bo and I don't even share the same daddy!" She yipped out. "I mean, look at her, and look at me! She's big and fluffy 'cause her daddy's a Bernard! I have no clue what mine was, other than he wanted me and my litter dead!" 'Good grief!' He thought, but his uncovered face said it all. The swords-doggie said nothing, not that he could, but his tightened grip on his blade was indication that he didn't like that news either. Norah started to shed tears as she prattled on her woes. "I have brothers and sisters that I have never met! Most of which are definitely gone for good! Yet now I can't even have friends." She started to cry, leaning into the other Diamond Dog for support. "Can't or won't?" He interrupted. "Huh?" The pup asked as she settled down. Even the older dog looked a bit confused at this question. "You heard me. Can't or won't?" He spoke up, giving her a resolute eye, before settling down. He initially wanted to lecture her, but didn't want to make her feel worse doing so. He certainly wasn't that heartless yet. His stare therefore became more gentle, but still focused as he went on to expound to her. "I know in some ways, Bo is at fault for that. I won't excuse her for that, other than to say she is clearly doing her best to take care of you. Yet Norah, that doesn't excuse the fact that I'm certain that collar trick you did to Trixie isn't the first time you did it." The swords-doggie tilted his head add that bit off information. Seeing his reaction to the tidbit, Norah immediately began to start defending her actions as any child would ought to do. "But I knows what ponies like her always do! Trying to takes advantage of us cause we're not as rough or mean like other doggies they'll come across." She defended. "They always thinks just cause we're nice doggies we can't be smarts enough to know when we are tricked, or not as special as they are. The same goes for Minotaurs, Griffins, and every other somethings! Besides, what does that have to do with anything?" "Everything!" He explained further with a pointed finger on her nose. "If there is one lesson I can impart on a pup like you, it's that no matter how others treat you, they will only judge you by how you treat them in return. Do nothing, and they may walk over you, but do too much and they might trample you underfoot! So, if you want to avoid a bad result, you got to treat them right. It may sound simple yet tricky, but it is what makes the difference in setting off another enemy, or making a new friend." "So what shoulds I do?" "Well, you can start by saying you're sorry. Not just saying it, but showing you mean it." He quickly came up with a suggestion of how to do that. "I recommend showing it through a gift. That way she'll know you aren't just doing it 'just because'." Norah thought about it, but the brightened look on her face, and her hurried pace out of there were good signs she knew just what to do now. That left Ethan alone with the swords-doggie who appeared somewhat bemused at what transpired in front of him. "I know, she's just a pup. That still is something I feel I needed to impart to her as we are all going to be stuck with each other for a while. Better to tell her how she can improve her friendships before she ends up making bitter rivalries with us all." Ethan said while also considering, 'That, and I think Trixie's rivalry with Tsavorite for whatever reason is going to be distracting enough! No need to add Norah, and possibly Bo, and end up having an all-out civil despite between all of us.' The dog relented in a bit of an unexpected manner as he held out one of his blades with the phrase {I understand} written on its surface. "So you let your blades talk for you now?" Ethan had to hold back a grin at the idea of a warrior literally have his weapons do the talking for him. {Faster for me than sand scribbles} The dog 'said' in another blade. True. Ethan was impressed that his power allowed such a thing combined with his skilled control. Then again, perhaps the Dog's language was easier to write with than his mind could perceive. Either way, he shrugged. "Fair enough. So how are you holding up?" The Dog pondered before a moment before answering in two sides of a blade. {I am fine. I am still alive. Bo and Norah alive too.} He flipped it over. {Bo is different. I am different. We are not same.} "And?" He asked. The swords-doggie wiped the blade before replying with, {I still like Bo. Bo still like me.} Another flip. {What do you want?} "Now that, is the big question!" Ethan thought carefully as he was not only lacking his Mysterio outfit at the moment, but the Doggie was looking as though the answer would determine what would cover his sword next: more words or blood. "What do I want? Well I assure you, I don't want any harm to come to any of us. That is for certain." {Good. Not Enough though. Need More.} He flipped it back to the previous question. {What do you want?} "I want you to understand, what I want is complex. I have trouble putting it into words. So, let me answer your question with another." Ethan held out a hand and offered this to the swords-doggie, "How would you like to help me achieve a better world?" [TO BE CONTINUED...] (1) yes (2) understood (3) very good (4) sister (5) lovesick puppy (6) Goodbye {OMAKE} Everyone was going to bed, and heading their own seperate ways. But two doggies where still lingering by the fire, alongside Ethan who was about to leave, but slowed his pace as he heard Bo start up her conversation. "So, I knows I'm not the...well, willowy collie you used to know. Well I am, yet am nots...um, I means-! I still...fancy you...that for sure never changed." She swayed in place like a schoolgirl confessing to her crush which was cute or funny depending on how you saw her larger frame acting so skittish. "I...understands if you don't feel that way...it has been so long and I don't blames you for expecting-!" The swords-doggie began to come closer towards her, not breaking eye contact. Bo was nervous at how resolute he appeared as if there was something he had to do. Perhaps he was going to show her a sign for her to back off-! -Scratchy! - -Scratchy! - -Scratchy! - Bo stopped her worrying in stunned surprise before her eyes rolled back close as a blissful smile formed on her muzzle. The swords-doggie had leaned in close, reached behind her back, and was currently scratching behind her ears. The intimate distance he maintained and the smile he gave at her own pleased reaction was all the confirmation she needed that yes, this doggie still cared for her too! Thus, her own tail started wagging in glee at her heart being set a flutter. Seeing this nice moment cause Ethan to recall something else they discussed in the magnetic cell. "If you care about Bo as much as you do, then you have to show it with actions if you can't express it with words!" He thrusted a clenched fist to his own breast in determination as he confidently proclaimed, "Trust me! You use this technique and she will be putty in your hands to mold as you see fit!" He told the dog this as part of his discussion over the way Bo reacted to his silence. Apparently, he too was worried about how she would react to seeing him, a 'Barkless'. He gave him a bit of a pep talk and gave him a tip about how to get a dog to know you cared for them. Granted, it was what he did with dogs back home, but it seemed to work here based on how Bo seemed to like it. More importantly, the Barkless Swords-doggie appreciated the good advice based on how Bo had started to looked bashfully giddy before sweeping him into a deep hug. Before he left, he noted that the dog's thumb was raised in a salute; one in which the human subtly returned. On that night, Ethan knew without a doubt The Bro Code was truly universal!
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Bonus Issue-The More You Learn [Epilogue]-Stops Along the Way
<So we have learned quite a lot about our players in this strange tale. Each has their secrets, and their own set of hidden talents. Yet even now we only caught a glimpse of their souls. But do not fret, for we will certainly acquire more about them as this tale extends into the horizon. After all, the more you learn, the more you gain. > [}0{] |The Sorcerer and his Associates| "Everyone ready?" Ethan asked in his plain clothes. He had the Mysterio outfit wrapped up in the cape and hanging on a stick like a 'hobo-bag". He had his backpack on and whatever supplies he would need, so he was pretty much ready to go. It seemed his associates were all ready to go as well. From Tsavorite carrying a couple of barrels engorged with goods, to Norah dragging a case nearly as big as herself full of stuff, they all showed each was packed up and ready in their own way. Yet it seemed the dragoness, mare, and pup had something to ask about before they boarded this finished method of transportation of hers. "Well, Master, we wanted to ask..." Tsavorite slowly began. "If it's not too much trouble-" Trixie tried to finish only to be interrupted. "What's up with yous?" Norah blurted out. The other two looked nervous at the puppy cutting to the chase. However, Ethan was a bit confused as to what they were asking. "What do you mean?" He asked as plainly as he could. "We each talked a bit abouts us these past few days, but I seemed to realize that we barely know anythings about yous!" Norah pouted, as she didn't get why the other two were hesitating to ask such a thing. "So what's my story?" He tilted his head to the side as he pondered what to say. "Not much that I really want to say." Now wasn't that the truth! Just thinking about his past life experiences filled him with melancholy and lost nostalgia. "For a long time, I had a great deal of trouble making friends. Even when I did, I rarely got to stick by them very long for one reason or another. It left me with a lot of free time, but plenty of lonesomeness. I trained myself to be the best I could be in the arts that my father taught me, as well as learning a few other things here and there. There were times where the loneliness nearly caused me to give up alongside all the things I did to get as skilled as I am now." He gave a slight grin as he thought up a memory that gave him a sense of hope back then. "But it wasn't all bad." "That really doesn't tells us much about yous." Norah pointed out. Trixie and Tsavorite didn't say it, but they too seemed a bit underwhelmed by that story. Ethan just shrugged. "No, I suppose not. But then again, isn't it better to at least know we will discover more about each other the longer we stick together? An incentive to become closer as it were?" His smile at that was infectious for everyone seemed to gain one at that. He then snapped his fingers as it came to him. "That reminds me! Did you think about my advice, Norah?" Norah thought quickly about what he meant, before she hurried into her luggage to look for it. "Yep! I gots it right here somewheres...!" "What is she-?" Trixie asked as she and the Dragoness looked over the doggie digging through her stuff. "Here you go!" Norah quipped the moment she found her present and immediately handed it to the blue unicorn. Trixie seemed hesitant to do more than hold the thing wrapped up in in cheap paper, so Ethan tried to assure her that it wasn't some form of explosive. "I told Norah that the best way to show someone you're really sorry is to get them a gift. Norah is the sorriest puppy I have yet to see here, so perhaps the gift will reflect it." Trixie raised an eyebrow, still a bit suspicious at the thing. "What's the catch?" "The catch is that if you accept the gift, you also accept a bit of her friendship and give a bit more forgiveness in return." He motioned towards Norah as he advised her to accept it. "Why don't you give it a glance before making up your mind." The young pup was giving such an innocent and sad look, that even Trixie was moved despite once having this pup be a button away from blowing her up. "Fine, but Trixie doubt she will just forget having a bomb strapped to her neck with just a simple bribe of....!" She stopped her rant the moment the last bit of wrapping came off the object. She stared dumbfounded at it for a full minute or two before brusquely asking the pup, "Where did you find this!?" "It was in a shipment of scraps they sent us!" Norah asked with worry she somehow made things worse. "It came with a junky wagon full of stuff we found. Big Sis and I fixed it up and are gonna use with her motor-wagon-puller-thingy. As for the stuff, I took all of it and kept it in my room but put it backs when we was done. Wait here and I'll shows you!" The pup hurried off, leaving the rest to ponder the significance of the object Trixie was now holding. "What is it?" Tsavorite had to ask. Seeing her rival like this was quite unnerving to her. "It's mine." Trixie said. She looked as though she was fighting off a crying session with the way her lips were pouting. "My wagon was here with all of my things buried here. This whole time." All three looked at the purple cloaked she held tightly in her hands. It was a dusty purple, and was patched by discolored thread and scarps of cloth. Yet the yellow and blue stars scattered upon it gave it a sense of wonder still entwined in the fabric. Norah came back with her arms full of all kinds of objects: scraps of paper, posters, and even a couple of tomes. Yet what stood out the most to Trixie was the rumpled purple witch's hat that was placed on top of the pile of a similar make to the cloak! "Bo thoughts the wagon would make a good spare house to take with us on our trip. She seemed really adamant to fix it up instead of usings it for parts. So it really is yours?" Norah asked as she handed all of her stuff to the mare. Trixie was shedding a few tears she could no longer hold back as she saw what she now held. There were a couple of her old advertisements, a few of her old spell books, and even her diploma! But even those paled in the fact she had the hat and cape of her performing outfit! "Yes! Was there anything else?" "Whatever else we gots is probably on the cabin. Bo says we was goings to gives it to you if you evah paid your dues, but you knows how that turned out." Norah sighed as she looked a bit solemn at the fact she may have caused the unicorn to cry instead of cheering her up. "Sorrys about the patches on the clothes. I'm not as good with my paws for sewings like Big Sis is, but I guess if it's yours you at least gots it back!" Trixie said nothing for a good long minute. After lessoning her sniffles, she handed the things to Tsavorite, who simply seemed eager to comply if it meant it was a good thing the pup did. The unicorn mare let out a couple cough to clear her throat as she collected herself into a more serious image. "Norah, Trixie...I am going to be honest. I may never fully forgive you for the things you've done to me." The pups ears drooped. "But," They then perked up at attention. Ethan and Tsavorite felt happy at how Trixie seemed to regain a sense of pride and regality as placed the cloak and hat properly upon her person. "Trixie is not in the business of making children cry when they know they did a terrible wrong." She placed a hand on the pup's shoulder as she gave her an honest smile, before smirking haughtily. "Perhaps if you admit that Trixie is the greatest and most beautiful mare you've met, I will start to accept your long apology!" "Fine! Trixie is a pretty mare!" Norah cheerfully sensed a great weight lift from her shoulders, but still felt a need to express some childish rebellion as she stuck her tongue out. "But you still have a puffed-up plot!" "Oh, you-!" -Honk!- -Honk!- "Hey, what's all the hold-up!?" Bo's voice shouted at them. "Y'all coming or not? We're wasting the fuel as y'all stand there doing nothing!" They all turned to see the amazing sight before them. Bo had really outdone herself. The motor-truck looked like a powerful form of transport that while too old for Ethan's world, it was a great deal more advanced than what Equestria had to offer. Like an old-timey big rig in a way with how it was cobbled steel and had spokes that spewed forth some form of steam instead of smog. Behind it was a couple of wagons connected, with the one at the end being the one Trixie recognized as her own! And there in the driver's seat was Bo, who looked imposing but graceful as a trucker. "We're coming, Big Sis! We just had to gets some last-minute stuff together." "Well gets on, before I goes and change my mind." Bo shouted back. Everyone then got to it, and quickly loaded up the vehicle as they all were ready to go. Still, Bo stopped Ethan as he was about to pass her by in the driver's seat. "So you're certains that this place we're going is gonna be safer?" "Safer? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not going to make an empty promise like that." He shrugged. 'Castle Wonder' still seemed to be the best option to avoid trouble until things calmed down, even if it was in a forest where the wildlife might be dangerous. "But I promise, Bo, that the moment we enter the castle, I'll lead the way to all the treasure I owe you plus interest." The she-doggie pondered this. Payment did sound nice, but there was another reason she was going so far to help him. "And I promise that I will do my best to make sure your dream comes true as well." He shared a knowing glance at the figure sitting next to her. "Right?" The 'Barkless One' gave a thumbs-up. Bo sighed before setting a lever to get the motor running more. "If I didn't knows what you could do after seeing it with my own two eyes, I woulds never believes it when you says that." But she still gave a slight smile as she said. "So, just keep going in that direction until we hit the trees?" "Yep. We get lost, and I'll use the same spell that got me here to find our way again." He gave one last look at the place as he pondered what it was he found here. Sure he had an access to scraps and junk to remake into things for his cause. That paled in comparison of what he really found in this place of castoffs: Friends. "Now let's go!" He'd be back. For like the card left on the newly placed flagstaff, this was a place where you could find: THE MYSTERIO. [}0{] |The Beta and The Alpha| Back in the place that was once considered the den of the Desert Ash Pack, a regiment of huntresses had returned to the rest of their sisters. It seemed they came during quite a time, for the she-doggies there were busy in revelry of all sorts. From playing lots, having lively conversations, eating meat off the bone, to having friendly spars with one another. These femmes seemed to be having quite the party. Especially since it seemed whatever leftover members of the Desert Ash were now finding themselves acting as service pets as best, or as newly crafted furniture of gold at worst! Yet it all slowly eased into a leveled mumble the moment they realized the Pack's Beta and company returned from their mission of checking up on Bo and Norah. Runo stepped forward and took a knee in front of her Alpha's presence. "Malkia (1), I bring news from our self-renounced sisters, Bo and Little Norah." All the others perked up at this. Zolotaya herself leaned forward from her impromptu seat of transfigured crouched coyotes and tossed aside the bone she was gnawing as she listened intently. "Well, I would hope so considering both are not in front of me. So go on, Runo. Are dey well?" Runo nodded. "Da, Bo and Little Norah are both safe and unharmed." A sigh of relief seemed to spread through the crowd. That was certainly good news to here considering how much these scoundrel coyotes talked about their plans for them. It made them glad that they were now...indisposed and disbanded. Zolotaya here gave a pleased expression at that confirmation of the two's status before asking further into the other purpose of the mission. "And what of dis 'Death Master', dese desert pups kept yipping about?" She asked as she dug her lower paws further into her 'footstool's' back. "Am I to believe he is just simply dere, scratching himself in places, and doing nothing to our sisters?" Runo thought carefully about how to explain the strange sorcerer before final conceding with,"My Malkia, I do not know if their words of him being a 'Death Master' are true, but a powerful sorcerer does reside in Bo's territory based on the skills I was able to partially witness. He came with a dragoness who faithfully serves him and currently possesses a unicorn mare as an apprentice. Yet he himself is neither of their kind, no of ours!" Now that intrigued the hyena greatly! "Really? Den is he a minotaur, or perhaps some form of griffin capable of magic?" Runo shook her head no, but did her best not to match her Alpha's eagerness. She knew she had her hooked with the topic of possible prey, and this was where she would have her attention captured for certain! "Net (2), he is somethings else! Something You and I have never encountered or seen before!" She looked amongst the crowd conspiratorially before finally saying it. "He calls himself a 'Hyooman'." Zolotaya smiled a toothy grin at such an intriguing snippet to indulge in. "Hyooman." She tested the word on her tongue. It had an intriguing feeling. That alone was enough to plague her curiosity. "Have you obtained any residue of dis sorcerer?" "Of course, malkia! I figured he would be of interest to you." Runo answered with a grin, but did not give the object to her. Zolotaya of course pondered this odd act of rebelliousness with her trusted second. "Den where is it, Runo?" The hyena gave a slight pout as she playfully asked. "You knows I don't like to play keep away in matters such a dese." "I knows! But first you must hear his message!" She reached into her cleavage, the most secure place on her person, and pulled out a slim object wrapped in cloth. "After I spoke what you imparted to me, he saids dis: He hopes your legs are strong enough to chase him and arms strong enough to grasp him! For like dee stars in sky, he shines brightly, yet forever remains out of reach!" Everydoggie stopped whatever they were doing. They had to process it a minute to be certain that what they were hearing was fact. There was someone out there who had the gall to challenge their Alpha's hunting capabilities with such a gesture! Zolotaya herself blinked a couple of times before grinning roguishly at such a response to her message. Looking around her pack and their shock expressions, she stood up and began posing her body haughtily, making sure that her muscles were emphasized with every flex. "I don't know, sisters. Perhaps I need more exercise to meet his needs?" She burst out into laughter, and the rest of her pack fallowed her guffaws. "I thought as much, Malkia!" Runo laughed too, but calmed down to get the next part of her story across. This was when she handed the object to Zolotaya, who began to unconcernedly unwrap it. "But den, before we left, he gave me this to give to you." Unwrapping it, Zolotaya was surprised at what she found. It looked like a simple card, perhaps one that she saw once held by a fortune teller. Only this one had no depictions of an arcana like 'The Empress', or 'The Lovers', but a symbol of an eye with the words 'THE MYSTERIO' at the bottom. However, what stood out the most to her was the bloody fingerprints covering its surface. "Did he...!?" "Da, he actually covered his blood on it with purpose to 'see if that was enough of a hint for the pup! Her father could surely do more with less!'." Runo bowed low, expecting to be struck for such a message, and grimaced as she could just meekly defend herself with, "His words, not mine!" The other pack members took a step back. One of the many unwritten rules was to never compare Zolotaya's skills to her father's. For she may at times be considered 'Her father's pup', she took the challenge to surpass his shadow to the extreme! It was enough to rile her up into a frenzy that would result in broken bones. "Heh-Heh..." The she-doggies ceased backtracking when the hyena didn't break into a growl. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!!" No! She was instead laughing like the hyena she was! This wasn't a laugh like earlier at a joke of her own making. No! This was the laughter of a predator who had found something it absolutely wanted and was willing to go the distance to prey on. Only when she absolutely needed to breathe she concluded her amusement and wiped the tears from her eyes with her massive paws. "Mysterio...huh? Even his name sounds like he will be a most intriguing trophy to collect! I certainly hope it will be him who satisfies my urge for the most dangerous game." She gave a gleeful growl as she gazed at her jewelry adorned claws as if already imagining them coated in his blood. "At the very least, he should be fun to hunt!" Runo gave a gleeful grin of her own. Oh sure, she was bound to be the one who would be sore the most these coming days. No doubt the poodle would be her Malkia's training partner to keep in shape. However, there was one other thing that may have come into play if things went to her plan. [}0{] "I knows that look, Runo!" Bo looked annoyed now that Norah had stepped out to fetch them some drinks. They had gotten further into their reunion chat, and decided to let the pup out so the grown-ups could have more serious topics come to the table. Already the topic of Bo's beau returning came and went, and Norah would no doubt be sneaking away to see the imprisoned swords-doggie. Bo had already made Runo swear on their sisterhood to keep his presence hidden, to which she simply complied because of her secret fixation that would break the image of the 'tough bitch' she impressed onto others. "What look?" The poodle asked, trying to be straight-faced, but failing. It was tricky to keep her giddiness hidden. It didn't help that it was Bo, the she-doggie whose position she had replaced in the pack. The same one who knew her well and had just used that unspoken weakness of her to have her silence from her own Malkia. "That look that you gets when you wants to play 'matchmaker'!" Bo barked. Oh she knew that look well! She saw it quite a few times in her days of being a prominent member of Golden Nailed. Runo's face had an expression of dreamy eagerness; an odd expression to see on the powerfully built poodle for certain. Yet it was even stranger when Bo considered why it was developing on her muzzle. "Our Malkia deserves best! And from what you says, he sounds as though he exceeds her prerequisites!" Runo crossed her arms as she sat back and just imagined to wonderful occurrence to come once Msterio and Zolotoya met. Already she could imagine the marvel to occur once they met in person! The passion! The fury! The glorious clash of forces once the two got riled up! And then...kul'minatsiya(3)! "But he's not...! She's wouldn't even want...Grrr! Why do I needs to says it if you're not listenin'!?" Bo face palmed herself with both paws as she felt her argument was dying before it could even be said. It didn't help that she knew how Runo got when it came to setting up 'matches' with her pack sisters! "But I am, Bo." Runo sighed as she nonchalantly shrugged. "But my record is practically flawless. Just recently Hideay was successfully paired up!" True it was to a captured coyote, and he was more of a pet, but details! Bo still wasn't convinced. In fact she was more determined to stop this nonsense. "But Zolotaya has more jewelry than lovers because none have met those standards to avoids becoming another of he prizes!" Runo nodded in agreement, but raised another counterpoint. "Dis is true. Would you rather I suggest your vlyublennyy shchenok (4), though? I'm sure he would make fine match with our Malkia!" Bo blanched at that! Runo actually laid that card onto the table, and it was a powerful card that laid control over her heart. She just reunited with him. Mysterio may also be a stranger and a magnet for trouble, but throwing him to the wolves (or Chief Hyena in this case!) was downright murky to do and both knew it! "That's dirty and you knows it!" Bo growled, but knew she had no choice. "Dirty? Or strategiya(5)?" Runo chided with a raised nail. "After all, whether it's love, or battle, matches lead to conquest! And as Beta it is duty to ensure Malkia receives finest in all matters!" Before Bo could offer any form of rebuttal, Norah came in and informed the two of just what the Golden Nailed dogs were doing with the sorcerer. And that in turn led them to see what mischief was occurring when Mysterio was involved in games of chance. [}0{] Was it wrong doing what she wanted to accomplish for some mere form of pleasure? Perhaps! But it wasn't entirely for her self-interests she assured herself! So why not act part of 'matchmaker' for Zolotaya? Whether she took him for a worthy trophy, or a new pet to play with, she would simply be playing her role. It was her duty as Beta to ensure that her Alpha only got the best after all! [}0{] |The Impostor and The Wanderer| "Should I have turned left at the canyon, or the right?" Rep asked himself as he tried to make sense of where he was in divergence to where he was headed. Considering his abilities, he had very little to worry about as he traveled alone. Using a library of forms, he was practically prepared for any situation to make this journey shorter and more bearable than others he was certain. Such as his current form of an Earth Pony Stallion had benefits of speed, strength, and endurance. That was all good sure, but that also seemed to do nothing when it came to his current dilemma. The desert environment was indeed no challenge for him. No, what the main problem was that he had a poor sense of direction. Even after all these years he had trouble reading maps and knowing how to use them in conjunction with his location. Then again, it would probably help if he had a map that was up to date instead of this old one he was currently glancing over. In fact, he was certain that it was etched long before the owner of Clutter Coulee was born, let alone when she established her junkyard. " I haven't even reached halfway there and I'm already lost!" He tried his best to not get mad and crumple up the map, but it was an internal struggle. "Can't I get a break?" "Depends. Are you willing to take a smaller piece if you do?" "Whoah!" Rep turned around to the voice that came from behind him. Standing there a few feet from the rocks he sat upon was a figure dressed in a grey, but weaving patterned poncho. His face was hidden in the shadow of a wide brimmed hat of a similar shade. He looked like a desperado, and Rep would have had no problem changing into a shape to deal with him. Except his gruff picture was ruined by offering an opened candy bar to him. "Thanks." Rep broke off a piece for himself. He only ate it though the moment he saw a wanderer take a bite of his own. "I don't suppose your generosity would also extend to sharing some directions as well. I'm trying to find a place called Clutter Coulee." "Clutter Coulee?" The stranger pondered as he looked at the object on his shoulder. "What would bring you to that scrapyard alone? Especially since it's run by Diamond Dogs, albeit nicer ones, but still..." Rep quickly came up with an answer to placate the stranger's sudden suspicions. "Believe it or not, I'm heading there hoping to find a magician who may have the spell I'm looking for!" "A Magician?" The stranger raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "Works for me!" He then motioned for Rep to hand him the map, which he did thinking it was to point the way. That is until the pony desperado decided to use it to make an airplane that he promptly threw into the horizon. "HEY!" "We won't be needing that! Trust me!" He then started trotting in the opposite direction. "I can already tell we won't be needing it!" "You sure?" The reptile disguised as a pony questioned. It didn't help that the desperado's motion revealed the object on his shoulder was a rubber chicken! Yet what choice did he have? "Trust me," The orange stallion grinned as he pointed a twitching finger forward like it was a pistol. "I have a certain sense when it comes to these things!" [}0{] |The Farmer| Big Mac kept counting the bits in his hand and he pulled a wagon full of the empty baskets from sold apples, as well as the goods he bought today. He was amazed at how many he got just from appraising a few of those coins that sorcery fellow gave him. The amount was already triple whatever he earned that day! He would without a doubt be hiding the rest for further emergencies that would hit the farm down the line. Right now, however, he used the amount he earned to buy off supplies that the orchard needed as well as the other amenities his family needed. Sure, it was money he might have easily used on himself, but he never felt the want to spend more than what he needed. He was a simple stallion, with simple needs despite his strength and prowess. Nevertheless, there was another factor he was grateful for today. That was being the only stallion in a house full of mares. That was odd to point out, but it certainly had its advantage of not being odd for him to be out in the marketplace doing the shopping. Nor did it seem out of place when he purchased things like sweet soaps and mane brushes among other things. Most assumed he was buying these things for his sisters and his granny. Sometimes that was true. However, it was nearing that time of the month where a certain acquaintance of his would show up. Normally he would scrounge up whatever leftover bits he could spare from his expenses to pitch in an extra soap or a convenience he could spare to her. Now thanks to that Mysterio fellow, he had more of a budget he could work with to not only provide for the farm, but for her as well! Oh, he was going to punch that pearl-headed prestidigitator in the ribs for what he pulled on his sister. The Big Brother Code was quite clear on that course of action! Still, he would thank him at least for making it possible to help not just his family, but her. "Ee'yup!" He declared as the thought of her expression at what he had to offer her this time. More than her usual list and even with a few of the needed ingredients for her brews! It was enough to make him smile, and he thought it would be just the thing to lift her spirits. He would absolutely like to see her smile again as well, Ee'yup! [}0{] |The Shamaness| Zecora was finding it very hard to keep anything but a frown on her face. Expressing anything but absolute calm would ruin her concentration, as well as her balance and neither would be good. Normally the only threat of doing so would be a stinging shoulder, an aching back, or a sore rump. Now her meditation had the added incentive of not falling off her staff for another reason: doing so would have her land on a cub and possible have the pride descend upon her like the part-lions they were. Oh, Zecora was certainly more annoyed at this odd turn off events than scared! She came to Mysterio's residence expecting to find him and give him a piece of her mind in the form of a few whacks from her staff. Only to find that he wasn't there. So, she stayed hoping to encounter him, and when she heard movement, she thought he had returned. Only instead she found a pride of Manticores curiously exploring the castle! Of course, she was unnerved to see them for who wouldn't be! Yet these ones surprised her even more because they acted so...docile. They didn't attack the zebra, who for all instinctual rights could be considered prey, but instead crowded around the fish she had been preparing that day for a meal. Zecora shared it with them to avoided being considered another course, but it seemed from that point on she was no longer considered to them possible food. Instead they seemed to respect and interact with her as a provider for it. It was certainly an awkward situation, but at least it gave her time to cool her agitated thoughts she had been feeling since Mysterio's exploits hit her ears. 'Although that still remains to say. Is he to receive my utter disdain?' The zebra pondered this. As of yet, she had not achieved a definite answer. She felt at this point she would have to wait and meet the sorcerer face-to-face and judge her choice from there. But that was for another day to come. -meow! - -meow! - -meow! - The soft cries of the cubs surrounding her where signs that they either wanted more fish, or that they wanted to play with the striped not-prey instead of watching her strange quiet thing any longer! "Indeed, now they act playful and cute!" Zecora spoke with one eye opened to gaze at her audience. Even her firm demeanor dissolved a bit at seeing the young cubs acting so innocent around her. "But it's your parents whom I dispute!" She threw her body as she leapt from her elevated pose and landed a few meters away from them. The cubs clamored in amazement at seeing the feat of agility. "Not that long ago they considered me a dish! I suppose I can thank him for their craving for fish!" Just the word was enough to get the cubs to settle as well as the adults who lazed around to suddenly perk up at attention. Zecora chortled a bit, feeling oddly elated at how this whole strange relationship was now a possibility because she found as he said, 'A stranger in a strange land'! To her it was more hilarious considering where she was from and wished to share it with someone she knew would laugh alongside her. Perhaps it would be another story to tell the next time they met for one of their rendezvous. [}0{] |The Captain, and The Princess of Love| Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadance as she preferred to be called, was trying her best not to pout. As a member of Equestrian Royalty, she was used to having to make compromises against her feelings in regards to the situation. Such as the time she had to partake in in a few morsels of meat that a Griffin dignitary offered her during their visit. Sure, she was sick for days after that, but it was worth it to see that peace was maintained because of the good will she showed that made negotiations easier. Sometimes doing what was best for the situation involved doing something distasteful. However, when it came to doing the right thing wasn't that another form of tough love? "Now Shiny, are you going to be mad at me all day? It's only for your own good!" Cadance rationalized, trying to be reasonable about her current actions. "Reasonable? This is a magic nullifier!" Shinning scowled as he stared at the ring placed over his horn. He was a strong white unicorn with an azure charged mane. Another time he would be compared to stronger members of his species, but now it wouldn't seem fair with his current state. He was bandaged in multiple places and had an arm in a sling, but the most telling statement of his current health was that he was lying in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV bag! "It's bad enough that I'm stuck here like a P.O.W., but to have this on me-! And by my own marefriend, no less!" "And I've told you, if you can't keep yourself from being overworked, you'll be here longer!" Cadance exhaled her displeasure. "Besides, what are you going to use your magic for that you're willing to risk worsening your injuries?" "Well, I still need to write those letters to Twiley!" He argued. "Well they can wait until you're better!" She countered. Before he could offer a rebuttal, the Princess of Love decided to overwhelm his need to check up on his LSBBF by utilizing her ultimate technique! She stared down the Captain of the Royal Guard, matching him eye for eye. Then without delay she leaned in to kiss him! It was an intense act of passionate love that hit the stallion's mental faculties as well as tickle his physical desires. His thoughts of being injured and having to assure his sister he was all right faded and were replaced with ones in which he was complaining about how he couldn't go any further in his poor condition no matter how badly he wanted to try! Shinning may have been a premier example of a pony stallion, but at the end of the day, Cadance was an alicorn whose appearance alone made his look paltry at times. Heck, he was still certain that she used a glamor to hide the fact she was taller than him do to her superior genetics. Granted, she lacked the dimensions her 'Aunty Celestia' who had centuries to have them augmented by magic, physical robustness, and the power of belief in her semblance. Still, she was quite the magnificently appealing and incredibly amiable that sometimes he wondered why he of all beings was so lucky to have her in his life. After the kiss ceased and he was able to restart his normal breathing patterns, Shining apologized for his frustrations. "I'm sorry Candance. You know how boneheaded I tend to get about these things!" "I know! And I've long accepted that about you. But you don't have to act like you're never going to get to it. Instead, just try to relax and enjoy this recovery time. Besides..." She gave a simmering glance and smile as she leaned closer towards him. "I know how to make the time go by better! And can even dress up for the part~!" Now that would certainly be worth the loss of using his magic! But still, he had to avoid appearing too eager. "Well, I suppose I could. There are worse things than being unable to write I suppo-" "CAPTAIN SHINNING ARMOR!!" "YES, SIR!! -YEOWCH!!-" Shining stood up from his bed at attention. Unfortunately, while it could be commended how ingrained his military training was in him, he had momentarily forgotten that he was in that bed for a reason! "Permision to visit, SIR!!" Shouted a voice outside the door. 'Oh horseapples!' The couple thought as they knew they weren't imaging it. SHE of all mares was here! "P-P-Permision, granted!" Shining moaned as Cadance eased him onto the bed. He knew there was no use avoiding it. "At ease!" Cadance was the first to greet their visitor as she entered. "Colonel Liebe, what brings you here?" For there in the doorway, standing tall in salute was Colonel Harte Liebe herself. "Guten tag (6), Captain! A Better Day to you your majesty! Forgive my interruption to your bedroom activities, but I have something ve must discuss vith dire importance!" The two blushed at that, but quickly stopped when they heard 'dire importance. Considering the Pegusas' mannerisms, that could truly be an emergency. "What matter is that, Colonel?" Shining asked. The yellow Pegasus grimaced as she held out a folder. "The matter regarding a new character in out lands. The one called Mysterio..." And that was the start of a conversation that would lead to Shining furthering his hospital stay by trying to rush out the window of his third story room. His only words of defense were that Somebody broke the Code of Big Brothers and needed to be taught a serious lesson! [}0{] |The Quidam| When you are a being that exists in another state of time and place, you often wonder how to spend the time you have at the place you are at. The Quidam had no head to scratch, or at least one that one could see, but if he did he would be seen scratching it. Currently he was gazing at the tome that represented the story of a boy named Ethan McIntyre, who currently possessed the Mantle of Mysterio and was now returning to his headquarters, 'Castle Wonder'. Still he pondered about the details that came to light before this point in time. <So what did we learn here?> He asked despite being the only one in this Green Room. <I mean we certainly learned quite a lot about a number of beings, sure. Yet why was it we learned those things and not others? Why those answers?> He gently turned the page as he watched his current charge. So far he seemed to be doing fine as expected. Unexpectedly was how he unknowingly made allies and enemies without even being present. It was as if his mere presence was enough to cause ripples in the threads of this world's fate. And despite seeing it many times before, the cosmic presence was still fascinated by its occurrence. <I'm sure there will be more answers to unspoken questions to come. Just as I'm sure that he will continue to make strives to improve himself and those he meets. Still I wonder...> He stood up and walked towards the new collection of tokens from other displaced. Each of them was a way to reach another in the void who had their owns hopes and dreams like his current charge. <...Will you keep strong as your challenges come forth with vaster peril? Or will you too be another that meets a...bad end?"> He hoped not. But he thought the same thing when it came to other charges he once had. Like the one with the damaged Lego brick he was reverently examining in his gloved hand. He too had such wonderful dreams...before like his body and mind, they shattered! [}0{] [TO BE CONTINUED...] (1) Queen (2) No (3) Climax (4) lovesick puppy (5) strategy/strategics (6) Good Day
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 14-A Stranger Comes To Town [Part 1]
Perhaps the day would have been unremarkable. It didn't seem to even stick out to the ones who were traversing in such an unusual manner. Granted it might not seem unusual to see a moving vehicle to our own eyes, but here in such a place and with several factors involving the world, it was surprisingly intrusive to the status quo! Here was a big rig truck, albeit one that appeared less modern than our recollections, and it was pulling along a caravan of homely wagons through the trees. They were spaced widely enough for even it to get through. That made it one less obstacle to encounter unlike the plethora of others that one could find in the place known as Everfree Forest. No, for that, there were a few individuals whose job it was to deal with ensuring the caravan made it safely on its trip. Bo was the one who built the main truck, and thusly was the one who could properly drive it. Norah, while eager to have an opportunity to play with her noisy toys, was mostly stuck inside the cabin she shared with her sister for her safety and Bo's piece of mind. Trixie was using their journey to reacquaint herself with her lost wagon, repairing her outfits as best as she could, and dusting off her old act in hope of impressing her new teacher now that she had some of her old equipment at the ready. That left it mostly up to a dragoness with hungry flames, a Diamond Dog that could wield three swords at once, and a powerful sorcerer taking most of the shifts in which someone defended their means of transportation. For the so-called sorcerer in question, it was a near cake walk compared to most of the things he had gone through since coming here. All he had to do was unleash a few clouds of his special mist or 'summon' a few frightful and powerful looking 'summons', and most of the predators would flee from their path. Then again, the methods of dealing with what the Everfree seemed to throw at them were easier for all of them to deal with. A few swipes from his swords made any beast back away in pain and converted any Timberwolf the swords-doggie came across into lumber. While most would advise against doing such a thing considering they had the abilities to fuse their pieces into a greater sized monster, it made them a bigger catch to the dragoness who would burn them with her plasmid breath and eat them. Ethan couldn't help but notice how she discreetly asked the swords-doggie to keep attacking the bark created wolves to have them fuse. He would have found it funnier were it not the fact the last one they encountered was crying in fear as the dragoness kept chomping away at it bit by bit! He could swear that he saw her jaw unhinge a bit as she swallowed bigger chunks of it like a snake! He doubted he was the only one to see it, for Bo made certain that their dragon friend was well fed whenever they stopped to sleep, and Trixie was sure to have him sit between them as they ate. "Another thing to put down besides the food. See about getting more info on Dragons." He mumbled as he wrote that down. "What's that you gots there, Boss Mysterio?" Norah asked as she hoped next to him. She had no trouble scurrying onto the roof he sat down on, and was certainly hoping that whatever he was up to would alleviate the boredom she had been building up on this road trip. Ethan was dressed up in his armor of Mysterio and was trying to 'meditate'(aka check the systems of his tech). However, he found himself done with that chore and now busy working some things out on a piece of parchment. Alongside a list of numbers and names was supplies he would consider acquiring. Norah wouldn't know this however as she was unfamiliar with that 'hyooman-script' he was writing in. "Well young Norah, I was just figuring out how much I need to repay your sister for what I owe her. Not just for the scrap, but other things I'll need her help with to get done when we reach my residence. However, I realize that I still need to look into getting more supplies since I have more company than I was expecting coming over." Mysterio, despite his heavy voice, gave a forlorn sigh as he told her his conclusion. "But to do that, it's going to involve doing something I have been putting off for a while: Meeting the Ponies." She may have been a pup, but even she could understand what that sigh meant. It was the sigh a person gave when they had to go apologize for something bad they did. Hearing that Ponies were involved only further confirmed in her young doggie mind that there was going to be trouble with that incoming. "Sound like it's bad. How bads can it be?" "Remember what you did with Trixie?" He faced the young pup, who gave a nod. "Well some might say what I did to a few ponies I came across could be considered worse, despite what I meant by it had good intentions at the time." Seeing the look the pup was giving him, and recalling that this was the one who placed an explosive collar on his new apprentice as she worked her debts in Clutter Coulee, he hastened to correct himself. "That is to say, I memory wiped them because I was...worried they might tell someone who would think I was a bad guy without hearing me out." "But it doesn't matter what you meants by it because they thinks you dids it just to be bad. Like that thing you saids, right?" Norah tilted her head as she recalled the lesson the so-called sorcerer imparted to her. "Exactly! But that doesn't excuse what I did." He crossed his arms. "Still, there is the reason I have yet to properly introduce myself to other ponies and now I'm going to have to." "I understand!" Norah nodded her little head, knowing how difficult ponies could be. "How'd you says you're sorrys?" "That's my biggest mistake, Norah. I have yet to properly apologize. You could say it is my biggest regret since coming here. It's why that's the thing on my to-do list above getting more supplies for my new guests." He pointed to said act on the parchment before the tree line finally cleared. When they got through the last of them, he stood up as he caught sight of the thing they were heading for. "An item I'm going to have to soon correct since we have now arrived and you can perfectly see why 'Castle Wonder' needs help with someone of your sister's caliber." Norah gaped in amazement at the large structure they were driving up to. It was a big castle! Bigger than any building she ever saw in her young life. It was made of stone, had stained glass windows, and large doors, towers, and- And a large gaping hole as if a massive blast blew straight through it! It had plants and stuff blocking it like fixer-up tape, but it still looked like a thing from her fairytales and dreams! Sure it was rather junky, but it still was amazing in Norah's eyes! It seemed Trixie and her Big Sis' Darknut-friend were also impressed. They glanced here and there at the structure and were surprised at the castle's existence. "So this is your so called castle?" Bo asked with angered bafflement. She was certainly not impressed to say the least. All this talk of Mysterio being a castle lord and this was what he had to show for it? Some run-down wreck that barely had a ceiling over it? Sure, it was grand, but considering how much restoration it needed, who was going to do it? Her and her kind? Already she was feeling irked at another act of possible bamboozlement. "I know, it's a wreck. To be perfectly honest, I only recently acquired it. I haven't been here in this land long to spruce it up that much." He then tilted his head as he realized, "In fact, I think I have spent the longest portion of my stay here in this realm in your home, Bo!" Good grief! Now that had them all surprised to hear, especially him as he said it aloud. Trixie nudged the dragoness to ask if that was true. Tsavorite frowned as she confirmed it after counting the days spent here in her head. She'd definitely had her own tasks to get done once they entered the doors to ensure her Master's place was suitable indeed! "That so?" Norah asked as she looked away from 'Castle Wonder'. Unlike her Big Sis, she was amazed with the opportunity to be staying at a castle! It was like some of the stories she grew up listening to! Maybe she could be the princess of this story, except in real life because that would be awesome! "So how is this your castle then, Boss Mysterio?" "Why? Because I found it and so far, none have come to dispute my claim to it!" He placed his hands on his sides in a rather smug stance. "I'm sure even a child such as yourself knows the saying, 'One's shelter is their fortress' so here is where I took shelter, and therefore it became my fortress!" "So 'Finders Keepers'?" Norah asked with her understanding. Diamond Dogs certainly knew the ancient commandment well, especially due to it causing the Bandit Age to come about when Crunch--(Bless his Bark!)--was overthrown. "Exactly!" He snapped his fingers as he reached for the main door to open and entreat his guests to enter. "Why I can walk right through this door and nothing bad would come about-" =ROOOOOAAAAAARRRRRR!!!= He immediately slammed the door closed. If anyone could see his expression, it would be slack with owlishly blinking eyes. "Funny, I recall it having less Manticores before we left!" He opened it again, slowly this time, and saw that yes, there were a great deal of the scorpion tailed lions in there. The reason they growled was clear as they were forming a protective circle around their cubs. They probably were concerned that something was entering their domain uninvited. But rather focus on that, he was more fixated on the striped female figure crouched upside down on a single staff in the middle of the chamber. "Zecora?" He asked, getting the meditating mare to open her eyes and look at him. He certainly wasn't expecting to come across her so soon, even less so surrounded by playful manticore cubs. "Well as my ears seem to burn!" The zebra spoke up as she began to contort her body into preparing for a leap. "I see Mysterio decided to return!" Well this certainly was a surprise! Mysterio greeted his past acquaintance with open arms. "Well, what are you doing here-?" -POW!- Zecora did leap from her perch on the staff she was balanced from. Yet her landing was not intended to be a soft one since it was purposely directed at the orb headed magician. He was knocked off his feet by the forceful blow of her hooves! "I would apologize for striking you Mysterio." She stood on top of him with a hoof holding him to the ground in dominant posture. "But I feel the reason is something you know." He just laid on the ground, not struggling for he had an inkling why the zebra felt the need to do it. "Let me guess...this is about my misconduct after 'defeating the Red Drake'?" "I warned you of what would happen if you were a threat-" She then looked over her shoulder as she raised an indignant eyebrow. "You're not helping your case with these dogs you have met!" The swords-doggie was previously standing next to Bo near the vehicle. Yet now in just a few moments, he proved he could easily get around the Zebra to raise a sword where her neck met her shoulder. It was an applaudable feat especially concerning that he didn't seem to care that his actions where riling up the nearby manticores. "He's only doing it because you have yet to prove that you're a friend. And I like to think a friend would at least hear one explain themselves before striking out." He started yelling out to the Diamond Dog. "Sheathe your blade! No need for that! She's not wrong to assume I deserve a good hit for the matter she refers to." The swords-doggie seemed to ignore that command. Not out of ignorance, but what he was seeing occur. The Zebra was subtle, but appeared to be gathering was looked like spiraling wind at her fingertips. How he wasn't sure, but if she was about to unleash the gale-forced attack he was sensing, he would have to remove her head here and now. Such was his drive to ensure the safety of those he aligned with. "He's not going to stop." Bo said as she was about to step in, preparing a paw with her magnetite ability. That is, until her little sis stepped in. By stepping in, of course, she did it by jumping onto the Zebra's back, piggy-back style and leaned her head to look at Zecora in the eye. "Please, 'Stripey-lady'! Boss Mysterio isn't a meanie! So I don't think you need to be mean to him because he did somethings bad!" Norah barked as she gave her best 'puppy-eyes'. It was an attack from direct range, and thus a hell of a lot more effective! "I am willing to hear his reasons why." Zecora stepped off Mysterio slowly as the Swords-doggie removed his blade and sheathed it. "If only to not make this puppy cry." "Thank you. I'll try to keep it to the point, but first, let's get everyone settled in." Mysterio got back on his feet and dusted himself off. Giving a look around, he noted that his guest list he made earlier would now include a Zebra herbalist and a whole Manticore pride that he was more than familiar with. "Especially since it looks like we have quite the amount of catching up to do." "Indeed, we both have our own tales to tell." Zecora looked at the new members of Mysterio's Cabal. She also gave a stroke into an approaching Manticore, showing off how tame it and others acted around these individuals in Castle Wonder. "As it stands, it appears your numbers will swell." [}0{] It didn't take that long to get both sides up to speed. Zecora caught them up with her recollections of how she came here looking for the sorcerer only to find these manticores he apparently domesticated claiming the territory as their new home. So far they kept everything else in the Everfree away, and all they seemed to ask is that they get more fish. Mysterio found the idea a bit ironic, but certainly didn't mind the stroke to his ego that it provided. However, he kept it in check as he told Zecora of the events that she was not privy to and happened beyond these castle walls: of the Battle for Clutter Coulee against the Desert Ash, of the Interruption of Leopardon, and how his fame seemed to be spreading to the point of reaching the ears of Golden Nailed. That last one seemed to catch her attention most of all because Zecora swore in words not even his mind could translate. Fortunately, whatever tension the two parties had was broken by these recounting of stories and now they were easing themselves into their new dwelling with renewed enthusiasm. "Norah! Leave those cubs alone!" Bo barked out at the playful puppy. She was gathering luggage in hand and leading them to the stairs, but had to stop seeing that her Little Sis was finding her fellow tenants fun to roll around with. "BUT THEY"RE SO FLUFFY! LIKE STUFFED PLUSHIES THAT REALLY PLAYS BACK WITH YOU!!" She exclaimed as she held one up into a nuzzle. Other cubs were nuzzling into her back as they all found this new pup in their den a great change in their routine. The 'not-prey' Zebra certainly never was willing to play with them this much. "They could still poisons you! Ya get stung by one and guess what? Someone'll have ta sucks out the poisons, and it'll probably be me!" Mysterio was amazed at how well his guests took to the fact his castle was apparently hosting a manticore pride. The swords-doggie kept a cool hand on his swords but seemed aloof to the adults who would come by and sniff him before moving along. Bo seemed to get a wider berth due not so much to her size, but rather that her barks established she was the pup's parental figure. It might have given her a respectable glance from the pride females but if anything, the Diamond dog ignored them beyond ensuring they weren't going to pounce. Bo overall seemed unconcerned with the pride and only answering his question why with a quick scoff and how, "The manticores that came by the Golden Nailed Den were bigger than these kitties!" That was certainly some food for thought! His other guests seemed to lack any fear at the sight of the animals after seeing how tame they were as well! Obviously, Tsavorite had nothing to worry about being a dragon. The manticores backed off as far as they could to give her space seeing as she was definitely higher in the food chain. Trixie was still a bit skittish, yet still amazed at how her teacher had the power to have not just one, but this whole pride see him as their owner. That still left him as apparently, the pet owner of all these cats for each of the adults to his surprise came up to him with a lowered head as if to be scratched and show their fealty. It drew his concerns as to if this was due to over exposure to his mist, or something else he did to domesticate them, but that was something to concern himself with later. After scratching the head of a pride mother, and motioning her away, he noted how "Say Zecora, when is the next time you planned on going into town for some supplies?" "...As soon as we settled our dispute I planned to go." The zebra stated as she raised an eyebrow. "Why it matters to you, I wish to know?" Mysterio just gestured around with his hand at his 'entourage' conveying that it wasn't just Tsavorite and him anymore. "As You can see, I'm hosting more guests than I expected to, and will need to gather some things to properly accommodate them. Definitely need to get some more food items, as cooking stuff we can make do with what we brought in the caravan. Still, I would need to get more and where would be better but a marketplace?" He folded his arms into his cloak as he faced her seriously in his domeed helm. "I recall you mention a pony town you occasionally traverse to for goods. So I ask you, Zecora, would you mind being my guide into town?" Zecora had to contemplate that. Mysterio was not ignorant of her treatment having told him a bit of it before. Yet having her be the one to lead him to the ponies was a big gesture in many ways. That, and he himself would be meeting the ponies, which as he explained was something that he was more than hesitant to do. "Of all the companions here to see, the one you pick to travel with is me?" Zecora asked. He nodded his head, "It makes the most sense. Trixie seems hesitant to set into that nearby town for reasons that are her own. That leaves Tsavorite, but.." A rumble echoed from the dragoness' stomach, to which she embarrassingly blushed and apologized to everyone. A few manticores backed away as if afraid they might become the means to satiate it. "I'd rather she properly sates herself in the treasure chamber than accompany us. No doubt bringing a dragoness who's 'got the rumblees' would cause a panic to the town." He'd laugh, but even he knew that wasn't a joke to make considering who it involved. "Plus, the walk alone would give us a chance to discuss our own issues." "If only the choice made less sense." Zecora sighed as she could find little to argue with. "I have nothing much to add to my defense." "So you'll do it?" "Just prepare yourself and we'll be on our way." She relented with a groan under her breath. "Hopefully Ponyville will be 'less empty' today." "I got everything I need." He pulled out a pouch that jingled with the winnings from his games with the Golden Nailed gals. Turning to Tsavorite, he charged her with keeping the order while he was away. "Tsavorite, I'm leaving you in command of things here while I'm gone. So how about heading to the treasure room and getting yourself settled while showing everyone what their future payments will look like after giving what we owe?" "By your will, Master." She bowed, while holding her eagerness in check. It wouldn't be proper to express how delighted she was at the thoughts of being in charge and returning to her hoard. Nor lick her jaws at the future taste of gems and other treats. That wouldn't be proper at all! "Treasure chamber?" Norah yipped eagerly. "It better be full of shinnies! I ain't going to be rebuilding this pile of rubble for frees!" Bo grumbled. Mysterio gave a wave of assurance. "Oh don't worry about that, Bo. That's going to be more of Trixie's job." "WHAT?!" The unicorn shouted in alarm at that news. Her witch's hat actual stood up into a straight point as she shouted her surprise. The sorcerer merely shrugged. "You're my apprentice. Are you surprised that I'm going to have you do some hard labor as part of your education's cost?" And with that he walked out of the castle. Leaving a group of smirking dogs and a dragoness at the sight of her gobsmacked expression. [}0{] The two figures walked the forest path in silence. Fortunately for them, nothing was impeding their way. Yet either one almost wished something would occur if only to break the monotony and lack of noise beyond the occasional natural chirps of birds and bugs. They needed a way to break the silence, and it came in the form of Mysterio nearly losing the list he was checking over in a bout of fog (not the type he conjured, but a natural haze that seemed to engulf them). Zecora thankfully caught it in a breeze that seemed to deliver it to her hand. Giving a quick glance, she found that she had no way of knowing what it said due to the script it was written in. "Thank you." Mysterio said as she handed it to him. "Best to keep a better grip for we are nearing the town. Even though I do not know what is written down." She nodded as she resumed her walk. Mysterio looked at the numbers, things to do, and items to gather. But there was still one other thing he was writing down that he felt he needed to let off his chest, especially before they stepped into this town of Ponies. "Zecora. Are we still friends?" The Zebra stopped her pace at that question. Mysterio continued. "I'd understand if you said no. I doubt you would be after hearing what I did to those ponies, or told you I was capable of doing with everything you heard about Clutter Coulee." She said nothing and for a while he was afraid she was going to declare him her enemy. Instead she turned to him and with a serious glance spoke her mind. "For what happened there and for why I would give you leeway. But if I said we were not, would that lead to your dismay?" She asked. "Honestly, if you weren't my friend, Zecora, I don't know what I would do. And this goes beyond your knowledge and wisdom in the healing arts and living in this forest filled with danger." "Oh?" She leaned on her staff curious. "How so?" "Well you're someone I have placed my trust in. Not just for helping me to save Tsavorite's life, but to know that you're out here to keep me in check." He gave a light chuckle at that as if the thought of a zebra coming to kill him if he turned out to be evil was funny. Perhaps it was. "If it came down to it, I don't think you would hesitate to end me. Heck, I don't think anyone would in this whole world." That deepened the frown on the zebra's face. "That is not something you should say with such snide. It almost seems that thought fills you with pride." "Maybe it does. But even so, it feels more heavy with everyone I meet. Like take this list I was making before I was noting the things I needed to get." He pointed out the section at the top, which if she could read had a list of names. They were divided into two categories with one being at least three times as long. "Here's the people I've met, and wouldn't you know it, it seems that most of them are prepared to treat me like a threat in one way or another. I've got fewer friends than I can confidently list, and the world appears to be turning into a force that wants to go after me." She raised an eyebrow at that. "So is this why you wished for me to come and chat? There is not much I can do about that." "No. If anything I wanted your opinion of how to approach things with the ponies. I know I'm going to need their help soon. I can feel it, especially since I've seen what other races can be like in this realm." He recalled how messy things got with Desert Ash and how they could soon be worse with Golden Nailed possibly on their hunt for him. Even though he was victorious against something like the Red Drake, Leopardon, or the swords-doggie, he was becoming more dependent on luck to bail him out despite his clever plans. He knew he needed more that blind chance to keep himself going, or else he was in for a world of pain. "My home life may have been different, but I've been down this road before, and I can tell you that I don't like where it stops. Clutter Coulee is just the start, and I get the feeling it's going to get more twisted the further down the path I go." There was a deeper undertone to his words at that. Zecora could see it through Mysterio's inflections and gestures. Even though his head was a glassy sphere, she could see he had a sorrowful expression in a manner of speaking. Yes, he was a character who may be crafty and had dark intentions, but in that moment, she couldn't help but to feel a hint of pity for him. "...My suspicions of your intentions have increased. But I can still say we are allies at least. Tsavorite seems well treated and fed. The others' wellbeing is a good sign I read." Zecora nodded her understanding. Surely if those who stuck close to him being in good states had to be proof that he was still good at heart, or at least not as malicious as she feared. "As for the ponies, I cannot speak in their stead. However, from here we must move carefully ahead." Mysterio felt a bit relieved that Zecora was giving him some benefit of the doubt. He would have work to do to solidify her trust, but at least she gave him a starting point. Yet his relief gave way to caution as he noticed his traveling companion removing her cloak and took out a bottle with some sort of oil or tonic inside. He hadn't realized it, but under it she was wearing simple wraps like Tsavorite used to wear before taking to donning Bo's hand-me-down overalls. She started to rub the mixture down her legs and other parts, and while Mysterio averted his gaze to give the mare some privacy at how...thorough she was massaging her bare skin with it, he couldn't help but wonder why. "What's ahead of us, Zecora?" He prepared a holo-cube as if to fling it at something that might jump out at him. As far as he could tell, there was nothing of note besides the flowery field a head of them. Could something live in them that was deadly like a snake? "One of the most chaotic flora nature can invoke. For here is a field of the terrible Poison Joke!" And that was when the sorcerer first saw the source of some of his life's next escapades. If he only knew that such a beautiful flower would be capable of so much discord he might of made it his mission to burn every bulb he found. [}0{] Elsewhere, two other figures were trotting into Ponyville. But they were no mere visitors, but rather two of its newest in habitants. After what felt like months of waiting when it was merely days, Twilight Sparkle found herself trotting into town with a tired drake on her back. "You know you're too old to be doing this, right?" She asked her returning number one assistant. Said assistant gave a lazy yawn. "Sorry! I'm not the one who sent a letter about having to take the first train out of Canterlot in the morning." He said as he looked over her shoulder. "Speaking of which, why did the letter smell like burnt toast-?" Twilight immediately interrupted that question with the first thing she could think of, "Wow, what a gorgeous day!" It seemed to work for Spike spoke out his agreement. Today's weather seemed especially nice with how clear the sky was and how not even one cloud seemed to block the sunshine."Rainbow Dash must have gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away." "I bet all of Ponyville is going to be out enjoying the sunshine." The Purple Unicorn smiled as the town came into view. Only, the moment it did there was something missing that made her a bit perturbed. "What? Where is everypony?" Never had the town looked so empty. About this time the markets and stalls would be at least settled and getting customers. Yet not so much as a filly was seen on the roads or even the windows of buildings. What made it stranger was that whatever ponies they could briefly glimpse immediately shut their doirs and barred their window shutters. Spike had to ask if there was some reason he missed due to being out of town, "Is it some sort of pony holiday?" Twilight Sparkle shook her head. "Not that I know of." "Does my breath stink?" He gave a quick belch of flame to be sure, but nothing of note came from his whiff. "Not more than usual." Twilight tried to joke, but the silence and lack of other as the two strolled on was keeping her from feeling the humor. Spike suddenly burst into panic as a thought suddenly came to him. "Is it... zombies?!" The unicorn sighed as she couldn't believe the notion would even be made. "Uh... not very likely." Spike didn't like that choice of words at all! "Not likely... but possible?" It was at this point they were passing by Sugar Cube Corner. The place's interior was very dark and they thought that meant it was closed for the day. However, a familiar voice called out to the two quietly from the darkness. "Psst! Twilight! Spike! Come here! Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!" Before the two could say anything, a pair of pink hands popped out of the darkness and pulled them inside. Only one pony could do such a thing, and in just a moment of adjusting to the lack of light, only to get hit in the eyes with a flashlight's beam, Twilight recognized her friend with the pink poofy mane. Spike hastened to look about him, searching for this hidden female assailant. "Who?! The zombie pony?" Pinkie Pie gasped in fear at the suggested threat. "Z-Zombie pony?!" Twilight Sparkle had about enough of this confusion. "Spike! There are no zombie ponies. Pinkie, what are you doing here alone in the dark?" Pinkie Pie huffed with her arms crossed. "I'm not alone in the dark." She gestured her flashlight around to emphasize her point. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, Twilight saw that her party-loving friend was right! Surrounding them was Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and her little sister Apple Bloom. The owners of Sugar Cube corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake peeked carefully from the door that led to the kitchen. Seeing all these ponies suddenly appear in the shadows elicited a gasp from the unicorn who then asked, "-Gasp!- Okay then, what are you all doing here in the dark? Applejack was the one to answer. The normally strong and tough mare sounded surprisingly nervous at how she pointed with a shaking finger out the window at the reason they were all hidden in the dark. "We're hidin' from her!" The ponies gasped and hushed one another as Twilight looked outside to see what was out there. There in the middle of the street was a crouched and hooded figure digging in the ground for something. From what little she could see of her this figure seemed to have a darkened coat of fur and patterned stripes of their arms. A hint of golden jewelry was seen on one of their wrists. Before she could scan for further details, the figure perked up as if they realized they were being watched and turned her head towards them. The other mares hurried out of sight in fear, but Twilight caught sight of their eyes. She could swear they glowed with a yellow light! Apple Bloom was the first to speak out their worry. The young filly was dressed in a simple green button up shirt and had blue jean shorts. Jumping on Spike's back to get a better look at the purple unicorn as she hastily asked, "Did you see her Twilight? Did you see... Zecora?" Applejack chided her sibling at saying her name aloud as if it was invoking an evil spirit! "Apple Bloom! I told you never to say that name." Twilight Sparkle merely shrugged. "Well, I saw her glance this way-" Pinkie Pie popped next to her with a poke as if to correct her. "Glance evilly this way." "...And then a bunch of you flip out for no good reason." Twilight Sparkle finished, not understanding what was going on. Applejack seemed especially furious at that choice of words. She wrapped an arm tightly around Apple Bloom as she spoke out, "No good reason? You call protectin' yer kin no good reason? Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town, she started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes." Apple Bloom was certainly shaking, but only because her strong big sister was ruffling her head and rocking her in her embrace. She could only dizzily defend herself with a simple, "Did not!" Applejack seemed to not hear her, as she then placed her over her shoulder as if to illustrate her point. "So I swept her up and brought her here-" Apple Bloom struggled out of her sisters grasp until she could get back onto the ground. "I walked here mayself!" "For safe keepin'." Apple Bloom shook her head as she crossed her arms in annoyance. "Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!" Applejack thought otherwise as she spoke with a stern look. "Not from that creepy Zecora." Fluttershy agreed. "She's mysterious." "Sinister." Rainbow Dash gestured with her hands as she hovered in place above. "And spoooooky!" Pinkie finished with a long howl. Twilight Sparkle just groaned at this. Seeing that her friends had clearly lost it fearing one mare, she decided to look out the window again. Only, everyone decided to join her as she suddenly felt as if she was being pressed against the glass. Ignoring her discomfort, she saw that yes, this 'Zecora' person was still digging in the ground for something. At least, until she stopped and removed her hood and revealed more of her physical features that included a black and white striped mohawk (of all manestyles!), golden necklaces, earrings, and that her stripes were also upon her face as well. Everyone but Twilight gasped in surprise at her reveal. Twilight Sparkle let out a huff of annoyance at their reaction. "Will you cut that out?" Rarity seemed a bit appalled at the mare's appearance. "Just look at those stripes! So garish!" Twilight Sparkle just looked at the rest of them with a confused eyebrow. "She's a zebra." Everyone but Twilight questioned aloud, "A what!?" "A zebra, and her stripes aren't a fashion choice Rarity, they're what she was born with." Twilight explained. Rarity fainted. Apparently, the thought of being born with such a mane and coat was too much for the fashionista. Applejack was the first to ask, "Born where? I've never seen a pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!" Twilight Sparkle only shrugged, "Well, she's probably not from here, and she's not a pony. My books say that zebras come from a faraway land. But I've never seen her in Ponyville. Where does she live?" Applejack shuddered as the others gave their own tells of being disturbed by what she had to say. "That's just it, she lives in... the Everfree Forest!" -KaRash!- A resounding crash that sounds like a thunderclap echoed into the room as everypony let out a startled shriek. Twilight found the source of the noise to not be weather induced, but instead be caused by a certain drake trying to sneak treats from the kitchen when nopony was looking. Only his efforts caused the equipment to scatter over the floor. Twilight Sparkle huffed at her assistant's lack of manners and courtesy at the act."Spike!" "Uh, sorry." The drake looked sheepish, especially seeing the reactions of the owners of Sugar Cube Corner nearby. Carrot Cake had his wife, Cup Cake in a particularly tight embrace at the sudden noise. "It's all right." The plump blue mare with a cream-like red mane said as her started to pick up the scattered items. "Just be more careful dear." Seeing that the two ponies and drake were getting the kitchen back in order, Applejack continued her point, "The Everfree Forest just ain't natural. The plants grow-" Fluttershy added, "Animals care for themselves-" Rainbow Dash flew in close, "And the clouds move-" "All on their own!" The three mares finished saying together. Once again, Rarity found herself fainting. Apparently the mare couldn't handle their description so soon after Zecora's revealed truth! Pinkie Pie took this as the opportunity to bring up her own points to the conversation. "And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... stuff! She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!" Rainbow Dash groaned, as she knew how Pinkie's songs tended to go. "Here we go..." And thus the pink pony broke into quite the dance routine as she jumped onto a table and started to sing her song about the dark truths of Zecora: She's an evil enchantress She does evil dances And if you look deep in her eyes She'll put you in trances Then what will she do? She'll mix up an evil brew Then she'll gobble you up In a big tasty stew Soooo... Watch out! She huffed and puffed as she finished the song, and gazed to see the others' reactions to her performance. A lot of blank stares of astonishment seemed to be the majority's feedback. Twilight Sparkle stood out from the others as she applauded ironically with a slow clap of her hands. "Wow. Catchy." Pinkie Pie merely shrugged, not getting the sarcasm. "It's a work in progress." The purple unicorn tried to bring their conversation back into a focused direction, "This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors. Now tell me; what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?" Every mare pondered a bit before saying their pieces. Rainbow Dash was first. "Well... Once a month, she comes into Ponyville." Twilight theatrically motioned her hands. "Oooooh." Rarity ignored her as she added, "Then, she lurks by the stores." Twilight Sparkle once again added dramatical sarcasm with a, "Oh, my." "And then, she...digs at the ground...!!!" Fluttershy started to say as she gazed out the window, only to have her eyes vividly widen by a greater margin at what she was seeing. "Good gracious!" Twilight was losing her patience at this line of thought. It was just too ridiculous. As far as she could tell, Zecora hadn't done a thing to warrant this much fear. "Okay, I'm sorry. But how is any of this bad? Maybe she comes to town to visit?" Before anypony could go into more details of Zecora's past incidents, Rainbow Dash noticed her fellow Pegasus was no longer facing the window. Instead, the yellow mare was seated in a corner, holding her head in her hands and looked as if she was terrified. "Fluttershy, what's up?" The other mares stopped and looked at their friend, seeing that she was certainly more distressed that she was a moment ago. "Yes Darling, are you alright?" Rarity asked as she approached her. She knew a thing or two about fainting spells, so she could tell the poor mare was trying her best not to undergo one. "You're looking awfully pale." Pinkie zoomed up right to her face as she looked her over, before proclaiming her official diagnosis to everyone. "It's Zecora's enchantress stare! She's gotten to Fluttershy already!" "No, it's not that." Spike noticed what had Fluttershy so entranced. Having finished helping to clean up the mess he made, and seeing Fluttershy look at something outside, he came to the conclusion that maybe it was something she saw that had her so shaken up. "So you girls say Zecora comes once a month, right?" "Yeah, give or take a few days or so, why?" Applejack asked. "Does she come alone?" The young drake asked as he pointed with a worried eye out the window. "Because there's someone else walking up to her." "WHAT!?" The mares shouted in alarm as they all piled closer for a better look. Zecora seemed to be saying something, but what it was they couldn't hear from their indoor location. Then again, even if they could read lips they would still find their attention drawn on the individual who was even stranger looking than the Zebra. "Who's that ghastly figure?" Rarity asked. His outfit seemed so fashionably abhorrent! Even with a pearl for a head, it didn't balance the clash of green and purple with strange etchings through it. "Never seen him before!" Applejack declared knowing that she would recall seeing anyone looking as oddly out of place wandering Ponyville. "You have." Fluttershy quietly spoke as she hugged herself in an effort to prepare them for the bombshell to drop. "Huh?" The other mares in her friend circle asked as one. Twilight, being a well-educated mare didn't need much consideration to what the yellow pegasus meant. "That's-!" She started to say, but Fluttershy immediately nodded with a grimace that ceased her speaking process. Her mind immediately was reviewing a checklist for what she should do. "Who is it?" Apple Bloom asked. The young filly has no idea who this was and even she knew about Zecora. Fluttershy answered her, as well as filling everypony else on who this stranger was. "That person is somepon-...someone we've all met before. Someone who I don't think you'll be willing to treat nicely. But I still remember him from that shiny and round head to his billowing purple cloak." Oh she knew today was taking a turn now that he had come back into their lives. With a breath she said the words that would make these already troubled mares even more jittery: "That's Mysterio!" "THAT's HIM!!???" The mares exclaimed together. Perhaps the day would have been unremarkable, were it not for the stranger who strolled into town. [TO BE CONTINUED...]
I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts!
Issue 15-A Stranger Comes To Town[Part 2]
Deep below in the secret halls of Wonder Castle lied a vast chamber that glimmered brightly despite its underground location. It wasn't due to how well-lit it was, but how well its contents reflected the light source. For as far as the eye could see from a distance that must have reached over a larger field were troves and hills of treasure of all sorts! From chunks and coins of gold, to precious gemstones of all sizes were the major ingredient that composed these massive piles. And even then, there was still a plethora of all sorts of loot one could see in the mixtures. From armor, weapons, and important baubles of past civilizations, to what seemed more modern and timeless goods likes silks and whatever could lie in locked chests this place had it all! And all of it was but a pale comparison to the one that stood proudly upon its tallest pile! For while this chamber had such amazing contents, never had it hosted such a prevalent figure! It was a day that would go on in history! For the realm of Equestria would find that there was a new ruler amongst its ranks of royalty! One who was the epitome of beauty, coolness, and all-around awesomeness! One who would stand higher than even those overblown and overestimated pony princesses! One who every species from the tall and the small would look at and say to themselves, 'Oh! If only I could be half as cool or as pretty, then I could be happy, instead of sad that I'm not!' And now that she stood proudly on this huge hill of shinies, she would begin her reign as ruler of this vast and glorious expanse- "And it will be one of peace and pros-sper-ity! Starting now, it is now manda...manda...um, expected!- that everyone gives me first dibs to all the cookies, and at every meal time get rid of all the veggies especially that nasty broc-" "Norah!" Bo's voice echoed to her younger sibling and interrupting her fantastical rant. "What did I tells you about properly handling oneself arounds big loots?" The pup ceased her dynamic declarations from the top of the pile of treasures at her Big Sis' barking tone. Norah sighed as she lowered her tiara adorned head and wrapped her recently pilfered velvet cape around her with a huff. Sure, she may look like a princess, but even she had to follow the barks of her older sibling. Darn sibling code! "Never let those greedy thoughts go bumpings arounds in your head..." "That's right, and I woulds thinks you woulds remember it especially considering all the loot we were used to seeing backs with the Golden Nailed." Bo nodded with her paws crossed. In those days, they saw plenty of treasure acquired by the pack. Especially gold considering Zolotaya's way of 'acquiring' it! "But Big Sis!" Norah pouted as she looked down at her sister with an eyebrow raised over her bullseye birthmark. "You're wearing more gold, silks, and shinies than I am!" "...My point still stands!" Bo pointed while trying to lessen the glimmer of embarrassment radiating from her. Said paw that was pointing was adorned with all sorts of rings and bracelets of gold and fine gemstones. Yet that amount paled in comparison to the rest of the jewelry that was decorating her person. Her already heavy bosom alone was noticeably weighed down by the numerous necklaces and chokers she just HAD to try on to properly appraise! And what would be better to test it than some silks that must have come from Saddle Arabia. Although they looked a bit out of place on her with her overalls, she noticed the swords-doggie giving her shy glances when he wasn't considering different blades he came across to see if they were any better than the three he carried. Seems there was another female Diamond Dog that was falling for the trap of being decorated like royalty. Regaining her senses, she stood by her words of admonishment. "Besides, it's a dragon's hoard! And you better knows to never steal from a dragon!" "It's all right. -Crunch!- I don't mind." Said a voice full of substance being chowed down. Tsavorite seemed to have mastered the art of talking with her mouth full. That or her companions had gotten used to understanding her since they arrived in the chamber. After a quick assurance that they could take their share so long as it was reasonable, she pretty much dove into her piles of gems and began sating a hunger that had been lingering in her since she originally left with Mysterio for Clutter Coulee. Sure, she was chomping them in a calm and collected manner, but considering that she hadn't stopped except when speaking more substantial words was clear evidence of her appetite. "Trixie is surprised you are so generous." The unicorn mare commented as she appraised another piece of jewelry to a growing collection that was brightening up her magician's outfit. In truth, she really was especially considering how her apparent rival had no qualms with even her acquiring some accessories for herself. Accessories that might even help her further acquire a certain sorcerer's attentions away from the dragoness. Which brought her mind back to her point! "Trixie would think you'd be especially greedy considering they are not just your source of food and pride, but Mysterio's wealth!" The green dragoness merely shrugged as she tossed a sizable sapphire into her maw and broke it down. "-Crunch!- Well, it is his to do as he wishes. -Gulp!- I merely eat my fill knowing that it's because of him that I have it at all." Norah tilted her head as she voiced a question that had been in her head for some time. "That makes me want to ask, Tsavy. Why are yous so serious and stuff abouts Boss Mysterio?" "Norah!" Bo chided. It wasn't her place to ask a female, especially a dragoness, why she acted towards a male...even if it was Mysterio. "What? It's true! Miss Tsavy is always acting like that around him, and even asks for the punishments when she's in troubles instead of hiding the evidence behind the shed and blaming Trixie-" "What?!" Now that was news to the Border Collie-Mixed Diamond Dog! "Trixie told you it wasn't her!" The unicorn fumed. Many times, she got blamed for the pup's mishaps and now she haphazardly admitted it. It was even more annoying as said pup took no notice as they continued their line of questioning. "So why is a dragoness so..." She rolled her enlarged paw around as she tried to come up with a good word for it. Her vocabulary was only so advanced at her young age after all. "I don't know, fiery?" "You want to know?" Tsavorite asked as she stroked the horn on her nose in contemplation for how to answer. Her other hand was no longer reaching for nearby gems to gorge herself on. She ceased her eating, which was clear sign that she was taking this most seriously! When an answer came to her, she felt it would be best to build up to itso it could be fully understood. So she started off with the question. "What are dragons considered to Diamond Dogs and Ponies?" "They are the biggest and strongest beasts in the world!" Norah answered with her arms eagerly spread as she answered. "They can breathes cool elements to attack, get mountains of shinies, and live pretty much forevers!" Tsavorite nodded as it was an acceptable answer, and one she could she Bo and the other Diamond Dog agree with. Her gaze then turned to Trixie, who despite making a career out of it, seemed to be hesitant as it suddenly was her on the spot. "W-well...Trixie knows they are creatures who are powerful as already stated, but that they are a species whose culture is mostly unknown to us ponies. Admittedly, we...haven't had the best history with them--mostly because we were considered a food source, as well as other things for a time--BUT! They are creatures that certainly earned their reputation of power, wealth, and reputation for being dangerous foes if they choose to attack." Trixie nervously ran her hat trough her hands as she finished speaking. Sure, Tsavorite was a rival of hers, but even she didn't want to bring up past grudges between their species into this debacle of theirs. In many ways, it would be crossing a line in her opinion. Tsavorite seemed to take it in good stride, for she nodded her head in agreement to both of their points. "You're not wrong. From birth, we dragons are taught that we are the mightiest beings this world has to offer. We are raised on the mentality that as such, we hold an even greater responsibility: For it is the strongest that govern the weak, and it is us that decides the fate of the rest. The ponies can claim governance to the seasons, weather, magic, and time of day. However, in the end, that is only because we allowed them to prosper for it is our world to do with as we please! Its landscapes are shaped by our will. The mountains are high because they support the skyline from which we reign and the deepest canyons are excavated so we may bathe in this worlds heart! Our bodies are reflections of the planet's terrain; grand, elegant, and powerful! Our breath is the elements of this realm's staple forces. Its treasures are ours to hoard and enjoy for We ARE Nature Incarnate!!" She gave out a vehement roar as she finished her proclamation. Seeing the startled reactions of her audience, such as Bo drawing Norah into a close embrace or the swords-doggie brandishing a drawn blade in defense, she immediately settled herself down and sheepishly turned her head and muttered. "At least that's what we're taught..." "So how is it that somedragon like you can serves Boss Mysterio then?" Norah asked as she left her sister's grasp and eagerly came closer to hear the dragoness' story finding it more amazing than frightening. "When you're at the top of the proverbial mountain, young Norah, you have a long way to fall. And I had fallen to the bottom of a very tall mountain." Tsavorite spoke in the most solemn of tones as she recalled a past she wished she could forget. "It was only through sheer luck I ended up here at the steps of this castle, disoriented, starved, and dying. The worse state for a being like me to be in. For everything would take advantage of my weakened state, if only for the pleasure and prestige of saying they were the one to end a dragon of all things." Her audience could feel her sorrow radiate with every word. Even Trixie, her rival felt empathy at imagining such a thing to the dragoness. Yet they all perked up as Tsavorite's tone changed as she spoke of the next part. "But he showed up, and even seeing me as a dragoness at their weakest he took me in and tried to save my life even when I too gave up on myself." Her words were filled with a glimmer of hope, and more substantially, laced with adoration. Dare it be noted, the green dragoness was starting to get watery eyes as she admitted to them, "And it was there I made my realization." "What was it?" Trixie was the one to ask, feeling the only one who could dare interrupt the female's speech. "That he was stronger than me!" She spoke with a confident smile as she recalled the exact moment her master earned her devotion. "For only the strongest could do what he did and say when I was ready to give it all up for the last time!" And she told them exactly what it was that occurred when she was at her lowest. Not only was it enough to convince them of her loyalty to the sorcerer, but it also showed them that no matter what was said, Mysterio was worth that praise that he had earned from her. But that's a tale for another time. [}0{] As Tsavorite was speaking words of praise towards her master, said master was appraising a town he had been long hesitant to travel to. Had Mysterio been there in that treasure chamber with the rest, perhaps his spirits might have been lifted from the somber mood they had been dumped down in as he walked through the town. The good news is that his walk was unhindered like he originally feared it would be by some form of authority figures or scared townsfolk. There was no angry mob to be sure. Instead, there was nearly nothing there. Oh, there were buildings that looked homely and clear places for business. He saw a few stands that sold food goods and other things like a newspaper stand he was currently perusing for useful information. He even saw a library based in a tree that he wished he could visit, but its problem was like the rest of the place: Not one pony citizen was present or out in the open the moment that Zebra walked into their town! Zecora told him to wait, but he followed, hidden at first by his tech until he decided it was unnecessary, and he could now see why she was hesitant. Initially he feared he would see her mistreated like a 'woman of color' she sounded like from his kind. He hoped not, but seeing this town so barren with only the occasional peek of a citizen sneaking a glance in a shutter crack or door slightly ajar...? Maybe she wasn't met with violence, but this certainly wasn't a great alternative! He didn't know how to feel. Angry for what was clearly some form of discrimination towards someone he considered...well a friend...or perhaps sorrow at realizing that these people--albeit sentient bipedal ponies--were acting out of fear and not hate. Although, the one feeling that stood out the most to balance both these sensations was annoyance, considering everywhere he walked, whether it was a shop or a stand, was closed despite it not even being close to sundown yet. Even the one newspaper stand he stood in front of with its convenient 'Out to lunch!'-sign felt like a mockery to him. "So much for small town hospitality." His words bit out from his helmet's speakers. He folded up the newspaper, finding it to be dull as he expected, but still what he needed. As he was about to take it, his eyes however caught the sight of something more to his tastes. Something he'd never imagined would be in a land of magical ponies and dragons! The cover depicted what looked like a tall bipedal violet furred mare in a purple spandex outfit posed like a model for a shampoo ad. However, her long green mane seemed to have a dastardly mind of its own as it stretched and tied up six female superhero dressed mares in her curls like an octopus. Despite their furious and worried expressions, she maintained a look of crazed poise as if this was all a joke to her. It was impressive artwork worthy of a poster, but even that wasn't as eye catching to Ethan as the details the title presented. "'Power Ponies' ...by Marevel Comics!?" He swiped it off the rack and started flipping through the pages. After seeing that yes, it was in fact a comic book, he looked about the racks, hoping to find more. Finding only a few, he took them and the newspaper, and left a few gold coins on the counter with a muttered, "Keep the change...you animal." He put the reading material away, hoping it would be worth the trip into town he and Zecora made--Oh, who was he kidding? It was a bust with no real supplies to show for it! He had enough of this charade and deciding that his venture into pony territory had enough disappointments for one day, he walked to Zecora, hoping she had better luck. It didn't look that way when he came across her on her knees, digging for something in the dirt. "Zecora...what are you doing?" He just had to ask. He didn't know if this was a pony thing, a Zebra thing, or just her, but she was clearly not digging in dirt for fun. Her words spoken in a language his ears picked up as Swahili was a big enough clue. "When I feel my heart grows hard to the pain, I ask for a blessing from a spirit of rain." She answered simply as she continued her strides into the dirt. Mysterio would have asked more, but he felt a spike of awareness hit his senses that took precedent! It came from a nearby building with a most uncanny resemblance to cake. And not in the sense that it that it had a sugary paint job. It looked like he could rip off a piece of the wall and bite into it to enjoy some chocolatey goodness. It was certainly tone of the most eye-catching of the builds, next to the one he saw that looked like a Merry-go-round! The sign dubbed it 'Sugarcube Corner', but that wasn't what was the most interesting thing about it. No, instead it was the fact that out of all these places of business, it was the only one that still had a sign marked 'Open'. "You want anything, Zecora?" He asked as he began heading towards it. "Because I'm buying." [}0{] "Wait! Why is he coming here?" Dash asked as she saw the sorcerer walking toward Sugarcube Corner. The other mares followed until they eyed the door. There was the sign that should have said it was closed. It did. Only the side that said 'Closed' was facing them! "Pinkie?" Rarity asked with a nervous raised eyebrow. "Did you remember to change the sign like we suggested if Twilight came by and we let her in?" "Well...I hung the sign so we would all know we were closed, but...I guess it says we're open the other way!" Pinkie shrugged as she didn't quite get what the problem was. "Pinkie!!" They harshly whispered at her. Seeing the mares found themselves that trouble was coming their way, and knowing a bit more about the one who might be bringing it, Spike was the one who took charge of the situation. "Never mind that! Quick, in here!" He led them into the kitchen. Unfortunately Mrs. Cake--who was cleaning the previous mess Spike knocked over--found herself being pushed in as well to the near stampede of mares looking to hide in it. Her husband, Mr. Cake could only watch as this strange figure was walking closer to his store. "No way! I say it's time we get back at that fishbowl headed-!" Dash started to rant, but found herself being dragged into following the rest by Applejack. "Any other day I might be agreeing with ya about bashing his head in, Dash! But I ain't letting you start up somethin' here with my sister possibly getting caught in the thick of it!" The orange farm mare said as she carried said Apple Bloom like a bussel of apples in one arm, while Rainbow was given the same treatment in another. Before she could protest, the blue Pegasus was given a numerous amount of shushing as the could all hear the echoing sound of footsteps stepping into the shop. [}0{] Mysterio walked in with all the class of a smooth desperado, expecting a myriad of faces to be looking at him the moment he passed through the threshold. Instead he only caught the briefest of glimpses of some back doors closing as a lone lanky stallion was left alone wiping the counter over a display case. "W-well, what can I do for you...sir?" The stallion asked shakily as he leaned his counter top. He was appropriately yellow with a carrot colored mane of hair under a server hat, and looked every part of a sweets vendor. His name tag listed him as Carrot Cake, which Mysterio tried not to snort at. Leave it to a guy working at a confectionery having a name like that! "...You have anything to drink on your menu?" He spoke out in a deep echoed voice as he stood in front of the stallion. Despite being a head taller, Carrot felt small in the presence of him. Oh, if only he was quicker to hide with the others! At least he hoped his dear sweet Cup would be safe among their hiding place. Hopefully, he could at least serve this stranger well enough to avoid getting on his bad side. "W-well, we got milkshakes, root beer floats, different flavored milk-" Carrot started listing before the mysterious individual interrupted. "Do you have lemonade?" He brusquely asked. "Um...sure." He walked to a pitcher behind him that served drinks. He was about to grab a cup, but felt he needed to ask, "You, err... want it...to go?" Mysterio seemed flummoxed by the question before answering. "Yes, and I'll take two of your largest ones if you please." Carrot nodded as he took out what appeared to be two large traveling mugs. He was tempted to point out the extra charge, but considering who he felt he was dealing with, he was sure he and his wife could forgive the slight detail. "S-so, what brings...a fellow like you here, Mr...?" "Mysterio." The now named person introduced with a nod. "Just Mysterio if you please. And you could say I came here to...run a few errands. I'm sure you can understand." "Sure." Carrot nodded, although he really didn't. or rather, he didn't want to consider what these 'errands' could be based on the hubbub Pinkie and her friends seem to make when seeing him in town. From what he could overhear, it didn't sound too good. Mysterio leaned against the counter nonchalantly as he waited for his drinks. "Pardon me for pointing it out, but your town seems rather...quiet. Not much going on around here." Carrot tried not to falter in his task of filling the drinks. "W-well, sometimes...that's just how it goes! Can't be lively all the time in a small town like this, you know?" "True. Must be pretty dull around here without much going on." Mysterio seemed to accept as he calmly tapped a finger in waiting. Carrot tried not to look too hard, especially noticing the disturbing fact he had an extra figure on each hand, but his strange head was even more unnerving. It was like a large eye gazing all about yet focused entirely on him. It didn't help that his tone of voice sounded like it was insinuating something more especially when he said, "Fortunately a gentle...stallion, like yourself has a loving wife to go home to." A series of gasping sounded from the kitchen with a cherry maned mare being the loudest. Carrot nearly dropped the mugs at that. "How'd you-?" He pointed to one of the pictures behind his shoulder. In it, there was his sweet Cup Cake and himself dressed for marriage and about to cut into their wedding cake. It was a proud moment, not just because he finally gotten married with the mare he loved most, but because even with the pressures of the wedding, he himself made that cake for her! "Doesn't take a sorcerer of my skill to see that you got someone important to you." He said as he was now fiddling with a pack of cards set in some game of solitaire; something he swore wasn't there on the counter a minute ago. "It would be truly terrible if anything bad happened around here, right?" Carrot was trying not to panic, holding both mugs in front of him as if they were his only safeguard. "Uhhhh....ummmm..." "Fortunately, good sir, you're the type who sees that business is just business and thus you keep your door open for customers and not just decide to change that...because say...a certain striped mare trotted into town." Mysterio said with an oddly chipper tone that wasn't helped by his echoing vocals. "So, because of that, I think you're entitled to something." He swiped the cards off the counter, but left one that stood out from all the rest. It was a tarot looking thing with the words 'THE MYSTERIO' emblazoned on the bottom. "I don't just give this out on a whim. But if you ever feel you need a favor, just consider giving me a call and... I'll see what I can do for you. Good day, Carrot. Tell the Missus I hope she's well!" He turned with a flurry of his cloak and in but a second, he was gone! Carrot looked towards his hands, and seeing that they no longer held mugs of lemonade but stacks of gold coins, finally felt he had too much today. And therefore he fainted in a pile of money marked with eyes and umbrellas! "CARROT!" Cup finally had enough and rushed to her husband's side, resting his head in her lap. The other mares and Spike however took off, seeing the pair of trouble makers leaving town and hoping to intercept them. And in the chaos of that motion, no one noticed the young filly sneaking off on her own. [}0{] It wasn't until they were near that field of Poison Joke that Mysterio heard Zecora speak. Sure, she held the travel mug of lemonade carefully in her hand, but did not take so much as a sip from it. Her mind seemed to be busy considering what to say on the matter, and now had finally settled on the words to address her fellow traveler with. "I know you don't care about what I think, but was what you did really worth these two drinks?" She asked as she gave a bitte r glance his way. "Not once did I dare to even step near their doors, or while leaving payment take anything from their stores. Yet you have done more than both these things. Do you not care for the trouble it brings?" "Zecora, I've seen trouble. I've caused it, and have received it plenty since coming here. If more is on its way because I decided to break the oppressive status quo, then it better be prepared to face the retaliation of the great-!" "MYSTERIO!!" a collection of angry voices shouted behind him. 'Oh, speak of the devil!' he thought as he heard the voices of the last girls -besides a couple of ex's--he ever wanted to meet again! Trying to maintain calm despite that aura of danger that was brushing his senses, he turned around, standing imposingly with his arms crossed, and asked them, "Can I help you?" There, standing in different degrees of anger and disappointed expressions were the six mares he met after the debacle with the Red Drake. Some like the orange mare and blue Pegasus looked ready to physically punish him. The white and purple unicorns looked positively worried about seeing him. The pink one seemed to shake, but from excitement or fear he couldn't really tell with her forced goofy grin. There was a new face amongst them, that being a young purple drake with green spikes. Already he stood out, but interestedly he stood defiant next to the two unicorns in a protective stance. Where it not for the fact he was obviously younger than them and only met a bit above their waist height, he would have been further impressed by his determination. Yet the one face that seemed to stick out the most to him came from the yellow Pegasus. Out of all of them, she was the one he didn't want to see the most. Not because she appeared to be the strongest, or the bravest. It was because even know he could feel a sense of kindness in her stare. Only now, it was painful because of how forlorn she seemed to emote to him with her sad disposition. It was the expression one got when someone you knew could see the sins crawling on your back. It was enough to draw him away from this emanating presence of danger, and instead lose his focus to the renewed sentiment of guilt he tried to forget when remembering how he tried to mind wipe them because of a foreboding hunch. "Sure! You can stand still as I bash your head in!" Dash yelled as she readied her hands and got into a sprinter's stance. This brought back Mysterio's attention as he quickly tried to think up ways to avoid an upcoming attack. "Wait, Dash! You can't-!" Twilight tried to warn the blue rainbow maned Pegasus, only to have it go unheeded. In a blur, the cocky athlete rushed into a flying uppercut at the sorcerer. Mysterio was no physicist. But even he knew that an object moving at such velocity would not only hurt, but possibly be enough to literally knock his block off! So, the moment an alert asked if he wanted to use an 'Anti-decapitation technique' he immediately whispered yes and hoped for the best. -CLANG!- -Thud!- -Clunk!- The resonant sound of something like a bell rang through the forest before the deep echoes of two somethings sounded off one after the other! It was soon followed by a horrified scream of Pinkie who felt terrified at seeing a rounded sphere land not that far from her! "W-what?" Dash only could stammer as she starred at her fist in horror at what she had done. "Oh my..." Rarity barely had time to say before fainting into the arms of Spike. Any other time he might have been relishing the fact, but now he was struggling to hold her up as he himself was trying to pass out at the thought of seeing the now headless Mysterio on the floor. The other were dealing with similar feelings of shock. They expected any number of things to occur, from him teleporting away, to just ducking down. Not in a thousand years would they expect Rainbow Dash to hit him, let alone truncate him with a fatal blow!! "You killed him!!" Fluttershy started to tear up. She never wanted this! It was what she feared most would happen! And now one of her friends would have blood on her hands forever! "Probably for the best, Shy." Applejack said as she went to comfort the poor Pegasus. Sure, she was disturbed a bit at what happened, but at least her sister wasn't here to witness it, too! "Besides, it was quick, which was prob'ly more than that villainous sorcerer deserved." This was the wrong thing to say, as Zecora broke out of the spell that had frozen her in shock, and now had set her temper ablaze. It even started to be reflected in the sky above them as the clouds started to darken with an upcoming storm-front. "How can you all possibly be so daring! To partake in death and be that uncaring!" She starred at the group so furiously that they could swear her eyes were beginning to glow. "I don't care anymore about what led to your strife!! For even it can't be that callous to disregard his life!!" "I don't know, Zecora. I think I deserved that one." Everyone stopped to stare at the round orb on the ground. Rarity got up in shock at hearing that voice, and Zecora cooled her anger into surprise. Even the developing storm ceased in surprise at the voice emitting from it! "Of course, I think we should all try to keep our minds calm in all this. No reason for all of us to lose our heads here, right?" "-Snrrk!-" The pink mare tried not to laugh, but she broke into a series of guffaws, much to the annoyance of her friends finding humor in the situation. "Pinkie!" "What? He's a talking head! It's a funny joke!" she shrugged. "So glad someone is finding this amusing." The head began to roll back around the mares. It was a bit unnerving to see how efficiently it moved until it reached its destination of Mysterio's ''headless corpse'. Once there it rolled over him until it sunk back into place between his shoulders. From that point, the sorcerer just got up as if he had done nothing more than sporadically take a nap in the forest. "Now, judging by how ready you were to murder me, I'm going to assume Miss Fluttershy caught you all up to speed." He noted aloud. This caused many them to become shamefaced and lower their heads. Even the hot headed pegasus didn't look as eager to fight. However, it seemed the orange colored farmer looking mare wasn't willing to back down. In fact, she seemed to be even angry at the fact he was able to get up from that strike. Already she was flexing into a punching stance as it appeared that she wanted a try at taking him out. "Oh cut the lyin'! We y'all know you're nothing but a lying trickster using your dirty spell works on helpless ponies to do your bidding!" "Helpless? Your friend just struck with a blow that would have killed a weaker man, and you're currently showing quite the amount of muscle with how you're readying that punch." He pointed out. Both points were true. Especially the second, for he could tell that while she didn't have the blue mare's speed, she obviously made it up in might. "Besides, I seem to recall you were paid for your services to my servant. She says hi, by the way." Only Pinky seemed to perk up at that as she let out a friendly wave. The rest didn't find that the least bit amusing. "That's still no excuse for the use of mind magic!" Rarity countered as she had gotten over. Pinkie stopped her happy greeting as was reminded what else Mysterio did to someone close to her. "Yeah! Or what you did to Carrot. Cake! Even after he gave you lemonade!" Pinkie agreed as she stated her piece of mind. "I mean I didn't want to think you were such a meanie considering that you took away that dragoness' chance at having a party, but to threaten him with his wife, Cup-" "Threaten!?" Mysterio angrily interrupted. Whatever argument that was in development was thrown aside by his angry tirade finally bubbling to the surface. "Threaten the one Stallion who would actually serve someone willing to pay him despite their treatment from his neighbors? Threaten the one who was willing to at least talk to me instead of hiding in their homes like a couple of monsters were on the loose? Threaten someone I could tell was but a moment from fainting but was still willing to endure knowing that what he held dear was dependable on him?" He stopped with a few huffs as he saw that his words were reaching out to them. However, they all found his anger to be something to fear as they back away from him. Even Zecora, as upset as she was at him, found herself taking a step back at his furry. Seeing that this was the result of expressing his feelings, he recomposed himself and tried to finish in a calm, yet somewhat simmering conclusion. "No, I didn't threaten Carrot Cake, nor his wife. But I can definitely assure that I will threaten those that think they are better than them if ever asked!" "Mysterio." In a very short amount of time she had been lashed with so many different emotions: fear, sorrow, guilt, and disbelief to name a few. Her heart felt conflicted on several levels at seeing this person encounter her and her friends again. Even now she felt confused as to what to say, and having all eyes turn to her wasn't helping her confidence. Still she voiced her question. "A-are we still that scary to you?" For what felt long a frozen moment of time, the woods were silent. No one spoke a word. It was just six mares, and a young drake standing in a field of strange flowers as two strangers watched without so much as a word. Yet even the silence was broken as the one stranger with a spherical head had this to finally say. "...You tell me. I'm not the one about to lynch a female just for wandering into your town, or was willing to kill me without so much as an introduction, now am I?" He said as a green mist seemed to seep into the place where he and Zecora stood. As it enshrouded them, he had this last thing to say. "Maybe it was better had we never met." And then they were gone as the mist dissipated away. Fluttershy turned and began her walk home, not even noticing her friends stares at her depressed state. "Fluttershy! Are you ok, darling?" Rarity asked. The yellow Pegasus stopped her pace, but didn't look towards the mares behind her. But even with her back turned towards them, they could feel her tear drops glisten down her cheeks as she spoke to them. "He said his friend was mistreated by us ponies...because she wasn't as colorful." She recalled what he said, but it was only when they stood next to each other she realized who he was speaking of. And even though she herself didn't do anything extreme like other ponies, she wasn't free of being a participant in her exclusion. "It should have been more obvious that it was Zecora he was talking about. She scares me and yet makes me sad in a similar way to him." And admitting it aloud was the final straw to get her to fly the rest of the way home with a speed that would have impressed Rainbow Dash, weren't she and the others so focused on her words. In fact, they were so focused that none of them noticed the odd splotches that seemed to faintly glimmer on their skin. It was a similar shade to the flowers that were nearby. Nor did they notice the little figure that was watching from when Mysterio yelled, only to sneak after the two supposed trouble makers. [}0{] The two strangers walked until they found themselves on a road. The zebra of the pair was leading the two in silence. Mysstero was waiting for her to let out the emotions she was no doubt keeping tightly enclosed involving his 'head game'. It was when Zecora noticed they were as far away from that group of frustrated mares saw it as the time to take out some frustrations of her own on her traveling companion. "How dare you make it appear that you died!" Zecora angrily chastised him as they stood on a road. There was a near wetness in her eyes, but a definite fury as she smacked him repeatedly on his chest and stared directly into his dome. "Did you want to see how deeply I cried?" "No!" He held her hands to stop her, but spoke gently and solemnly. "No, I didn't want to do it as something mean. Yet, don't you see why I didn't?" "Not once did you try to perform an attack. Even though you could have easily struck back." She concluded after composing herself and clearing her eyes. "You tested them to see what they'd do. And how'd they react to learning the past sins of you." "And that was just six mares and a young drake. I'm sure the rest of the ponies would probably be just as welcoming to someone like me." Mysterio sighed. Trying to get his mind off of the thought, he noticed the path they were taking was different than the one to the castle. For one thing, he would recall seeing these type of trees, especially so many planted in organized rows. "So where are we going now?" "Whenever I go into town, but find nothing to bring back," she looked pointedly at the destination she led them to. It was a big red barn on the edge of a wide expanse of apple trees. "I go seek supplies from the one named 'Big Mac'." "Big Mac...?" He asked aloud, as if that would bring him from the ether. "Eeyup." A deep drawl answered. Turning to the fence, Mysterio found himself looking at an Earth Pony stallion. With a long shaggy yellow mane, and red fur he might have pulled of the presence of a simple farmer type. However, with the way his body was packed into a mere set of overalls, it could be seen that he let his form do most of the talking for him! He guessed he matched Runo in height, and possibly musculature. Heck, he was willing to consider him the pony version of Piotr/Colossus without the metal coat. All he was doing was leaning there, and he already looked like an action hero. "Big Mac, the stallion of the hour. I need your help for my day is sour!" Zecora approached him and explained her situation. "The ponies of the town once again left us in the dust. Not once did they find us able to trust." Mysterio wasn't really paying attention to the rest of the words Zecora was saying. No insult meant to her of course, but his focus was on the stallion. That red horse-like being had been staring him down like a sheriff starring at a black hatted desperado. Yet it wasn't just some angled look of mistrust. It didn't help that something about him seemed...familiar. "I know it's not often I come by to stay. But just seeing you still makes my day." 'Wait what?' Mysterio looked now to see the stallion was not as focused on him, but the zebra woman leaning into him. She was like a tall, strong bodied woman, but next to Big Mac she seemed more a shorter love-struck maiden. 'Is she...flirting?' He thought as he saw how close she was getting to the stallion. Not just her gestures, but her inflections. Dare he say it, but this was clearly the acts of a woman in a well rooted relationship. "...And so we come to you with nowhere else to go." Zecora finally reached the end of her explanation. Now bringing attention to her traveling companion she gestured towards him and said, "So may I introduce to you-" "Mysterio." The red stallion said, getting up. No longer did he seem to be as calm around Zecora. In fact, with the slow but purposeful strides he was taking towards them--more specifically him--he felt another fight was about to brew. "Wait a moment! Haven't we met before?" He asked trying to start a more diplomatic approach with possibly the strongest looking stallion he ever saw. And one he recognized as the bringer of the carts for Tsavorite's treasure. "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded as he reached into his overall's main chest pocket and pulled out a familiar bag that jingled before putting it back. "I thought you looked familiar..." he was trying to figure out why he seemed angry albeit subtle in his display. He was predominately stone-faced. Yet he hadn't felt this level of anger at him since seeing the expression of- It then occurred to them the similarities of those two. Both of them were the earth pony type. Both having body shaped by lots of physical work. Both having an obvious farm background. "...Let me guess. That orange mare in the hat is your sister?" "Eeyup." Big Mac nodded. Mysterio huffed, but lowered whatever defenses he had prepared for what was coming. "Then all I asked is that you don't aim bellow the belt. I know the code, and I know what I did goes against it, so I know you're entitled to one." Big Mac nodded solemnly as he spoke one curt, "Eeyup!" -POW!!- -Crinkle!!- -Shoom!!- And it was with that a great impact, followed by a shattering sound of glass echoed through the orchard until a loud thud resounded as a tree was impacted by a fast-moving object. Said object being a sorcerer who was previously a few meters from it! "Big Mac, what the Buck!? That sounded like thunder struck!" Zecora shouted at the red stallion. "Whatever did he do to evoke, an attack from you so unprovoked!?" Said Stallion looked surprised at seeing her concern, but before he could so much as answer, a voice called out to them. "N-n-nothing I...didn't deserve..." said a pained voice that sounded like it came from a much younger male. The two equines were surprised at the figure slowly approaching them. Despite the damage to his armor--which was immense!--he tried to maintain a sense of dignity as he looked them in the eyes. Albeit, one of them was swollen shut. Yet that was the thing that stood out the most! Up until this point, Zecora never saw Mysterio unmasked. But now that she had, it changed her whole outlook on him. He had no fur anywhere besides a light amount on top of his head and above his eyes. His skin was a pale tannish hue. His eyes--or rather eye--seemed to hint at a glimmer of green despite being mostly brown. Yet the thing that stood out the most was his age. Mysterio had a voice of an adult who was grown into his role with wisdom and experience. Yet he looked not much older than a colt that had begun their journey into adult. Why Big Mac himself considered his face to put him around the age of his own sister, Applejack, if not a bit younger! "So tell me, Mac...do you feel better?" He asked as he stood plainly before them, holding the shattered remains of his helmet under his arm like a knight coming from a siege. "...Nope." Big Mac plainly responded. Maybe it was seeing If anything he felt worse. He broke into laughter, albeit it greatly painful from the gasps he gave out. "Well, then I can't help you there. I can only be your punching bag, not your doctor!" He laughed some more, only with a more definite sputter. Suddenly he began to falter forward, but Mac was there to catch him before he fell unconscious. The stallion remained quiet. For he had a lot to consider, especially with this unmasked being he held carefully. He walked to the barn, with Zecora following his stride. Even her face was held in silent contemplation. No doubt the same thing caused him to react as similarly as him now. Finally, as they were reaching his barn and placing the injured...whatever he was on some hay, he found the need to ask Zecora the question, "Did you know...?" "I ask that you accept my plea! I swear this was not known to me!" She practically shouted. Already she was doing what first aid she could perform with what poultices she kept on her. Seeing Big Mac express his understanding with a calm hand to her shoulder, she leaned into him seeking comfort for the shock of their discovery. "I expected him to be like an older colt, not some other being that is barely an adult!" "Eeyup." Macintosh agreed. He expected to give some evil long-lived magic user a good whooping should they ever meet again. Not just for his sister, but for what their kind had done to the Apple Family. But seeing that it was some pale skinned creature who probably not old enough to understand much of life here left his mind muddled. It also caused certain thoughts to come back to him. 'So he's not like her...' Macintosh thought as he recalled another terrible sorcerer. One that had a similar level of fur in their features, but a more wicked ability. One that even now he would never forgive. But as he held Zecora a bit closer, he honestly wished he could forget. As for Zecora, she was currently noticing how Mysterio's wounds slowly, but surely were beginning to disappear. [}0{] Ethan wasn't surprised to find himself in that green room again once his eyes closed. At this point, he was certain it was a fact of life. The sun rose up, the moon had phases, and Mysterio would be sent to this green room whenever he was unconscious. He had accepted it. Yet he still found himself surprised this time. Unlike other times, he was the only one at the table for once. The mysterious headless was not anywhere to be seen. "Hello!" He called out again as he wandered around the library like setting. Yet he found nothing or no one. With a sigh, he placed his hands in his pockets, as he tried to figure out what to do. It was through doing that he discovered something in his left. "What's this?" He found an envelope addressed to him. Without much choice to the alternative, he opened it and read the letter inside. It said: Dear Ethan, Sorry I couldn't make it today. Something came up. Yes. Surprisingly I do still have other things to do besides playing mentor to you. Quite a lot in fact! But that's neither here, nor there, but somewhere else entirely! Rest assured that if you are reading this, then your body is recovering from whatever trauma that has been inflicted upon it. My power is doing what it will to ensure it. The same for your costume. So no worries on the what, but definitely do not question the why and how. I'd explain further, but even on paper that knowledge could provide a danger to you if it leaked into your memory. Keep in mind this is a realm of YOUR MIND that you think you're standing in. Emphasis on the word, 'think'. Which also reminds me! Do not open that door with the latches! You'll know it when you see it, so don't ask me to describe it, because again...dangerous thinking there! Just remember to ignore it. Especially when you hear the knocking! Take head. We will certainly meet again. You have a habit of coming here after all. Sincerely, The Quidam P. S. Remember, It Comes At Night! -Thoom!- -Thoom!- A resounding series of knocks sounded off in the distance. Ethan of course, just had to follow the sound past the bookshelves and down a few hallways. He tried not to pay too much attention to how he was getting there because occasionally he would realize that he was technically doing something impossible. Like walking on a ceiling, or suddenly walking past a mirror which was previously an adjacent threshold. Were it not a dream, he would think he was going mad, or at least high on something. -Thoom!- -Thoom!- Finally, he found the door. Ominously it stood at the end of a long hallway, covered in latches and chains to the point of being considered cartoonish. It was a blue door, but not just any blue. It was the same blue that matched The Quidam's bowler hat! Before he could so much as take a step into the hallway, he heard a voice come from behind him. "Time to wake up, Ethan!" [}0{] Wake up he did. Ethan woke up to still dressed up as Mysterio. However, his armor was intact! Waking up he came to find himself looking at a familiar HUD screen from a helmet he recalled being shattered by the force of Big Mac's punch. Speaking of which, the stallion was nowhere to be found. Taking inventory of his surroundings, he saw he was lying down on a mat in some sort of hut. Looking at the choice of decor with some African tribal looking masks, he concluded that he must be in Zecora's home. Said Zebra walked into the room with a tray of drinks, with one holding a straw. "At last you are awake!" She said as she handed him the drink. "Here is an elixir to take." "Thanks." He said as the port on his helmet opened for the straw. Taking a sip, he found the concoction to take like fizzy soda and cough medicine. Still, medicine was medicine. "I'm guessing we are in your home...?" "Take it easy as you just begun to arise." Zecora took his cup and quickly added what looked like tea leaves to it. Mixing them before handing it back, she also added, "Macintosh says tomorrow to expect your supplies." Well now that was good news! "Well that's surprising, but I appreciate it. Tell him I said thank you when you see him again." Seeing Zecora nod, he gently sat himself up. "I'm guessing he brought me here." "The two of us found it best, that you lie down here and get some rest. We searched but could find no broken bone. As for your armor, it healed on its own." Zecora sounded impressed by that, albeit there was a hint of curiosity in her tone. "Well, it's made of a very special magic. At least that's what the person who originally crafted hinted at. Still, I don't think I'm going to be getting into any fights soon. Especially with Big Mac." Looking around, Mysterio found no sign of the stallion anywhere. "Speaking of which, where is he?" "He left for home some time back. He deeply regrets his attack." Zecora looked especially solemn with this statement. No doubt as an effect of all they had been through today. "He did say that you would understand, why you felt such a blow from his hand." "Believe me, he still on the good side of my list. He at least was kind enough not to leave me nearly dead in a ditch. If anything, I'm sorry to see that his sister is not so welcoming." He said as he got ready to sip through the straw again. This time guzzling more liquid as he felt his annoyance return as he recollected that part of the day. "Don't be, for I too worry about the day she finally gets wise." Zecora wearily sighed, before developing a smirk. "She'd realize me and her brother share the friendship of the thighs!" -SPPPPPPSSSHHHH!!- The inside of Mysterio's helmet could was a wet watery mess in the light. Perhaps taking a drink while wearing the helmet wasn't such a good idea after all. "-Cough-That was -cough- something I didn't -cough- need to hear!" He choked out as he took it off to catch his breath. As he set it aside, he found the zebra woman closely inspecting his face like a physician. "Sorry, for my usage of that particular trick. But your helm needed removal to ensure you're not sick." She held his head gently as she found no signs of injury. Even his eye which was swollen looked clear and unblemished. If anything, he looked healthy as far as whatever he was. 'Right, it would probably try to prevent her from removing it.' He thought as he tried to remain still. It was tricky though considering how close into his personal space she was getting. So he tried to lesson her focus a bit without telling her to shove off or something rude. "So, you and Big Mac...? Are you...courting?" That stopped her inspection. Slowly she shuddered, until she broke into a soft pitter of laughter. "We are, albeit in secret, and have had wonderful dates." She had a bit of a bashful expression now, one that he had never seen on the tough and wise being. Yet it was gone too soon as she let out a sad huff as she admitted, "Although, my dear Macintosh is wishing I'd agree for us to be Mates." That threw him off. Granted he knew very little of these two, and had not much of a stand point, but from that news it sounded they might be at that peak of their relationship. So why the sad face? "Well, what's the issue? You seem to really enjoy his company. He seems honest about his feelings. I mean, I've only known him for less than a day, yet I can tell he truly cares for you, Zecora." Zecora shook her head as she stood up and gestured towards herself. She wasn't wearing her cloak, but her more tribal looking apparel. Thus she had her stripes plain to see as if they were a prisoner's uniform. At least it seemed that way as she actually got slightly watery eyes as she proclaimed, "Look at me, Mysterio, and what do you see? Do you see a mare that would be accepted in the Apple's family tree?" She then looked furious, and yet saddened as she raised her voice. "Even if I agreed with all my heart, I fear the town's prejudices would tear us apart. Why, think of what would happen if they started glare, at that stallion who regularly bucks the enchantress mare!" "I see." He did! Ethan really did. He was there in the square, watching how she was ostracized like a monster. He saw how she walked amongst the stores, only to find no one willing to help her. It was horrific to see, but hearing this friend of his finding it further into her life was beyond terrible! Even though he knew she had a stallion who loved her and willing to stand by her, he felt bad knowing she refused to put what good she had going for her at risk. It was a concept he knew all too well on a personal level, but there was nothing he felt he could do now. "I wish I could help you, but it seems I can barely help myself these days." That was all he could say on the matter. Zecora knew it was true on multiple angles. Still, she found some solace in knowing that at least there was someone who she could relate to on the issue. "It helps realizing how my feelings are not mine alone. Still, it is time that you should go home." Zecora said with an honest smile forming on her face. "I appreciate you sticking up for my strife. Too few do that these days of my life." "I hear that!" In his helm Mysterio grinned back. He pulled out a card from his pocket and handed it to her. "So, how about the two of us promise to not be strangers to each other as our own personal rebellion against the world?" Zecora looked upon the card, marked with Mysterio's personal Arcana. Before she could attempt any reply, there was a bright spectacle of light, and the sorcerer was gone! All she could do was shake her head at seeing the magic user leave in such a way. "I wonder if this will be your trend? To make a person suspicious of you into a friend." But she stopped suddenly as her eyes caught a glimmer of something on the mat. At first, she thought it was dust, possibly left over from Mysterio's scuffle. Except it was leaving splotches on the places where he lied. Blue splotches! She carefully took some to her fingers and sniffed. Immediately recognizing it, she took a potion off her shelf and started rubbing it on herself! "Oh dear! This I fear!" She muttered hurriedly as she started to recount ingredients she knew she would need for what was coming. "I must start getting the cure in gear! For friend Mysterio's day is about to turn queer!" Oh, things were about to take a turn once he arrived at his home! [}0{] Back in Castle Wonder, Mysterio found himself standing in the foyer. Looking at the pillar he appeared near, he gazed at the crack. Hidden there was one of his 'Mysterio Arcana' cards. Seeing it there and seeing that he was now here next to it excited him! 'It worked!' he cheered inwardly. He was back in his lair! The Quidam explained when making the totems that they weren't just tools of communication, but also other things such as travel. With that, he now had certain benefits available to him. One such benefit was that he could now travel to wherever he placed his totems. Thus, he now had the beginnings of a 'warp network' in the works ready to exploit. "Master, you've returned!" Tsavorite's voice echoed as his attention was drawn on the cast of figures excited to see him. Apparently, he came in a puff of smoke due to the blue wisps he saw lingering and the few individuals still coughing. That and he had interrupted some sort of meeting in the foyer with his entrance. The surprised reactions of Bo and the swordsdoggie--with one having a metallic encased paw ready to punch and the other a sword drawn to his shoulder ready to strike--were enough to convey that he was not expected to show up in such a manner. Fortunately, they held back when they realized their benefactor was the unexpected stranger in their midst. Thankfully there weren't any manticores nearby for whatever reason! No idea what a room full of those would do if startled. "Indeed I have." He greeted cordially as they all greeted him in their own manner. The two dogs looked particularly apologetic, but he gave a nod of understanding to indicate he took no insult. Not like it was the first time today. "How was your trip?" Trixie asked with a hint of worry. "It was...eventful." He concluded. He didn't want to go into details, but instead decided to tell them the positives of his trip. "I've arranged supplies to come our way on the morrow. While this is good, I'm afraid it means we'll have to settle on someone cooking us food using the supplies we came with again. Sorry if that means you'll be cooking for us again, Bo. I shall lend a hand if you need it, though." Bo seemed to perk up a bit as if about to accept his offer, but then decided against it. "It's fine. I don't minds. Besides, I've gots the helps I needs." The swords-doggie nodded as he followed the lead of the female Diamond Dog heading towards the caravan. Norah soon followed their strides. "Yeah, I can helps, too! No problems!" The pup yipped as she added. "After all, it's not like we can't do it!" 'Well that was nice.' He thought as he saw them go out. Granted, it probably had to do with them nearly attacking him on sight here, but still that was very nice. He had to make sure they were paid well for their services. Speaking of payment. "By the way, Trixie. I notice you have some new trinkets with you since I last saw. I'm guessing Tsavorite shared some of her treasures with you?" "Um...yes, amongst other things." She had a bashful glimmer to her face as she took Mysterio's compliment at the jewelry and accessories she placed on her person. All of a sudden, she found a reason to hurry out of the room. "Trixie should go help them with dinner! That way it's not all...meaty this time!" Now Mysterio knew something was up! Seeing even Trixie leave as well to help, he couldn't help but to ask his draconic subordinate, "Did something happen while I was gone?" Tsavorite looked a bit sheepish, but answered him, "I told them how we met. It seems they took my words to heart and caught a gleam of the person you are, Master." That was vague, and yet could be taken the wrong way at worst. "And what person is that, Tsavorite?" He asked as he walked towards the stairwell. His dragoness friend following his strides. "What image did you impart to them?" She preened at this inquiry. It was like being asked to describe your favorite person for a class. Maybe it was, because she sounded so heartfelt as she said, "That you are strong and just. Yet even more than that, you are one who would truly put himself before any of us and thus deserve to be placed above us. And it's with that I hope they reach the same realization that I have." "What realization?" "Everything in this world belongs to you." The dragoness said with all the cheerful seriousness as a person decreeing their hero was the best one. '...What!?' His mind went blank at that sentence. He had to have heard it wrong. With a hand tightening on the remains of a handrail. "Could you repeat that?" "You saved the life of someone who most would leave to die if out of pride or kill just for the prestige that came from their corpse. A being that is considered to most to be the embodiment of all that this world should offer. It is a testament of your will and where you stand. Thus, you have proven to stand even higher than few can already tread." She took a knee and placed a solemn hand over her heart as she finished. "Therefore, there can only be one truth that could be said: Everything in this world belongs to you!" ...Honestly, he had no idea where to even begin with that he was so mind boggled. It was with a scrambled thought process that the first thing to come out of his mouth was, "...Even you?" 'Especially me.' Tsavorite wanted to say, but instead spoke. "As I said once before, my life is to do with as you would choose." Ok, he really should have stopped this right now. But the outright shock going through his head, mixed in with all the stressed experiences of today alone caused an extremely inappropriate reaction to come from him: laughter. "So...haha!...everything in this world is mine?" he stuttered out as he let out guffaw after guffaw! "Oh how I wish it were true!!" Tsavorite didn't get the joke that her master found so hilarious. Nevertheless, she stayed attentive as his words sunk into a more distressed and grief-stricken tone. "Why if this world was truly mine, then think about the changes I would have to implement for it! I would make it a place where all this sense of exclusivity and oppressiveness would no longer permeate the air wherever I walked. A place where everyone could feel welcome no matter what they were or what they believed in compared to their fortunate fellows. No more treating those different like plague carriers and monsters! No more struggles for the so called forsaken races, which by the way seem to only be that way because of the privileged one! A world where it can truly be a magical and colorful place to live instead of some sick ironic joke coating its surface!!" He seethed as he caught his breath. Such a ramble was only enhanced by how his speakers made it sound so vicious. Yet, maybe that is how he felt considering what he had seen today. Seeing that he left his familiar confident kneeling at the stairs and he himself was entering a hallway, he settled his speech with, "Such a wonderful thought. Maybe I'll dream about it." He had enough 'excitement' for today. That and grogginess was starting to take hold on him. He didn't even care if he missed dinner. He just wanted to get to bed and pretend this day was over! Perhaps tomorrow would be better? Hopefully it would be! So, with a way, he bid his servant, "Goodnight Tsavorite!" The dragoness watched carefully her master make his way through the hall. No doubt to retire for the evening. However, he left her with quite a lot to consider. Especially his wishes! "So...you do wish to make this world your own to change this world for the better?" She whispered to herself as she hardened her decision to follow such inspiring ambition. "Then your wish will be granted!" She stood up and hurried to her associates to tell them the discovery the castle lord gave her. They just had to know! Yet, if only she wasn't so enthralled with the news she had to give, she might have taken notice of the scales she unknowingly shed. Scales that were blotched with bluish spots! [}0{] 'What a shitty way to end a shitty day!' Ethan thought as he tried to set himself into the old master bedroom he claimed as his own. Say what you will of pony royalty, but they had stuff that despite smelling musty, was still comfortable to lay in even after all this time. Yet even lying on his back, he found himself in that odd state of being to tired to be active, and too awake to be tired. He didn't even want to check out those new comics he got considering the background as to how he 'acquired' them related to his shitty day. Thus, he was just lying there outside of his armor in a simple shirt and boxers, counting the stars painted in the ceiling's sky motif. He was on 137 when he heard what sounded like a pop come from where his armor was placed aside. Glancing over to it he saw a small box land on the floor next to his carefully placed adornments, having materialized from seemingly nowhere. At first he was alarmed, but a smile found his face as he recognized the familiar 'The Apple' branding on the side. Getting out of bed to pick up the small cardboard cube he quickly unfolded a note taped to the top. ~Hey Gumball! Hope you're still alive! My Trixie here on this side found a few spares of these in her stuff and after hearing the plight of the one on your side, she wanted me to send one to Norah. I guess she's trying to help make things a little easier for her by instilling a bit more affection between the two, even if just by indirect proxy... or maybe just wants more people to love her no matter the dimension, I can never really tell with her. She also had me put another one in for your Trixie (I don't think I need to explain why with their egos) as well as something "For repairs or replacement", it'll make more sense when you see it- just be careful with the minimization charm she put on it; it can really hurt if it's pointed the wrong way when it wears off... trust me... The last thing was insisted upon by, well... if you ever get to know her you'll understand. Try not to die out there! - Maze (oh and don't worry, this is all written in English so they shouldn't be able to understand any of it)~ Shaking his head Ethan opened the box with a smirk and found what looked like a pair of stuffed Trixie dolls, complete with hats and capes and one bearing a small tag: 'Stay classy Norah! From: Maze'. They were not only remarkably soft but also seemed rather well made; they wouldn't be falling apart anytime soon. Next to that was a roll of fabric with the same color and design of the magician mare's hat and cape, shining light on the 'For Repairs' note. Trixie's hat and cape did seem to get beat up a lot. Finally, under those he spotted a small pink pastry box with 'FOR EVERYPONY! -P' in eccentric handwriting on its lid. He cracked it open to take a peak and was immediately hit with the smell of frosting... as well as a handful of confetti that exploded out with the sound of a party horn. After shaking off the shock and colorful paper he could now see half a dozen colorfully decorated cupcakes within, somehow untouched by said confetti thankfully. "Well, I not everything strange coming my way is bad after all." Ethan said, as he placed the stuff carefully into the 'apple' box as best as he could. Looks like he would be heading to the meal after all, if just to share these goodies with his...friends. Yes! They were his friends! So he shouldn't keep them waiting! He hurried to throw some basic clothes instead of his Mysterio outfit. It was just a dinner amongst friends so no need to be overtly dressed this time. "And it looks like I was able to procure some dessert! Thanks Maize. Well, here's hoping this will be the start of a calmer and less crazy day come morning." He commented as he took a bite of his cupcake to test it. "Huh? Peanut butter and chocolate? Not bad!" Little did he know that he would be eating those words after he and his friends ate those cupcakes. For come morning each would find themselves facing a change for the strange! [TO BE CONTINUED...] [}0{] Omake: The Decree of the Master Ethan had been doing whatever he could to save this...well creature was too cruel a term...and woman didn't fit either...Female! He'll go with that! But today seemed especially bad. For a while she seemed coherent enough to at least eat was food he could crush well enough for her to swallow and drink what liquid he could procure in a cup. Now he was using all his CPR certification to save her due to her having seemed to stop breathing! 'And to think, getting certified for a role that they didn't call me back on ending up saving some flying lizard woman! That or I'm reliving the trauma of that incident in GraphiCon I swore to never speak of!' He mentally chattered as he pounded harder onto her chest with his fists. He tried not to worry if he was hitting too hard considering it felt like her scales could take the blows of a sledgehammer, let alone his human hands. If anything, he was more worried about not being strong enough! Well that, and the fact he was going to have to try another method to get her to restart breathing! "I swear to whatever god you may or may not believe in, you'd better not die after this! I didn't risk you possibly ripping my face off just to have you give up now!" He shouted as he opened her maw and started to add in air with his own lips. He'd worry about contaminants and possible faux pas later! Right now he was just trying to get her to stay with him in this strange world of wolfish trees and scorpion-lions. Finally, after a few huffs, he heard the slow, soft, yet steady pattern of breathing from her once more. Making sure it she was in steady enough condition to be left to her own devices, he sat down in a chair next to the bed and let out a sigh of relief followed by an ironic laugh. "I don't know if you are even capable of understanding me. I don't even know why I'm so desperate to save you." He shook his head as he decided to leave the room with one last look to the dragon-woman's resting form. "But I'd like to think it's because if the opportunity arose...if I was so willing to risk my life to save yours...then maybe...you'd be willing to do the same." And he left it at that. He had his daily tasks to get to, with one of them being to gather some more rations for their dinner that night. If he would have waited a few moments more, he would have noticed the tears that started to stream down the resting eyes of the one who decided to give her life to the one who showed they were in fact the strongest of the two of them.
The World Beneath Her Wings
pre
"Looking at me and thinking that I was pregnant! When you're the one who eats three times as much as I do and craves something new every week!" She snorted. "He said you weren't showing because of your muscles. I don't have muscles like yours. Am I showing?" Rarity presented her flank. Rainbow looked her wife's body over. "To be fair, babe, me not looking pregnant is why we came. But uh, no, you look the same. And--" She reached up and prodded Rarity's side. It easily yielded to her snow-covered hoof. "--yeah, nothing." Turning away and stomping through the slush, Rarity said. "Exactly! How could he think that I'm pregnant and you're not?" Hesitating, Rainbow could only say, "Um..." Rarity spun around. Rainbow could only give the first reply that came to mind "Pickles!" She forced a smile. "Let's get some pickles." She opened her wings and hovered just above the ground. "I don't even feel bigger, really. Totally understandable. But some pickles will let the foal get nice and big inside me so everypony can see how pregnant I am. I'll meet you at the restaurant, babe." Raising a hoof, Rarity answered, "Don't fly too fast, Rainbow. You are with foal, remember." Rainbow turned away to keep Rarity from seeing her sour expression. She took off towards her next meal, spewing snow in her wake. A left bank aimed her just past the corner of a building. "Rainbow!" Rarity chastised. With a look back, Rainbow said, "Rarity, would you--" An impact to her wing interrupted her reaction. Rainbow hit the snow, tumbling several feet across the terrain. "Ow ow ow." A moment later, Rarity was at her side. "Rainbow! I just told you to be careful. Are you okay?" Her wing throbbed. Rainbow got to her feet. Looking over, she opened and closed her wing a few times. "Not broken. That's good. Geez that smarts." She looked at Rarity but decided against arguing. "Let's... let's get those pickles." --- The morning sun woke Rainbow up as it always had. She rolled out of bed and gave a yawn. Outside the bedroom window, the first greenery of spring glistened in their dew. At Rarity's insistence, Rainbow hadn't participated in Winter Wrap-Up that year. She chalked it up as another perk of pregnancy. Rarity walked out of the bathroom, her mane wrapped in a towel. "Good morning, dearie." "Mornin', babe." Rainbow stretched herself out. She heard a gasp. "Rainbow!" "Huh? What is it?" She looked at Rarity. Pointing her hoof, Rarity said, "Stretch again! I see a bump!" "What, really?" Rainbow straightened herself out and turned to look. Right at her navel, her belly curved outward just a little. She stared at it. "Woah. Hang on, lemme get a better look." Rainbow climbed onto the bed and rolled onto her side, stretching herself out to produce the bump again. Rarity clambered up next to her. Running her hoof across her stomach, the bump felt hard. "There it is. That's freaky." A white hoof set itself on the blue fur. "That's our daughter." Rainbow relaxed, allowing the bump to vanish. She prodded the area and felt its resistance again. "Wow." Stroking Rainbow's belly, Rarity said, "I think it's time to celebrate our new arrival." "With breakfast?" Rainbow lifted her head up. "Because there's these little chocolates that Bonbon makes with bits of alfalfa in them and--" The hoof moved from Rainbow's belly to her lips. "After breakfast, of course, we should go shopping for everything the foal will need." "Like a crib and stuff? I'm not due for another, uh"--she did some mental math--"three and a half months. Isn't it a little early for this stuff?" Climbing off the bed, Rarity said, "It's never too early to be prepared. Besides, I promised myself I would wait until I saw the bump." Rainbow relaxed, sprawling herself out on the sheets. "Cool. You go shopping, I'll stay here and watch the foal grow." "Rainbow." Rarity's eyebrows dropped. Returning a smile, Rainbow said, "Well we can try it the other way around, babe, but I don't think that'd work." Rarity rolled her eyes. "You need to come too. As the foal's mother--" "--father--" "--you need to have some say in her room." After taking enough time to groan, Rainbow rolled off of the bed. "Yeah. Fine, whatever. But I gotta eat something first. I'm starving." Rarity sighed. "And to think you'll need to eat even more when you're nursing." --- Rainbow sat backwards on the wooden chair, hooves crossed on top of its back. She rested her chin on her forelegs and watched Rarity meander her way around the furniture store. Eyeing one of the cribs up and down, Rarity said, "If the foal is anything like me, she'll want the fanciest, most-decorated crib she can get. Something tasteful for her to look at while she's in it." Moving only her eyes, Rainbow answered, "And if she's anything like me, she'll want it to be sleek and light, with racing stripes on it. Also a latchable cover if she's a pegasus." Rarity walked to another. "Speaking of, we'll need a magic-resistant latch if she's a unicorn. I suppose we could get one after she's born if we had to." "Good morning." The store's owner, whose name was Wooden something, approached Rainbow. "It looks like your wife's expecting an addition to your family." "Yeah," Rainbow said. "She's doing all the expecting. I'm just pregnant with it." Spinning around, Rarity shouted, "What did he just say about me?" Rainbow raised her head an inch. "He wants to know what kind of crib we want, babe." Rarity glared at him suspiciously for a second before turning back to the inventory. "I was thinking a tasteful white, as I expect our daughter will be light-shaded." "Ah," Wooden replied, "but you have to consider that your newborn foal will be very messy, so if the paint getting stained will bother you, you'll be doing a lot of cleaning." "Oh, don't be ridiculous, I won't be bothered by a bit of dirt," Rarity said with a wave of her hoof. "You totally will," Rainbow commented. After clearing her throat, Rarity said, "Perhaps something darker would suit us better." Fifteen minutes later, Rainbow and Rarity emerged from the store, magically levitating a dark wooden crib, a small mattress, several sheets, and a washing basin. "You know, babe," Rainbow said, looking at their purchase, "I can carry that. My wing stopped hurting a week ago." With a smile, Rarity answered, "I know. But you're already carrying something very important." Rainbow rolled her eyes. They walked a short way before Rainbow said, "Oh yeah, that reminds me. How's this sound: 'Hope you enjoyed the trip, but you're flying yourself from now on.'" "I'm... sorry?" Rarity turned her head towards Rainbow. Trotting forward to move by Rarity's side, Rainbow said, "Well, so many parents say something cheesy like 'You're so beautiful' or 'Welcome to Equestria' that I figure we mix it up a little, you know? So that one if she's a pegasus. How about this for a unicorn: 'With all the magic that went into making you, you'd better become a wizard.' Get it? Magic?" Turning her head forwards again, Rarity said, "Maybe you should let me handle the introductions, dearie." "Oh I got one! 'Hey, yours isn't the first horn I've had stuck in there.'" Rarity stopped in her tracks and faced Rainbow again. "I will not have the first words our daughter hears be a sex joke!" Rainbow backed up a step. "Okay, fine, I'll come up with something else. If it's a pegasus, I can say 'Wow you flew right on out of there!' What if it's an earth pony, though?" While Rainbow thought, they walked a few more steps. "'So that what all the kicking was about!'" Rarity stopped again. "Is it kicking?" "Um..." Rainbow paused to think. "I felt something this morning, but it might have been gas." Moving towards the Boutique's front door, Rarity said, "If it was an earth pony, it would certainly explain all the fruit you've been eating." "I can work with that." Rarity opened the door. "Dearie, while I put these away, why don't you head to the next store? I'll meet you there." "Sure thing, babe." She turned and left. --- A staggering array of items sat on the shelf in front of Rainbow: bottles, toys, diapers, a few thermometers, magic doodads claiming to be the only way to keep a foal safe, and anti-magic doodads claiming to be the only way to keep a foal safe. She heard Rarity's voice approaching. "Have you gotten everything already?" Without a word, Rainbow looked at Rarity, then back at the shelf. "Seriously, dearie, it's not that difficult." Random items took on a magic aura and levitated towards them. "We'll need bottles to feed her, a pump for your milk, a thermometer to check on her, some extra towels, a night light or two, ooh this toy looks just delightful!" Rainbow looked at it all. "See, this is why you're going to be Mom. I'm completely lost here." "Good morning," an orange pegasus said, approaching them. "Are you two shopping for a newborn?" "Oh yes, dear," Rarity answered, flashing a smile. "We have a filly on the way and we're stocking up." "Congratulations!" The clerk looked at Rarity. "When are you due?" Rarity tensed up straight. The hovering inventory fell to the floor. A bottle bounced off of Rainbow's snout. "That's it!" she shouted, "I am going on a diet, and we are not doing any more foal shopping until you're the size of an apple cart!" Rarity stomped out of the store. Rubbing her snout, Rainbow looked at the aghast clerk. "Sorry. Hey, wait!" she called out, "Rarity, you have the money! How am I supposed to pay for these?" After scooping up a bottle and placing it on the shelf, she turned back to the poor pegasus. "I-I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say she was the mother, so I assumed--" She shifted backwards. "Yeah, I get it, it's cool." Rainbow patted her side. "It's in here, though." She returned another bottle to the shelf. The clerk placed a few items next to it. "Not looking forward to getting home." After everything was back in place, Rainbow turned to leave. Looking behind her, she said, "See you again when I'm the size of an apple cart, I guess." She smirked. "Wonder if I'll fit through the door."
The World Beneath Her Wings
The Unexpected Guest
"These are always so nice," Fluttershy said, taking a bite of her sandwich. Rainbow and her friends lay in a circle around the picnic blanket. Above, a large leafy tree drank in the springtime sun. Ponyville sat in the distance, its inhabitants going about their lives. Most of the group lay on their stomachs, but Rainbow had to lay on her side ever since her baby bump had gotten large enough to become visible six weeks before, and had only grown larger since then. Sprawled as she was, the entire group had a very clear view of her progress. Rarity, situated at Rainbow's head, enjoyed a fourth cupcake. Her diet had lasted exactly until that month and a half ago. Her weight's modest gain had been completely overshadowed by Rainbow's, thus eliminating any doubt as to which of the pair was bearing their child. After swallowing a slice of melon, Applejack called, "Whoo-ee, Rainbow, I swear you gain another inch every time I look at you!" "Sure feels like I'm bigger every time I look." Rainbow turned her attention back to the pickle sandwiches in front of her. Twilight, for her part, was less preoccupied with the food and more with the three books, eight scrolls, and the quill she was scribbling with. Soon Pinkie Pie had propped herself up on Rainbow's hip. "How much longer?" "Six weeks," Rainbow and Rarity said in unison, neither looking up. "Oooh I can't wait!" Pinkie said. Rainbow felt a pressure across her side and looked up to see Pinkie hugging her bump, the side of her head pressed into Rainbow's flank. "It's going to be so cute! Eeeeee!" Wincing at the sound, Rainbow pressed her ears back. Right on cue, she felt her foal kicking. She sighed and set her head on Rarity's back. "I can feel it!" Pinkie said. Her weight removed itself from Rainbow's side. Seconds later, it was replaced by a flat slap. Rainbow glared straight ahead. Rarity's voice said, "It's a book, dearie. Pinkie, please don't drop it on the foal like that." Weeks ago, Rarity had made the mistake of saying within earshot that the foal could hear everything going on outside. Rainbow idly wondered if it would be born deaf. Or insane. "I know you haven't heard this one!" Pinkie announced. "It's one of Rainbow's favorites: Young Daring Do and the Curse of the Gym Teacher's Lunchbox." Only allowed to exist due to a loophole in AK Yearling's publishing contract, the Young Daring Do series detailed the exploits of Daring during her life as an elementary schooler. All of them were ghostwritten and none of them were true. Despite critical panning, they sold well enough for over two dozen volumes to be printed. While Curse of the Gym Teacher's Lunchbox wasn't the low point of the series, it was far from an enjoyable read. The fandom considered Young Daring Do to be nothing more than cheap cash-ins designed to be given to children by unwitting parents and, in this case, excited pink ponies. Rainbow's own child, being literally trapped inside her, was the perfect audience. "Daring Do woke up one morning and yawned a great big yawn," Pinkie read, before giving a demonstration. "Then she jumped out of bed, put on her hat, and said, 'Today's going to be an adventure!' And she was right." Every Young Daring Do book started with that line. Despite her best efforts, Rainbow failed to tune out Pinkie Pie. "Daring lept into her dining room, and her mom said--" "I got it!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow looked over along with the rest of the group. "That's not how the story goes, silly," Pinkie pointed out. Taking advantage of the distraction, Rainbow twitched her side enough for the book to slide off of her and land pages-down on the grass. Rarity glanced over and smiled. Angling her head to Rarity's ear, Rainbow whispered, "If she asks, the foal did it." Rarity stifled a laugh. A bunch of Twilight's books and scrolls hovered up, turning to face the collected ponies. They were full of symbols and lines that Rainbow was sure were very enlightening. She took a bite of her sandwich. "There have been mysterious magical disturbances reported for months across Equestria, with no clear pattern," Twilight explained. "Unicorns having trouble casting advanced spells, slight variances in magical fields, that sort of thing. But I've finally figured them out! By cross-referencing them against ancient ley lines and the mumbo jumbo magic magic sparkly princess powers blah blah blah, I've pinpointed the source!" is what Rainbow heard. Twilight produced a map. It was full of markings and magical doodles. "It's at Round Hill, which is about a mile north of the tracks running from Canterlot to Vanhoover. Tomorrow, I'm going to ask Starlight to join me on a trip out there and investigate--" "We'll all go!" Pinkie announced. Fluttershy set down her tea. "To the hill?" Jumping to Twilight's side, Pinkie continued, "We'll have a picnic." Applejack looked at the food arrayed on the blanket. "Pinkie Pie, we're having a picnic right now." With a gasp, Pinkie said, "You're right! I have to start packing for tomorrow's!" Before anypony could comment, she was gone. After eyeing Young Daring Do on the ground, Rainbow lay her head back on the grass and sighed with contentment. Shortly afterwards, a smell wafted across her nose. She sat up. "Hey Applejack, you going to finish that melon?" --- While Rainbow preferred flying to walking when it came to long distances, she had to admit that being allowed to wander at all was refreshing ever since the weight in her belly became noticeable. Naturally, they'd taken the train to the area, where it pulled off to a nearby siding to wait for them. Having a princess as a friend had its perks. "Round Hill should be just over this ridge." Starlight lowered the map she had been levitating. "Good," Rarity said, "I don't want Rainbow to overexert herself." As the ponies climbed, Rainbow's eyebrows dropped. An idea prompted her to stop. "Hey Applejack, race you to the tree up there!" Hesitating, Applejack's eyes went from Rainbow's face to her side. "Uh..." Rainbow didn't wait for an answer. Her hooves pounded the grass into submission as she sprinted up the hill. A few wing-flaps provided extra boost on her way up. It was the fastest she'd run in weeks. She smacked her forehoof against the tree. "Ha!" Winded by the sprint, Rainbow gasped for breath. Inside her, the foal's hooves did some pounding of their own. Below her, Rarity grit her teeth. Flicking her tail, Rainbow turned away from the group. "Come on, slowpokes," she called, "get up here and... woah." Ahead of her, the grasslands spread down the ridge and into the distance. However, an immense green dome stood alone, as if an enormous ball had been cut in half, dropped on the field, and had grass grow over it. Its base gently sloped from the flat field to a near-vertical rise before curving over its top. A solitary tree had taken root on one of its sides. Before long, the other ponies had joined her. Applejack whistled. "That's a round hill, all right." "We should take a closer look." Twilight made her way down the ridge, followed by the others. Rarity fell behind, walking next to Rainbow. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. "Checking the weird hill out?" was Rainbow's answer. "I mean that little race of yours. What if you'd slipped and fell? What if the foal had gotten hurt?" Rarity whispered. "It's perfectly safe, Rarity. I'm not going to hurt it." Rainbow rolled her eyes. Ears back, Rarity said, "It isn't a tiny embryo anymore! It's not deep inside you with your body to shield it. The only thing between our daughter and disaster is your reckless behavior." With a sigh, Rainbow said, "Fine, fine. I'll be more careful." Before long, Rainbow arrived at the base of Round Hill. Its green side loomed overhead. "Now what?" Applejack asked. "I'm not sure," Twilight replied. "I calculated the source of the disturbances to be right here, but I'm not seeing anything special about this place. Not so much as a flicker." Starlight's horn illuminated for a few seconds. "No strange magic here. Did we get the wrong place?" A whump accompanied the impact of a blanket, several baskets, and a large variety of food. Rainbow wasted no time in chowing down. Pinkie Pie once again set herself up atop Rainbow's hip. "I know what'll keep us occupied! Young Daring Do and the Gum of Legend!" A book landed on Rainbow's side. She took some small solace in the fact that her daughter enjoyed the story as little as she did. --- "...Daring Do snuggled up under her covers." The food was long gone. "Today had been an adventure." Even the foal had given up resisting. "And she knew that tomorrow would be, too." A collective sigh of relief passed over the landscape. Pinkie stuffed the book back in her mane, then felt around Rainbow's belly. "Aww, she fell asleep. That's so cute! No wait, I can feel her shifting. How about we read--" "How about," Rarity interrupted, standing up, "we investigate this hill some more?" Rainbow couldn't help but smile. She knew she married her for a reason. "There's nothing to investigate," Starlight said. "It's just a strangely-shaped hill." Scratching her chin, Applejack said, "You don't suppose whatever's causing those funny magic disturbances is buried in the middle of it?" "That's possible," Twilight said, looking up the side of the hill, "but it'd take forever to dig, even if we brought shovels." Reaching into her tail, Pinkie said, "Like this?" She pulled out a shovel with a bright pink blade and a handle longer than her tail was. "I never investigate hills without one." Applejack adjusted her hat. "All right, I'll see how far I can get tunneling to the middle of this thing. But if I hit rock, then Pinkie'd better have a pickaxe in there." She looked up the side of the hill. "And dynamite. Land's sake." The shovel dug into the dirt, scooping the layer of grass off of the hillside. Rainbow picked out a comfortable place to lounge. It was always a pleasure to watch Applejack working her orange butt off while having an excuse to not do anything herself. Rarity was discussing something with Pinkie off to the side. Whatever it was, Pinkie was nodding vigorously about it. Twilight and Starlight alternated between taking notes, talking to each other, and watching Applejack's progress. Which left Fluttershy. "Rainbow?" Looking up at her, Rainbow answered, "What's up?" Setting herself down next to her, Fluttershy asked, "Is something going on between you and Rarity?" "No." Rainbow looked away. "Well, yeah." Looking back at Fluttershy, she added, "It's like I can't do anything. I haven't had a real race all year. It's all 'the foal this' and 'the foal that'. I get it, once she's born everything is going to be about her. But she isn't born yet." Rainbow paused. "At least once she's born I'll be able to leave the house every once in a while, fly up as fast as I can, feel the wind across my wings. Really push myself to my limits. But all I can do right now--" She let her head flop to the ground. "--is lay here and be pregnant." "Well," Fluttershy said, shifting herself into Rainbow's field of view, "right now, your foal depends on you completely. Wherever you go, she does too. Whenever you fly, she does too. Everything you eat, she does too." Looking away, Rainbow grumbled. That wasn't what she wanted to hear. Fluttershy went on, "Your body is concentrating on growing your foal, so it doesn't have much left for what you want to do with it. I've cared for a lot of pregnant animals, although, um, they're more understanding about it." She hurried out her next sentence: "But you've been doing a wonderful job so far and you're helping your daughter more than either of you will ever know." A deep sigh was Rainbow's only reply. Suddenly, Rainbow heard a loud clack. Her attention returned to Applejack, who scraped away at something behind the dirt before setting Pinkie's shovel down. "What in tarnation is this?" Applejack asked. Rainbow got to her feet and joined the others in gathering around the hole. Inside was a flat wall of something black, smooth but not quite polished. With a scraping noise, Twilight ran her hoof across the surface. "This isn't rock or crystal, but it doesn't feel like any kind of building material I've ever heard of." She knocked on it, producing a solid sound. "It's very hard, whatever it is." Gently moving Twilight out of the way, Fluttershy stepped forward and set her hoof on it. "It's a carapace." "You're kidding," Starlight said. Fluttershy ran her hoof over it. "It feels just like the shells of my turtles and spiders. This is a creature." Backing up a few steps to get a better look at the hill, Rainbow said, "No way." "It's huge," Applejack added. "It's dead," Twilight said. The others looked at her. Fluttershy's ears drooped. "Are you sure?" Starlight stepped forward. "She's right. Every living thing above a certain size emits constant magical energy," she explained, "as a side effect of the magic needed to sustain its vital processes. Something the size of this hill would be very obvious, even hibernating or in stasis. If this really is a creature, it's dead." Poking her hoof at the thick layer of dirt, Applejack said, "Musta kicked the bucket a long time ago, then. But that don't explain why all your magic stuff is pointing at it." "We'll just have to do some research!" Twilight's eyes lit up. "I'll look for books about similar creatures. What they're called, where they came from, if there's more of their kind anywhere else." "In the meantime," Rainbow said, "how about we head home? Thanks for the picnic, Pinkie." She hoped in vain that Pinkie noticed the lack of thanks for storytime. After returning her shovel to her tail, Pinkie bounced away. "No problemo, Rainbow!" The other ponies followed her back towards where the train waited. Rainbow walked behind the rest. For some reason, the weight in her belly felt particularly heavy.
The World Beneath Her Wings
Getting Closer
Rainbow shifted under the bed's covers. Slowly, her mind registered that it was still before sunrise and she therefore should be asleep. "Rainbow, dearie." It took another moment to realize that Rarity's voice was probably why she had woken up. "Not now, babe," Rainbow groaned. "I still have to..." Unable to come up with a verb, her subconscious simply gave up. She heard a chuckle. "I'm just letting you know that I'm about to leave for Dodge Junction. I have a special delivery to make for Cherry Jubilee's get-together, and I'm going to get some new gems while I'm there. I'll be back before sundown." Rarity kissed Rainbow's cheek. "Make sure you take care of yourself, okay?" "Sure thing," Rainbow mumbled. "Love you." Only vaguely aware of Rarity's hoofsteps, Rainbow drifted back to sleep. Hours later, Rainbow awoke to a bright spring morning. She rolled herself out from under the covers, landed on her hooves, and stretched herself out. Another minute later, she remembered that Rarity had left that morning. Rainbow did the only reasonable thing and trotted downstairs. After a generous breakfast, she stepped outside and took to the skies to revel in her day of freedom. She let herself climb into the clouds, then drop again. A tilt of her wings sent her into a tight curve. Immediately, the weight in her belly threatened to rip itself out of her body. Before she could think, her wings adjusted to widen her maneuver, taking Rainbow through a large arc in the sky instead. She could feel her foal giving its opinion of her trick. "Fine, sheesh," she grumbled. "Taking after Rarity already, aren't you?" The next couple hours saw Rainbow enjoying herself in a gentler manner than she'd have liked. Despite the lower intensity workout, she still found herself getting winded. Her eyes landed on Twilight's castle. "Hey kid," she told her belly, "want some real Daring Do? I've been wanting to read Daring Do and the Elephant's Escapade again. No spoilers, but it's a good one." She let herself descend through the window to the library. Within, she discovered that almost its entire contents had been emptied onto the floor and stacked into piles. Twilight and Starlight each had a book open and were paging through them. In the corner, Pinkie Pie had set up a book fortress, complete with book armor plating, book artillery, and book anti-air ordinance. "Hostile pegasus! Give me one good reason not to shoot you down," Pinkie announced, aiming a surface to air mystery novel. Rainbow briefly considered telling her to bring it on. Instead she showed her underside to Pinkie. "Because I have a passenger." Pinkie squinted, pausing long enough for Rainbow to wonder if she really was going to fire a book at her. Then Pinkie smiled and said, "You're cleared to land, Rainbow One!" She giggled and added, "I mean, Rainbow Two!" "Thanks, Pinkie." Rainbow landed and turned to Twilight. "Is it reshelving day again already?" Twilight looked up. She had those dark lines under her eyes she always had when she hadn't gotten enough sleep. "We've been trying to find information on the creature we discovered last week, and there isn't any documentation on it anywhere." Starlight's magic waved an envelope. "I asked Sunburst to look through the Crystal Empire's library, but it didn't have anything either." "And I've gone through the Canterlot Archives twice," Twilight said. "Even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have never heard of it. Round Hill shows up as a footnote in geological journals, but there's nothing about the Roundhill itself." Rainbow tilted her head. "The what?" Closing one book and opening another, Twilight said, "The Roundhill. It's what we're calling the creature until we find out its real name. If it has one." Rainbow hovered up to an empty shelf. "Hey, where'd the Daring Do books go?" Motioning to one of the piles, Starlight said, "Twilight thought Daring might have encountered something like it." "She didn't," Twilight added. Looking at the pile, Rainbow walked in a circle. "Do you know where Daring Do and the Elephant's Escapade is in here, or should I start digging?" Twilight's horn illuminated, half the pile rose into the air, a single book popped out, and the pile returned to the ground. Holding the book to her chest with a foreleg, Rainbow said, "Thanks, Twilight. Good luck figuring that giant weird thing out." She flew out the window she came in, while Pinkie shouted something about takeoff clearance behind her. Within moments, she was back on her bed. Rainbow opened the book. "All right, kid, let me read you a real story." --- "With the Titanium Trunk secure and Ahuizotl's evil plans foiled again, Daring Do flew into the sunset on her way to her next thrilling adventure! The end." Rainbow closed the book and looked over at her body. "See? Wasn't that so much more awesome than the junk Pinkie's been reading you?" She put her hoof on her belly and slowly stroked it. "Heh. I could imagine a little pony curled up next to me listening to that." A few moments passed in silence. "You know," she said, "it was nice hanging out like this. I mean, besides that we've been together your whole life. We should do this more often once you're out, all right?" Laying back, Rainbow looked out the window. Outside, the stars twinkled in the night sky. "Huh, that's odd. Wasn't Rarity supposed to be home by now?" She looked at her belly, almost as if she was expecting an answer. "Oh, I know. She must have missed the train." Stretching out on the bed, Rainbow said to herself, "She'll be on the late night train. Wonder if she'll wake me up when she gets home." She got back to her feet. "I figure we got a few more hours before bedtime. Feel like another story? Let me tell you about the first time I did a sonic rainboom..." --- The first rays of the new day's sun shone through the window. Rainbow Dash stirred in bed before rolling out of it. After shaking herself off, she stumbled out of the bedroom. "Morning, babe," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. There was no reply. Rainbow poked her head through a nearby doorframe. "Rarity?" Nothing. Nervous, Rainbow crept downstairs. Not only was there no sign of Rarity, everything was exactly as it had been when she'd gone to bed. "Where is she?" she asked the empty room. Rainbow opened the front door and took off. Ponyville stretched out below her. Eyes darting around the landscape, Rainbow scanned for any sign of her wife. Looking up, she saw Twilight's castle ahead of her. Rainbow entered the same window she did the day before. Inside, the piles of books stood smaller, and many of the shelves had been restocked. On the ground, Twilight and Starlight were mid-conversation. "Maybe the Roundhill's not a single creature," Starlight suggested. "It might be a particularly large colony of smaller creatures that built the shell around themselves." "There'd still be some magical signs of life from the net effect," Twilight answered. "Unless they all died." "It's possible that the colony grew too large to sustain itself and died out as a result." Twilight closed one book and opened another. "Maybe, but that still doesn't explain the disturbances." Starlight scratched her chin. "A few members of it might still be alive?" "Yeah yeah whatever," Rainbow said, landing next to them. "Have either of you seen Rarity?" Twilight looked over. "Not in the last two days. Why?" Pacing back and forth, Rainbow answered, "She left yesterday morning for Dodge Junction to deliver some stuff. She said she'd be back by last night, but she isn't and I'm really getting worried." Twilight set her hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "I'm sure Rarity's fine. She probably just got caught up in some details. You know how she is when it comes to that kind of thing." "Besides," Starlight added, "How often does one of us go somewhere without something coming up that takes forever?" Rainbow took a breath. "You're right. I shouldn't work myself up over nothing. I'm going to get breakfast. After I'm done, do you need help with--" She looked at the books. "Actually, this looks boring. I'm going to hang out." Flying out the window, Rainbow Dash headed home for some chow. --- Hanging out with Pinkie Pie demanded stirring, whipping, mixing, blending, and other ways of saying the exact same thing. The best part was all the taste-testing. Rainbow wouldn't have minded more of that. Not all of it was enjoyable. "And then Daring Do slowly pushed open the door to the teacher's lounge and inside she saw Mister Math's--" A bell interrupted Pinkie's narration. Bouncing to the oven door, Pinkie announced, "I have a bun in the oven!" She opened it and pulled a tray out. Atop was a fresh loaf of bread a foot and a half long. "And here it is!" It was the eighth bun that had been in Pinkie's oven that day. Pinkie spun around, pushing the oven closed with her rump. With the tray in her mouth, she bounced her way to the counter on the other side of the room. On one particularly vigorous bounce, the bread bounced off of the tray and off of Rainbow's side. Eyes wide, Rainbow jerked away. "Hot! Hot!" She rubbed her side. Pinkie dropped the tray on the closest counter and swooped to Rainbow's side. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Are you okay? Is she okay?" Relaxing again, Rainbow said, "Um, yeah, she's fine." "Let Nurse Pie make it better." Pinkie laid a series of kisses along where the bread had hit her. "All right, that tickles." Rainbow sidestepped away. "It just startled me, that's all." With a laugh, she added, "Good thing it was just bread. If the foal got hurt, Rarity would kill us both." Pinkie took the tray back and scraped the bread off of the floor. "I feel just awful though. Is there anything I can do to make it up?" A scent made its way through Rainbow's nose. "How about you put one more bun in your oven?" She licked her lips. "And I can put it in mine." Before long, Rainbow was walking out of Sugarcube Corner. Her stomach felt so full, there wasn't enough room inside her for anything else. She plodded her way back home. Opening the front door, Rainbow called, "Babe? You home yet?" There was no answer. Rainbow turned back outside. Overhead, the mid-afternoon sun shone past the sparse clouds. Pacing back and forth, Rainbow mumbled to herself. "Still? I don't like this." She stopped and took a deep breath. "She would have written. No, no, it's only been a day. It's like when I told her I was pregnant; she'd be back before the letter arrived. What'd she say yesterday morning? She was delivering dresses and looking for gems. She wouldn't spend extra time doing that, would she?" Slowly, she walked away from the boutique. "Maybe everything's okay. Maybe Twilight's right and I'm worrying myself over nothing." She walked faster for a few steps, then flew low to the ground. "No. Something's wrong." Before long, Rainbow found herself at the train station's ticket counter. "One for Dodge Junction." --- Lit by the orange of the setting sun, the train pulled into Dodge Junction. Rainbow Dash stepped off, feeling the crunch of the dirt beneath her hooves. "All right," she told herself, "she was giving those dresses to Cherry Jubilee." With a burst of dust, Rainbow took to the air, easily finding the cherry farm in the fading light. She swooped down, landing in front of the farmhouse. Rainbow raised her hoof and rapped on the door, mentally phrasing how she'd ask. The door opened. "Rainbow Dash? My, what an unexpected pleasure!" Cherry Jubilee stood in the doorway. "Why, just yesterday your friend, pardon me, your wife Rarity was here telling me all about you. And is that...?" She walked around to Rainbow's side. "Why yes it is! Rarity told me you were with foal and I see you clearly are! Congratulations!" "Yeah, thanks," Rainbow said. "Speaking of, have you seen Rarity?" "Well that's an odd question. I just said she was here yesterday with those darling dresses of hers. I thanked her plenty for 'em, but you thank her again for me, would you, dear?" Rainbow grit her teeth for a second. "I mean, she didn't come back home. Do you know where she is?" Eyes widening, Cherry said, "Oh. No, I haven't seen her since she left yesterday. She said she was going into the Badlands to find dig up some gems, since there are some beauties out there. I gave her some canteens of water, on account of it getting so hot this time of year. Rarity said she'd bring 'em back, but she never showed up. I figured she forgot, but I didn't mind, seeing as she's such a sweet mare." "Badlands. Got it." Rainbow looked to the south. "Anything else?" Cherry paused for a second. "There's a whole mess of salamanders that moved into the caves a few months ago, but they ain't much for conversation. They don't like us ponies for some reason. I never bothered asking why, myself. They never come round here and we don't go bother them." Opening her wings, Rainbow said, "Cool, thanks. I gotta go." The sun dipped below the horizon. Cherry put her hoof to her mouth. "Dearie me, you're going to look for her at night? You'll never find her in the dark." "Look." Rainbow stared her in the eye. "If she's hurt or in trouble, then I have to find her now." She stamped her hoof. "Can't say I blame you," Cherry Jubilee said. "All right, good luck." Rainbow took a breath and sent herself skyward. --- Below her, the Badlands were bathed in the pale light of the moon. Rainbow's eyes darted from rock to hill, looking among the shrubs, hoping to see a pony-sized white patch. However, the expanse of dirt and rock stretching out below was all she was able to see. "Come on, Rarity," she whispered, "don't do this to me. Where are you?" A flicker out of the corner of her eye caught Rainbow's attention. She looked to the east and saw a distant spot of firelight, all but washed out by the rising moon. Flapping her wings for speed, Rainbow flew towards it. As she approached, the spot resolved itself into several, then took shape. Two rows of balconies had been carved into the cliffside, with light shining outwards from most of their rooms. Below them, torches flanked a large double door. Rainbow landed just inside the circle of light. On either side of the finely-carved wooden door was a large reptile, shiny black with brown spots. Each stood upright, about as tall as Princess Celestia. They wore polished armor, decorated with gold. And in one hand, they each held a spear of smoothed wood and a silver tip. Stepping forward, Rainbow said, "Uh, hey. You must be the salamanders Cherry Jubilee told me about." The salamander on the left looked at her, then looked back up into the distance. "I'm looking for my wife. She was out in the Badlands here looking for gems. Maybe you've seen her?" Neither responded. Rainbow looked from one to the other. "White unicorn, purple hair, dark blue eyes, three gems on her flank, real pretty? Come on." "Not another one," the left salamander muttered. "Ssh!" the right one whispered. "Don't provoke it!" Rainbow took another step. "So you have seen her! I gotta know where she went! Please!" "Now you've done it," the right said to the left. "Dealing with one of these things is enough of a headache." Ears perking up, Rainbow said, "You do know where she is! Just point me in the right direction and I'll leave you alone, okay?" "I'll take care of this." The left salamander stepped forward. He swung the blunt end of his spear, smacking Rainbow in the shoulder. "Shoo! Shoo!" Rainbow scrambled backwards, then rubbed her shoulder. She snorted, backing up out of the firelight. Looking between the guards and the door, she weighed her options. They knew where Rarity was, and judging by their attitude, they'd know if she was in danger and not care enough to say so. Glancing up, she decided on a different approach. Rainbow took off and hovered at a distance away from the row of balconies. Slowly, away from the light, she moved to look inside the rooms. The lit ones each had one or two salamanders in them, all dressed in fine-looking clothing. Some read a book, one painted, one room had a couple dancing. Rainbow located a lit, empty room and touched down inside as quietly as she could. It was well-furnished, with wooden chairs, a plush bed and two full bookshelves. Several small statues lined the top of the bookshelves, as well as another shelf on the wall. A painting of an important-looking salamander hung on the wall. A closet door hung open, and Rainbow could see several intricate outfits hanging inside. "All right," she whispered, "I just have to either find her or find someone more willing to talk. These salamanders are so fancy, it's no wonder she'd--" Suddenly, a door opened. A black and dark green salamander walked through, holding a towel but wearing nothing. Rainbow stared at the salamander. The salamander stared at Rainbow. The salamander screamed. Holding the towel in front of herself with one hand, she reached for a statue with the other. "Out!" She threw the statue at Rainbow. "Whoa! Hey!" Rainbow ducked out of the way. "Filthy beast! Get out!" The salamander threw a book and grabbed another. "Get out!" As quickly as she could, Rainbow scrambled for the door opposite to the balcony and threw it open. A book hit her rump. Rainbow rushed through the door just before the salamander slammed it behind her. "And stay out!" the muffled voice shouted. Rainbow leaned against the wall to calm herself down again. She looked in both directions down the hallway, which itself was as well-decorated as the room had been. If she hadn't seen the place from the outside, she'd never have believed that she was in a cave. No other salamanders were in sight. Rainbow picked a direction at random and walked. She figured the other doorways on that side also led to rooms with upset salamanders, so she walked a short ways until she came across a doorway on the other side of the hallway. Taking a breath, she opened it. Inside, the room was decently fancy but not as furnished as the others so far. Four salamanders were seated around a scroll-laden table. All were dressed, and none of them screamed. Rainbow figured it was already an improvement. Closing the door behind her, she said, "Hey. Have you seen another pony around here? Her name's Rarity and from the looks of this place she'd really like--" They stood up. Rainbow scowled and dropped into a low stance. "Okay, that's it. My wife's lost or in trouble, and you all have been nothing but a roadblock. I know you know where she is, and I'm going to get some answers. And I don't care what I have to do to save her." The salamanders advanced on her. "You want to start something?" Rainbow tensed up. "You think just because I'm ten months pregnant means I'm going to be a pushover? Bring it on; I haven't had a good fight in a year." The smallest salamander lunged at her. Rainbow turned and bucked, her hooves landing somewhere in the salamander's gut. She could hear the air being driven from her lungs. The salamander collapsed, wheezing. A large one threw a punch, which connected with Rainbow's ribs. She sucked in air between clenched teeth at the pain. Rainbow delivered a kick to his shin in response. Her wings helped her jump over him and deliver a follow-up kick between his shoulder blades. She landed on the table, kicking a few scrolls aside. Two salamanders remained upright, a male and a female if Rainbow had their body types figured out right. The male reached for a chair. Rainbow shot over to him, throwing a forehoof at his chest. He moved to dodge, but Rainbow was too fast for him. Her hoof hit his ribcage, prompting him to shout. In that moment, she spun around and delivered a hind hoof to the other side of his chest. He dropped to the ground, both hands on his chest and his teeth clenched. Rainbow landed on the floor and looked at the last salamander. She pawed the ground. "Me and you, one on one. Let's go, show me what you got." The salamander reached behind herself, opened the door that Rainbow had come in, and ran through it. "Ha!" Rainbow laughed. One salamander was wheezing while staring at her, one was face-down on the floor, and the last had his eyes clenched closed and was groaning. "You're not so tough after all. There's plenty more where that came from!" She looked between them. "Excuse me a second." Rainbow slipped through another door, finding herself alone in a small closet. She collapsed against a wall, her chest heaving. Putting a hoof on her belly, she said, "You sure take a lot out of me, you know that?" Under the hoof, the foal kicked like she was trying to fight the salamanders herself. The corners of Rainbow's mouth tugged upwards. "That's the spirit." She took a breath and emerged into the room again. "All right." Rainbow strutted towards the winded salamander. "Start talking." The salamander said nothing, but continued to wheeze. Rainbow stood over her. "Where's Rarity?" "The other beast..." the salamander gasped, " is... down..." The sound of distant running interrupted them. The clinking of armor soon joined it. "Down. Got it." Rainbow jumped up and hurried out of the room. "There it is!" She turned to see the salamander that had escaped earlier, along with an armored, spear-wielding salamander. Rainbow flew the other direction. "Down, down, down," she told herself, glancing through every open doorway she passed. "There!" Rainbow darted down the stairwell. On the bottom, she came across a large foyer before two more guards blocked her way. Turning around, she flew back up the stairs. Within moments, she was between the original and the two new guards. Thinking quickly, she opened a door to one of the rooms with a balcony. Before she could go through, a salamander slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground. Finding herself on her back, Rainbow looked up to see three spears pointing at her chest, as well as four very angry-looking salamanders. "You... you wouldn't hit a pregnant mare, would you?"
The World Beneath Her Wings
Rainbow's Rescue
A salamander yanked the collar around Rainbow's neck down, forcing her onto her knees. Her forehooves had been chained to each other, and the shackles around her hind hooves were connected with a chain too short to run with. A heavy rope bound her wings to her sides. Rainbow knelt in a large, very ornate room. Paintings lined the walls and columns capped in gold supported the cave's roof. Ahead, the best-dressed salamander that she had seen yet stood up from a bronze throne. "This is the animal that's caused all this trouble in my colony?" he said, adjusting his robe. "My name's Rainbow Dash and I'm a pony, not an--mmph!" A gag had been forced into her mouth by a guard. "My apologies, Lord Hezak," the guard said. "We should have muzzled it sooner." Lord Hezak slowly walked around Rainbow. "This creature broke in and attacked four scholars?" "My lord," one salamander said, "it also spied on me in the bath and smashed one of my priceless statues." If looks could kill, Rainbow would have set her on fire. "Typical sex-crazed beast," Lord Hezak said. "Not only does it expose its own genitals, it seeks out those of others before destroying art it cannot understand." Rainbow wanted to tell Lord Hezak exactly what she thought of him, his colony, and salamanders in general. Her first few words were too muffled to understand, and she gave up. Instead she took a deep breath and let it out through her nose. Lord Hezak walked in front of Rainbow, looking down on her. "Is that why you scurried in?" He leaned down and removed her gag. "For sex and destruction?" Weighing her options, Rainbow took a breath. "I came here," she said, "because I'm looking for my wife. I know she's here. Please, just let her go." After gagging her again, Lord Hezak turned away. "See? Even in chains and the point of a spear, all it can think of is satisfying its base sexual desires." Murmurs of agreement spread across the room. Rainbow growled, trying her best to bite the gag in half. Her chains rattled as she shook. "These are the great ponies of Equestria? I can't tell if this one is even sapient. The other one has a use, but what is there to be done with such a violent, sex-crazed beast like this?" He put his hand to his chin. "Perhaps a few moments of entertainment can be had." Lord Hezak stood over Rainbow again. "Beast, let us test your so-called intelligence. If you best me at a simple game of chess, I'll let both you and the other animal go, the one you call your wife. Such an insult to the word." Rainbow found her mouth freed once more. "Chess?!" She surged forward until her collar dug into her neck. "I don't know how to play chess!" she shouted. An uproar of laughter filled the room. Hezak said, "Take this beast to its sex-mate, so it can satisfy itself while I decide what to do with it. Let it not be said that I am unmerciful." The guard holding her leash replaced her gag and led her out of the room. --- Going through a single door, the opulence of the salamander colony gave way to bare cave walls and an uneven floor. Three guards led Rainbow down a rough hallway lined with torches. At the end, they rounded a corner to find a large cage with her wife inside. "Rainbow?!" Rarity said. "What are you doing here?" "Mmph," Rainbow replied through the gag. Two guards held Rainbow and Rarity at spearpoint while the third unhooked her shackles and removed her gag. Rainbow considered running away, but she didn't want to think of what they might do to Rarity in retaliation. With some prodding, Rainbow entered the cage and the guard closed the door behind her. Moments later, the sound of a door closing indicated that the last guard had left. Rarity turned. "Rainbow, dearie, might I repeat myself? What are you doing here?" "Same thing you are." She sat down and looked Rarity over. She had a black ring over her horn and her mane was a mess. Rarity took a breath. "I'm surviving. However, I am somewhat more upset than I was. What were you thinking coming out here?" Looking up, Rainbow said, "When you didn't come home, I got worried. I decided to come out here and find you. I mean, what was I supposed to do, not look for you?" "Yes!" Rarity shouted. Standing up, Rainbow said, "What? How could I just leave you?" "By staying home! By asking somepony else to look for me! Do you ever think about what you're doing? Must I remind you that you are with foal, Rainbow?" Rarity stepped towards her. Rarity took a breath. "In fact, I would be perfectly satisfied spending the rest of my life here, having this ghastly ring on my horn, giving me only enough magic to lift a needle to repair the outfits of those awful salamanders. I would gladly do it all if it was with the knowledge that you and our daughter were safe." Rainbow backed up. "Rarity, I couldn't just... not help you." "You could have and you should have." She turned to look across the dim cavern. "Now both the mare I love and the foal she's carrying are trapped in this terrible place. What am I supposed to do now?" Moving to her side, Rainbow answered, "We'll figure something out." Rarity looked at Rainbow's back. Her horn flickered under the metal band and magic tugged at the rope tied around Rainbow's wings. With some grunting from both ponies, Rarity soon had it loose. "Thanks, Rarity," Rainbow said. She extended her wing across Rarity's back and held her in her grip. The pair sat in silence. Curious, Rainbow asked, "How did you end up in here, anyways?" "I was out collecting gems, when a salamander approached me. One asked if I could fix their suit. When I did, two more jumped out at me, tied me up and dragged me here. Now they treat me like an animal and force me to mend their clothing." Rainbow said, "I think they're expecting me to jump your bones." "Pardon me if I'm not in the mood." Rarity sighed. "But it's a wonder that they thought you'd have a sex drive at all with your pregnancy." Rainbow thought for a second. "Actually, they never mentioned that. I don't think they know I'm pregnant. I mean, I said it once or twice, but it's not like they listened to me." Giggling, Rarity replied, "For all their superior intelligence they never noticed that your belly's twice the size that mine is?" Rainbow chuckled back. After another pause, Rainbow asked, "So, did he ask you for a chess game, too?" With a sigh, Rarity answered, "Yes. It went well at first, but I missed a fork threat and lost my rook. From there, things steadily got worse. Eventually, I chose to resign rather than give him the pleasure of a mate." She smiled. "By upending the board in his smug face." "That was better than I did," Rainbow said, "I told him I didn't know how to play. They laughed at me." In the distance, they heard the door to the cave open. A guard approached with a sewing kit and a suit jacket. "How may I help you, darling?" Rarity chimed. The guard dropped the jacket and kit on the ground without a word, then turned to leave. "I'll have that fixed before you know it!" After the guard was gone, Rainbow said, "You sound like you're enjoying this." Rarity sat up straight. "A lady is always polite and always keeps herself presentable." Rainbow finished her sentence: "Except in bed." Turning red, Rarity added, "That is nopony's business except our own!" With a chuckle, Rainbow said, "Oh, have you tried whining your way out yet?" "Why do you think we're alone in here, dearie?" Rarity smiled. Rainbow's laughter echoed off the cave walls. "Now, if you'll excuse me." Visibly straining, Rarity used her magic to levitate one of the needles. "They'll check back every so often and don't feed me until I'm done. And it takes a lot of concentration to use my magic with this ring stuck to my horn." In the darkness of the cave, Rainbow had no way to tell the passage of time. She could only lay in silence, watching Rarity struggle to perform simple needlework. Before long, Rarity had finished the repairs. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "I haven't had this much trouble with magic since I was a filly." "What do you think I should go for when the guard comes back?" Rainbow asked. "Violent or sex-crazed?" Rarity tidied up the jacket. "I would prefer that we act like civilized ponies and not give our captors any reason to worsen our situation, especially yours." Rainbow hated it when Rarity was right. Soon the guard came, and Rainbow sat still like a good little beast. Their dinner was two bowls of something mushy and green. Once they were alone again, Rainbow inspected the bowls. "At least they're not fattening us up to eat us." Rarity pushed her bowl towards Rainbow. "Huh?" Rainbow asked. "You're eating for two," Rarity said. "Just take it." Rainbow pushed it back. "I'm not the only one who needs to eat." With a scowl, Rarity said, "The foal needs this more than I do." Returning the look, Rainbow said, "I'm not going to let you starve." "Rainbow Dash! If you do not eat my food, I will dump it out across the floor!" Rarity stomped the ground, causing the bowls to wobble. Reluctantly, Rainbow took Rarity's bowl. She paused, then held it up. "If you can't sew, then neither us nor the foal are eating. So take one bite. For me?" Slowly, Rarity leaned over and took a bite of the green mush. Rainbow smiled at her. "Thanks, babe," Rainbow said before starting on it herself. It tasted as good as it looked, but within moments, she had wolfed down both bowls. "If tonight is anything like last night," Rarity said, "then there is nothing left to do but get some rest." She lay down in the corner. Rainbow joined her, wrapping her hooves around Rarity in the chill of the cave. --- The next morning, or what Rainbow assumed was morning, started with two torn outfits and no salamander conversation. Rainbow was starving. She could only guess how Rarity felt. Rarity had closed one hole and was halfway through the next when suddenly they heard a distant rumbling. Dust wafted down from the cave ceiling. "What do you think that was?" Rainbow asked. Rarity paused her sewing to look at her. "I can't imagine what it could have been. But there's nothing I can do about it except finish this so you can eat." "You're eating too, Rarity." Rainbow lay down next to her. "We'll see." Rarity finished the patching, but no salamander came to retrieve them. "Rarity?" Rainbow asked after what felt like an hour. "Hm?" "Do you think something happened?" Rarity looked towards the exit. "We can only hope for the best." "What if--" Rainbow was interrupted by the sound of the cave door opening. Both ponies looked in the direction. Around the corner came Twilight Sparkle, with no salamanders escorting her. A set of keys hung in Twilight's magical grasp. "Twilight!" Rainbow and Rarity shouted in unison. Starlight Glimmer rounded the corner after Twilight. "Looks like Lord Hezak was telling the truth after all," Starlight said. Twilight unlocked the cage. The two captives rushed out and hugged her. With a flash of Twilight's horn, the ring on Rarity's split in two and dropped to the ground. "How did you find us?" Rarity asked. Leading the way out, Twilight said, "After Rainbow told us you were in Dodge Junction and disappeared, I assumed she went after you. I questioned the ponies there and pieced together that she was looking in the Badlands for you." They moved into the ornate hallways. They passed a salamander guard, who gripped his spear and stared daggers at the group. Rainbow stole a nervous glance as she went by. Ignoring him completely, Twilight continued, "There, I found the salamanders and learned that they had two ponies in a cave below their colony. I asked politely for you to be released, then we let ourselves in." "They didn't stop you?" Rainbow asked. "They tried," Starlight answered with a smile. The group climbed a stairway and rounded a corner into another hallway. More salamanders met them, but none blocked their way. Twilight smiled, too. "With Starlight's help, we made our way to their ruler. I offered them a diplomatic solution, but he refused to listen." Reaching the foyer that Rainbow had briefly glimpsed the previous day, her pace faltered. The paintings on the wall were in tatters. Bookshelves lay on the floor and large statues sat in pieces. Several scorch marks stretched from the front door to every corner of the room. The door itself had been blown clear off its hinges. Several salamanders were present, some with burnt clothing. All of them stopped and stared. Walking towards the outside like the place wasn't a disaster area, Starlight resumed the story. "I noticed that he had a chess set. I offered to play a game. He agreed to let you go peacefully if I won. And I did." Outside, the early morning sun shone over the cliffs behind the ponies. "So what if you'd lost?" Rainbow wondered. "We'd be running right now," Starlight answered. "Although," Twilight said, "We might want to pick up the pace anyways before he reviews the game." She sped up a little. Keeping pace, Rarity asked, "Why?" "Because Starlight moved her queen while he wasn't looking."
The World Beneath Her Wings
Shattered Destinies
Rarity sipped from her teacup. "After I finished sewing, we sat down there for a while, wondering if we'd be fed. Then you and Starlight appeared and rescued us." Writing on a scroll, Twilight asked, "Is there anything else you remember?" While Rarity and Twilight talked, Rainbow lounged. She was back in Twilight's castle, laying on a couch much more comfortable than the stone floor of a cave. She had only been there overnight, but one night was enough to not want to ever return. Setting a hoof on her belly, she quietly said, "Sorry about all that. You okay in there?" The foal shifted slightly. "Yeah, your first adventure. Didn't think you'd get one until you were at least a few years old." Rainbow smiled. "Could have gone better, but it worked out in the end, right?" "Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "Are you ready to give your report?" "Huh? Sure." Rainbow moved to stand up. Rarity set down her teacup and hurried over. Pushing Rainbow back into the cushions, she said, "Oh, no no no. Rainbow needs her rest. Twilight, debrief her over here." She levitated the cup back to her lips. With a scroll and quill in her magical grip, Twilight walked over and sat down. "Tell me about your experiences. Anything I can send as testimony to Princess Celestia." Shifting herself to get more comfortable, Rainbow said, "I showed up at the front door of the place, and there were these two salamander jerks in armor. They treated me like I was a stray dog or something." Reflexively, she glanced around the room. Fluttershy was not there. "One of them said something like Rarity was inside. I asked about her, but that didn't go anywhere, so I started flying. I found an empty room and decided hey, if they weren't going to help me find her I'd do it myself. Then this salamander lady walked in not wearing anything and apparently they have a thing about not being seen without clothes because she started screaming and throwing things at me." Rainbow waved a hoof for effect. "I dodged them all because I'm awesome like that, of course. I got out into this big hallway and tried a door. Inside were a dozen of the meanest-looking salamanders you ever saw, battle-trained warriors. I tried to avoid them, but they blocked the way out. The only way I could get through was to fight!" Rarity choked on her tea. "One of the big ones swung at me, but I deftly avoided it. I flew across the room and socked one of the others in the face! Pow!" With a punch in the air, Rainbow went on, "I was all over the place; you should have seen it! Boosh! Wham! One of them threw a chair at me, but I was too fast for him. I kicked and punched and it was awesome! Then two of them picked up the table and hurled it at me. They almost got me, but I flew out under it and knocked their heads into each other. It was great." A door slammed. Rarity was no longer in the room. In front of Rainbow, Twilight sat with her quill hovering away from the page, her face flat. "You fought off a dozen warriors," she said. "Yeah," Rainbow said with a smile crossing her face. "I mean--" She straightened up. "They attacked me. I had to defend myself, you know." With a scowl, she looked aside. "Not like it helped. Some jerks in armor jumped me and chained me up. They dragged me in front of their mayor or their king or whatever he was." Sighing, she said, "Then he started calling me a violent, sex-crazed animal. I tried to explain how I was just trying to find Rarity but he kept saying that proved I only wanted sex. I wish I could have punched him in the face. I'd show him violent." Rainbow flopped her head onto the couch cushion. "Then they threw me in that cave with Rarity and you got the rest from her." "Anything else?" Twilight asked, setting her quill in her ink bottle. "I don't know," Rainbow said, "besides all that stuff where they kept calling me stupid. And Rarity getting mad at me for coming. I guess she expected me to sit around while she was in trouble?" Lowering the scroll, Twilight said, "Rainbow, you know--" "No." Rainbow stood up and hopped down off the couch. "Not again. I got enough of that from Rarity. I don't need it from you." She looked up and opened her wings. "I'm going flying. Go write to Princess Celestia about how much of a violent idiot I am or whatever." She launched herself out the window. Outside, the sun neared the horizon. Punching her way through a cloud, she told her foal, "Can you believe her? It's not like I knew she was kidnapped until they told me. I couldn't get that far and then abandon her." She dropped down and sat on another cloud. "You understand, right? You were there, after all. You know, if I could have you in Rarity instead, I'd..." She paused. "I don't know. Forget it." Rainbow looked out over the clouds for several minutes in silence. Ahead of her, the setting sun lit them from below in a striking orange. Eventually, she said, "If you're a pegasus, I'm going to take you flying. I'll show you what it feels like to have the wind running across your wings. I'll teach you every trick I know. You'll be the most awesome filly in the flight academy, I promise. "And if you're not?" She smiled. "Then I guess you should enjoy flying while you can, right?" Looking down, she saw Carousel Boutique. Rainbow knew Rarity was inside. "Life lesson from your dad, kid: you shouldn't put off things you don't want to do." She stayed where she was. "Another lesson is that your father is a terrible role model and you shouldn't try to be like her." A few more minutes passed. "Let's just get this over with." Hopping off the cloud, Rainbow swooped down and landed as gently as she could inside the bedroom. Immediately, the smell of bath salts hit her nose. She could see candle light flickering in the otherwise dark bathroom. "Rarity?" Rainbow softly called. She could hear the intake of breath, followed by its release. "I'm in the bath, Rainbow," Rarity's voice said. Rainbow took a few steps towards it. "And I'd like to be alone," Rarity continued. "I am in dire need of relaxation, and I would get it best by myself." Grimacing, Rainbow said, "Okay. I'll be downstairs." She moved towards the hallway. "Wait," Rarity said. Rainbow heard the water splash. "Before you go. I need to know something." Rainbow stopped. "What?" "You have to be completely honest with me. Did you really get into a fight with the salamanders?" Rainbow winced. "Yeah. But I might have over--" "Enough. I need the truth, Rainbow. No matter how you think I'm going to react, or what I'm going to think about you. This is important. Do you understand?" "Uh-huh." Rainbow shrank back a little. "Rainbow Dash. Did they hit the foal?" "Um, I think--" "No 'I think'. Yes or no. Did they hit the foal?" After taking a breath, Rainbow answered, "No, Rarity. They didn't hit the foal." Rainbow heard a long, drawn-out sigh. "Get your own dinner," Rarity said. "We'll talk tomorrow." Slinking down the stairs, Rainbow told her foal, "That means we're sleeping on the couch. You're going to be more comfortable tonight than I am." Laying down on the couch, Rainbow said, "Here, I got a story for you. It's called Rainbow Dash and the Major Screwup. It's about an awful parent who puts her own daughter in danger." She crossed her forelegs and lay her head on them. --- The morning sun shone in through the kitchen windows. Pulling off her apron, Rainbow walked out into the dining room. She heard hoofsteps coming down the stairs. "Hey," she told Rarity. "I cooked breakfast. I've been wanting eggs, so I made some. Sunny side up. There's toast too if you're hungry." After a pause, Rarity sat at the table and picked up her fork. They ate in silence. Rainbow looked up between bites, but Rarity's attention was exclusively on her meal. Before long, Rarity had finished. "Did you like it?" Rainbow ventured. "Yes," Rarity answered. "Thank you. I am going to the spa." She stood up, turned, and walked towards the front door. Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. "Yeah. Okay. I love you." The door closed behind Rarity. With a sigh, Rainbow kept eating. Soon she had finished her plate and cleaned up. "What do I do now?" Rainbow asked nopony in particular. She felt the foal move. After thinking, she said, "You're right. Some fresh air will do us both some good." Rainbow went out the front door and into the morning sky. Flying lazy arcs over Ponyville, she searched below for anything that might distract her from her thoughts. Motion near Fluttershy's cottage caught her eye, and she swooped down towards it. Outside, Fluttershy, Twilight, and a congregation of her animals were discussing something. Holding a very large crab, Fluttershy came into hearing range. "...a little like this." Twilight rubbed the crab's shell. "It does feel very similar. One more thing: have any--oh, good morning, Rainbow." Touching down behind Fluttershy, Rainbow said, "Hey, what's up?" "We were just discussing the Roundhill creature. I think Fluttershy's right in that it's some kind of crustacean-like animal. I was just about to ask if any of her animals had ever seen or heard about it or any other creatures like it elsewhere in the world." "No," Fluttershy answered, "None of them have ever mentioned--" A series of sharp squeaks interrupted her. Bending down, Fluttershy scooped up a gopher that had run to the front of the crowd. "What is it, Pappo?" she asked. Pappo squeaked in response. "Really?" Fluttershy paused between questions to listen. "Where? I see. And what did they find? Oh, my. Okay. And did they find any others? All right. Thank you very much, Pappo. That was very helpful." Pappo scurried down Fluttershy's leg, into a hole under a tree, and out of sight. Turning to Twilight, Fluttershy said, "Pappo said her friends had discovered the Roundhill before. From her directions, they found the same one we did. They dug around and there weren't any holes in it or any way else to get in, and the shell goes all the way down to the bedrock, though she admits they didn't explore the whole thing. It's very big. She's never heard of any other Roundhills, though." With a nod, Twilight said, "Starlight and I are going to go back to investigate it some more this afternoon, so if your animals think of anything else, be sure to let us know." She turned and walked away. "I'll be sure to!" Fluttershy called after her. Turning to Rainbow, she said, "I'm sorry about that. Twilight's been studying it very hard and I have to admit I'm very curious about it too. Is there anything you needed?" "Nah," Rainbow said, laying down in the shade of the cottage, "I just wanted to hang out for a while." A bear made confused growling noises and held his hands out from his sides. "Oh, no, Harry," Fluttershy answered, "Rainbow isn't getting fat. She's pregnant." Glancing at Harry, Rainbow added, "Bear's lucky I'm secure with my body." She chose not to mention the possible consequences of getting into a fight with a bear. With an embarrassed smile, Fluttershy said, "He wasn't trying to be mean. Most of these animals have never seen a pregnant pony up close before. Oh!" She leaned in towards Rainbow's belly. Motioning her animals closer, she said, "Look! You can see it moving." Rainbow could feel it moving, too. She looked at herself to see bumps shifting around her belly. "Hey Fluttershy," she asked, "you know how in some horror movies you can see a creature moving under a pony's skin? That's how it's been back there." A squirrel hopped up on top of Rainbow's foal. "I don't watch horror," Fluttershy answered. "But there is a creature moving under your skin right now." "Yeah, but in the movies it bursts out and the pony's screaming and everything." Rainbow paused. "And this is going to burst out and... the pony's going to be screaming." She sighed. Fluttershy smiled. "At least you're only having one. Mindy here--" She motioned to the squirrel that had sat itself on Rainbow's belly. "--is expecting a whole litter of six in two and a half more weeks. It's her first time, too, so you two have a lot in common." Looking at Mindy, Rainbow noticed that she was pretty round. She said, "Mine's bigger. And I have like another month, so you know. Going to be huge by the time it comes out." Rainbow propped her front end up. Mindy scrambled off of her. "You know what?" Rainbow said. "I'm a tough pony. I can take whatever the foal can give me. I'm not going to scream and that's a promise." With a look at her belly, she said, "You hear me? The first thing you hear during your birth isn't going to be your dad's screaming. I'm gonna push you out without a peep." A bluejay made some confused chirping. Fluttershy explained, "Yes, Rainbow's pregnant, but she wants to call herself the father." More chirping. "Birth is very painful for ponies, you see. We have large heads and it's difficult to push them through." Another couple of chirps. "No, birds lay eggs, so you won't have to worry about any of that if you decide you want to have chicks." Shifting to make herself more comfortable, Rainbow said, "It'd be nice if ponies came from eggs. Rarity and I could take turns sitting on it." She rubbed her sizable bump. "Instead I get to take you with me wherever I go, right, kid? You get to stay warm without my butt on your head. Bet that's nice at night, under my blankets and in my belly." "You talk to it?" Fluttershy looked at her. Dropping her hoof to the ground, Rainbow looked back. "Yeah. Why, is that weird?" Fluttershy straightened up and waved her hoof. "No no, it's just when I thought of you being pregnant, I didn't realize that meant there was a foal--I mean, of course there's a foal inside you, but it's a pony, too and--oh I sound like such an idiot." Getting to her hooves, Rainbow said, "It's cool. I get it. You only see me every once in a while with this big bump, but I get to carry this around all the time." She smiled. "I want to give my kid every chance she can get, you know? When I talk to her, I like to think she's listening, getting all those words in her little brain. If that'll make her a smarter kid, then I'll talk to her all day." "It sounds like you're going to be a great mother," Fluttershy said. "I mean, great father." She giggled. Rainbow stretched. "Speaking of taking care of little creatures, mind if I stick around? I figure you can show me the ins and outs of raising animals. Maybe if I get practice with them, it'll help me be ready for the foal." Leading the way around the back of the cottage, Fluttershy said, "Of course! She's not a pony, but Drummer's fawn has been feeling under the weather for the past few days..." --- The sun had passed its highest point in the sky. Below it, two pegasi, an unborn foal, and an assortment of animals had just finished eating. Rainbow closed her eyes and sat back. She had eaten every scrap that would fit down her throat, and she didn't have to worry about putting too much weight on as a result. Pregnancy still had its perks. A few confused bear growls drifted through her ears, followed by Fluttershy's voice. "I don't know which of you ate more." A pause for more growling. Fluttershy's conversation went on, "Rainbow's always eaten more than I do, since she works a lot harder. And she's eating for two now. Well, I don't know how much her foal needs to eat. Of course she's her daughter, but I don't see why--I suppose she might get her eating habits from Rainbow." "You hear that, kid?" Rainbow interrupted, opening her eyes. "You're gonna be packing it away, just like dad. If you're as athletic as I am, then we're going to have some great times." The foal kicked and squirmed. "That's my girl." Rainbow stood up. "I'd better get back home. I don't want Rarity to get worried, you know?" A small team of squirrels started collecting the plates. Rainbow noticed that Mindy was among them. "Of course," Fluttershy said, using a wing to push some of the dishes closer together. Hopping into the air, Rainbow said, "I'll come back tomorrow so you can show me some more caretaking tricks. Later!" She shot upwards, leaving Fluttershy's goodbyes behind. Closing her wings against her sides, Rainbow let inertia take her the rest of the way above the clouds. Her wings popped open again just before gravity took over. Turning towards town, Rainbow dropped into a dive. "How's the ride, kid?" she called over the wind with a laugh. "I can't show you the real fancy stuff again until you're out, but I hope you enjoy what I can do." Rainbow swooped towards Carousel Boutique before pulling up again. She traced two large loops in the sky to bleed off her speed before gliding into the bedroom window. A four-hoof landing completed her flight. Exhaling, Rainbow shook off her wings and folded them up. The bedroom door opened and Rarity entered. She took a few steps into the room, then stopped. Rainbow hesitated. "Hey," she said. "How was the spa? You uh, get relaxed?" Turning around, Rarity took a step towards the door. Seconds later, Rainbow was blocking the way. "Rarity," Rainbow said. "Please move," Rarity answered. With a stamp of her hoof, Rainbow said, "No. We can't keep doing this." "Rainbow, I need to--" "What we need," Rainbow raised her voice, "is to work this out." She stepped forward, pushing Rarity into the room. With a kick of her hind leg, she closed the door. "I have been trying to relax, to clear my head, but every time I think about what you did--" Rarity's eyes landed on Rainbow's body. "--all I can think about is how you needlessly risked our daughter's life." "Look," Rainbow said, taking a step sideways. "I'm sorry, okay? But I was telling the truth last night. The salamanders didn't hit the foal. It's fine." "And that is exactly the problem!" Rarity shouted. Shifting back, Rainbow said, "What?" "The foal's fine, the foal's fine," Rarity said. "Every time, that's what you say. You throw it into danger and justify it afterwards by saying it wasn't hurt this time! And every day it gets larger and more exposed while you get more complacent." Rarity stepped forward. "I don't care what you call yourself, you are her mother, and you need to act like it! I was hoping that carrying a foal for close to a year would instill some maternal instincts in you, but you've proven me wrong time and again. This entire time you have treated it as nothing more than a parasite to be endured instead of a child to be treasured." Shrinking back, Rainbow mumbled, "I'm sorry, Rarity." "Sorry isn't enough. I know that pregnant mares don't have the stamina that they normally do. I know for a fact that your body is telling you to slow down. And you are clearly ignoring it in favor of cheap thrills. The foal is my daughter too, so if you won't take initiative for her well-being, then I have no choice." She jabbed a hoof at Rainbow. "From now on, no more stunts. In fact, no more flying." "I--" Rainbow blinked. "WHAT?" "You clearly do not know your limits, so you can't be trusted to stay within them. The foal is the most important thing in your life, and you need to care for it more than you need to fly." Eyebrows dropping, Rainbow replied, "I can do both and it'll be just fine." "Again, 'just fine'. Rainbow, that is a pony and it needs protection." Rarity pointed to Rainbow's belly. Putting her hoof to her chest, Rainbow asked, "And what am I? A womb with legs?" "You are a mother." Rarity's glare met Rainbow's. Rainbow paused. "You said this is your foal. It's also mine." She took a step past Rarity. "It's in my womb, my body. I'm the one who's been carrying it for the past ten months." Another step. "And I can take care of myself and her." Rainbow's gaze landed on the open window. Rarity followed it. Through gritted teeth, she growled, "Rainbow Dash, don't you dare." Taking a few more steps, Rainbow opened her wings. "It's my body and I will do what I want with it. And you can't stop me." Rainbow shot out the window and into the sky. She spun upwards as tightly as the weight in her gut would let her. Below, Rarity was yelling something very angry, but Rainbow didn't listen. "I don't believe her!" she ranted to nopony in particular. "No flying? Come on! I know what I can do with..." She looked back. "With you." She loosened her turns. "Aw geez, I'm sorry you had to hear all that. What am I going to do now? If you thought the salamanders were bad, you don't want to see what Rarity wants to do to me right now." With a sigh, Rainbow added, "I'm being an awful father again. You hardly deserve this." Looking forward, Rainbow spotted a short train pulling out of the station, much like the one she'd taken the week before to find the Roundhill. "Let's go hang out with Twilight, kid. Get this off our minds." Catching up with the train was easy work, and she set hoof on the balcony of the last car before letting herself in. Inside were Twilight, Starlight, and a small library's worth of books and scrolls. Both ponies looked up at the sound of the door. "Rainbow?" Twilight asked. "What are you doing here?" "Hey. Room for one more?" Without waiting for an answer, she lay down on a free seat and set her head on her hooves. "Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. "I don't want to talk about it." She didn't want to think about it. "Let me just hang out here, all right?" Reluctantly, Twilight and Starlight started a conversation with each other. It was something about magic and that Roundhill thing. Staring up at the window and at the sky, Rainbow wondered if she should spend the next month with her parents until the foal was born. Then again, when they got the news that they were going to be grandparents, they almost exploded with joy. And they did explode fireworks. She'd rather take her chances with the salamanders again than put her foal in that environment. Rainbow shook her head. Instead, she could ask Twilight. Her castle had a lot of rooms. She could spare one for a month. As a bonus, it had enough rooms that Rarity would have a hard time finding her unless Twilight spilled the beans. Planting her forehooves on the seat cushion, she quickly pushed herself upright. "I'm trying to get my mind off of that," she grumbled. Rainbow marched herself to Twilight and Starlight. She planted her butt on the floor. "Okay, tell me all the magic junk about what you're doing." --- The ponies walked down the ridge. Ahead, the Roundhill sat under its blanket of dirt and grass. Rainbow could still see the small black patch where Applejack had dug the week before. Twilight and Starlight each carried several books in their saddlebags. She had been lectured on Roundhill theories and magic for the ride until the train had pulled off to the siding. Rainbow had already forgotten it all, but pretending to be interested had been enough to distract her. Then, at her own insistence, Rainbow carried four large books in each of her bags, in addition to the scroll collection. Walking across the grass, she grumbled to herself under the weight. "I'm not some piece of livestock to be mindlessly bred. This is my body, and I'm having the foal on my terms." When she reached the base of the Roundhill, she dropped her saddlebags to the grass before laying herself down next to them. "Starlight," Twilight called, "why don't you get started?" Starlight levitated a book from her bag and paced back and forth, glancing between it and the Roundhill. Sitting down in front of Rainbow, Twilight asked, "Is something going on between you and Rarity?" The only answer she got was a groan. "Do you need to talk things out again?" Rainbow looked away from Twilight and up the slope of the Roundhill. "She doesn't want to talk. She only wants to order me around." Reaching a hoof out to point Rainbow's head at her, Twilight said, "Is it about the foal? I'm sure you can work something out." "The only thing that'll satisfy Rarity is if I come crawling back to her, kiss her hooves, lay down on the couch, and not leave it until I give birth." Rainbow heaved a sigh. "And the worst part is, that sounds like my best option." "I'm sure she doesn't want you to suffer. She's just concerned for the foal's well-being." Twilight moved her head to stay within Rainbow's field of view. "Well I can keep it safe without her 'help'." She turned her head away. "Twilight?" Starlight called. "I have Gemstone's Deep Probe ready." Looking at Rainbow, Twilight said, "I know you're going to get through this. You've gotten through everything else." She stood and turned. "I'm coming." Rainbow shifted enough to get a good look at the two. They discussed something out of earshot before Twilight's horn illuminated. A stream of magical energy flowed into the grass on the side of the hill, then dissipated. Twilight sounded confused. Pulling out another book, Starlight made some suggestion, which Twilight seemingly tried, to the same effect. Watching it was more compelling than thinking about what to do once she saw Rarity again. This repeated several more times, until the two of them did the spell together. Suddenly, the ground shook. Rainbow looked up to see the side of the hill sliding down towards her. Eyes wide, she scrambled to her feet and into the air. Twilight shouted a warning, took off, scooped Starlight up, and carried her away. Twilight and Starlight landed some distance away. Rainbow landed a few yards to the side. She turned to see the entire grass hillside falling away, revealing the full Roundhill amid a cloud of settling dust. Its segmented black shell shone in the afternoon sun, featureless except for a misshapen dark blue splotch near what Rainbow could only assume was its front. Cracks shot out from the Roundhill's base across the landscape. Motion above caught Rainbow's attention. The sky directly over the Roundhill had turned a deep orange. Expanding outwards, the orange sky swept over the ponies' heads, evaporating every cloud it touched on its way to the horizon. "It's alive!" Starlight yelled. "It can't be alive!" Twilight said. "We checked! It was dead!" A white field appeared on top of the Roundhill. It swept down its sides, covering it in a solid shimmering glow unlike any magic field Rainbow had ever seen. Steam arose from where it touched the grass. "Whatever it's doing, it can't be good," Twilight said. Starlight lowered her head. "Then let's stop it!" A burst of blue magic shot out from Starlight's horn and struck the Roundhill. The field covering it rippled, but only slightly. Tendrils of white energy crossed that field towards a glowing point facing directly at the ponies. "Um..." Rainbow said, backing away from Starlight. She could hear a distinct crackling coming from the Roundhill. "Starlight, look out!" Twilight shouted. She flew into Starlight's side, knocking her out of the way. A white-hot beam lanced out from the Roundhill and past Rainbow with a deafening crack. She clamped her eyes shut and the purple afterimage burned across her vision. Behind her, a boom echoed out. Rainbow opened her eyes long enough to find a small bump in the terrain to scramble behind. Turning around, she saw a cloud of rock settling around the ridge, which had a glowing hole punched straight through it. Starlight fell next to Rainbow, crouching low. Grabbing her, Rainbow yelled, "Starlight! What's going on?" "I don't know!" she answered. "Where's Twilight?" "I don't know!" An orange sparkle drifted down from above. "What's that?" "I don't know!" Looking at the Roundhill, Rainbow saw that there were so many sparkles falling near it, they had become an orange fog. Closer to the ponies, more sparkles joined the first. As Rainbow watched, a sparkle hit the grass, instantly withering it. She jerked back. "What's it doing?!" Starlight shouted. Rainbow tried her best to dodge the sparkles, but they fell increasingly thicker, several landing on her back, until they were coming down like snow. Steadily, Rainbow felt weaker and weaker. Soon she couldn't stand, and collapsed on the dead grass. She felt so heavy. Cold spread up her legs and through her body. With the last of her strength, she moved her head to see Starlight laying motionless nearby. "Rarity..." she breathed. The world dimmed from her vision. "I'm..."