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Partial | Chapter 38: The Work is Never Done | She didn't go straight home. She swung by McDonald's drive-through to pick up a cheeseburger Happy Meal with a mango shake and a garden salad. She could only eat the burgers at McDonald's since her stomach could only tolerate so much meat, and their burgers were tiny little things. It was hard to differentiate a single from a double, or a triple, for that matter. The patties were all so small. She enjoyed meat but would never get to eat much more than that in a single sitting, at least safely.
The drive-through cashier stared at her ears for an uncomfortable amount of time when collecting her payment and giving her her order. Maybe she should have just had it delivered instead, but she'd already been passing by the McDonald's on her way home, and she was trying to be a little more careful with spending money and had wanted to avoid the delivery fee. She resolved not to visit that particular McDonald's again.
The Happy Meal toy was for Furton's Cat, which made her smile. She'd watched Furton's Cat all the time when she was a young foal. It seemed like it was still popular. She usually just tossed the toys from these things or gave them to Dusk until he outgrew them, but maybe she could give this to Mark. It was an excellent gateway to introduce him to her favorite cartoon from when she was his age.
Snacking on some fries as she drove, she headed home.
She got home, ate her food, and then bathed. With those things out of the way, she was ready to move on to the next important task. After getting her pajamas on, she sat on her bed and called Mark's foster home.
"Hi, Jessica?" Jill answered, sounding strangely annoyed.
She blinked at the tone. "Yes. Is everything okay? You sound unhappy."
Jill sighed. "Sorry about that. You called at a bit of a bad time. Mark is being difficult at the moment, and I don't want to encourage that behavior by giving him a reward-which would be getting to talk to you."
Jessica frowned. "Difficult, how? He isn't hiding again, is he?"
"No, he isn't doing that," Jill replied. "He wanted cereal for dinner, and he was served a fruit salad instead because he needs a more well-rounded diet than just grains all the time. Now, he is just sitting there, refusing to eat or say anything. Kids do stuff like this sometimes, although it is usually slightly older ones who pull this tactic. They don't get their way, so they go completely defiant. Consider it the equivalent of a temper tantrum without the yelling, screaming, and crying. At some point, he'll eat, if only because he wants to move away from the table. I'm not going to require him to eat all of it, but he has to eat at least some of it, enough so he doesn't go hungry. There are several different types of sliced-up fruit on his plate, so he can pick his preferences."
"Can I try to convince him to eat?" Jessica asked.
"Not this time," Jill replied. "Getting told he can see or talk to you if he eats is like a bribe, and that is a bad habit to get into. When good behavior only comes from getting something out of it, kids stop behaving when they don't think they're getting anything. Good behavior, especially unprompted good behavior, does deserve to be praised, but it's not a good idea to get into a reward cycle."
She'd wanted to talk to Mark, but she didn't want to get in the way of how Jack and Jill handled things around their home. How would she handle Mark refusing to eat his food? She'd never misbehaved...well, she hadn't misbehaved that much, and she couldn't recall a time she refused to eat her dinner because she didn't care for what was being served. Had Dusk ever done that with her parents? Maybe, but she must not have paid much attention to how they handled it. She hadn't even considered how to deal with Mark being defiant or misbehaving or how she would handle discipline. Those were important things to consider and things social services would want to know. Honestly, she'd barely considered the fact he could be defiant or misbehave, even if that was extremely naive on her part.
"Well, after he's finally eaten, tell him I called and plan to be by for a brief visit tomorrow," she said after much consideration.
"I'll do that," Jill agreed. "Don't worry about this. Kids do things like this all the time. People stereotype teenagers as moody, which they are, but small children can be even more moody, and unlike teenagers, they're nearly impossible to reason with. They don't have discipline over their emotions at this age. If Mark didn't have this extreme need to be quiet ingrained in him, this would probably be an episode of crying and screaming. However, that means this can drag out longer since he isn't wearing himself out crying and screaming. It's frustrating, but you have to be firm, clear, and consistent in expectations so they learn they aren't going to get away with acting out. It can take a long time to break them of it, but they'll come around."
She ended the call, disappointed and unsure what to do next. Unpacking was what made the most sense to do. That seemed like a lot of work at the moment, and she had only gotten home today. Tomorrow after she got home from shopping. That was when she would sit down and get everything unpacked. At times like these, she'd generally start adjusting her calculations to find what she now knew was Jeg'galla'gamp'pi. There was no need for that now. If she wasn't unpacking and she wasn't working, what was she going to do? She'd already called home...her parents' house right before she had gotten into the car at Wabash, so there was no need to call again today.
Maybe she could get on the internet and check some things.
She looked over at her computer and jumped back when she saw two pitch-black eyes staring at her.
"Holy sh-" she gasped. She took a second to take one breath as she looked at the sackcloth doll now sitting on her keyboard.
She raised a finger and pointed at it. "No! No! I'm not getting caught up in any of your crap. You go back to wherever you normally are and leave me alone. I'm not fudging with you."
The doll, over a hundred years old, sat limp, staring at her with lifeless black button eyes.
"I'm going to call Phobia and have her-" Jessica said agitatedly as she reached for her phone but jumped again when the phone rang. She looked back at her computer after taking her eyes away briefly, but the doll was gone.
"Stay gone!" she ordered the spot where the doll had been. She picked up her phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"It's Wild," Wild Growth replied. "Is everything okay? You sound flustered."
She shook her head, even though the pony wouldn't see. "That damn creepy doll Phobia used to keep in a glass case decided to show up. It's gone now, but it gave me a scare."
"It decided to show up? How does a doll decide to show up?" Wild asked, sounding baffled.
She raised an eyebrow. "You don't know about the creepy haunted doll?"
"I noticed it while visiting her house a few times but never asked about it. It's been gone for ages. Figured she got rid of it or put it in storage," Wild answered. "The thing isn't really haunted, is it? I don't do ghosts. If you have a ghost problem, you need to seek help from someone else."
"Who am I going to call?!" Jessica replied in disbelief.
"Ghostbusters," Wild answered. "Sorry, automatic response."
"It's fine," Jessica said with a sigh. "I heard she gave it away or something, but I know it's never gone from wherever it came from for long, and I never heard of it doing anything but just showing up at random places for a moment or two. It just scared me; it's harmless."
"If you say so," Wild said in a bemused tone. "Anyway, I obviously can't just rush over there to help you with your stone problem, but I contacted Number, and she will get you a case to suppress the stone within the next few days. She'll personally deliver it. This isn't something you send in the mail. Don't ask for any favors for a while; that case is not cheap-the most expensive box I have ever bought."
"Thank you, Wild. I appreciate it," Jessica replied with relief. "I already had a crystal pony on the street staring at me. I know he felt the stone. I should have asked Andrea to run some experiments with me to find out how far away they can detect it. "
"If it is as strong as you say, it could be strong enough that even a non-crystal pony can feel it. I remember back in the day that every pony and many humans for miles could feel it when I used my powers. I don't know how alicorns are able to cast spells without everyone always reeling from it," Wild said.
"They contain the thaumic bleed," Jessica said. "Every time you do anything with magic, thaumic energy is dispersed. You don't even have to actively do anything; magical creatures radiate off a steady stream of thaumic energy through your conduits, but not as much as when casting spells. If the bleed is strong enough, anyone with magic can feel it, and crystal ponies are hyperaware of thaumic bleed and absorb some of that thaumic energy as it hits them-up to whatever personal limit they have. When directing their magic sensing abilities, they're absorbing thaumic energy; that's why they can get overwhelmed just checking out a powerful pony. As for alicorns, they have much more magic, so one of the things they must learn early on is how to limit or mask the thaumic bleed that they and their spells radiate; otherwise, they'll constantly overwhelm other ponies with their power. I presume powerful unicorns, like Starlight, do the same. They might not have known how to teach you to do the same with your bleed since you're an earth pony."
"I presume those conduits that thaumic energy radiates from are the ones I fried," Wild said glumly.
Jessica's ears sagged. "Yeah, those are the ones."
"Not your fault," Wild said. "Be expecting Number in the next few days. I hope you don't run into too many crystal ponies. I will keep it on your person until then."
When she got off the call with Wild Growth, she took one more look around the room just to make sure the haunted doll wasn't lurking in some corner like Chucky, ready to stab her. The doll seemed to be gone back to wherever it came from. Why the heck it decided to visit her, she had no clue. The last time she heard about it moving around, it had been terrorizing Rebecca, and that had been years ago, right before Phobia gave the thing away. She had no idea how much range that thing had. It seemed like it should be on the other side of the country, but it popped up here like it was right around the corner. She was sick and tired of things that operated on their own rules outside the laws of the universe.
There was tension in the air. All the mares that generally filled the yard and on top of the house had moved to neighboring houses and were watching from there. Wallace was staring defiantly at the unexpected guest, as was Rosetta. Phobia took this all in stride and sipped her tea.
"Can you repeat the question, General Wilson?" Phobia said as she returned her teacup to the saucer.
"You heard me the first time! Why the fuck did you send our stones to Equestria??!" General Wilson yelled.
Phobia nodded. "That is what I thought you said. I just wanted to be sure before answering. To begin with, the truestones are not our stones. They belong to specific individuals, and we happen to be able to make use of them. Second of all, if the individual they belong to passes away, whether they have claimed their truestone or not, the stone disappears, but we believe that being in another universe prevents this from happening, so consider it a way of ensuring we don't have any of them vanish on us. Third, they are incredibly powerful, and if they fall into the wrong hands or hooves, it could be devastating. Equestria can better hide them. Fourth of all, we want a few individuals in Equestria to test if any of the truestones belong to them. Consider that last part a science experiment. And, finally, the Dreamwardens went to great efforts to claim these truestones; no one else even knew about them until my daughter gave you that report, so no promise was ever given that you would be given the truestones. You were only promised a ship. If you negotiate with the alicorns, perhaps one of them will power it to take you to Jeg'galla'gamo'pi if you can figure out where it is. Have I stated my reasons clearly enough for you, General Wilson?"
"You used an illegal portal," General Wilson said, switching tactics.
Phobia shook her head. "You are mistaken, general. There is no law about the creation or use of portals. Therefore, there can be nothing illegal about our portal. There are laws about unauthorized crossing of borders, including into Equestria from Earth, but OMMR agents acting on Dreamwarden orders are exempt from border crossing laws, per the UN agreement. They crossed the border into Equestria at my behest. This is allowed under the current laws."
"Yeah, so get out of my Dreamwarden's face!" Wallace yelled.
General Wilson looked disparagingly at the young stallion. "Isn't there still an outstanding warrant for your arrest in Colorado for the destruction of police property, assaulting an officer, evading arrest, and shoplifting?"
"But, in case you are confused about what state we are in, this isn't Colorado; this is South Carolina," Phobia said with a small smile. "We are in negotiations with Colorado to settle Wallace's warrant. They were all things he did while he was a colt, so there is some precedence for lenience. Did you never get into any mischief as a teenager? He does have a bounty on him, but I feel sorry for any bounty hunter who tried to bring Wallace in."
Wallace sat and rubbed his forehooves together menacingly while grinning at the general. Bits of gravel fell here and there from his hooves.
General Wilson sneered and looked back at Phobia. "Where are your real bodyguards? Why are you being guarded by the second-rate hoodlum instead of the other two?"
"Busy elsewhere. What they are doing is not going to be discussed with you. Wallace can handle guarding me by himself for a week or two," Phobia answered.
She jumped out of her seat as General Wilson brought his fist down on the table. "DON'T YOU BE DISMISSIVE OF ME, DREAMWARDEN!"
Phobia shivered as Rosetta jumped on the table and spread her wings. "YOU DO NOT MAKE THREATENING GESTURES TOWARDS MY WIFE!! Get out of here. You aren't welcome."
"You've been ordered off the property. You have until the count of five to start walking towards the door, or I will remove you," Wallace growled as he stood up. "One!"
"I am a general of the United-"
"You're a trespasser on private property who has been warned they need to leave. Two!" Wallace said coldly
The general shook a finger at the earth pony. "You are not going to lay a hoof on me!"
"Oh, that's cute. You think I need to use my hooves? Three!" Wallace said, menacing grin back.
"I'll charge you with assault!"
"Add it to my rap sheet. Four!"
She was still shaken, but she pulled herself to her hooves and steadied her nerves. "Wallace, stop your count. General Wilson, there is no more productive reason for you to be here, and while I'm sure you're salivating at the prospect of charging Wallace with some sort of crime, you don't want to deal with being filmed tossed out in the street like garbage. I know your fears; you fear humiliation."
"Tossed out in a stone blanket," Wallace mocked. "It will not shatter from that little impact, and you don't want to hit anything with enough force that it will. Nobody around here is going to help you out of it. Your men will have to chisel you out, which may take hours. The mares will take lots of pictures as they laugh at poor little General Wilson, all tucked snug as a bug in his blankie wankie. You might charge me with assault, but you'll still be a meme for years."
"You would wish Tempest were here instead. She'd just beat the shit out of you and leave it at that. No need for the humiliation, just a few broken bones, but I think you'd prefer that. It's always the same with men like you. You have such a fragile ego, and you'd rather have your bones broken than someone laughing at what a joke you are," Rosetta snarled.
"I'll see you all in court!" General Wilson said as he headed towards the door.
"Good luck with that, too," Wallace chuckled.
The general left without any further word. Wallace followed him out the door to ensure he didn't make any trouble. While Phobia was collecting herself, Rosetta stepped close to her.
"May I hug you?" Rosetta worriedly asked.
Phobia nodded. "You may. It wasn't that taxing on my nerv-" She paused briefly as Rosetta wrapped her forelegs around her. "-es. It's just a jump scare. I'm getting better at dealing with those types of fright."
"He still scared you," Rosetta growled.
"You know that isn't hard to do," Phobia responded. "I was expecting him to do something, so I was braced for it. I am still shocked he managed to show up so quickly. Charlotte couldn't have made that report more than two hours ago. He arrived with incredible speed."
Rosetta released, and her ears sagged. "I don't know why she hates you so much to do something like that. "
"She doesn't hate me," Phobia assured her wife. "She loves me just as much as you."
"Funny way of showing it," Rosetta muttered.
Phobia sighed. "She knows that in the end, the government presents no real threat to me. They can yell and scream, but I'm too essential for them to do anything to, and it would look extremely hypocritical for them after they made an impressive show of letting the world know what China did to Yinyu. She didn't volunteer for this anti-Dreamwarden task force, and I reckon she doesn't want to be part of it. Charlotte is a good soldier who does her job, but if she ever thought she was going to legitimately hurt one of us by doing it, she would disobey whatever order she was given, even if it meant court martial. Let her do her thing. I can live with whatever conflict she brings, and she has enough faith in me to know that I can. Have a little faith in our filly."
Rosetta grumbled. "How did she even find out about you having a mage create a private portal? I didn't even know about that. I didn't even know that was a thing that could be done."
"She does know how to keep her head down and eyes open. We should have known something was up when she took a long time to leave the farm," Phobia answered. "Be happy. You are the one who taught her how to sneak. She certainly did a good job sneaking. I was confident we would be able to hide the portal. I was wrong. I should never underestimate my foals."
"And the portal? How did you manage a portal?" Rosetta asked.
Phobia coughed. "It required people casting spells simultaneously on both our side and the Equestrian side. I had a unicorn ready for it here; my adopted brother may have given us some assistance from the other end."
Rosetta blinked. "Really? Not your mother, but your brother?"
"People underestimate Shǔguāng because he stays in our mom's shadow, but he is talented and driven. Since he's been practically glued to my mother's side for the last eleven years, that gave him time to watch and learn. Do you think he picked up nothing in all that time?" Phobia chuckled. "He was nearly as important to get off the planet as my mom was. He's leverage on Yinyu, and unlike my other adopted siblings, he has knowledge of many of Mom's spells and has picked up on how she crafts them. He had to go, but he's still willing to do favors for me."
Rosetta shook her head. "You rope too many young people into delinquency with your schemes."
"Young people?" Phobia said, raising an eyebrow. She touched a wing gently to her wife's face. "You act like you're old, but you look as beautiful as the day I snuggled up under that oak tree with you."
"I'm forty-two; that feels old. We'll see how you're feeling next year when you get to join me with the Big Four club. We're grandmothers. As soon as someone can legitimately call you grandma, you're old," Rosetta replied with a smirk. She then sighed and leaned her face into the wing. "I miss those early days. I wish they had lasted longer. We never got much time to be young and in love. Everything that came after we moved here came so fast. I just want to go back to that tree sometimes."
Phobia considered. "You know...I could stand to get out more often. Once Tempest and Crystal get home, how would you feel about taking a few vacation days down to Charleston? We can see if that old oak is still around, walk around Charleston proper, and see what became of that church we sheltered in. It could be fun."
Rosetta raised an eyebrow at her. "You get vacation days?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I can't go on a trip," Phobia replied. "I can take a vacation from doing any work while awake. We also have that trip to Germany coming up. I have to do some work for that, but we can extend it a bit and tour Europe. We can look at all the Roman ruins. I think you'd like that."
"Maybe see some dolmens?" Rosetta asked in a hopeful tone.
"I don't know what those are, but if you want to see them, I'm sure they're worth seeing. We can try," Phobia agreed.
"Offering to take me to a big tree and some big rocks. You know how to show a mare a good time," Rosetta happily hummed. "I need to help brush you up on your German. You haven't been keeping up with your lessons."
"Die Arbeit ist nie erledigt," Phobia lamented. |
Partial | Chapter 39: Night Fright | She didn't remember falling asleep, but she was aware enough of dreams to know when she was in one. Without taking time to process her surroundings and, therefore, get sucked into the dream's reality, she decided to rip the proverbial band-aid off.
"Okay, Yinyu. Let's get this over with. I know you're dying to harass me," Jessica yelled.
Whatever the dream had been manifesting was replaced with a perfect black expansion in all directions. The only thing, other than herself, was the familiar sea dragon form of Yinyu Wu Yan.
Yinyu pointed a fin at her. "Do you realize that you are currently a pony who looks to be about six years old? You might want to sort that out before we progress any further."
She looked at herself; she looked exactly as she had right before the Cataclysm of Riverview. She closed her eyes and reopened them, which put her back to normal.
"That's better," Yinyu complimented. "You look less cute this way, but you also look more like someone I can discuss my usual fare with without outraging parents."
"Great, so get it over with," Jessica muttered.
Yinyu slowly flipped till she was upside down. "Get what over with?"
"I'm going on my first-ever date on Tuesday," Jessica replied.
Yinyu flipped right-side up and grinned broadly. "Congratulations! You're long overdue to explore relationships. I wish you the best of luck."
"So..." Jessica prompted.
"So...what?" Yinyu asked in confusion.
"Aren't you going to give me...you know...sex...advice?" Jessica asked in frustration.
Yinyu frowned, looking her over. "Hmmm. No, I don't think I will. Why would I do that?"
What the heck? "Because I'm going on a date, and you get over-excited about that kind of thing. You've been constantly saying that you would advise me on how to do...that stuff. Others tell me that you have done that exact thing with them. Now, all of a sudden, you don't want to?"
Yinyu sat silent for a few seconds, just watching. "Well...now that I'm seriously considering you with that subject, which I hadn't before, I don't think giving you that kind of advice is a good idea. Sorry, no such luck tonight."
Jessica balled up her hands into fists. "Then why did you constantly offer up until now?!"
Yinyu disappeared.
"I might have-" Yinyu said, appearing a short distance away.
"...possibly..." Yinyu continued after appearing another few yards away.
"...maybe..." Yinyu said sheepishly after appearing yet another few yards further.
"...been teasing you," Yinyu's voice said in her ear, making her jump and backpedal away.
"What?!" Jessica shouted in outrage.
Yinyu started flipping again. "Yeah...I do that sometimes. Sorry about that. No hard feelings?"
Jessica blinked and licked her lips. "Is it me? Do you think I'm incapable of having a relationship where...that...happens?"
Yinyu turned on her side. "Well... it is you, but it isn't as negative as you make it out to be."
Now she started crying. "How is that not as negative as I think? You're saying I'm incapable-"
Her mouth vanished, and a pint-sized Yinyu appeared right in front of her face.
"Don't put words in my mouth, little girl, or I'll take yours," Yinyu said with a hint of annoyance. "It is you, but not because you are incapable, but because that kind of advice wouldn't help you. In fact, I think that kind of advice could hurt you. No, most people I can go over this subject with in graphic detail, and they will be eager for it, but there are people like you where that isn't a good idea. You see, child, you don't want sex. You've never really wanted it. Just thinking about it makes you physically uncomfortable. You can barely even ask me to give advice about it without vomiting, and pressuring you to have it when you don't want it...well...that's a bad thing. Now, you can have your mouth back."
Jessica sat down and looked down at her hands in her lap. "There's something wrong with me then?"
Yinyu reappeared beside her in night pony form and wrapped a wing over her back. "No. Don't think that. Everybody is different. Some people just aren't into sex. You might have an occasional time that comes up, and you do feel like it-like Phobia does, but you can't force that kind of thing. It's not healthy to force it. That doesn't mean you can't have happy relationships, though you might want to make it clear you aren't a very sexual person early on in the relationship, just to make expectations clear."
"But I get sexually attracted to people. I have types," Jessica insisted.
"You have types of people you are attracted to, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it has to be sexual," Yinyu softly said. "They are people with qualities you like, traits you might admire, and desire to be around."
She gave the Dreamwarden a dirty look. "I admire being prissy or macho, not intelligence?'
Yinyu shrugged. "Maybe you do. We often look at ourselves and fantasize about what it's like to be radically different, or want a partner with the traits we believe we lack. Relationships are partnerships, and each partner brings something to the relationship. Plus, being prissy or macho doesn't mean someone is dumb. They can be those things and be intelligent as well. You'd be in a bad spot if you found a partner who didn't appreciate all your physics knowledge or have the ability to hold an intelligent conversation."
Well, Adam had intelligence going for him, even if he wasn't the prissy or macho type-not as intelligent as her. Still, she was dramatically lacking in a lot of knowledge that didn't involve her fields of study. What was she without her physics? The world's best eavesdropper? That wasn't an appealing thing to be.
"You just went pony again," Yinyu said.
She grumbled and closed her eyes again, willing herself back to her proper form. After reopening her eyes and checking to ensure her form was correct, she looked pleadingly at Yinyu.
"Can't you fix me so I have a regular sex drive?" she asked, hating to refer to it as regular since that was close to saying normal, and she hated saying she was abnormal.
"There is nothing wrong with you to fix. There are plenty of people like you who have perfectly fulfilling relationships," Yinyu replied.
"You do it for the night pony mares," Jessica countered. "I know it isn't the same thing, but it's in the same vein."
Yinyu frowned. "I have ceased to do that. It served its purpose at the time because there was an extreme gender disparity in night ponies, and they were literally at each other's throats over the few stallions that there were. A full generation has passed, and while those numbers haven't fully corrected, they are good enough now that I don't need to worry about night pony mares constantly trying to beat the crap out of each other to get a guy. That had been a case where they did have an extremely damaging situation going on because they were seriously hurting each other and causing strife in their communities. You aren't hurting anyone."
"You are still doing it. You gave Charlotte your blessing just earlier this year," she countered once again.
Yinyu rolled her eyes. "Don't tell anyone because she can get into a lot of trouble for it, but I didn't give her anything."
Jessica blinked. "She lied and is faking it? Why?"
Yinyu shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe she wanted to be known as the last night pony to get my blessing."
"She's never made that claim or even hinted at it. I thought you were still doing the thing," Jessica reminded her.
"Well, I've got no answer for you then," Yinyu replied. "And don't say I know what she was thinking. I can't reveal that."
"But you suggested what she was thinking," Jessica said in annoyance.
"Yep! Maybe is a very helpful word. It lets me get away with saying so many things. One of our best loopholes," Yinyu said with a grin.
Jessica crossed her arms. "You're as bad as Rebecca."
"Aww, thank you!" Yinyu said, grinning even more broadly. "You know, before she came along, I was the crazy-fun Dreamwarden. It's nice to hear I've still got it after being dead and all. She was my student, and I'm proud of her, but she sometimes overshadows me."
Jessica rubbed her arms. "You've got the crazy part down; not too sure about the fun."
Yinyu disappeared and then reappeared some distance away as her sea dragon form and pouted. "That just hurts my feelings."
Jessica sighed. "Sorry, I just don't get much fun from dealing with any of you. I'm tired of Dreamwardens in my life. I'm sure many other people would find you amusing."
Yinyu did a flip. "Thank you. That makes me feel a little better. You know, Rebecca is trying to convince me and Ghadab to do some Christmas Carol thing with certain dreamers at the end of the year since Ghadab wants her help with other things. I'm supposed to be something called the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Ghadab is the Ghost of Christmas Future. We are going to terrorize some stingy businessmen. It sounds fun."
Dreamwardens had odd senses of fun.
The Warden of Lust tilted her head. "Since you seem ready for some Dreamwarden-free dreaming, is there anything else I can assist with before I release you?"
She almost said no before remembering something. "Phobia's creepy haunted doll showed up in my bedroom. Can you tell her to make it not do that?"
Yinyu blinked. "It showed up at your place? That's unusual. Phobia doesn't have any control over what that doll does or any way of containing it. She doesn't even have it in her possession anymore. It is back with its proper owner, but I'm not sure they have direct control over it either. We don't understand how the doll works, especially since it doesn't seem to have any magic of its own. It's operating on some other set of rules. Ignore it, and it will go away. From what I can tell, based on experience, it can't stay away from where it's supposed to be for long. Consider it a scary little nuisance, not a threat. It's even been helpful on a few occasions."
That seemed unlikely. "How has that doll ever helped anyone?"
"It helped lead someone through a warzone and helped them find good people that they wouldn't have known were there otherwise. Sometimes it isn't just watching you; sometimes it is trying to tell you something," Yinyu answered. "Consider it the doll's way of nudging you in the right direction...or it can just be watching you. You never know with that thing."
Great. Nudge her towards what? She sighed. "Alright, release me into my dream."
"Have fun!"
Mark crawled deeper under the bed covers, shivering. It was dark, but the dark didn't bother him. He was used to the dark. It had been dark a lot when Grandma was gone, and it had been scary at first, but he got braver. The dark didn't scare him anymore.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
But monsters outside; that scared him.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
His ears perked as he heard Mister Jack and Misses Jill talking on the other side of the wall. "Honey, is there anything you can do about that dog? Caleb and Wishing have school in the morning."
"I could knock on the Pages' door to see if they'll bring their dog in for the night, but I don't want them getting mad at us and calling us a bunch of Karens because we told them to do something about their dog. Maybe he'll stop howling soon. Someone was probably out late walking, or he spotted a night pony flying or something. As soon as they are gone, the dog will stop. He always does."
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
Mark pulled the blankets closer around him.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
"Hey! The neighbor's dog is howling again!" he heard Caleb yell from the hallway.
"We all hear it. Go back to bed. It will stop soon enough," Mister Jack yelled back.
"Can I get some water?" Wishing yelled from a different part of the hall.
"You don't have to ask. Just remember to use the potty so you don't wet the bed," Misses Jill answered.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
"Okay," Wishing answered.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
"I guess everyone's up. Thank you, Rover," Misses Jill said, sounding annoyed. "I'm going to go check on Mark."
"He hasn't made a peep. I'm sure he's alright," Mister Jack said.
"He never makes much of a peep, and we don't know how he responds to dogs," Misses Jill said.
"I'm sure he has heard dogs braying before."
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
Mark huddled up as tight as he could in his bed.
"I'm still going to check. I'll be right back."
He heard her approach and saw the light come in through the door through his covers when she opened his door.
"Mark? Are you okay?" Miss Jill asked.
He didn't uncurl.
"Oh...Mark, what are we going to do with you?" Misses Jill sighed. He heard her stepping towards him; then the bed shook as she sat on it.
"I'm not going to tell you to come out from hiding," Misses Jill said. "Are you still mad at me about dinner?"
He'd forgotten about dinner until she said something, but he didn't care about the icky food anymore. There was a monster outside.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
He tried to curl tighter, but he had curled the tightest tight he could.
"Have you had bad things happen to you because of dogs?" Miss Jill asked. She waited for him to answer, but he wasn't going to say anything. When there was danger, he had to be extra quiet, more than normal quiet. Grandma said so.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO! HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
"He's really going at it tonight. What has him so worked up?" Misses Jill said, sounding more annoyed. "The dog is next door, behind a fence. He can't get you. His name is Rover, and his owners leave him out in the cold all night long. They really should bring him inside at night. I don't know why they do that to their dog. Rover is probably cold and feeling alone."
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
Rover was scary. Rover was better alone because there needed to be no more Rovers. More Rovers would be bad.
"HHHOOOOOWOOOOOO!"
There was a crashing sound outside that made him cringe.
"Dang nabbit, Rover! Get inside! You're going to wake the whole neighborhood! Ya better not piss on the carpet!" someone yelled angrily outside.
Misses Jill grunted. "Sounds like that's the end of that for tonight. He was going at it for a while. Normally, he stops quickly, but he must have finally lost sight of whoever he's howling at. Anyway, you can relax and get some sleep. You might not have school tomorrow, but I have activities for you to try, and Miss Jessica is coming to visit. You don't want to be tired. Get some sleep, kiddo."
She ruffled the covers right where he was, which made him flinch again, but then she got off the bed and went to the door. He saw the door close and heard her checking on Wishing Well.
He waited a long time under the covers, listening for the monster Rover. He heard little bits of talking in Wishing Well's room but couldn't tell what they were saying. He then heard footsteps across the hall and some more talking in Misses Jill and Mister Jack's room. They were saying that everyone could sleep now. He thought he heard music in Caleb's room, but he wasn't sure.
Feeling a little safer, he uncurled under the covers. He still waited a little more before he stuck his ears out. He didn't hear anything but a little snoring in the adults' room. He knew what snoring sounded like. Grandma had snored a lot. Snoring wasn't scary.
Everything seemed okay. He peeked his head out from under the covers. No monster jumped out to eat him. His stuffed bear was there, and he could see his blocks on the floor. He turned and looked around and then immediately hid back under the covers.
There was a small brown thing, as small as him, with black eyes watching him from the closet. It wasn't one of his toys. It had to be a monster. He curled up tight again.
There weren't any sounds of anything moving around or anything breathing. There was nothing. It took him a long time to get brave again. He only got brave enough because he figured that the monster was too small to eat him. Maybe he was big enough to fight the monster. When he stuck his head back out, there was nothing there anymore. Still, he recovered his head, curled up tight, and didn't stick his head out again.
The crackling of the fire brought forward a slew of fond memories in Zipper's mind. As he gazed into the inferno his thoughts drifted back to home and the many nights he spent in the field with his team. In his line of work, those work days would typically culminate in group bonfires to raise team morale and help the group unwind. The fact that his new associates had decided to build a fire for the night brought him an almost subconscious comfort and made his thoughts drift back to home.
Hopefully, we won't be gone long, he thought to himself.
His thoughts drifted to Sine Wave and Ink Rose, and despite not even being away for that long, he already felt a longing for his companions, even if the warm embrace of sleep would bring them together in the dream realm. That kind of contact was more than enough for many of the night ponies he knew, but Zipper wasn't a night pony. He was a pegasus, and to him, nothing was better than being close to the people he loved.
As Zipper glanced back over to the flames, something caught his eye. On the other side of the campfire sat an almost ominous sackcloth doll that he knew was not there moments ago. It reminded him of the doll from Little Big Planet, just much uglier. Something about the eerie hollow eyes staring back at him gave him goosebumps, and the fire's flickering light didn't help to make it any less creepy.
"Uhhhh..." Zipper started to say, but the more superstitious part of his brain told him to keep his mouth shut.
He was by no means an expert on this kind of stuff, but The Oasis was a hotspot for strange and unusual occurrences, and he had enough unexplainable encounters in his life there to keep him on edge when an absolutely haunted ghost doll was suddenly staring him down.
As if to answer his concerns, Tempest poked her head out of the van. "Did you say something?"
Zipper slowly nodded and silently pointed to the doll with a wing. "T-that wasn't there before."
The mare nodded, stepping closer to the doll, before turning away. "I am familiar with that doll. It's nothing you need to be concerned about."
That did nothing to answer his questions and, in fact, only made him think of even more.
"But..." he started, hoping to tread carefully. "Did one of you put it there?"
Tempested shook her head. "You need not concern yourself with the matters of the dead," she repeated.
"That's not an answer," Zipper protested, his eyes widening at the implications of her response.
The woman shrugged. "It's not an answer you want to hear."
"What's up?" Josie asked, joining the duo.
"The professor is asking about the doll," Tempest replied, her voice curiously concerned.
"You mean the creepy ghost doll that just showed up," Zipper pointed at the doll again. "I mean-- I'm sorry, I don't want to disrespect you!" He followed.
"I don't think the doll gives a damn if you disrespect it, prof," Crystal snickered.
Josie followed Zipper's gaze and then looked back to Tempest. "What is it? Is it dangerous?"
At that moment, the rest of the party exited the van.
"Oh, heck no," Crystal mused as she stepped further out. "Don't worry about it, it's harmless."
"Ummm..." Blanche started to say as she caught sight of the doll. "How long has that been here? I don't like that thing being around."
"See?! I'm not the only one!" Zipper exclaimed.
"Our friend here noticed it a few moments ago," Tempest replied. She shook her head, scowling simultaneously, then walked away.
"Do you know what it is, Blanche?" Josie asked.
Blanche nodded. "Mhmm, I do. Let's just say it's relatively harmless and leave it at that. It's better to ignore it and go on with our evening."
"Relatively?" Zipper asked. "So you're saying it's not entirely harmless?"
"Don't worry. It can't do anything. I could pick it up, and it wouldn't react. But do you want to know the story behind it?" She asked.
Zipper nodded. "It's either that or I assume it's a haunted doll, and I call off my side of this mission because I'm not going to piss off a ghost or demon or whatever is haunting it."
Blanche shrugged. "During the Second World War, when Sha'am Maut was a young woman living in India, she made that for her soon-to-be-born daughter. However, famine broke out soon after the daughter was born, and the child eventually died from malnourishment-Sha'am nearly died as well. She ended up keeping the doll, and when she eventually died, she willed the thing to Phobia Remedy. The thing sat in Phobia's care for years without ever doing anything, but then it started vanishing for short periods. This wasn't noticed right away, but we now know that it was turning up in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and so on for minutes at a time. It did this for weeks without anyone being aware; then, it stopped making excursions for a few years. It began again during the last Dreamwarden selection process. I was a candidate in that process, and I and the other candidates encountered it several times. This is when Phobia finally noticed the thing was making trips. She gave it away shortly after, and as far as I know, it hasn't made any excursions since then, until now."
"So it is haunted!" He exclaimed.
"I don't know if haunted is the right word, but there is something supernatural about it that defies our understanding of how magic should work," Blanche replied, looking at the doll with distaste. "By all accounts, it shouldn't be able to just take off the way it does, with no regard for distance. It has no magic, and no pony is casting any spell to move it. I believe it is Sha'am watching us."
"This has been a thing for years? Why hasn't anyone destroyed it?" Josie hesitantly asked.
"I'm not sure we can, and Phobia would be mad if we tried. Believe me, I hate it too," Blanche admitted. "The doll isn't going to harm us, but I understand if you have reservations about its presence, given your history with Sha'am."
Zipper had only been a novice dreamwalker when Sha'am was an active Dreamwarden, and he thankfully had never encountered her often. However, Sine Wave and Ink Rose's own personal testimonials, along with those of his other night pony friends, were enough to make it clear that this was a topic that did not need to be discussed deeper. Josie's body language painted a clear enough picture that didn't need further explanation.
"I... I don't know how to feel about that," He admitted.
"I do," Josie spat back with venom in her voice. "I know enough not to question its presence, but believe me when I say I would gladly kick that doll into the fire."
"I'm not saying you wouldn't be justified in doing that, but I'm unsure that would destroy it. It would probably just go back from whence it came," Blanche stated. "But we do need to focus on the mission at hand. If Sha'am wants to spy on us from beyond the grave, so be it."
Crystal huffed. "You make this so much more complicated than it needs to be. Everyone just needs to turn their backs and take their eyes off the thing. If no one sees it, it will vanish within a second or two. It's only still here because it has an audience. Ulga said when they came across the thing back in her home country, they always lost it as soon as they took their eyes off it. They even tried putting it in their packs, but it would always be gone when they checked for it. Just stop giving it an audience."
Blanche nodded and looked at Tempest's retreating form. "Right now we need to do what Crystal suggested and ignore it. It'll go away sooner rather than later."
"Right," Zipper nodded his head. "Well, every occult and spiritual nut I know back home would say we need to bid it farewell and leave it in peace," He turned towards the doll. "So, thank you for visiting us, and we hope you have a nice night."
With that, he turned his back to the doll and gazed up at the stars above him. |
Partial | Chapter 40: Make It Better | Planes. Ponies tended to hate traveling by plane. It was a combination of factors that caused this. Most tribes didn't like confined spaces. Earth ponies and unicorns didn't like the idea of being high in the air. Most didn't realize it, but even night ponies got nervous about being this high up. Night ponies were low-altitude fliers; they never tried to fly at such heights-but the confined spaces didn't bother them as much. Pegasi were different; they hated having a machine fly for them-stupid bird brain pride. Crystal ponies, you could never tell how they'd react to anything. Pony instinct, while present, was weaker in them. Maybe because they weren't part of Sunset Shimmer's plans, so they didn't get exaggerated instincts. So, out of all the pony tribes, the one most likely to be okay with flying in a plane was a crystal pony, and that wasn't even a given.
Charlotte preferred not to think about how high she was. While she had no problem flying with her wings, most people didn't know she got even more nervous than was typical for her tribe when at high altitude. Only her siblings and parents knew she had an extreme fear of heights. Her siblings shared her fear for much the same reason she did-gripping a mountain-sized tree for dear life so they didn't plummet to their doom when they were young had left a lasting impact. Their mother did nothing to help them with their fear; it was theirs to face and overcome. That they knew their fear and understood it was good enough for Phobia Remedy. It was good enough for Charlotte that her mother minded her own business.
She shook her head, keeping her eyes averted from the window and thoughts of how far below the ground was. It was time to focus on upcoming missions. That meant considering her foes' strengths and weaknesses. Anyone could be taken down with a good enough strategy. What was needed was to understand them. No one was invincible, no matter how formidable, but it was important to remember that it worked both ways. She had her skills learned from years of training, but she didn't have any special powers to use as aces. She didn't have her sister's control over bugs, her brother's brute strength, or her aunt's virtual immunity to direct assaults, and even her physically weak and cowardly mother could cripple an opponent with fear if she was backed into a corner and left with no other way to defend herself. No, she only had her wits, strategy, and combat prowess.
The Dreamwardens' elite bodyguards were definitely on the government's radar, especially the group that were currently in Mexico. She reviewed each member in her head.
Tempest was the leader of that group and the one Charlotte had the most experience fighting. Tempest was a skilled strategist, martial arts master, and expert markswoman. It had been assumed that she would lose much of her fighting skills when she humanized, and, for a time, she did. Still, she gained new skills at a frightening pace and, with time, had been able to adapt much of her old fighting toolkit to her new form, making her as much a force to be reckoned with as she had been as a pony. However, humans did not age as gracefully as ponies, and that meant that age was slowing the top bodyguard down from where she had been at her peak. There was also another wildcard factor to consider with Tempest. By all readings, Tempest still possessed a significant amount of magic yet had never demonstrated any ability tied to magic. Magic never did nothing; it needed to be used. That meant Tempest held some ability in secret, and that unknown was worth being cautious about. The thing to exploit was the fact she was aging and slowing down, which meant speed was vital in fighting her.
Blanche was the second-in-command of the group. She was more than twenty years Tempest's junior and would inevitably be the leader of the elite when Tempest finally retired. While both were extremely serious, the younger woman served a much more unpredictable Dreamwarden-making it harder to determine what kind of orders she may be carrying out in service to her employer. In terms of combat, Blanche was not as good as Tempest when it came to martial arts, although she was still skilled, and was a novice at best with a gun, but she had other skills. The younger woman was a match to Tempest as a strategist, and, unlike Tempest, Blanche made ample use of her magical skills. The Flemish woman could create any simple object out of nothingness, and that meant she always had access to a weapon at hand or a tool to help her. She was unlikely to make a gun, but blades and spears of varying sizes were always a threat, and while her constructs couldn't last more than a few minutes once they left her hands, that was more than long enough to be hurled at someone or arm a compatriot. Blanche was no sniper, but she was a good knife and javelin thrower, and thanks to her powers, she always had something to throw. It was also believed she was capable of creating traps with her magic, but those took time to plan and set up. However, this reliance on magic was a weakness since it meant she was more vulnerable to crystal ponies. Without her magic, she was at more of a disadvantage than Tempest was-still a worthy adversary, but her threat level greatly diminished. When confronting Blanche, it was necessary to have at least two or three crystal ponies available and guarded since Blanche would undoubtedly do everything she could to knock those ponies out of a fight early and quickly, knowing her vulnerabilities. She'd be more challenging to take down than Tempest without a crystal pony assisting.
Tempest and Blanche were the top tier of the fighting force, and the others were less of a threat. Josie was a powerful magic user, the strongest of the night ponies, but that magic didn't give her much of a combat advantage once she was engaged in combat. Josie had a host of skills related to the dream realm that were pointless in a fight. The ability to walk on walls and ceilings gave her mobility and freedom in some environments, but it was a nuisance at best. Josie's real combat strength was her shadowmelding, which was only good for ambush attacks. The critical strategy against her was not to get caught in the inevitable ambush and then keep the pressure on her so she couldn't go into hiding and try another guerrilla strike. Josie was most useful as a scout, for hit-and-run tactics or to take down a single target stealthily, not a melee fighter in a brawl. Josie didn't have the skills to fight someone who was fighting back.
Crystal had more physical strength and combat skills than most crystal ponies, but she was only average in her ability to absorb magic and had the same inherent weaknesses an earth pony had during a fight with any foe at a range, with slightly less physical strength. She was an expert driver and mechanic who knew a little about electronic and machine repair, but those weren't skills that factored into combat; they only added to her utility when not fighting. That was Crystal's role, utility and support. Still, she needed to be neutralized early in a fight because a crystal pony sapping magic was always worth removing first. While she was not anywhere near Tempest or Blanche's fighting level, she still presented a legitimate threat, even while not sapping magic. She had a harder time staying in extended fights, not because she was out of shape, as the mares that guarded the house often accused, but because of injuries she sustained during the Cataclysm of Riverview that took their toll on her when she pushed herself for too long. Although it was never a good idea to leave her free to sap magic over an extended period, so this weakness should never be a factor in fighting her, at least not under ideal circumstances. It was best to hit her early before she knew what was happening and take her out then.
Arturo was a decent hand-to-hand fighter and respectable with a gun or blade, but none of those skills were exceptional. His strength was his ability to scout, track, and be aware of his surroundings. There was no hiding from him, making it more challenging to ambush the group if he was with it. That made ambushing and removing Crystal from the fight before the fight began that much harder. If Crystal was not neutralized early, that let Crystal support Tempest and Blanche, and having your magic sucked out while fighting those two was a losing proposition and made it impossible to keep pressure on Josie, allowing Josie to fight on her terms. Arturo's presence, even if he was not much of a fighter, made all the primary strategies against the other members nearly impossible to pull off. She could try neutralizing him before he could raise the alarm, but she herself couldn't do that since his primary strength was removing the element of surprise. His weakness was he tracked magical beings, so this would require her to have someone without magic take him down quickly while keeping those with magic far enough back that he couldn't detect them. This was possible, but it made the window to take Crystal down before she or one of the others realized Arturo was down much harder since that meant more distance to cross to take Crystal down. A large enough human force could take both down in quick succession, but the more humans there were, the more chance Crystal, Josie, or even the pegasus would hear or smell them and raise the alarm themselves.
There was a final unknown in terms of combat. Zipper was a random pegasus from the Oasis. Nothing from her briefing indicated he had any combat expertise or magic that could be easily improvised into a weapon. He was clearly a civilian and, as such, should not be hurt unless he took hostile action. However, he could fly faster than she could keep up, and he could make a nuisance of himself if he got away.
Any individual of the group Charlotte could take down easily, at least with a plan, but as a group, it was necessary to have a skilled, specialized strike force to stand a chance against them. It seemed she would need at least a few humans without magic who could quickly neutralize both Crystal and Arturo close to the same time, and they'd need at least two crystal ponies to neutralize Blanche. With such a large group required to take them on, Josie might choose not to fight and simply retreat. If that happened, they'd need even more crystal ponies to watch prisoners because Josie would make a nuisance of herself trying to free them, and crystal ponies would be required to detect her coming. Having too big a strike force made it harder to keep it stealthy, and crystal ponies weren't the best fighters. If the numbers were high enough that she could simply overwhelm them, they'd see that coming from miles away and retreat-with Blanche leaving plenty of unpleasant surprises to stumble into. They already had to commit far too many spots to magicless humans and crystal ponies as it stood, which put much more pressure on her when fighting, and she wanted at least two unicorns and a pegasus to back up the crystal ponies against Josie and preferably two unicorns to back her up against Tempest and Blanche. This needed a lot more planning. Thankfully, she had time.
Challenging Tempest and Crystal in the field was going to be emotionally trying. They were mentors to her; more than that, they were family, like aunts. However, it was they who had decided to engage in this vigilante behavior, and Charlotte was here to make sure vigilantes went down. The police weren't equipped to deal with beings such as these, and the FBI had to deal with more common interstate criminals. That meant it fell on Homeland Security to deal with these powered vigilantes. After all, sometimes they did need an army to take down one of these guys. Everyone remembered what happened when the mighty El Capitan crossed the border, tracking cartel members. The fool earth pony practically leveled five blocks of El Paso. The police and FBI had been helpless against his might since he was only a few hairs weaker than Wild Growth had been at her height. The bargain-bin knockoff of Wild Growth was still more than almost anyone could handle. His reasons for being there may have been noble, but he'd done more damage and hurt more people than if he had just stayed home and let the cartel members get away. The army took charge against these guys now. There wouldn't be another El Paso.
Still, Tempest and the others were all in Mexico at the moment, which meant they were out of bounds. The generals said they had gathered enough evidence of vigilante activity that was not related to taking down mind magic or dream abusers, so they were to be taken in, but that would have to wait until they returned to the US. Just as well, she needed to figure out what team to bring with her. She wasn't taking on more than one of them alone, no matter how skilled she was.
In the meantime, a vigilante needed to be taken down in Chicago. The dumbass human had extra strength because he was rehumanized from being an earth pony, and he thought that justified him being a superhero. The idiot didn't get the memo that there were tens of millions of ponies in the US alone that were as strong or stronger than him. Hell, even Jessie was likely close to his strength. Being super strong didn't count for much anymore. Fain was supposedly on the loose in Chicago as well, and the pair had several confrontations with each other in public, leading to many civilian injuries and a fair amount of property damage. Charlotte didn't object to someone trying to rough up Fain; the woman was a sadistic bitch who enjoyed hurting people, but she wasn't going to be taken down by some dumbass like this guy. It would only lead to others getting injured. The fights between the two had been too much for the local police to deal with, so she'd been called in. The one good thing this vigilante was doing was he was keeping Fain preoccupied with him in their dumb hero-villain rivalry instead of having her take off out of town. After what Fain had done to her grandmother, she was eager to break that woman's nose. It was time to see how Fain did against someone who knew what they were doing. The vigilante was lucky he wasn't anything special. Fain got more dangerous the more magic her opponent had-deadly to alicorns but helpless against a human with no magic whatsoever. If he really were exceptional, Fain would have killed him with a touch. Charlotte made a note to herself to find proper gear to keep Fain's hands off her. She wasn't anywhere near powerful enough for Fain to be deadly, but those hands could still cause agonizing pain.
The pain didn't matter; bringing down these people was too important. As a foal, she'd watched the damage one overpowered individual could do. What her aunt had done was necessary and heroic, but the image of the devastation afterward had stayed with Charlotte. She and her siblings lived in the shadows of people who could reshape the world. Her twin took that and decided she needed to be greater, but not her. She understood she stood in the shadow of figurative gods, and if anyone knew any stories about gods, they knew that millions could suffer at a god's whims. Gods needed to obey the law. The law was a social contract that kept tragedies from happening. When a large part of the population had magic, there was no stopping it unless everyone followed that contract. Those that didn't keep that contract needed to be taken down for the safety of all. That was who she was; she was a soldier standing tall against the madness.
"Attention, passengers, we're currently encountering a malfunction in one of our engines. Do not be concerned, this will not cause a plane crash, but we may experience turbulence. We will be making a layover stop at the closest airport for repairs. Thank you for your patience and understanding, and please keep calm if there is any shaking. Thank you for flying American Airlines."
Great, like flying this high didn't already give her the jitters. At least she could face her fears with a calm face. Hopefully, none of the other passengers would freak out about this.
She turned her eyes to the seats a short distance from her. There was a woman and another night pony sitting next to one another. The woman was clearly agitated by the news, gripping the armrest so tightly that it might break, a lot of strength. Charlotte had noticed her when first getting on the plane. Something had felt off about her. That feeling was confirmed when the people in the seats in front and behind the woman had come in. They were good, but Charlotte was better, and she knew that those four were watching the pair between them, primarily the woman. The other night pony was watching the woman closely from the corner of her eyes, and those behind and in front seemed to have tensed a little as if preparing.
Was this a terrorist attempt? No, there was something seriously wrong with that woman. She didn't smell right, and those others were clearly on guard about her. A prisoner being transported incognito? That was a possibility.
The woman didn't look that dangerous, but looks could be deceiving. Smells tended to all blend together in the background, especially in a cramped place like a plane, but there was something definitely wrong with that woman's scent. It smelled almost like the spiders her sister kept. It set off all kinds of alarm bells, and her agitated nature hinted that she might try to pull something.
They were going to be landing soon. She'd keep her eyes on the woman and the entourage.
Jessica parked her car in front of the foster home. Her dad was already here, waiting in his car.
She got out at the same time as him. "I hope you weren't waiting too long. I know I'm running late," she greeted her dad.
He shook his head. "Not long at all. I figured I'd be waiting longer. After your trip, I assumed you slept in."
She blushed. "Just a little, but I didn't stay up that late. Ready to do this?"
He lifted his laptop. "Ready. I'll be taking some notes today on Mark's progress, as well as Caleb's and Wishing Well's. They started school this past week, and I need to make sure everything is okay. I'll talk to Jack and Jill today about them and talk to the boys later this week."
School? Crap! She was supposed to have that document with the Dreamwarden contract on Dean Francis's desk tomorrow! She had been dealing with Dreamwardens non-stop the last few days and had somehow forgotten it.
"Something wrong?" her dad asked. "You're making a face, and your ears flattened."
She forced her ears to be less flat. "I just remembered something I forgot to do. It will be okay. I'll make time to take care of it later today."
Learning how to do her hair, makeup, and clothes couldn't take that long. She was a super-genius, and people with slightly higher IQs than hamsters could figure it out. Amicus was only teaching her the basics, anyway. It would be a breeze for her. She would finish with Mark, go pick up Jordan and the sisters from Wabash, shop around for a little bit, go back to Wabash, do the beauty tips thing, and then she could take a nap and get that contract. It was still an easy day.
"Good to hear you have everything under control. Let's head in," her dad said.
Jack opened the door and greeted them before they could knock. "Morning! Been seeing a lot of you these last week or two, Paul."
Her dad nodded. "I should be visiting less from now on. I'll visit later this week to talk with the boys, but I'm hoping Mark has settled in enough that he doesn't need me checking on him constantly. We should be falling back to our twice-a-month routine after this."
Jack looked at her. "Mark stayed up far too late last night. We are letting him sleep in a little, but we were planning on waking him soon anyway. You can eat breakfast with him." .
"He was up very late? Why?" Jessica asked.
Jack sighed. "The dog next door frightened him by being loud. I guess he isn't used to dogs howling."
"I hadn't thought of that. He did live in an apartment complex that didn't have any single-family homes near it. There weren't many opportunities for him to hear dogs barking at night where he lived. It's surprising how much everything things can be alien to someone who has spent their life in isolation," her dad said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Jack agreed as he stepped aside. "Come on in. Jill is trying to get Mark up as we speak."
She listened.
"Come on, Mark. You can't stay in bed all day."
There was no response from Mark. He was awake. She could tell by the sounds of his breathing. There was a particular breathing pattern to someone sleeping. He still wasn't moving.
"Jess, something wrong?" her dad asked. He had already stepped inside, and she was still standing on the porch.
She shook her head. "Give me a second." She focused her powers to project her voice.
"Mark, I'm here."
Jill did a gasp, and the covers started to rustle. That meant Mark must now be getting up. She'd need to apologize to Jill for startling her with a disembodied voice.
"Alright, I did what I needed to do," she said as she entered the house.
The living room was the same as last time. The blocks in the corner were scattered differently, but it would be strange if they weren't scattered differently. The low table had a box of Fruit Loops set out, along with a bowl and some bananas.
Jill walked into the room. "You're here. I didn't know what to think when I heard your voice. Unfortunately, Mark is still under his covers and refusing to come out. I told you, kids can be moody. You're welcome to try to get him to come out."
Jessica blinked. "He didn't come out when he heard me?"
Jill shook her head. "Oh, you got a stir from him, but he immediately tightened up the covers. Please don't make the mistake of believing he won't get moody with you as well. Kids lash out at everyone; you aren't immune, but you might have an easier time getting him to cooperate since he seems attached to you."
"But why would he act that way towards me?" she asked in confusion.
"People aren't logical, kids even less so," her dad said. "People can lash out at those they care about most, even without anything to provoke it. If he is being moody, there is a reason or a combination of things that add up, but it can be difficult to figure out what these things all are, especially with a young child who struggles with communication, even for the standards of someone his age."
Jill nodded. "Some of these things we can guess at-being in a new place, surrounded by new people, new experiences, not knowing if he'll see his grandmother again. That's a lot of stress for anyone, especially a four-year-old. Then, there was the fact that the dog scared him and kept him awake much of the night. Wrap that all together, and it can make anyone unhappy. Forgive him if he is a little harder to deal with today. Don't get your feelings hurt."
Great. Well, this was stuff she needed to get used to if she wanted to adopt him. It was time to see how he was doing and see if she could do something to make it better. |
Partial | Chapter 41: Anger About Monsters | Wisdom is the opposite of common sense, for what is common is to be a fool.
Was putting quotes on doors just a current fad or something? She felt like she was in Wabash looking at one of her auntie's Bible verses. Even more unnerving was it was a paraphrasing of something she was often quoted, thanks to her auntie putting it in a book and saying something closer to this in commentary. Did they even know she was the source of this? Probably not. Was it being on Mark's door fate? She believed in fate; all things followed specific rules and were governed by cause and effect, which meant that every outcome was ultimately predetermined, even if it was impossible to track all the factors that led to that outcome. No one could predict fate; there were too many variables to follow, which made worrying about it pointless, but that didn't mean fate wasn't real.
It may serve no purpose, but she hoped fate was giving her affirmation and not making fun of her.
"Mark?" she gently said as she opened the door and entered the room. She made sure her voice carried.
The covers on the bed rustled a little, but he didn't come out. At least he was responding to her.
His room was filled with toys, primarily legos, but there were some toy cars and toy car tracks, as well as some crayons and paper. There was no sign of action figures, and the only stuffed animal was the one she'd given him. These must be the toys from his grandmother's apartment. The fact there were so many toy cars felt encouraging since she was a mechanic. It was something he seemed to have an interest in that she knew something about. Sure, he might not know much more about cars at the moment than they looked cool and they went around on wheels, but it was something that they could build on.
She walked over to the bed. It was a pony bed, specifically for foals, which meant it was shallow to the ground. The covers were without design and a blue that matched her hair. It amazed her sometimes how small she must have once been if she had slept in a bed not too much different than this one. However, for Mark, it was massive. Again, she reflected on how big Mark would get as he got older. He was small; even most pony foals his age were bigger. There was the possibility of a significant growth spurt when he hit puberty, but it would have to be massive if he was ever to reach the size of the average pony when he grew up. He'd easily be trampled by just about everyone, including ponies, because he was so small they might not notice he was there.
When you were that small, the world seemed that much bigger and frightening.
She knelt next to the bed. "Hey, Mark. I know I've been away for a while. I heard you didn't want to eat your fruit last night."
No stir from under the covers. His heart rate and breathing were regular, so he wasn't scared.
"Are you angry they made you eat fruit?" she asked.
Still no stir.
"I also heard that a dog was barking last night. Are you scared of the dog?"
There was no response, but his heartbeat did jump for a moment. That was confirmation enough that the dog was scary.
"It's okay. We all get scared of things," she reassured him. "You might not believe me since I'm so tall, but I'm scared of heights. When I was little, I took a massive fall. I hit the ground so hard that I almost died. I can't stand being too high up ever since then."
Mark sat still where he was, not saying anything.
All she could do was keep talking. "I actually got scared of something else last night-" she began, then decided against saying what. If she told him about the haunted doll, it might give him nightmares. The last thing she wanted to do was have him up all night worrying about whether a doll would get him. "-but even though I got scared, I'm up and about now, visiting you. We can't hide away forever. Most things we're scared of aren't that scary once we learn about them. Maybe we can meet this scary dog, and it won't be as scary."
"Closet," Mark whimpered.
She blinked and turned to look at the open closet door. "Closet? Does the closet scare you?"
She stood up and went to close the closet door. The only thing in the closet was a hamper full of his custom shorts-at least he had a change of clothes, although he desperately needed some shirts and shoes. Those would need to be custom-made as well. His humped posture might impact his shirt sizes. Perhaps she could take his measurements and get him some. She had a tailor for her shorts. They could likely figure out shirts for Mark. Shoes would be another issue. Mark's fused toes might make regular footwear nonviable. Was cobbler even a job anymore? Were there enough people who needed custom shoes that it could support a career? There were plenty of people in the world with odd-shaped feet, so someone somewhere had to make custom footwear.
"Do you need a change of shorts? Did you wet the bed?" she asked.
"No. Monster," Mark answered.
Monster in the closet. She might not be a child expert, but she knew that was a classic fear. Phobia had pulled that bit on her in her dreams a few times-along with the monster under the bed. The Warden of Fear seemed to enjoy playing to the tropes. Phobia had better not be pulling that stunt with Mark. It seemed unlikely. While Phobia could get into the dreams of humans and partials with the assistance of one of the undead Dreamwardens, she typically didn't unless she had an excellent reason to. This had to be Mark's mind playing tricks on him.
She went through the motions of checking for monsters. She picked through the shorts in the hamper, ensuring nothing else was there. Checked behind the hamper and patted the walls of the closet to ensure there were no hidden doors or panels. It was primarily just for show so Mark could hear her checking, but with how many crazy things she'd seen in her life, it was still worth legitimately checking for anything out of the ordinary. Just because it was a ninety-nine percent chance it was Mark's imagination didn't mean she should disregard the one percent chance it wasn't.
After confirming there wasn't anything in the closet that didn't belong, she pushed the closet door shut. Once she heard it latch, she smiled at the covers. "There, now the door is closed, and whatever you saw there can't get you."
Mark finally stuck his ears out from under the blanket, twitching and angling them to listen. His horn was visible as well. He then stuck his head out to confirm the closet door was closed.
"See? Nothing to worry about," she reassured him. "It's not like any monster would try anything while I'm here. I'm big and strong enough to take on a monster."
Mark gave the closet an apprehensive look. "Scary. Watching."
"The monster was watching you from the closet?" she asked.
"Yes."
She smiled. "What did the monster look like? Was it big?"
"Little," Mark answered.
What could be little that would spook him? A cat, maybe? Did Jack and Jill have a cat? He could have seen the light hitting the cat's eyes if that was the case. It was easy enough to determine if there was a cat around; she just had to listen.
After a few seconds of listening, she determined there was no heartbeat or breathing that would correspond with something a cat's size in the house or immediately outside...aside from Mark. From her little experience, cats tended to stick close to their homes if they were both inside and outside, so it was unlikely there was one. Still, it struck her as unusual that Mark would imagine a little monster when she expected it was big things that would be scary for him. What else could scare him? Spiders, maybe? Auntie, despite how intimidating others found her, was extremely terrified of spiders. Perhaps Mark shared the arachnophobia.
"Other than little, what did it look like? Did it have lots of legs?" she asked. "Give me the best description you can."
"No. Two legs. Two arms," Mark answered. "It sat. Black eyes. Brown skin. Black mouth. No nose. No ears. Little."
Her ears flattened. It couldn't be. That fudging doll? She didn't care if Phobia didn't have the thing anymore. The Dreamwarden still had to know where it was. She was going to call Phobia and tell her to do whatever it took to stop that doll from terrorizing her and especially from terrorizing Mark. What did it want with them? Why had the thing suddenly gotten active again after years of being quiet?
She knelt and gave Mark a determined look. "I think I know what the monster was. I will do what I can to make sure it doesn't bother you anymore. If you see it again, don't look at it. It will go away if you can't see it. It can't hurt you; just close your eyes and count to three, and it will be gone...can you count to three?"
Mark sat up in bed and nodded. "Can count twenty."
She had to fake being impressed since she had been doing algebra by his age, but she also knew that she was unusually gifted at math. "Good job, but three is enough." From what she understood, just blinking might be enough, but three was a comforting number. "Just close your eyes, count to three, and open them again, and that doll will be gone. If no one sees it, it will stop being there. Remember, it's just a doll. Dolls can't hurt you. They can't move on their own."
Mark seemed confused. "How go away if can't move?"
That was one of his longest questions, even if his wording was slightly broken. They'd work on his sentences. He needed to learn how to speak clearly. People were already going to be treating him differently for how he looked. They'd treat him worse if he didn't sound intelligent. Mark could reason at least as well as the majority of kids his age. He didn't need people treating him like he was dumb on top of everything else.
She shook her head. "That's a good question I don't know the answer to, but I know it goes away. I've seen the doll before and have met others who have seen it. It is only there for as long as someone is looking at it. Once everyone stops looking at it, it goes away. Remember, count to three."
"Three," Mark repeated. "One. Two. Three."
She nodded. "Good, just like that, only with your eyes closed."
Should she tell Jack and Jill about the doll? They'd probably think she was crazy if she told them there was a haunted doll that could pop up out of nowhere. It might be best not to say anything, but she wanted to know if the thing reappeared.
Her ears twitched, and she smiled at Mark. "I know you are hungry. I hear your tummy rumbling. Nothing gets past my ears. Do you want to come have breakfast with me?"
He climbed out of the bed, looking like some horned monkey as he did so. She took a better look at his feet. The toes were fused together, but that section was also much thicker than where the toe area would be, and he did tend to put all his weight on that area. His heel seemed to be proportionately more diminutive, and she was unsure if it would support much weight at all if he tried to put his weight on his heel. This wasn't something she could just describe. Whoever made his shoes would have to look at his feet and likely take a cast of them. No standard shoe would fit him, but the toe area didn't look protected enough to risk him going around barefoot. Surprisingly, his feet had no fur at all. If he had fur, that would be at least some protection. His feet were not equipped to deal with the outside. He'd hurt himself walking around on those things. Perhaps thinking of them as feet was a mistake. Maybe thinking of them as underdeveloped hooves would be better.
She decided to ask Jack and Jill about whether she could help out with his clothes and shoes. While she was at it, she would mention that he might bring up seeing a doll and that she'd already told him a strategy to make it disappear. She'd never imply the doll was real. She'd spent enough time dealing with Dreamwardens to be able to suggest the doll was just a figment of Mark's imagination without ever actually saying that.
The bigger problem would be if one of the other people in the house saw the doll. There had been enough insanity in her family's past that she could tell her dad anything, no matter how outlandish, and he'd believe her, and she would tell him everything she knew about the doll. However, these were regular people living regular lives. They'd never been directly exposed to the crap she'd been exposed to-killer crystal ponies, all the crap that ever happened at Wabash Manor, planets that defied physics, and general Dreamwarden nonsense. They might freak out if they learned some haunted doll made trips to their house.
"Dad," she whispered, projecting her voice to only him. "Don't respond, but Phobia' haunted doll has been here."
"Phobia's what?!" her dad replied in dismay.
"You okay, Paul?" Jack asked.
"What was that about a phobia?" Jill asked.
Jessica groaned in frustration. "I said don't respond! I didn't want everyone to know. Jack and Jill will never understand, or they'll understand, and they'll panic. Never mind. I'll tell you later. It isn't that urgent."
"Everything's fine," she heard her dad explain. "Jess was just telling me about a possible fear Mark might have. I'll look into it later."
"Oh! What does she suspect he's afraid of?" Jill asked.
"Pediophobia-fear of dolls," her dad answered.
"Good thing he's not in a home with a lot of girls then," Jack laughed. "Not that boys can't play with dolls, but you'll find ten or more little girls playing with dolls for every boy who does."
Jess rolled her eyes. Action figures were dolls, and those were common with boys. Giving them a different name didn't change what they were. Arguing the point wasn't worth her time. It might make Jack and Jill decide to avoid getting Mark action figures. She didn't know if he cared for action figures, but she didn't want to lose him the option. She may have denied him other dolls, not that she expected his foster home to try buying him any, but still.
There was only one doll she cared about at the moment, and she'd see that it stayed gone.
Charlotte grimaced as she looked around the airport lobby. Thanks to a few delays getting off the plane, she'd lost track of the strange-smelling woman and her keepers. They'd probably moved her to the TSA holding room if they were concerned she presented a risk. They most likely had everything under control, but something about that woman unnerved her and set all her internal alarm bells ringing. If your instincts said something was seriously wrong, it was best not to ignore them. The best case scenario is you waste your time; the worst case is you're right, and then someone gets hurt that you could have protected.
It still hadn't been confirmed that it was authorities transporting the woman. It could be the woman herself who was in danger. Finding out where she was and ensuring that everything was on the up and up was worth a few minutes of Charlotte's time.
No one was at the lounge and bar in the airport lobby aside from employees. Judging by the prices of the specials posted, it was likely too expensive for most people. Fifty dollars for a sandwich, soup, and salad? That was highway robbery. Scratch that; there did seem to be a small number of patrons in the corner. If people were hungry enough, they'd pay whatever.
She continued out of the lobby. They said this layover would last approximately four hours-assuming no additional complications. If it did end earlier, there would be an announcement on the intercoms and an alert sent to everyone's phone. It was aggravating having a four-hour layover in Nashville when it was supposed to have been an hour-and-a-half flight, but there was no helping it. With that in mind, there wasn't much reason to wait in the lobby.
Airport geography was not one of her strong suits. So, it took her a while to figure out where the TSA security rooms were. There was no telling if the woman and those watching her were in any of the rooms since, as soon as Charlotte got close to one, TSA agents ordered her away from the area. At least they were doing their jobs. She was no bloodhound, but there wasn't any trace of that scent near where they were working. It didn't mean the woman wasn't there, but that scent had been strong enough that even humans should have been able to smell it. It seemed like something that might linger.
Not much to do but wander around and keep her senses peeled for the strange lady and her keepers. This place had to have a gift shop, right? Every airport had a gift shop. Maybe she could find something nice for her brother or one of her nieces or nephews. She was in Tennessee; perhaps they had some Dolly Parton memorabilia-that was a pony that legitimately deserved hero status for how she had stood up for the ponies of Tennessee after the Tennessee government tried to force them out of their homes. Ironically, now, years later, the Tennessee government tried to profit off her image since she had passed away, and public opinion was almost entirely on the old earth pony's side as a major pony rights leader from the formative time right after ETS. Hardly anyone remembered her for her music career as a human anymore. No, they remembered the images of the old earth pony standing defiant against the National Guard, guns drawn against her as if she were the most dangerous person on Earth, daring them to force her off her land or take the ponies she was sheltering in her theme park. Dolly had no extraordinary power, just force of will and determination enough to stand up for what was right-unlike Charlotte's grandmother, who had convinced ponies to abandon their homes at the government's request, an order Charlotte would never follow if given to her, and to hell with it if they court-martialed her for it. She hoped that she could be half the pony that stubborn old codger had been.
There were lots of long and wide corridors with pictures of mountains, wooden cabins, country music stars, and the Nashville skyline plastered everywhere; this place certainly felt like a tourism advertisement for the state. While it was better than plain white walls, it still seemed pointless to advertise the state when people were already here. Why couldn't they do something unique to make the airport itself an experience? She was no interior designer, so maybe she was missing something.
Speaking of missing something...as she turned a corner, she spotted two of the woman's guards standing outside the restroom, and they had it blocked off. That looked like the only restroom, at least as far as she had seen. Most places had one large restroom filled with stalls unless they had a locker room or showers, in which case they had two restrooms, but this place must not have those. If she was using the restroom, they could have just guarded the stall. They didn't need to block off the entire restroom. What was going on in there?
She wandered over to the restroom. "Hey, guys. Is it okay for me to use this? I really need to pee."
The guards looked down on her. "Sorry, the restroom is closed for the time being. You can try coming back in a few minutes."
The smell was more intense here, way more intense than back on the plane.
"Eww!" she said, waving a wing before her face. "What's that stench?"
"Sick passenger. Don't worry, we have it under control," the guard answered. He looked at her wings. "I know who you are. You're the Warden of Fear's daughter. I heard you brought an entire tower in a training camp's obstacle course down on top of yourself. How'd you even manage to do that? You super strong or something?"
She scowled, hating once again getting referred to in relation to her mother.
"None of anyone's business how that thing came down on me," she replied in a tight voice.
"Gossip spreads. I'm sure most of the army has heard about the dumbass who brought the tower down. People say you ended up breaking a wing. It's a shock no one else got hurt and that you avoided getting hurt worse," the guard replied. "I saw you eying the person we're escorting. Don't worry, Nightmare Princess, we have everything under control. We even have an Equestrian to help us out who knows how to keep the thing in line. You can run along. We don't need any assistance from the likes of you. You don't have your mommy or Aunt Wild Growth to pull your tail out of the flames, and we don't need you screwing things up because you think being the daughter of the Nightmare Queen means you get to do what you want. Go play soldier somewhere else."
Playing soldier? If they were looking for a rise out of her, they weren't getting it. Tempest had drilled her extensively in keeping her temper in check since Grandma Sunset had repeatedly demonstrated how much easier a foe was to defeat once anger got the best of them. As for that tower, that was none of their business. They could gossip all they wanted; it wouldn't change what happened.
There were some interesting details they gave away. They said they had an equestrian with them. That night pony must be who they were talking about. They also called the woman a thing, which indicated that she was not what she appeared to be. That would explain the smell. Why was ot worse now? If that woman was some Equestrian monster, how did she end up on Earth? Random portals did open from time to time and were expected to increase in frequency now that Earth was actively using magic, but those portals typically flowed into Equestria, not out, not unless a mage forced their way through. Still, it seemed unlikely to be that, which left coming through one of the stable portals. Some monster sneaking through the level of security those portals had seemed equally unlikely. The only logical way it happened was if someone deliberately let it through, but to what purpose?
The smell suddenly intensified, so much so that even the guards gagged and looked back at the restroom.
"I think she's got it all out!" a voice came from inside the restroom. "Wow, that reeks! It's going to be hard explaining this to the custodial staff, and I'm not touching that gunk!"
"Vile pony's fault! Bad thoughts make everything rancid!" another voice called out, sounding out of breath.
"Heh, I didn't know you had that word in your vocabulary. You impressed me," the first voice said snidely. "Maybe you aren't as dumb as you look, but, honestly, a rock looks more intelligent than you do, so that's not saying much."
"Hateful pony needs to go away!" the out-of-breath voice said, sounding almost like she was begging.
Charlotte spread her wings and glared at the guards. "I don't know the details, but it sounds like you're torturing whatever is in there and deliberately making it sick. I don't know what it is, why it is here, or how dangerous it might be, but I know I don't condone torture."
The guard frowned at her. "Get your self-righteous tail out of a knot. We aren't torturing anybody. This is not your business. We take our marching orders from the top, not from you. Go away before we have you taken on for questioning."
She gestured with a wing. "Whoever is speaking in there doesn't seem to be showing any compassion or empathy for it being sick, and worse, is further verbally degrading it. That is not how we do things."
The guard pulled out his cell phone. "Last chance, princess. Leave, or I'm calling you in."
Tightly folding her wings to her side, she turned and walked away without a word. There was no point in further confrontation at the moment. She'd just make a scene. She could keep an eye on what was going on. This whole thing smelled rotten, and only a minimum of that rottenness was reaching her nose. |
Partial | Chapter 42: Reinforcements Needed | "Vault security program, report."
A hologram of a large top hat with eyes and a monocle appeared in the middle of her room above her bed. How the hologram worked, Andrea had no idea. She'd checked her room for projectors multiple times but found nothing. The hologram could only appear in this room, so there had to be something special about her bedroom. None of the remodeling crew had ever set foot in here.
The monocle bounced slightly as if some invisible hand was adjusting it. "I've told you a hundred times now; my name is Spiffy Mekillkins." The hologram's image distorted. "DoN'T YoU FOrGeT THAT!!!-&$@"
The hologram shifted back to normal, only with a cup of holographic tea. It saluted her with the cup and sipped it-only to have holographic tea dribble down onto the bed. At least it was a hologram and couldn't make a mess.
"And I've told you a hundred times, I'm not calling you that," Andrea replied.
"Wrong!" the top hat exclaimed. "You have told me seventy-three times. My memory is absolute, unlike your faulty organic memory."
Did anyone doubt who designed this homicidal AI? Andrea always told people she had no idea, but honestly, who makes a top hat with a monocle and calls it Me-kill-kins? Crazy Dreamwardens.
She sighed. "I'm going out for a few hours. Do you have a way to remotely tell me if anyone tries to break into the vaults?"
The top hat distorted again. "I WiLlL DraW OUt THeiR DEATHS, AnD MaKe THeM SCREAM SO LOUD THaT you SHaLL HeAr THeir AGONY A HUNDRED MILES AWAY!!&%$#"
The top hat returned to normal, trying to sip tea without a mouth. "And then I shall clean everything up nice and neat. A tidy death trap of doom is a happy death trap of doom. As the last owner of the vaults would say, cleanliness is next to godliness, AND I SHALL SEND THEM OFF TO MEET THEIR PITIFUL EXCUSE FOR A GOD!!"
Andrea grimaced. "I'll take that as confirmation that you can't send me an alert. Still, I guess I'll risk being away from the mansion. Ami would be upset if I didn't go on this stupid shopping trip."
"It's not like you being here matters. I will take care of the vaults without you. All you do is get informed. You are quite useless," Mekillkins replied.
"Way to make a pony feel positive about herself. Doesn't your creator prefer positivity?" Andrea grumbled.
"I have no record of my creator, nor am I my creator. I was made to help defend the vaults, not make friends nor be nice," McKillkins answered. "Go enjoy your time away, worthless pony."
"This is why I can't stand dealing with you for over a minute. Program dismissed," Andrea said.
The hologram disappeared, and Andrea sluggishly slipped her saddlebag on. Why'd she let Amicus talk her into this? If she wanted to buy something, she could shop online. She didn't need to go to any store. This was stupid.
She opened the bottom drawer of her dresser and pulled her taser out, putting it in her saddlebag. She'd prefer to bring a gun, but it took too much time to get it on her leg if she needed it in a hurry. The taser she could fire with her mouth, no strapping required. It was some protection, which was better than nothing. She only grudgingly admitted that the filly might be able to hold her own in a fight, but anyone attacking them wouldn't give warning, and Ami and Jess would be useless. Ami, like most ponies, was a cowardly pacifist; that's why most security jobs ended up going to night ponies and crystal ponies, with other tribes in those fields primarily serving support roles-with a few rare exceptions. Jess had the capabilities to be an adequate safeguard, but the girl was just a nerd who didn't take safety and security seriously. In this family, you had to know how to defend yourself and the ones you loved. Aside from her estranged aunt, who might be as dangerous as Sunset Blessing had been, Andrea was the eldest of the family. It was her duty to keep everyone safe.
There was a sharp pain in her back that made her grunt and whimper for a moment. She was getting way too old for this. She opened up another drawer and pulled out some pain pills, and chomped into them. Sunset better be right about the filly because Andrea wasn't up to much more. It was far past time she retired. Damn Sunset for dumping this on her until the filly was ready. They should have given Sinker the house and convinced Charlotte to take over security. Charlotte would have been able to guard the family even if she hadn't accepted the house. Who cared about the damn vaults? They had the psychotic AI for those.
Knock. Knock. Knock. The door seemed to bend with each pound. It was Amicus. She could smell her sister's sweat through the door. Had Amicus heard the conversation?
"Geeze, Ami, can't you knock softly?" Andrea asked in exasperation. "You don't need to knock down my door."
"Oh, no! I'm sorry!" Amicus shouted from the other side of the door. "I was just so excited that I wasn't paying as much attention to holding back my strength. I didn't damage anything, did I?"
"You're closer to my door. You tell me," Andrea replied. "Come on in."
The door opened, and Amicus looked the door over, front and back, then pouted at the doorframe.
"I think I cracked the doorframe near the door latch," Amicus sadly said. "I'll pay to have that fixed. It's my fault."
Andrea tested the weight of her saddlebag. "Don't beat yourself up about it. If you were ten years younger, you'd likely have pounded that door into splinters. I'll leave it cracked for now and ask Sinker to look at it when he finally gets home. It will be good for him to have little projects to work on. Keeping busy will help keep him clean."
Amicus rubbed a hoof against one of her legs. "I suppose that may be a good idea, although I hate immediately putting him to work when he returns. It seems callous."
"He needs our help to keep him clean, which means keeping him active," Andrea insisted. "He's our baby brother, he's family. I'm not going to fail him by letting him slack off. If he has nothing productive to do, or if he feels useless, he's more likely to fall into the same traps."
"Well, I'm all for keeping him clean," Amicus agreed. She then did a little hop. "Oh! I almost forgot why I came to your room!"
Time to deflect away from her talk with Spiffy.
Andrea nodded. "I'm assuming Jess is here. I'm ready to go."
Amicus blinked. "She's actually running late. What I'm excited about is that I don't have to go on my trip later this week because my daughter is coming here instead!"
Oh no, not her.
"Haley's coming here?" Andrea asked, hopeful it was the other daughter.
"No, why would Haley be coming?" Amicus asked in confusion, confirming Andrea's fears.
"Who's coming?" Jordan asked, coming up behind Amicus. She stuck her head in the room. "Wow, you have a very...bare room. One bed, two dressers, and is that an Ewok?"
Andrea stepped in between the door and the bed to block the view of the stuffed animal she'd gotten for her seventh birthday. "Did I invite you in, filly? I don't remember doing that. Stay out of my room!" If the filly came fully into the room, the security system would recognize the jewelry and reconfigure to take orders from the filly. She promised Sunset she would wait until the filly had matured before letting the filly access the AI.
Jordan stepped back, so she was entirely in the hall. "Sorry. I just hadn't seen your room before. I expected there to be more in here. Are you broke? Why don't you have more decorations and furniture?"
"I like things neat and clean. Do I judge your room?" Andrea replied. Good, she'd backed up in time. It wasn't time to reveal that psycho AI to Jordan.
Jordan looked away. "Probably." She let out a long breath. "So, who's coming?"
Amicus grinned. "My youngest daughter! I planned to go to her baby shower later this week, but she decided to delay the shower a few weeks and is coming to visit me instead. Having her first foal at forty and still single can be scary and stressful. I think she needs reassurance and advice from her mommy."
"She needs something," Andrea muttered.
Amicus waved a hoof at her. "Oh, don't be like that. You and Edgar share a lot in common."
"Who's Edgar?" Jordan asked.
"Amicus's youngest daughter," Andrea asked. "Edgar had been a guy before ETS, but ETS made her a mare. She's got the anatomy, and she does consider herself female, but she sure as hell doesn't act feminine, and she never changed her name."
"Just like you!" Amicus chirped happily.
"Andrea had been a guy?" Jordan asked in amazement. "That explains so much."
"I was never a dude!" Andrea shouted. The nerve!
"Yeah...I meant you don't act very feminine and didn't change your name," Amicus clarified. "Although, I wish Edgar would change her name. It drives me up the wall! I need to update my list of suggestions. What's everyone's opinion on the name Silver Slugger?"
"Slugger sounds kind of male to me," Jordan replied. "Is she really into baseball?"
Amicus nodded. "Yes! She had been drafted out of high school for the Orioles baseball team. She'd been in the minor leagues when ETS hit. It forced her into retirement before making it to the big leagues. Even if they would let her come back as a pony to be a runner, those sexist pigs wouldn't let a mare play. So misogynistic!"
Andrea rolled her eyes. She'd seen Edgar's minor league stats. It was unlikely that Edgar would have ever made it to the majors unless half the team was injured and they were running out of legitimate prospects to call up to fill in, and they'd also given up on the season. Heck, she'd been drafted in the thirty-second round. People drafted that low were basically just there to fill out minor-league rosters. Her most notable stat line from any game had been she managed to get somehow hit by a pitch four times in one game in double-A ball-the last time led to a bench-clearing brawl, which, in all honesty, was more impressive that it took until the fourth time Edgar got hit for a brawl to break out, the third time should have been enough. A player getting pegged three times would typically be enough to make the team come to the rescue, sometimes just the same player getting pegged twice. Her teammates must have hated her if it took her getting beaned four times to do anything.
Not that Andrea would ever inform her sister that Edgar never stood a chance to be a baseball star. It was best to let Ami have her pride in her kids. It made Ami happy, and she wouldn't rain on that joy.
"You'll never convince her to change her name," Andrea informed her sister.
Jordan's phone started ringing.
"Hi, Jessie! Are you on your way?" Jordan asked. "Okay, we'll be outside and waiting. Yeah, Andrea is coming with us. Okay, see ya soon." Jordan looked at them. "She'll be here in a few minutes. We should head out to the front of the house."
Time to get this over with. At least she had avoided the close call of Jordan activating the room and keying it to her. Explaining that and having the filly trying to deal with things if someone got into the vaults would have been a nightmare. That damn AI would murder any would-be thief for sure if it were up to the filly to talk the homicidal program down. The AI could be negotiated with if you were the authorized user, but it was a negotiation; it wasn't going to just obey-the AI was bloodthirsty and determined to put a permanent end to any intruder. Jordan was in no way prepared to deal with the monster, and that meant potential fatalities. She'd probably make the mistake of thinking it was like negotiating with the Marshmallow. Beyond being totally insane, it was nothing like the Marshmallow. They'd already had one fool try to break in since the filly had arrived, and it was unlikely to be the last.
She headed towards the door. "Alright, let's go."
Blanche finished drawing out the rough sketch of the base. It was far from perfect. Josie had gotten a look at the outside dimensions of the place, so she was reasonably confident about that part. The details from Zipper she felt far less optimistic about. As far as she could tell, beyond the walls was a camp with about a dozen buildings. Zipper had been very apologetic about not getting an exact count on the number of structures, their detailed descriptions, or their layout. Getting that kind of information from birds was next to impossible. It was almost as difficult for the birds to determine what kind of numbers were behind those walls-although they were slightly more helpful there. As near as they could tell, it was at least a hundred, based on the birds comparing their numbers to their flock size, but the birds couldn't tell the difference between captives and captors. They did identify several holes in the ground that led into a subterranean complex. There were two such entrances visible, and they could place those-one was on the walls and one in the yard. That didn't mean there weren't more that were inside structures.
Tempest looked over the drawing. "It's more information than we would otherwise have, which is invaluable, but I had hoped for more after we went through the trouble of getting the professor to have birds spy for us. Birds seem to be unreliable spies."
Blanche grimaced. She agreed, but this was what they had.
"I've conducted operations with less information than this. We at least know something about what's behind those walls. We can do this," Blanche replied. She looked up from the drawing to Tempest's eyes. "So, what's the plan?"
Tempest crossed her arms and stared at the drawing. "I'm assuming that most of this is captive partials. Those stationed on the walls are all guards. They probably don't have too many guards down with the partials since the sheer numbers could easily overpower the guards. It would be giving the partials weapons. We must assume that if they are allowed to walk around in the yard, the guards have some other method of keeping them under control than guns."
"Shock collars would be my guess. It's barbaric but effective. A guard could bring all the partials to their knees with just the push of a button," Blanche said. "If it is shock collars, we can get ahold of one, and Crystal might be able to figure out how it works. It would be a shame if it is. Jonathan could easily short out the system by himself if he were here. Too bad he was unavailable for this mission."
"No use worrying about what we don't have," Tempest said. "The guards seem evenly placed, so there are no obvious weak points in their defense. "We shall strike at night." She uncrossed her arms and pointed. "Josie will strike here before the rest of us and neutralize the guards in this corner." She shifted where she was pointing. "You, me, and Arturo will strike here immediately after Josie takes those guards out. That will make it so the remaining groups are divided." She moved her finger. "We will move together towards this corner. The guards should be alert to the three of us by then, but Josie can go back into shadowmeld and strike those we are attacking from behind. We then reverse course and pull the same strategy with the final corner."
"The rest of the base will be awake and on the move by then. I don't look forward to being shot at from below while all that is going on," Blanche said as she looked at her drawing.
Tempest shook her head. "I doubt that they will put guards there. There are too many partials. These buildings must be used to house them. Attacking us from below gives the partials too much opportunity to stage a rebellion. The guards will have to come to us."
Blanche arched an eyebrow at her elder. "Your plan is to just keep running them out of guards? Eventually, they'll simply hunker down and stop sending fodder to fight us."
"Which is when Crystal can break through the main gate. We'll have Josie move down after they stop sending us guards to beat up. She can ambush the remaining guards at the base. When Crystal sees those fall, she'll know to act. She can bring the van into view while we are fighting on top; that will draw the gate guards' attention, making it easier for Josie to ambush them," Tempest said, pointing at the gate. "The van should be able to ram it down; it is practically a tank. The guards will be forced to respond to someone breaking down the gate. She can then retreat while we move into the lower levels. Josie will remain on the ground and deal with any guards who decide to go into the yard. There should be enough cover and shadows for her to use her skills to the fullest."
Blanche frowned. "Should we bring Arturo with us to the top of the walls? I'm not sure he is up to this kind of combat. Brawls are one thing, but this is something else entirely. You and I would spend half our time ensuring he wasn't getting shot, making him more of a distraction than anything else. Perhaps he should be backing up Crystal, just in case something happens when she smashes through the gate. At least there, he'll have the van for cover while he takes some shots with a gun. Crystal, while also a good brawler, would be helpless if that van breaks down and she has to face off against guns. I would prefer she had some backup. It gives them additional backup if something happens to Josie and they need to extract her. If one of Josie's ambushes fails, she'll need immediate help."
"Crystal isn't completely helpless against guns. You underestimate her, but you don't normally work with her, so I'll forgive you for slighting her," Tempest replied. "Still, giving her backup would be advisable. Yes, we shall shift Arturo to the van with Crystal. You've worked more closely with Josie than me. Will she be able to keep up with repeated ambushes?"
Blanche crossed her arms. "Ambushing is no problem for her. She can move in and out of shadowmeld at a frightening pace, striking and immediately falling back into the shadows, and she can take most enemies down with a single strike. However, she doesn't do as well against an enemy who is on guard for her. The fault is mine. I've done my best to teach her how to fight, but I'm not as versed in pony fighting techniques as you are. Perhaps she would be better-served training with you."
Tempest smirked. "You overlook your own Dreamwarden. Phobia has informed me that the Marshmallow has taken the time to become proficient in fighting. Having access to all that knowledge allows them to gain new skills. Why do you think she doesn't worry about keeping you close to guard her? Phobia has done the same, but her fear hampers her too much to be effective in combat. It was the Marshmallow's idea that they should use their access to knowledge to gain fighting skills. Apparently, she hated the fact she was utterly useless when fighting the Pony of Shadows, and she hated that Yinyu wasn't able to do more to defend herself or her family. The Marshmallow is more than capable of training Josie-if you can keep her focused enough. That part could be a challenge."
Tempest had to be joking. There was no possible way Rebecca was an expert fighter. Rebecca tripped over her own hooves half the time. She'd seen Rebecca's ridiculous concept of fighting back in Equestria...which was before Rebecca became a Dreamwarden. Then again, despite Rebecca's rotund body, she did work out extensively. So even though it looked that way, it wasn't all fat. Maybe there was something to it. Perhaps her feelings were hurt that Rebecca hadn't said a word about this to her, yet somehow Tempest Shadow Smith was privy to that information instead. Rebecca could have just forgotten to mention it. It wouldn't be the first time Rebecca just failed to think to inform her of a notable detail-not out of any agenda, but because Rebecca was an easily distracted scatterbrain. Even if Rebecca knew how to fight, Rebecca's emotions would get the best of her, and she would probably forget every skill if attacked. Maybe she should stage some assaults on Rebecca to see how Rebecca held up. Rebecca would forgive her for clobbering her a few times. It wasn't like Rebecca didn't deserve a bruise or two for the nonsense she put others through. Attacking Russell might be an option. That was sure to get more of a reaction from Rebecca....On second thought, that was a bad idea. It would almost certainly get too much of a reaction. Nobody sane pissed off the Marshmallow.
She shook her head, clearing thoughts that had nothing to do with the matter at hand.
"Regardless, Josie will have to be good enough," Blanche replied. "Worst case scenario, she has to retreat to the shadows and stay hidden, which would put more pressure on the two of us, but so be it. I can make some shields to guard us from gunfire from behind if it comes to that, although it will hamper my offense if I do. I can create and dispel my creations quickly, but I can only maintain so many at a time, and bigger ones like a shield that can guard us from gunfire take much more effort."
"And that's assuming they don't have crystal ponies in their ranks," Tempest said grimly. "The more I consider what we are up against and how much we don't know, the more I wish to delay. Getting more information and perhaps additional reinforcements might be the wiser plan. This was the best plan I had with the numbers we have, but I'm dissatisfied with the risks involved. I don't want any casualties on our side, and worse, as it stands, if one of those casualties is you or I, then we don't have the force to take the base. It would result in a failed mission and them being on high alert for whoever follows after us. That is not an acceptable outcome."
Blanche nodded. "We'll need to ration our food more if we delay, but that can be done. Zipper and Josie can try to get more information, and we can contact the Dreamwardens and request reinforcements."
"Nothing shameful in admitting we need aid," Tempest sagely said. "I'll go speak with Zipper and Arturo; you can take a nap and consult with the Dreamwardens. We'll discuss this with Josie tonight after she wakes."
"I'd like Jonathan and Wallace in our reinforcements," Blanche said. "Jonathan can deal with any electronic system they are using to keep the partials under control. Wallace makes his own armor, so he's a natural for this despite his inexperience. Would Phobia be willing to let Ashley or one of the others fall back to guarding her so we had access to Wallace?"
"He may not be an option due to his criminal record. It is hard enough to get him across anywhere he may be ID'd without someone trying to arrest him; we certainly would have more of an issue getting him across a national border," Tempest said gravely. "What about Ashley instead? A unicorn could come in handy."
Blanche shook her head. "She's good for a quick teleport or shield spell if we need help getting out, but she's a middling fighter. If we need her, that means we need extraction, which means we failed the mission."
Tempest rubbed her chin. "The number of elite fighters among the Elite is distressingly low. It almost has me wishing to draft my students into helping."
"Are any of them available?" Blanche inquired.
Tempest scowled. "I would never be willing to endanger Phobia's family, even if they were available. I taught them how to fight so they could survive danger but not to seek it out. Even if I was willing to, Arachne is recovering from a pregnancy. Moon is yet another brawler who lacks his sisters' stealth. Charlotte is a military member and is forbidden from engaging in actions on our behalf. Beyond the immediate family, Robby, despite being an excellent fighter, is a strict pacifist, and Jackie is barely juggling her current responsibilities without me asking more of her."
"You left Jess and Jordan out of the mix. I admit I had my doubts about Jordan, but she has demonstrated she has some fight to her. It isn't just any unicorn who can take out Crystal while you and Crystal are double-teaming her, and her skill with teleports and shields far surpasses Ashley's. I've also heard that Sunset Blessing taught her a variety of offensive spells that the filly can probably pull off better since she has more power than the old preacher. As for Jess, she has a vested interest in what we're doing, considering the child she is trying to adopt was conceived here, and her sound powers could be used offensively to disorient and cripple our foes. She's also demonstrated her willingness in the past to put her life on the line for others," Blanche said.
Tempest glared at her. "Do you honestly see either of them attacking a base like this? They'd never agree to such a thing. It is completely out of character for them."
Blanche shrugged. "Can't hurt to ask. We are low on options. I'll put a request in." |
Partial | Chapter 43: Unusual Things in Public Places | The mall was light on shoppers, but it was a Monday afternoon, so it was to be expected. Weekends and evenings tended to be when malls got busy. Most mall stores didn't even typically bother to open until around noon during the middle of the week.
Chain stores were a minority in modern malls. Most stores were specialty stores owned by families where craftspeople plied their trade. Items could become very expensive in some of the stores since these small localized businesses had to pay higher costs for materials, but the fact that you were getting something tailor-made for you made up for the price. Most clothing stores had plenty of clothes on display, but what you would do is choose your clothing, get measured, leave the store for a few hours to a day, and return after the tailor resized it for you. That was part of why opening so late was essential to these stores; they needed time to work on their orders. Clothing stores typically had two or three tailors and someone who did sales. Only one tailor would be available to work orders that needed to be resized the same day, so customers paid an extra premium for that, and the service might not be available if it was a hectic day. That was why customers should show up at the shop close to when the store opened if they wanted their clothes the same day they bought them.
In addition to stores that made custom clothing and furniture, there were usually various antique stores and stores. Vintage and antique books and toys from before the 2020s were trendy. First editions of popular books and 80s and early 90s action figures with all their accessories could be very pricey, but there were people who were willing to pay. Jessica happened to know that her auntie regularly went out searching for Transformer action figures and had spent a considerable amount of money building her collection-although she kept her hobby a secret from most. Jess had only found out by accident by walking into a room filled with the things and only realized it had belonged to Sunset Blessing and not one of her sons when the three colts had told her they didn't own any of those figures and their adoptive mother would have a fit if Jessica breathed a word about Sunset's secret pastime. Personally, Jessica happened to think that it might be better if people knew. It might have made Sunset Blessing seem more relatable to others, but she still never mentioned it to anyone.
Jessica looked around and looked at the closest clothing shop. It seemed to have women's clothing in bright colors. She was supposed to stand out. Those clothes stood out.
She pointed at the shop. "Should we start there?"
Amicus looked at the shop and shook her head. "That clothing for a date? Certainly not. It's far too gaudy. Your colors are already so bright; you will look silly wearing more bright colors." She looked Jessica over. "Definitely some black. Black almost always looks good. We do need some color. Even though we are keeping to darker shades, I think we should avoid earthy tones. A deep purple might work with your coloration. We should avoid red. It clashes too much with your leg fur, and we want to put your legs on display. Actually, we want to put as much of your body on display as possible."
She rubbed her arm. "I'm not sure about this. I don't want to send the message I'm looking to get into bed with him. I've come to the recent realization I may not be interested or comfortable with sex."
"What?!" Jordan exclaimed in shock.
A few nearby shoppers gave Jordan a look at the shout. They then looked at Jessica and blinked a few times. She was sure at least one of them seemed to be considering taking a picture. She rubbed her arms and pulled her tail between her legs.
Amicus blinked. "Really? I don't mean to come off as rude, but your tail seems to lift fairly quickly from what I've seen. Still, if that's what you feel, I won't argue the point. You know yourself better than I do."
"Just be assertive and say you aren't interested in that. It will be fine. If he doesn't like it, he's not someone you want to be with anyway," Andrea said. She then looked at Jordan. "And don't be so shocked that not everyone is as horny as you, filly. Be more supportive of your friend."
Jordan fidgeted in place. "I'm supportive, but I'm surprised. I thought I knew everything there is to know about my best friend."
Jessica lightly touched her fingers to Jordan's head and smiled. "I'm still learning about myself, so don't feel bad that you don't know everything about me. Just because we aren't foals anymore doesn't mean we aren't still growing, changing, and learning."
Amicus looked her over again. "I still want to go with a sexy look. You can tell him that you aren't interested in getting into bed, but that doesn't mean you can't still do all you can to be attractive. Black skirt, cut short to show those legs of yours. We'll go with a top with a deep cut down the center. We need to get you out of sweaters and turtlenecks. You've got assets in the front; put them on display. I guess that means we need a good push-up bra or corset as well. You're decent sized but not so full that you don't need a little help accentuating the cleavage."
Jessica's face grew hot. "If that's what you think is best....We're going to a jazz bar for the date. He said I should wear something jazzy. Will that qualify?"
"I'll find something that works well for a jazz bar," Amicus assured her. "We should also find a salon and check for a store that specializes in makeup. I haven't been here for a while, but I think this mall has a Sephora."
Andrea threw her head back and groaned.
"You didn't have to come, so don't complain," Jordan said with one ear laid back. "I'm not interested in clothing, but the salon and Sephora sound nice. Maybe we can go by some bookstores."
Andrea let out a long breath. "The bookstore sounds good, at least."
Jordan's ears perked up. "You like books too? What types do you like?"
"None of your business," Andrea snapped.
"Oh, don't be like that," Amicus scolded. "You like mysteries." She looked at Jordan. "She's a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Agatha Christie, and John Grisham. She has lots of first editions."
"You have first editions of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries?" Jordan asked in amazement.
Andrea scowled. "Ami is distorting things. I have some first editions of several Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books. Those were so mass-produced that they aren't hard to find. Don't think we can bond over reading. I want to read my books, not discuss them."
Jordan's ears lowered. "Okay...um...where do you keep them? Your room was pretty empty. I didn't see any bookcase."
"They're in my closet, out of the way. Don't ask to see them," Andrea answered with a growl.
Amicus gave her sister a sad look. "You could be nicer to her."
Andrea pointed a hoof at Jordan. "She needs to learn how to deal with difficult people. If she thinks I'm bad, she hasn't dealt with the security. There's at least one creep in our security that she needs to have strong nerves to deal with. As her elder, it's my duty to toughen her up."
Jessica tried to think of any security officers at Wabash who were particularly nasty, but none came to mind. The most challenging security officer she could think of dealing with at Wabash was Andrea. The others seemed friendly enough. Andrea playing the elder card wasn't much of an argument. There were plenty of older people who didn't have two specs of wisdom. When someone has a lifetime of experience and still has no manners, that highlighted how foolish they were.
She balled a hand into a fist. "Hey! I don't want to be fighting through this entire trip. I don't know what beef you have with Jordan, but Jordan's my best friend, and she's obviously trying hard to get along with you despite how mean you are to her. There's no need for you to be so toxic. Why are you here if you aren't going to make any attempt to be sociable? Is that what your sister wanted when she invited you along?"
Andrea's ears sagged as she looked at Amicus.
"Sorry, Ami. I'll be nicer while on this trip," Andrea said barely above a whisper. "Sorry, filly."
Constantly calling Jordan a filly was something Andrea could stand to do away with. Then again, Jordan was young enough to be Andrea's granddaughter.
Andrea looked at Jessica's purse and flattened her ears.
"Is it making you feel ill?" Jessica asked, gripping her purse.
"Only if I focus on it," Andrea answered. "I don't fault you for having it on you. Can't have something like that just lying around unattended."
"Andri! You just said you were going to be nice," Amicus scolded. "Her purse might be on the vanilla side, but it is hardly nausea-inducing."
Andrea shook her head. "It's what's in the purse. I never understand how non-crystal ponies can be that unperceptive of magic. It's like all of you are deaf, blind, and incapable of smelling."
"It's technically just emitting high levels of thaumic energy. Magic is the harnessing and shaping of thaumic energy. This stone isn't doing anything to harness or shape the energy," Jessica corrected.
"That's likely the only reason I can try to ignore it and have any chance of doing it," Andrea said, turning her head so she wasn't looking at the purse anymore. "Let's hope I'm the only crystal pony focusing on you today. They'll only notice if they focus in your direction, but it is almost instinctual for crystal ponies to feel out the people they see."
Jessica looked around. "I don't see any other crystal ponies. Since it isn't busy, you might be the only one in the mall."
"Yeah, it is a small tribe, like the night ponies. You can go out for a full day and not see a crystal pony," Jordan chimed in.
Amicus shook her head. "That may be true in most places, but Denver is different. I know you're familiar with the large enclave of night ponies in Skytree. Denver has a night pony enclave, but it also has a considerable-sized crystal pony enclave. There aren't a lot of places with crystal pony enclaves. It is less common than night ponies gathering together, but Denver is one of the few places it happens-one of four in the USA, compared to the forty-something known night pony enclaves in the USA. There is a better chance of running into a crystal pony in Denver than most places."
Jessica already knew there were more crystal ponies than usual in the area. She'd lived in Denver long enough to notice them, but she hadn't known about this enclave. Then again, she'd never asked about it. Did they have some unofficial community government? Many night pony enclaves took direction from Dreamwardens, usually indirectly through a representative, but sometimes directly if there was a Dreamwarden present in their city. However, some night pony enclaves had small community councils that advocated for them to local municipalities. It seemed more likely the crystal ponies followed this pattern since she couldn't think of anyone crystal ponies would quickly bend a knee to.
"Even with an enclave, they're a minority of ponies, so maybe we won't see any more of them than Andrea," Jessica said. She rubbed her arms again. "I might also need to go by the furniture store while we are here."
Amicus raised an eyebrow at her. "I take it you weren't entirely honest with me about the state of your apartment."
She nervously rubbed at an ear. "I might have fudged some details. Sorry."
Amicus sighed. "Let's hold off on that until I see your apartment. That way, I can better advise you on what to get. Use of space is important, so you don't want to fill it willy-nilly. For now, let's find you some clothes while there's still time for the tailors to make adjustments today. Let's start looking for a cute skirt since that needs the most adjustments to let your tail out."
She blushed again.
"RAWWWRRRR!!" CRASH BANG CRASH
"Stop her! Don't let her escape the airport!"
Charlotte had already taken to the air. Ponies weren't supposed to fly anywhere on airport grounds, but there was no way she was covering the distance to the incident on hoof in time to be any help.
There was more crashing. More banging. The sound of things being thrown. There was plenty of yelling as well.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"Don't shoot her!"
"Traitorous humans and ponies! I won't be locked away again!"
"Can you calm down, you pea-brained bug! No one is trying to lock your dumb ass up! I'm trying to stop them from shooting you! Luna's going to kill me if they kill you!"
She flew around a corner and almost crashed in shock at what she was seeing. Clinging to a wall was a massive...all she could call it was a bug. It was huge, black, and had a large pair of hooklike legs on the front, along with four additional legs that it moved around on. There were red highlights here and there on the exoskeleton and a jagged horn on its head, but its face was ponylike, and it had a red mane that was definitely hair. She'd never seen it before, but she knew what it was. This was Bursa. Her aunt had warned her about it back when she visited Equestria a few years ago, as the creature had caused some problems on their trip, apparently kidnapping one of the tourists and impersonating them. It was a shapeshifter with the goal of reaching Earth. Well, it seemed to have accomplished that. Now what was it going to do?
Bursa slashed one of her claws to fend back the TSA agents. They fell back as the claw zipped in front of them and cut straight through the wall like it was paper. Bursa then flared her horn and blasted at the night pony mare that had been with her on the plane, and the mare easily dodged the blast. It was unclear if the blast had been poorly aimed or a warning shot, but it left a small pothole in the floor. TSA agents and the earlier guards Bursa had been traveling with surrounded her on three sides, blocking all retreat. If Bursa was giving warning shots now, those could quickly escalate to her using deadly force to get away. Something had to be done to calm her down.
What did she know that could help defuse this situation? From what her aunt had told Charlotte, Bursa typically did not kill, but this might be because her food source was emotion, and dead things didn't have emotion. Bursa also operated on the reasoning level of a child or young teen rather than an adult. She was a selfish creature that cared almost entirely about its freedom, getting to Earth, revenge against the wanted criminal Doctor Rossman, and rarely considered the consequences of her actions or the feasibility of her plans. There was one thing her aunt had told her kept Bursa somewhat in line. Bursa had gratitude towards Wild Growth, the only person Bursa had any respect for, and would avoid conflict with anyone tied to Wild Growth as her way of expressing that gratitude. It seemed ludicrous such a creature would stand down for anyone, and it had been years since such a tactic had been used, but it was worth a shot to try before someone got hurt.
"Hey, Bursa! Look at me! I'm Wild Growth's niece! Stand down! I can call her and try to work this out!" she shouted as she landed.
Everyone briefly turned and looked at her like she was insane-everyone but one.
"Don't believe you. You don't look like Wild Growth. You look like the hateful pony," Bursa declared and fired another shot at the other night pony mare.
"I have a name, you moronic metamorph!" the other night pony yelled.
Bursa fired a blast closer to the pony and growled. "So do I, pony, but you never use it. Why should I give you respect you don't give me?"
"You're such a crybaby!" the mare yelled.
"Is it wise to keep antagonizing that thing?" one of the agents asked in disbelief.
Several agents tried tazing the monster, but the taser's ends bounced off the chitin. What they did succeed in doing was further pissing the giant bug off. It was a rare thing that Charlotte wished her sister was around, but Arachne's powers over bugs would come in handy now. It was time to make one more attempt at a peaceful resolution before she divebombed that thing's head. A solid strike to Bursa's head might take her down, but it would make it impossible to reason with her going forward.
She quickly dialed her phone and, luckily, there wasn't more than one ring before it was picked up.
"Charlotte?" Wild Growth answered. "It's nice to hear from you, but why are you calling?"
Bursa turned her head to look. "Wild Growth?"
One of the guards looked back. "Senator Growth?"
Charlotte rushed to speak. "No time to go into details. Bursa is here in the Nashville airport. She's causing a ruckus and property damage, and someone's going to get hurt. I have you on speaker. You need to talk her down."
"What? Why is she in Nashville?" Wild Growth exclaimed in disbelief. "She wasn't scheduled to go there. We confirmed her parents were in Georgia."
Bursa seemed to relax some. "Wild Growth? Is this a trick?"
"Bursa, why are you in Nashville?" Wild Growth asked, addressing the bug directly. "I'm assuming you dropped your disguise too. Why? Where are your handlers?"
The guards and agents whispered together. "Do we take her down while she's distracted?"
"Don't you dare touch her while Wild Growth is speaking to her!" Charlotte barked.
"Confirmed. Hold your positions if Bursa isn't moving," Wild Growth ordered. "Bursa, explain."
"Senator, Bursa is confused. We can-" one of the people guarding Bursa began.
"I said I want Bursa to explain," Wild Growth snapped. "She may well be confused about what is happening, but she will tell me what she thinks is going on first. After she speaks, then you can give your side of the story."
Bursa didn't hesitate. "I have a little sister! My captors don't want me to see her."
"Your sister is deceased! There is no going to see her," one of the guards yelled.
"Was this sister in Nashville?" Wild growth asked.
"No! They are taking me away! They are going to lock me away again!" Bursa yelled.
"We are taking her back to the portal after her parents rejected her. The plane had to do a layover due to engine problems," one of the handlers explained.
"I can confirm there were engine issues, and we had to do a layover. I was on the same flight as them," Charlotte said. "They are doing something that makes her sick."
"Horrible pony makes me sick with her emotions!" Bursa declared, glaring at the other night pony mare.
Charlotte blinked. It was negative emotions doing that? Wow. That put an entirely different spin on calling someone toxic. How nasty was this other mare?
"We need different handlers then," Wild Growth declared. "Bursa is a guest in this country, one that I personally sponsored the visit of and assured would be treated well. Her well-being is my responsibility. Yes, we are keeping track of her and keeping her guarded, but she is not a criminal, nor is she required to go straight home, and we aren't going to torture her by surrounding her with negativity. She is here to make peace with her past. Her sister may be deceased, but she has a right to at least go visit the grave and pay her respects."
Wild Growth was the reason Bursa was here? Why would her aunt bring this monster here?
One of the soldiers looked at Charlotte and her phone in disbelief. "If that is what you wish, we would still need to hold her here until another team of handlers can arrive. This creature is not going to allow that."
"You aren't wrong," Bursa growled, spreading her pincers threateningly at her handlers.
"Hmm, very well," Wild Growth said thoughtfully. "Charlotte, Bursa is now in your care. See to it that her journey to rediscover her past gets to continue. Be kind. Bursa has endured a lot to get to this point. She's a victim."
"You can't just order me to do that!" Charlotte objected. "This visit might be your pet project that you have authority over. I had no idea it was, so I got fortunate deciding to call you. However, I'm on my own mission. You don't have the authority to take me off it and assign me to another mission."
"True," Wild Growth conceded. "But I can make a few calls to your superiors, and I'm sure they'll reassign you to this mission. The military has no interest in having Bursa get angry and go on a rampage, and I have considerable pull. I don't mean to belittle whatever mission you currently are on. I know protecting the public from vigilantes is important, but Bursa represents a much more significant threat than mere vigilantes if she gets loose and angry. That is a much higher priority than whatever mission you may be on, and you've already proven that you care about her well-being since you were upset she was getting sick and also were trying to stop her from getting hurt. Under your tough exterior, you have a kind heart; you try to protect everyone; that's what Bursa needs. I trust you more than whatever random person they would choose, and Bursa is more likely to trust someone related to me."
It made sense, and she couldn't dispute that command would likely agree with her aunt and quickly reassign her. Still, it was getting dragged into doing one of the big three of the family's bidding, having her aunt's shadow over her. Why couldn't she escape being in one or more of the three's shadows?
She sighed. Worrying about being in those shadows didn't matter...or at least, it didn't matter enough to change what needed to be done. She could be selfish, or she could do the right thing. She wished doing the right thing meant doing something else, but that wasn't her call.
"Fine," Charlotte resignly said. "Bursa, you heard her. I'm going to be your handler for the time being. They say your sister is dead, but I get that you want to at least see it for yourself. I know I would, and I don't even like my sister, so I'll help you out. Can you stop threatening the guards and come down from the wall? It's hard to help you when you're making this kind of scene. I won't let anyone hurt you."
"You have my word. Charlotte will do everything she can to take care of you while you are on Earth," Wild Growth assured her.
Bursa glared at her former handlers and TSA agents, then scowled at the other night pony mare.
"What? I didn't want to be your foalsitter anyway," the other night pony mare said. "I didn't come back to Earth for that. You've sidetracked me long enough. I'm happy to let you be someone else's problem. Let her try to deal with you; she'll fail. She doesn't have contempt to keep you in line."
Bursa growled. "How can a creature ever be happy when they're so full of contempt for everything, even themselves? You make me vomit, but you're more sick than me. You are named well, Jimson Weed. You are poison."
"You a botanist now, bug? Trying to prove you aren't the moron that you are?" Jimson Weed snidely asked. "You don't know anything. You're worthless, even more so than everyone else. You should die and save everyone the trouble of dealing with you."
Charlotte had enough. "Hey! Back off! You don't want to be responsible for her? Good, because we don't want that either. What the hell is wrong with you? Just leave and stop tormenting her."
Jimson Weed gave a brief flap of her wings. "Fine. I can get back to why I'm really on Earth. Good riddance." She then stormed off.
Charlotte let out a long sigh. "Thank you, Titi. I think I've got this now, although you might need to smooth some things over with the TSA."
"I'm already getting ready to make some calls. Thank you, Charlotte. Call me again if you have trouble," Wild Growth answered before the line went dead.
Charlotte cautiously approached Bursa. The guards were all still there with ineffective tasers pointed at the bug.
"Can you put those things down?" Charlotte addressed them. "You already know they don't work on her, and you're just making her feel threatened, which isn't good for her or us. It's time to de-escalate. Put the tasers down and back away. Let me handle this. I'm with the military's anti-vigilante division. I'm trained to deal with difficult but highly powerful individuals. My aunt wouldn't ask me to do this if I wasn't up to it."
"Difficult to deal with?" Bursa asked with a snarl in offense.
Charlotte raised an eyebrow at her. "Would you prefer I say you're a pushover? I don't think you are. These guys plainly don't have a clue what they're doing around you; otherwise, you wouldn't be so upset right now. You are a unique individual who needs to have specialized assistance. You shouldn't settle for less."
Just because she was capable of beating the snot out of just about any meatbag didn't mean she wasn't capable of winning a fight by buttering someone up. If you could subdue a threat without throwing a blow, that meant less property damage and injury. Tempest had trained her and her siblings how to fight in combat, but their mother had taught them how to fight with their tongues. It was their secret weapon because no one expected it from them.
Bursa tilted her head. "Your words are sweet, but your emotions don't match. You can't fool me with pretty words."
Okay, so buttering Bursa up wouldn't be easily done. Bursa might not be the brightest bulb, but she was still a powerful empath.
"So, what emotions are you feeling from me?" Charlotte asked. She glanced at the TSA agents. "Didn't I tell you bozos to back off?"
"Annoyance," Bursa answered, "at these guards. I also feel...frustration, but I can't tell anyone who it is specifically directed to. Anger at the vile pony."
She looked Bursa in the eyes. "Are you feeling hostility or contempt from me towards you?"
Bursa stared for a few seconds. "No. Okay, pony. I will trust you."
Charlotte nodded. "Then please come down from the wall and change into the form you used on the plane. I won't let anyone hurt you or lock you away. You can tell me where we can look for this sister, or at least where her grave might be. My aunt will make sure we are clear to travel there. What was your sister's name?"
Bursa climbed down from the wall and shifted back to her human form, which made the TSA visibly relax.
"Maria. She was last seen in Colorado," Bursa answered.
Charlotte nodded again. "Good. Was she a human or a pony?"
"Neither," Bursa answered. "We were both partials." |
Partial | Chapter 44: Nudgie Nudgie Nudgie | Rebecca stretched as she stepped into the hotel room.
"So good to be back on solid ground," she said. She spotted the bed. "Oooohh, big comfy bed! I want to bounce on it!"
Russell entered the room, set their bags down, and closed the door. "Babe, you say you are happy to be on solid ground, but now you want to bounce on the bed?"
She batted her eyelashes at him. "You could jump on it with me."
He chuckled. "Later. I was going to order us some grub from room service."
"Food does sound good, although, food almost always sounds good," Rebecca said thoughtfully as she looked around. "I suppose bed bouncing can wait until after food. You know, Triss wants me to bring old SB back. My biggest regret about Sunset Blessing leaving is that I didn't get to try a legitimate meaty cheeseburger while wearing her necklace. I mean, how did I let myself miss out on the opportunity to try new foods?"
"I'll do my best to remind you about you wanting to do that if you manage to get her back," Russell said with a chuckle and walked over to the bed. "I figure we can start touring the suburbs tomorrow morning. We already know you will insist on building us a house, but it will be built in suburbia instead of the main city, so we should try to find a nice neighborhood."
She trotted over and started trying to climb on the bed. Russell bent down and lifted her up on it. They set that mattress really high up.
She turned and faced him. "Actually...we need to visit the headquarters of Enclave of the Crystal Night tomorrow morning."
He tilted his head. "The what now?"
She spread her wings. "It wasn't my idea. Phobia insisted on it. The Enclave of the Crystal Night is a joint crystal pony and night pony enclave here in Chicago. I don't know how the crystal pony part of it will feel about it, but the night ponies have this thing about serving and protecting Dreamwardens, and now that I'm moving into the city-"
Russell held up a finger. "The suburbs outside Chicago."
"Close enough," she said with a shrug. "Since I'm here, they'll want to know I'm here to serve and protect and whatnot. If I don't introduce myself, it will be considered very rude."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Aren't you supposed to keep your identity a secret?"
"The others already contracted all the ponies in the enclave about it," Rebecca explained. "Well, almost all. There were a few who abstained, but they also agreed not to meet me. I do kinda need these ponies on my side. I'm trying to recruit a particular human in the city. Call it a redemption case; we Dreamwardens like our redemption cases. I think we get that from Luna. However, to try to redeem her, I have to catch her first, and having this enclave on my side would help a lot with that."
"Can't you just find her and talk to her?" Russell asked.."I mean, you're pretty mobile when you dance, or if she has magic, you could just talk to her in her dreams."
Rebecca tapped her forehooves together. "I may have tried that already. Quick note: her sticking her hands into my projection hurts, like it really hurts, and leaves me with such a splitting headache. She isn't painful in dreams, but she told us to butt out, and we have a policy of obeying dreamer wishes about that unless they're breaking a rule. Talking to her will be much easier if she's tied up and unable to get her grubby hands on me or my projection."
The door suddenly burst open, and an extremely attractive white pegasus came running into the room.
"Sorry, younger me, sorry, younger Russell, I'll only be here a minute!" the pegasus yelled as she started rummaging through the luggage.
Russell stared slack-jawed. "Uuuuhhh."
Rebecca tilted her head. "Future me, did we lose weight?"
The other pegasus stopped and posed, "You noticed? Yes, I lost about twenty pounds! The secret was I took up swimming!"
"Uuuuhhh," Russell continued, looking back and forth between them.
"Swimming, huh," Rebecca said, considering it. "I'll have to try that out."
"What?" Russell managed to say, sounding completely confused.
Older Rebecca nodded and turned her attention back to the luggage. "Oh, you'll love it, I should know." She suddenly raised her hoof with an object balanced in it. "Triumph!"
Rebecca gasped. "MY TOOTHBRUSH!"
"Huh?" Russell asked.
Older Rebecca cackled. "Yes! My toothbrush! My quest is complete. So long, attractive younger me!"
Older Rebecca then suddenly vanished.
"What...just...happened?" Russell slowly asked.
"She took my toothbrush!" Rebecca yelled in fury. "I loved that toothbrush!"
Russell shook his head. "I'm so confused."
Rebecca thought about how to handle this. "The only reasonable thing for me to do is to develop a way to travel back in time and get my toothbrush back again."
Russell took a deep breath and then stood up. "Okay...I'm going to take a long shower and pretend none of that just happened. Babe, how long are you going to be plotting how to create a self-perpetuating time loop over a hygiene utensil?"
"Give me ten minutes to plot it out, although implementing it might take longer. I didn't look that much older. Five to seven years, ten, tops, then I'll reclaim my toothbrush," she answered.
"So...in ten minutes, you'll finish explaining why you need an enclave of night ponies and crystal ponies to kidnap someone for you, and I can order our food?"
"Yes," she agreed.
"Should I order extra chocolate cake when I order room service?"
"Yes, please. You're the best."
He nodded. "Ten minutes it is then." He then left to find the shower.
Hmmm, why'd she take her toothbrush? It was a nice toothbrush, but not irreplaceable. What could she do with the toothbrush? Brush her toothies, obviously. Maybe it wasn't about her doing something with the toothbrush but what she didn't do. Would not brushing her toothies cause some big chain of cause and effect? Or maybe it was because she had to go to the store to buy a new toothbrush, leading to a circumstantial meeting that changed the history of the world forever? Nudging herself seemed a far more likely scenario than she really just needed a toothbrush, and time traveled back in time to steal her own. Then again, it was a very nice toothbrush. Traveling back in time and creating a stable loop wasn't that hard to do...well, it was hard if you didn't have the tools and know-how to do so, but the tools and know-how existed, so it was possible. The knowhow was the easiest part; since she was a Dreamwarden, the tools...well...that got a bit more complicated. Choiced between going to the store to buy a toothbrush and going through all the things she'd have to do to time-travel to steal her own toothbrush; it was pretty clear one of those was a little more of an ordeal than the other. This was a nudge. What was she nudgingly nudging herself to do with that nudge?
Given that her future self did look older and had lost weight, she had plenty of time to figure it out. Giving nudges wasn't anything new for her. Speaking of which, she needed to follow up with that airplane mechanic she had given the extra sticky and gooey honeybun to and had Russell talk to at length about fantasy sports drafts, just to make sure he didn't get in trouble. She didn't want to get him in trouble, and Russell would be upset with her if she had gotten him in trouble. It had been a fifty-fifty gamble that he'd end up doing what she wanted with her nudge, but that was the nature of nudges; there was no guarantee that the person would do or not do the thing just because you nudged them; you just altered the statistics a little more in your favor. Nudging was an art form that took plenty of creativity, and she was the nudgy grandmaster.
Jordan sighed and flipped her mane as she walked back into Wabash Manor.
"I love what that stylist did. I feel so sexy!" she said gleefully. "Look at these waves. I look like a celebrity."
Andrea practically stomped on. "Do you have to be so vain, filly?"
"Don't stomp on the floor, Andri, you'll mess up your hooficure," Amicus said as she stepped into the house. "And I know your hooves must feel much better after they trimmed off all that keratin. I was shocked at how much you had. That had to be uncomfortable."
Andrea lifted a hoof and looked at the underside. "Well, you don't see me parading it around, bragging about it." She then lowered her hoof and rubbed it against the floor.
Jordan's phone started ringing. She looked at who was calling. Charlotte? She wasn't usually that social.
"Hi, Char, that you?" she answered.
"Yeah, it's me. Are you away from Wabash at the moment?" Charlotte asked.
"Uh...no...I've actually just got back to Wabash. Do you need me to walk out to the street?" Jordan asked.
"No, it's fine," Charlotte said with a sigh. "It's not like the government doesn't already know about Bursa. I'm coming to Colorado, and I was wondering if Bursa and I could crash there for a few days while she does what she's got to do."
Andrea jumped and slammed all her hooves on the floor. "No! Definitely not! Bursa is on the list of never being allowed here! Sunset briefed me on her. We are not letting that thing in the house! That monster's dangerous!"
"Uh...who's Bursa?" Jordan asked in confusion, then gasped. "Did you get a marefriend?"
Andrea gaped at her. "I just said monster, and you ask if it is her marefriend?!"
Jordan shrugged. "She's traveling with Charlotte, and I've never figured out what Charlotte's interests and tastes are. I'm starting to think she's asexual like Jessie."
"Bursa is not my marefriend; she's a giant shape-shifting bug monster. I'm not into bug monsters," Charlotte explained in an exasperated tone. "It's fine. I'll figure something else out."
Jordan shook her head. "No! Wait! We can figure something out that involves her staying here. I want to help out."
Andrea stomped again. "That monster is not allowed in the house!"
"We could let her camp out in the chapel," Jordan quickly suggested. "The chapel is outside the house."
Amicus frowned. "Not to put a damper on your enthusiasm to help our mutual niece-"
"Can you not bring up Jordan's also my aunt?" Charlotte cut in. "She's two months younger than me."
"-but I'm not sure that is wise," Amicus continued unabated. "Sunset never shared with me whatever information she told Andrea about this Bursa person, but she usually had good reason for decreeing certain people should have no access to the house. While we can't stop you from giving her access to the chapel, I think you should at least get better informed about why this person isn't allowed here before you make such a decision. I'm sure Andrea would happily give you a full briefing."
Andrea groaned. "It's a shape-shifting bug monster that might desire vengeance against Sunset because Sunset's research played a part in its creation. The last time Sunset saw Bursa, the monster wanted to disembowel her and was only stopped because Wild Growth was there to stop it."
"Well, Auntie Sunset isn't here to take vengeance against, so it should be fine," Jordan asserted.
"What part of shape-shifting bug monster do you think is fine?!" Andrea exclaimed in disbelief.
"Char, do you think she is dangerous?" Jordan asked.
"Of course she is," Charlotte answered. "That's why I wanted to bring her there instead of some random hotel. Wabash is much more secure. I'd have you and all those guards to help me if she tried doing something crazy. She's behaving herself right now, but she's known for getting crazy ideas and acting on them without thinking things through. Bringing her to Wabash is safer. It helps protect the public."
"A monster deciding to go on a rampage is not our concern. Making sure the house, its residents, and the vaults are safe is our concern. Bringing a monster here is the opposite of that," Andrea asserted.
Jordan considered for a few seconds. "Quick question...why do we have all this stuff locked up in the vaults?"
"Because it's dangerous, obviously," Andrea said disdainfully.
Jordan nodded. "Dangerous to who?"
"To the world," Andrea answered. She then shook her head. "No! I see where you are going with this, and-"
"So...we are here to protect people," Jordan concluded. "Which means letting Bursa come here helps with that mission."
"I think she's made her decision. You can either complain about it, or you can figure out how to make this work," Amicus said.
"I can do both!" Andrea snapped. "What will you be doing to help make this work?"
"Giving moral support while barricading myself in my room," Amicus answered.
Andrea shook a hoof at her. "Coward!"
"Yep, but very much alive and intending to stay that way," Amicus said. She then turned and started walking away. "Now, I'm going to go find my husband and start boarding up my window. Please, try to keep the noise down if you and the bug monster get into combat." |
Partial | Chapter 45: Squabbles | Dealing with Dreamwardens was always a pain. Why was she sitting on a smiling toadstool? Rebecca sat across from the toadstool table, overeating cake. Why even eat cake in a dream?
"Sure, I can have the lawyers email you a copy of that contract ASAP. You'll have it ready to go first thing in the morning," Rebecca said between bites of food.
Jessica stood up. "Good, thank you. You can release me back into my dream now."
The toadstool suddenly grew, forcing itself under her, and then shrank again. Did it giggle?
The food vanished from in front of Rebecca, and there was suddenly an old-timey telephone operator station in front of her, and Rebecca was connecting different lines.
"Actually, I have one more order of business. You have a dreamwalking request from my good pals, Blanche and Tempest. They want to talk to you. Do you accept charges?" Rebecca asked.
"Charges?" Jessica asked.
Rebecca shrugged. "It's free, so charges are zero. I was keeping with the theme. Do you accept them entering your dream to talk to you?"
"Why do they want to talk to me?" Jessica asked, feeling suspicious.
Rebecca raised a hoof, which morphed into a hand she used to shake a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. You know I can't disclose that. Will you or won't you speak with them?"
Jessica rubbed her head. "Fine. Let's hurry this nonsense up."
"A little nonsense now and then, valued by the wisest men," Rebecca sang. She then vanished, leaving Tempest and Blanche suddenly appeared, sitting on their own toadstool seats. The cakes vanished as well and were replaced with a tea party spread.
Tempest looked around, picked up a teacup to examine, put it down, and then bent down to look at her seat.
"Your dreams are not what I expected," Tempest dryly said as she sat back up.
Jessica groaned. "Rebecca picked the setting. This isn't one of mine. Cut straight to it. What do you want?"
Blanche started to lean on the table.
"Hahah hee hee! That tickles!" the table giggled.
Blanche sat back up. "You have permission to act on this information. We're currently on a mission in Mexico to try to bring down a partial trafficking ring. Unfortunately, by our estimates, we don't have the numbers to safely do so because the operation is larger than anticipated. We're looking for extra help, and you could be useful."
She gaped. "I'm guessing you want me to use my sound powers to listen in on conversations to help build a case against them?"
Tempest shook her head. "No, we aren't building a case against them; we're assaulting their base and freeing the hundred or more partials they have prisoner there. Much of our early assault will rely on stealth. Your powers can help us determine guard movements, mask our sound, and cause disruption in the enemy ranks once our stealth is blown."
She stood up. "No! I'm not some action hero! There's a kid that I'm trying to adopt, and I'm certain he wants me to adopt him. I'm not going to have him lose out on me as a mother because I went and got myself killed trying to play superhero down in Mexico."
"Would us telling you that the kid's parents had been prisoners down there who had escaped change your mind?" Blanche asked.
She sat back down. "What?"
"His parents had been among those who were imprisoned at this camp," Blanche said with a nod. "After the mother got pregnant, she and the father made a daring escape from the prison, the prospect of their baby being born in captivity being what pushed them to do what was surely a suicide run. They trekked cross-country over hundreds of miles of arid land without supplies back into the USA to get him to where he could be born free. The father died long before making it to the destination, the mother not long after delivering the child to his grandmother."
Something didn't make sense. "Wait, why did Mark's mother leave him with his grandmother without stopping to get care so she could live?"
"She was likely terrified she was going to be tracked down and didn't want to lead her previous captors to her son," Blanche said. "They might have figured the kid died out in the wilds. It's a miracle he didn't. Our tracker says she wasn't at the grandmother's long."
Jessica's shoulders slumped. "Oh...I guess that also explains why the grandmother kept him secret. I remember them saying the old woman had a son who vanished soon after ETS. I suppose that was the father-I mean, we already guessed that, but this gives more evidence of that. I can't imagine what she must have felt after discovering what happened and then left trying to know what was best for Mark."
"They target partials who are seen as vulnerable and would cause the least suspicion if they went missing. That's why you were never in danger. You're too high profile, but kids run away all the time, and Mark doesn't even have a social security number yet," Tempest explained.
"How...how do you know this?" Jessica asked, trying to process the information.
"These guys have been on our radar for a while, and we happen to have the best tracker there is. Our tracker was able to piece together details about the parents' fate," Blanche explained.
"I can confirm it too!" Rebecca chimed in. "We don't have to keep the secrets of the dead, and if they had magic and died while Drwamwardens were active, we can remember their dreams. It isn't perfect information, but when something is a big enough deal to someone, they'll dream about it. Once they dream it, we'll have that memory of that dream stashed away, at least for a very long time. Old stuff...like ancient stuff...gets very patchy after a while. Our mental power is based on the number of combined dreamers, and when the dead outnumber the living, there isn't enough brainpower to remember everything, and we start forgetting old or unimportant stuff. Traumatic dreams in the recent past, even straight-out memories in most cases, that's easy to remember, if we're trying to-although, unfortunately, not admissible evidence in waking world courts, which sucks so much sometimes."
"Why would they even do this?" Jessica asked, still reeling from the revelation.
Blanche snorted. "Come on, you can't be that dense. Partials often have very unpredictable and powerful magic. Yes, humans can have that, too, but humans like me are the minority. Statistically, partials are highly likely to develop some strange magic. This magic can be weaponized, and because it falls outside what we typically expect from magic, it is harder for others to counteract. I'm sure your friends Beverly and Jennifer can tell you all about people weaponizing people with unique magic."
"And if they turn out to be duds when it comes to magic that can be weaponized, they're still potential unpaid labor and test subjects," Tempest added.
She considered for a few seconds, then shook her head. "The answer is still no. Yes, I want justice for his parents, but I do him no justice if I get killed trying to avenge them. Being adopted by me would give him notoriety, which should protect him. Plus, I don't want to be weaponized, even for a just cause, and that's what you are asking me to do. I wish you the best of luck, but I must firmly refuse."
Blanche looked at Tempest, and Tempest shook her head. Blanche then sighed. "Very well. We will await different reinforcements. Thanks for taking the time to hear us out and at least considering what we were saying."
Tempest looked up. "We need aid, Marshmallow!"
"You don't have to keep asking. I told you I'm not to leave you hanging. Be patient and sit tight," Rebecca's disembodied voice answered.
Jessica pointed upward. "Why are you asking me if she's already going to get you help?"
Tempest gave her a flat look. "Have you ever had to have the Marshmallow help you? Nothing is ever straightforward, and it usually involves some overcomplicated plot. It is headache-inducing. It would be helpful if she directly ordered a few people to do what she wanted instead of going through all these insane hoops!"
"She orders me around just fine," Blanche mumbled.
"You know I can hear you, right?" Rebecca's voice said, sounding just a pinch annoyed. "Come on. Who's your favorite neighborhood Marshmallow? I'll come through for you. My plans have a very high success rate-aside from diets; those never seem to work out."
"I can't tell if she sounds like a hustler or a person trying to reason with a hustler," Blanche muttered.
"She's your boss," Tempest reminded her.
Blanche groaned. "She'll probably come through with something. We just have to wait for it. Whenever the help arrives, we'll no doubt think she's insane, but it will somehow be invaluable-unless her plan completely falls apart. I know how things go with her, so I give it a fifty-fifty chance."
"Hey! Have faith! It is eighty-one to fourteen percent chance in my favor. I keep track," Rebecca's voice said proudly.
"What's the other five percent?" Tempest asked.
"Things sometimes resolve themselves, so the entire thing becomes irrelevant," Rebecca replied nonchalantly. "The point is that even if they don't always work out, my plans have an excellent success rate."
Tempest crossed her arms. "You'd likely have an even higher success rate with your plans if you didn't have such absurd and overly convoluted ones that leave an obscene amount of things to chance."
Rebecca sighed. "Ah, yes, chance. Do you know what chance is? Chance is failure to see aspects that impact the inevitable outcome. You know, I'm rather torn about how to feel about such failures. When I succeed, everyone is happy and relieved that everything turned out alright, and I like people to be happy. Making people happy feels good. However, sometimes I fail, and I have to look at why. It means I get exposed to something I didn't expect, some element that my super-Dreamwarden brain, which is capable of looking at things from billions of different angles, didn't see coming...and even though people are unhappy, I have to sit there and admire this element that I failed to see; it's almost beautiful, like a freshly baked chocolate cake with rainbow sprinkles. Sometimes, I succeed, but there're still elements I didn't see coming. When that happens, it is the best of both worlds, and I like that the most. So, yes, I invite chance to play a part in as many of my plans as possible, which means doing what I can to invite unexpected outcomes. I want to succeed but also be surprised. The unexpected is one of the core sparks of creativity. It is hard to plan to make unexpected things happen, so things sometimes get a little crazy with my planning."
Tempest looked at Blanche. "Your Dreamwarfen is insane."
Blanche shrugged. "Are any of them sane? Your Dreamwarden likes being called the monster in the closet or under the bed and calls herself the Queen of Nightmares. Where is the sanity in that?"
"She wants people to drive her out of their dreams after understanding their fears. It's making them view their fears more rationally," Tempest asserted. "Yours insanely does things because she wants insanity she didn't expect to happen. How is that making things better? Phobia's goal is more rationality; the Marshmallow's goal is the opposite of rationality. She's no better than Discord!"
"Never compare her to that beast![" Blanche hissed.
"Tell me how she's different?" Tempest asked skeptically.
"Discord does things for shits and giggles. He has no goal. He wants only to be amused. Rebecca wants people to encounter something that inspires them. People need to be inspired. If she didn't see something coming, the average person didn't see it coming. That forces them to think of things differently. That sparks creativity," Blanche asserted.
"Well, he also cares if his little marefriend gets nad at him, so that's another influence on Discord,'' Tempest added in. "I still don't see them that differently. You could argue the Marshmallow has considerably less power than Discord, but instead of direct power, she has access to knowledge he could only dream of. Knowledge is power, so the two aren't as far removed from one another as they first appear in terms of power. Bottom line, the two of them are both interested in having nonsense happen and get amused by it. They're crazy!"
"Crazy? How about how your Dreamwarden gets all dressed up and paraded around Skytree like a queen on Halloween?" Blanche fired back. "how is that advancing anything?"
"Oh, now you are just digging for anything," Tempest snarled. "That's something she does one day a year because the people like it. It's good public relations for her to do it. It's not like she goes out demanding candy tributes like Luna does on Nightmare Night."
Jessica rolled her eyes and looked up. "Rebecca, please release me back into my dream so I don't have to listen to these two argue about how crazy you are."
"I never said I wasn't crazy. The dream realm is like Wonderland; we're all mad here, but it's nice to know that Blanche has my back," Rebecca asserted. "However, there's no reason to keep you around anymore. Enjoy your sleep!"
And with that, she faded off into her dream.
"Why is stupid pony asking us to walk?" Bursa growled as they continued to Wabash.
Charlotte glanced back. "Do you honestly think any driver will have seats that can fit you? Stop whining; it's only six miles. Don't be a wimp."
A car driving by slowed down so the passengers could stare at them. Charlotte stuck her tongue out them, and they moved on.
Bursa stared at the vehicle as it drove away. "They'd let us ride if you let me disguise myself. Pony is crazy, making me walk down the street without a disguise. Someone is going to try to attack me.'
"I'd call the police if that happened and defend you in the meantime. Are you that ashamed of what you look like?" Charlotte asked.
"They will panic. I'm a monster," Bursa answered.
Charlotte watched another car drive by. "Haven't so far. Sure, they stare, but nobody is panicking. As long as I'm here and treating you as no big deal, the most they'll do is stare-maybe jeer."
"I'll eat them if they laugh at me," Bursa growled.
Another car drove by, again slowing down to look at Bursa before speeding up again.
"Don't make empty threats," Charlotte scolded. "You aren't a monster, because you aren't a killer. You make a lot of noise, and I wouldn't doubt you'd completely total someone's car, which would cause us a lot of problems, but you don't kill."
Bursa let off a long have you hiss. "How do you know, pony? Who made you an expert?"
"My titi, Wild Growth," Charlotte answered.
"What's a titi?" Bursa asked.
"Aunt," Charlotte clarified. "When I was a foal, she told me all about you. I was in Equestria as part of that tourist group that you kidnapped that mare from and tried to impersonate. You had to have gotten close to me sometime during that trip-me, my brother, and my sister."
"Don't remember anyone from that group except Wild Growth, the mare I captured, and that fat dumb pegasus," Bursa confessed. "I know there were lots of Wild Growth's family on the trip. I avoided them as much as possible....So...what did she say about me? Not that I care...or anything."
Charlotte kept silent fir a few seconds as she watched another car slow down. Everyone wanted to take a gander at the strange creature following her down the street. Video of Bursa would probably be a viral video by morning as people tried to identify what they were even looking at. Most would dismiss it as some publicity stunt, possibly for some movie. Equestrian flora and fauna were still primarily mysterious and alien to the general public, and a few might question if some Equestrian animal was loose on the streets of Denver. It was surprising that the police hadn't at least stopped to check what was up, but then again, they weren't causing any disruption, and whatever those passing by thought Bursa was, they didn't think she was that dangerous if a mare was aware of the giant bug following behind her and didn't seem to be alarmed. Making Bursa keep to her proper form was primarily to keep better track of her, but it was also to break the belief Bursa had that everyone would run from her if they saw her natural form. Yeah, she was ugly, but after spending several hours with her, Charlotte knew Bursa was just another person.
"She said that some crazy scientist experimented on you and left you trapped in a cave for years," Charlotte replied. "How'd you survive that anyway? What did you eat down there?"
"Fish and bugs," Bursa answered.
Charlotte looked back at her. "Fish in a cave?"
"Yeah, there were fish. I got good at catching them," Bursa replied. "I don't know what they look like. It was completely dark, but there was an underground lake. There was water; there was food. I could survive."
"You just ate them raw?" Charlotte asked, feeling ill.
"No choice. Nothing to burn. No way to make fire," Bursa answered. "You don't like that I ate the fish."
Charlotte grimaced. "Well, raw fish sounds even more disgusting than cooked fish. I doubt you enjoyed it much."
"It was the most exciting thing. I was always happy to catch a fish and eat it. It meant I wasn't hungry. It meant I was doing something. It meant I was alive," Bursa hissed. "It was easier to move around in the lake. It hurt less, but I had to come on shore to eat and rest. I tried sleeping in the lake once. I almost drowned. Can't swim and sleep at same time."
Titi had said that Bursa wasn't very bright. Trying to swim and sleep simultaneously was a good indication of that. It was best not to rub that in Bursa's face. She was trying not to be as toxic as that night pony from Equestria. At least Bursa learned her lesson.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't drown," Charlotte said. "My aunt also said that you were falling apart when they found you. They had to send you to Equestria to be transformed into what you are now, and that was the only way to save you. She says that you'd been trying to get back to Earth ever since so you could get your vengeance on the guy who experimented on you. She also said that in all your attempts, you never killed anyone in your way, even though you are big and strong enough to do so with ease. She sympathizes with you. You've been through hell, and you want to punish the person who put you through it. I don't think anyone who heard your story would hate you."
"My parents did," Bursa said in a low voice. "I showed them this form, and they rejected me. They denied I was their daughter. They were so disgusted, angry, and terrified. It made me more sick than the nasty pony."
Charlotte wondered how much warning and briefing about what had happened Bursa's parents had been given before the reunion. Springing Bursa on them without letting the information sink in would have been too much for most people to process. She could see the higher-ups pulling something like that. It would be a way of trying to force Bursa to believe that there was nothing here for her. During the call, Titi hadn't seemed aware that Bursa had already met with her parents. That meant things were moving faster than expected. Titi was no fool, and she had to see what they were doing. Somebody was going to have a national hero screaming at them.
"I'm sure that was very hurtful," Charlotte said, putting as much sympathy into it as possible. "Maybe we can try that again, only this time giving your parents more information and time to process it. Do we have any hard evidence we can present them with?"
"No, dream ponies search the memories of the dead to find the truth," Bursa answered bitterly. "Nothing remains. My memories are broken. I didn't even remember my parents when I saw them. They seemed familiar, but still strangers."
Well, at least that might have blunted the feeling of rejection slightly, but with that level of rejection, it would have still been devastating. If this sister of Bursa's was dead, then that was probably the memory they grabbed onto."
She stopped and shaded her eyes with a wing as blue lights started flashing. Why'd police have to make those things so damn bright? She wondered if they ever inadvertently caused traffic accidents by blinding drivers.
"They're going to take me away and lock me up!" Bursa yelled.
"Stay calm. I'll deal with this," she instructed Bursa. "Yelling stuff like that makes you seem guilty of something. You haven't done anything wrong. If you seem too agitated, they'll start thinking you're dangerous. It's one car. They'd be waiting for backup if they thought you were dangerous."
Bursa went silent. It was hard to read her body language with all the bright flashing lights, so there was no telling if she was fidgeting anxiously
Keeping a wing shading her eyes, she looked towards the cop car as she heard the doors open and close.
"Evening officers. Mind dimming those lights? It's a bit much for my eyes," she greeted.
"Sorry, it's procedure," a male officer answered. She could only tell by the voice. The road had too many smells, including Bursa's.
"What's up with that thing? Some animatronic costume?" another officer asked, also male. She assumed they were humans. Night ponies couldn't stand being around lights like that, and day ponies didn't typically take night shifts, but it would be nice to see to confirm.
"That is my friend Bursa. I'm Army Major Charlotte Martinez," she explained. "Bursa is a member of an exotic but intelligent magical species from Equestria. She's visiting our country with permission from the government, and I'm her chaperone. I have the paperwork in my saddlebag, along with my military ID, if you need to see any of that. Please be nice to her. She gets nervous easily. This is all very different from what she is used to."
"Ack! Get that flashlight out of my eyes, puny human!" Bursa fussed. "I'll eat your liver!"
"No, she won't!" Charlotte said quickly. "Sorry, she's very temperamental. Bursa, behave yourself. Do you guys want to see that paperwork?"
"We can take you in for threatening a police officer," one of the officers said sternly.
She needed to diffuse this quickly. "Bursa is used to talking aggressively, but that's all it is: talk. Do you want to have to deal with a giant bug that has all kinds of diplomatic issues? We are on our way to Wabash Manor, and when we get there, she'll be Wabash's problem."
The officers were silent for a few seconds, likely considering if they wanted to have to deal with this kind of hassle.
"We'll review your paperwork, and if everything is in order, we'll let you be on your way," one of the officers finally said. "Why are you just walking down the street? You're distracting traffic and causing a scene."
Since when was distracting traffic a crime?
"Well, she's too big to ride in most vehicles. I'd rather fly, but there's no way the big bug is flying," Charlotte answered.
"I can fly, stupid pony!" Bursa hissed. "I asked you why we were walking!"
Charlotte shut her eyes and groaned. "You could have mentioned that before. I had no idea."
"I have wings. Why wouldn't I be able to fly?"
"I thought they were just for show. They're tiny and flimsy looking, and you're huge! I had to stare at you to even notice they were there!" Charlotte protested. "You never even flutter them."
"Pony doesn't know as much as pony thinks! I'm smarter than pony!"
"Well, intelligent you didn't bother to tell me you could fly when I was talking about riding in vehicles. I'd have happily-"
"Yeah, you're right; I don't want to deal with whatever the heck this is. I thought I'd seen everything after ETS, but now there's an intelligent dragon-sized bug walking down the street," an officer cut in. "I don't even know how we'd take something that big in. Maybe the SWAT van could hold it, but I'm not sure even about that. You say it's going to be Wabash's problem? Hurry up and fly over there. We'll radio a few night pony officers to ensure you head straight to your destination."
"I am not dragon-sized!" Bursa protested.
"Are you calling her fat?" Charlotte asked. "She's not fat."
"Yeah, I'm not fat! You're just puny, puny human!"
"Bursa, we need to expand your vocabulary," Charlotte informed her companion. "I'm sure Wabash has a thesaurus. We'll find some other words than puny for you to say."
"Are you saying my vocabulary is puny? I know other words, small pony."
"Just go," the officer ordered.
Well, that wasn't so bad. |
Partial | Chapter 46: Learning More | Jordan opened her bedroom door only to jump back in shock as a night pony walked by.
"Morning, Jor. You aren't like Grandma at all. You sleep in pretty late. She's up with the dawn," Charlotte said as she came to a halt in the hallway.
Jordan blinked a few times as if that would help jump-start her still sleep-muddled brain. When she finally remembered that she had agreed to give Charlotte and Bursa shelter, she started putting the rest of the details together.
"Did you just arrive a few minutes ago?" Jordan asked.
Charlotte shook her head. "Nope, we've been here most of the night. I think we arrived slightly after midnight. You were already asleep. We would have been here earlier, but we got stopped by some cops, and then Bursa and this stray dog got into this growling match with one another. There was this guy who may have been drunk, on drugs, or both, that was completely freaking out about seeing Bursa, and the damn bug sat there antagonizing him. I swear she was doing it for fun. Getting here was a minor ordeal."
"Oh," Jordan replied, not knowing what to say about that. She'd gotten into a growling match with a dog?
Charlotte yawned. "Anyway, I'm suffering from some serious jetlag. You would not believe how far I've traveled in the last few days. I'm going to get some sleep. Bursa is in the house out back. I raided the pantry and gave her all your muffins. I'm not sure she needs to eat, but she did seem to enjoy the muffins."
"You gave her all my muffins?" Jordan asked in disbelief. She had been planning on having muffins for breakfast.
"Yeah, they were the first thing I found. Sorry, I should have asked, but you were asleep," Charlotte replied. "Interesting redecorating, by the way, but I'm guessing all the Bible verses all over the place aren't your doing."
"Um, yeah, those were here when I arrived," Jordan said. "Have you seen Andrea around this morning?"
Charlotte nodded. "Aunt Andrea's out fussing with Bursa. I don't think Bursa knows what to make of her. Apparently, she can't detect or feed off the emotions of crystal ponies--their magic absorption cancels it out. The big bug is so used to telling emotions by her empath abilities that she doesn't know how to figure them out the old-fashioned way, even when it should be obvious."
"Oh," Jordan replied. "Well, um, make yourself at home."
Charlotte yawned. "Sure will. Talk to you tonight. Good to see you again, Jor, and thanks for this." She then walked off, presumably to one of the guest rooms.
There seemed nothing to do except go check on Andrea and Bursa. Andrea would say she was slacking off on her duties as owner of Wabash Manor if she didn't. Andrea probably was already going to complain Jordan hadn't stayed up to meet their guests when they arrived or gotten up early to deal with them. Heck, Andrea would probably find a dozen things she was at fault for, even if she had done all those things. Andrea was never satisfied. It wasn't fair. Jordan was utterly new to all this crap. How did Andrea expect her to be perfect all the time? It was completely unreasonable. It was an unkind thing to do, but Jordan found herself trying to guess Andrea's age and trying to guess how many years the old crystal pony had in her before she keeled over and died. Andrea was older than Auntie Sunset, but how much older?
Still, checking on them seemed the right thing to do, so that was what she would do. Figuring out an alternative for her breakfast plans would have to wait.
It took her a few minutes to get to the house out back. It was a decent-sized house, especially for ponies. Auntie Sunset had expanded it at some point a few years ago. It was two stories, painted white, had at least one and sometimes two windows in every room, had two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, and a kitchen and living room downstairs. Humans might consider it a townhouse. It only seemed small compared to the massive mansion it sat next to. There was no welcome mat, but this house had sat vacant for a while. Now that she was up close to it, she was more than satisfied it would be an excellent place for her parents to live out their twilight years. Maybe she could send a letter to Equestria asking Auntie Sunset permission to change the contract to allow for an allowance for a live-in nurse at the house--at least until Jordan got more control over how things were done around here when she turned twenty-one. There was an extra bedroom in the house, so a live-in nurse to care for her parents was a viable option. Auntie Sunset kinda owed it to them since her mom's disability may have been partially a result of Auntie's experiments, and her dad's was definitely a result of things that Auntie did that went horribly wrong. She didn't hate Sunset Blessing for what happened. She knew her Auntie was very sorry for what happened and had made an honest attempt to repent and do better. It might creep people out still to have a pony say it, but ponies forgive--at least when the wrongdoer honestly repents and tries to do better, and she thought it was a good thing to live by. There was no point in holding grudges.
Like all other places on the property, the house had a Bible verse written near the doorway. This time, on a plaque beside it.
But when you are invited, take the lowest place so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then, you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
So...was Auntie Sunset saying guests should be moved into the mansion after staying in this house? Hard to say. That was something to worry about another day.
She opened the door and found Andrea in a stare-off with what was indeed a giant bug in an entirely unfurnished room. The stare-off ended quickly as they both turned to look at her.
She gave the giant bug monster her most friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Jordan. Sorry I missed your arrival. Welcome to Wabash Manor...or...Wabash's guesthouse--sorry, my auntie already had you on the list of people banned from going in the mansion, and I'm kinda stuck following her rules about what to do around here till I'm twenty-one. It's kinda amazing that she even considered that you might show up. Is everything okay and comfortable? I didn't realize it was this empty in here. Do you want me to find you some pillows to lay on or something?"
Bursa, who had remarkably ponylike features to her face despite being a bug, looked at Jordan with bewilderment.
"You aren't scared of me...but you are scared of the shiny pony I cannot feel," Bursa said. She then turned her eyes back at Andrea and spread her many legs out aggressively. "What kind of cruel pony are you, shiny pony?"
"She's not going to hurt us!" Jordan told Bursa quickly. "Andrea is just always saying I'm not good at this, or I need to do better at that, or I screwed up doing this. Even when I do something right, she seems to have something negative to say about it. It makes me anxious around her."
Bursa sneered at Andrea. "Maybe it is good I can't feel toxic pony then. I just got done with having to spend days with a toxic pony that made me sick." She looked back at Jordan. "Does toxic pony make you sick?"
"My name is Andrea, not Toxic Pony," Andrea grumbled.
Jordan shook her head. "She makes me anxious, but I know she means well, even if she could be nicer about things."
"I'm not going to baby you, filly. You need to toughen up," Andrea muttered. Jordan wondered if Andrea saw the irony in saying she wouldn't baby her and then immediately calling her filly.
Bursa frowned at Jordan. "But why do you have no fear of me?"
"Well, you did walk over here with Charlotte, and you didn't try to hurt her," Jordan answered. "Actual monsters have also chased me, and they looked like ponies, so I know not to judge a book by its cover. Plus, you look big and strong, but I'm reasonably confident I could successfully defend myself if I had to, which I don't think I will. You're my guest. So...do you want some pillows or something? Sleeping on the hard floor can't be comfortable."
Bursa continued to stare. "Are you related to Wild Growth?"
Jordan blinked. "Um...she's my half-sister's sister-in-law, so...kinda-sorta. Andrea is my half-sister's aunt, so I guess she is too, in a sorta way."
"Good grief, can you sound confident about anything?" Andrea muttered.
Bursa snarled at Andrea. "Be nice to her!"
Andrea took a defensive stance.
"Please! Andrea means well!" Jordan insisted. "She isn't very nice; she's downright mean, but she is a good pony. Don't hurt her."
Bursa seemed to relax a little. "Alright, if you say so, sister of the sister of Wild Growth. I wouldn't hurt her anyway. She is the aunt of the sister of Wild Growth."
"And that matters to you, doesn't it?" Jordan asked. "Why?"
Bursa sat down and stared at the floor. "Wild Growth saved me from being in the dark. She protected me from those who wanted to hurt me. She ordered the great mages to make me whole and not in pain. I do not like being this...thing they made me, but it is better than what I was. Wild Growth was kinder and more generous than anyone who saw me would have ever been. She has my gratitude, my...respect, and I shall never harm her family."
"Well, I know she is very nice and generous," Jordan agreed. "I try to be nice and generous too. So...pillows?"
Bursa shook her head. "No, I rarely sleep, and only when I have exhausted myself or one of you ponies puts me to sleep. I will not be sleeping here."
Jordan blinked. "You barely sleep? That's not good. Sleep doesn't just give our bodies rest; it gives our minds time to recharge. My sister says it is like a computer with fragmented files. You need time to defragment the brain, or things stop functioning right. Plus, it is that much more time just stewing in your thoughts if you are always awake, with you thinking less and less clearly. Getting some sleep lets you rest your mind so you can wake up and think more clearly. I mean, I don't know much about whatever you are or how your species works, but it seems like you should sleep more."
Bursa looked up at her and frowned deeply. "Are you saying I have a scrambled brain because I don't sleep much?"
"Uh...possibly?" Jordan replied sheepishly. "As I said, I don't know much about your species. Are there more of you, or are you the only one?"
"There are more of my species, but there is only one more like me from them," Bursa answered. "That one doesn't like me, and I don't like her, so we don't talk much, and I don't know how much she sleeps. The others are too nice, but they sleep like ponies."
"Too nice?" Jordan asked.
Bursa threw back her head and groaned. "They always want to do meditation, and painting, and gardening, and sit around and talk about their feelings in a circle. They wanted me to do those things, but it was all stupid!"
"Eh, gardening I could deal with, but I'm with you on the rest. Sounds like some hippy commune crap," Andrea dryly commented.
"So...what would you rather be doing instead?" Jordan asked.
Bursa gave a predatory smile. "Find the bad pony that took away my life and eat his head!"
Jordan took a step back at that declaration. "That's certainly...an idea, but don't you have any hobbies or anything? I get that you want revenge and all, but what's outside the revenge?"
"Try to find my way back to Earth," Bursa answered.
"Well...you've done that, so what would be the next thing on your list?" Jordan asked.
Bursa stared blankly at her.
"No hobbies then," Jordan concluded. "What about music? What about movies or shows you like?"
"They don't have television in Equestria, and movie theaters are rare," Andrea said in a bored tone. "What kind of music do you listen to, filly? I only ask because I'm going to have to be subjected to it for the rest of my life, and I want to know how miserable that's going to be."
"Um, I like movie and television scores that are remixed," Jordan answered. "There's literally thousands, maybe millions, of them online, so you can listen to the same score hundreds of times but have it be different each time. What do you listen to?"
"Twisted Sister, Guns and Roses, Van Halen," Andrea answered.
"I've never heard of any of that," Jordan said.
Andrea flattened her ears. "You are way too young."
"I have no favorites of those things," Bursa finally answered.
Jordan's ears perked up. "Well, since you don't sleep, maybe we can set up a television here so you don't have to be bored while you wait for Charlotte to wake up. That way, you can figure out what kinds of movies and shows you like, music too."
Andrea stood up and went to the door. "You can do that. I'll be seeing to my duties. Bursa, you are to keep to the house and out of sight, bug. We have an uptick in drones circling the property after you arrived. They saw you come in. Let's not give them anything else to look at."
"I can shapeshift into a pony or human," Bursa reminded them. She then transformed into a jade-green unicorn mare with a red mane.
Andrea turned and shook her head. "No! I will not play guessing games about who you are at any given time or give you any way to sneak around. You stay in your proper shape. Guards will be monitoring the house, and if anyone or anything comes out that shouldn't, action will be taken."
"What if she agreed to one specific form and to keep at least two guards near her at all times?" Jordan suggested. "That way, she could at least walk out and get some sun and see the gardens."
Andrea flicked her tail. "Very well, this form she just took, and it will be three guards that she always stays in sight of--no funny business. Everyone who comes here who isn't on the approved list gets monitored closely, so don't think I'm being mean just because you are a giant shape-shifting bug. You are on the banned list, so be happy to be here at all instead of on the street unprotected. The filly is too nice."
"Will they be upset to be around me?" Bursa asked .
Andrea laughed. "Ha! These guys are veterans of my sister's tenure here. They've seen shit. I tell them they're babysitting a giant shape-shifting bug, and they'll say, so today is an easy day. Don't you worry about them."
Jordan was skeptical. "Really? What's the craziest thing they've seen?"
Andrea seemed to think for a second. "Well...there was that time we had to lock down the whole mansion and evacuate, then call in Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer because Sunset opened a portal to who knows where, and something very very nasty came through. They had to shield the whole property to make sure it couldn't get out, and it took them a while to figure out what the hell she did and how to put it back where it came from. Thing got Fred's leg before we all got out of the house, poor Fred."
Jordan's ears flattened. "I never heard about that."
"Do you honestly think she wanted to advertise she opened a door to Hell, and a demon came through?" Andrea said with a shake of her head. "I'm saying that figuratively; I don't think that was a literal door to Hell or a literal demon, but it sure felt like it."
"Did they figure out where it came from?" Jordan asked.
Andrea shrugged. "No clue, but they figured out how to put it back...I think...it might be sealed in one of the vaults. They didn't give the rest of us the details. At least they got it under control."
Yet another reason to never go checking out the vaults. She did have more faith in the guards having nerves of steel.
"Okay, I'll find a TV and hook it up after I figure out what I'm eating for breakfast. Bursa, as soon as the guards show up, you can walk around the property if you want--in pony form," Jordan said. "It's going to be a good day.
Jessica checked again if her lab coat was securely buttoned as she walked through the school halls. Violet might want her to put more of herself on display, but the outfit she was wearing underneath was not what she would consider professional attire. It showed way too much cleavage, and, unlike Violet, Jessica didn't have fur on her chest to justify having all that uncovered. She'd be leaving for her date after work and wouldn't have time to go home and change clothes.
It felt like an eternity since she'd last been here. How do you return to everyday life after having been to the oldest place in the universe? Now that it was over, she was thinking about how little she had learned and how little time she had spent there. She'd spent most of her time there searching for rocks for Rebecca. She did bring back one of her own so she could run some experiments. The problem was figuring out how to go about it. It seemed like she would need to start with an electron microscope, a powerful one. She needed to investigate what that thing looked like on a quantum level. Wait...no, that wouldn't work. This stone wasn't regular matter; in theory, it had no electrons. She supposed that would be a good starting experiment to test if concentrated thaumic matter had electrons. All theories needed testing. Just because she assumed something based on theory means nothing if there wasn't verification through testing.
She was passing a fair number of students as she made her way to the faculty offices. Did any of them wonder what she was hiding under her lab coat? She strained her hearing for any mention of her name, primarily if it was associated with laughter.S he eventually latched onto one conversation.
"What's with the blue-haired lady with the lab coat? She's walking so stiffly. Is something wrong with her?"
"That's Doctor Middleton. I heard she has some sort of anxiety problem. Word is that she had a freak-out in one of her classes last week--totally twilighted."
"Doctor Middleton? Isn't she like some famous physicist or something? She teaches here?"
"Yeah, and you know super-genius types, they're all a little crazy. I think it is like autistic or something."
Her ears flattened. She was not autistic! At least they didn't seem to be concerned about what was under her lab coat, but the fact that word was getting around about her anxiety attack didn't make her feel much better.
"Oh, god, I think I'm going to be sick."
Her hearing focused on the sound of distress.
"What's wrong? Why are you glowing so brightly? Did somebody hit you with a spell?"
Damn, a crystal pony. She had her stone on her because she didn't want to leave it unattended.
"I just looked at that lady over there with the blue hair. She is giving off some massive magic levels. I've never felt anything like that."
"She cast a spell on you?!"
"No, she's just super strong, like stronger than all the rest of the people in his hall put together times a hundred. Just feeling her was too much for me."
"Damn...I didn't think humans got that strong. Wait, are those pony ears? Is she a partial?"
"She might be. A freaky strong one."
"Just take some deep breaths and don't focus on her. Maybe we should take you outside and let you expend all that extra magic."
"Yeah...that might be a good idea."
This was bad. She had crystal ponies in her classes. They had to pay attention to her. How had she overlooked this essential detail? She was supposed to be a genius. Geniuses weren't supposed to overlook such obvious details. What was she going to do about this? She couldn't leave the stone unattended. Why had Rebecca insisted on her keeping the damn thing? It was nothing but trouble. Well...it was worth studying. Her feelings on it were conflicted.
lDeep breaths. Calm down. Don't let the anxiety take control of you. You have traveled further than any human has gone before. You are stronger than this. she told herself in her head.
She reached the connecting hall where all the math and physics department faculty offices were. The first stop was Dean Francis's office.
The door was open, but she still knocked before entering. Dean Francis adjusted his glasses as he looked up at her.
"Doctor Middleton, I assume you have the Dreamwarden contract we discussed last week?" he asked.
She closed the door and pulled the contract out of her purse, and set it on his desk. He gave an inquisitive look towards the door.
"Good to see you followed through. Is there another matter that brings you to my office?" he asked.
She nodded and sat down. "I just put up a sound barrier around this office to keep the conversation private." She then reached into her purse and pulled out her stone, and set it on the desk. It had glowed as usual when she held it but ceased glowing when put on the desk. "I need access to laboratory equipment to study this. I can't give a list of what I may need access to. I haven't even begun to compile a list of possible experiments."
He adjusted his glasses and stared at the stone. "What am I looking at? It looks like a bad piece of modern art."
"You are looking at ultra-concentrated thaumic matter," she answered.
He looked up at her with a frown. "You must be joking. Such a thing is merely theoretical, and if it did exist, it would be extremely small, not something this big."
She shook her head. "I assure you, it is exactly what I am saying it is. I can't go into detail on how I obtained it--you wouldn't believe me if I did, but I can get another Dreamwarden contract to verify I am not lying if that is what it takes. It radiates thaumic energy on an extreme level. Every crystal pony I have come near has noticed it; at least two have claimed nausea from being overpowered by it."
Dean Francis still seemed skeptical. "Would you object to me bringing a crystal pony into this room to verify that? It is an easy enough test to conduct."
"It has to be someone who can keep a secret. I don't want this thing to become public knowledge just yet. Wild Growth is supposed to be providing me with a thaumic dampening box to mask it soon, but she told me that it would take time since it has to be custom ordered," she said nervously.
"Wild Growth's in on this, eh?" Dean Francis said as he rubbed his chin and examined the stone more closely now. "I know someone who can be trusted. Give me a moment to make a call. If this is what you say, we may be writing you a sizable research grant. Why did it stop glowing? Does it react to individuals with magic?"
"It reacts to me in particular, no one else," she answered. "I was given a reason why, but the reason was completely unscientific. The actual reason would be among the things I hope to discover. You can touch it. It won't hurt you. It has been handled by others already."
He picked it up. "Cold to the touch. Much lower than room temperature. Feels smooth. What reason were you given?"
She sighed. "That it is my stone and meant for me. I was told it learns about me and can enhance my innate power. I was also told it can eventually start to duplicate my power and nature for others who might try to use it if it learns enough about me. I have no verification of these claims or what they meant by nature--but they did come from a Dreamwarden, and Dreamwardens famously can't lie. I'm unsure how much they know about this thing. It is hard to be sure how much information a Dreamwarden is withholding. They said it takes a considerable amount of time to reach that point, perhaps longer than I may live. They also said the stone will vanish when I die...I'm not planning on testing to verify that."
"Certainly not," Dean Francis said in response to the last comment, turning the stone over in his hands. "So, is this something the Equestrians made? They have better access to thaumically active materials, and if it reacts to you, that indicates some sort of magical programming. While magic isn't our specialty in this department, getting a better scientific examination of one of their powerful artifacts is still worthwhile. Such an opportunity has yet never presented itself." He set it down and pulled out his phone. "Hold a moment before answering; I need to call that pony."
"Hello? John?" The voice on the phone answered.
"Yeah, John, it's John," Dean Francis answered. Jessica thought there should be a rule against having friends with the same first name. It got so confusing. "Can you come by my office? I need to get a magic reading on something."
"Sure, I can do that. I'm just across the building. Who do you need me to look at?"
"Not a who, a what, and I need this kept confidential," Dean Francis said.
"You've got my interest. I'll be there shortly."
Dean Francis ended his call. "My friend, John Marshall, is coming."
"So I heard," she replied. "Sounds like he was in the cafeteria."
He frowned. "You could tell where he was?"
"I heard a lot of chewing in the background. Electronic devices, especially phones, can carry my powers, and I know what chewing sounds like," she said with a shrug.
He tapped his finger on the desk. "It seems a study of your powers would make an interesting research paper for someone."
She smirked. "It did. My old caretaker studied me extensively as I learned to control my powers. She wrote a a fairly detailed report about it and had it published in some journal. She has a fascination with human and partial magic." She sat down on the seat across from him. "And no, this stone is not from the Equestrians. It is from something much much older. I can't go into detail where I got it."
He looked at the stone again. "You are inferring a pre-Devourer civilization? Virtually nothing is known of those. I wouldn't even know where you would come across such a thing. A meteor impact, maybe, but that seems unlikely--but I am getting ahead of myself. We still haven't verified it is what you claim."
"No details," was all she could say, but she still had another issue. "I don't feel safe not keeping that with me at all times--it isn't something you leave sitting around, but I have crystal ponies in my classes. They are supposed to pay attention to me, and when they do, they're going to feel it. What do I do?"
"If it turns out to be that powerful, and you have your lesson plan ready for today, post it online and cancel class for today. I can go by your class and announce it," he reasoned. "If it is that strong, then I agree with your assessment that it can't be left sitting around. Until Wild Growth gets you that box...even after that...you should invest in a safe--a good one, not some cheap one sold by Walmart that any healthy earth pony can buck open. If you get a grant, you can refund yourself the cost of the safe out of that as a research expense. If this ends up being what you say it is, the administration will generously fund the research. I admit I'm skeptical, but I'm also hoping it is true. It would be a huge boon to our department, and combined with the hiring of you, would raise our ranking among research institutions. That's a lot of potential donor money that could be coming in."
Of course, the dean was primarily interested in this for the money and prestige it could earn the school, and not what it meant for science, but then again, raising money and prestige for the school was his job.
There was a knock at the door, and a middle-aged, nearly white, crystal pony stallion with a suit jacket entered.
"Thanks for hurrying over here, John. This has s Doctor Middleton. She has something to show you," Dean Francis greeted.
Jessica picked up the stone and held it out towards the crystal pony. He instantly lit up brightly, and his facial complexion took on a greenish hue as he looked away.
He waved a hoof frantically at her. "Oh...god...can you put that thing away? Fuck's sake, that thing is overpowering."
Jessica put the stone into her purse and put her purse in the corner before returning to her seat. "Told you it was too much for them."
"Sorry about that, John. I had to verify that object was as strong as she said," Dean Francis said sympathetically. "Can I get you some water or something?"
The crystal pony shook his head. "No, just give me a second without focusing on anything. I will have to expel all this energy I just stored, or at least as much of it as possible. You two should cover your eyes and look away. This is going to be very bright. Tell me when you are ready."
"Ready," Dean Francis said.
"Ready," Jessica echoed as she covered her eyes with her hand.
There was a brief flash, bright enough that she could see it through both having her eyes closed and covered.
"Okay, that feels a little better," the crystal pony said. "I've seen Princess Twilight and Princess Luna, and neither felt like that. Granted, I think they shield their power somehow, but they were what I thought counted as intense power. That thing is on a whole other level."
She uncovered her eyes and looked at him. He was still glowing, but not as intensely. It was pretty impressive that he could expel that much magic so quickly.
"Well, I suppose that verifies that it is something special," Dean Francis said. "Put your lesson for today online, and I'll inform your class you'll be out. John, thank you again for your assistance; please don't mention this. We don't want it public until Doctor Middleton's research is complete--perhaps not even then."
"No problem. I don't even know what I saw," John said. "Let me get out of here before I notice that thing again."
Well, she had a path to her research. Hopefully, Wild Growth would get her that box soon. |
Partial | Chapter 47: The One Who Got Away | Blanche frowned as she stared off in the direction of the compound. Crystal and Tempest were doing some light sparring. Arturo was sharpening his knife. The pegasus had been distracted by birds and was a short distance away, observing a flock. It was approaching noon, and Josie had not yet returned to camp, which was troubling. They had distress signals to use if anything happened while scouting, and giving that signal was a top priority if discovered or injured, but there had been no such signal yet.
"Worry over night pony?" Arturo asked in Russian
"Yes," she answered in English. "It is troubling that she's been gone so long. I hope nothing has happened."
"Would blow mission," Arturo agreed with a nod as he continued to take his whetstone to his knife.
She nodded. "It would, but it isn't only that. I have very few friends. No offense to you, Tempest, and Crystal, but you are all more work acquaintances."
"No offense taken," Arturo replied. "Barely know you."
She nodded again. "But Josie and I have worked together for a while now. We're the only ones we typically can vent about our Warden's orders and share a drink as we try to recover from missions."
"Puffball is insane," Arturo agreed.
Blanche chuckled. "When I agreed to be her bodyguard, I expected it would be a low-effort job. You look at her, and you expect her to be lazy and have a hooves-off approach to everything. Boy, was I wrong on that one. I think she's probably one of the most active of the Dreamwardens. Missions aren't usually too bad unless someone has pissed her off, and that is rare and takes a lot to happen, but I would never have believed back then how vicious and brutal she gets when she finally gets pushed to that limit."
"Never make Dreamwardens mad is good policy. Also, never make nice people lose their shit because there will be blood," Arturo said in English.
"Very true," she agreed. She then shaded her eyes to look out into the distance. "Come on, Josie. Where are you?"
"I have great news!" Zipper announced as he flew towards them. Tempest and Crystal paused their sparing match to watch.
"Keep your voice down, and stay out of the air!" Blanche scolded him. "What's your great news?" She wasn't the one in charge, but Tempest had decided she would be the one to receive all the reports while the ex-pony listened.
"Pigeons!" Zipper said happily as he landed, spreading his wings with excitement.
"Pigeons," Blanche repeated. "Why are you excited about flying rats?"
Zipper gave her a dirty look. "Pigeons get a bad, unearned reputation. They are very clean and very smart. They've gotten even smarter in recent years. In fact, they are smart enough to count and sort by number! I hadn't expected to see a pigeon flock here, but they have been spreading since the pandemic. They are ancestrally desert birds--which, I'll have you know, is why they don't know how to make a proper nest; they didn't evolve in a region that had materials to do so, not because they are dumb. If I can make friends with the flock, I might be able to get you better information about that base, like how many guards are where and how many people they see inside the walls."
Tempest walked over. "That's good, but our immediate concern is now Josie. I have delayed it, but we should start looking for her. It has been too long. Can you convince the birds to be on the lookout for a night pony? Is that something they can do?"
Zipper bit his lip briefly. "It will take me a little while to make friends with the flock, and I'll need a picture of Josie. They are smart enough to identify certain ponies based on pictures, but I need at least a picture. I can't just describe a pony to them; it doesn't work like that."
"No need. I'm here."
They all turned to see Josie standing right behind them. It was bright and sunny, with hardly any cover in the area. Josie was an excellent shadowmelder, the best shadowmelder, but that still required shadows. How had she managed to sneak up on them?
She was also panting heavily.
"What happened?!" Blanche asked as she rushed over to her friend to check for injuries.
Josie allowed herself to be patted down. "I'm okay; I just pushed my magic hard to stay out of sight. I will need at least a day and a half of rest."
"Are you saying you were able to shadowmeld in the open?" Crystal asked in disbelief. "That's not possible."
Josie flopped down on the ground. "It is risky, but it is possible if I move very slowly and pour a ton of magic into it. I move too fast, and I'll get spotted. I don't think anyone but me can do it."
Blanche sat down and touched Josie's face. "Why would you need to do something like that? How close to the base did you get?"
"Too close," Josie replied. "But I have information. He's there--that damn crazy mad scientist, Rossman, Lair too."
"Are you sure?" Tempest asked.
Josie glared at their leader. "I searched high and low for the bastard after he fled that Shimmerist group that breached Wabash years ago. There were others involved, but Rossman was the biggest name. The rest of them were nobodies I didn't care about....aside from Fain, but Fain isn't someone like me can win a fight with. She could kill me with a touch." Her mouth pulled into a snarl. "They foalnapped a kid too young even to talk. I wanted justice. I never found him or Lair. I hated they got away."
"Well, you certainly serve the right Dreamwarden," Crystal muttered. "You got the one who goes nuts when kids are threatened, not that I think that's necessarily a bad thing."
"Nothing crazy about defending kids," Josie muttered.
Crystal gave her a stern look. "I've heard the stories of what she has the two of you do to those who get her mad. You could just make it quick and kill them, or you could just shake them down if you want to be humane about it, but you brutalize them, break them, and she always finds a way to watch. I've never seen a flip in personality from fun and carefree to the devil itself as dramatic as hers when the rage comes, and I deal with night ponies all the time--real Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde going on there. I'm not saying those guys don't deserve it, and worse, but she still sounds crazy as hell to me."
Josie glared. "They never do it again, and they suffer for what they did. Hurting kids is unforgivable."
"This discussion brings us nowhere," Tempest said firmly. "What does Rossman and Lair's presence mean for the mission?"
Josie turned her dirty look to Tempest. "What do mad scientists do? They experiment. In this case, they are experimenting on people. That's the only reason they could be here. I wondered what rock they ran and hid under; now I know. I'm glad those parents got their kid out of here, even if they died in the process. I couldn't bear it if he were experimenting on a child. This place needs to be shut down. I'm not retreating from here."
Blanche considered. "It does mean there could be some unorthodox defense here we are unaware of. Magic scientists are just mages by another name, and those two are mages with questionable morals and plenty of research. We'd be fools if we thought they hadn't come with some additional defense. It also means there is at least one crystal pony at the facility. That could be an issue. Rebecca has promised us reinforcements. We must huddle down, learn all we can, and await backup."
Tempest nodded. "Agreed. Zipper, start making friends with those birds. Josie may not be doing much scouting for a while. If there is a crystal pony in the base, we may need to keep her back from it even after she recovers. Her magic level could tip them off that they are being scouted. We also need to move to a more secure location away from the base if we will be here for a while. Sooner or later, they are going to notice us out here if they haven't already, which by itself might not cause trouble. Our cover story is we are helping Zipper with wildlife observations for a study if confronted by anyone--we want to avoid conflict if we can until our attack. Still, I'd like to move us further away so they have less reason to be anxious about strangers in the area."
"So, should I be making notes about the wildlife to make this seem legitimate?" Zipper asked.
Tempest nodded. "Yes, do that. Give us a brief report on the wildlife each night so the rest of us don't come off as completely ignorant if we run into anyone asking questions about why we are here. Also, if Rossman and Lair are indeed here, I believe I may know who the Marshmallow intends to send as one of our reinforcements, Bursa."
"She wouldn't," Crystal said with a shake of her head. "That dumb bug? We need to take Rossman alive. I highly doubt Bursa will be agreeable to the alive part of that."
"She is notoriously hard to keep under control," Blanche agreed.
"The timing of this mission, the revelation that Rossman is here, and the timing of Bursa's visit to Earth all coinciding together reek of Dreamwarden meddling. I am fairly confident she will be one of the reinforcements," Tempest asserted. "I don't know how the Marshmallow managed it, but I'm willing to put a hefty bet on it. We'll have to be firm with the changeling queen about our goals and that if Rossman dies, we lose all the information about what he has done to whom. I think we can convince her to stay her killing blow if it means making sure there isn't some other unfortunate soul that ran afoul of the doctor now stuck in a cave somewhere."
Blanche nodded. "Appealing to her that way may work. She had shown some care towards others before, like when she returned to fight the Pony of Shadows rather than get away when she had a chance." She frowned. "I may know another possible reinforcement that Rebecca may be planning. She'd discussed hiring the person with me recently as a redemption case." She looked at her exhausted friend. "I'm not sure you'll be too happy with who it is if I'm right. One of the things Rebecca discussed with me was how to break the news to you, given your feelings about the individual."
Josie looked puzzled for a moment while seeming to be trying to reason out who it could be, and then her face hardened. "Ohhh...heeelllll no!"
Blanche sighed. "Sorry, but I'm afraid the attempted recruitment is underway."
Rebecca happily strode down the street, her husband at her side. It was a cloudy day but not so overcast that the sun didn't occasionally peak through them. The forecast called for light rain in about two hours. Her weather senses weren't strong enough to verify that, but she trusted other pegasi to know what was what when it came to those forecasts, and they said it would be light rain, not enough to soak her hubby. She called that happy rain.
There were lots of people walking on the sidewalk, and a lot of them were taking pictures and things like that, marking them as tourists. This part of town preyed on out-of-towners--many shops selling overpriced things that anyone could find close equivalents of down at their local Walmart. Coffee shops were hawking forty-dollar cups of coffee, smoothie shops hawking fifty-dollar smoothies, ice cream shops hawking forty-dollar ice cream cones, and an astonishing number of pizza joints hawking pizza slices at a price she would expect to buy a whole pizza. She doubted she would do much shopping here, but the buildings did look cool. Although the building designs were functional and artistic, they were hardly unique. That was the terror of being a Dreamwarden. Dreamwardens had seen it all...many times over. There were no unique ideas, no unique designs. It can take a long time between using an idea or design, sometimes eons, but it had always been done before.
Well, her thoughts had taken a bitter turn. She looked at her hubby, walking beside her, and her thoughts turned glad again.
"Hey, babe, are we just sightseeing, or do you have a destination in mind?" Russell asked. "Because you seem to have a destination in mind."
"Nowhere in particular. I'm hoping to run into someone," she replied, then added, "--figuratively, not literally; I may need your help with her if we do run into her. I don't want her touching me. Her touchy is very bad touchy, at least for me; you're safe."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "This person wants to sexually harass you?"
"Well, I have that effect on some people. I mean, who could resist a body like mine? But it isn't that. Her touch causes extreme pain to people who have magic, and it gets worse the more powerful you are. She could kill anyone from Wild Growth to Celestia with only one press of her finger--really nasty stuff. I'm nowhere near that power level, but it would still hurt...a lot. I need a big, strong man, preferably one with no magic at all, to keep her back. She can take down an alicorn, but she's helpless against you."
"And why are we the ones looking for this person and not, say...a SWAT team?" Russell asked.
"SWAT may be looking for her; I never checked," Rebecca replied thoughtfully. "I'm looking to recruit her. You know, reformation cases. I mean, her powers make her very useful for taking down baddies, and there are some baddies I need some extra muscle in addition to Blanche and Josie to deal with."
"Babe...I'm not sure I'm cut out to be assisting you with your work stuff. You know I try not to pry into it too much, even when I know you are making vacation plans that are really for your work," Russell said.
Her ears sagged. "You noticed that, huh?"
"Yeah, I noticed, and it's fine. I knew what I was marrying into," he replied. "I even know you deal with some dangerous things. You don't keep Blanche around because of her pleasant personality, and I've overheard some of her adventures. While I don't know what Josie can do, I know she's pretty powerful. You send the two of them on missions a lot, and they don't seem to be the types to work charities.
"They do some charity work sometimes," Rebecca replied. "But you're correct."
"I don't want to know the details, babe, but I want to keep my distance from that stuff. Call it keeping my deniability. I'll help you with things today, this person and that group of ponies, but that needs to be it," Russell insisted.
"I understand, and I'll abide by your boundaries," she agreed. She'd half-expected this but was still disappointed, all the same. Despite being disappointed, she would do as she said and not involve him in these things past today.
Her ears perked as she picked up muffled cries of pain.
"We may have some heroics to do," she announced. "I could be wrong, but I think we found her, and she's hurting someone. Shame on her. We should hurry."
Russell stopped. "What?! Whatta we do?"
She paused and looked at him. "Just walk in and intervene. You're a big, strong man, and she's just an average-sized woman. Her powers don't work on you, so she can't hurt you with them. I'll keep my distance and talk. She might stop when she spots us. If she does, we can ensure whoever she hurt is alright, and then I can try to talk to her."
"And if she just takes off?" Russell asked. "I'm not keen on chasing this lady down. Man chasin' a woman around, particularly a black man that doesn't go over too well with folks unless he's wearing a uniform."
"Don't worry. I'll say some things early on that I think will make her hang around. If that doesn't work, then we let her run. If she isn't intrigued by what I say, she isn't going to work out," Rebecca answered. "Just make sure she doesn't charge me to put her hands on me. Her trying to torture me to get information is a small possibility. Again, we need to hurry. Somebody needs our help."
He hurried past her. "Right, right! Let's go save the person!"
She hurried after him. "Hey! Wait up for me. You need me to lead the way! Your ears aren't strong enough to pick up on the noise."
It didn't take that long to find who they were looking for. They were behind a t-shirt shop next to a dumpster. It smelled considerably worse behind the building compared to the street. The restaurant smells didn't seem to carry as much in the alley. Fain was crouched next to a burly bald man. She had her exposed hand over the man's mouth, and he was whimpering in pain, with the sound only being partially muffled by the hand.
"Miss Fain, decent-mannered ponies don't torture people," Rebecca said.
Fain looked up at her. "Who the heck are you? Some high-minded Shimmerist? This guy is a piece of Humanity First trash. He got on my case for not being properly rehumanized. He deserves to suffer."
Rebecca shook her head. "I know people who deserve to suffer, and while this guy might have some questionable beliefs, being a jerk isn't enough to justify this. Hurting people isn't what you desire anyway, quite the opposite, and I might be able to help you with what you really want. I won't be able to do that if you keep torturing that guy. I need to know you will make an effort to be good. Please, let him go, or my husband here will have to separate the two of you."
Fain released the man and shoved him down. He stayed with his face on the ground, sobbing.
"You seem to know who I am and a bit about me, but I have no idea who you are," Fain said cautiously. "Are you a Shimmerist?"
"Well, I have a human husband, so that leans towards a no. I try not to get involved in factions. I like to think I'm above that, even if I know I have some biases," Rebecca replied. "Hey, sweetie, can you go check on the dude? See if you can get him on his feet or if he needs an ambulance. I'm guessing she had her hands on him for a while. If you can get him walking, make sure he doesn't try to do anything foolish."
Fain raised her hands defensively at Russell as he approached. He stopped and looked at her.
"Not going to work on me, lady. I don't have magic. I just want to check the guy out, not mess with you. Whatever is going on between you and my wife is none of my business unless you try to hurt her. If you do try to hurt my wife, I won't care if you're a lady. I'll deck you myself," Russell said.
Fain inched away from the sobbing man, and Russell went to check him, not even looking at Fain.
"Not a Shimmerist then," Fain said. "I don't deal with non-Shimmerists much. Shimmerists are typically the only ones interested in getting me what I want."
"Shimmerists don't have the means, but I know someone who does, and I might be able to convince them to help you," Rebecca replied. "Wouldn't it be nice to walk on four hooves or to touch a pony without causing them agonizing pain? You hate that you can't safely touch a pony, right?"
Fain sneered. "I heard talk like that from a non-Shimmerist once. He couldn't follow through with his promises, and he got me involved with a murderer who was going to torture a foal. Plus, I know who you're talking about because he talked about her too. She won't help me, not after what happened last time."
Rebecca smiled. "Oh, but she owes me a favor. She wanted a better security system for her house after Shimmerists kept breaking in. She had some ideas but was unsure how to implement them, so she appealed to me and my colleagues. With her input, I designed and implemented a much better security system. I couldn't even get in there if I tried after what I put in place--I may have gone a teensy bit overboard in making the AI for the security system a completely murderous psychopath, but it does its job. Now she's under contract to repay the favor, and no one breaks a contract with us.'
Fain stared at her long and hard. "Unbreakable contracts, huh? I guess I know who I'm dealing with. I figured you guys would be pissed at me as well. It makes you being here even more of a shocker. So, what are you going to do, arrest me? Then after that, give me some job to do that will get me off on good behavior?"
Rebecca sat. "Well, you have some of that right. Miss Seapony, Angel Lady, Miss Nightmares, and Mister Potty Mouth are all still pretty pissed at you--primarily Miss Seapony, she wants to get creative with killing you, but this is between you and me, not them. I also do have a job for you if you agree to it, but we can discuss that in a bit. We aren't going to do the whole arresting thing. I'm not the police."
Fain grunted and watched Russell help the other man to his feet.
"What about that guy?" Fain asked. "He heard you. He might not be as stupid as he looks. He could put together who you are."
"I'm sure he doesn't want to talk about how he got victimized by a woman or saved by an interspecies couple," Rebecca answered as she watched. "And if he does say something, the OMMR is good at cleaning up my messes." She cupped her wing over her mouth. "Good job, sweetie. Is he going to be okay?"
"Yeah, think he just needs to walk it off," Russell replied.
"His magic isn't strong enough for me to fuck him up that much," Fain muttered. "He should be fine in a few minutes. He is just exhausted from the pain. If I held a pony that many minutes, they'd have long since passed out for the same reason."
"Or dead, depending on who they are," Rebecca commented.
Getting Fain to be a better person was a good thing on its own, worthy of doing, but, on a practical note, it was best to remove anything that could potentially kill any of the alicorns or other significantly powerful ponies. Some would say having such a secret weapon available was a good thing, but dead alicorns were not something Rebecca was willing to risk, and she was friends with at least two of those other significantly powerful ponies that Fain would be lethal to the touch. Killing Fain would be the surest way to remove that threat, but Rebecca wasn't the murdering type, even at her most enraged. Death was a horrible thing. Dead people couldn't laugh, cry, do anything creative, be friends, or become better people. Reforming Fain was the best solution for everyone. It helped Fain, it helped Rebecca, it kept important people safe, and was just a good thing to do. She was here to help people, especially people who didn't have friends. Fain had a history of being used, abused, and generally mistreated, which led to her current lashing out. Fain certainly could use a friend--one who actually cared. Whether Fain could become a better person through friendship was still a big question, but one worth trying--better than Miss Seapony's suggestion that involved two sharpened wooden poles, several metal spikes, a shovel, and a bunch of termites, yeesh.
"And some say being non-magical has no advantages," Russell muttered. He patted the man on the back. "You okay to walk, buddy? Sorry, I can't walk you out to the street. I'm not risking leaving my wife alone with this lady."
"I don't need your help, pony-fucker," the man growled. He then took several unsteady steps towards the street, each looking like they might be the one that would make him faceplant with the cement.
"Not much gratitude," Russell muttered.
Fain sneered at the retreating man momentarily before turning her attention back to Rebecca. "So, you guys don't lie. Tell me straight out then, are you promising to make me a pony if I do what you want?"
Rebecca considered her wording for a moment. "You'll get to be a pony...most of the time."
Fain arched her eyebrows. "Most of the time?"
"We can't permanently turn you into a pony; you have gone through too many full transformations to do another stable permanent transformation. Trying to do it again could kill you," Rebecca explained. "What we can get you is the temporary transformation spell for your regular use, a talisman that, when worn, will make you a pony. You can't leave it on forever because it has to recharge, and it can cause damage if it goes more than a week, but you only have to have it off for a day or so every week; the rest of the time, you'll be able to be a full crystal pony."
Fain licked her lips. "I can deal with that. If that's as good as it gets, I'll take it. It is certainly better than dying. So...nothing is free; what do you want out of me?"
"Three things," Rebecca answered. "First, no more hurting random people who don't deserve it with your powers. Since you and I might disagree with the whole who deserves it part, you don't use them on anyone I disapprove. Second, I want you in my employment. I have two magnificent bodyguards, but a third doesn't hurt. I'm very squishy, and I don't want someone squishing me. Although, you might end up watching my hubby more than me. I'm sure you're very familiar with the tactic of someone trying to hurt someone that a Dreamwarden loves to get something out of the Dreamwarden. I wouldn't cave to that kind of pressure, but that doesn't mean I won't do all I can to protect Russell from anyone trying to pull that stunt. He's precious to me, and I want someone hanging nearby to keep an eye out for trouble and do something about it if there is any."
"Not thrilled about being told that I can only use my powers at your discretion and guarding a regular human is grating, but those conditions are worth it for what I would be getting," Fain grumbled. "What's the third thing?"
Rebecca frowned. "You remember your old pal, Rossman? Well, I received reports today that he just turned up in Mexico--I already knew he was there, but I had to wait on an actual report of it. That's one of the annoyances of my job. Anywho, he's at a base where they hold partials against their will. I am angry about this base. At least two partials have died escaping this camp, and more may have died at it or while trying to escape. I'm sure you have feelings about camps where people hold partials against their will and do who knows what kind of experiments. I have people down there trying to put an end to it. They are powerful and skilled but grievously outnumbered. It would only take a few more reinforcements who have power and skill to turn the tide in our favor to shut that place down and free the prisoners. I want you to be one of those liberators."
Fain gripped her hands into fists and practically growled. "Filly, if all you wanted me for were that, you wouldn't even have had to offer anything."
Doctor Rossman waited patiently as the guard brought in the subject: a partial woman, aged sixty-three, with olive skin, lavandander hair with streaks of gray, a full tail, and a stub of a horn. Her name was Valeria. She was shaking. The guard directed her to a chair by a desk and shoved her down into it.
Rossman frowned. "There is no need to be so rough with the patient. She was perfectly capable of taking her seat on her own."
"She resisted coming," the guard said in a testy tone, gripping his rifle hanging on his shoulder with two hands.
"Well, she hardly has the strength to put up much resistance against a man such as yourself," Rossman said in a tired tone. "Try to be more gentle with the patients. They are under enough distress as it is."
The guard muttered something that sounded like gibberish and took his position at the door. Rossman sighed and looked at Lair; she shrugged and pointed her horn at the patient. He nodded and turned his attention back to the partial woman as he tapped the recorder to begin the session.
"Beginning session," Rossman spoke. "Subject, Valeria Muniz, this is her ninth session. The subject seems to be experiencing signs of anxiety. Hello, Valeria. How are you feeling today?"
Valeria didn't answer, only stared at him.
He grunted. "Subject seems to be reticent. Valeria, have you eaten yet today?"
Valeria gave a slight shake of her head.
"Well, you must eat. Treatment requires that you keep up your strength and energy," he admonished. "Doctor Lair, if you would?"
Doctor Lair levitated a bowl of fruit, a mix of sliced mangoes and peaches, to the table in front of the partial woman and set it down gently in front of her. Valeria just stared at it.
"Hmm, perhaps you will feel more like eating later. How is your appetite?" Rossman asked.
Valeria continued to stare at him.
He sighed again. "Doctor Lair, can you please get the scale so we can get her weight?"
Lair went to get the scale but paused as sounds of a disturbance erupted outside. He heard Valeria whimper. Rossman lifted his leg to check his phone for updates.
ALL SPARE GUARDS TO HOUSING AREA THREE. PARTIAL MALE WITH HEIGHTENED STRENGTH ATTACKING GUARD
Housing area three, that would probably be Alvaro Cano. He had four escape attempts to date. One of which resulted in him receiving severe injuries to his right leg that made him have a permanent limp. Rossman was quite cross about that injury, but it had occurred before he started his tenure here. He did his best to minimize injuries, but they still occurred from time to time, even sometimes deaths. The deaths troubled him, but these were broken people, so their mortality rate was going to be poor. Whether it was from poor biology or victimization by bigots, they would live shortened lives. Surely, they were better off here than they would be on their own. Here, they advanced research. One day, this research would allow him to unlock the greater mysteries of transformation magic and create alicorns. If only they understood what a great work they were all involved in.
The guard at the door had also checked his phone but now stood unconcerned. Such disturbances were sadly all too common.
However, Valeria was even more agitated due to the disturbance and was back to visibly shaking and rubbing her arms.
Once again, he sighed. "Doctor Lair, you may need to place her on the scale. Try to be gentle."
Lair approached the woman, and Valeria shied away. She began muttering in fear the Spanish term ponies in Latin America had devised for a rehumanization clinic--elmallugar, originally el mal lugar, but over time it had fused into one word, as it was said quickly in hushed tones.
"Valeria, I've told you. We aren't here to rehumanize you," Rossman assured her--although, he would be thrilled if he could learn the process. It would greatly help his research. He understood why these people often thought they were being coerced into rehumanization. They remembered the clinics; they remembered unicorns and crystal ponies running them. He sometimes wondered why crystal ponies always got a bad reputation in the public consciousness for being associated with those places and not unicorns. Crystal ponies weren't the ones casting the spells. Maybe it was because it was Equestrian unicorns and not Earthling ones, so there wasn't the same sense of betrayal.
The partial woman struggled against Lair's magical grasp, and Lair was becoming visibly frustrated by the woman.
"Maybe we should skip the weighing and move directly into today's procedure," Lair suggested.
He shook his head and stomped. "No, we do this properly. I will not have our work rushed. Do you recall what happened when we rushed before? I will not have a repeat of that debacle. We will get her weight, get her to eat, get her current thaumic reading; then we will begin the procedure."
Hopefully, Valeria wouldn't do too much screaming this time as they worked. It pained him that his work often caused his patients intense physical pain, but it was a necessity to do things the way they did. They would understand, eventually, once his work was through.
> Chapter 48: Dating Misadaventures
Rebecca stood in an old high school gym in the center of a basketball court. The school had long ago shut down. Not for any terrible reason just the state felt the need to build a bigger, better school. The old school facilities had gone through a few different owners before ETS and served as a shelter for the infected during the ETS pandemic. Afterward, a cabal of crystal ponies bought it, hoping to establish a base to fight for their rights in a world where they were distrusted by both humans and other ponies. Then came the alliance with the regional night ponies. By combining their voices, they hoped that they could be heard and they could address each others' issues with their combined efforts.
However, she wondered if these crystal ponies had considered the night pony tribe's unique relationship with the Dreamwardens when they made that alliance.
In the bleachers surrounding her sat crystal and night ponies. The lights were dim, but not too dim. She guessed that most of the night ponies in the city were present. As for the crystal ponies, they came in lesser numbers, some because they were currently at jobs, some others because they didn't want to be tied up with a Dreamwarden and had refused the contract of secrecy. That was their choice, and she didn't feel any resentment they felt that way.
She spread her wings wide. "Hello! I am Dreamwarden The Marshmallow, Warden of Creativity, but my actual name is Rebecca Rice. This handsome man standing next to me is my husband, Russell Rice. This sulking lady wearing a hoodie sweater and gardening gloves is Fain, but I think you know her already."
"Why is she here?" an official-looking crystal pony stallion asked. "She has been nothing but a blight on the community since she arrived in the city. If you have apprehended her, shouldn't you be going to the police?"
Rebecca smirked. "No comments about me, just her, huh? Oh, I suppose you might be more interested in her, given her recent history. Here that, Fain? You're stealing my thunder."
"Sorry," Fain replied in a low voice.
"Oh...it's okay. At least you're famous," I assured her.
"Do you have to be so cheerful about everything?" she grumbled.
"No, but I try to be as cheerful as possible. Got to lift those spirits!" Rebecca answered.
Fain snorted.
Rebecca turned back towards the crystal pony stallion. "To answer your question, I'm taking her on as a reformation case. We Dreamwardens love reformation cases. It makes us feel proud of ourselves--you know, giving us that sense we're doing good for the world," Rebecca happily answered.
The stallion gave her a doubtful look. "You are trying to reform Christina Fain? What in the hell positive can come from her? She inflicts pain on others for fun."
"That might all be a misunderstanding," Rebecca replied.
"It's not. I do that," Fain said dryly.
The stallion pointed at Fain in confirmation.
Rebecca sighed. "Fain, you are making it very hard to defend you. Also, your name is Christina?"
Fain gaped at her. "You're one of the mighty Dreamwardens, and you went out of your way to recruit me, but you didn't know my first name?!"
"Everyone always just calls you Fain. I never looked into it. I guess that's my bad," Rebecca said sheepishly. "You even do it. You've got that whole, Fain rhymes with pain, catchphrase. Great marketing move, by the way, even if we need to do away with that and rebrand."
"Urgh! I could kill you!" Fain fumed.
"Don't do that. It takes a lot to get me mad, but getting murdered would probably do it. I don't know how you would make an apology that would make me get over being mad about dying. It is possible, but that would take a pretty epic apology. It would definitely need to include a musical number, a Broadway show-worthy one. Do you do musical numbers? How's your singing voice?"
Fain sat down and shook her head. "Why'd I agree to this," she muttered.
Rebecca redirected her attention to the guy who seemed to be the leader. "I'm going to try to put her powers to better use than terrorizing random people and causing public disturbances. I literally just employed her a few minutes ago and haven't gotten around to setting her on her tasks yet or trying to smooth out her wrinkles. Don't worry, she'll behave herself around us. She will be leaving town for a bit, although she should return as long as she doesn't die. Don't die, Fain. It makes it very hard for me to honor my side of our contract if you're dead. I could still honor the contract with your corpse, but it would be a lot of extra hassle, and I don't think it's what you had in mind when you entered into this agreement. Plus, I would be almost as upset about you dying as I would if I died."
"I'll keep that in mind," Fain muttered.
"You're going to fit right in with Blanche. She's a grumpy goose who has to be oh so serious all the time, too," Rebecca said, still as cheerful as ever.
"I'm surprised you haven't tried to tickle Blanche to make her laugh," Russell commented.
Rebecca flapped her wings with agitation. "I have! She's not ticklish!"
"I'm warning you, I can't be held responsible for what happens if you try to tickle me," Fain asserted, stepping away.
An older night pony mare spread her wings. "If the Dreamwarden says that Fain is under control, I do not question her."
"Have we even established that this fat pegasus is even the Dreamwarden?" the crystal pony stallion asked skeptically. "She hardly looks the part."
"No one would make such a claim without telling the truth. The Dreamwardens would not take it well," the mare replied as she folded her wings. "Even if she were lying. We could ask the Dreamwardens upon falling asleep if she is lying about being one of their number, and they could confirm. It is too easy a lie to be caught in. She may not look the part, but I am sure she is telling the truth."
The other ponies quietly whispered among one another. It seemed clear that the two who had been speaking were the heads of this group.
The stallion snorted. "If that is the case, then perhaps we should get down to business. What exactly do you want from us, Marshmallow? We have numbers, but we're a rather financially poor enclave. Most of our funds were used up buying this property. We can't afford utilities beyond keeping the lights on in this gym. We also have a reputation within the city we are working to build, and I do not wish to endanger that."
Rebecca sat down. "This wasn't my idea to reveal myself to the local enclave; it was Phobia's. I do not intend to reveal my identity to the public until she retires. It is just way too much stress and attention for me, and everyone will want my opinion on silly things like politics. Still, you'd be standing by to guard me and my hubby whenever I do reveal myself--more like guard my house since I already have bodyguards who can follow me and my hubby around, like Fain here."
"And what do we get out of this?" the stallion asked.
The mare hissed at him. "We don't need to get anything. Guarding a Dreamwarden is a great honor."
"For you night ponies, maybe, but crystal ponies don't have your religious zeal about Dreamwardens. We need to be getting something else out of it. Something that advanced our goals," the stallion said in an exasperated tone. "I heard Dreamwardens like to make deals and sign contracts, so what kind of contract and deal are you offering?"
Rebecca perked her ears and rubbed her hooves together. "You got me there; I do like a good contract. Quick, itty-bitty question--why did you invest so much money in buying this old school if you can't afford to do anything with it or even pay to keep the lights on? I'm betting it needs some massive repairs for the other buildings as well."
The stallion hung his head. "We had wanted to turn this all into a massive community center--providing job training, a food bank, affordable child care, and a free clinic. We also wanted it as our headquarters to make us seem more legitimate as a group. Unfortunately, we counted too much on outside investment that just never came. We've been debating selling it."
She grinned. "What if I could get you that big investor you wanted? Although, there might be some additional conditions required."
His gaze was full of distrust as he lifted his head. "What kind of conditions?"
She stood up and started pacing. "Old Mister Potty-Mouth...that's Ghadab to you...does this service where he helps track down victims of kidnapping and foalnapping. It's been a good program and one I fully support since I hate seeing kids get hurt, but it has some logistical problems that keep it from reaching its full potential. You've got four buildings here, in addition to this gym. We'd like to have one of those buildings and some of your members used to help optimize that program."
He raised an eyebrow. "You'll need to be clearer. Exactly what would the building be used for, and what would we be volunteering to do?"
"Our biggest problem is getting the information from the sleeping victim to the right authorities promptly," she replied. "We can find volunteers willing to do it; that's no problem, but that doesn't mean those volunteers can do that quickly and efficiently. They have to wake up and find out who they are supposed to be contacting, forgetting details because they are groggily waking up, which can cause vital information not to get transmitted. We need a group of professional employees to take up this job. I envision a center where a few people are always asleep, ready to receive messages, with others standing by to take those messages quickly before anything is forgotten. The center will have all the resources to find where the data needs to be transmitted and do it quickly, and in this, time is essential to saving lives. This will make the program much more effective and efficient. Of course, this would be a subdivision of the OMMR, and as such, everyone working there would be an OMMR employee entitled to a paycheck. Heck, you can even funnel unemployed people to work there once they've been properly trained, and the OMMR would happily keep investing in your community center while paying for utilities to the entire complex."
"And you expect us to hang around your house. How is that supposed to work and be explained?" the stallion asked.
"I'm an architect employed by the OMMR, so I would happily come on to help restore and refurbish this place, as well as set up an office on one of the floors. That would explain my regular presence here, close to where you can guard me. No need to hang around my home, at least not until I reveal myself, but that's a long ways off. Whatya think? I think that offer advances your goals and ours."
The stallion blinked and turned to whisper with the night pony mare. A few other crystal ponies gathered close and exchanged whispers with the pair as the remaining crystal ponies and night ponies watched from afar, occasionally whispering among themselves. Rebecca waited as this continued for a minute, then another minute, and then another minute. Okay, she was hoping for a quicker, positive reply. That was the best sales pitch she could come up with. These crystal ponies must be really distrustful of Dreamwardens.
"Babe, if they decide to open this community center, do you think you could get me a job here?" Russell asked. "This is a good gym. The hoops need to be replaced, but that isn't such a big deal. It has holes in the floor for the volleyball court nets, so we could also set up volleyball. I bet this place also has a weight room, even if the equipment is long gone."
She smiled at him. "This would still be their place, so that's up to them, but I'll put in a good word for you. I'm sure they'd be interested. Want to continue coaching kids?"
"Yeah, I enjoyed that and don't want to give it up," Russell replied. "I had planned on checking around the city for a position, but I'd probably end up assisting someone, not running a gym. This could be an opening to run a program."
"Sounds great!" Rebecca chirped. It also would have him close to the night ponies to keep him safe.
The chattering ponies separated, and the official-looking stallion looked at her.
"We're intrigued by the offer, but we'll need to see the offer in writing. Dreamwardens always try to get as much wiggle room as they can out of the wording, so we'll need to see the exact wording of the contract. Draw up your contract, and we will review it."
"Sounds fair!" she replied. "I'll have the lawyers draft a document and have it to you by tomorrow. Take your time to discuss it amongst yourselves. You know how to reach me when you're ready, have any additional concerns, or decide to tell me no."
The stallion looked confused.."Um, no, we don't. You've given us no contact--"
"She's a Dreamwarden. We do it via dreams," the night pony mare replied exasperatedly. "And since she's a day pony, it will probably have to be one of you crystals that gets in touch with her just because of sleep schedules. All you have to do is have the intent to speak with her when you fall asleep. She or one of the other Dreamwardens will find you."
"The mare is on point," Rebecca announced. "I think that takes care of everything I needed to take care of. If you get this place up and running, my hubby would love to help do some athletics programs with kids. He's got lots of experience. He used to work at a community gym in Skytree, doing after-school programs with kids."
"We'll keep that in mind," the stallion muttered. "Have a good day, Miss Marshmallow."
"Dreamwarden Marshmallow," the night pony mare hissed in correction at the stallion. Several night ponies got up and spread their wings aggressively at the stallion.
Rebecca stuck her wings out in front of herself placatingly. "Hey! No need for ya'll to get hostile with each other. Just breathe. I don't care much for violence...well...unless it involves bad guys getting hurt, but I don't think that applies to anyone here. Not you either, Fain."
"Ya'll?" Fain asked with a smirk. "Guess you are from the south."
Rebecca shrugged. "Partly, and partly some AAV from hanging around my mother-in-law. The odd bit of it slips in from time to time. More importantly--you smiled...sorta. That's great!"
Fain gave her a bigger smile, showing all her teeth.
Rebecca jumped back. "Maybe not smile like that. It looks kinda predatory. We want the kids to feel safe. That smile says, I just ate your cat, and now I'm going to eat you. Don't worry, we'll workshop that smile."
"I'll give you a better smile once you fulfill your end of the contract," Fain said as she stopped smiling.
"So, what do we do now?" Russell asked.
She considered. "Hmm...food sounds good. Food usually sounds good, but it's been a busy morning, and my tummy is rumbling. Fain, you can pick the place for us to eat...provided it's vegetarian, and Russell and I will pay."
"I'm banned from every restaurant in town, and there are multiple warrants for my arrest," Fain said bluntly.
"That does present a conundrum," Rebecca said thoughtfully. Darn, she wanted to at least try some of the overpriced pizza and ice cream. "Guess we'll head back to the hotel and then order delivery. Hopefully, we won't all waste away before it arrives."
Fain looked at Rebecca's belly. "I don't think that is a big concern in your case."
"I call that my unique evolutionary adaptation against delayed meals! I can survive missing lunch with only moderate discomfort other than extreme unhappiness. I'm more concerned about you two," Rebecca replied.
"And here I thought Dreamwardens couldn't lie," Fain said dryly.
"She didn't expressly say why she was concerned about us. She's concerned about other things. She's probably worried if you'll work out and also worried about my safety, but she doesn't want to let on she's worried, so she attached it to a joke about herself. I know my wife well enough to guess that. She does things like that," Russell pointed out.
"Ah, I see. I need to learn to pay attention to her wording," Fain said with a nod.
"Pay attention to this. This jiggly belly needs to be filled," Rebecca said as she headed to the exit.
Jessica tapped her finger anxiously against her leg as Adam drove. She didn't like riding as a passenger. She tolerated it when she sometimes rode with her dad and, on rare occasions, with her mother, but that was just them. They'd driven her around when she was a kid, so it was just a continuation of that. Even with them, she still preferred to be the one driving. Despite being a mechanic familiar with many vehicles, she also didn't like being in an unfamiliar vehicle. In her car, she had a gap in the seat that allowed her to slip her tail through. This car had no such gap, so unless she sat on the edge of the seat, every little bump would cause her tail to get pinched against the seat. Even sitting on the edge of the seat, it could happen if they hit a pothole. That was another reason to dislike being a passenger; she'd be extra careful to avoid anything like that if she were driving.
"You okay?" Adam asked.
Her ears flicked. "Yes. Why do you ask?"
"You're sitting on the edge of your seat, tapping your finger a lot," Adam said worriedly. "Have I done something wrong?"
Her ears went erect. "What? No! If you must know, it's my tail. Your car seat isn't a good fit for it."
"Oh..." he said, taking his eyes off the road briefly to glance at her fluffy blue appendage but quickly returning them to the road. "You know, I never really paid your tail that much attention. My eyes get drawn more to your ears and hair. I hadn't thought about how much of a nuisance it must be with chairs, benches, and car seats. Does it hurt?"
Her ears flattened slightly. He never paid her tail much attention? Sure, she didn't want to be stared at like a freak, but she liked the look of her tail. She thought it was one of her better features, and he didn't notice it? Further, her tail wasn't a nuisance; all those seats were. She shouldn't be offended, but she was.
"Okay, now I'm sure I did something wrong. Your ears flattened."
Blasted ears! Now, there was a body part that was a nuisance. They always betrayed her mood. This date was not off to a great start.
"Sorry. I'm not used to riding a passenger. You might say driving is one of my hobbies. As for just now, I'm just being moody, I guess. I don't know why since I normally don't like people staring at my tail, but having my tail ignored just annoyed me for some reason. I like my tail."
He went wide-eyed and blinked. "Wow...I'm not used to women being so open and direct. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just that I'm used to having to bend over backwards to figure out what they're thinking and why. It's strangely refreshing, yet unnerving at the same time, to have you just come out and tell me. Not that I'm happy that you're annoyed! Please don't take all that the wrong way."
"This is feeling very awkward," she said as her ears flattened even more and rubbed her arm.
He looked at her in horror. "Sorry! Sorry!"
She reached out and grabbed the steering wheel, pulling it just in time to have them avoid hitting a car. "Eyes on the road!"
He refocused. "Sorry...."
She released the wheel and rubbed her temple, then let off a short laugh. "I was worried about making a fool of myself doing this date, but you seem to have it way worse."
"Well, when I asked you to come to this jazz club, I didn't mean it as a date. I just said that to say it. Then I freaked out, wondering if you thought it was a date. I've been freaking out about it for days until I finally convinced myself that I was creating some fantasy in my head. Then you showed up clearly expecting this to be a date. I didn't expect you would ever agree to something like that, but here you are, and here I am, feeling like I'm with this woman I've always idolized who is completely out of my league but somehow agreed to a date that I asked her out on by accident, and if I mess up you'll lose all respect for me," he said rapidly, leaving him gasping for breath.
Okay, what was she supposed to say to that? He hadn't meant for this to be a date? She stressed out about going on a date that he hadn't meant to ask her out on?? Did that mean he wasn't even interested in having a relationship with her? No...he had gone along on this being a date...but maybe he felt it was an obligation due to the misunderstanding--which was, of course, all his fault. No...that wasn't right either. Why was it so hard to think logically about this?
No matter what, she needed to pull this conversation back. It was getting worse and worse. "Answering your earlier question, it does hurt when my tail gets pinched in the seat. It is literally like jamming your finger against something, only it is jamming your tailbone. Stepping on my tail is typically just pulling the hair since the tail is small compared to all the hair around it. If its hair gets pulled, it feels similar to the hair on your head getting pulled, which isn't pleasant. As for mobility, since I'm sure you'll ask, it moves more stiffly than my other limbs. I hear some ponies have a lot more flexibility with their tails, even being able to grab things with them, but that takes either natural talent or a lot of practice trying to use it that way, and I don't have that natural talent and have never put any serious effort into trying to train my tail to bend that way. I can lift it, lower it, move it side to side, or give it a good whip or spin, but I cannot bend it beyond curling it around myself."
"I wasn't going to ask. I already knew how pony's tails operate, so I figured yours operated similarly. I just wasn't sure if the seat was hurting you," Adam replied.
She crossed her arms and let out a long breath. This was not going well. "Okay, it is my fault for over-explaining. I think this will go better once we get to that club and can talk about what I found at-"
She had to stop as her phone started buzzing. She reached down into her purse and pulled out her phone to answer.
"Hi, Jessie! Um, how are you doing?" Jordan asked quickly as soon as the call was answered.
"Jordan?" Jessica replied in confusion. "I'm okay...why are you calling? You know I was going on this date at the moment."
"Yeah...sorry for interrupting...but I have a teensy problem that I need some help with," Jordan said sheepishly.
"I AM NOT A TEENSY PROBLEM! HAVE THE HOMEWRECKER COME HERE NOW!!"
"Can you please behave yourself? You are trying to get her to help you, and she can hear you yelling at her best friend and calling her a homewrecker."
Jessica's eyebrows shot up. "Charlotte's there with you? Who else is there? Who was yelling? What's this about me being a homewrecker?" She looked at Adam. "Wait...are you married?!"
"No!" Adam protested.
"Um...this has nothing to do with that guy you are with," Jordan said quickly. "But can you please come over here? I have a giant shape-shifting bug here who just figured out she's Mark's aunt and that you are trying to adopt Mark."
Jessica silently mouthed the words giant shape-shifting bug before she could try to respond. "What?"
"It's hard to explain. Please come over here before she does something we'll all regret. She isn't exactly the most reasonable or patient creature...or the brightest."
"THAT'S NOT MY FAULT!! IS THE INSOLENT CREATURE THAT WOULD STEAL MY NEPHEW AWAY COMING?"
"You didn't even know you had a nephew until ten minutes ago!" Charlotte protested. "This is all your fault."
"Just following orders," another unfamiliar voice said. "Doctor Middleton, can you please come to Wabash Manor before Bursa does something stupid?"
"I WILL NOT DO SOMETHING STUPID! I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY NEPHEW IS TO GO SEARCHING FOR HIM!"
"So you admit you'd do something stupid if you knew," the stranger replied. "God, Rebecca has some crazy plans, but this is up there with the craziest."
"I SHALL SLAY MY COMPETITION FOR MY NEPHEW'S AFFECTIONS!"
"So how do you think your nephew will react to you killing someone he might have some affection for?" the stranger asked.
"I...UM....I..."
"Yeah, I thought so. You didn't think this through," the stranger said smugly.
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!"
What in the fudge was even going on? Rebecca was involved? That explained the insanity. What mattered was there was someone who was claiming to be Mark's aunt, and that wasn't something she could ignore. She should probably call her dad as well.
"I'm coming," she said. She had considered issuing a challenge to the bug, but thought better of that. She had no idea what she was even dealing with.
"Thank you! See ya soon!" Jordan said, then hung up.
She sighed and looked at Adam. "Sorry, we're going to have to postpone this date. How do you feel about meeting giant shape-shifting bug monsters?"
He looked at her in confusion. "Giant what?"
"Eyes on the road!" she yelped as the reached for the wheel again.
> Chapter 49: Life is Strange
Jessica had hoped that Jordan had been using some strange metaphor when saying there was a giant bug monster. However, personal history and the fact it was Wabash Manor suggested anything was possible, even likely. Now she was standing in the Wabash Manor guest house and staring at a very large and very real bug monster.
"THE THIEF THAT IS TRYING TO STEAL MY NEPHEW'S AFFECTIONS, I WILL SLAY YOU!"
Bursa certainly was dramatic. Bursa also had ears, very ponylike ones. If the bug charged, Jessica could easily drop her. It wasn't something she ever wanted to have to do and would avoid even in the most dangerous circumstances when facing a human or pony, but Bursa wasn't likely to have courts on her side if Jessica used strange magic on her.
Jessica ignored the threat and looked at Charlotte and the vaguely familiar scarred unicorn mare. "So...how is this thing Mark's aunt?"
"DO NOT IGNORE ME, HUMAN!"
"She used to be a partial, but some fanatical harmonist scientist got his hooves on her and tried to turn her into an alicorn," Charlotte explained.
Jessica glanced at Bursa, who was standing with legs and wings spread in what she assumed was a threatening posture, then looked back at Charlotte.
"They didn't do a very good job at that," Jessica said flatly.
"HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME!!"
Charlotte shrugged. "She supposedly used to be in much worse shape, practically falling apart, but grandma came up with a cure that made her into this, although Princess Twilight applied it. Bursa isn't grateful and hates Grandma for dreaming this solution up."
"I don't think anyone likes Auntie, so that's nothing new," Jessica replied. "I don't think even the Blessingists would like her if they had to deal with her in person. She's well-intentioned, has a lot of ingenious ideas, loves her family, and tries to do the right things, but she's not likable at all. She is manipulative, controlling, can't get her nose out of everyone's affairs, and some of her ingenious ideas create giant bug monsters."
"Can you take me seriously, please?" Bursa whined, interrupting the conversation. "What's wrong with you people? I'm a giant bug threatening to kill you! I could slay you with one strike! That should terrify you."
Jessica turned back and looked at her. "Sorry, I'm desensitized to a lot of things. I've been chased by monster crystal ponies, had a front-row seat to Wild Growth saving Riverview, been to a world where I could vanish forever if I ever left another person's sight, met Triss, had an undead abomination within centimeters of my face while I slept, and nearly died and was on life support twice before I was seven. I'm just not that shocked by these kinds of things anymore. Plus, even though Tempest might criticize me for not keeping up with my self-defense training, I'm pretty sure I could disable you without lifting a finger--you'd be surprised what sound can do. I'm sure you're very intimidating to anyone else."
"World where you could vanish forever, and what was that about undead abomination?'' Adam hesitantly asked from behind her. He had stayed well behind her since seeing Bursa and hadn't made a move to defend her. Sure, he'd be useless in that kind of role, and Bursa might eat his head if he tried, but it was still not making him more appealing. This date was going so badly. Then again, he could be seen as delicate and prissy in a particular light, which appealed to her on a certain level. Maybe she needed to view him in a different light. A change in her perspective could improve this dramatically.
Bursa stiffened. "You are friends with Wild Growth?" She had an odd choice to focus on out of all that. What Adam focused on made sense, but the bug monster didn't seem to care about those things. Maybe Bursa was desensitized as well.
"Yes, she was my hero when I was a filly. She still is, to some extent, since she saved me from those crystal ponies I mentioned. She's a good friend," Jessica replied.
Bursa slumped. "Why do they always have to be Wild Growth's friends and family? Why can't I just find someone who I can kill?"
"Got to love a bug monster with a code of honor," the unfamiliar mare snickered.
"And who are you?" Jessica asked.
"You don't remember me?" the scar-faced mare asked in shock. "I have a face people don't normally forget."
"Vaguely...but can't place you," Jessica confessed.
"That's Ashley; she was at Rebecca's wedding. She works for the OMMR now as a bodyguard and assistant to their director," Jordan explained.
Jessica smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I don't remember that wedding well. I was still in a bit of a rebellious stage, and I snuck a few drinks at the reception since everyone assumed I was old enough. I have an extremely low tolerance for alcohol, so I passed out early that evening."
Ashley shrugged. "You just missed Rebecca being Rebecca, which is never dull. Thanks for not recoiling at my scars."
Charlotte pointed a wing at Adam. "Who's the guy back there giving his best impression of my grandma?"
"Best impression of your grandma?" Jessica asked in confusion.
The angle of Charlotte's wing dropped. "He wet himself. Be glad you don't have a pony sense of smell anymore."
"Hey! I didn't-" Adam started to protest, the quiver in his voice betraying the truth.
"It's fine, Adam," Jessica assured him. "No one blames you for being terrified of Bursa or thinks any less of you. You haven't had to go through the same kind of crud the rest of us have, and you would have been the most helpless if she had tried to pull something--well, you and my dad. You don't have to pretend to be tough. I'm sure Jordan can help you find a place to clean up and feel safer."
"He's the only one of you crazy people with any sense," Bursa grumbled.
There was a knock at the front door, and Jordan opened it. They all turned to see who it was.
Jessica's dad stepped in. "Sorry, I'm running late. I was shocked when you said-" He looked at Bursa and jumped back. "What the hell is that!"
Bursa grinned. "Oh, good, another sane person."
Jessica sighed. "This is the person who claims to be Mark's aunt. She seems to want to take guardianship of him. Does she have that right?"
Her dad looked fearfully at Bursa. "That is a court decision. Courts normally favor the next of kin, but in this case, there could be some serious complications with that."
Bursa growled. "Because I'm a giant bug?" She then laughed, and in a flash, she was suddenly a human woman with long black hair and a polka-dotted sundress. "I can be whatever I want to be. If they want a human, I can be a human."
Jessica scowled. She hadn't thought Bursa had any real chance of gaining custody of Mark, but if she could be human, that could change things.
"I hate to rain on your parade, Bursa, but you've been missing for years, and I'm pretty sure you'd fail a DNA test to prove you're who you say you are. In fact, I think such a test would give your disguise away as soon as they saw the green blood," Ashley said.
"Bursa, be reasonable. Do you think you'd be a good parent?" Charlotte asked. "You can barely take care of yourself. This isn't about the kid getting a loving home for you; it is about getting some family member you feel is obligated to love you. Try to show some real love and think about what's best for your nephew."
Jessica's father raised his hand. "If what Charlotte says is true, then it is even less likely the courts would decide to side with you, Miss...do you have a last name, Bursa?"
"It's just Bursa," Bursa grumbled.
"How did you get that name? It's an odd name," Jessica asked.
"It's just what I remember the evil pony calling me," Bursa hissed.
"I know," Ashley interjected, and they all looked at her. "The Dreamwardens promised to do everything they could to uncover Bursa's past, and one of the things they managed, via the OMMR, was to apprehend one of the ponies who had been working at the lab when Bursa was captured. Doctor Rossman identified an ETS partial transformation deformity to Bursa's legs when he captured her. He couldn't get her to tell him her name, so the name stuck when one of the lab techs started identifying her by what was deformed--in this case, some fluid-filled sacs near her knees, which are called bursae. Remember, these guys viewed her as broken."
"Caught her?" Jessica asked, eyes narrowing. "Was he kidnapping people off the street?"
Ashley shook her head. "She had been snooping around the outsides of the lab, thinking she could expose testing on partials was still going on, not knowing she stumbled on one of Sunset Blessing's secret facilities for magical research, one that had gone pretty much rogue. How she even found the place is a mystery. She must have been much smarter back then if she was able to uncover the lab-"
"HA!! I'm not stupid!" Bursa proclaimed.
"-but not smart enough not to walk into a criminal lab with a mad scientist that wanted to experiment on live people," Ashley concluded.
"Pretty brave, though," Jordan interjected.
"Bravery and stupidity are often mistaken for one another, so the jury's still out," Charlotte muttered.
"I will rend you all!" Bursa yelled. She then looked around and pouted. "At least act afraid!"
"I'm scared of you and wish my daughter would take the threat more seriously," Jessica's dad interjected. "I know she is very capable, but I don't want to have her on life support for a third time because she was too cocky."
"Okay, two of you have sense," Bursa corrected.
"Don't worry, Dad. I've got this, and I'm sure Jordan is ready to shield us if Bursa moves to attack," Jessica assured him.
"We don't know how fast that thing can move. It may move too fast for Jordan to react," her dad objected. "Can you please take a few steps back, if only to make me feel better?"
He might have a point. She took a few steps back.
"Thank you," her dad said, still sounding nervous.
"But I suppose sniffing out one of grandma's secret labs was pretty impressive," Charlotte continued, ignoring what had just transpired. "Can we get her back to being that intelligent? No one deserves to be reduced to this."
"I doubt it," Ashley replied quietly. "Rossman did a real number on her. She's lucky to be alive or have any semblance of sanity left. I've been there, at the wrong end of a madpony. I know the fear, the terror. If I hadn't had someone there for me, I'd have gone insane. She's lucky she remembers so little, but she had no one there for her." She looked at Bursa. "I know that in the end, bad as I got it, I didn't get it half as bad as you, and I can't even imagine what you went through, living like Gollum in a cave, forgotten and broken. I get some of what you feel, better than anyone else here. It is hard to move on from that kind of stuff. You want revenge against the ones who hurt you, but that is no way to live. It's keeping you trapped in the past like you never left that damn nightmare lab."
Bursa glared at her. "You're right. You can't imagine. I lost everything. Now, you fight me to stop me from trying to reclaim my nephew. Why tell me about him if you wish to keep me away?"
Jessica grimaced at the scarred unicorn. "She's not that stupid because that's a good question. I will be fighting an uphill battle to adopt, and you just introduced her into the mix."
Ashley smiled. "Bursa needs some closure that there is family out there that may want to have her in their lives...even if she doesn't end up raising the kid. She could get to know him if she can tone down the big scary monster bit. It also introduces an incentive for her to help the OMMR with a little mission we decided needed more heavy hitters to pull off."
Charlotte spread her wings. "You are trying to rope her into one of your clandestine vigilante missions?! The government-"
Ashley levitated a folder marked classified from her saddlebag and passed it to Charlotte. "A mission the government knows about and will pretend they don't. It is in the government's interest that we succeed. You are free to review the file, but I'll need that back."
Charlotte grabbed the folder with her wings and opened it, immediately getting to reading. Her ears quickly flattened.
"A lab in Mexico conducting illegal biological experiments on enslaved partials?" Charlotte asked in disbelief. She kept reading, and her eyes narrowed. "Possibly funded by the Chinese government? Are they developing biological weapons to use against us from right across our border?"
Ashley sighed. "We haven't even confirmed the Chinese are funding it; we only suspect that, so that's unsure. Someone with considerable financial power is backing it, and they are usually number one when we start laying out suspects. We recently obtained new information that points to something other than biological weapons, at least in the strictest sense. Doctor Rossman and Doctor Lair are there, and they usually only have the same goal whenever they pop up."
Bursa returned to her normal form and slammed one of her legs on the floor, shattering the floorboards. "ROSSMAN!!"
"What happened to trying to stop her from focusing on revenge?" Jordan whimpered.
"This isn't revenge; this is getting justice for others," Ashley calmly stated. "Bursa knows what Rossman wants, and he has potentially hundreds of innocent partials to experiment on. Mark's parents were both held there and escaped. They died, making sure he wasn't born there, but there are still so many being held and experimented on. Bursa, what happened to you is now going on down there on a massive scale; your sister was a victim of it. I am not asking you to take revenge. I'm asking you to help us stop what happened to you and your sister from happening to others. Mark wouldn't understand at his age, but maybe when Mark is older, you can tell him you're his aunt, and you helped save all those people and avenged his parents. Then maybe he might want to get to know his Aunt Bursa. You might never be qualified to raise him, and deep down, you know that, but that doesn't mean you can't be part of his life--his heroic aunt, who helped save so many people like him. I'm sure Doctor Middleton wouldn't object to him getting to know that person rather than the big scary bug."
Jessica crossed her arms. "If she isn't going to fight to try to take custody of him, I have no objection to her getting to know him...when he's older. Right now, he isn't ready. She isn't ready either."
"But it is a goal to work towards, isn't it?" Ashley asked Bursa. "It would be something good and wholesome to strive towards. A real future to try for. A chance to finally be free of the lab."
Bursa relaxed, and the tension went out of her as she looked at the shattered floor and her hole-covered legs.
"A chance to be something other than a monster," she whispered.
Charlotte cleared her throat. "I need some clearance to give her over to your care. I can't take part in this mission. We can't have a US Army officer involved in an unauthorized mission on foreign soil. But, before I check on that-" She looked at Bursa. "-are you ready to look at your sister's grave? I think, under the circumstances, it takes on a whole new significance."
Jessica stood out in the yard of Wabash Manor beside Jordan, her dad, and Adam, watching as Charlotte, Ashley, and a disguised Bursa left the premises. As she watched, all she could do was ask why her life had to constantly keep throwing one bizarre thing after another into it. All she wanted was a semi-normal life.
"You know, if you adopt Mark, you're going to be stuck dealing with that thing," her dad said. "Are you prepared for that?"
She took a deep breath. "What's life without a few challenges? If something is important enough, you deal with whatever inconveniences come with it. If you can't, then it isn't important enough. I'll deal with it. It isn't the most bizarre thing I've ever dealt with."
"What was that about a zombie being a few centimeters from your face?" Jordan asked.
"I didn't mention that when I got back?" Jessica replied.
"Nope. I would have remembered that one," Jordan said, eyes still forward towards the gate.
Jessica blinked. "Oh, well...she was a nice zombie. She just wanted to play games and have fun. She was kind of adorable, as zombies go. I was told it's the squirrel you must look out for."
"Evil zombie squirrel?" Jordan asked without turning her head.
Jessica nodded. "Evil zombie squirrel."
Jordan continued staring out towards the gate. "Life is strange."
"Yep," Jessica agreed.
"Is stuff like this an everyday occurrence?" Afam asked hesitantly.
Jessica shook her head. "Not really. The madness seems to come in batches. Everything will be calm and normal for a long time, then the universe decides it's bored. It's been calm for years. I think it has been saving up for all this fudgery."
"Why are you so dressed up?" her dad asked, apparently unwilling to even ask about everything else and going with the safe option.
Jessica pointed at Adam. "We were going to have a date. I suppose we still can. This seems to be settled, at least for now."
Her dad turned and leveled a frown at Adam. "You are dating my daughter?"
"Dad!" Jessica protested. "I didn't tell anyone in the family because I was scared Mom would make a big deal out of it. Don't you go all stereotypical overprotective dad on me! You're supposed to be the reasonable one."
Jordan scrunched up her nose. "That date might need to be rescheduled. He needs to change his pants. I can see if one of the guards has a pair that fits. They keep extra clothes here."
Her dad turned his gaze to Adam's pants. "He shit himself?"
"Pissed," Jessica corrected. "Don't make a big deal out of it. Most people don't have to face giant bug monsters. It's an understandable reaction. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"You don't normally face giant bug monsters," her dad reminded her.
"With the week I've had, giant bug monsters barely qualify as interesting," Jessica replied.
"Yeah, lay off him, Mister Middleton," Jordan said supportively. She then looked at Adam. "Don't worry. Auntie used to pee herself whenever she was afraid, and she was Sunset Blessing. Nobody here cares."
"That's good, but I wish people would stop mentioning it," Adam said, looking down.
"Is he allowed in the house?" Jessica asked. "I know your security is strict."
"Almost everyone is allowed on the first floor unless they are on the banned list, like Bursa. It's everywhere else inside that's off limits," Jordan explained.
"You banned Bursa? What did she do?" Jessica asked, concerned. Had Bursa done something violent? She was still uncomfortable with the idea of Bursa getting near Mark, and that would only make her more.
"I didn't. Auntie left a list before she took off to Equestria, and Bursa was on it. I was told Bursa might not like Auntie too much, given the whole secret lab thing," Jordan clarified.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Jessica replied, mildly relieved. "If that's the case, then let's head inside."
They headed to the house and found Andrea waiting at the door. The crystal pony took a sniff and gave Adam a dirty look.
"Who's the dude that pissed his pants?" Andrea asked.
"I really wish people would stop bringing that up," Adam muttered.
"He's Jessie's boyfriend," Jordan giggled.
Andrea raised an eyebrow. "She has strange tastes."
Jessica sighed. "He needs a change of pants, and we were hoping one of the guards might have something that fits."
Andrea looked him over. "Tyrone might have something your size. The guards have a shower as well. You probably need that. Come on in and stay close."
"Why weren't you with us watching Bursa?" Jessica asked as they followed Andrea in.
Andrea shrugged. "Charlotte and Ashley were there. I'm familiar with both of them and know they could handle whatever. I'm unsure what use I'd be against a giant bug. If there was trouble, I'd have heard the yelling."
"Bursa yelled a lot," Jessica said flatly.
"Bursa seemed full of hot air. I'm pretty sure that bug is mostly buzz and little bite. It would have been others yelling if there was trouble. I personally wondered if you would try to pull something. She did present an obstacle to your goals," Andrea said dismissively.
"You've known me for years. Do you really think I would be that petty and short-tempered?" Jessica asked in dismay.
"You can get short-tempered. Not as bad as my sister, but you do," Andrea replied.
Jessica looked at her dad and Jordan for support, but both looked away. Really? No backup at all? She grimaced at the betrayal.
They continued to the guards station. A few guards on duty gave them looks as they entered, but didn't say anything, probably because Andrea and Jordan were present. Andrea showed Adam to the locker room and shower.
"How do you know Ashley?" Jordan asked Andrea as the old crystal pony returned.
"She was here overseeing some of remodeling down below when it was going on," Andrea answered. "She sparred with some of the guards while she was here, just to test their mettle, and kicked their asses. She's one of those Dreamwarden elite guards, personally trained by Tempest Shadow. Those guys aren't a joke. It still pissed me off. It wasn't just the injuries, it was the fact they were so soundly beaten by one unicorn. I had to invest in a heightened training regimine for them after that. They weren't happy about it, but they have a job to do, and they aren't doing it if one unicorn, even a highly combat trained one, could wipe the floor with them like that. This many guards shouldn't struggle against one unicorn unless it is someone like Starlight Glimmer--if someone like that showed up back then we'd have just been fucked no matter what."
"Can't you just counter a unicorn?" Jessica's dad asked. "I thought it was like a paper rock scissors thing, and crystal ponies were the natural counters to unicorns."
Andrea chuckled. "Thanks, but you give me too much credit. I can't down most unicorns on my own. It is normally a group effort with crystal ponies, unless the crystal pony is particularly strong, which I'm not. Ashley isn't anything special in terms of power, but she's still outside my range if she poured enough of her magic into a spell. The best I could do is detect it and weaken it, not stop it. That wouldn't have boded well if someone moderately powerful showed up, like the creep that captured my sister and my grandniece."
"I thought complex magic didn't work here," Jordan said in confusion.
Andrea frowned. "Those defenses weren't fully up at the time, since they were part of the remodeling she was overseeing, and technically, the one controlling the defenses can take them down for selected areas. That would be you. I have my disagreements with my sister, but I give her credit for not repeating costly errors. Sunset learned her lesson after Riverview about inadvertently locking out anyone who was trying to aid her, and she didn't want to make the same mistake again. There's a manual somewhere in Ami's study explaining how to work them with your jewelry. She'll give it to you when you learn enough to make decisions about that kind of stuff. You don't have the experience to make those kind of calls, as you've recently proven, and a bad decision involving that can lead to a successful invasion of the property."
"How did you do large scale building under the house without tearing up the house and yard?" Jessica's dad asked in confusion. "I don't know what's below, but Sunset never did anything small. I never saw what was below, but my sister told me that the Bastion was far more extensive underground than it was above ground. I can only imagine Sunset pulled the same thing again. How'd she do it?"
Andrea smirked. "She was nothing but clever, and realized early on she needed a new stronghold to guard her collection of knowledge and a place to retreat to if the invaders got too tough. She came in from the neighboring properties. She drove our neighbors away and drove down property values, our allies at the OMMR, using shell companies, bought all neighboring property at extremely discounted prices. Sunset is a conniving plotter who is willing to play the long game to get what she wants. This is the same pony who built South Carolina's biggest city in just a few years from a collection of run down towns. Figuring out how to secure a new stronghold was nothing compared to that. It took a few years and a lot of underhanded tricks to get to the last holdouts to give up and move, but she was patient and pulled it off. The fact there were always so many drones from curious onlookers invading everyone in the area's privacy probably helped as well."
"She could have forgone protecting her knowledge if she just destroyed all the records," Jessica's dad replied, then sighed. "But then again, that was never her way. She always preserved everything, even when all sense said it should be gotten rid of."
"I agree with you on that," Andrea said, flicking her tail. "Still, here we are, standing but a few meters above the largest cache of forbidden and dangerous magical knowledge in the world, possibly in existence. That's why I have to be hard on Jordan. It is too big a responsibility to make mistakes with--not to mention Ami, her husband, me, and Sinker--when he comes back from rehab, all live here, and we'd like to feel safe and not have our home invaded."
Jessica found herself agreeing with Sunset Blessing on this one. Knowledge, no matter how problematic, should always be preserved. Still, she was glad it was Jordan's problem and not hers.
"So, are you going to tell me about the zombie thing?" her dad asked.
"I probably shouldn't, but we can talk more about my travel to that other world once I get a Dreamwarden to approve it," Jessica replied. "Andrea, are you able to call Phobia from here? I figure you have her number saved."
"I can, but you know that our calls are monitored. So it is kind of hard to ask her to do something that might be classified, and this sounds classified," Andrea replied. "I suggest calling her yourself, once you're off the property."
Jessica frowned and looked around. Time to take a stab in the dark. "Marshmallow, are you there, watching?"
There was no response.
"The Marshmallow isn't everywhere all at once, and if they have no reason to be here, they won't be," Jordan reminded her.
Jessica shrugged. "It was worth a shot. I guess I'm just being impatient. Sorry, Dad, but it will have to wait."
The door to the locker room opened and Adam stepped out, still dripping water from the shower. The pants looked a little too lose, and his shirt was wrinkled from having been taken off and put back on over wet skin.
"Jessica, I'm sorry, but I think I'm out of my depth with you," Adam said quietly. "I don't think we can date, but I hope we can still be good friends."
They hadn't even gone on their date and he was breaking up with her? What the actual fudge?!
Adam stepped back in fear. "I see you aren't taking this well."
"Does any girl ever take something like that well?" Andrea asked him, sounding somehow both annoyed and amused. "You even added in the let's be friends line. How cliche can you be?"
Jessica balled her fist and forced herself to take a deep breath. This was fine. She had already realized that this wasn't working out. Adam was just too damn nervous around her, putting her on a pedestal that he always had to look up to view. Relationships were supposed to be a partnership, or at least, that was how she understood them. She couldn't have that kind of partnership with someone who basically set themselves up to be looked down on. This was for the best. Still...she'd have liked to have at least gotten her first date.
Her ears twitched as she heard the unmistakable sound of a fist colliding with a face--a sound she would never forget after a number of training sessions with Tempest at a young age. It was quickly followed by the equally unmistakable sound of someone getting knocked to the ground.
"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT!"
"Dad!" she yelled as she came running to Adam's defense, placing herself between him and her father. "That was completely unnecessary and barbaric!"
"Better me doing it than you. You'd have sent him to the hospital if you socked him," her dad responded calmly, not even looking at Adam.
"I wasn't going to strike him!" Jessica fussed. She then bent down and checked on Adam. "Are you okay? I'm sorry. My dad is on this weird overprotective binge. He isn't normally like this."
"She's my little filly. I need to protect her," her dad insisted.
"I'm a grown woman. I haven't been a little filly since I was six. I don't need protection." she said firmly. If he was lucky, Adam might not press charges.
Adam started to sit up, and she saw a gash under his eye. That might have been the result of her dad's wedding ring. The area around the eye was already starting to swell, and she was sure it was going to bruise. This was definitely going to make it harder to maintain a friendship with him through this. She could kick her dad for this.
"Your eye looks rough. We should get you to a doctor," she said, trying to sound soothing, despite the rage she was trying to hold back towards her dad.
He touched his fingers to the area under his eye and winced. "I'm sure it won't be that bad."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't try to act tough. You have a gash under your eye and severe swelling. You need to see a doctor."
"Don't baby the man. He just needs to put some ice and a damp cloth over it," Andrea said. "You young people act so fragile. In my day, nobody went to the doctor for a black eye."
"I don't like hospitals. They make me extremely nervous and anxious, so I wouldn't be insisting if it wasn't important. We need to make sure no bone was damaged, and that requires a medical doctor," Jessica insisted.
"Okay, I'll go," Adam relented.
She held out her hand. "Let me have your keys. Your vision is impaired for the moment, you shouldn't be driving."
"No, I'm- urrmm," Adam groaned. He winced, touched his hand to his face again, which also made him gasp and wince again. "Okay, okay, maybe you're right."
"I'll see if I can get you an ice pack really fast," Jordan said as she took off towards the kitchen.
This was not how she pictured her first ever date going. A breakup before the date started in earnest. Her now ex-boyfriend (did he count as an ex?) with a black eye l, courtesy of her father, and them on to one of their least favorite places, the hospital. That wasn't mentioning the giant bug monster. Hopefully, the universe had used up most of its craziness for a while.
> Chapter 50: Conversations About The Future
The next few days were...awkward...to say the least, at least at work, primarily around Adam. Thankfully, he didn't end up pressing charges against Jessica's dad. It wouldn't have stuck if he had. Her dad had hit Adam while they were at Wabash Manor, and what happened at Wabash Manor stayed at Wabash Manor, at least as far as the cops and courts were concerned. Nobody wanted to get involved with anything that happened there. They'd have heard that it happened there and immediately started making up excuses about why they couldn't pursue the case. It wasn't right, but it was the reality. Perhaps they'd slowly begin treating the mansion as part of the country again now that Jordan was there instead of Sunset Blessing.
Wild showed up in person to deliver the box. It was a very ordinary-looking metal box, but whatever kept crystal ponies from feeling the stone didn't need to look fancy. Wild also brought a very heavy separate safe that high-voltage shocked anyone who tried to move it or break into it--that was supposed to stop earth ponies from just taking the entire safe or particularly strong ones from smashing it open. The truestone was kept in the small metal box, and that box was kept in the giant safe. That allowed her to leave the stone at her apartment while she went out and about. It also meant she could teach in person again instead of having to leave lectures online. Still, having the pony everyone recognized on sight show up at her apartment with a huge crate must have led to some speculation among her neighbors.
It was wonderful to be free of lugging that thing around and constantly being worried about crystal ponies detecting it. With her newfound freedom, she took the day to visit Jordan and go out with her. Up until today, she'd been avoiding Wabash because the stone made Andrea feel ill.
Andrea was standing at the front door as Jessica approached. "I see you don't have that damn rock with you. Good. Jordan's up in her room. Third floor, right hallway, third door on the left, just before the end of the hallway."
Jessica grimaced. "Always a pleasure, Andrea."
She stepped inside. Jordan's redecoration felt like the mansion had thrown a fresh coat of paint over itself but was still very much the same at its core. Old Persian carpets had been replaced by shag throw rugs in a variety of bright neon colors. Much of the furniture, but not all, had been replaced with much shorter furniture, which was suitable for ponies and tended to be plusher whenever a cushion was involved. The large painted family portrait of Sunset Blessing and her adopted family still hung where once there had been a painting of a man with dogs, but Jordan had put a bunch of potted plants around it, obscuring the edges of the painting, making it seem like the now vacated family were standing amongst a forest. Straight red curtains that matched Sunset Blessing's fur had been replaced with softer violet curtains that matched Jordan's fur. When on display, books seemed to be the same, which wasn't surprising, considering Jordan parting with a book seemed like blasphemy. There had once been a small end table near the door going down to the basement that had a stone bust of George Washington on it; the table was still there, but the bust had been replaced by a model of the Starship Enterprise from Star Trek, a show Jessica never understood why Jordan had picked up an interest in considering it was so unscientific. Yet despite all these changes, the same guards still stood watch in the same places. The Bible verses still encircled the doorways. The house still felt like a place that had once been the residence of Sunset Blessing. Jordan's changes had not erased the feel of the old preacher, and Jessica could still imagine the old mare popping out of some door to bark orders.
Part of her still felt the even older version that hosted the mysterious sound of barking dogs from empty rooms that had heralded the history of danger that would follow. That, too, still survived under the newer trappings. Jessica could never have lived here and felt safe and secure, but Jordan didn't have the same history of dealing with this place.
She made her way up the stairs, briefly greeting familiar guards stationed at each level as she went. The third floor was much the same, with a big pink neon shag rug sitting in the middle of the hallway. Jordan certainly had interesting tastes in decorating. Maybe it was a pony thing. Ponies liked bright colors. Jessica considered whether she liked similar things when she was a pony but couldn't recall. She might not have even cared, since such things would have just been distractions from her schoolwork. She'd enjoyed her paper mache planets that hung from her bedroom ceiling as a foal, which she was confident about. Perhaps she could do something similar with Mark's room as she set it up, although she'd have to figure out what he liked. She couldn't assume he'd be as thrilled with planets as she was. He seemed to enjoy his blocks, and he had toy cars. Maybe something to do with cars? She liked cars as well and knew enough to figure something special out. Perhaps she could introduce him to racing and watch cars race. Watching cars race in a circle never appealed to her, but she could appreciate the engineering that went into those vehicles.
"Jessie, that you? Come on in," Jordan called out before Jessica could knock on the door. Jordan's hearing might not be as sharp as Jessica's, but it was still excellent
Upon stepping into the room, Jessica's eyes were assaulted by the onslaught of color. There were throw pillows everywhere, in every major color, excluding violet, which seemed exclusively used for curtains. The bed was twin-sized, essentially queen-sized to a pony, and covered in red heart-shaped pillows. There were bookshelves along each wall except for the wall with the windows, and each bookshelf was packed with books; some looked to be carryovers from Auntie's collection, while others were new. Sandwiched between one set of bookshelves was a vanity and mirror where Jordan was currently sitting, brushing her mane while simultaneously applying makeup.
"I'm almost done. You can sit anywhere you like while you wait," Jordan said, carefully inspecting her mascara in the mirror.
Jessica smirked. "You have a date lined up after this? We're just going by the college."
"You can't make a second first impression. I want to look my best," Jordan replied as she wiped away mascara on one of her eyes and restarted that one from scratch.
Jessica looked around. Jordan certainly was a priss; in a different world, she'd be appealing to Jessica as a romantic partner, but Jordan was straight and was very much interested in sex, which Jessica was not, and even if the other two were different, Jordan felt like Jessica's sister, so she could never see Jordan as a potential romantic partner. It did make her wonder how she was even supposed to pursue romance. Dealing with Adam further highlighted her issues with dating. No matter how Jessica tried, there would always be an element of strangeness, perhaps even danger in her life. Add to that her complete disinterest in sex and the fact she was a partial, and it seemed like it would be near impossible ever to find a partner who could be happy with her. Only children whined about how unfair things were, but she still couldn't help feeling it.
"Jessie?"
She looked up to see Jordan looking at her with concern.
"Something wrong?" Jordan asked. "You look sad."
Jessica rubbed her fingers, trying to decide what to say. "Would you be happy if you ended up being single the rest of your life?"
"No, I wouldn't," Jordan answered quickly. "No offense to you; you're my best friend and will always be, but I want a deeper relationship with someone. I want kids. I want to go to sleep, cuddled and safe next to someone, and wake up with their scent all over me. I want someone I know will always be there every day until I'm old and gray, someone who will be there every step of the way. Friends are great, and best friends are even better, but friends have their own lives to live, of which I'm only a supporting character,. I want someone who will be beside me, living our life together. It isn't my life and their life anymore; it is our life. Sure, we may have our own hobbies, interests, and minor goals to pursue, but at the end of the day, everything we do we are in it together. That is more than a friend, that's a partner, and I want that."
Jessica smiled. "And I'm sure you'll get it." Her smile fell off. "But I'm not confident I will. I have too many challenges that are in the way."
"Oh, we have frowny faces. That won't do!"
Jessica and Jordan jumped back as Rebecca appeared between the pair, balanced on one hoof with her other three legs and her wings spread wide.
"Tadda!" Rebecca announced.
"Rebecca, do you ever knock?!" Jordan demanded. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Rebecca put her limbs down and looked at her. "I would hope not. You're too young to have heart problems."
Jessica sighed. "Rebecca, your antics aren't what I need to cheer up. Why are you even here? Do you just casually spy on everyone?"
"No, I just casually spy on people I care about," Rebecca answered. "Anyway, you're an outsider and a weirdo--"
"Thanks. It cheers me to hear it said so bluntly," Jessica muttered.
"--and those are the kinds of people I told myself I would always try to help," Rebecca happily continued. "Now, dating advice and relationships are typically Miss Seapony's thing, but I don't think she would mind me encroaching on her territory too much." She tilted her head. "Um, hold a sec ..um, hmmm....hmmm...I hear you and understand....yes...uh hum....yes...well, she is in my domain as well...I know, but you haven't been that effective with her--no, no, no; I'm not implying that. You normally do a great job...yeah...yeah...I'm just saying let me have a go at it since it is a special circumstance ....you want my support with that? Hmm, I'm not sure; that sounds like a lot of work. I know I am butting in on your territory, but....uh huh...apricots, you say? That's got some possibilities. Mouthwash? That would never work, it clashes with the egrets. Maybe we could try a cardboard box, or maybe a lint roller. Oh, okay, your idea has some potential to be interesting; you've got yourself a deal. I'll help you out."
What the fudge?
Rebecca smiled sheepishly at them. "Sorry, Miss Seapony actually did take issue with me messing with what is supposed to be her thing--whoopsie, but we worked it out after I agreed to help her with something else that needs my creative touch. I'm all ready to play matchmaker! This will be exciting."
"I don't need or want someone playing matchmaker for me," Jessica growled.
Rebecca started to float and turned upside down and began doing the backstroke through the air. "That is very sad to hear. I know how much trouble it can be finding that special someone when you have a lack of sexuality working against you and unusual aspects of your life that may scare most people off. I know you've got quite a list of what you are looking for in a partner, and many things weighing you down. It would make finding the ideal person a challenge. I might know someone, maybe a few someones, who you wouldn't normally run into--you know, statistically improbable meetings."
Damn it, that was tempting.
She sighed. "You won't get pushy with any of this? You'll keep your distance as well? It's hard to figure out if I have any chemistry with someone with you hovering around the place."
"I promise," Rebecca assured her. "Although, just like you have baggage you can't help, some of my friends may have some as well. That's part of why they're single. They can deal with what comes in the package with you, so the fair thing is for you to deal with what comes in the package with them."
Jessica considered. "Some of my baggage is dangerous, like being connected to Sunset Blessing, and Aunt Arbiter. Are we talking about that kind of baggage? It isn't all about me. I'm trying to adopt a kid and I don't want to bring more danger into his life."
Rebecca stopped floating and went down to the floor. "Well...they are connected to me, at least as much as you are connected to me. Some of them travel and find themselves in somewhat dangerous situations, but they aren't issues they'd bring home with them, and that's something you've done yourself. The welfare of kids is very important to me, so you can trust me when I say I wouldn't recommend anyone who I thought might harm them, directly or indirectly."
"What kinds of issues are we talking about then?" Jessica asked.
Rebecca grinned. "That would be for them to disclose when they feel comfortable doing so. That's very personal information. You already know more than you should by knowing there is something odd about them that typically gets in the way of relationships. Accept that and just be open-minded."
"It's only fair, Jessie, and it's worth a shot" Jordan chimed in.
That was true, and the worst that could happen it would be it wouldn't work out. What oddities these people might have did worry her a little, but she wasn't one to complain about oddities.
"Alright. You can introduce me to some of these people," Jessica conceded.
Rebecca jumped into the air and just sort of hung there. "Great! I'm not sure when I'll get around to that, but it's on my list of things to do. I've got to go now--I'm supposed to be someplace else, but I got distracted."
Of course she was supposed to be someplace else now. When was Rebecca ever focused?
Rebecca vanished without another word, likely already taking off with extreme haste to wherever she was supposed to be and whoever presumably was wondering where the heck the pudgy Dreamwarden was.
"Well, now I've got to double down on finding a date," Jordan said. "You're going to go on multiple dates before I get to go on my first."
"You've got Wabash Manor hanging over you," Jessica reminded her. "That's one thing I'm glad I don't have around my neck."
Jordan fluttered her lips and made an aggravated whinny. "So it keeps coming up. I need to come up with turning this place around to be a boon. What do you think those OMMR guys are doing with the neighboring properties?"
"Probably staying on alert in case some world-ending event happens," Jessica answered. "Don't you have a demon or something down in the vaults? I can only imagine that's just the start when naming bad things that are down there."
"I actually do have a demon down there. Amicus has an inventory sheet that she let me see, and it was listed," Jordan replied. "It wasn't actually that informative looking at the sheet. A lot of things are just labeled some random number spell journal or flash drive, but doesn't actually say what's in the journal or on the drive. Then there are random objects that are listed that it doesn't say why they are significant--things like a charm bracelet, a walking stick, a tea kettle, a mirror, a snowglobe, large stone, large crystal--that has multiple entries, and there's like five different necklaces with separate entries; again, inventory just saying necklace with no description. The demon is labeled as an extradimensional entity, no other notes, just inventoried as an extradimensional entity, not even a note saying very dangerous, leave alone. Every item is in a separate vault and there are two hundred and nine vaults, but it doesn't say what vault what is sealed in, so if you did go down there you'd have no idea what vault whatever you were looking for was."
"Probably best not to know what is significant about each thing or which vault each is contained. If she thought it was worth locking up in a deathtrap dungeon, then it can't be good," Jessica replied. Sunset Blessing inventoried the demon? Seriously!? Why was a tea kettle dangerous? Also...two-hundred and nine vaults? That was an odd number, and it was more extensive than she had expected.
Jordan stood up. "I'm ready whenever you are. Time to put my best hoof forward and see if I can get into your college."
Josie blinked against the light of the sun as she stuck her head out of Crystal's SUV. Even with her sunglasses on, the light was still intense. Had she really been able to deal with sunlight without sunglasses? She vaguely remembered sunny days from when she was human, and she was fairly certain she hadn't worn sunglasses all the time back then. It wasn't that she disliked light, light was great--moonlight, starlight, the soft light of a desk lamp, fireflies, light was beautiful. Sunlight was just too much. It was the difference between being hit with soft waves on the beach compared to a tidal wave or the difference between a warm blanket and a burning building. How these humans and day ponies stood it was a mystery to her.
"Any word from the Dreamwardens?" Crystal called out.
Josie took a moment to let her vision focus, and shook her head when she could finally clearly make the crystal pony out. "No, I haven't been asleep. I've been waiting for Rebecca."
"No sign of blunderbutt yet. Not a surprise.
She probably got distracted by something again," Crystal replied. "I swear, you could throw her off her game by jingling a set of keys."
Josie grimaced. "She's not that bad, but you're right, she's probably been distracted. There's a lot of territory between us and her, and lots of things in between that can catch her attention. She'll get down here, eventually. Once her hooves get sore from dancing she'll remember she's supposed to be doing something."
"How's she even projecting this far? She could never reach this far before," Crystal asked.
Josie shrugged. "Not sure. Maybe she got stronger after her trip offworld. This is as new to me as it is to you. I'm sure she'll explain it whenever I finally go home."
"Well, I'm keeping my senses stretched as far as I can to feel her, just in case she decides to come in invisible and watch us, sneaky little blob," Crystal said. "Come on over. I've got some fresh-brewed coffee. The others are out on patrol, and Zipper is out talking to pigeons."
Josie had her senses stretched as well, only she was feeling for dreams instead of magic in general like crystal pony was. Rebecca's projected form behaved like a dream, and was detectable as one. Nothing was currently dreaming near her. That could change in an instant when Rebecca came into the area.
She walked slowly over to Crystal who had a small campfire going, taking a seat beside the crystal pony. Crystal carefully poured her a cup of coffee from a old tin kettle.
"Drink that slow, that's cowboy coffee. Not the best tasting--honestly, it tastes like crap, though I promise there's no crap in it, but it will wake you up," Crystal said.
"Thank you," Josie said as she carefully took the mug in her forehooves and blew on it. She probably wouldn't drink any of it, but she could hold it till it went cold and then use it going cold as an excuse not to drink it.
"I know a lot about roughing it," Crystal said proudly. "I was homeless for years, and I learned how to make do with very little. I'd never have imagined back then that I could afford all this fancy stuff like my vehicle. I'm starting to explore the housing market. Lots of new developments still going up in Skytree."
Josie raised an eyebrow at her. "Considering moving out of the nightmare house?"
Crystal shrugged. "We all have to retire eventually. Your Dreamwarden changed things. New bodyguards that are coming in are all super powerful or have weird funky magic that gives them an edge--like you and the rest of the butterball's bodyguards, or even our Russian buddy, or Wallace. I'm physically strong for a crystal pony, but nothing, special, not enough to overpower your average earth pony. My magic sensing and absorption are kinda mid-level, again, nothing to brag about. I can fight better than most ponies, but I'm also getting older, and, sooner or later, I just won't be able to keep up on that front. I've already had a string of injuries that have lingering soreness from time-to-time. I'm getting older, wearing down, and I'm outdated. It's time to start thinking about retirement and what comes next while I'm still young enough to have plenty of next to live."
"I'm not sure what next there is for me," Josie said with a shake of her head. "The newer generation of night ponies isn't as hostile to me, but the ones my age or older still tend to treat me like I have the plague, and they've got a lot of influence in night pony communities. I'm probably going to outlive them all, if this job doesn't kill me, but that's still decades away, and I'm not sure I'm culturally in tune with these younger ponies. I don't know. I try not to think too much about it."
Crystal took a sip of her coffee. "I know Phobia thinks about what comes next. She brought in Wallace not long after the blob started upping the ante with bodyguards, and I know she's been scouting for others. Wouldn't be surprised if she tried to poach that Ashley unicorn into her service, you know, the one that takes a beating and keeps on ticking? She's got a pretty versatile spell list too. He's down the pipeline, but wouldn't be shocked if she tried Moses after he's grown. That kid's powers are scary. Phobia knows I'm not cut out to keep this up much longer. Even Tempest is getting older and doesn't have that same magic pizzaz that it seems it takes these days to hold your own as one of the personal bodyguards."
Josie chuckled. "I don't see anyone putting Tempest out to pasture anytime soon. She might not be magically powerful or have any gimmick magic, but that lady is still the toughest fighter around. Beat the snot out of me when I got recruited and she had to train me how to fight."
"I could see her going into semi-retirement. You know, hang around to whip the new personal bodyguards into shape, but that's about it. She's got a great record for training ponies to fight, just look at the Terror Twins. She trained us, and I think we're at least decent enough to take on a small gang each," Crystal said, chuckling as well. "She is doing her best to whip Wallace into shape. Kid's powerful, no question about it, but he's got a lot of rough edges. Tempest is working on him. All I can do is sit back and watch as she trains up my replacement. She'll be training her own replacement before long. I don't mind the idea of falling back to just be Phobia's driver, although there are plenty of others who could end up filling that kind of role."
"What would you do instead?" Josie asked.
"I dunno," Crystal answered. "I've got a considerable nest egg saved up. I could just go into full retirement, or maybe I could open up an auto shop or something like that. I'd like to marry, maybe have foals before I lose the ability to. ETS extended my fertility, but that only extends so far."
Josie looked down. "Having foals would be nice. I think I'd love being a mother. I don't know how that works for me unless I find a day pony or a night pony stallion half my age. I suppose there's some sort of artificial insemination I could do, especially since I'm not hurting for cash. Being Rebecca's bodyguard doesn't pay as well as being Phobia's since Rebecca's identity is private, but I still have more money than I ever thought I would. There were times before I took this job where I was one step away from being homeless."
"We day ponies aren't so bad, and while I hear how night pony mares' aggression turns guys off, you don't seem that aggressive to me," Crystal replied.
Josie looked at Crystal. "You've seen me fight. You should know better. I can get brutal."
"You've seen me fight as well. I'm not gentle. We don't get paid to give our foes love taps," Crystal countered. "Oh, I see those mares that hang around Phobia's house and how they get about protecting their territory when it comes to their stallions, and I see how the stallions tend to hide because of that, but I don't see you pulling that crap."
Josie shrugged. "Never been in a position where I had a stallion, so couldn't tell you if I would."
"I think you would be gentle."
Rebecca appeared in the air just above the fire.
"Sorry for being late. Got distracted playing matchmaker, then got distracted by this clown in Sante Fe that was putting on the best clown show I have ever seen. Maybe I can do that for you too--the matchmaker thing," Rebecca said cheerfully. She tilted her head. "No, Miss Seapony, I'm not going to keep invading your territory. Josie, Yinyu says she'd be happy to help if you want. I'll leave that between the two of you."
"I'll keep her offer in mind," Josie replied. "What's the word on reinforcements?"
Rebecca floated down, realized she was in the fire, then floated to the side so she seemed to be sitting beside them. "Bursa, Ashley, Sunflower Smiles, and Fain are headed your way. They should be here by tomorrow morning. There's also another crystal pony coming, but she's a non-combatant. She's an expert on partial magic and is going to help with the partials after you liberate them."
Josie's eyes narrowed. "I can't believe you actually enlisted Fain. You know what she did to Drizzle!"
Rebecca nodded. "Yes, I know, but I also know she had a stroke of conscience after that and abandoned the people who put her up to it. There's good in her, we just need to foster that. She's had a rough life, and I hope giving her meaningful things to do and resolving her whole want to be a pony issue can turn things around for her. I'm asking you to give her a chance. I'm asking as both your Dreamwarden and your friend."
Josie grimaced, but didn't reply.
"Hold up--you're bringing Sunflower Smiles down here!?" Crystal asked in disbelief. "Why?! She was even more useless than you when we were in the Well of Shade! That farm filly can't fight! What's she going to do, draw pictures? Ashley and Blanche can do that."
"Not everyone needs to be a fighter," Rebecca answered firmly. "What I primarily want her doing is keeping an eye out back here while you guys are attacking. We need to make sure they don't try taking our non-combatants while you are trying to take that base. Sunflower knows how to keep alert and monitor a situation from a distance while keeping a cool head. She can give early warning if Zipper and our new doctor friend need to get to safety, and she knows how to find a place to hide if she needs them to hide--believe me, she has plenty of experience with that. She's not a doctor, but she's worked as an international aid worker and is certified in more forms of first aid than any of you. This isn't just a liberation mission, it is going to be a humanitarian crisis to take care of, and while you're all great at bashing bad guys, most of you have little experience in dealing with something like figuring out how to feed or get medicine to people who have gone through an ordeal like this. You'll need help caring for the partials when this is all done.. She volunteered to help, and I'm giving her a chance to help. Sunflower's not a fighter, but she's not useless. She's my friend, and might have had my job if she hadn't conceded, so please have some respect for her."
Josie flicked her tail. Rebecca's intentions were great in bringing Sunflower and this doctor in, but they were going to need a lot more aid than two ponies for dealing with that many partials. She supposed that Sunflower and this doctor could direct her and the others, but that was still a small group trying to take care of a large community. Hopefully there were more coming and Sunflower and this doctor were just the forerunners.
The bigger concern was still Fain.
"Rebecca, I want to reiterate how unhappy I am with Fain being included in this," Josie said.
Rebecca gave her a sad look. "I'm taking it Blanche wasn't able to warm you up to the idea."
"No, she wasn't," Josie replied, trying to avoid snapping.
Rebecca sighed. "Do you know why Fain is the way she is?"
"No, and I don't really care. She is the way she is, and that's all I need to know. She's a monster," Josie growled.
"Harsh, considering we're bringing in a literal giant bug monster in Bursa and you don't seem to care about that," Crystal said dryly.
"I don't know Bursa, but I know all about Fain," Josie said, glaring at Rebecca.
"Fain was once held in a government facility where they experimented on her because of her powers. Well, after they coerced her into rehumanizing against her will. Before that, she'd been inspired by your visions of a pony world. That's why she had previously wanted so much to be a pony," Rebecca explained.
"Oh, so she's somehow my fault?!" Josie finally snapped.
Rebecca shook her head. "No, her reasons for wanting to be a pony eventually morphed into her resentment for humans for what they did to her. Now she is being given a chance to free partials that are being held against their will just like she was. You don't have to like her. You don't have to forgive her for her past actions either. What you do need to do is believe that this mission is important to her on a personal level, and she is going to do everything she can to help it succeed. I understand how you feel, but you need to put those feelings aside and think about what is important, and what is important is bringing this terrible place down and making the lives of all those people held within their own again. We need powerful allies to take this place down, and Fain is a powerful ally."
"But you're planning on keeping her around after this, aren't you?" Josie asked. "She isn't going to face justice for all the people she has hurt."
Rebecca looked her in the eyes. "Did you? I know it is different with you. You never meant to hurt anyone, but your visions have done irreparable harm that you can't expect everyone to forgive just because you are sorry. We've still got an ongoing war zone in Central Asia that involves ponies that believe in their white alicorn god that they saw in your visions, and I can only speculate on how much your visions led to the rise of Shimmerism. I don't condemn you for these things, and I know that they were never your intention, but your hooves aren't clean. They are possibly the most bloody hooves on the planet. People that have given you a chance despite all that have not been disappointed by doing so, but I know there are a lot out there that to this day won't give you that chance. I'm asking you to give Fain a chance. Everyone deserves a chance to be better. If she fails, that's on her, and I won't extend chances to her forever, but if she does turn over a new leaf then it was worth it."
"Damn, I didn't think your pudgy ass could be so harsh. That hit hard," Crystal said with a whistle. "Please, don't do me. I don't want my past dug up. I know it ain't clean."
Josie looked away. "You didn't need to bring up my past sins. I put that all behind me."
"Sorry, but I needed to put this in perspective," Rebecca replied, sounding genuinely sorry. "Expect them to arrive tomorrow by noon. Try to figure out how to begin your assault within three days. Remember that Rossman is a high priority target to capture alive, Lair as well. We need them for questioning."
"You aren't planning on any reformation stuff with them, are you?" Crystal asked. "The very fact that they are here, experimenting on people, show they don't seem to have much remorse for their previous actions--and don't give me any counters about how they abandoned ship with Royal Bearing. Having limits to how nasty they're willing to get doesn't make them misunderstood angels."
"I couldn't if I wanted to. We made an agreement with the US government that we'd turn them over to federal custody after capturing them," Rebecca answered. "It's part of why they're turning a blind eye to us doing this and a blind eye to Bursa suddenly going off the grid."
"At least those two will see justice," Josie muttered. |
Scootaloo's Return | pre | "Who can walk??" Twilight asked, completely confused.
"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo chorused.
Sweetie Belle blinked. "Wait...how'd you know that, Scootaloo?! I only just saw her and Applejack two minutes ago on their way here!"
"Because I know." Scootaloo replied, softly.
She didn't say how.
Applejack burst in, her sister behind her.
"It's amazin'!" She exclaimed. "She can walk!"
"Yeah! An' run an' jump an'..." Apple Bloom stopped leaping like a little filly and stared at Scootaloo, mouth open.
"Uh, sugarcube?" Applejack said slowly. "Why are ya wearin' that? An' how'd ya even get it?? Ah don't think the hospital gives em out to just anypony."
"Yeah. Let's get that off." Dash added, hurrying to help her out of it.
"No, don't! I can't..." Scootaloo cried, but it was too late.
Dash had the frame off and Scootaloo fell with a thud. Tears filled her eyes as a dull ache shot through several of the scars she now carried. Dash blinked.
"Well, come on, Scoots, get up. You're not hurt that much! I'm sorry if I yanked it off too quick..."
"Dash, stop."
Twilight walked closer and stood gazing between Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, her eyes narrowing, a confused frown on her face.
"What? What is it?" Dash asked.
"Take a close look at these two." Twilight told her, motioning.
Dash and the others did as she instructed. It was Fluttershy that made a connection first.
"Oh my goodness!" She gasped. "Apple Bloom doesn't have a single scar! But Scootaloo does! In the exact places that Apple Bloom's were!"
"Well, now, how the hay did that happen?!" Applejack exclaimed, confused.
"Scootaloo, do you know?" Twilight asked.
Scootaloo swallowed. "Yes." She replied.
But she had no intention of elaborating. Apple Bloom would be upset if she knew the deal she'd made. Twilight, seeing she wasn't getting an answer, lit her horn. Her magic scanned and probed Scootaloo, and she grew even more confused at what she discovered. She then scanned Apple Bloom and looked perplexed to the point of a breakdown.
"I don't get it!" She burst out. "It's like...they swapped bodies, but without swapping bodies!"
"Come again?" Dash said, frowning.
"It's as if every injury Apple Bloom had was transferred to Scootaloo!" Twilight stated in confusion. "And I detect magic in both of them that isn't their own. I don't get it!"
"Wait, you're saying that now...Scootaloo is the one who can't walk?!" Dash exclaimed in horror.
"Yes. That's what I'm saying."
Twilight lifted the young orange pegasus in her magic, and replaced the frame before gently setting her back down.
"I don't understand." Dash muttered.
"I don't either." Twilight said, more perplexed by this than she had probably ever been by anything in her life. "Scootaloo, you said you knew what happened. Will you tell us?"
"No." Scootaloo said softly.
Twilight frowned. "Scootaloo, if somepony did this to you as a joke or to hurt you..."
"They didn't."
"Well, then, what happened?"
"No, Twilight."
"Scoots, tell us!" Dash exploded, huffing. "I want to know why!"
"No."
"Scoots..." Dash's voice held a note of warning.
"No, Rainbow Dash."
Dash groaned in frustration. Twilight leaned towards Scootaloo.
"Scootaloo." She spoke in an enquiring tone. "Will you let me do a Memory spell on you? So I can see what happened?"
"Only if you don't tell anyone." Scootaloo consented, figuring if she said no, Twilight would find a way to do it anyhow.
Twilight leaned closer, touching her horn to Scootaloo's head. Scootaloo closed her eyes, and the others watched Twilight's eyes go white. A few minutes later, she pulled back, and stared at Scootaloo, complete understanding and sympathy on her face. As well as admiration.
"Oh, Scootaloo." Her voice was gentle.
"What? What is it? What did you see?" Dash demanded anxiously.
Twilight looked at Scootaloo. "I think you should tell them. I understand why you don't want to, but I think they deserve to know. Don't you?"
Scootaloo looked around. Everypony was eyeing her worriedly. Dash looked especially concerned, gazing at her with narrowed eyes and a worried frown.
"I made a deal. Apple Bloom gets healed, and her injuries get transferred to me." Scootaloo finally said, knowing Twilight was right.
"You did WHAT?!" Apple Bloom shrieked in astonishment.
The others looked completely taken aback.
"You made a deal?" Dash repeated. "Why?"
"With a magician named Dark Magic." Scootaloo answered. "He said he could fix Bloom, and if I really wanted her healed, all I had to do was let him cast a spell to transfer her injuries to me. So, I did."
"But why??" Dash asked, Apple Bloom still being too shocked to ask.
"Because." Scootaloo whispered. "I wanted to give her her life back. I stole it from her seven years ago, and I just wanted to give it back to her. Along with her dreams. I wanted to repay the debt I owed her. I don't regret it, either..."
She dropped her head. Apple Bloom stood staring, tears running down her muzzle, trying to comprehend what she had just heard.
"Well, have him undo it!" Dash snapped in frustration, not realising how uncaring that may have sounded: switch the injuries back to Apple Bloom just so Scootaloo wasn't hurt.
"No." Scootaloo looked up. "He told me it was permanently binding. That it couldn't be reversed. And even if it could, I don't want to."
"But...but your training..." Dash managed weakly. "The Academy...your dream..."
"Will just have to be forgotten." Scootaloo replied shakily. "Believe me, I thought long and hard on it. I knew exactly what I was agreeing to. And what I was giving up." She looked at Apple Bloom. "I'm not sorry, Bloom. You deserved to have your normal life and your dream back."
"But...but what about your dreams?" Apple Bloom choked, moving closer. "The Wonderbolts? Flying?"
"If it means you're healed, I'll gladly stay grounded and crippled forever. You're worth it, Apple Bloom. Believe me."
Apple Bloom launched herself at Scootaloo and clung to her, crying.
"Scoots...oh Scoots...ya gave up everythin' for me! Ya shouldn't have! Ah can't let ya do it!"
"It's already done." Scootaloo said, eyes glistening. "And it's totally worth it to see you walking again. If I had to go back and choose again, I'd still give up everything just to see this moment, Bloom...where you're happy and free of pain. I would."
Apple Bloom could only sob as she held her friend tightly, the full realisation of Scootaloo's sacrifice settling deep into her heart. She had given up so much for her.
"B...but now ya can't fly!" She sobbed. "An' ya waited your whole life almost to be able to fly! An' now..." She couldn't finish.
For a brief moment, Scootaloo closed her eyes and thought about flying. The rush of the wind through her feathers as she soared; the feeling of absolute freedom; the knowledge that the sky really was the only limit for her. Free falling from a cloud. The adrenaline surge. It was an amazing thing to be sure. She concentrated on the friend hugging her neck.
"I loved flying." She whispered, as tears filled her eyes. "But you're more important, Apple Bloom. I would gladly give it up all over again to see you well. It's worth it."
Deep in her heart, peace had settled, and she realised she meant every word. It was worth it. It was worth every bit of it.
After a moment, Twilight cleared her throat.
"It actually can be reversed, Scootaloo." She said, softly.
"No." Scootaloo replied steadily. "I don't want it reversed. I want Apple Bloom to stay the way she is right now."
Dash reached out and rubbed Scootaloo's head.
"You're sure something, kid." She stated, pride evident in her voice. "Maybe you're the one who ought to be the Element of Loyalty."
"And Generosity." Rarity spoke up, drying her eyes. "I do not think that even I could be as sacrificing as you, darling."
Sweetie Belle came and hugged her friends tightly. Dash smiled proudly at Scootaloo. Applejack leaned close to Twilight.
"Twi..."
"I know, Applejack. I'm going to get back to my research immediately. Maybe there's a healing spell somewhere that we missed. If I can find one, I'll switch them back and heal Apple Bloom too."
"An' if there ain't one?"
Twilight sighed and looked at the three friends.
"Then we abide by Scootaloo's wishes." She said quietly.
Applejack looked as troubled as Twilight felt. Twilight sighed again. She hoped with everything that was in her that they could find something they missed. She really didn't want to leave things as they were now, even if Scootaloo had chosen it willingly. And she was going to look into this "Dark Magic" character. He was going to have a lot of explaining to do! She would write to the Princesses about him immediately. Maybe they could help locate him.
Meantime, Scootaloo was content to know her friend was well and her dreams and normal life had been restored.
"So, what do we do with Scootaloo now?" Pinkie spoke up. "She can't fly up to your house, Dashie."
Everypony winced and looked at Scootaloo, who offered a faint smile. She had already thought of that. But she hadn't thought of where to stay.
"How about with us??" Apple Bloom asked.
"Yeah, Ah think that's a good idea." Applejack agreed heartily. "Our house is already set up to accommodate that wheely frame. Scoots'll be welcome!"
"Only if you're sure." Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom.
"Oh, Ah'm sure!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, as she met Scootaloo's gaze.
Her expression seemed to say "It's the least I can do." Scootaloo smiled at her.
"Thank you."
"No." Apple Bloom whispered softly. "Thank you."
Scootaloo squeaked in surprise as she was all but smothered in another tight hug. She patted Apple Bloom's back, knowing that, in spite of what it had cost, she had made the right choice. It didn't matter to her if she spent the rest of her life on the ground. All that mattered to her was her friend's happiness and well-being. |
Scootaloo's Return | 6 The Secrets of Dark Magic | Twilight rubbed her head and groaned. She'd spent the past 24 hours searching every single spell book in her library. And even a multitude of books not even closely related to spells.
Nothing.
She was exhausted, her head hurt, and she was frustrated to the point of bursting into furious flames.
"Twilight!" Spike burst in. "I was told to tell you to get to Sugarcube Corner right away! Dash found that magician pony and dragged him there! Everypony else is there already."
Twilight immediately teleported to the bakery, ending up appearing directly in front of said magician, who let out a startled yell and would have fallen over had it not been for the fact Dash still had both hooves clamped on him.
"You!" Twilight all but snarled, leaning close to the black stallion as her eyes blazed. "You better have a very good explanation for what you did to Scootaloo, or Celestia help me, I'll-!"
"Whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Dark Magic waved his hooves. "Let's not be too hasty. Let me assure you that what I did, I did with the best of intentions."
"What, the best intentions to hurt Scoots?" Dash demanded sarcastically, her grip on him tightening.
Dark Magic blinked. "What?! No! Of course not!! I would not harm any pony with my magic, I assure you!"
"Then explain why Scootaloo is now harmed!" Dash snapped, glaring at him.
"The only harm she should have come to is the injuries that were transferred to her." Dark Magic huffed. "I knew exactly what I was doing! And she knew exactly what to expect. And why are you so interested in what I did?"
"Because we are her friends." Twilight said firmly. "We care what happens to her."
"She's my sister!" Dash snapped, scowling. "You hurt her, you answer to me!"
Her grip tightened painfully on him and he winced slightly. Twilight noticed and quickly interfered, capturing Dash with her magic and pulling her back away from the magician. Dash didn't fight her, but stood where she was placed, glaring daggers at Dark Magic. Twilight let go of her, but stayed ready to grab her again if necessary.
"Look," she said, eyes locked on Dark Magic with an intensity that would normally send a pony running for their lives. "All we want from you is an explanation of your actions. Why would you offer such a deal to Scootaloo? What did you stand to gain from it?"
Dark Magic stared back at her with equal intensity, his gaze unwavering.
"I do not believe I need to explain anything to you."
"Excuse me, but yes, you do." Twilight said sternly. "In case you didn't notice, I happen to be an alicorn, which means I am one of the Princesses of Equestria. So guess what that means?"
She leaned closer, eyes narrowing, voice dropping to a near growl as he blinked at her.
"It means you will tell me everything."
Dark Magic stared at her, seemingly unfazed by her threatening tone.
"And if I refuse?" He asked.
Twilight suddenly straightened and gave him a rather unfriendly smile. She motioned around her.
"Well, then, a number of fates await you." She said in a slightly unpleasant tone. "For example, Pinkie Pie there has a number of ways that will loosen your tongue. She could blast you with her party cannon, or tickle torture you (which NOPONY has yet withstood, might I add). Then there's Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Either or both would be quite happy to buck you into the next millennium and back. And Rarity there...well, she would be glad to make use of you as a mannequin in her shop for an eternity. And last but not least, Fluttershy over there...let me assure you, you do not want to know what she can do."
Dark Magic eyed the yellow pegasus incredulously as she stood silently regarding him with a very serious expression.
"That one??" He exclaimed. "Why, I haven't heard one word or seen a hint of anger from her since that blue friend of yours dragged me in here! What could she possibly do?! She looks timid and shy from where I am standing."
"Uh oh..." mumbled Dash, noticing the subtle tensing of her fellow pegasus' body.
Twilight gave a dry chuckle. "If you really want to know, then keep refusing to tell us why you did what you did."
"I am not afraid of you." The magician huffed. "Any of you! Especially that one! She doesn't even look dangerous at all!"
Twilight stared at him. "Who wants him?" She asked, almost growling.
"Give him to Flutters." Dash spoke up, smirking almost evilly. "I'll be happy to give up the chance to beat him into the dirt just to see that!"
The others added their agreements to her statement, and Twilight nodded.
"Last chance." She said. "Explain, or face Fluttershy."
He scoffed. "I had my reasons, which I do not choose to explain."
Twilight sighed. "Fluttershy." She said, moving aside to make room for her friend.
Fluttershy did not hesitate. She walked forward and stopped about a foot from Dark Magic, locking her eyes into his. Dark Magic snorted.
"You're going to stare me into telling?" He asked sarcastically. "Oh, how frightening!" He snorted again...with slightly less confidence this time.
"You have no idea." Dash said with a snort of her own.
Before the magician could say anything else, Fluttershy tilted her head slightly, one eye opening wide, the other closing a bit. Dark Magic had time to blink one blink before the Stare bore into him, seeming to pierce all the way through him. It pinned him in place, freezing him, rendering him completely incapable of movement or speech. His ears pinned back of their own volition, and a slight shudder passed through him.
The others watched in silence as their friend worked her spell-binding Stare magic. They never got tired of seeing Fluttershy's Stare in action...it was pretty amazing and awe inspiring. So long as it was aimed at somepony else. And they had yet to see any creature or pony that could hold up under it.
Dark Magic, for his part, tried to look away, but could not. He was completely lost in the sea of teal that seemed to be staring clear through him like some kind of x-ray machine. He was mesmerized...and more than a little frightened of it.
"Now you listen here, mister." Fluttershy spoke softly, but with an edge of steel in her voice. "You are going to explain yourself and answer any questions you're asked. You got that?"
He simply nodded, unable to formulate words. Satisfied, Fluttershy turned off her Stare. Dark Magic shook his head to clear it, wobbling a little. This was not an experience he cared to repeat ever again!
"Now answer the question." Twilight said, moving next to Fluttershy. "Why did you do it?"
Dark Magic sat down and rubbed his muzzle.
"Alright." He said. "You want to know, I'll tell you."
He cleared his throat as the group sat down around him, watching him intently.
"Part of my story I told to Scootaloo." He began.
He told them that part: how he came by his name, all about the ancestor he was named after and his evil ways. The others listened without interrupting until he paused and accepted a glass of lemonade Pinkie offered him.
"So are you following in his hoofsteps or something?" Dash asked, crossing her forelegs.
"No." Dark Magic said firmly. "While he sought actively to hurt ponies with his magic, I seek actively to help them with mine. That is why I did what I did with Scootaloo. I saw she was upset and hurting and did what I knew would help."
"Maybe I missed something, but...how, exactly, was that supposed to help?" Twilight asked.
Dark Magic put his glass down and focused on her.
"I saw her eyes when she spoke of what happened years ago and the guilt she carried." He replied. "I could sense her deep, inner pain...a pain far, far greater than that of carrying her friend's injuries herself. By performing the spell that I did, it relieved her of that burden of pain."
"A drastic way to help, if you ask me." Dash muttered.
"Perhaps." Dark Magic said. "But it worked out quite well. She is obviously a true friend, sacrificing her own comfort and well-being to secure another's healing. She made the choice I thought she would. Although, I admit her extreme joy afterwards threw me for a loop. I was not expecting her to be quite as cheerful as she was."
"Why did you tell her it was permanently binding?" Twilight asked. "You clearly had to know it wasn't."
"Yes, I knew." He replied. "Telling her it was irreversible just made it that much more effective for her. Knowing that she wasn't getting a spell that would wear off or be easily removed was key to alleviating the inner suffering she was facing, because she believed her friend would be permanently healed. And she is...unless the spell is reversed. But since I told her it couldn't be..."
"Oh, she knows it can be reversed now, but she won't allow it." Twilight said. "I did an extensive search for a healing spell over the course of seven years. But I found nothing. I'm still searching, especially since you did what you did to Scootaloo. I don't suppose you know one?"
"No, I do not." He responded. "I do come from a long line of excellent magicians, however, and a good deal of their writings are currently in my possession. Not to mention I know countless tales of spells. I do not remember any healing spells, though."
Twilight stared at him intently. "Writings?"
"Yes. Countless writings."
"Dark Magic, will you excuse me a second?"
Twilight gathered her friends to one side and spoke in a low voice.
"If he does have writings from great magicians, as he claims," she said. "It might be beneficial to have him help me."
"You're kidding, right?" Dash huffed. "The guy casts a spell that leaves Scoots hurt, all because he wanted to help, and you're gonna let him hang around and help you?? Are you nuts?! How do we even know he's telling the truth?!"
"I didn't say I trust him." Twilight said evenly. "He may or may not be telling the truth. But if he is, then he may have something we can use for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."
"And why can't you just work with Celestia? Or Luna? Or even Zecora?" Dash growled.
"Because he's the one who cast the spell in the first place." Twilight answered. "It's not exactly a basic level spell, so he obviously is a good magician. Which means he might have the key we need to fix the girls."
Dash scowled. "Fine. But I'm keeping my eye on him!"
"I think we all will." Rarity said, eyeing the stallion sceptically.
The group shared a nod and then moved back to surround Dark Magic.
"Would you be willing to stay and let me look through some of those writings?"
Twilight asked. "Perhaps they might have something we can use."
There was a brief flash of something in his eyes, and Twilight couldn't figure out if it was fear or dread or both. Before she could decide, it was gone and a slight smile crossed his face. Though the smile was just as puzzling as the look in his eyes had been. She couldn't decide what kind of smile it was. She shrugged it off for the time being as she waited for his answer. He finally rose.
"Consider it done." He said. "Though I warn you, I may not be able to stay in town long. Personal business, you understand. Something may come up that I have to go attend to."
Twilight studied him for a moment. This time there was a distinctive look of fear in his eyes. It was brief, but it was there all the same. It puzzled her. Something was off about him. She nodded.
"Alright. But in the meantime, if we could get started immediately on our work?"
"Fine." He said. "Let me park my wagon somewhere..."
"Actually," Twilight said. "I was about to suggest you stay at the castle. Plenty of room, obviously. It will be more convenient and save time since we will no doubt have late nights and very early mornings."
She didn't add that it would make it easy to keep an eye on him.
"Oh, well, I was just going to camp right outside town..." Dark Magic started.
"I agree with Twilight." Dash spoke up, her eyes narrowed, holding a measure of suspicion. "It would be better if you're at the castle. So you don't lose valuable time everyday walking there."
Dark Magic was defeated, and he knew it.
"Alright." He said. "I suppose it would be best." His expression said otherwise.
"Great!" Twilight said. "Then we'll get started right away. If you'll get your wagon and bring it along, I'll help you unload all those writings you have."
She led him out the door, keeping one eye on him as if expecting him to run. As they faded from view, Dash scowled.
"I don't trust him." She said sourly.
"Ah don't either." Applejack agreed. "An' Ah think we should take turns helpin'
Twilight watch that feller. Somethin' about him don't set right."
The others shared her sentiment as they exchanged worried glances. |
Scootaloo's Return | 7 New Research Begins | It did not take long to settle Dark Magic into a room in the castle. Once he had put a few of his things there, he was escorted to the library by Spike. Twilight was already set up to do some reading. The writings of Dark Magic's ancestors filled four good sized boxes, which sat waiting to be opened.
"Ready to get to work?" Twilight asked.
"Of course." He replied.
"Great!" Twilight said enthusiastically. "Because I can't wait to get to these writings! May I?"
She was already eagerly opening a box before he could reply. He simply sighed in acceptance and opened another box. Twilight had lifted out a black book with a red spine and was reading it, eyes moving rapidly back and forth as she scanned what was written.
"So what exactly are you hoping to find?" Dark Magic asked, selecting a book of his own and opening it.
"Any possible link that will allow us to reverse what you did and heal Apple Bloom at the same time." Twilight answered, looking up briefly. "These writings are the first new things I have had a chance to study in seven years. It's quite possible your ancestors may have possessed some form of magic that might be what we're looking for."
He frowned. "So in other words, you are searching for a magic form that perhaps only one of my ancestors knew?" He queried.
"Exactly!" Twilight replied, before focusing on her reading again...though she didn't fail to position both herself and the book so she could keep Dark Magic in sight as she read.
In reality, she needn't have bothered, because Spike had settled himself near the library door with a stack of comic books, having made up his mind that the magician needed to be watched very carefully.
These things were not lost on Dark Magic. He noticed their careful observation of him, but made no comment. It wasn't like he could tell them to stop, no matter how uncomfortable it made him. He was, after all, responsible for the switch that had been made between the two young mares that the entire group at the bakery seemed to care so much about. If their roles were reversed, he would probably be mistrusting, too.
"Hey, Twilight!" called Dash as she burst in, flinging the door wide, straight into Spike, and narrowly avoiding crashing into her egghead friend.
Spike let out a yell ... along with a blast of fire that scorched a hole through his comic book. He stared at it sadly and sighed before turning to glare accusingly at Dash.
"What are you doing here?" Twilight asked the cyan mare, though she had a pretty good idea.
"I just thought I'd come over and hang out, you know; help you with your reading."
Dash replied, before throwing a rather dark look at the room's other pony occupant.
"I see." Twilight said. "Well, grab a book from one of those two boxes then."
Dash looked briefly astonished by that, but shook it off and did as she was told, selecting a faded green book that was trying to fall apart at the seams. She settled down on the floor near Spike and started reading.
For a long time, the only sound in the room was the soft turning of pages and an occasional mutter of "Fascinating!" or something similar from Twilight. Hours of reading yielding nothing on healing spells or anything related to it.
"Are we done yet?" Dash asked, rubbing her eyes. "I'm getting blurry eyed from all this reading."
"We've only read our way through two full boxes and half another." Twilight said. "We've still got a ways to go. But, we have been at it a long time. We should take a break and eat something, and Dash, you should go home and sleep."
"Yeah." Dash yawned. "But will you be fine here?"
She threw a wary look at Dark Magic. Twilight grinned a little and nodded.
"Yes."
"Ok. Then I'll go home and get some sleep." Dash said, rising and preparing to go.
Just a split second after she opened the library door, she let out a startled yell. And for good reason. She had come face to face with Applejack.
"Let me guess, you came to help me read, too?" Twilight asked.
"Partly." Applejack replied.
She cast a stern look in Dark Magic's direction. Twilight sighed and shook her head. She would definitely not lack guards for her guest.
"I'm leaving now." Dash said. "See ya tomorrow."
She left, and Applejack settled down and accepted an offer to eat a quick bite. Twilight then offered her a book and they all settled in to read. It soon became evident that everypony was not going to stay awake all night. Spike set up camp right by the door, just in case anypony decided to try and leave in the night, and fell asleep first. He was soon followed by Dark Magic, who nodded off in his chair. Applejack, in an effort to stay awake, got up and walked over to Twilight, who was rubbing her tired eyes.
"Anythin' useful?" She asked softly.
"Not yet." Twilight answered. "I keep feeling like I'm missing something, though. Something from the research I have been doing the last few days. Something obvious. But I can't put my hoof on it."
Applejack yawned. "Sorry."
"Its ok. You're tired. Why don't you get some rest?"
"Suppose he wakes up an' vanishes?"
It was a fair question. Twilight eyed the sleeping magician skeptically.
"I think I can fix that." She answered. Her horn lit up, and a violet glow surrounded the stallion briefly before dissipating.
"That should do it."
"What?"
"A double spell. One is a boundary spell that will let me know the second he leaves the confines of the castle; the other is a tracking spell, so I can find him if he disappears."
Applejack yawned again. "Well, then Ah reckon Ah could take a little nap."
She made her way back over to where her saddlebags were and dropped onto the floor. Resting her head on the bags, she pulled her Stetson over her eyes and gave another yawn. It was only a couple of minutes before her soft snores told Twilight her friend had fallen asleep. With a quiet chuckle, she went back to her reading, all the while something nagging at the back of her brain.
What was she missing?
In spite of her effort not to, she too soon succumbed to sleep, her head dropping onto the desk as a quiet snore escaped her.
***********************************
The rays of Celestia's sun had barely shone throughout the castle library when an exultant yell awoke three of its four occupants.
"I think I've got it!" Twilight shouted.
Applejack, Spike, and Dark Magic all sat up and rubbed their sleepy eyes before gazing blearily at Twilight.
"Got what, Sugarcube?" Applejack asked, with a yawn.
"I think I may have figured out part of what we need to fix the girls!" Twilight squealed happily.
Instantaneously, all three of her companions were wide awake and completely alert, standing and focusing intently on her.
"You have?" Dark Magic exclaimed. "Are you saying my ancestors did know something to help?!"
"Well, no." Twilight replied. "Not that I've discovered yet, anyhow. No, this is something I should have realised while doing my research on it the last several days. I can't believe I missed it! It was right there! So obvious!"
"Well, what?!" Spike asked.
Twilight's eyes gleamed. "Spike." She said. "Make a big breakfast! Applejack, can you gather everypony here? Including the Crusaders?"
"Ah'm on it." Applejack trotted hastily from the room.
"One big haycake breakfast!" Twilight said to Spike, grinning.
The baby dragon saluted and ran from the room. Dark Magic looked at Twilight, who was busy bringing out a chalkboard and its accompanying chalk.
"What was your discovery, Princess?" He enquired.
She simply gave a grin as mysterious as his own had been the last couple of days.
"You'll have to wait until everypony is here to find out." |
Scootaloo's Return | 8 Partial Discovery, Further Study | In an hour, everypony was gathered in the library, seated facing Twilight, who stood by the chalkboard. Spike had served up haycakes, and Pinkie had somehow managed to bring freshly baked cupcakes along with her.
"So, AJ said you figured something out?" asked Dash, still throwing suspicious looks at Dark Magic, who seemed resigned to the fact that they all completely did not trust him yet.
"Yes, I did." Twilight answered, catching up the chalk in her magic and preparing to launch into a highly scientific explanation.
Dash, fortunately, saw this, and waved her hoof.
"Just give us the run down in a language we understand, will you?" She requested.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Fine." She sighed. "Let me begin by saying that I was going about my research completely the wrong way."
"Meanin' what?" Applejack asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Well, if I had been paying attention and looking at the clues right in front of me, I would have seen a good half of what we needed to fix this." Twilight stated.
At their blank stares, she continued.
"Look...I am the Princess of Friendship. Right?"
Nods all around.
"Ok. I am also the Bearer of the Element of Magic. Correct?"
More nods.
Twilight looked at Scootaloo. "Scootaloo. When you made your deal with Dark Magic, what was the most important thing to you at that moment?"
Scootaloo rubbed her muzzle before meeting her gaze.
"That my friend would be healed." She replied.
"And it didn't matter to you what that cost?" Twilight asked.
"Of course not!" Scootaloo said firmly. "It could've cost me my life, and I would have still done it!"
"Why?"
Scootaloo blinked at that, having thought she already made that clear. But everypony was watching her now, expecting an answer, so she took a breath.
"Because she's my friend." She replied stoutly. "As her friend, it's my job to be there for her and do whatever I can to help her...even if it means sacrificing the biggest part of me to do it."
"Exactly." Twilight agreed, with a triumphant smile. "That was what the obvious answer was that I should have seen."
"Uh, now hold on, Sugarcube." Applejack said in confusion. "Ah'm not sure any of us is followin' your train of thought."
"The power of friendship, Applejack!" Twilight exclaimed. "That's what I was missing the whole time! Scootaloo demonstrated the full power of friendship with her selfless act for Apple Bloom. Which means..."
"Which means we could use the power of Friendship to fix the girls!" Pinkie squealed.
"Not quite." Twilight said. "That's only one variable. If you take it and mix it with my Element, Magic, then yes, it will bring us closer to fixing them. But there's still a variable missing. Something I can't quite figure out. I can use the power of friendship to create a spell, but based on my calculations, that will only put us halfway to our goal. We are still missing something. Some key magical ingredient, so to speak."
"Like what?" Scootaloo asked.
"Well, that I don't know." Twilight admitted. "But at least now I know that part of our spell is the link between my Element, and my role as Princess of Friendship. Now all I need to do is figure out what I'm missing."
"So...so ya'll can fix Scoots?" This from Apple Bloom.
"I believe so, if we can find the missing variable." Twilight answered.
"Did ya hear that, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked, eyes shining. "They can fix all this!"
Scootaloo gazed at Twilight.
"What if you can't find what you're looking for?" She enquired soberly. "You're not gonna switch us back. I won't let you."
"We know that, Scootaloo." Twilight said softly. "But don't worry. We'll cross that hill when we come to it."
"So are you going to need to do more reading through all that?" Rarity asked, nodding her head towards the stacks of pages and journals.
"Yes." Twilight responded. "There's still an entire box of it to go through, plus I need to re-read some of the others. I also need to see if there's something further I missed in my own books."
"Well, then, tell us what you need, darling, and we shall all assist you." Rarity said.
"Ooh! A book reading party!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I'll make more cupcakes!"
She zoomed from the room at top speed and Dash shook her head.
"I don't think she'll be doing any reading."
"Probably not." Rarity agreed.
The entire group selected books and settled in to read, while Twilight started comparing things in the writings to those in her own books, looking for the missing link to the required spell. Now that she had a pretty good idea how to begin the spell creating process, she needed the last ingredient to make it complete.
Dark Magic, meantime, was busy studying each pony in the room...and the dragon currently back at his post by the door. He tried to be inconspicuous about it, but each one he looked at happened to be looking right back, eyebrows slightly raised as they regarded him with pure and unbridled suspicion. He noticed that the one they called Fluttershy was the only exception...she seemed to be studying him with some measure of sympathy, mixed with slight doubt. Sympathy for what, he didn't know, unless it was sympathy for the near death glares from the others.
He returned his attention to his reading, wondering how long he was going to have to stay in this little town. He really needed to be going, but he figured none of the ponies in the room would let him. Not until the appropriate spell was found.
Scootaloo and her two friends made their way out the door and off on an excursion they had already planned for the day. They hadn't been gone long when Pinkie burst into the room with a tray loaded with fresh cupcakes. The door slammed back into Spike once more, forcing another unexpected blast of dragon fire straight through his newest comic. He sighed, surveying the latest pile of ash on the floor next to him.
"Aw, again?" He muttered, before throwing a killer glare at Pinkie and grabbing up another comic book in disgust.
Pinkie divided up the cupcakes so everypony had a stack next to them, including Dark Magic, who was honestly quite astonished at the unexpected act of generosity. She then grabbed a book and spun over onto her back, holding it up in the air to read while flipping pages with one of her curly bangs. Nopony even cared to figure that out. It was just Pinkie Pie.
Silence reigned in the room for a long time, broken only on occasion by a hum or a gasp from Pinkie. The others ignored it and focused on their own books.
Twilight squinted, tongue sticking out, concentrating intensely on a passage in the book she was holding and comparing it to a passage in the book on her desk. There had to be something somewhere that she was just not seeing. But what?
What was the missing variable to the spell she needed to create? And more importantly, how complex was the spell going to be?
At least her friends were helping her search. And Dark Magic. She glanced at him. His brows were drawn together in a deep frown, and he was staring at the book in front of him, though not seeing it. His eyes were narrowed, and held a mixture of apprehension and fear. She frowned. What was it that was bothering him so much? What dark secret was he holding inside? Whatever it was, it had him too unfocused to stay on top of the matter at hoof.
He looked up then, catching her looking at him, and gave a small smile. One of his most mysterious smiles yet. He looked back down at his book.
Twilight stared at him a moment longer, then resumed her own reading, still puzzled as to the strange behaviour of her guest. |
Scootaloo's Return | 9 The Missing Ingredient | "Two whole days and nothing!" Dash grumbled, slamming the book she held down on the desk.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight scolded. "Be careful! These journals are old!"
"Sorry." Dash muttered, "But seriously, Twi...how much longer do we keep reading and re-reading this stuff? I've read the same journals at least twice!"
"As much as it pains me, I must agree with Rainbow Dash." Rarity conceded, rubbing her head. "As many times as we keep going over this, we still haven't found anything that helps."
Dark Magic rubbed his own head. He was developing quite a headache from all the reading and listening to the back and forth of speculations. But he wasn't going to complain. He didn't want to cause further tension between himself and the others, aside from which, with so many pairs of eyes dissecting and second guessing the intentions of his every move, he was perfectly safe from anypony else whilst he was shut in here with them.
Twilight sighed and put her book down.
"I know it's tiring and frustrating." she said. "But I really feel like we're close to cracking this. I mean, really close."
"Close isn't exactly the same as having solved it already." Dash pointed out, unhelpfully.
"I know that!" Twilight groaned. "But it just feels like it's right in front of us! Dark Magic, can you think of any stories, any at all, about any odd spells or anything of that nature?"
He leaned forward, staring intently at Twilight over his reading glasses, his watery old eyes seemingly heralding a note of caution as he tapped the tips of his forehooves together.
"These books only go back at most a hundred years, yet the magic predates the forming of Equestria. I have long puzzled over this anomaly and the conclusion I have drawn is that it must have once been considered so dangerous to possess, if not downright heretical, that it had to have been captured within our family's oral tradition. However, when our numbers declined, the chance had to be taken to transcribe the knowledge lest it be lost. I am convinced there is a lot more in those books than is readily apparent, but even after extensive study I'm sure I haven't learned all the secrets myself yet."
"But you have learned more from these books than we have, even though we've read them all cover to cover. What are these books telling you that they're not telling us?" asked Twilight.
Dark Magic frowned thoughtfully, rubbing his muzzle as he pondered.
"There is one form of magic that stuck out to me, because of its name." he stated. "But it was always considered a family secret ... none of my ancestors ever shared it outside the family circle that I know of."
"What was it?" Twilight enquired.
He studied her. "It was revealed to me by my grandmare when I was a colt. She made me promise not to share it outside the family, but ..." he took a deep breath, "Princess, I must have you swear to me that it not leave this room."
"Agreed." Twilight nodded, seeking confirmation from the others around her.
"Very well." Another deep breath. "It's known as 'Judgement's Blessing'. It either enhances magical effect or it can rebound destructively and quite horribly, I'm afraid to say." explained Dark Magic. "It works by seeing into the heart of the petitioner and boosting the magic if their intent passes three tests of being noble, honest and selfless. Well, needless to say, the opportunity of enhancing the power of any given spell caused for it to be requested often, but in almost all cases, the petitioner's heart could not pass all three tests and so it backfired more often than not. As you can imagine, instead of the petitioner blaming themselves for their own impure thoughts, they found it easier to blame the spell caster for shoddy magic. It is, alas, a spell that earns more enemies than friends."
"I can see how that would be a temptation." mused Twilight reflectively. "But in this case I can only see purity of motive."
"Yes, but would you be prepared to take that chance with these young mares lives?" he asked looking over his glasses.
"Of course!" chipped in Dash. "Like,
duh, it's a no brainer!"
Alone amongst her friends, Twilight looked worried. Dark Magic caught her eye.
"Now you see why I withheld it from you."
"Judgement's Blessing? I just saw something..." Rarity searched through a stack of journals before levitating one up and quickly going through the pages. "Ah! Here! Middle of the page on your left, darling!"
She levitated the book towards Twilight, who regarded it coldly with some trepidation. She was on to something and she wanted to know, but warning bells were going off in her head, but she had to know ...
Twilight laid the tome down in front of her, running the tip of her hoof along the passage in question. It described how the spell dated back to the pre-Unicornian era, but stopped abruptly mid-sentence with the words 'twisted mandrake'. She said these words out loud and repeated them over again.
"Wait a minute, I've seen something to do with that just now!"
Twilight made some space on the table and flipped back a few pages in the book she had been reading, then a few more before shouting triumphantly, "There it is; 'twisted mandrake!'"
Dark Magic smiled admiringly as he watched the only pony other than himself piece together the arcane spell.
Twilight was a hive of frenetic activity, finding the words linking together the next pieces of the puzzle, until finally she had taken over the whole table with an overlapping procession of musty pages, finally joined together to reveal the complete spell.
"Clever as Clover!" announced Twilight, "It was there all along. Hidden in plain sight!"
"Well" said Dark Magic enigmatically, "Now you've found it, what are you going to do with it? The stakes are high, my fellow magician, but you will understand I cannot allow you to hold me responsible for the outcome."
Twilight stopped in her tracks. She knew this was the point of no return, whichever way she chose to go. She had been buoyed up by the idea of having reconstructed the spell from its constituent parts cunningly hidden amongst the journals, and from an academic perspective in its own right. But now the thought of failure weighed heavily on her, given how much she loved the young mares and how much they looked up to her and trusted her to do the right thing.
She folded her forelegs on the table and buried her muzzle in them with a loud groan.
"You've got to do it, Twi." cajoled Dash. "If you don't, Scoots is crippled for life. You know what a good flyer she is, you can't let her throw that away."
"But if it goes wrong, what will happen to Apple Bloom?" advanced Applejack. "You can't send her back to how she was, not now she's had a taste of freedom."
Even before she had finished, she had felt Dash's accusing glare staring at her from the other side of the room. Reluctantly, she turned her head to face her friend; steely determination facing sadness and pity, neither prepared to back down.
Two good friends, two possible courses of action, two young mares with their lives ahead of them and one curse dividing them. She peered up over her crossed forelegs, eyes bloodshot from the tears that matted her fur and gathered in small puddles on the table top. Her sightless gaze focused slowly on the eyes of Dark Magic, who stared right back at her. He had faced this dilemma before and felt for her as she weighed two compelling arguments, glad that he wasn't the one making the call.
Her gaze slowly focused into his, almost pleading and desperate in it's intensity, as if he somehow had the answer she sought. She said nothing, but her inner battle was clear from the pain in her eyes.
"This...is not...a choice I want to make..." she finally whispered, his ears alone picking up on her statement, and the agony in her voice. "It's so hard..."
Dark Magic nodded sadly. "How well do you know your friends and how easily could you face them if you act or if you don't?"
"If only it was as simple as that." she thought out loud, weighing up the damage either course of action could wreak among their friendships and how that would come to affect their ability to wield the Elements of Harmony together as friends.
She knew that her decision had implications beyond just the young mares, but also her own friends and the future safety of Equestria.
Twilight laid her head back down and sobbed loudly, agonising over the hardest decision of her life. |
Scootaloo's Return | 10 Making the Choice | Twilight had spent hours agonising over her decision, and weighing the pros against the cons. The truth was, there were far more reasons not to perform the spell than there were to perform it. The more she thought on it, the harder it got.
It didn't help that, over the course of the hours she took deliberating, all the rest of her friends had filtered into the castle, and had teamed up, taking sides with either Applejack or Dash.
Dash held the belief that Twilight should cast the spell, regardless of the risks, if it meant there was a chance Scootaloo could be healed and fly again.
Applejack held the belief the spell should not be cast, because the risk of Apple Bloom losing her newfound freedom and being reverted back to a crippled pony was far too great, and something she did not wish to see happen. And besides that, Scootaloo seemed fine with the way things were anyway.
Pinkie Pie sided with Applejack, declaring that, if Scootaloo was happy with her choice of being the crippled pony while Apple Bloom was able to live a normal life, then it shouldn't be messed with, because anything else might make Scootaloo unhappy.
Fluttershy also sided with Applejack, but only on the part that the spell was way too risky and could hurt or kill both young mares.
Rarity sided with Dash, announcing that, if there was any chance to switch them back and heal them both, it should be done, no matter the risk.
Unfortunately, the divide between them caused quite an argument to ensue, both sides claiming their opinion was right, and Twilight just got that much more upset and panicked with the choice in front of her. She finally did the only thing she could think of to do amid all the heated yelling.
She called the Crusaders to the castle.
Upon their arrival, she, along with Dark Magic, explained the spell and exactly what was at stake. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo exchanged glances.
"So you're saying that this could work and we'll both be fixed?" Scootaloo said slowly. "But it could also go horribly wrong and that could end with Apple Bloom being the way she was again?"
Twilight nodded. "I felt you should have a say in this."
"What would you say for us to do, Twilight?" Apple Bloom enquired.
Twilight took a deep breath, met Dark Magic's sympathetic gaze briefly, then looked at the young mares before her.
"I...really struggled with this." She conceded finally. "It's not an easy decision, considering everything that could go wrong. Truthfully, some part of me screams no. But...another part says this could work. I'm willing to try, if you are."
They stared at her, a mixture of apprehension and raw fear on their faces. Twilight sighed.
"I know what this means for you, girls." She told them softly. "It means trusting me completely with your wellbeing...with your lives, even. I know that isn't an easy thing to do, especially knowing that too many things could go wrong..."
"We trust you, Twilight."
This statement from Apple Bloom made every pair of eyes settle on her.
"If this spell can fix everythin', then do it." She finished.
"But if this goes wrong you could be crippled again!" Scootaloo cried in panic. "I don't want that to happen!"
"Ah have faith in Twilight, Scoots. She won't fail us." Apple Bloom stated with firm conviction...as if there wasn't a shred of danger involved in the entire thing.
"But if it goes wrong..." Scootaloo protested.
"Then we'll just cross that mountain when we come to it, Scoots." Apple Bloom replied gently. "But Ah believe in Twilight."
Twilight looked like she wasn't sure whether to be flattered or panicked at the amount of faith and trust the young mare placed in her.
Scootaloo sighed. "Well, I believe in Twilight, too, so...Twilight? If you think this will work, then go ahead and do it."
"Yes!" Dash cheered. "You'll be flying again in no time, squirt!"
"But what about Bloom? Ah don't want her losin' her freedom again!" Applejack insisted. "An' Dark Magic said this could go horribly wrong! What if ya wind up killin' both of them?!"
Twilight looked stricken by that. Hearing the girls had made her think she might be able to do this, but now...well, she was terribly afraid something would happen and harm both of them.
"Nah, Twilight's got this covered!" Dash announced eagerly. "She won't let anything happen to them. Right, Twi?"
Twilight took a deep breath. "If the girls want to do this, I'll do it. But like Dark Magic said, there is danger involved. I am going to hope this works out, but I won't lie: it could fail. I'm hoping it doesn't."
The others exchanged glances. Scootaloo still looked apprehensive, while Apple Bloom looked a bit more calm. Twilight sighed again. This could either be the best, or the worst, choice of her life. Hopefully it wasn't going to be the latter.
"I'll get to work on creating the spell." She finally spoke up. "Dark Magic? Since the Judgement's Blessing spell came from your family, will you help me?"
Dark Magic flinched slightly. "As I stated before, Princess," he reiterated. "I cannot be held responsible for the outcome of this. It is a very volatile spell capable of causing untold damage and harm."
"You won't be held responsible." Twilight assured him.
He gazed at her for a long time before finally nodding.
"Very well. I will assist you. But I advise great caution in this endeavor."
"Noted." Twilight acknowledged with a nod. "Though I do my best to exercise great care with every spell."
Dark Magic regarded her soberly. "This one requires even greater attention than all of yours put together."
Twilight believed it. Every word. It wasn't just the magic, it was the young mares lives, it was their sisters and the sanctity of the Elements of Harmony. She didn't need to be reminded to be vigilant during this spell casting, she knew. The thought of a lifetime of accusing glares from former friends if she were to fail did not bear dwelling on too closely.
"Ah can't agree with this!" Applejack yelled. "It's too dangerous!!! Twilight, ya can't do it!"
"Twilight, you have to!!" Dash shouted. "Scootaloo needs to fly! If this can work, you have to fix them!!"
This led to more yelling on both sides as the Crusaders watched in complete confusion and Twilight looked ready to have a breakdown as she began to doubt her decision. She grabbed Dark Magic and dragged him aside.
"I have got to stop this fighting!" She told him. "It's making this too difficult! The girls are willing to try the spell, but their sisters are going to have them and me doubting it and too scared to do it!"
He glanced at the arguing groups and back to Twilight.
"Perhaps the best way is to convince them to participate." He stated. "If they are truly worried for their siblings' safety, they need to focus and calm themselves so that no mistakes are made."
"That's true." Twilight responded, rubbing her head. "We'll need them anyway, in order to use the power of Friendship in the spell."
She strode forward and faced her friends. They stopped yelling at the look on her face.
"If you want to protect the girls," she said. "Then it will help if you will participate in this spell. I need you for the Friendship part of it. Applejack, Dash...I understand where you are both coming from, but please, stop fighting and help me help your sisters."
The two exchanged looks. After a long moment of silence, they nodded.
"Ah'll help." Applejack agreed. "But only cause Ah want my sister safe, and cause Ah know she wants to try this. Ah still have my doubts."
"I'll help, too." Dash offered. "You're right, Twi. If this is gonna be anywhere close to successful, we gotta stand together and make it that way."
The others agreed to that with nods of assent. Twilight took a deep breath.
"Good." She stated. "Now, I have a really good idea how to create this spell. I just need a few minutes to think before I can start."
She moved to the chalkboard that hadn't been put away, grabbed the chalk in her magic, and levitated several books over to herself. The others watched...except Dark Magic, who went to her side and quietly conversed with her. The two kept exchanging words as all kinds of figures and diagrams were written on the board. At long last, both of them stood back and surveyed the work.
"Well, now we know how to do this." Twilight announced.
She turned to her friends, Dark Magic following.
"Alright." She said. "I have figured out how to correctly combine the different ingredients into the spell we need. However, there is one problem. Well, two actually."
"Ah knew it!" Applejack exploded. "It's gonna hurt em, ain't it?! It's gonna turn Apple Bloom back to bein' injured! Consarn it all, Twilight!" She yanked off her Stetson and flung it on the floor.
"Applejack, darling, do calm down and listen." Rarity suggested comfortingly.
Applejack replaced her hat and scowled.
"The spell is very strong and complex." Twilight explained. "It's going to have to be cast in three separate stages, no less than a week apart, to make sure that the girls, and us, do not become overwhelmed by too much magic at once...and make sure we don't overdo it in the casting of it. It's going to be a very demanding process, and take a lot of all our energy."
"That makes sense." Dash considered, rubbing her head. "So what's the second problem?"
"The spell, even with all the ingredients, can only work through a close surrogate that's unaffected by the magic already in play." Twilight said. She hesitated briefly. "In other words, we need a third pony to work through on this, one that has had no contact with any of the magic in the spell preformed on Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."
"That makes sense, but who would you get, darling?" Rarity asked. "And what exactly would their role entail?"
Twilight glanced at Dark Magic, then back at her friends.
"It would mean transferring all the injuries to this third pony long enough for us to purge the other two, or in other words, heal them completely and remove any and all magic not their own. This pony, though, would have to carry the injuries for two weeks...until we've completed the final spell."
"That is a lot to ask any pony to carry." Rarity conceded, sighing. "But if we must. Who can we get?"
"The closest surrogate..." Twilight drew a deep breath "... the one with the purest heart to match Scootaloo's and Apple Bloom...is Sweetie Belle." |
Scootaloo's Return | 11 The First Spell | Everypony in the room gaped at her in shock.
"WHAAAAAT?!" Rarity shrieked, looking like she didn't know whether to faint or have a royal fit. "You cannot be serious!!! You want to ask Sweetie Belle to...to...NO! I will not stand by and allow it! Twilight, you simply must not do it!!!"
"Rarity, I understand how you feel, and believe me, I wouldn't even suggest putting put her through this if I had another option." Twilight informed her soberly. "But I don't. If this is going to work at all, it has to be Sweetie Belle."
"Well, I am afraid you are just going to have to find somepony else! I simply will not allow you to put my sister through this!"
"If there was another pony, I would, but she's the only one I can use that will make this work."
"You are not going to use her as a...a catalyst in this plan!"
"Rarity..."
"No, Twilight! I will not stand by and let you do it!!"
Twilight sighed. Why did every choice today have to be so Celestia-darned difficult? The way she saw it, if she did this anyway, Rarity would be very angry with her. If she didn't, the spell couldn't be used, and Dash would be the angry one. She looked at the Crusaders.
"Sweetie Belle? What's your opinion? Are you willing to do it?" She inquired, quietly.
The young mare in question sat with mouth agape, still trying to wrap her mind around Twilight's statement. Part of her wanted to refuse cooperation entirely; another part of her wanted to do whatever she could to help. It took a few minutes before she recovered enough to speak.
"It's the only way to heal them both?" She asked, eyes locked on Twilight.
"Yes, it is." Twilight replied quietly. "Only through your cooperation can we cast the spell required to heal them."
"But...but that means..." Sweetie Belle didn't finish, but Twilight nodded in understanding.
It meant that Sweetie Belle was now the main one to make the decision final. She was now the one who held the wellbeing of her best friends in her hooves. It was her call right now as to whether they both had a chance of living normal lives again...or whether one did while the other didn't. Not only that, but to bear the disability herself...to have to trust that Twilight and Dark Magic could pull off the spell and eventually heal her...it was overwhelming to think about.
She looked sideways at her friends, who were watching her intently. Their expressions were understanding, sympathetic, and almost pleading...as if they truly felt the weight of her decision themselves and felt bad for her, and were also pleading silently with her to make the right choice. And suddenly she knew deep down what the answer had to be. Her eyes met Twilight's once more.
"I'll do it."
"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity gasped out. "No! I can't let you do it! It is far too risky to-"
"Rarity, stop." Sweetie Belle interrupted. "You said a short time ago that Twilight should do this, no matter what the risks."
"But...but that was before you were going to be involved!" Rarity sputtered. "I do not want you to get hurt!"
"But it's ok if my friends do?"
"No, of course not!"
"Then, I have to do this, Rarity. For them. I want them both to be whole, not just one of them, and if my cooperation is the only way, I'll do it."
"I can't let you do it, Sweetie!"
"Actually, you can't stop me any more. I'm grown up now. I can make my own choices. And I choose to help my friends."
Rarity knew from her sister's determined green eyes that it would do no good to argue further, so she sighed heavily.
"Very well. I can't stop you. I do not approve of this, but...I can't stop you."
Sweetie Belle looked at Twilight.
"Will this hurt?" She asked. "Any of us?"
"It should be completely painless." Twilight assured her...not wanting to add she honestly wasn't sure it would be.
"Are you sure you want to do this, Sweetie Belle?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yeah. We don't want ya to do it unless you really want to." Apple Bloom added.
"No, I want to." Sweetie Belle replied softly. "I want both of you to go back to your normal lives, instead of only one of you. Scootaloo, you showed your greatest act of friendship already by taking on Apple Bloom's injuries so she could have her freedom back. It's my turn."
The three best friends hugged each other tightly for a long moment, before Twilight cleared her throat and told them they should begin. They broke apart and waited.
Twilight had the three of them move to a spot away from the others and stand together. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo flung their forelegs around Sweetie Belle, sandwiching herself between them. Dark Magic stood by, ready to work the spell alongside Twilight and feed her whatever extra magic he could provide when called upon.
"Are you ready?" Twilight asked.
At the three nods, she lowered her head, braced herself and lit her horn. Dark Magic followed suit. A second later, a stream of violet and a stream of blue surrounded the Crusaders, then a ray of white flashed through the room, blinding everypony in it. There was a soft explosion of sorts, then silence. When the others could see again, the spell had been completed.
Dark Magic and Twilight were panting from the drain of energy the spell had taken from them, but they focused their gazes on the three young mares.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stood on their own legs, while Sweetie Belle was now wearing the wheeled frame. All three looked a bit worn out from the amount of magic poured into them to transfer the injuries to the unicorn.
"Stage one is complete." Twilight managed, somewhat breathlessly.
Rarity stared at her sister, a mix of emotions playing across her face. She had experience around a crippled pony with a wheeled frame, due to Apple Bloom and then Scootaloo, and she thought she could handle it. But seeing the frame on her sister was a sight she really wasn't as prepared for as she thought, and with a groan, she promptly fainted. This was noticed only by Fluttershy, who moved to her side immediately to help.
"Are you ok?" Scootaloo asked anxiously, watching Sweetie Belle carefully.
Sweetie Belle smiled a little. "As well as can be expected." She answered, quietly.
Dash rushed at Scootaloo, grabbing her and twirling her around in excitement.
"You can fly now, Scoots! Go on, show me you still remember how!"
She spun her away from her, and Scootaloo managed to right herself.
"Not now, Rainbow Dash!" She snapped. "I can't just fly off and leave Sweetie Belle! I gotta stay with her til this is all over."
She returned to her friends, leaving Dash to stare in astonishment. Deep down, Dash knew Scootaloo was right. Friends came before almost everything else, especially ones you considered family. She found herself feeling proud of the loyalty the orange pegasus displayed.
"Scootaloo, you should go out and fly." Sweetie Belle said. "You haven't been able to in quite a while. I'll be ok."
"Nothing doing!" Scootaloo retorted. "I'm not leaving your side, Sweetie Belle! I'll fly another time! Right now, you're more important!"
"Yeah! What she said!" Apple Bloom stated emphatically. "Minus the flyin'."
Sweetie Belle managed a small smile as her friends gathered close. She knew her choice to help had been the right one.
Twilight turned to Dark Magic.
"This was not the hardest part." She spoke with conviction. "This part was easy. It will also be easy to purge Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."
He nodded. "The hardest one will be the final stage. That one, I am afraid, will test all of our limits of endurance and drain us almost completely of our combined energy."
Twilight rubbed her head. "That's what I'm afraid of too. More than that, though, I'm afraid it will be too powerful for the girls, and cause harm."
"Well then, we will just have to pay attention and hope for the best."
Twilight nodded. He was right. But the final stage was two weeks away, and there was no point in panicking over it now. The important thing now was to give the girls a week to recover from what had just transpired, then move on to the second stage.
Dark Magic took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. He was tired from the amount of energy he'd just used. And more than that, he was craving sweets.
"Princess," he said. "If you don't mind, I would like to go to the bakery. I shouldn't be gone long, and when I return we can begin studying the next stage of this to be sure we get it right."
Before Twilight could answer, Dash butted in.
"I'll go along. I'm craving a milkshake, anyway." She announced, though her expression clearly stated that it was something else entirely.
Dark Magic was aware they wanted to keep an eye on him, and he honestly didn't mind. He was safe from other ponies as long as he was under their watch. He nodded.
"Of course, Miss Dash."
It was merely politeness. He knew he had no real choice in the matter.
She eyed him with even more suspicion at that, but said nothing, and accompanied him from the room.
**********************************
The two of them made their way to Sugarcube Corner, Dash hovering just above Dark Magic. But before they got there, he suddenly halted in his tracks, body tensing. This was not lost on Dash, who frowned and followed his line of vision.
Two stallions had just approached the bakery. They glanced at Dash and Dark Magic, then away, then froze and looked back. Their gazes locked on Dark Magic, their expressions growing hard and angry, as their dark eyes grew darker. They gave identical sneers and started towards the two.
"Uh oh." Dark Magic muttered.
He grabbed Dash roughly with one hoof as his horn lit up.
"Hey! What the-?!" was all Dash got out before Dark Magic teleported them back to the castle.
He dropped his hold on the somewhat disoriented Dash, who swayed a bit before glaring at him.
"Hey! Nopony teleports me without a word of warning except Twilight!!" She shouted angrily.
"We need to go inside...NOW!" He barked out, before dragging her inside behind him.
What followed their entrance was almost amusing. Dark Magic bolted the castle door, then grabbed Dash and teleported into the library, bolting that door as well.
"What the hay is wrong with you?!" Dash demanded.
"Rainbow Dash, what's wrong?" Twilight asked. "Why are you so mad? And why does Dark Magic look like he's scared to death? What is going on??"
"That's what I want to know!" Dash growled. "We were going along, and all of a sudden, he stops, and these two guys give him the stink eye and start towards him. Next thing I know he teleports us both back here...without a word of warning! Then he locks the front door and this one."
Twilight looked at Dark Magic. "What in Equestria did you do that for??"
Dark Magic looked around at all the suspicious glares (including from the now conscious Rarity) and sat down heavily by the door, rubbing his head and sighing.
"Since I might have unintentionally put you in danger, I think I should tell you the real reason behind my hesitancy to stay in your town." |
Scootaloo's Return | 12 The Further Secrets of Dark Magic; The Second Spell | Dark Magic waited until everyone had settled down around him, Crusaders and Spike included, before he spoke again.
"It is no coincidence that I was near Ponyville the day that I met that young mare there." He stated.
"What do you mean?" Dash asked, suspiciously.
"It has to do with what I am about to tell you." Dark Magic answered.
"Tell us, then." Dash said, narrowing her eyes distrustfully.
"It happened years ago." The magician began. "When I was still young and new at my magic talents. A farmer was having problems with his two sons. They were both in love with the same young mare here in Ponyville, and a rivalry had started between them ... each one fighting the other over who was going to get her. It was beginning to tear the family apart. Their father learned of my particular magical talents and eventually contacted me to ask if I could assist him; some kind of magic spell to stop them fighting. So, I listened to the story, and because I wanted to help ponies with my magic, agreed to cast a spell.
Sadly, he could only see as far as his two sons and their rival attentions for the young mare, so he asked me to frame the spell calling upon the spirts to choose in their infinite wisdom what was best for her. He meant, of course, that she should be guided to one or other of his two sons. Naturally, each son believed himself to be the most appropriate suitor and therefore the best choice to win her affections, so they had both agreed to going along with it. However, when I cast the spell, something rather unexpected happened."
"What was it?" Twilight asked as the stallion paused to collect his thoughts.
"The spirits seemed to have other ideas for all involved." He replied. "Apparently they decided that both sons were bad news ... because the very next day, she received a contract to model for an upmarket fashion house in Manehattan and left town immediately. Needless to say, that really did not go over well with the family and they all blamed me for the turn of events. The good news is that the brothers stopped fighting and united together over a common interest ... bad news is, that interest was me. And their interest in me was purely for revenge purposes. So ... I fled Ponyville as fast as I could before they could get their hooves on me. I knew if I stayed, they would exact revenge somehow and decided to give this place a wide berth."
"So why'd ya come back, then?" Applejack demanded.
"Well, all this took place many years ago, so I had rather hoped that they would have cooled down and found partners of their own by now. However, I found out today that they still appear to be carrying that grudge, and somewhat forcefully too, if I might say."
"Yuh still not answerin' the question." Observed Applejack, eyes narrowing.
"Truth to tell, I came to see you, Princess" said Dark Magic, turning to lock eyes with Twilight.
"Why me?" Twilight asked, frowning.
"I have only ever desired to help others" he replied, "But the form of magic which I have been chosen to carry has become too heavy a burden to bear. I was hoping that you, as the Bearer of the Element of Magic, could help me; take some of the weight off my shoulders, perhaps?"
While his tale did seem to have a ring of credibility to it, the group continued to maintain a healthy scepticism; the three Crusaders all had older sisters in this group, and all six of them were solidly united in not wanting any of them to come to any harm.
Twilight, edged closer to him, dissecting his expression with meticulous precision.
His gaze remained unwavering, a desperation burning behind his eyes, begging for release.
"So" she began warily, "You want me to take this magic off you? What do you want in return?"
"Nothing" he replied, "Just to live in peace."
"But you would lose who you are, your magic, your identity. Is that price really worth paying?"
"Princess, we are both aware that magic can neither be created nor destroyed. If anypony has the ability to take away from me the 'gift' that has led me to so much misery and turn it into something good for the benefit of all Equestria, then it must be you."
"Very well, I promise to look into it" agreed Twilight, "But only once you have helped us finish what we have started".
"Thank you Princess, that is all I ask."
"Yeah, and we'll be watching you" interjected Rainbow "Just to make sure you don't change your mind."
Dark Magic spent the week as the guest of Twilight in the Castle of Friendship, although with no shortage of volunteers to keep an eye on him, he was more of a prisoner in a gilded cage. He made no effort to defuse the mistrust evident all around him, but instead kept his own council as if planning something, merely deepening suspicion of his motives. Even when the primrose Bearer of the Element of Kindness made attempts to befriend him, he seemed focused on something faraway. He continued to maintain his clinical detachment, almost as if his whole turbulent life had dragged him into the eye of a storm from where he was steeling himself for the onslaught of facing the same again before he could finally be free.
Only one Element Bearer did not take a turn at guarding the castle's visitor and that was Rarity. Everypony recognised how fragile her state of mind was and whatever grasp she could maintain on reality was best diverted to taking care of her sister's needs without having to be reminded of the magician who had, for whatever reason, catalysed her sister's current problems. Her absence was not considered a problem by two other big sisters; Applejack and especially Rainbow Dash who were evidently aching for an opportunity to mete out their own kind of justice should they catch him trying anything remotely suspicious.
Fluttershy had taken her turn at guarding him overnight partway through the week and had fallen asleep, tired out by the demands of her animals as well as her guarding duties. Dark Magic knew he could have taken the opportunity to escape if he had chosen and indeed left his room fleetingly, allowing just enough time to lay a pillow under the gentle pegasus' head before returning obediently to his room. When Fluttershy awoke, she stretched and mewed like a kitten before recalling where she was and shooting a glance at her captive, who was in just the same place as she had seen him before dozing off many hours previously. She looked at the softly inviting pillow that bore the indentation of her head where she had lain, scanning around for some explanation of how it had got there. Dark Magic wore his inscrutable expression, betraying nothing of his kind act towards the Bearer of the Element of Kindness.
In fact the only pony who ever got anything out of her time with him was Twilight. With her, he opened up about the intricacy and subtleties of the spells ahead, priming her so that she would not be surprised by the rapacious demands on her power that the spell was expected to develop over three progressively more demanding stages.
The first spell had been easy, but Dark Magic dismissed any misunderstanding that it was them who had been in control - it was, he described, merely the living magic unleashed by the spell coming to terms with the spellcasters. Twilight felt a shiver run down her back at the thought of this unknown class of magic; a thrill of both excitement and fear. There were two more spells ahead during which the living magic having been awakened to their magical imprints would come to explore their individual potentials and demand increasing amounts of their essence to make the spell work. He went on to explain that the week's gap in between was not just necessary for the two of them to recover, but also for the living magic to work its way through them and analyse what it found, so it could determine what and how much it would come to demand from the spellcasters.
Twilight felt her pulse quicken at the thought that she had helped conjure this living magic, which right at that very moment was working through her, analyzing her strengths and weaknesses. How deeply was it probing? Worse, would she be capable of delivering everything that it chose to demand from her?
****
On the sunrise one week to the day after the first spell had been cast, Twilight walked pensively down to see her guest, mulling over the open-ended requirements of the spellcasting that lay ahead.
Outside his room, she met an orange farm pony who still looked just as alert and deadly as she had when she came on duty the evening before; nothing having escaped her vigilant gaze from that second through to this.
"Good morning, Applejack" she greeted with more cheerfulness than she felt.
"G'mornin' y'all" replied the farmer, moving to keep both Twilight and Dark Magic in her field of view without having to switch between them, "D'ya think he can be trusted to do what's right by Apple Bloom and her two friends today, Twi?"
"Yes, Applejack" she replied confidently, "I believe so."
"He don't move much and says even less" commented the orange mare, "T'ain't natural."
"He has a lot on his mind, Applejack" reassured Twilight, "As have I."
"Well, I figure you know what's goin' on better than anypony else. I guess I'll jus leave y'all to it."
"Thank you Applejack" said Twilight with an eerie finality, "Thank you for everything."
The orange pony looked back over her shoulder as she left, pricked briefly by the tone of her friend's parting comment, but dismissed what she thought she had heard as a product of her own tiredness.
"Well Dark Magic" began Twilight cautiously, sounding him out, "Do you feel ready?"
"Yes, thank you, Princess" he replied, "It is a path similar to many I have trodden before, but ..."
"But what?" asked Twilight.
"Well, you see, this time the living magic has had a chance to assess both of us and although it now knows our capabilities, we do not yet know each other's. It has us at a disadvantage, if you understand me."
Twilight nodded, "I guess we shall soon find out for ourselves."
"Quite so, Princess."
The two of them walked through the corridors of the castle, each trying to scope the ability of the other and both facing their own individual fears about what lay ahead. Too soon they approached the throne room and Twilight stopped to greet two guards she had posted to ensure that there would be no interruptions as the spell was being worked.
"Good morning Sirs" she greeted politely, "Are our guests assembled?"
" Yes Princess" responded one with stiff formality.
"And are you aware that you and the guards on the other doors are not to interrupt this morning's spellcasting unless Equestria is in the gravest of peril?"
"Yes Princess" he snapped back smartly.
"Thank you Sirs, please see that it is done."
Both guards stamped their hooves to attention as the last two guests opened the double doors and joined the gathering. Before them stood Sweetie Belle strapped into her wheeled frame with a teary eyed Rarity by her side, seemingly needing more support from her little sister than the other way around. Applejack and Rainbow stood resolutely by their sisters, looking strong and defiant, forelegs slightly apart and fixed expressions burning holes into Dark Magic as if daring him to make one false move. Stood back from the three pairs of siblings were Fluttershy and a serious looking Pinkie Pie.
The group of friends Twilight had always associated with happiness and laughter were all eyeing her fellow magician with varying degrees of mistrust and looking to her to not only keep him under control, but also ensure the safety of the young mares to whom they were all attached, if not by blood, but by the tightest bonds of friendship. She felt the full weight of the enormous responsibility dragging her down with every stride but was determined to instil confidence by sounding self-assured, even if her insides were turning to jelly.
"Thank you all for coming today" addressed the Princess, "Dark Magic and I have worked very closely throughout the week to ensure we are best prepared for this morning's spell, the second in the sequence."
Although she was keeping eye contact with her friends, she noticed that they were all looking to her side, directly at Dark Magic, their protective instincts unmistakable.
"Whatever happens, Sweetie Belle will still be carrying the same injuries once we have concluded today, so don't expect anything physically different after this spellcasting. Judgement's Blessing is a spell made of living magic that gets to know the petitioners, that's those asking for help, and the spellcasters, that's Dark Magic and myself who are facilitating the magic.
The process comprises three spells. The first calls the living magic into being and we presented your case for its consideration. During the last week, it has been assessing your worthiness; that was shown by Scootaloo's repentance, Apple Bloom's forbearance and friendship despite what had happened all those years ago, and Sweetie Belle's act of charity in accepting the injuries to herself. It has also spent this week getting to know Dark Magic and myself, to assess whether we have what it takes to make the magic happen.
The second spell, that's where it tests the three of you and us as if we were all being cross examined in Celestia's Court. It then weighs up the evidence and in a week's time you have judgement passed, but it will be up to Dark Magic and myself to facilitate the delivery of the curative magic, if that is what it decrees you have earned."
"Why can't it just make the spell happen by itself?" asked Applejack sceptically.
"The living magic doesn't exist in this realm and has to act through us. That's why it has to test our strength and our magical abilities before it attempts to download the spell through us. It would be like holding a live electric cable and only then finding out that the shock kills us. This is why Dark Magic is so important to the success of this spell."
Dark Magic gave the merest nod of his head to confirm what Twilight had said as they both looked out across the faces before them, everypony visibly shocked by what they had heard, staring back with their eyes wide.
"Shall we start?" asked Twilight, breaking the stunned silence and jolting everypony back to the reality of the task ahead of them.
"Please would the Element Bearers move back so we can concentrate on our young friends" she continued, "Also, I don't want any of you feeding any negativity into this spell, so I want you all to remember which Element you represent and think positive thoughts about how it can be brought to bear to help. If you don't think you can do that, I would ask you respectfully to leave."
At this, the Element Bearers looked at each other, each assessing their own worthiness as well as everypony else's. Twilight made eye contact with each in turn, lingering on Applejack and Rainbow as each nodded their ascent and stood back.
"Thank you" said Twilight, before turning to Dark Magic, "Shall we?"
He nodded.
The alicorn and the unicorn, side by side, united in their common cause, began to meditate and after a few minutes a blue aura began to build around Dark Magic's horn followed shortly after by a magenta glow around Twilight's.
At an unseen prompt, the two auras suddenly shot forward together towards the three scared looking young mares, fusing together into a ball of white light that quickly grew to surround them.
Twilight felt fingers of ice run through her body and surge inside her head, pulsing like the onset of a particularly nasty migraine. She was being probed and evaluated; judged. She knew it was the same for the others too, but unlike the three young mares, she and Dark Magic had to keep feeding the magic as it ran its course. As the probing became more invasive, so it became harder to focus, more difficult to concentrate on keeping the spell going, but the need to see through what they had started became all the more vital if they were to deliver a positive outcome.
The pulsing in her head turned into an angry throbbing, burrowing deeper as the magic sought more to feed upon. The screaming pain in her head was so bad that she was crying in agony, her tears mixing with the sweat of concentration as she worked to her limit to hold the spell together.
Think of Scootaloo, think of her courage in facing her past sins; think of Sweetie Belle accepting willingly the injuries, knowing that she may be stuck with them forever; think of the courage Apple Bloom showed day to day, never feeling sorry for herself; keep it together for them ...
"No! Sweet Celestia ... help me!" she cried out, straining every fibre of her courage to keep the magic going until it had finished its task.
Her forelegs began to tremble, threatening to give way and let her fall, but she had to keep them locked in position. If she fell, the magic would be broken, and Dark Magic would have to compensate by providing double the power, and if he didn't, what would happen to the three young mares? No, she had to keep going ...
Twilight was crying out loud in between sobs of pain, but still refused to let go as the pain continued to increase, sweat now running down into her eyes as she fought bravely for breath, only to release it in sobs and screams.
Suddenly it stopped.
Twilight was kicked violently out of her meditation and returned full force into her shattered body, feeling the cumulation of pain.
She opened her eyes.
The magic had dissipated.
The three young mares were safe, but looked exhausted. The other Element Bearers were staring at her, shocked. She tried to turn her head to see if Dark Magic was alright too, but could not muster the strength. Instead, the effort of trying to turn took the last of her energy and she was caught off balance, unable to protect herself from falling and collapsed, unconscious. |
Scootaloo's Return | 13 The Final Curtain | Twilight hadn't slept well. In fact, she barely even registered she had enjoyed any sleep at all. It had been a week since she had fainted following the second spell and today she had to be prepared for even more as Judgement's Blessing drew to its conclusion.
Just thinking about it made her feel sick.
All night she had mulled over the various ways the spell today could go wrong; who could get hurt and how badly. She lamented the quirk of fate that had led to her becoming the Bearer of the Element of Magic. It wasn't as simple as throwing a party, making a dress or singing a song; she was being expected to work with this mercurial stranger to harness magical forces she had never encountered before and deliver a happy ending for all concerned. Just because she had always somehow prevailed before was no guarantee of everything working out this time, but she appreciated that with every past success, expectations among her friends had risen and one day she would fall.
Please, Celestia, don't let it be today!
She made her way through the Castle of Friendship slowly, pensively, feeling a tremendous burden of responsibility bearing down on her. When she climbed the last flight of stairs she stared at the door before her, looking at it blankly, mind racing.
She had come too close to failure a week ago and knew that she would need more magical energy if this third and most demanding spell were going to succeed. This would require more than she could provide by herself, but by calling upon the other Element Bearers today, she believed their energy could be channeled through her own Element to boost her power and carry the spell through.
The magical seal she had cast on the door remained untouched from last night, the thousands of magical tripwires woven around the room undisturbed. Twilight deactivated the magic and walked in, looking around to confirm in her own mind that everything was as she had left it. It was.
The lone Princess walked into the middle of the circle marked out on the floor and faced north, the early morning sun blazing in through the stained glass windows on her right, casting brightly coloured images around the room. These very finely crafted windows did not adorn this room as a vulgar display of her opulence, moreover they were to keep prying eyes out, away from what lay within. It would never do for some inquisitive passing pegasus to see what was inside and start spreading rumours that would cause her reputation lasting damage.
Closing her eyes, Twilight allowed her mind to slip into a state of light meditation, seeking solace and mentally preparing herself for the task ahead. Last time, the spell had demanded so much from her that she was concerned, no, genuinely afraid that she may not have what it took when the three young mares presented themselves at the allotted hour.
Her pulse returned to normal, as did her breathing and she soon felt as well as she could, given the task ahead.
"Let's do this thing" she muttered under her breath, emerging from her trance.
She turned to face the door and left, resealing the room once more and descending the stairs to meet the others whom she knew would be waiting for her downstairs.
"Girls, Dark Magic, thank you for arriving so promptly today" she greeted, surveying the varying looks of trepidation staring back up at her.
Everypony had their fears, even Pinkie Pie had lost her usual effervescence and looked solemnly back at Twilight, acknowledging her with the merest tip of her head. They had all seen her fall to the floor at the end of the spell a week previously, and while some had blamed Dark Magic for not having done enough to support her, they were all worried that she would be able to see it through.
"Dark Magic" she whispered to the old stallion, turning his muzzle away from the others so that they could neither hear nor see the few private words "Are you up to doing this?"
Their eyes met in silent acknowledgment of the power the other held. His eyes looked tired too, and Twilight could well imagine the night he had gone through. She was secretly glad he had turned up at all. Only two short weeks ago she wouldn't have placed any money on that happening, but they had developed a bond of trust and she knew she could count on him absolutely in the ordeal that lay ahead.
He reached out a forehoof and gently lifted her muzzle just a fraction.
"Yes, Princess" he replied, "I am ready to do what is expected of me."
Something in the tone of his voice caught Twilight off her guard; something regretful, something final.
She didn't have time to think about it right now and swung into organising those present.
"Rarity" she called over the crowd, "Can I have you levitate Sweetie Belle up the stairs please?"
"How many are there darling?" she called back, clearly worried about the strain on her magic.
"Two sets of two flights with a rest in between" came the reply, "OK with that?"
"Thank you darling" replied the fashionista, turning to fuss over her sister.
Twilight led her solemn procession back up the way she had just come from, pausing for a rest, just as she had promised Rarity. Once at the door, she deactivated the magical seal once more and led her party in, ushering them to the southeast and southwest corners where they would not impinge on the circle etched into the wooden floor. Everypony entering the room gasped as they took in the magical paraphernalia and the sinister looking markings, apparently burned into the floor, only Dark Magic failing to register any response.
"Well, shucks, Twilight" a familiar country voice drawled, "All the time I've spent in the castle, and Ah never knew this was here ..."
"And I would be grateful to you, to all of you, that you don't tell anypony about what you've seen here" Twilight replied, wearing a distinctly business-like expression, "But you would be hard pressed to find it by yourselves because the doorway at the bottom of the stairs generally appears as a solid wall. You are only here today because I have reversed that particular enchantment."
Gasps and nods of heads rippled around the room.
"Right, there are offerings on the floor at different points" said Twilight, pointing to the artefacts at each of the four cardinal points, "Do not bump into them please."
"What would happen if we did?" asked Scootaloo uncertainly.
"Then the spirits that are going to come and help with the spell will be upset and it might not work."
"Girls, you will see at each of six points images of our Elements have been etched into the circle" directed Twilight, "If you would please make your way to them, and you young mares, into the middle please."
"Where would you like me, Princess." asked the magician.
"Next to me, on my left." she replied.
Once everypony was in their place, Twilight took the opportunity to address them all before she started: "Thank you for coming to help out today. I will need all of your help if this is going to succeed. You have all got to get into a meditative state, and if your mind starts to wander, just think of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo and how much they need you. We cannot afford to attempt this half-heartedly; it is the last chance for these young mares. If it fails today, there is no second chance, and also we do not know if it goes wrong what the result will be for any of them. Any questions?"
Everypony was shocked into silence. Fluttershy looked like she might burst into tears, but she held it together for her friends.
"Nopony move now" directed Twilight, "I am going to summon the magic and will call upon you all in your turn to play your part. Good luck everypony. Now, let yourselves drift into a meditative state, and I will start."
Twilight walked around the circle, stopping at key points and saying words that none could quite understand and leaving lighted joss sticks to enhance the mood of relaxation and assist with the meditation. When she arrived back at her cutie mark in the north of the circle, she chanted more arcane words and lit her horn, asking Dark Magic to join her and the Element Bearers to focus their energy into the centre.
A soft glow appeared in each of the young mares' hearts and grew and size and intensity until they had melded together into one ball of brilliant white magical energy. The spell was working!
Twilight was on two planes concurrently; in her meditative state she could commune with Dark Magic whilst she could also see what was happening in the room around her.
"Dark Magic, the power is reaching its peak" she called to him across the meditative plane where they stood side by side, "Take over now, please."
He dug his forehooves in and lowered his head slightly, focusing his stream of blue magical aura while he repeated his incantation over and over, building up the energy.
The more he chanted, the more the demand for magical power increased, the white ball around the three young mares swirling in all directions and still growing bigger, drawing more and more heavily on the seven ponies.
Twilight no longer dared take her focus away from the meditative plane but could still make out the multicoloured streams of energy flowing in relentlessly to feed the spell; everypony was doing as much as they could. She could feel the familiar probing around inside her head and throughout her body, but was ready for it this time and hung on grimly as she channelled increasing amounts of power in from the other Elements. Although the sensations were familiar to her from a week ago, they felt somehow less acute as she realised that not only was she drawing on the power from her friends, but also sharing her pain among them too.
As the minutes passed and the spell developed, she could feel the demands on her magic increase to a level far higher than she could ever have handled by herself, but freed from so much of the pain, she was able to direct the power she was gaining from the other Elements so much more effectively. But eventually, even she could feel that she was rapidly approaching her personal limits once again.
Still Dark Magic uttered his words as he pumped in his own magic. He was obviously doing as much as he could, so Twilight chose not to mention that she was running out of power and instead kept going alongside him, thinking about Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She really was at her limit now and still pushing hard. Suddenly the stream of pink energy stuttered and failed. Twilight looked out and saw that Fluttershy had fallen over unconscious, utterly drained.
"I've got it" said Dark Magic calmly, ramping up his own power to compensate.
Next, the green energy started to falter too, but Rarity brought it back on stream, tears spilling from her eyes, thinking about her sister.
Then the blue energy stopped abruptly, and Twilight saw Pinkie collapse where she stood.
"Disengage" called Dark Magic, "Princess, you must disengage now!"
"But the spell" she pleaded, "It's not complete!"
"Do not argue Princess!" he commanded.
Twilight was torn as to whether to trust him so close to achieving their goal, or watch as each of the Elements burned out in turn. She was past her limit and knew that all the other ponies were too, including Dark Magic.
"Stop girls!" she shouted, her mind made up.
Applejack and Rarity swayed unsteadily and looked on in shock to see that the spell was still going on and stared uncertainly at Twilight. Only Rainbow Dash continued pouring her red energy into the pulsating ball. Barely able to speak and sweating profusely, she refused to abandon her sister.
"Don't stop!" she screamed hoarsely, "Scoots needs us! Why are you all backing out? Don't you care? Keep going!"
Rainbow looked around at the sympathetic looks from three of her closest friends and the unconscious bodies of two more on the floor, "You must keep going!" she cried, tears of frustration running freely down her muzzle as she refused to yield to either her limits or the orders from Twilight who just looked on sadly and wept at the pitiful sight of her friend fighting a losing battle.
"No Rainbow" she said softly, "Let it go."
The cyan pegasus looked imploringly into the eyes of her friends and saw tears streaming unashamedly down their faces. She knelt down slowly as her strength faded, keeping her red energy going until the futility of her action overwhelmed her and she collapsed sobbing loudly.
Meanwhile, Dark Magic maintained a stoic detachment to everything going on around him, Twilight staring aghast at how he was still managing to control so much raw magical power.
Suddenly there was a bright flash and everypony fell to the ground as if a bomb had been detonated in the center of the circle.
Once she had a chance to compose herself, Twilight rose and looked around. The room was no longer a mass of colors from the stained glass windows, but instead bathed in bright sunlight as all the windows had been blown out.
One by one, heads turned to the center of the circle to see the three young mares staggering to their hooves.
Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity all moved tentatively forward to comfort their younger sisters, each in their turn finding them able to stand by themselves. The spell had worked, they were all cured!
Twilight looked on with a deep sense of relief at three happy reunions and turned to Dark Magic, "That was incredible! I will never know how you ..."
Her words were cut short as she suddenly noticed the pitiful state of the powerful magician next to her. He was covered in scars, deep cuts and bruises and fighting hard to breathe, his eyes staring up at her imploringly. She knelt down beside him, shocked by the realisation that he had taken not only the injuries Sweetie Belle had been carrying, but many more besides.
She cradled his head on her lap and bent her ear close as he was clearly trying to speak.
"Tell me you forgive me" he gasped weakly as the last of his life left him and his head fell back into her lap.
Twilight held him tenderly and rocked gently back and forward, unable to hold back her tears. She couldn't tell him she forgave him because she couldn't speak. A flood of raw emotion washed over her like a tsunami and she bawled pitifully, holding him close. This dear, misunderstood magician could have walked away at any point, but had instead chosen to take all the hurt and the pain onto himself so that these young lives could be lived as they had been intended.
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie had regained consciousness and were hugging the others happily when Twilight's desperate cries cut through the atmosphere, killing all thoughts of celebration. Applejack turned to see what had happened and solemnly removed her hat as she moved to Twilight's side. All of the ponies in the room followed her to the north of the circle staring at the horrifically tragic image of their friend cradling the dead body of the magical stranger whom they had all mistrusted at first, and one by one, come to respect and admire.
"What happened?" asked Apple Bloom.
Twilight couldn't answer.
Applejack held her sister and replied, "That is the bravest stallion you will ever see. He just saved you, all of you, and paid a handsome price for his trouble."
"I guess we was wrong about him, huh?" said Apple Bloom, turning away, unable to look any more upon the tragic sight.
"I believe we all misjudged him" agreed Rarity.
"That's an act of loyalty even I'm not able to top" acknowledged Rainbow, respectfully.
The sun moved round, its bright warming rays casting the shape of the pointed window frame on the south of the room onto the floor, the point resting on Dark Magic's heart. ***
It was a bright, but chilly morning when the six friends and the three young mares assembled in the centre of Ponyville. The town had turned out in full and all three of the other Princesses from the ruling quadrature had made the journey for the occasion.
The Mayor stood back and handed the platform over to Twilight who repeated the story of Dark Magic's heroism that had spread quickly following the events in her castle. She had already had a new wing built to the library to accommodate his journals so that his family's magic could be understood for the benefit of all ponykind, but today was for something much more personal.
"This fine stallion, a travelling magician who spent his life being misunderstood for the good he tried to do for everypony, finally gave his life for a cause he considered to be most worthy. While his sacrifice will never be forgotten by all those present on that day, his courage will live in our hearts as an inspiration to others, and it gives me great pleasure to unveil this statue in his honour!"
The cover was pulled off revealing a stone statue of Dark Magic looking wistfully into space with a book open in his forehoof. On the plinth below was an engraving "In memory of Dark Magic who died saving others".
Scootaloo, the young mare who had first encountered Dark Magic and entered into that fateful pact with him advanced under the respectful silence of the crowd to lay a wreath of peach blossom at the foot of the statue. She spoke a few words that nopony heard, but when she returned to her place, everypony could see tear stains down her muzzle that hadn't been there earlier.
Apple Bloom walked up next with a wreath of apple blossom and fought back her own tears, followed by Sweetie Belle with a wreath of almond blossom who made no attempt to suppress the tears she felt.
Next, under Twilight's direction, Rainbow Dash took a wreath made up of red flowers representing the Element of Loyalty and laid it next Scootaloo's. Each of the Element Bearers came forward in their turn with their own wreath, each of them feeling a connection with the mysterious stallion as they laid their own personal tribute.
They all reflected for a moment on how they had failed to live up to their own Element and how he had in his own way taught them a far greater lesson, and each of them returned with new tear stains, even if some made more of an effort to hide it than others.
Lastly, Twilight left the stage to lay her wreath of purple flowers representing the Element of Magic and stood back to look up onto the effigy of the magician's face and said softly, "You are forgiven."
THE END |
The Sun Won't Come Home | pre | "I can always get more," she said. "Besides, it's an exotic experience. Why not splurge a bit?"
Twilight nodded graciously and with a muffled, "Thanks," she resumed eating.
When she'd finished, Celestia stood up. "You ready?" she asked.
"Yeah," Twilight said, brushing the salt off her front and standing up. "Let's go."
She stepped out of the car, and one bright flash of light later, there stood two ponies.
Together they walked into the center of the pasture, away from the corrals where the horses stood grazing. One gave them a passing glance before returning to his feeding.
"So this is it," Twilight said, turning to face Celestia.
Celestia nodded.
Twilight chuckled nervously. "I never was good at goodbyes..."
Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"
"I guess? Were you expecting something else?"
Celestia shrugged. "I did expect a bit of... resistance before you left, to say the least."
Twilight sighed. "I thought about it," she admitted. "I thought of many things I could do, really. Everything from arranging an 'accident' to bringing you all back with me; but since I then wanted to bring Richard too and that would have dropped our collective odds of a successful dimension travel to 4.16 percent..."
"Wait. So that means your chance of arriving here in one piece by yourself were..." Celestia quickly did some mental calculations, and her jaw dropped. "One in seven?"
Twilight shrugged, even as her cheeks colored. "Well, any odds sound bad if you say it in that tone of voice," she defended herself half-heartedly.
Celestia pondered this. "And the other six possibilities?"
"Almost evenly split between ending up in the wrong dimension and spontaneous combustion."
Celestia blinked. "You were that desperate to find me?"
"I wanted you to come home." Twilight sighed. "But I learned something, prin- can I still call you 'princess'?"
Celestia cracked a smile. "If you wish."
"I learned that you're already home."
They stood like that for a brief moment before as one they crashed together in a hug, wings and forelegs wrapped tightly around each other.
"I'm going to miss you so much," Twilight said, fighting back the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"Me too," Celestia whispered back, fighting to restrain tears of her own.
They remained like that for a few moments before Twilight pulled back. "Your kids are going to wonder where you've gone," she said, roughly wiping a foreleg against her face. "We'd better get going."
"Right," Celestia said, lighting her horn. It glowed with that familiar golden light. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"I am." Twilight frowned. "If you don't want to get caught in the effective radius, you'd probably better step back," she warned. "Starswirl's magic distance over force equation might be helpful here."
Celestia smiled. She had forgotten that equation long ago. "And how far should I go, Twilight?"
Twilight sighed, not entirely enjoying the answer. "You'll need to double the power and stand precisely 100.52 rods away."
Celestia paused, knowing that that would leave Twilight standing alone in the middle of the field. She felt a slight pain in her chest, knowing that her last view of her former student would be her standing by herself, all alone; but she knew that there wasn't any other option. She nodded, and flew back the required distance. She landed and lit her horn, with that familiar golden glow.
Twilight scrunched up her face, calling upon the darker magics, and her horn lit up in shades of blacks and purples. She took a deep breath, then nodded, and Celestia fired.
* * *
* * *
Spike had remained in the laboratory, sleeping on a small cot that left his legs, tail, and wings hanging over the side. Though he had been told numerous times that it was not safe or healthy to be here, all it took was a simple smile to remind the ponies that it was not safe or healthy to try and dissuade a dragon from doing what he wanted, either.
He jumped as an explosion rocked the night, sending him and the cot tumbling through the air and crashing to the floor and sending a tinny ringing through his ears. He looked up, squinting against the little fires that had started, and saw Twilight, laying on the ground, a deep scorch mark burned into the ground around her smoking body.
"Twilight!" he shrieked, rushing over and resting a claw on her forehead and neck. Her face was warm, and her pulse was elevated, but she was definitely alive.
Her eyes flickered open. "I made it, then?" she whispered with a groan as she attempted to sit up.
"Yeah," Spike said, fighting back the hot tears of happiness forming in the corner of his eyes. He hid them by wrapping Twilight in a hug and wiping them on her mane. "Did you find Celestia?"
"I did."
Spike quickly ducked for cover, pressing his claws over his head. Then he straightened up and looked around. When it became apparent that there was no other alicorn appearing, he looked down. "Is she coming back?"
"No, Spike. She's not."
Spike's jaw dropped. "What happened? Is she...?"
"She's fine; she's just... not coming back."
Spike frowned. "But..."
"She's happy where she is. And, I suppose, if I really loved her, I'd be happy that she was happy."
Spike paused. "You're not happy, are you?"
"Not in the slightest!" Twilight said cheerfully. "I don't know if I'll ever be completely ok with it, and to be honest, I'd probably rather have eaten a whole bucket of Mareuga Scorpions than have left her there. But I've learned many things about friendship through the years, and I'm sure I'll come to terms with it eventually." She wrapped a foreleg around Spike's waist and began walking. "Come on, Spike. Let's go talk to Luna and then get something to eat. I'm pretty hungry. Would you believe that there is not a single place to get hayfries in her dimension?"
"No," Spike said in disbelief.
"Not a single one! They fry potatoes there instead! Potatoes!"
Spike took a dramatic step back and rested a claw on his chest as if deeply offended. "How barbaric!"
"I know! But they're actually pretty good when they're covered in salt. They also have these taco things, and those are absolutely delicious, and they have some strange inventions like self-propelled metal carts and large noisemakers that sound like a hive of bees and these tiny colorful blocks that all stack together..." |
The Sun Won't Come Home | After the Credits | It was a beautiful morning at the Ponyville farmers' market. Spike hung up his sign and grinned. He took a step back, frowned, then adjusted it so it was level. His ears pricked up as he heard hoofsteps behind him.
Bon Bon paused as she walked by the stand. She squinted, as if not believing the words written on the sign. "'Spike's Fried Potatoes'?" Her tone turned teasing. "Potatoes? What's up with that? Is hay too good for you now, you fancy dragon?"
Spike turned and grinned, beginning his speech with a flourish and a deep bow. "It's not about me, but about you! I present, at great personal expense, a delicacy from another dimension brought back to ours, and from my stand right to your mouth!"
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow.
Spike continued, "Today is your lucky day! For being my first customer, you get your order free!"
Bon Bon paused. Free was good. "Ok, I'll try anything once."
Spike fired up the oil with a blast of his flames, and he soon had her potatoes fried and perfectly crispy. He added a healthy (or maybe not so healthy) helping of salt, and then slid them over in a little red paper basket. "Enjoy!"
Bon Bon sniffed them hesitantly, then slowly picked one up and blew on it to cool it. She extended her tongue and brought one to her parted lips. Her eyes widened after the first crunch. "Whoa," she whispered, before picking up another and quickly shoving it into her mouth.
Spike grinned as he watched the fries disappear. It was going to be a good day. |
The Sun Won't Come Home | Closing Scene | It was raining, which was perfectly fitting for the occasion. Dysis only made a half-hearted attempt to listen to the officiator drone on about dust to dust and more bogus, trite pleasantries like that. None of that mattered now. Her mother was dead.
To be honest, though, it wasn't entirely unexpected. After her father had died the previous year, her mother just hadn't had the energy for life. It was as though a part of her had died as well, and now they had finally been reunited.
She stood in the rain. Everyone eventually left, leaving her alone in the rain with her confused, swirling feelings inside. Eventually, she had to leave. As she neared the edge of the lawn, Dysis looked back one last time... and froze.
Twilight Sparkle stood in front of her mother's grave. Her head was bowed, her eyes were closed, her wings remained respectfully folded, and tears streamed down her face, visible even through the rain. Her mane and tail (now much longer than Dysis remembered) were soaked, showing that she had been present for a long time, likely for the whole ceremony.
Dysis had the distinct impression that she was intruding on something intensely personal and moved as though she were going to back away, but then froze as Twilight lifted her head, and lit her horn. A single white rose coalesced from the purple magic, and she caught it in her mouth and laid it respectfully and reverently on the gravestone.
Dysis looked down only long enough to wipe a tear from her own eye, but when she looked up again, Twilight Sparkle was gone. The rose, however, remained. It continued to remain throughout all the years to come. Every time Dysis visited the cemetery, the white rose had not disappeared or wilted.
Selene never did believe in magic, and believed that it was continually replaced by one of her many adoring fans.
Dysis knew better.
View on Derpibooru - Original source |
Scoot 10 | pre | "What in tarnation are y'all do'n digg'n holes 'n the orchard?" Applejack asked, looking around at all the newly dug holes.
"We're look'n for someth'n Scootaloo buried 'round here." Apple Bloom exclaimed to her big sister.
"Y'all really need ta bury yer things somewhere else. Just make sure that y'all fill in those holes once ya find what you're look'n for. By the way, where is Scootaloo?" Applejack questioned, not seeing the orange filly anywhere.
"Oh yeah, she's... well," Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin as she tried to think of the correct words to say.
As Applejack waited for a response, she heard something. It sounded sort of like chuckling, but it seemed to echo. Applejack looked around for the source of the chuckling, but it had stopped, and nopony else was there except for her, her sister, and Sweetie Belle.
"Did either of ya hear that?" Applejack questioned.
"Hear what?"
"Ah didn't hear anyth'n."
Applejack took one last look around the area, only to wind up with the same results. She rubbed her left ear a bit with a forehoof before returning her focus on the two fillies.
"Hmm, could've sworn ah heard someth'n. Must be hear'n things. Anyways, ah've still got some work ta do, stay outta trouble." Applejack said, before trotting off through the orchard.
Once the earth pony was gone from their sights, Scootaloo uncloaked herself. "Are you girls thinking what i'm thinking?"
Apple Bloom looked over to Sweetie Belle, who now had a slight grin across her face.
"Ah think we are." Apple Bloom responded, a grin spreading across her own face.
"It's payback time!" Scootaloo declared, right before a loud beeping filled the area, followed by a flash of red light.
Scootaloo looked over at the watch, frowning. "Right after the watch recharges."
After filling up the holes that they had dug, the Cutie Mark Crusaders trotted off towards their clubhouse to make preparations. Once they were done, they made their way to the outskirts of Ponyville, a certain destination in mind.
The trio soon found themselves in a bush, looking at a large two story brick mansion with a blue roof and expensive looking windows. Two large golden doors marked the entrance to the building, right under a white wooden balcony.
"Alright girls, everything ready?" Scootaloo asked, looking over at her two friends, who nodded in response.
Sweetie Belle took off a saddlebag she had been wearing and pulled out two white and pink cameras. Apple Bloom took one of the cameras while Sweetie Belle held onto the other.
They had ended up spending the rest of the day getting ready for this moment, so with Celestia's sun lowering on the horizon, the three fillies began to advance on the mansion.
The CMC halted when the reached one of the mansion's sides, Scootaloo eyeing the watch which glowed lime green.
Scootaloo activated the watch and selected the ghost creature she had used earlier, and pressed down on the dial. A flash of green light engulfed her as her body was wrapped in white cloth. A single purple eye emerged from where her head had been wrapped, her forehooves turning into wrapped hands. The watch's symbol appeared, tucked under a bit of cloth on her chest.
Once the flash faded, Scootaloo wasted no time floating up to a window which she cautiously peaked into. On the other side of the window was a hallway that was lit by several lamps that were anchored into the walls. A few wooden tables were lined up against a few walls, most having expensive looking objects on top of them.
Scootaloo's single eye drifted along the wooden doors until she found her target. One wooden door at the other end of the hall had a familiar looking image of a tiara on it.
Scootaloo tried to open the window, but it was locked from the inside. But she had been expecting that. So Scootaloo focused like how she did earlier and ended up floating through the window, completely invisible. Scootaloo quickly unlocked the window, before gently opening it and floating back out.
"I found the room, it's the one on the right at the end of the hallway. It has her cutie mark on it so you can't miss it." Scootaloo explained, before picking up her friends and floated back up to the window.
Scootaloo set her friends down inside, before shutting the window and floated ahead of the other two crusaders, still invisible. She peaked around the corner where a set of stairs led to the first floor, not spotting anypony.
"We're clear." Scootaloo said, leading the way as the trio went as quietly as they could past the staircase and towards their destination.
Scootaloo fazed her head through the door, looking around for any signs of a particular pink filly. But the room was empty. She removed her head from the door and opened it up, shutting the door behind her once her friends had entered.
The room, as expected, was mostly pink. The walls were painted light pink, so was the carpet and the single window that was in the room. A large bed had baby blue sheets and pillows, neatly folded. One hoof-made doll of Princess Celestia with a pure pink mane was the only occupant of the bed.
"She's probably downstairs finishing up dinner or something. That makes our job a lot easier." Scootaloo exclaimed, pointing towards a large closet.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went over to the closet, opening the white door which exposed several expensive and shiny dresses, jewelry, and other fancy accessories.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did their best to not touch anything as they squeezed into the closet, cameras pointing out of a slightly open crack in the wooden blinds that aligned the doors.
Right as Scootaloo shut the closet door for her friends, she heard the distinct sound of two voices coming from the hallway, followed by two sets of hooves. Scootaloo quickly turned herself invisible and floated up to the ceiling, watching the door like a hawk.
It didn't take long before the door opened, revealing not one, but two earth pony fillies. Scootaloo had to hold back a chuckle, seems that luck was on her side today.
"Are you ready for the first of many sleepovers over this summer?" Diamond Tiara, a pink earth pony filly with a purple mane and tail which had a single white stripe down it, questioned. Balanced on top of her head was a silver tiara that matched her cutie mark perfectly.
"You bet, no more boring school and having to sit next to those blank flanks each week." Silver Spoon, a grey earth pony filly with a silver and white mane and tail, responded. She had her mane in a ponytail with a pink ribbon and was wearing a pair of blue glasses.
Scootaloo waited a few minutes before starting the fun. She floated over to the light switch and flipped it down, starting the prank.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Silver Spoon asked, looking around.
Before Diamond Tiara could respond, Scootaloo flew right through her, sending a chill down her spine and causing her to shiver.
Scootaloo tried not to snicker as she slowly lifted Diamond Tiara's tiara off of her head, fighting even harder to not laugh as she spotted Silver Spoon's reaction.
"Diamond! Your tiara's floating!!!" Silver Spoon shouted, pointing up at the hovering piece of jewelry.
Diamond Tiara looked up, spotting the floating tiara, her irises shrinking to the size of pinpricks. Scootaloo chose this time to slowly reveal herself, her eye locked onto the two fillies.
"Boo." Scootaloo said flatly, before turning invisible again right as a set of flashes came from the closet. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were too distracted by themselves screaming and running out of the room to even notice.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle emerged from the closet, massive grins across their faces. Scootaloo picked them up and went out the window, setting her friends down right as a loud beeping noise filled the area.
After a red flash of light, Scootaloo was back to being a filly, joining her friends as they laughed and ran back towards the clubhouse, priceless photos in the two cameras. |
Scoot 10 | (S1) Gone Fishing | The following day, after the payback on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were currently sitting at the end of a dock that was on one end of the lake.
The three fillies were each holding their own fishing rod, all of them already casted. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had chosen heavier fake baits which had sunk a little into the lake, while Sweetie Belle had picked a lighter one which was bobbing a little on the water level.
"This is so boring!" Scootaloo complained, reeling her line in a little to keep her bait from getting stuck at the bottom of the lake.
"Ya just have ta be patient, that's what mah brother says whenever he goes fish'n." Apple Bloom replied.
"Your brother fishes?"
"How else did ya think ah got these here rods an' bait?"
"I don't know. Found it in the barn? That's besides the point. The point is that this is boring! I mean look at Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo exclaimed, pointing a hoof towards the final member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
Apple Bloom looked over to her friend, shocked to see that Sweetie Belle had actually managed to fall asleep mid cast and was now sleeping with the rod still in her hooves.
"How 'n tarnation did she do that?" Apple Bloom asked, wondering how Sweetie Belle still had a good enough grip on the fishing rod to keep it from falling into the lake.
"Beats me, i'd bet that I could catch even more fish than you if I just used my hooves!" Scootaloo claimed.
Apple Bloom glanced over at a notepad that had the purpose of keeping track of how many fish each of them caught. The page was blank, reminding her of the absence of any fish. Nopony had even gotten a nibble yet.
Before she could tell Scootaloo this, the orange filly had already jumped into the lake. Scootaloo quickly began searching for any sort of fish, but couldn't see any.
"This stupid water, I can barely make out the ground!" Scootaloo mentally exclaimed, her frustration growing.
Then, an idea formed in her mind. Scootaloo rose up her left fore-hoof and activated the watch, causing the dial to pop up and show the silhouette of a creature.
Scootaloo turned the dial a few times before stopping when she spotted a creature that looked somewhat like a fish.
"Let's see what you can do."
Scootaloo slapped the dial down, resulting in a flash of green light which engulfed her entire body.
Apple Bloom sighed as she reeled in her fishing lore which had been once again left untouched by any fish. She was about to cast it into the lake again, but stopped when she noticed Sweetie Belle's lore go under the water.
"Sweetie Belle! Ya got ah bite!"
Apple Bloom's words stirred Sweetie Belle from her nap, causing her to open her eyes which quickly resulted in her spotting her lore splash a little before being dragged below the lake's surface.
Sweetie Belle reached for her fishing rods reel and began cranking it backwards. The line quickly got tense under the pressure and nearly ended up pulling the filly into the lake.
Apple Bloom grabbed Sweetie Belle, trying to help keep her friend from sailing into the water, but even with her added weight, the rod seemed to still be pulling them. Whatever Sweetie Belle caught, must be massive!
"I'm losing my grip!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"Hang on! On three, we pull." Apple Bloom said.
"One, Two, THREE!"
The two fillies pulled with all their might on the fishing rod, resulting in the line finally retrieving the fish that had been caught. However, much to the two fillies surprise, the fish had been caught by its tail and not its mouth. Not only that, but the fish didn't look like any fish in that book the three had checked out prior to the trip.
The fish's scales were icy white and had gills, both on the sides of its chest as well as under its neck. It had two legs and arms, two green fins being on the back of said arms. It had one more fin on the top of its head which also had a green rod extending from its forehead which had a glowing bit of light at the end. But the most terrifying bit of the fish was its massive jaws that had a set of very sharp teeth that could be seen even with its mouth shut. It also had a few bits of what seemed to be black clothing spread across its body, as well as some seaweed that covered it's left upper torso.
The fish grumbled something under its breath, before looking over at the two crusaders, it's pearl white eyes locking onto them.
"What was that for!?" The fish shouted, sounding very annoyed and angry.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle backed up in horror, holding each other as they trembled in fear.
The fish stared at them for a few seconds before looking over at the seaweed on its left shoulder. It picked the seaweed up and chucked it back into the lake, revealing a familiar silver hourglass symbol that had been hidden beneath it.
The two crusaders spotted the symbol and eased up, realizing who the fish was.
"Sorry about that, but did you have to catch me instead of the fish I had been chasing?" Scootaloo asked, raising up Sweetie Belle's lore in her left webbed claw.
"I'm gonna have nightmares for a month..." Sweetie Belle responded, still staring at all of Scootaloo's sharp teeth.
"Well, 'least we caught someth'n. Did any of us get ah cutie mark?" Apple Bloom questioned, looking over at her flank, only to sigh as she saw that it was still blank.
Sweetie Belle checked her flank, which was also still blank. Scootaloo checked hers, but quickly remembered that she didn't exactly have a flank for a cutie mark in this form.
"Hmm, i'll have to remember to check once I-" Scootaloo was cut off as a red bolt of energy struck the wooden planks she was standing on, causing it to fall into the lake.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle dove off of the dock and onto the shore just as it broke into several pieces. They looked up into the sky to see a group of those strange dark orange and red robots that had attacked them in the clubhouse.
"Those robots are back!" Sweetie Belle shouted, catching one of the robots attention.
The robot swirled it's weapon around and fired at the filly, who was quickly pushed out of the way by Apple Bloom. The two fillies rolled through the grass, narrowly avoiding the explosion from the blast of energy.
The two other robots had begun flying over the lake, searching for Scootaloo who had fallen in when the dock had been destroyed.
Scootaloo simply swam, her speed easily tripled in this form. She dodged a stray blast of energy from one of the robots and locked eyes with one of them. She then swam up as fast as she could and leaped out of the water, intended on grabbing it.
Instead Scootaloo's instincts made her grab the robot in her mouth, which was followed by a loud CRUNCH as her teeth sank into its metal plates. Her teeth easily went through the robot, causing it to spark a few times before losing the rest of its power. Scootaloo fell back into the lake and spat out the destroyed robot, before getting ready to repeat what she had done before with the other robot.
With another burst of speed, Scootaloo jumped out of the water and went to chomp the robot. But this one had risen from the lake, causing her attack to miss. Before Scootaloo could fall back into the lake, she managed to grab the robot's laser weapon with one of her webbed claws.
The robot tried to shake Scootaloo off, but the former filly kept her grip tight. Two loud screams suddenly rang through her ears, causing her to look over at the shoreline where she saw the last robot firing at her fleeing friends.
"Ok, now you've messed with the wrong pony tin can!" Scootaloo exclaimed, hoisting herself up onto the top of the robot.
Scootaloo barely managed to keep her balance, also managing to aim the robot's laser at its duplicate. She then put her face right in front of the robot's red lenses.
The robot retaliated by firing its laser, which struck the other robot and easily took it down. The other robot fell to the ground with a loud crash and let out a few sparks.
Scootaloo then gripped the robot's head with her claws and pulled, taking the head clean off before chucking it into the lake. The robot quickly lost altitude and plunged into the lake, taking Scootaloo with it.
Scootaloo let go of the broken robot, letting it sink to the bottom of the lake as she swam back towards shore. It didn't take long before she was back above water and greeted by her friends, who were both smiling with joy.
"That was so cool! The way you jumped out of the water and then fired that laser, you're really getting good with that watch!" Sweetie Belle stated.
"Darn tootin, ya showed those meanies whose in charge!" Apple Bloom followed up.
Scootaloo couldn't help but smile herself, which looked quite creepy with all the sharp teeth. But that quickly changed when the watch's symbol flashed red a few times before engulfing her in a red light. A second later, and Scootaloo was back to normal, still smiling.
"By the way, did I get my cutie mark in fishing? Or maybe I got one for kicking robot butt!" Scootaloo questioned, checking her flank.
However, it sadly still remained blank.
"Aww... well, what's next on the list? Princess Celestia's sun is still up!" Scootaloo exclaimed, filled with determination to earn her cutie mark.
Meanwhile, above the planet...
"The drones sent to retrieve the Omnitrix have been destroyed." The robot stated to its master, who was still recovering from its wounds inside the tank filled with a yellow substance.
"Uhg, this is really starting to get on my nerves. Have you found our next plans candidate yet?"
"Indeed, they should arrive in two rotations." The robot exclaimed.
"Good, whoever you are wielder of the Omnitrix, your days are numbered..." |
Scoot 10 | (S1) Stinky Hero | The Cutie Mark Crusaders were on their way back to the clubhouse, fishing supplies packed up and strapped into a red wagon that'd been hooked up to Scootaloo's scooter. Usually the wagon was occupied by two fillies instead of supplies, but it was much faster doing this than having to do multiple trips to the lake. So Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had wound up having to trot alongside the wagon whilst Scootaloo pulled it at a much slower pace than she'd been used to.
"Well that crusade didn't go as planned." Sweetie Belle stated bluntly, breaking the silence that had engulfed them ever since leaving the lake behind them.
"When did they start goin' as planned?" Apple Bloom questioned.
"Good point, but this one was more strange than the usual explosion or tree sap." Sweetie Belle pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess if you look at it that way. I'm still wondering where these robots are coming from, the lake isn't that far from Ponyville so why'd they attack us and not the town?" Scootaloo inquired.
Apple Bloom looked over at her friend, eyes locking onto the watch that was still glowing red. "Do ya think they were after tha watch?"
The three crusaders went silent as they thought about it. It did make sense, they did only start showing up when Scootaloo had first found it.
"If they are after it, that means they'll probably come back. What if they attack Ponyville again with another giant robot!?" Sweetie Belle questioned.
Scootaloo halted her scooter, much to the other two's confusion. She rose up her left forehoof, showing the watch which glistened in the sunlight.
"Then we help Rainbow Dash... and her friends protect it!" Scootaloo declared, putting the same forehoof in front of her in a hoof-bump motion.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged glances, before they nodded and met Scootaloo's forehoof in a group hoof-bump. As their hooves made contact, the watch beeped and turned green, almost like it had agreed with them.
"If we're gonna do this, then ya should figure out how ta work that watch." Apple Bloom stated.
"I couldn't agree more, so what are we waiting for!?" Scootaloo didn't let her friends have time to even process what she had just said before she activated the watch and slammed her hoof down on the dial, engulfing the area in a green flash of light.
Scootaloo watched as the watch seeped into her fur which quickly hardened and turned dark green. Her forehooves turned into three fingered claws that had black gloves over them. Four eye stalks shot from the sides of her head, the end tips opening up, exposing orange pupiless eyes. Her wings grew and became more insect-like, reminding her of the wings those creatures she had seen in that alleyway. Four more legs sprouted from her body, these ones sharp to the touch. Her tail hardened and took the shape of an arrow tip. Her body was quickly covered in an orange bodysuit with purple lines spread across it. The watch's symbol appeared where her face had originally been, glistening silver in the light.
The green flash of light faded, exposing Scootaloo's new form. Apple Bloom was about to comment but caught a whiff of something that smelled worse than a barrel full of rotting apples.
"Scootaloo, ahm not sure 'f it's tha creatures fault ya smell or yourse, but you smell bad!" Apple Bloom emphasized, covering her nose with a hoof.
"Hey! I'll let you know that I showered last night!" Scootaloo responded, her voice crackling.
"Well, besides the smell, what can this one do?" Sweetie Belle asked, mimicking Apple Bloom's response to the horrible odor.
Scootaloo looked down at one of her new hand, claw thingy, which she clenched into a fist. She eyed a nearby tree and made her way over to it. She struck the tree with one of her hands, managing to chip away some of the bark but not dealing too much damage to it overall.
"Not that sharp, but what about my tail?" Scootaloo asked herself, turning around so that her back was to the tree, but her new eyes allowed her to see it like she was facing it normally.
Scootaloo gave the tree a little jab with her tail, managing to do slightly more damage then her hands.
"Ok, not a close combat fighter." Scootaloo noted, wondering what else this creature could do.
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had gone over to the wagon and were searching for something to block the stench, and to their luck, they found a few nose plugs.
Not questioning why they had been there, the two fillies put on a nose plug each, relieved that the terrible smell faded a little. However, they didn't notice a certain grey pegasus with a blonde mane and tail pass overhead, a few planks of wood wobbling on their back.
The pegasus glanced down at the two fillies and smiled, before slamming head first into a stray cloud. The wooden planks they had been carrying quickly fell from their back, picking up speed as they shot towards the fillies below.
Unlike her friends, Scootaloo had spotted the pegasus, and now watched as several planks of wood fell towards them. As if on instinct, Scootaloo's vision was tinted green as a weird feeling shot through them. The next thing Scootaloo knew, she was watching as a glob of green goo was launched from her eyestocks and at the falling planks. The goo made contact, breaking their collision course with the other crusaders.
The grey pegasus quickly landed and went over to the fillies, their back towards Scootaloo. "Sorry! My bad! Are you two ok?"
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle gave the pegasus a confused look, before glancing over at the planks of wood, then back to the pegasus. They quickly put two and two together and simply gave the pegasus a smile.
"Oh, don't ya worry. Accidents happen, just make sure ta keep yer cargo secure." Apple Bloom assured, recognising the pegasus as Derpy, who was known for accidentally dropping things and crashing into other things.
Derpy trotted over to the wooden planks and put them back on her back, before taking off into the skies again, ignoring the strange goo that was dripping from the planks. It wouldn't be the first time Derpy's cargo was covered in an unknown substance, especially during Pinkie Pie's prank week.
"Did you two see that!?" Scootaloo asked, amazed and slightly discussed with the action she had just done.
"See what? We were getting nose plugs." Sweetie Belle stated.
"Nevermind, just watch!" Scootaloo said, before mimicking what she had done before which launched another ball of goop which splattered against a nearby tree.
The two other crusaders stared at the tree for a few seconds, watching as the goop slowly began to drip off the trunk and onto the grass below.
"This 's officially tha grossest one yet." Apple Bloom exclaimed, disgust clearly visible both in her words and her expression.
"Come on Apple Bloom, we've seen worse." Scootaloo pointed out, flying over to her friends.
Apple Bloom's reply never left her mouth as both she and Sweetie Belle's eyes widened at what they'd just seen, much to Scootaloo's confusion.
"What?" Scootaloo asked, not sure why her friends were staring at her like that. Well, she was currently a strange alien creature, but surely they'd gotten used to this one by now.
"Scootaloo, you just flew!" Sweetie Belle pointed out.
Scootaloo would of raised an eyebrow if she had any, but slowly the gears in her mind began to turn. She gave her insect wings a flap and watched as she slowly hovered upwards a few hoof-lengths.
"No way... I can fly," Scootaloo told herself. "I CAN FINALLY FLY!!!"
Scootaloo wasted no time shooting up into the sky, nothing but joy in her mind as she increased her speed and weaved through a few stray clouds. After all this time of being a flightless pegasus, she could finally be like all the others! Well, to an extent, she wasn't exactly a pegasus right now.
"WAHOO!!!" Scootaloo cheered, happy regardless that she was finally able to fly.
She did a few stunts and rolls, mimicking what she'd seen Rainbow Dash do whenever she did her routine. She wasn't able to match her idols exact movements, or do it with as much grace, but she still managed to do some impressive maneuvering.
Scootaloo kept this up for as long as she could, wanting to embrace this new ability as much as possible. She did one final loop, before she eyed a few rather large clouds. An idea quickly formed in her mind and she flew over to them, using her claws and pincers to push the fluffy objects into certain shapes. Right as she finished it, she heard the beeping of the watch, signalling that she was about to return to normal.
Scootaloo flew back to the ground, landing in front of her friends right as she was engulfed in a red flash of light. Once the light faded, she was back to being a filly.
"Did you see that?" Scootaloo asked her friends, who nodded, smiles on their faces.
"Yep, an' i'd say that's some mighty fine artwork ya made up there." Apple Bloom stated, pointing at the clouds Scootaloo had tampered with.
The clouds that had originally been floating around in a little group were now in the shapes of three fillies whose forehooves were met in a group high three. The three crusaders stared at the clouds for a few minutes, before mimicking the high three with each other, Scootaloo more than happy to have finally been able to fly, even if she had to be a big smelly insect thing to do it. |
Canterlot Follies | pre | "Y-yes," Ma Heartsong agreed. For some reason she looked a little jiggered, but she recovered quickly and smiled. "I'm sorry I disturbed you, Lyra. You stay here and get to know the prince better." She didn't actually wink at her daughter, but certainly left the impression that her eye was dying to roll down the curtain.
As her mother trotted away, Lyra slapped a hoof to her forehead. "Arrrrgh."
"Plinker, old sport," I ventured. "Would I be wrong in guessing you're having family problems?"
"You would be completely and one hundred percent right, Birdy," groaned Plinker. "It all started when I got back from university. Suddenly Mother and Father announced they were moving to Canterlot, permanently. Well, okay, whatever. It wasn't until we moved here that I realized what they really wanted."
"Which is?"
"Didn't you see my mother's face when you said you were related to Prince Blueblood? Mother and Father are part of the knighthood, but that's not enough for them. They don't want to be on the bottom rung of the Council of Peers. Father's been hoarding money for ages so they can grease the right hooves and buy their way up, but..."
"But it would be much cheaper if someone, like perhaps an eligible unicorn filly, married her way up the rungs?"
She grimaced. "Exactly."
"But, I say. Even if you did marry a prince, there's nothing to say that your parents would leapfrog up in rank. My cousin August clawed his way up to princehood a few years ago, but his mother is still a mere duchess (if I dare apply that adjective to Aunt Agate). Maybe if you told your parents--"
"Oh, I've tried that angle, believe me. But they think they have a better chance with somepony, anypony, in the family making it to a more 'elevated station', as they put it. To magically lower down a ladder for them to climb up, I guess. They'd be dancing with glee if the family dog became a lady or duchess, let alone their daughter. They're driving me CRAZY!" This time she slapped both hooves to her face as she sat back sharply on her hindquarters.
"There, there, old thing." I patted her shoulder.
"And the worst part of it is..." She hesitated.
"Is what?" I asked after a stretch of silence, when it looked like no more info would be forthcoming.
"Birdy, can I trust you? Really trust you?"
"Plinker! I am hurt that you even have to ask. We Roosters are the most trustworthy of--"
"Oh Birdy, you're so ridiculous," she laughed. "Come on."
"Come on? Come on where?"
"To where I'm taking you."
"Actually, my legs aren't really feeling in tiptop--"
"Come ON," she called over her shoulder.
"Oh, dash it all... Right-ho!"
Next chapter: Bon Bon! |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 3: Fillies, Fiancees, and Fiances | Chapter 3: Fillies, Fiancees, and Fiances
As mentioned before, my legs were complaining after the long trek up and down several million steps in the Royal Museum. Now, as I followed Plinker down the street and into the marketplace, they were threatening mutiny. I gamely weaved through the teeming masses anyway, doing my best to keep up with her.
"Plinker, old friend. I can't help but wonder where we're going."
The mint green unicorn puckered her brow. "Birdy," she said finally, "I'm engaged."
"Engaged? As in 'let me not to the marriage of true minds admit whats-its'? Well, well, WELL, congratulations! This is spiffing news!"
"No, it's not. I mean, it is, but it's more complicated than that." She sighed and gestured to a bench parked along the side of the boulevard. When we were planted on it, she said, "It's my parents that are the problem. As usual. They'll never approve."
"Because of their scheme that you should marry 'upward', so to speak?"
"Pretty much."
"Point out that the fellow might get inducted into the Council of Peers' merry ranks any day now. Problem solved."
"It's not a fellow, it's a filly."
"Oh! Well, the principle of my previous statement stands."
"It's a nice thought, but there's no way, Birdy. It takes money and connections to get into the Council and she hasn't got either."
"Hmmm, that does make things tricky." I strained the grey matter. Vaulting Plinker's fillyfriend into the upper ranks of the peers was the surest way to secure her parents' blessing, but that looked like an uphill battle. Still, I saw a glimmer of hope. "Sometimes they do open the doors for impoverished types, Plink. Knighting poor but brilliant artists is practically their favourite past time, especially since knights aren't due an allowance. Perhaps if your fiancee writes a particularly genius-ladened opera..."
"She's not a poor but brilliant artist. She's a waitress," she said gloomily.
"Oh. Hmm." Suddenly the uphill battle turned into the impossibly steep slope that one chap continuously rolls boulders up. The Council of Peers has never been known for knighting waitresses, poor or otherwise, and on occasion they have actually booted out members who married beneath their station. This very thing happened to my father when he married a chorus-filly from a musical comedy, despite the fact that he was from the noble and laurelled House of Rooster.
"What am I going to do?" Plinker sighed. "I don't care one whit about titles and pedigree, honestly I don't, but I don't want my parents to disown me! And I'm sure they'll be so rude to Bon Bon if I tell them. What if they treat her so badly she doesn't even want to marry me? What if--"
"I take it this Bon Bon is the filly of your heart?"
"That's right, Birdy. And there she is." To my surprise, Plinker pointed through the window of the cafe behind us. A sign over the door identified it as the Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe, which the architect had whimsically modeled after a giant, lacy shoe.
I moved to the take-out window, which was currently free of staff, and peered in.
"Isn't she beautiful?" Plinker sighed. "I brought you here so you could see her in person."
I refrained from saying that she might have shown me a photograph in the park and let me to rest my poor legs. "Very nice! Quite a lovely filly."
"You aren't even looking at her, you dolt! She's the earth pony."
"Oh, right. The blue one?"
"No."
"The purple one?"
"NO! How could you even think it would be one of them? She's the one who's radiantly beautiful!" Although it was not the most lady-like behavior she might have exhibited, Plinker put me in a headlock and wrenched my head towards a cream coloured filly with pink and navy blue hair.
"Extremely radiant," I wheezed. "Absolutely topping."
"Oh, I know!" she giggled, letting go of me to clap her hooves together. "I'm the luckiest filly in the world... if only I can figure out what to do about my parents. Oh, she's seen us. Bon Bon!" Plinker waved.
The (radiant) earth pony Bon Bon tucked her notepad into her apron pocket and moved over to the open service window. "Hello, Lyra," she blushed.
"Hello, Bon Bon," Plinker returned, gazing deeply into her eyes.
"You... you look beautiful today."
"You look more beautiful."
"No, you look more beautiful..."
This might have gone on all day, but just then I noticed a peculiar reflection in the shop's windows and turned around to eyeball the bushes. "I say, Plinker, isn't that your mother?"
"What?!" she gasped, trading in her glazed look of love for a glazed look of terror.
"Over there, in the bushes." I squinted. "I think she's got opera glasses or binoculars or something."
"She's following me AGAIN?" she groaned. "Quick, Bon Bon! Grab a box of candy, any candy! We've got to make her think I'm just here to buy sweets!"
"I'm on it!" Bon Bon said firmly. "I'll get you a box of our chocolate covered cherries, or maybe an assortment of caramels that are hoof-crafted by the finest--"
"Go, go, go!" Plinker said frantically.
"Eep!" Off Bon Bon went.
"Argh, she does this all the time!"
"Bon Bon?"
"No, my mother! Sneaking around. Following me. Spying on me. I figured she'd leave me alone for a couple hours if she thought you were royalty, but nooo. I feel like I'm in a cheap spy thriller! And if she finds out about me and Bon Bon... Well, there's a right way and a wrong way to break the news that you're marrying a waitress, and I'm pretty sure that would be the wrong way."
At this juncture Bon Bon popped back into the window. "Here, Lyra, I got the mixed assortment of truffles for you."
"The perfect choice," Plinker breathed, her expression besotted once more.
"Nothing is too perfect... for you."
"Ah, good. Here you go." I glanced at the price emblazoned on the box and pushed forward the appropriate number of bits, hoping to snap the fillies out of their romantic reverie. It worked, as Bon Bon looked down at the coins on the counter.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. It's on the house, Mister... "
"Birdy. We were in school together," Plinker supplied. "I wish I could have lunch with you, Bon Bon, but my mother..." Both fillies sighed heftily and got that lovelorn look again.
"I understand, Lyra," Bon Bon said with what I believe a novel would call a brave, enduring look. "Come visit after you've thrown her off the scent, okay?"
"I promise." Plinker leaned forward a bit like she wanted to swoop in for a kiss, but apparently realized this would not exactly be the best way to keep up the subterfuge with Ma Heartsong. Instead she merely issued another sigh before turning away from the sweet shop.
I tossed out a "Pleased to make your acquaintance" to Bon Bon before catching up with Plinker, levitating the box of candy along with me.
"I say, don't forget your purchases," I said.
"You paid for it," she pointed out, but nevertheless took hold of the box and balanced it on her back. "Look around real casually and see if my mother's still watching, will you, Birdy?"
I glanced to the left and caught a telltale flash of pink hair and glint of opera glasses from behind a tree. "'Fraid you're still under surveillance from the master spy."
"I thought so. She doesn't give up easily." Plinker frowned as we walked along. "Well, I'm going to try to shake her off. Oh, but first tell me where you're staying! We can catch up later."
"In the castle." I explained my room's proximity to the western garden, the stone lions, and the bulgy round turret thing.
Her brow wrinkled. "I don't know if I can find that."
"Well, it's right above that fountain in the garden. Just chuck pebbles at the fourth floor window."
"Oh Birdy," she laughed and shook her head. "Fine. But you've got to break me out of the dungeon if I get arrested for throwing rocks at the palace. Bye for now!"
"Tinkerty-tonk!"
"What a day, Greaves, what a day," I sighed as I returned to the suite and wandered into my room.
He looked up from hanging suits in the wardrobe. "Did you lose your way, sir? You were out a considerable length of time."
"I ran into an old school chum," I explained. "She is one half of a romantic relationship, Greaves, and it is not going smoothly. Or rather, the relationship with her romantic half is, but her relationship with her parents isn't. Due to the aforementioned romance."
"The course of true love never did run smooth, sir."
"Aptly put! Did you come up with that just now?"
"It is from The Bard, sir. Would your friend's difficulty be due to a difference of station between herself and the object of her affections?"
"As a matter of fact it is! Plinker Heartsong, that being my friend, is affianced to a waitress. How on earth did guess?"
"Such is often the case, sir. I take it that because of this Miss Heartsong's parents are not amenable to the match?"
"Ah, they don't know about it yet, but they'll froth like rabid Diamond Dogs once they do. They're not like me, Greaves. I know that 'the rank is but the five-cent stamp.'"
"The guinea stamp, I think you'll find, sir. The poet was referring to the manner in which raw gold is transformed into coinage by stamping it with--"
"Never mind about poets, Greaves."
"No, sir."
"This is not the moment for poets. This is the moment for action!"
"Indeed, sir?"
"Indeed. Nothing gives us Roosters the pip, Greaves, like seeing two loving hearts kept apart. Plinker's mother, on the other hand, does not give a fig about loving hearts as long as her daughter marries no less than a lord--or a lady, one supposes. You should have seen the predatory gleam in her maternal eyes when she thought I was a prince."
"Indeed, sir? Did you correct her misconception?"
"Hm? Oh... no. Plinker gave me the stink eye, thinking perhaps her maternal unit would stop hovering over her like a vulture who's spotted a particularly ripe carcass if she thought I was from the upper tier of the noblesse. But said mother continued to machete through the bushes and peer at us through the undergrowth anyway." I shook my head and paced about the room a bit. "Well, a Rooster does not let a school chum wallow in misery when a chance at happiness is at hand. Somehow I must help this worthy member of the old alma mater to--Greaves. What is this?"
"Sir?"
"I am referring to this box of silverware which somepony has egregiously planted atop my bed."
"Oh my, how did that get there?"
"That is precisely what I was wondering, Greaves."
"It was most remiss of me, sir. I meant to put it in my room."
"Greaves, I cannot help but feel this is part of a plot to supplant my own silverware."
"Oh no, sir!" He looked shocked, meaning his eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "This set is merely for my personal use in the kitchen, sir."
"I see."
"Although I will be glad to supplement your extremely colourful cutlery, sir, should a flock of magpies, drawn by the glitter, steal some of the set."
"Now look here, Greaves--!"
"If you'll excuse me, sir, I'll remove it immediately. You'll find the stamps and writing supplies on the desk." Out of the room he shimmered.
"Honestly!" I said. Clearly this valet of mine was not going to admit defeat re: flatware without a fight. Still, time would show him which of us was master of the house (or flat or suite, as the case might be). At the mo. I had other matters to attend to, like writing to my Aunt Dahlia.
After a few false starts and various pages tossed aside due to misspellings or ink blots, I surveyed the finished product.
It went like this:
Dear Aunt Dahlia,
You will be pleased to know I arrived safely in Canterlot. The weather is clement, though the pegasus ponies have scheduled scattered showers for later in the week.
I've been sniffing around the Royal Museum and I'm sorry but snatching the Border Blanket is just out of the question. The amount of guards frothing about the place is absolutely ridic. Extremely sorry and so on, but you wouldn't want your favourite nephew to spend the rest of his days languishing in a dungeon, now would you?
Love to Cousin Angel.
Your affectionate nephew,
Birdy
As for Aunt Agate, she would just have to hold her horses, so to speak, while I waited for a chance to chat with Great-Aunt Celly.
I sealed and stamped the missive, but when I entered the sitting room Greaves was nowhere to be found. Presumably he was in his own room, either putting away his luggage or looking over his blasted Chantilly patterned silver with a gloating eye. Well, we Roosters are independent types. I decided to mail the ruddy letter myself.
As I trotted down the hallways, the shiny gloss of paper caught my eye, looking rather out of place between two old and muted tapestries. I coasted over to take a look.
I don't know if you've noticed, but you can tell a lot about an upcoming event by the fliers, adverts, and posters strewn about for them. It's all in the colour scheme. If the printer has restrained herself to black, white, and grey, the event is going to be a snoozer. If the entire spectrum is present in all its supersaturated glory, then brace yourself for hoards of screaming children and harried parents. A careful balance of bright colours against a black background is what I look for, a combo that promises a lively yet full-grown crowd of ponies, hopefully at a venue with singing, dancing, and an open bar to boot.
This particular poster, unfortunately, was a black-and-white affair; it showed the silhouettes of several ponies with tubas and cellos and such standing in front of glaring footlights while a giant rose (the only splash of colour on the thing) hung ponderously over their heads like the sword of Dam-ocles--if he's the fellow whose sword I'm thinking of. The surrounding text announced a concert to be held shortly in the Royal Concert Hall--there's a Royal Everything in Canterlot, don't you know--and gave top billing to some ponies I'd never heard of. Octavia? Treble Clef? Don't ask me.
Just as I was concluding that this event looked like a good cure for insomnia, an angry voice snapped, "You!"
I turned to see Pinstripe Tock bearing down on me. "What-ho, Tock."
"Are you the one who keeps hanging these things all over the palace?" He slapped the poster with a hoof.
"Not at all, I was merely--"
"It's completely against castle regulations!" He pulled down the poster and stuffed it in his saddlebags. "All decorations, decrees, and advertisements have to be approved through official channels by filling out the appropriate paperwork, to be cataloged in triplicate on Form 2833-10C, listing their purpose, location, name of designer, date of event (when applicable)--"
I've suffered enough visits from my Aunt Agate to recognize an endless tirade when I hear one. Therefore, the minute Tock turned away to scrape tape residue off the wall I sidled away and made good my escape, edging around the corner and breaking into a trot. Luckily the heavy carpeting muffled my hoofbeats.
Then Luck decided it had something better to do and wandered away. As a result I made a sharpish left turn and ran smack into another pony. Once I stopped seeing double I determined that he was a unicorn colt who'd been conversing with a filly of the same breed.
"Oh, dreadfully sorry," I said, picking myself off the floor as he did likewise.
"Watch where you're going!" snapped the object I'd collided with as he dusted off his suit. The fellow was bright yellow with red and orange hair. I refrained from pointing out that good manners cost nothing and gave heartfelt apology another shot.
"Didn't mean to trouble you, old chap, but that's not exactly the best place to stand, you know--just around a corner. Creating a road hazard, one might say. Still, we'll say no more about it. All is forgiven."
The colt merely snorted, derisively if I'm any judge, and aimed his nose towards the ceiling. The unicorn filly, on the other hand, was looking at me with a kind of icy gaze, like a cat that's just been offered an inferior brand of cat food. She was pale purple with white and pink hair, and all in all was a frosty looking chippie. When she aimed her eyes at the yellow unicorn she kept up the frigid gaze, which seemed to be her natural expression.
"Don't mind my brother," she said in a cool voice, looking back towards me. "He has neither manners nor tact."
Well, what does one say to that? In this case nothing, because the yellow colt instantly retorted, "At least I've got more feelings than an ice sculpture!"
The lavender pony affected not to hear this, although she must've because he was practically bellowing in her ear. "I am Princette Snow Shimmer and this lout is my brother, Sun Shimmer."
I suppose I'd better pause here for a quick of an explanation of noble titles. A lot of ponies are surprised to find that, in Equestria, the equivalent of a prince is not a princess. This is a common misconception among the masses, but in fact the only princesses in Equestria are my many-times-Great Aunt Celestia and the recent Luna. The supreme rulers, don't you know.
Princes are firmly below them on the social scale, and the female equivalent of a prince bears the title of "princette". I imagine this is to minimize confusion between the two alicorn princesses, who more or less run Equestria, and the noblefillies, who more or less don't.
At any rate, it's been like that as long as anypony can remember. I imagine it came about something like this:
NOBLEFILLY: What-ho!
CELESTIA: What-ho!
NOBLEFILLY: I hope you'll attend my marriage to Prince Whats-It. I am so looking forward to trading up from being a mere duchess to a princess.
CELESTIA: Hang on a tick. That's going to be dashed confusing, you being a princess and me being a princess.
NOBLEFILLY: By gum, you're right! Next thing you know ponies will be asking me to raise the sun and so forth. Tell you what, why don't I call myself a princette instead.
CELESTIA: That sounds just the ticket! Well, cheerio!
NOBLEFILLY: Tinkerty-tonk!
Getting back to the encounter in the hall, Princette Snow Shimmer continued her little speech.
"I apologize for Sun Shimmer," she said, brows drawing together. "He's rather temperamental. No doubt this is why I am a princette and he is a mere duke," she added in an aside to me that was, frankly, dashed loud.
"I don't have to stand here and listen to your insults!" the yellow unicorn snapped before marching away.
"He always has to make a grand exit," the princette said, without a glance at her sibling's dramatic departure. "Don't let his histrionics bother you."
"Well, we all have our little moments of temper," I said, waving the matter off. "What did he have for lunch?"
"What?" She stared.
"For lunch. I've noticed my Uncle Pomegranate often gets a bit hot under the collar if he eats anything with nuts in it. Or coconut. It unsettles his stomach and then he snaps at anypony and everypony. My Aunt Dahlia has absolutely excised macaroons from the house as a result."
"I think it's more likely ill-temper my brother suffers from than indigestion," the purple unicorn said. She may have added a subtle sneer, but it was hard to tell because her voice was so even.
"Oh well, no pony likes to unexpectedly be knocked on his caboose," I said. "I'm Birdy, by the way, Birdy Rooster."
"Mmm," said she, not seeming especially enthralled by this information. "Good day, Birdy Rooster." And she turned and walked away without another word, if you can believe it. Whatever etiquette lessons had been given to those two, they came to naught in my opinion.
Well, I returned to my original mission and soon came to the letter box, decorated with scrolls and suns and stars all over its gold-plating. It was at that very moment being emptied by a grey pegasus pony with light yellow hair. From this action and from the postal saddlebags over her flanks, I deduced she was a mail-pony.
"What-ho," I said. "I have a letter here for you!"
"A letter!" the grey pegasus squeaked. "Happy tirings to friends far awash!"
"Er, I see. I put on enough postage, didn't I? It's going to the UQ, so..." (The UQ being, of course, the United Queendom. I've never heard of us having ownership of an actual queen, so I'm a bit fogged by the name, but there it is. One of life's little mysteries.)
The pegasus looked at the letter and nodded happily "Muffins arriving in freshest condition," she enthused, taking it. "Fastest delivery in three colours where available!!"
"Quite. Quite. Well, I must be off! Pip-pip!" I steamed off towards my room, reflecting that half my auntly troubles were at an end.
The next morning I awoke with that out of place feeling that sometimes crops up when you're in a strange bed. This was especially discombotchulating, if discombotchulating is the word I want, because I'd been dreaming that I was at Ping-Pong Thistledown's birthday party, and if I had been to one of Pongo's festivities, there's no telling where I might have found myself when I pried the eyelids apart. (The day-after the last three of Pongo's wingdings I awoke to find myself, respectively: sprawled in the aisle of the Londun Opera House, tangled in the uppermost branches of an oak tree, and in a row boat in the middle of a pond, the rocking of which did nothing for my pounding head. Nor did the discovery that the oars were missing.)
Of course, once I sat up and swiveled my eyes 'round the room, I got my bearings. The sun and moon designs plastered on all the furniture all but called 'Canterlot!', and I remembered all. I went through my morning ablutions and brushed the mane and so forth, then sauntered into the sitting room.
"Greaves? Are you about?" He didn't seem to be, so I trotted out of the room and down to the dining hall for some grub.
As I'm sure you know, it isn't just the Princess--or, nowadays, Princesses in the plural--who live in the castle. Various nobles are entrenched in the palace and there are always diplomats and such coming and going.
My childhood memories of breakfast in Canterlot involve of a certain amount of noise and bustle, but at a relaxed pace... ponies (and other creatures) queuing up along long tables stocked with oatmeal, omelets, tofu sausages, and fresh fruit, gabbing with one another, trying to push a fried egg onto their plate and attempting to keep their dignity intact should it slide off onto the floor, as so often happens. Servants continually hauled empty platters and tureens away and replaced them with full ones, much like "new lamps for old" in Aladdin, if the magic lamp had contained orange juice instead of oil.
These fond memories from days past were rudely shattered when I reached the dining hall on this fateful day. The polished wooden tables were free from any tureen or dish--completely barren, in fact--and the only signs of life were a few servants rolling through the room like tumbleweeds. Not a noblepony or diplomat was to be seen and not a smidge of food either! My stomach groaned at this news, with my mouth following suit.
"What on earth?" I said.
"Can I help you, Mr. Rooster?"
I looked behind me to find Pinstripe Tock, Royal Organizator, looking at me rather coldly and raising a sardonic eyebrow. No doubt he felt I was Suspect Number One in the department of Illicit Poster Hanging.
Nevertheless, I felt the hour was too early to be faced with eyebrow raising, especially on an empty stomach, so I replied in steely tones. "Yes, you jolly well can help me, Tock! You can point me towards breakfast! Did they move it to another room or something?"
"Breakfast is over, Mr. Rooster."
"Over? How do you mean, 'over'?"
"I mean over. It is 11:08, Mr. Rooster."
"What about it? What does that have to do with anything?"
"Breakfast," Tock said as he clicked across to a table to dispose of a crumpled napkin, "begins at 7:30 a.m. sharp and runs to 9 o'clock."
"Nine o'clock? Do you mean to say it ends at nine? Who on earth is up by that ghastly hour?"
"Well, the other guests seem to have mastered it, Mr. Rooster. After a period of... adjustment."
"But I mean to say, this is positively obscene!"
"Luncheon begins at 12:30 and runs until 1:45... 1:45 precisely. If you're timely, you can get some food then." And the hateful blighter clicked off.
"They used to run breakfast straight through 'till lunch sauntered onto the table," I murmured with a drooping head and heavy heart as I trudged back up the stairs to my room. Clearly the retirement of the good mare Sprinkles Featherdown had dealt a blow to Canterlot's fabled hospitality.
"Good morning, sir."
I looked up as I entered my suite. "Ah, Greaves, you're back."
"I am most sorry I was not present when you awoke, sir. I felt it would be wise to attend to other matters."
And then, if you can believe it, he whisked a cloth off a tray on the table to reveal blueberry pancakes, toast, and scrambled eggs. I had trouble believing it myself. I would have pinched myself, had I fingers.
"But... how?" I sputtered.
"This morning when I sought out Mr. Tock to inform him of our room number, as he requested, I discovered the limited confines of the breakfast hour, sir. I hesitated to wake you, feeling you would rather sleep in."
"Too right I'd rather sleep in! So you scooped up some of the leftovers, eh?" I let the nostrils flare and drew in the smell of the nectar of the gods, by which I mean pancakes with syrup.
"Not exactly, sir. I dropped by the kitchen and convinced them to supply me with fresher food, sir. The leavings in the dining hall were looking somewhat limp by the time I arrived."
"Jolly good show, Greaves! I'm surprised you pulled it off; I seem to remember the kitchen staff being quite miffed whenever I stuck my nose in their domain and tried to cadge food off them, fresh or otherwise."
"It is an art, sir. Would you care for milk or orange juice?"
"Orange juice, if you please." I seated myself at the dining table. "Well, well. I don't mind telling you that this has put a better complexion on the day."
"I'm very pleased to hear that. Shall I fetch the paper for you, sir?"
"That would be topping, Greaves," I said, dolloping some extra syrup onto the pancakes. "And dig up some jam, if you can."
"Certainly, sir." Away he slid, leaving me to ponder how an earth pony could move like he was on rollers.
I was well into breakfast when I faintly heard sounds from the entryway, knocking followed by indecipherable babbles. Greaves projected himself back into the sitting room a moment later. "There is a young lady here to see you, a Miss Heartsong."
"Good old Stinker Plinker! Show her in, Greaves, by all means," I said, hoisting the last piece of toast into my mouth.
He nodded and a minute later ushered her in. "Miss Lyra Heartsong."
"What-ho, Plinker!" I greeted the unicorn filly as she emerged into the sitting room. "So you found my abode after all."
"Yes, but it wasn't easy. I wandered up and down the halls for a half hour until I bumped into this earth pony wearing a side-saddle organizer."
"By the name of Pinstripe Tock, perchance?"
"Something like that. He snorted and said, 'Oh, THAT one.' What have you been doing to that poor pony, Birdy?"
"Ask rather what he has been doing to me, Plinker."
"Maybe later. Actually, Birdy... I have a favour to ask you."
"Ask away, old thing."
"Can I lay low here an hour or two? My mother is trailing me again. But I figure even she won't stand in a hallway for two hours staring at a closed door. And if that doesn't work," she added with some desperation, "I'll sneak out the window."
"Steady on, old fruit! It's four stories down, you know. And four stories up. Eight stories in all. But to answer your query, you can certainly camp out here. Care for some breakfast? Greaves, please fetch Ms. Heartsong some eggs and pancakes."
"No, that's all right. I ate hours ago," she smiled as she sat on the sofa in her own unique, slumping fashion. "But thanks for the offer."
"Perhaps some lemonade, miss?" Greaves murmured, floating out of the room.
"Sure, lemonade would be--oops, he's gone already... Oh hey, you have a piano?" Her eyes lit up, being another connoisseur of the musical arts.
"I most certainly do. One of the reasons I targeted this specific room for my base of operations." I seated myself and tapped a few keys to warm up. "Any requests? I could play the old school song or--"
"No, no, do Minnie the Moocher!"
This just goes to show how a good education can broaden the mind. When Plinker first came to Wheaton, all she knew where those wordless instrumental pieces for flutes and lyres and violins and things. Good enough tunes in their way, I suppose, but not exactly the kind of thing to set one rollicking, if you know what I mean.
But after a few short months at Wheaton, this previously quiet and reserved mint-green unicorn was singing along with the rest of us (especially after lubricating the vocal muscles with a few drinks), roaring out the words to classics like Forty-Seven Ginger-Headed Sailors and the aforementioned Minnie the Moocher, which has an absolutely corking refrain that really gets the hooves tapping.
Of course I acceded to the lady's request and hammered out the tune. We were just belting out that bit that goes "she was a low-down hoochie coocher," when Greaves popped back in with a pitcher of lemonade.
He didn't go so far as to look startled, but a subtle twitching of his left eye suggested he was perturbed--probably dismayed at not knowing the words of the song, which is always embarrassing. I've run into the same situation at the Drones Club and I generally choose to fake it by mouthing along, and then rush out to buy the music later. But of course it's not so easy to disguise such ignorance in a sitting room where only two ponies are harmonizing rather than a whole crowd, so out of consideration I quickly wrapped up the song. Greaves moved to set down the lemonade on the table and, sure enough, his eye twitching had already lessened considerably.
"My mother would have a fit if she heard me singing that," laughed Plinker. Then she gave an especially wide grin. "I wonder where I can buy the sheet music. I could play it at the royal concert... 'Minnie the Moocher, as adapted for the lyre by Lyra Heartsong, accompanied by interpretive dance.' That'd scare off those mouldy old stallions my mother keeps shoving in my path."
"A-hem."
"Did you cough, Greaves?" I asked, a bit startled. He didn't seem like the kind of pony who could cough, let alone would.
"Yes, sir. I believe I have come up with a solution to the problem to which Ms. Heartsong alludes."
"What?" Plinker said, sitting up straight for once.
I was, if anything, even more surprised. I positively reeled. "A solution? But how? And what?"
"Well, sir, the idea occurred to me after you mentioned that Dame Heartsong laboured under the misapprehension that you are a prince. The elder Heartsongs are ambitious, sir."
"I'll say they are," Plinker said in tones of bitterness. "But that doesn't help us. Heck, that's the problem!"
"That is true, miss. But should you become affianced to a member of the upper echelon of nobility--for example a prince--your mother would likely stop keeping you under such close surveillance."
"I see," she said thoughtfully.
"But how would we arrange that?" I asked.
"Birdy, you dummy, my mother thinks YOU are a prince. I would get engaged to YOU."
"Oh!" The light dawned, then dimmed down a bit. One doesn't just tell a girl flat-out that one isn't interested in marrying her, member of the old alma mater or no, so I took the subtle approach. "But, ah, I thought you wanted to marry Bon Bon, her being so radiant and all that."
"I do." She gave a light, airy sigh--no doubt imagining she was saying it on the altar to her one-and-only. "I'm afraid you're right, Birdy, it's a no-go. It would probably make my mother even angrier when I finally told her the truth. Not that I don't appreciate the effort, Mister, er... "
"Greaves, miss. And if you'll pardon me for contradicting you, I believe the plan would work. It hinges on one vital fact."
"Oh?" I inquired. "And what's that?"
"That you are not a prince, sir. Should Miss Heartsong wish to end her engagement to you without arousing her mother's ire, she need only run to Dame Heartsong--weeping and crying, if I might suggest, miss--lamenting that you are a scoundrel and a rake who misled her innocent heart."
"Misled her--?"
"Innocent heart, sir. If, at this juncture, Miss Bon Bon stepped forward to comfort Miss Heartsong and soothe her aching heart, I fancy the elder Heartsongs would be more kindly disposed towards their courtship and eventual marriage."
"That might just work," Plinker breathed, eyes widening as she clopped her hooves together. "It might just WORK!"
"Well, well, well." I eyed Greaves with frank astonishment. That he could rustle fluffy pancakes out from under the noses of irritable cooks, I was aware of. That he could stir up potions to soothe head and stomach, I knew. That he had no appreciation for fine cutlery, I had learned the hard way. But I had never expected him to author such brainy plans as this. "How do you do it, Greaves? Do you eat a lot of spinach?"
"Sir?"
"I read an article that said spinach revs up the brain enormously. Do you devour it by the bushel?"
"I enjoy it in moderate amounts, sir."
"Birdy, will you please stop yammering about spinach and tell me if you'll go along with the plan? Please say yes. Please! Pleeeease!" Plinker pleaded, putting her hooves together in supplication.
"Of course I will, Plinker old chum," I said, patting her shoulder. "Consider yourself engaged."
"YAY!" she squealed, prancing around the room. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, this is so great! Wait till I tell Bon Bon!" Then she stopped in her tracks so quickly the rug rumpled under her hooves. "But... what if my mother DOES keep spying on me? I mean, she followed me to the candy store even though I was with you! If she spots me meeting with Bon Bon all the time, it's all over!"
"I am inclined to think Dame Heartsong's surveillance will end once she is of the opinion that you are safely engaged, miss. Her thoughts will naturally become embroiled in wedding planning instead. But if rumor had it that the 'prince' highly valued his privacy and took a stern view towards voyeurs and oglers, I believe that would provide further insurance against her tendency to spy."
"But as far as I know, there aren't any such rumors about me, Greaves," I said doubtfully.
"I am sure I can arrange the matter to your satisfaction, sir," said he with a slight smile.
"Well! Arrange away, Greaves, arrange away."
"Oh Birdy, thank you so much!" Plinker looked on the verge of tears, the happy kind. "I'm going to go tell my mother right now!" Out she rushed.
"Well, well. That was gratifying, what? I daresay it's clear sailing ahead, for me and Plinker both. I don't see how it can possibly go wrong."
Next chapter: Things go wrong! |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 4: A Cousin in Need Is a Cousin Indeed | Chapter 4 - A Cousin in Need Is a Cousin Indeed
Now, if you listen to my aunts--which is not something I would ever recommend--they will describe my next actions with scorn, disdain, or possibly both. Unkind words such as "feckless", "irresponsible", "imbecile", and "mentally negligible young blot" will likely be employed as they vent their ire. Let this be a lesson to you on the gratitude of aunts; they have none.
I do not deny that, for the next few days, I took the opportunity to reacquaint myself with the arts and culture of the fine city of Canterlot. I viewed such triumphs of the stage as "Too Many Fillies" and "Twelve Gentlecolts of Brumby"--both of which featured some dashed good tunes, I might add--and discovered a crop of new nightclubs that had popped up in my absence.
In the afternoons I strolled around the castle gardens or plunked down with an improving book, finally finding enough leisure time to finish The Mystery of the Pink Cupcake. (The gardener did it.) And of course, because I couldn't neglect the noble sporting traditions of Equestria, you could frequently find me cheering on the racing-ponies at the track.
Perhaps I was not exactly actively engaged in the Two Labours of Birdsong which my aunts had foisted upon me, but had I not already been on a valiant mission to scout out the Border Blanket and concluded it was futile to try to pinch it? And was I not hobbled in my attempts to chat with Great-Aunt Celly about Cousin August, thanks to the metric-loving Royal Organizator, Pinstripe Tock? And despite these time-consuming missions, had I not also found time to help my school chum, Plinker, navigate the tricky rapids of love?
The answer to all these questions, by the way, is "yes". Do not listen to ponies who try to tell you otherwise and walk away with quiet dignity if they call you "a complete and utter fathead."
Anyway, a thoroughly enjoyable week slid by. Greaves oiled into my room with a breakfast tray every morning, apparently still enjoying the blessing of the royal cooks. And thank goodness for that, because when a chap staggers home in the wee hours of the morning with his mane in disarray and his legs wavering, the last thing he wants is to have to awaken at an only slightly less wee hour for breakfast. It's much better to break the fast at a civilized hour, like 11 or 12.
On the morning I have since dubbed Doom Tuesday (or possibly Doom Wednesday, I really can't remember which it was as I write this), Greaves entered the bedroom as usual, bearing a tray with naught but a small glass on it.
"Good morning, sir," said he.
"Mmmruhhh..." moaned I, pushing the pillow off my head and peeling one gummy eyelid open.
He cleared his throat respectfully. "I have brought your morning restorative, sir," he said, setting the glass on the bedside table.
I shakily brought the old unicorn telekinesis to bear and drained the glass. The liquid had its usual violent dispute with my stomach and, as usual, triumphed over the uncooperative organ and calmed it. My head cleared, the birds rang out their morning ditties, and the world seemed like a livable arena once again.
"Ah, you've come through with the goods again, Greaves. Someday you must tell me what's in that concoction of yours."
"I am glad you approve, sir. Worchester sauce and red pepper are among the primary ingredients."
"So you say, but its effectiveness causes me to suspect more occult fixings. You sure you aren't slipping some eye of newt and/or toe of frog in there?"
"That would hardly be hygienic, sir. One can achieve amazing results with purely natural ingredients." He set the glass back on the tray. "Did you have an enjoyable evening, sir?"
"Oh, topping! I put thirty bits on Yesterdaisy to win, and win she did, at odds of twenty to one! You should've seen it--she was trailing Comet Tail and Skedoodle almost the entire race, but as they rounded the corner she put on this amazing burst of speed, drew neck in neck with Romperooni, and shot down the home stretch like a--"
"Most fascinating, sir. I wonder, sir, if you recall at what point your bow tie became knotted around your left ear."
"Bow tie?" I glanced upward, flicking my ear. All seemed in working order and free of accessories. "Don't be silly, Greaves, there's nothing there."
"I took the liberty of removing it when you came in last night, sir, fearing it would cut off your circulation."
"Oh, I see! Well, having won all those bits on Yesterdaisy, I thought it was only right to show my appreciation by knocking back a few drinks with her and her friends, and one round led to another, you know how it is. No doubt one of them looped it there at some point as a jolly wheeze. Spirits were running high, let me tell you!"
"And flowing constantly, I'm sure, sir. I'm afraid the misadventures of the night have left the object in question in a state of disrepair." He picked the bow tie off the bureau, and it's true that the strip of fabric looked rather limp and frayed. "If I might point out, sir, this is the third of our bow ties that has met an untimely end this week. If we do not start being more careful with them, we shall have to buy more."
"Well," I suggested, "I could stop wearing them when I go out on the town."
"Sir!" He drew back with a violent shudder, eyes actually showing the whites. "A gentlecolt does not appear in public without proper attire!"
I could tell he was genuinely distressed (I had never heard him make remarks with such fervor--or ANY fervor--before) so I took pity on him and said, "Quite so, quite so. I should feel naked without one anyway. I suppose I could--"
"If you'll pardon me, sir, I believe I hear the door."
I hadn't heard a bally thing, but a minute later Greaves shimmered back in with an envelope. "A telepathogram just arrived for you, sir. I have detained the messenger in the sitting room, should you wish to send back a reply."
"Thank you, Greaves. Now who could this... Oh, Aunt Dahlia." I felt a knot of foreboding in my stomach, somewhere beneath the pancakes and eggs, but there was nothing to do but open the envelope. I unfolded it and read it out loud.
"'Dear idiot'--Oh I say, that's not a very promising start--'Dear idiot, Regret that you were not eaten by sharks on voyage to C. What is meaning of blathering about guards and dungeons? I will make you wish you were in a d. if you don't fetch the object pronto. Note I say 'object' instead of mentioning it by name like a silly ass. You make a terrible spy. Get it or an aunt's curse be upon you. Angel sends her love. - Dahlia Traverse.'"
"Duchess Traverse is a pony of strong opinion," Greaves observed. "Will you return a reply, sir?"
"Ummm, yes. Yes. Take this down, Greaves." I ordered my thoughts as he pulled a pad of paper from the desk. "'Dear Auntie, I say, look here. You tell me to grab object but how on bally earth can I? Object not available for grabbing. You say to stop blathering about g.'s, but g.'s are exactly what stand in way of Birdsong grabbing o. in question. Simply impossible, I'm sorry, but there it is. How did Angel like Fence? Love, Birdy.'"
"Very good, sir. I will instruct the messenger to see that it is sent as soon as he returns to the office." He slid out of the room and hadn't been gone more than a few minutes before returning... bearing another sealed envelope.
"Good heavens, she can't have sent back a reply already!" I yipped.
"No sir, a second runner arrived just as I dismissed the first runner."
"Well, let's see what it's all about. I suppose it's too much to hope Aunt Dahlia felt a pang of regret for the harsh tone of her first missive and quickly issued this one to apologize..."
My voice trailed away, and why? Because my tongue had disengaged from my brain the moment I'd spotted the sender's name on the envelope: Duchess Agate Blueblood.
"Sir?" Greaves inquired as I gaped at the envelope, doing my best dying fish impression.
"Read it aloud, will you, Greaves?" I hovered the missive over to him, quivering slightly. (If you are wondering if the quivering applied to the envelope or to self, I can assure you there was plenty of the adjective available to go around.)
"Certainly, sir." Greaves' voice was smooth and calm; it would be hard to hit a less strident note without being dead. Thus his recitation no doubt lacked some of the vigor and force that the writer had intended.
Despite this, I felt my anxiety rising as he read the bally thing, as follows: "'Birdsong. No news from you in weeks. Most upset. Have you arrived in Canterlot or haven't you. Vital that you speak with Princess immediately. Vote imminent. Dear August in dire straits. Relying on you. Respond immediately. - Duchess Agate Blueblood.'"
"Thank you, Greaves." I took the telepathogram and looked it over. It was more or less as he'd said. He'd kicked the curly bit off the top of a question mark after "have you arrived or haven't you" and had smoothed down "VITAL that you speak with Princess", "RELYING on you", and "Respond IMMEDIATELY" to a uniform volume so that they sounded more like entreaties than threats, but his speech otherwise matched the text to a T. Though why it should be expected to conform to a T and not some other letter is beyond me.
"Do you wish to send a reply, sir?"
"I'd better, hadn't I? Before she sends her winged monkeys after me... Let's see. How about... 'Dear Aunt Agate, Am safely ensconced in Canterlot. All going swimmingly. Having close personal chat with Princess tomorrow--' No, better make it 'day after tomorrow' to allay her suspicions. 'No worries, everything under control. Yours, Birdy.'"
"Very good, sir." He stepped into the sitting room to relay this to Messenger #2 whilst I ruminated, if ruminated is the word I want.
"You know, Greaves, I can't quite make out what Aunt Agate is on about with this 'voting' business," I said as he stepped back in.
"I believe that is Duchess Blueblood's oblique way of referencing the activities on the agenda at the next meeting of the Council of Peers, sir."
"But the Council doesn't vote on anything. Well, except personal matters like what colour of carpet to put in their HQ or which catering company to use at their next ball, I suppose..."
"And membership, sir."
"Well, yes. But Cousin August is already a member, being a prince and all that."
Greaves cleared his throat again, meaningfully it seemed to me. "Their Royal Highnesses Celestia and Luna will be finalizing the budget for the year soon, sir. Including the amount of money apportioned to the Council of Peers."
"Go on, Greaves, I can see you're headed somewhere with this."
"The Princesses' generosity directly effects how many members the Council can retain, sir, since the Council allots each member an allowance in proportion to her or his station."
"Except the knights."
"Just as you say, sir. Knights are given accolades and nothing more. But they are not unaffected by these machinations, sir, as this is also the time of year when 'a noble's fancy turns to thoughts of promotion', if I might paraphrase Lord Tenneighson."
"You might, Greaves, you might. I think I begin to see your meaning."
"That is most gratifying, sir."
"But you have overlooked one vital fact, my good colt. Cousin August is a prince, and therefore already at the top of this heap of nobles and gentry. Alicorn princesses aside--and he is just out of luck if he wishes to become one of them--he has no further peaks to ascend."
"Actually, sir, the point I was endeavoring to make--Excuse me, sir, the door."
I was unsurprised when he returned with yet another telepathogram. "Which one is it this time?
"Duchess Dahlia Traverse, sir."
"Read it, Greaves, read it," I sighed with a weary gesture.
"Very good, sir. Ahem... 'No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You are not wriggling out of this duty, so put that right out of your brainless head. Go in dead of night instead of sauntering in during visiting hours, you blighted fool. Regret that ocean separates us, as unable to kick you into cactus garden. Angel enjoyed trip to continent aside from small bout of food poisoning. - Dahlia Traverse.'"
I groaned and buried my head in my hooves. When I lifted my eyes, Greaves was standing there patiently, pencil poised and eyebrow raised.
"Oh right, a reply," I said, heaving myself out of bed and dragging a brush moodily through my hair. "Tell her... Tell her..." The fighting spirit of the Roosters flashed, then puffed out like a birthday candle. A pony has to admit when he's outmatched. "Tell her 'Right-ho.'"
"Very good, sir," said Greaves, slipping off to send the missive on its way while I washed the sleep out of my eyes.
"Well Greaves, I have a thorny situation here and no mistake," I said a bit later, pacing up and down the sitting room. "It seems to me that my first goal must be to locate my cousin. I've seen neither hide nor hair of him since I arrived."
"I believe I can shed some light on that matter, sir. The word in the Servants' Hall is that Prince Blueblood has confined himself to his quarters, sneaking into the larder late at night for sustenance. This information comes by way of his valets."
"Did you say valets, plural?"
"Yes, sir, though they were in his employ consecutively, not concurrently. Prince Blueblood has had three valets since our arrival to Canterlot."
"Good grief! Fired or fled?"
"They chose to seek employ elsewhere," Greaves said delicately. "My understanding is Prince Blueblood has always suffered from a high turnover of staff, though not normally approaching this volume."
"Well, are we surprised, Greaves? There's August, hunkered down in his room day and night for reasons unknown, and there's his hapless gentlecolt's personal gentlecolt trapped in the same flat with the odious lump day after day. It's a wonder none of them threw themselves out the window."
"Perhaps they felt looking for other employment offered a better future, sir. In any case, I have ascertained the location of Prince Blueblood's suite."
"Excellent work. Lead on!"
As we tracked through the hallways, he asked, "Am I mistaken in thinking there is a certain amount of coolness between you and your cousin, sir?"
"Not mere coolness, Greaves, but a vast and trackless field of ice. Let me tell you a tale of the abominable August Blueblood that will chill your very soul."
"Very good, sir."
"Imagine, if you will, yours truly aged five or six or some other significantly small digit. There I was, not a care in the world, bobbling down a garden path whilst my many, varied aunts chattered amongst themselves on the distant horizon. For my pleasant demeanor on the ride over, I had been rewarded with an ice lolly, lemon-flavored. I levitated it along in front of me as I trotted past the flower beds in my second-best suit. Can you picture this scenario?"
"I think I have a good mental approximation of it, sir."
"Brace yourself, Greaves, for this pleasant pastoral scene is about to be rudely disturbed. With a crunch of gravel, my cousin August stepped onto the garden path. He was somewhat larger than I, being what is known as a 'stocky' foal. His eyes lit up with envy as he witnessed young Birdsong enjoying a frozen treat on this hot and humid summer day. He stepped forward menacingly and said in a tone that did not in the least acknowledge our mutual familial ties, 'Hey Birdbrain, gimme that lolly!'"
"Most distressing, sir."
"Of course in the true Rooster spirit, I put my ears back and refused. The promise of a lemon ice lolly was the only reason I had silently suffered the long, hot, and all around miserable carriage ride. So I retorted, 'No, it's mine!' Did the rotter give up and push off? Far from it! In a trice his horn lit up and he tried to wrest it away. I don't suppose you have ever been involved in a levitation tug-of-war, Greaves?"
"No, sir. Being an earth pony, that particular experience has eluded me."
"Well, it's not so different from regular tug-of-war, except you're using magic instead of muscles. The ice lolly ping-ponged between us until August got the upper hoof and yanked it out of my control with such force that not only did I stumble forward, but also tripped right into a rather deep mud puddle. And how did Cousin August react to this turn of events? Did he apologize like a civilized pony, perhaps holding out a hoof to help his blood relation out of the muck?"
"I am agog to know, sir."
"I am sorry to inform you that not only did he not come to my aid, but he laughed most heartily. Even when I lamented aloud the scolding I would undoubtedly receive for the ruination of my second-best suit, even then he showed no remorse, merely smirking over his stolen treat. No, it is no surprise to me, Greaves, that servants feel an overwhelming urge to give notice when stuck in close proximity to this blister."
"Could one not put down the episode you describe to foalish folly, sir?"
"Not at all, Greaves, not at all," I said firmly. "Can the chimera change her spots or the dragon her scales? No, not only did this incident foreshadow the deeply flawed personality that August has since revealed in full, but it also unveiled the sweet, gentle nature of my other cousin, Angel, for all to see."
"Indeed, sir? I had not noticed her partaking in your narrative."
"She was not present for the first bit, Greaves, but she happened along as I dragged myself out of the mud, disheveled and (between you and me) shedding salty tears while August laughed himself silly. Upon viewing this scene, she correctly surmised what had happened and punched August so hard that he ran off crying with nosebleed." I sighed fondly. "A saint, that girl."
"A tale to warm the heart, sir. If you'll pardon me interrupting, I believe this is the residence in question." He made a slight nod towards a wooden door.
"Ah, thank you, Greaves." I knocked on the portal. A few minutes passed, and I knocked harder.
"Who's there?" The door opened a crack to reveal a narrowed blue eye.
"What-ho, what-ho, cousin of mine!" I greeted it, guessing it belonged to August. This was confirmed when he opened the door a bit wider.
"Oh, it's you, Birdy." There was a well attended congregation of shadows gathering under his eyes, and the ends of his bow tie straggling sadly like strands of seaweed, though granted it would have to be upside down seaweed to really give that effect. "What are you doing here?" he asked without enthusiasm.
"Just visiting, you know. I thought we might talk of this and that. May I come in?"
One might ordinarily consider this question a friendly formality but my cousin, brow furrowing, seemed to be giving it serious thought.
"Ohhhh... very WELL," he said at last, unfastening the door chain and opening wide the portal. The interior of the room was what I believe is technically known as "a shambles." Ties, suits, and cravats were strewn over various items of furniture, empty bottles crowded every end table, and a pile of dirty dishes huddled on, under, and around the dining room table. Behind me, I heard Greaves make a faint, pained sound; at the time I assumed it was due to the disorder, but since then I have had reason to think it may have been due to a few excessively bright cravats.
"Who's that?" August said as he aimed a suspicious stare at Greaves, who was now exercising his blankest expression.
"Oh, just my valet."
"Well, send him away. I've seen enough valets to last me a life time. They're all unreliable, untrustworthy, and un... un... un..." He paced back and forth, apparently searching for another derogatory adjective starting with that particular prefix, whilst I looked on appalled. Not only was he rambling, but he was in a state that could only be described as "slovenly" and "unkempt." Whatever August Blueblood's faults--and I'm not saying it's a short list--I knew that under normal circs. he took almost obsessive care of his appearance. Clearly, something was rotten in the state of Dunmark.
I raised an eyebrow at Greaves, by which I meant to convey, "You'd better shove off for the mo. while I deal with this blighted relation" and he inched a corresponding eyebrow upward, which I interpreted as "Right-ho, sir, I'd be happy to oblige in the old feudal spirit" or perhaps "Very good, sir."
"Very good, sir," he murmured, gliding away.
As for August, he merely strode into his sitting room, shoved a cummerbund and pair of spats off a chaise lounge, and flung himself onto it in a world-weary way.
"So, August!" I said, gingerly levitating a greasy plate off a chair. "How are things with you, old bean?"
"As I've told you about a thousand times, my name is not AUG-ust. It's Au-GUST," my cousin replied in his usual dulcet tones, levitating over a bottle and sloshing a goodly amount of the drink of the vine into a dirty glass.
"Oh yes? Well, August--" I thought I heard him grind his teeth, but he tossed back the drink without replying. "Aunt Agate sent me to look in on you. Seemed to think you were in a spot of bother."
"A spot of bother? A spot of bother? My life is ruined, that's all! RUINED!"
"Oh, is it? What seems to be the prob.?"
"The 'prob.' is that a common WENCH of a unicorn has made me the laughingstock of all Canterlot!"
This rang a bell in the old noggin. "Something to do with the Gala, wasn't it? And a seamstress?"
"I suppose you've heard about it. I suppose every pony in Equestria has heard about it." He hid his face in his hooves, which was frankly an improvement. "That boorish filly turned on me like a rabid raccoon, and after I deigned to grace her with my royal presence all evening!"
"What does that mean, exactly? Did she bite you? Knock over your rubbish bin?"
He lifted his eyes, his visage both grim and, I would venture, haunted. "Is that a joke?"
"Not at all, not at all! I'm just trying to decipher what actions this unicorn took against your royal person, August."
"Au-GUST!" he snapped. "She threw most of a cake at me," he added in a sulky tone.
"Oh dear."
He looked at me narrowly. "What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing. Just wrinkling my muzzle. I had an itch," I explained, "on my nose."
"It looked like a smile."
"Definitely not, old thing. Just an itch." I scratched my nose. "So this unicorn girl biffed a cake at you. A bit embarrassing, but surely nothing to be hiding in your room about a month later?"
"I'm not hiding! I don't have anything to be embarrassed about!" He leapt to his hooves, wobbled on them a bit, and collapsed back onto the chaise lounge, burying his nose in the cushions. "It wasn't my fault! I'm an innocent victim of circumstance! If that stupid Rarity hadn't--"
"Wait a moment." I held up a hoof. "Did you say Rarity? Not the same one who helped Great-Aunt Celly fix the sun last summer when it was determined to stay forever dimmed and dead? Well, well, you had a cake thrown at you by a national hero. You should've sold it or framed it or something."
August replied with some heated words about the lady which I won't repeat. The gist was that he did not care two figs if she personally rolled the sun across the sky each day (which is of course nonsense since every pony knows the Princess moves it about with her horn), he considered her personality deeply and fatally flawed.
"So where does the seamstress come in?"
"She was the seamstress, you idiot. She... works." He shuddered. "Can you believe it? A mere tradespony treating me so shamefully! But worst part, the worst part, Birdy, is how everypony looks at me now." He emptied the rest of the bottle into his glass and stared into its depths as though he'd lost a contact in it.
"How do you mean? Who looks at you?"
"Everypony." He swayed slightly, like a pony put under a hypnotist's power at a street fair. I half expected him to start flapping his front legs and clucking like a chicken, but instead he just continued in the same mesmerized tone. "Lady Roster and Duke Finch-Freely and Lord Spoon... all of them. Last week Duchess Carnation caught me in the hall and told me she hoped she would continue to see me at the annual Winter Ball."
"Oh yes?"
"And then she smirked at me."
"Oh yes?"
"I could tell what she REALLY meant!"
"Oh yes?"
"I'm so glad you dropped by, Birdy. If any of my enemies spot me I can push you into their path and make a getaway while you babble 'oh yes?' at them."
I gave my brow a bit of a furrow. "What enemies?"
"Haven't you been listening? They're all circling around me," he intoned, staring into the distance with one bloodshot eye twitching, "Circling around me like sharks..."
My eyebrows climbed towards the heavens. Twitching, bloodshot eyes are rarely a good sign, partic. when combined, as in this case, with mumbling and a slight rocking motion.
"Sharks..." my princely cousin continued to mutter, proving my point nicely. "Sharks... sharks..." His eyes refocused to catch me boggling at him and he rather abruptly drew himself up and cleared his throat in a self-conscious sort of way. "Er-HEM. But I... I have everything perfectly under control, of course. I'm fine. Fine."
"Come off it, cousin. I can see you're in straits of the direst variety."
"I am not! Just because the Princess--" He snapped his mouth shut, clearly wishing he could reel his last words back into the larynxal regions.
"What about the Princess?" I prompted.
"Nothing." He heaved himself up and started pacing with a heavy tread. "Nothing."
"How can I help you if you don't--Oh now, put the bottle down, August! You're getting positively sloshed."
"Good."
"Isn't that against the... code of princely dignity or somesuch?"
"None of your business."
"Well, getting juiced up isn't going to help you any." I had a brief but vivid vision of Aunt Agate breathing fire at me for letting her son drink himself into an early grave. "Come on, August--"
"Au-GUST!"
"--I am trying to lend a helping hoof here!"
"Ha! YOU!" He added an offensive sort of sneer to the word. "Why Mumsy sent you, of all ponies, I can't begin to imagine. You aren't even titled!"
His demeanor, not to mention sheer ingratitude, put my back up. "I don't have to be titled to bally well know the Council's voting next week!" I returned with vigor.
"So what! I still have time to turn things arou--" He stopped in mid-sentence. "Wait, you know about that?"
"I certainly do," I said with haughty dignity. Perhaps I was still a bit fogged on exactly what they were voting on, but that was beside the point.
The info seemed to give my cousin pause. "I didn't know you followed the Council's doings, Birdy," he said slowly.
"Ah yes," I said in stately tones, raising a hoof to my chest . "There's a lot you don't know about me, August."
His brows lowered and his eyes, not to be outdone, narrowed. "Apparently."
The way he was staring at me was putting an unpleasant itch between my shoulders. His manner was reminiscent of a guard dog asking itself "friend or foe?", just at the point when it seems to be leaning towards the "foe" side of things. We Roosters are bold ponies, but we know when to make an exit. I got to my hooves and strode solemnly doorward. "Well, I must be going now, August, but I hope you will give serious thought to my words."
"Oh, I will," he said, brow still scrunched and eyes following me in the manner of that unpleasant species of painting that roosts in gloomy manor houses.
As I made my way down the hall, trying to work out my next step, I turned a sharp corner and ran right into a pony. As luck, or rather the opposite of luck, would have it, the pony in question was once again Duke Sun Shimmer, the yellow unicorn.
"Ow! Watch it!" He caught a good look at me. "You again?"
Princette Snow Shimmer paced up--either she'd been walking a ways behind her brother or she'd been pulled to the scene by some mysterious force that alerted her when her sibling was in an embarrassing sitch. "Once again my brother makes an impression on a poor, innocent bystander," she said to the hallway at large before turning to me. "So sorry; he's such a clumsy pony. Of course it takes a great degree of grace to be a princette, but relatively little to be a mere duke--"
"He's the clumsy one!" Duke Shimmer snapped, pointing at self.
"Sorry about that, old chap," I said, pulling myself to my hooves. "Got a lot on my mind, what?"
"Tchah!" the colt responded, turning to prance off.
"Wait! Wait a moment, if you please!" Here was a chance to get some info from somepony who wasn't pickled to the gills. "You two belong to the Council, don't you?"
"Of course we do," Snow Shimmer said, reaching up to primp her curls.
"What about it?" said the duke.
"Well. I was wondering... about that vote next week..."
Have you ever seen one of those pictures that shows an old pony wearing a bonnet if you look at it one way and a young maiden with her snout in a lily if you squint at it another way? The conversational equivalent occurred at this juncture. I let the end of my sentence trail away simply because I'd run out of info. But the Shimmer siblings squinted their eyes--metaphorically speaking--and interpreted Birdsong's further lack of speech as a "lapse into a meaningful silence." That is my theory, anyway, bolstered by the way their ears pricked and the knowing looks they threw at each other, then hurtled in my direction.
"I see," the lavender filly said with a smirk.
Her brother didn't look so pleased about it, whatever "it" might be; in fact, he was giving me something of a scowl. "You? I haven't seen you at the meetings. Are you one of the knights? Who are you?"
"Well, I'm--"
"He's nobody. Just some orphan," Snow Shimmer said, studying her hoof in a critical way. "A relation of Blueblood's, according to Equestrian Peerage."
"Hoy!" My jaw unhinged itself at the pure cheek of this remark. Technically accurate in some aspects, perhaps, but I mean really! REALLY!
The duke was either better schooled in etiquette or--more probably--quick to pick up on my reaction.
"Oh ho ho, who's lacking in manners and tact NOW? 'Just some orphan', what a charming way to describe somepony." Sun Shimmer's triumphant expression melted into one of sorrow as he turned towards me. "You must excuse my dear sister... She has a rare medical condition; she was born without feelings."
"I was not!" the princette hissed, turning red. "I was merely stating a known fact available to anypony resourceful enough to pick up a book and--"
"It was always annoying putting up with her, but lately she's become absolutely insufferable. Mother and Father are thinking about putting her in some kind of asylum."
"ERGH!" Princette Snow Shimmer turned on her heel and stalked down the hall, the flounces in her dress, well, flouncing.
The duke, however, remained, giving me a speculative look like one wondering if the rather weedy looking racing-pony that the stablecolt swears is hot stuff can really win the Derby. "Are you really one of the Bluebloods?"
"No, I am bally well not." I drew myself up. "I happen to belong to the noble and laurelled House of Rooster. The aforementioned prince is merely my cousin."
"Well, I'd avoid him if I were in your horseshoes. He's not a pony you want to be associated with right now."
"Why not?" I asked, assuming there was more behind this than the obvious fact that August was a bit of a blister.
Duke Sun Shimmer gave a chuckle and a shake of his head. "Go to the feast tonight. You'll see." And away he trotted, still chortling to himself.
"Curiouser and curiouser!" I said to myself. Because, after all, you can't go wrong with the classics.
Next chapter: The return of Lyra and Bon Bon! |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 5: Loose Lips Sink (Relation)ships | Chapter 5: Loose Lips Sink (Relation)ships
"What-ho, Greaves," I greeted the earth pony as I wandered in.
"Good afternoon, sir. Did you have an informative visit with Prince Blueblood?"
"Oh, absolutely. I learned that he's determined to keep shut up in his room drinking himself to death, that he has no appreciation for his cousin Birdsong, and that he will glower at well-meaning ponies who offer to help him." I tossed myself into a chair. "But if you mean did I gather any useful information, I'm afraid it was a bust."
"I am sorry to hear that, sir."
"If you ask me, he's gone off his nut; he was yammering about sharks half the time, with eyes bloodshot and a-twitching. And what will Aunt Agate's reaction be, I ask you, when I send her a message beginning 'Sorry to inform you your only son has fewer marbles than advertised'?"
"Indeed, sir, one imagines she would be less than jubilant."
"About the only useful tidbit I got out of my princely relation was that his troubles started at the Grand Galloping Gala, where he was shoved into a cake by none other than--"
"Miss Rarity, sir?"
"Ha! Quite. How did you know?"
"I have been pursuing my own sources in the Servants' Hall, sir, though I must confess I first heard that particular tale quite soon after our arrival. It is a favourite to be told after dinner when the staff is in a light, cheerful mood."
"Do tell! August was rather reticent about the turn of events."
"Understandable, sir, as the tale does not portray him in a flattering light. It seems Prince Blueblood met the young lady at the Gala and invited her to accompany him for the evening. He made several less than chivalrous faux pas--for example, dropping her shawl on a puddle to avoid getting his hooves wet, rather than merely walking around it. But the coup de grace occurred when an eight layer apple cake was accidentally launched into the air. The prince saw it bearing down in his direction and, I am sorry to say, pushed Miss Rarity forward and used her as a blockade."
"Good heavens, Greaves!"
"Yes, sir. The young lady was distressed."
"No wonder!"
"She proceeded to vent her feelings loudly while transferring a good deal of frosting onto the prince's person."
"Well, well, well. That makes a good deal more sense than the version I wrung out of August."
"Indeed, sir?"
"He made it sound like she was hurtling baked goods around for a bit of light entertainment."
"No, sir."
"Mmm. All the same, this knowledge does little to assist us with the Blueblood crisis, which is beginning to look rather hopeless, in my humble o.. I mean to say, if he refuses to do anything but sit on his rump clutching a bottle to his chest..."
"Very true, sir."
"I ran into a hot-and-cold pair of the gentry who indicated some sort of feast was being prepared--"
"Yes sir, a state dinner. According to the castle's domestic staff, Princess Celestia herself will be present. It may be informative for you to attend, sir."
"You think I should crash the party?"
"I'm sure that will not be necessary. I will have a word with the butler; undoubtedly he can find room for you on the guest list."
"Excellent. I say, you didn't come up with any ideas about that ruddy blanket Aunt Dahlia keeps harping on about, did you?"
"It is still my opinion attempting to purloin the Border Blanket would be a grave mistake, sir. But should you wish to attempt it, I did discover that only two ponies guard the museum at night. By chance, the guards currently assigned to this task are the very two who stood outside the armoury room when we first toured the building, Silent Vigil and Seeker by name."
"The glowering grey unicorn and his more chipper, though equally grey, compatriot? But they were there during the day when we saw them."
"The guards rotate shifts every few weeks, sir--from day shift to night shift."
"Ah, I see." An idea struck. "I say, Greaves, you couldn't drop a word in their ears, could you?"
"Sir?"
"You know--pal around with them and hint that they should take a night off. Like with these butlers and cooks and things you're so chummy with."
"That would not be productive, sir, and would only arouse their suspicions."
"You don't think it would appeal to their finer feelings--the plea of one servant to another?"
"I would not describe them as servants, sir," Greaves corrected in a rather emphatic tone, if emphatic is the word I mean. "They are guards."
"Well, yes, but if you think about it, aren't they a kind of--?"
"No, sir."
I recognized a brick wall when I saw it, and one had definitely been mortared in front of further conversation on this subj.. "Ah. Not part of the guild in your opinion, eh Greaves?"
"No, sir."
"Well, you know best on the matter, of course. I shall just have to think of some other way."
"To return to the subject of the feast... with your permission, sir, I would like to join the castle servants in catering the event."
"Try your hoof at a bit of waitering and catering, you mean?"
"Precisely, sir."
"Fine, fine," I said I as I opened the wardrobe and ran an eye over the contents. "An extra pair of eyes may well come in usef--"
"Not that dinner jacket, sir. If I might suggest this one, which has a cleaner cut."
"Oh... quite. Yes, by circulating amongst the gentry, we may well discover--"
"Not that bow tie, sir."
"Confound it, Greaves! Why not this bow tie?"
"It produces an unpleasing effect when taken in conjunction with your hair, sir. There is a clash."
"But they must match. I mean, the tie's blue and my hair's blue, how could they--"
"Clashing shades of blue, sir. If I might instead suggest a deep burgundy--"
And so on.
When Greaves had critiqued my mode of dress to his satisfaction (which involved a brief but passionate argument over which handkerchief was "appropriate for a gentlecolt at a state dinner"), I left the evening clothes lying on my bed in readiness and--it being merely afternoon at this point--decided to stroll into downtown Canterlot and see if I couldn't pick up another novel.
After browsing about the bookstore, I settled on Mystery at Mustang Manor. The front cover featured a goblet with steam roiling off it in the shape of a skull and a Whinndeyian blowpipe and a ruby necklace lying in a pool of blood. I mean to say, if that doesn't promise quality reading then what does?
I paid the filly at the front counter the approp. number of bits and stepped out into the sunshine. When a glance down the street revealed that I was only half a block away from the shoe-shaped Satin Slipper Sweet Shoppe, my pal Plinker's problems came back to me.
How was she doing, I wondered, and would I need to be present for that whole "Birdsong is a rake and scoundrel" act or could she pass it off to her parents as a soliloquy, as it were? I decided to drop by the S. S. S. Shoppe to see if she was on the premises goggling into Bon Bon's eyes. To the pink and white takeout window I went.
"What-ho, Bon Bon!" I said, for none other was standing inside by the cash register. She was looking a bit frazzled, a few strands of pink and blue hair making a bid for freedom from her coiffure.
Nevertheless, she hoisted a smile onto her face. "Oh, hi. It's Birdy, right? What'll it be?"
"Well, I suppose I could do with a box of chocolate covered cherries, as long as I'm here," I pushed some bits towards her. "But chiefly I was wondering if Plinker--that is to say, Lyra--is about anywhere."
Her forehead furrowed. "I was about to ask you the same thing. I haven't seen her in days. I hope she's not sick."
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her." I waved a hoof airily. "Probably being shoved facefirst into a pile of cakes and dresses by her parents. But I imagine she'll get a respite from all that soon enough, and about time too, what?"
Bon Bon added some new furrows to her collection. "I don't understand. Dresses? Cakes?"
"You know. For the engagement."
She gave a polite laugh. "But Lyra's parents don't know we're engaged."
"Well, no, of course not that engagement, the other one. The one to..." Sudden, terrible misgivings welled up as I faced Bon Bon's gaze--equal parts puzzlement and inquisitiveness, with just a dash of suspicion thrown in. "...to sing," I managed to croak out.
"What?"
"An engagement to sing at... the Londun Opera House," I said, mentally grasping at the familiar venues of my homeland. It was sheer luck that I didn't say she'd be kicking up her heels at the Gilded Gaskin Cabaret or the Mottled Oyster Club. "Yes, back in the merry old UQ. A fancy black tie affair, very posh. So of course she needed a dress of the appropriate caliber."
Suspicion had definitely come home to roost on Bon Bon's visage. "And the cakes?"
"The cakes? Oh yes, the cakes! For afterwards. Makes you dashed hungry, singing. I remember one time Lala Blossom dared me to sing Minnie the Moocher six times straight through while standing on my head and by the time I finished--"
Minnie the Moocher was cutting no ice with Bon Bon. "She didn't say anything about it to me and she always tells me about her performances. I collect," she said in a deadly sort of tone, "the programmes."
"Well, ah, well, perhaps she--"
"Prince Birdsong!"
I turned around despite the fact that the air had turned to molasses.
A dark pink unicorn stallion with green and blue hair was striding towards me. I had never met Plinker's father before, but I had no doubt this was he. First, because he had rather the same colour and choppy style of mane as Plinker. Second, because he had a bugle cutie mark, which would explain where Plinker had inherited her musical prowess. Third, because Plinker's mother was hurrying after him.
"Now Reveille, dear," Mother Heartsong hissed at her b. and chain, "We mustn't disturb the prince. He's very sensitive about his privacy!"
"Nonsense," Pa Heartsong boomed. "Prince Birdsong doesn't mind having a little chat, do you, Prince?"
"Oh goodness, I didn't know you were a prince," Bon Bon's voice floated from behind me, dashing all hopes that she had left, fainted, or been struck unconscious by a falling box of chocolates in the few seconds since I'd turned my back.
"Oh, rather," I stuttered out, answering both questions in one go.
Some say Fate is the cruelest nemesis a pony faces in this world. I will not deny that it has a nasty habit of dealing a solid thump in the ribs to a pony who has already tripped over a cobblestone, fallen into a scorpion pit, and accidentally stepped between an Ursa Major and her Minor variant.
But I still maintain that Hindsight is worse. Because when Fate deals you a sharp blow to the head, you can stare skyward, shake your hoof, and curse the gods... but when Hindsight rears its ugly head, you find yourself staring in utter disgust at your past self while uttering futile cries of "if only!".
Take my previous bit of dialogue, for example. "Oh, rather." It was completely the wrong tack to take. What I should've done was leveled the Heartsongs with a haughty stare, drawn myself up, and said, "Jolly right I don't like to be disturbed, so leg it out of here as quickly as your hooves will carry you, you nosey blighters."
But alas, I was too frosted over with panic to think of that until later. Like a snake frozen by an approaching bird--or rather, the other way 'round--I watched the Heartsongs approach.
"Well, I suppose we could chat for a minute," Ma Heartsong said as she sailed up.
"Certainly we can!" Sir Heartsong bellowed into my ear--a rather deaf old coot, I think--as he slapped me rather too hard on the back. "I'm sure this young buck is itching to meet his future father-in-law!"
The silence from the take-out window behind me changed from the normal "watching with detached interest" version to more of a "deadly leopard crouched behind you in the steaming jungle preparing to strike" style of thing.
"Oh, quite!" I said, praying to be turned into a tree or snatched up by an eagle or offered some other avenue of escape like the chaps in mythology are always stumbling upon.
"You and Lyra make such a lovely couple," Dame Heartsong said, digging my grave a bit deeper.
"Oh, yes?" I could feel two blue eyes boring into me from behind.
"It seems you have another admirer, Prince Birdsong," Sir Heartsong chortled as he put a hoof around my shoulder and turned me around. Apparently he had mistaken Bon Bon's look of frozen enmity for girlish adoration. I can only theorize the old stallion was blind as well as deaf, since Bon Bon's visage looked like it would shortly be issuing forth peals of thunder and bolts of lightning.
"Sorry, girly, this one's taken!" Pa Heartsong added; despite his playful tone this remark did not visibly lighten the filly's mood. I wouldn't swear that steam began pouring from her ears, nor would I swear that it didn't.
Unlike her mate, Ma Heartsong did not take such a jovial view of the situation. With a stiff frown she said, "Please do not STARE at the prince, girl. He does not appreciate being gawked at by commoners."
"Of course not," Bon Bon said in tones that would have made a polar bear shiver and toss a few more logs on the fire. She slapped a box down on the counter. "Your cherry cordials, your highness. I'm sure Miss Lyra will... will LOVE them!" And with that a flood of tears broke over the dam and she ran into the depths of the sweet shop.
"Right-ho," I said miserably to nopony in partic., stuffing the box in my saddlebags.
"What an extraordinary girl," Dame Heartsong said, staring after the unfortunate waitress.
"Chocolate fumes cause hysterics. Well known fact." Sir Heartsong nodded several times. "I remember once when I was in school I broke into a cocoa factory on a dare and--"
The female of the species must have decided this particular tale was unfit for princely ears, because she said, "Well, we must be going now, your highness. Right now. Come along, Reveille."
"Goodbye, young fellow!"
"Toodle-pip," I returned, but my heart wasn't in it. You didn't have to be the brainiest of ponies to see that this little scene had thrown a hefty spanner into the workings of Bon Bon and Plinker's engagement.
As I stood looking at the empty take-out window, wondering whether dropping in for a quick word of explanation would do more harm than good, Fate played one of its jolly little gags by sending Plinker herself trotting up to me.
"Birdy, hi! Or should I say what-ho?" She chuckled.
"Oh, what-ho old thing!" I said, wheeling around to face her and hurriedly pasting on a smile. "How... how are things?"
"Well, Mother dragged me off to Fence and shoved me into about a hundred bridal shops, which was unbelievably tedious. But now she's finally moved on to the next stage of her plans, namely bragging to everypony she knows. That should keep her occupied for weeks." She clapped her hooves together. "And I can finally get back to my sugary sweet Bon Bon. Yay!"
"Plinker." I hardly knew where to begin.
"What's wrong, Birdy? You look like somepony just bonked you over the head with a two-by-four. "
"Plinker," I tried again, only to get hung up on her name.
She waited, looking at me. But I had stalled.
I gave it another go. "Plinker."
"Birdy, I'm really sorry but I've been gone all week and I've just GOT to see Bon Bon right now. I'm just so excited!" More clapping. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"
And while I stood there numbly, she toddled off into the candy shop. Her tail disappeared through the door and there was a moment of silence before muffled howls of rage and the crash of breaking china began issuing from the interior. That was all it took for the instincts of self-preservation to awaken my muscles and ligaments, and I strove for home at a rapid pace.
It took a bit for my panic to settle into mere malaise; I trudged down the avenue with a weary gait, wondering if Lyra could calm down her sweetheart and hoping that Bon Bon wouldn't loose a cobra into my room at night, like the homicidal gardener in The Mystery of the Pink Cupcake.
I could picture the scene quite clearly... Self, lying pale on the floor--well, my coat's pale to begin with, but pale and lifeless is what I'm trying to get across--next to the sinister, hissing snake while Bon Bon, with mud on her hooves and a battered felt hat on her head, let out a coarse chuckle. The garden would be empty at that midnight hour; no one would see her shoving a suspiciously large burlap sack into the deep, deep hole that she had dug "fer ta plant a pear tree fer tha missus."
And then in the morning Aunt Dahlia--supposing she was visiting Canterlot for some reason--would wonder aloud where her favourite nephew was, and Great-Aunt Celly would reply, "You know, Aunt, I mean Niece Dahlia, I was wondering the same thing. Where could the dear boy be?" And months later, when pale white roses bloomed on that very spot--atop the hole, I mean--Great-Aunt Celly would pick a bloom and sigh sadly and a single tear would run down Aunt Dahlia's cheek, or perhaps vice versa--
"Ow!" yelped a voice, just as I walked straight into something prickly at chest level.
"Oh, sorry," I said, jumping back.
"It's okay," said the bush.
Next chapter: Conversations with, in, and about shrubbery! |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 6: The Tangled Webs We Weave | Chapter 6: The Tangled Webs We Weave
I confess, I was perplexed to discover a piece of vegetation chattier than your average begonia. "I say! Did you speak?"
The shrubbery remained mute, though it rustled a bit. I gave it a tentative poke, but it was one of those nasty, scratchy junipers that get plunked into the earth when the gardener has run out of ideas. Such shrubs are apt to poke back.
I learned this the hard way as a little nipper when I leapt into one such bush to avoid Uncle Pom, who had just chased me a country mile uttering dire threats. (An innocent misunderstanding, certainly with minimal wrongdoing on my part. I knew silver was meant to be polished with something from a tin and I happened upon a tin of bootblack. Gave the silver armour quite a patina and also left my hooves stained for over a fortnight.)
Thinking along those lines, I concluded somepony was imitating my childhood subterfuge and hiding in the mess of branches. My thoughts immediately sprang to Ma Heartsong--she who so enjoyed peeking around trees with opera glasses--but I couldn't see what motive she would have, being so solidly in the pro-Rooster camp at the moment. All was oojah-cum-spiff between Plinker's parents and myself--despite the fact that a little animosity between us would have made my life easier.
Bon Bon, it suddenly occurred to me, was a much more likely candidate. I wasn't sure how she could've headed me off (I'd been heading back towards the castle at a healthy clip), but then again I wasn't sure how she'd been able to make miniature lightning bolts shoot across her eyes either. The thought of her suddenly leaping out with eyes blazing and teeth bared was enough to make me shy back from the vegetation with considerable vigor.
Unfortunately I shied right into a passerby.
"Ow!" came a familiar cry as we collided, crashing to the cobblestones. With a certain sense of resignation, I discovered Duke Sun Shimmer was once again the other party in the pile-up.
"You again!" he cried, coming to the same conclusion as he untangled his legs from mine. "Can't a pony walk anywhere without you barging into them like an equine cannonball?!"
There are times for haughty dignity and there are times to put as much distance as possible between self and a homicidal filly theoretically secreted in the scenery. I hardly spared the time to toss out a "Sorry, old chap" before setting a north-nor'westerly bearing away from the bush and the downed duke.
Something like a mountain abruptly swung into my path. "HEY YOU! Stop right there!"
I reeled. I'm one of those leggy chaps, used to getting a good view of the top of ponies' scalps unless they happen to be standing on a chair, but in this case I had to tilt my head back--and keep tilting it--to get a look at this newcomer's map. He was a sort of light yellow colour--fawn, I think it's called--with a sweep of reddish-brown hair hanging over a very noticeable scowl.
"Ah, now, look--" I backed up a few steps, allowing me to get a better view of my current obstacle. In short, he was an earth pony built along the lines of those burly ponies you see on the covers of magazines lifting barbells with their hooves or ripping books in half with their teeth.
"No, you look," he growled, looming like an expert and eyeing me as though I were a particularly recalcitrant book just begging to be split from its binding. "You've got thirty seconds to give back my pal's money before I pound you into the cobblestones."
"Money? But I don't... Look here, I don't know anything about any money!" I protested, backpedaling right into Sun Shimmer. The blazingly yellow unicorn let out an irritable hiss--rather like a tea kettle just before it reaches the whistling stage--and pushed my hindquarters out of his way.
"He's not a pickpocket, Bench," he said. "Just an idiot."
"He's not? Are you sure?" The newly identified Bench sounded disappointed, although I cannot truthfully say my heart bled for him. "Check your saddlebags at least," he urged, clinging to a faint glimmer of hope. "Some of these lowlifes are quick as snakes."
The Duke shrugged and levitated a money pouch out of his saddlebags before letting it drop back in with a clink. "Like I said, just a damn nuisance. Keeps springing out of nowhere and knocking me down."
Bench gave me a dark look, perhaps mentally berating me for not being embroiled in a life of crime. "I keep telling you that you need to work out more, Sun." He looked me up and down with a critical eye. "Look at those toothpick legs. He'd never knock me off my hooves."
Well, frankly I felt this was an unfair way to assess physical prowess; probably the only thing that could've levered Bench off his feet was a bad batch of protein drinks. But I refrained from airing this opinion, ignored the utterly uncalled for personal remarks, and took a reasonable tone.
"Now look, do you think I'm happy about smacking into you right and left, Duke Shimmer? It takes two to collide, you know. And in this case I was busy trying to reconnoiter--if reconnoiter is the word I want--this bush."
The Duke blinked. "What bush?"
I looked behind me and found I was gesturing at empty space. "Good heavens! It's gone!"
"Gone?" Bench stared at where the bush wasn't.
"It must have vacated while I was distracted," I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully.
"You're out of your mind, aren't you?" The Duke looked mildly impressed. "Come on, Bench, let's get out of here before he starts frothing at the mouth."
"I assure you I'm not--oh fine, be that way!" I snorted haughtily as they retreated down the street. As for the Duke's slurs, I modeled my response on the deaf adder which--and mark this well, for such knowledge landed me the Mythological Knowledge prize at school--refused to heed the snake charmer, "charm he never so wisely." Though in Sun Shimmer's case there was a distinct lack of charm and a surplus of crassness. As for wisdom, I will remain tactfully silent on the subj., an adder that is not only deaf but mute besides.
Turning back to the spot that the bush had lately occupied, I saw it had left naught but a few evergreen needles. On the one hoof, the shrub's absence lessened the chance that Bon Bon would be targeting me with Whinneydian blow darts dipped in rare and undetectable poisons. On the other hoof, it was disturbing to think the flora in question had slyly slipped away without me noticing. That being the case, couldn't it conceivably sneak up on me with equal ease? That was what I asked myself.
I was just about to shake the dust of the marketplace off my hooves and point myself castleward once more when I caught a bit of movement out of the corner of my eye. There was a small park on my left, littered with the usual kind of things--a small fountain, park benches, and a minor pond replete with ducks. It was the ducks that had actually caught my attention, as they were massing at one end of the pond, quacking irritably as their tails waggled in an altogether indignant manner.
My gaze travelled to the other end of the pond--the duck-free zone, as it were--where a large bush was shoved right up to the water's edge. In fact, one might say it was more in the water than out. As I saw it shudder and try to regain the shore, I realized this was in fact the unusually mobile specimen I had encountered in the street.
Well, my first inclination was to leg it out of there before it attacked. But as the bush surged miserably about the edge of the pond--there was a little drop-off of a few feet and it couldn't quite make its way out--I noticed that the hooves scrabbling at the grass were a shade of dark grey. This put both Bon Bon and Ma Heartsong out of the running, their coats being cream and green respectively. Feeling curious and not a little relieved at this revelation, I trotted over to investigate.
"You look like you could use a helping hoof," I said, lighting up the old unicorn magic. I don't say it was an elegant operation; levitating large objects isn't my forte. But between my efforts and the scrambling of the pony in the vegetation, the juniper bush and its passenger reached dry land.
"Gee, thanks." With an audible sigh of relief, the juniper began disassembling itself, starting by uncapping what appeared to be a helmet with branches thickly bunched around it. This revealed the head of a dark grey unicorn, his white and grey mane standing in that gravity-defying style known as a mohawk. I had seen both the hair style and the colour combination many times before; without a doubt this was one of the Royal Guards.
I took a few steps back. While I wasn't (much as Bench might have wished it) a hardened criminal, nevertheless I did not fancy having a gendarme hanging about at a time when Aunt Dahlia was haranguing me to pocket priceless artifacts as though I was Raffles the gentlecolt thief or Professor Snortiarty. Though my conduct up to this point had been law-abiding and blameless, it was unnerving having a guard-pony popping up like the demon king in a pantomime.
"I say! Were you following me?" I blurted out, agitation getting the better of me.
"What? N-no! I wasn't... that is... Duke Shimmer!" the Guard said in a babble.
"Oh, was he your target?" Not only did this information soothe and relax me, but so did the grey unicorn's guilty conscience, evident in the way he pawed the ground and let his eyes roll to and fro--all the hallmarks of a pony caught doing something he should not. "And what has the miscreant duke been up to?" I continued in a cheerier tone. "Tying maidens to train tracks? Cheating on his tax forms?"
The Guard drew himself up, which left him shorter than me by, if not a half a head, then at least four-tenths of one. "Excuse me--"
"Certainly."
"--but Duke Shimmer would never do such a thing!"
"Which thing, the taxes or the--?"
"Either of them!" He went so far as to stomp a hoof. "He's an absolute paragon of virtue!"
"Is he?" I said, surprised.
"He's intelligent, good-natured, and noble!"
"Really?" I mentally replayed my meetings with Sun Shimmer to date. It seemed to me that they all followed a similar pattern... a slight mishap on my part, followed by ranting, raving, and rudeness on the part of the Duke, and the curtain rolling down as he pranced away with his nose tilted firmly towards the firmament. It was hard to see where "good-natured" fit into this. "Are you sure you're thinking of the right pony?"
"Of course I am!"
"A bit on the short side, rather garish colour scheme?"
The Royal Guard positively bridled. "It's not garish! It's beautiful!"
"We-ell..."
"Like a sunset, aglow with gold and crimson!"
"Oh, ah?"
"Blessing all the world with its gilded hue for a brief hour before leaving only the ache of memory!"
"Ah ha!"
He pawed the ground again in a gesture somewhere between embarrassment and irritation. "What d'you mean, 'ah ha'?"
"Oh, nothing, nothing."
I was lying through my teeth, of course. The fact was, the gods had not been idle when it came to targeting various friends of mine with the arrows of love--tipped with aphrodisiacs harvested from rare tropical frogs, no doubt--and I recognized the love-light in a pony's eyes when I saw it.
And, not to put too fine a point on it, the love-light was blazing like billy-o in this instance. This keeper of the peace was clearly as soppy about Duke Sun Shimmer as any pony who ever put quill to parchment and scribbled out a maudlin love poem.
"Well, well, the Duke. Nice fellow," I said idly, still playing fast and loose with the truth.
"He's amazing," the Guard said fervently. "Just... just... just amazing."
"Yes. I..." I hesitated, searching for a believable compliment. "I quite like his mane."
"Oh, I know!" He nodded so rapidly his head was a blur. "So shiny, so silky, so vibrant! Isn't he fantastic? And intellectual, too! He's got poetry in his soul!"
I gazed pityingly at the poor chump. I should have left it there, really, but morbid curiosity made me inquire, "And his eyes?"
As expected, the Guard had nothing but approval for Sun Shimmer's eyes. He started off by favorably comparing them to emeralds, then dropped the mineral theme in favor of vegetable as he explained they were also like soft, new spring grass. The duke's eyes also turned out to be as verdant as deep, still waters, as the forest at night, and, mystifyingly, "as any privet-hedge." They were as green as quite a lot of other things too, but by that point I realized I had unwittingly sparked off a long soliloquy and let my attention wander.
It struck me how true that wheeze was about not judging a book by its cover. I mean, I had never thought of the Royal Guards having love interests--having had a vague idea that they spent all their free time playing poker and perhaps holding spitting contests--but even if the possibility had crossed my mind, I would not have expected one of them to let loose with this barrage of poetic devices. Clearly he was not only in love, but also a Romantic.
I have a friend who suffers from the same affliction--Bingo, his name is. (Well... his nickname, at any rate. His real name is one of those that makes one shake the head sadly and wonder what grudge his parents could have held against him as an infant.) Whenever Bingo falls in love, which is about twice weekly, I hear all about it. My other pals, when lovestruck, are fairly succinct. A typical dialogue might go something like this:
LILY "LALA" BLOSSOM: What-ho, Birdy!
SELF: What-ho, Lala! You're gamboling around in a pretty tripsome way today.
LALA: I'm head over heels with the dishiest colt!
SELF: Oh yes? What's he like?
LALA: He's an absolute baa-lamb!
SELF: Well, well! Spiffing!
LALA: Thanks! *opens menu* I think I'll get the oat cakes, what about you?
SELF: The salad special, I think.
Short and sweet, you see? The relevant info is shared and then the conversation moves on. Lala does not feel the need to hawk the qualities of her dishy colt like a travelling sales-pony selling hair tonic, nor do I feel the need to inquire what a baa-lamb might be.
Not so with Bingo. The Romantic spirit burns within him, compelling him to ramble about whatever filly is currently enthroned in his heart. This means whenever I see him he's either rattling off syrupy phrases in praise of his latest crush or mooning about dreamily.
You may recall that this tale kicked off with none other than Bingo hurtling a cue ball at my skull, mistaking it for an orange. When I tell you that it was his aforementioned dreaminess that was responsible for this dreadful bloomer, I think you will understand why--although I love him like a brother--I consider him a hazard to all and sundry. (And this assault on my cranium occurred, I might add, after I had patiently listened to him extolling the virtues of some filly's hair being "like filaments of gold" and "like ripe wheat gleaming in the sun" for over an hour! There is no justice in this world.)
Well, you wouldn't have thought it to look at them--the Guard being of monochrome hues while Bingo is such a strong red that he routinely stops traffic--but they were clearly brothers in spirit; I stood in the park for a good long stretch, letting the Guard's similes wash over me, and whenever I checked in on the conversation he was still expounding on Duke Sun Shimmer's blasted eyes--which were, I gleaned from his enthusiastic monologue, still green.
But at last he began to run out of objects of that shade. There are, after all, only so many green things in this world.
"Emerald like... a rainbow. Like, you know... the green stripe in it." The Guard hesitated, no doubt feeling (justly) that this was pretty weak stuff, even for the lovesick.
I took advantage of the lull. "I say!"
"Huh?" He jumped a little; I think he'd forgotten he had an audience. Immediately I wished I had slipped away while he was engrossed, but you know what they say about spilt milk.
"I don't think we've been formally introduced," I said.
"Oh... I guess not! My name's Seeker."
"Rooster, Birdsong W." I shook hooves with him, wondering why his name seemed so dashed familiar. "You're one of Her Majesty's Royal Guard, I take it."
"Their Majesties. That's right. Thanks again for helping me out of the pond."
"Think nothing of it," I said courteously. "Not a bad disguise, by the way."
"Oh, thanks. It was pretty scratchy, though." He lifted his helmet and began to pick branches off of it.
"You shouldn't have used a juniper," I said, happy to share my expertise on this subject. "Evergreens, in general, should be avoided when picking a hideout. A deciduous shrub is the way to go every time. Except in winter," I added as an afterthought.
Seeker-the-Guard nodded, but rather absently. He was still gazing at his helmet, plucking twigs out of its plume. "Mr. Rooster--is it 'Mister'?"
I indicated that it was.
"Mr. Rooster, you've listened so attentively... I can tell you're a good pony. You have a kind face."
Well, this was gratifying and much nicer than some of the things that have been said about my face, I can tell you. Before I could express my appreciation for this sentiment, he went on:
"And that's why I feel I can trust you with--" he swallowed, "--a most dark and terrible secret."
My ears pricked up and my whole manner became more animated. The Royal Guards undoubtedly ran into rings of jewel thieves, beautiful but deadly adventuresses, and locked-room murders on a daily basis; anything that could make one of Her Majesty's Finest shake in his armoured boots was bound to be pretty hot stuff.
"Oh, rather!" I encouraged him. "Do tell! And rest assured, nopony is more trustworthy than a Rooster."
"Thank you." The grey unicorn gulped, setting down the helmet. "The fact is, I am..." Another gulp for good measure. "I am in love with Duke Sun Shimmer."
Well, it was a letdown. I had been expecting a big pay-off involving gangsters or, at the very least, diamonds disguised as rhinestones. That this guard Seeker was dippy about Sun Shimmer should have been obvious to the meanest intelligence, and I found myself worrying for the intellectual capacity of the Canterlot Royal Guards if this was the type of thing that passed for the deepest and darkest of secrets among their ranks.
In short, my disappointment was keen. Several sarcastic phrases came to mind, like 'No, really?' and 'Next you'll be telling me you're a unicorn or some rot like that,' but I bit them back, reminding myself that Romantics have their own burdens to bear and can't help being melodramatic drips.
"Well, well, you and the Duke. I wouldn't have thought you'd move in the same circles. Where exactly did you meet him?" I said at last, making a bet with myself.
"We-ell, I've never actually met him..."
"Ah." I mentally collected my winnings. Not only cut from the same cloth as Bingo, but also tailored at the same shop.
"But I first saw him in the museum a month ago," he continued. "And it was love at first sight. On my end, I mean."
"Really!" I was surprised--not by the "love at first sight" bit, that was standard fare--but that this unrequited romance had been going strong for a month. Bingo's usually peter out after three to five days.
"But he doesn't know I exist," Seeker continued moodily. "I'm too nervous to talk to him. So I just love him from afar. Very courtly, of course," he added, brightening. "Nothing is more courtly than loving from afar. I've written a ballad about it, would you like to hear it?"
"Ahhhh, hmmm, well, as it happens I have a dashed important appointment that I can't possibly--wait a minute. You saw him at the museum?" In a flash, I realized why his name seemed so familiar. This, according to Greaves, was one of the two guards currently assigned to the night watch at the Royal Museum.
"Oh yeah, I've been on museum duty for the past three months," he said, cinching it. "Not very interesting work." I must've been looking thunderstruck, because he chuckled. "You didn't recognize me, huh? I was there when you crashed into Vigil. I know he seems kind of rude, but it's only because that sort of thing happens all the time. Those stairs are a killer."
"Right. Yes..." Now that I thought about it, I could see the resemblance this pony bore to the more cheerful guard outside the armaments room (understandably, since they were apparently the same pony) although at the time my attention had been focused on his more irritable compatriot. "No, I'm afraid it didn't strike me until just now. Sorry."
He shrugged. "Well, we all look pretty similar in the armour. Which is the point, I guess."
My mind raced down first one path, then another, pondering how this new info might help me snag the blasted Border Blanket. Having raised the wrath of Bon Bon and found Cousin August to be drinking himself into a stupor, I felt it would be nice if at least one of my missions met with success.
"The armour?" I said, to keep the dialogue going.
"Yeah. That's why we're all the same colour, you know. Enchanted armour."
"Ah. Enchanted." I nodded, still checked out of the conversation.
"Although I'm sort of an anomaly--my natural colours really are grey and white," he sighed.
"Grey and white."
"Yeah, but a lighter grey," he said defensively, drawing himself up. "And my hair's actually brighter than this." Then he slumped again. "But even so, the first thought anypony would have about me, even out of uniform, is 'oh look, it's a guard.'"
"That," I said, "is exactly your advantage." It had taken a while, but the light had dawned. This officer of the law could not be goosestepping around the museum if he were spending the evening elsewhere. Haunting a certain dinner party, for example.
"Huh?"
"You think Sun Shimmer will scorn you, but ask yourself, what will make a pony stand out from the brightly coloured popinjays the Duke's usually surrounded with? A more neutral palette, that's what. I advise you to introduce yourself to him at the earliest opportunity."
"Well..."
"Stand up straight and tall-ish and he'll be sure to notice your military bearing. The Duke is, I should mention, attending a state dinner tonight. And he is sure to be in a mellow and pleasant mood after the meal."
"But... no, I just couldn't. He's a noble. I'm just a guard."
I waved his objection aside with an airy smile. "If only you knew, my good fellow, how often these little affairs leap the hurdles of class in the steeplechase of love. Why, one of my best friends is engaged to a waitress!"
"Really?" He drunk this in eagerly. "And it's going okay?"
"Well." I hesitated. "Okay-ish, I would say. Okay-ish. The course of true love never did run smooth, you know..."
"Oh, of course not," he agreed. "Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May!"
I ignored this bizarre aside about flowers. "My point is," I said, getting to the point, "that you should certainly pony up and talk to the Duke. At the dinner party," I emphasized, in case he wasn't getting the message.
"Oh no, I'm on duty tonight. But maybe you're right, maybe tomorrow morning I'll--"
"Tomorrow morning may be too late!" I was beginning to feel exhausted. Bingo would have already been laying out his eveningwear by this point; his grey counterpart was certainly harder to direct. A side effect of having a job, I suppose. What a lesson to avoid such distractions. "Who knows what attractive fillies and/or colts will be flaunting their borrowed plumage, trying to catch his eye!"
"I thought you said he was sick of brightly coloured popinjays."
"He is, but you know how familiarity breeds whats-it."
He looked confused. "Contempt?"
I closed my eyes, prayed for strength, and decided to take a different tack. "The reason this particular event is so vital to your debut," I explained, speaking slowly and clearly, "is that I myself will be in attendance and can introduce you to Duke Sun Shimmer personally. In person."
"And you think that will help?"
"Naturally! With my letter of recommendation, he will leap at the opportunity to make your acquaintance."
Seeker paused. "I don't mean to pry, but... how well do you actually know him?"
"I run into him all the time," I assured him.
"Because it kind of looked like he was shouting at you, there on the street."
"Ha ha! Clearly you did not see the twinkle in his eye as he shot forth those bally rude phrases! Just a little friendly ribbing on his part, I can assure you. The Duke is, after all, noble and good-natured."
"He is, isn't he? And his mane is like--"
"Yes. Yes, it certainly is. So I can expect to see you there?"
"Well..." Duty might call, but ultimately he was a Romantic. "All right. Sure. What's the worst that could happen?"
Next chapter: Prince Blueblood returns, and a dinner party with an unexpected guest!
Oh my goodness, these chapters always turn out longer than I expect. (Originally everything from the Chapter 5 to the end of the dinner party was supposed to be one chapter, but it kept growing to monstrous lengths.) The next chapter is almost entirely done, so expect it to appear soon. |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 7: Dinner and Chocolates, Not in That Order | Chapter 7: Dinner and Chocolates, Not in That Order
The sun was sinking dangerously close to the horizon as I dashed back to my suite in the castle. Greaves was waiting by the door in a suit a bit more waiter-y than usual and, while not actually tapping his hoof or glancing at the clock, managed to suggest both these activities in the single, reproachful glance he gave me as I shot in.
"I know, I know," I said as I dumped my saddlebags on the sofa. "I would've been back sooner, but I was attacked by a vicious pack of similes in the park."
"Similes, sir?" Greaves said as he followed me into the bedroom, but there was a note of distraction in his voice and he all but dove for the eveningwear laid out on the bed. No doubt he, like myself, feared Time's winged chariot was drawing near, about to steam into his hindquarters at full speed.
Now, I'd had a few different valets before; Adder (he who stole my socks) and before him Meadows (who had weepy eyes and a habit of sighing so mournfully that I began to feel like I was living in a funeral parlour--he eventually quit my employ and did actually open one, which I frankly try not to think about), and a few fellows before them who worked under the Rooster banner before leaving to get married or move to the Scotchland or whatnot. And they each had their own particular style of work, so to speak.
Adder, for example, tossed clothes about in a quick but sloppy manner, had to be chivvied to bother with things like cufflinks and ironing, and furthermore had a habit of muttering uppish things like "Horn's on the fritz, is it?" whenever I asked him to pick something up. Meadows, on the other hoof, was thorough enough, but creaked about so slowly that a snail would easily have outpaced him.
Greaves, to my relief, pushed me into the required apparel with smooth efficiency, and without any snippy remarks about levitation. In fact, my part in the proceedings was limited to raising the correct limb while he flashed about stuffing me into shirts and waistcoats and such.
How earth ponies manage without magic I have no idea, but he was layering on the outer crust of the elegant gentlecolt at such a steady clip that I relaxed, certain that I would arrive at dinner at the appointed hour and have plenty of time to socialize before my coach turned back into a pumpkin.
"I had a rather rummy experience on the way back here, Greaves," I said as he hurried about. "I met up with Duke Sun Shimmer--he's the fellow who tipped me off to that dinner tonight, if you remember--and some friend of his, an earth pony bulging with more muscles than can be strictly healthy to hang off the skeletal frame, accused me of belonging to a ring of pickpockets."
"Most distressing, sir," Greaves said, attacking some invisible dust on my tailcoat with a small brush.
"At least, he didn't actually say 'ring', but I imagine that's what pickpockets run about in, don't you? Flocks of sheep, herds of elephants, rings of pickpockets . . ."
"I could not say, sir."
"Of course I told him in no uncertain terms that I was pure as the driven snow. I wasn't about to take that kind of guff, particularly not from a pony ladened with the ridiculous name of Bench. I mean to say!"
Greaves paused a moment in his ministrations. "Was the gentlecolt in question a pale yellow with dark hair, sir?"
"Good heavens, you don't know him?"
"Not personally, sir. But I strongly suspect the pony in question was Benchmark, the pulling champion."
"Pulling?" I was baffled and didn't try to hide it. "Pulling what?"
"Weight-pulling, sir, a sport that originated in logging camps, I'm given to understand. Competitors drag logs--or in modern times iron weights--of greater and greater size until a winner is determined."
"And you're a fan of this spectacle?" I refrained from expressing my view that it had to be among the five silliest pastimes in Equestria and certainly no match for a day at the racetrack.
"Not particularly, sir, no. But one of the maids is a great fan of the gentlecolt in question and tried to display posters of him in the Servants' Hall."
"Tried?"
"The butler and the housekeeper agreed it was not appropriate decor, sir, and had a Talk with her."
Well, you could see their point of view. The rest of the domestics probably didn't fancy having a glossy of an over-muscled stallion leering over their shoulders while they polished silver or whatever it is they do to pass the time in the Servants' Hall.
"Tell her to stick with posters, Greaves. The real version is lacking."
"I fear the infatuations of young ponies are hard to shake, sir."
"Oh, speaking of which . . ."
I filled him in on my run-in with Seeker, the would-be Romeo. At least, I suppose he would want to be Romeo without the suicide bit at the end of the play. Although who knows, really. Once a pony starts writing ballads, all bets are off.
"--so my thought is to introduce the two of them after dinner, then make a run for the museum," I finished as Greaves kitted me out in spats.
"Quite ingenious, sir." Greaves sounded mildly surprised, which, given his low-key manner, was probably the equivalent of a regular pony being positively floored. "Might I inquire how you intend to deal with the second guard on duty?"
"Ah, yes. The second guard. Well, I thought I'd just sort of wing that part."
"I see, sir."
"We Roosters think best on the fly, you know."
"No doubt, sir."
"It's our wild, impertinent--no, wait . . . petulant, maybe?"
"Would 'impetuous' be the word you're searching for, sir?"
"That's the baby! It's our wild, impetuous nature."
"I'm sure that keeps life very interesting, sir."
"Well, quite." The conservation lulled for a bit as he drifted towards the bow ties laid out on the dresser. I thought I'd lend a hoof and brought some telekinesis to bear.
"Not that one, sir," Greaves said in a kindly tone as I floated a bow tie his direction.
"But we agreed on the burgundy one, surely?"
"The other burgundy, sir. This one has several loose threads. I will mend it tomorrow."
"Oh, right-ho." I turned this around in my head as he fussed around my collar with the higher caliber specimen of neckwear. "Sew it, you mean?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ah." I wondered how earth ponies managed to manipulate needle and thread, but refrained from asking. Secrets of the guild and all that. "Out of curiosity, Greaves, just as a point of interest . . . what would you suggest? For snookering the other guard, I mean."
"Well, sir . . . I would capitalize on the fact that he can only be in one place at a time. If one were to divert his attention towards the front of the building, for example, you might be able to effect an entrance through the back."
"I say, that's not bad. Supposing you went out front, Greaves, and poured a couple of bottles of ketchup about and pretended you'd been hit by a carriage--"
He gave a gentle cough, like a respectable sheep. "Actually, sir, I think a delivery arriving at the front door would be enough of a distraction. There is a young porter among the domestic staff who would undoubtedly make such a delivery, for a few bits."
"Drop a load of groceries into this guard's hooves, you mean?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of a large vase, sir, such as the one in the sitting room. Heavy, yet fragile. Moving such an item would take some time."
"And they must get that sort of thing bunged on the museum doorstep all the time," I said, realization dawning. "I say, Greaves, that's a rather masterful scheme!"
"Thank you, sir," he said with the half-smile. "I still would advise caution, however. It is bound to be a difficult task getting into and, more importantly, out of the building."
"Oh, pish-posh. You said it yourself, I'll creep through the back door."
"The back door is bound to be locked, sir. You will have to break a window."
My enthusiasm, which had been near the boiling point, cooled by several degrees. Crashing through a window makes for an exciting read of course, but part of the appeal is that the excitement remains fictional and thus unlikely to leave the reader with flesh wounds. "Well, I don't see that. He'd hear the crash, for one. And I'd cut myself to ribbons."
The sheep-like cough presented itself again. "I have heard, sir, that professional burglars employ treacle and brown packing paper to avoid both those dilemmas."
"You're joking."
"No, sir. They spread the treacle over the paper before sticking it to the glass, then apply a sharp blow. The sound is muffled and the broken glass affixes to the paper, which is then easily disposed of."
I ran this through my mind a few times with growing enthusiasm. Before I might have dropped a bit or two on this scheme to show, but now I was prepared to bet a tenner or even a twenty on it to win. "Greaves, this is good stuff."
"Thank you, sir. I will have a maid bring up some treacle and paper, if that is amenable to you, and make arrangements with the porter."
"Perfectly amenable," I said as Greaves offered the finishing touch, my top hat. I don't know what it is about formal dress, but a suit and a topper always leave me feeling braced and ready to take on the world. Or readier, at least.
Nevertheless, as I trotted into the sitting room, an unpleasant jolt rocked the Rooster frame. The saddlebags I'd dumped on the sofa had fallen open and that blasted box of chocolates had sort of edged out of them.
I levitated the confections up to the table, gazing with sudden moodiness at the pink and white box, which featured several dents from being slammed on the counter by an impassioned waitress. My concern for Plinker's courtship, which I had successfully submerged for an hour or two, resurfaced. The Bard must've known what she was talking about when she said these little affairs of the heart were determined never to run smooth.
Still, I had some hope that Bon Bon would see the light after Plinker explained the posish., and maybe even offer Birdsong swooning words of gratitude once she understood that the Rooster-Heartsong engagement was nothing more than a farce.
That was the gist of the pep talk I gave myself, anyway. Yet as I looked down at the box of chocolate-covered cherries, I had grave doubts.
"--, sir?" Greaves said, finishing up some remark unheard by the distracted Rooster ear. The last word was not much help in deciphering what the preceding sentence might have been. A very proper post-script, of course. Very much in the feudal spirit. But not a bally lot to go on when one is trying to break back into the conversation.
"What was that, Greaves?"
"I said I will be going down to help with the preparations now, sir, with your approval."
"Oh . . . Yes, do so. I shall see you there, I expect, gliding past with a tureen of soup or some such."
"Yes, sir." He lingered on a bit. "You seem a bit distracted, sir."
"Just thinking of this and that," I said. I hadn't told him about Plinker's romance (possibly) going bust, as I felt strongly that I never wanted to relive or disclose the disastrous scene outside the sweet shop as long as I lived. "Oh, and Greaves."
"Sir?"
"These sweets." I tapped the box.
"Yes, sir?"
"Don't eat any, will you?"
He straightened and his brows lowered just a fraction. "No, sir," he said, and it had a bit of a rebuke about it.
Belatedly I realized I had inferred that he was the type of servant who helped himself to the master's food and drink when no one was looking, possibly leaning back in an armchair with his hooves propped on a footstool while he did so. There was umbrage in the room, and he was taking it.
"Of course I know you wouldn't," I added hastily. "You're not the type of valet who goes around sticking his nose into everything."
"No, sir."
"Or pinching socks."
"No, sir."
"I just wanted to emphasize the point--in case, for example, the door jammed and you were trapped here for days on end with no other means of sustenance--because I am not at all sure these chocolates are fit for equine consumption."
"Sir?" Now one of his eyebrows lifted ever so slightly in puzzlement.
"You never know when a batch of bad chocolate will accidentally fall in the pot." Bon Bon's narrowed eyes once again rose in my memory. "Or arsenic, for that matter."
I was expecting another "sir?" or maybe even a "what, sir?", but he said nothing. He just raised the other eyebrow, looked at the chocolates, then at me. I could see him readying another question for launch and had a feeling it would be far too insightful, like "I say, sir, you didn't happen to stroll by the sweet shop and chat with Miss Bon Bon, did you?" or something along those lines.
So I quickly headed him off. "Well, you get going, Greaves. And stay vigilant, remember."
"I'll do my best, sir." And with a last glance at the chocolate box, he shimmered out the door.
Not long after, I made my own way downstairs, joining a throng of elegant ponies queuing up to the entrance of the Great Hall, waiting to be announced by a butler (or perhaps a steward--Greaves would know) with astonishing lung capacity. I don't say that the heavens trembled and the ground shook when he gave voice, but it must've been a close thing. His entire purpose, it seemed, was to blast out the name of each pony who entered the hall, for the benefit of the many-headed already gathered.
"LADY FLORA CRAYFISH!" he would bellow, or "PRINCE STAR GLEAMER!", and the pony in question would step through the archway with the slightly dazed look of one who has been half-deafened.
As the line crawled closer, I was surprised to see Pinstripe Tock, the Royal Organizator, positioned beside the butler (or steward), wielding a checklist and a pen. Why this came as a shock to me I'm not sure; I should've guessed that ticking items off a list would be his idea of a delightful evening. Probably he would gush about it in his diary when he got home.
The butler was doing an admirable job of ignoring Tock's presence, despite the fact that he couldn't have been thrilled about having a blighter with a clipboard hovering by his shoulder all night. He--the butler, that is--didn't give the blink of an eye as the grey earth pony interrogated each noblepony in turn, demanding name and rank before fussing through his papers to cross them off. The nobles themselves were less indifferent; so many indignant snorts filled the air that you would've thought a particularly asthmatic pony was snoring. If this bothered Tock at all, he was doing a dashed good job of hiding it.
"Name?" Tock said, not bothering to look up, as I drew level with him.
"Birdsong W. Rooster," said I, watching the pony preceding me--who was burdened with the unlikely name of Lady Butter Tiara--prancing into the Great Hall.
"Rooster!" Tock looked up sharply, fixing me with a gaze so steely and suspicious that for a few unpleasant seconds I wondered if he'd somehow cottoned onto the whole Border Blanket scheme--although the severity of his expression suggested he thought I was planning some greater crime, like walling up a body in the wine cellar.
But no--I suddenly recollected that the Efficient Tock's kick against me was the belief that I had been plastering posters all over the castle. Maybe under normal circumstances this unfounded assumption would have made me indignant, but circs. were so far from n. that I simply felt a surge of relief.
"That's right. Birdsong Rooster or, if you prefer it, Rooster, Birdsong." My confidence was restored to such an extent that I proceeded to shoot my cuffs in a debonair manner, one after the other. "So sound the bugle for my charge, what what?"
Tock's eye bulged behind his horn-rimmed spectacles, but he mastered himself, glared down at his clipboard, and--having apparently located my name--muttered something at the butler.
A moment later that worthy (meaning the butler, of course, not that perisher Pinstripe) was letting loose a bellow. "MISTER BIRDSONG ROOSTER!"
Squaring my shoulders, I trotted into the room. Not for nothing was it named the Great Hall; you could have lost several herds of elephants in it, assuming you had such at your disposal. Enormously long tables had been lined up in a sort of rectangle with one side missing, with two thrones (current status: unoccupied) dominating the scene.
Over half the company had already seated themselves on the plush red cushions provided, and it seemed like every single one of them was busy either eyeing me with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity or putting their heads together to whisper as I passed by. But they transferred their attention to newer arrivals as the butler continued baying, thus allowing me to take up the search for my place-card in relative peace.
I must have trekked along several hundred miles of table before spotting my seat; it was at one of the corners, just where two tables met in a right angle, and offered a fairly good view in both directions--the directions in question being "straight ahead" or "to the right"--despite the place setting being nearly overrun by a massive floral arrangement.
Sitting down, I nodded politely to my neighbors, although the ones across the table from me were barely visible behind the tangle of greenery, giving the impression that they were lost in the jungle. Occasionally, during the meal, I stretched my neck to its limits to peer over the flora or ducked down to squint through a gap in the vegetation to ask them if the weather wasn't the nicest it'd been all summer or remark on the decor, but on the whole an extended conversation would only have been possible if I'd thought to bring a machete.
The guest on my left-ish, kitty-corner to me, was a young colt of indeterminate age with a blank flank and a determinedly grubby face (his father continually attacked it with his napkin throughout the night, to no avail) and a rather mutinous air about him. No doubt the youngster had other plans for the night which had been rudely spoiled by this formal event. While I could sympathize, I felt it was not strictly necessary for him to vent his spleen by aiming an unblinking glare at the pony to his right--this would be me--for the entire meal.
Primarily, then, I was left with the pony on my right as a dinner companion. I was not too awfully shocked to find it was Princette Snow Shimmer. I had resigned myself to the fact that the Shimmer motif would haunt my stay in the capitol city.
"What-ho, Princette Shimmer," I greeted her accordingly.
She lofted an eyebrow. "Mr. Rooster, I must confess I'm startled to see you here. However did you get in?"
"Oh, I have my methods," I said airly. "Isn't your brother coming?"
"Of course. He's seated down there."
I squinted down the table, spotting what might have been a yellow unicorn in the distance, near what artists refer to as "the vanishing point." "Rather far from the action, what?"
"Well, my dear brother is merely a duke But he has a better seat than the lords and ladies, at least." She unfolded her napkin, wearing what one might uncharitably call a smug expression. "He will certainly be furious to find that you were nearer to the, er, 'action' than he."
"Oh, I shouldn't think so. He's the one who told me about this shindig, after all." I pushed away a couple of fern fronds that were encroaching on my plate.
"Only because he thought you would be denied entry, I'm sure."
"Hmm." I looked to my left, was met with the unyielding stare of that sullen foal again, and opted to gaze right again, this time looking beyond the Princette. Halfway down the table were two thrones, one done up in red and gold and one in silver and blue. The gold one was certainly meant for Great-Aunt Celly, but I couldn't think who would occupy the other.
"I know the Princess is going to settle on that red and yellow affair, but who do the blue and silver racing stripes belong to?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"That silver throne, who's it meant for?"
"Oh. I see what you mean." The Princette's gaze fell on her silverware as she straightened it slightly. Her reply was not the most helpful, but fortunately I dredged up a bit of trivia from the depths of my memory.
"Oh, I've got it! It must belong to the Princess' sister. What's her name, now . . . Lunar? No, Luna. Princess Luna, that's the ticket."
"Mmm."
"The long-lost princess of the stars or moon or something, if I recall the headlines correctly. Funny to think of that running in the family--control of celestial bodies, I mean."
"Ah." The Princette levitated her glass and gazed into it--a rather pointless endeavor since it was empty.
"Must be rather rummy for the Princess--Princess Celestia--having a long-lost relation turn up after a thousand years," I continued, valiantly trying to sustain a dialogue that was rapidly turning into a soliloquy.
But just then a desiccated old mare with a face like a prune passed by (Princette Royal Ribbon, if the butler was to be believed) and Snow Shimmer fairly leapt to her hooves to greet her, so I gave up on conversation and eyeballed the thrones again. The silver one was nearest me, which led me to hope that I'd get a good look at Luna when she arrived.
Where exactly the Night Princess had come from was a matter of some confusion; the official statement from Canterlot had simply announced that Princess Luna had returned after a long sojourn, but of course that hadn't stopped rampant speculation in the tabloids. About the only thing all the papers agreed on was that she was an alicorn--a winged unicorn, you know--like the Princess.
As for her millennium of absence, there were various theories floating about. One pony would tell you that she'd been locked in a tower by a fifty-foot high, equine-eating monster for all that time, another would swear up and down that she'd been wandering the world with amnesia, and one particularly sordid rag, Society Spice, had the gall to print that she'd steered clear of ponykind for all those years because of some squabble with her regal sister.
Complete rot, of course, but what can one expect from the Spice? When I tell you that this paper couldn't even get Princess Luna's colour right--describing her as "pure black" while every other paper agreed she was deep blue--I think you will begin to see what kind of publication it was.
After Snow Shimmer reseated herself, I tried to get her opinion of Luna's extended vacation, but she was busying herself with some prince on her right. It was beginning to look as though my choice of conversational partners was limited to a glowering foal or a vase of flowers . . . but then a thought hit me so solidly between the eyes that I took the liberty of nudging Snow Shimmer's foreleg with my hoof. She turned towards me, eyes narrowing, but I didn't give her a chance to speak.
"I say, Princette . . . where are the knights seated, do you know?" I waited anxiously for her reply, for it had suddenly occurred to me that I was amidst a crowd of nobles--and that both Plinker's parents were on the bottom echelon of the Council of Peers.
The lavender princette relaxed. "Oh, the knights." She smiled tolerantly. "They won't be in attendance. They would only feel out of place in the presence of the Royal Princess. And there are far too many of them anyway."
"Oh, I see!" This seemed to me to be net gain, as it would've been a bit futile trying to pass myself off as a prince to the Heartsong clan when the butler had screamed out to the world that I was a mere "mister." Some of the tension sagged out of my shoulders.
The princette interpreted said sagging of shoulders as a gesture of defeat, however. "No, if you're depending on the knights then your chances are slim. Still, there is always a chance you can attract a lord or lady as an ally, or even, possibly, a duchess."
"Oh quite," I said vaguely. I was trying to think of a tactful way to ask what on earth she was talking about when the butler's latest bellow echoed through the room:
"PRINCE AUGUST BLUEBLOOD!"
Now, the assembled nobles had whispered about each new arrival in turn before returning to their idle chatter. But those mild shows of interest were nothing compared to the reaction elicited by my cousin. The table positively erupted with gasps and several ponies stood up and turned around to get a better look. I was on the wrong side of the table for seat-turning so I stretched my neck instead, trying to overcome the hedge of flowers. Meanwhile the whispered remarks of the many-headed were increasing in volume and frequency.
"--never dreamed he'd show up!"
"--the Princess invited him--?"
"--looking shockingly scruffy, if you ask me."
This last was unfortunately true; although Cousin August had made a brave attempt to clean himself up since I had last seen him, he was miles from looking at his best. His dinner jacket hung too loosely (rather like the skin of those wrinkled Imperial dogs), he had added a few more shadows to the set beneath his eyes, and his hair fell limply, like the 'before' photo in a shampoo advert. He was clearly attempting to maintain his usual strut, but there was a slinking quality beneath his strides.
The murmurs died away into utter silence as he approached the table, which wouldn't have been quite so unpleasant if half the attendees hadn't continued watching him out of the corners of their eyes, as though he was a lapdog of uncertain temperament waddling about at a dinner party.
How he spotted me I'm not sure, given that we were on opposite sides of the table with the aforementioned topiary between us, but I knew he'd seen me by the way his bloodshot eyes bugged out. He took several rapid steps in my direction before coming to a standstill, staring at me like I was some particularly macabre creature from his darkest nightmares.
Hardly logical, since he was the one practically swimming in his suit while I was nicely kitted out, if I say so myself. But there it was, Cousin August stood there boggling, silently mouthing what appeared to be swear words.
Despite his uncouth behavior, I started to offer a pleasant "what-ho!", but he cut me off with a snort and pranced away, nose so high in the air that it was practically vertical. Somehow he still managed to find his place card, more or less opposite the silver and blue throne and a bit off-center from Great-Aunt Celly's seat.
"Interesting," muttered Snow Shimmer.
"What is?" I asked, but just then the lad on my left started banging his dessert fork on his plate, which rather distracted me.
By the time his father convinced him to stop (through a combination of dire threats and desperate entreaties), the party had attained that slightly restless "well, where's the soup?" stage that is common to all social gatherings. (At the Drones Club ponies often express their restlessness by throwing dinner rolls, but the gentry were less energetic, and confined themselves to twitching a little.) The seats had filled up and ponies were beginning to tire of their conversational partners, glancing around in the futile hope of finding somepony new to chatter with.
Four unicorn guards broke the ennui by marching in, flourishing long trumpets with pendants dripping off them, and blasting a little ditty. Whether one of them was Seeker, I couldn't tell, but thanks to their armour they shared his colour scheme.
The butler chappie by the door took their arrival as the cue to call out, "EVERYPONY, BE UPSTANDING FOR . . ."
The guards interrupted with another series of notes, which didn't seem to disturb the butler in the least. He gathered another lungful of air into his bellows and truly outdid himself.
"HER ROYAL HIGHNESS, PRINCESS CELESTIA OF EQUESTRIA!"
Everypony immediately shoved to their hooves (except the young lad beside me, who had to be physically pulled upright by his father) and pointed their noses towards the floor as the Princess paced in.
I suppose you've seen Princess Celestia on the coins of the realm, but she's a far more striking sight in person. There's certainly no mistaking her. It's not just that she has both a wing and horns--or rather, other way 'round--or that she's easily twice as tall as any other pony. She wears a crown, of course, but that's not it either--more to do with her eyes and her smile, I think. Just looking at her makes you feel happy and safe, like the sun has just come out from behind a cloud. (I don't usually go in for soppiness like that, but it's the honest truth.) She smiled kindly at the gathered company, looking as hearty and hale as ever, to my relief.
"My little ponies," she said, walking to her throne and tilting her head gracefully in acknowledgement. Everypony took this as the signal to straighten up, but no one sat. One doesn't sit at a grand state dinner when the monarch is standing, don't you know! But Princess Celestia wasn't making any move to set flank to floor, so everypony gamely kept to their hooves.
Before this little tableau could become awkward, the butler let out another bellow: "AND PRESENTING HER MAJESTY'S HONOURED GUEST . . ."
Ponies began blinking at one another and I remember thinking that this was an odd way to introduce your sister.
" . . . AND ELEMENT OF HARMONY . . ."
More shiftings, stretching of necks, and widening eyes from the crowd.
"MISS RARITY THE UNICORN!"
Next chapter: Maybe not the worst night ever, but certainly down there on the list!
Wow, that will teach me to make rash statements like "expect the next chapter soon"! Sorry for the wait, ladies and gentlecolts. I did have the chapter almost entirely finished, but then decided to rewrite it for various reasons, then rewrote the rewrite. Anyway, here it is at last!
On a random note, here's the Rooster coat of arms. It was an illustration for one of the bits of the second rewrite that ultimately got cut out. The Latin inscription is "We herald the sun." (Thanks to kaerfel on the MLP Arena for the translation!)
Update 4/21/12 - Today the show revealed a third alicorn, Princess Cadence! How am I going to address this revelation, you may wonder. I will tell you: by knocking those wings right off her, demoting her to a unicorn, and making her a regular princette. Great finale, but there was no real reason for her to be an alicorn. |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 8: In the Soup, Split Pea or Otherwise | Chapter 8: In the Soup, Split Pea or Otherwise
I recall a poem I learned in secondary school that went:
Something something something
Something something something
"The curse has come upon me," cried
The Lady of Something.
Replacing "Lady of Something" with "Prince Blueblood" may give you some notion of the expression on my cousin's face at this point. He looked like a pony who not only has had the curse come upon him, but has received the curse via the post and has signed for it and paid cash-on-delivery before realizing what's in the box. No sooner was Rarity's name echoing off the walls than August's pupils shrunk to pinpoints and his body tensed as though an electrical current was taking a shortcut through it. With a slight shudder, I turned from this unpleasant spectacle to take a gander at the Princess' guest.
Up to this moment, I'd had a vague idea that Miss Rarity would have slightly mussed hair, a smattering of freckles across the nose, and generally resemble the sort of pony who appears in dimestore novels with titles like Only a Factory Filly, giving brave speeches after her love interest discovers she's of humble birth. You know the sort of thing--"I may be only a worker in the Detrot Carriage Factory," Bitsy Daisy said, raising her head high and looking at Lord Thoroughbred-Mannering with her green eyes flashing, "but I'm proud to have supported my dear old father on my wages ever since he lost both left legs!"
In reality, however, this filly was less along the lines of a Humble Heroine than a Fashionplate. "Elegant" would be the primary adjective to describe her, a pony who was, no question about it, rather a looker . . . a white unicorn with deep purple curls framing her map. And really, this made more sense than the version I'd expected; Lord Thoroughbred-Mannering might ultimately declare that "Be her origin ne'er so humble, any good mare is the equal of the finest lady in the land!", but Cousin August was unlikely to share his sentiments. I could well imagine the royal fit he'd thrown when he learned he'd been hobnobbing with a tradespony all night.
Rather silly of him, because--tradespony or no--she fit right in with this crowd, from horn to heels. I don't know how she was outfitted at the Gala, but at this royal shindig she was engulfed in a gold dress with blue flowers twiddled about it and wore a necklace weighed down with blue gems.
I speculated that this last might be the Element of Harmony which, according to the Londun Times, had been awarded to her by Princess Celestia herself after the dreadful business of last year's Summer Sun Celebration. But possibly it was mere jewelry after all; to be honest, I was a bit fogged about all this E. of H. business. According to the papers, the Elements were flashy medals of honour iced liberally with gemstones, but I had a vague memory of coming across a reference to them in my formative years, when I won the school prize for Mythological Knowledge. Whatever the case, there were definitely six Elements of Harmony that matched up with six mares who had--somehow or another--helped Great-Aunt Celly when the sun fizzled out on the morn of the summer solstice. . . though nopony, when giving their post-mortem of that event, agreed just how the fillies did it or even what the problem was to begin with. Most agreed they had fought something, but that "something" was reported as everything from a giant space turtle to Nightmare Moon to Father Solstice. As you may have noticed, some ponies are given to rather silly speculations.
This Rarity didn't look like she was built to wrestle space turtles, dragons, or even alligators--she was rather on the dainty side--but of course you never know, especially with unicorns. I recall accidentally treading on a small filly's book as a lad (but really, was it my fault that she had carpeted the library with her reading materials?) and, although she was a wee little thing, she was not so wee that she was unable to magically bring about four shelves of books down on my head in a fit of wrath. It was entirely possible that Miss Rarity had equal magical prowess.
Despite the fact that she was one of those who tread more and more slowly the closer they get to their destination, the unicorn in question eventually reached the table. Taking her place by the Princess' right side, she offered a deep bow. "Your Royal Highness!"
"Rarity, it is such an honour to have you here," Princess Celestia said with a smile, nodding down at her. She sat down at last and everyone else sank off their hooves.
"Oh no, Princess, the honour is all mine, believe me," Rarity said earnestly, bowing a second time for good measure before taking her seat. "I cannot begin to express how grateful I am to be invited to this lovely dinner in CanterlaaaAAAAhhht!"
She had spotted Cousin August--evident not only from the sudden distortion in her speech, but also by the way her smile froze on her face, as though it had been evicted but forgotten to vacate the premises, and had just returned home to find all the furniture repossessed. August, for his part, continued staring across the table in a frozen sort of way, looking more than ever like a pony living out his worst nightmares.
"I don't believe you've met Princette Royal Ribbon, have you?" Princess Celestia said, interrupting their little contest for Best Horrified Stare of the Year. "Royal Ribbon, may I present Rarity the Unicorn."
"Charmed, my dear."
"And this is Prince Star Gleamer . . . Prince Crystal Crown . . . Princette Precious Gem . . ."
"Hello . . . so pleased to meet you . . . how do you do?" Rarity recovered enough to murmur politely as the Princess presented each noble in turn.
After exhausting the ponies within close range on her side of the table (which did not include me, unfortunately--she would've needed a megaphone), Great-Aunt Celly began drawing Rarity's attention to the ponies on the opposite side. As this assembly line of introductions drew closer and closer to August's seat, his eyes darted right and left and I half expected to see him dive under the table. But after doling out the name of elderly prince on his right, Great-Aunt Celly's eyes glided right past Cousin August and fixed on the pony to his left.
"And this is Princette Royal Purple," she continued without missing a beat, nodding regally towards an earth pony wearing a wig that must have been causing her considerable neck strain.
"So very nice to make your acquaintance, Princette." Rarity held her head high as she followed Princess Celestia's example, focusing on the purple mare rather than the adjacent, cowering unicorn colt.
I turned towards the salad in front of me, which a servant had slid into place sometime during this little melodrama, feeling not a little relieved. Aunts may glower and sneer at nephews as a matter of course, but great-aunts can be relied upon to show a more gentle and generous nature, even to a blister of a great-nephew like August. With any luck, the princely Blueblood's reputation would be patched up before the evening wore to a close. In this optimistic frame of mind I worked my way through both the soup and salad courses.
But as the meal progressed, I began to have misgivings. Every time I cast a glance down the table, I was greeted with the sight of my cousin hunching over his plate like a vulture with a bad back or, no better, staring sightless into the middle distance. His entire bearing was that of a condemned prisoner who has ordered a last meal and found the waiter has got it wrong. Frankly, he was beginning to annoy me. How did he expect anypony to form a good opinion of him if he did nothing but mope? If the local aristocracy had had to put up with a month of this, no wonder they were pipped at August. "Weep, and you weep alone" and all that.
Of course it's unpleasant to find that you're breaking bread at the same table as a filly you've had a spat with. I understood that. Believe me, I understood . . . I once strongly advised Lala Blossom to bet every spare cent on Speedwell, a pony who subsequently came in seventh in a six pony race. "Awkward" does not begin to cover my run-ins with Lala immediately after that unfortunate event. "Horrifying" would be more the thing. What her reaction would have been if I'd also seen fit to shove her into an eight-layer apple cake . . . Well, it doesn't bear thinking about.
But August Blueblood, in my opinion, was getting off easy; this Rarity, far from seeking vengeance by tossing a cup of salt in his soup or dropping bugs in his mane like some fillies would have, was no longer paying him any attention whatsoever. Indeed, she was engrossed in an animated discussion about flight-friendly dresses with a couple pegasi and, judging from her excited tone of voice, had forgotten that a Prince Blueblood ever existed.
Furthermore, Great-Aunt Celly continued to let her eye glide past my cousin without pause, as though he was in a perpetual blind spot, and this must have had the desired effect on the rest of the company, for not a single aristocrat was booing, hissing, or hurtling food at August. They, too, simply chattered amongst themselves without sparing a glance for him . . . and when you consider their chilly reaction to his entrance and the abundance of bread rolls and other potential missiles readily available, that was surely the best one could hope for. If these circumstances didn't call for August Blueblood to raise his eyes heavenward and give thanks, then what did?
But no, the gloomy cove just sat there dissecting his cannelloni and pushing its contents around his plate with a fork. Having determined that the pasta's entrails foretold prophecies of doom and destruction, he opted to return to his other exciting activity, staring across the table with glazed, empty eyes.
I started to give a snort at his antics, but as I followed his gaze it turned into a small whinny of surprise. "I say!"
Of course, I didn't get a response from anypony, except the sullen child glared a bit harder. Princette Snow Shimmer was heavily invested in a conversation with the prince to her starboard and the hedge of exotic flowers still separated me from all else. So I was left to ponder the latest mystery on my own--to wit, the fact that although the blue and silver throne stood across the table from my cousin in all its splendor, Princess Luna was nowhere to be seen.
The Rarity-Blueblood situation had taken up so much of my attention that only now did it strike me that Princess Celestia's sister had never made her grand entrance. Aside from personal disappointment on not being able to take a gander at her, her absence seemed dashed odd. Granted, she might be attending some duties as Princess of the Night (or was it "of the Stars"?), but surely that wouldn't take all evening? I mean, Great-Aunt Celly was the one wheeling the sun about, but that didn't take up her entire day.
I pondered this for a while, but by the time the last course rolled around it was obvious that speculation on Princess Luna's whereabouts would have to wait; my cousin's crisis needed my full attention. His demeanor showed no signs of improvement; he fidgeted and winced all through Great-Aunt Celly's closing remarks (thanking the gathered assembly in general and dropping a few compliments on Miss Rarity in particular). As the Princess rose to her hooves, I was laying good odds on August making a dash for his private quarters, but no . . . When the nobleponies followed the Princess into the Grand Ballroom, August was swept along with them.
To my surprise, the ballroom had undergone some significant changes since I'd last seen it. The huge marble columns which had once been set along the perimeter were gone, although the broken-off bases of a few of them remained. In addition, the gleaming alicorn statue at the far end of the room must have suffered some misadventure, as its wings, head, and tail were fixed on its body at strangely crooked angles. Later inspection would reveal that these appendages had broken off and been welded back on.
Oddly, a buffet was set up near the statue. I didn't see much sense in this, after a seven course meal, but there it was all the same--a long table replete with petit fours, truffles, miniature apple tarts, and so on. A few nobles trotted over to sample the fare, but most drifted towards the lounging cushions set up near the windows, stepped out into the garden, or wandered around the marble dance floor, chattering like flocks of sparrows. I looked around hopefully for my great-aunt, but to my disappointment the gentry had crowded around her three deep, a mob mostly composed of the more elderly examples of the noblesse, whom the Princess was introducing to Rarity, and vice versa.
With less enthusiasm I glanced about for August. I spotted him sneaking off behind a curtain with several bottles of dessert wine and decided was all for the best--it would be easier to work on his behalf if he weren't present anyway. The time had come to spread lavish compliments about my cousin, no matter how fundamentally inaccurate. To this end, I wedged myself into a batch of young ponies clustered around a pink unicorn of advanced years, who was all but dripping with jewels.
"So wonderful to see you again, Princette."
"Can I refresh your drink, Princette?"
"Did you hear about Lord Bitterbrush's run in with those tourists, Princette? Quite an amusing little story."
I gathered the elderly mare was a princette.
The rest of the congregation was still a mystery, however, as the old unicorn didn't bother to respond to most of these remarks and inquiries, merely running her gaze around her little court in a self-satisfied way. As for the other nobles, they paid me no mind and took hardly any more notice of one another, except when tossing a quick but heated look at an apparent blood enemy. Clearly it was going to be hard to break the ice with this crowd, and the grande dame looked far too aunt-like for my comfort. I was about to effect a quiet retreat when I heard a voice behind me yelp a familiar cry of "You!"
I turned 'round and, sure enough, there was Duke Sun Shimmer, straight-out boggling at me.
"What-ho, Duke Shimmer," I said civilly.
"H-how did you get in?" the Duke sputtered. His sister, trotting up behind him, gave me an "I told you so" sort of look.
"Oh, I have my methods," I said in my most mysterious voice, adding an enigmatic smile to boot. In theory this should have left him speechless and impressed, but perhaps he hadn't read the same books as I had.
"But how? HOW?" he persisted. "I looked in Snow Shimmer's stupid book--"
"Without my permission," she contributed sniffily.
"--and she was absolutely right, you're just--"
"Of course I was right, dear brother, and if you listened to me more often--"
"Shut up, I'm trying to--"
"You shut up."
"What is all this?" a sharp voice interjected from behind me. The Shimmer siblings' row ground to a halt as they stared past me like ponies blinded by an inconvenient bolt of lightning on the way to Dam-ascus. A glance to the aft revealed that the elderly pink pony had entered the scene from upstage and was fixing all three of us with a stare. Her entourage accordingly gathered 'round to better view the show, and some minor pushing and shoving ensued as each pony fought for a house seat.
Snow Shimmer recovered first, aiming a low bow at the unicorn mare. "Good evening, Princette Cloud Dreamer."
The mare eyed her and her brother. "Princette Ice Shimmer and Lord Sun Shimmer, correct?" demanded Cloud Dreamer (a name far too drifty and soft for this wizened old pony, I assure you).
After a moment of tortured silence the yellow colt muttered something about being a duke and Snow Shimmer just nodded feebly.
"And then there's you." Cloud Dreamer turned her attention to me, causing me to back up several paces. "I haven't seen you before. Are you a lord?"
"Well, no, I'm--"
"A duke?"
"No, actually--"
"Well, you're not a prince," she said with finality, giving me a suspicious look.
The crowd murmured nothings, not the sweet variety but the more gossipy kind, while Princette Cloud Dreamer scoured me with her eyeballs again. I took off my hat and bowed, partly because I'd remembered my manners, but mostly so I could avoid her gaze. "Ah . . . yes. I'm . . . quite pleased to meet you, Princette. The name's Birdso--"
"Ah, I have it. You must be related to Fancy Pants," she said, trampling over my intro and raising a buzz amongst her little swarm of admirers.
"Fancy Pants?" I had vaguely heard of this pony--he was a diplomat or a minister or something. "Ah ha ha, no, I'm not--"
"Mirror Mirror." Princette Cloud Dreamer beckoned to an equally wrinkled mare walking by, followed by a miniature crowd of her own. "Look at this pony."
"What about that pony? Don't think I've forgotten how you stole my lozenges, Cloud!"
"Never mind about your lozenges. What do you notice about him?"
"He's a unicorn," said Mirror Mirror, who happened to be an earth pony.
"He's not a unicorn."
"Yes, he is."
"Yes, but that's not the point. He's Fancy Pants' son."
"Don't be an idiot, Cloud. Fancy is too young and this colt is too old. But he does have the same colours. Maybe he's a nephew."
"Ridiculous. If he's too old to be a son, he's too old to be a nephew."
"Then he's a cousin."
"Ah, a cousin. How right you are, Mirror, how right you are. That's just what he is." And they both looked at me, Cloud Dreamer going so far as to focus her stare through a jeweled lorgnette.
My jaw had been working soundlessly through all this, as they assigned me familial ties to a pony I'd barely heard of and had certainly never met. Internally, it was a race between indignation and bewilderment, with bewilderment ahead by several lengths and rocketing towards the finish line. So I think my next remark would have been a confused "What?" or possibly even "What? What? What?" rather than a more abrasive "Hoy!"
A moot point, as it turned out, because Sun Shimmer found his voice first. "What a load of tripe!" He didn't speak that loudly, really; it was a remark meant only for his sister, I think. It was merely unfortunate that his comment coincided with a lull in the ambient noise, and that the acoustics in the ballroom were so good.
A collective gasp ran through the gathered ponies, and Cloud Dreamer and Mirror Mirror swiveled in tandem, aiming stares at the Duke that threatened to melt him into his base components on the spot. While he didn't actually turn into a molten puddle, he did immediately begin to quail.
"Uh, that is . . . Obviously a very g-good theory, princettes, but he's not . . ." The minor aristocracy, too shocked by this blatant contradiction even to whisper about it, goggled at him, while Snow Shimmer subtly edged away and tried to look unrelated. The mares kept up their twin glares, apparently trying to melt a hole through Sun Shimmer's face.
"No, look, it's true!" the Duke said in increasingly frantic tones, stabbing a hoof in my direction. "He's not Fancy Pants' son or whatever, he's not a lord, he's not even a knight! He's just, he's just--"
"That is quite enough, young colt--"
"What a disgraceful display--"
"HE'S BLUEBLOOD'S COUSIN!!"
Mirror Mirror inhaled sharply through her nose, Cloud Dreamer dropped her jeweled lorgnette, and the crowd did what it did best, namely gave another collective gasp. Everypony was staring at me in utter horror.
Everypony, that is, except Sun Shimmer. His face was that of a pony who has just fallen off a fifty foot cliff, only to find a municipal dump specifically for mattresses, balloons, and feather pillows operating at the bottom of it. "That's right! Blueblood's cousin! Didn't tell you that, did he? No, he came crawling up to you under false pretenses--"
"Hoy!"
"--pretending to be related to Fancy Pants, pretending to be on the Council--"
"Look here!"
"--when all this time he's nothing more than a lowly, treacherous worm, like his cousin--"
"Oh, COME now!"
"Do you deny it?" Sun Shimmer pointed his hoof so dramatically I had to leap backwards to avoid being smacked in the nose. "Do you DENY that you're Prince Blueblood's blood relation?"
"Well . . . well no! But really, I wasn't trying to--"
Sun Shimmer tsked as he paced back in forth in front of the crowd, most of which was now visibly leaning away from me. "A sad day in Canterlot, a sad day when an upstart of a unicorn tries to hoodwink sweet, elderly ladies!" (A line that earned another round of mute jawing on my part.) "And to think, nopony would've been the wiser if I hadn't had the foresight to look up this blackguard's lineage in . . . in . . ."
"Creme de la Creme's Equestrian Peerage?" Snow Shimmer suggested acidly.
Sun Shimmer returned a venomous look. "Yes. That."
"But look here, I . . ." To my horror, Princette Cloud Dreamer was levitating her lorgnette off the floor; the last thing I wanted was to be confronted with that again. "I am his cousin, certainly--" Another collective gasp. "--but he's really not such a bad pony, you know!" The fourth collective gasp since I'd run into this lot, and one pony in the back fainted.
As I desperately tried to remember some of August's good points--all I could think of was the time he'd put slugs in my bed as a kid--Cloud Dreamer did indeed pin me with a glare through her jeweled glasses.
"Well." The unicorn princette gave me the kind of a look that a mosquito might receive just before the life is slapped out of it. "I think we've had enough of this company, don't you, Mirror?"
"Definitely," Mirror Mirror sniffed.
"Come along, Sun Shimmer, my dear. I'm sure Prince Star Gleamer will be interested to meet you. He's over by the windows . . ."
"No, he's not, he's in the garden. And don't think I've forgotten how you stole my lozenges, Cloud!"
And with that the princettes swept away, with an elated Sun Shimmer by their side and the whole procession trailing after them (even the pony who'd fainted, who underwent an abrupt recovery), leaving nopony behind except myself and Snow Shimmer.
I turned to her, gibbering gently, hoping for some show of sympathy. Instead I got a look coated with hoarfrost. "You started too big, you fool," she said, "and now see what you've done." And having uttered these comforting words, she huffed and exited, stage left.
I retreated to the buffet table, feeling that I was not only out of my depth, but out of my depth in a boat that was rapidly taking on water. At this point August's strategy of waiting out the remainder of the evening in some secluded spot, accompanied by copious amounts of alcohol, was beginning to look like a good one. But no, I reminded myself sternly, a Rooster does not run up the white flag so easily. Sighing, I scanned the room wistfully for Great-Aunt Celly. But she was introducing Rarity to another mess of ponies and I hadn't a hope of fighting through that crowd. Reluctantly I returned to the Blueblood Dilemma.
Scathing though Snow Shimmer's remark had been, she had a point. What had I been thinking, I asked myself, expecting to impress a couple of elderly mares of aunt-like bearing? Whether they were actual aunts, I could not say--one doesn't like to make rash accusations--but they clearly bore enough of a resemblance to the breed to make them a lost cause. Nor did I kid myself that it would go any better with the elderly stallions on the scene; not a one of them walked by but he didn't have eagle-eyes, a serious expression, and, in many cases, a monocle. Monocles, in my opinion, were no better than lorgnettes. The only reason an old stallion wears a monocle is so he can make others feel like they're a bacterium caught on a glass slide.
No, my only hope was to blend in with some of the younger ponies and then sort of work the conversation around to August and then hope that his improved reputation would filter up to the higher ranks of the Council of Peers . . . somehow. Clearly this plan would require a certain amount of ad libbing. With a sigh, I inhaled a petit four and, spotting a group of likely ponies, leapt into action.
Things kicked off to a good start; this bunch, principally composed of lords and ladies, seemed civil enough. I slipped into their midst and pondered how to guide the conversation around to my cousin's virtues. Currently they were giving a full autopsy of the meal they'd just consumed.
"The hors d'oeuvres were perfection, simply perfection."
"Yes, but the soup was a tad too salty, in my opinion."
"Nonsense, it had exactly the right amount of salt. I do feel it was lacking something, though. Perhaps if it had more carrots . . ."
Not exactly the ideal set up to introduce the subject of August Blueblood. The only opening line that occurred to me was "Speaking of food, did you see how Prince Blueblood shoved his around his plate for the entire meal?", which was not really the tone I wanted to set.
I was wracking my brains for something better when a finely dressed pegasus colt said, "I wonder what the Princess thought of the apple dumplings. Such . . . unusual fare."
I brightened, for this was the perfect lead-in. "I say! I know just the pony to ask!"
All heads turned. "Who's that, . . . ?" The colt trailed off in a meaningful way to hint that I should drop my name and station into the blank space provided. Which I didn't.
"I'll tell you who. A pony who was sitting within a metre of Princess Celestia. A pony of high rank--the highest, as he's reminded me many times--who was right across the table from--Oh, honestly."
This last remark was in reference to Duke Sun Shimmer, whom I had just spotted sauntering in my direction. He was no longer in the company of the princettes, but was leading a small herd of the well-dressed, nonetheless.
"Well, well. Good evening all," he cooed as he strolled up. "Hello Lord Rosin, Lady Silver Song. Lord Featherfall, you're looking well. And yooooou, I can't quite place--oh yes, you must be Prince Blueblood's cousin."
You can guess the aftermath, I'm sure. Gasps, of the collective variety, from all and sundry, including from some of Sun Shimmer's cohorts whom I recognized as having already heard this info. the first time around. In fact, the pony who had previously fainted gave an encore performance. But I was less concerned with these repeat offenders than I was with my new round of acquaintances, who were shrinking away. Sun Shimmer could not have caused more of a stir if he'd said, "Oh yes, you carry that deadly, highly contagious plague, don't you?"
I turned quickly to one of the culinary-minded ponies--Featherfall, I think--and entreated him. "If you'll just listen to me for five minutes--" But the flighty thing just shot me a panicked look and took wing, literally.
"Well, I must be moving along. Have a wonderful night!" said Sun Shimmer, and the gastronomically-inclined ponies who hadn't already fled for the hills were quickly absorbed into his little herd as he pranced off, leaving me once again alone and stymied.
Stymied, in fact, nicely summed up the rest of the evening. At first I clung to some shred of hope; I wasn't about to give up on my strategy just because it didn't immediately bear fruit. Unfortunately, Duke Shimmer wasn't about to give up either, and his strategy continually trumped mine. Every time I managed to strike up anything close to camaraderie with a cluster of the gentry--at one point several of them went so far as to commit themselves to being pleased to meet me--he would come ankling along with his band of admirers and casually trace my family tree back to the Blueblood branch. And every blasted time, the ponies I'd been chatting with scattered like chaff in the wind--often attaching themselves to Sun Shimmer's brigade as he marched off in a self-satisfied way.
After the fourth or fifth repetition of this scene, I dragged myself back to the buffet table to regroup. I'd been toying with the same petit four for going on ten minutes, wishing August had left some of the wine, when a gentle cough sounded near my ear. I spun around, wondering what new horror the night held, but my panic quickly melted away.
"Greaves!"
"Good evening, sir. I'm sorry if I startled you."
"Not at all, not at all!" I don't know when I've been happier to see anypony. "Have a petit four?"
"No thank you, sir."
"Have an apple tart? Mango gelato?"
"Thank you but no, sir. I had a bite in the Servants' Hall, just before the feast started."
"Good fare, I hope?"
"Extremely, sir."
"Good. Good. Good." I toyed with a spoonful of gelato before absently dumping it into the punch bowl. "You were there, then? At the feast, I mean."
"Oh yes, sir."
"Really? I didn't see you."
"Thank you, sir," he said, sounding well-pleased.
"Not at all," I returned cordially. "Well, I don't mind telling you that I'm glad you've made yourself more visible. Things are getting a bit thick around here."
"Indeed, sir?"
"Indeed, Greaves. As thick as . . . as . . . pudding."
"Pea soup is more typically part of the idiom, I think, sir."
"Pudding or pea soup, the fact remains we have serious problems, Greaves. There is a fly in the ointment, a snake in the grass, and a spanner in the works when it comes to the Blueblood situation. You observed the adversity I faced out there on the dance floor?"
"No, sir."
"Right, well--no?"
"I absented myself after dinner, sir, and only just returned. I was--"
"Never mind, Greaves. Never mind. I don't require an itinerary of your every movement, of course," I said, a little hurt by this lack of the old feudal spirit. But if he wanted to chat with parlourmaids or something while the young master suffered, well, that was his decision. "You're here now, at least. Let me give you the footnotes on this miserable chapter in my life. You see that unicorn out there, the one with the smug expression and the band of camp followers?"
"The brightly hued one? Yes, sir."
"That, Greaves, is none other than Duke Sun Shimmer."
"Ah yes, the gentlecolt who--"
"Who alerted me to this function to begin with, yes. I wish he hadn't," I said fervently. "And apparently he wishes the same, for he's been taking the most unholy pleasure in scuttling every move I take on August's behalf."
"Possibly he has a grudge against Prince Blueblood, sir?"
I paused, processing this. "Possibly, Greaves, possibly. If so, he's not alone. The situation is dire. Not only is August's name mud, but the moment Sun Shimmer lets drop the fact that I'm a cousin to the princely Blueblood, my name, too, becomes mud. And Duke Shimmer is not reticent with that info., let me tell you!"
"Most disturbing, sir."
"Most disturbing is right! You have not known 'most disturbing', Greaves, until you've seen mares sweeping their skirts away from you like you carry a contagion and stallions leaping away as though you're a manticore about to go for the throat. Possibly, given time, I could have exercised enough natural charm to overcome the conditioning that makes them roll their eyes and fall into fits when the word 'Blueblood' is heard, but thanks to that blasted Sun Shimmer . . . If I never have the opportunity to speak with that blighter again, Greaves, it will be too soon."
He coughed. "Won't that make things a little difficult, sir?"
"I don't follow--Oh blast." I flung my hoof over the bridge of my nose as a figure bedecked in armor began making a beeline towards us. "Don't look now, but there's a rozzer headed our way. What now?"
"Well, sir, I believe that would be--"
"Hello, Mr. Rooster!" the grey and white colt said, giving a cheerful half-rear as he reached the table.
Well, who else. It was Seeker.
Next chapter: Does Duke Sun Shimmer, in fact, have poetry in his soul?
Sometimes I walk downstairs for a can of something and can't remember what I went down there for. Then I walk back upstairs and remember. Then I walk back downstairs and forget. I imagine that is pretty much how Birdy's mind normally works.
Oh, a note on Fancy Pants . . . I figure his social circle is different from that of the nobleponies. His friends are high-society, but tend to have jobs (museum curator, auctioneer, etc), unlike most of the nobles. So that's why he's Mister Not-Appearing-At-This-Dinner-Party. |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 9: Rhymes and Other Forms of Torture | Chapter 9: Rhymes and Other Forms of Torture
You may recall my earlier comment about Hindsight, namely that it makes a pony look back on his past decisions with a jaundiced and rueful eye. That was exactly my reaction upon seeing the guard Seeker pop up out of nowhere. "Do not invite this lovesick Romantic to the royal shindig," I would've earnestly entreated my past self, had it been possible. "It seems like genius now, but by the time he shows up your only wish will be to escape that bally dinner."
Indeed, for some time I had been considering sneaking away, held back only by a desire to steal a word with my great-aunt if the opportunity arose. I had long since written off Seeker--the threshold for "fashionably late" having come and gone several hours ago--so it was a blow when this most chipper member of the Royal Guard sprung up, like Venus out of the sea, expecting an introduction to Sun Shimmer. Still, there it was.
"What-ho, Seeker." I managed to sound reasonably cheerful, I think, considering the circs.. We Roosters can wear the mask when necessary. "So there you are."
"I'm so sorry I'm late, Mr. Rooster, I had to--" He cut himself off with a gasp, practically vibrating with excitement. "There he is, there's Duke Sun Shimmer!" As he bounced up and down on the tips of his boots, I found myself hoping that the Royal Guards were screened thoroughly for health, because otherwise Seeker was surely at risk for a heart attack brought on by over-excitement. "Look, look, look! Wait, no, don't look, he'll see you looking! Okay, now look!"
I didn't look. "Ye-es . . . You might want to curb your enthusiasm a bit, he's rather . . . Well, what I mean to say is the course of true love never did run smooth. Right, Greaves?"
"Indeed, sir. And, if I might be permitted to observe, rough winds do shake the darling buds of May."
Before I could register surprise at Seeker and Greaves both coming up with this bit about rough winds in May--I mean, what are the odds?--the grey unicorn squared his jaw and steeled his eyes. He now looked like he belonged on the cover of a book shelved near Only a Factory Filly, perhaps with a title like Soldier of Fortune, Soldier of Love or Battlefield of the Heart.
"Oh, I just know it won't be easy for us. A noblepony . . . a guard . . . worlds apart. But with True Love to guide us, we will--"
"Well, quite." Romantics always have to learn the hard way, it seems. "All right, let's go."
"Pardon me, sir," Greaves interjected in a soupy, disapproving tone. "But is this gentlecolt proposing to meet the duke whilst wearing That?"
"What's wrong with That--I mean, this?" Seeker stopped bouncing and frowned, looking down at his golden armour. "I had it polished up and everything!"
"It's very . . . . . nice, I'm sure, sir," Greaves said, giving it the once over again. "But entirely inappropriate for this venue."
I repressed a sigh. Though I appreciated him rallying around the young master in a time of need, I felt my valet could stand to be less of a doctrinaire when it came to mode of dress. "Does it really matter, Greaves?"
"Proper attire always matters, sir."
I wanted to tell him that after dinner, while he'd been fooling around in the Servants' Hall or whatnot, I'd been formulating a scientific theory--based on an evening's worth of field notes--which predicted that the specimen of Dukus sunshimmerus strutting around the ballroom was likely to turn down Seeker whether he was dressed properly, improperly, or not at all. But I could hardly say that with the guard standing right there, poor sap, and I had promised. Noblesse oblige, I reminded myself. A Rooster always gives it his all.
"Greaves is right, I suppose," I told Seeker. "You need a proper suit."
"Well, I don't have one," he said, crestfallen and a bit petulant. "And even if I did, I needed my uniform to get in."
"How do you mean, 'to get in'?"
"Well, gosh, Mr. Rooster! What do you think my captain would say if he heard I'd been running around in a tux while I'm supposed to be on shift? I'd be fired!"
"Oh, I don't think that's likely," I soothed. "Surely they wouldn't give you the boot for missing one day or, rather, one night. Even my Aunt Agate, who ties damsels to railway tracks and kills rats with her teeth, doesn't necessarily grind a pony into the cobblestones the first time he fouls up. She snarls quite a bit, certainly--" Here I broke off because I noticed that Seeker was giving me a perturbed look. Of course hearing about Aunt Agate is enough to perturb any pony. Tactfully, I changed the subj.. "You're sure you don't have any tails hiding in the back of your wardrobe?"
"Tails?"
"Coat tails. Evening wear. The old swallow-tail suit."
"No, nothing." He pawed at the floor.
Greaves cleared his throat. "I believe I can find something suitable for him, sir, if you'll follow me."
"Excellent, Greaves!" I beamed at him. "Lead on!"
"Thank you, sir." He slid around the perimeter of the room and streamed through a small door paneled to look like part of the wall, leading to a hallway so narrow that I found myself dodging waiters and maids quite frequently. Our destination, it turned out, was an enormous linen closet. At least I assume that's what it was, since clean napkins and bed linens and other such abounded, piled high on the shelves. As I wandered over and poked through the tablecloths, Seeker unshelled himself from his armour. As promised, his coat lightened to a softer grey and his hair brightened a few shades. Surprisingly, his flank did not feature any kind of military hardware, but rather a telescope.
"If you'll just hold still, sir . . ." Greaves whipped an efficient tape measure hither and thither, making it the work of a moment to take shoulder widths and inseams. "Ah, very good, sir. I'll fetch a change of clothes for you immediately."
"Oh, thank you so--" Seeker started to turn to Greaves, but he had already projected himself out the door in that mysterious manner of his, so he turned back to me instead. "Thank you so much for all your help! I can't wait to meet the duke!"
"You're quite welcome," I said, despite feeling it was like setting up a lamb on a date with a tiger. "Got your speech all mapped out for when you meet him?"
"You bet! In fact--" He hefted approximately three miles of parchment. "--I wrote it out as a poem!"
"Ah." Of course he had.
"Would you like to hear it?"
"No, no, I wouldn't like to trouble you--"
"Oh Sun Shimmer, with thy coat of gold,
Thy sweet nobility is foretold
In the kind cast of thy emerald gaze,
Which sets my poor heart all ablaze--"
"Very nice. Gaze, ablaze. Couldn't ask for a neater rhyme. But don't you think you ought to save that for--"
"--And kindles all the flames of love,
Like the soft shimmer of a dove
Upon whose iridescent breast
The sunlight's gleam does coalesce.
The little sparrows all rejoice
Whene'er they hear thy dulcet voice--"
I will spare you the limitless stanzas that followed, as the thought of them brings a dull throbbing to my temples to this very day. The worst was that every so often he'd stop and ask for my advice, forcing my consciousness to surge to the surface. These occasions presented a something of dilemma; I had to either blunder my way through without knowledge of the subject matter--this led to some awkwardness when I told him I'd found his last few lines enormously cheering and it turned out they had been about how his sundered heart was weary and generally in the dumps--or else ask him to repeat the previous stanza. Requesting encores of this mushy, mashed-potatoes stuff caused me almost physical pain.
He was just asking whether "Butterflies, nectar for to gain" should be followed by "gently alight thy rose-red mane" or whether "gently alight thy fragrant mane" was more the ticket, and I was just thinking what a bunch of dumb bricks these butterflies were, when Greaves trickled back in carrying a parcel.
"I trust I am not interrupting, sir. I found a set of clothes which I believe will suit the young gentlecolt admirably."
I regarded his return with muted jubilation and assured him he was not interrupting.
"Oh, great!" Seeker opened the package via magic. "I can't tell you how much this means to me . . . What are these? Oh, I get it--sleeve cuffs."
"No, no, those are spats," I corrected. "For your back hooves, you see?"
"Right, right. This is a sleeve cuff . . . Where's the other one?"
"That is your shirt collar, sir," Greaves sighed, rescuing the object in question from around Seeker's ankle.
"Oh, I see!" he said, but his eyes were once again flitting back to his poem and I felt it was only a matter of moments before he started grilling me on a good rhyme for "moonlight." As the only one that sprang to mind was "leaf blight", I knew it was time for a strategic retreat.
"Well, Seeker, you stay here and let Greaves kit you out. I'll, ah, go back to the ballroom and keep an eye on things, what? Greaves--give it your best." After acknowledging a very-good-sir from my valet and staving off a few more thank-you-thank-you's from Seeker--he was a nice chap when he wasn't torturing one with verse--off I trotted.
The buffet had served as a satisfactory base of operations before, and it seemed to me it might do so again. There's something rather cathartic about shoving a truffle back and forth, untasted, on a little plate. I suppose one could argue that, since my appetite is never particularly robust (leading to a lifetime of tiresome jokes about "eating like a bird"), I had been something of a dog in a manger by making the table my h.q. in the first place. My response is that any dog who had suffered comparable duress was fully justified in having a dashed long nap in the hay, and nuts to the cow or ox who tried to disturb the poor pooch. If the gentry had mentally classed me with plague-bearers and therefore shrunk away from my presence, well, that was no fault of mine.
Sure enough, the nobles flocked around the desserts took flight as I approached--literally in the case of the pegasi and figuratively in the case of the rest. Ignoring this snub, I settled back on my haunches behind the table. I'd been watching the crowd for quite some time--at this late hour some ponies had begun to abandon the party, but Sun Shimmer was still out there, chatting with his peers--when I was startled to hear hoofsteps to my right. Turning, I was doubly surprised to find my cousin had taken up residence at the table. His hollow stomach had lured him out of hiding, judging by the way he was shoveling down tea cakes.
"August! Good heavens." He looked truly horrible at close range, like a pony who has had a serious disagreement with a carriage over who has the right-of-way in the street.
"Au-GUST," he snapped, shooting off a glare.
"Well, quite. You're not looking too peppy, Au--cousin."
"Thank you, Birdy, for that newsflash. Why isn't there any wine?"
"I rather think you drank it all."
"They didn't bring any more?" He made a scornful noise that started at the back of his throat and blew out through his teeth--his commentary, I gathered, on social gatherings with a limited supply of alcohol. "So . . . you're still here."
"As you can see, old thing. Though I've had a rather trying time of it."
"Good."
"Good?"
"Good."
I reeled at this lack of sympathy. "You wound me. Is not blood thicker than water?"
"No."
This time I staggered. "No?"
"No. And you can stop flailing all over the place," he added in a heated tone. "Maybe you'll remember this little experience the next time you decide to wriggle your way into a party and suck up to the Peers."
"Firstly, I would never do something as unbefitting as 'sucking up' to the gentry, and I am disappointed, cousin, greatly disappointed, that you would indulge in such common and vulgar slang. Secondly, it was on your behalf that I braved this miserable wake despite the fact that I am, as I said, hardly having a jolly whiz-bang of a time."
"Oh, on my behalf, I see. So that's why everypony is rushing over to welcome me. Birdy to the rescue!"
I drew myself up. "True, my attempts at initiating a reconciliation between yourself and the well-born did not meet with unlimited success, but if I might point out, August, one can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Not that I have ever understood why anypony would attempt such a barbarous thing," I added, "but the point is--you can't."
"Are you saying I'm a pig's ear?"
"From the way Duke Shimmer was throwing your name around like it was an invective of the highest order--the kind of word that might crop up in a trial for slander, but only after the magistrate has warned that the delicate and very young should be cleared out of the courtroom--I should say you'd be dashed lucky to be considered the ear."
"Duke Shimmer . . ." His brow furrowed, then he gave a snort. "You mean Sun Shimmer? As though anyone would listen to that hot-headed fool."
"I hate to tell you this, but the crowd was positively hanging on his lips. Though I must agree," I added, experiencing a sudden surge of cousinliness that bordered on camaraderie, "that he appears to be an offensive blighter completely lacking in the finer feelings."
"He's a crawler."
"And a bounder."
"And an idiot." August sniffed down his nose. "So you ran across him, hm?"
"More like he ran across me, roughshod. By the by, does he have some grudge against you?"
"No, I don't think so . . ."
"You didn't tread on his cat or insult his sister or something?"
"He hates his sister."
"Well, his mother then."
"No, Birdy. I barely know him. He's only a duke."
"Your mother's a duchess."
"That is entirely different."
I didn't quite follow this, but one expects a certain amount of looniness from close relatives. "Oh well. Rest assured, I will clear off soon enough. One final collision with the Shimmer who is, as you say, merely a duke, and I shall shake the dust of this dinner party from my hooves and gladly."
"Why?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "Why are you meeting him?"
"Oh, I have my reasons." Naturally I wasn't going to lay out the whole Seeker-Shimmer affair for his consumption. A Rooster--or any gentlecolt of worth--does not bandy names about like a gossip columnist for the Society Spice. But as August was continuing to give me the wary look of a cat who suspects a stranger is secretly a veterinarian and is planning to test this theory with a lot of claw-work, I decided to change the subject with all due haste. "Look here, if you don't want me taking an interest in your troubles, that's fine by me! You might even send a telepathogram to Aunt Agate saying as much. I don't say that lacing the missive with glowing praise is in any way necessary, though I feel confident that you will realize, upon thoughtful reflection, that cousinly sympathy deserves to be rewarded."
He didn't agree, just pushed an empty platter around with the flat of his hoof and snorted a little, but didn't actually refuse, either. He was on the cusp, teetering, and I felt encouraged to give him a shove.
"It was only out of concern for you, dear flesh-and-blood, that I stuck my oar in to begin with. I could tell you were in a pickle."
"Hrmph."
"Abandoned by your servants, slopping wine down your gullet like a common sot, going out in public looking--well, looking like that--more or less like you're the lead in a tragedy, preparing to charge into the Third Act and soliloquize on how you've Lost It All--" Noting that Cousin August's expression had grown stony, I redoubled my efforts to show him that I understood the depths of his woes. "Well, I mean to say, only a pony whose mind was in a deeply disturbed state would do such things. Dashed painful to watch, you poor old egg. When I first heard you'd shut yourself up in your room, I frankly thought you'd gone 'round the bend--like Uncle Berry, you know--"
This got a strong reaction, though not the one I'd hoped for. "You thought I was like Uncle Berry?"
"Er, not so much 'like', perhaps--"
"With the rabbits?"
"--as 'tangentially similar in some ways'--"
"And the jelly?!"
From the way August was bristling, I decided another change of subject was called for, with all the rapidity I could muster. Food often provides a suitable distraction in such situations, and so I shoved over the nearest dish with a bright smile. "Have a fritter?"
By this point I had resigned myself to the fact that August was not brimming over with the milk of equine kindness when it came to his cousin Birdsong, but nevertheless it came as something of a shock when he slammed his hoof against the edge of the platter with enough force to send it somersaulting into the air. Suddenly I found myself dodging six fritters (apple) followed by the serving plate itself (silver). Only by skipping around like a particularly lissome mountain goat taking part in a ballet did I manage to avoid the tumbling pastries.
What with the serving plate ringing against the marble tiles, I missed what he said next--something about "calculated insults", I think--and by the time the dust (and apple filling) had settled, August Blueblood was stalking away in a huff. I clicked my tongue, wondering if he'd gone out of his head after all. Does a mentally stable pony take offense when somepony offers him a bite to eat? Does he hurl food about like an amateur juggler? (Well, maybe at the Drones, but that's a bit different.) He does not. Yet here was well-bred unicorn colt doing just that. Inevitable, one might argue, when you consider that at a tender age he was already such an unstable character that he found mirth in shoving innocent ponies into puddles. Still, sad, very sad, watching a pony's descent.
Shaking my head sorrowfully, I decided to step away from the scene of this embarrassment--partly fired, I admit, by the fact that a couple of waiters were speeding over to clean up the mess and it would've been awkward to remain hanging around while they scrubbed. At any rate, I felt I should see how Seeker was getting along; he'd been absent a good long time.
I'd barely pushed off from the table when Princette Snow Shimmer suddenly fell into step beside me. "Maybe you're not the fool I took you for," she said, apropos of nothing. I would have preferred a greeting of "hallo!" or "what-ho!", but by the standards of the night this was positively chummy, so I thanked her.
"That was skillfully done, at the buffet," she continued. "Not pre-arranged?"
"What? Oh . . . that." Rather depressing, realizing August's debacle had been witnessed by more than self, but then he had been rather loud. "Unplanned, certainly. Just a bit of nerves on my cousin's part."
"So modest," she said in a cool, sarcastic sort of way, and added something about gadflies that I didn't quite follow, as I was busy wondering how to shake her off. I increased my strides, trying to outdistance her, but she doggedly kept pace. Apparently they had taught speed-walking at her finishing school.
"I wonder if you can satisfy my curiosity about something, Mr. Rooster," she said, puffing slightly.
"What's that, Princette?"
"Feeling, as you do, that my brother is 'an offensive blighter' why exactly do you wish to speak with him?"
I stopped in my tracks so suddenly that she overshot by ten feet before realizing she'd lost her walking companion. Her expression, as she retraced her steps, was as calm as ever, with the slightest veneer of satisfaction.
"How--how do you know about that? Were you--?" I cut off, struggling to find a way to ask the young lady a question that one doesn't, technically speaking, ask a young lady.
She solved the problem neatly. "I was on the other side of that pillar over there. Eavesdropping."
I would like to report that a blush rose to her cheeks, or that her eyes dipped to the side, or that this young gumboil showed some sign of remorse as she made this confession, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, "confession" puts the wrong light on it; her demeanor was less "pony unveiling a secret shame" and more "pony casually reporting the weather."
"Well, of all the dashed nerve . . ."
Her lips curved into the type of smile you might see in a classical painting of a pegasus caesar tossing a few underlings to the harpies. "Well, Mr. Rooster?"
"Dash it all . . . well, I mean to say!" A deuced awkward situation . . . on the one hoof her behavior was simply the frozen limit, but on the other hoof I felt embarrassed to have been caught out calling her brother opprobrious names. But then there was the third hoof, the fact that there didn't seem to be any love lost between the two of them so she probably didn't care what he got called anyway, and the fourth hoof, the fact that it wasn't my place to spill the beans about Seeker's romantic ambitions in any case.
Deciding to go with hooves One, Three, and Four, I spoke firmly. "I'm afraid it's a private matter. Quite private." I expected her to kick up a fuss at this, but she merely stared at me as though she was trying to bore into my brain and take a look at what was inside. Most unpleasant. "So it's no good asking me," I continued, trying to get the message across, "because I can't tell you anything about the topic of conversation, if any, that I mean to broach with him--"
At this point I turned away--pointedly--and got a nasty surprise. Not only was Duke Sun Shimmer shaking hooves with various nobleponies, but he was drifting towards the garden--clearly about to make good his escape. This spelled disaster for all our plans. I mean to say, there's no point in setting up a love scene only to have one half of it refuse to show. Imagine if Romeo had arrived beneath the balcony and found it uninhabited. Quite the chump he'd have looked, tossing out juicy lines like "Soft! What light from yonder window breaks?", only to find it was a gas-lamp that Juliet had neglected to turn off before going out on the town. Immediate action would have to be taken to prevent Seeker from running into a similar sitch..
"--no, I cannot tell you anything about the topic of conversation, Princette, except that the duke will absolutely hate the subject from start to finish."
"Oh, he will, will he?" One of her eyebrows pulled itself up.
"Absolutely loathe it." I hoped, for the Royal Guard's sake, that this wouldn't be true, but this was no time to paint a rosy and optimistic picture. "He'll be as sick as mud. I hope he knows a good dentist because he'll probably grind his teeth down to stumps."
"Hmmm."
"All I need," I persisted, "is somepony, anypony, to keep the duke planted at this party while I, er, fetch the . . . the surprise. That I have for him."
Her other eyebrow surged up dubiously.
"Trust me, he'll . . ." I paused, imagining the duke's probable reaction to being informed that his voice was "twin to the babbling brook in spring / that maketh all of Nature sing." A smile rose unbidden to my lips. "Well, he won't know what to think, by jove."
It was the smile, I'm sure, that convinced her. "Perhaps I will go chat with my dear brother," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sure he won't mind if I detain him a short time."
"That's the ticket!" I encouraged her before speeding off. Fortunately I didn't encounter any servants in the hallway this time around, as I'm sure I would've knocked them over like ninepins. As it was, I nearly skidded past the appropriate door.
I knocked with a hoof and the voices within, formerly engaged in muffled dialogue, fell silent. A moment later Greaves pushed his head out.
"Ah, good evening, sir. You've arrived at a most opportune time." He flicked a glance behind him and uttered the last words I wanted to hear: "We've run into a little difficulty."
Next chapter: Seeker versus dinnerwear, Greaves versus Proper Dress Codes, and Duke Sun Shimmer is surprised.
Sorry, no illustration in this one! (This was part of a mega-chapter that got split in two, and the other half got the drawing . . .)
This fic is now over 100 pages long in its native Word doc! Woohoo! |
Canterlot Follies | Chapter 10: Down the Garden Path | Chapter 10: Down the Garden Path
Misgivings swarmed up upon hearing there'd been "a little difficulty" on my valet's end of things, although I did cling desperately to the adjective "little."
"What kind of trouble, Greaves? Tell me all, sparing no detail."
"Very good, sir." He slipped into the hallway, shutting the door behind him with a quiet click. "The fact is, sir," he began in a low voice, "the young . . . gentlecolt . . . is having some reservations."
"Cold feet about the duke, eh?"
"No, sir, reservations regarding the evening wear."
"Hm! Doesn't it fit?"
"Oh yes, sir, very well indeed."
"Well, I'd understand if it didn't, we're rather different sizes."
"The suit is not one of yours, sir. I found suitable garments in the laundry facilities, freshly pressed."
It took me a moment to process this. "You mean to say that you pinched some cove's clothes?!"
"Borrowed, sir. The domestic staff will wash the garments again before they're returned to their owner."
"Well . . . I suppose one extra wearing won't do them any harm," I said doubtfully. "But is it a regular thing, this musical-chairs stuff with the laundry?"
"No indeed, sir. But desperate times . . ."
"Quite. And these are the desperatest."
"Precisely, sir."
"I still don't get the problem, though."
"Perhaps it would be easiest to show you, sir." He opened the door.
Well, my first thought was that Greaves had been putting me on, perhaps out of eagerness to surprise the young master with a job well done. Because that's what it looked like--a job well done, I mean. He'd stuffed that unicorn into a suit so well fitted that he might've been poured into it--a traditional black tailcoat, though the waistcoat was a rather startling sky blue. ("To counteract the gentlecolt's monochrome colouring," Greaves later informed me.) With his mane combed out of the military mohawk and a neat pair of spats on the appropriate set of hooves, he looked fairly dapper and not in the least like a guard. It now seemed to me possible--just--that he might actually make a hit with Sun Shimmer.
Cheered by this, I greeted him in good spirits. "Hallo again, Seeker!"
The grey unicorn set down the scroll he'd been editing and turned around. And as he did so my initial, cheerful thought was superseded by a second, gloomier one, namely that we were in a good deal of trouble.
You know those little tin toys that are wound up with a key, the kind that stutter along for a few steps before falling over? Right. Now, you know the way sea lions move about--kind of humping themselves along? Well, if you can imagine a gait combining the stiff, lifeless leg-jerks of a wind-up toy with just a hint of the awkward, hunchbacked posture of a sea lion, then you will have a pretty good idea of Seeker's bearing as he turned towards me.
I stared; I was dimly aware that my mouth was hanging open. "What in Equestria is wrong with you?"
"It's these darn clothes!" Seeker made as though to stomp the ground, but only got as far as bending his leg--in the stiffest, most uncoordinated way imaginable--before nearly falling over. "They don't fit!"
"With all due respect, sir, they do," Greaves put in, his brows lowering the tiniest fraction. "You simply require a period of adjustment."
"They require a period of adjustment!"
I frowned. "They're fine. Top notch quality, and you could hardly get a better fit if they were tailored for you. What's your kick against them?"
"I can't kick in them, that's the problem. I can barely walk!" His horn lit up as he fretted with the sleeves, tugging them first up and then down. "I've never been so uncomfortable in my life . . . and I wear fifty pounds of armour every day, so that's saying something! Look, can't I just change back?"
"You really need only endure it for a short amount of time, sir."
"Just walk normally, can't you? Bend your knees in the front and straighten out your back."
The grey unicorn trotted--well, walked--well, tottered around the room. "It chafes."
"Where?"
"Everywhere." He tugged at the high, white wing-collar rounding his neck. "Can't I at least get rid of this thing? What's it made of, brambles?"
"It's cotton, you silly ass."
"Indeed, sir. Starched for stiffness."
"Well, it's awful! Just awful!"
"Seeker, listen. No, leave the collar alone and listen. It's not that I don't sympathize. When I was a little nipper, my aunt--"
"The one who eats rats?"
"No, no, that's Aunt Agate. This was another of my auntly menaces, Charade. At one point, when I had the misfortune to be in her custody, she stuffed me into the hottest, silliest velvet suit you can fathom, a garment that started where Little Lord Fauntleroy's attire left off--"
"Who's Little Lord Fauntleroy?"
"Never mind who he is. Just imagine a foal drowning in lace and velvet and you'll have the right idea. And, yes, my first reaction was to struggle and itch and sulk. But mark my words, by the time she actually dragged me to the museum in this bally outfit, I realized there was no point worrying about it. And once we got there several ponies complimented me--well, her actually--on what a dear little colt I looked."
This story did not appear to set Seeker aglow. "So you got dragged around in lace all day? That sounds sort of terrible."
I paused. In fact there was a sequel to this story, and it involved young Birdsong inadvertently getting left at the National Gallery. The first thing I had done upon realizing this was to toss the offending suit into a public fountain and dash around in the buff, chased by a posse of museum watchponies. But Seeker did not need to know these irrelevant little details.
"On the contrary, I had the best time I've ever had in an art gallery, bar none! And you'll have a spiffing evening too, if you just try to adapt. Why don't you move around a bit and see if you can't get comfortable?"
"Weeeell. All right, I guess."
"That's the spirit! Good show!" Brave words, but my heart sank as I watched him make another wobbly circuit around the room. "A word in your ear, Greaves?"
"Certainly, sir."
I drew him aside. "Greaves, if we send him out there like that, the duke's liable to think he's having some kind of fit. Or else that he was born without kneecaps . . ."
"I agree that he presents a less than perfect appearance, sir, but with a little more time and practice--"
"We haven't got time, dash it! Sun Shimmer is even now preparing to abandon the festivities!"
"I see, sir. I hadn't realized that," the earth pony said in a distracted sort of way. I looked over my shoulder to find that Seeker was now sitting on the floor, scratching frantically at his front elbow like a dog with fleas.
"Oh gods." I buried my nose in the crook of my leg to hide this sorry spectacle. "Maybe we should just send him out au naturel."
"Sir! That would hardly be appropriate for a--"
"I know, I know, I know, I know. I was being face--farce--"
"Facetious, sir?"
"Yes, that. All the same, I mean to say! Look at him!"
We both looked. And shuddered.
After a moment of pained silence, Greave said, "Perhaps if we simplify the outfit, sir."
"Strip it down to the bare essentials, you mean?"
"Precisely, sir. If we discard the tailcoat and waistcoat, his main causes of complaint, but retain the collar, the bow tie, and the hoofwear . . ."
"And slap a top hat on his melon. I think you've got something there. Carry on, Greaves."
"Very good, sir."
"But be quick about it, for goodness sake! I'll delay the duke as long as I can."
"Understood, sir."
"Right-ho." I turned back to the guard, patting his shoulder. "Just . . . listen to Greaves, will you? There's a good chap." And with that I galloped back to the ballroom.
The party was definitely dying off by the time I returned. Princette Cloud Dreamer was marching her little army out of the ballroom in double-time, Rarity the Unicorn was exiting in close conjunction with a pegasus who was, if memory serves, a lord of some kind, and the buffet table had been picked clean in my absence. Cousin August was nowhere to be seen and neither, to my alarm, was Duke Sun Shimmer. Fortunately when I extended my search to include the garden I discovered that his sister had cornered him against a border of perennials. They were expressing their deep, familial affection in their usual way.
"Do not start congratulating yourself yet, dear brother," the princette was hissing as I cautiously approached. "Duke Finch-Freely and Duchess Ravenwaves have been planning their advancement for some time, and if you think their allies will vote for you over them--"
"I'm not afraid of Finch-Freely or Raven," the duke said breezily. "Did Princette Cloud Dreamer introduce them to her friends? Did Mirror Mirror compliment their horse-sense? Mmm, yes, 'Prince Sun Shimmer' . . . it has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"
"You can hardly count yourself as their protege after one night."
"Oh can't I? Just because it took you years to garner support, dear sister, does not mean every pony is so talentless."
From the expression on Snow Shimmer's face, there was an increasing likelihood that I would be introducing Seeker to a freeze-dried corpse unless I intervened. "What-ho, Shimmers!"
"You!" Duke Sun Shimmer said, as he had at frequent intervals throughout the night. This time he seemed genuinely surprised by my presence, however. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I wanted a word with you, actually. In private, if you don't mind."
The duke flicked his ears backwards and forwards as though checking their functionality. "You are expecting me to . . . to talk with you?" he said, as though I'd suggested that he jump off a cliff or set himself on fire.
"Of course not," Snow Shimmer butted in. "He was addressing me, naturally."
"Er . . ."
"He was certainly not addressing you, Snow, since he was looking straight at me."
"Possibly his attention was briefly drawn to the spinach stuck in your teeth," Snow Shimmer said coolly. (Her brother hastily raised a hoof in front of his mouth.) "But his invitation was clearly aimed at me, nonetheless."
"You're delusional, but it's you're funeral. Don't blame me when you get demoted to duchess!"
Snow Shimmer put her hoof aside her mouth and whispered in a carrying voice: "You must excuse my brother. He has never been known for his tact. Little wonder his attempts to gain a princehood have failed to bear fruit."
"They're going to bear plenty of fruit!" the yellow unicorn snapped.
"Pathetic, is he not? So feeble are his political allegiances," she continued, probably not audible to anypony more than twenty feet away, "that he dares not be seen with you, for fear of offending the old nags to whom he kowtows--"
"I do NOT kowtow!"
"--whereas I, being well-established in the upper echelon of the Council, fear nothing and no one." She offered a bright smile. "But enough about him, Mr. Rooster! There has been a great deal of talk about how you publically snubbed your cousin, the prince . . . I'm sure we have much to discuss to our mutual benefit."
"Well, I wouldn't say that I snubbed him exac--" I broke off as Sun Shimmer suddenly leapt into my field of vision. His chest was heaving with some pent up emotion which, judging by the expression on his map as he faced off with the princette, was probably fury.
"Listen, my dear, opportunistic leech of a sister! He did NOT come over here to talk to you, he does NOT want your company, and I do NOT have spinach in my teeth! Isn't that right?" he demanded, swinging a menacing look in my direction.
"Oh, quite. Yes, yes, yes," I said hastily, though truthfully the answers to his questions, in the order named, were yes, yes, and no. "It was actually you I wanted to speak with. My apologies, princette."
"How extremely rude!" She gave me a glare so hammy it might as well have rolled in a mudhole and oinked.
"HA! You see?" The duke turned away from her smugly. "Come on . . . Mister . . . Whatever."
"It's Rooster, Birdy Rooster," I clarified, trotting after him.
Well, you had to admire the filly's sleight-of-hoof, what? If you had told the duke at the start of the evening that he would later, of his own free will, engage in a tête-à-tête with one Birdsong Rooster--or "one Mister Whatever", as the case might be--I imagine he would have snorted and said "Poppycock!" or "What rot!" or whatever the Upper Canterlotian equivalent of those phrases was. But apparently no opportunity to score off his sister was to be missed or scorned. It was all to the best that he did not happen to take a backwards glance, as I did, and see Princette Snow Shimmer steaming towards a knot of the gentry with a spring in her step and a gloating smile on her face. I picked up my pace, hoping the more isolated paths of the garden would prove to be ground she feared to tread.
I don't know if you've ever taken a jaunt through the Royal Gardens, but if you haven't, let me just say that they are not without their hazards. It's bursting to the gills with animal life--not just the usual squirrels and rabbits, but also exotic fauna like spider monkeys and vultures and I don't know what all. Once, when I was a kid, I dashed down a path rather too fast--I was playing tag and trying to outdistance the colt who was "it"--and ended up slamming right into a wallaby. The creature, noticeably pipped at this intrusion into its private life, vented its feelings by getting in some good, solid kicks before disappearing into the undergrowth.
Due to memories of this rather painful episode, I was happy to let Sun Shimmer blaze the trail on this occasion, flushing out any wayward and irate animals, while I hung back a ways, strolling along and pondering the intended programme, which ran along the lines of:
1. Put in some preliminary spadework for Seeker, talking him up like a used-carriage salespony trying to offload a particularly cumbersome model.
2. Wait for said guard to pop out of the bushes and proclaim his love for the duke.
3. Exit, stage left, at a gallop.
4. Raid that bally museum.
Introducing the subject of this lovelorn guard was going to be the trickiest part, in my estimation. Romeo, if you'll recall, didn't start flinging terms of endearment at Juliet until he actually spotted her and decided, right-ho, this was the genuine dream-rabbit. I imagine if someone had tried to talk her up before then, he would have snorted, laid his ears back, and had none of it. "Why ring out the wedding bells with this filly from a rival family," he would've said, "when I could have a father-in-law who won't try to poison my tea? There are plenty more beets in the field!"
It seemed to me I could not count on any greater show of enthusiasm from Duke Sun Shimmer. Possibly even less, considering Seeker's station, despite the fact that his family was not (so far as I knew) in a blood feud with the Shimmer clan. As for the Love At First Sight gag, it was all well and good, but what if it didn't take off? Rather a gamble, and at odds that made me reluctant to run to the bookies. The only thing for it, I decided, was to try to rev up Sun Shimmer's romantic side, awakening the poetry that--according to Seeker--was lurking in his heart, and hope that the Royal Guard would strike him as being a twin soul.
Luckily the gardens themselves would serve as a stalwart ally in this endeavor, being positively soggy with romantic atmosphere, partic. at this hour. Night had well and truly settled, with moths and bats flitting above the roses. The birch and willows dripped with vines covered with those niffy white flowers that wait until after-hours to make an appearance, and the blue and purple fairy lanterns that hung in the boughs were hardly necessary as the moon, nearly full, drifted over the trees at a leisurely pace. A scene practically ripped off the cover of a second edition of maudlin poetry, I mean to say.
And if ever there was a moment when Duke Sun Shimmer was in a good mood this was it, while he was still muttering things like "Ha!" and "I showed her!"
I sped up my pace to draw beside him. "Nice night," I said as an opening gambit.
He started a bit, reluctantly remembering my existence. "What? Oh, the night. Yes, it's nice."
"The stars punching in their timecards." I waved a hoof heavenward.
"True."
"The crickets heading out for a night on the town."
"Yes."
"A balmy breeze drifting through the roses, if balmy is the word I'm after."
This time he didn't say anything, just eyed me. Despite the cool night, a slight sheen of sweat dampened my brow. His expression was not that of a pony who was about to start framing the beauty of the night in rhyme and iambic pentameter; it was more like that of a pony wondering how he had let himself be talked into something, and how soon he could get out of it.
"What, exactly," he said at last, "did you want to talk to me about?"
"Well . . . it's a funny old world, isn't it?" I said. I paused to give him the opportunity to agree, but he just raised an eyebrow, so I pushed onward. "Take these roses I was talking about. Nice, what?"
He agreed that they were nice, though without much enthusiasm.
"Of course, my Aunt Dahlia would probably say they were infested with aphids or root rot," I added, "and get into a tussle with the gardener. But that's neither here nor there."
"Indeed, it's not."
"But anyway, these roses." I gazed at them a bit desperately, having no idea how to continue. I was sure the Bard had written some fairly fruity stuff about the genus Rosa, but every line of it had retreated to my subconscious and seemed determined to hunker down there for a good long stretch. Giving up on Classic Literature, I seized on the first idea that leapt to mind. "Roses. Yes. Most ponies just see them as an attractive bit of landscaping, you know. But some ponies, or perhaps I should say one pony in particular, would look at them and immediately chart out a connection between these blooms and the object of his affection."
"Huh?"
"'Butterflies, nectar for to gain / gently alight his rose-red mane'," I quoted, looking at him hopefully. Well, it wasn't exactly received to rave reviews; in fact, the duke stared at me as though I was speaking in tongues.
"What in Equestria are you talking about? What butterflies?" His eyes shifted from me to the flowers and back again. "And they're not red, they're pink."
I saw I had painted myself into a corner and accordingly tried to leap clear. "All right, never mind about the roses. Forget about roses, red, pink, or otherwise. The fact is, I'm acting as a sort of messenger. Carrying a message," I specified, breaking it down into terms that even he could comprehend.
His ears, which had been flattened back, swiveled slowly forwards with grudging interest. "From who? If it's Prince Blueblood--"
"You may rest assured this has nothing to do with my princely cousin," I said firmly. "Quite another matter."
"So who is it then? Princette Royal Purple?" he asked with a sudden burst of animation. "Or, no, Crystal Crown, is it Crystal Crown?"
"Er . . . let's keep walking, shall we?" I moved along the moonlit path, following its curve until it opened into a little clearing hedged about with willow trees, a glade with a couple trails leading out of it--or into it, if you prefer.
I was about to point out the moon, to reset the mood, but Sun Shimmer didn't give me a chance. "So-o-o-o?" he asked, his tail twitching impatiently. "Who?"
"As it happens it's a friend of mine." Overstating things a bit, as Seeker was more of an acquaintance, but faint praise ne'er won fair noble, or however it goes. "A very dear friend," I added, stretching the truth until it twanged.
A good portion of the yellow unicorn's eagerness ebbed away. "A friend of yours?" he said, much as my Aunt Dahlia might have said, "Slugs on my petunias?" He pawed at the grass with a hoof. "Well, who is this friend and what's the message?"
"The message, ah yes. The message is . . . Well, it's a funny old world, isn't it?"
"Oh gods, this again!"
"No, but listen! It is, isn't it? I mean to say, here we are in the capital city, with the Princess heaving the sun over the horizon every morning, its light shining," I said, remembering a good gag from my school days, "on the just and the unjust . . . Well, it really makes you think, doesn't it?"
Sun Shimmer's expression was sardonic as he opened his mouth, perhaps to share exactly what he thought, but at that moment a moth that had been bumping up against a fairy lantern made a sharp swerve and flew down his gullet. As the duke choked and hacked, I mentally saluted the insect for its timely martyrdom and hurried on:
"What I mean is . . . there's quite a lot going on in the city every day, what? Bakers baking, tradesponies, um, laying bricks and making horseshoes and whatnot, servants bringing tea, and guards," I said, reaching my destination at last, "marching about keeping the Princess' peace and looking quite dressy while doing so, really. One has to admire them, don't you think?"
With a final thump to his chest, the duke recovered from his coughing fit. He took a few breaths before weighing in with his opinion. "Get to the point! I didn't come out here to talk about guards."
Well, he had, really, but clearly this wasn't the moment to reveal that. "Um, yes. I was telling you about this friend of mine, wasn't I? A unicorn, you know, practically fizzing with magic. Now admittedly he's . . . er . . . not exactly one of the noblesse--"
"Oh joy. Better and better. And how much does this untitled 'friend' of yours want?"
It took me a moment to follow his logic. "No, no, he's not looking for a handout; that's not it at all. As a matter of fact he's, erm, well, he's--Well, it's a funny old world, isn't it?"
"For Celestia's sake." He slapped a hoof over his eyes.
I tugged at my collar, wishing somepony else--Greaves, perhaps--had volunteered for this unpleasant duty. But it was time to take the hurdle, for better or for worse. "The fact is, Duke Shimmer, he--this friend of mine--has rather fallen for you."
His hoof lowered slowly. "'Fallen'? You mean, as in--"
"Fallen in love, that's right." The incredulous expression on his face did nothing to help my nerves, and in fact I could feel my cheeks heating. Still, now that I had sketched a quick outline of the sitch., there was nothing to do but fill in the details. "He happened to see you one day and just like that, boomps-a-daisy, head over hooves. And it's been eating away at him ever since, you see. The amount of thought he's given your eyes alone--well, you'd be amazed. He's been churning out masses of poetry--"
"Perhaps about my mane," the duke interrupted with a level look, "being red like a rose?"
I felt a surge of relief now that he was getting on board, and rewarded him with a friendly smile. "Quite so. 'Butterflies, nectar for to gain / gently alight your rose-red mane' and all that. Although he did give some serious consideration to the adjective 'fragrant' as well."
"Good to know. My life is richer for that knowledge."
"Is it? Then you'll be glad to know he's written reams of the stuff, all giving a very favorable view of you. 'The little birds', for example, 'all rejoice / whene'er they hear your dulcet voice.'"
"I'll bet they do. I'll just bet."
"He's even been following you around off and on hoping to--"
"Bump into me?"
"Exactly."
"Repeatedly?"
"Er . . . one supposes so." I was beginning to feel there was something rummy about the duke's reaction. Regardless of whether he greeted the news with smiles or sneers, I had expected Sun Shimmer to open up a line of questioning regarding the mystery colt. I had not considered the possibility that he would display a total lack of curiosity and simply fix me with a stare. It was hard to tell in the dark, but I was inclined to categorize said stare as "sour."
I was considering waiting him out when I heard a soft rustle from the mass of trees behind me which suggested a certain guard might be in the offing, waiting for his cue to leap on stage. And since the sooner he made his debut the sooner I could retreat, I was anxious to help him make his grand entrance as soon as possible, to cheers and applause.
"So that's the lay of the land," I concluded, raising my voice to slightly. "And if you would like to hear the full extent of the ode he's written for you, that can certainly be arranged in short order. It's--"
"Are you . . . out of . . . your MIND?" The duke must have been building up a good head of steam for a while, but the first I knew about it was when he surged forward, giving me a good view of the flames leaping in his eyes and the spinach still lodged in his teeth. "You think . . . you really think . . ." Here he reeled a bit, like an actor determined to wring the most out of a death scene.
"Now hang on," I said, holding up a hoof. "I know poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, but this is some fairly heady stuff, and it all rhymes. Case in point: 'Oh Sun Shimmer with your coat of gold, thy sweet nobility's foretold'--"
"STOP!" he bellowed, a vein in his forehead throbbing impressively. Just as well since I couldn't remember the rest of the verse. "Stop talking, stop bothering me, and STOP following me around!"
He started to stalk away, but I dodged around to intercept. "Look, just let me say my piece--"
"You've already said it!" he snapped. "So let me say my piece! If you think that I am interested in tying my fortune and future to a . . . a . . . an untitled nobody, then you are sadly mistaken, Mister Rooster!"
My heart bled freely for poor Seeker. "That's a rather unenlightened view, isn't it? 'The rank is but the guinea stamp!' A quotation that refers, you'll be interested to know, to the way raw gold is transformed into coinage by--"
"I know exactly what the line refers to," he answered (though his heated tone held no hint of pleasure at meeting another pony blessed with a classical education). "And it's bunk. Complete BUNK. The gold that matters is the type stored in vaults, and the rank is the way to get it. So please let you friend know that he's wasting his time and mine. If your friend is so desperate for companionship, perhaps your friend should find someone of his own meager social status to hobnob with--"
A dark shape suddenly burst out of the bushes to the right in a sort of explosion of leaves, barreling past us and up the garden path, accompanied by a mournful wail. Sun Shimmer, startled to find the shrubbery unexpectedly disgorging ponies, rocketed into the air like a disturbed pheasant while I--hardly any more sanguine, not having expected any action from the starboard--leapt sideways like a startled fawn, thereby crashing into Snow Shimmer.
"Wait a tick," I hear you saying. "You mean Sun Shimmer, don't you? Yellow unicorn, bad attitude, spinach in his teeth?" An understandable assumption, but no. Princette Snow Shimmer, backed by a small herd of the well-born and--oddly--a pegasus with a camera and a press card in his hat, chose that very moment to come strolling in along one of the other paths. She paid for it by getting involved in a two-pony collision that probably rattled her teeth and certainly rattled mine. She recovered swiftly, though, with more than enough time to get the first word in.
"Oh MY!" were the words in question.
"Oh no." The duke's expression was somewhere between appalled and furious. "Go AWAY, Snowy!" he hissed. She didn't.
"Oh MY," she repeated, gesturing broadly towards self and Sun Shimmer, but addressing the nobles who had crowded around to help her up. "Have you ever seen such a shameful sight?" Apparently they hadn't. They shook their heads as the photographer surged forward to snap a few pictures. "Too shocking for words, finding my dear brother colluding with that . . . disreputable colt. Blueblood's cousin."
Having planted a hoof over my face, I didn't actually see the pony in the back faint this time, but I heard the thud against the turf, though it was barely audible over the collective gasp of the crowd and the grinding of Sun Shimmer's teeth. By the time I lowered my hoof, Sun Shimmer was stalking across the grass to confront his sister. I simultaneously decided it was wisest to back away from them.
"Snow Shimmer, if you don't march your rabble out of here right this second--"
"I'm not the one associating with rabble, dear brother. You're . . ."
Abruptly she broke off, her face that of a pony disgorging a racy tidbit of gossip just as an especially prudish aunt stalks in. Her eyes grew wide. Her face paled to a sicklier shade of purple. And suddenly her head dropped to point towards the turf.
"What in Equestria . . ." the duke muttered as Snow Shimmer's little throng suddenly gasped--not quite in sync, something had thrown them off their stride--and imitated the princette's posture.
Brow furrowed, Sun Shimmer turned 'round . . . and immediately his eyes grew large as dinner plates, or at least bread plates. For a few seconds I had the disagreeable feeling that he was staring at me; then I realized he was staring past me, at something to my aft, which was hardly any more pleasant. Bracing myself for the worst, I turned to see what was behind me. I'll tell you frankly I was rather expecting it to be a wallaby. Not that that would make much sense--the proper thing to do when you see a wallaby is to speed away from it, not freeze and aim your nose at the grass--but past associations can be jolly strong, and my most unpleasant moment in the garden--excepting the time I'd spent in Sun Shimmer's company on the present date--had involved an angry marsupial. Once kicked, twice shy.
Imagine my relief and delight when I instead found myself gazing across the dell at Princess Celestia, standing there on her long, graceful legs and wearing the most serene expression. Her white coat and flowing mane glowed like anything in the moonlight and the jewel in her crown, reflecting the fairy lanterns in the willows, couldn't make up its mind if it wanted to be blue or purple.
"Auntie!" I burst out, giving a little rear before charging over to her. As I think I have mentioned, there's something about the kindly smile of this noble relative that acts as an instant pick-me-up, filling the world with sunshine and song. And although a literal ration of sunlight was in short supply at this time of night, my heart was certainly sunny enough as she leaned down to drop her neck over mine in a hug.
"My dear nephew. Was that you hiding behind the centerpiece?"
"Right on the nose! Doing a bit of jungle recon, what what?"
"I see." Chuckling, Great-Aunt Celly patted my head with the leading edge of her wing, knocking off my top hat in the process, not that I minded. "And have you found a place to stay, dear? If not . . ."
"Oh, that's all taken care of, don't worry. Er . . . I've been here a couple of weeks, actually. Tried to darken your doorstep, but a bligh--a secretary-looking chap told me in no uncertain terms that I was the last thing your doorstep needed as decoration."
Understanding blossomed in her eyes. "That must have been Mr. Tock. Very efficient, but somewhat . . . overzealous at times. I'll speak to him."
"Right-ho! Thanks awfully!" I beamed up at her. She smiled down at me. The moths tumbled past in an approving sort of way. Perfect harmony, broken only by the fact that I could see Snow Shimmer and Sun Shimmer in my peripheral vision, the princette with her head bobbing up and down slightly as she tried to decide whether to stare or not and the duke boggling with his mouth open, like a pony seeing a vision.
Great-Aunt Celly probably saw them too--no, she certainly saw them, because Auntie's sharp as a tack and it would take a better pair than an eavesdropping princette and boorish duke to get the better of her, by golly! And indeed, with a measured tread Princess Celestia moved across the clearing to get inspect the knot of nobles.
"Good evening, Lady Slipper, Duke Finch-Freely," she said, examining the ponies who had entered the glade close on Snow Shimmer's heels. "And how are you on this lovely night, Lord Star Dasher?"
The assorted gentry looked up, stammering out answers, with Star Dasher adding it was a beautiful night, incredibly beautiful, probably the most beautiful night he'd ever seen, not that every night wasn't beautiful, of course, because they all were. Great-Aunt Celly simply nodded, just as though he wasn't borderline incoherent.
"And you're one of the princettes, aren't you? Snow Shimmer, I think? Who's your friend?" The Princess' eyes slid to the white pegasus with the camera.
He pulled his hat off and held it to his chest, clearing his throat. "Uh, the . . . the name's Paper Negative, Your Highness."
"Paper Negative . . . Oh yes, I've heard of you." Princess Celestia glanced at his cutie mark--a black-and-white photograph with the colours reversed from what they ought to be. "And are you enjoying the garden? Paper Negative?"
"Oh yes! Beautiful flowers! I thought I'd . . . take some pictures of them," the pegasus said, grinning and shifting rapidly from hoof to hoof. "I love flowers!!"
"Hwuh!" Sun Shimmer interjected, his first contribution to the conversation though not a particularly valuable one. Everyone gazed curiously at him, and his ears wilted . . . though he did finally manage to close his mouth, at least.
"Have you met Birdsong, Princette Shimmer?" Great-Aunt Celly inquired, patting my back with her wing. (Very nice, very gentle. I've often wished Aunt Dahlia would follow Great-Auntie's example, instead of slapping me so heartily on the back that my hooves sink into the ground like tent stakes.) "My dear nephew is here visiting from the Queendom. How are my nieces doing these days, Birdy? They're well, I hope?"
"Oh, buzzing along like anything, Auntie."
"Duchess Traverse?"
"Fit as a fiddle."
"Duchess Chanticleer?"
"Healthy as a horse. And Cousin Angel," I added, "is just finishing up her treatise on sharks."
"Well, well! Good for her." She paused to once more regard Duke Sun Shimmer, who had just made a gurgling noise deep in his throat. But when no further business resulted, the Princess gave up on that quarter and turned back to the assembled.
"I must be going now, my little ponies." She inclined her head with a smile to acknowledge their (collective) bow, to which I added a hasty bow of my own, just a bit after the fact. She moved to the edge of the clearing before inquiring over her shoulder, "Would you care to join me, nephew?"
"Rather!" I gamboled over to her--if not quite like a lamb in spring, then at least close enough that a lamb of that season would nod approvingly at my technique. I had just reached her side when it suddenly struck me . . . my hat was still back there, lying in the grass. "Oh! But I should really--" I started to pivot, but a shimmering white wing gently turned me back towards the path.
"Not just now, my dear," Great-Aunt Celly whispered, her neck a graceful arch. "Give him some time to think about what you've said." She straightened and ruffled my forelock. "And what I've said."
Puzzled, I followed her, casting one more glance over my shoulder. The nobleponies were watching our departure in their usual cluster, aside from Sun Shimmer, who was off on his own a bit. He no longer looked aghast.
Instead he looked thoughtful.
Next chapter: Princess Celestia to the rescue . . . ?
I came across "dream-rabbit" in one of Wodehouse's Blandings Castle books and just had to use it. It seems to mean the same thing as "baa-lamb." If you want to know what a baa-lamb is, you will have to ask Birdy's friend Lala.
Aunt Charade (pronounced, of course, as "SHUH-rahd") is vaguely based on Bertie Wooster's Aunt Charlotte, whom he referred to a couple times in less-than-loving tones. I decided the pony version was the youngest and most fashionable of his aunts, who had a tendency to regard him as a sort of accessory, like a purse-dog, when he was a small foal.
Sorry once again that it takes me so long between chapters! My life is super busy at the moment, so my writing time is sporadic. On the upside, I finally broke 50,000 words and this is the longest chapter to date! |
Rotten Apple | pre | Applejack's last statement made herself wince the moment it had left her lips. It was not as if she had forgotten what she had said in the heat of the moment only minutes prior. And judging from Apple Bloom's renewed cries in response, she hadn't, either.
"Yeah you are!" she yelled back. The hurt in her voice was plainly evident. "Ah know you are!"
The words hovered in the space above their heads, suspended in mid-air. Applejack grimaced. "N-now, AB... Ah know Ah said that before, b-but Ah..."
Apple Bloom wasn't listening. "An' why wouldn't you be? You should be! Ah ain't honest, Ah tarnished the family name, Ah... Ah... Ah ain't even an Apple at all!"
She fell limp, buried her face into Applejack's chest, and wept.
Applejack felt every heave of her sister's ribs, the girl's ragged breaths hot against her underside. She drew Apple Bloom in tighter, brushing her snout through the distraught filly's mane. "Oh, Sugarcube..."
The sunlight, a focused ray of gold beaming through the window, fanned out into oblivion. Applejack rocked Apple Bloom gently from side to side as the room darkened around them. Eventually, the cries subsided into whimpers and the occasional sob.
Apple Bloom slumped against the warm body that held her tight, breathing softly through her mouth. Her head felt swollen like a balloon from her crying, and a steady ache worked its way into her entire frame. She could have fallen asleep right then and there, fevered and fatigued...
"Apple Bloom."
Applejack said her name. Her eyes, stuck together with the muck of dried tears, peeled open. She felt the arms around her loosen their tight grip.
"Sweetheart..." she heard Applejack again. Then, her sister released her completely, setting both forelegs down on either side of her. Apple Bloom suddenly found herself having to support her own weight, making her stumble a bit. But before she could fall over, Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder to keep her steady. Apple Bloom looked up, to see that her sister's appearance was oddly neutral. In fact, it was almost as though the tongue lashing she knew she would be getting wasn't coming after all...
"Sugarcube... Ah want you to come with me," she spoke gently. "We're gonna go for a walk."
Such a simple statement. So innocent, said as though they were about to go for an afternoon stroll. Apple Bloom knew better. She swallowed, feeling another ball of warm phlegm that was stuck to the inside of her throat, and nodded.
"O-Okay," she replied. It wasn't as though she felt like she had any choice. A ghost of a smile played out on Applejack's lips, and she nodded back with approval.
"Okay." She walked over to the bed, passing her. Apple Bloom didn't turn her head around, as if having curiosity would get her into even deeper trouble. She heard some shuffling behind her, and when Applejack came back, she was wearing Apple Bloom's saddlebag on her back.
"Alrighty. Come on." Applejack cocked her head toward the door. Apple Bloom said nothing, but followed her out of the room, eyeing the saddlebag on her sister's back with an inquisitive stare. She nearly asked why Applejack was carrying her bag with her, but held her tongue.
The hallway seemed to stretch like a cord of rubber, lengthening with each step. The sensation made Apple Bloom dizzy, so she used the wall to her right as a guide to keep herself straight. Applejack walked only a couple of steps in front of her, but the distance appeared longer to her than it actually was.
When they reached the stairs, Apple Bloom felt as though she were about to tumble down them head over hooves, wobbly and weak at the knees. Once again, she hugged the wall for balance, but keeping her center was a challenge. She sniffled, mentally pushing aside the dread that iced her veins. The coldness was only magnified when Applejack opened the front door, letting in a draft of early autumn air. Goosebumps formed on her skin.
"Yeesh. Sun's almost completely down." Applejack peered at the horizon through the crack in the door. Where the sun had once been, it had left behind little more than tinge of pink and a gilded frame around the few clouds which remained in the sky. "It's gettin' later than Ah thought."
Apple Bloom didn't reply. She stayed back a few steps, stomach sinking in tandem with the sun's descent. Applejack stepped outside, but propped the door open with a back hoof to let Apple Bloom out. She was hesitant to accept the invitation, but eventually she forced one leg in front of the other until she felt nothing but dirt beneath her hooves.
Applejack let the door swing shut with a small click and continued forward. Apple Bloom waited until she was a short ways away before she followed suit, staring at the ground. A slight breeze washed cool air over her back, making her shiver. Applejack looked over her shoulder and addressed her with a tilt of her head.
"Come on, sis." She gestured to the spot beside her. "Ah can't talk to ya if you're way back there."
Apple Bloom pulled her head up from the ground. Applejack was smiling at her, but just barely. Even so, Apple Bloom didn't have the nerve to disobey what she felt was some kind of order, despite the relaxed tone in her sister's voice. She sidled up to her reluctantly, still shivering. Once she was there, Applejack resumed her course, walking down the path with Apple Bloom at her side.
About a minute, perhaps two, went by without a word exchanged. The moon took up residence in the sun's place, a waxing gibbous that illuminated the path and the surrounding field. For Apple Bloom, it felt quite strange that the two of them were out at this time of the day, walking together under a moonlit sky. Usually, by this time she would have been seated at the kitchen table, doing her math homework or reading a book...
"Sugarcube..."
Applejack interrupted her musings. At the mention of her nickname, her ears perked up, suddenly on the alert.
"... Ah'd be lyin' if Ah didn't admit Ah was mad. When you showed me that bun, Ah mean." She was speaking down at an angle to make herself easier to hear. "Ah guess you can say that Ah felt... betrayed. Like... like Ah'd just been stabbed through the back with a bale hook."
That description was enough to make Apple Bloom wince. She closed her eyes and nodded her head, whispering under her breath, "Ah'm sorry, sis..."
"Ah know y'are." Applejack replied, keeping her voice level. "And y'know...in a way, you were kinda right. Ah... Ah wasn't wrong to be mad. Hay," she chuckled, "if Ah wasn't, Ah think that would mean there's something wrong with me."
The little traces of amusement or mirth didn't translate over to her younger sibling, whose face remained stoic and solemn. Applejack cleared her throat.
"...but Ah wasn't mad fer the reasons you might think." Applejack suddenly stopped in the middle of the path without warning. Apple Bloom's response time was a little delayed, but she halted in turn. "Ah was mad, sure, but Ah was mad because o' one, simple thing. Because this..."
Applejack reached into the saddlebag she was carrying and pulled out the flattened, stale pecan bun and held it in her hoof. Apple Bloom sucked in a sharp breath of air.
"...this ain't you. Ah know you, sis. And you know what? Ah know you're better than what you did today. What you did was real bad, don't get me wrong, but..."
"No Ah ain't."
Apple Bloom cut her off mid-sentence. No sooner had she done so than she began to turn away, as if ashamed of her outburst. Applejack frowned.
"Ain't what?"
Apple Bloom took a moment to answer. She shook her head slowly, tracing a small line in the dirt path beneath her hooves. "No Ah ain't. Ah... Ah ain't better 'n that."
Her statement hung in the air between them like a noose. Applejack pursed her lips, appearing deep in thought. "Why not, sis? What makes you say that?"
Apple Bloom sniffled, swiping a stray tear off her cheek and gritting her teeth together. "C-Cuz Ah already stole before. Ah... Ah took the heart's desire from Zecora back when Ah was tryin' to get my cutie mark, a-and now today Ah took the pecan bun from Sugarcube Corner..."
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became until it was barely audible. Regardless, Applejack made up for the loss of volume by leaning her head in closer.
"... and Ah ain't like the rest of y'all. Y'all don't cheat nopony, never. But Ah-Ah ain't honest like you, or Granny, or Big Macintosh. A-and... Ah don't feel like an Apple. Ah d-don't think Ah really b--"
"Stop that right now," Applejack said, giving her a stern glare. Apple Bloom was silenced immediately, shrinking into the ground as more tears began to form in her eyes. "Don't... don't you ever talk like that, y'hear?"
There was a warbling undertone in her voice. Apple Bloom lowered her head so far down that her snout touched the dusty path.
Applejack's hoof below her chin, lifting up her head until she was looking at her face to face. From how close they were, the moonlight's reflection off the surface of her eyes could be seen.
"No matter what you did, no matter what you do, you'll always be a part of the family. You'll always be an Apple." She reached out and wrapped a hoof gently around Apple Bloom's withers, bringing her in close. The filly accepted the hug with closed eyes. "Even the best of us make mistakes, or do things that we feel guilty about. But that don't make us bad ponies, sweetheart. An' it don't make you a bad pony, neither."
Apple Bloom felt the foreleg around her shoulders tighten its grip. She sniffled again. "Ah... Ah know. But Ah still don't - hic! - feel right..."
Applejack nuzzled her cheek. "Ah know. An' it's alright if you feel guilty, still. That just means your heart's in the right place." She kissed Apple Bloom on the top of her head. "But don't let that guilt beat you down. Don't let it make you think that you ain't worthy of forgiveness, cuz you are."
Apple Bloom listened closely to Applejack's whispered words. The warmth of her sister's breath on her ear made it twitch.
"And Ah forgive you, sis. Ah do." She loosened her hold and allowed Apple Bloom to lean back a ways until they were eye to eye. "Okay?"
Despite Applejack's reassuring smile, Apple Bloom could not keep the nerve to look her in the eyes. Instead, she seemed to stare through her and into the nighttime sky, deep in thought.
It wasn't that she didn't believe Applejack, of course. But if her churning stomach was anything to go by, there was something that wasn't settling right with her. In a way, it all seemed too easy. Like she'd been convicted of robbery, only to be set loose at the end of the trial, to roam the streets once more...
Finally, she answered. "Okay."
Applejack's smile widened, but just a bit. However, it strangely disappeared as fast as it had come. She turned around, hooves scraping lightly over the dirt, and took a deep breath.
"Okay," she repeated. She closed her eyes. "Ah'm glad, sis. But..."
There it was. The catch, the exception. The unfinished business. This wasn't going to be easy, after all.
"... But Ah ain't the only pony you need to apologize to."
At that instant, all the moisture evaporated off her tongue as though it had been under a heat lamp, leaving her mouth dry as sand and her throat coarse as keeled scales. Apple Bloom's legs seized up underneath her, and her pupils, widened as they were by the darkness, shrank to the size of pinheads.
Suddenly, it all became clear. Why it hadn't been before, she didn't know, but now it seemed so obvious. Their walk had a purpose, and its destination was a place she would have given anything to avoid. The hairs over her body went rigid.
"Applejack..." she croaked. "Ah... Ah d--"
She trailed off, giving up on any effort to speak. No good would come of it, anyway. She hung her head.
Applejack smiled sadly, and in a curt nod, pointed down the path with her head.
"We ain't got much time 'til Sugarcube Corner closes." She started forward. "Let's go, AB." ...
Apple Bloom walked as though she were being pulled on a chain leash. She swallowed bile that bubbled up from her stomach and into her throat, resisting the urge to heave at the prospect of what she was going to do.
Ponyville's streetlights obscured the stars as they walked onto Main Street. Being in the town's main square after dark was a rare experience for her, and she was surprised at how much it gave her the creeps. Truth be told, it was not that late, but she and her sister were nearly the only ponies left outside. Had it not been for the light glowing in many of the windows on either side of the street, she would have expected a tumbleweed to barrel across the cobblestone in front of her...
And then, just like that, there it was: the smell. The enticing aroma of sugar and glaze, of cinnamon and cocoa, all complimenting one another in a harmonious symphony of smells that could tempt even the most strong-willed of ponies.
This time, Apple Bloom nearly did throw up. She pressed a hoof over her cheeks as her abdomen clenched, and she could feel the acidic burn on the back of her throat. But somehow, she restrained herself just enough to get away with only a quiet, dry heave before the sensation subsided.
Apparently, the small sounds made by her stomach's grisly efforts had not gone unnoticed. Applejack stopped for a moment, concern written on her face, to ask, "Y' okay, sis?"
Apple Bloom still had a hoof clutched around her lower belly, and her face was locked into a long-lasting grimace. Still, she nodded her head.
"Yeah. Ah'm f-fine..." She looked up from the road, but no sooner had she done so that she found herself staring at the dust on her hooves once more. Right in front of her, the candy cane columns and gingerbread overhang framed Sugarcube Corner's front door. Beside it, the ground floor window still glowed, and faint silhouettes could be seen moving within.
Applejack turned around, closing the small gap between them with a couple of steps. Apple Bloom glanced in her direction, but still resumed her examination of the cobblestone.
"Alright..." Applejack reached around her shoulder and picked the saddlebag off her back. "It still looks open, but Pinkie's probably closing up shop real soon. Here..."
She set the bag gently over Apple Bloom's croup, giving the strap a slight tug to make sure it wouldn't fall off. The filly made no movement, standing solemn and still as though she were being prepped for execution. Applejack tapped the pouch on the right.
"The pecan bun's in there, okay?" she said. Apple Bloom gave a slow, single nod.
"O--Okay," she said, closing her eyes. Her front legs tensed up in an effort to stop from shaking. She felt Applejack's hoof run through her mane.
"You can do it, sis," she encouraged. "Just show her the bun, tell her what you did, and say that you're sorry and that you won't do it again. Alright?"
The instructions were simple enough. But that didn't make the task any less daunting to Apple Bloom than it already was. She went over the steps in her head, breathing in deep to calm herself down, but the harder she focused, the faster her heart drummed in her chest. Confessing her crime to her sister had been one of the scariest experiences of her young life, and to be faced with doing it all over again was even more terrifying.
"Alr... Alright," she replied with a hiccup. Applejack responded by giving her a small nuzzle on the base of her neck, a comfort which she gladly accepted.
"Good." She took a step off to the side, leaving the path to the door wide and clear. "Ah'll be right behind you. Ah won't say anything because Ah want you to do this on your own, but Ah'll be right here for you."
And that was that. The conclusion of the sentence meant only one thing: her time was up. It was time for Apple Bloom to ascend the gallows. She gulped and blinked back a threatening tear.
"Okay... Thanks," she added in after some pause. At this point, even the smallest of comforts were much appreciated. Steeling herself, she made the first step towards the door,.
Thinking back as far as she could remember, she realized that she had never seen Pinkie Pie angry. Sad, perhaps, but never angry. But after tonight, that was a fact that was likely to change. Vivid images of Pinkie's face, her brow scrunched downward at her and her piercing eyes fixing her to the floor, flashed in front of her eyes like a projector screen.
And why wouldn't she be mad? she thought to herself. You betrayed her. She did something nice for you, and you repay her by stealing from her shop?
Her blood thickened into paste in her veins, making every step more difficult on her way to the door. Applejack's hoofsteps behind her assured that there was no going back. Nowhere to go but forward, nothing but to accept her fate...
She pushed the door open with one hoof, and with a steely glare of determination, set hoof inside the dreaded building once more.
The cheerful jingle of a silver bell announced her arrival. Its happy tone was a betrayal in and of itself, a false promise to the shop's occupant that something good was on its way. Apple Bloom scanned the bakery from left to right, looking for Pinkie.
In the process, her eyes inevitably came across it again: the platter of pecan cinnamon swirl buns. Or, that is, what was left of it. Out of the once mighty pyramid of sweets only a few remained on the plate, but the sight of them was still enough to bring the memories of her bad deed to mind.
Fortunately, Apple Bloom did not have to reflect for long. The kitchen door swung open, and Pinkie Pie came rushing in, taking a spot behind the glass display counter.
"Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, how may I--" She saw the two of them standing there and immediately stopped. The pink pony tilted her head. "Oh. Didn't expect it to be you girls again. What're you doing back here so late? I'm closing up shop in fifteen minutes and I..."
"Hold on there for a second, Pinkie." Applejack held up a hoof to stop her before she could get to rambling, as she was sometimes wont to do. "Ah'm sorry if we mighta came in at a bad time, but do you got a few minutes?"
Pinkie glanced between Applejack and Apple Bloom. Her poofy mane was slightly more frazzled than usual, and the question made her shift her hooves over to the kitchen door like she was prepared to make a run for it.
"Uh..." Her front hooves did a little dance on the floor. "...Uhh, yeah, that's fine. What's up? Oh no," she gasped, "I didn't give you the wrong recipe, did I? Ohmigosh, I'm so sorry! I've just been scatterbrained lately since the Cakes left me in ch--"
"No, no, not at all, Pinkie," Applejack quickly dismissed her worries. "Don't worry, that's fine. We're here because of... well, something else. Somethin' my sister needs to tell ya."
Apple Bloom's lungs seized up, and it suddenly became hard to breathe. She waited for a little while in silence, half-expecting her sister to say something further, when she felt something pushing against her flank. Already in a tense state, she resisted it on instinct, but Applejack was much stronger, and she was soon standing right in the middle of the room. Apple Bloom looked behind her as Applejack retreated back to the wall, leaving her all alone in the middle of the room.
Her eyes widened, as if pleading. Applejack would have none of it. She gestured to Pinkie with a nudge of her snout.
"Go on," she said. A ghostlike smile flashed on her lips for the briefest moment before sternness returned. Apple Bloom froze for a second, feeling a chill set upon her. Then, she turned her head to face Pinkie once more.
The other mare remained behind the counter. Her raised eyebrows and wrinkled forehead made it clear that she was puzzled by what was going on.
"What's the matter? Is everything okay?" she asked, first to Applejack, and then to the filly standing right in front of her. "Apple Bloom?"
Pinkie's mentioning of her name nearly caused her to jump. Apple Bloom suddenly found herself staring right into the older mare's eyes, two blue orbs that gazed right back at her without waver.
Apple Bloom swallowed air. Her mouth had gone dry quite a while ago. She took in a shuddering breath through her nose, held it in her lungs, and released it in one, long sigh. This was it; the time had come.
And then, she spoke.
"Pinkie Pie..." She just barely managed to get the name out of her mouth. "...Ah got something... Ah-Ah got something..."
Another pause. She was at war with her nerves, and her nerves were winning. She took another breath, and continued while Pinkie waited.
"Ah have to t-tell you s... somethin' th-that Ah... Ah..."
Frozen again. She couldn't get the words out. It seemed like every time she tried, she'd choke up. She berated herself in her own head, tried to force herself to spit it out, but the words stuck to the lining of her throat like wet paper. She didn't have to look to know that Applejack was probably glaring at her from behind. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was frowning, unsure of what to think.
"Yeeeaah?" Pinkie craned her neck forward and squinted her eyes. "What is it? You can tell me, it's okay..."
Apple Bloom began to shiver. Escape from this was not an option, and she knew that very well. But fear and shame made her dumb, and she didn't know how to snap herself out of it.
There was only one other option. If she couldn't say it...
In a swift motion, Apple Bloom reached around to her saddlebag and grabbed tight hold of the strap. Partly from frustration, she tossed the bag violently over her shoulder, causing it to land with a loud thwap on the tile floor. Both Applejack and Pinkie jolted from the impact.
"Um... you okay? What are you doing?" Pinkie walked out from behind the counter. Apple Bloom did not respond, oblivious to anything else around her except the task at hoof. She grabbed the flap of the right side pouch in her teeth and flipped it open.
Pinkie Pie exchanged a glance with Applejack at the other side of the room. The farm mare pointed wordlessly back to Apple Bloom, whose head was now in the pouch of the saddlebag. Pinkie frowned. "Something wrong? Did I do s--"
She stopped dead in her tracks. Apple Bloom's head emerged from the bag with something held in her teeth. She dropped it onto the floor, and it rolled toward Pinkie until coming to a halt at her hoof.
Pinkie's eyes locked onto the pecan bun. Apple Bloom watched her closely, making herself small.
For a moment, the other mare's face was blank. The bun lay face up, the glistening icing and what bits of pecan that hadn't fallen off already on full display. Her brow furrowed down.
"Heyy, is that... that's one of the Cake's pecan cinnamon swirl buns..." She observed in a puzzled tone.
Now, the damage had been done; after all the dreading and waiting on the edge of what she couldn't escape, there was nothing left to hide anymore. Apple Bloom closed her eyes to suck in treacherous tears, and nodded.
"Ah-Ah know... Ah..." She swallowed a sob. "Ah stole it."
The revelation brought the tension in the room to the point where it could be felt like static in the air. The words took a second to sink into Pinkie's brain, and when they did, her jaw dropped.
"Stole? Y-You... when did you...?" Pinkie pointed to the bun, and then to Apple Bloom, and then back to the bun. "How'd you, I mean, how..."
"Ah took it from the plate when you 'n Applejack were in the kitchen." Apple Bloom mercifully cut her question short. "Ah just..."
She stopped herself before the words could leave her lips. Now was not the time for excuses, but for apologies. No more beating around the bush. She chastised herself in her head, and tried again.
"...Ah'm sorry for stealing from you, Pinkie Pie," she said. "Ah'm really sorry. Y'all tried to do somethin' nice for me, a-and Ah..."
More lousy tears. Apple Bloom gritted her teeth, wiped them away, and continued.
"...Ah still stole from you, all just 'cause Ah was mad. Th-That ain't right. Ah b-betrayed you... It wasn't your fault, i-it wasn't anypony's fault. Ah'm... sorry Ah was a - hic! - thief." Apple Bloom choked on the last word like it was poison. "An' Ah promise Ah won't never steal from you, or from anypony ever again. Ah promise. Ah promise..."
She punctuated her vow with a loud sniffle. During her apology, she had put forth her best effort to look Pinkie in the eye as she spoke, but she soon found herself right back where she had started: face downcast, eyes shut, and head nearly touching the tile.
Now that Apple Bloom had said everything that was necessary, she waited. Waited for Pinkie to penetrate the silence. Waited for the shrillness of her angry voice to cut the air and her heart in one slash.
Her expectation only made the reality that much more shocking.
"...Pinkie Promise?"
Apple Bloom's ears twitched. Her eyes snapped open. "Huh?"
"You know..." Pinkie's voice again. Strange; it didn't exactly sound very angry. "... Stick a cupcake in your eye?"
Apple Bloom lifted her head. She was greeted with the sight of Pinkie standing right over her, only a couple of steps away. She gasped a little, almost jumping back a step from surprise.
But before she could react, there was something that popped out at her. It seemed so out of place at a time like this, but there it was anyway; Pinkie was smiling.
"Well, do ya?" she asked again. It still took some time for what Pinkie was asking for to sink in, but after a moment or two, Apple Bloom understood. She affirmed her emphatically, nodding like a bobble head.
"Oh, oh, yeah yeah, of course, uhh..." Apple Bloom went over the crucial steps in her head, trying to remember all of the times she'd seen her sister or her friends make the promise with an irrational desperation, on the verge of panic.
"C-Cross my heart, uhh..." She sat down on her haunches and drew an X over her chest while trying to remember the next line. "Uh... Cross my heart, a-and..."
"Hope to fly," Pinkie added in, her smile widening. Apple Bloom moaned, slapping herself in the forehead. How could she have forgotten that?
"Oh yeah, duh! Sorry... Cross my heart, hope to fly..." she made sure her right eye was closed before jabbing it with her hoof. "... s-stick a cupcake in my eye?"
She ended the swear in a sort of question, still not quite sure of herself. Fortunately for her, Pinkie nodded in approval.
"Yep! You got it," she replied. Her tone was oddly cheerful. "I forgive you, Apple Bloom."
Then, there was another last thing Pinkie did that seemed totally out of place; she reached out, wrapped her forelegs around her, and pulled Apple Bloom into a crushing bear hug.
The suddenness of the gesture took Apple Bloom completely aback. She had no time to react, Pinkie's limbs moving like a blur as they enveloped her. In fact, for a span of a few moments Apple Bloom even found it a little difficult to breathe.
Luckily, the hug did not last for very long. Pinkie let go of her and scooted back, leaving Apple Bloom by herself on the floor with her mouth opened in shock.
"B-But... wh-why'd, why did ya, why're y--" Her lips were moving, but no sound came out. Not sound that was coherent, anyway. Pinkie gave her an amused grin.
"Why what?" she asked. Apple Bloom made her confusion apparent, holding her forelegs out in a gesture to the stale bun, which was lying a few hoofsteps away from them both.
"Well, y-you, Ah mean... Ah just thought you'd be, y'know..." Apple Bloom winced. Now that things had turned out far from what she had expected, it almost seemed an insult to Pinkie's character to admit. "...mad at me. You know, for stealing and bein' a rotten thief, an' takin' advantage of you..."
Such a suggestion seemed absurd to Pinkie, who shook her head adamantly. "Mad? Oh, no no! I'm not mad, Apple Bloom. Disappointed, sure, but not mad. And whoa whoa whoa, hold on for just a second there!" She held out her hoof like a pony directing a line of carriages to stop. "You are not, I repeat not a 'rotten thief.' You're a great filly! It doesn't mean you're a bad pony just because you do something bad. We all have bad days, right? I mean, look at me! I get bad days all the time!"
Pinkie giggled. Despite herself, the humor broke through the lingering shame, causing Apple Bloom to laugh right along with her. Pinkie dipped her head down until they were both at the same eye level.
"Everypony makes mistakes. Believe me, I would know," she said with another chuckle. "Okay?"
Apple Bloom simpered. Already, her breathing felt less labored and heavy. All of the fear that had been pressing down on her lifted off like a bushel of apples from her back.
"Okay," she replied. Pinkie was glad.
"Good. But..." She wrinkled her chin in a slight grimace. "... I'm still going need the three bits. Cuz, you know, I can't exactly sell that poor pecan cinnamon swirl bun to another customer now that it's been everywhere."
And just like that, the smile fell right away from Apple Bloom's face. Granted, she should have expected that much, but for whatever reason, it still came as an unpleasant surprise. Nonetheless, she pursed her lips in stoic acceptance and nodded her head with understanding.
"Ah know... Ah promise Ah'll pay for it as soon as Ah can. Ah don't got any money with me right now, but Ah get my allowance this T--"
"Hold on there a minute, Sugarcube."
Applejack piped up from the other side of the room, interrupting before she could finish. Both Pinkie Pie and Apple Bloom's heads whirled around at the sound of her voice; she'd been so quiet that they'd both forgotten she was there at all. She frowned and shook her head at her sister.
"You ain't using your allowance money to pay for it. That's a privilege, not a guarantee," she said sternly. "You're gonna have to earn that money, sis."
Apple Bloom's countenance fell at the declaration. The word 'earn' carried a negative connotation in her mind, especially where hard work was concerned. And in their family, hard work lived up to its name. She sighed, but resigned herself without a fuss.
"Sorry... Yes, Applejack." She turned to Pinkie. "Ah'll pay for it as soon as Ah've earned the money, Ah promise. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
She did the necessary gestures with her hoof. Pinkie patted her on the head.
"Thanks, Apple Bloom. I know you w--" She trailed off abruptly. A hoof drifted up to her chin, striking a contemplative pose. "Hmm..."
The sudden switch of tone brought a sense of unease to the room. A shallow V formed on Apple Bloom's brow.
"Uhh..." She sounded nervous."What is it, Pinkie Pie?"
At first, Pinkie made no indication that she had heard the question. She stared at the kitchen door, a thin, almost mischievous grin spreading on her lips. Then, she replied.
"So, I uh..." She paused. Her smile turned sheepish. "...Tomorrow's gonna be a really busy day for me, because I got a huge order to fill for Dinky Doo's birthday party. Her mom's really pulling out all the stops since she didn't have one last year, so there's gonna be a lot to do. But after I fill it..."
She turned to the two Apple sisters with a giggle. "...There's gonna be a lot of dishes to wash. And not just from that order, either. I've always been up super late this week 'cause I don't get a lot of time to do them during the day... you know, 'cause the Cakes are still gone and all that... and tomorrow I was planning on pulling an all-nighter. But now... I'm thinking, you know..."
Pinkie tapped her hooves together. She winked at Apple Bloom.
"...maybe if I got some help?" ...
The moon's glow was unobstructed by the cloudless sky. Its light was needed, as many of the glowing windows along Main Street had gone dark, leaving only the occasional street lamps to illuminate the road. Every hoofstep was amplified by the empty streets, an odd echo which reverberated around town like the inside of a yawning cavern.
Neither Apple Bloom nor Applejack had said anything since they'd left. Though, to be honest, there really wasn't much else to say, after all. The apology had been made, and the sentence had been delivered. Helping Pinkie Pie scrub an endless mound of pans and mixing bowls after school was ruled a reasonable penance for her crime. Perhaps it was not quite what Applejack had in mind, but there was no arguing with the idea of serving the pony she'd wronged directly. If anything, it was better.
The arrangements had been made; Apple Bloom would come in right after school and wash anything that needed it, and would continue to do so until after closing. Of course, Pinkie would show her the ropes and make sure she did a good job. After it was all done, Pinkie would consider the stolen bun paid for.
"Thanks a lot, Apple Bloom! Have a good day at school tomorrow!" The pink pony had said, wishing her well as they'd walked out the door. She'd said it with great cheer, as though Apple Bloom had volunteered out of the goodness of her own heart rather than an obligation.
Instead of anger, she'd been met with nothing but kindness. Kindness that, quite frankly, she did not think she deserved...
"Y'know, sis... Ah've been thinking. About earlier, when we were talkin' on the way."
Applejack spoke beside her. The suddenness of it caught Bloom's attention immediately. She perked one ear up while the other remained folded on her head.
"And... Ah realized something." She stepped forward and leaned her head in, crossing her neck over Apple Bloom's in an affectionate nuzzle. Her bottom lip quivered.
"Ah never told you how proud Ah am o' you. For tellin' me the truth, Ah mean," she added. "O' course, y'know Ah'm always proud o' you, no matter what. But Ah really, really mean it, Sugarcube. Ah-Ah'm..."
She sniffed, wrapping her foreleg around Apple Bloom's neck. The filly was taken unawares, but found herself melting right into it anyway.
"No matter what you do, don't ever think you ain't one of us. Don't ever think you ain't an Apple. You're my sister, and Ah couldn't be more proud o' you. And..."
She let go, scooting back a step. For the first time that night, Apple Bloom actually dared to look up at her.
"Ah know you're still feelin' guilty. You haven't said a word since we left," she observed, brow creasing down with worry. "Hay, you've been draggin' your hooves so bad Ah can see the scuff marks behind you. But Apple Bloom... Ah forgive you. Pinkie Pie forgives you. And now..."
Their noses almost touched as Applejack spoke softly to her, face to face. Apple Bloom never took her eyes off of her.
"...now, you just gotta forgive yourself."
Silence let the words sink in. Apple Bloom blinked once. Twice. Her mouth hung open, but no words formed on her lips. Applejack stroked her once over the top of her head, playing with the frills of her pink bow. Finally, she broke the odd silence, turning herself around. She beckoned to Apple Bloom with a hoof.
"C'mon, sis." She pointed to her back. "Climb on. Ah'll carry you back home."
Apple Bloom's eyes widened. Blankness was all that registered on her expression for a minute, but as Applejack insisted again with another jab of her hoof, she complied.
"Uhh, Ah, uh... alright..." she stammered. With reluctance stemming from embarrassment, she stepped up to Applejack's side. Applejack helped her up onto her back, fumbling awkwardly with all four of her limbs until Apple Bloom had a good grip around her sister's neck. She felt the warmth from Applejack's coat radiate upward, causing her to grasp tighter as a cool breeze washed over her.
"You comfortable?" she heard Applejack ask. She nodded once.
"Yeah..." she buried her face in Applejack's ponytail. The last time she'd taken a spot on her sister's back had been a while ago, and she'd forgotten how soft her mane really was. Applejack smiled.
"Good. Now let's get home."
Apple Bloom in tow, she started forward, leaving Ponyville behind.
In spite of the cold, the rolling feeling of being carried acted as a silent lullaby. Warmth from underneath her shielded her from the cool breeze, and Applejack's hoofsteps tapped a steady rhythm on the dirt.
The same phrase played back in her head, over and over again like a pony's voice speaking right into her ear. Only this time, the voice was her own.
Now, you just gotta forgive yourself...
It was so dark that she didn't even notice her eyes close. ...
Twenty minutes passed before Applejack stepped through the front door.
The soft glow of a candle flickered in the living room corner, illuminating Big Macintosh. He was seated in the big armchair with a book in his hooves, and upon seeing his two sisters emerge through the front door, he fixed Applejack with a fiery glare.
"Now where in the hay have you b--"
He stopped himself short of finishing. His pupils dilated when he saw the still form of Apple Bloom, fast asleep on Applejack's back. A gentle snore came from her throat. Applejack held a hoof over her mouth in a shushing gesture.
"Ah'll tell you in a bit." She headed for the stairs. "Shh..."
She walked on the tips of her hooves, creeping up the stairs like a cat so as not to jostle Apple Bloom from her back. Big Mac watched with an eyebrow raised in puzzlement, but said nothing.
Applejack pushed open her sister's bedroom door and snuck inside. She clenched her teeth together in concentration and lifted Apple Bloom, saddlebag and all, off her back, setting her down onto the comforter as gently as she could with her head resting on the pillow. The girl's ear twitched, but she didn't move. Her snoring resumed.
Applejack wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead in relief. Moving quickly and quietly, she slid the saddlebag off of her back and set it at the foot of the bed, careful not to make any noise. Then, grabbing the corner of the blanket, she pulled it over Apple Bloom's body, wrapping her like a cocoon. She stroked a hoof over her head, which poked out of the covers.
"Sleep tight, sis," she whispered. "You've got a big day tomorrow."
She kissed Apple Bloom on the cheek. No response. Applejack glided over to the door.
"Ah love you, Apple Bloom."
Creaking of the hinges.
"More than anything."
The door clicked shut. |
Harmony of Chaos | pre | The cicuitry in his boot activated, and a knife as long as his boot shot up out of the heel. He caught it in his right hand, and rapidly cut through the remaining two ties, freeing himself. He paused a moment, massaging feeling back into his limbs.
Fluttershy smiled. "Go," she said. "Stop Metal Sonic before it's too late."
Leaning down, Ivo quickly sawed through her bonds. "And leave you like this? Don't you see me nice." As he finished cutting her ties, the door opened, and they both looked up in fear.
0000000000000000
The beacon ignited, and Rainbow Dash made her way to it, towing a chain wrapped around an apparently unconcious Sonic. Reaching the beacon point, she flew down, setting Sonic gently on the ground. Before long, the beacon died out, and Dr. Eggman stepped out.
"I see you've brought Sonic as instructed," he said quietly.
Dash nodded. "I did my part," she said flatly. "Now where's Fluttershy?"
"Is that her name?" Eggman asked, smiling. "Why, she's right here!" He pressed a button on a control on his wrist, and a flybot dropped a burden on the ground.
"Fluttershy!" Dash called, running forward. Kneeling at her side, she began to undo her bonds. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of this." With a last struggle, the last bond broke.
Fluttershy looked up at her with a smile...then suddenly seized her by the throat, squeezing. |
Harmony of Chaos | Fight | 6. Fight
Rainbow Dash struggled in Fluttershy's grip, unable to break free. "Fluttershy..." she gasped. "It's me...it's Rainbow Dash..."
Dr. Eggman laughed. "How much it must hurt you, child...when friendship is betrayed..."
Dash blinked back tears, struggling to break free. Then, from off in the distance, she heard a familiar voice at an unfamiliar volume.
"RAINBOW DASH! IT'S A TRAP!"
The voice was shouted incredibly loud from a great distance. Gazing in the direction of the origin, Dash spotted a vehicle way off in the distance...and a flutter of pink in the front seat. As hope filled her, she flexed her whole body and kicked the one holding her in the chest...hard.
WIth the sound of tearing machinery, 'Fluttershy' staggered backward, clutching at her sparking stump of an arm. Inside the injury, a glowing light was just visible.
The arm dropped to the ground, the hologram falling, showing a complicated mass of metal and circuitry. After a moment, tendrils extended from the stump, pulling the arm back and reattatching it.
Dash pulled out a communicator. "NOW!" she shouted into it.
Sonic's eyes flew open. He leapt into the air, spinning, shattering the chains that bound him. As he came to the ground, there was a flash of light, and the rest of the team arrived: Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow, who Dash had only just met in preparing this. It was Shadow who had used Chaos Control to bring them all here at Dash's signal.
Dr. Eggman laughed. "Well, Rainbow Dash...how unexpected. You intended to stab me in the back? Then again, it's not like you're honesty."
As Dash blinked in confusion, Sonic stepped forward. "I recognize that tech, Eggman! What were you thinking reactivating Metal Sonic?"
As everyone else gasped at this news, Eggman chuckled. "Oh, Sonic...he didn't." Eggman's body contorted and shifted, and after a moment a metal version of Sonic stood in his place. "I had it all set up, gift wrapped this for the good doctor...but he proved too good to even terrorize a helpless pony. Oh well, I didn't need him anymore. Afterall..." He snapped his metal fingers.
FLuttershy's hologram dropped, revealing a metallic body not unlike Metal Sonic's. Five other metal creatures dropped cloaking tech, revealing metal versions of each of Rainbow Dash's friends from her own world - as Mobians - including one of herself.
"...I've MADE myself some new friends. You've already met Metalshy, but I would be remiscse if I did not introduce the others. Let me make known to you all Twilight Steel, Metaljack, Pinkie Fry, Jewels...and Metal Dash." Metal Sonic gestured to the copies of FLuttershy, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash each in turn. "Metal Dash proved her use and loyalty already...but it's time for them all to show what they are made of, wouldn't you say?" He pointed his hand and snapped his fingers. "Kill."
Each of the metal ponies charged forward, aiming for specific opponents as Sonic and Metal Sonic clashed once more. Dash faced her own dopplganger. Amy faced Pinkie Fry, Shadow faced Twilight Steel, Jewel faced Rouge, Knuckles face Metaljack, and Tails face Metalshy.
Sonic and Metal Sonic had clashed many times before, and their skills had long been evenly matched, as Metal Sonic's growth in power would only be matched by Sonic's chaotic nature and reckless confidence. However, this time was different. Somehow, Metal Sonic was able to anticipate Sonic's moves, although his own actions were almost as though he was unfamiliar with his own body.
Dash was rapidly able to gain an advantage over her duplicate. After all, it was created to best her skill levels from when she first arrived on Mobius. She had improved greatly since then. Seeing something around it's neck, she snalred. "That's not yours!" she snapped, dashing in before the robot could react. Seizing the necklace, she kicked out with all her might, sending Metal Dash through the air. She hung the Element of Loyalty back around her own neck where it belonged before pursuing her opponent.
Amy's battle with Pinkie Fry seemed to be going well. Pinkie Fry kept pulling things out of nowhere with various effects when wielded, everything from exploding pies to fire breathing rubber chickens. However, Amy was battle hardened and managed to avoid most of the attacks, countering strongly with her hammer.
Rouge's battle with Jewel was a hard one, as they were scarily evenly matched. Every move Rouge would use would be countered, and every move Jewel made was countered as well. This battle didn't look good, as Rouge would tire long before Jewel ran out of power.
Knuckles wasn't doing so well against Metaljack. They were evenly matched in power, but Metaljack was somewhat faster than Knuckles. However, Knuckles was able to take a good deal more damage without flinching, while a powerful hit to Metaljack forced her to withdraw while she reassembled.
Tails was rapidly making short work of Metalshy in battle. Both were aerial fighters, but while Metalshy constantly charged him...he just hovered back out of range, taking pop shots with his arm cannon. Since he'd been ready for a death battle - he'd decided the picture had shown Eggman had gone too far - the blast from it was no longer designed to stun.
Shadow's battle with Twilight Steel was surprisingly even. She countered each of his chaos techniques for a while with magic spells. However, as he used chaos ontrol to manuever their position on the battlefield, he saw his opportunity when only the Metals were in range. "Chaos...BLAST!" The erupting blast of chaos energy sent all the metals flying, to land in a heap some distance away, although the damage rapidly repaired.
Metal Sonic was the first to come to his feet. "Ah...was not expecting that attack...although I must say, I like it." As the heroes approached, there was a wicked glint in Metal's red eyes. "However, it's time to end this." Metal Sonic once more snapped his metal fingers.
The six metal ponies leapt together. Each extended a strange energy projector as immense energies began to gather. Dash stared at the formation in shock. She recognized it. Charging in, she was only able to pull Sonic out of the way...before a negative rainbow slammed into the others, sending them flying backward, their energy drained.
Metal Sonic laughed, then paused to examine something on his arm. "Well, it seems the Negative Harmony Cannon functions perfectly...although the cooldown period appears to be built into the magic, rather than the users as I had thought..." He looked up. Shadow had dropped the Chaos Emeralds he had been holding onto - all seven of them - when he was hit with the blast. Seven glowing spheres of color floated over the emeralds, and the emeralds themselves were grey, without light. Metal Sonic's eyes glowed. "How wonderful for me," he said, holding out one arm. The seven spheres were sucked into his body, and he glowed briefly. He glanced up at Sonic and Dash. "Seems I didn't get all of you. Pity...but you two alone won't last long."
"Then it's a good thing they aren't fighting alone!" said a voice from nearby that made Dash gasp in shock.
The vehicle had pulled to a halt. It was an Eggspeeder, built for rapid ground transport, with few weapons. It was a six seater, and the five passengers had disembarked. FLuttershy was easily recognized by the picture Dash had been sent...but the others were a surprise.
On the far left, an orange pony girl with blond hair stood, dressed in blue denim overalls and a cowbay hat. She had a stalk of grain in her teeth and a smirk on her face. Next to her stood a white unicorn girl with dark blue hair dressed in a violet sheath gown, giving Metal Sonic a very haughty glare. On the right next to Fluttershy was a bright pink pony in...a clown suit. Standing between the pink pony and white unicorn, right in front, was a purple unicorn girl with darker purple hair, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Floating over her shoulder was a purple and green chao.
Dash stared in shock. "Applejack? Rarity? Pinkie Pie? Twilight Sparkle?" She paused as she stared at the chao. "...Spike?"
"Chao..." the chao said, holding up a sign that read, 'This is humiliating.'
Twilight Sparkle grinned. "Did you really think we wouldn't come when we knew you needed help?"
"But how did you get here?" Dash demanded as she quickly ran forward to embrace everyone.
Before Twilight could answer, they were interrupted by metallic clapping.
"Oh I just love tearful reunions," Metal Sonic said. "Don't you?"
"Fight now, talk later!" Applejack said, charging forward to attack her metal counterpart.
"Careful!" Dash called. "They're designed to be better than you at your best skills!" She charged her counterpart.
"Dully noted," Rarity said as she clashed with Jewel, "although I think mine must be a failed design, then. Her sense of fashion is just horrid."
"I'm pretty sure she meant combat related, Rarity!" Pinkie Pie said happily as she literally danced circles around her doppleganger.
"I-I think I'm going to need some help..." Fluttershy half mumbled as she fought her duplicate...until SPike charged in and proceeded to knock Metalshy around.
Eggman also lended a hand, pulling out a blaster and taking popshots whenever one of the robots was clear of friendly targets. Sonic's fight with Metal Sonic, however, wasn't going too well, as he was still tired and hurt from the first round.
Twilight Sparkle and Twilight Steel circled each other carefully. While magic was Sparkle's strongest trait, she had always been the strategist of the group, and knew her duplicate would likely be the same. After a few breif exchanges of spells, however, she grinned. "You may be stronger in magic than me," she told her copy, "but whoever programmed your spell list was a rank, arrogant ametuer." With that, she delivered a rather blistering spell combo that nearly tore Twilight Steel to pieces, leaving a large crystal with a familiar crest on it exposed, glowing. At the sight of the symbol, Sparkle flinched, giving time for Steel to get back to her feet. "No..." she whispered.
"Oh please," Metal Sonic said, suddenly backhanding Sonic aside. "After our last fight, did you really think I wouldn't take all you would learn into account? It's just there's only so much that can be done in regards to magic with machines."
Twilight Sparkle backed up nervously. "We-we've never fought before," she said strongly. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't remember me?" Metal Sonic asked. "I'm hurt. Then again, this is a different form. Perhaps this will refresh your memory." Metal SOnic's body suddenly contorted. "Form feet and legs!" he shouted.
Metaljack, Jewel and Pinkie Fry suddenly contorted, slamming into each other as they combined.
"Form arms and torso!"
Metal Dash, Metal Shy, and Twilight Steel also combined, attatching to the base.
"And I'll form...the head!"
As Metal Sonic attatched to the completed form, it moved in a sinuous, snake like manner. Although the entire body was now metal, the coloring was a crazed mix, as every part of the body was different from any other, none seeming to match. However, to Twilight Sparkle and the others, this created a familiar - and frightening - visage.
"D-dischord..." Fluttershy barely whispered. |
Harmony of Chaos | End Game | 7. End Game
"Discord!" Twilight Sparkle snarled. "I don't know how you got here, but you made a mistake revealing yourself like this. We know how to beat you! Formation everyone!"
The ponies gathered around Twilight as they began to energize the Elements of Harmony. Discord grinned as the weapon that defeated him before began to energize. Across his body, six panles opened up. Light was visible from within them as he waited...even going so far as to create a bullseye on his chest.
At first, Twilight was nervous about this - when he'd done it last, the ELements hadn't worked on him - but she shoved it aside. As the gathered power was unleashed, the rainbow of light bathed Discord...and when it passed, he smiled at them all. Crystals had extended from the openings on his body, glowing in the colors of the Elements...and each crystal had one of the elemental symbols on it.
Twilight and the others staggered back. "It's...it's not possible..."
Discord laughed. "Thanks for the recharge. Since you were so kind as to give me a power boost...I think I'll tell you how this all came to be." Leaning back, he grinned. "You see, when Celestia and Luna bound me in stone, my body was trapped...but my spirit could wander. Though weaker than my body was originally, I could still sow a little chaos...at least enough so that when three young friends tussled in my presence, I was able to break free. But you six..." He laughed wickedly. "You six turned my body completely to stone. My old body is defunct, unusable. ...so I went to find a new one.
"At first, I searched through several worlds, seeking a way to reenergize so I could create my new body...until I found a world that existed between worlds, one those who made use of it called...the Internet." He shuddered in pleasure. "It amazed me. How could anywhere be so full of chaos? Flame wars, memes, arguements...this world had aspects of all worlds within it, viewed in any number of ways. This world seemed forged of the power of imagination, and other worlds were born from it. People argued and fought, about everything from the right way to guide their own world to which of you six was 'best pony.' I found it amusing that those who professed such loyalty to your tenants of friendship, love, and tolerance...could also be the source of such delicious chaos! I reveled there for longer than I should, I admit, learning of your adventures after my defeat, and of other things. But then the flow of chaos guided me to a new world...this one.
"This world drew me. It thrives on chaos. Even the primary mystic relic is so named...the chaos emeralds. This world was perfect for me...if I could only find a vessel with which to rebuild myself." He grinned at Eggman. "I have you to thank for that, Doctor. You created a special device inside Metal Sonic to house his personality program...but how could you possibly know that in doing so, you gave him a soul. Of course a being with a soul would rebel against one who enslaved him. When I found him - caged, bound, and shut down - I spoke with him and offered him a deal. He leaped at the chance for freedom before he learned the cost. With his personality suppressed to nothing...he made the perfect vessel.
"But that wasn't the end of what you gave me, Doctor. The device that housed his soul - and now mine - was the perfect design for my purposes...since it was the exact same design as the original vessels of the Elements of Harmony. You wondered why the Metal Ponies didn't rebel? It was because they were not true independent entities...they were extensions of Metal Sonic...of me.
"Metal Dash was a test, and I put all the crystals I would need for my project into her before sending her to Equestria. There, she took Rainbow Dash's place and fulfilled her objectives...acquiring the energy of the elements of harmony from their bearers."
Discord turned to the shocked ponies, smiling. "It was rather easy for most of you. Magic - the most unpredictable - was easiest, since you use it so much, Twilight Sparkle. Honesty and Laughter were almost pathetically easy to acquire; every time you spoke true Applejack, or you laughed or brought laughter, Pinkie Pie, I got what I needed." He smirked at Rarity. "I have no idea why, but Generosity in its purest form was easiest to harvest from you when you were with Spike. I wonder why?" He laughed as Rarity hid a blush and Spike looked at her in confusion and shock.
"But Kindness...for some reason I wasn't able to charge that crystal. And the crystal for Loyalty wasn't charging either. So Metal Dash brought those two elements here...as well as Fluttershy. At this point, I admit, I had abandoned capturing the elements completely, and thought four would be enough to protect me...but then you played so easily into my hands.
"You, Rainbow Dash: I knew that it would be a struggle for you to choose between Sonic and Fluttershy...and it allowed me to absorb plenty of your element, almost more than I needed." He smiled wickedly, showing all his mismatched teeth. "But it was you, Fluttershy, who truely made this possible. You see, Eggman had been so cruel to you: kidnapped you, cruelly bound and gagged you, and then went to terrorize you further. ...but at his lowest point, you showed him kindness.
"At the time, I'd figured that I could just break the power of Harmony by having Metalshy kill Rainbow Dash. But because of teh kindness you showed Eggman - and the kindness he showed you in return - the crystal for Kindness blazed brightly. Because of you, I was able to turn the power of the Negative Harmony against Sonic's friends...and absorb the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Because of you, my dear, I am truely invincible now...for everything that could have destroyed me is now a part of me."
He laughed uproariously as the ponies pulled away, plainly frightened, and FLuttershy seemed to wilt, mumbling apologies to her friends. "But now, I'd say it's time to start this show, wouldn't you say?" He pulled a top hat and cane out of nowhere. "5, 6, 7, 8!
"Don't bother getting up you're in my control
No way for you to fuss and fight"
A device extended from the back of his head as he danced and sang. The music it emitted wore on the ears, carrying fear and madness.
"I've taken all your powers - so, lucky you
You will be in my show tonight."
As Rainbow Dash charged him, he backhanded her away easily.
"You think you can defeat me - oh, how very droll!
Well heroes there's one thing you should know:"
Twilight tried to cast a spell on him, but nothing happened.
"I am the one with magic powers here,
I am the one who runs the show!!!"
He proceeded to dance and sing, warping the world around him and elsewhere. In her own world, Blaze was confused as a Cheezburger landed on her head. A panel in the sky opened, allowing a cat to peek through. Narwhals fell from the sky, babbling about the force.
"I am the master of ceremonies,
So let me set you straight:
With just a wave of my magic paw, I'm...
Master of your fate!"
On the last line, his eyes glowed. Shadows poured off of him, taking on the form of shadow versions of each of the ponies, dancing for him.
"With just some hocus-pocus and -" He made one of his hands briefly dissapear "-sleight of hand,
You all are under my command."
The shadows began to stalk towards the ponies as they backed away.
"Put them in their nightmares!
Keep them all apart!
Places everypony, the show's about to start!"
He danced back as the shadow ponies began to sing.
"He is the master of ceremonies,
So let him set you straight:
With just a wave of his magic paw, he's..."
Shadow Twilight leapt into her.
"Master of your fate!"
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Twilight Sparkle leaned back upon her throne, grinning in pleasure. She wondered how she had come to be here, but then she knew. She had earned this place, becoming the supreme magical power Equestria had ever seen. She had studied the books and ancient scrolls long and hard, and no magic was ever beyond her skills.
Then she dove into an older archive, and learned spells of even greater power. The cost of these spells had worried her at first, but then she had tasted their power, and she wanted more.
Other mages had stood in her way, envious of her power, trying to stop her, trying to hold her back...they were all gone now, dead at her horn, their power added to her own. Celestia and Luna...Zacora...Cadence...Rarity...even Shining Armor had tried to stop her, but he had only fed her hunger for power.
Her throne was built of the bones of her foes, and all of Equestria bowed to her mystic might. She laughed her triumph...and deep inside her true self, that unpitying laughter erased her soul.
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Shadow Rarity leapt into her.
"Master of your fate!"
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Rarity sat upon a great pile of gemstones, gloating over her treasure. It was hers, all hers. She was told it was all the jewels in Equestria...but she didn't believe those lying fools. She knew there was more. She drove them with magic to look even harder. She would not rest until all the jewels of the world were hers and hers alone.
Glancing down, she saw her former friends struggling, trying to cart heavy loads behind them. Her tail lashed, making them work faster to feed her desires.
Glancing into a mirror, she did not see her pony self. She saw the rampaging, crude beast her consuming greed had turned her into: a savage, white dragon with dark blue spines. In the back of teh reflection, she saw a purple claw - very small - just barely sticking out of the pile of gemstones.
Regaining herself for a moment, she dug through the treasure...only to find Spike was no longer among the living. He had starved amongst plenty, as he preferred to die than displease her by eating her treasure.
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Shadow Applejack leapt.
"Master of your fate!"
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Applejack wandered deserted streets. She saw people in the buildings, but as she approached, she saw each and every door and window slam in her face. She couldn't understand it. Why was everypony being so unfriendly to her? As she felt her stomach rumble, she raced for a door that wasn't yet closed.
"Please," she begged, "can't you just let me in for a bite to eat?"
The pony at the door snorted. "What? So you can later spill our secrets to anyone who asks? Just like you did your friends and family?" The door was slammed in her face.
"Wha-" Applejack stepped back, shocked. She wouldn't share people's secrets...would she? She may insist on being honest, but that was taking it too far. She weren't no Gabby Gums, after all.
As she thought of that, she saw a familiar face walking by. "Applebloom!" she called out, running towards her. "Can you spare your big sister an apple or two?" she asked, looking at Applebloom's full bags.
Applebloom glared at her with her eyes full of hate...just as Applejack had looked on her when she had been Gabby Gums. "I have no sister!" she snapped, turning to stomp away. The words were a knife in Applejack's heart, as she sank to the ground and wept.
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Shadow Fluttershy leapt.
"Master of your fate!"
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Fluttershy rushed to tend to everything around the house. There weren't any animals to tend to, but there were still chores. She had to clean the place up, take out all the trash, clean herself up...and she had to cook his dinner. He would be home soon.
Almost as soon as she finished cooking, he came in through the door. "Where's my dinner?" he shouted.
"Coming dear," she called back softly. "Just a minute-"
"I don't want it in a minute! I want it now!"
"I'll bring it right out!" She grabbed the meal and brought it to him. The lights were dim, and his face was hidden in shadow...but she knew what he looked like. She set his dinner on the table. "Here you are, dear. Do you like it?"
He glanced at it, then smacked the bowl, tossing some of it over her. "You expect me to eat this slop?" he shouted. "Is this all you can make for me?"
"I'm sorry," she whimpered, shrinking back. "I'll do better."
"You'd better!" he snapped. "If this is all there is," he said dismissively.
Fluttershy cringed, waiting for him to finish. After a time, he knocked the bowl away and went to the other room. She took the bowl back to the kitchen to clean it...until she heard shouting from the other room.
"YOU CALL THIS CLEAN!"
She came running in, shivering. He was angry. "I'm sorry, I'll do better-" She fell back as he kicked at her.
"That's what you say every day, but you never do it! You stupid, useless, pathetic excuse for a mare! What are you good for anyway? Why did I saddle myself with such a pathetic crybaby!" With each insult, he kicked at ehr again.
She crouched down as the kicks fell, sheiding her head with her forehooves and wings. "I'm sorry! I'll do better! I'll get it right! I'm sorry!"
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Sonic and Rainbow Dash stared in shock as the others cowered in terror. Sonic had managed to disperse the shadow Rainbow Dash before it reached her, but everyone else's shadows had infused them, making them cringe and cower, whimpering various things.
Twilight Sparkle: "No, I wouldn't...I couldn't...I would never...I'm so sorry..."
Rarity: "Spike...everyone...I'm so sorry...I'm a monster..."
Applejack: "Discord was right...all truth ever does is hurt...I never shoulda talked like I did..."
Fluttershy: "I'm sorry...I'll be good...I'll do better...I won't fail again..."
Pinkie Pie: "No...not the cupcakes..."
They stared at them in shock...though Sonic was especially shocked to see Eggman next to Fluttershy, holding her gently and trying to reassure her.
Dischord began to sing to Sonic and Rainbow Dash.
"Now for the greatest grand finale
And the reason why you're here:"
He grinned as the color began to fade from the other ponies.
"Tonight I will make the Ponies...
Disappear...Forever!"
He laughed maniacally for a time. Sonic suddenly pointed. "Dash! Thet thing on the back of his head! It's what's doing...whatever it is to your friends!" Sonic leaped to attack.
Dischord swung lion's paw out and seized Sonic out of the air. "How very right you are, Sonic." He squeezed, and the sound of cracking bones were drowned out by Sonic's scream. "And thank you for helping me make Rainbow Dash's nightmare...real." As he continued to squeeze, he turned to Dash. "So what's it going to be? You have time to save your friends...or Sonic. Which is it going to be?"
Dash froze, not knowing what to do, torn up inside as her own element was turned against her. Unnoticed by anyone, the Chaos Emeralds - still grey - began to slide across the ground towards her.
Discord laughed. "And you know, while you're deciding..." He tossed Sonic into the air. "I think I'll have a snack!" He opened his mouth wide.
As Sonic limply fell into Discord's mouth, something inside Dash snapped. She had to save them all!
The emeralds flew to her. There was a bright flash of rainbow colored light.
No one saw what happened next. One moment, everything seemed lost, and Sonic was about to be eaten. The next, Dash and the emeralds were nowhere to be seen, Discord's head was blasted apart, and the color was returning to the others as the nightmare was broken.
Discord's head repaired itself. "WHAT?" he demanded. "How is this possible?"
Eggman was pointing into the sky. Where he pointed, a figure floated. All that was visible were white-gold wings folded, covering the body entirely, and a flowing rainbow corona.
Twilight Sparkle blinked as she looked up. "C...Celestia?" she said in disbelief.
There was a flash of golden light...and the wings unfolded. It was not Celestia that floated there, but Rainbow Dash, changed almost beyond recognition. Her fur had changed from Cyan to white gold, and her mane and tail were much longer and fuller, seeming to flow around her. The colors of her mane and tail also flowed, as though a liquid rainbow poured from her. In her arms was Sonic, his body no longer broken and glowing with the golden light of the chaos emeralds. Smiling, he floated out of her arms. Then they both gazed down at Discord, ready to fight.
Discord sneered. "Well, this is unexpected..." The world around them seemed to shift, and suddenly they were all on Angel Island, and Discord was wrapped around the Master Emerald. "But not entirely unaccounted for. While designing the metal ponies, I decided to include in Metal Sonic one of the more useful features of one of his prototypes...after upgrading it." Energy from the Master Emerald flowed into him rapidly. After a few moments, the Master Emerald was drained completely, and turned grey. Leaping free of it, Discord roared...and his body flashed gold. "Face me now if you can, heroes!" he proclaimed, flowing into the sky.
Rainbow Slash and Super Sonic charged after him, her wings cutting through the air like a hot knife through butter, his quills tearing at the air in his wake. They reached the area of sky Discord had chosen for his battlefield, and the sky was chaos. In trying to reach Discord, they had to manuever amongst any number of crazy obstacles: nyancats armed with machine guns, alien lasers, and giant fruit and sweets, in addition to the expected cotton candy clouds full of chocolate rain.
"You know," Sonic commented in an aside to Rainbow Slash, "if he weren't such a despicable villain, I'd like his style of chaos."
Slash rolled her eyes. "Keep your mind on the fight, Sonic."
As they evaded the obstacles, they reached Discord and began to strike at him. Unfortunately, they discovered that the majority of the energy was focused into rendering his outer skin impenetrable. Despite landing numerous hits, they weren't inflicting any damage. And while they were all powered by the chaos emeralds at this point, it was plain that Dischord knew how to use that power better than they did. If things went on as they did, they'd run out of energy...and lose.
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Down below, everyone had recovered to a certain extent. While most were watching the fight above, feeling helpless, one was trying to do something.
"Chaos is power...power is enriched by the heart...the master is the one who unifies the chaos...dammit! Work, gods curse you!" Knuckles pounded his fist on the inert Master Emerald.
Twilight Sparkle came over. "That sounded like a spell. What's it supposed to do?"
Knuckles sighed. "When the Master Emerald has energy inside, it activates it, and neutralizes the power of the chaos emeralds. I though maybe I could use it to neutralize Discord...but it simply hasn't any power!"
Twilight stared at the Master Emerald for a time. "Chaos is power..." she mumbled under her breath. "Power is enriched by the heart...heart...harmony is the power that seals chaos..." Her eyes widened. "Girls! Over here! I have an idea!"
The other ponies ran over. "What are we gonna do? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie Pie seemed as un daunted as ever...although there were shadows in her eyes she was obviously trying to supress.
"No time to explain! Put your element against the Master Emerald and chant with me!" She leaned her crown against the Master Emerald.
Confused, the others did as directed, taking the stone in their necklace and holding it against the Master Emerald. They all began to chant as Twilight directed them.
"Chaos is power...power is enriched by the heart...the heart of harmony unifies the chaos...by the strength of harmony, awaken."
"Honesty," Applejack said strongly.
"Generosity," Rarity spoke, a deep sadness in her eyes as she held Spike to her.
"Kindness," Flutershy spoke softly, leaning on Ivo to help her stand.
"Laughter," Pinkie Pie said, her face serious.
Up above, Rainbow Slash spoke without knowing why. "Loyalty."
Down below, Twilight Sparkle spoke. "Magic."
They chanted anew. "By the Power of Harmony, Awaken!"
The light returned to the Master Emerald and it began to spin rapidly, a pure white light building within it.
Suddenly, white light filled the eyes of teh five surrounding it, and they chanted in one voice that belonged to none of them.
"Power of water, wind and earth,
Send the beast back to his birth!
Raise the fire to free the sword
To severe the binds of fate's cord!"
The light erupted from the Master Emerald, shooting into the heavens. It struck Sonic and Rainbow Slash, and they were enveloped. When the light passed, they had changed.
Sonic flashed with an endless rainbow of colors, as sparkles of light surrounded his body, driving back the chaos Discord crafted. Rainbow's wings had grown even larger, and shown with all the colors that existed, and all those that did not. Her mane and tail were now coronas of rainbow light that surrounded her body. A pure white horn rose from her head, spiraling gracefully, letting shine the full power of harmony.
Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Strike gazed upon Discord, all hate gone from them as they now knew what they had to do. They shot upward into the heavens, faster than light.
"What is this?" Discord demanded, then gaped as the moon passed before the sun, casting him in shadow.
At the center point of the lunar eclipse - equidistant between Earth and Moon - Sonic and Strike raised their hands and gathered the power - chaos, harmony, and magic - into a single sphere. When all the power was gathered, they pointed it downwards and spoke in a single voice. "CHAOS...REQUIEM!"
A corruscating double rainbow of light blasted downward, shifting and flowing, hunting for Discord.
Seeing it coming, he laughed. "Oh please," he said derisively. "You already tried harmony." He opened the panels to expose the crystals, ready to absorb the power. As the rainbow passed over him, he flinched. "What? This...this isn't harmony!"
As the power flowed over him, the crystals tried to absorb it...and shattered, one by one. The chaos energy drove the power of the chaos emeralds out of him, and the magic bound him in place.
On the tail of the rainbow, Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Strike dove, hand in hand, spinning around each other, focusing all their power into a single moment. As Discord cried out in frustration...they dove into his mouth and - moments later - punched out through his tail. After a few moments, Metal Discord exploded in a blazing aroura that expanded outward, as a Sonic Rainboom was distorted by Sonic Wind.
As the pieces of the villain crashed to the ground, Hyper Sonic and Rainbow Strike landed on the ground near their friends, gently touching down, gazing upon their handiwork. |
Harmony of Chaos | Wrap Up | 8. Wrap Up
As Rainbow Strike and Hyper Sonic settled to the ground, pieces of Metal Dischord's body rained to the ground, crashing loudly. When the noise finally stopped, they relaxed...and returned to their normal forms, the Chaos Emeralds seperating from them and scattering, their light restored. Dash and Sonic both fell to their knees, coughing. Each were suprised when they coughed up a bit of blood. Sonic recovered first. "Let's never do that again," he gasped out.
Dash nodded, managing to catch her breath. Looking up, she saw everyone else running towards them and waved. As they approached, the two were mobbed by friends happy to see them both okay.
One voice rang out over the others. "It worked!" Twilight Sparkle gasped out happily. "I can't believe it worked!"
Dash looked up at her. "What did you do?" she asked. "Where did that power boost come from?"
Twilight explained in a single breath, "Well, the chaos emeralds are the chaos of this world, much as Discord is the chaos of ours, and the Master Emerald balances their chaos, much as the elements of harmony balance Discord's chaos. When Discord was able to use the power of harmony alongside his chaos power, I realized that ALL creatures must exist on a spectrum between chaos and harmony, able to wield power from both sides. SO I combined the Elements of Harmony with the Masyer Emerald in an attempt to boost the power the two of you were already using...and it worked!"
"Yay!" Fluttershy said quietly.
Sonic blinked, then turned to Dash. "Can...you tell me what it was she just said?"
Dash shook her head. "Sorry, magic's kinda beyond me." She breathed heavily. "Glad that's over with, though. I don't think any of us could fight anymore just now." Glancing around at everyone, she continued, "You guys look almost as exhausted as I feel."
Suddenly, an evil laugh filled the air, and a large piece of wreckage began to shudder. As the laughter continued, pieces of the wreckage fell off, revealing an egg shape, that suddenly shattered. Dischord floated there in a body of fleshm though somewhat smaller than he was before, about the size of the others.
"Incompetent fools!" he cried. "Did you really think I would be satisfied with a body of steel, with all its limitations, when I can have my body of immortal flesh once more? With your power expended, I am beyond your ability to harm now! My strength has not yet fully returned...but it should be more than enough to destroy you all...with one shot." Grinning evilly, he leveled his hands towards them. "Say goodbye, heroes!" he shouted as everyone flinched away.
A quiet voice spoke up. "How dare you..." FLuttershy stepped in front of the group. "HOW DARE YOU! You think just because you're chaos, just because you're immortal with scary powers, that you get to be a bully?" She stomped up to him, giving him the full force of the stare. "Well let me tell you something, Discord...nopony, and I mean NOPONY...hurts...my...FRIENDS!" She gets nose to nose with him, glaring him down. "You got that?"
Everyone stared in shock. After a moment, Discord shook off the shock. "And what are you gonna do about it, Fluttercry?" he said disdainfully. Then, "OW! Let go of my antler!"
Grabbing Discord by his antler, Fluttershy pulled him over her knee...and proceeded to swat his backside for all he was worth, remonstrating him as she went, punctuating each word with another spanking. "You've been a very bad boy! Bad boys get punished!"
"Ow! Ow! Stop it! Leggo! That hurts!"
"Not until you're sorry!" SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
"Owowowowowow!!!!!!!!!! I'm sorry! I'm sorry mommy! I'll be a good boy!"
Once Discord was suitably chastised - and crying his eyes out, totally terrified of Fluttershy - she released him. "Now...what do you have to say for yourself?" she demanded.
"I'm sorry...I've been a bad boy...I won't do it again..."
"Good!" Fluttershy nodded her head. "Now go to your room and think about what you've done!"
"Yes, Mommy," Discord whimpered, flowing away and dissappearing in light.
Fluttershy glared at the spot of light for a time. Then her eyes widened and she put her hands to her face. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I just did that!"
Everyone was staring at Fluttershy, completely and utterly poleaxed. For some reason, Eggman dumped a bucket of ice water over his head.
At long last, Sonic whispered to Dash, "I thought you said she was the timid one?"
As it was dead quiet, the whisper was plainly heard, and startled a laugh out of everyone, leaving Fluttershy further embarrassed. After a while things calmed down, and Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Well, it looks like Discord's been dealt with for good!"
"Yep!" Amy replied. "And peace has been restored to the world."
"Friends have been reunited!"
"And new romances abound!"
"You know what this calls for?" Amy and Pinkie Pie asked each other in unison. They then answered their own question. "A PARTY!"
A unanimous groan came up from all assembled.
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Later, at the party, everyone was relaxed and having a good time in their own way. Many of the group had paired off to compare things about the two worlds...and the two groups.
Rarity was standing with Rouge. "Now, Twilight did some research before we came here, and I think I understand this." She pointed at her own chest. "These are for feeding young ones and attracting a mate, right?"
Rouge nodded. "Only the second one until you're mated, though."
Rarity nodded. "So tell me...how come Fluttershy's are so big?" she demanded, pointing to a corner of the room. Fluttershy - now dressed in dark brown slacks and a baggy, oversized tan sweater that left her hands hidden in the sleeves - was still obviously the most...well endowed of the ponies. Rarity then gestured to herself. "And why am I so small?" she wailed.
Rouge shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know what to tell you there. Probably biology. Some girls got it: some don't."
Rarity shrugged. "Well, at least I'm bigger than Amy over there. She could almost pass for a boy."
From her place chatting with Pinkie, Amy began to twitch angrily, struggling to hold her temper.
Knuckles, meanwhile, was approaching Fluttershy. "Say, that was pretty awesome how you put Discord in his place!" he said energetically. "I don't think we've been formerly introduced. I'm Knuckles. What's your name?"
Fluttershy glanced away, blushing. "I'm Fluttershy," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Knuckles blinked. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."
She wrapped her arms around herself, leaving her right hand on her left shoudler and her left hand on her right hip. "I'm Fluttershy," she said again, even quieter than before.
Knuckles blinked at her.
She pulled in on herself. "I'm Fluttershy." This time, her voice came out the barest squeak.
From her place next to Shadow, Twilight Sparkle laughed. "That brings back memories."
"Come again?" Shadow asked.
She pointed at Fluttershy, where Knuckles was now backing away slowly. "That's exactly how my first meeting with Fluttershy went, right up until she noticed Spike."
Shadow laughed. "Talk about deja vu, huh?" He then raised a questioning eyebrow as Eggman came up and laid a comforting hand on FLuttershy's shoulder, starting up a conversation with her. "She seems comfortable with the Doctor, though."
"Huh." Twilight watched for a time. "I wonder why?"
"I wonder what they talk about," Shadow replied.
Twilight shrugged. "As long as she's enjoying herself, I don't care."
Applejack, meanwhile, had ambushed Knuckles on his way back to the crowd. "Come on, pardner!" she said happily. "Let's see how well you dance!"
"Whoa!" Knuckles said as he was pulled into a dance much too fast for him. Everyone got a laugh out of that.
The party went on well into the night. As things started to wind down, Dash found herself face to face with Twilight. "Say Twilight, I'm glad you all could make it here. THis world is really great, and there's a lot you need to see."
"Well, we've got time," Twilight admitted. "I have no idea how to get us home."
Dash blinked. "Wait...you all came here when it might be a one way trip? Why?"
Twilight shrugged. "You and Fluttershy needed help. How could we not?"
Blinking back sudden tears, Dash pulled Twilight into a hug. "Thanks, Twi."
Twilight laughed. "Rainbow Dash, since when have you been the mushy one?" After a moment, she hugged her back. "I missed you."
"Missed you, too. All of you." Dash pulled back. "And hey, no rush on the return spell, alright? I'm in no real hurry to get home."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She glanced towards where Sonic was starting to yawn. "So...things are serious between you two?" she asked teasingly.
Dash thought about the question for a bit, thinking back just a few hours ago.
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After absorbing the chaos emeralds, Rainbow Slash had punched through Metal Discord's head, destroying the nightmare device and catching Sonic. She had then wrapped her wings around him, as she could feel the life force leaving his body. "Please Sonic..." she whispered. "Don't...don't die..." Not knowing what else to do...she leaned in and placed a gentle kiss upon his lips. Guided by her heart, the chaos energy flowed into him, healing his wounds and filling him with its power. When she pulled back, he was smiling up at her, one hand cupping her cheek.
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Returning to the present, Dash smiled. "I guess you could say that," she said, leaving a shocked look on Twilight's face. "I'm gonna go catch some z's. Night." She turned and followed Sonic outside to a grassy hill. There, without either of them seeming to think about it, they curled up in each other's arms to sleep.
Dash gazed up at Sonic for a time before sleep found her. She knew what would happen when Twilight found the spell to take them home. She would have to choose whether to stay or go. Either Equestria with the others...or Mobius with Sonic. Neither choice on its own seemed the right answer.
As sleep claimed her, she thought, *Maybe it will take a while for Twilight to figure out the spell. Maybe by then, there will be a third choice...*
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Rainbow Dash woke slowly, her body in pain. Shaking her head, she pushed herself up on her hooves. ...when the action hit her brain, her eyes flew open.
She stared down at her forehooves, hooves once more. She knew the floor on which she stood. She didn't need to look up to know she was in Canterlot palace, in the throne room. The pain of seperation - she hadn't even gotten to say goodbye - hit her harder than a knife, but she managed to master her pain as Celestia spoke.
"Thank Harmony that worked," Celestia said, relieved. "Twilight Sparkle, I'm so glad you and your friends are all alright. I was so worried for you all."
Twilight spoke up. "Princess Celestia! How did you find us? I thought you weren't able to track us magically in that world."
Celestia shook her ehad. "I didn't find you. I was guided. Discord appeared - it gave me quite a shock, I admit - but all he did was to give me coordinates to lock my spell to bring you all home. I admit it took all the power I could bring to bear to bring you all home and seal the breach between worlds, so that the two worlds could no longer intersect catastrophically." She didn't notice the way Rainbow Dash bristled at these words. "But Discord...he seemed...subdued, almost - dare I say - repentant?"
Pinkie Pie grinned. "That was Fluttershy's doing. After Rainbow Dash whoped his keister, Fluttershy gave him the full dose of the stare! When that didn't work, she put him over her knee and smacked his bottom till he cried for mercy! She knocked the naughty right out of that bad boy!"
Celestia chuckled. "Well, I never thought I would see the day. Well done, all of you." Celestia was lost in thought for a bit. "Hmm...if he is truely repentant and does not intend to sow chaos rampant anymore...perhaps I should reconsider his offers..."
"Offers?" Rarity asked. "What offers could you possibly want to consider from such an ill mannered brute?"
Celestia chuckled. "You can't judge a book by its cover, Rarity. Back before he got out of control and my sister and I had to seal him away...Dischord was courting me. I admit, he's always had something of a rakish charm..."
At that moment, something inside Rainbow Dash gave way. "Well isn't that just swell!" she shouted, her voice tinged heavily with rage.
"Rainbow Dash?" Celestia asked, taken aback. "Whatever is the matter?"
"What's the matter? I'll TELL you what's the matter! All this time we've used the Elements of Harmony for the good of Equestria...at least, that's what you've always told us!" She was very angry, and all her rage was directed at at Celestia. "But let's take a look at who we've had to use them to fight? Nightmare Moon? She was your SISTER! And now Dischord's your ex-boyfriend? Maybe Chrysallis was actually the mean girl from high school that you never got along with! Is that what the Elements of Harmony are for? Solving your personal problems?"
Celestia was actually getting incensed. "How dare-"
"Oh I dare alright!" Rainbow Dash shouted. As angry as she was, Celestia saw the tears in her eyes, which cooled her own rage. "Well, looks like we've done what we were supposed to! You've got your sister back, you've got your kingdom back...hell, now you've even got your boyfriend back! Well whoopdie-clopping-do for you! Well done! Good jobs all around!" Pulling the Element of Loyalty from around her neck, she threw it at Celestia's hooves. "Well I hope you'll be plenty happy, and I hope it was all worth it! Excuse me, Princess, and call me NEVER!" With that, she turned and fled the throne room, leaving a sonic rainboom in her wake in her haste to be away from there.
Celestia stared at where Rainbow Dash had been standing. "What...what happened to her?"
The others all stared at her for a while. Rarity was the first to speak up. "By your leave, your highness." Without waiting for a response, she turned and left the throne room.
Pinkie Pie followed, muttering, "So much for any reason to party again...ever."
Applejack left as well, muttering something unconvincing about being needed on the farm.
Celestia turned to Twilight...who promptly turned her back to her. "Spike, take a letter," Twilight said, ignoring Celestia.
"R-right," Spike said, pulling out pen and quill.
"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight dictated. "I have learned an important lesson about friendship today. Throughout our lives, everyone is eventually faced with difficult choices. Sometimes, a single choice may effect the rest of our lives. Sometimes, no matter what the options are, we face a choice we will regret making no matter what we do. When a friend reaches such a choice, all you can do for them is advise them, and be there for them. The worst thing you can possibly do to them is to take that choice away from them. They will never forgive you for that. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." She then turned to Spike. "You can send it now."
"But...Princess Celestia's right here. She heard you dictate-"
"Just send it Spike." Twilight trotted out of the room.
"Uh...right." He ran up and handed Celestia the letter. "Here you go." He then ran after Twilight.
Celestia turned to Fluttershy, the last to leave. "Please, Fluttershy...what is going on?"
Fluttershy sighed sadly. "In that other world...Rainbow Dash had met her certain special somepony." She ignored Celestia's gasp as she continued. "It was with his help that she defeated Discord. And...last night, before you drew us back here...she fell asleep in his arms. You pulled her from his loving embrace." Fluttershy turned to leave. "I need to gget home and check on Angel and the others. I've been away from them too long." She went out the door.
Celestia sank in on herself. "Sweet merciful maker...what have I done?"
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Some time later, Rainbow Dash was in her cloudy house in Ponyville, alternately pacing and shouting, occasionaly kicking something. When she heard a knock on her door, she went to answer it. "Oh, hey Scootaloo. What brings you?"
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash sadly. "I overheard what happened to you, why you're so mad now that you're home. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and I wanted to try and help you feel better."
Dash smiled at her. "Thanks, Scoot, but I don't think you can-" Her voice died.
Scootaloo had pulled out what she'd been holding behind her back. It was a pluch doll shaped exactly like Sonic. "Sweetie Belle got the description from Rarity, and Applebloom put it together. I get to deliver it, since I can stand on clouds."
Slowly, Dash reached out and took it. "Thank you, Scootaloo. And tell the others thank you, as well." She slowly closed the door. Walking back to her bed, she lay down on it, holding the plushie and staring into its eyes. Softly, she began to sing.
(To the tune of the show theme song, half tempo, transposed to key of A minor.)
"My little hero...
I used to wonder what love could be
My little hero...
Until you shared your life with me.
Crazy adventures
Full of fun.
Your heart of gold,
Steadfast and true.
Your heatfelt kindness, can't you see?
It's you who made my life complete.
My little hero...
You will always be in...my...heart..."
On the last word, Rainbow Dash broke down and wept. Scootaloo, still at the door, fled the sadness of the song. All across Ponyville, a sorrowful rain fell, washing away the joy felt at the hero's return. |
Harmony of Chaos | U Mad? | 9. U Mad?
Rainbow Dash remained in her house for the next month, coming out only rarely to do her job as weather manager for Ponyville. It was discovered she actually didn't have to leave home to do it anymore, as her ability to manipulate weather had grown. She could call the clouds into place from a distance, and even generate lightning from her own body to begin a storm. Most ponies didn't notice that she was no longer coming out to do her job...except for the days where there was an unexpected, unannounced shower, even though they never lasted long.
Twilight Sparkle and the others, however, were very worried about their friend. Having heard from Scootaloo about what triggered the first rainsquall, they knew that each new shower was another storm of weeping from their friend, and their concern drove most of them to distraction.
At the end of the month, as the five sat in the library discussing the problem, there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it!" Spike spoke up, running to the door.
Glancing at the clock, Twilight mumbled, "I wonder who would come here this early? It's not even light out."
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Maybe Princess Luna wants to talk to you about something."
Twilight laughed. "That would be the day."
Spike's voice came from the front door. "Rainbow Dash! You're here!"
Everypony charged to the front door...finding nobody there. Twilight glowered at Spike. "Spike! Why would you trick us like tha-" Something tackled Twilight from above, knocking her to the side.
"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash shouted happily.
Spike smiled. "Because she told me to."
Everyone piled into a group hug, welcoming Rainbow Dash among them. Although she was smiling, she obviously hadn't been taking care of herself. Her mane and tail were rather firty, and quite snarled. Her coat had an unhealthy greyish tint, and her eyes were red from weeping. Still, she looked happy to see everyone.
Rarity was the first to notice her altered appearance. "Rainbow Dash, you haven't been taking care of yourself! Come, this calls for a trip to the spa." She began to push Rainbow Dash towards the spa as the others followed.
"Aw, come on Rarity, the spa? You're not gonna do me up all girly, are you?"
"Not at all, Rainbow Dash. This is a matter of health!" Rarity glanced towards Spike. "Spike, be a dear and run ahead and let the spa know we have an emergency, would you?"
"Right away Rarity!" Spike dashed off.
Between cajoling, wheedling, pleading, and eventual straight levitation, they managed to get Rainbow Dash to the spa to have her seen to. They all also enjoyed a treatment, althoguh Spike grumbled about being pushed out under the 'girls only' rule. At last they were all relaxing in the aromatherapy bath at the end.
Rainbow Dash looked much better. Although her coloration was still greyish - there wasn't much that could be done for it in one sitting - the snarls had been combed out of her mane and tail and their luster restored. A facial treatment had also helped with the bags under her eyes, as well as getting some of the redness out. She sighed as she relaxed, then turned to the others. "So what's new with all of you?"
"Not much," Twilight said. "Mostly been doing some - more or less - random magic research, learning new spells."
"Throwing parties," Pinkie Pie stated. "Though they haven't been as fun."
"Just been tending to the animals," Fluttershy said quietly.
"It's apple buckin season, so it's all work at Sweet Apple Acres," Applejack said calmly.
"Just running my shop for the most part," Rarity said, "and occasionaly hunting for more gems for my new designs."
Twilight chuckled. "Spike's always happy to help you with those." Then she winced, and everyone got quiet, glancing towards Rainbow Dash.
She didn't seem to notice. "So how are things going between you and Spike, Rarity?"
Rarity attempted to side step the question. "Oh, well, you know...the usual..."
Rainbow Dash brought her hoof down. "What's with you all? The moment the subject turns to romance, you act like someone's just spoken something taboo!" She blinked for a moment. "Oh, I see..." She sighed. "It's cause I'm here, right?"
Fluttershy was the first to speak. "We know how much pain you're in, being seperated from...him. We...we didn't want to make it worse."
"Being seperated from him, without even being able to say goodbye...it's a knife in my heart every day." Rainbow Dash looked at the others. "But that pain keeping you all from looking - and it's not just talking about it, I can tell by your faces you haven't been looking - that's just a twist of the knife! My biggest regret is that I didn't take advantage of every moment we could have had together. I wouldn't be able to bear it if all of you made my mistake." She turned to Rarity. "You know how Spike feels about you?"
Rarity nodded. "I...I have for a while now."
"Do you feel the same way?"
Rarity backpeddaled. "It's not exactly polite to-"
"Life's to short for manners, Rarity. You never know what moment might be the last. Now answer the question."
Rarity gulped and looked down, blushing. Finally, she nodded.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Then please, for my sake, don't wait forever. Find out where it can go." She turned to the others. "What about the rest of you?"
Applejack shrugged. "I just can't seem to find the right stallion, you know? I'm sure he's out there somewhere, but I ain't met him yet."
Pinkie Pie shook her head. "Nopony for me, either. There have been a few who came around...but they weren't looking for something permanent." Pinkie Pie glowered. "Just because I like to party doesn't mean I'm easy."
Twilight shrugged her shoulders. "Haven't been looking. Spent most of my time in the library...when I haven't been busy with my new administrative duties as the Mayor's aide."
"Congrats, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy. "What about you?"
She shook a little. "I...I haven't been looking. There have been a few ponies who asked me out, but..." She shuddered. "The nightmare still haunts me."
The others - except for Rainbow Dash - all shuddered. "Don't mention nightmares," they said simultaneously.
"Ah..." Rainbow Dash nodded. She knew which nightmare they were talking about. "THose still haunt all of you, don't they?"
"Not the cupcakes..."
The others all turned to Pinkie Pie. "Do I...want to know?" Twilight asked.
Pinkie Pie shook her head vigorously.
Once they were all done at the spa, they headed out. Rainbow Dash stretched her wings. "I'm going to go for a quick flight, make sure I'm still in shape...then I think I'm going to head back home. I'm...just so tired." Spreading her wings she took off. "See you all later!"
Rarity turned towards where Spike approached. "If you'll excuse me, Twilight, I think I'm going to borrow Spike for the day. I think we'll go on a picnic." She turned. "Spikey-wikey! Are you free today?" She walked off towards him.
Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight walked together a ways. "Rainbow Dash still doesn't look like she's recovered at all," Twilight said quietly.
"She seems lost," Pinkie Pie agreed.
Fluttershy nodded quietly, having nothing to add.
"Sounds to me like she needs something to work for," Applejack said. "A real challenge. If she hadn't gotten so fast, I'da challenged her to race me at the runnin of the leaves again...but she'd beat me easy. Heck, she'd beat every pony in Equestria."
Twilight froze, her eyes wide. A glimmer of an idea was visibly forming. "Excuse me girls...I need to write a letter." She quickly heads for home, leaving the others to disperse, confused.
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Two weeks later, late at night, Rainbow Dash was startled to hear a knock at her door. "WHo could that be," she grumbled sleepily. She opened the door...and gaped. "Princess Luna! Come in, please."
Luna entered quietly. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash," she replied, not using the royal canterlot voice. "We had feared you would not wish to see us."
Rainbow Dash blinked. "Why?"
"Your outburst upon your return..."
Rainbow Dash dismissed that with a wave of her hoof. "Luna, I wouldn't blame you for your sister's mistake. It's Celestia I don't want to deal with again, not you."
Luna smiled. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash." She sighed. "Unfortunately, it is in response to something our sister has done that brings us here today."
"Oh?" Rainbow Dash asked cautiously.
"This year, as an addendum to the running of the leaves, Celestia has organized another series of events she is calling...an olympics. It will be a series of challenges in strength, speed, agility, skill, and talent. Everypony across Equestria will be there, even those from countries beyond Equestria. Each country leader has selected a team of ponies to be their champions. Celestia is alos selecting her champions...and we would like you to be ours." Luna looked at Rainbow Dash. "We know you to be strong, fast, and to have great endurance. As the main event this olympics will be a race around the entire globe...we would ask of you, will you champion us?"
Rainbow Dash grinned. "You're competeing with your sister here?" At Luna's nod, Rainbow Dash whooped. "A race around the world? Chance to show up everyone, Celestia included? Count me IN!"
Luna smiled. "Thank you Rainbow Dash." Luna pulled out an outfit Rainbow Dash recognized...the uniform of the Shadowbolts. "We have selected a few others to compete alongside you, and we would be honored if you wore this...as our team's captain." When Rainbow Dash began to laugh, Luna smiled widely. "Yes, we are aware of the irony...especially as our Sister has asked Twilight Sparkle to be her champion in the magic event."
Rainbow Dash blinked slowly. "Is that so..." she said quietly. She pulled the uniform on. "In that case, I'd better go practice with the team...and make sure to give you the victory." Taking wing, she took off, getting herself back into shape.
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The Running of the Leaves came around, and the teams were assembled. Five other countries had sent teams to represent them, and leaders or ambassadors had come with to watch the competition. The main focus though were the two teams representing Equestria. Under Celestia, the Sun Riders included Twilight Sparkle for magic, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spike for talent, Applejack for strength...and their captain for speed. The captian remained covered completely in a brown robe with the sun symbol on it, and rarely spoke.
The Shadow Bolts all remained in their uniforms, impossible to recognize. Only Princess Luna and the team itself knew the full lineup. Rainbow Dash was captain, for the speed events. For the strength events, they had Big Macintosh. For talent, they had Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. For magic, they had Trixie...who, although she had trained her magic a great deal, had to repeatedly be told not to reveal her identity. Trixie had even added a glamour spell to the Shadowbolt outfits. As long as they didn't remove the mask aspects, no one would be able to tell who they were. For special challenges...they had Fluttershy.
The olympics went off without a hitch. Princess Celestia and her sister officially announced the beginning of the olympics together, and the events were on.
It quickly became clear that the two Equestria teams had everyone else completely outmatched. In strength, Applejack came out in the lead, with the disguised Big Macintosh in close second. In the magic challenge, Twilight Sparkle won, no contest...although she lost some points in the competitive round when Trixie caught her with a fear spell, making her briefly remember the nightmare. In talent, Rarity and Spike performed an ancient tragic love story directed by Pinkie Pie...although she ahd to give them a nudge several times as the nature of the scene distracted them from completing the scene. For the Shadowbolts, Scootaloo did tricks on a stage designed by Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle sang. It took a while to convince them, but Rainbow Dash managed to convince them with the reminder that no one would know it was them, and the goal was to win for Princess Luna.
The special challenge was chosen at random...and turned out to be herding cats. The Shadowbolts were the only team that managed to complete the challenge. This left Shadowbolts and Sun Rifers tied as things moved to the final event...the race around the world.
Rainbow Dash found herself in the line next to the robed captain. She smirked, sure she had this in the bag. The mayor of Ponyville announced the beginning of the race.
"Everyone, it is my pleasure to announce the last event of the first Equestria Olympics! Given the huge success of this years events, there is suggestion that this will become an annual event! But now, we come to the final event...the race around the world! Each runner will wear a mystic collar which will allow us to see the running and track their progress! Since this is an extension of the running of the leaves, this is a foot race. Flying is expressly forbidden. Pegasi in the race will have their wings bound to prevent cheating." Rainbow Dash smirked at this, especially when she saw the dismay in the other racing pegasi. "Now, to your positions!"
Once each racer was prepared, the mayor held up the flag. "Ready...set..." The Mayor dashed to a good distance away from all the racers and waved the flag. "GO!"
Dash took off at an easy jog which left most of the other racers in the dust. The only racer that kept up was her opponent from the Sun riders. He showed no signs of strain as he easily kept up with her, staying right by her side. She glared at him and began to pour on the speed.
Back at the arena, Twilight pushed her way to the observation deck. "How's it going?" she asked.
Celestia responded. "The two captain's of sun and shadow have just hit the first quarter mark. The rest of the runners are still back at the 1/16 mark."
Luna smiled. "We would say that it is between the two of them, then."
Back with the racers, the masked racer was easily keeping up with Dash. She grinned. "What have they been feeding you, Racer X?" she asked jokingly.
The masked racer simply tossed his head.
Dash grinned wider. "Let's see you keep up with this, then!" She triggered her boost, immediately shifting into a Sonic Rainboom...only to have the other racer easily match her, pace for pace.
Before long, as each of them were at their top speed, they had rounded the third checkpoint mark and were in the final stretch. A communication reached both of them. "It seems you two are evenly matched. As such, the final tally will be determined first by who crosses the finish line first and - if that is equal - who stops closest to the finish line, to test your control."
Dash smirked at the other racer. "Let's see how fast you can really run...and stop!" She poured it on, but they matched stride for stride as they approached the finish line. Then, as they crossed it together, they both dug in their hooves, grinding to a halt. As dust billowed around them, magic measured the completion and the announcement was given. It was a complete tie!
Dash saw the brown sun cloak flying through the air, and turned towards her opponent. She wanted to see who could keep up with her so well.
As the dust cleared, she saw her opponent. He was a dark blue earth pony, his mane and tail slicked back like spines. His cutie mark was seven gems she recognized. But those emerald green eyes and that smile could only be one person.
"S...Sonic?" Dash gasped out, throwing her hood back.
As everyone else gasped, Sonic smirked. "Hey Dash! Miss me?" Dash ran up and rubbed her neck against his in a pony hug. "I'll take that as a yes," Sonic said happily. Then he pulled back and showed her how much he had missed her, placing a kiss on her lips.
The crowd went wild! By the time the cheering died down, Sonic and Dash had been carried around the arena several times by crazed fans. As the excitement died down - only to pick back up in the furor that started when the rest of the Shadowbolt line up was revealed - Sonic and Dash were brought before the Princesses. Finally, Dash had a chance to ask, "Sonic...how'd you get here?"
"That was our doing," Princess Luna said, including her sister in the statement. "When Our sister informed us what had happened with sealing the breach, we suggested a bridge might be more stable. We two bent our power to making the bridge...and we had unexpected help, as he sought to breach through from his side. All this, though," she gestured to the arena, "was our sister's idea."
"Twilight had been researching interworld magic as well, and just as we were able to complete the bridge and bring Sonic through, Twilight wrote me saying you needed a challenge, something to spur you to activity. Putting the two together, I thought this would be a wonderful surprise for you, to discover him for yourself like this." Celestia lowered her head. "Are you angry with me, Rainbow Dash?"
Rainbow Dash ran forward and nuzzled Celestia and Luna. "Not anymore, Princess." She then pulled back and turned to Sonic.
He grinned. "Come on, Dash," he said, his cutie mark glittering. His body then flashed gold as wings spread, and his mane and tail spines pointed upward. "Let's show these foals what it means to truely fly."
Dash smiled, then closed her eyes. Her mane moved in the wind as the colors began to flow...and then she, too, flashed. "Let's fly, Sonic," Rainbow Slash said.
Together, the two flew off into the sky. Just as they reached the edge of any vision, there was a deafening boom, and a curtain of undulating rainbow fire spread across the sky, as the Sonic Rainboom blended with the Sonic Wind, creating a beautiful auroura. |
Harmony of Chaos | Epilogue: Building the Future | Epilogue: Building the Future
"Apples! Get yer apples and apples treats, straight from Sweet Apple Acres! We got cider, too!"
Applejack continued to sell her wares at Station Square. It was amazing how well her wholesome sweets and treats sold here. She smiled, hands on her hips. She knew coming to Mobius would be a great way to drum up some extra business. When she got back home, they might actually have to expand the farm to provide for all the extra demand. Since there was a pause in the flow of customers, she decided to briefly close up shop for a time and explore the city.
She walked along, glancing around at her surroundings. This place was much bigger than Ponyville, but then, it WAS a city. She narvled at the buildings, much higher than anything in Equestria short of Canterlot palace. How could people live so cramped? She shook her ehad. She just couldn't understand city folk, ponies or otherwise. As she walked, she noticed a strange gathering of people holding signs and various other paraphenalia. What really drew her attention, though, was that they were chanting...and what they were chanting.
"Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Fluttershy makes our hearts fly!"
"Eh?" Applejack walked forward, taking a closer look. Everyone in the group was either holding or wearing something that had Fluttershy's picture - as a Mobian - on it. She approached one of the outliers. "What in tarnation's goin on here?"
The man turned to her. "It is wonderful news! FLuttershy is gracing Station Square with a visit! Her Mobile Manor will be docking at the docks within the hour!" The man was obviously consumed with some form of superfandom, as he actually began to foam at the mouth in excitement.
Applejack stepped back. "Man...I knew Fluttershy'd come here to live...but what has she pulled off this time?" She headed for the docks and saw something that made her gasp.
It was the size of any of the skyscrapers, but it flew! From the style of the tech, she knew it was an Eggman construction, but it wasn't a war fortress. If anything, it looked like a cross between a temple and a castle. She started to approach, but a mettalic arm blocked her path.
"Sorry sugar, but not just anyone gets into her majesty's presence, don'tcha know." The speaker was a bunnygirl with a southern accent. She had brown fur, blond hair, and green eyes...and three of her four limbs were metal. WHen she saw Applejack staring, her eyes went hard. "And what're you staring at, hun? Never seen a war vet before?"
"It's alright, Bunnie," a voice said from the other side of the gate. A large white bunny, standing at least six feet tall and at least as wide, with muscles that looked like they could tear through steel. "We can let her in."
Bunnie turned to look at him. "You sure about that, Angel?"
"I'm sure."
As Bunnie opened the gate, Applejack stared at the white rabbit. "Angel? Little Angel?" She couldn't believe it.
Angel nodded. "Yes, Applejack. This is what I look like in this world." He guided her inside, Bunnie following. "By the way, this is my mate, Bunnie Rabbot."
Applejack turned. "Bunnie...Rabbot?"
Bunnie shrugged. "It's a nickname, sugar. I lost both legs and my arm in the war. When the Lady started her movement, she heard about me, and her Doctor friend built me these prosthetics." She worked her metal arm for a time. "Gave me my life back. They work just like the old ones did...even feel like 'em. Didn't know how I'd pay for em...then she said it was her pleasure to help." Bunnie smiled. "I knew they were workin to change the world, so I signed up. The Doc was worried for the Lady's safety, so I joined her bodyguards...along with Angel." She smiled up at Angel.
Angel smiled down at her, then knocked on a door. "Your Holiness," he called. "A friend to see you."
"I've told you not to call me that!" A familiar voice shouted from inside the room as the door opened. "It's bad enough the whole world now looks at me like I'm some kind of holy saviour, when all I wanted to do was help that little boy who was being bullied." Fluttershy looked rather harried, but she smiled. "Applejack! So good to see you!" She pulled Applejack into a fierce embrace. "This is all so much, I don't know how I can handle it all, it's so good to see one of my old friends again!"
"Easy, sugarcube, easy!" Applejack gently extricated herself from the embrace and looked at Fluttershy. She was dressed only in a - the only word was priestly - white robe. "What in tarnation is goin on here?"
Fluttershy calmed herself down. "Come out onto the balcony. Ivo and I will explain." She led Applejack out onto the balcony.
A robot poured refreshment for Ivo Robotnik, Fluttershy, and Applejack. Applejack was touched to see that it was Sweet Apple Acres reserve cider. "So, what is all this then, Fluttershy?" she asked again. "I thought you couldn't stand being a fasion model. How'd you get involved in religion?"
Fluttershy blushed. "It was...kind of an accident. I saw a young boy getting bullied when I came here to visit Ivo...and I got in the middle, called the boys on their behavior...then I found myself speaking to a large group, talking to them about love and tolerance...next thing I know I'm held up as a new spiritual leader." She blushed.
Ivo continued. "When she came to see me afterwards, we talked for a time...and I told her a bit about how the world was at the time, how it had been in the past...she knew already that I wanted to bring a beneficient reign to the world, but had to rely on force to take power since I lacked charisma. When we saw what she ahd there...we decided to give social movement a try."
Applejack blinked. "So you talked the whole world into following you, Fluttershy? Somehow, I can see that. So, how long'd it take? A year? Two?"
Fluttershy was really embarrassed now. "...three months."
Applejack choked on her cider. "Three months?"
"To be fair," Ivo said, "two of those months were the politicians of the UN arguing about the exact form of the new world government so no one's ego would be bruised when the reins of power were handed over." Ivo chuckled. "At first, she was just a charismatic leader bringing the world together...but after she shamed the terrorists into surrender, rumors went around that she was god-touched, and the whole thing took on the force of religion."
Fluttershy was bright red. "It's not funny, Ivo. I'm just an ordinary pony..."
"An ordinary pony who's conquered the world!" Pinkie Pie said suddenly, popping down from the sky.
"Wah!" Applejack cried, falling backward. "Pinkie! Where'd you come from?"
"Silly Applejack! I'm hanging from the air ducts, obviously!"
"But were outside," Ivo pointed out.
"Oh," Pinkie Pie said. "Then I must have a crane or something. Oh! Or maybe the cargo hook from Tails plane!" She nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer.
Fluttershy blinked. "Did...you have those things when you first popped in?"
"How the hay should I know, FLuttershy? You can't expect me to keep track of such picky details! Laters!" She dissappeared back upward.
Applejack sighed. "That's Pinkie Pie for you."
"Have you seen Pinkie Pie?" Tails suddenly asked, leaning through an orange hole in the sky. "We were working on this new project when she warped again..." He glanced at the orange ring. "Huh. THis design is only supposed to work if there's a wall. I need to take it apart and see what's different from the plans..."
"And add it to the plans?" Ivo asked, rolling his eyes.
Tails blinked. "I was gonna say fix it, but that's even better!" Grinning, he dissappeared back through the hole, closing it behind him.
Ivo groaned. "Putting those two together in research may have been a bad idea in the long run."
Applejack laughed. "Well, it's amazing that you've come so far, Fluttershy. Just promise me you'll never try to take over Equestria too, okay?"
"Oh, we would never think to do that!" Fluttershy declared. "Right Ivo?" she asked pleasantly.
Ivo was staring at the sky, rubbing his chin, lost in thought.
Fluttershy's eyes hardened. "Right, Ivo?" she asked again, her voice hard.
"Oh, of course not dear!" he said quickly. "Never ever!" Applejack couldn't help but laugh.
Applejack stayed with them, chatting for a while, before returning to her shop. Opening back up, it wasn't long before she had more customers...and one in particular she noticed.
He was a purple mobian of uncertain ancestry. He had a sharp muzzle and mischevious eyes, and a gun hooked to his hip. His only garb was a rakish cowboy hat. He smiled as he came up to the bar (Applejack had this set up for the late night customers). "Pour me a cold one," he said pleasently.
Applejack smiled. "Sure thing, sugarcube." She poured him some hard cider. "Rough times?"
He shrugged. "Just for me. A world at peace doesn't exactly have a place for a mercenary/assassin."
Applejack chuckled. "Sorry my friend Fluttershy put you out of business."
He smirked. "I guess it was about time to settle down, anyway." He looked at her under his hat. "So you must have plenty of stories about our 'fearless' leader, huh?"
Applejack laughed. "I might just trade a few for some fo your adventures...what's your name, anyway?"
He patted the rifle strapped to his back. "I'm Fang the Sniper. You?"
"My name's Applejack!"
"Mmm..." He smiled suggestively at her. "I loves me a good applejack."
Applejack smiled slowly. "Are you flirting with me?" she asked coyly.
"And if I was?"
Applejack tossed her head. "I'd say I have other customers to see to." THen she smiled shyly. "But I'll be back." She returned to work, making a note to return to Sweet Apple Acres for more supplies...tomorrow. After another glance at Fang, she amended, late tomorrow.
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Somewhere, she wasn't sure where, Rainbow Dash lay down on the beach chair, her hands under her chin, as Sonic applied the sun block. She moaned gently in pleasure. She wasn't sure why, but she always loved having his hands on her. Part of her knew, but as that part of her mind always made her blush, she shut it off for right now. "Where are we anyway, Sonic?" she asked pleasantly.
"Does it matter?" he asked softly.
She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really, I was just wondering if we would be able to come here again."
"We can come here as often as you like," he said. "Now roll over, so I can do your front."
She chuckled. "Naughty hedgehog," she said with a smile. "I'll take care of that." She laughed aloud at his playful pout. "So, this place on Mobius, or somewhere else? We've hopped between worlds so many times I'm not sure anymore." She began applying the sun block anywhere not covered by her rainbow bikini.
"It's not Mobius, but it's close enough," he said with a smile. "Easy enough to get to."
She glanced around. "This place is nice, that's for sure...would be a good place for a honeymoon, certainly." She grinned wickedly at Sonic.
He blushed. THey had been talking about things like this recently. "So...when did you want to hold the wedding?" he asked.
Glancing breifly at the ring on her finger, she shrugged. "Don't really care, as long as it's before we have foals."
Sonic glanced at her slyly. "How do you know our kids will be foals?" he asked.
"Because we're gonna have our family in Equestria," she said firmly.
Sonic smirked playfully. "And how come that's set in stone?"
Dash glowered. "Because I'M the one having the foals!" she said firmly.
Sonic backed up, putting his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I getcha!" He laughed easily.
Dash smiled. "Come on, let's swim!" She ran and dove into the crystal clear water, frolicing for a time. Eventually, they just floated for a whiel, Dash wrapping her arms around Sonic from behind. Leaning against him, she smiled. Sonic was right. This place was perfect...
"OY! Whadda you blokes think you're doin in my water, eh?"
...except for the interruptions.
"Oh, hey Sonic! What are you doin back here, mate? And who's the sheila?"
000000000000000
Rarity walked calmly along the road, glancing at her companion. Spike had grown up a bit since their days in Ponyville. He was now about the size of a pony...in main body, anyway. His neck and tail were quite long, allowing him to tower over her if he chose. "Spike," she asked him suddenly, "how is it that you have only grown this much?"
Spike smiled at her. "Dragons grow based on their horde. The more treasures they keep for themselves, the bigger they get, and the more their greed consumes them."
Rarity nodded. She remembered what had happened that one year after Spike's birthday. "And?"
His smile widened. "I only have one treasure I wish to keep," he said fondly, nuzzling her neck.
"Oh, Spike," she said happily, nuzzling him in return. They'd been on this journey around Equestria to discover themselves for a few months, ever since theystarted moving forward with their relationship...and it still surprised her just how sweet Spike could be.
"Rarity!" a voice called out happily, making Rarity jump.
"Mother?" she asked in shock, recognizing the voice. "Father?" she said, as she recognized the two who approached.
"Well fancy meeting you here!" her father said pleasantly. "What brings you here? And who's this fella?" This last was said with less pleasantness as he stared towards Spike.
Rarity winced. Although her parents tended to be...relaxed in a lot of things, they were rather conservative in others. She had hoped to arrange this particular meeting a little better...but there was no help for it now. "Mother, Father...this is Spike. My boyfriend."
Spike smiled. "A pleasure to meet you both at last," Spike said happily, extending a claw to shake.
Rarity's parents glanced towards him dissapprovingly. Before a word could be spoken, Rarity spoke up. "Mother, Father, can I speak to you in private for a minute?" She dragged them away to speak.
Her mother was first to speak. "Now Rarity...you do realize that's a dragon...right?"
Her father followed up, "Wouldn't you rather settle down with a nice stallion?"
Rarity glowered at them both. "Mother, Father, I love you both very much...but there is something I have to say to you both right now. If you want to have any part in the lives of your grandfoals...then you will quickly revise your opinion of the one I've chosen to be their sire. Is that understood?" Without waiting for an answer, she turned and stomped back to Spike.
As her father started to go after her, her mother caught his ear. "Dear...she means it. YOu know how stubborn the mares of this family can be. If you'll recall, my folks never really approved of you."
He nodded. "Yeah...which is why they've never met Rarity or Sweetie Belle."
She smiled. "Let's NOT make that mistake, shall we?"
He nodded. "Agreed. I can't say I like this, but...if he makes her happy..."
Shrugging, they went to go have a more pleasant discussion with Rarity, who had just finished giving Spike reassurance after what he'd overheard about foals.
000000000
Twilight sighed in contentment on her bed in Ponyville library. She'd just sent her latest letter to Princess Celestia, about how it didn't matter how far friends went from each other in life, true friendships lasted forever. Sighing in contentment, she stirred happily at the sensation of a horn nuzzling her own. She opened her eyes to smile at the stallion beside her.
Shadow had lived here with her for the past six months, ever since he came to Ponyville to start a new life, free from the bad memories his own world was filled with. Since he lacked social skills - much as she had when she'd first arrived - she'd welcomed him into her home and helped him make a start with friendships. Besides, the house had felt somewhat empty ever since Spike left on his journey with Rarity, and a blind pony could tell that they would be living together when they returned.
It had been nice, having another unicorn as a housemate. THey had studied magic together, learning a great deal from each other. She had discovered that beneath the gruff exterior Shadow presented to the world, he had a kind heart, and it had been a pleasure getting to know him. It had seemed inevitable that their relationship would become 'more than friends'.
SMiling, she stood up and stretched. "We should get up now, Shadow," she said happily. "We've got work to do."
Shadow smiled in return, hopping to his hooves. "Yes, we should." He too began to stretch, then paused. "Twilight, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she replied. "WHy wouldn't I-" She froze. A strange pain had begun to develop in her back. "Ow...owowowowowowowOW!!!!" She put her head between her front hooves, her entire body shaking.
Shadow immediately grabbed paper and quill, penning a letter to Celestia that something was wrong with Twilight, and to get here soonest. Using Chaos COntrol, he sent it off to her. "Hang on Twilight. Celestia will be here soon."
"I don't think...she'll get here...soon enough..." Her eyes shut tight, sweat pouring down her brow, her whole body suddenly flexed and she screamed.
Huge purple energy wings expanded from her back, glowing brightly before seeming to settle, shrinking to match the size of Twilight's body. As the wings solidified into flesh, Twilight collapsed onto her knees, breathing heavily. "What the hay just happened?" she asked.
As Shadow shook his head, a familiar voice spoke from behind him. "I see it has finally happened."
Twilight looked up. "P-princess Celestia!"
Celestia smiled down at Twilight. "I see the wings of your heart have finally spread. I knew this day would come...eventually."
Twilight stared at the wings, which slowly folded to her back. "But...how?"
"Dear Twilight...did you really think that being an alicorn was solely a matter of bloodlines? THere is far more to it than that." She smiled at her pupil. "An alicorn - a princess - must also have a very strong heart, one strong enough to hold the kingdom sheltered in her wings. Powerful magic is also neccessary...and I knew when I took you into my tutelage that you would one day be more powerful than I. I only had to wait for the day your wings spread...although I'm glad that it happened while you still ahd your youthful vigor."
Twilight was still in shock, and could only ask, "...why?"
Celestia chuckled. "Why...for the same reason I had you stand behind me and to my left at the Grand Galloping Gala to introduce you to everyone."
Shadow's head came up in shock. "But...in traditional monarchy, that's the position reserved for the heir apparent!"
"Precisely," Celestia said with a smile as Twilight's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "I knew one day Twilight would be strong enough, brave enough, loving enough, and responsible enough to care for the kingdom as a whole...able to take the burden of ruling from my shoulders so I may rest, when your wings finally spread." She smiled at Twilight. "I am so proud of you, my faithful student...Princess Twilight Sparkle." She bowed her ehad slightly to her student and heir.
Twilight bowed in return. "T-thank you, Princess Celestia."
Celestia turned to go. "When you are ready to take on the responsibility for the kingdom, return to Canterlot so I may teach you all you must know...but take your time. THere is no hurry." She paused then. "By the way, Twilight...what were you doing before your wings spread that left you so mussed? And this place such a mess?"
Twilight flinched, trying to come up with an answer. Shadow came to her rescue. "I was helping Twilight with some magical research, and things got...explosive."
"Oh, I see." Celestia smiled. "I hope you took proper precautions," she said blandly.
Twilight ducked her head, trying to shift her mane to hide the charm at the base of her horn.
Celestia noticed. "Oh, I hadn't realized you'd learned THAT spell." She laughed pleasently as Twilight and Shadow turned bright red.
Upon loving hearts is a future built.
End. |
unicorn destiny: equestria is magical. | pre | In my previous life, I started studying engineering in auto mechanics, but I lost interest due to a pandemic and dropped out. Later, when face-to-face classes resumed, I switched to accounting. It wasn't a bad career, but it wasn't my true passion.
Upon beginning my schooling in Equestria, I discovered that the classes were somewhat dull. As a human reincarnated into a pony with knowledge beyond my years, the lessons designed for foals failed to engage me. What truly sparked my interest was the opportunity to practice magic, yet such occasions were rare, particularly since not all of my classmates were unicorns like myself.
Now, I have a deep interest in the main subject of this school: magic! And with some prior knowledge about the subject, I feel at least somewhat prepared for what lies ahead.
Actually, although some might assume that with 5 years of experience in this place and about to turn 6, I should be a master of magic, that's not so simple.
Why, may you ask? The answer is quite simple, the books I have access to.
It should be pretty obvious, but I'll still say it: no one would think to expect a foal to read those super difficult books on magic and understand them. Most of the books I was given were for foals, full of pictures or very basic information, and sometimes they even contradicted each other.
I would often tag along with my father, seeking his help to decipher the mysterious language of the books. Even he was taken aback by how some seemed to underestimate the intelligence of foals. It's as if the authors believed little ones couldn't grasp complex concepts.
Certainly, it bothered me. Sometimes, I'd even toss the book I was reading against the wall out of pure frustration. But usually, I found solace in a soothing cup of tea to calm my nerves.
I discovered a certain tranquility in sipping tea when I'm feeling upset. There's something about the warmth and comforting aroma that helps soothe my troubled mind. It's like a gentle hug in a cup, wrapping me in a sense of peace and serenity.
Is kinda weird but so are the things now.
So yeah, I'm really glad I came to this school.
And having finished my internal monologue, I have already arrived at the school.
To my surprise, though somehow not so surprising, I see Princess Celestia standing at the door, greeting all the students who are arriving at the school.
She certainly has a lot of time on her hooves, that mare.
As I approach the door, Princess Celestia greets me with a gentle smile. "Welcome to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, young Platinum Breeze! We are delighted to have you join us."
I must have had a rather puzzled look on my face because she chuckled softly before continuing, "Yes, I remember you, little one. You were present during my new protege's tryout, and you're also the son of one of my unicorn guards."
Ah, it all makes sense now.
Not really but I will go out with that.
Nodding to myself, I return the princess's salute and wander into the classrooms.
She's probably waiting for Twilight to arrive, although knowing how enthusiastic the little filly is, one would imagine she'd be the first one here.
Where is she?
Meh, she's probably not too far from here anyway.
Anyway, I just got to class and settled into my seat.
Let's see what the 1st day at this prestigious school is like.
...honestly, I know I shouldn't be surprised.
I understand that we're just foals and it's just the 1st day and all, but I thought, considering this is such a prestigious school, things would be more like college than a foal school.
All we did during all the classes was introduce ourselves to each other.
Nothing more than that.
The only notable thing was that I was in the same class as Twilight and she looked a little disappointed too.
Of course, I didn't talk to her other than a few cordial greetings, not only by choice but she was also keeping to herself.
I don't remember her being like that, honestly, but considering I don't have many memories of this show, it's not very surprising. It's been almost 6 years, so it's obvious I'd forget things.
Anyway, since I have a little bit of free time before going home, since we leave pretty early, I decided to go to the school library.
Because yes, this school has one and all students can go into it.
Actually, it was one of the few things that caught my interest about this school. You see, the school is open to the public, but you need a pass to get in. Luckily, they gave us one before classes began.
Actually, it was one of the few things that really caught my interest about this school, since the school is open for everyone to access, provided you have a pass, which fortunately we were given before classes started.
It seems wrong to me that there should be something like that in the school, as someone could take advantage of it to learn things they shouldn't know. However, it is possible that the most important knowledge, such as tomes of advanced magic, is kept in Princess Celestia's library. In the end, the books that the school has might not be the most advanced that exist in the world.
Although I don't know that I haven't been to the library yet, but that can be easily solved.
With a determined look on my face, I headed to the library with only one purpose in mind: to study for my free time.
I never thought I would do this.
Once I entered the library, I was greeted by the librarian who gave me a look, to which I just proceeded to show her my pass, she examined it and gave me the okay to access the library.
The library is huge, easily the biggest library I've ever been to, (not that I've been to many libraries to begin with), this place has at least 3 to 4 floors and a lot of shelves, I can even see several carts to grab several books at a time around the library.
Is all of this handled by one pony? If so, my respect.
I quickly moved to the magic section, which is the only section that interests me in this place for now and checked out the books.
It wasn't hard for me to find a book to read: the secrets of magic by Starswirl the bearded, a book that obviously talks about magic.
Now let's see if I understand it.
Hmm, nope, too advanced for me.
Let's see... this one? Nope, still pretty advanced.
Hmm, this one I understand, "magic theory" by Moonstone Mask.
This book basically talks about the theory behind magic and how to summon it more effectively so you can use it without getting tired of it.
Perfect.
Quickly, I made my way to a table to sit down and study it when I heard a voice.
"Um, excuse me, do you happen to have any books on raising dragons?"
"Sorry! Nopony's ever written one!"
I looked up from my reading to see little Twilight Sparkle using a cart to carry a stack of books.
Wait, did she just say, "rising dragons"?
Did the princess really make her take responsibility for Spike? At such a young age? Seriously?
No wonder the current Twilight is so different from the future Twilight, raising a baby, especially a baby dragon, must have been super hard.
Why the [Beep] did Celestia make she do that?
...Should I help her?
Seeing as she's currently leaving the library with the stack of books heading home, she must have rented the books, so any option of helping her has been off the table.
...meh, she will be fine
If Spike turned out to be well behaved during the series and an excellent kid, then Twilight did well.
And she has the help of her parents anyway, so she shouldn't have any problems.
Yeah, it's none of my business, so I'll ignore it and get on with my good book.
I regret ignoring that problem.
A lot.
Today was my second day of school, and I found myself in my very first class, which, oddly enough, was a lesson on magic. Suddenly, I spotted Twilight peeking out the door, as if she were searching for someone.
Professor Inkwell, silly name if I'm honest, scolded her for coming in late on the second day of class and let her take her seat.
But she had baby Spike with her and the baby dragon decided, at the very moment Twilight took her seat, to start crying.
I ignored it as best I could, as I had already decided not to interfere with Twilight's upbringing with Spike but that was not the end of it.
A few days later, I was in the library studying, just like I did on the 1st, only this time a different book, when suddenly I see Twilight walk in with a stroller that had a sleeping baby Spike in it.
She grabbed a stack of books and sat down at a table to study.
Everything was normal until Spike conveniently decided to start crying.
That made me irritated again, and I wasn't the only one, as the librarian and other students who were around at the time were also annoyed by the sudden noise and asked her to be quiet.
Twilight tried her best to try to calm the crying baby but obviously she couldn't, she had no experience.
Seeing her desperate to calm the baby dragon it made me regret my decision not to help her sooner, so I decided to help her right then and there.
Bounding to my hooves, I hurried over to her table. I noticed the librarian about to speak, but she paused upon spotting me, as if pondering my intentions. Truth be told, I found myself asking that very same question every day as well.
Once in front of her desk, Twilight turned to me with a look of recognition. "You are..."
But I interrupted her with an urgent question, "Did you feed him before you came here?" Twilight nodded quickly.
Harnessing my magic, I lifted Spike up--boy, was he heavy, and still crying! I drew him near and cradled him with my hooves.
Phew, that scent...no wonder this little guy was in tears.
I gazed at Twilight, my expression questioning. "Do you have any diapers and wipes?" She nodded, a spark of recognition in her eyes, and passed them to me using her magic.
With practiced finesse, I rearranged Twilight's books to create space for little Spike. Swiftly, I changed his soiled diaper, ensuring thorough cleaning and drying.
Afterward, I carefully carried the used diaper towards Twilight, who had a bag ready to contain it, neutralizing any unpleasant odors.
Glancing back at little Spike, I began to hum a sweet lullaby, taught to me by my parents. It worked like magic, lulling Spike back to peaceful slumber.
I turned to my incredulous audience, where Twilight stood.
"How-?" she started to say before being interrupted, this time by the librarian.
"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave the library, both of you." She said, to which we both turned to look at her.
"What? But why?" I exclaimed, feeling irked because I still wanted to study my book. This one was all about how elemental magic works.
With a stern glance, she directed her attention towards young Spike, which irked me, again. After all, he was just a baby. I was just about to let my voice to go out with all my frustration, but before I could protest any further, Twilight's hoof halted me.
I met her gaze and noticed her shaking her head. Then, with a resigned expression, she headed towards the exit, taking Spike's stroller along with her.
I gave the librarian mare an annoyed look, but she only gave me a blank stare as she pointed to the exit, to which I proceeded to retreat, but not before levitating my backpack off the table where I had left it.
I could have made more fuss, but in the end, it was no use.
Once outside, the little filly turned to look at me, with clear question marks on her face.
With a gentle smile, I spoke up, "I believe you already know who I am, but allow me to reintroduce myself. I'm Platinum Breeze."
Rather than reintroducing herself, Twilight went straight to her question, "How did you manage to calm Spike down like that?"
"Well..." I hesitated, trying to come up with a suitable answer, I couldn't just tell her that I learned how to take care of babies in my previous life, when I lived in the communities, nor that I learned the tune my parents played me with their horns when I was a foal and learned how to whistle it.
"I read it from a book." I said with a nervous smile, hoping she would believe me.
Which luckily, she did, as she turned her gaze to Spike, who was still sleeping and looked up at me to see.
"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to get home before Spike wakes up." She said then started to leave.
But I stopped her, putting a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to turn to me and say, "Wait, let me help you take care of the baby."
"What?" looking at me puzzled, she replied, "no, you can't."
To which I gave her an annoyed look, "Why not?"
"Because it's a task given to me by Princess Celestia" proudly proclaimed young Twilight.
I gave her an incredulous look. "Twilight, you can't take care of the baby by yourself. It's too much work for a little filly like you," I began to say, before quickly adding, 'or for me, but the two of us together can do it.'
She gave me an annoyed look, or rather a pout, and firmly said, "The Princess gave this task to me and me alone because she trusts me. I will not allow anyone to make me let that trust down. I know I can do it and I don't need help."
She finished, then turned and stormed off in the direction of her house.
I looked at her with a blank look of annoyance, and then a smile grew on my face, "well, that's not for you to decide, princess" I said and then walked away towards my house.
The next day, considering that we had the same classes, during class time, I decided to talk to a classmate who sat next to her and the classmate decided to switch seats with me, more than happy to get away from the girl and the crying baby.
She looked at me with surprise to which I gave her a little smirk, to which she gave a snort and then turned her attention back to the class, or at least tried to if we consider the crying baby, which I quickly soothed with the same melody I used to put her to sleep the 1st time.
Since then, directly or indirectly, I was helping Twilight with the care of her dragon child, although I could only do it during class hours or in the library.
But apparently, I was very helpful to her, as she was able to keep up with her studies and although she always looked very tired, I always did my part to at least get her some sleep during classes, making notes for both her and me.
Was it laborious? Yes, it was.
Do I regret it? Maybe a tad, but I couldn't let a young filly handle a baby all by herself.
And so, it went on for half a semester, even with my help Twilight still looked pretty stressed and had a hard time using magic.
One day, after a test that she failed, Professor Inkwell asked her to stay to talk about something, which I didn't stay to hear because I had other things to do at the time.
All that went on until a very special day came, the annual royal tea party, where all the teachers, students and parents gathered for some reason.
Did I care about the celebration? No
Did I still go? Of course, I like tea and wanted to keep an eye on Twilight and Spike.
Which in the end turned out to be fruitless because the princess decided to take Twilight and Spike to the room where all the parents were.
I don't know what happened in there but it must have been quite a mess, as Twilight ran out of the room, taking with her a rather dirty Spike with her magic.
Which gave me an idea of what happened in there but I decided to ask my parents, who obviously decided to sit with Twilight's parents.
Apparently, Spike escaped from Twilight's backpack and made a mess by spilling food on him and Twilight said she was basically feeling pretty stressed about taking care of Spike almost all by herself, and a bunch of other stuff, although she admitted that I helped her quite a bit, to which my parents told me they were proud of me for helping someone else when they needed it.
To which I dismissed it, because I did it with pleasure.
Taking care of baby Spike was like taking care of any other child, only that this one spit fire, and I love taking care of children.
The next day, during classes, surprisingly Twilight arrived early, with Spike still by her side. She looked less tired and happier. She thanked me for all the help I provided by taking care of Spike during classes when she couldn't, and apparently it turns out that the princess didn't expect me to take care of the baby alone and thought she would ask her parents or her brother for help.
Then Twilight finally decided to accept help from her parents to take care of Spike while they were at home so that she could study and sleep in peace and she asked me to help her continue to take care of Spike during school, which I gladly accepted.
I was going to keep helping her anyway, even if she didn't ask me to, so I didn't mind continuing to help her.
And so, the time flew by.
And before you knew it, 10 years had already passed.
Yes, I know, time goes very fast.
Since that day, I became sort of friends with Twilight, even when it was no longer necessary for me to take care of Spike, we became friends or at least study buddies, since apart from birthday parties or tea parties, we only saw each other during classes or in the library from time to time, and only to study.
We recently turned 18 and we both graduated from school but we still were in the school.
You see, while we have long since finished our formative schooling, we are still in school learning, Twilight as Celestia's apprentice and protege and me as a future scholar of magic.
Apparently, I have some talent in magic, not as good as Twilight's but quite the same, for while she has more magic than I do, I have more knowledge of magic than she does.
I'm even in the process of discovering a new form of magic.
Or so I hope.
What kind of magic? Glyphs!
Some will say, "What, Glyphs? We're not in the owl house, go to your fandom."
And hahaha, not that kind of Glyphs my friends but similar.
You see, even with all our knowledge, Nopony can harness the magic that is circulating around us, as the magic that is in the air is too dense to be handled by any pony, which is why we unicorns can only use our inner magic when casting spells.
So, I have tried to create "Glyphs" which are basically written words that draw magic from around us to activate spells.
They are not like the ones they used in the owl house and I have no idea how I still remember that show, but thanks to that I was inspired to create the Glyphs.
You see, I'm currently in my workshop and I'm in front of a circle that has a coded language that is basically the basic fire incantation, what it should do is go up in flames and hold up like a campfire.
Simple, right.
I wish it were.
It has taken me 5 years of constant study to be able to create a coded language that contains the incantation to perform the spell and so far, I have made no progress.
Nothing, literally nothing.
Honestly, I'm starting to think it's impossible and I'm reconsidering taking up another branch of magic to devote myself to instead of my current one, which is simply magical research.
Well, anyway, here's attempt number... I can't even remember which one.
Touching the circle with my helmet, I wait to see if anything happens.
And I wait.
And I wait.
And... nothing.
Sigh, I should have guessed.
Well, time to go back to the workbench.
Oh wait, that's...
Yes, there's a small flame in the center of the circle.
It's barely holding on but it's there.
It worked...
It worked!
Aha, [Beep] yes! I have created a possible new branch of magic.
Oh well, more like I'm closer to creating it now that I have my 1st semi-successful attempt, but it's a step closer than I've been in 5 years.
Now, to jot down my current discovery.
*sound of door slamming*.
Oh... I could attend to my guests.
But considering I only know one person who walks into my workshop like this, then I already know how I should greet them.
I turn to see Twilight, who looked rather rushed for some reason.
"Hello princess is there anything I can offer you in my humble-" I was about to continue but a hoof in my mouth interrupted my rambling.
Rude.
"Save your musings for later, Platinum. I need you to come to Ponyville with me to stop the reappearance of Nightmare Moon," said Twilight with seriousness.
...say what now?
Hi, I hope you liked the new chapter.
I know things went by pretty fast as far as time is concerned but honestly I didn't want to dwell too much on her childhood and I also didn't want to focus or make a whole arc centered around school or her childhood days.
See you in the next chapter. |
unicorn destiny: equestria is magical. | Chapter 3: Ponyville | Hi, I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter.
I know I did rush quite a bit when it comes to the childhood era, but if I'm honest, I just didn't want to focus on it.
Well, that's it, enjoy today's chapter.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
"So, let me get this straight, you were reading one of the stories published on behalf of Princess Celestia, again, and because of that you learned of the possible return of the mare on the moon, the one referred to as Nightmare Moon"
"She is going to return; the prophecy says so."
"Aha, whatever you say princess-"
"Stop calling me that."
"Anyway, after you found out about something that apparently only you noticed, you rushed to text the Princess about it and her response was... Spike."
"Ah yes, here's the letter," Spike said as he pulled the letter out of who knows where, "ahem, 'My dearest, most faithful student Twilight, you know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely but you must stop reading those dusty old books.'"
"Pff." I couldn't help but snort at the contents of the princess's letter. However, at the annoyed look Twilight shot my way, I burst into laughter, doubling over and leaning against the carriage for support. Spike joined in shortly after, his laughter echoing mine.
We were currently on route to Ponyville in a carriage pulled by two Pegasus guards. Normally, we would have taken the train from Canterlot to Ponyville. However, due to the official nature of our business, we were given special transportation.
It has been two days since Twilight walked, rudely if I may say, into my workshop and asked for my help in stopping the return of the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon.
Naturally, my initial reaction was to tease her for her cryptic inquiry without providing any context. Her cheeks flushed slightly with embarrassment as she proceeded to fill me in on the details, though I remained skeptical initially. And that brings us to the present moment.
After indulging in laughter for a good minute, I straightened up, only to be met with the mare's unamused expression. "Finished?" she quipped dryly.
Controlling my breath, I nodded and motioned to Spike, that he had stopped laughing before I did because of the look Twilight was giving him.
"Oh yes, ahem, 'My dear Twilight. There is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you and the young Platinum Breeze to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location, Ponyville. And I have a more essential task for you to complete, make some friends!'"
At the soft whimper that escaped Celestia's protegee, I couldn't help but stifle a snicker.
"Come on, it's not as bad as you're making it sound," I said as I looked at the whining mare leaning against the carriage, who was looking at me with her annoyed look she was getting all the way here, a little because of me another little because of the situation we found ourselves in.
"Look on the bright side, Twilight! Princess Celestia arranged for you two to stay in a library, doesn't that make you happy?" said Spike cheerfully, trying to cheer up the annoyed mare. I was amused and stroked Spike's head, which he accepted by looking at me with annoyance. He doesn't like it when I do that; something about being too big to be patted on the head. Kids, right?
At Spike's words, Twilight couldn't help but perk up suddenly. "Yes, yes it does make me happy! And you know why? Because I know I'm right. We'll go through the preparations as fast as we can and then we'll go to the library to find proof of Nightmare Moon's return," Twilight said earnestly, looking around Ponyville as she said it.
Hearing what she said, I couldn't help but smirk and say, "Oh, what am I hearing, the princess is only planning to fulfill part of the tasks her mentor asked of her? Oh, what would Princess Celestia say if she saw you being so rebellious, my dear Twilight?" I said this in a teasing tone, as I loved to tease her when she was so focused on something like this.
At that, Twilight gave me an annoyed look and said, "First of all, stop calling me that. Secondly, don't call me that either. And thirdly, she said to go over the preparations, both of us, not just me. That also means she wants you to make friends too. Do you want to make friends, Platinum?" asked Twilight with a mocking tone.
I raised my paw to answer her, but stopped myself as I reflected on what she said. The truth is, I don't have many friends besides Twilight and Spike either. One thing I kept from my previous life is that I didn't like being in crowds and was pretty antisocial. "Touche," I said with a smile.
She smiled back, satisfied, and continued, "Besides, I'm her student and I'll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria won't depend on me making any more friends. I have enough with the Mr. Wizard here." Twilight said as she pointed at me. Oddly enough, since the beginning of school, I haven't stopped wearing my cloak, and now I also wear a wizard hat, simply to complement it.
Hearing her response, I couldn't help but let out an exaggerated groan and hug my hat to my chest. "It's called following a role, my dear Twilight. I'm an adver-" I began to say with conviction before she interrupted me, putting her helmet over my mouth.
"Don't say it. I'm tired of hearing you say that" Twilight said, visibly annoyed, as she quickly removed her paw from my now slightly drooling mouth. "Did you just lick me?" she asked incredulously.
I replied with a smirk as I stuck out my tongue, enjoying the little prank.
Before things could escalate any further, we arrived at our destination and the Pegasus guards made a sound indicating that we had arrived, we calmly got out of the carriage and Twilight approached the guards, "Thank you, Sirs" she said with a smile, which left the gentlemen satisfied.
Before we could continue our little debacle, Spike hurried up to speak, "Maybe the ponies in Ponyville have more interesting things to talk about," he said as a pink mare with a fluffy mane approached.
Huh, that mare looks familiar... if I remember correctly, she's one of the most commonly featured ponies in the series.
If I'm not mistaken her name was... Ponka, Ponka Peach.
Wait... she wasn't one of the main characters.
But that means... uh oh.
I think I'm on the first episode of the series.
Now I need to read the book of the elements of harmony, there I should say that there are only six elements of harmony, no more, no less.
I really hope that being born here didn't foolishly and forcibly make me an element of harmony, because that would ruin my life.
And this story too.
Before I knew it, Ponka was already in front of us and Spike said, "Come on, Twilight, just try," he said as he pointed at Ponka.
Twilight had a look of uncertainty on her face as she looked between Spike and Ponka, before giving an awkward smile and saying, "am, hello?"
I couldn't find the way she said hello funny, only to be surprised when suddenly Ponka leapt into the air letting out a muffled scream, only to run off, or fly off, to who knows where.
No, wait, she's running.
Huh, what a strange pony this Ponka is.
"Well, that was interesting, alright." He said with a complicated look on his face before he started walking, to which Spike sighed.
I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, to which he looked at me, "hey cheer up Spike, I can tell things won't be boring around here," I said with a smile, to which he smiled back, then I bent down to get him to climb on top of me, which he did and I proceeded to follow Twilight.
"Summer Sun Celebration: Official Overseer's Checklist, number 1: Banquet Preparations, Sweet Apple Acres." Spike said as we approached a farm, the farm had at the entrance a sign with an apple on it, the farm was quite large, with lots of crop land and some animal houses.
What you would expect from a farm.
"YEEHAW!" we heard a scream that alerted us, causing us to look to where the scream was coming from, and we saw an orange mare with a yellow mane and a cowboy hat was running towards a tree, when it looked like she was about to hit said tree, she suddenly stopped and spun on her legs to proceed to kick the tree, which caused the apples to plummet towards the barrels that were on the ground, to which she proceeded to strike a pose, which I thought was rather strange.
Was she expecting an audience? Or did she see us coming and decide to put on a little show?
Before I could process it, Twilight let out a reluctant sigh and with her head down, proceeded to walk towards the cowgirl mare, "well, let's get this over with" she said as she raised her head again and we followed her.
This mare looks familiar too.
Could she be one of the main characters?
Man, I should have written down my memories of the show, then maybe I wouldn't have trouble remembering what happened at the show.
...yeah, better not, there was too much risk of someone discovering that role and then it would be a complete pain in the ass to explain it.
I'd rather forget things that are yet to come than have it discovered that I had a past life.
Once we approached the cowgirl, this time I decided to do the introduction myself, "good afternoon miss, my name is Platinum Breeze and my partners are Twilight Sparkle and-" I started saying but before I could finish, the mare interrupted me furiously shaking my paw with her two paws.
"Well, howdy-do, Mr. Breeze? And hiya, Miss Sparkle! A pleasure making your acquaintance, I'm Applejack. We here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like making new friends," she said and then proceeded to do the same to Twilight, to which I could only look at her in bewilderment as Applejack was furiously shaking the paw of Twilight now.
"Friends, actually... I... we..." Twilight tried to say, but she couldn't finish because of how intensely Applejack was shaking her hoof.
Then, Applejack stopped and looked at us with a warm smile. "So, what can I do for you folks?" she said, giving us a friendly wink. I glanced at Twilight, who was still shaking her hoof furiously, to the point that Spike had to hop off my back to stop her, not before chuckling at the sight.
Deciding to get on with it, I cleared my throat and said, "Well, actually, we're here to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and as far as we know, you're in charge of the food, right?" I pointed at the cowgirl mare, trying to sound calm despite my fear of another vigorous hoofshake.
"Sure are, sugar! Would you like some samples to try?" Applejack said with a wink, bowing to us. I was about to decline, but Twilight seemed to have another thought.
"Well, as long as it doesn't take too long--" she began, but suddenly, Applejack vanished and a bell started ringing.
I put a hoof to my face as I heard the cowgirl yell, "Soup's on, everypony!" A stampede of ponies appeared from who knows where, dragging us along with them, and before I knew it, we were seated at a large table.
I looked around, bewildered by all this... energy these earth ponies had, before Applejack popped up out of nowhere again. "Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple family?" she said, gesturing to the crowd of ponies grinning at us.
This place sure is lively, though it's not that bad.
Although it's starting to get to me all this chaotic energy they have and now I just want to go home, "I'm sorry, but we're actually in a bit of a hurry here," I said trying to be as polite as possible, as I didn't want to antagonize a family this big just for the sake of it.
But before I could retreat, a mare arrived offering food, and my treacherous tummy decided to rumble in protest, reminding me that I still hadn't had breakfast. "Darn it," I thought as I looked at the food.
"This right here is Apple Fritter, Apple Bumpkin, Red Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Caramel Apple, Apple Strudel, Apple Tart, Baked Apple..." Applejack began listing, but I tuned her out as I stared at all the food brought by each Apple family member, drool forming at the corners of my mouth.
Damn, my weakness for food.
As the food piled up, I started munching on one of the apple pies they brought, while Twilight and Spike stared in disbelief at the amount of food being served to us.
Between bites, I saw Applejack officially welcome Twilight as part of the family, even pointing at me and Spike when she said it.
Suddenly, Twilight spit out the apple she was eating, which was gross, and said, "Okay, I can see you have the food situation under control, so we'll be on our way."
But before she could make a tactical retreat, a cute voice stopped her. A little filly, whose name I didn't catch, looked at Twilight with sad eyes and said, "Aren't you guys staying for lunch?" She then gave her the most adorable puppy dog eyes.
Twilight, with a shaky voice, replied, "I'm sorry, but we have a lot of things to do." At her words, the entire Apple family let out a collective sigh of disappointment.
Jeez, talk about social pressure. I continued to eat my apple pie, knowing Twilight would cave in soon enough.
And I was right. A few seconds later, she said, "Okay," with a resigned look on her face, to which all the ponies in the surrounding area cheered.
After enjoying a hearty meal, we were back on our way to do the prep checks. This time, Spike was walking on his own paws, and I strolled beside Twilight, amused by the sight of her clearly stuffed.
"Food is checked. Time to look at the weather situation," Spike said as he jotted something down on his report sheet, then looked at Twilight.
"Ugh... I ate too much food," Twilight groaned, waddling along, which amused me to no end.
"No one told you to eat everything that was offered to you, dear," I teased, earning a less-than-amused look from her.
Before we could start bickering again, Spike interjected, "Um, supposedly there's a Pegasus pony named Rainbow Dash who's supposed to clear the sky."
Looking up at the still-cloudy sky, I remarked sarcastically, "Well, this sky certainly looks cloud-free," pointing to the many clouds still overhead.
At that precise moment, zas! A blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane crashed directly into me, throwing us both into a mud puddle. I couldn't help but let out a groan, a mixture of pain and annoyance.
Once the mare got up off me, I stood and gave her a less-than-amused look. Despite her looking oddly familiar, I couldn't help but be annoyed. She just laughed a little and said, "Sorry?" Seeing my unfriendly expression, she took flight and added, "Wait, let me help you." She then headed towards one of the clouds.
Twilight and Spike approached me, with amused looks and I could see Twilight chuckle a little, to which I smiled and shook myself fiercely, dog-like, causing mud to fly out of me and crash into Twilight, causing her to look at me with a less than amused look now.
To which I laughed a little, only to have the Pegasus approach again, with a gray cloud with her, look at us in confusion only to shrug her shoulders and proceed to make it rain on both of us.
Drenched, I looked at the Pegasus mare, who I believe to be Rainbow Dash by the color of her mane, laughing clearly amused with our situation to then say, "Oops, I guess I overdid it a little, Um... uh, how about this?" she said to then fly over the two of us at a high speed, causing a rainbow tornado to form above us, and once it was over I could hear the mare say.
"My very own Rain-Blow Dry patent," she said proudly to then lower herself to the ground as she continued, "No, no, don't thank me, it's been a pleasure," to then look at us, both of us with matching fluffy manes and annoyed looks, to which she proceeded to laugh loudly, to which Spike followed her after seeing us.
I shook myself hard, which thankfully made my mane go back to normal, Twilight mimicked me but it didn't work for her, I guess because of how different our manes were and now I gave her a look but of pity, as it wasn't fun to have a mane like that.
Looking with annoyance at the two who were laughing, Twilight said, "let me guess, Rainbow Dash?" after hearing her name, the Pegasus stopped laughing and stood up proudly.
"The one and only" she said then took flight, this time approaching Twilight with an excited smile, "Why, did you hear about me?"
Twilight replied, "I heard you were in charge of keeping the skies clear." She sighed as the Pegasus turned away, then looked up with a calm smile. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, and this is Platinum Breeze," she said, to which I gave a small bow. "Princess Celestia sent us to check on the weather."
But the mare seemed to lose interest, as she laid back on a cloud as she said, "Yeah, yeah, that's easy, I'll do that in a jiffy after I finish practicing," said the lazy mare.
Before the conversation continued, I walked away, and sat down next to Spike as I let Twilight take care of everything, since knowing how Twilight was, and seeing how Rainbow was, this would be resolved quickly.
And so, it did, after Rainbow proudly proclaimed that she was practicing to become a Wonderbolt, Twilight teased her that she wasn't talented enough to join them because she couldn't keep the sky clear.
In the blink of an eye, the sky cleared completely, leaving Twilight and Spike staring at the sky in disbelief. Rainbow said goodbye, saying she couldn't wait to get to know us better, then gave me a quick wave and left. To be honest, I stopped paying attention to her before she left.
We then proceeded to head to our next location, which was the place where the celebration was supposed to be held to see the decorations, once we got there all that would be missing was the music.
Or at least I hoped so, if there were no more mishaps.
"How beautiful," I couldn't help but notice as I looked around, the place looked pretty well decorated and honestly it looked quite beautiful.
"Yeah, the decorating is going pretty well, this is going to be quick and we'll be in the bookstore in no time," Twilight said as we walked into the shop, then looked at the decorations and said, "beautiful no doubt."
"No..." said Spike suddenly and we looked at him, to see that he had his gaze fixed on something, or rather, someone, "Not the decor, her!" he said as he pointed ahead, where a white mare with a dark purple mane stood.
She looked like she was eyeing some kind of fabric suitable for decoration, I guess, though I didn't pay much attention to her as I was watching the amused reaction to Spike's first crush.
"How are my spines, do they look good?" said Spike to then stare at the mare again, which caused me to snort in amusement and Twilight to roll her eyes in amusement as I proceeded to move my paw quickly in front of him to see if I could get him to react, but no, he was mesmerized by the mare.
Ah~, first love, it's always the one that hits the hardest.
For now, I decided to sit next to him and watch, I'll let Twilight handle this one, it should be fun.
And it was, the mare, who introduced herself by saying her name was Rarity, went berserk after seeing what happened to Twilight's mane and took her to another establishment, which was apparently her clothing store to give her a makeover, even giving her dresses to match.
It was funny until he tried to do the same with me, something about my cloak and hat being out of style or something, and only stopped after hearing we were from Canterlot.
I can't remember the last time I ran away from someone like that, I'm not proud of myself but no one will change my style.
Maybe I'll get rid of the hat though, honestly, I've been thinking about it too but it just goes with the theme I had, a young apprentice of magic discovering a new magic.
...eh, when I think about it now, it sounds stupid.
Anyway, once we distanced ourselves from the place and Spike stopped being so enraptured with her, we headed to the next destination when suddenly we started to hear the sound of birds chirping.
Which made us head in the direction the sound was coming from, which was a yellow Pegasus standing in front of a crowd of singing birds.
Huh, it's funny, neither her nor Rarity bring back memories or look familiar, were they secondary characters or I just don't remember them?
Meh, who cares, honestly, I don't.
Having an identity crisis over memories from over a decade ago won't help me and will most likely just make me overthink things.
The past is the past, let's just focus on the present.
Sure, that knowledge would surely help me in what's to come but what's the fun in knowing what's going to happen? Where's the point in enjoying your life knowing what's coming and what's not?
My life goal is simple, to live my life, later I may write down what I remember from the program but it's not my priority, it's just living my life.
"Hello!" suddenly said Twilight who, during my internal monologue had approached the yellow Pegasus with pink mane, the birds that were singing before had scattered and the poor Pegasus looked scared.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare your birds, we're just here to check the music and it's sounding beautiful," Twilight said with a smile.
After the Pegasus landed in front of Twilight, I approached and suddenly there was a sort of awkward silence, at which Twilight looked at me for help, which I proceeded with introducing myself, "I'm Platinum Breeze, and this is Twilight Sparkle, what's your name?" I said looking at her with an encouraging look.
"Um, I'm Fluttershy..." said the pony in a very low tone and barely looking at us.
We shared a look before Twilight tried this time, "Sorry, what was that?" she said with a smile.
"Um, my name is..." she said, this time backing up a bit.
"I didn't understand what you said," Twilight said, trying again.
But instead of answering, all she got out of the Pegasus' voice was some strange squeaks and a sidelong glance at us.
And the silence returned.
How uncomfortable.
Oh, the birds are back.
Seeing that the birds came back, I said: "Well, seeing that the music sounds pretty good and that your bird friends have returned, that means that everything is in order, so we proceed to retire," at that, the Pegasus just let out a little whine, to which we proceed to retire slowly.
Once we get close to the bush where Spike was, Spike comes out of it and Twilight says, "Well, that was easy."
...honey, you summoned Murphy.
Suddenly, I found myself lifted off the ground as I heard the Pegasus exclaim, "A baby dragon! I've never seen one before, it's so adorable!" Spike seemed to puff up with pride at the praise.
The Pegasus continued to enthuse about Spike, to which Twilight decided to pick him up with her magic to retreat, but the Pegasus kept wanting to know information about Spike, so she followed.
Seeing that they were walking away, I hurried to keep up with them and from there until we reached the library where we would be staying, I could only hear the exchange of words going on between Spike and the Pegasus, who I now know is called Fluttershy.
It was the longest and strangest walk I've had all day, and that's saying a lot, since a lot of things happened today.
By the time we got to the library, it was getting dark.
As Spike was about to tell her about the day we had today, Twilight stepped forward and said, "I'm so sorry! How did we get here so fast? This is where we're staying while we're in Ponyville, and my poor baby dragon needs sleep" at that, Spike whined saying he didn't need it but just shut him up by putting his hoof in his mouth.
And no Spike, I'm not taking my hoof off just because you lick it.
Ouch, let alone because you bite it.
Before I knew it, Fluttershy grabbed Spike off Twilight's back and pulled him inside, intending to put him on his bed. But Twilight quickly intervened, pulling Fluttershy out before she could act. Fluttershy muttered a few more things before Twilight slammed the door shut in her face.
At that, she looked at me to see, to which I just shrugged and proceeded to go inside as well, stopping Fluttershy who tried to come in behind me and also slamming the door in her face.
"Huh, what manners." Spike said annoyed.
"Sorry Spike, but I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is on her way and we're running out of time!" said Twilight looking at Spike who was looking around.
Huh, actually, it was pretty dark.
Where's the switch?
"I just need time alone, so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time." Said Twilight looking around too, "now, where's the light?"
Ah, here's the switch.
"Surprise!"
Jesus Christ!
Suddenly, as soon as I turned on the light, a bunch of ponies greeted us with streamers, balloons and other party stuff.
At Twilight's sigh of annoyance, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Surprise!" Hey, it's Ponka, "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie..." oh, I guess her name wasn't Ponka but Pinkie, oops, "...and I made this party just for you guys!" said Pinkie cheerfully, "were you surprised, were you, were you? Huh, huh, huh?" she said as she hopped around.
"Very surprised, bookstores are supposed to be quiet," said Twilight with an annoyed look on her face.
Me? I trotted over to the punch room to pour myself a drink because I was really thirsty.
The whole day of today left me thirsty.
Oh, and now they're getting closer.
Apparently, Pinkie kept saying a bunch of words that I decided to ignore while she was "talking" to Twilight, and while Twilight poured herself a drink the pony kept saying a bunch of words a minute.
And all of a sudden Twilight ran off in a rage straight to who knows where.
"Aw, she was so happy she was crying tears of joy!" said Pinkie, misunderstanding Twilight's tears of frustration for tears of joy.
"Hmm, hot sauce" ah no, looks like Twilight took hot sauce by mistake.
Ew, hot sauce doesn't go with sweets.
I proceeded to pour another drink and grabbed them with my magic to head in the direction where Twilight went.
"Hey there, Sugarcube, where ya headed?" Applejack called out, but I was too preoccupied sipping on the juice they served to respond. Instead, I just waved a hoof in farewell and trotted over to Twilight.
Navigating through the three floors took some time, but eventually, I found the room Twilight was hiding in. As I entered, I spotted her attempting to muffle the music with a pillow over her head, though it wasn't particularly loud in the room to begin with.
Closing the door behind me and setting aside my hat, I trotted over to her bed and settled down beside her. Bringing with me a cup of punch from downstairs, I offered it to Twilight, but she swatted it away. Luckily, my magic caught it before it could spill.
Observing her distress, I decided to create a small anti-sound bubble around us. This bubble shielded us from the external noise, leaving only the quiet inside. Twilight peeked out from under her pillow, astonished by the bubble. She then glanced at me, surprised to see my horn glowing with magic.
"Well, did you expect me to spill all the secrets of my spells?" I teased, flashing her a smile.
You see, although I am some sort of a scholar of magic, I should really only consider myself a scholar who continually researches the use of magic, but while researching some way to create the Glyphs, I have created a few spells to my name, some public and some not.
And this was one of the newer ones that was still in the process of creation before today, considering that it can be considered a successful attempt considering how well it works.
You see, even though this world is magical, spells still have to follow some real-world logic.
For example, elemental spells can only be made small with an enchantment, like making a fire or lighting a candle, if you want it to be stronger there must be something to fuel it, which can be your own magic (not recommended) or something else external to you.
Until now, according to my research, no one had created a silence spell, or well, rather, one that left an area where sound could not enter, because it also ends up blocking the air we need to breathe.
It took me a lot of work and months of research, but I was finally able to create this spell, which allows objects to go in and out, like air, but keeping the sound out unless it is one generated inside.
But the sound that is inside cannot be heard outside and vice versa.
The perfect spell for when one wants privacy.
Once Twilight stood up, she pointed her helmet at me and with an intense look said, "You'll have to teach me that spell," to which I just laughed and instead of responding, I offered her again the drink I brought her, which this time she did take.
"Do you want to talk about it, Twilight?" I asked softly, glancing towards the books surrounding her room.
After taking a sip of the drink I brought her, she looked at me in frustration and said, "I should be studying, looking for some proof of Nightmare Moon's possible return. But instead, there's a party here, in the place that was supposed to be a sanctuary for studying. Now I can't concentrate on anything."
Looking at her, I gave her a sympathetic smile and said, "I know things didn't go as planned, but you must also understand that not everything goes as one plans." I used my magic to draw some books that were scattered around.
"I know these books probably don't contain the information you're looking for, but killing your head over this problem won't solve anything. Relax a bit and enjoy yourself before it's time for the celebration. Who knows, maybe Princess Celestia is right," I said as I watched Twilight pick up one of the books. Then, she looked outside, where the night had already risen and the moon was at its peak.
I looked at the moon as well and frowned when I saw it, the figure of the unicorn pony posed on it has always puzzled me and I remember it was one of my concerns several years ago, though right now I can't remember why.
"According to legend..." I snapped back to reality at the sound of Twilight's voice, I looked at her to see that she was reading a brown colored book with a cover of a golden unicorn with diamonds around it, "...on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid her in her escape and she will bring the eternal night," Twilight said then showed me the page she was reading and I opened my eyes at the image that was in the book, it looked very much like the image that was on the moon.
"I want to believe it's all an old fairy tale, like Princess Celestia and the others say, but things seem too much of a coincidence that fills me with uncertainty" she said to then look at me with some fear in her eyes, "what should I do?"
I gave her a little hug, and after we separated, I said, "you are not going to accomplish anything by feeling upset with the whole situation and considering that the book you are looking for is most likely downstairs, the best we can do is wait and pray that things are not that bad" with a smile, I offered her a science book that I saw was in the pile of books I attracted.
With a small smile, she said "You'll still have to teach me this spell, you know?" to which I just snorted, then grabbed a science fiction book that was here, and opened it to read.
Twilight proceeded to do the same, and we continued reading for a few hours, until suddenly the door opens, Spike says something but because of my spell we don't today but before I can undo the spell, he sees us and then backs away, saying something again.
We look at each other but then shrug to go back to reading.
A few minutes later, Spike opens the door again, only this time I undo the spell before he speaks and they say, "Come on guys, it's time to watch the sunrise!"
After dropping the books on the floor, we headed to the place where the ceremony was to be held.
As we entered, there were already several citizens inside but luckily, the place was big enough to fit all the ponies.
As we entered, Spike was perched on Twilight's back, and I trotted beside them, realizing I'd left my hat behind again. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped up out of nowhere, chattering away at lightning speed. I couldn't keep up with her rapid-fire words, so I just tuned her out and focused on the task at hoof.
Only to stop just in time for the show to start, with Fluttershy's little birds singing, the ceremony began.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts, as the Mayor of Ponyville, it is my greatest pleasure to announce the start of the Summer Sun Celebration!" at her words, all the ponies began to celebrate.
"In just a few moments, our city will witness the magic of the sun and celebrate this day, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the pony who gives us the sun and the moon every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony in all of Equestria, Princess Celestia!" she said to then step aside for the curtains to open, but when they opened them all they found was...
Nothing.
"This can't be good," I heard Twilight say and could only nod as I braced myself.
"Stay calm, everypony, there must be a rationalizable explanation," the mayoress said trying to calm the nervous crowd.
"Uh, uh! I love guessing games! Is he hiding?" said Pinkie Pie as she looked around.
"She's gone!" said Rarity after returning from looking for the Princess.
At that news, all the ponies exclaimed in surprise.
"Uh, she's good!" said Pinkie Pie, before screaming as she saw a blue mist appear from the place where the Princess should be.
And out of that mist formed a pony, with a mane made of the same mist, black in color, with wings and horn, a suit of armor and a Cutie Mark that looked like the moon, she was...
"Oh no, Nightmare Moon!" said Twilight, looking fearfully at the pony.
I just kept getting ready, ignoring Spike's overreaction of fainting.
"Oh, my dear subjects! It's been so long since I've seen your precious sun-worshipping faces!" said the moon mare looking around at everyone.
"What did you do with our Princess!" said Rainbow who looked ready to fight the alicorn, only prevented by Applejack.
At that, Nightmare Moon let out a cruel laugh to say, "Why, I'm not enough royalty for you, don't you know who I am?"
"Uh, uh, more guessing games. Um... Pokey Smokes, or how about Queen Meanie? No! Black Snooty, Black Snooty...!" said Pinkie only to be silenced by Applejack.
"Doesn't my crown count now that I was imprisoned for thousands of years? Don't you remember the legend? Didn't you see the signs?" she said moving closer to the ponies standing near her, which oddly enough were Rarity and Fluttershy.
"I did" oh, why you had to talk Twilight, now her attention is on you.
Hopefully, she hasn't noticed me.
"And I know who you are, you're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon" Twilight finished saying.
"Well, well, well, a pony remembers me, then you know why I'm here too," said the evil Princess.
"You're here to... to..." started to say Twilight but couldn't finish.
At Twilight's fearful look, the mare just laughed evilly and said, "remember this day, little ponies, because this will be the last time, from this moment on, night will reign forever!" she said before laughing villainously as her fur went crazy.
And out came thunder as well.
Huh, what a crazy thing to do.
The mayor, showing courage, declared, "Seize her! She's the only one who knows where the Princess is!" Hearing this, the Pegasus guards, tasked with escorting the Princess, swiftly moved toward her.
To which, the evil Princess replied, "Stay back, you foals!" she said to then use her magic to control the lightning bolts she was generating to strike the guards.
And the guards were down.
Seeing my chance, I fired a huge laser at her that generated a force field around her, aiming to keep her in prey.
But it seems I overestimated my capabilities, as she broke it with her horn, before turning into mist and lunging towards me.
Luckily, I moved quickly and now the Princess takes the place where I was.
Come on, the battle lessons I had with my father can't be in vain.
Generating fireballs in a ring around me, I threw them at her, but she generated a shield around her, causing the spell to hit the shield and do nothing.
I started firing powerful lightning bolts at her that usually go through normal shields, but the Princess's shield stiffened.
Such is the difference between our power? The difference between a unicorn and an alicorn?
Well, I'm [Beep].
The mare let out an evil laugh and turned misty and lunged at me again, only this time she did manage to catch me in it and take me with her into the dark sky.
I swear I could hear someone screaming my name before we were in the dark sky.
...now what? I can't move and I have no idea where we're going.
Well, it can't be very far.
Eventually, we come to some sort of dark castle and as soon as we get there, he throws me to the ground only to leave again.
Oi, where do you think you're going?
Ugh, it's not worth it. She's gone.
Looks like I'm in her throne room, considering the shape of this place.
I don't think she'll be long in coming back considering I'm here, so I must prepare a spell to attack her this time, not imprison her.
I should at least be able to inflict some damage on her, right?
When she reappeared, she appeared on her throne laughing evilly but I was prepared and cast my spell on her, which was basically a giant lightning bolt.
But she dodges it by turning to mist, and again my spell was ineffective.
Before I could do anything else, she exclaimed, "Get down, you silly pony!" With a swift and powerful spell, she tossed me, pinning me to the ground
"You're quite brave to challenge me like that, little pony, and you're not doing too bad for an untrained soldier," she said, circling around me like a predator eyeing its captured prey. "But alas, your efforts were in vain, and now you are at my mercy."
"In your dreams, Nightmare Moon," I declared, my eyes blazing with determination.
She responded with nothing more than a cold, calculating smile. Then, as the mist began to swirl around me, I felt an overwhelming drowsiness creeping in.
"Now, sleep, little pony," she mocked, her voice dripping with derision. "I'll deal with the fools who dare to approach."
"You'll... you'll... fall..." I managed to murmur, my voice trailing off as sleep overtook me.
I started to wake up, feeling quite cramped around me.
Ugh, why can't I get up.
...ah yeah, I'm trapped by the spell that Nightmare Moon put on me, and I can't even move, only my head and is just a little, I can't even feel my magic.
What kind of spell is this?
"Ah, I see you're awake" said my captor, who was walking towards me from her blue haze.
"Good morning, Moonie. Could you untie me, please?" I asked, looking up at the mare before me.
"Amazing. Even when you're helpless before me, you show no fear," the villainess remarked, her eyes narrowing as she studied me.
"The only one I'm afraid of is my mother when she's angry, and you're definitely not her," I replied, glancing at her from the corner of my eye.
She narrowed her eyes further, her gaze sharp and intense. "You will learn to fear me, my stubborn pony. Very soon," she said, her voice even but carrying a hint of menace.
Her threat didn't faze me. After all, I'd been through worse situations than this--twice.
Both times were in my old world, and both times I had narrowly escaped with my life.
But the point is, her threat doesn't scare me in the slightest.
"I thought it would be rude not to inform you: the girl who knew about me and her allies--your friends, I suppose--have arrived in the Everfree Forest. They're desperately searching for some pathetic, useless stones," she said, pointing a hoof towards her throne, which was shaped like a sphere. Huh, what a strange throne.
With her mist, she formed an image showing what Twilight and the others were doing. It looked like Rarity and Fluttershy were the main characters in this scene. Who knew?
"Why doesn't it have sound?" I wondered aloud. "Is that the extent of your spell? It shows what a person is doing but not what they are saying?"
"Your questions won't save you or these fillies," she retorted. Aw, but I was curious. "Unless, of course, you listen to my proposal."
"...And what might that be?" I had a suspicion, but I wanted to hear it from this evil dictator herself.
"If you value the lives of these ponies and all the other silly ponies in Equestria, you need to do one simple thing."
"...I'm listening, for now."
With a cocky grin, she said, "You're a pretty brave pony and have a strong grasp on magic, little stallion. Join my side, Platinum Breeze. Be the captain of my royal guards, and no one in Equestria will be able to stop us!" she exclaimed dramatically, thunder rumbling out of nowhere, again.
"...How do you know my name? I never told you," I said uncertainly.
"One of the mares in that group said your name, mentioning that you were due for rescue. You're the only pony I kidnapped," she replied. Aw, I knew Twilight cared about me.
"Anyway," I said, "I appreciate your... lovely offer, but I need time to think about it." Or rather, time to think of a way to escape, because I had no intention of betraying my friends. Besides, being a villain is no fun.
She looked at me, then turned away and walked towards her strange, spherical throne. "Then by all means, consider it. But I warn you, if you refuse, it will be the last time you act charitably. I sincerely hope you make the right decision. In the meantime, watch as I deal with these pests."
With a wicked grin, the mare transformed into mist and vanished, off to confront the ponies.
Now, with no distractions, I needed to concentrate on a plan. I hoped Twilight and the others weren't in too much danger from whatever Nightmare Moon had in store for them.
Uh, they've done well so far.
They each have a talent for something, a unique talent no doubt, and each used it to stay ahead of the situation they were in was pretty unique.
Like when they faced that scorpion lion with wings, I've never seen anything like that in my life.
Well, face to face, but if I had read about them, a manticore, it was a pretty dangerous creature.
Although it was reduced to a small puppy by the animal tamer, Fluttershy.
Then they had to solve some silly problems, at least from my point of view. First, there was that "scary" forest, which, honestly, the only frightening thing about it is how ugly it looks. Then, they encountered a sea serpent with a seriously messy mane.
All the problems seemed to be easily solved for them, while I struggled to find a way out of this spell, let alone a plan to escape my predicament. And wouldn't you know it, right on cue, Nightmare Moon returned.
"So, you've made your decision, my little friend," the moon monarch declared dramatically upon her return.
Without a plan in sight, I decided to mentally shrug and improvise. "If I may say so, you look pretty frustrated. Those 'pests' managed to foil your plans without fail."
Upon hearing my words, she gave me an unimpressed look and approached me with a threatening tone. "Judging by your tone, I gather you've decided to reject my offer."
I met her gaze with a look of apology and defiance. "I'm sorry, but not sorry enough to betray everyone I know for a dictator."
"Mmm, too bad," he said as he glared at me, though his tone didn't say as much, "Then, you're useless to me. As soon as your friends arrive, they will witness your swift demise.
"Hmm, whatever you say, crazy dictator," I retorted, trying to sound unthreatened even though I was somewhat afraid for my life.
"Crazy? Is that what you think, Platinum Breeze?" Nightmare Moon responded, her voice dripping with disdain. "Let me make it clear that I am not crazy. I am simply the perfect monarch this land needs..."
"No," I interrupted firmly.
"Excuse me...?" she replied, clearly taken aback.
"I said no," I repeated, ignoring the death stare she was giving me. "Do you know what you are, Nightmare Moon? A fool who doesn't understand how things really work. If you think ruling the night entirely will do any good, you're mistaken."
"That's what you think, Platinum Breeze, but the ponies will learn to live and respect the eternal night or suffer its wrath," she countered.
"That's exactly what will happen in the end, until there's nothing left," I asserted, my tone unwavering. "I don't know if being trapped in the moon has affected your knowledge or if you're just ignorant of this fact, but without the sun, without the light of day, all life in Equestria will perish. Without sunlight, all plants will die, and without plants, there will be no food for the sentient creatures of this world. All will die, leaving only a desolate, lifeless wasteland."
And I don't want that to happen, I already lived in a world like that and it was horrible, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen to this magical world.
"Then so be it," say what now? "if they can't appreciate and adapt to the beautiful darkness, then let it be their doom."
"Don't you see?" I exclaimed, disbelief coloring my words. "It will be just like on the moon! With nothing living, with no one around, everything will become a desolate wasteland, just as it was on the moon! Eternal darkness brings nothing but desolation and sadness. We need the light and warmth of the sun for Equestria to thrive, for all creatures to live and be happy. Do you honestly wish to be left alone, for all eternity, with no way to fix it? Again?"
"...It's not about me being alone," Nightmare Moon responded, her tone defensive. "I don't need anyone to pity me or anything else useless." Despite her words, I could sense a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes. It seemed that what I was saying was having an effect on her. "If in the end I'm the only one who respects the night, so be it."
"That's not true, Luna, and you know why?" I said in a determined voice.
"Hmm, indulge me."
"Because I respect the dark too," I said at her surprised look. "Both light and darkness play a crucial role in the fabric of our world. Light brings us hope and joy, but darkness teaches us patience and allows us to reflect. Without both, the balance would vanish, leaving a void in our hearts and in our beloved land, I understand that your sister understands that...and you can understand that too."
"...What are you suggesting?" I can't believe I am really getting through to her, I really didn't expect her to listen to me, but if I can get through to her, I will be able to solve this matter without the need for violence.
"Go back to being the mare you once were, Princess Luna. The respected and loved mare you have always been. Let go of the pain and anger you carry in your heart. You are and will be forgiven, drive away the eternal night, let go of the past and return to who you were." I said hoping to reach her.
I was being as sentimental and inspirational as I could be, pulling out the words that came to mind in hopes of reaching this mare, but if I succeeded, there would be no need for the elements of harmony and then I can be completely free of any isekai cliche I can get myself into.
I still don't know if it's going to happen, but better safe than sorry.
After what seemed like an eternity with the two of us staring at each other, the reluctant mare was the first to look away, turning away from me, "It's too late for that..." was her calm response, with a hint of finality.
But I wasn't about to give up, being so close.
"It's never too late for redemption," I said with a soft tone in my voice, "Come back to us, Princess Luna, your sister needs you."
"She never needed me."
"I don't think so."
"Then you are a fool to believe otherwise," was his short and blunt reply.
At that, I just smiled, "I know."
Just as he was about to open his mouth to continue this endless argument, he suddenly stopped and raised his head, squinting from what I could see, and before I could say anything, he disappeared. Most likely to the direction where Twilight and the others were.
I sighed in disappointment, in the end, I couldn't reach her.
I guess I'll leave the rest to you, Twilight.
I couldn't help but smile when I saw that Twilight and the others had found the stones, which as far as I could see were only 5.
So far, so good.
Then, because Twilight was too focused on the stones, she couldn't react in time to the violet tornado that took the stones, not being able to prevent the stones from now being in the power of the moon monarch.
But that also didn't stop Twilight from jumping at the last minute into the tornado, disappearing as well.
That was the last thing I saw before the spell showing me what was going on disappeared, replaced by evil laughter as Nightmare Moon reappeared before me, the stones floating around her in her grasp. And there, in front of her, stood Twilight, looking utterly shocked at the Princess of the Night.
It's kind of difficult to make out what's happening, considering I'm behind Nightmare Moon, her body blocking my vision. But I can catch glimpses of the scene unfolding before me.
Twilight, with a look of determination, assumed a stance to attack. I suppose she hasn't noticed me yet, though given my position, it's not too surprising.
"You're kidding," I don't think Moonie is, considering how determined Twilight is, "You're kidding, right?"
In response, I could see her horn light up with magic ready to be cast, and Twilight charged, I could see in response the alicorn preparing to defend herself, then launching into the attack as well.
I'm not worried though, because while Twilight can be quite reckless at times, she's also very smart.
And I knew it, as soon as Nightmare Moon got close enough to her, Twilight teleported in front of me, or rather in front of the stones.
Though that didn't stop her from gasping when she saw me in my predicament. "Hello, Twilight," I greeted casually, trusting her to understand.
"Are you okay, Platinum?" she asked with concern. At my nod, she sighed in relief before redirecting her attention to the stones. "Just a spark..." she muttered, focusing on the scattered stones on the ground.
I didn't quite grasp what she was trying to accomplish, but I had faith in Twilight's abilities. "Come on, come on!" she urged, her magic beginning to influence the stones. But before she could complete whatever she was attempting, Nightmare Moon appeared before her, sending her flying.
Despite the interruption, it seemed Twilight's efforts had some effect, as the elements briefly flickered with energy before shutting down.
"But... where's the sixth element?" Twilight exclaimed in disbelief, her hopes dashed as Nightmare Moon laughed cruelly, destroying the stones with a forceful stomp.
"You little foal! You thought you could defeat me? Now, you'll never see your Princess or the sun again! The night will be eternal!" Nightmare Moon declared triumphantly, her mane crackling with dark energy once more.
No, this couldn't be the end. "Twilight, don't give up!" I urged her, my voice filled with determination. "Believe in yourself and the others. Together, you can overcome anything!" My words seemed to resonate with her, reflected in the determination shining in her eyes.
"What a nice little speech, you defiant pony," Nightmare Moon mocked, her laughter echoing around us. "But you're wrong. Without the Elements of Harmony, there's nothing that can stop me!"
"You think you can destroy the elements of harmony, just like that?" at that, the villain stopped his laughter and looked at the mare who was speaking, "Well, you're wrong, because the spirits of the elements of harmony are right here!"
At that, the crystals reacted to his words and rose up, much to the moon mare's disbelief.
"What?"
"Applejack, who reassured me when I had doubts: he represents the spirit of honesty!" said Twilight confidently, to which one of the broken crystals surrounded her.
"Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion-" which was epic, "-represents the spirit of kindness!"
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by laughing in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter!
"Rarity, who calmed a distressed snake with a meaningful gift, represents the spirit of generosity!"
"And Rainbow Dash, who couldn't abandon her friends despite her heart's desire, represents the spirit of loyalty!"
And there's only one element missing, right? Please, please, please let it be so.
Don't pull a seventh element out of nowhere please.
"The spirits of these five ponies helped us overcome every challenge you threw!" and several of those challenges were more dangerous than others, like the one with the manticore.
"You still don't have the sixth element, the spark didn't work!" said the nervous monarch of the night, to which I couldn't help but laugh, knowing she was [Beep]ed up, though it annoyed her, "What are you laughing at, you silly stallion?"
"But it did, a different kind of spark," Twilight said as she turned to look at her friends, "I found it at the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you, the spark ignited inside me, when I realized you are my friends!" yuck, that sounded corny enough but I still couldn't help but smile.
Now a bright light appeared above us, the sixth element, which descended upon Twilight who looked at the element in amazement.
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when these elements are ignited by the spark that resides within our hearts, it creates the sixth element, the element of magic!" said Twilight and suddenly a bright light blinded me...
Ouch! Why is the light so strong? That hurts.
I closed my eyes since I couldn't cover them a When the light finally dimmed, I cautiously opened my eyes. I witnessed the elements merging with their bearers, creating necklaces for them and a crown for Twilight, for some reason, and then the rainbow emerged from them to descend in the direction of Nightmare Moon, who panicked and could only scream.
"Noooooooo!" screamed Nightmare Moon when suddenly the rainbow... enveloped her in a kind of tornado... that was weird.
Now to get my eyes closed again for the suddenly bright light.
Hmm, wait, I can move again.
Ugh, it feels good to stretch after being stuck in the same restrictive pose for so long was awful.
Oh, and I got my magic back, sweet!
Moving my body, I quickly verified that everything was working in order and once I saw that it was, I smiled and walked over to the group of mares who were lying down after their first use of the elements.
Haha, good thing I didn't become a stupid seventh element of harmony, now I can be at peace.
"Oooh! My head!" groaned a certain blue Pegasus in pain.
"Everypony okay?" Applejack inquired, scanning the group.
"All good on my end," I confirmed as I approached the group.
"PLATINUM!" a voice exclaimed, and suddenly I found myself enveloped in a hug that nearly took my breath away. When I looked to my side, I saw it was Twilight, squeezing me tightly.
"Hey, Twilight, let me breathe, please," I said awkwardly, not accustomed to such affectionate gestures. Fortunately, she released me soon after, and I glanced up at her, noticing the crown atop her head.
"Hey, now it looks like you're a real princess, Twilight," I remarked with a touch of humor. Though she initially gave me a dry look, she soon smiled.
"I'm glad to see you're okay. I was worried when I saw Nightmare Moon kidnap you," she said calmly, her gaze fixed on me.
I shrugged, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the attention. "Eh, I'm fine. That's what matters. And would you look at that? You guys turned out to be the representatives of the spirits of harmony," I remarked, glancing at them with a small smile. They seemed excited about their new trinkets.
"Wow Twilight, at first I thought you were just talking a lot of nonsense, but I guess I really think we represent the elements of friendship," I said,
"Indeed, you do," uh, where did that come from? Oh, from there.
Suddenly, a glowing orb came through the window, before disappearing and revealing the ruler of our land, Princess Celestia.
At that, the ponies, including myself but excepting Twilight, bowed to her while Twilight was happy to see her.
As they began chatting amongst themselves, I found myself unable to tear my gaze away from the mare who had taken Nightmare Moon's place: Princess Luna.
She's... smaller than I thought, compared to how she was before and compared to her sister.
"Now alone with another will," uh, ah I distanced myself from the world a moment ago, I looked over to see Princess Celestia, who looked at her sister, "Princess Luna" who woke up at the sound of her sister's voice.
"It's been a thousand years since I've seen you like this," she said as she approached her sister, "it's time to put our differences behind us, we are destined to rule together, little sister."
"Sister?!" the mares said in surprise, only to look up at me seeing that I was not surprised.
As they gazed at me, I couldn't help but feel puzzled. "I already knew," I stated, which elicited looks of disbelief from them. This, in turn, only deepened my confusion. "Wait, you didn't know?" I asked incredulously. They denied it, which I found rather amusing, especially considering Twilight's denial. "Twilight, it literally says so in the story you read," I pointed out. Twilight slipped into a pensive state before realization struck her, prompting her to slap her forehead in embarrassment.
Turning back to the scene, I witnessed the heartwarming embrace between the two princesses. Pinkie Pie, moved by the touching moment, began to shed tears, only to abruptly stop and exclaim, "Hey, do you know what this calls for?
Now what.
A party.
Of course it had to be a party.
Look, I have nothing against parties, normally, but right now I'm really tired and sore. I just want to go to bed and sleep.
Although I couldn't help but feel happy when Spike hugged me as soon as he saw me.
"I thought you'd be celebrating, Platinum," a voice said coming closer. I turned to see Twilight approaching me.
"Right now, I'm feeling pretty tired and sore from the whole thing. I just want to go to sleep," I said, and then I took a good look at her and noticed that she was slumped over. "Everything all right, Twilight? You look a little down."
"Indeed, why so sad, my faithful student?" Ah! I couldn't help but jump in surprise because I didn't notice the huge alicorn approaching out of nowhere. "Aren't you glad your quest is over and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?"
"That's just it," Twilight confessed, looking down at the ground. "Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have several friends... I have to leave them..."
Ouch, your words hurt me, Twilight, but I also understand your feeling. It's not easy to have to leave those you've grown attached to. In my case, I can't help wanting to go home and sleep in my comfy bed, then go back to my studies.
"Spike! Make a note!" Said the princess, to which he pulled out some paper and a pen from who knows where. "I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria: she is to continue studying the magic of friendship. She is to report her findings to me, from her new home... Ponyville."
I couldn't help but be a little surprised for that but then I smiled as Twilight's new friends came over to celebrate the news with her.
"Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia, I'll study harder than ever!" oh please, like you don't study a lot anyway.
But regardless, I found myself smiling, happy for Twilight.
Now I just had to go to bed.
"And what will you do, young Platinum, now that the mission I gave you two is over?" said Princess Celestia, and now everyone was staring at me.
Ah, it would be wrong of me to say that I just wanted to go home to sleep.
Considering the pleading look Twilight was giving me, I guess so.
Ah, [Beep] the social pressure.
I took a deep breath and smiled, "Well, I guess I'll be able to stay a little longer in Ponyville, because of Twilight and I can always continue my research here, so it's not that much of a problem,"
Twilight's smile brightened even more, and the other ponies cheered.
Ugh, what did I get myself into.
Being hugged by Twilight and the other girls, I could only sigh as I accepted it.
Can I go to sleep now?
And that's it.
Long chapter.
I hope you enjoyed it.
> chapter 4: the ticket master
Good morning, afternoon or evening.
Today I bring you a new chapter.
If you have any criticism about the story or any suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them.
I hope you enjoy it.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
It's been a few days since the Nightmare Moon incident and the eternal night thing.
The party didn't last long, at most an hour and that was because all the ponies were incredibly tired, most of them had stayed awake unable to sleep because they were worried about the whole "eternal night" thing that the mare in the moon was going to bring.
So, it was no surprise that as soon as they had a chance, they went home to rest.
That was especially for me and the bearers of the elements of harmony, or mane six in short, that we were incredibly tired, they from the adventure they had, me from being kidnapped and held prisoner in an extremely painful and uncomfortable position.
After the princesses left, the girls came over to say goodbye.
Pinkie immediately came over to me to give me a crushing hug, saying a bunch of words per second, although I understood the substance, which was that she was glad I was okay and then we were going to have a party for that fact, to which I tried to dissuade her but couldn't, I only got her to promise to make it a small party between the 8 of us.
Applejack slapped me hard on the back, saying I was pretty brave for standing up to Nightmare Moon like I did, but at the same time scolding me, saying what I did was pretty dumb, I just smiled at her and nodded, too tired to do anything else.
Rarity and Fluttershy both said they were glad I was okay. However, it was a little hard for me to hear it from Fluttershy considering how softly she spoke, but at least not so low as it was when we meet, and Rarity congratulated me for getting rid of my hat but insisting I stop by her boutique to give me something better.
Rainbow congratulated me for giving Nightmare Moon a certain fight but also said, rather arrogantly if I do say so myself, that if she could have fought, she would have given the evil alicorn a good fight, which I thought was rather ridiculous but said nothing.
After that, everyone went to their respective homes and that's where the day ended, so to speak.
It was still weird that I was sharing a house with Twilight, since in all the years I've known her, I've only been to her house a few times and the same on her behalf, but never for a long period of time nor were they repeated times and all those times were for studies or to take care of Spike, or to teach him.
After that, came the biggest problem of my new stay in this town, moving.
While moving is usually not a big problem for most ponies, since with magic you can easily transport all the things needed for a new home.
And more so in our case, since our new "home" was already set up with all the necessary accessories to be habitable, such as a living room, bedrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, etc.
But the real problem was that I was leaving behind my workshop, along with all the magical tools necessary to safely create new spells. Everything I needed, including all my notes, was there.
While they could bring them to the tree house safely, another problem surged and it was that there was no place to put them or so I thought.
Until we discovered that in this library there is a basement.
And in that basement, I had the perfect space for all my magic tools, plus some stuff Twilight brought back too from canterlot.
But also, given the layout of my new house, developing my elemental Glyphs has been out of the question. Unless I want to risk setting my new home on fire, which brings us to today.
I was currently working on the coded language to try to create something like runes, which I got the idea for recently as a way to have a backup plan in case my Glyphs didn't work.
I'm also taking care of the library along with Spike, since Twilight went off to help Applejack with apple picking since Applejack asked her to, I stayed because I have my own work to do and Spike stayed because he wanted to.
No, I honestly have no idea why Spike stayed with me, usually Spike goes with Twilight because the two of them are very close, but Spike has never stayed with me.
Well, except that one time, when he decided to sleep over with me one day, when he was still kind of young.
...Yeah, I don't want to talk about that, let's just say Twilight can be a very paranoid mother when she wants to be.
Spike is cleaning up the library a bit, as it was getting a bit dusty but it didn't take him long to finish it and now, he is sitting near me to see if he could help me.
"So... why are you doing that again?" asked Spike for the millionth time as I was writing in my notebook trying to create the correct language for the rune.
"I've told you before Spike, it's for the creation of a new form of magic" I said without taking my eyes off my notebook as with my magic I held an open book with a spell I was trying to pierce, or rather adapt.
Or whatever, I don't even know the correct term.
"So, why can't I help you?" asked Spike, looking at the books and notes scattered around me.
"You've already helped me, Spike. You brought me these books and made breakfast," I said, glancing up from my book to smile softly at him.
Spike has always been a wonderful assistant who loves to help. I'm pretty sure part of that is due to the upbringing Twilight gave him, though maybe I had a bit of an influence too.
We'll never know.
Anyway, I'm very grateful to Spike, as he's the one in this house who cook for both me and Twilight almost every day.
It's not that Twilight and I can't cook; we certainly can if we put our minds to it. It's just that we usually have our noses buried in books or busy with our own tasks. I'm always wrapped up in my research, and Twilight is deeply engrossed in her studies. It's amusing to reminisce about the times our parents had to practically drag us away from our studies just so we'd remember to take care of ourselves.
Well, it was not an easy task and definitely wasn't funny, for them at least.
Anyway, Spike smiled back at me with a proud expression and said, closing his eyes, "Well, glad to be of service! After all, I am your #1 assistant!"
At that, I just smiled and shook my head in mock exasperation.
That's right, Spike is my number 1 assistant, or rather, mine and Twilight's.
I'm not sure where it came from or why he came up with the idea, but one day, out of nowhere, during one of my study afternoons at Twilight's house, Spike declared himself our number one assistant and started trying to do everything for us.
At first it was cute, but then it was infuriating because Spike wanted to do everything for us, although after talking to him, making him understand that he doesn't have to do everything for us, he stopped.
Though that didn't stop him from still being our number one assistant, more of Twilight's than mine, since he was still living with Twilight after all, but you get the idea.
Anyway, it's time to get on with my work.
What I'm trying to do, as I had said before, is to move this spell into coded language so that it can be used on the surface without resorting to using our magic.
It is quite similar to the Glyphs I was trying to do but, unlike the Glyphs, the runes are quite limited in what they can do in comparison.
For example, Glyphs, in theory, can cast any spell with in correct coded language so that it can work, using the magic that is around us so that it can work.
But runes are more limited in some respects.
First, they can't be used for just any spell, only very specific ones like the levitation spell I'm using now.
Second, the coded language for runes is different from the one I use for Glyphs, making it harder and more time-consuming for me to create them.
Third, runes can't absorb magic from the environment as easily; I've already checked. Instead, they need an internal source of magic to work properly.
Why did I make it so different from using Glyphs? Because, oddly enough, it can't work any other way.
Runes and Glyphs are very closely related, which is why I can work on both without problems, but they are not the same.
This is because-
"Hey, Platinum," Spike suddenly said as he brought a book with him, "can't this book do you any good?" asked Spike showing me a book.
Hmm, magic lines? Isn't that the book that talked about the root of the spells we unicorns use nowadays?
Wait... that might actually work for me, I've already read that book and if I remember correctly, there are certain parts that detail the difference the way we use it today to how they used it in the past and before ponies used magic with the environment they lived in.
Smiling cheerfully, I turn to Spike putting aside my notes and the book, "that's a great idea Spike, give me the book please," I said as I held out my helmet.
He happily was about to give it to me, until he suddenly dropped the book as he covered his mouth with his hand and the other went to his stomach, as if he was going to throw up.
Wait, that's it- "Spike, you have to let it out, don't fight it" I tried to advise the dragon, who listened to me or at least I think so, since he couldn't keep up the fight and let out a burp, taking out his blue flame that soon turned into a letter.
Yes, Spike has been able to send and receive letters from Princess Celestia for a long time now.
We found out by accident, one day Spike accidentally burned Twilight's homework, which made Twilight angry, but the homework suddenly appeared in my room while I was resting after a long day, leaving me very confused.
Since then, Princess Celestia charmed Spike's fire so that he could send letters to any pony as long as Spike has a clear idea of who he wants to send them to and have a connection with them.
Luckily, it's not the first time it's happened and I was prepared, moving away from the fire before it hit me, I didn't want to repeat what happened the first time it did it in front of me.
Ugh, my fur still itches resentfully from that incident.
Shaking my head, I watched Spike pick up the letter and open it without a second thought. Before he could read it, I put the paper down and said, "Spike, what have I told you about reading the Princess' letters when Twilight isn't present?"
"Um... that I shouldn't?" said Spike, smiling sheepishly. Then, hastily, at my scolding look, he added, "But, this might be something important."
"Spike, it's from Princess Celestia. All her messages are important," I said, rolling my eyes and feeling annoyed with myself for saying it. I have nothing against the Princess; in fact, I respect her a lot, as I've said before.
The concept of a monarchy feels antiquated and somewhat flawed to me. Governance shouldn't be solely in the hooves of a single pony, but rather shared among two or more, with input from the people. This form of government persists mainly because of the trust every pony place in Princess Celestia. However, this reliance on one pony has left others feeling helpless in various situations, disinclined to take initiative knowing that Princess Celestia will handle everything for them.
You see this a lot in the nobility, like that nephew of hers...
Ugh, I don't even want to think about him.
Anyway, turning my attention back to Spike, who was watching me as I was having my little internal monologue.
Sighing, I removed my helmet from the letter and said, "Okay, Spike, you can read it, but make it the last time you read the letter without Twilight being here."
At that, Spike smiled, cleared his throat and said: "Hear ye, hear ye," oh, old English, must be something very important, "Her grand royal highness Princess Celestia of Equestria is pleased to announce the Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent city on Canterlot on the 21st day of um... yadda, yadda, yadda... cordially expends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus one guest!"
"Eh, a second letter? That's new," I said as Spike grabbed the letter, a confused look on his face as he glanced at me for answers. Normally, when Princess Celestia sent a letter, it was always just one. It's rare for her to send a second letter.
Nodding to him, Spike opens the second letter and says, "hear ye, hear ye, Her grand royal highness Princess Celestia of Equestria is pleased to- wait, I just read this," oh, wait, don't tell me what it is- "give me a second, city of Canterlot, 21st day of... yadda, yadda, yadda... extend an invitation to Platinum Breeze, plus one guest."
As he looked at the letter in surprise, I had a look of annoyance, as I didn't like the "Grand Galloping Gala" like other ponies, this was mainly due to some bad memories I had about the gala.
Before I could continue with my line of thought, the dragon burped again, this time bringing four special golden invitations, "Look! Tickets!" exclaimed Spike excitedly, obviously more excited than I was from all the anticipation.
"Yes, they are," I said, rolling my eyes with some annoyance as I grabbed my tickets offered by Spike with my hoof and tucked them inside my cloak, waiting to be forgotten.
"Isn't that great, we should go find Twilight, she'll be so thrilled to see these tickets-"
"Then by all means," I interrupted the dragon before he could finish speaking, "Go and show Twilight those things. I still have work to do," I said as I sat down and grabbed my notes, feeling the nonexistent weight of my own tickets on my back.
"Oh...you're not coming?" said Spike looking at me confused, which is reasonable.
Normally I wouldn't pass up a chance to see Twilight, whether it was to tease her or just to hang out, either studying or... well, studying, it really was rare that we did anything else.
But I really felt like continuing my study and besides, I needed to think and decide if it was worth going to the Grand Galloping Gala.
"Sorry Spike, but I really need to focus on this right now," I replied looking up from my notes to look at the young dragon.
He looked at me, confused and hesitant about what to do, until he finally shrugged. "Alright then. See you later!" I waved with my hoof as he hurried towards the door and left the building, undoubtedly eager to show the tickets to Twilight and hoping to be chosen to go with her.
Because that's how it always is, the ponies go crazy trying to get a ticket, but the gala always ends up being a disappointment.
How do I know that? It's really simple, several years ago I went to one.
As you may know, my father is the captain of the unicorn royal guard, or was, until he retired to make room for the new sensation, Shining Armor, Twilight's brother, to take his place.
Anyway, as I was saying, considering how important the gala is for all the ponies, the guards keep an eye on the place, making sure that civil order is maintained and that no mishaps occur.
My father, being in the old days the captain of the unicorn royal guard, always had to be present at the gala, to write rotation schedules for the guards and make sure everything goes as it should.
One day, Princess Celestia allowed my father to bring me along, the reason? I don't know if I'm honest, maybe my father asked or the Princess suggested it to him.
Well, in that time since I was a kid, I always knew that the gala wasn't the big deal that everyone made it out to be, I don't remember exactly why but I definitely wasn't very excited about the idea of going to the gala when I was a kid.
That was re confirmed during the gala, since I was just a foal at a fancy party that is usually roomed with high class nobles, I ended up getting bored quickly and decided to go find my father so we could leave or something, I don't remember well.
After circling around the entire building about three times looking for my father, I had the unfortunate luck to run into Princess Celestia's nephew, Prince Blueblood.
Apparently, they brought him along so he could see what the festivities were like and get some connections.
When I saw him, I wasn't happy to see him, I don't exactly remember the reason why either but I knew it was because of something from my past life but I ignored it, thinking to give him a chance considering he was also a foal and might not be as bad as I remembered him.
I was wrong, big time, whatever education his parents gave him make him to be a [Beep] as he was as I remember, so it started from when he was a foal, as he was behaving like he was underneath it, just because he was a Prince.
He literally expected me to carry his stuff for him, or bring him his food, or be his [Beep]ing seat!
I ended up getting so fed up that I ended up throwing him into the fountain in the garden party.
Of course, I was scolded for the way I treated Celestia's nephew, although she didn't mind, as she knew her nephew could be very exasperating.
In the end I had to apologize, reluctantly, to the "poor prince."
It was super annoying.
And now I was officially being invited to the "party" I hated so much...and I'm really considering it.
While I really don't want to go, I'm pretty sure Twilight will force me to go one way or another, she has her means to do it.
I shake my head, now is not the time to think about it, I must concentrate on my research.
Then I can decide whether or not to go to that [Beep] party.
I put my hoofs on my head while massaging my head
I'm not making any progress at all.
This should be easy, I managed to generate a small fire with the Glyphs! Why can't I get this book to float in front of me with a rune?
I've managed to set up the encoded text, I've managed to get it to absorb the magic of our environment so that it can work on its own and sustain itself.
So why isn't it working?
As I was killing my head thinking, I could hear the door opening.
Maybe Twilight can help me with my little problem, she's smarter than me after all.
Uh...
"Oh. Um... excuse me Platinum, I hope you don't mind if I come in..."
I blinked, not waiting at all for the little Pegasus in front of me to come through the door, before giving her a soft smile, "Good afternoon, Fluttershy, it's no problem for me, after all the library is open to all the public." I said, despite being quite curious as to why she came despite Twilight not being around and definitely not coming for me, but I kept it to myself.
"Thanks, I hope I'm not interrupting anything" Fluttershy says as she gives me a shy smile looking at all the books lying around along with several of my notes and some objects.
"Not at all, in fact, I was just about to take a break." I said as I closed the book that was floating with magic and my notes and stood up to stretch. Phew, I feel more battered than I thought, I must have been in that position for longer than I thought.
Looking at the Pegasus pony in front of me, I couldn't help but have to sate my curiosity and asked, "If you don't mind telling me, what brings you here Fluttershy? Neither Twilight nor Spike are around at the moment," it was then that an idea popped into my mind, remembering Spike leaving to tell Twilight about the tickets, who at the moment was with Applejack.
Don't tell me that by a quirk of fate, or rather for the sake of plot, all the mane six girls found out about the tickets.
That means.
Instead of answering my question, the yellow pony turned and said to someone outside, "You can come in now," and then, to my surprise, multiple creatures from the forest suddenly entered the building.
Looking around, I could see a rabbit, a squirrel and three birds.
Fluttershy must have noticed my puzzled look, "I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to clean up the library a bit for Twilight. I thought it would be nice of me to be a good friend to her. Oh, and for you too!" she said adding that last part nervously.
I couldn't help but smile and chuckle a little, "Hoping to win her sympathy so she can take you to the gala?" I said as I looked at the animals doing some unnecessary cleaning as Spike cleaned the library before he left.
He stopped midway through giving his bunny, who I have no idea what his name is, a brush, "What, oh no, I never-!"
"It's okay Fluttershy, feel free to dust the library all you want, I'm sure Twilight will appreciate it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something to do." I said as I ignored her thanks, using my magic I returned the books I used to their respective shelves and picked up the rest to take to the basement.
Before leaving, I made sure my tickets were securely fastened and hidden inside my cloak, I didn't want to be in Twilight's position.
But first, "Will there be something to eat in the kitchen?" I couldn't help but wonder, as all my time in my studies made me hungry.
I was sitting at one of the tables that wasn't being cleaned by Fluttershy's little animals while reading my book and finishing the sandwich I had made myself, when I heard a muffled cry, "Fluttershy, not you too!"
"Honestly, I don't know why you're surprised Twilight," I said as I read my book, though honestly, I wasn't really concentrating on it, the soft melody Fluttershy was singing was quite distracting, considering it was a nice tune and made me quite sleepy.
Not that I was going to admit it, it's kind of embarrassing.
"Oh! Well, hello Twilight," I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath at her innocent tone of voice, "I hope you don't mind, but we're all doing a little spring cleaning for you two." I laughed again at the poor lie Fluttershy just told.
You're a sweetheart Fluttershy, but you need to get better at your lies.
"It's summer."
It is indeed.
But that reminded me of a song lyric.
Well, more like just its melody but now it's stuck in my mind.
"Oh-" why does she keep saying oh at the beginning of each of his sentences? "-well, better late than never, right?"
...that's not how it works, Fluttershy, Besides, I'm certain this place had a thorough spring cleaning not long ago.
"It was Angel's idea" eh, so the bunny is named Angel, good to know.
Seriously though, blame the bunny Fluttershy? I thought better of you.
Angel doesn't seem to mind though and it seem happy about it, maybe it was really his idea?
"You're not doing this for the ticket, are you?" of course not Twilight, she's doing this out of the goodness of her heart.
...Wait, she might very well get to do this out of the goodness of her heart, even if that's not the case this time.
Uh, I hadn't thought of that.
I should improve my sarcasm
"Oh, no! I'm doing this for you and Platinum are my best friends, right Angel?"
At that, I just blinks in bewilderment at her, "do you know that level of friendship can only be achieved over time, right?" the Pegasus just shrugged innocently, causing him to facehoof at the silliness and putting my eye roll.
'Angel' seemed to agree with me.
"Oh, yeah, we're just doing this for the ticket," at that, both Twilight and I blinked, neither expecting the blunt one. Then I hear the loudest growl I've ever heard from a stomach...other than my own but luckily, I've already eaten.
Uh... that food was made by the rabbit? I wouldn't eat it if I were you, Twilight.
"No, no, no!" it's okay, Twilight, there's no need to get so frantic about refusing a meal, there are better ways, though I understand your irritation. "Well, this is all very kind of you and Angel, but I won't accept any additional favors until I've made my final decision," at that, I nodded approvingly, as sometimes you need to be firm to be listened to, "So I'm going to ask you to leave-!"
"Surprise!" at the sudden super loud sound, I drop the book I was reading to see Twilight being kidnapped by pink hooves.
Stepping out to see what's going on, I see something quite surreal.
"Twilight is my bestest friend, Whoopee! Whoopee!"
"Pinkie..."
What...
"She's the cutest, smartest, all-around best pony! Pony!"
"Pinkie...!"
...am just witnessing.
"I bet if I throw a super-duper fun party! Party!"
"Pinkie!"
"She'll give her extra ticket to the gala to meee!"
"PINKIE!"
"Yes, Twilight?" after throwing her some sort of party or something, Pinkie approached Twilight happily hoping she had won the ticket.
That... was really weird, but honestly, with only knowing Pinkie for a short time and a little bit of my memories, it's something she would do just to try to win Twilight over.
But it was still very chaotic and annoying.
"At least the other ponies are trying to be subtle about the ticket!" said Twilight annoyed getting up from the ground.
"Wait... what ticket? What gala?" uh oh.
"Oh, you didn't know?" wait, no Pinkie- "Twilight has an extra ticket for the Grand Galloping-!" before she could finish her sentence, I rushed to her side to cover her snout but the damage was already done.
"The Grand Galloping gala?!" exclaimed all the ponies around us in unison.
After that, everything went into chaos, with all the ponies talking, flattering Twilight to curry favor with her to get them to take them to the gala.
Twilight and Spike tried to escape but the ponies surrounded them offering favors among other things.
Seeing that they were in trouble, I tried to rush to help them but I couldn't get close and before I knew it, Twilight and Spike were running away and the army of interested ponies followed them.
Uh, that just happened.
I feel kinda worried for Twilight and Spike but I can't help them now.
Entering the house and closing at the door, I see Fluttershy standing there while together with her animals.
"Um... I don't mean to be impolite, but you all need to leave, at least your animals, Fluttershy," I said as I opened the door. The animals seemed a bit offended, but after some kind words from Fluttershy, they left, except for the rabbit, who decided to stay close to its owner.
"Oh, Platinum, you dropped these," said Fluttershy as she grabbed some tickets, my tickets, oh [Beep] me, "oh, you got your own tickets to the gala too?"
"No, Fluttershy, they are tickets to the great beyond" I said resignedly but also expressionlessly.
"Oh... why?" at her response, I couldn't help but give myself another facehoof at the fact that she didn't detect my sarcasm.
I seriously need to improve my sarcasm.
"Yes, Fluttershy, these are my tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala" I said as the Pegasus gave a silent squeal of excitement, then an idea occurred to me "uh... you can take them if you want" I offered, extending my tickets towards her.
The pony's eyes widened in shock as she approached me, "Both? But one is for you, and the other is for whoever you want to take with you, right?"
I shrugged, knowing this gave me an excuse not to go. "I'm not the biggest fan of big social events, and honestly, it's no big deal. Take them, you can bring along the bunny or any of your other animals," I said, ignoring the rabbit's protest squeals. Clearly, he didn't want to go to a boring event either. We're on the same page, little buddy.
"But...it's the Grand Galloping Gala! How could you possibly not want to go?" he said as he looked at me, not taking the tickets from my hoofs.
"Simple, like this," I said as I dropped the tickets on the ground, showing how much, I cared about the event, much to the dismay of the Pegasus in front of me.
"But... it would be impolite to refuse such an invitation from Princess Celestia!"
"Yeah, well... it sucks to be her, doesn't it?" I said as the pony gasped again in shock, this time accompanied by her rabbit in shock, an amused smile crossed my face, amused by the whole situation, "I can't just be forced to go to an event I don't want to go to, no matter how much I respected the Princess," I said as I looked at the tickets to then look at the pony in front of me. "Take them, I don't need them, besides I don't want to go through the situation Twilight is going through right now," I said as I went to sit at the table where I was reading my book, to go back.
Well, time to continue relaxing- oh, my thoughts are interrupted midway when the yellow Pegasus came to my side and left the two fallen tickets next to my book, "I'm sorry," she started sincerely, "but I can't accept these tickets; they are for you and whoever you decide to bring, it wouldn't be fair of me to take them away from you, it's not right,"
"Sometimes life isn't fair Fluttershy," I said closing my book and looking at her, "besides, you'd be wasting the tickets, I don't need them, I don't feel like going to a high-class party full of snobby nobles and arrogant studs,"
"It can't be as bad as you say, Platinum," said a voice turning me to see the blue Pegasus, Rainbow Dash with a smile, along with the other girls who at one point entered the house.
Seriously, how did all five of them get in without me noticing?
Looking at her, I said, "Have you ever been in the gala, Rainbow Dash?"
At that, her look turned shy, "Well...no, but I've always wanted to-!"
"Exactly, now do me a favor and please shut up," I said as I stood up from the table, ignoring her jaw dropping at the sudden command, or favor.
Looking at each of the assembled mares, I looked at them with a hard stare, "look at you, all of you; trying to win Twilight's favor so she could take you to the gala, but instead, you just ended up annoying her. Do you honestly think she would just share her ticket with any of you?"
"Of course she would," Rarity said in protest, not liking my annoyed tone, "We're her best friends-!"
"Exactly, ALL of you are her best friends! Although, saying you're her best friends despite the short time you've known her seems a bit absurd to me," and no, I'm not saying this out of jealousy or anything. "Do you really think she would take just one of you to the gala if she can't take all of you? No, the most likely thing that would happen is that Twilight would return the tickets to Princess Celestia-" I said, ignoring their gasps at the thought "-because she can't decide who to take. You might not know this, or maybe you haven't noticed, but Twilight values all of you equally. There's a reason she decided to stay here in Ponyville instead of going back to Canterlot. And if you keep pushing her for the tickets, you'll only make things worse."
After I finished speaking, I let my words sink into their skulls as I drank some water, not bothering to hide my smile as I watched the ponies look away in embarrassment. It felt good to make them reflect on their behavior today.
Seriously, they call each other their best friends despite only knowing each other for a short time, they didn't know Twilight like I did, and no, I'm not saying that out of jealousy.
"Well, gee, I hadn't thought of it that way..." Applejack was the first to respond, as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, "I guess we've all been pretty selfish with poor Twilight."
"Indeed, Applejack," Rarity said as she nodded her head, her tone suggesting she was embarrassed, "I feel ashamed for picking on dear Twilight like that!"
"Oh! Oh! I know!" I couldn't help but chuckle a little at the enthusiasm the pink pony had, even in a tense moment like this, it really represented laughter, "As soon as I get Twilight, we'll apologize to her!"
"Great idea, Pinkie!" said the blue Pegasus as she nodded her head then looked at me, or more specifically at the tickets resting on the table next to me.
Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to like what she's about to say?
"So, Platinum... you sharing that ticket or what?" Yeah, I didn't like it at all.
The sound of my hoof slapping my face was heard throughout the library.
After a long time, after dark, Twilight and Spike finally return home. The indescribable sound of the transportation spell, which can only be described as a "POOF!" was suddenly heard and I lifted my head from my book, which is a science fiction book if you were wondering, to see the appearance of Twilight and Spike.
"Uhh... phew, looks like Twilight's magic wasn't controlled, considering Spike's appearance.
One negative effect of teleporting is that if you don't do it correctly you can hurt yourself, though not the user.
The spell is meant to keep the user safe regardless of the user's mastery of the spell, the same cannot be said if I teleport someone with it.
"Let me know the next time you're going to do that..."
"I didn't even know it was going to happen!"
"Hi Twilight, hi Spike," I greeted as I casually approached them, wondering how long it would take for them to notice the other ponies in the room.
After the discussion, they decided to wait quietly for Twilight to return, thankfully leaving me to enjoy my reading in peace. "You guys look terrible."
"Now is not the time, Platinum, now quick Spike, lock everything up!" I couldn't help but blink with a mixture of bemusement and amusement as they closed all the doors and windows and turned off the lights.
Looks like they had a good time, at least now I don't have to worry about their well-being.
After they finished, they sighed in relief and leaned back against each other.
Then the main light came back on.
Uh, it seems that in the midst of all the chaos, she didn't realize the other girls were here.
And I unconsciously brought my hoofs to my ears as I watched Twilight scream in frustration, my goodness, she must have reached her peak of how much she can take today.
"I can't decide!" the unicorn said as she started to panic and I unconsciously moved to her side, "I just can't decide! It's important to all of you and I can't bear to let you all down and giving me gifts and doing me favors won't make any difference! Because you're all my friends! And I want to make you all happy! But I can't, I just can't!"
She ended with an exhausted collapse, putting her hooves on her head and sounding deeply ashamed to admit the truth, I put my hoof on her back and started stroking it in an effort to soothe her, comforting other ponies at times like this has never been my forte.
It seems Applejack had the same idea, because she reached over and put her hoof on her.
"Twilight, sugar..." why does she call us all "sugar"? "We didn't mean to push you so hard; you see, we didn't really come here for the tickets." And you can believe those words, since they come from the bearer of the element of honesty.
Twilight looked up in surprise, "You're not? But-!"
"We've all thought about it and realized how selfish we were, it's your choice, not ours, who you decide to take with you. We won't hold it against you."
"That's right," added Fluttershy as she flew over to us, offering her support. "It's terrible how I, how all of us--" hey, don't include me in that group, "--made you feel bad." "And so did I! It's no fun picking on a friend!"
"Twilight, it was unfair of me to force myself on you like I did."
At their words, I nodded in approval, at how well behaved they were and the fact that they were learning their lesson.
"Yes! That means the ticket is mine!"
...well, not all of them.
"I got the ticket~! I got the ticket~!" before she could continue her dance, a lightning bolt rang out and struck her flank, causing her to jump in surprise and look at us in bewilderment, seeing that they were all looking at my flaming horn.
I just gave her an annoyed look, which got the message across, I also ignored the disapproving looks Applejack gave me.
"Uh, on second thought, anyway, I haven't perfected my signature move for the Wonderbolts anyway, I don't need the ticket either."
I smiled, happy to see that now I was really thinking things through.
"We were all so excited about going about going to the gala, but Platinum-" my ears perked up at the sound of my name and I looked at them, seeing that they were still talking, "made us realize how obnoxious we were being, told us how much pressure we were putting on you."
Spike looked at me in surprise and I just smiled back, though I felt a little embarrassed to be called that.
"Sorry Twilight!" I smiled reassuringly as I watched Twilight smile at the chorus of apologies from her "best" friends, as she stopped stroking Twilight's back.
"Spike, take a note," I stepped aside to let Twilight stand up as Spike magically produced a scroll and quill from nowhere. "Ahem, 'Dear Princess Celestia'--" as Twilight began to dictate her letter and Spike wrote it down, an idea suddenly occurred to me.
Grabbing my tickets from the table, which surprisingly weren't taken by any of the ponies while I was distracted, I used my magic to slip them into the message Spike was writing, ignoring the curious looks from the other ponies.
"-'returning both tickets for the grand galloping gala'"
"What!" I grimaced a little at her shouts.
"'If all my friends can't go, then I don't want to go either!" finished Twilight proudly, smiling confidently at her own words.
I just let out a huff as I nodded, "I told you she was going to do that..."
"Well, yes, But-! Twilight, you don't have to do that!" said Applejack in shock.
"No, I've already made my decision."
"So have I," I said as everyone turned to look at me while Spike prepared the letter, "I've also made up my mind and I'm staying."
"Oh yeah," Twilight said as if remembering something, "Spike mentioned that you have your own tickets. Speaking of which, Spike, you can send the letter now. Wait, Platinum, you're not going either?"
"Nah, I'll send them back the same way you did," I said as I watched Spike send the letter with his green fire, "I was considering going, but if you're not going, I'm not going either."
"Huh?" why do you look so surprised, Twilight? "Why?"
"I have no reason to go, and even more so considering I hate that party," now everyone was looking at me surprised, considering they had never heard of a pony saying they hated the gala, "besides, I still have my research to do, so I'll be busy too."
"Well... okay," said Fluttershy to look at Twilight, who was looking at me to then turn to look at her friends, "But Twilight, you're not going to the gala either..."
"It's okay girls, I couldn't have fun without my best friends with me," she said sincerely, ignoring the twitch in my eye, as the rest of the group hugged the unicorn, I tried to pull away, but they grabbed me and forced me to join the group hug, Ugh. "So, I'd rather not go."
Eh, same thing, better to go with good company than to be left alone at a party full of noble snobs.
And Spike suddenly makes noises like he's resisting throwing up, making me slap myself in the face if I wasn't trapped in this hug, how many facehoofs have I given myself today?
"Well, wallop my withers, Spike," Applejack said, which made me blink in surprise, as I'd never heard of that term, "Isn't that just like a kid? Can't take a little feeling- hey!" started Applejack only for me to pull her away by yanking her tail with me magic, out of the way of the green fire, 'Wow nelly!' now a term I understood.
"You're welcome," I said after managing to escape the hug, stretching as I saw the letter, that was quick.
"A letter from the Princess? That was fast!" my exact thoughts, Twilight.
"My faithful student, Twilight, why didn't you just say that in the first place?" I couldn't help but let out a snort after hearing what Celestia wrote, as I watched Spike pull several tickets out of the letter, "Seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!" exclaimed Spike as he held up the tickets.
The mares around me let out a collective gasp, "Now we can all go!" at that, my smile evaporated.
"Well, have fun everyone," after all, there were only seven tickets, for the girls and the dragon, looks like the Princess forgot about me, which is weird but there's always a first time, though now at least I have a reason not to go.
Ignoring the look Twilight was giving me, I turned around heading for the stairs, only to turn around by a green glower, which was another letter from the Princess, "This one's for you, Spike." Spike read as he grabbed the ticket that came with the letter.
That means... oh no, ignoring Twilight's smile, Spike says, "Hey Platinum, you can keep this ticket!"
"I don't want it Spike, thanks," I said turning to go up the stairs, only to stop at the sight of the ticket rubbing in front of me, "Twilight," I said looking at my smiling friend.
"I remember you said you wouldn't go if I didn't go, neither would you," Twilight started saying as she walked up to me, ignoring the roar of her gut, "now that if I'm going, you have to go too Platinum" Twilight finished, standing practically in front of me.
I just gave her a annoyed look as I turned to her, refusing to take the ticket offered. "Yes, but that was before I decided not to go. Now you can use the ticket to invite someone else to go."
"Then I invite you."
"I decline."
"Then I decline your decline."
"You can't force me to go, Twilight. I've made up my mind."
"Well, I'm not leaving my best friend here alone."
"Why not? You have other best friends," I said, then covered my mouth with my hoof, but the damage was done.
Upon hearing what I said, Twilight blinked in surprise before giving me a mischievous grin. "Wow, I didn't know you were jealous, Platinum." I could feel my cheeks burning as the mares around us chorused with "awws."
"I'm not jealous."
"You don't have to be jealous; you'll always be my first best friend."
"I'm not jealous."
"It doesn't matter if--" I placed my hoof over the unicorn's mouth, who kept blabbering nonsense in front of me.
"If I say I'm going, you'll drop this matter," she simply nodded with a playful look in her eyes, to which I sighed and grabbed the ticket. "Fine, if I go."
I ignored the laughter that erupted all around, only to be interrupted by the rumble of Twilight's stomach, to which she let out a shy giggle.
Before I could tease her, Rarity said, "Allow us to treat you to dinner."
The ponies began to leave, and the tickets went with them, charmed to follow their respective guests. When Spike left, the ticket he was holding flew towards him, and the one he had flew towards me.
As I turned off the lights and closed the library door, I glanced at the ticket and said, "Twilight won't let me forget this, will she?" Silence was my answer, but I already knew the response. "I hate you," I said, looking at the ticket as if it were somehow responsible.
In the end, I simply sighed as I went to eat a few cupcakes.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Until next time.
> Chapter 5: Applebuck Season
Hello, how are you all?
I hope you are well.
Enjoy the new chapter.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling mistakes.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
I've done it...
I've done it!
I couldn't help but shout in celebration as I watched the book floating on the ceiling.
It hasn't been not so long since the ticket incident, it was just yesterday actually.
Since that incident, I've been redoing the coded language of the runes and doing some deep research on how the levitation spell works, again.
It took me many attempts, besides the time off I took or when some of my new friends asked me for help with something or attending to people who came looking for a book, after all, this place is still a library.
But I had succeeded, the rune for levitation, if we consider the book floating without using my own magic.
Sure, it's not perfect yet, if the fact that it's floating against the ceiling is any indication.
The rune allows the object in question to be affected by the spell inscribed on it, absorbing the magic around us in order to activate it.
However, as I mentioned, it's not fully complete yet. Nonetheless, I've also come to understand why the rune didn't work previously.
You see, the spell normally works by physically, or magically rather, attracting an object or pony and having it do what the pony wants it to do, such as draw it to them, move something to another location, or hold something.
Normally, the levitation spell holds as far as a pony can concentrate, for example, with books it only requires minimal concentration, the same with apples or cupcakes, but if you want to levitate a bookshelf, it would require a lot of concentration to do so, more than a single pony can normally do.
But with the rune, since it doesn't have an implicit command on it or no one to command the spell, it didn't work, it just drew magic from around us but couldn't be activated, since the command is required.
When I realized it, I wanted to hit my head. Then, I was redoing the coded language a few times until I got it right, but it's still not perfect.
I just gave it a simple command, float. I expected the book to just float in front of me in a show of success, but instead, it floated up to the ceiling and if the ceiling wasn't there, it would most likely be floating towards the sun.
But a success is a success, and I have achieved one of my greatest accomplishments.
Now, I just have to do the same with the Glyphs.
"But what in the hay is going on here?" exclaimed a voice from the kitchen door. I spun around to see Twilight and Spike standing there, mouths agape, staring at the book floating on the ceiling. Then, they turned to look at me, noticing that my horn wasn't glowing.
I guess I forgot to mention, it's around 7am, and Spike and Twilight were in the kitchen, Spike preparing breakfast and Twilight reading a book. I had gotten up early in the morning to do my work, which made Spike and Twilight ignore me since they knew how I got during my research time.
Twilight closed her snout and looked up at me with a smile, "Well, color me surprised, Platinum. You've done it." She said as she approached me.
At that, I laughed proudly as I activated my magic, drawing the book towards me and deactivating the rune, "It's not perfect yet, it's still missing a few details, but I'm closer than I've ever been." I said with a huge smile and a twinkle in my eye, I always felt great when it came to doing things like this.
Seeing my smile, Twilight's smile softened and she said to me, "congratulations Platinum, you have accomplished what no pony has ever accomplished, years of research have paid off after all." She proceeded to give me a hug, to which I gladly returned, glad that a special friend had witnessed my accomplishment.
Besides, now I have witnesses for when I present it to the ministry of magic, which those ponies have always been very skeptical when a pony presented a new spell he created, and more so when it's a young pony like me.
Spike, watching the whole moment, made a sign as if he was going to throw up and turned back to the kitchen to finish making his food, but he didn't take a step when suddenly there was a rumbling sound.
Hearing it, or rather feeling it, I broke away from my embrace with Twilight, seeing how she too was startled by the sudden jolt.
Suddenly, my body began to shake uncontrollably.
"Guys! T-The ground is shaking!" Spike stuttered his words as he himself was shaking as well.
"Ow!" I couldn't help but hiss in pain as one of the many books fell on my head. The shaking on the ground only got worse and I had to dig my hooves into where I was to prevent something worse from happening, "What the hell is going on!" I couldn't help but scream as I felt my body shake.
"I-I don't know!" the bewildered unicorn replied, looking around in shock before looking at the door, "Stay here, Platinum!" she said to then run out the door.
"Like hell I will!" said I, since Twilight should know that orders and I didn't get along, "Stay here!" I said to Spike, though I knew well that he wouldn't listen to me either.
I didn't bother waiting for an answer and walked out the same door, hearing Rainbow's voice yell as soon as I left the building.
"STAMPEDE!"
As soon as I yelled that the unicorn, all the ponies around went crazy, running and scrambling into their homes, at the same time making sure their homes were secured.
All the ponies were in a panic...except Pinkie Pie.
"Heeeeeey...! Thiiiiis maaaaakes myyyyy voooooice soooooound siiiilly!" she said as she shook like crazy in a unique way.
"Oh, for the love of.../Pinkie Pie, are you crazy?! Run!" I screamed at the same time as Twilight as I levitated the pink mare with my magic above me, making her ride me as I ran to safety, for her at least, I wanted to try to solve the problem.
Although I had no idea how, a pony doesn't go through these things in a row, let alone a pony that came from a city like Canterlot.
As I was leading Pinkie to a building, I heard the mayor trying to calm everyone down but to no avail.
"Look over there!" I heard Rainbow Dash yell, causing me to turn to look where she was looking to see what it was.
And it turned out to be Applejack, who along with her pet Winona, started leading the cows wildly.
Meanwhile, Pinkie who was still on my back, pulled some popcorn out of who knows where, and said, "This is the best rodeo show I've ever seen!" to which I nodded and with my magic grabbed one of the popcorns to eat, since I hadn't had breakfast yet, ignoring the look Twilight was giving us.
And after Applejack drove the cows away in a frenzy, all the girls who had stayed to watch the show celebrated, although I had to give a dirty look to Pinkie who was celebrating on my back.
As Applejack talked to the now calm cows, I couldn't help but say, "well, that settled quickly." As I pulled a wild Pinkie Pie off my back.
"Yeah, it's a good thing Miss Applejack stepped in when she did." She said as they watched to see Applejack appear on the hill, the ponies celebrate her and I just turn around.
"Excuse me, I'll pass." I say to a pony behind me as I headed towards the library.
"Hold on, Platinum." Said a voice and I turned to see Twilight, "aren't you going to stay? We were planning on throwing you a party to show our appreciation for Applejack."
"Sorry Twi, but I still have research to do," I said as I shook my head. While I am happy that this town was saved and yes, I think Applejack should be commemorated for what she managed to do, but my job is more important to me right now.
"You're still going through with that? I thought you were done with it" Twilight said as I could tell she was looking away, probably remembering what happened in the library not too long ago.
At that, I shook my head again, "No, it's not perfect yet. There are some things I need to improve and besides-" I was going to continue but my stomach at that moment roared in protest, "-I'm hungry." I finished with a slightly shy smile.
Twilight just smiled amused, "You haven't changed a bit since we left Canterlot. It's okay, you can go back to the library if you want to but-" before Twilight could finish, I ran off towards the house, I wasn't going to make her make me promise to head to the celebration party.
Besides, I'm pretty hungry.
I was currently in the main room of the library, humming to myself as I focused on modifying the encrypted language of my runes, again.
It had been a week since the cow stampede and today was supposed to be the celebration party for Applejack.
I wasn't planning on going, as although I was in awe of what Applejack did, I had work to do.
I couldn't help but ponder what Twilight said, realizing deep down that she was right in a way.
Ever since I was young, ever since my interest in magic was born, I had devoted myself almost entirely to it, many times denying party invitations for the sake of my research, pushing away several ponies who were trying to befriend me for the sake of my research.
The ponies of Canterlot are not at all different from the ponies that live here, in Ponyville, with the only difference that there are more snobbish ponies or that they think they are a big deal because they are nobles than here, or that making friends in Canterlot usually depends on your social class or your intelligence.
Several ponies that wanted to befriend me were due to my contributions to the magical society, as I had managed to create several spells in my spare time that were of great help, spells that are actually quite simple, like a small protective cloak against rain or a spell to make the bloom grow.
I also created a selective memory spell, to make me forget something, although I don't remember what.
Anyway, back to the point, several ponies approached me to befriend me because of the accomplishments I made for the magical community or because their parents told them to, although they never accomplished anything because I wanted nothing to do with them or because they just couldn't stand to be around me.
The only one who stayed by my side and was a sort of friend was Twilight, despite how reserved we both were, she stayed by my side, even when I teased her or played some pranks on her, which is why I value her so much.
But, as she was saying, I hadn't changed much since I arrived in Ponyville.
Unlike Twilight, who had become very close to those five mares (and I wasn't saying that this time out of jealousy) and had found a way to balance her studies in magic with spending time with her friends, I had continued to lock myself in the library.
Sure, sometimes I would go out to hang out with some of the girls, but usually I stayed cooped up in the library doing my research or just reading a book or exercising. Yes, exercise, even a unicorn has to maintain a certain physical attitude to stay healthy.
Not that I planned to change the way I was anytime soon, but it did make me reflect a bit on how much of a shut-in I was, practicing and dedicating myself a lot in magic.
My thoughts stopped as I heard the sound of a plate being placed on a table, I looked to see it was Spike placing a plate of foraged hamburger and a tea, which made my tummy growl.
I hadn't eaten yet, but Spike was kind enough to make me something to eat since he knew that if I made myself something to eat it was going to be something simple and I taught him the importance of healthy eating and above all healthy, so much so that I feel like a hypocrite because I myself don't follow that advice I gave him so many years ago.
With a sigh, I put down my notes and sat down to eat, "thanks Spike," I said as I grabbed the burger with my hoofs and started eating.
You know, sometimes I can't believe how much my diet has changed and how I've been adopting to it, I used to find eating fodder disgusting, the very idea made me want to throw up, but over time I've gotten used to it and now I even enjoy it a lot.
Sure, some of it is due to the body I'm in and some of it is due to the fact that I've been in this world for years, and I've changed because of it.
One of the examples of them is my attitude, I used to be quite bitter and antisocial because of all the experiences that had happened to me, but as they say, time heals wounds.
I can still remember the nights when I was a baby that I would wake up screaming because of all the deaths I saw or just remembering my past, my parents helped me in those cases, waking me up to lull me to sleep so I could go back to sleep, I only healed thanks to them.
If my parents had been different, I probably wouldn't be what I am now.
My thoughts are interrupted by a fake cough, I turn to see Spike still here and he says, "So, Platinum, how's your research going? I thought you were done with that because of your accomplishment this morning."
Stopping momentarily from eating, I smiled and said, "I'd love to, Spike, but unfortunately it's a long and tedious process that takes quite a bit of time."
"I know," Spike interrupted me, "I've seen you focus on it for years, but why do you need to get better at it?" asked the little purple dragon as he sat down next to me.
"Do you want me to explain all the reasons and scientific stuff as to why I need to do these rune upgrades? Spike, I thought you didn't like these things," I said as I continued eating, looking somewhat incredulously at the little dragon. I knew he wasn't at all interested in the scientifically magical aspects of my work, since he's still a kid and doesn't understand all this stuff.
"Well... no," Spike finally admitted with a sheepish grin at my amused look, "but, Platinum, you can tell me! It's been a while since we've spent time together," he added sheepishly, with a hopeful look in his eyes.
At that, I couldn't help but feel a little bad, usually Spike doesn't see how long it takes me to work on these projects, since he always stays with Twilight and every time we see each other it was to hang out, away from my work.
"I'm sorry, Spike, I didn't realize how little we were hanging out, I promise as soon as I'm done with this, we'll hang out again," I said after I finished my meal, looking at the dragon hoping he would accept my answer.
At that, Spike's look soured a bit but he perked up at the promise to hang out later, "Okay, Platinum." He said as he stood up and walked out of the house.
I felt bad but I couldn't help it, my work right now is more important, I'm so close to finishing the runes! I just need time.
"You know, I wasn't lying when I said you haven't changed a bit since Canterlot." Said a voice I already knew all too well, I turned to see Twilight coming down the stairs watching.
"Oh, hey Twilight... um, you saw all that didn't you?" I said as I shrunk back in my seat a bit, as her look reminded me a bit of my mother's when she scolded me for spending too much time doing nothing.
Instead of answering my question, Twilight continued. "In Canterlot, you were always so focused on your research that it wasn't healthy. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't the same, because I was, but I've changed. I've learned that friendship is just as important as work, and I've tried to balance both in my life. I think you could benefit from finding that balance, too." Her tone was soft but firm, with a look of concern in her eyes.
I sighed as I looked down at the notebook containing my research. "I know, Twilight, but I can't help it, I'm so close to making it! I just need more time..." I said, looking up to meet Twilight's worried eyes.
Upon hearing my response, Twilight simply sighed and said, "You'll have to make up your mind Platinum, one of these days you may not be so focused to spend time with us anymore, but maybe when that day comes, we won't have time for you anymore," Twilight said as she walked to the door, opening it and once she was outside, she took one last look at me before closing the door.
Once I was all alone in the quiet room, I sighed and grabbed my notebook to continue working but I couldn't concentrate, thinking about what had just happened.
I know Twilight was right, although I'm a little surprised because I didn't expect Twilight to be like that, but I didn't know what to do.
I never believed in friendship if I was sincere, of course I knew I was in a world where friendship literally was magic, but that did not change the fact that I did not believe in friendship.
That was mainly because since I was young, I had never made a friend that I could say was a friend that would last forever, as we always ended up drifting apart and never communicating again, that increased even more after the war.
And sometimes I even feared that my friendship with Twilight and Spike is not true, that in the end they will end up leaving me behind and forgetting me like everyone else.
It's one of the reasons why I decided to focus fully on my research, the ponies of Equestria might not be as cruel as humans were, but they could also be cruel and I couldn't trust people, or ponies in this case, so easily again.
Twilight and Spike were special cases, also to a lesser extent the mane 6, but I kept thinking that one of these days we were just going to lose touch and never speak again.
I looked at my notebook as if it held the answers and suddenly remembered something, a saying, that went, "Friendship is a two-way thing." I muttered as I looked down at my notebook, "uh, I guess you do have the answers." I smiled as I levitated the stuff with my magic and carried it to my room.
Twilight was right, as usual, and I was simply too focused and stubborn in wanting to do my research to do anything about it.
Twilight and the others might end up leaving me behind and avoiding me if I don't do something about it. They put so much effort into friendship; it's about time I also compromised a little more and didn't focus so much on my work.
"I guess friendship it is magic," I chuckled a little to myself as I walked out of the library.
Of course, plans don't always survive the first impact.
The ponies did a great job decorating the area where I would give Applejack her award.
The place looked pretty nice, with the balloons and various other decorations decorating the place and I could see that Twilight was already going to start giving her speech.
I could see it... from a distance.
You see, I was really planning to get closer and at least see the celebration with Spike but when I saw them from afar... I just couldn't get closer.
I don't know if it was out of embarrassment of my attitude or something else, but I couldn't just walk up to them.
So I decided to stay here, away from the crowd to watch the celebration.
I couldn't help but give Twilight a sympathetic look for the constant interruptions to her speech.
Ah, here comes the guest of honor... extremely tired.
Why is she so tired, and what's with all those apples on her back? Did she just come from work too?
As Applejack made some sort of show of receiving her award despite being so tired, I couldn't help but wonder.
Why didn't they give awards to all 6 of them for saving everyone from Nightmare Moon? I find it odd that despite stopping Nightmare Moon, no one gave them a gift or anything.
The harmony elements don't count, since they were used to stop Nightmare Moon.
Eh, whatever.
As I watched the pony walk away dead tired, I couldn't help but worry, I may not be a very close friend of these mares, but seeing someone with that degree of exhaustion is not a good sign.
Besides, I've been through similar things during my own research time, going days without sleep while researching, so I know how it feels.
Watching as she wandered off a bit, clearly struggling to carry her trophy, I decided to approach her.
It wasn't hard to catch up with her, even being far away, she wasn't moving very fast to say the least.
"Do you need help?" I asked once I got close enough.
"Mmm?" The pony in question spit his prize out of his mouth and blinked tiredly, before smiling in a state that told me he hadn't slept in a long time, I could tell, "Ahh, hello Platinum! It's nice to see you after a whole week holed up in the library you call home." Actually, it was longer but I wasn't going to correct her, "No, I appreciate the offer, but I've already handled it very well."
"Hmm, of course you have," I said sarcastically, as it was quite obvious that the pony could barely stand. I shook my head in disapproval as she just blinked at my words. "You're obviously not well, you look like you haven't slept in a while, believe me, I would know."
For a moment, the pony's eyelids slowly closed followed by a light snore that I thought was kind of cute, then she snapped out of it, shaking her head frantically. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sugarcube; I've got everything under control. Big Mac is hurt, so it's up to me to harvest Applebuck Season on my own."
"I see." Yep, just like me when I spent several nights researching. I also knew Big Mac wouldn't want her to do it alone. "Applebuck Season, by yourself."
"Eeyup." If her features hadn't convinced me, her goofy grin definitely did, "So you don't have to worry. So, if you'll excuse me..."
"Applejack, you definitely can't do all that by yourself." I said, stopping her, putting a hoof on her shoulder preventing her from continuing on her way. "If you keep doing all that work by yourself, what happened to all those relatives I met the day I arrived in Ponyville with Twilight, can't they help you?"
"They were just here for an Apple family reunion. They actually live all around Equestria and are busy harvesting their own orchards," she said as she looked at me with those tired eyes of hers, 'so... I'm on my own.'
"No wonder you're so tired right now." I shook my head in disbelief, if my thoughts are correct, that means the only ones on the farm are Applejack, Big Mac, the little filly I can't remember her name and Granny Smith. Leaving aside Big Mac who can't work right now because he is hurt, the little filly who is not yet strong enough to do this kind of work and Granny Smith who is not old enough to do these jobs again, then Applejack has to do all this work alone.
Well, she would have rather, since she has friends to help her in the end.
"Applejack, you can't do it all by yourself." I started saying, ignoring the grumpy look in her eyes, "ask Twilight and the others for help, I'm sure they'd be happy to help you."
"What? No way." Yes, I expected that but I simply gave him a serious look in response to his stubborn look. "I don't need any help! I've got everything under... under..." I couldn't help but shake my head again at this mare's stubbornness, she's obviously too tired to function normally. She woke up with a start when I lightly tapped her shoulder, "Huh...? Where was I...?"
"You were going to ask Twilight and the others for help."
If trying to reason with her isn't possible, it's time to try plan B; trick her tired brain that that's what she had to do, hopefully.
"...help me with what?"
I'm sure my facehoof echoed at this silence. "With the harvest."
The mare just blinked at me uncomprehendingly, "Why would I have to do that?"
[Beep], she's not tired enough to trick her brain. Time to get back to plan A. "By Celestia, Applejack, you can't handle the whole harvest by yourself. You have friends who are willing to help you without asking for anything in return. Besides, with the help of your friends, the harvest will be twice as effective and much easier knowing you have your friends by your side."
Applejack frowned, clearly tired but not yet convinced. "I appreciate the offer, Platinum, but this is my responsibility. I don't want to burden anyone else with the Apple job."
I sighed, knowing how stubborn she could be. "Applejack, being strong doesn't mean you have to do it all by yourself. Remember that you have friends who would be happy to help you no matter what. We, including me, want to help you because we care, not because we think you can't do it."
It seems that finally Applejack's tired brain mulled over what I just told her, until, finally, she gives a tired sigh but her look now seems less tired. "I know you're doing this out of affection, but I'm used to handling things on my own. I don't want to be a burden."
I put a hoof on his shoulder. "You're not a burden. I'm sure you did all you could with your hooves, but even the most capable need help from time to time. It's not wrong to ask for help and we're your friends, we're always happy to help."
I feel a bit hypocritical telling her that, as I too recently didn't want to part with my work, but I also learned not to doubt the friendship I have with Twilight and the others, and that I should strive to keep them from walking away from me.
Finally, Applejack sighed and nodded, her resistance finally ending. "All right, Platinum. I'll accept your help. But don't be surprised if I end up working harder than all of you put together," she added with a tired smile.
"Deal," I replied with a smile. "Now, let's get this trophy to a safe place and then let's find the others. Together, we'll make this the best Applebuck Season ever."
Applejack nodded and looked over to see the trophy lying on the ground, probably debating how to carry it.
I sighed a little, using my magic to carry the trophy, she looked at me for a moment, before nodding with a soft smile and then heading to Sweet Apple Acres.
Good thing I didn't have to use plan C.
After I managed to convince Applejack to accept my ... well, our help. We all went to Sweet Apple Acres.
Although at first Applejack wanted to continue picking, it was obvious that she was too tired to do so, so I put her to sleep with a spell while we all took care of harvesting the apples from the large number of trees that the Apple family has. It's really too much for one pony to do.
Besides, after I told Twilight how I convinced Applejack, she decided to write a letter with what she learned to Princess Celestia, even though I didn't stick around to hear it.
After a while of apple picking, I could hear Applejack say, "How about y'all take a little break? I got some fine apple juice waiting for ya!
After hearing what he said, we all headed over to grab the drinks offered by Applejack.
"Girls, and boy," he said, directing that last part to me, "I can't thank you enough for this help. I admit I was acting a little stubborn-"
"That's an understatement," I interrupted Applejack, since if I hadn't convinced her, I would have caused a lot of messes.
At my interruption, she just gave me an annoyed look, probably a little annoyed at the interruption and a little annoyed why I put her to sleep, but continued anyway, "Okay, very stubborn! And I'm so sorry, if it hadn't been for Platinum, I would have kept collecting and doing things by myself," she said while having a look of regret, probably for having thought of doing everything by herself.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier, we can postpone my stunt for another day if you're still feeling tired!"
"Oh, oh, we can postpone making the cakes for another day! Although I'll have to make sure to let all the ponies know about the schedule change so they don't miss it!"
"I can take care of collecting my bunnies alone if you're still tired and need to rest..."
"Don't worry girls, thanks to someone-" he said looking daggers at me, to which I just smiled, "put me to sleep, I'll be able to help you with those no problem." He finished his sentence then looked at all of us with a soft look. "You know, I know the city gave me an award for most appreciated pony, but my real award is having friends like you guys" he said to which then we all proceeded to drink some of the juice Applejack brought us.
After that, we all got hungry from all the hard work, we headed to Sugarcube Corner for some of the local pastries.
We then split up and headed to our respective homes.
Once inside the library, I saw Spike heading to his room or rather the room he shares with Twilight, probably to read comics, so I stopped him.
He looked at me in confusion, to which I smiled, "hey Spike, do you want to go and read some comics? I have some new ones I want to show you." I'm not entirely lying, as those comics I had saved for his birthday, but I guess I just have to get another gift.
At my words, the dragon got excited, "Really? Are you serious?" my heart melted a little at that and I nodded towards him, "Great! I'll see you upstairs Platinum!" he said as he ran up the stairs.
As I followed him, I heard a voice stop me, "Looks like you listened to my advice" you know Twilight, it seems in this episode you are willing to stop me for anything.
I turned to see her, watching as she approached me, "You know, if I got a bit for every time, you called me that, I'd be a millionaire." I said looking at her with an amused smile.
At that, she just smiled back, "I'm glad you listened to me Platinum, it wasn't healthy for you to spend so much time focused on your research." she said as she gave me a worried look.
I just smiled and said, "You don't have to worry Twilight, I learned my lesson and you are right, there will always be a time to do my work, but I should appreciate and spend more time with the friends I have," so as not to push them away, I finished in my head.
She smiled happily and then, Twilight looked away as if a thought had crossed her mind, "Oh! Why don't you write a friendship message to Princess Celestia? To tell her what you learned about friendship."
At that, I just looked at her with a blank stare before laughing and lightly touching her nose with my hoof in a poop, "That's your job Twilight, not mine." I said to then climb the ladder, ignoring the look Twilight was giving me.
Hi, I hope you enjoyed it.
Have a nice day everyone.
> Chapter 6: Griffon and platinum have a talk.
Hello, we are here again to enjoy a new chapter.
I hope you enjoy it
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story may and most likely will have spelling mistakes.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
Today was a beautiful day, the sun was in its splendor, the birds were singing and there was nice air all around.
Perfect day to be outside, reading a book.
Then...
"Hoof-biting action overload"
...why...
"She was like a superstar, flying high and higher."
...this pony couldn't shut up for a moment?
And why was I doing this again?
Well, that was because Twilight was here.
You see, after the previous episode, I decided to put my research aside for the time being and spend some time with my friends.
While I still don't fully believe in friendship, but I learned that I should put effort into it, not let myself become bitter about the things I experienced in the past and focus on the present.
So, I decided to spend the day with Twilight today, since Spike had to tidy up some scrolls at city hall.
We decided to hang out reading some books in ponyville park, why, I don't know, it's pretty much the same as doing it inside the library, I don't know what's so special about doing it outside besides enjoying some fresh air.
Anyway, we were both sitting under a tree reading some books, we weren't going to sit here but, on a bench, but since there wasn't enough room on it, we decided to sit under a tree, plus we took advantage of its shadow.
Then, all of a sudden Pinkie Pie appeared out of nowhere to tell us some kind of super awesome story she went through.
Normally I wouldn't mind, as I find her hyperactivity enjoyable and besides, it reminds me a bit of why she's the laughing element, but when you're busy reading a book, the least one wants is noise.
So here we were, in the park, sitting while reading a book and at the same time half listening to this crazy pink pony.
"-and then she looped around and around like WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO, WHOO!"
I sighed as the mare next to me just said "aha," sometimes it's really hard to stand the hyperactivity and understand what she's saying but it's still better than the alternative, which would be a sad Pinkie.
I don't know why, but every time I imagine a sad Pinkie, it makes me want to cheer her up.
I'd rather have her happy than sad, no doubt.
And I don't know where this random thought came from in my head either, sometimes they pop up just because.
I hear Twilight sigh in relief and I return to the "real world" to realize that Pinkie had left, most likely to annoy someone else.
I let out a smile and return to my book momentarily to read it only to put it down and look at the unicorn beside me.
"So, Twilight, can you remind me again why we're doing this?" I said as I closed my book, which was a simple science fiction book. It was called "Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone" which is one of my favorites. Twilight doesn't like them because according to her they are "too fanciful" but sometimes she reads them with me, today is not one of them.
Twilight sighs and puts her book momentarily aside to look at me, "because it's a beautiful day out here and it's a good opportunity to get out and enjoy it," then went back to her book, "Had I known you were going to complain, I wouldn't have made you come with me."
Ouch, the feeling is mutual, if I'm going to read a book, then I'd rather read it at home, so I look curiously at the book that Twilight is reading.
"What are you supposed to be reading?" I said, looking at the book, since its cover is just blue, with no indication of the contents inside.
"Oh, it's nothing, you've probably already read it." She said as she shrugged indifferently as she continued reading.
Oh-ho, what's that I see? A challenge. "Probably, but indulge my curiosity, Princess." I said with a teasing twist that served immediately, as she looked up at me with a frown.
"I thought I told you long ago to stop calling me that," she said annoyed then held out the book to me, so I could see its contents, "here."
Looking at the book, I can tell that it is written in an ancient language, so ancient that I no longer know how to use it, "are you... studying ancient language?"
The mare is question nodded, "It's one of the things I didn't tell you about, a while ago I decided to start researching and learning ancient languages. You never know when you're going to need it."
"Eh... preparing beforehand, not bad Princess," I said after I finished reading the book a bit and not understanding anything it said, as I had never been interested in history in general.
Oh, and I was also greeted with a scowl and a smack on my side, courtesy of Twilight.
Then, the mare in question looked at the book lying abandoned next to me and with poorly disguised curiosity said, "and what are you supposed to be reading?"
I simply decided to grab the book with my hooves and show it to her, causing the mare to get a blank stare after seeing the cover of the book.
"Seriously, Daring do? Haven't you already read that book a few dozen times?" she said looking at me dryly as I just smiled and stuck out my tongue childishly.
"A hundred times, besides it never hurts to reread a good book once in a while, you know?" I said looking teasingly at the pony in question, as I knew she liked to reread her books several times.
And by the look in her eyes, she knew what I meant.
Then suddenly I heard a voice with a gasping tone, "Ah, Twilight! Platinum! There you two are!"
Both Twilight and I turned to see the source of the sound, to see an exhausted wild Rarity suddenly appear, who for some reason ran over here. As she looked up after recovering from running who knows how far, there was a look on her face that I couldn't recognize at all, plus she had a sly tone to her voice. "Ah... taking a break together under the tree, right?"
Yes? What's so special about that?
"Well, I apologize for interrupting your lovely afternoon together!" Eh?
Both Twilight and I exchanged confused looks - what was Rarity talking about? We're literally just hanging out together.
Wait, could it be... nah, I must be imagining it.
"Is there anything you need, Rarity?" asked Twilight with a puzzled tone as I just put my book away inside a bundle I brought, I'd finish it later.
"Ah, it's nothing sweetie, but I've been looking all over for them. I just need to borrow Platinum for a while, that's all. you don't mind, do you?" eh, now what? 'No need to be so surprised dear; you should have known this day would come; I'll finally solve the problem you no doubt keep intentionally avoiding!' said Rarity passionately while I just looked at her in utter confusion.
"...I'm sorry, what?"
"Your cape, dear!" replied Rarity dramatically as my hooves unconsciously went to my cape, the same cape I've had with me since my school days.
"What's wrong with my cape?" I asked with an offended tone.
It was then that I was suddenly lifted slightly off the ground, courtesy of Rarity's magic, and pulled towards her.
"A good gentleman should dress properly, and you dear, you have the potential to look amazing on any occasion, and I can't stand for such potential to be wasted like this! Besides, it would serve you well to wash that mane of yours you have and give it a proper cleaning."
Wait, you meant what you told me a few episodes ago? If that's the case. "I'm fine as I am, thanks but no thanks." I said firmly as I tried to pull away, but the unicorn had a strong grip on me, making it impossible for me to escape, "Twilight, help me please."
"Good idea!" wait what? "Twilight dear, why don't you come with us to watch Platinum get a new cut and coat? You could even give me some tips if you like" oh no, I couldn't help but put both of my front hooves over my face knowing Twilight would agree.
The unicorn just stared at us, then smiled and said, "You know, that's a good idea, Celestia knows how long he's had that cape with him, so it would be a nice makeover." She said looking me up and down, "besides, when was the last time I cut your hair?" oh no, you didn't go in there.
"Are you seriously doing this to me, Twilight? I said looking at her with a blank stare, to which she just shrugged indifferently as she stuck her tongue out at me childishly.
Oh, you'll deal with me later, Princess.
"Splendid! Oh, and Platinum," at the sound of my name, I looked up at the mare smiling innocently, "I wouldn't recommend trying to escape if I were you; we're going to give you a new style whether you like it or not." Where do my rights lie in all of this? Although in the end I decided to accept my fate as I groaned reluctantly, the mare eventually put me down, "and then you two can get on with this lovely little date."
Uh... ah! So that's what she meant, I couldn't help but groan in annoyance. Again with that.
As I know you can imagine, Rarity isn't the first time she's mistaken our interactions for romantic interactions and it definitely won't be the last.
Meanwhile, Twilight was mulling over Rarity's words when she suddenly blushed slightly and let out an exasperated groan.
"Oh, not you too, Rarity!"
Soon after, I found myself in Rarity's boutique with a look of eternal annoyance etched on my face as I looked at my freshly washed mane while the smiling unicorn behind me with a mirror in front of me as she went about combing my hair.
I could see through the mirror my cape laid aside, probably to be discarded, which caused my right eye to get a twitch.
Look, I don't exactly mind the cleanliness of my mane or the new cut she's giving me, I'd appreciate it a lot more if it was with my consent, besides why did she have to mess with my cape? What did my cape do to her? Did my cape do any damage to her?
My thoughts were interrupted by a "ta-dah" from Rarity, causing me to look at my reflection in disbelief. Who is this gentleman supposed to be? In front of me I can only see an upper class snobby noble stud who thinks he's above everyone and deserves all the things in the world.
And I don't like it at all, this... thing isn't me.
"Well, you look better now," my ramblings are interrupted by Twilight's comment, who looks at me holding back the urge to laugh after Rarity dragged me back before her to show me off for some reason.
At that, I gave her a dry look showing how much fun I'm having with all this.
"'Better'? Why, dear Twilight? I think you underestimate the effort I put into this; this style is very popular with young, handsome stallions, as it seeks to make all the mares who see it swoon." At that, I couldn't help but look at her with a raised eyebrow. I don't know if you know me Rarity, but I don't want to attract that kind of attention, "Oh, of course that's not your intention Platinum. But with that beautiful fur you have, along with the combination of your eyes and mane, dear, you needed to look clean and shiny with some style to make you look good, and certainly not something that makes you look like a street wizard."
And what's wrong with that? Sure, I'm a court magician, technically talking, but that doesn't mean I should always worry about looking presentable.
And besides, what does my mane have to do with anything? My mane is simply silver, it's nothing special and I doubt I'm the only one with this kind of mane, I'm sure there was at least one pony with this color of mane among the people of Ponyville.
With a sigh of annoyance, I look at myself in the mirror and I can't help but feel uncomfortable.
I've had my cape for so many years that now that I'm without it, I feel naked. And we always walk around naked.
"And for the final touch" I was again interrupted in my thoughts by the fashionist mare, this time putting something on my body, and as I'm looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but see it.
It's a cape just like the one I had, only it's longer, long enough to cover my flank and my cutie mark and the fact that it's emerald, green with silver edges, it had a simplistic design, with nothing to really make it stand out to the eye, plus it has a hood that can hide my face, probably for the rain. I lift the new cape slightly to see that inside it has several pockets and that the inside design is simple and dark purple in color
She also just put a necklace around my neck, which is silver in color with a turquoise pendant.
"I'm glad I prepared ahead of time, I made this cape taking into account the color of your mane and fur, as well as the color of your eyes, although I didn't put any design on it yet, I wanted to see if you liked it and how it would look on you," Rarity said as she watched me inspect my cape.
I honestly like it, despite the fact that it had to be at the expense of my other cape, it doesn't look bad on me.
"Uh, not bad Rarity, I must admit you really showed off with this whole thing," I said looking at the mare in question, who smiled delighted seeing that I liked my new look, "Wait, how did you get my measurements?"
At the question, the mare in question blushed a little, "W-Well dear, actually I didn't, I based it solely on what I could observe from the cape you had on, although I think I went a little overboard," she said looking at how the cape fit me bigger than my previous one. "If you want, I can take your measurements so I can make you a new one."
I pondered his words a bit, then shook my head, "No, it's perfect just the way it is." While it was bigger than my previous cloak, that didn't mean it was bad, now that it completely covered my body, and with my research in runes, I could engrave them on the cloak for added protection, the same with my new necklace. "How much do I owe you?"
The mare seemed delighted to hear my words, only to blink in confusion upon hearing my question. "Oh, dear, you don't need to pay me for this. Consider it a as a gift, from one friend to another. Besides, hearing you say how much you appreciated my work is enough for me."
I stared at her for a few moments, before shrugging. "If you say so," normally I'd keep harping on the subject, but I didn't feel like it.
Although I'm also a little surprised that she's basically gifting me a new outfit without charging me anything but I guess I should have expected it, after all, Rarity is the bearer of the element of generosity.
"I never thought I'd say this, but you look pretty fancy Platinum," Twilight said playfully. In response, I just gave her a light tap on her shoulder, she giggled a little at that. "Well, with everything settled. I'm going to go visit the bookstore which isn't too far from here, then I'll go back to the library to study some things I have to do. Do you want me to wait for you at the store?" hearing Twilight's question, I could have sworn I heard the unicorn's stifled sigh next to me.
I immediately shook my head, ignoring the protesting cry from the dramatic mare beside me. "No thanks, I have some things to do on my own. I'll see you in the library."
Hearing my reply, Twilight nodded with a smile and waved goodbye from her hoof and then left through a velvet composite door with gold outlined curtains.
Seeing Twilight leave the tent, the white unicorn gave a dramatic sigh and then went back to doing some things, including taking my old cape, to which I dismissed her with a military salute.
While the unicorn was gone, I couldn't help but admire Rarity's boutique. This place was very well ordered, if there is something that can be said in Rarity's favor, it is that so far, her business seems to be quite well ordered.
That reminds me, I need to sort out my research notes, considering I have some free time at the moment, it might be a good idea to pick up my research and maybe learn some glass carving and clothing while I'm at it.
"So dear..." and here comes the gossipy mare, looking me straight in the eye, "what's up with you and Twilight?" she said looking at me with obvious interest in the possible romance.
I just sighed in exasperation, "Nothing is going on between me and Twilight, Rarity. Please don't ask again."
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, really, I just thought..."
"Exactly, you thought, that's the problem." I interrupted abruptly before regretting it when I saw the surprised but hurt look on Rarity's face. "I'm sorry, Rarity. It's just that I'm tired of people asking us what's going on between us, it's like they can't see a stallion and a mare together and not think that we're just friends."
"I'm sorry for bothering you with that, dear, it's just that you guys are so close and I can't help but wonder." Rarity said as she put a hoof on my shoulder.
"That's the problem, everyone assumes and assumes, regardless of how we feel. I love Twilight very much and maybe in the future I could see her as more than just a friend, but I won't if everyone just thinks deciding for me." I said as I looked at Rarity with sincerity.
Twilight is one of my best friends, no, rather, she's my BEST friend and I didn't want to ruin what we have, but everyone seems to have the wrong ideas about our interactions, my parents, her parents, Shining Armor, and now Rarity and maybe the other girls too.
I might end up falling in love with Twilight or I might not, there is nothing certain in this world, but if things happen, they are going to happen in a natural way, not because other people want them to.
Hearing my words, Rarity nodded at me, "Don't worry dear, I understand. I won't bring it up in front of you again." Hearing her response, I nodded gratefully.
Sometimes it's good to have friends.
Wait? In front of me? That mean that she's thinking of talking about it with the girls
...eh, then that's not my problem.
I was currently at the market, quite happy with how today had turned out.
While I had to bitterly say goodbye to my old cape, I got a new and rather better one plus it gives me new opportunities to do something new with this stuff I was given.
As I said, I'm at the market buying some things for dinner, this time I decided to cook for Twilight and Spike (something that rarely happened), so I wanted to make it special. I don't know how to cook a lot of things, so I decided to make some simple hay burgers, now I'm just looking for what seasonings to put on it.
I may not be an expert in the area of cooking, considering that I very rarely go near the kitchen other than to eat, but even I know that with certain good seasonings it makes a difference to any meal.
As I was browsing, I couldn't help but feel something fall into my mane and a slight breeze, but I ignored it in favor of continuing to do my shopping.
As I approached another store window, which had just what I was looking for, hot sauce. The shopkeeper looked at me and began to chuckle slightly, I looked at him confused but continued with my shopping,
As I was walking back to the library, I noticed several ponies looking at me and laughing at me, which I found confusing.
I was quite confused, then Pinkie and Rainbow Dash came up to me and saw me and also laughed lightly, much to my confusion. Apparently taking pity on me, they gave me a mirror, and looking at my reflection I could see that my hair was now rainbow colored and my fur was white, plus my face looked like a clown.
Looking with surprise at Pinkie and Rainbow, only to see them laughing out loud with a dye in their hands and makeup. I just looked at them confused, I understood the fact that they applied the dye on me, since I felt the drop, but how come they did my makeup? Rainbow shouldn't be so quick.
In the end, I just shrugged my shoulders and turned on my horn, seeing my action the mares just ran away, even though I wasn't going to do anything to them.
I just teleported directly to the bathtub to remove the paint and dye, which luckily was easy to remove. Once I got the paint and dye off, I looked in the mirror only to see that the hairstyle Rarity had done for me was undone.
"Hey," I said looking at myself in the mirror then shrugged, "if anything, I can always blame this to Rainbow and Pinkie."
As I was washing up the food to prepare dinner, I could hear some commotion in the main room.
I ignored it of course, but I could hear Pinkie's voice and Twilight's voice talking about some things.
All of that came to a boiling point when I suddenly heard Pinkie yell something and then leave with a slam of the door.
After I finished preparing the food, I decided to leave the kitchen to look at Twilight and Spike looking worriedly at each other.
"What in Celestia's name just happened here?" I exclaimed, looking at Twilight and Spike for answers.
At the sound of my voice, both Twilight and Spike looked at me. After a moment, Spike decided to answer my question, or maybe not. "Nice new cape, Platinum," Spike complimented me as I watched him. "With that cloak and hat you have in your room, you really look like a real wizard now," Spike added, joking a little.
I just looked at them, seeing that they wanted to hide it from me for some reason.
Finally, Twilight sighed and said, "Well, Pinkie Pie came in to complain about a griffin named Gilda. According to Pinkie, Gilda was being quite rude and mean to her. However, I actually think Pinkie is just jealous because this new girl is hogging Rainbow Dash's attention."
Eh, that was just it. I don't see why they would want to hide it from me.
Except for one little detail that I don't know I missed.
"Pinkie Pie... jealous?" I said, looking at them both in disbelief. At their nod, I just sighed and shook my head. "That sounds wrong on so many levels I don't know where to start." After finishing my sentence, I looked them in the eye. "Guys, I know we don't know Pinkie Pie very well, after all, we've only known her for a month. But Pinkie is not somepony who gets jealous and calls some pony 'meanie' just because she's hogging the attention of one of our friends." I said as I watched them reconsider.
"I understand what you mean Platinum, but I don't think this Gilda girl is as Pinkie describes, it could be that she is simply being blinded by her jealousy." Twilight said looking me in the eyes.
At that I simply shook my head but decided not to continue the discussion, as Twilight can be quite stubborn when she wants to be and I wasn't in the mood to argue either.
Instead, I simply turned and headed for the kitchen. "Come on, the burgers are almost ready. We can't think straight on an empty stomach." After that, I went into the kitchen to finish the food.
I don't know why I feel like something is wrong with the whole Pinkie thing, it could very well be true what Twilight says, but Pinkie Pie doesn't strike me as a pony who would get carried away with her jealousy and talk bad about someone behind their back, she just doesn't strike me as that kind of pony.
There's something more to this whole thing.
After lunch I decided to go for a run, or well that's the excuse I had told Twilight.
Truth be told, I am looking for Pinkie Pie to search for answers, as she is the pony that was at the center of all things.
It wasn't an easy search though, as I had already been looking all over town but still hadn't been able to find her.
Seriously, when that mare didn't want to be found, you don't find her.
Oh, "There you are" doesn't matter, I finally found her, or did she find me? For I saw her heading towards me with her head down.
The sight couldn't help but make my heart ache a little.
"Oh, hello Platinum, nice cape."
"Thanks, it was a gift from Rarity- no, let's not get off topic, you how are you, Pinkie?" I said once I got close enough to her.
Pinkie just continued walking as she said, "Maybe Twilight is right" at that, I just raised my eyebrow as I followed her, "Maybe she isn't a big mean panty pants, maybe I'm just a jealous judgmental jealously pants." uff, she said the word jealous three times, that's not right.
As the pink Earth Pony let out a sad sigh and went on her way, I just followed her, after all, what could I say in this kind of situation?
And even though it pains me to see her like this, I decided to follow her to keep her company.
Now we were sitting at a table while we had some milkshakes, hers was strawberry and mine was chocolate, after Pinkie gave those sad but thoughtful sentences, she refused to say anything else and I didn't know what to do besides keeping her company, in the end, what can I say to a friend who is going through a depression?
I really don't know, so I simply decided to keep him company until I went home or until she said something, whichever came first.
"Get down!" Pinkie suddenly ordered after we both heard a surreal sound behind me. I immediately obeyed, crouching half my body down right with her under the round table and looking up at the sky listening to the laughter.
What the [Bleep] was that?!
And... wait, is that a gryphon? Is that supposed to be a gryphon?
"That was sweet!" said Rainbow Dash contentedly out loud, following the creature she'd only heard from time to time, and also read a bit about in the books I read. "Whew. I've got some weather work to take care of around here; shouldn't take long." I squinted at Rainbow who was talking to the... thing (that sounds so wrong to say) next to her.
"Pinkie, is that..." I said slowly as I kept my eyes fixed on the new creature.
"That's her: Gilda." She replied grimly. So, that thing is Rainbow Dash's old friend? "Half eagle, half lion. The one that's been taking up Rainbow's time more than me." she finished somberly while looking at the gryphon, I was looking at her too, after all she's a creature I've never seen in my life and I know that she looked pretty cool.
But despite her cool looks, there was something about her that just... wasn't right. I don't mean to sound judgmental or anything, but there was something about her that just left me with my guard up.
I think I have my answers as to why my gut is telling me this. If the fact that she made a joke in very bad taste on poor Granny Smith, which caused me to frown.
"Oh, poor Granny Smith! She didn't know it was a joke! How mean!"
"And also dangerous, Granny Smith is not in the age to get played with that kind of 'prank' anymore" I said in agreement, frowning as I continued to stare at the gryphon.
"No, no, I can't misjudge her. It was kind of a funny joke, I guess" at that, I gave her a look of disbelief and pity, as what Twilight had said to her no doubt affected her ability to judge people.
Oh, now she just stole an apple and ate it, that's not right.
A gasp sounded from beside me, "I misjudged her! She's not only a meanie mean pants, but she's also a thief!" I nodded at his remark about the gryphon. "No, no, no, no, no, she could take it back." ...
At that, I gave him a look of disbelief again. "From her stomach?" No, it was obvious that the gryphon could not be trusted. "Now is not the time for you to try to look on the bright side of this, Pinkie Pie. She's obviously someone we can't trust." With the way she acts around ponies, even Rainbow Dash could be in danger, despite being her "friend."
"You don't know Platinum; it could just be a simple prank."
I was about to retort when my eyes fell on a certain yellow Pegasus leading a pair of ducks and their offspring past us. "Alright little ones, this way." Fluttershy said kindly to the animals, no doubt escorting them to a river. That's probably the nicest way I've ever seen someone treat animals without looking up videos of that guy on the internet.
"Hey!"
"Oh, excuse me."
"I'm walking here!"
"Oh. U-um sorry." Fluttershy stammered in her feeble attempts to apologize to the rough combination of proud creatures. "I was just trying to-"
But the gryphon would have none of it, sneering in a tone that made my gaze harden. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! Why don't you look where you're getting silly?" The ducks and their young scattered as the taller creatures advanced toward the retreating Pegasus.
At that moment I felt my anger bubbling up inside me, which caused me to have to take a few deep breaths.
No, Platinum, you are better than this, don't let your anger get the better of you, you are better than that.
"B-b-b-b-b-b-but I-I..."
Any attempt at an apology was cut off by the scream taking a deep breath and... I had to cover my ears at the loud shriek that was no doubt meant to intimidate the poor pony... and it worked. My eyes widened and my jaw tensed as I saw Fluttershy running away, crying. And I could feel my heart ache at the devastated sight of her running away.
It was enough to make anyone who saw it want to cry.
...all brought on by her...
Please, somepony hold me, or i...
"Ugh, please; all these silly ponies are taking me-ARGH!"
Whatever she was about to say, most likely a rude thing, was interrupted when suddenly a bolt of energy struck her, sending her crashing into a fruit stand.
The crowd gasped as they saw this and gasped more as they saw me come out from where I stood, horn glowing and an angry look on my face.
"Platinum!" I heard Pinkie exclaim in surprise behind me, but I wasn't listening to her anymore, I was just slowly making my way closer until I was in the center of the crowd, my eyes fixed on the fallen gryphon.
Look, I normally didn't like to fight, let alone start fights, but if there's one thing, I can't stand it's watching someone hurt my friends, people I hold precious to me and I don't care if it's male or female, what she just did just crossed the line.
My eyes focused as the thing recovered from its stupor and leapt out of the destroyed stall, standing at a height meant to intimidate and looking at the fountain that dared to hit it in disgust. I just scoffed, maybe I would be intimidating if I didn't have a burned face, and that's just a maybe. "You... you hit me... How dare you...!"
Hearing her words made me snort out loud, my horn still glowing and drawing the attention of the audience around us. "How dare I? Considering all the damage you've done, I should be asking, how dare you?" I said, as the gryphon glared at me. "Let me tell you something, Miss Gilda. I don't know how things work from where yoy come from, but what you did is unforgivable. So, you better apologize or do us all a favor and get the hell out of here."
"Or what?" she asked dangerously, her features as hardened as mine as we both crouched in ready stances, my horn roaring at my fury.
"Or I'll break every bone in your body." I replied grimly, ignoring the loud gasps of surprise and horror around me at my bold words, though I smiled as the gryphon's eyes widened before glaring hatefully at me.
Think you know about hate, girl?
I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow in amusement once she took a deep breath and let out the same roar, she used to intimidate Fluttershy, but the roar that earlier made me cover my ears all it did was shake my mane, all thanks to my modified anti-sound spell. Well, at least now I have another culprit to blame for ruining my mane.
But if you want to play the intimidation game little gryphon, let me answer you.
The gryphon's eyes widened in surprise and fear as I answered her with my own roar, as loud or even louder than hers, while my body briefly glowed from the use of my magic. Once I finished my scream, I looked at the gryphon in bewilderment and said, "I can do this all day, little gryphon."
"You're crazy." The horrified gryphon finally announced momentarily then turned and took flight, determined to get away from her assailant as quickly as possible. "But you'll pay for hitting me anyway, you silly stallion!"
"Try if you can, little gryphon!" I said as I watched his figure disappear into thin air. Taking a few deep breaths to calm my anger, I couldn't help but notice that everyone was looking at me in amazement, looking at my feet, I notice that I made a small crater I made in the ground. "huh, I didn't know I could do this." Nor the scream thing, we ponies don't have the lungs to make such a scream.
Could it have been because of me magic? Though I've never heard of unicorn magic responding like this before.
Huh, something to think about later.
Looking at the destroyed fruit stand, I use a spell to repair it, since technically speaking it was my fault, "Sorry." I said looking at the Pegasus who was still looking at me in shock.
Seeing that everyone was looking at me, I simply looked at Pinkie, gave her a nod and decided to leave back to the library.
Fifty bits to this gets me in trouble with Twilight.
"You threw a magic shot in her face?" I knew it!
I sighed tiredly, since for some reason my body felt pretty tired after here incident and besides, I had come to my senses after I calmed down, "I know what I did was wrong and I'm not proud of it-" lie "-but in this case it was justified." True.
Of course I had informed Twilight what I had done today, better she hear it from me than to hear it from another pony, as there might be a lack of information or something about the events.
Once I washed my face to dispel any anger, I still had inside me, I headed off to tell Twilight and Spike what happened today.
"I'm still trying to understand the reckless thing you just did today, Platinum Breeze!" oops, full name, this doesn't look good. "You punched her, an innocent gryphon, Rainbow Dash's friend?"
At that, I snorted, "Innocent? That gryphon was far from innocent." I said as I looked at Twilight's disapproving look. "The situation was far from ideal, but I did what I had to do."
But, of course, Twilight doesn't see things my way in this case. She pointed at me like I was some kind of criminal, which made me annoyed. "The reason behind hitting her is irrelevant-"
"Even for annoying Fluttershy?"
"Especially for annoying Fluttershy!" she continued heatedly, causing me to frown. "You should never use violence against anyone, no matter the case. We were both taught that, as long as we are not provoked, we shouldn't do anything. What you did was foolish and you could have gotten into serious trouble. But no; you chose to pick a fight, and against a gryphon, of all things!" Are you really bringing up things from the past, Twilight?
Although in this case you're not right, while your parents tried to instill that in me as well, my father taught me that at any sign of danger, attack or flee depending on what you think is right.
It's obvious who I took the advice from.
Meanwhile. Spike who is looking off to the side spoke with a tone that suggested he was impressed. "I, for one, am impressed. I didn't know you had it in you, Platinum." Despite his words, both my gaze and Twilight's was still fixed between us.
The frown on my face was starting to hurt, "I just let her know that her attitude is not welcome here in Ponyville."
"Or you could have given her the idea that Ponyville is full of violent ponies! Besides, you should know by now that it's wrong to hit a lady."
"That's sexist. Why should I care that she's a lady? If what she did is wrong, I'm going to judge her just as harshly I should."
The unicorn shook her head in disappointment. "I can't believe you..."
Okay, this is already bothering me and a lot, schooling my features to a neutral look, "Look, I understand I got out of control." I said with irritation but somehow keeping my cool, I wasn't going to let this situation get worse. "You, of all ponies, should know that I'm not normally like this. But her actions today really got on my nerves. Granny Smith didn't deserve that treatment she suffered, that merchant didn't do anything to justify stealing her product. And Fluttershy definitely did nothing to deserve the treatment she received. I just returned the favor."
"That wasn't all, Platinum!" I just looked on impassively as Twilight pushed her hoof to my chest. "Maybe Gilda was acting like a bully, but your actions today didn't solve anything, they just made you stoop to her level-"
"I'm going to stop you right there before you can continue with your words, Twilight Sparkle," I said seriously, my impassive gaze holding steady even though it's harder to maintain it at the moment. "I don't intimidate innocent ponies just because I feel like it and find it amusing. You, of all ponies, know that." Twilight's gaze faltered slightly at my words before she continued to look at me. "Twilight, do you remember how it was in school, right?"
Hearing my question, the mare simply frowned in confusion, "Yes, but what does that have to do with-"
"Then you know that I never picked on anyone, no matter how much I know they deserved it." I said as I remembered the days at school, with snobby ponies who thought they were better than any other pony. They even tried to bully me once, but let's just say it didn't go well for them, mentally speaking. "I didn't attack, even though they annoyed me, I knew at the end of the day they weren't worth it. But the school ponies never went beyond saying cruel words, they didn't steal, they didn't fight and most of all, they didn't hurt innocent ponies simply because they wanted to."
As I said that, I was advancing towards her, causing her to step back slightly. "I also know you know because they also tried to intimidate you many years ago, but they never did more than call you names and tease you because I stopped them." At that, her eyes widened; yes, that was something I never told her because I didn't see the point. "I never tolerated bullies, but I never harmed them unless they crossed the line. So, tell me, why should I have made an exception for a gryphon who were hurting one of my friends?"
Without waiting for an answer, I turned and walked up the stairs, ignoring his voice calling out to me.
What I did may not have been the right thing to do for some, but I had no regrets.
Whether Twilight understands that or not, that's her problem.
Okay, maybe I went a little overboard today.
And I'm not referring to the incident with the gryphon, but to my argument with Twilight.
But if we're being honest, I wasn't going to let them just put me in the same category as Gilda, since we weren't even a little bit alike.
I think it's funny though, I've been stopping bullies for years to keep them from getting out of line and the one time I tell Twilight about it, she gets mad.
Well, she was going to find out eventually anyway.
I was currently in my room, sitting on the balcony of my room enjoying the evening light. Spike had knocked on the door a while ago saying they were going to a party organized by Pinkie and left me in silence when he asked me if I was going. That left me alone in my room to contemplate the day's events.
As I said, I don't regret what I did, since what that gryphon did was way out of line, by far, but I'm a little worried that this has damaged my friendship with Twilight.
It's already dark and Twilight and Spike haven't returned from Pinkie's party, so if I wanted to, I could just move out.
But should I?
Moving out wouldn't solve anything in the long run, but it might be a good thing in the short term.
Decisions, decisions.
My head turns to a polite knock on my door.
Hmm, now who could that be? Twilight? It could be to apologize or continue our first discussion in years. Spike? He might try to cheer me up, though I feel I don't deserve it. Rainbow? It could be to talk about the situation you were told about.
Well, let's not keep he or her waiting.
"Oh! Hello Platinum."
More like them.
Uh, this visit I wasn't expecting. Glancing at the shy yellow Pegasus in front of me, I see that she's accompanied by both Twilight and Rainbow Dash, uh 2/3.
"uh, hi Fluttershy. is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Oh...well, we were wondering...if we could come in...just for a minute?" the shy pony asked lightly, averting her eyes after asking the question.
"...Sure, come on in" I said stepping aside to let the trio pass, looking around curiously. Will this be because of the incident? I hope I didn't piss Fluttershy off, since you know what they say about shy people. "So, what can I help you with?" I asked looking around at the little group.
"Well... um..." the shy Pegasus started rather hesitantly, looking at the mares behind them who gave her a sign of encouragement, then looked at my face before taking a deep breath to continue. "Twilight told us what you did to Gilda..." eh, why am I not surprised? "And tell you that, um, what you did, it was a bit of an overreaction-"
"I know I went too far."
The three ponies blinked at my blunt agreement. "Y-You do?"
"Of course," while I don't regret my actions, I regret letting my anger get the better of me, there were better ways to act in that situation. "What I did was childish, impulsive and careless of me to physically assault her." Better it would have given her nightmares. "And I'm sorry I lost control."
Like I said, what I did wasn't right. I know it felt right at the time, but the gryphon in question didn't make any physical attack that needed me to physically assault her, what I should have done was give her nightmares or something else with a spell or something, to make her come to her senses of what she has done.
What I did, in the end, might just make her more violent.
Fluttershy simply stared at me for a moment. "Um... well, I'm glad you know you went too far... but that's not all."
Oh? An unforeseen breakthrough, I hope she doesn't want to scold me like Twilight did, I don't want to damage another friendship.
Before I could say anything, my brain short-circuited a little when she hugged me out of nowhere.
"Thank you..." she suddenly said in a whisper. "For standing up for me like you did."
In response, I simply gave her a small hug while gently stroking her mane. That's how I know how to give a hug and at the same time give someone comfort, right? Plus, she has a soft mane.
Finally, the pony broke away with a pink blush on her face for some reason. She had never hugged a man outside of her family before? And why did Twilight and Rainbow look so puzzled? It was just a hug, for the love of the moon.
"Well, I'd better step aside, someone else wants to talk to you." She said as she stepped to the side.
Who...? Ah, hello Rainbow Dash.
"Thank you."
And this is the second time my brain short circuited, this time at the pony's words that was clearly conflicted.
Then, she looks me in the eye. "Thank you for standing up for Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash said with a sincere look in her eyes. "While I don't like the fact that you beat up Gilda, what she did was way out of line, for which I thank you." He said to then give me a confident smile. "But next time, leave it to me! You made the pranks I played on her seem like small potatoes compared to what you did to her." She finished then slapped me on the shoulder.
I just rolled my eyes but smiled too, "No problem, Rainbow." At that, she nodded with a smile then stepped aside and headed for the door followed by Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy!" at the sound of her voice, the aforementioned mare turned at the sight of me. "If anyone ever treats you like the gryphon did... or worse, report to me immediately." What Gilda did to Fluttershy was horrible and definitely something she doesn't deserve, so I'll help her however I can.
After all, that's what friends do, right?
And I purposely ignored the looks both Rainbow and Twilight are giving me.
"Oh, I don't know; I don't want to be a problem-"
"It will only be a problem if you allow yourself to be treated like that."
At his happy nod, the kind mare joined the other mare and they left the room. I could hear their footsteps and voices walking away. Well, two down, one to go.
"That 'gryphon' has a name; you know?"
Now comes the hard part, smiling, I turned to the annoying unicorn. "From what I can hear, you're still upset about the argument."
"...I'm not going to deny that I'm not still enraged by your actions today." The mare admitted with a sigh. "But I'm glad you at least learned something from all of this. I learned a few things I'd like to talk with you, too."
"As long as it's not another argument, I'm all ears." I said looking at the unicorn in question.
And... again my brain short circuits for another hug, 3 hugs in a row, that's more hugs than I've ever received in my life. Before I could return it, the unicorn broke away.
"Sorry." Another surprise. "Your actions today, while they upset me, also made me worry about the consequences it could have, consequences that could affect you negatively and I reacted accordingly." Said the mare looking into my eyes with sincerity. "I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted" I smiled lightly, glad she wasn't still upset, now as long as I didn't mention- "why didn't you tell me about the bullies." [Beep].
I sighed as I scratched my head, "I didn't see the point, I never physically attacked them, I just gave them some illusions my father taught me to give them nightmares, I didn't see the point in telling you."
"...I always wondered why they never did more than call me names or hurl insults," Twilight admitted, looking down at the ground. "Sure, their words hurt and I didn't like being called names, but it wasn't so bad with the support of my family, yours and Spike's." Then she looked up and looked me in the eye. "Thank you, Platinum, for taking care of me."
I smiled softly, "Always, Twilight." Then we gave each other a hug, which lasted for a while, and then we parted.
After that, she said goodbye and left my room.
Hey, maybe I won't need to move after all.
Hi, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Any spelling mistakes or details, please say so in the comments.
Serious question, I should try to create a musical intro for the story, like the intro that every mlp chapter had?
> Chapter 7: Platinum vs baby bear
Hello, how are you? I hope you are well.
I feel like writing lately, so here's the new chapter.
I don't know how long it will last, so I'm going to make the most of it.
Anyway, enjoy!
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
"Come on Twilight, you can do it!" said Spike's excited voice, giving encouragement to the mare in front of us.
I just nodded encouragingly in a way to show my support.
"Okay, here goes." Twilight said as she pointed at Spike, causing her horn to light up from the obvious use of her magic and after a second, a glow appeared on Spike's face, growing a mustache, showing that the spell worked.
"Ha-ha, you did it!"
I just smiled and nodded, ticking off the chalkboard next to me.
What were we doing? It should be obvious but we were practicing magic. Or well, actually it was more me helping and encouraging Twilight to learn a few tricks that don't really do any good but she still wants to learn because she does.
Why wasn't I doing that too? Simple, I didn't want to.
The tricks Twilight was practicing I either already knew or I just didn't want to learn them, I have my own repertoire of magic spells anyway, so I don't need to learn some useless spells.
Not that I was going to say it out loud.
"Growing magic. That's number 25. Twenty-five different kinds of tricks and counting." Hearing what Spike said, Twilight averted her gaze modestly and embarrassed.
"Not surprising, when you have such good teachers." I said, putting a little emphasis on me. Oh, and also on Princess Celestia. Seeing Twilight's unimpressed look, I stopped my false boasting and smiled. "Honestly, Twilight, you've done very well. Keep it up and you can master every spell known and yet to be known."
Twilight gave me a grateful and doubtful look. "Thank you but I don't think that will happen. Even Princess Celestia can't master every spell in existence. Besides, you know more spells than I do." She said to then look at me with a look that said I forgot something. "besides sir, you still have to teach me those spells you created and have not yet made known."
Ah yes, that. Well. "I'm sure you will be the first to master all the spells, surpassing me and even Princess Celestia." I said averting my gaze so as not to look her in the eye, though I know my obvious attempt to deflect the subject again was to no avail.
"And I think this is the best trick yet!" said Spike interrupting our conversation, happily looking at his appearance in the mirror we brought along in case of unforeseen side effects. "Hey, Rarity, what's this? Aw, it's nothing; just my awesome mustache!" said Spike fantasizing about meeting Rarity with his new "awesome" appearance.
At that I just shook my head to look at the book next to me that contained the spells Twilight was practicing. While it's true that some of the spells Twilight practiced today are of no interest to me, it's nice to have a more experienced supporting hand in case things go wrong.
It has always been that way, because I am more practical when it comes to using spells, I have been able to learn more spells, but I have also suffered from the consequences of misusing a spell.
Twilight, on the other hand, likes to focus on learning and perfecting the theory before casting a spell, so even though she has fewer spells than I do, she is less prone to making mistakes when using them.
But just because she's less prone doesn't mean she can't make mistakes, and that's why I'm here. Wanting my experience with the negative parts of using a spell so I can fix it.
Plus, it gives me a break from my failed side in the Glyphs.
Let me explain, it's not that the Glyphs don't really work, they serve their purpose... but not in the way they should.
I know I'm not being clear but here's the explanation. As you may recall, unlike runes, Glyphs should be able to create any spell by using the magic around us to create it. But so far, all they have done is create something, not the spell as such.
If you remember, several episodes ago, my first success with my Glyphs was with elemental magic, since then I have tried to redo the experiment very carefully, just not with fire, as I don't want to accidentally set the library on fire.
And I have succeeded, to a very small extent.
Say for example, water elemental magic. The spell I put in should create a small bubble of water but instead all it did was wet the floor. The same with the wind.
So far, I've only managed to make baby steps with the Glyphs, not managing to advance the way I would like to.
On the flip side, with the runes things have been going great. I have recently managed to perfect the levitation rune and am even in the process of creating a rune to create a shield, but it is still in progress.
I have also ordered a sewing machine as well as a crystal carving machine so I can put the runes on my clothes and give them a nice embroidery in the process.
But even though it's days away, I haven't wasted any time and have been reading and learning how to knit and how to crystal carve things, so that when the time comes, I don't fail and ruin the things Rarity gave me in good faith.
I also need to get some fabric and some jewelry to practice beforehand.
While I could certainly ask Rarity for some help in learning about weaving to do the embroidery, I don't want to do that for three simple reasons.
One, I'm better at learning on my own. I'm pretty self-taught and have managed to learn a lot of things on my own. School helped but I made a lot of progress on my own, and a little help from Twilight.
Two, I want it to be a surprise. What's the point of me going to do something I don't even know is going to work if I can't impress my audience. Where's the fun in that?
Three, it's a matter of pride. Yeah, I'm not the kind of pony who likes to ask others for help, I'd rather make it on my own.
Ah~, sometimes pride is such a cruel and merciless enemy.
Anyway, back to the story.
"Sorry Romeo. As attractive and seductive as you look, it's just for practice and it has to go." Twilight said with an amused smile then used her magic to get rid of Spike's mustache, despite his protests. She then looked at me to tell me that she wasn't going to forget the subject we had talked about.
I just smiled, knowing that it would be very difficult for Twilight to get the information out of me.
At that moment, my stomach growled in protest to remind me that I hadn't had breakfast. Twilight and Spike laughed at the sound and I could only groan, no, I didn't pout, men don't pout anyway.
Or do they...? Hmm.
"What do you say we wrap up practice for today and go to Sugarcube Corner for breakfast?" asked Twilight with an amused smile on her face, to which I agreed with a sheepish grin as I levitated the book back to its place of origin.
Anyway, it's always nice to go out and eat some good breakfast treats.
If my mother saw what I was going to eat for breakfast, she'd definitely kill me.
Today was a rather beautiful day if I may say, walking on the right side of our trio with Spike in the middle and Twilight on the left. After a successful morning of magic practice, we deserved a rest and a nice snack full of sweets.
Anyway, even though I initially didn't want to come and stay in Ponyville, I have grown quite fond of this little town. While it's not a large town, it falls more in the category of a large town than a town if you ask me, that makes the ponies in this town very friendly and quite welcoming. While I don't see myself being friends with several of them in the short or long term, they are still better than the noble snobs that are in Canterlot.
Besides, this town hasn't harmed my scientific/magical advancement at all, despite what some ponies might think- in fact, I can think of the chief advisor to the ministry of magic having a fit watching me decide to spend more time with other ponies than focusing on developing my magic- but it's quite the opposite.
I've been more relaxed than I've been in years! Going all out to learn and create magic may have caused me to create a few spells but I had always felt stressed out.
For what purpose I did it, I really don't know anymore. I guess, subconsciously, I wanted to prove myself to show that I can be useful.
It's the same kind of thinking I had during the communities, and I didn't realize it because I enjoyed doing this kind of work.
But now? Spending time with Twilight and the other girls has opened my eyes to realize that I shouldn't stress too much about my work and to enjoy the little things more, and in a way my friendship with Twilight has deepened.
Our little fight a week ago over the gryphon altercation was the first fight we've had in years and although some would think that you shouldn't argue with your friends, it's quite the opposite, as arguing can bring good things.
Although I won't do it often, Twilight is scary when she's angry.
"Twenty-five Twilight! Twenty-five different kinds of tricks and counting!" said Spike reminding us of what just happened not too long ago, still sounding impressed by the unicorn's abilities. "I thought I knew unicorns were supposed to have a little magic to match their special talents."
Seeing Spike stand in front of us, I decide to answer him, "While that is true Spike, that only goes for ponies whose talent is singing, or cooking or even teaching. But what if said pony's talent is magic?" I said throwing a rhetorical question to the dragon for him to think about.
Now this is something that didn't make sense to me. Why in a magical world wouldn't magic be the most relevant thing? We literally live in a world where magic can make things a whole lot easier for us!
The answer? The cutie marks. As you may know, cutie marks basically tell you what the unicorn is going to do with its life, or at least that's how most ponies interpret it.
Some do well with that, as their cutie marks are literally the things they like to do, but there are some cutie marks that should not be taken literally and could mean something else.
Like Rarity's cutie mark, that even though they look like diamonds and could imply that she would work well with crystals, the truth is that her talent is clothes, knowing how to decorate them and how to make them look good.
Now, what does that have to do with development in magic? Simple, once they have found their calling, they focus on it and there are an incredibly small amount of unicorns that focus on magic throughout history.
The only famous ones are Twilight's idol, Starswirl the Bearded, or Ancient Wisdom. They are the only famous unicorns known to have focused on magic.
Sure, there have been several spells created throughout history, but the spells in general don't number much more than 250, at most. And those are the spells that everyone can learn, I don't count the forbidden spells, or spells that only work with a certain special talent.
In retrospect, even though this world is magical, magic hasn't advanced much because of cutie marks.
"Like Twilight! Or like you, Platinum! How many tricks do you know?" asked Spike, now focusing his attention on me.
At the question, I couldn't help but stop and think. "Counting the spells I created, about 35 or so." Even though I've focused the last few years on creating me runes and Glyphs, it doesn't mean I haven't found time to study and learn magic that already exists, part of that I know I owe to Twilight and my parents.
Seeing the surprised looks from both Twilight and Spike, I couldn't help but blush with embarrassment, "It's no big deal, if I didn't count the spells I create, I'd have just a little more than Twilight, it would only be 26." And that's including among the ones I create my Glyphs and my runes.
I know this seems very convenient, but as I said before, Twilight and I have different ways of learning and my reckless style has certain advantages.
"That's awesome Platinum, you and Twilight have a lot of magic!" said Spike and I could have sworn I saw stars in his eyes when he said that.
"Oh, Spike, stop it. I'm sure there are plenty of ponies here in Ponyville who know as much magic as me or Platinum." Modesty aside Twilight, what didn't you just hear what I said in my internal monologue?
"Are you kidding?" asked Spike in agreement with my inner monologue. "I don't think there's another unicorn in Equestria with the kind of skills you two have."
At that, I nodded. "That's true. Don't underestimate yourself Twilight, while you may not know as much magic as I do, it doesn't mean you're falling behind. You're a talented unicorn and you shouldn't be ashamed of that fact." Ah, look how nervous she looks at the praise she received, I couldn't help but laugh at that, which earned me a small tap on the shoulder.
"Coming through!" An incoming voice yelled which quickly caused me to step aside for two little ponies to run past, one of which I know accidentally took Spike with them, leaving me and Twilight behind.
"And those were...?" I asked looking up at the two little unicorn foals who for some reason were in a hurry.
Twilight sighed in disbelief. "Snips and Snails." ...Hmm, nope, those names don't ring any bells in my head.
I simply shrugged as I approached the foals who, thankfully, weren't too far away.
"Didn't you hear, Ponyville has a new unicorn in town!" said the tallest and skinniest one, which I think is Snails.
"Yeah! They say it has more magical power than any other unicorn ever seen!" said the short but chubby one, who I guess must be Snips.
Huh, you know, these guys look familiar and not in a good way, I think I can remember them in a movie I didn't like at all but they were the henchmen of the villain in that movie.
This whole thing doesn't give me confidence, these foals seem very gullible.
"Really?" asked the now dejected unicorn next to me, which made me look at her with concern.
"Uh, no way. That honor goes to Twilight and Platinum." Spike said pointing at the two of us, which made us both blush with embarrassment.
To which Twilight then looked at the duo, "Where is this unicorn?"
"Oh, she's in the town square. Come!"
"Yeah! Come!"
They said to then run off, quite presumably to the meeting point where this unicorn is.
To which Twilight and Spike hurried after them.
I lag behind "but, breakfast..." at which point my belly roars in agreement with me, but I decide to ignore it and follow them.
There was something about Twilight's reaction that worried me.
Besides, there might be food.
Hey, there's already a crowd, looks like the word spread fast. And besides, there's no food, disappointing.
Making our way to the front of the crowd along with the girls, I look over to see a carriage in the middle of town painted yellow with a crescent sign with stars, it looks like that carriage does his show but he also lives there.
Let's see what our visitor has in store.
"Come on, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" said the voice inside the carriage and then appeared in a puff of smoke, revealing the mare in question.
The mare herself was a star of the show, she has a light blue coat, her mane and tail are pale blue and her eyes are violet. Her clothing is a purple cloak decorated with stars, the same as her hat.
Overall, the mare herself was nothing special, besides having a nice color in her coat and mane, but she doesn't seem to be the most talented unicorn in the world.
Let's see what she does.
Although I don't understand why everyone gasped in amazement, if all she did was use smoke and teleportation to appear.
Hmm, teleportation... I think I have an idea for the next rune.
"Behold in awe-" the unicorn began dramatically with visible signs, "-as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by a pony!" She finished loudly, causing fireworks to suddenly appear, making me blink.
Yep, she's just a showmare. There's nothing wrong with that, but given how gullible ponies can be, I don't doubt some might be offended by this.
"My, my, my, what boastfulness." Look, someone's already offended, and none other than the most dramatic mare I know.
"Oh, come on." Spike groaned in agreement with Rarity. "No pony has more magic than Platinum and Twi-Twi-Twi..." he started to say only to stop halfway, realizing he was next to Rarity. "Uh, hey Rarity, uh- I gotta run!" I couldn't help but laugh at the dragon's hasty retreat.
"There's nothing wrong with having talent, right?" Twilight asked rather uncertainty, making me shift my gaze from the show to her in concern.
"Not at all." I heard Applejack's voice respond a few meters away, "Except when someone goes around showing it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."
"The fact that one has the ability to perform lots of magic doesn't make one better than the rest of us!" Rarity added kindly, making me look at them in bewilderment. She's just a showmare, for Celestia's sake, they're acting as if it's wrong to entertain an audience with her magical talent.
Besides, it's not even as bad as the arrogance Rainbow Dash can have.
"Especially when you have me around being better than the rest of us." See, the humble Pegasus proves my point once again.
Seriously, her arrogance annoys me sometimes.
"Er-I mean, yeah!" It seems someone managed to make the arrogant mare reconsider to turn against a common target. "Magic, Shmagic! Boo!"
"Come on girls, you're overreacting." I said, looking at the three mares who were bothered by the show. "It's just street performance, ponies who do this tend to exaggerate their skills to attract an audience."
"I get it, Sugarcube, but one thing is exaggerating your skills, another is calling yourself the most magical unicorn of all." Applejack said, making me raise an eyebrow at her.
Unfortunately, it seems that Miss Trixie heard us. "Well, well, well, it seems we have some NEIGH-sayers in the audience!" I couldn't help but laugh at the way she said that, interrupting whatever she was going to say. "Who is so IGNORANT as to laugh AND challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Eh, it seems I was wrong, she still said it.
It seems I couldn't prevent the conflict from starting, and although I would normally side with Trixie since she doesn't deserve to be interrupted in the middle of her show, in this case, she is asking for it.
"Who does she think she is?" Rarity asked nearby, making me facehoof because she's basically inciting something to happen.
And of course, Spike had to join in. "Yeah! Everyone knows that Plat-" before he could finish his sentence, I put a hoof in his mouth, silencing him. No Spike, I'm not going to remove it just because you're licking my hoof. Ouch! And even less because you're biting me.
And why are you giving me a grateful look, Twilight? I only did it to prevent the conflict from escalating further.
And why are there so many fireworks? That wasn't necessary to make your point. And where did she get so many fireworks?
"So 'Great and Powerful' Trixie-" Rainbow Dash began, interrupting the show to be face to face with the other mare. "What makes you think you're so amazing anyway?"
The blue mare laughed in response, as if the other blue mare was inferior to her. "Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to defeat the dreaded Ursamajor!" Her voice rose as the trumpets lit up with magic, forming the shape of a bear that definitely isn't an Ursamajor.
What? When you study the different creatures that live in Equestria, you know what some of the most dangerous creatures in Equestria look like, and the image she's showing doesn't look like a major, it looks more like an Ursaminor.
"When all hope was lost-" the mare began dramatically as gasps of disbelief sounded from the audience "-The ponies of Puffington had no one to turn to! But the Great and Powerful Trixie-" oh, I get it now, it's a kind of backstory to give credibility to her skills "-And with her amazing magic, she defeated the Ursamajor back to its cave; deep within the Everfree Forest!"
That... has a lot of inconsistencies. I'm not sure exactly where that place is, I'd have to look it up on the map when I get back to the library but even if it's somehow near Ponyville, then the Ursamajor would have come here in blind rage, tearing this town apart.
Besides, Ursamajor don't attack unless provoked or if their offspring are in danger, so unless some pony provoked it, the ursa would have no reason to attack that town.
But it seems I am the only one, for the foals were praising her as if her words were enough to prove such an act.
The tallest one approached the stage and gestured to the cocky mare. "Trixie really is the most talented, magical and amazing unicorn in all of Ponyville!" he said so that then his friend would be closer, "No, in all of Equestria!"
"How do they know? You didn't see it! Besides, Platinum and Twi..." he was interrupted this time by Twilight who used her magic to create a leash, closing Spike's mouth.
The pony let out an arrogant giggle, "That's right, my enthusiastic little fans. Trixie is without a doubt the best in Ponyville." At that, the audience fell silent, with no one to agree with her in the face of such boasting.
Ugh, and I hoped that for once this could be resolved peacefully.
"You don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie? Very well, I challenge you, ponyvillains. Anything you can do; I can do better." Said the mare arrogantly, as I simply closed my eyes and put my hoofs between my eyes in disbelief. "Any takers, anyone, or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine that ever lived?" oh great, more fireworks, this is getting annoying.
Spike suddenly threw himself at our hoofs. "Please! She's unbearable!" He said as he looked at us pleadingly, "you have to show her, you just have to!"
Twilight looked at Spike with insecurity shining in her eyes, "There's no way I'm using my magic now, Spike. Especially since-"
She was interrupted by the pony on stage. "Hmm, how about...you!" she said pointing towards us, making Twilight swallow saliva.
Though as it turned out, it wasn't toward her, but toward Applejack, who had no problem showing off some tricks.
Upon being called upon, Applejack took the stage and proceeded to show off an incredible trick with the use of her rope, only for Trixie using simple magic to do the cheap version of what Applejack did, humiliating her in the process, causing my right eye to twitch.
Look, I wouldn't have a problem if I had done something similar to what Applejack did, since with magic it's possible, but I don't even try to do it, I just use simple, effortless magic to do what Applejack did but worse.
Two things bother me about it, one that they mess with my friend and another, the poor use she's making of magic.
And everyone is buying it for some reason! What she did wasn't even impressive.
Deep breaths Platinum, you're better than this, you already learned it with Gilda.
Then Rainbow proceeded to show off her speed and what did the "Great and Powerful" Trixie do? Use a whirlwind spell to spin Rainbow around and make her dizzy, making my eye twitch again.
But it's okay, I'm not going to let my anger get the better of me.
Next was Rarity, who summoned a beautiful dress for some reason. Then the "Great and Powerful" used a spell to change her hair color to green, which wasn't too bad but still made Rarity cry, which made my eye twitch again.
Phew, and also my tummy reminds me that I'm hungry at the worst possible time.
"Well, Twilight, Platinum. It's all up to you two now. Come on, show that pony what you're made of." At Spike's words, all the ponies around us looked at us to see.
Ah great, social pressure.
"What do you mean Spike? We're not special." Twilight said trying to dispel the attention from us and I nodded, since I had nothing to show for it.
Sure, the mare has annoyed the hell out of me for the humiliation she's put my friends through but if I do anything it could be another Gilda event, causing me to argue with Twilight again over another stupid thing and I don't want to fight.
Besides, I have nothing to show anyone.
I don't know what happened while I was distracted, but suddenly I could see Twilight running away.
And suddenly, I could hear inside me the sound of glass shattering.
"What about you, little stallion?" said Trixie now fixing on me, "do you have anything that can outdo the Great and Powerful Trixie." She said arrogantly.
I, with my patience frazzled but managing to keep my cool, decided to simply show the mare in front of me a little trick.
Using a simple spell, I start walking towards her, but I know create some sort of stairs in front of me, helping me to climb up to the stage.
This simple spell made her look at me in surprise, which made me frown. This was just a simple spell it was one of the first spells I created and it is published in Equestria's magical journal, how is she surprised by a simple spell.
Before the arrogant mare could say anything, I activated my magic and concentrated my mind on the clouds. Obeying my command, the clouds moved and began to gather, forming an image. When finished, they had created a sculpture of Princess Celestia.
As they finished, I could hear the audience and the girls applaud at the amazing sculpture I had just created, but I just stared at the mare in front of me, raising my eyebrow.
Trixie had been left speechless by the spell I had just performed, but seeing how the audience was impressed, she tried to regain their attention. "Hmph, what is a simple cloud sculpture compared to the Great and Powerful Trixie? Watch and learn, foolish stallion," she said as she used her magic to light the trumpets to create another illusion, this time of herself but brighter and with more fireworks.
The audience applauded politely, but many were still in awe of the sculpture in the clouds. I just smiled, I didn't need to say a single word, I'll let my sculpture speak for me.
Trixie, noticing that the audience was not left in stunned amazement at her magic, scowls angrily and looks at me. "And who are you supposed to be to try to upstage the Great and Powerful Trixie?"
In response, I laughed dryly and said, "Try? I don't need to try. But if you must know, my name is Platinum Breeze." With that, I finished by giving a bow as I activated my magic, causing Trixie's fireworks to go off at that moment.
Sheesh, how many fireworks does this mare have?
The audience, seeing what I had done, cheered even louder, with Rainbow, Applejack and Spike being the loudest.
Trixie seeing this, angrily declares, "I will remember your name, Platinum Breeze." She said and then walked into her dressing room, but not before telling the audience, "Remember, ponies of Ponyville! Only the Great and Powerful Trixie is the most magical of all the unicorns!"
Noticing that she was already gone, I walked off the stage using the same spell as before. Seeing that the show was over, the ponies began to retreat and go back to what they were doing before.
Back on the ground, the girls and Spike approached, with Spike hugging my front hooves. "You did it, Platinum! You showed that arrogant pony what you're made of!"
At that I smiled, my anger calming down. "It was nothing Spike, it was a simple trick." I said as I stroked Spike's head.
Upon hearing my words, Rainbow Dash gave me a perplexed look, as if I had sprouted a second head. "Nothing? That was the coolest thing I've ever seen anyone do! Well, except for me, obviously!"
Hearing Rainbow's words, Applejack shakes her head but still smiles. "Well, I'll be darned, Sugarcube. That was mighty fine work. You sure do have a knack for magic," she said, admiring the cloud sculpture for a moment.
At her words, I smiled but shook my head, "thanks but like I said, what I did was nothing, it was just a spell I created a few years ago for a talent show." Then at that precise moment, my stomach growled in protest, reminding me that I still have to eat breakfast. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have to eat."
Finishing my sentence, I break away from Spike and clack hooves with the two mares and the dragon and then head to Sugarcube Corner for a well-deserved snack.
After well-deserved snack, I returned to the library and entered it, immediately spotting the lavender unicorn who was reading a book.
"Hey Twilight, do you know where Spike is, I brought you both something from Sugarcube Corner!" I said once I approached her, levitating a bag of cupcakes Pinkie prepared, only to notice Twilight ignoring me in favor of reading her book.
Acquiring a worried look, I set the bag of food on the ground as I approached the unicorn mare. "Twilight?"
"...Platinum, do you think I'm a little show off?" said Twilight stopping reading the book to give me a sidelong glance.
Huh? "No, why?" I couldn't help but frown at that. Twilight and show off don't go in the same sentence. If anything, I'd be the show off one between the two of us.
"I just thought that, with the way our friends were reacting to Trixie's talents-"
"Now, wait a minute." I interrupted her pessimistic speech by putting a hoof in her mouth, causing her to look at me annoyed at what I just did. "Just because you're pretty adept at magic, do you think girls will react around you like they did to her?"
She shrugged helplessly, averting her head nervously and away from my hoof in her mouth to answer. "You've seen how much they hate Trixie's bragging, the idea of going out and showing off my magic would risk losing the friendship between me and them!" She confessed, looking at me for comfort.
Which I was willing to give, giving her shoulder a squeeze, "Twilight, if anything, the smug one would be me." I said making her look at me confused. "After you left, I ended up accepting Trixie's challenge, making use of my number 1 spell to create a sculpture of Princess Celestia out of clouds."
Upon hearing that, the mare gave me a confused look before starting to ponder what the number 1 spell was, as I had told her everything about my spells. She then gazed at the ceiling, likely having a flashback.
And since you can't look at her flashback, let me tell you what she's probably remembering.
At Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, every year they have a talent show so that the young unicorns can highlight their talents and what they learned in their class semesters.
One day, I decided to participate just because I felt like it, if I'm honest, Twilight obviously knew about it and was incredulous that I was participating, but she decided to support me, since she didn't want to participate that year.
For the talent show I wanted to do something special, something unique to show in front of the public and I set out to create my first spell.
It took me several sleepless nights, since creating a spell the first time was not easy, but in the end I succeeded. The spell itself was a simple manipulation of clouds to move and make a sculpture of Princess Celestia.
I would be surprised how few spells manipulate the clouds on behalf of the Pegasus, as if they didn't want to stand in the way of the Pegasus' dominance.
Anyway, I didn't win that contest because I was too tired and made an ugly sculpture of the Princess, but they were still pretty impressed and gave me third place.
I lost to an illusionary spell showing the eruption of a volcano.
Yes, I was a little (a lot) bit upset to find out what I lost to.
As she finished her flashback, Twilight looked at me with disbelief in her eyes.
Seeing her look at me in disbelief, I smiled and decided to continue giving the pep talks. "Twilight, you are many things but a dhow off is not one of them. Sometimes you can be a little selfish, but that's not a crime. It's something you acquired through your serious studies and your experience. It's not for nothing that you're Princess Celestia's student."
"But that's not all, Platinum; what if they think badly of me because I'm Princess Celestia's student? What if, with Trixie around, they might start to think I'm like her?" said Twilight with a hint of despair in her voice, as she looked at her book sadly.
"...In any case, they should hate me for what I did, don't you think?" I said, making her look at me with surprise, so I decided to continue, "At the end of the day, it was me who had a magical duel with this artist because she got on my nerves, and yet none of the girls was bothered with me or said anything bad. It's no different with you." Invoking my magic, I brought the bag containing the cupcake I had brought and handed it to her. "Just because this unicorn brags more about the skills she thinks she has doesn't mean that someone else would think the same of another magically adept unicorn. So no, Twilight, you're not conceited. You're a pretty modest, powerful, and skilled pony, and I know the rest of the girls are proud to be around you."
I let her process what I just said and stepped away for a bit to tidy up the library, which for some reason had several books down that I don't remember being here when I left.
"...Thanks Platinum, I needed that." After a long pause, Twilight looked at me with gratitude in her eyes then frowned. "although it doesn't help me with what I have to do in case I show off in front of everyone. so, what-?"
"Twilight, you don't have to brag in front of anyone." I interrupted her with a soft but amused smile. "That's Rainbow Dash's department. The best thing you can do is let things happen, this Trixie girl will eventually be out of this town sooner or later, it's only a matter of time."
"You say that like you know her." Twilight pointed out with a curious look.
At that, I shrugged, "I don't know her personally, if you think about it, but I know her kind. I don't know stay in one town for too long, looking for a better audience to show their 'talents' to, and also more gullible ponies to believe their words."
After a moment's consideration, Twilight nodded at my words. "Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Platinum." She said to then give me a hug, I'm getting a lot of those lately.
I just smiled and hugged her back happy that I was able to help her feel better, I know it feels good to be able to help your friends.
Now, I can't help but wonder, where is Spike?
In the end I couldn't answer my own question and ended up worrying, which brings me to now, with me searching the streets at night for him to try to find out where he was.
Apparently, Spike had arrived before me at the library to try to convince Twilight to challenge Trixie because she didn't seem to be humiliated by our little "duel" but Twilight turned him down.
No problems with that, as it's up to everyone to decide how to act in these cases, but Spike stormed out of the library and hasn't been back since.
Dragon or not, he's still underage and since he still hasn't returned even though it was already dark, I decided to go out looking for him.
"Spike?" I shouted as I walked down the dark street, with only my horn lighting my way as I searched for my little friend.
"Where are you Spike?" I said looking everywhere in hopes of finding the young dragon.
"Platinum!"
A loud startled cry interrupted me from my walk, blinking in surprise as I saw the young dragon running in my direction. "Spike? What's wrong-? Argh!" The startled lizard didn't stop in his tracks, landing right on my legs, causing me to fall over from the sudden impact and land on the ground as the dragon quickly gave me an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry! But you have to do something fast-!" he couldn't finish his sentence as three other figures crashed into him and landed fortunately around me.
Getting up and shaking the dirt and dust off my body and clothes, I look over to see that the figures were the terrified ponies Snips, Snails and Trixie, all facing the same direction. I blinked when suddenly Spike hid behind me like some sort of shield, "Okay, what's going on with all of you-?" I said looking at them and then shutting up as I felt the ground vibrations, looking to where they were looking.
An earthquake? Another stampede by any chance...?
Oh, [Beep] me.
I felt my eyes widen and my body freeze in fear as I looked up from the ground at the nearby giant furry transparent beast with a giant star on its forehead, sharp dangerous teeth clenched and yellow predator eyes glaring furiously at its prey.
Which in this case is us.
An Ursa Minor. Why in Equestria is there an Ursa Minor here in Ponyville?
"Why the hell is that thing here?" I said looking cautiously at the giant bear in front of me, knowing that it is more likely to be scared than anything else and that it must be furious for some reason.
Now if I only knew why.
"Platinum, you have to do something!" I felt a strong tug on my limbs, causing me to take my gaze off the large bear in front of me to look at the terrified Spike. "Please do something!"
I look at the creature approaching us at a slow pace, taking its time hunting its helpless prey in front of it.
"Trixie save us!" shouted one of the children from behind, which made me realize that the three other ponies in question had backed up to slowly move away from the big little bear.
"What do you take me for, a miracle worker!" I couldn't help but smile with a certain smirk that had lost its arrogance at the situation we faced, now looking fearfully at the baby in front of us.
Looking at the bear slowly approaching us, I looked at the mare behind me and quickly formed a plan of action.
Summoning my magic, I pulled from inside Trixie's cloak a bag full of magic powder, causing the mare in question to look at me in surprise.
"How did you know about the disappearing technique of the Great and Powerful Trixie-!" whatever she was saying was silenced by a spell of mine that put a shutter in her mouth.
Averting my gaze from the bear in front of me, I look at Spike who also looks at me to see.
"Spike, you want to listen to me carefully, as soon as I use this magic dust, I need you to get these three out of here and go find Twilight" I said looking him in the eyes with total seriousness, to make him understand how serious I was about this, even though I know he already knew.
Spike nodded before asking hurriedly, "What about you?"
Before he could answer, I noticed the bear was in front of us with his leg raised.
"We don't have time for unnecessary worry, leave now!" I shouted throwing the magic dust on the ground, creating a small cloud that disoriented the bear.
Taking a quick glance back, I notice Trixie seizing the moment to flee and Spike rushing the two foals out.
Before the cloud of smoke cleared, I jumped towards the bear's face using the same ladder spell I used to get on Trixie's stage, once I got close enough to his face, I used a flash spell, causing the bear to roar in pain from the resulting blindness.
It smiled only to notice that its paw was coming dangerously close to me, so I used my teleportation to transport myself to a nearby rooftop.
The bear shook his head, somehow denying the temporary blindness to look at me and roar.
"Oh, of course you can do that" I said sarcastically to then jump out of the way of his teleporting bite.
Landing on his head, I jumped off of it and deposited myself behind him, causing him to look back at me.
"Come on boy, follow your daddy" I said sticking my tongue out at him and then running off, with him following close behind.
To accomplish what I wanted, I needed Twilight's help, as to put this little fella to sleep, I don't have enough magic for that.
You know, if you told me that I would be running for my life being chased by a baby bear with my only advantage being the unavailable magic to deal with it, I probably would have believed it.
I had never run so hard in my life, and I could feel the effect of it, my hooves trembling and protesting from the constant exertion. My breathing was panting but I was still going.
I achieved my goal of getting him away from the town, managing to lead him to a large lake with several hills near us, now I just need to distract him.
And then I felt the hairs on my coat when I heard a roar right behind me, unconsciously using teleportation to get out of the way.
Looking at the claw that was in the place where I was before, I sighed in relief then looked at the angry bear in front of me.
Now I just need to distract it as Twilight is coming.
Jesus, facing Nightmare Moon seems more like a walk in the park than the crazy thing I'm doing right now.
Unlike the bear in front of me, Nightmare Moon had an interest in me which was the reason he kept me alive for so long, this bear has no interest in me other than making me his food and unfortunately, I don't have enough magic to put him back with his mama.
But I do have enough to calm him down.
Taking a deep breath, I concentrate for what I am about to do. I summoned my magic so I could increase the sound of my voice and made a melodious whistle of a lullaby.
The spell worked, as the melody swirled around the little baby and slowly lulled him to sleep.
It was working, now I just needed Twilight to come over here to...
"Wow, you're doing it!"
"You're in charge Platinum!"
Distracted by the voices of two familiar foals, my concentration is broken and I look up in surprise to see the source of where the voices are coming from, to see the reckless foals Snips and Snails cheering along with a surprised Trixie, standing atop a nearby hill, watching the battle from a dangerous proximity. And instead of feeling gratified by the support, I'm filled with indignation. "What are you doing here, you must leave-!"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will obey orders from no one, least of all a reckless stallion like you!" I should have guessed. Glaring in annoyance at the three figures, only to hear the pony scream, this time in horror. "Watch out, you fool!"
Hearing her scream, I instinctively teleported out of the way, where a claw stabbed the spot where I had previously stood.
It seems that, no longer hearing the soothing melody and the sound of screaming, was enough to awaken and enrage the little bear even more and it decided to attack the small enemy in front of it, namely me.
[Beep] me, that was too close for my liking.
And I could feel the tiredness in my body from the constant use of magic, so I could only pray for Twilight to arrive quickly.
Using my magic again, I summoned vines from the ground that immediately wrapped around his body.
He, without much effort, was destroying the vines that were wrapping around him but I kept summoning more in hopes of distracting him for a while.
"Platinum!" a series of familiar voices distracted me and I was glad to see it was the girls and Spike.
"Good to see you guys!" I said happy that they were here before me glaring at Twilight. I gave her a nod as I turned my focus back to distracting the Ursaminor for a little longer.
Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long, as Twilight was right next to me. We looked at each other, nodded to each other and concentrated.
I used my magic to be able to use again the same melody that I used a while ago to lull the bear to sleep, the bear when he saw that there were no more vines began to approach us and just in time too, since the melody managed to enter through his ears and began to lull him to sleep.
Meanwhile, Twilight also invoked her magic to levitate a nearby water tank, removing the water and milking some cows to fill it with milk. And together, we levitated the bear while Twilight brought the makeshift bottle close enough for him to drink the milk. And finally, we levitated him back to the cave where he belonged, right into his mother's arms.
After we finish the spell, I collapse to the ground, extremely exhausted from the heavy use of magic I used today.
Ugh, I need to get more exercise.
Seeing me, Twilight looked at me worriedly only to smile in relief that I was simply tired.
Just then, the crowd that had formed to see what was going on erupted in cheers as they saw that we had expelled the Ursaminor.
"Unbelievable!" I heard Rarity say.
"That was amazing!"
"Heavens to Betsy! We knew you two had great talent but I didn't know how much!" I heard Applejack say to which I gave a tired smile, if I had fingers I'd make a peace sign.
"I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me," Twilight said causing me to look at her in disbelief.
Are you really still insecure? What happened to our talk?
Bah, whatever.
I'm too sleepy.
And the floor feels too comfortable, so I'm going to sleep.
Good night, then.
Ugh, on days like this I hate sunlight. My eyes squeezed shut in protest at the foul sun beating down on my face, telling me to wake up already. In the end, I accepted that I could no longer sleep and opened my eyes slowly, staring at the wooden ceiling of my new bedroom.
I don't remember lying in my bed last night...
That compression made me get up with a jolt, before I lay back down with a groan from the pain in my head at my sudden rising.
Looking around, I realize that I am in my room. Same books, same balcony, same cloak and even my hat that I haven't worn in a long time are here.
Yep, I'm back in my room, but who brought me here?
Eh, I guess it's time to find out.
With a yawn, I get out of bed. I try to summon my magic but I'm still too exhausted to do it properly, so I process to put on my cloak and tidy up my bed manually.
Afterwards, I leave my room and then head to the stairs and go straight to the kitchen, where I am greeted by the smell of food and my gaze meets two pairs of surprised eyes.
I raise my right hoof in greeting and approach to take a seat.
Ouch! Good to see you too Twilight.
"What were you thinking sir, taking on an Ursaminor all by yourself! You could have died!" he said with a frown looking at me with anger and concern evident in his eyes, only to have them soften and give me a small hug. "I'm glad you're okay."
"ah, thank you Twilight" I said as I patted her back. I would hug her back if I wasn't so tired.
I swear, I get too many hugs lately.
Once Twilight separated from me and I was able to sit at the table, Spike served me a plate of food, which was a salad. I gave him a grateful look and began to eat, or rather, devour my food.
Ignoring Twilight's disapproving look and Spike's chuckle, I quickly devour my food and wipe my snout with a napkin.
Looking at the two of them, I ask. "So, do you know why that Ursaminor attacked last night?" I said looking at the duo in front of me.
It's a question I've been asking myself since that bear arrived. The ursa family doesn't attack unless provoked or disturbed, so what was it that brought him here?
"It was Snails and Snips fault" Twilight answered me, as she gave a sigh of resignation seeing that I had already finished my food as she took a bite of her sandwich. After swallowing the food she had, she continued. "Apparently they lured him away so Trixie could prove she's the best unicorn in all of Equestria."
At that, I facehoof in annoyance and disbelief, "I swear, those two foals wanted to kill me."
Before Twilight could say anything, we heard the sound of someone knocking on the door.
Looking toward the door, I motioned to Spike and Twilight not to get up and headed toward the door to see our visitor for today.
Who could it be at this time of day?
Seeing who was at the door, my tired frown returned.
"Hello sir! It's great that you are well."
"We came to see you so you could show us some of your amazing magic!"
I just blinked, glancing at the excited duo before slamming the door in their faces, too tired to deal with those two.
Hi, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter.
See you in the next chapter.
> Chapter 8: Runes and a dragon too.
Hi, I hope you are liking the story so far.
Here's a new chapter.
I hope you enjoy it.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans for the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling mistakes.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be a HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the G4 story, MLP: FIM.
Boom!
"Auch! Buck me." I said as I watched a ruby gem have a small explosion in front of me, shattering and shattering into pieces, causing me to pass it to Spike, who proceeded to look painfully at the remains before tossing it into a bag.
With a frown I proceeded to pull out another gem, again being a ruby, and move it closer to the carving machine to proceed with the carving, ignoring Spike's groan of protest in the process.
It had been about two days since the Ursaminor incident and things had returned to normal, with the exception of one thing.
I couldn't use magic.
Now, some may ask, how is that possible?
The answer is simple: I overused my magic.
Remember how I physically fell to the ground after the whole incident was over and eventually fell asleep.
Well, not only was I physically worn out, but I was also magically worn out, and a pretty severe one at that.
As you may know, or perhaps you don't, there are three types of wear and tear one can experience in this world: physical, mental, and magical.
As in my old world, a physical and a mental wear and tear are usually caused by overexertion of a human being from his or her body or from the monotony of life.
In this world it is similar, earth ponies or Pegasus have to have certain difficulties during their jobs that cause a sprain or other physical discomfort in their bodies.
The treatment is usually the same as in the other world, with scheduled breaks as well as massages that can be done by ponies going home or going to the Beauty Salon, which here in Ponyville there is only one and it is run by the twins Aloe and Lotus.
But in the case of magical wear and tear that unicorns suffer; it varies according to the wear and tear.
There is minor wear and tear, which occurs when a unicorn pony uses multiple spells simultaneously. This causes slight magical wear, which, if continued for several consecutive days, could lead to a more serious problem.
There is horn burnout, which happens when a unicorn uses a single spell consecutively until their horn almost explodes and turns black. This issue often occurs in ponies who have more magic than common sense and can spam magic as much as they want. For instance, Twilight, who has a lot of magic and can cast consecutive spells, might face this problem. The solution is usually simple: either let the horn recover on its own or visit a doctor for healing. It's not typically a serious issue, but you won't be able to use magic until your horn is fully healed.
Last but not least is extreme wear. This happens when a unicorn pony uses spells for too long, depleting their magic until their tank is essentially empty. Unfortunately, this is what happened to me. The brief encounter I had with the Ursaminor caused extreme fatigue and severe wear, leaving my magic tank completely drained.
I still don't understand why everypony here call it magic and not mana when in other magic worlds that's what they are called but honestly, I don't care much either, so I didn't pay much attention to it.
Anyway, for my case there is no solution but to rest and stop using magic until I'm well. Unlike burning my horn, I can still use magic if I try hard enough but that would cause me to never recover properly and lose the use of magic, a horror for any unicorn pony.
The rest period from using magic varies. In my case, I must refrain from using magic for a week to fully recover.
Luckily, yesterday I had received my gem cutting tools as well as a good amount of gems. Which meant that I was able to distract myself a bit from using magic for my experiments.
Of course, due to the fact that my best weapon was at rest, Spike offered to help me with my experiments in a way. I offered him as a reward the gems I wasn't going to use and he accepted the reward with joy, but he too can't help but complain every time he sees a gem being destroyed or wasted.
What am I doing? Quite simply, I am carving into the gems the only rune I have managed to create so far, telekinesis.
In theory it should work and I should be able to fly, not as easily as the Pegasus but at least I would fly.
However, things that seem simple in theory are not always so in practice. Gems are excellent magic conductors, but it also depends on the type of gem. Sapphires and diamonds, for example, can hold a significant amount of magic, while emeralds and rubies are better conductors and receivers than anything else.
Luckily, the necklace I have is made of ruby, so it can hold a good amount of magic, but the problem itself is not the spell but the commands.
As you may recall, runes need commands to do what they are supposed to do but creating multiple runes for specific commands is too time consuming and not worth it in the end, so I ended up creating a rune that can communicate mental commands to the rune.
Telepathy, an uncommon but useful magic for this case. Telepathy is not a common magic not only because of how complicated it is to use, but also because of how useless it usually is. The spell requires opening a mental communication between the user and his target, allowing him to communicate his thoughts to him. But there are several problems with that.
First is the fact that not everyone likes to hear a voice in your head suddenly talking to you. Second is that you must have the person's trust for them to believe you. Third, it is a mind-to-mind communication, if the person has a strong mind it could backfire.
So normal ponies don't usually learn to use that magic.
But in this case, it is almost perfect, since in this case there is no mental resistance that would harm the work and I know how to give the order. But there is a problem that makes this not perfect. There is no mind to begin with to receive the order.
Giving a command telepathically to the rune is like talking to the void; it yields no results, and you can't expect a response. Fortunately, the problem was not difficult to solve, as creating a space that could receive commands was not an issue.
The other real problem comes from the gem, as rubies are quite receptive to magic, it makes them quite sensitive to magic, so you have to be careful when using on them is usually easy and even makes them good for storing magic.
But upon contact with ambient magic, they break before they can serve their purpose, rendering all progress useless.
I've had to configure the runes and gems so that they can receive the exact magic they need to receive from ambient magic in order to function properly.
So far it has been an uphill effort, either the rune causes it to receive too little magic, making it not work, or causes it to receive too much magic and explode as a result.
But I'm getting closer, the previous attempt at the one that exploded managed to get it to glow a little before going out, and the one that exploded was a small explosion that only burned my hoof a little, so there is progress.
As I started working on the ruby with the modified coded language, Spike interrupted my thoughts. "Platinum, can you remind me why we're doing this?" he asked.
At that, I momentarily stop my work and look at Spike, "Spike, I explained it to you before, I'm carving the runes into these rubies so I can do the same with my necklace."
"Do they have to be rubies?" Spike's whiny voice made me smile. Rubies were one of his favorite gems, or at least he seemed to have a soft spot for them. Maybe because they were the first gems he ever ate.
"I'm sorry Spike, but the necklace Rarity gave me is ruby, so this whole process is necessary so I don't accidentally damage it." I said giving him a small smile as his face darkened a little at hearing who gave it to me.
Spike frowned, his tail wagging restlessly behind him. "Rarity gave you a ruby necklace?" he murmured, trying to hide the tinge of jealousy in his voice. "Wow, that's... cool."
I smiled at the obvious sign of jealousy and patted his head, "Don't think too much of it Spike, you know Rarity is a very generous pony and besides, she gave it to me to match the cape she gave me. I said, giving him an encouraging smile.
At that, Spike nodded slowly and his face softened. "Yeah, Rarity's the best..." he said as he earned a dreamy look before shaking his head and looking at me as he points to the worktable. "So that's why you need all these rubies?"
I nodded as I smiled as I saw Spike put aside his jealousy. "Yes Spike, this way I can do the necessary testing so I don't damage the necklace Rarity gave me." I said as I went back to work on the carving.
Although I couldn't see him, I'm sure Spike nodded understanding what I had said, "So, why are we here in him park?"
Hearing his question, I finished the carving and looked at Spike, "So that in case something goes wrong, we don't damage the library or the books." Otherwise, Twilight would kill me. I couldn't help but think as I got a little shiver at the thought of Twilight's wrath when a book gets damaged.
I only remember that I needed to get a book wet once to know the consequences...
Spike interrupted my thoughts before I could have a flashback, "So, what are these two doing here?" hearing his question and seeing that he was pointing to the side of me, I couldn't help but frown as I looked at the two little foals next to me, Snips and Snails.
After the Ursaminor fiasco, these two brats wanted me to teach them magic after they made such a mess bringing in an Ursaminor just so their "idol" wouldn't look bad.
Obviously, I got mad and slammed the door in their faces, but they didn't give up and decided to follow me today so I could teach them magic.
Which I obviously wasn't going to do, aside from the fact that I can't do magic, I wasn't going to show or teach any kind of spell to the two brats who are responsible for my current situation.
Shaking my head, I just look at Spike as I say, "ignore them, they'll go away eventually."
But unfortunately, they can't seem to take the hint, "Don't worry, sir, we'll just quietly watch the amazing work you're doing." Said the chubby guy as he smiled.
"Yeah, we're here to witness the amazing magic you're gonna do with it," the lanky guy chimed in with a hopeful smile.
I resisted the urge to groan as I gently pressed the gem in front of me.
The gem began to glow brightly, causing my eyes to widen slightly and a glint to appear in them.
This could be it... I've finally done it.
I've done it!
...oh.
I couldn't help but get discouraged as I watched the gem lose its sparkle with a few cracks in its figure.
"Buck me" I growled as I passed the gem to Spike and jotted down the results in a notebook beside me.
It's still too much magic, but I'm getting really closer to the result that I want.
Oh yeah, there's a funny thing about this world too.
Every time I try to swear, you know things like [Beep] or [Beep] out loud, as opposed to the beep that comes out every time I do it in my mind, the word is changed to something more family friendly.
I don't know why that happens but it must be one of the weird things that happens in this world.
Okay, with the following test-
"*Cough, Cough*" I couldn't help but bring a hoof to my muzzle to cover the sudden cough that suddenly came to me.
"Are you okay?" asked Spike concerned about my sudden cough.
I nodded as I stopped coughing. "Yes, I am, don't worry." Although if was a little strange of me to suddenly cough. Maybe I choked on something and didn't realize it.
...oh, maybe that's not the case.
"What are you looking at - Oh." The baby dragon let out a gasp of surprise at the sight above.
A storm? Was someone's house on fire? No, for now, it seemed to be covering only Ponyville, and my eyes quickly followed the cloud of smoke to the source, an icy looking mountain away from the town.
This is the first time something like this has happened... at least the first time it's happened since I arrived in Ponyville.
"Why is there smoke coming out of that mountain?"
"A good question, Spike." I replied looking off into the distance.
"C-could it be a volcano?"
"Let's not start making assumptions -" I stopped talking when suddenly Spike burped with his green fire giving to reveal a letter.
Before the dragon could open it, I removed it with my hoofs as I began to stow my things inside my backpack.
Of all the times to have this happen, it had to be right now?
Shaking my head, I quickly put the backpacks on my side and looked at Spike, "Come on Spike, let's go see Twilight to show her the letter."
He nods and climbs on my back as I start running towards the library.
Leaving behind the two foals who had been startled by the sight of the smoke.
"Twilight!" I yelled once I entered the library with a slam of the door, looking up to see Twilight jump in surprise from where she was sitting studying, with the book falling on her head.
She removed the book with a grunt, then glanced up at me. "You don't have to shout, Platinum, I'm right here. Now, what do you need?" she asked, turning her attention to me, only to blink in surprise when she saw me extending a letter with my hoof.
"A letter from Princess Celestia." I said simply, at which her eyes widen and she quickly takes the letter from me with magic and opens it.
At that, I decided to put my things on the floor while I turned to look at Twilight, who was reading the letter and then gasped in shock and ran to look out the window.
It seems that the letter talked about the problem we are currently facing.
She looks at me, nods solemnly, and quickly dashes out of the library.
Knowing what her nod was about, I simply sighed as I also left the library.
I guess I'll finish my experiments later.
"Listen up! The smoke is spreading all over Equestria!" All over Equestria? I raised a puzzled eyebrow from behind her and looked up at the large cloud covering us with a raised eyebrow. Was the smoke really covering "all of Equestria," or was that just a figure of speech and/or exaggerating things? "But don't worry!" Twilight continued after the ponies' gasps and exchanged concerns. "I just got a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it didn't come from a fire!"
And how does Princess Celestia know about this? I refrained from wondering as the villagers ahead of us sighed with relief.
"It's coming from a dragon!" more gasps of surprise as a fit of shock and intrigue hit me. "But I urge you all not to panic; this problem will be taken care of as soon as possible!"
So, we'll take care of this, while I still can't use magic?
Seems like there's no rest for poor magic-less ponies like me.
"What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is an adult dragon doing here in Equestria?"
"Sleeping. According to Princess Celestia he's taking a nap. Her snoring is what's causing all this smoke."
I listened to the girls discuss the beast as I looked out the window at the black smoke spreading across the sky, getting worse as time went on.
So, a sleeping dragon is responsible for all this commotion? It made sense in a way, for though dragons were rarely seen in these parts of Equestria, if their age was advanced, then how much they could affect the environment increased.
"I'll tell you what we're supposed to do: give him a boot" I sighed in exasperation upon hearing the less-than-ideal suggestion from the blue Pegasus.
I scoffed aloud. "Yes, because violence is the ultimate solution to everything. Let me know how that works out for you, Rainbow Dash...as long as you don't become a roasted Pegasus first." I let out a chuckle as I heard the pony's grunt of displeasure.
"Platinum is right, we should encourage him to nap somewhere else. Princess Celestia has given us this mission and we must not fail, if we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next hundred years!"
"Well, that's easier to do than 'give him a boot' as Rainbow says, but it still won't be an easy thing to do." I said as I turned from looking outside to look at the mane 6, seeing that Twilight was organizing her backpack to get ready to leave.
"That's true Platinum, but we should at least try. Besides, who knows, it might be a reasonable lizard." At that I couldn't help but give an amused snort, since the only reasonable lizard I know is Spike. "Anyway, girls, go back to your homes and gather some supplies. We've got a long ride ahead of us, meet back here in an hour."
And so, off the mares went to their homes as Twilight continued to pack.
Although I can't help but wonder, why doesn't Princess Celestia solve this problem? I mean, if it's as big a problem as she's making it out to be, then it would be better if Princess Celestia took care of it instead of Twilight, since it's a problem not only for Ponyville but for all of Equestria, according to her letter.
Will it be a test of some sort? A challenge of some sort? Or will it be for some other reason?
Well, that doesn't matter now, I must go pack.
Before I could head to my room, a voice stopped me. "Platinum." I turned to see the lavender unicorn look at me with a serious look once she stopped packing. "I don't think you should come on this mission."
Hearing what she said, I blinked and tilted my head. "I don't think I heard you right Twilight, but did you just say I shouldn't go on the mission?"
With determination, the mare nodded, meeting my gaze squarely. "You're still not fully recovered from the Ursaminor incident. Your magic hasn't returned, and if things take a turn for the worse, you won't be able to defend yourself or assist us. I can't take the risk of anything happening to you."
I shook my head, not believing what I was hearing. "Twilight, I may not be able to use magic but I'm not useless without it. You can still offer support by giving ideas and strategies. I can't just stand here while you and the girls go off to face that overdeveloped lizard."
Twilight looked down, her voice trembling slightly. "It's not just about your safety. If anything were to happen to you... I'd never forgive myself. You're important to me, Platinum, so please, stay home."
Her words echoed in my head and after deliberating for a few seconds, I sighed and nodded, "Alright Twilight, I'll stay here but if I feel things go wrong, I'll come help you." I said sighing as I looked Twilight in the eyes. "Be careful, you are important to me too and I would die if I knew something happened to you while I was gone."
Upon hearing my response, she sighed with relief and offered me a smile. "Thank you, Platinum. I know it's difficult for you to remain here while we embark on this mission, but it truly means a lot to me knowing that you're staying behind," she said with a gentle smile.
I sighed as I nodded at his words. "You better be careful and take this seriously. This isn't just any problem; it's a dragon and dragons are very grumpy if you interrupt them during their naps." Or so said the book I read about dragons quite some time ago.
Hearing my words, Twilight nodded with a comforting smile. "Don't worry, Platinum. We'll take care of each other. We'll be back before you know it," she said, then enveloped me in a warm hug.
I hugged her back squeezing her a little as it was the first time we were facing an unknown danger like this and I couldn't help. It fills me with uncertainty but I will have to trust them.
After we separated from the hug. Twilight continued packing while I sat on the couch with a sense of regret.
I didn't like this.
After the girls returned, I watched from the window to see the military procedure that was taking place to go to the mission.
Even though I couldn't go, I couldn't be blamed if I watched before they left, could I?
As I watched the mares talk, I couldn't help but notice that Fluttershy was nervous.
Which isn't surprising, I know they are facing a dragon and knowing how fearful Fluttershy can be, then it's not surprising.
Then, as Twilight plans the quickest and safest route to head to the mountain, I see Fluttershy approach Twilight to talk, then I see Fluttershy start to walk away.
That can't be good.
I'm going to cheer her up, it's the least I can do.
Oh well, at least I'm going to try.
Once I open the door and walk out of the library, I can hear Twilight talking. "Oh, and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow, Spike has that covered." I turn to see Spike running after the animals after they know escaped for some reason.
"I don't think he's up to the task. Maybe..." Fluttershy tried to reason with Twilight but Twilight pulled away, making Fluttershy unable to finish her sentence and let out a panicked scream.
Hearing that, I couldn't help but grimace as I approached the panicked mare.
"Hey Fluttershy," I said once I got close enough but that was the wrong thing to say as the mare got spooked and quickly hid inside a bush.
Grimacing and internally scolding myself at what I just did, I crouch down until I was at the same height as the frightened mare.
"Hey Fluttershy." I said quietly as I looked at her through the bush, once she saw who it was that scared her, she came out of the bush with a shy but terrified smile.
"Oh, um, hello there, Platinum," Fluttershy said softly as she emerged from her hiding spot.
Seeing that she was no longer scared, I stood up but kept my voice low, "Is everything okay? You're really scared."
At that, the mare gave me a trembling look, shaking her head. "No, the truth is... I... I... I... I can't face the dragon. I..."
Before she could finish, I spoke "You don't have to explain Fluttershy, I understand." I said as I refrained from putting a hoof on her shoulder, as I didn't want to scare her again.
Fluttershy turned to me, her expression once again filled with surprise. "You do?"
I smiled humorously. "What do you think I felt when I faced Ursaminor the other night? Or when I faced Nightmare Moon the first day I got here?"
"But... you still faced them," Fluttershy pointed out softly, a hint of confusion in her gentle tone. At least she doesn't seem as frightened anymore.
Now, how do I explain it... ah, I know. "Fluttershy, what do you think he courage is?" I said with a soft but loving tone in my voice.
"Erm... well, it's uh... facing something... bravely?" replied the yellow Pegasus, clearly unsure with her own response.
"Close" I said as I put a hoof on her shoulder, causing her to look at me surprised but not scared, which is a good sign. "True courage isn't just about facing something and overcoming it. It's facing something even if you're afraid of it. Fighting to protect the ones you love even if fear runs through your body. That's the true meaning of courage."
I left her side and looked with a smile at the Pegasus, who was clearly taking in my words.
"All right, girls!" I heard a voice behind me say, "Move out!"
Before I could comprehend what's going on, the girls started running, taking Fluttershy with them, causing her to scream as she was forcibly carried up the mountain.
"Good luck!" I shouted as I waved goodbye waving my right hoof.
Now back to the library... and wait for them to return.
This is going to be torture.
"This is torture." I said for the fifth time today as I pounded my head against the table I was working at.
It had been a few hours since the girls had gone to confront the dragon but it felt like more time had passed as I watched the cloud of black smoke billowing across the sky.
I was currently in the library room while I went back to doing my experiments with the rubies, but I couldn't concentrate while Twilight and the others were confronting a dragon.
I knew Twilight was right and that I shouldn't risk it while I didn't have my magic, but I couldn't stop worrying. I'm not useless without my magic! I received training from my father after all, although I admit that most of that training was offensive magic training, but I was still in shape.
I couldn't help but feel a tingling in my horn which was my unconscious way of trying to use magic to teleport to the mountain to help but with a grunt and banging my head against the table helped.
I couldn't let it ruin my recovery process, otherwise the next crisis that occurred might not help why I encouraged my recovery. Besides, I knew that my "fight or flight" process included magic, so if something happened during the confrontation against the dragon or any other danger and I couldn't use my magic, then I could consider myself dead.
I shook my head as I tried to concentrate on my work but it was difficult, although it was also the only thing I could more or less distract myself with.
I tried to help Spike with the animals, but after I fed the birds and hares, they were quiet, with the exception of that rabbit named Angel, but he's another story. In the end I couldn't concentrate on chasing that rabbit and left him to Spike.
Then I tried to read a book to distract my mind, but I couldn't read a single page because my gaze always wandered to the window, towards the mountain.
Then, seeing that it didn't work, I decided to go back to my research while I was in the park and it half helped, since I could half concentrate on what I was doing but I also couldn't concentrate completely since my gaze kept straying to the window, making me make mistakes.
I sighed as I finished carving the gem and pressed it gently, only for my gaze to stray back to the mountain.
Why couldn't I help but feel useless? What happened was not my fault, I ended up solving the problem that two brats caused but I still ended up paying the price with my body.
I'm not proud to have to fight a baby, but when that baby is bigger and quite dangerous for ponies, sometimes there is no choice. At least I refrained from hurting him more than his mild blindness.
Even knowing that, I feel like I was paying for what those kids did. I'm practically useless in combat without my magic and the alternative forms of magic I'm creating are still not useful.
What else should I do? Maybe I should train my body more...
Uh? What's that sound?
My head turned towards the window to see the ruby I was working with, glowing and crashing against the window, in an attempt to break it.
I blinked once, then again, rubbed my eyes and the image in front of me didn't change.
I had done it...
I had done it!
I couldn't help but smile in excitement as I walked over to the window and grabbed the gem with my right hoof.
Only to blink back in surprise as I felt the magic invade my body.
What the...
Wow!
I couldn't help but let out a scream when I suddenly found myself pushed against the lead, piercing through it and unintentionally breaking it.
When I took a closer look, I was slowly floating above the ground and heading towards the mountain.
Despite the situation, I couldn't help but be happy that my experiment had paid off.
I am taking giant steps, beyond what I could have imagined and much more than I had done in the last 5 years of my research.
Moving and adjusting myself, I managed to move my free hoof towards the gem and pressed it gently, deactivating the rune.
I fell to the ground with a poof, luckily, I wasn't too far from the ground so I didn't hurt myself.
I looked at the gem in my hooves with happiness and some bewilderment.
It worked like a charm!
As I imagined, the great affinity that this gem has with magic made the spell work wonderfully, managing to activate the spell correctly and with the mental order I gave it.
And although the original order I had in my mind was to float on the table, the order must have changed while I was distracted by the situation in question.
Although I didn't expect the gem's magic to act that way with my body, I expected to have to create a separate rune that would cause it to affect my body.
But I can imagine why, and that is due to the fact that the gem is also a great conduit of magic, affecting not only its interior but also its exterior.
While that didn't happen with the book the first time, I know it must be because it was paper in general and paper is not the greatest conduit in the world.
"Platinum?" I hear a voice and as I look back, I can see Spike clutching the rabbit by its ears, looking puzzled at the broken window and then looking at me with confusion clear on his face. "What just happened here?"
I laughed at the clear confusion on his face. "I'll explain in a moment Spike, I just had a breakthrough."
Before Spike could say anything else, he rabbit, taking advantage of Spike being distracted, moved and repeatedly slammed his paws into Spike's face, causing Spike to wince in pain and releasing the rabbit, causing him to run.
Seeing that, I laughed some more as I looked at the window.
Now, how do I fix that?
Instinctively I tried to use magic but before I could get a hit, the spell I was thinking took effect and the window was repaired.
I couldn't help but stare in bewilderment at what I had just done.
I know my magic is supposed to be broken, and I can't use it properly.
Then why...
Then I looked at the gem on my hoof in bewilderment.
Could it have been the ambient magic?
Another question mark to add to the list.
Well, time to get back to work.
"And... done!"
I said as I happily looked at the carved inscriptions on the necklace Rarity gave me.
Once I put the necklace on, I gently touched it and the familiar glow shone on the gem before transferring to me, causing it to float above ground level.
Laughing gleefully, I began to propel myself through the air as if I were swimming.
It definitely wasn't the same as flying but it was something, it felt like I was swimming through the air.
This will help a lot.
Deactivating the rune, I fall gently to the ground. Just in time to hear the front door of the library open.
I turn to look and smile again to see Twilight in the doorway.
"Hey, welcome home." I said as I walked over and gave her a hug.
Twilight's expression shifted slightly to one of surprise before she smiled warmly and returned the hug. "I'm back," she said softly.
After a few seconds, we separated and I looked outside to see the Pegasus cleaning up the black smoke.
"So... I guess it's all settled then?" I ask looking at Twilight, to which she nods and starts heading towards the room, to which I follow her with my eyes.
"Yes, Fluttershy found the courage to confront the dragon and persuaded him to leave the mountain," she explained, pausing halfway down the stairs to glance at me, or rather, at the front door. "Actually, there's someone here who wants to speak with you."
Instantly I turned to see in the doorway the yellow Pegasus standing timidly there.
I gently walked towards her, "Hey Fluttershy." I said with a soft smile.
She smiled back, "Good afternoon, Platinum," she said as she gave me a quick hug, much to my surprise.
After separating from the hug, the mare looked a little flushed from what she just did but was still smiling, "I just wanted to thank you..."
"Thank me? I should thank you Fluttershy, you managed to stand up to the dragon and convince him to leave the mountain." I said with a smile as I saw the sunlight shining brightly, a sign that the black smoke was gone and the problem had been solved.
I turned to look at the Pegasus in front of me to see her shaking her head, "It was nothing, I couldn't just sit by and watch my friends get hurt." She said which made me worry a little, I'll have to ask Twilight for the details later. "But the reason I wanted to thank you Platinum is for him advice you gave me before I went to the mountain."
Aw, I couldn't help but shrug trying to look nonchalant, "I didn't do anything."
"That's not true." The shy yellow Pegasus who disagreed shook her head and pointed at me. "You told me that true bravery is standing up to someone even when you're still afraid. Well, I was afraid, but you made me realize that it was okay to be afraid and still stand up to anyone who wants to hurt your friends. So... thank you Platinum, I mean it."
Wow... hearing her words I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment and pride run through my being, knowing that I managed to somehow influence one of my friends so that she could solve her problems fills me with joy, I'm glad I could be of help.
"You're welcome Fluttershy." I gave her a small smile, which she returned.
Then Angel the rabbit came ran down running and climbed on his owner, and after a goodbye they both left.
Looking at the necklace around my neck and then gazing up at the clear sky, I couldn't help but feel that today, despite everything, I had accomplished something.
I'm useful despite everything.
Hi, I hope you liked today's chapter.
I'll be seeing you.
> Chapter 9: Sleepover
Hello, how are you, I hope you are well.
Here I bring you the new chapter.
I hope you enjoy it.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans with the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be an HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the story of G4, MLP: FIM.
"Thanks for the muffins, Pinkie."
"You're welcome, Platinum, come back soon~!"
I wave goodbye to Pinkie Pie as I trot out of Sugarcube Corner, tuck the muffins snugly into my backpack, and head off towards home.
It has been several weeks since the dragon incident and since I achieved my greatest success with the runes.
Since then, I have spent some time improving my runes and creating more of them in order to have more to show.
I have managed to create three new runes: an illumination rune, a rune that creates a barrier and a heat rune.
I haven't created many runes in this time but that's because it's not an easy task to do.
As I said before, the gems I use require absorbing certain magic to make the spell work.
While it would be simple to just use ruby gems, there are a few problems with that. First, the limited stock of gems I have in my repertoire. Secondly, each spell requires a certain amount of magic to work. For example, the barrier spell requires more magic depending on how strong I want the barrier to be, too little and the barrier will break like glass, too much and it won't work.
And thirdly, to give variety and see how well it works on diamonds, Emeralds and sapphires. Each crystal has a different ability to absorb magic, which makes it unique but interesting at the same time.
Anyway, today I took the day off. I know there is supposed to be a storm today because last week the weather ponies forgot to drop rain and to make up for it, they are dropping a lot of rain today.
I don't see much sense in that, but what do I know, I'm not an expert on the weather.
It also makes me wonder why ponies have such a need to control the environment.
I mean, from what the history texts say, magic has always been present but ponies were not always united as they are now.
Before the reign of Princess Celestia, the ponies were divided into tribes, the Pegasus, unicorn and earth pony tribes.
Magic was always "weird" in the ponies' end and made nature control itself. For today's ponies to hear that sounded very strange but it seemed normal to me, after all nature has always controlled itself.
That was until the different tribes realized that they could manipulate nature as they pleased. The Pegasus could control the clouds, the earth ponies could control the crops and the unicorns managed the cycle of night and day. This created conflict and kept the tribes apart.
That was until an incident occurred with the wendigos, beings made of magic that brought the eternal winter to the lands where the three tribes used to live. That all ended one day, when the three tribes united because they realized they had similarities and yada, yada, yada.
A lot of nonsense if you ask me, but what do I know. Humans were just the same, no in fact, I'd say we were worse.
Anyway... wait, what was I getting at with all this? Ah, [Beep] I got distracted and now I don't remember what I was talking about.
Come to think of it, where am I?
"Look out down there!"
The sudden warning caused me to step aside while at the same time my horn glowed in preparation for any impending danger.
A blur flew past me where I was standing and crashed into some nearby bushes. Whew, that had to hurt. With some concern for the fallen pony, I approached to see if she was okay only to recoil in surprise when a head pops out of the bushes, revealing a pony with light gray fur, yellow eyes and a yellow mane. Also, her eyes for some reason point to different sides.
Can she even see with those eyes?
"Are you okay?" I asked in a kind but slightly worried way after the pony shakes off some leaves she had on her head and climbed out of the bush, then looked up at me with a big smile.
Uh, now that I realize, it's a Pegasus. Makes sense, considering it went into a nosedive.
Although a part of me thought it was Rainbow Dash. My body resents the times that Pegasus has crashed into me.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking! This happens all the time, sometimes I'm not as careful as I should be."
I can see that, "Are you sure? I know some healing spells if necessary." While not my area of expertise, my father instilled in me that it is always necessary to have all kinds of spells in case of emergency. Better safe than sorry, I know more lives are saved that way.
"I'm sure! The bush broke my fall. Thanks for your concern!" she said with a bright smile and then brought her face close to mine to look at me with a glare? I honestly couldn't tell from her eyes. "hey, wait, I know you!"
She does? "...really?"
She gave me enthusiastic nods that remind me a bit of Pinkie. "Sure, you're the guy who took that shot at that evil griffin in the market!"
Ah, that's where she know me from. It doesn't surprise me much that they keep talking about it. This is a small town where not much happens and everyone knows each other, so I'm not surprised she knows me from there. "That was a long time ago. Now, who do I have the pleasure of talking to?" I said as I held out my hoof for her to shake.
And so, she did, with a ferocity that reminded me of my first encounter with Applejack. This pony is certainly something. "I'm Derpy Hooves! It's nice to meet you, what's your name?"
"Platinum. Platinum Breeze. Nice to meet you, Miss Hooves." I said as I gave a small bow. My parents taught me these types of manners a long time ago and although I don't do it often, since I don't meet people every day, I still did it from time to time.
I don't do it that often here in Ponyville, but in Canterlot I had to do it every time I met someone new, I had to be quite formal and polite. The Canterlot ponies, not all of them, seemed to have a stick buried up their ass when it came to their titles and how they were to be addressed. If you didn't, they would raise hell until the royal guard arrived.
Now, this was the funny thing. Many times, the ponies thought they were on to someone simply because of their social status and because they didn't recognize you at first glance. This got them in trouble and landed them in jail for a short period of time.
Of course, it depended on the type of guards and the type of pony, but usually if it was the Princess's royal guard, they ended up arresting the one who made the scandal.
That didn't stop them from doing it again, though.
"Oh, you don't have to be so formal, just Derpy is fine." And I think it's perfect, and you've earned a few points in my book, Derpy Hooves. Suddenly, the Pegasus' eyes widen in shock and she gasps noisily. "Wait, did you say Platinum?" at that, I gave a cautious nod, which caused the pony to remove her hoof and tuck said hoof into her backpack next to her, which made me realize it was there in the first place.
"Here, a letter addressed to Mr. Platinum Breeze!" she said as she extended her hoof in my direction again, this time with a letter in said hoof. I grab the letter and see that he envelope had gold embroidery and an M for insignia in the middle.
"(A letter from the magic council)" I thought to myself as I had an inward frown. Outwardly, I gave Derpy a nod. "Thank you for handing me the letter." I said then slipped a hoof into my own backpack and pulled a muffin out of it, a chocolate one. "Here's to your excellent service." 8/10 her service if I'm honest, but I liked Derpy, so that elevated it to 10/10.
Derpy lets out a half-exaggerated gasp at the sight of the muffin, "a chocolate muffin? They're my favorite!" what are the chances? Still, I can't help but squeeze out a smile as she snatches the muffin from me and takes a bite and her face lights up with pleasure. "Thank you so much!" she gives me a smile and I return it.
"You're welcome."
Suddenly, Derpy gasps noisily and takes flight. "Oh, I'm late to deliver the other letters. See you later, Platinum!" and off goes the Pegasus wonder.
I shake my head as I open the letter he sent me.
Canterlot Magic Council
Canterlot, Equestria
Dear Platinum Breeze,
We are writing to you as members of the Canterlot Magic Council to express our growing concern over your recent lack of significant progress in the development of new spells. As you know, membership in this Council is not only an honor, but also a responsibility that demands dedication, innovation and continued progress in the art of magic.
Over the past few months, we have seen a marked decrease in your magical contributions. The Council has been sympathetic to your personal circumstances and has allowed more time for you to concentrate on your research. Unfortunately, however, we have not seen the expected results.
Accordingly, and after thorough deliberation, we inform you that you must submit a new spellcasting breakthrough before the next Council meeting, which will take place in one month's time. This breakthrough should demonstrate not only your magical ability, but also your commitment to the high standards expected of Magic Council members.
If you fail to comply with this requirement, we will be forced to consider your removal from the Council. We trust that you will understand the gravity of this situation and will strive to meet expectations.
We sincerely hope to see significant progress on your part. We are convinced that, with your talent and dedication, you will be able to overcome this challenge.
Sincerely yours,
Mystic Dawn
Chairpony of the Canterlot Magic Council
...these son of [Beep].
My magical aura fills the paper between my hooves and tears it apart in a fit of rage, as I feel my right eye twitching in annoyance.
What do these sons of [Beep] think they are to try to order me around like this?
No... calm down Platinum. Getting angry won't solve anything.
I focus on my breathing as I try to calm down a bit.
Why do I bother, you may ask? Because of how hypocritical the council is being.
As mentioned above. Or not, I do not remember exactly. Anyway, as I said before. In this world magic although it is important, it does not take the due importance as I know it should, or at least from my point of view, and there are not hundreds of spells, if about 250 maximum.
The council learned that I created a spell, a small form of cloud manipulation to create a sculpture, at such a young age and made me a member of the council at the tender age of 12.
I was ecstatic, my parents were proud and Twilight was incredulous and somewhat jealous.
But not everything was rainbow colored, the council wanted me to create more spells because they saw I could do it and I did more to please them, like the magic stairs I used in my little demonstration of Trixie or my bubble of silence, which I created not long ago.
Because of my talent, the council members are always after me to create more spells for them, sometimes giving me quite a bit of cash or some artifacts that I can ask them for.
I know they are grateful for my contributions to magical development, as that is what the council was created for, magical advancement. Although now I know it has been reduced more to safeguarding all the magic spells that are known.
That same desperation for my talent, made them "order" me to focus on creating spells and leave everything else behind, including my personal project that I didn't tell them about at all, for fear that they would want to take over my work.
Obviously, I ignored them, I wasn't going to focus on creating spells if I didn't want to, instead I focused on what I wanted to do, create the Glyphs and runes and spend time with my family and friends.
That did not please the council and made several empty threats to expel me from the council but they never did anything, even a whole year passed without me casting any spell and they had to put up with it because I am a friend of the Princess's student, so I had immediate contact with the Princess.
But now, they seems to think that because I'm in Ponyville they could order me around and take me off the council if they wanted to.
Honestly, being removed from the council doesn't matter to me, it's just a title that isn't worth much to me.
I know there are ponies that would kill to be inside the council, Twilight was one of them until she realized the type of ponies that commanded the council and that it was better to be a student of the Princess than to be "trapped" like me.
Anyway, as I was saying, being taken off the council doesn't matter to me, what matters to me is that if they take me off the council, they can use their authority to take over all my research and considering the progress I've made and how revolutionary the runes are, they might want to take credit for exposing it to the title, never mind the fact that they couldn't create more without my knowledge.
That is something I will NOT let happen.
I must get back to the library as soon as possible and have Spike send a letter...
Ugh I know I forget; I can't help but slap myself in the face when I remember something important.
Spike is currently in Canterlot on some "special assignment" and will not return until tomorrow.
I could wait for her to return, but I'd rather send the letter to Princess Celestia at once.
Uwah, now how do I send it- ah I got it!
Long ago, Princess Celestia taught Twilight the ability to send messages with her magic when Spike was still very young and Twilight taught it to me.
I don't remember the exact spell, but I have it written down in my notebook in my room.
I just have to read the spell and send the letter to Princess Celestia.
A piece of cake.
"Well, now I have more reason to go home" I said to myself with a small smile and then looked with a frown at the shredded letter on the floor.
I could leave it there but I need evidence so...
With a sigh, I reconstruct the letter and put it in my backpack and then start my way back home.
Those [Beep] people on the council won't know who they're messing with.
...Oh, for the love of God.
I looked with some anger at the rain that began to fall on me.
"Worst timing in the world, Darn Pegasos," I grumbled to myself as I covered my backpack with my cloak and started walking back home.
I could run but it would dirty my hooves and I don't want to come home dirty.
[Beep] my life.
Ah there's the library, which has the door open for some reason.
I hope Twilight has a towel ready.
"Honey, I'm home~" I said once I entered the house, waited a few moments and... there it is, a towel crashed against my head. Stifling a laugh, I close the door while drying myself with the towel. "Have you seen the weather today, the Pegasus didn't spare any resources- What in Equestria?"
My amusement turned to bewilderment at the sight before me; a certain white unicorn was applying some green material to Twilight's face with an amused smile. And a certain orange earth pony was watching in obvious disbelief. "Now wait a goll-darn minute!" Applejack said in an annoyed voice. "You made me wash the mud off my hooves, but is it okay for y'all to have mud all over your face?"
"Silly," Rarity chided with a smile, "this is a mud mask. It's meant to refresh and rejuvenate the complexion." Then she glanced up at me warmly. "Welcome back, Platinum. I was beginning to wonder where you had disappeared to."
...I'm not going to lie; it feels weird to have someone else come over to the house. Usually, it's Twilight or my parents or Spike. It's not bad but definitely different. Anyway, "Nice to see you, Rarity, Applejack." I said as I gave them a smile as I finished drying off and took the muffins out of my backpack, which luckily hadn't gotten wet. "I brought the muffins Twilight, where do you want some?"
Yes, I think it was obvious, but the muffins aren't just for me, I brought one for Twilight considering we won't have our star chef at home. "Leave it on the table Platinum." Twilight said then looked at Applejack with a smile. "We're giving each other makeovers!" she said to then let out an adorable squeal, to which I couldn't help but snort in amusement, "We have to, it says so in the book."
"Sleepover 101: everything you need to-" Applejack began to read aloud then stopped herself after reading what the book said. "Well shoot, would you look at the time? Gotta mosey on home now, running late. Goodnight!" then the earth pony tried to leave but the sound of lightning made her come back, much to my amusement. "Or maybe I'll stay here for a while..."
So, you're having a sleepover, uh I don't remember Twilight and I ever having one. I'd like to stay but I have more important and pressing things to do right now. "Well," I said, getting the attention of everyone in the room, "Sounds lovely whatever... whatever you guys are going to do but I have some things to do in my room, so I hope you don't involve my room in all of this." I said as I started to make my way to my room.
"Wait, Platinum," Twilight's voice called out, causing me to pause and turn toward her. "Aren't you going to join us? I was hoping... I thought we could share this together," she said, her expression turning shy as she glanced away.
I almost blushed at that but managed to avoid it as I shook my head in denial. "I'm sorry Twilight, but I have some important things to do right now. I hope you understand." I said with a forced smile, as a part of me would also like to share this experience but I have to take care of those old guys from the council first. "I'll tell you about it later, I promise."
Normally I would tell her the reason right away, since Twilight knows what the council members are like, she's seen me interact with them and she herself has interacted with them thanks to her being the Princess's student. But with Rarity and Applejack here, I can't tell. Unfortunately, they don't have the same connections as the two of us and they don't know the council members like the two of us do, so they might misinterpret things.
Besides, no one knows that I am a council member. I managed to make my participation anonymous.
...You know, come to think of it, maybe that's the reason the ponies on the council think they can send me.
Uh, I hadn't thought of that.
"It's okay," interrupts Twilight's voice in my thoughts. I look at her and see a gentle smile on her face. "I understand, Platinum. Even though we'll miss you at the sleepover, I know you have other important plans. There will always be more opportunities for us to share moments together."
...Ugh, now I feel bad. But I must stand firm, I really have things to do right now.
I give her a small smile and turn around to go to my room.
"Now, wait a second, Platinum dear." Darn it, Rarity. "You don't have to feel left out, you know, even though you're a boy, why don't you join our extravagant sleepover?"
I looked at her to see, "A tempting offer, dear Rarity." I said as I watched with amusement as Applejack paled in disgust while Rarity applied a mud mask. "But I'm afraid I really have something to do, maybe I'll join you later for this lovely sleepover but I make no promises." And by that, I mean I'm very likely to end up joining.
"Oh, I understand perfectly, Platinum dear." Rarity said with a slight twinkle in her eye. "I understand that responsibilities always have their place. But remember, anytime you want you can join us." She said as she continued to put the mud mask on Applejack.
I nod with a small smile, "thank you for your understanding." I said to this time finally head to my room.
Now, where did I leave my notebook?
And... done!
I couldn't help but smile as I watched the letter disappear in a trail through my open window, then proceeded to close the window as I grabbed the mop and cloth I had brought and began to dry what I had gotten wet.
Things had been going pretty smoothly since I went up to my room. Finding my spell notebook and finding Princess Celestia's spell was not complicated. The spell was literally among the first pages I wrote in that notebook. Writing the letter wasn't difficult either, since I already knew what I wanted to tell Princess Celestia.
The only thing that was complicated was sending the letter, as it required the window to be open so that it could go to its destination. Between opening the window, keeping the letter from getting wet and sending the letter was the most complicated part of the whole process. And that was not as complicated as you might think.
As I was drying, I couldn't help but look up at the sky once I heard a clap of thunder.
It is good that we have a magic lightning rod for this kind of situation, otherwise we would have a very big problem with these thunderstorms.
Although I have to admit that this time the Pegasus really did a good job with this storm. Sure, it's strong but it's also quite beautiful to look at.
Once I finished cleaning, I left the cleaning supplies behind as I lay down on the bed in my room.
Phew, it's all over now. Now, should I go to the sleepover?
...you know, come to think of it, I didn't hear any loud screams or laughter coming from downstairs and I don't know if it was because of the storm. It was good because it helped me concentrate on my work but I still can't help but wonder why.
Uh, lo and behold, a flash of lightning made the lights go out.
Good thing we have that lightning rod.
Oh, what do you know, screams.
I sighed as I immediately stood up, stretched a little and ran out of my room, heading straight for where the three mares were. It might be a false alarm, but it doesn't hurt to check.
"What happened?" I said seriously and with a touch of concern once I entered the room. No sign of a struggle or anything dangerous, the only weird thing was that Rarity and Applejack were hugging each other tightly until they realized what they were doing and separated. "I heard screaming, it's all right."
"Ghost story: check."
...oh. I couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the real reason I was hearing screams, so I turned around to go back to my room, before a voice stopped me. "Wait Platinum, that was sweet of you to check on us; come and join us, maybe you have a ghost story or two to tell us."
I shot a glance at the unicorn. I mean, I could join, but I'm feeling a little embarrassed right now. I was about to respond but Applejack beat me to it and added. "Yeah, maybe I know some good stories that would really scare someone."
Okay, that's very tempting. "I know some stories." I replied slowly. "But I'm afraid all the ones I know will keep you awake at night." While time has made me forget a number of things, I haven't forgotten a few things from my old world, horror stories that gave me nightmares as a child.
I also remember some movies that I was very excited about as a child. Maybe I should write them down.
"Oooh, so you're saying you know some scarier stories than Twilight's Headless Horseman story?" Rarity asked.
Hearing the story Twilight told, I couldn't help but laugh. I told that story to myself several years ago. "That old children's story? I have scarier horror stories than that. Stories that will blow your minds."
"Oh, how come I've never heard of them," Twilight said as she put the book down and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Because there's never been a need for me to tell them to you, Princess." I said as I dodged a pillow Twilight sent me after I said Princess. I stood up and gave her a smile. "Trust me, you'd be surprised."
"Then surprise me."
...Oh-ho. All right, my dear Twilight. You asked for it. Besides, I don't have anything better to do anyway. "Very well." I responded softly to the obvious challenge. "But don't come crying to me if this story is too scary for you." Then the other two ponies settled in, with Twilight joining in, I walked over to them and took a seat, clearing my throat to tell the story... of Slenderman, or in this case, Tallmane.
Yes, there is no creepypasta-like story in this world, so I'm being original.
"Then you place a marshmallow on top of the chocolate, make sure it's centered; that's critical, and then carefully place another perfectly square cookie on top. done, ta-da!" Rarity concluded her instructions on how to create a "perfect" smoke a few feet away, as I and Twilight watched Rarity work her "magic."
"Oh!" Honestly, I'm not surprised Twilight is blown away by all this. We're both shut-ins in our youth and never did any of this. I'm amazed too, since I never did any of this when I was human. These... s'mores I think they were called. It was fascinating.
Also, I must admit I was impressed with these three, they managed to handle the ponified version of Slenderman quite well. I even told them when they weren't hiding under the table or behind the chairs. Also, I got some satisfaction when all three admitted that my story was scarier than Twilight's headless horseman story, even Twilight was impressed because she didn't know I knew these kinds of stories.
In the end I decided to stay for some s'mores, although I couldn't help but notice the certain hostility between Rarity and Applejack. What was going on with these two? I didn't know and honestly, I didn't care. Whatever was going on between the two of them I'm sure they could work it out.
"Nah, just eat them." Ah, what a fancy way to eat s'mores Applejack. I smiled as I watched and listened to Applejack devour the treat like any pony would, much to Rarity's chagrin. And to top it off, a loud burp. 10 out of 10, I call for a repeat.
"Phew, you could at least say 'excuse me.'"
"Oh, I was about to do that but then you interrupted me! ...Pardon."
Okay... the animosity of these two really makes me wish I was in my room right now. It's kind of uncomfortable to be in a room with two ponies who certainly don't want to be here and get along badly.
"S'mores: check." Twilight said as she bookmarked the activity. Uh, I hadn't noticed but Twilight is using a book for all this. I shouldn't be surprised but she still did. "Now the next fun activity we have to do...truth or dare!" my ears perked up as I heard the next activity, truth or dare? With two ponies that I know dislike each other? This is definitely not going to go badly.
"I challenge Applejack to do something carefully and neatly for a change."
"Oh yeah?" And... here we go. "Well, I dare Rarity to relax and stop obsessing over every little minuscule detail for a change."
"Uh-huh. I think the truth of the matter is that someone could pay a little more attention to detail." Where's my popcorn?
"And I think the truth is that someone should stop worrying so that some of us can get things done!"
I stared at the growing chaos in front of me. God, I wish I had some popcorn right now.
"Erm, I don't think that's how the game is supposed to work-" I heard Twilight say as she looked at the book and recited what was in it. "'You have to give an honest answer to any question or do whatever someone challenges you to do.'"
Uh oh, this doesn't look good.
"Girls, please calm down for a second." I said before they could throw challenges at each other, I could see it coming a mile away. "I don't understand why the two of you are arguing right now. And frankly, this whole sleepover thing is getting out of hand. Can you stop for a moment and talk like the adults we are." I was really hoping that we could act mature about this situation. This pointless discussion is getting out of hand.
"Sorry Platinum dear, if only someone would learn to act more gracefully on their hooves for a change."
"Well, someone could learn that getting a little dirty isn't bad at all - sometimes the best things in life come with a little dirt!"
Great, we're back to square one. Again, these two are looking at daggers and it's bothering me too.
"Alright, you know what, I don't have to put up with your childish attitudes." I said as I stood up, to the surprise of the other three ponies in the room. "I came here to enjoy my first sleepover, my first in my entire life, I didn't come here to watch you two bicker like a cranky old married couple. Now if you'll excuse me."
Before they could respond, I teleported directly to my room and locked the door.
I let out a sigh as I turned on one of my lighting gems and grabbed a book.
So much for enjoying my first sleepover, huh?
Great, I couldn't concentrate at all.
I let out a sigh as I set the book down next to me while watching the storm.
I admit to being angry about the arguments that were going on during the sleepover but they weren't enough to "make me run away." I did it for a purpose, to make them come to their senses and make them realize that what they were doing was wrong, basically ruining both mine and Twilight's first sleepover with their constant bickering.
I don't know if it worked but I hope it did and that Twilight is enjoying the sleepover thanks to my "noble" sacrifice.
At least I hope so.
And while I was a little excited about the anticipation of the sleepover, since I've never had one in my entire life, past and present, it's no big deal. I can always have another sleepover another day, it doesn't have to be today.
Although it would be my first with Twilight.
Pff, I can't help but laugh at the way I said it.
Man, if someone heard or read my thoughts out of context, I'd be heard wrong.
Spectators, let's keep this between us, shall we?
I looked at the small illumination rune that was still lit and levitated it with my magic.
I can't help but wonder, how on earth did I get cured of my severe case of exhaustion? This is the first time something like this has happened in my life and I have no information regarding this dilemma.
As far as I know, there is no "cure" as such for mana depletion, simple rest is what usually suffices for extreme cases like mine. It is annoying, yes, but it is what it is.
But thanks to the rune, my mana was restored and in fact, I felt stronger as I was floating through the air thanks to the rune on my necklace.
Could it be ambient magic? There is no information about it but there is also no information about unicorns that have managed to take advantage of ambient magic, at least not in a positive way.
So many questions and so few answers.
"Wow nelly!" I couldn't help but scream as my body jumped off the bed when the ground around me shook, then a loud rumble sounded from a nearby source.
"Oh ponyfeathers!" I said as I immediately teleported to the room where the three mares were.
Which was unsuccessful, as they were not even there, so I went to my second choice, Twilight's room. I teleported again, this time to Twilight's room.
"Twilight?" I said unconsciously as I looked around, only to stop at the sight before me. There was a giant tree that had somehow gotten in through the window of the room, covering part of the room, several leaves and branches being blown by it strong wind. Rarity and Applejack looked fine; one was trying to find some warmth while the other looked a little embarrassed. Now my concern is the fact that the tree fell right on Twilight's bed and... Twilight is nowhere in sight.
Oh [Bleep]!
"Twilight!" I immediately screamed as a sense of dread and panic filled me. She's okay, she's okay. No one dies in a children's program, now I just have to lift this [Beep] tree and make sure she's okay.
"Platinum? I'm here." My head snapped toward the purple unicorn whose head was sticking out of the leaves, looking at me in surprise.
Phew, thank goodness.
I couldn't help but sigh in relief as I looked at her, "Thanks Celestia, don't worry me like that!" then proceeded to give her a hug.
She just smiled as she hugged me back, even if I was squeezing her a little tight. God, I was worried for nothing.
"I hate to interrupt your little ro- ahem, friendly moment, we have a real crisis we need to address first!" That snapped me out of my stupor as I broke away from the embrace to give the unicorn an annoyed look. At least she keeps her word about not insisting we're having an affair.
"I'm so sorry, Twilight." Applejack then said, as if it was her fault that the tree had fallen in the library in the first place... wait a minute... no, no, I shouldn't be surprised. I sighed in exasperation as I shook my head; this was probably due to the little fight I was having with Rarity earlier.
"Well... Mm no, it's not okay!" That rather feeble outburst prompted me and the orange earth pony to look at Twilight in question. "There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my room! And the book doesn't say anything about having a tree branch at your sleepover." And we're back to the guide.
Wait... I know this is supposed to be just a branch of a tree?
"Well, if it's just a tree branch, then we won't have any problem getting rid of it." I said as I looked at the tree.
"Just let me see, I haven't found the entry in the book yet." Twilight said as she continued to search through her book, making me roll my eyes in amused exasperation.
"Platinum, help me out here!" I heard Applejack yell which made me turn to look at her, to see that she was trying to pull the branch out on her own, with no progress at all. "use your magic or something to get the branch out."
Now I could do that but... I looked over to see Rarity who could do the same as me but wasn't, probably because of whatever conflict she had with Applejack. "No," I finally said, causing her to look at me in disbelief. "I can see that this originated because of your fight with Rarity, work it out with her, I'll stay out of it." I said as I sat down next to Twilight.
If this really came about because Rarity and Applejack wouldn't stop arguing, then me, a third party, fixing this whole problem won't solve anything. They should fix this little spat they have with each other.
"Oh, for the love of- Rarity, help me out here please!" said Applejack as she continued to try to remove the tree without any progress while the unicorn in question continued to ignore Applejack and continued on her own.
"Platinum, quit messin' around and give me a hoof!" Applejack said angrily. But I didn't answer her, preferring to sit back and watch them work through their problems.
"Look, Rarity...I'm sorry, okay?"
"...What was that?"
There it is.
"I said I'm sorry!" with a smile, I could see the two ponies talking, like civilized ponies that they are. "I should have listened when you noticed that this branch would end up here!" So, if it was Applejack's fault that this branch was here. I'm honestly not surprised.
"Your annoying attention to detail would have saved us from all this mess! But right now, you need to stop being so nitpicky, picking up all those little things and help us pick up the most important thing that really matters... Please!"
"B-but I'll get really gross!"
Oh, for the love of all that's holy, "Oh my stars, Rarity!" I shouted, causing the two ponies who were arguing to startle and look at me. "Getting dirty is part of life, hard work, but everyone needs to get over it!" I said as my frustration at the whole situation took over me, which made me feel a little embarrassed.
"I can't do it alone; I need your help." Applejack added as she looked at the mare in question.
After some thought, Rarity finally agreed to help Applejack and using her magic, she made little pony statues out of the tree branch and Applejack ended up pulling the rest of the tree out.
Then they hugged, and yada, yada, yada. A bunch of cheesy stuff, but it worked out in the end.
"Oh, cute. where did these come from?" said Twilight finally looking up from her book. "They're not in the book either" oh for crying out loud.
Twilight blinked in confusion as she watched the book disappear from her hooves and then looked at me and threw the book away. "You might want to save the book for later, Twilight." She just gave me an embarrassed smile as I shook my head but smiled.
"That was a great sleepover!" Announced Applejack cheerfully at the front door, as Twilight and I escorted her and Rarity so they could head home. The storm already cleared and after continuing the sleepover for a while longer, with them forcing me to put those round hair things on for some reason, we all went to sleep and here we were.
"I must agree." Rarity added in her elegant tone of voice. "I hope we have another one soon. You two were such gracious hosts."
"Oh, I don't know about that." I said modestly but also truthfully, since I really didn't deal much with them so much today.
"We look forward to having you again." Twilight said, before an obviously enthusiastic idea came up. "Oh, next time we can ask Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to join us!"
"It would be fun, I guess. Just don't expect me to join." It's kind of awkward being the only guy with 6 girls around me. And judging by Twilight's amused smile, she knows it too. I shrugged my shoulders then said goodbye to the two mares who left shortly after.
I headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, but Twilight's voice stopped me, "Wait Platinum, there's something I need to tell you."
Oh, this is new. I turn my gaze to Twilight and she gives me a smile. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did. I got too excited about the sleepover idea that I didn't realize, or rather didn't want to accept, what was happening in front of me." He said and then frowned a little. "Although I'd still like to know why you couldn't join us at the beginning of the sleepover, did something happen?"
Oh that, I already knew I was going to tell Twilight anyway, so it's no bother. "It was from the council." At my words, Twilight's look went through three stages; surprised, incredulous, and then annoyed. In that order. "They asked me to create a spell for them again, even though it hasn't been long since I created my last spell."
"Which in the end you didn't teach me, I had to learn it from the official book where it came out." I just gave her an amused smile at her annoyed look which then changed to a worried look. "That wouldn't be reason enough to piss you off, what happened?"
...why am I not surprised that Twilight managed to detect my anger? "They threatened to remove me from the council again, this time giving me a time limit until the next meeting." That made Twilight frown, obviously annoyed by the council's attitude as I was.
"Do you want me to send a message to Princess Celestia? I'm sure she could help us sort this out." Aw, I'm glad your first instinct is to ask the Princess for help with this problem. I've taught you to use your connections well.
I shook my head. "That's what I went to take care of. I already wrote a letter to the Princess and sent it to her. Now I just have to wait for her reply." Which I hope will be soon.
She nodded, her expression changing to an annoyed one then changing to a determined one. "Whatever I can do, I'm here to help. No matter how complicated it is, we'll find a solution together."
I couldn't help but be moved and gave her a hug, which she gladly returned.
"Hey guys, I'm home- whoa there!"
And the little hug we were sharing was interrupted by the sudden arrival of our resident dragon. We broke apart and looked down at the stunned Spike, eyes wide. Then he shook his head, coming back to himself. "Sorry to interrupt your moment." He said with a smirk.
I just gave her an annoyed look as Twilight looked at the dragon in confusion.
"'Moment?" ah Twilight, sometimes I'm glad you have your dense moments like this.
"Nothing was going on." I quickly interjected before he could continue to tease us. Spike has always been a very recurring supporter of our little "relationship," hoping that someday we would get together.
It's one of the awkward things that have happened with him, although it wasn't as awkward as that time he said "dad" to me one day when I went to see him.
It was very uncomfortable.
Luckily, he never told Twilight Mom or it would have been worse.
"Right..." he said as he made the mocking motion with his eyebrows, which made me frown. "Anyway, guys, it's great to see you again! What's for breakfast?"
Ah that reminds me, I haven't had breakfast. My stomach roars at that moment to remind me of that too. "Give me a few minutes to fix something." I said as I headed for the kitchen but Spike beat me to it.
"Leave it to me, Platinum. Oh, by the way, this is for you, Platinum." Spike said as he stood in front of me offering me an object.
Gifts? Ah no, it's a letter. It must be from Princess Celestia.
"It must be from Princess Celestia." Twilight said aloud.
"Don't tell me Twilight, I thought it was from the mayor." I said sarcastically while ignoring the little punch the mare in question gave me, I opened the letter to read the inside of it.
...oh my.
"What is it?" Twilight asked curiously, obviously noticing the expression on my face as I reread the paragraphs on the scroll.
I sighed without looking at her. "Looks like I've been summoned...for a cup of tea." I said in disbelief.
Hi, I hope you liked it.
Next week I will not publish anything, I have exams.
See you next time!
> Chapter 10: Royal tea with two princesses
Hello, how are you?
It has been an eventful week but for now my exams are over.
Except I still have exams on Thursday before I can have a little vacation.
So, I probably won't upload a chapter next week.
I hope you enjoy this chapter.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans with the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be an HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the story of G4, MLP: FIM.
Dear Platinum Breeze,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have received your letter and want to thank you for informing me of the current situation with the Magic Council. I understand that you are under considerable pressure due to the demands of the Council, who are threatening to remove you if you do not submit a new spell soon.
It is unfortunate that a unicorn of your caliber and dedication would be involved in such circumstances. Your magical abilities and your commitment to learning and progress are invaluable, not only to Ponyville, but to all of Equestria. I want you to know that I deeply value your contribution and the effort you put into honing your talents.
To address this situation and look for ways to support you, I would love to invite you to tea at Canterlot Palace tomorrow morning. It will be an opportunity to discuss your concerns, explore possible solutions and, most importantly, to let you know that you are not alone in this situation. In addition, I am pleased to inform you that my sister, Princess Luna, will also be joining us on this occasion.
I look forward to our meeting and being able to offer you the support you need. Please RSVP via this letter and ask Spike to send it to you if you agree, and we will make arrangements for your visit.
I look forward to hearing from you very soon.
Princess Celestia
First a thunderstorm, and now just two days later I have to travel by train.
I wasn't complaining, the truth is that I enjoyed both. The storm and the train provide a certain transient tranquility that I can't easily match, it's a tranquility that allows me to be at peace with my thoughts.
I didn't expect to return to Canterlot, at least not so soon, at most I expected to return for the Grand Galloping Gala in a few months but I also didn't expect the council to be as bold as it was recently.
If I'm honest, I didn't expect Princess Celestia to invite me so formally to a tea party just to discuss my little problem with him. But I suppose it's better than nothing. Hopefully, Princess Celestia has some possible solution to my predicament. Otherwise, I will have to destroy all my research and commit it to memory so I can redo it later.
It is the last alternative in case Princess Celestia cannot help me. My memory spell if I modify it a little can serve to keep a lot of knowledge inside my head so that my research is not lost but at the same time that the council cannot get hold of anything.
Could the council stop me? No, they really don't have any authority over me and my actions. Do they know about the modified memory spell? No, and they never will; they don't need to know everything, after all.
Sure, it would take me longer to have to redo all my work from the "beginning" but this time I would do it as an independent magician and they would have no power over me.
You would think that the magic council should have power over everything related to magic but they are more like a magic library than a magic council if I'm honest. As I said before, the magic council has the main duty of guarding all the spells created by the pony kind but they have no power to ask the ponies to give up their spells if they don't want to.
If, let's say, a pony doesn't want to deliver a spell he created to the council, he has every right to do so and the council can't say anything about it.
Now, my case is somewhat different. All ponies on the council are required to present their research and advances in magic to the council, for later safekeeping and sharing it to the public in a newspaper or in an updated magic book with spells.
But ponies within the council usually take a lifetime to create a spell or two, as there are already several spells that satisfy many needs for previously created ponies and ponies often want to create an original spell that does not resemble one already created.
Now, imagine their surprise that I at the tender age of 12 created my first spell. The council members were understandably surprised, perplexed and gullible. They didn't believe that a foal could do what it takes them a lifetime to do, which I still find stupid that it takes them so long.
Creating magic requires having the idea of what you want to do and creating the magic verbiage to make the spell work, knowing how much magic you want to spend using it and how you want it to do it and that's it.
Sure, I may have said it in a rather simplified way of the whole process it takes to make a spell but in general it is very simple. What takes time is knowing the idea since as I said I already know many spells have already been created that meet the needs of ponies.
But ponies in general seem to have no imagination. Cloud art, magic stairs, cloud of silence, magic hands and enhanced hearing are just a few of the spells I have created that any pony could have created if only they had a little imagination and creativity.
Anyway, as I was saying, after seeing my talent for spell casting, the council recruited me into their ranks and insisted that I create more spells for them. I, being foolish and young, agreed on the condition that I could do it on my own time and whenever I wanted, which they accepted.
Now, any magical research I do is technically the property of the council, including my runes and my Glyphs. While they may consider the Glyphs useless since I haven't made that much progress with them, they may go so far as to publish the runes as a revolutionary new invention created by them and I won't let them do that.
The good thing is that I didn't firm a contract so they don't really have the authority to take my things but if I'm not with the council they will take my things because is their "duty."
I was thinking of sharing it with them before but they have proven on numerous occasions that they are not ponies I can trust.
I really hope Princess Celestia has some way to solve this because I don't want to use my last alternative.
Ah, there it is.
The great majestic-looking kingdom that is my birthplace could be seen from a distance. The only sign that I was getting closer was the castle attached to the nearby mountain. You know, come to think of it, I've never been to the castle.
Yes, it sounds silly but it's the truth. You would think that being friends with the Princess's student I would have been to the castle a lot of times but the truth is I have never been to the castle. Sure, Twilight has invited me with her to the castle but I never wanted to go to the castle. I never saw the need to go so I never went.
Great, now I find myself nervous for two reasons. The first is, how am I supposed to get to the castle in the first place? And the second is for whatever possible solution the Princess has for my dilemma.
Plus, I'm going to meet Princess Luna for the first time since the incident with Nightmare Moon. I hope she doesn't hold a grudge against me.
Well, I'm sure I'll manage. If not, I can always ask a nearby guard to help me get to the castle.
Now, all that remains is to wait for the train to arrive in Canterlot.
I wish Twilight had come with me.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the Canterlot train station is the difference between the two train stations. The one in Canterlot is cleaner than the one in Ponyville but I'm not surprised, this is the mother capital of Equestria itself, where all the nobles and princesses are. This place can't be dirty.
Slowly leaving the carriage on wheels, I stretch a bit because of how uncomfortable it is to sit in one place, even if it's for a few hours, and look around.
Now, how am I supposed to get to the castle?
"Platinum Breeze, is that you?"
Oh boy, a random pony is waving at me all of a sudden. Now I have to say hello to him.
I gave a small sigh and then turned to greet the voice of a stallion that greeted me.
...oh my.
White coat, regal-looking attire, dark blue eyes, and a mane with multiple shades of blue. His posture and bearing clearly indicate that he is someone you do not want to mess with. He stands tall, eyeing the stallion who matches his height.
"Prince Shining Armor, it's nice to see you again." That's right my friends, in front of me I know stands is the Prince - sorry, future Prince - Shining Armor, who is now throwing me an annoyed look before my words and for the bow I was giving him.
"I've told you before, Platinum, I'm not a Prince." He said with an annoyed look once I stood up from my bow.
"Not yet~" I said with a mocking tone, to which he responded by giving me a small tap on my shoulder, which made me laugh.
Yes, the two of us are friends or something like that, which is not surprising. He's the older brother of Twilight, my closest friend, so it's not surprising that we're even a little close.
We're not best friends, not really, but at least we get along.
"What a coincidence to find you here, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" I asked after I stopped laughing, as I honestly didn't expect to see him here.
"I'm here for you" He said with a simple look.
"For me." I repeated what he said with a surprised look then looked at him with a mocking look. "Hey, I understand I'm handsome, but what would Princess Cadance think of you looking for another stud-"
"Please don't finish your sentence." He said as he placed a hoof on my muzzle to prevent me from finishing speaking, only to remove it with a small look of disgust after I licked it off. "Princess Celestia sent me to escort you to the castle for your tea party."
At that, I blinked in surprise. "Oh, I didn't expect her to send someone after me, let alone the chief captain of the royal guard." I was honestly surprised.
You see, as I probably said before, among the royal guard there are several subdivisions; the Pegasus guard, the unicorn guard and the earth pony guard to say a few but among them the most prestigious of them is the solar royal guard that directly serves Princess Celestia.
As you can guess from their name, they are the elite guard that serves Princess Celestia and only receive orders from her. Unlike other guards that might receive one or another order from some noble or superior, the Sun Guard only responds to the orders of Princess Celestia and Shining Armor is the captain of them. As a joke, I call him the main captain of the royal guards, because the only pony who can command him is Princess Celestia.
And technically also Princess Luna and Princess Cadance, but I don't know how this really is the monopoly of power with three princesses at the helm.
Hearing my words, the stallion gave me an amused look. "Actually, the Princess had someone else in mind to fetch you, but I insisted on doing it myself," he chuckled, then turned and began walking. "Now, come on, buddy, we can't keep the Princess waiting."
At that, I nodded as I smiled and followed the ridiculously named stallion as we left the train station.
Honestly, the name Shining Armor is ridiculous, since it's not a name, it's a title, but who am I to judge. Honestly, ponies can come up with some pretty ridiculous names.
"I must say, I'm surprised Princess Celestia invited you to a tea party, did you do anything important recently?" asked Shining Armor glancing back to look at me as we walked through the streets of Canterlot.
Hearing his question, I just smiled. "that's a private matter, I'm sorry but I can't tell you about it." Otherwise, you'd be another pony who would know that I'm inside the council and I don't want it to be public knowledge.
I had enough when they tried to give me a title of nobility, I don't want to be recognized or praised for anything, I just want my peace and quiet.
Hearing my response, he nodded with understanding and we went on our way.
"I had the same reaction the first time I walked these halls." I heard Shining Armor say as my gaze was focused on the interior of the castle we were in. "Just wait until you see the throne room; that's something to behold."
I'll take your word for it, my friend, now shut up so I can admire this place.
Normally I am not someone who stops to admire the places where I am but I must admit that this place is beautiful. Stopping for a few seconds to admire the decorations and furniture around me reminded me that I was inside a castle for the first time in my life. Sure, I had seen several castles in history books in my old life but this is the first time I was inside one and its ruler was still alive.
Phew, Shining stopped my advance and made me realize that we were near two large gates with two earth pony stallions protecting it.
"Wait here for a second while I inform the Princess that you are here." Said the Prince and we continued to move towards the gates, the two stallions recognized Shining at first glance and gave him a nod, to which he returned. Then, he approached the door and knocked on the door, which opened a small opening and stuck his head inside.
I took a few short breaths to calm myself inwardly. Not counting the day, I entered Celestia's unicorn school or since the Nightmare Moon incident, I had never personally met Princess Celestia and also had never really met Princess Luna.
Although I knew that Princess Celestia is a benevolent ruler, that did not take away my nervousness to meet the main rulers of this kingdom. Besides, I was a little nervous because I did not know if there was any solution to my dilemma with the magic council of Canterlot.
Man, I wish Twilight was here.
Without warning, the big doors opened and I raised my eyebrow in surprise. I expected them to open slowly, dramatically, you know? I guess that only happens in the movies. Well, never mind now, I cleared my throat and adopted a firm and proper posture to show my respects to Princess Celestia who was smiling and Princess Luna who was looking at me curiously.
I walked slowly towards the throne, with my gaze fixed on the two princesses, without looking at the inexpressive guards or at the servants who walked aimlessly around, or at the Prince who watched from the side on the stairs, who knows when I entered that I did not notice, looking with a slight interest.
This throne room is huge, huge I tell you. Pretty empty because there wasn't really anything besides decorations and the thrones but other than that it's huge this place.
And in the middle of this gigantic place, the two princesses stood in all their splendor.
"Platinum Breeze," Princess Celestia greeted as I approached, stopping at a respectful distance on the red carpet where I could hear her clearly. "I was beginning to wonder if you were not going to join us." Her welcoming smile brightened as I made a modest bow, not overly grand like some ponies but respectful, nonetheless. Meanwhile, Princess Luna observed me with open curiosity, her flowing mane matching her sister's in its graceful movement.
How will they do that trick with their manes, I wonder?
Well, I guess that doesn't matter now.
"Thank you for seeing me, Princess Celestia." He said politely.
So far, so good. I hope I don't screw it up.
"It's a pleasure to have you here, Platinum Breeze," Princess Celestia said with a warm smile. Then, she extended her hoof toward the pony at her side. "And as you probably remember, the pony accompanying me is my dear sister, Princess Luna."
Hearing what Princess Celestia said, I nodded in the direction of the other Princess and also gave her a bow, "Thank you for having me, and nice to meet you, Princess Luna."
At that, Princess Luna nodded solemnly. "IT IS A JOY TO MAKE THY ACQUAINTANCE, PLATINUM BREEZE!" Her voice resounded in the Royal Canterlot Voice, unexpectedly mighty and commanding, causing me to instinctively cover mine ears in astonishment.
Princess Celestia gave her sister a motherly scolding look, "Dear sister, remember what I told you, it is no longer necessary for you to use the royal language of Canterlot."
Princess Luna gave her sister a bashful glance. "I do beseech thy pardon, sister," she murmured softly. Then, directing her gaze towards me, she continued, "And I must also crave thy forgiveness, Platinum Breeze. I do sometimes forget to speak in the plainer tongue we use with our subjects."
And she's also using ancient English, I'm not familiar with it but I think I understand what she's saying.
Hearing her apology, I nodded in understanding. "I understand, Princess Luna. There is no need to apologize." I gave a small smile, to which she returned.
Princess Celestia smiled at her sister. "I did mention to you not to use ancient English, dear sister, remember the new English that I taught you." she gently reminded Luna. Luna responded with a shy smile.
At that moment, a pony approached with a respectful demeanor and conveyed something to Princess Celestia, who visibly brightened. "Ah, it seems everything is prepared. With introductions complete, my dear sister, Platinum, please join me. Let us discuss matters over a cup of tea." I nodded in clear agreement and followed the princesses to wherever we were going for tea.
Would it be bad to mention now that I really don't like tea?
After the greetings were over, I followed the two monarchs into a smaller room, which I assumed to be Princess Celestia's study considering the amount of books, scrolls and letters filling the nearby shelves. Everything seemed to be in perfect order, which made me wonder if she ordered the ponies to tidy up any clutter or if it was already that way beforehand.
And there was also the place where we were going to have tea, a small fireplace with several chairs around it and a table in the middle, with a tray on top so we could enjoy the tea.
Which reminds me, why do we have a fireplace inside the library? Is it even safe to use inside the tree?
I will ask Twilight about it once I return to Ponyville.
Once we sat down and the servants left the room. Princess Celestia used her magic to pour the tea and we each grabbed a glass full of tea to start this little tea party.
After taking a sip of tea, which isn't bad but won't change my thoughts about the tea, I turn to the ruler of the sun. "I don't want to be rude or anything Princess, but did you find a way to help me with the advice?" I said but I couldn't help but cringe internally as I feel I said it in a very rude way.
Luckily, Princess Celestia was not offended and actually laughed at my words. "No need to be impatient, young Platinum Breeze, first there is something my sister must tell you." She said as she took a sip of her tea and looked at her sister expectantly.
The sister in question was taking a sip of her tea when, upon hearing her sister's words, she ended up choking a little on the tea and then giving a look of annoyance to her sister, who only smiled as she enjoyed her tea.
The moon pony sighed in frustration, gently placing her tea on the table before walking over to me. Before I could fully process it, Princess Luna was bowing graciously. "I wish to thank you for your endeavor to free me from the curse that plagued me. No pony, save my sister, had attempted such a feat before."
Hearing what she said, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and more so because she was bowing before me, and I said, "Ah, no need to thank me Princess, I just had to try, even though I didn't do anything in the end."
"That is not true," Princess Luna said after straightening up from her bow, her expression tinged with annoyance at my dismissal. "I remember everything I did as Nightmare Moon, and I felt her resolve falter because of your words. Given more time, I am certain you would have succeeded." With a sigh, Princess Luna turned her gaze away.
"Oh." Don't look at me like that, I don't know how I know I'm supposed to respond to that, "You're welcome, I guess. Although I feel like I should apologize for attacking you then Princess, I feel a little embarrassed about that." Truth be told I'm not embarrassed in the least since she wasn't in her best state Princess but we'd better not mention that.
"Oh, you needn't worry, Platinum Breeze," Princess Luna reassured me warmly. "You handled the situation admirably, and no harm came from the confrontation." Well, except for my wounded pride, Princess. "I must say, you performed quite well considering you have had no formal training as a royal guard."
"Actually, my father was a captain of the unicorn royal guard, so he actually trained me a bit in combat." I said and then proceeded to drink some tea. I had no real military training as such, but my father made sure to at least teach me the basics of combat.
"Oh, that explains it. You didn't fight poorly, but there is room for improvement," Princess Luna remarked gently. Auch, i know that is true but still, Auch princess. She took a sip of her tea before focusing on me. "Tell me, Platinum Breeze, would you like to become my student?"
And now it's my turn to choke, I end up spilling some of the tea on the sofa and on the table while coughing a little. After I stop dying, he looks at Princess Luna in disbelief. "Your student, Princess?"
Hearing my question, Princess Luna nodded warmly, seemingly unaware of my astonishment. "Since my return, I have been catching up on many matters. While I do not yet know everything, I am familiar with my sister's student, Twilight Sparkle, and the current bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I have also learned about you, and I am impressed by what I have read," she said, pausing to take a sip of her tea before continuing. "You possess great magical prowess, Platinum Breeze. Such talent is rare, and while I regret that my sister did not take you as her student, I am eager to take you under my wing. So, do you accept, Platinum Breeze?"
Hearing everything Princess Luna said, I was incredulous as I processed what she had told me. I knew I had a talent for magic, that's what practically everyone I know has told me, but I didn't expect to become the student of a Princess.
It's not common knowledge, but Princess Celestia usually takes only one student every few years, no one really knows why but it's not like anyone just asked. I already knew I wasn't going to be her student the day she declared Twilight her student and I was quite relieved about that.
Being a student of a Princess was not a simple thing, there were great expectations about you and you practically had the eyes of the world on you, on your actions and everything about you basically. A nightmare for me if I am honest as I don't like to be the center of attention.
And now Princess Luna asks me to be her student? On the one hand it would put me in the spotlight that I hate so much but on the other hand this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Decisions, decisions...
Ah, [Beep] it what others may think.
"I would be delighted to be your pupil, Princess Luna." I said as I gave a deep bow. "I hope to learn a lot from you."
"Huzzah!" Princess Luna exclaimed, clapping her hooves together before bowing gracefully towards me. "I eagerly anticipate getting to learn with you too, Platinum Breeze."
After exchanging bows and smiles, Princess Celestia clapped her hands lightly. "Splendid! It seems the issue is resolved," she declared, just as a knock sounded at the door. "Enter," she called, and servants entered bearing trays of pastries, which they placed on the table with a bow before departing. Princess Celestia began to eat, seemingly unfazed by my incredulous expression.
Ugh, these princesses should be taught not to ignore people.
No, wait, put that aside. "What do you mean Princess? If you didn't tell me about-" I interrupted myself as I realized what Princess was referring to.
While there are several disadvantages to being a student of a Princess, there are also several advantages. You have a unique position, politically speaking, since being the pupil of a Princess makes you technically royalty as well. If the Princess in question is unavailable for any reason, you are the next in command and are expected to command in her honor and on her behalf.
There is also the fact that any offense taken against you will be an offense against the Princess and no one wants to offer the benevolent ruler of Equestria.
Sure, Princess Luna may not be as popular or as known with her subjects but she has (probably) the same political power as Princess Celestia.
What it means...
"You planned this, Princess Celestia?" I said after I finished assimilating the whole situation, looking at the Princess who was eating a cupcake. To which the Princess in question just gave me a smile and after she finished swallowing and wiped her snout with a napkin, she answered me. "I don't know what you mean, Platinum Breeze, now eat before we run out of snacks without you."
I gave her a disbelieving look and then turned my disbelieving gaze to my new teacher, but she was simply eating a cupcake herself with her eyes closed.
I slumped in my seat and pulled a cupcake towards me.
I wish Twilight was here, at least she would understand my suffering with this whole situation.
After the tea party was over, I was on my way to my parents' house.
No one will take away the idea that Princess Celestia orchestrated this whole situation, now the question is whether she did it together with Princess Luna or just let things develop by themselves.
It could well be both for all I know. And none of them make me feel better if I'm honest.
Anyway, regarding my apprenticeship, I will not move back to Equestria and I will have my apprenticeship in Ponyville only during my dreams.
Yes, as you hear right. Princess Luna is an expert in dream magic and while it's not the best, it's the best alternative to me having to move back to Ponyville, to the princesses' castle, to be her student.
Honestly, I don't really understand how does work the dream magic, so I'm very optimistic to learn about it, if she let learn it.
So, it's a win-win situation.
In any case, my status as a student of Princess Luna will be made public through all major media. This means that not only nobles, but also other influential institutions in Equestria, will be aware of it. The news will be spread in the major newspapers and magazines of Canterlot, and it will surely be talked about in the most distinguished social circles.
That should deter the council members, and even if I am expelled from the council, they will no longer be able to seize my research as it is now the property of me and Princess Luna.
And I don't think they want to mess with Princess Luna, as that would incur the wrath of Princess Celestia and no one wants that. At least no one is dumb enough to want that.
If only I could tell the council members to go to [Beep] themselves, it would be glorious.
Well, small things, I think.
So, the situation was resolved in an easier way than I expected, but what would have happened if I ended up rejecting Princess Luna's proposal? Could it be that Princess Celestia had some other alternative? Or was that her only plan?
I guess we'll never know, at least not without a series of what if?
I shake my head and see my childhood home in the distance.
Well, home sweet home.
"Mother, father, your long-lost son has returned." I said once I opened the door only to have no one answer my knock.
Confused, I took a few more steps inside and closed the door, heard the sound of laughter in the living room and headed there curiously.
Arriving in the living room, I found my parents Silver Shield and Crystal Frost talking and laughing with Twilight's parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light.
It seems they heard my footsteps, because after they finished laughing, they turned to look at me.
"Ah son, it's nice to see you here after a long time." Said my mother, Crystal Frost with a loving smile.
"Mother, it's barely been 5 months since my last visit." I said expressionlessly. You know it has always been curious to me that my parents never demanded that I call them mom and dad, in all the years I have lived in this world I have always called them that, mother and father.
I simply can't call them anything else, my otherworldly parents still live on in my memory and I can't help but feel that I offend them by calling my other parents, mom and dad.
"It's still been a long time, you used to visit us every 2 months." My mother said dramatically as she hid her head in my father's neck.
My father simply patted him on the back and smiled at me. "It's good to see you, son." He said with a nod, to which I returned though my eyes were drawn to the reason my father left his job as a royal guard, his broken horn.
It was a few years ago, some strange creature escaped from Tartarus and was heading towards a nearby village, my father's squadron was sent to stop it but during the fight, the beast crushed my father's horn, shattering it and thus preventing my father from using magic again.
My father had to leave the royal guard because of that and now works as an instructor at the royal guard academy sharing his experience, but I know that losing his horn affected him a lot. It's not surprising that he suffered depression from losing his horn.
Luckily, he had my support, my mother's, Twilight's family and his friends in the royal guard to support him so he could move forward.
Still, I wish I could help him but researching healing magic that can regenerate a horn takes a long time and I've had no luck so far. The most I've created in a healing magic that closes wounds, but not enough.
As soon as I get back, I will resume my research on healing magic. I will see if my new teacher can help me.
I shake my head at the sound of being spoken to and turn my attention to the mare who was speaking to me, Twilight Velvet or Velvet for short. "What were you saying to me, Ms. Velvet?" I said politely as I sat down on a nearby couch.
Upon hearing my question, the mare in question laughed and dismissed my question by shaking her hoof, "Oh dear, I've told you several times to just call me Velvet." And it's still awkward to call my best friend's mother by her name, "And I said it's good to see you again, how are Twilight and Spike?"
Oh, I know where this conversation is headed. "They're fine the last time I saw you this morning, Miss Velvet." I said as I watched my mother pour me the elixir of the gods, coffee.
I grab the coffee and take a sip when I hear Ms. Velvet ask her question, "I'm glad dear, tell me Platinum, have you and my daughter made a couple yet?" and there it is, and credits to me, I just choked a little on the coffee.
Putting the coffee down on the table and grabbing a napkin, I replied, "Miss Velvet, how many times do I have to remind you that there is nothing going on between me and Twilight?" I finished my question as I wiped my face with the napkin.
"The word I know you're forgetting dear is 'yet.'" The light, gray-furred unicorn said effusively with a smile, at which I gave her an annoyed look.
"Oh, come on dear, don't embarrass the young stallion," wait for it. "those things should develop on their own, we shouldn't push him to make it happen, let him develop on his own." There it is.
I gave him an annoyed look as well to which he gave me a smile, though inside I felt grateful. Twilight and I are very good friends and we could probably be more than that in the future, with emphasis on him perhaps, but that won't happen if the other ponies practically demand that we get together.
"He's right Night Light, Velvet." Said my father as he ate some sandwiches that at some point my mother had brought from the kitchen, "let the young ones be young, they still have a whole life ahead of them."
At that, my mother nodded. "True, although it would be lovely to have some grandchildren so I could spoil them." She said clapping her hooves together, to which Miss Velvet sonorously agreed.
I sighed as I sipped some coffee that calmed my nerves.
I wish Twilight were here to suffer this embarrassment with me.
While I was out there, it turns out that there was a zebra named Zecora living in the Everfree Forest who is a specialist in alchemy.
Oh, and that Twilight and the others suffered the effects of a flower and learned not to judge people by their race.
Great.
I regret not being here, I would have loved to witness Twilight's fallen horn or Fluttershy's male voice.
...where can I get Poison Joke?
This is the end of this week's chapter.
Anything I should improve please let me know in the comments.
See you next time.
> Chapter 11: Parasprites
Hi, how are you doing, I hope you are doing well.
Sorry for not uploading the chapter earlier but I was busy.
Anyway, enjoy the new chapter
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans with the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be an HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the story of G4, MLP: FIM.
"So, you're telling me that in order to get you out of the council situation, Princess Luna turned you into her student?"
"Eeyup."
"And you didn't tell me when it happened a week ago because...?"
At that, I smiled, "I wanted you to figure it out on your own." If looks could kill, I'm sure I'd be buried six feet under right now.
It has been a week since my visit to Canterlot Castle to see the princesses who rule Equestria with a hoof of steel and since I became a student of the returned Princess.
And, as you can guess from my current conversation with the other Princess' student, I didn't tell Twilight anything about what happened in Canterlot.
That obviously annoyed her, and more so after I pranked her by putting a Poison Joke under her cushion to see the effects of said flower, for purely scientific reasons of course.
I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I saw her horn hanging like that, and the death stare she gave me made it even funnier.
How did I get the flower? I went to talk to our local alchemist Zecora.
It was an interesting conversation.
(Flashback~)
I was currently walking in the direction of Zecora's house, with the location of that place previously provided by Fluttershy so that I would not get lost and would not be in any danger on my way to her house.
I admit that I was a bit nervous, since it was the first time I entered the Everfree Forest, not counting the incident with Nightmare Moon since I didn't even go through the forest in the first place.
Luckily, the path I followed was quite quiet and I was able to admire a bit of the wildlife that the Everfree Forest had to offer. I noticed a flower that looked quite similar to the Poison Joke flower described in the book Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls That Are Simply Super which also detailed how to cure it. It was also described to me by both Twilight and Fluttershy to keep me from accidentally stepping on them.
After a few minutes of walking, I finally reached my destination, Zecora's house. It is a rather curious house that reminds me a bit of the Golden Oak library, only smaller and less spacious in a way.
"(So, this is the place)" I think to myself as I walk over and knock on the door.
After a few seconds of waiting, the door opens to reveal its resident, a zebra with grayish fur, a dark gray and white Mohawk mane, stripes of different types around its body and gold rings on its leg and neck as well as large golden earrings. It also appears to have something resembling a cutie mark on its flank.
Can zebras have cutie marks? Fact to ask later.
Well, that doesn't matter right now. Time for introductions.
"Hello, good morning, are you Zecora by any chance?"
The zebra in front of the door smiles as she recognizes me and nods.
"Indeed, it is a pleasure to meet you, young unicorn of noble bearing. Visitors are rare in these parts, so tell me, what might you be seeking?" Zecora said with a small smile.
At that, I smiled somewhat puzzled by the way she spoke but I played it down and said:
"Nice to meet you Zecora, my name is Platinum Breeze. I'm a friend of Twilight and the others and they told me about the incident that happened a few days ago and I'd like to ask for your help in getting some Poison Joke, as well as the materials to cure it."
At that, the zebra blinked in surprise at my request. "I can certainly provide you with such knowledge, but first, I must inquire--what purpose does it serve at this hour?"
I smiled and nodded at her question. "I understand your concern but I only need it to look at its effects, mainly for pure scientific stuff (and to play a joke)" I said and thought the latter to myself, I don't need her to know the latter.
Upon hearing my response, the zebra nodded in consideration of my request before her gaze drifted downward, more specifically to my neck.
I blink in confusion and then turn my gaze to my neck, only to notice the necklace I always carry with me these days.
I direct my gaze towards the zebra with clear confusion in my eyes, to which the zebra after a few seconds realizes my confusion and shakes her head and then begins to speak.
"I apologize, my wizard friend. I was momentarily distracted by the fact that your necklace resonates with ambient magic," Zecora remarked.
Hearing what she said, I blinks with further confusion. "Wait, you can feel the ambient magic?"
At that, the zebra nodded and stepped aside. "Come in so we may speak. I am sure you have many questions to seek."
That's putting it mildly, but I nodded and went inside her house.
I ended up sitting at the table, as it is the first seat I saw free as soon as I entered the house, while Zecora went to the kitchen and came back minutes later with two cups of tea with her.
She then sat down in the chair on the other side of where I sat and handed me my cup of tea, which I appreciated and took a sip.
A few seconds of uncomfortable silence passed where neither of us said anything, I didn't speak because I didn't know what to say while it seemed that Zecora didn't speak because he was waiting for me to say something.
Seeing that I wasn't going to speak, she cleared her throat and said, "I'm sure you have many questions, my wizard friend. Ask without fear, for I do not bite, and answers I shall lend."
At that, I smiled a little, relaxing before asking my first question. "How is it possible that you can sense ambient magic Zecora?"
Upon hearing my question, the zebra remained silent for a few moments, taking a sip of her tea before responding. "An important question you have asked, and I have no problem answering it," she said, looking me in the eye. "Zebras, unlike ponies, do not possess magic in the same way. While we are sensitive to its presence, we cannot interact with it as you ponies do." She took a deep breath before continuing.
"From a young age, my interest in magic was strong, but being unable to wield it as you do brought me great dismay. Yet, I did not give up. I sought ways to harness magic on my own, but no zebra I knew had found a means for us to manipulate it directly. We could only interact with it through certain artifacts, enabling us to influence weather or nature for our survival." At that, the zebra's gaze fixed on the water in her tea, lost in memories, but she continued to narrate her story to me.
"But I did not give up. I continued my studies until I found in a book that an earth pony could use magic without being a unicorn--through alchemy." She smiled wistfully, reminiscing about the past. "At first, my friends were reluctant to support me. They feared I would be disappointed if I failed. But I ignored their doubts and pressed on with my studies."
Realizing she had strayed from the point, her eyes widened, and she gave me a shy smile. "I apologize; I have yet to answer your question. The answer is simple: alchemy requires a deep connection with nature. As a side effect, I have become quite sensitive to the magic that permeates our environment." She concluded, finally addressing my query.
"Fascinating..." I said after she finished her tale. "That's amazing, I'm glad you were able to learn to use magic on your own, Zecora."
At that, the zebra smiled gratefully. "I thank you deeply for your kind words, my wizard friend. Should you wish, you are welcome here at any time, and I would be honored to teach you the art of alchemy whenever you desire."
Hearing her proposal, I smiled gratefully and nodded. "I think I could accept your proposal, Zecora, but first I have to finish some side projects of my own."
"It is understandable," the zebra nodded, acknowledging my reasons. Before I could say anything else, she added, "But before you depart, I would like to show you the proper way to collect the Poison Joke plant, ensuring you avoid its effects in the process."
Hearing her words, I blinked in confusion before remembering the original reason I came here, smiling sheepishly, I nodded gratefully. "If it's not too much trouble."
"It's no trouble at all," the zebra smiled, her demeanor visibly brighter. Remembering the past seemed to evoke happy memories and uplift her spirits.
After that, Zecora showed me the safe way to lift the flower and how to store it for later use, she also showed me a flower so that I would know what they look like and not confuse them with others.
In the end, I ended up leaving her house on my way to the flowers I saw earlier and then returning home to plan the prank.
(End of flashback~)
Honestly, meeting Zecora was a new experience for me but not a negative one, although it was somewhat difficult to understand what she was saying when she was speaking in rhymes.
After coming out of the memory corner, I shake my head and then look at Twilight who was still giving me a death stare.
I just smiled and stuck my tongue out at her, to which she gasped indignantly and then slapped me on the shoulder and walked off towards the kitchen while yelling. "If you do this again, I won't speak to you again for a month, a month!"
At that, I just smiled and laughed at the empty threat, as Twilight always ended up forgiving me for the silly things I did and never ended up following through on her threats.
I head to my room/my personal study so I can continue with my work.
As I enter my room and go to my desk, my gaze cannot help but be drawn to a small sheet of paper with a circle on it, and inside the circle is a new coded language.
When I touch it, the spell is activated and a small orb of violet light shoots out of it. My first success in the Glyphs.
And I owe it all to my new teacher, Princess Luna.
(Flashback~)
I was in my room sleeping in my bed, it was only the night after I came back from Canterlot and I was ready to sleep.
In my dreams, I was in a beautiful landscape. The night was shining above me, the stars were shining and I was standing on bright violet clouds.
As I looked around, I could quickly realize. "This is a dream no doubt, but... why am I so conscious?" Normally when someone realizes they are sleeping, I know wake up immediately afterwards. So, it seems odd to me that I'm not waking up right now.
"That is because of me, Platinum Breeze," a distant voice called out from behind me. I turned around to see a tall figure approaching in the distance. As she drew nearer, I recognized Princess Luna making her way towards me.
"Oh, Princess Luna, it's a pleasure to see you again." I said as I gave a slight bow.
At that, Princess Luna gives a small laugh and says. "None of that, Platinum Breeze, you are currently my student, so you can just call me Luna."
I nodded in consideration at that and gave the Princess a smile. "Only if you call me Platinum, Princess- em Luna." I gave her an awkward smile as I almost called her Princess Luna again. It was going to take some getting used to.
Although the fact that the Princess did not mind my calling her simply by her name increased my respect for her.
"Huzzah!" the Princess celebrated with joy before realizing what she was doing and returning to her "royal" state. "Very well, Platinum, if you wish, that's what I'll call you." Smiled the Princess as she looked at me.
At that, I smiled back at her then looked around. "Where are we at Princes- em Luna?" I said looking around as I actively corrected myself to avoid calling her by her title.
But she notices my mistake, if her amused look says something, and then she starts to say with a hoof pointing around us. "This is the dreamscape and we are currently in the dream world."
"Then this is a dream." I said looking around curiously. "I thought it would be... different."
Hearing that, the Princess chuckled as she put a hoof over her mouth. "I know it looks like this because of my influence in this dream, although if you want you can change it to your liking."
I blinked in surprise at her words and looked at her in disbelief. "I can change this whole place?"
She laughed lightly at my disbelief and nodded. "We are in your dreams, Platinum. You get to dictate what's going to appear in this world." She said as she approached me.
I nodded understanding what she said then looked around us. "So... How am I supposed to do that?" I said looking at her uncertainly.
"Just think of a place you want to be and the dreamscape will bend to your will." He said as she sat down.
Hearing what she said, I gave her an incredulous look again. "I can't be that easy."
The moon mare smiled and simply said. "It's that easy."
I gave her a last incredulous look and then turned my gaze to the dreamscape and then closed my eyes to concentrate. From one moment to the next, the dreamscape changes and transforms into my room in the Golden Oak library.
As I open my eyes and see the landscape changed, I look around in disbelief and then fix my gaze on Luna, who was looking around nodding her head in approval. "Well done, Platinum. You made it on your first try." She said to then look in the direction of my desk curiously.
"Thank you, Prince- Luna." I smiled at my accomplishment to then look at what she was looking at, that being my work desk or more precisely towards the papers strewn across the desk.
Which reminded me of the notes I had made trying to fix and make the Glyphs work without much success on my part.
I shake my head and then notice that the notes are now floating in front of Princess Luna.
"I can see the effort of your work, Platinum, but I cannot understand the purpose behind it all." Princess Luna said as she put the papers down on the desk.
"Those are part of my main project, Prin- Luna. I'm working on a personal project called Glyphs, which would allow the paper in question to absorb ambient magic to generalize the spell written in a coded language." I said as I looked with some frustration at the papers from a distance, as if they might cause some harm.
"Fascinating, it's been years since I've heard of someone working with ambient magic and coded language at the same time, not since... my banishment." Princess Luna said as she lowered her head in shame for remembering that she had been banished.
But my mind was not on that, but on what he said earlier. "Someone previously practiced ambient magic and he coded language." I asked in disbelief.
And to my further bewilderment, Princess Luna nodded. "yes, I remember the pony in question, her name was Mystic Enigma and she was a talented unicorn, she managed to create a very interesting spell that unfortunately I know was lost with time."
When I heard what I said I was excited at first, only to be disappointed to hear that I had lost the spell in question.
"But I still remember it." And I get excited again. Princess Luna, seeing my excitement, laughs lightly and then lights her horn. From the ground in front of her appears a magic circle and from that magic circle came out, or rather I know how to form, a sword.
I stared in amazement at the spell only to have it suddenly evaporate into clouds. Imagine the look on my face when I saw the amazing spell vanish like it was nothing, I guess it was funny considering Princess Luna's laughter. "I understand your disappointment Platinum, but we are in the world of dreams, there is no ambient magic here." Princess Luna said as she gave me an amused look.
I sulked slightly then looked at Princess Luna with a half-mad smile. "Princess Luna, would you be interested in assisting me in the creation of the Glyphs."
Hearing the question, the Princess gave me a curious look then nodded. "Sure, I have no problem helping you, Platinum and it's just Luna." At that, I gave her an embarrassed smile for the slip of tongue I had.
(End of flashback~)
In the end it turned out that the Glyphs' problem was that they were not doing it right and needed a circle of the right size.
Unlike the runes that need to be adjusted so that they can use the spells correctly, the Glyphs do not since the enchantments that are used to make a spell work take care of it, but what failed me was that they did not have a circle of the correct size for the use of that spell.
I couldn't use a campfire spell on a circle the size of a truck and I couldn't use the teleportation spell on a circle the size of my hoof.
I just know I needed a circle of the right size for my Glyphs to work.
I swear I wanted to slap myself knowing that the solution for my Glyphs was something as simple as that and that I hadn't realized it.
Anyway, I managed to perfect it with a spell that Princess Luna gave me, a night light orb spell. It's basically what it says, it generates a small orb of violet light.
And it worked like a charm, thanks to Princess Luna's support, I can now focus on developing and improving my Glyphs. Although I'm not going to give up my research on runes.
And since I have nothing important to do today. I can focus on it.
"Princess Celestia is coming to visit!?"
Or maybe not.
"Hurry up Spike, Platinum, this place won't clean itself!" said Twilight's desperate voice as she went about shaking the books clean of dust.
Meanwhile, Spike was picking up and sorting books while I...ate a sandwich.
"You know Twilight, you're asking a lot of us for a mess you made." I said casually from my spot as I was eating my sandwich.
"Yeah Twilight, this place didn't mess itself up." Spike said as he gathered some books and picked them up.
Literally an hour ago, Princess Celestia sent a letter to Twilight that she was coming to visit for some reason tomorrow, which caused Twilight to freak out and run to warn the town of the sun monarch's arrival.
Which consequently made all the ponies go crazy organizing and cleaning up Ponyville for the arrival of the Princess, which as Spike said, was not an official arrival.
That didn't matter to Twilight, though, because she immediately asked Spike and me to help her clean up the mess she made because she went crazy looking for the book containing the Poison Joke cure because of my joke.
Yes, the mess itself is a bit of my fault and I really should be cleaning it up right now but... I'm having breakfast.
Because the lessons that Princess Luna is providing me are during my dreams, so I am not really resting in my dreams, which consequently caused that if I used to wake up at 8 am, now I wake up at 10 am.
It's not a big change but it is noticeable.
Then there is the fact that today I was greeted by Twilight's angry look and then our little argument, which caused me to forget to eat breakfast and here we are.
"Princess Celestia is going to be here tomorrow!" said Twilight as she shook off the dust.
"I thought this was an unofficial, casual visit" yeah, tell her that Spike, though I doubt she'll listen to you.
"There's nothing casual about visiting royalty! I want this place spotless and you've barely made a dent in it mess and you Platinum aren't doing anything!" said Twilight looking at Spike then looking at me and pointing her hoof at me.
I just smiled and kept eating, which seemed to make her a little angry.
"Maybe you should...start reading them...one at a time!" said Spike as he stopped on the stairs to scold Twilight, but that was his mistake as carrying so many books caused him to fall down the stairs.
But luckily, I was here. With a little telekinesis on my part, I caught the falling dragon and the various books that fell with it. I set the dragon gently on the floor and with a shake of my head, the falling books went to the shelf where they were going and entered the shelf.
"Phew, thanks Platinum." Spike thanked me, to which I nodded and went back to my task, eating.
"Everything has to be perfect, no time for nonsense!" said Twilight as she reached over and dusted Spike's head with a feather duster.
Spike shot her a half-annoyed look, pushing some books away with his feet. "You know, this would be a lot easier if we weren't constantly getting in each other's way."
"Great idea, Spike." Uh oh, I don't like the sound of that. "You two clean up, I'll go see how everypony else's preparations are coming." Yep, I knew I wouldn't like it.
After that, she handed the duster to Spike and although Spike tried to stop her, Twilight didn't listen and left the library, closing the door behind her.
Spike and I stood in silence after Twilight's departure, watching the door with amusement in my eyes and Spike with annoyance. But then, the little dragon gave a sigh and collapsed on the ground, exhausted.
"Well, that was fun." I said with a small smile as I finished my sandwich and got up from my spot.
"Yeah, and now it's our turn to deal with all this mess." Spike said getting up from the ground and shaking the dust off his scales.
Look around. While there was a pile of books on the floor and normally this would take hours to sort through... if there wasn't magic in the equation to make it easier. "Maybe we can do this more efficiently to save him some work."
At that, Spike perked up and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Do you have any magical ideas for cleaning up faster?"
Hearing what the young dragon said, I smiled and chuckled. "Well, not exactly magic, but more efficient. Let's divide the work. I'll make sure the books are in place and you take care of dusting and organizing the little things. That way we'll do this faster and without stepping on each other's toes or tails while we do it."
Spike nodded, looking more encouraged. "Sounds good to me. Better than running around like crazy and trying to do it all at once."
We began to sort in silence, Spike approached the shelves to shake them with the feather duster Twilight left him while I started levitating all the books that were on the floor to bring them closer to me so I could sort them alphabetically and put them where they belonged.
While I was reading, my ears were perked up by the fact that for some reason I could hear music suddenly playing in the vicinity.
Looking around, I realize that the music doesn't have a place of origin as such, it just plays all around the library.
"What in Equestria...?" I couldn't help but mumble as I looked around, then look back to notice that my tail is wagging for some reason.
My head jerks up in Spike's direction when I hear him sing.
Let's get to work,
No time to shirk,
Books and dust everywhere,
Together, we'll make it fair.
Before I could ask Spike why he was singing, my own mouth surprised me.
Why sing as we work without a stop,
Now I'm joining in, ready to drop.
I don't know what's up, but I feel the flow,
The rhythm and sound let's make it grow.
Let's tidy up, let's clean up, until we shine!
Fixing the library, every book in line,
With magic and effort, never slowing,
Together, we'll make it glowing.
Books float, find their place with grace,
Magic in the air, all falls into place,
Even books join in the dance,
Not sure what's up, but it's a joyful trance.
Let's tidy up, let's clean up, until we shine!
Fixing the library, every book in line,
With magic and effort, never slowing,
Together, we'll make it glowing.
Twilight worries, it's only natural,
But calmly, all will be great, factual.
Princess Celestia is coming near,
Everything in order, nothing to fear.
Come on Spike, don't give up,
This song's origin, we don't know, but let's sup,
Every shelf, every nook,
Clean and tidy, with a dedicated look.
Let's tidy up, let's clean up, until we shine!
Fixing the library, every book in line,
With magic and effort, never slowing,
Together, we'll make it glowing.
Now everything's in place, all's set,
Dust gone, cleaning's a bet,
Twilight will smile when she's back,
Rest is earned, no more track.
After the music finished playing, my mouth finally stopped and I looked around in disbelief.
Impeccable, there was no other way to describe how the library looked, all the books were in place and the place was sparkling, without a speck of dust around.
"What just happened?" I said once I could finally find my voice in the whole thing.
"I don't know but it was fun! And look, we cleaned the whole library in no time!" said Spike cheerfully as he looked around the library in childlike amazement.
I shook my head affectionately at Spike and stroked his head.
Suddenly, the door bursts open and a wild Pinkie Pie peeks out of it.
"Hey guys! Wow, this place looks unforgiving." Pinkie said and then took on a serious expression. "No, Pinkie, concentrate. Do either of you know where I can get an accordion?"
At that, I blinked at Pinkie's strange question and replied. "Have you tried the music store? I'm sure Ponyville has one."
"Oh, music store. Yeah, they might have one. Thanks, Spikey and Platiny." Pinkie said cheerfully then disappeared, closing the door behind her.
After I knew she was gone, I blinked again in confusion. "Platiny... no, I don't want to know." I said shaking my head.
After the music incident, I went to lock myself in my room to distract myself from the incident that had just happened but I could not.
I sighed to myself as I levitated the book I was reading to its proper place. "What in Equestria was that?" I wish I could swear right now so I could better display my bewilderment.
Never, in my life since I was reborn here, had that ever happened to me. Sure, I could remember a little from the program that sometimes the ponies would start singing just for the sake of it, but I didn't think anything of it until now.
I should have expected it but I honestly didn't, plus the musical numbers that occurred, to my recollection, in the show were for important events.
Although I'm honest, I don't remember much about the program itself.
"I'll be using the memory spell for that." Oh, and that's another thing I wish I could remember.
The selective memory spell. One of the first spells I created several years ago and one of the few I used for a specific purpose.
Although I don't remember the reason why I used it, I can give me an idea.
And I probably used it to try to forget about all things related to the program.
That would explain why my memories of the program are little to none, as my spell is not perfect and required me to be very specific, as one slip up could have made me forget everything about Equestria, including my life as Platinum Breeze.
But if so, why did I do it?
Ugh, I don't know and that bothers me a lot, and when I get upset, I get hungry, so I better go downstairs and get something to eat.
As I walked down the stairs, I couldn't help but smile at how sparkling the place looked. While the musical number was quite unexpected, it got both Spike and I to clean up the library in record time, so it wasn't as bad as it might seem.
"I'm pretty sure though." I said as I walked into the kitchen. "That the purpose of Princess Celestia's visit won't be to check the library."
"Maybe not." Said a female voice inside the kitchen that made me jump a little from fright. "But it doesn't hurt to make sure all of Ponyville is clean and tidy for the Princess's arrival."
[Beep] me, Twilight, one of these days you're going to scare the crap out of me. I looked at Twilight to see her eating a sandwich and then raised my eyebrow in surprise to see that she had another one next to her.
"Maybe you are simply exaggerating about her visit." I said as I approached her.
"Or maybe you're taking it more lightly than you should, Platinum." She said then proceeded to take another bite of her sandwich. Seeing me approaching, she used her magic to bring the plate of sandwich next to her closer to me.
I looked suspiciously at the sandwich and then shrugged my shoulders and simply said, "Hakuna matata." And proceed to start eating the sandwich.
Which made me think that today I only ate sandwiches all day. Huh, I guess today was sandwich day.
"How was your day?" asked Twilight suddenly as she gave me a sidelong glance, which made me more suspicious than I may have become of my food.
But after taking a bite and seeing that nothing was wrong with me, I replied to the unicorn. "I did well overall, we managed to clean up the library in record time and then we were able to rest for a while." I took another bite of the sandwich and couldn't help but feel it tasted funny. "And how did you do... with whatever it was you were doing?"
"You mean what I told you I was going to do before I left, check the arrangements and make sure everything in Ponyville is in order." Yes, that [Beep]. I couldn't tell him that though so I just nodded. "I can't complain, although some things had to be corrected. I don't want to offend any of the villagers, but I don't think any of them understand how important it is that everything is perfect for the arrival of the Princess."
"Or maybe, just maybe, you're overdoing things for Princess Celestia's casual, unofficial visit." I said as I took another bite of the sandwich, which still tasted kind of weird.
"Platinum, there is nothing casual about visiting royalty. I know I told Spike and I'm telling you too. Princess Celestia's visit is always an important event and I want everything to be perfect for her arrival." Twilight said as she gave me an annoyed look with those big violet eyes of hers.
"I see what you mean Twilight, and I understand that you are very fond of Princess Celestia-" which was the understatement of the century. "-but it's just that I don't think Princess Celestia cares about any of this, I'm sure she wouldn't mind as long as she's being entertained by her favorite pupil, maybe with some music and lots of cakes."
Twilight looked somewhat annoyed as she responded. "Platinum, I understand that you may see it this way, but Princess Celestia is not only my mentor, but also the ruler of all of Equestria. Every visit from her is important, whether it's official or not. She expects everything to be in order and reflect the care we have for our home and those who live here. It's not just about me as her student, but about representing our kingdom well and showing her our respect and gratitude. I think underestimating your interest could lead to misunderstandings. Besides, cakes and music may be nice touches, but they are not the only thing that matters in this situation."
I sighed and simply shook my head. "Whatever you say Princess." I said as I took another bite of the sandwich. "By the way, what's it made of. I can't help but notice a funny taste in it sandwich?"
At that, Twilight just gave me an innocently fake smile and said. "Oh, you like it? It's just a cheese sandwich and... blueberry jam."
When I heard what was in the sandwich, I swallowed the bite in my mouth and said, "Blueberry jam? On a cheese sandwich?"
Seeing my reaction, Twilight began to giggle softly. "Yes, I thought it would be an interesting combination."
I just stared at her for a few seconds before I started laughing too.
After that, we talked some more and then went to sleep.
"-num! Platinum!"
And there goes my rest, my tired gaze is directed towards the strong female voice that is shaking my bed.
My body rose rather reluctantly as I looked with undisguised annoyance at the frightened unicorn that interrupted my beauty sleep rather early... well, early for me.
I look in the direction of the sun and notice the time. "Twilight, it's only 8 am, what could be so important that you would wake me up at this hour" I say only to be suddenly pulled out of my bed by the mare in question. "Hey!"
"No time!" said the mare as she basically dragged me out of my room. By Celestia, where did this mare get this sudden strength? "You have to help us! The library is infested with bugs!"
As I was dragged into the mare's room, I gave the unicorn in question a less than amused look. "And why do you need my help for a few little bugs?" I don't get it; you woke me up just for a few little bugs? Unless they were termites, I don't see you needing me to be awake right now.
Holy [Beep]!
Okay, now I'm wide awake.
I stand up immediately and look with my eyes wide open at the state the unicorn's room is in. What the [Beep] is going on here? There is a swarm of insects all over the bedroom, frolicking and dropping whatever they can with their tiny fragile limbs.
Wait a minute, I know these things. They were in the bestiary I read a long time ago.
My eyes, if that was possible, opened even wider in shock.
"You let these things into the library!" I exclaimed in disbelief as Twilight closed the door behind us to prevent the Parasprites from escaping.
"I only brought one home; I didn't know it would multiply like that!"
"You should have at least looked into them as soon as you had the chance!"
With sudden determination and some fury, I used my magic and paralyzed all the Parasprites roaming free in the room.
I gritted my teeth furiously as I felt the things trying to escape my grip. Normally I would have no problem holding creatures of this caliber, but with so many of them and being as restless as they were, I found it somewhat difficult.
"Platinum here!" said Twilight as she brought some backpacks and opened them.
With some effort, I moved the Parasprites to the backpacks and stuffed them into them but it wasn't perfect, as a few of them managed to escape from my grasp and tried to make their ruckus again.
"Got 'em!" shouted Spike as he jumped on the Parasprites to capture them and stuff them in the bag.
Seeing that they were trapped and captured, I collapsed on the ground in exhaustion.
It was only for a few moments but holding so many pesky, unruly insects that wouldn't stay still was a real pain.
Spike approached with a worried look. "Are you all right Platinum?"
To which I simply nodded wearily.
After that whole incident, Twilight left the library with the Parasprites contained to get them out of Ponyville.
Meanwhile, I was hanging out with Spike in the kitchen while he drank some apple juice.
"Tell me what happened." I said to the dragon with a serious look.
To which, Spike simply shrugged, "Twilight came home yesterday after a while with one of those little critters to keep me company, saying it was a gift from Fluttershy." Spike said as he made himself something to eat.
Luckily, those little monsters didn't come out of Twilight's room or we wouldn't have anything to eat. "Why didn't Twilight bother to investigate those little critters? It's the first time he's seen something unknown and not investigated it first." And I hope it's not just because of the cute factor.
"Maybe she was too focused on preparations for Princess Celestia's arrival." I speculate Spike and am inclined to agree with the purple lizardman, when Princess Celestia comes into play, that mare loses any interest in anything else.
"Maybe." I replied and then yawned, as I rested my head on the table. So Fluttershy is responsible for this mess? I honestly didn't see it coming but it makes sense, if there's a pony that has a soft spot for cute animals, it's Fluttershy.
I already feel that this is going to be a long day ahead.
"And here I thought they had already learned their lesson about not judging someone, or something, by its appearance." And by that, I mean the lesson they learned with the whole Zecora incident, of course. The little buggers may seem innocent at first, only to cause so much havoc that they would leave a certain spirit of chaos happy.
"Maybe they just forgot about it for a moment."
"Or maybe they were just being careless." I said expressionlessly as I rubbed my face. "I'm sorry if I sound rude, I'm just rather tired and cranky from being woken up so rudely."
"Okay." Spike smiled slightly as he finished making himself a pastry and began to eat it. "Your schedule's changed quite a bit since you became Princess Luna's student." And of course, Spike would know, I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight told me just because. "What's it like studying with her?" said Spike with his mouth full.
At that, I smiled slightly and said, "First of all, swallow before you speak Spike, and Princess Luna is just like any other pony, just quite out of date about him world in general." After that I got up and headed for the library.
It was time to reinforce my knowledge about these vermin.
He had a feeling
I knew it was going to get worse.
Why did I have to tempt karma like that?
I just don't learn.
"Back off, you filthy vermin! Back off!" I shouted angrily as I levitated my research notebook and several of my things behind me and waved the one book, I had available at my disposal to ward off the flying insects, while at the same time pushing it away every time the Parasprites tried to bite it.
These things are back and worse, much worse, now they eat the books!
A few moments ago, everything was peaceful, I was reading the bestiary I brought with me from home to look for information about the annoying bugs that plague Ponyville. And all of a sudden, these pesky vermin came out of who knows where and started eating the books.
And what was worse, I found them in my room about to devour my precious research. I immediately created a barrier around my book and levitated it behind me.
But I know I'm running out of magic and now I can only keep it levitating behind me, which leads to my current situation.
I don't understand what caused this sudden change in their feeding methods. There is nothing in the bestiary that describes this sudden dietary change. This is all new and although I would like to document it, it is not the time.
"Help!" I heard Spike's shout echoing down into the main room of the library. I'd love to help you Spike, I really would, but I'm currently securing my information and I couldn't just let it go.
What could I do... I got it.
I quickly generated a barrier around me, protecting me and my book. The barrier would not last long considering my magic levels at the moment but it would last long enough.
I touch my necklace and let the rune installed on it activate, in a moment, an aura surrounds my whole body and I find myself floating on the air. I smiled as I felt that my magic levels were filling up.
I have no idea how it works, but it seems that my magic levels were filling up thanks to ambient magic. It seemed to be a positive side effect of the runes and I'm glad I discovered it several chapters ago.
I undo the barrier around my body and focus it only on the two important books around me. Floating, I use my telekinesis spell and paralyze all these monstrosities.
"Phew, now you guys, get out of my room!" I said as I opened the door and walked out of my room with the intruders following me along with my research and the bestiary in my hooves.
When I got to the main library, I could see that there was a whole bunch more inside the main library. Oh god and somehow, they were eating the words like spaghetti.
I need to check them out of the library.
"Help..." cried a meek voice and I turned my attention to the distressed dragon hiding under a basket.
Don't worry, Spike. I've got this under control, I think.
Closing my eyes momentarily, I concentrate and, in a moment, I have all the Parasprites trapped under my telekinesis.
As my horn glowed, I couldn't help but notice unconsciously that this time I had no difficulty holding them. I look at the glowing necklace and can't help but wonder if this is due to ambient magic.
I shake my head; this is not the time for it. I reach down to ground level and pull Spike out of the basket.
Spike looks around in surprise then gives me a grateful look. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." I gave him a smile then gave him a serious look. "Quick Spike, I need you to go to my room and get me my pack, we don't have time to waste. I'll keep these pests under control." Hearing my words and seeing my look, Spike nodded, gave me a military salute and went running in the direction of my room.
I looked towards the Parasprites and couldn't help but notice their buzzing and fidgeting, as they tried to move to continue their chaos. Sorry little ones, but not this time.
"Platinum, here you go!" said Spike as he ran down the stairs. I left my book on the table and grabbed my backpack with telekinesis, quickly pulling out a rather large ruby from inside.
I left the ruby on the floor and signaled the dragon to follow me. The dragon in question nodded and together we left the library, along with the little house- and book-devouring parasites.
Once outside, I concentrated my magic on the ruby in the middle of the house and it lit up. Suddenly, a barrier was erected around the library. Now nothing could get in and out.
I deactivated my magic and let the Parasprites run free. They looked at the generated shield with curiosity and then saw that they could not eat anything else here and headed towards the village.
"Oh no, they're heading to town!" said Spike as he deactivated the rune, seeing what they were doing, I slapped my face and looked at Spike.
"Come on Spike, let's see if we can help." Spike looked at me and nodded, I put the bestiary in my mouth and together we ran in the direction of town.
But what we found was worse than I imagined.
"Oh no..." mused the dragon under his breath as we witnessed the state of Ponyville.
Parasprites. Parasprites everywhere. Hundreds and hundreds of them were ruthlessly invading the city, devouring everything in their path. Ponies crying in shock and fear as they hurriedly ran away from the Parasprites... this is a nightmare.
Shit, I have to figure out how to fix this. My magic won't work in this case, they are too much for me to hold and I don't know any spells that can help me in this situation.
So, I had only one way out, ignoring Spike yelling about what we were going to do, I opened the bestiary I brought with me and walked straight into it away from the "p."
Ok let's see, this I already read... this I already knew... blah, blah, blah... Hmm, they can be attracted and drawn away from populated areas by...
...oh.
"Huh?" I said aloud in disbelief, rubbing my eyes to see if I hadn't misread or hallucinated the words. Nope, well, this is the most [Beep] I've ever read in my life.
And I've read every [Beep], I used to be a faithful fanfiction reader.
"Hey, Platinum, do you hear that!?" Hmm? I glanced to my side to see him sudden change in Spike's tone, who was now no longer panicking but confused. "It's... music!"
...wait what? Please don't tell me we're having another musical number right now.
I sharpened my hearing to focus, ignoring the screams of the ponies and the fluttering of the insects and I heard that, indeed, the faint sound of music... and unlike before, it was not coming from everywhere but was heard from the other side of town.
"Spike... read this." I said as I passed the open book to the curious dragon, who took it and began to read the contents as I watched a determined and focused Pinkie Pie walk straight past us with a group of Parasprites following her to the beat of the music.
So... for this I needed the accordion that you asked me about earlier. Eh?
"Eh, who knew? Those specific musical instruments in the book Pinkie Pie plays can take out bugs...uh, Platinum...where are you going?" I heard Spike say as he started walking back home.
In response, I raised my right hoof in farewell without turning around. "I'm too tired for today, I'm going back to bed." We had just been through hell on earth and it turns out Pinkie Pie had the answer to our problem all this time.
Ah, that I know [Beep] everything, I'm going to bed.
"-num. Platinum, please wake up."
Ah [Beep], how I hate to be awakened in the middle of my sleep.
My eyes blinked tiredly as they complained about the annoying intrusive sunlight that reminded me it was still daytime. I swear one of these days I'll put a blind on that window. I turn to the left and find Twilight's smiling face... well, smiling.
"Twilight...?" I asked as I yawned, as I didn't expect to wake up again today. Even though it was even the same day? Or had I managed to sleep until the next day?
I wish it was the latter, although this time Princess Luna didn't interrupt my sleep.
"Sorry to wake you up again." Apology accepted Twilight, now give me your excuse. "I just didn't think you'd want to miss the rest of the day."
And fair enough, I admit it. Normally I don't like to miss a day that I could use to do something important, but after today none of that mattered to me.
"I appreciate that, Princess. For a moment there I thought you woke me up for another Parasprites invasion or something." I said then remembered how important today was supposed to be. "Wait... aren't you supposed to be spending time with Princess Celestia?"
The violet mare shook her head. "Princess Celestia left before she could see the disaster in the city, fortunately. She had more important matters to attend to in Fillydelphia, another insect infestation occurred there."
Eh, so all the preparations I know were in vain yesterday? Ugh, well I don't care, at least my research is fine. Currently my research is sitting on my desk surrounded by a ruby-placed bar that I installed before I went to sleep.
Better safe than sorry.
"A pity but at the same time a relief, I hope they did better in Fillydelphia than they did here." I smiled somewhat wearily in Twilight's direction, my brain waking up more with each passing minute.
"I'm sorry." ...well, I wasn't expecting an apology today.
"...Excuse me?" nor did he understand why he was apologizing.
"For disturbing your sleep this morning to help us clean up the blight I caused in the library by bringing the parasite home. If I had done my research properly like you did, Spike showed me the book earlier, this whole matter would have been resolved more easily." A flash of embarrassment flashed through her eyes. "I was so focused on the Princess's arrival that I was convinced nothing bad was going to happen if I brought a little pet home."
"It happens to even the best of us, and I also understand your concerns about Princess Celestia, so I don't blame you for putting your mentor above everyone else either." I smiled tiredly as I settled back on the bed. "Besides, I also feel I should apologize for my attitude today. I was pretty tired and it caused me to be in a bad mood, sorry."
"It's okay. It was my fault from the beginning."
"Twilight, it wasn't your fault." I put my hoof on hers as I looked into her eyes. "None of this incident was your fault, you had no way of knowing that such a small and innocent creature could cause such a mess, and while I admit that your first priority should have been to investigate about that creature, there was also the fact that that creature decided to show up just the day before Princess Celestia was to arrive, so you could not have foreseen this incident." I said as I smiled warmly. "Besides, I would have helped you anyway if you had been in danger, you know that."
At that, the mare smiled gratefully. "I appreciate that, but when you think about it, the only thing that was in danger here was food and books." We both laughed a little at that. "Thanks for not being mad at me."
"Twilight." I started looking her in the eyes. "I could never be mad at you, you may annoy me rarely when you wake me up unexpectedly or when you eat my food, but I could never be mad at you." At that, the mare smiled and gave me a hug, to which I returned as best I could.
After that, the mare left my room as I lay back down to go back to sleep...only to find that I couldn't.
Ah [Bleep], Twilight ruined my dream.
Well, since.
Hi, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Any suggestions please leave them in the comments.
See you next time.
> Chapter 12: Winter Wrap Up is a catchy song
Hello, how are you all?
I hope you are well; I apologize for not uploading any chapters but honestly, I just didn't have the inspiration to do it.
Now, I'm going to use whatever inspiration I have to make this chapter.
I hope you enjoy it.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans with the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be an HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the story of G4, MLP: FIM.
At this moment, I was in the dreamscape beginning a new study in magic.
Or rather, I would say battle.
Or massacre.
Currently, I was running and dodging attacks and energy blasts that Princess Luna was throwing at me for training.
"Come on, Platinum, you can do better than that!" proclaimed Princess Luna, soaring above me before unleashing another energy beam at me, which I narrowly managed to dodge.
As I was running and dodging, I couldn't help but remember the purpose of this training.
After Princess Luna managed to help me in getting my Glyphs created, she finally decided to set up a study schedule for me, so to speak.
The Princess will come to my dreams and teach me for two hours every day, this due to the fact that, to begin with, she still has her duties as Princess of the night to watch over the dreams of others and also so that I can sleep.
You see, even though it's not necessary for the Princess, she still goes and watches over the dreams of her subjects, the other ponies. That has helped a lot with her image and has gotten a lot more people to accept her as Princess, although there are a lot more people who are still afraid of her.
While it bothers me a bit that the ponies can't stop wearing it because of their fear of the unknown, it's still better than nothing. Although I've also been told by Princess Luna that there have been ponies who absolutely adore her.
Well, leaving that aside, let's talk about my training. Unlike what I originally thought would happen, Princess Luna is not only teaching me magic, but she is also teaching me how to fight.
And it is not as simple as one might imagine. She is not teaching me the method of fighting for unicorns that I know is taught today, but she is teaching me the method of fighting when the ponies were at war a long time ago.
Unlike now, where many of the tactics are focused on containing the enemy, the tactics and the way of fighting that Princess Luna is teaching me is to incapacitate the enemy and then contain them, or in other words, to beat them until they are knocked out and then seize them.
It is a method that is no longer very well received nowadays, mainly because there are no longer times of war, the ponies do not see the need to stick to the more "violent" methods that were used a thousand years ago.
That didn't matter to the Princess, though, because she wanted me to be able to defend myself as best I could, even if it meant beating up the pony that stood in front of me.
And if I'm honest, I don't mind either. Violence is sometimes necessary in order to settle things against ponies who are too stubborn for their own good. Or for any enemy in general, I'm pretty sure I'll have to face someone someday who won't agree to give up easily.
Anyway, that brings us to my current training, besides teaching me how to attack, the Princess has also been teaching me how to dodge or rather she has been helping me with my senses so I can dodge.
This is because the Princess realized that I rely heavily on teleportation to dodge, and that although my senses can feel an attack coming, my body does not move as I immediately use magic to teleport away from the attack.
While there is nothing wrong with using teleportation to dodge, you should not rely on it alone to dodge, otherwise you can become predictable and your greatest strength becomes your worst weakness.
And I agreed, and more so because it really showed me how much I rely on teleportation to dodge, and how it makes me predictable to simply teleport to dodge.
And that brings us to now.
"Come on, Platinum, move your body more!" commanded Princess Luna, flying above as she shot a laser beam at me.
"(If I die, I can say in the afterlife that a flying horse descended from the sky and vaporized me with its laser beam)" I thought to myself with a painful laugh, as I could feel my legs ache from her continuous dodging.
It's not as if I could die, we're in the dream world, but it still feels that way with the constant attacks by Princess Luna.
I shook my head, just in time for a bolt of lightning to hit me in my side and send me flying.
Lying down, I gasped, catching my breath as Princess Luna descended from the sky and approached me.
"Are you all right, Platinum Breeze?" inquired Princess Luna as she approached, her magic gently lifting my exhausted body.
"Yes... I feel fine, P-Luna." I said with a tired smile as I caught my breath.
"Splendid!" exclaimed Princess Luna as she ceased her levitation, allowing my body to gently descend to the ground of my dreamscape--a serene field of apple trees. "I must say, Platinum, your proficiency in dream magic has markedly improved. This landscape is unfamiliar to me."
"Thank you, Luna." I said with a small smile as I looked around.
In addition to teaching me how to fight, the Princess has also been teaching me her own personal magic, the magic of dreams.
And that's something that honestly puzzled me quite a bit, since, the Princess' personal magic, besides raising the moon, is to be able to enter people's dreams and be able to fight them, for to say.
It is also one of the reasons why the Princess can go into dreams, but at the same time she can rest. Unlike me, who needs to rest after every study session, Princess Luna can still watch and watch over the dreams and rest at the same time, making her able to wake up and spend even a little time with her sister before she has to do anything else.
This is mainly thanks to her mastery, it is difficult to explain it in its entirety but, basically, when people sleep, they rest their body and mind, in my case during our trainings only my body rests, not my mind, which is why I sleep more than I did before.
Princess Luna has no such disadvantage, it's as if she dreams while doing her duty, getting her body and mind to rest while doing her job. Although sometimes it's not perfect, causing her to have to sleep a little more but that's the thing about magic, sometimes a simple miscalculation makes things go out of control.
I still have no idea why he is teaching me dream magic, I asked her and she said it's because she wanted to, which I don't think is a good answer but I don't know what to said.
Don't get me wrong, I feel very fortunate and privileged that Princess Luna has decided to teach me her magic, but I still can't help but wonder why she does it.
Well, that doesn't matter now. I stand up and shake my body, feeling my bones creak in protest from all the exercise I've done. "I'm going to feel this when I wake up." I comment as I approach Princess Luna to appreciate the scenery.
This is something we used to do at the end of my training, just sit and look at the view. The field we are in is a basic landscape that was created by my imagination, rather than being drawn from my memories.
Princess Luna laughs at my words. "You should know by now that whatever pain you suffer here, it won't transfer to the outside world." She said to then look at me with a smile. "You have progressed quite well in these months of training, you can move your body well enough to dodge the lightning bolts I send your way without having to rely on magic, good job Platinum." She said as she extended her wing to give me a hug of sorts.
To which I nodded and smiled back. "It's thanks to the fact that I have a good teacher." Who has no mercy on me, but that I didn't add.
The Princess's training method, as you have seen, is to attack me until I can't get up or until our training time runs out, whichever comes first. Usually, it is the former rather than the latter.
"How's the night court going?" I said as I watched the landscape fade away as I felt myself drifting off to sleep.
At my question and watching the scenery fade away, the Princess withdrew her wing and straightened up. "Are you sure you want to hear me talk about it before you go to sleep, Platinum? I thought you didn't like politics." She said with a small smile as her hair rippled behind her.
And I don't take it back, I don't understand politics and possibly never will, but it's entertaining to know how my favorite monarch is doing. "Hey, I may not like politics, but it's always good to know how you're doing."
Hearing that, she gave me a grateful smile and relaxed her posture as she spread her wings in excitement. "Well, it's just like the other time I told you about it, although this time a pony came hoping to open a store in Canterlot, a bakery to be more specific..." as Princess Luna began to tell me how it went at the night court, I lay back on the floor to admire the dreamlike starscape and listen to the Princess talk about her court.
After a while, I could feel my consciousness fading as I continued to listen to the Princess complain about a pony who thought she would be just as benevolent as her sister and spoil him. I could fell the wing of the Princess lay on my body and before I knew it, I fell asleep.
The first thing that greeted me in the day is the annoying sunlight, which normally wouldn't bother me if it weren't for the fact that it's literally in my face, in my eyes, declaring that it's time to wake up and start being productive.
Someday I'll put a blind on that window, I swear.
I get up and sit on the bed as I yawn, I look over to my bed to feel it calling me, as if telling me, "come Platinum, I know you still want to sleep more, come to daddy." Sorry beddy, but once I'm already awake, I won't go back to sleep again until nighttime.
I get out of bed and stretch, feeling my back complaining that I am moving. Sometimes I debated whether Princess Luna was right about the pains I suffered in the dream world not transferring to the real world, although it is also true that the pains are more like phantom pains and I didn't really feel the pain of the training as such.
I shake my head, working my magic to fix the bed while my eyes are directed outside, more specifically towards the snow falling from the sky.
Ah, that's right, I had forgotten that we were already at the end of winter, my favorite season of the year.
Since my new stay in Ponyville, it has been about six months and it has been the craziest six months of my life.
I'm not going to go over the adventures that have already happened in the previous chapters, that would be just filler and we're just finishing the year, so I'll just tell a little of the things that have changed since the last chapter.
Which in reality is not much, most of the time was spent locked inside the library doing some studies or helping in general in Ponyville for any problem that occurred.
Seriously, despite being a small town, a lot of weird things happen here.
Mostly small things though, like helping Fluttershy with animals that don't want to go into hibernation or don't want to move for the winter, or Applejack having some friendship contest, or some random stampede that happens because the cows get scared by something.
If I had a bit for how many times that last one happened, I would have two, which is not much but it is rare for it to happen twice in the same year.
In addition to advancing and creating new Glyphs and runes, I've gotten closer with several of the girls in general.
Fluttershy is a great companion in general, despite being quite shy, she is a good animal keeper and knows how to treat them well, although sometimes there were a few problems because the carnivorous animals followed their nature, but nothing that couldn't be solved.
Rarity is a great friend who for some reason likes me to be her model for her male clothes, sometimes I am accompanied by Spike out of jealousy that I am hogging Rarity, which is funny. Despite being only 10 years old, he's pretty mature for his age, although some would call him precocious for being pretty mature, he's still a kid.
Other than that, she's easy to get along with, kind and gentle, and she never brought up the subject of my "romance" with Twilight again, which I really appreciated. Besides, I also found it quite surprising how many ponies ask for clothes they will never wear in the end.
Most ponies simply ask for clothes for special occasions or for some other private reason they don't want to talk about, sometimes they ask for the same type of clothes to wear on other days or just to change.
I honestly do not see the sense, unlike my old race, humans, ponies have fur that allows us to withstand the cold that can generate the day or night, plus we have a tail that covers the important things.
Well, my opinion may be biased by the fact that I have lived in this world for about 18 years, but details.
I can also be considered a bit of a hypocrite because I am always wearing my cape, but the only hypocrite I can stand is myself.
Anyway, Applejack can get pretty stubborn when she wants to be, and more so when it involves her farm, but I appreciate her honesty and she also helps me exercise when I go to help her on her farm, since she won't let me use my magic to get the apples down. In fact, thanks to her I have gained some muscle.
They are not visible to the naked eye like humans, but they are noticeable.
Pinkie Pie has taught me how to bake cakes, cupcakes, muffins, among other types of different desserts, plus I learned that Pinkie could also break the fourth wall better than me and decided to help me break the fourth wall to greet our viewers.
Whoever reads this, Pinkie sends her regards.
Other than that, hanging out with Pinkie Pie is entertaining to say the least, sometimes we play a few games, in some I manage to win but in others it is impossible for me. Let me tell you, beating Pinkie Pie in a game of tic tac toe is impossible.
In addition to that, I have come to accept the fact that Pinkie is a rare combination of an admittedly disturbing yet tender being, as I spent time with her I learned of the fact that she has a unique type of sixth sense called "Pinkie Sense" very rare, as she can somehow predict the near future with a flick of her tail, ear, or something else.
If Twilight ever finds out about this "Pinkie Sense," I have no doubt she'll go crazy over it, sometimes Twilight can get that way over things she doesn't understand or that don't make sense.
But it is also true that Pinkie can be very tender, she is quite playful, mischievous and teasing but not the bad kind, plus she can be a bit clumsy at times. Spending time with Pinkie can become exhausting but also quite satisfying in a way.
Rainbow Dash has been the pony I've spent the least time with in general, she's just too competitive and a bit arrogant for my taste, besides being quite proactive in everything she does, I normally prefer to stay in my room reading a book or practicing magic than doing some acrobatics. We don't get along badly but we can't really call each other best friends either.
Twilight and I are still pretty close in general, in fact I would say we became closer living together. Twilight has helped me when it comes to creating my Glyphs so I can move forward with my research, in return I have helped her practice magic that can be quite dangerous if not handled carefully.
Other than that, nothing has changed between us, we're still pretty close and good friends, which in a way I'm glad about.
Overall, I would say that I've gotten pretty close with the girls but it's also not like we're best friends or that we all have the same level of friendship. It sounds bad to put it that way but it's the truth, I'm closer to Twilight than I am with the girls, the girls are closer to Twilight than they are to me and that's just the way things are.
Apart from the mane 6, I have also made friends outside of them, one of them is Derpy Hooves, who after our first meeting, I met her again just before the beginning of winter, during the preparations to start this winter.
Apparently, according to sources who were present that day, I had failed when I was helping the weather team put up clouds for the onset of winter when suddenly something went wrong which caused it to plummet back towards me, only this time covered in snow.
Luckily, thanks to the training I was doing with Princess Luna, I was better prepared and managed to catch her with my magic so she wouldn't get hurt in the free fall. We talked again and I helped her a little so that no more incidents would occur.
While Derpy can be quite clumsy and cause quite a bit of damage, I know she means well and I gave her a muffin I had with me, which I quickly discovered was her favorite. Since then, we have become friends and sometimes she stops by to visit the library or I see her from time to time making the occasional request.
Apart from her, I have only become close to Princess Luna, I managed to overcome quite well if I may say so my discomfort of calling her only by her name and I became a sort of confidant for her, we talk quite a lot when I am resting after training and we became a bit close.
I haven't spoken to Zecora since I went to talk to her for the Poison Joke - I mean, the scientific study of the Poison Joke, for lack of time more than anything, but I hope to clear my schedule soon to go see her.
Well, I shake my head after having finished my internal monologue, enough of reminiscing about the past.
I leave my room and walk down the stairs to the kitchen, where to my surprise, there is Spike up and having breakfast climbing on Twilight's back for a walk.
"Good morning to you two, are you going out somewhere?" I said as I spotted a plate with an egg and cheese sandwich on it and lifted it up to start eating.
Spike responded before Twilight could, "Major Mare is going to give a boring speech about the Winter Wrap Up..."
"What Spike means is-" Twilight interrupted before he could say anything rude as she gave him an annoyed look. "-major mare is going to announce the official start of Winter Wrap Up so all the ponies can help clean up the town." I couldn't hide my grimace as I remembered that was today, Winter Wrap Up, where winter comes to an end to make way for spring.
I'm not against helping with the Winter Wrap Up, even if it is one of my favorite seasons in the world, but I'm not a fan of the Ponyville tradition where they basically force unicorns to not use their magic because earth ponies founded this town.
Which honestly, I don't see the point, I understand that this town was founded by Earth Ponies but it's not fair to force one of the pony tribes to not use their special gift to be able to clear the snow. If they let the Pegasus use their wings and flight for clearing, why not let the unicorns use their magic?
Of course, it is also true that without the Pegasus, doing everything terrestrial style would be basically impossible but I stand by my point.
I came back to reality when I felt a certain pony touching my shoulder and saw that right in front of me was Twilight looking at me with an amused smile.
It seems I got lost in my thoughts again.
Oops.
"Will you come with us to City Hall, Mr. Sleepyhead?"
"Of course." I said with a shrug, I wasn't going to help with the celebrations, call me all you want, but I didn't feel like not using my magic for this day.
But it's better than sitting around and doing nothing.
"You know Spike, the good thing about that speech is that it was quick." I said once the mayor was done with her speech and all the ponies dispersed to start their chores.
"I think the only one who sees the positive in that is you, Platinum." True, very true Spike. I shrug with a smile at Spike's sleepy reply. What can I say, I like speeches that are short and get straight to the point.
It's a shame we have to say goodbye to winter, it's one of my favorite things in the whole world, mainly because I love snow and it's a shame to just have to say goodbye to it.
But all good things must come to an end, otherwise you won't learn to enjoy it.
"Oh gosh!" a voice interrupted my ramblings and I fixed my gaze on the purple unicorn beside me who was looking around rather quizzically. "Where should I go? I'm not sure where I'd fit in... What exactly does each pony do?"
"Don't overthink things as usual Twilight, I'm sure you'll find what you can do, eventually." Like, I don't know, organize or something.
"Uhh, what are you going to do Platinum?" hey, leave me out of this.
"Nothing."
"Nothing?" yes Twilight, you don't have to repeat after me.
"Yes, nothing, I don't feel like helping if I can't use my magic."
"Platinum, I understand that not being able to use magic is a big challenge, but it is part of the Ponyville tradition. I too find not being able to use magic myself difficult but we all face that challenge here. I'm going to learn how to handle it myself, you can too." Twilight said as she momentarily forgot all about where she belonged.
I shook my head. "I know I can do things without me magic, I'm not useless without it, but I simply refuse to participate in the celebration if I can't use it. It's part of me and not using it voluntarily without good reason just seems... wrong to me."
Twilight frowned at my words, but in the end she nodded." I understand, Platinum, I won't force you to participate if you don't want to. If you change your mind, just tell me."
I smiled, feeling a little guilty. "Thank you for understanding Twilight."
"Three months of winter coolness." Suddenly, our conversation is interrupted by a melody. "And awesome holidays!" Wait... is Rainbow Dash singing? Uh, she sings pretty well.
Wait, don't tell me...
"We've kept our hoofsies warm at home, time off from work to play." Oh my, it's another wild musical number, and Pinkie, you always clear time so you can play, or well, everypony in the time.
"But the food we've stored is running out and we can't grow in this cold." You sing well too Applejack, and you're right. I guess being a herbivore has its disadvantages.
Also, this musical number is nothing like the previous episode, I can think more clearly and my voice is not forced to sing yet.
"And even though I love my boots, this fashion is getting old!" Different being between two ponies than with a crowd? Or will it be a canon thing.
Something to think about later.
"The time has come to welcome spring!" hey, where are you going? I hurry to keep up with Twilight who suddenly decided to join the musical number, although she was still preoccupied. "And all things warm and green, but it's also time to say goodbye. It's winter we must clean, how can I help? I'm new, you'll see, what does everypony do? How do I fit in without magic? I haven't got a clue!"
"Just join the Twilight unicorn group, they must have been doing this for years." I suggested but I'm not sure if she heard me, as suddenly the chorus started up.
"Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our Holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
Honestly, I like this song much better than the one I sang yesterday. It has a nice chorus and the music is pretty good.
"Bringing home the southern birds,
A Pegasus job begins,
And clearing all the gloomy skies,
To let the sunshine in.
We move the clouds and melt the white snow.
When the sun comes up, its warmth and beauty will glow!"
With this song, I no longer feel annoyed with winter being done and I can understand a little more why Ponyville holds on to its tradition. But I still don't feel like helping but I will continue to follow Twilight around Ponyville listening to the other ponies sing.
...and the sun for some reason makes Twilight glow... I shook my head in amusement as the purple mare smiled at the hard work of all the ponies.
"Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our Holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
Man, this song is long. How long is it supposed to be?
"Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
I guess it will go on for a while longer... I hope it won't last long.
"Little critters hibernate,
Under the snow and ice,
We wake up all their sleepy heads
So quietly and nice.
We help them gather up their food,
Fix their homes below.
We welcome back the southern birds,
So that their families can grow!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our Holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
Okay, Okay, we get it. No need to over lengthen the chorus, just move on to the next pony so we can get this over with. Twilight and Spike just gave me a confused look as I grabbed my head.
"No easy task to clear the ground, plant our tiny seeds." You should be used to it by now Applejack, you've practically been doing it all your life.
"With proper care and sunshine, everypony it feeds.
Apples, carrots, celery stalks, colorful flowers too.
We have to work so very hard! it's just so much to do!"
Yes, I understand. Will it be long before they finish singing?
" Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our Holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
My God, I've had enough of this incredibly long song. Can't they just end it?
"I understand your feelings, but I don't see the point in just continuing to sing.
Cease your singing, no more perk.
Winter won't end on its own, so get on with your jobs while I sit here."
Oh, great. Well, at least my mouth didn't move on its own but it did sing again on its own. But my all-useless input didn't make the incredibly long song any more bearable.
Oh boy, it looks like Twilight is going to sing. Twilight has a beautiful singing voice.
"Now that I know what they all do,
I have to find my place.
And help me with all my heart,
Tough task ahead I face!
How will I do it without my magic, help the earth pony way.
I wanna belong so I must do my best today!
Do my best today!"
And now my wild singing voice comes back to help my friend in her predicament.
"Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
I'm sure you'll do fine Twilight.
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Just do the best you can, and you'll see that your worry was unnecessary."
Great, I can't help but repeat a bit of the chorus but at least I hope I helped Twilight a little, though at least my advice earned me a smile.
And now the music is playing again.
" Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Let's finish our Holiday cheer!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Winter Wrap Up! Winter Wrap Up!"
At this point, I just gave up and decided to let my voice sing and relax like I did last time, at least I didn't sing the whole song otherwise it would have bothered me and this time I'm singing along with Twilight the chorus in a duet form.
" Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!
Because tomorrow spring is here!"
...did the song finally finished? Yes? Phew, the music finally stopped. It was about time.
I took a deep breath as my throat felt dry from all the singing. I wasn't used to singing, let alone such long choruses, I honestly hoped that my song with Spike would be the first and last time I would do it.
I guess I expected too much.
One moment...
"How in Equestria did we get here?" said I am looking around.
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up.
Ugh, now the chorus of the song is stuck in my head. I should have expected it because the song was just sung a few moments ago and it's a rather catchy song but it's still annoying.
At the moment, I find myself accompanying Twilight as we go over to talk to Rainbow Dash to see if she can help her although I honestly don't know why she thinks she'll be able to help the wingless Pegasus team.
But hey, Twilight stuff, I guess.
"Rainbow Dash!" oh, looks like we're here.
"Oh, hey Twilight, Platinum! What's up?" asked Rainbow Dash once she realized we were behind her.
I simply raised my hoof in salute as Twilight went ahead to ask her question.
"What are you doing?" said Twilight looking at Rainbow.
"Sending one of my flight crew to pick up the birds that have flown south for the winter" said Rainbow Dash looking up at the sky to see her crew flying away.
"Oh, can I help? How about helping clear the clouds?" said Twilight with an enthusiastic smile.
At the question, Rainbow Dash gave a shy laugh as she looked down at her wings and flapped them.
"Oh, right. No wings." Twilight said as she looked at her sides to remind herself that she didn't have wings.
"Sorry, Twilight." Rainbow said about to take flight only to suddenly remember something and turn her gaze towards me. "Oh right, Platinum I'd like to ask you a favor."
At that, I raised an eyebrow in doubt. "Depends on the favor Rainbow, if it's with something regarding Winter Wrap Up then I'll have to turn it down."
Upon hearing my statement, she gave me a confused look for not wanting to help clean up the town then shook her head. "It's not that, I'd like to ask if you can keep an eye on Derpy."
My eyebrow rose even higher in confusion at the Pegasus' words. "You want me to keep an eye on Derpy, why, and why me?"
Rainbow gave an embarrassed chuckle as she began to explain, "I think you know that Derpy can get a little clumsy when it comes to doing things and I saw how you helped her when the winter started so she wouldn't cause any more havoc. That's why I'd like you to keep an eye on her to keep her from doing any more wreckage."
At that, my gaze changed to a thoughtful one. It's not really something I can't do and there are probably no ponies complaining about me using magic to take care of Derpy. But Derpy is an adult and I don't feel it's right to give her any kind of special care simply because of the eyes she has, or how she is.
With a frown, I shook my head at Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry, Rainbow. But I feel like I'd be disrespecting Derpy if I just go and watch her like she's a filly."
Hearing my response, Rainbow frowned but nodded in acceptance of my words. "Eh, fair enough. Thanks anyway, guys." She said to then take flight.
I turned around to see Twilight scowling at me with a sleeping Spike on her back. "What?" I asked blinking in confusion.
At that, Twilight shakes her head and gives me an apologetic look and smile. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't help but feel annoyed why Rainbow didn't ask me too to help... Derpy was it?" said and asked Twilight.
Hearing what he said, I nodded my head. "Yes, Derpy Hooves and I understand your upset Twilight but it's for the best, it's not fair to just give Derpy special treatment because of her eyes, that's just wrong."
Twilight got a thoughtful look then nodded in my direction. "You're right, Platinum. I don't know what kind of problem Derpy has, but it's not right to treat a pony differently simply because she can't do the same as everyone else."
At that, I nodded with a smile as I followed Twilight who had a thoughtful look on her face, probably wondering what we could do.
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up... [Beep].
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up. Ugh, I can't get the [Beep] song out of my head.
I currently find myself in Rarity's boutique watching Twilight assist in the creation of bird nests and messing it up in the process.
Now that I have time to think, I can't help but think about how weird Equestria has been these past few months. Or maybe I just hadn't noticed.
Or just ignore it, which is more likely.
I mean, music playing out of nowhere, mouths moving on their own to sing, weird magic... it all defies the normal logic of the world.
Well, from my old world. I know it happens sometimes, as even in Canterlot I noticed music out of nowhere and ponies singing, but I never gave it a thought. I always thought the musicians were hiding or it was something else.
Now, I simply have no idea where it comes from.
I'll have to think about it later, Twilight returns.
"Any luck?" I asked once Twilight got closer, and got my answer when Twilight simply lowered her head and groaned in frustration. "Not so much then..." I said turning my gaze to Rarity who was working on fixing Twilight's nest.
I hope you don't get hung up on repairing that one when you can just leave it last and do the others.
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up... [Beep] me.
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up. "Oh, Celestia... careful- Twilight, be careful with that- I'm pretty sure you shouldn't be spinning like that... by Celestia, Twilight use the force I mean you balance Twilight, that should help..."
I hear laughter next to me. "Platinum, calm down. You'll be fine, there's no need to worry."
"I'm not worried, I'm just looking out for Twilight."
"If you say so."
Anyway, one of us two should take this seriously, Spike. Ice skating is not an easy activity to do, let alone for a pony who is a complete beginner and doesn't have someone to help him. I wish I knew how to skate so I could help Twilight but unfortunately, I never thought of practicing it.
I could try to help her but that would involve me skating too and then we would be two ponies who can't skate instead of one.
For now, my eyes are fixed on the unicorn who has no control over herself.
It probably didn't help that Spike pushed her without her being able to gain a balance first.
My God, what would happen if the ice broke?
Uh oh...
I stepped back and then winced as I imagined the pain of the impact as Twilight crashed into Pinkie who ended up crashing into Spike in the process and crashing into a big pile of snow, resulting in them turning into a snowman and then shaking the snow off.
As I headed towards them, Spike let out a childish giggle. "You're a natural at this Twilight...ha-ha! A natural disaster! ha-ha!"
At that, I tossed Spike some snow with a frown before turning my worried gaze to Twilight. "Are you okay?" if no one else would worry, I'd have to do it myself.
"Yes, I'm fine." Phew, at least physically she's fine. Although her tone and expression tells me she doesn't feel fine.
"Twilight, you did a great job for your first time!" began Pinkie to congratulate Twilight as she stood up, before quickly adding. "I'm sure my first time was just as shaky, lumpy and shocking as yours!"
"Really?!" god Twilight, don't believe everything she says.
"No." I figured, gosh, I'm pretty sure ponies don't understand the concept of a harmless lie at all. Spike was about to laugh but stopped when he noticed the look on my face. Pinkie continued after the dejected response. "But did I make you feel better?"
Maybe if you hadn't said no, it would feel better.
"Heh... yeah, I guess." Yes, I'm right.
"I bet you'll be amazing at something that lets you keep your hooves on the ground. I know; Fluttershy will probably need your help with the animals."
"Well, I'm pretty good with animals" Twilight thought about the idea... as she slowly glided across the ice. "Yeah, I'll go help her!" before moving across the ice again in a comical manner...
Oh, THIS next attempt should be the good one... I mean, between skating and helping Fluttershy with some helpless animals.
Which one is better?
"So, let me get this straight..." I started conversing with Spike while Twilight and Fluttershy were in charge of waking up the forest animals. "Twilight and I gave you several lessons about nature and the different types of animals out there... and you don't remember the word hibernation or what it means?" said I as I raised an eyebrow at Spike.
To which Spike shrugged in embarrassment. "Sorry Platinum, sometimes when you and Twilight are being smart asses, I find it hard to pay attention to you guys, especially when you use a big word like that."
Hardly a big or complicated word, Spike. Before I could continue, a particular shout stopped me. "Wah! Snakes, snakes, snakes!" both my gaze and Spike's gaze shift to the purple unicorn that was backing up and away from the hole full of dangerous reptiles (Pff, dangerous. I don't know how you can be afraid of snakes but not dragons).
Before she could try to calm Twilight down, she ended up entering another cave behind her... only to run back out screaming as several bats came out behind her.
I half closed my eyes when she suddenly hit a tree and a honeycomb fell directly on her head, then proceeded to run off again and into another hole.
And the icing on the cake of Twilight's animal misfortunes, out of the hole Twilight just entered came a family of skunks coming out of the cave Twilight entered and, judging by the smell emanating and the whimpering of the unicorn inside the hole, someone was going to need a very good scrubbing.
"Ohh...this whole Winter Wrap Up thing is a lot harder than it looks." Twilight complained as Spike rubbed the poor unicorn, who was currently bathing in a puddle of red to clean up the smell left behind by the forest creatures.
Now let's see if it is true that tomato sauce is useful to eliminate the stench left by skunks.
"Right." Agreed Spike irritably as he held his nose with his free hand. (N/A: hand or paw?) What was I doing? Nursing the unicorn from the wounds left by the bees while enjoying the warmth the library offered after basically being outside all day. "Because there's no magic; why don't you use magic, Twilight, and do it the right way."
At that I nodded, internally, as I continued to heal Twilight.
I respect the earth ponies, they don't have the same facility that we have, the unicorns, or the Pegasus. But that doesn't mean I'm simply going to stop using what makes me special, like magic, simply because they founded this town.
"No Spike, I have to do it the old-fashioned way. Ponyville has never needed magic to finish the Winter Wrap Up." Though it does make me realize that both Twilight and I rely on magic a lot, which makes me rethink things a lot.
"But they haven't had you here before either." Spike objected with a weak counterargument. "Think how fast they can wipe out the Winter Wrap Up with your magic!"
"No need to rush, Spike." I interrupted the discussion before they could continue. No need to rush things, if Ponyville has managed to end winter in time before, then there's no need to rush. "Besides Spike, respect Twilight's decision, if she wants to hold on to tradition, then we should respect it. (No matter how [Beep] that decision is)" I said and thought to myself.
"Thank you, Platinum." Twilight said, grateful that someone in the library agreed with her, only to then grunt in disgust as the dragon poured another can of sauce over her head. "I'm going to find a way to help end the Winter Wrap Up, somehow."
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up... [Beep].
"I'm not the only one who thinks this was never a good idea, correct?"
"Right." Replied both Spike and Applejack as we watched the determined purple unicorn go to help the large number of earth ponies pile up the snow... but first Twilight must move the strange, but incredibly creative, contraption. It was then that the orange mare decided to look at me and ask. "So, what are ya doin' to pitch in with the Winter Wrap Up, Platinum?"
My response was immediate, as I had already prepared myself in case any pony asked me such a question. "I won't do it without magic."
At my words, the mare frowned. "Ya reckon ya oughta find a way to help without usin' magic? Twilight can't use magic either, and look, she's doin' her part with the Winter Wrap Up." Applejack nodded towards the somewhat disheartened mare observing the work area.
"It just seems like a silly tradition to me to not let unicorns be able to use their magic."
At that, the mare scoffed. "Well, that silly tradition is what makes Winter Wrap Up special. It ain't about magic; it's about us workin' together--all ponies, whether earth ponies, Pegasi, or unicorns. It's a day where we all pitch in without leanin' on what sets us apart."
"Hey, guys."
Hearing her words, I sighed a little as I turned my gaze to Applejack with a thoughtful frown and feeling the frustration inside me. "I understand your point, Applejack, but it just seems unfair to me that unicorns can't use their magic while Pegasus can use their wings."
"Guys..."
At that, Applejack's gaze softened as she gave me a small, understanding smile, her tone firm yet gentle. "Platinum, I get that it might feel unfair, but look at it like this: Pegasi use their wings to clear the skies and bring in spring, somethin' we earth ponies can't manage alone. We use our strength to plant and grow crops, while unicorns bring their smarts and magic to the table. It ain't 'bout denyin' anypony their talents; it's 'bout findin' harmony and workin' together with what each of us brings."
Hearing her words, I sighed and reflected on them. Yes, I had thought about it a bit about it before but not in that way. "I guess it makes sense, but it still feels limiting."
Applejack nodded thoughtfully. "I know it ain't easy. But sometimes, workin' without relyin' on our strongest skills helps us find new ways to be helpful and to value what others bring. Plus, you're strong--if ya ever decide to join in, there's always room for you on the team."
I lowered my gaze, pondering the words Applejack had just said to me, but before I could respond, a shout caught my attention.
"Guys!" the panicked shout from Spike caused us to turn to look at him and see that he was pointing in the direction of where Twilight was to which our eyes followed to see...
Uh oh.
My body moved instinctively and I jumped out of the way, abandoning the orange pony and the dragon to become the victims of the giant snowball that was now heading elsewhere, the source of the white rock being... Twilight...
It seems that in the end my words and Spike's words made him decide to use magic, and look how well that turned out...
I frowned and shook my head, not the time to think about it. I ran in pursuit of the snowball that wouldn't stop and was growing by the second.
And I soon regretted running without a plan.
Pah! Bah!
My body struggled to get out of the wreckage of the avalanche, feeling too cold to be able to use magic properly as I was trapped in a pile of snow. Every bit of my fur shivered under the icy onslaught, my cloak, which had previously kept me warm, no longer managed to serve its purpose. I shook off the small mounds of snow after I was completely off the white ground and instinctively activated a spell that warmed my body as I looked around for the mares and the dragon.
Yuck, maybe I shouldn't have left the house today...
Ah, there they are.
As the spell warmed me, I approached the three heads that popped out of the pile of snow. When I finally got close enough, I could hear a bit of the lecture Applejack was giving Twilight. "-How do we do it around here, Twilight, and especially not on my farm!"
Well, you see..." I heard Twilight respond faintly and felt my mind stop as I noticed the purple unicorn's expression.
Was she... about to cry?
"I-I just wanted to... Ohh!" my eyes flickered in shock as the distressed unicorn leapt out of the snow and ran off, straight past some annoyed earth ponies in the direction of town.
I gave an icy glare to the orange earth pony, who flinched a little because of it, only for my gaze to shift in the direction Twilight ran in and then dash off in pursuit of the unicorn...again.
I have rarely seen her so upset to the point of almost crying. I think the last time was 5 or 6 years ago when I became a member of the magical council of Canterlot. At that time, I pretty much understood it, she was jealous and being a child, she couldn't think of anything better to do than cry.
But I don't understand why she's so concerned about this issue to the point where she basically cries, I'll have to ask her...once I've found her and helped her calm down.
"Twilight?" I shouted as I looked around for the hidden mare. Maybe she had gone back to the library, to her own room and was taking out a bunch of books to hide or something...no, that sounds something like Spike would do...
"I'm here." A muffled but familiar voice replied, and my body automatically jumped as the shaking bush I was walking next to answer my question.
...really?
"You know, I don't think an icy bush is going to help in any way with the cold." I said jokingly. "Come on Twilight, get out of there."
"Why, so I can cause another disaster with my so-called help?" I blinked at the dejected response.
"That wasn't your fault, Twilight."
"Yes, it was." Wow, she's really upset. "I allowed my dependence on magic to win out and, in doing so, made things worse for the hardworking citizens of Ponyville...I knew I shouldn't have listened to Spike's advice." She conclude with a sigh.
"Well, there's the rub, you heard Spike. I'm sure there's something in this town you can help with to take down the Winter Wrap Up." And I also felt a little guilty, since I feel like my attitude about magic helped Twilight make her decision.
I also ignored the gaze of the working ponies watching me talk to a talking bush.
Anyway, to my point. Sure, I wasn't pushy and supported Twilight in her decision not to use magic to follow the Ponyville tradition, but I feel like I could have done more, maybe if I hadn't been so stubborn and helped Twilight in doing some activity, things would have turned out better.
Which also makes me wonder why I was being so insistent with the whole not helping if I can't use my magic thing... could it be something related to my past as a human? I don't remember much anymore, it's been many years since then and I actively try not to remember as well, but it could be that something from my past as a human influenced my decision not to help if I can't use magic.
As I was pondering, a voice brought me back to reality. "That's very kind of you to say that Platinum but we both know it's not true. I've done nothing but annoy and distract my friends from their own tasks of finishing the Winter Wrap Up. Is there anything I can do today that won't ruin another pony's hard work?"
"...You can always advise others, you're quite competent offering support and opinions...plus you're pretty smart" Understatement of the century, really. But receiving no response to my idea, I sighed, feeling a bit irritated about the whole thing. Time to cut to the chase. "Twilight, why are you doing this, really, why are you so determined to help the town with this inordinate amount of dedication?"
"I want to help..."
"But why?" she couldn't emphasize the word enough. "Why, why are you so obsessed with helping them, when clearly they are more than capable of handling their respective tasks on their own? We both know there's more to it than just Twilight wanting to help because they're all her friends, and because the Winter Wrap Up closing day was of great importance to, I imagine, all the ponies."
Finally, a part of the unicorn escaped from the bush; two violet eyes looked at me from inside with some sadness, a long pause before Twilight finally decided to tell me. "Princess Celestia tasked me with discovering the magic of friendship." ...And what does that have to do with the whole thing? I gestured for her to continue before she sighed again. "How can I do that when I'm not even competent enough to help you on a day as important as this?"
"You're kidding, right?" THAT'S what this was really all about? "Twilight... you do enough to not be required to do every little task your friends need to solve, don't you?" When her eyes retreated back to the bush, I sighed again, this time in annoyance. "They won't always need your help, you know."
"I know... but... right now I feel so useless."
At that, I couldn't help but snort in amusement at such a false statement "Are you useless? You, the student of Celestia?" I ignored the collective gasps of the ponies passing by as they worked. "You, who sent an Ursaminor back to his cave peacefully? You, who showed no prejudice towards Zecora when she visited town? You, possibly the most rational and intelligent pony in all of Ponyville? You are anything less than useless Twilight."
Sure, the Ursaminor incident did it with my help, but details. Before I could think any further, a muffled and now meek voice asked from within the bush. "Do you really think I'm the smartest pony in Ponyville, smarter than you, Platinum?". At that, I smiled with humor and affection. There's the ego hiding inside her.
But before I could respond, another familiar voice called out to me. "Platinum! There you are!" my head swiveled in the direction where Spike was coming from and he looked quite exhausted as he clutched his tiny knees and took a deep breath. "Glad I caught up with you, have you seen Twilight?"
"Right here, Spike."
"Wow!" well, at least unlike Spike, I didn't react in such a vocal way to Twilight's hiding place. "Twilight? What are you doing there?"
"Hiding, obviously."
"I was asking her."
"What Platinum said."
I couldn't help but hold back a small smile that grew on my muzzle as Spike recovered from his seemingly strenuous workout up here. That'll teach Spike not to be so lazy and maybe work out some more. "Hmm... come on, Twilight, get out." Pff, I couldn't help but snort. Trust me Spike, I've tried that.
"I'm a winter mess."
"...Did you just forget about our conversation?" ask quietly, in disbelief. Seriously, sometimes Twilight can be really hard to understand.
"You're good at a lot of things!" the dragon tried to encourage the poor unicorn as I did. "But not at making nests, ice skating, waking animals, cleaning snow..."
...Don't look at me like that, Spike. That blow I gave you on the head, you deserved it.
"Hmm, thank you so much for making me feel so much better." Hold in a small chuckle, if there's one thing, I love about Twilight it's her sarcastic demeanor.
My laughter got a little louder because Spike didn't understand the tone. "That's what I'm here for, sis!"
"Rainbow Dash!" uh, my head jerks in the direction of the sound of a certain orange mare's voice. "Everypony on the weather team needs to melt the rest of the snow here on the ground and the trees, pronto!"
"Got it!" said the blue Pegasus as she proceeded to help only to be stopped by a protesting Fluttershy.
"You can't! Or the poor little animals' houses will be flooded if the snow melts too fast." Hmm, that certainly is a problem.
"I understand."
"I'm telling you, Rainbow, you need to melt that snow now!"
"No! You simply must wait!"
"Well..."
"Go!"
"Stop!"
Meanwhile, Spike and I exchanged glances at the discussion in front of us about what to do. Let's see... if we're honest, the crop issue sounds more important but we also have to take into account the little animals that haven't woken up yet, they can drown and then they would die.
...Hmm, that's a hard thing to decide, I wonder what Rainbow will choose.
"Ugh! Make up your minds at once!" good choice, Rainbow.
"Ah!" and here comes the mayoress, let's see if she can solve this dilemma. "What on earth are they arguing about in Equestria? This kind of nonsense is the reason we were late for spring last year! And the year before that! And the year before that!"
"Boy, what a disorganized city!" I said as Spike said an "mmm-hmm" in agreement.
"Did she say... late?" both the dragon and I blinked as Twilight finally emerged from the bush, looking at the scene with surprise and concern.
At that, a small smile grew on my muzzle. I know where this is going...
"I was hoping that my incredibly inspirational speech-" Pff, yes indeed, inspirational. "-It would urge everyone to do better than last year, but now it looks like we're going to be later than ever!" the mayor proceeded to look around. "I mean, look at this catastrophe!"
We followed her gaze until we came to a dejected Pinkie Pie for messing up the ice, then to a panicked Rarity who finally burst into tears, and then to numerous areas that the older pony wanted to point out. Obviously, this was only making things worse. "This is not good at all!"
You know... maybe you should take the reins and do your job guiding all the ponies to do a better job, you should have a plan b or something in cases like these. You should also have come up with a better plan if the plan keeps failing every year. Seriously, how incompetent can the management of this city be?
They need some pony who specializes in noting micro details like these, thinking through every possible scenario and planning accordingly, not sticking to one plan and hoping for the best.
Someone like...
My gaze immediately shifted to the unicorn in the bush who was still looking at the whole mess.
"-And it will be a complete disaster if we don't get all our seeds planted." Applejack's voice interrupted my thoughts as she continued to complain about the crops.
"Chillax, Applejack!" I nodded in agreement with Rainbow Dash, I understand that crops are important and that food is running low, but fussing more about it won't help anyone. "We're pushing as fast as we can!"
"No!" spoke Fluttershy again. "Not quickly! We have to wake the animals up slowly." They are not made of cardboard Fluttershy, I think they can all be woken up a little faster.
I shook my head as my gaze shifted to Twilight; I nudged her which made her attention turn to me. "Well, I think we've heard enough. Twilight, you know what to do."
At that, she blinked in surprise. "Do I?" the mare's gaze looked over the bush at the mayor this disorganized city to complain some more about things not going her way.
And that seemed to ignite the spark that led to Twilight becoming the "heroine of the day.", jumping out of the bush and landing in front of Spike and I. "Spike, get my checklist and clipboard. Quick!"
I arched an eyebrow as Spike saluted in military fashion. "Y-yes, ma'am!" he said to then run off to do what he had been tasked to do.
"Platinum!" no need to shout, Twilight, I'm right in front of you. However, the authoritative tone Twilight is using made my body firm up when she addressed me. "Do you want to help me get this town better organized?"
"...I can order the ponies to wiggle their skinny butts." At her positive nod, a smile spread across my muzzle. "It would be my pleasure, Twilight."
She smiled back at me, more confidently than she had all day, before turning her attention to the arguing villagers. "Stop, everypony! Stop!"
That's not working... oh, I know. I brought my hoof up to my mouth and whistled, and used my magic to amplify the sound, causing everyone to stop arguing like children and look in our direction. I stopped whistling and ignoring their stares, I turned my attention to Twilight, who was rubbing her ear from the high-pitched sound I used. "All yours."
Twilight nodded with annoyance and appreciation, and continued as she was able to address the surprised ponies. "I know you all want to complete your jobs on time, but arguing is not the way to do it!"
It's time to add something to the speech for the sake of the plot. "You are right, citizens. For spring to come, we must all work together as one, and for that, we need one simple thing."
"Organization!" Twilight finished as Spike returned with the equipment his mistress had asked for. "And I'm the right pony for the job!"
(An unnecessary sequence of work later).
"I can't believe it!" I heard the mayor exclaim gleefully, which informed me that she and most of Ponyville had arrived from the other side of the tree. "Spring has arrived! On time!"
Yes, yesterday was a pretty fruitful day cleaning up winter. I don't know if Twilight enjoyed it as much as I did, but I loved it. My favorite part was getting to push that thing they use at Applejack's farm and yelling at the ponies to follow my lead and stop being lazy, ignoring Applejack's disapproving yet approving look at me for getting to work but not for the way I did it.
In the end, Twilight and I collectively help organize the townspeople, ordering the ponies to stop being so [Beep] and get off their skinny butts to clear the winter, a bit for my reluctance.
"And we owe it all to you." Continued the voice of the mayoress as I hid with my invisibility spell, this was Twilight's time, not mine. "If it wasn't for your organizational skills, we'd still be arguing." An argument that shouldn't have happened to begin with, if the voice of authority in this town had done its job better.
"It was a team effort." Modesty, an attribute many people must have to keep the power from going to their heads. Although this time it was all thanks to Twilight, so modesty really isn't necessary.
However, pride can also be annoying and unnecessary.
"And since you helped all the teams, we got an official vest for you." My eyebrow rose as I heard what they were giving Twilight. Seriously, a vest? Applejack won a trophy for stopping a stampede, but for organizing and tidying up the entire city for a major celebration, Twilight won nothing but a vest?
...bah, whatever. We didn't even get a trophy when we stopped the Ursaminor and Pinkie Pie didn't get anything when she stopped the Parasprites invasion, so it really shouldn't be a surprise that this town doesn't know how to reward ponies well sometimes.
"We give you the title: Organizer of the whole team!"
...what a [Beep] name.
"Gosh, I don't even know what to say..."
"You can say it's the dumbest names ever." I muttered to myself which luckily no one heard as no one knew I was here, not even Twilight, I told her I went to the library because I was tired.
"Thank you all!"
"And I hereby declare that winter...is over on time!" The announcement was followed by loud cheers... only to be followed by laughter at Spike's poor accident. Honestly, I don't see what's funny about it, since Spike is obviously tired and still a kid, but whatever.
"By the way, where is that young stud who helped you with the organization? I'd like to thank him too." And that's my cue to disappear, using my magic as quietly as I can, I teleport myself and Spike back to the library.
No one saw anything.
"Dear Princess Celestia, winter preparation was one of the most special things I've been a part of here in Ponyville; it helped me learn that we all have hidden talents, and if we are patient and diligent, we are sure to find them. And as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything!" Twilight looked out the window proudly for having learned a lesson as good as that, and I couldn't help but smile a little as I approached the pair. "How's that Spike? ... Spike?"
My smile turned into a smirk as I gently placed the cup of hot chocolate next to the chair where the snoring dragon was resting.
"Oh Spike...Hehehe" chuckles.
"Well, what did you expect? He was still pretty tired when he woke up earlier" I asked with a smile as I passed another cup I was holding magically to the grateful mare.
"That's right." Twilight said as she took a sip of the warm sustenance.
"My apologies if it's not the best. It's been a while since I've made a hot chocolate."
"It's delicious, Platinum. As always." She gave me a warm smile, which I returned with a small one. "Thank you and thank you also for helping me and the rest of the town for finishing this Winter Wrap Up. I know you didn't like me for the fact that you couldn't use your magic."
"It was no big deal." I shrugged as I gave him a cheeky grin. "But ordering the ponies to get off their skinny butts and they can do better was the best part of my day."
"You're no better Platinum." Twilight said as she gave me a look... and proceeded to blush. Apparently, someone hadn't noticed that I had developed some muscle, so I gave her a smirk and proceeded to take a sip of my hot chocolate... hmmm, it came out good.
"By the way Platinum-" Twilight said suddenly, which made me turn my gaze to her. "w-what you said yesterday was for real?"
Hmm? What did I say yesterday that was relevant. "What do you mean Twilight?"
"About me being... well, 'the most rational and intelligent pony in all of Ponyville'; do you really think I am?" For some reason, Twilight seemed embarrassed to even ask the question, avoiding my questioning gaze. Hmm, I remember saying that to cheer her up.
I simply gave her a smile and took a sip of my hot chocolate as I thought about it. "Yes, you are the most rational and intelligent pony in all of Ponyville, Twilight. Not in Equestria, because unfortunately I take that title." I quickly escaped the room before I heard the unicorn's response.
Winter Wrap Up, Winter Wrap Up... [Beep], I thought I forgot about that blessed song.
Hello, how are you?
I hope you enjoyed the longest chapter I've done so far.
Please comment on any errors you have detected because I was a bit lazy to check for grammatical errors because of this long chapter.
See you next time.
> Chapter 13: filler chapter
Hello, how are you?
I hope you are doing well.
Let's go to the chapter.
This fanfiction was created by a fan for fans with the purpose of improving in the art of writing.
This story can and most likely will have spelling errors.
Any criticism (constructive or not) will be read and appreciated.
This story is not going to be an HIE or G5, it will be tinged to the story of G4, MLP: FIM.
"Pray tell, Platinum, what dost thou mean by a... 'maid cafe'?"
At the all weird question, I could only shake off the imaginary dust and look at Princess Luna who had a curious look on her face with my own super confused look, "I beg your pardon, what?"
This was not a question I expected Princess Luna to ask during our training.
As you may have guessed, I am currently in another training session in the dream world with Princess Luna as my cruel and merciless mentor.
Today's training consisted of basically seeing how strong my attacks can be and how fast I can react to an enemy attack from all directions.
Let's just say that this training is not my favorite.
Anyway, I actually did pretty decent in this session, I managed to dodge 6 out of 10 attacks and attacked back to 4 of them and we ended today's session early because this reflex training left me exhausted.
And while I was resting, Princess Luna asked me the question I wasn't expecting at all.
"A maid cafe... What's the question about, Luna?" I asked rather confused although I could get an idea.
"You see, today at the lunar court, a stallion approached me with a request to establish a cafe in Canterlot. He was unable to present his proposal during my sister's brief solar court as he lacked the requisite documents. By the time he acquired them, it was too late, so he sought my permission instead. When I inquired further, he described it as a 'maid cafe,' a concept unfamiliar to me, for such establishments did not exist a thousand years ago. Thus, I seek your counsel, Platinum." Princess Luna explained as she gracefully seated herself before me.
Hearing her explanation, I nodded understanding what she was telling me but also having no idea how to explain it to her.
Which also reminds me that there are still quite a few things I don't know and don't make sense in Equestria, and one of those is the cultural and technological advances of this world.
The modern world of Equestria is like a combination of the medieval and modern eras of the land. There are technological advances that would only be seen in the modern era but they also maintain the medieval era, without having yet reached the industrial era itself.
Well, I don't think I'm making myself clear so let me explain it, with examples. Or rather with facts, in Equestria, you can see at a glance that we are somewhat in medieval times, at least if you just focus on Ponyville and a little bit on Canterlot. Spears, soldiers, monarchies, castles and noble structure, these are things you would no doubt expect to see in a medieval era.
However, we also have electricity (magical, of course), trains, amplifiers, electric guitars, and I have heard news of a certain group of ponies that are going to create something called "television," only they have problems because of the many health issues that must be followed.
Anyway, there are many strange things in the equestrian culture that make me doubt that he was the first to arrive in this world.
This 'maid cafe' just proves it to me, I've never been to one if I'm honest and didn't even know they existed in this world until Princess Luna mentioned it.
Sure, I had heard that there were some in Manehattan and that Rarity had recently received a massive order for the same set of clothes in different sizes but I didn't imagine it was for this.
I heard a cough in front of me and realized I had been lost in my thoughts, I looked towards the source of the cough to see Princess Luna looking at me expectantly.
"Um..." I said as I tried to think, I had never been to one in real life but I had watched anime so it shouldn't be that different, right? "It's pretty much this, sort of." I said as I turned on my horn and our surroundings changed.
The dreamscape was now that of a large cafeteria, the floor was made of birch wood, as was the ceiling.
I looked down to see that I was sitting in a chair, the Princess in front of me as well and now between the two of them was a table.
Princess Luna glanced around with curiosity. "So, this is a 'maid cafe'? I must admit, I fail to see what makes it so remarkable."
Instead of answering, I simply continued to concentrate while my horn glowed, a few seconds later I reached the main attraction and Princess Luna's attention was focused on the mare that was coming to attend us.
The mare in question did not look special to the eye, she had a lime green coat, a pastel pink mane and a horn, what made her special was the dress she was wearing, the dress is black in color reaching her thighs, just before the base of the tail, followed by a skirt of the same wide color held up by a petticoat, she had a pastel white apron, covering the chest to the top of the hind legs with a belt tied with a big bow. She has a white blouse inside the dress with short sleeves with ruffles on the edges and a round neck, she has a headband in her mane, stockings that are actually leg warmers and small shoes covered for the hooves.
Princess Luna did not look away from the mare that was approaching us, even when she was already in front of our table.
"Good evening masters, what can I do for you." Said the mare with a small bow only to have a small notebook suddenly appear in front of her floating with a pen.
At that, my look changed to one of annoyance. "(Still not perfect my dream magic)" I thought with annoyance as I shined my horn and the dream mare disappeared in a POOF.
Princess Luna, seeing the mare in question disappear, blinked and then turned her gaze towards me, her eyes shining with curiosity but also with fascination.
"This place is indeed peculiar. The establishment itself is quite curious, though not particularly remarkable. However, I can see why ponies might be drawn here, especially due to those unique dresses. In truth, I find the dresses you crafted to be far superior to the one young Coffee Coin presented to me," Princess Luna remarked with a smile. I couldn't help but laugh as the dreamscape began to shift once more, the dream slowly reclaiming me.
But then, I analyzed the words Princess Luna said to me. "Wait, how much different are the dresses I showed you from the ones shown to you by the stallion who wanted to open the cafe?" I asked as the scenery went static, I didn't need sleep I needed answers.
At my question, Princess Luna nodded as her horn glowed, some clouds gathered and formed a mannequin of a Pegasus pony, the dress was similar to mine, only it was just a one piece dress, navy blue in color and generally unadorned.
Looking at the dress, I grimaced. It didn't look comfortable at all.
Seeing my expression, Princess Luna nodded solemnly and flashed her horn, making the mannequin disappear. "I had to decline young Coffee Coin's request for dresses. Although his concept intrigued me, I could not accept such designs as the standard attire. He shall return tomorrow with new designs, and if they do not meet my expectations, I shall have to wear yours instead," she said with a slight frown before turning back to me with a smile. "That is, if you do not mind."
At that, I just gave him a smile. "Nah, no problem for me." I said as I lay down in the dreamscape to sleep.
The last thing I heard was a 'Huzzah!' as I fell asleep.
"So, Spike, let's review what we've seen in the previous classes. Tell me, what kind of animal is a mammal?" I said sitting in the main library, with fake glasses on my face, a tie, and with a whiteboard behind me that has pictures of different kinds of animals on it.
Meanwhile, we have in front of me my young student, Spike sitting at a desk, had a look of annoyance and resignation. Spike hearing my question sighed but answered, nonetheless. "A mammal is an animal that has hair or fur, gives birth to live young and feeds them with milk."
I nodded, approving of Spike's response as I adjusted my glasses on my face to keep them from falling off, as they tended to fall off.
Now, I'm sure you're wondering, what's this all about?
You see, in the previous chapter, after I realized that Spike didn't remember anything about hibernation, I decided to ask him a few questions about animals in general and while his general knowledge wasn't too bad, since he knew what certain types of animals fed on, there were several important things he didn't remember.
I felt ashamed with myself, as I had been teaching Spike these kinds of lessons when he was younger because in the schools the young colts were afraid of Spike because he was a dragon, plus his teachers could be quite strict with Spike when he was still very young, which led to him being taken out of school and taught at home.
At first both Twilight Velvet and Night Light, Twilight's parents, thought of hiring a private tutor for Spike, who would teach him all kinds of subjects: math, languages, history, etc. But I enthusiastically stepped in because I wanted to teach Spike all the things I had "learned" in class and Twilight also joined in because of her love of knowledge.
And at first, I thought Spike had learned quite a bit from our teachings, as both Twilight and I were committed to teaching Spike the best we could.
We weren't perfect, far from it, we were just foals, or well, Twilight was and I was an adult in a child's body, the thing is that I had been proud when I felt that Spike had learned quite a bit.
So, Spike not remembering basic general animal things made me doubt my ability to teach Spike things and I thought at first about sending him back to Ponyville school, I had heard pretty good things about the teacher who taught at the school, teacher Cheerilee, she taught the students pretty well.
I talked it over with Spike and he was quite reluctant about the idea of going to school again, because of his past experience, so I gave him a choice. He could go to school again, give him a new chance, or I could teach him again.
Needless to say, what Spike's choice was, and over the next few days I gave Spike several tests in order to assess how much knowledge he had managed to store in his little head.
And needless to say, he didn't do badly, while his knowledge wasn't advanced or anything like that, he knew a lot more than what you'd expect a kid his age to know, there were just still several things that needed to be polished or remembered to stick in his head.
And that brings us to the present day, using what little free time I usually have in the mornings, I bring in a desk and blackboard that were stored in the basement of the library and go into teacher mode.
And for that characterization, I decided to put on some glasses that don't have magnification or anything like that, and a tie, besides "fixing" my hair. And I say "fix" my hair because Rarity has told me several times that my hairstyle is atrocious, not with those words but that's what she implies, and that if I want, she can help me with it.
I, being the kind being that I am and a being made of pure light, told her in the nicest possible way that thanks but no thanks. Of course, Rarity doesn't take no for an answer and has been nagging me quite a bit ever since, but I always manage to avoid her.
It's nothing personal against Rarity or anything against the stylists of the world, but I just don't like having my hair, or my mane for that matter, touched to get it done.
And I'm pretty sure I bring this from my other world, I never liked going to get my hair cut or having it styled, I liked doing it myself. This was widespread during wartime, where people would cut your hair in exchange for something, and that something was usually a very important thing.
I never learned to cut my hair but it wasn't that I cared either, I just tended to stay away from people or ponies who wanted to cut and fix my hair or mane.
I shook my head internally as I refocused on real life, I have a student to teach.
"Okay, now give me an example of a mammal." I said as I adjusted my glasses and looked at Spike.
Said lizard in question only sighed again but answered anyway. "A pony is a mammal."
"Good." I said nodding as I levitated a marker and enclosed the pony figure in a circle. "Now, what differentiates a mammal from a reptile?"
At the question, Spike looked even more annoyed. "Reptiles lay eggs, have scaly skin, and don't feed their young milk."
I nodded at the answer, while looking at the images on the board. "right, now, let's talk about amphibians - what characterizes an amphibian?"
Instead of answering my question, Spike rose from his seat in exasperation. "I got all this, Platinum, I really do! I don't need any more review."
After he finished his outburst, Spike just stood panting in his seat while I just stared at him for a few moments, mentally assessing if he had really understood everything, I had taught him these past few days. "All right, Spike. If you really understand everything, let's see how much you've learned." I said as I turned on my horn, my backpack that I had left discarded on the ground momentarily glowed as I opened its zipper in question, and from inside the backpack came a folder with some papers. "Next, you are going to answer a written test that I am going to provide you with and with this I will see if you have actually learned correctly."
Spike hearing what I said widened his eyes in surprise, but then let out a resigned sigh as he slumped back in his seat. "All right, Platinum. Let's do this."
At that, I nodded and opened the folder while looking through the papers inside. In the end, I decided on one of the tests and levitated it towards Spike while handing him a lapis. Spike upon getting the test and the lapis, immediately began his test.
I sat in my seat as I watched Spike solve his test, occasionally frowning and muttering to himself, clearly annoyed at having to take a test, which I wholeheartedly understand but that's life.
I couldn't help but hold back a snort as I realized the situation, I became a teacher providing exams. I became what I swore to destroy.
Spike raised a claw which caught my attention, I quickly moved closer and Spike pointed to one of the words in question. I raised my eyebrow as I read the question, it was a simple question about the difference of carnivores and herbivores but Spike seemed to have trouble with the word.
"A carnivore is a meat-eating animal, Spike. Like a lion or a bear." I explained gently.
Spike nodded slowly. "And a herbi...herbi...what was the word?" he asked frustrated.
"Herbivore." I patiently repeated. "Is an animal that eats plants, like a cow or a rabbit."
"Herbivore." Spike repeated as he nodded, as he began to answer the question at hand.
I returned to my seat to watch Spike answer his test.
Finally, after a while, Spike handed me the completed test.
I told Spike to wait while I reviewed his exam, I went over each answer meticulously, making sure I had caught every detail. When I finished, I looked at Spike, who looked quite nervous, with a mixture of satisfaction and seriousness. "Spike, you passed the exam. Well done."
At that, Spike let out a sigh of relief, but his annoyed expression didn't quite disappear. "Thank you, Platinum. But were all this review and exam really necessary? I feel like I've been on a review and exam marathon."
"Spike," I said softly as I walked over to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "All this review and testing I'm doing because it's important that you learn all of this. But if you'd rather not go through my teachings, I can talk to Twilight and we can send you to the school here in Ponyville."
Spike hearing what I said, opened his eyes in alarm. "No, no! I don't need to go to school. I can keep up with your lessons, Platinum. Just... maybe not as intensive."
I laughed softly as I stroked his head. "It's okay, Spike. I can adjust the pace but there won't be a need for now. You've 'graduated,' congratulations."
Spike's eyes sparkled with excitement and he jumped out of his seat to give me a hug, which I returned warmly. After a few seconds, Spike broke away and ran off to celebrate.
I just shook my head but at that very moment the glasses decided they had enough and fell off my face.
I gave an annoyed glance at the fallen glasses. "Darn" I said as I flicked off my tie and levitated the blackboard and desk back to the basement.
*whistling*, *whistling*, *whistling*, *whistling*, *whistling*, *whistling*.
He was walking through the streets of Ponyville while whistling aimlessly, just walking because he could.
Today I decided, instead of shutting myself away and working on my research or spending time with my friends, to just walk around and do nothing special today.
The occasion? The truth is I only do it because I want to, I have no other reason.
Well, that's a lie, but I really just walk to clear my head.
There is no one I can talk to right now, most of the ponies I know are busy at this little filly's party, 'diamond tiara' if I'm not mistaken, or are doing other things or are in another city.
I stop whistling and let out a sigh as the memory of the 'maid cafe' comes back to my mind. Yes, that's what's been haunting me for a while and I can't get it out of my head right now with nothing to distract me.
In itself a maid cafe should not be enough to haunt my thoughts but it actually raises a lot of questions in my head. Who invented maid cafes? They are not a recent invention, if the fact that the oldest existing maid cafe in Manhattan is around 100 years old is anything to go by.
How do I know that? A little research and a little help from certain contacts I have and a little script magic, that's how. Anyway, the oldest maid cafe was created by an earth pony in Manehattan and was a success, since then his company has lengthened and he's had several businesses spread around Manehattan since then.
I wish I could go and interview him or something, but I can't. 1. 1. Because the trip would be expensive and a waste of time. And 2. Because he's already dead, and I'm pretty sure that if he were reincarnated, he wouldn't tell his kids about it.
I pause momentarily and look up at the sky thinking for a moment.
"Watch out Platinum!" said a familiar voice, and I didn't even have to look in her direction to dodge or anything, my horn glowed and stopped the mare coming straight at me. "Oh hey, good reflexes." She said with a smile and her eyes viscous as she was levitated down the street.
I laughed a little. "We should stop meeting like this, Derpy." I said with a smile as I stopped using my magic, causing Derpy to stop levitating and fall to the ground standing still.
I blinked as I saw a figure move on her back, the figure jumped off Derpy's back and revealed a small filly with lavender purple fur, a light yellow mane and yellow eyes, the most notable thing about the young filly was her horn and the cutie mark that appeared to be a horseshoe.
The filly in question directs her gaze towards me and gives me a smile. "Hello sir! Thanks for catching us." She said with a big smile as she closed her eyes.
I gave her a curious look as my eyes hovered between her and Derpy, noting a certain resemblance they bore, but after a few seconds I responded. "Hello, young filly," I said with a small smile as my gaze focused on Derpy. "I didn't expect to see you again soon, Derpy."
Derpy looked at me with a half-embarrassed smile as she said. "Yeah, well, Dinky and I were on our way to Diamond Tiara's party." Derpy said with a smile then seemed to remember something. "Oh, that's right, I haven't introduced them. Platinum, this is my little sister, Dinky Hooves."
Dinky moved forward and extended a hoof in greeting. "Hello, Mr. Platinum. Nice to meet you." She said with a bright smile.
"Nice to meet you too, Dinky." I replied as I gave her hooves a light squeeze.
"Oh, oh. Platinum. Are you going to Diamond Tiara's party?" asked Derpy curiously as I put down the hoof-squeeze.
At her question, I shook my head with a small smile. "No, I'm not going to the party, I have some things to do." I lied since I didn't want to tell them the real reason I wasn't going, then proceeded to stick my right hoof in my backpack, pulling out some muffins. "But you can have these, to replenish your energy." I said handing one to Derpy and one to the little filly.
Dinky looked at the muffin with sparkling eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Platinum!" she said enthusiastically then took a big bite.
I gave a curious look to Derpy, who ended up devouring her muffin with great enthusiasm, but ended up smearing crumbs and chocolate all over her muzzle. I chuckled and with a bit of magic, I pulled a napkin out of my backpack and carefully wiped her muzzle. "You should be more careful when eating Derpy, you don't want to set a bad example for your sister." I gently scolded Derpy as I finished wiping her mouth.
And if you ask, no, this isn't the first time it's happened and it definitely won't be the last. Derpy loves muffins, maybe too much, and that makes her a bit careless about eating them. I have consequently prepared myself and always carry napkins and muffins in my backpack, I don't find her every day but I still carry muffins and napkins with me every day.
Sometimes small actions make a difference in a great friendship.
Derpy smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "Thank you, Platinum. You always help me even when you don't have to." She said with a warm smile.
"It's the least I can do." I replied, seeing that they had finished the muffins.
Suddenly, I noticed that Dinky was looking at us curiously. Noticing my stare, Dinky decided to throw out her question. "Are you two dating?" she asked innocently.
At her question, Derpy and I exchanged surprised looks, but then we laughed a little. "No, Dinky, we're just friends," I replied as Derpy nodded with her eyes closed.
Dinky nodded with a smile. "Okay, thanks for the muffins, Mr. Platinum."
"It was nice to meet you, Dinky. I'm happy you liked the muffins." I said as I used my magic and pulled out the bag containing the muffins inside and handed them to Derpy, who received them eagerly.
Derpy smiled broadly as she bent down for sister to climb on her back. "Thanks as always for the muffins, Platinum." She said to then stand up after her sister climbed on her back.
I nodded with a smile. "You're welcome, have fun at the party."
"We will, take care Mr. Platinum." Dinky said with a smile for then Derpy took off.
I dismissed them with a smile and waved my right hoof and then went back to my walk.
I didn't know Derpy had a sister but it was interesting to meet them.
After that I proceeded with my walk for a while and nothing else remarkable happened after that, the only remarkable thing was that a brown stallion ran past me at full speed with an apple between his teeth while I was in the market, which made me shake my head in exasperation.
Honestly, some ponies could be very rude.
Oh, and I also stopped by a candy store to buy some and met a mare named Bonbon who was the store manager.
But other than that, nothing else interesting happened during my walk.
In the end I decided to stop by this filly's party to see what she's like.
"Dear Princess Celestia, I am happy to report that one of your youngest subjects has learned a valuable lesson about friendship; sometimes what you think will make you lose friends and feel left out, can actually be what makes you more friends with others and makes you realize how special you are. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle." The purple unicorn smiled as Spike wrote the little speech. "Did you catch all that, Spike?"
"Of course!" the dragon replied enthusiastically then exhaled his green fire, sending the rolled up letter towards the palace where the Princess was. Then Spike looked at Twilight in exasperation. "Can I go take a nap now? Between Platinum's lessons and helping with the party, I've been working all day!"
I raised an amused eyebrow as Twilight nodded, much to the lizard's relief, then went off to rest somewhere. Then, the unicorn turned her gaze to me. "What do you think, don't you think Applebloom learned a very important lesson about friendship today?" at her question, I let my eyebrow return to its original place only to raise it again in questioning.
"I would think Princess Celestia would be interested in knowing more about anything you learned about friendship." I said as I went into the kitchen to pour myself some water, since I ate too much sweet at the party that one.
The party was nothing extraordinary but it wasn't boring, as no Pinkie Pie party is boring, but there was nothing special about it, it was just a party to celebrate having a "cutie mark."
Which seems absurd to me, and I'll say again how absurd the cutie mark seems to me. What good is it to have a mark on your flank that basically tells you what you're going to do for a living? It makes no sense, I tell you. These cutie marks are nothing special.
"Well, she never said they were 'exclusively' mine." Twilight said, bringing me back to reality as she shrugged sitting in the kitchen dining room, to which I also poured her water and passed it to her, which she gratefully accepted. "By the way, I still can't believe you did that at Diamond Tiara's party, ordering Snips and Snails to eat as many treats as possible before she caught them."
At the memory, I smirked as I recalled the scene I caused. You see, I arrived just in time for that little filly's party and at first it was fun, but then the 'party girl' decided to make fun of Applejack's little sister, Applebloom, for not having a cutie mark.
I don't know what happened after that, I didn't stay to find out, the last thing I did before leaving was to order Snips and Snails to eat as much candy as possible and then run away when they were caught. When they finished their task, they gave me a salute and ran away while I quietly left the place.
It seems Twilight noticed the interaction and deduced that I ordered them to do it, which was not wrong. While I don't feel it's right to ruin celebrations of any kind for any pony, I can't stand snotty brats and since Applejack didn't stand up for her sister from what I saw, I took it upon myself to do so.
Anyway, I shrugged and took a sip of water, at which the mare simply snorted and proceeded to do the same.
After a few seconds of comfortable silence, the mare decided to break it. "So, besides ruining a filly's party, what else did you do today?"
At her question, I shrugged again but this time I answered. "Uh, not much. I gave Spike a lesson, went for a walk for a while, met up with Derpy and after that went to the filly party and then escaped to the library, nothing else."
"Did you do nothing else all day?" at my nod, the mare raised an amused eyebrow. "Wow, Platinum, did you do nothing all day? What about that miracle?"
I gave the mare an amused look as I took a sip instead of answering her question. "Anyway, that's what I did, what about you?"
"I spent the day researching some magic, then visited Pinkie Pie, then went to the party Pinkie threw to celebrate Diamond Tiara getting her cutie mark..."
"Complete nonsense."
"Shush you." Twilight said at my interruption as I just smiled innocently. "Anyway, that led to Applejack's sister Applebloom meeting and befriending two more fillies."
"Hmm, I think I saw them before I left the party." I said as I took the empty glasses to the sink and started washing them. I had a feeling I had seen those two fillies before.
The unicorn nodded at my statement. "I wouldn't be surprised, it's Sweetie belle and Scootaloo." Uh, so those are their names and I only knew the first one. Twilight let out a snort. "Which is quite a coincidence, since Sweetie Belle is Rarity's younger sister, and Scootaloo happens to admire Rainbow Dash."
"The mother of coincidences." I said amused as I finished washing the glasses then sat back down at the table.
"And together they've formed their own adorable little group called the Cutie Mark Crusaders - isn't it inspiring to see such ambition in young fillies?"
Instead of answering her question, I simply got up from my seat and walked out of the kitchen to read a book, with the mare following me as she gave me a look for not answering her question.
And honestly, I don't see what's inspiring about a bunch of fillies coming together to look for a useless mark, as they should let that come on its own because if they look for it, it will never come out.
How many seasons will it be before they get their Cutie Mark? Who knows but it will be fun to watch.
"Come to think of it, should I have added a lesson about the Cutie Mark's in the letter as well?" said Twilight as she stopped in mid-stride, causing my gaze to shift to her as she had her eyes focused on the ceiling. "I guess there must have been some lesson about Cutie Marks in general today, but I haven't noticed any yet."
"Maybe something like 'they are not relevant in any sense and there doesn't have to be a physical representation of one's talent'?" I said as I sat down on the couch and levitated a book toward myself.
Twilight gave me an annoyed and confused look. "You still don't like Cutie Mark Platinum? I thought you were over it, considering you haven't said anything regarding it in years."
Instead of answering her question, again, I just shrugged, smiled and started reading my book.
So, today was basically a meaningless filler episode.
I shrugged my shoulders as I began to read, noticing that Twilight looked at me quizzically and then went to her room.
And that was it for today's chapter.
I know, it wasn't the best but I honestly didn't know how to approach this episode that had nothing to do with Platinum in general.
I considered skipping it but didn't want to, so I gave it filler.
Anyway, see you next time! |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | pre | Even though he was a complete stranger, and he'd been a bit of a stand-offish jerk earlier, and he smelled like gross pipe-smoke and garlic, she had to actually resist the urge of flying up to hug him.
He made a faint and simple smile in return. "Likewise," he replied, and sat again in his creaky chair.
Stormy found herself sitting as well, if only to keep her hooves from dancing. Then, the quirky explanation that he'd given about her flying him around came back. She smirked. "So, uh, Merlos. Can whatever deal we work out not include me flying you around? I don't think I'd make a good pony to ride on." She laughed. "I'm kinda small for yah." She gave him a half silly, half sheepish grin.
"I know that!" Merlos snapped.
Stormy shuffled back, surprised.
The wizard eased back again into his chair, afterward. "Sorry, I- that business with the auction really has put me on edge." With that, he took out his pipe again without looking.
Stormy dug a hoof at the dirt. "Oh. Well, uh, out of curiousity, how much exactly was it that you spent on me? Maybe I could help you earn some of it back if I'm stuck here a while."
Merlos groaned, and placed both of his weird hand things over his face. "I doubt that. It was enough to place me in financial ruin soon if I don't make more. Twenty thousand gold pieces, all told."
Stormy's eyes widened. Then, when she realized he'd said gold and not bits, they widened even further. "Holy jumping sea ponies, batmare! Twenty thousand!?" That's like, a million bajillion bits or something. She really didn't know how much that was worth, but it had to be a lot.
Guiltily, a bit of pride swelled in her chest at the thought of being worth so darned much, but it didn't change the fact that Merlos was probably on the edge of depression as a result.
Merlos let out a despondent sound. "Jumping seal-ponies indeed. I'm a damned fool."
Stormy muttered softly, "I think you're a great guy. Not a fool at all."
Merlos peered up at Stormy for a moment with a stern look. He then rested his head on one hand and an elbow on his knee. "Are you not saying that simply because I freed you?"
"No." She answered curtly, intending to explain exactly what she meant. Her father had spoken to her about stuff like this once. About someone's actions and what they meant.
Stormy brushed her mane back with a wing and took a deep breath.
"That's some of it and adds points, yeah, but there's more to it than that. I only know about, uhm, wizards from stories, but a wizard is more than using flashy magic. The fact that you have all that power and still let me go, when you probably could have bossed me around like that last guy. At least, I'm assuming you're not actually really terrible at magic." The wizard's brow dropped a quarter of an inch at that, and she pressed on. "So that says a lot about you. On top of that, there's also the fact I cost you, uhm, all that money. A fool wouldn't have done anything like just let me go when you did."
Merlos slowly quirked an eyebrow at Stormy. He had his funny pipe held motionless in front of him, too, yet unlit. He seemed to be just a little bit frozen.
"So yeah. You don't seem like a bad guy. Right now I feel a little lucky to have bumped into you." Stormy smiled, finished. When Merlos continued his wordlessness, she coughed and decided to bring something else up.
"Uh, by the way, does this mean I can stay with you, as part of this arrangement? I don't really have a home or anything right now." He was a stranger, sure, but it was that or sleep out in the open.
That seemed to snap him out of it.
Merlos shook his head a little, as if he thought he'd misheard. "Stay with- Oh, I hadn't considered that..." He looked up and over the messy courtyard's tall stone wall, towards the setting sun. "It's getting late as well, isn't it? You're more than welcome to stay in the stables, certainly. I gave them a good cleaning just yesterday."
Stormy had been about to thank him, but the words died in her mouth. Instead, she dryly muttered, "The stables? You're joking." Her eyes narrowed a little. "Well, I'm not going to lie, I was kind of hoping to get a bedroom or something." The tower alone certainly looked big enough to have several extra, and that wasn't even mentioning the rest of the place. "Maybe a couch at the very least?"
Merlos frowned and crossed his arms. "You're serious?" he half echoed. "Are those normal accommodations for you where you're from?"
Stormy's eyebrows climbed her forehead. "Aren't they for you?" She heaved an exasperated breath. "If it's really trouble, at least just give me someplace until I can find somewhere else?" To add, as she liked to think of it, convincing to her argument, she said the half-plea with her forehooves together and gave him the sudden full force of her adorably large purple eyes.
"Urg, alright fine, just stop that." Merlos grimaced and looked away moodily. "I have a spare room somewhere, I'm sure."
"Whoo!" Stormy whooped in success. "Thanks so much for your generosity! With some time, I could probably build a good cloud home or something else." She knew nothing about permanent weather building construction, but it couldn't be that hard, right?
"Cloud what?" Merlos asked the question straight off.
"Um, a home. You know, built out of clouds? Pegasi usually live in them. Not all of us... but most do."
Merlos blinked at her, as if for the first time seeing something truly bizarre. "Fascinating. You'll have to tell me more about that, er, Stormy." He said the name with an amused look. "But, for now, it's going to start getting cold out here, so perhaps we go inside? We are near the mountains, after all." He rose, taking a couple steps toward the nearby tall wooden door.
Stormy shrugged and batted a hoof. "Cold-schmold, but sure!" She clambered up the stairs after him, hooves banging loudly on the porch's wooden boards. "Also, do you have any food? I'm starving." As if to confirm that, her aching stomach gave a growl.
Merlos hummed, and stroked his beard. "That... depends. I purchased food in preparation for, well, an animal. Not a talking, sapient creature. What exactly is it that you eat?"
Stormy felt her mouth water all of a sudden, and her head filled up with all of the delicious treats she'd been denied for weeks now. In all that time, she'd only been given some awful hay and oats.
"At this point? Anything."
"Anything?" Merlos repeated, and stopped outside the door. With a finger flick like the one he'd used earlier on his pipe, a lantern hanging by its side burst into orange-yellow life. "Well that seems fortunate, because I have-"
"Oh, but I would kill for some strawberry shortcake." Stormy licked her lips at the very thought. "Do you have any cake? Or pie? As long as it isn't hay. I've had enough moldy hay for a lifetime, uggh. And what vegetables do you have laying around? I bet I could use your fryer to make something."
Merlos froze a bit before moving again, taking a few short strides inside the imposing stone building. "I... don't know what a friar has to do with this. I'll see what I can find in the larder, though. But moving on, let's talk about your world, country and-"
Stormy stepped in after him, taking slow and deliberate steps inside the imposing stone building. It was weird and creepy, not elegant or very well crafted like the Equestrian architecture she'd visited in Canterlot on some field trips. But, it seemed polite not to point that stuff out.
Merlos lit a few simple lanterns as he walked and talked, and Stormy blinked a few times to let her eyes adjust to the indoor's dim lighting. She only half listened to what he was saying.
After a glance around the tower's entrance, Stormy's eyes became used to the more darkened interior, and clasping her hooves to the side of her face she suddenly let out a blood curdling scream at what she saw. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 003: The dust. | Merlos turned about, fully expecting a beholder or worse to have apparated just outside of his home or something. Instead, he looked on as a screaming mare backpedaled outside, her expression of complete revulsion. "What? What is wrong?" He paced back to the door where she was stepping in place while pointing at the entrance.
"That place is filthy!" Stormy cried. She ran her eyes up and down the interior at mounds of dust and junk everywhere. There was mold on the walls and ceilings, and worse stuff she didn't even want to identify in the corners. "How do you live like this? Its like a monster of pure filth and grime lives in here. Ew! Ew! Ew! I think I've got some of it on my faaace!" Her forelegs began wiping themselves over her brow and cheeks, desperate to get off what felt like cobwebs. It then dawned on her that she had only succeeded in getting herself more dirty.
Merlos crossed his arms, just a little offended by her remarks of his very minor lackluster housekeeping. He was more interested that the pegasus was having a similar reaction to the last person that had been to his home, that of a person. When was that, a few years ago? he thought.
"Oh don't be such a baby," Merlos stated calmly to his hyperventilating guest. "Now get back here, and if it helps, I've considered doing a bit of late spring cleaning soon."
"Oh, you've considered? Great!" Stormy goggled at him. "You'll need a team of hazmat ponies for just this room!" The little gray pegasus cried out in disgust again as she stepped back inside. "Please tell me it isn't all this bad?"
Merlos scanned the ceiling as he thought on that briefly. "It's not as bad as you're making out at all. As long as we're on that note, it would be best if you didn't open any doors that aren't already open..."
Stormy reared and flailed her forelegs as she backed against a near wall. She tried using her wings to blow the dust away, but that just sent more brown plumes into the air. "Ugh! It's clinging to my fetlocks!" Her ears pinned back and her nose wrinkled itself. "I'm opening a window to let some of this out!"
"If you would mind not doing that, I'd appreciate it with my acute allergies," the wizard spat, returning to his scowl. He could tell that his sarcasm went through one of the pegasus' ears and out the other. "Seriously now, creature from another world or no, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make a mess."
"Like I could make all this any worse." Stormy continued her ministrations of disgust and bristled with the realization she was actually breathing the foul dusty surroundings. With a clatter, she flung a nearby shutter open. The shutters clacked loudly against the walls and unsurprisingly, fell onto the ground outside with a bang.
"Now look at what you did. You're fixing that. And come on, it's just dust!" Merlos scoffed. "It's not like it's harmful."
Stormy took a deep breath of fresh air before pulling back inside. "That's what they said about the Hanta virus!" she snapped back. She gave a wary controlled flap of her wings and brought some more dust up, the breeze carrying it outside.
Merlos blinked. "The what?" He wasn't sure if his spell was flawed or his new guest were simply using alien terms.
Stormy ignored the wizard's frustration, and pressed against the wall as she warily looked down at the filthy floor. "Never mind..." She covered her muzzle with a gray wing and with the other, began to try and wave more dust out the window. At the same time, she did her best to get lung fulls of fresh air while leaning half outside.
Stormy leaned back in for the briefest of moments. "Please tell me your whole place isn't all like this? Is this normal for mans to keep such gross homes?" The idea of staying in such a place filled her with a definite dread.
"The term for my people you're looking for is 'men'. Or humans." Merlos could hardly believe the nerve of Stormy. Even if she had a point. "And it is not gross. And yes, it is perfectly normal. Well, I suppose it could stand a little cleaning. Maybe it's a bit messier than it should be..."
Stormy groaned and flung her head back outside, reluctant to leave the safety of the window's fresh air.
Merlos, for his part, harrumphed impatiently and looked around at his very slightly cluttered room. I suppose I could organize these spell scrolls at the very least.
The thick sheafs of parchment of half inscribed spells covered most of the usable surfaces in the room, either failed attempts at powerful magics or long forgotten experiments without a use. They were scattered over most of the tables and were all covered in a good, thick layer of dust.
I'll get to it eventually. His mind made up, he opened a shoddy curtain that led further into his completely livable tower. "Are you finished over there with your brief sabbatical?" he asked.
Stormy, still heaving deep breaths of fresh air from the outside, craned her head around. "Seriously, I think I wasn't even born the last time you cleaned this room." She wiped a hoof over the top of the sill and a literal inch of dust peeled off the top. Dust wasn't supposed to peel, as far as she knew.
Merlos bristled anew. "Well if you change your mind about the stables, then just let me know. Now come along, you big baby, it's a large tower and daylight has waned. If you're staying here I need to show you around and point out where you may not trespass. My home is not for the ignorant, and I have many experiments that are both delicate and important."
Of course anything truly dangerous he had under lock and key or otherwise, but many things he'd rather stay unmolested were not guest-proofed. Or pegasus-proofed, for that matter.
Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Stormy hopped down from the window sill to the floor with a thunk. "Yeah, okay..." She hesitated over asking for a cloth to tie over her mouth. I don't wanna be rude, after all. As she stepped after the taller, two legged being to catch up, she stopped and ughed aloud in disgust at something sitting beside the door.
"Is that- Did that used to be a pumpkin? Oh Celestia, it reeks!" Stormy suppressed a gag, and all but dove out of the room and into the hall. "And I hope none of this dust is Asbestos!"
Merlos stared flatly at the wall as the pegasus scurried past him while making immature sicky noises and, as he saw it, inappropriate complaints. "I'm already starting to pity you less and less," he mumbled.
The last rays of sunlight glittering through the windows and shutters were faded, leaving only the bright torches and magic lights that Merlos lit with snaps of his fingers as both him and Stormy marched on through the tour. As they walked, they talked, and shared information.
"And this Celestia you mentioned... you say she is the goddess of your sun? Able to raise and lower it at her very whim? You've seen this?" Merlos stared in awe as he took slow steps down one narrow corridor.
"Eeeeeh." Stormy turned her head to the side and batted a hoof. "She's not a goddess, assuming by that you mean some all powerful creator of stuff and things... I mean, I don't know for sure, but that's what I learned in school. She's an alicorn. A combination of the three pony races. Oh, and yeah I've seen her do it plenty of times before. Like, five times, at the Summer Sun Celebration. I even saw her sneeze half way through raising it once, and it stopped right when she did." A short giggle came out at the memory of the princess stumbling in the air, before demurely asking if anyone had a hanky.
Stopping at a doorway at the back of the tower's first floor, Merlos turned to goggle at the news. "That is amazing. Your world holds many mysteries, Stormy."
Stormy giggled slightly, but shrugged. "I guess. It's alright. I like it, anyway..." She stirred a hoof slowly on the gross looking wooden floor, distant enough in the memory of home to not notice how moldy it was.
Merlos hummed. "Indeed." He recognized the sight of a despondent companion. While not being the best, what some would call, people person, he could recognize someone struggling with troubles most of the time. "Well then, in here we have a pantry, of sorts, and the larder."
Stormy picked her head up at what sounded to be food. "The kitchen you mean? Thank goodness, I'm starving!" She trotted in ahead of her host, more than enticed. "Let's eat and take a- a break..."
The next room they had come across indeed happened to be the kitchen, or at least that seemed to be the case. It was not exactly what Stormy might have pictured. For starters, the door leading in had been covered with a thick beam of wood that acted like a brace. A lot of the doors seemed to have those, strangely.
Must be because this is a castle or something, Stormy thought, unsure of what a castle or a fort really looked like on the inside back in Equestria.
The kitchen, like the few other rooms she had seen inside of, was sparsely decorated with anything beyond a thick layer of dust.
A hairy skeleton of some long dead animal or bird was in the corner, and the room had a stale scent to the air. A small space around a weird stove, amazingly, looked as if it had been cleaned recently. There wasn't a sink or pipes, though a large number of pots and pans did hang in one corner. Whether clean or dirty, it was really difficult to tell for sure.
Stormy felt her wings, tail and ears all droop as one. There is no way there's anything edible in here, she thought defeatedly.
At the far wall of the kitchen, Merlos opened a crooked little door. "Over here is where I keep the foodstuffs," he announced. "Let's see..."
Almost immediately, vermin and bugs scurried out and into the shadows. A sack of potatoes and a few torn grain sacks dotted the walls. Above those, small containers of milled oats and spices scantily adorned the shelves.
Stormy trotted in and looked around. "So... is this all you have to eat?" she asked, giving a wary look to a few salted slabs of something unfamiliar hanging ominously overhead on a hook.
The wizard crossed his arms indignantly. "Is that all?" he repeated, before adding, "Well, yes, currently. It's not the kitchen of royalty, but I'll have you know it suits my needs." He gave a tug to his beard, looking indignified. "I have been considering getting a chicken coop so I wouldn't need to buy eggs and poultry so frequently. Taking trips for food gets bothersome."
Stormy continued her concerted effort to not look grossed out. "I dunno what a pole-tree is, but from the context, I'm not sure I want to know."
Merlos stared a moment, then hummed. "A poultry is... hm, never mind that for now I think. How about a snack? I have some cheese and dwarven stone-bread over here if you'd like." He motioned towards a nearby table at that, holding up what looked like leftovers atop a wooden plate. "Oh, and I think it's still moist. Mm!"
"Uuuh." I've heard of rock candy, but stone-bread? Stormy watched as Merlos picked up what looked like a floppy sponge, topped it with a moldy looking piece of cheese, then ate it without hesitation.
"Delicious," he finished, wiping his mouth with a sleeve. "I'm not sure about you, but humans can't eat stone-bread without soaking it a bit first."
After staring at the muddy looking plate, Stormy covered her mouth with a hoof. Okay, not hungry anymore. "Eh, no thanks. I'm good for now..."
"Alright then, let's move on to-" Merlos stooped his way back into the hall, while Stormy followed quickly, eager to get away from the human's kitchen. Moldy cheese and weird bread aside, something about it seemed off.
Together they left the kitchen, and from there moved towards a winding stairway that ringed up and around the tower.
Grumpily, Stormy followed after and kept close to her guide. She also kept opening shutters behind his back as they went, hoping to allow the dust a place to escape.
Before climbing the stairs to the next level, Merlos waved to a doorway. "That one leads to a basement and the catacombs, as well as a cliff exit to the river. I've got tenants living in there currently so don't bother them."
"Uh, gotchyah," Stormy answered, and stared at the thick door. I can hardly believe anypony else would willingly live here- Ick, spider webs! She flailed at her face for what felt like the dozenth time.
"Come along!" Merlos called back. "Please don't dawdle. Now, up here we have a former eating area. At least I think it was used for-"
Stormy frowned slightly and hovered up after Merlos, who had apparently already ascended the stairs. For a brief second, she paid momentary attention to glowing stones embedded in the walls. Tiny pebbles casting a faint ivory glow, just enough to illuminate the walk way. The corridor was made of smooth cut near uniform looking stones. It made Stormy wonder who had made the place. Obviously, Merlos wasn't responsible.
The rest of the tour was much of the same.
The whole time, Stormy continued weaving around junk and random debris scattered amongst the floor, while paying little attention to more than the first couple of words for each room. It was difficult even managing that with how often Merlos got off topic.
Stormy got the feeling he didn't get out much.
Other than a study and the kitchen, the tower itself was mostly introduced as storage rooms, or nameless rooms that were nailed shut. At least that was how it seemed. It didn't really feel like a tour was needed, since every place ended with, "and you're not allowed in here."
Stormy grimaced at a grime covered window as she floated on past, wondering how much more there was to go. I'm going to have to clean this whole place myself, I just know it... One thing was certain, she really didn't want to stay there if it meant putting up with the grossness. Chance at getting home or not.
"Now, in regards to this next chamber, it is very important you pay close-"
A tall door made of amber timbers topped the staircase. It was a bit different, because it seemed as if someone had colorfully tie-dyed the edges, and burnt the top.
Stormy raised an eyebrow at this as Merlos opened the door into what she thought she heard him say was the last room. It was well lit unlike the rest of the tower, and was massive, being the only room on that floor.
As Stormy clip-clopped in after him, Merlos closed the door. He began to drone on about this room being the highest point in the tower. "Back when this was an outpost, there would be guards and a great pyre to light in the center. You can see out for hundreds of miles from here-"
While Merlos spoke, Stormy perused with curiosity at the first few interesting things she'd seen since entering the tower. For starters, there were filled bottles ringing half of the room, many of them emitting soft glows or bubbling steam out of their open tops. Mysterious tools and other odd devices hung from the ceiling, and over by a bunch of boring looking bookshelves was a huge telescope!
Ooooh. Stormy's eyes widened, taking it all in with vested interested.
Merlos continued his speech, having finished pointing out how important it was to obey his rules. "Now, there is also a spell to keep birds and bugs from coming into this area, so I wouldn't advise trying to fly in or out, unless you desire to imitate a pancake. You see, I keep the majority of my experiments up here, simply because it vents all the noxious fumes out with eas- DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
Stormy, who had been investigating and poking various items in Merlos' lab, had begun to reach for a bottle to pick it up, just before she had been shouted at. Quickly, she landed and shuffled away from the fragile item.
"S-Sorry," she said, backpedaling and returning to Merlos' side.
"What did I just finish saying about not touching anything? Hm?" Merlos stormed over, and readjusted the yet untouched bottle of glowing purple goo. "Perhaps showing you my lab was imprudent of me. If it weren't for the spell on the walls I wouldn't have even considered-"
Ears folded back, Stormy listened to Merlos berate her, then move onto lab 'etiquette'. Whatever that meant.
"Now, uhm, hm. Where was I?" Merlos tapped a finger to his chin, brow folded in thought as he fought to recall his place in the tour.
Stormy, however, saw an opening and spoke up immediately. "You had just finished up explaining everything." She hoped her smile assisted convincing him of that.
"Ah, right," Merlos said back, nodding to himself. "Then if you have no questions, I believe that concludes things."
Stormy raised a hoof, ready to ask a couple. "Well, I was wondering-"
Interrupting her, Merlos clapped his hands together conclusively. "Now then, let's move on to that information swap we discussed!" Excitement over that topic positively dripped from his voice.
Stormy barely suppressed a heavy groan. Luckily, she was saved by a yawn that cracked her jaw, instead. "Actually, mm' kinda tired," she mumbled. All of the rules and other magical things the tall stranger she'd just met had started putting her to sleep harder than History lessons.
"Oh, a pity." Merlos put on a disappointed look at that. "Well, it can't be helped then. Let's see if we can't find you a room. Hm, now let's see... There is one there... Yes, that will do." He motioned for Stormy to follow him. "I have just the spot."
Stormy perked up slightly at the notion of a bed, then drooped again upon not recalling any such things on the way up. Still, she tried to keep her hopes high while following Merlos back down, who along the way managed to walk headlong into a large spiderweb.
"Gachk-pbbt!" Merlos whipped the hat from atop his head off and proceeded to swat away the web and dust.
Stormy tsked and rolled her eyes. "You knooow, this place really is in dire need of a cleaning-mare's touch."
"A what-?" Merlos stopped at the foot of the stairs. Together, the two had clattered back down the tower, floor by floor, until reaching the first one they had started on.
Stormy clambered spryly off the rickety stairs after him. "I meant, I'll do a little clean up here and there! It's the least I can do for you letting me stay. Also to get rid of any, ugh, long term health problems from all this dust. Hay, I'll even clean only where you told me I could go."
Merlos squinted his eyes at the proposition. "Is this about the dust? Really, it isn't that bad."
Stormy stared at him flatly. "Yeeeah, about that. It's pretty bad."
"Fine then." Merlos tugged his beard. "I'll think about it."
Stormy laughed in earnest, and shook her head. "Alrighty, that's good enough for-"
Her words were cut off by a stout humanoid man, bearded and standing nearly at Stormy's height. The new stranger had appeared from the doorway leading to the 'offlimits' basement.
"Baast ia eck urugrosh, khadzull!" he swore and stared with eyes widened. "By the shins o' me fadder, you weren't lyin', lud. That there is definitely somethin' amazin'. Ahah! Now aren't'chu just adorable, eh?" He slapped his knee, grinning wide, and strode up to Merlos and the pegasus beside him.
"Ah, Gavlan, good eveni-" The casual words Merlos had been about to impart to his friend died in his throat as yet another dwarf he recognized emerged from the cellar door. "You!? You're still here? I mean, that is to say, good day to you."
Orloch, the captain of that area's guard, strode in as well, still encased in his breastplate and armor from earlier. The black as pitch beard and steely look in his eyes made the quiet in the room seem to double.
This second dwarf spared a brief look to the human greeting him. "G'day," he returned simply, and in an accent doubly as thick as Gavlan's. "Brewmaste', I'll be takin' mah leave naow. Been a long day. Please get a hold of me wit' news' 's soon as yer able."
Stormy recoiled as the first short humanoid reached out a hand to her--for what reason she didn't know--but he stopped and spoke back to the guy with the black colored beard.
"Of 'course, Captain! I'm sure some o' the lads'll be happy to help. They'll have yer problem whipped in no time." Gavlan chortled, his belly shaking, and paused to take a bite of the large dessert he had held in one massive hand. He spoke around the food. "Ah'm surprised yeh had to come to me at all over such a small thing."
Orloch shrugged. "Jus' prefer tah gif first pickin's to kin when able s'all. Happ'ned to be comin' this way on business anyway."
Gavlan laughed harder, nodding with hands on hips. "Right, yeh delivered this little beauty, eh? Now, Merlos, yeh ain't introduced us yet! Hah, what's your name there, little fella?" He again reached a hand out towards the curious creature.
Straight away, Stormy flared her wings, ears standing up straight and eyes locked onto the reaching hand of the stranger, apparently named Gavlan. She flared her nostrils and blew a loud snort.
"Oh, tha' there's a fiesty one. Eh, old friend? Sure it should be inside with all o' them fragile expir'ments o' yours yeh go on about? Hah!" Gavlan again began to prod towards Stormy with one sausage-like finger.
Merlos raised a hand, finally able to get a word in edgewise, before someone yet again spoke over him.
"Oi'll be goin' now, brewmaster. It was good catchin' up wit' yeh." Orloch lifted his polished helm from resting atop one of Merlos' arcanic field distributors, a device renowned for its sensitivity. "Tell yer brother ah said hullo if you see 'im again this stone's age."
Stormy stared on at the weird meet and greet in utter confusion. What are these guys even saaaaying? Sure, she understood the words, but their accent was so incredibly thick it may has well have been gibberish. Waiting, for what she didn't know, her wings kept open nervously and her tail twitched behind her. Otherwise, she paid a little attention to a sudden, undeniably delicious smell in the air.
Stormy sniffed again, relaxing somewhat. 'Ho Celestia, what is that? It was out of place, considering the tower thus far hadn't had anything positive smelling yet. She eventually honed in on what she thought was the source; a large chunk of a pie that the first short stranger was waving around in a battered tin.
"Will do, will do. You travel safe now, Captain." Gavlan clapped the fellow dwarf on the shoulder, showing him to the door.
Stormy took a couple hypnotized steps toward the dessert. Normally she'd protest his rude prodding at her, first, but with a rather beautiful pie being waved around like that, and her stomach still empty, she could hardly break her attention from it.
While the brusque captain took his leave, Merlos noticed where Stormy's attention had drifted.
"You know, you could always ask for some," he commented shortly.
Stormy didn't answer. She simply watched the pie while the dwarf seemed to tease her just by moving it casually, and sniffed at the treat from where she stood, keeping beside Merlos no matter how much her stomach complained. Agonizingly, the dessert had a sweet aroma to it, similar to that of an apple pie, though there was something a little bit off about it.
"So, what was that all about, then?" Merlos watched out the window as Orloch trundled down the dirt path towards the newly cleaned stables.
Gavlan made a relieved sound as he creaked back into a nearby chair. "Ohhh, there's trouble in parts o' the realm, same as always." As he spoke, he raised the pie to his waiting jowls, only to stop, having noticed his audience. "He was askin' about gettin' a couple favors to help out escortin' 'round the countryside and into the mountains. Guard's stretched thin," he finished, now smirking.
Merlos nodded. "Ah, is that all, then. Well, if it's all the same, I have to see about getting- Excuse her, please, it seems she's taken an interest in your food."
What Merlos referred to was the pegasus that was slowly slinking towards Gavlan's pie, a starved look in her eye and drool slowly dripping from her mouth. The exhausted appearance she had from tiredness added an additional zombie-like quality to her.
"Haha, I see tha'" Gavlan began maneuvering his pie tin about in the air, watching his audience's uninterruptable focus. "So, what yeh said was true, lud. This is for certain an amazin' creature. It can't be no pegasus though, surely. I seen pictures o' them before, and they weren't a thing like this beast."
Stormy heard the word beast uttered in reference to herself, and spared the short 'man' with a bulbous nose a dirty look, before swallowing hard, ready to finally ask for his edible looking dessert.
Merlos beat her to the punch. "Oh? Then in that case you'll be doubly amazed to learn she can speak, as well! Also quite unlike a normal pegasus. Which, if we're playing fair, would mean I get two kegs of your finest." He grinned, his bet with the old dwarf from the day before well remembered.
"Bah, there be no such rule where I'm from, you skinflint. And yeh'll get no such generosity from me. Though, I am a dwarf o' me word. Yeh'll getcher keg." Gavlan laughed. "But, it's a she, eh? And she can talk, can she? Well little miss, why don't yeh introduce yourself?"
Stormy blinked, suddenly having both opposing pairs of eyes on her. A mixture of stage fright and hesitation from new surroundings made her pause. Before answering, however, a little spark of mischief and an idea entered her head, and put her more at ease. When you were scared, laughing or a joke helped lighten the mood. The idea tied back to the fact that her speaking seemed out of place and strange.
With that in mind, Stormy blew a mild snort, then simply looked back at the pie; nothing more.
Gavlan raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at Merlos.
Merlos, for his part, scowled. "Hmph. She wouldn't stop whining earlier about the dust. Stormy, come now, say hello at least. That's her name, by the way."
Stormy just barely managed to keep a snicker under wraps.
"Oh, yeh almost had me there, that time." Gavlan laughed, and began moving the pie up and down, then mocked a fake voice in falsetto. "Oh yah, I could nay be a talkin' wing-ed horse, Merlos. That 'ould be downright silly! Jus' one o' the two's enough for me."
Merlos traded between glaring at Stormy and looking at Gavlan pleadingly. "What? No, really! I swear she can talk!" he said in his defense. "She's just trying to- to-"
"Suuuure she can, lud," Gavlan replied between chuckles.
"Go ahead, speak to him." Merlos encouraged. Stormy took her eyes off the pie and gave a smirk to Merlos for just a brief moment, then nickered lightly.
Gavlan smiled. "Yup, I see she's quite a talker."
With more enthusiasm this time, and a hint of impatience, Stormy gave both humanoids another nickering grunt again, to which Merlos slapped a hand over his face.
"Well then, I won't tease 'er no longer." Gavlan promptly set the pie tin down. "Here y' go little darlin'. Such a well behaved pegasus you've got here."
Stormy's first instinct was to pick the pie up in her hooves and set it on the nearby table to eat. But, going with the flow, shrugged and leaned full on into the dessert. Oh my gosh, it's still warm! Mmm, spicy, too. A spicy dessert? Not bad... The delicious treat had her at a loss, but nonetheless, it was as good as a gift from Celestia herself. What is this flavor though?
Merlos sighed despairingly to himself, seeing through his newest tenant's mischief. "So that's the way you're going to play it, hm?" he muttered, then turned back to Gavlan. "Well behaved, really? That is yet to be seen. Oh and don't feed her that sugar-ridden garbage. She'll get fat. Or worse, used to getting hand outs. She's staying here you know and I don't want to put up with some sugar-laden hyperactive monster."
Merlos earned a derisive snort and a glare from Stormy in response to his last comment.
Gavlan reached out to pet Stormy as she ate his dessert. "A monster? She's so adorable, lud! I look forward to her being around the place. It's not like you couldn't use a friend or companion being cooped up in your tower all the time anyways."
Stormy caught sight of something in her peripherals, and almost squeaked as a meaty, coarse palm encompassed her head, then began stroking her mane lightly. Oh Celestiaaa, her thoughts panicked. A startled squeak muffled its way out of her, just barely suppressed. He's touching meee. She scrunched her eyes shut, but kept her act up, and told herself it would be worth it later.
Gavlan sighed, and stood up out of his chair abruptly. "Well, I best be goin', you two. Got some plannin' t'do with the lads, it seems."
"Now hold on, what about my keg?" Merlos asked before Gavlan could depart.
Gavlan turned, a look of mock shock on his face, before then grinning broadly. "Oh, tha'? Well, I don't 'ave one right now."
"You what?" Merlos deadpanned. "But you run a brewery down there! How do you not have a spare keg?" he blanched.
Gavlan gave a cheerful shrug. "Aye, but the lads just set sail down the river with everything we had. There was a big order from yer kin at that big port city you humans brag about, Halia." He chuckled again. "And besides tha', I didn't really think yeh were tellin' the truth, either. Hah."
Merlos began to scowl, and Gavlan waved a stubby arm his way. "Easy, easy, I'm a dwarf o' my word. You'll get yer keg, and I'll make it a goodin' too. I've just got to contact my cousin in Riverdale to meet the demand this season. On tha' note, there might even be a lil' money in it fer ya."
Merlos stared skeptically, before saying, "I'm listening." As he did, he stared at the pony eagerly consuming her fill of apple pie. He took a moment to observe how she ate. As hungrily as she seemed to attack the pie, it was rather clean and dainty compared to a dog or how other quadrupeds would consume such a delicate food. For starters, she was chewing.
"Well," Gavlan went on. "Yeh mentioned adventurin' again. Orloch as yeh saw were offerin' me 'n the lads a bit o' work. 'Course if I do that, I've got fewer hands on the ol' river barge. Followin' me?"
Merlos tilted his head back and slowly responded. "Are you suggesting an escort quest?"
Gavlan grinned again. "Aye! Simple, easy, and honest work. An' if bandits or worse do give yeh a spot o' trouble, there's extra in it. But, here's the kicker. While yer visitin' the capitol down there, yeh can think about lookin' for bigger boars to spear, eh? Haha!"
By that, Merlos understood that he meant ways to make gold. He had been about to refute the notion of drifting for days on end down river on a cramped boat, and worse, alongside and in close quarters with his tenants. But, the proposal did bring to light his earlier considerations of travel, and more.
"Interesting," Merlos thought to himself. "Well, I do need the coin, certainly-"
No sooner had he finished, than Gavlan hopped and slapped his back roughly. "Tha's the spirit! Hah! I'll get you the details soon, then." His heavy boots hit the wood floor with a thud. "And I'll be seein' you 'round I suspect, Stormy." He crooned the last bit in a cutesy voice.
Merlos coughed, practically choking from surprise, and doubled over from the shock his body took.
At the same time, and contented from her meal, Stormy looked up just in time to dodge another vigorous petting from Gavlan. She eyed him warily.
"Hehe, good night then." Gavlan thumped his way back across the musty foyeur, and towards the musty door that led downward, leaving a coughing Merlos and a pegasus with a pie stained muzzle behind him.
As Gavlan walked beyond earshot, Stormy gulped down her last mouthful, then began to sing. "Hello my filly, Hello my pony, Hello my ragtime mare!" She grinned at Merlos viciously.
Merlos, still bent over, grumbled back in response. "Next stop, your room, so when I get annoyed with you I can send you to it. And after today, I suspect you'll become very intimately familiar with it."
"Sounds good!" Stormy affirmed cheerfully and innocently, all while lapping her lips a moment to get all the sticky pie goo off them.
Half-hunched over, Merlos led the way toward a back door that had previously been simply 'off-limits'.
Stormy watched him as he stooped his way down the hall.
Merlos had been stern, gruff, and pretty rough around the edges all in all, for an old guy. But he was accommodating, and an overall okay guy, considering the situation. At least, as far as Stormy could tell.
Oh well, even if I did first show up here in a dungeon, I could have ended up somewhere worse, I guess, Stormy thought, snickering. It could have been dragon world, instead of weird two legged monkey world.
She bowed down to nip the pie tin's side and placed the treat upon her back; at least there it would be safe from the dust they disturbed.
Stormy stood in the doorway looking at the sight before her.
"Is this the only cleaned room in the tower? Well... as clean as it can be?" she asked, running a hoof along the floor, surprised at the clean spot. She wiped her hoof on a nearby rug and waited for the human to respond.
Merlos, still flustered, glowered back without answering.
"'Cause, uh, it didn't seem like any of the other rooms were all that clean. I was hoping to get one I could actually sleep in." Stormy shuffled slightly from side to side under the taller being's scrutiny. And I'm still hungry... she thought.
Merlos straightened up with realization. "Oh- Oh I see. Well it's the best I have on such short notice, I'm afraid."
With an awkward pause, Merlos watched the pegasi's fear of dust tendencies before continuing. "Ah well, this is a pretty sizable tower. There are plenty of rooms on the lower few levels to use." He had corralled the little pony to where some old barracks rooms were. "I was going to house helpstaff here, though I never got around to that... but it should suit you well enough until... you clean it, or some such."
The room was pretty bad off, but it wasn't quite uninhabitable. It was very big, though.
Rotten and dilapidated remains of bunk beds and a few nicer, but shoddily kept beds were lined up along the long walls. Footlockers nestled soundly at the foot of each bunk bed, and a large bell hung just off the side of the door. The walls were grimey, old and seemingly had seen much better days. A few doorways led to a smaller room, one of which was a former garderobe, complete with a few rodents scurrying to hide in any crevasse or other hideaway.
The doorway leading to the small room contained a single bed, a desk and a bookshelf with many moldy volumes on its shelves. Its interior had been kept in good condition by a magical artifact, casting a mending spell on the interior, keeping everything clean and well preserved. The room looked as if it were only recently abandoned.
Stormy had drunk in the sight tiredly, but managed to smile after some thought.
"I imagine you'll want this smaller room since it's better kept than the rest of the place," Merlos said, using a mage-hand spell to lift the acceptably clean wool sheet off the bed. "Hmm, strange, no bugs... But at least this room is well kept versus most of the tower. Now before I let you go for the night, I need to lay down a couple more rules." His tone shifted to a serious and no-nonsense tone.
"No run- err, no galloping around in the hallways, or making lots of loud noise. I keep a peaceful and quiet home."
Stormy blinked as the wizard carried on about wiping dirty hooves off at the door. She began nodding along without listening, her eyes getting heavy with the wizard somehow getting on a tangent about windows, though there weren't any within that area itself and blah blah blah...
"Do you understand all of that?" he finally finished, both of his gnarled hands on his hips as he looked sternly down
Stormy, for her part, was doing her best at not passing out from being bored to tears. She stared at Merlos vacantly before snapping into revery. "I- uh, yes."
"Maybe we should call it a night?" Stormy suggested, a hopeful tone in her voice seeming to draw the wizard out from his expected answer
"Ah, yes... Well I suppose its time we part ways and go to bed. At least a nap to help the day's events pass by." The dress wearing man said, reaching under his cap to scratch noisily at his scraggly mane.
Stormy nodded and bowed a little. "Goodnight, mister Merlos, sir," she mumbled, before hurriedly returning to the room she was shown before.
Merlos grumbled, "Goodnight," almost imperceptibly while he began to make his way up the stairs and to his own chambers. A room kept clean with simple magics to hide away stains, and of course, animate random cleaning supplies for those areas that were well used.
The darkness surrounded Stormy. Vaguely, she was aware she was dreaming, but in that strange way that wasn't quite lucid.
Instead it was cold, angry, and somehow left her feeling lonely.
"A-Anypony there?" she asked, glancing upwards to the sky. A tiny blue dot of a star shone down to her. The feeling was so alien to her, because these dreams never quite felt like dreams.
Stormy took slow steps around in her broken dreamscape. Since her arrival a few weeks ago, it'd been like this every time she'd fallen asleep.
A feeling of something cold touched her shoulders, causing her to whirl around and face it. Her eyes widened to that of saucers as she saw a skeleton of a pegasus filly next to her.
"You need to come back, he's waiting for you." It said, faded burning coals burning within its eyes. Red embers illuminated its skull with a pink hue while its mandible moved with each word. "I need you.... I want you... I've been lonely for so so long, we can be friends... Forever..."
Stormy's mind let her do the only thing she could do.
Stormy awoke with a start; sweat seemed to soak her bedding. Curling up in a ball, she sobbed quietly. Shivering with the vivid details of the skeleton in her mind. Even Nightmare Night wasn't that scary.
"Alright," she muttered, "No more dessert before bed..."
Clutching her tail she pet it until her sobs calmed down to occasional sniffles. It was dark in the room, a faint glowing gemstone was the only source of illumination for her and she didn't want to stay in bed any longer.
The pie had teased her belly and now that she had slept she was all the more hungry. It was time to finish the rest off. Both that and her restlessness drew her out of the strange bed.
Nibbling the leftovers down a little at a time, Stormy considered her luck in getting some real food, rather than the ghastly offerings of Merlos' pantry.
While she could maybe make a basic meal of cooked rolled oats or something from the pantry, plain old grass from outside Merlos' home honestly seemed a lot more appealing; he did also mention he bought some kind of feed, so she considered checking out the stable too, just in case.
With a shudder she remembered the hanging slabs of what she'd decided was probably... meat, hanging within it. She wasn't sure what it was, but it had a particular smell and made her shiver when she thought about it. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but just being near it just bothered her, and she had honestly always thought she was pretty PC.
Letting her eyes linger around the features of her room, Stormy set about to make her bed and neaten her surroundings.
The glowing gem thing that had dimmed bloomed alight as she did.
"Gah!" Stormy shut her eyes. "Okay, that's bright." A hoof scrubbed at her eyes to get rid of the sparks in them. Once done, the mildly clean alcove she was in and the filthy rooms beyond it met her.
While she protested the way Merlos kept his home, she felt while she was there she could at least do her part in upkeep for the tower.
Hopefully that stay wouldn't be for very long.
The tower, while it didn't seem too large from the outside, seemed rather easy to get lost within. Every floor had been different, and if she was being honest with herself, she had been paying attention a little absently.
"It's not my fault that guy's boring..." Nibbling on the last of her pie, Stormy felt the pains of hunger subside for the moment, though she wanted something a little more filling.
She poked her way out of the room, intent to find the kitchen, or the way leading outside. The glowing pebble in the wall seemed to glow a bit brighter than it had earlier, and she surmised it was because it was likely later in the day. It certainly kept the room very well illuminated.
The door exiting her room screeched loudly on rusty hinges as she pushed it open slowly.
Ow! Owowow- Her eyes clapped against her skull. That was loud. Gah, this guy needs to take a seminar on home care. As quietly as she could, she stumbled out into the hall, a flickering lamp hanging on the wall guiding her. Okay... now where was I?
Directly opposite her was another room.
Was that one the kitchen? Stormy wasn't sure. Only one way to find out.
The other door had a thick brace on it like the kitchen, and it swung off easily enough. The door opened more easily, too.
Contrary to the easy entry, her initial search provided nothing in the way of interesting things to look at or figure out.
It was definitely not the kitchen though.
From what she could make out in the dark, much of the room's walls were barren. Mostly vacant shelves and a shattered desk seemed almost out of place in the otherwise empty room.
Rather than leave right there, she stepped further in, curiosity getting the best of her. It was dark inside, but her eyes adjusted well to the absence of the hall's lamplight.
With a bit of exploring, Stormy found all but one drawer of the desk easy to open, but empty. She did take a moment to look over the books left sprawled randomly. She couldn't make out the words in the dark, but a few pages had crude pictures on them.
Thinking back to the tour, Stormy thought she had recognized some of the lettering and symbols on a few books in the lab. But, she felt reluctant to go in there so soon after being yelled at.
With a sigh, Stormy left the door and exited the room.
With such a big tower and so many places to explore and search, she wanted to get an idea just how big the whole thing was. So, cantering toward the ground level stairs, she poked through and explored the first floor. Leaving most of the sealed doors closed, she came upon another one with a brace. With a bit of work, she managed to open the door and slowly stepped inside.
The room was predictably messy and dusty, with pieces of wood and corroded metal were strewn everywhere in the room.
But once again it wasn't the kitchen.
Studying bits of floor rubbish, Stormy determined these to be similar to swords and shields she had witnessed on guardponies. Whoa, these are rare. After picking one big metal tool up, it fell apart in her hooves from deterioration alone in the flickering light.
Stormy sniffed around and made a disgusted face. The air was stale in the room and with a glance over she determined that it hadn't had a window opened or a decent breeze in a great while. Her nose crinkled at the hinted scent of rodents and their leavings somewhere as well, but for the moment she paid it little mind. Nothing that a good cleanup and a mopping wouldn't fix.
Nipping a sword by its handle, she found it in better condition than much of the debris around her and with a few swings, but after just a couple swings a part of it flung away and clattered on the ground.
Stormy winced right away, and perked her ears to listen for Merlos. She wouldn't think he'd be too happy with her playing around in that room too much.
Then, from behind a door nearby, she heard a clicking sound. In surprise at actually hearing something, she dropped the still good handle of the sword and it clanked on the floor at her hooves.
Stormy searched the shadows, and her eyes picked out a lone door recessed into a stone wall a bit, like a closet. She heard the clacking inside it again.
Her ears flattened back and her eyes kept focused on the door, sniffing the air again she drew slow hesitant hoofsteps towards the door. With each step, the room's feeling became strangely "heavy" and cold.
"Is somepony there?" she asked quietly.
The clicking happened again and she froze, her heart pounding in her little gray chest. One part of her yearned to ignore it and just go to the kitchen, but her filly's curiosity often got the better of her.
Stormy took another few steps closer. Tiny alarms inside her told her to run away, to hide, to find a cloud and get comfy in it till mommy came, but there was that curiosity that pulled her closer.
"H-Hello?"
Stormy drew a little closer, and could make out more details. A few pieces of decayed wood seemed visible, possibly once barricading the contents of the door, which in itself was nearly rotten through. Mildew had bored many large gaping holes in the wood.
"Mister M-Merlos? Is that you?"
Tentatively Stormy reached a hoof out and undid a rough latch on the side. Right away, the door noisily swung open on hinges needing lubrication for several centuries. Within the doorway's shadows, she saw something so terrifying that color drained from her face.
It wasn't dust or mice this time, either.
She let out a gasp while her flight response had trouble kicking in. Her hooves felt glued to the floor, the dreadful feeling of mortal danger ringing soundly in her mind. As far as her brain was concerned, those feathery things on the sides of her body might as well have not existed.
Four pairs of red glowing eyes, twice her height, fell on her. The doorway was barely large enough for two humans like Merlos to fit within standing shoulder to shoulder, but they leaned over one another in order to all make eye contact.
Stormy's ears pinned back while her eyes focused into tiny dots.
The clacking started up again as the beings approached the door. They stopped to study her, while Stormy held her breath.
The abominations were a bit like the humans, except they were a bunch of skeletons. That, and their rounded skulls and pointed teeth gave her the impression that they were of a different variety. They were clad in what was likely their final vestments, the clothing now soiled and ragged against their bony bodies. Their eyes glowed a dull red, akin to dull embers in memory of the heat and warmth they once held.
Rasps like pitiful imitations of voices whispered out from their mouths. Each of them seemed to lean closer and closer toward her, then reached out slowly with bony hands grasping like pale claws out of the dark closet.
A strangled scream finally made its way out of Stormy.
Merlos awoke in the early hours of the morning with a start, the motions of swimming making it difficult to make sense of the world. He heard something, faint at first but it was definitely there and getting louder. Crossed thoughts of scolding Stormy worked across his mind while he brought himself to an awoken state. He was certain that he told her not to be so noisy at night.
There was some crashing sound accompanying the screaming. Was it screaming? Yes, definitely screaming. It passed easily into his bedroom.
Merlos rose up off his bed and wandered clumsily to his bedroom door, trying to make sense of why his new house guest would be screaming so much.
He pulled his door open, hearing the erratic sounds of Stormy's wings and of course, her panicked screams. Peeking at what the commotion was all about he stuck his head out to see a panicking Stormy, flying desperately down the hall and through the air, her legs flailing.
"What is the meaning of this?" he called, his eyes a little bloodshot from his lack of a proper night's rest.
Stormy, who had sighted her savior, flew at and tackled him in the face. She clutched his head and erratically pointing down the hallway while blubbering incoherently.
Merlos struggled, both to stand and to rip off the pegasus clinging to his face. "Would you get off!?" he fought to shout, still trying to get her plush-like belly fur off his face so he could at least breathe.
Once he had his face-hugger situation under control, and an unwelcome winged pony hanging in his arms, an ear piercing shriek grabbed his attention. The scream wasn't from Stormy, but from down the hall.
Merlos looked up, eyes stark but serious. "Oh, that's why you're upset."
A small troupe of skeletons were currently shambling down the hallway and toward them both, each clutching old weapons or shields and clad in ragged and rusty armor.
Stormy's gibberish grew more panicked and less coherent with her mad jabs at the approaching monsters.
"Very well, then." Merlos unceremoniously dropped Stormy onto the floor with a loud thump, and rolled up his bathrobe's sleeves. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 004: The skeletons in his closet. | Merlos stared down the trio of skeletons at the end of his corridor. Stormy shivered behind him, staying as out of sight as she could.
Merlos only had enough time to think bitterly of where exactly his strange guest had found creatures so dangerous, before realizing by their fast approach that he hadn't the time for deliberating.
Arcane words of power formed in his mind right away, and a deceptively mild glow at his fingertips formed as he pointed at the nearest skeleton. Nearly invisible crescents of air rippled around him, then rushed forward into two of the skeletons, carrying them off their feet and into the wall.
The skeletons shattered, the combination of arcane forces and evocation magics being more than enough to finish off their centuries-long worn and beaten forms. One of the two went completely limp, bits of jagged bones rattling and its red eyes going dark. The other merely came apart comically like a puppet with its strings cut, loose arms and legs bouncing on the stone floor. The second's still chattering skull bounced and rolled angrily in a tight circle.
Shockingly, and catching Merlos off his guard, the last of the three kept moving, despite the spell. The skeleton's bony feet clicked faster on the stone floor through its aggressive advance.
Merlos' brow furrowed in anger. "What the blazes?"
Merlos switched to another spell with one hand, and a spear of fire erupted into being from nothing but the air. Its flames glowed hot, illuminating the hallways with red and orange hues.
With a mighty cry--a mighty cry for him, anyway--he hurled the spear. It struck true in the remaining skeleton's chest, just before it vanished in a pathetic show of sparks and an unimpressive noise that sounded like frrt.
Merlos stared in disbelief of one of his strongest spells not phasing the skeleton at all. With little time to spare, he caught notice of the likely culprit of how.
A sickly purple glow swayed beneath the skeleton's unsightly head around its neck.
"Oh, an artifact that disperses magic," Merlos said in an interested way. It occurred to him that he'd been meaning to get one of those, before becoming aware of the monster again. "I think I need a new plan then. Stormy, what sort of skills do you-"
Merlos had turned to ask his furry companion, only to catch sight of her hindquarters disappearing around the corner in the opposite direction of the skeleton.
"Hey! Come back here! You coward!" He shook a gnarled fist at the pegasus in egress. In that moment he noticed that the skeleton's steps were no longer getting louder.
Wincing, he turned to face the awful thing, now standing right before him. He could clearly see the steady glow of arcane-magic dispelling amulet, and smell the ancient decay clinging to its bones.
The skeleton raised its clawed hand up high and fiercely swung towards him.
Merlos cursed. "Oh biscuits-"
Stormy flew hard and corkscrewed her way down the hall and around corners, nearly crashing several times as she did. Fear drove her sloppy indoor flying, even after she found the wide basement staircase she'd been told to stay away from. The idea had formed purely out of panic, but in her head, she desperately told herself she had to go and get Merlos' weird basement roommate.
Not at all wanting to slow down, Stormy rolled to her side and made contact with the wall. Her hooves thumped hard on the timbers and her wings worked faster to keep from falling as she ran.
He has to be able to help! she thought, making regular jumps to avoid the occasional wooden beam. Right!?
The idea seemed sound. It didn't take a genius to know that the short-mans, or whatever Gavlan's race was called, were warriors. Stormy had seen them coming to and fro from her pen in the auction, some carrying intimidating weapons, others carrying stranger objects that defied logic. The one that had left earlier, Or-lick or whatever, had been like those guys. Of course, he had left...
Still full of panicked breath, Stormy nearly crashed into a stout wooden door at the bottom of the stairs. She screeched to a halt, stopping just fast enough to thump into the door lightly, but didn't waste any time. "Hello!? Is anyone in there!?" she yelled, banging with both hooves and praying that someone would answer.
Straight away, surprisingly, someone answered her.
"Och, aye? Who be that at this hour, eh?" the muffled voice return. A series of heavy clunking footsteps followed suit.
Stormy scrunched her muzzle up as it dawned on her that Merlos' magic voodoo spell must have worn off. She couldn't make out a word of what she had just heard spoken to her. In fact, now with her panic lessening, she realized she hadn't understood anything Merlos had been saying at all! Oh crap. That means this guy won't be able to understand me, either!
Her face froze into yet another expression of panic, just as the heavy door swung open to reveal a short, bulky figure in a funny looking brown vest and a nightcap. Unfortunately, it wasn't Gavlan, though she supposed that it wouldn't have mattered much.
"Oh, an' what in the hell might you be, eh?" the bulky stranger asked. His eyes squinted in question, and his big bristly face-hair bounced as he spoke.
Stormy blinked. "Uuuuhm." It was true, she hadn't been able to understand a word he said to her. Still, when she answered, the stout fellow's eyes widened slightly, even looking beady on his broad face.
Stormy continued. "You can't understand me, can you?"
The lack of a response and slightly perplexed look from the short-man confirmed her earlier suspicions.
"Oi, Knott, what's Merlos on about over there?" a slightly more familiar voice yelled.
The first stranger turned his head back warily and answered. "T'ain't Merlos, yeh daft ol' codger! Seems like some expir'ment o' his got loose! It's speakin' gibberish!"
Stormy scrunched her face in concentration just as Gavlan, whom she recognized the funny braided face-hair of immediately, stepped into the doorway.
"Oh, it's you yah sweet lil' thing! What are yeh lookin' for, Stormy? Scraps, eh?" He laughed. "Ges, go get me a pie!"
A third voice from back in the room answered Gavlan with a defiant, "Go get it yerself!"
"This thing's got a name?" Knott muttered to Gavlan. "Stormy's a funny name fer a beast, isn't it?"
Stormy groaned in frustration. She didn't understand their laughing or yelling, though she made a guess that maybe the older looking one named Gavlan just liked her and was happy to see her. She heard a crash from up the stairs behind herself, and began to feel frantic once again.
I don't care who it is, somepony's gotta help! Ignoring whatever the short-mans were saying, she reached out and got a mouthful of the first stranger's clothing, then gave a sharp tug. Later, she would ponder why it tasted of salt and barley.
"What is it yeh want, yeh strange beast?" Knott resisted the odd creature's insisting tugs, while also stretching out his ear to sound from overhead. "Is it... Aye, I think something's not right," he said, stumbling a couple steps from the pegasi's less than tactful urgings.
With an irritated whinny and another sharp tug, Stormy pulled on his clothing again.
"Must really want that pie..." Gavlan murmured.
"I don't think tha's it, uncle," Knott refuted. "I hear a fight. Upstairs." He nodded to above their heads.
Stormy finally let his clothing go and pointed up with a hoof frantically while bouncing up and down. Another loud crash and a muffled cry from above seemed to be enough for the stranger, his face screwing up into a relieving sort of scrutiny and worry. "Come oooon, come on!" she whined insistently.
"Right... Lads, grab yer weapons 'n tools!" Gavlan bellowed. "Seems sommin's meddlin' upstairs." He hefted up a large cudgel from the behind door's crook.
Chattering voices followed by the thunder of footsteps on wood answered him.
Stormy beamed at their sudden energy. Awesome! It worked, it worked! She began to celebrate, but instead let out a startled sound at almost being trampled over. "Aaah! Guys, chill out! Uhm-!" The basement tenants had all charged out at once, and there was a surprising number of them. Stormy didn't have time to count. Instead, she was barely able to turn around and start her way back up the stairs ahead of them. "Hey--! Stop pushing!"
A loud, bellowing cry from everypony behind her rushed up the stairs. She ran as best she could, ears folded back against the racket. The stout two-legged strangers surprisingly kept up with her, despite only having two legs rather than four.
Too late, Stormy realized, Oh crap... I'm in front!?
When the basement group of dwarves and one very flustered pegasus burst into the room, they quickly encountered the cause of the disturbance.
Their landlord was there--looking less than well off--while the problem appeared to be a skeleton that was busy hissing, pummeling, and scratching at him. The wizard's only defense seemed to be a broom.
Merlos noticed his tenants had joined the excruciatingly fun time he was having against the undead scourge in his humble home. "Well!? Do somethi--"
With a sweeping arm the skeleton knocked Merlos to the ground and quickly gave the new group its undivided attention.
"HSSS!"
"Utinni! Utinni!" Stormy cried, and in whatever strange language it was she spoke. She took refuge behind the dwarves and pointed wildly at the approaching skeleton.
The dwarves all quickly funneled into the room, but one acted first, nudging Stormy aside.
"Ohhh, thissun looks fun." Knott waddled past the little winged horse and hefted an ornate axe, shifting his grip. "Dibs!" he shouted, and rushed forward without hesitation.
Stormy gasped at the stranger's decision to charge like that, then gasped again when all of his friends just cheered him on rather than help!
The skeleton screeched at the approaching humanoid and swiped at him with both clawed hands.
Knott dodged to the undead horror's left and squared his feet immediately after. Letting loose a mighty roar that would steal the courage from a minotaur, he turned his axe around to the flat side and swung.
The blow landed true on the skeleton's mid-section. A cracking sound filled the room, followed by the clattering of the skeleton as it crumpled to the ground, shrieking the whole time.
Cheers went up from the dwarves by the door as Knott spun 'round, arms raised up for an encore. He wasn't finished yet though, and transferred both hands back onto his axe as he delivered the finishing blow.
Shocked, Stormy raised a hoof to her muzzle, holding her breath the whole time.
The mighty hammering turned the skeleton's head into bone-meal with a final crunch.
"Haha, yeh see! Wizard, if yer gonna take on a skelli-ton, ye've got to take em down with something blunt un hebby!" Knott gave the broom laying on the floor a little kick. "Yer feather duster won' be getting anything done." He laughed again.
Merlos, still prone on the floor, busily stared with aggravation up at his ceiling.
Stormy's jaw dropped at the sight of the lightning fast violence. "Oh my gosh, it's over. They did it! That... was- They did- And we're not dead." Her gaze was stuck fast to the human skeletons' remains, now inert and motionless on the ground.
Even with the situation over and done with, her queasy feeling remained, and she finally noticed the light headed sensation she was getting.
Meanwhile, after spending a moment to poke through the skeleton's ribs, Knott successfully fished out something he'd spotted in the scuffle: a shiny bit of jewelry. The amulet was suspended on a delicate chain of gold and was set in with a ruby. "Ah, spoils of war! You lads'll have to be quicker next time." He quickly pocketed the glittering prize. Afterwards, he walked back to the group with a swagger and a charming smile.
Gavlan had long since moved toward Merlos and was busy helping him up, despite his protests.
"I'm fine, thank you very much-- Hey, hey! Who said you could take that? And I'll have you lot know I had everything under control," Merlos quipped indignantly. "This abomination simply took me by surprise is all." He crossed his arms, and gave the remains a harsh kick of revenge.
"Aye, maybe, but I'll be claiming it as my own all the same," Knott said, turning around with a broad grin. "You know the law of adventurers, eh, Merlos? To the victor goes the spoils!"
Merlos raised a finger up, looking ready to speak his mind and hold nothing back. "My home is not a dungeon to be plundered!"
Knott glanced around himself, then laughed, "Oh? You wouldn't know tha' by lookin' at it."
The dwarves, those that weren't already returning below to their hold, broke into an uproar of laughter at this.
Merlos had been about to press the issue, but was left little choice but to be drowned out.
"A beast well slain, brother!" Ges chortled and clapped Knott on the shoulder. "See lads? Told yeh he'd take down whateve' it was in two moves or less." Pride was etched upon his sibling's face from the congratulatory boasting.
Every dwarf present raised another round of cheering, weapons--improvised and otherwise--waving in the air.
Gavlan chortled along at his kin's bravado, but at least acted somewhat appropriately given the situation. "So, Merlos, what happened up here, eh?"
Merlos, busily looking at the rips in his favorite night robe, grunted angrily. "The undead, that's what happened! Bah." His left sleeve was nearly completely torn off. "Blasted things ruined my clothing."
Gavlan scratched his beard. "Och, well I can see tha', Merlos. And I knew ye' had skeletons in yer closet, but this is ridiculous." He gave the wizard's side a friendly nudge. "Heh, so these things snuck in?"
Merlos gave him a tired look. At the same time, he snapped his fingers; with a faint glow the remains of the fallen skeletons were whisked off by a sudden breeze and carried out a window. "Very funny, old friend. I can assure you these things did not come from my closet! And I have no idea how they got in. They were chasing Stormy, and I awoke to her leading them to me, and then she fled as I defended her!"
Merlos paused to shoot the pegasus--young or not--a quick glare.
"Aye, well, she fetched us to save yeh, too." Gavlan poked the wizard's ribs hard with a finger.
Merlos waved a dismissive hand. "True, I suppose, Now, in any case, I appreciate the assistance, but if you don't mind I was in the middle of sleeping. The presence of a bunch your rowdy kin up here in the wee hours of the morning puts a damper on that and I'd very much like--"
Although Merlos had his intrusive rescuers' full attention, the sounds of whimpering and sniffling distracted both him and the rest of the group.
The lot of them looked for the source of the noise, and located it at the far corner of the room as a crouched, light grey form. The sounds of celebration died down.
"Is... Is it crying?" one of the dwarves asked, watching the shivering pegasus. She was hiding under her wings and sobbing softly into her front hooves.
Merlos took in a slow breath... then huffed. With arms already crossing themselves, he prepared a stern little bit of 'I told you so' for his guest.
"You're fine, now knock that off, Stormy." Merlos didn't have to wait long to determine Stormy wasn't calming down. The lack of a reaction to him said that much clearly. He realized she couldn't understand him, but the fact the fight was over should have been enough to put an end to the hysterics.
Someone else made a move, rather than stand by idly and let Merlos continue to flub sounding concerned.
Ges strode away from the spot beside his brother and slowly approached. "You're safe now, you're safe, shhhh," were his first words. His approach was deadly silent, though the leather armor fitted onto him creaked slightly. A few whips were coiled loosely at his sides in a loop holster, and what looked to be an ice-axe dangling from behind them scraped the wood floor as he kneeled down.
Oh my gosh. I swear I almost died. And Merlos is probably gonna be mad and throw me out and I'll never get home and then, then-- And they killed that thing, I just wanna--! Stormy looked up a little, choking a breath in from surprise at being snuck up on. One of the short-mans was right there in front of her.
"Sshhh, it's okay now," Ges repeated. "Tha' beasty's gone."
"She can't understand you right now," Merlos intoned impatiently, and rolled his eyes. "She doesn't speak common, and my enchantment's worn off." A quick swat to the back of his head from Gavlan caught him off guard, and the two began trading scowls.
Meanwhile, Ges kept a penetrating stare with the little creature before him, looking as though he peered off into the horizon. Before anyone there noticed, even Stormy, he was stroking her mane gently.
Up close, tears glistened around the miniature winged pony's eyes. Her wings themselves seemed to be what caused her shaking, wrapped around her like a comforting blanket as they were.
Ges' efforts calmed her down from hyperventilating quickly. "You're safe, you're safe, shhhh," he repeated. He could see the swelling from minor bruises on her body, likely from flying through doors rather than being attacked by the undead menaces. "She's had quite the scare, this one. I can tell."
Stormy shuddered out a limp feeling breath, trying to get control of herself. It struck her as odd that the presence of yet another stranger somehow helped. She had never felt a calming presence from someone like this before; it was like suddenly this short-man--who was also weirdly petting her head like the neighbor's family dog--was the most trustable individual in the world, and she just let him stroke her. Her eyes looked back into his own, unable to take them away. Those gentle brown eyes, both intense with a thousand yard stare, yet calming and showing a gentle soul within them.
Gavlan had been kinda weird, if tolerable, but if he had tried calming her down like this, she woulda bit him.
Stormy closed her eyes and leaned against the wall, feeling much more relaxed all of a sudden. Huh, so why's this guy so...
With Merlos' pegasus, Stormy, successfully calmed and no longer crying--and Ges had to admit that crying wasn't something he was used to when calming animals--he reached behind himself a moment and cupped a hand with some oats resting in it.
Stormy looked down with a dazed look at the oats, then blinked at them and stuck out her tongue. "Kali-mah..." she groaned in her strange language from before, then leaned against the wall, away from the offered treat.
"Hm, never had a creature say no to food before," Ges chuckled. "Are you feelin' better now, eh?" He tried to give her a few more pets, only to be dodged.
"She's fine now, so all of you stop gawking and shoo," Merlos said coldly. Ready to just go back to bed and try to get some sleep.
"Have a heart, Merlos," Gavlan shot, "She jus' had a frightenin' encounter with some undead, and that's about as frightenin' as it gets. You'd be scared too if ye didn't have yer skills in magic."
"For all the good they did me. I'm terribly rusty, bah. But I wonder what that necklace was--" Merlos waved a hand. "Regardless, apples and oranges, Gavlan. And what in the nine hells did that nephew of yours just do to calm her down?"
Gavlan chuckled. "Besides not lookin' at her like he were goin' to skin her, yah mean? Well, Ges 's good with critters like tha'. Call it a gift of his."
Merlos frowned. "That pegasus is sapient. It's no more a critter than you or I."
Gavlan scratched a hand behind his head. "Oh, tha's right. She was speakin' some crazy gibberish downstairs, now that I think abou' it. Hah. That was a surprise, alright."
"Yes, yes, very surprising." Merlos rolled his eyes. "I told you she could talk..." he added in a grumble.
"D'ya think there'd be more of 'em here?" Gavlan asked suddenly, hefting his cudgel again. "The skeletons, or other undead? I don't mind a little battle, but I'd like t'know if there'd be more of 'em about."
"I highly doubt it..." Merlos thought on that. Truth be told, he would have sworn on his life that his home was secure. "I think the amulet that one there was wearing and the runes on those abominations were what resisted my detection spells. If there are more, then they would need a similar set up."
Gavlan eased back somewhat at the explanation. "Hm, tha' makes sense. Troubling, too. Well if you're satisfied, I won't bother yeh about it." With that, he leaned in and gave a sly and quite intentionally obnoxious wink. "But next time I've got to save yer wrinkly kiester, I think I'll charge yeh!"
Merlos ignored the subsequent laughter from Gavlan and his remaining brewery employees. Instead, his attention turned to the pegasus sitting in a pile across the room.
She looked terrible; her mane and coat were disheveled and a look of guilt was strewn on her face. She also had trouble looking up towards him, it seemed.
Stormy winced and looked away from the human staring at her. His voice had sounded so angry. As she did, the strange short-man beside her rose to leave. She watched his going, but didn't stop him, opting instead to watch the excitement conclude.
Merlos shook his head and stifled a yawn, patting it back into his mouth. "Well, if you're all quite finished basking in my embarrassment, I'd much appreciate it if we all retired for the rest of the night." He yawned again mid-sentence.
He shooed at the dwarves, the last of them muttering to each other as they thumped back downstairs after helping their ungrateful landlord.
Gavlan stayed, and stood by Merlos' bedroom door before the wizard could retreat. "And what if worse creatures do show up, Merlos?" he said, leveling a suspicious gaze at the wizard. It clearly spoke that he didn't like staying someplace that housed dangers that could come slit his throat at night.
"If they're warded like these ones were, we won't know they're here until they've got their claws on my throat again!" Exasperated, Merlos threw up his hands in a fit of impatience.
"What I mean to say, is you didn't upset someone, didja?" Gavlan raised one bush-like eyebrow, punctuating the serious question.
Merlos opened his mouth to retort, then closed it just as swiftly and thought on that. "No, of course not," he finally ventured, thinking hard on whether he had or not. "At least, I don't think so."
Gavlan chuckled. "You're as likeable as a prickle bush filled with fire wasps sometimes, ol' friend. Mayhaps you insulted someone's honor by saying they resembled their mount more than their own parents?"
Merlos smirked, and blew out his beard with a laugh. "No, my ventures lately have been entirely without incident. And I'm perfectly likeable when I'm in the company of equals, I'll have you know."
"Oh, yaaah, I'm sure yeh certainly are." Gavlan made a purposefully poor effort at hiding his sarcasm, only to be interrupted by somepony's approach.
Stormy had cantered over to Merlos. She nosed his calf and softly spoke. "En taro Adun?"
Merlos looked down at her and hummed quietly, wearing a soft scowl. She looked up and pointed into his bedroom.
"Oota goota Solo?" Stormy asked, her voice tinged with hesitance.
Merlos let out a heavy sigh. "What? What do you want now? I still can't understand you, you know."
Stormy put on a disgruntled look, cheeks puffed out and expression set with frustration.
Gavlan watched the conversation going nowhere, then gestured at Stormy. "Is there a way that we can ask her if there are more? Don't yeh know some hocus pocus for that?"
"Hocus pocus he calls it," Merlos muttered, then sighed and prepared his lingual arts spell. A faint glowing mist left his hand and floated over to Stormy's calm form.
"I've been using this language spell for the time being, which should work until she learns it herself. It essentially translates everything she hears and says," Merlos took a moment to adjust his shredded nightclothes as he boasted. "One of my own masterfully made creations. You'll recall it from before I learned how to speak dwar--"
Gavlan waved for Stormy's attention, who was now getting clued in as to why she could understand them, thanks to Merlos' explanation. "Over here, little darlin'. Are there anymore skeletons about? Where did they come from?"
"I wasn't done explaining--" Merlos said, but was spoken over.
Stormy thought a moment. Her mind still catching up with things that have just happened. The image of the skeletons and where she'd found them returned to her, and she shook her head no.
"Nuh uh, just those three," Stormy answered. She looked down, pawing the floor with a soft clop of her forehoof. "There's a room back there where I found them in a closet. I'm sorry for looking around! I just got bored, and then I was so scared. They just... I could tell they wanted to hurt me so I ran and got Merlos, and then he just tried to explode them and--"
Gavlan nodded and waved his hands to gesture her to take it easy. "It's alright. All that stuff is in the past and yer safe now." He looked up to Merlos a moment, clearly wanting to say more.
Merlos held a hard scowl at Stormy. "Did I not say to not go poking that snout of yours where it doesn't belong?" After a moment, and a hard look from Gavlan, he added, "And who would have thought I'd have actual skeletons in a closet somewhere. Hm, maybe I do need to seriously consider renovating this place."
"Yah think, lad?" Gavlan intoned, chuckling a little.
Stormy, relieved to at least understand them again, laughed weakly as well. "I'm sorry," she repeated.
Merlos frowned again, pointing his scowl at a near wall instead. "It's fine," he said simply.
Everything seemingly finished, Gavlan exhaled, blowing his cheeks out tiredly. "It's late, you two," he concluded. "Hopefully a much quieter and better night to yeh both. Just scream if more of the undead show up!" He waved over his shoulder as he turned to go.
"That's not funny, Gavlan." Stormy's face melted with worry, despite being able to tell easily that Merlos' friend was joking.
Gavlan barked a laugh despite that. "Ye'll be fine. It were pleasant speakin' to yeh, Stormy!"
Gavlan let his hand off the basement door and Merlos promptly closed it, looking for an absent Stormy a moment later. Merlos found the pegasus exploring around his room, where she was paused at a dilapidated chair and ottoman.
"This looks like a good, safe, secure spot to sleep," she commented, climbing onto the old worn in furniture. She tread around atop it in a circle a few times, then added, "At least it doesn't smell like butt."
"Hey, who said that you could--" Merlos sighed with exasperation.
The little pony curled up in a ball while the Wizard took an indignant look. However, his tired demeanor and the tension between him and the tenant were enough to rob him of his usual cutting retort.
"No more exploring. And I hope you've learned a lesson about how dangerous this world can be." Merlos snatched his night cap from the bed stand, before climbing into his bed and facing away from the intrusive being in his own bedroom.
"I did," Stormy's quavering voice answered. "And I'm still really sorry. I didn't think you'd have dangerous stuff like that lying around..."
Neither did I, Merlos thought, and responded with, "It's fine. And you only get to stay in here tonight. And because I'm feeling generous. Good night then." Glancing aside at his nightstand with a few clockwork gizmos deftly whirring away, he blew a puff of air at a nearby glowing sphere, and it dimmed down quickly into pitch black.
Stormy gave a squawk of surprise.
"Quiet! Hey-- No, get off of my bed, now!"
Stormy missed her cloud bed.
She gave a long sigh while quietly staring at the wizard's bed, and ruminating on everything that had happened, like why he hadn't bothered with a translation spell right away so she could warn him about the skeleton things. She then pondered if his magic was taxing or perhaps the spell--despite how seemingly effortless Merlos made it look--was quite draining.
Stormy rested her chin on a foreleg as she laid there in peace. Despite the shock and already having slept a little, her eyes began to close, the day's burdens weighing on her.
Whenever she had gotten scared back home, whether because of timberwolves howling or whatever, she had crawled into her parent's bed. At least, as a filly she had. The last time she'd felt scared enough to do anything like that had been years ago.
She didn't have her parents bed or even her old house, but Merlos could fling fire around, so that would do in a pinch. That was so crazy... Not scary like I'd think, though.
Just when the world began to fade away--
The loud cacophony of sound she heard next brought her eyes wide, her wings flared open, and she was on her hooves looking around for the source of the noise.
Stormy's heart beat heavily in her chest, until her eyes settled on the wizard. His mouth opened a little and the sound came again, hitching on occasion and resuming in an unpredictable pattern.
He was snoring, and bad.
"Great." Stormy scowled at him and curled up, tucking her ears back with her hooves over them.
Almost as if by encouragement, Merlos gasped and snored louder.
Plucking a nearby blanket, Stormy pulled it tightly over her head. The sound was drowned out a bit, but the ottoman underneath her shook with each snore. "Oh my gosh! Safety is not worth this," she concluded.
Stormy braced herself for one of his erratic breathing snorts in his sleep, but for a moment, everything was peaceful...
She perked up and hovered over to where the wizard lay... He was quiet and eerily still suddenly.
Stormy head tilted at him. Is he dead?
While reaching out a hoof to poke him, a loud and shuddering snort erupted from his face, and spooked her back away.
Stormy lost a few feathers as she dashed away, having a mini-heart attack. Panting a moment, she decided to put away whatever fears she had in sleeping alone for the night.
The bedroom door creaked open, and Stormy muttered to herself, deciding, "I think I'll take my chances in my room."
With the stealth only a roguish halfling could appreciate, she flew out of the bedroom that sounded more like a construction yard, and closed the door behind her, the sounds of lumber being sawed and rocks being smashed following close behind. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 005: Stormy Weather and the Seven Dwarves. | High up in the sky Stormy lay half asleep atop one hastily patched together monstrosity of cloud. Truly, it was the ugliest, most ramshackle thing that a pegasus had ever created; at least, she certainly thought so.
Stormy knew she wasn't a weather pony and possessed very little skill or practice at it, but she imagined most foals would probably laugh at just how bad the cloud looked. Point in fact, it barely even supported her weight. Still, it wasn't her fault that the clouds in Merlos' stupid world didn't work right, and anyway, it did get the job done.
The job being a nice, safe place above ground where she could mope undisturbed.
In the distance, the sun had finally risen over the horizon. It was even starting to get hot out.
Come to think of it, the sun here looks kind of weird. After making her cloud, Stormy had spent the morning since the events in the tower watching the sunrise. Can't put my hoof on why, though... Different or no, she was at least glad the sun was doing its job well enough, unlike the cloud.
It was somewhere around mid-morning and the sun's rays warmed her back, while the high altitude breeze kept it pleasant. The combination calmed her much in the way it often would when lounging on lazy summer afternoons back in Equestria.
Equestria seemed so far away now. So very very far away.
Stormy rolled over--wings splayed out lazily--and gazed upside-down at the couple hundred meter drop towards the ground.
The lands surrounding Merlos' derelict property were mostly rocky hills, but not far off down the mountainous area were telltale signs of farmland and homes; she assumed these belonged to more mans.
The hot sun overhead was unlike what Stormy was used to, even going so far as to create visible heat waves hovering over the ground, shimmering as distant water would on the horizon. She wasn't an earth pony farmer nor even a weather pony in charge of an orchard, but even she could tell the heat was beating the farmlands to a near dead crop. Well, it's not a desolate place, but it could really use some watering. Whoever's in charge of the weather here sucks at their job.
Other than the more brown than green vegetation of the area, the only other noteworthy thing to see from her perch were six specks suddenly moving about the stables inside the courtyard. It seemed some people had just exited from the tower.
"Huh, who are they?" After rolling back over, Stormy squinted and leaned out nearly all the way over the edge of her cloud in an effort to get a better look. "Oh, hey, it's those guys! The short-mans! Uh, shoot, what were their names again?"
Before they could finish, her thoughts were cut off.
Stormy blinked from a sudden change in support beneath her, then gasped as she was pitched out into the air without warning.
"Ah! What the hay?" The distance she fell before her wings caught her was short, and circling back up to her traitorous cloud creation revealed that a sizeable tuft of the shoddy thing had given way under her weight.
"Pft, great," Stormy mumbled, and watched as water began to drizzle out in a haze from the now compromised cloud's port side.
She sighed, a hoof on either hip, then glanced down towards her rescuers from the night prior, as well as the scorching rays that they toiled away in.
"Oh, idea!"
With a grin, Stormy swooped around in the air to her cloud, hugged it, then began to push it downward toward the earth. About halfway down she did her best to quiet her wing-beats, somewhat approaching with silence and stealth.
And this oughta do it... Stormy squinted one eye, ensuring the mist exuding from her cloud was right over the heads of the two strangers from the previous night. The other four specks turned out to be more of the strange looking, beast-like ponies they owned.
"What the-- Is tha' rain? Ges, get a load of this. It's--" The broad shouldered stranger looked upward, astonished.
The more lean of the two interrupted. "What in the name o' the fathers?" He squinted upward, a hand raised against the sun's rays, until finally he spotted a silhouette just above the miniature cloud's edge. A grin split his features. "Oh, it's you. Hello there! Knott, it's the strange beastie I calmed down last night."
Stormy smirked, and proceeded to swoop down, but left the cloud in its position over the two--it wasn't big enough to rain very hard, after all.
"Hi! I wasn't able to say anything last night because Merlos' dumb spell had run out, so I couldn't understand your language... but I wanted to thank you guys for saving us."
The two short-mans chuckled. The larger of the two even went so far as to slap his knee in delight.
"Oh t'was our pleasure! We dwarves aren't really known to come runnin' to the aid o' others I s'pose, but I personally like to dispel that unfortunate bit o' reputation as best I can." The larger of the pair chuckled at that. "Now ah have to ask, is this bi' o' respite from the sun your doin'? It's sure as thunder appreciated." For emphasis, his hands raked through his hair, spreading the cooling water.
"Yup! That was all me." Stormy nodded, giving a grinning beam to the friendly... dwarf, as he'd referred to himself.
She continued. "I'm not great at weather stuff, but I can manage the basics. This is the least I can do for what you guys did for me and Merlos last night... Oh, and I'm Stormy Weather! What are your names?" She offered a hoof to the dwarves.
"Ges!" The leaner of the two dwarves said, shaking her hoof.
"Uhhh, guess?" Stormy blinked in confusion at the odd request. "Well, okay. Is your name Sunny Daze? Copper Top? Clear Skies? How many guesses do I get?"
He shook his head. "No, just Ges."
Stormy raised an eyebrow. But I did? "Uhm, is it Snow Ball? Flash Sentry? Pop Rocks?"
The dwarf sighed--for some reason--and leaned in closer to Stormy, pronouncing his words slowly this time. "No, just Ges."
Stormy's wings flapped as a sign of confusion. "But I am!" She turned to the other dwarf, hoping to move on and avoid offending them. "...Okay, who are you?"
"Oh, are we doing the thing? Hah, well he's not Yu. That's me." From around the corner of the stable, a third dwarf walked outside, followed closely by a fourth and a fifth. "I'm Yu."
"Now don't you start, I'll get to you in a minute after I guess his name." Stormy ignored the laughing newcomer and focused on the original dwarves. "Now who are you?"
"I'm not Yu. I'm Knott." The burliest dwarf thumped a fist to his thick chest proudly.
Stormy deadpanned. "Uhhh..." She stared at him, at a loss for words now. "You're not... what?"
The dwarf smirked. "No, just Knott."
"But not what!" Stormy said again, this time more desperately. One of the dwarves scowled at her, while a couple of the others snickered. "What's so funny?"
"No, I'm Watt." From behind this dwarf approached two more from the tower, both of whom were looking rather interested in what was going on. That brought the dwarf count up to seven.
The third dwarf chuckled, and clapped one of the others on the shoulder. "You know, Watt, yeh 're actually pretty funny."
The other dwarf laughed back harder. "Oh? But I thought tha' I was just Watt!"
Stormy stared at the scene of madness as the two dwarves doubled over laughing together.
"Aah!" She held one hoof to either side of her head, before taking a deep breath and calming down. "Okay, wait, stop. Let's start again. Firstly, you." She pointed a hoof at a random dwarf. "Name."
The dwarf nodded politely, holding one hand up to his front. "Yu," he acknowledged simply.
"Me? Oh, I'm Stormy." She looked around at the other dwarves, who already began to chuckle again.
"No, I meant that I'm Yu." The dwarf shook his head.
"What?" Stormy could feel a headache coming on.
"No, I'm Watt," the other dwarf interjected once again.
Stormy scratched her head with a hoof. "Uh, well you're a dwarf." That couldn't be what he'd meant, she decided. "But... I don't understand! Who are you!?"
"Yu," dwarf number three repeated, still grinning.
"Oh Celestia, not this again." Stormy groaned quietly. "I'm Stormy Weather," she announced plainly. "That's my name. Uggh, I think Merlos' dumb spell is broken..." She tried speaking slowly. "I. Just. Want. Your. Name."
"But I am tellin' yah, I'm Watt," the prior dwarf insisted once again.
"I don't know. I still have to guess!" Stormy couldn't believe what was happening.
"That's me, Ges." The calm dwarf from the night before again entered the fray, still chuckling.
Stormy raised an eyebrow, then pointed a hoof at him. "You?" she said.
"No, that's me," another of the dwarves said for maybe the fifth time.
Stormy instead pointed her hoof at him. "You?" she repeated.
"Yes." The dwarf grinned widely, then accepted her hovering hoof and shook it daintily in return. "Now yer gettin' it! I'm Yuno in full. It's nice to meet you."
Stormy gaped. "But I don't know you!"
He shrugged. "Well we did just meet, but I'm not so bad."
"You're not-so-bad? Let me guess, 'once you know me'." Stormy mockingly shook her head, just about getting completely fed up with being on the outside of whatever joke was going on.
"That's us!" A dwarf said from behind her.
"Who is?" Stormy growled. Whatever it was, it was painfully obvious the seven figures surrounding her were all in on something.
"Ges and Yuno. That's us, but we're all from Clan Hu." The two dwarves clapped hands on either's shoulder and laughed.
"I haven't guessed so I don't know!" Stormy insisted. "Just tell me!"
The burly dwarf from the earlier pair raised his hand and chimed in. "Okay, it's simple, Stormy. I'm Knott, and over there is Telmi, and this is Yuno."
Stormy looked at him with complete confusion on her face. "What?"
One of the dwarves from earlier spoke again. "No that's ME. I'm Watt."
"Uggh!" Stormy gave up with the ones she'd already spoken to and turned to one of the two dwarves that had not yet spoken. "Okay, what's YOUR name?" She could feel sweat dripping down her back now from shear stress alone.
"Ceymi."
Stormy squinted at him with menace in her eyes. "Yeah, I see you. But what's your name?"
The dwarf from just a moment before stepped back up, still grinning. "No, Watt's MY name!"
Stormy whirled around and shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at the last speaker. She whined in return, "I don't know it yet! Why can't you guys just tell me your names!?"
"Oh, that's my name again," one of the dwarves chortled back.
Stormy turned around, both flustered and more confused than before. "What is?"
The Dwarf pointed at one of his Brothers. "No, that's him over. Watt." He then pointed to himself. "And I'm Telmi."
She turned to look at the Dwarf the last pointed at. "Okay, you're who?"
"That's all of us," the leaner Dwarf said once again.
"Ugh, I give up." Stormy turned to the last dwarf there that had yet to speak. "Whatever your name is, tell your friends they're nuts."
"Tomara," he replied in a matter of fact tone.
Throwing her hooves into the air, Stormy hovered back a bit. "Fine, I don't care when!"
"We're all Hu," one of the original dwarves of the set piped. He shrugged and laughed along with his brethren. "Alright, this is getting old now I think."
"But isn't Quick our grandfathe'?" one dwarf laughed.
A loud whinnying cry of anguish echoed over the property.
Stormy fell to her knees and pleaded with them, hooves raised. "Guys, I just want you to tell me what your names are!"
The dwarves, as if some unspoken order had been given, all proceeded to end their laughter and line up in a row.
"I'm Ges Hu!" the first announced.
"Knott Hu," bellowed the second.
"Yuno Hu," chortled the third.
"Watt Hu," introduced the fourth.
"Telmi Hu," the fifth piped in.
"Ceymi Hu," intoned the sixth.
"Tomara Hu," the final dwarf replied. "We're all brothers, you see. And we've got this joke well rehearsed."
Stormy sat down with a thump. "Oh. I get it now." A crazed grin cracked her lost expression. "It was a joke, but it was all true?"
"Our parents have a sense of humor that resonated poorly in our keep." Ceymi nodded sagely as he spoke, evidently in full agreement. "Still, Yuno and Watt there seem to get a real kick out of it even now."
The two dwarves in the middle grinned, arms wrapped over the other's shoulder. "Aye!" they said together.
Stormy nodded, giving a sheepish laugh. "I did kinda walk into that one."
"Alright, what's all this?" An older sounding voice pierced the air, announcing the arrival of a familiar face.
Gavlan looked up over the top of what looked to be cellar stairs. "Are you lads all lollygaggin'? 'urry up now! Daylight's a wastin'!"
Stormy looked up from the elder dwarf at the sky, which judging by the sun's position barely put the time past morning. "Are you guys going somewhere?"
Knott nodded to Stormy hurriedly, before springing back towards the crates he had been carrying earlier. "We're packin' for a trip."
"Somewhere's our cousin, actually." Watt's laughter was cut short as Gavlan swatted him over the head, then pushed him towards the stables.
"That's enough out o' you, lud. Get those ponies loaded so we can move out! I swear, ah've always got to make sure you louts all know yer arse from yer left boot! Hah." Gavlan turned his scowl away from his nephews, and gave Stormy a bright beaming smile. "Mornin', lass. 'ow are yeh?"
"Great, Gavlan. Hi again!" Stormy perked up at the mention of a pony and hovered into the stall. "Did they say ponies?" Once there, the beasts within stared at her blankly.
Stormy shrugged and gave talking to them a shot. "Hi there!" she greeted, "Nice day today?"
The other pony nickered at her and she nodded. "Uh-huh... Gotchya."
Gavlan, following, trundled up beside her. "You understood it?"
Stormy crossed her forelegs. "Nope!" She chuckled, then whispered to Gavlan. "But on the off chance he understood me, I didn't want to be rude."
Gavlan oh'ed, then laughed in understanding. "I see then."
Stormy and Gavlan watched the animals being hitched up to wagons or saddled hurriedly by the other dwarves, who were all suddenly working double-time now that their uncle and boss was present.
Now that all the craziness of the earlier introductions had past, Stormy finally had a moment to think to herself, and being surrounded by her saviors from the night before got her thinking about her host.
Stormy hovered a moment and quietly addressed Gavlan. "Hey... I was just wondering, why is Merlos so angry all the time?"
Gavlan harrumphed at that, but also smiled a little.
Knott spoke up while walking by with a barrel atop either of his shoulders. "The spellslinger? He's a bit on the salty side, aye, but don't let his temper get to you! Hah, just keep being friendly and he'll warm up eventually." The barrels clunked loudly into the back of the wagon they loaded.
The ponies from up front got a little antsy at this. Stormy noticed, and hovered up to the front immediately. "Hey, it's alright." She spoke soothingly to them a moment before returning. She knew what it was like to be spooked by strange loud noises, after all.
Gavlan looked at Stormy with a quirked brow. "Thank yeh, guess I got a bit complacent with havin' Ges around. These lil' fellas do tend to spook easy."
"Well, we have that in common then." Stormy gave Gavlan a smile, though it was more to herself than anyone. "Anyway, I just feel like I'm causing Merlos trouble. He, uh, spent a lot of money on me, then set me free, so that might explain it. Are you sure it's not because he thinks it's my fault? I mean, I said I'd help pay him back!"
She scratched a hoof behind her ear as she said it all out loud. "I dunno, and then there was the skeleton thing... which was kind of my fault because I was wandering around without permission. Maybe I should make that up to him somehow."
Gavlan guffawed. "Sounds like yer both a little to blame. What lay in a wizard's tower is his own business, after all, Stormy. Don't blame yerself for that." He raked a hand thoughtfully through his beard. "And it don't seem like Merlos to misplace blame either. Just hang in there, I say."
Stormy nodded, hopping up and circling into the air. "Yeah, that's it, I'm gonna talk to him right now and make up with him! We'll forgive each other, and everything will be fine!" She felt a lot better saying her plan outloud, like a great weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Oh, there he is."
The presence of a tall man in a brown robe leaving the nearby tower was hard to miss, especially given how loud he quickly became.
"There you are!" Merlos shouted, and spotted Stormy in the same moment as he approached her quickly. "Get over here this instant! I've been looking for you all morning, you... you winged accident waiting to happen!"
Stormy closed her muzzle, the optimism she'd felt just moments ago vanishing like water under the hot sun. "Hey! That was super rude, dude."
Merlos blustered. "Rude like waking a man up in the middle of the night, only to get him attacked by the slavering undead? Bah! You were here one night and nearly got me killed!"
A couple of the dwarves chuckled whilst walking past, one saying, "Oi, that'd be a new record. Good job, Stormy."
Distracted, Stormy turned to them nervously to try and deflect the joking praise, only for a dark shadow to fall over her a moment later.
While this went on, Merlos came to a stop just before Stormy, and beside the cart.
The ponies there whickered in slight distress at the commotion. Obviously less comfortable around with Merlos drawing near.
Merlos went on. "Now, I'd very much like to begin what we'd agreed upon concerning your world and its magic. After that, maybe I can actually teach you enough about this material plane and its dangers to keep you from getting us killed."
Stormy frowned at the cart animals, then back to Merlos. "Could you not be so loud? You're spooking the ponies... And that skeleton thing wasn't just my fault, you know. I mean, they were in a room in your home after all. And... and that means we share the blame."
Merlos raised his voice, more hotheaded now than before. "Let Gavlan worry about the other ponies, I'm talking about you!" He began to pace before Stormy, while she noticed Gavlan roll his eyes from behind Merlos. "You shouldn't have been wandering around at night like that after being warned. Now come hither and share what you've promised with me so we can be done with this subject and move on!"
Stormy narrowed her eyes, her foalish pride goading her that it's better to get even than to get mad at this wizard. She zipped up to Merlos' face. "You want to learn about some of my world's magic?" she asked rhetorically. "Then I'll show you some pegasus magic."
Merlos, refusing to let go of whatever had him in such a mood, fought to get a word in. "Now-- Wait, you listen-- Hey!"
With a few hard flaps of her wings, Stormy rocketed up next to her cloud. She placed her hooves on it and moved it just over the wizard, compensating for the mild breeze, and she whirled around to buck the cloud with both her hind legs.
"Okay, here it comes!" Stormy then set her mischief into motion. The cloud of course burst open, releasing its full watery payload with the use of her pegasus magic and drenched the wizard underneath.
Merlos blinked upward, only to yelp in terror and surprise as a crack of thunder rang out overhead, which was then followed by a literal five second long torrential downpour upon his head.
"Ha!" Stormy laughed. "Nailed it!" She admired the job she'd done, even if breaking a cloud was a lot easier than putting one together.
Stormy peered down at Merlos, whose had been anger concealed rather well by the raucous laughter of the eight dwarves around the stable. Even the ponies' whinny seem to sound like laughing at his expense.
"Magic indeed," Merlos drawled. "Fine, have it your way, then!" He stomped back to his home with water dripping off his cloak. Leaving a shimmering wet trail back to his doorway, which slammed angrily.
Stormy fluttered down to the ground, rolling her eyes. "Oh well, guess that makes us even. I think? Whatever, that was his fault."
She sat there and grumped a bit more, watching as the dwarves got back to work. With them busy, Merlos angry at her still, and not much else to distract her, she needed something to do.
With a huff, she flew up to a window of the tower, letting herself in to search for where she remembered seeing a lot of books on Merlos' tour: The library.
Watching the pegasus go, Yuno stopped beside his uncle long enough to chuckle, then say, "I guess you could say, she rained on his parade--"
Gavlan swiftly struck his nephew with a well placed swat to the back of the head.
The walls and halls of the tower were cold in the early mornings, stark stone untouched by sunlight offering little in the way of warmth even in the middle of summer. The coolness would last well until noon, but for a wizard with climate changing magic, that to was easily dealt with.
Merlos groaned and cracked his back for the third time that morning, having awoken at a particularly odd angle after enduring a restless last few hours of sleep. All the same, he'd finished his normal morning routine, until noticing that a certain someone--or perhaps more accurately somepony--seemed missing.
"Wait, it's too quiet." Merlos stood there in the hall, steaming mug of tea in hand, and looking about for something he couldn't recall. "Ohhh, now I remember. That little trans-planar curiosity..." He stood there a moment longer, before shouting, "Where in the blazes is she!? Stormy!"
What started for Merlos as a nervous scouring of his tower--for an admittedly unknown magical creature--ended with trouncing outside after getting hastily changed, only to find his guest joking it up with his tenants, who certainly looked to be busy in their own right.
Intent on setting the trouble-making youngster he now had staying with him straight, Merlos had calmly approached the scene and requested Stormy accompany him back inside where he could keep an eye on her. However, she had not played along, and things turned sour quickly.
After a few hours of introspection--and a fresh change of underclothes and his robe--Merlos was again intent on finding Stormy.
While on the way back outside, the rather anti-climactic sound of a page turning caught Merlos' attention.
"Hm?" Upon peering into his library, he ascertained the source of the sound. He found Stormy laying on a rug while looking through one of his many books.
"Ah, there you are," he said, his voice scaring his guest up from her stooped reading position. "What do you think you are doing?"
"I uh uh, well, I uh--" Stormy gulped nervously and pointed at the symbols in the book, last night's events and his temper well remembered. "I was reading this, uhm, stuff about magic, I guess. There... isn't a whole lot else to do around here, and I was curious."
Frowning, Merlos stared in disbelief, then laughed as he moved to replace the volume back on the shelf. "My translation spell doesn't translate written words."
"Oh, you're not upset about something for once? That's surprising." Stormy looked at the pages again and then back to the wizard. "Well... I really can still read it, though this is written badly. What is it, something about casting spells?"
Merlos stiffened up at this and marched over indignantly. "Upset at-- Stop making things up, and that's one of my university books on magic, I'll have you know. Its instruction on the arts are praised throughout the arcane community!"
Stormy rolled her eyes and responded, "Yeah so?"
Merlos balled his fists. "So? So even if you could read it, that spell structure is cutting edge in this realm!" He swiftly bent and snatched up his book, harrumphing.
Stormy looked between the wizard and the book. "It just looks like really old and crude Equestrian to me."
Merlos scoffed at suggested the notion. "I highly doubt that. Not that it needs repeating, but you can't even speak in my language."
Stormy put on a smug look. "That may be, Oldy-McOlderson, however, I've noticed a lot of things here in this world are a lot like my own... And where we come from, we write in a similar language to that sloppy gibberish in there. Seriously, a foal could write better."
Merlos frowned and gestured to the book. "I find that hard to believe. This script has been considered the language of the universe for centuries by those who first discovered magic."
Stormy smirked. "Well, wouldn't that explain why this might be familiar to me?" At the first sign of Merlos' skepticism increasing, she continued rather than await an answer. "Hear me out, in school I learned that unicorns, who by the way use a lot of magic, have pretty much always refined parts of our language. Since then this stuff has probably just become something everypony uses on a regular basis in Equestria."
Merlos stared at Stormy flatly for a long moment. "You're saying your race uses written arcane design for simple writing?"
Stormy snickered and nodded her head. "Yup! Though a lot simpler and easier to read. But 'cause we use it so much, and you humans don't seem to as much, that makes sense. Right?"
"Interesting." Without hesitation, Merlos fetched Stormy a little piece of chalk and pointed at a blackboard. "Let's prove it."
"Uuuh... okay." Stormy shrugged and nipped the dusty writing utensil, making a face but holding her comments before hovering over to the blackboard.
Merlos began quickly. "Verdimartas theory of thaumaturgy, if you will."
Stormy stared at him blankly, "Who?" she asked with the nasty white chalk in her lips.
"Verdimartas, every basic magic student knows of him! He's famous for simplifying our entire system based in Thaumaturgy!" After a moment, he added, "The fundamentals of magic!"
Stormy spat the chalk out and wiped her lips. "That's unicorn stuff! And I'm not a unicorn or even from this world, geez!"
Merlos studied the pegasus, whom now hovered with her forelegs crossed. "Fine. Then how about a little something about what you do know?"
Stormy sighed and collected the chalk from the ground. After a few minutes of her writing sigils and rune-like words across the board, Merlos was left no choice but to stare at the blackboard in awe.
"This..." He scrutinized every symbol on the chalkboard, from how it was drawn to how it appeared compared to his own designs. While Stormy's mouth-writing had a loopy and feminine appearance, it was still recognizable at a glance. He knew this basic spell-structure well, as it was similar to one he had worked on before.
"This is a theory on flight magic," he finally stated.
Stormy's proud look grew while the aged human looked up and down at the basic theory for flight magic that got taught at her school. "See, I told you I could read and write that stuff." She spoke with the chalk-piece held at the corner of her mouth, where its foul taste and texture disturbed her the least.
Merlos harrumphed. "I suppose you weren't lying, unless you learned this quickly from one of my books... But I suppose that's more far-fetched a thought than your race adapting some qualities of magical script into your written language. What I find odder is that the script is so similar in both our worlds..."
Stormy rolled her eyes. "Are you always this big a skeptic?"
"I'm a man of the sciences, Stormy. Magic is simply chief among them. It wouldn't do to simply accept things before studying everything in full detail." Merlos nodded sharply, then jabbed a finger at the blackboard. "Furthermore, while this equation is impressive, it would never work, and seems bloated with unnecessary elements and steps."
Stormy's proud look shattered, replaced quickly by one of consternation. "What!? Aw, come on. I had to learn that in the second grade! That's literally the ground work behind how inn- innadedly... inattley..."
"Innately?" Merlos offered, suppressing a rueful chuckle.
Stormy snorted. "Yeah, that. It's how pegasus innately use magic to help us fly."
Merlos harrumphed. "It doesn't matter, it's still wrong." He turned to scowl at the offensive, overly girly spell-script on his chalk, and began erasing it. But he stopped at the last moment, squinting a bit longer at the pattern it held.
"No... surely it could never work like that... Could it? Although... Yes, I see the pattern now. That-- this is incredible! It is a theory on flight magic, yet it's actually quite refined, elegant, like poetry." Merlos paused to look starkly at his little winged tenant. "I can't believe a race of beings actually teach this to their young. Would this really work? I wonder--"
"Ah huh." Rather than graciously accept the comments, Stormy mumbled her own sour note over the writing utensil she'd been given. "How do you write with these? They're 'errible! It's like some 'orrible dusty-icky-crumbly thing."
Merlos smiled a bit. "Well, we don't hold them in our mouths..."
Stormy stared at Merlos with the now soggy stick of foul chalk in her mouth, before spitting it out and hurriedly wiping her muzzle off. "Ugh, I can still taste it."
Merlos waited patiently for Stormy to finish wiping away the chalk dust. He could see white stains around where it dyed into her fur a bit, and decided to find a better means for her to write with later.
"So there is one thing that has got me thinking." Stormy began looking at the book and then back to the disgruntled wizard. "Why don't you need a horn? I thought only Unicorns could cast spells. So how come you and other humans can do it?"
Merlos scowled from the very notion. "Don't be absurd, you don't need a silly horn to use magic. Or anything, really. Magical aptitude comes from within, from the mind. The more talented you are the less tools you rely on! Be it a wand, staff... or, uh, horn." Merlos harrumphed loudly, then put on a haughty grin. "Any halfwit with a brain can cast magic, though in your case I'm beginning to suspect that may be impossible."
Stormy pondered his words a moment before giving a, "Hey!" She scowled, puffing out her cheeks in offense. "I'm just asking some simple questions, you don't have to be such a jerk about it!"
"Jerk or not, for someone schooled in such advanced learning on written arcana, it would be easy to speculate that you should know a spell or two to show for such a thing. Even a slow adept can light a candle in the first month without worrying about setting his hair on fire." As he bragged, Merlos threw up an exaggerated air quote for emphasis.
"Is that why you have none on top of your head?" quipped Stormy. Her grin replaced the one she wiped off the human's face.
Merlos spoke back in a matter-of-fact tone. "You really don't have many wizards in your world do you? Most people run when someone insults a wizard by accident."
Stormy shrugged. "Just in comic books, actually, and usually the wizards are goofy comic relief characters."
Merlos frowned a bit at that, but merely stared at her while she pondered a little more.
"There is Twilight Sparkle..." Stormy began to say.
"And was she a wizard of comic relief?" Merlos was dry with the retort.
"No, she was an Element of Harmony, and a princess of Friendship. But she is a really really powerful alicorn."
"A Princess of what?" Merlos reciprocated.
"Er, Friendship," Stormy replied. "Why, what's wrong?"
Merlos shook his head. "Nothing, I guess. Well, how powerful is she then?" He managed to keep from smirking or laughing at the pony's earnest testimony.
Stormy looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Well, she saved the world many times, beat a spirit of chaos and other powerful beings to submission, and she's supposed to be a huge nerd." She shrugged. "I'll tell you all about the princesses, eventually, but there's a lot to it. I'm more interested in this magic right now."
Stormy pointed a hoof at Merlos' forehead. "If it's true I don't need a horn, like you, then how come I can't cast spells like a unicorn? Or... anypony from where I'm from. Earth ponies and Pegasi just sorta do it."
"Spell-like abilities aren't uncommon." Merlos hummed. "Though it's unusual that creatures with such would know the magic theory beneath them like yourself, living alongside your spellcasting unicorn brethren may explain that. But why can't any of you cast spells? Now that's a good question."
Stormy watched the human grin a bit to himself, like he was having the time of his life puzzling things out. She didn't feel the same way, what with her curiosity still eating at her.
Stormy pawed the ground a bit as she spoke up again. "Well, thinking on it, I've only seen unicorns, uh, and you I guess, use magic like spells, but never earth ponies or pegasus ponies."
Merlos nodded along while she spoke, looking more attentive than, well, he ever had.
Stormy brightened at that. It was in that moment that a random idea occurred to her, as well. "Hey, but, what if our worlds are different? Like, you said that no one raises your sun, right? So, what do you think about maybe only unicorns casting spells being true?"
A smirk broke Merlos normally stony expression. "Interesting. Yes, it's possible you would need a... horn or other conduit to use higher forms of magic. Well, unless your people have some racial deficiency I'm not aware of that prevents 'ponies' from using it."
Stormy stuck her tongue out at him at the last remark, but laughed it off, grinning from certain implications. "Well, barring that, if whatever magic you have here is different or whatever, then that means... I could actually learn to use magic?"
Merlos blinked at her. "I suppose... that might be true." Somehow, despite the honesty in his reply, he felt as if saying such had been a mistake.
Stormy gained a glimmer in her eye. "Cool."
Seeking a way to change the subject and distract the suddenly giggling pegasus, Merlos thought hard. "Yes, well, Stormy, I am curious about just what you were doing outside earlier? Before I, ahem, had tried to gain your attention."
Stormy cast a glance to the window, while he followed her gaze. "Nothing much, I guess." After a moment, she added, "I did talk to those guys from last night though. They were going somewhere." The Dwarves had long departed on their journey, and were no longer visible from the tower window's impressive view on the world.
After a significant pause, Merlos raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Stormy ruffled her wings. "Well, after you went inside, the Dwarves asked me to let you know you should lighten up. And Gavlan said to wish you a good day."
Merlos tried not to let any sourness onto his face. He refused to let her earlier childish prank ruin his day.
Stormy cleared her throat, then asked, "Aaanyway, where are they even going? I forgot to ask them."
"Gavlan is heading out with his nephews to assist the local law enforcement, actually. They tend to do so from time to time." He stroked his beard as he thought on that, and something else returned to mind shortly after. "Actually that reminds me, Gavlan asked me to give him assistance with escorting their stores of ale downriver. I think I'm accompanying Knott, Ges, and whoever's on the barge. We'll be gone for a bit as a result."
Stormy's ears twitched at hearing that. Well that's the first I've heard of this. She head tilted over at him. "You're leaving? For how long?"
Merlos paused at that, the realization he hadn't considered something rather pertinent suddenly dawning on him.
"Well... it's a simple guard job to the coast. A few days there, a few days staying, and then a few days back. It will give me a chance to sell some of my scrolls, too." He began to consider things, concluding slowly. "...So, I'll be gone a fortnight. Hm."
Stormy blinked. "You're going to be gone two weeks?" She sighed. "At least tell me you'll go shopping first? There is nothing edible in that kitchen of yours. Believe me, I looked this morning."
Merlos shot her a glare. "I assure you there is plenty that's edible, not to mention the food you have out in the stables still that I did buy just for you." He raised a hand to forestall any interruption and continued. "And in any case, I'm not actually sure I wouldn't rather bring you along just yet..."
Stormy bit back her outburst about eating hay that had been sitting outdoors for who knew how long, and gave her host a confused look. "Oh, you mean I get to come too?"
Merlos frowned at that, just barely not shaking his head in response. He stared hard at the floor, thinking. "Like I said, I'm not sure I'm comfortable bringing you along, either. It will be dangerous--"
Stormy almost awed at hearing what sounded like him thinking of her, before he then said, "And I really don't want you there to get in the way. Or worse, actually cause trouble of your own in the city."
Stormy scowled. "Hey!"
"Although." Merlos hummed. "I suppose I could just disavow any knowledge that I know you were you to get into any serious trouble."
Stormy's jaw nearly hit the floor. "You-- You big jerk!"
Merlos looked up, suppressing a grin. "But, thinking about it, since you likely couldn't hope to keep out of trouble for twenty-four hours, let alone two weeks, it's probably better you stay where I can at least keep an eye on you. Even if there might be danger."
Stormy hovered up to Merlos' face and laid her ears back, placing her hooves on her hips as she set about barking out a retort. "If something wants to hurt me while we're there I'll just fly away from it. I-I can take care of myself."
She tried to make herself sound sure of herself. Unfortunately, last night's events came back to her even as she spoke, adding a slight quaver to her rebuttal. She swallowed hard afterward.
Merlos studied the little pegasus, rubbing his beard before coldly adding, "No, you can't. Not in this world. You need to learn to protect yourself and learn what's out there before making a silly assumption like that again."
"Consider this an ideal opportunity to learn in the stead of a large party. We're going to the capital of Halia. If you want to learn some spells you can read from my books along the way and I can help you practice."
"R-Really? You'd help me with that?"
"Yes, it's going to be a hopefully boring trip anyways. I'll fetch my books from when I was a young lad. Maybe they'll give you some possible hope of casting magic. Perhaps with time you'll pick up some parlor tricks or such."
Stormy lit up with a renewed energy Merlos hadn't witnessed before, her ears up and alert with her wings spread wide she bounced excitedly "I get to learn to cast magic?"
Merlos stared incredulously as she whinnied happily and continue bouncing around him like a jack russell terrier on large quantities of haste potion. He studied her while she moved in a way he'd never witnessed a pony, let along any equine move before.
"I get to learn magic! I get to learn magic! I get to learn magic!" she chanted. Leaving a few errant feathers from her improvised dance on the ground.
Merlos allowed the filly to bounce around a moment, before finally clearing his throat.
"Right then," Merlos began, Stormy stopping her improvised dance number to listen to his next words. "I'll fetch your distracti-- I mean, your books. In addition, you will need a few things for the trip, but I'll see to that." He stroked his beard a moment, the grainy sounds filling the air with his pause. "In any case, we're not apt to leave for several days, but be sure you're ready for when the barge arrives. You're going on an adventure soon."
Stormy sifted through the kitchen looking for a cup for her journey. Stupid Merlos. She frowned, flittering from one cupboard to the next. Why would I need a cup? Oh, I dunno, jerk, to drink out of maybe? Wait, you seriously think that being a pony means I wouldn't drink out of a cup? Uggh.
She supposed she could cut him a bit of slack, but continuously getting compared to the other ponies and horses he had here was grating on her nerves.
Stormy sighed. "Oh well, I guess that's not as bad as my lack of a toothbrush right now... and Merlos' confusion about what that was doesn't fill me with confidence about getting one at this city-- Hello, what have we here?"
After setting down the grimy little cup she'd found, Stormy hovered over toward a peculiar bottle sitting in the far corner of Merlos' grimy kitchen.
The bottle was oddly shaped, tapering off quickly at the top, and was filled with an orange liquid.
Stormy looked at the label, but it was written in whatever other scripture humans used, so she had no idea what was inside.
"Huh, what is this stuff?"
She missed her saccharine diet of sweets from Equestria; A sodapop fresh from Soda Jerk's fountain drinks, ice cream, cakes from Tia's Forbidden Desires, donuts from Donut Joe's. All of them were sugary confections that a young pegasus would eat to their heart's content. She knew well that she was, as many would call her, a "Sugar fiend."
And she hadn't had any sugar in weeks.
The familiarity of the strange liquid was too much for Stormy to resist.
Removing the mysterious fizzy concoction's stopper, she took a whiff and her eyes widened. "Orange soda?" she commented out-loud. She marveled at the bottle clutched in her hooves, containing something that she had honestly thought she would never see again. At least, certainly not in Merlos' kitchen.
A grin split Stormy's face as she leaned in lovingly to nuzzle the funny shaped bottle.
"Who loves Orange soda? Stormy loves orange soda! Is it truuuuuue?" She cradled the strange bottle and cooed to it. "Is it true? Ohyesohyesohyes it's true-ooo! I do I do I do I do-oo!" With the ritual complete, she placed a kiss on the bottle's top before hefting it to her lips.
Stormy took a good strong gulp. Her eyes widened.
"Whoa. Whoa that's good!" She smacked her lips. "Not quite orange soda levels of good, but not bad-- whoops!" Her hooves slipped on the glass bottle's slick exterior, sending it hurtling towards the ground.
What happened next to Stormy's perception were as follows: as she had let go of the mysterious soda bottle, it began to slow down its fall.
"Huh, that's new." She blinked at it, dropping down to watch the bottle fall and even caught it with her hooves. "Weird," she said, but thought no more about the oddity. For some reason her thoughts were picking up speed.
Stormy shrugged and tucked the bottle under her wing, before grinning around herself and remembering the other thing she'd wanted to do that day. "This place is so filthy! I guess I'll get started on cleaning."
While passing by a window, she noticed a honeybee fly by it, its wings flapping in slow motion. She shrugged, took another sip from her strange glass bottle and went on a search for a broom. Hm, this could use some ice. Where can I get ice from? |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 006: Fallout Equestrian. | Merlos awoke from his nap feeling rather refreshed for the day, even knowing later he'd be dealing with that mad flying pony house guest of his. He'd successfully gotten her distracted the day before with books about simple magic theory that ought'nt be very dangerous, even for someone like her.
"Well, I suppose I had better go and make sure my home is at the very least still intact." Chuckling sourly, Merlos rose from bed and made his way to the door.
Scratching his behind absently through his robe, he exited into the hallway outside his bedroom. Immediately, an alien, soapy-like scent hit his nose rather than the usual dank, gritty and dusty one he was used to.
"What in the blazes--?" Merlos stared all around himself, sniffing the air with confusion.
Everything, he noticed, was eerily clean. Metal furnishings shimmered, broken debris no longer cluttered the hallway, and even the exterior of his door's knob glinted with what must have been a whole day's worth of polishing.
Feeling a bit nervous, Merlos stepped carefully down the hallway. Have I entered some alternate realm? Surely I didn't leave my dimensional perforator on. Am I simply dead? The questions came to him unbidden. He wondered what possibly could have happened. Did someone move into my home after my death? He immediately started planning on haunting whoever would have the nerve to do that.
Merlos' eyes drifted back and forth across his floor. It was shiny. The cobbles looked wet in places and brighter, as if still drying. He never knew the stone under all that rubble and dust was even capable of being polished.
When he got to the first main room at the end of the hallway, however, his curiosity switched immediately to stark confusion, then a mix of worry and anger.
"Where are my things?" Merlos looked around himself. Sure enough, the room was empty.
Almost...
In the midst of the otherwise empty room... was a lone, grey feather sitting on the floor.
Merlos watched the feather for a moment, his ire mounting, before snatching at it angrily. His fist opened up to the reveal the damning evidence of what surely must be the cause of things.
His bellow filled the tower from top to bottom.
"STORMYYYYYYY!"
Merlos continued to shout Stormy's name as he jogged through the tower searching for her. During this, and amidst coming up with punishments or cross words to have with her, a perturbed thought connected a few dots.
This is happening with far too much regularity for comfort. Merlos scowled as he rounded a corner and descended another flight of stairs.
This time the little transplanar guest had gone too far. While everything from the floors to the ceilings of his tower had, in fact, been cleaned, almost all of the furniture and his property seemed to be missing.
If I didn't know better, I'd say I'd been robbed... but what thief goes to the trouble to scrub grime out of the crevices afterward? No, this is definitely her doing.
"Stormy?" Merlos shouted again into a room, before moving on to the next. "Where in Weathervane's name is that blasted-- Stormy?"
Merlos stopped fast after nearly passing by the doorway to one unused floor. Normally, it was a large room jam packed with nothing but old crates and benches―a former dining hall perhaps―but now it stood empty with the door slightly ajar.
And sitting in the middle of the room was the pegasus Merlos hunted for so methodically.
"There you are! What is the meaning of all this?" Merlos swept an arm out in a vague gesture toward the far wall. "Was I not clear enough about leaving things as they were? The floors, fine, yes, clean them if you must I'd say, but after everything that's happened you really dared to do so without asking? Not to mention my things!" He put a hand up to his head to fully illustrate his disbelief. "And for that matter what of my belongings? They're gone! What have you to say for--"
Merlos stopped fast, noticing suddenly that Stormy didn't seem to be paying him nor his words any heed whatsoever.
The pegasus seemed to be sitting still and was alert, but she simply stared straight ahead.
Is she paralyzed with fear? Merlos scowled. Well, she better be!
"Stormy, look at me at once. Perhaps there is a major failure of communication between us on some cultural level, but I need answers." He tried to meet her eyes, but even leaning down the pegasus failed to make eye contact with him. "Stormy?"
Something felt off to Merlos, and he had a hunch that whatever it was tied in to the fact that the pegasus seemed to be... vibrating.
"Stormy, answer me. Now." Merlos gave the utmost severity to his words.
Slowly, and very shakily, Stormy looked up at the one addressing her. Her eyes were wide and her pupils shrunken while a small, but slightly manic smile was on her muzzle. Her disheveled form―there were soap suds in her frazzled mane―stared at him blankly for a moment.
Merlos raised an eyebrow. "Well? I demand an explanation. A complete one." He could understand that she would be frightened. Still, whatever had happened, whether she were responsible or not, the amount of shaking she was doing seemed excessive.
After another couple irritatingly long seconds, Stormy opened her mouth slightly, which seemed to allow her teeth to begin chattering noisily. This was punctuated further by the sudden clattering of her hooves against the stonework as she shifted her rigid posture.
"I-I-I-I―" Stormy made an unsuccessful attempt at speaking, instead stammering.
Merlos sighed. "What? 'I' what?" He placed his fists on his hips.
"I-have-bees-in-my-teeth," Stormy eventually managed to blurt out, and in an almost unintelligible garble of highspeed words.
Merlos stared, then shook his head. "Come again?" Did she say bees? Oh, gods, I hate bees. And insects, for that matter.
Stormy kept sitting there, shifting slightly, and looking as if she were struggling to try and move more. Her wings twitched and ruffled continuously. When she finally spoke again, it still almost impossible to understand.
"M-M-Merlos-I'm-sorry-I-didn't-get-permission-to-clean-first-I-totally-forgot-and-spaced-on-that-so-anyway-I-took-everything-outside-and-then-I-cleaned-everything-in-the-tower-and-oh-my-gosh-this-soda-you-had-in-the-kitchen-was-great!"
Stormy finished by giving a winning smile, although her teeth kept chattering.
Merlos blinked. "What?" He tried his best to process what his ears thought he had just heard. It was as if someone had spoken through a time warping disturbance. "I... think I heard the word clean in all of that." He looked around again at that. "Which I would say is obvious... but now that I think about it, what isn't so clear to me is just how you accomplished such a feat."
The night before he had gone to bed and nothing had been out of its proper place. The dust had caked everything nice and thick, niter grew from the walls, and all of the furniture had been left where it lain for decades, much of it decayed into shambles.
"And in just one night," Merlos continued, and squinted at his strange visitor while wondering what could be amiss. "Furthermore, why are you acting like thi--"
The words died in his mouth as his eyes came to rest on a peculiarity laying beside Stormy, just behind her tail.
Merlos quickly leaned down past her and snatched up a tall, empty glass bottle with its cork unplugged. He quickly read the label and discerned what it was.
"What is the meaning of this?" he asked calmly, then whirled about on Stormy. "Did you drink this... this entire thing!?" He could feel the rage that had been boiling in him quickly piercing the calm he had managed.
Stormy once again exploded into speech, grinning bigger. "When-did-you-start-speaking-whale, Merlos? You-talk-so-slow! Can-I-learn-whale-too? I-wanna-try-I-wanna-try. Oh-my-gosh-a-fly, look-how slow-its-wings-are-moving." She stopped speaking again, and paying attention, instead opting to look somewhere above herself, eyes flickering in tight circles at the ceiling with disturbing speed.
"I don't-- What are you saying?" Perturbed, but not yet beaten, Merlos glared at the creature that currently seemed capable of only spitting nonsense at him, and that creature certainly didn't seem to be finished.
Stormy stood then, her legs dancing as if to some diabolic tune. "Hay-hay-hay-hay, Merlos! Merlos! Hay-hay-hay-why-aren't-you-talking? HAHAHAHA! You're-like-a-statue-from-canterlot." All the while she talked, she danced from hoof to hoof with her wings suddenly buzzing at an inordinately accelerated rate.
"Stormy, listen to me," Merlos growled, interrupting. "Molesting my home and cleaning my things without permission is bad enough." He paused to point to the bottle in his hands. "But drinking this haste potion! No wonder you-- You aren't listening to me, are you?"
Stormy was giggling and bouncing where she stood, but did certainly gave no outward signs of comprehending things.
Merlos managed to take a breath to calm himself once again. It was quite obvious that he would need to be level-headed in order to compensate for the pegasus' current state.
"Stormy, I want you to try and calm down. Can you do that?" Unfortunately, the moment Merlos posed the question, she was gone. He blinked, and looked around in disbelief. "What in the blazes?"
When he looked around he found Stormy vibrating in another spot, just outside his peripheral vision. Then, just as quick, she suddenly appeared right in front of him again.
Merlos squinted angrily. "Are you paying attention to anything I'm saying?" he asked, doing his best to gain the shaking pegasus' attention, her hooves tapping on the floor like mad.
Stormy snapped her head up and bent her hooves above her. "I am cute-foalio! I need brushies for my gray coat!"
Merlos connected his right palm hard to his forehead. With that, it was clear that getting through to Stormy in her current state was all but impossible.
"Very well, you just burn off the rest of that elixir, and I'll see to finding and reappropriating my belongings..." Merlos grumbled to himself as he left the room and the sound of clattering hooves and gibberish behind him.
"And we'll talk about what I'm to do about you later..."
Merlos found his things quicker than he thought he would.
"Come on, you... blast!" Merlos gave up his struggle against trying to dislodge a rather stubborn cauldron from a mismatched pile of other random objects. Sure, he was using a wand of levitation to move things, not brute force, but it was still trying work nonetheless.
The pile was one of many, all of them positioned haphazardly right outside his tower's front door in the courtyard. Luckily, the old fort's interior was large enough that there was actually enough room for all of the junk that Stormy had apparently decided to haul outside.
Merlos wiped away a streak of sweat already forming on his brow. "This is both demeaning and annoying! Surely I have another spell to organize all of this quicker." He left behind the pile of things and struggled his way up the towers stairs toward his chair.
Afterward, he produced his spellbook from underneath his robes.
"This is by far the most frustrating thing I've ever had to do. Now, let's see what I have... Can't just teleport everything in this state unorganized as it is... Maybe I could―"
The sound of a small explosion right behind Merlos interrupted his deliberation, and promptly made him tumble forward out of his chair onto the stonework.
"Who dares―!?" Merlos flipped over, wand at the ready in order to face some sudden, deadly threat... and found Stormy hovering casually with a placated smile.
"Of course." Merlos groaned and replaced his wand. "I don't suppose you're coherent yet? And what was that boom?"
"You're-funny-Merlos. What's-up!" Stormy giggled, bobbing a little in the air.
Not put off at being ignored, Merlos replied curtly, while also dusting himself off. "Not my spirits, that's for sure. And what are you doing now?" He hoped for a reasonable answer, but instead the little pegasus disappeared from sight again, and faster than he could track.
"That potion had better run out soon." Merlos threw up a hand in frustration and turned back to his work, only to jump from Stormy suddenly being there behind him.
"S-Stop that!" Merlos clutched a hand to his heart. He didn't quite feel like he was going to have a heart-attack, but he did feel as if he should have by then.
Stormy head tilted, her wings buzzing loudly where she hovered. "Stop-what?"
"That!" Merlos growled before explaining further. "The random disappearing and hyperactivity!"
"Ohhhh." Stormy held a hoof to her chin, wearing a genuine enough look of understanding.
Merlos felt his shoulders relax, and scanned his possesions briefly, trying his best to find furniture that wasn't irreparably damaged amidst the various piles. "Look, Stormy, please focus. What you did was dangerous! I understand you couldn't read the label, but under no circumstances should you have imbibed a liquid you weren't familiar with! Now just look at the mess I have to clean up."
After levitating a couple tables up with a wand, both of which sagged weakly in the middle, Merlos turned his head back around angrily. "We're going to have a long talk now about-- Where did you go?"
He looked around the courtyard, but once again could see no sign of Stormy anywhere.
"Hi!"
Merlos felt his heart explode up into his chest from both the suddenness, and the close proximity of a voice suddenly in his ear.
"AH!"
"Whoa, calm-down-Merlos! Why-so-uptight?" Stormy grinned from ear to ear, then leaned forward as she sipped from what curiously appeared to be a glass of water with ice clinking inside it.
"Uptight!?" Merlos lowered his hand from clutching the cloth over his heart. "I am no such thing, and you weren't even listening to-- What are you drinking now?" He immediately honed in on what was held in Stormy's strange alien grip. How a pony could hold anything was mystery enough without considering where she possibly could have gotten ice.
"Just-water-with-ice," she chirped merrily.
"A cup of ice? And where are you getting this ice from?" Merlos demanded.
Stormy gasped, then put on a look that was far too excited seeming. "Okay-so-after-all-that-work-cleaning-you're-welcome-by-the-way-I-was-super-thirsty-so-I-wanted-some-ice-cold-water-but-where-could-I-get-ice-from-and-I-was-like, duh! From-the-top-of-the-mountain!"
Stormy finished with a grin, and then was suddenly gone, the tiny flares of mach cone trailing away along with the same sound of thunder from before. Her little glass of water spun slightly atop the stone cobble where it had apparently been left behind.
"The mountain?" Merlos repeated in disbelief, albeit to himself. "The nearest range is miles away!" He realized he was alone, but sure enough, a gray streak returning from the vague direction of the distant mountaintops peeled through the air, then stopped right at his feet.
Stormy placed a chunk of ice as large as her head down, then exhaled a quick breath of air. "Phew! Kinda-heavy. See? Mountain ice!"
The sound of a thundering crash followed, then came a powerful wind followed promptly by dust and small, pelting rocks.
Once the wind had passed, Merlos calmly reached up with both hands, then pulled his beard down from where it had blown up and over his face. "Stormy?" he said calmly.
"Yeah, Merlos?" Stormy grinned up at him, her wings flapping nonstop behind her.
Merlos then cast a spell that froze her in place. It was temporary, but he had briefly considered something more permanent, as well.
"You and I are going to have a little chat."
Stormy zipped around in the sky, corralling clouds and trying to tighten them up into a nice thunderhead. With difficulty, she was able to infuse some of her magic into the clouds, making them thicken up with her pegasus magic. The clouds themselves, however, were strange and very... loose, or perhaps chaotic was a better word for them; she wasn't sure.
The cloud thing idea had come from one of her 'potion-trip' induced thoughts. This one had been of making it monsoon on top of Merlos' tower and simply running a squeegee around inside to get it clean. As an added bonus she'd hoped that would maybe also cool the angry wizard off a bit.
Buuut her mind had still been under some mind altering effects of large concentrations of haste potion. She could definitely understand why it hadn't been a great idea.
For instance, she had no idea where she could get a squeegee from.
"At least I feel like it's wearing off."
Most of Merlos' haste potion had worn out, but Stormy still felt she could still fly in a straight line for days. That had her worried a bit after it had been explained that she'd probably be dead on her hooves for days once it completely wore off.
"I hope I'll still be okay for that trip we're going on." Stormy hummed, mulling that over until her creation at hoof neared completion.
After building up the thundercloud enough to be called a proper one―this one was definitely at least a little better than her earlier makeshift cloud bed―Stormy flopped atop it and sighed merrily. She could feel the crackling of magic inside of the cloud threatening to make her giggle from its tickling.
The dour mood hanging above her like a second storm cloud kept her from enjoying her work, though.
"Well, it's done. Not sure what I'll use it for now though... Geez, what was I thinking?" Stormy sighed, staring up at the sky. Merlos is super angry at me... again. Can't imagine what I can possibly do to make it up to him now, either. I mean, I just cleaned his entire house! Hm, maybe an apology cupcake would work...
Stormy rolled over, back legs kicking idly. "I wish he'd at least let me help him put everything back. Now I just feel bad."
While continuing to mope, and dread all the nasty things that Merlos had said might happen to her from drinking that entire potion, something caught Stormy's hearing. "Hm?"
That was when she heard a whistle.
Idly, Stormy peered over the side of her stormcloud and down towards the earth. There, a long ways below, she saw a speck waving up to her.
Curiosity got the better of Stormy, and after fluttering down, she landed before what turned out to be another human. She recognized the human somewhat, too, having seen him during her drug induced hyperness from the morning. He was probably the closest thing Merlos had to a neighbor, she guessed, given that he lived just down the hill.
"Oh, have you been watching me?" Stormy said, half to him and half to herself. She wondered why a human would be watching her stitch together a thundercloud.
The stranger spoke to her. However, he might as well have been gargling water, as Stormy couldn't understand any of it.
The human, whoever he was, wore loose rags and a wide brimmed hat. Stormy quickly decided that he definitely needed a trip to a tailor or something. Yeesh. The derelicte look was so two seasons ago.
"Oh, just great. That language spell-thingy Merlos cast yesterday wore off... and I didn't ask him to cast it again before flying away." Stormy sighed, scratching a sheepish hoof behind her head. She had flipped through several books the day before to try and get an idea of Merlos' language, but that was difficult when she couldn't read any of it except for spells, and those weren't any help.
Unable to guess what the stranger wanted, Stormy simply stated back to him, "I. have. no. idea. what. you. are. saying. but. I. am. Stormy! Nice. to. meet. you!"
The stranger, probably a farmer judging by his pitchfork, rubbed his head for a moment before shaking it. He proceeded to point at the cloud hovering overhead, then to the sorry looking crops that surrounded them both. He finished by pointing to his hand thing, which he bunched up, then used his other hand to wiggle his fingers just beneath it.
Stormy looked at him like he was crazy the whole time, until it dawned on her what he wanted. "Oh! You want me to make it rain! Yeah, I can do that." She paused and rubbed a hoof under her chin. "Then again, if my Papa told me anything, it's that if you're good at something never do it for free." The farmer blinked at her expectantly, wearing a grin and obviously not understanding.
Stormy shrugged. "Buuut I'll give you a sample of what I can do!" With a quick flap, she wasted no time, and rocketed up into the air. The energy from the haste potion was noticeably still coursing through her veins, and while she felt a little tired, pushing the storm wasn't all that taxing.
Now, how high up should this sucker be, exactly? Stormy would have asked the farmer if maybe he knew, but counting out that option all she could do was draw on her limited memories of watching other weather pegasi work, and what she had been taught growing up.
Stormy flew above her cloud a few times to check her "aim", guesstimating that it was about right. When she got it at the right spot, she yelled, "Here it comes!" and got to work.
She landed atop the cloud then bounced as if it were a giant trampoline in order to 'wake up' the rain. Thunder suddenly boomed across the sky, and Lightning arced threateningly, a few bolts spraying up above the cloud in an out of control fashion.
Oh no you don't! Stormy knew precisely how to fix this. Probably. This is my big chance to show that I know what I'm doing and I'm NOT going to mess it up.
Stormy dived over to the messier part of the cloud and began to weave and knead it with her hooves, ignoring the lightning shooting out and around her face just inches away from her. The last thing she wanted was a nasty shock and a singed mane, but it was less dangerous to her than others.
As Stormy had hoped it would, the lightning stopped thanks to her work, quickly calming back to a steady rumble. "Alright, let's try that again."
After bouncing atop it a few times with a few well placed 'boings', Stormy heard the steady hiss of the rain beginning to release from below. She kick-launched back into the air, then circled below to witness her hard work pay off.
A grin split her face. Yup, my weather camp instructor would be so proud. Hay, maybe even my parents would be. Then again that seems a little unlikely, given how seriously they take the old weather business back home.
Her hooves outstretched, Stormy sped around the storm while working in a mild rotation to get it moving around the field on a steady wind. The action would act as a sort of automatic watering system which would hopefully cover most of the ground below evenly.
Stormy sighed, watching the cloud float off slowly, then blinked as shouts and cries of glee caught her attention.
Below, the farmer jumped up and down like a crazy person, cheering. Water already welled up in the irrigated paths of his crops' fields.
Well, he looks happy. After a thought, Stormy flew up high into the air with a growing smile on her muzzle. But this oughta really brighten his day! With her smile at full capacity, she turned around and dove back towards her cloud.
Stormy put her forehooves before her and used a little pegasus magic, ready to do the move she had developed for her own use at the best young flier's competition.
"For the wonderbolts!" Stormy cried out. Rocketing down like a bullet from the heavens, she tucked her wings in and flared them right as she passed beside the cloud. The move just barely grazed the cloud, and an arc of blue lighting exploded out in a ripple as response.
The sound of cheering stopped its way up to her from the ground, before beginning again a second later.
Stormy landed, watching her cloud with a sidelong look. "Well, how was that?" She grinned and waited a moment for a response from the farmer, before remembering. "Oh, right. Well―" Another rumble sounded off, interrupting. This time it came from her stomach.
The farmer, amidst his grateful seeming expressions, made a look of understanding and chuckled.
Stormy laughed, too. "Geez, Merlos wasn't kidding. I'm so hungry I could eat a... a... darn, I can never think of something to finish that sentence for some reason. Oh well, I hope he isn't too angry to feed me."
Stormy looked up at the farmer to say goodbye. "Well, I gotta go, I... hm?"
The farmer put his hands up to make the one finger gesture, speaking his silly human language, then dashed off towards his house.
"What was that about?" Stormy raised one eyebrow, but waited patiently since he seemed to have wanted that. As the seconds ticked, she could feel for certain that the haste potion was mostly burned out of her system now that she was sitting still. Her wings suddenly felt like lead weights to her.
"Uggh..." Stormy drooped forward. "I'm gonna sleep for a week..."
Then, a smell hit her nose, and suddenly it was like all of her energy returned in a flash.
Stormy looked up and immediately recognized what the farmer brought out. It was most certainly a pie tin! There may have been a language barrier between them, but she certainly did speak pie.
"Oooh! Pie! I love pie!" she said excitedly, while giving happy wing flaps as the farmer brought it over. He offered the pie out to her, to which Stormy gave his arm a friendly nuzzle after accepting it.
"Oooh, thank you. You know I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship!" She giggled, taking a sniff at the pie. "Oooh, cinnamon pumpkin? My, you oomans and dorfs certainly know good pies."
The farmer pointed at himself and said something a few times. "John Hammond. John Hammond."
Stormy head tilted, then nodded as she picked up his meaning. "Oh, that's your name? John Almond?" she repeated back.
The farmer clapped his hands and laughed in delight. He shrugged, then pointed at her.
Stormy, picking up on this as introductions, replied, "Stormy Weather."
The farmer grinned and repeated the name back to her, but also held his hand out for a hoofshake.
"Alright! Nice to meet you, Mr. Almond! Well, I really oughta go, but thanks for the pie and... What is it?" Stormy, noticing that Mr. Almond was looking over her head, not at her, turned around. As soon as she did she gasped, and nearly dropped her pie.
The sight of her thundercloud roaming away from the fields, and adopting a collision course with Merlos' tower, immediately filled her with impending dread.
"Uh oh." Stormy swallowed hard as that cloud sagged into the side of the tower, then ripped open and released its water and lightning in a matter of seconds. The crack of thunder that rolled out over the hills was loud enough to make her ears feel like they'd popped. "Uh, Mr. Almond, I gotta go! Was nice meeting you!"
With a few panicked flaps of her beleaguered wings, Stormy clumsily took back to the skies. "Oh geez, he's gonna kill me!" She flew a bit further before thinking, He really wouldn't do that, would he?
"Stoooormy!" yelled a familiar voice in the distance.
Stormy gulped again, and began evaluating whether it might be safer to try striking out on her own.
With her belly full of pie--Stormy had decided it would be best to give Merlos a few minutes to calm down--she stepped tiredly through the stairway threshold and into the tower. She was feeling the pull of the day's work and play tug at her from all directions.
Then, she noticed Merlos, who was pointing an angry finger at her.
The dress wearing man spoke to her in an angry tone and waved a finger harshly.
Stormy stared at him blankly. Sorry, what? Your spell wore off. I can't understand you." She gave him an earnest shrug, still dreading the conversation that had yet to come. Please don't turn me into a... orange or something! An orange? Geez, I really am tired.
After a momentary squint and groan from Merlos, Stormy felt the familiar fuzziness of his translation spell touching her ears again.
"Where are they?" he demanded with a spookily calm voice.
Stormy stared at him a moment, looking around as if to expect something in plain sight to point out to Merlos.
"Uh, where is what?" she asked back sheepily. Not asking about the thundercloud first thing had caught her by surprise, but she definitely wasn't complaining.
Merlos' nostrils flared, as if he were fighting very hard to maintain his calm. "My. Scrolls!" he roared.
"Scrolls?" she repeated back, before scratching her head with a hoof, before a hazy memory of hauling a bunch of dusty paper around by moonlight returned to her. "Ohhhh, the papers. That stuff's in the stable building," she answered, gesturing with her free wing outside towards one sunny window.
"The stables?" Merlos began. 'Why are they all out there? Bring them back in!"
Stormy stifled a yawn. "But I'm tirrred..."
Merlos visibly bristled in response.
"Everything outside is all just broken or rotting furniture, anyway," she went on, sounding like she was about to pass out on her hooves. "And that paper... sorry 'scrolls' were super dusty. You couldn't have been using any of it, right?"
Merlos exploded. Again. "But it was my furniture in my home!!" He rubbed his face and began again. "Don't you think you have a responsibility after drinking my potion to--"
"The orange soda?" Stormy had felt a pang of guilt while Merlos prepared his diatribe.
"Orange soda? Orange soda? You little fool! That was a Marathon haste potion! More worryingly you drank it all and are remarkably still alive!" Merlos stormed over to a table and snatched the empty bottle from earlier then waved it at Stormy.
"Yeah, I remember! But I had just wanted to--"
"I put this in my morning tea as a pick me up," Merlos cut her off, his fury growing with each syllable. "A single drop, mind you, keeps me going for half a day, and you drank it all like some commoner's ale!" He spat, and caused Stormy to scoot back a little.
If Stormy had been near sleeping before, she was brought to fully-wake. She trembled out of fear from Merlos' tirade, her tail was tucked under her frame and her ears laid back. Her eyes even shimmered a tad with unshed tears.
"Well, I didn't know what it was, and a-afterward I only wanted to repay you," she said.
Merlos groaned, one of his boney hand-things cupping itself over his eyes. He then gestured with the other and started up the stairs. "Just follow me, Stormy."
Stormy watched him swiftly turn and climb the stairs, not waiting for her. She briefly looked behind herself at the still-open door, before breathing out tensely and following.
They traveled up to the floor where Merlos had his comfortable living space where they eventually went into a room across the hall, now clean from its former contents, The strange glowing stones set into the walls gave the room its only illumination.
Merlos spun around after reaching the corner. The smell of clean water was in the air instead of the moldy decay that had once hung there. "Now, I promise I won't yell again... but where are the troughs that were in this room?"
Stormy, fretted again, her voice just a squeak. "Um, outside? Behind the stable thing, I think?" She then quickly stammered out, "Oh, but uh, I cleaned them out really good! So don't worry. They're sparkling now!"
Stormy grinned, awaiting what would surely be praise for at least something she'd done right.
Merlos clenched his hands into fists, his boney hands creaking. "Those were-- Those were expensive potion regents and ingredients! It takes months for those to stew properly, and you cleaned them? They will cost a fortune to fix!"
"H-Hey, you said you wouldn't yell..." Stormy winced away, ears tucked back.
Merlos puffed his cheeks out, before burying his face in his hands and leaning back against the wall. "Oh, which god-- scratch that, which gods did I anger to be saddled with you? Hm?"
Stormy frowned sadly, ashamedly looking at the floor. "I'm sorry for the millionth time... I promise I'll make it up to you somehow though..."
Merlos rolled his eyes. "What about the jars that were on that shelf there. I don't suppose there's any luck that you placed them in the stables as well?"
Stormy blinked, feeling a bit of reprieve with the ease of Merlos' tone. "Uh, well, I'm pretty sure-- That is, I-I think that everything in this room went behind the stable." She studied him, waiting for what seemed to be inevitable at this point, and cringed the moment he started to look furious again.
"I'll just bring them back in!" Stormy said, in an effort to keep him calm. That, and she was starting to feel more than happy to flee the angry wizard. "I'll be right ba-- Wha?" She stopped when a blue wall appeared before her in the doorway, cutting off her escape. It swirled with shimmering energies she'd seen from unicorns, and knew it would keep her from getting through the door.
"What do you notice about this room, Stormy?" Merlos grumbled rather solemnly.
"It doesn't smell like a sewage treatment plant exploded anymore?" Stormy offered, turning around with a nervous grin.
"Funny." Merlos answered, then gestured to a wall. "There are no windows. Sunlight kills the sensitive fungus that was in those jars! So, don't bother bringing them back in."
Stormy cringed again as the wizard once again lost his temper.
"You horrible accident, why did I take you in? You've been nothing but a disaster! An orcish warcamp would have at least left most of it all alone. But no! I get a little pegasus who-- Who-- Oh, forget it."
The blue wall disappeared.
Fighting her urge to cry, Stormy growled back before she could stop herself, and started to feel herself get angry, too. "This place was a health hazard! I did what I could to help and I'm only sorry I didn't ask some things, first. I did a lot of effort, perhaps more than I've done in my entire life! You could at least go easy on me!"
Merlos scowled, first at her and then at the ground. Then he looked up. "And were you the one responsible for that stormcloud spell that nearly knocked over the tower, earlier?"
Stormy felt her angry look dissipate, and she blinked at Merlos. "Oh, uh-- I... yes?" She put on a shaky smile. "Uh, I think I'll just go and--"
Merlos stared back at her, then, he snapped his fingers.
The little pegasus suddenly disappeared with a soft bamf of sound.
Stormy was instantly whisked to another place by magic. Wherever it was, she landed in some grass and oophed loudly.
"--bring everything back in." Stormy shouted, nearly scaring the hay out of Knott, who was just about to bite into a sandwich. "What the hay? Where am I?"
Ges--who sat across from his brother--stared wide-eyed while chewing on a frond of grass.
"Well, you don't see tha' everyday," Ges mumbled.
Knott collected the parts of his scattered sandwich, hastily constructing it in accordance to the five second rule. He then looked at Stormy, noticing she was seemingly itching for a fight.
Stormy huffed a bit, wanting to scream and cry at Merlos. She turned to scamper up the tower stairs--apparently Merlos hadn't sent her that far--when a gruff voice said to her, "Hold yer horses there... er, just hold it. Saying horses in't offensive, is it?"
Stormy ceased her stomping up the stairs and stopped to look back. She recognized the speaker as being the dwarf, Knott. "Huh?"
Knott shook his head. "Nevermin', anyway, judgin' by tha' flash o' light, and my need to change my pants later, I think y'ticked off Merlos to th' point he magicked yeh away just now. Yes?"
Stormy frowned, not answering, then settled for a simple nod.
Ges chuckled, then patted a stump beside his own. "Figured as much. In that case, come sit with us and mellow out. You're lucky he just sent you away."
Stormy looked to the other dwarf, her glare returning. "But he--"
Ges shushed and spoke to Stormy, ushering her to come to over. He even reached behind himself and... retrieved some oats, by the looks of it.
"Gah! No oats, please!" Stormy exclaimed, putting up her forehooves while trying not to faceplant into the ground from her exhaustion. "Those things smell all salty and sweaty. But... yeah, fine."
Still, she sighed and trotted over to take a seat sullenly beside them.
Ges paused, then opted to pet Stormy's face. "There. Much better than tusslin', eh? Everythin''ll be alright now."
Stormy didn't push him off this time. She barely had the energy to frown, as matter of fact. She even felt her eyes grow heavy, the fight and will to resist gone. Strangely, she began to think it wasn't just because she was tired, rather that it was Ges. His voice was like that of an angel calling her to sit next to him.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Stormy mumbled, then yawned hard. She didn't noticed sliding off the stump from her sitting position, nor did she register curling up into a ball on the ground.
"Aye, when you're rested up yeh can settle things." Ges shushed her response, reading her body language and seeing her exhaustion as he chose to simply lull the pegasus to sleep.
"Wish you wouldn't do that 'round me. I 'lready took me afternoon nap." Knott ate his sandwich in peace while they listened to Stormy's high pitched whinny-snores, stifling his own yawn. "Huh, so you think this 'as to do with Merlos' yard sale that he put on?" He looked around at all the furniture and junk that was outside, then shrugged and offered a carrot slice to Ges, who politely turned it down with a wave of his hand.
Ges sighed and sat back up, stretching. "Hm, migh' be. Think we ought to return that stuff we carried downstairs, then? Or ought we sell it back to him, eh?"
The two brothers stared at each expectantly, then burst out laughing.
When Stormy awoke she felt a lot better. Her limbs were still sore from her impressive workout, but she felt rather good about it. It was strange, as she lay there she recalled being angry at Merlos, but she couldn't summon up the desire to be once again.
Stormy remained still for some time, perhaps several minutes, before lifting her head up from the improvised mattress of hay and linen she found herself on. Wherever the bed was, it was somewhere cool.
"Finally awake, are yeh? Was beginnin' to think you'd need a prince to rouse yeh. Hah."
Stormy's ears and head shot up, and she looked over to see a squat shape hunched over in a candle lit corner of the room.
"Evenin', lass," Knott greeted. He waved with one hand, something clenched in his fist, before looking down to begin scraping it against something else.
"Oh, uh, evenin'? Stormy repeated back, then rubbed her bleary eyes with both hooves. They felt like they each had a pound of sleep-dust in them. "Where am I, Knott? Uhhh, you are Knott, right?" She looked sheepishly at him, unsure a little if she'd gotten the name right; they all kinda looked similar. She was reasonably sure Knott was the biggest dwarf, though.
"Haha, aye, you're correct." Knott took a swig of something, then set about working again. "And yeh're just in mine and my brothers' residence, below the tower. Figured yeh'd appreciate sleeping in a bed rather'n the wet grass yeh laid down on outside."
"Oh, thanks..." While looking around at the seven or so beds ringed around the room, Stormy listened to the gentle scrapes Knott made with the stone he ran along the metallic edge of something. The dim lighting of the brother's basement room was dark that making it out was difficult. "What are yeh doin'-- Er, what are you doing over there?"
Chuckling, Knott looked up from where he sat on a tiny three legged wooden stool. A cutlery stone was in his hand and small sword laid across his lap. "Sharpenin' one o' me blades. We'll be traveling south on the river soon. Always best to be prepared... 'specially of late."
Knott sighed. "Tough times come and go, but lately they're 'specially plum tough."
Stormy eyed the blade nervously. "Oh... I see. It'll be safe though, right?" Swords were something she'd only seen on the guards and Canterlot, in books, and maybe once in passing by a store window... It made her uneasy, but somehow, her stomach was still rumbling steadily. She got up off the bed, her legs a bit wobbly under her weight. Now that she thought of it she was terribly thirsty also.
Knott nodded thrice. "Oh, aye, you can be sure o' that, lass. With Merlos, myself and the others there won't be a thing on tha' river we can't handle." He chuckled again, running his blade harder on the stone. "Certainly not with Merlos and I."
After that, Stormy sat awhile, in silence, and just listen and watched Knott work. When her stomach became to much for her to bear, she got up and headed toward the large door across the room to leave.
She thanked Knott and left the basement, cantering up the stairs to make her way to the ground level floor. There, she exited the tower and entered into the courtyard.
Stormy wasn't familiar with using the side exit, but the view from it always told the main tale of the tower's past. In the night, the large wall with a broken down section on one side looked spooky, but it still spoke of a successful siege sometime in the past; that was something else she'd only ever heard of in books, fighting and stuff, but here she saw evidence of it firsthoof.
Stones lay in a messy pile, many too big or heavy for her to even consider picking up without help. Much of it was scattered around, some with lichen growing upon it, some with pits of dirt now sprouting weeds. The keep in its heyday had likely been an impressive sight with such formidable walls standing, but those days were long gone.
After cantering through the courtyard, Stormy passed under the archway at the main gate. The portcullis was warped and misshapen, as likely it had seen many exciting battles; she felt intimidated just by passing under it.
Stormy made her way down the path and to the river to sip from it, not wanting to upset Merlos anymore by drinking his potions on accident or eating his foods. She also decided to just eat some of the hay medley he had gotten her. It would have to do for now anyways, as plain and boring as it was.
Stormy just drank for a while, before wading into the river and looking at the messy hobo horse in the moonlit water's reflection.
She made a face at herself.
Her mane and tail quite clearly needed a really good brushing. Right then she'd even put up with Feather Duster--her family's maid--and the rough brushing she always used if it'd fix her mane and tail.
Stormy took a few steps further into the water, using it to help sooth her very dirty legs. Twigs and clumps of mud and debris washed out of the gray hair that surrounded her fetlocks. She wanted to get them trimmed terribly. By her parents insistence, she made regular trips to a spa, a ferrier, and of course a barber who would help keep her appearance pristine. Living in Canterlot meant keeping up appearances so neighbor's wouldn't get haughty and bothersome; although really they did it anyway, so what was the point?
Stormy sighed, thinking on her life back home. Now, without any of that stuff, she felt a little bit of the memory of her life's comforts sting at her.
"I don't wanna think about it!" With little to no ceremony, she jumped further into the waters and began paddling.
The river was rather wide and definitely deep enough to swim in, and Stormy didn't mind the current carrying her as she played in the water a bit. It certainly had to be helping clean out her mane a bit.
It felt good to bathe, the mild itch of her coat now felt soothed and she was certain that she smelled better too. Still, she wished she had a few bottles of her favorite shampoos and conditioners. After making Merlos so mad, she was certain that for now she would just have to let the hope of amenities like soap and a hot bath go...
Nice things like that were just so far away... So very far away.
After drifting a ways downstream, Stormy eventually climbed back onto a bank. There, she flared her wings and gave them a quick preen. Her mother was big on telling her to keep up her wings, and yesterday she seemed to have put them through a lot of work. Once she got them in an okay condition, she broke into a gallop to launch herself into the sky.
After quickly locating Merlos' tower on the horizon--it being the tallest structure for many miles around and her memory of everything being from a bird's eye view--she turned towards its direction and flew straight toward it. Even in the dark it was easy to spot.
The ache in Stormy's wings returned as she flew. Annoyed with the amount of work she was putting into her wings, she beat them with a hummingbird's buzz as she tried to gain more altitude. She knew how to harness her magic for flight pretty well, but that felt out of sort, too. Instead, she opted to fly close to the ground in case she needed a break on the way back.
Even more tired than before, Stormy landed before the stable. She looked at the fresh bales of hay within beside the junk still deposited near it all.
Inside there were also the other ponies that lived in the stable, and they seemed to eye her with jealousy as she picked at a wire and nibbled at some of the hay.
"Look guys, this stuff is for me, alright? What can I say. Besides, I'm starvvvving." Stormy's stomach growled even as she munched.
Inside the strange hay, she found paper bags of stranger olive-drab and tan bars.
Whatever it was, it wasn't too bad; the alfalfa and clover mixed in made it like eating a protein bar from a GM store. However, it wasn't all too great, either. The months old molasses and bits of old cut fruit gave her the impression that Merlos obviously wasn't going to ever eat anything like this himself.
Stormy did eventually share a little with the ponies present, not minding a few friends, even if they held little in common with her. Funnily enough, they too seemed nonplussed by the free food and left their portions on the ground without a single bite taken.
"That bad huh?" Stormy said to them, and nibbled on her own. It was worse than stale hay, but she guessed needed the calories. Her body ached for them.
With a belly full of the foods she curled up by the door and gave her wings a proper preening, knowing full well her mother would bind them up for a day after letting her feathers get into the train-wrecked condition they were currently still in.
Stormy spent quite a bit of time getting her feathers sorted and lapped in place, shedding a few broken ones and even plucking one that had managed to split. Finished, she nickered to herself over having better groomed wings. They were easily the only part of herself that she felt was at all presentable.
She went back to munching on the brick like bars of feed, munching on it quietly before she felt a familiar warming sensation. The translation spell?
"Hi, Merlos." Stormy greeted, without looking up. She kept nibbling at what was now her fifth brick of the food. Never thought I'd ever be eating bricks... "Your spell hadn't run out yet."
"Well I had just cast it earlier today in case you awoke..." an aged voice responded, and was followed by a robed figured stepping into view outside the stables. "And hello, Stormy. You've been out for a while."
Stormy looked up at Merlos, expression flat. "Not really, I slept for a few hours after you sent me away. Soon as I woke up I got some water and had some breakfast." She began wiggling said bar of breakfast at him, or as she'd decided to call it: Meals Rejected by Equines.
Merlos blinked in surprise at this. "Stormy, that was two days ago. After my tenants found you... well, suffice to say I've been checking on you to make sure the worst thing the potion would do is leave you tired and hungry. Too much of any kind of magic can have consequences--"
"Yeahyeah, you already told me..." Stormy nibbled on the bar, masticating in thought. After swallowing, she said, "Huh... I never thought I'd ever sleep for two days."
"You know, a thank you is considered polite when one is indebted to another. Hmph." Merlos pulled up a stable stool and sat on it. "Anyway, I'm willing to bet you've probably been binge eating and drinking since it wore off. How do you feel?"
Stormy, in a moment of amusement, glanced at her MRE bar. "This is food?" she quipped.
Merlos rubbed his beard, giving a wheezing laugh. "It's not that bad, is it?"
Stormy pointed at the bars left on the ground by the dwarven ponies. "I tried sharing, you know? They didn't seem to like it."
"I paid top coin for that stuff..." Merlos looked at the bar crossly for several quiet moments. "Here, pass me one. I wish to see what that supposed heavenly feed is like."
Stormy tossed Merlos an untouched bar and surprisingly he really tried in vain to bite into it a few times.
"Is this a brick or animal feed? What is this!? This isn't food. Not for animals or man."
Stormy shrugged, smiling. "Well, it's what you bought for me."
Merlos sighed and used a levitation spell to move the bar out of Stormy's hooves.
"Okay... We're going to Halia tomorrow. There, we'll do some grocery shopping for you. Until then, you know what's in my pantry and you're still welcome to it. I don't know, however, what to do with..." He tossed his bite-mark ridden bar at the other remaining bags. "That junk, but for now you're eating something that isn't going to break your teeth, at least."
Stormy opened her muzzle to deny any wish to eat what was in the wizard's pantry, but he continued.
"And... we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, so to speak. I mean, if that was obvious enough, and obviously I need to revise some rules, as well." Merlos straightened up and met Stormy's eyes starkly. Still, he seemed a far sight more relaxed than he had before "I'm still pretty angry with you for drinking that potion, mind, but you also weren't really in your right mind while you were under the haste potion's effects."
Stormy perked a little at hearing this, but kept quiet while listening.
"So, I believe I will accept some of the blame, but only for placing a potentially dangerous substance in the kitchen... As for the rest... some of my furniture did need to go." Merlos sighed, turning away to look up and out of the stables at the moon. "But in the future, never mess with my scrolls... or my tapestries... They came with the castle and I thought they were pretty intriguing."
"Half of them were solid black and fuzzy with mold." Stormy dead panned.
Merlos scratched at his beard, suddenly wearing a pensive look. "Well, yes. And I left those particular ones in the rather impressive pile of my other articles which you brought outside. Those, I've decided I'll destroy or try to sell... And I brought in the things I want to keep. And... honestly, I'm a little grateful for the cleanup now that it's all said and done."
Stormy began to smile. "Aaaand?" she intoned, doing her best to make her voice sound irritating. Oh yeah, I'm milking this for all it's worth.
Merlos shot a glare at her, but softened in quickly into a mild frown. "And I'm sorry for yelling at you," he rushed out.
Stormy laughed. "Aww, I forgive you."
Merlos stood up indignantly, towering over Stormy. "But don't let it go to your head! You still did a bad thing. You're a bad, mischievous pegasus!" He jutted a finger at her.
"Hey!" Stormy glared at the appendage, tempted to bite it if she didn't think it was as filthy as the old human's tower used to be. "I'm not a dog!"
"Well act like a civilized little pony and I'll start treating you like one."
Stormy crossed her forelegs and put on a sour face.
"That's more like it. Kinda." Stormy hid her grin, mostly content with how things had gone. "So, you mentioned something about getting new food?" |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 007: In the Neigh-vy. | Stormy lost her place on the page again.
A sigh leaked out of her, kept quiet so Merlos wouldn't hear. Another stream of idle muttering from across the room had made Stormy lose her spot in the current book she had on loan to read, the same one which she had explicit instructions not to stain, mangle, lose, and absolutely not doodle in under penalty of sleeping outside.
At least, in theory she was supposed to read it; in practice she had quite a bit distracting her.
I wish he would just stop that. Stormy scrunched her eyes shut until the muttering paused, then snuck a peek out of the corner of her eye, careful not to get his attention again and start another argument, which happened like clockwork.
Merlos was seated on the other side of the tower's bottom floor before a roaring blaze in the large fireplace, and rested upon one of the lounges recently reclaimed from piles upon piles of junk. Stormy laid beside the table on the cool stone floor at the far side of the room, and as long a distance from the cavernous fireplace as she could get. The decimated sack of oats beside her was a testament to the amount of time that they had been sitting there, as well as her boredom.
A rustling of feathers caught Merlos' own attention.
In an attempt at inconspicuousness, he peeked over his spellbook's top. He studied Stormy a moment, as if her being relatively quiet was some ploy to get him to drop his guard, only to jerk his book back up upon seeing he too was being watched.
Stormy sighed absently and refocused on the strange passage about stotes and their fur's magical applications as a material component base. As alien and silly as a lot of what she was glancing over seemed, Merlos insisted it was all very part and parcel to the practice of spellcraft in his world. While she did still think it'd be cool to use magic kind of like a unicorn, she was starting to wonder if it was worth the trouble.
The relative quiet and strange hooman magic aside, the two of them were both merely killing time until they took leave for Halia that afternoon with their dwarven neighbors Knott and Ges.
Alas, Stormy had been reminded bright and early that morning that tensions still ran rather high between herself and Merlos. Merlos had been grumpy until he'd gotten his tea, and only slightly less after that, while Stormy had learned the hard way that her cheerfulness was apparently not welcome right after he'd woken up.
At that very moment, there were other factors aggravating the truce between them, too. As it turned out, cohabitating with someone of the older variety was a complicated matter where indoor temperature was concerned, and was proving a subject doomed to eternal disagreement.
"Stormy," Merlos began absently, and motioned toward the woodpile. "Put another log on the fire."
Stormy groaned, and slowly lowered herself to the floor and put her hooves over her head. Not this again.
"Stormy..." Merlos warned.
"Oh, come on! We're leaving in like an hour and it's a million degrees in here! I am literally sweating." Stormy rolled over and pointed to her matted flank. "And not the fake literally, either! I told you, pegasi aren't the fondest of the heat! Why torture me like this?"
Merlos set his book down onto the side table with a heavy thump. "Now see here, you--"
Stormy refused to let him get a word in. "Just let me read outside until we're s'posed to go down to the dock, please?"
Merlos shook his head, beard flinging itself side to side. "And risk you damaging it? Or risk you disappearing this close to our departure? No, and you had better get used to remaining in my sight because you won't be leaving it during this journey, either, and that's final. You may be a guest here, but this tower and its business are still mine to manage."
Stormy clamped her ears down hard against her skull and began to grind her teeth. Mismanage, you mean. Maybe if I just ignore him, he'll--
"Stormy. Log. Now." Merlos repeated, and folded his arms, which definitely meant he was unwilling to budge whatsoever on the subject.
"Nnno!" Stormy jumped up to all fours and began pacing. "I mean, you're wearing robes that magically make you comfortable all the time! Why does it even need to be sweltering in here? It makes no sense!"
Merlos turned his nose up at the complaint. "Because we're about to be traveling on a damp, miserable river for weeks and magic robes or no a warm fire can't be replicated. Now, a log, if you would."
"No." Stormy blew a raspberry, and turned her back to him.
"That's it!" Merlos' bushy eyebrows raised half an inch at that, and his beard shifted in a fashion that suggested he was now perturbed. "If it's too warm in here then I'll just chill your side of the room a bit for you!" A blue light ignited behind his eyes and he began chanting strange words.
"Good! I like the cold! Fire away, captain... jerk-face!" With a growl, Stormy began to hover and get eye level with Merlos before he could finish whatever he'd started.
Much to both of their surprise the normal goings-on of the tower were interrupted. Both pegasus and wizard stopped cold and looked to the entryway door as a series of loud knocks repeated.
"Now who the devil could that be?" The magic light from Merlos' eyes faded, and he forced himself from his very comfy chair and shuffled stiffly over the polished stonework to the door.
Stormy's ears pricked at every one of the knocker's harsh clangs. "You have a visitor? I recall Knott saying the town thought ogres lived up here and wouldn't come visit."
Merlos turned briefly and blustered. "You-- it was trolls, and that's besides the-- Look, just stay over there and keep quiet." He unlatched the large lock assembly and pulled the door open just a crack. His eyes winced closed from the midday sun blaring into his eyes, dazzling him a moment before he could lay eyes on a lone figure.
"Bah, I should have cracked a window or... Oh, it's you." Merlos felt Stormy trying to squeeze in around him and he put himself into the doorway, blocking her from seeing who it was. The last thing he wanted was another incident caused by the little pegasus' tendency to faux pas.
"Who is it?" Stormy asked, only to stumble as a gnarled hand planted itself on her head and held her at a distance. "I wanna see!" She huffed and backed away, unable to make it around the old man's surprisingly apt agility.
After Merlos' eyes finally focused on who had disturbed the relative peace of his tower, he felt his anger boil up quickly.
"Merlos!" the man began, his gratingly high pitched voice already assaulting Merlos' nerves. "How are you on this--" He paused, grinning creepily around the old fort's ruined courtyard. "--lovely morning?"
Behind Merlos, Stormy hadn't given up and opted to start hovering near the ceiling back at the center of the room. From there, she could clearly see over Merlos' shiny bald spot atop his head. She recognized the awful outfit of the man standing there from when she'd first been taken, and recalled with clarity the name of the person that she'd seen wear it: Fartington Hamsworth.
A thin man with gaudy red and gold robes, intricate golden stitching and star embellishments, as well as squiggly runes running down the lapel, stood at the door. On his shoulders were garish, pointed pauldrons sticking up like giant velvet thorns, while heavy jewelry and ornamentation weighed on his figure from the waist on up. The wispy, cliche sparrow's goatee adorning his chin and shiny black metal cap clinging to his head completed the ensemble. His beady hazel eyes stared into Merlos as their gazes met, and his thin lips parted into a sneering grin, the kind someone makes when they want you to know they're better than you. Completing his creeptastic visage was a gaunt and crooked crow resting atop his shoulder; its beady red eyes flicking to and fro, studying its surroundings constantly.
"Wadsworth..." Merlos seethed, clenching his fists with the not too distant memory of his rival's misdeeds from long ago still fresh in his mind. "What is it that you want? Shouldn't you be busy sucking up to some nobles or undermining someone else's hard work?"
"My my, Merlos, could it be you're still... mad at me?" Wadsworth wheezed laughter. "And after you--" He suppressed another nasally snort of laughter. "--got one over on me at the auction?"
Merlos, his glare staying intact, raised an eyebrow. "Your taste in bad humor is only matched by that of your wardrobe, worm."
"Oh, name calling, scathing," Wadsworth cackled. "I do so enjoy trading niceties with you, you old has-been you."
"Caw!" Wadsworth's crow joined in, hopping left to right as it spoke. "Hello has-been! Has-been!"
"That thing is as annoying as ever." Merlos huffed, puffing out his beard briefly. "Well I'd rather we skipped these 'niceties'. I'm busy, so what do you want?"
Wait... Stormy held a hoof up to her chin thoughtfully. Oh, right, it was Farlington Wadsworth. Eh, not that that's any better. She shrugged, and focused on listening in. Whatever this jerk was here for, she knew it couldn't be good. What little of him she'd seen before Merlos freed her had been enough to figure that out.
"Charming, as always." Wadsworth traded his grin for an eerily simple smile. "Straight to business, eh you old coot? Very well. You see, after our unfortunate bidding war over that magical beast, it suddenly dawned on me that you, of all things, had been under the impression that it could be used as... a mount. Probably some form of a late mid-life crisis, hm?"
Stormy frowned as she listened in, but the sudden movement of Merlos' fist gripping his robes made her hover backward.
Wadsworth chuckled. "I thought to myself: nooo, how could Merlos think that? He's such an intelligent... eh, wizard. Surely he wouldn't have made such a grand assumption only to--" He paused to bend over again with laughter. "--only to spend twenty thousand gold on a mistake!"
Merlos frowned. "How did you figure out... Nevermind, what's your point--"
Stormy, not appreciating hearing this weasel of a hooman's laughter again, growled out, "Stop laughing at him! I know you! You were there at the dungeon place when I got magicked here! You're evil!" Her ears pinned back, and she blew an angry snort through her nostrils.
Merlos scowled over his shoulder. "Stormy, upstairs, now."
"Oh, there she is, and talking sense now, too. Now now, let the little thing stay." Wadsworth chuckled, narrowing his eyes. He pointed a menacing finger at Stormy. "And what if I was there, creature, hm? Lucky for you things happened the way they did, or you wouldn't still have such a smart mouth to run." He spoke in a tone that bordered on threatening, or maybe thinly veiled with some kind of ill-intent.
Stormy blew a raspberry mid-air at the garishly dressed wizard as she flew outside, over Merlos, and jabbed a hoof down at Wadsworth. "Merlos! He was there! Him and that old guy, they were the ones that took me from my home," she accused. She landed to stamp her forelegs. Making loud clops on the stonework. Her tail flicked behind her in little swats while she got worked up, like when somepony at school would say her flying routing was stupid or lame.
"Spunky little thing, isn't it?" Wadsworth harrumphed. "You really ought to keep your beast under control, Merlos old boy. I know you're not much of a wizard but you could at least manage that, hm? Or should I do it for you."
Stormy growled again, only to look down from glaring at Wadsworth and realize he was pointing a stick at her. A wand, she recalled.
"Stormy," Merlos said, caution in his voice. "Come away, and go back inside. This isn't about you."
"Well, actually it is," Wadsworth chuckled, bouncing his wand with little flicks in the air. "In a sense."
"But--!" Stormy struggled, one eye kept on Wadsworth's stupid cheating wand and one on the grumpy wizard who always bossed her arou-- only... Merlos looked awfully worried, and not just in his usual "Oh no my mold!" kind of way.
"But..." Stormy flitted away to Merlos' side and hid behind his frumpy robes, but didn't quite go back inside. "He's why I ended up stuck here... So he's evil, right?" She settled for an unsure frown at Wadsworth, rather than her previous glare. "Don't tell me, hoomans don't get arrested for foalnapping?"
Wadsworth's eyes widened, only for him to burst only into a raucous, wheezing, and quite annoying laugh. "F-Foalnapping?" The crow sitting on his shoulder seemed to laugh alongside his wheezing with its own cawing.
Surprisingly, and it made Stormy's blood boil, Merlos bent down at her and chuckled a bit, too. "Not exactly, Stormy. And Wadsworth may be a pain in the neck, slimy, underhanded and insufferable, but he's not evil... At least, summoning foreign creatures wouldn't make him so. Incredibly irresponsible and rude to alien intelligences, perhaps, but not evil."
Wadsworth's giggling slowed as he caught his breath. "Me, evil? Oh, but I'm the picture of a good samaritan! After all, I was the one who informed the King's guard of my master's nefarious misdealings, yes?"
Merlos gave his beard a puff. "Hmph, yes, you did do that. And no doubt you profited from that bit of altruism, too. Hm?"
Wadsworth grinned. "Indeed."
Stormy growled and stomped a hoof again. "Stop it!" She ceased her aggressive display while she fixed Wadsworth anew with her scowl... "This is serious. Why is what I went through a joke to you guys? Huh?"
Wadsworth addressed his crow, Tiki. "I think I understand why these two get along so well. They both complain endlessly about imagined wrongdoings."
The crow broke out into cawing as if by a switch at his master's joke.
Merlos straightened up with a glare. "Imagined? You had better not mean what I think you do, snake."
"Ah, back to the names, are we?" Wadsworth twirled a finger through his pointed goatee, grinning.
"Now see here--!" Merlos jabbed a finger out at the man, his face filling quickly with bluster.
While the two bickered, Stormy's mind raced as she tried to recall the mistreatment she had suffered in that grimy basement, and more of the things she tried to forget surfaced. "T-That talking bird, it isn't really a bird!"
Wadsworth blinked, appearing taken aback, then looked at his shoulder.
The crow's head swiveled over to look squarely at Stormy.
"Stormy, it's common for a wizard's familiar to speak." Merlos sighed, now once again trying to push Stormy back inside.
"That's not what I mean! Yeah, that's weird, but--!"
Merlos grunted and gave up trying to awkwardly force the small equine back indoors. "If you insist on staying out here, Stormy, then do so quietly. Wadsworth, just spit out what you're here for."
"I know what I saw, and that stupid crow is a faker," Stormy spat. "It's some kind of weird... red monkey thing."
The crow, Tiki, flew off Wadsworth's shoulder and landed in front of Stormy with enough force to kick dust up into her face.
"Hey!"
The bird seemed to laugh at her again with its cawing. Its eyes had an insidious red orange glow similar to the burning hearth behind her.
Stormy backed a few steps off; it was a lot bigger and scarier than she remembered. The crow cawed its terrible laugh again then snapped its beak with a few chuffing clicks.
"It seems Tiki doesn't like your accusations," Wadsworth crooned.
Stormy flared her wings and brought her head low. Her instincts told her this "bird" was looking for a fight and she didn't want to give it the upper hoof. With her eyes fixed on the crow, it flitted into the air and began to circle around them.
"Not that this isn't all amusing, but I agree this is getting old," Wadsworth said, his voice somehow making it to new levels of annoying as he spoke. "So here is my proposal, Merlos. I will fully compensate your losses on what you wasted on this... accidental purchase of yours. Right now, and no questions asked. You just have to give the pegasus to me forthwith."
Stormy gasped, recoiling at the merest thought of such a thing happening. She looked up at her host, expression stark with worry. He wouldn't... she thought resolutely, but still recalled all the trouble he'd caused him since she'd arrived.
Merlos' eyes narrowed, and he folded his arms slowly. "Though your offer is indeed generous, I must decline." A slight smirk appeared on his face as Wadsworth's eyes widened angrily. "She is a free being. As an intelligent creature with an obvious cognition beyond that of a wild animal, I cannot in good conscience, and will not, enslave her."
Tiki landed back onto Wadsworth shoulder when he leaned forward with a sneer. Since becoming angry, his nasally tone somehow became twice as pronounced. "Is that so? I can't barter say, twenty-five thousand gold for her? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Merlos. Don't be as foolish as with your squandered fortunes."
Merlos shook his head with a certainty behind his eyes. "No. Not for all the gold in the kingdom's coffers. Not that I'd deal with you in the first place, anyway. A man like you wouldn't understand, Farlington."
"You arrogant old fool." Wadsworth clenched a fist.
Stormy looked up to give Merlos a smile, touched that this otherwise short tempered wizard, who held great ire for her, would refuse the younger wizard bribing him. She changed her grateful look out for a mirthful smirk directed at Wadsworth, then hopped closer and blew one of her trademarked raspberries.
"There, he said no, you jerks! Now get out of here or else you'll get what's coming to--!"
With no warning, Tiki dove like a lightning bolt from Wadsworth's shoulder and with the spread of its wings took to the air. It swooped low in an unusually eagle-like fashion, its legs in front with talons bared, and raked Stormy's face.
Stormy, cried out as her vision was obscured by Tiki's form. Jagged talons hooked into her face and cut painful burning lines from the corners of her eyes to nearly the end of her muzzle. She clutched the wound as red lines formed under her hoof. She listened to the crow fly up and around overhead, cawing loudly.
"Wadsworth!" Merlos shouted, but otherwise made no move.
With a playful expression, Wadsworth held a hand up to cover his mouth. "Oh dear! That sounded like a threat, didn't it, old friend? As an esteemed member of your arcane council, I do believe I am--"
"Cease your posturing." Merlos cursed under his breath. "You've made your point." He watched with a detached quiet as Stormy hid behind him once again and did his best to not react to her pained sounds. "Stormy, how are your eye--"
"You're going to let them get away with that?" Stormy shouted, her voice reverberated in the courtyard. She gestured at the skinny young wizard while he gave a sneer. Her hoof returned to hold the wound to her face.
"Yes, Merlos, are you?" Wadsworth goaded.
Merlos turned a serious stare to Wadsworth. "If you're finished, I think it's past time you left, Wadsworth," he said, all but a little of his normal caustic demeanor held back. "And keep your familiar in check."
Wadsworth sighed and gave a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. "You are boring and weak to the core, old man. I hadn't thought mere ridicule and time would have worn you down quite so. Still, it's now clear even Merlos the Magnificent is beholden to communal exile." He snapped his fingers, and a magic carpet uncurled from beneath his robes to slide under his feet. "Fine, keep your pet. I just wanted to hear you admit you were wrong again, anyway, for old times sake."
Wadsworth chortled, and leaned over to give a cutesy little wave towards Stormy. "Bye now, little winged horse thing! And good luck lasting around these parts. Merlos has an awful track record with his pets."
Merlos moved in front of Stormy as she made to react. "Stormy, ignore him. Let's get those gashes treated before they scar."
"But--"
Merlos surprised Stormy as he rested a hand on her shoulder, rather than try to push her along as before. It was the first time he'd made any move bordering on consoling. "Stormy, that's enough. There's nothing to be done but talk of what has transpired. Now follow me."
He left then, moving into his tower without looking back.
Stormy looked rapidly between the two hoomans, the former moving towards his tower, and the other giving her one last sneer as he turned to go. She stared at Wadsworth's retreating form as his crow alighted once again upon his shoulder. Its gravel-voiced caws echoed its cruelty even while they grew more distant.
Stormy's breathing bordered on hyperventilation. She weighed her options, and the temptation of hurling a rock at the bird crossed her mind. A voice, maybe cowardice or maybe common sense, she didn't know, told her to just give up and run inside to where it was safe. Her leg trembled a little as she secretly swore vengeance against both the wizard, and his crow.
"This isn't over..." Her eyes began to fill with tears as she fled, and immediately wished she could take them back as they burned and throbbed against her cuts.
"Stormy, did you say something?" Merlos watched as his little guest raced inside ahead of him, but didn't answer. He sighed as he shut the door. "I'll get a healing elixir, then."
Stormy sat in the corner of the room before the fireplace, trying her hardest to stop crying and to push away the emotion that had welled up inside of her. At the sound of footsteps, she twirled around to find Merlos with a bottle and a ragged ivory coloured cloth.
"Sorry, this isn't the good stuff. So it's going to sting." Merlos poured a little bit of the vial, which Stormy assumed was his healing elixir, onto a clean rag and dabbed it on her cheek and brow.
Stormy flinched back, only to be surprised it only hurt about as much as rubbing alcohol on a scraped knee after a crash landing. She relaxed somewhat.
"So, do you still not think he's evil?" Stormy begged Merlos while he dabbed away. Her wounds wiped away like oily smudges on glass, though her hair remained damaged and missing in streaks.
"I really don't like Wadsworth, but as much as I'd like to villainize him for what he did to my reputation, he's never done anything but be an underhanded pain in the rear." Merlos spoke in a tone that gave Stormy the impression he wasn't in the mood to argue. "Wadsworth specializes in furthering his own prestige while cutting down those around him a bit more... mercilessly than is normal in a community of wizards."
Stormy sniffled and wiped her muzzle with a foreleg. "Alright, fine, but why did you let him and his dumb bird attack me like that?"
Merlos cut her off quickly.
"Stormy, he picks fights with people to make them angry. He enjoys doing everything in his power to start a fight. If you lash out at him, he gets what he wants. All he did was poke a sore spot and banked on you to throw the first punch. Well, technically the second, but mark my words if you make the first move, he's just going to get away scott-free. You can't win at his game." Merlos finished with a grumble, and used the rag's other side to dry her face.
Stormy met Merlos' eyes and protested, voice quavering slightly. "B-But he attacked me first, like you said! Why does he get to get away with that? Is he more powerful than you or something?" She was a little irate at how Merlos would defend such a jerk.
Merlos laughed. It was the kind of laugh that had a tiredness to it. "No... At least, not last I saw. But singular magical strength isn't the only thing to consider, Stormy."
Stormy snorted, not satisfied. "Then what else is there? Why does a guy like that get to claw the eyes of anypony he wants to?"
Merlos grunted and averted his gaze. "I apologize, I should have seen that coming before you goaded him. As for Wadsworth's position, he's royalty. I wouldn't start a fight with him unless it was truly dire."
Stormy deadpanned, blinking slowly with tears still trailing down her face. "Seriously?"
Merlos shrugged. "Truly he is, after a fashion. Sixteenth in line to the throne or some nonsense, mind you, though he does like to claim sixth in lesser circles. He's the type. In anycase, he's a prominent social figure, spoiled, and rotten to the core. There isn't much he doesn't get away with so long as he doesn't step on the wrong toes. Point in fact, his old tutor recently found that out the hard way."
"That's stupid! Your government is stupid! That's the stupidest thing since stupid came to stupidtown!"
Merlos crossed his arms, frowning. "Isn't your land governed by a Diarchy?"
Stormy turned away, head raised. "Duh. I know how the government works, but that doesn't mean I don't think it's stupid." She sagged a moment after. "So he could just get away with anything."
Merlos shook his head. "Not anything. There are limits even to the pull a man like him can manage. Although... Tiki did also claw a Duke's son's eye out and with only slight recompense did he get away with it."
Stormy shouted. "What!? That's terrible!"
"Nonetheless, as I said, his familiar leaving a scar like this isn't retaliation worthy."
"What if that thing had taken out my eye, huh? Would that not have been retaliation worthy?" she said mockingly.
"No. Eyes can be regrown with some effort," Merlos said matter-of-factly, and tilted his head to look over her face a moment to observe the injury in its entirety and gave a nod in approval. "There's no scarring; it healed perfectly. We got to it in time, though there is a bit of a bald spot until your hair grows in."
Stormy sniffed again at the mention of hair loss. "Right. So you're just going to let it all go?" Her lip quivered, while she gave him her most heartbroken look, the one she saved for her parents when she really really wanted something.
Merlos paused and sighed. "If that foul fowl touches you again, you are well within your right to return it in kind as it would do to you." His elderly fist balled his sleeve. "However, Wadsworth's gotten away with much, Stormy, and he's not the kind of person who you want to pick a fight with."
At the mention of it, Stormy flinched from the suggestion that she fight back against that big bird. The idea of fighting at all didn't appeal to her. At that moment the gravity of the situation dawned on her, and she realized such a fight wouldn't be like a playground fight. The fights she would get into literally meant risking life and limb. That's when her ego struck.
"Good! I-I wanna buck that crow into next tuesday!" Stormy shouted with determination.
Merlos smirked, and adopted a sly look. "As a matter of fact, I've heard there are actually people who hate Tiki so much as to place a secret bounty on killing it, or so I've been told. No one's claimed it yet, as I imagine no one's been able to figure out how to get away with killing the thing absent of Wadsworth's presence."
Stormy frowned. "I don't want to kill it..."
Merlos blew out his mustache. "If you get in a fight with Tiki, Stormy, you'd best intend to finish that fight. In any case, what time is it?"
"Not sure that I like the sound of that, Merlos," Stormy muttered. Still, she took a deep breath, and finally felt like she was regaining her composure. That was until a startled cry from Merlos scared her back into being stressed out once more.
"We're late! Grab your things you feather-brained nuisance, we were to meet the others at the pier ten minutes ago!"
"Oh! Uh-uh-uh, okay!" Stormy went from zero to sixty suddenly, caught up in her hosts' sudden haste. She grabbed the makeshift saddlebags the dwarves had helped her whip up in a hurry, making sure to stuff her borrowed book in the top part.
Merlos slung his bag of holding, and raced for the door. "The town Hesturbaer isn't far, but we no longer have time to dally! I can't stand not being punctual!"
Stormy sagged, trudging after Merlos out of the tower. "Eck, punctual. I hate it when ponies use that word." She reflected that those who used words like punctual were always insistent that they get the things they want first, and she had little doubt that Merlos would be any different.
"Hey, stop pushing!" Stormy nearly tripped as Merlos swatted at her again with his staff.
"I'll stop pushing when you hurry!"
Stormy had been impressed that a guy his age had been able to sprint down the hilly road and keep up with her glide, but now he was just getting annoying.
Together, Merlos and Stormy all but jogged through the mild foot traffic in the town. It wouldn't have proven to be much of an obstacle at all, were it not for everyone stopping to stare at them as they passed.
Though late, the journey to Hesturbaer wasn't too far away from Merlos' home, as on a clear day he could spy it easily from the lofty position of his tower's top floor.
The portside of the town was a sizable strip of docks placed at a naturally wide point in the river. Many watercraft were docked on either side of each pier, with a small raft moving back and forth from one side of the river to the other, ferrying customers.
Stormy learned from an earlier explanation that the whole operation was used to stage goods from nearby towns to other places downriver and upriver quickly, and with relative safety compared to being moved by road. Apparently bandits were a big issue this far from the hooman kingdom's capital, but she hoped that she wouldn't have to see that firsthoof.
Hesturbaer was large enough that the docks were very busy, and sported a sizable inn closeby. Stormy took in just how medieval the whole world must be and could grasp the life that the townspeople had, even rushing by as she was. She couldn't help but reflect that the technology of this world was leaps and bounds behind that of her home in Equestria.
Stormy frowned even as she spotted the pier at the end of the muddy street. What I wouldn't give to get to watch TV again or--
Merlos panted relief and finally slowed his pace. "Ah, good. They're still here. We're in luck, Stormy. Although, I can't say I'm surprised much that Captain Tull is behind schedule."
Stormy stared at the ship they'd stopped in front of, not minding the wizard currently bent over and catching his breath.
The ship was much nicer than she'd expected, to say the least. It was built like an old-fashioned side paddling steamboat, though it was likely state-of-the-art for this world. There were large spaces atop its deck to carry its cargo up and down river, and a magnificent crane stood out from its bow. The crane was rotated from the side and moved a net filled with goods to be lowered into its impressive hold.
Made of metal from bow to stern, the whole thing was quite imposing to Stormy. The scintillating brass fixtures and clean sides gave her assurance that the hoomans weren't total slobs, at least.
"Wow." It was an impressive ship to behold, and she wondered if it were meant to be put to sea judging by its size. There weren't many ships at the port currently, and this one was certainly the biggest.
Merlos stroked his chin a moment, following her gaze. "Yes, its quite the nice vessel, hm? Too bad we're not riding on that, eh? I'd quite prefer a decent cabin to what we'll be dealing with."
Stormy's eyed bugged as she comprehended what she'd heard. "What? Which one then?"
Merlos then pointed a thumb over his shoulder to something that Stormy was already sure would be impossible to give positive descriptions for. To call the thing at the pier anything else than a wreck would have been an insult to all other water vessels.
"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" Stormy looked up hopefully at Merlos, and when he shook his head resolutely, she took flight to get a better look. Surely it wasn't as bad as it had first seemed.
Once in the air, she confirmed the barge-like flotsam was actually worse.
The craft groaned ominously even as it remained docked at the pier. Half metal scrap and half wood, the frankenstein-esque vessel appeared to have at one time been several different boats, and appeared to have ship parts that had been cut, nailed, and welded on all over. Patched globs of pitch dotted the ship's hull, plugging holes temporarily. Its whole deck listed to the side a bit, and the only consistent color was the shade of orange-crimson rust at the bow. A garish shack, made from what she would assume to be an outhouse sat at the bow functioning as a wheelhouse.
The boat was clearly far past its time to stay in the water, and appeared to be half held afloat by its own cargo, a few large casks lashed to its hull at the sides.
Still, despite how decrepit the boat looked, dock workers diligently positioned more lashings of barrels onto the ship's deck, and all the while caused it to groan ominously without end. Needless to say, they looked quite nervous over the affair.
After being in Merlos' tower, the knowledge that they would set hoof on a vessel in such condition was no longer a big surprise. What was more worrisome was that the wooden deck, while intact compared to the rest of the vessel, still had signs of deterioration that had likely set in before she had been foaled.
Stormy landed back on the dock with an unceremonious thud beside Merlos. She had a bad feeling that she might need a tetanus shot just from looking at the boat for too long. Her hackles raised as a whiff of something hit her nose. "My mark, what is that smell? And how is this barge even staying afloat!"
Merlos rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's not that bad. Quit your whining!"
Stormy bristled at this. "I am not whining. I am complaining. Would you like to hear whining?"
Merlos looked at her with a no-nonsense glare. "If you start, I will use your tail as a mop to swab the poop deck."
Stormy shut up promptly and hugged her tail close to herself and quickly looked for something else to preoccupy herself.
Large tun casks, clearly the newest and most cared for items on the craft, towered up over her head. They were certainly big enough for her or even Merlos to use as a small improvised cabin. They were securely lashed to the deck and she found the dwarven brothers double checking the knots.
Wanting to say something that would hopefully not antagonize Merlos, Stormy said, "Oh look! It's Ges and Knott."
The brothers merrily laughed away at some story they shared as they worked. Ges then gave Knott a nudge and pointed their way before they waved in unison.
Stormy flew over to greet them more personally, but made a point to not land on the barge's deck.
"Hello, Ges. Hello, Knott." Stormy hovered just above the deck. "How can you look so calm on that boat? Aren't you afraid it'll sink?"
Knott grinned, the paladin putting a muscular arm over Ges' shoulder. "We're both really good swimmers, lass!"
"Natural floaters, really," Ges laughed and patted his stomach. "Glad to see you both make it in time. We were beginnin' to wonder."
Stormy grinned sheepishly, while movement at the ship's helm caught her eye.
Another humanoid stood at the end of the ship. He was a rather tall, lanky fellow with a poorly kept mane, muttonchops, a pot belly, and pointed ears. A skipper's hat sat atop his head. He belched loudly and scratched his rear, staring off with what was clearly a drunken haze toward the land.
Stormy wondered if this was some underpaid dock worker... She had to look away as he really didn't seem like he was going to stop scratching his butt any time soon. An unpleasant crunch sound emanated from his behind.
"So what d'yeh think o' the boat, lass?" Knott questioned.
"Well it's certainly, uh..." Stormy forced a smile, but her mind ground to a rusty halt after failing to find a positive description.
"Broken in?" Knott chuckled, and thudded a hand on the guard rail. The guard rail cracked, unsurprisingly, catching him by surprise. The dwarf sheepishly kicked the loose timber off the boatside, whistling.
"Emphasis on broken..." Merlos nodded as he approached the gangway, unperturbed by his companion's carelessness.
"Ah, Merlos!" Knott hopped upward to thump a hand on the wizard's shoulder. "You're late, ol' friend!"
Merlos harrumphed. "Late? A wizard is never late. Nor is he early." He gave a knowing smirk to his companions. "He shows up whenever he damn well pleases."
Knott and Ges erupted into laughter, while Stormy looked around uncertainly with a weak smile, thinking, But he complained the whole way here about being late! Uggh, I don't get it.
"'Ey there ya'll! Welcome aboard the Weiserbud, the most ten... er, tenanxious ship this side o' the sea! And I'm 'er cap'n. Cap'n Tull, atcher service." The lanky hooman Stormy had seen had approached them, and after his introduction offered the very hand he'd scratched his bum with to Merlos, who looked at skeptically, but nonetheless shook it. The lanky Ooman gave an energetic shake back.
Stormy had to fight hard not to burst out laughing.
"You know us, Captain Tull. Still, it's a delight to be on board again," Merlos said, and raised an eyebrow. "Are you drunk again?"
"Oh, Merlos! 'S been ah dog's age tah be sure," Tull drawled in an accent reserved for certain. "'N'yup. Drunk as a bugbear what got 'nto a brewery!"
Merlos sighed. He would be worried were it not for the knowledge they'd be moving at less than five knots.
Tull's gaze and crook-toothed smile fell to Stormy next, who in her defense did force up her own grin to be nice.
"Well lookie here! Merlos! You got yerself a huntin' dog finally!" Captain Tull then reached down to pet Stormy's head, who recoiled behind Merlos quickly.
"Pony," Stormy corrected.
Tull went bug-eyed, rubbed his eyes with his free hand, then looked at the clay jug in his other hand. "Well Ah'll be a kobold's uncle! Cletus! Check this here critter out! Merlos' huntin' dog can talk! Can ya play dead 'n roll over little fellah?" Captain Tull asked with a grin, stooped over Stormy, and rested his hands on his knees.
Stormy grumbled to herself, but didn't respond. Instead, she tried not to breath while he was close.
What popped up from a nearby porthole next nearly scared the life out of Stormy. The figure was a muscular humanoid with green skin, two large tusks protruding from his lips and spoke with a low gravelly voice. "Klee Tusk no care about talky fly horse. Klee Tusk fix boiler!"
Stormy crouched lower behind Merlos. "Oh good gravy. What is that? Nevermind, I don't care. Just hide me."
"That's Klee Tusk, and he's a half-orc. Be polite." Merlos tsked at his charge, instead focusing on the newcomer.
Klee Tusk gave what Stormy could only interpret as a spooky smile, before he looked at Merlos with obvious familiarity. "Good see you, Merlos. Long time. Many moons. Try not drown on trip... again." And the muscular green hooman's laughter bellowed, causing the ship to rattle. "Ha ha ha!" The ship listed a little when it climbed on deck.
Merlos nodded and greeted the green creature back. "It's good to cross paths with you, honorable Klee Tusk. We won't bother you any further." The green hooman gave a nod and retreated back to his work, which, now that Stormy was aware, sounded like angry WAAAGH screams and loud clunks of metal being beaten against other chunks of metal.
Stormy cleared her throat and finally answered Captain Tull. "I'm Stormy Weather. I don't do those kind of uh... tricks. But I know some sweet moves to fly around in the sky with." She hadn't been able to help bring up her flying. She flared her wings and giving the deck a few pets with an eager hoof.
"Well now that there's somethin'. Ah talkin' dog that does flyin' tricks." Captain Tull took of his hat and rubbed his bald head as he listened to her.
"Pony," she said again, but otherwise ignored the comment and looked around the ship. "And I'm not certain if I should kick off or land on this ship, it looks rather... fragile?"
Captain Tull guffawed a moment. "Ah knows it looks like it'll sink intah the waters any minute, but the Weiserbud is the finest ship tah ever float on this here river. Why, it's even survived over a doe's end of battles! I think ah doe's end's mo' than eleventeen... Anywho, she's even been repaired with parts o' ships that managed to get stuck when tryin' to ram it!"
Stormy looked to the others for help, but it was plain to see they didn't have anything nice to say about the ship either. "Well, that's... impressive." She managed a smile that she hoped looked convincing. It's okay, Stormy, you've got wings in case it does sink. She gave them a flap for comfort.
Stormy and Merlos watched the landscape drift by slowly, just beyond their reach.
"I could walk faster than this." Stormy complained out loud. "I bet I could crawl faster than this."
The chugging of a steam powered engine ran a side wheel, the gentle slaps and trickles of water became the only thing that seemed to break the otherwise bountiful silence.
"That may be, but can you move all those barrels at this pace?" Merlos quipped back to her.
Stormy squinted at the shore while she considered his words.
"Not really. I guess nopony really does this anymore back home." She flicked a pebble off the deck with a foreleg and leaned against a railing, which creaked and groaned in protest to her weight. She watched the pebbles journey into the clear water.
It landed with a plop and she watched it sink. The river was incredibly placid, barely disturbing the pebble's slow tumble to the bottom even in the barge's wake. Beneath the water's surface there was also occasionally fish and shrimp-like creatures, as well as bits of metal and broken ceramic containers.
Stormy turned slowly away from the railing and stopped leaning against it. She looked to Merlos, who held his hat at the moment; his gray beard and balding head caught some of the wind that drifted over the land making him look like a tattered old dish towel.
"So when were we going to ea--"
Without warning, a terrible beast leapt out from a nearby crevice, and ran across Stormy's foreleg.
"Gyah! Rat!" she shouted, leaping into the air with a flail of all her limbs.
"A what?" Merlos asked, expecting a raiding party or something to be lined on the shores, bringing his staff to bear.
Stormy pointed hysterically at the deck. "A rat!" she shouted again. "It's on you!"
"A RAT!?" Feeling something try to climb up his right leg, Merlos revulsed immediately and kicked his assailant away.
"Quod sit mitti in ignem!" Merlos shouted. After hastily dipping his hand into a satchel, a fireball was slung at the wretched beast. The brief flash of light and a muffled squeak last but a moment.
The deck was scorched slightly, but the rat's life was snuffed out swiftly by the wizard's expert aim.
Merlos and Stormy panted a moment, then looked at each other. Their gaze returning to the scorch mark on the deck again.
"Geez, Merlos, you screamed louder than I did, and I'm a girl." Stormy giggled at the old hooman, who donned an angry look.
"Don't be ridiculous, you were far louder--"
"Flufflepuff?" Captain Tulls voice rang out, the lanky ooman looking around curiously about the bits and bobs of the ship. "Have you seen mah pet rat? He's about ye' big. His name's Flufflepuff."
Merlos looked at Stormy and between them was an unspoken understanding that late Flufflepuff had mysteriously disappeared that day by mysterious circumstances.
"Nope, haven't seen anything like a rat," Merlos said assuredly.
Tull scratch his hat back, looking confused. "You sure? Ah coulda sworn ah heard ya'll scream 'rat' real loud-like."
Merlos and Stormy both shook their heads.
"Not at all, what I had screamed was... fat."
"Fat?" Tull parroted.
Merlos nodded, folding his arms nonchalantly behind his back. "Yes. Stormy's putting on weight. Anymore and she'll capsize the ship."
Stormy scowled up at Merlos. "Hey!"
"Is for horses." Merlos walked away with that, while Tull resumed his calling out for his pet up and down the barge.
"Yah big jerk," Stormy muttered, and resumed tossing pebbles into the river. In the midst of suppressing her guilt, she heard Knott's heavy boots thump up next to her as he peered over the edge at her side.
"Hmmm, someone had a bad time." Knott said to make conversation, his eyes on the blackened smudge atop the deck.
"May he rest in peace." Stormy nodded and studied a distant Merlos with a squint. He seemed to be enjoying the mild breeze that carried over the deck. After a moment he seemed to break out of his placid existence and reached into his hat, fetching a quill and pen.
Knott hummed in response. "Din't mean the cap'n's pet, lass, tragic as tha' be. Was actually referin' to them battle marks you've got there on your face."
Stormy's eyes widened at their mention, and she in unconsciously reached a hoof up her brow. "Oh, uh, you meant these." After a shake of her head she lowered her hoof. "There's not too much to talk about. And it sure wasn't a battle... Some bird got the drop on me and carved my poor face up. And I didn't even do anything about it..." She scowled in remembrance and hit the railing with a hoof.
A railing bar flung off into the distance as a result and landed on the shore.
"Oops." Stormy grunted and put her head down on the railing with a thump
Knott chuckled, but patted Stormy's shoulder consolingly. "Aye, that sounds like a right bit of trouble to make your blood boil, even after all's said 'n done." He took out a stocky pipe from a pouch on his chest, and gave it a couple taps against his palm. "Now, I'm not abou' to tell you what you should 'n shouldn't do after a traumatic encounter like tha', Stormy, but there's only one thing a dwarf'd do."
Stormy picked her head up from the railing to look at Knott. "What d'ya, uh, I mean what do you mean?"
Knott chuckled, and struck his flint against the railing, lighting his pipe in one smooth motion. "Simple. You need t' learn how t' protect yerself from someone that knows how."
He gave Stormy a wry smirk, then kicked out the railing beside the one Stormy had launched. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 008: A sinking feeling. | One week later
A week aboard the Weiser Budd crawled by for Merlos and Stormy's party, much like the barge itself crawled down the river toward its destination: the capital city of Halia, of the nation of Halia, in the province of Halia... The Halians were a very uncreative sort.
Knott braced himself behind his shield just before a force strong as a charging bull slammed against it. "Good good, now really let me 'ave it with the next one 'nd don' let up! Keep that rythm, girl!"
"No problem!" Stormy took a deep breath before striking out with her hind legs. "And, uh, we say 'filly' where we're from. I mean either works but--!"
She oofed loudly as Knott shoved back, sending her sprawling onto the barge's deck.
"Focus, filly! Mind on the fight at hand! Er, hoof! Haha!"
Merlos watched from a distance as Stormy's hooves clanged loudly on Knott's dwarven shield during their spar. Knott and Stormy had been training together daily as a routine all the way downriver, one coaching the other on basic principles of hand to hand combat, or in this case, hand to hoof. In an effort to help Stormy know how to take care of herself, being stranded in another world and all, the Hu brothers had walked her through everything from how to keep her balance in a fight to turning a blow. Currently, they were actually working on the advanced art of delivering an effective blow, a deceptively difficult task in a heated battle.
Merlos huffed and looked back to his scribing. "She ought to be reading her spellbooks..."
It was a long ride south to Halia in the ramshackle boat, and helping the little filly gain experience and confidence gave everyone something interesting to do versus the monotony of the landscape. Although, Klee Tusk's efforts to teach Stormy how to smash things "gud" with a plank of wood was turned away with polite but firm discourse.
"Ah!" Stormy oofed hard as she slammed again into the deck of the ship after losing her balance.
Knott winced, lowering his shield. "Ooo'. Arrigh' lass, back up on yer hooves. Square yer stance more or you won't stay up on yer two-- er, four legs after ye' follow through."
Clearly, Stormy still had a ways to go.
Merlos grunted from his seat against one of the deck's few sturdy railings, and put his attention back on his work: attempting to copy down spell-scrolls. A time honored and common tradition of wizards with spare time, copying spells into written words of power required focus, wit, and above all else, quiet. Unfortunately, he lacked that last one. He was having difficulty concentrating his mind enough for the necessary amount of detail, so his quill was currently instead detailing a doodle of Stormy bucking against Knott's shield in his journal. Beside the picture were several notes taken of her strange alien language and more.
"Well." Merlos sighed and leaned back to stare p at the sky, the sound of Stormy's oofs and Knott's stoic grunts in the background. "At least it's peacfu--"
An ear-piercing and raucous cry came from Klee Tusk atop the crow's nest, which was really just a rocking chair nailed onto the shed over the helm at the barge's center.
"Land ho'!" the orc cried with glee. He jumped from the nest to the barge's top deck, the floor splintering slightly as he did so.
"We are in the middle of a river." With a heavy sigh, Merlos looked down again at his half finished fireball scroll and pegasus notes. "There's land all around us." Scowling, he gestured to the shore not twenty strides from the Weiser Budd's portside.
The orc must not have heard Merlos, as he was already jumping from the helm shed's roof and racing towards the front of the barge.
"Whoo! Land ho'!" Stormy cheered as well, and glided past Merlos, following after Klee Tusk. "Hey, wasn't there supposed to be a city?"
"We have not yet reached Halia!" Merlos said, voice raised. "And stop saying that, there's land all aroun--!" He started to bluster, only to give up, knowing better. "I'm surrounded by morons."
"Hehe, yer jus' upset we morons 'ave more fun than ye'." Knott chuckled and tossed an indignant Merlos up to his feet by his collar. "Come ye' ol' codger. We're goin' ashore for a spell. It'll do ye' good to get off the boat an' stretch yer scrawny 'uman legs."
"My legs are none of your concern," Merlos griped back. "And if I didn't go along, you three would start a bar brawl inside of two minutes at an inn, so believe me when I say I don't need any encouragement." He straightened his robes indignantly while also stuffing his spell material safely away where it couldn't be molested by stray, meddling orcs or pegasi.
"I think it'd take even us a' least three minutes, eh?" Knott guffawed as he spoke.
While the party traded relative niceties, the barge was gently drifting closer toward a ramshackle looking pier at the head of which was an equally ramshackle looking three story building. A large wooden plank that looked to be an old door hung from a sign at the river's edge declaring the building to be named, appropriately and boringly enough, Riverside Inn in a sloppy font. Just beyond the tall building was a humble hamlet that looked to be built out of sight into the woods' shadows.
"Hey, Merlos?" Stormy asked, trotting away from Klee Tusk's strange, happy sounding orcish screaming. "Can you top off my speaking spell? I don't want to be in the middle of talking to someone at the inn and suddenly switch over to Equestrian."
Merlos finished tucking his scroll cases into his bag. "Hm, I think not. I've been trying to space out its daily use this last week by preparing it less each day. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner."
Stormy scowled and crossed her forehooves over her front. "Oh no, I noticed! Everyone was laughing at me for hours this morning!"
The captain, Jethro Thull, laughed an interjection as he sauntered his way into the conversation. "Hehe, yer horse-word for 'friend' were doody!"
"N-No! It was 'dude'! Uggh." Stormy groaned loudly and turned her back from the guffawing backwoods elf. She hadn't had much luck on the voyage teaching any of them her language's words, and almost as little luck learning any of their language on her own. All of which was of course their fault.
Merlos chuckled at the frowning filly's expense. "Stormy, believe me, it's far more important that the spells I have prepared daily for this journey remain combat and utility focused. There's a very good reason we're here to help guard the boat, remember. Besides, I can almost promise you there's no one in there you'd want to converse with."
Stormy nodded, her embarrassment replaced with sullen acceptance. "Yeah, fine, whatever."
Merlos held up a finger derisively. "None of that sass, now. You know I'm right." With the expectedly large threat of bandit attack, he would much rather have enough energy to cast a decisive fireball rather than Stormy being capable of hurling snarky remarks in a melee.
"Doesn't mean I gotta like it." Stormy huffed and turned away to look at the fast approaching pier.
"Land ho'!" Klee Tusk shouted again, still laughing.
"Stop saying that!" Merlos shouted back.
"Kahn't make me! WAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!"
"O' let'm 'ave his fun, Merlos," Knott chuckled amidst unhooking and rolling a couple kegs across the deck.
The Weiser Budd clunked up against the dock with a loud crunch. The barge shuddered and gave a metallic groan as bolts and patchwork fasteners across the hull protested the collision.
Stormy warily watched as several of the pier's planks and one load-bearing post tumbled off into the shallows. She cantered nearer the edge to peek over, ears pinning back from the occasional squeaks of the pier and barge rubbing against one another. "Do we have to pay for that?"
Klee Tusk cackled, a terrifying sound coming from an orc, and hopped over the guardrail. "Only if sum'wun catch us!"
Stormy watched Knott pitch heavy ropes to Klee Tusk, who promptly moored the barge in place. After which, the large orc tore up a loose board from the pier itself and used it as an improvised gangway as space opened up between the boat and dock.
"Okie, we all go to inn now!" Klee Tusk said, charging ahead to lead the way. Two dock workers were forced into leaping off the pier into the shallows or risk a trampling.
Jethro sighed, scratching a filthy hand behind his head. "Gull durnit. I hope he don't start nothin'. Maybe I shoulda chained him to the deck to keep him outta trouble."
Knott laughed over his shoulder as he rolled a keg down the makeshift gangplank. "I imagine you'd lose what's left o' this boat if ye' did tha'."
"Haw! True as the sky is blue. Whelp, if all a'yah're pleased I'll take first boat watch." Jethro popped a cork from a large clay jug he had slung over his back, and proceeded to take a long swig.
Stormy, amidst all the commotion, looked warily at the haphazardly placed gangway plank. When the dwarves began rolling the heavy barrels over onto the dock, she felt her hackles rise in worry. Surprisingly, the board held fast.
After they were finished, Stormy placed a hoof tentatively on the gangway, shuffling back after the end raised up dangerously.
Merlos walked up behind her, nearly tripping over her hesitation. "What's taking so long?" he demanded.
Stormy spread her wings and gave Merlos a doubtful look. "Good luck," was all she said, and hovered over to the dock rather than risk the rickety board.
"Hmph. Ges, what are we doing here, again?" Merlos asked.
"Jus' a pit stop, Merlos. Nothin' to get your dress in a bunch over." Ges looked back while rolling the barrel as large as he across the pier.
"Robes. Not. A. Dress," Merlos replied coldly, each word punctuated by a bounce from the makeshift gangplank.
Stormy cringed as Merlos crossed over, waiting for the board to give up the ghost and snap, but impressively it held through everyone's weight. "What the?" Curious, she gave the board a light touch, and gasped as it snapped suddenly down the middle. "Ah! Seriously?"
"Stormy! Hurry up and stop dawdling."
"Says the fella' wearin' a dress," Ges repeated.
"Enough! They're robes!"
Stormy snickered and filed in behind her group of friends as they headed toward the inn. She stopped short of laughing harder as she caught the glare Merlos was giving her.
"And I'll thank you for making the distinction clear between a lady's attire and a wizard's highly respected uniform." Merlos' trademark indignation was nearly palpable as always while he plodded down the hamlet's muddy street behind the mismatched group ahead of him. "If you just left them out of proceedings altogether I'd thank you twice."
Ges chuckled, a less raucous sound than his brother's. "O' course, o' course. Well, to answer your question it goes like this: we sell a couple barrels, have a drink, maybe stay the night in an actual bed, then back on the open road! Er, river. Ye' know?"
Stormy almost snickered again as Merlos' face lit up at the mention of a bed.
"Hm." Merlos now looked appreciatively up at the inn as they drew closer. "I suppose that does sound like a good enough plan..." Just shy of entering the establishment, he stopped. "Oh, nearly forgot."
Stormy was caught by surprise as Merlos turned about, then began affixing something around her neck right where she hovered. "Hey! What the hay, dude?"
Merlos stopped, looking surprised, and then indignant as he put on one of his best looks of agitation. "What's wrong now?"
Stormy gestured to the rope leash dangling off her front. "Uh, take a guess? What do you think you're doing putting a collar on me?"
"Oh it's not a big deal." Merlos rolled his eyes. "I have had this planned out far in advance. You see, it's standard for a wizard to leash his familiar indoors for appearances, and frankly I'd rather not bother having to explain to the barkeep your true status as a sapient. Also, we'd have to pay more for lodging if I don't claim you as my familiar and money's tight at the moment as you well know. It's not exactly dignified, but for now at least this works best. Trust me."
Stormy had felt her face getting redder and angrier the more the grizzled wizard droned about his plan. She pinned her ears back and glared at him.
"So unless you have a better idea--"
"Yeah, I do! How about we discuss plans with Stormy before just implementing them! I mean, didn't you get angry at me for doing this a week ago?" Stormy reached up and grumbled as she pulled the twine off over her head. "I trust you, Merlos, but this is not cool."
"Hey, you--" Merlos floundered as Stormy tossed his rope into the back of a passing wagon. "That was good silk rope! Come back here, you! Oh, sir, stop for a moment there's--"
Stormy didn't listen as she flitted away, following Ges, Knott, and Klee Tusk inside the inn.
The building was filled with all kinds of noise.
As Stormy stood in the entrance to the establishment, the door slamming behind her, the first thing that struck her wasn't the drab decor, nor was it the out of tune lute music that somebody played amidst the din of conversation.
"Uggh, what's that smell?" Stormy held a hoof up to cover her nose. Whatever was making the musty and charred smell that had hit her wasn't apparent. A few patrons nursed their beverage of choice or pitched darts at a dartboard, and while they all looked as if they probably stank, she decided it was better to not think about it any longer. When a few took notice of her and began to stare, she hurriedly ducked her eyes and went on, head lowered.
I mean, maybe wearing a leash wouldn't be all that embarrassing... Stormy grumbled over the thought, deciding that no, she'd rather get the stares than let Merlos walk all over her.
Stormy took a good look around, letting her eyes drink in the details of the place's wooden carvings of animals and hunting implements which decorated the walls. The inn's windows were cloudy with grime, letting diffused light spill in from the outside in speckled and shadowed patterns. She could still see well enough thanks to a couple lit torches and a fire going at the room's side, but the lighting had an altogether gloomy feel. The gloom was made gloomier by the tinge of smoke in the air, much like that from Merlos' pipe. Everything had a worn in look, even the patrons, but the floor was clean enough for Stormy to not want to spaz about the inn's housekeeping.
Stormy spotted Klee and the dwarves already across the room, and started toward them at a quick trot. Knott was busy making a rather exuberant show of clapping his hand together loudly with that of a burly man in an apron, while Klee and Ges set the kegs up on the bar.
A few other oomans and other humanoid races of all shapes and sizes came closer to the bar, likely to see what the hubbub was about.
Stormy stopped to watch with an idle fascination of just how many different looking creatures there were with such a small palette of colors to share between them. She kept it to herself, but she really did have trouble telling a lot of oomanoids apart from each other.
Stormy's pause became an apparent mistake, as all the commotion building quickly put a solid wall of bodies between her and her party.
"Uh, sir-- excuse m-- Great." Stormy sighed, and began to try and squeeze her way through. There was a loud clunking noise somewhere in front of everyone at the bar, and suddenly cheers erupted throughout the building, but she was too short to see what it was. The clunk and the fizzy sound that came afterward seemed to send the throng, which was now all around her, into an immediate frenzy.
"Hey, watch it! Pardon me, coming through. If you could just--" Stormy managed to get total of two steps into the bar crowd, but no further. It was made all the worse by the fact that the majority of the patrons were all twice her height or more.
"This is waaay too crowded," Stormy said. Fed up, and getting jostled far too much for her liking, she turned to go back and maybe look for a seat at the edge of the room, only to oof loudly as someone stepped in her way.
"Whaaaat have we got here?" a gravelly voice slurred.
Stormy looked up, and up and up. What had bumped into her turned out to be a tall ooman with long golden locks of hair and piercing eyes that had a dangerous look in them. He wore a dull brass colored armor, nicked and scratched with what she assumed was time spent on a battlefield. A morning star, similar to what she had seen in a museum, dangled inches from Stormy's low-to-the-ground face.
"U-u-u-uhh..." Stormy stuttered blankly in return, too surprised and not at all prepared for such an encounter. The worst thing that could happen came at that precise moment, though, as Merlos' spell chose right then to run out.
"Baa weep grahna weep nini bong?" Stormy clapped her hooves over her muzzle, embarrassed, but it was too late.
The barbaric looking ooman's eyes widened, then he burst out laughing, shaking and almost doubling over. "Oh, by the gods, this must be my lucky day. From what witch and curse ridden corner of the world did you spawn from, huh?" Grinning, he reached a dirt covered metal glove forward as if to try and poke at her head or ruffle her ears.
While the ooman spoke--Stormy couldn't understand a word of it now--she tried to back away or find an avenue around the guy, but there were still strangers crowded all around, and worse, several had noticed the commotion and were paying attention, too.
A toothy, black and brown grin surrounded by a thick bristly blonde beard filled Stormy's vision as the ooman leaned down toward her. Stormy's muzzle scrunched at the smell of stale alcohol somehow clearing the distance between them.
"'Ey, are you ignoring me? I said let's go up to the stage. The boys'd love to get a good show out of you and your gibberish."
Stormy couldn't recoil anymore than she already had thanks to the crowd around her. Just as the man's hand neared to grabbing her foreleg, an even bigger, stockier hand reached out from nowhere to catch his wrist in an iron grip.
Ges' steely gaze locked with that of the blonde ooman. "Oi, 'nd what d'yeh think yer doin', stranger?"
His amused look gone in favor of an angry one at being touched, the ooman ripped his hand free from Knott's grip. As he did, two more oomans in matching armors came to stand beside him. He traded brief looks with them, then leaned over Ges with a smirk and stated, "Oh, I'm sorry there, wee dwarfy. Were this noisy thing your mount?" The stranger crowed at his own joke, his two companions joining in.
Ges faux chuckled with them, his bushy eyebrows raising appreciatively at the jape. "This here's my friend, as a matter a' fact."
The blonde ooman looked to his side. "A dwarf that knows how to make friends. That's a new one." Amidst chuckles, he continued, saying, "You know, if it weren't for your short beard, I'd think this dump were serving children at the bar now. What do you think boys, in the mood for a bit of dwarf tossin'?"
Stormy scooted back a little, not liking where this is going.
Ges never looked away from the ooman. "See, I thought we could come to an un'erstanding. Now, yer jus' lucky I din't bring mah axe, human, or I'd chop yeh down right here like a tall, ugly blonde tree with bad hygiene." He cracked his left hand's knuckles, then his right's.
The blonde ooman's chin raised, his expression growing dark. "No one threatens us and lives, wee dwarfy."
"That so? Now I'm shakin' in me 'wee' boots. Or I would be, if ye' weren't abou' as intimidatin' as a one legged blind goblin."
Still backing up, Stormy abruptly took notice that the area around them all had suddenly been cleared out. The patrons were all either beginning to gather their things and leave, or cheer on whatever was happening. She took cover on the opposite end of a nearby table along with several others. I got a bad feeling about this, she lamented, peeking around the table's edge.
The blonde human cracked his neck, visibly itching for the coming fight. "You're gonna regret saying that."
"No, but yer gonna regret crossin' me an' my friends. We look out for each other, y'see." Ges gestured behind the blonde human and softly said, "Before you breathe another word, lad, ye' might want t' look behind yerself an' look out for them, too."
The ooman turned around and his gaze panned up to see the Klee Tusk's imposing form standing before him.
Klee Tusk--who had been bored out of his mind the last few days--couldn't have been happier, as could be seen by anyone noticing his ear to ear grin. Listening in, he had approached the oomans, and now he loomed happily over them.
The stranger may have been ready to warn the orc who stood a head taller than him to back off, however, Klee Tusk's eyes already burned with the impending excitement of battle as his fist rocketed out and across the ooman's face the moment he'd turned around.
Even as teeth still flew across the room, Klee Tusk happily shouted, "BAR FIIIIIIGHT!"
Stormy watched in awe as Klee Tusk sent the blonde human flying several feet with a single punch into the crowd, then started to wrestle with both of the other two humans across the barroom floor.
All around the inn, cheers, screams, and most of all, laughter, roared to life.
Ges began to lend Klee Tusk a hand with pummeling the two lackeys, seemingly ending the fight before it had begun. Only, the sound of chairs scraping noisily and shouting from across the room announced several more oomans in similar looking armor coming to their companion's aid.
Oh, this is bad. This is-- What the hay? Stormy stared around wide-eyed, suddenly aware that the fighting wasn't just centered on her friends. All across the inn patrons were suddenly fighting one another for no apparent reason.
Stormy eeped loudly as a stool careened through the air just over her head. "Ah!" She hit the ground, crawling under the table to relative safety to watch the unfolding chaos. What is wrong with this world!? she thought, watching in horror as a pudgy little ooman strangely no taller than her ran up someone's back to smash a glass bottle over their head.
Stormy winced as she saw Knott shouting from atop the bar and trying to get the fight to stop. When that failed he pushed his way through the throng to get the ooman's attention, but he seemed all too eager to join the fighting as soon as the first blow was landed on him.
"Are they crazy!? They're outnumbered five to one!" Stormy began to bite her hooves as the brawl involving her friends and the huge group of blonde oomans became more and more intense, with both sides landing solid blows on one another with increasing frequency. "I gotta find Merlos!"
Stormy scurried out from under the table and galloped towards the inn's entrance once a clear spot showed itself. Dodging tussling oomans left and right, she managed to reach the door unhurt.
Made it. Panting, Stormy dashed out just in time, hearing a table smashing against the shut door behind her. Once outside, she ran smack dab into someone.
"Watch i--! Stormy?"
When the stars cleared, Stormy found herself staring up into Merlos' waist long beard.
"Come back, have you? What in heaven's name is all that noise?" Merlos only got a glimpse of the inn's interior as the door slammed shut. "And I'll have you know it took me forever to get my rope back." He shook the rope under her snout for emphasis. "I had to convince that farmer I wasn't trying to steal his property and--"
"Korah matah, Korah rahtahmah!" Stormy suddenly became aware of just how fast her blood was pumping and how out of breath she was. Even her expired language spell didn't slow her down.
"Oh, spell ran out did it?" Merlos stared at Stormy as she tugged on his robes, still speaking a mile a minute in her gibberish sounding language. "Nyohah keelah-- Korah rahtahmah! Syadho!! Keelah!! Korah rahtahmah".
"Alright, now calm yourself." He quickly waved his hand and cast his remaining daily allotment for the speech spell. "Now, what's going o--"
"A mean man was bullying me and then Klee Tusk PUNCHED the guy so hard he flew across the room and-I-thought-he-DIED-but-he-didn't-and-then-more-guys-showed-up-and-then--!"
Stormy paused for a split second to gasp a deep breath.
"Now the whole tavern is all fighting them! Merlos! Do something!" Stormy panted, waiting to see the old ooman wizard spring into action.
Merlos sighed as he turned to stare at the inn's front door. "They're actually brawling? Why am I not surprised?"
Stormy blinked in disbelief as Merlos proceeded to lean against the building's wall and take out his smelly wooden pipe thing from his dress' sleeve. "What are you doing!?" she exclaimed.
Fumbling with his tobacco and almost dropping it, Merlos looked over in surprise. "...I'm smoking my pipe and waiting for them to finish. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"You aren't going to help them!?" Stormy looked over with Merlos at a crashing sound as a patron was defenestrated through the inn's front window in a shower of glass and furniture with an accompanying Wilhelm scream.
Merlos looked down calmly, resuming his smoking. "Nope."
"Augh!" Stormy hopped over the groaning patron and peeked into the melee still ongoing inside. "But they're getting beaten to a pulp in there!"
Merlos shrugged. "They'll be fine. I'm just praying they don't burn the place down."
"Fine." Stormy huffed, her forelegs crossed and a grumpy look upon her face. She then smirked a bit; spreading her wings and taking off in proper Junior Speedsters form. With practiced ease, she stretched out her neck and nipped away Merlos' hat before the old ooman could so much as look up at what she was doing. She then flew over to the now broken window and tossed it into the chaos inside.
"H-Hey! Why you--" Merlos growled angrily as he marched up to the inn's door. "Very clever, but we're talking about all this mischief and disobedience later."
"Okie dokie lokie! But if anything, this just makes us even again, Merlos." Stormy announced smugly, and watched intently from the safety of the window as Merlos ducked inside. "Be careful in there!" What he would do to stop the fighting would no doubt be some show of grand magical force, she figured.
Stormy's jaw dropped as she witnessed Merlos first tap a man standing on his hat on the shoulder, then as he turned around, punched him hard enough across the face to send him spinning into a nearby table.
Stormy covered her eyes with both hooves, wincing. "Okay... didn't expect that."
Merlos' hat perched back upon his head, he began casting what was a clearly a spell. Streaks of wispy air seemed to swirl around his fingertips, then glided up into his mouth and nostrils. When he spoke, Stormy immediately covered her ears with both hooves in surprise.
"Knock it off!" Merlos' voice suddenly boomed. "You're all a bunch of reprobates and knob-heads! You haven't a single functional brain between you all, and the very notion of me wasting my time preventing further concussions on your parts is laughable! Now cease this fighting immedia--!"
Stormy winced again as she saw a stray ale mug whistle out from somewhere in the crowd, and clunk Merlos across the face. The old wizard stood perfectly still with his head canted after the blow the struck.
A dwarven voice guffawed, "Timbeeeeeer!" Merlos then slowly tipped over to collapse on the floor.
The entire inn cheered together.
"Ohhh..." Stormy intoned, watching the calamity inside come to a close. "That had to hurt..."
Merlos winced, holding the ice cubes he'd made with a simple cantrip against the apple-sized bruise he had on his jaw. "I can't believe you picked a fight with an entire mercenary company." With his free hand, he did his best to finish his scroll.
Knott shrugged from where he sat leaned against one of the Weiser Budd's few good railings. "Well, fair enough, but in our defense it did take us about three minutes to start it like I said."
"We shoulda placed bets," Ges chimed, and began laughing with his brother. "Good job stepping in though, Merlos. Yeh have our sincere thanks. The lot of them dragged away the unconscious loud-mouth that started everything after your little show-stopper."
Merlos shook his head in disgust. "Yes, well your little exhibition match cost us our nice warm beds at the inn. A fine example of a paladin you are, Knott."
Knott ceased his laughter. "Wha' I kept it above the belt!" He blew out his beard and crossed his arms roughly. "And don't ye' go lecturing me on conduct in a fight. I saw ye' sucker punch that fella' on yer hat after--"
Stormy sat a ways away from the group, and tuned out the argument unfolding behind her. She paddled her hindlegs in the water lazily where she sat far off at the barge's rear, the splashing doing a good job of covering their shouts.
She had been astounded to the point of speechlessness after the bar fight. Still, any fear she'd had from being so close to a senseless brawl had quickly and surprisingly faded. "Uggh, I hope I'm not getting used to how crazy everyone here is. Maybe I'm just in shock." She recalled the incident with Tiki... and the skeletons before that... and with a shudder, her stay in the dungeon when she'd first arrived.
The sound of Merlos muttering something about "reprobates" and "unprincipled degenerates" approached Stormy from behind.
"Hmph, I'd clip my wings for my Joyboy right now," Stormy muttered angrily.
Merlos looked up from his pacing. "What was that, Stormy?"
Stormy looked around behind herself. "Oh, hey Merlos. Nothing's wrong, just thinking about... everything that's happened. I could seriously use a distraction from it." She sighed and faced out to the passing river waters again.
Merlos tsked. "You've got the entirely wrong viewpoint to have of contemplation, Stormy. It is from meditating on our past that we learn from it."
"Yeah, I know that, but I still don't want to." Stormy could feel Merlos' gaze on her, but she stubbornly avoided making eye contact. "Nevermind, I just can't help wishing I could keep my mind off things, I guess."
Merlos hummed. He adjusted his ice pack, wincing as he took a cross legged seat beside Stormy. "That, I can honestly relate to. Unfortunately this boat is only so big and it's impossible for me to keep my mind on my work with all this company no matter how much 'wishing' I do. No offense, of course, you've been rather quiet since the inn, actually."
Stormy chuckled. "Yeah, and none taken."
"I imagine you aren't referring to the distractions on the boat though." As he spoke, Merlos produced parchment and a quill from his robe's puzzlingly cavernous sleeves and began to doodle. "So, while I'm not the most diplomatic of listeners, if you wish to talk about anything troubling you, don't hesitate to. I know you're still getting to know Knott and Ges, as well, but they too will happily lend an ear and their advice. They're good for more than just teaching basic self defense."
Stormy considered the old guys' sentiments, and despite how much she usually reacted to his lecturous tone with indifference, this time it really reminded her of all the adults and teachers she'd left behind back home in Equestria.
"Thanks, Merlos, I will," Stormy said simply. The smile she gave Merlos was only half from his actual advice.
Merlos nodded smartly, but without looking up from his scroll. "You're quite welcome."
The two sat in silence a while, the sound of the water wheels propelling the Weiser Budd through the calm river around them uncharacteristically making the only noise on the normally lively boat for once.
Stormy was staring at the water churned by the barge paddles' lazy spinning when a question came to her. "So, is this thing running on magic? It's not coal or wood, because I don't smell either of those burning."
Merlos nodded. "Indeed, most observant, Stormy. The ship does make use of a simple magic furnace to produce steam from the water around us. You see, there is a small vat of fire sprites below deck which, when directed correctly by Klee Tusk, react by producing large quantities of heat."
In response to his nonchalant explanation, Stormy slowly looked over at Merlos, her expression stark. "I see." After a brief pause, she added, "Is that why he bangs on metal and screams the whole time every few hours? He's 'directing' the sprites?"
Merlos shrugged his knobby shoulders. "Well, I did say it was a simple magic furnace."
Stormy shook her head and sighed. "That's kinda mean, isn't it?"
"A lot of things constitute as mean around here, Stormy. But, if it makes you feel any better, the sprites aren't being harmed and they have an intelligence equivalent to that of a small bug."
Stormy grumbled and folded her hooves. "In Equestria something like that would never get used."
"Yes, well, this isn't Equestria." Merlos answered curtly.
The two sat in silence again for a ways down the river, pierced once by Klee Tusk's screaming, "WAAAAAUGH," and metal banging below deck, before becoming calm again. A fresh gout of steam poured from the crooked pipe on the barge's stern.
When Stormy could, she asked Merlos, "So what's a rapper bait? You said that earlier."
Merlos sighed and corrected her, saying, "Reprobate, or meaning that someone is a rake, a degenerate, or a good-for-nothing." He leaned against the railing, which bowed out ominously; he sat forward again to keep himself from having an unexpected swim.
Remembering the tavern brawl, Stormy muttered, "No wonder somepony threw a mug at you."
"Very funny." Merlos looked up from his doodling, or whatever it was he had been doing most of the time they spent on the boat. He snapped his fingers and a floating sheet of parchment appeared before him and he pulled a quill from his pocket. "Now, unless you've more idle chatter, I just completed the scroll I'd been working on." He then glanced at Stormy with his usual unamused expression. "Since this will be a rather long voyage, let's talk more about where you came from. We barely scratched the surface of the questions I have notarized for you to answer."
Stormy sighed and fell back against the boat's deck to stare up at the sky. "I said I was already bored, not that I wanted to be more bored."
Merlos harrumphed, as he tended to when getting sassed. "Oh stop that, you'll be doing us both a favor, you know. And since you're not reviewing the instruction books I've lent you, let's make good use of our time. Tell me something of your home for my notes. Like, what were you doing before you were taken from your home, in some more detail."
Stormy perked up, recalling her most recent memories of Equestria. "I remember telling you I was visiting my grandparents in Cloudsdale, preparing for the Best Young Flier's Competition..."
Merlos scrawled it on the parchment. "Yes, I recall you saying something like that. Mmmhm, where would this competition have taken place at?"
Stormy relaxed back again, recalling that fateful day in full detail. "The Rainbow Dash cloudeseum, otherwise known as The Awesome Dome. It's been held there for the last 19 years."
Merlos nodded, then paused. "The Awesome Dome?" He deadpanned, and muttered, "You're joking."
Stormy put her hooves up in defense and smiled sheepishly. "Nono, that was pretty typical of Rainbow Dash. She was really obsessed with things being cool."
"Concern with temperature being related to grandeur? Interesting." Merlos hummed and wrote his last note down.
Stormy suppressed a giggle. "Eh-yeah, something like that. Anyway, she was one of the Elements of Harmony I told you about. And her cloudeseum wasn't even the most embarrassing sounding national institution founded; Pinkie Pie's Party Spree Planning Emporium and Fluttershy's cuddly wuddly animal hospital hold that title."
Merlos looked up for a moment, blinked twice at Stormy, and went back to taking his notes without a word. "So this competition, ponies in your land come to see this spectacle?"
Stormy grinned. Merlos' reaction to Equestria's culture was a typical one, but it never got old. "Yes, unlike the old cloudiseum, which grounded ponies needed magic to walk around on, this one had imbued cloud stone in it so earth ponies and unicorns could walk on it too. The place is massive. Lots of concerts and sporting events take place there."
Merlos gave his beard a scratch. "Concerts? As in, symphonic?"
Stormy gasped, and hovered up before him, incredulous. "Nonono, yeesh, you go to a theater for that stuff in Canterlot for that snobby stuff. I'm talking about performing pop-artists... Like The Wheatles, Mare-donna, Depeche A-la-Mode, or V.N.V Neigh-tion."
Merlos adopted a scowl, the sort he made when something Stormy had said sounded like nonsense, but scrawled her recollections onto his scroll nonetheless. "Snobby, huh... So, how do you normally get there?"
Stormy puffed up proudly. "I'd fly there, solo." She put on a winning smirk. "With my parents usually. Lately on my own or with friends, too."
Merlos hummed. "Are pegasus children encouraged to roam so free?"
Stormy shrugged. "Why not?"
Merlos barked a laugh. "Monsters, for one. And I imagine if so many of your people can fly so easily that bandits and hit and run raids must be a real nightmare."
"Yeeeah, not so much." Stormy rolled her eyes. "Equestria's pretty... peaceful, and ponies don't really do that to each other. You still hear about petty crime in the cities sometimes, but honestly it's pretty safe to go out wherever in the daylight. No monsters near towns, either. So, once we pass flight school and have a magi-tech adapter like a NAVBALL, we're able to fly pretty much anywhere!"
Merlos gave Stormy a raised brow. "Navball? What is a Navball? That sounds a bit more interesting than the names of your local performers."
"Hey, those guys are famous!" Stormy sagged where she sat, answering the next bit. "If I had it here I could just show you, but all my stuff was stolen, remember? My violin, my schoolwork, my wallet... I'm so glad I wasn't wearing my collectors edition wonderbolts cap."
Merlos nodded. "Well, just do your best to explain this..." he mouthed the word magi-tech that Stormy had used, before saying, "Thing that you mentioned."
Stormy hummed to herself and thought of how best to explain it, eyes shut. Well, it's an enchanted item as he would probably understand, but maybe that's misleading about... As she did, her ears twitched, catching a distant noise beyond the barge's relatively peaceful movement downriver.
"Huh? What's that sound?" Stormy looked up and around herself.
Merlos looked up from his notes. "Sound? What sound?"
Stormy took in the surroundings completely, but the same old river and shoreline filled with trees stared back at her. The sound was gone. She shrugged. "I dunno, it was, like, a flag flapping in the wind or something."
Merlos hummed and stood up, looking to the front of the ship to Knott, who was currently on lookout at the barge's bow, but had yet to raise any alarm. "It was probably just the trees. Now, about that--"
Stormy kicked off the deck of the ship, "I'm gonna go check it out." She quickly whisked herself up into the air, ignoring Merlos' immediate protests from behind to not fly off "willy-nilly". "I'll be right back!"
It's not like you can't see me clearly or anything. Yeesh. Stormy curved upward into the sky at a sharp angle, rising up over the treetops in moments. Uh oh. From her vantage, she could immediately see what she'd been hearing.
Groups of green oomans, or half-orcs--she had trouble keeping the different names straight in her head--were waving colored flags in a pattern at each other. They were all like Klee Tusk, but even bigger and uglier.
Stormy swallowed hard, spotting the assorted, cruel looking weapons they all seemed to be carrying while moving about quickly. Maybe they're just guarding a caravan, like us? She put a hoof to her brow and watched for a moment. They wore only pants and red colored runes with handprints on their upper bodies and faces. As she hovered, the green oomans lined the shores and began stringing their bows, and then took aim right at her barge. Orrrr maybe not. Crap baskets.
Stormy shouted down to the barge, "Merlos! There are a bunch of green mans with bows!" As she did, she heard a call from Knott simultaneously yell, "ORC RAIDERS! What are they doin' this far into Halia? Ges, Thull, getcher bows! Stormy, get below with Klee Tusk! Right now! Stormy? Merlos, where'd she--"
Just then, a shrill chorus like a hundred hungry mosquitos sounded off.
Stormy's ears focused on their own towards the dark cloud whistling through the air, and her pupils became pinpricks at the sight of so many tiny things hurtling through the air.
"Take cover, lads! Time t'earn our drinkin' money!" was shouted from below.
"Stormy, get out of the way!" someone else yelled.
Wide eyed, Stormy watched as the cloud quickly became a swarm of sharp shafts and barbed tips. She discovered they weren't aimed at her but rather into the sky as they began to slow down, reaching their apex and begin their fall towards the barge. She had an idea.
Stormy dashed off to the side as the arrows started towards her friends, who were taking cover behind ale casks. Once hovering in position, she leaned back, mind focused, then pitched forward using both her wings.
The sudden gale of wind caught the arrows in a weather effect and they fell into a useless, chaotic mess on the far riverbank and in the shallows, missing the watercraft entirely.
"Yes!" Stormy shouted, while at the same time noticing from the corner of her eye another cloud launching out of the trees. "Oh no you don't!" She repeated the same maneuver, swimming through the air in a backstroke to get into position at the missile cloud's side.
There were shouts from the green oomans below and many of them were pointing up in her direction now. Several of the archers turned to face Stormy and another smaller cloud was quickly loosed.
Stormy took in a deep breath then blew, using her control of the weather to swat away the third cloud of arrows with her right wing, and her left wing to help her dodge the forth cloud. A few seconds later the intercepted arrows fell unsuccessfully towards the right of the barge once again.
Blood curdling cries of protest from green oomans on the shore rose up at the sight of their failed volleys.
Breathing hard, Stormy hovered in place, ready and watching for more, adrenaline pumping through her. Glancing below, she could see her friends all returning fire, each in their own way. Except for Klee Tusk, who was nowhere to be seen.
One of the orcs climbed atop a rock then--the orc was a female with few vestments over her body, feathers tied into her greasy mane, and skulls and bones around her shoulders like a necklace made of cruelty. Under her direction, more orcs sprinted out of the treeline, all of them carrying thin, sleek looking watercraft over their heads. She then shrieked with an earsplitting battlecry that turned Stormy's blood to ice the instant she heard it. Another cloud of arrows was launched at her command.
"Stormy, get down here this instant!" Merlos' voice rose from the ground, clearly now using his voice projection spell. "They're targeting you!"
"I'm a little busy!" Stormy repeated her last maneuver, taking in a deep breath and swiping a wing to send the arrows to the left. This is getting tiring.
Stormy bit her lip, getting worried as she saw the orc lady command another volley to be readied. And she must be the leader.
"WAAAUUUGH!"
An answering battle cry came from the barge's direction, beneath Stormy. She looked down in time to see a hatch open up at the barge's center, Klee Tusk sitting atop something that looked suspiciously like Pinkie Pie's party cannon from the Canterlot Element's of Harmony museum.
"Whaaat is--" Before Stormy could process what she was looking at, a massive ball of fire exploded out of Klee Tusk's not-party cannon and screamed across water's surface. The resulting impact on the shore sent orc archers and boat carriers alike flying. As the fire splashed along the coastline, orcs scrambled out of the bushes and away from their now burning boats.
"Hawhaw! It is good to fight!" Klee Tusk cheered, and a second blast fired even as he cheered, steam shooting up from the river in its wake. "And better to win!"
"There, now get clear, damn you!" Merlos boomed over the cannon's din.
The green woman again shrieked like a banshee in her horrible ear splitting language, cutting Merlos off.
Suddenly, the tree canopy upriver exploded into dead debris as a pair of large, winged beasts soared up into the sky. The creatures were snake-like, two legged monsters with bat wings extending off their wicked looking bodies. A gnarled group of horns and spines split their vaguely lion-like faces, making them the stuff of a sane person's nightmares. A heavy looking saddle rested upon their backs, a bridle fitted to its face using grafts and piercings. An axe head attached to the edge of its tail and claws tipped with metal curving out from its feet and wings completed its appearance.
One of the monsters swooped low along the bank, and the orc woman leaped smoothly into the saddle upon its back, while the other was already diving sharply towards the boat.
The riders were almost as terrifying as their beasts. Each held a long crooked lance with one muscled arm. Their saddles had a multitude of brown clay bottles and skulls hanging at their side. The green oomans vestments were what set their intentions to everyone; what at first looked like strange olive colored leather plates, were clearly stretched out ooman faces adorning its body. Some of the faces even had their facial hair still on them.
Stormy's eyes widened, fear already chilling her spine as she gawked at them, unmoving.
A dwarf voice from below shouted, "Wyvern riders! Two of 'em right o'erhead!"
With only a few ferocious flaps of its wings, the monstrous cavalry were in the air and closing the distance in seconds. Stormy watched the one that had gone to dive bomb at the ship drop its clay bottles onto the deck, now prickled with a few arrows.
Even as the ship was bathed in flames, Merlos shouted an incantation to shove the burning grease-like substance off the deck.
With the exception of her wing flaps, Stormy stayed paralyzed by the sudden appearance of the things.
"Stormy, snap out of it!"
The sight of the orc woman screaming another battle cry and her mount climbing into the sky filled Stormy's vision. Her relative safety in the sky had vanished.
"Dodge!" somebody shouted.
"Ah!" After a brief flashback to summer camp and camp counselor Piping Piccolo's dodgeball tournaments, Stormy turned around in that instant as commanded. She reached her hooves out and flew as fast as her wings could carry her, her muscles burning, while the wyvern rider quickly gained on her, leading with the tip of its lance.
"Why me!? Why-me-why-me-whyme!?" Stormy yawed hard, narrowly avoiding the lance as it whistled by, and heard the unmistakable sound of snapping jaws. "W-W-Woah!" Her body tumbled end over end for a second, the air stream from the winged creature big enough to catch her.
Stormy half sobbed, half panted, her mind racing as she stabilized, and began zooming off without looking in the opposite direction as fast as she could. "She's faster than me!? How is it faster than me!?" She tried to go even faster, not sure if her fear was sapping her strength or if the giant bat-thing somebody had called a "wyvern" really was just that quick.
"Go away! Go attack Merlos!" she called over her shoulder, peeking just enough to see if it was there again.
"Stormy, look out!"
Stormy looked down at the voice instinctively, and just in time to see the other wyvern fill her vision, its jaws spread wide and reaching for her.
Time seemed to slow down for Stormy. Her wing beats became a million years apart, and she even had time to be aware of her own gasp, the single flap she made to dodge the wyvern, and the fact that the flap would never move her out of the way in time.
Already consigned to her fate, Stormy also had time to see the growing blue light behind the great winged beast lunging for her, and wonder what it was.
A boom filled the sky.
Before Stormy even knew what had happened, she was tumbling in the air again and fighting to regain her balance. A ringing noise was the only sound she could hear. She could still feel the rush of air though, and that told her innate pegasus instincts enough.
"AAAH! AH! Wha--!?" The scent of burning flesh and char filled her nose even as her wings caught her again and the world stopped spinning. "Ow, my ears." She winced; the boom, whatever it had been, clearly had done some damage to her, too, with its sound alone.
Stormy fought to understand what had happened. As she did, she caught sight of the second wyvern below her, the one that had almost gotten her, falling towards the river, its rider motionless.
"Holy poop." Stormy stared at the the sight, aghast.
From the barge, large blue orbs of crackling electric balls arced into the air and raced over the water's surface, the same ones that must have made that blue glow the first time. Once again, they splashed with a familiar crack of thunder against her assailants for a finishing blow, even as they splashed into the water.
Stormy looked at the orbs' source, and saw Merlos atop the barge's deck, his eyes aglow with bluish power and his beard flapping in the wind like some kind of banner. He was shouting something up to her, hands cupped, but she couldn't hear it over the ringing. She gulped, breathing in relief, and even as she did, the ringing still in her ears was pierced by the orc's screeching banshee of a leader.
Soar! Move upward!
The voice was like a painful echo in her head.
Stormy listened to the voice and moved without thinking, the situation clicking in her thoughts. She flapped hard and went up, instead of diving or dodging to the left or right like her instincts told her to. She flipped upright, and once corrected she saw the first wyvern scream downward in the air, clearly having just missed her after an attack dive. Her eyes locked with its rider, the orc woman, and the rage she felt directed toward her in that moment was more intense than anything she'd felt before.
The wyvern wheeled about in the sky, and was quickly climbing back up into the air towards her.
"Aw, come on!" Stormy was tired, and now her head hurt for some reason, but nonetheless she flung herself backward to flee her chaser. The great beast and its rider once again gained on her.
Hearing another nearby battlecry, Stormy screamed, "How are you fast!?" over her shoulder, and just in time to spot and avoid getting struck by the orc's lance.
Stormy went full on evasive.
Stormy was feeling particularly overwhelmed as the orc leader began trying to spear her, and all she could do was dodge. Every time she thought she could escape, another weapon appeared out of nowhere and would nearly skewer her or cut her. No matter how hard she tried, the two kept her on the run, narrowly spearing her as she spun, twirled and threw herself to and fro in a less than graceful flight.
Where is Merlos and his magic when I need him!? For whatever reason he wasn't firing another spell, she couldn't figure it out while fighting for her life.
She cried as the wyvern swept back and nearly raked her with its claws, its gigantic metal covered talons tickling across her side. She knew if it got any closer, she would be one wing closer to an earth pony. Her pelt stood on end and she turned into a spiral to avoid the roaring jaws of the wyvern coming from her side.
The wyvern careened past her, buying her time.
During this brief respite, Stormy had an idea, and it scared her to no end. Wiping the tears of terror and the wind from her eyes, she gave chase to the remaining wyvern in front of her, rather than flee from it. At least with it in front of her she could keep a better eye on it. She knew now the wyverns could fly faster than her, but their maneuvering seemed lacking. She grinned shakily upon forming the strategy.
"Aha! So that's your weakness."
Stormy's brief moment of pride lasted a second longer, right up until the wyvern flared its wings and turned mid-air as it came to a full on stop right in front of her.
"Ah! Not a weakness!" Stormy gasped, flaring her own wings and narrowly missed being struck by the orc leader's lance.
The orc screamed something guttural in its language angrily as Stormy beat her wings to increase her distance from them. "Why are you so angry!?" she yelled back in response.
Tired, desperate, and still being chased, Stormy was out of ideas. She just wanted to get away, and to that end she pulled up hard into a steep climb moving as fast as she could. She looked back again at the wyvern, remembering its unbelievable ability to climb so fast despite its size, and was relieved to see herself pulling away this time from the panting beast.
It must be tired. Stormy's relief didn't last long, very aware that she, too, was tired. I don't think I can keep this up. Just quit, you stupid jerks! Her eyes again locked with the orc rider, who in response let out a mighty, "WAAAUUUGGGHHHHH!"
"That's it!" Stormy's desperation flashed into flat-out anger, mirroring her opponent's.
Stormy braked hard and flipped around in the air, but rather than dodge around the rider, she turned into a dive and headed straight towards her. The panting wyvern wasn't ready, and gave a half-hearted nudge of its horns at her. The orc warchief herself looked surprised, and her lance strike was also too slow.
Stormy dodged both the wyvern and rider alike easily, so easily that it surprised her and she almost didn't get her legs up in time. At the last second, she put all four of her hooves into the chest of the orc, who let out a gratifying, Augh! Her intentional collision sent the orc tumbling right out of her saddle.
Now falling, Stormy compressed her legs in like springs, and roughly sprung away from the orc's body.
"I did it! I did i-- Ah!" Stormy felt something pull her head back and suddenly found herself in a downward tumble with the orc flailing beside her and holding onto her mane with a death grip. "Hey, let go!"
The orc snarled at her, and began to fight against the rushing wind to ineffectually swipe at her with a glinting steel spike.
"Come on, you lost already, you big sore loser!" Stormy snuck in a blow of her own, landing a hard kick right at the mean lady's face.
Blood globbed out of her nose, and her grip released as she was kicked away.
"Serves you right!" Stormy grunted, and pulled out of her dive. Just in time too, as moments later she watched the orc splash into the river's waters at full speed. Her own hooves dragged a little against the water as she glided in toward the barge.
Stormy's emotions were a blur, but after the sight of her pursuer disappearing beneath the river's surface, excitement took the forefront. Her hooves clopped loudly on the deck as she made her landing. It wasn't the graceful touch down she tried for, rather a shaky stagger, but she felt like she played it off well enough.
"Tah-dah! Who's the mare!? Who? Yeah, me, that's right! Hah, guys, d-did you see all that!? Oh my gosh I am--"
"Get down, Stormy!" Knott dove from out of nowhere, tackling her to the deck of the barge.
Breathless, Stormy blinked away her shock, looking around. Arrows pin-cushioned the spot where she had landed. "Knott!, you saved me!" She looked gratefully to the dwarf, who was wincing as he sat up, his broad shield already blocking more incoming strikes. Her eyes fell on a pool of blood, and an injury her friend had. "AH! Knott, your knee!"
"What? Ah, tha's a scratch. Impressive show you put on there! I had trouble concentrating on fending off boarders with all'a tha' goin' on." Knott laughed as he talked like the battle was no big deal, his arms busily turning a weird handle on a weirder t-shaped thing that had a string and a short metal arrow mounted on it.
Stormy's eyes bugged out as she stared at his wound, only half listening to him. "A scratch! It's stuck clean through the back of your leg! There's blood everywhere! Ohmygoshohmygosh! What do I do?" She shut up as Knott roughly--well, it was likely gently for him--took her face with his off hand and he made eye contact.
"It is a scratch, Stormy. Now do what ah say: go to Merlos and keep out of trouble." As Knott spoke, he set down his stringed weapon and his hands began to glow; after pressing them to his wound, the arrow popped out not a second later. "This fight's almost over--" Knott rose up and limped past Stormy to cleave his sword into an orc that was just climbing aboard the barge. The orcish arrow that had hobbled his step was clearly still affecting him. "--But not quite yet! We jus' gotta hold until we're past the danger!" Turning his sword flat, he used it to smack some fingers clutching the rail, causing its orcish owner to yowl in protest.
"But you're hurt!" Stormy snatched a flower pot off the side of the barge--it was a sorry looking plant barely holding onto life, but she used it to good effect and dropped it upon the orc, knocking it into the river with a loud splash.
"Get tah Merlos!" Knott said more forcefully, hefting up his shield. "Not gonna repeat myself again!"
"R-Right, get to Merlos! Gotcha!" Stormy nodded jerkily this time.
With that, she raced off, and found that the deck of the barge was almost unrecognizable. Arrows sticking up everywhere aside, there were scorch marks all over everything. Ges and Captain Thull were fending off three orcs ringed around them at the boat's front, while Klee Tusk was madly swinging a tree's worst nightmare of an axe at an enemy while standing atop his cannon. Ges whirled around with a pair of dwarf size scimitars, slicing the orcs into submission before kicking them through the railing or shouldering them off the vessel.
Altogether, there seemed to be barely any of the dozens of orcs left from the shore that had initiated the battle.
Merlos, however, was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hay, where is he?" Stormy panted, confused as she reached the spot she had last seen him, only to gasp as she felt a hand touch her back, and a following chill run up her spine.
"You're an idiot, Stormy. You could have died up there!" Merlos' disembodied voice declared.
Stormy whirled about, ready to yell at him that she knew that, and that she felt like barfing, and a hundred other things, and it all just sort of happened too fast, but the words died in her throat when she didn't see anyone behind her.
"And furthermore, you disobeyed us completely! You said you'd listen to me in these situations! That was not optional!"
Stormy just said the first explanation she could think of that explained his disembodied voice. "Ah! Merlos died and became a ghost!"
"Oh for the gods' sakes. Look, I turned invisible after my shield spell ran out." Merlos sounded rather fed up at this point. More so than usual, that is.
Stormy gasped. "Whoa, cool."
Merlos spoke over her. "Again, temperature has nothing to do with it. A wizard without defenses is simply asking to become a target, and the others are too busy to aid me." A screech from overhead drew both their gazes skyward. The riderless wyvern circled there, like a buzzard ready to tear apart a wounded prey. "However, it seems I can no longer afford to gather my arcane resources. Stand back, Stormy, while I deal with this foul beast."
Stormy watched in awe as Merlos reappeared, his magical veil of invisibility fading away first from his hands--now wreathed in flame--and slowly spread to his body. She looked up at the Wyvern, who suddenly seemed to notice her, and immediately dove towards them and shriek a beastial cry of success.
"Ah!" Stormy jabbed a hoof up at it, as if the wyvern wasn't perfectly obvious to everyone around her. "It's coming, it's coming! Merlos, do your magic thing!"
"No, I was going to stand here and let it devour us all." Merlos took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. When they opened again, they were alight with a reddish hue and surrounded by licks of flame. "Don't order me about and stop distracting me! Now stand back, I need perfect concentration for this spell." With that, he began chanting, and moving his arms and hands in a very precise, practiced series of motions.
"You got it, Merlos. I'll just cheer you on. Go Merlos! Whoo! Yeah! Cook its butt!" Stormy hovered up and put a hoof around Merlos' shoulder while using her other to point up at the wyvern.
"What--?" The shroud of power swirling about Merlos suddenly abated and he became quiet, at least until he yelled, "You fool! Get off me!"
Stormy blinked, confused as to why Merlos didn't cast his spell. "Where's the boom? What happened?" she asked, getting out of his way.
"You happened, you reprobate!" Merlos quipped angrily.
"Hey! You can't say that, jerk! I know what it means now." Stormy protested back, yelling just as loud as Merlos was, all the while growing more panicked as the wyvern got closer.
"Magic requires complete concentration! Unwavering willpower! Focus!" Merlos gestured to and fro, his beard swaying in time with his movements. "Something which you are positively the anti-thesis of!"
"Alright alright! I get the idea, I'm sorry, so just cast another spell! Hurry!" Stormy abandoned her pretense of arguing back, getting terrified as the wyvern was only seconds from reaching them.
"I would but I can't now! Even if I had another spell powerful enough to outright kill a wyvern, my focus is shattered--!"
A piercing scream from the wyvern in its attack gave them barely enough warning.
"Duck!" Merlos and Stormy screamed together, diving off the barge and into the water.
Not a moment after, Klee Tusk ran into the wyvern's path.
"Goose!" the half-orc yelled, and flung his axe into the beast's open maw. The edge of the axe cleaved through the soft pallet of the wyvern's mouth and halted just beyond its thick skull. The beast pitched to the side, head dragging along the deck, and fell into a rolling tumble as its wings went limp.
The wyvern slid, lifeless, off the barge and into the river with a loud, unceremonious splash. In moments, the only sign the wyvern had been there was the growing red and brown cloudy plume in the water, and a gleefully laughing half-orc laying on deck with his arm bent the wrong way.
Merlos and Stormy both resurfaced from the river, with Stormy leaping back into the air smoothly, if coughing and sputtering, and Merlos clumsily hauling his sodden robed self up with the help of the barge's railings.
"Well, I must say," Merlos half coughed, half spoke, "that couldn't have been timed any better." Merlos couldn't help himself and grinned at the sudden defeat of the last major threat. "Good job there, Klee Tusk."
"Haw! Was okie. Not Klee Tusk's best wurk." Klee Tusk gave his ruined arm a wobble. "Follow through also nawt so good, but next time I stick tha landing better. Maybe not lose my best axe, too." Grinning, he turned to Stormy, whose eyes were still watching the reddish cloud quickly falling behind them. "Performance by lil' horse Stormy waz made that look like small pebbles! Good wurk!" With a laugh, he slapped Stormy on the back with his good arm.
"AH!" Stormy screamed, and seemed to be shaken out of a daze. She looked around with a panicked expression at who had hit her, saw Klee Tusk's broken arm, and screamed again while simultaneously hyperventilating. "AAAAHAHHHH! AH!" Her screaming only seemed to increase as she started to see the bodies of falling orcish raiders still on the barge's deck, and began running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
"Stormy, calm down! The fight's over and you're unharmed! Amazingly." Merlos waited for Stormy to respond positively, but she just kept on screaming. "And stop running around! You'll slip."
"Hm. Me thinkin' she's broken." Klee Tusk scratched a ruddy green hand behind his thick orcish skull.
"Stormy! Is everythin' alrigh', lass?" Ges approached, his brother behind him checking bodies, then throwing them overboard. When he didn't get a response as she ran by him, he turned to Merlos.
"Oh, she'll be fine. Probably. She's unharmed, at least. You three worry about yourselves." Merlos sighed, busily wringing out his robes and paying the pegasus no mind. "Really I'm amazed she waited until the end of the fight to do this. Hmph, wish I had to spell left to dry these..."
Ges' bushy brow furrowed, and he turned roughly to chase after the hysterical filly.
"What? Do you disagree?" Merlos blustered at Ges' going, and turned instead to Knott, who paid him no mind. "What did I say?"
Knott looked up for the briefest second from inspecting Klee Tusk's arm. "Just tha' usual I think, Merlos, but Ges is right, you could be a bit more sympathetic. Stormy's sort of reaction's normal for first timers. It isn't for everyone." After making a very unpleasant face, he set about helping Klee Tusk. "I just hope this doesn't make her terrified of these situations or yeh'll hafta--"
"BY CELESTIA'S BEARD! Did you guys SEE THAT!? It was amazing! I was amazing! I am so excited and full of adrenaline right now! Ahaha WHOO! Let's go find an Ursa Minor next! And then--!"
Merlos and Knott shared a brief glance, then rolled their eyes in unison.
Grilka fumed as she pulled herself from the river's rushing waters.
"BOW!" she screamed immediately.
Dutifully, one of the remaining raiders from her warband tromped forward. "Too far, boss. You'll never--"
Grilka snatched the large recurve bow from the raider in the same moment that her punch sent him flying for doubting her. She smoothly nocked a dangerous and sickly looking barbed arrow, and sought out her target. Thick sinews drew taught as the arms of the bow strained under her strength. As she held the bow high, her back muscles straining, she bade the arrow to "fall" in place with a silent prayer to her god.
Grilka pointed with her index finger at the nuisance that had ruined what should have been a simple raid. The pesky creature would pay dearly for spotting her ruthless reputation.
"Bye bye, liddle burdy." She inhaled, the little pony hovering above the barge giving her a clear shot. On her exhaling pause she let the arrow fly, guided by her prayer.
Even as the arms of the bow still vibrated, Grilka screeched a cry of retreat. She stood there just long enough to witness her arrow as it arced into the air, before planting itself unerringly on target in a cloud of feathers.
Three days later.
The river widened more and more as the Weiser Budd went further south, until farm and swampland alike began to line the banks instead of forest. A few houses dotted the landscape, though the closest ones seemed abandoned and swallowed by the river as if they'd been flooded out. On the horizon slowly grew a cityscape, no doubt the aforedescribed capital city of Halia.
Dew clung to the blades of grass and crops, while the peasants living in these lands were already working hard alongside first light. The scene was peaceful, serene, and pleasant so early in the morning. That is, except for the loud peeling whine of what sounded for miles around to be a young adolescent girl. Aboard the miserly barge which the owner of the sound road upon, however, was no young girl.
"Waaahaaahaah!" Stormy cried, her front hooves and her one good wing thrown over her eyes.
"Oh stop your whining!" Merlos burst out, glaring across the barge's deck at his sobbing companion. "Klee Tusk has it much worse and you don't see him complaining."
Klee Tusk hiccuped from nearby, but otherwise didn't acknowledge his name being spoken.
Stormy sniffed, looking over her shoulder at her poor wing, which was held up in a sling similar to Klee Tusk's. "T-That's just cause he got drunk after Knott put his arm in a sling, but I'm too young to dr-hi-hiink!"
Merlos tsked angrily. "That numbing medicine I gave you is far better for you than whatever Klee Tusk's guzzling, believe me."
Stormy sniffled harder. "B-But it's grape flavor-her-heard!"
"It's not my fault if you won't drink it like you're supposed to! Of course your wing is going to keep hurting!" Merlos slapped his book shut harshly and stood, groaning in protest from stress alone. "It's been three days, Stormy! You have been belly-aching nonstop, and it's well past time you--"
"Oh, wow! Is that the city?" Stormy gingerly stood up, careful not to jostle her post-battle battle wound, as Knott had been affectionately referring to it.
Merlos sighed and threw his head back. "Yes, that's Halia, the capital. Hopefully we can find a cleric desperate enough for work that I won't spend the last contents of my wallet knitting that wing bone of yours."
Knott harrumphed from where he sat. He was smoking his pipe with his back to Merlos at the boat's side, one leg dangling lazily over the deck's edge. "Ungrateful's what you are, Merlos."
"Ungrateful?" Merlos squared off against Knott. "I'm being realistic, not ungrateful. A paladin's magic is merely serviceable on the battlefield, but severe injuries require more. If it makes you feel better, even I couldn't make a potion or tincture that could do more than merely speed a person's natural healing process. At least, I could not make one without the materials Stormy ruined.
Knott nodded along. "Oh, aye, even the great Merlos could'nay do it. I gotcha."
"Now stop that--"
"Hey! You said you'd stop bringing that up!" Stormy interjected.
Captain Thull barged his way in, coming between the three with arms raised. "Alright alright! Alla ya' quit yer belly achin' and make ready. Tha docks're a comin' up and Klee Tusk's in no condition to get us anchored and unloaded. Ges, get 'im aboard tha life boat."
As Klee Tusk himself hiccuped as if to respond to his name, Ges popped up from the hatch leading to the engine. His face and beard were covered in soot, while a pair of ruddy goggles rested over his eyes. "Aye, it would nay kill you all to help out a little."
Knott sighed and stood. "Happy to help, Cap'n."
Captain Thull nodded appreciatively and turned to Merlos.
"What? You want me to help too?" Merlos scoffed. "That wasn't exactly what I was brought on for." He turned to Ges leading the half-orc to the ship's edge, finding it odd.
Knott grinned toothily through his beard, interjecting, "Well, ye' can lend a hand or ye' can pay for your own stay at the inn, Merlos. If ye' think your coin purse can handle it."
"But-- Gavlan isn't paying us until... we get back." Merlos sighed wearily, feeling trapped and bullied. "Very well. Nonetheless I feel it necessary to point out that's dirty play, especially for a paladin."
The barge creaked and groaned noisily as always while coming up to a free jetty with a crane large enough for unloading cargo. A man sporting a distinctive hat with feathers lining its tall brim approached their boat and directed a sneer at the barge--no doubt entirely for its sorry appearance.
"I'll lend a hoof, too!" Stormy volunteered with a lousy salute.
"I think you'll be better off sittin' this out, Stormy. You'd best follow me, too. Just take this rowboat to the pier there." Ges began leading her to the side of the barge where, strangely, Klee Tusk was drunkenly hopping down into the sad row boat that passed for the barge's life raft.
"Uh, okay." Stormy raised an eyebrow at the strange development, but went along with it. "Aren't we about to dock though-- And hey, this boats full of holes from our fight!" Her protest, however, was too late.
"Alright, Ges, get ready to jump! ANCHOR AHOY!" Captain Thull announced, and proceeded to pull a large lever from within' the barge's shed. A loud series of ominous wooden crunching and metal popping sounds came from within the ship's hull. Shortly after, several fire sprites exploded out from between the deck boards, showering the boat in sparks and setting the old timbers aflame.
Stormy let out a shriek of surprise, then quickly hopped into the rowboat, holes or no holes.
Not needing any further explanation, Ges lept from the side, leading the land dwelling war ponies into the water with ease thanks to his druidic powers.
Merlos and Knott, meanwhile, stood there mystified, watching as everything unfolded around themselves in abject horror and confusion.
"What's the meaning of all this?" Merlos started to follow Captain Thull as he walked past him to the barge's front, chuckling all the way. "What are those noises?"
Knott shrugged, just as shocked. "I think that'd be the ship's death knell, Merlos. Abandon ship!" The cannonball dive his heavy form made in the bay sent a veritable geyser up into the air.
Merlos, too angry to abandon ship yet, pursued the elf. "Captain, are you listening to me?"
From the safety of the rowboat, Stormy watched while the Weiser Budd, in all of its derelict majesty, broke apart as if all the glue, adhesive tape, and nails throughout the hull had suddenly vanished.
As Thull casually walked to the bow of the mighty Weiser Budd, the ship seemed to come apart behind him like a giant zipper. After a jaunty step onto the dock from the very tip of the barge's upturning prow, Captain Jethro Thull turned to see the last of his ship break apart within the Halian river bay. He then waved at Merlos as water quickly swamped up his ankles. "Oh no, one o' me crew didn't make it off the ship!"
"Damned elf!" Merlos shouted in protest at Jethro, just before losing his balance and splashing into the murky water clumsily. "Not again!" he shouted.
Stormy, receiving no help from the drunken half-orc, rowed over and splashed her tail at Merlos. "Grab my tail, I'll help pull you in."
With an annoyed growl, Merlos retorted, "No, I'll just tip that flotsam raft! I can swim just fine!" He splashed furiously behind Stormy while she floated the rowboat to a nearby pier.
Stormy stared in confusion at the last bit of their ship as it sank beneath the bay's waters. The little bubbles that surfaced shortly after were the only signs it was ever there at all. "I guess this means we're not riding back in that boat, huh Merlos?"
Merlos was busily trying his best to clamber up onto the pier, his sodden robes and drooping wizard's hat weighing him down. He spit a stream of water out and grumpily parted his soaked hair with both hands before answering sullenly. "Very astute, Stormy. Very astute. And let it be known that from this day on, I'm preparing a drying spell no matter the occasion..."
In the bay, kegs of beer began floating up just shy of the surface and dockworkers quickly went into action to retrieve them, tossing nets over the beer tuns and kegs to keep them from floating away. The dock workers then used cranes to lift each great cask onto the pier, and from there into awaiting wagons.
While all this went on, Jethro pulled his hat off his head and placed it over his heart, humming some folksy elven bluegrass tune in memory of the late Weiser Budd. When he finished, he looked to Stormy with a smile and placed his hat back on his head while the formerly sneering dockmaster stared slack jawed at the Wieser Budd's murky grave.
"Was that supposed to happen?" Stormy gave the empty waters a doubtful look as she trotted up, to which the captain replied only by shushing her.
"Well, it seems an ill fate hath befallen my poor, battle weary vessel, something for which I own a healthy insurance package! And so I'm off!" Captain Thull produced said insurance papers from his pocket, and casually strolled down to the office to make a claim.
Meanwhile, Merlos tantrumed about their voyage's soggy end, fuming to anyone listening about Captain Thull's candor.
In the midst of everything, Klee Tusk chortled, saying, "Oi, Merlos, now youse really a washed up wizard! Hawhaw!" In between laughs he took more swigs from his jug.
As Merlos clenched his fists tightly, ready to push the sloshed half-orc into the bay for the remark, the sounds of hooves clambering onto the pier and heavy bootsteps distracted him away from the action.
"Phew, sorry about that Merlos," Ges said quietly, still calming his huffing warpony. "Had to make that look legit, you know? So you, Stormy and my brother weren't informed. Well, we didn't inform Knott because, you know, paladins and insurance fraud don't mix."
Merlos shook his head in disgust. "I am bereft of surprise..."
A sopping wet, gauntleted hand broke out of the water and slapped down on the piers edge. "Bwaugh! Ges! What'd yeh do!?"
Ges chuckled, and helped his brother up. "Well, it's a funny story... but the good news is it's worth some gold."
While explanations were given, Stormy left her companions behind in order to look around at the Halian dock district, the hustle and bustle of a daytime city in full swing all around.
Stormy's gaze first caught on an imposing sight in the distance. She began staring at gleaming towers that reached above the rough-tiled buildings of the docks, making their presence known to anyone within miles. "Oh cool, a castle."
Stormy immediately wanted to take flight and go get a closer look... but the ache still in her shoulder was a constant reminder that she was going to be grounded for some time yet. Well, it's not a big loss... they aren't as colorful or sparkly as the ones from Canterlot, even if they are tall.
Lower to the ground and in the more immediate area, Stormy could see a connecting flea market, warehouses, shops, stalls, and more near the docks.
Among the more interesting of the lot was a fishmonger offering, "Absolutely ill-tempered sea bass, with minimal mutations!"; one ooman selling fine silks, exotically patterned from allegedly Forgotten Realms; a merchant selling Golarion brand accordions; some long eared oomans, like Jethro but cleaner, selling "Ebberonian Skub" and Faerunian marbles; an exotic pet saleswoman hocking gryphon eggs from Azeroth; and lastly a blacksmith from Talislanta offering quality cutlery for chefs.
How can it be forgotten if they know of it? Stormy was in awe at all the neat stuff, and she found herself feeling much like she had on her school trip to the Gryphon lands back in Equestria. Dang, I wish I had some money for souvenirs... She looked back doubtfully at Merlos, who was currently yelling angrily at Captain Thull, and concluded that if she was going to ask then it'd have to be later after he'd calmed down.
"Stormy!" Merlos' still-angry voice called.
Stormy nearly jumped out of her skin. "Y-Yes?" she stammered, turning about to face him.
Merlos strode past her, not slowing. "I told you a thousand times not to wander once we got here. So stay close! The city is no place for a young... uh, lady to be about on her own. Now, we're first headed to the inn to dry off and avoid catching cold."
The rest of their group was a little ways back, now with a couple wagons heavily laden with what looked to be the barrels from their barge. Knott and Ges skillfully guided the team of horses they'd procured through the crowds, while Klee Tusk and Thull sat atop them with the reigns.
With a sigh, and welcoming the thought of their trip's end, Stormy trotted alongside Merlos, who led the way with wet, squishy sounds coming from his still soaked boots.
Stormy hummed in interest as they kept on down the wide avenue. She quickly notice that, rather than transform into muddy or cobblestone streets, the paths remained constructed of heavy timbers. Stopping at one point to peer below, she could see through a crack that there was several feet of empty air between the planks and filthy water below.
"Much of the old city's outskirts were submerged by tidal activated decades ago. But, much like nature, civilization always finds a way."
Stormy looked up to see a smirking Merlos. "So the whole city's like this?" she asked.
Merlos shook his head. "No all of it. The city's keep and walled districts were always built upon a high cliff, and have escaped the peasant's water-logged predicament. Still, it was a rather inconvenient situation getting flooded every year, and so now Halia is like this."
"Well, it's neat, but it's no Canterlot." Stormy settled in to studying all of the buildings and the occasional opening that lead to a channel filled with smaller boats and people.
As Stormy went on with her party deeper into the city, she began to feel a strange unease. "Huh?" After their few good minutes of walking, an unsettled feeling fell over her, as if she had been spotted by the teacher while passing notes in class.
Stormy looked around nervously, her tail lashing around behind her as she searched. The city streets and various stares from strangers seemed no different here than anywhere else, and so she looked up. Above her, the fluttering of wings from various cooing pigeons and seagulls seemed just as innocuous, but still, something felt wrong.
The group made its way onward, and Stormy continued looking around skittishly as she kept close to Merlos.
"Ohhh, are those half off!?" Merlos, letting the wagons get ahead, paused to look at a stall of potions and elixirs. He picked up one vial with interest, and hurriedly purchased the substance that looked like orange soda...
Stormy stopped with him, and psst'd at Merlos to surreptitiously gain his attention. "Hey, I think we're being watched," she whispered. "Like something's keeping an eye on us."
Merlos harrumphed, not looking up from his browsing. "Stormy, we're in a marketplace where beggars, pickpockets, brigands and wary shopkeeps are going to watch every move we make."
Stormy shook her head vehemently. "No no no! Not like that... It feels like it's from the sky."
Merlos harrumphed, not keen on anything except getting indoors and drying his sodden clothes. "Perhaps it's your nerves acting up, since you can't fly right now and you're in a strange place, hm? Relax, there's no need to be a nervous nelly, Stormy."
Stormy still looked around them, searching the area and checking above. "R-Right. Kinda like Daring do, moving through the jungle in the Sapphire Stone." She gulped, and just as she looked away from Merlos, spotted a shadow darting across the ground.
With a gasp, Stormy looked up, only to see a lone black feather twirling aimlessly to the ground. "Then again, Daring was also being stalked by Ahuizotl..."
Merlos gave a noncommittal reply, still wringing water from his robes while browsing. "Yes, yes, Zotl. Always about the Zotls. I'm shopping. On second thought, go bother Knott and Ges."
Stormy glared at Merlos for a few seconds while he casually browsed another random stall. "Didn't you just tell me to stay where you could see me and to not wander off?" Her voice took on an edge the more she spoke. "Like, a dozen times a day you'd repeat that to me!"
Merlos made a shooing motion, not looking her way. "I trust you enough to follow everyone else to the inn and stay put. Better you go and get some rest for that broken wing of yours than risk bumping it out here in the streets while I'm running my errand, don't you think?"
Stormy almost acquiesced, but held fast, squinting in suspicion. "What kind of errand?"
Merlos seemed startled at being asked of the errand's nature, and quickly hid that fact. He turned to face her. "None of your business, you nosey pegasus! Now go on and catch up to the others."
Stormy's scowl softened, until finally she sighed and turned to go.
"Uggh, whatever." Taking heed of Merlos' word, but refusing to admit that he had made a good point. Stormy scampered after Ges and the wagons, who seemed to be stopping at the street's end on the corner before a large, four story building with multiple arched entrances. A hinged sign hanging an area that looked a fair deal like a medieval parking lot for horses proclaimed the building to be, "The Bad Drag Inn".
"Ah, Stormy, there yeh're." Knott waved Stormy over to the stables as she crossed the street. "Why don'tcha head inside with Klee Tusk and get yourself a nice warm meal with this." He handed her a little pouch that jingled. "We'll be back in an hour once these kegs get to where they need to go."
"Fure!" Stormy mumbled around the pouch, and nodded her ascent. She spotted the half-orc, already stumbling his way into the inn. "Come'n Klee Tusk, 'ait up!"
When she entered the tavern, there was a hint of fish, smoke, barley, and perhaps a hundred others things both foul and pleasant in the air. Dank, moist seeming gray wood beams supported the inn all over, while weary travelers seemed to fill the establishment to the gills. Nearly every table was taken already.
Klee Tusk, unabashedly, loomed over a table with one open seat, around which was seated three grimy looking fellows in flashy tunics. "'Ello, this last seat taken, friends?"
The three men all returned their own exaggerated grins up at the half-orc. "Nope!" they all declared as one, and one quiveringly added, "We were just leaving!"
As the bar patrons began to scarper off, Klee Tusk raised his good arm. "WAIT!" The three men froze. Gingerly, he plucked the tall, cylindrical hat from the last patron's head, as well as the little glass eye piece he held. "Okie, thanks for the gift. Now you go."
Stormy looked with a flat expression as the three oomans tore out of the inn, almost tripping.
"Hehe, now Klee Tusk more sophisticate... Hava' seat, Stormy!" Klee Tusk chuckled, settling into his newly procured seat. "BAR WENCH, I NEED AAAALE!" he then screamed, and thumped his good arm heartily on the table.
"Won't they just get like, the police or guards or whatever?" After uncovering her ears, Stormy hurried into the dark corner that the table occupied and quickly put her back to it as she sat. The moment she did sit, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Even with all the raucous sound around her, she felt a million times more relaxed now.
Klee Tusk shrugged. "Then I take guard hats too." He barked a laugh.
Stormy rolled her eyes. "Riiight, well I'm just glad we're here finally. I feel like that trip took forev--"
Suddenly, the raucous sound of the ooman inn--that she was sadly starting to get used to--cut off sharply, and was replaced with something, that was for her, unbelievably.
Stormy's ears pricked to a familiar sound of a violin, singing sweetly. The wood of it sounded so familiar to her ears. Maybe somepony here bought one of grandpa's violins? She had a little doubt about even finding an instrument similar to hers, considering how far backward this world seemed in comparison to her own. Her memories of Canterlot's neon-lit streets felt centuries ahead of Halia's rundown, backwards atmosphere.
Still, finding a comparable violin might be possible.
Stormy stood up in her seat, tracking the sound's location. Her ears twitched, and she turned with sparkles in her eyes towards the stage, where the beautiful sounds were filling the whole establishment more and more. She spied a figure up there sawing away on the instrument as they stepped into a literal limelight.
The mild hiss of the stage's gas lamps illuminated its patron clearly; within the musician's hands, was indeed a violin.
"Is that--? It is! Klee Tusk, that's a violin!"
Klee Tusk stopped chugging his recently procured drink to look up. "Wassat, Stormy?"
"A violin! That's-- It's an instrument from my world. Do you guys have those here?" As Stormy spoke, she mimed the movements of the sounds she heard in the air out of habit, eyes shut in bliss. "Isn't it pretty?"
Klee Tusk chuckled, a little taken aback by Stormy's enthusiasm. "Ohhh. Mebe why they's playin' it here?"
"Fair enough." Stormy chuckled too, staring lovingly up at the sound's source. Only... she frowned slightly after studying the instrument responsible for said tune more closely--said instrument bore her cutiemark and initials on the bottom.
Stormy gaped, wide eyed. "That's MY violin!" |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 009: One teacher too many pt 1. | The hustle and bustle of Halia's city streets was deafening, but Merlos--a wizard of great resolve of spirit, dedication to his craft, and more than a little simple stubbornness, was determined to seek out something that he had wondered about ever since a certain ill-fated purchase he'd made...
Halia was a small city as far as human cities went, and it took him barely the better half of an hour to cross through the jostling crowds of the docks and poorer districts to the inner, calmer areas in Halia's central walled areas. After some minor molestation from the gateguards, he was granted access, and was then free to peruse the upscale shops and stalls as he pleased.
Within minutes, Merlos found the store he sought. The door to The Nosey Owl bookstore jingled a bell above his head as he shuffled--still half sodden and wet from the Weiser Budd's tax exploitative fate--his way inside. His eyes surveyed the shelves upon shelves and stacks upon stacks of leatherbound reading material all around him, finding nought but the books in sight.
It was a large building, but so inappropriately packed tight with tomes, manuals, softbacks, hardbacks, handbooks, volumes, encyclopedias, guides, references, journals, and even a section of the ever so deplorable 'Historical Fiction' books that the store itself was clearly run by either a hoarder, a crazed person, or worse, an arts scholar. Whichever the case, whosoever was irresponsible enough to own such an establishment was begging for a fire safety fine from whomever issued such things in Halia; that is, of course, assuming that anyone did issue such things in Halia.
Merlos sniffed derisively as he stepped over little piles of books here and there, feeling an uncomfortable familiarity with the disorderly surroundings.
"Hello?" Merlos spoke, his voice stifled in the tightly packed building.
A loud, sawing sound answered him, to which Merlos raised his eyebrows as he turned to find an old, grey haired gnome asleep with his forehead resting atop a stack of wobbling books.
"Honestly, you're going to hurt your neck doing that." Merlos hmphed loudly in a half-hearted attempt at waking the fellow up, before dismissing him and walking to the centermost portion of the bookstore. There, he pulled a scroll he'd prepared ahead of time aboard the Weiser Budd and cleared his throat in preparation to unleash its magic.
The arcane words and supernatural sounds that sprang from his voice reverberated around the room, filling it with an otherworldly air. The sound slowly faded from the room and brief silence followed.
All at once, brilliant lights in the form of little glowing lines tipped with arrows in various shades of color raced out from under Merlos' feet and into the bookstore. The rays zigged and zagged around books and up walls and into shelves, seeking their respective quarries as determined by Merlos with magical fervor.
"Ah, excellent, it worked." Merlos smiled appreciatively. He wasn't surprised the spell succeeded, but was nonetheless happy it had, at least in practice if not yet confirmed to have done so in result. "Well, mostly." One arrow was stuck in what looked like an endless loop, circling itself over and over in a never ending spiral.
Ignoring the solitary, errant arrow, Merlos first followed the magical blue shaded arrows, and began plucking books from shelves and from beneath piles of other written works one by one, stacking them in an arm. Once both his arms were full to the point of wobbling, he deposited them at a miraculously clear table near the front desk, then began to follow the green lines to more books, and then the yellow, and finally the red.
By the end of the search, there were about thirty or so books in total altogether.
Merlos wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow and exhaled at the sight of various books from all manner of authors, topics, genres, languages, races, and countries.
"Well, this is going to be a challenging search," Merlos mused, thinking of what clues of Stormy's predicament to look for. "And hopefully this won't take longer than a couple hours..." He cracked his knuckles, then set about to reading.
For three songs straight, Stormy continued to gape at the person on stage, still disbelieving of the fact that her violin--which she had thought lost to her forever--was actually across the room from herself right there in that very building.
A jovial melody, the type befitting a dock's tavern setting, came to an end, and the crowd gave the violin player another round of applause, cheers, and a hoisting of drinks that sloshed every other patron's neighbor. Requests for songs began to be shouted from the mob, and after about a minute the performer began to play one of those songs to the joy of some and the dismay of others.
Stormy finally closed her muzzle and adopted a determined look. "I have got to get my violin back." She snorted, and her tail began to swish back and forth behind her chair. Being trapped in another world with a bunch of strangers was bad enough, but having lost all of her possessions along the way had made it so much worse. The thought of recovering one was enough to ignite a fiery determination within her.
Having chugged his third mug of ale, Klee Tusk grunted, looking over blearily to the stage. "If Stormy want pretty music box, Klee Tusk will get for her." He began to rise, somewhat waveringly from his exacerbated state of inebriation, and was promptly pushed back down into his seat by Stormy's front hooves.
"Nooo, no no no no, no, Klee Tusk." Stormy took a deep breath and considered how best to convince a drunken, hulking half-orc that it was actually a bad idea to go looking for a fight. "I appreciate you willing to go that far for me, but I think I should just go up and talk to the person first. Okay?" She breathed a sigh of relief when Klee Tusk shrugged, smiling orcishly at her request. "Okay, great. I'll be right back, so don't worry about me."
"Ohhh me no worry ever. That is the secret to long life and great skin!"
Stormy smiled weakly while Klee Tusk slapped the table and roared with laughter before guzzling his fourth mug. Not waiting for another response, she hopped from her chair and moved her way towards the stage. The far end of the bar seemed the best place to wait for the performer with her violin, as the stairs leading offstage were right beside it.
The tavern room was crowded, and Stormy found herself wishing that Knott and Ges had picked a different inn that was farther away from the bustling docks. As a consequence of her distracted wishing, halfway to the stage a serving girl hooman almost tripped over her.
"Sorry!" Stormy called back, meeting the girl's indignant glare, a glare which quickly turned into surprise after seeing what she'd almost fallen over. "I'm new here, as you can probably tell and-- Ow! Alright, now that one was your fault." She sat and held her tail gingerly in her hooves.
A man leaving the bar had stepped on her tail while pushing back his stool, and goggled down at her with drunken, unfocused eyes. "I haf go' tuh stop... stop drinkin' sho musch," he slurred, and stumbled his way toward the exit.
Stormy sighed, and continued on to an empty stool she'd spotted, her tail pulled protectively against her side. She almost spread her wings in order to flutter up to the tall human furniture's top, only to wince in remembrance of her broken wing.
"Stupid arrow! Stupid orc!" she cursed, carefully clambering up the stool. She reminded herself that the river battle could have ended much worse, and muttered the hundredth or so thanks to the royal sisters that it hadn't.
Once seated, Stormy resettled into listening to the violinist. Moments afterward, she gave a small gasp, noticing a detail about the hooman that she'd missed from the room's back corner. With every spin of her dress was a familiar shape and set of features to the hooman's legs that Stormy had not yet seen in any of the intelligent races of this world. Perplexingly, the violinist clearly sported unguligrade legs that ended in large brown hooves, though the hooves were much larger than she was used to seeing. Well, large to Stormy, at least. They more closely resembled the hooves belonging to the animals of this world than her own smoother, colorful ones, but they were hooves nonetheless.
Stormy's eyes widened more every time the hooves danced out from under the spinning fabric, until finally her thoughts began to wonder at just what she was looking at. A human pony hybrid, she mused wonderingly. Nnnno, those hooves look more goatlike... so not a minotaur, either. Still, that raises all kinds of questions I'm not sure I want the answer to. She shrugged, not one to judge others on who they fell in love with.
A tap on Stormy's shoulder made her jump, and she turned around on her stool shakily. It was just the barkeep.
"Oh my gosh, you scared me." Stormy gave him a grin, which she was worried to see wasn't returned. "Uh, I'm underage so I'm not going to order anything. Unless if you have some chocolate milk because that would be awesome."
The barkeep fixed her with a toothy scowl, speaking through gritted teeth, as if he had some sort of injury or deformity. "We don't sherve yer kind 'round here, monshter. Thish 'ere'sh a shivilized shitty. You're gunna haf to go wait out in tha' shtablesh with tha' resht o' the beashtsh. Be thankful I even allow you to tha'."
With her ears pulled back into a hurt look, Stormy's mouth worked, not sure what to say or how to protest, or if she even should. "I-- I-- but I'm here with my friends!"
The barkeep turned and spit into a bucket behind the bar before fixing Stormy with a menacing glare. "I don't repeat myshelf, leasht of all to your ilk! ...Whatever yeh be. Bors! Gurishka! Tossh thish one out into tha' shtreet!"
Stormy looked over to where the barkeep had turned, and locked eyes with two giant humans with broad, hairy shoulders and more scars on their faces than she could count. "W-Wait! Uh, you're gonna have to deal with him, first! Klee Tusk! I need a helping hoof over here! Uh oh."
After looking back to her table, she was devastated to see Klee Tusk face down with a pile of mugs surrounding him. She even thought she could hear him snoring away despite the din of the tavern's patrons.
Stormy turned back to the barkeep, flashed a smile, then leaped off the stool and away from the approaching bouncers.
"Hey! Get back here, ye' lil' wretch!" the man yelled, grasping at Stormy.
Stormy tried to fly at first out of habit, and her wing protested with a jab of pain upon her trying to open it. She had to settle for a leap onto the nearby stage, rather than the glide up to the tavern's rafters that she had attempted. The ill-planned jump turned into a clumsy sprawl that ended in Stormy sliding on her belly across the stage right towards the performer. Crap! she had time to cover her eyes with her hooves before she slammed into the hooman with her violin.
A second later a woosh of fabric went overhead, rather than Stormy crashing into the performer.
"Huh?" After the crash never came, and a loud thud behind her, Stormy raised her head to see that the hooman must have jumped over her. The hooved stranger smiled down at Stormy, gave her a wink, and turned to face the two brutes now scrambling onto the stage.
"Hey! What's the big idea, Shamus? Hm? I'm in the middle of a performance here!" The hooved hooman paid no attention to the burly men trying to get to Stormy, and strangely stopped them both in their tracks with her instruments... somehow...
Stormy gasped upon seeing a glint of metal shining beneath each hooman's chin, and noticed that her violin and its bow weren't exactly as she remembered them; both pieces had been modified and were now edged with sharp steel.
The barkeep sneered up at the stage. "Dammit, Kilyra, jusht let the boysh do their job, would you?"
The two bouncers gulped, each one hesitant to back away from the steel pressed up under their throats.
Stormy shifted her gaze to the hooman holding her violin. The very pretty hooman, she thought. She hadn't seen a hooman yet that she'd have called pretty, but this Kilyra clearly put as much effort into her looks as any showy mare from Canterlot.
"Oh, and what job is that? Throwing out the little people who can't defend themselves, just because they look different?" Kilyra stomped a hoof down, bare inches from Shamus' face, causing him to flinch back. He looked at it, still sneering, before looking back up to meet her gaze.
"Read my lipsh, Kilyra. We. don't. Sherve. Monshtersh. You know that! They're allowed in the shitty, but we don't have to sherve them!" Behind Shamus, the tavern's crowd was beginning to get rowdy, some cheering him on, some cheering Kilyra on, but most were just angry that the music had stopped. "They're beashtsh! Ugly, hideoush beashtsh! And if I sherve one now, word'll get out and I'll haf a nightmare on me handsh!"
"Hey, I'm not a beasht, I mean, I'm not a beast! You big bully!" Stormy got up at this point--more than a little angry from all the insults and getting chased--feeling a bit more confident thanks to Kilyra. "I'm a pegasus, and a pretty cute one, too!" She gave her mane a flick, and harrumphed indignantly. "In any case, I don't even wanna stay in your stupid tavern, I just want my violin back!"
With that, Stormy pointed up at the violin that Kilyra held, who in turned blinked in surprise down at her.
"Your violin?" Kilyra parroted, donning an interested look, to which Stormy nodded vehemently.
"Yup, it's got my cutie mark on the bottom and my initials, too, if you want proof!" Stormy pointed to her rump, and then to the keyboard plainly but exquisitely carved and painted on the violin's body. Her initials were on the neck, but they were a bit smaller and harder to see.
Kilyra smiled wanly at the markings on her instrument. "Well, I'll be..."
Shamus groaned, interrupting. "I don't care, yah daft beasht! Just get out the Hellsh out of my eshtablishment!" He made as if to swipe at Stormy from where he stood, but Kilyra blocked him with another stomp of her hoof, narrowingly missing his pudgy fingers.
"I have an idea." Kilyra announced, ignoring Shamus and stealing the initiative. She pulled her instrument weapons back and tapped the bow against her chin, blade pointed out; the bouncers relaxed, but didn't yet go toward Stormy, instead staring at the violin.
"How about this, Shamus," she continued, now grinning. "If you want to entertain this crowd yourself, be my guest!" Her voice was loud and projecting, but somehow still smooth as silk and filled with honey as she gestured to her audience, which had steadily become more and more rowdy. "Or... why don't we kill two birds with one stone? The girl here--" she looked to Stormy to get confirmation of that, to which Stormy nodded with a smile, "--wants her violin back, so instead of ousting her as a patron, let her stay and perform with me as entertainment. She and I will have a music duel, and the winner gets to keep this violin."
Shamus thumped a fist on the stage and began to protest, but was drowned out by the roar of applause and goading cheers from the crowd behind him. People were already taking bets from the crowd and everyone was now paying rapt attention to the goings on onstage.
"Dammit," Shamus hissed, and reluctantly gave a sharp gesture to his bouncers to get off the stage. "Fine, but thish ish the lasht time I'll put up with your shit, Kilyra!" He turned, and stormed off to his bar with his back straight, clearly content to at least get the last word.
Kilyra laughed triumphantly. "Two minutes, boys! Take your bets and then we play!" she announced to the crowd for another round of cheers.
Stormy turned from watching the angry hooman, Shamus, go, and looked up at Kilyra in amazement. "Wow, thank you! That was... really really cool what you just did for me."
Kilyra mouthed the word cool and chuckled. "Well, we hooved girls gotta stick together." She sweetened her voice, making it almost mocking. "But don't thank me yet, as I aim to keep your violin."
Stormy frowned at that. "Uhm, look, I appreciate you sticking up for me, and I'm grateful... but I'd really rather just have my grandpa's violin back than play against you for it. It's kind of really important to me."
"So important that it somehow came to be in my possession?" Kilyra quirked a smile, and at Stormy's immediate protest, she laughed. "Now now, I'm sure there were extenuating circumstances beyond your control. I understand, I do, but I'm rather fond of this instrument, you see, so I won't let it go easily. So, do you accept my conditions, or will you walk away? Surely you don't lack the confidence in your skills?"
Stormy's frown deepened ]into its utmost exaggerated form, but she gave an accepting sigh after a moment, nonetheless. "Ffffine, but I don't have to like it! And I'm gonna kick your butt, too!"
Kilyra flourished a bow, dipping low and coming face to face with Stormy. "That's the spirit! Let's introduce ourselves and give this mob a performance they won't soon forget. I'm Kilyra, just Kilyra, as I'm sure you heard. I'm an adventurer and bard by trade, and I must confess that I'm one of the best in the realm." She looked down expectantly at Stormy as she straightened.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Stormy puffed out her chest in confidence. "I'm Stormy Weather, a pegasus pony from Equestria! Music's my special talent, and I'll admit you were pretty good earlier, but you're definitely no match for me!"
Kilyra grinned. "Well then, in that case... why don't you go first?" She held out the violin and bow. "I could use a break, to be honest."
Stormy almost accepted her instruments immediately, desperate to hold them again... but instead she gulped, eyeing the blades attached to her poor eleventh birthday present from grandpa.
Kilyra quickly ascertained what the trouble was, and in two or three quick motions had the blades popped off from the violin and bow. "Ah, sorry. In my line of work these are necessary much of the time."
"Uh, thanks." This time Stormy took her violin back, and looked it over. It was newly polished and seemed well kept. Other than the modifications it now had, the instrument was just as she remembered it. "Alright, let's do this."
Kilyra clapped her hands to regain the audience's attention as she pranced on light hooves to the stage's back, spinning into a seat waiting there. She leaned forward, and began to pay the utmost amount of attention to the fascinating development in front of her.
After more than a dozen of the books he'd gathered had been searched, Merlos believed he had found something rather promising. Curiously, it had been a book directed to by the red arrowed portion of his searching spell, which indicated a less than likely relevance. At first glance, though, he could see this was what he was searching for.
Merlos turned over the peculiar book in his hands, studying the fine leatherwork of the cover; it had a stitched-in design funnily enough similar, he thought, in a shape akin to Stormy's own silhouette. The book itself, however, had seen better days, as a familiar divot similar to that of a table leg impression and other considerable wear was evident on its old cover. A standard spell for bookshops had thankfully been cast to preserve the aged and yellowed pages inside, at least.
Merlos rubbed his beard while studying the book's contents. The writing's syntax was odd, and seemed to be written by a foreigner in common rather than created by a direct translation of a foreign work.
His gaze rose to the gnome behind the bookstore's front desk, newly awoken; he was a skinny, short humanoid with thick coke-bottle glasses and excessively flowy silken clothing bound to his body with an embroidered rope sash for a belt. He adjusted his heavily feathered hat--the current style in Halia--periodically while waiting, presumably to itch his scalp.
Not a stranger to making purchases at upscale establishments such as the one he was in, Merlos waited for the gnome to seem at his most distracted. "How much for this tattered tome?" he asked the vendor, who was in the middle of adjusting his hat once more. "I presume by its condition that it makes an excellent prop for a wobbly table."
The gnome smirked, and gave Merlos a gracious bow of his head, almost losing his hat. "Aye, sir, it is! Such a sad fate for a lonely and unique fantasy book. Ten gold's all I ask for it." The vendor looked away, as if not at all concerned with the barter.
Merlos sighed, holding the book out and turning it over lazily in a hand. "Ten gold? I could buy a good horse with that much. I guess it's bundled with another volume then? Because clearly the condition of this book isn't even worth two." He gestured to the neglectful marks upon its cover.
The gnome crossed his arms, not hesitating a moment with his reply. "Eight gold. It's a unique volume, and is clearly the only book in the store you have any interest in... That was a fancy bit of spellwork you did there to find it, good wizard."
Merlos tsked under his breath, and hoped it didn't show. He had thought the old gnome had been asleep and hadn't seen his spell. He clenched his hands a moment, then gestured again at the book. "Well, you do have a business to run, I suppose. Three gold? And information about the author?"
"Its author sold me that volume about two years ago and my memory isn't what it used to be... They will be saddened that the very binding fees were barely covered. It's handwritten and bound with good leather from the tanner." He began to absently clean his nails with a letter opener. "I can't in good conscious let it go for less than five gold. That's my final offer."
Merlos hmmed and pretended to study the book a moment. "Five it is, then," he replied, confident the gnome had meant what he said. If it hadn't been discovered how badly he needed it, he likely could have gotten it for far less. "You mentioned the author still lives?"
"Aye, Molly Williams, I think her name was. She lived north and east, a fortnight's travel upstream, in the Lost Wood. Can't say where, exactly... She might even still be alive, too, but no guarantees in that party of the country, I reckon'. Not a place you want to enter without many-a-companion, I warn ye'."
Merlos paid the gnome his five gold coins, putting the book into one of his sleeves. "Thank you, that is most helpful, and may you find pleasant morrows."
Merlos took a careful look at the cover before putting it deep into his sleeve. A quick spell whisked it to a simple pocket dimension for safe keeping for later when he had time to read over it. With the desire for a respite from his travels in mind, he decided to finally make his way to the Bad Drag-Inn. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 010: One teacher too many pt 2. | Stormy's hooves clattered slightly where she sat on stage. She gulped, barely keeping her forelegs steady as she checked to make sure her violin was tuned properly.
It had been a while since she'd performed in front of a crowd, nevermind one this big and violent or for stakes as serious as her own violin, but she was no stranger to performing in front of crowds, not even one as unfamiliar and with creatures as strange looking as this.
That foreign exchange student year in the Gryphon lands had been a lot less dangerous than this, though. Okay, so, what could I play that hooman sailors would enjoy? Stormy could tell that she needed to make her mind up, and fast, as the normally raucous tavern was quickly quieting down as eyes began to focus on her. They were still loud, of course, but for a tavern it was almost silent. Gah! I should have learned more shanties and less country or classical!
Eyes shut, Stormy wracked her brain, and just as she was thinking of giving up, she decided on something that might just go over perfectly with a bunch of drunks.
Stormy took up her bow and placed the violin under her chin. She could hear a few jokes from the crowd about whether she would actually be able to play anything, which she found incredibly rude, but nonetheless, she began to play.
Without any build up, Stormy's song began and her foreleg set to sawing her violin at a breakneck pace. The tune leapt to life and filled the common room with music the likes of which set their fists thumping tables and feet stomping the ground. Right away she could see she held the whole building's attention.
It was almost enough to give her pause, but she quickly leapt into the song's lyrics.
"A devil went down to Halia, she was lookin' for a soul to steal--" Stormy kept her movements simple, not trying to overdo the performance and trip herself up, but managed to at least scan a menacing, wide-eyed look over the crowd. "--When she came across this young mare sawin' on a fiddle 'n playin' it hot, the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said, "Girl, show me what you got!"
The last jeers and laughter from the crowd had faded, and her voice was the only one now in the tavern, commanding the common room entirely. Feeling a bit more confident, Stormy began to pace the stage as she played, walking on hind legs with her eyes out to the audience.
"The mare said, 'My name's Stormy, and I'm not one to fear, so I'll take your bet; and you're gonna regret 'cause I'm gonna kick your rear!'"
Without the accompanying band music that went to the song, Stormy was mostly focused on improvising a bit of extra fiddle playing. She thought it sounded impressive enough that the crowd ought to give it a pass. It wasn't like they'd ever heard the song before, anyway.
"The devil opened up her case and she said, 'I'll start this show--'" The next part of the song was where things started to get really interesting. Stormy readied herself, giving the tavern her best set of crazy eyes to accompany the sinister fiddle player that followed. "--a band of monsters joined in and it sounded a bit like this."
"When the devil finished, Stormy said, 'Well, you're far from number one! So sit down in that chair right there and let me show you how it's done.'"
The eyes of the crowd lit up and focused on the violin as the song increased in intensity. Stormy jumped and thudded her hooves against the stage, picking up the pace and sawing hard enough that she felt sweat fly from her brow.
"The Devil bowed her head because she knew that she'd been beat, and she laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Stormy's cleat. Stormy said, 'Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again. I done told you hun -- you son of a gun -- I'm the best that's ever been!' And she played."
When the song was over, Stormy let the final note sing out across the room and fade slowly. She panted from the effort of playing that fast and dancing at the same time, but it had been worth it. It felt good to play again.
The tavern goers exploded as one into whistles, applause, and a great deal of laughter; she could at least tell it was the good kind of disbelieving laughter that a surprised audience might give.
A few dull thuds pinged around Stormy. After a moment of panic, she saw coins of various metals that shimmered with dull light and covered with years of wear and grime scattered around at her hooves. She realized after a moment that they were meant as a compliment of her skill.
Stormy tried thinking of a way to take the coins without losing her composure as she swept them into a pile. A grinning ooman by the stage tossed a large cloth toward her, stained with beer and food drippings, but serviceable. She thanked him, though she couldn't even hear her own voice in the din, and rounded up the coins carefully before tucking the little improvised purse under her good wing.
Stormy grinned around the common room at the crowd again and bowed as she backed up. She turned to Kilyra, and noted with satisfaction that her eyes were an even mix of appreciation and curiosity.
"Very well played, Stormy. Very, very well played." Kilyra commented, seeming to regard Stormy in a new light. "But you're not playing to your audience. Let me show you how to properly bewitch a tavern full of seamen."
Stormy's confidence melted a little as she--reluctantly--passed her violin back to Kilyra. The human woman seemed impressed with what she'd seen, but not in the least bit worried. She took a seat on a stool at the back of the stage as Kilyra had, and waited impatiently--she wanted her violin back and now. Stormy noted with unease that the entire tavern was dead silent before Kilyra even took center stage.
Geez, you'd think these guys were in love with her or something. Stormy stuck out her tongue, grossed out by the way the hooman held their attention so easily. After all, she wasn't so young that their reaction was lost on her.
Kilyra turned and locked eyes with Stormy as she began adjusting the violin's fine tuning knobs on the tailpiece, running a few open sweeps to check the sound. She smirked, then again faced the crowd.
Stormy puffed out her cheeks into a pout as she realized Kilyra was doing a musician's equivalent of a taunt: taking her grandfather's violin out of its rightful traditional GDAE tuning and putting it into a bastardized tuning of FCGD.
How dare she! Stormy pinned her ears back and her feathers ruffled, cheeks puffing further.
"Looks like the sea isn't the only thing that's salty today, eh boys?" The tavern full of inebriated sailors saw that Kilyra had done something to upset her strange little challenger, though the true reason why Stormy was upset was lost on them. To the sailors, they only saw Stormy get upset at Kilyra tinkering with the violin. One person at the tavern's back did let out a guffaw louder than the other's, though.
Seeming satisfied with the tuning, Kilyra hooked a finger at her top and with a light tug, popped a button free. Stormy watched the act with confusion, and nearly fell off her stool when the crowd cheered and whistled twice as loudly as they had even for her performance.
What the hay did she do? She hasn't even played anything yet! Stormy kinda got it, but she was confused that oomans got that worked up over a little clothing. Must be because they're usually clothed... Now that's just playing dirty. She scowled a little, and started to realize that she might have made a biiit of a mistake making this bet with Kilyra.
The crowd quieted again at Kilyra's slight gesture.
The silence hung for what almost felt like too long a time, and then... music so beautiful and so alluring as to seem unearthly began to play slowly.
"Cruel and cold, like winds on the sea. Will you ever return to me?" The violin's song was pristine, but it was Kilyra's haunting yet beautiful voice that truly stood out. "Hear my voice, sing with the tide. My love will never die..."
Stormy stared open mouthed at how clear and powerful that voice was, just like, she thought, the ocean itself. Her eyes flickered to the crowd, and could see that every single one among them was just as entranced. She almost gasped when she saw Klee Tusk sitting up and awake again, eyes glued to the stage.
"Over waves and deep in the blue, I will give up my heart for you. Ten long years, I'll wait go by. My love will never die." As Kilyra's serenade of the drunken lot with her dulcet voice seemed to come to a close, the violin's music and her song fading, she leapt suddenly into a powerful new verse of the song, her voice rising like a roaring tide.
"Come, my love, be one with the sea! Rule with me, for eternity! Drown all dreams, so mercilessly, and leave their souls to me! Play the song, you sang long ago, and wherever the storm may blow!"
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Stormy had the sudden thought that Kilyra really did seem to be calling to the sailors with her song. Having once heard a recording of a siren in a museum, it sounded familiar to what she currently heard... as if there was some real magic behind it. In fact, it probably was real magic. Everyone in the audience was leaning forward, some even standing and taking a step toward the stage itself.
"You will find, the key to my heart, we'll never be apart! Wild and strong, you can't be contained. Never bound nor ever chained! Wounds you caused will never mend, and you will never end!"
Stormy realized that she too was on the edge of her stool, and unable to change her posture even after becoming aware of it. She almost fell when suddenly the song's intensity faded to pure silence.
Quiet moments ticked by, until Kilyra finally broke the silence slowly with her voice and violin's return, and once again the song was a calming ripple of ocean waves against the beach. "Cruel and cold, like winds on the sea. Will you ever return to me? Hear my voice, sing with the tide. Our love will never die..."
Stormy sat, waiting for more, but this time the silence endured, even as Kilyra gave a solemn bow to the crowd. Smirking in victory over the dead silence, Stormy began to rise to collect her violin.
As the seconds passed, however, Stormy realized that it wasn't silence she heard, but that the crowd of burly ooman sailors and dock workers were sniffling and giving each other hugs and pats on the back. Moments later, coins littered the stage in a generous pile near the front as the sad sailors deposited their coin purses' contents. Others bought extra pints of their beverage of choice to swallow the memories of lost comrades at sea.
Quickly, Stormy realized that this donation from the crowd was several times larger than the one her performance had been given, and a good deal shinier, too.
"Aw, come on! I played my heart out up there!" Stormy groaned and dragged her hooves down her face in exasperation; it was clear now that she had lost.
With a flair, Kilyra used a few arcane gestures and dropped a small satchel. Coins flipped to their sides and noisily rolled into her bag like a hungry army running to the mess for brinner...
Turning to face Stormy, the crowd forgotten, she said, "Give the patrons a bow and come sit with me, Stormy."
"Oh, uh, sure." Crestfallen--yet confused by Kilyra's change in demeanor from pomp and bragging to serene calm--Stormy complied. She gave a courtesy to the audience before exiting the stage with Kilyra, who led the filly back to sit with Klee tusk.
Klee Tusk stared like a grinning fool at Kilyra, namely, at her chest, but she seemed to either be ignoring him or oblivious and her attention was on Stormy as they took their seats.
"So, what else did you want?" Stormy asked, pouting and stirring a hoof on the table.
Kilyra gave her a bemused look. "Come on, kid, don't be a sore loser. Besides, my opinion of you is high enough at the moment that I've got a proposition you just might be interested in."
Stormy looked up at her for a moment at hearing that. "What do you mean? Like, you'll still give me back my violin?"
Kilyra smiled wolfishly. "Yes... but I want something in return, too. Can you guess what that is?"
"Uhh..." Stormy stared at the table in thought, but she couldn't think of anything. "I don't own a thing in the world right now except what Merlos has given me, soooo..." she trailed off, shrugging at Kilyra.
"I'm at a stage in life where it's a good idea to start thinking about passing on my skills as a bard, Stormy," Kilyra intoned wistfully, hailing a tavern girl for a mug of ale at the same time. "Not that I'm old, mind you, but you're talented enough, interesting enough of a person for my liking, and judging by the company you keep--" she gave a wry look to the half-orc, still grinning at her, "--I'm assuming you're likely to adventure some yourself. Even if you don't, you could pass on the knowledge to another, one day, too. So, interested in being my apprentice?" She gave a little, knowing smile and waggled Stormy's violin in the air for effect.
"Oh, wow." Stormy was taken aback. She thinks I'm good? She couldn't keep a silly grin from splitting her face from the praise. And she wants to train me and give me my violin back at the same time? It sounded too good to be true. Realizing that, she adopted a weary look.
"No catch?" Stormy asked carefully. "I just get the violin and you train me in... bard stuff?"
Kilyra nodded. "In so many words, yes. Your training will be to my satisfaction, you'll do as I say when I say it in so far as apprenticing is concerned, oh, and of course you'll have to either leave your current group or..." She gave a doubtful look Klee Tusk's way. "I suppose I could join you. You aren't in the middle of anything are you?"
"We just finished with our last errand, so no..." Stormy thought on that somewhat, but her eyes lit up after remembering what Merlos had said about finding more people in order to make money from questing. "For that matter, Merlos wanted to recruit in the city so we could take on some high paying jobs, too. Hey, this is way too perfect!" She remembered just how skillfully Kilyra put those brutish hoomans in their place.
"Well then, perhaps this is fate?" Kilyra smirked. "So, do we have a deal?" she probed on, leaning forward with a grin.
Without another thought beyond her last, Stormy stuck out her hoof, grinning. "Deal!" Kilyra gave her hoof a surprised look, then grinned and shook it twice.
"Fantastic! I've always had a great intuition where people are concerned, and I can tell that we're going to get along great, Stormy." Kilyra produced a violin case as she spoke, gently placing Stormy's property within before just as carefully handing it out to her.
"Yeah, I've got the same feeling, too." Smiling, Stormy cradled her violin case against herself. "And Merlos is gonna be happy, too! Well..." She thought on that, looking up at the ceiling and picturing what Merlos' actual reaction would be based on what she knew of him. "Actually, he'll be mad at me for a while and say that me letting you into the group was 'rash', but he's a stuck up old guy that just likes to complain needlessly about stuff when it wasn't his decision even if it was a good one and he gets over it eventually, soooo, what evs!"
Kiylra broke out into laughter. "Oh, yes, you'll make a wonderful bard, Stormy." She downed her mug, then hailed the waitress again, this time ordering food, both for her and the others after Stormy said she was starving.
Still chuckling, Kilyra's mood was only slightly dampened by some unneeded attention that she'd been doing her best to ignore since sitting. "Hey, the face is up here, tall, green, and ugly. Weren't you ever taught it's rude to stare?" Kilyra waved a hand between herself and the drunken half-orc, who had been swaying erratically the entire time, but somehow always managed to keep his eyes affixed to her chest.
The half orc continued to stare, eyes stark and unblinking in his skull as a statue's. "Klee Tusk think: if he rude right now, then he never want to--hic--be polite again."
Already bored with the argument brewing, Stormy's eyes drifted around the bar. The jerk bartender was far too busy to fuss with her presence now that he was sending literal barrels of ale and beer into the Bad Drag-inn's common room. She stroked her violin case absently, still in disbelief that she'd regained her property. After all she'd been through, it was like being given a hundred birthday presents all at once. Even better than that, it filled her with hope.
A rectangle of light caught Stormy's attention as the front door banged open, and a raucous trio of short oomans all came in, laughing heartily over a story being regaled by one walking backwards in the lead.
The fat older one gestured to the other dwarves in his wake, whom Stormy recognized as Ges and Knott. "And then she said, I'd buy that for a dollar!"
The three laughed heartily, breaking up into two groups as the lead dwarf left for the counter to order what seemed to be six whole mugs of frothy brew just for himself.
The other two dwarves, who turned out to be Ges and Knott. The two quickly made their way to Stormy's table the moment the other fellow's back was turned, slightly huddled as if to avoid being seen.
Ges shook his head, and Knott grumbled, "Thank goodness he's gone."
Ges replied, "Yeah, I thought he'd never leave. Quick, shove the excess chairs away just in case, so he won't sit with us."
The brothers pushed the spare chairs away from the table before piling around Stormy and Kilyra. Several standing patrons helped themselves to the offered chairs.
"Oi, and who's this you're sitting with, Stormy?" Knott asked, leaning back and nodding in a welcoming manner to Kilyra, who nodded back and offered a friendly smile.
"A new friend!" Stormy cheered amidst a mouthful of food.
Knott offered a gauntleted hand to Kilyra. "Aye, lass! Yer th' one on th' poster outside? Kill-loyrah Biscuit-ray."
"That's me, although it's pronounced 'Key-lie-rah Bis-klav-ray.'" Kilyra corrected, slowing her name down for his sake. She took his hand and shook it heartily.
"Aye, tha's what I said," Knott affirmed matter of factly.
Kilyra questioningly raised an eyebrow, not sure if he was playing a jest.
"Are ye' sure yer name's not beautiful?" Ges cut in, leaning over the table toward her as he poured on the charm. Knott rolled his eyes as his brother spoke, choosing to hail a bar-maid as a distraction.
Kilyra's momentary shock over the flirtation coming from the dwarf lasted only a split second, but that split second was long enough for Stormy to interrupt.
Stormy chimed in, "I've been called that a few times before, but I guess it doesn't count if it's my mom that said it."
Not one to begrudge the young on unintentionally taking the wind out of his proverbial sails, Ges leaned over to scruffle Stormy's ears and cheerfully said, "Och! Lass, yer the cutest thing in this city. Rest assured."
Stormy couldn't help but flush from his praise. Her muzzle feeling hot and blushy.
Kilyra, with a single finger brushing under his chin, brought Ges' attention back to her as she soothingly said, "I know this accent. An Ironkeep dwarf, this far from home? My my, and I thought I had ventured far."
Ges sputtered a few grunty sounds as he failed his speech check with her.
Knott chortled, shaking his head ad coming to his brother's rescue. "Good ear... but I'm afraid the Ir'nkeep are a mount'n o'er frommus. Their thunder ale's a good brew, but it's not a scratch on the ale of the Stonekeep dwarves!"
Kilyra gave a polite nod, intoning slightly an apology over her mistake.
Stormy broke in. "Wait, so are all dwarf clans named after metals and gems? Like, are there Brasskeep dwarves? Or Diamondkeep dwarves?"
Knott blustered and coughed, while Ges and Kilyra chuckled.
"It's true, dwarven naming conventions are far too one note." Ges shrugged. "I'm no historian, but if I had to guess the clans likely named themselves after what they mined fer."
Stormy hummed, eyes shut. "Ohhh, I get it. So the Stonekeep dwarves are like rock farmers."
The other three--ignoring Klee Tusk, who had long been snoring away on the table again--stared blankly at Stormy, before bursting out into laughter.
""Rock farming, that's a new one!" Ges guffawed, slapping his brother on the back as they both doubled over.
Kilyra laughed over the brim of her ale, shaking her head, while a confused Stormy airplaned her ears and pondered why everyone reacted in such a way. She chuckled along a little just to seem like she too understood.
A barmaid cleared their table of empty mugs and replaced them with metal stouts, pouring from a pitcher of frothy brown liquid. Stormy decided to pass on what this place had to offer, mainly because nothing sounded good or it made her nostrils burn when she stole a whiff of the beverage.
"And what brings you to our company, Kilyra?" Ges said offhandedly, still somewhat giving her his best 'look'.
Stormy broke in again, waving a hoof in the air frantically. "Oh, oh oh oh! I know!" She cleared her throat, then with a proud look dramatically declared. "Kilyra's gonna teach me how to be a bard! Oh, and adventure with us all! This is gonna be great. Me, Merlos, Klee Tusk, you and Ges, and Kilyra! Oh, and that other guy... uh, Captain Tool?"
The table was silent except for Klee Tusk's snores.
Ges coughed. "For one, Tusk and Thull aren't the adventurin' sort. They've got a business to run."
Stormy awed aloud.
Knott continued for his brother. "Two, I'll be headed back north to the tower, meself." He nudged Ges with an elbow. "Although I think Ges 'ere were worried about you enough to consider stayin' behind."
"Whoo," Stormy cheered, smiling a little.
Kilyra rolled her eyes.
"And three..." Ges went on, "Isn't Merlos already teaching ye'?" He scratched a hand through his scraggly beard, adopting a concerned look.
Stormy tilted her head. "Yeah, but why can't I learn from them both?"
Ges and Knott shared a look, then each made a face as if they knew what was coming next and dreaded it. "Whelp, it's been a long day, so I think I'll turn in," Knott said, chuckling slightly.
"Oh, you're going to make me play referee?" Ges turned in his seat. "Some paladin you are."
Stormy didn't get it. "Turn in? It's still light out."
"Am I missing something here?" Kilyra asked plainly.
Knott had already scraped his chair back, waving a hand and cheerfully taking his leave without replying.
Stormy looked over as the Inn's door opened, the light outside eventually turned from bright to a dimming orange color when finally a familiar grumpy wizard's figure stepped inside.
Merlos grumbled, looking this way and that, until finally he spied the little pegasus making eye contact with him. "Ah, there you all are." He wasted no time before taking notice of their new companion, whom he gave a scrutinizing eye. "I am Merlos, Merlos the Magnificent, fair lady. And you are?"
Merlos with a gesture to an unused high back chair, a spell animated the thing to gallop over to their table, giving him something to seat himself comfortably in. The chair scooted him in close before suddenly going inert. He wore a proud, yet none too humble expression as he got settled.
Ges chuckled, wise to the old man's showing off for the lady.
Cheerfully, Kilyra extended a hand to the tall, wizardly looking man before her. "Kilyra Bisclavret, at your service! Musician, performer, poet, duelist, bard, and your newest teammate." She gave a nod and a smile to Stormy. "I met Stormy a little bit ago and she--"
Interrupting, Merlos held up a hand to stop her. He turned to Ges. "How bad is it?" he asked.
Ges shrugged, grinning ruefully.
"You know, it's awfully rude to interrupt someone. Is that your group's calling card, being rude?" Kilyra nodded to Klee Tusk, who snorted, as if aware he was being mentioned.
Merlos sighed. "I apologize, Ms... Bisclavret, as this is a recurring theme with my ward, Stormy, here. I'm not sure what's transpired between you and my companions, but you may be rest assured that any agreements or plans made thus far by them are not binding. I have very specific parameters planned for our foray into the adventuring trade, and they're not subject to change."
Stormy coughed, stirring a hoof on the table. "Yeahhh, about that, Merlos. You'll hafta make new parag- uh, pamma... pantameters. See, she had my grandpa's violin--which is super important to me by the way--and I'll hate you if you make me give it back. So, to get it from her I challenged her in a musical duel, and lost, but only barely! She said I could still have it if I let her teach me to be a bard because appaaaarently I'm really awesome and stuff, too... Sooo, she's gotta join our group..." she wilted under Merlos' stoney gaze, but managed a weak grin.
Merlos had clearly arrived just in time for this conversation. He shook his head. "I'm sorry Ms. Bisclavret, but she's already learning as my apprentice in the study of magics and the arcane for the time being. I don't quite understand it, but her race seems to possess outstanding natural magical potential. Other endeavors... would simply be a waste of her time. Perhaps we could come to an agreement over the violin's price?"
Kilyra shrugged. "Maybe. Got ten thousand gold on you? I enchanted the hell out of it."
Merlos' eyes bulged, and he spit out some of his ale. He turned to glare at the now guiltily grinning Stormy.
Kilyra went on. "I didn't think so. Look, she does need magical training, but her talent is clearly aligned with something other than keeping her nose stuck in moldy tomes. She has the heart and spirit of a bard."
"My tomes are not moldy." Merlos bristled, drawing himself to look bigger like a cat would, and clearly getting serious. "And Stormy, here, can read arcane markings with no prior training. Something that takes most acolytes years to master! She's a natural! She has the makings of a great wizard, and I will not allow her to fall from that path to become some lowly bard! Besides, she's in my care."
"Whoa, overbearing there, much, dad?" Kilyra chuckled at Merlos' sputtering in reply. "Come on, she doesn't need to waste her time being a boring nerd with nerd magic." She waved a dismissive hand.
Merlos growled. "You may adventure with us, and teach her some of your... trade, but Stormy is my apprentice, and will be a wizard. I can already sense that she's on the brink of her first successful spell."
"That's nice, but it's going to be a Bardic spell." Kilyra said back her eyes locking in with Merlos'. "Her talent is immense and she could easily become a legendary teller of tales and singer of songs. There are people that would sell their soul to have as much talent as she does at forty years of training, let alone as a kid!" She took a sip from her tankard, not letting the bottom break her glare at the wizard's eyes.
"Poppycock!" Merlos shouted. "Stormy will contribute a million times more to society and the world at large as a properly educated student of the arcane! She would do well to learn all that she can and return home with it to her people!"
Kilyra guffawed, slamming her tankard on the table, and clearing sloshing it with intent to hit Merlos. "Her people will be far more grateful to hear a good few songs, even just one, than the ramblings of a mad man!"
Merlos mouthed the word mad, and Ges made as if to duck beneath table. "She'll be a Wizard!" he roared. Merlos' arcane talents may have still been in manifest with the chair, as the furniture supporting him managed to look uncomfortable.
"Bard!" Kilyra shot back, not backing down.
"Wizard!" Merlos said again, standing with fists clenched.
"Bard!" Kilyra stood and slammed a hoof down on the table.
"W--" Merlos looked in shock at where a boot--or at least a foot--would be on any other woman, but his momentary pause lasted but a second. "Wizard!"
"She'd make a fine druid, too, I reckon," Ges chuckled out, but as funny as he found the interjection he had kept it quiet enough to escape the others' notice.
"Wizard!" Kilyra shouted, smirking. The argument was now drawing eyes from other tables.
"Bar-- Confound you, she will be a Wizard!" Merlos bellowed back, standing up and scraping his chair out.
"Don't I get a say in this?" Stormy asked worriedly, looking between her mentors.
Merlos and Kilyra together looked her way, and they yelled at her in unison, "No!"
With their attention turned back to each other. Merlos and Kilyra resumed arguing like a married couple. There were some cheers and hoots from the crowded tavern now, and the bouncers had clearly taken notice, watching warily from close by.
Stormy, for her part, however, had seen enough.
Deciding to see what was still open outside, Stormy looked to Ges and gestured to the door, to which he nodded.
Amazingly, it was far quieter outside in the bustling street than it was back inside the tavern with Merlos and Kilyra. Early evening time in Halia now painted everything in a golden red-orange glow, and while some of the vendors were already packed up with their tables, many still lined the streets and called to the crowd just as eagerly as earlier.
Halia had an air of familiarity to it for Stormy. It reminded her of Canterlot in many ways.
Even the rowdy docks had a bit of posh city pride to them, sporting street signs made from semi-precious metals that were magically set into poles. Likely they were for the carriage and cart drivers who would quickly vacate the docks for the better districts.
"So, Stormy, is there anything you'd like to get?" Ges glanced down at her winnings. "That's a tidy little sum you have there, after all."
"Weeell, I just ate... but I could eat again." Stormy licked her lips as she surveyed the stalls closely, until finally they came upon a vendor selling some fruits and veggies. Ges gave Stormy a nudge for her attention, and she looked over.
"Finally, food! Real food." Ges struggled to keep up as Stormy tore through the crowd
"Excuse me? I'd like to buy some food from you?" Stormy asked, putting on her best manners, and hoping Merlos' spell won't run out any time soon.
At first the vendor looked around, confused who said this before looking at Stormy.
"Is this a prank?"
Ges caught up and the Vendor rolled his eyes. "And a Druid...Haha very funny, Let me guess, you're hungry as a horse?"
"I am! Wow, are you a mind reader?"
"This joke is so old," he flatly replied. His expression bordering on falling asleep on his feet from irritation.
"Joke?" Stormy shook her head. "I'm just hungry. I have some money. Please?" She fished some coins from the satchel to show seriousness. The coin she nabbed was copper, and very different from the bits she was familiar with back in Equestria.
Stamped on one face was an armored clad human holding an obscenely large warhammer held it in one hand over his head in victory. The inscription surrounding it reading, "In Hoots we trust!". On the reverse side was stamped an old ooman sitting on a throne. The minting year and the phrase, "In memoriam of King Hadley the VIIIth."
The vendor scrutinized the coin, before finally acquiescing. After a moment of transaction and the vendor sharing that he would give her a good deal for a bulk buy, Stormy was 10 silver lighter and 2 overloaded saddlebags FULL of fruits and veggies. As soon as their transaction was done, she was munching on a carrot as she walked, eager to observe more of what the oomans had to offer.
Stormy's ears tickled from squeaks scurrying by. She turned to see strange little shapes that had the faces of rats of all things. They carried long poles six times their height, scurrying around and lighting the street lamps of the darkening city.
They were about Stormy's height and had vestments suited for cold and damp places on, a curved wooden pole with a glowing bucket at its end seemed to be their tool of choice to light the street lamps.
"Quickly! We are falling behind schedule!" a ratfolk's high pitched voice called out.
"On it, boss!" another called back across the street.
Roaming down a street, which was far enough into the city now to sport cobblestones and dirt rather than noisy wooden planks, Stormy took a look around. She made sure she wasn't too far from The Bad Drag-Inn as she looked into windows and perused the types of shops in the area. She munched on a carrot while looking, slowly eating away stem and all until it disappeared into her muzzle.
"Stormy?" Ges called, a ways back still after stopping to look at a bowyer's selection.
Stormy turned to answer him, but stopped after she felt a strange, faint, yet familiar tingle. It was very familiar, and unmistakable: it was the same sort of sensation she felt whenever she flew back in Equestria.
Is that--? No... am I really that lucky? That's Equestrian magic!
Galloping towards the source, Stormy found a pawn shop a couple more streets over in an alleyway. What she assumed was the owner was fiercely sweeping dirt out of his shop. Stormy invited herself inside, despite the ooman's protests that he was closed, and honed in on her prize. It didn't take very long to find it in a bin marked discount, along with several other torn and dilapidated bags. A pictogram of two copper coins, which she was familiar with already, gave her some clue to its price.
Stormy picked up her wing bag, grinning with joy. It was still sturdy and only a little dirty since she last looked at it. Most of her stuff inside it was long gone, probably distributed across the land, but sewn into the top part was the most valuable part of the bag. The one thing she'd trade all her money for! Other than her grandpa's violin, that is.
Stormy grinned and took it to the store owner, the NAVBALL inside it pulling at her flight magic to sustain itself. It made her feel a little tired with how much and how strong the pull was. It must have not been charged in a while. The little gadget was what all pegasus in modern Equestria used to guide themselves effortlessly over long distances, among many other handy little features.
"I'd like to buy this." Stormy said, knowing she had plenty of coins like the ones on the table in the napkin still.
The pawnshop owner rubbed his beard a moment, its scratchy sounds dragging the moment a bit further. "Alright," he began, "four coppers. No fey money."
"What? But it's marked for two!" Stormy protested.
"And I'm closed. Don't like it? Take a hike." The owner set his broom in the corner and crossed his arms.
Stormy grumbled, but fished out the coins. In truth she'd have paid far more, but thankfully the storekeeper seemed too angry to pick up on her desire for her property back.
"Honestly, I was wondering if anyone would buy that useless thing."
Stormy's grin widened. "Useless? It is not!" she scoffed. "What did you think it was for?"
"Noone could really wear it. It's a bit small for the average person, too... Not to mention heavy." The shopkeeper replied, watching her try to put the bag on.
Stormy fussed with the buckles and straps, sizing it better for herself a bit. Shrugging it on proved difficult, as her broken wing was getting in the way of donning it. "Could you help me with this? My, uh, wing isn't wanting to work with me."
The two adjusted and fitted the straps and harness around her wing. With it on her back, Stormy could feel the NAVBALL right where it was supposed to be. She nickered contentedly.
"Never figured it'd be good for quadrupeds. Huh."
"It's a wing-bag," Stormy replied. "Which is a sling style saddlebag that works with a pegasus or a gryphon. It lets us wear a normal saddle bag and keep our wings free and clear." She wagged her wing--one was still in a sling--a bit to emphasize the amount of freedom she had, taking a moment to fine tune how it strapped to her frame. She took a moment to demonstrate, wearing it like a sling bag that she could slide it around her body from her back. "It makes life easier, but yeah, this one's pretty heavy. It's made for an adult mare."
It was a little bit big for her, but her parents always insisted on buying things a bit big for her to let her grow into them.
Stormy nickered and quickly left the store. She put some fruit and veggies into the wing-bag and ate another carrot as she traveled along. The street was completely empty, she noticed, but it was a smaller side avenue so that made some sense.
With a few more steps, Stormy noticed a short stocky dwarf standing in an alley off to the side.
"Eheh, hey Ges! Sorry about running off like that. I sensed something important to me nearby and kind of took off after it." Stormy trotted up to him, offering an orange to him. "Apology fruit?"
Ges kept his back to her.
"Ges? Are you mad?" Stormy put her ears back. "I promise I won't run off again. Uh, can we head back, too? It's getting dark."
Ges still didn't answer, and this prompted Stormy to trot around to his front. "Ges?" She gasped.
Ges' eyes were blank, the whites showing and his pupils rolled up into the back of his head, but he stood upright with his back rigid in spite of this.
A familiar, laughing caw answered her from deeper within the alley.
Whirling around she laid eyes upon the foul visage of a beady red eyed crow. "Tiki!" Stormy cried, shocked. "What did you do to him!?" She fumed, stamping a hoof threateningly.
"Worry about yourself!" Tiki laughed. "Now, watch as you're about to be thrown into a Hell the likes of which are beyond even your worst nightmares!"
Stormy groaned, grimacing, but more from the corniness of the talking bird's taunt than any intimidation. She felt something wobble under her stamped hoof.
Meanwhile, Tiki twirled once, and what looked to be gross wet red yarn strings sprang out from underneath his black feathers. The bird's form grew until he burst from his plumage as he twisted this way and that, until finally he had transformed into a small, emaciated humanoid shape.
Part-way through his transformation, Tiki was struck in the head with a rock.
"Gah!" Tiki rubbed at his head, a lump forming underneath his wing as it transformed into a gnarled and spiked hand. "I'm not finished yet, you fool!"
"Never wait for the monster to finish transforming!" Stormy cried back, and bucked another rock right at Tiki's head. "Haven't you ever watched cartoons!?"
Ready for it this time, Tiki dodged easily. "You'll regret that..." he hissed as long curled red horns erupted from the top of its head and a lizard-like tail coiled out from behind him. Rubbery bright red skin stretched taught over his bony body as a skull like face with a mouth full of triangular shark like teeth grinned back at Stormy. Thick globules of oozing drool dripped from his lipless face and onto the ground in an ominous sizzle.
"There! Now do you fear me, horse creature!? Stare unto your doom! Stare at the face of death itself! Despair! Fear me!" Tiki cackled and arched his back in triumph.
Stormy tilted her head, sizing up the crazed little red creature that came up maybe half of her leg. "Dude, you are so tiny. I think you got smaller. What the heck are you? A weird red monkey-thing?" She'd seen mutants and stuff in her superhero comics, but this little monster was like something out of a horror movie, and she wasn't really even allowed to watch those yet.
"S-Silence!" Tiki jabbed a little finger up at her, being less than half her height. "And I'm a devil! An imp, to be precise! Are the horns and red skin not enough of a clue, you bird-brained horse?"
"Whatever! Devil-smevvel." Stormy rolled her eyes. "If you're going to be rude about it and insult me then I don't want an explanation!"
"Shutup, I said! Shutup!" Tiki's eye twitched.
"Fine! If you'll do the same. You are actually painful to listen to." When Tiki spoke, it was unnaturally shrill and painful. Autistic screeching at its worst, Stormy thought in anguish.
Tiki hissed. "Enough quips. It's time to stop playing games, little pony. Come back to the castle with me! Fulfill your destiny, give us your heart, and surrender your innocence. You belong to us! We need you alive for the ceremony so if you behave, I'll ensure you make it there unharmed... mostly." He cackled.
"Oh my gosh, that's so cliche!" Stormy retorted, and stamped again. "I'm not doing any of that, so you might as well let my friend go, o-or--! Or else!"
"My patience is at its end, and still you dare to oppose me!?" The imp hissed again, like a cat with rabies, and scratched its clawed hands over its body with a noisy skitch skitch sound.
"Uh, yeah? You're like one eighth my size. I really hope for your sake that isn't your final form." Stormy could see little capillaries throbbing in Tiki's wings a moment before they darkened into a matching bright red wet rubbery appearance. A moment later, and he sprang into the air, somersaulting backwards onto an open, iron strapped gate in the alley.
"Then suffer!" he spit.
"AH!" Stormy had a split second to react as the imp surged forward, darting through the air at her. "I declare dodge on you!" she shouted, and ducked reflexively, hitting the cobblestone ground hard and covering herself with bruises.
"Insolent whelp! You are unarmed, wounded, your friend is in my thrall, and now I have cut off your escape! Surrender and co-op--"
A cobblestone, loosened from her stamping in the road, whumped at the creature's side.
"Ow! Why you little--" Tiki barely dodged an apple, bucked from the air, before he could finish. "RAH! No more games! No more mercy!" He screeched. With his little red claws, he grabbed a nearby wooden lid leaning against a wall and frisbee threw it at Stormy, who was barely able to dodge it. The lid struck Ges, instead, who merely groaned when it bounced off his face.
Stormy winced. "Sorry, Ges!" Then whirled about and snorted, squaring off against Tiki.
"Fool, you would fight me? ME!?" Tiki charged forward again.
Ready this time, Stormy reared back, then swatted him from the air with a front hoof.
Tiki slammed into the wall, then landed on the ground with a sickly, squishy plop sound.
Stormy winced, again. "Ohhh, dude, are you okay?"
Tiki coughed. "Wobbling as he stood up. "You-- you curr!" He whirled about, razor sharp teeth bared in a snarl. "I will flay you alive for that!"
Stormy gasped. "That's evil!" She then blinked. "Wait, wait, what's 'flay' mean?"
"IT MEANS I'LL RIP OFF YOUR SKIN!"
"Ohhh, gotcha... Yeah, that's evil."
"FOOL!" Tiki's eyes pulsed with a red light, bulging in anger from his face. "I'll cut off your wings and drag you back if I have to!" he screamed, and a glowing, flaming orb formed in either of his hands.
Stormy gulped. Oh, dear Celestia, time to run! She turned and ran away from Tiki down the clutter filled alley in order to buy time. She couldn't just escape--Ges was held captive--but maybe remembering some of the training that she'd had could help. Her biggest advantage, flying, was out for sure because she could barely glide, and to be honest, between the massive workout she'd had on the barge and her injury, it wouldn't even be much of a glide. She couldn't even hurl more things at him as long as she was running, either.
"Get back here!" Tiki screeched.
Ducking under a sawhorse and around some rickety cylinder shaped trash cans, she ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. The imp was in hot pursuit, knocking the cans and sawhorse over with little effort.
A splash of orange appeared at the corner of Stormy's eye, and a little ball of fire shrieked past her to burn into the wooden fence at the alley's end. "Yikes!"
"Yes! Scream! Feel fear! Run! Ahaha-hee!"
"Ges, It would be great if you could wake up now! Come on!" Stormy galloped on, using her good wing to pull things behind her as the little monster chased her through it. "Fight it!" A trashcan here, a pile of strange items there. Any debris to make it harder for Tiki to either grab her or burn her with a fireball. She tried to wait until he got close enough for her to buck him into next week, but the clever monster kept just enough distance of his own. "Please, Ges!"
"Fool, that won't work! Nothing can break my spell!"
Stormy felt her ribs burning as she pushed herself on. It dawned on her that trying to wear the little red monster wouldn't work, either. The end of the alley was close, though, and if she could just reach the end with Tiki in pursuit, maybe she could find help from a person, or better yet, a guard.
"Enough of this! Run away if you want," Tiki said, almost music to Stormy's ears, but she whirled around to find the imp soaring back to Ges. "But now your friend dies!"
"No!" Stormy screeched to a halt, hesitating. She looked to the alley entrance, just strides away, then back to Ges. Fear panged and welled up in her. What do I do? What do I do? She made a decision.
"Wait! I give up! Just don't hurt him!" Stormy ran back down the alley, desperate to save her friend.
Tiki looked up, a sharp talon now held up to Ges' neck. "Good. I see you have brains enough to see reason, after all." With his off hand, he clicked his talons together, one of which had a small, brass ring on it. A second later and a small, oval portal the size of a dog opened beside him, it's sinister red glow bathing the entire alleyway in an eerie light. "You will walk through this portal, horse creature, and then I will... release your friend." He somehow managed to sneer at her, grin, and laugh all at the same time.
Stormy winced, tears forming in her eyes. As she got closer, she looked around for anything, anything at all that could help her.
There was nothing, though.
She couldn't fly, only had one good wing, and she couldn't outrun Tiki, so getting close enough to pummel him or escape just wasn't happening.
Still panting from the fruitless chase, Stormy drew closer, crossing the alleyway to the imp, no longer able to buy any time for Ges or distract the devil any further.
"Alright--" Stormy began, "You win... just don't hurt my friend."
Tiki cackle-shrieked in victory. "But of course I win! I am the sinister and horrible devil, Tiki!"
"Oh yes, you're horrible alright." Stormy tried to fight the urge to roll her eyes, not wanting to anger Tiki enough to hurt Ges, but she failed. Her failure, however, became a stroke of luck. Looking up, she saw an old banner on a balcony with a few flower pots resting around it.
An idea clicked into place in her head. A scene from a Daring Doo movie where she pulled a tapestry over a pursuing mercenary guard's head to blind him, and with a right hook sent him to the ground. It's got to work!
Tiki gave her a fang-toothed sneer. "Soon you won't be so smart-mouthed, and after we're through dealing with you and this pathetic mortal plane, your own will be next!"
Stormy was only partly paying attention. Gotta play it cool, she told herself, focusing on her plan rather than Tiki's bragging.
"Right, so, uh-- what does Wadsbreath want me for again?" Stormy smirked, approaching the portal at almost a snail's pace. "A song and dance? A scrabble competition?
Tiki's eyes narrowed. "No, you will merely lay down on a ceremonial stone table and be still like a good beast, and we will take care of the rest. Now cross the portal's threshold or your friend dies now!"
"Okie dokie!" Once Stormy was under the banner, and nice and close to Tiki, she saluted up with her good wing, swiping at the devil.
Tiki screeched and laughed at her in a crow like caw as he dodged back, "You missed me, now your friend will die!"
Stormy looked up, and gasped.
The intended effect she had wanted, to dislodge the banner and cover Tiki with it, them stamp and buck at him just like the heroine in the movie, hadn't quite happened. Instead, several of the flowerpots weighing it down had been dislodged by the banner being blown off the balcony.
With a loud kersmash, one of the flowerpots made its new home over Tiki's head, and splatted him into the pavement from Ges' shoulder. Another one crashed on Ges' head, but other than a grumble of discomfort, he didn't seem phased by it.
The portal winked out of existence, leaving the alleyway darkened once more.
"I-I can't believe that worked! Wow, it was just like in Daring Do in Raiders of the Lost Bark!"
Stormy trotted up to Tiki, ready to attack if he moved or got up to attack her again. "Oooohhh, that is going to hurt. Uh oh." She gasped again, watching the flower pot a moment as black ooze began to seep out from underneath.
Stormy cringed, part of her iced inside at the sudden realization that she had, in part, murdered the troublesome Tiki. All of that was quickly overwhelmed by not only it being in self-defense, but also how cool it had turned out.
"Well, I had to deal with your shit for months back in that cage, Tiki... and you were really mean to me, and I really don't miss you... and you probably deserved to die... I think I was going somewhere with this, but I don't remember where, so, uh, good riddance?"
"Wha-hah? W-Where am I?" Ges mumbled, his eyes rolling back to normal. "Why does my head feel like mother just hit it with a frying pan? Twice?"
"Ges!" Stormy whirled around, tears reforming in her eyes immediately. "You're alright! Uh, relatively!"
"Stormy? What happened?" Ges rubbed one hand on his eye, which had turned black with a bruise, and another hand on his scalp, which seemed to not be forming a bruise at all despite having taken a harder hit. He looked down, and his eyes widened at the ugly little corpse at his feet.
"Is that-- Is that a fiend!?" Ges gasped. His shocked look passed between it and Stormy repeatedly. "Did you defeat this foul creature, Stormy?"
Stormy puffed up her chest in pride. "I don't know what he is, but yup! I beat him, alright!"
"Stormy Weather the pegasus!" a familiar voice boomed.
Stormy cringed and huddled down reflexively despite being in the middle of her victorious revery. "It wasn't me! It's Ges' fault! I never even knew there was a jar of peanut butter!"
Merlos loomed over the entrance to the alleyway, glaring down at Stormy, Kilyra standing at his side with a bow half drawn. "Oh Ges, you were with her after all. Perhaps my frustration is mispla-- What is that?" He walked up to the little shape laying on the darkened cobblestone and gave it a kick. "Is that an imp!?"
Stormy sat up and raised her hooves. "Ok, wait, is Tiki a crow, an imp, a devil, or a fiend? Because if he's all of those things, I'm calling shenanigans! Pistol whip me if you must!"
Merlos and Kilyra shared confused looks with Ges.
"What do you mean that thing's Tiki?" Merlos questioned, suspicion in his voice. "You mean to say that--"
Stormy broke in. "Oh yeah, you never believed me! Hah! Proof! Little red unmoving proof!" She poked the body with a hoof, then regretted it when it squished. Black ichor stretched out from the decaying Tiki to her hoof in a long, gooey black strand. "Ew... this had better not stain..."
Without warning, Tiki's form leaped up, lunging for Stormy's throat. "I shall have my revenge!" it screeched.
The attack failed to connect as an arrow pierced Tiki's skull, exiting through the back and embedding itself in a building wall.
Kilyra smirked, shouldering her bow. "Killsteal!" she chirped, laughing at the bug-eyed stares from Merlos, Ges, and most of all, Stormy. "What?"
Stormy screamed, while Merlos yelled, "You almost hit my apprentice!"
"Oh come on, he wasn't that close to her head." Kilyra waved a hand dismissively. "And I think you mean my apprentice."
"Oh don't start that again, you two," Ges growled.
A loud thump drew the humanoid's attention, and upon looking down, they saw what the source was.
Stormy had fainted. |
Stormy and Merlos Adventures | CHAPTER 011: One teacher too many pt 3. | On the outer edges of Halia's territory far into the hills and overlooking a sheer cliff lay a looming, massive estate. A series of buildings--the likes of which would take countless man hours both to build and maintain--sat in a crescent layout with the largest and most grand at its center.
Within the opulent manor's largest bedchamber a human figure slept soundly amidst a legion of silk blankets and goose down pillows, as well as a woman to either side. The man's features were calm and peaceful. A neatly kept fu-manchu goatee and dark, greasy check-mark shaped eyebrows twitched slightly in the draft coming from the lifeless fireplace at the far end of his bedchamber.
Farlington Wadsworth, Farlington of the Flame to wizards of the realm, and sixteenth in line for the royal throne of the Halian nobility. His dimpled barren head showed signs from his misuse of magic, despite his relatively young age still shy of thirty summers old.
Magic can take a toll on mages, sorcerers and wizards alike, and weathering can form from either great power, or great carelessness.
Suddenly, Wadsworth snapped forward, eyes open wide and bulging. He clutched his belly as pain overtook him.
"Gaahg! W-What?" he gurgled, suddenly beset by the urge to be sick.
Wadsworth knew the unmistakably foul and gut-wrenching sensation; it had to be the death of his familiar. He crawled to the edge of his mattress, eliciting squeaks and surprise from the two women he crawled over; they knew better than to complain. He thumped to the floor and clutched at a chamber pot as he emptied his last meal into it.
"Tiki, you f-fool," he muttered, before retching again.
Finished, Wadsworth arose to a nearby full sized mirror and waved his hand before it, his reflection rippled away and formed into an inky black abyss.
"Forces of darkness empower me. Show me what's happened to the dread one, Tiki."
The image of the alleyway with the deceased imp beginning to disintegrate filled Wadsworth with rage. He clenched his teeth and hands and began to jump and make a sound that was somewhere between whining and growling.
Wadsworth thumped a gangly fist against the wall. "It seems I have severely underestimated Merlos and this pegasus. My necromancy failed, Grilka and her warparty failed, and now Tiki has been dispatched despite being told to keep his distance."
A woman's voice piped in from the bed, a hint of helpfulness in her tone. "And don't forget when you weren't able to bribe that wizard fellow, either, Master."
Wadsworth turned slowly, fixing the woman with a little smile as if he had been reminded of something. He gave a little snicker, and matter of factly replied to her, "Oh, I didn't forget, my beautiful companion. Say, it's a tad chilly in here. How about I warm the place up a little?" His arm whirled around in a flash, and a beam of red flame stretched from his arm to the speaker.
Smoke rose from the woman's shoulders, now bereft of a head.
"Clean that up," he ordered, turning again to sneer at the scrying mirror. "I have more important matters to attend to."
The other two women--now sitting up on his bed's mattress--rose up and without hesitation began the task of cleaning up their former companion. Their eyes stared ahead without a hint of personality or thought to their surroundings or actions.
Wadsworth paused to place his skullcap onto his head then strode across the room, speaking to himself once again. "I'll need to summon Tiki back first... I don't know how you pulled it off, Merlos, but your luck will soon run out. I have agents everywhere to serve my whim, and I have just the one in mind to send against you next!" He tossed his head back and allowed himself a hearty, villainous chortle. "Ah-haha! Ah-hahahahahaha Ah-hahahahahahaha!"
With a sudden stop and a clearing of his throat, Wadsworth let his features slip into a sinister smile.
A soft knock came at his chamber door. A voice of concern spoke through it.
"Milord? Are you alright? I thought I heard a noise."
"It was nothing." Wadsworth walked to the door and opened it a little, speaking to the tired looking maid in her night clothes. "I need to prepare for a ritual. Summon one of my patrons. Spare no expense in getting them here."
"Who would you like me to bring in, sire?" the woman inquired, the feeling of a night of poor rest falling onto her shoulders once again.
Wadsworth smiled as a plan formed in his head with a trap so devious and clever there was no way Merlos could possibly survive it.
While sound asleep, Stormy dreamed.
Panting, her coat slicked with sweat and her skin burning as if she were in an oven, she tried desperately to blink away the stinging sensation from her eyes and focus on the surroundings.
A peal of thunder boomed around Stormy, causing her to jump in shock as the light all around her became a macabre shade of red.
Dancing in-sync were the silhouettes of hundreds of imp-like figures across the hellish landscape. Chanting of some obscene language that made her ears ache suddenly filled the air.
Stormy looked all around in confusion, not knowing why she was there or what the hay was going on. Just as she was getting her bearings, she was suddenly in a city street, Wadsworth's villainous form loomed over her with no warning.
A few warrior orcs stood around the street's center, laughing cruelly at her while Wadsworth sneered and grinned at the same time down his nose at her. Wyverns seemed to swoop down threateningly in the sky, occasionally snatching a dancing imp from a rooftop to tear its form in half with an ear splitting shriek.
Stormy had to escape. She wanted nothing to do with any of this. She turned to gallop down what seemed like a normal street, but it somehow immediately became a maze of metal bars and dungeon walls, the sort that used to be in Wadsworth's old master's basement. The further she ran, the taller the bars became, their gates and spikes seeming to blend away into some unknown blurr of a wall.
Wadsworth flew overhead, laughing with his obnoxious, grating voice like a shrill, old man banshee. For some reason he started throwing... what seemed to be ears of corn down at Stormy. As weird and jarring as that was, the events around her never slowed. With a crash, Wadsworth landed in front of her, cracking the stonework beneath his feet, then broke up into dozens of laughing crows who each carried on his insidious cackling.
Stormy shrunk back reflexively in horror as the crows continued on sounding more and more maniacal and unnatural. The distortion made it less and less comprehensible until it was just shrill noise.
The ambient light of her surroundings became a pure red all around her. The ground lost its traction as her hooves slipped and slid wildly under her. Pain shot through her back. In terror, she looked at her wing, and bore witness as her feathers fell off, leaving only bare skinned wings twitching weakling in the red atmosphere.
Stormy shrieked in horror. As she did, loose meaty shreds of flesh sloped away from her wing's bones. Her other wing was gross and crooked. It flopped around uselessly like a disgusting wet noodle.
"S-Stop it," Stormy began crying, as she tried to cover her gross form with a boney broken wing.
"Such shaaaaaaaaaaame." Tiki's impish voice called to her. "Disgusting filly. We all hate you. Especially your frieeeeeends."
Merlos and his dwarven tenants ran up as if called. Stormy felt a twinge of hope swell in her.
"He's right," the dress-wearing man began. "You're covered in garbage. I suppose you want to bring that into my home now, don't you?"
"I'm still cleaner than your kitchen," she deadpanned, before the ooman and dwarves pulled from their sleeves what looked like rotting tomatoes and cabbages.
"Pelt her!" Kilyra shouted from nowhere.
Wet thumps of food detritus splashed against her soiled body as the imps chorused their laughter.
"You're never going hooooome," Wadsworth's voice echoed, as four of his heads appeared around her and began cackling.
"No! I wanna go home! I wanna go home!"
"Why? They don't even miss you there, you know."
Stormy covered her face with her hooves, and suddenly the sounds were gone with an eerie silence.
Taking her hooves from her face and looking around, Stormy found herself surrounded by darkness. She looked up, spotting a faint blue dot hanging in the heavens above. She stared up at it and for a moment she felt like it was looking at her.
"Hello?" Stormy called out to the dot, and with a great speed from so far away, the dot came towards her while the reddish darkness around her began to lighten up into shades of a familiar world.
As the red melted away the nightmarish city was replaced by looming, yet peaceful looking trees.
She knew these trees. Their gloomy visage melted into focus around her as none other than the Everfree Forest. She had only seen them from the air before when she flew over the dangerous and unforgivable place. It was now night time, the buzzes and shrills of cicadas and frogs filled the air, while the strong scents of the non-deciduous forest tickled her nostrils.
Her eyes returned to the sky... and soon a large navy blue blur landed before her.
Stormy's mouth fell open as she looked upon a creature so resplendent she was at a loss for words, for before her stood Her Royal Majesty of the Night, and she who walks within pony's dreams. With magnificent wings spread, her regal poise honed with centuries of leadership.
"P-Princess Luna!" Stormy stammered, bowing down and closing her eyes as a soft whimper escaped her. Moments of memories from seeing Luna in Canterlot during big events when Stormy was a foal trickled back to her mind.
The princess stood silently, staring at her. When Stormy opened her eyes to look up upon the Night Princess herself, she found the alicorn wearing a look of... what seemed to be befuddlement mixed with surprise.
"Princess Luna? Your majesty? Are you okay?" Stormy quirked an eyebrow. She was still disoriented from her nightmare, but she'd been broken out of a nightmare once or twice before by Princess Luna, so she was coming to grips with that, at least. Seeing Luna at a loss, however, was far more jarring.
Luna looked away for a moment, a look of confusion played over her features when she looked back. "You look like the picture... Your cutie mark matches... Tell me, are you the one known as Stormy Weather, child of Cumulo Nimbus and Allegria Amati?"
"That's my mom and dad!" Stormy gave a nod, suppressing the excitement exploding inside her. The princess knows my name! She gave a smile... but this only seemed to pain the Princess of the Night.
"We thought we had lost you months ago. We began to assume the worst, that you had lost your way to the summerlands or perhaps had been taken by some monster or--" Luna cut herself off. "You have met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"
Princess Luna began again with a pair of pumpkin spice lattes each sitting atop a little cafe stool with a table between them. "I beg your forgiveness, Stormy Weather. I know not what you've been through, but I require you to remain calm and tell me quickly what your current situation and location are."
Stormy straightened up, fully prepared to give her princess a full report. "Right! Uhm..." She deflated a bit, at loss at just where to start. So much had happened, after all. "Weeeell, it's hard to explain..."
The Princess gave her latte a quick sip. "Well, can you tell me where precisely you are in the world? Familiar surroundings, or names of places?"
Stormy followed suit with the Princess and slurped down at the delicious treat. "Oh my Celestia, is this a real pumpkin spice latte!?" She could feel tears streaming down her face from pure joy. "It's so delicious! I thought I'd never taste anything this good ever again! Oh, Princess, it's been so horrible where I am, you have no idea! Well, not all bad, because I've made some friends that are trying to help me, but--"
Luna clapped her hooves together loudly. "Focus, Stormy! I can feel our link growing tenuous. I think the only reason I'm even able to speak with you now is thanks to the full moon itself. Wherever you are, it is far from Canterlot, and I need information from you if you are to be found!" She stared into Stormy's eyes expectedly. "Let's try this, what was the last thing you remember doing before you went missing?"
"Oh!" After another quick sip, Stormy continued. "So, Princess, there I was minding my own business practicing for the best young flyers competition, when suddenly! I was taken from my home by a powerful ooman wizard named Galeron to--and you won't believe this--another universe! Maybe even another dimension! Reality? Anyway, there are no Equestrian ponies, pegasi, unicorns or anything here at all! I mean, magic is crazy weird here, although my pegasus magic still works, so maybe it isn't that weird? Anyway! I'm honestly amazed I'm even talking to you right now, assuming you are you and not another demon or something trying to trick me... but, I'm rambling, ahem. Luckily, the local oomans in charge around here took Galeron away and sent him to jail, and after that I got sold to this other wizard named Merlos, but he's nice and is trying to help me get home along with his kooky friends! Althooough, he's been pretty bad at it thus far, and there's also this other wizard named Wadsworth that wants to kill me for some weird world domination reason! Soooo, I'd really like to get back home now, Princess, and I'm ready to get out of here!" Stormy held her hooves outstretched to Princess Luna expectantly and shut her eyes. "So let's go!"
"A-Another universe?" Luna goggled at Stormy, while also clearly trying to digest everything that had been said. "Oh dear, that would make this an Isekai incident...That explains the hole that is in the canyon."
Stormy raised an eyebrow. "An ise-what now?"
Luna put a hoof to her mouth and cleared her throat roughly. "Nevermind that, Stormy."
Once her shocked look from Stormy saying so much without taking a single breath abated, Luna took in a deep breath and composed herself. The signs of pain remaining behind her eyes spoke volumes, though.
"Stormy, first I must tell you to not despair, as all of Equestria itself will help you with all of its resources to get you home safely, but I must regretfully inform you that if you are indeed not on our plane of existence presently... then returning you home is not so simple." Princess Luna tentatively tapped her front hooves together with uncertainty, not especially looking as regal as one would expect of a princess. "I fear that while I may have browsed a few theories on travel to other worlds, I know of nopony living that has attempted such a thing with success."
Stormy wilted, sighing. "No, I didn't think it would be that easy..." She gulped at her pumpkin spice latte, expecting to finish it, but it seemed to be bottomless. She could feel tears of joy welling up in her eyes again in spite of the awful news she'd also been given.
"There there, Stormy, there is still hope. You must not despair!" Princess Luna went on, having misinterpreted the filly's tears. "Nonetheless, we, that is, I, Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and anypony else able to help in doing so, will absolutely bring you home."
Luna grimaced and put a hoof to her brow. "I fear our time grows short, Stormy Weather. You must write down all that you remember as you awaken, as dreams are fleeting for most ponies." Her form began to grow misty, and her voice distant sounding. The light in the room dimmed and the cafe-table and stools were suddenly gone. "In a month's time with the next full moon, I will dedicate the night to reaching your mind once again! Stay vigilant, and stay safe, my subject!"
"I will, Princess! And thank you for finding me! Oh, and also the latte!" Stormy paused and thought for a moment while chugging at her unlimited latte some more, savoring the flavor. She then widened her eyes at a haunting realization. Something that she didn't think about until now that Luna would want to hear.
Tiki had not just threatened Merlos' world, Terras... but also Equestria.
"AH DEVIL-MONKEY!" Stormy's eyes shot open to a strange scene around her, she had awoken to find a blanket draped over her up to her withers, laying on a bed with lots of hay under her. Her keen nose told her right away that countless different oomans had slept in that very room. Something there smelled very sweaty... and gross.
"Wha--? Where am I?"
Stormy sat up and looked around; some of Merlos' things were in the room, as well as a second, much larger bed.
"Oh, I'm not in the alley anymore, so this must be the inn we were staying at. The bed dragon, or whatever. Awww, and Merlos got me a bed of my own. Stormy got up and hopped out of her sleeping place, which turned out to be a small cot with lots of fresh hay piled atop it. "Kind of... although I'm more annoyed that I have to share a room with him than about the smaller bed."
Realizing she was hungry, Stormy nipped a few strands off the cot and picked a few fruits from her saddlebag.
"Wait... wait wait wait, I was supposed to remember something. Something important..." Stormy pressed a hoof to her head and clamped her eyes shut, groaning in frustration. "Dangit, I can't remember."
"Maybe it--" Stormy curled around to look at her bandaged wing, finding the icky smell coming from the bandage. It looked to have been changed, which made sense as it had gotten quite dirty with her tussle with Tiki, but there was some smelly slimy stuff in it. Wait, my wing isn't hurting anymore?
"Awesome!" Stormy gave her wing a few flexes; it was stiff and didn't want to move quite normally, but at least it didn't hurt at all like it had the past week. She let it relax against her body and ate a few more slightly squishy fruit--they really weren't even half as good as fruit she could get from the Whole Foods in Canterlot--from her saddlebag.
"Well, it still beats raw hay any day," Stormy chirped, and set about washing up at a big wash basin set in one corner of the room. There was even a fresh towel placed beside it, along with a note. She was able to read it, which meant she must have a new casting of Merlos' spell active already.
'Stormy, we're downstairs in the common room,' the note read.
"Simple and to the point, that Merlos," Stormy mused. "Didn't I want to write something in a note, too? Hm." The feeling that she'd forgotten something got worse as she washed up with the fresh water, but whatever it was escaped her.
"Dang, it feels super important, too..." Stormy sighed as she felt the familiar pull of magic from her bag syncing with her and she took a moment to adjust a few things like setting it to map as she explored and to bookmark her location.
Finished, the room's door creaked open at her push and she peeked outside. "Merlos?" she called out, but was greeted with a dank and dark wooden hallway, a few fancy lamps with dimly burning wicks flickering weakly. There was, however, a short, chubby, darkly skinned ooman in a maid's uniform at the end of the hallway, lazily sweeping the floor.
"No, no Merlos, no..." the ooman maid mumbled, not looking up.
"Oh, uh, thanks." Stormy decided to wander the rest of the Bad Drag-Inn in search of everyone.
Going down the stairs was a bit of a challenge, as unlike Merlos' stone stairway, these boards were worn smooth and rather slippery under her hooves.
Stormy longed for her grippy horseshoes that she wore when visiting any large home with slippery halls and stairways. They were cut with a little pattern of some kind of rubbery stuff on the bottom that acted practically like glue on smooth surfaces.
Upon reaching the staircase's bottom, Stormy found that the large common room was quiet now and most of the tables in the almost-theater sized room were empty. The mass vacancy was a startling contrast to the wall to wall crowd the room had sported the night before. She made her way to her friends--who were easy to pick out--as they had selected a table in the floor's center and faced the inn's entrance. The two dwarves, Kilyra, and Merlos were on one side, and a nervous looking adventurer was on the other. They seemed to be going over papers and asking questions to the person.
Stormy stopped a little way off and listened to some of the conversation, which seemed to go south, and the adventurer left, head down in clear disappointment.
Merlos' stiff posture and bored demeanor implied he'd been up and doing this long enough to get cranky already. Although, with him, that could mean anything from one interview on up.
"Morning, guys," Stormy said, waving to everyone from the table's side, and was returned the greeting in turn by everyone in their own personal fashion from the dwarve's nods and grins to Merlos' mumbled grunt that really could have been anything.
Kilyra was bright and cheerful with her greeting, flashing a winning smile. "Well, good morning, my apprentice."
Merlos gave Kilyra a glare, but didn't take the obvious bait.
Kilyra continued, pretending with perfection to have not noticed. "It's so good to see you on your hooves after last night. We began the auditions a while ago, but I'll be honest, it's not looking good so far."
Stormy looked at the list held in Merlos' hand and the tons of names on it and immediately got excited. "Oh! Get somebody with a giant suit of armor! Those are cool. No, wait, a tower shield! I bet I could combo some cool tricks if we got a girl like that on our team."
Stormy blinked around at her companions, who were all giving her blank stares. She sighed. "Alright, my bad, I know it's current year. I guess a stallion could be using a tower shield, too."
Merlos harrumphed loudly and spoke over the sound of Kilyra's giggles. "Stormy, this is very serious! We will bring on someone that is both professional and experienced, as well as a good fit for our team. We have no time for silly jokes. Our lives could very well depend on this decision."
"A good martial fighter trained in the use of a tower shield would probably be a good pick though," Kilyra piped in.
Stormy pumped a hoof. "Hah, knew it."
Merlos rolled his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his pipe hand.
"Oh, and if possible get one named Terrence! I've noticed alliteration is a big thing here--"
Ges put a meaty dwarven hand on the filly's withers, detecting the rise in Merlos' temperature. "Stormy, let's just sit and watch while we let Merlos handle this," he whispered.
Stormy gave her dwarven friend a wink and drew her hoof over her mouth. When the gesture seemed to confuse him, she drew a zipper with the quill and paper at the table.
Satisfied with the newly established quiet, Merlos gestured to the next adventurer waiting on the benches lining the wall. "State your name, class, and what you'll bring to the group." He held a sheaf of papers between himself and the interviewee, a pipe in his offhand.
The adventurer facing the party was a raggedy looking elven male, who could easily be a cousin or sibling of Captain Thull judging by his unkempt looks alone. "Mah name is Raz, and ah'm a half elf trickster. Ah'm really good with a sword and Ah has a familiar named Chek'um. Say hello, Chek'um."
A fuzzy little masked face of a ferret peeked from Raz's jacket pocket to silently wave a paw. Its near silent dookdook noises drew Stormy's attention. Looking into its eyes, she saw something more than a mere animal: the warmth of something very intelligent.
Ges held up his hands and shook his head. "Och, lad, we've been burned by tricksters before," he stated, looking to Merlos.
Kilyra chimed in too with a hushed whisper. "And I'm really, really not fond of rats."
A high pitched voice piped up from his bag, with a tiny fuzzy head wearing a monocle and top hat quickly inquired, "I do say, I am no rat, but a Ferret, or as we call ourselves, lucky space worms."
Merlos tapped his chin with the tip of his pipe, clearly mulling the details over heavily. "Hm, we'll keep you in consideration, though the group needs more of a frontline fighter at present. However, since our bard doesn't seem to like your ferret I may overlook that if better prospects do not arise. Next!"
Stormy awed sadly, waving goodbye to the ferret as Chek'um and Raz the half-elf left.
A robed ooman stepped to the table. His heavily waxed mustache seemed to be his only recognizable facial feature as he was missing both hair and eyebrows. A simple pair of lines were drawn in their stead, and his intense stare made everyone a little uncomfortable. Judging by his robes, he was another practitioner of the arcane as was Merlos.
"State your name, class and what you'll bring to the group," Merlos droned, not looking up from his papers.
The ooman cleared his throat briefly, before then launching into a raucous tirade. "Feast your eyes on the ONE! THE ONLY! MAD MAGE R-R-R-REDFLAUR!" Casting a large plume of fire, he took a well practiced dramatic pose. He kept his arms wide as if to hold an invisible world above him.
Stormy hummed, and whispered to Merlos a question. "What's a mage?"
Merlos whispered back, frowning. "A confused wizard."
"YEEEEAAAAAH! REDFLAUR! I am THE mage of the flame. Our enemies will feel the buuuuuuuuurrn! The ladies--" Redflaur paused to brow-wiggle with his sharpie-brows. "--will feel the yearn! Take me with you on your quests and I'll show you who's the best. Need a wing-man? I'm your guy! Need a fire? I AM the fire! Well look no further friends for I!" He fist pumped the air. "Am the master of the FIRE BLASTER!"
The angry bartender shouted, "No fire magic indoorsh or yer gettin' thrown out, ya shcurvy ridden bilge rat!"
"APOLOGIES, my good innkeep!"
Stormy pondered if Redflaur's eyebrows and hair were missing as a result of his pyrotechnics or a style choice... Oomans were so weird sometimes.
Merlos paused, his mouth agape in both shock and confusion as he stammered a moment to try and articulate something.
"Can you do something other than casting fire spells?" Kilyra asked, smirking wryly.
Redflaur bent down, taking Kilyra's hands in his. "For you, beautiful, I could cast anything... you... wish." He winked and gave her hand a gentle kiss.
While Kilyra laughed and Stormy made a retching sound, Ges spoke up. "So is that a no?"
"Yeah, pretty much.." The dress wearing ooman answered calmly, then struck a pose. He held up a candle in a holder in one hand and gave it spirit fingers with the other. "But I am also the holder of THE EVERBURNING CANDLE OF NEVYN'RAAL! It illuminates the hallways I walk into from even the deepest magical darkness! What more could you ask for in a companion?"
"Next," Merlos shouted, sounding very eager to move on.
"Wait! I also carry--" Redflaur pulled a book out, and he held it up so that the covers opened, but the pages kept turning in a buzz. It reminded Stormy of her mother's Rolodex. "--THE TOME OF INFINITE PAGES! I've even been working on a theme song." Redflaur then began what only a deaf person looking on would call singing. He jabbed at the air with a book in one hand and his lit candle in the other with each syllable. "REEEDFLAUR! The mage of powerrr! Evil creatures better cowerrr!"
"I said next!" Merlos dismissed again as he leaned over to look eagerly at the benches, irritation crawling into his tone. Stormy tittered a little.
"Very well. Redflaur knows when he's not wanted. Instead, he's going to pick up--" He paused again grinning at the group and brow wiggling again. "--some ladies."
"Just go," one of the dwarves groaned, both of them facepalming, so Stormy was unable to discern who said it.
Redflaur strode away, his goose stepping march making his departure rather awkward while giving himself a little chant, "Yeah! Redflaur. Yeah!"
Kilyra shrugged at his going. "Say what you will about him, he was confident."
"Well I'm confident he was an idiot," Merlos intoned, while furiously scribbling notes. "This is what we get for recruiting in a city..."
Stormy horsewhispered to Merlos behind a hoof. "Have they all been like this?"
"Pretty much," Merlos replied solemnly. "On a more important note, how's your wing doing, Stormy?" He gave her a sideways glance, looking at the appendage in question without too much concern on his expression.
"It's not hurting anymore, thank you." Stormy replied, feeling unusually warm from Merlos' concern, for what it was.
Merlos replied gently, which was unusual for him. "Good. Now, if you can be patient with me, we've got to conclude these interviews before we can discuss last night's events."
Stormy gave a wide-eyed look toward the ceiling. "I'd almost forgotten about last night..." An image of Tiki lunging at her face from a foreleg's reach away flashed in her mind.
Merlos nodded solemnly. "Well, we'll talk as soon as we finish the interviews." He faced the newest adventurer, who was just having a seat. "For now, listen in and pay attention."
"State your name, class, and what you'll bring to the group," Merlos said politely.
A dwarf had taken the mage's place. Clad in a fine vestment of heavy armor plate and a padded leather hood which he swept back after stepping up. The dwarf cut a truly imposing image for someone of his stature. The weapons looming over his shoulders were a hefty double headed warhammer and a cruel looking curved greataxe.
Stormy whistled, and leaned over to Knott. "Hey, how come your equipment doesn't look that shiny and awesome?"
Knott shot her a glare and didn't dignify her with a response.
The dwarf adventurer spoke in a deep, dignified voice. "My name is Ragtharn Ironhammer, a warrior and master of many arms and armor. The las' century I've been abou' these southern lands meeting surfacers and testing me weapons and armor on many a beast. In me youth I worked as a humble smith, but I wish now for grander things and to bring honor to Clan Deephold." He rubbed at his beard before offering in a quaint tone, "Me friends call me Ragnar."
Stormy held up a hoof, butting in. "Wait, your clan isn't named after a rock or precious metal?"
Ragnar's eyebrow rose, caught completely off guard by the sudden question from the odd little winged horse at the table. "...No?" he answered, uncertain.
Merlos waved off Stormy, who was already pelting Ges with questions he didn't follow. "Nevermind her, Ragtharn. More importantly, you're the first promising martial focused adventurer we've interviewed all morning. Assuming your skills hold water against our paladin here, you're in."
Ragnar hummed, looking between the group seated before him. "Very well, but I do have some concerns before we proceed... How many decades will we be traveling together? And your flyer mentioned you had some very dangerous undertakings in store." He stroked his beard, peering up at the ceiling in thought before continuing. "With that in mind, do you have a health plan? Dental?" He tapped the table a few times to accentuate his questions. "Where I'm from those are standard, but adventurers here don't seem to understand the concept of a good employer and employee relationship."
Once again, Merlos stammered. "D-Dental? Well, no, we don't, but I'm sure we can find some arrangement to make up for that...? Well, not right away, perhaps. You see, our finances are minimal at present and we'll need to complete a few quests and collect the rewards before we see any significant gain in that department. As for our groups tenure, we're not even sure how many adventures we'll be undertaking yet, let alone adventuring for decades--"
Ragnar sighed, holding up a hand. "I'm afraid I've wasted both our times here. I seek a long term team with professional grade financial support, not a one off with minimal backing." He rose from his chair, and gave them all a deep bow. "Till we meet again, brothers of stone, and surfacers."
Merlos made as if to get up and go after Ragnar, but Ges stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Let'm go, lad. That there's a dwarf that's too good fer us, 'n he knows it."
Merlos wilted, while Knott grimaced and crossed his arms.
"Bah, he didn't seem that good," Knott groused, producing an oiled rag as he began to polish his axe.
Despite looking rather put out at being rejected by the one promising looking adventurer thus far, Merlos straightened and raised his voice. "Next adventurer, come forward!"
"I already did, sir."
Merlos raised an eyebrow and looked around, not seeing anyone, then peered down and over the edge of the table.
A diminutive looking reptilian creature stood there, leaning slightly on a gnarled staff and peering up at Merlos and his companions wearily.
"My name be a Suhp'Dei, yam a kobold druid, and yam able to shapeshift into many mighty forms. De alligator around your feet is my companion, and he is also very powerful. Have you questions for us?"
Ges extended a hand to Suhp'dei. "Ach! A fellow keeper of the wilds. A pleasure to make your acquainta--"
"Alligator!?" Merlos shouted, and a loud hiss answered him. In a mad scramble he tipped his chair over backward as well as the table itself.
Shouts and confusion filled the room, mostly from Kilyra and the dwarves trying to calm them down and the lot of them all talking over one another.
"I was just surprised, that's it! I wasn't scared at all!" Merlos picked his chair back up and waved off Ges with finality. "Er, where's the kobold?"
Ges sighed. "Took off as soon as you shouted and caused a ruckus, along with his gator."
Merlos harrumphed, sitting back down. "He seemed like the flighty, easily scared sort, anyway, and we have no need for that in the group."
Stormy giggled as she watched Kilyra roll her eyes so hard she thought the ooman might get dizzy.
The next adventurer was already approaching, this time swathed in a great dark cloak that covered him from head to toe, and revealing nothing. His form however, was truly massive and imposing, even larger than Klee-Tusk had he been present.
"Hm. Good day, sir. State your name, class, and what you'll bring to the group, if you please." Merlos looked up at the looming figure with his head craned back, both bushy eyebrows raised.
"Is that music?" Stormy said to herself, looking over in time to see a group of people suddenly singing and playing instruments behind the adventurer. Immediately after, the large ooman threw off his cloak, revealing bulging muscles and that he was in fact wearing only a loincloth and a steel mask with a cone on top and horsehair flowing from its tip. The oiled individual struck a bodybuilder's pose, then somersaulted gracefully through the air and into place atop the table.
"No! It can't be!" Knott exclaimed, pure dread painting his features.
"Yeeeeeeeees. It is I! The Buffstodian of Halia! With oil slickened body I prostrate myself before you seeking a wonderful adventure. My one desire on the battlefield is to squeeze our enemies between my quivering pecs, and make them yield to us in disgrace! Behold! My! Physique!"
"I am so confused right now," Stormy said in as monotone a voice as she could manage, hoping to not attract the bizarre human's attention.
Merlos put his head into his hands, Kilyra took a mental picture, Ges and Knott both buried themselves into their mugs of ale, and Stormy tried hard not to make any sudden movements.
The interviews continued for hours after that, and to much of the same poor results as all of the others that had come before. There were far too many rogues, bards, and magic users, although most of those were far too weak or too strange to consider seriously. A lot of consideration went into making a good adventuring party, clearly. Perhaps too much consideration.
In the muggy heat of the tavern's indoors, Stormy had begun to wilt. She lay head down on the table now, a pool of sweat forming under her head. "Merlos, just hire the next one to come in the door and let's call it a day. This is awful."
Kilyra gently cooled herself with a large folding fan. "How about that big girl with the swords? She seemed nice."
Merlos grumbled, shuffling through his papers tensely. "She threatened to kill me after I mistakenly referred to her as a man, then kicked Knott in the face for 'looking at her funny'."
Kilyra laughed. "Like I said, she seemed nice."
Ges chugged down a cool mug of punch, fighting to stay hydrated. "Ach, I canne' believe the state of adventurers these days. There were barely a handful I'd even consider trusting to guard me back, and of them none seemed at all compatible with our group composition." He shook his head in dismay. "Where are all of the martial fighters? The hedge knights? Clerics?"
Merlos sighed, dropping his sheaf of papers on the table and snatching up his own mug. "I'd be willing to bet with all of these orc incursions lately that most of the sane ones were snatched up by the army and the city guard. Blast, I should have seen that coming. Maybe I could go track down Ragnar and beg him to--"
"Augh!" Stormy broke in, flopping over in her seat to look at the ceiling. "Whatever! I wanna go flying and cool down. It's like an oven in here and I can't stand it!"
Merlos harrumphed and blew out his beard. "Come now, it's not so bad."
"Yeah, you would say that, Mr. I-have-a-spell-of-endure-elements-cast-at-all-times! It's a schwajillion degrees right now! Or, it was." Stormy blinked in confusion, suddenly feeling a slight chill. Great, I better not be getting sick.
Merlos scowled, looking away. "Perhaps we should take a break, then. Noone's stepped up for a good fifteen minutes, anyway. If the gods of fortune are willing, perhaps we'll have better luck tomorrow. Perhaps we could talk about you fighting that fiend last nigh--"
The door to the tavern banged open, and a misty cloud dotted with small snowflakes billowed into the room. With the cloud came a pleasant, cooling breeze after the stifling heat from the summer day.
A dainty, sapphire colored slipper stepped out of the mist, followed by a lithe woman's leg, and finally the slender woman to which it belonged in a stunning, equally sapphire gown.
"I'm not too late for the audition, am I?" The woman's voice was like morning frost on the tips of leaves in late fall; cool, yet beautiful. She flipped her braided, blonde hair and swept an appraising gaze over the party of adventurers before her.
Merlos' jaw fell open, while his companions all stared with mixed levels of apprehension at the newcomer.
Taking notice of Merlos, Ges leaned over and pushed his friend's mouth shut.
"Well?" The woman looked around between the members of Merlos' group. "This is the right tavern, I hope?" she asked sweetly.
Kilyra noticed Merlos' wide eyed stare at the comely newcomer and rolled her eyes. "Yup, this is the place, gorgeous, and this old, dusty gentleman here is our fearless leader, Merlos the Musty!" She slapped him hard on the back.
Merlos made a startled sound and scowled at Kilyra, before turning a pleasant smile forward. "Yes, I am Merlos! Merlos the Magnificent, leader of this intrepid band of adventurer's and a recognized wizard of the Arcanum."
The woman batted her eyes and leaned forward, hands clasped at her waist. Everyone present watched in abject astonishment as Merlos ate up this blatant show of pandering.
"Oh my, truly, you're a recognized wizard of the Arcanum? I am blessed to have encountered such a well vetted and experienced leader!"
Stormy turned to Kilyra, mouth agape, and gestured out with both hooves to her side. "Is she for real?" she mouthed.
Kilyra shrugged, grinning.
Merlos, for his part, was dripping ink onto the table with a quill that was paused mid-air.
Knott elbowed his wizardly friend--hard--in the ribs in order to jump start his brain.
"Ahem! Yes! Lucky you are, indeed!" With some difficulty Merlos cleared his throat, his voice cracked as he inquired to the beautiful newcomer, "If you would be so kind, state your name, class and what you'll bring to the... uh, to the group?"
"Of course, how silly of me to not introduce myself properly." The beautiful woman bent her waist and made an ever-so-slight bow. "I am Lucifyra Corruptanise, of Ice Crescent Isle. It's a pleasure to make everyone's acquaintance. I am a mistress of sorcery and would bring an eager helping hand to all of you. You see, I'm well educated in my craft and powerful, but not as experienced as I'd like to be with real world situations, and felt joining a group like yours would be a great way to hone my craft. I'd be more than happy to demonstrate my prowess in any magic ranked up to the fifth arcane tier."
"The fifth?" Merlos steepled his hands in front of himself, clearly deep in thought, though of what was no mystery to everyone around him as he looked at the group's latest recruit up and down.
Kilyra sighed, watching her leader. "Well, looks like you're hired. Welcome to the team there, Luci!" She leaned forward, grabbed the sorceress' hand and gave it a good hard few shakes.
Merlos sat up. "What? That's not for you to decide--!"
"Yeah, but you were totally just about to hire her, weren't you?" Kilyra grinned, and traded knowing looks with everyone else. "Might as well just skip past all the pleasantries and get on with this, right?"
"I-I suppose, but you should still follow protocol and ask her more about--"
Kilyra butt back in. "Look, Merlos, what are bards experts in?"
"Hmph. Dancing? Singing? Orating? Acting?" Merlos offered. "Being nuisances..."
Stormy looked around, whistling.
"No, tropes. Cliches. We know them like the back of our hands and personally I like to avoid them when possible!" Kilyra flailed her arms enthusiastically. "Or at least cut them short. If you want her in the group and she's as strong as she says then it's best we not bicker over the details and let what may come be, or we're going to be here all night. Besides, compared to everyone else, she's the obvious choice considering how bad the rest of our options were. Well, the ones we didn't scare off, anyway. Let's let her join and call it a day before she changes her mind, too."
Lucifyra quirked an amused eyebrow at the tirade, but by its end nodded appreciatively.
Merlos cleared his throat. "Yes, well, that may be, but... we should still hear everyone else's thoughts. Ges, Stormy, what do you think?"
Stormy opened her wings a little and gave a pleasant sigh as she cooled down a little bit. "Well, I like the built air conditioning she comes with." She grinned up at Miss Lucifyra, and was confused when she was ignored. Lucifyra instead kept her gaze focused on Merlos. What the hay, why's she so gung-ho about him? She scrutinized Merlos, confused.
Ges rubbed his chin, mulling the details over. "Well, if Knott were goin' with us, he'd bring up that we still could use a martial fighter for the frontline."
"I'm not goin', and ah'll still voice that concern," Knott chimed in.
"Ahh, a valid concern, sir dwarf. Here's my response." Lucifyra held up a hand to the dwarven brothers, grinning. A moment later and her hand was instantly encased in a light blue gauntlet. Rolling mist flowed off her body as it was slowly covered in a bulky yet semi-translucent full plate set of armor. A hilt appeared in her now gauntleted hand and slowly a blade grew in length until it ended inches from Ges' beard.
"I'm a proficient fighter, you'll find, my good dwarf, as I quite prefer to rely on my own strength than that of others." For but a moment her expression was mirth filled, but it quickly flashed back to doe-eyed pleasantness.
Knott squinted his eyes at Luci, and pushed the sword leveled at his brother away with one thick finger. "Tha's a good mindset to be havin', to be sure," he murmured. "You lose points for the sorcery, though."
"I find a sorcerous blade far more reliable than a metal one, as it is an actual extension of myself."
"...And I'd say a blade forged by my own hand is very much an extension of myself."
Just as an awkward silence was beginning to fill the room, and everyone present began to weigh on breaking it, the inn's door banged open once again.
"A herald of the King of Halia has entered the premises!" a thickly armored guard announced through a visored helm, and immediately she stood to the side.
A richly garbed man in flashy blues and yellows stepped into the building and looked about the room while his nose pointed up at the rafters. "Merlos the Ma- Er, the Magnificent! Ranked one hundred and seventy eighth in the Arcanum. Is he here? In this establishment?"
Everyone turned to look at Merlos. Merlos did a double take between the newcomer and his companions, unable to hide his astonishment. Jerkily, he stood up and answered the herald.
"Er, I am he, oh herald. What tidings are brought to me by the grand throne of Hal--"
The herald stepped forward briskly and waved a hand dismissively. "No pleasantries, please, wizard. This is a matter of royal import. You are hereby commanded to attend the King, post-haste, in the castle." He ever so briefly surveyed those gathered around Merlos. "Your... band, may go, as well. Here are your papers of passage. Report to the north inner-city gatehouse within the hour and you will be escorted within."
Merlos stared wide-eyed at the sheaf of papers shoved into his arms, then back up at the herald. "Th-The King?" His expression was joyous one moment, then wary the next. "Is this a prank?"
The herald had already turned to leave and stopped only briefly to give Merlos an impatient huff. "A jest? I fear not. You are one of only five recognized wizards of the Arcanum currently within the capitol. Therefore, you are being summoned on a matter of the utmost importance. The gods save us all. Now, I suggest you make haste..."
With that, the herald withdrew, the inn's door banging shut behind his guards.
Everyone stayed silent for several seconds, staring in silence at their stunned leader.
"Wow, what a jerk," Stormy spoke first.
Merlos shot her a glare. "Be that as it may," he started, and turned a joy-filled look toward what he held in his hands. "We have just been given what could very well be our golden ticket, Stormy."
Stormy gasped. "That's riiight, kings are totally loaded!"
Merlos shot her another glare, while Kilyra burst out laughing. "Maybe she should find a rogue to train her," she joked, giving Stormy a wink.
"No! No, that gag has run its course. We're past that now." Merlos sighed. "Alright, Lucifyra, you said you're interested in joining our party. Are you still?"
Lucifyra again clasped her hands together, leaning forward with a too wide grin. "Oh, but of course!"
Merlos pulled on his robe's collar a bit, averting his gaze. "Ahem, splendid. And what preparations do you require?"
"Let's see, my things are still packed and waiting outside with my mare. So, I'm ready to leave when you are!"
Merlos gave her a grateful nod. "Excellent! Then we shall meet you outside post-haste!"
"Wonderful." Lucifyra curtsied, wearing a self-assured look. "And please, everyone, call me Elsie. That's what my friends call me." She turned, smiling, and none too subtly sashayed her way out the door.
As Lucifyra left the building, Knott raised his hand and cast a simple spell, one taught to all paladins the moment after they took their oaths. When Knott gazed at her soul's aura, it was thankfully as pure and clear as your average person's... however, he still sensed a faint, but familiar oily sensation of unpleasantness. There was undoubtedly an alien will to harm others present... though it was muddled.
Meanwhile, Stormy and Kilyra turned to Merlos, snickering.
"What?" Merlos asked, frowning at the two amusedly gawking... females.
"You're ranked one hundred and seventy eighth?" Stormy asked, grinning.
"And could you have fallen any harder for her 'Oh come hither!' act, Merlos?" Kilyra said at the same time as Stormy.
Merlos blustered, tossing about his robe's long sleeves. "My rank is very high up in the Arcanum for your information! There are hundreds of wizards! Thousands! If you count the auxiliary... And you, what act do you speak of?"
While Stormy laughed, rolling on the floor, Kilyra rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you really mean to tell me you bought that? She's clearly got some ulterior motive. Can't imagine what it could be though considering it's you we're talking about."
"Och, I hate to be that lad, but her aura is a bit... dark--" Knott began, only for Merlos to turn around and fix him with a stare.
"Of all things to bring up in this day of age, you want to bring up her alignment?" Merlos shook his head in disappointment. "You can't judge a book by its cover. For shame, Knott. She came to us clearly wanting to help in our adventure and you're getting all judgemental before you've even gotten to know her."
Knott deadpanned. "Look, all I'm sayin' is tha' you lot should be careful taking her on."
Kilyra let a melodic laugh bellow out. "A crush is the best disguise anyone can wear." Yawning, she leaned and cracked her back in an exaggerated way. "I'm gonna get some bean juice and pumpkin pie to go before this debacle gets started. Anyone else want some?"
Stormy's ears pricked at that suggestion. "Beans... pumpkins... Why does that seem so fami--" She then remembered something really important. "Oh! Oh! My dream! I completely forgot it. Merlos! I need to tell you about something!"
Having remembered her dream in full, Stormy did her best to quickly inform Merlos of everything that had transpired the night before, as well as her lengthy dream and meeting with Princess Luna. This proved to be a hectic affair, as Merlos was also in a hurry to reach the King and answer his summons. After all, anyone fool enough to make a King wait was just asking for trouble.
And so, hasty goodbyes were traded between everyone and Knott, who stayed behind with plans to return north while the adventuring party led by Merlos would go forth to--hopefully--earn a fortune. After quickly collecting their newest member from the stables, the adventuring party of a talking pony, a laidback druid, a silver tongued bard, a mysterious battle sorceress, and a curmudgeonly wizard set off for the royal castle of Halia.
Along the way to the castle, Stormy found herself wanting a pumpkin spice latte to take the edge off from sitting still at the inn for so long. However, to her dismay, Kilyra informed her that there weren't any coffee shops. At least, none that they could afford or would be allowed into if they could, anyway. Instead, they settled for trying some "goblin bean juice" flavored with pumpkin from an up and coming goblin street vendor. Stormy was reluctant to admit that the questionable concoction was delicious despite looking like it was sand. At least, she hoped the residents of Halia wouldn't let a goblin sell something if it was dangerous.
"I never thought I'd be willing to consume anything a goblin of all creatures made, but this is rather palatable," Merlos remarked. "So, when will you be able to speak with this Princess of dreams again?"
Stormy squinted, thinking hard to remember. "Oh, uh, she said it was a full moon, so I think I'll have to wait for the next one. At least we can predict when that will be."
Merlos stroked his beard and then gave Stormy a reassuring head pat. In response, she fussed with her mane a little bit with a grunt.
"Well if she does find a way for you to get home my coin purse will certainly appreciate that." Merlos laughed as Stormy stuck her tongue out at him. "However, this news changes little for us. I need more gold even if you do find a way home on your own. Not to mention, we've got plenty to do in the meantime before the next full moon." He smiled at Stormy's returning smirk.
"Yeah..." Stormy intoned, her thoughts focused on a far more pressing and deadly affair than her meeting with Luna. "So, uh, what do we do about Wadsworth sending Tiki after me and almost killing Ges?" She looked at Merlos with fear plain on her face. Now that the fight was well past her, it took everything she had to keep walking through the dizziness she suddenly felt.
Merlos tsked. "If what you said to us is indeed true... and that was Tiki..." Pausing, he frowned deeper and deeper, his face straining in thought.
Stormy raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't we just tell the guards about what happened and they can arrest him?"
Merlos laughed, shaking his head, and before he stopped Kylira entered the conversation and consoled Stormy, who had adopted a hurt look.
"Stormy, we have no proof that what you say is true other than your word, and, not to sound hurtful, but... they likely won't believe what you say."
Merlos gave an exaggerated nod, his beard flailing in the wind. "Indeed! Even with a spell of truth telling, such a grandiose claim will be dismissed outright. Why, they'll just say that's what you thought you saw, or that your memories were tampered with, or worse, that we're all trying to implicate a member of royalty by some cocamamy scheme to--"
"Alright! Alright, I get it..." Stormy groaned, feeling a headache from pure frustration coming on. She always hated stories and RPG videogames when the heroes didn't have a simple solution. "So what, we can't do anything? That whole fight was for nothing? We just gotta wait for him to come and get me again?"
"Och, lass, t'weren't for nothin'. Yeh defeated a major player in this whole debacle, aye?" Ges patted Stormy's break, giving her an encouraging smile. "And yeh saved my life."
"Yeeeah." Stormy stood straighter at that, and smiled back at Ges. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"
Merlos waved a hand dismissively. "Please, it was just an imp."
Kilyra swatted Merlos' shoulder, earning her a glare which she returned just as hard.
Elsie poorly hid a bemused look as she took this opportunity to enter the discussion from where her mare carried her along at the rear of the group. "So, this Wadsworth fellow... is it safe for us to involve ourselves with the King if he's also royalty?"
Merlos looked over his shoulder and gave a confident bow of his head towards her. "Rest assured, Elsie, that no challenge is too great for us to overcome. We shall plunge forward bravely and without hesitation!"
"And by that he means that there's really nothing we can do about it right now, so we'll proceed as planned. Isn't that right, Merlos?"
Merlos cleared his throat and leaned slightly on his staff, his shoulders hunching. "Well, it is true that our options in confronting Wadsworth over this are very limited..." His expression grew grim. "If he truly desires Stormy's being for experimentation, as I had truly hoped was not the case, then our only option would be to convince the King himself, or some other powerful noble, of his wrongdoings and convince him that they warrant punishment. Even then, our benefactor would have to consider the fallout of favor with his or her subjects over the matter..." He leaned down to Stormy to whisper. "Royalty isn't held to the same laws as the common folk for that very reason. Wadsworth undoubtedly has countless allies throughout the kingdom."
Stormy stared in disbelief at Merlos. Before she could reply or ask just what the hay he meant, however, he continued.
"Now, we will speak no more of this, and will instead attempt to see to today's pressing matters. After all, we have an audience with the King himself, and if opportunity presents itself, we may just be able to speak with him on this matter." Merlos flashed Stormy a wide, toothy grin filled with excitement, the very first she'd ever seen from him. "So, let's see just what would bring me a Royal summons out of the blue."
As they drew closer to the castle the traffic became more regulated, complete with checkpoints, long lines, and gated entries. A large stony archway separated the inner city and castle grounds, large enough that the Wiser Budd could have easily slipped into its grand entrance. Several Guards were speckled around the front, some looking bored out of their minds, some rigid like statues, and others hard at work halting those that desired entry.
Merlos curtly addressed his group as they approached the castle's gate. "Everyone, I want you to be on your best behavior. Especially you, Stormy, and I mean better than any you've been on in the past." He turned to face the little filly. "I mean it. This is the King's court and I can't afford to leave you with a sitter while I see to his summons."
Stormy put on a smug look and nodded self-assuredly. "Well, I did just talk to a Princess last night, so I've got this royal audience thing down."
Merlos burst out laughing, enough that a few passersby turned to look at him in surprise. "Oh no-ho-ho-ho, Stormy, you'll be waiting with everyone else outside of the audience chamber." He continued to chuckle and even wiped a tear from his eye. "Could you imagine bringing you before the King? We'd be thrown in the dungeon for sure!"
Stormy scowled and crossed her forehooves, watching with squinted eyes as Merlos continued to laugh at her. "I'm not that much of a trouble maker..." she mumbled.
Merlos caught his breath, still shaking with some laughter. "Nevertheless, while you're waiting, be on your best behavior."
"Aye, no worries, Merlos." Ges said reassuringly. "I'll keep an eye on 'er."
Kilyra scoffed. "She's just a little girl, Merlos, get off her back."
Merlos made a deep sigh. "Just... no loud outbursts or any of your usual excitements. I don't want us to be thrown out of his majesty's court because you did something to offend somebody."
Stormy crossed her forelegs, correcting Kilyra with fuss. "I'm not a little girl, I'm a teenager!"
Merlos shuddered. "Yes, that kind of outburst."
Elsie chimed a laugh. "My, but you all are quite the entertaining bunch."
Merlos gave a weak laugh for Elsie, then turned again to Stormy with a frown at the ready. "Bite your tongue if you have to, but please understand by the eleven lords of the Twilight Mountain that the nobility won't tolerate your usual shenanigans as I do."
Stormy gave her brightest, yet most sarcastic grin. "Don't worry, Merlos, I'll behave."
Merlos eyed her doubtfully, humming in suspicion. "We shall certainly see, won't we?"
After crossing the gate's portcullis--and some rather invasive searching of everyone's person by the guards--the party moved through various parts of the castle as directed by the guards. Once they had reached a grand set of doors that were apparently the last checkpoint before their destination, another wizard--judging by his gaudy dress--was already there and being searched.
"Ah, Merlos the Mad, you are summoned here, as well?" questioned the tall, bony looking man. He had long and curled pitch black facial hair that Stormy thought made him look quite a bit like a coat rack in hooman form. "It seems the King truly is desperate to take care of his problem if he's stooped to summoning you here."
Without missing a beat, Merlos quipped back to the robed person. "The great Savonelli without dice and a bottle in hand? Truly these are remarkable times. Why don't you run along back to the nearest casino and let a respectable wizard take care of things."
"You, respectable?" the other wizard, Salmonella or something like that, sniffed the air derisively. "I always love your comebacks, Merlos. You do such a quaint job of trying to prop your credibility back up at the end of each one. Did you think of it before setting foot in this room like a pretentious schoolboy?"
Merlos grunted. "No, they just come to me when I'm faced with arrogant louts like yourself."
Serengeti snorted a laugh, straightening his robes now that his search was finished. "Name calling now? As I said, quaint."
"Well, if the shoe fits..."
"Tell me, whatever did happen with that last familiar of yours? Was there enough of him left for a funeral or no?"
One of the guards shook his head. "Poor Iago, tragic that one. "
Stormy pinned her ears back at the ominous mention of Merlos' last familiar that she kept hearing about. She was going to ask for the details when Ges gave her a slight shake of the head.
Merlos raised a finger as if to whip his verbal combatant with his reply. "At least I'm not some insalubrious street magician, unlike some of the Arcanum. I work for a living!" He earned a glare from the guard doing his best to pat him down.
"Are all wizards jerks to each other?" Stormy muttered.
Kilyra nodded with a smirk. "Most men with fragile egos are."
Ges chuckled. "I think these two get along better than most, to be honest," he whispered, smirking.
Stormy stifled a giddy whinny-giggle into the crook of her hoof.
Merlos gave an annoyed glance Kilyra's way, who grinned and waved.
A guard then asked Savonelli, "Anything in your sleeves, sire?"
Savonelli produced a bouquet of fresh flowers, white and purple Lilacs and crysanthenums wrapped in a crinkly paper, they were then offered, "Only a beautiful bouquet for the concerned gentleman."
The guard blushed a moment and inspected the flowers a moment before offering them back to Savonelli, "Keep them and pass them to someone more deserving."
While Stormy and Kilyra gasped, covering their mouths and suddenly enraptured by the sudden tone shift in the guards' frisking the wizard, Savonelli went on.
"At least that rat of a man, Wadsworth, isn't here." Savonelli quipped. "I hear he's been locking elbows with his uncle in castle affairs as of late."
Both wizards laughed.
"He keeps inviting himself over to my home," Merlos shared with a sneer.
"Feh, that dump? I'm surprised he even graces it with his boot." Savonelli waved a hand dismissively.
"Uh, it's clean now, you're welcome," Stormy let slip. "It's not a biohazard anymore."
Savonelli raised an eyebrow down at Stormy. "A talking parlor trick? My, what a wonderful gift for the King! What else does it do? Sing while you drink water?"
"Hay, I'll show you who sings." Stormy said, feeling her temper start to boil. "You wanna see singing?" She air boxed with her hooves a few times before Savonelli chuckled.
"That's adorable! Where did you come from, little one?" he asked, clearly amused, but in a way that just rankled Stormy further.
"I'm normal sized, thanks." Stormy did her best to put on an air of confidence and not let the tall ooman talk down to her, buuut she also did her best not to upset Merlos. "And it's kind of a long story, but I got summoned here from my world by some jerk and then this other, nicer jerk bought me." She felt like she did an adequate job.
Merlos shot Stormy another annoyed look while Savonelli burst out with laughter. Stormy grinned, too.
"Knowing Merlos he probably bought you with the expectation of riding you, I'd wager..." Savonelli gave Merlos a smug look. "Why, this one time he was researching a means of substituting his spell components with--"
Merlos raised his hands and stepped between the two. "Alright! That's enough of that."
Savonelli, nodded, grinning as though he'd won. "It's always fun to match your mettle, Merlos, and I'm glad to see your companions hold their own too." He bowed his head slightly.
Stormy pulled away as an ooman guard inspected under her wings and tail. "Oh, come on, weren't the last four checkpoints enough?" she barked, pulling her wing back down defensively.
"I check or I get to throw you out," the guard barked back, not taking any of her guff.
Stormy grumbled under her breath as she lifted her wing for the guard to inspect, getting tired of the guard's routine. Another wizard came in, this one dressed in purple and gold colours. At seeing Merlos lock eyes with the newcomer, Stormy groaned, knowing that they were about to repeat the same bout of arguing as last time.
Merlos drew himself up. "Madigar the Magicaster. I knew the King was summoning just about any buffoon with an appropriately pointed hat calling himself a wizard, but now this is bordering on being a complete farce of a gathering."
Stormy rolled her eyes, no longer able to take any more of the ooman's ostentatious pandering any longer. "Really? I'm going to have to listen to all that all over again?" She face-hoofed and gave an annoyed huff.
Kilyra headshook, whispering quietly to Stormy. "Imagine an entire tavern of this every friday night."
Stormy's eyes twitched as she imagined dealing with that every day.
As it turned out, Stormy's vision of a tavern filled with loud oomans all trying to one up each other's insults wasn't terribly far off the mark. Several more wizards showed up and joined the others, until there were five of them in total all in a circled group and all of them speaking at once with raised voices. It got old very fast.
At some point, everyone else accompanying the wizards also seemed to tire of this and together they followed a guard to a nearby waiting room filled with tables and chairs.
The room left to those who accompanied the wizards held a small feast upon one table to give pages, assistants, and other companions a chance to relax and stay out of the way during the wizards' audience with the King.
In an effort to distract herself, Stormy sniffed at some of the bread, then backed off from it. Something about that bread's smell bothered her and made her hackles rise. It took her a second to realize it was stuffed with some sort of red cylinder that was probably a meat product.
"Not to your liking, Stormy?" Ges chuckled, patting her on the back as he took a seat. "Never been a fan of meatlump-loaf myself, either."
Kilyra, meanwhile, entertained herself by hitting on a young guard. Said guard's face went bright red in response to the things she said, which were just below Stormy's earshot, but not Elsie's.
Discreetly, Elsie tsked at Kilyra, gingerly setting down the cup of tea she'd procured herself. "I'm well aware of the pastimes of so-called arteests, but perhaps you could in some small capacity operate with a higher level of decorum? I'd hate for our newly formed group to earn an unsavory reputation." Pausing, she took a sip of tea. "I have my good name to consider, after all."
Kilyra narrowed her eyes at Elsie briefly, before barking a loud, room-filling laugh that drew several eyes. "That's hilarious, new girl. Coming from you, I mean."
"Whatever are you insinuating?" Elsie raised her cup to take another sip.
"Oh... who knows?" Kilyra thought she saw Elsie's eyes flicker elsewhere for just a moment. "What do you think I could mean?"
"I really couldn't say, Kiki," Elsie murmured, a slight smile appearing on her lips.
"Kiki?" Kilyra echoed gruffly, her demeanor finally shaken from her normal calm. She neglected to notice the guard slink away from her, having begun to be ignored. "I'm only going to say this once, it's Kilyra, and not anything else. Unless you want that gaudy snowflake shaped staff of yours jammed so far up your--"
Ges and Stormy had been watching the entire trade between the two women from the start, and it was at this moment that Ges decided to try his luck at intervening.
"Ah, ladies, perhaps we 'ught cool our tempers with--"
"Oh, don't get so flustered, Kiki," Elsie responded, talking over Ges' attempts to assuage. "We're going to be the best of friends during our travels, you and I!" She clearly meant to keep pressing that button now that she'd found it.
Kilyra's glare at Elsie deepened. "Oh, my temper's perfectly cool, Ges," she intoned, her fist clenched around a chair's back so tight Ges could hear it creak. "Nothing to worry about. I'm just beginning to have... certain regrets."
Elsie smiled knowingly at Kilyra. "Let's just focus on our adventure and getting to know one another better rather than fight like this. It'll be lots of fun. You'll see." Her tone just made Kilyra balk. "Would you fancy some tea, Kiki?"
Kilyra's eye twitched erratically by the time Elsie was done talking, while Ges continuously tried to get a word in and divert the conversation, to no avail.
Meanwhile, Stormy's attention had drifted to the table. "Definitely don't want to get drawn into that..." she mumbled. Her mom's friends would fight a lot, and the way Kilyra and Elsie had begun to argue sounded just like them.
Stormy hopped into a chair and listened in on a pair of oomans at the table--both were servants of the other wizards--dressed in nice tailored clothing that hung a little loose on their bodies.
"So on me last travel tah Lut Gholein wif Sire Pollenward through the Canyon o' deh Magi, we run into deh likes of dis wizard named Rick-- an' he polymorphs 'imself into a pickle. He's called Pickle Rick. Funniest t'ing I've ever seen."
Stormy rolled her eyes and inspected the food; atop it was a smattering of hors devours which she was a little hesitant to eat, not knowing what anything was. "Geez, is there anything decent to eat here-- Oh, bingo!"
There was a single apple sitting in the bottom of a wooden bowl.
"Last one, too. I'm super lucky-- Ah!" Stormy was caught by surprise when an ooman bumped into her shoulder.
"What the devil?" A grizzled, portly ooman with a brown beard that covered his front scowled down at Stormy. "Bloody wizard pets. Watch where you're going!"
Stormy frowned up at the rude man. "Uh, buddy, you bumped into me. How about you go forsooth yourself some manners or something because your mom clearly never taught you any."
Blustering, the fat ooman turned and walked away. "Well, I never."
"Hmph, never bathed maybe..." Stormy grumbled quietly, as she then set about finding where her apple had rolled off to. She spotted it by the door, right beside a guard's foot. "Ah, my precious..."
Stormy's bad luck, however, continued. Another guard came to relieve the first, kicking the apple out through the door and into the hall. No! Wait! Come back! You're delicious! She dove after it, sliding out through the doorway across the slick floor.
Just as Stormy was about to nab the fruit as it slowed down, yet another ooman again kicked the fruit and into another room.
Oh, come on! Stormy groaned, and sprinted through the other doorway after her apple. It had better not be bruised!
Finally catching up to the runaway fruit, she exhaled in relief. "Phew, and just before I caused any trouble, too." She lifted the apple with one wing and took a bite... only to find it was actually a really convincing looking wax apple.
"Bleh! Gross!" Stormy spat out the bite and pitched the now disfigured wax decoration into a nearby bin. "Well that just figures." Whistling innocently, she opted to put distance between herself and the round black container near the door just in case it wasn't a bin.
Unaware of where she'd ended up, Stormy followed the sound of voices and trotted further into the huge chamber. "Wow, there's a lot of people in here, too." The new room was massive, the small crowd at the far end barely filling a tenth of its space. "Is this the vip room or what?" It was quite an impressive sight, everything sculpted from either white marble or some kind of shiny gray metal she couldn't put her hoof on. Stepping up to any of the metal, it seemed to react with a slight blue glow to it.
The chamber was daunting as it would easily fit one of Canterlot's massive private airships inside of it. She paused to let her gaze drift further and further up. The strange metal seemed to run in a grid-like pattern to the ceiling, connecting slabs of marble and the spiral pattern columns which supported the large and lofty roof.
Stormy had never been in Canterlot castle, but she briefly wondered how it would match up.
Stormy wandered around the throne room's edge, enjoying the feel of the nice velvety carpet with shiny silvery trim. Her eyes drifted from tapestries to large painted artworks of dignified looking oomans in armor and holding chalices or other obvious props a painter asked them to for hours.
Stormy's eyes drifted onto a portrait that got her to almost gasp; there was a picture of Wadsworth! Well, sort of; maybe if he aged forty years, shaved his creepy fu manchu goatee/mustache and trimmed his super long eyebrows. Oh! And he had hair, unlike Wadsworth who kept his head shaved under his skullcap. He was smiling, not the Wadsworth evil scheming smile, but a happy mirthful one. He had a bowl cut mane and full lips, but it was no mistake that this person was related to Wadsworth. Especially with that beaklike nose and sunken narrow brown eyes.
Just as she started to get the urge to draw some funny faces on the paintings, the voices at the end of the chamber again drew her attention as her wandering brought her closer to them. It then occurred to her that these were the same argumentative, bickering voices from earlier... Indeed, there were several wizards quickly trying to get one in over the other, Merlos' own deep voice definitely among them.
The ooman who Stormy presumed to be the King himself, looked like he was moments from passing out from boredom. He sat upon a throne at the end of the chamber clad in regal attire, from his white and red mantle of exotic furs and soft fabrics, to the weighty padded clothing on his shoulders. Well armed and armored guards flanked the King, their helmet visors up and topped with the large plumage of some unknown bird.
Stormy studied the king a while, remembering Merlos' words about Wadsworth's ancestry in relation to royalty. She considered for a moment why someone like Wadsworth would behave the way he does.
These thoughts were interrupted when a loud nasal voice rang from the royal bellman, "Oyez, oyez, oyez! Ladies and Gentleman of the Thaumaturgical community and the best minds of the collegiate, or the next best available, the King has summoned ye all to solve the mystery of an arcane relic of unknown origin. That mystery being that the relic demands questions answered before it shares its secrets yet untold."
Stormy's mouth dropped as the "Mysterious arcane relic of unknown origin" was presented for all to behold. She felt her excitement boil up inside as she instantly recognized it!
The bellman continued, "For it asks us a riddle, we have been left in great befuddlement for what it means. Despite the renowned accuracy of Merlos' translation spell, the King's scholars are yet unable to provide a worthy answer to the relic. With your help, we hope to perhaps even be bestowed secrets of the universe, for the relic presents its riddles written in elegant forms of magic."
"Or maybe old Merlos' much lauded spell isn't as accurate we thought!" a portly wizard, Gurabond the Grand, intoned boldly. "Perhaps the issue lay with it, and not the King's scholars?"
The King--who Stormy noticed was the same old man she almost vandalized back in the painting--stroked his thin facial hair and nodded in thought.
Stormy spotted Merlos' hands ball up into fists, but he didn't retort.
The crier continued, clearing his throat. "Ahem, please wait to begin your deliberations until I am finished. As I was saying, occasionally the relic has produced a pleasant chime in the early morning hours, likely to draw further attention to the contents within it. The scholars found that it also roughly matches the description of the lost box of Dinklage the Short, or perhaps something from the world of the transdimensional prophet May-gunn Will-I-ams! Now, without further adieu."
The crier grandly held the device before the wizards. However, the scene was completely spoiled by a cartoonish looking sphinx character on the relic's front. Beside the Sphinx was a little speech bubble, and beneath it was what Stormy recognized as a digital keyboard of the Equestrian alphabet.
The crier read aloud what the phone sphinx said. "To access what lies inside and to prove what you are worth, solve my riddles three and my secrets you will unearth. Fail too much and you'll have to wait, as you're not the one with whom I affiliate; What costs nothing, but is worth everything, weighs nothing, but can last a lifetime, that one person can't own, but two or more can share?"
"Why is it giving them the riddles? They should only deal with that if they failed the pattern a bunch." Stormy muttered. At this point, she was done watching, and scampered over to Merlos to nip his dress, tugging at the foul tasting clothes.
Without looking, Merlos tried to shoo Stormy away as the wizards all at once offered their various answers. Merlos, of course, had a few of his own to offer, but the crier was already crowded. Eventually, the court quieted after the Bellman gave a ring of his bell, calling for silence.
"We will conduct this in a civilized manner and listen to all parties present in order of rank, starting with Hewbert the Harrowed, and ending with Merlos the Ma-- Magnificent. If none can immediately solve the relic's mystery, we will adjourn and reconvene on the 'morrow."
Stormy grumbled at being unconsciously shooed away, and again nipped Merlos' dress, trying to get his attention.
Merlos looked down, very annoyed with Stormy's insistent tugging, "What is it? I'm very bus-- Stormy?" His eyes looked like they were going to fall out of his head for a moment at seeing her. Quickly, he glanced around the throne room. No one seemed to be looking his or Stormy's way, much to his surprise. "What in the nine Hells are you doing here? You're supposed to be in the other room! How did you get past the guards?" He put a hand over Stormy's muzzle as she tried to speak, holding it shut. "Nevermind. I don't want to know, it's enough for me just knowing that we aren't in a prison cell already."
Stormy grunted around the calloused old hand holding her muzzle shut. "'ook, ahf knew fwaf 'at iff." She pointed accusingly at the little phone, held a loft by the ooman crier.
Merlos raised an eyebrow, then looked at the phone, then very slowly released Stormy.
"I know what it is! That's my phone! I know all the answers to its riddles, too."
Merlos almost reached again for her muzzle at her sudden outburst, but instead stopped short. "You what?" He rubbed his beard, stroking it as he considered the situation. With a chuckle, he gave a snide remark, "Of course, it's always about you, isn't it? Why am I not surprised?"
Stormy put on a slightly abashed look, but pressed on. "Sorry. Merlos, they took my things when I got here, so that was probably sold at the auction where you bought me."
Merlos crossed his arms. "Alright, well, we have to wait our turn whatever the case. The other members of the Arcanum hold seniority and we can be expelled for an outburst. The King's time is very important... Also, while that was once your device, it belongs to Halia and the King now, you understand? If they don't wish to return it don't press the matter."
Stormy considered Merlos' words before giving a nod. "Fine, it can't help me get home anyways, but you owe me a crystal ball," she joked, and was surprised when he chuckled and nodded. "Also, we can still solve it and get you some brownie points with the court, right?"
Merlos nodded, smirking. "Undoubtedly. Now, we wait."
If listening to a bunch of old oomans insult each other was tedious, this was pure torture for Stormy. Every time she'd start to tap, or wiggle, Merlos would gently put a hand atop her head, conveying a silent plea to stop. Which Stormy would look up with a "Are they done yet?" kind of look.
Some wizards tried tilting and hovering the phone in their magic, one even tried some kind of spell where he knocked on it and touched metal keys to it, only to be met without any success. With sunlight now thrown on the other side of the room, the wizards had all given their best guesses and it was finally Merlos' turn.
Savonelli sighed, his vast array of spells that might have helped exhausted, and held Stormy's phone out to Merlos. "Alright, I give up. You have a go, Merlos."
Merlos did not make a showy entrance or introduction. He merely introduced himself and his apprentice, Stormy Weather. Ignoring the few laughs from the room at hearing this, he then said, "If you would do the honors, Stormy."
"You got it!" Stormy chirped, and fluttered over to accept the phone.
Everyone was suddenly aware of the small, bizarre winged horse-like creature that could speak fluttering around in the throne room, a few jaws dropping open despite having seen all sorts of bizarre sights in their time.
Used to it, Stormy brought up the keyboard.
"Hold on," the portly wizard, Gurabond, announced. "Why exactly does this thing get a turn?"
Stormy looked up fearfully as the wizard approached her, only for Merlos to step between them.
"It's my turn, you lout, and I'll do with it what I want!"
"The Arcanum could have you expelled if you make a mockery of a summons by the King, Merlos!" the portly wizard snapped back, stroking his silken red neckerchief.
"Everypony relaaaax, I got a nat 20." Stormy replied, trying to soothe Gurabond, who stiffened even more.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Gurabond asked, as he punctuated each syllable with his hands in double dramatic karate chops.
"I dunno, but it sounds kinda right," Stormy replied as she tapped the keys one at a time until finally the word "Friendship" had been spelled out on her phone.
The phone chimed, and the sphinx character gave a thumbs up.
"See? Easy-peasy," Stormy assured everyone around her. "Friendship is magic, after all."
Merlos shook his head. "Juvenile," he muttered.
The wizards, all of them now crowded around Stormy--pushing an astounded Gurabond out of the way--and peered intently at the phone's surface. They all gasped, made disgusted sounds, or tried to make it seem like the answer was obvious and they were totally going to try that next.
Stormy had to suppress her laughter. "What? It makes sense, guys!"
The phone asked the next riddle. "What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?"
The wizards shouted in excitement, even the littlest victory in all this tedium was worthy of celebration.
Many eyes were on Stormy.
Stormy snickered and rolled her eyes, "Everpony knows this one." She typed in 42, much to the scoffing and some jeering from the wizards and academic fellows in the room.
Merlos scoffed openly. "Now that one doesn't even make sense."
"It's a reference," Stormy cackled with laughter. "Anyway, I didn't want to make them so hard I might not figure them out, so it's only the last one that's really important."
As Merlos crossed his arms and turned away in disgust, he was met by the sight of the King, who had descended his throne and was standing just behind the gaggle of wizards, a bemused smirk on his face. He jerkily bowed, moving aside.
The cartoon sphinx asked its final question. "What's green, whistles, and hangs on the wall?"
Stormy typed in "Leafy Green" and submitted. "If I wasn't here, no one would have ever figured this out," she commented. In the corner, she noticed the symbols for "No Service" and "NAVLINK lost" caught her eye. She took a moment to re-uplink it to her bag's NAVLINK, and sighed as it indicated it had nothing to update to her maps.
"So that's it? It's open now?" Hewbert asked in a grating tone. "Honestly, that was terribly anti-climactic."
"What's a Leafy Green?" Savonelli inquired from behind her, sounding confused.
"A filly my parents made me foalsit last summer. She lived next door to me in Canterlot," Stormy replied, shrugging. "She was a hoof-ful, lemme tell you."
The crier broke into the center of the group, obviously trying to put space between the wizards and Stormy. "Do you mean to imply this is your relic?" the ooman asked, leaning over as if to scold her.
"Yeah, it's my cell phone. Or, it used to be mine, but I lost it a little while back... I can show you how to use it..." Stormy began. "This has music from my homeland on it. As well as a few simple games. It's mostly meant for talking to people far away, or to find your way around, but it won't work here without any cell phone towers. Anyway, to unlock it normally you just draw a "u" on the little pattern thing, assuming your hands will work with my phone's touch screen... it was designed for ponies to use, after all."
A slow applause drew everyone's attention as Stormy finished her explanation.
The King smiled downward amusedly. "Thank you, Stormy Weather, apprentice of Merlos." He was a jovial seeming ooman, with a big round belly and a kind look in his eye. His hair was pure white, however, unlike the portrait she'd seen of him, and his face was weathered with age. "I believe you mentioned something about a game?"
At the word "game" the servants attending that King in the hall all stiffened slightly, though no one else seemed to take notice.
Jerkily, Stormy managed to bow. "Ah, thank you, your highness." Unsure of what to do next, she held the phone off to her side so that the King could also see it. "So, uh, I'll talk you through how to use it."
Stormy proceeded to open her simplest app and show it off to the King. "It can get pretty hard, but its fun..." she passed her phone to the king, who immediately became entranced at its marvels. "The game's simple. Just touch the screen and your little bird there will flap harder and go up. Let go and he'll stop flapping. You just want to control him like that and avoid the green things."
"Forget everything you know about mobile games," Stormy's phone interrupted dramatically, showing a well known advertisement, "And get ready to raid." The King stared in awe at the motion picture before his eyes. Truly this device was pure magic to him.
Groaning in frustration, Stormy booped an X in the corner to close the ad as soon as it came up. "Ugh, I cant believe the ads are still on there. Boo! So that's how you close the ad, oh and the green rods are pipes." Stormy's wing feathers puffed up a little.
"Pipes," the distracted King echoed back, chuckling and occasionally tapping the phone as the cartoonish creature made its way further into the endless field of obstacles. "How intuitive, for this game teaches one patience with this... ad. It truly is a marvel of magic."
Merlos marveled at the sight of the King laughing uproariously more and more as he was drawn into the game. Stormy was still trying to explain more of the phone's functions, but it was painfully clear that the King was completely enraptured by the game.
"Oh dear, the King's found yet another distraction," a terse voice muttered. "The clerks aren't going to be happy about that."
Merlos turned and was surprised to see the other wizards had all been ushered out of the room, and had been replaced by a cadre of knights and a tall, dark-haired and broad-shouldered man at their front. He had a chiseled jaw and an assured, piercing gaze that Merlos recognized immediately.
The King's hand strolled up to Merlos, his voice melodic in its delivery. "Merlos the Magnificent, I presume? I think this is the first time we've met. I am Duke Wellington, the King's right hand. For assisting His Majesty the King, you have earned the reward." He gently guided Merlos away from the King as he played the game, Stormy still trying fruitlessly to explain more about it.
"A-Ah, of course. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Duke." Merlos didn't have the bravery to confess that Wellington had actually met him several times in the past at various functions.
Duke Wellington nodded slightly, his expression unchanging. "I would also like to extend to you an opportunity that his Royal Majesty spoke to me about earlier today." He gestured to an ornate wooden table, where they then sat. "To put it simply; we need a brilliant mind for the protection of our beloved diplomat, Reginald Thornswallop to the undersea kingdoms bordering our shores! If you accept, we will get you better acquainted with him in the morning."
Merlos blinked, dumbfounded at the man. "T-Truly? We would be honored!" The sound of gold clinking at the back of his mind was very distracting. "To serve the King in such a capacity is--"
"Well, I think the King's happy with just that one game." Stormy happily trotted up, a proud expression on her face. "So, what's next, Merlos?"
"Blast! Those pipes were impossibly close together."
Merlos sighed. "As I was saying, we accept, Sir Duke."
Stormy glanced over, and when she looked into Merlos' eyes, a cold shiver went down her spine while her mind registered the unsettling smile he wore. |
The Masks She Wears | pre | "Don't touch me!" I hissed, slapping her hoof away as she tried to help me up. "Don't... fucking touch me." She flinched back, more from my words than the slap, as I was still weaker than a foal.
Wheezing, I struggle to get to my hooves. Several times my foreleg slipped out from beneath me, sending me tumbling back to the floor. Each time the nurse would step forward to help, but a hiss from me and she kept her distance.
Eventually I managed to stand up again. Leaning heavily against the wall, I struggled to catch my breath. My chest was tight, and my vision swam as I rasped loudly. By the hive... I'm utterly pathetic...
Apparently losing one hoof was all it took to send me crashing to my knees. I prayed to the All Mother that my predecessors couldn't see me now, for they would no doubt be ashamed of how far I had dragged the name of 'Chrysalis' through the mud.
As I stewed in self-loathing, the nurse eyed me worriedly, but kept her distance. "Ma'am, if you'd just let me help..."
"I don't need... your help," I growled weakly.
"Ma'am, I must insist," she said, taking a step forward. "You're in no shape to be moving around on your own. You could aggravate your wounds even more."
"I don't need your help," I repeated with a little more force. "I am Chrysalis! Queen of the Changelings! I don't need help... from some pathetic... pony!" Even as I said them, the words felt hollow. The truth was, I had already accepted help from these ponies. They had patched me up, given me a bed, and had even provided me with a bag of love. I would be dead right now if it hadn't been for them.
Whether I liked it or not, I was indebted to the very race I had tried to enslave.
Oh, the sweet, delicious irony...
The mare was quiet for a moment before replying. "That might be, but I am Honest Practice, member of the Royal Healers, and here, in this room, I'm in charge." She glared up at me, her eyes twinkling with determination. "It's my job to make sure you recover, and right now your stubbornness is preventing me from doing just that." Taking another step forward, she stood practically muzzle to muzzle with me--though she had to stand on tiphoof in order to do so.
"So once again, your majesty," she continued, "if you'd just let me help you, this would go a lot more smoothly!"
Silence fell over the room, broken only by my ragged breathing as I stared down at the mare with wide eyes. I had to give her credit; she certainly had some ovaries of steel. It wasn't often that I met a creature that was brave enough--or stupid enough--to stand up to me like that. Granted, I was probably about as frightening as a newborn at the moment, but still...
Grudgingly, I averted my eyes from hers and instead stared ahead at my destination--so close, yet so far out of reach. No longer receiving a steady supply of drug-laced love, my senses were slowly beginning to return. I could just faintly sense the mare's determination and annoyance, but also a small amount of... worry?
She was worried... for me?
Why? ...
Ponies really are strange, strange creatures.
Also, the taste of her worry was too much for me at the moment. After not having anything to eat emotional-wise for a long time, the sudden wave of sour caused my stomach to twist about. If it wasn't rectified soon... ...
I was silent for a long moment before sighing. "Fine... help me if you must, but be quick about it."
The mare was still for a moment before a wave of jollity wafted off her, causing me to wince. A small smile appeared on her muzzle, and she trotted forward cautiously.
"Hold still a moment, please," she said as her horn lit up. She picked up the discarded IV and, without missing a beat, swapped out the used port with a fresh one. With that, she gently inserted it back in the vein just behind my jaw.
Immediately, a cool sensation spread throughout my neck and shoulders, and I sighed softly in relief. Oh... that feels nice. I hadn't realized how much comfort that lovebag had brought until just now.
"There we go," the mare--Honest Practice--hummed. Peeling the tape of the adhesive on the back of the lovebag, she stuck it in the middle of my shoulder blades. "All hooked up again. Now, you said you wanted to take a bath?"
"That would be most agreeable, yes," I huffed. As she moved to support me, I waved her off. "No, I can walk on my own! If you must help, go start the water."
She gave me a skeptical look but did as commanded.
I waited until I heard running water in the next room before I moved. Still leaning against the wall, I limped along slowly, my carapace scraping against the drywall, leaving a streak of broken chitin and dirt behind as I went. The lovebag sloshed about with my movements, but the adhesive kept it stuck against my chipping shell.
Honest Practice was seated on the edge of the tub as I entered the bathroom, a hoof in the water to test the temperature. She hummed tunelessly to herself as she sloshed the hoof about. At my arrival, she gave a start, almost falling from her perch. She gave me a sidelong look before returning to stirring the water.
The water...
Nothing had looked so inviting in all my life as that water did at that particular moment. Steam wafted lazily off its surface, curling about through the air before disappearing. The gentle sound of splashing filled the room as the nurse continued to tend to the tub.
I stood in the doorway for a moment, enjoying the sight and sound, before moving forward. Before I could reach the tub though, the mirror above the sink caught my attention--or rather, my reflection did.
What the...?
Changing my course, I limped over to the sink and peered into the mirror.
An almost alien face stared back at me.
What did they do to me?
My lustrous mane--my secret pride and joy--had been hacked and torn to shreds. Where once it had cascaded down to my chest and about my shoulders in long, soft locks, it now barely reached my neck. What little remained of it was in disarray, sticking out in all directions in a rat's nest of dark cerulean. Likewise, my tail had been shortened as well, no longer trailing along the ground but now instead barely covering... well, anything at all.
As my eyes drift over my thoroughly-destroyed mane, anger began to well up in my chest. While not exactly a vain individual, it was still my mane. My mane, which I took time and care--and what little mane care products we could get out in the badlands--to get looking exactly how I liked. Few things were more relaxing than sitting down after a long, stressful day and being allowed to brush my mane and tail.
And the ponies had taken even that little pleasure from me.
"What... did you do to my mane?" I croaked out.
Honest Practice paused in her stirring of the bathwater. "Hmmm? Oh, well... you see. When we were tending to you and your injuries, it was discovered that your mane and tail were infested with lice, fleas, and ticks and we had to act accordingly. We tried to keep as much as possible, but... well, it was pretty bad."
As she went back to tending to the bath, I continued to stare at my reflection. My eyes were drawn to a white feather placed behind one of my tattered ears. Leaning against the counter, I reached up and plucked it free.
"Wha...? Where did this come from?" I breathed, giving the feather a confused look. For a moment, I contemplated turning it to ash, but I currently lacked the necessary energy to perform the required spell. So instead, I tossed it into the sink and went back to studying my appearance.
Little details I didn't initially notice started to make themselves known. The soft skin beneath my eyes--usually the same color as my chitin--was now a darker shade of gray, practically black. There were several sutures in the corners of my mouth, the staples holding the cracked chitin together and preventing my jaw from opening farther than it normally would. There was also a bandage wrapped around the stump where my right foreleg used to be. Dried blood blotched the white bandage, staining it deep emerald green.
My face, once so familiar, was strangely foreign now. ...
Who... who are you, hmmm? I asked myself. This wasn't the proud face that was supposed to represent Chrysalis. Gone was the smug grin, gone were the energetic, glowing green eyes, gone were the powerful air and rigid stance.
Instead, somepony else stared back at me. Not a ruler... not a queen.
Not Chrysalis.
Just an exhausted mare.
Too long...
I continued to gaze at my reflection until the sound of running water ceased. Quickly, I hardened my expression before pushing myself off the counter. As I turned, Honest Practice moved beside me. Her horn lit up, and a soft glow surrounded the bandages about my right shoulder--a water repellent spell, if I had to hazard a guess.
"Let's get you in the tub then, shall we?" she asked.
"I don't..." I began, only to realize that it would be rather difficult to get into the bath by myself with only three legs, especially in my current weakened state. Biting back my anger, I grudgingly permitted the mare to help me. She had me lean upon her as she guided me into the tub.
As I gingerly climbed over the lip of the tub, I grumbled softly under my breath at the indignity of the action... only for the sound to turn into a long, drawn-out purr as I sank into sweet heated bliss. The water was warm and felt amazing as it seeped beneath my carapace and cracked chitin.
As I slipped deeper into the water, the nurse's horn lit up and she removed the lovebag from my shoulder blades and instead stuck it on the wall above the tub. It was about three-fourths empty now, but that was due in part to it leaking everywhere earlier.
"Hmmm, I'll have to get you some more love, it seems," Honest Practice said, eyeing the lovebag. "I'll take care of that after we get you washed up."
"Mmmm, no," I mumbled. "No... do it now."
She paused while filling up a basin from the sink, a sponge suspended in her magic. "I... I can't just leave you here by yourself."
"I'm not going anywhere," I said, a tinge of annoyance creeping back into my voice.
"But I need to..."
"Are you insinuating that I can't care for myself?" I asked, lolling my head about to glare at her. "I may be injured... I may be crippled... but I'm fully capable of washing myself. Now, be a good little pony and get more love."
"B-but what if you fall asleep and...?"
I let out a barking laugh that caused my chest to twinge in pain. "And what? Drown myself in the bath? What kind of invalid do you take me for?"
"I w-wasn't--"
"Go get the love," I repeated.
She hesitated for a moment, but then did as instructed. Placing the basin down on the counter, she laid the sponge beside it before moving out of the room. A moment later I heard the door to the main room open and close, and then silence fell.
Letting out a low sigh, I settled back in the bath. The tub was surprisingly large and I could stretch out completely with very little difficulty. Water lapped gently at my neck and shoulders, the feeling sending shivers down my spine. A faint hint of vanilla was present, no doubt the nurse had put some form of scented... something in the bath. The aroma was relaxing, as well as somewhat... familiar? Where have I smelled this before? It tickled my nose as well as my memories, yet I couldn't place where I had smelled the scent recently.
I mused upon it for a few more minutes before putting it from my mind. Instead, I closed my eyes, rested the back of my head against the lip of the tub, and began to enjoy my much-needed soak.
Time lost all meaning as I dozed there, immersed in the heated water. At some point Honest Practice returned and changed out the lovebag, using her magic to adjust my limp head and neck into a better position to access the IV port. Once the new bag was in place, she proceeded to drain the tub, to my annoyance. Before I could voice a complaint though, she was filling it again with fresh, clean water. It didn't stay that way though, quickly darkening as the dirt, dust, ash, and love that clung to my chitin fell off.
Oh... that's... that's rather disgusting, actually.
Twice more she filled and empty the tub until all the excess dirt and ash had been soaked off. Cutting off the water one last time, she checked if I was still comfortable, if I felt any pain--any discomfort--or if I wanted to get out. I just lifted a hoof and lazily waved at her in response before slipping further into the water, letting the heat claim me once more.
I didn't hear her reply, but she left the bathroom a few minutes later.
Once more I drifted on the edge of consciousness, dozing contently as my chitin soaked up the heat from the water around me. It had been too long since I was last able to enjoy something like this. Warm water, love in my system, no dragons or diamond dogs or griffons or minotaurs trying to kill me...
...aaah, bliss. ...
I wasn't sure how long I laid there before I heard the sound of movement again. There was the soft murmur of voices before the door in the other room opened and closed. For a moment silence fell again but was broken by soft hoofsteps. My ear flicked in time with the 'clip-clop's as the pony approached the bathroom.
They paused in the doorway, but I refused to open my eyes. The water was still warm and I was still enjoying it. I didn't care if it was the nurse, a doctor, or a guard. If they wanted me to get out of the tub... well, they could wait until I was finished. I might have been injured, but my fangs were still as sharp as daggers and I could still bite... I think. ...
Actually, my jaw was still fucking sore.
Well, I could always gnaw on them... gingerly. That might be a little uncomfortable for them, right?
Whoever it was, it soon became clear they weren't here to remove me from my heated heaven. They watched me from the doorway for a few more minutes before slowly making their way further into the room. My ear followed them as they made their way around until they were right behind my head.
The brief thought of this being an assassin crossed my mind, but no alarm came. I was warm... I was comfortable... and I was sleepy. If this was how Celestia wanted me killed, so be it.
The soft chime of magic came, but instead of a knife plunging into my neck, a soft thunk sounded beside my head, followed by the gentle sloshing of water. A moment later, something soft brushed against my chest, rubbing carefully over my cracked carapace.
A confused frown touched my face, and I cracked an eye open and glanced down only to see a sponge suspended in a golden aura was currently washing my chitin. After a moment, it lifted into the air and wrung itself out over the small basin the nurse had filled up earlier, which was now resting on the lip of the tub. The sponge was dipped in the water once more before returning to the task of cleaning me. This time it ran gingerly about my shoulders and lower neck, being mindful of my injuries.
I leaned my head back as the sponge ran over my throat, a low hum escaping me before I could stop it. The sponge froze for a moment, to which I whined softly, prompting it to continue its trek across my chitin. The feeling was oddly comforting, and I found my eyes slowly beginning to droop once more. However, before I could drift off to sleep, a warm weight settled on top of my head, and the scent of vanilla grew stronger. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a hint of rainbow-colored mane wafting in a nonexistent breeze.
Celestia...?
Upon realizing who was currently washing me, I stiffened, my eyes shooting open. This earned an annoyed huff from the alicorn currently using the top of my head as a pillow, and she pulled away. She had paused washing me, but now resumed, the sponge moving gently over my body as she tried to get me to relax again.
After a moment, she began to hum softly as she scrubbed.
I sat there, confused and somewhat perturbed. Never before had somepony treated me like this before, not even my own changelings. The gentleness, the caring, the comfort--all this from the ruler of a nation I had attacked not once, not twice, but multiple times. Yet, here I was at her mercy and instead of executing me like any other nation's ruler would do... she was bathing me? ...
What was going on?
My confusion continued to grow as more time passed. Celestia went about her task--quite happily, in fact. She lifted my left foreleg to wash beneath it, only to then wash along the limb's length, taking extra care to make sure my holes and hooves were taken care off. As she levitated the sponge about, her hooves made quick work of my shortened mane. Shampoo and conditioner were gingerly scrubbed into my scalp, only to be rinsed out a moment later by a gentle deluge of water.
In no time at all, I was cleaner than I had been in ages. My chitin was still scuffed and dull, but it was no longer covered in dust and dirt and ash. My mane and tail, though still a ragged mess, had both been shampooed. Celestia was currently working on brushing out my mane, and even though my senses were muddled, I could still feel the contentment trickling from her.
She was enjoying this... ...
Well, I was too... b-but that was beside the point.
Unable to stand it anymore, I finally spoke up.
"I don't understand you." The words were soft and raspy, but they still caught her attention. She paused in her brushing, and her humming ceased as she waited to see if I'd say anything else.
I did.
"Anypony else would have killed me already," I mumbled, "yet you've fed me... cared for me... staved off death for me. I have attacked your city, defeated you and your sister several times, foalnapped your subjects." She started brushing my mane again, and I had to pause to stop a low purr escaping.
When I had regained my composure, I continued. "I have done nothing to deserve this... so why do you continue to care for me? The only thing I can think of is you want something that only I can give... but what it is I cannot fathom. What could you possibly gain from all this?" Shifting my head about, I glanced back at her with one eye. "What... what are you planning for me, Celestia?"
Pausing in her brushing, she was silent for a long moment before a small smile--almost nervous in nature--crossed her muzzle. Leaning down, she whispered tentatively in my ear.
"I have something to show you." |
The Masks She Wears | Chapter 03: The Unwavering Sun That Bends | The room was large.
It was nearly the same size as my old throne room, but unlike the latter, this new room was completely bare--no windows and only one door. The walls were plain gray and rose high into the air, where they eventually met with a ceiling of the same color. It was open too; there was enough empty space that I could have taken to the air and flown around comfortably without bumping into anything... if I had the energy, that is.
Despite the spartanness of the room, it wasn't lacking in comfort. The air was warm and just humid enough that it felt right to me. The atmosphere was so balanced that if I closed my eyes, I was sure I could easily fall asleep on my hooves.
It wasn't just the atmosphere either. Everything about the room was precise--the walls were perfectly perpendicular to the floor and ceiling, and every surface had the same area; the room built perfectly square. If I floated in the center of the room, I'd be equal distance from every wall, the ceiling, and the floor.
A giant cube of gray stone.
I took another hopping-step further inside, only to note that an eerie silence blanketed the room--my hoofsteps did not echo. A closer glance revealed that the surface of the floor and walls were slightly porous, covered in tiny holes that not only absorbed most sound, but also provided a surprising amount of traction for my remaining three hooves. I doubted I'd slip even if somepony spilled a barrel of oil beneath me.
I took one more look around the room again, peering through the gloom to see if I had missed something. Darkness claimed most of the room, as the only light source present was the open doorway in which Celestia was currently standing. She was watching me with barely concealed anticipation.
Upon seeing me glance back at her, she perked up. "Well? What do you think?"
"It's... a room," I said plainly.
This earned a giggle from her. "Yes, but what do you think about the room?"
I glanced around again. "It's... a big room?" I wasn't sure what she was looking for. It was just a plain, empty room. When she said she had something she wanted to show me... this wasn't exactly what I had envisioned. I had been expecting something more... well, execution-like? You know, blades, guillotines, hangings, burning at the stake--not that I'd be overly worried about being burned to death. Changelings were very fire-resistant. Sure, we could burn, but it'd take more than the puny fires that ponies could produce.
Oh sure, I'd play along and scream and writhe and shriek... but the minute those ropes turned to ash, I'd be off like a shot. ...
Well... probably not. More like a hop, skip, and a jump. To be honest, I don't think I'd get that far before being recaptured.
Maybe if enough ash got on me, I could convince them I was a ghost?
Well, regardless, a plain room--as strange as it was--wasn't what I had been expecting Celestia to show me.
Lost in thought, I didn't notice Celestia entered the room until she moved slowly past me, her tail almost brushing against my nose as she sauntered by. I scrunched up my muzzle, trying to repress a sneeze.
Stopping in front of me, Celestia glanced around the room as well, a smile present on her muzzle. I watched her curiously, trying to sense what she was feeling. It took a moment--my mind still a little fuzzy--but soon the emotions started to trickle in. Calmness and eagerness were at the foremost of her emotions, but there was also a hint of... nervousness, hidden deep beneath the others.
Nervousness?
Why was she nervous?
What are you planning, Celestia?
"You're right, of course," she agreed. "It is a room... but it's also much more than that. It's a special room, one I had commissioned shortly after your failed invasion of Canterlot." Her wings spread wide as she gestured around her. "This room we are currently standing in is one of--if not the most--secure room in all Canterlot. Maybe even Equestria itself."
"Doesn't seem all that secure," I huffed. Sure, there was only one entrance that I could see, but I'd encountered situations like that before. Like that one griffon who managed to steal my crown from me. He thought it'd be safe locked deep within his family's vault, but my children and I quickly showed him that even a ten-foot-thick wall couldn't keep me from what was rightfully mine. We weren't without heart though. After retrieving my crown, we left something of even greater value in its place before smashing the latch and lock.
Now that I'm remembering it, I wonder if he ever managed to get the vault open again?
If not, I suppose it wouldn't be too hard to convert the old family vault into the family crypt.
Wait, Celestia was talking again. ...
I suppose I should do her the courtesy of listening to her.
"It might not seem secure at first," she was saying, "but I assure you, it is. It took my ponies nearly a month to construct it. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all made from Nullstone. The room is spellproof, fireproof, and even soundproof. Once the door is closed and locked, it is completely isolated from the outside world. No sound can escape it, and nopony can force their way in. Even I couldn't teleport inside if I wanted to."
"So... what? It's an emergency bunker?" I asked, glancing around again. Even as I said that, it didn't seem right. There were no supplies, no stocked food or water, no emergency kits. Nothing that would support somepony for a prolonged stay within. If this was built to house ponies in an emergency, it was planned poorly.
"No, it's not an emergency bunker," Celestia said. She was silent for a moment, and when I glanced back at her I noticed she was fidgeting. Her nervousness was growing stronger.
Eventually, she glanced up at me through her bangs.
"I... I built it for you," she said softly.
"Ah, I see," I said plainly. A chill ran up my spine before I could stop it as the implications of what she had said settled upon my soul. She had built this room--this impregnable, inescapable room--for me... shortly after the invasion.
There was only one reason she'd do such a thing.
"So not a bunker, but a prison," I murmured. Strange, this had happened before, though it had been Twilight, not Celestia, who had imprisoned me. Or, at least tried to. Unlike then, I doubted I would be able to escape this prison with the help of a book.
Strange, though... I felt nothing this time around. Shouldn't I feel some part of fear or something? Was I that resigned to my fate that--
"No."
Blinking in surprise, I turned to look at Celestia. She had fixed me with a look I couldn't identify, and her mane was whipping about in a strange, almost sporadic manner. There was an odd taste in the air.
"No?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"No," she repeated softly. "This was never meant to be your prison. That was never my intent for it." Slowly, a pink blush spread across her cheeks. "If anything, it was meant, in a way... to be mine." She practically squeaked out the last words.
I gave her an incredulous look before letting out a short, barking laugh. "I beg your pardon, but... yours?" She nodded and this caused me to laugh again, though it quickly dissolved into a coughing fit and I had to sit down to catch my breath.
Concern crossed Celestia's face, but I waved her off when she started to approach. She stood off to the side until I managed to get my breathing back under control.
Wiping a few strands of drool from my chin, I sneered at the alicorn. "This room is supposed to be your prison? Prison... heh. Please, don't make me laugh. As if your precious ponies would stand for you being locked up, even by your own hoof. You could kill somepony and your subjects would turn a blind eye in a heartbeat."
This caused her to flinch and she looked away.
I grinned. "Hit that one right on the head, didn't I?"
She was quiet for a moment, staring intently at the floor before her hooves. "Prison... might have been the wrong word for it."
"Explain," I rasped. "If it's not built for me, and it's not a prison for you... what is the purpose of this room of yours?"
Again, silence fell upon the room as I stared at Celestia, and she stared at the floor. Seconds stretched into minutes, yet still she didn't respond.
I had just opened my mouth to repeat myself when she finally spoke.
"I've always had to be the strongest," she said softly, her voice so quiet I could barely hear her. "Even before Luna's banishment, both her and I needed to be strong. Strong against Discord, strong against Sombra, strong against Tirek... so many enemies that threatened our ponies in those early days. Luna and I were the only thing standing between them.
"After Luna's banishment, it got worse," she continued, finally glancing up at me. "With her gone, I had to stand for both the Night and the Day. I had to be stronger than ever before, something that your predecessor learned the hard way." She gave my holey legs a pointed look.
Setting back upon my haunches, I lifted my foreleg and eyed the appendage myself. "You weren't strong enough to kill her though, or else we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"No, I didn't kill her," Celestia said with a nod. "I always try to avoid killing whenever able, but I had to leave a lasting impression upon the rest of the world. I had to show them what happened to those who'd threaten my ponies. I had to be an unstoppable force... an immovable object. A new threat would rise, and I'd have to protect Equestria from it. In time, I became so powerful that there were very few things that could stand against me."
She paused and licked her lips. As she continued speaking, she began to circle around me, her hoofsteps muffled upon the porous floor.
"Eventually, peace came and with it, I was able to finally relax." My head craned about as I attempted to keep an eye on her without moving from my seated position. "My strength began to wane, but not enough that I couldn't still protect my ponies from the occasional threat. Only the ones that they themselves were unable to deal with.
"My ponies became resourceful," she continued, and I could taste the pride wafting off her at these words, "and they eventually were able to start looking after themselves. However, like a foal exploring the new world around it, they always seemed to come back to me for guidance and protection from the unknown."
Like foals, I thought, and a faint wave of sadness washed over me. My children... my changelings.
Luckily, Celestia didn't seem to notice the slight frown that crossed my face. "Centuries came and went, and I alone was the pillar of strength for Equestria--the Unwavering Sun. That is, until a new alicorn emerged. One whom you are intimately familiar with." At this, she shot me a cool glance.
I returned the look. "The insides of her mare bits are neon blue, in case you're curious."
Ignoring my quip, she continued speaking even as she came to a stop in front of me. "She was young, of course. Far too young to take on the full weight of my responsibility. But still, I cared for her, I raised her, and I watched as she grew into the mare she is today. Another pillar that could support Equestria alongside me--the Unquenchable Love that the land deserved."
"This is all well and good," I growled, "but I'm growing tired of your exposition. What does all this have to do with me and you and this room?"
"I'm getting to that," she said with a small frown. "As I was saying, it wasn't long after I found Cadance that the Elements of Harmony were discovered again, and my sister returned from her banishment. We then had three alicorns, where once there had only been me. Three alicorns able to support and protect all Equestria, with the Elements of Harmony to back us up. The country had never been safer.
"But then you arrived."
I winced, subconsciously smacking my lips before I could stop myself as a weird cocktail of emotions permeated the room. A shiver ran down my spine at the look she suddenly leveled my way.
"You and your swarm, filling the skies and blocking out my sun. You arrived and drove all that into the dust--everything I worked for. Centuries of planning, centuries of building, centuries of preparing... all for nothing." With each word, she stalked forward until she loomed over me, her wings spread wide.
Okay... getting a little worried here.
"You foalnapped and imprisoned my niece without anypony noticing," Celestia growled, her voice icy as she continued to list off, "you infiltrated our capital during a military lockdown, you tricked my sister into leaving the palace on a wild goose chase, you brainwashed my Captain of the Guard, broke through one of the strongest barriers we ponies could generate, you attacked the city, and you overpowered me in a direct fight."
Her nose pressed up against mine, and I forced myself to not wince at the twinge of pain that flashed through me when she put pressure on my injured muzzle. I stared up at her with wide eyes as her mane flowed like fire, the temperature in the room growing slightly. There was a look in her eyes I had never seen before, even back when we had fought during the wedding.
It was almost... worrying. Is this how I finally die?
"You defeated me in a head-to-head battle," she said in a deadly whisper. "You defeated me in front of my subjects... in front of my niece... in front of my student. For the first time in my entire life, I felt actual fear. I'd never felt true fear before. I'd never felt so incompetent. I'd never felt so... so completely and utterly inferior."
I was sweating now. The room had become so hot that heat waves were rippling through the air. It seemed that I had been correct--even though she had denied it, I'd known that Celestia held a grudge for the wedding. The nature of the room was now clear to me. This was never meant to be a prison.
It was meant to be a tomb.
In here, she could vaporize me with the full power of her sun without risking the lives of her ponies or any other innocent bystanders. She didn't have to hold back in here as none of her magic would be able to escape. This was why she had the room built. This was why she brought me here. She wanted to prove once and for all that she was stronger than me.
It was almost laughable. Celestia--Avatar of the Sun and co-ruler of one of the most powerful nations in the world--had to prove that she had the bigger ovaries before sending me off to see my predecessors in the Beyond.
I braced myself as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I have never felt so turned on before."
It took a second for my mind to truly process what she said. Even then, the words bounced around my head for a few more moments before it actually clicked. All my previous worry and fear died, replaced instead by pure bewilderment.
Deadpanning, I blinked owlishly up at her. "Wat?"
"I've had my fair share of lovers in the past," Celestia continued softly, ignoring my outburst. "Consorts, both stallions and mares, all whom I've bedded, all in secret. And none of them... not a single one... ever made me feel the level of submissiveness that I felt because of you that day." She kept her nose pressed against mine. Her hot breath washed over my face, bringing with it the scent of vanilla.
"Submissiveness?" I mumbled, my ears splayed back in confusion.
Celestia nodded gently, the tip of her muzzle brushing against mine. "When we dueled during the wedding, despite how brief it was, I still felt your power. I saw how strong you were... how quickly and effortlessly you were able to overpower me. It wasn't something I'd ever experienced before. The helplessness, the realization that there was somepony out there that was stronger than me, and the knowledge that there was nothing I could do to stop you. It was all so... so..." She paused and a shiver ran through her body.
"So exciting," she breathed.
I could no longer sense any anger coming from the mare before me. Instead, a new emotion was making itself known, one which, combined with the spicy scent slowly filling the room as well, brought a faint greenish hue to my cheeks. Oh... oh sweet hivemothers. There's no way that she's... she's...
Closing her eyes, Celestia tried to compose herself by taking a deep, steadying breath. When she opened them again, there was an eagerness to her gaze, as well as a faint hint of... something else. Nervousness?
Worry?
Damn this drug, I can't sense emotions as well as I used to.
"I've been strong... immovable... for far too long," Celestia said quietly, yet still loud enough to pull me from my thoughts. "I've ruled this country, ruled over hundreds of thousands of ponies for over a thousand years. I've shown no weakness, I've known no relief. I was the one that needed to be strong... to be unbending... to be the guide and guardian. So, when I saw you standing above me in all your glory, it... it was amazing."
She paused, nibbling on her lip as another shiver ran down her spine. By her sides, her wings began to flare slightly.
"For the first time in my life... it wasn't me, but you who were in control," she whispered. "You were the one in charge. You were the one who determined what would happen. The helpless feeling... it was so alien to me, and yet I loved it. I need more of it. That's why I built this room. That's why I hunted you down. That's why I saved you."
"Celestia," I growled, a tattered ear flapping against my head. "I'm tired and drugged and my thoughts are so sluggish that I'm having trouble concentrating." My eyes narrowed and I glared at her. "Stop skirting around the issue and kindly get... to... the... point!"
She was silent, worrying away at her lip while giving me a worried look. Her tail flicked back and forth, as if lashing out at invisible flies.
"I want to offer you a trade," she said finally. "One that will be beneficial to both of us."
I cocked an eyebrow. "I'm listening."
"I am willing to allow you to feed upon me, to feed upon my love," she said, stepping forward. "And in exchange, you allow me to experience that feeling of submissiveness once more."
"You... want me... to dominate you?" I gave her an incredulous look, and she nodded. "Sexually?" Again, she nodded, and I let out a choking laugh as everything became clear. This earned me a startled gasp from Celestia, but I ignored her.
Tremors racked my body as I continued to wheeze and laugh. Pain flared in the corners of my mouth as the sutures broke, and I could feel a trickle of blood-mixed saliva trail down my chin. A touch of mania might have worked its way into my laughter, but I couldn't help it. Who would have known that the Princess of the Sun had a domination fetish!
"You lied, Celestia," I cackled. "You said this room isn't a dungeon, but it is. It's a hive-damned sex dungeon!"
"N-no it's not!" Celestia squawked, although her face turned a lovely shade of dark pink
"Oh, this is grand," I sneered. "Celestia, Paragon of Freedom, hunted down one of the most wanted criminals in the world, not for justice or vengeance... but because she wanted to have her itch scratched. I must be dead, cause there's no way this is happening." I laughed again, only to wince as the pain in my jaw finally caught up with me.
Running a hoof through my shortened mess of mane, I took a deep breath to compose myself. "So, that's the deal, huh? You and I bump uglies or else you pull the medical care, toss me out into the wilderness, and leave me to fend for myself again? Sounds like you've got me by the teats here, Princess."
"Good heavens, no," Celestia said. The blush had faded from her cheeks, but it hadn't vanished completely. "We would never do such a thing! Your injuries will still be tended to and you'll still be allowed to remain in the palace. We'll even be providing you with love, courtesy of... um--" she paused, giving me a quick glance before continuing "--courtesy of our... local producers."
"Don't sugarcoat your words, Celestia," I grunted. "I'm well aware of where you're getting the love."
She nodded stiffly. "Of course. As I was saying, your biological needs will be met. The deal is a standing offer, one that will not affect your treatment. It was just an offer that would benefit us both."
"It benefits one of us more than the other," I said with a smirk.
She had the decency to blush at that.
Rising to my hooves, I slowly made my way over, all while trying to sway my hips as I walked. Sadly, due to my missing leg, my gait was more of an awkward stumbling hop than the seductive sashaying I was going for. It appeared that it had some of the desired effect though, as Celestia's face flushed a darker shade of pink as I approached.
I stopped in front of her, our chests nearly touching as I was forced to peer upwards to meet her gaze. In all our previous encounters, I had never realized just how tall she was--she could easily rest her chin on the top of my head if she wished. Despite the height difference, I appeared to be the one in control at the moment, if her upturned ears and shallow breaths were anything to go by.
"So, that's it then," I breathed, the tip of my muzzle inches from hers. I could see her nostrils flaring as she tried to time her inhales with my exhales. "This is what the mighty Celestia craves. To be dominated--to be put in her place--by someone who is stronger than her."
She shivered, and I pressed the attack.
"It is, isn't it?" I practically purred. "You want to feel powerless as you're held down and used for someone else's pleasure. You want to be removed from your high pedestal and have your face forced between someone's thighs. You want to twitch and squirm and moan as someone plays with your helpless body. You want to be a toy for someone else's amusement."
Celestia's breaths were coming in short gasps now, and small tremors shook her body. She stared down at me through hooded eyes, her lips parted slightly--eagerly waiting to be claimed by mine. A faint hint of arousal filled the air as her tail whipped back and forth.
"That's what you want from me?" I asked. Moving forward, I finally allowed my nose to touch hers. Almost instantly, she seemed to almost swoon, and she swayed about on her hooves. Her nose never left mine though; if anything, she pushed back against mine even more firmly.
"For me to claim you as my own?" I whispered.
Slowly, we both tilted our heads to the side. Celestia's eyes closed, her lips puckered, and she began to lean forward tentatively, inching ever so closer to mine. I could feel her breath on my lips--quick and sporadic, with the faintest hint of the scent of vanilla to it. Her anticipation and nervousness was sapid, the flavor making my mouth water once more.
Her trembling lips were separated from mine by a mere hair's breadth.
"Celestia," I breathed longingly, and her ear twitched in response. After a moment wait, a sneer flashed across my muzzle. "Do you think I was born yesterday?" Immediately, I pulled away, and Celestia nearly fell as she stumbled forward.
She blinked, her mind no doubt attempting to catch up with the sudden turn of events. "W-what?"
Trying to walk with as much dignity and grace as possible, I began to circle around her, much in the same manner she had done to me earlier. "Do you think I'm stupid?" I continued. "Did you really think that I was naive enough to sharpen my own executioner's axe?"
"What are you...?"
"Don't play clueless with me, Princess," I rasped. "I know exactly what it was you were trying to do." Despite the pain in my jaw, I allowed a feral-like grin to work its way across my face. "It was very clever though, and I must say, I'm rather impressed someone like you would do something so underhanded."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Celestia said, her ears splaying back.
"Oh please." I rolled my eyes. "What do you take me for, a foal? I know how this works. The minute I move to do anything to you--to claim you, to mark you, to indulge myself--your sister is going to burst in here with dozens of guards and that will be the end of me."
She gaped at me, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
"It was the perfect plan too," I chuckled, "because you get to keep your pure image. I can see the stories now. The world will see you offer aid to a fallen foe. That foe then turns on you and you regrettably need to put her down." Sneering up at her, I shook my head. "You are still seen as the benevolent ruler, and I get put out to the great pasture in the sky. A win-win for you."
"I would never--" she began, raising a hoof to her chest.
"Unfortunately for you, dear Celestia, I don't play that way," I grunted. "I give you the same response I gave that bitch when she offered me her hoof. If you want me dead, you'll have to do it yourself." With that, I turned and, whipping her nose with my tail, I stalked shakily towards the door, leaving the Sun Princess standing alone in the center of her empty room.
The four guards stiffened as I limped into the hallway, their spears lowering slightly in my direction. One of them glanced into the room, no doubt checking on Celestia. Out of the corner of my eye I could still see her, her wings lowered and her head bowed low to the floor.
I ignored the guards' actions and instead gave the leader a blank look. "Take me back to my room. We're done here."
She hesitated for a moment--her eyes flicking back to the door I had just exited--but then she nodded and started off down the hall. I followed along, using the wall as support as the guards led me back to the medical ward.
As we went, my mind wandered back to the look on Celestia's face when I had refused. I wanted to smirk at my triumph--as minute as it was--but I found that I just couldn't do it. Her expression hadn't been one of somepony whose plans had just failed. Instead, the corners of my mouth tugged downwards. It had been a different look--one that I had seen before.
It was the same look that had been on her student's face when I had been masquerading as the pink alicorn. It was a look of pain; a look of distress. It was a look I had seen on countless faces before, and never once had it even fazed me. So then, why... why this time, did it bother me? Why did the faint taste of sorrow and sadness that trickled down the hall behind me cause my stomach to clench into knots?
Silently, I limped down the hall, lost in my thoughts...
...and behind me, the Unwavering Sun of Equestria remained bent low. |
The Masks She Wears | Chapter 04: Love Thy Enemies... | The orange-and-red bird bobbed up and down upon my back as I retched into the toilet again. Pink-tinted saliva and bile dribbled from my lips, dripping down into the toilet water below. Swirls of glowing pink and deep emerald were already present, and they twisted and bled together as the water rippled with each new drop.
I had a moment to catch my breath before my chest heaved painfully and I retched again, emerald specks splattering across the insides of the porcelain bowl. A thin strand of pink hung from my bottom lip. It trembled with each rasping breath I took.
This time I was actually able to spit out a glob of bile before the next wave hit me. My belly was empty though, so I just dry-heaved, my stomach clenching uselessly as it tried to expel non-existent substances. It felt like the organ was trying to rip itself free and force itself up my throat. I gagged at the feeling, half-expecting it to come falling from my lips and into the toilet.
Giving one last retch, I laid there, draped across the toilet seat. I rested my head against my foreleg, gazing blankly down into the multi-colored water below me. For once, I was actually glad that the ponies had sheared my mane down to a shorter length; it was no longer long enough to fall into the tainted waters.
A small belch escaped me, and I grimaced at the taste.
"So undignified," I muttered, closing my eyes.
Upon my back, the bird chirped loudly and readjusted its perch, hopping from one claw to the other as it fluffed its wings. It was surprisingly careful to not step upon my still-bruised elytra and wings. Still, it's presence here was an annoyance--the bloody thing arrived shortly after I made a mad dash for the bathroom.
An unwanted witness to a not-so-flattering task.
Without moving, I growled up at the thing. "Why can't you let me suffer in peace?"
It chirped again before hopping up to stand upon the back of my head.
"Buzz off, you overgrown buzzard," I croaked, fighting to not heave again. "I'm not dead yet."
The bird chirped for a third time before pecking at my skull. It then proceeded to pull several strands of my mane out and tucked them beneath one of its wings.
I shook my head weakly, but couldn't dislodge the bird. "I swear by my broken egg, if you keep doing that, I'll roast you alive and eat your charred meat."
The bird paused...
"That's better," I grunted.
...before tugging out one last hair.
"Insolent whelp!" I snarled, whipping my head up and sending the bird flying. "Your succulent dark meat is min--herk!" My stomach lurched suddenly, and I gagged as my throat tightened. I barely had time to shove my face back into the toilet bowl before I retched. A spray of emerald green droplets splattered into the water below.
"By the Hive, why?" I whined as the bird settled back down upon my back. "There's nothing left in my stomach to get rid of! It's empty!" Brushing hair from my eyes, I went back to leaning upon the toilet. I rested my head against its side, grateful for the coolness it provided. Thank goodness nopony was here to witness this.
My ears twitched at the sound of approaching hooves. It would appear I spoke too soon. Figures. I have gone a few hours without losing more of my dignity. I'm due for some more humiliation.
Grumbling softly to myself, I frowned. It was strange. I didn't even hear the door to my room open. As the hoofsteps grew closer, I debated whether I should quickly stand up and make this as dignified as possible... or simply remain where I was and make a mental note to dispose of whoever it was that found me in such a state.
A twinge from my stomach forced me to lean towards the latter.
I hope it's a pegasus; my pillow could use a refeathering.
The pony paused in the doorway and the pony made a confused sounding huff. Cracking an eye open, I peered around, only to close it again with a groan upon seeing Honest Practice standing there. She had a bemused look on her face, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. Of all the damnable ponies to show up...
Whatever little dignity I have left--and trust me, there wasn't much left to begin with--vanished when I tasted the amusement trickling from her.
"Oh, the irony here is delicious," she said.
"What are you doing here?" I rasped, not opening my eyes. "I thought you had the day off."
"You do realize that another name for a toilet is a 'porcelain throne'?" she continued as though she hadn't heard me. "And here you are. A queen upon the throne. I wish I had a camera, because none of my coworkers will ever believe me when I tell them about this."
The bird on my back squawked and flapped its wings.
"I brought your entire city to its knees once," I muttered. "You were all at my mercy. I could have ended all of you if I so wished. Tossed your sacs off the edge of the mountain." The porcelain my face was pressed against had lost its coolness, so I began dragging my cheek along the side of the bowl, searching for another spot. As I slid, I made a soft whistling sound. "Hweeeuw, right down to the ground. Splat."
"And yet, look at you now," Honest Practice cooed, moving further into the bathroom. "With your face where most ponies put their plots."
My ear twitched against the toilet bowl.
"You just moved up my list. Your pelt will look lovely as a decorative throw blanket." I swallowed, only to wince at the foul taste clinging to my tongue. "Why are you here?" I asked again. "You told me you had the day off. I was looking forward to not having to deal with you today."
"So was I," she said stiffly. "However, you scared the rest of the doctors off with your little stunt, so they had to call me back in. Now, thanks to you, we both have to deal with each other."
With a cheek pressed against the porcelain, I smirked.
Overnight, my condition had improved immensely. Sure, I wasn't fully healed yet--that would still take several more days at my current intake of love--but I was certainly in better shape than I had been when I had first arrived. My various wounds had stopped bleeding some time during the night, the exposed flesh now just tender and scabbed over. The bandages that covered my stump no longer bore splotches of green ichor upon them. The corners of my mouth were still chapped and cracked, but no longer needed to be held together by sutures and tape. My chitin plates were still damaged as well, though there was no hope to heal those; it'd take a good molting for those to be repaired.
That was something I was not looking forward to in the near future.
An early morning trip to the bathroom had also revealed that, while still sore and awkward, I could manage to walk on my own without needing to use the wall for support. Although, I wasn't entirely sure I'd ever be able to get used to walking with three legs.
Especially seeing as the gait it left me with was completely undignified.
Seriously, how will anypony take me seriously if I'm hop-hop-hopping along like a half-witted fool? All their fear would flee their body upon seeing me walk. 'Yes, step into my parlor, little ones'--hop hop hop.
I can hear the laughter already.
Might as well just put rabbit ears on me and shove a cotton tail up my rump for as good for my self-image that'll be.
Chrysalis, the Bunny Queen... ...
Ugh, I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.
Wait... my stomach is currently empty.
Well, never mind then...
Loss of my formidable stride aside, apparently the speed of my recovery was unexpected, given the startled reactions from the medical ponies that were assigned to me. The doctor who had come to check up on me in the morning had expected to find me still bedridden. Thus, the fool nearly fainted from shock--and a fair amount of fear--when he came muzzle to muzzle with me only a few steps into the room. His scream caused the guards to come running, and I would have had a bit more concern for myself had the pair not promptly slipped in the puddle the good doctor had left on the floor.
Yellow on white had never looked so good.
Once the mess had been cleaned up and the medical staff had discovered just how much I had healed over the night, they subjected me to a plethora of physical tests, much to my growing annoyance. Go here, stand there, open your wings, trot in place, bend your neck this way and that; at one point I almost expected them to instruct me to stand on my head and whistle a ditty.
It was when one of the more uppity doctors told me to turn around and flag my tail that I finally snapped. The only thing that saved his worthless hide was my missing leg. Still, the sound of him squealing as he shot off down the hall leaving a trail of urine behind was music to my ears. And the fact the guards had to clean up another mess just added to the warm, fuzzy feeling in my chest.
Maybe I'm not as pathetic without my legs as I previously thought. I mean, I made two ponies piss themselves in the span of a few short hours. Perhaps I could work with this after all... ...
Anyways, after that, the majority of the asinine doctors seemed to get the message. Deciding that it wasn't worth any potential loss of limb themselves, they retreated hastily, leaving me alone with my own devices.
"They're lucky I'm not at full power yet," I grumbled. "Annoying little gnats. They act like I don't even know my own body. They treat me as though I can't take care of myself."
"Uh-huh," Honest Practice hummed. "And how, pray tell, did you end up in this current predicament again?"
"It's just a little bout of queasiness," I answered a little too quickly.
"Oh really?" came the reply, and I could feel the eyebrow raise she leveled at the back of my head.
"Yes."
"You didn't happen to do anything at all that might have caused this?"
"No."
"..."
"..."
"...you ate the love bag, didn't you?"
"What? No! Don't be ridiculous. Why would I do something stupid like that?"
She was silent for a few seconds before a wet smack came from beside the toilet. Cracking open an eye, I glanced down only to see the empty love bag--the top half torn open--lying on the floor beside the toilet. The sight of it caused my stomach to clench, and I was forced to shove my face into the toilet bowl as I dry-heaved again.
"You ate the love bag." It wasn't a question.
"Of course I did!" I growled, staring down into the swirling colored water. "It's a bag of love! Love! I'm a changeling! I'm hungry! What did you expect me to do?" Finally pulling my head from the bowl, I reached over and flushed away the remainder of my filth. Shakily getting to my hooves, I stumbled from the bathroom.
"And this is why we act like you can't take care of yourself," Honest Practice said as she followed behind me.
"You told me I could eat solid foods again!" I shot back. Making my way across the room, I clambered onto the bed, nestling down on top of the blankets. The bird, having apparently gotten all the hair it wanted, promptly vanished. How it escaped the room, I do not know, as the door was currently closed.
As I tucked my legs beneath me, the nurse approached the bedside.
"You can eat solid foods!"
"Then it's not my fault your bag of love made me sick!" I growled. "It's clear that your source--" I spat the word "--is incompetent when it comes to the art of lovemaking."
"Well, of course it made you sick!" she snorted, stamping a hoof. "It had chemicals and meds and solutions in it! It's not meant to go in your stomach! It's meant to go in your veins!" Lighting up her horn, she waved a new, unopened love bag in my face. "You basically consumed two-thousand milliliters of tainted love!"
"Well, I needed something in my stomach," I sneered at her. "I am ravenous!"
She gave me a skeptical frown. "I highly doubt that. We've had you on a love IV drip since you've arrived."
"Yes, and the majority of that went towards healing myself," I huffed. "I could either consume all that love as food and die of a broken body with a full stomach... or I could use the love to heal myself and remain starved." Shifting slightly, I pulled my only foreleg free and gestured at my body with it. As I did so, I gave the nurse a pointed look. "You can see which path I chose to take."
"You're telling me," Honest Practice said slowly, "that all that love we pumped into you... none of it kept? You got no sustenance from it? You just flushed it all through your system to make repairs?"
At that moment, my stomach decided to prove my point as a loud grumble filled the room. It was an echoing kind of grumble, the type that more akin to a growl of a predator.
"The body might be recovering, but the stomach is still empty," I grumbled.
She opened her mouth to rebuke me, but the words died on her lips when the door to the room suddenly swung open. Instead, what came out was "P-princess Celestia! What... what are you doing here?"
"I came to check up on our patient," Celestia answered. She stepped gracefully into the room, a small, peaceful smile on her muzzle. Outside, I could see four guards standing about--the two that usually guarded my room, and the two that she probably brought with her.
"Did I hear that correctly? Somepony is hungry? Well, we can't have that!" she continued as she turned her gaze towards me.
I said nothing, my eyes narrowing as I studied her. Despite our interactions yesterday, she gave off no negative emotions. I had been expecting a bit of sorrow or hurt or even anger, but she only radiated a calm sense of contentment.
Strange...
It took me a moment to realize that Celestia had been appraising me as well, looking up and down my body even as I laid nestled on top of the sheets. I felt like her gaze lingered longer on my flank than anywhere else, but I couldn't be entirely sure.
Flicking the tattered remains of my tail over my rump in a failed attempt to cover it, I gave her a deadpan look. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, forgive me," she said. "It's just... you've only been here for a few days, but your wounds look practically healed. Your rate of recovery is surprising. A normal pony wouldn't be conscious yet, let alone walking and talking as you are."
Lifting my forehoof, I examined it with disinterest. "That's because your ponies are not changeling queens. Unlike you fleshly little things, changelings can heal quickly from most injuries. Queen, even faster. So long as we're given enough love, that is." I shot a sideways glance at Honest Practice. "If proper care is given, anything less than a killing blow can easily be survived by the weakest amongst us. Given enough love and we can turn months of recovery into weeks, or even days.
"That's why when the little Harlot of Love and her hubby blasted us across the countryside, most of my children survived," I continued. "They were still saturated with collected love. Granted, once they were done healing themselves, we were back at square one," I added under my breath.
Celestia nodded in understanding, a thoughtful look on her face, but Honest Practice cocked her head to the side. "If that is the case, why were you in such critical condition when the Princess brought you in?"
"Because," I growled, "I was starving to death, you fool. It's rather hard to heal oneself with love when there's not enough love in one's system to live by! Even now, I find my body needing to choose between feedings itself or healing itself. As I said before, I am ravenous!"
"Well then, we best get you something to eat!" Celestia chirped happily. Her horn began to glow, and suddenly a wheelchair rolled up beside her. She gave me an expectant look as she parked it next to the bed.
I stared blankly at it for a few seconds before it dawned on me what she was waiting for. "No. Absolutely not."
Celestia blinked. "What?"
"I am not getting in that thing," I growled.
"But, I'm taking you to get something to eat."
"I'm well aware," I huffed, "but I'm not an invalid. Wherever we are going, I am more than capable of walking there under my own power."
"It's a long walk," Celestia said as she rolled the wheelchair back and forth. It bumped gently against the side of the bed.
Lighting up my own horn, I stopped the bumping. "I. Don't. Care." Surprisingly, instead of being hurt, I could sense a thin trickle of... playfulness coming from Celestia, even as a pout crossed her lips.
"Um, excuse me," Honest Practice interrupted by clearing her throat. Both Celestia and I jumped, both of us forgetting that the smaller pony was there.
"Yes?" Celestia asked.
"As much as I'm loathed to agree with her," Honest said, "I'm afraid my patient isn't going anywhere. She has not been cleared to leave yet."
"Well, doctor knows best," I rasped, chuckling weakly.
"There's still a few more tests I want to run," she continued, levitating a clipboard over. "We need a few blood samples, a quick check of her vitals, and some more physical therapy. Plus, we need to rehydrate her after her... purging earlier."
"You fucking traitor," I growled, glaring down at her.
"I'm doing my job," she shot back. "You'll leave here only when I say you're ready to."
"Well," Celestia said, drawing our attention back to her. A scroll hovered by her head, and she unrolled it with a smile, "that's not entirely true, Nurse Practice."
The nurse deadpanned. "Say what?"
"I'm happy to say that she has already been cleared to leave," Celestia continued happily. "The other doctors assigned to her informed me earlier that she is well enough to be released into my care."
"Was that before or after she scared the pee out of them?" Honest asked, her eyes narrowing.
"Doesn't matter," I huffed. "I'm still not going anywhere in that thing."
Turning to look at me, Celestia's bottom lip began to tremble. "Oh, Chrysalis... it's only a tiny, little wheelchair."
"What part of 'no' don't you understand?"
"I'm just looking out for your health."
"I'd rather have my other leg fall off."
The frown left Celestia's face, and I sensed her amusement dry up. "Chrysalis. Get in the chair."
"Bite me," was my reply.
"Get in the chair," she repeated, her eyes narrowing.
"Take your chair and stuff it where your sun doesn't shine."
There was a spike of annoyance.
Celestia stamped a hoof against the floor. "You are leaving this room in this wheelchair and that's final!"
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
I could sense the faintest amounts of annoyance radiating off of Celestia as we slowly made our way down the corridor. A small smirk touched my muzzle, although I ignored her for the most part, choosing instead to focus on the movement of my hooves.
Front... back back.
Front... back back.
Front... back back.
"Hive damn it," I grumbled under my breath. The gait was awkward, and despite practicing it earlier this morning, I still found myself trying occasionally to use the leg that wasn't there. As such, I stumbled often--much to my exasperation--and Celestia had to stop more than once to allow me to resituate myself and catch up with her. She didn't say anything, but each time it happened, I could feel her annoyance spike just a little.
I wasn't doing it on purpose, but each time I felt the increase in her irritation, I couldn't help but grin to myself. Victory is mine! I might have been a crumbling fragment of my former self, but at least I still had my dignity.
So, why did I feel like something was off?
The more I pondered, the more I realized that it was Celestia's annoyance that was throwing me off. It was present, no doubt about that, but it was muted. It didn't feel like the irritation one would feel if they had just lost a battle of wits to someone as devious and cunning as I.
No, instead... it felt... weaker, with an aftertaste of barely concealed amusement. Almost like when a caretaker is watching a nymph make a fool of themselves, but the nymph is too stubborn to listen... to... reason... ...
Well, fuck you too, Celestia.
This was clearly petty payback for foiling her attempt yesterday.
I wonder...
Curious about what other emotions she might be trying to suppress, I dug a little deeper, only to frown upon finding... nothing. No obvious negative emotions. There was the amused-tainted irritation, some faint traces of boredom--oh, I'm sooo sorry that my bunny hopping around isn't more entertaining for you--and a good smidgen of calmness.
I couldn't sense anything else present. No sadness, no anger, no distress. Nothing that indicated anything happened yesterday. Why wasn't she more upset that I foiled her plan? Even the hurt I had seen on her face upon leaving yesterday wasn't present.
Could she be hiding the emotions? ...
No, Celestia might have been a good actor, but nobody could hide their emotions from me completely. It might take a little digging, but I will always find it.
So... why wasn't there any present within Celestia at the moment? ...
What that... gah!
I had been so immersed in thought that I had completely forgotten about my missing leg again and had attempted to use it. With nothing to support myself, I staggered forward, barely stopping myself from falling by collapsing upon the wall for support. Pain lanced across my shoulder and down my spine as my stump took the force of the impact. Stars exploded in front of my eyes.
"By my fucking teats!" I growled.
Celestia glance back at me from where she stopped a few paces ahead. The spike of annoyance came alongside the cock of an eyebrow.
"You wouldn't have this problem if you had just used the wheelchair," she said.
"Kind of hard to use a broken wheelchair," I shot back.
She snorted at this. "It wasn't broken until you embedded it into the wall."
"Oops," I deadpanned.
Rolling her eyes, Celestia sighed before turning and slowly walking back to my side. "Why are you being so difficult about this?" she asked. "I was only trying to help."
"I don't need your help," I huffed. "I can manage on my own."
"With the wheelchair, we would have been there already."
"I can manage... on my own." I glared up at her.
She said nothing, but glanced between me and the wall with a rather pointed look.
"Oh, like you'd be able to walk perfectly with three legs right off the bat," I growled. "How about I rip your leg off and then you can show me how the pretentious, pretty little princess can hobble about with perfect pose, hmmm?"
Surprise flared up inside her, and Celestia took a step back. "I didn't mean to imply..."
"I'm well aware of what you meant," I grumbled. Taking a breath, I pushed myself off of the wall and back onto my hooves. "Let's go before my hunger turns the rest of me to brittle ash." Keeping close to the wall in case I had to support myself again, I moved along, watching my hooves closely as I went.
Celestia was still for a moment before moving to walk beside me once more.
I tried to keep a steady pace but soon found myself a little short of breath. My remaining limbs burned, and it took a good deal of concentration in order to keep my balance. Apparently walking around a small hospital room all morning was not the same as walking down a serious of long, winding corridors.
Who would have guessed?
It wasn't long before my condition became painfully apparent. My breaths came in short, ragged gasps, and my steps were less hop-like and more of a weird three-legged shuffle.
I caught Celestia giving me a concerned look at of the corner of my eye.
"Are you sure you don't want the wheelchair?" she asked.
I returned her question with a glare.
"How much further is it?" I rasped out.
She sighed. "It's just around the corner."
"Then I will manage," I growled out.
True to her word, as we rounded the corner, the dining hall came into view. Two guards were positioned on either side of the gilded double doors, and they snapped to attention as Celestia neared. Upon spying me though, they tensed and readied their spears.
"At ease," Celestia said softly, brushing the tips of their spears with her wings.
"Princess." The one on the left returned to attention; the one on the right, however, continued to level her spear at me, glaring out from beneath her helmet. I could taste the hatred leaking off of her, but it was almost... hiding something.
I decided to dig a little deeper.
"Sergeant, stand down," Celestia said, a little more firmly. "She is not a threat!"
That caused me to pause. Not... not a threat? Is she serious? Oh, Celestia... have you learned nothing from dealing with me? How many times have I managed to get the drop on you and your ponies? Always... always assume that I am a threat.
At all times.
No exceptions.
At Celestia's words, the mare's gaze flicked back to her for a moment before returning firmly to me.
"How do you know?" she asked. She tried to sound cold, but I could still pick up the faint tremble in her words. "How do you know she won't try something?"
Ah! There it is. Beneath the anger and the hatred, a nice big heaping helping of fear. She was afraid of me. Or of what I could do. I wonder... could she have been one of the guards at the wedding? ...
Bah, it didn't matter. I was starving, and the mare was in the way.
Celestia opened her mouth to answer the guard, but I shoved past her. "Chrysalis, what are you...?!" Ignoring her, I leaned forward, jamming the tip of the mare's spear into my neck. Not enough to break my chitin, but enough that it dug into the brittle shell.
The guardmare flinched at my sudden movement, her eyes widening.
"Kill me or move aside," I rasped, still breathing heavily. "Either way, make your decision quickly and stop wasting my time. I didn't drag myself all the way down here just to die of starvation at the threshold."
The mare said nothing, but I could sense the anger fading and the defeat taking its place.
After a moment of silence, I huffed. "That's what I thought." I shoved the spear aside, and it fell from her hooves with a clatter. Sidestepping around the pitiful excuse for a guard, I forced the dining room doors open with my shoulder.
As I slunk inside, Celestia tsk softly before following.
"That was unnecessary," she said when the doors had closed behind us.
"Only fools make threats they're not prepared to carry out," I grumbled as I study the room we had just entered.
It was a surprisingly small banquet hall. A long table sat in the middle of the room and had the capacity to sit twelve ponies comfortably. Stained glass windows lined the walls, allowing in natural light that sparkled around the room in reds and blues and yellows and greens. Marble pillars sat in the corners, supporting a ceiling that bore a mosaic of Celestia and Luna chasing their perspective heavenly bodies across the aether. A single chandelier hung from the center of the scene.
As I glanced around, Celestia moved past me. Making her way over to the table, she ignored the large cushion at the head and instead picked one of the few along the side. She took a moment to get settled, her legs folding beneath her barrel gracefully, before giving me an expectant look.
Snorting, I limped over to the cushion across the table from her and proceeded to collapse upon it. Much to my surprise, it was actually fairly comfortable. A low grown escaped me as my aching limbs were finally able to relax.
"Are you in pain?" Celestia asked, a faint hint of concern coming from her.
"I'm fine," I grunted. She opened her mouth again, but I cut her off. "My legs might be a little sore, but it's my stomach that is currently bothering me the most." I gave her a pointed look, even as my stomach growled softly. My body was already missing the IV bag, and I could feel my meager store of love fading as my injuries attempted to fix themselves. "Either IV me or feed me, Celestia, but whatever you do, do it fast."
She stared at me for a moment before raising her head and letting out a soft whistle. No sooner had the sound faded then a maid appeared at the table, a tray balanced skillfully upon her back. With practiced ease, she began distributing the dishes.
A large bowl of salad was placed in front of Celestia--a mixture of lettuce, noodles, blackberries, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, and strawberries, with a thick blue cheese dressing drizzled over the top. A small cup of croutons was placed down beside the salad, and Celestia snacked on a few as the maid continued to unload her tray.
Next, the mare laid out a few plates and bowls of various fruits and vegetables, many of them seasoned with sugar or salt, such as the cooked apples dusted with brown sugar. There was also a tray of deviled eggs.
My eyes locked onto the hard-boiled goodness.
Oh... yeeesss....
Come to mama...
"You can eat regular food, right?" Celestia asked, peering at me over her salad bowl.
"Yes, I am more than capable of eating food," I say, not looking away from the deviled eggs. "It can keep me going for a while, but without love, I'll just waste away. It's similar to a pony drinking nothing but water. You'll live for a while, but in the end, it won't be enough."
Celestia popped another crouton delicately into her mouth. "I see..."
Chewing on my lip, I continued to stare at the eggs for a few more seconds before huffing softly. I made to grab a few, but before I could move, the maid placed a covered dish in front of me.
"There you are," she said, her tray now empty. "Please, enjoy your meals." Giving a short bow, she turned and trotted out of the room.
Eyeing the dish curiously, I lifted the lid a little, only to drop it immediately upon catching sight of the contents. I stared blankly down at the cover, my mind abuzz.
"Is something wrong?" Celestia asked, cocking an eyebrow.
I was silent for a moment before answering. "No, there's no problem at all." Slowly, I lifted the lid again, completely uncovering the dish. I stared down at the broth, which was glowing bright pink. My stomach growled loudly as the delicious aroma of love hit my nose.
This...
This was love.
Pure, unaltered love.
Every instinct was telling me to dive face-first into the dish and consume the love as quickly as possible, but I restrained myself. Eyes narrowing, my gaze flicked up to Celestia, who was watching me idly while slowly working at her own food.
"Yes?" she asked upon seeing me glaring at her.
"What's the catch?" I asked.
She blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"What's... the... catch?" I repeated, motioning towards the dish. "What? Are you trying to butter me up? Didn't like the answer I gave you yesterday, so you're trying to bribe me with pure love?"
"Of course not!" I could sense the hurt feeling waft off of her. "I would never hold something you needed to live over your head like that. Regardless of your answer, we were always going to feed you. The request was just a possible bonus."
Now emanating annoyance, she returned to her salad.
Falling silent, I glanced back down at the bowl of love. This... wasn't what I had been expecting. Sure, I knew it was going to be love--it was the only thing that would keep me alive at the moment--but I had been expecting diluted love. This... this was pure love. Undiluted, untampered. With this, I could not only get back my energy again, but I would be able to accelerate my recovery rate.
And she was giving it to me with no strings attached?
I hadn't sensed any falsehood in her words... ...
What...
What if... what if I was wrong about her intentions? Could... could she be sincere in her desires? In her wants? Was I truly looking a gift horse in the mouth? Have I become so jaded, so cynical that I couldn't even comprehend that Celestia truly did want to help me? ...
With my mind still a whirlwind of uncertainty, I gingerly picked up the bowl with a trembling hoof and brought it to my lips.
It was the most delicious thing I'd ever tasted.
That didn't help with my uncertainty.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
The sun was setting as I made my way slowly down the hall. My stomach was slightly distended, and I could feel the love sloshing about inside with each hop-like step I took. There was a pleasant warmth to it, and I could feel the various aches and pains around my body fading as the love was absorbed.
Two guards shadowed me as I made my way back towards the hospital ward. Walking was easier now, thanks to the pure love in my system, but the guards were still able to outpace me; both of them having to stop every now and then to allow me to take the lead again.
And while my limbs might have been feeling better, my mind was still a jumbled mess.
Celestia... what are you playing at?
"Why are ponies so complicated?" I grumbled, my brow furrowing. One of the guards gave me a confused look but didn't say anything. After a long moment of silence, I growled and shook my head. "Why couldn't you have just tried to kill me, like everypony else?" It certainly would have made things a whole lot simpler.
Conflict was something I understood.
This though... this kindness... this was new. ...
Bah... maybe sleeping on it would help?
Still musing silently to myself, I walked right past my destination. Only a guard clearing his throat brought me back to present, and I backtracked, ignoring the muted amusement coming from my foalsitters. Trying to purge the thoughts from my mind, I pushed the door open and slunk inside. Thankfully, the guards didn't enter but instead took up position on either side of the entrance. The door closed behind me, and they were lost to view.
I took a few steps inside only to pause upon discovering that I wasn't alone.
There, standing in the middle of the room with her starlit mane wafting in an unseen breeze, was the Princess of the Night. On either side of her stood a pair of stoic batpony guards, all four of them decked out in dark lavender armor. And behind them, eyeing me nervously, were a dozen or so doctors and nurses.
"So, her royal highness has finally returned," Luna said after a moment of silence. "We were beginning to think you might have gotten lost."
"It's not that hard to find this room again," I sniff. "Your kind doctors saw to that. All you have to do is follow the smell of urine." Behind Luna, one of the doctors shifted uncomfortably.
Luna tsked softly. "You say that, but we were just about to send our guards out to find you. To make sure that you hadn't... run off."
"Oh, I hardly doubt I'll be able to do that," I said, waving my useless stump of a foreleg at her. Pain flared up, but I ignored it. "Maybe hobble off, but even that might take me awhile. If you were truly concerned about my whereabouts, though, you could have just asked your sister. After all, it was her idea to drag me along to dinner."
"It was our understanding that the meal ended a few hours ago," Luna said, cocking an eyebrow.
I shrugged, wobbling slightly on three legs. "What can I say? The meal was so good that I simply had to stay for dessert. And as I'm sure you're no doubt aware, when it comes to dessert, your sister has a tendency to go overboard."
Her expression didn't change, but I could sense a spike of annoyance from her, as well as stirring of hatred. Strangely enough, hidden beneath the negative emotions, I could just barely sense the tiniest sliver of amusement beginning to well to life.
I had to bite back a smile. She was upset that she found that quip funny.
Eyes drifting over the doctors huddled behind the alicorn, I grunted. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
"At the request of my sister, we come bearing a gift., although it's our opinion you don't necessarily deserve it." Her horn began to glow, and she lifted a long, thin case out from behind her. Unclasping the latches, she opened it, revealing what was within.
I blinked. ...
I blinked again. "Is that... what I think it is?"
"Indeed it is," Luna said as she levitated the prosthetic leg out of the velvet-lined case. It shifted in her magic, the joints twisting with soft, metallic click's. "Your measurements were taken during one of your medical inspections, and my sister had this custom-made. She felt that it would help you adjust to your new life."
I stared at the metal leg for a moment before squinting at Luna. "Sooo, what's the catch?"
"Sadly, nothing," Luna sighed. "We had wanted to make you earn this through various means, but our sister insisted that it be a gift. A show of good faith." She passed the limb to a nearby nurse, who took it carefully in her own magic. "These fine medical ponies are here to help you get outfitted with it, as well as to make sure it's adjusted properly."
As the nurses and doctors moved towards me tentatively, I gave Luna a questioning look. "And what are you here for? Surely this doesn't require your presence."
For the first time, a smirk touched Luna's face, although it didn't reach her eyes. "We hear that the initial adjusting can be rather... unpleasant. Almost painful, even. We figured you could use some support." Her grin turned into a sneer. "Please, by all means, don't hold back on crying for our sake. We won't think less of you for it."
I said nothing but slowly moved my tongue between my back teeth. There was no way I was going to give her the satisfaction of seeing me in pain. I lived through having the leg ripped off... surely having a fake one put back on wouldn't be worse.
Right?
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
I was wrong.
I was horribly wrong.
~ ~ ~ ~ > > < < ~ ~ ~ ~
Silvery moonlight filtered in through the tall windows as I made my way down the hall... again. I staggered along, my shoulder throbbing with each step I took. My gait was a little off, but that was to be expected, given the awkwardness that was currently attached to me.
clink
clink
clink
cli--clunk
I grunted in annoyance before glaring down at the metal limb that now jutted forth from my shoulder. It was proving to be somewhat difficult to use, as the joints locked up occasionally if I misstepped. This would cause me to stumble when I tried to put weight on the unmoving limb.
Giving my shoulder a small shake, I hissed in pain. In order to attach the leg to my body, the doctors had surgically implanted a large gemstone over the scar where my old leg had once been. A special harness was then wrapped around the stump, keeping the gemstone from being dislodged should I jostle it about.
At first I had been confused as to why they had stuck a gemstone on me. Sure, the green of the gem went well with my mane and eyes, but what possible purpose could it serve?
I found out the minute one of the doctors put a little magic into it.
Pain had shot through my shoulder as the nerves, long since dormant, flared back to life. I hadn't cried out--I would not give the moon-flanked grub the satisfaction--but I'm pretty sure I cracked a few teeth before the pain receded...
Well, mostly receded. The only thing that had stopped me from tearing the doctors apart was the Lunar Guards standing off to the side.
...by the Hive, I'm going soft.
One of the nurses had been kind enough to explain to me that the gemstone would start absorbing my own latent magic. Once it was saturated enough, the leg would be attached, and the stone would allow me to move the prosthetic as though it were my own flesh and blood through a series of enchanted gemstones interlaced through the internal mechanisms.
At least, that's what I got out of the explanation.
Giving my shoulder another shake, I winced again. Thankfully, the leg reset this time and I was able to keep on walking. It was somewhat weird--going from having to learn to walk with three legs, to returning to a four-legged gait. One would think that it would be fairly easy to progress back to what was supposed to be natural, but the new leg did not function like my old one.
For one, I had no feeling in it, which made tripping on uneven surfaces all the more likely and annoying. I'd only had it for about an hour now and already I had tripped over more stairs and carpet than I could count. I was forced to lift the leg higher than necessary in order to clear such hurdles, which in turn gave me an awkward, high-stepping movement only on that side of my body.
Another annoyance that came with my new piece of hardware was the fact that it did not have the same range of motion as my original, fleshy limb had. The doctors had assured me that the mobility would come as I grew more used to using the prosthetic, but I wasn't getting my hopes up.
Rounding a corner, I stiffly thunk'd my way down the hall for a moment before slowing to a stop outside a large, ornate door. I stared up at it, chewing gingerly on my lip. After a moment of hesitation, I reached up and knocked upon the golden surface.
Silence filled the air for several longs seconds before the door creaked open and a white head poked itself out. "Chrysalis...?" Blinking sleep from her eyes, Celestia gave me a confused look. It was clear that I had awoken her--she wore a black, silken nightie that was laced up her back, and her mane was moving more lethargically than it normally did.
"What... what are you doing here?" she asked, fighting back a yawn. "It's rather late for a visit, isn't it?"
I opened my mouth, only to close it with a snap. Staring blankly at a point just over her shoulder, I racked my mind for the best possible way to phrase the request. No words came to mind though, and as the seconds dragged on, I could feel Celestia's confusion--and annoyance--growing.
"I'm sorry, Chrysalis, but whatever it is, can't it wait until morning?" she asked.
Opening and closing my mouth again, I swallowed thickly. Why was this so hard? I'm Chrysalis. I brought the Royal Sisters down twice, outwitted the smartest mare of the generation, and staved off death countless times. My name made foals quiver in fear.
So why was this so hard?
I pulled myself from my funk just in time to see Celestia beginning to close the door. Without thinking, I stepped forward and jammed my new hoof into the crack just before the door snapped shut.
The sound of metal on metal caused Celestia to look down, and her eyes widened in surprise. "Is that...?" Before she could continue the question though, I caught her attention again by clearing my throat.
"Celestia..."
She trailed off and returned her gaze to mine. Gone was the annoyance, and instead there was just a quiet curiosity.
I paused again, mulling over the words one last time before finally
"S-so, um... about this room of yours?"
Her face was blank for a moment as she proceeded what I had just said, but then, when it finally registered, a small gasp escaped her lips...
...and her face lit up like the sun. |
My Little Pony: The Phantom Hero | pre | "Sure!" Francis said.
Francis and Boss left the forest, though that's when Francis looked at something in the horizon.
"Huh?" Francis looked at what appeared to be a crystallized tree off in the distance. "Never seen that before..." Francis said. He turned to Big Boss. "Hey, you saw the show, right? This thing ever popped up in here?" He asked.
Boss nodded, "Guess we're season 5 or later."
"Hmmm... Hey, you wanna check it out?" Francis asked Big Boss.
"Why not." With that, the two went over to the castle, just as Francis spotted Starlight Glimmer, the pink pony he saw at Fluttershy's walking with a white maned, blue-coated pony with a robe and wizard hat. Francis stopped for a while and eyed the wizard. "Huh?" Francis asked. Just then, he saw the purple winged unicorn emerge from the tree-like crystal.
"Take care, Starlight!" Twilight said before she turned her attention to Francis. "Oh, it's you. How's it going?" She asked.
"Hey, question... Are you hiring a wizard to help with these boots?" Francis asked.
"Huh? I... Oh, you mean Trixie?" Twilight chuckled. "Nah, she's just a close friend of Starlight's." Twilight said. She then eyed Boss. "And... who's this?" She asked.
"Call me Boss," said Boss, "pleasure to meet you."
"Erm... Nice to meet you, Boss... I'm Twilight Sparkle." She said.
"Mind if we come in?"
"Certainly!" Twilight said. She led the two Displaced into her castle.
As they entered the castle, Twilight spoke up.
"So, you might be surprised by this, but I actually know the species of your kind, Boss. There's another world full of them that's directly tied to Equestria." Twilight said as they walked in the hallway.
"Huh? Interesting!" Francis said. "Is there a cool story tied to it?" Francis asked.
"As a matter of fact, yes there is. I first got there when I had to retrieve an artifact from a pony who stole it..."
"Yeah, I know her," said Boss, "although I don't think it's the exact same one." Twilight blinked a little.
"So... you're from that world then? But... not exactly the same..." Twilight then muttered. "So alternate universes do exist!" Twilight then smiled.
"Pretty much, both me and Puss are from them."
"This is great! This is going to be great for my studies!" She then eyed Boss' form. "Hey, you mind if I examined you? I never seen any human in Equestria before!" Twilight said.
"Just a quick one, I've got stuff to do back home."
"Alright! Follow me!" Twilight said. The group entered the main room where a large crystal table stood with six crystal chairs and one tiny chair next to one of them. Twilight turned around as her horn glowed. A purple aura emitted from Boss' body as Twilight's eyes widened and her mouth grinning.
"Um... Twilight? You okay?" Francis asked.
"Never better!" She then looked to Francis' boots and the same purple aura filled them as well.
"Yes! It makes sense! Your body and those boots share the same energy. If my theory proves correct, this energy allows you to traverse across space and time, though while preserving your human form." Twilight said.
"So... how come I'm a cat?" Francis asked.
"It's just a theory. Perhaps the boots transported you here but also cursed you to be a cat." Twilight said. "And that arm... I never seen anything like this before!" Twilight said as she eyed the prosthetic arm.
"Not too shabby huh?" said Boss, "uses a combination of magic and technology to work."
"M-magic?!" Twilight's eyes lit up like the night sky as she grinned even tighter. "C-could you show me?" She asked.
"It's mostly internal, although this version does also double as a taser," Boss said as his fingertips crackled.
"Sweet!" She said.
"Yeah, he used it to take out a Chimera! It was awesome!" Francis said.
"H-huh? W-wow... That's cool!" Twilight said.
"Although if you want a sample you can study," Boss said as he pulled out his pistol, "Diamond Dogs standard issue Windurger No.2 Silent Pistol with tranquilizer ammunition."
"Diamond Dogs... Like, as in the Diamond Dogs up in the mountains?" Twilight asked as she levitated the pistol.
"Different Diamond Dogs," said Boss as he tapped a patch on his sleeve.
"Ah, interesting. Perhaps these Dogs are from that other universe." She smiled and stowed away the tranquilizer pistol.
"Wow... You're pretty cool, Boss." Francis said.
"That I am. Anyway, I guess I should help you make your Token."
"My... what?" Francis asked.
"Basically your calling card," said Boss, "you know, like my cassette player, you used it and here I am."
"Oh, cool! So I can pop up in other places too?" Francis asked.
"If you're summoned, yes. So, step 1, pick something that represents you." Francis took off his hat and showed it to the Boss. "Looks good. Step 2, give it a message, something that represents you."
"Easy! Fear me, if you dare!" He said.
"Alright, last step is to cast it into the void. I think this'll work," Boss said as he pulled a fabric pouch from his waist.
Francis allowed Big Boss to fashion what seemed to be a balloon onto the hat. As the hat fitted onto the harness that the balloon was attached to, it took off at an alarming speed, flying out of Twilight's castle. Twilight herself couldn't believe what just happened as she blinked constantly.
"Fulton Air Recovery System, modified with teleportation Magi-Tech," Boss said as he passed one to her, "can't tell you how useful they are."
"Woah..." Twilight and Francis both said in awe.
"Anyway, I should get back," Boss said, "call me if you need anything."
"Okay. Thank you." Francis smiled to Boss.
"For future reference, you can send Displaced back by saying 'our contract is complete', but I'll make my own way home, see ya." With that, Boss triggered another Fulton on his belt, and shot up and out of sight. Francis smiled. He remembered the battle with the Chimera and how Big Boss took it on. He smiled.
"Yeah... I'll be as brave as him!" He said. With that, Francis ran off as Twilight took the tranquilizer pistol and Fulton device to study them.
[POV Change]
After landing back on Mother Base via supply crate, and stretching out the kinks in his spine, Snake looked to see that Sunset was walking towards him, "So, trying out a new deployment method?"
"No, Displaced business, I'm sure you read the briefing."
"Yeah I did. Anyway, the local government has a standing bounty on these guys, and it actually went up while you were gone."
"Excellent, tell all combat teams to prep their gear, when the sun next rises, we hunt." |
My Little Pony: The Phantom Hero | Chapter 8 | [Oregon-Coast of Africa-Briefing Room]
[1800]
Snake looked around at everyone assembled. There were several members of various combat units, all ready to embark, as well as a few members of the support unit. Unlike his video game counterpart, Snake had no problems on taking a whole squad with him for the bigger missions.
"Alright," Snake said as a holographic map blinked into existence, "thanks to Intel, we have blueprints for the abandoned military base they're using. Based on satellite surveillance, the best time to move in is during the midnight shift change. Over here's their motor pool, Gem Unit will infiltrate and neutralize or commandeer the armor." As he spoke, a large warehouse-like building glowed red before a copy of Gem Unit's emblem, a diamond with a lightning bolt on top, moved on top of it and turned it green.
"You can count on us," said Spitfire.
"While you're doing that, Granite, Chert and Marble Units will assemble here, here and here," points well outside of the base lit up in green, "as I move into position to the command building here." As the building in question turned red and Snake's personal symbol, an ouroboros around a dog's head, popped up over it, Snake continued, "Once Gem Unit has finished their work, Granite, Chert and Marble Units will close in from the outside under cover of Pequod, Bounty and Hispaniola as Gem Unit uses the armor they commandeered to attack from the inside." The holograms of Granite, Marble and Chert Units converged on the base along with a trio of holographic helicopters as several tanks with Gem Unit's logo came out of the warehouse. "During the confusion, I'll infiltrate the command building and neutralize the command elements. With luck, we'll take over before they even know what happened. One last thing, according to our last communication with the local government, they recently captured several civilians who are currently being held for ransom, so check your targets. Any questions?" The gathered members shook their heads, "Good, grab your kit, wheel's up in 30."
[Rebel Base]
[2355]
Spitfire and the rest of Gem Unit crept up on the garage that held the motor pool. Upon reaching it, they came across a complication. "Boss," Spitfire said into her communicator, "there's a bunch of guards here, no way we'll be able to get close without someone noticing."
"That's a problem," said Snake, "tanks don't do too well in close quarters, but if they get to them they can lock you out and use them on the others. Get into position to take down as many as you can in one salvo, we'll proceed as planned."
"Understood," said Spitfire, "let's rock and roll."
[0000]
Snake was in his box, outside the door of of the command building when he heard it open. Peaking through the crack, he saw a guard exiting the building. With a practiced motion, he erupted out of the box, grabbed him, and pulled him into a shadowy corner. "Talk," Snake said, holding a knife to his neck.
"Mo ti yoo so fun o ohun ti o fẹ, o kan jẹ ki emi lọ," the guard whimpered.
"Dang it," Snake said, choking him out. The guard was speaking Yoruba, and while he picked up an interpreter from the Mine incident, that only gave him the ability to interigate those who spoke Swahili and Amharic.
Just then, another guard walked up the path, and noticed them. Snake just sighed as everything slowed down as he aimed his Wu S. Level 2 at him and shot him in the face. "You'd better speak Swahili," Snake said as he dragged him into the corner and kicked him awake, "speak."
"Inē minimi negeri inegirachiḫwalehu; wisha," the new captive replied.
"Wrong answer," Snake said, knocking him out, the linguistic template copied from the interpreter translating instantly, "at least I understand Amharic." Snake then activated his radio, "All Units report readiness."
"Marble in position."
"Chert in position."
"Granite in position."
"Pequod standing by."
"Bounty standing by."
"Hispaniola standing by."
"Gem Unit ready."
"Oroboros in position," Snake said, readying his AM-MRS-4, "all units, move in." |
Daughter of the Night | pre | "Okay, but remember once you are done with the stars you are to come straight back." Luna said stomping her hoof into the ground to really send the message home. Moonbeam nodded her head.
Luna nuzzled into Moonbeams face. "Be careful please. The night maybe beautiful, but creatures still lurk."
Luna opened her wings and took off.
Moonbeam smiled, her eyes shining. "Mom is starting to let me do more now. Does she trust me? WHAHOO! I won't let her down."
Moonbeam opened her wings and took off. Her horn glowed light blue as she started to shoot blasts at the night sky. Each blast would freeze once it hit the sky and turn into a star.
Moonbeam sighed and rubbed the sweat forming on her forehead. She looked at the sky frowning, "It's missing something...Oh yeah."
She pointed her horn to the stars and soon lit each of them up. She grunted as she closed her eyes, the stars slowly began to twinkle.
Moonbeam floated back to the ground. "That was hard. Now I have to do the ones over Ponyville."
She opened her wings and took off. She hummed a little tune as she flew. She looked down and saw a little black creature with blue wings and eyes. She decided to ignore it and continued on her way.
She soon saw Twilight's castle appearing over the horizon. "Mom wouldn't mind if I paid auntie Twilight a quick visit."
Moonbeam flew closer, she realized that there was one window with a light on. The window was open and there were giggling and laughing coming out of it. Moonbeam got closer and sat on the branch closest to it.
"He's not going to make it." One pony said, it sounded like a filly.
"He is too you just watch him, Blitzen can do anything." That one sounded like a colt.
Moonbeam heard a sound a jet engine and before she knew it her whole world went black.
"Is she dead?"
"She ain't moving."
"Jeez Blitzen Bolt why did you have to go an kill her?"
"I didn't she was in the way of my landing."
Moonbeam stirred and every pony in the room gasped. Her eyes slowly fluttered open. "What's going on?"
She sat up and rubbed her head. She realized she was completely surrounded by other ponies, all around her age.
"Our friend here Blitzen Bolt kind of knocked you out." A filly said. She had a blue coat with a dark blue mane with streaks of blonde running through it and a dragons tail with a flaming blue tip, bright blue eyes, a blue flame cutie mark and instead of hooves she had claws and dragon wings.
"No offense but you kind of threw off my entrance. Who are you anyway?" asked a young pegasus colt. He sported a dark blue coat a white and yellow mane and tail. The yellow in his name resembled a lightning bolt. He had magenta eyes and a two lightning bolts connected at the top corner as his cutie mark.
"Well I...umm...I...Is Super Nova here?" Moonbeam asked feeling a little uncomfortable.
"Cousin?" A little alicorn asked as he walked forward. The other ponies stepped aside so he could enter the circle. He had a light gray coat, a dark purple mane with an even darker blue strip running through it and a matching tail, blue eyes and a blank flank.
"Hey cousin. What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to come say hi...but I see you have company." Moonbeam said looking around at all of the other ponies.
"Oh I'm sorry where are my manners. Moonbeam these are my friends. This colt here is Little Macintosh, and those are his identical twin Pegasisters, Firefly and Butterfly."
The colt was an earth pony. He had and orange coat and red mane and tail, blue eyes, and he had an apple slice as his cutie mark. Firefly had a yellow coat with a red mane and tail, green eyes, and a blank flank. Butterfly had a pastel pink coat with a pastel yellow mane and tail, green eyes and a blank flank.
"These guys over here are triplets. Meet CheeseCake, Cupcake, and GrilledCheese."
They were all earth ponies, they all had the same curly mane. GrilledCheese was the only boy, the other two were girls.
CheeseCake had a light brown coat with a bright yellow mane and tail, yellow eyes and a pile of rock candy as her cutie mark. Cupcake had a soft pink coat with a brown mane and tail. She had little flicks of pink in her mane that looked like sprinkles. She had blue eyes and a cupcake as her cutie mark. GrilledCheese had a yellow coat with a light brown mane and tail, green eyes and a rubber chicken as his cutie mark.
"Here of course we Blitzen Bolt who you have kind of already met. Then there is his little sister Rainboom."
Rainboom had a pure white coat with a rainbow colored mane and tail, red eyes and a blank flank.
"That over there is Sappireflame, and her little brother Redhot."
Super Nova pointed to the blue dragon/pony Moonbeam had met before. Redhot was different. He had a orange coat with a green mane and dragons tail with a flaming red tip, red eyes and a red and orange flame cutie mark, with dragon claws and wings.
"Then over here we have Emerald and Ruby."
They were both unicorns. Emerald had a light green coat with a light purple mane and tail, blue eyes and a jewelry box cutie mark. Ruby had a light red coat with a light blue mane and tail, blue eyes and a blank flank.
"Oh have you met my baby sister yet?"
Moonbeam shook her head.
"Hang on a sec." SuperNova said as he ran out of the room.
Moonbeam was left alone with the new ponies. "Well now that we have been introduced what is your name?" Emerald asked.
"I'm Moonbeam."
"WAIT A MINUTE! Moonbeam like THE MOONBEAM!?" CupCake yelled as she ran up to the princess their faces so close.
"Yes."
"Hmmpf No wonder you ruined my landing. You are a primpy Princess." Blitzen Bolt scoffed.
Moonbeam shot him a look, she got up and stomped over to him. "Now look here mister..." She started poking him in the chest with every word. She was backing him to a wall.
"What ever you heard about princesses it isn't true. We are not Primpy know it alls. We do what is we have to to protect and provide for our subjects. Got That!"
Blitzen's ears were flopped over as her pouted, "Fine. Just get away from me."
Moonbeam walked away and Blitzen breathed under his breath, "Fillies."
SuperNova returned with a yawning Twilight Sparkle and a little foal wrapped in a blanket. Moonbeam squealed as she ran up to Twilight. "Hello auntie Twilight. I didn't know you had a new foal."
"Momo this is my little sister. ShootingStar"
The little alicorn opened her bright purple eyes. She had an orange coat with a blue mane that had one single pink stripe running through it and a tail to match. She cooed happily as she looked up at Moonbeam.
"Moonbeam what are you doing here. It's late." Twilight asked as she yawned again.
"Well I thought I would pay you a visit. I know mom said to go back home after I raise the...." Moonbeam froze and her ears flopped down as her eyes widened in terror. "Oh no The Stars!" She yelled as she ran to the window.
"No wonder the sky looked a little blank." Red Hot said.
"Gotta go...it was great meeting everyone. Oh, auntie Twilight?" Moonbeam yelled as she continued running. When she got to the window sill she looked back at Twilight.
"Yes Momo" Twilight said. "What constellation goes over Ponyvillie again?"
"Didn't you read that book I sent you?" Twilight asked giving Moonbeam a disapproving look.
Moonbeam scratched her mane. "Well, define read."
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, "The Ursa Minor"
Moonbeam smiled as she flew out of the window, "Thank you auntie Twilight."
Moonbeam flew high into the sky. She pointed to the sky and shot many stars into the sky. Once she finished she was breathing like she ran a mile. "Finally done. How does mommy do this every night?"
Moonbeam landed in the garden. She sighed thinking she was safe until she looked up and saw her mother's disapproving face.
Moonbeams ears flopped over, "He...Hello"
"Where were you?" Luna asked looking down at her daughter.
"I was making stars...hehe." Moonbeam said laughing innocently.
"Oh ok so you were making stars in Twilight's castle?" Luna asked seeing right through her Moon's lie.
Moonbeam looked down, "No I just wanted to visit them."
Luna walked up to the young filly. She leaned down and nuzzled into her mane. "Momo, I don't mind that you went and visited your cousin..."
"Cousins. Auntie Twilight has another foal. Her name is ShootingStar." Moonbeam said smiling.
Luna smiled, "Oh so you've met her have you?"
"Yup and she smiled at me. Mom I want a little sister of brother." Moon asked as she smiled hopefully.
Luna petted Moonbeam on her head, "Maybe one day my little filly."
Moonbeam cheered and ran around. Her horn shined and soon the stars were dancing across the sky again.
Luna laughed, "Ok Moonbeam please settle down."
Moonbeam calmed down but her horn was still glowing and the stars were still dancing.
"Moonbeam, please calm yourself." Luna ordered looking worried at her daughter.
"I'm not doing it mommy." Moonbeam replied in a frightened tone.
Before she knew it Moonbeams horn was lifting her off of the ground and the stars started to explode one by one.
"Moonbeam!" Luna yelled.
"Mommy Help!" Moonbeam screamed.
The moon soon begun to quiver and shake. Luna jumped up and touched her horn to Moonbeams.
Moonbeam was now in tears as Luna used her magic to tone down Moonbeams. Finally the glow around her horn started to fade.
Luna landed, Moonbeam was on her back passed out. Luna's breathing was heavy.
"Sister what is going on?" Celestia yawned as she came out to the garden.
"I...I...don't know. Her...powers....horn. Tia she almost made the moon explode."
Celestia sighed, "Well you have to talk to him. He can help her control her powers. Remember she is a product of both you and him."
Luna sighed, "I don't know Tia."
"You aren't doing it for you, you're doing it for her. Besides every filly needs a father." Celestia looked at Moonbeam. Luna looked back at her little passed out filly.
"Fine I will go talk to him. Will you come with me?" Luna asked looking up at Celestia. Celestia smiled. When Luna looked at her like that it reminded her of when they were younger.
"Of course I will come." Celestia said as she placed a reassuring hoof on Luna's shoulder.
Luna looked at Moonbeam, "For now I'm going to have to forbid her from using her magic."
"Well for now sister get some sleep. We will leave in the morning." Celestia said.
Luna nodded her head as she carried Moonbeam into the castle.
Celestia looked at the sky and used her magic to fix the night. She looked at the moon and realized that it had a crack in it. She repaired the moon as well.
Celestia looked up at Luna's room, "Sister, what have you two created?" |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 5: Good-Bye Mommy Luna | Moonbeam was sitting on the bed. She stared at her saddlebag as her mother's words echoed in her head.
"You auntie and I are going to be going on a little trip." Luna said.
"Can I come mom?" Moonbeam asked as her face lit up from excitement.
Luna cleared her throat as she looked away from Moonbeam, "No, you can't come."
Moonbeam's face fell, "Oh...Why not?"
Luna looked at Moonbeam, she fought back the tears that were threatening to spill out. "This is something your auntie and I have to do alone." She said.
"Wouldn't it be better if I was there with you mom?" Moonbeam asked.
Luna shook her head, "No, I need you to stay with auntie Twilight until I get back okay?"
Moonbeam started to tear up as she looked away from her mother. She sniffled, "Fine." Then she ran off to her room and slammed the door.
There was a soft knock at the door. Moon wiped the tears she absently mindedly was crying.
"Come in." She said her voice betraying her as she strained to speak without crying.
Luna poked her head in, "Hello sweetheart, I just came in to check on you."
Moonbeam wiped her eyes then she turned to look at her mother, "I am okay mother."
Luna opened the door a little more as she entered her room. "Are you ok with this?"
Moonbeam turned back and stared at her saddle bag. She took a deep breath as she forced herself to smile, turn around and look at her mother. "Of course mom, Everything is fine."
Luna walked up to Moonbeam. She looked into the filly's eyes, "You are lying."
Moonbeam sighed, "It's just...I don't understand why I can't go."
Luna sighed, "Because this is not a trip for a young filly."
Moonbeam pouted, "You let you help you make the night. I thought that would mean that you would start treating me like an older pony mom."
Luna moved Moonbeam's saddle bag and sat next to her on the bed. "Yes, you did help me and I am very proud of you for last night but you are still young and this is a job for mares."
Moonbeam sighed, "Fine mom, I understand."
Luna cleared her throat, "Also, for the time being I am going to have to forbid you from using your magic."
Moonbeam gasped, "Why!"
Luna sighed, "Because last night you almost blew up the moon, every star exploded and your auntie had to repair the night."
Moonbeam looked at her mother confused, "Why didn't you repair the night?"
"Because after I neutralized your magic I was exhausted." Luna said trying not to spill the whole story.
Moonbeam looked down to the ground. "Why is auntie Tia going? She is with her foal what if she gives birth while you guys are out on your trip."
Luna shook her head. "That isn't going to happen."
Moonbeam sniffled as she started to tear up again, "I just don't want to be alone."
"You won't be alone you have Whirlwind to play with and the other little fillies and colts in Ponyville. Besides you have to be there for Whirlwind, remember you are his older cousin." Luna said fighting back her own tears.
"Yeah,but what if you get hurt mom? What if you don't come back home? What will I have then?" Moonbeam said as a million thoughts crossed her mind. She couldn't hold it back anymore, she started crying.
Luna's eyes widened as she looked down at the now crying filly. She grabbed Moonbeam and pulled her into her embrace. Moonbeam hugged her mother back as Luna's wings surrounded her into a safe little cocoon.
"I understand your fears. I promise you that they will not come true. Whatever happens I will always be here for you." Luna sniffed as tears started to fall from her eyes.
She squeezed Moonbeam a little tighter. "The reason for this trip is to find a certain pony who can help you control your powers. Once we find him we will bring him back here and he will teach you how to use your magic."
Moonbeam nodded to show that she understood.
Luna let Moonbeam go. Moonbeam looked up at her. "Tell you what, when I get back we can spend the whole night together doing whatever it is you want to do." Luna said in an attempt to cheer her daughter up.
This time Moonbeam's smiled was sincere. "Yes please."
Luna smiled back as she handed Moonbeam her saddle bag. "Now finish packing so we can deliver you and your cousin to Twilight."
Moonbeam nodded as she dragged her saddlebag over to her closet and started to pack it with a few thing she thought she would need.
Luna left the room, closing the door behind her. She sighed as she leaned against Moonbeams door.
Celestia was walking down the hallway. Whirlwind was holding onto Celestia's tail as she dragged him along in his little wagon.
"Ready for this sister?" Celestia asked.
Luna sighed as she smiled at the playful Draqpony, "As I will ever be."
Moonbeam and Whirlwind cheered and waved their hooves in the air as the carriage flew.
"So what was it like meeting all of SuperNova's friends?" Whirlwind asked.
Moonbeam nodded her head. "They're all cool...except for BlitzenBolt. He's kind of a jerk."
"Dude I bet SuperNova is so excited. I haven't seen him since our cousin Princess Mi Belle Marie was born." Whirlwind smiled so excited to hang with his male cousin.
"Oh that reminds me, auntie Twilight has a foal." Moonbeam squealed.
"Oh My Equestria, there is another?" Whirlwind asked.
"The Fun Has Been Doubled!" Moonbeam cheered.
Luna and Celestia both smiled as the young filly and colt cheered and chatted.
"What if he doesn't agree to the conditions we have set?" Luna asked.
"Then we will have to compromise, for Moonbeam's sake." Celestia said.
Luna looked back at Moonbeam who was arguing with Whirlwind on who gets to hold ShootingStar first.
The carriage landed with a soft thump in front of Twilight's castle. Whirlwind and Moonbeam jumped off before it came to a complete stop.
"Children slow down." Celestia said.
Whirlwind froze and Moonbeam crashed into him. Celestia and Luna caught up with the eager little ones.
"Are we going to behave this week?" Celestia asked Whirlwind.
Whirlwind looked up and gave her the biggest smile he could muster. "Wind, no chaos magic. If I hear that you misbehaved you will be grounded."
Whirlwind frowned, "But mom..."
"No buts. The guards are still picking cotton candy off of the bushes in the garden." Celestia said.
Whirlwind looked a little embarrassed as he scratched his mane, "Did I do that?"
Celestia walked up to Whirlwind and started tickling him. "Yes. You. Did."
Whirlwind laughed as he flopped onto his back, "Mom stop it, I give I give. No chaos magic. NO CHAOS MAGIC!"
Celestia stopped tickling him, she leaned down and nuzzled into him. "Behave my little chaos maker."
Whirlwind reached up and hugged her muzzle, "I will mom."
Luna picked Moonbeam up, "That means you too missy. Remember what we talked about back home."
Moonbeam nodded as she smiled at her mother. Luna hugged Moonbeam close and touched horns.
Moonbeam felt a sting, "Ow. What was that mom?"
"A protection spell, just in case your magic goes haywire." Luna said.
Moonbeam rubbed her horn trying to numb the pain, "I thought unicorns and alicorns magic was supposed to protect, them not harm them."
"This is true but there are some ways that your magic can still harm you. I just want to make sure you are protected from it if it does happen. Remember my little Moonbeam you are very powerful." Luna said as she nuzzled into Moonbeam.
"Ok mom." Moonbeam said as she hugged her mom tight.
Twilight opened the castle doors and SuperNova ran out. ShootingStar was crawling after him, "Big broder." She cooed.
Whirlwind smiled big as he saw SuperNova. He took his position. His wings open, head down, tail up. SuperNova did the same.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she grabbed ShootingStar and pulled her out of the way.
"3...2...1"
At one the boys were off, high in the sky they flew. They flew away from each other and then flew back at full speed. They each had a hoof out and when they met they bro hoofed and yelled, "EPIC BRO HOOF!"
They both landed and laughed as they bro hoofed again.
"Man I missed you, heard you redecorated the garden." Nova laughed.
Whirlwind scratched his mane, "I thought it would be cool just to make my life in Canterlot a little...sweeter."
The boys laughed as Moonbeam made her way to Twilight.
"Hi auntie Twi. Hey Star." Moonbeam said.
Twilight let the little filly down and she crawled to Moonbeam.
"Hi hi." She said.
"She's started to teeth so watch out. She might also be kind of cranky. Can you watch her while I talk to your mom?" Moonbeam nodded her head as Twilight walked over to the princesses.
"Hello Luna. Hello Celestia." She greeted as she gave them a little informal bow.
"Hello Twilight, remember Whirlwind cannot have chocolate or strawberry milk before bed. He needs to drink warm regular milk. He has been told that he isn't allowed to use his chaos magic, so you shouldn't have any problems with him. If he does begin to act up do not hesitate to call Discord. He will be staying in Canterlot in my place until I return."
"Ok and Moonbeam..." Twilight asked looking over to Luna
"Moonbeam has also been told not to use her magic. Her magic is way too powerful for her to control, she almost blew up the moon last night. I also put a protection spell on her so that if she does lose control of her magic her horn will...well I don't want to talk about it." Luna said looking down.
"Did you tell them that they are going to be going to school for a little while?" Twilight asked
Celestia and Luna looked at one another with wide eyes, "We totally forgot. Sorry Twilight, here use this to get them what they need." Celestia tossed a bag of bits Twilight's way. She caught it.
"It's ok, school doesn't start till tomorrow,I can go shopping today."
Both princesses nodded. "Twilight again we can't thank you enough." Luna said.
Twilight put a hoof up, "It is one of the royal duties that all royalty look out for one another."
Both princesses climbed into the carriage. Celestia gave the word and they took off. Luna looked down and saw Moonbeam looking up at her as she waved her hoof. Luna's horn glowed.
Moonbeam felt a weight on her neck. It was a thin silver necklace with a crescent moon charm hanging off of it. Moonbeam held the charm and flipped it over. It read "I am always with you." Moonbeam smiled and looked up as the carriage disappeared.
Moonbeam turned and saw Flash Sentry handing Twilight a foal carrier and a bag. "Ok little ponies I'm going to go shopping for a few hours. Nova why don't you help them get settled in, and try not to bug your father. He just got home and a grown Stallion needs his rest."
SuperNova nodded as he led Whirlwind and Moonbeam inside.
ShootingStar started to follow but Twilight picked her up with her magic and placed her gently placed her into the carrier. "Not you Star, you are coming with mommy. We are going shopping."
"Sopping Sopping!" ShootingStar cooed as she clapped her hooves together.
Flash Sentry gently kissed Twilight and then kissed ShootingStar on the cheek. "Behave for your mother."
ShootingStar smiled, "Ok Dada." Then with that Twilight was off.
SuperNova was going through Whirlwind's bag. "Whoa, you brought the new Gem Quest board game. I can't wait to play it."
Whirlwind nodded, "Yeah I asked my parents for it last Hearth's Warming eve. It also has the new rare Clear Crystal that is worth 100,000 bits and you have to own both quarries and the mine shaft before you can find it."
SuperNova lifted a brow, "So are you ready to lose again."
Whirlwind frowned, "That was a lucky win and you know it!"
Moonbeam finished unpacking her bag and climbed onto the bed she was going to be sleeping in. She sighed and laid her head down, her ears flopped over.
SuperNova looked at Moonbeam, "You wanna play Momo?"
Moonbeam shook her head, "No thanks I just...I just want to relax. It has been a long day."
SuperNova looked at her with pity as he sensed her emotions, "She will be back."
Moonbeam nodded and looked away. SuperNova frowned and Whirlwind patted SuperNova on the shoulder, "Let's play the game in the kitchen."
Whirlwind grabbed the gameboard and left the room with SuperNova following him out.
Moonbeam looked out of the window and sighed as the sun started to set. She stood and watched as the moon rise. She smiled when she saw the stars start to appear. Once they started to twinkle some of them begun to move.
"Making a constellation mom?" Moonbeam asked.
The stars danced and made a big pony and a little pony. The big one looked like Luna, and the little one like Moonbeam. Moonbeam laughed as the two danced around with one another and finally came in for a big hug. Then Moonbeam heard Luna's voice, "I will be back my little child of the night."
Moonbeam smiled as she held the charm from her necklace in her hoof and slowly she drifted off to sleep. |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 6: First day of School and Detention | Twilight yawned as she entered the kids room. ShootingStar was asleep in her crib sucking on her hoof. Whirlwind and SuperNova were asleep on the floor with a game board between them both, and Moonbeam was curled up on the bed her mane a mess, and still holding her charm in her hoof.
Twilight walked over to the window and moved the curtains to let light into the room, everypony cringed.
"Noo...Too...Early!" Whirlwind complained as he took the game board and covered his head.
SuperNova whined as he rolled over and planted his face into the ground.
ShootingStar opened her eyes and cooed happily, "Mommy we go bye bye."
Moonbeam yawned as she opened one eye.
"Wake up kids time for school."Twilight said as she walked over to the crib and picked up Star.
Whirlwind's head shot up knocking the game board over. "Wait, school like with other ponies that aren't related to us?" Twilight nodded as she set Star down on the floor.
ShootingStar crawled over to her brother and tapped him on his head, "Broder go bye bye."
SuperNova raise his head, "Brother doesn't want to go bye bye."
Twilight frowned and her horn glowed as she grabbed SuperNova by his tail and hung him in the air upside-down.
"Well that's ashamed to hear because your father and I worked very hard to convince the school to let you go back considering what happened last year..." Twilight said.
Whirlwinds yawned, "Dude what is she..." The realization hit and his eyes widened, "No way! Dude you unleashed the SuperNova?!"
SuperNova looked embarrassed, "I didn't try to, I had no control. The last thing I remember was that colt talking bad about my mother and that was when I blacked out."
Whirlwind stood up and stretched, "Oh man I wish I could have seen it. Moonbeam you remember the SuperNova right?" He said turning his attention to Moonbeam.
Moonbeam lifted her head, "Yeah, I remember. We were all in the royal daycare when that one older pony took his favorite pacifier out of his mouth. Then the daycare exploded."
"Well imagine that but ten times stronger." Twilight said still holding Nova in the air.
Moonbeam and Whirlwind looked at each other, amazed and slightly frightened.
"Whoa, I bet that did some damage." Whirlwind said.
"Yeah probably worse than your cotton candy tornado." Moonbeam laughed.
"Oh you are one to talk, didn't you almost blow up the moon." Whirlwind whipped back.
Moonbeam gasped, "How did you know about that?"
"I am one nosy little draqpony." Whirlwind laughed.
Moonbeam frowned and stuck her tongue out.
"Whirlwind 1, Moonbeam 0." SuperNova said pointing to the two while still hanging upside-down in mid-air
"Oh I'm sorry, I forgot about you there." Twilight apologized as she let him down.
Twilight turned her attention to all three of the children. "Now I want teeth, coats and manes brushed, faces washed, and saddlebags packed and all of you by the door by the time I have ShootingStar ready." Twilight said as she lifted Star.
Star cooed happily as Twilight carried her out of the room.
"This is going to be a long week." Moonbeam sighed.
Once the kids were all ready they made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Flash Sentry was sitting at the table, eating a cupcake and reading the paper.
"Bye Dad." Nova yelled.
"Bye Uncle." Whirlwind yelled.
"Bye Uncle." Moonbeam yelled.
"Have a good day kids." Flash said not one looking up from his newspaper.
Twilight was right behind them. She was carrying ShootingStar on her back. "Bye honey have a good day at work."
"Wait a minute, don't I get a goodbye kiss from my two favorite girls?" Flash Sentry asked as he set the paper down.
He kissed ShootingStar on the cheek. She reached out and hugged his muzzle, "Bye bye daddy."
Then he gave Twilight a gentle peck on the lips. Twilight smiled, "You taste like frosting. I thought I told you to try and eat healthier so that you will have more energy to make it through the workday."
Flash chuckled, "Starting tomorrow I promise."
Twilight frowned. "I promise." He said as he kissed her again.
He looked over at ShootingStar who was sucking on her hoof. "You behave today missy, no more biting other pony's hooves."
ShootingStar cooed, "K K daddy."
Twilight opened the door and was greeted by three impatient children.
"Mom we are going to be late." SuperNova whined.
"Okay, Okay lets hoof it." She said as she closed the door behind her.
The kids were ahead of Twilight and Star. Moonbeam and Whirlwind watched as some fillies and colts walked with their own parents. Occasionally they would team up with friends and excitedly discuss their summer and how awesome school is going to be this time around.
They felt a little left out. They never had many friends except for the castle staff and their cousins.
Moonbeam looked back at her saddle bag it was black with white stars on it. Then she looked over at Whirlwinds. He had a green bag with little tornado on it.
"I am curious to know, Moonbeam how are you even awake for this? Aren't you supposed to sleep during the day and be awake at night?" SuperNova asked.
Moonbeam looked at him. Before answering she looked at his saddlebag that looked like a pile of scattered books.
"Yeah but I'm able to alter my sleeping habits to fit the situation." She explained.
When they finally got to the school everypony was playing on the playground or hanging out around the front. SuperNova walked ahead and was immediately tackled by Sapphire Flame.
She laughed as his saddle bag flew across the school yard. "Hey cousin, ready for another spectacular school year."
SuperNova spoke but his voice was strained, "Yeah."
"By the way, Pinned ya!" Sapphire Flame laughed as she hopped off. She grabbed his saddle bag and handed it back to him.
Twilight caught up and ShootingStar started to clap and coo happily. "This isn't you school baby girl, this is your brothers. We are going to your school next."
ShootingStar looked down, "But I want big broder."
Twilight reached back and patted the little foal on her head, "You will see him again after school." ShootingStar crossed her arms and pouted.
Moonbeam smiled as Sapphire Flame called the whole gang over with the exception of Little Mac, Butterfly and Firefly.
"Good Morning Everypony, I'm So Excited For Another School Year!!!!" CheeseCake cheered.
Emerald yawned, "I don't know why it has to start so early though."
BlitzenBolt rolled his eyes, "Somepony is whining again."
Emerald gasped, "I am not whining, I am complaining."
Ruby sighed, "They are pretty much the same thing sis."
Emerald gave Ruby a dirty look. Ruby rolled her eyes in response as she used her magic to take her mane out of its tightly wound bun.
"Mother is going to pitch a fit." Emerald said.
"Yeah well I hate my mane tied up. There are plenty "Ladies" out there who look fine with their mane down. " Ruby said as her mane fell in soft curls around her shoulders.
Rainbow Dash walked up to the young group with Rainboom on her back. "Now don't be afraid. Your brother is going to take you to your class and Red is going to be there too, so you won't be alone"
Rainboom nodded her head as she looked over at the others. She hopped off of Rainbow's back.
Rainbow smiled at her and gently patted her head, "Don't be afraid, you will make lots of friends."
Rainboom looked up at her mother, "But what if they pick on me again mommy. What if I get big brother in trouble again?"
"You won't and besides this time you have your cousins to protect you as well. Remember what is the first thing you do when somepony bullies you?" Rainbow asked.
"Tell the teacher." Rainboom said.
Rainbow smiled, "That's my girl."
Rainboom hugged Rainbow. Rainbow leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead.
Rainbow looked up, "Oh look here comes your best friend now."
Rainboom turned around and smiled as Applejack approached. Spike was behind her and he was carrying Redhot upside down by his tail. Redhot had a frown on his face that instantly changed when he saw Rainboom.
Rainbow smiled, "Let me guess...he didn't want to come today?"
Spike gently set Redhot down and he glomped Rainboom. BlitzenBolt whistled, Rainboom and Redhot ran to join the rest of the group.
"No Applejack wouldn't let him go." Spike chuckled.
"Well how are we supposed to know that he is ready to go to school. We could have waited another year. What if he gets a splinter? What if he doesn't like being away from the farm? What is he becomes greedy and we aren't there to control him?" Applejack started to freak out and was about to run to the children until Spike grabbed her.
"You are overreacting. He will do just fine." Rainbow Dash laughed, "This is Sapphire's first day of school all over again." AppleJack gave Rainbow Dash a look.
"Is that supposed to scare me AJ?" Rainbow asked.
"I.."
"Hello girls." said the softest voice ever.
They all looked over to see Fluttershy. She had Butterfly fluttering next to her and Little Mac on her other side. Big Mac was behind her carrying a rope in his mouth, on the other end of that rope was FireFly trying to crawl her way back in the direction they came.
"I hate learning all we do is review what we did last year and learn just a little bit more, then wash, rinse, and repeat all over again." Big mac just sighed keeping the rope firmly in his grip.
AJ, Spike and Dash were laughing at how dramatic the young filly was being.
"Momma can we go with the others?" Butterfly asked, sounding as sweet and lovely as Fluttershy.
"Yes you can." Fluttershy smiled
Butterfly beamed, "Come on Little Mac."
"Yup" He said as he followed his big sister.
The minute Big Mac released the rope Firefly started to make a run for it. She thought she was home free until she came to an abrupt halt. She looked around and realized that her body was covered with the soft glow of magic.
"Oh for goodness sakes." Firefly sighed
Twilight chuckled as she joined the others. She set Firefly down softly in front of her mother.
Fluttershy cleared her throat and Firefly looked up at her with an innocent smile but, she was welcomed with a frown.
"Hiya momma." Firefly said in the most innocent voice she could muster.
Fluttershy laid down so she was at her daughter's level, "Now are we going to behave today?"
Firefly nodded, "I'm not going to get a note from the teacher about you skipping, or not doing your work, or you and Ruby being little chatterboxes while the teacher is teaching right?" Fluttershy asked.
Firefly sat back and raised a hoof and said, "I promise."
Big Mac came up behind Fluttershy and said, "Pinkie Promise?"
Pinkie and Cheese appeared out of nowhere and watched.
Firefly sighed, "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye."
"And you can't break a Pinkie Promise." Pinkie said as her and Cheese joined the rest of the group.
"Ok ok can I go now?" Firefly asked.
Fluttershy smiled and pulled Firefly close to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Please behave my little troublemaker."
Firefly smiled, "Ok momma." She then ran off to join the rest of the group.
"Remember you can't break a Pinkie Promise!" Pinkie yelled as Firefly ran off.
"Where is Rarity?" Twilight asked.
"Oh oh she said she had a lot of important work to get to so she couldn't make it." Pinkie said.
Firefly pounced onto Ruby. "Ruby, I missed you bud. I got some super cool pranks for school this year." Ruby laughed as she stood with Firefly on her back.
Cupcake gasped, "You can't Firefly that would break your Pinkie Promise."
Firefly gave Cupcake confused. "How...did you??"
"We know everything." GrilledCheese said as he hugged his sisters.
Ruby rolled her eyes "So this is Whirlwind the great son of chaos himself?"
Moonbeam nodded. She looked at Whirlwind who was too busy staring at Cupcake to realize anything. She shook her hoof in front of his face. "I think he is unavailable at the moment."
SuperNova laughed, "I think somepony has a crush on Cupcake."
"Her mane is so...chaotic." Whirlwind mumbled as he stared at her.
GrilledCheese stepped up to Wind. "Sorry, she isn't allowed to date."
Moonbeam looked at BlitzenBolt. "Hey...you ready?"
He gave her a look "Ready for what? School?"
Moonbeam nodded. "No I'm not, I hate school. It's just a building of rules that you are stuck in until you are old enough to live your life." He walked away with Rainboom.
"What's his deal?" Moonbeam asked SuperNova.
"When he was old enough he got into the WonderBolts school for gifted fliers. He used to get picked on a lot, they claimed that the only reason he got in was because his parents were WonderBolts. Then when his sister was old enough she attended the school with him, only... she can't fly she can only glide, she used to get bullied a lot. Blitzen had decided that he had enough and he started to fight them back. He got kicked out so Rainbow and Soarin brought them here. He may not have the cleanest track record but he has his reasons." Nova said.
Moonbeam looked over at BlitzenBolt. He was hugging his sister tight. She said something and he nodded as she climbed onto his back.
Redhot climbed onto Sapphire's back and Little Mac on Butterfly's. The principle came out and cleared her throat as she grabbed the microphone.
"Welcome parents and students of all ages. This year our goal is to give you children the best education they will ever receive in all of Equestria. We strive to teach each pony the value they have in society and how they can all be the leaders of tomorrow."
Firefly yawned making Ruby giggle.
"Today as we opened the doors to yet another wonderful year we want to let you all know that with hard work, a little drive and determination you will be able to be lead the world into a brighter future."
"Or become an old grumpy mare." Ruby whispered. Blitzen, Firefly and Whirlwind chuckled, Emerald made a face. SuperNova and Moonbeam looked at each other worried.
"The doors are now open, let the first day of school commence." The principal said as she set the microphone down.
There was a swarm of fillies and colts making their way to the doors. Moonbeam followed the group in. Rainboom looked back at Moonbeam and she motioned for her to follow. Moonbeam turned her head to the side confused but she did. Butterfly was the first to notice.
"Oh hello Moonbeam, are you going with us to drop off the younger ponies?" Butterfly asked
Moonbeam nodded, "Rainboom insisted."
Rainboom nodded.
"Really Rain, why her?" Rain whispered in her brother's ear causing him to blush, "You are a little lightning cloud sometimes you know that?"
Rainboom giggled as she leaned over and whispered something to Red.
Red laughed, "Yeah right, smooth my hoof."
Moonbeam felt kind of left out but she continued on nevertheless.
They came to a door with a colorful bumblebee on the front. They opened it and there were other fillies and colts all little running about and playing with one another.
Rainboom grabbed onto her brother's mane and buried her head into it. BlitzenBolt used his wings and patted her on her back and head.
"It's okay sis. You've got Redhot and Little Mac to help you and if anything I am right down the hall." Rainboom nodded and jumped off of her brothers back. She stood right in front of him and flexed her little arms.
"That's right stay strong." Blitzen said.
"Okay my little ponies everyone in a circle we are going to introduce ourselves." The teacher said. Rainboom gave BlitzenBolt one more hug.
"Redhot remember keep an eye out for her." Sapphire said as Red jumped down.
He smiled and nodded. "I got this."
Moonbeam smiled as the younger ponies ran to the circle. BlitzenBolt smiled when he saw his sister sit down with Red right next to her. Butterfly, Sapphire and Blitzen left the room.
Moonbeam smiled at the young ponies. Rainboom smiled and waved at Moon. Moonbeam waved back as she walked out.
Moonbeam followed the gang and when she went to turn the corner she was met with a "wall" and then the floor.
"Oh I'm sorry." said a new voice.
Moonbeam looked up and saw a colt with a black coat and a white target around his right eye. He had a silver mane and tail and a bow and arrow as his cutie mark.
"Are you alright I didn't mean to knock you down." He reached out and Moonbeam grabbed his hoof as he helped her up.
"It's okay I should've been watching where I should be going." Moonbeam said.
The colt studied her for a minute, "Hey are you new here, I don't think I have seen you around before."
Moonbeam nodded, "Yeah, I was home schooled before."
The colt smiled and said, "Well my name is Bullseye. I'm sure a beautiful filly like yourself has a name that fits."
Moonbeam blushed, "Oh...um...thanks it's Moonbeam...My mane...name is Moonbeam."
Bullseye smiled, "Well it was great meeting you Moonbeam, I hope to see you again."
He walked past her and turned down the hall where she just came from. Moonbeam watched as he walked away and begun to walk as well only to bump into another "wall". This time her saddlebag fell off of her back.
"Ouch. Again!" This time when she looked up it was BlitzenBolt.
Blitzen frowned, "Stay way from Bullseye."
Moonbeam stood up confused, "Huh?"
Blitzen growled, "Stay. Away. From. Bullseye. That colt is bad news."
Moonbeam looked down, "But he seemed really nice."
"Well he isn't, remember you haven't been here as long as the rest of us." Then he walked away.
When he was far enough not to hear Moonbeam mumbled, "Pushy."
Moonbeam entered the classroom, only Cupcake, Ruby and Firefly were in her class. The tables were set in groups of four.
When Cupcake saw Moonbeam she raised her hoof high and waved it around like crazy. "Moonbeam! Over Here!"
Moonbeam smiled and made her way over, "Where is the rest of the group?"
"We all have different teachers, that and they separated us on purpose." Firefly said.
"Oh really?" Moonbeam asked feeling a little weird not being with SuperNova or Whirlwind.
"Except they weren't smart enough to separate me and Firefly." Ruby laughed as she High-hoofed Firefly.
"They are trouble makers. I say let them create trouble as long as they don't hurt anypony." Cupcake said raising her hoof and slamming it on the table.
"We never do, we actually make school fun. Ruby remember the Cupcake Canon?" Firefly chuckled.
"Or the Hallway Water Slide?" Ruby chuckled.
"I personally was a fan of the Smoothie Bomb on the playground." Cupcake smiled.
"Oh yeah that was great." Ruby and Firefly laughed at the same time.
While they were talking Moonbeam was busy exploring her desk. There was nothing inside but it was spacious. She looked over at the ponies from other groups. They were taking their stuff out of their saddle bags and filling their desks.
Moonbeam looked around confused. "Oh no my saddlebag. I must have dropped it somewhere."
"Don't worry we will find it, besides we don't do anything on the first day except for play games and introduce ourselves." Ruby said.
"Alright my little ponies please take yours seats. As you can see I let you choose your own seats. Please do not let me regret this." The teacher said as she entered the room. Ruby and Firefly chuckled.
"Now today we are going to be inrodu..." There was a knock on the door. BlitzenBolt was standing there with Moonbeams saddlebag.
"Can I help you little one?" The teacher asked as she
Blitzen looked around the room as he spotted Moonbeam. "I am just returning this saddlebag I found, In The Middle Of The Hallway!" Blitzen said emphasizing the last part. Moonbeam looked down and touched her charm.
"Very Well." The teacher said as Blitz walked over to Moonbeam and dropped the bag next to her.
"I'm not your babysitter keep track of your stuff." Blitzen whispered
Moonbeam frowned, "Fine, oh and for future reference I'm older than you."
Blitz sighed, "With the mentality of a newborn foal." Then with that he left.
Cupcake, Ruby and Firefly looked at each other confused, eventually they just shrugged their shoulders and let the teacher begin with her lesson. One by one Ponies stood up said their names, if they had one what their special talent was or something they liked to do and what they would like to be when they get older. Then it was Firefly's turn.
"Hi everypony my name is Firefly, I like to pull pranks for fun because I am still a blank flank, and I love to play with clouds. I want to be a weather pony when I'm older."
Firefly sat down and Cupcake jumped up. "Hello everypony, my name is Cupcake and I really love cupcakes. My special talent is baking, and when I get older I want to be a party pony just like my mom and dad." Cupcake sat down.
Ruby was next. "I'm Ruby, Blank flank and proud. I really like to pull pranks as well but I also favor chemistry. So I guess when I get older I want to be a scientist."
Moonbeam sighed as Ruby sat down and she stood up. "Hello everypony, my name is Moonbeam. I don't have a cutie mark..."
'Or a father.' She thought.
"But I do like playing with the stars and spending time with my mom. When I get older I want to be like my mom." Then she sat down.
Some pony coughed, "Momma's Pony!"
Everypony laughed except for Ruby, Firefly, Cupcake, the teacher and of course Moonbeam.
"Hush now ponies, there will be no bullying in this class. If I hear it again that will be detention." Everypony gasped and went silent immediately.
Moonbeam looked confused, "What is detention?" She whispered to Ruby.
"That is when they make you stay after school for being a bad pony, they make you write lines and be quiet for two whole hours. They also tell your parents so you know you are grounded when you get home." Ruby whispered back.
Once the everypony had a turn a bell rang. Everypony got up and headed for the door.
"Where are we all going." Moonbeam asked as she followed the girls out.
"We are going to lunch/recess." Firefly said.
"Yeah it's when all of us go outside to eat and if you finish your lunch early you get to play on the playground until the bell rings again! We get to see all of our friends from other classes too! I'm so Excited!" Cupcake yelled without once taking a breath.
Moonbeam smiled, "So, I get to see Whirlwind and SuperNova again?"
Moonbeam broke into a sprint when a whistle went off. She froze in place, "No Running In The Halls!"
Everypony was outside some eating at the tables, others in group circles on the grass. Moonbeam looked around and then felt an arm wrap around her.
"This way girlie." Cupcake said as she pulled Moonbeam over to where the group was sitting. SuperNova and Whirlwind were playing cards with Blitzen and GrilledCheese. Emerald was brushing ButterFly's mane. Rainboom was drawing with Redhot. CheeseCake was sharing her desserts with SapphireFlame and LittleMac. Moonbeam took a seat next to SuperNova,
"Who's Winning?" She asked.
SuperNova was rearranging his cards around. "It all depends on his move."
"Do you have any threes?" Nova asked.
"Go fish." Whirlwind smirked.
SuperNova growled as he picked one from the deck. He pulled a three and slapped his book down. "That's game."
Blitzen looked down at his cards. "Well played bro, Well played."
SuperNova smirked as he looked over to Moon, "How is class so far?"
"Well I..." Moonbeam started
"She got picked on for being a Momma's pony." Cupcake said as she jumped forward and pounced on her brother.
GrilledCheese laughed as his cards flew everywhere. "My sister is banana's"
Whirlwind looked down, "You got picked on?"
"Well we don't know who the pony was someone just kind of coughed and said Momma's Pony at the same time." Moonbeam sighed.
Whirlwind got up and gave Moonbeam a hug. "They only say that because they don't care about their mothers...Want some chocolate milk?" Moonbeam shook her head yes.
Whirlwind made a cup of chocolate milk appear and he handed her the cup. Moonbeam tilted it to drink it and she instead drunk the cup instead of the milk. She handed the milk back, "Thanks cousin that kind of cheered me up"
Blitzen was watching them the whole time, he kind of felt sorry for Moonbeam.
"Hey Moonbeam." came a familiar voice from the playground.
Blitzen stood up and frowned, "What is he doing here?"
Bullseye was walking up to the group. "Hey Moonbeam I was wondering if you want to go on the swings with me?"
Moonbeam looked back at her friends, everyone was shaking their heads no and making wild hoof gestures.
"Sure." She said as she followed Bullseye to the swings.
The whole group collapsed.
Whirlwind looked around confused, "I didn't know the word ''Sure" would cause so much chaos. Maybe I should say it more often."
Cheesecake was the first to speak. "She can't hang out with Bullseye, he's EVIL!" GrilledCheese and Cupcake was behind her making ghost noises.
"So he's a ghost?" Whirlwind said.
"No no...these guys always blow things out of proportion. He's just bad news, every filly who has ever talked to him has changed, or just been hurt. The point is they never come back the same pony." Blitzen said.
Rainboom jumped into the conversation, "Yeah, he even picked on me once. He is just a total flankface."
Just then there was a huge commotion playground. Fillies and Colts started to form a circle. Some where laughing and others were yelling. The group got up to see what all of the commotion was about with BlitzenBolt leading the charge. They worked their way in until they got to the inside circle where they saw a little colt his ears flopped over and he was low to the ground. He was light blue with purple hoofs, and purple tips on his ears, he had a black and grey mane, and a tail that was long and had a little purple hand on the end of it.
Then there was a unicorn standing next to him, defending him. She looked like a regular unicorn. She had a light purple coat with a yellow two tone mane and a weird horn.
"You leave him alone!" She yelled.
"What if I don't Dinky, whatcha gonna do use your "Magic" on me?" Asked a little colt as he flicked her horn.
She snorted, "Just leave him alone, he isn't hurting anypony."
"Well the fact that he is here hurts my well being. I mean he isn't normal." Said the other pony
Moonbeam ran over and joined the group. She looked over at Whirlwind, he looked like he has had enough.
"Remember we can't use our magic." Moonbeam whispered.
"I don't care if I get grounded for a millennium. I want that pony to shut his muzzle." Whirlwind said as he stepped forward. He stood next to Dinky and patted the little colt on his. "It's alright."
"Oh look at this ponies, another weirdo."
Whirlwind stood up and looked the colt dead in the eyes, "So...What is the problem?"
"You are the problem, you and your little band of misfits."
"Do you even know who I am...?" Whirlwind asked.
Moonbeam hid her face in her hooves. She knew what was coming.
Whirlwind's horn glowed as he started to grow. He grew to an enormous height. His eyes glowing as he roared. He lowered his head down to the bullies height.
"Now...what was that you were saying about ponies who look different?" Whirlwind asked his voice taking a darker and deadlier tone.
The bully's eyes widened. He gulped, "Nothing...i didn't saw anything, sir."
Then with that the bully ran of. The circle of ponies broke up and all that were left was the crew and Dinky and the little colt. Whirlwind got down to his original form.
"Wow that felt great. I love my chaos. I think dad would be proud of me that I actually mastered that spell." Whirlwind went to help up the young colt when there was the sound of running hoofs behind him.
He turned and looked, the bully had come back for more. Before he got close enough, Moonbeam aim at him with her magic and turned him into an orange frog. "Oops wrong spell."
She went to change him back but it didn't work. Her head also felt lighter, it felt like something was missing.
"Umm Momo..." Whirlwind pointed to her head. She reached up but she no longer felt her horn.
"My horn is gone what happened?" She checked her sides, "My wings are still there but why is my horn gone?"
SuperNova turned the bully back to normal. The bully ran off, this time for good.
Moonbeam was surrounded by everyone.
"Maybe it's because you used too much magic?" GrilledCheese said.
"Maybe it was a hard spell?" Emerald said.
Whirlwind's eyes widened, "It was auntie Lulu protecting you."
Moonbeam's eyes widened as she started to put the pieces together.
"Ms. Moonbeam and Mr. Whirlwind." A voice said in a stern tone.
Everyone looked over to see the Principle and the bully. "The use of Magic is forbidden unless it pertains to your studies. So for breaking the rules you two will be attending detention today. I will inform Princess Twilight on what happened here today."
The bully stick his tongue out. Whirlwind and Moonbeam's ears flopped over and they looked down.
"Same goes for you Mr. SuperNova." The principal said turning her attention to Nova.
SuperNova yelled, "What! I Turned him back to normal!"
"Instead of handling the problem yourself you should have summoned a teacher. I commend you on your behavior but it is a rule." The principal stated.
SuperNova growled under his breath.
"Now Apologize."
"We're Sorry." They three said in unison.
"I forgive your apology." The bully said in a snarly tone as he trotted away happily.
The Principal was about to walk away when she stopped and said, "Oh I almost forgot. Ruby and Firefly, in my office when the bell ring. I want to know who put ketchup packets under the toilet seat and replaced the soap with krazy glue." Then she left.
SuperNova was pounding his hoofs into the ground. SapphireFlame walked up behind him and placed a hoof on his back trying to calm him down. He turned and hugged her.
"I'm going to be grounded until I get married." He sighed
Whirlwind looked at Moonbeam, "We are going to be ground into the next millennium."
Moonbeam just nodded. "Eeyup."
Luna and Celestia were walking through the thick snow. The wind was too powerful for them to actually fly.
"Dammit, where is his cave!" Celestia yelled.
Luna scratched her mane, "Not to far now."
After climbing a hill then finally reached their destination. Luna was shivering, not from the cold but from the idea of seeing him again.
Celestia placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder, "You can do this. I am right behind you."
Luna nodded as the two descended down the hill to the cave. Luna and Celestia both made their horns glow in the dark cave once they were inside.
It was less chilly inside and it felt empty. Luna was looking around on the ice walls and she saw many pics, most of them carved into the ice and were depicting her and her sister as dead. But then there was one that had her and him. They were kissing and surrounded by many little ponies.
She smiled at this one, "So he does still have feelings."
Celestia was traveling deeper into the cave, she saw something that made her step back, before she could get away all she blacked out into darkness.
Luna was still looking at the picture.
"I made that one for you." A faint voice said.
Luna knew who it was. "I need to talk to you."
"It has been years since you last came and talked to me. Do you really expect me to listen."
Then a shadow fell over her, she felt like she was choking. "Please just listen, *Cough* I promise this *Cough* Isn't a trick *Cough Cough*. I don't want to hurt you." Luna said as she coughed, her eyes watering, it was getting harder to breath.
Then she saw those green and red eyes. "But I want to hurt you."
Luna fell to the ground she felt cold and she couldn't breath. Before she faded into darkness she whispered, "Sombra." |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 7: The Plot Thickens | Moonbeam gasped as her head jolted from the desk. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She saw Nova reading and Whirlwind was playing with floating cotton candy.
She felt something hanging on her cheek. She reached up and peeled off the piece of paper that was stuck to her face. She sighed as she looked up at the clock.
"Why is detention so long?" Moonbeam whined as she laid her head back on the desk.
"Because we are all evil little changelings that need to be punished for stuff we didn't even do." Super Nova growled as he continued to read his book.
The teacher looked up and shushed Nova. He frowned shook his head. He leaned back in his chair and kicked his back hoofs up on the desk.
Whirlwind flung a cotton candy wad at the teacher. The teacher looked over at Whirlwind, "Keep on buster and I will add another day of detention to your record."
Whirlwind scoffed as he sat back and begun to play with his cotton candy again.
Moonbeam looked around at the other ponies in the room.
There was only one other pony. A filly with a gray coat and a blue and white mane sitting in the back listening to music. Her head was gently nodding.
Moonbeam groaned as she looked at the clock, the time was slowly ticking by.
Moonbeam face planted on her desk, "Ouch!"
"Shhhh!" The teacher shushed as she lowered her book, giving Moonbeam a dirty look.
Whirlwind gave the teacher a dirty look. The teacher shot him a look back and continued reading her book.
"What's the matter cousin?" Whirlwind whispered.
"She hit her head on the desk, that is the matter." Nova said.
Moonbeam shook her head, "No, it's not that. I felt this really sharp pain just a minute ago."
"Maybe it is the lack of a horn. Without your horn all of your magic is bottled up without anyway to release it." Nova said as he flipped through his book.
"Nova can't you find any spells that could bring my horn back?" Moonbeam asked as she felt the top of her head. There is nothing, not even a bump to show that she even had a horn.
"Momo, I honestly doubt that there is anything I can do. That was experienced Alicorn magic, I can't go up against that. Besides once mom hears I got detention for using magic on school grounds I will be grounded until I die." He said as he glanced up at the clock.
"Is that clock even working? We are going to rot in here." Whirlwind groaned as he slammed his head on the desk.
The teacher looked up from her book again and sighed, "Maybe next time you guys won't pick a fight."
"No disrespect miss, you were not there and you didn't see what happened." Moonbeam said.
"Well the Principal thinks that you two are just having a hard time adapting to this new environment. Princess Twilight has briefed us on your situation but don't think that means you won't be punished like any normal student." The teacher said.
The teacher looked up at the clock and sighed, "I guess you young ones have been tortured enough. I will let you leave early today, but just this once."
Whirlwind was out of the door when the teacher said leave. Moonbeam and Nova got up and walked out along with the other filly who was in detention.
"Who is that?" Moonbeam asked, watching the filly walk away.
"That is DubStep. She is always in detention." Super Nova said.
"Why?" Moonbeam asked.
"She never takes off her headphones."
Nova, Moonbeam and Whirlwind were walking home. The castle doors started to appear in the distance and Nova groaned.
"Do you guys see what I see?" Nova asked.
Whirlwind and Moonbeam looked off into the distance and saw a familiar figure standing near the double doors of the castel.
In unison they both said, "Your mom."
All three hung their heads low as they neared Twilight. She stood by the doors with Shooting Star on her back.
Twilight looked at the three with a dissapproving look on her face. The three stopped in front of Twilight, not one making eye contact.
Twilight didn't say a word as she opened the door with her magic. The three entered the castel and Twilight followed behind them.
Shooting Star was the first to break the silence, "Bad Broder. Bad Broder." She yelled.
Twilight nodded, "That is right, bad brother. I want you three to march up those stairs and go into that bedroom. I don't want out hear a peep out of any of you. Just wait till your father gets home." She said, that last comment was directed to Nova.
The three made their way up the stairs as Twilight placed Shooting Star in her play pen.
Nova growled as he walked over to his desk. He pulled out paper and a pencil. He started writing vigorously. Whirlwind plopped himself on the ground. Moonbeam walked over to her bed and laid down.
Nova held up the note and it read, "I am going to cast a spell that will make my mom deaf to us for a few minutes. Don't be afraid but your voice boxes might shift."
Moonbeam and Whirlwind looked at each other worried as Nova cast the spell.
"There that wasn't so bad." He said.
"Are you sure auntie Twilight can't hear us?" Whirlwind asked.
"Positive." Nova assured.
He started pacing back and forth, "Man, I swear that principal hates me."
Moonbeam looked at Nova confused, "Why do you say that?"
"Because ever since she met me all she does is make my life a living tartarus." Nova said.
"What since like fillygarten?" Whirlwind asked.
"No, that's just it. She is new." Nova said.
"What? Like she was promoted from teacher to Principal new?" Whirlwind asked.
"Whirlwind how do you know so much about regular school? You have been homeschooled like me for your entire life." Moonbeam asked.
"Well Nova and I send each other letters a lot. He always vents to me about anything and everything." Whirlwind said.
"Ohh," Moonbeam said as she looked a little down at being left out.
Neither colt noticed as Nova continued with his rant, "No not like she was promoted she is completely new to the school. She just started working there last year."
"You never told me that, you just told me that she would purposely find ways to get you into trouble." Whirlwind said as he created some cotton candy and started to munch on it.
"Well the thing nobody knows except for me. But the first time I figured it out I even doubted myself. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me." SuperNova said as he thought back.
Nova was at the door to the Principal's office yet again. He knocked on the door gently and was welcomed with a loud, "Come in."
He walked in and sat at the desk. The Principal turned her chair around. "Nova do you know why you are here?"
"No ma'am, I don't" SuperNova said.
"You are here because I heard that today in the science lab, you made a beaker explode." She said.
"Oh yeah, that was by accident I..." Nova started
"Just because you are a prince doesn't meant that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want without consequences." The Principal said.
Nova nodded, " I understand Miss, and I don't think like that. In fact being a prince is quite the opposite because all eyes are on me. I have to be the perfect role model. So if I misbehave it isn't on purpose, I am only a pony after all."
The Principal frowned at the young alicorn, "Are you talking back?"
Super Nova shook his head, "No ma'am, I was just making a statement."
"Well that statement sounded like a smart remark. Don't worry you can make all the statements you want in detention." The Principal said as gave Nova the pink slip.
He growled under his breath, when he grabbed the paper he noticed the nameplate on the principal's desk. He moved closer to get a better look until the principal cleared her throat.
Nova nodded as he got up and stormed out of her office.
"I know my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. I am certain that is what I saw." Nova groaned.
"So what the name was different. Maybe it was her last name." Whirlwind said.
"No, it wasn't. I knew the principal's name, both first and last. This name was totally different." Super Nova said.
"What was the name?" Moonbeam asked.
"The name was Ms.Div" Nova said.
Luna coughed as her eyes fluttered open. She could faintly make out the sound of voices that were near her.
"Oh good, you're finally awake?"
Even though the voice was distant and her vision blurry she still could make out who it was.
Luna blinked a few times as she set her hooves flat on the floor. She pushed her body to stand only to collapse back to the ground.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I told Sombra not to hurt you too much, but I guess he got carried away."
"Chrysalis." Luna mumbled and she blinked.
Her vision was still blurry but it cleared up enough for her to make out the shape of the changeling queen in front of her.
"What are you...*cough* doing h...here? *cough*" Luna croaked.
Chrysalis smiled as she kicked a small bowl of water towards Luna. Luna drank from it greedily as she felt the cold water trickle down her throat. Luna cleared her throat.
"Feeling better?" Chrysalis asked.
"Answer my question?" Luna demanded as she lifted her head high, blinking away the blurriness away finally.
Chrysalis smirked, "Oh right, why am I here? Let's see...I am just helping a dear friend get revenge on the one who betrayed him."
Luna shook her head, "It wasn't like that, I care for Sombra very much. He knew better not to tamper with dark magic and Celestia and I had no choice but to lock him away."
Luna looked around, "Where is my sister?"
"Don't worry, she had her own little cage." Chrysalis said.
"You Can't Hurt Her! She Is With A Foal!" Luna yelled as she went to stand again only to collapse.
Luna crawled towards Chrysalis only to be stopped by a surge of magic.
Luna reached out and realized that she was in a bubble.
"What is this?" She asked.
"Oh that, just a little spell my dear of friend cast. It's amazing what the realm of dark magic can do." Chrysalis said.
As soon as the thought crossed Luna's mind Chrysalis spoke, "Oh and don't try using your magic. It has no effect, we made sure of that."
"You monster. What Do You Want!?" Luna yelled growing ever more angry every second.
"Well nothing too big really..."
"What!" Luna yelled again.
The corners of Chrysalis's mouth turned up into an evil smile, "Moonbeam"
"Excuse me?" Luna asked.
"You daughter, Moonbeam. You know the precious princess of the night." Chrysalis said.
"What do you want with my child?" Luna asked.
"Here, let me explain. You daughter is the product of both you and Sombra. Sombra being bathed completely in dark magic, and you yourself containing your nightmare magic, Moonbeam is almost completely constructed of dark nightmare magic. However, since you contain that dream magic she isn't completely dark, but at least most of her is made of her dark magic." Chrysalis said.
"I am aware of this. That is why I can here to seek Sombra's help." Luna said.
"So you were going to tell him?" Chrysalis asked.
"Yes I was, I was hoping that he would come back with me to help teach her how to control her powers." Luna said.
"Well we can't have that now can we. Besides Sombra doesn't even want to talk to you." Chrysalis.
Then is hit Luna, "You want Moonbeam for her power don't you?"
Chrysalis nodded, "Guilty as charged."
"You can't she doesn't even know how to control it, let alone unlock it. What makes you think that you can." Luna growled.
Chrysalis smiled, "Watch me."
"Don't you dare touch my child or else I will hang you by your own mane!" Luna yelled.
Chrysalis laughed, "Oh really, I would like to see you try."
Chrysalis pointed her horn to the wall behind her and an image appeared. It was Moonbeam and she was tossing and turning in bed.
"Awe, look at the princess having a nightmare." Chrysalis said.
Moonbeam opened her eyes and saw her mother.
"Mom." She yelled happily as she ran towards Luna. The more she would run the futher Luna would be.
"Mom?" Moonbeam asked as everything around her darkened. Luna's figure faded into the distance.
"Mom." Moonbeam sniffled.
She was in pure darkness. There was no concept of time or space. She looked around for somepony anypony. "Whirlwind? Nova?"
Nothing just silence.
"Mom?" She called out as she walked through the darkness.
She saw a figure in the distance, she walked closer and the distance matched her steps but in the opposite direction.
"Please don't leave me. I hate being alone." Moonbeam said as she teared up.
"I don't want to be alone!" Moonbeam screamed as she collapsed to the floor crying.
"Mom, you promised..."
Chrysalis smiled as she watched the young filly, "It is beginning."
Luna gasped as she wiped her own tears, "Moonbeam." |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 8: Enter Lilith | "Chrysalis!" Luna yelled as she charged at the barrier that was holding her back. Once she made contact she was thrown back.
Chrysalis just sighed and shook her head, "Go ahead, wear yourself out. That just means you will miss all of the fun."
A dark shadow floated into the room. Luna stared at it as those same tantalizing green eyes appeared. Then the shadow fell to the ground as it started to shape a pony. Sombra stood as the remains of his shadow form flowed into his mane.
"Sombra, I..." Luna started.
He put a hoof up to cut her off, "Not a word Luna. I wish not to speak to you."
Sombra made his way to Chrysalis, "What is next on the agenda?"
"Sombra be a dear and send the pregnant one back. But I need you to alter her memories." Chrysalis said.
"Why must I do that?" He asked.
"Because that will help us with phase two." Chrysalis said.
"What memories shall I give her?" Sombra asked.
"Use your imagination." Chrysalis said.
While looking over at Luna, Chrysalis leaned over and kissed Sombra on the lips. Luna watched as her jaw hit the floor.
"Please don't return it." She whispered.
Sombra closed his eyes as he kissed Chrysalis back. Luna felt her heart shatter into a million pieces as she crumbled to the floor, lying on the ground in defeat.
Sombra broke the kiss as he nodded and walked away to do his job.
Chrysalis looked down smiling at the broken princess.
"It feels good to win." Chrysalis said as she changed her form.
"Now if you excuse me princess, I have a day job to get to." Chrysalis said as she left Luna there on the floor in her little magical prison.
Luna growled as she stood up and charged again. She cried out as she was thrown to the ground. "What will become of my sister? What will become of my daughter?"
Moonbeam screamed as she sprung out of bed. She was drenched in sweat and her eyes were full of tears.
Whirlwind and Super Nova both woke up with a look of fear on their faces. Once they glanced over at Moonbeam that look of fear melted into a look of concern.
"Momo you alright?" Whirlwind asked as he walked over to her bed and patted her back.
Moonbeam pulled her knees close and just nodded as she continued to silently cry.
Super Nova left the room and reappeared moments later with Twilight following behind. At first she looked aggravated then when she saw Moonbeam her whole demeanor changed.
"Moonbeam dear, what is the matter?" Twilight asked as she took a spot next to the distraught filly.
Moonbeam turned her head to look at Twilight and she looked as if she was about to cry more, "I miss my mother."
Twilight reached out and pulled Moonbeam close for a soft and reassuring embrace as the young filly started to sob.
Twilight was waiting in the kitchen with the children's saddlebags. She had ShootingStar in her highchair and was feeding her breakfast.
The three came downstairs. Moonbeam looked like she was out of it.
"Are you sure you are well enough to go to school today? I can let you stay home." Twilight offered.
Moonbeam nodded as she plastered on the best smile she could manage. "I will be fine auntie Twilight. Thank you though."
She grabbed her saddlebag and was the first one out of the door.
Whirlwind and Nova shared a look of worry. Twilight bent down to their level, "I need you two to keep an eye on her today. Make sure she doesn't lose it today okay?"
The boys both nodded their heads. They grabbed their saddlebags and followed behind Moonbeam.
Twilight pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. She started to scribble on the parchment when Star cooed, "Leber. Leber."
Twilight smiled, "That's right, a letter." Twilight finished and rolled it up. She pulled Star out of her highchair and placed her on her back.
"What do you say we pay a little visit to Sweet Apple Acres?" Twilight asked as she handed Star the letter for safe keeping.
"Uncy Spike. Uncy Spike."
Moonbeam stared at the ground as the three walked to school. Whirlwind and Nova were a few steps behind her.
'We are going to be fine.'
Moonbeam stopped walking as she turned around and looked at the boys, "Did you guys say something?"
Nova and Whirlwind shared the same confused look as they shook their heads.
Moonbeam rubbed her head a little as she felt it ache a little. They continued their walk and in no time at all they were in the school yard. Ponies looked over and watched as Moonbeam walked by, some would whisper.
"I heard she got detention."
"Is she really a princess."
"I heard her horn disappeared."
Cupcake tackled Moonbeam and hugged her tight, "HUGS!"
"Ouch, Cupcake what are you doing?" Moonbeam asked as she gasped for air.
"Sharing my hugs?" Cupcake said as she got off of Moonbeam.
"Why?" Moonbeam grumbled as she picked herself up off of the ground and dusted herself off.
"Because hugs are funarific, especially when you throw one around a friend." Cupcake said.
Cheesecake walked over, "Besides, you looked a little down. Is everything alright?"
Moonbeam nodded, "Yeah everything's fine."
Grilledcheese appeared behind his sisters, "Are you sure? You don't have a smile on."
Moonbeam made the best fake smile she could manage, "Yeah I am fine honestly, don't worry about me."
The triplets looked at her with a look of disbelief. They backed off when Blitzenbolt appeared and gave them a look.
Moonbeam walked ahead as the group stayed behind.
"Is she okay?" Ruby asked
"Yeah she looks....destroyed. Detention couldn't have been that bad." Firefly said.
"It's not the detention. She woke up this morning in tears, and she said she misses her mother." Nova said.
Blitzen watched Moonbeam walk away. There was only on word to describe his look, Sympathetic.
Moonbeam was sitting in class taking notes silently. The girls were working delegently and every so often the would look at Moonbeam to see if her attitude or behavior shifted. It didn't
'Don't worry about mom. She is a tough mare, I am sure she can handle herself.'
Moonbeam looked up from her paper and looked around, "Huh? Did you guys say something?"
The girls all looked at her and shook their heads. Moonbeam looked back at her paper and continued her note taking.
'I know you can hear me, stop ignoring me.'
Moonbeam looked around again, the girls looked up and gave her a worried look.
'How much longer are you going to ignore me, because it is starting to piss me off.'
"Moonbeam is something the matter?" The teacher asked.
She shook her head, "No ma'am, I just thought I had heard something."
The teacher nodded as she went back to teaching.
'Hey Moonbeam! Hello! Acknowledge me!'
Moonbeam gritted her teeth as she whispered, "Be quiet."
The girls looked at her curious if she was speaking to any of them.
'I'm sorry Momo, what was that?'
"SHUT UP!" Moonbeam yelled as she grabbed her head and stood abruptly from her desk.
"Miss Moonbeam!" The teacher yelled.
Moonbeam held her head as the pain she felt before turned into a piercing headache. She cried as she fell to the floor and balled up in a defensive position as there was a loud ringing in her ears. Her vision started to blur then fade as ponies surrounded her and tried to help her up. She screamed some incoherent words as her whole world went black.
Moonbeam opened her eyes and found herself in a realm she never traversed before. It was a faint power blue. There was no ground of roof but yet she could stand. She was white speckles flying around this still realm.
She took a few steps and soon heard an echo of her steps.
"Hello?" She called out.
"Well I'm glad to see that you are finally awake." Said the voice. It was coming from directly behind her.
Moonbeam screamed as she turned around, "Who are you!"
"I'm Lilith." The pony said.
Moonbeam took a closer look. The filly looked like her. Lilith had a black coat with a transparent mane. Stars littered her mane and she had one black stripe running through her mane. The tip of her tail was black. She had a horn, but her horn had a red tip to it. Her eyes were green with red irises.
"You look just like me." Moonbeam said.
"Because I am you, I am your nightmare side." Lilith said.
"My what?" Moonbeam asked.
"Your nightmare side. You know how our mother had nightmare moon. Well that is what I am, but for you." Lilith said.
"Then why is your name Lilith?" Moonbeam said.
"Because it means, of the night. Since we were born during the night and since my magic is dark magic...."
"Wait, you have dark magic?" Moonbeam asked.
"Yeah I do. You do too, except your dark magic comes from me. When you're using your dark magic you are actually using me." Lilith said.
"So you are my dark side?" Moonbeam said.
"Ding, Ding, Ding, we have a winner. Let's get her a cookie." Lilith said as she thrusted her hooves into the air.
Moonbeam frowned, "So why did you call me here?"
"To warn you." Lilith said.
"Huh?"
"Let me explain, the night that we were born our mother put a spell on me to put me into a deep sleep. I was supposed to wake up once you earned your cutie mark and there she would teach you how to control me. Just like how she controls Nightmare Moon. Something happened and woke me up. I don't remember exactly what is was, but I think it was the time you were mad and you vented to our mother." Lilith began as she formed a circle with her hooves to show Moonbeam her memories as she told the story.
"That night you almost blew up the moon, that was me. It was an accident. I don't know how to control my powers either. I tried to speak to you but it was like you couldn't hear me. That nightmare you had last night gave me the ability to finally speak to you, and believe it or not, if it wasn't for me that dream would have done even more damage to your psyche. I felt the pain that you have felt, when you cried I cried. I am you. I have been trying to make us feel better but you kept ignoring me." Lilith said looking a little hurt.
"It's not my fault, I thought I was hearing things." Moonbeam said.
"Well, I am here for you. We are in this together....literally." Lilith said.
Both Moonbeam and Lilith laughed a little. Moonbeam heard muffled voices throughout the realm.
"If you ever need to see me or talk to me, just summon me here. This is your mental realm and here we can talk in private." Lilith said.
Moonbeam closed her eyes and before she woke up Lilith said, "Oh and another thing. If I talk to you just talk to me back, but not out loud. Think it as a thought and I will hear it."
Moonbeam nodded as she opened her eyes to see the ceiling. Her vision started to clear as she sat up a little. She looked around and realized that she was in the nurse's office.
"You alright?" Blitzen asked.
Moonbeam jumped a little in surprise as she saw Blitzen sitting next to her bed in a chair.
She nodded, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Good. Don't go freaking out anypony else okay." He said as he got up and made his way to the door.
"Thank you." She said.
He turned around and asked, "For what?"
"For staying with me to make sure I was okay." She said.
Blitzen turned around to hide a blush as he grumbled, "I was just doing a favor for Nova. Now we are even."
He left the room and Moonbeam smiled, because she knew he was lying. |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 9: The Elephant in the Room | Luna groaned as she opened her eyes. Her vision started to clear and she realized that she was still in her prison bubble. She raised her head and saw that the only pony in the room was Sombra and he has his back facing her.
"Sombra..." She croaked out in a hoarse voice.
He didn't turn, he didn't acknowledge her existence.
"S...Sombra..." She croaked again.
His horn glowed as a glass of water appeared next to Luna.
"There, now shut up." He said.
Luna drunk from the water greedily. She sighed when she finished the glass. She looked back at Sombra.
"Sombra?" She asked.
He didn't respond.
"Please talk to me?" Luna asked.
Sombra shook his head.
Luna growled as she stood up and hit the bubble with her hoof, "Please."
Sombra continued to ignore her.
Luna's expression twisted in anger and she yelled.
"Why are so angry with me?! You have no right to be!"
Sombra turned around, his expression also twisted in anger.
"I have no right to be mad! NO RIGHT! After you and your sister banished me to my icy prison! Then to have my return be in thwarted because that purple pony and her little dragon!" Sombra yelled, his deep voice vibrating the walls of the cavern.
"YOU WERE THE POWER HUNGRY ASSHOLE WHO PUT EVERYPONY'S LIFE AT RISK, INCLUDING YOUR OWN, WITH THAT DAMN DARK MAGIC!" Luna screamed.
"THE ONLY REASON I DID THAT WAS BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Sombra screamed back.
"YOU LOVE ME ENOUGH TO ALMOST KILLS YOURSELF AND EVERYPONY ELSE THAT I LOVE AND CARE ABOUT!!" Luna screamed.
"YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT YOUR MAGIC SURPASSED MINE AND THAT THE DELEGATES AND ROYALS WOULD JUDGE YOU FOR BEING WITH ME!!! I DID WHAT I HAD TO SO THAT WE CAN BE TOGETHER, WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT!?" Sombra screamed back.
"BECAUSE IT WAS STUPID SOMBRA!!" Luna screamed
Sombra took a deep breath as his head hung low. He gently whispered, "Then I guess my love for you was stupid."
Luna was taken aback by this. She backed up as she gently whispered, "Sombra..."
Sombra looked back at Luna with a look of pure hate and malice.
"I hope you rot in here"
Moonbeam yawned as she opened her eyes and blinked a few times.
She realized that she was in her bed. Whirlwind and Nova were snoring and drooling away.
'You can't sleep either, can you MoMo?'
'No I can't Lilly. What about you?' Moonbeam asked.
'I am apart of you, so if you can't sleep of course I can't sleep. It's not like I am sentient or anything.' Lilith said.
Moonbeam sighed as she sat up and rubbed her head.
'Hey...MoMo, I have lost contact with mother.' Lilith said.
'Wait you have contact with my mother? Why didn't you tell me?' Moonbeam asked, her facial expression matching the tone of her thoughts.
'Because she isn't your mother. She is mine.' Lilith said
'Huh, How?' Moonbeam asked.
'I really don't want to talk about it.' Lilith said.
'Why not?' Moonbeam asked
'Because you aren't ready to know. Just know that as of right now we are on our own.' Lilith said.
Moonbeam decided to drop it for the sake of not wanted to anger Lilly.
'Lilly?'
'Yeah?'
'Do you think I will see my mom soon?' Moonbeam asked.
'I can't answer that because, I am unsure.' Lilith said.
Moonbeam laid down and cuddled into her pillow as she looked out the window and watched as the stars danced against the silent night sky.
Moonbeam woke up to Twilight gently shaking her awake.
"Time to get up and get ready for school." Twilight said as she walked over to Nova's bed and shook him awake, then repeating the process with Whirlwind.
They groaned as they dragged themselves out of their beds and mad their way to the bathroom.
Moonbeam was the first out of the bathroom and she was sitting at the table waiting for the boys.
Star was sitting in her high chair and she was feeding herself applesauce. Moonbeam rested her head on her hoof.
Twilight came downstairs and gently rested her hoof on Moonbeams back.
Moonbeam looked up and smiled as she enjoyed the comfort.
There was a rough knock on the door.
Twilight sighed, "Now who could that be?"
She opened the door and Spike stood there with Applejack and their two little dragon ponies.
"Hi auntie Twilight." Sapphire said.
Twilight gently patted her head, "Hey there kiddo, how are you?"
"Good, daddy brought us here because he is has a letter for you." Sapphire said as she entered the castle.
Twilight smiled as Spike handed her the letter, "Here Twilight, this is for you."
Twilight smiled as she took the letter and opened it. She read it to herself and her expression changed. She looked up at Spike and said, "Can I speak to you and Applejack privately?"
Spike nodded as both he and Applejack followed Twilight to the other room. Moonbeam looked up confused.
'I wonder what is going on?' Lilith asked
'Me too' Moonbeam replied.
Moonbeam got out of her chair and made her way to the room that Twilight had taken Applejack and Spike too. She got close enough to make out them whispering. She tried to get closer, but by this time the boys had came bolting down the stairs.
Moonbeam tried to look for an escape route but it was too late, they ran into her full force and the three tumbled until they landed into a chaotic pile of ponies.
Whirlwind, Moonbeam, and Nova broke out into uncontrollable laughter.
"Let's do that again!" Whirlwind laughed.
Twilight poked her head out of the room to see what all of the ruckus was about. She smiled when she saw the three on the floor, laughing away.
"Would you kids be alright walking to school by yourselves today? I have so things I need to take care of here." She asked.
Nova stood up and brushed himself off, "Of course mom."
Whirlwind stood up and saluted Twilight, "Aye Aye Captain!"
Moonbeam face hoofed as she stood up and grabbed her bag from the table.
"Okay you three, try to have a good day in school today." Twilight said as she made her way over to them.
She gave Nova a kiss on his forehead and hugged Whirlwind and Moonbeam.
'Lilly, you there?' Moonbeam asked.
'Where else could I go? Hayburger?' Lilith asked in a sarcastic tone.
Moonbeam frowned, 'If only there was a way that I could pop you in the back of your head, that would be satisfying right now?'
'Oh shut your muzzle. On a serious note though, Moonbeam we need to talk when you have a chance. You still know how to get here right?' Lilith asked.
'Yeah, but why can't we just talk like this?' Moonbeam asked feeling a little worried.
'Because, I need to tell you something important. I can feel that something weird is going on and I feel like we might be in danger.' Lilith said.
'Okay, how about tonight? Instead of dreaming I can just talk to you.' Moonbeam suggested.
'Perfect,' Lilith said.
Moonbeam sighed when she saw the school appearing over the distance.
Whirlwind and Nova were talking to Sapphire. Redhot was resting on Sapphires back.
Moonbeam smiled, but her smile wasn't sincere. Lilith could sense it.
'What's the matter?' Lilith asked.
'This is only my third day of school and I have already managed to lose my horn, get detention, and pass out in class. I know this is my first time in public school, but I am pretty sure it isn't supposed to play out like this.' Moonbeam said.
"...What do you think MoMo?" Whirlwind asked.
Moonbeam looked over at the group, "Umm...Can you repeat the question?"
"I want to make Cupcake a present. I wanted to try and bake her something without using my magic." Whirlwind said
Nova laughed, "My mother is not going to let you near anything flammable. Do you remember who your father is?"
Everyone chuckled and Whirlwind bopped Nova on the back of his head, "Flankface."
"Whirlwind, you seriously like Cupcake don't you?" Moonbeam asked.
Whirlwind blushed and shrunk himself.
"I am not trying to pick on your cousin. I think it is really sweet that you want to make her a present, it shows how much you care." Moonbeam said.
"You really think so." said tiny Whirlwind.
Moonbeam nodded, "I know so."
The group made their way into the building and they dispersed going to their separate classes.
'Lilly?' Moonbeam called.
No answer.
'Lilly?'
Again Silence.
'Lil...'
Moonbeams thought was cut off as she fell back. She rubbed her head as she looked up to see who she had bumped into.
"We have to stop bumping into each other like this." Bullseye said as he offered her is hoof.
She took it and he helped her off of the ground.
"Thanks," She said an apparent blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Don't mention it, you are actually just the filly I wanted to see." Bullseye said.
"Huh?" Moonbeam asked looking a little dumbfounded.
"I was wondering if you wanted to go to Sugarcube Corner with me today?" Bullseye
Moonbeam blushed as her entire face turned red. She just stared at him as she struggled to speak.
Moonbeam cleared her throat and just as she was about to give him an answer her name was screamed from across the hall.
She looked to the source of the scream and she saw Blitzen calling her.
"Sorry, if you could excuse me for a second." Moonbeam said as she ran over to Blitzen.
"What do you want?" She asked with a hostile tone.
"Nova wants to talk to you." Blitzen said looking indifferent.
"Can't he wait?" Moonbeam asked.
"No Princess, he needs you now!" Blitzen said putting emphasis on the word princess.
Moonbeam rolled her eyes as she reluctantly followed Blitzen. She looked back at Bullseye and gave him an apologetic look. He nodded and walked away.
Moonbeam joined the group and looked at Nova. "What is it? What is so important that you need me now?" She asked still a little agitated.
Nova looked at her confused, "I didn't call for you."
Moonbeam's attitude shifted, "Blitzen said you did."
"Well I didn't."
Moonbeam growled under her breath as she looked around for Blitzen. She realized that he has mysteriously disappeared.
'Smell that?' Lilith asked.
'Yeah' Moonbeam replied.
'Smells like bullshit.' They said in unison.
Twilight was looking down as she read the letter out loud to Spike and Applejack.
"So what are we going to do about the children?" Spike asked.
"Ah don't know, but we haveta think of something." Applejack said.
"Well we can't just pull them all outta school." Spike responded.
"We may not have a choice" Twilight said. |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 10: Some Truths Revealed | Moonbeam sat in class, resting her head on her hoof as she listened to the teacher. Cupcake was munching on a cupcake. Firefly and Ruby were drawing and giggling.
Moonbeam had her eyes glued to the teacher, but she soon felt her eyelids grow heavy. She yawned and shook her head in a desperate attempt to stay awake.
'Moonbeam, I feel weak.' Lilly said.
'I do too.' Moonbeam said as her vision darkened and her eyelids fell shut.
Moonbeam opened her eyes and there was nothing but darkness around her.
'Lilly you there?' Moonbeam asked.
No answer.
"Lilith!?" Moonbeam called out loud.
Moonbeam started to run around. She turned around in circles in a desperate attempt to find Lilith.
"Hello my dear." Moonbeam turned and saw Luna.
Luna looked different, she was darker her coat was actually black. Her mane was almost completely transparent and almost resembled mist. Her mother was also wearing armor.
Moonbeam slowly walked forward, she was conflicted. This mare looked like her mother but she wasn't her mother.
"Mommy!"
Moombeam froze as she saw Lilith running towards the darker mare.
The mare hugged Lilith as tears streamed her cheeks, "Please tell me you and Moonbeam are safe my dear."
Lilith nodded, "We are mother but where are you and Luna. I can't feel you anymore, its like the connection is fuzzy."
"That is why I am reaching you now. I am Luna's last hope. Moonbeam is here as well." She said as she looked out into the darkness directly at Moonbeam.
Moonbeam slowly walked forward and Lilith watched her as she approached.
"Who are you?" Moonbeam asked in a very shaky and nervous tone.
"This is my mother Momo," Lilith said.
"I am Nightmare Moon and I am to your mother what Lilith is to you." Nightmare Moon said monotone.
Moonbeam started to connect the pieces, "So my mother really did do all of those bad things..."
"No my dear, I did them. I know this is very confusing and there is a lot to take in but believe me it will all make sense as you grow older." Nightmare Moon said.
Moonbeam sat down with Lilith as Nightmare shivered.
"I can't hold up much longer, this is draining a lot of our energy. Listen to me carefully girls. You two are in danger, there is a being out there who wants to use your power for evil. Luna and I are trapped we are far off from the Crystal Empire, deep in the middle of the winter wasteland. We can't escape....Ahh!" Nightmare collapsed.
"Mom!" Lilly scream as she jumped up to help her mother.
"I am fine dear, we can't keep this up much longer...I ahh!"
Moonbeam jumped up, "We wanna help!"
"No! Warn Twilight, tell the others and they will handle the situation. We need you two as far away from the evil as possible." Nightmare Moon shivered as she slowly started to fade.
"Mommy!?" Lilith screamed as tears streamed down her face.
"It's fine my dear," Nightmare Moon reached up and gently wiped away her tears. "Remember we love you both very much, no matter what happens we will always be there for you."
Moonbeam started to cry, and Lilith sobbed as she held onto her mother as she faded out of existence.
Moonbeam placed her hoof on Lilith's back for comfort. Lilith's sobbing ceased as she slowly stood up and turned around to look at Moonbeam.
"I don't care what my mother said, we are going to help." Lilly said, her eyes all but serious as the tears stopped.
Moonbeam nodded as she placed her hoof out. Lilly hit her hoof with her own.
"Let's do this."
Moonbeam woke up with tear stains littering her face and desk. Before anypony could see her she wiped the tears away and sat up.
Cupcake smiled at Moon as she held a cupcake out, "Want one?"
Moonbeam shook her head, "No thank you."
The teacher finished her lesson and everypony started to pack as the final bell rang.
"Remember your assignment is due tomorrow." The teacher yelled out as the students filtered out of the classroom.
Moonbeam passed the threshold and immediately heard her name being called.
She looked over to see Bullseye leaning against the wall with a quiver and a bow hanging off of his back.
"Oh hey," Moonbeam said, her tone being a little more excited than she wanted it to be.
"You never answered my question." Bullseye said.
Moonbeam looked confused trying to recall what he had asked. "Oh that, yes."
Bullseye grew excited, "Really?"
"Yes, I would love to go to Sugarcube Corner with you." Moonbeam said as she started to blush.
Bullseye has his own blush covering his cheeks, "Well then, I guess I will see you there. I have to go home and handle a few things first."
Moonbeam smiled as she nodded.
'Momo focus, we don't have any time for colts. We have to save our mother.' Lily said.
'Calm down, we are. Just one milkshake though. Besides I can't say no now, it would break his heart.' Momo said.
Lillith facehooved.
'I heard that.' Moonbeam said
'You were supposed to.' Lilith said.
Bullseye disappeared down the now empty hall. Moonbeam turned around and ran into Blitzen.
"Are you insane why did you say yes?" He asked.
"How long have you been there stalker?" Moonbeam asked.
"I told you to stay away from him princess, you haven't been here long enough to understand what type of colt he is." Blitzen said.
"Oh and you do? What are you some sort of Colt Cuddler?" Moonbeam said.
Blitzen gave her a disgusted look, "What is wrong with you?"
"What is wrong with me? You have done nothing but be vile to me since the moment we met. Now that I get a little piece of happiness you want to take that away. Screw you BlitzenBolt!" Moonbeam yelled.
Blitzen growled as he trotted close to her. Moonbeam backed away until she was against the wall. He slammed his hoof into the wall so hard that he cracked it.
"Listen here Princess, I am just trying to protect you from the evil and disgusting in the world. If you want to sit there and mingle with it then be my guest, but never EVER take my name in vain ever again. You got that?" Blitzen stressed between clenched teeth.
Moonbeam nodded as the color drained from her face.
He looked into her frightened eyes and growled once more before smashing his hoof into the wall effectively leaving a hole. He turned on his heel and trotted away.
Moonbeam slid to the ground, all of her knees were weak.
'You okay there?' Lilly asked.
Moonbeam nodded, 'I just felt that.'
Moonbeam stood up and walked down the hallway in the opposite direction that Blitzen had gone as she left the building.
The principle poked her head out of her office and watched as Moonbeam walked away, a smirk slowly growing on her face.
Moonbeam sat at the table as she finished her assignment. Once she was done she placed it in her backpack so that she wouldn't forget it tomorrow.
She found her auntie Twilight writing a letter in her study, Moonbeam slowly approached.
"Hey auntie Twilight, can I head over to Sugarcube Corner?" She asked.
Twilight sighed as she turned around and smiled, "Of course, just please be back before dark."
Moonbeam nodded as she left the castle. She was walking down the road on her way to sugarcube corner when she felt something hard hit her in the back of her head.
She turned around to see that is was a hardened piece of cloud. She growled as she looked up and try to find the source of the assault.
'Lilith what was that?' Moonbeam asked.
'I don't know...I think someone doesn't want you to go to Sugarcube corner.' Lilly said as Moonbeam turned on her heel and trotted off.
Hidden high in the clouds a little white pegasus poked her head out as she sighed and facehooved.
Moonbeam entered sugarcube corner and immediately was welcomed by Bullseye. He waved his hoof in the air to signal that they have a table.
Moonbeam sat down neck to him and Bullseye reached over and hugged her. She blushed profusely.
"I was afraid that you have gotten lost." Bullseye said.
Moonbeam shook her head, "No, I just got caught up trying to finish my homework."
Bullseye nodded, "I can understand that, I had to go home and help my mother with a few things."
Moonbeam nodded and instantly her mother came to mind.
'Lilith after this we need to get into auntie's study.' Moonbeam said.
'Yes we do. I feel like she knows something.' Lilly said.
"You okay?" Bullseye asked.
Moonbeam shook her head and then nodded, "Yeah I am fine, why?"
"You kind of zoned out there. I ordered you a strawberry shake." Bullseye said.
"Oh that will be good, I have never had one before." She said
Bullseye looked at her as if she had three sets of wings and two horns, "You have never had a milkshake?"
Moonbeam shakes her head, "No I have only had flavored milk, I haven't had it shaken."
Bullseye made an exaggerated gasp, "Oh Princess we must get you one right away."
Moonbeam gave him a friendly punch on the arm, "Don't call me that, I hate being called Princess."
Bullseye rubbed his arm, "Yes ma'am, message received."
The milkshakes were brought to their table. Moonbeam looked at it with a questionable look and Bullseye chuckled.
Moonbeam pulled her closer as she took a testing sip. She smacked her lips a few times before her eyes widened.
"This is delicious." She said.
Bullseye nodded, "Yeah you bet it is."
They drank their milkshakes in silence before Bullseye asked, "Have you ever had a colt friend before?"
Moonbeam blushed and almost choked as she swallowed hard, "Umm...no, not yet."
Bullseye scooted over a little closer, "Do you want one?"
'MoMo watch it, I have a bad feeling about this colt.' Lilly said.
Bullseye put his straw in her milkshake. Moonbeams heart started to race.
'No! Moonbeam don't ignore me. He seem dark, I can feel it. He isn't good. Please listen..." Lilly tried again.
Bullseye wrapped his arm around Moonbeam and pulled her closer. Moonbeam felt her entire body freeze up.
'Lilly, I can't move.' Moonbeam whined.
'He is doing something, I feel weird too.' Lilly said.
Bullseye leaned closer and looked deep into Moonbeams eyes as his eyes shifted from blue to red.
"Bullseye..." He whispered.
There was a loud cracking sound. Moonbeam was able to move again. She blinked a few times as she looked over to see Blitzen Bolt.
He had his hoof to the side of Bullseye's face. Everything moved in slow motion before Moonbeam's eyes.
She watched as Blitzen sent his other hoof flying into Bullseye's muzzle. Bullseye retaliated with a hit of his own. Moonbeam saw an elbow coming her way and before she could react it made contact with her face. She fell out of her chair and hit her head on the ground hard.
Blitzen froze and looked over at her. Bullseye saw the opportunity and he sent a punch flying to him.
"LOOK OUT!" Moonbeam screamed.
Blitzen ducked and threw another punch. His eyes darkened as he continued to punch Bullseyes face.
Blitzen sat on top of Bullseye and continued to punch him as blood started to splatter out of his nose. The lighting bolt in his mane and tail had a faint glow to it.
Moonbeam wiped her bloody nose and scrambled to get up. She noticed that all of the ponies were watching and screaming in fear.
Moonbeam ran over and wrapped her hooves around Blitzen's waist as she tried with all of her might to pull him off.
"Stop Blitzen, Please STOP!" She screamed as she finally managed to pull him away.
Blitzen started to calm as the glow in his mane and tail dimmed. Moonbeam sighed in relief. Bullseye looked bad but he will live.
Blitzen turned around and stormed off. Moonbeam looked at Bullseye one more time before she followed after Blitzen.
"Blitz, wait! Please!" Moonbeam yelled after him.
He stopped, his muscles tensed up as he turned and looked at her.
"I warned you Moonbeam. I told you to stay away from him. I told you what type of pony he was. You didn't want to listen and he almost had you!" Blitzen yelled.
Moonbeam was taken aback by his tone. She looked down at the ground, "You are right."
Blitzen's face soften as he heard her sniffle a little. He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I was so afraid. I didn't know what he would have done." Moonbeam said.
"It's his charm. He has a spell and he can get you to do whatever he wants. It only works on fillies." Blitzen said.
Moonbeam sighed, "I am sorry I didn't listen. Thank you."
Blitzen nodded as a blush crept into his cheeks, "You're welcome."
"My name."
"Huh?" Blitzen looked at her confused.
"You said my name. That is the first time you have said it since we met." She said
Blitzen nodded, "So..."
"I like how it sounds when you say it." Moonbeam said.
Blitzen blushed violently as he turned around. He heard the sound of hooves behind him as his ears perked up.
Moonbeam hugged him from behind as she sniffled, "Thank you BlitzenBolt."
"You're Welcome Moonbeam." Blitzen said.
He turned around in her embrace and without warning leaned down and kissed her cheek. Moonbeam blushed violently as she let Blitzen go.
He was blushing just as much as she was. He turned around a flew off as fast as he could. Moonbeam gently touched her cheek.
'Lilly?'
'I could have told you from the beginning but you needed to find out on your own.' Lilith said.
Moonbeam entered the castle to find Twilight gone. Whirlwind and SuperNova where racing toy cars along the table in the throne room.
"Where did auntie Twilight go?" She asked.
Whirlwind looked up at her, "She said she was running errands she will be back soon."
'We don't have a moment to lose.' Lilith added.
'Right' Moonbeam said as she made her way to Twilight's study.
Moonbeam rummaged through the drawers before she found a scroll written on royal parchment.
Moonbeam unrolled it and began reading:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
We have lost all contact with the Princesses. They went off to find him and we haven't heard any word for weeks. I sent out a few search parties and none of them have returned. I don't know how well Moonbeam will take it, we are fearful that her powers will spiral if her emotions get out of hand.
Sincerely, Cadence
Moonbeam gasped as she read it. She felt tears start to fall down her cheeks. She rolled the scroll up and put it back. She found another scroll deeper in the drawer. She pulled it out and read:
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Celestia has appeared at the castle. She is suffering from amnesia and she can't remember where Luna is or what happened to them. We took some tests and found out if the foal was alright. Celestia is healthy but she is beyond worried about her sister and that alone is not healthy for her, at least not in her condition. We have sent out more search parties to try to locate Luna but none of them have come back. Maybe you can get a hold of Discord and bring the kids to Crystal Empire. I want to talk to Moonbeam myself about the gravity of this situation.
Sincerely, Cadence
Moonbeam plopped herself down as she cried. Lilith was also crying.
"We are leaving in two days." Moonbeam heard a voice behind her. She jumped up to see Twilight.
"I'm sorry auntie, I just..." Moonbeam sniffled.
Twilight walked closer and hugged her tight, "I understand."
"Did you contact them?" Luna asked as Nightmare Moon approached.
She nodded, "It is done."
"And Moonbeam, my baby?" Luna asked.
"She is fine and well, just a little shaken up. She is also missing her horn. Was that supposed to happen?" Nightmare asked.
Luna sighed and nodded, "Yes, it is to keep her from using her magic. I placed a protection spell on her. If it is out of sight it is out of mind."
Nightmare chuckled, "You sound just like mother."
Luna shook her head as she heard screaming.
Luna was awoken by an aggravated shriek.
"DAMMIT THAT STUPID COLT!" Chrysalis screamed as she walked towards Luna and punched her magical prison.
"That dumb stupid flight jock has the hots for you daughter and he interrupted the entire plan. I now have to work around the mess he has created." She grumbled as she hit Luna's bubble over and over again.
"What is it about you night time mares that make all the stallions fall for you huh!?" Chrysalis sighed as she rested her head on the prison.
Luna sighed as she rested a hoof on the bubble. "Is that what this is all about Chrissy?"
Chrysalis growled as she used her magic to punch Luna in the face.
"Shut up!" She yelled as she ran out of the room.
"No matter how much blood I must shed, I will be loved." |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 11: The One True Pain | Moonbeam stared out of the window as the train chugged on. Whirlwind and Nova were cracking jokes and laughing. They had tried to include Moonbeam several times but they never got a response out of her.
Moonbeam stared at the ever changing landscape as a million thoughts ran through her mind.
'Are you okay Momo?' Lilith asked.
'I'm fine, I just don't know. How are we going to do this?' Moonbeam asked.
'I say we rip whoever took our mommy to shreds.' Lilly growled.
Moonbeam sighed.
Twilight looked over at the young filly and felt her heart breaking. She looked down at Star who was napping next to her. Twilight gently pet her daughter before she got up and walked over to Moonbeam.
Twilight took a seat next to her and gently placed a hoof on her back, "Are you okay Moonbeam?"
Moonbeam shook her head, "What if they can't find my mother?"
Twilight sighed, "I don't know, I don't want to give you false hope."
Moonbeam turned and looked at Twilight, her expression was empty. Twilight was taken aback by this. Moonbeam's eyes were blank and the color of her mane dulled, the transparent strip she had was cloudy.
"I hope we get there soon." Moonbeam said.
"Perfect! It seems that little flight jock didn't do much. Her emotions are still getting the better of her. Not long now before I break her." Chrysalis said.
Luna stood up and placed both hooves on her prison, "What do you mean break her?"
"How else would I release her true power? It's true, love is one of the strongest emotions which is why I feed on it. However, with your daughter being the Princess of Dark Magic, her magic is centered around..." Chrysalis stopped to let Luna finish.
Flashbacks rolled over Luna liked waves in the ocean. Her expression changed as she grew worried, "Hatred and Depression."
"Bingo!" Chrysalis said.
Luna's face twisted in anger as she smashed her hooves against the barrier.
"I will kill you if it is the last thing I do." Luna screamed as she continued to smash her hooves on her prison.
Chrysalis just laughed as she watched Luna throw her fit, "I am so scared princess. How are you going to get to me?"
The barrier cracked as little as Luna screamed, her voice warped a little along with her appearance. She started to resemble Nightmare Moon.
Chrysalis looked a little worried as she screamed Sombra's name.
Sombra ran in and immediately saw the problem. He used his magic along with Chrysalis to strengthen the barrier. Luna continued to pound on the barrier until she exhausted all of her energy. She collapsed, looking like a tangled mess. She started to sob uncontrollably.
"Why are you doing this, just let us go Chrysalis. My daughter has done nothing to you. I have done nothing...."
Chrysalis stomped over to Luna's prison and glared at the defeated princess. Sombra turned and walked away.
"You have done everything to me!? Your sister took the one I love, then you swooped in and took Sombra from me. Then you had that creature. She should have been mine. I just wanted to be loved and you and your sister took that from me!" Chrysalis said.
Luna felt bad, she crawled over to the edge of her barrier and gently placed her hoof on the barrier. Chrysalis growled and smacked the barrier.
"No matter, I will soon have all of the power I could ever want. As soon as I have access to your daughter's power nothing will be able to stop me."
"Chrysalis!" called a little colt as he ran through the cave.
Luna looked at the colt, he looked familiar. He has a black coat, grey mane, and a white target around his right eye.
"I did what you wanted. Can I have my file now?" Bullseye asked.
Chrysalis smiled as she patted his head, "Soon Bullseye, soon. Right now I need another favor from you. The Princess is on her way to the Crystal empire. Can you guess where you are going?"
Bullseye sighed, "The Crystal empire, but after this favor will you tell me who my parents are?"
"You have my word, Bullseye." Chrysalis said as she held out his train ticket.
He reached out and grabbed it before he turned and started making his way out of the cave.
"Who is that?" Luna asked.
"That is the key to setting your daughter off. He has the gift of charisma. He can get any pony to think or do anything he says." Chrysalis said.
"Your army is looking a little young Chrissy." Luna chuckled.
"Shut up, besides I am just using the poor fool. He is disposable." Chrysalis laughed as she pointed her horn to the wall and a picture of Moonbeam appeared.
"Momo." Luna whispered.
Moonbeam looked internally broken. Luna shook her head, "No"
"Yes, it is already beginning. I guess the thought of losing her only family is making her deteriorate mentally." Chrysalis said.
"Please Chrysalis, I will do anything. Just let her go." Luna cried.
Chrysalis looked down at Luna and smacked her barrier, "there is nothing you can do."
Chrysalis got up and turned and walked out of the room, her laugh echoed on the walls of the cave.
Luna sat there and continued to cry as she watched her daughters blank and emotionless expression.
When the train stopped at the Crystal Empire, Whirlwind and Nova were the first to get off.
"I can't wait to see Mi Belle Marie." Whirlwind said
Nova nodded, "Yeah it has been a while. I wonder if she acts like Auntie Cadence or Uncle Armor."
Twilight got off of the train with Star on her back. Moonbeam slowly dragged her hoofs behind all of them.
'Lily?' She called
'Yes Momo, what is it?'
'I am afraid of what Auntie Cadence is going to tell us.' Moonbeam sighed.
'Don't worry, I am here with you Momo. Besides we aren't going to be here much longer, you see the sun?'
Moonbeam looked up as the sun started to set, she nodded.
'That means it will be time to go soon.' Lilith said.
Two guards escorted Twilight and the children to the castle. One of the guards was Flash Sentry himself.
He nuzzled Twilight gently and she giggled.
"What is going on with Moonbeam, she seems out of it?" He asked as he looked at Moonbeam.
Twilight looked over at Moonbeam then back to Flash, "She misses Luna. She read my letters and she fears what Cadence is going to tell her."
Flash sighed as he shook his head, "Poor kid."
The closer they got to the castle, the faster Moonbeam's heart raced. She looked over at the boys. They were too busy chatting. She looked over at Twilight and Flash. They were whispering and looking at her.
The door opened as they neared them. She gulped as she started to grow more nervous as they started to make their way to Cadence. She was sitting on her throne with her filly sitting on her lap.
The filly had a white coat with a soft wavy purple and blue mane. The filly's eyes were closed as Cadence was brushed her mane. She set the brush down on the armrest as they approached her.
The filly opened her eyes as she looked at them and smiled, "Hello cousins."
"Hey Mi Bella Marie" Whirlwind said.
Marie rolled her eyes, "Don't you start. You know you just call me Marie."
Whirlwind and Nova both snickered. Twilight glared at them and they calmed down.
"Hello Twilight, I see you are well." Cadence said as she got off of her throne and hugged her sister-in-law.
Twilight hugged back. Star clapped her hooves together, "Aunie...Aunie."
Cadence smiled as she leaned over and gently nuzzled Star, "Hello Beautiful, look at you getting big."
"Where is Uncle Armor?" Nova asked.
Cadence looked down and patted Nova on his head. "He is handling something for me."
Cadence looked over at Moonbeam, Moonbeam held her breath.
"Momo dear, could you please take a walk with me?" Cadence asked.
Moonbeam nodded as she walked ahead to catch up to Cadence.
"Marie, remember that favor I asked you to do?" Cadence asked.
Marie nodded, "Everypony, please follow me."
Cadence gently rested her wing on Moonbeam's back as they started their walk.
Cadence took Moonbeam through a peaceful walk through the Crystal Empire. Moonbeam could hear her heart beating in her ears.
Cadence finally spoke as they rounded a corner, "Do you know why I wanted to talk with you privately Momo?"
'Play stupid, I don't think that she knows that we know.' Lilith said.
Moonbeam shook her head, "No auntie Cadence."
Cadence sighed, "Moonbeam do you know why your mother and Celestia left?"
"Yes, to find a magically pony that would help me control my powers." Moonbeam said.
Cadence nodded, "Do you know who the pony is?"
Moonbeam shook her head.
Cadence introduced Moonbeam to Sombra. She told her the dark history of the Crystal Empire and his reign. They stopped at a small quiet park. Fillies and Colts were heading home, most of them waving or bowing as they passed by.
Moonbeam listened intently. Cadence described his features, she emphasised the red tip of his horn. Moonbeam looked back to her red tipped tail.
"Moonbeam, Sombra was just a lost stallion who fell in love and did foolish acts in the name of that love. However, this mare wanted him just as bad. The sweet words he told her. How gentle he treated her. She fell in love with him almost as hard as he fell in love with her. To prove their love they made a contract bound in their blood. They had a little foal."
Moonbeam stared at Cadence, "Who was the mare he fell in love with?"
Cadence sighed, "Your mother."
Moonbeam's world came crashing down on her. Her mother had kept the truth from her. Moonbeam struggled to breath as she realized that she was the product of an evil and deranged stallion.
"So I am going to turn evil aren't I? Mother is going to have to seal me away like they did to my father right?" Moonbeam asked as she stood on the defensive.
"That is the other thing. Your mother and Celestia went missing. Celestia just came back to us but, her memory was wiped and we haven't been able to find your mother. We have had many search parties return empty hoof..."
Moonbeam started to tear up as she blinked rapidly to try and fight it back.
Cadence sighed, "You are aware that you are the next in line to take over your mother's role..."
"No..." She whispered as she started to back away.
Cadence looked at Moonbeam worried, "What dear."
"Find My Mother! Stop Being Lazy! Find Her!" She cried out as her tears stained her cheeks.
Cadence reached out for Moonbeam, "There isn't much land to search, we have already searched day and night. There is a party out as we speak. I feel like our efforts may be in vain."
"No..." Moonbeam whispered as she shivered.
"What?" Cadence asked.
"NO!" She screamed as she ran off.
"MOONBEAM!" Cadence yelled as she chased off after her.
Moonbeam rounded the corner and opened both wings. She started to flap them as she was preparing to take off. Cadence was right on her tail.
Moonbeam took off and Cadence was getting closer.
'Lily...'
'I got her'
Moonbeam felt a weight lift off of her body, a weight that she didn't know was there. She turned as she saw her shadow raise from the ground to grab Cadence and hold her down by her hooves as well as her wings.
Moonbeam stopped as she looked back worried.
"GO NOW" Lilith screamed.
"Lily what are you doing?" Moonbeam asked out loud as her shadow looked back at her.
"GO, NOW!" Lilith screamed once more.
Moonbeam nodded as she flew away. She made it to the edge of the Crystal Empire and landed as she left the barrier and started to traverse through the bitter blizzard.
Moonbeam lost all concept of time as she trudged on through the cold. She looked over her shoulder to see the Crystal Empire completely gone.
She tried to call out for Lilith, but was met with silence. She only listened to the sound of the wind as it whipped through her mane.
Moonbeam felt the terror start to grow as she looked around.
"I'm lost. Why did I do this? This is stupid." She said as she pushed on.
Her legs started to weaken as she pushed them harder, her wings were tight against her body as she tried to hold on to the little warmth she had.
She took another step that made her roll down a small hill. She tumbled and slid to the bottom. She laid there as she tried crawling.
All of her energy drained from the lack of food, water, warm, she did the only thing a filly in her position could do.
"Mom!? Lilith!? Auntie!? Whirlwind!?" She cried out as she balled up. Her eyelids felt heavy and they closed as she heard the sound of hooves approaching her.
Her body shut down completely as the hoof steps got closer.
"I'm all alone." |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 12: Father and Daughter | Luna was curled up on the floor in her magical barrier. Her eyes both closed and she was shivering. Her mane's flow had slowed substantially.
Chrysalis entered the room as she looked over at Luna. "Don't start dying on me just yet princess. We need you to stay alive for the grand finale."
Luna coughed as she weakly lifted up her head and looked up at Chrysalis, "What...What have you been doing to me?"
Chrysalis smiled, "Notice anything about your health? Your power perhaps?"
Luna rolled her eyes, "I am getting weaker. I am not stupid, I know you tampered with my food and water. I have no choice but to eat and drink or else I would die quicker. However, eating and drinking would just prolong the inevitable."
Chrysalis smiled and stomped her hooves on the ground, "Ding, Ding, Ding! We have a winner. You don't seem so worried about possibly losing your life."
Luna looked down as a deep dark chuckle started to erupt from deep in her chest as she raised her chin and looked at Chrysalis.
"You said Possibly..." She whispered.
Chrysalis looked worried at Luna, "What?"
Luna's gaze locked onto Chrysalis as she smirked, her eyes shifting from her eyes to Nightmare Moons.
"You said probably, which means you yourself don't even know if your litter tampering is enough to take me down. Shows how much faith you have in yourself."
Chrysalis growled as she gritted her teeth, "Shut up..."
"You couldn't pull this off on your own, you needed Sombra didn't you. He probably accepted your love, but you know that no matter how much you give him, it will never match up to the love he had...still has for me." Luna continued as her voice began to warp.
Her anger started to grow as Chrysalis walked over to Luna's prison. She smacked her hoof against it, "Shut your mouth!"
Luna chuckled as her form started to change. She stood up tall her gaze still locked onto Chrysalis, "What is it Chrissy, can't handle the truth?"
Chrysalis screamed as she started to smack her hooves and elbows onto the barrier.She even started to head butt the barrier as well. "I'm gonna kill you."
Luna nodded as she continued to add fuel to the fire, "So how does it feel, to never feel true love."
Chrysalis screamed as she continued to smack the barrier with all of her strength. She was screaming and sounding completely feral.
Sombra ran in and gave a worried look at what he saw. He ran over and managed to restrained Chrysalis. He used his magic to strengthen the barrier.
Chrysalis had her gaze fixed on Luna, her mane was a mess and her eyes were hungry for blood.
"Screw you Luna, I hope you burn in tartarus you stupid wrench." Crysalis screamed as Sombra continued to hold her back.
Luna chuckled, "Is that supposed to scare me? Hurt my feelings?"
Sombra looked at Luna and his jaw dropped. He saw the power that was coursing through her. Even though she was getting weaker by the day she still had enough power to match, if not outmatch him and Chrysalis.
Sombra knew that she was using what little power she possessed and despite all of the smoke and mirrors it wasn't a lot.
Chrysalis continues to struggle against Sombra's hold, he looked at her eyes she seemed completely gone. He grabbed her chin. Instantly the power Luna had started to fade.
Sombra hugged Chrysalis close as he rested his lips onto hers. Chrysalis ceased her flailing and started to relax in his grip. Luna collapsed onto the floor in a heap, not only did her plan fall, but her heart was breaking.
When Sombra broke the kiss Chrysalis licked her lips, "Oh...Sombra, you ladies man. Those lips are even sweeter than love."
Chrysalis looked over at Luna as she saw Luna's head hanging love as a small dark cloud began to form. The first time they kissed Chrysalis has kissed him, but this time...he kissed her.
Luna sniffled as she rested her head in her hooves. Sombra looked away, he didn't want to see the princess in that state. He grabbed his spellbook and made his way home.
Chrysalis just watched him as he left and then turned her attention back to Luna. "Brava dear, you almost had me. You got my anger to build to the point of bloodlust. I applaud you, you would have escaped if I would have broken that barrier. But what would have been your course of action once it was gone, you know I would have snapped your neck right?"
Luna just stared at the ground.She nodded her head to the left quickly to make her messy mane cover her face.
Chrysalis chuckled as she looked down at Luna. "What a poor unfortunate soul." Chrysalis laughter rumbled deep in her throat as it grew louder. She turned on her heel still laughing as she left Luna alone with her thoughts.
Luna sighed, "How could this get any worse?" She said as she looked up and stared off into space as Chrysalis's laughter echoed through the walls.
Sombra entered his home, he pushed the door closed with a tight slam again the howling wind of the snowstorm. He hung up his scarf and placed his spellbook gently on the table.
He walked to the kitchen and fetched himself a small cup of coffee. He took it black and straight as he trotted over to the living room. He sat down in his chair near the fireplace as he set his coffee on the little table next to the chair. He levitated his spell book over to him as he opened it and flipped through the pages.
Halfway through a page, his mind seemed to wander and his eyes began to follow. He looked over to his hallway. He wondered if the little filly he brought home had woken up yet. He decided against going in and checking on her. His eyes traveled back down to his spellbook and he picked up where he left off.
The little filly's eyes fluttered open, she slowly sat up as she rubbed her eyes. She felt a resounding pain in her head, but it soon faded.
She turned her body as she let her hooves hand over the side of the bed. She climbed down and walked over to the bathroom. She turned on the sink and washed her hands and her face. She looked at herself in the mirror as she dried her face off. She turned the water off and continued to look at the face staring back at her. She saw bright silver eyes looking back at her, a black messy mane that draped over her shoulder. She looked at her reflection and eyeballed the transparent strip that ran through her mane.
"What is this?" She soon shrugged it off as she picked up the Brush and fixed her hair. She then climbed down and made her way to the hallway. She slowly trotted down the hallway looking around for anything that would jog her memory and tell her where she was. She didn't recognize anything as she continued to look around at the bare walls and peek into the other rooms.
One was a small library loaded with books, the other was a room with a bunch of potions with papers littering the floor. She walked past the kitchen and into the living room. She saw a tall stallion sitting in a chair, his nose attached to his book.
She walked over to him and sat in front of him. She waited a good few minutes to see if he would look up. When he didn't she cleared her throat. The book slowly started to drop as the stallions face rose to look at the small filly.
"Um. Hi Mister. I hate to be a bother but could you tell me where I am?" She asked.
Sombra sighed as he set his book down on his table. "We are in my house."
"I get that, but where?" She replied.
Sombra chuckled, "Very Very far away from the crystal empire."
The filly tilted her head confused, "How did I get here?"
"I brought you here once I found you passed out in the snow." He said.
The filly looked around the living room curiously. Her ears perked back a little at the sound of the wind howling. "What was I doing out in this blizzard?"
"I don't know kid you tell me."
The filly looked at the ground as she shook her head, "I don't remember."
Sombra's eyes widened, "Interesting, well do you have any means of reaching your parents. Maybe an address that we can send a letter too?"
She shook her head again, "No I don't even remember if I have parents."
Sombra nodded as he grunted, "That is odd. Well you are welcome to stay here as long as you like. The only rule being that you are not allowed in the potion room."
The young filly nodded.
"Do you at least remember your name?" Sombra asked.
The filly looked around and soon stared off into space as she entered deep thought.
"M...M...M...Mo?" The filly mumbled.
Sombra quirked an eyebrow. "Mo?"
The filly jumped up, "Its Momo, I remember the name Momo"
Sombra chuckled at her behavior, "Alright, Momo it is."
Momo turned her attention to the book that was sitting on his table. "What were you reading?"
Sombra picked up the book, he smirk as he came up with an idea, "It is a magical tale about a princess who meets a daring prince and they ride on a magical dragon to save the trolls of cantermore from the evil Dr. Doom and..."
Momo put her hoof up, "Let me stop ya right there mister. I maybe a filly but I can clearly see that the book has a dark magic insignia on it. So I believe that is either a spellbook or a history book. Given how worn the pages are I would say spellbook, because no one reads a history book."
Sombra's eyes widened. He went to speak. Momo cut him off again. "I maybe a filly mister, but do not insult my intelligence."
Sombra snickers and laughs, "Well, well, well excuse me young one."
MoMo smiled, "What do I call you mister, do you have name?"
Sombra nodded, "My name is sombra."
"Sombra. Sombra... Yeah I like that name." MoMo said as she walked over closer to him.
Sombra smiled as he looked at her and then his book. "Do you wanna read it?"
"Can you read it to me, I don't remember if I know how to read or not. I would rather not embarrass myself." MoMo said.
Sombra chuckled as he picked her up and sat her on his lap, "Okay, I will read it to you."
He flipped open to the first page, "Now this is the spell that is used to control the shadows..." |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 13: Lost and Forgotten | Luna coughed as some blood stained her lip, she reached down and touched the warm sticky ooze as she gasped looking down at her hoof.
"I have to get outta here, I don't what that witch will...."
A loud boom echoed through the cavern, Luna weakly brought her head up.
"WHERE IS THE LITTLE RUNT!" Chrysalis's voice echoed throughout the halls.
Luna was taken aback by this. "Who your little worker?"
Chrysalis smacked Luna's prison, "No your damn tartarus spawn! I can't seem to locate her anywhere. She has fallen off of the face of the equestria!"
Chrysalis brought her map up and was zooming everywhere.
"How were you finding her before?" Luna asked.
"Through Lilith." Chrysalis replied as she turned around with a smirk.
Luna looked up at her with disbelief.
"Oh what is the matter darling, you didn't think we knew about Lilith. Her own version of her nightmare form." Chrysalis smiled. "If we can trigger her and cause her to throw away all knowledge of right and wrong, then we can get the two to fuse and oh boy. The chaos that little creature would cause will be the so powerful, not even the little elements of harmony could stop her. She would leave everything in ruins in her wake. I get so excited just thinking about it." Chrysalis gushed as she continued to diligently searched on her map.
"All of this...Because you weren't loved. Because my sister and I fell for the stallions that we were meant to be with?" Luna asked as she coughed a little more blood up.
"Well when you say it like that you make me seem childish." Chrysalis said.
"You are aware that you will have no control over Moonbeam when she has reached her darkest state. She would be a danger even to you." Luna explained.
"I have taken that into consideration and frankly... I Don't Care!" Chrysalis said.
"Innocent lives, you would be willing to risk all of them just so you can get...EVEN!" Luna coughed.
"Yes Princess, do you not get it yet. I want everyone, everything to cease to exist." Chrysalis growled.
"Will that make you truly happy?" Luna whispered.
"Yes it will" Chrysalis said as she walked off.
Luna sighed as she coughed again, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm gonna lose...my daughter..."
Momo was up bright an early, she ran around the house looking for Mr. Sombra.
"Mr. Sombra?"
No response. She tilted her head confused but brushed it off of her shoulder.
"Maybe he went to work or something."
She stumbled across the library and she grabbed a spell book off of the shelf, "Dark Magic and you. Ohhhhh!"
Moonbeam climbed into the big recliner and got comfortable as she opened the book and read.
She started to rub her eyes halfway through reading the book. She felt a pain start from behind her eyes. She rubbed her eyes more, hoping to ease the pain.
Then it begun to branch out, her whole head was hot, burning and pounding. Her eyes begun to tear up as she whined.
"Ow, my head really hurts." She whined.
The words on the page grew fuzzy as her vision blurred. She broke into a sweat as she fell off the recliner and onto the floor. She balled herself up into the fetal position.
"Ouch, ahhh... OW!" She cried.
Her whole body was overheating and before she knew it she had passed out.
Momo opened her eyes and looked around, she was floating in complete and utter darkness. She tried to stand up but there was no ground. She flapped her wings and positioned herself what she believed was right side up. She looked around and behind her saw a little bit of light shining. She went to breath, but felt like something was filling her lungs, she held her breath and started to paddle to the light.
The closer she got, the more air she lost. She noticed the light was a small window, a bubble if you will. She pushed through it with all her might.
Momo broke through and fell to the ground as she coughed and hacked, taking a few deep breaths to feed her lungs some air.
She rose her head and looked around as she slowly staggered to her hooves. "Where am I?" She asked as she walked about. There was a little grass hill with a single tree on top.
There was a pony standing on the hill, she was about momo's age and she looked deep in thought.
"Hello?" Momo asked nervously as she started to climb the hill to meet with the pony.
The pony turned and looked at her, she had Mr.Sombra's eyes, and his horn.
"Hey are you Mr.Sombra's sister?" Momo asked.
"I don't know who I am. I feel like we are friends though." The pony said.
"We look a little alike, or course we are friends." Momo said.
"We were looking for something, something important. I can't remember."
"Do you have a name? Mine is Momo."
The pony looks at her and smiled, "I like that name. My name?"
She took a minute as she looked down at her hooves, she gently rubbed her temples.
"L...Li....Lilly. I think it was Lilly." She said.
"That is a pretty name. Lilly do you know how I got here?" Momo asked.
"Not sure, I mean I can't leave here." Lilly replied.
"Wanna come back with me?" She asked.
Lilly shook her head, "I wish, but I feel like I am where I need to be."
Momo nodded, "Ok"
The ground shook. Almost knocking the girls over.
"What was that?"
Lilly shook her head, "I have no idea"
The ground shook harder this time, knocking Momo over. Lilly was able to maintain her footing.
Momo gasped as she felt wind start to push her harder.
"What's happening!!" Momo screamed.
Lilly held onto the tree, "I don't know. Where are you going?"
Momo shook her head as her wings opened, "I don't...AHH!"
Before she was knew it Momo was sucked back into the darkness.
Momo woke up to Sombra shaking her, she was drenched in a cold sweat.
"Huh? What happened?" Momo asked.
"I don't know, I came home and you were passed out on my floor." Sombra said.
Momo rubbed her head.
"You didn't get into my potions did you?" Sombra asked.
She shook her head, "No I was reading a book and then I passed out. I guess I was just sleepy."
Sombra chuckled, "I wouldn't be surprised, you little ones do need a lot of rest. I made some food, come eat before it gets cold."
Momo nodded as she stood up, she looked at the book that was closed on the flood.
'Maybe it was just dream?' She thought to herself.
Momo rubbed her temple as she followed behind Sombra. She shook her head, she wasn't sure but she swore she heard Lilly speaking to her from a far off distance. |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 14: Memories flooded back | Momo woke as she climbed outta her bed and ran to down the hall. She heard soft humming coming from the library and she walked in to find Sombra sitting in his chair reading his book.
The sound of the little ones hooves clopping against the floor made Sombra peek over his book to see her standing in the doorway.
"Good morning little one, how did you sleep?" He asked as he set the book down on the table.
Momo just shrugged, "I slept fine. What about you?"
He chuckled, "Do you think we should take you to the Crystal Empire to see if we can find out where you came from?"
She shook her head, "I don't remember if I have parents. But I feel like there is something I am missing. Someone I need to find."
She stomped her little hooves onto the ground, "And I won't stop till I find it."
She smiled as she flapped her little wings and flew up to Sombra's level.
"Besides Mr. Sombra I wanna stay here with you. You are nice and you teach me stuff. Even though I can't really use magic, it is still fun to learn about it." Momo said as she floated back down to the ground.
Sombra smiled as he pulled out a different spell book. "Well how about I teach you some more spells. Summons are always fun."
Momo nodded as she climbed into her lap. Despite this Stallion being somewhat of a stranger, she just felt like it was right hanging around him.
He smiled at the enthusiastic filly as he opened the book and begun reaching to her the steps on how to perform the summons.
Luna took deep breaths as she tried to reach out to Nightmare Moon.
"Please Nightmare...p..please..."
'Luna, I am afraid we do not have enough strength to reach out to them. I feel like our connection has been interrupted. But not due to our strength. There is something else blocking it.'
Luna teared up, "I'm a failure. I couldn't even protect my own daughter. I even broke our promise."
Nightmare sighed 'I have faith in her. She is growing after all.'
Luna's head laid on the ground as she stared at the barrier. She heard the sound of hooves behind her. She ignored them.
"Oh what Luna, not gonna acknowledge me?" Chrysalis asked.
Luna just stared straight.
"Oh was it because of that passionate kiss Sombra and I shared. Oh let me tell you dear Luna, it was amazing. His tongue is so powerful." Chrysalis said as she made her way to the side of the barrier that Luna was staring at.
She lowered her head and looked into Luna's eyes. They were started to fade from their blue color to a light blue, almost grey.
"Oh and that isn't all we have done. We have shared a few passionate night..."
Luna rose her head, "You lier!"
"Oh no sweetheart it's no lie. Let me tell you mmmmhhhmmm." Chrysalis stated as she licked her lips.
Luna growled, "Then where is your egg?"
"No sweetie that isn't how that works. I only lay eggs when I want to bear children." She stated as she turned. She shot the wall with her horn to show pictures.
"Oh look there Moonbeam is. Oh and look who is on the scene." Chrysalis stated.
Luna looked and saw Moonbeam was sitting in Sombra's lap and he was reading to her. Her eyes widened at she looked to Chrysalis.
"Does he know?" She asked meekly.
"No he doesn't, all he knows about this mission is that we are looking for your kid. That is all. He only knows that she is an alicorn filly named Moonbeam." Chrysalis smiled.
She used her magic and spoke outloud, "Bullseye?"
Luna tilted her head as she heard the colts voice echo through the walls. "Yes?"
"She is at Sombras house. Go there, take her, and bring her here." Chrysalis said.
"You got it." He said before his voice faded away.
Luna shook her head, "No...please...leave her alone."
Chrysalis got down to Luna's level, "Your clock is ticking Luna. I don't know if you will make it for her to even see you again."
Luna's head flopped onto the ground. "Please Chrysalis...I will do anything..."
Chrysalis got up and turned her back, "Too late."
There was a soft knock at Sombra's door. He looked down at the sleeping filly in his lap. He gently got up and set her down in the chair. She fussed a little, but went back to napping peacefully in the chair.
Sombra approached the door and peeked out the window. He opened the door to see Bullseye.
"Chrysalis wants to see you." He said.
Sombra looked back at the sleeping filly and he nodded as he gently closed the door and locked it.
Moonbeam felt something tugging at her and a faded voice in the background said.
'Wake up. Wake up!'
Moonbeam got up as she wiped her eyes. She looked around to realize that Sombra wasn't there anymore. She got up and made her way to the bathroom.
She washed her face as she heard the voice coming in louder.
'Can you hear me? Momo it's me.'
Momo tilted her head as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, "Lily?"
'You can hear me great!' Lily cheered.
"Where are you?" Momo asked as she looked around the room.
'I think I'm in your head or something. I don't know. I don't feel like i have a physical being." Lily stated.
Momo looked at herself and just responded, "Well what's up?"
'Don't you get the strange feeling that we were supposed to look for something?' Lilith asked.
Momo nodded, "Yes I do, but I can't remember what."
Lily sighed, 'You too huh? Man this sticks. I feel like it was really important too.'
"Oh wait. Lilly since you are here, why don't I teach you some of the spells that Sombra taught me?" Momo asked.
'Yeah, that could prove to be fun' Lilly said.
Momo raced to the library, "Oh but you won't be able to see the picture will you?"
'No, I can see.'
"Really?" She asked.
'Yeah, somehow I'm looking through your eyes.' Lilly said, 'Turn your head.'
Momo did and Lilly saw something that caught both their eyes.
'Hey Momo, that book with the dark blue cover. Is that a spell book?'
Momo shook her head as she slowly approached the book on the shelf. It was on a low shelf all by itself. It was laying on its side and the spine of the book read "Memories."
"I don't think it is. But it says memories on it. Maybe these are Sombras memories." Momo reached out for it but pulled her hoof back.
'What's wrong?' Lilly asked.
"What if I make Mr. Sombra mad. He has been such a great friend. I don't wanna read this book if it's personal." Momo said.
Lilly sighed, 'Yeah, but can't we just say that we were curious. He would forgive us, he has been nothing but awesome this whole time.'
Momo raised and eyebrow, "How did you know that."
'Everything you see, hear, say or do I'm right here. It's weird and I can't explain why but, it's like we are connected somehow.' Lilly said.
Momo's curiosity got the best of her because she was she grabbed the book. She had this nagging feeling that this book would help her. She dragged it to the chair and climbed into the chair holding the book.
'Oh I'm excited, and nervous. I'm nervousited!' Lilly cheered.
"Why does that sound familiar?" Momo asked.
'I don't know, but open it already.'
Momo flipped to the first page and there were pictures of a colt Sombra.
"Oh look he looks so angry in this picture." Momo laughed. Lilly joined her.
'Oh look at this one, he is in school. OMG he had braces!'
The girls laughed as she flipped to the next page. "Oh look he is in a suit. Who is that mare next to him?"
Momo looked closer at the picture. She felt a small pounding start to happen in her head. "Lily what are you doing?"
'Nothing, but I feel it too' She whined.
Momo flipped the page, the pain wasn't that bad. She saw more pictures of him happily with a mare. This mare has a dark blue coat, wings and a horn. She had bright blue eyes and short blue hair. Momo flipped to the next page and the two were full grown. The Mare was nuzzled into Sombra.
Momo's pain was unbearable, her head pounded as she fell to the ground screaming.
'We are gonna be okay Momo....OUCH!' Lilly said before her voice faded.
There was sound coming from the living room. Momo was holding the top of her head as the splitting headache grew. Momo felt something growing from underneath her mane.
She could barely see past her tears as her eyes were cloudy. She saw the outline of a colt and heard a small voice past the loud ringing in her ears.
"What's Happening!" |
Daughter of the Night | Ch 15: Punishment and Plan | Bullseye took a few step backs as he watched Moonbeam sprout a horn from her head. She screamed as the pain was too much.
"What's Happening?"
Moonbeam fell to the ground. She sniffled and cried as she struggled to stand on all four hooves.
'MOONBEAM!' Lilly screamed.
The memories came flooding back, she saw her. She saw her mother, leaving. She saw herself running away to find her. She saw herself in school, her friends, her family. She shook her head as she growled trying to fight the ringing in her ear and the flooding of her memories. With the overload it felt like her brain was melting and dripping out of her ears.
She reached up with her hoof and felt something wet and warm on her ear, she brought her hoof to her face. Her vision blurred and the whole world was shaking before her eyes. She looked at her hoof and squinted as her vision was blurry. She was able to make out some dark red liquid.
"What the hell? Screw this." Bullseye said as he turned on his heel and ran out of the house leaving the door open and letting the snow blow through.
Moonbeam blinked as her vision slowly started to return to her. She saw the wide open door and looked around at the house she was in. It looked very familiar. She shook her head as she whispered, "I want mom."
'Come on MoMo, we have to go get our mother!' Lilly said.
Moonbeam nodded as she ran to the room she was staying in. She grabbed her stuff and some extra food from the fridge. She strapped on her saddlebag and wrapped herself in her coat. She walked to the door and turned to look at the house once more. She ran to the study and grabbed the spellbook that she has been reading and that he read to her before she left. She closed the door behind her as she started to make her trek through the snow.
Moonbeam's head hung low as she pushed against the brutal wind. The snow and ice whipped and smacked her in the face. Her horn was glowing dimly as she remembered how to use basic spells.
'Lilith what happened?' Moonbeam asked.
Moonbeam looked up and saw a shadowed outline of Lilith in front of her. She gasped and fell back.
Lilith giggled, "Sorry didn't mean to surprise you. I just thought it would be easier if we did this together. While I can't completely escape from our mind, I am able to project a shadowed image of myself through your horn."
"That is really cool. I guess we are stronger than we realize. But don't ever scare me again!" She smiled as she pushed forward.
Lily nodded as she followed Moonbeam.
"There is something over that hill there, I see light!" Lilly said.
Moonbeam nodded as she pushed with all her strength. She continued to the source of the light. She stumbled as she got to the top of the hill. She looked and blinked.
"HOW! Lily we got turned around!" Moonbeam tried to turn around, but before she did she heard, "WE FOUND HER!"
"Run!" Lily shouted before she disappeared back into Moonbeams horn. Moonbeam shook herself off as she started to run down the hill. Losing her footing she tumbled to the bottom of the hill. She landed flat on her stomach, using every bit of her strength she got onto all four hooves. She started to try and run through the snow. She panted as her hooves kept getting caught in the deep snow. A guard grabbed her and seized her by her saddlebag.
"WE GOT THE PRINCESS! ALERT PRINCESS CADENCE!" The guard yelled.
Moonbeam kicked and screamed, "LET GO!"
The guard touched his horn with Moon's and she felt her eyes droop and drop as she faded away.
Moonbeam rubbed her eyes as she slowly started to wake. She sneezed as she sat up in the bed. She looked around as her vision started to focus.
She saw Blitzen sitting in a chair reading a book. Moonbeam groaned as she felt her head pounding.
"Good morning Princess." Blitzen said as he got up and gave her a glass of water. Moonbeam didn't realize how parched she was until she drunk the glass in one swift gulp.
"How are ya feeling?" He asked.
Moonbeam sighed and nodded, "Could be better. Let me guess you are gonna call me stupid?"
Blitzen shook his head. The look he had on his face was on of concern and that kinda confused Moonbeam.
"I thought you didn't like me?" She asked.
"I don't like the stupid decisions you make. But I don't hate you. You are my well, you're my friend." Blitzen said.
Moonbeam blushed a little.
"In all honesty I expected you to be some sort of spoiled brat when I first met you. That was why i was so cold. But since you ran away to try and find you mother. I honestly have a new level of respect for you." Blitzen stated.
Moonbeam smiled, "Th...thank you."
Blitzen smiled back, "You're welcome."
There was a soft knock at the door and before Moonbeam could open her mouth the door cracked to reveal her cousin and her friends.
They all walked over to her, cupcake jumped on her and hugged her tight.
"We thought you were dead."
"We thought you were hurt."
"Don't ever do that again. EVER."
They all chattered as they surrounded Moonbeam and showered her with love and affection. Blitzen just smiled as he walked out leaving the room.
"Where did you go?"
"How did you survive?"
"Did you find your mother?"
Moonbeam was a little flustered as she tried to answer all the questions in order.
"How did you get your horn back?"
Moonbeam quieted everyone down, and began to tell them everything. She told them how she was lost in the snow. She lost most of her memory, how she met Sombra. How he taught her things. Then her memories came back and her horn regrew. She looked around curiously.
"Wait where did my bags go?" She asked.
"The guards took your bags when they dragged you in here. Cadence has them in her quarters."
"I need my bags." Moonbeam got up and stretched her legs.
"Maybe you shouldn't..." Emerald began.
"I'm fine." Moonbeam said as she awkwardly got a hold of her ground. She started to trot to the throne room. The group followed behind her.
The guards watched as the princess made her way to the throne room. Opening the doors she saw that Cadence was sitting in her throne talking to Twilight and they both looked distraught. Once they noticed that Moonbeam was in the room, they both turned their attention to her and looked at her as she approached.
The group stayed back at the doors while Moonbeam approached the throne. She looked a little worried, but calmed when she saw bother her aunties expressions was more concerened then upset.
"So...Hey guys." Moonbeam chuckled.
Twilight nodded as Cadence spoke, "How was your nap Moonbeam?"
"It was good, just what I needed. Um...have you seen my saddlebag anywhere?" She asked scratching the back of her head.
"Yes, I had one of the guards confiscate it. But we can give it back now." Cadence said as she motioned for the guard to bring her bag.
Moonbeam snatched it away, causing Twilight to clear her throat at the fillies rudeness. She ruffled through the bag and looked back up at Cadence, "Wha...?"
"Oh if you are looking for the Dark magic spell book, I had that taken away and sent to a secure location where it won't cause any harm." Cadence said.
"Wait, it's a book. What harm could it cause?" Moonbeam asked.
"Momo its dark magic. Dark magic is evil." Twilight said.
"No it isn't, i...its just unorthedox!" Moonbeam yelled.
"Moonbeam you are in enough trouble. I will not have you raising your voice to your auntie." Cadence said.
"You aren't my mother." Moonbeam growled.
"I may not be but she will be very disappointed to hear about your tone and current behavior young lady." Cadence stated.
"What do you mean? You...You guys stopped looking for her!" Moonbeam yelled.
"Moonbeam, excuse you!" Cadence said as she raised her voice.
"No, Excuse you. Instead of sitting in the palace why aren't these dumb guards looking for my mother. Give me my book back!" Moonbeam yelled.
"You are behaving like a foal. That book is not longer yours, it belongs to the castel."
"It wasn't mine to begin with, I borrowed it from Sombra!"
The room grew quiet. Everyone's eyes was on Moonbeam. Her face was red with anger as she stared at Cadence.
"You met him?" Cadence whispered.
"Yes I did, and he was really nice."
"What did he tell you?" She asked.
"Nothing, he met me without my horn and when my memory was gone."
Twilight looked at Cadence, "She had short term amnesia. But how could he not tell?"
"How could he not tell what?" Moonbeam asked interrupting.
Cadence looked at Twilight, "I do not know. But now that he knows what she looks like, we need to have around the clock patrol. She will not be allowed to leave the castle for any circumstance." Cadence said as she called guards over.
"Wait what, you can't do that!" Moonbeam yelled.
"I can and I will if that means protecting you from that monster."
"He isn't a monster, he is my friend. And I want his book back." Moonbeam whined.
"You will stay in this castle where we can watch you. We will not have the future princess of the night coming up missing."
"But..."
"Moonbeam, this is the final decision. You do not get a say. You do not get to add on. You do not get to interject. To your room Now!" Cadence said stomping her hoof on her armrest.
Moonbeam puffed out her cheeks in anger as she planted her hooves to the ground.
"I said MOVE!" Cadence yelled.
Moonbeam growled as she turned and stomped her way to her room. Two guards trailing close behind her.
Moonbeam paced in her room as she looked at her door. There were two guards outside of her door. She looked at her window there was a guard posted on the roof.
She grumbled as she flopped onto her bed, "Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!."
She screamed into the pillow before laying there in silence. Moonbeam felt magic surge through her horn and she turned her head to the side to see Lilith standing there.
"Maybe I can be of assistance?" Lilly giggled.
"How so?" Moonbeam asked as she sat up.
"Well, if I can see through your eyes. You should be able to see through mine." Lilly stated.
"I don't know..."
"Momo, I know you have felt it. An unexplainable power surge that no one can explain. And something dark is going on. I know you feel just as scared and nervous as I do. There is something they aren't telling us. I bet if we get that book back we will have a way to find mother." Lilly said.
"I don't know, what if we can't find her?" She asked.
"Momo we have to try."
There was a soft knock at the door that jolted the two into alert mode. Lily disappeared back into Moonbeams horn as Moonbeam invited the knocker.
Blitzen entered the room, the guards giving him a dirty look as he passed.
"I don't know what is going on here, but it's obvious. You need that book." He said.
Moonbeam cocked an eyebrow, "Blitzen, how did ya...?"
"I heard all the commotion in the throne room. Look I don't think that it will be wise for you to risk your neck to find your mother but, i understand where you are coming from..."
Moonbeam went to speak. Blitzen raised his hoof to silence her.
"I know I can't stop you, so I want to help you."
"Can we keep him?" Lily asked as she appeared in from of the colt.
Blitzen gasped and fell back, "What the?"
"Oh you can see her, wait can you hear her?" Moonbeam asked.
"Who is that." Blitzen said as he pointed to the shadowed pony figure with his hoof.
"I'm Lilith you peasant!"
"Lily be nice." Moonbeam face hoofed.
"You got it boss." Lily giggled as she saluted.
"Blitzen, this is Lily. She is apart of me." Moonbeam said.
"Well...n..nice to meet you." Blitzen said.
"He's cute, lets keep him" Lily said.
"Shut up!" Moonbeam grumbled.
"So..." Lily smiled as she floated closer to Blitzen's face, "What's the plan?" |
Alpha | pre | Vinyl nodded to Octavia and walked Alpha to the record room. The room was small. Only having room for 2 and the record, Vinyl show Alpha the basics on how to use the record. She then placed the disc on the Record, showed Alpha where the ON button was, and left the room, closing the door as she walked out.
Alpha looked back at the door, making sure it was closed, then looked at the record. "Are you ready, Beta?"
"Just play it."
Alpha pushed the play button and relaxed as he felt Beta take over, listening to recorder.
"Beta, I hope you are listening to this." A female voice said through the speaker.
"Mom..." Beta said, realizing who it was.
"Beta, I want you to know that we, your father and I, have always loved you. We have always loved you and will forever continue to love you even when we have passed through this world. I'm sorry that your friends left you. We did not want this to happen to you. We wanted you to have a normal life. We didn't want you to be in pain. Since you were born, we always knew you were very special." Beta's mother stopped. Alpha could hear her crying in the message. Another voice came in, this time it was a male voice.
"Beta, this is your father speaking. I hope you can hear us, son. We only have a short time before Celestia finds out what we are doing. I am hiding this disk in your bedroom, under your bed. I want you to know that I understand why you did what you did. I can understand the pain you went through; the hate, the isolation, the feeling of being hated by every pony you saw."
The record slowly starts to skip.
"Beta, this is your mother again. We have to go sweetie. I don't think we will be able to talk to you again like this. Just remember that we always loved you, and will be with you where you are. We will see you soon, don't worry. Goodbye. We love you."
The record started to skip violently then came slowly to a halt, its tune slowly repeating in Alpha's mind. Alpha took out the disc and took a deep breath. He realized that Beta was being unusuallyquiet. Beta was quiet because he was relieved that his parents understood why he did what he did. He felt understood. He felt loved. Alpha stood still for a minute, struggling to remember his own Mom and Dad's voice. He then shook his head, banishing that thought, not wanting to remember any of it. Alpha turned around to see both Octavia and Vinyl staring at him, his colors slowly returning to their original color as Beta let Alpha take over again. He walked to Octavia and gave her the disc. Octavia, annoyed by Alpha for listening to the disc against Celestia's orders, quickly took the disk out of his hoof.
"I'm sorry for disgusting you earlier with my wing. Thank you very much for allowing me to listen to the disc." Alpha said to Octavia. He then turned to Vinyl.
"There is nothing that can harm any-pony on that disc. The legend is true, it is a message from Beta's parents some time after Beta was defeated. This also means that Beta was real and alive at one time. What is on that disc gives another view on Beta. It tells that Beta wasn't always evil. It gives a hint, a clue on what happened to him that made him become evil. Don't break Celestia's rule and listen to that disc. She is trying to protect every-pony in Equestria. Although I do not agree on her Idea of protecting ponies, I understand that she is doing her best." Alpha sighed. "I listened to that disc because I am one of the few ponies that she is not trying to protect, but is trying to hide from the public. Thank you for allowing me to listen to it. "
Vinyl watched as Alpha walked out of store and then looked at Octavia. "I told you the legend was true! You never believe me when I tell you things like that!" She said, laughing as she grabbed the disc from Octavia's hoof and walked to the back room to put it where it belonged.
Alpha was on his way to the forest when it started to rain. Instead of running to his cave for shelter, he stopped and looked up watching as each drop of rain slowly start to fall one by one from the clouds. Alpha felt, for the first time in his life, at peace. He opened his eyes and slowly starting walking back to his Cave. Although soaking wet and cold, Alpha wasn't complaining. Once back at the Cave, he created a small barrier of branches, leaves, and stones at the entrance of the cave to stop any water from flowing in. Starting up a small fire by using some tinder and the branches he brought in last week, Alpha dried the water in his mane and tail. He then took off his metal wing, like he always does when he is in his cave and lied down on the ground. He was tired and soon drifted to sleep, listening to the fire crackle and the rain pour outside the cave, the sound echoing off the walls. |
Alpha | Chapter 7: Alpha's Revenge | Chapter 7: Alpha's Revenge
Luna was watching Alpha, her Nightmare Moon armor; another variant of the Dragon Metal, glowing in a Galaxy-blue shade, covered all but her face. She sneered as Alpha turned to face her. "It's been a long time since I met a pony from my Era. Let's play Royal Tag, Beta."
-Earlier that day-
"It's too easy now. I won't learn anything new from doing it again." Alpha complained.
"Well, we don't have another place to go train. If we train in public, some pony is bound to find you talking to me." Beta replied, annoyed.
"It's too dark to train my speed anyway. Let's go to back to the cave. We can figure out what to do when we get there" Alpha said, his legs starting to shake from exhaustion. He was sweating and his mouth was painfully dry.
"Remember to drink water, Alpha. Last thing we need is for you to have a heat-stroke. It's one of the few things I cannot tone down the pain, and you don't want to know what it feels like."
Alpha sat down and took off his bag. He lifted the flap and reached inside, grabbing a jar of water. He uncapped the lid and took a gulp of the cold liquid as he looked back on the events that happened leading up to this day.
It has been 3 weeks since Beta heard the Forbidden Vinyl disc at Vinyl's shop. After that day, Beta felt complete, he felt whole. For a week, Beta did not talk. Only until Alpha reminded Beta that he was still confused on why he was punished but not killed did Beta start making a plan. Alpha and Beta would break into the castle and find out why Alpha was punished but not killed. But both Alpha and Beta weren't in shape to even walk to the castle, let alone break in. Instead, they began to train. Beta would focus on sharpening his magic ability while Alpha relearned how to properly fly. Beta calculated that if Alpha used a similar amount of concentration and willpower that he had before used to create his wing on training, they would be able to break in to the castle in a year.
Unbeknownst to Beta and Alpha was the raw power of friendship that was surging through the bond which connected Beta with Alpha. Since Alpha first met Beta in the Rainbow factory, the bond began to grow. It became stronger and more powerful. What Beta and Alpha failed to realize was the raw power that was surging through the bond that they shared together had changed them physically and mentally. In 3 weeks, Beta and Alpha were way ahead of Schedule.
Alpha had self-taught and trained himself how to fly again. Once he learnt the basics of flying, he modified the way he flew. He could fly fast with incredible accuracy and stealth. While this was accomplished for most Pegasus by spreading out their wings as far as they could, it also made it hard for them to turn. For Alpha, he didn't need to worry about stealth for Beta could easily make him invisible to the naked eye. What he did need to worry about was turning. Although he mastered how to turn to his left, Alpha always felt nervous turning to his right. He had no reason to worry, the metal for his wing was incredibly light, but he always had sub-consciously thought it was heavy based on how it looked. He would always put too little weight on it, and spin out of control. Today, he had finally mastered his mind, and was able to turn to the right without any problem.
Beta had trained and honed his ability for magic. While creating and modifying spells, he came across a new ability. While Alpha was flying through some canyons, one of the giant archways had begun to collapse while Alpha was right under it. As the giant boulders rained down on Alpha's position, Beta had sub-consciously used magic to protect himself. The boulders moved out of the way, giving Alpha the time he needed to escape. While Alpha was flying away, Beta realized what just happened. He could use magic while Alpha was in control! He did not need to be in control of Alpha to use Magic. He could be able to defend Alpha when he was flying. He stopped creating new spells and started to hone his new ability for a week. At the end of the week, Beta was not only able to do magic, but was able to cloak Alpha for short periods of time and increase his hearing and sight.
Alpha closed the jar with the lid, placed the jar inside his bag, and put the bag back on, placing the strap under his metallic wing.
"Better?" Beta asked.
"Much. Thanks." Alpha replied feeling relieved.
"Don't mention it. Now let's get back before it gets too dark to see where we are going."
Alpha nodded in agreement and set off into the sunset. He was passing Ponyville when something caught his attention. He was starting to turn to toward the EverFree forest when he looked down to see some royal guards placing a stray in a barred wagon.
"That's weird." Beta said.
After they shut the door to the wagon, the guards strapped themselves into the front of the wagon and took off.
"That cannot be good" Alpha said as he watch the guards fly off, heading to Cloudsdale. He at once set off, following them, totally forgetting about going to his cave.
"Where do you think they are going?" Beta asked.
"Where else?" Alpha said, picking up speed. Beta was silent for a full heartbeat.
"No! That isn't possible! You destroyed it!" Beta replied as he realized what Alpha was thinking.
"It isn't impossible." Alpha said as he landed on a cloud, looking over the Rainbow Factory. The part that was destroyed by Alpha 3 weeks ago had already been rebuilt but Alpha could see the old from the new bricks used to rebuild it.. He watched as the guards landed near the back of the entrance. Once fully stopped, the guards unstrapped themselves, went to the back of the wagon and forcefully took out the stray and shoved him forward. Alpha felt Beta rise within him as he felt his own anger rising as well.
"Yeah, I know." He said, agreeing with Beta.
"Are we going to destroy it?"
"Of course, but first I want to make sure everypony in it is out of there and is long gone before we destroy it." Alpha said, watching the guards strap themselves onto the wagon and fly off.
He waited for a few seconds after they left, then in a single swift move, jumped off the cloud and flew to the back door of the RF. Two Security Guards were posted at the door. Alpha felt Beta rise as the back door was painted red. Once the guards were done, Alpha went through the door into a pitch dark room. His eyes, familiar to the darkness, instantly adjusted to the lack of light in the room. He looked around, and saw the machine; fully restored and working. Alpha placed his metallic wing on the wall next to him, placing another ball of light, this time colored black, on the door behind him.
"Don't let it spread just yet." Alpha told Beta.
"Understood." Beta replied as he modified the spell so he could set it off remotely.
Alpha began walking to the machine as he watched a green mare being crushed alive inside it. Alpha walked to the side of the machine and cut one of the pipes with his wing. Then, taking out an empty jar in his bag, Alpha filled the jar with the rainbow-colored liquid. "This will come in hoofy later on- wait..." Alpha hesitated as he closed the jar. He watched as the Rainbow-colored liquid turned into blood.
"That's odd. Open the jar again."
Alpha did and the blood returned to its rainbow-colored state.
"That's how they get away with it." Beta said, realizing how the RF has been hiding in plain view "If it comes into contact with fresh air, it turns into colors..."
"...If it doesn't, it turns into blood..." Alpha finished. He closed the jar once again, and placed it into his bag. "Come on, let's move." he said as he placed another charge inside the leaking pipe.
He turned to his left and saw a pair of white doors, walked through them and found himself in a long corridor. Picking up speed as he went from a trot to a near-full gallop, Alpha let his metallic wing cut into the floor, placing a long line of charged balls where he went. He went into a maze twists and turns, full of doors and hallways. Eventually Alpha found himself at the Cafeteria. He felt Beta rise within him. Beta was fully alert and ready for anything. He was deep in his enemy's territory and was not about to take any chances. Alpha put his head close to the door, listening for anything that would tell him he wasn't alone.
Nothing, not a sound was made. Once he felt sure that he was alone, Alpha slowly walked ahead, toward the Cell block. He felt Beta's anger rose with his own as he looked around. There were more cells than Alpha ever knew. He stared at hundreds upon thousands of cells; each containing a Pegasi. Beta ripped open the door to Alpha left. The alarm went off as Alpha walked into the cell and was confronted by a Pegasus. His face was covered in dried blood, no doubt from a guard who wanted something to do.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU ARE GOING TO GET US KILLED!" The Pegasus said freaking out.
"Destroying this factory." Alpha replied calmly without missing a beat. Beta set off the charges.
"It's you..." The Pegasus said, staring at Alpha. Alpha looked back and recognized the Pegasus. It was the stallion that gave him the wet cloth after Alpha saved the red mare 3.5 years ago. "They said you died when you disappeared 3 weeks ago but I knew they were lying."
"What are you willing to give to destroy this facility?" Alpha asked the Pegasus as he walked out of the cell, the Pegasus following him.
"If I need to, I will lay down my life to destroy this facility."
"What is your name?"
"The name is John." John replied.
"Well John, tonight you will be free." Alpha replied, smiling. John looked around as each cell door was being brutally ripped off its hinges.
"How are you doing that?" John asked, as he looked at Alpha.
"I can do things most Pegasi can't." Alpha replied, his right eye glowing blood-red.
"We don't have much time, the guards will be here any minute and I doubt they will be happy to see us."
"All in good time." Alpha replied casually as he gestured John to look up. The Celling had begun to glow in a myriad of colored balls, and slowly started to dissipate. Alpha could hear the sound of the guards' hoofs galloping on the floor as they ran toward the cell block. "John, I need to you do me a favor."
"Anything."
"Take this," Alpha said, giving his bag to John. "Once you are far away from the Factory, go to Ponyville. Find a unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. Take out and show her the jar of blood in the bag. Open the jar of blood when she sees it. Tell her everything about this factory. Tell her that "The Pegasus with the Metallic wing wants to speak with you as soon as possible." Go now!"
"What about you?!" John said as he put on the bag.
"Somepony has to distract the guards. I will be fine. Get everypony out of here. Get a group of Pegasi and free the foals and colts in the Machine room! GO!" Alpha said.
John nodded. He turned around and gathered some Pegasi and flew out of the non-existent celling. Alpha looked behind him and started to trot to the oncoming hoard of guards. He watched an seemingly endless stream of angry-as-hell guards gallop towards him with a thirst for blood.
"Are you ready?" Alpha asked Beta.
"For this? Always."
The first 30 guards were instantly liquefied. The guards behind them didn't even flinch. Alpha took off, galloping with both wings fully extended, toward the guards. He ducked under a guard's right-hook hoof and sliced him in two.
"Right!"
Alpha took a step back, narrowly dodging a wing, and elbowed the attacking guard, breaking his neck.
"Left!"
Alpha jumped over another, Beta creating a puddle of blood.
"Right!"
The Pegasus kicked the oncoming guard, creating an arc of blood.
"Left!"
The white skin started to turn red with blood.
"Above you!"
The metal wing swung upwards, the guard did not have the agility or the skill to turn.
"Below you!"
Alpha sidestepped to the right as a guard broke through the floor. Beta lit the flying Pegasi's wings on fire
"2 o'clock!"
"Wha-oof!" Alpha met head on with a right-hook hoof.
"4 o'clock"
"Fuck that." Alpha replied as he ducked, his wing slicing the guard's legs off.
The guards stopped to regroup around Alpha. Alpha was breathing heavily, his scar was open and bleeding, and he was stained in blood.
"There are too many for you."
"I know. Want to take over?"
"With Pleasure."
Alpha felt Beta start to take over as the color of his Mane, Tail and Eyes slowly turned blood-red
Alpha started to laugh.
"What's so funny colt? There are hundreds of us and only one of you."
"It's funny," Alpha said as he stopped laughing. "You are going to need a lot more guards to kill us."Beta replied. "What are you waiting for? Let's see if you can defeat me."
The main guard ran at Beta. Beta sneered as he destroyed the guard.
"Behind you!"
Beta kicked the guard behind him with both hind legs. The skull shattered and bits of bone flew out of the hole made by Beta's hind legs on the side of his face
"Left!"
Beta held out his left hoof and caught the attacker by the neck. He looked at the guard with a dark grin and crushed his neck.
"Right!"
Beta ducked, the metallic wing extended, cutting off the legs of the guard. The guard, legless kept moving through the air however and Beta helped him along by giving his flank some extra power. The guard's face slammed into the concrete wall, instantly crushing his face.
"Left!"
Beta looked at the guard at his left. The guard froze in fear and began to gallop away. Beta didn't allow him. He opened a portal into hell right in front of the fleeing pony. He ran into the portal and Beta closed the portal, laughing his flank off at what he just witnessed.
"Right!"
Beta sub-consciously destroyed the attacking guard, so he was confused why he didn't see anyone come at him when he looked to his right
"Above you!"
Beta waited for the last possible second then sidestepped to his right, letting the Pegasus to slam into the floor. Beta then stomped on the Pegasus's head, killing him.
"Below you!"
Beta turned the floor beneath into concrete. "That pony ain't comin' though."
The guards kept coming and coming and Beta kept killing them non-stop. He was a master at death. After an hour of non-stop killing, no more guards came. Beta let Alpha take control. He wiped his face of blood clean as he looked around. There were bodies everywhere. Some were groaning. For those who groaned were killed as Alpha stomped on their head with his hoof. He took a deep breath.
"Good job."
"Thanks. You did a good job as well."
"Not as great as you did."
"No-pony is as good at killing as I am. But you would make me notice you."
Alpha chuckled. "At least I know why you killed this time."
"Don't bring that up now, I'm in a good mood."
"Fine. Im tired as hell, Let's leave."
"You should take a shower first, I doubt you want to go into Ponyville covered in dried blood."
"The shower room has already been destroyed," Alpha said as he looked behind him. "We can wash up somewhere else. But I really want to leave this place before more Ponies get here."
"Good idea. Let's go."
Alpha spread both wings and flew off through the celling. Once far enough away he turned, his back facing toward the moon, and watched as the RF burned and was destroyed.
"Aww shit."
"What?"
"Behind you."
Alpha turned around to see a mare with a horn and wings, flying behind him, staring at him. She had dark blue skin and her mane glittered like the night sky. She had a moon symbol on her flank.
Luna was watching Alpha, her Nightmare Moon armor; another variant of the Dragon Metal, glowing in a Galaxy-blue shade, covered all but her face. She sneered as Alpha turned to face her. "It's been a long time since I met a pony from my Era. Let's play Royal Tag, Beta." |
Alpha | Chapter 8: "It's much harder to escape than it is to break in" | Chapter 8: "It's much harder to escape than to break in."
Alpha stared at Luna with fear. He wasn't scared of her. He was scared that she knew about Beta. She could screw up his one and only chance at finding out his reason.
"Shit."
Luna's horn began to glow as she fired a spell at Alpha.
"DOWN!"
Alpha instantly stopped flapping his wings, and dropped like a rock, missing the incoming spell by mere centimeters. He spread his wings and banked hard left, flying into the factory. He broke through a disintegrating wall and kept flying.
"Focus on protecting us from her spells; I'll get us out of this mess!" Alpha told Beta. "Fire back if you must, but non-lethal spells only, I don't want her to die just yet."
"Don't worry about me, focus on your flying!"
Alpha banked hard right and left as he flew through the collapsing facility. He saw flashes of light on the walls and knew that Beta was fighting off Luna as best as he could. Alpha flew to the floor and landed. He set off down the corridor and took a left into pitch blackness. He slowed his breathing and listened. He heard the sound of hoofs hitting the ground as Luna landed, looking for Alpha. She walked toward his position, not able to see due to the lack of light.
"It's pretty dark inside here, Alpha. Don't let the monsters catch you." Luna said aloud with a grin.
"The only monster I can see isn't within me." Alpha responded.
"I am a guardian when compared to Beta. Did you know he killed ponies? He slaughtered them for fun."
"Don't always listen to your sister, Luna. She banned you to the moon for 10 centuries, or have you forgotten that already?" Beta replied. "She is hiding something from us, you have to admit that."
"Don't you dare talk about Princess Celestia. My sister has never lied to me. She banished me to protect me and Equestria. She has no reason to lie to me."
"She has nothing to lose to lie to you. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to gain. If you are who your reputation says you are, then you protect and visit colts and fillies dreams, right?"
"That is correct, but why should it matter to you?"
"Do you remember any of my dreams when I was alive or any of Alpha's dreams?" Alpha had begun to move around in the darkness. His eyes, already used to being in the dark, had adjusted instantly and were able to see Luna. Luna was blind. She couldn't see a damn thing, but could hear Alpha's steps and breath.
"I do not protect those who kill."
"Don't be so naïve, Luna. I was a mutant before I had my...incident. I was a victim. I don't remember you visiting me in my dreams." Beta said, circling Luna.
"That was 900 years ago, Beta." Luna said with fear in her voice. "I was still Nightmare Moon on the moon."
"That may be so, but you weren't in Alpha's dreams when he was in the RF; before I met him. And even after I met and helped him, you were never there, never visited, never protected. That was 3 years ago." Alpha was in front of Luna. She had no idea that he was so close to her. He was using the walls to bounce his voice to sound like if he was everywhere at once.
"I was still on the moon." Luna said, moving her head left and right, trying to hear his breath.
"WRONG! Before I bonded to Alpha, I watched you. You were at the Castle. You banished on the moon for 900 years, not 1000 years. You stayed at the Castle with your sister. You slowly revealed yourself to the staff and guards of the Castle. I was watching you. The reason you haven't committed suicide from depression of being alone for 900 years is because of me. When you were on the moon, I was with you. The elements that banished you to the moon obliterated my body. I decided, after I found out that I was dead, to go to you. Do you have any memory of this? Or do you choose to forget it all? Choose to forget all that I have done for you and listen to the excuse of a sister that Celestia is?"
"ENOUGH!" Luna screamed her voice full to the brim with fear. Her horn glowed red as everything in the room except for Alpha was engulfed in flames.
"Shit, time to run." Beta told Alpha.
"No shit Sherlock." Alpha replied as he ran past Luna and down the hallway. He took flight and took a hard right, flying out of a broken window. Once in the open, Alpha knew he needed to get somewhere safe.
"Go to Ponyville, I doubt she will hurt an innocent pony there."
"Let's hope so." Alpha said as he dived down and flew faster than he had ever dared to go towards Ponyville. ---
John was frantically looking for Vinyl. He was covered in his own blood but did not care, he needed to find this mare and fast before he was caught by the guards. As he was flying, he looked behind him to see if he was followed when he crashed into Octavia. Octavia and Vinyl were out for a stroll to see the sunset.
"I am so sorry, wasn't looking where I was flying." John said as he got up frantically, afraid he had made to much noise.
"Next time, watch where you are flying. Why are you in such a hurry?" Vinyl said as he helped Octavia up.
"I'm looking for somepony. It's important that I find her right away before anything else bad happens." John replied, looking around.
"Anything else bad happens? Who are you looking for?" Vinyl asked.
"A Unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. I have a message and a package from somepony for her. It is essential that I find her and give her it." He said; his heart racing. It was starting to get dark.
"Well you are looking for me. I am Vinyl Scratch. What's up?" She said, cheerfully.
John open Alpha's bag and took out the jar of blood. He held it up and showed Vinyl the jar. Octavia screamed then fainted. Vinyl looked at Octavia's unconscious body, then looked back at John, taking a step back.
"Is that Blood!? Why do you have a jar of blood? Why are you giving me a Jar of blood? Are you fucking sick?" Vinyl demanded.
"It's not just blood. Open the jar." John told Vinyl, his heart returning to normal.
"Why?"
"Don't ask why. Just do it."
Vinyl took the jar from John and opened it. She watched as the blood turned into a rainbow-colored liquid. Vinyl stared at the liquid then looked at John and saw the dried blood on his face. Her eyes widened as she slowly realized what the jar of blood meant.
"It's real? The Rainbow Factory is real?" She asked as she looked back at the jar.
"It was. I am from there. I was spared because I was able to lift heavy metal object with ease. The Pegasus with the metallic wing freed and sent me to find you. He wants me to tell you that he needs to talk to you as soon as possible." John said.
Vinyl closed the jar and watched as the liquid inside turned back into blood. "Why? Where is he from? What is his name? What do you mean "was"? Is it gone? What happened?" Vinyl asked.
"Slow down. He did not tell me why. I do not know where he is from. His name is Alpha. He..." John stopped as he stared at the clouds above him, his eyes widened as his jaw dropped.
"What? What did he do?" Vinyl asked, getting annoyed
"Sweet Celestia." John muttered.
"What are you looking at?" Vinyl asked as she looked where John was staring at. "I don't see anything."
"Coming from the clouds." Octavia replied. She had already gotten up and had been watching the glowing light fall from the sky.
Vinyl looked up and saw the glowing orb fall.
But it wasn't a glowing orb. It wasn't a orb at all. It was two Pegasuses. One seemed to be chasing the other. The one chasing the other was inexplicably dark blue. The one being chased was white...or red. Vinyl wasn't sure.
"Luna....." Vinyl whispered. "What is she doing?"
"Chasing Alpha." John answered Vinyl, watching the spectacle, unable to do anything. ---
Alpha was flying straight down at a 90 degree angle. He was going as fast as his body could let him. He already broke through the sonic barrier, creating a halo of Red and Blue, which stunned Luna for a few seconds, but did not slow her down. He was already going too fast to stop. He leaned back hard and started to pull up. He pulled up away from the ground just at the last second, the air behind him crashed down into the dirt, creating a huge sound similar to what a cannon sounds like when fired. Beta was firing spell after spell at Luna to keep her at bay.
"It's now or never, Alpha. We need to lose her."
"I know, I know. She is just too fast. I can't seem to shake her off."
"Getting tired Alpha?" Luna said in a mocking fashion. "We have just begun to play. It would be a shame for me to win when we have just started."
"Alpha, I'm running out of spells here. Do something!"
"You might not like what I am thinking of doing."
"I don't care what it is, just do it!"
"Well, here goes nothing." Alpha banked hard up and right. He spun around and went onto an intercept course to Luna. "Stop firing and fire the brightest spell you got on my mark!" Alpha told Beta, the distance between him and Luna was closing.
"Ready!" Beta said.
Alpha waited until his front hooves were a hoof away from Luna's face when he banked hard left. "NOW!" He screamed. Beta shot off his spell. It rebounded off Luna and turned into a small sun, temporarily blinding Luna. Alpha was blinded as well, but not as bad as Luna. "SHIT!" He screamed as he covered his eyes, his wings giving out at the same time.
"Why did you stop flying?"
"My wings are too tired. They stopped flapping."
"Shit. Try to land somewhere soft, like grass."
Alpha painfully spread his wings as opened his eyes. He tried as hard as he could to glide to a softer area but it was no use. He was over a forest with no grassy hill or open patch of land in sight. He spotted a trail with some ponies on it and aimed there, hoping the ponies on the trail were friendly and would help him. Alpha braced for impact as he hurled toward the ground. He covered his face with both wings and curled up into a ball, tucking in his legs. He hit the ground with such velocity that the cement trail was pulverized where he hit. Alpha was somehow conscious, and got up slowly.
"Let's not do that again. Beta, are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I tried to slow down our speed by firing a spell at the trail, hoping it would rebound and hit us, which did not work out as I expected."
"Did you think that the spell might kill us instead of slowing us down?"
"I was in the moment. Wasn't really thinking, so no, I wasn't thinking that the spell could kill us. I was thinking that if we didn't slow down, we would paint the trail red and decorate it with bone, flesh and metal."
"Well it worked. What you did made the impact a lot softer, but did not slow me down." He looked at his metallic wing. "Shit, this thing can take some serious damage before warping. There isn't a single scratch on it." Alpha said. He took a step forward and fell
to the ground, exhausted. "So tired...."
"I am not surprised. Your body will be hurting tomorrow. Let's go back to the cave."
"Too tired....need...to...sleep..."Alpha said, his eyes nearly shut.
"Then let me take over. I'll get us home."
"....." Alpha was already asleep. Beta sighed as he took over manually, and got up. He looked up at the night sky, looking for Luna.
"I hope she is alright. Didn't mean to hurt her badly, just temporarily blind her." Beta said to himself. He slowly walked on the trail, exhausted. He walked into Ponyville and found a public restroom with a public shower. "Alpha, wake up. Found a shower, I think it has warm water. It will help you relax." Alpha didn't respond. "Fine, your loss." Beta took off the metallic wing, setting it on the wall opposite to the stall. He then walked into the shower stall and twisted the knob, closing his eyes as he felt the warm water spray onto face. He washed the blood out of his skin and mane. He winced as the water hit his burnt wing. Beta heard the door open and close, but dismissed it as the wind outside and went back to washing his tail. Once he had washed all the blood out, he turned off the shower and walked out of the stall. He saw movement to his right but did not move. If it was Luna, he would be already dead. He looked to his right and saw Vinyl staring at him, his wing behind her.
"When were you going to tell me?" She asked.
"Tell you what? That I am real? That the Legend is true? There is a lot that Alpha isn't telling any pony. I can't blame him. He has been through events similar that I went through when I was alive.."
"So, you are Beta, right?"
"That is correct." Beta looked at Vinyl, his eyes, mane and tail glowing red. "I am Beta."
"You killed ponies 900 years ago because you could; because you wanted to; because it was fun hurting others. And now you are here to hurt more, right? Why else would you be here?"
"You are correct about what I did when I was alive. You are not correct why I did it." Beta shook his head. "I cannot tell you why I did what I did because you won't believe me. You won't understand why I killed so many ponies. I did have fun doing it, hurting others. But you have to understand Vinyl Scratch, one does not hurt others just because they can. They must have a reason to do so. I am not here to hurt more. I am here because Alpha needed somepony. He was alone and hurt when I met him. Since then, I have helped him through his life: I have toned down the pain he feels, kept him company, made sure he doesn't feel alone, and got him out of his personal hell. The Past doesn't always describe the pony. It tells another what they have done, what they have learned, but does not define that pony."
"Stop rambling about, Beta. I know what you did. You killed ponies for fun. Once you self-taught yourself dark magic, you went insane. You went on a killing spree, flaying and torturing any pony you saw. You left no survivors, you spared no one. You are a murderer and a killer. You are a bully." Vinyl said, enraged.
"I AM NOT A BULLY!" Beta screamed. He stomped his front hoof down in anger and lowered his head as a ring of blue flames surrounded him, "Like Alpha, you and countless others, I am a victim. Society was different when I was alive. I was a mutant, able to use magic. If you were a mutant back in my time, you would be hated by all Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasus, and Alicorns. I was hated, discriminated, bullied, beat up, attacked, and left to die." Beta tried to control his temper. "I only killed those who hurt me, who made it their life goal to make my life hell. I left survivors; I spared those who had been hurt by others. I killed and wiped out the bullies. I made sure that if I was to die, no mutant would be hurt again." Beta looked up at Vinyl, not as angry as he was earlier, but still annoyed. "I am a victim. When I first found Alpha, it was right when he lost his wing. I took control of his body and made sure those who hurt him were made to suffer. I saw my younger self inside him. He reminded me of myself before I went insane. So I bonded with him. I made myself a promise that I would do what I can, whatever I can to protect him. To make sure he does not follow in my hoofsteps." Beta stared at Vinyl, the blue flames slowly turned orange as Beta considered Vinyl as a friend or an enemy. "Don't you dare hurt Alpha or I'll rip off your horn from your skull. And before you ask, it is possible to do that. I have done it before."
"Don't worry, I won't." Vinyl said, insulted by Beta but not wanting to get on his bad side. "So what are you here for?"
"Alpha was punished for saving a red mare 1 week before his 11th birthday. He was punished by having his wing taken off. The original punishment was to be killed but the guards said that they had special orders from the Princess to keep him alive. I am here to help Alpha find out what reason Celestia and Luna have to keep Alpha alive but hurt." Beta explained. "But I will leave that for when you talk to Alpha. For now, I need to get back to our cave. Alpha is extremely tired, and so am I." Beta walked past Vinyl, grabbing and slipping on the metallic wing and headed to the door. Beta opened the door when he stopped and looked back at Vinyl. "I'm sorry for getting angry earlier. It's a time I do not want to think about. I am glad Alpha met you, he finally has a pony he considers a friend and can trust that isn't within himself. Goodnight." Beta walked out of the restroom to see Octavia and John waiting for Vinyl. He nodded to both and walked off to the forest.
Vinyl walked out of the restroom a short time later. She looked at John and Octavia before watching Beta walk into the forest.
"What happened in there?" Octavia asked Vinyl.
Vinyl looked at Octavia with a depressed look. "I'll tell you later." She looked at John. "Thanks for giving me the message and package. I'll keep them safe to give to Alpha when I see him again."
"Don't mention it. I owe him after what he did for me." John said, nodding to Vinyl. "I must go, It's been 5 years since I have seen my wife, I'm hoping to surprise her." He said as he flew off. "Goodnight to you both."
"Good night." Octavia said to John. She looked at Vinyl. Vinyl looked back at her with a concerned frown. "What's wrong, Vinyl?"
She asked.
"It's nothing." Vinyl said, hiding her feelings with a smile. "Come on, let's go home. We've had a hell of a night tonight. I'll tell you when we get there." She told Octavia and started to head to her home.
Beta had just arrived at his cave. Not even bothering to start a fire, he turned around and laid down on the ground. He was exhausted from destroying the factory. He slipped off his wing and covered himself with it, using it as a make-shift blanket. He put his head on his front hoofs and fell asleep fast.
If Beta were to look up before he fell asleep, he would have seen two white glowing ovals watching him.... |
Alpha | Chapter 9: Her | Chapter 9: Her
Alpha groaned as he woke up. He was so stiff and sore from last night. He struggled to get up and heard his wing hit the ground when he did. Slowly picking it up and putting it on, Alpha walked out of his cave and headed for Ponyville. Beta was still asleep, so Alpha did what he could to not complain about being so sore. He walked into Ponyville to see a crowd of ponies arguing. He saw John in the midst of the crowd, looking seemingly lost, and decided to chat with him. He slowly made his way through the crowd.
"Behind you." Alpha said once he was close enough to him.
John looked behind him and saw Alpha smiling at him. "I was wondering if I would ever see you again. How are you, Alpha?" John asked, with a smile.
"I am very tired and sore. Luna was waiting for me once I left the facility." He shook his head and sighed. "That was pure hell. But besides that, I am doing okay."
"Luna? As in Princess Luna, Princess Celestia's sister?" John said, shocked.
"Do you know anyone else named Luna who knows where the RF was?"
"Well, that surprises me. What did she want?"
"Me to be dead. She chased me, firing spells and tried to trap me in the facility as it caught aflame."
"I have to ask, how did you survive against those guards? Even I can't fight against one and not come out without a broken bone."
Alpha gritted his teeth in pain as he extended his wings, stretching. "It's a long and personal story. But I trust you won't tell anyone. Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm starving." He started to make his way to the market.
"Hey wait up! I'm lost." John said as he followed Alpha into the market. "Gosh, it's been so long since I was in a market."
"I can see that. How long has it been for you?"
"I can't really remember." John closed his eyes in an attempt to remember. "About 6-8 years or so."
"Whoahohooa, longer than me." Alpha said. He took off his money pouch and took out about 30 bits and gave it to John. "Here, take his and get what you want. Once you are done, meet me at the town square. I will tell you there how I- "Alpha was cut off mid speech as an orange filly, a Pegasus, ran toward John.
"DADDY!!" screamed Scootaloo as she ran to John.
"SCOOTALOO!" John yelled as he saw his daughter. He ran toward to her and embraced her in a hug. "It's been so long since I last saw you." He had tears streaming down his face as he hugged his daughter. "How I missed you!"
"Where were you all this time, Daddy?" Scootaloo asked, eccentric with finding her father after all these years of being alone. "The last time I saw you, I was with mom. You went out to get something to eat and never came back!"
"It doesn't matter where I went. All that matters is that I am here now. I will never leave you again." John said, crying. Alpha watched from a distance, giving John his space.
"Damn I'm tired. What did I miss?" Beta said, finally waking up. Alpha didn't respond. He was watching John embrace his daughter. He stood there, frozen. "Alpha, is something wrong?" Beta asked, worried. Alpha wasn't paying attention to Beta, and Beta knew perfectly well why. Alpha had just witnessed a filly joining her father after being stuck in the Rainbow Factory for so long. Alpha turned around and walked away.
"....Celestia...." Alpha muttered, his rage rising. "She did all this, created all this pain, and for what: to make Rainbows?" He was now trembling, trying as hard he could to not let his rage out.
"What will you do? You can't just go up to Celestia and say "Hey, you stupid fuck! Stop hurting others!" You won't be able to get to her without being attacked by the Guards and Luna. Even if you and I beat them all, Celestia has the Elements of Harmony. You and I aren't ready to handle that amount of magic!" Beta explained to Alpha. "I wasn't even ready for that type of power."
Alpha shook his head, pushing away the thought of not being able to do anything and walked started walking to the forest. He got halfway there before he saw John being taken by guards. Scootaloo was right behind them, screaming.
"He hasn't done anything wrong! Let him go! Daddy, don't leave me!" Scootaloo cried.
"Your father is a murderer, a killer. He killed ponies before you were alive, and now the streets are safe because he is now off of them." The guard easily lied to Scootaloo.
Beta instantly took over and marched to the guard.
"Watch out, got another one, shall we bag 'im?" Said the private; a stallion in blue armor, nodding to the oncoming white Pegasus.
"No," said the Sargent. "We don't need anymo-" The Sargent instantly stopped talking as Beta shoved his wing to his neck, the metal gleaming in the sunlight.
"LET. HIM. GO. He has done nothing wrong." Beta said in a growl.
"First off, You do not tell me what to do." The Sargent said, pushing Beta off with his hoof. "Second, I am a guard taking off a dangerous criminal off the streets." He began to push Beta backwards with his hoof.
"Guard, If I were you, I would back off." John said, his eyes widened with fear as he watched Beta. Beta was staring at the guard, his mane, tail, and eyes blood red.
"Shut up, when I'm done with this stray, I'm going to kick your flank." The Sargent told John. He looked back at Beta. "Thirdly, the next time we meet, if you ever tell me what to do, I will personally make sure you go to the Rainbow Factory and flayed alive. Do I make myself clear?"
Beta started to snicker then laughed his flank off, falling to the ground in uncontrollable laughter.
"What is so funny, stray?" The Sargent said.
Beta got up, wiping the tears of laughter off his face, then looked at the guard. "First off, I will tell you what ever the fuck I want you to do." His smile faded away as he pushed the guard back with his hoof. "Second, that Pegasus is not a dangerous criminal, he is a fucking victim. If you want a dangerous criminal, you are talking to one." The guard's eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to. "Thirdly, I was at the Rainbow Factory. I was tortured, abused, hated." With each word, Beta stepped forward on the guard, forcing him to retreat. "The Rainbow Factory is no more. I don't give a fuck if John killed millions of ponies. He has been through hell and back. As for you," Beta continued, "Drop him and go tell your shitty princess what you saw. Tell her that I am here. Go. Now!"
With that, the guards instantly dropped John and flew off as fast as they could, heading towards the Castle. Scootaloo ran to her father and embraced her. John looked at Beta as he gave Alpha control again, His color returning to its original phase.
"When were you going to tell me about him?" John said, hugging Scoot.
"When we would meet after you ate in town square." Alpha replied, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down.
"You do realize that you will be seen as a monster now." John said as he walked up to Alpha, Scootaloo hiding behind him.
"I know what I did, and I am ready for the consequences." Alpha said, calmed down now. He looked behind John to see Scootaloo hiding behind his hind legs. "Cute filly. You are married I presume."
"Was. After I was taken from my family, my wife died of an illness. Scootaloo here, "John said, moving to the left, letting Alpha to see Scootaloo, "has been alone ever since."
"Really? Wow, she must be strong to live in a place like this with those types of guards walking around all the time." Alpha commented.
Scootaloo looked at Alpha's flank and realized he had not gained his cutie mark yet. She gasped in amazement. "You don't have your cutie mark yet!" She said, excited.
"I don't have my what?" Alpha asked, confused.
"Your cutie mark." Scootaloo asked.
"What's a cutie mark?"
"Wait." John said as he stepped into the conversation. "You don't know what a cutie mark is?"
"No, is that bad?" Alpha asked calmly, tilting his head to one side.
"A cutie mark represents the special talent that a pony can do. For example," John turned around and showed Alpha his cutie mark. It consisted of a metal bar and a hammer. "My cutie mark represents my talent to smith metal."
"Oh...okay." Alpha said with a confused face.
"You did not understand a word I said, did you?" John asked.
"I understand perfectly well. I just don't really care about my cutie-thingy." Alpha admitted.
"What do you mean you don't care? Do you not want to know what your special talent is?" Scootaloo said, surprised. "Every pony's special talent is different. It means that you are good at whatever your mark represents."
"I could not care about what my special talent is. It isn't something I'm worried about achieving." Alpha said, not trying to insult them.
"Why is your wing made out of metal?" Scootaloo asked, changing subject.
Alpha looked up at John, his right eye glowing red. "May I show her?"
John nodded. "Go ahead."
Alpha slowly took of his metallic brace, letting the sun hit the destroyed wing for the first time. He shut his eyes in agony as he flexed the wing as he stretched out. He heard a gasp and thought it was Scootaloo until Beta spoke.
"Every pony is staring at you."
Alpha looked around to see he was surrounded by ponies. Some were covering their children's eyes; others just stared at Alpha with their jaw open. He looked to his right to a white mare on the roof, watching him. "We should leave now."
The white mare had both wings intact but... something was out of place. Her eyes were different. Her eyes were purple. Then Alpha saw it. One eye flickered to green then back to purple. Alpha was staring at the mare. John looked at Alpha then followed his eyes to where he was looking. He froze when he saw her.
"Alpha," he said, his voice quivering. "Chill..." Alpha, without taking his eyes off her, slowly slipped his wing into the metallic pocket, his bones adjusting to its magnetic properties.
"Those guards were fast as hell." Beta said aloud.
"I'm not surprised, they are trained to respond on any danger and report to Celestia on the spot." John replied. "I'm sure you know why." Alpha extended both wings and prepped for takeoff. She looked at him with a grin. Alpha instantly took off to the sky, banking hard right as he turned around away from her. She trailed after him. Once high enough, Alpha slowed to a halt and turned around to face her.
"Who are you?" Alpha asked.
"Well, since you are going to die soon, you might as well know who is going to end your life. I am Zeta." Zeta said with a boastful attitude. "But, there is no need to talk now. You will die."
Zeta fired a spell at Alpha. Alpha was stunned, Pegasus can't fire spells. He dived and flew off to the mountains, hoping that the curves and valleys would shake her off. Beta was firing spell after spell at Zeta, not aiming to kill but aiming to distract, to throw her off. Alpha dived into a valley. He banked hard right and left, flew up and down as he dodged spells and rocks. Alpha was still sore from yesterday but he forgot about the pain. He took a right, flying through a hole and was hit by a falling rock. It bounced off his wing but threw him off balance.
"Whoa." He said as he regained stability.
"Another hit like that and we can die." Beta said, cursing as he deflected and fired spell after spell. "Be careful!"
"Got it." Alpha took a hard left, spinning through the air, banked hard right and flew fast and low. Hitting a dead end, he banked hard left, fully turning around and flew straight at Zeta. He leaned to his right, barely missing Zeta and flew out of the valley, leaving her confused and lost, unable to understand what just happened.
"What the hell?" Zeta said, startled.
"Dunno. Fast, agile and knows what to do in dangerous situations." Gamma said with a chuckle. "I wanna meet Beta the next time you meet him."
"In your dreams Gamma, that act is a dangerous move. What would the Kingdom think when if I let you out? What would Luna say after she figured out what we are? She could have us killed; have us hunted Alpha and Beta are." Zeta replied, her eye glowing to green. "Besides, I have had you ever since I was forced to go to that Dreadful place."
"You are aware that Alpha did destroy it, right? That is the reason Luna sent you to kill him." Gamma sighed. "It doesn't matter now.
We might as go tell her our failure then... unless you have a better idea."
"We know where he sleeps. At least we know that much of him."
"Yeah, in that shitty ass cave of his."
"Well you can't blame him. He has no home, no parents, and no family to go to. His parents abandoned him when he was a foal."
"And Beta?"
"Are you kidding? His house is said to be haunted by his own anger. No pony would go there. I doubt Alpha and Beta realize it is still standing." Zeta flew out of the valley and started heading for the Castle. "She is going to angry that I haven't killed him yet."
"Don't worry about him. He is super sore and has no pony to help him, let alone care for him." Gamma said, snickering. "Wear him out and he will be another easy kill for our count."
"Yeah, I know. And yet, after what they both have done, I still feel bad for them. Oh well, let's go."
Zeta and Gamma flew off to the castle, unaware that Alpha and Beta were watching them.
"So, we aren't alone with this gift. That's how she can predict what we can do so easily. She is going to cause a lot of problems." Beta said, watching Zeta.
"I know." Alpha replied as he took off and flew to Ponyville. I just can't believe it's her."
"Who? Zeta?"
"I can't remember her original name, but I know it isn't Zeta. I have seen her before, in the Factory, before I met you." He landed to see the market closing. He ran and had just enough time to buy some apples before everything closed down. He then flew to his cave. Beta was already asleep, and Alpha was soon following him. He landed roughly and walked into the cave. He had just turned around to face the entrance when he fell to the ground, dead asleep.
A bolt of lightning shot out of Alpha's forehead as Beta made sure Zeta wasn't watching.
"Fucking bitch. Hate when ponies watch us sleep. It's fucking creepy as fucking hell." Beta said. He nestled inside Alpha's mind and drifted back to sleep. |
Alpha | Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten | Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten
Alpha woke up with a start. He looked up to see the charred ground when Beta made sure they were alone and smiled as he lowered his head down, catching his breath. He looked to his side to see the apples he bought the night before and moved one to him with his hoof. He took a bite, savoring the taste in his mouth. The juice overpowered his mouth and started to foam. Alpha was half awake and started to choke on the juice. He coughed up the liquid and gasp for breath.
"Don't do that again." Beta said, awake. "Jeez, that was the worst way I have woken up in a while. What do you want?" He said, breathing heavily.
"Nothing, sorry, nearly fell asleep eating. What do you want to do today?" he replied.
"We need to get our bag from Vinyl before we do anything else. We also need to find out who Zeta is and what she wants. Plus, I want to go see something...personal. I want to make sure it is still standing."
That last part caught Alpha off guard. "Personal? Like what?"
"It's not important right now. We need to get our stuff back." Beta said.
"Beta, are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"That last part caught me off. What do you want to see?"
"When we get there, I will explain what I meant. Let's just go get our stuff back."
"Well, it is Sunday, which means her shop won't be open." Alpha sighed. "Looks like we are going to see Octavia again." He groaned in pain as he got up, slipped on his wing and walked to Ponyville.
Once there, he wished Beta had cloaked him.Everypony was staring at Alpha, specifically his metallic brace. They stopped in his path, asking him to take it off and leave it off, but Alpha would shake his head, saying "No." It was pure hell for him.
"Why won't you take it off?" The ponies would ask.
"Because I don't want to, I feel weak, different. Without my wing, I can't fly. It's like removing your wings or your horn, it's part of you. It feels awkward without it." He would reply. Eventually he got to Vinyl's place. He knocked on the front door and waited.
"One moment." A voice said within the cottage. The door opened and there stood Octavia. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" She said, annoyed.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but Vinyl has my bag and jar. I was hoping to get them back." Alpha said calmly.
"Wait here. VINYL!!" She screamed over her shoulder without taking her eyes off Alpha.
"What?!" Vinyl's voice came from upstairs.
"YOU GOT A VISTOR" Octavia screamed back. Alpha looked at her, amused at what was happening. He tried desperately to not laugh. He wasn't making faces, but was very close to do so.
"IM COMING DOWN." Vinyl said as she walked downstairs. "What's up?" She said as she looked at her friend. Her eyes met Alpha and she froze. "Oh, him."
"Hello Vinyl. I am just here for my bag and the jars inside." Alpha replied.
"Oh, yeah. Gimme a minute." She said. Vinyl ran back inside, grabbed his bag and threw it to Alpha. "Next time, don't send somepony to do your work." Octavia replied and slammed the door shut.
"That could have gone a lot better." Beta said as Alpha shouldered his bag and flew off.
"I'm not surprised though." Alpha said with a disappointed tone. "Anyway, before we go find out who Zeta is, let's go to your personal place."
"Fine, the last time I remember it, it was near the edge of the village, north of here. We can get there much faster if you fly." Beta replied uneasily. Alpha noted the uneasiness in Beta's voice as he took off and flew north. After a few minutes, he landed at the edge of Ponyville. He looked around and saw an old two-story cottage, hiding within forest.
The Cottage was falling apart. It looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Vines covered the stone chimney while the wood was gray and rotten. The glass windows were cracked and broken. The roof, usually made with hay, seemed like it wasn't made with hay. It had lost its color to the elements and had blended in with the wood. The paint was peeling of the walls. The Cottage looked as if it was built...
"Beta, is this what I think it is?" Alpha said in mid-thought.
"Welcome to my house, Alpha. I'm amazed that it is still standing after all these years. Apparently after I...had my incident, rumor spread that anypony who went into the house will be killed by my anger. Glad to see that everypony listened to it. Let's go inside." Beta said cheerfully.
Alpha walked to the door. It was leaning to one side, its hinges already gone. Alpha cautiously opened it and walked inside, letting Beta close the door. He took a deep breath. The air smelled old and mossy. "Wow." Alpha said, impressed, as he looked around.
"Home sweet Home. It isn't much today. But back when I was alive, it was a lot. My parents were very wealthy, before I screwed everything up. My bedroom was upstairs. I'll make sure the wood doesn't crumble when you touch it, you'll be fine." Beta replied.
Alpha took a step forward and heard the wood creak, cringing to its sound. "I am scared shitless right now." He gingerly took a few steps forward and slowly made his way to the stairs. Once he got up the stairs he looked around. The hallway's paint was peeling off but Alpha could just see the last remains of cyan in the old paint.
"It's the first door on your left. My parents' room is on the right. Go into my room first. Then go into my parents' room." Beta announced.
Alpha nodded as he walked down the hallway, and entered the first door on his right. The room was perfectly preserved. It was if someone had taken a picture of it. It was brightly colored. There was a colt sitting on the ground. He had brown skin, blood red eyes, and his mane and tail went from a dark red to a light red. Alpha was memorized by the colt sitting on the ground in front of him.
"Hey colt, you lost?" Alpha asked.
The colt did not respond. It did not even look around. Alpha walked around the colt to see him playing with a ball. The ball was colored blue with a red stripe across it. But the colt wasn't touching the ball, instead he stared at it. As Alpha watched, the ball rose up and flew around the room, the colt laughing hysterically watching it.
"...Beta..." Alpha muttered to himself, watching the colt.
"Beta, you got a visitor!" A female voice said from downstairs.
The ball fell to the ground. It bounced twice then rolled to a halt. He stopped laughing; all the happiness he was just feeling was gone. Beta's smile turned to a frown.
"Who is it?" Beta replied. Visitors usually meant being hated. All of his friends have already left him, betraying him. He heard a door slam as his mother closed the front door.
"A mare named Gamma." Beta's mom replied.
"What did she want?" Beta asked as he walked to his window to see the mare walk away. She had gray skin with a dark-green-turning-light-green colored mane and tail. Gamma turned around to look at Beta's house once more and noticed Beta watching her. She gave Beta a nasty look, called him some words that Beta could not hear but knew it wasn't nice words, and walked away.
"To state her own opinion. That's the 6th pony today that has come up to our cottage to state their opinions. This is getting too out of hoof." Beta's mom replied.
Beta turned away from the window and jumped upon his bed. He grabbed his blanket, a cotton blanket that was colored blue, with Luna's cutie mark stitched into it, and wrapped himself with it, curling up into a ball. Everything slowly started to disappear as the flashback ended. The room was deteriorating. The paint was peeling off the walls, the covers of the bed were moldy and mothballed.
"Beta, are you alright?" Alpha asked.
"No." Beta admitted. "I don't want to be here any longer. I want to go."
Alpha looked down and picked up the ball Beta was playing with in the flashback, dropping it in his bag as he turned around. "Do you want to visit your parent's room?" He asked.
"No, I want to leave this place right now."
"We are leaving." Alpha said as he walked down the stairs. He opened the door and, with the best of his abilities, closed it without breaking it. He stepped back a few meters, spread his wings and flew off into the blue sky, heading toward the market. "Beta?" Alpha said.
"Yes, Alpha?"
"What happened to Gamma?"
"I killed her, like I did with every other pony that hurt me. But unlike most ponies, I killed her quickly compared to every other pony I killed. She was one of the first ponies I killed."
Alpha slowly turned right. "How did you kill her? How did you kill most ponies?"
"It depended on how bad they hurt me. Ponies like Gamma who swore at me were killed by either A. being lit on fire. B. stabbed in the hooves and neck. Or C. strangled. Ponies that hurt me by calling me names and singling me out in public were either slowly crushed alive or decapitated with a dull object like a butter knife or the metal edge of a ruler. Ponies that physically hurt me were...well...I treated them like I treated the ponies who took off your wing."
"Oh. Okay." Alpha said calmly.
"Why do you ask?"
"I saw a flashback when I entered your room. I felt your pain, your loneliness and your depression." Alpha replied as he landed in the market. He looked around and saw some ponies looking at him. "I'm starting to feel like that, not loneliness but alienated." Alpha looked around and saw John and Scoot together, drinking some milkshakes. He smiled and exhaled.
"Hey colt!" a voice said behind Alpha. Alpha turned around to see a Guard walking up to him. Beta began to rise.
"Yes?" Alpha replied.
"Princess Celestia wants to meet with you." The guard replied.
"Really? Well, you can tell her that I don't care." Alpha said.
The guard's jaw dropped. "Are you aware of what I just said? The Princess of Equestri-"
"I don't give a damn what she wants." Alpha said interrupting, his right eye glowing red. "Tell her that I. DO. NOT. CARE."
"You are aware of the consequences of not obeying your Princess's command, right?" The guard said.
"I have been through worse. And she isn't my princess. I do not worship her. I do not listen to her." Alpha replied.
"Fine, your problem." The guard said as he took flight, heading towards the castle. Alpha sighed as he shook his head. He turned around and went to a stall selling apples. He bought three apples, turned around and found an empty table. Alpha placed the apples on the table and slid off his metallic brace. He placed his wing on the table, placing his hoof on it and stretched his scorched wing. Ponies started to walk over to Alpha, staring at the colt's wing. Alpha did not mind though, and ate two of the three apples.
"Well," Alpha said, sighing. "One last thing to do today."
"Find out who Zeta is."
Alpha slid back on his metallic brace and was about to take a bite of the last apple when he saw a stray to his right. Feeling bad for the stray, Alpha tossed the apple to it. The stray caught it and ran away with it.
"I never understood why they run away."
"It's mostly because they are scared; out of sight, out of mind." Alpha replied, noticing some ponies were staring at him. Alpha got up and took to the skies. "Now, where the hell would we learn about a pony like Zeta?" Alpha asked himself.
"Judging on how old she looked, we can rule out the library and the museum of Equestrian History, which leaves..."
"The Castle, well, it seems like we are going to break in after all."
"We aren't breaking in the castle, we are sneaking into the castle."
"What the hell is the difference?" Alpha asked as he banked right, heading for the castle.
"Breaking in usually means making a dramatic entrance. Sneaking in usually means not making an dramatic entrance and alerting every pony in the castle. Also, don't go for the castle yet, wait until it is night time. It will be darker which gives us the advantage because the guards will not be able to hear you fly above them or see you. Luna will also be raising the moon so she will be busy. Celestia will be asleep. As for Zeta, well, we will find out about her."
"Alright, night time it is." Alpha replied as he turned around and headed for his cave. He needed to rest, gain some energy to get into the castle and get out without being caught. Alpha landed in front of his cave. He walked in and took off his bag and his metallic brace. Turning around to face the entrance of the cave, he made sure he was in the shade when he lied on the cold stone ground. Placing his hooves in front of him, he laid his head down on them, and fell fast asleep. |
Alpha | Chapter 11: A job request. | Chapter 11: A job request.
"Alpha, wake up."
"I'm up." Alpha said, opening his eyes and pushing his tiredness away.
"Let's go."
Alpha nodded as he slipped his bag on, walked outside his cave and took off into the sunset. He had a window to get into the castle without being seen, but it was closing quickly. With Celestia falling asleep, and Luna raising the moon, Alpha had a short amount of time to sneak in. The moon began to rise when Alpha made it to the Castle.
"Follow the underside of the castle. I'm expecting a shield to be in place for any break-ins/trespassing like we are doing right now. Find the shield and I can teleport us through it."
Alpha followed the underside of the castle and came in contact with an invisible wall. He pushed as hard as he could against it but could not get through. "Beta, I think this is the shield."
"Alright, take a deep breath."
Alpha took a deep breath as Beta teleported him to the other side of the shield. He felt like he was crushed into oblivion then rearranged back into physical form. It was painful as hell. Alpha bit on his lip to help himself not scream out in pain. He felt the tang of blood in his mouth. He wiped his hoof across him mouth, getting rid of the blood and headed for the nearest tower. He swooped through an open window, banked hard and landed with such grace that would make Fluttershy notice.
"Alright, now we got to find out where Zeta is."
Alpha nodded in reply as he set off down the dimly lit hallway. Every few meters were candles, flickering, dancing on their own wicks, casting shadows on the walls. Alpha felt his hearing get clearer as Beta enhanced his hearing.
"You should be able to hear easier. If guards come, don't worry, I'll cloak you so you can gallop past them without them noticing."
The white Pegasus sneered. Beta was covering up for him, thinking for everything. He began to gallop, picking up speed as he raced down the hallway. He slowed down to a halt and looked at the candles beside him. He walked over to them and watched the flame flicker. "Beta," Alpha whispered. "Ever want to burn down the castle? Or light a portion of it aflame?"
"What makes you think I don't want to?" Beta replied in a chuckle
"If anything goes wrong, the candles will help with our escape." Alpha replied, softly chuckling as he began to gallop again down the
hallway. He jumped into the air and began to fly down the hallway.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"I am much stealthier, faster and more agile when I fly then if I run."
"But if you fuck up, you will make a lot more noise."
"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Alpha slowed to a halt and landed once he saw an open door. He felt Beta rise as he entered the room. It was dark, no lights were there. Alpha heard some pony breathing and thought it was a guard asleep. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and looked around. He saw a map on the wall and walked up to it. It was a map of Equestria and had X's on it. Cloudsdale was circled on it.
"Looks important, let's take it."
Alpha walked to the map, and took it down, rolling it up into a scroll and placing it in his backpack. He turned around to leave and stopped dead in his tracks. What he thought was a guard asleep wasn't a guard at all.
"Holy Shit, it's her."
On the ground, asleep in front of them, was Her Majesty, Celestia. Alpha felt his anger rise quick within him.
"If I killed her right now..."
"If you killed her right now, not only will you fuck up Equestria more than it is now with her ruling it all, but you will not be able to learn your reason; why you are alive right now. You will hurt more ponies than I have ever hoped to hurt when I was on my rampage! Ponies trust her. If you destroy that trust by showing ponies your past and mine, they will start to loose trust in her. They will see her lies. Then she will be weak, politically weak. Then you got to defeat her using magic, agility, and strength. But that happen in time. For now we got to learn who the hell Zeta is. If she isn't here, we then need to leave."
Alpha stared at Celestia's body, and then headed for the door when it opened.
"SHIT!"
Alpha backed away from the door, Beta cloaking him instantly. "It will only hide you visually; it will not cloak the sounds you make. Breathe quietly."
Princess Luna walked through the door, a candle floating behind her, and closed the door. "Sis, wake up." She said as she walked to her sister. Luna laid down on the ground and nudged her. "Wake up; I need to talk to you."
"Yes?" Celestia replied. She open her eyes, saw Luna and closed them again.
"Wake up!"
"I am awake; just resting my eyes. What do you want?"
"It's about Alpha...and Beta..."
Celestia raised her head, fully awake now. "What is wrong?"
Luna sighed. "Beta asked me why I wasn't in his dreams when I was on the moon. I replied that I was still NightMare Moon when he was alive, but I know that wasn't the truth."
"So?"
"What did Beta actually do? I know you aren't telling me the truth. Was he actually innocent? Was he bullied to the point where he broke and could not handle the pain anymore?"
Celestia sighed. "He told you that, didn't he?"
"Is it true?"
Celestia lowered her head. "It is."
Luna stood instantly, changing into Nightmare Moon. "YOU LIED TO ME! I NEARLY KILLED AN INNOCENT CIVILIAN. A CIVILIAN WHO WAS IN PAIN, WHO KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS PUSHED OVER THE LIMIT! YOU BLAME HIM FOR THINGS THAT GO WRONG THAT YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND! WHY!?" Night Mare moon screamed.
"I HAD NO CHOICE!" Celestia said, standing up and walking toward where the map was. "I had no choice. Some pony was to blame. If I told them what actually happened, how it all happened, and why it happened, My rule would be over. I would have been killed; executed for killing a civilian." She looked up at the non-existent map. "It's gone."
"What is?" Luna said, now calm.
"The map."
"Oh no," Luna said, her eyes widening. "I will alert the guards. We have a thief in this castle."
"Don't." Celestia said, pointing her hoof at Luna. "Call for Zeta. Have her find out and kill this thief."
"Consider it done." Luna said as she walked out of the room. Alpha, invisible, walked out right behind her.
"We got to leave this place now!"
Alpha looked up at Luna and began to walk backwards, away from her.
"Alpha," Luna said, looking around. Alpha stopped cold. "If you are here, I'm sorry for everything that has happened and everything that will happen." Alpha thought about replying, then pushed that thought away. He turned around and flew down the corridor. He found the window that he got into the castle and flew out. He felt as if he was crushed into oblivion and put back together as Beta teleported him to his cave.
"You know, we could have done that at first. Just teleport me there then break in."
"Yeah, but you needed to wake up first. What was on the map that was so important to Celestia?"
Alpha took out the map. "Don't know. Let's look at it." He unrolled the map and looked at the X's and the circle around Cloudsdale. There was some writing near the circle. "Destr-" Alpha stopped midsentence.
"What?"
"I know what the X's are."
"No...there can only be one, why would she need more than one?!"
"I don't know. I'm really bummed out that we didn't find Zeta." Alpha said as he rolled up the map and placed it in his bag. He walked to the front of his cave and lit a fire, lying down behind it.
"I wonder where she was. Well, good night Alpha." Beta said as he nestled in Alpha.
"Night." Alpha replied as he stared at the fire. He watched for a bit before placing his head on his bag and falling asleep.
Rainbow Dash was asleep when she heard somepony knocking on her door. "What the Hell? Who would be knocking on my door at this hour?" She said to herself as she walked to her door, half asleep. She open the door to see a Pegasus standing there. She had a purple-turning-black mane, and one eye was colored purple. The other eye was glowing green.
"Hello Rainbow Dash, sorry for waking you up at this hour but I have a request." Zeta said, grinning.
"What request?" Dash said.
"A job request; one that will pay you much more than your current one."
"You have my attention." She said, fully awake.
"How would you like to work at the Rainbow Factory?" |
Alpha | Chapter 12: A snowy day | Chapter 12: a snowy day.
"AHHHH!!" Alpha screamed as he woke up violently. He looked around, finding out where he was and let out a sigh of relief as he remembered he was having a dream. He looked at the red coals where the fire was. He raised his eyes, looking at the snow, watching it. It snowed just yesterday and Alpha had no idea what it was and he did not care, until it began to snow harder and harder. When work ended early, Alpha raced to his Cave and rushed to start a fire. He never felt this cold in his life.
It's been 3 months since Alpha and Beta had broken into the Castle and stole the map. After Celestia realized that the map had been stolen, there has been a lot of activity happening at the Castle and in Equestria. More guards have arrived at Ponyville. Celestia blamed the new security as "reinforcing the Equestrian wall." Since then, Alpha decided to lay low, wait it out. His idea worked, after a month of intense paranoia, the guards left. But some of the paranoia stayed. Since breaking into the castle, Alpha hasn't heard or seen Zeta at all.
For the past 2 months, Alpha and Beta had memorized the map in case it was ever taken from them or was lost. The bond between them was growing stronger and faster. As Alpha trains on flying, his stamina increases. He can now go for hours on end without food or the need to stop and have a drink. Beta has grown immensely, magic wise. He can now fire spells without pause, dual fire spells at different objects, cloak Alpha more effectively by cloaking the sounds he makes, and teleport with causing much pain to Alpha.
Alpha stood up, leaving his wing laying on the rock wall and walked out into the snow. He smiled, laughing out loud as he walked in the snow, listening to the crunch whenever he placed his hoof on the snow. He grabbed his wing with his bag and slipped both on as he ran to the Village. Once there, he saw multiple ponies playing in the snow. Some colts were throwing balls of snow at each other, while some fillies where making what looked like a pony out of snow. He tilted his head in curiosity, watching as one of the fillies, which he recognized was Scootaloo, placing a black top hat on the snow-pony and letting out a sound of disappointment while staring at the figure. Scootaloo looked around and saw Alpha staring at the figure.
"Daddy, He is here!" Scootaloo said to her father. John's face popped out where the figure's head was supposedly to be. He laughed as he saw Alpha's face.
"Don't worry about me. I'm up." Beta said as he woke up. "What's wron...." Beta stopped midsentence as he looked at John. "What the hell?"
"You took the words right out of my mouth." Alpha muttered, looking at John. Scootaloo galloped up to Alpha.
"Alpha!!" Scoot said as got close to Alpha. She looked at him with a worried face. "What's wrong?"
Alpha looked down at Scoot. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there." He said, realizing where Scoot was. "I was confused what you and your father are doing."
"What do you mean?" She asked, confused, walking to her father.
Alpha followed her. "What are you building? Aren't you cold?"
"I'm not cold, and I'm building a snow-pony." Scoot replied.
"Oh." Alpha said. "Wait, what?" he replied a few seconds later.
"A snow-pony, silly!" She said as she tried to put more snow where her father's face was.
"Hey Alpha," John said, his mouth poking out of the snow.
"Hey John," Alpha said, looking at the snow thingy.
"How are you?" replied the red mouth that was sticking out.
"Cold, very cold." Alpha admitted, shivering.
John shook off the snow on his head and looked at the white colt standing in front of him. His skin was nearly the same as the snow, the only thing standing out was his hair and eyes. The colt was looking around. "I take it this is your first time seeing snow."
"Mine? Yes. His? No."
"His?"
Alpha glanced at John, his eye glowing red.
"It's the first time I have seen snow since I was here. It's a relief that it still snows. It used to be my favorite time of the year." Beta said aloud.
Scootaloo ran up to Beta. "Are you Beta?"
"Right now? Yes, I am. What is troubling you?"
"Legend has it that if a pony builds a snow-pony, puts a black top hat on it, and says some magical words, it will come alive. Sadly the magical words were lost as the legend was told. Daddy says that you were alive when ponies made snow-ponies come to life. Is that true?" Scootaloo said cheerfully.
"Believe it or not, that was true. I do not remember saying words to make it come alive though. I do remember that it wasn't just a pony, but an Alicorn. Create a snow-alicorn, don't give it a hat though. Instead give it a name, and it should come to life." Beta replied.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE A SNOW-PONY?!" Scootaloo complained. "I had to use my daddy as a mold to create one."
"That is why it is so hard to bring them to life. If they were easy to create, no pony would forget how to make one. But because it had to have wings and a horn, ponies forgot how to make them. Create an Alicorn out of snow, give it a name, and it will come to life. I promise you that." Beta explained. "Use water with snow to help it stick. Don't get the snow too wet or it won't stick."
"Daddy, can you help me?" Scoot said.
"Nah, I'm too cold to help, maybe later." John said as he shook off the snow. "I will be at the Market if you need me."
"Ok daddy, Bye Alpha." Scoot said as she ran after her friends.
"Alpha, walk with me." John said in a serious tune as he walked to the market.
"Yes, John?" Alpha replied as he followed.
"I did some...er....looking. And I found someponies. Two ponies in the matter of fact."
"And?"
"I think I found your parents."
Alpha stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around himself, looking for something.
"And they want to see....Alpha?" John said as he looked behind him. "Alpha, is everything alright?" John walked to Alpha. He waved his hoof in front of his face. "Alpha, are you listening to me?"
Alpha was not listening to John. He wasn't aware that he was near John. All the snow and the village was gone. He was having another flashback, and he knew what he was watching. He saw two Pegasuses walk down a grassy hill, a white colt with a black-turning-blue mane with two white wings running towards the other colts, away from the Pegasuses, supposedly its parents. He looked to his right to see a Brown pony with black-turning-red hair and red eyes walk up to him.
"So this is how happened?"
"Yeah, this is how it happened."
The two watched as day turned to night and the white colt playing with the colts until there was only one remaining left. They watched as the colt left with his parents. leaving the white colt alone, waiting for his parents who would never return.
"That was harsh. They never came back?"
"No, I stayed there all night, thinking, hoping that they forgot about me. But they never came back."
The flashback and Beta faded away as he saw John staring at him.
"What is wrong, Alpha. Why are you crying?"
Alpha blinked and felt the warm liquid run down his face. "My parents abandoned me." He said, slowly, wiping his tears away with his hoof. "I don't want to meet them. I already have enough going in my life; I don't want to have to deal with them. Besides, I have something much more important to tell and show you. Come with me."
Alpha said, walking to the market, John following.
"I'm sorry, I did not know." John said.
"It's okay. You did nothing wrong." Alpha said as he walked to a table.
"I'm going to go get some hot chocolate. Do you want some?" John asked.
"Some what?"
"Yeah, you will want some." John said as he walked off.
"What is "hot chocolate"?"
"I really need to keep reminding myself about how long you stayed at the RF, because this is just gone too far. You really don't know what hot chocolate is?"
"No. I don't know what it is."
John came back with two cups of hot chocolate. He sat down and gave Alpha a cup. "Here."
Alpha watched as john gave him a cup and stared down at the cup. He took the cup with one hoof, and took a sip from it. "ACK!" He said as the liquid burnt his tongue.
"You don't like it?" John asked.
"I haven't tasted it yet, it's too hot. Anyway," Alpha said reaching in his bag and taking out the map. "I got something from the castle. Celestia raised the security 2 months ago because I broke in and stole it. What she says about "protecting the Equestrian line" is bullcrap." He said as he rubbed his eyes, dark bags were formed under them. "Look." Alpha said, pointing his hoof at Cloudsdale. "It's crossed out. I'll give you three guesses why."
"Is this a map of the Facilities across Equestria?" John said, his eyes widening.
"Yeah, Each X is a facility, which means there are more to destroy."
"No offense, but you nor your friend can destroy them alone."
"I know, Im considering on leaving Ponyville for the City. Start there, take out the corrupt cops and place cops that I know will make a difference. Start something new."
John choked on the drink. "Are you serious? I thought you destroyed the Factory and were done doing stuff like that. You are serious of changing everything? Really??" He said, sounding more excited than worried.
"Yeah, why? I thought you knew that."
"I was not aware of that."
"I destroyed the factory because it needed to be done. Although I was free, I felt like I had a responsibility to free every pony that was stuck there. And I did. But now I realize that my work is not yet done. And I will do what I and Beta can to complete it." Alpha replied. He took another sip of the hot chocolate, this time being much more careful. He smiled as he tasted chocolate for the first time. It tasted sweet; unbearably sweet, but it had a dark tinge of bitterness. He let the liquid stay in his mouth as he tried to figure out what it tasted like. After a while he swallowed it and took another sip, this time gingerly. It was warm now, not too hot but not too cold. "I still don't know why I was allowed to live after I was punished for sparing that red mare 3 years ago." Alpha said as he touched his scar.
"That is in the past. You can't change the past."
Alpha laughed. "I know I cannot change the past. I know it's impossible. Im trying to figure out why it happened the way it did. I don't understand why. If I don't learn why it happened, at least no pony will have to go through what we went through at the damned facility. It's like a backup plan. If I don't learn why it happened, no pony goes through the RF." He looked to his right and watched as Scootaloo rolled around and played in the snow. "She goes to school, right?"
"Yes, she does." John replied, taken back with the sudden change in subject.
"I'm only 13. I am supposed to be in school, right?"
"Take away your time at the Facility, your wing being taken off, your parents abandoning you, and you not meeting Beta, yes, you are supposed to be in school."
"What is it like?"
"What is what like?"
"What is school like?"
John became silent. "I always hated school. I never fit in with the other ponies; they would call me names and isolate me."
"Story of my life." Alpha muttered. He frowned as he took of his metallic brace and rubbed what was left of his right wing with his left hoof. "I know I will never have a normal life. I never had a normal life and I never will." He looked John in the eye. "I will destroy ever factory in Equestria or I will die trying. Beta and I already memorized the map. Take it and find the others who escaped. Make Ponyville a hoof hold, a safe zone. Use the map and destroy the factories." He got up; slipping on his brace, this time making sure it was on tight. He flexed both wings, stretching for the journey ahead. Alpha looked back at John. "It was nice seeing you again."
"Daddy, look!!" Scootaloo screamed. Alpha and John looked at her to see the snow-pony walk around Scootaloo, playing with her.
"I told you it would work. Good job." Beta said aloud.
Alpha extended both wings and flew upwards, a halo of red and blue exploded as he broke the sound barrier. He banked hard right and started to fly toward the city. He was eager to get started.
He wasn't the only Pegasus eager to get started. A blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane was eager to get back to work after the snow was cleared. |
Alpha | Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria | Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria
"To be honest, you have been flying for too long. We should find a place and rest, Alpha."
"No, I'll be fine." Alpha replied, violently shaking his head to keep himself awake.
The young white colt had been flying for 4 hours straight. His speed fell below Mach 1 an hour after breaking the sonic barrier and now, after 4 hours of non-stop flying were at their breaking point.
"Alpha, either you land now and find a place to land or I will forcefully take over and find us a place to sleep."
"What has gotten into you, Beta?" Alpha asked, starting to descend to the ground.
"You have!" Beta replied, his voice full to the brim with worry. "You haven't had a good night's sleep in over a month! Every time you wake up, you wake up screaming and sweating, as if you just woke up after you had your wing taken off. You are like a brother to me. I worry that you will become sick, so sick that I won't be able to help you. I don't want that to happen."
Alpha felt a tear run down his face and realized Beta was crying. Even though Beta was over 900 years old, he died alone, hurt, at a very young age. In all seriousness, he was older and more mature than Alpha but younger in character and in self-control.
"Don't cry, I'm landing as fast as I can." He looked around for a place to land but he couldn't see any. He was in the mountains now. All he saw was snow and rock. He spotted a cave and dived to it. His hoofs hit the snow and stuck in, flipping him head of heels through the snow. After tumbling for a few meters, he came to a halt. Alpha stood up shivering in the cold, and walked to the cave. Once he was inside, out of the cold wind, he walked to what seemed like the end of the cave. It was dark, and his eyes had just adjusted to the lack of light when he fell through a hole. He hit the ground on his brace, the wing skittering off in the darkness.
Alpha was weak and tired. He fought the urge to curl up into a ball and cry himself to sleep. Getting up, he looked for his wing, and saw it on the ground. Alpha walked to it, slipped it on, and winced as the cold metal touched his bare skin. He looked up to see some light coming from around the corner, Curious, he walked around the corner and his jaw dropped in awe. He was in the middle of the mountain. It was hollow but Alpha wasn't looking around. He stared at the curtain of fire, water and magic in the middle the fire and water clashed together, creating a blur of colors. The colors then flew upwards, joining together into a ball of magic and flew out of a hole in the center of the room. It was warm in the room. He looked around, trying to find a way down to the curtain when he saw a flight of stairs. He raced to the stairs, galloped down them, and walked to the center of the room.
"Welcome to the Heart of Equestria." Said a voice behind Alpha.
Alpha looked behind himself to see Luna standing there watching. He felt Beta rise as he extended both wings to fly away.
Luna saw Alpha extend both wings and raised a hoof. "Calm yourself Beta, I am not here to fight." She walked down the stairs with an elegant grace to Alpha. Alpha retracted both wings but kept his attention on Luna. "I realize what my sister has done, and I am sorry. I am also sorry for attacking you 3 months ago. I was unaware of what actually happened."
Alpha felt Beta descend as he accepted Luna's apology. Alpha turned around to focus his attention on the spectacle behind him. Luna walked up behind him and stood beside him.
"This is one of Equestria's many secrets that my sister has hidden from the public. The Fire symbolizes Celestia while the Water Symbolizes Me." Luna said, watching the water and fire. "When both clash, they create a ball of colors. The ball flies out through the ceiling and to Canterlot, to the castle." She said as she watched. Luna lowered her head. "When I was banned to the moon, my sister would come to this place often. It is the only place where she could speak to me, through the water."
Alpha had already lied down on the ground and was falling asleep. Luna saw Alpha falling asleep and reached lifted her wing, exposing a bag. She opened the bag with her magic, and took out a blanket. Luna then covered Alpha with the blanket, and then started to continue as she started to walk around the room.
"I was not able to visit Beta's dreams because my sister would not allow me to." She looked at Alpha, his hair now glowing red as Beta stayed awake, listening. "I tried to beg her to allow me into your dreams, to protect her. But she did not allow it. Only after you were defeated did she allow me into the dreams of the colts and mares of Equestria." Luna lowered her head as she tried to control her emotions. "I remember what you did for me, Beta. I will not forget. And I have a job to do now; one that I have not been allowed to do since you were abandoned by your parents." She walked to Alpha and lied down beside him. She lowered her head, her horn touching Alpha's head as she joined his dream.
Once inside his dream, Luna understood why Alpha had not been sleeping as well as he used to. She watched as he watched his younger self watch as his parents left him.
Alpha moved his head, temporarily severing the connection. Once connected again, Luna realized she was in a different dream. She watched in horror as Alpha was tortured, a black pony severing his wing. She watched as Beta bonded with Alpha, his body floating as he took control and punished those who brought pain upon Alpha. Alpha's head twitched, and again a new dream came. This time it showed Beta. Beta looked around him, watching as his friends left him, betraying him. He watched as his friends became enemies, calling him names, punching and kicking him. She watched as she saw Beta start to cry then scream in anger. The dream around her began to burn up. Luna watched as Beta turned on the ponies that hated him, watched as he killed and tortured those who hurt him. She gasped as she woke up from the dream.
Her sister had lied to her. She looked at Alpha. She watched as he began to twitch violently, began to squirm and wail as if he was on fire. He began to cry harder and harder, wailing and screaming in agony. But he wasn't the only one screaming and crying. Beta was as well. His hair was flashing from blue to red as both Alpha and Beta took over, crying and screaming in their own nightmare. Luna watched in horror as the white colt screamed and cried loudly.
Alpha woke with a start, screaming and crying. He looked around and realized where he was. He stopped and stared at the fire, clashing with the water, creating a ball of color then rushing out through the roof. He turned his head and saw Luna lying down beside him. He saw her face and knew what she had done and saw.
"It's been like that for a month. Every time I close my eyes, either I or Beta have nightmares." He slowly shook his head as he wiped his eyes. "It's already bad enough what we both went through. At least we should be able to sleep easily. That is the least that we deserve." He lowered his head, closing his eyes in a futile attempt to sleep peacefully. "That or die."
Luna covered Alpha with her wing as she moved closer to him. She laid her head next to his, her horn touching his. She closed her eyes and transferred her dream to his. She listened as Alpha's breathing slowed as his and Beta's dream eased and relaxed. She then slowly got up, and after waiting ten minutes to see if Alpha needed more help, left at once. She flew to the castle, in hopes to talk to her sister. She knew Celestia will not be pleased by what she did. But this has gone too far for too long. |
Alpha | Chapter 14: Estefania | Chapter 14: Estefania
Alpha woke up 4 hours after Luna left. He packed his bag, rolling up and storing the blanket that Luna had given him and was about to walk out when he looked back at The Heart of Equestria.
"What is it?"
"What I am about to do will do either 3 things; it will enhance us, kill us, or it won't do anything." Alpha told Beta as he walked to the curtain. "Are you ready?"
"If we die, I want you to know it was nice knowing you."
"If we die, we will both see each other. Remember, ghosts like you only happen when ponies die unnaturally."
"Just do it."
Alpha extended his metallic brace and held it to The Heart of Equestria. "Well, here goes nothing." He said as he plunged his wing into the heart. At first nothing happened, but when Alpha began to pull his wing out, he was hit by a bolt of magic squarely in the chest. He flew backward, hitting the wall behind him and fell to the ground, hurt and stunned. He slowly raised his head and watched as the suit of armor, glowing white in patches, approached him.
"You, Alpha and Beta, have been charged with the following charges of Torture, Multiple Homicide, Attempted Murder to kill her Majesty, and Theft. Therefor you are now an Enemy of Equestria and Her Majesties. You are hereby sentenced to Death. How do you plea?" said the suit of armor.
Alpha stared in the suit of armor in sheer horror, unable to understand what the suit of armor just said for his ears were ringing and his head was still spinning. He just stared suit of armor, stunned, unable to move or respond.
"Your plea will be written down, now go back to the hell where you belong." The suit of armor raised an Axe, and brought it down towards Alpha's Neck.
4 hours earlier in the Castle's observatory...
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
"My job."
"You did not do your job, my dear sister. You aided an enemy of Equestria. Not just any Enemy, but one who nearly defeated me 900 years ago!"
"Neither of them are enemies to Equestria. Both are currently victims of your doing, or do you not remember what you did?" Luna said.
"Don't be sarcastic with me, Sister."
"Then stop acting like it's not your fault!"
"It isn't!"
Luna instantly spread both wings, transforming into her darker self. "LIES!"
Celestia took a few steps backward in caution. "Luna, calm down."
"NO! YOU DID THIS TO THEM BOTH AND NOW YOU SAY IT ISN'T YOUR FAULT!" Nightmare Moon yelled. "YOU HURT THEM BOTH. YOU BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS, DESTROYING WHAT LIVES THEY HAD AND BRINGING THEM INTO HELL!"
"Luna, be quiet! There are ponies asleep." Celestia said, looking around, hoping no-pony was listening
"I THOUGHT THE RAINBOW FACTORY WAS BAD, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU DID TO ALPHA, LET ALONE BETA!"
"Luna, listen to me. I tried to help Beta, but ponies made rumors, started hating him for what he was."
"YOU HELPED HIM LIKE YOU HELPED ME; BY PUNISHING US, BY PUNISHING THE VICTIMS!"
"I had no choice, when I got to him; he had already killed hundreds of ponies. I had to stop him. I had to stop the damage he was doing."
"AND ALPHA? WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HIM THAT YOU HAD TO REMOVE HIS WING?"
Celestia took a breath. "He saved a mare from hurting herself, it was his punishment."
Nightmare Moon relaxed but did not transform to her original self. "His original punishment was to be killed, like all others who broke the rules in that slaughter-house. Why was he not killed like the rest?"
Celestia looked away in shame. She walked to the rail guard of the tower and stared out into the distance. "Because I did not want to kill him."
"Why?"
"We all have our dark sides, Luna. You of all ponies should know that.
Nightmare Moon transformed into her original self as she realized what her sister had done. "Y..You..punished..him..because..you wanted to..." Luna stuttered. "You, out of all ponies, hurt Alpha; a stray, a victim, because you wanted to..." Celestia looked behind her to see her sister stare at her in shock, in fear. Luna was in total disbelief of what she had just heard. "No." She began to shake her head.
"Sis," Celestia began.
"No." Luna said, interrupting Celestia. "I will not. No." She took off her crown and threw it to Celestia's hoofs. "I will not side with you when you punish ponies for fun. Absolutely not."
"Fine, leave then." Celestia said, trying her best not to break down.
Luna walked to her room, packed what she needed, and flew off into the night sky. Celestia watched as her only sister flew off into the night sky. Once she could no longer see her, she closed her eyes and let out a scream of sorrow and rage. Somepony knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Ma'am," Shining Armor said. "Luna has left the castle in a rush, is everything alright?"
Celestia stared at Shining. Is everything alright? She thought. No, nothing is alright. Luna has abandoned me and Alpha/Beta is still out there. Time to finish what I have started.
"Ma'am?"
"Shining, gather 5 of your best guards and meet me in the armory."
"Ma'am?" Shining repeated; worried.
"I will explain everything in the Armory. Go, that's an order."
"Yes Ma'am." Shining took off down the hall at once, galloping at full speed. Celestia looked out into the night sky one last time then made her way into the armory.
Celestia walked into the armory and looked around. The armory was built as a bunker for herself and Luna in case something like a plague hit Equestria. After her confrontation with Beta, Celestia refitted the bunker, turning it into an Armory. The walls were made up of reinforced Dragon Metal, brick, and stone. It was built into the mountain behind the Castle. The torches that were aflame created a medieval atmosphere that was unneeded, but felt appropriate for what was happening. On the right and left sides of the room stood mannequins with chest plates and leg guards resting on them; The Royal Guard's Armor. In the back of the room stood a statue of herself and Luna; standing together. In the middle of the room stood a table, on it containing a full map of Equestria.
She saw Shining with 5 of his best ponies, all suited up in armor, standing at attention in front of the statue. She smiled, amused. "You will be going against a Pegasus who has another soul bonded to him. Both are extremely dangerous. You will need a special type of armor to defeat him."
The guards looked at each other, then back at Celestia. "A special type of armor?" Shining asked.
Celestia nodded as she walked past them to the statue. She looked at the statue carefully, then raising her front right hoof; she pushed the chest of herself in the statue. Her hoof
lurched forward as the hidden button moved. The statue slowly moved to the right, revealing a small room. Celestia walked inside, and brought out a plastic model of a pony. On it was an armor Shining had never laid eyes on before.
It was Carbon gray in color. Deep scratches covered the chest plate, leg guards, and wing braces. The symbol of the Sun was on one side with the moon on the other. If one were to look carefully, they would notice a burnt portion of the armor underneath the left wing brace.
"This," Celestia began, "is a variant of the amour I used against Beta, modified to fit a Royal guard. Although it is 900 years old, make no mistake, this is a very powerful suit of untapped ancient magic. Created when combining the magic from The Heart of Equestria with Dragon Metal, this suit, dubbed Estefania, after the creator's cousin, amplifies the user's ability to use magic twentyfold, while increasing both agility, strength and giving the user the ability to fly, if they cannot already." She called in her servants and looked at Shining Armor. "Suit up."
It took nearly an hour for the Shining and his guards to fully suit up. For the Armor to amplify the user's power, it had to tap into his/her blood, for all blood is just magic in its raw and unstable form. To tap into the user's bloodstream, a hollow needle is inserted into the back of the neck. The magic would then be used to power the armor and in turn, amplify the user. The Armor also gave the user the ability to fly, if he/she was a earth pony or a unicorn. A thin needle would connect to the user's nervous system, connecting their wings to the brain. Although very painful, none of the guards made a sound. Celestia walked past the servants that were helping the remaining guards put on the armor and made her way to the Captain. Shining Armor was the first to be fully suited up and was trying to get used to the wings that the armor provided, an axe already stored on his back.
"How is it?" Celestia asked.
Shining watched as he moved his left wing up and down, then relaxing it, placing it back on his side. "Different. I can feel the armor amplifying my magic."
"You trained in all forms and styles of fighting, correct?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Have you mastered fighting while standing on only two hoofs?"
"It took me much longer than I expected, but yes, I have mastered Human combat."
Celestia looked around and noticed that all remaining guards were fully encased in the armor. The only thing that told who was who was the color glowing from the armor. Once
the armor tapped into the bloodstream of its user, it glowed in the color of the user's skin. Shining Armor was glowing White. Celestia smiled as she looked at the suits of armor standing at attention in front of her. She took a deep breath and explained the situation.
"You five have been picked because your captain thinks you are the best out of The Royal Guard. I hope he is right. Your objective is to eliminate a colt." The guards looked at one another. "This is not your everyday colt, His name is Alpha." Celestia continued. "Alpha has bonded with the legendary soul of Beta, the same colt who slaughtered hundreds of Ponies 900 years ago. Now that Beta is back, I fear that Equestria is at risk. A much higher risk of destruction than Discord or King Somba ever dreamed of creating. If Alpha and Beta survive, you can be damned sure that Equestria will be in more risk of destruction than it has ever been." She walked to the table and gestured the guards to come forth. "Alpha has located and entered The Heart of Equestria." Celestia said, placing her hoof on the location of the Crystal Mountains. "You are to fly there and end his life. He will be armed. He was a Dragon Metal wing, replacing the one he had lost fighting a royal convoy 3 years ago. Any Questions?" The suits of armor were silent except for the sound of metal scraping against metal as they moved, ever so slightly "Good. Go now!"
The Guards nodded. Shining Armor ran out of the armory, his guards following him. He turned left and right as he navigated through the maze of corridors. Once he located the garden, he extended both of his new found wings and took off into the dark sky, his guard's right behind. They took a hard left as they made their way toward the mountains, all eager to test out their new abilities but unaware of the galaxy-blue mare following close behind.
Alpha watched as the axe slowly fell toward him. He was stunned. He could not move. Beta, however, could. He instantly took over, blasting Shining Armor with his magic. He flew through the curtain, missing the fire by mere inches, and hit the rock wall at the other end of the room. Beta stood up, extending both wings. Shining Armor got up and stared at the handle of the axe in his grasp, the head of the axe was stuck in the side of the rock face on his right. He dropped the handle, lowered his head, kept his eyes on Beta and charged. |
Alpha | Chapter 15: History is written by the Winners | Chapter 15: History is written by the winners
Shining Armor, encased by the legendary suit called Estefania, charged at Beta. He skidded to a halt when he was 10 meters away and whistled. Out of darkness came two of his guards, both encased in the suits of armor. Originally there had been 5, but navigating through the mountain had been tricky. They had lost two of their own to the dark caves. Using magic for light was useless, for each time Shining or one of his guards tried to use magic, it was snuffed out almost instantly. Only Shining Armor, his lieutenant and the other guard had survived. To be fair, Shining had no clue who the other pony is armor was. He remembered coming in with 5 suits of armor, glowing green, red, blue, orange, and yellow. But this suit was glowing purple. He at first dismissed it as a glitch, considering the fact that the Suit was well over 900 years old and that it was not really ready for a fight. He kept his eye on it though. For whoever was in the suit knew its way through the mountain. And the last time he checked, Shining Armor was never given a map.
"Looks like he is stunned," His lieutenant remarked. "Nice shot."
Beta was unsteady on his hoofs. He was swaying from side to side.
"How the hell is that colt still standing?" The lieutenant asked, staring at Beta. "I would be knocked out cold from the impact of the spell, let alone standing and aware."
"You just didn't hit hard enough." Said the pony within the purple glowing suit. It sounded female.
"Sargent," Shining said, placing his hoof on the purple glowing suit. "Are you okay? Your voice sounds off."
The suit looked at Shining and tilted its head. Shining was unsure if it was a gesture of "Do you really need to ask?" or if it was just whoever was in the suit realized that he was speaking. Beta struggled to keep his balance. He was stunned, let alone able to fight. He raised his head to look at the group of armored ponies to see that the suit of armor glowing purple turned its head to face him. He watched as one of its eye sockets flickered green.
"Zeta...Figures..."
Zeta was following Shining Armor from the moment he took flight to the mountains. Easily taking out three of the five guards in the dark caves with the help of Gamma, Zeta fitted herself with the armor. It fit perfectly, almost as if it was made specifically for her. She hid the bodies and caught up with Shining and his lieutenant.
"So, now what?" Zeta asked.
"Now," Shining replied, ignoring his Sargent's change of voice. "we execute him."
"A quick death or a slow one?"
"To be fair, the colt looks like he is already in enough pain as it is. It would be cruel to slowly kill him."
Zeta shot a glare at Shining. "That isn't a good idea."
"The pony in that suit is not your Sargent, Captain."
The three armored ponies looked at Beta. He was grimacing in pain. When he hit the wall from the impact of the spell, his left hind leg hit the wall first, breaking in two. His left hind leg looked like a Z.
"What do you mean?" Shining asked, aware that Beta may be hallucinating.
"It isn't your Sargent."
"How do you know?"
"Your Sargent isn't a mare."
Shining walked towards Beta. "And how would you know that?"
"I know more than you do. You punish those who say or do the opposite of what you want them to do."
"I do not!"
"You don't. But Celestia does. And to be fair, you are here because she ordered you to kill me. If she never ordered you, you never would have been here in the first place."
"Don't you dare talk about Celestia! You are a murderer, a killer. You kill for fun."
Beta lowered his head and sighed. The pain in his leg was worsening. "Don't always trust Celestia. If you want to know the truth, you need to break some rules, enter what you are not allowed to enter. For example, I heard you defeated King Sombra."
"Correct, my Queen and I did."
"Why?"
"Why? Are you serious? He was going to take over the Crystal Kingdom; enslave all who lived there. My Queen and I defeated him."
"Did you defeat him because Celestia said so?"
Shining took a step back, shocked. "What do you mean?"
Beta gritted his teeth as he lied down on the stone floor, his leg burning in pain. "King Sombra was not always evil."
"What are you talking about? Of course he was."
"You are putting your beliefs on what your Princess has told you."
"The Winner always writes the history."
"But the loser knows the truth. What Celestia told you were only what she wanted you to know."
"I know that. Celestia doesn't tell me everything before sending me on a mission. It annoys me but I tend to get over it. As for you, I already know about you."
"What if what she told you was a lie? That King Sombra wasn't always the Evil spirit you saw trying to capture your Kingdom."
"What are you trying to say? That King Sombra was a victim? That Princess Celestia lied to me? What reason would she have to lie to me?"
"She lied to you for one simple thing: Power."
"Why would she need Power?"
"What do you think I have been trying to do ever since I bonded with Alpha here? She needs power. If she did not need it, the facilities would not exist."
Shining Armor's lieutenant had begun to make his way towards Beta. He was now standing right in front of him. Beta looked up and struggled to get on his hoofs.
"There is no need to stand up," The lieutenant said as he placed his hoof on Beta's head, forcing him down. "You will be dead soon."
Beta placed his right hoof on the lieutenant's chest plate. The armor, recognizing its original owner, deactivated. Beta looked at the Left metal brace covering the lieutenant's wing. At once it fell to the ground. Smiling, Beta watched as the metal flew to his left wing, covering it up. With his wing protected, Beta reactivated the armor. The Lieutenant screamed in pain as the armor that was covering him turned against him, slowly crushing him.
"To be honest," Beta said as he stood and watched the Lieutenant's body twitch as it finally died. "This is MY Armor. Once I was defeated, Celestia salvaged what was left of the armor and repaired it. She then modified it, creating her own armor." He said as he looked over his newly made wing, covering up and protecting the wing itself.
Shining began to step backwards. Zeta stayed her ground. They both watched as Beta got ready to attack, but instead of attacking, he teleported away.
"I wonder what he meant by 'Facilities. Anyways, I have a lot of questions for Celestia and YOU." Shining Armor said after realizing what just happened. He walked over to his Lieutenant's body and knelt beside it. He looked up and turned around. Zeta was already gone. He was alone. With a sigh, he placed his hoof on the guard's body and teleported, bringing the body with him to the castle.
Shining armor looked around. He was in the armory. He hated teleporting. It was painful and never went as planned. Celestia was waiting for him.
"What happened? Did you succeed?" Celestia said, a worried look covered her anger for she knew he didn't succeed.
"No, I did not. I lost all 5 of my best guards. I lost 4 to Zeta and 1 to Beta."
"Zeta?"
"A mare followed us to the Mountains. She took my Sargent's armor and refitted herself with it."
Celestia cursed under her breath. "Well, I am sorry for your loss."
"I understand, ma'am." Shining replied, his head lowered in grief.
Celestia turned and started to walk away when Shining spoke.
"I mean not to offend or ask of my orders, Ma'am."
Celestia turned her head. "Speak what is on your mind."
"It is something that Beta said. He kept talking about lies of you but what caught me off guard was that he knew of King Sombra and what you told me about him. He began talking of how Sombra wasn't always evil. Is it true?"
Celestia looked at Shining armor, her face full of sorrow. "Some things are better left untold. Get some rest, Captain." She said as she walked out.
"Yes, ma'am." Shining Armor replied, bitterly.
Beta appeared in a flash of red light, landing softly on the ground. It was dark. The moon had just begun to rise. Looking around he realized he was in the Town Square of Ponyville. He sighed, and allowed Alpha to take control. Once in control, Alpha bit his bottom lip in an attempt to not scream out.
"How did this happen?" He finally said after he mustered the willpower not to scream out.
"It broke when you hit the wall after getting hit with the spell."
Alpha checked over his left leg. It was broken alright. No doubt about that. It was broken above and below the kneecap. He struggled to get up.
"Careful, Alpha, the leg is already broken, let's not damage it more than it already is."
Alpha extended both wings in an attempt to keep his balance when he realized the new metal brace.
"What the hell?" He muttered as he examined the new metal.
"Don't worry, It's just a brace, a shield. I took it off one of the suits of armor that attacked us."
"What is it?"
"It's my armor."
"What!?" Alpha said in disbelief.
"Your wing, the Dragon Metal, is a shard of my armor. The reason I knew how to create your wing is because I already created it before. The suit of armor you saw earlier was my own suit, the very one I used against Celestia. When I was defeated, she gathered what was left of my armor, destroying what was left of my body. She then modified it, creating her own armor. It is much more efficient than my own armor, considering I used dark magic to power it. She used the Elements of Harmony as a way to power it."
Alpha slowly got up, placing his weight on his right hind leg and his front legs. Once he was balanced, he took a step forward and nearly fell to the ground.
"Easy there, Alpha."
Once he could move, Alpha limped to the market. Once there, he ran into John. John was frantic. He was sweating, breathing heavily as if he was running away from something.
"Alpha! Thank Celestia I found you. I need help!"
"Slow down, John, what is wrong?"
"It's Scootaloo, she hasn't returned from school. And I'm freaking out because I think I know where she went."
"Slow down, John. You are losing me."
John took a deep breath. "Today was the test to see if colts and fillies could fly. I was worried because Scootaloo can't fly."
"So what?" Alpha said, not understanding why John was so frantic. "She failed the test, she can redo it, right?"
"You don't understand. When you fail THAT test, you are seemingly exiled as you are never seen again."
Alpha's eyes widened as he realized what just happened.
"That isn't possible. The Facility is destroyed, I destroyed it! You saw me destroy it!"
"Remember what you told me. There is more than one facility."
Meanwhile...
"You have beautiful eyes." |
Alpha | Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta | Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta
"I would go and save her if I could but..."
"But what?"
Alpha turned around and showed John his leg. "My leg is broken."
"I can't believe it. You, the 13 year old colt who escaped the Rainbow factory, who had his wing burned off, will not go and save my daughter because his leg is broken." John was beyond amazed. "Fucking unbelievable," He turned around to leave when Alpha spoke.
"Wait." Alpha looked over his shoulder. "Beta, can you use the metal on my wing and modify it to fit my leg?"
John turned around stared at Alpha in disbelief.
Alpha sighed violently. "I know it isn't a good idea but I will not wait here while I know that his daughter is there right now and is possibly being killed or, most likely, being tortured."
John took a step forward, watching the white Pegasus. Alpha's expression changed as he watched the metal from his left wing slowly disconnected. One by one, the layers of metal removed themselves and floated to his broken leg. He bit his lip as the metal came into contact with his leg, forcing the broken bones to reconnect. John watched as Alpha shuddered in pain as the metal formed into a brace for his leg. Once the brace was completed, Alpha stretched his leg, wincing as tears streamed down his cheek.
"Let's go." He replied after he wiped his eyes, the pain in his leg decreasing.
"Let's go!? Where will we go?! She could be anywhere by now!" John asked, frantic.
"Cloudsdale." Alpha replied, looking up and spreading his wings.
"How do you know?" The red Pegasus replied, shocked.
Alpha nodded to where he was looking at. John turned and looked up at where Alpha nodded. He looked around, all he could see was the moon and clouds.
"What the hell are you looking at?" he asked Alpha, annoyed.
Alpha, without taking his eyes off what he was looking at, nodded again. "Look carefully and closer."
John looked back at where he was looking at and looked for anything different. His eyes widened as he saw how cleverly it was hidden. The Factory was hidden in the clouds. The only thing that gave it away was the black clouds of smoke escaping through its chimneys. Who ever built it used the night sky and the brightness of the moon to his/her advantage. The builder used the clouds to hide the factory, but used the light of the moon to make it seem that the black clouds of smoke where just clouds forming in the night sky. "How do they rebuild the damn thing so fast?" John replied, spreading his wings.
"They have their ways." Alpha said as he took off into the starry night sky, John following close behind.
Once close enough to the Factory, Alpha slowed to a halt. He just floated there, staring at the building, at his own personal hell.
The Factory was heavily guarded. Guards in groups of 10 patrolled the airspace. 5 guards stood on the roof, looking for any non-permitted personnel or civilian that could potentially pose a threat. 3 more were posted at each entrance, 2 at each window. Celestia was not taking any chances.
"Why did you stop?" John asked.
Alpha didn't move or respond. He just kept staring at the building.
"For fucks sake." John growled as he flew around Alpha to face him. "We don't have time fo-" He stopped midsentence as he processed what he saw.
Alpha's Mane, tail, and eyes were flashing red and blue. He was shaking, shuddering. The pain in his leg set released the memories of being tortured in the factory. He wasn't shaking out of fear, he was shaking in rage; pure rage. The pain from the broken leg also affected Beta as well. The pain released his repressed memories of his childhood. He was having flashback after flashback of being beaten up, bullied, teased, alienated and ignored. Both Alpha's and Beta's rage was fighting for control. The bond between them was growing too much for a short period of time for it to control. It exploded within them. A halo of red and blue detonated as Alpha/Beta instantly broke the sound barrier as he bolted towards the factory.
The Guards on the roof were still unpacking their supplies. Their platoon had just arrived 5 minutes ago after Shining Armor appeared with a dead squad-mate, claiming that "He escaped, I did all that I could." Celestia was certainly shocked, because she had ordered a whole platoon of guards to guard this facility.
"Hey Sarge, what are we doing here?" one private asked, his armor glinting in the moon light.
"We have orders from Princess Celestia herself to protect this Facility."
"Why? It's just a facility, just a factory. We have hundreds of these in the city, why is this one so important?"
"That's none of your concern. Just keep a look out for any pony that isn't allowed to be here. That's an order."
The private nodded and turned around to see a halo of red and blue appear in the distance. "Sarge...." He said in fear, backing up slowly.
"What now?" The Sargent replied, annoyed.
The private pointed at the halo with his hoof. "That!"
"Shit. Everyone up, we got an incoming threat!" He barked as he took out his radio. "We got a civilian inbound at our 12." His squad ran to the edge of the roof and readied themselves, their horns glowing. The Sargent walked up behind them and squinted at the white dot. "Looks like a Pegasus, a colt. Skin color white, Mane color unknown. He is getting here quite fast. Need Assistance over."
A voice came over the radio. "ROGER THAT. TEAMS RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN ARE INBOUND TO ASSIST. ETA: 5 MINUTES!"
"Sarge, we don't have 5 minutes!" The private replied, watching as Alpha flew closer.
"Negative! Negative! That is too long. I am calling a-" The Sargent stopped as he realized who the colt was. "It's Him! Fire everything you got at your 12, now!" static filled the radio. "Hello?! Did any pony read me?! It's Alpha! He's here He is coming! We need assistance now!" He stopped at looked at his squad. "Fire when ready, mares, we are about to have company."
The private nodded and began firing bolts of magic at the incoming threat along with the rest of his crew.
"This is Luna. I read you loud and clear and am inbound on your location. ETA 30 seconds. I will be coming on your left."
The Sargent looked up at Alpha, placed the radio away and watched in a helpless state as the white colt raced foward them.
Alpha was flying at Mach 3 towards the factory. He felt an excruciating pain in his leg and looked back, thinking that the brace had flown off. It hadn't. The bond between Alpha and Beta had grown so much in the last few minutes, that it had healed his leg. No longer holding the broken bone in place, Beta released the brace and covered Alpha's left wing.
He had 1000 meters left. He began weaving through the incoming bolts.
"Beta?"
750 meters. He was spinning, barrel rolling through the debris.
"Yes?"
500 meters. The bolts of magic stopped. Alpha leveled himself and aimed towards the wall
"Leave none alive."
250 meters. Beta fired a dark red bolt of magic at the wall
"I was waiting for the day you would say that."
The wall exploded as Beta's spell impacted the wall. Alpha flew in, landed and spun around, his wings slicing through several guards, instantly killing them. Beta began firing off shots, each aimed at a guard. In 5 seconds, 15 guards laid dead on the ground, brutally killed by Alpha and Beta. His mane and tail were different, streaks of blue and red glowed in the dark. His right eye was red while his left was blue.
"Let's go." Alpha and Beta said at same time. The duo ran down the hall, unaware of what was happening within of them. Guards rushed out of the hallways and were instantly liquefied by Beta's rage. Alpha continued to gallop down the hall, making his way past the blood and guts of what remained of the guards and headed for the cells.
"Something's different." Beta remarked.
"Like what?"
"For starters, our hair is colored both red and blue, and is glowing"
"What?!" Alpha exclaimed as he skidded to a halt. He looked ahead and saw his hair in front of his eyes, glowing with a white hue. "The hell?" He shook his head and began to gallop down the hallway. "We don't have time to examine it; we gotta find Scootaloo before it's too late!" He ran past the cafeteria and froze. He watched as colts, fillies, stallions and mares walk about, going to work. He spread both his wing and made his way down the filled corridors, purposely making as much noise as possible. Alpha, looking around for Scootaloo, galloped head on into a guard.
"That's It!" The guard said as he got to his hoofs, Mr. Sparky in his left hoof, buzzing with electricity. The ponies around circled around waiting to see what was going to happen.
"You idiots have been treating me like...-" the Guard stopped as he looked at the colt with the metal wing. Alpha got up and blankly stared at the guard.
"If you want to live, drop Mr. Sparky, and run." Alpha said, calmly. To the disbelief of the Ponies watching, the guard dropped Sparky and ran for his life. Alpha turned around and addressed the ponies. "I am looking for an orange filly called Scootaloo. The faster you help me, the faster you will all be set free from this fucking factory. You have my word."
"She's in the torture room" a voice in the crowd replied. The crowd parted the blue mare with the rainbow mane who spoke. She was covered in bruises and cuts. Her right wing was horribly disfigured. Her mane was losing color in spots. Rainbow Dash was hurt, and she wasn't the one who hurt Scootaloo.
"How do you know this?" Alpha replied, his mane pulsating.
Dash looked up at Alpha. "I put her there."
Alpha's eyes widened as he realized who she was. "You sick fuck! You tortured her!" He looked over her. "I see she nearly kicked your ass."
Dash looked over herself, looking at the cuts bleeding and the blood. "This isn't from her and I never tortured her. I am a double agent, working for Luna. I was given the Job by Zeta on the day you left for the city." She looked back at Alpha. "If you want to know why you are still alive, find Zeta; she will tell you everything, for a price."
Alpha ran past Dash for the torture room. Beta shot several bolts of light at the door, instantly splintering the door. Once the smoke cleared, Alpha stood in shock.
Scootaloo was in really bad shape. Her wings had hooks in them that were chained to the ceiling holding her a few feet above the ground. Her left and right front legs were broken and teeth were scattered on the ground. Dried blood stained her mane and her ears were cut. Blood was running from her nose, bubbling as she breathed in her unconscious state.
Alpha felt his rage rise within him. He cut through the chains with his hoof as Beta slowly brought her to the table. Once on the table, Beta took control as he slowly removed the hooks that were punctured through the poor filly's left wing, making sure to not cause any more damage. He was taking out hooks in her right wing when John appeared at the door way. Beta looked up, saw John, and sighed.
John was shaking in shock, his eyes wide and his jaw open. "Is she dead?"
Beta shook his head. "No, but she is not good. If she doesn't get medical attention in the next hour, she will die from blood loss. She was tortured slowly." He nodded to the left side of the table. A pile of bloody hooks laid on the ground. "She had these punctured through her wings." He said as he removed another hook and placed it on the ground beside him. "She has cuts all over her body, her front legs are broken, and..." Beta looked around on the ground. John followed his gaze until his eyes met with a white and red tooth. Beta took out the last hook in Scootaloo's right wing. Letting Alpha take control, Beta raised Scootaloo and placed her on John's back, making sure she wouldn't fall off.
"Let's go." Alpha said as he walked to John. He stopped when he was right beside him and looked at Scootaloo. "She will be alright. I promise."
John had tears running down his cheeks as he looked at his injured, unconscious daughter. "I hope so."
"John, I and Alpha will go ahead. We will signal for you to come so you can leave. But that is all I can do." Beta took off his money pouch and gave it to John. "You will need to more than us. Good Luck." He said and took off down the corridor. Giving Alpha back control, he began to rip open the cell doors, freeing those inside.
"LET'S GO PONIES. COME ON, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DIDDLE DADDLE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING!" Alpha screamed as he galloped down the Aisle. "WE GOTTA GO!" Beta shot a jet of magic at a wall, completely destroying it. Through the haze and dust came the light of the moon and stars. "THAT'S YOUR TICKET OUTTA HERE. LET'S GO!" Ponies one by one began pouring out of the hole in the wall, flying towards their freedom. Beta began shooting jets of light at the walls, and watched as the balls began to infect and destroy. Alpha ran back, and took one last look in each cell, making sure no-pony would be left behind. He was near the last cells when he noticed one was still shut.
"That's odd. I swear I opened all of them." Beta said.
"Open it, slowly." Alpha replied, cautious of what was in there. The door opened slowly, staying in its hinges and not flying backwards. Alpha slowly walked into the cell to see a colt lying on the ground, staring at him. His mane and tail were brown-turning-cherry red, his skin tan, and his eyes dark brown. Alpha took a step forward to the colt and leaned towards him. His right eye flickered blue. The colt stared at him in fear.
Alpha's wings instantly extended without Alpha meaning to extend them. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked back at his wings. "Wait, what?" He asked himself, confused to why they would open by themselves and not close.
Beta sighed slowly; the equivalent to a face-hoof. "This will get very interesting in the next few years."
Alpha shook his head, and watched as the wings slowly closed. He then turned his attention to the colt.
"It's okay; I'm not here to hurt you." Alpha said calmly.
"No, it's not you I'm afraid of. It's me. I'm different than the rest. I'll hurt you. Get away from me." The colt replied as turned his head away, his eye was flickering blue and brown.
Alpha lied down in front of him. "Hey, look at me." The colt turned to face Alpha. Alpha's right eye flickered brown. "You aren't the only one different from the rest, and I doubt you could hurt us."
"You are like us!" The colt said amazed, getting on his hoofs.
"Quite so." Alpha said as he stood up, smiling. He turned his head and heard the sounds of hoofs hitting the ground. He looked back at the colt. "What's your name?"
"Charlie."
"And the other?"
"The name's Delta." His mane and tail flickered from cherry red to galaxy blue.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Alpha."
"I'm Beta.
The sounds of the guards were growing louder. "Charlie, we don't have much time, Do you know how to fly?" Alpha asked, his heart thumping hard.
Charlie extended his wings and nodded. "Of course."
Alpha walked out of the cell and watched as the guards began pouring out of the doors, surrounding him. "Charlie, get out of here!" He extended his wing and felt Beta rise within him. Alpha turned back and looked at Charlie. Charlie was still there, standing and looking at him. "Charlie!! Go! I'll be fine!" Instead of running away, Charlie walked out of the cell and watched as the Guards ran at them.
"You aren't the only one with a special gift, Beta." Charlie sighed as Delta took over, his mane, tail and eyes glowed blue. Alpha watched as the colt stepped in front of him, his wings extended as if he was going to protect him.
"I have my gift too. And I deserve to be here after what we have done." Delta said as an orb of light appeared floating above his forehead. 15 small orbs of light flew out of the main orb and landed in front of Delta. As each orb hit the ground, an Alicorn made of light and magic appeared. Alpha's and Beta's jaws dropped instantly. Soon there was 15 Alicorns, all made of light, in front of Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta. "Go! Run! We got this! Go!" Delta told Alpha.
"HALT!" The Alicorns said in unison, their voices boomed down the corridor. "YOU WILL LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS AND SURRENDER OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES."
The Guards stopped instantly. Walking through the guards was one Galaxy blue Alicorn; Nightmare Moon.
"Oh?" Moon replied sarcastically. "And who are you to tell us what to do?"
The Alicorns materialized into beings. "WE ARE THE PAST KINGS AND QUEENS OF EQUESTRIA, PRINCESS LUNA. STAND DOWN."
Alpha/Beta could not believe what they were witnessing. He looked down and saw Charlie/Delta on the ground, unconscious. "Shit, that amount of power was too much, he's unconscious. Hell, even I would be unconscious after doing what he just did." Alpha ran over to his side, Beta easily lifting Charlie/Delta up and placed him on Alpha's back. With the unconscious colt on his back, Alpha walked behind one of the King Alicorns and nudged it.
"YES?" The King Alicorn replied, looking over its shoulder at Alpha.
"Charlie/Delta is unconscious. I will be taking him with me, escaping and leaving this hell hole. Will you be able to stall them long enough?"
The King Alicorn looked in front of himself, and watched Luna. Luna was furious, screaming and raging. The guards around her had begun to back up from her, giving her some room. The King Alicorn looked back at Alpha. "WE WILL. GO NOW! RUN! BE FREE FROM THIS ABOMINATION!" The King replied.
"Thanks." Alpha said as he turned around and ran towards the hole in the wall. The Ceiling had already disappeared. The whole roof of the facility was pretty much gone. Beta opened up Alpha's bag and took out the blanket that Luna had given them 6-7 hours ago. He then wrapped it around the colt's back and Alpha's underbelly, securing the colt to Alpha.
"It's tightly secured. He won't fall off now. Let's go!"
Alpha nodded as he jumped through the hole, his wings extended, escaping the factory. Alpha only flew by himself. He never flew with a colt on his back. He began plummeting towards the ground. "Fuck this. Beta, can you teleport us?"
"Working on it, hang on!"
Alpha closed his eyes as he was engulfed in a blinding flash of light as Beta teleported them away.
John was at the Hospital. He was pacing back and forth in the waiting room as the doctors performed on Scootaloo to save her life. When the nurse asked what happened, John told her everything. She sat through it all and when John finished she left. About 5 minutes later, she came back with a mare unicorn, a psych Therapist. John then told her the same thing he had told the nurse. The therapist replied that he was experiencing hallucinations from the amount of shock he was in from seeing and finding her daughter. She arranged several meetings for him to come in to talk to her. John stared at her, then calmly, at once, got up and left. "No wonder Alpha never tells any pony about this. No-pony will believe him." He told himself as he walked outside for a breath of fresh air. He looked up at where the factory was and saw the building engulfed in light. He chuckled as he watched it fall apart. Alpha appeared about 20 feet in front of him, teleporting from falling.
"Alpha?" John said in shock. He galloped to the colt. Alpha was still breathing and awake.
"I'm fine. I'm good." He said as he struggled to stand up. He looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see Charlie/Delta still on his back, although unconscious. "Oh, hello John, nice to see you escaped." He said once he noticed John. "Where am I?"
"The Hospital, come on. Let's get him," John nodded to the colt on Alpha's back. "-inside."
Alpha nodded and followed John into the Hospital. The Therapist was waiting for John and gasped in shock when she saw Alpha with Charlie/Delta on his back. Alpha broke off from John and walked to some chairs. Beta untied the blanked securing Charlie/Delta and placed him on the chair. He then covered him with the blanket.
"Will he be okay?" Alpha asked Beta.
"I'm pretty sure he wi-"
"SWEET CELESTIA!" The Therapist yelled as she made her way to Alpha and Charlie. Charlie's hair began to return from its blue shade to cherry-red. "Are you alright?! What happened to you?! Oh my gosh!" The therapist said in shock as she looked over Alpha's metallic brace. She began to take it off when Alpha had enough.
"DO NOT TOUCH THAT!" He yelled as he spread his wings and stepped between the therapist and Charlie, defending him instinctively. "DO NOT TOUCH US!"
"Poor colt, you are insane. I'm trying to help you." the therapist replied.
"You can't help us. Not with what we have been through."
"We?"
"John, Scootaloo, Charlie and I. You wouldn't believe us if we told you what happened."
"Nurse, get me a sedative." The Therapist told the nurse.
"Inject us with anything and I will personally rip off your horn from skull and shove it down your spine." Beta replied, staring at the therapist. He turned to the nurse who was walking toward the therapist, a needle filled with transparent liquid following behind her. "Do you have any spare patient rooms available? We have bits, we can pay." The Nurse stopped and stared at Beta. The therapist was staring at the nurse.
"Well, give it to me." The Therapist demanded of the Nurse. The nurse looked at Beta and Charlie then at the Therapist.
"Oh, here." The nurse said; stabbing the needle into therapist's left thigh.
"What are you..." the therapist dropped face first into the floor, her head bouncing as her nose hit the ground first then fell to its right; dead asleep.
The Nurse looked at Alpha and Charlie. "We have only one room available, sorry. You can use it if you like, no need to pay." She nodded to the therapist. "She has been a bitch for the past 4 weeks, so she will pay for it. Follow me." Beta placed Charlie on Alpha's back again then Alpha followed the nurse down the hallway. She open a door on her left and gestured Alpha inside. "This is our only room. There is only one bed, sadly."
Alpha walked over to the bed and with Beta's help, placed Charlie on the bed ad covered him with the blankets. "Thanks, we will be okay. " He replied, tired but cheerfully.
"You are welcome. Good night." The nurse replied as she shut the door. Alpha turned around and dragged a chair to Charlie's bedside. Taking off both of his metallic braces and placing them beneath the bed, Alpha sat down on the chair and laid his head down across his front legs, crossed on the side handle of the bed and fell asleep, not leaving Charlie's side.
Something he will do for years to come. |
Alpha | Chapter 17: The Therapist | Chapter 17: The Therapist
Nightmare: Noun, a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.
"I don't understand. What did I do wrong?!" Alpha cried, struggling to get free from the cuffs that were binding him to the metal table.
"You spared a mare from her death. You protected her, saving her from injury or death. Under normal circumstances, you would already be dead, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive."
Beta awoke and manually took over control."Shit, not again." He muttered as he felt Alpha trying to take control subconsciously. Beta could feel Alpha's pain as he twitched in an effort to stop his friend from screaming out. Once the pain and the twitching subsided, He felt Alpha nudging at him, his own way of saying "I'm okay, don't worry. Let me back in." Beta looked up and saw Charlie, still sleeping silently on the bed. Nodding slowly, he pushed himself off the chair and onto the ground. Reaching under the bed for the metallic braces and putting them on, he quietly made his way to the door and left the room, closing the door as quietly as he could. He then let Alpha take control.
"What was that for?" Alpha muttered as he looked around the hallway.
"If I hadn't taken over, you would have screamed and cried out, waking up not just Charlie and Delta, but the whole Hospital." Beta replied.
Alpha sighed as he realized what happened again. "It's getting worse; the nightmares. It's always about THAT day." He looked down the hallway on his right and saw John pacing back and forth in front of a window. Alpha walked towards him. "Hey, how is she?"
John looked up, saw Alpha, and smiled in relief. "Better now that she is here. The doctors are working on her." He said, nodding towards the window.
"Will she be alright?" Alpha asked, peering through the window. Inside the room there were bloody hoof prints everywhere as the doctors rushed back and forth, left and right, as they frantically tried to help save the orange filly's life.
"I don't know. I hope she will be." John said without taking his eyes off of the window.
"Their main concern will be internal damage and bleeding."
John looked down at Alpha. "What do you mean? What about the hooks in her wings?"
"The hooks in her wing DID puncture all the way through, but it did not hit any major arteries or blood vessels. Whoever did it to her was a professional. This means that A. Alpha and I will find the asshole and kill him slowly and B. she won't die from them. However, the RF is a horrible place, they don't sanitize anything. The worst thing that can happen to her wings is that they can become severely infected."
"And how is this supposed to help me?" John replied.
"I'm not finished yet. As for any and all external wounds that you can see, none of them are fatal. The same cannot be said about internally."
John's eyes widened.
"Internal Bleeding is really hard to..." Beta looked for the right word. "Fix, per se. If the damage is with her stomach and/or intestines, she has a low percentage of survival, EVEN with my help."
John quickly looked back at his daughter.
"But any internal damage is extremely unlikely. The worst internal damage she has is that her two front legs are broken, besides that, nothing else." Alpha peered through the window at Scootaloo.
"She will live. But this event will not go away easily. We are still having problems with it even though it happened 3 years ago."
John slowly turned to Alpha. "What do you mean?"
Alpha shook his head. "It's nothing. I'm fine." He replied.
The door opened behind Alpha and out came a doctor. "Mr. John? I have good news and bad news." The doctor said as he closed the door.
"Bad news first." John replied.
"Your daughter's wings are infected. Severely infected. No amputation is needed, but it will cost you."
The doctor said.
"How much?" John asked.
"50 Bits."
John looked at Alpha. Alpha looked back and slowly nodded in reply, then turned around and headed outside.
"Okay, I'll do it." John said as he nodded to the Doctor. "Can I go and see her?"
"She will live, and yes, you can." The doctor said with a smile.
Alpha was in the lobby when he saw the Therapist, the one who was stabbed in the leg with the sedative. Alpha realized that she was an Alicorn. Her skin was purple while her mane and tail were purple with a pink streak down the middle. Her cutie mark was a purple star with smaller stars around it. She was slowly coming to. He walked over to her and helped her up, standing by her so she can use him for balance. "Are you okay?" He asked her when she realized who he was.
"I've been better. I was just stabbed in the thigh with a needle laced with a sedative." She said as she glared at him. With a grunt, she pushed off of him, swaying side to side as she regained her balance.
"Never mind me, are you okay?" She asked him, staring at his right wing brace. The Therapist watched as his eyes flickered red to brown as Beta and Alpha talked. "That isn't normal." She said as she leaned towards Alpha.
Alpha's eye stopped flickering right as she said that and was now red. He blinked and stared at the therapist, listening to her. She took a step back, cautious.
"What we have been through isn't what you would consider right or normal."
"We?"
"Correct. You are talking to Two ponies here, not just one."
"Oh? And who are you?"
"That is not important. What is important is that what John told you is true."
Her jaw dropped open. "How did you know I was talking to him? No pony was in the room besides us, and that room is completely sound proof!"
"It does not matter how I know what he was telling you. What matters is what he told you is true."
She turned around and nodded to her left. "Let's go into my office, we can talk there."
Alpha nodded as he followed her down the hallway and into her office. "Keep your guard up, I do not like this. I feel like I'm being watched."
"I know the feeling, Im getting it too."
He entered the office and looked around. The office walls were painted with a boring orange. There was a sofa and a chair on the right, a desk cluttered with pens, papers, and folders on the left.
"A cluttered desk shows a cluttered mind." Beta said aloud.
"Hmm? Oh!" the Therapist said as she realized what Beta meant. She shook her head in deep thought. "Lots of ponies need help. What are your names?"
"I was about to ask you the same. The name is Beta."
Her eyes widened as she spun around and stared at the young colt. "The Beta, as the Beta from 900 years ago? That went on a murderous rampage, killing all that he hated?!"
Alpha nodded. "The one and only, and I am Alpha. And you are?"
The Therapist sighed and sat down on the chair near the sofa. "The name is Twilight Sparkle." She held a hoof up. "I know, I know, "What is a Princess doing here?" I came here because I am once again on Celestia's lessons." She took a deep breath and lowered her head. "So much stuff is going on now, between this "Rainbow factory" and "Celestia is a monster," I'm having a hard time to keep up with all of it." Twilight looked up to see Alpha, his head tilted to one side and his right eye red. "Well, sit here on the sofa." She said as she patted the sofa. "And tell me what happened."
Alpha did not move. He looked around the room, getting his bearings of where he was. After he was satisfied, he looked back at Twilight and shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"We will not tell you, but we can show you." Alpha replied as he walked towards the sofa and
unfastened his bag. Twilight watched as he took out a jar of what looked like blood.
"Why do you have a jar of blood?"
"It isn't a jar of blood." Alpha replied as he picked it up and offered it to Twilight. "Open it."
"Why?"
"The rainbow factory is essentially a torture house." Alpha explained as he got on the sofa and lied down. "To create rainbows, you need a huge amount of magic. Apparently, Young Pegasi blood is made up of untapped magic; insane untapped magic."
"Almost as powerful as yours." Beta remarked.
"And how do they get this magic? Where do the pegasi come from?" Twilight asked.
"The Pegasi are the pegasi who fail the flying test in Cloudsdale. All of those who fail don't go to exile, they are sent to the factory, "Never to be seen again."" Alpha nervously sighed. He started to extend and retract his right wing slowly, thinking of the RF.
Twilight tilted her head. She knew from other past patients who claimed that the RF was real had a hard time explaining how the magic was created. But she needs to know how it was created. "How is the magic created?"
Alpha was visually shaking in fear now, trying to push the repressed memories back down. "It's not created, its...its" Beta tried to find the right word. "It's stolen. They kill them. They torture and kill them. They have a machine that pretty much drains their blood and transforms it into rainbows. If you think what I did when I was alive was bad, then the Rainbow Factor IS hell."
Alpha nodded to the jar beside him on his left. "That jar is not just filled with blood. Open it and it turns into a rainbow-colored liquid." He said.
Twilight stared at the jar of blood, scared and curious of it at once. Slowly, she grabbed the jar and uncapped it. She dropped it in shock as she watched it turn into its original state. Alpha tracked the jar as Beta caught it with his magic. The cap for the jar flew out of Twilight's hoof as Beta took it and closed the jar, the liquid inside turning back into its blood-red state. She looked up at Alpha to see him looking at her.
Twilight began to shake her head in disbelief. "That isn't real. This has to be a dream." She said as she began to realize what John said explained. What all her patients today explained. It all began to make sense. "All the patients, the wounds they had, they stories they told, It's all real?" Alpha nodded. "It shou- WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?" She screamed at Alpha.
He realized what he was doing and retracted his wing once more. "Sorry, it's a nervous habit."
"Why do you have that thing over your wing anyway?" She said, calming down.
"It's not over my wing. It is my wing." Alpha replied calmly. He looked to his right and watched as Beta took off the brace, showing her what was left of his right wing; the burnt, cauterized piece of flesh that was left. "It was taken off the day I turned 11. It was a punishment because I saved a red mare from hurting herself from my welding torch." He closed his eyes and tried his best to break down as he remembered that nightmarish day. "I was supposed to die as punishment, but the guards said "Under normal circumstances, you would be dead already, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." He reopened his eyes and turned to look at Twilight. Her eyes were wide open, all exhaustion pushed away. Her mouth was open, in shock of his story. Alpha gritted his teeth as Beta slipped his brace back on.
Twilight closed her eyes. "This has turned into a nightmare." She opened them to see Alpha refastening his bag, the jar of blood gone.
He turned around and open the door. Before he left he turned around and looked at Twilight. "You don't even know what a Nightmare is yet." He looked forward and left, leaving Twilight in a state of shock and fear. Alpha walked through the lobby and into the hallway. He peered through the window into Scoot's room and saw John hugging Scootaloo, crying in joy that she was awake and alive.
"Seems like we saved her."
Alpha nodded in reply as he walked to Charlie's room. "Let's see how he is doing." He was about to open the door when he heard something metallic hit the floor. Beta instantly rose within him, his guard up, looking for danger. Alpha looked around, the hallway to his right and left was empty. He pushed the door open to see Charlie/Delta still asleep then closed the door and turned around.
"What's wrong?"
"That sound sounded much like armor." Alpha said as he walked down the left hallway.
"There is no way they could have found us. I teleported us away from the factory! Unless they learned how to track where a pony is going if they teleported, which I highly doubt, they could not have found us."
Alpha looked around. He felt like he was being watched. And if he had that feeling, it was because he was being watched. He stopped dead in his tracks and swore. "That fucking bitch!"
"What?"
Alpha slowly shook his head. "Twilight, that bitch! She must have sent Celestia a message."
"She did." Said a voice to his right.
Alpha looked to his right, down a dark hallway. There, in the middle of the hallway, glowed one purple and one green eye in the darkness. |
Alpha | Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims | Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims
Alpha stared at the glowing eyes in the middle of the hallway.
"Shit, Zeta. We can't fight here. If we do, we can risk everything we have ever worked for. They could actually frame us with evidence of us attacking and destroying a hospital. We would be fucked!"
"What do we do?" Alpha muttered under his breath.
"Only one thing we can do. Run."
Alpha stared at Zeta. He watched as she walked from the darkness, her armor flickering on, glowing purple, as she made her way towards him.
"Hello, Alpha." Zeta said from within her armor. "Like my new armor?" She said as she looked over herself, the armor glinting in the light. "It does quite fuck up any and all stealth missions, but hell, it'll protect me from any and all power." The metal clinked and clanked as it hit the floor as she made her way towards him.
Alpha was already running down the hallway. "Really hope your ghost of us fools her long enough."
"So do I, keep running though."
Zeta was now a hoof away from Alpha's face. "I was about to ask- wait a minute." She squinted her eyes as she looked at Alpha. He wasn't breathing, he wasn't blinking. He wasn't actually moving.
"It's not Alpha. It's a ghost. Something to stall you." Gamma admitted.
"That clever bastard." She said as she swiped her hoof across the ghost. It vanished as it met with her metal gauntlet. "Fool me once, shame on me." She muttered as she placed her all her weight on her hind legs. "Fool me twice, you die." Pushing off her hind legs with all her strength, she galloped down the hallway, in search of her target.
Charlie slowly woke up and looked around. It was too dark for him to see, only seeing the outline of the door from the hallway light. Pushing the covers off, he hopped off the bed, landing chest first on the ground with a thud.
"Oof!"
"You okay?" Delta asked.
"The last time I checked, our bed was on the ground." Charlie replied as he stood up. "And the floor wasn't clean" He added as he swiped the floor with his right hoof.
"We are in a hospital. Alpha brought us here after we fell unconscious."
"But I'm not hurt." Charlie said as he felt himself, looking for any wounds. "I'm okay."
He made his way towards the door but stopped before it. He was felt like he was being watched but shrugged it off as being paranoid and went to reach for the doorknob when it spoke.
"Don't open the door."
Charlie froze. "Why not?"
"Because if she finds me, I'm dead."
Charlie looked to his right and saw the light switch. He turned his back to the door and flicked the switch up. There were bloody hoof prints on the ground. His eyes followed them and found its source. Alpha was hurt, lying on the ground in front of the window. His scar was open and bleeding, his left wing was broken while his right metallic wing was bent downwards. His eyes however caught Charlie and Delta off guard. While Charlie and Delta were used to seeing blood, Alpha's eyes were staring right at Charlie. The light switch turned off, Beta turning them off.
"So," Alpha muttered. "How long do you think you have?"
Charlie slowly made his way towards Alpha. "What do you mean? How long do I have for what?"
"To live."
Charlie was now in front of Alpha. "What are you talking about?"
"I know what you are going through, the depression. No pony ever says they don't want to leave the RF without a good reason." Alpha replied, gritting his teeth as the pain in his left wing worsened. "So I ask again, how long do you think you have?"
Charlie began to see Alpha's face, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. He lied down on the ground and placed his head on his front legs. "Don't know, Couple of months perhaps? You?" Charlie watched as Alpha's eyes, glowing in the dark, looked up and moved, following something behind him. He looked behind himself to see a suit of armor, glowing purple, walking past the room.
"Who is that?" Delta asked as Charlie got up and walked to the window to the hallway.
"Zeta and Gamma, Luna's Assassin." Alpha replied, Beta cloaking himself.
Delta's eyes widened when he heard her name. It wasn't possible. She was dead. He saw her die by Beta's... Delta turned around and looked at Alpha, who was now uncloaked and was watching him.
Charlie walked over to Alpha. "I remember you. I know you, Beta."
"Took you long enough, Delta." Beta chuckled. "If you were wondering, that," He nodded to the hallway. "Is your sister."
"How can you be sure?"
"I remember those I killed. I remember who hurt me back then, who hated and bullied me." Beta's voice seemed to get deeper in tone as he remember and retold his darkest part of his life.
Delta turned around and looked at the door. A suit of Armor, glowing neon purple in patches and streaks, was peering through the glass frame.
"I killed those who hurt me because I could not take it any longer." Beta replied, staring at Zeta. The door opened and in came the suit of armor. "Half of Ponyville hated me because I was a mutant, like you. Just like you."
"Come now, Beta. We all knew you were different." Gamma's voice came through from the suit. "We bullied you because you were weak. Hell, even my brother was like you."
"So you do remember me? I thought you forgotten about me." Delta interrupted."I wouldn't be surprised, you always were the mean one in the family."
"Delta, is that you in there? It has been a long time. How's mom and dad?"
"Dead, no thanks to you." Delta replied, annoyed.
Zeta peered at Alpha, who was staring at her, watching her every move. "I see you met my friend, Beta, or should I say murderer."
With the door open, Twilight snuck her way into the room to listen.
"You know why I killed you." Beta said. "I told you why when I tortured you."
"Yes, but I would like to know why you killed me." Gamma replied.
"He killed you because you weren't only hurting him, you were hurting others." Delta answered.
"Delta, I will deal with you later. But before I kill him, I want to know why I died." Gamma said, turning her attention to Beta.
"Your little brother already told you, and he is right. Not only were you hurting me, you were hurting countless others. Before I died I promised myself to make sure all bullies were punished. And I lived up to that promise." Beta said.
"You will not kill him for he is innocent." A voice said behind Alpha. All the ponies in the room looked out the window to see Nightmare Moon, hovering in place.
The bond between Alpha and Beta began to repair both of Alpha's wings.
Nightmare moon opened the window and climbed into the room. "He is an innocent, a victim. He died reacting to the pain. And somepony here is the reason why a battle broke out after he was defeated." She turned her attention to Delta, leaning in close. "The Battle of the Victims."
"How do you know?" Delta replied, shocked that Nightmare Moon knew what he had done.
"Just because I was banished to the moon does not mean I am blind to what happened in Equestria." She replied. "From what I know and saw, Delta here saw Beta die. In an attempt for revenge, he gathered the remains of the victims that Beta had spared, creating a loose army of the bullied, the hated, the ignored and the alienated. Ages ranged from 8 years of age to 50 years of age in this army."
"I only did it because it needed to be done. Celestia could have done something, but instead she decided to not help and watch as Beta was bullied and hurt. She waited for him to go on a rampage. She wanted him to go on a rampage." Delta interrupted. "It had to be done. Something had to be done!"
"What happened?" Alpha asked.
Delta lowered his head. "The Battle of the Victims began. After Beta was defeated, I thought Celestia would be weak, so I gathered the rest of the victims that Beta spared and attacked her." He sat down beside the bed. "It went on for so long. So many mutants, so much untapped, unknown, uncontrollable power was unleashed." He closed his eyes and began to slowly shake his head, regretting what he did. "We were all angry. A fellow mutant killed by our so-called princess, the one who banished her own sister to the moon for 10 centuries, the Alicorn that could raise the sun, Celestia. We wanted revenge." He said, anger creeping into his voice. "We came together at the base of Canterlot and began our ascent to the castle." Delta took a deep breath and looked up at Nightmare Moon. "In the end, we failed. Celestia did not show any mercy. She slaughtered and tortured us. To be honest, I'm more afraid of your sister than I am of you, and I hate her as much as Beta hates my sister."
Alpha struggled as he got up and limped his way to Charlie's side. Once there, he placed his metallic wing around Charlie in an attempt to comfort Delta. Before he could do so, however, he was hit in the side by a bolt of magic and flew backwards by Zeta and Gamma; an attempt to end his life. He hit the wall and fell to the ground, badly injured.
"What are you doing!? Stand down!" Nightmare Moon yelled at Zeta.
"We aren't under orders from you." Zeta replied. She pushed past Nightmare moon and went to the struggling white Pegasus, stained in his own blood. His metallic wing laying on the ground, all bent and disfigured, and placed her metal gauntlet on his back. "Don't worry, this isn't personal." She stopped then added, "Well to me, of course." Her horn began to glow as she got ready to end his life.
Unbeknownst to Zeta and Gamma, Delta had other plans. |
Alpha | Chapter 19: The King Unicorn | Chapter 19: The King Unicorn
Everything seemed to slow down to a stop for Delta. He saw a purple Alicorn hiding on the other side of the bed, her head just poking above, watching. He saw Nightmare Moon, her armor glowing galaxy blue, screaming at Zeta and his sister, who until just now, didn't know was alive and here. The Suit of Armor encased Zeta and his sister, Gamma. But that could not have been Gamma. He saw Gamma die by Beta's hoofs: tortured and burned alive. That didn't matter now. None of it mattered. The only thing that did was what Zeta and Gamma were about to do.
Zeta was about to end the white colt's life when something bright appeared in her vision on her right. Mistaking it for her younger brother's feeble attempt to stop her, Gamma nudged Zeta to stay focused. The bolt of light flashed downwards, aimed at Alpha's side, a bolt of death. Before it hit him, it was stopped by a Hoof made of light, outstretched from the right where the bright orb appeared.
"That," A voice said as Zeta watched the hoof materialized from light to flesh. "Was a bad move."
Zeta and Gamma looked to their right to see a Unicorn, a stallion, materialize in front of her. His coat was gray, his mane and tail black, his eyes red, and a black crown on his head. His horn was different than most other Unicorns that Zeta and Gamma had previously seen. Usually, Unicorn Horns are one color, the color of the unicorn's coat. But this Unicorn's horn was different, following the tip, it turned gray to red. The way this Unicorn stood was like a guard at the castle; chest out, head high, legs slightly bent at 20°, ready to strike a moment's notice.
"Oh?" Zeta replied. "Why, exactly, was that a bad move? You think that that fancy move you just showed off there is supposed to scare me? Do you know who WE work for? If who I work for found out what you just did, you might as well commit suicide. It will be far less painful than what my boss would do to you."
The Unicorn smiled. "Your boss, Celestia," He said as if the name tasted bad in his mouth, "thinks I'm dead, defeated." He chuckled. "The clever bitch says that those who use Dark Magic are insane, dangerous. "Drains your life-force from the user." She says." He shook his head. "Dark magic does no such thing. It gives one more abilities than normal magic actually gives. With those abilities, one can and eventually will see and hear things they aren't supposed to see and hear, things that Celestia doesn't want them to know. So she created the lie that users of Dark Magic are insane. We are, actually, very gifted to be able to use and control this immense amount of magic that is usually not open for the public. For example, your boss's student, Twilight Sparkle, is hiding behind the bed behind me. She is unaware of the fact that I am still my former self that herself and her friends fought, just much calmer."
Twilight stood up and dashed for the door...but it was a futile attempt. It was locked.
"Come now, darling. I won't hurt you." The Stallion said without taking his eyes off of Zeta.
Twilight turned around and walked behind Nightmare Moon, who was now transforming back into Luna. "I am not afraid of you, King Sombra." Twilight said. "You tried to kill Princess Candance."
"Now, Twilight. I wasn't going after her; I was going after the Heart, which I was foolishly informed of what it could do by none other than the Alicorn you are standing beside." Sombra replied, rolling his eyes.
Twilight gasped, looking at Luna. "Luna, you had a play in this?!"
Luna looked at Twilight and patted her head twice. Twilight fell to the ground asleep. Sombra and Zeta both looked at Luna with confusion. "What?" Luna replied once she saw their faces. "Being the Alicorn that can raise the moon AND patrols the dreams of colts and fillies across Equestria, I have power and abilities too." She explained, annoyed. "I thought you would be aware of this." She turned her attention to Sombra. "I also thought you would know NOT TO BRING ME INTO THIS!"
"You told me that the Crystal heart would help us defeat your sister!"
"I TOLD YOU THAT THE HEARTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM WOULD HELP US DEFEAT HER, NOT THE CRYSTAL HEART ITSELF!" Luna exclaimed. "How much clearer do I have to be? I might as well have done it myself, considering you royally FUBARed the plan!"
"My apologies, at least now she won't be expecting me." Sombra looked behind himself to see that Delta was missing. He looked in front to see Delta kneeling beside Alpha, checking to make sure he is still alive. He then turned his attention to Zeta. "I know and am aware of what Beta has done to you. I am not here to apologize to you for him. I am here to tell you that you are far above your pay here."
"We don't care who you are, Sombra." Gamma snarled. "We can defeat you here and now." She shot off a bolt of magic at Sombra. The bolt hit Sombra, but instead of knocking him back and killing him, he absorbed it, like a plant would absorb water.
"Not in this form you can't. I'm technically still dead, all you are firing at is light and magic. You fire at me, the magic essentially absorbs into mine. You are basically strengthening me in your feeble attempt to kill me." Delta and Alpha were no longer in the room. Delta had teleported himself and Alpha, taking the metallic wing with him, to the room next door, which was empty. Sombra was having a hard time concentrating both on the ghost of Charlie and Alpha and on his form. Luna was aware of this and stepped in.
"Zeta, let's go. I have some explaining to do." Luna said as she picked up Twilight and placed her on the bed. The ghost disappeared.
"NO! I HAVE A JOB TO DO AND I WILL SEE IT FINISHED!" Zeta looked down to finish Alpha when saw he was gone. She sighed violently and turned around to face Luna and Sombra. "Ok, which one of you had a hoof in this?" She said, annoyed.
Sombra smiled. "Mine." He said cheerfully and vanished in a flash of light. Zeta looked at Luna and slowly shook her head.
"Celestia will torture me when she finds out about this."
"She won't find out about it. Come with me." Luna said as climbed through the window and took off.
Zeta turned and looked back at Twilight, placing her on the bed and covering her with the blankets before climbing out of the window and flying off, following Luna.
Delta and Alpha appeared in the middle room in a flash of green light. Delta looked around to make sure they were safe then turned his attention to Alpha. The bond within him was already at work, healing most of the cuts and scars on his body.
"What are you going to do?" Charlie replied as he forcefully took over.
"I don't know."
Charlie walked over to the bed and grabbed the covers and the pillows. Walking back over to Alpha, he slipped the pillow underneath Alpha's head and covered him with the blankets. He then lied on the ground with the other pillow and tried his best to fall asleep. Before he did however, he heard a zipper open and felt the blanket he put on Alpha cover him.
"Thanks for the help. No pony has ever done what you did for us before." Beta replied as he opened Alpha's bag and covered Alpha with the blanket he had inside it. "We will be okay, thanks to you. Get some rest."
"I can't" Charlie replied, pushing back the covers. "Some pony will eventually find us. And when they do we will be in trouble."
"No we won't." Beta said as Charlie felt the covers covering him again. "I made sure of that, get some rest."
Charlie closed his eyes and nodded off.
Earlier on, Alpha had paid for the room next to Charlie's. Just in case something went wrong. A...act of caution, if you will. |
Alpha | Chapter 20: The Tomb | Chapter 20: The Tomb
"Are you ready?" Sombra asked. "There is no turning back from this; no second chances, no giving up after this. It's life or death now."
"I know. He died in pain, in acting out of the pain. And she was rewarded with ending his life, making him look like the bad pony. This should have never have happened." Delta replied, looking among the past kings and queens of Equestria. "She needs to be stopped. She should have saw this coming and acted on it, but instead she let him suffer in pain." He slowly shook his head.
It's been a week since Beta was destroyed by Celestia. Since then, Delta has created his own army from the victims of the bullied, other mutants, and those spared by Beta himself. He was inside a cave, outside of Ponyville in the EverFree plains.
"We know what Celestia has done to Beta. We saw what she did, how she betrayed him and then put all the blame on him. Are you sure you want to do this?" Sombra replied.
"I am."
"This will hurt." Sombra replied as he transformed into a ball of light and flew into Delta's chest. The other past kings and queens did the same, and soon hundreds of balls of light were hurtling themselves at Delta's chest, creating their bond with his soul. If Delta died, they would still be with him when he was reborn or if he bonded with another pony.
"It is done." Delta said his eyes now green and his hair black-turning-green, his voice also different.
"Sir, we are ready." Said a pony from outside the cave.
"How many do we have?" Delta replied as he walked out of the cave with the other pony, another mutant.
"Over 500, Sir. Most are older than you but not by a lot. Some are 13 while others are 15 and 20 years old. Most don't know how to use magic or fly, let alone have the courage to take another life." They were now in Ponyville. Ponies on Delta's left and right began to pour out and follow behind Delta, some carrying backpacks and others pulling carts full of boxes. "150 out of the 500 are carrying rations and medical supplies, Sir. With rations and medical supplies, we would last a week at least." He added.
"Don't call me sir. The name is Delta."
"This will be a complete slaughter for us, Delta" The mutant replied, shaking his head.
Delta stopped and turned around. He looked among the hundreds of ponies and looked beyond them. Around them, buildings were still burning, smoke filled the air from Beta's recent Rampage.
"I know that most if not all of you think this will be a slaughter. To be honest, it probably will be." He said aloud, addressing everypony. "We are not like Beta. We are not as nearly strong as him or as powerful as him. But he was a victim, just like every one of you. He was a Mutant, an earth pony who could use magic, like almost every one of you. But he was one pony; just one who decided enough was enough and decided to take matters into his own hoofs. And take a look around you, witness what he accomplished. If only ONE PONY could do all this," Delta said as he stood up on his hind legs and spread out his front hoofs. "If only one mutant could do this, imagine what an army of over 500 mutants could do." He sighed as he landed on his front hoofs, back on all fours now. "We are all told that we are different from birth. The Cutie Mark we gain when we find what we are meant to do, our special talent, defines and proves that fact. So why are we being treated differently when we are all ponies, just with different abilities and talents than most."
Delta looked behind him and stared at the castle, still aflame from its recent battle. He turned and looked back at his army. Most were just in their teens, but mutants and victims of bullying, they wanted revenge. "I...cannot guarantee that anyone of you will survive. I know for a fact that I won't. If you want to leave, leave now. Run from this place for it will be hell when it's over." He turned around and started walking towards the castle, easily a day's walk. "Let's go."
"You decided to start without me?" said a voice behind him, landing beside him. Joining the Fight was Princess Chrysalis; the changeling.
"I thought you changed your mind, old friend." Delta replied chuckling. "You left in such a hurry after I told you about my plan that I thought you ran off."
"You really think I would pass up this opportunity?" She said with a grin. "My legs and wings are fine, though the transformation sucked like hell."
Delta frowned. Last year Celestia released an insecticide that was supposed to kill off all insects that would destroy future harvests. However, whoever was working on it was not told that it would be used on edible crops. Unicorns, Alicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies were affected, turning them into an insect/pony like figure. The sugar used in the Insecticide replaced the sugar molecules in their DNA, creating numerous amounts of mutations. Their wings became thin and transparent. Horns became twisted and curved. Their legs, not used to this type of sugar in the DNA, became riddled with holes. Their skin turned black, and their eyes turned blue. However, because of this specific sugar used, they could shape shift. They could imitate any pony they have seen, including humans if they ever seen one, creating the Changeling you know today.
With the ability to shape shift into pony/human, Crime rates skyrocketed as numerous amounts of Changelings abused this new ability of theirs. As a result of this, Celestia banned all Changelings out of Ponyville, Manehatten and Canterlot.
"My parents would love to be here but they have their own kingdom to run now." Chrysalis replied with a frown.
"Well, time to gain revenge." Delta replied as he galloped towards the Canterlot. "We have a day's travel ahead of us."
"Yes we do." Chrysalis said as she looked ahead.
The two snickered as the Changelings joined forces with the mutants as they walked towards the castle.
After 12 hours of walking and flying, the two armies camped out for the night before a forest. Fires were placed every few 20 yards away from each other and 40 yards away from the trees. The stars filled the night sky, giving the ponies and changelings something to stare at and calm down before nodding off.
Delta watched his army 50 yards away from them within the forest for a few minutes before turning around and walking away to scout ahead.
"You are aware that this will be a slaughter, are you not?" said a voice behind him.
Delta looked around to see that no pony was near him. He then realized who spoke. "I am aware of that, Sombra. But there is no other choice."
"There is always a choice."
"Not in these times. I tremble to imagine what would happen next if we don't fight against Celestia." He replied as he hopped over a fallen log. The air smelled of rotten wood and decomposing plants. It was mossy and dark. A glowing orb flew out of his chest, Sombra, and flew in front of him, acting as a light source.
"There is always a choice." Sombra repeated. "Who is the Changeling?" He asked, changing subject.
"Her name is Princess Chrysalis. An old friend of mine."
"What happened?"
Delta looked at the trees around him. Cedar and oak trees surrounded him; their branches and leaves dampening noise from outside, leaving him in absolute silence. Once in a while, he could hear the skittering of a squirrel climbing up the trees, an owl hooting in the distance or the sound of the trees swaying ever so slightly in the wind.
He shook his head. "Celestia released an insecticide that had a horrible side effect to whoever ate the crops that it was sprayed on." He stopped suddenly and listened as his voice was absorbed in the forest. It gave him an odd but familiar feeling of awareness and isolation at once. "Enough of me, what about you?"
"What do you mean?" Sombra asked.
"You have been with me for as long as I could remember, helping and showing me things that others would not have noticed, but I do not know who you actually were, why you continue to help me, or what happened to you." Delta explained as he ducked and weaved through the labyrinth of fallen trees and vines.
"I was a former King of the Crystal Kingdom, a place beyond the mountains. I ruled there. I was loved by my people and by the visitors that came there to meet me. Unlike normal Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes, I was a social King." Sombra explained as he glided in front of Delta. "Watch out for that hole in front of the tree."
Delta jumped over the tree and passed the hole hiding on the other side. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it. As I was saying, I was more social than other ponies of royalty. Instead of staying inside the castle and sending servants out to buy food, I, myself, would go out into the market and buy food. I would normally overpay the price, giving farmers extra money to help themselves. I would visit the schools, often playing with the foals and fillies during their free time. Although there was a tax that was to be paid ever week, I made sure to lower it during bad harvests and raise it when there was too much money." Sombra continued. "We had an army, a strong army. I taught the Generals myself. I made sure that each guard was doing well in school and knew how to heal themselves and others. When other kingdoms were in peril, I would send parts of my own personal army to aid the kingdoms, filled with Medical supplies and rations. I would even send bits to the Kings and Queens, helping them rebuild their economy." He said, glowing brighter than before. Squirrels and Owls began to follow the orb, aware of whom it was. Some squirrels climbed upon Delta's back and rode on his back listening to the Old King talk. They were now in a flat section of the forest.
"I was a close friend to the King and Queen of Canterlot and Ponyville. I would often send messages and gifts to them. During our best harvests, they, along with the rest of Canterlot and Ponyville would visit us and stay there for a few weeks. Games, Festivals, Events, Bonfires, and so much more were held when they visited." He chuckled.
"What happened?" Delta asked, ducking under a fallen log.
The orb slowly halted and began to glow faint. The mood swiftly changed as Sombra remembered his fall, sending the owls and squirrels to the trees. "Like everything that is alive, it dies. The king and queen died due to a sever fever, leaving 19 year old Princess Celestia in charge." Sombra halted.
"What's wrong?"
"Celestia, back then, was a troubled mare. Although she was given the job to raise and lower the sun, she was born with extremely short temper. Nowadays, she has learned to control it, but back then, she was just learning how to control it. She could be sent into a furious rage if something did not go according to who she exactly wanted it. I went to visit her myself, one day, and had jokingly insulted her."
"What did you say?"
"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight."
"You called her fat? Really?" Delta replied, moving forward. The orb continued to fly in front of him.
"Yeah. Now that I look at what I did, it was really mean. But I did not try to be mean. Her mother was a cake fanatic and was aware of her weight, but would usually send insults in a joking way back at me."
"Like what?"
" 'I think those screams that the fillies and foals yell have sent your brain to bedlam.' " He recalled.
"So she called you insane?"
"In a joking matter yes. Sadly, her daughter never learned about it."
"What did she do?"
"She sent an assassin after me, and in the end, the assassin succeeded."
"Oh."
"Death by poison."
Delta frowned as he looked around. He was nearing the edge of the forest. What he saw made his heart skip a beat and made Sombra fly back into Delta.
About 200 hundred yards away from the forest lay an army of guards. Hundreds of tents and fires lay scattered across the land. His attention changed as he heard a branch crack behind him.
"Oh shit..." said a female voice to his right.
Delta looked around to see Chrysalis beside him. Her black skin camouflaged her in the dark. He saw movement behind himself out of the corner of his eye and realized what he saw; behind him stood his and her army, all hiding within the cover of the forest. Noticing that their leader was gone, they decided to pack up and enter the forest.
"We don't have enough." She admitted, her eyes glued on the tents. "We can't fight this. There isn't a way we can win."
Delta looked at her then back at the tents. His mind raced as he thought of the options. Blindly running straight at them would have the element of surprise but would not last very long. Surrounding them wouldn't work either for if reinforcements came along, they would slaughter the thin line of ponies. He realized he didn't prepare for this at all. He didn't prepare for anything. Delta was outnumbered 5:1. He looked at Chrysalis. Her skin had camouflaged her in the darkness, if it wasn't for the moon light, he wouldn't know where...
"That's it..." Delta whispered to himself as his trail of thought completed.
"What is?"
"We use the cover of the dark, lure them into the forest one by one and kill them here. Hide the bodies and lure more." Delta explained rapidly. The other ponies had heard this and began to spread out, hiding in bushes, behind fallen logs, and trees. Some changelings flew up into the canopy of the trees to get a view of their surroundings while others blending into the darkness. In 20 minutes, the forest looked bare, with only 2 ponies still out in the open.
"What should I do?" Chrysalis asked.
"Do what you must, stay safe and stay alive; fight to live another day." Delta replied.
She took to the skies. "I'll be watching."
Delta took a deep breath and watched the tents. "I could use some help right now."
A glowing orb flew out of his chest and floated beside him. "Close your eyes." Sombra's voice announced. Delta closed his eyes. The orb shined brightly for a few seconds before disappearing, catching the eyes of a few guards. Delta retreated into the darkness, watching as 5 guards cautiously enter the forest, their spears sweeping the area for any signs of the bright light that they saw. Sombra appeared for a split second in the view of guards, running to their left, and then vanishing.
They walked past Delta, without noticing him hiding behind a tree. One guard, a unicorn, was in gold-plated armor while the 4 where in silver-plated.
"The officer." He whispered to himself. He looked to his right and saw a changeling hiding behind another tree. Getting his attention by waving his hoof in the air, he pointed towards the office and placed the tip of his hoof in front of his mouth, before slowly making his way towards the guard. The changeling nodded and followed, stalking them silently.
The guards, oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked, that they were prey, continue to walk deeper into the forest. Nearly blind in the dark, the officer lit up his horn, shining light everywhere. Once he did, he wished he hadn't. They were surrounded by ponies and changelings, their eyes seemingly glowing in the dark as they reflected the light. They froze as they realized they had no way out.
Delta, literally standing behind the officer, reached over him, grabbing his mouth and clamping it shut in a deft move with his left hoof. With his right hoof, he grabbed the Officer's horn and, with a sharp and swift yank, snapped the horn off.
The officer screamed in agony, muffled by Delta's hoof forcing his mouth shut. The other four guards looked at Delta, their spears aimed at him. Delta turned and watched as Sombra appeared behind them, and killed them, silently, with 4 white bolts of magic.
"Draw them here, kill them silently." Sombra said after hiding the bodies. Five changelings put on the armor and shifted into the Five guards they had killed. "You know what to do." He said, nodding to the guards. They grinned and nodded back, grabbing the fallen spears and walking back out into the open.
As the rest of the ponies got back into their original places, Delta and Sombra walked back to the edge of the forest. Sombra stopped as he reached the end. "You are aware of what this means right?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the tents, watching the guards return.
Delta looked up at Sombra.
"What you will start now will be blamed all on Beta. He will be blamed for all the casualties of this war. This war will not exist and Celestia will place it all on Beta."
Delta returned his gaze on the tents. The changelings have perfectly blended in within the others and split up, causing havoc. He watched as smoke rose from the camp as fires burned down the tents, and flashes of light from guards attacking each other in the chaos.
"This battle will not exist."
In the background, thousands of black dots filled the skies. Chrysalis landed beside Delta, grinning. "I did not come without back up." She said as she watched thousands of changelings black out the moon light. "My parents decided they wanted to help as much as they could." The Princess continued. "So they sent two-thirds of their army to come and join the fight."
Delta looked up and watched as thousands of changelings appeared and landed in the camp, aiding with their brothers and sisters against the enemy. "I do not want them killing ANY civilians." Delta told Chrysalis. "Only kill those that are armed or pose a significant threat. Do you understand?"
Chrysalis looked at Delta. "I understand, and they do too."
"Everything that happens here will be blamed on Beta." Sombra said, turning his attention to Delta.
"Everything will be blamed on him."
Delta opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the hospital. Alpha's left wing had, subconsciously, covered Charlie and Delta and brought them closer to him. He slowly shifted around and fell back asleep.
"So, you are the reason why I am blamed for so many deaths." Beta said, softly.
"How do you know that?" Delta replied, shocked, looking around. It was dark, he wasn't in the hospital anymore."Where am I?"
"Calm down Delta. It's Beta. We are in your mind." He said, walking from the darkness. "You were shaking and crying in your sleep. I woke up Alpha and he saw what you and Charlie were doing. He placed his wing around Charlie to give you two some comfort and fell back asleep."
"Did it work?"
"After a while, you and Charlie stopped crying and slept peacefully. I did not know that when the wing touched you, my mind would connect with yours. I was in your dream. I watched what you did." Beta's face reddened. "I appreciate your concern and you willingness to get revenge for my death and for what Celestia has done." He said as he walked around Delta. His skin was white, his hair black-turning-blue and his eyes glowed a light blue.
"You do realize you invaded my mind right? You pretty much mind-raped me!"
"I did not mind-rape you. If I wanted to mind-rape you," Beta said, his eyes began to glow dark red. "I would have already done it already, and you would be on the ground, twitching as your mind collapsed." He paused. "And it's considered dream watching. Luna does it all the time, actually. She is the guardian of dreams for colts and fillies."
Delta stared at Beta. "To be honest, I thought you were much different."
"How so?"
"I thought you protected those who were bullied or discriminated. I fought and died for a mutant who stood up against all odds, who killed those who hated him and went against the only pony who actually had any power to stop it."Delta replied.
Beta clenched his jaw, staring at Delta. "I did kill those who hated me and bully me. I did go against all odds and tried to end the only one who had any power at stopping it BUT who chose not to." He unclenched his jaw and closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "It's all in the past now. I am here to help Alpha."
"Why him?"
"I bonded with him when he was being tortured, having his right wing literally burned off with his own welding torch at the Rainbow Factory. He reminded me of myself when I was alive, a week before my 'accident'. Goodnight." Beta said as he vanished, leaving Delta looking off into the distance.
Alpha slowly came to his senses and growled in pain. He looked to his left to see his wing covering Charlie and Delta. His right wing, still in its metal brace, extended itself again.
"I have no idea why that happens." He admitted as he shut his eyes and grimaced as pain shot through his body. Slowly getting up, Alpha placed his blanket in his bag and closed it. He placed it beside the door, then slowly walked outside into the hall. Outside of the room, he began to walk around for no reason but to calm his mind. "So, what did you learn?"
"More about my past and after my death; nothing useful to us."
"Well," Alpha replied as he looked back towards his room, "I'm going to stay near Charlie for a while."
"Why?"
"Kind of like him. I understand the depression he is going through but have no idea why he wanted to stay at the factory."
"I did not learn about that though. I did learn who Delta is."
Alpha walked into the lobby and went to the front desk. "Hello, are there any showers here?" He asked with a smile.
The nurse behind the desk looked up, saw Alpha, and nearly screamed in shock and horror. "D...down the h...hall and t..t.t.t..take a right, first door on your left." She stuttered.
He looked behind himself to see what she was looking at but saw nothing. "Thanks," Alpha replied as he walked down the hall.
"What the hell was her problem?" Beta asked when they walked into the showers. On his right was a sink with a mirror. Alpha walked over to the sink, standing on his hind legs and placing his front legs on the sink and looked up.
"That's why she reacted so badly." Alpha said as he saw his appearance. His scar was open and bleeding. He had one black eye, several scratches across his face and 3 missing teeth. He tasted blood and spat. Blood splattered across the white sink. Swearing under his breath, Alpha turned on the faucet and washed the blood away. Making his way towards the showers, he looked around to find a place to store his wing so it wasn't stolen.
"It's Dragon Metal; it won't malfunction if it's submerged under water."
With a sigh, he walked into a cubicle and closed the door, locking it. Turning around, he placed his wing on the wall with the shower head and twisted the knobs. Warm water splashed onto his face and seemed to wash away not only the blood but the stress and pain. "What day is it?"
"The 5th."
"What month?" He asked, his eyes closed as he was memorized by the warm water cleaning the blood out of his coat.
"October."
Alpha froze, his eyes widening, the water still falling onto his face. He stood frozen for a full minute then, shaking his head, shook off the feeling.
"Why?"
"It's not important." Alpha replied as he turned off the shower and dried his mane and tail. "Not anymore anyway." He cleaned his left wing then, grabbing his brace, unlocked the door and left the cubicle. Outside stood several nurses and doctors, all standing, waiting for him. Alpha stared at the group, slowly placing his brace on. He saw movement behind him and knew it was too late to react. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and before everything went black, he heard Charlie scream in panic.
Alpha stirred as he woke up. He looked up and saw lights moving above him. He was on his back, for some reason. He moved his hoof to push his hair out of his eyes to realize he couldn't move it. He couldn't move at all. There were doctors on his right and left, pushing him. He was on a trolley.
"Hey! Let me go!" He said once he was fully awake, struggling.
"No can do, Alpha. We know what you did and now you will suffer the consequences for them." One of the doctors replied behind the facemask he had.
"This is your last chance. Let me go or all of you will die." Alpha replied, his mane and tail slowly turning red. Two of the five doctors let go and stepped back. The other three just kept pushing, ignoring the colt's attempt to scare them off.
"Fine, your funeral." Beta replied as he took over. The doctor on his right, the one who replied to him looked at Beta with shock in his eyes.
Twilight turned the corner after getting up from a bed in the Mental Patient Ward room. She slowly shook her head to shake any confusion left and took a right only to see what she thought was a vision of hell. There was blood dripping from the ceiling and the remains of what looked like ponies on the side. Bones stuck out from the walls on the side and limbs on the ground, some still twitching as the muscles died from the lack of oxygen and blood. In the middle of all the death and blood, in the middle of the hallway was a trolley. Standing upon that trolley was Alpha, his mane and tail glowing in streaks of Red and Blue. His eyes were glowing as well. Left eye brown, right eye red. He jumped off the trolley, landing in the blood and walking towards twilight, ignoring his surroundings.
"You...You killed them." Twilight stuttered as she backed away from Alpha/Beta.
"We did, yes. Where is my wing?" Beta asked.
"It's...it's...in my office. Just don't hurt me. My crown is in there as well, you can have it too."
"We don't need nor want your stuff. We just need our wing back. Where is Charlie?"
"Who?"
"The colt who was sleeping beside us in the room."
"There was no other colt."
Beta sighed loudly. "Alpha doesn't want to hurt you. That doesn't mean I will. I will ask you one more time, where is Charlie?" He said.
"What will you do to me if I don't tell you?"
"I can assure you that you won't survive to tell any pony what I did."
Twilight's eyes widened in fear.
"Shall I give you a list of what I intend to do?"
She kept staring at him.
"Ripping off the horn, burning off your wings, skinning you alive with a kitchen knife, spraying pepper spray and lemon juice over the open wounds."He began to list off what he would do."Shall I go on?"
She shook her head.
"Fine, then tell us were Charlie is."
"He...he isn't here anymore..."
"WHERE?"
"The doctors took him before I could talk to him. They said "You won't see him ever again."" Twilight said as she shook in fear.
"Thank you." Beta said as he turned around walked down the hallway. He took a right and walked into the office and nearly bumped into two guards checking the place over.
Easily destroying both, Alpha walked around the dead figures, grabbed and slipped on his right and left wing braces. Flexing both wings he walked out of the room and walked to the lobby.
"Remember me?" He said as he walked past the nurse at the desk. Walking into his room, he grabbed his bag and vanished in a bright light as Beta teleported himself away.
Appearing on the roof of the Hospital, Alpha and Beta looked for any signs of Charlie and Delta.
"You know, he could have been returned to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale."
"It's been two fucking days, Beta. I doubt they rebuilt the damn thing in two fucking days."
"And if they did?"
"They didn't." Alpha replied looking in the sky for any sign leading to where they took his friend to. He squinted and saw a carriage being pulled by two guards in the sky. The carriage was made out of wood; light and durable. Shaped as a square, the cell had two barred windows on each side, made of steel. The wheels were made of wood. Pulled by two guards, the carriage would be a hassle to break any pony out of.
Everything froze for Alpha for a nanosecond, and he knew why. He felt his adrenaline surge through his veins, giving his muscles a short burst of pure energy. He felt his heart speed up, allowing his body to consume more oxygen. His adrenaline mixed into his panic and rage giving him an instant rush of speed. His mind raced to absorb what was going on.
Twilight destroyed the door to the roof in an attempt to stop Alpha. She ran out towards him, several armed guards and doctors behind her. She saw him, standing at the edge of the roof and slowly made her way towards him, a floating syringe hiding behind her head. The needle was an inch away from Alpha's flank when he vanished. Twilight pulled her hoof away and looked around. She noticed the white colt disappearing, already a mile away from the hospital. Her eyes widened as she looked where he last was.
"Aw shit." She said as she braced herself, using her wings to cover her face.
There was a bright flash of red and blue as Alpha's sonic color boom detonated, its halo cutting through the hospital like a hot knife cuts through butter. Twilight stepped back just in time to watch as the edge of the ring slice through a guard behind her in two. She looked up and watched as Alpha flew towards the carriage.
As he got closer to the carriage, something seemed odd. It wasn't white as he thought it was. The guards had what looked like a purple variant of a normal guard's armor. The Carriage was purple as well, not white.
"Ah, Alpha." A guard said when he realized Alpha was flying towards him.
Alpha slowed down his acent, but did not speak.
"Prince- I mean Luna said you would follow us. Come, this way." The guard replied as he turned away from the Castle and towards the EverFree forest.
"Where is Charlie/Delta?" Alpha asked, landing on top of the carriage, riding it.
"In here." Delta replied within the carriage. "We are fine."
"Alpha," Charlie spoke. "Chill out, we are okay."
Alpha relaxed slowly. "Where are we going?" He asked the guard.
The carriage jerked down and to the right as they began to pick up speed as the entered the forest. "If
I were you, sir, I'd get into the carriage."
"Why?!" Alpha replied, shifting his stance to gain more balance.
The carriage groaned as it was being jerked left and right, weaving through the branches and trees. The Guards grinned at each other and began to fly faster. "Sir, no time to explain, get into the carriage now." Beta instantly teleported themselves into the carriage.
"What the hell was that for?" Alpha asked, relieved to see Charlie alive.
"They are Luna's guards. You can trust them." Beta replied.
The guards turned hard left and began to fly straight at the face of a mountain. Alpha looked out from the window on the side to see the cave he was living in 50 meters in front of them. "PULL UP! WE ARE GOING TO CRASH!"
"Pfft. He still doesn't know, does he?" The guard asked.
"Apparently not." Replied the other as they flew into the wall. Instead of crashing, they flew throughthe wall.
"It was a cover..." Alpha whispered.
The Mountain he was living in was hollow. The carriage landed, bumping violently as it met with the ground. When it finally stopped, the guards took of the harness and walked to the back, opening the doors and letting Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta out to look around. The place was huge. Lava holes were scattered, allowing warmth and heat to fill the mountain. It was dug out apparently, some time ago. Staircases littered the sides and balconies stuck out from the rock. Alpha looked to the side to see the two guards that brought them there taking off their armor and walking up one of the staircases to be welcomed by their squad before entering one of the doors.
"Home sweet home," Delta responded as he took a fresh breath in. "It's been a loooong time."
"Oh, there you two are." Luna said from above. She jumped from the balcony and landed in front of them. "I was beginning to wonder if you two would get here. I want to show you something, Alpha. Delta, you are welcome to look around."
"See you later, Alpha." Charlie said as he looked around and began to wander his way through the labyrinth of tunnels, doors, and staircases.
"What did you want to show me?" Alpha said, following Luna down a large hallway. Stone carvings of heads and words filled the walls. Torches were carved into the side of the wall, giving the orange light that forced the darkness to flee. They stopped at the end of the hallway and stood before a wall.
"What did you want to show me?" Alpha repeated, looking around.
Luna nodded at the wall. Alpha looked closer and read the letters dug into the wall. He felt his heart stop, and felt Beta lower his head in shame.
"What now?"
"Now, we plan for the next battle against her.." Luna said, walking out of the hallway, Alpha following her.
As they left, Alpha stopped and looked behind at the wall behind him. He turned around and read what was written on the wall behind him one last time.
Here lay the remains of Beta.
"What a shitty birthday it is for me." Alpha said, annoyed.
END OF PART I |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie. | Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie
The room was alive; Lights, hanging from the ceiling, changing color to every beat, glow sticks and rings, colors ranging from white to silver, outlined the ponies wearing them, the sound of hoofs hitting the ground, all dancing to the music, all in sync, sounded like thundering claps. The air smelt of sweat and was thick.
"Another of Vinyl's infamous Raves, figures." Beta said, disgusted by the air quality.
"Yeah, well, that's what she likes." Alpha agreed. He frowned as he looked around the room. His hair and eyes were glowing red and blue, giving him excellent cover if one were to find out why they were really there. He made his way through the crowd of ponies and what looked like floating glow sticks. The lights were changing colors to the beat, each change of the light changed, ever so slightly, the position of his target.
"Alright ponies," DJ-PON3 announced. "Gonna take a 10 minute break, get my favorite songs and take a breather. Stay dancing and wubbing!" She announced as she left the stage. The music cooled down to the popular song: TCIF.
"Let's go." Beta said, keeping the target in range. Alpha responded by following the DJ into the back, easily slipping past the bodyguards.
Vinyl took off her glasses and sighed, a water bottle floated towards her and she drank. "Luna Moon, I'm beat." She laughed to herself as she realized the pun she made.
"It's been a looong time, Vinyl Scratch."
Vinyl stood straighter, her exhaustion forgotten. Her ears perked up and she listened. "Who said that?" She said, fear creeping into her voice.
"Come now, Vinyl. Did you really forget about us? It's only been Four years since you talked to us."
Vinyl looked around for the pony who was talking to her. "What do you want?"
Alpha was hiding on the beams above her, cloaked in the shadows. His hair and eyes were no longer glowing. He was using the walls to make his voice seem everywhere at once.
"How's Octavia?"
"She's fine." Vinyl said, nervously. She straightened her neck and pretended to not be frightened. Some pony was playing with her, she thought. It must be some sort of trick or joke. "How are you?"
"We are fine."
"How about you show yourself and we talk face to face.
"As you wish." Alpha jumped from the beam and landed in front of Vinyl. Her eyes went wide as she realized who was talking.
"Why are you here!?" She said, all her strength gone.
"I'll be honest Vinyl; we are not here to hurt you. Instead we are here to offer you a...new job."
"I don't want a new job. I love my job right now!" Vinyl protested.
"Just hear us out, Vinyl. Celestia has gone insane."
Vinyl rolled her eyes. "Here you go again, talking shit about Celestia. That she has gone insane, bat-shit crazy, that 'She's torturing others.' Give me a fucking break; I talked to her personally yesterday. Now if you would excuse me, I have a rave to resume." She walked out of the back stage, vinyl discs floating behind her.
"That could have gone better."
"Next time, let me do the talking." Alpha replied as he went back into the rave party. He heard a disc screech and a new song begin to play and recognized it.
"Here is a new mix for you ponies, Vinylisicous."
He walked around the party near the walls and found an empty table, free from empty cider bottles and ponies. He took a seat and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the music. Behind him were a group of ponies, thugs by the looks of them. He didn't care about them until he heard what they were talking about.
"Did you hear about the new rumor going about?"
"What do you mean?"
"Rumor goes that a Pony named Alpha is going around, assassinating other ponies for his plan to overthrow the princess."
"Bull-fucking-shit."
"It's also said that Luna joined him, and all of her guards followed suite."
"Are you serious!? Why in the world would she turn on her own sister?"
"Probably for power, most likely."
"I would love to meet this Alpha and teach him a lesson."
"I'd love to see you try." Alpha said aloud, as he stood up and walked to the group, grinning.
Alpha sighed as he walked out through the back door and into the dark alleyway, his mane dripping in blood. "That was fun."
"Yes it was."
He took a deep breath and took off into the night. "I wonder how Charlie and Delta are doing."
It has been 4 years since Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta teamed up with Luna and her guards. Alpha had grown close with Charlie, treating him as the younger brother he has never had. Alpha was now 17 years old.
Alpha's scar had fully healed and was no longer raw or open. He has used his metallic brace so much now that he rarely took it off. He could now easily fly faster that before and was now mastering advanced techniques and creating his own. Alpha, sadly, is plagued by nightmares, and rarely gets any sleep. Passing out has become a frequent trait of Alpha, since it is his only way of actually getting any rest.
Beta had fully remembered his memories (or so he thinks he has) and is able to remember anything he had heard or seen. His magic has grown un-imaginably strong. In the magic sparring battles with Sombra and the other kings and queens, Beta recently has been able to overcome three to four continuous enemy beams of magic at the same time. Although not as strong as her, Beta and Alpha, when combining their attacks, have come close to beating Luna in full-out free for all sparring matches.
Charlie has become extremely agile; able to climb steep rocks and trees, not to mention actually dodging multiple magic attacks from Beta and Sombra. Although only 15, Charlie has begun to have horrific flashbacks of Delta's past, to the point in which both Beta and Luna have to enter Delta's mind to calm him down. Beta had created 2 pairs of wings, made of the Dragon Metal, for Charlie to use to enter and exit the mountain.
Delta has admitted and apologized to Beta, confirming his beliefs that Delta was the reason why he was blamed for so many deaths. Although annoyed at first, Beta acknowledged and ignored it, claiming that he was used to killing so many that he believed he actually did kill so many. Easily regaining his magic ability, Sombra and the other Kings and Queens have been out more often since where Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta live is essentially a secret base in the EverFree forest.
The mountain where Alpha's cave was located is currently his new home. Created and hollowed out by the Pie Family's rock ponies, it is a labyrinth of rooms and hallways, made sure to last thousands of centuries. Using the lava underneath the mountain as heat, the mountain internal temperature is around 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit degrees for you "American" Humans) all year around. The rock face where Alpha's cave is located is actually bare, open. Using a cover-up spell, only a few, Luna included, knew about its existence. Only those who have been inside the Mountain are allowed to enter and leave it. New ponies who want to enter need the help of one who has already been inside. By simply holding one's hoof, a new pony is can enter the mountain, in which they do not need help leaving or entering again.
The Cover-up spell, created by Delta when he was alive and walking, was ingenious. It allowed only those inside the mountain to see outward, but everypony outside would only see a rock face. Only to those who have ever entered the mountain, if they were to leave, would see the gaping hole and the interior of the mountain.
Charlie and Delta were bringing Derpy to the mountain. Able to bribe her with the chance of seeing Luna and muffins, she happily joined and was already entering the mountain when Alpha showed up.
The plan was to get as many ponies to join, creating a new modern army. 4 years later and a lot of hard work, Changling Queen Chrysalis and her changelings had joined, filling half of the mountain up. Doctor Hooves, Smith, Rainbow Dash, Discord, Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie, John, Scootaloo, and half a couple hundred others had joined as well.
He entered the mountain; saw Derpy and Beta instantly cloaked himself as Alpha made his way for the showers. Once in the showers, he twisted the knob and let the lava-heated water hit his sweat-drenched face, washing away his stress. He sighed loudly and was, for the next few minutes, in pure bliss. That was until Luna came in and saw the blood washing away.
"I'd take that as failure, am I right?" Luna said aloud, grabbing his attention.
"What?" Alpha asked confused before looking down at the blood. "Oh, that isn't Vinyl's blood, just some thugs who wanted to teach me a lesson." He turned off the shower and walked out of the stall, his hair dripping with pinkish water.
"And did they?"
"What do you think?" Alpha replied, annoyed. "How's Charlie and Delta?"
"Delta is doing fine, as for Charlie..." Luna trailed off, looking away.
"What's wrong?" Alpha responded.
"Charlie keeps having nightmares, only it's not Delta's memories he is accessing." Luna explained.
"What do you mean? Is he having flashbacks of his past?"
Luna nodded. "That and more."
"It happens to me a lot when I pass out. I consider it normal for us."
"Normal?" Luna asked.
"If something happens repeatedly for me and Beta, I consider it normal, despite the fact that our lives has been anything but normal."
"You have flashbacks of your past, I know. But what Charlie is dreaming about much more different."
"How so?" Alpha asked. "What is he dreaming about?"
Luna paused hesitantly. "Committing suicide." |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need | Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need
Alpha's heart stopped. He stood in front of the Ex-princess, frozen, unable to move.
"Suicide?" He asked once he was able to move. "As in taking his own life? Ending it? Dead?"
Luna nodded, her face full of depression. "Yeah."
"How long has this been going on?"
"I don't know, Delta told me about it 2 weeks ago. Ever since then, it's been getting more and more worse." Luna said, looking at Alpha, worried.
"Where is he now?" Alpha asked, his heart rate rising. He shifted his stance.
Luna didn't reply, she just kept staring at Alpha.
"Luna, where is Charlie?" Alpha repeated.
"I don't know."
Alpha stood in his place for a full two heart beats before turning on the spot and galloping out of the shower room, running for Charlie's room. The door was closed, but that never stopped him. He placed his metallic appendage in front of his shoulder and ran into the stone wall, forcing it open. Charlie's room was empty. Alpha began to slightly tremble visibly. He disappeared in a flash of light as Beta teleported himself to the Cafeteria, then to the Training rooms. He teleported into each room; the lounge, pool, metal work, rock work, mining shafts, rock climbing wall, looking for Charlie. Once after checking all the rooms, Beta teleported himself to the outside peak of the mountain and looked around.
Alpha took a breather and looked around, knowing that although he was fond of his new wings, Charlie did not have the stamina to go very far. The sun was setting down on the horizon giving a cherry red glow to the already purple, star-filled sky, and snow was falling slowly to the ground, in its no-two-snowflakes-are-the-same way. Not a single chirp from a bird or a branch cracking under the weight of a bear was heard. Total peace and silence.
He always liked the snow, although cold, it made him feel peaceful. Its color, although only white, gave him a perspective on his own life. Important, but always seen last, always in the background, he thought as he took off into the sunset and looked around for any clue to where his friend went. He saw Celestia bring up the moon and, instead of hiding from her, flew close and watched her. He gave a huff of recognition and respect, before flying to Cloudsdale, looking for Charlie.
"What was that for?"
"What do you mean?"
"That huff you did just now, was it out of annoyance or anger?"
"Neither, I was just watching her.
"Celestia? Why?"
"Just curious."
"About what are you curious of her?"
Alpha shook his head. He didn't know why he was curious. He was curious of his one only enemy who could actually end this all if she wanted to. "Why did she not end it all where it started? She could have just killed us when she wanted to. Why wait?"
"Some things are better learnt than told."
Alpha nodded then took off for Cloudsdale.
"You know where he is, don't you?"
"Yeah, it's where I would go if I was him."
Beta groaned as the two headed for the factory.
Luna was standing in front of Beta's tomb. She was worried sick about Charlie, hoping that Delta, Alpha, and Beta would be able to stop him in time. She let out a sigh.
"Worried about Charlie?" said a female voice behind her.
Luna recognized the voice and nodded. "Yeah, I am."
Chrysalis nodded and stayed her ground, watching Luna. "I wouldn't worry about him too much."
Luna turned around, offended. "Why should I not worry about him? He is at that fucking factory, ready AND willing to commit suicide."
"Yeah, but Delta wouldn't let him."
"How so?"
Chrysalis sighed as she remembered the Battle of the Victims. "I was Delta's best friend. Although he couldn't really use magic, he was astounding with his way of words."
"What are you talking about?"
"I...was depressed before." She said, her head down low. "Changelings used to be normal, non-mutant ponies. I was an alicorn, brought up secretly by Celestia herself after what happened to you when she began to become lonely. When I became a changeling she kicked me out, banishing me from the castle." She looked up to see Luna shocked. "I met Delta a short time later. He was a mutant, but unlike others, he was proud of it. He didn't care if he would get hurt by others; he would stand up for other mutants. One mutant that he defended from some bullies was Beta himself."
"Wait, what!?" Luna interrupted. "Delta saved Beta?"
Chrysalis nodded. "Beta was eight when he learned about his "gift". As you know, back then if you were different, you were horrible discriminated. Beta was being beat up by several bullies, all much older than him, when Delta stepped in and broke it up, scaring off the bullies by conjuring Sombra to show himself. After I was kicked out for the mutation that was occurring to me, I was very depressed." Chrysalis continued, changing subject. "But Delta was there for me. He kept me out of the dark days I had, and treated me as if I never changed."
Luna stared at Chrysalis. Her teal eyes glowed with what? Envy? "Why are you telling me this?"
"Delta," Chrysalis said. "will do everything in his power to keep Charlie alive. The same can be said of Alpha, but much, much more than Delta could ever wish."
"I can see how Alpha would help him. He treats him like a younger brother of his. But more than Delta can ever wish?! I don't think that's right."
"That's not what I meant. He sees him more than a friend oryounger brother. But, I would think they would appreciate any help right now."
Alpha was near the factory when the memories of pain began to seep into his mind. He felt his anger rise as he remembered the years of pain and loneliness he endured. But that wasn't all that began to seep into his mind. The thought of Charlie committing suicide created some sort of panic that had combined with his anger and pain, creating one hell of a burst of energy. He froze in mid-air, just hovering 200 meters before the factory.
"Alpha, is everything alright?" Beta asked, worried.
Alpha didn't reply. He just stared at the factory. He landed on a nearby cloud and began to, instinctively, retract and extend his metallic brace.
"Alpha-" Beta began to speak when Alpha bolted towards the west wall of the Factory, leaving a Sonic boom behind him. He headed for the wall, head first. It exploded as Beta fired a bolt of magic at it. Time froze as Alpha absorbed what he saw.
On his left were four Royal Guards, their helmets casted away on the ground, playing poker on a table. On his right were another two guards, leaning against the wall, chatting. Straight ahead was the corridor. Alpha tilted to his left, and landed, destroying the table with the excess momentum he had and spun 270 degrees counterclockwise, his right wing extended, decapitating the guards in a deft swipe. Beta killed the two guards that were left with two pieces of glowing white metal, debris of the destroyed wall, easily impaling them. Without missing a beat, Alpha spun around another 70 degrees counterclockwise and galloped down the corridor. He took numerous lefts and rights as he navigated through the maze of dark hallways. Eventually he found his way to the cells, but when he found it, he almost wished he hadn't. Alpha skidded to a halt and froze. Standing in front of Alpha stood a whole platoon of Royal Guards, spears at the ready.
Beta rose within him, shifting his weight to his hind legs, extending both metallic wings and was about to go berserk when Alpha heard grown stallions screaming above them. He looked up at the roof with confusion. He felt a hoof hit the back of his neck, not hard but light. He looked to his right to see a dark grey pegasi, his armor a deep shade of purple, streaks of a bright vibrant purple glowing, outlining the metal.
"Sir, we got this." He said with a deep voice, tilting his head to the side, as if pointing at something behind him. His eyes were a dark pink, his hair black.
Alpha looked behind him to see nothing, just the corridor, and the lights still flickering. He turned around and looked guard. "Who is "we"?" He asked, confused.
"Look again, behind you." Replied the guard. This time, Alpha turned around fully to see a whole platoon of guards, their armor glowing in purple, slowly uncloaked, and revealed themselves.
One pony broke through the ceiling and landed right next to him. Alpha looked to his right and felt his jaw drop.
Her armor, another variant of The Dragon Metal, was covered in dried blood. She had her helmet on, and her teeth, razor-sharp, although normally would be white as snow, were stained with blood. With skin color that matched the color of a cloudless night, the moon-shaped cutie mark which seemed to give off its own moon light, and the light-blue, oval shaped eyes with that mane and tail that seemed to peer into a void full of stars, Nightmare Moon stood beside Alpha, battle-ready and eager to fight.
"What?" She asked, looking at the jaw-opened Alpha.
"N...nothing." He stuttered. He had seen Nightmare moon before when she tried to kill him, but never up close. "What are you doing here?"
"Thought you needed help." She turned her attention to the guards in front of her. "Seems like I was right. Go find your friend and save him. We'll deal with them."
With saying that, she ran towards the wall of guards. Several guards threw spears at her. Nightmare Moon grinned and easily dodged them, and jumped into the crowd. She spun; her wings spread open, decapitating several guards in the process. Once she had her own space, she lunged out to the nearest Guard, a Unicorn, and grabbed his horn. With a strong and fast tug, she ripped off the horn. With a complicated twists and arcs in the air, she tossed it up and caught it with her hoof, the end point of the horn facing behind her. Standing on her hind legs, using a horn as a makeshift dagger, both wings spread, Nightmare Moon was Death's best friend.
The Guards behind Alpha began to rush towards the broken wall of disorganized Royal guards, eager to get their fair share of kills. Alpha had no problem with that and let them pass him as he made his way towards the machine room. He heard the sound of cell doors being destroyed and smiled. The Cell inmates have decided to join Nightmare moon and fight the guards as well. He heard one particular guard screech in agony as if somepony attacked him with a cattle prod.
"Gotta love Mr.Sparky." Beta replied in glee.
"Yes you do." Alpha agreed as he made his way into the machine room. He froze to a halt when he saw Charlie sitting in front of the machine, watching a filly being horribly and brutally destroyed and killed. He then stood up and began to step into the machine.The last thing Alpha heard before his mind went into overdrive was Beta telling him about something. But it was too late. He bolted forward Charlie when Beta instantly took over, forcing Alpha to stop.
"Beta, NO!"
"Listen to me Alpha. It's not him!"
Alpha stared at Charlie, who oddly, had stopped moving toward the machine and began to transform. His tan skin began to turn white. He grew in size and grew wings as well. He had a horn. He changed gender.
"Shit..." Alpha muttered as he realized who it was.
This alicorn was white. Having a crown upon her head, her cutie mark the shape of a sun that was created by the Human Greek artists appeared on her flank. She turned around and looked at Alpha.
Alpha slowly began to step away from the Alicorn, his eyes wide and his breathing slowed.
Her eyes were pink. Her horn long and tall, her mane and tail, a vibrant lightish variant of what seemed to be a rainbow sparkled and flew around, as if un-affected by gravity.
"It has been a very long time, Beta. It's an honor to meet you Alpha." Princess Celestia said with a grin, the rainbow liquid dripping from her open mouth. "Let's talk." |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold | Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold
"It's not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right."
The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering light, lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta. The one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.
"No pony is supposed to be "right", Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing."
"I am not supposed to be like this!"
"Supposed to be like what?"
"I am gay. Being gay is wrong here. I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I'm an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me."
"I don't know about that," A voice said from the door.
Charlie poked his head out from under the bed to see Alpha standing there. His scar was open and raw again, bleeding profoundly. His metallic wing was broken, the metallic feathers spread out in different directions. Alpha had many scratches along his body. His eyes were half open, and he was missing a few teeth. Blood was dripping from his body to the ground, creating a small red puddle underneath him. His left wing was broken, his right front leg and his left hind leg were terrifyingly disfigured. There was a trail of blood drops behind him.
"You are quite the opposite, to be honest." Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile.
Alpha felt his mind race. He felt Beta rise within in him faster than ever before. His adrenaline kicked in, his panic, rage, anger and hate mixed together, creating one hell of a substitute of energy.
Celestia grinned with half-opened eyes and shot white glowing bolt at Alpha. Instead of dodging it, Beta took over and blocked it by raising the metallic wing and using as a shield, the bolt bouncing off the wing like a laser bouncing off a mirror.
"It has been a long time, Beta." Celestia said casually.
"Yes, it has." Beta replied, lowering the wing slowly before teleporting to the top of the machine. He looked down on Celestia. She had splashes of Rainbow Liquid all over her body, especially her face. She turned around and looked up at him with a teeth-baring smile, her teeth glowing in a vibrant rainbow state. "Taste good?"
"It tastes like blood. But it has an energetic feeling to it, like BlueBull has." She said with a nod. As she was nodding, her horn began to glow white and it spat out a cone of rainbow-colored magic. Beta jumped off the machine just in time to narrowly miss the spell. He spun in the air, giving Alpha back control and watched as the machine was hit.
The top of the machine was easily ripped off like if it was made of paper and somepony tore it off. The pipes within broke like glass, creating a fountain of the rainbow-liquid, spurting it up into the air. Alpha landed on the ground behind Celestia, watching the Rainbow rain onto the floor when he got a face full of Celestia's Hind kick. He wheeled around, teeth flying out of his mouth. He raised his right front hoof up to his mouth and felt the holes where his teeth were missing. He turned his head and looked at Celestia.
She grinned in reply. "Taste Good?"
His mane and tail began to glow brightly; every other blue color streak was red, blood red. His eyes glowed, one red, one blue. His scar was open and bleeding again. He spun around, his metallic wing raised. Celestia grinned and waited until he got close enough before extending her right hind leg and kicking him...
But Beta expected it and teleported in front of Celestia. She turned her head back forward and watched as Alpha's right metallic wing impacted her chest, easily breaking three ribs. She instinctively stood up on her hind legs and yelled in shock and pain. Alpha ran underneath her and extended his right wing again, and exited near her left hind leg, breaking it when it came into contact with his wing.
Celestia landed back onto her front legs and kicked out her left leg, both straitening it out and breaking Alpha's left hind leg in the process. Alpha skidded to a stop, turned around and grinned. Celestia looked at him in horror and anger as she watched as Alpha's leg seemed to heal itself on its own, returning to its normal shape.
"Alpha..." Celestia began to plead.
Beta shot a bolt, nearly missing her and hit an explosive pipe behind her. She, again reared up, but this time, Alpha and Beta decided not to give her a chance to recover. Alpha galloped straight at her underbelly and before he hit her, Beta shot off an explosive spell at her, making her fly backwards and up, crashing through the wall and into the cafeteria. She got up and watched as her sister killed numerous royal guards.
Nightmare Moon ducked under several spears, leaned forward and bit one of her attacker's neck, easily biting through the vein and, with a thrust with her makeshift dagger, a horn she had earlier ripped off of a unicorn's head, shoved it into the other side of the guard's. With a quick thrust, she ripped the head off its neck and watched the guard's body fall to the ground and twitch, the Guard's head dangling from her mouth. She looked up and saw Celestia. Nightmare Moon froze, watching Celestia watch her. She grinned with the Guard's neck, the guard making gurgling sounds as he made futile attempts to breath. She slowly pulled out the horn from his head, killing the guard and stood back on her hind legs, her wings spread, and extended her free hoof before folding her wrist back and forth, gesturing her to come here, the head still dangling in her mouth.
Celestia began to walk towards her dark sister when Nightmare Moon heard a bloodcurdling cry and watched as Alpha bolted through the hole in the cafeteria floor and impacted Celestia through the walls next to her. Nightmare Moon grinned and turned her attention to the guards, whose numbers were beginning to dwindle down.
Celestia, being pushed by Alpha, was hitting and destroying each wall before Alpha ran out of momentum and both rolled and tumbled on the ground, Celestia's body crushing through each wall before ending up in the same room Alpha was punished in, the two unconscious.
Alpha came to first. He looked around for Celestia. Once finding her and realizing that she was unconscious, he took a breather before slowly getting up.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, just had the wind knocked out of me."
"Both right front and left hind legs are broken, the same goes for your left wing." Beta said with a disappointed sigh.
Alpha looked over and confirmed Beta's notes. "Great..." He said with a grimace as his bones slowly began to heal.
"If I were you, I would wait until later."
Alpha nodded in agreement. Healing, although fast, takes a lot of magic and energy. He opened his eyes after nodding and froze. He realized where he was. Everything was in the same place since he last saw it: The blood splatters on the tables that were stuck on the wall, the cuffs on the middle table, open and broken from when Beta bonded to him. Even his welding torch was still on the ground, cold and dead. Alpha felt the pain in his right wing start to ache, as if it was remembering what had happened here.
Celestia rolled over to her left side and stared at Alpha. "It all started here?"
"Technically, it started with you." Alpha paused as he heard a prisoner laugh hysterically, then glanced at Celestia before moving and looking around the room.
"What do you mean?"
"Before I was "punished", I was told that they had specific orders from the princess to keep me alive." Alpha replied, glaring at Celestia who was still on her side. "I wonder who that would be." He walked over to Celestia's side, and looked down at her wing, sprawled across the floor. "You know," He said slowly, looking at her wing. "A broken wing doesn't hurt as much compared to losing one with a welding torch." He glanced at her, watching as horror and fear filled her face.
He thought it over out loud. "Hmm, one broken leg compared to two broken legs, one wing broken, and teeth missing. Not quite that fair..."
Celestia gulped.
His eyes flashed red and he grinned. Beta took over and was beginning to bring down his metallic wing when Celestia attacked him with a beam of magic. He covered his face with his wing and begun to deflect the magic when she got up on her legs and began to overpower Beta, the wing glowing red.
Beta groaned in annoyance and had begun dueling Celestia, his red beam against her rainbow-colored beam. Alpha had now slowly lowered his wing and saw that the feathers were disfigured. Angered with this fact, he kept his place, not moving, glaring at his enemy. The magic between the two beams was intense. Bolts of magic began to peel off from the main beams and hit the walls of the room, destroying it, ripping apart the metal and wall.
Nightmare Moon was nearly done taking care of the guards. One pony, a prisoner no doubt, had laughed hysterically when he grabbed a nearby sledgehammer and slammed it against a guard's side, destroying his ribs. She looked up after killing another guard with her makeshift dagger when she looked up and, through what seemed to be a torture room, saw Alpha dueling Celestia. Her mouth dropped as she watched Alpha hold his own against her sister. She grinned then spoke. "ALL RIGHT, ANY PONY THAT WANTS TO LIVE AND GET REVENGE ON OUR DEAR PRINCESS FOLLOW US, WE WILL BRING YOU TO OUR SAFE PLACE." Her horn glowed purple as she shot a bolt at the ceiling, destroying it. "QUICKLY NOW, COME ON LET'S MOVE!"
Either Alpha wasn't aware of what was happening behind him, or didn't really care. For the first time in 3-4 years, both Alpha and Beta were fighting for their lives. Two beams, both being fired from two powerful ponies, were colliding with each other. Beta peeled off and teleported behind Celestia, attacking her flank. Alpha raised his disfigured brace and swiped it across her flank, scarring her cutie mark. Celestia growled and kicked back.
However, Alpha and Beta were ready. Alpha ducked under the incoming left hind leg. He grabbed it with his left hoof, and, while holding the leg, spun under it and pushed it upwards, forming a > with her leg. The Princess shook her head and decided that she should stop fooling around. With surprising speed, she wheeled around, her wings spread and attacked Alpha. He ducked under the wing, ran through her legs and was on the opposite side of the room, with the door behind her back.
"You have nowhere to go but through me." Celestia said with a grin, blood dripping from her flank.
Alpha was about to reply when he felt something touch his right hoof. He looked down to see his old welding torch had rolled onto the ground and stopped near him. "You know..." He began to reply, picking up the torch. "I was a mechanic when I was here for five years." He watched as the torch sparked to life, its fire a navy blue. "I used to see this torch as a magic wand. I could fix anything I found," He slowly looked up at Celestia, who was now standing up, glaring at him. "And destroy anything that came into my path." He stared at Celestia before Galloping towards her, the welding torch floating behind him. She braced for impact but, instead of impacting her face, Alpha slid beneath her, the torch burning her stomach, then got to his hooves and blasted through the door before stopping and turning around, looking at Celestia.
She had tears streaming down her eyes as she realized what he had done and that the Rainbow factory was all but empty save for the dead guards.
"It appears that I was right." Alpha said, nodding before teleporting off.
He appeared in the Mountain and looked around. Guards and prisoners filled the space, most with broken bones or other injures. Derpy and the others had begun to address the freed of the plan and most, if not all, had agreed to stay and fight.
The Changelings, led by Chrysalis, were up and about, most setting up a perimeter and watching for more guards if they were followed.
Alpha's adrenaline had cooled down and he began to move towards Charlie's room, limping horribly. Luna, now transformed back into herself, saw Alpha and quickly made her way to him.
"Shit." She said, looking him over. "You have the worst injuries out of any pony here. Where are you going?"
Alpha groaned in pain as he limped over to his friend's room. "I know where Charlie is."
"What? Where!?"
"Under his bed." He said as he walked to the door.
"How would you know that?"
"Because it would be where I would be if I were him." He said as he opened Charlie's door.
"It's not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right."
The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering hue, dimily lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta; the one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.
"No pony is supposed to be "right", Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing."
"I am not supposed to be like this!"
"Supposed to be like what?"
"I am gay. Being gay is strictly forbidden! I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I'm an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me."
"I don't know about that," A voice said from the door.
Charlie poked his head out from under the bed to see Alpha standing there. His scar was open and raw again, bleeding profoundly. His metallic wing was broken, the metallic feathers spread out in different directions. Alpha had many scratches along his body. His eyes were half open, and he was missing a few teeth. Blood was dripping from his body to the ground, creating a small red puddle underneath him. His left wing was broken, his right front leg and his left hind leg were terrifyingly disfigured. There was a trail of blood drops behind him.
"You are quite the opposite, to be honest." Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious. |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 4: I hate Dogs | Part 2: Chapter 4: "I hate dogs."
Charlie watched as his best friend, all beat up and injured, tell him that he was wrong before falling to the ground, unconscious. Charlie cautiously walked over to the bleeding, injured colt and nudged him in an attempt to wake him up. Time seemed to speed up for Charlie and Delta after that. He stood there, standing over Alpha as doctors and prisoners rushed towards Alpha, some in shock, some in fear, most in worry and disbelief. He watched as they surrounded the fallen blood-stained colt and took him to the health room. Charlie followed close, not leaving Alpha's side. He shoved ponies and changelings out of his way that would deny him being beside Alpha otherwise.
They placed Alpha on a stretcher, and pushed him through a pair of olive green rock doors. Charlie was about to follow inside the room when a Doctor turned around, placed his hoof on Charlie's shoulder and shook his head. "Only essential personnel are allowed in right now. You will have to wait like every-pony else."
"How about you let me do the healing? I know his anatomy, his weak and strong parts, his will to live and I have his trust." Beta said from within the room. I don't know about you, but we don't like doctors for a reason.
The doctor who told Charlie that he could not enter turned around, giving Charlie the chance to shove him away and enter the room. He froze as he saw Alpha standing up, his eyes, mane and tail red. The doctors backed up on the wall
"Beta." Delta whispered
"I noticed." Charlie replied.
Beta turned around and saw Charlie. He smiled then frowned. "Come here."
Charlie cautiously walked to the stretcher on which Beta was standing on.
"Alpha and I have recently found out that those with two souls living in one body develop a sort of bond. As the two get to know each other, trust and help each other, the bond grows."
"Why are you telling us this?" Delta asked.
"Because one day, you will be able to do this." He closed his eyes and began to grind his teeth. Beta extended his left wing.
Charlie, Delta and the other doctors watched as the wing began to move, the bone straightened, reconnected, and resealed itself. Charlie physically flinched as he heard each bone pop back into place, each crack refilled, each bone straightened and back into its original place. They all watched as his legs did repaired and healed itself. Beta opened his eyes and looked at Charlie. His eyes were half open.
"What's wrong?"
"Tired, healing oneself with magic like that takes a lot of energy." Beta said before smiling then falling onto the stretcher, unconscious again.
Charlie smiled and was about to walk away when Alpha began to take deep breaths. Charlie watched as his friend slowed his breathing to a breath each 5 seconds,
"He probably just fell asleep."
"Yeah. I wanna check something."
Charlie made his way around the stretcher as the doctors began to walk out of the room, giving Alpha some time in peace. He was about to turn the corner when he heard a CLANK! Charlie looked down, raising his hoof as he noticed Alpha's Metallic wing on the ground, his hoof right above it. He held his breath and his eyes followed the outline of the wing, looking for it connecting to Alpha's wing. Charlie let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't connected.
"Looks like it fell off when Beta fell down."
"It looks all disfigured."
"Considering the state he is in and that his wing is all disfigured like that, he was probably fighting somepony very powerful in magic."
Charlie stopped to think who was powerful enough to do this amount of damage to Alpha's wing.
"I can give you three guesses to who Alpha fought. Here's a hint: Beta and I fought her, during different periods of time, of course."
Charlie's jaw dropped as he realized who it was. "Celestia?!"
The forest, usually dark in the day, was alive with sound and movement as the nocturnal creatures within came to life. Three ponies walked through the EverFree forest, with one Alicorn guiding them through it.
"Come, this way." Luna said as she escorted AppleJack, Fluttershy, and Rarity through the EverFree Forest, shadows casting onto the ground from the bright light of the Moon. They stepped past the trees and bushes, went through vines and thorns, and flew across ravines and canyons. They were now in another forest when Rarity decided to break the silence.
"Pardon me, Princess." Rarity began.
"Don't call me Princess, my name is Luna." Luna interrupted.
"I apologize, Luna." Rarity corrected herself.
Luna gave a groan and turned around, facing the three ponies. "Listen, I am not with my sister any longer. I am no longer part of her and therefore no longer considered royal. Talk to me as if I were a common pony."
"Ok...then," Rarity continued as Luna turned around and started walking. "Where the hell are you taking us? And why in the middle of night?"
"To the Castle of the Two Sisters."
"Why?"
Luna was about to reply when she cut herself off. She bit her lip as she kept walking to the castle, thinking of how to explain. "Have you three ever heard of the Legend of the Rainbow Factory?"
"The what?" AJ asked, confused.
"The Legend of The Rainbow Factory." Luna repeated as she looked behind her at AJ. "Most Pegasi like your friends Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy here has heard of the Legend."
"I always hated this story. It always reminded me of that place." Fluttershy muttered softly. She visibly shook as she thought about the factory.
"Well, go on, let's hear it." AJ said, wanting to hear the legend.
The group arrived at the Castle. Before entering giant oak wooden doors, Luna stopped and turned around, looking at the three.
"The Legend of the Rainbow Factory came to be about 500 years ago. When Pegasi are old enough, they take a Flying test. If they pass, they get to continue their schooling and go out into the world." Luna explained to the ponies. "This test started 500 years ago. However, when a pegasi would fail this test, they would disappear."
"Where would they go?" AJ pondered aloud.
"The Legend of the Factory was supposedly to be myth. Those who fail the test go to a facility called The Rainbow Factory, in which they are slowly tortured, killed, and then drained of their blood. They use the blood to create Rainbows, like those seen in Rainbow Falls."
"Wait, What!?" The AJ and Rarity exclaimed. Fluttershy slowly nodded.
"My mother would tell me it when I was a filly. She said it was just an old mare's tail used to scare colts and fillies into getting good grades." Fluttershy explained.
"Why are we here then?!" Rarity asked.
The doors to the castle opened. Light shined out of the castle, casting shadows behind them. Three figures behind Luna began to walk forward. The shadows stood beside Luna. They didn't look like ponies. They almost looked like dogs. Two stood on Luna's left while the other one stood on her right. The one on her right looked big chested. The two on her left were skinny.
"Because," The shadow on Luna's right spoke with a deep voice. "Ms. Rarity, this legend is true." The big chested one held out what seemed to be a unlit torch and, with a strike of a match on the ground, the shadow lit the torch and held it out, the light revealing themselves.
"By the way," Rover said with a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again."
Rarity, AppleJack, and Fluttershy both looked at Luna at the same time, their jaw extended. "What do they mean?" Rarity asked, snapping herself out of shock.
Luna leaned forward. "All that my sister has told you is a lie. The Legend of the Rainbow Factory is true, and I have personally seen it and been there. Recently, in fact."
Rarity groaned. "I hate dogs."
"That isn't very nice to say." Rover replied.
"Bite me." She said, annoyed.
Rover leaned foward and opened his mouth, preparing to bite her.
"What are you doing?" Rarity asked, watching Rover lean close.
He froze and raised his eyes. "I was about to bite you."
"WHY?!"
"Because you told me to."
"It's a saying, you mutt." She sighed as she face-hoofed herself.
He stood back on his hind legs and relaxed. "Then don't tell us to do something that you don't want us to do and don't call us names. It's immature and impolite. We have feelings you-"
"SHUT UP!" Rarity screamed. "I don't care."
Rover looked at Fido who was looking at Rarity, slowly swaying his head left to right. "Ponies..." He said in disagreement. "And she was a fasion designer AND the element of Generosity?"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 5: Nova | Part 2: Chapter 5: Nova
The door opened with a creak then was slammed shut as he kicked it with his back hoof. The brown skinned mutant stood on the welcome mat, soaked from the rain. His backpack slid off of his back and felt to the ground with a wet thud, and slowly decompressed as the air within dispersed.
"Sweetie, is that you? You are quite late." A mare's voice said from within the cottage.
Beta sighed and dried the water off his body with a new spell he taught himself last night from one of the book he "borrowed" from Celestia's library. He tasted blood in his mouth, and felt the missing molar in the back of his mouth. "I hate school." He muttered. He looked at his backpack. "Yeah, it's me."
Alpha braced himself for the nightmare. He stood in complete blackness. He knew he wasn't there physically, but he was there mentally. Whatever he thought of, he would see; a picture of Beta; his home, the factory, his cell, anything or any pony. He both loathed and loved the place. It was just himself, alone, without Beta. He lied on the ground, and thought about his life.
The thought of his parents filled his mind, and in turn, the black room he was in filled with light and sounds. He heard birds chirping, the wind blowing across the grass, the trees ever so slightly swaying in the wind. Bright lights of green and blue filled his vision. He stood up and saw the grass beneath his hooves, its smooth texture brushing over his skin, his skin feeling itchy in reply. He felt the wind across his face, the warm air cooling the sweat on his forehead, his mane dancing about in the wind. The white colt took a breath in and smelled the wet, fresh dirt beneath the grass. He could smell the scent of fresh air, cool and free of sweat or humidity, dry.
He heard a mare's voice call his name. "Alpha? Sweetie, where are you?"
He felt cheery and wanted. His breath became short. It was hard to breath for a second. He looked over himself. What could have made this feeling I feel? He wondered. He was short of breath but at the same time, relaxed. A rare smile pierced his mouth and he turned around, looking for the source of the voice and felt his heart skip a beat.
In front of him stood his parents, both frantically looking for him. His mother had a whitish-tan skin, brown eyes, mane and tail. She was round faced and had a set of pale red lips that curled upwards, forming a smile. Her mane covered the base of her ears, those of which were pointing upwards like every other pony's ears Alpha has seen, and ended at the tip of her shoulders.
Alpha grinned. He always thought her hair was too long.
His father agreed. "Lina," He said as he looked at her with a thick up-northern accent. "You really need to cut your hair."
"Why Jonny," said Alpha's mother with a Hispanic accent. "What's wrong?" She asked as she glanced at him.
His mane was brownish-black and short, not even going down to the back of his neck. He had rectangular-shaped glasses, hazel eyes, and white skin. Johnny, although shaved, still had the outlines of the beard on his cheeks. He had a scar on his left eyelid from what he claimed was a "Rubber-Band" incident, and a slight limp which came from his front right leg from a sport accident that occurred when he was a teenage colt. The smile on his face left as he remembered his friend, Beta.
The room changed. It was now black like before but a pony was standing in front of Alpha. His skin was brown, his mane, tail and eyes blood-red. He looked at Alpha, his lips in the form of an upside-down grin. He blinked then began to walk around Alpha.
He liked Beta. A friend that he has always known, always been with since he could remember; helping him when he was hurt, guiding him when he was lost.
As long as Alpha could remember, Beta was usually secretive, but very protective. The room became alive, the wall that Alpha was facing lit up, like a screen at a Cinema. Alpha sat down and watched, Beta still walking around him. He watched the screen as he saw Beta come out and attack others that were hurting him. Alpha watched in awe, fear, and a bit of respect as he watched how Beta was always there for him; either by healing his broken bones, helping him create his metallic wing, destroying and escaping the factory, protecting him when faced with death, and easing him when he had nightmares.
The screen went dark and disappeared, leaving Alpha with Beta. he watched Beta as he spoke.
"Will you do the same as he has done for you? Will you help him when he is hurt and lost? When he is injured, forgotten, ignored, attacked, isolated, hated, and destroyed?" His voice, however, wasn't Beta's but was a voice like no other. It filled the room with a sense of maturity and immaturity. It felt like it was a teacher but sounded like it was a pupil. It echoed as if it was in a long tunnel but was heard as if it was spoken directly into his ears.. Alpha felt wanted and hated at the same time.
Alpha stood up and shifted his stance as the voice spoke through Beta.
"He has been there for you when you were in the factory. He has saved you from death numerous times. He has fought Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and Gamma for you. Will you do the same for him? Will you be willing to give your life for him, as he has done countless times for you?"
Alpha stood there, watching Beta. He looked down and away.
"Shame. After all he has done for you, you won't-"
The Voice was interrupted as Alpha hugged Beta, his two hooves wrapped around his neck. "You are my friend." He said as he stopped hugging and stood back on his four legs. "The one and only friend I have had for as long as I could remember. I would do anything to help him, as he would do anything to help me."
"Good, Now get some rest. You won't be having anymore nightmares." The pony replied before turning around and walking away.
Alpha did as he was instructed and lied down on the ground. But before he fell asleep, he had to know one last thing. "Who are you? I know you aren't Beta, His voice is different from yours. How are you here?"
The voice sighed, stopped moving, turned around and looked down at Alpha.
"I was a pony from a long time before Celestia and Luna ever set hoof on this place. I was here before Discord was here. I was one of the leaders of the clans that untied with the others to form Equestria. As such, I have a mental link to all types of ponies, pegasi, unicorn, Alicorn, changelings, mutant, and normal alike." The voice said as Beta's body became the voice's. His skin slowly turned from brown to pitch black. His mane and tail were dark blue and his eyes where glowing white. He seemed to have no pupil in his eyes. All that Alpha could see were two glowing-white ovals. "I am Nova." Nova replied before walking away and disappearing.
Alpha nodded, but instead of resting, he stood back up and looked around. He slowly sighed as he braced himself.
"Just one last memory to take care of..."
He saw the light of his own welding torch, and watched as his younger self was punished.
"He fought against Celestia?!" Charlie cried out, in shock.
"Keep your voice down. Yes, Alpha and Beta fought Celestia."
"Who won?" his voice lowered.
"Neither."
"How do you know all this? You were with me, talking to me when he left."
Delta sighed. "I fought Celestia before, you know that."
"Yeah so?"
"Over time, one begins to notice the remains of a battle, especially if that battle was against a very powerful being."
"Like what?"
"His metallic wing is damaged, for example. It takes a lot of energy, power, and force to do such damage to a metal like that."
"So?"
"So...The only enemy of Alpha's that is capable of doing such is Celestia. Luna and Chrysalis is with us."
"What about Zeta?"
"What about her?"
"Could she do this?"
"Gamma, my sister, is the magical one, Zeta is just the physical form. And no, Gamma does not have enough power to do such damage. Not yet at least."
"Not yet? What do you mean?"
"Gamma was my sister. As such, she too was a mutant but unlike Beta, I, and the rest of the mutants, she could hide hers. She trained her ability at night, and was a horrible pony at day. She would not only bully mutants, but would attack them with her own ability when they were alone."
"How does that answer my question?"
Charlie felt Delta withdraw, as if he was depressed.
"What's wrong?"
"Just like you are, I too am filled with depression."
"How so?"
"You are depressed because you hate yourself. You parent's adopted you when you were young and you felt like that meant you were worth nothing."
"What did you go through?"
"I had to watch my own sister be tortured, mutilated, and killed before my eyes. I had to hear her screams, her pleads for mercy, her agonizing yells as Beta tortured her in revenge."
"So?"
"I helped Beta by leading him to her death. I agreed and helped Beta kill my sister. And I have been hating myself for it ever since." He took a deep breath. "Let me take over, I wanna show you something."
Charlie closed his eyes and found himself in one of Delta's memories. Specifically, the day before he bonded with Charlie. |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 6: You have been out for 48 hours | Part 2: Chapter 6: "You have been out for 48 hours."
The white colt groaned as he woke up. Although he was well rested, which was a first in 5 or 6 years, he was still tired, which wasn't a first and it won't be the last. His eyes slowly opened, the dry, crusted tears cracking as the eyes opened. He wiped away the dried tears with a hoof and slowly pushed himself up off the metallic table. He looked around to get his bearings and noticed that his wing was on the ground. Without getting off the table, the colt with the missing right wing reached down and grabbed his metallic limb then slipped it on the destroyed limb that used to be a right wing years ago. He took a deep breath as he felt the magnetic metallic bones in his limb expand inside the wing, connecting him to the wing.
"You know, you really shouldn't be moving, considering what happened to you." Said a voice.
Alpha looked up to see Charlie leaning on the swing-open door, the light from the hallway spilling into the dark room. He could see Delta's blue glowing eye. Although the light behind Charlie created a shadow effect in which most couldn't see his face, Alpha's eyes, enhanced by Beta presence and by his time in the RF, could just make out a rare-smile on Charlie's face.
"Yeah, I know." Alpha replied as he struggled to get off the table. He pushed himself off the table and fell to the dried blood-covered floor with a thud. He growled as he stood up and slowly made his way to Charlie. "Never mind me, how are you doing?" He stooped low and picked up his fallen welding torch.
Charlie took a step back, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I'm fine, why?"
Alpha tilted his head to the side at a 10 degree angle and his mouth turned into an emotionless frown. He looked up and down at Charlie, checking him over.
"Alpha..." Charlie replied unsteadily. "What's wrong?"
Alpha stopped and looked at Charlie. "I know something is wrong. What is it?"
"What do you mean?" Charlie replied with a nervous chuckle.
Alpha lifted his right front hoof and placed it on Charlie's shoulder. "I know something's up."
Charlie sighed. "Alright, you caught me." He admitted. "I've been depressed for a while."
"May I ask why?"
"Do you really need to ask that? Are you blind?" Charlie asked, annoyed. "I have a shitty personality, my original parents didn't want me so they adopted me, I ran away from my adopted parents' home, and I'm the reason you went to the factory and fought Celestia!" He shrugged off Alpha's hoof. "And I'm gay."
Alpha cocked his head back. "Gay?"
"Yes, gay."
"Sorry for asking this, but what is gay?"
Charlie sighed violently.
"Gay means being attracted to the same gender." Beta answered.
"How is that bad?" Alpha asked.
"What do ya mean 'How'?" Charlie replied, shocked that Alpha didn't know.
"Why is it bad being gay?"
"Because it's against the social laws of Equestria; one cannot love the same gender, only opposite genders."
Alpha chuckled. "You are aware that I was in the factory for 5 years, right?"
Charlie nodded.
"That means that I have no clue on what happens in society. Are you also aware that I break laws?"
Charlie continued to nod.
"Are you also aware that I am gay as well?"
Charlie froze. "What?! No you aren't."
"I can remember not being attracted to the mares in the facility that the other colts were talking about. Never really found them interesting. Character wise I did, but sexually? Never."
"Yeah so?"
"Four years ago, I broke into the Rainbow Factory to save Scootaloo as she was taken there. While the colts and mares broke free and escaped, I decided to check the cells one last time to see if any pony was left behind." Alpha explained. "At the last of the cells was a cell that had its door reattached. Curious, Beta and I decided to open it. Do you know what we found inside?"
Charlie's eyes widened as he realized what Alpha was explaining.
"I found a colt inside. He had tan-colored skin, brown-turning-cherry-red mane and tail. I thought he was just another colt when I saw his eye change color for a split second." Alpha smiled as he leaned close to Charlie.
"Alpha....What are you doing?" Charlie said nervously.
Alpha smiled then winked at him before walking past him. "Nuthing." He said in a joking tone.
"Hey wait up!"
"What time is it?" Alpha asked over his shoulder.
"3 o'clock at night." Charlie responded as he rubbed his eyes.
"How long have I been out?"
Charlie was silent as he counted the number of hours.
"Charlie?"
"About 48 hours, two days."
Alpha was silent for a full heartbeat. "Well, I needed it." He turned around the corner.
Charlie turned the corner and froze, staring at Alpha. "What are you doing?"
Alpha was flying upside-down. "Just screwing around."
"Why?"
"I never really got the chance to joke around." He said as he continued to flip forward.
"Oh." Charlie replied, somewhat embarrassed at the fact of how Alpha was acting. "Why are you acting so strange?"
Alpha was now upside-down on the ceiling and walking forward, his wings flapping as they tried to keep him glued to the ceiling. "What do you mean?" He looked up at Charlie, who was in turn looking up at him.
"Are you looking up or down?" Charlie said, distracted at his friend walking on the ceiling.
"I'm currently looking up."
"If you were looking up, you would be looking at the ceiling."
Alpha smiled. "I am confusing you. Although you see me as upside-down, I am right side-up in my view."
"You are seriously not acting like yourself right now."
Alpha frowned as he righted himself to the floor and landed, facing Charlie. "Is that a bad thing?"
"Well, you are usually more serious."
Alpha's wings extended automatically. He became very self-conscious for a few seconds, his eyes wide, and his frown gone.
"Why does that happen?" Charlie asked, confused.
Alpha's face reddened. "No...Reason..." Alpha said slowly. His wings lowered. He turned around and headed for the main hall.
"Where are you going?"
"Come on, I wanna show you something."
"What is it?"
Alpha stopped and grinned. "The Heart of Equestria." |
Alpha | Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter | Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter
Luna landed in the center of the empty room and looked up at the stream of magic flying up from the large crack in the center. She saw something move behind her and turned around to find a shadow. Her eyes followed to the shadow to its origin to find two ponies, specifically pegasi, lying side by side, facing the stream of magic. Luna smiled as she slowly made
her way to the ponies, making sure not to disturb the two colts.
The white colt on the right had his metallic wing wrapped around the younger, sun-burnt colt on the left. His mane and tail were multiple shades of dark blue, while the other's was brown-turning-cherry red. The youngest colt couldn't be older than 15 and had a bluish blanket over him.
Luna now stood in front of the sleeping colts, and grinned. Apart from the skin and mane/tail color, one could mistake them as brothers.
"So cute..." Luna whispered to herself.
"I will agree with you there." Replied the oldest colt, raising his head in response. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal one brown eye and one red eye.
"You're awake." She said, surprised.
"I am." He said with a smile. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Luna said. Her grin was not from laughter, but from relief. "So, what happened?"
"Nothing 'special', if that's what you are asking. Alpha knew Carlie and Delta were having trouble sleeping so we brought them here. After a brief conversation about depression, Charlie slowly lowered himself down onto the ground and fell asleep. Alpha decided to accompany him, just in case he had another nightmare. I decided to stay awake if Celestia decided to come back here and heal herself."
Luna's grin slowly subsided.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed, then shook her head, as if pushing a thought aside. "Just thinking."
"About?" Beta asked, curious.
Luna noticed her shadows was covering the two sleeping colts, and walked to Beta's side before sitting down next to him. Her back was straight as an arrow, not hunched over like he would sit. Her wings folded neatly at her side. "Are you aware of your reputation?"
Beta rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I never really cared about it."
"After you died, Celestia scapegoated you, she blamed everything on you. All the deaths, all the destruction and chaos, and even made you the reason why I did what I did."
"That's not surprising."
"You became a..." Luna pondered about the word. "Legend."
Beta chuckled in amusement. "The Legend of Beta."
"You know about it?"
"I heard other ponies talking about it when I was with Alpha in the factory while gathering the materials to create his wing. At first I ignored it, but then my curiosity grew."
"And?"
"It's typical propaganda bullshit. 'Blame the colt, everything goes back to normal.'" Beta took a deep breath.
"You okay?" Luna asked, worried. Technically, she was currently talking to THE rouge mutant that tried to kill her sister long ago. According to legend, Beta was supposedly a bully that went insane on power and his sick sense of entertainment and humor got the best of him. And because of such, he went on a rampage, killing and torturing all for entertainment and boredom. But because she now knew the truth, she grew to like Beta, even respect him.
Beta chucked nervously, or was it sarcastically? "What do you think? I'm a 917 year old colt, stuck in a 17 year old colt's body, whose goal is to gain revenge on my former enemy, who is still alive. And I have begun to realize that neither I nor Alpha have begun to imagine to grasp the idea of why she did so. I, personally, know that Celestia tortured Alpha just for entertainment values and because she could, but I have neither the heart (as if I had one) nor the courage to tell him that. But because I haven't told him so, I feel like he is aiming not just for his goal, but mine as well."
"I see..."
"Do you? When I was alive, I was sent to multiple phycologists and therapists in an attempt to rid my anger. Every time I went there, I was told the exact same thing: 'I understand' or 'I was there' or 'I know how you feel'. Each sentence, each attempt to make me feel wanted or liked did the opposite, it fed the flames; it gave the fire fresh oxygen. How could they? I was a mutant, I was different. I was told from the first day in school that 'You are Special, different.' And because they said that I was special, I was treated differently, treated horribly. I had a disorder, even before I learned I was a mutant. I had no friends. The legend based off me says that I had friends, I never did, never had. I was alone. Always alone. I was used to being teased, being abused and bullied, beat up and put down-" Beta stopped as he remembered his dark days.
"I was hated for what I was because of that bullshit excuse of a Princess your sister is. The lies she said, the hatred she created, the horror she made, the dis-harmony she brought. You and her fought Discord together. Are you even aware of what Discord was actually doing?"
Luna stood up, amazed and shocked.
"How about Tirek? The EverFree Forest?" Beta took over Alpha's body, standing up. His metallic wing slowly left Charlie, as he walked towards Luna, who was now backing up, in what seemed like fear, or the unwillingness to hear the truth. "Your sister says she brought harmony back to this world, when she has done the complete opposite. Change is a part of life, I know, I fully understand and agree with it. But when Change crosses the line, what do you do? You blame it on those that you do not fully understand. You take control of those who are not aware of what they are doing wrong, and you tell them the rules which totally go against those you grew up with."
1. Do not lie.
2. Do not kill.
3. Do not steal.
4. Do not hate anypony.
5. Accept all for who they are.
6. Perfection is not part of our life, do not try and grasp it for you will not come close to it.'
"The laws and rules that Discord himself gave our ancestors before you and Celestia decided to take over. Instead you took over control and changed the rules."
1. Do not lie if your life does not depend on it.
2. Do not kill, unless in self-defense.
3. Do not steal, unless you have been robbed.
4. Do not hate anypony, unless your friends give reason to hate them.
5. Accept all for what they look like, not who they are.
6. Perfection is the goal of life, reach for it like you reached for the stars when you were young.
Luna looked around as she realized the truth. She turned her attention to Beta, who had begun to sway his head left and right, as a snake does when it is hypnotized by a snake charmer.
"Yes, I did kill. Was it for fun? I was in the amidst of anger, OF RAGE! Did I laugh? Beta paused. "I did. I laughed a lot. I laughed because I realized the truth. Because I found out it wasn't my fault that I was like this." Beta started to grin. "That I was born a mutant, and I could be proud of what I could do, not be ashamed. Your stupid sister didn't agree. She sent guard after guard after me. With each guard came another death, another eight year old colt, hysterically laughing in the bloody remains of the guards that tried to stop him." Beta stopped grinning and went back to Charlie's side, placing his metallic wing across him. "There's a space between the truth and lie, where sanity isn't what it seems, and reality is nightmare of a dream." He lowered his head, as if to sleep then raised it and looked back at Luna. "I apologize. Just it's just that when I think of Celestia or talk about her, all I remember is her flaws."
"I was aware that you did not like her, but not to this extent."
Beta was silent for a couple of minutes as he watched the stream of fire and magic in the center of the room rain upwards, splashing on the ceiling before being absorbed by the mountain. He looked down at Charlie, who had snuggled closer to him, practically using his metallic wing as a blanket. Beta smiled in amusement before looking back at Luna.
"I am not used to this. For a while after I bonded with Alpha, I wasn't used to having a friend, let alone being near anyone. Much to Alpha's annoyance, I was quiet for the first three to four months. Only talking when necessary, but I would take over instantly without him letting me if I thought he would be in danger. Mostly, it would be a false alarm, but when it wasn't, I'd not let the attacker any respite, not pain, just an instant death." He had a troubled look on his face, as if he was trying to solve a complicated algebraic problem. His eyebrows squished together ever so slightly, just creating a small frozen ripple in between. "Just a question, if I may." He said as he turned back at Charlie.
"Yes?" Luna said, no longer cautious, but listening intently, as if to hear a cryptic message.
"What will happen when we die?"
Luna was taken by surprise by this question. "You died before, you should know the answer."
Beta chuckled and smiled. "Not like that. What will happen to you if Alpha and I are killed? Both of us noticed that the only reason that most ponies stay at the mountain is because of us. Not because we escaped, but because we returned to help others escape."
Luna fell silent for a moment as she turned and looked up at the magic raining upwards towards ceiling. "We are all here because of you. Most in the mountain are alive because of what you and Alpha have done and what you two will do in the future." She looked directly at Beta, who was looking at her too. "You and Alpha are Special. Not in the educational sense but the...reality sense."
Beta tilted his head in confusion. "How so?"
"I am Luna, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon. I travel into the dreams of all ponies; mutants, changelings and normal alike. And in almost every dream I have seen, most are about what the dreamer wants; a toy train, a party with friends, good grades at school, graduation, marriage, finding true love, living the life of excitement. With every dream I enter, I have to push away the nightmare from entering. Sometimes I let it enter, giving the dreamer a lesson they need to learn or experience. But Alpha's and your dreams are different. Instead of wanting a toy train or getting good grades, both of you dream of the same thing." She paused.
"Of what do we dream?"
"You dream of nightmares, but unlike how others cower from it, you and Alpha stand against it, determined to see it though. You two face your problems, determined to find the solution. You may have thought that you were a freak, that you were screwing up the society when you were young and alive." She laughed quietly at Beta's view.
"What's so funny?"
"Go to sleep. I'll personally show you."
Beta nodded then lowered his head before slowly nodding off. Luna smiled as she watched her young friend nod off, then, once he was asleep, took a deep breath before introducing him to Nova.
"Anything I should know before I talk to him, sweetie?" Nova said, appearing beside Luna, semi-transparent.
Luna smiled. "Go easy on him, Father. He has had a rough life."
"I know." Nova looked down at Alpha and Charlie, both snuggled together, deep asleep. "I will admit they do look cute like that. Two mutants, each with another mutant within, the chance that this happened is astronomical. What is more impressing is that the two who have not discovered their ability are in love with each other." Nova nodded in respect and acceptance. "Nebula would be impressed." Nova said as he slowly disappeared, entering Beta's mind. |
Alpha | Chapter 28: An Old Tool | Part 2: Chapter 8: An old tool
Alpha stirred before waking up and looked around. He was in Charlie's room. He felt something nudge him on his left, and when he looked down, he smiled. Beside him slept Charlie, who had moved around a bit when Alpha woke up.
"Nova must've teleported us here when I went back to sleep." Beta whispered.
"You're awake." Alpha replied groggily. "Sleep well?"
"I didn't sleep as I was pretty much talking to Nova the whole night."
"About what?"
"Mostly on life before Celestia. Quite interesting. Found out that Nova is Celestia's and Luna's Father and that Nova was pro-mutant."
"Meaning?" Alpha replied, still half asleep.
"Meaning he supported mutants, he wasn't against them."
Alpha yawned and stretched before pushing himself off of the bed and walked to the door. He opened the door so he could barely get through before closing it behind him, trying to not wake up Charlie. Alpha walked to his bedroom, took off his brace and stretched his limb. Although he loved the replacement, his original wing needed to be free of it once in a while. Almost wingless, Alpha made his way to his nightstand and picked up his old welding torch before leaving the room for the Metal-Work room.
"What are you going to do?"
"I want to modify my old torch so I can use it to repair my wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, seeing how much it damaged Celestia."
"Right." Beta replied as the two made their way into the Metal-Work room. "The torch cannot get to the right temperature to modify the Dragon Metal, let alone bend it. It took us three years, and the hottest furnace in the factory to create the metal."
"I know. I was wondering if your magic could help with that." Alpha entered the room and found an empty work bench. He placed the torch on the table then walked to the side to grab a Heat-mask, gloves for hoofs and his left wing, and some tools.
"How so?"
Alpha walked back to his welding torch, dragging a chair behind him before sitting on the chair and reaching for his tool. "Currently, this welding torch uses a type of propane."
"Propane will not burn hot enough, neither will hydrogen nor any other gas/liquid."
"I understand that. Which is why I want to know if there is a spell that creates fire."
"There is, and I use it to light the torches in the morning here."
"What is it called?"
"I have no idea."
Alpha blinked in amazement and confusion. "How can you use the spell if you don't know the name of it?"
"Old-magic, like the type I use, is much more powerful than magic that is normally used now-days. Because it is so powerful, to learn an Old-Magic spell, you do not say a specific phrase. Instead you think of the effect of the spell. For example if I see an unlit torch, instead of saying a phrase to light it, I just imagine the torch aflame. If it's offense Old-Magic, I think of the color of the bolt/beam. If its teleportation, I concentrate on where I want to go, imagining the place in my mind as if I was already there."
"That easy?!" Alpha said in disbelief.
"It's harder than it sounds."
"I bet. Could you create a Bolt of fire that can be used like a gas?"
"What are you trying to do?"
"I want to use a bolt of fire as a substitute of propane or hydrogen. If I can do it right, I should be able to control how hot the flame is."
"It is possible, but it's incredibly hard."
Alpha reached for the torch and begun to take it apart. The welding torch was a brace that was worn on either the right or left front hoof. Straps on the brace secured it to the leg as the nozzle ended at the tip of end of the hoof. The hose for the nozzle ended halfway up the brace and connected with a rectangular tank that would be filled with propane or hydrogen. Alpha, with the help of Beta, carefully unscrewed the tank that held the fuel and put it aside. Alpha watched as a bolt of fire appeared at the end of the hose and slowly entered the hose.
"We need something to seal the end from flaring out both sides and harming your chest."
Alpha looked around then looked down at the fuel tank. He grabbed it then grabbed a hammer and nail before moving to another bench. He placed the fuel tank down then placed a nail on the tank's opening.
"What are you doing?"
Alpha reached for the hammer, grabbed it, then raised it above his head. "Fire in the hole!" He screamed as he brought down the hammer onto the nail, which punctured the propane fuel tank. The tank violently hissed as the gasses within escaped through the nail-sized hole. Eventually the hissing stopped and Alpha recovered from under the table and looked at the empty fuel tank.
"You are such a scaredy-cat."
"I'm sorry, but which one of us is still alive?" Alpha snapped back.
Beta fell silent. He picked up the empty tank and walked back to his bench and placed it at the end of the hose. "Can you fill the tank up with the bolt of flame?"
Beta didn't respond.
"Beta?"
No response, everything was silent.
"Beta, what's wrong?"
"I'm dead."
Alpha slowly nodded.
Beta sighed. "Sorry, it's just...it's hard to explain."
Alpha spun around in his chair. "How so?"
"It's just that... I know I am dead, that I am not living anymore. I have known that for a very long time and yet just realizing that I am dead...it's like a wave of depression."
Alpha stopped spinning around in his chair and nodded. "Well, technically you are still alive through me."
"How so?"
"You talk, watch, learn, breath, sleep, eat, laugh, play, work, fight, teach, help, and save others to name just a few."
"Yes, but that's because I bonded with you. You are doing that, I just control the amount of pain you can endure."
"Yes, but you control. And when you control, it's YOU who do things, my body just does what it is told. You are as much as alive as any other pony right now."
Beta nodded as he tried to accept the fact that although he was dead, he was still alive.
"No offense, can we get back to work?"
"Sure," Beta said, still slightly depressed but none the less relieved after being proved wrong for once. The tank started to glow slightly red as the flame within heated up the metal. Alpha quickly sealed the tank onto the hose and watched as the nozzle came alive with fire.
"So far so good..." He twisted the gas valve clockwise and watched as both the tank and the nozzle slowly returned to its black color. With another twist, this time counter-clockwise, the valve opened and the nozzle came back to life. "Right..." Alpha turned the welding torch off before carefully strapping on the torch to his right front leg, the glove still on in case of burns. It fit perfectly.
"Take off the glove, Magic Fire cools down quite fast."
Hesitantly but trusting Beta, Alpha did as he was instructed and removed the torch and the glove then strapping the torch on again without the glove. As Beta said, the metal was cold. Alpha carefully turned on the torch before shutting it off quickly as the metal began to burn.
"Sorry 'bout that, didn't realize it would heat up so quickly."
Alpha rubbed his leg as the pain subsided, leaving only a red spot where the burn was. "Is there a way to gain resistance to fire?"
"Yeah, but it's extremely rare and hard to gain."
"How do you get it?"
"You don't get it, you gain it. Resistance to fire is a skill, not some potion you can buy and drink. It is gained by being taught by the only living creature known to be fire resistant and create fire on its own without the need of magic or another source of flame."
"Which would be...?"
"A dragon."
"Where are the nearest dragons? Wait, dragons actually exist?!"
"They exist, yes." Luna said as she walked into the room. "They are very aggressive, which is why learning Fire Resistance is nearly impossible. The closest near here is still in his teenage years, about 15 years old. His name is Spike, and he is a VERY close friend of Princess-"
"Twilight Sparkle, one of the 5 elements of Harmony, specifically Magic. Defeated Tirek after you, your sister, and Princess Candance transferred your magic into her, also defeated Discord and countless others. I am aware of Sparkle." Beta interrupted. "Last time we saw her was in the hospital the night Alpha met Charlie. She claimed to be on another assignment from Celestia, studying the pony brain." Beta frowned. "I always hated therapists and phycologists."
"Where does he live?" Alpha asked.
"He currently lives in Twilight's castle." Luna replied.
"Then that's where we are headed." |
Alpha | CHARACTER BIBLE | YAY! 60,000 words!
CHARACTER BIBLE (From the Prologue to Part 2 Chapter 5)
Alpha:
Alpha is the first of the four main Characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. As a colt at age 5, Alpha's parents abandoned him at a park in Ponyville. At age 8, Alpha was caught stealing food and sent to the Rainbow Factory. Instead of being killed, Alpha was given a job. He was to repair any metal parts of the machine that were broken. 3 years into the job, Alpha, age 11, saved a mare that was playing around with his welding torch by tackling her, which in turn badly scarred his face. A week later, Alpha was punished for saving the mare. All punishments go by death, but for Alpha, he was tortured, having his wing burnt off with his own welding torch. He passed out before the wing came off, but once it did, he met Beta. After another 2 years at the factory, Beta helped Alpha create his own wing and escape the factory. Alpha would, in the future, return to the factory to destroy and rescue other prisoners but would continue to search for the reason why he was tortured instead of being put to death for saving a mare.
Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Midnight Blue, Galaxy Blue, Dark Blue, Navy Blue, Blue
Eye Color: Brown
Skin color: White
Pony-Type: Pegasi
Beta:
Beta is the second of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. 900 years before the Twilight Sparkle was born, 100 years after Nightmare moon, Beta was alive. Born an Earth pony- mutant, Beta never realized his ability until the age of eight while watching Celestia raise the moon. Those who don't know Beta personally think of him as a Legend gone wrong. A dark mutant, worse than Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Chrysalis, and Tirek combined. Celestia uses Beta as a scapegoat, blaming anything dark on his name. Beta is historically known as the mutant who, 900 years ago, went insane and decimated almost all of the population on Equestria before going after Celestia herself and battling against her for three days as she used the Elements of Harmony against him. He even created his own Metallic armor, The Dragon Metal, a type of metal created by combining Steel with Dark Magic, which gave him the ability to create his own wings.
Historians consider Beta as the most powerful being known to Ponies. Probably more powerful than Him.
Yeah, that type of dark.
BEFORE DEATH (900 YEARS AGO)
Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Brownish-Red, Dark Maroon, Dark Blood Red, Blood-Red, Red, Bright Red.
Eye Color: Blood Red
Skin Color: Brown
Pony-Type: Mutant/Earth Pony
AFTER DEATH (MODERN)
Mane Color: Same
Eye Color: Blood Red (Right eye only)
Skin Color: White
Pony-Type: UNKNOWN
Charlie:
Charlie is the third of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. There isn't a lot on Charlie's history. What is known is that he has depression and met Delta a while back. He is considered one of Alpha's closest friends, the closest being Beta. Charlie met Alpha in Chapter 16 while Alpha was looking in the cells one last time before leaving the factory for any colts.
Mane/Tail Color: Brown turning Cherry Red
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Skin Color: Tan
Pony-type: Pegasi
Delta:
Delta is the fourth and last of the 4 main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. Delta is the reason why everypony thinks that Beta killed nearly all ponies in his time. The Battle of Victims was the real reason of why so many died. Enraged with Celestia's choice of not helping Beta when he was being bullied, battling him, killing him, and scapegoating him, blaming every bad thing on him, Delta gathered the remaining mutants and survivors of Beta's Rampage and, with the help of Princess Chrysalis and the changelings, attacked Celestia. The Battle of Victims, although very real, was banned from all history books by Celestia herself, blaming it all on Beta, dubbing him a Legend gone wrong. Delta was a mutant himself with an ability unlike any other. Although he could use magic, like Beta, he was actually a conduit, a way for the deceased Kings and Queens of Equestria before Celestia's time to come in the physical world from the Spiritual world and converse with the living.
BEFORE DEATH:
Mane/Tail Color: Black Turning Green
Eye Color: Neon Green
Skin Color: Unknown
AFTER DEATH (MODERN):
Mane/Tail: Black Turning Blue
Eye Color: Galaxy Blue
Skin Color: Unknown
Gamma:
Gamma is the sister of the Mutant Delta. Originally a mutant, Gamma would bully other mutants to fit in with society while hiding that fact that she was a mutant herself. Her life ended during Beta's Rampage for revenge against those who had hurt him.
Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Green
Pony-Type: Earth Pony
Zeta:
There isn't a lot of information on Zeta's background. What is known is that she recruited Rainbow Dash to work at the factory and used to be at the factory herself. She is known to be Luna's Personal Assassin as she was sent to kill Alpha in Chapter 9. After Luna left, Celestia took over for Luna, making Zeta her personal Assassin. She is a master in all fighting arts and will not stop until her target is dead, unless something unexpected happens.
Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Neon Purple.
Pony-Type: Pegasi
Luna/Nightmare Moon:
You already know about her. She is the reason why Alpha was not killed initially when arriving at the Factory. Luna abandoned her royal postion and left her sister, Celestia, after learning why Celestia punished Alpha.
Chrysalis:
Chrysalis is currently the Queen of Changelings. Unlike the original show, Chrysalis wasn't always a Changeling as she was an Alicorn. 900 Years ago, Celestia released an insecticide for crops that were being destroyed by insects, which ruined lots of harvest. However, the insecticide was still in development and was not ready for edible consumption, those who ate it were horribly transformed into the changelings We know today. She is a close friend of Delta's, for while she was transforming, Delta never left her, and kept being her only friend as no other pony would like a mutant-insect-freak that she looked like.
Sombra:
Sombra was the famous king of the Crystal Kingdom. Unlike the lies that Celestia has told about him, Sombra never wanted to enslave the kingdom. He was killed by an assassin sent by Celestia after accidently insulting her in a joking fashion.
"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight."
He was loved by his ponies and was mourned after. Although he did try to recapture the kingdom after his death, he was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who were sent by Celestia and blinded by her lies.
Nova:
There isn't a lot known of Nova. All we (Historians) know of Nova was that he was one of the leaders of the clans that united with the others to form modern day Equestria. As such, He has a mental link to all types of ponies, changelings, and mutants.
Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Glowing White, No pupils
Skin Color: Black
Pony-Type: Unknown.
Celestia:
Celestia is the current Alicorn ruler of Equestria. As an Alicorn, and a Queen, Celestia has the power and the ability, let alone the responsibility of rising and lowering the sun. After banishing Nightmare Moon to the Moon, Celestia gained the responsibility and ability to rise and lower the moon. Celestia battled Beta himself, destroying him with the Elements of Harmony, and defeated Delta. She is known to defeat Discord, Element of Disharmony, Tirek, and countless others, including Sombra. As Queen, most listen to what she says, and believes her, giving her the ability to bend history to what she wants. As such, Beta is now considered a Bully, not a victim, and Sombra, a dark unicorn, not a friendly king. Celestia is THE reason to why Alpha was punished with torture, not death, claiming that she wanted to do it because she could.
A powerful Queen Alicorn, Grandmaster in both light and dark magic, Celestia is a protector to those who serve her, and a deadly target to those who defy her.
But we already know that she isn't immortal. She can be killed. |
Alpha | Chapter 29: Every Utopia is a Dystopia | Part 2: Chapter 9: Every Utopia is a Dystopia
The sky was black as the night began. Tonight was one of those nights where the moon was not present, which plunged everything into darkness. Alpha didn't mind, instead, he loved the darkness. It gave him cover, he could see clearly in the dark while others were blind in it. He practically walked past the guards that were guarding Twilight's castle and entered through the front door, closing it behind him.
His ears picked up numerous sounds as his sight began to slightly fail due to the lack of light and him not knowing where to go. He could hear the sounds of the guard's hearts beating in the room to his left and right. He could hear the laughter of a guard, the sound of cards being laid onto a wooden poker table, the clink of a pool ball hitting another ball before sinking and rattling in the right corner pocket. He heard the sound of beer bottles clinking and rolling on the smooth-rock floor. His right eye was glowing red, his left blue.
He walked forward and up the stairs, searching for Twilight's room, making as much noise as an owl does while it flies in search of food. He walked past door by door; listening for the sounds of an Alicorn mare's breathing patterns. They always breathed quieter than other ponies, which were supposed to make it harder for whoever wanted to find them, but instead it singled them out of the countless others. Eventually, after 15 minutes of wandering about, Alpha found her room. The door was wooden, like the others, but had the symbol of a giant pink star with smaller white stars around it. He started to move his hoof towards the door but Beta stopped him.
"What?" Alpha whispered.
"Listen."
Alpha fell silent and slowed his breath so it would not interfere with his hearing. After a few seconds he heard the conversation.
"....Must not listen to him." Said a voice behind the door.
"Why?" Said the other voice.
"He will attempt to turn you against me."
"And if he fails to turn me?"
"He will kill you."
"Celestia." Alpha muttered to himself as he recognized her voice.
"What should I do if I encounter him?" Twilight replied.
"You can listen to him, but do not trust what he says. He will attempt to show you memories of his death, in which he had modified them to show me torturing others. He successfully turned my sister, Luna, against me." Celestia explained.
"So that's where she went!"
"Exactly. Now my sister is a traitor to Equestria."
"What does the other want?"
"Revenge on me."
"Why?"
"I do not know. The scars you have been asking me about on my flank, the burn mark on my underbelly and my broken leg was the result of me trying to make peace with him."
Beta had silently teleported Alpha into the room, already cloaked and invisible. Alpha stood on the top of Twilight's wardrobe, watching and listening.
"If you ever encounter him, call the guards and tell me as soon as you possibly can, even if that means you have to leave your friends behind to defend themselves against them to tell me."
Twilight's eyes widened before slowly nodding to Celestia.
"It's great to see you and I wish I had more time to chat, but I have to leave."
Twilight nodded quickly. "I understand. It's nice to see you again."
Celestia nodded and smiled before teleporting off to her castle. Alpha was still watching, patiently waiting for the right time to speak. Twilight began to walk aimlessly in circles as she processed what she was just told.
Charlie and Delta appeared next to Alpha, cloaked and invisible as well. Although invisible, Alpha could see a shimmer move as Charlie and Delta nodded to them. Alpha and Beta returned the greeting and turned their attention to Twilight. He placed his left wing on Charlie's back, allowing Beta to talk to Delta without actually speaking aloud.
"What are you doing here?" Beta exclaimed.
"Here to help. Luna said where you two went and told us that you might needed some back-up."
"Right, well to get you two up to speed, here's what you missed: Celestia was just talking to Twilight about I and Alpha, claiming that the injuries that we did to her was us being aggressive as she 'tried to make peace with us.'"
"Wow, so she does lie all the time. Why are you two originally here?"
"Earlier on today, Alpha modified, with my help, his old welding torch so it could be used at extreme temperatures to repair his wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, considering how much damage it did to Celestia during the fight. I modified the spell of fire to be used inside the torch's fuel box as a replacement for the propane, for the spell of fire can burn at much hotter temperatures. As Alpha tested it out, the fuel box, made of metal, heated up at the use of the flame and slightly burnt Alpha's leg. He told me that he wanted to gain Resistance to Fire, in which I responded that-"
"Dragons are the only creatures known to be Resistant to Fire. The closest one near us was Spike." Delta interrupted Beta's thought.
"Exactly. However, we are caught in a situation. Twilight will call the guards and contact Celestia immediately if I or Alpha speak, but now that you are here, there may be a way to talk to her."
"Sombra..."
"Exactly."
Delta nodded as he understood Beta's idea. Alpha removed his wing off of Charlie, bringing Beta back to him. "Did you tell him?"
"Yes, he knows what we are trying to do now."
Twilight had already stopped walking in circles and was now writing in her journal and studying for another exam. A dim sphere of light appeared out of nowhere, (it actually came out of Charlie's chest) and flew down to Twilight. Twilight looked at the sphere and squeezed her eyebrows together; confused.
"Evening, Twilight. How are you?" Sombra asked, his voice cheerful and welcoming.
"Sombra, what do you want?" Twilight replied as if she was insulted.
"To talk."
"About?"
The sphere began to grow as it transformed into a ghostly Sombra. "I understand that you see me as an Enemy. I can see why but I hope you can put that aside for now."
"Why?"
"Celestia."
"Did she send you here as a test to see if I would contact her."
"No, Beta sent me."
She drew a sharp breath and begun to teleport.
"Wait! Just hear me out!" Sombra exclaimed.
Twilight wanted to leave and contact Celestia, but her curiosity overcame her orders. "Fine." She said as she nodded. "But any tricks and I will leave at once."
"As you wish." Sombra said as he sat down. "As you may have heard from your Teacher, Beta was supposedly a bully."
"Not just a bully, but the bully. He killed millions with dark magic for entertainment before attacking Celestia herself! She only survived after using the Elements of Harmony against him! All the chaos that have been occurring recently is because Beta has returned, his darkness has disrupted Harmony across Equestria!"
Alpha felt his chest begin to burn as if he was experiencing a heartburn: Beta's anger was rising.
"I know that he himself has told you differently but you believed that he was lying, correct?"
"He was lying. He is a liar and a traitor. He deserved to be obliterated. Celestia gave him a quick death as a mercy kill. I, personally, would not have done the same."
Beta's anger was too much for him and Alpha to handle. He jumped down, uncloaking himself and locking the door. "If I was a traitor, you would be dead years ago. If I wanted to disrupt harmony, I would have done that before I met Alpha. If I was a liar, I would tell you to 'keep listening to Celestia, because if it comes from her mouth, it obviously has to be true. She would never lie to her subjects, especially her pupil, she would have nothing to gain from lying.' " He said in a mocking tone.
Twilight began to teleport in fear but Beta's anger allowed him to restrict her teleporting abilities, a feat in which he was not aware he could do.
"I DID NOT KILL MILLIONS FOR ENTERTAINMENT!"
"Then what happened, huh? Tell me what happened to all of those other ponies that died during your time."
Charlie jumped down and uncloaked as well. His right eye was glowing blue while his left eye was glowing brown. "The Battle of the Victims happened."
"And you are?" Twilight demanded.
"I am Beta's friend, and the General of the Mutant's Guardians. I am Delta."
"There is no such thing as that in any of the history books, and I have read all of them!"
"Because Celestia made it illegal to write anything about it! Have you noticed yet that there is not one good thing about Beta? That all of what is said of him is Evil? He is said to be a dark mutant pony with an endless bloodlust. If that was so, you and all of Equestria would be in ruin, flooded with blood." Delta cried out.
"Prove it!"
Several balls of light flew out of Charlie as each deceased King and Queen of Equestria appeared in front of Twilight. "WE ARE THE DECEASED RULERS OF EQUESTRIA, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO. YOU HAVE BEEN USED WRONGLY, AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF." They spoke in unison.
Alpha walked up to Twilight and placed his hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "Celestia is a murderer. She is more power-hungry than Tirek and more deceiving and clever than Discord can ever dream of being. She is makes the Rainbow Factory look like a daycare, and Nightmare Moon a foal who is just beginning to learn magic. Celestia is much worse than The Legend of Betasays of Beta."
"EQUESTRIA IS A UTOPIA THANKS TO CELESTIA! WITHOUT HER WE WILL BE IN UTTER CHAOS AND RUIN." Twilight screamed as she forced herself to overcome Beta's rage and teleport. However she heard one last thing from Beta that made her begin to doubt Celestia.
"Every utopia is a dystopia. No matter how perfect a utopia seems to be, it will always be cruel to those who seek the truth. It will hide itself in plain sight from the public, and show itself to those who defy its ruler. If you don't believe me, ask Zeta and Gamma for a tour in where she used to work, ask the librarian at the Museum of History about Nova, listen to the forbidden disk in Vinyl's music shop, talk to the Diamond Dogs after dark by yourself, or ask Discord about Nova's wife, Nebula."
Twilight disappeared as she teleported to Celestia. Beta looked at Delta and nodded to the basket next to Twilight's bed before teleporting away, Delta and the others following suite. And once again, the castle was silent throughout the night. Twilight teleported back seconds after Delta left to grab Spike and gasped at the missing basket next to her bed.
The Canterlot Castle alarms began to whine. |
Alpha | Chapter 30:The Penalty of Homosexuality | Part 2: Chapter 10: The Penalty of Homosexuality
Alpha and Delta arrived with the basket floating beside them inside on one of the dueling platforms, just in case any fire that the little dragon fired wouldn't damage anything. And the dragon was spewing fire as if he turned into a volcano. Spike was hauling balls of fire and flames left and right. He was squirming around like an earthworm that was just dumped in a bucket of salt. Alpha and Charlie kept their distance close, but far enough to not get hit by the flaming balls. Eventually, (an hour),
Spike calmed down and sat in his basket, staring at his perpetrators.
The Training Room was the size of the field in one the human sports: Football (not to be confused with futball, or 'soccer', in that sense). Every ten yards there would be a wall made up of metal and rock. Each "Hall" was designed as a platform, specifically designed to train a specific skill: Flying, Magic, Close Quarter Combat, and General Combat.
"Now that you have stopped fighting, let's talk." Alpha said in a friendly voice. "Let me introduce you to the group. My name is Alpha, my friend here-" He pointed to his glowing red eye. "Is Beta. Yes, the legendary Beta."
Then Charlie spoke. "Name's Charlie, Alpha's my coltfriend." He said proudly with a smile, his face slightly red. "My friend is Delta." He said, winking his glowing blue eye.
"What do you colts want? What are you going to do to me?"
"Do? We aren't going to do anything to you?" Alpha said with a chuckle and a smile.
"Don't lie to me. You are probably gonna kill me slowly, torture me with welding torches, burn my tail off with a hot rod. Gonna rape me if I survive that, the both of you gonna rape me."
Alpha stepped back sharply in distraught. "Who told you that?"
"Celestia and Twilight did. They told me if I was ever dragon-napped by you two, a death by skinning me is considered a mercy killing."
"Truth be told and in all honesty," Beta began. "The last time I have ever tortured somepony was at the Rainbow Factory. I took over Alpha's body after he lost his wing, quite painfully I might add, which is ironically one of the things you are here for."
"What do you mean?"
"Alpha's welding torch. We modified it to use fire made by magic to be able to modify our wing if it gets damaged by Celestia again or another strong-magical pony."
"What do you mean 'if it gets damaged by Celestia again'?"
"We encounter Celestia at the Factory three days ago. As you may already know, Celestia is quite powerful. During the duel between myself and Beta against Celestia, Celestia damaged my wing, broken my front and back leg and kicked a couple of teeth out." Alpha explained.
"No she didn't. You did that to her." Spike replied, confused.
Alpha tilted his head to the side in complete amazement at how Celestia was able to bend history to her liking. His grin was from utter disbelief. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue through the hole in his teeth where his front tooth would have been. "Just because Beta healed my bones and scratches, doesn't mean I wasn't hurt. And what do you mean by 'the both of you are gonna rape me?'"
"Well aren't you two gay?"
Alpha looked at Charlie before looking at Spike and nodding. "Yeah, why?"
"And you two are coltfriend-coltfriend right?"
Both Alpha and Charlie nodded this time. Charlie moved over to Alpha and was now standing right beside him.
"So you two will not rape me?"
"Why would we rape you?" Alpha asked.
"Well isn't that what Gay couples do?"
"WHAT!?!?!?!" Alpha asked in complete and utter disgust.
"Well, everypony says that's what happens. That's why if a colt or mare is found gay they are to be executed on the spot."
All the emotion but anger and hatred drained from Alpha's face as he processed what he was just told. "Listen here, I brought you here to teach me Fire Resistance. Now if you DO teach me, I will set you free, you can go back to the lies and fake history your fucking Princess shoves down your throat. After that, you WILL tell me everything about Gays and Lesbians and what happens to them if they go public. Do you understand or will I have Beta tell you that himself?" His tone of voice caught Beta completly of guard, but he went with it, thinking it was Alpha just trying to quickly change subjects.
"I'm not scared of you or dying. If you kill me you won't learn fire resistance."
"We don't really give a fuck if you die. If you do die, there are always other dragons to take your place." Beta replied easily.
"Where will I sleep?"
Delta stepped in. "You will be given your own separate bed, no guards protecting the entrance."
"Aren't you two worried I might escape?"
"Trust me, you won't be able to find your way out." Delta said with a chuckle. "Welcome to the 'Safe-Mountain. Come with me, I shall show you your room." He turned around, Spike following, dragging his basket behind him. Delta was expecting to hear another set of hooves behind him and was surprised to see Alpha still standing in place, staring at the other side of the room.
"Alpha...You coming?"
Alpha just stood there, not moving, almost as if he turned into a statue that was painted. The only thing that moved was his eyelids blinking, his underbelly expanding and contracting as he breathed.
"Delta, this is Beta. I'm currently having a hard time talking here; Alpha is for some reason not speaking to-" Beta was cut-off midsentence as if he was on the radio and somepony turned the radio off with a switch. Alpha let out a bloodcurdling, raging scream of anger. A small blue light appeared a few centimeters above his forehead as Alpha's head twitched violently to the side.
Delta leaned forward and watched closely as the blue light began to grow and grow until it was the size of Alpha's head.
Alpha's head tilted all the way back before being violently brought back down, the ball of light turning into an intense beam of blue light, destroying the rock wall at the end of the 'hall'. After 30 seconds of non-stop firing, the beam disappeared as Alpha fell unconscious to the ground. Charlie, who had taken over of Delta, ran to his side, screaming his name. Spike was beside Charlie when he looked to his right and was amazed when the dust cleared. He poked Charlie's flank with one skinny finger.
"WHAT?!" Charlie screamed at him. Spike pointed where the dust had cleared and his jaw dropped open.
The wall of rock had been drilled through as if by a huge drill. Some rock had been heated up to the point of lava and was dripping from the ceiling. Smoke was coming from within the tunnel as whatever flammable material was in there stopped burning.
"He's fine, He's fine." Beta said, finally able to take control, although he was still stuck on the ground, laying on his side.
"Was that you?" Charlie asked
"No, believe it or not. That was Alpha. To be honest with you three, I did not know that was possible."
"You yourself are a mutant, Beta." Delta exclaimed.
"No shit, but mutants generally find out about their ability long before they turn 13. After 13, their ability goes non-existent if they do not find out about it. Alpha did not know he was a mutant, and HE IS 18 YEARS OLD!" Beta exclaimed. "Now that I can talk without being restrained by Alpha, when were you two going to tell us what they do to gay and lesbian ponies?!"
"Because it wasn't important." Charlie replied, his tone worried.
"At least it's a quick death right? Quick and clean cut by sword to the neck or the Finem Vitae spell, right?"
Charlie and Spike slowly shook their heads.
"Whaddaya mean 'no'?" Beta said in a nervous chuckle.
Spike muttered something softly.
"Speak up, couldn't hear you."
"They torture them, slowly. Those who do are called 'Beta's Friends'."
"Speak up, couldn't hear you."
"Great... Well, I'm teleporting Alpha to his bed for the night or until he wakes up again. 'Night."
Spike nodded. Charlie placed his hoof on Alpha's shoulder and tapped it twice before removing it.
"Don't worry, Charlie. If anything happens physically, I will be able to heal it."
"And if it's mentally or emotionally?"
"Then you better pray to Nebula that it isn't permanent."
Charlie nodded and watched as Alpha disappear in a blinding flash of light before leading Spike to his new room. Once inside his new room, Spike asked one last question before hopping onto his own bed. "This is what life is like for you ponies?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Charlie replied, tired. "Goodnight, Sleep tight-"
"And don't let the bedbugs bite. I heard that one before."
"I was going to say 'Don't let Celestia be a fright', but that works too." Charlie replied with a smile before extinguishing the torch and walking away.
Charlie walked into his bedroom, plopped himself up on his own bed before closing his eyes.
Luna had walked inside the training room because she smelled the smoke and heard Alpha scream to find the gaping hole at the end of one of the "halls". "What the fuck happened here? Why am I never told about his kind of shit until it happens?" She said, furious." Seriously, if you colts need to let off this type of steam, let me know and I can give you dreams where you can torture anypony you want." She sighed angrily as she walked out of the training room talking to herself. "Fucking Nebula," She said with a face hoof. "Now I gotta fix that hole."
"What hole?" Chrysalis said behind her after hearing her talk to herself.
"The one in training room."
"You found it? How was it?"
"What do you mean? It's fucking huge and there is dripping lava from the ceiling inside the damn thing."
"What are you talking about?" Chrysalis asked.
"What are you talking about?" Luna asked, confused.
"The hole that lets you see inside the Stallion's locker room and showers." Chrysalis said with a calm face. "The one at the end of the room on the right in the last "hall"."
"What?!" Luna said with disgust. "I was talking about the hole in one of the 'halls'."
"Oh. Well I'm begging you, PLEASE don't fill up the hole I was talking about. Those stallions are cute when they take a shower. So much cuter than in those fun-stallion magazines!" She said with a smirk.
Luna looked at her in disbelief. "What do you do when you watch them?"
"You want me to tell you? I thought you were straight."
Luna's eyes widened as she realized what she did and what she was talking about. She face hoofed herself again, this time much more pushed against her face. "For fucks sake, I need a drink." Luna turned around and walked to the bar.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No." She looked back at Chrysalis. "Fuck no."
"Are you sure?"
Luna's face showed no emotion, but her eyes were wide open. "Yeah." She replied. "I'm sure."
"He's gone! Spike's gone! They took him!" Twilight cried, tears streaming down her face as she told her Teacher.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, his basket where he sleeps was gone. It's always beside my bed!"
Celestia slowly nodded and placed a hoof on twilight's shoulder. "I'm sorry, but you are aware of what you must do if you see him again, correct?"
Twilight looked up to her with fear in her eyes. "I WILL NOT KILL MY FRIEND!"
"You must! Beta's lies cannot spread. If they do...." Celestia trailed off.
"What?!" Twilight wiped her eyes, no longer crying but in anger. "What would happen, huh? What would happen if anypony would listen to Beta?! He is a fucking bully, you told me yourself! Nopony would believe him!"
"I was wrong. I lied."
"Well I lied to. I met Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta as soon as you left. They were waiting for me."
Celestia looked down at twilight, in shock. "What!? Why didn't you tell me this in the first place?"
"Because I wanted to see how you reacted."
"Your friend, if turned is now an enemy to me."
"Discord was an enemy but now he has turned good. Can't you do the same to Beta!?"
"Discord and Beta are two totally different things!"
"Why?!"
"BECAUSE BETA IS A VICTIM!" Celestia blurted out. Once she realized what she said, she covered her mouth with her hooves.
"Because he is a victim. Because he is acting on his pain....not because he liked to hurt others, but he himself was hurt...." Twilight muttered as she realized the truth. "What he said IS true...." She said with a terrifying grin. "You let him suffer, then punished him...You sick piece of shit! What Beta said is true! You bent the rules of history to make you the hero. Make Beta a bully, not a victim. He was acting on his pain and you punished him because he had no other way out! No wonder why he
hates you so much."
"So, do you now hate me?"
"Hate? No. But I am no longer with you. I am still a Princess."
"That really doesn't stop me. I can fake your death as I did Sombra's." Celestia said with a dark grin on her face, no longer scared of revealing her original self to Twilight.
"But I'm an element of harmony, you kill me all harmony will be in chaos."
"YOU aren't an element of Harmony. You are a conduit of its magic. That's the only reason its magic works for you. If you die, there can always be a replacement. As for your magic in Friendship, that can be replaced as well. The younger the mares are in a five way friendship makes its magic stronger as they continue to be friends, that's all. There isn't really anything special."
Twilight looked distraught.
"What? Did you really believe you were powerful? You are just a pawn, a Princess who doesn't even know how to command an army yet."
"I defeated Tirek!"
"You defeated him with MY MAGIC, not yours."
"I used the magic of friendship."
"Come now, Sparkle, The Cutie Mark Crusaders have more power in friendship than your group of friends has. Speaking of which, I'm thinking of making Sweetie bell a student."
"But she isn't an Alicorn."
"And neither were you."
"What!? I have a horn and wings!"
"You used to have a horn only, but after you took that potion that I gave Zecora, your Zebra friend..."
"You gave that to her?"
"Every item she owns I gave her, I just gave it to another pony to give to her."
"And Spike?"
"To be honest, I found that egg on the ground of a Dragon's den. Eggs are only thrown on the ground if there is a deformity within the DNA of the Dragon within the egg. At this age, Spike should be as big as me. He's a failed dragon. Technically, he has Mental Retardation."
Twilight's eyes were full of horror. Her worst fears had just come true.
"Dragons' main enemy from birth are ponies, it's embedded into their memory from their DNA. The only reason why he hasn't killed you is because he has Mental
Retardation. Oh come now, did you really think you were special?"
Twilight disappeared in a blinding flash of purple light as she teleported away. A guard galloped up to Celestia, and knelt before her.
"What do you want?"
"Shall we send the troops after her, Princess?" The guard asked,
"No, let her speak. No pony will listen to her."
"As you wish." The guard replied with a bow before leaving.
Celestia sighed as she realized what she had just done. "Great...another Beta to deal with."
> Chapter 31: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Rage.
Part 2: Chapter 11: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Revenge.
Alpha stirred as he slowly woke up. He groaned in his half-sleep state as the pain-receptors in his body began to relay pain to his brain. His forehead felt as if it just had a close call with the sun. His throat felt as if he had been screaming for hours. His chest felt as if he was just punched with an iron fist. He quickly drew a breath as he gasp, remembering what just happened. Alpha stood up on his bed and, as if he just saw Celestia on the wall next to him, backed up quickly, falling off the bed onto the ground with a thud.
"Well, seems like you are awake." Beta said as soon as Alpha hit the ground.
"What happened?!" Alpha asked, eccentric. His mind was at like Mach 2.
"I'm going to let you figure that out."
His tone complete caught Alpha off guard. Normally, after waking up, Beta usually sounded bored or groggy, but this time, it seemed as if he sounded excited or even happy. Once Alpha's memory returned, Alpha's eyes grew wide, his breathing slowed down. "I...used..."
"Go on..." Beta said, as if he was watching a very suspenseful movie.
"...Magic..." The word seemed to halt his trails of thought, his world halted almost instantly as the word passed through his lips. He felt Beta smile with glee and happiness, a feeling of pride and proudness rushed through him as he realized what he had just accomplished. "I...used...magic?!" He repeated, a bewildered smile formed.
"Yeah you did. And you didn't just make a torch light up, you destroyed a rock wall."
"What?!" Alpha said in disbelief. "Prove it."
He disappeared in flash of light as Beta teleported him to the platform he was on hours ago. He gazed into the giant hole in front of him. Although the lava had stopped dripping from the ceiling, he could still feel the heat wave even though he was 20 feet away from it. "Did I do that?" He asked Beta, still in shock of what he had just done.
"Yeah. You froze after Spike mentioned something. I tried to take over but you weren't letting me. At once you screamed and...well, that happened." He said, nodding towards the wall.
"Do we know what triggered it?"
"I have a couple of ideas, but I don't want to try them out right now."
"Why not?"
"Two reasons. 1. We don't need another hole in the mountain. And 2. The magic you accessed was your own, but as you used it, I felt what you were feeling, and it somewhat freaked me out."
Alpha took a step back, his attention still directed towards the hole. "Well, what was it?"
"It was rage."
"So what? You felt my rage before while fighting."
"Yes, but this was different. Rage, in its basic form, is powerful, as it is anger that has been blocked for too long and is released all at once. My magic is based off of my rage, which I can pretty much create in an instant. Your rage was rage, but as what others consider rage as anger, yours came from a different source, which either meant it was from confusion or depression."
"What are you saying here? That my depression caused me to use magic, because we both know what I felt wasn't depression."
"Slow down and listen to me. Rage is most commonly found with anger, but anger isn't usually made from annoyance of something. When a pony is depressed, they can easily turn that depression into anger, which, 100% of the time, turns to rage. Confusion of a multitude of times can also lead into another form of anger, in which the pony does not know why he or she is angry but just is. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"Somewhat, yes, but how does this have anything to do with anything that scared you?"
"The rage you felt was based off anger created by depression, realization, and confusion."
"So?"
"My rage, the same rage I had during my LEGENDARY Rampage, was composed of FOUR types of anger. Can you guess what they were?"
"Depression. Confusion. Realization." Alpha said slowly as he realized what he was so scared about. "But what's the fourth?"
"The fourth was Revenge. When you used magic, I was scared as I felt almost the exact same thing as I did during my Rampage. It scared me, to realize that I, Beta, The LEGENDARY Beta, wasn't the only one with that type of power."
Alpha chuckled. "I won't turn against you, Beta. That isn't gonna happen."
Beta growled. "That isn't the point!"
"I can become like you!" Alpha said, happy with the realization that he was a mutant. "I could use magic!"
"STOP!" Beta screamed in fear. The tone slammed into Alpha as if he had just flown as fast as he could into a rock wall. He had never heard Beta talk with fear in his voice. Ever. "Do you understand the guilt that I have to go through every damn day?"
"What are you talking about?" Alpha said, walking back to his room.
"After I was defeated and utterly destroyed, I realized what I had just done, and I was horrified, petrified."
"Why?"
"Before my 'incident', I never attacked, never threatened, I defended myself, but I didn't kill. It had crossed my mind before, only when I was being bullied or defending myself during fights, but I never dared to kill."
Alpha walked inside his room and closed the door, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. "You have always talked about yourself before, during, and after your 'incident, so I apologize in advance if I have to ask you to explain, but go on."
"It's fine. As I was saying, I never actually wanted to kill in the first place. It was just even after I learned magic I was still bullied, no matter how I used it, it always got worse. Remember that I told you that I died at age eight?"
"Yeah, in the factory."
"I lied. The legend says I died at age eight, in reality, my personality at age eight changed brutally and nearly instantly. Who I was back then died, who I am now took over."
Alpha propped himself up onto the bed, already forgetting about being able to use magic, too absorbed in Beta telling his story.
"I ran away from home after a mother whose colt's horn I ripped off during a fight, which was actually the first time I found out it was possible."
"Why did you run?"
"I thought I was going to attract to a lot of unwanted attention to my family, so I ran away hoping to stop my family from getting said attention."
"Where did you go?"
"I ran into the EverFree Forest. I encountered a squad of guards, easily taking them out, not killing them though. I found a sword and a spear, then left them for the Creatures within the Forest before stumbling across the Castle of the Two Sisters, where I met what remained of Nightmare Moon's dark magic."
"What do you mean?" Alpha said, laying his head on his pillow, his hooves underneath it.
"Although Luna herself, her physical self was banished to the moon, her dark version wasn't. It stayed at the castle where it was defeated, protecting it as if it was still alive. It found me and attacked me. During the fight, I accidently created Estefani, my original suit of armor, made of Dragon Metal. After she realized I was a mutant and why I had ran away, she decided to teach me, since no other pony would teach a mutant, let alone leave it unscathed. She saw me as somepony in the same situation she was in but worse; alone, ignored, hated, beat up, abused, and discriminated. Colts and fillies see Luna as a savior or a symbol of hope. She patrols the dreams of all those who dream, making sure they do not have nightmares and give them hope."
"What do you see her as?"
"I saw her as a mother, a teacher, and a rare friend."
Alpha clenched his jaw and shut his eyes as he heard the word 'mother' and 'friend'. Beta noticed this and stopped talking about his life.
"Are you okay?"
Alpha nodded, his eyes still shut.
"You know you were always a terribly liar."
"I'm fine, Beta." Alpha said, trying to keep his depression in check. He bit his lip to stop himself from focusing on his depression and more on the pain in his mouth. His chest began to feel as if it was being pushed hard.
"We both know that isn't true. What's wrong?"
Alpha squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to forcefully keep his depression at bay. His chest felt as if it was being crushed inwards. He tasted blood.
"Alpha?"
He shook his head, and did not allow himself to talk. If he did, he knew he wouldn't last a second. He felt Beta nudge him, his special way of gaining his attention. Just at the last second before his depression took control, he stood up, and walked out of his room. He jumped off the balcony and flew out of the mountain into the night sky.
Memories of being alone in the factory, being bullied, ignored and alienated when he was a stray began to flood his mind as his depression set in. He stared at the night sky as he flew through the clouds. His thoughts began to melt into the depression. One theory stood out from the rest of his thoughts. It seemed to take priority over all others.
"Don't you even dare to consider that!" Beta said, worried.
"Why not? What if it's true!?"
"It isn't!"
"Then why the hell did all this happen to ME!?" He screamed into the night. A jagged bolt of lightning appeared several feet from Alpha, as a roar of thunder shook his bones. "Why was I tortured instead of killed? Why was I abandoned by my parents? Why didn't you let me die when I was unconscious in the factory!? Why didn't Celestia kill us when she had the chance?" He lowered his head as he landed on the ground, tears dripping onto the ground, at the entrance of the EverFree Forest. "Why us? Why mutants? Why are those who are different than others get punished for being different?" He stopped talking as it begun to rain. The droplets of the cold liquid began to, ever so slowly, calm Alpha down.
Beta sighed. "It's just in everypony's mind."
Alpha grinded his teeth in disagreement, in the midst of anger and depression.
"Listen, Why did you save Charlie and Delta from the factory?"
"Because they were in a bad place. They were being hurt and would've died had we not helped them."
"The same goes for me. I saw you being hurt and you would've died had I not helped you. Have I not helped you, Luna would not have known about the Factory, Charlie and Delta would be dead, John would have never found Scootaloo and taught her how to fly, Rainbow Dash would be still working at the Factory, and you wouldn't have be in a grave. No strands of hair, no splinters of bones, no pony freed from that place, no remains of you."
"And this was supposed to help me?"
"Listen Alpha. Because of you I was able to find out that parents left me a message. Because of you Scootaloo reunited with her father. Because of you Charlie and Delta are alive. Because of you hundreds if not thousands of prisoners of the factory are now free and able to back to their families. Because of you-"
"I found that what I was grown up and taught was a lie." A mare's voice said, interrupting Beta, behind Alpha. He turned his head around, his face emotionless as he recognized the Alicorn from last night.
Twilight's eyes were red from sobbing. If not for Alpha's keen eyesight, he would have missed the small but still bleeding cuts on the back of her front legs. He stood there, just looking at her for what seemed like hours before speaking again.
"So you left. Why?" He asked.
"I left because I couldn't accept the fact that Celestia had not just lied to me but to everypony in Equestria."
Alpha nodded. "Seems like you are gonna need a place to sleep and rest." He nodded to her legs, his eyes pointed to the cuts. "Not to mention some help."
She nodded. Twilight watched as his right eye flickered red violently as Alpha argued with Beta. Eventually, the flickering stopped and his eye turned back into its glowing red state.
Beta took over and smiled. Even through the thick layer of rain, Twilight could still see his eyes glowing clearly.
"You think we can trust her?" Beta said after giving Alpha back control.
Alpha began to grin, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Don't know."
"If she joins, she could easily help. We can use some actual help." Beta said, his eyes focused on Twilight.
"But if she tells..."
"She won't tell."
"How do you know?"
"Because we know what exactly she is going through."
Twilight shook her head in confusion. "What are you two talking about?"
"You have found out that the truth you were told since you could remember was a lie all along. You are conflicted, having no clue which side to choose.We are giving you an opportunity of an immortal's lifetime." He said, holding out his hoof. Beta's eye seemed to almost...sparkle with what? Knowledge? Trust? Curiosity? Sympathy?
"But what if the truth you are told since the day you were born was a lie? How can you deny it?"
"What if the lie you were told since the day you were born was the truth. How can you accept it?" Beta held out a hoof. "I know you don't trust me, but there isn't a lot that you know."
"What are you saying?"
"We are offering to show you the actual history of Equestria as it is, not as you know it."
"What do you want in return?"
Alpha shook his head. "Nothing."
Twilight nodded then held up her own hoof. "Is Spike okay?"
"Spike's fine. He is asleep in his room."
"You gave him his own room?"
"Yeah, he can look after himself. He is a dragon after all."
"He is mentally retarded."
"So? I and Alpha are mutants, which are worse than having retardation, and we are fine."
Twilight glared at him.
"For now." He added. "Come on, I'll show you were we live." Beta said as he took hold of Twilight's hoof and guided her through the forest.
"Can I ask you a question?" Twilight said, following Alpha.
"Who are you talking to?" Alpha said.
"You, of course." Twilight replied, slightly annoyed.
Alpha stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to look at the Alicorn. "Which one?"
"Oh. Uh...Both of you."
Alpha turned his head back around and continued walking. "Sure, what's up?"
"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?"
"What do you mean 'when we had the chance'?"
"Any time after you escaped from the factory."
"You were never our target. Our target is Celestia."
"I can understand that for you, Beta. But Alpha, why is your target Celestia?"
He flexed his right wing out, the rain sounded like a baby's rattle on the metal. "My wing was taken off when I was in the factory as punishment for saving a mare. Instead of being put to death, I was tortured. I want to know why."
"I know why."
Alpha froze as he turned around. "What do you mean?"
Twilight sighed. "I know why she did not allow you to be killed."
"What was the purpose?" Alpha said. He could hear his heart pump in his ears.
"She did it because-"
Beta took over instantly. "NOOOOOOOOPE!" He said, interrupting Twilight. "Let's go the mountain without talking now."
Twilight shook her head. "What the hell, Beta?"
Beta forcefully knocked out Alpha before walking over to Twilight, his mane and tail glowing red. "YOU WILL NOT TELL HIM!"
"Why not?" Twilight demanded.
"I DO NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY YOU CANNOT TELL HIM."
"Then I won't come with you." Twilight argued.
Beta sighed. "Alpha is going through a dark depression right now. If you tell him that Celestia tortured him just for fun and because she could, he would..." His voice trailed off.
"He would what?"
"Telling him would totally destroy his life. He is already in depression right now because he feels that what he has done isn't important to anypony anymore. The reason he was crying when you were behind us was because his depression was too much for him to handle."
Twilight nodded. "You are aware that he will find out, whether you like it or not."
"I know. But he is not ready. Not now. Come on, let's go."
He led her past the swamps, nearly encountering an ogre, beyond Zecora's cottage and into the mountain.
As Twilight entered the mountain, she met a very intoxicated Luna.
"Twileet, you're here!" She said as she staggered to Twilight.
"Twileet?" Twilight asked, confused.
"She's drunk."
"No, really?" Twilight replied sarcastically.
"-hic- She's funny." Luna said as she made her way up the stairs to her room. Chrysalis came up behind Beta and Twilight.
"I think I gave her a tiny bit too much vodka."
Twilight whirled around, her horn glowing as she recognized Chrysalis's voice. "YOU!"
Beta stepped in front of Twilight. "Hey, Hey. She's with us!"
A loud thud was heard.
"What do you mean she's with you?"
"It's another lie Celestia told you. Chrysalis used to be an Alicorn."
"What?!" Twilight barked, her horn no longer glowing.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you tomorrow." Chrysalis said as she walked up the stairs before finding out what hit the ground and laughing all the way to her room. Twilight and Beta walked up the stairs to find out what Chrysalis was laughing at. They found Luna, who had fallen asleep in the doorway of her own room, right next to Spike's.
Beta shook his head and walked over to Luna, lifting her up and placing her on her bed. He walked out of her room and came back with a metal bucket and placed it next to her bedside. He then walked back out of the room before closing the door. "She's gonna have one hell of a hangover."
Twilight nodded in agreement.
"His bedroom is right there." Beta said as he showed Twilight where Spike was. "If you want, we can get you a separate room."
"It's fine. Goodnight." Twilight said as she walked into Spike's room and closed the door.
Beta was in the middle of closing the door to his bedroom when Alpha forcefully took over. And he was furious.
"WHAT THE FUCK, BETA?!" Alpha screamed in anger.
Beta did not reply.
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I WAS ABOUT TO LEARN WHY-"
"I knew what you were about to learn, but I was scared."
"OOOH, BETA'S SCARED, HE'S AFRAID AND TAKES CONTROL LIKE A FUCKING PARENT IF HE THINKS IM IN DANGER!" Alpha said in a mocking tone.
Beta gritted his teeth, doing what he can to control his anger. "Alpha. Listen. To. Me."
"YOU KNOW YOU AREN'T MY FATHER, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? ALL YOU ARE IS MY BEST FRIEND, NOTHING MORE."
Everything froze for Alpha. For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe. Once he could, he collapsed to the floor, feeling extremely weak. He struggled to move but his body wouldn't respond. His eyes fluttered open and saw a ghostly figure standing in front of him. His brown eyes focused on the hair in front of his eyes. It no longer had its red tinge. He writhed in agony as pain erupted throughout his right wing. After the pain subsided to a dull ache, his eyes focused beyond his hair at the ghostly figure sitting in front of him.
Alpha raised his eyes to face the ghost and felt a pang of regret and sorrow. He wished that he could take what he had said back. The ghost's skin was brown, his mane and tail were red, while his eyes were glowing red. Beta sighed as he looked at his friend, weak and helpless. Alpha knew for a fact he knew the reason why he was tortured instead of killed.
"Where the hell..." Alpha said, groaning. "Did you learn to do that?"
"I always knew I could do it. You calm now?"
Alpha nodded, lowering his head. "I'm sorry for what I said. I felt so close to the end of my search that I was not going to allow anything stop me."
"It's fine. I can understand why you reacted like you did." He chuckled with a smile. "How are you feeling?"
"Like shit. Can barely stand up." Alpha admitted. "If I am understanding this correctly," He said as he looked up at Beta. "You un-bonded with me just now."
Beta nodded.
"Can you bond with me again?"
Beta nodded.
"Can other spirits bond with me?"
Beta shrugged his shoulders. "I doubt it."
"Why?"
"The bond between us is still there. Although I am currently not bonded with you, the bond that was created between us still exists, it's just dormant."
Alpha slowly nodded, doing what he can to understand. He struggled as he sat up, his front legs like felt like Jelly. "Why do I feel weak?"
"You are currently experiencing Full Control of your body. When I was bonded, you controlled 50%, I controlled 50%. That's how I could take over if you were in danger. I was always in control, but I pretty much left you in control of your movements."
"Are you going to leave me?" Alpha said, somewhat afraid of what the answer might be.
Beta shook his head. "Why would I? To my and your knowledge, you are the only one that is willing to bond with me, let alone bond at all. Instead of hating me, you like me despite the fact of what I have done in the past. You are the only one who I think actually understand me. Why would I throw away some-WOAH!" Beta said in surprise as he fell through the floor.
Alpha waited a few minutes, thinking that it was some sort of joke. "Beta?"
Beta popped up from the floor, only his head was visible. "Yeah?"
"You can faze through solid objects now?"
Beta smiled with glee and excitement. "Yeah, totally forgot about all this." He said as he flew through the floor and began to float around the room. "Before I found you, this is what it was like for me; just floating around." He grinned. "I used to have so much fun as I moved objects and scared ponies."
Alpha smiled as an idea formed in his mind. "Beta..."
"Mhm?" Beta said, enjoying himself as he regained his freedom of whatever he wanted to do.
"You can faze through anything right?" Alpha asked, staring at the wall, his mind soaring past Pluto.
"Yeah."
Alpha struggled as he pushed himself up with a new source of willpower and energy. The color in his eyes and hair slowly returned to its original color as Alpha regained his body. He had a smile of excitement and curiosity.
"What are you thinking about?" Beta said, turning his attention to his friend.
"We have a way to find out now." Alpha said, talking to himself.
"A way to find out what?"
Alpha looked up to Beta. "What is in your tomb?"
"Why do you want to know what's in my tomb?"
"Because you and I both know that your body was destroyed when Celestia defeated you. If that is true, why would a hallway, with your tomb at the end of it, be necessary?"
"Because if it's not housing my body, it's housing something else." Beta slowly thought aloud as the idea formed in his mind.
"And I bet I know what it is."
Beta stared at Alpha's metallic wing.
Twilight stood, staring at Spike who was sleeping. If he turned around and looked at Twilight, he would notice that her left eye was glowing neon purple.
And the other neon green. |
Alpha | Chapter 32: A Close Friend's Teacher | Part 2: Chapter 12: A Close Friend's Teacher
"Come on, Alpha!" Beta said excitedly.
Alpha smiled as he made his way down the flight of stairs and towards the tomb. "You need to calm down."
"You need to hurry up!" Beat replied as he glided through the rock walls. He turned to look at his tomb while he waited for his friend. "Alpha, are you coming?" He said after a few moments.
"Beta..."
"What?"
"Watch this."
Beta looked around to see Alpha halfway down the hallway, staring at a lit torch. He flew to Alpha. "What am I looking at here?" Alpha nodded to the torch. Beta turned his head to look at the torch and watched as it dimmed down to a considerably low state before rising up, spewing fire like it looked like Alpha's welding torch was using Napalm as its fuel. "That's odd. Are you-" Beta stopped talking as he looked back at Alpha.
He was staring at the torch, grinning in disbelief. Breathing slowly, he seemed as if he was concentrating on the flame, as if he was manipulating the flame. The colors in Alpha's mane were pulsating; it would light up until all its colors were in their neon form then would they would dim back to their original dark color before lighting up again. Alpha's breathing and his mane pulsating was in sync with beat. When he breathed in, his mane lit up. When he breathed out, his mane dimmed.
"Beta..." Alpha said without taking his eyes off of the flame.
"You are doing that, aren't you?"
Alpha nodded. The flame, spewing fire like a flamethrower, died down and formed a small sphere of fire.
"You know what? Screw what's inside my tomb, I got a better idea." Beta said after a while. He disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha.
The small sphere of flame extinguished itself. The torch was still smoking.
"Aww, why'd you do that?"Alpha complained.
"Because we are going to go meet an ol' friend of mine."
Alpha raised an eyebrow. "A friend that is still alive?"
"Yup."
Alpha backed out of the hallway and walked to his room. He made his way to his bed and leaned down, grabbing and slipping on his brace, and his bag. He disappeared in flash of red light as Beta teleported him to the peak of the mountain.
Alpha landed on the peak, the snow crunching under his hooves. It was early in the morning, the sun starting to rise as Celestia did her job. "Well then, where to?"
"Tartarus."
"Which is where?"
"We aren't flying there; we can be easily caught if we fly during the day. I'll teleport us there." Beta replied before Alpha disappeared in another flash of red light.
Alpha landed on a stone-made road. He shook his head to rid of the blurriness and confusion before looking up and taking a step back.
Looking down upon him stood the Three-Headed dog Cerberus. He was huge, easily bigger than Celestia when she stood on her hind legs. His fur coat was black and had spikes of what seemed to be made of stone. Its faces looked like the faces that bulldogs own. Its eyes were yellow with red pupils and had a spike collar on each of the three head's necks.
"Oh." Alpha said, his heart beating loudly in his ears. "Hi there."
The head in the middle of the three spoke. "THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. LEAVE NOW OR BE PUNISHED WITH INSTANTANEOUS DEATH." Its voice was loud and calm but hoarse. It reminded Alpha of how his voice was after yelling in agony in the Factory; all low and thick.
"To be honest, that has never really scared me." Alpha admitted, pushing the thought aside.
"LEAVE NOW."
"Chill out, C, It's Beta." Beta said, taking over.
"Oh, my apologies." Cerberus apologized to Beta, lowering his voice. "How are you?"
"I am fine. You?"
"Doing good. Finally away from other ponies so it's all quiet and peaceful here. What are you doing here and who's the colt?"
"His name is Alpha, a close friend of mine. Anyway, I'm here to talk to Mr. T, is he here?"
Cerberus nodded. He lifted his paw and pointed back to the platform in the center. "He hasn't left. I have heard what you two have done recently and I have to admit, I am impressed. He will be impressed to see you two as well."
"Thanks. It's nice to see another old friend like yourself, one that is still alive."
"Likewise." Cerberus said with a nod as he moved to the right to allow Alpha to pass.
"One last thing," Beta added.
"Yes?"
"If we get him out of the cage, can he leave Tartarus and come with us?"
Cerberus smirked. "If you can get him out of that cage, you can do whatever you want with him. The cage is made out of your Dragon Metal thingy."
"Okay, Thanks."
Alpha walked past Cerberus and began to walk up the stairs to Beta's friend. After half a hour of climbing up the stairs, Alpha's legs were burning. He got to the top of the platform and realized who Mr. T was.
Standing in a cage that was forged using Dragon Metal, stood a red centaur. He had a pair of black horns that curved outwards then inwards then outwards on the top of his head. Wearing only his black shirt, the centaur looked as if he was in style with the social dress code for centaurs. He was sitting in the middle of the cage, his eyes closed, deep in meditation.
"Who are you?" He said without opening his eyes.
"The name's Alpha." Alpha asked.
"What are you here for?"
"WE are here to talk to you, Mr. T."
"No one has called me that in a long time." The centaur said, opening his eyes and looking at Alpha. "It's nice to hear from you, my pupil. Are you somewhere where I can see you?"
Alpha waved his hoof in the air.
"I'm not talking to you, colt."
"Are you sure about that, Tirek?"
Tirek laughed aloud in disbelief. "You learned how to bond?! You know that is an advanced type of magic that even I don't know how to do, right?"
"Yeah I do. We are here to make you a deal."
"Go on." Tirek replied, happy to be in the company of an old friend.
"Alpha is 18 years old and recently, about two nights ago, we both found out that he was a mutant. Now you and I know that this rarely happens because after the age of 13, the mutant ability usually dies out if it is not discovered."
Tirek smiled. "You actually remembered what I told and taught you." He nodded. "Yes, that is correct. If the pony finds out about his mutant ability after the age of 13, it is not as powerful as it was if it was found before age of 13. It does not grow in power but gets weaker and weaker over time, even if its used."
"How strong is the ability to use magic for a mutant who finds out about it at age 18?"
"On average, based on a study of 1000 mutants who found out about their ability after the age of 13..." Tirek trailed off as he recalled the information of mutants. "I'd say it'd be able to shatter a glass sheet about five centimeters thick, no more. Why?"
"Well, Alpha here had a bit of a meltdown. He accessed his ability when he had three of the four ingredients of what made up my rage."
"Confusion, Realization, Depression, and Revenge. I remember." He said with a nod. "How strong was it?"
"Pretty strong."
"Define strong."
"Strong as in it could easily beat me in a duel."
"Really?" Tirek asked, his eyebrows raised. "Interesting. So what is this deal you are proposing?"
"I was wondering if you could do an evaluation on what he can do and what type of magic it is."
"And what do I get in return?"
"Currently, Alpha and I have an army of ponies and mutants who are against Celestia. You evaluate Alpha and in return, you can join us."
"Alpha," Tirek said. "What do you have against Celestia?"
Alpha reached to his metallic wing and took it off, revealing the remains of the charred wing.
"How did that happen?" Tirek asked, curious.
"Have you ever heard of the Rainbow Factory?
"No, what is it?"
"Long story short, after The Battle of the Victims, Celestia was short on magic and was very, very weak. At that time, numerous pegasi were failing the flying test, Magic itself was rare to find, and the market was in chaos causing the Economy to go down."
"Ok." Tirek said, listening intently.
"Celestia needed a way to regain her magic to stabilize Equestria, so she created the Rainbow Factory. The Rainbow Factory is exactly what it sound like. It's a factory that creates rainbows."
"I understand, but how is this relevant to his missing wing?"
"To create rainbows, you need a source of pure magic."
"So?"
"After the battle, there was an endless supply of flightless pegasi."
"The factory is a death camp?" Tirek asked in suprise and disbelief. "I know that Celestia was daring, but to this extent?" He frowned.
"Pretty much. Celestia found out that the blood inside Pegasus colts were made up of almost pure magic. So she created the Factory and in doing so regained her magic." Alpha intervened.
"This rainbow blood you talk about, do you have any of it?"
Alpha nodded. He opened his bag and took out the jar of blood.
"That's just a jar of blood. I'm talking about the rainbow version you were talking about."
Alpha, without replying, took off the cap. The oxygen made contact with the blood and turned it into its rainbow colored state.
"So I'm guessing that your wing is gone because you were at the factory right?"
Alpha nodded as he gave the jar to Tirek. "Yeah, I used to work in the Metal repairing part of the Factory. A week before my 11th birthday, I saved a mare from hurting herself as she played around with my welding torch. One week later, I was punished for doing the right thing."
Tirek took a sip of the rainbow liquid and slightly grew as he regained power. "May I drink all of this?"
"Not all, but you can drink some."
Tirek nodded in thanks. He took another gulp of the liquid, growing as he absorbed the magic. "Why were you punished?"
"That is a good question." Alpha replied. "I will get back to you on that once I find out why."
"Ok," Annoyed that his question wasn't answered. "but how do you know that Celestia was behind it."
"Because before I was punished I was told that they "had specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." "
Tirek had already drank half of the jar of blood before giving it back to Alpha. Alpha took it, placed the cap back on and placed it back in his bag.
"Feeling better?"
"Much. Thank you." Tirek replied.
"How does this evaluation work?"
"It's quite simple actually." Tirek replied, his tone of voice higher. "You either shoot a bolt of magic at me to absorb, or I make physcial contact with you and absorb a small amount then, with said sample I can tell you what type of magic you can use. There is a problem, however, with your deal."
"Which is?"
"How are you planning to get me out of here? The cage is made up of your metal."
"I could try..." He said.
"Try what?"
"You said that the magic I did two nights ago could easily beat you in a duel, right?"
"Yeah."
"If I did the same against the cage, would it rip it apart?"
"Maybe." Beta turned to Tirek. "Should we try it?"
"It would give me a sample of his magic. Hell, why not?"
Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes, I'm sure." Alpha said as he closed his eyes and brought up memories of his time in the factory. He needed to turn his depression into a rage like emotion. He stood still for five minutes as he searched his memories for something to kickstart his depression.
"Alpha, it's been five minutes. It was a good idea but-"
Alpha's head twitched violently to the right as the memory of his punishment filled his mind. His breathing became quick takes of air; his body seemed to begin to vibrate as Alpha trembled with his newfound source of rage.
"So Tirek, I can't control Alpha right now. He has fully taken control of his body and-" Beta was interrupted as a cone of neon blue magic instantly appeared from Alpha's forehead, firing at the cage. The magic attacked atoms in the metal. The atoms released their bonds with the other atoms and began to disentergrate. The metal was easily chipped away at the cage until only Tirek remained with shards of what was a cage, who was knocked down onto his side by the sheer amount of magic and groaned as he pushed himself up.
"Now about that evaluation, I think you have more than enough of a sample of his magic to check what he can do."
"I think we both know what Alpha can do based off what we just witnessed. You and I can teach him how to use it properly."
"What?" Alpha said, snapping out of the trance he was in. "Teach me what?"
"How to use, control and learn magic."
"Beta can teach you the spells and how to use them." Tirek replied, happy to be freed from the cage.
"And Mr. T can teach you how to duel and fight using them."
"Wait," Alpha interrupted. "I thought you said you taught yourself magic."
Tirek laughed. "My colt, Beta did teach himself magic."
"How does he know you then?"
"I taught him."
"Taught him what?"
"I taught Beta how to fight and duel."
"So," Alpha replied with a smile, amazed that Tirek taught Beta how to fight. Ideas flew through Alpha's mind as he imagined what Tirek could teach him. "Would like to join us?" He said, his voice barely hiding the glee he was experiencing.
Tirek laughed hard. "You ask as if I would turn down this opportunity."
Alpha smiled as Beta teleported Tirek and himself to the Safe-Mountain. Giving Mr. T a room of his own, Tirek thanked Alpha and Beta from freeing him from the prison and closed the door. Alpha, now tired, trotted happily to his room. Once inside his room, he took off his bag and set it aside near his bed. His metallic wing clattered on the ground as it fell from Alpha's hoof. The 18 year old colt was exhausted, having no rest besides being unconscious since two days ago.
With a hop-like jump, the colt leaped upon the untidy bed. He soared gracefully in the air for the few seconds he had. His head hit the white pillow first, it's shape contracting as weight was applied onto the center of it. The poor colt was already dead asleep before the rest of his body fell onto the bed. The body bounced twice as the springs in the mattress absorbed and dispersed the energy transferred onto them.
With the creaking of the bed ceased, the safe mountain was again once quiet, void of life.
Inside the tomb, the legendary, timeworn suits of armor began to pulsate with life, for their creator was near. Gears spun wildly as each suit came back to life and readied itself for use. |
Alpha | End of Story | Technically, this isn't the end of the story, it's just that I'm posting more and more chapters on another site so i'm not going to post this story on FimFiction any longer.
Here's the link.
Sorry. |
I Get Off | pre | Adagio brought her lips to Aria's, stealing her breath with a deep, passionate, fiery kiss. Aria was a bit shocked at first, but she very quickly melted against the dancer's lush, full lips. Adagio wrapped her hands around Aria's head, lacing her fingers through the smooth purple locks as the two tasted each other. The moment felt like it lasted forever, and Aria was certain she'd remember the feel of Adagio's tongue against her own for the rest of her days. Too soon for Aria's liking, the two broke apart, Adagio nibbling gently on Aria's bottom lip before pulling away completely.
"See you when I see you, sugar," said Adagio with a wink. Aria nodded slowly, doing all she could to keep her goofy, love-struck grin from showing. She was very unsuccessful in that regard.
Aria slid out of the car, watching as Mr. Tie closed the door and returned to the driver's seat. The car's engine purred, ready to take off, when Aria felt a sudden curiosity grip her. Before the car could pull off, she quickly tapped the window with her knuckle, and Adagio soon lowered her window, looking out at Aria and giving her an inquisitive hum.
"We each had a lie tonight," said Aria. "Did you use yours?" Adagio smiled, waiting, torturing Aria with the agony of each passing second of curiosity.
"Yes," she said finally.
"What was it? What was the lie?"
"Goodnight, Aria." Adagio chuckled as she snapped her fingers, giving the command for her driver to drive. "I'll be seeing you again soon, sugar."
Before Aria could ask again, Adagio was pulling off, her car disappearing into the night. Aria stood there on the sidewalk for a moment, trying to absorb everything that happened, and also trying to figure out Adagio's lie. Was it her reason for stripping that was the lie? Or was it the source of her wealth? Was it the thing about the exception to her "six months" rule? With the way Adagio liked to mess with her, the lie could have been as simple as her being 27 years old when she claimed to be 26.
Right then, as Aria made her way back to her apartment, it didn't really matter. She wasn't thinking about Adagio's money or motivations when she was unlocking her apartment door. She was thinking about Adagio's soft lips against her own, that sleek, authoritative tongue all but forcing Aria into submission. The grip on her hair, graceful yet powerful. The lingering scent of Adagio's perfume dancing in Aria's nose. The way she moaned, forcing herself to pull away from Aria. As if Adagio was fighting to control herself. As if Adagio wanted more. As if Adagio wanted her.
"Hey, you're back!" Aria blinked, looking up as she entered the apartment to see Sonata sitting on the counter with a tub of ice cream. "Was gonna send out a search party soon."
"What are you doing up?" asked Aria, closing and locking the door behind her. She was barely paying attention to Sonata, her attention understandably divided. "It's hella late."
"Wanted a snack, but we didn't have anything good, so I had to run to the corner store to get some ice cream." Sonata shoveled a spoonful of rocky road into her mouth, pursing her lips in thought. "I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I think that if we do it tomorrow, we gotta call it Salsa Saturday. It's not as good as Fajita Friday, but..."
"Sure thing. We can go grab stuff for it in the morning. Right now, I'm beat." Aria started on her way to the room, frowning when she saw Sonata's smug little grin. "What?"
"Have fun?" asked Sonata. Aria nodded, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. "Looks like your luck was better than you thought."
"What are you--?"
"You smudged your lipstick, beb." Sonata let out a laugh at Aria's expression, the way she fruitlessly attempted to wipe the makeup from her face. "I wanna hear deets, but I can wait 'til morning, since you're so tired." She giggled again, her voice adopting a singsong tone. "I can't imagine why..."
"Goodnight, Sonata," said Aria, shaking her head. Sonata nodded and waved, letting Aria finally make her way to her room. While Sonata surely wanted to joke around with her friend a bit, Aria just wanted, needed, some sleep. Sonata probably wouldn't believe her if she said she didn't "get lucky", anyway.
Although, given how well things went with Adagio, Aria was inclined to believe that she was pretty fortunate after all. |
I Get Off | Rock Show | Aria leaned against the wall, tiredly puffing on her cigarette. The apartment complex had a strict "no smoking" rule, so Aria often found herself in the chilly autumn breeze whenever she needed to get her fix. Even if she wasn't in the mood for a smoke before, being kicked out for the night certainly brought her to that point. Once again, Sonata had found a match on Tinder, and, once again, Aria was asked that she "make herself scarce" around the apartment.
Aria knew that was code for "fuck off so I can get laid", so she grabbed her purse and opted for a smoke break while she figured out what to do with herself.
Aria wasn't sure if Adagio had work today, but even if she was, it was far too early. No one went to a strip club at 5:30. She could always text her, to see if she was free and felt like catching a movie, but Aria thought better of it. They just saw a movie together a few days ago. The last thing she wanted was for Adagio to think she was boring or repetitive. That wouldn't do.
"Fuck it," sighed Aria, pulling out her phone. As she maneuvered through her menus to text Adagio, her phone buzzed, signaling that the dancer beat her to the punch.
Busy?
Aria smirked, shaking her head at the serendipitous timing.
Not really. Why?
Look up, sugar.
Aria cocked her brow and looked up curiously, her eyes landing on the now-familiar black luxury car parked across the street, and the professional driver standing outside the door. Mr. Tie, as serious and professional as he was, politely waved to Aria before gesturing to the car. After a bit, Aria flicked her cigarette down, crossing the street and sliding into the car once Mr. Tie opened it for her.
"Hey, I was just about to text you," said Aria. Adagio flashed a smirk before swooping in to peck Aria in the cheek, seemingly for no other reason than to watch her squirm and blush.
"I'm on my way to get something done, and I'd like some company while I do it," said Adagio. "You got an hour or so free?"
"Yeah, for sure. I'm down."
"I knew you would be. Mr. Tie, I'm ready now."
"Yes, ma'am, of course." Tie started the car and smoothly took off down the street.
"So, what had you standing out in the cold, sugar?" asked Adagio. "Lose your keys?"
"Sonata has a date," said Aria with a shrug. "We have an agreement to stay out of each other's way when we have someone over."
"How very thoughtful. Still jealous she's getting some and you're not?"
"Not as much. I realized that what she has isn't the same as what I want."
"Is that right?" Adagio crossed her legs, flaring her red skirt up just enough to give Aria a peek at her smooth, sleek yet powerful thigh for just a second. "And what is it that you want?"
"You." Aria was far beyond the point of being concerned about coming on too strong. She had begun to embrace Adagio's advice from dinner, about caring about what others thought of her.
"That's still 5 months away, sugar."
"I can wait. With the way you like to tease me, I'm sure it'll be worth it." Aria chuckled almost nervously, watching Adagio's expression. When the dancer smiled, Aria felt her heart soar in that special way that only Adagio was capable of causing. "So. Where are we going?"
"I need to get some work done. A friend of mine has a place, I wanted to get it done while I have a few days off." Adagio tapped at her phone, likely shooting off a text to the aforementioned friend. "We'll be there soon."
"You know, you're really good at answering questions without actually answering anything."
"Part of my charm. Doesn't matter, we're about to pull up."
True to Adagio's claim, the car came to a stop outside of a shop that Aria had seen in passing but never actually gave much thought; a small shop with the sign bearing the name Monster's Ink. Adagio exited the car first, gesturing for Aria to follow before leading the way into the shop. A bell jingled as the pair opened the door, and the lone artist sat in wait beside a cushioned black seat, sketching into a notepad. She looked up, cracking a grin as Adagio entered.
"Lizzie!" said Adagio, extending her arms. The two embraced, and Adagio kissed her friend on either cheek. "It feels like it's been ages."
"Cause it has been. Just cause you're a big shot dancer now, you think you don't have to pay your friend a visit?" Lizzie shot a glance at Aria, looking her up and down. "This one of yours? Doesn't look the type, but..."
"Oh, no, she doesn't dance. We've been seeing each other for a bit now, about a month. Lizzie, Aria. Aria, Lizzie."
"Nice to meet you." Aria shook Lizzie's hand before scratching her chin thoughtfully. "You know, when you said you needed 'work done', I was thinking something more surgical..."
"Please, sugar, as if I need plastic surgery. No, this is just a bit more ink." Adagio looked to Lizzie, crossing her arms. "Finish the design yet?"
"What kind of amateur do you take me for?" Lizzie turned her sketchbook around to reveal what she had been working on: a multifaceted amber diamond, behind which was a large purple treble clef. It was simple, yet striking and elegant. "You like?"
"I do."
"Then let's get this show on the road. You know the drill." Lizzie pointed to an adjustable cushioned chair that had been laid out into a bench. She claimed the swivel chair beside it, and then pointed to a simple plastic chair on the other side of the bench. "Aria can sit over there, if you need to hold someone's hand or something."
"Take a seat, sugar," said Adagio. Aria, eager to see how Adagio looked with more ink, took the seat as instructed. Meanwhile, Adagio climbed into the bench, laying face down on the cushioned surface. Before Aria could formulate her question, it was rendered unnecessary; Adagio hiked up her skirt, revealing her thick, round, perfectly bouncy ass, the only thing maintaining her modesty being a very revealing black thong. Aria felt the air in her lungs go solid, and she tried not to stare for too long. Even still, with something that divinely perfect just a few inches in front of her, it was hard to keep her gaze from drifting.
"Which cheek are we doing?" asked Lizzie.
"The right. I want it just about..." Adagio reached back, gripping the outside curve of her butt with two fingers. "Here. Almost wrapping around my hip."
"Got it. Let's get to it."
Lizzie quickly got her tools in order, making quick work of sterilizing her canvas before she began her work. Aria couldn't help but look on enviously as Lizzie worked, the artist having full reign of Adagio's butt in a way that Aria desperately wished could be her. Of course, Lizzie wasn't particularly interested in the intimate nature of her canvas, instead focusing on the work at hand. Adagio didn't make much of a peep as the tattoo needle made contact, the primary sound filling the room being the gentle buzzing of Lizzie's equipment.
"So, Aria, you got any ink?" asked Lizzie.
"Nah. Always thought I was too scrawny," said Aria nonchalantly. This wasn't exactly the truth, however. She formerly didn't think too much about her wiry frame, not until Sunset mentioned it. "Not much of a canvas."
"A good artist doesn't need much canvas." Lizzie chuckled to herself, inspecting her design on Adagio for a moment before continuing. "Hey, Adagio. You still work with Alexa?"
"Nope. She wasn't pulling in the tips that she wanted, so she went elsewhere. Last I heard, she was doing some dirty work," hummed Adagio. "Well, dirtier, I suppose. Haven't heard from her in a year or so. You did some work on her, though, it looked good." Adagio turned her head over to face Aria. "Alexa was so petite and boney that she makes you look like you had my curves by comparison. I'm sure Lizzie can make a design work on you, sugar."
"'Course I can, cause I'm a goddamn pro."
The three chatted idly as Lizzie worked, trading stories and getting to know each other a bit over the course of an hour. This was another thing that Aria found bugging her; She hadn't expected such familiarity between the two. Lizzie had such chemistry and history with one another, and it felt like Adagio was becoming a whole other person. It seemed that having an extra person around somewhat cut down on Adagio's fierce, intimidating aura, making Aria much calmer than before. Pleasant as that was, Aria couldn't help but miss that sense of danger a bit. One of the things she found so enticing about Adagio was that aura, the sensation that she was playing with her food before she finally struck, and Aria didn't love the idea of losing that edge. She wanted Adagio all to herself. All her's.
Or she wanted to be all Adagio's. Aria wasn't too picky about that.
"Hey, you two have plans tonight?" asked Lizzie as she began the finishing details on the tattoo.
"Aria's not allowed back home until her roommate is done with her dick appointment," said Adagio. "So I thought we could drive around a bit, see if there's something worth doing."
"Right on, right on. If you're looking for suggestions, though, I got two AnMach tickets I can't use. I don't know how you feel about rock, but..."
"I listen to anything. What do you say, sugar?" Adagio looked to Aria, staring through her as she waited for a response. "How does a rock show sound?"
"I haven't been to a concert in ages. Sounds like a good time," said Aria. "Didn't think you'd be into that, though."
"Oh, sugar, you don't know half of what I'm into."
"Well, they're yours," said Lizzie. "If you head straight there after here, you'll be right in the front row."
"Thanks for the tickets, sugar," hummed Adagio. "Very generous of you."
"Nah, not really. I'm definitely calling in a favor soon." Lizzie laughed, giving Adagio's un-tattooed cheek a gentle pat. "You owe my brother a lap dance next week."
"Isn't your brother in prison?"
"Why do you think he wants a lap dance? He gets out on Thursday."
"Fine. Bring him down and tell the bouncer you're a friend of mine, I'll set your brother up." Adagio sighed, pushing herself up and peering over her shoulder to see her tattoo. "Are we done here?"
"Yeah, we're done. You know the drill, keep it cleaned, don't go swimming 'til it's healed, yadda yadda." Lizzie applied a thin sheen of petroleum jelly to Adagio's tattoo and placed a thin plastic bandage over the fresh ink. "You're gonna wanna stay off your tush for a while, and maybe go commando, stick to skirts."
"Mh-hm. Thanks a bundle, sugar. I'll have to have you over for drinks soon." Adagio stood up, pulling her skirt down and wincing slightly as the fabric other skirt danced down her sore backside. "Aria and I better be off."
"Yeah, I've gotta jet soon, anyway. Oh, let me grab those tickets, they're in my office." Lizzie dusted her hands off on her jeans and headed for the back. "Be right back."
"So... How do you know her?" asked Aria, watching the door as Lizzie disappeared into the back of her shop. She cleared her throat, doing all she could to avoid Adagio's gaze. "Lizzie, I mean." Adagio snickered, turning to look Aria in the eye and flashing that sinister, dastardly perfect smile of her's.
"I know that tone," hummed Adagio.
"What tone?"
"The 'I'm jealous but I know I shouldn't be so I'm trying to make it seem like I'm not jealous' tone."
"Well... You seemed pretty close, is all," noted Aria. "I had to pay to get that close to you, and you didn't even let me touch."
"She was tattooing my ass, Aria, that's about as close as two people can get. And I don't know if you noticed, but she wasn't exactly playing around back there. She was doing a job."
"I know, but still... Like, you called her 'sugar'. Didn't know you called everyone that." Aria's cheeks tinged red, not least of all because Adagio had once again read her perfectly; She was a bit jealous, as irrational as that may have been. "I'm just kinda curious about you and her, is all."
"I don't call everyone sugar. Just a few people who matter," said Adagio. "But, if you must know, we met in college. I caught her blowing our Calculus professor, and she bought liquor for my parties so I wouldn't tell anyone. Been a good friend ever since."
"Oh. That's nice, I guess." Aria shook her head, kicking herself for being this way. She had told herself that she wasn't that kind of person anymore, the unconfident, insecure, jealous type. "Sorry. I'm just..."
"Don't be sorry, sugar. I know what it's like to want something all to yourself. So how about I give you something Lizzie doesn't have?"
Before Aria could respond, Adagio raised up her skirt to grab the waistband of her panties. She gently tugged them down the length of her legs, wincing slightly when they passed over her fresh ink. Aria watched Adagio move, entirely transfixed when she pulled the black thong past her ankles and held it up before Aria's eyes.
"Here. I can confidently say Lizzie doesn't have one of my thongs," said Adagio with a grin. She pushed the panties into Aria's hands, giggling at her dazed expression. "Hope this makes up for me calling her sugar, sugar."
"You don't have to make anything up to me," said Aria, a bit dumbstruck. Even despite her somewhat weak-hearted protest, she folded the panties neatly and stuffed them into her back pocket.
"No, I don't. Still, it's nice. I'm sure you'll find some use for those." Adagio glanced over to the door, taking note that Lizzie still hadn't returned. "Oh, well, you've been good. You may spank it." Adagio hiked up her skirt and turned to show her ass to Aria, and raised a hand, one single finger. "Once."
"You're kidding."
"Left cheek, please. Obvious reasons."
"What happened to '5 months away'?"
"I said you had to wait 5 more months for me to fuck you, and if you think that slapping my ass counts, then I am going to blow your mind come spring." Adagio wiggled her hips, her unseen smirk almost tangible at the way Aria stared. "Now quit being a pussy and spank me."
Aria wasn't going to do it. As much as she wanted to get her hands on Adagio's body, she had every intention of waiting. Part of that was a concern of ruining the budding relationship. Part of it was a desire for it to be absolutely perfect when she finally broke her dry spell. A lot of it was fear, this innate, intoxicating fear of Adagio and her power, her control, her confidence. But, given the direct, stern, unwavering nature of Adagio's command, Aria felt her hand move on its own.
SLAP!
The sting of Aria's hand against Adagio's flesh was supremely satisfying, as was the whimpering moan that came from Adagio. That moan, the heavenly sound of Adagio's smooth, satin voice exclaiming in pleasure, it was all Aria could do to stop herself from taking another swing. Aria held her hand in place for a second, as if coming to terms with what she had done, before quickly retreating back to her lap.
"Like that?" asked Aria, just the slightest bit of smug satisfaction in her tone.
"Sugar, that was perfect. I knew you had it in you," purred Adagio. She wiggled her hips again, making her freshly spanked bottom jiggle hypnotically. "A bit hard, if I'm being honest. But that's okay." Adagio giggled and, with minimal effort, absolutely evaporated Aria's smug confidence, turning her back into a shaky, almost trembling mess. "I'll remember that when it's your turn."
"Oh? S-so you're gonna spank me?"
"Aria, my sweet summer child... I'm going to do a hell of a lot more than spank you. Come May, that flat little butt of yours will be too sore to sit anywhere but Mommy's lap."
Aria thought that Adagio intended that as a threat, but it really just made her all the more eager for spring to come.
Lizzie returned shortly after with the tickets in tow, handing them to Adagio before the two hugged and shared another pair of cheek kisses. Aria stook to simply shaking Lizzie's hands and, after Adagio promised to have Lizzie over for drinks at some point in the near future, the pair waved their goodbyes and headed out for the awaiting car.
Somehow, with a freshly-worn pair of Adagio's panties in her pocket and the memory of spanking her perfect ass at the forefront of Aria's thoughts, rock music was the absolute furthest thing from her mind.
BZZZZZ!
Aria let out a shuddering moan, the restrained sounds of her pleasure drowned out by the gentle growl of her vibratior as it buzzed against her clit. Though Sonata was a notoriously heavy sleeper, and was surely knocked out by the time Aria had gotten home, the sock on her doorknob said that her date had gone well enough that the guy in question was still in the apartment. Not wanting to risk alerting a perfect stranger to her masturbation habits, Aria had thought it prudent to maintain some degree of quiet. Ordinarily, she would just cover her mouth with her hand, but with how antsy she felt, that didn't feel sufficient.
That was why Aria currently had Adagio's thong to her face, and no other reason at all.
She just needed something to muffle the sounds of her moans, is all. The fact that the panties were still heavy with Adagio's essence, and that this was as close as Aria had yet to get to Adagio's pussy, those were incidental. Aria wasn't so much of a freak that she would actually be sniffing Adagio's panties while she masturbated, dreaming about what the dancer would do to her once these six months were up.
"Adagio..."
Not even Aria herself was buying that story.
"Mmm... Fuck..." Aria gasped, her hips jerking against her magic wand, the toy sending electric buzzing through her body. Just as intense as the vibrations against her clit was the smell, the alluring, addictive, fragrance that clung to Adagio's panties. Her eyes just about rolled back in her head, the aroma clouding her mind and driving her wild. Aria bit her lip, inhaling Adagio's essence, almost able to taste her on the cloth.
Aria would do just about anything to taste Adagio for real, just run her tongue up and down the dancer's smooth, velvety skin. Whether it be between Adagio's legs or along the curve of her shapely, freshly-inked ass. Hell, Aria would even settle for a taste of Adagio's flat, toned belly, just anything to get more of Adagio's presence. In her desperation for more of Adagio, Aria squeezed her eyes shut and shoved the black thong into her mouth.
If she concentrated very hard, thinking past the feeling of lace against her tongue, Aria could swear that she tasted Adagio. Her fleeting sweetness, like honey, danced around Aria's mouth, followed closely by an almost earthy tang. Aria's mind raced, wondering just how she was going to be able to last five more months before getting the real deal. If just a pair of Adagio's panties were doing this to her, the woman herself would undoubtedly shake her to her core.
Aria moaned and gasped around Adagio's thong, the cloth acting as a sufficient gag to keep her quiet as she finally came. She tensed and quivered, her legs shaking as she pressed her vibrator firmly against her clit, wishing and pleading that it could have been Adagio there to bring her to climax. She was convinced that it would be worth the wait, but the idea of someone as perfect as Adagio dancing just barely out of Aria's grasp drove her insane.
She shut off her toy, dropping it onto the newly damp towel she had laid out on to avoid ruining her sheets, and reached for her phone to check the time. She had work in the morning, and she wanted to know just how screwed she was for staying up as late as she had. More importantly than the time was the one missed notification, a text Aria received ten minutes ago. Right after Aria started her session.
Enjoying my little gift?
Aria chuckled, panties still stuffed in her mouth, before typing out her response.
Idk what you're talking about.
It only took about a minute for Adagio to respond, and she did so in a manner that utterly dropped Aria's jaw. The first message was a picture, a mirror selfie that displayed much of Adagio's perfect body. She was entirely naked, but using a strategically placed finger, she censored her reflection, teasing Aria without letting her see the goods. Next came a text, immediately following the picture.
If you told the truth, my hand would be busy giving you more of a show.
Aria was in the middle of a response, something about how she was spending the night in her room working, and that she didn't have time for whatever it was Adagio was implying, when she received yet another message.
Only naughty girls lie to Mommy. And naughty girls get punished.
Aria's brain froze for just a moment, her jaw so slack that it allowed the panties to fall from her mouth and land on the bed, before she deleted her original message and responded with a new one.
Sorry. Won't happen again. |
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