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Timeless | pre | Before she could panic though, Vinyl noticed something in the distance past the maze. It was very far away but she knew what it was immediately upon noticing it. A faint ray of purple light pointing up into the sky. Vinyl focused on her magic and summoned up her own ray of light at her current position. A few seconds later, the purple light blinked before disappearing completely. She took this as a sign that Octavia had gotten the message and began galloping down the road towards the maze.
As she focused on her destination at the end of the road, Vinyl couldn't help but notice that it seemed to get both closer and farther away at the same time. She wasn't sure if her eyes were just playing tricks on her or if the world was shifting itself again. Her irritation building, she quickened her pace. She knew that the highest priority was reuniting with Octavia. Even though she had her magic now too, she'd be at a disadvantage if she were attacked on her own. She hadn't yet really gotten used to controlling it. For some reason it was different than her normal unicorn magic.
A thought popped into her head then. If she'd hadn't been able to get used to using her magic yet, then how did Octavia wield it as well as she did? Octavia had mentioned that she'd woken up with the bracelet in the first place, but she also said that she was attacked before she reached the town where they met. According to her story there was only the attack in between the two events, so how had she managed to survive the attack and come to control her magic at the same time?
"Maybe she'd been on the road longer than I was." Vinyl tried to reason, not wanting to acknowledge the holes that were beginning to pop up in her companion's story as she continued to think. "Damn it, how far is this thing?" she said with a sort of growl, getting more and more annoyed as the road apparently got longer and longer. "Why are we even going there anyway? No doubt there's gonna be some creepy thing trying to kill us inside. Can't we just teleport back to each other?" Vinyl wondered aloud before looking down at her bracelet. She found that the accessory had lost it's glow, the magic taken out of it somehow. "Well I guess that answers that..." she muttered, not happy with her situation in the least.
As she raced past a large rock on the side of the road, a crack on it's surface opened slightly. From the recess in the stone, an eye watched her progress further down the road and out of view before the crack closed on top of it.
Octavia stood in front of the entrance to the hedge maze. She examined the hedges that made up the outer wall but couldn't find anything odd about them aside from their massive height. She'd had the brief thought of trying to going around the outside of the maze and meet up with Vinyl on the other side, but she quickly disregarded it. "The walls will just grow and I'll end up galloping on endlessly."
It was with this in mind that she took a deep breath and took her first steps into the maze. As she continued on, she kept an eye out for any small detail that might provide any clue as to why they'd been brought here. It was about five minutes of walking before she reached the first fork and not once had she seen anything to indicate that she was doing anything aside from walking through a normal hedge maze.
"We probably just have to reach the middle then..." She muttered to herself as she decided on the left path. The turns came quicker than before, the length of the paths getting shorter and shorter. She continued to stay left on the next two forks before she came to her first dead end. With a sigh she turned around, prepared to backtrack. When she turned however, she found herself facing another wall of hedges. Confused, she back up expecting to hit the wall behind her. When she didn't after a few steps, she turned around again. What greeted her was the place where she'd entered from. With one final turn around, she groaned in annoyance. "You can't be serious!" she exclaimed.
She was back at the entrance after what seemed like twenty minutes of exploring. Looking up at the sky in scorn she shouted out "So that's how you want to play?! Well fine!". After taking another deep breath she walked inside once again, anger across her face.
"Can't believe this. As soon as I figure out who's behind all of this I'm going put my hoof so far up..." she continued to mutter angrily to herself as she explored. Instead of coming to the fork like last time, she found herself in the middle of a four way intersection. With a few shakes of her head she continued straight. Eventually she came to another dead end. With a curse she turned around, fully expecting to be back at the entranceway. Instead she was back at the four way intersection.
She sighed heavily. "I hope Vinyl is making better progress than I am." she said as she turned right and kept walking. As she walked down the pathway, a small hole in the hedge opened as she passed by. She didn't notice it or the eye that was watching her from inside it. After she made another turn and went out of view, the hole closed.
Vinyl walked along dejectedly. She'd come to no less than five dead ends now. It seemed like no matter how many times she came to a fork, or which direction she took, she always ended having to backtrack and take the other way. It was costing her a considerable amount of time.
"Just how big is this place?" she asked to nopony in particular. She'd been walking through the maze for what she thought seemed like an hour now, and yet she hadn't seen anything aside from the hedges and the grass beneath her hooves. "What's the point of sending us here? Is there another crystal thing in the middle that's gonna make us go crazy? ...Erm, scratch that thought. You didn't hear that, alright?!" she yelled up towards the sky. With a sigh she continued on, not seeing any other option.
"I bet Octi is already at the center by now." she said. After a moment her head perked up. "Did I really just call her "Octi"?" she asked herself. While she did tend to assign nicknames to other ponies she knew, they were typically... unflattering ones that she only keep to herself in her head. "Hmm... Octi... nah... maybe... Tavia? Tavi?" she continued debating the new subject with herself, her mood quickly improving. She'd never really had the opportunity to come up with a nickname for a friend before, so she found the idea quite fun. She stopped in her tracks then.
"Friend, huh?" she questioned, her fun quickly fading. "Is she... really a friend? I mean... she's not an enemy... I do like her... don't I? Then she'd be a friend. But... why does "friend" not sound right then... Partner in crime? Sidekick? Saving-the-world-buddy?" she debated with herself as she began walking again, confused at the idea.
She'd never really had another pony who she considered to be a real friend, yet at the same time she knew what a friend was. For whatever reason, she simply couldn't consider Octavia as a friend. Perhaps it was because of the conditions under which they met, or the situations that they've found themselves in ever since. For whichever reason though, calling Octavia a friend just didn't feel right to Vinyl. She pictured the other mare in her head, smiling at her.
She was stopped in her tracks yet again by this. The image of Octavia she imagined gave rise to another thought that caused her to blush intensely. She began viciously shaking her head, pushing the aforementioned thought out of her head.
"No, no, no! No way! There's no way that's what it is! Definitely not! ABSOLUTELY not! Negative. Impossible." she told herself over and over, trying as hard as she could to think about something else.
Her savior from her thoughts came in the form of a loud BANG somewhere in her leftmost direction. Hurrying down the road she was currently on, she found herself at another fork. Looking from one path to the other and back again, Vinyl groaned in frustration before galloping down the left one, praying that she picked correctly for once.
The paths twisted and turned. She almost crashed into the wall a number of times because the distance between each turn was getting increasingly short. Eventually though, she found herself in a clearing. It was shaped in a perfect square and was large enough to fit a house. She would have investigated more, but her attention was stolen by what was in the center of the clearing.
A large, black crystal, floating slightly above a small rock formation. A shadowy mist seemed to engulf the crystal with an occasional tendril like limb flicking out before being pulled back in. Looking upwards, Vinyl gasped in horror at what she saw.
Floating slightly above the crystal, being held up by the shadows that poured fourth from it, was Octavia. Her body was limp, eyes shut and mouth slightly agape, apparently unconscious.
Vinyl rushed over but was thrown back after a tendril appeared from the black mist and smacked her away. Ignoring the pain, Vinyl dashed in again only to be smacked away once more.
Spitting a bit of blood to the ground beside her, Vinyl glared at the crystal. It felt like it was laughing at her. Mocking her. As if to say "there's nothing you can do to help her". Vinyl took that somewhat imaginary challenge and concentrated all of her power on her bracelet.
She hadn't checked to see if it had recharged but she didn't care. She had to do something. Thankfully it apparently had indeed managed to recharge during her exploration as she was engulfed in a bright blue light and her blue themed outfit took form. Glaring at the crystal, she waited a moment before rushing toward it, her only thought being one of saving Octavia... Just like Octavia had saved her before.
She thought she could hear a voice calling her name so she opened her eyes. What greeted her was both unexpected and yet familiar. She was in the backstage section of a theatre, her trusty cello close by. Examining it for a moment, she found it to be spotless, as if it were brand new. That couldn't be right though. She'd owned her cello for a number of years now. She always took extra special care of it of course, but even she knew it shouldn't look like it did now.
The voice called her name again. Looking up, she saw a mare standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the stage. The other pony looked at her nervously and motioned to a clock hanging on the wall. Looking at the clock, it came back to her. "That's right..." she mumbled. She remembered now. This was her big shot. Her chance to pick her life back up. It'd taken her so much effort to get this far, now all she had to do was prove she was ready to move on in her life.
She blinked and found herself onstage, face to face with her audience. There must of been a few hundred or so ponies, all dressed up and ready to hear her music. She took a deep breath and gave the crowd a small smile before she began to play.
She'd forgotten what it was like. The calmness it instilled in her. All her negativity seemed to wash away as the music soothed her mind and spirit. She'd been so agitated and angry ever since she was kicked out, yet any time she picked up her cello and began to play, it calmed her. She was able to let everything out of her mind and focus all her attention on the music.
Her eyes were closed the entire time. Even when she was just listening to music and not playing it herself she would close her eyes. It helped her focus. That was all she needed. She didn't need any fancy decorations around her house, or overly expensive clothes she hardly ever wore. She didn't even need her so called family anymore. As long as she could lose herself in the melodies and rhythms then she didn't need anything else.
As she continued playing, she noticed herself smiling. It was something she rarely did anymore. The only time she ever did was when she took up her instrument. To an outsider it might seem tragic or heartbreaking, but to her it was just the norm. She'd decided that she didn't need the support of family or parents or anything like that. Her parents probably thought that she'd go crying back to them not long after leaving, begging them to let her back. But she would show them. She would prove them all wrong. She'd pick herself up, dust herself off, and make something of her life. She would do this on her own. Her only support she needed was music, as long as she had that then she would be fine.
Then it happened. First it was just a small tremor. The room shook, causing her to miss a note. Her eyes opened quickly but when she saw the audience looking back as if nothing happened she kept playing, flashing a small, apologetic smile. "What was that?" she wondered. She determined it must have just been her nerves. After all, any pony would be nervous performing solo in front of so many others.
A few moments later, it happened again. It was more intense this time, as if the entire building shook. She stopped playing completely as she tried to steady herself. The audience looked on though, still acting as if nothing happened. Some of them were beginning to whisper and give her strange looks.
Another apologetic smile, this time with a nervous laugh. She went to continue playing but a third tremor stopped her. This one didn't let up however. It felt like an earthquake and yet not a single audience member moved. She couldn't keep her balance any longer. She fell, losing her grip on her cello as it fell to the floor as well. She tried to grasp for it but everything was still shaking intensely. Before she could reach it, the cello slid off the stage, shattering upon impact with the floor below. Her eyes widened in horror... and then she heard it. The proverbially straw that would break her back, or more appropriately, her heart.
Laughter. It started small, perhaps from a single pony, but it quickly grew louder. As the seconds passed by more and more ponies began to laugh until the whole theatre was in an uproar. Laughing at her misfortune, her pain, her failure.
"No..." she whispered as she looked up. "Please..." she was beginning to cry, something she hadn't allowed herself to do anywhere but her bed before she fell asleep. "Please.... stop." but her request went unheard. The ponies kept laughing, as if it were the most hilarious thing they'd ever seen. "Stop it..." her voice was growing louder, but so too were the laughs. She began to tremble in anger before finally letting it all out. "STOP IT! STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" she yelled fiercely.
The laughter stopped instantly. The audience now just looked at her, all of them with angry stares. She responded with her own sort of death glare despite the tears falling down her cheeks. Her glare changed to a look of confusion when she saw one of the audience members in the front row become engulfed in shadows. After a moment, the shadows disappeared, along with the audience member. Looking up, she took a few steps back in shock as she saw pony after pony become engulfed in shadows before disappearing, never letting go of their angry stares or showing any sort of acknowledgement to what was going on. The pace increased. Quicker and quicker they disappeared until finally the theatre was empty aside from one pony standing on the stage.
She fell back onto her hindquarters, mouth agape in disbelief. What had just happened? What was going on? Numerous questions bombarded her mind but she couldn't organize them. Putting her hooves to her head, her tears intensified. "Why is this happening?" she mumbled, trying with all her might not to break out into sobs.
Just as she was about to, she heard a voice call out to her from the audience. She let go of her head and looked up, shock written clearly on her face. Sitting there in the middle of the theatre, was a mare looking up at her with a gentle smile.
"Why did you stop?" the pony asked innocently.
Her disbelief quickly turned to anger. "How can you ask that?! I screwed up and they all laughed... then... then they left... I... I failed..." her voice was shaky. "My... my cello..." she looked down, straining to hold back her tears.
"You mean that cello? Looks fine to me." the other pony replied.
She looked up suddenly, about to yell at the other mare, but she was stopped by what she saw. Laying on the stage not far in front of her, was her cello. Walking slowly towards it, she found it to be in one piece. Not only that, but it was back to its spotless state from before.
The other pony spoke up again as she was trying to make sense of what was happening. "Well, aren't you going to play?" she asked.
"But... but the audience, and the earthquake..."
The pony tilted her head in confusion. "Audience? Earthquake? Well I don't know about any earthquakes, but I'm here so that counts as having an audience. Doesn't it?"
She couldn't understand. What was happening? Who was this pony? The mare seemed familiar somehow but she still couldn't organize her thoughts and questions. She closed her eyes for a moment but quickly opened them when something seemed strange. She was now in position at the center of the stage, cello at the ready. Meanwhile, the other pony had moved up to the front row.
"Well? You won't make your audience wait, will you?" the other pony smiled.
"But... I can't... what's happening? My head... it's all too..."
"All I need is music." the pony said, causing Octavia to look up. "That's what you told yourself right? Then why did you work so hard to get here?" she asked.
"I... To get noticed..."
"By who?"
"A... a talent scout? No... an agent? No that's not right either... A band?" she grasped at an answer but none of them seemed right. The other pony looked on expectantly in silence. Then it dawned on her. The real answer. "...Anypony... I wanted to be noticed by anypony... it didn't matter who, I just wanted someone to see..."
"See what?"
"See that I could do it..."
"That you could do what?"
"That I could stand on my own!" she shouted. "That I didn't need anypony to support me. That as long as I had my music I could make it. That the only thing I needed to depend on was myself and my music!"
The other pony tilted her head again. "But why?"
"Why? Why? Because!"
"Because...?"
"Be-because... Because nopony needed me..." she looked down, tears welling up again.
"But that's not true..."
"OF COURSE IT IS!" she shouted. "My own parents kicked me out without a second thought! None of my other family would even bother talking to me, much less take me in! Nopony cared that I still existed!" she fumed.
"But what about your band mates?" the other mare asked.
Her head shot up, eyes wide. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, and when she turned to look she saw none other than Beauty Brass, her band mate and the one who'd invited her to the band in the first place. To her other side were her other band mates. She then looked back out towards the other pony who was still sitting in the front row, smiling. She wasn't alone however. The audience had returned, looking at the stage expectantly, many also with smiles.
Looking back towards her band mates, she found them all at the ready to play. All they needed was her cue. With a deep breath, she wiped away the last of her tears. After a moment, she began to play, the rest of the band following suit. The music took over again, stealing away her focus from everything else. She was free again. Free from her anger, her pressures, her stress and her negativity. It was just her and the music.
"No... that's not right. It's us and the music." she corrected herself with a small smile, feeling the presence of her band mates... her friends around her.
The performance was flawless. Every note perfectly played. Every line perfectly delivered. Every band member perfectly in sync with each other. When it ended, she opened her eyes was greeted by thundering applause. Everypony in the audience had a smile on their face. This in turn caused her to smile openly, the first time she'd done so in a long time. She looked for the pony who'd spoken to her, but she couldn't see her. Her smile began to fade until her band mates stepped up beside her. Beauty gave her a nudge, smiling at her when she looked over. Understanding what she meant, she took a graceful bow.
When she got back up though, everypony was gone. The audience, her band mates and their instruments, nopony was left. It was just her, alone on the stage yet again. She was about to look downwards in sadness until a familiar voice spoke up.
"You see? There ARE ponies who care."
She looked up to see none other than the pony from before, this time standing onstage with her. She was about to say something but she was caught off guard by the other mare quickly, yet gently, embracing her.
"And I'm one of them." the other mare said before letting go and taking a step back.
Yet again she was about to say something in response, and yet again she was cut off. A bright light began to envelop everything around her. It was too intense for her eyes. She squinted harshly, trying to keep view of the other pony. "It's time wake up now." she could hear the other pony say. The last thing she was able to see before she had to close her eyes completely, was once last glimpse of the other pony.
She was smiling at her. A smile that felt familiar somehow. |
Timeless | Shadow | Octavia awoke to find herself being flung through the air. Panicking, she tried to activate her magic as fast as possible. Much to her distress, her magic did not appear. Before she had any time to think further, she crashed into one of the hedge walls before falling a short way to the grass below. It wasn't the most comfortable landing, but she was thankful that it was at least plant life and not stones.
Attempting to regain her vertical base, one of her front legs gave out on her. She fell back to the grass beneath her, now beginning to notice a stinging pain in the same leg. Looking down, she was shocked to see that her bracelet was missing from its usual place. Instead, an almost gash-like wound circled around her leg where her bracelet had been previously. Blood was dripping from the wound, staining the ground and her hoof below. Despite its harsh look, it wasn't bleeding as much as it seemed it should have been. That did little to allay her fear. "That means it's deep... this isn't good... calm down. Calm down. Deep breaths..." she thought to herself, attempting to regain her cool, unsuccessfully.
Her attention was pulled away from her wound when she heard a shout followed shortly by a crash. Looking up, her eyes widened. In the center of the clearing she apparently found herself in, was a massive shadow beast, reeling back after being struck by something. Before she could make sense of what was going on, a disc made of blue light was flung at the creature. Instead of exploding on contact, the disc sliced cleanly through the creature before lodging itself in the hedge wall on the other side and dissipating soon after. A second later, the event repeated itself. Another disc sliced clean through the monster and lodged itself into the wall before disappearing.
Turning her head to the source of the discs, she saw none other than Vinyl standing atop a pillar made of blue light. She was clad in her "battle dress" summoned by her bracelet and was in the process of launching disc after disc of blue light at her enemy. Her face sported a glare the likes of which Octavia had never seen on her before.
Just as the monster launched a blast of shadows at her, Vinyl leapt from her perch atop the pillar. As her hooves left it, the pillar instantly disappeared before reappearing at her destination, effectively allowing her to dodge the monster whilst also keeping her vertical base intact.
As soon as she landed, Vinyl summoned up two more discs at her sides. Unlike the previous ones though, the edges of these two were both sharpened and spiked. They began to rotate at high speeds, getting faster and faster by the second. After a moment to allow them to reach their full speed, they were launched at the creature, once again slicing clean through it. Instead of lodging themselves in the wall though, they switched course and came back. Slicing through a second time, they took their place back at Vinyl's sides. They continued to spin so fast that they simply looked like circle shaped blurs though.
Dodging another attack, Vinyl sent the discs out once again, knocking the monster back but not off its feet. Frustration was beginning to show on her face. Though her attacks seemed to hurt the monster, it just seemed to regenerate any parts that she cut away from it.
Finally regaining her senses and fully understanding the situation, Octavia attempted to get back up again. Clenching her teeth in pain, she managed to stand up but was forced to pick her hoof off the ground slightly as putting pressure on that leg caused her far too much pain. She knew that in her current state she'd only be a hindrance, but she still felt she needed to do something.
She considered the idea of attracting the monsters attention to herself so that Vinyl could execute a full on assault without having to stop and dodge. She discarded this idea shortly after thinking of it though. Her current state meant she'd be unable to effectively dodge any attacks launched her way.
As Octavia continued to try and think of a strategy, Vinyl continued her assault. She hadn't yet noticed that her ally had regained her bearings, her attention completely absorbed in her battle. As the fight wore on, the shadows attacks came faster and faster, allowing little time for any counterattacks. Eventually the only thing Vinyl could do was dodge its attacks with barely a second in between.
Vinyl knew if things kept up like this then she'd soon run out of magical power and would be rendered helpless in the face of her foe. Dodging another attack, she was caught off guard in mid air by a second attack before she could reform her pillar. Just barely managing to catch herself with her magic before she hit the ground, she shook her head in frustration before noticing the presence next to her.
"Octavia!" she gasped, attempting to hug the other pony without thinking.
"Look out!" Octavia yelled as she pushed Vinyl to the ground, falling on top of her. Half a second later a blast hit the wall behind them, traveling just barely over their heads. Quickly getting back to their feet, Octavia grunted in pain. "Let's leave such things for another time. UGH!" she groaned in pain and frustration. "What happened to my bracelet... AND my leg for that matter?!"
Vinyl pointed towards the core of the monster, directing Octavia' s gaze. The gray pony gasped upon seeing her bracelet, stuck floating inside the center of the monsters body. "What happened?!" she asked desperately. Instead of an answer, she found herself teleported to the other side of the monster, dodging another blast. Vinyl was still beside her.
"You were floating above a big shadowy crystal thing, unconscious. I managed to destroy the crystal but then this guy appeared and tried to hold you inside of it. I managed to knock you back out of it but somehow it kept the bracelet. Watch out!" She explained, forced to finish quickly as she used her magic to keep herself and Octavia safe.
"So it was literally ripped from me..." Octavia mumbled, flinching at the sudden pain as her hoof touched the ground. "I'm sorry, I wish I could be more help but..."
"Don't worry about it, this guy's nothin'!" Vinyl said confidently. "I'll have 'em licked in no time!" she stated as she took off into the air towards the monster.
"Vinyl wait!" Octavia shouted, a second too late for Vinyl to hear. The ensuing scene happened so fast that she could barely make out what happened. Just before Vinyl made contact with the creature she rolled into a sideways spin. Upon crashing into the monster she was absorbed into it, but she continued to spin faster and faster. Upon reaching her max speed a second later she stopped herself suddenly, returning to an upright position. Just as she stopped herself, a massive blue shockwave launched itself out horizontally in every direction around her, slicing the monster into two halves from the inside out. Seeing her chance, Vinyl grabbed the bracelet in her mouth and used her magic to launch herself backwards, smashing into the hedge wall behind Octavia. Embedded into the hedges, she tossed the bracelet to Octavia with a "think fast!".
Catching the bracelet, Octavia quickly sat on the grass and put the bracelet on her uninjured leg. After a moment of focusing on the item she became confused when nothing happened. Noticing that the bracelet didn't regain its magic glow, Octavia looked hesitantly at her injury. The gash that circled around her leg still looked and felt extremely painful. "This may very well be the dumbest thing I've done in recent memory..." Octavia said to herself, muttering a curse under her breath afterwards.
Pulling the bracelet off her leg with her teeth as she held up her other hoof, she tightly closed her eyes as she began to carefully slip the accessory on. She had assumed that the anticipation would be worse than the actual pain. She was wrong. The very instant the bracelet connected with the wound an awful feeling shot through her. It felt like a million needles were stabbing themselves into her injured skin. Holding in her screams, her eyes quickly began to tear up from the intense agony. Gathering her courage, she made one final push, finally letting out a scream as she did so. She wanted to pass out from it all, but she willed herself on. Vinyl needed her help. If she could just activate the bracelet then...
Just as she started regaining her composure she looked up and saw a massive, shadowed claw reaching for her. Moving completely on instinct, she jumped to the left just in time to avoid it. However, because of her injured leg she lost her balance and fell to the ground with a yelp. As the claw moved to attack again it was sliced off with a lightning quick flash of light. Octavia looked up to see Vinyl dash by riding on a disc of blue light. Telling herself to thank the other mare later, Octavia stood up. The bracelet had regained its purple glow despite the small streams of blood leaking out from beneath it. Hoping beyond hope that her plan would work, Octavia closed her eyes.
Using all of her willpower, she focused all her attention on the bracelet. A moment later she was engulfed in a purple light. After a few seconds the light faded, Octavia emerging in her own battle dress. Though it still hurt, the pain was slowly fading, her magic healing her wound with every second that passed by. Looking up, she saw Vinyl distracting the shadow by flying circles around it with her magic, periodically launching discs at its center section. She was trying to impede its progress in regenerating itself, but she couldn't keep up. It was healing too quickly.
"Can't let that crazy pony outdo us now can we?" Octavia spoke to the inanimate accessory around her leg. Summoning up her magic, she launched herself high into the air. Once she was at what she deemed an acceptable height she threw up her uninjured leg as if she were punching the sky. As soon as she did so a large orb of purple light began to form. Landing safely back on the ground, she quickly checked on Vinyl's status. Just as before, she was distracting the monster by flying about on her disc, throwing out attacks every now and then. It was clear she wasn't making any progress in actually defeating the creature though, and she looked to be getting more tired by the minute.
With a deep breath, Octavia looked up at the orb of magic she'd left in the sky. It had begun reshaping itself while quickly expanding.. Unable to keep up her attacks any longer, Vinyl landed on the ground, her dress disappearing into light as she breathed heavily. Looking up at the sky her mouth fell agape in awe. The orb had restructured itself so that it floated a few yards above the shadow. Its shape had changed as well, now resembling a giant purple cello.
Octavia turned her gaze back to the monster. "Now!" she shouted as she tightly shut her eyes. The giant cello immediately began falling from the sky. As it collided with the creature it continued to descend, crushing the monster into the ground. No matter how much it struggled, the shadow was still rooted to the ground and therefore unable to escape as it was crushed into nothingness. With a final, defiant roar, the last of the monster was crushed under the magic.
After a moment to make sure it was gone, Octavia released her magic. Her wound seemed to have healed, but her leg was still sore. Hearing her name, she looked up just in time to see Vinyl launching herself towards her. As Vinyl collided with her and knocked her down back onto her hindquarters, she pulled the gray mare into a huge hug, refusing to relinquish her grip the slightest bit.
"Vinyl! It's alright, I'm fine. You can let go." Octavia said, trying to remove the other pony from her. Vinyl just shook her head, mumbling something indistinct. Though Octavia couldn't see her face, she could tell Vinyl was crying ever so quietly. Octavia figured they were just tears of relief but it made her uncomfortable to just leave it like that. "What's wrong with you? I'm fine, see? My leg is even healed. Everything shipshape." she attempted to lighten the mood, holding up her leg to show that it was indeed alright.
After a few more moments Vinyl finally loosened her grip and pulled back. With her eyes still tearing up a bit, she stared directly at Octavia for a few seconds before knocking her roughly on the noggin. "OUCH!" the gray mare exclaimed. "What was that for?!"
"Because you're stupid!" Vinyl replied immediately. "How could you think you're a failure like that? How could you say that there's nopony who needs you?!" she raised her voice in frustration. "That nopony cares..."
At first Octavia didn't understand. After a moment though it came back to her. The dream. She'd been traversing the maze for a while before she finally made it to the center and found the large, shadowed crystal. She'd attempted to activate her magic but before she could the crystal had somehow used its own magic to grab hold of her. After that her memory cut out until the dream or... wherever it was she had found herself. "You... you saw that?" She asked timidly, embarrassed by the idea that Vinyl saw her breakdown.
"Of course I did! I'm the one who had to save you!" Vinyl responded, raising her voice a bit again. She gave Octavia another knock across the head.
"Stop hitting me!" Octavia exclaimed, swatting at the other mare in response.
"I'd be inclined to be more sympathetic if I'd just seen the theatre and nothing else, but I saw your memories of your band mates too, your friends! How could you let yourself think that nopony cared about you when you held those memories so close?!"
"Excuse me?! How could you say that?! And how did you end up seeing things like that?! For that matter, how did you see anything at all? Who gave you permission to go rooting around in my head?!" Octavia fired back.
"I found you floating above that thing and when I activated my magic to save you something threw me into the crystal. Next thing I knew I was watching what I figured were your memories or something. Once I pulled you out of that stupid theatre the crystal broke open and that shadow thing appeared." Vinyl explained the series of events leading to their current situation. "And how dare I say that? I'll say whatever I want! They obviously care so much about you but there you were thinking that you were all alone! You almost gave up on yourself! You almost gave up on them! I don't know which is worse!"
Octavia scoffed. "You don't know anything! You have no idea what kinds of things I've had to endure! What it's like to have your own parents throw you out as if you were just some garbage. To have rebuild your life with nothing to your name except the few things you just happened to be good at!" her eyes were beginning to tear up. "I owe my band more than they'll ever know, but they all act like I'm some sort of super pony who can handle anything. I'm nothing like that. I'm just a weak fool who got lucky. Even now in this stupid world I-" she was cut off by Vinyl pulling her into another overly strong embrace.
"Stop it." Vinyl said calmly. "I hate it when you do that. You're not weak and you certainly aren't a fool. You're one of the strongest ponies I've ever known... and I've known a lot of ponies. You're smarter than I could ever hope to be. You have your rough edges but we all do. You're a pony who will do whatever it takes to get the job done while helping out those around you. I don't need to look into your mind to know that." Vinyl pulled back. "When I look at you I see a strong, intelligent, determined, beautiful pony who doesn't give herself enough credit." Vinyl smiled. "Emphasis on beautiful." she said with a small laugh as a slight blush appeared on her face.
Octavia just stared at her with her mouth slightly agape, dumbstruck. "Vinyl..." she spoke quietly, to which Vinyl just looked back with a tender smile in response. She was about to say more but they were interrupted by the sound of hooves clapping together off to their right side.
Quickly jumping apart and turning to the source of the noise in the same motion, the two took up battle positions but their stances faltered when they caught sight of the source. A few yards away, floating a bit above the ground, was the shadowy form of a pony. Despite having the shape of a pony though, it completely lacked any kind of features. It was as if a pony's shadow had taken on a three dimensional form and a will of its own. It lounged back as if it were reclining in a seat that wasn't there. It finished clapping it's hooves together and simply began to stare at the two ponies, as if it were waiting for something.
Vinyl took this as a sign for her to speak up. "Who are you?! Are you one of them?! You wanna go too?!" she shouted as she aggressively walked forward a bit before being stopped by Octavia.
"Vinyl stop." Octavia ordered before addressing the shadow. "Are you the one who brought us here? What do you want?" she demanded, staring the shadow down... if it had any eyes to stare down. The shadow simply stared back, unmoving. This apparent battle of wills continued for a few minutes more until the shadow pony lurched forward as if in pain. Vinyl and Octavia both took a step backwards and readied themselves for anything.
The shadows body continued to turn and contort in pain as two wings began to form from its back. They pulled and stretched away from its body as if they were ripping right through its flesh from the inside. Even for Octavia and Vinyl, who thought they had gotten used to the horrific forms of the shadows by now, it was hard to watch. At the same time that this was happening, the ponies' bracelets began to shine a little brighter with every passing second. The ponies themselves however were too caught up in the horrific sight before them to notice.
After the wings finally pushed all the way through and were fully formed, the shadow continued to act in an extremely pained manner, this time putting its hooves to its temples as a bump began to form in the middle of its forehead. As the bump slowly got bigger and rose up, the bracelets began to shine so bright that Vinyl and Octavia were knocked back to their senses.
"I have a most... unpleasant feeling about this..." Octavia said as she looked toward the shadow and began to back away.
Vinyl mimicked the other pony's actions. "You too huh? Maybe we should uh..."
"I believe a tactical retreat may be in order..." Octavia responded lowly. Just as she finished her sentence, the shadow craned back and let out a loud roar. "RUN!" Octavia shouted as she quickly turned and ran out the only exit she could see, Vinyl close behind.
As they galloped through the twisting pathways of the maze they could hear an almost constant roaring not far behind them. They dared not look back, both for fear of what they might see as well as the action slowing them down. As they came to a fork Vinyl shouted "this way!" while turning towards the left as Octavia followed, the two never slowing down. All the while their bracelets continued to shine more intensely than they ever had before.
Realizing that they were now running through the side opposite the one she entered, Octavia let Vinyl take the lead. Thankfully the maze seemed to have stopped altering itself since the destruction of the crystal. Still, she knew it was taking them too long. The shadow was gaining on them little by little. Thinking quickly, Octavia came up with an idea that she could only pray worked. Using the magic that her bracelet had apparently been charging on its own, Octavia pulled up beside Vinyl. Closing her eyes and focusing, she jumped on top of the other mare and held her tightly as they both became engulfed in light and felt a pulling sensation. In the next moment, they were gone.
Appearing above the ground in a flash of light, the two ponies fell with a thud. "What was that?!" Vinyl demanded as she quickly got back to her hooves, still surprised.
"I teleported us. It was all I could think to do." Octavia responded as she brushed the dirt off herself.
"A little warning would have been nice." Vinyl commented before proceeding to take a few steps around, trying to figure out where they were.
"I'll be sure to remember that the next time we're running for our lives."
Vinyl just sighed. "So were are we this time?"
Octavia shook her head. "I'm not sure. I just kind of thought "anywhere but here" when I teleported us..." she answered as she too began to look around to confirm their location. She jumped in surprise as Vinyl suddenly raised her voice.
"WOAH! Octavia, look! The sky!" She shouted hastily.
Looking upwards, Octavia immediately noticed what Vinyl had meant. "The moon... it's gone." Up in the sky that had been permanently shifted to night ever since they arrived, all signs of the moon had disappeared. An uncomforting development considering what had happened the last time they'd been shocked by the moon.
As the two were looking upwards, they were snapped to attention by a roar so loud it made the earth beneath them shake. Quickly turning around, Octavia pulled Vinyl to the ground with her just in time to avoid the massive creature that flew over their heads. Whatever flew over them was so big that seemed like an eternity before it had fully passed by them and they got up. Turning back around as they did so, the two ponies looked on in awe as a massive serpent-like creature flew into the distance.
"Is that... a dragon?" Vinyl asked, still paralyzed in a combination of shock and fear.
Octavia took a moment to come to her senses before responding. "That thing is far too big to be just a dragon."
"Have you ever seen a dragon?" Vinyl asked, still shocked.
"Well it's certainly not a dragon like the ones from our Equestria..." she responded as the two continued to look on.
The monster flew about in the distance, letting out another roar so loud that the two ponies had to cover their ears as the ground shook once more. As the two observed the beast more, they found that Octavia was right. It certainly wasn't any kind of dragon ever seen in Equestria, or at least not one ever recorded in history. Its body was much longer and snake like than a normal dragon. It also had two pairs of wings instead of one, with the second pair on its back closer to its hind legs. Aside from the differences in shape, its size was much more massive than anything ever recorded in Equestria and a sort of black fog seemed to constantly fall from its equally dark scales. Octavia didn't doubt that it was big enough to engulf most, if not all, of Canterlot in shadow.
"So..." Vinyl finally broke the silence. "What in Celestia's name is that thing?" Octavia began respond but she was cut off by a voice from a third party.
"THAT is the reason behind your appearance in this world that shouldn't exist." a strong and commanding voice answered from behind them.
Quickly turning around to see the source of the voice, nothing could have prepared the two ponies for what they would find. |
Necropolis | pre | "Rainbow Dash?! What the hell are you doing here?" Soarin shouted.
"Same could be said to you," Dash grumbled.
"Apple Bloom?! Why, I reckon I haven't seen you in a few years!" Applejack exclaimed. Apple Bloom ignored the comment.
"Well, it seems as though the team's all here, so we can start mission debriefing now," Celestia said.
"Mission debriefing?! You've gotta be fuckin' kidding me," Dash said.
"I'll keep it simple. I've brought you all here to assassinate Chrysalis, the necromancer," Celestial answered. |
Necropolis | Chapter Five: Debriefing | There was a long pause of silence as everyone took in what they had just heard.
A necromancer, a Mage capable of raising the dead, who goes by the name Chrysalis, was attacking Enchantria.
Celestia couldn't blame them for their shocked looks, as she knew that they were going to be there.
She gestured to her captain.
"Flash, if you would be so kind?" She asked.
Flash bowed. "Of course your majesty," he said, walking in front of the table.
He slammed a dark orange crystal on a table, and upon doing so, the lights dimmed, and an image of a sickly pale woman with bony features and dark turquoise hair in a green and black robe was projected slightly above the table.
"Listen up, cause I'm only gonna say this once. This is Chrysalis, a necromancer, as you all know. But, as you might've already guessed, that's all we know about her. We have no record of who or what she is," Flash explained as the crystal changed the image to one of Shining Armor.
"Knowing that Chrysalis was going to attack, Celestia sent Shining Armor and a group of Royal Guards to apprehend the fiend, along with Applejack's brother, Corporal Big Macintosh. The result was their disappearance, and a message from one of the Guards," Flash said, holding up another blue crystal.
He sat the crystal on the table and tapped it once.
Upon doing so, the crystal glowed and it projected a small visual screen that was black. Then a video began to play as a Royal Guard covered in burnt and broken armor appeared on the screen, his eyes wide with terror.
"Hello, my name is Lancer. I'm a Royal Guard sent on a mission to apprehend a necromancer known as Chrysalis. I was led by Captain Shining Armor and forty-nine others-"
*BANG!*
The locked metal door behind the man buckled as a large dent appeared.
"Sweet Celestia, they're here already?!" The guard shook like a leaf, quivering in terror. But he had a job to do, and he would finish it.
"I don't have much time, so I'm going to explain only the important details while I have the chance."
*BANG!*
Another loud crash, causing another dent, this one right between the crack on the doorway, causing multiple long black talons to worm through the gap and try to to pry open the door.
"It all started on our way to the destination, on the way we were ambushed by these...things," the guard shuddered at the thought.
"They're monsters, vicious beasts that are capable of tearing through us like butter. They attacked us in the dead of night but...but here's the weird thing...they didn't kill anyone. They beat us within an inch of our life, but none of us died. I don't understand it myself, but they only captured everyone. I escaped thanks to co-captain Macintosh, but it seems that I couldn't escape the build-"
"FoOls. MOvE AsiDe, I ShAll deAl wIth tHis PeSt," A raspy voice with an echo said from the other side of the door.
"Oh, Celestia, she's here!" The guard shrieked, turning away from the crystal to door and back at the crystal.
"The book, the book she has is the source of her power. The same goes for the scythe she wields! It has great power, you need to take both from her if you're gonna defeat her-"
*Kra-BOOOOM!*
The guard flinched as the metal door was sent flying as a powerful force literally blew the door of its hinges.
A pair of talons grabbed the guard and pulled him to the floor.
"NO! NO PLEASE!" Lancer begged, clawing against the floor, desperately trying to fight against the grasp of the claws dragging him into the dark.
The guard disappeared, only his echoed cries could be heard. The room became silent, a haunting darkness settled on the group.
Then the horrifying image of Chrysalis appeared, causing everyone, but Flash and Celestia who had already seen the video, to flinch.
Fluttershy and Rarity screamed, Twilight gasped, Rainbow Dash jumped into Soarin's arms, Scootaloo jumped into Rainbow's arms, Applebloom hid behind Applejack, Sweetie Belle hid behind Rarity, and the Wonderbolts stood frozen in shock.
A toothy grin spread across Chrysalis' haunting face.
"WeLL...WhaT hAve we hErE? A coMmuNIcatioN crysTal, hmmMmm...How...IntErestIng," Chrysalis cooed, holding the crystal up.
"I wonDer...CouLd this Be CelEstiA I'm SpeAking ToO?"
Celestia tightened her grip on her crossed arms.
"If sO...I hAve a MesSage FoR YOu. FRom soMebOdy I thInk you KNow," Chrysalis slightly chuckled.
"The BlAckesT NighT FalLs to The GrOund, KillIng all WitHout a sOunD. ThE stArs wHich onCe shinEd so BriGht, hAve gone ColD and vAnisHed frOm OuR Sight. THe Day hAs diEd, ThE NiGht arRiveS."
With that, Chrysalis threw the crystal into the air, reared back her scythe, swung, and shattered the crystal. The image vanished, replaced with the words [CONNECTION SEVERED] on the screen.
The dark room became bright again as the curtains were pulled back, and light re-entered the room.
Celestia sighed, the sight of everyone's shock clear as day.
Applejack sat still, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Ma brother...ma own flesh and blood..." Applejack glared at Flash and Celestia. "
"Why didn't ya tell me?!" She demanded.
"Calm down, Private," Celestia's calm yet authoritative voice said.
"Please understand that I couldn't risk the exposure of this information. If anyone found out it would cause massive panic."
"Forgive my interruption,"Flash interjected, "but there will be time for explaining on the trip there, for now we best suit up. Follow me."
"Now wait just a minute!" Rarity shouted. "I can understand why you would want all of us for this mission, but you're not taking my sister!"
"Mine either," Applejack agreed, putting herself in front of Applebloom.
"Why would ya send three little kids into battle anyways?"
Flash opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it, turning to face Celestia.
The princess sighed once more and stood up, addressing the group she answered,
"As you know, most of you have magical powers."
She gestured to Flash.
"Flash Sentry has the power to create shields, and he was taught by Shining Armor. He has since learned how to create shields to protect, attack, and even ones that can repel magic."
She then gestured to Twilight. "
Twilight Sparkle is a very gifted Mage, capable of wielding a total of 54 different types of magic."
Twilight blushed, as Celestia then gestured to everyone else and listed off their power.
"Rainbow Dash is a Lightning Elementalist, but she also wields the powers of fire and ice. Fluttershy is also an Elementalist, but a gifted one as she is capable of controlling both plants and animals. Rarity is a Gem Mage, which means she has the ability to focus her magic through several powerful gems. Pinkie Pie is an illusionist and trickster. Spitfire is a Fire Elementalist, Soarin is a Wind Elementalist, and Fleetfoot is an Ice Elementalist."
"What about us your highness?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"What special magic do we have?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that yet," Celestia said.
Pinkie raised a brow in curiosity. "What do you mean, yet?"
Celestia sighed, knowing that this would be a lot tougher than she expected.
"As I said, most of you have powerful magic. I also have a powerful magic. My magic, however, allows me to see through time."
"So...you can see into the future and stuff?" Rainbow asked, putting down Scootaloo as Soarin sat down Rainbow.
"In a way, yes." Celestia said. "But I can only see glimpses, and I never know how events truly happened or what causes them to happen."
Flash, sensing the pain in Celestia's voice, decided to speak for her.
"Her majesty saw the damage Chrysalis was doing and to prevent it she sent a group to capture her."
"But because she didn't know the outcome they were captured." Twilight summed up.
"Correct as always, my faithful student," Celestia said with a weak smile.
"But I saw another glimpse, this one with all of you in it. I don't know what exactly, but you are all required to prevent this necromancer from destroying our home.
"But as we have already said, this is not your responsibility to bear. If you choose not to do it, then you don't have to. The choice is yours, if you choose not to help then you may leave the room."
Nobody moved an inch.
"Then it's settled. Your highness?" Flash asked.
Celestia snapped her fingers and the group vanished in the blink of an eye.
Enchantria was built off magic, as it was founded because of the discovery of rich resources that can help to harness magic.
These resources were Gold, Silver, gems, and iron.
Gems like Topaz, Opal, Sapphire, and Ruby are able to harness the powers of certain elements, so Elemental weapons are made with Elemental-Gem infused steel or wood.
Precious metals like Gold and Silver, while very weak and flimsy compared to the strength of steel, had great value as they were ranked 14 on the M.C. scale (M.C. stood for Magic Capacity).
The scale could describe how much magic could be implanted inside the metal, the max being 20 and the minimum being 5.
The only resource known for having a max output of 20 on the M.C. scale is the gem known as Diamond.
These various resources have been mined and smelted into various weapons of both close combat and ranged combat.
Where are these weapons made, you might ask? Why, in the Armory of course.
The Armory was a large building that had 2 main functions: building weapons and housing them.
Half of the Armory was the forge.
The forge was a hot and steamy room comprised of multiple stone furnaces and red hot molten iron that was poured into weapon designs.
The other side of the Armory was more clean and organized, with white walls and polished floors.
A small, pale woman sat at the desk in front of the doorway, tending to some business on her clipboard while casting a few glances towards the entrance.
The woman soon found herself on the floor as she fell back in her chair when the group appeared from thin air. She quickly got up and dusted herself off before addressing the group.
"Greetings, your majesty, what brings you hear this wonderful morning?" She asked in a sweet tone.
"I need access to the vault. Would you be so kind to provide clearance?" Celestia asked.
"Oh, but to do that you would need-" the woman cut herself off when she saw Flash.
"Oh, he's here. Follow me." The woman said, walking down the hall while the group followed suite.
After a while they soon came to the end of the hallway where a large vault door stood before them. Two large, muscular, giants, standing at 10 feet tall, clad in golden armor and golden helmets that concealed their faces.
"Captain," they both said in unison, slightly bowing as Flash approached the vault door.
"Gentleman," Flash greeted back, coming to a stop and folding his arms. "You know what to do."
The left giant nodded to the right giant, and they pulled out two giant keys attached to a leather cord from around their necks.
They put their keys into two different slots and turned in unison.
There was a loud clank, and the vault handle began to turn counterclockwise.
The spinning handle came to a halt and the door swung open slowly.
Everyone entered and was awestruck at what they saw.
The vault was over ten times bigger in width and height compared to the hallway they were just in.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were white and shiny like the hallway, lit by the lights hanging from the ceiling.
There were metal shelvesthat were organized much like the wooden bookshelves in a library, only these selves held weapons and tools instead of books.
Well, actually, there was a shelf that contained magic books bound by chains, but it was mostly weapons.
*CLANK!*
The group came to a halt as the two giants crossed spears and blocked the group's path.
The two large guards glared down at them.
"We are the keepers of the vault," the right giant spoke.
"And as the keepers it is our right to enforce the rules of the vault," the left giant answered.
"Rules that you will obey," the right giant said.
"Lest you wish to suffer the consequences!" They both stated, their voices booming with authority and power.
The Applebloom and Sweetie Belle hid behind their older siblings, Scootaloo hid behind Rainbow, and everyone else braced themselves, putting on a brave face, trying to hide their fear.
"The first rule," the left giant spoke. "You may take only what you need, not what you want."
"The second rule," the right giant spoke. "No weaponry or tools are to be tampered with, damaged, or destroyed."
"The third rule," the left giant spoke. "You are not allowed to take from the Dark Section of the library. You may look but you cannot take."
"The fourth and final rule," the right giant spoke. "You may give the vault something of great value in return for something of equal value from the vault."
"Failure to comply with these rules will result in divine punishment. Do you understand?" The two giants asked.
"The group understands the rules of the vault and accepts the conditions required," Celestia answered.
The spears were lifted and the two giants moved to the side, allowing the group to enter.
"Go, choose your weapon. But remember, you are to take only what you need, not what you want."
With that, the group spread out to search for their new equipment.
But as Soarin was about to go off, a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned around and saw that the hand belonged to Flash, and he had a serious look on his face.
"Soarin, I want you to keep an eye on Rainbow," he stated, pointing a thumb over his shoulder at the still handcuffed Skyborn girl who was staring at a large portable metal cannon with a look of avarice in her eyes.
"Make sure she doesn't try to steal something that doesn't belong to her."
Soarin nodded and ran towards Rainbow.
With everyone busy searching, Flash made his way towards his weapon of choice.
The group had so many choices, from swords to cannons, but the giant's warning was still fresh in their mind.
The warning definitely made it difficult for Applejack to chose her weapon.
"Hey, sis!"
Applejack whipped around and her eyes went wide at the sight of her little sister wobbling under the weight of the large steel mace with sharp spikes sticking out of the club in her hands.
Applejack stormed towards Applebloom and yanked the mace from her hands.
"Just what in tarnation do ya think you're doing?!" Applejack demanded, placing the mace where there was an empty rack, assuming that's where it belonged.
"I'm picking out a weapon! Ah'm gonna need one if Ah'm gonna fight, right?" Applebloom asked.
The moment she finished her sentence, her eyes moved over to a gold bladed short-sword with black leather wrapped around its hilt.
"You're not fighting," Applejack said firmly, kneeling down to Applebloom's level and holding her shoulders.
"You're ma little sister, so I can't afford to lose ya, Bloom."
"*ahem*"
The soft, yet audible, clearing of someone's throat caught the two Apple's attention.
They turned around and saw a woman with pale skin, beautiful blonde hair, and yellow eyes with the left one slightly crooked who wore a grey librarian outfit and a kind smile on her face.
"Sorry to intrude but you placed Majon in the sword section when it belongs in the mace and hammer section," The woman stated, lifting the mace Applebloom had and walking to the row of shelves a few feet away from the sword section, where she placed the mace back where it belonged.
"Now then," the woman stood in front of the two sisters and introduced herself and her intentions.
"Hello, my name is Ditzy and I am the vault's librarian. I am tasked with keeping everything neat and organized as well as helping out with people's choice of weaponry. And from the look of it, you two could use some help."
The two sister exchanged a glance before Applejack stood up and introduced herself.
"Hi, ma name-"
"I'm well aware of who you are, Applejack and Applebloom," The woman said.
"If you'll follow me, I believe I know the perfect tool for you."
Ditzy started walking into the section two shelves over, with the two Apple sisters following.
"Excuse me, Miss Ditzy," Applebloom spoke up, "but by any chance are you a...you know...are you a-"
"See-er? Why yes I am, and by gosh, you have a very sharp mind Applebloom," Ditzy grinned.
"A See-er? Ya mean you're a mind reader?" Applejack asked in surprise.
"I thought See-er's didn't exist, on account of how rare the gift is. Not to mention how dangerous."
"While I admit my gift has its perks, it's also a lot like a curse," Ditzy sighed solemnly.
"How can reading minds be such a curse?" Applebloom asked.
Ditzy turned her head and pointed to her crooked eye.
"It was fine at first, but I looked into the wrong mind and it nearly fried mine. I'm lucky to be alive," Ditzy said before coming to a stop.
"Ah, there he is."
Applejack and Applebloom stopped to see the weapon Ditzy was pointing at.
It was a hammer, with a golden handle and two silver faces for its hammer.
It had a three gems lined up from where the handle met hammer.
Two red triangular rubies, both facing out, and a white octagon shaped opal between the two rubies.
The hammer was chained to the shelf with many silver chains that had hot red marks on them.
Ditzy snapped her fingers and the chains came undone, slithering away like snakes. "Don't worry, all you have to do is pick it up," the librarian said.
"Um...alright," Applejack said, hesitantly reaching for the hammer.
As her hand was merely inches away from the handle, the two silver parts of the hammer flattened into blades and became engulfed in red flames.
It let out a roar and shook violently on its shelf, and Applejack retracted her hand before the hammer could touch it.
"It's...it's alive?!" Applejack shouted in panic.
"I would hope so," Ditzy said.
"It would be a terrible thing if Prothous died."
"Well what are you waiting for? Pick it up already."
"But...it..." Applejack stammered.
"Look, Jack, can I call you Jack? I'm the librarian. I know every weapon and tool here, so when I say this weapon is best suited for you, I mean it. Now quit screwing around and PICK IT UP FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE!" Ditzy screamed.
"Yes ma'am!" Applejack saluted, and her military instincts kicked in as she obediently picked up the handle and held it in front of her.
The hammer, Prothous, roared and thrashed in Applejack's grip, but eventually its roar lessened to a growl and its thrashing slowed.
It's fiery blades slowly extinguished and grew back into the flat silver hammer it appeared as.
"There, you see, that wasn't too hard now, was it?" Ditzy asked before frowning and turning away.
"Excuse me for a moment," Ditzy said, snapping her fingers.
She then disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Twilight Sparkle was many things, but the one thing everybody knew about her was that she loved books and had an unquenchable thirst for them.
"Twilight, what are you doing?!" Spike demanded, holding his head in his two claws.
Twilight, who was leaning back against the shelf with an opened black hardcover book in her lap, looked up and answered.
"I'm just reading Spike, no need to make a big deal out of it."
Twilight rolled her eyes, returning to her book.
"Yeah, but you're reading a book from the Dark Section! You know, the one place we're not supposed to be!" Spike pointed out.
"They said we could look, not take," Twilight stated, "and besides, this is a spell book by Starswirl the Bearded. I just wanted to view some of his work before-"
"Attention everyone, the vault will be closing soon. Please head to the entrance at once," Ditzy's voice could be heard across the entire vault.
"WHAT?!" Twilight shrieked.
"But I'm not done! I'm not even halfway through, how am I gonna finish this?!"
An idea popped into her head as she snapped her fingers, summoning a book and quill.
Flash stood still as a statue, his arms folded and his gaze fixed on the sheathed sword in the display case.
It was a two handed longsword, with a hilt wrapped in black leather, and gold guard that had a diamond in the center of the cross-guard.
"Why do you hesitate?"
Flash's eyes shifted to the left where Ditzy now stood, her hands folded behind her back.
"It's your sword, you made it. Yet you gave it to the vault...do you not like it or something?" Ditzy asked, doing her best not to peer into Flash's head.
"You know exactly why I put my sword here," Flash said, and his eyes shifted back to the sword on display.
"It's too powerful, even I don't trust myself with it."
"But you might need that kind of power, you know, since you're going up against a necromancer and all."
Flash looked at Ditzy with a raised brow.
"Sorry," Ditzy apologized, kicking her left leg.
"Couldn't help myself."
Flash walked up to the sword and grabbed it.
He loosened the straps of his sheath and tied them to his waist.
"Well, you know what you always say," Flash said.
"Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it," Ditzy cheekily replied.
The group rejoined at the entrance, almost everyone wielding a new weapon.
Twilight had been given a new wooden twisting staff with a multi-colored gem at the top, Fluttershy had been given a bo staff, Pinkie had been given a set of daggers and knives, Rarity had been given a pair of gloves bedazzled with various gems on the knuckles, Soarin had been given a pale blue Wind Naginata, Spitfire had been given a Flameblade, Fleetfoot had been given two Frostblades, Applebloom had been given a portable kit for making potions, Sweetie Belle had been given a flute made of enchanted silver, and Scootaloo had been given a pair of roller blades enchanted for speed.
"Has everyone been given a new weapon or tool?" Celestia asked.
The entire group nodded.
Well, almost the entire group.
"Yeah, that librarian lady wouldn't let me get anything because of the fact that I'm handcuffed," Rainbow Dash said.
"Plus, I'd like my bow back, anyways."
"Two words: Not happening," Flash answered.
"Why? I can't just go and fight a bunch of undead freaks without a weapon!" Dash argued.
"Well, for starters, it's an elemental weapon. Only Wonderbolts may carry those. Second, you're two dangerous," Flash replied.
"Well, I have an idea on what she can use," Celestia chimed in.
"You're good with a sword, yes?" The princess asked.
"I dabble," Rainbow said proudly.
"Well, good, then you can use this," Celestia said.
She snapped her fingers, and Dash's handcuffs disappeare.
"That's better," the rainbow haired girl said.
Celestia snapped again, this time summoning in a broadsword.
The sword had a steel blade, a dark gray hilt, and its handle was wrapped in a reddish-brown leather.
"This is a Knight's Broadsword. It is only used by the elite Knights of Enchantria, the best knights in the kingdom. I'm trusting you with this, Rainbow Dash. Screw this up, and you're in big trouble," Celestia said, handing Rainbow the sword and its sheath.
Dash fastened the brown leather sheath around her waist with ecstasy, her eyes wide with pride.
Now, then, we must leave, time is of the essence-"
*CLANG!*
Just as the group was exiting, two spears crossed and blocked Twilight's path.
Before Twilight could protest a brown softcover book was levitated from her robe and the giant on the left snatched it up quickly.
The giant opened the book and looked through its pages before closing it up once he was finished looking through it.
"Twilight Sparkle, you have stolen from the vault," the giant stated.
The group became shocked.
"What?! No, I didn't steal anything!" Twilight protested.
"You have copied the contents of a book belonging to the vault. You have stolen knowledge that does not belong to you," the right giant spoke.
"For your transgression, you must be punished!" The two giants declared, their voices filled with rage.
"Wait!" Flash shouted, putting himself between Twilight and the two furious giants.
"You said that we could trade some things for anything of equal value, right? So what if Twilight gave you something of equal value for the book?"
"The book is a copy of spells by Starswirl the Bearded," the right giant stated.
"There is nothing of equal value," the left giant said.
"Then...then..." Flash stalled, trying to think of a way to solve the problem.
"Then punish me. It was my idea for Twilight to copy the book. It's my fault, I must take responsibility."
"If this is true," the left giant started.
"Then you shall be punished instead of Twilight Sparkle," The right giant finished.
"Do you accept this responsibility, Flash Sentry of Enchantria?" The two demanded.
"I do," Flash answered, standing firm.
The two giants raised their spears, the golden tips aimed towards Flash.
The tips began to glow a fiery red as they began to collect magic.
"Flash Sentry of Enchantria," the two giants spoke.
"YOU HAVE SINNED!"
A beam of powerful magic rained down onto Flash, his entire body engulfed in the pillar of burning magic.
He dropped to his knees and roared in pain as he was mercilessly pounded by the magic.
Half a minute passed and the giants had decided that Flash had received his punishment.
With that they ceased the flow of magic, leaving smoke to fume from the tips of their spears and from Flash's crippled body.
"Punishment has been received," the right giant stated.
"You may keep the weapons you need," the left giant said.
"But the book belongs to the vault. Now leave at once," the two giants ordered.
"FSH, AH!" Flash cringed as Twilight's purple aura grazed the red burn on Flash's arm.
"Sorry!" Twilight apologized for the 137th time.
"I'm not used to healing magic, sorry," 138th now.
The group had re-entered the meeting room where they were all introduced to their mission.
Flash sat in one of the chairs, his skin red and burned by the giant's magic, while he was being healed by Twilight.
Celestia left to prepare travel for the group and their destination.
"Honestly Twilight, how could you be so stupid!" Rainbow shouted, berating Twilight.
"I know, I'm sorry, I didn't think-"
"You didn't what? You didn't think that maybe copying down stuff in a book counted as stealing?!" Rainbow demanded.
"Look what you did to him!" Rainbow shouted, pointing at Flash.
Twilight seemed on the verge of crying.
Fluttershy saw this and tried to calm things down.
"Rainbow, please stop," she pleaded.
"You're hurting her!"
Rainbow whipped her head towards Fluttershy.
"Good!" She snapped.
"I hope this hurts, so maybe next time she won't do something so stupid!"
"I hate to admit it, but Rainbow's right," Soarin agreed.
"Why would you do something like that when you knew it would be stealing?"
"Now hold on a minute," Rarity interjected.
"Would you look what you're doing to the poor thing? Surely there's a better way to solve this without harsh words!"
"Pfft. Yeah, right," Spitfire scoffed. "Listen lady, take it from the captain of the Wonderbolts. The only way anybody ever learns is through pain. But you wouldn't understand something like that now would you?"
"And jus' what's that supposed ta mean?" Applejack asked.
"I think you know exactly what it means, Hillbilly," Fleetfoot spat.
Applejack reached for the golden handle of her hammer behind her back and gripped it with both hands.
Detecting her rage, the hammer slimed down into blades and became engulfed in flames while letting out a low growl.
"Call me Hillbilly again," Applejack's grip tightened.
"I dare ya."
"You wanna fight Hillbilly? I'll gladly oblige, I've been itching to test out my new weapon anyways," Fleetfoot stated, unsheathing her new Frostblade, which began to give off cold blue mist.
"Don't worry Applejack," Rarity said as both she and Pinkie braced themselves to fight.
"We've got your back."
"Don't think we're just gonna stand by," Spitfire said, unsheathing her Flameblade.
Rainbow sided with the Wonderbolts and drew her new sword.
Everyone else just stayed out of what was about to happen. Both sides glared at the other, and their weapons flared up with magic and they were ready to clash in battle.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!"
All eyes were locked on Flash, who was sitting upright with his left eye tightly shut and his body throbbing in pain.
"You, all of you, are here because Enchantria is in danger, and instead of working together you decide to go at each other's throats!" Flash roared, half angry at the group and half angry because of the burning pain.
"Rainbow Dash, stop yelling at Twilight about her mistake when you yourself were imprisoned for attacking the Royal Guard," Flash stated, causing Rainbow to hang her head low in shame.
"And the rest of you, I don't know what differences you all have and I don't care. We're a team, and as a team we all have to work together. So figure that out!"
The group all lowered their heads in shame, silently regretting what they had said.
"Twilight I'm...I'm sorry. What I said was mean and...I was being a jerk. Do you forgive me?" Rainbow asked, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly.
Twilight wiped away a tear and sniffed before replying.
"Yeah...yeah I forgive you Rainbow. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused."
An aura of awkward silence filled the room like an invisible mist.
Pinkie hated this mist and decided to do something about it.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, jumping from her chair.
"You know what we need?"
"If you start singing, I'm gonna punch you in the face," Rainbow threatened, holding up a balled fist.
"No, silly," Pinkie chuckled. "
What we need is a name."
"A name?" Fluttershy asked.
"A name," Pinkie nodded.
"We are a team, alright, and every team has a name. So why shouldn't we have one?" Pinkie asked.
"But it can't be any name, it has to be a name that describes our team."
"Something awesome," Rainbow added.
"Somethin' with authority," Applejack added.
"Something that's fast!" Scootaloo yelled excited.
"Something well educated," Rarity added.
"Something...easy to say?" Fluttershy answered in an unsure tone.
"Something that describes our military position," Spitfire added.
"What about...the Main 6?" Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Uh, there's fourteen of us Sweetie," Applebloom pointed out.
The group began calling off names for the team name, but nobody could agree on one.
Spike rubbed his chin thinking of a team name for something awesome, that had authority, that meant speed, that had educated words, was easy to pronounce, and described their military position.
A light bulb turned on inside Spike's head as he suggested his idea for the team name.
"Hey everybody!" Spike shouted, getting everyone's attention.
"What if we named the team, 'Blitz Brigade'?"
"Blitz Brigade?" Rainbow asked, tilting her head in confusion. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Blitz is a word for speed, it's an educated word and it is really easy to say. Brigade means a large army, which makes it have authority and is a way to define our military stature, and together the two words are flat out awesome," Spike explained.
The group pondered about naming their group 'Blitz Brigade'.
"Well I think it's a great name," Flash stated, standing up.
"All those in favor of calling our team 'Blitz Brigade,' please raise your hand."
"It could be twenty percent cooler, if you ask me, but it'll do," Dash said as she reluctantly raised her hand.
Everyone else shot their hands up into the air.
"There you have it. From this point forward we will forever be known as Blitz Brigade," Flash stated.
"Now let's move out!" |
Necropolis | Chapter Six: The Adventure Begins | The doors opened, and Celestia stepped forth into the room to greet the awaiting group.
"I have arranged transportation, but in the meantime, how is Captain Sentry doing?" She asked as her gaze landed on the Skyborn.
"I'll be fine, m'lady," Flash answered heartily.
Celestia nodded. "That is good to hear. Now, please, follow me."
"Excuse me, Princess," Fluttershy spoke up.
"Yes, Fluttershy?" Celestia replied, turning her head back to Fluttershy while still walking.
"Um...if you don't mind me asking, just how are we supposed to get to...actually, where are we going...if you don't mind me asking," Fluttershy said timidly.
Celestia gave a smile and answered, "You will all be traveling to where the Royal Guard were sent to, the village known as Harpystone."
"Hey! I have an old friend who lives in Harpystone! She's a harpy, of course, but, I just wanted to point that out. Yeah, she and I go way back, back to when school was over. She taught me how to fend for myself, and sh-!" Rainbow Dash blurted out, but she was cut off by Fleetfoot.
"Yeah, yeah, that's great!" She said sarcastically. "Seriously, no one cares."
Rainbow replied with a frown and a rude hand gesture.
"Anyways, that's not too far from here, about an hour long trip if we take the train," Applejack stated.
"I'm afraid that transportation by train isn't available. Due to the threat, I've blocked off all train routes to any cities that may be or have been attacked," Celestia explained.
"So...how are we getting to Harpystone then?" Rainbow asked.
Throughout time, humans have adapted to live in the harsh world they had been born into.
On their own they could not survive the harshest of threats, but it was through tools and weapons that they became the top of the world.
As time past, humans waged war against other humans for various reasons, such as resources, wealth, power, and sometimes just for fun.
It was war that caused the advancement of technology to increase, such as discovering iron, learning to make weapons for long range, taming animals, and of course discovering how to use magic.
But before magic was discovered, man had to rely on the use of swords, armor, and shields. But in that time there was an animal that became a key in every war.
Horses.
Yes, horses.
Strong bodied beasts, powerful enough to pull large carts of crops and materials as well as trampling the enemy in war.
To this day horses are still used for practically everything, farming, carrying supplies, or sometimes just a means for transportation.
Horses were the most useful creature in Enchantria, and thus the need for them grew, and as such so did the breeding rate.
But right now, we find Blitz Brigade standing in front of the Royal Guard horse stalls.
Wooden buildings aligned in rows were filled with horses waiting behind wooden doors in their stalls.
Rarity pinched her nose shut as a sharp smell entered her nostrils.
"PEE-YOO!" She exclaimed. "What is that disgusting smell?!"
"Horse poop, duh." Pinkie answered.
"Shouldn't be," Flash scratched his head to think of what Rarity was smelling.
"The horses don't go to the bathroom in their stalls, normally they just go outside but it's always shoveled up and given to the..." Flash trailed off before snapping his fingers, "Oh that's right! We give all waste to the botanists so they can turn it into manure."
"Well that explains it." Rarity grimaced before sighing.
"Is there no other way to travel to Harpyrock, or whatever, besides riding a horse?" She asked Celestia, who only gave her a slow shake of the head.
"Alright, it doesn't matter which horse you choose. Each one should be healthy and ready to go, once you've picked out your horse have somebody saddle him or her up and wait outside," Flash explained.
"Say, Flash." Rainbow said, casually resting her elbow on Flash's shoulder with a suggestive tone and a cocky grin. "Can you be a pal and tell me which one of these horses is the fastest?"
"You're not getting a horse," Flash responded nonchalantly, to which Rainbow recoiled back in shock.
"WHAT?!" She screamed. "Why not?!"
"Because if we gave you a horse you'd most likely run away with it, we're not idiots you know," Flash stated. "But don't worry, you will be riding a horse. You'll just be riding with someone else to keep you in check."
"This is degrading my basic human rights!" Rainbow protested, until her lips were magically sealed shut by Twilight's magic.
"You have the right to remain silent." Twilight said with a triumphant grin as Rainbow fumed with anger and gave yet another suggestive gesture.
Everyone observed the horses that snorted and whined every now and then, circling in their stalls. There were many horses to choose from, all ranging in various colors of white, grey, brown, and black.
The CMC were assigned to three ponies that fit their size, while everyone else was still trying to choose.
Twilight tapped her chin in thought, trying to come to a decision. Every time she narrowed her choice down to two horses, another would enter the equation and make everything more difficult. It made it nearly impossible to choose.
There was a tap on her shoulder, asking her to turn around. Twilight did and saw Fluttershy behind her with that warm and gentle smile of hers. She grabbed Twilight's hand and urged her to follow.
"Come on, there's something Flash and I want to show you," Fluttershy said, pulling Twilight out of the stall.
The two made their way towards the plains and forest where the horses roamed.
They entered the forest and Fluttershy led Twilight deeper in, and the deeper they went the more vegetation they saw. It wasn't until they came across a pond that sparkled in the sun's rays that they stopped and waited.
"What are we-" Twilight started, but was almost instantly interrupted.
"Shhh!" Fluttershy hissed, placing a finger over her lips.
The two continued to wait until they heard twigs and branches snapping and the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.
The two looked towards the source of the noise, and surprisingly, they saw a herd of horses.
But these weren't the average looking horses, as they were not white, black, grey, or brown like their brothers and sisters at the Royal Guard stables. These were horses that had been exposed to magic, and it had altered the way they looked. They were still horses, as their figure and shape remained the same, but their manes and coats were different.
There were twelve horses, and it became thirteen as a strong-looking stallion entered with Flash riding him.
The stallion had a bright white coat, a blue mane and tail, and brown eyes. The horse strode up to Fluttershy and Twilight, standing tall and powerful before them. Flash dismounted himself from the horse and patted him on the head.
"His name is Gradius, he's my personal mount and a very loyal friend," Flash said as he introduced Gradius, as he undid knots on the saddle. "He's no normal horse you see," Flash paused and jumped back as two strong and powerful feathered wings flared from the horses sides and he posed majestically. "He's actually a Pegasus."
Twilight stood in awe at the magnificent horse, her mouth opened wide. She realized this and quickly shut it before looking to the other horses. "Are they all Pegasi?" she asked.
Flash shook his head. "Nope, Gradius is the only one. But, speaking of the herd, let me show you why I had Fluttershy bring you here." Putting two fingers in his mouth, Flash made a unique whistle to which only two horses heard and galloped over to the girls. One was a mare with a grass green coat of fur, dark green mane and tail, and sea blue eyes. The other was a stallion with a black coat of fur, lavender mane and tail, and purple eyes.
"This is Gabriel, your brother's horse," Flash said, introducing the stallion.
"This was...Shining's horse?" She asked and Flash nodded to confirm her answer.
Twilight raised her hand and slowly reached for the stallion, but when her hand was close Gabriel shook his head and took a few steps back while giving off a warning snort which made Twilight freeze for a moment. But she continued to reach for the horse, gently placing her hand on his muzzle and petting him lightly, to which Gabriel gave an appreciated sigh.
"So...what makes Gabriel so special?" She asked, assuming all of those in the herd had an extraordinary trait.
Flash answered by drawing a steel sword from his sheath and raising it above his head as he aimed for Gabriel's neck. Twilight's went wide as she realized what he intended to do.
"Wait, no, stop!" She cried out, her mind to confused to cast any magic to stop Flash as the sword came down on the neck of Gabriel.
And it snapped in two the moment it came in contact with Gabriel's neck. The top part of the blade spun backwards before sticking itself into the ground behind Twilight.
Flash held up the now shortened sword to show off the damage. "Gabriel is an Ironhide. This means that his skin is made of a dense material that only diamond is known to pierce," Flash explained.
Twilight let out a sigh of relief now knowing that Gabriel's life wasn't in danger, but a curious thought entered her mind and so she decided to ask, "Why are these horses out here roaming free while the others are kept in stalls? Is there something special about them?"
"As a matter of fact there is," Flash said with a grin. "All of these horses belong to a high ranking member in Enchantalot. See that horse right there?" Flash asked, pointing to a horse whose dark blue coat resembled the night sky with tiny white dots scattered throughout the coat. His mane and tail were the same as his coat, and his eyes were completely white.
"That blind horse is Potter, he belongs to General Nox, he's been known to be able to teleport. The horse, not Nox." Flash clarified.
"And that pompous horse right there." Flash pointed to a horse with a white coat, blond mane and tail that was neatly tied and fashionably presented, and blue eyes. "That horse is Stomper, he belongs to Duke Blueblood, and just like his master, he's a spoiled, stubborn mule. He's an Ironhide like Gabriel."
"Wait a minute," Twilight spoke up, noticing Fluttershy grooming the other mare's sides with a brush she had from her bag of tools. "If all these horses belong to important members of Enchantalot, then does that make Fluttershy a-"
"Oh goodness no," Fluttershy interjected, before apologizing for it. "I'm sorry to cut you off, but I'm nobody special. This dei-uh, I mean horse's name is Eve." She said, introducing the horse who hid behind Fluttershy.
"Eve is a Woodscolt," Flash begin to explain. "A Woodscolt is a creature that is able to shapeshift and manipulate nature. It was Eve that taught Fluttershy her nature magic."
Twilight stared at Eve and Fluttershy in amazement.
"Welp, we best get moving. Wouldn't want to keep everyone waiting," Flash said as all three of them exited the forest.
Rainbow sat on a stump of a cut down tree, her chin resting in her hands, her elbows resting on her knees, and a sour frown on her face.
"Hiya Rainbow Dash," A peppy voice greeted the depressed Skyborn.
Rainbow's eyes glanced to the left and she saw Scootaloo mounted on a pony with a white coat and black spots, blonde mane that covered the pony's eyes and long tail, and hair covering her hooves. Scootaloo dismounted and walked up to Rainbow.
"So, how ya been?" She asked, standing on her tiptoes and going back to balancing on her two feet.
Rainbow's response was a grunt as she stood up and walked away from the kid.
"Hey! Wait up!" Scootaloo shouted, running after Rainbow.
Scootaloo caught up to Rainbow who had her arms crossed and was stomping in frustration with an angry look on her face. Scootaloo crossed her arms, stomped like Rainbow was doing, and made the same angry face that Rainbow was. Rainbow noticed this and uncrossed her arms while staring at Scootaloo with a raised brow, and Scootaloo did the same as though she was Rainbow's reflection in a mirror.
Rainbow did various poses and faces, and Scootaloo did all of them in perfect unison. Rainbow decided to put a stop to it.
She turned around and stood in front of Scootaloo, blocking her path.
"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked nicely, her tone hinting her pent up rage.
"I'm just trying to talk to you," Scootaloo explained. "You're the one trying to avoid talking to me."
"Well, maybe it's because I don't want to talk," Rainbow stated, crossing her arms defensively.
"Yes you do." Scootaloo said, taking a seat on the ground. "Take a seat and tell me what's bothering you."
"What's bothering me?" Rainbow shouted. "You wanna know what's bothering me? Well why don't we start with the fact I'm not even trusted with a horse, I got thrown in jail, I'm labeled a criminal, I attacked the guard, not to mention killed one, I steal money just to survive, and my idols think I'm a joke when the only reason I'm even doing all this stuff is just so I can at least get a shred of their attention!
"Do you have any idea how much I want to be a Wonderbolt?! How many times I apply for the job only to get rejected?! How devastated I always am when I give it my all and they still don't accept me?!" Rainbow was sobbing now, her body caved in and she collapsed onto her knees.
"You have no idea what it's like," Dash croaked, her head hung low. "You have no idea what it's like to be ignored by the people you worship."
"Actually..." Scootaloo sighed. "I do know what that's like. Because you always ignore me."
Rainbow's head perked up when she heard that.
"I know you may not believe this but I'm just like you. I don't have a home or a family to take care of me. I have to steal so I can buy food and water. But you wanna know the worst part about it? It's that when I was alone, there was nobody else that was abandoned like me.
"But then I saw you, I saw you stealing stuff and running from the guards with that taunting smile on your face. I saw you and I thought, 'There's somebody like me, somebody who has to steal and is all alone'. After you had shaken off the guards I approached you and asked if you and I could team up," Scootaloo smirked. "But you just said 'Sorry kid, I don't do teams,' and then you took off.
"But that didn't stop me, I knew what you were going through, I knew you were hurting inside and that you were all alone. And soon after our encounter, for the first time, I had friends, friends that cared about me, that told me that I'm not alone in this world," Scootaloo said as she stood up and embraced Rainbow in a hug.
"So let me be the first to tell you, you're not alone, you're not weak, you're strong and powerful, and above all else, you're the most awesome girl I have ever met."
Rainbow was at a loss for words. Her mind was completely blank, her body was frozen, and she had no idea what she was supposed to do or be doing. So, she did the only thing that came to mind, she hugged Scootaloo back and held her tightly. Scootaloo patted Rainbow on the back, reassuring her that everything was going to alright.
"Ahem."
Rainbow pushed off of Scootaloo and turned around to see Soarin awkwardly standing behind them, holding the rope to his horse. Rainbow quickly wiped away her tears and gave a weak smile as she stood up.
"H-h-hey Soarin, what's up?" She asked, her voice still shaken.
Soarin sighed as he slowly approached Rainbow and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her right in the eyes.
"I'm sorry. I know you might not think that good of me, but the reason your applications were always rejected was because of Spits and Fleet," Soarin began to explain. "See, as the three captains of the Wonderbolts it's the majority vote that decides if the application passes or fails."
"So...Spitfire...and Fleetfoot...rejected every application I sent?" Rainbow asked, the pieces slowly falling into place. Soarin nodded, and Rainbow's sadness turned to subtle anger.
"I'm sorry, I knew I should've told you sooner," Soarin said, and he began to walk away.
Rainbow wasn't going to allow this to happen."Hey, Soarin, how would you feel about me riding with you?"
As the day progressed, everyone had been given a horse and a saddle upon which to ride. Now all that was left was to pack supplies for the long ride to Harpystone.
Everyone had been given a backpack and two bags that attached to the horse's saddle.
The contents in the bags were various supplies such as food and water, tents, sleeping bags, maps, compasses, fire starters, lanterns, and other tools and utensils.
Flash already had his supplies ready, but when he looked to see how everyone else was doing he saw that they were having trouble getting the supplies compact. Flash couldn't help them, he decided it was best that they learned on their own or they wouldn't learn at all.
"I see you decided to bring your sword."
Flash was slightly startled by Celestia suddenly appearing next to him, but that didn't stop him from responding.
"I only plan to use it if necessary," he stated.
"I know you do," Celestia smiled warmly, "but should the occasion ever arise, I hope you are capable of controlling that power."
"Princess," Flash spoke, deciding to change the subject. "About that message, what Chrysalis said. What did she mean by that?"
Celestia's expression became sad and somber. "It is a prophecy," the Princess answered.
"One foretold long ago, about the lights going dark and the world being plunged into an eternal nightmare, as the avatar of darkness would devour this world," Celestia explained. "The prophecy came to pass a thousand years ago, after I killed the avatar of darkness and sealed her remains in various prisons."
"But there's no way this all happened in one night, is there?" Flash asked.
"No, the avatar lived amongst us for a while, hidden from my sight. While she was hidden she created many artifacts and weapons from her magic. I too scattered these across the world and sealed them away," Celestia explained, a painful look in her eyes.
"Let me guess, that scythe and book are dark artifacts aren't they?" Flash asked.
"No, the scythe is not one of them, but the book is, it is known as the Book of Black, a foul and cursed book that holds dark and evil spells within. No doubt Chrysalis is being used by her to try and find the remaining weapons," Celestia said.
"This 'avatar of darkness' you speak of, she was close to you wasn't she?" Flash asked, knowing the pain of losing someone.
"In a way...yes, she was very close to my heart, and although I suffered more pain than anyone could imagine, I knew the person I loved was gone, replaced by the monster that was the avatar of darkness," Celestia sighed.
"Well...thank you for your time Princess. But I think it'd be best if we got going," Flash said, as Blitz Brigade was finally ready to head out.
As Flash mounted Gradius, he pulled on the rope to guide him to where he was to go.
"Flash," Celestia called out, causing Flash to turn around and look behind him.
"Take it from me, the past cannot be undone, we can only look to the future. Forgive yourself for your brother's fate, and move on like he would want you to do."
Flash turned back around and not facing Celestia he responded, "I'll keep that in mind, Princess."
Everyone was ready for the adventure that awaited them. The CMC had ponies, Rainbow Dash and Soarin were riding the same horse, Rarity was trying to find a comfortable spot on her saddle, and Pinkie was painting random dots on her horse with a paintbrush while putting glitter in her horse's mane, but the strangest of all was that horse seemed to be enjoying it.
Once everyone was ready and present, they trotted to the gate and took a final glance at Enchantalot as it shrunk the further they went from it.
"Are we there yet?" Rainbow Dash groaned, resting her cheek against the horse's neck.
"DON'T YOU DARE EVEN START!" Applejack yelled back.
"Okay, okay!" Dash said, holding her hands up defensively. "I admit, saying that was probably a dick move. But I mean come on, we've been out here for days."
"First: we've only been out here for two hours and thirty seven minutes," Twilight stated in agitation. "Second: Harpystone is a four hour journey by horse."
"I think everyone just needs to calm down," Fluttershy said, trying to ease the anger between everyone. "I know we're all frustrated with traveling, but we're almost there."
"Speak for yourself Flutters," Pinkie said, doing a handstand on her horse's head. "Greg and I are as happy as we could be."
"Well at least you can move freely," Spitfire grumbled.
"Everyone quit yer griping, if you're gonna moan and complain then just shut yer trap," Applejack snapped.
"Watch your tongue, Hillbilly," Fleetfoot hissed. "Don't forget who you're talking to."
Applejack opened her mouth to protest but quickly shut it as she remembered her place in the military order.
"We are a team," Flash stated, "and as a team your rank means nothing, here we're all equal, we work as one and we get the job done no matter what. But let me assure you that if there is any mention of rank in this team I will not hesitate to punish whoever responsible."
"Pffft," Fleetfoot scoffed. "Oh, I'm so scared!"
As Flash was passing by a large boulder, he raised his arm and it became engulfed in blue and golden magic. His fist struck the boulder and several cracks split throughout the entire inner and outer structure before it collapsed into a pile of pieces.
Flash, showing off his arm which still radiated with magic, glared at everyone behind him and with a tone of authority and strength said, "Get the message?"
Everyone vigorously nodded.
"Good." Flash said, lowering his arm and turning back around.
Twilight strode up next to Flash.
"Give me your arm," Twilight ordered, pointing at Flash's arm that struck the boulder.
"Why?" Flash asked as though nothing wrong, but his response only caused Twilight to frown.
"Don't give me the tough guy act, that boulder's density was way to strong for your arm's bone to remain undamaged. So give me your arm so I can heal it," Twilight ordered once more.
Flash saw the stubborn look in Twilight's eyes that said she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Reluctantly he sighed and allowed Twilight to heal his broken arm.
She gently slid her hand underneath Flash's arm while hovering her other over his arm. The arm became trapped within a purple sphere, leaving the hand and elbow exposed. There was a silence between the two, only the sound of Twilight's magic gently healing Flash.
"Can I ask you a question?" Twilight asked.
"Well, it's better than this awkward silence. Ask away," Flash answered.
"My brother, Shining Armor...how well did you know him?" Twilight asked.
Flash thought for a moment before answering, "When I had been accepted into the Royal Guard, your brother was my commanding officer. At the time he wasn't Captain, just the leader of my troop. Everyday we would train, and I was the weakest link. I wasn't as strong, as fast, or as smart as others. So your brother decided to change that. Whenever we got the time, he would personally train me to be better. In his words 'he put me through hell'. But the results were worth it, I was the strongest, fastest, and smartest not only in my troop but practically the entire Guard. Once I had proven myself, Shining taught me how to use Shield magic like him, and over time I had perfected it."
"Wow...it sounds like you and my brother were best friends," Twilight stated.
"We were," Flash said, confirming Twilight's assumption, "and in time, I was his Best Man."
Twilight snapped her fingers. "That's where I remember you from, I saw you on the podium when Shining and Cadence got married!" Twilight exclaimed.
Flash chuckled. "You should've seen the look on his face when Cadence proposed to him."
It is tradition in Enchantria for the woman of the couple to ask for a man's hand in marriage. The man may propose as well, but it's commonly the woman that does it.
"So...if you and Shining were best friends, how come he never mentioned you?" Twilight asked.
"He didn't confirm he and I were friends until he earned the rank of Captain, and as the Captain of the Royal Guard he isn't allowed to reveal any friendships he has as they could be used against him," Flash explained.
"I see...well...um...can I ask you another question?" Twilight asked.
"You don't need my permission to speak," Flash stated. "You can say whatever you want."
"Well...I'm sorry, I'm just really curious about...well it's about your sword." Twilight said rather quickly.
Flash raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You mean this?" Flash asked, pointing at the sword sheathed in a leather scabbard. He pulled the sword out and showed Twilight the steel blade. "It's just a regular one handed steel sword, nothing special about it."
Twilight shook her head. "Not that one, I'm talking about your other sword. The one you got from the vault."
Flash let out a sigh as he re-sheathed the steel sword and untied the sword tied to the other side of the saddle.
"This sword?" Flash asked, showing Twilight the sword she asked to see.
All that could be seen was its hilt while its blade remained hidden by the golden scabbard, which was decorated with symbols and gems. The golden hilt had a diamond in its center as well as several gems along its handle.
"I saw you take it from the Vault, but you said that it's your sword. So...I'm sorry if you don't want to talk about it, I was just curious that's all," Twilight admitted.
"It's fine, I'll tell you about the sword, but before I can do that I need to tell you its origins," Flash said, re-tying the sword back to the saddle.
"When Shining Armor became Captain, he elected me to become an Elite Guard. After I barely passed the test, my first task as an Elite was to create my own weapon. I was given a choice of various materials. Iron, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Hellstone, Obsidian, Eridium, Mythril, Adamantium, and Nexion. But out of all of those metals, none of them felt right to me, so I set out to find one that did. I searched for days but it was to no avail, until on the twelfth night, as I was traveling across an opened grassland, the entire area became blinded by a white light. As it began to fade I saw the light falling from the sky before crashing onto the Earth. Out of curiosity I headed for where the light crashed. When I found it, it was in the center of a large crater. I went to get a closer look and when I did I discovered what the object was. It was a star that had fallen from the sky," Flash said.
"Hold on a second," Spike said, popping out from Twilight's backpack. "I thought star's were other suns in other solar systems?"
"That was a theory. Spike, but it was proven long ago that star's aren't sun's. They're balls of pure magic constantly exploding in space far away from earth. But every now and then a star gets caught in our gravity and falls to Earth," Twilight explained to the baby dragon.
"As a star enters the atmosphere, it begins to collect molecules and create a kind of chrysalis around it. This chrysalis keeps the magic contained while also solid. After I knew what the object was, I had found what to make my weapon out of," Flash said.
"Your sword is made out of a star?!" Spike asked in shock.
"It's nothing new. There have been weapons forged out of a star long ago, but each star contains a certain amount of magic inside of it," Flash explained.
"How do you turn a star into a sword anyways?" Spike asked.
"Normally, whenever one tries to forge a weapon they start by turning the material into a liquid, pouring it into a mold, straightening the weapon, cooling it, and then add the finishing touches.
"A star is different. The first thing to be done is removing the magic from the chrysalis. This process is done by transferring the magic to several crystals for storage.
"Once the chrysalis is empty, you smelt it into a sword, but it requires a powerful heat to smelt, a fire so hot that it would never go out. Only one such flame existed, hellfire. The chrysalis was melted into a blade, while the hilt and handle were made of gold to be used as a conduit for the magic.
"Once the sword was completed, the magic was returned to the chrysalis and the sword was complete. All that was left was to give it a proper name, which I appropriately named Starburst. But when I used the sword, it unleashed a powerful magic that was too destructive and uncontrollable. So I decided to leave it in the Vault for safety," Flash explained.
"Until now," Twilight said and Flash nodded.
Time passed, and the team continued their journey before coming to the edge of a dense forest of tall trees. They stopped just at the edge.
Before entering, Spike popped out of Twilight's backpack and held a map open. Flash examined the map for a minute before coming to a decision. He turned Gradius around to address the group.
"This forest is known as 'Snaproot Forest'. It acts as a shield for Harpystone due to the dangerous creatures that live within it. On the journey here I thought of a plan, and we will separate into two teams. One team will go through the forest to Harpystone on foot while the other will go around the forest with the horses," Flash explained as he showed everyone the map.
The map showed the city of Harpystone, and the crescent shaped forest which surrounded half of the city.
"At the top point of the forest right here is an abandoned tower known as 'Watcher's Keep'. I want the second team to make camp there, and to be ready in case we're in need of help," Flash explained.
Applebloom raised her hand to ask a question and Flash let her.
"Why don't we just ride the horses through the forest?" Applebloom asked.
"Or why can't just fly over?" Spitfire suggested.
"We can't take the horses because of the creatures inside of it, and if the horses are injured or killed we won't have a way back to Enchantalot. Also Fluttershy would never forgive me if I let the animals die," Flash added.
Dismounting from his horse, he spotted a dead toad and picked it up by its hind leg. He whipped his arm and threw the dead toad above the forest.
It was in the air for a solid second before the large mouth of a plant erupted from the forest, opened its jaws, ate the dead toad, and retracted back to the forest.
"This forest was named Snaproot as it is infested with carnivorous plants of the same name. They eat anything that flies above them. Birds, flying mammals, even Skyborn people," Flash added darkly, receiving a gulp from every Skyborn in the group.
"The good news is that Snaproots only eat things that fly, so we should be safe there. Now as for who's going where, I've already decided. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Soarin, Spitfire, Rarity, Spike, and I will head to the city, while Applejack, Fleetfoot, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo will head to Watcher's Keep and set up camp."
"Hold on a second!" Fleetfoot yelled. "Why am I put in charge of tending to the horses like a mere peasant?"
"I had to think long and hard about this. Originally, I only planned on taking the strong members of our group to the city, but then I thought of the enemy attacking the weaker part. Therefore I made sure to divide the team's power by a ratio of 60:40," Flash explained.
"That seems like a strategic method, I suppose," Twilight said, dismounting her horse as she was on Team 1.
"Remember, you are to stay at Watcher's Keep until we come back. If you are in trouble or you spot the enemy, Fluttershy will set off a flare and we'll come running. Under no circumstances are you to come to Harpystone, do you understand?" Flash stated.
"You can count on me, Sarge," Pinkie declared as both she and her horse did a goofy salute. Pinkie pulled out a microphone and pair of aviator sunglasses and yelled through the microphone. "ALRIGHT, SOLDIERS, I WANNA SEE YOU MARCH!"
And with that, Team 2 set out for Watcher's Keep, while Team 1 began their journey into the forest with their backpacks and supplies.
"So, based on what you said, what kind of dangerous creatures do you think we should watch out for?" Spitfire asked as the group made their way across a stream.
"Everything in this forest is dangerous, but if I had to say what's the most dangerous, I suppose it would be between either a Raktus or a Jakol," Flash answered.
"The hell's a Raktus and a Jakol?" Rainbow asked.
"A Raktus is a kind of spider, it's about three times bigger than an average human and it's the ugliest thing you'll ever see," Soarin explained. "Though I can't say I know what a Jakol is."
"A Jakol is a type of carnivorous monkey that kills for fun," Flash stated before coming to dead stop, and everyone behind him did the same.
"Why'd we stop?" Rarity asked.
Flash turned around to face the group. "We're more than three fourths of the way to Harpystone and we haven't seen a single living creature. Only plants, that's it. Something's not right here, which means my suspicions might be correct," Flash said, continuing to walk through the forest.
"What suspicions?" Spitfire asked.
"Chrysalis has been attacking small towns and villages only, never any cities. But as it turned out, Shining Armor's group passed through Harpystone. I'm worried that Chrysalis' army may have attacked the city," Flash explained.
"But if that's true, then we would be walking into a trap," Twilight said.
"Don't worry, Twilight," Flash said reassuringly as he saw a trail of blood leading to the corpse of a bear with spears and arrows sticking out of its body a distance away.
"It is undoubtedly a trap," Flash muttered under his breath, as he tightened his grip on his sword. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | pre | Alucard had a feeling he would never find a book at this rate, so he decided to end their conversation. "Not now. I tire of talking."
Twilight was both disappointed that she couldn't learn more, and a little relieved that she didn't have to listen to his disturbing life. She was broke from her thoughts when he asked, "Is there somewhere that is completely black? A basement? A tomb, perhaps?"
"A tomb?! What do you want to do in a tomb?!" She yelled in confusion and horror.
"Sleep, of course. I can only sleep where it is completely dark and silent." He was a little bemused by her obvious disgust of him sleeping in a tomb. 'What is it they used to say? Don't knock it till you try it?'
"You aren't sleeping in a tomb! We have a basement, but you shouldn't even sleep there either! And why do you need to sleep anyway? It's the middle of the day!" She shouted at him, her voice going high-pitched in her horror. She could just see it now: NEW HEADLINE. STRANGE CREATURE FOUND HAUNTING THE FAMILY CRYPTS. Panic would spread like wildfire.
"Because I am nocturnal."
"Oh. Well. I'm sure we can find somewhere that isn't full of corpses." She would just use her considerable brain power to figure out where he could sleep.
"Do not worry. I can dig a hole in the ground." He was getting more and more exhausted as he spoke.
His words only made her even more horrified. "First, you want to sleep with corpses. Now, you want to be one!"
"I will not die. Air is no problem for me. I do not need to breathe." With that conundrum of a statement, he began walking outside.
"Don't... Need to breathe?! Of course, you need to breathe! Everything does!" Twilight chased after him, and saw him by the roots of the tree sinking his claws into the ground like butter. He was throwing huge clumps of dirt behind him.
"Not me." He turned toward her sputtering face. "I told you my father was a creature of Chaos. He was not alive the same way you are, and neither am I."
"But--but--but--" Her mind was boggling, and her heart was racing. 'He DID say that...'
"Twilight, over here!" Spike called her. When she trotted over to him, he held a piece of parchment for her. "Why don't you write a letter to the Princess about everything you learned? I'm sure she'll know what to do! Don't worry about that guy. If he starts dying under the ground, he'll probably just bust right out. He doesn't seem the type to kick it from taking a nap, no matter how bizarre the bed."
Twilight looked over her shoulder, and saw that Alucard had successfully excavated himself a hole and was laying in it. He started piling the dirt back onto himself, starting with his legs.
"I guess... Take a note, Spike!" He whipped out a quill, already inked. "Dear Princess Celestia..."
Completely covered in the earth, Alucard let the weight of it push out the air in his lungs. He relaxed quickly, and slipped into a light snooze. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Red Tide Rising | Alucard's mind drifted. It was dark, but he could tell he was in an ocean. Ripples marred its otherwise glassy surface. It was black all around him, but he could clearly see himself. The trail he usually gave off was much more powerful, and blue energy swirled around his hands when he looked down at them.
A presence made itself known. The moon appeared above him, large and beautiful. It was different than the one he knew from before he had slumbered in the earth for all those millennia. It was bigger, and the craters in its surface formed a unicorn's head.
From the mare's eye came a speck, falling like a tear, and it dropped down toward him. It sped like a comet headed straight for him. He observed it taking shape, and when the glow surrounding it died down, he could clearly make out who it was.
Princess Luna looked resplendent before him, her starry mane moving like water around her head. She lowered herself toward the earth, not realizing that it wasn't there.
Her hooves sank into the ocean underneath her, and shock washed over her face. She flapped her wings to get out of it, but it seemed to be pulling her in. Hands made of the viscous liquid that Alucard was standing in without problem grasped and clawed at her, and began to drag her under.
Once she was buried in it up to her chin, he addressed her. "Princess Luna, what are you doing here?"
"Get me out of here! Unhand me at once!" The more she thrashed the further she went under. Soon she was spitting it out, and sputtering.
"Calm down, Princess. Have some decorum." At his cold words, she grew quiet and still and began rising back out of it.
"What is this stuff, Alucard? It doesn't taste like water." She was standing in it like him now, and it was clinging to her fur like glue but was slick and slimy.
"That's because it isn't." He said nothing else, and didn't answer her. He knew that if he told the truth, she would become horrified and panicky. "Now, I ask again. What are you doing in my dream?"
"I am Princess of the Night, and my domain is the stars and all who sleep under them." She said pridefully. She tried to adopt a regal pose, but it didn't work as well when you had to crane your neck upwards instead of looking down at them.
"That may be true, but it is not night and there are no stars. I am sleeping during the daytime." At his words, she looked away quickly.
"W-Well... That is to say..." Luna struggled to come up with an answer that didn't admit that she was spying on him. Most ponies didn't even realize she was there when she wandered through their dreams, and being caught so quickly and utterly left her flustered. "I... was simply making sure you weren't having a nightmare! It is one of my duties as Princess."
Alucard hummed, not buying it for a second. But he would let her be for the time being. If she wanted to wade through his mind, he wouldn't stop her. She had done it once before when they first met, and when they touched mentally, he had detected not a single trace of malice in her. Perhaps she had made a good impression?
Or maybe, just maybe, he wanted to see how long she could take it in his head. A more sinister part of him wanted to see if she figured out what she was covered with and standing up to the ankle in, and what her reaction would be.
He sank down into the ocean suddenly, and started floating peacefully in it. His hair spread out behind his head like a fan. "As you can see, this is not a nightmare. I am quite at peace."
"Yes... I can see that..." She was looking at the ocean beneath her, trying to puzzle it out.
Alucard could almost hear those dusty wheels creaking in her head as they turned. He stared up at the moon and saw a slithering figure shoot across it? 'What was that?' He thought curiously. Luna heard his thought and looked up at the moon, herself.
"What was what? We are alone here unless you are dreaming of somepony else."
Alucard was silent, already dismissing what he had seen as his mind playing tricks on him. Being aware that he was dreaming meant nothing. A dream was a dream. Things happened without reason here.
He looked toward Luna, and could see that she was starting to shake. "W-What are you looking at?"
"You do not seem comfortable here." He spoke calmly. His eye was drawn behind her head. He could make out another speck, red this time. It was drawing steadily closer.
"I-I am... F-Fine!" She yelled irately at him. Her mind felt distorted, like it was being pulled at the same way her body had been. The physical body she had left behind in her room was growing farther and farther away. 'What is happening?' She thought in fear.
Alucard huffed slightly, realizing his fun was over. That was quick. "My mind is not the place for you. We are too different. If you stay here much longer... Let us say only that you will regret it."
He could clearly discern that the red speck was humanoid now, but he could make out who it was. Inside the swirling red energies was a burning white mass. It had the shape of a man but without a face, there was no way to tell who it could be.
He kept his eyes on the mysterious being who was getting very close now. "Go now, Luna! Before you lose the ability to leave!"
"There is no dream--that I can--not conquer!" She yelled, completely delirious. The figure drew up behind her, and Luna's shaking suddenly turned to vibrating. Her whole body was blurring at the edges. She seemed to realize something was there and looked up.
The creature bent over her. Slits appeared on its face and opened up. Big, black eyes looked into hers. They were like a yawning void that beckoned her in. Alucard could not see what she was seeing. Whatever it was shocked her so bad, her mind abruptly disconnected from his. The strength of her passing jarred his sleep.
Alucard's body twitched awake under the ground. He arose from the earth like a zombie, and began wiping the dirt off himself.
Looking up at the sky, he could see it was now red. The sun was slowly setting, though he could not see the moon anywhere in the sky. Looking around, he spotted Twilight Sparkle staring up at him, a book was laying open on the grass in front of her. Spike was next to her, holding a handful of gems up to his mouth.
"Have a good nap?" Twilight asked quietly. Her eyes were wide, like she had been startled when he burst out of the ground.
Alucard was quiet for a moment, watching the sunset light up the sky. He ran through the events of his short dream. Luna appearing, a snake running across the moon, a mysterious figure, Luna bursting through one side of the wall of his mind and out the other...
"I do not know."
"You don't know if it was a good one? Why not?" She asked with curiosity.
He did not answer her question, but asked one of his own. "Do you have a bath I could use?"
Twilight was predictably distracted by his subject change. "Oh, yes, of course. You ARE pretty dirty now..." She stood up and motioned with her hoof. "Follow me!"
Alucard took one last look at the sun, then walked after the small pony. 'How odd...' |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Howling at the Moon | Alucard was bored out of his mind. Night had descended quickly, the sunset burning itself out until there was only the blackness of night. The moon seemed later than usual, but he paid no mind to it. It rose the same as every other night, and that was good enough for him.
He was sitting out on the balcony, enjoying the coolness of the night, simply watching the fog roll across the streets when he decided on what he would do to alleviate his boredom. He peeked inside to see Twilight Sparkle tiredly hunched over a book with a stump of a candle guttering next to her. Her head was bobbing whenever she closed her eyes. It was less of blinking and more of sleeping for a few seconds before waking back up.
Seeing that she could not be paying any less of attention to him, he moved back out onto the balcony. The rustling of the tree's leaves in a slight breeze was all that was heard before he was gone. As he was falling, he summoned some of his magic and flew away on large leathery wings, one with the night. A few bats winging through the night saw his new form and followed behind him as he floated above the town and toward the outskirts.
He passed by Rainbow Dash's house and looked on it with interest for a moment, but was quickly set on his way again by the sound of soft feathers whispering from inside. She was apparently awake in there, night owl that she was.
Alucard didn't know that she had stayed up all night to finish a Daring Doo novel and was in the cloud-house flying in circles to burn off her excitement after the climax of the book. He flew on.
He came closer to the outskirts and flew over a wide field of trees arranged in neat lines, with a barn off to one side and tall farmhouse. He did not stop this time, having no interest in the fruit trees. He flew further, and spied a homely cottage on a hill. It had a chicken coop and a plethora of bird houses outside it. Owls were silently wheeling about over the property, seeking to get a quick meal from the mice that made the cottage their residence. He kept moving.
The bats flying behind him regretfully broke off from his tail when he reached the treetops of the Everfree. It wasn't their territory and they weren't going to encroach on it, and risk becoming lunch for a nocturnal bird of prey.
Alucard flew over the forest and looked for a place to land. Spotting a clearing some ways in, he landed. Searching within himself, he located a different soul burning dimly within his chest. He set the bat aside and took hold of something a little more mobile on the ground.
Large canines smiled in the night air, and fur so dark that it shined purple in the moonlight shook itself. His red eyes searched the brush for any would-be spies but saw it was clear, and he moved toward the tree line.
The light of the full moon broke through the canopy in shafts of white that struck across his body as he moved under them. All that was seen of him when he was in shadow were red eyes, glowing like hot coals. The night was his element, and he was master of its domain.
He moved through the brush, silent as a ghost on his large, padded paws. His nose picked up the scent of animal and he moved toward it. He came upon a hollowed out tree and saw something moving about the outside. It seemed to be inspecting the moss growing up the side of its home.
It turned toward him, and caught sight of his eyes. It sucked in a breath of air, and its eyes widened. He stalked up to it, watching its knees shake and eyes draw upwards as he towered over it, even in this smaller form of his. It was a small striped pony. He watched it hungrily.
Zecora, on the other hand, was terrified. She had never seen a creature such as this in the Everfree. And while she made no claim that she knew all of the forest's secrets, she may have thought twice about moving in if she had known this was here. It did not look like a manticore, though they were menacing in their own right. A manticore's face could emote. It always showed something, even if it was simply happiness at finding its next meal. This creature's face showed nothing. Its eyes were red-hot and glowing, but they seemed so cold to her.
"Whatever you mean to do, get it over with." This was not the time to be speaking in riddles. It turned away from Zecora the instant she spoke, confusing her. Did it not mean to eat her? 'Maybe it is a spirit... I know of no creature that has eyes such as this...'
She watched him leave, her body flooded with relief at his departure. Zecora would definitely be putting out a warning for all those that had plans to go into the Everfree. And she would most certainly be staying indoors at night from now on. She had thought she was safe as long as she was around her own house, but the things lurking in the forest were bolder than she thought.
Quick as he came, he left. He walked away from the strange zebra, making a note of where she lived and to avoid it in the future. He preferred to not be branded a monster by these creatures. If worst came to worst, he would not hesitate to feed on them. He had killed humans and they were no less intelligent than these ponies. But as long as there was food in abundance in the forest, he would stick to the animals.
So he marched on, moving through the forest like a wraith. He was not nearly as hungry as he had been a day ago, so he walked at a leisurely pace. If he did not eat tonight, he figured the exercise was good for him.
Alucard walked and walked. He walked until the sky started to light up in the distance and the stars dimmed. The moon was falling and the sun was making its approach toward the horizon. He guessed it was about 5 o'clock in the morning. The night was a bust. He was happy that he was not quite hungry yet. He had only gone hunting out of boredom, a bad habit in the making.
As he trotted back into the clearing, he reached for his humanoid form and shifted back to two legs. He did not feel like flying back and attracting a swarm of followers. He moved quickly through the low-hanging branches and thick tree trunks, brushing aside saplings and hopping over roots. He was beginning to understand why the Everfree was not inhabited by ponies. Besides containing dangerous predators, it would be easy to roll an ankle if you weren't watching where you were stepping. While he was not sure about the hardiness of ponies, he knew that horses were like glass cannons. They had powerful legs, but an injury was either a death sentence or a very costly and time-consuming recovery.
He mused on the difference between the old inhabitants of the land and the new ones, and almost did not hear something approach. If crept closer than he would have liked before he noticed it. It was the striped pony from the previous night.
He turned his head and looked at her when she stopped a few feet from him. She was simply watching him warily. He had two options: ignore her and be on his way, or do the polite thing and have a brief conversation. He chose the latter with reluctance.
"May I help you?" He spoke softly, his expression calm.
Zecora perked up at his words, clearly happy that she wasn't dealing with some new species of creature looking for a meal. She was already shaken by last night's encounter and didn't plan on having another so soon.
If only she knew the red-eyed wolf from last night was standing right in front of her.
"I see that you speak with care, so if I dare, I shall approach. Do not hesitate to tell me if I encroach." Zecora slowly walked closer, as if to get a good look at him. She noted his forward-facing eyes, and sharp claws, so she did not come as close as she would a pony.
Alucard on the other hand, took note of her lyrical speech and wondered what the point of it was. Was it a popular thing in this day and age to speak to strangers in poetry? He dismissed his musings and eyed the small pony, looking at her gleaming, golden jewelry. It seemed unwise to be wearing such eye-catching accessories in a place where you needed to avoid being seen by predators.
"May I ask your name, and... how you style your mane?" She said the second part quietly and with a small smile.
"I am Alucard. As for my hair, I wash and comb it frequently."
She seemed disappointed that that was all he said on the matter, and made the judgment that he was simply lucky to have such low-maintenance locks.
He made to continue walking, and she trotted next to him. He glanced down at her, seeing that she was following, and decided to not question it.
"So, do you frequent these woods often?"
'Is... is she hitting on me?' He was baffled by this conversation starter. "No. Do you?" He offered back awkwardly.
"I do. I know these trees backwards and forward. I must, or else I'd be in a coffin."
He gave a snort at her smart rhyme. 'She planned that.' "So these woods are considered very dangerous?" He had an idea but new information wouldn't hurt.
"Oh, yes. Ponies avoid this area, out of fear. Even coming near will throw them into hysteria. Predators roam these parts, looking for a snack. Ponies stay back, lest they become food for a wolf pack."
"Wolves, you say? Do you see them often?" He listened intently, curious to hear what she made of his appearance last night.
"Not usually, only every once in a while... But they have guile, and if they see you, they will fall on you in a pile. So I avoid them as best I can, and always give where I walk a good scan." She looked into the distance while she said this, like she was thinking hard about something.
At her silence, he saw an opportunity. "Is there something wrong?"
She bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him. But Alucard seemed amiable enough. He was polite and did not seem put off by her speech. There was no narrowing of his eyes, and he did not try to trip her words up to prove a point.
She sighed. "Yes. I saw something last night that gave me quite a fright. I was home, tending to the lichen that grows on my house. A huge wolf came up to me, silent as a mouse. Its eyes were like burning coal, and it seemed to have a dreadful goal. I shudder to think about it even now. Thinking back to its cold look puts sweat on my brow..."
She took a deep breath before she continued. "I spoke to the creature, and upon its features was no sign that it heard. Not a sound was in the air, not the call of a bug or a bird."
"What happened next?" He knew exactly what happened, but her musical words made it seem like an exciting story. He had a sneaking suspicion that if she told someone in town, it would spread like wildfire. Every pony who heard the tale would pass it on, if only to keep the magic going.
"It simply... walked away. It was for sure that that day would be my last, and all my exploits would be a thing of the past. But... it was not to be. I think now that what I had seen was a wayward soul, out for a stroll."
That gave Alucard pause. "You think it's a spirit?"
"It must be so! No eyes of the forest have such glow. Its body was a mere shadow."
"I guess since it's gone, we shall never know." At his own rhyme, she looked up to him. He was unreadable, nothing showing in his face. His eyes bore down at her without his pace slowing.
For a moment, she wondered. 'Could he be...?'
They continued walking in silence Alucard wondered about his newfound status as a spirit, and Zecora wondered just who, and what, she was walking next to. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Digging Graves for Blades | Alucard and Zecora parted ways at the treeline, having spent the few short minutes left of the trip in silence. It was going to be a windy day, and he scowled into the breeze. His hair whipped around his head, tangling into knots. If there was one thing that he hated about his long hair, it was the fact that even the slightest stirring of air could tangle the curls into mats. Huffing, he walked into the fierce winds, as if he was competing with nature itself.
He continued wandering until he spied the cottage he had flown over the previous night. The animals moving freely about the lawn and the stream bubbling close-by made for a picturesque scene. He half expected a woman to come out of the door, dressed homely but with a face that betrayed nobility. Abruptly, his thoughts were drawn back ages through time to a woman who wore silks and satins, her hair like spun gold, with dirt under her nails that contrasted her fine clothing.
His eyes locked onto a figure rounding from the back, a bag of seed in her mouth. It was the yellow pegasus from the train, Fluttershy. She hopped up onto her hind legs to pour the seed into a bird feeder, and then moved back to watch a few songbirds sing happily about their new food. Setting the feed-bag onto the ground, she smiled softly at the birds. The look in her eye almost endeared her to Alucard if only because he had seen the same passion for animals, birds in particular, in the same person he had just reminisced about.
He moved forward toward the scene, cause the birds to fly away in fright. Fluttershy was confused for a moment before she spied him in her peripheral. Fear came into her eyes and she ducked her head, not daring to look him in the eye after the blowout of their last encounter.
The animals around her scurried away at his approach, until it was just them. Wind whipped around the two and the creek bubbled. After a minute of silence, Alucard turned toward her house, and he felt Fluttershy flick her eyes up at his profile. She could only look at him when he was facing away from her.
"I once knew someone who loved animals. Every time I would see her toiling away with them, I could not help but admire her dedication to the creatures." He didn't know why he was telling her this. He was rambling, filling the heavy silence between them.
Her voice quavered up to his ears, "It is not easy work, but it's satisfying."
"She thought so as well. She had an especial love for birds of all kinds."
Fluttershy looked up at his profile, his eyes locked onto something far away. "I try to love them all, even the scary ones."
Alucard turned towards her again, catching her eye and holding it captive. "I..." He trailed off, not knowing what to say, and took the easy route. "I shall take my leave of you, Lady Fluttershy. I shall let you attend to your duties." He bent at the waist in a bow, and moved away from the pony. He felt foolish, getting caught up in times gone by and rambling about friends who had died so long ago that mountains had crumbled and new ones sprung up from their remains.
I must be getting senile in my old age, he thought. He was so old that the system of keeping time had changed from hands to hooves. There was really no telling how long he had been alive. For some reason, he was glad that he no longer had a number to put to it. He feared how many digits it would have.
Alucard moved purposeless across the grass, Fluttershy's eyes trained on his back. The animals were slowly moving back to crown around her hooves. She was puzzled by the strange Prince, and wondered why he had come to her. After a moment more, she returned to her duties and listened to the birds trilling their songs, as they had for far longer than she realized.
The songs had changed over time, but Alucard was sure that Maria would have loved them all the same. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Tangling Threads | Alucard made it back to town by the time the sun had fully risen. The air was still cool and misty, the grass and leaves still wet with dew not yet burned away by sunlight. He wondered who could be up yet, and saw only ponies he did not recognize. He passed a large red pony, setting up a stand with apples of all kinds and states. Applesauces, jams and jellies, small pies wrapped in paper with a larger one set for display in clear glass cake stand. Whole apples of different colors were shined to perfection and sitting in a wicker basket. The pony was meticulous in the placement of his wares, like he had done this many times and had long ago worked out the perfect system of how to fit the many products on the stand surface.
Alucard passed him, catching his eye. The pony looked up, taking in the dhampir's expression with a critical and discerning eye and then looked back down to his stand. The pony knew a customer when he saw one and Alucard was definitely not a customer. A pony with bright fur and a dark red mane pranced up to him, smelling of flowers. She struck up a conversation, with most of the talking on her end, and the tall Prince was forgotten from his mind.
Alucard moved with purpose down the streets, twisting and turning through the town. His destination came upon him, a large carousel-shaped building with pony mannequins wearing long flowing gowns for parties or more modest clothing.
He ducked through the door, and saw Rarity fussing with a cobbled-together mannequin that was distinctly bipedal. "Lady Rarity," he began, announcing his presence in his deep voice. She jumped, spinning in place to see him.
"Prince Alucard!" One of her front hooves came up to pat her freshly curled mane, though it was more out of habit than actual worry for the hair. "I was just wondering how to get ahold of you today."
"I am glad to have saved you some trouble." He bent at the waist slightly, giving a small bow. He had no idea if she knew what the gesture meant. Ponies most likely showed deference in a completely different way.
"Not at all, good sir! I merely wanted your approval on the pieces."
"Pieces?" He questioned suspiciously. He had not been awake for even a week's time and he was already steeped in debt.
"Well, yes..." Rarity responded, sheepish. "I got a little inspired and made more than one. There were so many parts to just one outfit! It was like a dream come true!"
He merely huffed out of his nose, and moved further into the shop. "Very well. Show me."
Rarity gave an excited little shuffle before she got down to business, and began her showing. She had made it all. From capes to coats, all the way to cravats. Buttons and embroidery elegantly decorated the pieces and added a personalized flair to them.
He spotted a small area with a screen that he could change behind, though it would cover only up to his stomach. He could not help but mumble, "What is the purpose of a changing screen when ponies are nude to begin with?"
Rarity seemed surprised at his question. "To make it a surprise! You go behind the screen, put on your outfit, and come out a new pony. It's like a game."
Alucard hummed in acknowledgment, and moved behind the screen to put on his first choice. As he was dressing, he heard the door open again, the small bell giving a chime. Rarity looked over to the new customer while Alucard worked on becoming decent again. Though he felt Rarity had given him too much and had no idea how to repay her, he was very glad to be out of the torn up rags he had been wearing before.
"Welcome to Caro-- Rainbow Dash? Whatever are you doing here?" Rarity asked, confused. She knew her friend wouldn't come to her shop if she could help it. It was a terrible shame, in Rarity's opinion. The mare had a delightful mane if she would only take proper care of it.
"Trouble in the Everfree. Fluttershy is a wreck, but what else is new." Rainbow said bitterly. Her eyes flicked over to the tall prince who was stepping out from the screen. Rarity followed her eyes but was overcome with an entirely different emotion.
Alucard walked a little taller. Lady Rarity certainly knew what she was doing. Outfitted in dark colors that contrasted his white skin and hair, he looked and felt regal. Looking down to Rarity, he gave an uncharacteristic smirk.
"Your work is impeccable, my Lady." He gave a bow. Rarity picked her jaw off the floor and twirled her hoof, indicating he spin to show the full outfit. The long cape strapped to his shoulders flicked and whispered around him.
"Dear Celestia, I have outdone myself. You look marvelous! We should burn those tatters you had on. You look every bit your title." She paused for a moment, simply staring at him before she squealed in delight and did a little jig.
Rainbow Dash was not as effected with joy as her friend. She had a scowl on her face. Fluttershy had been a wreck after their fight on the train, and here Rarity was giving him a new wardrobe and making him look nice.
Twilight had explained that Fluttershy had done something magical on accident and Alucard had been reacting to it the only way he knew. Something about cultural differences. What Rainbow knew, however, was that Fluttershy had been trying to protect her animals friends and Alucard had yelled at her for it. So in her opinion, he was untrustworthy. Something else occurred to her in that moment though.
"If you're a Prince, why didn't you have nice clothes to begin with? Why were you wearing those rags in the first place?"
Alucard's eyes shot away from Rarity and onto Rainbow Dash. He was studying her in a new light. He hadn't had much of an impression from before. They had not interacted in any way on the train. But she had just asked a question that either no one else had thought of, or they had been too polite to ask.
"Rainbow Dash, come now. I'm sure he had just fallen on hard times! We shouldn't be asking about royal affairs so openly. Where's your manners?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Come on, Rarity. We should get going. I'm sure Twilight and the others are waiting." Her eyes flicked back and forth between her friend and the large creature looming behind her.
"Oh, yes. We should go meet them. Prince Alucard, would you care to walk with us to Twilight's? You're staying there for the time being, correct?"
"I would be honored, Lady Rarity." His eyes stayed on Rainbow Dash, calculating.
They moved out of the shop and onto the street, Rainbow flying above their heads lazily. Weaving down streets, Alucard caught ponies staring openly at him. He was turning heads for an entirely different reason than before.
They reached Golden Oak Library in only a few minutes. The rest of the group was standing outside the front, talking slowly. Fluttershy looked completely downtrodden. Upon their arrival, Rainbow Dash landed softly next to her.
The other ponies looked up to greet them, but instead looked up to the finely outfitted Alucard.
"Wow, you're lookin' mighty Princely today, uh, Prince Alucard." Applejack drawled out.
"Thank you, and also thank the good Rarity, here. Her work is without compare." He replied, smooth as silk.
Rarity blushed at his compliment. She seemed to be without words. The idea of being complemented by a Prince on her work, while he was wearing the work was overwhelming her.
"You look great, Prince Alucard. Anyway, girls, we should get going." Twilight spoke, all business.
"May I ask what's going on? I heard something about the Everfree." He was genuinely curious. His eyes passed over Fluttershy, whose head drooped low to the ground. Rarity got ahold of herself and looked sadly at the buttery pegasus.
Twilight spoke up. "A new predator was spotted in the woods near Zecora's house..." Alucard's face fell a slight degree at that, though Twilight did not know why. She continued, "...and a dead body was found. Zecora came to speak to me about the new predator, then on her way back, she stumbled upon a manticore's corpse."
Alucard's eyes widened at that. They apparently thought that the wolf she had seen had killed the manticore. They were correct in a roundabout way. They just didn't know that the wolf was also standing in front of them.
Fluttershy spoke up, voice quivering. "Chewy hasn't been back to visit me in a while... Then Zecora came out of the woods and said she'd found a body... That it looked..." She turned her head away, without words.
Gods above and below, they cannot be serious. Alucard couldn't believe it. Did they know every animal in this entire area? He just happened to have fed on the one manticore and they knew it personally, and by name? That had to be what they were talking about.
"Let us be off." Alucard spoke, wanting to be done with the mess. He was absolutely sure that when they arrived at the Everfree, they would find a dead animal with only a small bite on its neck as the cause, and not a single drop of blood at the scene of the crime.
Manticores are large predators. Alucard would not begin to be hungry until later, when the sun went down. Under the moon, he would start to thirst again. He huffed a small sigh. No manticores tonight, it seems.
The ponies walking beside him were blissfully unaware of his thoughts. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Animal Autopsy | Alucard was back in the forest for the second time that day. The ponies were talking amongst themselves, theorizing on the manitcore's demise and what it could mean for the town and the forest. The dhampir was silent, trying to anticipate the reactions of his small walking companions upon seeing the body.
Rainbow scouted ahead for the body. The others followed her lead, picking their way through the brush carefully and on the alert. Their chatter was quiet and their ears moved constantly. It was easy to see that the forest made them uncomfortable. Zecora's previous words floated through his head.
Soon enough, Rainbow called for them. The group went silent as they entered the clearing. A small brook nearby made the only noise, bubbling peacefully in contrast with the tense mood of the ponies.
The body was a husk, Alucard had truly taken everything it had to give. It looked mummified. The earth had only just started to reclaim its body, yet no scavengers had touched it. Either the animals of the forest could sense the unholy death it had suffered, or the lack of blood had spoiled the meat.
Fluttershy turned away for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut at the sight. She looked stricken. But then she opened them again and they were steeled. Moving with purpose closer to the beast, she inspected it closely.
"It hasn't been dead long, a day maybe. Two at most." At her words, Twilight overcame her squeamishness and moved to stand beside her.
The purple unicorn spoke up, "That must be why the wolf didn't attack Zecora. It wasn't hungry. But this body is whole... What did it take from it that made it look like this?"
"Maybe it took it's water! So it's all dried up now. OH! Maybe it stole the manticore's soul, leaving nothing but a dead husk..." Pinkie said ominously, giggling morosely. The other ponies glared at her. Alucard simply boggled at the cheery pink frizzball.
Pinkie's smile fell only slightly at their response. "Sorry. That was a little dark." She looked at the ground with concentration, trying to puzzle out what the appropriate amount of humor should be for standing next to a rotting corpse.
"Anyway, Pinkie is right. It's completely dried up. But why would it take its water? There's a stream right over there." Twilight conjured a notebook and quill, both floating in the air next to her head and writing independently.
Fluttershy moved up towards its head. Putting out a hoof, she gently pushed on the head to test a theory. "It's neck was broken. That's why there's no gouges in the ground or blood on it's paws. It had no chance to struggle."
The thought made Fluttershy sniffle a little. The poor thing's life had been snuffed out in an instant. She wondered if it had even felt the pain from the break. How terrifying... It was probably getting a drink of water. Completely unaware... Alive and at ease one second and dead the next. She did not know if that was a mercy on the part of the killer or not. All she could discern was that whatever had taken down this big manticore was incredible efficient.
Fluttershy withdrew the hoof that was still rested on its head and looked down, spying its neck. Twilight moved up to where her friend was and followed her eyes. There was a patch of its mane missing.
"What is that?" She murmured to herself.
Her friends had moved closer, but were a respectable distance from the body still. They were quiet, letting the two ponies work. Fluttershy took care of animals of all kinds, so she had dealt with unsavory things before. Twilight was a voracious consumer of knowledge, the smartest pony any of them knew. Between the two of them, with their combined expertise and cunning, there was no doubt in the others that they could figure out what was going on in this forest.
"Hey, could someone hoof me a stick?" Twilight called out over her shoulder. The others scrambled around, searching the ground. Alucard looked up, walking to a nearby tree and breaking off a small branch. He stripped the leaves and twigs off the side, then handed it to Twilight.
"Oh, thank you." She took it with her magic, and prodded the patch. Alucard moved away back toward the others, getting a look from Applejack that could peel paint. She was getting ready to scold him furiously for carelessly ripping a branch off a tree, when Rarity, looking green as it was, nudged the farmpony with a meaningful look.
Twilight and Fluttershy ignored the whispered bickering that started behind them and continued their investigation.
"Look at this bite-mark. The shape is odd. Fluttershy, have you ever seen any teeth like this? This looks nothing like a wolf. Zecora said it looked like a regular timberwolf, but not made of wood. I had almost started to believe that the manticore had its magic sucked out or something else strange like that, but... Look at the position near the side of the neck."
"It... sucked out its blood. Most have torn the jugular." Fluttershy's voice quivered through the air. The shape of this mark... She had seen this shape before.
"Like a giant mosquito. But to take everything that it had... And there's nothing on the ground. It didn't spill a single drop..." Twilight continued to mumble to herself, but was no longer heard.
Fluttershy knew exactly where she had seen this sort of shape. The way the canine holes were placed, the flatter front teeth... Her head turned to look over her shoulder.
She had seen these teeth bared down above her, twisted into a fierce snarl with red eyes glowing above them. |
Castlevania: Moonlight Sonata | Thrombus | Alucard sensed a stare being burned into the back of his head, and turned to face it. Fluttershy was looking up at him with equal parts fear and sadness. He looked away from her eyes, toward the side.
Fluttershy continued to gaze up at him, studying his eyes. He did not look angry at her, or smug about his gruesome work. He looked resigned. Whatever reaction he was waiting for, however, didn't come. Instead, she turned away.
"Twilight, I think we've seen all there is to see. I'm going back the cottage. Prince Alucard, would you walk with me?" At Fluttershy's words, the other ponies went quiet. They looked back and forth between the two, confused.
Rainbow was displeased, but she could say nothing to stop Alucard from going with Fluttershy. While he was not a Prince of her country, he was still Royalty. Her ingrained respect of the crown outweighed her suspicions. Until she had solid, irrefutable proof that he was up to no good, she would stay silent.
She was rash, yes. But an idiot? Absolutely not. All she could do was observe and wait.
Fluttershy trotted beside him, keeping a respectable distance between them. After a time, she stopped walking. Alucard stopped also, though he did not turn to her. Clearly, she was going to make a speech. He could almost hear the sharp, accusing words she would throw his way.
Fluttershy proved him wrong again, though. The only thing she did was ask a quiet question.
"Did he suffer?"
Alucard's eyes widened, then closed. "No. When his neck was broken, he could not move or feel. He died quickly after that."
She nodded to herself. A mercy, then... she thought. But another thought wormed its way up into her brain. It made her ill. "Why do you hunt predators, specifically?"
Alucard's gold eyes opened slightly. "They are large and easy to find. If I was to eat rabbits or some other small prey, I would need to feed much more often. Predators also do not hide themselves unless they are actively hunting. They spread their scent around freely, to ward off others of their kind."
At his logical reasoning, she was relieved. He was not hunting for sport, but to keep himself from going hungry.
"Isn't going after such strong animals dangerous? What if you run into a cockatrice, or a hydra?"
Alucard smiled a little. "Not as dangerous as you would think. I thank you for the concern, but I am very experienced."
Fluttershy felt a small shudder from that. Experienced...
"Well... I can't stop you. I don't want you to starve, but..." The words burned in her throat. "The populations..."
Alucard huffed out a chuckle. "I am only one man, Fluttershy. I will not drive the whole forest into extinction."
Fluttershy's worries eased. I'm being silly. "You're right."
"If that is all, may we continue?" Alucard offered. Fluttershy paused, before nodding. They then continued forward, with the buttery pegasus leading the way. She ruminated in her mind everything she had learned about the tall figure walking slightly behind her, which wasn't much to be perfectly honest. A question was bubbling inside her, however. One that had been bugging her.
"Um... Prince Alucard... the friend you had, that you mentioned when we spoke last, the one that loved animals like me... What was she like?"
The dhampir was stricken for a moment, memories flying around his head like a swarm of bats scared out of their cave. "Why do you ask?" His voice was tight.
Fluttershy noticed his change in demeanor immediately. Her head dipped low, like she wanted to avoid his eyes, even though she knew he was purposefully not looking anywhere near her.
"W-Well, it's just that, uh, you said that she was passionate about animals like I am. And, um, I've never heard of anypony with a cutie mark like, well, m-mine."
Alucard's pursed his lips tightly together, to stop himself from making a vicious snarl instead. He imagined that baring his long, sharp teeth would not help this situation in the slightest. A situation he had put himself in when he had begun jabbering like a fool at the sight of a miniature horse standing near some birds.
He took a deep breath to swallow back some of the anger he felt at himself. He hated talking about Maria. Talking about anyone from the past. Actually, if he never had to speak again, he would most likely be fine with it.
He took a second breath.
"Her name was... Maria." How long had it been since he had spoken her name. He was filled with guilt at the thought that he wished it was longer. He wanted to hold the memories, the words deep inside. He wanted to hoard them, to share nothing of her to anyone else.
You are your father's child, a dark voice whispered in his mind.
"She... was unique. She was..." Beautiful. Intelligent. Free.
Fluttershy looked up at Alucard, trying to read his face. She caught merely a glimpse before he turned away.
"She made me see something in people that I had not seen in ages. I hated them. The humans. I hated them the same as my father did. In enough time, I may have forgotten the promise I had made to myself..." To Mother. "But... She reminded me. Not all at once. But the seed was planted, and that was enough."
If even the slightest thing had been different. If I had simply killed Richter, as I had initially planned to... Who is to say what could have happened. There could very well be no ponies nor pony princesses. Only a king.
"She was important. Far more than I realized at the time."
Fluttershy gazed at his back, always so tall and straight. Now he seemed to almost sag, like he had a crushing weight on his shoulders. Alucard, the foreign prince, who had seemed so regal, so refined. Fluttershy had always wondered what it was like to be a princess. To be like Celestia, who had grace and poise and always knew the right thing to say.
"But that is enough reminiscing. Those days are long gone. I am sure your birds must be low on seed. We best not keep them waiting." Alucard drew himself back to his full height, and carefully straightened his clothing and brushed his hair away from his face.
Fluttershy quietly agreed with him and began leading them the trees once more. Being a Princess must be tiring.
Fluttershy would have to tell Rarity that on their next spa date. She would most certainly be interested.
The sun filtered through the leaves, golden and radiant. The earth smelled fresh, and song birds sang their hearts out to anyone that would listen. Alucard envied their simple joy. ---
High above them, a far more dangerous bird swirled on the winds. She was no falcon, nor eagle. She was barely shaped like a bird at all. Her torso was bare of feathers or clothing and shaped distinctly feminine, but she felt no shame for her nakedness. Her tangled dark hair flapped wildly in the wind behind her. On her face curved a jubilant smile, for her sharp eyes had spied a head of silky, white hair far more fetching than her own moving between the trees.
She allowed herself to watch him for only a moment longer, before she wheeled around to fly towards the heart of the forest. She would soar as fast as her wings could take her to her sisters. There was finally some good news.
The Tragic Prince was awake and aware once more, and the darkness stirred in anticipation. The King was gone, but his sole heir had returned. Perhaps it was time to start thinking about a coronation. |
The Hunter | pre | The cat only whined softly and started in on the bird-carcass. ***
"Come on, wake up!"
Selas groaned unintelligibly and tried to tune the voice out.
"Come on, get up!" The voice began to nudge him violently. "Twilight's looking for ya!" The voice was all but punching him in the shoulder. "Man, what the hay are you made of?" The punching stopped, as did the voice.
Adrenaline flooded him almost immediately as his bed disappeared beneath him. Eyes widening, the hybrid rolled, extending his insect-like wings and neatly getting airborne, a dull buzzing sound emanating from his wings.
Groggily, Selas scanned the sky with his eyes, intent on finding what had awoken him.
"Nice recovery."
His eyes locked on to the prismatic mare, the scratchy voice being the same one that had awoken him.
"I was sleeping." Selas responded simply.
"It's like...two o'clock." The mare pointed at the clock tower.
Selas glanced at the clock tower and frowned in confusion before glancing at the position of the sun. "So it is. I was hoping to get a few more hours of sleep." He slowly descended to the ground, the rainbow-mare following him. "So, you said Twilight was looking for me?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. She asked me if I'd seen you. She had some more questions she wanted to ask ya."
"Very well, where might I find her?"
"She's probably still at the library. Come on, I'll show you the way!"
The mare launched herself into the air at an impressive speed; Selas yawned a final time and followed suit, albeit at a more relaxed pace.
It was a surreal experience, going inside of a hollowed out tree. He had been under the roots of some giant trees in the past, but this tree was completely hollowed out inside, yet still living. How did a tree live and grow with no heartwood? Just thinking about it caused a headache...though the blue mare yelling likely had a helping hoof in the matter.
"Twilight, I found'im!" The mare shoved the door open and strode in like she owned the place.
"I'll be down in a second Rainbow Dash!" A familiar voice responded.
Rainbow Dash, that was her name. Selas mentally noted to himself.
"So, can I see your bow?" Rainbow Dash turned and spoke to him with a poorly-concealed grin on her muzzle.
"...be careful with it. I don't have the means to repair it at the moment." The stallion levitated the bow over to the mare and she almost immediately began to examine it, seemingly trying to figure out how to properly hold it.
Leaving the mare to her own devices, Selas set about perusing the books before remembering that he was unable to read their language.
A familiar purple alicorn joined them in the main room of the library with a pop of magic."Sorry about that, I was organizing all the notes I took."
"Hngh..." Rainbow Dash had the bow held in her left hoof and was trying to draw the string back. With a grunt of effort, she succeeded. "Hah!" The mare called out triumphantly, bringing a slight smile to Selas's face.
"I'm impressed. I didn't expect you to actually be able to draw the bow back all the way." He complimented.
"Yeah, I'm pretty awesome." The mare released the empty bow-string with a twang and passed it back to the stallion. "That thing's pretty heavy though."
The stallion sat on his haunches and gave the string a few experimental pulls, causing Rainbow Dash's jaw to drop slightly at how easy he drew the string. She hadn't noticed it before, but when he shifted onto his hindlegs and drew the string back, corded muscles bulged ever-so-slightly under the thick rug of fur. As she imagined what he would look like with a properly trimmed coat, she found her wings unfurling slightly.
Taking the bow in his magic, Selas gave it a few more experimental tugs and frowned. He would need to replace the bowstring before too much longer. Mentally, he asked Lamp to keep part of his next kill undevoured, so he could pull the sinew from it.
As his horn flared to life to test the bow, Twilight almost immediately frowned, as if she'd bitten into a sour grape.
"That doesn't make sense!" She finally shouted out, causing Rainbow Dash to snap back to reality and realize her wings were fully extended, before silently departing the library, and Selas to lose his hold on the bow at the sudden outburst.
After a short silence he finally asked, "What doesn't make sense?"
"Your magic!" Twilight exclaimed. "My reveal spell said you weren't a changeling, but when you use magic I can feel the emotions in it! But it also has regular magic! That shouldn't be possible. Changelings don't have internal magic reservoirs!" The mare had a manic gleam in her eye and Selas suddenly found himself pondering escape routes. "The only way you'd have magic like that is if you were like...some kind of pony-changeling hybrid, but the princess said that changelings can't breed with ponies!" A single strand of the mares hair curled slightly and a sound akin to glass being broken entered his ears.
"My mother was an alicorn when she was pregnant with me but became a changeling shortly before she gave birth. As such, I'm a sort of...middle-ground, I suppose." He spoke quickly and clearly, hoping to snap the mare out of her obvious psychotic break...it sort of worked.
Twilight.exe has stopped working...
Twilight, after a full minute of silence finally replied with three simple words, "Tell me everything." ***
For nearly half-an-hour, Selas found himself giving Twilight the abridged version of the story Princess Celestia had given him earlier, taking care to leave out certain parts, such as the genocidal slaughter of changelings and the hybrids such as himself. Rather, he told her that the changelings and alicorns went their separate ways. As the story came to a close, Selas noticed that Twilight had dozens of papers and quills floating in her magical aura. He didn't doubt that every single word he spoke had been written down.
"This is incredible! Oh, there are so many tests we'll need to run!"
As the mare went on about everything they could stand to learn, Selas smiled sadly as he spoke firmly. "I'm leaving tonight, as soon as the sun sets and I find a map of Equestria."
"What? But you can't leave! There's so much we could learn!"
"I give you my word that I'll return for your tests one day." Selas found himself chuckling at the mare's childlike look of disappointment. "But before that, I have much to learn about this land."
Twilight looked like she wanted to argue but the resolute expression on Selas' face caused her to sigh and nod. "Fine, but pinkie promise you'll come back and let me run my tests."
"Uh..." a look of uncertainty crossed the stallions face, but he nodded, "sure, I pinkie promise."
Twilight quickly ran him through the motions. "There, now you have to come back." She stated matter of factly.
"Very well then...do you have a map of Equestria lying around by chance?"
Twilight nodded, suddenly cheerful once again as she levitated a large book from the shelves and opened it, a map of Equestria on display.
Selas briefly thought back to what the princess had said earlier. Doesn't get any farther south than the badlands...
"Well then Miss Sparkle, it has been a pleasure to meet you. Until next time." The stallion gave a deep, sweeping bow, and trotted towards the door.
"Wait! Where are you going first?" Twilight followed him out of the library.
"I'll probably pay a trip to Appleloosa first, and from there I'll explore the badlands."
"What will you do for supplies?" Part of Twilight wanted to tell the stallion to stay away from the badlands -they were called that for a reason- but she knew it wouldn't sway him.
"I'm a hunter Miss Sparkle." Selas gave a grin, revealing not only the standard pony teeth, but four sharp fangs as well, in an intimidating display. "I need no supplies."
With a hard shove off of the ground, Selas zipped into the air, his wings buzzing furiously as he sped southwards, directly towards the Everfree Forest. |
The Hunter | The End {Chapter 3} | True to his word, Selas needed no supplies; by the time night had fallen, he'd managed to fill his quiver with various rune-etched arrows and crafted a pair of rough leather saddlebags from the hide of Lamp's manticore kill as well as a pair of waterskins. They weren't pretty, being sewn up with a small bone-needle and more sinew, but they were comfortable and durable. In addition to the bags and waterskin, he'd fashioned a pair of extra bow-strings, for when his inevitably became too worn for use. Throughout all of this, he found himself astonished at just how much magic he had available. Normally, he'd only be able to fire a few arrows with his magic at a time, if he wanted to have any spare magic for wielding his axes, but now he felt like he could empty the quiver and have energy to spare.
It was a fairly simple explanation, in his opinion. This was his native world and it was abundant with the energy his body had been designed for. He assumed that what he had access to on Kalimdor was only what his body produced on it's own. Something else he hadn't really noticed until his stay in Ponyville was that in addition to magic, he had a reservoir of...well, he could only describe it as a mixture of feelings. The changeling half of him, he assumed. Even now, he could feel miniscule amounts of emotion drifting off into the pool as his natural reservoirs soaked in the abundance of magic in the air, filtering tiny amounts of emotion from it. He could feel both of them being drained in order to cast spells, though he was undecided if it was good or bad. It essentially cost him twice as much energy to cast a spell, such as levitation, since he had to dip into both pools, but in exchange, the emotional pool would fill itself up naturally over time, without him feeding, as Celestia stated that changelings had to do.
A familiar growl broke him out of his thoughts and Selas turned to watch Lamp crawl out of the underbrush, bloated waterskins dangling from his mouth.
"Ah, thank you, Lamp." Selas hung both of the waterskins from the leather saddlebags. Glancing up at the sky, he could vaguely see the moon through the canopy of trees. "Well then, ready to travel?"
Lamp responed by turning southwest and hunching forward slightly.
"Off we go then!" ***
The first night went without issue; the pair had bedded down in an abandoned castle and Selas had stumbled upon various fruits in the garden, though at this point they were growing fairly wild and a lot of them weren't edible, courtesy of wildlife. A number of apples, oranges, strawberries, and blackberries found their way into his saddlebags, while the rest found their way into his stomach, shortly before dawn. As the sun rose, Selas and Lamp pulled the door to one of the many abandoned bedrooms shut, allowing them a peaceful sleep in the darkness. They awoke as soon as the sun began to drop below the horizon and once again resumed their trip.
The second day was interesting. Shortly after leaving the ruins of the castle, a large crocolisk-like creature had attacked them as they filled their waterskins at the river. A well-placed arrow down the throat made short work of it and Selas spent the rest of the day carving the large creature up and drying the meat that Lamp didn't eat over a fire, for future use. He stored a number of the bones as well as the hide, before throwing the remnants into the river for its brothers and continuing on his way as the moon rose high in the sky. They camped on the edge of the Everfree Forest that night, bedding down several hours before sunrise. A small town - Dodge Junction, if memory served - could just barely be seen in the distance, and since the ponies were diurnal creatures, he assumed it best that they approach during the day. With any luck, he might find somepony willing to purchase the large crocolisk hide. Elune knows he didn't have any use for it.
As the sun rose, starting the third day, Selas made his way into town, shifting his saddlebags over his wings. As uncomfortable as it was, he didn't doubt he'd have an easier time in town if they thought he was a regular unicorn. Not long after he entered town, a bulky brown earth-pony with a golden mane and worn stetson approached him.
"Howdy there friend." The stallion's voice was inviting, though Selas could tell from the emotions he gave off that it was a front. Something else he found himself adjusting to was the different emotions that the ponies gave off. Something else Kalimdor lacked, he supposed.
"Name's Sheriff Gold Star." He motioned briefly back to his cutie mark which was in fact a five-pointed golden star. "I'm the sheriff here at Dodge Junction. What's your name, friend?"
"I'm Selas Nightwind, a hunter. A pleasure to meet you, Sheriff." Selas met eyes with the Sheriff, causing the stallion to swallow uneasily.
"And what business do ya' have here in Dodge?"
"I'm passing through to the Badlands, although I have a hide I'd like to sell, if anybody in town purchases such things." Selas glanced up at the sun and then at the town. A surprising number of ponies were awake for such an early hour.
"I see." The sheriff eyed him and Selas picked up the...taste, he supposed, of strong suspicion. Before, it had been a mixture of fear, worry, and a small sliver of hope. "Well, what yer' doin' in the Badlands is your business. As fer' the hide, Fair Deal over in at the saloon might buy it. He likes to collect strange things. Other than that, I'll ask ye' to keep yer' head down. We've had some problem with vandals wreckin' up the town and harassin' travellers lately. We asked the crown for help but haven't heard anythin' yet." The sheriff tipped his hat and turned around, walking towards town. "Welcome to Dodge Junction," he commented almost as an after-thought.
After a quick trip to the saloon where Selas managed to sell the hide - a cragodile hide, he learned - for a price of two-hundred and fifty bits, he left town through the south, disregarding the various looks and suspicion all of the townsfolk gave him. It wasn't until he neared the Badlands and a number of ponies stopped him on the road that the day got interesting.
"Can I help you?" Selas glanced around at the six ponies that had surrounded him. He wasn't surprised, as Lamp had warned him of them ahead of time.
"Oh, you can help us alright," one of the ponies said with a chuckle. "Drop the weapons and yer' saddlebags and we'll let ya' go. How's that sound?" The pony looked at him with a grin.
"It sounds like you're stupid." Selas' blunt delivery caused the grin to disappear almost immediately.
I suppose these are the ponies the sheriff mentioned...
"Whatever you ponies are up to is no business of mine, but I have business to attend and I'd like to be on my way." Selas made to sidestep the pony, only for the pony to move in front of him. "Get him fellas!" The pony made to rush forward only for a scream to rip its way out of his throat as a massive black and grey blur smashed into him. The other five ponies almost immediately backed up in fear.
"Don't run. If you run he'll want to chase you." Selas advised the ponies. He glanced at the stallion that had seemed to be leading them, which Lamp had smashed into. He had likely been dead before he hit the ground. "If I were to guess, I'd say your best chance for survival would be to calmly walk towards town. Maybe report this incident to the sheriff." Selas glanced at Lamp who stood over his kill and back at the ponies who were taking his advice and walking - albeit, radiating pure, unadulterated fear - towards Dodge Junction. "Come on, we can still make the Badlands before sundown." ***
Sure enough, just as the sun vanished and the moon rose, the pair stepped into the barren waste that was the Badlands. Almost as soon as he stepped in, a light hum set to reverberating through his mind. Occasionally, as the pair trekked deeper in, he would make out a multitude of words, the only word of note being "royal."
A soft growl broke him out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Lamp, I can see them." Admittedly, they were doing far better than the ponies from earlier, but at this point he doubted there were many creatures capable of stalking him, especially when Lamp was by his side.
'Go, inform the queen! We'll keep an eye on him!'
It was the first full thought that had entered his mind. Stopping, he glanced backwards, feeling a faint tug at his mind. "Let's take a break," Selas suggested, sitting down with his back to a wall of stone.
'What's he doing?'
Another full thought made it into his mind, this one followed by a reply.
'He seems to be eating.'
As he pulled the strawberries from his saddlebags, a thought crossed his mind. With a slight grin, he allowed a thought to cross his mind, projecting it outward as best he could, 'I'm stopping for a short meal. You're both more than welcome to join me if you'd like. Lamp doesn't bite.'
A brief impression of shock and fear reverberated over the odd mental link, followed by uncertainty and curiosity. After nearly five minutes of absolute silence, without so much as the hum in his mind, the hum returned and one of the two creatures that had been tracking him carefully approached the camp.
A changeling? Selas could certainly see some resemblance between himself and this creature, though this creature looked almost emaciated. The changeling was covered head to toe in black chitin, a pair of green, pupiless eyes gazing at Lamp in both fear and awe. The changelings wing and mane -fin?- both seemed to sag, and while it physically looked healthy, the changeling just felt emaciated and starved. Selas found himself surprised that the changeling was capable of standing upright, much less following him as long as he had.
"Good evening, I'm Selas Nightwind. What's your name?" He remembered what Celestia had said about the creatures feeding on emotions. Carefully, he dipped into his internal reservoir and channeled a small amount of love through his horn, directing it at the changeling.
The effect was almost immediate, the changeling's eyes widening and its jaw dropping slightly.
"Uh..." It finally spoke. The voice, Selas noted, was feminine and sounded odd, like it had a second layer underneath it. "I'm scout number seventeen." The scout glanced at him uncertainly, though Selas could feel...gratitude, he believed. It was odd. Unlike the ponies, the emotion was there plain as day, but it didn't contain any actual energy in it. Just the plain emotion, similar to what he would feel back on Kalimdor. Emotions without any...nutritional value. "Forgive me for asking, but what are you?" The changeling tore its gaze from the snoozing Lamp to the giant unicorn, who had levitated his saddlebags off and pulled a number of strawberries from it, offering them to changeling.
As he pondered whether or not he should give the scout the full story, he flexed his wings out. Unlike the scout, who had two tattered wings, he had four wings made of the same similar material, only full and unblemished.
"My name is Selas Nightwind and I am a changeling-hybrid." Selas packed the strawberries back into his bag when the scout didn't react to them. "And I'd like to warn you that if all of your other...scouts, I guess, decide to attack me, it likely won't end well for you or them." It wasn't a threat or bravado; Selas spoke as if it were a simple universal fact. As he did so, he levitated his bow from its resting spot on the quiver, as well as an rune-tipped arrow.
Another changeling landed a short distance away. This one was different. It felt healthier and wore ornate, deep-blue armor. Unlike the first scout, it spoke with a commanding tone and had a pair of pupiless blue eyes. "The queen has requested your presence in the hive."
Selas could tell by the feelings the changeling gave off as well as by tone and body language that it wasn't a request. "Very well then, let's go meet your queen, youngling." The soldier, as Selas had decided to name him, frowned at the title of youngling and opened his mouth to retort only to realize that at some point Selas, as well as his cat had made it to the space directly in front of him, and the hybrid, as he'd referred to himself, was a lot bigger up close, and far more intimidating when his eyes, - eerily reminiscent of the Queen as they were - were gazing down on him. Swallowing slightly, Soldier nodded and turned, sending out a mental signal that while Selas couldn't hear, was able to feel. ***
The hive was...simple, for lack of a better word. The formations all looked natural with the exception of hundreds of holes carved into the wall and a single room off to the side, blocked off by a stone door and guarded by four separate changelings. The structure was lit by a dull green light which emanated from the some type of...crystals, he supposed, hanging on the ceiling. All in all, it wasn't terribly notable, with the exception of the various changelings staring at them as they passed. None of them looked what he would call healthy, and some of them looked downright miserable.
Lamp growled softly, drawing Selas' attention to him. With a tilt of his head, the Nightsaber motioned towards a small alleyway of sorts. Focusing carefully, Selas could just hear a slight whimper as he faced it. Without addressing his escort, he broke off, trotting towards the sounds. He could feel a mixture of fear and uncertainty as he approached. By the time his escort realized he had broke off from them, he was kneeled in front of a young nymph. The soldier that he had first spoken to made to rush over to him only for the cat to growl dangerously at him, putting the entire escort on edge and causing their horns to flare to life.
"At ease young one, I'm not going to hurt you." Selas briefly examined the child; her pupiless green eyes conveyed a surprising amount of emotion. All of the changelings had looked malnourished, but this one - a young female, he somehow knew - was almost painfully malnourished. Little more than chitin over a thin skeletal frame. Dipping into his reserves as he had with the scout earlier, he began funneling a thin trickle of love through his horn, directing it towards the nymph. After several seconds the fear and uncertainty vanished in favor of eagerness and...desperation.
"The queen doesn't like to be kept waiting!" Soldier called out, trying to sidestep Lamp, only for the cat to match movement, amusement twinkling in his eyes.
"Where are your parents, young one?" Selas spoke gently; the emotions shifted once more, this time settling on...depression? "I see. Would you like to come with me?" Selas hunched forward slightly. After another brief surge of certainty, the young changeling scrambled onto his head and slid down to his withers.
Trotting back to his escort, Selas smiled wryly. Soldier was trying to fly over Lamp, but the low cave-ceiling prevented him from gaining any height. Any time he tried to fly over, Lamp would swat him away.
"I'm ready to meet your queen."
Soldier gave a glance at the young changeling and back at Selas. "Her Majesty will not like unexpected company." He motioned a hoof towards the nymph who flinched reflexively and buried herself deeper into Selas' dark cerulean mane.
"She'll adjust," the hybrid bluntly stated; it wasn't a question.
Clenching his jaw, Soldier simply nodded and the group once more went on it's way. *** ***
It was an odd feeling. Selas decided there had been a lot of those today. Ever since his first encounter with the changelings, it was like a whole second side of him had opened up. He'd grown a second...mind, of sorts linking him to, as far as he knew, all of the changelings. In addition, he found that he could speak to them, and siphon emotions along the same link, though it had to be channeled through his horn. In addition to all of those new discoveries, he somehow knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he had a sister. He couldn't quite describe it, he simply knew. And judging by the silent, wide-eyed stare of the Queen, she knew as well.
For nearly ten solid minutes, the room fell into absolute silence. It wasn't until the nymph on his back sneezed cutely that the pair seemed to snap back to reality.
"Guards, leave us." The queen's voice shivered briefly before she met eyes with the filly on Selas' withers. "And take that nymph with you." She glanced towards the nymph, causing her to whimper and try to bury herself in his mane once more.
The guard made to reach for her only for Selas to turn and cut him off. "I'll kindly ask you to leave her alone." The soldier glanced at his queen and back at Selas, uncertainty clear on his face.
"Very well, leave her, I've no objection if she isn't causing my brother issue." Chrysalis waved her guards out of the room.
Selas glanced at Lamp, blinking several times before turning back to Chrysalis, the pair of them lapsing into an awkward silence once more.
As the silence persisted, Selas found himself going over the queen. The resemblance between the two of them was striking. If he lost his fur and made his horn slightly more jagged, she'd be like a smaller version of him.
Finally, Selas spoke. "Sister." It was a neutral tone. He wasn't entirely sure how he should feel regarding the Queen of the Changelings. She only looked marginally healthier than her subjects and hadn't spoken harshly to them.
"Yes, so it seems." Chrysalis trotted off of the crudely carved stone throne and trotted slowly towards Selas.
Selas felt almost like a piece of meat on display as Chrysalis circled him, taking in every detail, including a strange feeling as her magic washed over him, seeming to measure his own reserves.
Chrysalis returned to her throne, a contemplative smile adorning her features. "So, why have you come here...?" she trailed off, waiting for an introduction.
"Ah, Selas. Selas Nightwind. And you?"
"Chrysalis," she said simply.
Another awkward silence began, only for Chrysalis to stomp it out before it began. "So, what do you hope to accomplish by coming here?"
"I'm not honestly sure," Selas admitted with a shrug. "I learned the history of...well, myself, from Celestia, and came here to try and acquaint myself with my other half I suppose. I must say, I didn't expect..." Selas motioned at the room around him. "Is this the home of the changelings? It's rather...small. To say nothing of how malnourished everyone looks."
Chrysalis sighed loudly and stared at the floor. "I'm afraid this is home, brother. We're in the process of carving it out further, but we only recently relocated here. After the fiasco in Canterlot, we had nowhere else to turn. But you know, you could help change all of that." The pairs' eyes met.
"How can I help?" Selas watched as Chrysalis trotted back off of her throne and towards him, their eyes remaining locked the entire time.
"You're the middle ground." Her voice had sounded almost hypnotic. It conjured up images of a being he had only met a handful of times but had the same tone: Queen Azshara. He had a feeling he would end up liking his sister about the same. "To say nothing of the abilities you displayed to Sun-butt back in Ponyville." Her gaze seemed to hold him, his head turning to follow her as she stepped along his side.
It wasn't until a growl reverberated through his mental link - and by extension, that of nearby changelings - that Selas snapped back to reality, tearing his gaze from the queen and trying to clear his clouded mind.
A poorly concealed frown spread across Chrysalis' muzzle as she turned her back to the stallion, continuing to speak. "With your abilities, you could eliminate the princesses, and give the changelings the food they desperately need."
Though his exterior was calm, his mind was racing, trying to figure what exactly had just happened, all the while trying desperately to keep his thoughts and emotions hidden from the other emotivores linked to him now. "Have you considered trying to make peace?" Selas doubted that Princess Celestia would turn away such an offer.
"And what reason do I have to make peace with them?" Chrysalis raised her voice, irritation clear, "It's their fault we're in this position to begin with!"
"Are you referring to the invasion Celestia told me about or the other history we share with them?" Selas shook his shoulders slightly, causing the nymph to slide off of him. "To the shadows, young one." He slid her along the floor with a hoof, nudging her in the general direction he felt Lamp.
"Both!" Chrysalis raised her voice even further, "What was I going to do? Ask them for aid so they could systematically massacre those of us that remained? Invasion was the only option to ensure our survival."
"It may have been, I don't know all of the specifics," Selas admitted. "But at this point what other options are there? If you seek their aid, there is a chance they'll turn on you, if you don't then the changelings die."
"Then we'll die with dignity, not grovelling at the hooves of alicorns." Chrysalis spoke with finality and approached her throne once more.
"You're going to let your people die because of a millennia old grudge?" Selas raised his own voice slightly, irritation of his own creeping in. "I don't know what you went through all those years ago, Chrysalis, but you're dooming your people without trying every avenue available to you. What kind of queen does that?"
"Guards!" Chrysalis suddenly called out. Quickly, the escort of five changelings, one of whom he had labeled 'Soldier' filtered back into the room. "Subdue him." Their eyes once again met. "He will help us bring down Equestria, whether he likes it or not."
Wasting no time in pulling his gaze away this time, he turned to the guards who were all gripping various weaponry in their green auras.
"Look at yourselves!" Selas levitated his own thorium axes out of their sheaths. "You're all starving and your queen prepares to throw you right back at the alicorns! Is this the life you want to live?"
The guards hesitated slightly, glancing between the two royals.
"Enough of this!" Chrysalis finally snapped, slamming a hoof into the ground that caused the entire cavern to shake. With a twist of her horn, a thin green beam of energy launched itself towards Selas, forcing him to leap back him and turning the ground he stood on moments ago into a pile of molten rock. "All of you, subdue him, or die to me!"
Selas suddenly felt a wave of...something fall over him. After several rushed thoughts, he settled on compulsion. Perhaps a side-effect of the hive-mind, he could feel the changelings bodies moving to follow the command, even if their minds were against it.
I can't kill them...they have no say in the matter... Selas thoughts ground to a halt as Lamp skidded along the cavern floor a short distance away.
No sooner than Selas had moved out of the beam, Lamp had bolted from the shadows and bowled into Chrysalis, sending her skidding across the floor. No sooner than he landed, he pounced in for a kill, jaws aiming for her throat; it was short lived as a powerful blast of magic sent Lamp crashing into the ceiling and back to the floor, unmoving.
Selas's entire world slowed down as Lamp lay there unresponsive on the floor. Over thirty-five hundred years the two had been alongside each other, Lamp having received a blessing from Cenarius for that purpose alone. He wasn't immortal by any means, but the blessing of the wild granted him eternal youth. While he couldn't die of old age, he most certainly could die of injuries, and Chrysalis had just attempted - and possibly succeeded - in taking that from him.
With a leap backwards, Selas's bow drifted up from his quiver, followed by a multitude of arrows, each one with a rune on the tip. His first order of business consisted of firing an arcane-tipped arrow at the ceiling near the entrance. With a crash, rocks exploded, crashing down and effectively sealing them into the large, empty cavern. Knocking another arrow, Selas ran towards the group, glancing briefly at Chrysalis who was climbing to her hooves once more, clearly in some degree of pain. Releasing the arrow, Selas shut his eyes as the room erupted into light, causing several of his aggressors to drop their weapons and slam their eyes shut, while the others shut their eyes yet kept a hold on their weapons. It mattered little as Selas took advantage of the brief blindness and slammed the back of his axes into their skulls in rapid succession; the sound of cracking chitin reverberated throughout the dimly-lit cavern as all five of the changelings fell to the ground, dead or unconscious, he wasn't sure.
Even as he laid the changelings out, Selas kept running towards Chrysalis, axes rushing to catch up with him even as his bow readied another arrow.
Chrysalis, finally managing to find her footing, threw her horn outward at Selas once again, another, wider beam erupting from the tip. Unlike the previous one, this beam shattered the ground in front of Selas, sending him tumbling forward and into an uncontrolled roll. As he slid into her, she brought her hooves crashing down on his side.
With a pained grunt and only barely maintaining his magical grip on the axes, Selas rolled upright just in time to see Chrysalis charging another beam. As the energy reached its zenith, the mare's eyes suddenly shot wide in pain as the axes buried themselves side-by-side in her chitin. Had it not been for the thick shell, they'd likely have passed right through. Instead, Selas found himself unable to pull themselves out with his magic alone. Quickly dropping the magical grip on the axes, he knocked another arrow.
Chrysalis, flooded with adrenaline, teleported across the room in a flash of light, once again charging her horn as Selas rushed towards her. As her horn reached the zenith of its energy once again, the arrow was loosed. This arrow, having been charged over a span of several seconds, was aimed directly at the queen's chest.
Whether on instinct or skill, the queen raised a hoof, the carefully aimed shot penetrating the shell and punching right through, the first fourth of the arrow making it through her hoof and into her chest. Damaging, but not the kill shot he'd been hoping for.
With a pained grunt, Chrysalis ripped the arrow out of her chest just in time for Selas to barrel into her, throwing her out of her feet. Her horn, having retained its charge this time, went wild, throwing out a bolt of energy. Whether by luck or intention, Selas felt himself lifted bodily off of the ground as the wind left him and he careened towards a wall. Managing to twitch his wings, he shifted trajectory slightly, crashing into the wall side-first rather than horn-first. The wall, and most of the bones on one side of his body, cracked before he slid to floor in a broken heap.
It's funny... Selas found himself thinking as he struggled painfully to his feet. I land on my home world, learn the history of my species, meet a long list sister, and we're trying to kill each other... Selas glanced at his bow and quiver, lying on the ground. Flaring his horn up, he winced as his magical hold was broken when another well-charged beam turned quiver and bow alike into a pile of dust. or she's killing me I suppose... With a bloody smile, Selas forced himself to stand upright as Chrysalis carefully trotted towards him, blood oozing out her chest, a frown on her face.
"I hope you'll do better than me..." It was so soft that Selas almost wondered if he'd imagined it. He had no time to ask however as a massive weight bowled her over, Lamp once more sending her skidding along the floor.
Unlike last time, her chitin was no longer perfectly smooth and the Nightsaber's claws found purchase along the wooden shaft of the axes buried in her side. Latching on, two massive fangs buried themselves in Chrysalis's neck, punching through the chitin like a knife through taut parchment. The queen's eyes went wide as she went down, crashing into the floor with a wet grunt, Lamp still on top of her and his jaws still closed tightly, occasionally jerking.
As quickly as he could with his shattered ribs and shoulder, Selas limped over towards the queen. My only family... Selas stared sadly at Chrysalis who returned the gaze with sadness and fear. Four-thousand plus years and the first thing that happens upon meeting my only blood relative is that I disprove of her leadership, followed by a fight to the death...
Selas felt his heart stop when tears began to roll down Chrysalis' face, and he felt himself choke up slightly. "I'm sorry Chrysalis...I..." Selas choked up slightly once more as the life faded from the queen's eyes and Lamp finally let up, no doubt feeling her artery stop pumping.
Selas felt the energy leave his body and fell onto his flanks, head drooping as what he had just done set in. Though he couldn't pinpoint the specific reason why, Selas felt hot tears working their way down his cheeks as he glanced down at the corpse. "I'm sorry..." he mumbled again, choked sobs coming in succession now. It wasn't until he felt something nudging him slightly that the sobs stopped. Turning around, he glanced at the tiny nymph, who glanced at the queen uncertainly. With a pained swallow, Selas bit back the tears and bottled his emotions up. Reaching out with a hoof, he carefully slid Chrysalis' eyes closed and released a slow, steadying sigh.
As Selas finished regaining himself, a soft rumble slipped through the room as the ceiling he had collapsed earlier was shifted away by a dozen or so changelings. Opening his mind once more, he felt hundreds, possibly thousands of voices all panicking, none of them certain what had happened. Steeling himself with a deep breath, he mentally shouted, Silence!
Expectedly, the voices faded into silence within seconds. Scout Number Seventeen, to the..." he glanced around the trashed chamber, eyes settling on Chrysalis's throne. throne room immediately. Anyone else who can hear me, keep doing whatever it is you're doing. Selas tried to project his thoughts with a sense of authority; not quite what Chrysalis had managed earlier with her forced compulsion - Selas felt that it was likely an ability he had not been blessed with - but commanding none the less. ***
For several days, Selas busied himself with recovering - as his heavily bandaged body indicated - and figuring out the Changeling's state of affairs, provided for him by his new adviser, the former Scout Seventeen.
Everything from their numbers to their supply of love - something they apparently stored in a green goo that they could create - to the racial specifics, such as the classes. Drones, infiltrators, scouts, it all was apparently determined at birth and dictated by the natural color of their eyes. At least the birthing had been simple; while changelings could appear as either sex, they all 'identified' as one gender or another. Female's naturally produced eggs and males would fertilize them. The female would lay the eggs, and soon you have a nymph causing you trouble; Selas knew, he had a nymph of his own causing him trouble, adorable as she was.
Something else he discovered was that none of the changelings seemed to have names. Chrysalis had numbered them for convenience, a thought that while he could understand it, really bothered him. Alas, that was a problem for another time. First and foremost, he had to solve the food problem.
He himself had been funneling every bit of emotion he could manage, but it simply wasn't enough. On top of that, the ponies were still on the lookout for changelings among their towns. As night fell on the third day, Selas glanced up at the moon and frowned, contemplating how to contact Equestria. He was in no condition to travel, and the changelings likely wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the castle without prior clearance. "Princess Luna," Selas spoke in a firm voice, "if you can hear me, please, visit me tonight. I've a dire matter to discuss but lack the means to do so in person." It was a longshot, but if that didn't work he'd have to send Lamp, who wasn't doing terribly well himself, or make the trip on his own regardless of his health.
That night, much to his surprise, Selas found himself face-to-face with Princess Luna only moments after closing his eyes.
The princess of the night glanced at the heavily bandaged stallion across from her. "Twould seem you've seen better days." She glanced over the bandages.
"Without a doubt, though I honestly feel I got off easy. Chrysalis could have killed me if she really wanted to." Selas thought back to her last words. He wouldn't let her down, he swore on Elune.
Luna suddenly grew very interested, "You have encountered Chrysalis? Does she hold you captive?"
"I have encountered her, yes. It was to be expected, as she was my sister." Selas smiled sadly. "And no, she doesn't hold me captive, Princess. She and I didn't see eye-to-eye. We fought, she died."
Luna reeled back in shock. "We see...we apologize. It couldn't have been easy..." Luna hesitated, clearly uncertain how to address such an issue.
"In any case, that's not why I called you here, Princess." Selas took a short breath, wincing as his ribs twinged in the process, "With my sister dead, I've taken over rule of the Changelings that remain. There are roughly twelve-hundred of them, and things are fairly bleak. I would like to try and broker peace between your ponies and my changelings. Neither of our races should have to live in fear."
Luna's eyes widened in surprise.
"And I apologize for this, but I'd like to do it quickly if possible. There are a number of ponies held captive in feeding pods. They're uninjured, but if the changelings extract from them much longer, there could be issues. If the changelings don't feed from them, they'll start to die of starvation." Selas sighed and pressed a hoof to his head wearily.
Luna had initially opened her mouth to demand the release of the ponies, but fell silent as his explanation finished. "We will bring this to our sister's attention immediately, but let no harm befall our little ponies, Selas." It wasn't quite an order, but it was no request.
"I look forward to meeting you in person, Guardian of the Moon." Selas bowed low in respect as Luna faded from his dream. |
The Hunter | Epilogue | Selas looked even worse than Luna had described, Celestia decided. In three days, both princesses had arranged a diplomatic visit to the Changeling Hive by Celestia while Luna would watch over Canterlot. Selas stood outside of a cave with a pair of large changelings, dressed in ornate blue armor and pupiless blue eyes. Despite his obvious injuries, Selas seemed to exude an air of confidence and regality. "Princess Celestia." Selas bowed his head respectfully to the mare, briefly scanning over her guards. A total of six, two of each species, all dressed in ornate white and gold armor. He'd yet to fashion a new bow or arrows, but he doubted that the guards would overcome the multitudes of changelings in the shadows should it come to that.
"King Selas," Celestia spoke respectfully, dipping her head in a similar manner, though her eyes lingered briefly on his bandages. To most ponies and changelings, he looked fine if a little intimidating, but to a pony as old as she, it was clear he was barely standing, and very heavily favoring his right side rather than his left.
"We should speak inside, out of the heat," Selas spoke as he turned towards the cave-entrance. ***
After a short walk through the tunnel and into the cavernous chamber that served as a throne-room, the pair found themselves alone, having left their guards a short distance from the entryway and just out of earshot.
"You should really have those injuries looked at," Celestia was quick to note, approaching Selas and circling around him, taking in the injuries up-close.
Blushing slightly at the sudden close-proximity, Selas shook his head and backpedaled slightly. "They can wait until my people's problems are dealt with."
Celestia's ever-present smile faltered slightly, but she nodded and recovered quickly. "I saw a number of them on the way in. Are they all so sickly?"
"Those are just the ones able to still move around and work. Around half of them are in even worse shape. I think the nymphs - or foals that is - have it the worst." Selas all but collapsed onto his haunches, his strength all but leaving him.
"There are children as well?" Celestia seemed surprised for some reason.
"Few hundred and they're all smaller than they have any right being."
Very quickly he ran over the projected figures, mentioning the dozens of ponies held in pods and how they were draining as sparingly as possible, trying to solve their food-crisis. It was a short explanation, as the only pressing matters were the impending food-crisis and the ponies they held in captivity, draining them as sparingly as possible. Ultimately, they had maybe another two weeks of food before they'd start losing their pony food-sources and maybe three weeks before changelings started to die of starvation.
"As I told Princess Luna, I'd like to discuss peace between our races, though at this point you've got pretty much full-reel on the terms. What will it take for you to help save the changelings?"
Carefully running the information over in her head, Celestia sat down as well, putting a hoof to her chin. "And how would we help, if we so chose?" Celestia locked eyes with Selas.
The hybrid frowned uncertainly, "I'm not entirely sure princess, I'm no ruler. In my four-thousand years of life, my only example of a ruler was a tyrant that drove my world to the brink of annihilation," Selas maintained the gaze they now shared, "Changelings can feed off of any positive emotion, it just so happens that love is the most effective and filling. To be honest, at this point, we need volunteers for cocooning. I'm told that they would normally keep several dozen captives and cycle them so none of them came to harm, but after the failed invasion, it became much harder to work the relays, so one income of food was cut off, causing them to rely solely on the ponies in a cocoon." His frown hardened and an apology was clear in his eyes, "I'd like you to ask your ponies to volunteer to cocooning. Temporarily, of course, just until something more long-term could be worked out."
Her smile failed completely this time, a thin hard line replacing it; Selas was quick to continue.
"They'd be recompensed for their time as well. We have an extensive pile of gems and Equestrian bits gathered one way or another that we have no immediate use for beyond this."
"And what assurance do I have that my little ponies will come to no harm? What assurance do they have? Changelings aren't exactly welcomed into our society, after the invasion." Though her smile was no longer present, her voice was clear and even.
"So long as it works out for the benefit of my people," Selas hesitated slightly, pulling his gaze away briefly only to lock it back on firmly, "you have my signature in blood on a blank piece of paper."
Celestia's eyes widened slightly at the offer, mildly surprised that a pony so new to their world knew of such a thing. Signed contracts and treaties were nothing new, but for a creature of magic to sign it in their blood and enchant it properly was an agreement forgotten by most. Selas would be obligated to follow through with the terms of his contract; physically and mentally compelled, and in return, so would she. They would both have to abide by the contract.
"Very well, King Selas, how soon can you travel to Canterlot?" |
Of Rangoons and Rapport | pre | "Yeah, but we went in expecting that, right? That pretty much nullifies their surprise, thus making it not a trap," Gavin grinned.
"We'll see about that!" A voice came from the front as Stir popped up from behind the counter, a large, tube-shaped object slung over his shoulder and aimed directly at them. Wordy and Gavin looked at it before Gavin flipped a table up, the two ducking behind it just as Stir squeezed a trigger and fired a large volley of noodles at them, some of the sauce splattering on the floor behind them as they slapped against the table.
"Is that a food cannon?" Gavin peeked up from over the table, ducking down as more noodles hit the table, narrowly missing him.
"That's a food cannon," Wordy nodded, "And I'm pretty sure it's got Hotshot's food loaded into it too if past experience is any indication. If we take a hit and the food gets in our mouths, we'll be enthralled again."
"Where did he even get that?" Gavin threw his talons up in the air in disbelief.
"I think from from Pinkie Pie as a gift from when he started this place up," Wordy replied.
"Rad," Gavin rolled his eyes and face-palmed, "Well, this just a lot more complicated...again," Gavin looked up again, only to almost get plastered again, this time by a barrage of rangoons fired by Crash, who had taken up a position on the ceiling.
"Trust me! You're really gonna' like these ones...NO MATTER WHAT!" She laughed loudly.
Gavin hunkered down lower, "Bro...I just want to take this opportunity to apologize for earlier."
"Gavin, don't worry about it," he shook his head, "I wasn't myself, like you said, and I don't mind you tackling me like that to help me. Things turned out and we're going to get through this, so I forgive you."
"I'm not talking about that," Gavin grinned sheepishly, "Um...ya' see, when I was talking with Z at her place, I kinda' made a comment about how Stir was gonna' be the easiest of you three to take on..." he chuckled, "So, ya' see, I kinda' feel like I caused this to happen."
"Oh...um...well, I forgive you for this too," Wordy nervously laughed, looking just past the table before going back to Gavin, "How many pears do you have left?"
"Uh..." Gavin opened up his bag and looked through it, "I've got three left."
"Which means we can only lose one," Wordy sighed, "We'll have to make this count then," he took one of the fruits into his magic field, "I've got an idea. Crash is a lot quicker. You keep her pinned in place with your shock blasts and I'll try and flank Stir and toss the pear into his mouth. These seem to take effect pretty quick...I just need to get in close."
"You got it," Gavin held up his fist, charging it up, "Just say the word, Bro. Good luck."
"You too, Gav," Wordy hoofbumped his other fist, "Alright," he braced himself getting ready to dart out from the table, "3...2...1...NOW!"
"Hey, Crash! Over here!" Gavin popped up from cover, pointing his outstretched left arm at her and firing off bolts of lightning at her, causing the meaty mare to dodge around, only able to fire back at him briefly.
"This isn't going to end well for you, Gavin! Hotshot might give me a bonus for stopping you here and I'm getting it, even if I have to make chicken wings out of you!" She shouted at him.
"Yeesh...evil Crash doesn't play around, apparently," Gavin kept an eye on Wordy as he charged around the corner, side-stepping as Stir fired a blast of greasy, noodles at him, wincing and turning his head away from the broken bits of noodle and sauce coating his body and mane, getting behind another table before teleporting across the room and getting underneath one.
"Wordy! Where'd you go?" Stir demanded, quickly moving his cannon around, scanning the area in an attempt to pinpoint Wordy's location, all the while Crash kept exchanging rangoon fire with Gavin's lightning shots. As Gavin popped up to shoot at her again, she managed to get a lucky shot off on him, striking his claws and making him wince in pain.
"Got you now, tubby!" She giggled, taking aim yet again.
"Oh no...Gavin!" Wordy dove out from underneath the table and reached out with his magic just in time to snatch the rangoon and change its trajectory...sending it flying right into his own mouth. His eyes bugged out from having it inside suddenly, forcing him to swallow or risk choking on it.
"Wordy, no!" Gavin cried as Wordy landed on the floor, sliding across it. To his surprise, the downed unicorn instead got back up to his hooves, looking no worse for wear and also not immediately jumping on any of the other food strewn across the room at this point.
"Ugh...those are so not Stir's rangoons," he groaned before also realizing what happened, "Wait, I didn't get affected!"
"No way! Those pears make you immune too? Awesome!" Gavin chuckled.
"I have no idea what you two are talking about and I don't care!" Crash aimed her rangoon blaster at Wordy again, only for it to give her a clicking sound instead. She checked it, noticing that she was out of ammunition, "What? Oh, forget it!" She tossed it to the ground and landed on the floor, kicking a chair out of her way as she advanced on Gavin, "You and me! Bring it!" She glared.
"Oh geez..." Gavin stood up to confront her, putting both his fists up to block a kick she threw at him, followed up by grabbing one of her legs to try and hold her. Unfortunately, Crash wriggled out of his grip and responded by spinning around and slamming him across the face with roundhouse from her back leg.
"Nice try, Gavin," she smirked, turning to the side and bashing her hips against him, knocking him over a table and leaving him sprawled out on the floor.
"Ow...aggh..." Gavin grunted as he struggled to get up, looking up at Crash as she walked toward him.
"Don't worry. I'll just knock you out. We can get to the feeding later," she grinned.
"Crash...if this was any other situation, I'd be mad at you," he got back up, reaching into his pack, "But since I know that this isn't you right now, I'll give you a pass on this one," he took out the potion Zecora had gifted to him earlier, "So if you want to take me down, go ahead and try!" He popped the top off and chugged the entire thing, swallowing it with a big gulp. The effects activated immediately as his entire body glowed with an ethereal, golden light, making Crash step back in shock.
"What? What did you just do?!" She growled.
"I thought you were gonna' deliver the knockout punch," Gavin laughed, "I'm waiting, Crash," he winked at her, "Bring it." Crash bared her teeth at him as she ran up to him, tackling him to the floor and repeatedly punching his side. Just as the zebra had said, while Gavin could feel Crash striking him it wasn't hurting him at all.
"Why isn't this...WORKING?!" Crash snarled.
"Bro! It worked! I'm invulnerable!" Gavin laughed.
"Good to know! Pear her if you can!" Wordy called back.
"Crash! Hold him down! I've still got noodles left to fire!" Stir brought the cannon back up again, targeting Gavin.
"My pleasure," Crash again grabbed Gavin by the front legs and did her best to try and hold his beak open.
"Gaack!" Gavin squawked as he struggled with Crash, trying again to escape and making failed attempts to bite her hooves.
"Open wide, Gavin," Stir prepared to fire again, only for a bright flash to shine throughout the room, causing him to cover his eyes with his hooves and drop the cannon, the large object clattering to the ground with a loud bang.
"Say cheese, Stir!" Shutter flew in from the side, taking pictures at him, the large flash bulb on her camera going off repeatedly before she looked at Wordy and smiled at him.
"Shutter!" Wordy beamed back at her.
"Huh?" Crash looked up at the other pegasus pony only to get kicked off Gavin and into the air just as Gavin's body ceased its glow. She glared at her attacker, meeting the eyes of Zecora, who stared back at her with a focused, calm expression.
"Sonic Crash, pegasus of fiery passion, I am only going to ask you once to cease your feisty action," she said, circling Crash.
"Z, be careful! Remember her wings!" Gavin stood up, almost collapsing as he did so.
"Of that I am conscious," Zecora glanced back as Crash flew down at her, "And I shall be cautious."
"Eat this!" Crash cocked her hoof back and threw a hard strike at Zecora. The zebra rolled away just as her hoof slammed into the ground next to her and, with blindingly fast precision, jabbed her hoof into a few sections of Crash's portly torso. All of the sudden, Crash stopped and simply fell over onto her side, "Wha-what the hay did you do to me?!"
"A few points of pressure I needed to poke, and now your mobility I have indeed broke," Zecora responded, looking down at Crash.
"Woohoo! Nice job!" Gavin clapped, only to groan a little as he felt his stomach gurgle loudly, "Okay, that wasn't a hunger pain, what's the dea-URK!" He hiccuped loudly as his body ebbed and quivered as he all of the sudden lost his excess weight, "Whoa...hey! I'm not chubby any-" His jubilation was interrupted by his stomach rumbling yet again along with another strange feeling that began to flow all throughout his body, ending with one of his front feet suddenly increasing in size, looking comically out of proportion with the rest of his body. Gavin stared down at it in shock before he looked back over over his shoulder, noticing that his tail all of the sudden lengthened and thickened, "Oh, crap." As if on cue, the rest of his body joined in, stretching and growing bigger until he was at least twice his original size and still progressing, his burgeoning sides knocking tables and chairs over.
"Oh, that's not good," Shutter blinked.
"My restaurant!" Stir lamented, giving Wordy enough time to toss the pear into his mouth, making him cry out as he collapsed, the same popping sound coming as the mass of jiggly adipose the earth pony had accumulated vanished within seconds.
"One down!" Wordy vaulted over the counter and galloped over to Gavin's fallen bag, taking another out, "Zecora, catch!" He tossed the green fruit over to Zecora, who caught it and stuck it inside Crash's mouth, causing the same to happen to her.
"And that makes two," Zecora said, "We are almost through."
"Yeah, but we've got a bigger problem now!" Shutter pointed toward the still enlarging Gavin. At this point, the griffon towered over them, slowly inching closer and closer to the ceiling and taking up more space the bigger he got.
"How long have you been waiting to make that pun?" Gavin put both his talons against the roof in a failed attempt to try and keep him from bumping into it.
"Since about a minute ago?" The blue pegasus shrugged.
"Zecora, any ideas?" Wordy started to slowly step back, taking Crash up into a magic field.
"I have never had a potion cause such a spurt, we must stop this before anypony gets hurt" Zecora eyed the growing griffon up and down before looking at Gavin's bag, "Wordy Notes, I may require a helping hoof. Transport me up there to the roof," she pointed up as she put Gavin's bag around her shoulder.
Wordy nodded, "Ready!" He covered Zecora in magic, teleporting her up to the ceiling as she jumped between the beams, "Gavin! I think I know what she's doing! Open your mouth!"
"Hurry!" Gavin craned his head to the side as the roof above him started to buckle against his heightening body, "I really don't want to break this place any more than I already have!" He opened his beak as wide as he could. As she got close, Zecora withdrew the last remaining pear from the bag and jumped toward Gavin, throwing the pear into his mouth before doing a flip mid-air and sliding down his shoulder all the way to the ground before running over to Wordy and Shutter as all three watched with bated breaths, Gavin keeping his eyes tightly shut as not to witness whatever was about to happen. Suddenly, the effect ceased as he still remained the large size had been blown up to from the potion backfiring, but he was no longer getting any bigger.
"Oh, thank Celestia," Wordy let out a sigh of relief as he sat down.
Shutter looked around the room before she brought up her camera and took a few pictures of Gavin, looking at everypony else, "What? Nopony is gonna' believe this later." **
"So, let me get this straight. Hotshot was using this blubbercup thing to get all of Ponyville addicted to his food?" Crash asked Wordy.
"Yup," Wordy nodded.
"And it could be cured by eating pears and that's what happened to me and Stir?"
"Mhm," another nod.
"And we have Lyra, Princess Celestia and some special agent to thank for catching him and turning the rest of the town back to normal?"
"From what I heard, yeah," Wordy took a sip from a glass of water as he sat up at front bar of Stir's restaurant, Shutter sitting next to him and doing the same, nuzzling his side and giving him a kiss.
"Princess Celestia used a spell to cure the rest of the town since we didn't have enough pears to give everypony else," Gavin added, bring a large tub of water up to his beak, sipping it like a glass as he sat up against a wall, Stir having cleared a space for the tree-sized griffon to comfortably rest from his ordeal.
"Right. Makes sense," Crash sighed and put her face down on the counter top, "I'm never touching another oat burger again as long as I live," she looked up again, "Was it even actually good? I kinda' doubt it was."
"If that rangoon you shot me in the mouth with is any indication, not really," Wordy shook his head.
"I guess Hotshot just tried to get the cheapest ingredients possible to maximize the return on his profits," Shutter added.
"It's a travesty if you ask me," Stir came back over from within the kitchen, setting a mop down nearby, "I mean, if he was going to go through with that specific plan, he could at least put a little pride into his work." Stir's statement made all three of the ponies and the griffon look at him with confusion.
"Stir, are you arguing the degree to which he poisoned all of us?" Shutter asked.
"He used frozen, store bought rangoons," Stir slapped a hoof on the counter, "Frozen. Store. Bought. RANGOONS," he tapped his hoof, placing an emphasis on each of the words, "He took something that I pour my blood, sweat, and tears into each and every day and warped and crushed it into nothing more than him just using a microwave to serve his customers pre-made, mass produced food they paid their hard-earned bits for!" He looked at each of them before he looked down and stepped back, "I'm sorry...I kinda' wanted to hit him too," he sighed
"So did Feathers, but apparently somepony else got to him first and gave him a beatdown into next Tuesday," Crash responded.
"Yeah, but that doesn't change what happened. He used my food against me...against the town...against you guys...." The chef put his head down on the counter.
"Stir, it's okay," Wordy spoke up, reaching over and patting the somber earth pony's back, "We're not mad at you. At all."
"Really?" Stir looked back up, "Because you really should be."
"Yeah, well, we're not, so you're gonna' have to deal with it," Shutter smiled at him.
"Took the words right outta' my mouth, Snaps," Crash grinned. Stir's eyes teared up slightly as he hopped over the counter, giving them all a hug.
"Thanks, guys...I really appreciate that," he said.
"Hey, we're not gonna' let something like this end any friendships!" Gavin wrapped his large tail around all of them and brought them closer to him as he hugged them with his colossal forelegs.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm not arguing with the over-sized catbird," Crash chuckled.
"Somehow I think you're enjoying this whole 'gentle giant' thing right now," Shutter smirked at him.
"It sure isn't by choice, that's for sure," Gavin rolled his eyes
"Yeah...sorry your potion went back on you like that, Gavin," Wordy said.
"Meh, it's no big deal. It did what it had to do and it was just a little bit o' bad luck for me," he shrugged, "I'm just hoping Z's gonna' be able to find a way to shrink me down again. I feel like I'm gonna' break something if I shift my weight the wrong way."
"You needn't worry too long," Zecora spoke up, "Fixing your problem is coming along."
"I'm helping her out with that too. It should be ready soon," Twilight Sparkle also entered the restaurant just behind the zebra.
"Princess Twilight!" Wordy, Stir, and Shutter immediately bowed to her while Gavin did his best to awkwardly nod and acknowledge her.
"'sup, Bookhorse?" Crash smiled at her.
"I'm glad things are going well for you all," the alicorn walked over to them, "Stir Fry, I actually came by to talk to you as well. I've been going by the different businesses affected by Hotshot's actions and I wanted to let you know what we'll be offering compensation for you."
"R-really?" Stir's eyes lit up, "That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Princess!" He said, running over and hugging her.
"You're, um, welcome," Twilight blushed from the sudden gesture, hugging him back as well. As they watched the display, Gavin leaned down slightly, his head right next to Wordy, Zecora and Shutter.
"Thanks for all the help, by the way," he said, "I couldn't have done it without you."
"Anytime, Gav," Shutter replied, "Just don't lock me out of my house next time."
"I'll keep it in mind," Gavin laughed, "You know...this whole thing might actually make for a good song for that rock opera I'm working on," he snapped his talons before looking over at them and sighing, "Too bad I'm too big to write anything." His regret was seemingly answered by the sound of a magic flare as Wordy floated a tablet of paper nearby.
"I've got your back...Bro," he winked at Gavin, to which the griffon smiled back.
"Yup," Shutter smiled, "This is definitely a Coltak Moment. I gotta' take this," she grabbed a stool, setting her camera on it and adjusting it on a timer.
"Photo op, huh?" Crash smirked, "I'm down." She trotted over.
"Same here!" Stir trotted over, "And after this, I'll make a whole, fresh batch of rangoons, my rangoons, for everypony to celebrate!"
"Be sure that, if you abide, to please try and get my good side," Zecora did the same.
"You want in on this too, Twi?" Gavin asked her.
"Of course," Twilight got into position as well, Wordy standing between her and Zecora.
"Okay. Everypony say 'Hotshot's rangoons suck!'" Shutter called out as she ran over next to Wordy.
"Hotshot's rangoons suck!" The group (minus Zecora) called out with laughter just as the camera went off and snapped the picture. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | pre | He heard some shushing over the sounds of the wheels on cobblestone. Just as he suspected. He tried to hide his smirk, and mentally prepared himself. First fight as a pony may not go so well.
It didn't take long.
Suddenly there were three ponies in front of them on the road. None of them had weapons, but they presented themselves in a threatening way. Lucien looked over his shoulder, and saw two more behind them.
Textbook robbery. And they were quite a ways in from the center of town, where anyone would be able to help them. Lucien sighed, 'They've done this before.'
"Well, well, well, what have we here?" said the one in the front of them in the middle, he had a cutie mark in the shape of a thieves mask. "A couple'a business ponies, coming from the market, with a large sum of bits no doubt," he said with a grin. "We were nice and let you come through here without a toll this morning, I'd say you two owe us double the toll now, everything you got should cover it nicely," he laughed.
Applejack was startled but narrowed her eyes defiantly, "Out a our way, we don't owe you nothin," she said.
She was brave, Lucien would give her that.
The leader of the thieves laughed, "Well, I guess we'll have to beat ya to take it then, huh?" he said, nodding to his subordinates. The two ponies in front walked towards them, Lucien couldn't hear the other two from behind, so he assumed they were just standing there to keep them from running back into town.
The one that went for Applejack put his hoof on her shoulder, and quickly got her hoof into his jaw, knocking him back a bit, she narrowed her eyes more, ready for a fight.
Lucien smirked, and when the one who came for him turned his attention to what she was doing, Lucien turned on his hooves and bucked both his back hooves into the assailant's chest, knocking him away and on his back.
Then the two from behind ran up to join in the fight.
To Lucien's credit, he adapted to fighting this way pretty easily. Using momentum in a fight to strengthen your blows was no different, but his muscle and body structure being so strange and new to him still slowed him down some.
He soon found himself surrounded by three of the thieves. The two who were at their backs earlier, and the one he bucked in the chest.
Applejack was squaring off against the leader and the one left over. She was a strong pony, and wasn't one to shy away from a fight, but the two colts clearly had her outmatched, and Lucien wasn't fairing much better, getting very exhausted.
The leader then whistled, and two more colts came from the shadows.
'Backup, of course,' Lucien cursed under his breath.
Lucien growled in frustration, and reared up and slammed his hoof into the face of the closest colt, but then felt a pair of hooves slam into his side, and sent him sprawling. He was about to get back up to fight, when a hoof slammed into his side, and he felt a rib crack.
He hissed from the pain. Yet, to him, it felt oddly satisfying to feel that kind of real pain once again. He kicked at his attacker, but just got stomped again, and again.
Applejack had been charged and put on her back and held down, while the leader stomped her stomach, and then kicked her in the face.
She shook her head, clearing the stars in her vision while the leader then went to the cart, and took out the bag of bits. "Very good, makes it worth it I'd say," he said laughing. He looked to the two beat up earth ponies, some of his goons were the worse for wear, but not nearly as bad as these two were.
He looked to the Ponies that weren't holding down Lucien and Applejack, "Wreck their cart, fools deserve it for fightin us," he said.
"No!" Applejack shouted at the pony, struggling to break free to defend what was hers.
Lucien just growled angrily again, and spat blood onto the hoof of the Pony who was holding him down. This earned him another stomp, but he felt himself smirk from it, before suppressing it.
He could deal with the pain, especially when he angered those who were trying to hurt him.
The thugs smashed up the cart quickly, busting the wheels and the yoke as well. The leader smirked, and took the bag of bits, and signaled to his thugs, running back into the alleyways, leaving Lucien and Applejack laying in the street, the latter of which was cursing the thugs as they ran off, but was too sore to give chase, though Lucien felt she would do so without a second thought if she could.
Lucien got on his hooves shakily, feeling the pain in his chest where he was stomped repeatedly. His mouth was filling with blood. He spat it out. His breathing was fine, so he knew his lungs were okay, it just hurt.
He got to Applejack's side, "Are you alright?" he asked her.
She looked to be on the verge of crying, out of anger, hate, frustration, self-pity, maybe all of it. "Y-yes," she said shakily.
Lucien could tell that lying wasn't her strength. But even the most honest person, or pony in this case, had to lie especially when pride was on the line.
He offered her a hoof, which she took with little disagreement, and he helped her up. "We should get home, think you can walk that far?" he asked her, this only got him a nod in response. "Alright then, take it slowly," he told her.
Once they were a fair distance from the city, Applejack choked out a sob, and lay down in the street, Smacking at the road with her hoof.
It was hard for her, she considered herself to be strong, and she was, but it wasn't enough.
The whole situation made her angry, and she hated herself for not being stronger, not strong enough to hang onto what she earned and owned.
She didn't want to cry in the city, and she didn't want to cry in front of Lucien, but she couldn't stop, she felt so weak and she hated it.
Lucien just stood there, watching her, waiting for her to cry herself out. He understood how she felt, in a way at least. Everything goes well in the day, and suddenly someone takes it all out from under you.
He was betrayed by his closest family after all.
Lucien had stopped spiting blood long ago, but was still sore, and he was almost certain that one of his ribs was broken.
He was however, intent on returning later tonight, not for the crying Pony in front of him. But because the frustration had given him the urge to kill, and it would be good to get those bits back.
He had remembered their cutie marks, especially that one with the thieves mask. .........
It wasn't too long after that, when Applejack had calmed down, and stopped crying, her expression still angry at their situation, but she had gotten rid of her feelings of failure.
She apologized, and he told her not to worry about it and they continued on their way back to the farm.
And while the journey seemed to take forever, it had only been dark for about an hour by the time they got back.
Big Macintosh was at the barn, putting away some of the farming equipment, having just gotten done himself. He saw them coming up, and raised an eyebrow, obviously interested in their condition.
He went to them, "What in tarnation happened ta you two?" he asked.
Applejack frowned, and ran to the house, getting inside, still not ready to tell her older brother that she had failed.
Lucien however had no difficulty, "We were mugged on our way out of the city, we gave them a fight, but they had us outnumbered, they took all the bits and wrecked the cart," he informed him. "I'm sorry I couldn't do a better job protecting it," he said, somewhat honestly.
He was disappointed In himself that he wasn't able to stop the thugs, but he was happy that he got the chance to fight again, the adrenaline pumping through his veins was like an ecstasy, though he could have done without the broken rib.
As Lucien told him what happened, Big Macintosh's brow seemed to ridge in concentration and anger. Lucien went on to describe what the assailants looked like. "I understand, t'weren't none your fault," he said to the dark pony. "Will you be okay?" he asked him.
Lucien nodded, "Think they just cracked a rib, though I may check in with Nurse Redheart tomorrow to see if anything is out of place," he said.
The red stallion nodded, "You go get some rest, and don't push yourself too hard," he said, "I gotta see to my kin," he said, heading inside.
Lucien bid him a goodnight, and went to the barn.
He had to see about making some form of weapon, if he was going to kill those thieves tonight.
He climbed to the loft, and started to look for pieces of wood that maybe splintering. And luckily found a fairly large piece.
It would have to do.
He started to shave the edges of it with his hoof.
Finally, he would be able to offer Sithis pony blood. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | A New Brother | A New Brother
Lucien had spent the next few hours preparing and waiting for the Apple family to go to sleep.
It was a few hours into the night, so he supposed they were. He put on a saddlebag and put the makeshift dagger he had made inside it and took the blanket he had been useing and threw it over his shoulders as a makeshift cloak to hide himself as best he could.
He snuck out of the barn, and peeked out, but just before he began his way to Manehattan he saw the house door open, and a red stallion leaving and heading for the road, going at a brisk pace.
'Big Macintosh? Could he be heading to Manehattan as well?' he wondered, pursuing after him, doing his best to keep a distance. Luckily it seemed that Macintosh was too focused on where he was going to notice him following behind. At the pace they were going, they had made it to Manehattan in an hour.
Lucien ducked behind an alley way and began stalking behind Big Macintosh. He felt some excitement as he did, the thrill of tracking someone was a familiar feeling, and welcome. He wished he could reach into the saddlebag for the wooden dagger he had made, but it wasn't meant for Big Macintosh. Besides, it would seemed that they had a similar goal in mind.
That thought brought another feeling of excitement. ......
Big Macintosh asked a few ponies out in the streets if they've seen a pony with a thieves mask cutie mark. He was having trouble hiding his anger.
Somepony had broken their property, stole they're hard earned money and worst of all, hurt his little sister. Any of those things would be enough to enrage the normally calm pony, but all three.
He wasn't sure what he was going to do.
Finally a pony told him he saw ponies matching the description by the riverside.
Macintosh headed there immediately, and though he had the feeling he was being followed, he ignored it. If whoever it was got in the way, he'd deal with them. Right now he just wanted to deal with the Pony with the Thieves mask cutie mark.
It didn't take long to find them, the leader of the thieves was standing near the river's edge, three of his thugs around him, and they were laughing. There didn't seem to be any other ponies around.
Big Macintosh approached them, getting their attention. The leader smirked, "Are we lost?" he asked with a chuckle.
Macintosh's only answer was, "Nnope," before he rushed and slammed a hoof into the nearest of the thugs, sending him reeling and falling into the river, and then, turning and bucking his back hooves into the face of another, snapping his neck with a audible crack, he was sent sprawling and was dead in an instant.
The large stallion turned to the two robbers that were left, the leader hung back as his last remaining goon swung out with a hoof, catching Big Macintosh in the cheek. But the large stallion shrugged it off, and punched back, knocking him to the ground. .....
Lucien was watching from the shadows with some delight as he saw the Farm Pony fight the thugs.
He felt his heart flutter when he heard the snapping of the pony's neck as he was thrown to the ground dead, and again as Macintosh shrugged off the blow and returned it. A large grin came to the dark pony's face as he watched the red pony stomp on the throat of the one he had just knocked down, before he turned his attention fully to their leader.
He then heard hoof beats of a single pony coming down the alleyway just around the corner, likely heading to help the gang ponies.
Lucien quickly turned the corner and grabbed the pony that was coming down the alleyway, and slammed them against the wall. He found himself looking into the eyes of the pony that had stomped on him earlier that day.
His grin grew bigger, and he pulled the wooden dagger from his saddlebag with a curved hoof. It was clumsy, nowhere near as articulate as with a hand, but he was able to force it into the neck of the pony before he could even scream out. He wasn't dead, just bleeding and with a hole in his neck, unable to breathe properly, making gurgling noises as he tried to crawl away.
Lucien took the handle of the wooden dagger into his teeth, being much more able to grasp it, he held down the pony, and finished the job, cutting his throat again, the blood spilling all over the alleyway.
He looked down at his handy work, and felt himself shiver from the sensation of taking a life once again. He dropped the wooden dagger, the edge having been broken, and went back to his spot to watch Big Macintosh, only to see it was over, with the Red Pony, only a little bruised, standing on top of the leader of the thieves. ......
"Where'd ya put it?" asked the stallion.
"Fuck you," cursed the thief. This earned him a stomp on his chest.
"Ah'll ask ya again, where'd ya put those bits you stole from mah sister?" he asked, grinding his hoof into the thief's chest.
The thief growled in pain, "Alright, alright, it's under that stone over there," he said.
Big Macintosh looked to where he pointed, and went over there, to see if it was true. He turned over the stone to find a hollowed out spot, a bag full of bits was inside. The red stallion lifted it out, and set it aside, and then turned back to the bandit leader. He made his way quickly, and stomped on him again, crushing in his chest.
The farm pony started to calm down after killing the leader, and breathed deeply. He stared at the pony corpses, and then moved to push the bodies into the river. Once that was done, he went to pick the bag of bits again, and ran off into the night, wanting to get as far away from the scene as he could. ......
Lucien smirked as he watched Macintosh act.
It was all on instinct and anger, but he handled the fight so well, and killed them without hesitation. Strong, efficient, and protective of family. He was a great candidate for joining the brotherhood. Now if he could only convince him. He would also need a test to find out if he was committed to it. If only he left one of the ponies alive.
He smirked to himself, remembering the one he knocked in the river. He left the body in the alleyway, there was too much blood to hide what happened.
It was a long shot, but he went and trotted along the river, tossing the wooden dagger into it as he went along, hoping to find the surviving member of the gang.
Luckily he found a pony struggling against the current, trying to get on shore about ten minutes from the edge of the city. It was still dark, nopony would see.
He went over to the struggling pony, who saw him, "P-please, help me," he begged his his gasping breath. He hadn't recognized the dark pony.
Lucien smiled, "Of course," he said, going to him and hooking his hoof with his, and pulling him onto solid ground. The pony gasped for breath, finally out of the water.
"Thanks *gasp* I don't think I *wheeze* would have lasted any longer," he rasped.
Lucien just chuckled, "It's quite alright, after all, you'll be helping me more than you can think," he said.
The pony looked to Lucien before the dark pony's hoof struck him, knocking him out cold.
The lone Dark Brother pulled his victim onto his back, and started to trot back in the direction of Ponyville. He wouldn't be able to give Big Macintosh a proper test of being an assassin. But this pony would more than suffice as a test of true ruthlessness.
It was a fair journey, but he brought his captive all the way to the small pond that he had found on his first day of life in this world. He let him fall off his back. Lucien was fortunate that the pony was light.
He was exhausted, but there was no time to rest. The pony had to be tied up before he awakened.
Lucien set to work tearing his cloak and then carefully hog tying the unconscious bandit, and using the rest of the material to cover his head, and tying it around the neck so he couldn't see.
He looked at his handiwork.
It wasn't great, but it would suffice, the pony would only be here for a day or two. And it seemed he finished none too soon.
The pony began to stir, but soon found himself unable to move. His breathing became rapid when he realized he couldn't see either.
"Calm down," Lucien said, his darker voice leaking through, the excitement of the situation getting to him. "You're going to be here for a little while."
"W-who are you?" the pony panicked. "W-where am I?" he asked pleadingly.
"Nowhere important," Lucien said, starting to walk away, "Get some rest, I'll bring you food in the morning," he told him. "Then I'll explain things," he half lied, but he would explain a couple things.
"But if you run, I'll find you, and send you to meet your friends in the river I fished you out of."
The pony stiffened, "P-please, d-don't hurt me," he begged.
A sick grin spread on the dark pony's features. He heard that kind of begging from all forms of victims. Thieves, soldiers, even Princes. When faced with death, especially blindfolded and tied up, few could keep their ground.
"Just stay here, and I won't," he said. He supposed it wasn't quite a lie. He walked off, keeping his eye on his victim. Satisfied that the pony was frozen to his spot in fear, being bound certainly helped with that though, he started to gallop.
He then went off to the farm. There was one last thing to take care of this night.
He arrived at the farmhouse and listened inside and heard nothing.
He snuck in carefully.
It was dark, but his eyes were used to the night by now. He made his way to where he had learned the red pony's room was.
His hoof falls were silent, and while he wasn't used to moving stealthily in such a body, it was no great difference than if he had tried to sneak around with armored boots.
He made it to the door and listened, and heard steady breathing, a smile spread on his face again, and he made his way in.
He found the red stallion sleeping his bed, the moonlight from the window spilling over him, while Lucien was in the darker half of the room, invisible to all who were in the light.
How perfect it was.
He noticed that Big Macintosh had a weak bruise just under his eye from the fight that was only a few hours ago, the bag of bits on the nightstand. He was likely to show his sister in the morning, but leave out the part of killing the fools that had taken it.
He looked at the Stallion, watching him as he slept, and found he was actually breathing steadily, and was having a sound sleep. His grin returned. This was better than he could possibly have hoped for.
Whether this Pony realized it or not, he was a natural killer. Now Lucien just had to bring it out of him and into the open for him to see.
He stood there, studying the potential Brother for another hour, when the Pony began to stir. .....
Big Macintosh was getting a great sleep, though his muscles were still burning from those thugs he killed earlier. He had been surprised by himself on his way home.
He had thought that if he had ever killed Somepony, that he would feel horrible with himself afterwards. But he didn't. He felt nothing for those lives he took that night. They deserved it maybe? He couldn't bring himself to care about the matter beyond being curious with himself, though he had attributed that to being tired.
His sleep however was disturbed, as he felt a pair of eyes on him. He tossed in bed for a moment, and opened his eyes sleepily, trying to locate the source of his disturbance.
"You sleep well for a murderer," came a dark voice he didn't recognize from the corner of his room nearest to the door.
"That's good, you'll need a clear conscience for what I'm about to propose."
Big Macintosh looked to where the voice was coming from. But it was too dark, and all he could make out was the dark shape of a pony. "Who are ya?" he asked suspiciously, ready to move if he had to.
The shadow just chuckled, "I'm many things right now, but most prevalent, I'm an admirer of your work, and I'm a Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood," it said.
The Red Stallion raised an eyebrow, "What's the Dark Brotherhood?" he asked.
"That my friend is a question that I'm sure few will ask after a few years," came the reply. "What it is, is a Family, who serve Sithis, our Dread Father," he told him.
"They do not yet exist in this land, with the exception of myself, at least for the moment," he told him. "What we also are is a group of assassins, very good assassins, who will kill anyone for the right price, with the exception of our Brothers and Sisters of course," he finished, giving him a brief explanation.
Big Macintosh tensed when he heard the word 'Assassins.' It wasn't a word that was often thrown around in Equestria, but he still knew what it meant, he got ready to fight, when the shadow began to speak again.
"Calm yourself, you aren't a target," it said with another chuckle. "Quite the opposite in fact, I'm inviting you to join in the family, to become part of the Dark Brotherhood," the shadow said.
This left the red farm pony stunned, and unable to form an answer.
He could almost see the grin of the shadow, "You need not answer now. There is a small pond directly south of the farm and into the woods, about a ten minute trot." The figure turned to leave. "Meet me there, tomorrow night at midnight, I will explain things further, and tell you your initiation, come alone, and tell no one of this." With that, the shadow had quietly disappeared without a trace.
Big Macintosh got up to try and follow it, but it was gone. He was left alone with his thoughts, and considering the proposal of the mysterious shadow. ......
Lucien smiled to himself as he made his way to the barn silently and stealthily.
It couldn't have gone better. Macintosh's reactions were exactly what he wanted them to be. He was sure the Stallion would join with a little more coaxing. He was almost too tired to go to sleep, but the night had been long, and he needed to rest for the next one to come.
He didn't even mind the cold of the night that hit him for lack of a blanket. .......
The next morning was full of mixed emotions,
Applejack had gotten over her misfortunes, and when Macintosh showed her the bag of bits that had been stolen, and she scolded him for putting himself in danger, but then gave him a strong hug in thanks, unable to stay truly mad at him.
Lucien noted that he had left out the part where he killed the pony that did it and most of his gang. Lucien had finished breakfast and asked to be excused while he went to town to get his ribs checked out.
The Apple family made no fuss and understood, while Applejack had gotten a pretty bad beating, it was mostly scrapes. If Lucien really had a broken rib it could develop into something much worse if he wasn't careful.
The Dark Pony walked through town towards where Nurse Redheart had told him the clinic was when he had met her at the party.
It wasn't difficult to find, a large red cross was on the side of the small tent canvas. It seemed to be well kept, if the outside was any judge. Being just a tent it was obvious that they didn't have the funds for a proper building.
He went inside to find that it was clean and sanitary despite the circumstances.
There was nopony inside other than Nurse Redheart and a male pony whom he assumed was the doctor. They had no patients and seemed to be in a somewhat uncomfortable chat, that was until Lucien walked in. Redheart smiled to him, but noticed his scrapes and bruises, "What happened?" she asked him as she guided him to one of the cots for the check up.
"I got into a fight in Manehattan, I think I may have a cracked rib, everything else is alright though," he said.
"I'm sure you can handle this, Redheart, I'm going into town for some supplies," the Doctor said, excusing himself as he left.
Nurse Redheart furrowed her brow, which the dark pony noticed, suspecting some dislike between her and the doctor. She began to check Lucien, prodding at his chest to feel where his ribs were, being careful in case one of them was indeed broken.
He winced when she prodded one in particular, "That's the one," he said.
She nodded and began to feel it a bit more carefully but more completely, "It may be cracked, but I think it's just bruises, we don't have the equipment to check it better, but It's defiantly not broken, I'd say keep yourself from doing any hard work for the next week or so to keep it from getting a full break, just to be safe," she instructed him.
He nodded, "Thank you Redheart, I'll try not to push myself too hard," he told her.
She smiled to him, "You take care now, the rest of your bruises and scrapes will probably heal up fine in time, but don't get into anymore fights," she told him.
Lucien chuckled to her, "I'll do my best," he said, getting up, and leaving, his thoughts on tonight. .........
The day had past with little event, other than Lucien explaining that he had to go slow with work for a little while. He also took a moment to sneak off with some rope and an apple.
He went to the pond, to find that the pony was still there, sleeping in the shade. He had laughed to himself about how such a creature would deserve to be killed, too scared to run for its life in any small way it could.
He had retied him, too quickly for the poor pony to react. He left the hood on, which would keep him getting his bearing on where he was.
It wasn't too long till nightfall now.
........
Big Macintosh couldn't sleep that night.
He lay in bed, still turning around what he should do in his head.
It was almost midnight now.
Should he go? Should he try to forget about it? Why would assassins want him to join them? Was he that good at killing?
It had been frighteningly easy for him to do it to those thugs.
Was it because they hurt his family? Stole from his farm?
He could have just beat them to a pulp and left it at that. But he killed them without hesitation.
He got up from the bed and exited his room. He looked to the door of his sisters. First Applejack, and then Applebloom.
Was he a killer? Would a killer love his family as much as he does? If he wasn't a killer than what was he?
His head was wracked with these questions.
He left the house and headed south of the farm, the direction the Agent of the Dark Brotherhood had told him to go.
He hoped he would get answers. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Welcome to the Brotherhood | Welcome to the Brotherhood
Big Macintosh walked on, the moon providing the light he needed. It wasn't long until he found the pond the shadow had spoken of. He looked around as he neared it.
"You came," said a voice.
He turned quickly, and was surprised with who he saw.
"Lucien?" he questioned, seeing the dark pony give a smile to him.
"Yes, it's me, I was the one who spoke with you last night," he clarified. "Now, I'm sure you have questions, I have answers."
The Earth pony looked down, and then back up to Lucien Lachance, "why do ya want me to join the Brotherhood?" he asked.
Lucien smirked again, his darker voice coming through, "simple, you have the skill of a murderer, and the mind of an assassin, when you kill, it's for business and family," he told him. "This makes you a prime candidate for being a Dark Brother. Most of our recruits in the past have been murderers who killed for pleasure and only gained skill by making things more interesting for themselves. By all means, with training they can make excellent assassins, but the Dark Brotherhood is also a business, and while we do encourage enjoying your job, those kind of murderers can get careless, especially when starting out," he explained.
The dark pony turned toward the pond, and walked towards it, inviting Big Macintosh to follow. "Killing is an art, and I see in you the potential to be quite the master artisan. Big Macintosh, I invite you to be the first member of the family I am building here, in my homeland, there were many dark brothers and sisters, but due to a traitor, we nearly lost everything, and now I am here alone to rebuild," he said.
"We, the Dark Brotherhood, are the children of Sithis and our Night Mother, everyone within is a Brother or Sister. Business wise, we kill whoever we are hired to, with the exception of anyone who would call themselves a Dark Brother or Sister," The dark pony went on.
Big Macintosh listened, as Lucien talked about family. Perhaps he misjudged the assassin's life. The dark pony spoke of it as if it was a simple job, like picking apples. Was taking a life so simple though? "But it's wrong to kill somepony like that," he voiced himself, though it didn't seem in the tone of a strong argument.
This only got a laugh from the Speaker, "one of our mottos is that Innocence is life's greatest illusion," he told him. "We kill those who we are hired to, meaning somepony has likely wronged another and they would like revenge," he explained.
This seemed to reason with Big Macintosh, but he still didn't know. Could he kill somepony that hadn't wronged him personally? It seemed wrong, but it was enticing. The money would be good he was sure, and with it he could help his family. That word came up in his mind again. Family. Which family would he be helping? Would this new family be as loving as the one he knew and loved already? He looked to Lucien, and knew he couldn't ask him. He would have to answer it himself.
A new family. He wasn't want for a family, and who exactly was this Sithis and Night Mother Lucien spoke of. Gods? Big Macintosh wasn't a religious pony, but he was loyal to Celestia. Was he? Why was he here? Asking himself questions. Did he have doubts about himself? He killed, for whatever reason it was wrong, Celestia would likely curse him if she found out.
But he did it for his family. The thieves harmed his sister and stole the money that they rightly owned. "But I'm not a murderer," he argued weakly with himself, though he said it allowed.
This got an amused chuckle from the dark pony, which he almost forgot was there. "You are Big Macintosh Apple, you killed other ponies, but they had wronged you so you are justified, and you bring joy to Sithis by your actions," he told him.
There was that name again, "who is Sithis?" he asked finally.
"He is our Dread Father, he is everything cruel, yet nothing at all," he said. "A void, death, the urge to kill, the small bit of joy, that you feel when you end a life," he said, his voice dark and full of sick joy.
"Is he a god?" asked the red pony.
"No, he is that which they avoid, and fear," he told him.
"Ponies too fear him, though they don't know him, or his face, he has no face, but he rules the Dark Brotherhood, with a Dreadful Black hand," he explained to the struggling farm pony. "Four fingers and a thumb, Four Speakers, and a Listener, and being that you'll be the first new member, you'll have the honor of becoming a Speaker, along with me, until we find a Listener, we will remain silent, building up our strength, so we may strike the fear of Sithis into the hearts of everypony within this world," he finished.
Big Macintosh thought, long and hard, at least it seemed like an eternity to him, it was only a matter of minutes, "what must I do?" he asked, remembering the talk of an initiation.
Lucien smiled, and went behind a nearby tree, and pulled a pony from behind it, and leaned him back against the base of the tree. He had a hood of some sort over his head, and his hooves were bound. "This is the surviving member of the gang you killed last night, I fished him out of the river," he told him. "Now, you are to end his miserable life."
The pony began to whimper, hearing all the talking from before, he knew who was out there, his hood keeping him from seeing, but he knew who is was. "N-no, please, you can't do this," he stammered out fearfully, "y-you said you w-wouldn't kill me," he screamed to Lucien.
The dark pony just smiled, "of course, and I won't," he said. "But I said nothing of him," he said simply.
The hooded pony began to sob, "p-please, don't kill me," he cried, "I don't want to die. I'll never do it again, I s-swear. I, I s-swear to Celestia I won't be bad anymore," he begged and pleaded the unseen red pony. He cried, like a lost child, praying to Celestia that he would be spared.
Macintosh looked at the poor soul that was leaning against the tree, and begging, unable to get away, unable to fight back. This was different then the thugs in Manehattan. This one was utterly helpless. And begging. But he was still a part of that gang. The gang that had harmed his family, that had stolen from them. He was begging. Begging like a helpless worm.
Did he just think that?
He did.
And he was right.
This pony was a worm, writhing in any weak attempt he could to survive. To escape his fate. To escape the Dread Father. To escape Lucien. To escape him. He was struggling, but was too weak to fight. He couldn't see his face, but he could imagine it. It was sick looking, sniveling, begging. Weak.
Lucien stood there, smiling, seeing the wheels turning in the red pony's mind. And seeing the expression on his face twist into one of anger at the mere existence of something so disgusting as a creature begging for his life, but not willing to fight or face their end.
Time seemed to stand still for hours, the moon's presence in the sky being the only reminder that days had not passed. The only sound was of sobbing and the occasional, 'please.'
And then suddenly a sickening crunch as Big Macintosh bucked the head of the hooded pony, crushing it within the hood, against the tree behind it. The body fell to the ground, lifeless. The sniveling had stopped. The worm did not writhe again. He had been sent to the Dread Father.
Lucien smiled, and approached Big Macintosh, who looked into his eyes, with trust, the trust that a newfound brother often had.
The dark pony embraced the red one, and whispered into his ear, "Welcome to the Family," he said. "Welcome to the Dark Brotherhood, My Brother." |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Teaching and Learning | Teaching and Learning
A few days later Lucien was walking into Ponyville alone. There seemed to be a skip in his step. Things seemed better for him now. Such was the joy of finding a new brother. After Big Macintosh had killed the pony, they had moved it to a place that was difficult to find, to let it rot without being disturbed.
They then went back to the farm, and Lucien explained what his role would be as a Speaker. He also explained who Sithis and the Night Mother were. The purpose of the Listener. And he promised Big Macintosh, that he would never have to betray somepony he loved. A bit of a difficult promise to keep, but he felt some darkness from Applejack, perhaps one day she would be a Sister to Lucien as well.
But those thoughts were distracting, and Lucien had another pony he had been meaning to speak with. The lovely Lavender bookish pony whom he had promised to teach about Sithis. He had already decided on how much he would tell her. Enough to keep her interested.
He made his way towards the Library Home in the shape of a Tree.
...........
Twilight groaned as she sat up in bed. Another strange dream. After the one she had a few days ago, she decided to keep a dream journal, to keep track of what happens. Most of the time she could only remember bits and pieces from them and could only write down a handful of words. Like "Home" "Family" and "Mother." The only words that seemed to stick out from all her dreams.
She sighed, and opened up her dream journal, and wrote down two words.
"Dark Family."
It seemed strange, but she was fascinated. She wanted to confide in some pony about these things. But she was afraid of what they would think. Especially her teacher. Celestia would be extremely worried about her, but Twilight was afraid that she would do things to make her stop these dreams. And deep down, she didn't want to. It was almost exciting to go to sleep to see what strange things would visit her.
She practically slept with the book of the Dread Father now. Spike had expressed that he was worried for her. Several times, but she assured him that she was just extremely interested.
She wasn't sure if he bought it.
She sighed and put the journal down, and took the Dread Father's book with her as she went down the stairs to the main room of the tree house. She saw Spike sleeping in his small bed, and couldn't help but smile.
He looked so cute. She thought back to the day she got her cutie mark and the day she met her very best friend who slept before her. He used her magic to pull the blanket a little bit more over him, tucking him in further. He had been working hard, and worrying over her sure hadn't helped.
She went to the kitchen, and hummed as she made a small breakfast for herself, and thought of what she would do today. Maybe she should get some gems from Rarity for Spike. She was sure he'd like that.
Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard a knock at the door. She tilted her head, and wondered who it could be, and opened it up to find a dark pony smiling to her, "hello, it's good to see you again, Ms. Sparkle," he greeted.
She smiled back, "Lucien, welcome, it's good to see you too," she said. "Please come in, I was just making breakfast, would you care for some?" she asked, inviting him inside.
He nodded and came in, "yes, that would be wonderful, thank you," he said, looking around as he walked in. "I should thank you for lending me your books, they've been very.... Informative," he said. "I hope you don't mind I ask you a few things, being new to this country and all," he said, following her to the kitchen.
"It's no problem, I would be happy to teach you what I can," she said. "I would also like to discuss the Dread Father with you while we're at it," she said. She didn't see the grin that spread on Lucien's face.
"Of course, I have nothing for the day, Applejack had said work was light today anyways," the dark pony told her. "If you don't have any prior engagements today, I would be glad to speak of him in length," he said.
Twilight nodded, "Nothing important, but I would like to go out and get Spike something," she said. "He's been working himself to the bone for me these last few days, I would like to do something special for him."
Lucien smiled and nodded, "no problem," he said.
It was then that Twilight noticed the bruises that Lucien had, "what happened?" she asked, showing concern for the dark pony.
He raised an eyebrow then smiled softly, "just a little trouble we ran into in Manehattan, it's been... resolved," he assured her. He didn't feel the need to concern her with it, the matter was finished after all.
She took a closer look at him, getting closer to his face to see the bruise better. Their muzzles were less than an inch apart.
Even the dark pony was not used to being this close to another who he had not considered a Dark Brother or Sister. At least not one he hadn't planned to kill. He blushed despite himself, but couldn't help but break the silence. "Seeing something interesting?" he asked her.
The Lavender pony's face turned scarlet for a moment, realizing just how close they were, and she couldn't find a way to respond, but couldn't find it in herself to pull away either.
The awkward moment was broken once again, this time by a light cough coming a few feet away.
Both ponies turned to see the sleepy baby dragon with a slight smirk on his face.
"Am I interrupting something important?" he asked teasingly to the two of them. "Oh, and the foods burning," he added.
Twilight became flustered, unable to answer, and only became more flustered as she ran to the stove to fix the food that she had been making. "Shoot, I was going to make some green onion pancakes," she said, looking sadly at the now burned veggies she had put in the pan. She sighed and threw them out.
"It's alright Twilight," the dragon said, trying to cheer her up a bit. "Plain pancakes will be just fine," he told her.
She looked down, "but I wanted to make something special," she told him, trying not to look pathetic in front of company.
Spike just smiled back at her, and gave her a hug, "I'll be fine, Rarity asked me for some help with something, promised me a few sapphires for it," he said with a gleeful smile.
Twilight just smiled back, and nuzzled him, and wished him luck as he said bye to the two ponies, and went on his way.
Lucien just witnessed what went on before him without saying a word, not wanting to break up the moment. "You care a lot for him, don't you?" he asked her, though he knew the answer. Caring was another interesting emotion, one that could be manipulated. But he suspected he wouldn't need to use the baby dragon in his plans. Not yet anyways.
She nodded, "I do, he was my first friend, and I knew him since he was hatched," she explained. She looked to the stove again, "do you, still want breakfast?" he asked him.
Lucien just shook his head, "not unless you want to make it," he said. "I wouldn't mind if we began to teach each other what we know now," he said.
She smiled and nodded, and went to the small table, and pulled the two chairs on with her magic, inviting him to sit with her. He obliged,, and looked her in the eye.
"Would you mind if I went first? I believe that the subject of the Dread Father will take some time," he told her.
Twilight nodded, "of course, I'll answer any questions you ask to the best of my abilities," she said confidently.
"For starters, I keep coming across the name of Celestia in the history book, who is this exactly?" he asked her.
For a moment, Twilight looked confused that he would ask such a question, but had to remind herself that perhaps ponies outside Equestria may not have heard of Celestia. She thought for a moment on how to explain it, "well, Princess Celestia is the ruler of Equestria, and has been for over a Thousand years now," she explained.
"She controls the sun, and brings it to rise and set every day, and her sister Princess Luna does the same with the moon," she told him. "They rule together with harmony," she explained, trying to sound like a historian.
'A Goddess ruling a country? That's new,' the dark pony speculated. "Have you met these Princesses?" he asked.
Twilight gave him a proud smile, "yes, and I am proud to say that I am Princess Celestia's ever faithful student," she said.
This surprised Lucien. Was the pony he was chatting with so important? "I must say, I'm impressed Ms. Sparkle," he said.
"Just Twilight, please," she said, a little embarrassed. "I'm proud to be her pupil, every bit of Magic I learned I owe it to her," she explained. "She's really a wonderful pony, she treats all her subjects with kindness and love," she said, acting more like an excited school pony than the historian she was trying to be earlier.
Lucien smiled, but was thinking deeply on this inside. 'Her loyalty is almost fanatical,' he observed. 'Would it be possible to convert her?' he wondered. She would make a great addition to the brotherhood, being the student of a goddess in magic, she was likely very powerful indeed, and there was no telling the potential of her power.
He then thought of changing the subject, "I believe that answers my question, but if you're her student, perhaps I may have the honor of being introduced to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna in person one day?" he wondered.
Twilight smiled brightly, "I'd be happy to introduce you, I'm sure she'd love to meet such an intelligent pony as yourself," she said.
"I'd be honored," the dark pony said. He wondered how that would go, meeting a Goddess. He's been involved with Deadric cults on occasion, but it was hardly the same.
"So, anymore questions?" Twilight asked him, proud that she could teach him something.
Lucien shook his head, "not at this time, but I'm sure you're full of them," he said with a smile.
The unicorn smiled, "of course," she said. She used her magic to bring the book of the Dread Father to the table, and opened it. "This book doesn't into a lot of detail about the Dread Father, I was hoping you could tell me all you know about the subject," she said, looking hopeful at him.
Lucien smiled, and made himself comfortable. "Well, were to begin, I suppose with the Dread Father himself," he started.
"The Dread Father goes by another name, he is called Sithis usually, and what he is, is everything cruel, and nothing at all. A Void, Death and Terror. In my homeland, there is a cult which follows him, though he isn't a god himself. This cult is the Dark Brotherhood," he told her.
"To them more than anyone else, Sithis is the Dread Father, they consider him their father, and they do his bidding. And the bride of Sithis is their Night Mother," he said.
Twilight grew more interested. She hadn't read anything about a 'Night Mother' in the book. The term was entirely new to her, and that made it all the more interesting.
"There are many legends of the Night Mother and the Dark Brotherhood. From Sithis giving her children who were the original members of the Dark Brotherhood, to a much more darker one where she sacrificed her children to Sithis," he went on.
"But it is her who ponies whom wish vengeance on another pray to, and she sends her dark children to murder the target in the name of their Dread Father, for a payment of course," he told her. 'Well, at least soon they will,' he thought to himself pleasantly.
Twilight was on the edge of her seat, listening to Lucien speak of the Dread Father, or Sithis rather, and of the Dark Brotherhood, and the Night Mother. It was all fascinating. And horrifying. Murder wasn't unheard of in Equestria, but it was so rare. Not only that, but what he was saying seemed to be eerily fitting in with her dreams she's been having. Same words kept coming up.
She started coming up with ideas as to why Lucien had left his homeland. Perhaps he was running away from this Dark Brotherhood. Or maybe just trying to escape a land where murder was constant.
The dark pony began to speak again. "The Dark Brotherhood is a dangerous organization. If you ever come across them, be careful about where you step," he warned her.
She nodded, though her mind was also working on trying to fit the puzzle he was giving her.
Lucien smiled to her, "you seem troubled," he noted. "Is there any reason?" he asked her.
Twilight thought for a moment. Did she trust him enough to tell him of the dreams she's been having? She never told anypony, not ever her closest friends. She stayed silent for a moment, before she nodded, "I've been having some strange dreams lately," she told him.
This piqued the dark pony's interest, and he leaned forward. "What about?" he asked her. This was a very interesting development, if the subject made her think of the dreams she's been having.
Twilight thought deeply on how to explain it. And just decided to use her powers to bring the dream journal in front of them as well, "I wrote what I could remember down," she told him, handing it over to him.
He paged through it, and read her dreams, sometimes just the words, but he saw a full page describing one dream.
'The Strange ponies surround me, but I do not feel in danger. They seem to be looking to me, as if waiting for me to give them orders. Then a strange Mare stands next to me, they do not seem to notice her. She whispers in my ear, though I can't hear what she says, I repeat what she tells me. The Ponies bow, and leave. I look to the strange Mare, and she smiles at me like my mother would when I was studying. I feel warm inside as the dream ends.'
Lucien read the explanation to himself. This was amazing evidence. And it spoke to him of how important this unicorn would be. He was getting excited. He did his best to hide it, and he put the book down, "that's very interesting, Twilight," he said. "I wouldn't worry too much about it, but keep on writing down what you can," he told her.
Twilight nodded, feeling a little weight off her shoulders having someone she could share these strange dreams with. "Thank you for teaching me about Sithis," she said, happy to have learned more on the subject that she had been obsessed with for the last few days.
"It was my pleasure," he told her, smiling at her. Her future was defiantly with the brotherhood. The difficulty would be to get her to abandon her teacher for the Brotherhood. He needed to gather more members first, and learn about things. Maybe speak to Celestia herself to see if he could use anything against her.
He stood up, "Now, I hope you don't mind, but I think I'll go about town for a little bit," he said. "It was wonderful to speak with you again twilight, I hope we get the chance to do so again sometime soon," the dark pony told her.
Twilight nodded, and agreed, giving him a smile, "have a good day Lucien," she said.
Lucien nodded, "and you as well, Twilight," he said, leaving the lavender unicorn with her thoughts, a smile on his face at the news he had uncovered. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | A Sister? | A Sister?
The Ponyville clinic was a poorly funded endeavor, barely given enough funds for medical equipment, and the tent in which it resides. Though they have been lucky in that the only things they have had to deal with were the average cold and flu and the occasional injuries due to accidents, more serious or mysterious cases were sent to Canterlot, which had great hospitals, the orange haired pediatrician was also the best in his field. But the understaffing and supply issue wasn't so apparent until the "baked bads" incident only a year ago. If not for the volunteers they may have even lost a pony or two due to the food poisoning.
But this all seemed to be over sighted by the doctor for the clinic, much to the dismay of Nurse Redheart. Redheart was more than a qualified physician and she wanted nothing more than to be a doctor in her own right, but she needed training from a doctor in a hospital or clinic, and since she spent much of her youth in Ponyville, she decided to join the clinic there to do what help she could. It aggravated her that the doctor that was supposed to be teaching her cared little for the wellbeing of the Ponyville residence.
When her three years of training were up, and she asked him to sign her out so she could get her full medical license, he plainly refused and stated that 'Mare's shouldn't be doctors.' This had shocked her, and disgusted her. She went on and on to try and prove him wrong, but he would always say it was some kind of luck, and in one tough case, he stole the credit for her work.
Redheart was raised all her life not to hate anypony, but this 'doctor' had pushed her beliefs beyond their breaking point.
She kept quiet about her hatred for him for so long. But not today.
Today she had went into his privet room in the local boarding house, which they both resided in, to look for him, but found that he had a large sum of bits in bags hidden under his bed. She knew what it was from. About a month ago the townponies of Ponyville had pulled together enough bits in donations to pay for a complete clinic. One that was properly sterile for proper practice of medicine, one which could hold more doctors and nurses to take care of the ponies of the town properly in case anything serious happens.
But only a few days after the donations were given to the doctor, he declared them missing, stating that they were likely stolen.
'They were stolen alright,' thought an angry Redheart as she stormed to clinic tent to confront the doctor. She entered to find his back to her, he was writing down something on the clipboard. She was about to speak up.
But then stopped.
'What's the point? He'll just deny it, and will probably claim I stole it and planted it there. The bastard would pin something like that on me,' she suppressed a growl, and felt like she was trapped. She hated him. She hated him with all her being. It was him that kept her from being a doctor. It was him who would rob the good ponies of Ponyville of proper healthcare to line his own pockets. And she couldn't do anything about it. She felt her hatred and anger build up, along with the feeling of helplessness.
She hated that most. Not being able to do anything that would likely matter in the long run. She stared at his back. He either didn't know she was there yet, or didn't acknowledge her. She then noticed something shinning on the metal tray next to her. She looked down.
It was a scalpel.
They hadn't needed to use them much, but they were always cared for and sharp as can be.
She picked it up, and held it in her teeth, and crept closer and closer to the object of all that made her angry, and helpless.
The inside of the clinic tent, was redder than it had ever been before. .......
Lucien smiled and was lost in thought as he strolled down the street. His mind was still on the prospect of having found a listener so soon. He had already begun thinking of how he could bring her into the embrace of the Dark Brotherhood. He would have to put it on hold for the time being. He still had much to do before he could make the Brotherhood fully active in this world.
It was while he was having these thoughts, and while trotting by the clinic that he felt a strange tug. He had felt it before in his past life. He had begun to recognize it as Sithis giving his a nudge in the direction he was meant to go. He looked curiously to where he felt the mental tug. The clinic tent. There was a dark and familiar energy within. His eyes widened at the possibilities and he moved inside slowly.
........
Nurse Redheart held the dripping scalpel in her teeth, staring at the mess in front of her. She had snuck up right behind him, forced the scalpel into his back, and cut his lung. She forced him to the ground before he could make a scream for help. She stared into his frightened eyes that seemed to plead for mercy. The only mercy she would give him, was a quick end. She slashed his throat, his arteries sprayed blood onto the floor and walls of the clinic tent, and on her as well. She looked much more fitting for her name now.
She just stared at the corpse of the doctor. The pony she hated. She didn't hate him anymore, she was happy he was gone, but she knew he wouldn't hurt anypony anymore with his greed and prejudice. This corpse wasn't going to hurt anyone, it couldn't. She just then began to notice, that she had taken a life. She did what doctors were supposed to never do.
But she didn't care about that. She felt a smile on her face. There was something beautiful about death. Purifying even. She had feared it so much till now. But seeing the motionless pony before her.
Breathless.
Thoughtless.
And Sinless pony.
There was an answer for ponies like him. Their actions and sins meant nothing to her once they were dead. It just felt so clean despite being covered in blood.
It was then she noticed a presence in the tent besides herself and the dead doctor. She turned, and saw the dark form she knew as Lucien Lachance. She half expected the first pony to see this scene to be frightened, or try to restrain her. She hadn't expected him.
Or his pleased grin.
"A bit messy, but so well done, is this your first murder?" he asked her.
She was taken aback. She was brought back from the trance that the kill had put her in. She regained her senses, and registered what he said. "O-of course it is," she said.
"You're a natural killer, strange you pick a career to care for lives, but there is little wrong with prolonging a poor souls agony," he said, walking towards her.
"So, how did it feel?" he asked her.
"E-excuse me?" she was shocked that he asked her this in such a calm manner. This was now how a pony should act at seeing this scene. She knew that. It was difficult for her to think.
"The first kill, I find everyone feels differently about their first time, especially depending on the situation."
She stared at him, before her gaze hardened, and she thought deeply.
How did she feel?
Good?
Yes that was it. It was good. No, it was better. It was like when she was given morphine for a broken leg in her teenage years. Everything just became wonderful for what seemed like a few seconds mixed with eternity.
Her gaze softened as she looked to the dark pony before her, and she smiled as well, "it was wonderful," she told him, seeing his grin widen at her answer.
"In that case, I would extend an invitation, to join a rather unique family," he offered her.
"Family?" she asked him.
"The Dark Brotherhood, we're servants of Sithis, the Dread Father, agents of death itself," he explained.
Her eyes brightened, "I can do this to more ponies?" she asked, looking down to the dead pony in the tent. The prospect of it was exciting.
"Yes, but the family is not yet complete, so we can't just kill anypony we wish," he told her, coming close to her. "Do you wish to be part of our loving family? And serve our Dread Father?" he asked her, staring into her eyes.
She nodded, "yes, yes I do, I want to kill in the name of Sithis," she said.
Lucien smiled to her, and embraced her as he had done with a large red stallion not so long ago. "Then welcome to our family, dearest sister of the Night," he said to her.
He broke the embrace and looked to the dead pony on the floor. "We will need to clean this up, and it is best if you play doctor for the time being," he instructed her, and then looked her in the eye. "It wouldn't do any of us any good if your new taste in art was discovered by those who would not appreciate it," he told her.
She nodded, and helped pick up the body. They wrapped it up in gauze and put it in the medical freezer, that barely had enough room for the body, but they couldn't move it until tonight. Taking a gauze covered corpse through town in the middle of the day would just raise too many questions.
They then went to work cleaning the tent and Redheart herself of any blood that was around. They used the bleach that the clinic kept on hand to clean blood in the event of somepony bleeding out.
Nurse Redheart mused at how this was the first time it was ever used.
After they finished cleaning, Lucien smiled to her, "I'll come tonight, to help dispose of the body, I'll bring our brother so you can meet him as well, I'll also explain everything you need to know," he promised her.
She nodded, her heart beating fiercely in her chest with anticipation. "I'll keep working the clinic, to make sure nopony suspects anything," she said. Her thoughts went to the doctor. "He had stolen money that was to be used for building a new clinic," she said. "Funny, now it seems so trivial," she said.
Lucien smiled to her, "Like I said, there is no shame is caring for ponies that haven't been marked for Death, it will just prolong their life, so that one day we may kill them ourselves," he told her.
In this she felt more proud, it was like she could indulge in her new fascination with death, but stay true to her dream of being a doctor. The thought of being in control of life and death as she was, was intoxicating. The dark pony in front of her seemed like a dark angel of death as well.
He gave her another smile, and turned to leave, and exited the now clean clinic, as if nothing had happened.
Inside Nurse Redheart was left with her thoughts. And a smile was on her face as she noticed a small spot of blood that they had missed on her hoof. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Moving Into a New Home | Moving Into a New Home
It has been a week since the Dark Brotherhood accepted its newest daughter of Sithis. And things were going well.
Lucien had arrived as he said he would with Big Macintosh with him, and helped Redheart dispose of the body of the murdered doctor. And also as promised, he explained to her about the Dark Brotherhood, Sithis and the Night Mother. And like a good little sister, she let him speak. He also told her that she would be a Speaker in the Black Hand, just as he and Macintosh were.
The three siblings had embraced and promised each other to be careful until he told them.
The doctor that she had killed was noted missing by then, and they began to search for him, and found the bits he had stolen. Work on building a clinic was soon after put into effect, as it had long been overdue for.
And now a week later, the work on Sweet Apple Acres was finished for the year. And as Applejack had promised, they were going into town to shop for a home for his own.
The orange pony walked ahead of the dark pony, "now let's see here," she said allowed. "Gotta be a place in town that's reasonably priced," she said looking around. "What kinda home do ya want Lucien?" she asked him.
"Something simple would be fine, with a basement if possible," he said.
She nodded. "can't be too hard," the farmpony said.
Though is shouldn't have been, there were very few homes in Ponyville that were out of their price range, and most of those that were, were in extremely rough shape.
The orange farm pony growled in frustration, "ugh, how can thar be no half decent houses fer sale in Ponyville?" she asked aloud.
"Don't get mad Applejack; we've only looked through half the town, I'm sure we'll find something soon," he said, trying to calm her down.
"We better," she said, looking around for more sale signs.
It wasn't until they got near the other side of town that they found something that looked decent. It had two floors, and from the rise it seemed to have a basement. They'd find out when they would go to look inside later.
But Applejack was surprised to find where it was. "Looks like Rarity's neighbors moved out," she said, heading to the door of her friend's home and business. She knocked on the door, and was answered with a call from inside.
"Coming."
The door opened to reveal the dress making pony, "Oh, Applejack, and Lucien, what a surprise," she said happily. "Please, do come in, and pardon the mess," she told them, inviting the two earth ponies into her boutique.
"Mornin' Rarity," greeted Applejack.
"Good morning Rarity," Lucien Lachance greeted.
Once inside, Rarity tended to her surprise guests, getting them something to sit on.
Lucien looked around. It had been the first time he actually ever came inside Rarity's home. He then looked to their host, "What do you know of that house next door?" he asked, curious if she knew anything of it.
Rarity thought on it as she went to the kitchen to get some drinks, "well, the Seabreeze's lived there for a few years, a nice couple though they didn't get out much," she said. "Though I do believe they kept the place well mended, and threw very fabulous parties at times," she informed. "Canterlot ponies originally I believe," she finished her expository on the house next door as she came back, levitating a few cups of tea. "Care for some tea dearies?" she asked the two ponies.
"Uh, no thanks," said Applejack, not being a tea drinking pony herself.
"I'd love some," was the more accepting response from Lucien. The unicorn placed the tea cup on the table in front of their seats. He leaned down and sipped from it. He looked to her again. "Thank you. Well, the house seems sound enough, I wonder how much it will cost," he thought aloud.
"You mean you may be moving in right next door?" asked Rarity, rather surprised and seemingly pleased by the idea.
Lucien smiled to her, "if it's affordable, and in good condition," he told her, sipping more tea.
Rarity smiled brightly, "Oh I simply must make you something as a House warming gift," she said, looking him over, "would you mind if we took some measurements sometime?" she asked.
The dark pony thought the idea over. He had seen some ponies, Rarity in particular, dressed at times, though most seemed to go without clothes. A choice of style perhaps. But if he could convince her to make robes similar to those he had worn in the Brotherhood, it would give him a bit of nostalgia, and he needed to feel like the Speaker he was again.
He smiled to her, "Yes I believe I would enjoy it, would you be willing to make a cloak for me?" he asked her.
"A cloak?" she asked.
"Black is a fitting color for me, light but warm material would be preferred if you can manage, you see, where I come from, Cloaks were a status symbol of sorts," he requested and explained. "You could say I'm feeling a little nostalgic."
The white unicorn looked the dark pony over, and looked deep in thought. "I could manage, and I think I can make my own additions to make you look very dashing," she commented with a smile.
Lucien smiled in return, "then how much would this cost me Ms. Rarity?" he asked her.
"No no no, this will be a House Warming gift, I wouldn't dream of charging you for something as charming as a cloak," she told him, showing her generosity.
"You are a paragon of charity Ms. Rarity," she said with a polite bow.
This earned a rather posh giggle from the Unicorn. "By all means deary, it is no trouble at all, what I have in mind will be excellent for you, and to deny such an opportunity as this would be a crime against fashion," she replied.
The orange Earth Pony raised an eyebrow at how the two carried on. The fancy speech was hard to follow, though she spent so much time with Rarity, she should have gotten used to it in some way. But it was still hard to choke down.
Lucien smiled, noting Applejack's discomfort, finished his tea, "I hate to drink your tea and run, but we should check out that house, I think if I do decide to move into it, I'll come by shortly after to get measured for the cloak," he said.
Rarity nodded, "of course of course, I should get to work as well, at least get an idea of what I have in mind," she said, turning to go to the back of the boutique and begin her work. "Farewell, and good luck Mr. Lachance," she said, bidding the two Earth Ponies farewell. "I'll see you later as well Applejack," she said, then disappearing into the back of her home, to search for inspiration.
Lucien and Applejack showed themselves out and went to the house that was next door. "I hope it's well priced, if Rarity is going to go through the trouble of making me something, I'd hate to disappoint her," he said. He looked the place up and down, and then went to the for sale sign, to read the flier on the price.
"3000 bits, probly the first fair price we've seen all day," said the Orange Earth Pony. "I'd say bye it if Rarity said the ponies living here kept it taken care of," she added.
"And you said we should see the Mayor for the deed," he noted. "Then let's go to Town Hall," he said with a smile, heading towards the center of the town. Once they got there, he noted the modesty of the Town Hall. A fair sized building to be sure, and the Equestrian Banner was waving on either side of the doorway. But aside from that, it looked plain. Not that it was a bad thing.
They went inside, and came to the secretaries desk, "Excuse me, but I'm looking to purchase a house, perhaps you know the one, its right next door to Carousel Boutique," he said.
The secretary looked through some files at her desk, "one moment please," she said. A half moment later, she looked up, "ah yes, the old Seabreeze place, in fair shape and price, I'd say your lucky to jump on it now before anypony else got to it," she said. "You'll need the Mayor to sign the deed, but once you pay we can give you a temporary deed of residence until she gets around to sign for it," she explained.
Lucien nodded and smiled, "excellent," he said. He looked to Applejack, who dug into her saddlebag and put down a bag of bits. After the secretary took the cost from the amount, she gave it back to Applejack, and then handed the dark pony a deed of residence, and asked for his hoof print. He obliged and left, now a homeowner, a smile on his features. .......
It didn't take long for word to somehow get to Pinkie Pie. Applejack had left to see to something. Shortly after Lucien had went to make claim to his home, remove the sign, go to Rarity for measurements, and preview drawing of his cloak, he had admired the detail she put in it, and he returned home for a whole five seconds, before there was a knock on the door.
He rose and eyebrow, and answered it. Seeing a Pink pony, that he was certain had skooma or something of that nature running through her veins. "Hi Luci," she greeted happily. "I heard you got a new home, and I wanted to throw you a big party to celebrate," she said happily.
The dark pony looked at her for a moment, and decided that a certain Orange farm pony was responsible for this situation, but gave the pink one a smile. "You certainly enjoy throwing parties, don't you Miss Pie?" he commented. It was sorta obvious.
She giggled, "well duh, what pony doesn't like parties?" she asked. "And this one won't be so much of a surprise," she said.
"Well, I suppose it will be alright, so long as we keep it small," he said.
"Oki Doki Loki Luci, small parties can be just as fun as big ones," she said, bouncing off in the strange way she does. Lucien sighed to himself.
"I wonder if I can ever get her to stop calling me that," he lamented. .......
Later that night, seven ponies and a dragon were having a casual house warming party.
Lucien enjoyed smaller parties. Not so much a mess to clean up, but he was certain that Pinkie Pie would eventually make up for the lack of numbers and cause a large mess on her own. She had brought snacks and supplies to make snacks.
The house was empty for the most part, a few pieces of left behind furniture. A couch, a stove in the kitchen, an un-stocked pantry, which he soon hoped to remedy and the bedroom had a small, hard bed. But it would do just fine as far as the Dark Pony was concerned.
He had welcomed each of the girls into his home with open arms. He supposed it was just as well that his brother and sister did not attend. He'd invite them privately another time to talk over their goals.
Rarity had been the last to arrive, a large package with her. She had said she wanted to wait till everypony had made it before letting him open it.
And with Rainbow Dash being the last to arrive, it was the moment that he had, in all honestly, anticipated with bated breath. It was like he was a child again, receiving a present for the sake of generosity.
He opened the gift, and smiled at what was inside. A newly made cloak, with an undervest. All black. He put them both on, the vest first, and then the cloak, putting the hood up, and then looking into a mirror that Rarity had provided.
He liked what he saw. The undervest was dark black with three gems at the collar, the center one was a ruby, and the two on either side were sapphires. He had never thought of gems used in clothing. But they seemed to accentuate the color of both him and his new clothes.
The cloak draped over his back, the edge dropping down beside his front legs, and going back to cover most of his back legs. He looked mysterious which was how he liked it. And For a moment, he thought he saw his old self again. He took back the hood to see himself better. The unicorn who had designed the dress put down the mirror. And in an act of pure delight, Lucien stood on his hind hooves and swept her off her own and twirled her around as if dancing, but shortly set her back down, holding her at arms length with a smile.
"You, Madam, are an artist of the stitch," he told her.
The fashionista blushed at the compliment, "it-it was nothing major really," she said, taking the compliment in stride.
Twilight viewed Lucien with a few things on mind.
First was a slight twinge of jealousy she felt towards her friend, being in Lucien's arms. But more in the front of her mind was how strangely familiar Lucien looked in that cloak. Like she's seen him in it before. But that didn't make sense. For the moment, she decided to push it to the back of her mind to think on later, for now the party should continue.
As it did for another few hours.
"Wowie, we sure ran out of snacks quick," said the pink party planner. She made her way to the understocked kitchen, "I'll go see about making some more goodies," she said.
The party continued without her.
........
An hour later, Lucien had went to the kitchen door, seeing if Pinkie Pie would need any help since it seemed to be taking her so long. It was then he noticed a sound that the others seemed oblivious to.
He heard sniffling on the other side of the door. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Pink Turns to Red, Part 1 | Pink turns to Red, Part 1
Pinkie Pie's mane was flat and hung down low. She tried to stifle her sobs. She didn't want her friends to see her like this. They couldn't see her like this.
She felt herself breaking at the party so she had excused herself.
The Pink Pony just felt sad for no reason at times. It was difficult to keep it hidden from everypony but she had never let on that she could get so sad and so suddenly.
Part of her wondered if it had anything to do with what happened shortly after she got her cutie mark.
She shook her head violently to cease thinking about it.
She didn't want to think on such painful memories, especially as sad as she was.
She put her face in her hooves and quietly sobbed some more, trying to cry out whatever the sadness had stemmed from. She had to pull herself together soon, or her friends would begin to worry and come look for her.
She had made the excuse of making some more treats, and they would wonder where they were. All she would have to do is act goofy and they would forget about the treats, she was sure of that. But it was just so hard sometimes to stop being sad.
It was then that she heard the door quietly open, and she turned her head quickly to see a dark pony standing there, before he closed the door again, just as quietly.
The pony she had thrown this party for in the first place was looking at her. She could see him measuring the situation, and he had done it fast enough that he closed to the door to keep anypony else from finding her in this situation.
"L-Luci.... I.... I...." she didn't know how to say anything at this point.
"Is something wrong Ms. Pie?" asked the dark pony asked her softly.
She sniffed, and while she wanted to say no and play it off, she could only stumble out a, "Y-yes."
Lucien Lachance came closer to her, "you could tell me what's wrong if you want," he told her. "Anything that troubling you, and if you want to keep it from your friends, I wouldn't tell a soul," he promised to her.
She looked to him like a trusting little sister would to an older sibling. She looked back down though.
"I, I don't want to right now, not with all of them here," she said quietly. But she did seem to perk up, knowing she may be able to share her problems with somepony finally.
Lucien looked to the door he had just come through, the party just on the other side. "Can you keep yourself together till the end of the party?" he asked. "After everypony goes home, you can come back, and tell me all you need to," he said.
The Pink depressed pony forced a bit of a smile, and nodded, "alright Luci," she said, already starting to perk up a bit.
It was suddenly then that Pinkie Pies mane "poofed" back into the curly happy mess that it was known for being. The relief of being able to get things off her chest broke her from her sadness.
The Pink Party Pony was back, at least for now. She thanked Lucien and pranced back to the party, forgetting the snacks she was supposed to be making.
Rainbow Dash teased her lightly, and everypony chalked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie Pie.
The Party winded down, and Lucien bid them all a goodnight, and thanked them for coming, and gave an especially big thanks to Rarity who had put so much work in making him the cloak he had asked of her.
Twilight seemed to be a little embarrassed that she had not gotten him anything, but nopony aside from Rarity had.
Lucien had assured her it was no big deal, and insisted she went home and got some sleep, it was getting late. The ponies had all taken his advice, and went on to their homes to wind down from the small but fun party.
Once everypony was gone, Lucien went back inside and closed the door behind him. Waiting for Pinkie Pie to return. .......
Lucien was in the middle of cleaning up his new home after the party when there was a knock at the door. He went to it and opened to see Pinkie Pie standing there, her mane back to flat.
"Come in Ms. Pie," he invited.
The pink pony nodded and came inside, the door closing behind her.
"So, tell me what happened that made you so sad Ms. Pie?" he asked her.
"Please, just call me Pinkie," the unusually subdued voice of Pinkie Pie sounded.
Lucien nodded, and invited her to sit on the floor, having no furniture to speak of yet.
Once they were both comfortable, or at least not standing, Lucien asked her again, "What happened?" he asked her.
It took her a moment, but she eventually began to speak. "I sometimes get really sad, just for no reason, I feel it coming on, and suddenly I just can't help but cry like a lost little filly," she explained.
"It's like suddenly I think everything is terrible and I don't want to face it anymore," she said. She looked down, almost as if the floor may hold whatever answers she may be looking for. "Sometimes it's just a little case of the sniffles and I can get over it in no time," she looked at the dark pony now. "But sometimes, like today, I need to cry it out. On worst days I spend all day locked inside my apartment over Sugar Cube Corner, pretending that I'm doing 'Pinkie Pie Stuff'." Tears started to build up again, and she looked to the floor as they started to spill over onto her cheeks.
"It's hard being happy all the time, ever since I got my cutie mark I've wanted to only smile and see smiles, but," she started to sob, "It's just too *sniff* hard, and I can't *sniff* take it," she struggled to get to talking again. Lucien let her take her time as he listened intently.
She calmed down enough that she could speak clearly, "ever since I got my cutie mark, I wanted to throw parties, and make ponies happy."
She grew silent for a moment. "Starting with my family," she said.
"I don't know why, but my family was always sad, my father especially looked at me with a frown, always on his face, and always looked a little mad," she said.
"I wasn't allowed in the house, he told me I had to sleep outside and work for my food. He was always nicer to my sisters," she said sadly, and Lucien noted her tone was as if she was coming to realize this.
'Did she repress these memories her whole life?' he wondered to himself as he listened.
"One day, I see a rainbow in the sky," she said, a smile forming on her face at the memory. "I later found out that Rainbow Dash had made it, and it was so beautiful, it made me smile, and I felt so happy, and I wanted everypony to feel how happy I was," her smile grew bigger and it seemed her hair would puff up any moment. "I threw my first party for my family, I worked hard all night to put it together, and the next morning they came into the silo, and we had my first party ever."
Her face seemed in absolute bliss, her hair was fully poofy and one wouldn't have guessed she was crying just a second ago.
"They loved it, they were dancing, and smiling, even my father. And for a day, things didn't seem so bad." He smile started to fade. "I tried throwing another party the next day, and all my father said was....."
She deepened her voice to sound like an older male pony, "We indulged your silly games once already, now get back to work," she mimicked.
"I kept trying, and one day....." She sniffed, her poofy hair falling flat once more, and she seemed sadder than ever. "He trashed it all, broke everything I had set up to have a party with," her gaze went back to the floor, and then laid down, sobbing, before she collected herself once more. "He told me no more parties ever, and I was just so...... angry."
She looked up at Lucien pitifully, as he listened intently, giving her a look of pity and concern. "That night, while my Father, Mother and sisters all slept in the house, I....." her eyes filled with tears, though it was hard to tell with her already tear streamed face. "I set the house on fire...... and, I smiled again, as it burned."
"I, I enjoyed it," she said quietly, though clearly horrified by herself. "I know I shouldn't have, and I should be ashamed but I'm not," she cried, and began to weep once more, the floor beneath her was stained with the tears.
"They were right not to love me," she said. "How could I ever be loved? Who could love a monster that kills her family without feeling sad from it?"
Lucien studied the severely misjudged pony.
Pinkie Pie was sniffling still, but she wasn't crying. Her remembering her childhood for what it was had ended. Now she only rested, seemingly drained from the repressed memory and all the crying.
Lucien suspected her sadness was caused by what she said. She didn't feel that anypony who had done what she had and not have felt remorse of it was worthy of ever being loved.
'Well,' thought the dark pony.
'I'll just have to change that view point.' He suppressed his urge to smirk.
He went to her side, and pulled her close, "Pinkie Pie, you are not a monster," he assured her.
The pink pony looked at Lucien with surprise in her eyes, trying to understand that he was embracing her even after all she told him.
"It was cruel of them for what they did to you, you must have been very lonely, weren't you?" he asked her.
She sniffed again, "yes, I was," she said.
"All that time, sent to live outside whiles the rest of your family, not appreciating what a lovely daughter they had, lived inside."
She sniffed again; his words warmed her as he spoke.
"Poor Pinkie Pie, nopony showed you the love you deserved back then did they?"
She couldn't take it anymore. She buried her head into his chest and embraced him as she had one final powerful cry. She felt a little ashamed of herself for being so vulnerable, crying as she was. But the rest of her didn't care, just happy that somepony was showing her kindness even when knowing her dark past.
They were like that for a moment, before Lucien spoke up once more, "do you want a new Family, Pinkie Pie?" he asked her.
She looked up at him.
His voice darkened, but to her it was light and beautiful, "A Father who would be proud of you, a Mother who would love you?" he asked her. "And brothers and sisters, who would care deeply about you, and not only accept but embrace the darkness in your heart?"
Her heart pounded in her chest. She already felt like he was the brother she never had. Strong, loving and supportive. In his hooves she felt safe, and loved.
Her mane poofed back out almost instantly, and her smile was back full force, and she hugged him tightly, "yes, yes I would, I would love a new family more than anything," she said gleefully.
Lucien smiled, and held her close, "there is one thing you must do then, and then I will introduce you to your new family," he promised her.
She looked up to him with all the trust a young sibling could have for their older brother, "Anything." |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Pink Turns to Red, Part 2 | Pink turns to Red, part 2
The next day Pinkie Pie was prancing through town, a new joy in her step as she was going towards her home and workplace of Sugar Cube Corner. She had stayed the night at Lucien's home, letting him tell her stories of his family and his past, of protecting and being protected by the wonderful Dark Brotherhood. The Dread Father which they served who had given love to his faithful children and servants and dealt death to those would harm them. Of the loving Night Mother and her warm embrace.
Lucien had also told her of his hopes for the future of the Dark Family, as they were all but gone when he arrived in Ponyville. Just the thought of it made her sad for Lucien, who immediately told her that he had already found a new brother and sister and would be happy to count her as another Dark Sister if she did as he had instructed.
Her thoughts went to the night before, and what Lucien's offer entailed. .......
"Poor Pinkie Pie, nopony showed you the love you deserved back then did they?"
She couldn't take it anymore. She buried her head into his chest and embraced him as she had one final powerful cry. She felt a little ashamed of herself for being so vulnerable, crying as she was. But the rest of her didn't care, just happy that somepony was showing her kindness even when knowing her dark past.
They were like that for a moment, before Lucien spoke up once more, "do you want a new Family, Pinkie Pie?" he asked her.
She looked up at him.
His voice darkened, but to her it was light and beautiful, "A Father who would be proud of you, a Mother who would love you?" he asked her. "And brothers and sisters, who would care deeply about you, and not only accept but embrace the darkness in your heart?"
Her heart pounded in her chest. She already felt like he was the brother she never had. Strong, loving and supportive. In his hooves she felt safe, and loved.
Her mane poofed back out almost instantly, and her smile was back full force, and she hugged him tightly, "yes, yes I would, I would love a new family more than anything," she said gleefully.
Lucien smiled, and held her close, "there is one thing you must do then, and then I will introduce you to your new family," he promised her.
She looked up to him with all the trust a young sibling could have for their older brother, "Anything."
His dark eyes locked with hers, "You must commit a dark deed for the family in offering to our Father and Mother, you must end the life of somepony close to you, and do so in a manner that nopony will suspect you," he instructed.
As he spoke, she listened intently, and while the thought of killing somepony was dreadful even to her now, the thought of losing this new family before she had even gotten them was even more dreadful. So she took it in, and smiled after thinking deeply on it, and nodded vigorously. "I'll do it Luci, I'll kill somepony for you and the family," she said.
He smiled at her and kissed her forehead, "then, my little sister, I wish you luck, and may our Night Mother watch over you," he said.
She smiled more and more, "Luci, can, can I stay here tonight?" she asked. "And, can you tell me about the family?" she asked hopefully.
With a smile, the dark pony agreed, and invited her to sit and listen as he spoke.
........
She was still thinking deeply when she walked into the front of Sugar Cube Corner.
"Oh Pinkie Pie, thank goodness you're here," greeted a frazzled Mrs. Cake.
Pinkie tilted her head, "what's wrong Mrs. Cake?" she asked.
"Some family business had just come up," she explained as she helped her husband pack some bags. "We have to go to Trottingham right away," she told her.
"We need you to watch the store for about a week," said her husband.
Pinkie Pie smiled and gave a little salute, "absolutely, you can count on me," she said.
"Thank you Pinkie Pie, we're going in a few minutes, you'll see us before you know it," Mrs. Cake said, grabbing up the bags with her husband, before heading out.
Pinkie Pie grinned as they left, as she started to tremble with excitement. It was all coming together perfectly.
The Cakes were leaving town, and Trottingham was quite a ways away, and nopony would notice they were gone for a real long time. She was being so sneaky and Lucien would be so proud of her once she came back.
As soon as she could, she went into the kitchen, and looked for the large kitchen knife that Mrs. Cake used for dicing onions when the recipe called for it.
She found it and put it into a saddle bag, and went out, moving as fast as she could. If she remembered right, there was a small bit of woods along the road to Trottingham just a little ways out of town. She had to hurry if she was going to beat the Cakes there. ......
She made it, and from the tree line she could see the Cakes coming up the road. They were so close now. Pinkie's smile grew wide, even as a few tears built up in her eyes. She would miss them, they were dear sweet friends. But she was trading them for a family, and she wouldn't need them anymore.
She hid herself behind some of the trees on the road, and waited quietly as the hoof falls drew closer, and moved carefully as they passed near the tree. They didn't stop. They hadn't heard her. This would be quick. Just a few quick movements and she would have a family again.
She took the kitchen knife from her saddle bags and held it in her teeth.
She sprang from her spot, and brought the knife down on the first of the Cakes.
........
It happened so fast, and she lost herself in it all.
It was beautiful, the red flying through the air, as it was freed from their bodies, the look in their eyes as life faded from them. It was all so beautiful.
Oh how she would miss these two kind bakers. But the beauty of their deaths alone made it worth it.
She hugged their bodies to her in a final farewell, before pulling them into the woods, at least 50 yards or so. Nopony would ever find them. Not until they could never be recognized again.
She went to the road, and kicked up the dirt to hide the blood splatter. And she put the knife back into her saddle bag. She felt warm, and proud, like a dark shroud was embracing her even though she knew nopony was with her. It was like the gentle proud embrace which she had sought from her father as a filly.
She shook her head clear of the thoughts, and headed back towards Ponyville, it was already midday.
She thought of how she must look with the blood, and decided it was best if she found a stream or something on the way back. .......
Lucien walked down the streets of Ponyville a little sleepily. Pinkie Pie had kept him up nearly the whole night asking about the Dark Brotherhood.
He just didn't have the heart to tell her no. Something about her just made it difficult to tell her no. But as a result, he was just too tired for very much today.
'Well, perhaps I should take a day to myself anyways,' he thought to himself.
"Hey, there's Mr. Lucien, Mr. Lucien!" he heard a young filly call out.
'My mistake,' he thought, turning to find Applebloom with two other young fillies of about her age with her. "Applebloom, are these your friends?" he asked her.
"Yup, this here is Sweetie Belle," she introduced the white unicorn filly. "And Scootaloo," she introduced the orange Pegasus.
"Nice to meet you," they both said brightly.
Lucien smiled back at them; "Likewise," he greeted the younger ponies. "The three of you seem to be best friends, am I right?" he asked them.
They all grinned widely at him, "Sure shootin, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders," proclaimed Applebloom proudly.
The dark pony raised an eyebrow, "Cutie Mark Crusaders?" he asked.
"Yeah, we're working together to get our cutie marks," explained Scootaloo. "We keep trying everything we can to see what our talents are," she said.
Lucien smiled to them, "any luck?" he asked. From what he had learned of Cutie Marks, it wasn't as easy as trying everything you could. It was as much as finding something you loved and working at it. Like how in his past life he worked hard to become an assassin, learning how to kill, especially with poisons.
Adjusting ratios of ingredients to bring out the best qualities of each. It wasn't something that came naturally, it required work. But these fillies seemed very resolute in their desires. Maybe with some persuasion, he could get them to help him find some of the rarer things. He could even teach them the basics of alchemy while he was at it. "Perhaps I could help if you want," he offered.
The three crusaders perked up at the offer, and were listening, "if you three would help me find a few ingredients some time, I could teach you a couple of potions you could make," he offered them.
They all smiled, "you know how ta make potions Mr. Lucien?" asked Applebloom. "You must be a lot like Zacora," she said.
"Zacora?" asked the curious Lucien.
"She's a Zebra, she lives out in the Everfree Forest," explained Sweetie Belle.
"She's real good with potions and all that," added the orange Pegasus.
"I bet she'd have whatever it is yer lookin' for," said Applebloom. "She showed me a few things a couple a times," she said proudly.
He thought for a moment, "Perhaps I should pay her a visit sometime," he thought aloud. Remembering that the fillies were still there and he had said it aloud. Looking down at them he smiled. "When I do wish to go, would you be kind enough to take me there?" he asked them.
They smiled, glad that an adult would trust them so much, "of course we will," all three replied.
He smiled, and thought for a moment more, "Well, it was good to see you and your little friends Applebloom, but I'll be off now," he said, giving her a nod. She smiled brightly and gave a little wave with her hoof, as did her friends.
"See ya later Mr. Lucien," she said, running off with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders to do whatever it was they had planned.
Lucien went on his way into town. He wasn't sure why he was going to town, just something to do he supposed. It was then that something caught his eye. He looked to the newsstand, and looked at the front page story.
It was certainly surprising to see news of it so soon.
"Gruesome isn't it?" said the Newspony.
Lucien looked up at him, and nodded, handing over a bit, "it sure is," he said, taking a copy of the paper in his mouth, and started heading him, suppressing a smirk.
He made it home and started to laugh, dropping the paper to the floor, the front page headline was clear as day.
"Brutal Murder in Manehattan"
The story went on to explain how the law enforcement was baffled and how terror was spreading throughout the city with rumors of a murderer on the loose.
Lucien could not help but laugh heartily at the paper and the failings of the law enforcements of the City. Not only had it taken so long for news to spread, but they weren't on a trail at all if they believed the killer had resided in Manehattan.
Lucien Lachance put the paper on a small end table that had come with the house, and was then alerted by a knock on the door.
He felt some dejà vu as he opened to the door to Pinkie Pie, but this time her face was an ear to ear grin. "I did it," she said in a whisper.
Lucien invited her inside, "oh? Is that so?" he asked.
"Yes, I killed Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I hid their bodies in the woods, nopony will ever find them," she said smiling. "Can I meet the family now Brother Luci?" she asked, excited to meet her new family.
Lucien smiled to her, "in a little while, please, tell me all about what you did," he said.
With a more subdued smile, she went on to tell him everything she had done in every detail she could explain. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | A Dark Meeting and More Nightmares | A Dark Meeting and More Nightmares
Two dark figures came to a clearing next to a small pond, where two more figures stood waiting. One of those that stood there was wearing a cloak, the hood over his head, hiding his face. Though just from his presence and the aura he seemed to exude, all ponies present knew exactly who it was. The newcomers gave him nods of respect.
"You came," he spoke, his voice showing approval for the nurse and farm pony who had just arrived. A happily smiling Pink pony stood next to him.
"Are these my new Brother and Sister, Luci?" asked Pinkie Pie, recognizing them.
"They are," Lucien chuckled, amused by his Little Sister's excitement.
Big Macintosh looked at the Pink pony with some surprise, he would have said something had Redheart not beat him to the punch, "Who would have guessed you were a little bloodthirsty?" the nurse asked.
Pinkie smiled brightly and proudly proclaimed, "I'd do anything for my family," she said, giggling a little.
Lucien smiled as well, "I am glad to see our family grow so fast, but we are still a hand without a thumb," he said. He looked at each of the ponies whom he now considered family, "I will take care of that," he told them. "I have a job for the three of you," he said.
He opened his cloak, and reached in with his mouth, pulling out the newspaper from earlier, detailing the discovery of the murder in Manehattan. He dropped it to the ground and let everypony see it. "This is the result of what Big Macintosh and I did in Manehattan some time ago," he explained.
"Now, pretend you're a regular everyday pony, like you all used to be," he went on, smiling, earning a smile from Pinkie Pie, showing how excited she was. Big Macintosh and Redheart were paying close attention.
"The fear you would feel, knowing that somewhere out in the night, is somepony who can, and will murder you, for reasons you are not aware of," he said, chuckling darkly as he spoke.
He went to the edge of the pond, "everypony in Manehattan is feeling that fear, worried that they are next," he said. "I want more of Equestria to feel that, to know that feeling." His voice darkened. "I want them to know Sithis."
He reached into his cloak again, and produced several pieces of paper that Pinkie had helped him with earlier. Each one had a Black hand on them. It was the symbol of the Dark Brotherhood. He set them atop the newspaper, "The mission I am giving you three is to go to different towns, to places you won't be recognized, and you are to end somepony's life, and make sure they will be easily discovered, and don't get caught," he warned them darkly. "And lastly, you are to leave this sheet, ponies will begin to associate it with us, and they will know that this isn't the work of one child of the night, but of a Dark Brotherhood," he said, his grin almost glowing in the night.
Pinkie Pie giggled, excited that she would be doing her family's bidding once again, "I can't wait to make Sithis proud of me," she said happily while trotting in place, finding it hard to keep still.
Big Macintosh kept his cool, and gave a respectful bow, "If it'll help the family," he said, his mind focused on the business of the matter rather than the pleasure of it.
Nurse Redheart's expression was one of a solemn pleasure; finally she would get to feel what she felt when she killed that bastard of a doctor.
Hearing no objections, Lucien passed around the pages with the Black Hand. "Then I wish you wall luck, my Brother and Sisters," he said. "Good night, and may the Night Mother embrace you," he said, turning away, and heading back into town, to his new home.
...................................................................................
Twilight walked down a corridor, the same dark presence she felt in her last Nightmare was all around, but did not chase her about. This time, she walked willingly towards the end of the hallway.
The old Mare was standing there, waiting for her. She walked towards her, but something was wrong.
It seemed like she had been walking for hours, she never got any closer to the mysterious Mare. No matter how she ran and no matter how she wanted to meet the Mare who was haunting her dreams, she couldn't get any closer.
Tears ran down her face from frustration and how she exerted herself. She collapsed on the floor of the corridor, and looked up to see that the Mare was right next to her now, looking down at her. "I'm sorry child," she said, leaning down and nuzzling her with affection, "but I can only come to you, and when the time is right," she said.
"You are almost ready, now wake up."
........................................................................................
Twilight awoke with a start, breathing heavily, as if she really did run like she had in her dream. Seeing how tossed about the blanket was on her bed, she probably had been. He mane was matted down from a cold sweat.
After a few deep breaths, Twilight sighed and got up from bed, grabbing the dream journal she had been writing in, and writing down what little evidence the new dream had added, ending with the words, "Almost Ready?"
"I need to look into this more," she said to nopony in particular.
"These dreams are driving me crazy," she went to her bathroom and filled a bucket with some water, and splashed her face. She looked down at her reflection in the water, seeing her mane in a mess and bags under her eyes.
Fluttershy's herbs didn't help her anymore, half of the bag was still unused and sitting in a drawer next to her bed. She considered taking more, but wasn't willing to risk the dangers of the drug.
With another sigh she left the bathroom and went to make a small breakfast. Spike was still asleep snoring in his bed, his blanket half hanging off of him. As Twilight passed him by, she used her magic to tuck him back in.
She went to the kitchen and set to work making something quick. She left out a small dish of gems for Spike once he woke up. Afterwords, she made herself some toast and picked up a few apples for a trip along with some bits she had layed aside.
With that she wrote a quick note to her number 1 assistant as she ate her toast.
Dear Spike,
I have gone on a trip to Canterlot to look through the library for answers to questions that have arisen recently. I can't tell you everything, but I promise I'm alright. Please take care of things while I am gone.
Love, Twilight.
It was hastily written, and lacking of any other info. She set it down and put on her saddlebags, putting in her bits, and apples. The last thing she grabbed was the journal that held all the things she dreamed about for the last few weeks.
She was determined to see this through. She knew she wouldn't get a good night's sleep until she did.
With the resolve to solve the mystery of the Dark Brotherhood, and her strange dreams, Twilight left her house, intent on going to Canterlot.
...............
The dark pony walked the streets of Ponyville, observing quietly, smiling in satisfaction. There was a sense of edge in the air as the ponies went about their business. It seemed perfectly normal on top. But he could practically smell the fear. Murder was indeed rare for these ponies. It happened of course, but not so brutally or efficiently.
The paper didn't even bother trying to censor the details of it all, something he was sure would change by the time the family was in full motion. His three accomplices had already gone to their destinations to complete their tasks.
He would wait for them to return, or for word of their capture, or to see news of their work in the Equestrian News Paper.
He was thinking of what he would do while he waited for them and considered going to visit this Zebra that he was told about just the other day. But as he was wondering where the young fillies who told him about her were, he noticed Twilight heading toward the train station.
When he had first seen the strange machine, he was almost frightened of it, but after noting how it worked, he figured out it was a very fascinating machine used for transportation. Back in his old world, he had never seen something so technologically capable. Well, perhaps the ancient Dwemor were capable of something similar, but he never witnessed it himself.
Regardless, he made for Twilight, and called out to her, noting that she seemed a bit flustered.
The Lavender pony turned at hearing her name and seeing Lucien approach her, she smiled tiredly, "Lucien? What are you doing here?" he asked him.
"I was walking through town and saw you going this way, you seemed in a hurry, is something wrong?" he asked her, honestly a little concerned for her, his mind was set on bringing her into the family, both for personal reasons, and because he felt the Night Mother wished for it as well.
"I'm fine," she tried to say, smiling unconvincingly. Just seeing Lucien's expression told her that he didn't believe her. She sighed in defeat, "I'm not, I can barely sleep, and when I do I have Nightmares," she said. The stress of it all was getting to her, her eyes starting to water. "I need to figure it all out, I need to go to Canterlot and see if there are any books in the Royal Library," she said.
She looked to the train, "that's why I'm here, I was going to go and not come back till I learn all about it, it's just so important now," she said quietly, suppressing the urge to let out all her emotions in a cry.
Lucien looked upon her, and knew he was looking at a pony who was at wits end with her obsession. He was almost certain she would find no answers in the Library she wanted to head to. It would not do well to have a potential Listener go insane. There was only one thing to do. Help her hold onto it.
"If you want, I can travel with you, and tell you whatever I can," he told her. "And I'll even help you look," he said.
Twilight looked at him, a little surprised. "You want to help me?" she asked.
"Of course, I know a little of what you are seeking, and I've grown rather fond of you," he said, a slight teasing tone in his voice when he said the last part.
Twilight smiled faintly, "I'd like that," she said. She brightened up a little, "yes, a research partner is just what a need, especially one who is qualified in the field of study," she said, taking on a more scientific tone. "Would you like for me to pay for your ticket?" she asked.
"I could run home and get some money for myself if you want," he said.
The train whistle blew, and Twilight shook her head, "there's no time," she said, motioning for him to follow, going to the ticket booth and buying the both of them tickets.
The Unicorn and Earth Pony got onto the train, "Well Ms. Sparkle let us find a seat and I'll tell you what I can," he said.
She smiled and nodded, "Please." |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | A Train Ride | A Train Ride
Lucien and Twilight sat in one of the passenger cars. They were along with the exception of a Mare coming down the cars and serving refreshments. Once they were alone, Lucien looked to Twilight, and gave her a smile.
"This is my first time on a...... what did you call it again? A Train?" he commented, excited as he looked out the window, the scenery passing by swiftly. He had never moved this fast before.
Twilight suppressed a giggle, "yes, it's a train, they don't have them in your homeland?" she asked him.
Lucien shook his head, "no, we've had nothing as magnificent as Trains, at least not to my knowledge, I would think I'd like to read up on them if I can," he said. He then thought for a moment about his homeland. Cyrodil was a well developed and lawful land, but some of the wonders he's seen while in Equestria could put anything he's seen in that land to shame.
He'd heard rumors of the Imperial Orrery being rebuilt, but he had been killed before it was finished. Perhaps it would have been equal it magnificence but that was irrelevant at the time.
Twilight saw Lucien start to look deep in thought. "Are you thinking of your homeland?" she asked him.
The Dark pony looked at her, brought out from his nostalgia, and he smiled at her observation. "Yes, you'd be amazed at how different it is, "he said. He doubt she would believe him if he told her the truth about it all. That ponies or horses in his world were mostly used as animals of labor or transportation. He didn't even think humans were present in this world, and he didn't know how he would explain them to the filly.
"What is it like there?" she asked him.
He thought for a moment, "There are several cities, the most magnificent of which is the Imperial City," he told her, seeing no harm in telling her the geography of a land she wouldn't likely ever see.
"The City I am from is a smaller one by the name of Cheydinhal," he continued. "There was nothing spectacular about it, but it was home enough." Lucien looked Twilight in the eye, "but you want to ask other questions, don't you?"
Twilight nodded and thought on what to ask. "You talked about the Dark Brotherhood last time, but, who are they exactly?" she asked.
Lucien thought carefully on how to word everything, "Like I said, they are a cult, and worshipers of Sithis. They also hold the Night Mother as their Patron," he told her. "I've already told you that much, and that their assassins, murderers and the like, passed that, they consider themselves a family, Brothers and Sisters who will do anything for each other, defending them with their very lives, I've even heard stories of some individuals killing close friends because they endangered the Brotherhood," he told her.
Twilight took it all in. Such an organization seemed mythical. Those ponies would swear loyalty to each other and to beings beyond their comprehension and would kill for payment. With such a close group, she could imagine they became very strong and dangerous as Lucien told her before. "Would they ever get to Equestria?" she asked him, as if a little worried.
Lucien smiled to her gently, "I wouldn't doubt it," he said. 'They're closer than you think, Twilight,' he thought to himself. "As far as the Brotherhood goes, I'm afraid that's all I can say," he told her, not exactly lying.
Twilight nodded while thinking, "but, how do you know all of this?" she asked him. "Was the Brotherhood after you?" she asked, legitimate concern on her face.
Lucien's smile faded a little, "I have..... Crossed paths with Dark Brothers and Sisters who've wished me dead," he said, a hint of hurt and regret in his voice, though he doubted she noticed.
"Is that why you left Cyrodil?" she asked.
Lucien looked out the window as the landscaped rushed by as the train continued to head for their destination. "You could say that," he told her. He turned and smiled to her, "But I can promise you, that they believe I'm dead, they won't be coming to kill me anytime soon," he promised her.
Twilight smiled back, "I'm glad for that," she said.
Lucien nodded, "Do you have any other questions?" he asked her.
"Well, you said you told me all you could about the Brotherhood, I guess my only questions would be about you," she said, curious as to what the Dark Pony's past was like. "That is if you're alright with sharing."
Lucien smiled, "I suppose I can answer a few questions."
"What was it like, growing up in Cyrodil?" she asked. "With a group like the Brotherhood running around, it couldn't have been easy," she said.
Lucien looked the ceiling of the train car as he thought back, "now that's something I haven't thought about for a long time," he said. "Not much different than anywhere else, I would assume," he told her. "My Father was a Merchant, so we lived comfortably, he would travel often, and when he returned I was always eager to hear his stories of where he's been," he told her. He looked down once more, "One day, he didn't come back, and his letters stopped." He admitted to himself that while the memory was old, it still hurt. "My Mother and I found out sometime later that he was hit by bandits, they killed him and took his wagonload," he told her.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up such painful memories," Twilight said quickly, regretting that she asked him.
"It's alright, it was a very long time ago," he told her. "My mother fell ill and died soon after, and I was alone," he continued. He decided to skip the part where he started his career as an assassin by hunting down the bandits that had killed his father. He made sure their demise was far more painful than any of their victims.
"I was still young, too young to find a job for myself, and too young to join the Imperial Legion for military service," he said. He rolled his eyes, "not that I would," he mumbled more to himself than her. "Though I was young, I wasn't foolish, I couldn't make it on my own, so I sold the possessions of my parents, the ones that weren't important to me, and I sold the home, and bought my way to my relatives in Cheydinhal," he told her. "There I had a new family," he told her, giving her a smile. He wouldn't tell her yet which family it was.
She smiled back, "Did, did you have anypony special back in Cheydinhal before you came here?" she asked, a light blush on her face. 'Sweet Celestia! Why did I ask him that?' She berated herself in her mind.
An amused smiled drew on Lucien's face, "Why do you ask?" he teased her. After her blush deepened he chuckled, "no, no I didn't have somepony special," he told her. Lucien hadn't thought much on relationships in his life. He was content serving the Dread Father. That and most women that he's had the pleasure of meeting weren't that worth getting to know. After all, it was likely he had to kill them at the time.
If he was being honest with himself though, this Twilight Sparkle was certainly interesting. "What about you?" he asked her. "Do you have a special Somepony?" he asked.
Her blush was consuming her face, the color of her fur changing it to a deep purple. "Um, well, no, I mean, I don't, not that I wouldn't, I mean, oh hey, are we almost to Canterlot already?" she stumbled on her words, discovering that the landscape was much more rocky, and they were coming to a series of tunnels that came right before Canterlot.
"Canterlot is just up the Mountain side, it's really amazing actually, the entire city is perched on the edge of the mountainside," she told him. "I'm actually from Canterlot."
He looked to her, his interest piqued. "Are you?" he asked. "What is this city like?" he asked her.
"Well, Canterlot is the capital of Equestria, Princess Celestia and most of the nobility lives here," she said. "It's very high class, the center of Culture in all of Equestria, really," she continued.
'We're likely to have clients here in the future,' he thought to himself as Twilight spoke. If there was one thing that Lucien knew about Nobility, no matter where you went, they wanted someone dead.
"My parents and older brother still live here," Twilight said. "My brother, Shinning Armor, he's the Captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard," she said with some pride in her voice. "He's also married to Princess Celestia's niece," she said, before giggling. "That was a bit of a fiasco at the wedding though," she said.
Lucien looked to her, his eyebrow raised, "what happened?" he asked.
"Well, long story short, A changeling tried to take Cadence's form and brainwash Shinning Armor with magic," she said. "She almost usurped Celestia's throne," Twilight looked out of the window, "but the real Cadence and my brother were able to activate his barrier again, and drive her and her army of Changelings away."
"Impressive," he said with a smile, "I would like to meet your brother, I think," he said with a smile. Lucien wanted to meet the Captain of the Guard; he would need to know who the leader of such a group was. It also wouldn't hurt to get an idea on how Twilight's family was.
Said Unicorn was looking at him, a little confused, "you would, well, I guess it wouldn't hurt," she said, a small blush on her cheeks. "We'll likely run into him, He lives in the Palace now with Cadence. And it has been a little while, I think I'd like to see how their doing too," she said, a smile on her face now.
The train began to slow down as they came to their stop. "The Train is stopping, we'll be there in just a second," she said.
A few moments later the train came to a full stop, and they departed from it, seeing the city from the train station, Lucien was already impressed. The architecture rivaled that of the Imperial City, and seeing the Ponies walking about, it was clear that this city was very sophisticated.
While Lucien disliked Aristocracy, he had to admit that it was fun playing in the politics of high class life.
"Well, let's head to the Palace, the Royal Library is very big, we should get an early start."
With that, the two ponies headed towards the Royal Palace, eager to see what the Library held. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | Twilight's Brother | Twilight's Brother
Lucien and Twilight made their way to the Royal Library within the palace grounds, intent on seeing if they could find any further notation on the Dark Brotherhood, or the Dread Father they seem to serve. For Twilight it was a search to discover what could be the cause of her nightmares. Though unknown to her, Lucien had more answers then he let on.
The Dark Pony was admiring the architecture of the city as they walked on, 'that such intricate buildings were made by pony hands, Er... hooves rather, is amazing, and on a cliff face no less' he thought to himself as they walked on, 'Perhaps magic was involved in it.'
He then noticed Twilight stop in her tracks, he turns his attention to her, and then to two approaching ponies, a stallion and a mare.
The Stallion was white coated with a blue mane; he had a smile on his face as he hurried his pace towards Twilight. The mare was a new type of pony for Lucien; she was pink in color with a mane that came over her shoulders in three different colors; purple, pink and a light creamy yellow.
But was most interesting of her, was that she had traits of both unicorns and pegasi. He kept his wonder silent as he watched them greet his travel companion.
"Twily," the stallion said as he closed in. "What brings you to Canterlot?" he asked, putting a hoof around her and pulling her close, in an affectionate manner.
Twilight, he face flushed, tried to push him away, "S-Shining, please" she said, probably more embarrassed by the fact that her older brother was doing this in front of Lucien than the fact that he was doing it at all.
Shining Armor couldn't help but chuckle, "what's wrong Twily?" he asked her, once again using his nickname for her before letting her go.
She narrowed her eyes at him slightly and grumbled, but couldn't stay mad at him for long, and her frown turned to a smile with a shake of her head, "I honestly wasn't expecting to run into you two," she admitted, though she smiled, and Lucien noted that her mood seemed to brighten somewhat. "I was only coming to check on something in the Royal Library."
Shining playfully acted offended, "what? You were coming to Canterlot and you weren't going to pay your Big Brother a visit?" he teased. "I'm hurt," he put a hoof on her head and ruffled her mane some.
The pink pony with both unicorn and pegasi features chuckled, "leave her be, Shining," she said, coming closer to the two. She gave Twilight an affectionate hug, "but he's right, you really should visit more," she told her.
Twilight blushed, "well, I probably would have thought to visit you two later, Cadence," she said, returning the hug.
Cadence turned her gaze to the dark pony who was only watching and remaining politely quiet, though with a smile of amusement. She tilted her head, "and who is this?" she asked Twilight, who released her embrace as well.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Shining, Cadence, this is Lucien Lachance," she said, "He came with me from Ponyville, he's going to help me do some research on a subject he's familiar with." She then looked to the dark pony, "Lucien, this is my brother, Shining Armor, and my sister-in-law, Princess Cadence."
Lucien put his hoof forward, "it's a pleasure to make both you're acquaintances," he greeted, "Twilight has spoken of you before, but she didn't tell me very much," he said, as Shining Armor took his hoof into a firm shake.
Twilight's older brother stared down Lucien, though he kept his demeanor friendly, he was sizing the slightly smaller stallion up. 'Well spoken, polite, must be smart to impress Twilight enough to help her with something.' His thoughts led him to one conclusion, "It's nice to meet you too Lucien," he said. 'If he plans on trying anything funny.....'
If Lucien noticed how forced the Captain's smile was, he didn't show it.
Shining's wife on the other hand smiled and giggled lightly, knowing exactly what her husband was thinking at that moment. She cut in and took Lucien's hoof in a shake as well, "You're quite the gentlecolt," she said, "The pleasure is ours. Is this your first time in Canterlot?"
Lucien nodded, "it is, and I have to say I'm impressed, it's a very beautiful city," he said.
Shining Armor, still wary of the new pony, smiled. "Thank you," he said, with no small amount of pride. "The Royal Guard does its best to keep the peace," he said.
The dark pony nodded, "Twilight told me you're the Captain, is this so?" he asked. Getting a nod in response, he smiled, "It can't be an easy job, and you must be very good at it, to keep a city this size safe."
The Captain of the guard nodded, "it is, and thank you."
There was a pause as nopony knew exactly where to take the conversation from there.
Twilight was about to excuse herself and Lucien, but the dark pony spoke up first, "If I'm being a bother I can go for now while you two talk with Twilight," he offered, perhaps sensing Shining's distrust of him.
Cadence shook her head, "no, it's fine, right dear?" she asked Shining Armor.
Shining, though he didn't show it, was still sizing up Lucien, not sure what to make of him. He was polite, and didn't carry himself in a threatening way, but there was something.... off about him. "Yeah, it's fine," he said after a moment.
Lucien chuckled, "no, I insist, a stranger shouldn't be the center of attention when family sees each other," he said, excusing himself. "I'm sure I can find my way back here, I'll just give you three some time to catch up, I'd like to see a bit more of the city anyways," he said. "If, of course, that's alright with you Twilight?" he asked her.
Though her expression seemed a little sad, she nodded, "okay," he face became a smile. "I'll meet you at the library, just come on in when you're done," she said.
Cadence then looked to Shining, "why don't you show him around?" she asked.
"What?!" Shining gapped.
Cadence giggled at his expression, "who better than the Captain of the Guard to show a new pony around the city?" she asked. "Besides," she whispered in his ear, "don't you want to get to know Twilight's new friend better?" she asked, emphasizing friend in a way to suggest that it was more than that.
Shining shuddered at the thought of what she could have meant. "Alright," he said, walking up to the dark pony, who looked up at him, and nodded.
"Lead the way, captain," he said, as the two fell into step to see the city.
The two mares watched the stallions leave, and once they were out of earshot, Cadence looked at Twilight and beamed, "so where did you catch a handsome colt like that?" she grinned with a wink.
Flustered, Twilight gapped at her old foalsitter, "w-w-what do you mean? It's not like that!" she argued.
Cadence giggled, "of course it isn't," she said with sarcasm, "and Pegasi lay eggs."
Twilight grumbled, "Really, it isn't," she said, nervously rubbing her hoof in the ground.
Cadence noticed this, her smile changing from mischievous to kind, as she understood Twilight's feelings on the matter. "Alright, alright, I won't pester you about it," she said. "But please, there must be some reason to bring him along, besides having something to stare at while researching," she teased.
Twilight narrowed her eyes and pouted at Cadence, but after a moment, she calmed herself down. "I was on my way here on my own at first, but he happened to come by and volunteered to join me," she said.
Cadence smiled, "sounds like a real nice colt," she said.
Twilight nodded, "he is, he's smart too," she said, a light blush forming, "he's new to Equestria actually," she said.
Cadence tilted her head.
Twilight looked to her, and sighed, "it's a long story actually, he says he's from a land far away."
"How romantic."
The lavender unicorn glared at her.
"I'm kidding," Cadence said, "I won't say another word about it," she promised.
"Anyways, he's been spending a lot of time at the library, checking out books on Equestrian history and of all things botany," she said. "I think he used to be some kind of potion maker," she said.
Cadence resisted the urge to tease her younger friend further. "Speaking of new arrivals," she cut in.
Twilight tilted her head curiously, "huh?"
"Well, we just found out not long ago, but..... Shining and I....."
Realization suddenly hit Twilight, and her eyes widened as a smile seemed to take up most of her face, "you're pregnant?!"
The older Alicorn blushed and nodded, "yes, you're going to be an auntie," she said happily as the two of them embraced, Twilight unable to contain her excitement and for the moment at least, her exhaustion and worries were forgotten.
......................
A fair distance away, Shining Armor was doing his best not to interrogate the dark colt. "So, you said this was your first time in Canterlot?" he asked.
Small talk was painful at times.
"Yes," was Lucien's reply. "To be honest, I'm not from Equestria at all," he admitted as he looked around.
"You're not?" the Guard Captain asked.
"No, I'm from a place far from here," Lucien explained. "It's far different than what I'm used to. Not to say my homeland didn't have its own amazing sights, but I'm finding myself amazed nearly every day here," he said, sounding genuinely excited.
Shining let a smile form on his face, as he let his suspicions ease up some. He still didn't trust the new colt, but he at least seemed friendly. But something still bugged him, "if you don't mind me asking," he started. "How did you and Twilight meet?" he asked him.
Lucien looked up in thought as they walked along, "let's see, it would be a couple weeks ago now. I had wondered into Applejack's orchard, signed up for work, and she introduced me to her," he explained. "It was good to find someone with similar interests."
Shining eyed him, but said nothing as they continued on. "So, why did you leave your homeland?" he asked, hoping he wasn't prying too much.
Lucien stayed quiet as he looked over the surrounding architecture before answering, "I'd like to keep that to myself for now, if it isn't too much to ask," he said, his tone remaining calm.
The Guard Captain was still unsure as to what to make of the mysterious pony. He knew not everypony wanted to share their life story, and it felt wrong to judge someone without getting to know them, but all the same, he felt an air of danger around this Lucien Lachance.
Holding his suspicions in check for the time being, he continued to show Lucien around the city, showing him all the major landmarks.
The museum, the art gallery, the theatre and much more.
It wasn't long before Lucien pointed out the time, and they made their way back to Twilight and Cadence.
.....................
Twilight and Lucien bid them farewell, Lucien thanking Shining armor for showing him around, and Twilight smiled brighter than Lucien had ever seen since he first met her.
As the two scholarly ponies left for the Library, Cadence looked to Shining and smiled, "So, what was he like?" she asked him.
The guard captain looked to the ground in thought. "He was polite, if very vague about his past."
Looking again in the direction that his sister and the dark pony left in, he continued, "I don't trust him," he said.
Cadence giggled, "I think you're just being an overprotective brother," shed teased. "The first stallion to come into Twilight's life besides you and you're ready to label him a criminal."
Shining blushed furiously, "N-no, this has nothing to do with it," he said, though not sounding too convincing.
Cadence chuckled lightly, "you and your sister both get so flustered, it's cute," she said, affectionately nuzzling her husband. "He seems nice, give him a chance," she said.
Shining nodded and nuzzled her back, "Alright, I'll try," he said. He sighed, and thought to himself, 'I hope she's right, I hope it is just me being over protective.'
Just then, Cadence spoke up again, "by the way, I told her about our little surprise," she said.
He pulled away with a pout, forgetting about the dark colt, "What? But you said we could tell her together."
Cadence giggled, "I know, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore," she said with a smile. "I'm asked her if she could get her friend to throw the baby shower," she said.
Shining smiled lightly, "I'm sure it will be amazing," he said, nuzzling her once more before they made their way back home. |
Dark Pony Brotherhood | The Royal Library | The Royal Library
Seeing the inside of the Royal Library, Lucien had to admit, if there was any evidence of the Dread Father or the Dark Brotherhood in this world, it would likely be here.
He doubted that they would be easily located however.
The interior of the building seemed to stretch a hundred yards or so on either side of the entrance, and just as far to the back. Looking up he could see that there were at least four levels above them; the floor was open to show this. And at the top of it all was a rotunda made of glass, letting in natural sunlight to illuminate the building, or at least the parts the sun was shining.
Lucien took a moment to marvel at this, and noticed that the areas the sun wasn't shining into were illuminated by lamps, but the lamps in the sunlit areas seemed turned off. The lamps themselves glowed with an ethereal presence. They were likely magic themselves.
He looked to his companion, and noted that the elation she showed at seeing her family had started to fade as she looked to the work in front of her.
She turned to him and smiled, though it seemed a tired smile. "Well, let's get started," she said, her tone matching her appearance.
She immediately went to the Library's directory, "we'll start with more direct titles," she said, "if we can't find any I suppose we'll have to look for obscure titles that may have what we're looking for."
Even if it was only slight, Lucien noticed that she was eager for this. He smiled, admiring how much the thrill of learning seemed to outshine her frustration at the difficulty of such a task.
"Yes," he agreed, "I'll search in......" he trailed off, and looked around, "the west wing, gather what books I think may help, and find you afterwards," he said.
She nodded in affirmation, as she continued to scan the directory, her horn glowing as she pulled a pencil and notebook from her saddlebag, likely making notes on where to search.
Lucien took one more moment to look at her, before he turned to look where he said he would. Finding a cart he pushed it along slowly as he scanned the book titles for something to catch his eyes.
There was of course nothing on the Dread Father or Night Mother or Dark Brotherhood, at least not in the titles. So he instead gathered books with titles such as 'Lost Legends,' 'Dark Legends,' 'Histories of Secret Organizations,' and the like.
He doubted greatly that any of them would help, but he wanted to see for himself if the dark brotherhood, or groups like it, have existed in Equestria before.
After gathering a fair number of such books, enough to fill the cart, he pushed it along as he looked for Twilight.
He found her not far from where they had started. She already had a pile of books on a desk and was paging through them one at a time.
He pushed the cart up next to her, "anything yet?" he asked, sitting down and cracking open a book himself.
Twilight shook her head, "no," was all she said as she went through book after book at a quick pace.
Lucien looked to her stack, and noted that they were titled like his were. Vague and mysterious.
He took another moment to look at Twilight as she skimmed through tome after tome. Her expression was one of stress and frustration as she set another book aside, finding nothing.
Lucien himself also set to work, reading through some of the books that he had collected.
.................
It was nightfall now, and the library was mostly empty, except for the librarian and the two ponies who had been reading for the better half of a day.
Lucien looked to the clock on the wall, "Twilight, perhaps we should go for the night, and start again in the morning after some rest," he suggested.
Twilight didn't look up from the books, as she continued to skim through them.
He was starting to think that she didn't hear him, but when he was about to speak again, she started before he could.
"You can go, I'll stay here tonight," she said.
The Dark Pony tilted his head, "you haven't slept in a long time, perhaps you should......"
Twilight cut him off, "I can't sleep," she said, setting the book down and cradling her head in her hooves. "I just can't. If I close my eyes I'll have those dreams again, and I'll have even more questions, and have to learn even more," her voice was getting desperate as she looked Lucien in the eyes, her gaze desperate and she seemed almost consumed by madness.
"I feel like I'm losing my mind and myself," she whimpered pathetically, trying to keep quiet in the library. "I've never been this obsessed with anything in my life, even when I was a little filly studying magic, I feel like if I don't find this out I'll go mad."
Lucien looked at her with a genuine look of sadness, for the first time his heart was split, and he wasn't sure why. This was the will of the Dread Father, but it actually hurt him to see her this way.
After a moment, Lucien nodded, "I understand, I'll help you as much as I can," he told her. "But I do need sleep myself," he said, coming closer to her, he gave her an affectionate nudge, unsure of what drove him to do so.
The act of affection seemed to calm Twilight somewhat, though tears threatened to escape her eyes, "t-thank you, Lucien," she said. "Please, get some rest, I'll be fine, I promise," she told him, turning back to the books.
With a nod, and a final look of pity, Lucien turned to leave, his mind wandering to the mare who stayed in the magnificent hall of knowledge as he tried to remember where the Hotel he saw when touring the town with Shining Armor.
..................
Lucien walked the deserted streets of Canterlot, lit by the full moon hanging low in the sky.
He soon came to a large and fancy building, but before he went inside, he growled, cursing himself for forgetting that he didn't have the chance to bring any bits with him.
It was then, that he noticed a rather well dressed pony stumbling along the cobbled streets of Canterlot, humming what seemed like a rather jovial tune to himself.
Lucien smiled, 'one must always be ready to adapt when finding themselves lacking funds,' he thought to himself, before looking around, seeing only a discarded broom, leaning against the wall of the Hotel. His smile turned to a sly smirk. 'Or weapons.'
One more glance again as the drunk was passing by on the opposite end of the street, oblivious to the dark pony's intentions.
There were no guards around; the last one turned the corner only moments ago.
Lucien would have to be quick.
Grabbing the broom with his hoof, he stalked into the shadows, going behind alleyways and across the street behind the Drunk; he followed him for a couple blocks.
Now waiting in an alleyway just ahead of him, Lucien mussed up his mane, and did his best to look like he was drunk as well. Given some time he would have washed his mouth with some kind of booze to have the smell on his breath, but he doubted the drunk would really notice over his own stench.
Leaving the broom behind against the wall, he stumbled out of the alleyway.
"Hey thar friend," he slurred out, his posture swaying as he eyed the drunk.
"Wha? Who'r you?" The wealthy victim slurred back.
"Ahm no on important," Lucien added a 'hiccup.' "Ah, jus thought, you n ah, kin share a drink the alley, ah got mah hooves on some Diamond Dog Brandy," another 'hiccup.'
The Drunk stared with wide eyes in disbelief, "yer foolin with meh, Diamond Dog Brandy?" the Drunk asked with his own 'hiccup.' "How'd you git that into Canterlot? Bin outlawed fer weeks."
"Thas why we gotta drink in the Alley, so no guards'll see us," Lucien asked, his excitement showing through his eyes. The Drunk would think it's the excitement of the drink, but it was another darker excitement that grew in Lucien.
The disbelief turned to joy, "well, let's go then," the Drunk laughed, going into the alleyway before Lucien.
The Dark pony followed, his stride sobering the moment eyes were off of him. As he passed it he picked up the broom.
"Wher is it?" the Drunk asked, looking around confused.
"It's here," Lucien's sober voice sounded behind him, followed by the crack of the broom handle being broken.
..................
Shining Armor came to the Alleyway that was roped off, where he was greeted by one of the lieutenants.
Silver Guard of morning patrol in fact.
The Unicorn Lieutenant nodded to him, "Sir," he greeted.
The young silver-blue Unicorn was originally from Manehattan, but transferred from the Manehattan PD to the Royal Guard due to valorous service.
"Lieutenant Silver," Shining returned the greeting. "So what do we have?" he asked.
Silver adjusted his stance, "A big mess, Sir," he started, "Earth Pony Noble, name of Rocks, not too well known around Canterlot yet," he continued. "We had him in a cell a couple times to dry out before, he tended to like his liquor," he explained.
"We found his wallet, wouldn't have been able to id him otherwise, aside from his identification it was empty though, might have been a mugging gone wrong, but....." the Lieutenant paused. "Well, you'll need to see for yourself," he said, using his magic to lift the rope.
Shining walked into the alley, where several other Canterlot Guards were searching for more evidence, and what he immediately saw were splatters of blood, a number standing next to it showing it was evidence. Also nearby was the end of a broom, broken off. It also had a number. Looking to the end of the alleyway, Shining could see the blood trailing back there. He followed it with the Lieutenant, and when the turned the corner, it almost made The Captain's stomach turn.
Leaning against the wall was the body of a dead Earth Pony, his face viciously torn by what was likely a sharp object, what was left of it was frozen in a silent scream, his throat looked like it was torn out too. Likely the first target if no one reported any screaming or disturbances last night.
It didn't take long to find out what the murder weapon was, as it was sticking out of the pony's abdomen.
"This wasn't just some mugging," Shining said, Silver nodding in agreement.
............
Lucien felt so alive and rejuvenated after last night.
The Drunk hadn't been difficult, but it was a welcome distraction, and he had more than enough bits on him to cover a week in one of the Hotel's finest rooms.
He doubted that he and Twilight would stay so long in Canterlot, but he was prepared, after all, he had the money.
As he made his way back to the library, and came by a small, but active cafe, and decided to get himself and Twilight some tea.
He doubted that she got much sleep, or any, so tea would probably help her calm down somewhat.
Picking up the tray in his teeth, he carefully carried it all the way back to the Library, and upon entering, he saw Twilight sitting exactly where he left her. He neared her, and placed the tray down next to her.
He then noticed how bloodshot her eyes were and also the pile of discarded books, behind her. The normally tidy unicorn was tossing books over her shoulder one after another, eyes skimming pages for any useful information before tossing another one.
"Twilight," he spoke softly, trying to get her attention.
She looked up from the book, obviously in even worse shape than before. "Did you happen to find anything?" he asked her.
She just shook her head, and turned back to the book. Lucien sat down across from her, "I brought some tea, please, take a break and drink some."
This got him a scowling look, but Twilight sighed and put the book she was looking at down and levitated one of the cups of tea to her, taking a breath as she tried to relax, and take a sip.
"You didn't rest at all, did you?" Lucien asked, voicing his concerns.
"No," was Twilight's simple response as she seemed to try and drink the tea faster, so she could get back to reading.
"Twilight," Lucien started, "I know you've only scratched the surface of these books, but you have to admit to the possibility that there just isn't any knowledge of the Brotherhood or the Dread Father here," he told her, actual concern in his voice.
"There has to be," Twilight stated stubbornly, "this is the largest Library in all of Equestria, there has to be something on them," she said, looking through the books with even more desperation, as if Lucien only convinced her to look through faster.
"Twilight," Lucien started again.
"NO!" she shouted, "It has to be in one of these," she seethed, throwing book after book over her shoulder into the pile.
Lucien only stared at her sadly, tears streaking down her face, "I NEED them to be here."
The dark pony saw her break down, dropping the book and burying her face in her hooves as she finally realized how futile it all was.
She sobbed and wept openly.
Lucien got up from where he sat and went to her side, and rubbed her back as she cried out her frustration.
'Sithis, please,' Lucien thought to himself, 'please let her be ready soon, I can't bear to see her continue to suffer like this.' |
Helpful Ex(dis)tractions: | pre | As things were dying down and she was cleaning up for what she thought was the final time, once more confirming the samples were all properly labeled and the floor, mount, and bed were spotless, Nurse Redheart was surprised by a final knock on the door.
<But nopony else is on the schedule to donate today...>
As she opened the door, her last, unannounced donor of the day surprised her. She came face-to-face with the young unicorn stallion she had...left quite an imprint on earlier in the day. Both mentally and physically.
Realizing this must be Fine Print's idea of her giving restitution to the poor stallion she'd earlier abused, she prepared herself for the amazing apology she was about to give this young lad. The apology he more than deserved for how she'd lashed out at him because she was having a bad day. For how she'd...grabbed his balls and squeezed, then left him with a welt on his flank...
The blue-coated cleric stallion was terrified, standing outside the door already naked and shaking in his hooves upon seeing it was her doing this position, one hoof reaching back to rub the mark she had left on him subconsciously and practically feeling it throb as she stared at him.
"S-s-s-sorry a-a-again ma'am, f-for earlier. M-Miss Fine Print said I could make up for my m-mistake today if I made a contribution to the fertility effort, b-but I didn't know it was y-you who would..." he said, his voice shaky and crisp, cutting off before he could bring himself to say what she, the mare who had earlier nearly castrated him, was to supposed to do to him.
Red trotted up to him and very calmly touched noses with the petrified unicorn, feeling him flinch back from the sudden physical contact from her, and being very mindful to avoid his horn. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd nearly had an eye taken out while embracing a unicorn improperly, but she tended to avoid it as often as possible, for obvious reasons. As she stood there, staring into his shallow green eyes with her own of deep purple, her forehead meeting his as well as possible given said horn, she smiled at him and softly shushed him in an effort to calm him down.
"Shhhh...shhhh...it's okay, no more yelling or hitting from me, I promise." Red said softly, rubbing his nose with hers as he gently nodded his head, his impressive chest-long blue-black mane sliding over his shoulders. "I'm really sorry for what I did earlier; I was way out of line treating you the way I did. You're new here and I should have understood that and been happy to help, instead of...hurting you the way I did."
Lifting his head up, Red then gently licked the unicorn's horn slowly from base to tip, loving the way the male's body tensed up and his eyes bulged wide open at the sudden, very erotic gesture. Unicorns always had a sensitive horn, a key fact she had learned in her studies to become a nurse, and also one she had experienced in other, more sensual, applications of that fact.
Leaning up against his chest more, Redheart allowed his relatively strong frame to support her as she gave a playful nip to the stallion's chin. "Never mind that little mistake this morning. A big, strong, sexy stud of a stallion like yourself can be allowed to make a few mistakes every now and then, right...?" she cooed, finding her words were quite genuine.
Looking over him again without a filter of rage, the bookish record-keeper actually was quite a strapping young stallion. She wasn't lying either, or just talking him up to get him hard as she'd had to do for some of the other donors; she sincerely meant it. He was a young, lean, but still muscular stallion; rather buff for a unicorn, but still somewhat on the small side compared to the other, more physical races of pony.
The young unicorn melted under Red's sensual tone and from the feel of her body against his, as well as the scent of a long-aroused, yet unsated, mare right up against him. Leaning down and pressing into her, he too began to give her gentle bites of affection and even a lick of appreciation across her neck and crest, getting a shuddering exhale as he nipped that very sensitive tuft of hair and skin, seemingly forgetting who this mare was,; too enraptured by the situation and her pheromones to seemingly care who the mare treating him this way was anymore.
Redheart had to give it to the kid, he was strong, sweet, and quite a specimen to behold, with her having quite a preference for unicorns to share her bed. He also knew how to return the pleasure and affection given to him, unlike some of the other stallions she'd been with. She felt remorse now for smacking his flank as she had earlier, even though all he'd put her through. She decided then and there to make the next experience for quite memorable him. After all, he was another donor, and that meant he got the same treatment all of the others had...and perhaps a little more.
<I'm gonna make this cutie cum so hard he's gonna look like a spent tube of toothpaste when I'm done with him!>
Nudging him towards the mount with her muzzle, Red gave the young unicorn a firm pat on the backside, loving the quiet yelp he gave as she was a bit rough with her touch on that tender area. She knew everypony's cutie-marks was an erogenous zone, and she'd indeed put that fact to use many times today.
"Put your fore-hooves up on that part there, then just relax. I'll take care of the rest..." Redheart instructed softly as she then pointed to the upper portion, with the stallion doing as she'd asked, mounting the pseudo-mare and gripping it tightly in his nervousness.
Red then spread and arranged his back hooves, feeling him flicking his tail as he waited for further instructions, only for him to then to feel the gentle clinch of the straps around his back canons moments later, ensuring he'd stay still for her.
The young stallion struggled a bit, starting to panic until he felt the weight of the mare on his back, her now-bare fur clinging to his as she laid her head onto his. She'd taken her coat and hat off, leaving herself naked, also having removed her hairpins and letting her shoulder-length red mane flow, free from its hospital-mandatory confines.
<It's way too hot in here for clothes...>
Red's small muzzle started moving to his ears and beginning to nip them gently, cooing to him sweetly; "Shhh...shhhh...take it easy. The straps are just a precaution to keep you still so you don't hurt me or yourself if you start humping too hard in your climax. Just relax and take it easy, I promise I'm not going to hurt you again."
Once again her words claimed the stallion and he followed through with her requests, laying his head and chest on top of the mount, letting his muscles loosen as well as he could. "P-Please be gentle. T-this is my first time...doing anything sexual..." he stammered out, his cheeks flushed deep red as he admitted that fact.
Redheart's eyes widened at that. This handsome stallion was still a virgin?! Once she got over the shock of that news, she only softly nodded as she climbed off of him; that physical contact with her was gone now, but she'd not completely left him it would seem. Her sexual fluids were still dribbling down his sides, making him shudder at the light chill the streams left as they dried.
"Sorry, you made me wet..." she cooed, rubbing his flanks softly, simultaneously; "... 'cuz you're so sexy..."
As she said that, Red started to trace his body with her hooves, moving up his side and softly rubbing his back, then withers, feeling the stallion go from tense to totally relaxed under her learned touch.
<Well, looks like those massage courses paid off after all...>
After he was good and relaxed, Red then moved down his sides, rubbing his barrel and stroking his sides affectionately, getting a heavy shudder or a gentle giggle as she found a sensitive or ticklish spot.
The unicorn stallion gave a short moan, then a few deep groans as her hooves massaged and explored his body, her tongue coming next and licking the back of his neck and ears, with her getting a VERY deep moan from that!
Red made sure to start whispering to him the sweet things that made him blush before, then things that made his eyes grow wide; the sweet promises she made, with the sensual tone and dirty talk she used making his sheath swell quite a bit. Just as was planned.
Redheart's demeanor shifted as her trailing hoof found the mark she had left on his back end, a wave of regret rolling through her as she knew she'd caused it out of her anger. She'd hurt this kind, sexy stallion. She'd hurt this stallion who was now going through this embarrassing procedure to give a mare a foal to love and raise as her own...
As she looked down to inspect the bruise, Red started by first rubbing it gently, mindful of any signs of discomfort he made, willing to stop at the first one. Her touch was gentle however, having treated far worse wounds than this before, and as such he didn't so much as flinch as she carefully examined it.
Next she brought in her tongue, lapping and kissing the mark tenderly, hearing an instinctive warning whinny from him and as she did pulling back instantly at the warning.
<Ooooook, I think I went a bit too far there...> "Sorry!"
Red did nothing more sensual for a moment, before looking up to him to gauge what he wanted her to do. As she saw him simply nod to her, she then nodded back and continued arousing him, but now carefully avoided the mark she'd left, instead letting her wet, warm tongue slide along the rest of his stifle and croup, then lower underbarrel.
Red started finding that she loved the way this stallion groaned and arched his back, leaning his head back in his pleasure, his horn sparking energy on occasion. She also loved his own unique scent; the unique musky scent of this stallion alongside that of parchment and ink from his station, and the antiseptic that everyone smelled like in the hospital.
Finally after all of her teasing, which was far more and beyond anything she'd done for any other donor, Red found this stallion was ready for the next part as she reached down and found his pole rock-hard and lightly throbbing in anticipation. A small puddle of pre-cum had formed under him, his shaft and balls wet with his pre-emission; the mix of a mare gently laying on him and rubbing him, licking him, leaving her liquid arousal on him and then whispering some very dirty things to him clearly making him ready to 'donate' now.
One hoof started blindly moving along that hardened length of stallionhood and earned her a shudder from the stallion, with Red thinking his shaft would never end before she finally reached his medial ring, then his swollen tip. She made a small gasp of surprise at his size, finding he easily sized up in length and girth to the much larger Earth-Pony stallions that had been in here earlier, even if he himself was only two-thirds their size. "You know kid, just this morning I first thought you were a simple colt, but what I feel down here proves just how wrong I was..." she complimented, genuinely impressed by this unicorn's twelve-inch second horn. "It just proves to me what a stallion you really are."
<I thought all unicorn stallions were supposed to be small down here. I guess not ALL myths can believed after all!>
As she felt him throb in response to the compliment, Redheart made her hoof stroke up and down his length, hearing a surprised gasp as he received his first stroke from a mare upon it. Red loved the way his body arched and his hips shifted with each stroke she gave it, carefully focusing on his medial ring, the stallion's most sensitive part besides his flare. She made sure he could feel each slow, deliberate rub she made, knowing this was his first time experiencing something sexual and sensual with a partner and wanting to make it the absolute best for him.
Redheart knew she was loving it. She knew she hadn't put gloves on, but she also knew her hooves and the floor were quite sterile, and as such it wasn't something that would harm the procedure. She then reached over and lubed her hooves up before getting back to work with a much more slippery rod to rub, slathering the lube evenly all over his length and head.
Red was giving this stallion a direct hoofjob, nothing in between him and her, and knew he'd love it more because of that.
"Mmm, so how is this young stud liking his first hoofjob?" Redheart asked, keeping her strokes slow for now, feeling the sensation of his cock's loose skin moving over its solid core.The constant pulses from his member and small spurts of pre consistently coming from him more than answered her question from a physical standpoint, both sure signs he was being very properly stimulated, but she wanted to know how HE was doing. If the stallion himself was OK with this.
"Oh....Oh WOW..." the stallion managed to moan out.
<Oh yeah, this hunk's having the time of his life.> "Heh, if you think just a hoof is good, just wait 'til you feel the REAL thing. Just wait until you really top a mare and give her a good rutting." Redheart said, giving his length a nice hard rub, "With this beautiful specimen, you could likely give her the ride of her life..."
Red had said that last part for his sake, but easily found herself growing even more aroused by the thought of him mounting her, of him thrusting into her and filling her up with this monster, her mind giving her a very vivid depiction of what it would be like. Her tail was raised high and curved over her back in her arousal, her clit winking in a rapid pattern now as her mare-honey flowed freely down her back legs, which spread widely in anticipation of the stallion that wasn't there; feeling her own pleasure starting to rise as she pleasured this handsome stallion.
<Oh Celestia I want this beast inside of me...>
Red wanted this to go on forever - hearing his soft moans and coos of pleasure, his humps growing harder and his throbs more frequent - but realized she was running nearly on empty herself; the long day of running around the hospital, followed by rubbing off at least five other stallions by herself, leaving her physically drained. She had to finish this soon, before she passed out from exhaustion and left him strapped to this mount and dissatisfied 'down there'; what would be a truly a horrible situation, for both of them.
<I'm gonna make sure this stallion never forgets his first time.>
Grabbing one of the prostate massagers off of the nearby tray, Red gently released his member, softly rubbing his cutie-mark and gently shushing him as he softly whickered at the lack of contact, that rubbing seemingly soothing him as his thrusts slowed down.
Red then he used her still-lubed hoof to rub his ponut, the tight hole under his tail relaxing under her touch as she used her hoof-tip to gently coax it open, getting an uncomfortable squirm and whimper from him in the process. She knew from personal experience that anal penetration had to be a slow and gentle process, especially during a pony's first time. After a few gentle rubbing and stretching exercises to relax and open him up a bit, she then told him the procedure.
"OK, now it's time for me to stimulate your prostate directly so we can get a nice, big batch of seed for some lucky mare, or mares, to have a foal with. You know what this involves, yes?" Redheart asked, receiving a hesitant nod and another gentle whimper from the stallion.
"Is that OK?" she asked again, receiving another short nod.
"Ok, you're going to feel some pressure under your tail..." she warned softly, then gently prodded the tip of the rod into the stallion's anus.
At the feel of cold metal at his tail-hole, he initially freaked and tried to pull away only for the cuffs to keep him pinned. With Redheart having placed his tail into a sling to keep it out of the way and to prevent any...unpleasant tangles from occurring, she'd unintentionally left him feeling very defenseless now, with her seeing fear in his eyes.
"Shhhh...it's okay...is this your first time with this too?" Red asked softly.
"Y-y-yes!" The stallion sobbed out of fear more than pain or displeasure, burying his face into her tail, lightly chewing it for the comfort that the sensation of mastication could provide.
<Aw...the poor guy's terrified!>
Redheart stood and squeezed the scared stallion in a tight hug to show her solidarity with his plight, "Okay then, we'll go really slow at first then, okay?" she reassured him, "I'm going to be right here If anything gets too weird for you, and if we need to stop, let me know."
The unicorn nodded again and now kept his muzzle buried in the mount's faux-hair coating, feeling as she started gently prodding the massager further into his rectum, it easily sliding in with no resistance given how well-lubed he was. Soon, she started feeling resistance as the young stallion clenched hard at the feeling of it sliding deeper, then holding the rod steady until eventually he stopped clenching and she was able to slowly press it further in.
When enough of it was in, her feeling it 'drop' inside of him to confirm that, and his fearful whimpers had died down to groans and pleasured moans--which she noted only happened if she angled the rod in a certain way--she decided the time had come. She slowly started rubbing the rod manually into his prostate, sending a jolt of intense pleasure through him each time she did
"Hey, what's your name sweetheart? I seem to have missed catching it." Redheart asked, genuinely interested in learning this handsome young soon-to-be-stud-and-sire's name. That, and she needed to know it to label the sample he'd soon be producing.
"F-Form Chaser," he squeaked, his voice barely above a forced whisper as the rod once more hit that wondrous spot in his pelvis and sent an intense surge of tingling sensation through him, making his hips thrust forward on reflex and another thick dollop of pre-cum to drool onto the floor, joining into the rather large puddle he'd produced since she'd started rubbing on him.
"I'm Nurse Redheart, good to meet you again Form Chaser." she said, feeling resistance once more as his rectum started to squeeze on the rod again, but this time on reflex to the feeling of his prostate being rubbed instead of out of discomfort.
As Red so-soon felt him starting to flare as she now leaned over him, her free hoof wrapped around his penis while her other hoof tended to the stimulation rod, made one more request to him. "I can tell you're close, so if you wanna-have to yell during, be sure to scream loud okay? Let it all out and let me hear your passion. Remember, nopony but you and me can hear you in here." she whispered to him sensually. She always loved her bed-mates to be loud when she was younger; to hear them cry out their passion as she made them cum, whether deep inside her as she clamped her muscled down on them, locking them inside, or all over her. She knew this sperm had a more important destiny than going down her shower drain however.
Red then left both the rod and his penis unattended, instead securing the collection tube around his process and the strap around his upper shaft, then pressed the extending button on the rod's side.
As Red once more grasped the rod at Form's anus, the tip of the massager was just barely moved with each press of the button, but each tiny movement managed to snag something inside of Form in there that was making him feel strange yet wonderful now; the intensity of his pulses of tingly pleasure increasing drastically, his penis flexing for seconds on end now as he started to shudder heavily and now constantly drooling his pre.
After moments more of this intense stimulation, Form felt a pressure building up in his pelvis, growing more and more intense now, his cock throbbing as his ass contracted around the rod each time it moved at all, with each tiny bit more from what the nurse was doing adding more and more to that pressure.
As he felt his flare growing, Form cried out very loudly, his hooves squeezing even tighter around the mount as he felt those all so-tiny movements inside of him becoming almost unbearable; each press of the button rubbing deep into his prostate and ultimately leading to making him bite into the furred mount to keep his sanity.
Redheart tried to suppress the arousal that his anal deflowering was doing to her but her body was too worked up now, her passage clenching on nothing and her clit winking rhythmically, her body reaching its final stage as he reached his own.
<Oh Faust, this stallion's gonna make me cum without even touching me!>
Red began to 'feel around' with the rod, noting Form's groans and pitches rising in intensity and frequency with one particular spot. Focusing on the spot, everything a routine now as she continued to tap the rubbing button, she found herself loving the way his body shook, shuddered-whimpered; how it pleaded for release, a release she'd soon very happily give him.
<Oh yeah, he's definitely ready to cum RIGHT NOW. Shame, I was having fun.>
Redheart knew the time had come as he started to flare completely and throb harder, finding the flare was actually almost as large as Mr. Cake's has been; quite impressive for a unicorn., if a just bit smaller. His thrusts had reached the fevered pitch of a climaxing stallion and, with a quick kiss to his croup flank, she pressed the shock button and squeezed on his stallionhood's base tightly, instantly feeling it go completely rigid and throbbing hard.
"Cum for me."
At that so-sexy demand, Form Chaser's body tensed so tightly that Red swore he imploded when she sent that small shock into his prostate, with him throwing his head back and giving a long-winded whinny of pure passion as his beyond-intense first prostate orgasm shot through him and overloaded his mind; the sensations rolling up and down his spine, the tingles charging every nerve ending in his body and making him nearly black out.
His dick practically exploded as another shock was administered and Redheart kept softly rubbing his cock's base and prostate both gently, the young stallion firing several massive and consecutive spurts of creamy virgin unicorn seed into the tube so hard it made his urethra sting, the first two weighing it down and filling it up.
Redheart had been unprepared for him giving so much so quickly, and barely had time to drop her motions, seal the first tube and replace the filled tube with a second, then seal it too and place a third, before eventually the stallion's reservoir finally began to run dry. As she watched the final tube hanging from him and filled to the brim, with him having given what must have been well over 300cc of thick cum, she saw the last trickles and drips splatter all over the ground as the tube overfilled, streaming down the tube and making quite the mess.
<Bucking hay that's a lot of cum...would feel so good inside of me right now...>
As he came off his orgasm after what had felt like an eternity of pulsing, near-unbearable pleasure, Form's body buckled onto the mount, with him nearly passing out again; using the pseudo-mare to support himself as the supports he was strapped to held his back legs up to support them too.
Nurse Redheart collapsed in her own puddle of fluids, having felt her own spasms of an orgasm on the brink as he'd came for her, her on-edge mind finally sent over as she'd watched the last tube fill up; her vaginal muscles were trying to squeeze on a cock that simply wasn't there and claim his seed into her, her clit winking near-constantly; her body just needed the tiniest bit more stimulation to set her over into the promised land of bliss.
<Buck professionalism! I need to cum, NOW!>
"W-wow..." Form barely managed to stammer out in surprise as he watched as Red then floppedlaid on her back on the floor in her own juices, spread her legs wide, and started to roughly rub her winking clit with one hoof and pussy with the other, clearly unable to resist anymore as she finally gave in to the urge to finish herself off after a whole day of intense stimulation and no release.
<Finally! Oh buck yes this is amazing!> "I'M CUMMING!"
Form heard Redheart scream out as she followed it with a high-pitched whinny of pure satisfaction, her hips bucking up and grinding rapidly into her still-rubbing hooves after only a few rubs to set herself over, a stream of femme-cum spraying a good few feet from her as she sharply arched her back off the ground. She came the hardest she'd ever had before, her long-denied and well-earned orgasm seeming to last forever as she only added to the puddle of her emissions beneath her. ~
After what felt like forever of swirling in that world of ecstasy, her passage squeezing on itself and her clit intensely, then slowly, winking against her hoof and causing a tingle to roll through her each time it did, Red found that it had been only about thirty seconds of the most intense pleasure she'd ever felt instead of an eternity as she wearily glanced up to the clock - and realized it was thirty minutes after she was supposed to sign out for the night, her shift long over. As she came down off her high, Redheart virtually deflated, panting hard as her afterglow settled in and she at last relaxed in pure relief.
<Wow, I've NEVER cum that hard before, not even during my heats!>
"By Celestia, that...was bucking HOT!" Red heard Form say, figuring he'd watched the whole scene of her masturbating, his eyes wide and his chin nearly to the floor; having watched what had been the first mare ever cumming because of him.
Eventually, Redheart willed her limp, totally exhausted body up to her hooves, gently quivering as she then looked over the messy, cum-soaked room that once was a sterile lab.
<Great, now I have to clean all of this up too. But first...>
"Well, you weren't exactly ice-cold yourself, stud. I think you gave me my best orgasm ever, and you didn't even need to touch me!" Red cooed, giving a drowsy smile as she removed the final, overfilled collection tube from him and cleaned up what had leaked out with a sanitary cloth, barely resisting the urge to lick it, then from whence it had came, clean instead. She could still feel her legs slightly numb because of her orgasm.
<Bucking hay that was an intense cum. Never quite squirted like THAT before! Hay, I couldn't imagine what it would have felt like if HE'D rubbed me off instead, or used some of those kinky unicorn sex spells I've read about. I'd have probably passed out on the spot!>
During some more banter about how hot one cumming had been to the other, Redheart carefully removed the steel rod from Form's rear, him relaxing to let her, and then sterilized and replaced it on the tray for it to be used on the next stallion who 'needed some help' donating. She next released Form's back hooves and he wearily climbed off of the mount, his fore-legs wobbling as he stood on them for the first time in nearly an hour. He knew he'd be sore tomorrow in more than one place, but it had been so worth it!
"Hey, um, Ms.Redheart? Can I help you clean up? I'm kinda responsible, at least for most of it." Form asked, looking to the mare who'd 'collected' him so lovingly, indeed his first mare ever. He then brought his chest to press against hers as his muzzle rested on her crest in an embrace. "I insist."
Redheart's ear flicked at the voice that had once so annoyed her earlier, finding it now had an endearing quality to it; the tone of his offer that of a little colt asking for a cookie from his mother, but with the much deeper, sexier baritone of a full-grown stallion.
"Y-yeah, I could use the help." Red had found herself agreeing, her face flushed as she pulled back a bit and stared right into Form's eyes. As she did, she felt her heart hammering in her chest, her stomach making little circles and fluttering all the while.
<What the hay is going on with me...am I...>
Redheart simply smiled to Form from time to time as he then helped her clean the shiny floor of what of his leaked passion that couldn't be contained, and those of her own extensive squirts. Wiping down the mount was next for her, and then she made sure to seal the three filled-to-the-brim tubes containing Form's thick, young, and likely extremely virile ejaculation.
Red smiled as she wrote out and stuck the label onto the completely-filled containers - 'Form Chaser's very hearty sample | U' - before putting them in the freezer.
<Well, that will definitely make some lucky mare a very happy mother; or a hundred, with as much as he made! Damn that stallion can cum a lot!>
The two ponies had then left the collections room after From signed his disclaimer forms for the 'procedure' and donation, Red too caught up in the heat of the moment to have him do it before they'd started, Red flicking off the lights as they did. They then cleaned themselves up in separate showers, an empty pair of patient room and a supply closet with fresh uniforms for them thankfully just a short walk away from the stairwell.
As she showered - getting a day's worth of greasy lube, her own sex fluids, sweat, and stallion musk and stray streams of cum off of herself, as well as laying and relaxing her tired muscles under the soothingly warm water - Red found herself rubbing her marehood again as the warm water ran down her exhausted body, all the while thinking of what she'd just done with Form and memories of that moment of closeness they'd had after it as well. As she rubbed herself, she thought about her upcoming heat; about going to Form and flagging her tail over her back, telling him to rut her until her womb was swelling with his cum. Telling him to knock her up with a 'donation' directly from him to her.
As she thought of him cumming deep inside her, of how his thick seed would feel in her fertile womb and making a baby, she reached her climax moments later, muffling a whinny as her clit winked into her still-rubbing hoof and her hips ground against it, her passage tugging at her hoof as she added her own off-white fluids to the water running down the drain, intense pleasure once more rolling through her mind.
As she finished up cleaning herself, got out, and dried off, Red found herself thinking more and more about Form, indeed unable to take her mind off him.
<Form...what are you doing to me you stupid, air-headed...sexy, sweet, lovely stallion?>
After both were clean and they met in the empty hallway, Form saw Red's troubled state, clear from her slumped posture and distant gaze. He walked up to her and suddenly wrapped Red in another gentle hug, which she gladly accepted, wrapping her own hooves around his crest and nuzzling her muzzle into the crook of his neck, him nuzzling in turn into her mane. Red felt her eyes starting to moisten as she was held by somepony after so long alone, melting into the embrace as she felt him rocking softly with her in his arms.
<Of all the things I've done today, THAT'S what catches me up and makes me start bawling? A bucking hug and nuzzle?! REALLY RED, you big softie?!REALLY RED?! You softie...>
As their embrace ended and Form moved to leave, Red grabbed him by the tail with her mouth and gently tugged it to get his attention, before intimately moving towards his head and putting her mouth to his ear.
"Don't forget to drop in tomorrow after your shift folder-boy. Don't make another 'mistake' and make me come and find you for your donation appointment tomorrow..."
Form gulped and nodded, giving Red a sideways glance before leaving; not entirely sure she was serious with the perceived threat of tracking him down, but all the same not wanting to risk it. He'd be there tomorrow alright, but not only because she'd told him to be.
That 'collection' had felt absolutely amazing, and damn if he didn't want to spend more time with this sexy, sensitive mare AND get another orgasm like that alongside. ~
As she left the collections room after giving it a another look-over, Form having left her earlier with a 'See you tomorrow!' and a friendly nuzzle which she returned, Redheart came up to find Tenderheart smiling at her, her own shift apparently ending when Red's, and shortly after Form's had, having waited for her to clean up first before approaching her. "So how was et down 'ere luv? I 'eard Miss Priss, th' witch, made ya 'collect' stallions t'day. I'm sowy ya 'ad t' do somefin so degratin'..." she said, a look of genuine pity on her face.
Redheart flinched at that comment. Before the events of the last six hours, she might have agreed with her friend about collecting semen being a horrible affair, but after what she'd experienced, especially within the past hour, she felt that was no longer the case. "Well, it wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be really. I got to meet many fine, rather handsome stallions with good hearts who are donating to a noble cause, and even got to know some of them very...intimately," responded Redheart with a wink, and, passing by Tenderheart to get to the nurses' station and sign out for the day, she was suddenly surprised to come face to face with Fine Print.
"Great job today Redheart. You answered the call to arms, and I'm proud to say you did well. I hope your new duty distracted you from how tiring your day was?" Fine Print asked, before her voice turned very intimate; "...and maybe later this week when the new equipment and personnel comes in, I can show you and Form personally how you might improve your skills in there?"
The offer startled Redhoof and Tenderheart alike. After some quick thinking, Red found that she was actually willing to give a more intimate relationship with her once-hated boss a try after seeing how she'd spoken and acted with her in the basement, just not tonight.
<That mare's hoof isn't something I'm going to say no to! She's the best hoof-job I've ever gotten!, even if she didn't let me finish....>
After her massive orgasm not an hour ago, the second powerful one in the shower, and the utterly-draining day however, Red only wanted her bed now, and that's just what she planned to get.
"Sure thing boss but maybe later, as you said. I'm a bit bushed right now after so many...distractions. But you think maybe this time we can actually finish the 'demonstration'...?" Red replied with a bit of a huff, simply getting a knowing wink and smirk from her boss before she then walked away, tail swaying teasingly.
"Wot th' 'ell was 'at? Did we go down th' bloody rabbit 'ole or somefin'?" Tenderheart asked her friend, watching as Nurse Redheart walked away after giving her a wink and a chuckle, then signing out and shutting off the lights as that wing closed for the night.
<Well, today was...very interesting wasn't it.> |
Helpful Ex(dis)tractions: | Chapter 5: Heated Memories | Red woke up groaning with a massive headache, her eyes groggily opening and revealing that her corneas were bright red from a lack of sleep, her ears ringing from the continual and significant pounding in her head. Raising one of her white hooves to her temple she grimaced and tensed as she felt the insistent throbbing inside her skull, her body feeling like it had been put through the ringer of an Iron Pony competition.
Her joints burned, her bones ached, her withers shivered under the stress of simply standing up and walking to the bathroom to relieve herself. She felt sore, all of her limbs screamed at her as though she'd been working out hard all night instead of resting as she had been. She also began to feel a nauseous sting in her overly-acidic stomach, the sickening feeling building as she felt like she was about to void her stomach's contents all over her sweat-matted bed and all over herself in the process. Just the kind of side effects that one would expect come from the night of heavy drinking she'd had.
~ ~ ~
From what little she could remember of the night before, Red had arrived home from her work sometime late in the evening, arriving just before the sun's setting. Sitting down at her small table for one, she had slowly eaten a favorite meal of hers meal consisting of roasted bell-peppers, mushrooms, and lightly-cooked hay cooked in red wine--which she'd taken the liberty of pouring herself a glass of as well--and doused in a raspberry vinaigrette.
Red had taken her time to finish her meal, remembering how many cases she had encountered on shift where young stallions had to come into the hospital from eating too fast and having terrible stomach aches, only for her to prescribe them some antacids to make it all better; knowing severe indigestion was not an experience she personally wanted to go through, but had an unsatisfied need in her stomach and mind both demanding she finish eating quickly so she could then reflect on the rather... unique events of her day. She'd finished her small meal within an hour. Red hadn't wanted to revisit those thoughts or memories, her emotional predicament making the day's events the last thing she wanted to think of the flashes that kept creeping back into her mind alone making her moan and cross her legs as her marehood started to moisten again.
Those feelings were very fleeting however, her heightened arousal vanishing only to be replaced by embarrassment and the reality that she was in her mundane, unsexy house and had a glass of red wine held in her hooves, not in that small basement medical room with a stallion's most sensitive cock firmly held in her hooves, throbbing its life-giving load into a tube like she'd held many times the previous day. The still-warm plastic tube of cum in her hooves was now replaced instead by a cool wine glass, the scent of fresh cum and stallion musk replaced by the fleeting scents of the dinner she'd cooked.
Once she was done eating Red had sipped her glass of fine Cherry Blossom-approved wine, though quickly found that the small glass was doing nothing for her. By the time she had checked her clock to see it was getting late, she had chosen to sit in her living room - and had finished the almost-full bottle of wine. Rather than go to sleep despite her alcohol-induced drowsiness, she had decided to give in to her desires and reflect upon the actions and experiences of her day, her thoughts having shifted from re-living the tiring morning of inventory and lugging machinery to the alarming meeting with her boss Fine Print in the basement...and then all that had followed.
Red had been suddenly bombarded with mental images of her tantalizing boss-mare, Fine Print, in which she was in rather blush-inducing poses, her tail flagged to her as she looked invitingly to Red while wearing a nurse's outfit, or another of her laid on her back with her tailed lowered, looking back to Red with everything she had on display. More and more Red thought of her boss and even her friend and co-worker Tenderheart, both posing lewdly for her and her alone. They were such alluring and pulse-racing poses too, just begging Red to please them, to make them hers if only for the day - if not forever.
Guilt and shame burned in Red's cheeks as she'd envisioned her boss and co-worker in a way no employee or friend should if they were a professional, her mind simmering with such erotic and risque thoughts even before they had drifted on to what had came later in the day.
The hours of hoof-jobs, milking sessions, and the total overload of erotic and passionate thoughts had then shot through her mind, Red thinking back to every stallion she had touched, stroked, and smelled throughout the day, and before all of that getting an incomplete hoof-job of her own from Fine Print. She couldn't help but shiver at the total excitement of it all, having deeply enjoyed each moment as the stallions' cocks had erupted their life-giving spunk into the collection tubes, remembering her eyes going wide at how hard and how much they had shot.The thrill of her sharing in something so intense and so intimate as her virtually conceiving a foal for another mare was deeply satisfying to her, the thought of making another another mare a mother making her heart pound and her spirit soar.
Red had blushed deeply as she remembered the embarrassment and yet erotic joy she had taken in those actions, especially when she had handled stallions she interacted with during her daily life; the ones she saw and talked with near-daily; her baker, Mr. Cake, being first and foremost coming to mind.
<It's going to be awkward when I go to pick up my weekly baking order from Sugar Cube Corner...> Red squirmed at the thought.
Red was worried if she would ever be able to look Mrs. Cake in the eye at all after her most recent encounter with her husband, or if the whole time she would be remembering how she held and stroked her husband to an earsplitting orgasm, watching the married stallion's unbelievably huge flare blast a geyser of his thick, hot stallion-milk - knowing it was carrying what could potentially be two billion new foals - into the collection tube while the older stallion cried out in the erotic pleasure of sweet release. A release Red herself had brought him.
Soarin's arrival had also been a surprising moment; more of a shock actually, and quite a pain in the flank too. Red was not one of those ponies who went gaga at the sight of celebrities, but even she had to admit that when she had seen the Wonderbolt enter the collection room her heart had skipped a few beats. Of course, that was before he opened his mouth and started spewing his egotistical manure, his ego worn so freely like that ridiculous blue-and-yellow outfit they all wore during their performances...and just as gaudy and loud too.
Soarin' had quite a chip on his shoulder and he was in desperate need of some lessons in humility, but Red had to admit that he was sweet in his own way, for he had whispered sweet things back to her during his collection, driving her own lust higher unintentionally - or perhaps intentionally. Then, when she had hesitated with him as he'd grown erect before collecting him, her nerves shot from the pressure of the many other stallions she'd rubbed off before, Soarin' had spoke calmly and sweetly to her, guiding her through the anxiety. It was one thing that made her previous day possible, loathe to admit it as she was.
Soarin' was still too much of a colt for her though, too headstrong without anything meaningful inside his thoughts. His extreme liberties with her and her body she had not consented to, him treating her and indeed calling her a 'whorse' and--though she would admit to herself that any pony that came that hard and that long might be worth a ride--he was too brash and crude for her to take seriously, something she knew that would bite him in the tail in the future.
Red herself knew the repercussions of being so brash and unthinking personally, as it had nearly cost her her job once or twice.
Next, after the headstrong Wonderbolt, several of her own neighbors had come to donate their seed, her surprise matching theirs as they all were brought into a strange and heart-throbbing situation with their beautiful nurse-mare neighbor. Being with stallions she knew and interacted with on daily basis outside her job had been an interesting experience to say the least; she'd held them, comforted them and milked them to their release or heard them masturbating themselves, more than one ending up with the shock-rod up his bum by his own acceptance.
Nothing Red had done up to that point in her life had prepared her for the feeling of those big, strong bodies shuddering under her ministrations, their once-strong voices devolving into high pitched neighs and whinnies of absolute pleasure and release; the sensations she'd gotten from watching as their massive horse-cocks' flared, pulsed and rewarded both her and their owners - and the future mothers of the foals it would sire - with a spray after spray of their hot jizz. It had been too much for Red to handle, her mind going nearly insane from the eroticism of what she had done.
<Who can I talk to about this...I need to talk to someone eventually or I'm going to go crazy!>
Red's hooves were still sore from jerking all those long and thick, generally-mottled penises, overwhelmed by the memories of all of the multiple sizes she'd held, the different shapes and colors. She remembered the feeling of their balls in her hooves as she'd stimulated them, some softer, but all heavy and firm, plump with virile sperm as she'd held them in her hooves, the sensitive orbs safely nestled in their pouches, or tensed up as the the stallions who owned them was spewing forth their contents when they were milked of their seed.
Just recreating those mental pictures, of the stallions cumming into the tubes and knowing what was to become of that donation, had caused Red to feel the need to dunk herself into a tub of cold water just to cool herself off, but she instead substituted with another glass of cold wine. Her hope to keep the memories from making her squirt all over her expensive carpet had not come to pass, for she had still felt the wet pearls of her femininity dripping across her swollen slit and off onto it.
In that moment of lustful reminiscence, Redheart had begun to think about her last lover of the evening. The handsome unicorn stallion, Form Chaser.
<Sweet Celestia, what did his mom feed him? I mean, he's not that big, but he's still quite the hunk...and how he just kept going and going when I rubbed him, it taking a shock to the prostate just to get him to go off... before filling three whole bucking tubes and making about a third of a liter of cum...all for me...>
Just the thought of Form's very timid personality, and giant loads, made Red's vulva wink repeatedly at the very thought of him, further messing her couch and carpet with more of her female lust. Thinking about how he was so sweet, so humble; one of those stallions whose naivete and inexperience with sex and life in general made them so much more sexy; especially to older, experienced mares like herself. The feel of his strong body pressed to hers still lingering in her mind as he'd quivered under her touch, the sounds and cries of pure orgasmic pleasure he had made as she milked him dry still fresh in her ears.
Red couldn't get over the way he had trembled as she held him, her hoof stroking him as she whispered words she couldn't quite remember into his soft, cutely-flicking ears, making her body shiver with the memory. Of putting the rod up inside of him and making him have undoubtedly the best orgasm he'd ever had before, shocking and rubbing his prostate until Form could give no more.
Red had never been with a virgin before him, and taking Form's virginity had been a unique and rewarding experience; to feel such a young and strong stallion submit to her, to feel his hooves and body shudder in submission from the power of expelling the entire contents of his balls for the first time ever, giving his seed for mares to bear his foals with, was simply indescribable. Form couldn't be more than eighteen years, twenty at the very most, which meant his gratuitous spunk was likely quite virile ...and her hooves had been covered in it when the final tube had overflown and she'd removed it. She couldn't stop thinking about how thick and warm it had felt. How full of potential life.
How they'd met and their initial relationship was indeed very strange; first thing in the morning Red chews him out, indeed nearly castrating the poor stallion, and by her shift change in the evening she had already laid on top of Form, whispering erotic words to him - which she couldn't help but think were at least partially true - as he ejaculated a third of a liter of cum, at least, mainly from the touch of her hoof and her aroused scent driving him to the edge.
Just thinking about Form's cum, undoubtedly still sitting in the freezer waiting to make some lucky mare or mares swell with his foals soon, made Red blush and fidget, her back legs crossing as her tail instinctively lowered to hide her swollen, winking vulva and help alleviate her carpet of more of her honey dripping onto it, quite the sizable puddle already there.
That thought had been when the self-doubt had encroached upon her mind. She was not a filly anymore, nor even a mare in her prime; indeed a mare on her way out of her prime. Red's age had never really bothered her though until she had started to work with more, younger nurses, only then learning that a forty-six-year-old mare was indeed slightly lacking in such a vibrant and active workplace as a hospital.
For a long time, ponies with medical Cutie Marks had been usually quite scarce in Ponyville, and so Redheart had enjoyed the rather limited status as one of the few nurses in Ponyville. After all, when a hospital only had two nurses and no other options, they didn't seem to mind how old they were so long as they could do the job. However, over the years, younger and younger nurses had begun to arrive.
Both Tenderheart and Red, despite their age difference, managed to luck out with being hired together. Now that she was confronted by working alongside several other younger and possibly more beautiful mares, Redheart had begun to feel more self-conscious about her age. The younger mares, through no fault of their own, had made her feel old and less beautiful, even despite many assurances from Tenderheart herself about her beauty.
How many stallions would want to be with an old mare like herself, she wondered, especially when the younger mares could offer far more than she could. They could offer the allure, energy and benefits of a youth; and just as importantly a healthy, young body for having and caring for foals with. Red was not sure she was beyond the ability to have or care for a foal herself just yet but she knew she was definitely nearing that point, with the thought of having foals crossing her mind more and more often lately; every estrus, and especially during the events of the previous day. It didn't help that her next estrus was coming soon, the hormones and desires it brought with it already starting to faintly form within her.
Red's desire for a child, however, conflicted with her utmost conviction of having one only with a stallion of her choosing beside her, the same stallion who gave her said foal being there to help raise the child he'd sired. She respected the fertility initiative and the validity of foals being conceived from artificial insemination, but she herself wanted to feel a stallion with and within her, his thick cock spreading her marehood wide in her estrus and filling her belly up from the source at her foal's conception instead of an uncaring doctor squirting cold sperm into her womb with what was basically a long thin metal tube and syringe. She wanted a stallion with whom she could wake up beside every day for the rest of their lives, somepony she could show their resulting child to and say 'this is ours, we made this together and it's ours to raise. Together.'
Of course, such emotional feelings were only a fraction of the problem Red felt. The rest of the issue was that such promiscuous behavior was fine for young, carefree mares like Rainbow Dash or Berry Punch. She, however, was an official, a nurse; a pony of responsibility and order. The holder of an important job and with a status that required solemnity and decorum. Acting like a giggling, horny school-filly looking to have sex with every lad she met was not a way for a respectable mare of her position to act. She was responsible for ponies' lives after all.
Red's sense of professionalism had been violated the previous day, and what made it even worse was it had been violated in the course of actually doing her job. It didn't matter how important the semen collection was or even how Ponyville's population was slowly dwindling and that this was an easy solution for that, as such animalistic activities of 'collection' tugged at her sense of duty and professionalism, skewing the lines of duty and primal lust so all it was was a muddled line to her; something that had never happened to her before in the line of duty.
Collecting the sperm should have only been her job to her but it went beyond that, arousing Red in her free time now and making it so all she could think about was jacking off those stallions. Taking any pleasure in the memories of what was a legitimate medical procedure and for a noble cause, of turning it into her own personal lust-fuel, seemed to flaunt in the face of everything she believed in before.
With all this weighing down on Red's shoulders, she had done the only thing she could think of in order to cleanse herself of the self-doubt and the shameful guilt it placed upon her, if only temporarily: she drank. Digging into her alcohol cupboard, she had brought out two bottles of very hard Sweet Apple Acres Vintage apple cider and spiced it up with a heavy splash or two of strong brandy. She had then spent the night drinking and trying to block out the feelings and memories that plagued her, drinking so long and so much that she eventually passed out quite late in the morning, barely making it to her bed before the world went black.
~ ~ ~
Red, now in the present, shook her head, blinking in surprise as she straddled her bed. Her white body was bare and her red mane dangled unrestrained and tangled about her shoulders and chest, undoubtedly looking just as bedraggled as she felt. She moaned warily as she finally took the courage to look at herself in her bedroom mirror - and was mildly surprised to find it wasn't as bad as she thought it would have been. Her fur was damp with sweat and spilled wine, but thankfully those was the only things in her fur this time. Other times, when she had woken up under similar circumstances in a bar or dorm, she had not been so presentable...once even finding a very specific sticky white stuff in her coat and mane.
Red knew she had to return to work later this afternoon, and also knew it was going to take everything she had to just get herself looking and feeling presentable for that. She was not looking forward to what she'd need to go through to pull this feat off, as she had never gone to work suffering from a severe hangover before. Usually she made sure to keep her heavy drinking for the nights before her days off, but of course yesterday had been a unique situation.
Heading into her shower Red turned the hot water on, letting the sound of running water soothe her as she gathered her bathing necessities. Finally the water turned from cold to hot and Red climbed into her shower, shutting the glass door behind her with her back leg, and instantly loving the warm water pouring down her matted, sore body. The heat and purifying feeling of the hot water made her swoon on her four legs as it relaxed her tensed muscles, the water splashing across her outstretched face and neck, sliding its way across her chest and down to her barrel. Her withers shivered with the feelings of hot cascading water splashing across them as, in unison, Red spread her back legs, her tufted tail curling up to allow the water to flow down her flanks, crotch and stifles, then pool at her back hooves.
As Red stood there, letting the water cleanse her of her worries and troubles if only for a moment, she thought once more of the handsome unicorn she'd come to think of more and more the previous day. She wondered to herself if Form Chaser would be interested in being more to her than just a sperm donor she'd collected from; if he would want to be more than simply her colleague as well.
<Would Form even be interested in me, given our age difference? Probably not, huh? I'm not even a unicorn like him. I can't use all of those kinky unicorn spells I've read and heard they like, so he'd probably want to be with someone with magic and a long sexy horn instead. Stupid boring Earth-pony genes...>
Red's doubts were well-founded, she realized. While inter-tribal relations did happen amongst ponies, it wasn't often that a Pegasus went with a non-Pegasus, or an Earth ponies with non-Earth-ponies. That was just the way of things, with minor exceptions here and there. An exception Red hoped she and From could be a part of.
Redheart had always believed this trend was because a Pegasus knows how to touch a fellow Pegasus, where best to stroke their wings and lick upon their neck from their experience and experimentation with their own bodies, while an Earth-pony knows the inner workings and kinks of their fellow Earth-ponies for the same reasons. With these kinds of relationships, that kind of deep mateship was just a natural conclusion. Of course, she was more than willing to go against this theory with Form Chaser. Perhaps if they worked hard together they could make it work, with her just being a dull Earth Pony.
<Maybe it wouldn't even be that hard. Maybe Form has low standards...even as low as an old, boring Earth-pony mare like me.> Red turned up the hot-water tap. Suddenly the water felt a little colder for some reason.
Lifting one hoof up from the tiled ground, Red began to stroke it along her sides and down to her flanks; all the thoughts of Form Chaser, mateship, and love were making her heart swoon. As her heartbeats picked up in tempo, she could feel the heat in her vulva start to grow in correlation. She could feel the blood flowing to that most intimate part of her that had been made to take in a throbbing stallion's cock; Form's cock, if she had any choice in the matter. The passion building in her crotch soon expanded to her legs, her limbs stiffening on instinct to hold up herself and the weight of a mounted stallion, quivering slightly as she ground her rear against the smooth tile wall of the shower She knew she'd soon need something more than a flat surface if her body had its way, which it seemed it surely would at this rate.
Grabbing a bar of soap with her mouth, with it fortunately flavored pleasantly for Earth-pony customers, Red angled the specialized holder onto her hoof to allow her to scrub across her white fur. Hoping to rest herself against the wall on an angle, she turned over so she was no longer facing the wall but the shower door, her hoof reaching down with the soap bar to wash across her sides and other front leg. She then played specific attention to her sleek stomach and especially around her inner thighs, the small bar of soap then gently cleaning around her swollen, winking vulva, as the now-endless thoughts of Form Chaser made her wet in that most special kind of way.
Dropping the soap as her arousal had met its peak, Redheart began moving her hoof slowly down to the the slit between her legs, her gentle-floral-smelling marehood aching and demanding attention as she placed her hoof at it's edge. Even with the steamy water pouring over her, Red was taken aback by the heat radiating off her inflamed slit, her current arousal almost reminding her of her last, intense estrus she'd had to attend to alone...with a dildo. The phallic silicon and plastic however, was no replacement in her mind for the feel of the hot, hard flesh of a real stallion's cock, nor could it replace that feeling of intense heat and pleasure of when that stallion's cock exploded within her as he came, the scalding foal-batter splashing against her insides; with her always imagining it taking claim of her womb and creating a brand-new life. A foal. Her foal.
Starting slowly, Red began pressing gently as she circled her winking mound with the tip of her hoof, her liquid mare-lust leaking freely from her crotch to join the rest of the water circling the drain of the shower floor. Despite being over forty, Red's pussy looked like it belonged to a mare half her age, her lips still perky and not sagging like how many older mares' got, surely quite the beautiful sight to any stallions lucky enough to see it. Her hoof encountered only smooth lips, the area around her sex very sensitive and soft, causing her to shiver every time she applied a bit of pressure. The tip of her hoof pressed into her clitoral hood and slid up easily, letting her feeling the gentle rub she gave directly onto her clit, a sharp shuddering exhale escaping her as it responded in kind with a wink against her persuading hoof.
Deciding that was enough teasing, Red then pressed her hoof-tip just inside of her dripping sex, pausing to feel the velvet-like snugness of her entrance, firm and hot to the touch, dripping over her manicured hoof in a steady stream; her entrance the perfect texture for guiding a hard penis into her deeper, softer depths. A penis she'd gladly welcome right now.
Red moaned as a twitch of pleasure from inside of her lower belly went up her spine, a nagging twitch of need she knew all too well given her tribe's tendencies. As many said, and many others proved true regularly, Earth-ponies tended to be the most likely to have multiple sexual partners throughout their lives of all of the pony tribes, outside of perhaps Zebras, and most enjoyed having sex strictly for pleasure. There were of course exceptions, just as not all Pegasi followed the fairly-silly-yet-strict traditional courting and mating rituals of their forefathers, but Red knew for a personal fact this was true about herself.
Dropping onto her front knee on her other hoof, Red groaned as she felt the beginnings of a powerful climax already bearing upon her, her orgasm starting to swell as her chest then pressed into the wall, her other hoof doing little to help support her as it trembled steadily. Her insides clenched hard around her occupied hoof, the snugness increasing to a tight pressure, the velvety embrace of her drooling, winking slit making her squeeze her abdominal muscles in an effort to hold her impending orgasm back.
As Red felt herself tip over involuntarily when she once more thought of Form throbbing in her hoof, of the huge load he'd let loose because of her, for her, she lost the battle of wills and unclenched her muscles just as a fiery stream of liquid pleasure squirted from her cunt and joined the rest of the water and liquids flowing down the drain. She literally squealed in ecstasy as she came intensely, her muscles squeezing down on her hoof as well as they could before loosening and squeezing down again, a more-thick fluid squirting out of her and down the drain; her opaque, off-white mare-cum flowing freely and merging with her clear honey to squirt from her or trail down her legs.
Squirting wasn't something Red had encountered ever before in the past with any of her previous lovers and one-night-stands, with them having failed to raise her to that absolute peak of pleasure and release before. The only previous time she'd done it had been...yesterday. With Form.
<Form...make me cum! Form...give me your foal...squirt your half-liter of cum in my womb and make a baby...>
Blinding pleasure went through her mind as she thought of that last sexy stallion she'd 'collected' yesterday, Red trying desperately to keep her sanity but her crotch felt too hot, her clit--which had been winking against her hoof during the whole orgasm-- was alight with sensation, and the constant squirting managed to complete the pleasure cocktail exploding through her mind. Her third or fourth orgasm - she simply couldn't tell anymore let alone care - in the chain was so strong that it left pieces of her once rational psyche strewn about the shower floor alongside her thick, opaque mare-cum coming en masse from within her and never seeming to end.
Redheart usually was a screamer when she came, but she simply did not have any energy left to do so, instead letting loose a series of moans and heated squeals, which eventually shifted into a high-pitched keen as sexual agony and pleasure combined, her orgasms never seeming to end as her legs buckled and she curled into a ball on the shower floor, her forehoof never stopping its rubbing as she came her guts out, her whole lower belly clenching constantly and almost painfully hard, only to loosen and squeeze again.
Her hoof eventually slipped out of her dripping slit as the feelings finally, slowly subsided, her velvet insides contracting and winking even still after such a powerful series of releases. Red couldn't believe that she was still raring to go even after that mind-blowing experience, her body quickly adjusting itself back into gear for another round of self-play even after what must have been one or two intense climaxes followed by at least half-a-dozen smaller orgasms one after the other in a row.
Red's hoof pushed forward and gently re-entered her quivering slit, earning a quiet gasp from herself as it felt just as sensitive as it had before when she'd just started, if not more-so after her recent stimulation. Her libido felt just as fresh as when she was a filly in her first heat, her body still raring to go after only a short breather. With much practice from her past, Red started rubbing herself just right again, her tongue poking out of her mouth as the pleasure started to grow in her once more. Her hoof was once again sliding against the velveteen entrance just past her labia, the head of her clit throbbing as her hoof also gently glided over the nub again and again.
Red's eyes rolled into her head once again, her ears going flat as her tail flicked and twitched before finally flagging to the side on reflex, as if she was inviting a lover to mount her and making way for them, whether it be their muzzle and tongue or cock parting her. At the feeling of her hoof pressed into her needing slit once more, the building waves of pleasure and heat ruthlessly attacked her body and mind. If she hadn't felt the mind-crushing orgasms of before, she could have sworn this was her first time pleasing herself this evening.
Deep down inside of her, that conscious voice kept yelling at Red that this was obscene... wrong. Crying at her because she shouldn't be masturbating to a stallion she not only didn't know that well--other than in a professional sense--and had simply done a common medical procedure on. Red couldn't care less at that at the moment though, not when her crotch was set to explode in an intense orgasm again, her mind threatening to shut down from the pleasurable excess of the memories she was having from claiming that stallion's virginity, both penile and anal. She'd claimed both, and that could never change.
Angling her hoof, Red caught a particularly sensitive spot in her pussy as she dug a little deeper, one that made her eyes shoot open and made her scream as the back of her hoof rubbed against her heart-shaped clit once more.
All of this stimulation was more than enough to set Red off, her back legs shaking and trembling now as her back legs crossed feverishly together, forcing her well-lubed hoof just a little deeper into herself with the pressure. Once again she felt those familiar feelings that she had long ago become addicted to, but so much more intense than ever before whenever she thought about Form squirting his massive, sperm-rich load deep inside of her pussy; cumming for her and claiming her womb and body as his . Her slit started squirting once more, longer and harder than the first time, her fem-cum joining the clear lube that was spurting out constantly to make a geyser of unrestrained pleasure.
Red lost her voice in a series of quiet squeaks as her mind imploded and her body seized up once more, her squirting and overall orgasms so powerful that they made her limbs collapse and her whole body softly quiver, making her again curl up in the shower as the water poured over her. She writhed in her blissful agony as several more orgasms rolled through her again, passively making her wonder if something was wrong with her for being this aroused out of her estrus.
As Red removed her hoof from herself again and rested there in her afterglow after another two lesser orgasms followed the first intense one of that series, she found her lust had finally faded and her most recent chain-release had left her sexually exhausted and satisfied for the moment. Red lay there for a long while recovering from so many intense climaxes, that batch having made at least ten total, until the hot water began to turn cold, her rest ending in her having to drag herself from her now-cold shower.
As she finally stepped out, Red gripped a handful of towels in her mouth to dry herself off and did just that, feeling much better now that she was clean...and sufficiently relieved of her lust. As she looked at the clock after she left the bathroom she realized that she had to get ready for work. and as she started the walk there and found her thoughts shifting between Form Chaser to Fine Print to Tenderheart, she knew that she had some personal decisions she had to make soon too. |
Helpful Ex(dis)tractions: | Chapter Six: Heated Encounters | Redheart arrived at the hospital a few minutes before her shift started, trotting into the front doors and heading straight for the staff lounge to check in. As she walked down the halls she prepared to turn at the waiting room, which would take her to a corridor that led down to the lounge. She made the same journey every morning and every workday, first to the lounge then to wherever she was told she's was needed.
Today was a bit different however, for when Red went to turn down the corridor today, she walked straight into another pony, both of them crashing together. She was nearly bowled over by the other much larger pony who must be a stallion judging by his mass, slipping on the tiled floors and landing on her chest in a most undignified position, her rump high in the air and her whole front half on the floor.
Red's first instinct was to erupt at this other pony, her fiery eyes flaring up from the ground to see which idiot had walked straight into her, only for them to widen in surprise as she saw a familiar blue unicorn stallion before her. From Chaser was truly a handsome and lovely stallion, but by Celestia he was such a massive klutz! When he had hit her, he had, of course, stopped his magic at the shock, which in turn ended up with his collection of forms raining down on them and scattering about the floor.
Form was currently, frantically, trying to pick his dropped papers back up and sort them back into order with his cyan magic. As he quickly and neatly stacked the forms again as he concentrated his magic, Red noticed that his magic was far more dextratious than his hooves it would seem. He didn't notice her at first but his eyes eventually flew to her and they too widened in surprise as he saw who he had hit....then that surprise she was initially happy to see turned quickly to fear.
<He must think I'm going to yell at him again!> Red thought to herself, grimly admitting to herself that that had indeed originally been her plan, only changed upon seeing it was indeed her current heart-throb she'd run into.
Before Red could react however, Form's strong hooves were at her side, the unicorn pulling her up from the floor and against his body, letting her now stand against him with her chest softly pressed to his. She was amazed at how strong and solid his body was as she leaned against it again as she had the previous evening, also finding that he was slightly taller and more than slightly more broad and muscular than her, her not having noticed such details so much in her exhausted state the previous evening. As they stood there chest-to-chest like that, Form's hooves wrapped around her protectively, Red couldn't help but feel they were made for each other as she fit perfectly against him.
"I'm so, so, s-so sorry Miss Redheart, I was a bit distracted and wasn't looking where I was going!" Form apologized timidly, wincing a bit as though in anticipation of the incoming insults and yelling, the soft voice and meek apology not fitting such a strong-built stallion. However, Red found it endearingly cute; she loved how soft and careful he was despite his size, how much he seemed to care about everypony. She looked at it as him showing off his true character, the pony he was inside.
"It's okay Form, but we have got to stop meeting like this huh?" Red answered him softly, chuckling a bit as she slid her muzzle up his chest to rest her forehead in the crook of his neck. Biting her lip, Red continued with what she'd convinced herself to say on her walk here. "So...I was thinking about you last night," she whispered nervously into his twitching ears, hoping she wouldn't come off as a total pervert, with the stallion stiffening and striking such a cute blush, "I was thinking about what we did yesterday, and I was hoping...that maybe you were thinking of it too? Thinking of me too?"
Form gulped nervously before he lowered his eyes and slightly nodded, turning his head to catch her cheek and neck with soft, affectionate licks of his broad tongue, the feelings causing Red to shiver and her heart flutter as she wondered how that tongue would feel on other places of her body. "Yes I was...all night. I-I had to..." Form trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.
"...Masturbate?" Red finished for him, to which he blushed even harder as he nodded, his eyes closing in shame and lust.
"Yeah I did...three times in the shower last night before it finally, y'know, went down. I couldn't stop thinking about when you...ahem...climaxed yesterday." he admitted, "Um...d-did you masturbate to me too?"
Red now blushed herself at his words, imagining this handsome stallion stroking himself with his magic or hooves because of her cumming and erupting three times; imagining how big those powerful, hot, foal-making spurts were, wondering just how long he shot and how much he fired each time. If the previous day had been any reference, he must have flooded his whole house out!
"Well... I just about overflowed the shower last night and this morning thinking of you," she admitted, "...and I don't mean with water either. I've never cum that hard on my own before, or that many times in a row...until I started thinking of you."
The two ponies just hugged each other tighter in the unoccupied lobby, both of them loving the way the other felt against them, fitting together so perfectly, both of them wondering just how deep this thing between them went. It felt pretty deep, to both of them.
"I just wanted to make sure I was in your thoughts Form, cause you're in mine. Come and see me in the basement at the end of the day, okay? I have something to...that I need to ask you," Red whispered back to him and Form nodded his head. He was very interested in seeing the older mare again in that 'collections' room, and slightly intrigued by what she was going to ask him there. Also fairly intrigued by what she'd do to him there too!
"Okay ma'am, I will."
"Good lad," Red replied, leaning up to kiss him gently on the nose before she playfully turned and whipped him with her tail, then nudged him with her flank to get him moving. Form sheepishly smiled at her before continuing on his way, but not before giving her a slight rap with his own tail on her flank in response. Red 'meeped' in response as she felt the swat of his tail on her rump, before smiling to herself at his forwardness.
<We're making progress. He's more comfortable with himself, and he's warming up to me!>
Red turned her head, feelings of joy following her gaze as she saw Form turn the corner, leaving her alone for now to log herself into the system and get to her job. As she walked to the lodge where their directions were usually written on a whiteboard by Miss Priss--their not-so-respectful name for Fine Print, the admin and head nurse of the whole hospital given the personnel shortages--she felt that sliver of doubt again. Could she and Form Chaser actually have a working relationship with all her past baggage? Could her professionalism handle the idea of dating...and more...with a fellow co-worker? Was it even possible under her job contract to do so? Too many questions for her too handle, on her own at least. ~
When Red entered the lounge room, she saw Tenderheart at the back of the room near the job postings board, the smaller mare fixing herself a cup of tea as was her usual tradition at the start of each of her shifts. Both mares greeted each other with smiles and as they approached one another, even giving a few friendly nuzzles across each other's necks as they always did.
"Oy Reddy your eyes look totally buggered t'day luv. 'ave you been drinking all night ?" asked Tenderheart, a combination or worry and an accusatory tone in her voice.
Red just rolled her eyes before sheepishly nodding, watching with both amusement and some shame at Tenderheart's wide-eyed response. "...but Reddy ol' girl, you're usually so more professional than 'at! What's got ya swillin 'at poison, ey?"
"Well maybe if you were jerking stallions off all day yesterday, being exposed to so many erotic sights and smells ...on top of the stress of doing your job right and keeping a professional front as you did something so...personal...to a stallion; all on top of being so aroused by it that, that you could barely even think straight, you might hit the bottle as well to relax!" Red snapped back, huffing haughtily.
Tenderheart only gave Red a sour look, before she leaned forward and surprised Red with a firm kiss on her forehead."Y' listen 'ere,I know you can 'andle it down 'ere Red, as there's naught a more commi'ed mare in this place th'n you." reassured Tenderheart, then turned to the table beside them and began pouring with her mouth a cup of strong coffee." 'er Red have a swig of this, you need to sober up quickly!"
"Okay okay Tender, just be careful with that cup, it's going to be hot," warned Red passively, before accepting the mug from her friend's muzzle with her own, "Thanks love."
Both mares stood alongside each other sipping delicately at their drinks, Tenderheart lapping at her just-warm tea while Red cautiously slurped her hot coffee. Neither talked as was their custom, mentally preparing themselves for the stress and excitement that came with their job on a daily basis; both bracing themselves with caffeine against the onslaught that was to come, even though both would face a different kind of enemy.
Tenderheart would have to deal with the daily grind, the ingrained procedures and protocols that comprised the routines and duties of their everyday job, while Redheart would be stuck in the hidden basement pumping stallions of their precious essence, trying not to squirt herself silly as she watched, felt, and smelled the musk of stallions in rut and the enduring the intense thrill of when they finally released by her hoof.
The smell of stallion cum was a unique and alluring scent, musky with a hint of salt and, depending on the stallion and their tribe, hints of certain fruits or plants or the very earth itself, the scent of ozone or an ongoing storm, or a very unique scent attributed to only unicorn magic, and all, of course, topped off with a healthy whiff of their pheromones drawing her in. Red had been nearly overwhelmed by the scent of so many different stallions the other day, their collected essence congealing in the medical office, each new donor adding his musk and his scent to the batch. Such memories and thoughts took a whole different level of mental fortitude to prepare for, with Redheart not quite sure whether she was anticipating or dreading the shift to come.
As if she needed any more stress, Red inwardly groaned as the familiar sight of the beautiful green-coated mare that was her boss graciously entering the lounge, writing something on the whiteboard. Fine Print was exceptionally well-groomed today and the sight of her cutie-mark, and indeed her mane and whole body, glowing radiantly indicating that she must have used a special shampoo to make her fur extra shiny. Fine's strict eyes had even lost some of their usual harshness as she had decided to apply a little makeup under her eyes and blush upon her cheeks, the coloring distracting from her usual stern gaze in a most pleasant way.
Fine was wearing only a light blue vest and white collar on her body, the rest of her bare-furred aside from the golden bracelet she had decided to put across her front leg and the silver horseshoes she sported. A small blue jeweled pendant dangled around her neck on a glass-beaded string, sparkling lightly in the florescent light. Red gasped, staring blankly at the alluring vision in front of her as she once more found that her boss was a totally drop-dead beautiful pony!
Beside her, Red felt Tenderheart go tense, looking to find the young mare wearing the same allured and shocked expression as her own undoubtedly was. Smiling to herself, Redheart gently bumped the other mare with her flank, startling Tender to give a quiet cry of surprise at the touch.
"Oy, would ya look at 'at? Ol' Fine is dazzled up like a right trollop she is, and why does 'at turn me crank so much?" Tender wondered aloud.
Red politely ignored her friend's outburst with a roll of her eyes, allowing her to search for the answers to those questions on her own. Instead, she focused back on her boss who was now making a beeline straight for her.
The green-coated mare saddled up to Red and Tender, walking around them both before coming to rest beside Redheart. "Ah Redheart good to see you this afternoon, you're looking a little... frazzled today. Had a little too much to drink last night?" Fine Print snarked, smirking at her subordinate.
<...and there's the old FIne Print we love to hate.> Red huffed quietly. She had been fooling herself to think her bloodhound of a boss would have missed the signs of her night of poor choices.
"Well, I had a...a rough night Fine," answered Red shaking her head and snorting to clear her head, the coffee starting to do its part.
"That's unfortunate. Ah Tenderheart my dear, you are absolutely glowing today!" beamed Fine, her eyes shining over the smaller earth pony, who could only gasp and nod her head in response, her blush still burning hot.
"I...I....I-uh......" stammered Tenderheart, her eyes still stuck on the appearance of her boss, the shriveled old bud showing its inner blossom it seemed.
"It's fine dear," helped out Fine Print, giving the younger mare a break, "no need to comment I suppose.
"You're looking rather fancy today yourself boss," added Redheart, hoping to take some of the pressure off of Tenderheart and let the poor mare recover.
"I just thought today deserved something new, you know?" Fine answered quickly, glancing around a bit, before her eyes focused solely into Red's. "Speaking of such, we have something new today down in your workplace Red, something that is gonna be a real game-changer."
"Oh, yippie!" Redheart exclaimed, before clearing her throat and repeating it in a more sarcastic tone, though inside her mind she was going haywire over what this could meanwhile her heart increased in tempo. <Something new down there's sure to be interesting!>
Fine only nodded, though Red could see from the slight frown on the older mare's features that she was aware of the charade. "Very well Redheart, follow me. Tenderheart, you can go and start your shift now." instructed Fine Print. Tenderheart slowly nodded, still staring awkwardly at her boss, only to snap out of it when she felt Red kissing her gently on the cheek.
"Go on Tender, go to your post." insisted Red, nudging the young mare towards the main doors. Tender gave a quiet sigh before compiling, giving Redheart a lasting look and smile of courage before heading out to her shift, leaving Red to follow Fine Print to the collections lab. ~
Redheart and Fine Print walked together through the hallway towards the basement staircase, generally alone aside from the occasional attendant passing by or cleaning staff pony going to a nearby supply closet. Stride by stride both mares seemed to match each other's quick speed and rhythm; both seemingly eager to reach their destination.
"We don't talk enough do we Redheart?" inquired Fine Print dejectedly, suddenly breaking the silent journey and making Red slightly jump at the sudden noise, with only the soft clops of their hooves on tile audible before.
"Umm no, we don't...aside from here at work." Redheart answered, growing more interested in what Fine was getting at.
"I suppose you and the rest of the staff think of me as some dragon lord huh? Lurking in the shadows like some soul-sucking vampire and just waiting with bated breath to complain about every little mistake, or every little spot on your frocks?" Print asked, glaring, her voice rising in pitch as she began to look quite flushed.
"Umm no, not all of us..." replied Red timidly, <Although, yes that is how many of us see you.> "It's just...you can just be a bit too professional at times...heh."
"I realize that," Fine replied, looking a bit remorseful, "but it's just how I was raised, and indeed how I was trained. You see...in Trottingham, a pony's professionalism is a reflection of their duty and dedication to their work. It's about having pride in your appearance and how you treat the nature of the work. If you look like a slob while in a high-end position, ponies will think the same of you, regardless of your actual work ethic. First impressions are everything there."
Red nodded her head in agreement, for she understood that kind of mental position all too well. Red herself was all about dedication to the job, and doing one's duty, so much so that she was having issues with doing her job because she felt said job violated those sensibilities.
That's when their meeting turned to something more personal... and far more physical, as Fine Print stopped dead in the middle of the hallway and slid right up against Red, pushing her own flanks and side against those of her compatriot, their Cutie-Marks touching. Pushing her back against the wall of the corridor, Fine Print grinned into the face of her subordinate, who looked back at her with her pretty, surprise-wide eyes, Red in turn smelling the gentle scent of the rose perfume Fine was wearing.
Fine looked into Red's eyes, before sensually whispering into her ear; "Don't think I am such a stick in the mud that I don't know how to cut loose sometimes. That I don't know how to have...fun."
Turning her muzzle to the side, Red shuddered as Fine's tongue began to lick it's way around her ear and cheek, ending up on her chin, the velvety texture of the hot, pink tongue upon her white fur making her body seize up in confused pleasure. Having a smoking-hot mare pressed up against her and licking her was the last thing she needed right now in terms of dealing with unrestrained arousal, yet she for sure couldn't say it was unpleasant or that she wanted it to stop.
"I also know how to handle myself around those who are...special to me, as you experienced yesterday" Fine continued, her tongue shifting from Red's cheek to trail down her neck. "I know how to make them feel good...how to touch them...please them." she followed the last bit up by pushing her tongue into a cleft of Red's throat, flicking it about the tendons and muscles, with them suddenly clenching hard as Red gulped.
"Uh...uh...F-Fine this is...this is really unprofessional. You realize that, right?" Red asked, pinned to the wall as Fine Print only grinned and nipped her throat and neck playfully in response.
"So what?" Fine answered back simply with her trademark strict voice, punctuating the sentiment by dropping to her hooves slowly, trailing her tongue down Red's chest, "You're not the only one who has been dealing with jumbling their desires with their work. I've seen how you and Tenderheart look at each other, even if you've never thought of your relationship before. I can see it there. You want that sexy young filly, and bad...almost as much as you want Form Chaser."
Fine grinned as she felt Red tremble at the thought of having both, hearing a quiet, involuntary whicker of desire from Red. " Oh yes, I saw you two this morning, looking ready to suck each others' faces off making out. Yes, he is quite the stud muffin isn't he? His donation will make some beautiful little foals, won't it? And just who's responsible for making him cum so much? You of course..." Fine gave a steady smirk as she could see a dripping through Red's legs, her hooves resting on the other mare's knees while she licked her lips in anticipation. "The way you look at both of them I can tell you want them, but you're always so caught up in the drama of relationships and work, aren't you Redheart? Always questioning the morality of such attractions, of how you look at those you find sexy, or may love... but have you ever thought that perhaps others around you look at you the same way? That maybe you're the subject of somepony else's desires too? Maybe even their own?"
Redheart couldn't move let alone form a coherent sentence in reply, settling for more shuddering breaths and quiet moans as Fine rose up again and she felt Fine's hoof softly push her to the ground and she complied, then feeling as her muzzle slowly pushed itselves under her chest and all the way down until it was between her legs, no longer questioning where she was going and what her boss was up to. Fine's sturdy but poignant tongue was before long tracing its way along Red's stomach and barrel, heading towards her wet crotch, Red feeling as her nurse uniform was being unbuttoned and pulled aside by Fine Print's magic.
"Please, Fine...Miss Print, n-not here! Anypony could...oh p-please not here, I'm begging yo...ohhhhhhhh," Red trailed off as Fine's tongue and muzzle finally met her soaked crotch, the tip of her tongue poking into her hot, desperately-needing folds.
Redheart bit her lip as she tried to push Fine away half-heartedly, stifling an impassioned scream of need as that swift tongue dragged itself across her labia and through her slit, right before she softly nibbled on Red's clit.
Red moaned quietly as her eyes darted from one end of the hallway to the other, always worried she'd see somepony coming, them seeing her boss with her muzzle between her legs. Each lick made Red feel a significant burst of pleasure, and it wasn't long until her clit started its instinctive winking, that not going unnoticed by Fine.
"Mmm, are you enjoying this Red? Are you enjoying your old prude of a boss's tongue treating you like you deserve to be treated?" Fine asked, before plunging back down between Red's legs and licking rapidly on her clitoral hood. Red squealed quietly as her clit responded with a short flurry of winks, her body answering for her as a small squirt of her fluids came from her and landed on her boss's muzzle, her arousal now at its peak.
"Hmm...seems somepony's coming into their heat soon, are we?" Fine asked as she took a deep whiff of Red's vulva, detecting the telltale scent of a mare's heat faintly within Red's marehood, with that thought of her soon being fertile and needing only making Fine's own marehood start to heat up. "Mmm, smells like it's only a few days away at most. I always love pleasing a mare coming into her heat; they're always so grateful for each..." Fine paused, dragging her tongue from just before Red's pucker and all the way to her clit again, hearing a squeaky moan of need coming from her, "... little..." Another lick and quiet squeal. "...lick, aren't they?"
Red felt as Fine continued to tease her with gentle licks, each one drawing a quiet gasp from her or wink from her pussy, occasionally a small squirt of her fluids too. She knew she'd be going into her estrus soon, likely within days as Fine had said, and also knew what she hoped to accomplish when she did. "B-Boss, could we please go s-somewhere more...p-private and do this?" Red begged, only for Fine to stop licking her again and meet her eyes, a mischievous glare in them.
"Well, you asked me yesterday to 'finish the demonstration next time', and I intend to do just that. Right here, right now." Fine said firmly, before letting her tongue return to work, earning another needing whimper and clit-wink from Red. She upped her game now, licking more deeply and parting Red's labial lips with her muzzle, seeing her back legs trembling slightly at the sensation as she swiftly slid deeper. Using her magic, Fine firmly rubbed her subordinate's clit, hearing a muffled, strangled cry from her as her tongue started moving within her.
It was a surprisingly short amount of time before Fine felt Red's squeezes growing tighter and more rhythmic, knowing what was coming soon; or rather, who. As she felt the telling signs of a mare's impending orgasm, with Red's hips starting to grind against her and her entrance squeezing rhythmically while growing even wetter, Fine simply stopped. Just completely pulled back and stopped every movement, holding still and giving no contact at all.
Red growled in frustration of being denied her orgasm again by Fine, glaring back at her boss. "Celestia-damn it!" she huffed, glaring hotly at Fine, her nethers burning, on the very precipice of release. Her clit was furiously winking and trying to draw that velvet pink pussy-pleaser back in. "Again!? You promised yesterday...that..."
Fine put on a look of feigned hurt, but deep inside she simply loved how desperate she'd left Red once more. This time however, she decided to do something about it. "I'll tell you what. I'll let you cum...if you do something for me." Fine said, seeing the glare from Red sharpen.
"Oh, let me guess, you're gonna make me work unpaid overtime, or become your slave for a week?" she asked, intending the latter one as a joke. She saw Fine grin.
"Well, as tempted as I am to take you up on that second one, no. Beg, Redheart. I want you to beg me to make you cum." Fine said, seeing Red's eyes widen in response.
<Ha, is that it?!> "Please, make me cum mistress! I wanna feel your hot, wet tongue in my desperate little pussy as I squeeze down on it when I squirt. I wanna feel you licking me as I squirt my cum all over you. I NEED you! Please!" Red begged instantly upon request, with this not her first time needing to ask for her climax.
Fine was somewhat taken aback by the desperate pleas from Red, but quickly followed up with her promise. "Heh, not your first time begging to cum now is it Red? You'd make a fine little servant in my private chambers some time... anyhow, fine I'll get you off...but I'll do you one even better than just my tongue making you cum..." Fine said sensually, lighting her horn. She formed a long, thick rod of solidified magic and placed it as Red's drooling slit, hearing a quiet whimper of need from her as she did.
"P-please..." Red whispered again, and that was all Fine could take. She plunged the rod into Red, hearing a cry of absolute pleasure from the mare beneath her as she did. "OH CELESTIA YES! PLEASE! I NEED IT!" Red cried out, no longer caring if they would get caught as she felt her so-needed release building swiftly, feeling herself so satisfyingly spread by the pseudo-cock, the latent tingling of magic it gave off in her setting her pleasure up another notch. She could feel herself squeezing on her boss's magic tightly and frequently as she quickly thrust it into and out of her, the pressure in her crotch building to almost unbearable.
Finally, as Fine jammed the entirety of the magic deep into her fully one last time and Red felt it tap her cervix, she let out an absolute whinny of pure pleasure as her whole body tensed and the pressure burst at that sensation of being so totally and deeply spread, launching her into a very powerful orgasm. Realizing that her common fantasy of bending over Fine and pounding her with a strapon was now reversed, pulse after pulse of pleasure spiked through Red as her eyes squeezed shut, her breath now ragged pants as her insides milked the gently-throbbing length of magic that was inside of them for everything it had, despite that being nothing at all.
Fine watched as Red gushed around her pulsing magic dildo, literally squirting her release around her light-blue magic as Red trembled beneath her hooves, her clit being tended to by Fine's tongue as she came, with the boss-mare enjoying the lightly floral-earthy flavor of her partner. After many seconds of bliss, Red finally went slack, her winks and squeezes slowly fading away but even still feeling pleasantly spread, her whole passage still filled as she drifted into her afterglow.
"Oh my buck boss..." Red said breathily, feeling herself shuddering slightly as she felt a hot body pressed against her, her marehood being spread widely by another after a nice, deeply-satisfying orgasm unlike the shallow ones she'd experienced alone earlier. Two things she hadn't felt in much too long.
Fine simply smiled as she lay there, now softly rubbing Red's outer thigh with her hoof, right over her cutie-mark; quite an intimate gesture amongst Earth-ponies especially. Eventually Fine dimmed her horn and got a quiet sound of disappointment from Red as she remembered they had somepony waiting for them, and as such huffed quietly in disappointment herself. "Stupid work...Alright Red, we gotta get up now. C'mon, somepony's waiting for us. Let's get cleaned up so we can go meet them not smelling like sex."
Red nearly felt like falling asleep right then after such a wonderful release, but knew she was indeed still on duty. Hesitantly, she rose on shaky hooves as she felt Fine start to rub her crotch with some sort of cloth, likely a washcloth, to clean her mess up, shuddering slightly as her oversensitive marehood was stimulated more. After that, she glanced over to see Fine cleaning her mess off the floor, noticing her squirt had gone a good three feet away from her even as she was plugged with magic. A new record, it would seem.
As she and Fine faced each other, Red was suddenly surprised to suddenly feel a pair of lips on her own and a hoof on her crest, pulling her tighter into her boss's muzzle. After a moment, she simply relaxed and enjoyed the gentle tingles that came with the kiss, before all too soon Fine pulled away again, a light blush on her cheeks.
"Alright, let's go." Fine said as though nothing had just happened, Red following and noticing that her boss's tail was tightly pressed to her crotch, the scent of a mare's arousal still very obviously coming from her. <Hm...I'll have to pay her back for that. Also, what the hay was that kiss?! Could she possibly...> Red followed wordlessly behind, her mind alight with what those just-past events could mean. ~
Behind Fine Print and Redheart as they walked away, hiding behind the corner of the hallway, two janitorial ponies looked at each other with both amused and surprised expressions, having earlier walked around the corner only to find - Fine Print, their boss, muzzle deep in Redheart! It had been quite the surprise...and turn-on.
"I think they're finished and are leaving," muttered the male Earth-pony, his awkward erection tenting his uniform in a very unsightly manner.
"Good, that means we just have to clean up the remaining evidence, then leave." answered the other, an Earth-pony mare, not leaving said erection unnoticed.
"Oh Celestia, that was bucking hot! No pony is going to believe this!" exclaimed the stallion.
"No, they wouldn't, and you're not going to tell them either you dipstick!" hissed the mare,"Do you know what Fine Print, let alone Redheart, would do to us if they knew we saw everything?" she cautioned her male partner, shuddering at the thought. "I don't think "bucked in the muzzle up and fired" would suffice as an answer."
"Oh-oh yeah, hadn't thought about that, let's just...clean up and get out of here...quickly."
After they quickly mopped the floor of what Fine Print had missed of Redheart and Fine's...excretions, the two janitors moved to the supply closet down the hall. Putting the mop and bucket back, the mare suddenly pushed her male counterpart into the large closet before joining him. Moving past him slowly, making sure to sensually rub her side against his as she did, the female hopped up so that her forehooves were resting on the shelves of the supply closet, her back legs spreading as her tail flagged; her intentions obviously and suddenly made crystal clear. .
"What...what are you doing?" the stallion asked, gulping at the implications and his body shivering as his eyes fixated on his partner's shapely rump and her swollen, dripping mound, the tight quarters letting him easily smell her fertile scent now that her tail was out of the way; she was most definitely in heat, and bad too.
"You think you were the only one to get turned on by that experience? I've been turned on all day on account of my heat, but that...holy buck, that set me over. Come over here and let's settle both our problems," she playfully beckoned, even as she gently wiggled her fine rump to him enticingly, her fertile marehood winking to him and inviting him to breed her and claim her womb for his foal.
His eyes widening, the stallion made sure to first close the closet door. "B-but..." he countered weakly, but even still took a step towards her proffered body.
"C'mon big boy, don't think I don't see that big, virile log between your stifles. Come give me that foal Ponyville needs me to have...I need you to cum in me, and a lot!" she said heatedly, "Come knock me up!" As the stallion disrobed and mounted the mare demanding his sperm, his eyes gleamed, a determined smile appearing on his muzzle as he plunged himself fully into the mare and heard her squeal in delight, some of her excessive fluid spilling out to the floor. This was going to get a lot messy, but it's a good thing he was a janitor. He would just clean it all up when they were done, after all.
~ ~ ~
Fine Print grinned at her subordinate as she guided her down the steps to the sub-level of the hospital wing, a clipboard carrying the files of the special clientele for today hanging about her neck. "Now, today's collection schedule will be a lot more well um... Interesting, as I was saying earlier. You see, a private benefactor has graciously donated several of his...um...well...his, personal 'milking' devices, to help with the collection process. He didn't even charge us Bits for them, but in exchange he wanted some of the outdated equipment that the hospital no longer needs given our new shipment came in. The same stuff you spent yesterday inventorying for us I think..." she piped off as they descended the last set of stairs side by side, pressed tightly together, whether subconsciously or not neither could know.
"So, we'll be using these 'milking machines' then instead of our hooves?" asked Redheart, interested in trying to fully understand what was going on, yet at the same time feeling more than a tinge of disappointment.
"Well, you will be using the machines, yes. They speed up the process, and also are able to collect more efficiently. No offense, but I know you must have made 'missed some' yesterday, and that's no real fault of yours; the hoof and tube alone is not the most reliable of semen collection methods after all. It should be no problem to reach our daily quotas now, given these machines are high-quality and guaranteed maximum efficiency." insisted Fine Print, seeing Red looking down passively at one of her forehooves.
Fine looked over at Red, noticing her abstract look, and playfully bumped Red's flanks with her own, both mares now slightly grinning at each other as they made their way down the corridor to the collection room. "Don't worry, I don't mind if you give one or two of the stallions a good rub-down instead...and I don't think they would either." Fine said, giving her co-worker a wink and a knowing smile. Red brightened up at that, and returned the wink.
"Red, before we get there I should warn you that the doctor who donated these is, um well... he's a bit...different, in both appearance and in behavior, but he's also very brilliant. He helped to design several of the machines we currently use for detecting, diagnosing and treating all sorts of medical conditions, as well as more...sensitive and specialized inventions such as these." added Fine Print once they had reached the door.
Red nodded to her boss. <How bad could this doctor really be? I've met and even treated those weird, creepy bat-ponies from Princess Luna's royal guard, and nothing's topped that yet!> If he was anything like the doctors here, or even her next door neighbour Dr. Hooves, there shouldn't be anything out of the ordinary--or as ordinary as Doctor Hooves could be at least.
Red's primary worries were mainly the result of her asking herself what kind of doctor would build machines like this, with such a decidedly perverse application as milking a stallion's cum. When they opened the door, the two walked in to come face-to-face with the oddest looking unicorn Redheart had ever seen, giving her exactly her answer of 'who'.
The stallion, or at least Red thought he was a stallion judging by his muzzle shape and height, was thin, more skeleton than skin really. His coat was a sickly grey, except for his tail, which was pure silver. He was incredibly lanky in conjunction with his thinness and each of his hooves sported a set of silver-colored metallic bracelets that curled up his legs like gloves. Across his chest was a black harness, a crest displaying a needle upon a parchment with a lightning bolt across it. The same symbol was upon his flanks, composing his cutie-mark, even though the image was anything but cute.
What was most distracting about this stallion though was, despite being colored gravel-grey and bald, his horn. It was pure white, the tip coated in metal. For any Unicorn their horn was always noticeable--usually it was their most defining feature--and this one's horn was not only noticeable, it was horrific.
Redheart was very uncomfortable around this unicorn before her, him seeming to more of a ghoul than a pony. Her nurse training was telling her no pony should look like this naturally; it could only mean that he had to have done this to himself somehow.
The ghoulish pony turned at the sound of the door opening, revealing that he was wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and had a small red crystal embedded in his fur just above his forehead. "Red, this is Doctor Erfinder von Ghoul, a very brilliant and talented inventor and ex-medical-practitioner. Doctor Ghoul, this is Redheart, the pony who will be operating your machines." Fine Print introduced them, clearly looking as uneasy about their company as Redheart was.
"Ah Miss Fine Print, good to see you again," came the ghoulish ponies lifeless, drawn-out voice. The unicorn stallion lifted a large crate with his magic, seemingly helping to put things in order. "I was just checking on the machinery. Everything seems...in order and unharmed from shipping."
The crate shifted as the locks holding it closed were magically removed, allowing the crate to fall open and reveal a strange-looking device that resembled a metal harness with a bunch of wires and gizmos all over it, with an extension underneath it.
Redheart had seen the types of milking machines used on the farms for the cows, her close family indeed farmers, and the device before her looked like somepony had taken those designs and turned them inside out.
The harness was rather large, one long thick metal tube with several large pistons embedded on either side. One large circular piston extended from the top of the tube right beside a circular control panel, which was covered in several crystals and gems with a large round dial in the center. Red was not a technological wizard, but she could understand basically that this circular platform was a set of controls. Her gaze turned from the control panel and over to the three metallic braces extending from the back of the tube. The braces had been designed to optionally be clamped together over the subject and locked. The first ring-shaped brace was thinner and located at the top of the device.
Red took the ring's position to mean it was meant to go around the neck, while a second, thicker set of braces lay below obviously meant to go around the chest, while the last set of braces broke off into separate cuffs meant to hold a pony's front legs together so they couldn't move at all. Several smaller tubes ran from the main pistons to the control panel up top. The whole thing looked to her to be like some sort of modified work harness with a pseudo-marehood attached underneath.
"Why are there braces and cuffs?" Red meekly asked, her curiosity outgrowing her feelings that this was bizarre beyond all reason.
The ghoulish doctor slid himself forward and gently pressed his metallic hooves to the braces, trailing a manacled hoof across the metal, making both Redheart and Fine Print cringe at the sound of metal scraping metal.
"You should know better than most how... enthusiastic some stallions can get when in the throes of their release," he calmly stated, staring at Red behind the black sunglasses, the parts of his eyes she could see showing a contrasting color of pink. '<Pink eyes, that's even more weird!>' Pink eyes were not something you'd think to see on another pony who resembled more of a corpse; "The braces not only secure the device to the subject, but they also ensure that he causes no harm to himself or the attendant, which would be you right Nurse Redheart?" he said, still staring at her as he said her name and making a cold shiver go down her spine, a tone of sarcasm hinted in his voice. "One would think you would want to avoid harming yourself and or the subject, as any responsible pony would."
Red was neither a prude nor a judgmental pony, but she was really starting to get ticked off by Mr. Skeleton-with-hooves here. His appearance aside, the way he prescribed the term 'subjects' towards living, breathing stallions increasingly irked her. She had heard a lot of the same tone used in her academy days, where she would see professors and doctors so full of themselves and hot air that they rarely attributed empathy, feelings, or even autonomy to the patients they cared for.
Red had remembered the time when they were learning how to console families after losing a patient, only for the teacher to be so self-conceited that the whole affair was treated as an overly-sterilized affair, devoid of both compassion and emotion, completely mechanical and improper. The whole affair had set her teeth to grind and she had been five seconds away from hijacking the course herself to explain to that hack--politely of course--how any real, feeling pony would handle such a situation, before another student beat her to the task and quite rudely put that sod in his place. Of course, that student had been Tenderheart, and from that moment Red had known they would be great friends for years to come afterwards.The poor little filly had to spend the next three weeks on latrine-cleaning duty for putting that pompous oaf in his rightful place, but she'd always said it had been worth it to see the look on his face as she'd called him out.
Redheart mentally noted--having realized her mind and gone off track-- that his was the same cold attitude from those med-school ponies, so much so that it practically dripped from this stallion's very shadow, let alone his mouth. Still, she remained silent, keeping her feelings to herself for now.
The doctor caressed the top of the harness one more almost lovingly before calmly beckoning Redheart over, Fine Print had taken it upon herself to investigate the clinic's right corner, making sure to let the other two go over the machines requirements.
"OK, how the machine works is simple; once the subject is secured, you can proceed with the procedure," muttered the doctor. "Place this part of the device fully over the stallion's penis, press these three crystals in this order, then adjust the dial accordingly." The doctor pressed the crystal in the middle first, then the right one, and finally the left, making the machine hum to life and the portion designed to ring a stallion's cock started moving up and down like a piston, its movements and squeezing motions increasing more as the doctor turned the dial to the right. "This dial controls the power, and these enchanted crystals provide power to the device. The more the dial is turned to the right, the more powerful the machine's rubbing, kneading and its...other effects will be, so be warned."
Redheart noted the order of the crystals and the dial's location, keeping a watch on the levels he set the device for. "This is the 'standard' level of stimulation and should set the average stallion, comfortably, into orgasm within a minute. Going past this should be seriously weighed, as it will become very intense for the stallion very quickly. Immediately after the subject's ejaculation is accomplished and completed, you are to turn the dial completely to the left and do the opposite order of pressing the crystals as in the beginning to power it down to preserve its magic charge." The ghoul-pony then pressed the left, right, then middle crystal, and the device stopped dead. "You can then collect the subject's seminal fluid and sperm from the collection chamber here, or restart the machine and attempt a second ejaculation after giving the stallion a short break in order to collect more." He pointed to a large hard-plastic container beneath that portion of the device that all the tubing led to, looking to hold at least a gallon of fluid.
"Do these 'milkers' pose any danger to the stallion at all?" Red asked with some interest, not taking her eyes off the dial on the harness control panel. She looked over the device as it was hoofed over to her, noticing some sharp-looking metal nubs inside of the milking cup where the stallion's penis was meant to go.
"The nubs within the machine, while dull enough to not puncture even the thinnest of skin, will slightly dig into the subject's penis as he is kneaded within it, and the higher you put up the dial, the more, how to say, the machine shall blend pleasure and pain. Go too high and it may cause some...addiction, or possibly some slight physical pain or...harm." The sickly-looking doctor said, revealing a crooked smile with the last three words.
"Why should this thing bringing pain at all?" demanded Redheart angrily, "This is meant to bring a stallion to orgasm so he can create a beautiful foal with his seed, not....not torture him!"
The doctor simply waved a hoof at her concerns. "My research has shown that slight...to moderate...levels of pain combined with pleasure are able to make stallion's ejaculations far more powerful and productive than standard stimulation, including prostate stimulation. I developed that anal device you used yesterday too, and you saw how productive it was. These are even more so." answered Von Ghoul. "Again, too much stimulation and there will be problems, so be very careful with how far you push the subjects, and always pay attention to what they're saying. If they need you to stop, you'd best oblige them. As I mentioned, the higher settings can be a bit addicting and moderately painful to subjects, but it will likely cause them the best orgasm they've ever felt regardless of if you actually stop or not."
"This is insane! You can't just hurt stallions and...and practically or literally rape them just to make them...produce more semen! Fine Print, are you really going to allow these things to be used?!" squeaked Redheart, both arousal and righteous rage burning through her.
Fine Print looked up from her corner at the sound of her name, looking between the two passively before shrugging her shoulders."Red, these machines will help us in the long run. The doctor has assured me that they are perfectly safe, as well as capable of providing proof of such, and that they will increase a stallion's production. They won't cause any serious problems as long as they are handled and operated properly, which is where you come in. As far as the other executives and myself are concerned, this is a legitimate, humane business offer and we have accepted it. We even adjusted the donation contracts to reflect the machine's specifics and what the stallions are to expect. Some canceled or asked to do it themselves, but many more are still on for their 'assisted donation'."
Redheart left the room and stepped outside the door and into the narrow hallway, trying to take a deep breath and get her conflicted mind under control. A cold hoof touching her side made her start as von Ghoul stepped up beside her. She was a bit surprised that he would come so close after the animosity they both had just shared.
"Having trouble with all of this are you?" he asked her simply.
"It's a bit much. I'm a nurse not a...cum-catcher. This isn't what I was trained to do." replied Red.
"Sometimes our jobs require us to do some rather uncomfortable, even unspeakable things, but we do them because that's our job. If you look at it like that, then I think you'll be okay," stated von Ghoul, smiling as he flipped his ragged mane back over his shoulders, shaking his head and nickering affectionately as he stared at a wall.
"...and just what unspeakable things have you done just to come up with that invention and to tell us exactly what it does, Doctor?" Red snarked at him, rolling her eyes in disbelief.
The stallion left that unanswered, instead flipping his mane once again. "Just remember what I said earlier. Be careful, and do not overstimulate the subjects or over-power the machines. Be careful, nurse."
"Yes, yes I get it! Be careful with the settings on the stallions." Red answered sharply.
"No, not just them. Those machines pose a danger to you as well." At her surprised look, Ghoul nodded towards the machine in the room, him having left the door open as he'd joined her, "No, nothing physical. Like I said, a stallion can be quite passionate in the throes of climax. In that state they're also very emotionally vulnerable. It can be an addicting feeling to have yourself mixed like that with the blending of pain and pleasure, and at the hooves of a beautiful mare nonetheless, but it can also be addicting for that mare to have that kind of power over a stallion. Having such control over what he feels, having control over whether he reaches his peak or not...for their sakes, Redheart, keep this in mind so you aren't the one who loses themselves instead."
Red could only nod as he then rudely pushed passed her and down the hallway, calling behind him as he went; "Tell Fine Print to meet me up top so I can acquire the equipment I was promised for these devices!" he said, before stopping to nuzzle a gurney before proceeding on.
Re-entering the room, Redheart could only look upon Fine Print with shock and disgust. "Why does the hospital deal with that... that ghoul?!!" she demanded hotly, stamping a hoof in anger.
Fine Print only gave a sad look towards Redheart before she answered timidly, "von Ghoul was once a well-respected doctor here in the research wing. As I said, he was a genius, and actually quite handsome... then there was an accident. A spell backfired, and he was...retired after its results became apparent. We all felt he was short-changed after his dismissal and, seeing what's happened to him over the years, I think we were right. We recently give him projects to work on for us and he always delivers. He's quite good at tinkering, and if he says these machines will work and work well, I believe him."
"...but this is so strange! I mean, is this really something we are gonna do? Something...I'm going to do? Making stallions cum hard because of 'pain mixing with pleasure'? I don't know if..." asked Redheart, her mind slowly coming to accept the idea, but that sliver of her doubt and civility was still fighting back.
Coming up to her employee, Fine Print lifted a hoof to cup the white mare's chin. "You can do this Red. I realize this is not the kind of work you can brag to your friends or neighbors about, but this is needed, not only for the fertility program, but for your job." Bringing her face so that she was nose to nose with Red, Fine Print pressed their foreheads together. "I believe in you, Red. Tenderheart must believe in you as well, with you two being so close, and if we believe in you, you can do this."
Redheart gulped as she felt the closeness with her boss again, feeling the strength of the older mare feeding into her as well as a faint feeling that reminded her of care and even a sisterly love.
"Okay," Red said with a sigh, deciding that she would do her job, and perhaps the ghoulish stallion had been right. It's just her job and that's all that matters, even if she was collecting stallions' seed. It was important, even if it was viewed as unpleasant...per say.
Fine Print broke the hug and headed out the doors, ready to alert the first donor that the lab was ready for him. Redheart remained in the room looking over the mount still in the center of the room, the machines and milker beside and beneath it, then back to the door. Taking a deep breath Red finally found herself anticipating the sessions to come. This was the feeling she had been waiting for. "Are you ready?" Fine called out from the hallway.
"Alright then, send them in." Red called out to Fine, before whispering to herself, "Bring them on." |
Aggressively Small | pre | "I go with Spike every year, it's really fun." Twilight said happily.
"Aw shucks it sounds like a lot of fun. I'd love to go. Land sakes, if I had an apple stand set up, ponies would be chowin' our tasty vittles til the cows come home. Do you have any idea how much business I could drum up for Sweet Apple Acres? Why, with all that money, we could do a heap of fixin up 'round here. We could replace that saggy old roof, and Macintosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny can replace that saggy old hip." Applejack said. She kicked her hoof in the dirt sadly. "I would give my left leg to go to that gala."
"I wish I could bring you but I only have two tickets and I'm bringing Spike with me. I'm sorry that I can't take you to the Gala." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash fell from a nearby tree and onto the ground in front of them.
She quickly got up with a wide grin. "Did somebody say the Grand Galloping Gala!" Rainbow Dash said exitidly. Applejack let out an angry grunt.
"Rainbow dash, you told me to busy to help harvest apples. What were you doing, were you spying on us?" Applejack said angrily.
"No, I was busy napping." Rainbow dash said as she pointed up at a tree. A pillow and blanket laid on a thin tree branch above them. Rainbow dash turned a around to Twilight.
"Did you say you had two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala?!" Rainbow dash said loudly.
"Yeah but-" Twilight started before Rainbow cut her off.
"YES! This is so awesome. The wonderbolts perform at the Grand Galloping Gala every year. I can see it now. Everyone would be watching the sky. Their eyes riveted on the Wonderbolts, but then in would fly Rainbow Dash!" She said while hovering excitedly in the air.
"I would love to take you, but I'm taking Spike with me." Twilight said while gesturing towards Spike. Rainbow dash looked at him for a few seconds before getting an idea.
"Whoever gets to Fluttershy's cottage and back first gets the ticket. One two three go!" Rainbow dash said as she zoomed off to the cottage. Spike rolled his eyes and put the wheel barrel in the barn.
"Let's go before she comes back." Spike said as he started to walked away. Twilight put her basket of apples in the barn and waved goodbye to Applejack.
Twilight and Spike walked through the noisy town. Twilights stomach growled. "Where should we go to eat?" She asked Spike. Before he could answer, he saw Pinkie pie running full speed towards Twilight, not paying attention to where she was going.
"TWILIGHT WATCH OUT!" Spike shouted as he pushed her out the way. Pinkie pie rammed into him, making them both fall on the ground. Twilight rushed over to them.
"Are you okay?!" She asked concernedly. Spike stood up and rubbed his head before giving her a thumbs up. The tickets landed on Pinkies face, causing her to let out a loud scream.
"AAAH BATS ON MY FACE!" Pinkie pie shouted as she jumped up. The tickets floated to the ground, causing her to stop screaming and gasp.
"Wait those aren't bats, those are tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala!" She said as she hopped around enthusiastically. "That's the most amazing incredible tremendous super fun wonderful terrific party ever! I've always wanted to go!" She shouted as she happily hopped around.
Before Twilight could respond Rarity walked over a let out a gasp. "Are this tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala?!"
"Here we go again." Spike thought in annoyance. Pinkie pie nodded her head.
"Mhm and Twilights taking me!" Pinkie said with a large grin. Rarity's face scrunched up.
"Twilight are you sure that Pinkie pie is the best option, she can be rather.... excitable." Rarity said. "If you take me I can meet him." She said with a sigh.
"Him?" Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie asked in unison. Rarity hugged both of the tickets close to her chest as if it were a pony.
"Him. I would waltz in the Gala with all eyes on me, and every one will wonder 'who is that mysterious mare?' The princess will be so taken aback by my style, she'll introduce me to her nephew, him. Our eyes would meet and our hearts will melt. He will ask for my hoof in marriage and of course I would say YES!. We would have a royal wedding and I will be a princess." Rarity said with a giggle. Spike took the tickets from her grasp.
"I hope that you're not talking about Prince Blueblood, because he's a huge narcissistic jerk. And I'm going to the Gala with Twilight." Spike said as he started to walk away. Pinkie pie zipped in front of him.
"I'll make you cupcakes for a whole month!" She said with a large grin. Spike turned around to walk away, only to bump into Rarity.
"Darling if you give the ticket to me I'll give you half of my gems for the rest of the year!" She said desperately.
Twilight stood between them. "He made his desicion and you need to respect that." She said sternly. Spike nodded his head in agreement. A small bunny ran up to him and snatched the tickets out of his hand before running away.
"Hey!" Spike shouted as he chased the bunny. The bunny ran up to a familiar yellow pegasus and showed her the tickets.
"Angel these are perfect!" Fluttershy said happily. Spike snatched the tickets out of Angels grasp and glared at him.
"These are mine." Spike said as he made eye contact with Angel.
"You're so lucky to go to the Gala, I've always wanted to go." Fluttershy said. Spike let out a loud groan of annoyance because this is the fifth time someone had said that in a hour.
"I would love to see all of the little critters in the garden. The most beautiful flowers are there and even cuter birds. There are the sweetest little humming birds, the cutest buzzard, and the fluffiest blue jays." Fluttershy swooned.
"Wow that's surprisingly cute." Rainbow dash said.
"Have you been following us?" Spike asked.
"Yes I mean uh no, maybe. The point is that you lost the race, so hand over the ticket." She said while sticking out her hoof.
"Now just wait a dog on second." Applejack said as she walked up.
"Were you following us too?" Twilight asked.
"No I was following her to make sure she didn't try any funny buisness." Applejack said, glaring at Rainbow.
"I'm just making sure he doesn't lose my ticket." She said smugly.
"But I thought he was giving the ticket to me!" Pinkie whined out.
"Clearly he's giving the ticket to me." Rarity said.
"If he doesn't want to give the ticket to anyone then that's fine." Fluttershy said softly.
They all started to talk over each other loudly. Spike covered his ears because of the yelling.
"ENOUGH!" Twilight shouted making everyone but Pinkie be quiet.
"And I said oatmeal are you crazy... oh." Pinkie pies said in realization that everyone had stopped talking.
"Spike made his decision and you have to respect that." Twilight said. Rarity, Rainbow dash, and Pinkie hung there head in shame. Applejack and Fluttershy nodded there heads in agreement.
"Come on Spike, lets get something to eat." Twilight said as she walked off. Spike followed her closely.
"I kinda feel bad now." Fluttershy said as rubbed her arm.
"Yeah.... I'll just need to try harder for the ticket." Pinkie pie said.
"Darling if anyone's going to get that ticket, it's going to be me." Rarity said.
"Oh please it's definitely going to be me." Rainbow said.
"Now hold on there, didn't Twi just say to stop buggin Spike bout the ticket." Applejack said sternly.
"I'm not bothering him about it, I'm just letting him know what a great friend I am." Rarity said as she started to walk away.
"Yeah and I'm just going to check on this thing I'm doing." Rainbow said as she flew off.
"And I'm totally not going to make cupcakes for a trade." Pinkie said as she backed away. Before Applejack could stop them they all ran off in different directions.
"Oh no." Fluttershy said softly.
Twilight and Spike sat at an outside table at a restaurant. They had already ordered their food and they were just chatting.
"Ponies can sure get crazy over a ticket." Spike said as he picked petals from a flower that was in a vase on the table.
"This is for the biggest event of the year, of course ponies would get crazy over it." Twilight said. A loud crack of thunder boomed, making Spike scream and cover his ears. He looked up only to see that it was pouring rain. Both Twilight and Spike were completely dry. They both looked up to see an opening in a cloud above them.
"Hey there best friend, enjoying the nice weather?" Rainbow dash said innocently. Spike growled angerily.
"Bribing me won't make me give you the ticket!" He shouted.
"What do you mean, I would never bribe my best friend." Rainbow said as she batted her eyes. Spike glared at her until she let out a defeated sigh.
"Okay fine." She said angerily before closing the cloud. Spike immediately regretted his decision when cold rain poured over him. He looked over to Twilight who was shivering. Rarity walked down the path with an umbrella over her.
"Twilight darling it's raining." She said as if it hadn't been obvious.
"No, really?" Twilight said sarcastically making Spike snicker.
"Come with me before you two catch a cold." Rarity said.
Spike looked st her suspiciously. "We'll make it to the library, it's closer. And I wouldn't want to trouble you now would I." Spike said bitterly. Another boom of thunder echoed through the sky. Spike let out a loud scream and started to tear up. Twilight levitated him on her back and ran after Rarity.
They all enterted the boutique, Twilight and Spike dripping wet. Rarity handed them both a towel so they can dry off.
"Once you two dry off I have some marvelous outfits I want you to try on." Rarity said as she made her way to her workstation.
"Oh goody." Spike said sarcastically as he folded up both of the towels and placed them on a nearby table.
Twilight chuckled. "Oh come on, it can be that bad." She said as they entered the workstation. Rarity ran over to Twilight with a dress and slipped it on her.
"Oh darling you look simply beautiful." Rarity complimented. Twilight looked in the mirror to see a sparkly blue dress with star patterns on them. She smiled at her appearance.
Rarity enetered the room with a sea foam green dress on. She had on teal heels a made her way to Twilight.
"Just imagine, both of us at the Gala, being the most gorgeous ones there." Rarity said, putting the image in her mind. Twilight took a step away from her.
"You can't try to make me take the ticket away from Spike, this is his desicion." Twilight said angrily. Rarity turned around a looked at Spike with puppy dog eyes.
"No." Spike said blandly. He looked out the window to see that it had stopped raining. "Oh look the rain stopped, let's go Twi." Spike said as he made his way to the front door. Twilight quickly took off the dress and followed him. They both walked down the wet streets of Ponyville.
"I can believe that she tried to make you take the ticket from me! Element of Generosity my butt." Spike said bitterly.
"That was really shallow." Twilight said in agreement. They both approached the library, only to see that the doors were wide open. Spike stood in front of Twilight protectively. He made a 'shh' motion and slowly walked inside.
They both stopped walking when the saw piles of cupcakes littering the floor. Applejack and Fluttershy stood there. "We tried to stop her, but when we came it was to late." Fluttershy said in disbelief.
Pinkie cartwheeled over to Spike and held out a cupcake for him. "Here's a gemstone cupcake for my most super duper best friend ever." She said with a large grin. Rainbow dash and Rarity rushed in the library.
"Hey Spike, if you can't get to Cloudsdale before me, I get the ticket." Rainbow dash said. Rarity nudged her out of the way.
"Darling have some class and have a tea party with me." Rarity said.
Spike slapped the cupcake out of Pinkies hoof angrily. He stormed upstairs without saying a word. "Spike wait!" Twilight shouted. She turned around at the three now guilty mares.
"Go upstairs and apologize to him right now." She said sternly. Rainbow dash, Pinkie, and Rarity made there way upstairs. Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy followed close behind.
They all entered the room to see Spike sitting at a desk. Rarity cleared her throat to get his attention. "We didn't mean to put so much pressure on you, we were being selfish."
"I don't like making my friends feel bad, it makes me feel all icky inside." Pinkie said.
"Look we're just trying to say-" Rainbow started before Spike cut her off.
"I know that you're trying to apologize but it doesn't matter, I sent my ticket back to Tia." Everyone gasped in shock.
"But why, I thought you really wanted to go!" Pinkie pie shouted.
"Eh, I think that the Gala is really boring anyways. I only go cause of Twilight." Spike replied.
"Spike I had no idea that you didn't like the Gala." Twilight said. Spike shrugged his shoulders before letting out a burp.
A letter appeared. He opened it and read it out loud. "Dear Spike, why didn't you say anything in the first place. I would be more then happy to let your friends got to the Gala." He read out as he pulled out six tickets.
All the mares cheered in excitement.
"WE'RE GOING TO THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!" |
Aggressively Small | Prank gone wrong | Twilight and Spike sat on a park bench as Pinkie pie rambled loudly.
"She was like a stunt superstar, flying higher and higher, and then Rainbow Dash swooped down and right before she hit the ground--shoom-she pulled up-- vrrrrm!" Pinkie pie said as she zoomed around while making sound effects.
"Uh huh." Twilight said, obviously not paying attention.
"And then she looped around and around like whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo!" She said as she spun in circles to demonstrate.
"Uh huh." Twilight said as she flipped to the next page of her book. Spike looked up as he saw Rainbow Dash fly over head.
"Isn't that Rainbow right there?" He asked as he pointed up to the sky. Pinkie pie gasped and ran after her while shouting her name loudly.
Twilight and Spike finally sat in silence. "Thanks Spike." Twilight said as she enjoyed the silence.
"No problem." He said as he smiled. They both turned their heads when they heard Rainbow dash scream. She flew off quickly as Pinkie pie hopped behind her excitedly.
Twilight chuckled at the sight before she continued reading.
Spike swung his legs off of the side of the bench and closed his eyes, listening to the birds sing. It was so peaceful.
"AHA!" Twilight shouted, making Spike jump. "I think I just found the formula to Mage Meadowbrooks healing potion!" She said excitedly.
"That's great Twi." Spike said happily. Twilight stood up from the bench. "I need to study this further, let's go back to the library." Spike nodded his head and they both walked down the dirt path.
They both soon entered the busy town. Ponies were walking and playing around peacefully. Spike didn't want to admit it, but this was a really nice change from Canterlot. It was nice to see ponies that weren't stuck with their heads so far up that they could almost reach there as-
Spikes thoughts got cut off when he heard Rainbow Dash screaming and Pinkie pie still chasing her. When they finally reach the library, they felt the cool air wash over them. It was so much better than being in the hot sun.
Twilight walked over to her bookshelf and grabbed a book called 'Potions and Spells'. "Spike, can you grab my beakers and test tubes?" She asked. He nodded his head and made his way to the basement. The basement was way colder than the rest of the house. He shiver ran down his spine. He quickly grabbed the beakers and test tubes and ran back upstairs.
Spike walked in the room to see that Twilight had gotten everything ready for the experiment. "Here ya go Twi." Spike said as he handed her the beakers and test tubes.
"Thanks Spike." She said as she walked over to grab a scroll and quill. She noticed that they were almost out of scrolls. "Hey Spike, do you mind going to pick up some scrolls?"
Spike froze. "l guess it'll be alright, Twilights going to be safe inside." Spike thought to himself. "Sure thing Twi." He said as he made his way out the door. He walked through the town, on his way to town hall.
The mayor said that she would glad to let Twilight use as many scrolls as she needed from town hall for her research. He entered town hall and walked down a long hallway to a back room were the scrolls were held.
As Spike grabbed some scrolls, he couldn't help to feel like he was being watched. He looked around only to see nobody was there. Spike walked out of the room and made his way outside.
BOOM
Spike screamed and dropped the scrolls to covers his ears as the thunder cracked through the sky. He heard loud laughter coming from in front of him. He opened his eyes to see Rainbiw dash and Pinkie Pie laughing. His heart was pounding and hands started to shake slightly.
"Oh no, you're not hurt are you?" Pinkie asked concernedly. Spike looked down as his hands and closed his eyes. He slowly counted to ten in his head. When he finished he look back up at Pinkie.
"I'm fine, but please don't do that again." Spike said. He noticed that the scrolls had scattered across the ground. He let out a groan and started to pick up the scrolls.
Once he finished he looked up to see that Rainbow and Pinkie were long gone. He sighed and made his way back to the library. Spike made sure not to walk into anything because the scrolls were blocking his vision. He soon approached the library and opened the door.
"Twilight I'm back!" He shouted as he put the scrolls neatly on a shelf. Spike walked in the room to Twilight, only to see she was wearing lab goggles.
"Thanks Spike, you're the best." She said as gave him a small kiss on the head. Everything on the table had been set up in perfect order, not the jumbled mess that had been on the table before.
Spike sat and watched Twilight pour a red liquid into the test tube. The liquid started to boil and Twilight turned around and scribbled something down on a paper. She put a purple flower in the liquid and turned back to the notes.
Twilight looked in shock as she saw the notes she had taken were gone. She looked back at the experiment that was now boiling heavily. She looked at the back notes before she heard a loud boom from behind her. The experiment had exploded. Smoke, glass, and suds covered the house.
Spike quickly got up an ran over to Twilight. "Are you okay?" He grabbed her face and checked for cuts or bruises. When he didn't find any he let out a sigh of relief. They both heard loud laughter from outside.
They both looked out of the window to see Rainbow dash and Pinkie pie laughing loudly. Twilight rolled her eyes and Spike let out a growl.
"Let it go, they were just having fun." Twilight said as she walked away from the window.
"What If you got hurt? That wouldn't be so fun now would it." Spike said angerily. Twilight sighed and handed him a mop.
"Spike I don't have time to have this conversation with you. Let's start cleaning before it gets late because this is going to take a while." Twilight said as she swept up the remains of broken glass.
Spike sighed and started to mop.
Spike woke up to feel warm hooves wrapped around him. He opened his eyes to see that he was pressed against Twilights body. It wasn't like he wasn't used to it. Everytime he had a nightmare he would climb in Twilights bed, which was basically every night.
He looked out the window to see that it was about 9'clock. All that cleaning had really tuckered them out. Spike softly tapped on Twilights face in an attempt to wake her up.
"Hey Twi, wake up." He whispered as he flicked her nose. She turned over to her other side to avoid waking up.
"I don wanna..." Twilight mumbled out sleepily. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Twilight it's almost nine." He said bluntly. Twilights eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up straight up.
"NINE?!" Twilight shouted. She hopped out of her bed and ran downstairs. Spike rolled out of bed and went to go follow her. When he got down stairs he saw Twilight pulling out a Bunsen burner.
"Why are you in such a rush?" Spike asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"I need to solve Mage Meadowbrooks potion so I can send a letter to the Princess right away!" Twilight said as she pulled out a test tube holder. She rummaged through her the cabinet and pulled out a few test tubes and a single beaker.
"Didn't I have another beaker?" Twilight asked.
"One of the beakers exploded yesterday." Spike said.
"I'll get another one later." Twilight said as she rummaged through the cabinet. "Shoot, that was my last fresh lavender. I really needed it." Twilight said dissapointedly.
An idea popped in Spikes head."She'll be in the house by herself, I guess I can get lavender." Spike thought to himself. "I'll get you some." He said happily.
"Are you sure, I know you don't like being alone." Twilight said.
Spike scoffed. "I'll be fine Twilight, this helps know the town by myself." She looked at him skeptically before giving in.
"Fine just stay safe okay. Twilight said. Spike nodded his head and made his way outside. He felt the warm sun wash over his body.
Spike walked into the town. Ponies were selling products and just having a good time. Spike looked around to see Fluttershy walking backwards, leading a group of ducks somewhere. She wasn't watching where she was going and accidentally walked into a griffon named Gilda. Pinkie had came over and complained about her yesterday while he and Twilight were cleaning.
"Oh I'm so sorry." Fluttershy said in an apologetic tone. Gilda scowled down at her.
"Hey, you better watch were you're going loser." She spat out bitterly.
"I'm sorry I was just-" Gilda cut her off.
"Shut up you dingus!" She shouted. Fluttershy cowered in fear and Gilda towered over her. Spike had seen enough.
"Hey back off!" Spike said as he stood in front of Fluttershy proctectively.
"What are you gonna do pipsqueak, you're just a baby." She spat out. Spike stared at her with a cold glare.
"Do you have nothing better to do with your life but scare innocent ponies, because that's just shallow and sad." He said.
Gilda looked taken aback at the comment. "I um... you! Ugh." Gilda said as she failed to think of a comeback. She glared at Soike before flying away.
Fluttershy wrapped her arms around Spike. "Thank you so much." She said happily as she hugged him tightly. Spike patted her on the head softly.
"No problem Fluttershy." He said as he started to walk away.
"Now to get some lavender." He thought to himself as he made his way to a big field
Gilda sat on a cloud angrily, her face red and steam coming out of her ears. "I can't believe that brat told me off like that." She thought as her tail twitched like a cat.
"Hey Gilda, what's up?" Rainbow dash asked as she sat next to her. Gilda pouted before an idea popped in her head.
"I have a great for a idea prank." She said slyly. Rainbow dash's eyes lit up.
"Whose it gonna be on?" She asked excitedly. Gilda smirked.
"Have you ever seen that baby dragon?" Gilda asked. Rainbow dash's face dropped.
"We can't prank Spike, he panics easily." Rainbow dash said.
"Even better." Gilda thought with a smirk. She wrapped her wing around Rainbow.
"Oh come on, it's just a harmless little prank, it won't even harm anyone." Gilda said.
Rainbow dash was in deep thought for a second before breaking out into a grin. "So what's the plan." She asked.
Gilda smiled evilly. "Have you ever heard of a Roc?"
Spike was kneeling over a bed of flowers. He carefully picked up lavender from the ground. It was so peaceful and quiet with no ponies in sight. The birds chirped happily before going silent. He looked around in confusion at the sudden silence.
Thats when he heard it. A loud caw echoed through the sky. Spike's heart started to pound loudly. He looked up in panic to see a large silhouette in the shape of a bird. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.
Spike started to hyperventilate and tears welled up in his eyes. The bird was getting closer and closer. Spike dropped to the ground and covered his head.
The bird landed in front of him to reveal Rainbow dash and Gilda strapped to a giant wooden bird as if it were a sleigh. They both laughed loudly.
"Hahaha you should've seen the look on your face!" Rainbow dash said between giggles. Spike still stayed on the ground, shaking violently.
"Spike are you okay?" Rainbow dash asked concernly. She put her hoof on his back only for Spike to scream loudly.
"NO!" Spike shouted fearfully. He continued to sob into his hands as Gilda continued to laugh.
"Wow and I thought dragons were supposed to be tough!" Gilda said as she laughed.
"Gilda this isn't funny, I thinks he's hurt!" Rainbow dash said.
"Well that isn't my problem." Gilda said as she stretched her wings.
"I'm going to go get Twilight, stay with him until I get back." Rainbow said as she dashed off. Gilda scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"What a loser, you know that right?" Gilda said as she circled Spike. Spike was still hyperventilating.
"That'll teach you to mess with me." Gilda said as she glared down at him.
"SPIKE!" Twilight shouted as she ran past Gilda. She touched his back causing him to scream again.
"Come on Spike, it's me." Twilight said softly. Spike slowly looked up at shed before running into her arms and sobbing loudly.
"It's okay, I'm here." Twilight said as she said as she stroked his head. As Spike calmed down, he let out a sniffle.
"I wanna go home." Spike muttered out.
"Okay let's go home." Twilight said as she placed Spike on her back. He cuddled into her back as they made their way back home.
They both entered the peaceful library. Twilight put Spike on her bed and handed him Starry. He cuddled into to her tightly.
"I'll be back." Twilight said as she walked downstairs. Spike looked down at his hands to see that they were still shaking.
"One, two, three, four, five..." Spike started to count before crying into his hands again. "Just calm down everything is fine." He mumbled in an attempt to calm himself down.
Twilight walked back up the stairs with a cup of tea. She handed it to Spike and laid next to him on the bed.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked. Spike looked at his to see that his hands were shaking again. He choked out another sob.
Twilight placed the tea on her nightstand and hugged him tightly.
"Oh Spike." She said. Twilight felt so warm and safe. Spike closed his eyes. There moment was interrupted when they heard the doorbell ring.
Twilight got up to answer the door leaving Spike alone. He had calmed down a lot. Rainbow dash and Pinkie pie walked up the stairs with Twilight behind them.
"I heard about what happened so I brought brownies!" Pinkie pie said sympathetically. She handed him a container of brownies.
Rainbow dash rubbed the back of her head. "I'm sorry that Gilda was such a jerk, I would have never invited her if I knew." She said.
"Don't worry about it, it wasn't you're fault anyway." Spike said as took a bite of a brownie.
"Besides I know who my real friends are." |
Aggressively Small | The “great” and “powerful” unicorn | "Come on Twilight, you can do it!" Spike cheered on as Twilight struggled to do a spell.
"Okay, here it goes." Twilight said as her horn started to glow. Spike felt a tingling sensation on his upper lip. A long, black mustache grew on his face.
"You did it! Spell number twenty five." Spike said as he checked that off of the checklist. Twilight grinned happily. Her horn started to glow again, making the mustache disappear. She stood up and stretched her legs.
"Let's go outside, we both need some fresh air." Twilight said as she walked towards the door. Spike followed closely.
"How can you just be so blunt about this, you learned twenty five new spells in half a day." Spike said as they walked through town.
"Is it really natural for a unicorn to learn so many spells so quickly? I know unicorns that struggle to do one simple spell in a week!" Twilight said.
"It doesn't matter if it's natural or not, as long as it make you happy and doesn't hurt anyone you're fine. Besides you're the most talented unicorn I know." Spike complimented. Twilight blushed.
"Aw Spike, that's not true." Twilight said bashfully. Spike nodded his head.
"But it is! Most of the unicorns I know can't even get past the levitation spell!" He said. Twilight smiled happily. They both turned their heads when they saw a large group of ponies walking over to a large stage. In the middle of the stage, there was a blue pony with a purple hat and cape with stars on them.
"Come and be amazed by the great and powerful Trixie!" She shouted loudly, attracting more ponies over. Twilight and Spike walked over in curiosity.
"Watch in awe as the magnificent Trixie preforms the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by ponies eyes!" Trixie shouted as fireworks exploded from her cart in display. Spike flinched at the noise.
"My my my, what boasting." Rarity said in a snooty voice.
"Oh please, nobodies as magical as Twilight." Spike said. Twilight glared at him.
"Spike hush, I don't want any pony thinking I'm better than them." Twilight said barely above a whisper.
"It looks like we have a nieghsayer in the crowd. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magic ability of the great and powerful Trixie? Do you not know they are in presence of the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria?" Trixie said.
"We don't need her when I'm here being better then the rest of us." Rainbow Dash said cockily. All of her friends glared at her. "Uh I mean, magic shmagic, boo!" She corrected herself.
"Just who does she think she is?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah we all know that Twilight is the most powerful unicorn in Equestr-mpphh!" Spike was cut off in the middle of his sentence when Twilight covered his mouth.
"Quiet Spike, I don't want you to bring attentions to ourselves." Twilight whispered to him. Spike looked around to notice a few ponies staring at them. He glared at them, making them quickly turn around.
"If you don't believe me, you'll believe when I tell you how I vanquished a dreaded Ursa Major!" Trixie said dramatically. The crowd gasped, making Spike roll his eyes.
"When all hope is lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to, but the great and powerful Trixie stepped in, with her awesome magic, vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to the deep cave within the Everfree forest!" Trixie said, setting off more fireworks. Some ponies gasped in amazement while others rolled their eyes and scoffed.
"What a show off, she actin' like she better then us with her fancy magic." Applejack said. Twilights ears flattened at that comment.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Spike grumbled out. "Besides, Twilight is way more powerful than you'll ever be." He said cockily. Twilight snapped her head in his direction and shook her head.
"Spike no." Twilight said through her teeth. Spike noticed the look of uncomfortableness on Twilights face.
"Oh would you look at that, the Princess is calling, we have to go." Spike said as he started to back away. Twilight nodded her head and followed him. They soon made there way out of the crowd and enetered the silent streets of Ponyville. Everybody in town was a Trixie's show.
"I'm sorry if I was forcing you to do something you didn't want to do, but you need to show that 'show pony' whose boss." Spike said confidently. Twilight shook her head.
"You saw how everypony looked at her, what if they think I'm a show off too?" Twilight said anxiously.
"But isn't standing up for your friends with magic different than showing off with magic?" Spike asked.
"But it's exactly the same Spike, I'll be just as bad as her! All of our friends will hate me!" Twilight, tearing up slightly.
"Woah calm down, no ones forcing you to do this. If they were your real friends they wouldn't care." He said as he wiped her tears away. "Besides, no one would believe her unless a giant Ursa Major came walking down the street for her to vaniquished." He said as they walked through town.
Snips and Snails walked behind them. "Hey Snails, you thinking what I'm thinking?" Snips asked.
"What is it called a flea market if they don't sell fleas?" Snails said with his tongue sticking out.
"Yea- what no! Just follow me." Snips said as he walked away and Snails followed.
Spike leaned on Twilights side as she peacefully read a book. Spike let his eyes close as he listened to Twilights soothing breathing. He almost fell asleep, but was interrupted when a loud bang came from outside. His eyes snapped open and he sat up. Spike looked over to Twilight to see she had put down her book and looked around confusedly.
Loud screams came from outside as the stomping got louder. A loud roar echoed through the town. Spike and Twilight looked out the window to see an Ursa Major making it's way towards the library. Spikes eyes widened and he pulled on Twilights forleg.
"We need to hurry up and leave before the Ursa Major gets here!" Spike shouted as he pulled Twilight out the front door.
"Great and Powerful Trixie, you've got to vanquish the Ursa Major, it took a lot of work for us to bring it here." Snips said as Snails nodded his head in agreement.
"Wait you brought that here?!" Trixie shouted in disbelief. Snips and Snails nodded there heads.
"Remember, you're the Great and Powerful Trixie, you can do this!" Snips cheered her on.
Trixie swallowed nervously. "Yeah, piece of cake." She said as her horn started to glow. A roped snaked out and wrapped around the Ursa Majors jaw. "See like I said, piece of cake." She said cockily. The Ursa Major opened its mouth, letting the rope rip open with a big snap.
"Stop playing around a vanquish the Ursa Major!" Snails said. The Ursa Major stomped closer. Trixie's legs started to shake.
"I MADE IT UP, I'VE NEVER DEFEATED AN URSA MAJOR." Trixie shouted fearfully.
"WHAT?!" Snips and Snails shouted in unison.
"Twilight lets go!" Spike shouted as he tried to get to the train station, but Twilght just stood there. The Ursa Major lifted up its paw to strike at Trixie. Twilights horn started to glow and a small breeze wiped across the down.
A song like a lullaby spread through the town, making the Ursa Major lower its paw and rock back and forth sleepily. Her horn started to glow brightly and a nearby water tower got lifted up. The water got poured and it made its way over to a barn.
Loud mooing and shocked gasp inside the barn. The water tower was now filled with warm milk, making its way to the Ursa Major. The Ursa Major started to tip over as it fell asleep, almost crushing Trixie. With a struggle, Twilight managed to lift up the Ursa Major. Ponies stared in shock and awe at the sight.
She gave the Ursa Major the water tower, which was now being used as a bottle. It drank from the bottle as Twilight slowly put the Ursa Major back into its cave. Her horn started to dim as she caught her breath.
Everybody cheered at the amazing show. Spike rushed over to Twilight. "Are you okay, that didn't hurt you did it?" Spike asked concernedly. Twilight giggled.
"I'm fine, that was just tiring." She said. Spike let out a sigh of relief.
"That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Heavens to Betsy! We knew you had an ability, but not that much!" Applejack said in astonishment. Twilight gave a scared look.
"Please don't hate me." Twilight begged.
"Darling why would we ever hate you?" Rarity asked.
"I know how much you hated Trixie showing off, so I thought-" Twilight was cut off by Rainbow Dash.
"Whoa whoa whoa, magics got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loud mouth." Rainbow said. Rarity and Applejack nodded their heads. Twilight gave a look of relief.
"So you don't mind my magic tricks?" She asked with a smile.
"Of course we don't mind sugar cube, your magic is apart of you and it makes you who you are." Applejack responded.
"And after whooping that Ursa Majors hindquarters, we're even prouder." Rainbow Dash said proudly. Trixie cleared her throat.
"So how did you vanish that Ursa Major anyway?" She asked.
"When I left your show, I did a little reading on Ursa Majors. And that wasn't an Ursa Major, that was an Ursa Minor." Twilight said. Trixie's eyes widened.
"That was a baby?!" She said in shock. Twilight nodded her head.
"And it was just cranky because someone woke it up." Twilight said while looking at Snips and Snails. They both cowered back.
"Trixie will be back to show you off!" Trixie shouted as she let off one her smoke bombs. Once the smoke cleared up, she was running far out of Ponyville.
"Why that little..." Spike said as he was about to chase after Trixie.
"Let her go, someday she'll learn her lesson. Now about you two." Twilight said as she faced Snips and Snails.
"We just wanted to see some awesome magic." Snails said. Snips nodded in agreement.
"Yeah and whats more awesome than putting the entire town in danger for a magic show." Spike said sarcastically.
"You both need to clean up the entire town." Twilight said. Snips and Snails eyes widened. The whole town was covered with broken wood and parts of houses.
"The whole town!? But it's a mess!" Snips shouted.
"Well you should've thought about that before you let a Ursa Major into town." Spike said. Snips and Snail grumbled and got to work.
Spike hugged Twilight tightly. "You're my favorite unicorn." |
Aggressively Small | Up the mountain | Twilight and Spike sat inside the library at a desk. The window was open, letting the fresh air in and to listen birds sing. Twilight had her face buried in a book and Spike leaned on her side. Spike closed his eyes and let in a deep breath of fresh air. His eyes shot open as he the scent of smoke hit his nostrils. He out the window to see a trail of smoke covering the sky.
"Hey Twi, is that smoke?" He asked. Twilight looked up. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Is it a fire?" Twilight asked. Just then, Spike let out a burp and a letter fell on the floor. He picked it up and started to read.
"My faithful student, I have been notified that their is smoke covering Ponyville and Canterlot. Do not be alarmed, for it is not a fire. It is a sleeping dragon. You and your friends must go to the top of the mountain to wake the dragon up before he covers all of Equestria in smoke. I am counting on you.
Yours truly, Princess Celestia." Spike read out loud. Twilight got up from the desk and stretched her legs.
"Let go get our friends so we can stop this." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head and they both made their way outside. Ponies stood outside, staring at the sky in fear. Some let out gasp of shock at the smoke. Twilight stood on a nearby crate and started to speak loudly, making everyone turn around.
"Listen up! Smoke is spreading all over Equestria. I just received a letter from the Princess informing me that the smoke is not from a fire." She said. Ponies sighed in relief.
"It's coming from a dragon!" She claimed. Ponies gasped in shock. They all started to murmur to each other. Twilight hopped off of the rock and Applejack walked up to her.
"What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" She asked.
"Napping." Twilight said in a matter of fact tone. "According to the Princess Celestia he's taking a nap, which is causing all of the smoke."
"He should really see a doctor about that. That doesn't sound healthy at all." Pinkie pie said while hopping over. All of their friends had approached them.
"Well at least he's not snoring fire, but what are we supposed to do about it?" Rarity asked.
"I'll tell you what we'll do about it: Give him the boot!" Rainbow dash said as she did a karate kick into the air. Twilight gave her a stern look.
"We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else or all of Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years." Twilight said. Fluttershy let out a gasp.
"Hmph talk about beauty sleep." Rarity said.
"Alright everypony, I need you to gather your supplies quickly. We've got a journey ahead of us. Let's meet in front of the library in less than thirty minutes." Twilght said. Rainbow dash, Applejack, Pinkie pie, and Rarity all nodded there heads before running off in different directions. Fluttershy cowered lowly and slowly walked off.
Spike and Twilight walked into the library and grabbed their bags. Spike started to put water bottles into his blue backpack. He went up stairs and grabbed the first aid kit. He looked over to Twilight who was packing a map in her saddle bag, not paying attention to him at all. He reached under his mattress to pull out a pocket knife that he had stole from Shining Armors room a few years back.He quickly shoved it in his bag, hoping Twilight wouldn't see. She had no idea that he had it.
The doorbell rang. "That must be them!" Twilight said. Spike ran down the stairs and saw all of Twilights friends standing outside. He walked outside as Twilight pulled out the map.
"Alright girls, listen up. I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've got to get good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall." Twilight said.
"M-m-mountain?" Fluttershy stuttered out while shaking.
"The dragon is on the top of that mountain." Twilight said as she pointed at a mountain in the distance. Spike squinted at the mountain.
"How have I never noticed that." He muttered to himself. Fluttershy walked over to Twilight.
"Um excuse me, Twilight I know you're busy but..." Fluttershy started off.
"Uh huh. Well we could go this way." Twilight said, her face buried in the map.
"But if I could have a second..."
"Uh huh. No we should avoid that." Twilight said, still not paying attention.
"So, um, I was thinking that maybe I should stay here in Ponyville." Fluttershy said as she cowered down.
"Uh huh."
Fluttershy's was perked up and she stood up straight. "Oh good, I'll stay here and-"
"Wait you have to come! Your way with wild animals can come in handy." Twilight said cheerfully. Fluttershy wimpered and backed away. Rainbow dash flew over to Twilight.
"Are you sure that we should bring Fluttershy? I mean that pony's afraid of her own shadow. She'll just slow us down." Rainbow dash said while gesturing to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked down to see her shadow and jumped in the bushes in fear.
"Oh I'm sure she'll be fine once we get going. Okay girls, let's move out!" Twilight said as she headed towards the mountain. Fluttershy let out a tired sigh and followed.
They all aproached the bottom of the mountain, ready to start their journey. A loud snore echoed from the top of the mountain, making the ground shake.
"Whoa, what was that!? Rainbow dash asked in shock.
"That's what it sounds like when a dragon snores." Twilight said. Fluttershy stared up at the mountain.
"It's so high..." She whispered. Rainbow dash rolled her eyes.
"Well it is a mountain." Rainbow dash said as she started to fly upwards. Fluttershy gulped as everyone started to climb.
"I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragons scales are the jewels they used to build there nest. Ooo, if I play my cards right, I might convince him to part a few!" Rarity said happily.
Spike rolled his eyes. "Wow that's so genrous of you." He mumbled under his breath.
"Rarity this is serious. Fluttershy, you're the animal expert what do you think the dragon will be like? Fluttershy?" Twilight turned around to see Fluttershy at the bottom of the mountain, hiding in a bush.
"Hey what are you waiting for, an invitation!?" Rainbow dash shouted.
"Ooo I think I have one of those!" Pinkie pie said as she pulled out a invitation. She opened it, making confetti and party streamers pop out.
"I-it's s-so steep." Fluttershy stuttered out. Rainbow dash rolled her eyes.
"Well yeah, it is a cliff. You could just, I don't know, fly up here!" She said impatiently.
"Come on Fluttershy, flap those wings!" Pinkie pie cheered. Fluttershy swallowed and opened her wings slowly. The dragon let out another loud snore making Fluttershy squeak and her wings snapped close. She hid her head in her hooves.
"We don't have time for this!" Twilight said in an annoyed tone. Applejack grabbed the map from Twilights bag and made her way to Fluttershy.
"I'll need this if I'm gonna take her around the mountain another way." She said as she hopped down the hill. Rainbow dash groaned.
"Around the mountain? That gonna take them forever." Rainbow dash complained.
"Don't worry Twi, We'll be up there lickety spilt." Applejack said. Twilight sighed.
"Let's go." Twilight said as she walked up the steep mountain.
"Woo-hoo, I win again!" Pinkie pie said as she drew an O into the dirt. She and Rarity had been playing tic tac toe.
"Ugh thats thirty five games in a row. Best of seventy one?" She asked.
Applejack came up the mountain, completely out of breath while dragging Fluttershy by the tail.
"I told you they were going to take forever." Rainbow dash whispered to Twilight. The group continued to climb the mountain until they aproached a small cliff. The opening was so small that you could just hop over it. Rainbow dash ran over to the ledge and jumped over it. Everybody else followed, landing safely at the other side.
Fluttershy looked over the ledge and quickly jumped back. "It's so wide..." She whispered as she clung to the side of the mountain.
"Come on Fluttershy, we should be much farther along by now." Twilight said tiredly. The dragon snored again making her squeak in fear. Spike rolled his eyes.
"We don't have time for this." He said grumpily as he jumped over to Fluttershy. He picked her up, making her gasp in surprise. She was surprisingly light. He jumped over the ledge and landed safely on the other side.
"There, now we're across." He said as he put Fluttershy down. Everybody stared at him with a shocked expression. Twilight shook her head and continued walking.
"Let's go, I don't want to get up there by tomorrow." She said as her friends followed her. They soon aproached a narrow path.
"Let's keep it down. According to the map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep can cause a huge rock slide." Twilight whispered. They all walked down the path in silence. Rainbow dash flew under a tree, making a few leaves fall off. A single leaf slowly landed on Fluttershys flank. Her eyes widened in fear.
"AVALAN-" She started to scream, but was cut off by Spike covering her mouth. Everybody froze, listening for any signs of movement. They all let out sighs of relief. Suddenly, the ground started to shake and rocks started to fall.
"AVALANCHE!" Everybody shouted as they ran for cover. Large boulders hit the ground and every one ran in different directions while screaming. Rainbow dash stayed high in the air, successfully dodging every rock. Spike looked over to Twilight, who didn't see a giant rock heading towards her.
"TWILIGHT WATCH OUT!" Spike shouted as he tackled her out of the way. The rock hit the ground with a big bang. Everyone started to cough at the dust that had piled up. The rocks had blocked their path.
"Is everyone okay?" Twilight asked. Everyone nodded there heads. Rarity let out a long whine as she noticed that she was covered in dust.
"This will take forever to get off of my perfect coat." She whined out.
"Sorry." Fluttershy whispered out. Twilight let out a sigh.
"I guess we'll have to climb over it." Twilight said. Everyone groaned and started to climb. This was going to take forever.
They finally made it to the top of the mountain, panting and sweating from all of the hard work. Spike reached in his bag and handed everyone a water bottle.
"Thanks Spike. Rainbow dash, I need your wings to clear the smoke." Twilight said. Rainbow dash nodded.
"Rarity and Pinkie pie, you'll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get hairy from there." She said. Rarity nodded and Pinkie pie shook a rubber chicken in her mouth.
"Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack. But it shouldn't come to that because Fluttershy will do what she needs to wake him up. Is everypony ready?" Twilight asked. Everyone nodded there heads except for Fluttershy.
"I can't do it..." Fluttershy whispered. Everyone's attention snapped to her.
"Why is it now?Rainbow dash said with a groan. Fluttershy gulped.
"I'm afraid of dragons." She whispered.
"What?"
"I'm afraid of dragons." She said slightly louder.
"I still didn't get that." Twilight said.
"I'M AFRAID OF DRAGONS!" Fluttershy shouted. The dragon snored making her hide behind a rock. Everyone groaned.
"Spike is a dragon and you're not scared of him." Pinkie pie said.
"But that's because he's a cute baby dragon, and he still scares me a little." Fluttershy said softly. Spike smirked slightly.
"If you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we got all the way up here?" Twilight asked.
"I was afraid to." She whispered. Rainbow dash rolled her eyes.
"Ugh fine we'll go on without you." Rainbow said as she flew towards the cave. Twilight grabbed Rainbows tail with her magic, making her jerk back.
"I'll go first and try to compromise with him." Twilight said as she walked in the cave. Spike gave a nervous look before quickly following her.
Twilight walked over to a large,red, snoring dragon. "Um, excuse me Mr dragon." Twilight said softly. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a loud yawn, cause Twilight to nearly gag at the horrid smell.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria. Ponyville, to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke. Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?" She asked sweetly. The dragon rolled his eyes and let out a puff of smoke in Twilights face.
Twilight and Spike started to cough and exited the cave. "Well that was a bust." Twilight said dissapointedly.
"Well yeah, you tried to handle it like a pony would handle it." Spike said.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked.
"Twilight was being too nice about it. If you want a dragon to listen to you, you have to show them that you're tougher." Spike said.
"Tougher, got it!" Rainbow dash said as she zoomed into the cave.
"Rainbow dash wait, you didn't let me finish!" Spike shouted. She didn't listen and continued to rush towards the
"Hey lizard brain, get out!" Rainbow dash said as she kicked him in the nose. The dragon got up and let out a loud roar, making Rainbow fly backwards. She crashed into her friends, knocking them all over.
The dragon slowly came out out of the cave, towering over them by forty feet. They all stayed close to each other, shaking in fear. Spike stayed in front of Twilight, protecting her from whatever would happen next.
Fluttershy looked at them from behind a rock. Her eyes started to glow with anger. "How dare you... How dare you! Listen here, mister. Just because you're big doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not-- I repeat-- You do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?" Fluttershy said as she flew up to eye level with the dragon.
The dragon wimpered in fear. "Well?" Fluttershy asked, waiting for a response.
"But that Rainbow one kicked me." He said softly. Rainbow dash nodded her head making Spike glare at her.
"And I am very sorry about that. But you're bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures." Fluttershy said angrily. The dragon started to tear up before letting out a loud cry and flying away.
As the dragon flew away, everyone started to cheer at her act of bravery. "I knew you could do it!" Twilight said happily. Fluttershy grinned widely.
"Now let's go home."
Twilight and her friends stood outside the Golden Oaks library, laughing and cheering at there accomplishment. Spike stayed inside, thinking deeply to himself.
"I need to take better care of Twilight. If something happened to her I don't know what I would do." Spike said to himself. He shuddered at the thought of losing Twilight. Suddenly he got an idea. He grabbed a scroll, a quill, and a bottle of ink. He dipped the quill in ink and started to write.
Dear Shining Armor, can I ask you a favor?" |
Aggressively Small | Training with the masters | Twilight studied intently from a spell book. "Twilight you know you don't have to do this, right?" Spike said as he grabbed a large blanket from a closet.
"Of course I have to do this, I know how you feel about thunder. That's why I'm casting a silencing on the library so you can't hear anything." Twilight said. Spike smiled.
"Thanks Twi." He said greatfully. He felt something come up his throat and he let out a loud burp. A letter appeared and landed on the floor. He opened it and stared to read to himself.
"Dear Spike, please come to the Canterlot castle, I have some work for you to do. Sincerely, Princess Celestia." Spike flipped over the scroll to see if there was anything else. A train ticket was on the back of the scroll. When there wasn't anything, he rolled up the scroll and walked over to Twilight.
"I think I got the spell down." Twilight said as her horn started to glow.
"There's no need, Tia called me to Canterlot." Spike said as he showed her the letter. Twilights face dropped.
"I was really looking forward to do this spell." She said sadly.
"It's okay, you can do it another day." He said as he patted her back. "I need to go pack my stuff." He said as he walked out the room. He went upstairs and grabbed his backpack. He put two Power ponies comics and Starry into the bag. At this moment Spike realized he only owned three items. He walked back downstairs and gave Twilight a hug.
"See ya later Twi, don't go outside." Spike said as he walked to the front door. Twilight playfully rolled her eyes.
"I know Spike, have fun!" Twilight said as she waved goodbye. Spike waved back and made his way to the train station. He looked up to see storm clouds covering the sky. The weather team had missed a rain shower when smoke covered Ponyville, so now they had to do a whole storm to make up the loss rain.
Spike arrived at the train station, greatful that he didn't have to be here for the storm. The train station was empty, probably due to everyone wanting to stay inside to avoid getting wet. Spike looked up when he heard the train approaching the station. He entered the train to see that it was empty. He sat down on a soft seat and put his head back, closing his eyes.
It felt so peaceful to just relax, listening to the train hit the tracks. He almost fell asleep like that if it weren't for a pony walking up to him.
"Ticket please." The stallion said kindly as he held out his hoof. Spike dug through his bag and pulled out a wrinkled ticket. He handed it to the stallion, who tipped his head thankfully and walked away. Spike leaned onto the seat and closed his eyes again. For him, sleeping was never an easy task. Within an hour he would wake up from a nightmare which is why he usually avoided naps, but this just felt to relaxing to avoid.
Spike hadn't noticed the train had stopped at his destination. "WE HAVE APPROACHED CANTERLOT!" The conducter shouted making Spikes eyes snap open. He looked around before quickly grabbing his backpack and exiting the train.
He watched the train speed away and he made his way to the castle. He walked around the castle and approached a tree covered in vines. Spike always hated going through all of the Royal Guards because every time he came to the castle, he would always have to go through a full body search. He gripped onto the vines and started to climb upwards.
Spikes claws gripped onto the side of the tree as he pulled himself up. Soon he reached the top of the tree. He could almost see all of Canterlot from there. Spike walked over to the edge of the large branch. The window across from him was open and he jumped through. He landed on the tiled floor with a thud. He had landed in one of the bedrooms in the castle. Spike got up and looked around to see that no one was there. He opened the door only to reveal Princess Celestia standing there.
"You don't have to keep going through the window." She said. Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"It's more fun to climb than to walk through the front doors. I mean who wants to walk through doors?" Spike said. Celestia chuckled.
"I guess you're right." She said as they both walked down the hallway.
"Soooo.... why did you call me here?" Spike asked.
"Shining Armor told me about the letter you sent him. Starting today he will be training you how to use a sword." Celestia said a she opened two large doors. Inside the room there were tackling dummies lined up. Spike broke out into a large grin.
"Thanks you so much!" Spike said happily as he took of his backpack and put it on the floor. Shining Armor walked out from behind one of the dummies and handed Spike a fake replica of a sword and a small, round, wooden shield.
"You'll get a real sword and shield one you improve. Now stand in front of the dummy." Shining Armor instructed as he pointed to a dummy. Spike nodded and walked over to it.
"Put your left leg back and your right arm forward." Shining Armor said. He did as he was told and looked at him, waiting for his next instruction.
"Now swing the sword towards the dummy to strike." He said. Spike swung his arm out and hit the dummy harshly with the sword, knocking it over. He looked over to Shining Armor and smiled brightly.
"Good now do that to the next one."
Celestia and Shining Armor stared with there mouths gaped open. Stuffing had lied across the floor and multiple dummies were shredded to pieces.
"HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THIS, ITS BEEN THIRTY MINUTES AND ONE OF THE DUMMIES IS ON FIRE! YOU DIDN'T BREATH FIRE HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!?" Shining Armor shouted in disbelief as he looked around the room. Spike looked around sheepishly.
"Sorry, I guess I went a little overboard." Spike said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"No this is great! It shows that you learn a lot faster than most royal guards." Celestia said with a smile. Spike blushed.
"Well dragons are made for hunting." He responded. Suddenly the doors opened making everyone turn around.
"Sister it is time for my magic lessons." Luna said as she walked into the room. She looked around the room and her eyes widened.
"What in Tartarus happened here?" She asked in surprise. Shining Armor sighed.
"We were giving Spike sword fighting lessons and this happened." He said tiredly. Celestia's ears perked up when an idea popped into her head.
"I have an idea! What if we combined Luna and Spike's training! It would help them learn how to combat others. Besides, Spike is already way ahead for a beginner. It will be perfect!" She said excitedly as she clapped her hooves together.
"I don't know Princess, don't you think that a little to much I just think-"
"I'll do it." Spike said, cutting off Shining Armor. Celestia smiled.
"Excellent. Now Luna, don't use all of your strength on him, he's just a baby dragon. And Spike, don't use fire on her." Celestia said. They both nodded there heads.
Luna's horn started to glow and Spike got into a defensive stance. Luna let out a beam of light from her horn and it shot towards Spike. He held the shield up, blocking the beam and barrel rolled over to Luna. He swung the sword at her, only to miss by Luna dodging the attack.
Luna teleported away, causing Spike to look around in confusion. He felt something hit his side, causing him to fall over. Luna stood over him, pointing her horn in his face. They maintained eye contact and the room fell silent.
"That was amazing!" Celestia shouted excitedly, making Spike and Luna break eye contact and looked at her. Luna got off of Spike and smiled with a slight blush.
"Thank you sister, that means so much to me." She said with a smile.
"Thanks Tia." Spike said. He was slightly disappointed that he didn't win the fight. He looked down at the ground and kicked a piece of stuffing that was still on the floor.
"I'm gonna go get some water." He mumbled out as he walked of the room. He walked down the long hallway in deep thought. "If I can't protect Twilight then I won't be able to proctect others." Spike thought to himself. He got snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Shining Armor calling his name.
"I noticed you looked sorta bummed when he left, what wrong?" He asked. Spike let out a sigh.
"I thought I would be able to beat Luna, but I failed." He said sadly. Shining Armor looked taken aback.
"So what if you failed? That was awesome! That was your first lesson ever and you were better than most of the Royal Guards. That's amazing!" Shining Armor said happily.
"I guess that's true..." Spike said, smiling slightly. Shining Armor patted his back.
"Yeah, so don't be to hard on yourself. You'll get better over time." He said encouragingly.
"Yeah and next time, I'll win." |
Aggressively Small | Big eyes and even bigger appetites | Spike swept the floor as Twilight ran through the library, reorganizing books. Twilights stepped on Spikes tail, causing him to scream out in pain. He grabbed his tail, causing Twilight to slip and fall over. Spike lost his footing and fell on the floor next Twilight.
"Ok we need to try something different, this is the third time you've stepped on my tail in the past hour." Spike said as he clutched his now red tail.
"Sorry Spike, I'm just so stressed about Princess Celestia visiting tomorrow. What if she doesn't like it here and send me back to Canterlot! This has to be perfect." Twilight said as she was about to run off again to do more work. Spike held his hand up to her, making her pause.
"Listen, Tia won't care how clean this place will be or how fancy it is. She'll just care about how happy all of this makes you." Spike said. Twilight let out a sigh.
"But what if she hates it here! I can't have this go wrong!" Twilight said as she tried to do more work. Spike pushed her back.
"You're stressing yourself out to much, let's go out into town to see how everyone else is doing on there task." Spike suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea." Twilight said with a light smile. As Spike made his way to the front door, his tail brushed against the floor. He let out a yelp of pain. He looked at his tail that was red and blistered from it being stepped on. Twilight cringed at the sight.
"Sorry for stepping on your tail. I have something that can make your tail feel better." Twilight said as she walked out the room. She came back with some ointment and a roll of ace bandages.
"Here, put this on your tail and it should feel better." Twilight said as she handed him the ointment. He poured some on his tail and instantly felt a cool relief on it.
Twilight wrapped the bandages on his tail neatly. Spike smiled when he saw the bandage had little quills on them.
"You got the ones with quills?" Spike asked playfully. Twilight blushed.
"I-I like the design." She said bashfully. "Now let get going." Twilight said as they both walked out the front door. Ponies stood outside, watering flowers and hanging up ribbons.
Twilight paused when she saw a sign that said 'Welcome Princess Celest'.
"What happened to the rest of her name?" Twilight asked.
"We couldn't fit it all in." One of the mares said. Twilight shook her head.
"You can't hang up the banner looking like that. Take it down and start over." Twilight instructed. The two mares groaned and took the sign down.
"Let's check Sugarcube Corner to see how the snacks are going." Spike said. Twilight nodded her head and they started to walk to Sugarcube Corner.
They entered the store to see half eaten cookies and mushed up cake and cupcakes all over the floors and walls.
"What happened here!?" Twilight asked in shock.
"We keep making treats but Pinkie Pie keeps eating them!" Mrs. Cake said as she stirred batter as fast as she could, desperately trying to make at least one cake before the Princess got there.
Pinkie pie stuffed her face in a chocolate cake and started to eat it from the inside. Soon the whole cake was gone and frosting covered her face. She licked the frosting off with a loud slurp.
"Pinkie, What are you doing? Those treats are for the Princess!" Twilight shouted with anger in her voice. Pinkie threw a tray of cupcakes into the air, making all of them fly off of the tray. The flew into the air and flawlessly fell into her mouth.
"I know. That's why I'm tasting them. Somebody needs to make sure that everything is tasty enough to touch the royal tongue, and I, Pinkie Pie, declare that these treats are fit for a king, or a queen, or a princess." Pinkie pie said as she ate a pie in one bite.
"Twilight, Pinkie, Spike, won't believe... oh I'm sorry, and I interrupting?" Fluttershy said as she slid through the front doors.
"Not at all, make yourself at home." Pinkie pie said as she ate a tray of brownies.
"You won't believe what I found on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Come out little guy, it's okay." Fluttershy whispered out into her mane. Three small, round bugs flew out of her hair. They all let out little chirps and purrs.
"They're amazing. What are they?" Twilight asked as the yellow one rubbed up against her face.
"I'm not sure. I'm also not sure were these other two came from." Fluttershy said in confusion.
"Well I'll take one off of your hooves, it's just so adorable." Twilight said as she held it on her hoof.
"Pinkie, do you want the other one?" Fluttershy asked. Pinkie pie scrunched up her face and stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Ugh, a parasprite. Are you kidding?" Pinkie pie said in disgust.
"A para-what?" Twilight asked in confusion.
"Ugh, now I gotta find a trombone." Pinkie pie said as she walked out of the store. Fluttershy, Twilight, and Spike stared at each other in confusion.
"Let's go see if Rarity wants the other one." Twilight suggested. Spike nodded his head and they made there way to Carousel Boutique.
They entered the Carousel Boutique to see beautiful outfits all over the place.
"Wow Rarity, these are amazing." Twilight said. Rarity smiled.
"At least someone enjoys my work." She said as she glared at Rainbow dash. Both of there ears perked up when they heard a soft chirp come from Twilights mane.
Three parasprites hopped out of her hair. Twilight and Spike looked in surprise. Rarity and Rainbow dash gasped.
"Woah, what are they?" Rainbow dash asked in awe.
"The better question is we're did they come from? I only had one a minute ago." Twilight said.
"Uh, I'll take one." Rainbow dash said as she grabbed the blue parasprite.
"Me too, they're just perfect." Rarity said. Pinkie pie ran through the front door urgently.
"Does anyone know where I can get an accordion?" Pinkie asked. Everyone was to invested in there parasprite to notice Pinkie at the door.
"Guy! Hello! This is important!" She said before stomping her hoof and walking off. Spike stared at her in confusion, having a feeling that she know something.
"Hey Twi, I'm gonna go with Pinkie." Spike said.
"Sure Spike, have fun." Twilight said, not fully paying attention. Spike left the boutique and followed Pinkie pie, who was angrily marching away.
"Hey wait up!" He shouted as he caught up with her. She smiled at the sight at one of her friends.
"Oh hey! What are you doing here?" She asked happily.
"Why didn't you get a parasprite, I thought you loved cute things." Spike asked. Pinkie pies face quickly turned to disgust.
"They might look cute, but don't let the looks fool you. Once they get one bite of food, they'll be all over the place! Eating all of the food in sight! That why I live on a rock farm and not a peach farm." Pinkie pie explained. Spikes eyes widened.
"So how do you get rid of them?" He asked with worry in his voice.
"Parasprites loves music, they'll follow it where ever it goes. That's why I'm looking for an accordion." Pinkie said as she hopped.
"I have an accordion." Spike said. Pinkie stopped and faced towards him with a wide grin.
"You do?!" She said excitedly. Spike nodded his head.
"I can play a few instruments, so I keep them around the house." He said casually. Pinkie vibrated with excitement.
"That's perfect, let's go!" Pinkie said as she made her way to the library. Spike chuckled and followed her.
They entered the Golden Oaks Library, which was actually kinda messy.
"Oh geez, this place is a mess." Spike said. He started to pick up some books and put them on the shelves.
"The instruments are in the closet down the hallway to your left." Spike said as he climbed up the ladder to put more books away. Pinkie pie nodded her head and bounced down the hallway. He soon heard a door open and an off key accordion hit the ground, followed by a few other instruments.
Pinkie pie came bouncing into the room with a bunch of instruments on her back.
"Thank you soooo much!" She said as she hopped up the ladder and pulled him into a tight hug. Spike let out a strained 'you're welcome.' She hopped off of the ladder and put a hoof to her chin.
"Now all I need to find is a harmonica." Pinkie said as she walked out the library. Spike continued to pick up books and place them on the shelves, waiting for Twilight to get home.
Spike felt a soft nudging on his cheek. "Spike wake up." He heard someone say. He swatted his hand at the voice and turned over.
"Spike this is important, wake up!" Spike recognized that voice. It was Twilight. He slowly opened his eyes to see Twilight standing over him.
"What is it Twi." He mumbled out, his eyes slowly drooping.
"PARASPRITES ARE TAKING OVER THE TOWN!" Twilight shouted. Spike quickly sat up, only to notice that he had fell asleep on the floor.
"A few got into some apples and then they started to multiply and then they started to eat everything, so I tried to do a spell to make them stop eating and now they're eating everything but food." Twilight said in one breath. Spike looked out the window to see a parasprite eat a table.
"The Princess is coming tomorrow, what do we do." Twilight said in a panicked tone. A small glint came from a nearbly table making Spike turn his head. A harmonica layed on the table. He suddenly remembered what Pinkie pie had said.
Spike grabbed the harmonica off the table and turned towards Twilight.
"Pinkie pie knows what to do, I just need to give her this harmonica." Spike said as he ran out the front door.
"Spike wait! What does that even mean?!" Twilight shouted from the library entrance before chasing him. Spike ran to Sugarcube Corner, ignoring all of the screams of fear from ponies. Soon he spotted Pinkie pie, who was strapping instruments to herself.
"Pinkie!" Spike shouted as he held up the harmonica in the air. Pinkie pies smiled and ran over to him. A parasprite behind Spike looked at the bandages on his tail and licked it's lips.
Spike nearly made his way to Pinkie but stopped when he felt something tugging at his tail. He turned around to see a parasprite attempting to eat the bandage. Spike flicked his tail, causing the parasprite to fly off. He felt something tug at the harmonica in his hand. A parasprite attempted to eat it. He tugged the harmonica backwards only for the parasprites to put his whole hand into its mouth.
Pinkie pie gasped. Spike desperately tried to shake it off of his hand but it only bit deeper. It's teeth were surprisingly sharp.
Polka music rang throughout the town. Pinkie pie bounced to the beat of the music as she marched towards the Everfree Forest. All of the parasprites attention snapped toward Pinkie pie and the all started to bounce with the rhythm. Soon they all followed her out into the forest.
Spike let out a sigh of relief as he felt his arm get released. Twilight ran up to him.
"Spike, what were you thinking?! Running out into monsterous bugs is very dangerous!" Twilight said sternly. Spike smiled.
"I'm fine, besides, everything is back to normal." Spike said as he gestured to the town. A half bitten sign fell from its stand and onto the ground. "Sorta."
Twilight let out a sigh. "Just promise me you won't put yourself in danger like that again." Twilight said.
"I promise." Spike said. What Twilight didn't see was that his fingers were crossed behind his back. |
Aggressively Small | Pinkie pie knows | Twilight let out a strained grunt as her horn glowed brightly. Spike stood with his legged perched on a rock. He held a large stick in his hand and had a rock balanced on his head. A few leaves wrapped around his neck like a necklace. The stick to glow before turning into smoke. It turned into a fancy cane. The leaves flawlessly turned into a blouse, tuxedo jacket, and red bow tie. Spike started to cramp up and attempted to move his leg a little.
"Spike, stop moving! It crucial that we keep our concentration." Twilight said.
"Sorry Twi." He said as he moved his leg back in the same position as before. The rock on his head started to glow and slowly turned into a top hat. The rock was almost completely turned into a hat when suddenly Pinkie Pie zipped past, breaking Twilight out of her concentration.
The hat turned back into a rock and slammed onto Spikes head, causing him to topple over onto his stomach.
"Spike! Are you okay!?" Twilight asked in concern. Spike head was spinning and he let a shaky thumbs up. Twilight let out a sigh of relief before turning her head to Pinkie.
"Pinkie, you have to be more careful! You'll end up hurting someone!" Twilight scolded. Pinkie hid behind a tree with an umbrella hat on. She then zipped under a table and peaked her head out, looking at the sky.
"Twitch a twitch." She said to herself as she grabbed her tail. Spike and Twilight looked at each other in confusion. They both walked up to her.
"Pinkie pie? What in the wide, wide world of Equestria are you up to?" Twilight asked. She turned her attention to Twilight.
"Oh! It's my tail! It's my tail! It's a-twitch a-twitchin'! And you know what that means!" She said as her tail twitched. Twilight tilted her head in confusion.
"Actually, Pinkie, I haven't the slightest idea." Twilight said. Pinkie's eyes darted around.
"The twitchin' means my Pinkie Sense is telling me that stuff's gonna start falling! You two better duck for cover." Pinkie said as she sped under a tree. Twilight chuckled.
"Oh Pinkie, it's not gonna rain. There's barely a cloud in the-AAAUGH!" Twilight screamed as a frog fell onto her face. Spike flinched before quickly taking the frog off of her face.
"Are you okay?" Spike asked. Twilight blinked in surprise, trying to process what happened.
"I'm fine, but we're did the frog come from?" Twilight asked in confusion. Fluttershy flew over them with a wheel barrel full of frogs. She also had some in her saddle bag and in a basket she was holding in her hooves.
"Oh, I'm so, so sorry. You okay, Twilight Sparkle? I just couldn't stand to see the pond getting so over-populated, what with the frogs all hopping into each other and all, so I decided to fly as many as I can on over to Froggy Bottom Bogg." Fluttershy said as Spike handed her the frog.
"Of course you did." Twilight said, wiping the frog slime off of her face.
"Bye!" Fluttershy said as she flew off. Pinkie pie tossed her umbrella hat to the side and hopped away.
"Come on, Spike. Let's go find somewhere more quiet to practice the spell." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head and the both started to walk a quiet spot. Before they could even get a few feet they heard Pinkie shout.
"TWITCHY TAIL!" She shouted as she hid under a rock.
"Ugh, not this again." Twilight said in an annoyed tone as she continued walking.
"Nothing is going to happen, something just happened to fall from the sky. I think this is all a load of- AH!" Twilight yelped as she fell face first into a muddy ditch. Spike jumped in after her, landing on his feet.
"Twilight! Are you okay?" He asked. Twilight sat up and coughed up some mud.
"Just peachy." Twilight said sarcastically.
"I'll go run you a bath!" Pinkie said as she hopped towards her home. Applejack walked over and peered into the ditch.
"Now why are you two hanging out in a ditch?" She asked.
"Pinkie pie said something about her 'Pinkie sense' and a twitchy tail." Spike explained. Applejack eyes widened and she cover her head.
"Twitchy tail?!" Applejack said in fear. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Relax, I'm pretty sure it's just Pinkie being Pinkie." Spike said. Applejack shook her head.
"I know it doesn't make much sense, but those of us who have been in Ponyville a while, have learned over time that, if Pinkie's a-twichin', you better listen." She stated. Spike sighed and helped Twilight up.
"Let's go to Pinkie's to get you cleaned up."
Twilight sat in Pinkie pies bathtub, in surrounded by warm water and cupcake scented soap. Spike sat on the edge of the sink, slouched over.
"So how does your Pinkie sense work?" Spike asked. Twilight glared at him.
"Sooo, basically, it works like this: I get different, little, niggly feelings and they mean different things. Like when my back is itchy, it means it's my lucky day. Sometimes I get combos. Like ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch, which means 'watch out for opening doors. And, when my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary's about to happen."
"Is your knee pinchy now?" Twilight asked.
"No, but my shoulders achy. That means there's an alligator in the bathtub." She stated. She dunked her head into the water and pulled out a small alligator. Twilight screamed and jumped out of the tub. Spike sat up, ready to punch an alligator in the face.
"How come your knee didn't get pinchy?! That isn't just scary, it's downright dangerous!" Twilight shouted. Pinkie pie giggled.
"He's not dangerous, this is my pet Gummy! He doesn't have teeth. See!" Pinkie said as Gummy bit her arm.
"Okay, okay I get it." Twilight said with a groan. She levitated a towel from the sink and started to dry herself.
"Well, I still don't believe all this... "special power" stuff. It's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo." Twilight said. Pinkie giggled.
"What's so hard to believe? You believe in magic." Pinkie said. Spike looked at Twilight to see anger written all over her face. Twilight took a breath to calm herself down before speaking.
"Magic is something that you study and practice. It only happens when you decide for it to happen." Twilight explained. Pinkie pie shrugged her shoulders.
"Whatever you say." She said as she hopped out of the bathroom. Once she was out of earshot, Twilight faced Spike.
"I have to figure this out." Twilight said as she left the bathroom. Spike hopped off of the sink and followed her.
Spike and Twilight sat in a bush as they watched Pinkie pie hopped around town.
"I know you want to figure this out, but I'm pretty sure stalking her isn't the solution to this." Spike said.
"If she won't tell that she's lying, then I'll find out myself. Take notes." She said as she gave shoved a notepad and pencil into his arms. Spike sighed and got ready to start writing.
Pinkie rolled around in some grass before standing up and scratching her nose. "Spike write that down." Twilight whispered. Spike nodded his head and wrote it down. Pinkie pie ran under a large statue of a horseshoe and cowered under it.
"Aha! That makes no sense. See? She's hiding like something's about to fall from the sky, but a twitchy tail means something's gonna fall from the sky, not an itchy nose." Twilight said excitedly. "This proves that this is just some made up thing." She said happily. Spike heard a loud buzzing from behind Twilight. He looked over her shoulder to see a swarm of bees heading towards them. His eyes widened.
"Twilight look out!" Spike said as he forcefully pushed her head under the bush. They both heard a loud buzzing as the bees flew overhead. They both peeked there heads out once it went silent. The bees were long gone.
Twilight took the pencil and notepad from Spike and wrote something down. "Itchy nose equals bees." She muttered to herself. Spike scratched the back of his arm.
"That was a close call, we should probably just go back home. The Pinkie sense seems pretty real." Spike said. Twilight snapped her head towards him.
"There's no way I can stop now. There has to be a reasonable explaination for this." Twilight said. Pinkie pie looked around in the sky before leaving from under the horseshoe and hopping off.
"She's getting away!" Twilights said as she chased after her. Spike let out a shaky sigh and followed her.
Spike and Twilight hid behind barrels of hay in Sweet Apple Acres, watching Pinkie sniff a flower. Twilight wrote that down.
"Twilight, I don't think you have to write that down." Spike said. Twilght held her hoof up to him, gesturing for him to be quiet. Pinkie pie paused before her ears flopped on her face, her eyes fluttered, and her knees twitched.
"Didn't she say that means beware of opening doors?" Spike asked. Twilight scoffed.
"Do you really believe that? I'll show you that there's nothing to worry about." Twilight said as she opened the barn door. She let go of the door and started to walked away.
"See there's nothing to worry abou-AAAH!" Twilight screamed as she fell into the cellar. Spike ran over to the cellar.
"TWILIGHT!" He shouted in fear. Twilight shakily stood up with Applejack supporting her side. Once they got onto solid ground, Spike ran up to Twilight and grabbed her face.
"Are you okay?" He asked in concern. She nodded her head and levitated the notepad and pencil towards her.
"I'm fine, but I still need to figure this out." She said as she flipped through her notes.
"Twilight you're hurt, you need to take a break." Spike said.
"You did take one mighty fall there Twilight, Spike is right, you need some rest." Applejack said. Twilight shook her head.
"I won't take a break until I figure this out!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Twilight please..." Spike muttered. Twilight turned around to say something, but paused when she saw the sadness on his face. She let out a sigh of defeat.
"Okay Spike, we should go home." She said. Spike smiled and helped her get back to the library.
Twilight sat at her desk as Spike put a bandaid on her cheek.
"All better." Spike said cheerfully. Twilight smiled lightly.
"Thanks Spike, I just wish I could have figured out all of that 'Pinkie sense' nonsense." Twilight said. Suddenly, the library door burst open, making both of them jump. Pinkie pie and Applejack ran inside.
"Twilight, my Pinkie sense is telling me that something big will happen at Froggy Bottom Bogg!" She shouted frantically.
"That's were Fluttershy was headed!" Applejack commented.
"This again? Give me a break." Twilight said.
"I don't know Twilight, they sound pretty serious." Spike said. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Fine I'll come with you. But only to prove that the Pinkie sense isn't real." She said. They nodded there heads and all ran out the front door.
They had arrived at Frogger Bottom Bogg, which smelled like mold and swamp water. Fluttershy stood at the edge of the swamp, watching the frogs hop around. Pinkie pie tackled Fluttershy into a hug, making her let out a yelp of surprise.
"FLUTTERSHY YOU'RE OKAY!" Pinkie pie shouted in relief. She tilted her head in confusion.
"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked. Pinkie pie took in a deep breath and started to speak.
"Well it all started today when my Pinkie sense started going off and I didn't think much of it cause it happens but then it's beem going on all day and then it told me to come here because you would be in big trouble!" Pinkie said in one breath. Fluttershy blinked, trying to process that.
"Pinkie's made a lot of predictions today but what we've shown here is that there's no point in believing in anything you can't see for yourself." Twilight said with a grin. Spike looked down when he noticed smoke covered his lower half.
Applejack, Pinkie pie, Fluttershy, and Spike looked up in terror as a hydra slowly emerged from the water. Twilight continued to talk, not noticing the impending doom right behind her.
"TWILIGHT LOOK OUT!" Spike shouted as he pulled her towards himself. Twilight look up to see the hydra, and her face twisted into fear.
"RUN!" Twilight shouted, making everyone run in opposite directions. The hydra let out a loud roar and chased after them.
"UP THAT CLIFF!" Spike ordered. Everyone ran up the steep hill with the hydra close behind. The hydras foot got caught in the bogg, delaying it for a few moments and letting them get farther up the hill. They all stopped at the edge of the cliff, slimy water below them. Six large, thin rocks were lined up to jump across. If they missed the jumps they were goners for sure.
The hydra made its way up the hill with large stomps. "It's gonna get up here at any second, we have to jump across one at a time." Spike said.
Fluttershy peered over the edge and let in a deep breath. "A hop, skip, and a....jump!" Fluttershy said as she jumped across, landing safely at the other side. Applejack picked Pinkie pie up and hopped across, both landing on the other side unscathed.
Twilight picked Spike up and jumped across. The hydra let out a loud roar and stomped its feet, causing the rocks to fall apart. Twilight jumped, causing Spike to fall off of her back. When Twilight made it to the other side, her eyes widened when she realized Spike wasn't with her. The rocks started to shake and break down under him.
Without thinking he got on all fours and jumped to the next rock. Before he could make it to the last one, the rock crumpled under him, causing him to fall. "SPIKE!" Twilight shouted as she reached her hoof out, wishing he could grab on. Spike fell with a loud scream.
A bubble at the bottom of the bogg started to form and Spike fell on top of it. He sunk in for a few moments befoe it popped, sending him upwards to his friends. He landed perfectly on his feet to his surprise. Twilight ran up to Spike and hugged him tightly.
"I'm so glad that you're okay!" Twilight said. The hydra stood and the edge of the cliff and let out a loud roar before walking away. Pinkie pie shuddered and shook.
"That's wasn't what my Pinkie sense call me for!" She exclaimed. Twilights mouth hung open in shock.
"What do you mean that not what it called us here for?!" She asked with a tint of anger in her voice.
"My Pinkie sense is still going so the hydra wasn't it." Pinkie claimed. Twilight let in a deep breath before letting out a scream of anger, making everyone flinch and Spike cover his ears.
Once she finished she let out an angry grunt. " I can't fight it anymore. I don't understand how, why, or what, but Pinkie Sense somehow... makes sense. I don't see how it does, but it just does. Just because I don't understand doesn't mean it's not true." Twilight said defeatedly. Pinkie pie let out a gasp and her whole body started to shake. Once she finished, a popping noise happened, as if someone just used a confetti popper.
"That's what my Pinkie sense called my for!" Pinkie said happily. Twilight went to say something but closed her mouth a let out a chuckle.
"Only Pinkie pie." She muttered to herself. "Now let's go home."
"Isn't the hydra still over there?" Fluttershy asked. Everyone paused at the realization.
"I guess we have to take the long way around." Twilight said. Everybody groaned and started walking. |
Aggressively Small | A dog eat dog world | Spike leaned on Twilights side as she read a book at her desk. They had been sitting there for at least two hours in complete silence. The doorbell rang, making them both look at the door.
"I got it." Spike said as he hopped up and made his way to the door. He opened the door to reveal Rarity. Spike let out a groan.
"Twilight your friend is here!" He said as he let Rarity inside. Twilight walked in the room and smiled when she saw Rarity.
"Hi Rarity, how are you doing?" Twilight asked politely.
"Absolutely terrible darling. Sapphire Shores came to the boutique and ordered six dresses!" Rarity said dramatically.
"Isn't Sapphire Shores famous? If anything that's great publicity for your shop." Spike said.
"It would be great if I weren't out of gems. I need rubies and sapphires for this dress and I just ran out. And they're out of season, what ever will I do!" Rarity said as she pulled out a fainting couch and dramatically sprawled out on it. Spike rolled his eyes and walked out of the room.
Twilight put her hoof on her chin, pondering for a few seconds. "I know a place outside of town where you can get gems. They're underground, but a little digging can get them out." Twilight said. Rarity made a face of disgust.
"I do appreciate the help darling, but I won't step one hoof in that icky dirt!" She said. Twilight pondered some more before an idea popped into her head.
"How about Spike goes with you, he's really good at digging things up." Twilight suggested. Spike paused when he heard the suggestion. He walked back into the room, already ready with an excuse.
"I would love to help you out but I have so much work to do." Spike said. Twilight cocked her head in confusion.
"You don't have any work to do all week, I'm just studying. Besides you need some fresh air." Twilight said. Spike let out a sigh of defeat.
"Fine." He said grumpily. Rarity pranced up to him an hugged him tightly. Spike pushed her off.
"Don't touch me." He said as he made his way to the front door.
Today was going to be a long day.
Spike followed Rarity in a big empty field, pulling a wagon behind him. Rarity's horn glowed as she search for gems.
"Keep your eyes peeled darling, we need to find the most fabulous gems." Rarity said. Spike was going to respond when suddenly, he smelt something. It smelt tangy and sour. Spike followed the smell and stopped at a smooth patch of dirt.
"Did you find anything?" Rarity asked. Spike got on his knees and started to dig with his claws. Soon his claws hit something hard. He pulled out six shiny green emeralds. Rarity gasped.
"Those are perfect!" Rarity said happily. Spike put the gems in the wagon when suddenly Rarity's horn started to glow. A small patch of dirt glowed a light blue.
"Start digging right there." Rarity said as she pointed to the blue patch. Spike nodded his head and started to dig. He pulled out a pearl. It smelt salty. He put it in the wagon.
"At this rate we'll be finished in no time!" Rarity said. Spike sure hoped so.
The wagon was now filled to the brim and gems toppled out of the cart every time it moved.
"Rarity I think we have enough." Spike said.
"I suppose you're right, we should get goi-OOOH!" Rarity shouted in surprise as her horn started glow brighter than before and dragged her across the ground. She started to walk to keep up the pace. Spike followed close behind. She approached a tree.
"The gem is in a tree?" Rarity asked. She moved the leaves to see a small shiny gem.
"Oooh." Rarity said softly. The leaves in the tree rustled and a head poked out, making them both jump back. Rarity started to speak, trying to be polite.
"Uh... uh... Good day, gentle... uh, fellow. Uh, I am Rarity and this is my friend Spike." She said, gesturing towards Spike. Spike stood in a defensive pose, ready to attack at any moment.
"And you are?" Rarity asked uncomfortably.
"A Diamond Dog." He said as he jumped out of the tree. He wore a red vest and a black collar with little gems on it. He spoke in a raspy voice. His teeth where sharp and yellow. His breath smelled like hot garbage. Rarity desperately tried not to gag at the smell and backed away slightly.
"Oh really? Oh well, that explains your fine taste in jewelry. I mean I-I-I know that diamonds are a girl's best friend and now I know that they're a dog's best friend too, ha ha ha. So, um, you're out hunting for gems as well?" Rarity said, trying to start a conversation.
"Yes. We hunt." He said.
"We?" Rarity asked.
"We hunt for gems, but you are a better hunter. So now we hunt for you!" He shouted a he lunged at Rarity. Diamond dogs emerged for the ground and surrounded them. Rarity let out a loud scream and tried to run. Once of the Diamond Dogs grabbed her tightly.
Spike got on all for and let out a sharp growl. He pounced and landed on the face of the Diamond Dog who was holding Rarity. The Diamond Dog screamed and dropped her onto the ground. Spike jumped off of his face and got back on all fours.
"Rarity run, I'll hold them back." Spike said. Without hesitation, Rarity started to run towards town. Unfortunately, she didn't even make that far when a Diamond Dog tugged on her tail and started to drag her into a hole.
"SPIKE!" Rarity screamed as she gripped onto the dirt. Spike turned around and rushed over to Rarity. Before he could reach her, a Diamond Dog picked him up.
"Not today little dragon." He said with a twisted grin. Spike took in a deep breath and let a gust of fire blow into his face. The Diamond Dog screamed in pain and threw Spike backwards. He landed face first into the tree, knocking the wind out of him. He tried to stand up but he was to dizzy and his vision was blurry. He could feel his left eye starting to swell. The last thing he saw was Rarity being dragged into the hole before he blacked out.
Spike regained consciousness, his head pounding. He kept he eyes closed. He laid on a hard surface that didn't feel like his or Twilights bed. He ran his hand over the surface. It felt like dirt. Suddenly memories from earlier that day had come rushing back to him. He quickly sat up, but immediately regretted it when his body ached. His left eye had became purple and swollen.
Spikes legs shook as he stood up. He looked at the sun to see that he had been knocked out for about an hour. It was already noon. He walked out into the field with a limp.
"Just need to go down the hole and save Rarity. That can't be so...." Spike trailer off when he saw hundreds of holes covering the ground. He peered into one of them, only to see darkness. He didn't even know how far the drop was. He picked up a small rock and threw it into the hole. It was at least thirty seconds before he heard it hit the bottom. If he fell in he'll only get a few scratches.
"Even if I jump down the hole, how will I know which one to go down." Spike thought out loud. A certain smell caught Spikes attention. It was a mixture of gems coming from a certain hole. He followed the smell until he reached the hole.
"They have to be in there." Spike said. He slowly lowered himself into the hole and gripped onto the sides tightly. It was like going down a latter. Just one slow movement at a time. Soon he reach the bottom, which had a five foot drop just to get to flat ground. He let go and landed perfectly on his feet. Surrounding him, there were at least a dozen tunnels.
"How will I find her now?" Spike asked himself. He could easily get lost in this place. He heard a loud high pitched scream come from a tunnel, making him flinch.
"That must be Rarity!" Spike said as he try to run down the tunnel. He got a sharp pain in his leg, causing him to fall to his side. He let out a yelp of pain. He heard the scream again and got up. He moved as fast as he could.
Spike soon approached a large metal gate. It seemed like the screams were coming from in there. From the side of his eye, Spike spotted a fallen stalagmite. He picked it up. It was no heavier than his sword.
"I'm coming Rarity." Spike muttered. He kicked opened the gate and got ready to fight. He lowers the stalagmite in confusion when he saw the Diamond Dogs laying on the floor, covering there ears. A few of them were even crying.
A Diamond Dog spotted Spike and gave him a pleading look. "Please take her back we can't handle the whining!" He cried out. Spike walked over to Rarity, who was whining very loudly.
"What are you doing?" Spike asked. Rarity turned around in surprise at the sound of his voice.
"Oh Spike, you've come to get me!" Rarity said happily. Her face quickly turned into concern.
"Darling, whatever happened to your face?" She asked. Spike shrugged it off.
"Don't worry about it, now let's go out of here." Spike said. Rarity pulled out three carts filled with gems. Spikes jaw dropped.
"Grab a cart and lets get going." Rarity said.
Spike laid on Rarity's couch with a ice pack over his eye and leg. Rarity had gone to go Twilight because she didn't want Spike walking all the way home with a black eye and messed up leg. He closed his eyes, letting the coolness wash over him. He heard the door to the shop open and the bell ring. Spike opened his eye to see Twilight trotting over to him.
"Spike! Thank Celestia you're okay!" Twilight said as she pulled him into a hug. Spike let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm fine Twilight." He said, not wanting her to worry.
"I knew I should've just let you stay inside today. You would have never gotten hurt." Twilight said.
"But if I didn't go, Rarity would have never gotten away from the Diamond Dogs. Besides, look at all of the gems she gained from it." Spike said, gesturing to the carts of gems. Twilight smiled a little.
"I guess you're right." She said. She pet his head softly.
"You're one tough dragon." |
Aggressively Small | Self improvement | Twilight, Spike, Pinkie pie, and Rarity stood outside of the Canterlot Boutique. Pinkie hopped on a trampoline excitedly.
"I...can't...believe...the...Grand...Galloping...Gala...is....tonight!" Pinkie shouted with each jump.
"Pinkie pie please stop shouting, I'm trying to concentrate." Twilight said, her face buried in a book. Pinkie pie continued jumping with a large grin a little giggles.
"Pinkie Pie! Stop that right now. It's time to prepare for the Gala, and I refuse to let you put on your new dress when you're all sweaty." Rarity said sternly. Pinkie stopped jumped and landed on the trampoline with a small bounce.
"What's Twilight doing?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head.
"She's working on this awesome new spell for the Gala!" Spike said excitedly. Rarity looked around.
"Where are the others, they're late." She said as she look down the street.
"Hold your horses girl. We're right here." Applejack said as she, Fluttershy, and Rainbow dash approached them.
"Perfect! I'm ready." Twilight said happily. Spike put down an apple in front of Twilight.
"Ooh an apple. Are we making apple pie?" Pinkie asked.
"Shh. Watch." Spike said as he pointed to Twilight.
Twilights magic started to glow around the apple. The apple rapidly grew in size and parts of it started to break apart. Long branches grew out of the bottom and curved around, resembling to wheels. Golden swirls covered the apple and a small wooden door appeared. Twilight had made an apple carriage.
Everyone 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the magic trick.
"That is so cool!" Pinkie shouted with a large grin on her face.
"Thanks, but that's just the start. Fluttershy, did you bring the mice?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, will they be safe Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as she put four white mice on the ground. They sniffed around curiously.
"You have my word." Twilight said. Her horn started to glow and magic covered the mice. The mice legs started to grow and there bodies got longer. Soon the stood up straight and resembled to horses with whiskers and large mouse ears. Everyone grimaced in disgust at the sight.
"Isn't it cool? The spell last until midnight." Twilight boasted. Spike turned his head when he heard a rustle from a nearby bush. Rarity's cat slowly came out, and her eyes lit up when she saw the horse mice. She prowled down before pounding on one of them.
"Opalescence, no!" Rarity shouted. The horse mouse whinnied in fear and all of them ran off into the distance before they were completely out of sight.
"Wait! Come back! Those horses were supposed to pull our carriage. How will we get to the Gala?" Twilight said in distress. Spike sympathetically patted Twilights shoulder. Rarity put her hoof on her head and look up to the sky.
"Whatever shall we do?" She said sarcastically before walking over to two stallions. She flipped her hair and batted her eyes to show off some charm.
"Uh... ahem. Excuse me. Uh, would you boys mind pulling our carriage to the Gala? She said with a bright smile. Both stallions looked at each other before eagerly nodded there heads.
"Oh. Yeah, right." Twilight said in a defeated tone.
Spike knocked on the door of one of the rooms in the boutique.
"Can I come in?" Spike asked.
"Sure thing buddy." Rainbow dash said. Spike heard the door knob jiggle before aruptly stopping. He heard Rarity let out a loud gasp from the other side of the door.
"And watch us while we dress? Absolutely not!" Rarity said dramatically. Applejack cleared her throat.
"But Rarity, we don't usally wear clothes." She pointed out. He heard Rarity let out a groan before the door swung open.
"Well I'm sorry if some of us have standards!" Rarity said as she marched off. He walked inside to see Twilight and Pinkie sitting under hair dryers. Pinkie took the dryer off of her head to reveal that her mane was completely straight. Within a few second it instantly poofed back up.
"I'm so excited for the Grand Galloping Gala! It'll be so much fun!" Pinkie said as she tried to do a cartwheel. Rarity yanked on her tail with magic, causing Pinkie to fall back.
"I can't wait to meet him." Rarity said dreamily, pink dusting her cheeks. Rainbow dash smirked.
"I can't wait to meet the Wonderbolts! If I impress them then they'll ask me to be a part of the team." She said confidently while zipping around the room.
"I just want to sell enough fritters for my family." Applejack said, tipping her hat to the side.
"I,um like the animals." Fluttershy said softly. Twilght took her head from under the dryer and smiled.
"I can't wait to talk to Princess Celestia about magic spells!" Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. Rarity cleared her throat uncomfortably.
"Spike darling, if you are going to be in here, can you at least turn around while we dress?" Rarity asked. Spike playfully rolled his eyes and turned around. From the side of his eye he saw his tuxedo laying on the table. It was only a shirt, tie, and jacket. He reached out for it and started to put it on.
Once Spike finished putting on his white shirt he put on the jacket. It was a dark blue to match Twilights dress. He started to tie his tie which was a light grey. After struggling for a few minutes he turned around.
"Can one of you help me tie this please?" He asked. He was taken aback when all of the mares wore beautiful dresses.
"You all look gorgeous!" Spike exclaimed. Rarity smiled and walked up to him.
"Thank you I worked very hard on making these dresses as you recall." Rarity said as she tied his tie into a perfect bow.
"Let go, I want to see the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow dash said as she bolted out of the boutique and into the carriage. Everyone followed behind and entered the carriage. Before Spike could get in, Twilight stopped him.
"Thanks for being my date for the Gala." Twilight said. Spike smiled.
"It's no problem. It's like taking my sister who can't get a date to prom because she doesn't have friends." Spike said as he hopped into the carriage. Twilight was taken aback by that comment.
"Gee, thanks." She said sarcastically as she walked into the carriage.
Tonight was going to be the best night ever.
They all walked through the castle doors and gasped in amazement. The floors were shiny and tiled, the windows were large and spotless. A large carpet was layed out on the floor, leading to the throne. To top it all off there was a large statue of an alicorn on a table in the center of the room. Ponies were scattered around the room, talking quietly.
"This is going to be. So. Much. Fun!" Pinkie shouted before running off to look at everything. Applejack pushed a green cart inside.
"Everythin here is so fancy like." Applejack marveled. "With so many ponies here I can sell my treats in no time." Applejack said as she pushed the cart outside into the garden.
"I can't wait to see all of the exotic animals." Fluttershy said excitedly before following Applejack outside.
"Oh my Celestia the Wonderbolts!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew over towards them. Rarity scoffed.
"How could they act so immature at the most high class Gala." Rarity said. Prince Blueblood walked past, making Rarity's face go red. She shook her head and cleared her throat.
"If you excuse me I have a very important stallion to attend." Rarity said before following Prince Blueblood. Spike chuckled and turned to Twilight, only to realize that she was already with Princess Celestia. Spike ran up to catch up with her. Ponies stared at him in disgust as he ran up the stairs to Twilight and Tia. He made it up the stairs and stood next to Twilight. Celestia smiled at him.
"Hello Spike." She said sweetly. Spike smiled.
"Hi Tia." He said with a wave.
"Welcome to the Grand Galloping Gala." She said as she shook a stallions hoof. The stallion turned away to walk down the stairs. Once his back was fully turned, he let out a girlish giggle while hopping down the stairs. Spike and Tia held back a laugh at the childish sight.
Tonight was going to be fun.
They had only been at the Gala for twenty minutes and it was already boring. Twilight could barely speak to the Princess with all of these ponies here. Spike didn't notice Twilights dissapointment but he sure did notice all the ponies. He claws picked at the skin on his hands as he tried to control his breathing.
"So many ponies, so many ponies, so many ponies." Spike repeated in his head. His eyes welled up with tears and he desperately tried not to cry. Twilight put her hoof on Spikes shoulder making him jump.
"Are you okay? Do we need to go home?" Twilight asked. Spike shook his head. He didn't want to ruin Twilights big night.
"No I just need some fresh air." Spike managed to get out through his shortened breaths. He nearly ran down the stairs,but stopped himself from more staring which would have made everything worse.
Spike started to speed walk until he made it outside to the garden. He let in a deep breath of fresh air and he instantly felt better. He wiped the tears from his eyes. Ponies were outside, but not as many inside. He let out a sigh of relief and started to walk around. Soon he spotted Rarity attempting to flirt with Prince Blueblood but he wasn't paying any attention.
"Hey Rarity, how's it going?" Spike asked. Rarity let out a defeated sigh.
"I wish I could say it was going well. No matter how hard I try he just doesn't pay attention." Rarity said in a sad tone.
"I told you that he was a jerk." Spike said. Prince Blueblood turned around and let out a loud gasp when he saw Spike.
"You're the same dragon that burned all of my satin suits!" He shouted, hiding behind Rarity. Spike grinned.
"Yeah and I'm coming for your velvet suits next." He said. Prince Blueblood put his hoof up to his forehead and fainted to the ground. Rarity gasped.
"Spike that behavior was completely uncalled for!" Rarity said sternly. Spike chuckled.
"He's a jerk anyway, I say that he deserved..." Spike trailed off when he noticed a crowd forming around them. Spike felt his heart to speed up again. Ponies started to whisper.
"What did he do to the Prince?" "Who invited a dragon here?" "He should be banished for doing that to the Prince." They murmured. Spike felt his hands start to shake. This was way worse than being on the stage with Tia. This time all the attention was on him.
"Spike are you okay?" Rarity asked. Spike managed to weakly nod his head.
"I... just need water." He choked out. Rarity tilted her head before giving an understanding nod. He looked around until he found a small opening in the crowd. He squeezed through the judgemental ponies and made it out to the other side. He started to walk to as far away from the Garden as he could. Once he couldn't hear anymore chatter he stopped walking and took in a deep breath. His throat was dry.
"I'm so thirsty but I don't want to go back around the ponies." He muttered to himself. Suddenly and idea popped into his head.
"I can get in the castle kitchen to get water." He said. His scales drooped when he remembered the problem to that. "Right but the security is extra tight tonight to make sure no one breaks in." He muttered. Suddenly he got another idea.
"The tree!" Spike exclaimed. He rounded the corner to see the large tree. The area was abandoned and the window was open, as usual. He approached the tree and jumped up, letting his claws dig into the bark. He climbed up as if he was climbing a ladder. Luckily, thanks to all of his sword fighting he had been gaining muscle which made it easier to climb the tree.
Spike made it to the branch in front of the window and adjusted himself onto it. He got on all fours and jumped through the window flawlessly. He landed on the floor with a thud. He walked up to the door and opened. Spike looked both ways down the hallway to see nobody was there.
"Perfect." He whispered. He tiptoed down the hallway, making sure no guards heard him. Even if they did spot him it didn't really matter, they already know him. It was fun to be sneaky, it was in a dragons nature.
Spike made it to the main hallway and saw guards walking across the long hallway in front of the kitchen.
"Every ten seconds there's an opening between between me and the door. The Royal Guards won't turn around for another five seconds so the gives me a solid three seconds to get through the door without being seen. Spike thought to himself. Both Royal Guards walked to the end of the hallway and Spike bolted into action. He silently sprinted towards the door and open it before sliding in and closing it silently.
"Works like charm." Spike said cockily. He turned around and jumped when he saw Princess Luna standing there, holding a cookie jar in her hooves and half a cookie sticking out of her mouth.
"Oh,um hi." Spike said with an awkward wave. Luna awkwardly waved back as she swallowed her cookie.
"What are you doing here?" Luna asked. Spike sheepishly rubbed his arm.
"I couldn't handle being around all the ponies at the Gala, it felt so suffocating." Spike said. Luna let out a groan.
"At least you can go to the Gala, sister says it is best that I stay here due to ponies still being frightened of Nightmare Moon." Luna said.
"But everyone saw you after you were reformed, they shouldn't be afraid." Spike stated. Luna let out a sigh.
"I wish that were the case but unfortunately it is not." Luna said sadly. Spike gave her a sympathetic look. Suddenly there silence was broken when Luna's stomach growled loudly. She blushed.
"I am sorry, I have barely eaten all day." Luna apologized. Spike rubbed his stomach.
"Me either, I could really go for a doughnut right now." Spike said. Luna tilted her head in confusion.
"What are doughed nuts?" Luna asked. Spike stared at her like she had two heads.
"You've never had a doughnut before?" He asked. She shook her head.
"I have been on the moon for a thousand years." Luna reminded him. Spike cringed at his oblivious nature.
"I know a perfect place to get donuts!" Spike said.
Luna and Spike sat at a table in Donut Joes shop with two boxes of donuts and a mug of hot chocolate in front of them. Spike picked up a donut and munched on it. Luna looked at them skeptically.
"Are you sure these doughed nuts are safe?" Luna asked while inspecting one closely.
"They're perfectly safe, try one." Spike said. Luna picked up a donut and took a small bite. Her eyes widened at the taste and she shoveled three into her mouth at once. Spike laughed at the sight.
"I'm guessing they're good." Spike said. Before he knew it, both boxes of donuts were gone in less than thirty seconds. Luna slammed her hooves on the table.
"I DEMAND ANOTHER BOX OF DOUGHED NUTS!" She shouted, making Spike flinch. Pony Joe ran over in fear and place five boxes of doughnuts done before running away.
"Luna, I think I see why ponies are still scared of you. You're too demanding, this isn't a thousand years ago. You can relax and not yell when you want something. That can be your first step to improvement." Spike said. Luna nodded her head.
"I understand. Speaking of improvement, I have been watching your dreams lately." Luna said. Spike froze up.
"Every night is the same nightmare and every time I try to enter it does not work." Luna said. "The only explanation is that it is a memory, which is why I cannot alter it." Luna explained. Spike let out a sigh.
"Please don't tell Twilight, I don't won't her to worry about me, she's already stressed enough as she is." Spike said while burying his head in his hands. Luna put her hoof on his shoulder.
"The key to self improvement is not being to dependent on other. You need to care for yourself too. If you don't care for yourself, you can't properly protect others." Luna said. Spike let out another sigh.
"I know, I just don't want to lose anyone." Spike said sadly. Luna put her hoof on her chin, thinking for a little while before she got an idea.
"How about you write a journal expressing your feelings that no one has to know about. That will be a start." Luna said. Spike smiled slightly.
"Yeah, that's a good start." |
Aggressively Small | Chaotic outputs | Spike held a stack of books in his arms, trying to balance himself so he didn't fall over.
"Twilight I don't think we have to clean the library every week." Spike said as he put the books on the floor. He heard Twilight let out an over dramatic gasp from the other room.
"We absolutely have to! What if one day we miss a cleaning day? Then we would have a huge mess!" Twilight shouted dramatically. Spike rolled his eyes.
"I doubt that would ever happen, can it at least be every two....?" Spike trailed off when he looked out the window.
"Twilight I think you need to see this!" Spike shouted. He heard Twilights hooves approach him. Her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.
The clouds were cotton candy and some Pegasi were getting trapped in them. The rain was brown and a herd of rabbits stomped by with legs as long as giraffes.
"What in Equestria is going on!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know, but it must be something big." Spike said.
"Come on Spike, let's go check on our friends." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head and they both walked outside. When they went outside it was complete choas. Street lights had come to life, buildings were upside down, and books flew around like birds. Some brown rain landed on Spikes nose and he put some on his finger, sticking his tongue out to lick it.
"Don't eat it, that could be poison for all we know!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike ignored her and licked it.
"Calm down it's chocolate milk." Spike said. Twilight let out a breath of relief. A loud bang came from across the town, making both of them turn there heads.
"I think that came from Sweet Apple Acres!" Twilight exclaimed. They both started to make there way to Sweet Apple Acres, hoping nothing bad happened.
Twilight and Spike approached Sweet Apple Acres to see that everything was turned upside down. Rainbow Dash chased a cotton candy cloud, only to get stuck in it. The corn swelled up before popping and turning into popcorn. Apples grew so big that a few trees snapped in half holding their weight. A few of Fluttershys rabbits started to eat an apple. Suddenly, with a burst of light, the rabbits had legs as long as giraffes and the galloped away. Pinkie pie giggled and opened her mouth, letting the chocolate milk pour in. Rarity stood there with a fancy raincoat and an umbrella attached to her like a saddle.
"Don't worry everpony, I have a new spell that can stop all of this!" Twilight exclaimed. She started to strain her body as her horn glowed brightly. The glowing quickly stopped as if a lightbulb blew out. Twilight opened one eye to see the results. Her eyes widened at what she saw.
"It.. it didn't work." Twilight said in dibelief. Spike gave Twilight a look of concern.
"At least you tried." Spike said, trying to comfort her. Twilight looked at the chaos around her before and idea popped into her head.
"Rainbow, can you corral all those clouds in one corner of the sky? Applejack, I need you to bring those high-strung storm clouds down to Earth." Twilight ordered. Rainbow dash and Applejack nodded there head and got to work. Pinkie pie gave a confused look when the rain stop pouring down her throat.
"Hey, what happening?" Pinkie shouted. Rainbow put the cotton candy clouds on the ground and Applejack quickly lassoed them, making them stick to the ground. Twilight walked over Fluttershy and whisper something in her ear. Fluttershy broke out into a grin.
"Oh dear. I hope none of the animals see these delicious chocolate-filled cotton candy clouds. I'd hate to have to share them." Fluttershy said in a stage whisper.
"You and me both sister!" Pinkie shouted. All of the animals turned there heads and galloped towards the cotton candy clouds. They all stuffed there faces in into the candy, munching on it happily. Pinkie pie squeezed through the animals and started to eat with them.
"And when y'all are done with that, feel free to have some popcorn for dessert!" Applejack said while gesturing towards all of the popcorn. Twilight put her hoof on her chin.
"What could be causing all of this?" Twilght asked. Spike gagged slightly before burping up a letter. Spike picked up the letter and started to read.
"The Princess wants to see us immediately!"
"Princess Celestia! We came as fast as we could!" Twilight shouted as they all ran through the castle doors. Celestia turned around and gave them a greatfull smile.
"Thanks you Twilight Sparkle, thank you all." Celestia said.
"Is this about the weather? And the animals' weird behavior? What's happening out there? Why isn't my magic working? Is there-" Twilight got cut off when Celestia raised her hoof.
"Follow me." Celestia said as she walked out of the room. They all entered a long hallway filled with stained glass windows.
"I've called you here for a matter of great importance. It seems an old foe of mine, someone I thought I had defeated long ago, has returned. His name... is Discord." Celestia said as she showed them a large window. The creature on the window had the head of a pony, the body of a snake, and the wing of a bat. He was made up of multiple different creatures. Fluttershy let out a whimper of fear.
"Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony. Before my sister and I stood up to him, he ruled Equestria in an eternal state of unrest and unhappiness. Luna and I saw how miserable life was for Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns alike, so after discovering the Elements of Harmony, we combined our powers and rose up against him, turning him to stone." She said while gesturing towards a window. It was of her and Luna using the Elements of Harmony against Discord.
"I thought the spell we cast would keep him contained forever, but since Luna and I are no longer connected to the Elements, the spell has been broken." She said as she walked over to a large door.
" This is Canterlot Tower, where the Elements are kept inside since all of you recovered them. I need you to wield the Elements of Harmony once again and stop Discord before he thrusts all of Equestria into eternal chaos." Celestia said.
"But why us? Why don't you-" Twilight was cut off by Pinkie pointing out a window a shouting.
"Hey look, we're famous!" Pinkie shouted excitedly. The window showed Twilight floating in the air with her crown on. Applejack, Rainbow dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie pie, and Rarity stood behind her with there Elements of Harmony on. Nightmare Moon stood there with a large magical orb around her.
"You six showed the full potential of the Elements by harnessing the magic of your friendship to beat a mighty foe. Although Luna and I once wielded the Elements, it is you who now control their power, and it is you who must defeat Discord!" Celestia exclaimed dramatically.
"Don't worry Princess, you can count on-"
"Hold on a second! Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain, you guys. Chocolate rain!" Pinkie shouted, cutting off Twilight. Everybody stared at Pinkie.
"Don't listen to her Princess. We'd be honored to use the Elements if Harmony again." Twilight said proudly. Celestia smiled. Her horn started to glow and the door in front of her glowed with it. The door opened and Celestia pulled out a small golden case with gems encrusted on the sides.
"Ooh, forget about the Elements, I'll take the case!" Rarity said with starts in her eyes. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Have no fear, ponies. I have total confidence that you will be able to defeat Discord with these!" Celestia said as she slowly opened the case. Everybody gasped in shock.
"The Elements! They're gone!" Twilight shouted in disbelief. Celestia dropped the case in shock.
"That chamber is protected by a powerful spell that only I can break! This doesn't make sense!" Celestia shouted. Suddenly, chilling laughter echoed around the room.
"Make sense? Now what's the fun in making sense?" The voice said. Everyone huddle together while Spike and Celestia got into defensive stances.
"Discord, show yourself!" Celestia shouted. The window with Celestia and Luna defeating Discord started to move ever so slightly. Suddenly, the Discord on the window started to move.
"Did you miss me, Celestia? I missed you. It's quite lonely being encased in stone, but you wouldn't know that, would you, because I don't turn ponies into stone." Discord said with a smirk.
"Enough! What did you do with the Elements?" Celestia asked sternly. Discord let out a giggle.
"Oh I just borrowed them for a teensy little while." Discord said before snapping his fingers and disappearing from the window.
"You'll never get away with this Discord!" Celestia shouted. Discord appeared in a different window.
"Oh, I'd forgotten how grim you can be, Celestia. It's really quite boring." He said while tracing his fingers across the glass design. Spike let out a defensive growl.
"Hey! Nobody insults the Princess!" Rainbow dash shouted. She charged at Discord, ready to attack. Rainbow dash face planted into the window and fell to the floor.
"Oh, you must be Rainbow Dash, famed for her loyalty, the Element of Harmony you represent." Discord said. Rainbow dash puffed up her chest.
"That right! I'm always loyal to the Princess!" Rainbow dash said.
"We'll see about that." Discord said slyly. Rarity scoffed.
"I can't believe we're wasting our time talking to a window." Rarity said. Discord appeared in the window in front of her, gazing down at her.
"The beautiful Rarity, representing the element of generosity, if I'm not mistaken?" Discord said. Applejack rolled her eyes.
"So what, you know who we are, big deal." Applejack said.
"Oh, I know much more than that, honest Applejack." Discord said.
"You seem to know our strengths too." Twilight pointed out.
"Yes, Twilight Sparkle, and yours is the most powerful and elusive element, magic. Fluttershy's is kindness and Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine - laughter." Discord said as he sat on window Twilights head.
"Stop stalling, Discord! What have you done with the Elements of Harmony?" Celestia shouted sternly.
"Oh, so boring, Celestia. Really? Fine, I'll tell you, but I'll only tell you my way. To retrieve your missing Elements, just make sense of this change of events. Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began. Discord said before letting out an evil cackle and disappearing.
"Can we go home now?" Fluttershy asked in a whisper, shaking like a leaf. Spike walked up to her and gave her a comforting hug.
"What do you reckon he meant?" Applejack asked. Twilight put her hoof on her chin, mumbling the riddle to herself.
"That's it! I bet Discord hid the Elements in the Palace Labyrith!" Twilight exclaimed. Celestia gave a nod.
"Good luck my subjects. The fate of Equestrian is in your hooves." Celestia said. Twilight saluted Celestia.
"We won't let you down Princess!" Twilight said before running out the castle doors.
The approached a laybrith with large wall like hedges. Fluttershy let out a nervous gulp.
"Do we have to go in there?" She asked. Rainbow dash smirked.
"Not when I have these babies!" Rainbow dash exclaimed, opening her wings. She launched herself from the ground and started to fly over the labryth. Suddenly, with a bright light, Rainbow dash fell to the ground with a thud. She groggily opened her eyes and looked at her wings. They were gone.
"MY WINGS!" Rainbow dash shouted in fear. Fluttershy let out a squeak of fear when she noticed her wings were gone to. Rarity and Twilight screamed when they saw both of their horns were gone. Loud hysterical laughter surrounded them.
"You should have seen you faces. Utterly priceless." Discord said, wiping a tear from his eye. Fluttershy hid behind Spike in fear. Twilight approached Discord.
"Give us our horns and wings back!" Twilight demanded.
"You'll get them back in good time. I simply took them to ensure there's no cheating. You see, this is the first rule of our game: no flying, and no magic." Discord said. Spike gave him an angry look.
"Oh and don't even think about burning through the labyrinth, I took away your fire breathing." Discord said. Spike gave him a look of shock.
"The second rule is everypony has to play or the game is over, and I win. Good luck, everypony!" Discord said with an evil laugh before disappearing.
"Don't worry guys, we can make it through as long as we stay together!" Twilight said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, we can do this!" Rainbow dash shouted.
"Together!" Everyone said in unison, taking one step forward. Suddenly, large hedges came in between them, creating a barrier. Everyone let out screams of fear.
"Twilight?" Spike asked nervously.
"Don't worry Spike, I'm here. We can just regroup in the middle of the labyrinth." Twilight said. Everyone made sounds of approval.
"See you on the other side." Spike said as he heard everyone run in different directions. He started to walk, hoping he wouldn't get lost.
Spike walked around the labyrinth, nervously fiddling with his hands. He had been walking around for nearly 30 minutes.
"I wonder what Discord meant by not being able to breath fire." Spike wondered to himself. He took a deep breath a tried to let out some fire. He started cough up smoke.
"Ugh bad idea." Spike said to himself.
"Bad idea indeed, you almost lost the game." A voice said. Spike quickly turned around to see Discord floating.
"If anything you're cheating because you're using magic right now." Spike pointed out. Discord let out a fake gasp.
"But what's the point of that, it's not fun." Discord said floating. Spike let out a soft growl.
"What do you want." Spike said bitterly.
"Oh I just want to talk about your relationship with Twilght." Discord said.
"That's none of you concern." Spike said as he started to walked away. Discord teleported in front of him.
"Oh come on, you don't want to see what she really thinks of you?" Discord asked. Spike thought for a few moments.
"I guess." Spike said softly. Discord clapped his hands together.
"Oh this will be perfect!" Discord said as he pulled out a projector and a bag of popcorn. He pressed play on the projector. The video started, revealing all of his friends talking to each other. It looked like they were in the middle of the labyrinth.
"Ugh Spike is so annoying, I don't know why I even keep him around." Twilight said to her friends. Everyone nodded there head in agreement. "Yeah he's more annoying then Pinkie, and I didn't even think that was possible." Rainbow dash said. "Darling You should just get rid of him, dragons are so uncouth after all." Rarity suggested. Twilight smiled. "Yeah that's exactly what I'm going to do." Suddenly the video cut off, only leaving static. Spike hadn't realized that he had been crying.
"N-no Twilight would never do that, she's my best friend." Spike said. Discord smirked.
"She clearly doesn't care for you and she never did." Discord said. Spike fell to his knees and let hot tears roll down his cheeks. He buried his head in his hands. Discord placed his finger on Spikes head and he started to turn grey. Spike stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"I don't need Twilight." |
Aggressively Small | Can easily be reversed | Spike heard the hedge rustle behind him. The hedge suddenly collasped, revealing Twilight, Pinkie pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy. Twilight gasped ran up to hug Spike.
"Spike, I found you!" Twilight exclaimed while wrapping her arms around him. Spike froze for a second before pushing her off.
"Ugh don't touch me." Spike said as he wiped himself off. Twilight looked taken aback by that comment.
"You weren't worried?" Twilight asked. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Why would I be worried about a loser like you. I don't care about you." Spike said as he pushed past her. Twilights ears flattened.
"H-hey, that's not very nice." Twilight said. Spike scoffed.
"Who cares about 'being nice'. I'm outta here." Spike said as he started to walk away. Twilight started to follow him.
"Spike what's wrong? You never act like this." Twilight said concernedly. Spike rolled his eyes.
"Get off of my back, you're not my Mom!" Spike shouted. Twilight stopped walking. She had never heard Spike mention his parents before, let alone compare her to a parental figure. Before she could say anything else, Applejack shouted something.
"Well would you look at that, Rainbow dash is flying away!" Applejack shouted, pointing to the sky. Twilight looked up in shock to see Rainbow dash flying away from the labyrinth.
"No..." Twilight whispered in fear. They had lost the game. They were never going to get the Elements back. A loud laugh echoed around them and bright light apeared, making them close there eyes. When the opened there eyes, it was revealed that they were in the middle of the labyrinth. All of the hedges were gone and seems like they were standing in a ditch. Another flash of bright light and there horns and wings were back. Discord apeared, laughing loudly. Pinkie pie growled.
"What are you laughing about?" She said with a snarl. This only cause Discord to laugh harder.
"Oh, you ponies are just the most fun I've had in aeons." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Well, quit it! You'd better think before you laugh at the Pink...ie Pie!" She said awkwardly. Spike rolled his eyes at her stupid phrase.
"Oh yeah? Well, ha ha ha." Fluttershy said with a sly grin.
"Quit it." Pinkie said harshly. Fluttershy broke out into a grin.
"No. Ha ha ha." She said again.
"I said quit it!" Pinkie shouted. Fluttershy stuck her tongue out causing Pinkie pie to tackle her to the ground. Applejack walked over to Rarity.
"Uh... Rarity? This here diamond of yours? Twilight said we should split it seven ways since we, uh, found it together." Applejack said while rubbing the giant boulder. Rarity let out a snarl before kicking Applejacks hoof away.
"Try it punk! He's mine!" Rarity shouted while repeatedly kicking Applejack. Spike laughed and cheered Rarity on. Twilight stood in shock.
"Guys stop! Why are acting like this?!" Twilight asked in concern. Discord continued laughing, clutching onto his sides.
"Stop it Discord, you're not playing fair." Twilight said. Discord stopped laughing.
"I'm not playing fair? Perhaps we haven't met. I'm Discord, spirit of chaos and disharmony. Hello?" He said while gesturing to all of the choas he had caused.
"How are we supposed to find the Elements of Harmony when you took away the labyrinth before we could get to the end?" Twilight asked. Discord froze up before breaking down into hysterical laughter.
"You thought the Elements were in the Labyrith?! You ponies are simply rich!" Discord exclaimed. He snapped his fingers and they both appeared in the Canterlot Castle. Twilight looked to see her, her friends, and Princess Celestia standing there. It seemed like this as a flashback.
"Twists and turns are my master plan. Then find the Elements back where you began" Flashback Discord said. He snapped his fingers again and they both were back in the Labyrinth.
"I never said that the Elements were inside the Labyrinth." Discord said. Twilights ears flattened.
"But....but." She said in a loss for words.
"Keep trying Twilight Sparkle." Discord said. With a snap of his fingers, he disappeared. Chocolate milk rain started to come from the sky. Pinkie pie scrunched up her face in disgust.
"Ugh I hate chocolate milk!" She exclaimed.
"Think, Twilight, think! "Find the Elements back where you began." Back where you began." Twilight muttered to herself, clutching onto her head.
"Don't touch my gem!" Rarity shouted at Spike, who was sitting on top of the boulder. Fluttershy put her hoof on it.
"I'm touching your gem Rarity. Ha ha." Fluttershy said. Pinkie snarled.
"What are you laughin about?!" She said angrily. Twilight groaned.
"Ugh. I just want to go home... Wait a minute... Home! "Back where you began!" The Elements must be in... Ponyville! Come on, guys. I'm certain this is what Discord's riddle really meant. If we get back to the library, I have a book that I just know can give us a clue." Twilight said excitedly. Spike scoffed.
"Took you long enough. And I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." Spike said bitterly. Twilights ears flattened at his crude behavior.
"Hopefully I can find the solution to this."
Twilight finally approached the library after what felt like an eternity. Discord turned the roads into soap so they slid in different directions, he made it night so they couldn't see, and to top it all off Twilights friends wouldn't stop heckling her.
"Okay we're here. Can we just please please please please please just go inside." Twilight begged.
"I absolutely refuse." Applejack said while walking in.
"With pleasure." Fluttershy said while following.
"Ugh I hate libraries!" Pinkie said while looked around.
"This place is a mess, just like you." Spike said. Twilight looked at Rarity who stayed outside, with her nose high in the air.
"Pleeeeeaaaase, we gotta hurry!" Twilight said.
"Of course someone like you would beg." Spike said. Twilight ignored his comment.
"Forget it, Twilight. I know what you're up to. The second I go in, you'll have your little minion Spike come and take Tom!" Rarity said. Spike snarled.
"I'm not her minion, I don't even like her!" He exclaimed bitterly.
"You're not going in without him are you?" Twilight asked. Rarity shook her head. Twilight levitated the boulder and smashed it through the wall.
"There! It's inside!" Twilight shouted. Rarity ran up to the boulder and rubbed its sides.
"Careful, Twilight! You'll ruin his beautiful finish." She said as she kissed the rock. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked over to her bookshelf. On her way there, her hoof hit a book that was laying on the floor. The title read 'The Elements of Harmony.' Twilights face instantly lit up and she flipped through the pages of the book, looking for a clue. Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp.
"The Elements have been here the whole time!" Twilight exclaimed. She turned to her friends.
"I told you we could do it!" She said with a large grin. Everyone gave looks of disinterest and did there own thing. Twilights ears flattened in dissapointment.
"Nobody cares." Spike said bluntly.
"I never thought it would happen. My friends... have turned into complete JERKS!" Twilight shouted angrily. She pulled out the Elements and marched over to everyone.
"Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! Necklace! And... big crown thingy!" She shouted as she put the Elements on everyone. Twilight looked at the final Element that was in her hooves. She levitated Spike and put it on him.
"There, you're the new Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed in anger. Spike looked down at the Element that was around his neck.
"This is stupid." Spike said.
"Let's go defeat Discord so we don't ever have to talk to each other again!" Twilight shouted. Everyone walked outside except for Rarity and Twilight.
"Here comes Tom!" Twilight exclaimed. She levitated Tom out of her balcony and it crashed on the ground. Discord appeared a few feet away from the library.
"Well, well, well, I see you've found the Elements of Harmony. How terrifying!" He said sarcastically.
"I figured out your stupid riddle. You're in for it now!" Twilight said, just wanting to get over with it. Discord giggled.
"I certainly am. You've clearly out-dueled me, and now it's time to meet my fate. I'm prepared to be defeated now, ladies. Fire when ready." Discord said as he put on sunglasses and a giant target on himself.
"Formation now!" Twilight exclaimed. Everyone rolled there eyes and slowly walked over next to Twilight.
"Alright, let's get this over with!" Twilight shouted. She closed her eyes and strained her body, causing the Elements to glow. All of the mares floated off of the ground. Discord tilted down his glasses in surprise. Was this actually going to work?! Suddenly, the glowing came to an abrupt halt and they all landed on the ground with a thud.
"What's going on?" Twilght asked. Applejack poked at her Element.
"Mines fine, there must be something wrong with yours." She said.
"I hate the Elements of Harmony!" Pinkie said while crossing her arms.
"Hmph, garbage." Fluttershy said as she tossed her Element to the ground. Rarity rushed over to it and grabbed it.
"Mine!" She shouted greedily.
"Bravo, ponies, bravo! Harmony in Equestria is officially dead. Discord rules, Celestia drools." Discord said while skating away on the soapy roads.
"It's your fault it didn't work." Pinkie said, looking directly at the audience.
"Who are you talking to?" Twilight asked. Pinkie looked around.
"Any of you! ALL OF YOU! I'm outta here!" She said as she grumpily hopped away.
"I better go, too. I've got new betterfriends waiting for me at the farm." Applejack said while walking away. Rarity pushed her boulder away.
"Yeah! I'm sick of you losers." Fluttershy said while flying away.
"FINE! Leave! See if I care! I don't need you guys either! With friends like you, who needs...enemies...?" Twilight said. Her ears flattened as she realized that all of her friends were gone. Tears welled up in her eyes. Spike snickered, causing Twilight to look at him.
"Why are you still here? Don't you want to insult me one last time before you leave?" Twilight asked.
"I'm just here for your misery." Spike stated. Twilight stared at the ground for a few moments. Tears fell from her eyes and her legs started to shake. She collasped on the ground and broke down into a fit of sobs. Spike stared at her as she cried. He wanted to laugh but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to. It felt as if he should do something like comfort her. Spike felt a warm feeling coming to his heart as the color slowly returned to him. He closed his eyes and shook his head before letting out a small gasp.
"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed.
"Go away." Twilight said as she continued to cry. Spike walked over to her and grabbed Twilight by the cheeks, forcing her to look at him.
"Twilight this isn't your fault and your friends don't hate you. Discord had something to do with this." Spike said. Twilight pulled away from his grasp and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"How do I know this isn't some kind of trick to make me cry again?" Twilight asked.
"Discord corrupted me into hating you. You know I could never hate you." Spike said with a soft smile. Twilight hugged Spike tightly.
"Thanks Spike." Twilight said softly.
"No problem." Spike answered while pulling away from the hug.
"I think I have the solution to fix our friends." Spike said. Twilight tilted her head.
"Oh, what is it?" She asked. Spike ran into the library and came back out with a book. He handed it to Twilight.
"I remember finding that book on memory spells when we were cleaning up the library." Spike said. Twilight flipped through the pages.
"This might actually work!"
Spike and Twilight approuched the barn in Sweet Apple Acres to see Applejack. Twilight approached her and stomped her hoof on the ground.
"Applejack, I'm here to fight for our friendship." Twilight said. Applejack scoffed.
"Oh, now you want to fight. Where you went when I was battlin' Discord?" Applejack asked, rolling her eyes.
"You're not a liar!" Twilight exclaimed. Her horn started to glow and Applejacks eyes widened. Her body slowly started to regain her color.
"Wh-what happened? Twilight! I saw a vision of us feudin' and fightin'. I couldn't face the truth, so I started tellin' lies. Can you ever forgive me?" Applejack asked. Twilight hugged her.
"I already have. Let's go!" Twilight shouted as she ran off.
Spike kicked open the door to Fluttershys cottage, causing her to jump slightly.
"Ugh what do you loser want?" She asked bitterly.
"Fluttershy, you're not mean, you're one of the nicest ponies I know." Twilight said. Fluttershy rolled her eyes and started to fly away.
"Whatever, I'm out of here." She said. Applejack pulled her rope out from under her hat and lasso it around her hind leg. She pulled Fluttershy down with ease and tight her legs together. Twilight put her horn inches from Fluttershys face. The color returned to her and she blinked her eyes.
"Oh I just had the worst dream." Fluttershy said. Twilight and Applejack smiled. Now off to Rarity.
They all walked into the boutique, only to see Rarity making out with a rock. Her head snapped around when she saw everyone staring at her. She let out a hiss.
"Stay away from my precious diamond!" She hissed out. Twilight rolled her eyes and walked up to Rarity.
"What are you doing get awa-!" Rarity was cut off as the spell took affect on her. She got up and fixed her mane. She levitated the rock out of her house and let it fall on the ground with a loud boom. She turned to her friends with a large blush.
"We will never speak of this again."
They walked into Sugarcube Corner to see Pinkie pie stuffing her face with cake. This was going to be easy. Twilight walked over to Pinkie and did the spell. Pinkie pie broke out into a wide grin and giggled. She hopped in happily.
"I turned gray! Can you believe it?" She said with a giggle.
They all approached a large cloud house, looking for Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy flew up and looked through a window.
"She's not here." Fluttershy said. Everyone let out a gasp.
"Great, she could be anywhere by now!" Applejack exclaimed.
"Isn't she right there?" Pinkie asked while pointing at a cloud. Rainbow dash laid lazily on the cloud.
"Rainbow dash!" Twilight shouted. Rainbow kept her back turned from them.
"Hey guys." She said, waving her hoof lazily.
"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Twilight said.
"That's nice." Rainbow dash said, obviously not caring.
"Discord is still on the loose. We need the Element of Loyalty to defeat him!" Twilight said.
"Pfft. Loyalty, schmoyalty! Have you guys seen Ponyville? It's a disaster! I'm staying here in Cloudsdale where everything's awesome!" Rainbow dash said.
"How in Equestria does she think that tiny cloud is Cloudsdale?" Rarity asked.
"The same way you thought that boulder was a diamond." Spike said with a smirk. Rarity glared at him.
"I thought we agreed to never speak of that." She said with a large blush on her face.
"Time for plan B." Twilght said.
They rode in a hot air balloon, next to the cloud Rainbow was sleeping on.
"Okay, Fluttershy, you grab Rainbow Dash and hold her down. Applejack will lower me down from this rope so I can cast the memory spell on her." Twilight whispered, making sure Rainbow Dash didn't hear. Applejack sat on top of the balloon, holding a rope in her hooves. Fluttershy nodded her head.
"Got it." She said. She flew up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow dash opened one eye.
"Um, do you mind if I hold you down for your will for a little bit?" Fluttershy asked softly. Spike facepalmed.
"Nice try, Ponyvilles your promblem, not mine!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flew off. Twilight lowered the rope in front of Fluttershy.
"Come on, Fluttershy, we've got to catch her. Hyah!" Twilight shouted as she tugged on the rope. Fluttershy started to fly as fast as she could, chasing after Rainbow dash. Suddenly, Rainbow dash started to do unexpected twist and turns.
"Applejack!" Twilight shouted as she tossed up a rope to Applejack. Applejack tied the rope into a lasso and it around as Rainbow dash got closer. The rope wrapped around Rainbow, causing her to look in confusion. She started to fly faster, causing the need of the rope to wrap around Rarity's and Pinkies hind leg. They both screamed as the got pulled out of the balloon and dragged along with Rainbow. Rainbow started to slow down because of the extra weight.
"Oh, Fluttershy, would you be a dear and FLY FASTER, please?" Rarity shouted in fear. Fluttershy started to whimper and tears fell down her cheeks.
"I can't." She cried out softly. Spike leaned over the edge.
"If you can't catch her, Discord wins!" Spike shouted. Fluttershys eyes widened and she gritted her teeth.
"That big... dumb... MEANIE!" Fluttershy shouted. With all over her power, she sped up, inches behind Rainbow dash.
"Okay Applejack last rope, make it count!" Twilight shouted while tossing the last rope up. Applejack swung one end of the rope and it tightend around Rainbows stomach. Everybody smiled at there success and Fluttershy slowly lowered them to the ground. Everybody got out of the balloon and Applejack tightend the rope around her wings. Rainbow bucked her rear legs, attempting to escape.
"Lemme go! I don't need you guys! Leave me alone!" Rainbow shouted. Twilight walked over to her and place her horn on her head, doing the spell. Rainbow dash closed her eyes before opening them and looking around.
"How's Ponyville? Where are the Elements?! Did we stop Discord?" Rainbow asked in concern. Everyone smiled and pulled into a group hug, relieved that everyone was back to normal. A stampede of long legged rabbits ran past.
"Maybe it's a little bit early for a group hug." Spike said.
Discord sat on a throne in a middle of town, onlooking all of the chaos.
"Chaos is a wonderful thing." Discord said cheerfully.
"Not as wonderful as friendship." Twilight said, approaching his throne.
"Oh this again." He said with a groan, rubbing his temples.
"That's right, you couldn't keep our friendship apart forever." Applejack said.
"Oh, Applejack. Don't lie to me. I'm the one who made you a liar. Will you ever learn? " Discord said, using his magic to pull her closer to him. Twilight turned around to see all of her friends were also being dragged towards him. Twilight gritted her teeth and teleported between her friends. She summoned a magic bubble to surround them and put them back on the ground. Discord let out a yawn of disinterest.
"I'll tell you what we've learned, Discord: we've learned that friendship isn't always easy, but there's no doubt it's worth fighting for!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike clapped his hands at the speech in the background. Discord let out a yawn.
"Ugh, gag. Fine, go ahead. Try and use your little Elements. Friend me. Just make it quick. I'm missing some excellent chaos here." Discord said while sipping on a drink.
"Alright ladies, let's show him what friendship can do!" Twilight exclaimed as her horn started to glow. They all levitated off of the ground as a bright light surrounded them. A rainbow wrapped around Discord, causing his eyes to widen.
"Huh. What's this? No. NO!!!" Discord screamed as he was being turned back into stone. First his legs, then his body, then his wings, then his arms. Lastly his face, which was left in a screaming state. His statue fell on the ground with a soft 'clink'. A large bubble surrounded Ponyville and with a bright light, everything was back to normal.
"Whoa." Spike whispered.
Spike stood in the throne room with Celestia with trumpets playing. Hundreds of ponies stood in the room for the celebration of the main six. The doors opened, and all of the mare walked in. They all wore there Elements. They walked down the large red carpet and up a small set of stairs to face the Princess.
"We are gathered here today to once again honor the heroism of these six friends who stood up to the villain Discord and saved Equestria from eternal chaos." Celestia said happily. Everybody hollered and cheered at this achivement. Celestia used her magic to drape a curtain aside to reveal a window.
The window had Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie pie defeating Discord. |
Aggressively Small | Fever dreams | Spike slowly opened his eyes. He felt dizzy and his limbs felt weak. He slowly sat up and looked around. The sun was barely up and Twilight wasn't in her bed. For some reason he still felt tired even though he got over eight hours of sleep. He felt freezing cold.
He got out of his bed and stumbled slightly. It felt like he was carrying the weight of the world his shoulders. He walked down the stairs with shaky legs. He made it to the bottom of the stairs and weakly turned his head to look for Twilight. Twilight sat at her desk reading a book.
"Twilight..." Spike called out, but it came out horsley. Spike slowly walked over to Twilight, shaking with each step. He finally made it over to Twilight which felt like an eternity. He put his hand on Twilights leg, making her turn around.
"Oh you're up. I've never seen you sleep so long." Twilight said with a smile. Her smiled turned into a frown when she gave him a closer look.
"Are you feeling okay, you look pale." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head.
"I'm fine." He said horsley. Twilight put her hoof on his forehead and her eyes widened.
"Spike you're burning up!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I said I'm fine." He mumbled out. Twilight shook her head and put Spike on her back.
"No Spike, you need rest." Twilight said as she walked up the stairs. She placed him in her bed and wrapped a thick blanket around him. He let out a whine of protest. Twilight gave him a soft kiss on the head and handed him Starry.
"I'll go get you some medicine and tea." Twilight said as she went downstairs. Spike wanted to follow her but felt to weak to even move. He held Starry in his arms and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know how much time had past when he heard Twilight walking up the stairs. Spike sat up to see Twilight pouring some medicine in a small paper cup.
"Drink up." Twilight said, putting the cup up to his lips. Spike grimaced and hid his face into the blanket. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.
"If you don't take it, you won't be able to come with me when I go out." Twilight stated. Spikes eyes widened and he quickly gulped down the bitter tasting medicine. Twilight smiled and gave him tea. After he took a few sips, he put it down on the table next to him.
"Now I know you don't like sleeping, but you need to get more rest." Twilight said. Spike was too tired to protest and he laid down. Twilight started to walk away but Spike tugged on her tail.
"Don't go..." Spike said weakly. Twilight smiled.
"Okay, let me just get some books." She said as she walked down the stairs. Spike nodded his head and cuddled into the blanket. He let his eyes close and dozed off before Twilight got back.
"Are you ready for the first day of school?" Twilight asked. Spike clung to Twilights leg and shook his head. Twilight put her hoof under Spikes chin and lifted his head so he could meet her gaze.
"I know you're scared, but I know you can do this. You're six now and you've been braver than ever. Now are you ready?" Twilight asked. Spike smiled nervously and nodded his head.
"Okay, let's go." Twilight said as she started to walk inside with Spike trailing behind her. They both walked inside the front office and the mare behind the desk smiled brightly. There was a plaque on her desk that said 'Bumble Wisp.'
"Hello, how may I help you?" Bumble Wisp asked cheerfully. She had a little southern accent.
"I'm here to drop off Spike for school." Twilight said while gesturing to Spike, who hid behind her leg. Bumble Wisp smiled brightly.
"Oh we've been expecting you. Now aren't you just the cutest thing?" She said. Spike
squeezed closer to Twilight leg.
"He's a little shy." Twilight explained. She nodded her head in understanding. Twilight pulled out a piece of paper and handed to the mare.
"Here's a list of emergency contacts. Please don't be afraid to call. Spike can have his... episodes at times." Twilight said. The mare nodded her head and took the paper.
"I understand, now let's go show you to your class." Bumble Wisp said. Spike let out a whimper and looked at Twilight.
"It's okay, I'll be back to come and get you when school is over, I promise." Twilight said. She gave Spike a kiss on the head.
Spike gulped nervously and followed Bumble Wisp down the hallway. He stared at the floor as he followed her. Bumble Wisp stopped walking causing him to bump into her leg. He looked up at her, blushing.
"Sorry." Spike mumble softly. She smiled.
"It's fine sweetheart. Look we made it to your class." Bumble Wisp said enthusiastically. Spike let out a shaky breath as he opened the door. A pink unicorn mare who was facing the board turned around when she heard the door open. Bumble Wisp walked inside the room with Spike.
"I'm here to drop off the new student." She said. The teacher smiled. Spike shakily walked into the room. He felt the eyes off fillies and colts on him.
"My name is Mrs. Dove." She faced the class, touching Spikes shoulder, making him tense up.
"This is Spike, our new student. You can sit right next to Raspberry." Mrs. Dove said while pointing to an empty seat next to a red unicorn filly. Spike nodded his head and walked to the table. He felt every bodies eyes on him. He heard them whispering stuff like 'is that a dragon?' and 'what if he tries to eat us?'
Spike sat down next to Rasperberry, who moved her chair away a few inches.
"Now class, it's time for a pop quiz." Mrs. Dove said, making the whole class groan. She started to hand out test. She approached Spike.
"You don't have to take the test if you don't want too." She said. Spike felt his classmates staring at him.
"I want to take it." Spike said softly. Mrs. Dove looked at him in surprise and handed him the test.
"When you're finished, put you're test on my desk." Mrs. Dove said. Spike reached into his back and pulled out a pencil. He looked at the test. It was simple addition and subtraction problems.
Spike answered the questions in less than a minute. He stood up, making everyone stare at him. Spike cowered as he walked to Mrs. Doves desk and put the paper on her desk. She looked at him curiously as he walked back to the table and sat down.
"Theirs no way he could finish the test that quickly in such a short amount of time. He must have guessed every question." Mrs. Dove thought to herself. She picked up her pen and started to grade the test. Her jaw dropped when she finished grading.
"H-he got everything right!" She thought in disbelief. She looked up at Spike who was reading a book.
"I need to talk to him after class." Mrs. Dove thought. The minutes ticked by and more children handed in there work. By the time the kid handed in their test, the recess bell rung, making all of the children jump out of there seats and run out the door. Spike slowly got up and trailed behind the class.
"Spike may I please speak with you." Mrs. Dove said. Spike tensed up and walked over to her desk. He looked at Mrs. Dove with tears in his eyes.
"Don't cry, you're not in trouble." Mrs. Dove said reassuringly. Spike wiped his eyes.
"Spike, how did you finish that test so quickly." Mrs. Dove asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"It was easy." He mumbled. Mrs. Dove looked at him in surprise.
"You can go and play now." Mrs. Dove said. Spike nodded his head and walked out the door. He walked down the long hallway until he reached to large doors.
Spike walked out the doors to reveal a large playground. Ponies of different ages ran around and screamed. Spike covered his ears at the noise. He walked around the playground, looking for a quiet spot to hide. Spike felt like he was suffocating from the noise. It became hard to breath and he started to hyperventilate. He felt a hoof on his shoulder, nearly making him scream. He whipped around to see Mrs. Dove giving him a concerned look.
"Are you okay?" She asked in a sweet tone. At this point Spike was shaking like a leaf. Tears welled up in his eyes he ran inside the school. He ran down the hallway, looking for a quiet spot but it seemed everywhere he went, it just go louder. He opened a random door and ran into the room, shutting the door behind him. He looked around to see that he was in a dimly lit janitors closet. He sat on the floor and clutched onto his ears. Spike could hear his heart pounding loudly.
"Just breath like Twilight taught you. In and out. In and out." Spike thought to himself. He continued doing this for a few minutes until his breathing calmed down. The lunch bell rung, making Spike jump and his breath quicken.
"In and out." Spike whispered to himself, trying to breath normally. He laid on the floor, tears streaming down his face.
"I want Twilight." Spike thought to himself as sobbed loudly. He wanted to yell for her, but it was useless. Another bell rang making him scream. He sobbed louder as he heard the loud sounds of ponies walking and talking down the hallway. It seem like the noise was going to go on forever, but luckily it stopped. Finally, the sound of silence.
Spikes breathing calmed down but he continued to cry. He felt too emotionally drained to get up and go back to class. The door opened, making him jump back. He turned around to see Velvet standing there. Spike quickly stood up and ran into her arms, letting out a sob.
"It's okay, I'm here." Velvet said as she rubbed his head. Once he calmed down, he pulled away from the hug.
"Do you want to go home?" Velvet asked softly. Spike nodded his head. Velvet put Spike on her back and made her way to the office. She picked up a pen and signed her name on a sign out sheet before waving goodbye to Bumble Wisp and leaving the school. Velvet walked outside and a fresh breeze.
"I'm sorry for making you leave work..." Spike apologized. Velvet stopped walking
"Spike it wasn't your fault, I promise. You just got a little overwhelmed. Now let's go home, Twilight should be there by now." Velvet said as she continued walking.
Spike stirred awake and looked around. He felt a lot better. He noticed Twilight laying on the bed next to him, reading a book.
"Hey Twilight." Spike said. His voice sounded a lot better too. Twilight snapped her attention to him and smiled.
"Oh you're up. You slept all day!" Twilight said. Spike noticed that it was now night time.
"Do you remember that time I went to school and freaked out so I went home early and never went back." Spike said. Twilight put her book down.
"Oh yeah, remember that. Mom said that she found you in a janitors closet. What made you bring it up?" Twilight asked.
"I just had a dream about that day. I remembered little details like what the room smelled like and all of the questions on the test that I took." Spike said. Twilight raised her eyebrows.
"It sounds like you're getting better. That's good because your birthday is in a few days, and you shouldn't be sick on your birthday." Twilight said happily.
"Yeah, my birthday." Spike said with a smile. |
Aggressively Small | Birthday bash and birthday smash | Spike bounced in his seat excitedly with a large grin on his face. Twilight giggled at the sight.
"I've never seen you this excited before." Twilight said with a laugh.
"This is my first birthday with new friends!" Spike said, still bouncing. The doorbell rang and Twilight opened the door. Pinkie pie cartwheeled in with a large grin and hugged Spike tightly.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPIKE!" Pinkie yelled. Spike winced at the noise.
"Thanks and please don't yell." Spike said.
"Oops I mean happy birthday Spike!" Pinkie said softly.
"The others will be here soon, but first I need to decorate." Pinkie said. Spike blinked and everything was set up. He and Twilight looked around in confusion.
"How did-" Twilight got cut off by the doorbell ringing. Twilight opened the door to see all of her friends standing there. Twilight let them in.
"Happy birthday Spike!" They all said happily.
"It's time to get this party started!" Pinkie shouted as she pulled out a record player. Upbeat music played and the party started.
The party had went on for hours. It was way past noon, and it seemed like the party wouldn't stop. Spike opened a present from Applejack, sitting in the piles of presents that he had gotten. It was a blanket with apples on it. He hugged her tightly.
"Thanks Applejack." He said with a smile. Applejack patted him in the head.
"It's no problem Sugarcube." Applejack said. Spike pulled away from the hug and rubbed his arm.
"Sorry, I'm just not used to getting so many presents. I usually ask to not that many." Spike said sheepishly. Pinkie jumped out from under the pile of presents.
"Talking about presents, the Cakes have a special surprise for you at Sugarcube Corner." Pinkie said with a smile.
"You should go, I'll clean this stuff up." Twilight said. Spike gave an uneasy look.
"Are you sure? I can help." Spike said. Twilight waved her hoof.
"Go out and have fun, you're still a kid." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head a left the library. Time to go find out what is special surprise was.
Spike entered SugarCube Corner and walked up to the counter. He had to get on his toes to see over it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake walked over to the counter with large grins.
"There's the dragon of the hour! Happy birthday, Spike!" Mr. Cake exclaimed. Mrs. Cake pulled out a cupcake with blue frosting and sapphires sprinkled on top of it.
"When we found out it was your birthday, we couldn't resist trying out a new recipe: sapphire!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed excitedly. Spike stared at the cupcake.
"How much does it cost?" Spike asked. Mr and Mrs. Cake laughed at the question.
"Spike it's on the house, it is your birthday after all!" Mr. Cake said. Spike gave an uneasy look.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yes we're sure, just consider it as a present from the both of us." Mrs. Cake said, pushing the cupcake towards him. When Spike grabbed the cupcake, he felt a small surge of power. He walked out of the store holding the cupcake with both hands. Something was different. Usaully, when the Cakes gave him free food, he would always slip some money into the register. But this time, it felt like he deserved it. It made him feel... powerful. Spikes eyes widened and he shook his head.
"No, I will not let myself get greedy. I just need to keep myself under contro-WHOA!" Spike exclaimed as he fell over. The uneaten cupcake fell out of his hands and landed on the ground with a splat. He looked up to see Cheerilee struggling to pick up her groceries. Spike rushed over to her and helped her.
"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." Spike apologized as he handed her a grocery bag.
"It's okay Spike." Cheerilee said.
"Twilight told me today was your birthday so I got you something!" Cheerilee said excitedly as she rummaged through the grocery bag. She pulled out a white hat with a red band and a red feather sticking out.
"Sorry that I didn't wrap it, I just bought it." She said, handing him the hat. He felt another surge of power hit him when he held it. Spikes stomach dropped.
"It's okay, you didn't need to get me anything." Spike said, trying to give the hat back. Cheerilee scoffed.
"Nonsense, everyone deserves something on there birthday." Cheerilee said with a smile. She pushed the hat back into his hands and walked away. Spike stared at the hat with shaky hands.
"I don't need this, I don't need this, I don't need this." Spike repeated to himself as he mindlessly walked around town.
"Hey Spike!" Someone called out making Spike turn around. It was Applebloom with a large grin on her face.
"Oh hey." Spike said. It appeared that she was hiding something behind her back.
"I heard it was your birthday so I got you something!" Applebloom said, revealing a yellow and blue bouncy ball. Spike slowly reached his hand out to touch the ball. His eyes turned into slits and he grabbed it.
"Thankssss." Spike said with a little hiss. Appleblooms ears folded and she took a few steps back.
"Are ya feeling okay?" Applebloom asked. Spike blinked and shook his head, snapping himself out of the trance.
"Y-yeah, I just need to get some rest bye!" Spike said as he bolted in the other direction. Once Applebloom was out of sight, he slowed down.
"I can't believe I lost control again. How could I be so stupid!" Spike spat bitterly at himself. Something shiny caught his eye. He trailed over to it and saw that it was a silver button. Spikes eyes turned to slits again.
"Mine."
Twilights ears perked up when she heard the front door open. She turned around to see Spike, holding items that towered over his head. She levitated it out of his arms and placed on the floor.
"Where were you? The moon has been up for an hour!" Twilight exclaimed. It wasn't like him to go out for long periods of time without any feedback whatsoever. Spike let out a chuckle.
"Sorry Twi, I guess I was to busy getting all of these cool presents." Spike said, gesturing to the pile of items on the floor. Twilight stared at the pile. Some of these made for very wierd birthday presents. There was a hearing aid in there. Twilight let out a sigh.
"I'm just glad you're safe." Twilight said while hugging him. Spike yawned.
"I'm going to sleep." Spike said. Twilight tilted her head. That was odd, he would always stay with her as she read, even if he was tired. It must have just been him trying to get into new habits. He even looked a few inches taller.
"Well aren't you going to eat your fire ruby? You've been saving it for weeks." Twilight said while handing him the heart shaped gem. His eyes turned to slits for a split second.
"You know what, I'm just going to keep it." Spike said as he walked up the stairs, staring at the ruby. There was something off about Spike, but Twilight couldn't figure out what.
Ponies screamed as loud stomping echoes around Ponyville. A loud distant roar, caused animals to flee. Ponies pushed pass a purple unicorn.
"I can get through to him, I know it!" Twilight shouted. A large, 80 foot purple dragon stomped through town eating, stealing, and burning everything in sight. The dragon approached Twilight, who stood in place. Tears streamed down her face.
"Spike I know this isn't you, please snap out of it the real you would never do this!" Twilight shouted. Spike stared at her before a large, wicked grin spread across his face. He wrapped his claws around the purple unicorn, squeezing her tightly. She let out a strained wheeze as Spike brought her up to his face.
"NO PLEASE DON'T, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, I LOVE YOU!" Twilight screamed in terror. And with that, the dragon ate the unicorn in one bite.
Spike sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Beads of sweat dripped down his face and tears welled up in his eyes. He looked over to see Twilight still sleeping soundly in her bed. He looked around his bed to see various items surrounding him.
"I can't let that dream come true." Spike whispered to himself. His voice was a lot deeper than before. He got out of bed, only to realize that he had grown big enough to be considered a teenage dragon. He picked up the "presents" and brought them downstairs. Spike rummaged through a closet and pulled out a big backpack and a wagon.
Spike made his way to the front door and was about to open it when he paused. He turned around to see his birthday presents laying on the floor. He walked over to them and put them in the wagon.
"I don't deserve these." Spike muttered to himself as he left the library. The cold night air chilled his scales. Spike walked to the first house and rummaged through his bag. He pulled out a stuffed animal and placed it at the front door. On to the next house.
Spike stood in front of the door of Sweet Apple Acres, holding the blanket and numerous presents Applejack had given him. He placed it on the doorstep. The wagon was completely empty and Spike shrunk back down to his normal size. He turned around to walk away, when he heard something hit the ground. He turned around to see Starry laying on the ground. Spike held his breath. He picked her up.
"I must have accidentally put you in my bag." Spike said to himself. He stared into Starry's lifeless doll eyes and looked at the gifts he put on the doorstep.
"I don't deserve you." Spike muttered as he stared at the toy. Tears started to slide down his cheeks. He kissed Starry on the head.
"I'll miss you girl." Spike whispered as he put her on top of the blanket. He walked away, the wagon creaking behind him. Spike walked in silence, listening to the birds chirp. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Spike was so lost in his thoughts, he almost didn't realize that he was in front of the library. He opened the door and walked inside. He put the wagon and the bag back into the closet.
Spike made his way upstairs to see Twilight still sleeping peacefully. He looked at his bed to see the fire ruby sitting there. Spike picked it up and walked over to Twilights bed. He slid the ruby next to her and gave her a soft kiss on the head. He walked back downstairs and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs, butter, and milk.
He might as well make himself useful if he wasn't going back to sleep. He went to the cabinet and pulled out flour, sugar, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. He slipped on his pink apron and got to work.
Spike had been in silence for so long, he almost didn't hear Twilight walk into the kitchen. She let out a yawn, making him turn around.
"Morning Spike." Twilight said as she sat down at the table. Spike mumbled a greeting.
"What are you doing up so early?" Twilight asked.
"You know, just making breakfast." Spike mumbled. Twilight noticed something was off. Spike was usually happy to see her. Now he seemed bland and upset. He also had heavy bags under his eyes. Did he not sleep?
"I noticed that you put your fire ruby in my bed." Twilight stated.
"I don't want it anymore, you can have it." Spike said. Twilight blinked in surprise. Before she could say anything, Spike put a stack of pancakes onto the table. Twilight levitated a few pancakes into her plate and poured some syrup. She took a small bite and her taste buds exploded.
"These are really good." Twilight complimented. Spike stared at his pancakes.
"Thanks." He mumbled while picking at his pancake.
"Are you not going to eat?" Twilight asked. Spike pushed his plate away.
"I'm just gonna go lay down for a bit." Spike said as he got up from the table and walked out of the room. Now something was definitely wrong. Spike never lost his appetite unless he was sick or something bad happened. Since he was sick a few days ago, something had to be wrong.
Twilight stood up from the table and was about to go upstairs,but stopped when she noticed Spike laying in the middle of the library floor. He seemed to be staring at the ceiling. Twilight walked over to him.
"Spike what's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"There's nothing wrong, I'm just laying here." Spike said. Twilight went upstairs to get his comfort item. She looked inside of his bed to see that Starry wasn't in there. She looked in her bed but Starry wasn't there either. Twilight walked back down stairs.
"Spike what happened to Starry? You never let her out of your sight." Twilight said. Spike seemed to stiffen up at the question. Before he could answer, the doorbell rang. Twilight walked over to the door and opened it to see all of her friends with concerned looks.
"Hi girls, what are you doing here so early?" Twilight asked. They walked in, holding very familiar presents.
"We found our dear Spikey Wilkey's presents on our doorsteps when we woke up." Rarity said. Twilights eyes widened in shock.
"That's unlike him, but he had been acting weirdly all morning." Twilight commented.
"He even gave me back the blanket that he said he loved so much." Applejack said.
"But I don't remember giving him this." Applejack said as she pulled out a dark blue and purple plush bat. Twilight was taken aback.
"Thats Spikes favorite toy, he would never give her up that easily." Twilight said.
"I think we need to get to the bottom of this." Rainbow dash said. All mares nodded and walked over to Spike, who was now laying on his face.
"Spike we need to talk." Twilight said sternly. Spike let out some muffled words that couldn't be deciphered.
"Why did you give the presents back? If you didn't like them you could've just said so." Pinkie Pie said. Spike still laid there in silence. Twilight levitated Starry from off of the floor and nudged Spike in the head with her. Spike sat up slightly and his eyes widened. His eyes welled up with tears and he grabbed her as quickly as he could. Twilight sat down next to him.
"Now are you ready to talk?" Twilight asked. Spike sniffled and nodded his head.
"There's this thing call dragon greed, where when a dragon get too greedy, they start to grow and lose sight in what important. All of the presents you gave me made me too greedy and I started to lose control of myself. I started to steal thing from ponies and then lied and told you they gave them to me. I would have hurt anyone just to get something meaningless. I thought if I gave everything back, I wouldn't hurt anyone." Spike explained. Twilights eyes widened and she hugged him tightly.
"Spike I know that would never ever happen to you. You are one of the most selfless people I know and you would never go that far." Twilight said. Fluttershy walked over.
"Next year we don't have to give you as many presents so you can still be happy." She said. Spike nodded.
"I think that for the best." Spike said. All of his friends walked over to him and pulled him into a group hug. With all of these loving friends, Spike knew he wouldn't lose control in a long time. |
Aggressively Small | Childish fight | Spike entered the training room to see Celestias smiling face.
"Spike, I'm so glad you could make it!" She exclaimed. Spike smiled.
"Since your birthday was a few days ago, I got you a little something." Celestia said with a smile. Spikes scales flattened before he shook his head.
"No, I won't punish myself this time." Spike thought to himself.
"What is it?" Spike asked. Celestia grinned and pushed a medium sized box over to him. It had beautiful wrapping that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' and a neat golden bow on the top.
"Open it." Celestia said, bouncing slightly. Spike tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a cardboard box. He opened the box and his eyes widened. It was his very own sword, shield, and armor. Spike looked up at Celestia with a wide grin. He ran up to her and hugged her.
"This is the best present ever!" Spike exclaimed. Celestia chuckled.
"Go put it on, practice will begin soon." Celestia said with a smile. Spike nodded his head and carried the box out to his room.
Spike walked into the room he was staying in and closed the door behind him. He pulled out the top. It was golden to match the royal gaurds and a small green flame on the front. He slipped it over his head. It had holes in the back so his spines poked out. Next he pulled out small golden shoes. They were different from the royal gaurds shoes, probably because they were made for hooves while Spikes was made for feet. Two sleeve like cuffs were pulled out of the box. They had small purple gems embedded in them.
He slipped them on and pulled out a helmet. Just like the royal guard helmets, it had a hole at the top for hair to go through. Or in his case, scales. He slid it on his head. Spike looked in the box and saw a sword holder with a leather strap. He placed it over his armor. A large metal shield sat at the bottoms of the box. Spike placed the shield next to him and looked in the box. Lastly he pulled out a sword. It was slightly longer than the one he practiced with. It was metal with a golden handle. There was a piece of paper stuck to the sword.
"This sword is fire proof and the shield is magic proof." Spike read out loud. He slipped it into the holder and looked in the mirror.
"Lookin good." Spike said with finger guns and a wink. He picked up the shield, opened the door, and made his way back to the training room. Spike opened the door to reveal Luna talking to Celestia.
"Ah, I see that you're ready to lose." Lina said with a smirk. Spike glared at her. Celestia moved over to the side of the room. Spike walked in front of Luna and looked her in the eyes.
"One, two, three start!" Celestia exclaimed. Spike pulled out his sword out of his holder and swung at Luna. Luna jumped back and let out a blast of magic. Spike blocked it with his shield. He launched himself at Luna and kicked her in the face. She stumbled back and blinked in surprise. She snarled in anger.
Luna flew a few feet into the air and her horn started to glow a light blue. Spike jumped up and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain and fall onto the floor. She quickly stood up and charged at Spike.
Spike spun around and swept his feet under her hooves. Luna stumbled backwards. She kicked Spike in the side causing him to slide back. Before he could attack, Luna pinned him to the ground with a smirk.
"You almost beat me this time." Luna said happily. If it weren't for Luna's genuine smile, he would have been bitter about his defeat. Luna put out her hoof to help him up. Spike took her hoof and stood up, patting his armor. The doors burst open, causing everyone to jump and turned around. A royal guard stood there, out of breath and covered in cake.
"Princess there's an emergency in the kitchen!" The guard exclaimed. Celestia looked at Luna and Spike.
"Keep training, I will be back shortly." Tia said as she followed the guard out of the room. The door closed behind them with a soft click. Spike smacked his lips.
"Before we start, I'm gonna get some water." Spike said as he walked over to his bag. He pulled out a water bottle and Starry fell out with a soft plop. He took a few gulps of water before putting it back in his bag. Spike stood up with a little bounce.
"Are you ready? I can totally beat you this time." Spike exclaimed with stars in his eyes. Luna stared at Starry with a confused expression.
"Spike is that my doll?" Luna asked. Spike looked back at Starry.
"No, she's mine, Tia gave her to me." Spike stated.
"Sister gave her to me for my fiftieth birthday so she is mine!" Luna exclaimed. Spike put his hands on his hips.
"Well Tia gave her to me when I first got to Equestria!" Spike said. Luna stomped her hoof on the ground.
"I-I've been gone for a thousand years, so I deserve her more!" Luna said. Spike rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"Oh real mature, take a toy from a child, I applaud you." Spike said while clapping sarcastically. Luna stomped both of her hooves on the ground, causing it to crack.
"I challenge you to a duel. Whoever wins gets Starry!" Luna exclaimed. Spikes scales flattened. If he lost then he wouldn't be able to keep Starry, but if he said no Luna would keep bugging him about it.
"You're on!" Spike exclaimed. He picked up his sword and shield and stood across from Luna.
"One, two, three, go!" Luna exclaimed. Spike quickly sprang into action and charged a Luna. He swung the sword at her chest and she took a few steps back. Luna's horn started to glow and a large beam of magic shot out. Spike stopped it with his shield and the magic bounced off. The magic beam shattered a nearby window. Neither of them stopped and they both continued fighting.
Luna flew a few feet into the air before teleporting away. Spikes ears perked up, listening to any sound. He heard soft hoof steps behind him. He whipped around and hit Luna with his shield. She tumbled back and let another beam shoot from her horn.
Spike barrel rolled across the floor and the beam made a hole in the door. Luna charged at him, causing Spike to flip back and kick her in the face. Luna stumbled back before letting out a snarl. She kicked Spike in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He collasped on the ground and caught his breath. Did he lose? He could see Luna smile and she made her way over to Starry. He felt anger course through his veins.
Spike stood up and let out a large gust of fire, causing his sword to light up. He ran towards Luna, causing her to turn around. Her pupils turned to the size of needles before he jumped, raised the sword over himself and striking Luna in the head. Spike landed on the ground, catching his breath. Luna stood up with shaky legs and looked at Spike. A part of her mane had been chopped off and there was no way to cover that up. There was also a long cut on her scalp, luckily it wasn't deep enough to do any permanent damage.
"Congratulations, you finally beat me." Luna said with a weak smile. Spike broke out into a wide grin.
"I won!" Spike exclaimed excitedly.
"WHAT IN EQUESTRIA HAPPENED HERE?!" Celestia shouted, standing in the doorway. There was a broken window, the floor was cracked, and there was a hole in the door.
Spike and Luna were in so much trouble. |
Aggressively Small | The truth about the past | Spike and Twilight walked into a ditch to see Rainbow dash, Applejack, and Pinkie pie wearing camouflage.
"Have any dragons passed yet?" Twilight asked in a whisper.
"Not one." Applejack responded. Rainbow dash banged her hoof on the ground.
"Shoot! You don't think we missed them, do you?" She asked disappointedly. Twilight shook her head.
"No, I don't think so. We're just a little early, and I'm glad we are. This way, we can watch every moment of the migration without bringing any unwanted attention to ourselves!" Twilight said. A burst of glitter came from behind them and a red carpet rolled into the ditches. Trumpets played as Rarity sashayed into the ditch wearing a pink dress with brown and green splotches on it.
"What do you think? Am I the toast of the trench or what?" Rarity asked while posing so everybody can get a look.
"You'll be toast alright, when the dragons see you parading around in that getup." Applejack said. Pinkie pie hopped over to Spike and put her arm over his shoulders, not respecting his personal space at all.
"Talking about dragons, where are you from anyway? Twilight told me that you moved in with her when you were five, so you had to live somewhere!" Pinkie exclaimed. Spikes scales flattened and his eyes darted around. As if Celestia could hear his thoughts, a distraction appeared.
"Look the migration is starting!" Spike exclaimed while pointing to the sky. Hundreds of dragons flew past, doing little tricks and trying to playfully knock each other out of the sky. All of the ponies 'oooed' and 'aaahed' at the sight. Spike stared at the dragons lost in his thoughts.
"They all look so happy together. Friends and family. Having fun and spending time with each other. Do any of them know that at any moment they could lose each other? Will they see each other again? Will I ever see my family again?" Spike thought to himself. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice tears falling down his cheeks.
"Spike isn't this amazing?!" Twilight asked in excitement. When she got no response, she turned to look at him. Twilight gave a look of shock when she saw that he was crying. She rushed over to him.
"Spike are you okay?" Twilight asked. Spike snapped out of his trance and blinked a few times. He saw all of his friends staring at him in concern.
"I'm fine I just need to go clear my head." Spike said before running out of the ditch. Twilight was about to go after him, but was stopped by Applejack.
"Give him his space. He needs time for himself." Applejack said. Twilight gave her an uneasy look before nodding.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Twilight said with a sigh before sitting back down and watching the migration.
Spike walked through the Everfree Forest, wiping the tears from his eyes and kicking a rock.
"Why did I have to start crying and ruin the whole thing? I'm such an idiot!" Spike exclaimed angrily while kicking the rock against a tree. The rock bounced off of the tree and back in front of him. He let out a sigh and continued to kick the rock.
Spike stared at the ground as thoughts flooded through his head. Mainly about family and mortality. From the side of his eye, Spike saw something glowing a yellowish orange from a nearby bush. It looked like it was a fire. He rushed over, not wanting for the forest to burn down. He came to a halt when instead of a fire, he saw an egg.
"A phoenix egg?" Spike questioned. He touched it to feel that it was still warm. He picked it up and looked around to see if there were any nearby phoenix nest. When he didn't find any, he looked back down at the egg.
"I'll help you find your family little guy." Spike said to the egg. He walked around, looking for any signs of phoenix or phoenix nest but found nothing. A dragon must have dropped it during the migration. He almost forgot that dragons eat eggs. He looked back down at the egg.
"I guess I'm taking you home with me." Spike said as he made his way back to the library.
Spike opened the door to the library and walked inside.
"Twilight I'm back!" Spike exclaimed. When there was no response, he closed the door behind him. She must have still been out with her friends. Spike carefully placed the egg on a table and searched around for warm items. He walked over to the supply closet and pulled out a small blanket. He walked over to the egg and wrapped the blanket around it. He stared at the egg for a few moments.
"That's not enough." Spike said before walking into the kitchen. He picked up the kettle that was filled with water and let a small flame hit the bottom. The water immediately started to boil. Spike took out a mug and poured the water in it. He put the kettle down and walked back into the room.
Spike place the hot mug next to the egg. He walked away and grabbed a few books to read. He sat down at the table and started to read. He had to do something while waiting for the egg to hatch.
Twilight walked into the library and looked to see Spike reading a book.
"I was hoping that you were here." Twilight said, making Spike look up.
"Hey Twilight, how was the rest of the migration?" Spike asked. Twilight smiled.
"It was great, after the migration, we went to get something to eat." Twilight said happily. She placed a bag next to Spike. It smelled wonderful, making his stomach growl.
"I brought you back something." Twilight said with a smile. Spike smiled back.
"When you're done eating, go to bed, you don't want to be tired in the morning." Twilight said, giving him a kiss on the head. He nodded his head as Twilight walked up to her bed. Spike pulled out a container of food to reveal steamed carrots, broccoli, and squash. He licked his lips and pulled a fork out of the bag and started to eat. He hadn't realized how hungry he was. Within five minutes, the food was gone.
Spike stood up and threw away the container in a nearby garbage can. He looked at the egg and rubbed the top of it before going upstairs. Twilight was laying on her bed, reading a book. Spike laid down in his bed and cuddled into Starry, pulling the blanket over himself.
"Night Twi." Spike said as he closed his eyes.
"Goodnight Spike." Twilight said as she continued reading. Spike drifted of to sleep and let out a soft snore. Once he fell asleep, Twilight let herself go into deep thought.
"I wonder why Spike started crying? Is he hurt? Where did he go when he ran off? Why was he so hesitant to talk about where he came from? Why did- Twilights thoughts got cut off when she heard Spike whimper.
"He must be having another nightmare." Twilight said. She got out of bed to wake him up. She raised her hoof to tap him awake.
"Mom..." Spike muttered, making Twilight jerk her hoof back. He never mentioned his parents before or talked about them in his sleep. It wouldn't hurt to listen for a few more seconds.
"Mom no..." Spike whimpered as tears started to fall down his cheeks and he quivered in fear. Twilights eyes widened and she quickly shook him a little. Spike sat up straight, clutching onto his chest and hyperventilating. Tears spilled down his cheeks. Twilight levitated him into her arms and hugged him tightly. Spike relaxed in her arms and hugged back.
"Feeling okay?" Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head and let his eyes close. Twilight got on her bed and laid both of them down. Soon, they both fell into a peaceful sleep.
Twilight slowly opened her eyes and looked around to see that Spike wasn't next to her. He wasn't in his bed either. She groggily got out of bed and walked down stairs. She heard Spike laughing and a bird chirping. Twilight looked in surprise when she saw Spike feeding a phoenix chick. He turned around when he heard the floor creak behind him.
"Oh morning, did I wake you up?" Spike asked. Twilight shook her head.
"Where did you get a phoenix chick?" Twilight asked while pointing to the chick that was now eating berries out of his hands.
"I forgot to tell you that I found a pheonix egg yesterday! He hatched over night." Spike said with a large grin. Twilight smiled at his excitement.
"What's his name?" She asked.
"I've been thinking about naming him Peewee." Spike said while rubbing his fingers against Peewees head. Twilight walked over to Spike and sat down next to him.
"Why did you start crying yesterday?" Twilight asked in a soft tone. Spikes scales flattened and he looked down at the floor.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to I was just-" "I miss my family." Spike said, cutting Twilight off. Twilight was taken aback by his direct approach.
"I just wanna see my family again." Spike said in a softer tone. Twilight felt a pang in her heart.
"What happened to them?" Twilight asked. Spike let out a sigh.
"When I was five, my mom took me out to go hunting because I was to afraid to eat meat. We were in a big empty field, waiting for something to come by. Mom told me to stay close to her but I didn't listen." Spike said. Twilight listened intently.
"I wandered off and didn't hear my mom calling me. She was trying to warn me about the roc. When it got to me, it was too late. The roc picked me up and flew away. I could hear my mom scream my name. I looked through the claws of the roc and saw her flying after me. Before she could reach me, I saw her get struck by lighting. She fell to the ground and she died!" Spike cried into his hands, not being able to finish his story. Twilight hugged Spike tightly, petting his head. He sniffles into her fur.
"The worst part about this is that the day replays every time I go to sleep. Sometimes I wish I was the one who died." Spike said. Twilight gasped.
"Spike don't ever say that. It wasn't your fault for what happened." Twilight said. Peewee hopped off of the table and onto Spikes head, rubbing his head against his scales. It was as if Pewee was trying to comfort him.
"It feels good to tell that to someone." Spike said. Twilight gave him a sympathetic smile.
"I'm sure it does." |
Aggressively Small | Wedding bells | Spike, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie pie, Rainbow dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy sat on a picinic blanket. Peewee laid in Spikes lap, wearing a red vest that said 'Service Animal in Training'.
"It is gorgeous out. Just gorgeous!" Rarity said as she looked at a few butterflies flying past. Everybody nodded their heads in agreement. Spike let out a belch and two letters fell on the ground. Peewee hopped out of his lap and pulled on one of the letters, trying to give it to Spike. Twilight giggled and levitated the letter from his beak. She started to read out loud.
"Dear Twilight, I am sure you are as excited as I am about the upcoming wedding in Canterlot. Wedding? I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music." Twilight read out. Fluttershy gasped.
"What an honor!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception." She continued to read.
"Hip, hip, hooray!" Pinkie shouted, doing a cartwheel into the cake.
"Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception."
"Well, color me pleased as punch!" Applejack said while tilting her hat forwards.
"Rainbow Dash-" Before Twilight could finish reading, she let out a loud yawn.
"...I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their "I do"'s."
"YES!" Rainbow dash shouted as she shot up into the air.
"Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids."
"Princess Celestia wants me to design a wedding dress?!" Rarity said in disbelief. She let out sputters as she rocked back in forth, getting ready to faint. Fluttershy tried to catch her, but she fell to the ground with a large grin on her face.
"Spike, you will be in charge of the bachelors party."
"Sweet!" Spike said happily.
"And as for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: Making sure that everything goes as planned. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia." Twilight finishes reading. She tilted her head and looked at the back of the paper.
"Who's getting married?" Twilight asked. She levitated the other letter and started to read.
"Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and..." Twilight let out a gasp.
"My brother?!" She exclaimed in shock. Spike eyes widened in surprise. Applejack walked over to Twilight and put her hoof on her shoulder.
"Congratulations Twilight, That's great news!" Applejack said happily. Twilight scowled.
"Yeah, great news. That I just got from a wedding invitation! Not from my brother, but from a piece of paper! Thanks a lot, Shining Armor. I mean, really, he couldn't tell me personally?" Twilight exclaimed angrily. She levitated a sandwich and moved the bread slices around as if it were talking.
"Hey, Twilight, just thought you should know I'm making a really big decision that changes everything. Oh, never mind, you'll hear about it when you get the invitation." She said, mimicking Shining Armor voice. She let the sandwich drop to the grass.
"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Who in the hoof is that?!" Twilight said with a snort. Everyone except for Spike took a few steps back at her outburst.
"Twilight, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked. Twilight let out a sigh.
"Sorry, it's just that Shining Armor and I have always been so close. He's my B.B.B.F.F!" Twilight said. Everyone tilted their head in confusion.
"Big brother best friend forever." Spike stated.
"Oooh." Everyone said.
"Well Twi, we'll be there every step of the way." Applejack said comfortingly. Twilight sighed.
"We should get going. I want to me this Princess Mi Amore Candenze." Twilight said bitterly before marching off. Spike started to follow her and Peewee hopped after Spike.
They sat on the train on the way to Canterlot, chatting happily. Twilight pouted out the window.
"Why the long face, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, sitting across from Spike, Peewee, and Twilight
"I'm just thinking about Shining Armor. Ever since I moved to Ponyville, we've been seeing each other less and less. And now that he's starting a new family with this "Princess Mi Amore Ca-whatshername", we'll probably never see each other." Twilight said sadly.
"Shining Armor cares about you too much to just abandon you like that, he'll make time for you." Spike said. Twilight let out a sigh.
"He didn't make enough time to invite me to his wedding." Twilight said grumpily. The approached Canterlot, which was surrounded by a giant pink bubble and royal guards stood at every corner.
"We're here, we're here!" Pinkie shouted excitedly while bouncing up and down.
"Whoa, what's with all the guards?" Rainbow dash asked in confusion. Rarity scoffed.
"Well there's a royal wedding so obviously they hired extra security." Rarity said in a matter of fact tone. They walked past the royal guards and into town.
"Now, let's get going! We've got work to do!" Rarity said as she made her way into the castle.
"And you have a brother to congratulate." Applejack said, giving Twilight a nudge. Twilight looked around until she saw her brother standing at the part of the castle, ording guards to do things. She marched over towards him.
"I've got something to say to you, mister." Twilight said sternly. The guards pointing their spears at her and Spike stood in front of Twilight, making sure she didn't get hurt. Shining Armor smiled and pulled off his helmet.
"Twily!" Shining Armor said happily, making the guards out there spears down. He started to walk down the stairs to approach her.
"I missed you kid. How was the train ride? I-" "How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister, for pony's sake!" Twilight scolded, cutting him off. Shining Armor frowned.
"It's not my fault! Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?" He asked. Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up, haven't you heard." Twilight said bitterly, avoiding eye contact.
"It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot. We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection. This, you need to see." Shining Armor said as he took a few steps back. A beam of magic shot out of his horn and onto the top of the bubble, before coming back down and hitting his horn. He let out a groan and rubbed his head.
"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand has been my top priority." Shining Armor said as he walked up the stairs and gestures towards all the guards standing there. The walked to the top of a bridge to watch the guards march in perfect lines.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding? Am I not that important to you any more?" Twilight said sadly. Shining Armor smiled.
"Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now." Shining Armor said with a smirk.
"Me, your best mare? I would love that!" Twilight exclaimed happily before going back into a frown.
"But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza"?" Twilight asked. Shining Armor chuckled.
"You tell me. She was your foalsitter." He said. Twilights brows furrowed.
"But I've only had one foalsitter and that was..." Twilights eyes widened in realization.
"You're marrying Cadance?!" Twilight exclaimed with a large grin. Spike smiled.
"Wow, I didn't even think you'd build up the courage to asked her on a date." Spike said. Shining Armor glared at him before facing Twilight again.
"You're marrying Cadance, you're marrying Cadance." Twilight shouted in a sing song voice while hopping around. Cadance walked up behind Twilight with a scowl. Spikes scales flattened. She would never give that look to Twilight.
"I hope I'm not interrupting something." Cadance said as she walked up from behind. Twilight turned around with a large grin.
"Cadance! Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight said, doing the little dance that they always did together.
"What are you doing?" Cadance asked in disgust.
"Cadance, it's me, Twilight!" She said happily. Cadance looked at Shining Armor and started to walk towards him.
"Yeah uh huh." She said, not paying attention. Shining Armor wrapped her hoof around her shoulder. Cadance put on a fake smile that Spike could see right through.
"I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?" Shining Armor said while looking at his fiance.
"Absolutely." She said as they both walked into the building. Once they were out of earshot Spike started to speak.
"Something is off, Cadance it never like that." Spike stated.
"Maybe she's just nervous for the wedding." Twilight suggested. Spike shook his head.
"I'm gonna find out what up." Spike said while walking in the direction of Cadance. Peewee hopped after him with his short legs.
Spike stood next to the bakery, standing on a wooden crate to peek through a window. Peewee sat on his head to look inside. Princess Cadance walked in the bakery with the look of disgust on her face.
"Hiya, Princess!" Applejack said with a smile and a wave.
"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." She said with a sickingly sweet smile.
"Hiya Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. You come to check out what's on the menu for your big day?" Applejack asked nicely.
"I have!" She said, her eyes flashing green for a split second. Spike gasped and wrote that down in his notebook. Cadance took a bite of a fritter.
"Delicious! I love-love-love them." She said, obviously trying not to gag. Applejack smiled.
"Aw, shucks. Why don't you take a few to go? I know how you brides can be. So busy, you forget to get a little somethin' in your belly." Applejack said while handing her a paper bag. Cadance smiled and walked out the door. Her face turned into a scowl. She tossed the bag out in the trash and went into the town. Spike hopped off of the crate and went to follow her.
Spike sat on Rarity's bed, listening to Cadance and Rarity speak. It wasn't exactly spying, but it was the best he could get.
"Your highness! Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion." Rarity said with a nervous laugh. Cadance rolled her eyes.
"Uh-huh. Is my dress ready?" She asked, not noting Rarity's nervous state.
"Of course your highness, it's right over there." Rarity said while pointing to a dress. Cadance made a look of disgust.
"I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train." She said. That was not the way Cadance usually speaks. She would use please and thank you's and be as sweet as possible. Rarity letter out some stammers.
"Oh yes of course." Rarity said with a little bow. Cadance would never let anyone bow to her.
"And change the color it's hideous." She said with a scowl.
"I like the color." One of the bridemaids commented.
"Me too." Another one said.
"I think it's lovely." The third bridesmaid said. Cadance glared at them, making them cower back. Spike wrote that down.
"Make them a different color." She said before walking out the room. Spike grabbed Peewee and followed her.
Spike and Peewee stood behind a pillar, listening to Pinkie ramble on about the reception and the activities.
"So isn't this going to be the best reception party ever!" Pinkie pie exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah." Cadance said with a smile.
"If this were for a six year old." Cadance insulted. Pinkie put her hoof on her heart.
"Aaw, thank you." She said, not understanding the insult. Spike wrote down more notes. Something was definitely wrong.
Spike and the main six sat at a table in front of a cafe. Peewee ate some fruit from his fruit salad.
"Has Cadance been acting like a jerk today?" Spike asked his friends. Rarity scoffed.
"She's just a little stressed from planning the wedding, it's perfectly normal for the bride to be a little grumpy." She said. Spike pulled out the notebook he had been writing in.
"I've been taking notes of everything Cadance had done and this is completely out of character for her." Spike said. Twilight gasped.
"Spike, have you been spying on Cadance?" Twilight asked in disbelief.
"That's not the point, there's something seriously wrong." Spike said. Twilight shook her head.
"Go up to Cadance and apologize now. When you're finished, go to our room and think about what you've done." Twilight said. Spike let out a grumble and place Peewee on the ground next to him.
"I demand justice!" Spike exclaimed as he walked away from the table. He got up so quickly that he didn't notice that Peewee wasn't directly behind him. Spike muttered stuff under his breath as he made his way to Shining Armor and Cadances house, which wasn't too far from the castle.
Spike approached the house and when to knock on the door to see that it was unlocked. He looked around and entered the dark house. He saw that some light came from a room and he peeked inside. He heard Shining Armor groan and Cadance standing in front of him with a smirk. A green aura shot from her horn onto Shining Armors horn. His eyes turned green and he looked like he was in a trance.
"I only serve you my love." He said in a monotone voice. That was not Cadance.
"I have to tell the others." Spike thought, getting ready to escape. He turned around and bumped into a table, knocking it over. He heard both ponies in the room go silent. Before he could run away, he came face to face with Cadance.
"Well would you look here, it seem I've found myself a little spy." Cadance said in a voice that wasn't hears.
"Do you know what I do with spies?" She asked. Spike knew if he tried to run, she overpower him. A green flame surrounded him. He reached his hand out to touch it and jerked his hand back in pain. Dragons were fireproof. This was magic fire.
"We get rid of them." Cadance said with a sickly smile. The flames washed over his body until he was gone. Cadance smiled and walked back into the room, closing the door behind her.
Peewee stood at the doorway in shock at what he just saw. He had to get help. |
Aggressively Small | Crashing the Wedding | Rarity stood in the mirror putting on her makeup with all of her friends behind her, chatting excitedly.
"I can't wait to perform the sonic rainboom so everyone can see how awesome I am!" Rainbow dash exclaimed, zipping around the room. Rarity grimaced and turned around.
"Rainbow dash I don't want you all sweaty when you put on your dress." Rarity said. Rainbow ignored her and kept flying.
"Ain't you excited to see your brother get married?" Applejack asked. Everyone looked around to see Twilight wasn't in the room.
"Have any of you seen Twilight?" Applejack asked. The room doors opened to reveal a very sleepy Twilight and Peewee hopping after her, letting out loud distressed chirps.
"Darling where have you been? You look awful." Rarity stated. Twilight looked like she was on the verge of tears.
"I can't find Spike anywhere. I was up looking for him all night." Twilight said before flopping face first onto the bed.
"Oh haven't you heard? Spike went back home last night." Cadance said while walking into the room. Twilight sat up and shook her head.
"You know Spike would never do that. He would never leave without telling me. Even if he did, left everything here. He left Starry, he left Peewee and Peewee follows him everywhere for Celestias sake!" Twilight exclaimed, pointing to Peewee. Cadance took a few steps closer to Twilight and Peewee jumped in front of Cadance. He opened his wings and tried to let out a screech, but it came out as a small scream. Cadance scowled in disgust and took a few steps back.
"Ugh, gross bird." Cadance muttered as she walked out of the room. Twilight flopped back down onto the bed and let out a cry. Her friends walked over to her.
"Maybe you should skip the wedding and get some rest." Rarity said. Twilight popped up from the bed.
"What no! I'm his best mare, I can't do that!" Twilight exclaimed.
"He's your B.B.B.F.F, I'm sure he'll understand." Applejack said. Twilight let out a sigh.
"I guess you're right." Twilight said as she laid back down. Wishin seconds she fell asleep. Peewee hopped on the bed a let out loud chirps. Fluttershys eyes widened.
"WHAT!" She exclaimed, making everyone look at her.
"What is it, Shy?" Rainbow dash asked.
"Peewee said that Cadance got rid of Spike." Fluttershy said, making everyone gasp.
"He did seem rather suspicious of her." Rarity said.
"We need to find out what she did to him before the wedding starts." Rainbow dash said, pounding her hooves together.
"And we have three hours twenty three minutes and thirteen seconds before the wedding starts." Pinkie pie said. All mares nodded to each other and ran out of the room. Peewee hopped into Fluttershy tail and got dragged along with her.
"We'll find you Spike." Applejack whispered to herself before closing the door behind her.
Spike regained consciousness, but kept his eyes closed. Wherever he was felt cold and the surface he was laying on was hard. He could hear the echoed sound of dripping water. Spike went to pull his blanket over him, but found nothing. He quickly sat up as he remembered what happened that night. He looked around to see that he was in a cave. Spike heard laughter from behind him, making him turn around. Cadances face apeared on a rock.
"I see that you're finally awake." Cadance said. Spike got on all fours and let out a growl. Cadance laughed.
"Do you really think he can take me on! Hit me with your best shot." Cadance said with a grin. Spike let in a deep breath and let out a large flame. Instead of the flame being green, it was blue. The flame froze the rock and it shattered to pieces on the ground. Another laugh came from behind him.
"Over here!" Cadance cackled. Spike let out a snarl and let another blue flame shoot from his body. It hit the rock and it shattered.
"You have to try harder than that!" Cadance said with a grin, appearing on all of the rocks. Spike let all of his anger control him and he shot a giant flame at the biggest rock in the cave. The rock broke into pieces, revealing Cadance who was sitting there, covered in dust. Her face lit up when she saw Spike. Her face quicky contorted into fear when she saw him charging at her. Spike tackled her to the ground.
"Spike it's me, the Cadance that trapped you down here is an imposter." Cadance said. Spike sat in her chest and crossed his arms.
"And how do I know you're not the imposter." Spike said while raising an eyebrow.
"When I first met you, you were terrified. I knew that you just wanted to be safe and I tried my best to make you feel that way." Cadance said. She sat up causing Spike to slide off and fall onto the cold ground. He hopped up and hugged Cadance tightly. She hugged him back.
"I knew you weren't a jerk." Spike mumbled into her coat. Cadance smiled and patted his head.
"We need to stop her before it's too late." Spike said, pulling away from the hug. Cadance nodded her head. They walked through the cold caves, looking for any exit.
"Where are we anyway?" Spike asked.
"We're in the caves under Canterlot. They were used for trapping over powered unicorns, but they've been abandoned for thousands of years." Cadance said. They walked for some more before Cadance teared up.
"We're not going to make it. I've been wanting to marry Shining Armor since I first laid eyes on him and it's all ruined!" Cadance exclaimed, letting tears fall down her cheeks. Spike walked over to her and wiped the tears off of her face.
"I know we'll make it in time. The way Shining Armor looks at you is the look of true love, he would never give you up that easily." Spike said. Cadance smiled and sniffled.
"What do you know about love?" She asked with a chuckle. Spike smiled.
"I've had married parents before." Spike said. He turned around to see a cart on a railroad which was going downhill. Rocks we're on the sides holding it in place. Cadance ran over to the cart and tried to push it, but it only wiggled. Spike picked up a few rocks and dropped them to the ground. Soon the cart was free to go. Cadance put Spike into the cart and gave it a slight push. It started to roll and she hopped in.
The cart sped down the railroad. Wind blew on there faces. Spikes eyes widened when he saw the railroad stopped abruptly at a cliff, which would cause them to tip out of the cart and fall. The cart met the end of the railroad, launching them both into the air. Spike clung onto Cadance, and she opened her wings, landing them on flat ground.
"That's our way out!" Spike exclaimed, pointing to a crack on the roof of the cave. The three bridemaids from before walked in front of them with glowing green eyes.
"You're not going anywhere." They said in unison. Cadance looked around to see pretty flowers growing out of a crack. She levitated the flowers and swung it in the bridemaids faces, causing them to all stare. She tossed it across the cave and they all chase after it.
"That was easy." Cadance said as she put Spike onto her back. She flew out of the crack into the sunlight. She closed her eyes at the bright light and looked around. It seemed that they were in the basement of the castle. Spike hopped off of her back.
"Go stop the wedding, I need to get something!" Spike exclaimed while running up the dungeon stairs. Cadance nodded her head a flew behind him. Time to crash a wedding.
"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-" Princess Celestia was cut off by doors bursting open, causing everyone to look at the door. Everyone gasped when they saw Princess Cadance standing there. Shining Armor seemed to be in a daze.
"That's not the real Cadance, she's an imposter!" Cadance exclaimed. Everyone turned to face the other Cadance, who had the same shocked expression as the crowd. The mane six ran into the room with there Elements of Harmony on.
"Stop the wedding that isn't the real..." Twilight trailed off when she saw two Cadances. Applejack tilted her head in confusion.
"Who's the real Cadance." She asked, taking a few steps back.
"She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them." Cadance said. The other Cadance started to laugh and a green fire surrounded her. Once the fire disappeared, it revealed a large black pony like figure with holes all over her body.
"Right you are, Princess. And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!" Chrysalis exclaimed. Guards came from different angles and tried to attack her, but all got shot down to the floor. The main six turned around to see Spike march into the room wearing armor and holding a shield. Chrysalis cackled.
"You've run out a guards so you bring a child onto scene, pitiful really!" She said with a laugh. Spike charged at her and she took a few steps back. He tipped over and put all of his weight on his shield and launched himself at her. He kick Chrysalis in the face, causing her to stumble back in surprise. Chrysalis let out a growl and let a a beam of magic shoot from her horn. The magic bounced off of the sheild, hitting a few changelings that flew into the room to join the fight. They collasped on the floor.
Spike pulled out his swords and made a deep gash on Chrysalis' leg, causing her to bleed heavily. She collasped on the ground. She tried to stand up, but stopped when the sword pressed against her nose, almost making a cut. Ponies started to evacuate the room as more changelings flew in.
"Stay down." Spike said, looking Chrysalis in the eye. Her eyes were filled with fear. The main six and Princess Celestia fought off changelings that tried to enter the room to save their queen. Cadance rushed over to Shining Armor, who was still under Chrysalis' control. Her eyes filled up with tears at his state and she hugged him. Her horn sparked, causing a small heart to float out. The heart hit Shining Armor on the forehead, causing him to blink a few times and shook his head.
"Wha- where... huh? Is...is the wedding over?" He asked while rubbing his head. He looked around to see the chaos unfolding around him. Shining Armor tried to use his magic, but failed as a small spark came out. Chrysalis snickered, causing Spike to glare at her. She instantly shut up, knowing that a child could kill her at any moment. Cadance rubbed up against Shining Armor.
"My love will give you strength." Cadance said as she touched there horns together. A bright light formed between them, causing changelings to fly out the windows. Chrysalis' eyes widened in fear as the bright light covered her. She was thrown back out the window, shattering it. Bloodcurdling screams echoed around Canterlot as the changling got blasted far away.
Shining Armor wrapped his hooves around Cadance and spun her around in the air, kissing her deeply. He placed her back on the floor, and Twilight ran up to both of them, hugging them tightly.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight said happily. She turned to Spike and put her hooves on his shoulders.
"Spike, I'm glad you're okay and all, but where did you learn to sword fight?" Twilight asked, trying to stay calm.
"I asked Shining Armor how to teach me." Spike said. Twilight looked at her brother with wide eyes.
"You taught him?!" Twilight asked in disbelief. Princess Celestia put her hoof on Twilights shoulder.
"It's quite alright my faithful student, I supervise him during every session." Celestia reassured. Spike nodded his head.
"Yeah and I defeated a queen!" Spike exclaimed happily. Twilight smiled.
"You can keep training, but just be carful alright." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head.
"Now lets get this wedding started!" Pinkie pie exclaimed.
Shining Armor and Cadance stood at the alter, gazing into each others eyes. Spike and the mane six stood at the side of the alter. Spike held the rings on a pillow.
"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-" "Cadance is fine." Candance interrupted. Celestia smiled.
"The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings please?" Celestia asked. Spike held up the pillow and she levitated the rings onto Cadance and Shining Armor horns.
"I now pronounce you mare and colt!" Celestia exclaimed, causing everyone to cheer. Shining Armor and Cadance walked outside to the balcony to see thousands of cheering ponies. They kissed each other deeply, tears streaming down there faces. Celestia whispered something to Rainbow Dash, causing her to fly up and zoom out of the window. She flew upwards and a loud boom rang through the sky. A beautiful rainbow fluttered across the sky, causing everyone to ooh and aah.
Everyone stood out in the Canterlot Gardens, enjoying the reception. Princess Luna flew down next to Spike, who was standing by himself.
"Hello Spike, did I miss anything?" Luna asked. Half of her mane was still chopped off, but made to look like a cool mohawk.
"Did you not hear the city getting attacked by thousands of changelings?" Spike asked. Luna's eyes widened and she shook her head.
"Not at all, I slept through the whole wedding." Luna said. Spike took a sip of his drink.
"I need to ask sister if Philomena has chicks, because I found this little one sleeping in my bed." Luna said, revealing Peewee in her hair. Peewee eyes widened when he saw Spike and he let out happy chirps, jumping onto his head. Spike giggled.
"This is my service animal, Peewee." Spike said. Luna nodded her head in understanding. Before she could say anything else, horn blew to get everyone's attention.
"Thank you so much for coming to this wedding, it means so much to us that you were all able to make it." Cadance said happily before getting into a carriage with Shining Armor, leaving for their honeymoon. Spike walked next to his friends and waved goodbye to them as they rode out of sight. Even though this story had a happy ending, it felt as if he was forgetting something.
"I FORGOT THE BACHELORS PARTY!" |
Aggressively Small | New Empire | Twilight rushed around the library, grabbing notecards and quills, stuffing them into her bag.
"Do you think I need my notes from magic kindergarten? Of course I need my notes from magic kindergarten!" Twilight exclaimed, not letting Spike answer her question. Spike touched her leg, causing her to freeze.
"Twilight you need to calm down, it's just a little test." Spike said. Twilight looked at him with wide eyes.
"JUST A LITTLE TEST?!" Twilight exclaimed, making Spike jump and cover his ears. Twilights ears flattened.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a little stressed about this." She apologized. Spike cocked an eyebrow.
"A little?" He said. Twilight let out a sigh.
"Fine a lot. What if I fail the test and Princess Celestias sends me back to Canterlot?" Twilight asked. Spike rubbed her foreleg softly.
"We both know she would never do anything like that. And you've never failed a test in your life!" Spike said. Twilight smiled.
"Thanks Spike, that really helped. Do have your things packed?" Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head and slung his backpack of his shoulder. Spike let out a whistle.
"Peewee come here!" Spike exclaimed. Peewee hopped down the stairs. With each hop he flapped his wings, only getting into the air for a few seconds. After he got to the bottom, he ran over to Spike. He was almost up to Spikes hand and could keep up with him while he was walking. Spike scratched Peewees head lightly.
"You'll be able to fly soon." Spike said with a smile. Twilight opened the door and they all made there way to the train station, on there way to Canterlot.
Twilight, Spike, and Peewee walked into the throne room to meet Princess Celestia. Celestia turned around with a serious look.
"You wanted to see me? To give me a test? I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work." Twilight said, taking off her overloaded bag. As the bag dropped to the floor, papers flew out of the sides. Celestia kept a stern face.
"This is a different kind of test. The Crystal Empire has returned." Celestia said. Twilights ears flattened.
"The Crystal Empire? I'm sorry, I-I thought I'd studied. Ooh. I don't think there's anything in any of my books th-" Twilight started, but got cut off by Celestia, who was levitating a purple crystal. She placed it I front of Twilight.
"There wouldn't be. Few remember it ever existed at all. Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited." Celestia said, shining her magic onto the crystal. The crystal laid out a hologram of what appeared to be the Crystal Empire.
"But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic. One thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." Celestia said, letting her horn glow black and purple. The scenery changed, and jagged crystals poked out of the ground. A black unicorn with an strangely shaped, red horn stood on a balcony, telling everyone what do to. Spike assumed that was King Sombra.
"He was ultimately overthrown, turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north." Celestia showed two silhouettes that seemed to be her and Luna banishing Sombra.
"But not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air." She said, causing the crystal to suck up the hologram. She levitated the crystal.
"If the Empire is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria." The crystal glowed, shining a bright, beautiful rainbow. Twilight and Spike smiled.
"If hatred and fear take hold... Which is why I need your help finding a way to protect it." The crystal glowed black, and a shadow casted over them. Black crystals shot out of the ground, causing Twilight and Peewee to jump back. Spike reached his hand out to eat on of the crystals, but Celestia chimed in.
"I recommended you don't eat those, they can make you very sick." Celestia said. Spike frowned and put his hand down. Celestia turned back to Twilight.
"You want me to help protect an entire empire?" Twilight asked.
"It is, as I said, a different kind of test. But one I'm certain you will pass." Celestia said, putting the crystal back in it's case. Twilight looked down nervously before looking back up.
"How do I begin?" Twilight asked confidently. Celestia smiled.
"By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire." Celestia said. Twilight smiled.
"My brother is there?" She asked, as if the Princess didn't just say that five seconds ago.
"He is. And your Ponyville friends will join you there as well. I have every confidence you will succeed. And when you do, I'll know you are ready to move on to the next level of your studies." Celestia said, levitating Twilights bag back on her back as walking her out the door. Twilight smiled and turned around to look at Luna. Her ears flattened at the princesses mighty gaze.
"But what if I fail?" Twilight asked.
"You won't." Celestia responded.
"But what if-" Twilight got cut off by Celestia putting her hoof on her chest.
"You won't. But Twilight, in the end, it must be you and you alone who ultimately assists Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in doing what needs to be done to protect the Empire. Do you understand?" Celestia said. Twilight nodded her head.
"Then go. There is no time to lose." Celestia said. Twilight started to leave the castle and Spike followed close behind. Before they left, Spike turned around a stuck his tongue out at Luna. Luna put her hoof on her chest and let out an over dramatic gasp. Spike smiled and walked down the stairs, Peewee hopping close behind. Now it was time to start art the test.
The main six and Spike sat on the train on there way to the Crystal Empire. Peewee was curled up into a ball on Spike lap.
"So let me get this straight, the Crystal Empire is a an Empire that disappeared for a thousand years and is corrupted by Kinf Sombra?" Applejack asked. Spike bit his tongue, holding back a sarcastic comment. Twilight nodded her head.
"Yes, and the Princess sent us to fix it." Twilight said. The train came to a steady halt as they arrived to the Crystal Empire. Everyone exited the train to meet the cold air.
"And you made fun of me for packing so many scarves!" Rarity exclaimed with a laugh, revealing at least ten suitcases filled with scarves. They all shielded there faces from the bitter cold.
"Twilight!" A stallions voice called out. Twilight squinted to see a unicorn with a scarf and goggles approaching them.
"Shining Armor?" Twilight asked. He walked onto the train platform and took off his goggles. Twilight hugged him. Shining Armor put his goggles on.
"Twily! You made it! We'd better get moving. There are things out here we really don't want to run into after dark." Shining Armor said, leading them to the Crystal Empire. Spike shivered as he walked through the blistering cold. He could feel himself getting weaker with every step. Being cold blooded was not good in the situation. Peewee rubbed up against his leg to give him warmth. Spike scooped Peewee up into his arms and let the warmth wash over him. It wasn't enough to keep him completely warm, but it gave him a little energy to keep going.
They had been walking in the bitter snow for a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
"Something keeps trying to get in! We think it's the unicorn king who originally cursed the place!" Shining Armor shouted through the wind.
"But Princess Celestia said I was being sent here to find a way to protect the Empire! If King Sombra can't get in, then it must already be protected!" Twilight responded back. A loud howl came from around them, making Fluttershy squeak.
"Guh. We have to get to the Crystal Empire! Now!" Shining Armor shouted.
A large black cloud appeared behind them. A face appeared. It was Sombra. His face was large and almost black and his eyes were green with black pupils and purple smoke coming out of the side. He had large fangs and a wicked grin on his face. For some reason, Spike couldn't find himself to move. He stared at Sombra as he got closer. It felt oddly calming and not scary at all. It reminded him of something but he didn't know what. Peewee hopped out of Spikes arms and tugged on his tail, trying to get him to move. Twilight levitated Spike and Peewee onto her back and continued to run behind Shining Armor. In the distance, the saw a large glowing dome.
"Almost there!" Shining Armor said. He turned around as everyone kept running. He shot a beam of magic at Sombra, only for it to be reflected back at him. They all ran into the dome to reveal a spring like environment. Everyone collasped on the ground, catching there breaths.
"Everypony okay?" Twilight asked while catching her breath. Everyone nodded there heads, trying to catch there breaths. Shining Armor stumbled inside and collapsed on his chest, breathing heavily. Spike hopped off of Twilights back, letting her run over to him, helping him up.
"Shining Armor your horn!" Twilight exclaimed. The top of his horn had small black crystals on it. He tried to use his magic but it stopped once it reached the crystals. Pinkie pie gasped when she saw the empire.
"Sparkleriffic!" She exclaimed. Everyone looked in amazement. Everything was shiny and made out of crystals. In the middle, there was a large castle. They all started to walked towards the castle.
They all walked into the throne room to reveal Cadance sitting on the throne. Her horn was glowing and she looked very tired.
"Cadance!" Twilight exclaimed. Cadance smiled and ran towards her.
"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" They said while doing there little dance. They both let out laughs and hugged each other.
"One of these days we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn'thanging in the balance." Cadance said. She let out a groan and her horn flickered, causing the bubble around the empire to fade for a few seconds.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"Cadance has been able to use her magic to spread love and light. That seems to be what is protecting it. But she hasn't slept, barely eats. I want to help her, but my protection spell has been countered by King Sombra." Shining Armor explained. Cadance sighed.
"It's alright Shining Armor, I'm fine." She reassured. Shining Armor shook his head.
"She's not fine. She can't go on like this forever, and if her magic were to fade... Well, you saw what's out there waiting for that to happen." He said with concern lacing his voice.
"That's why we're here." Twilight said with a smile.
That's why we're all here." Applejack said walking next to Twilight. All of her friends followed. Everyone nodded there heads.
"Well, with Cadance putting all her strength into keeping her spell going, and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the arctic, we haven't been able to gather much information from the Crystal Ponies." Shining Armor said. Rarity gasped.
"CRYSTAL PONIES? There are crystal ponies!" Rarity said with a giggle. Everybody stared at her, which made her clear her throat.
"Um, ahem. Please continue." Rarity said. Spike didn't listen to the rest, lost in his own thoughts.
"I could probably get some information from the crystal ponies. They've been here for a thousand years, they should know something." Spike thought to himself. He drummed his fingers on his leg, causing Peewee to look at him. Spike slowly backed out of the room and Peewee followed him. Once they made it into the hallway, he started to speed up. Time to go investigate.
Spike knocked on someone's front door. The door opened, revealing a blue mare with a purple mane. Her mane was flat and she had heavy bags under her eyes. She looked very tired and stressed.
"Hello, I'm here for a school project, may I ask you some questions?" Spike asked, putting on his most chipper voice.
"Sure, go ahead." The mare said. She sounded tired too.
"What's it like living in the Crystal Empire?" Spike asked.
"I'm sorry, but I can't remember." She said. Spike tilted his head.
"You don't remember anything at all? No special memories?" Spike asked. The mare shook her head.
"I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. But I... can't seem to remember anything before King Sombra came to power. And I don't want to remember anything about the time he ruled over us." The mare said before shutting her door. Spike gave Peewee a concerned look.
"It looks like they're under some spell. It'll be no use checking the others, they might be under the same spell." Spike said. He hopped off of the porch.
"There needs to be some type of history. Like some documents or a..." Spike trailed off when he walked in front of a large building. He beamed.
"A library!" Spike exclaimed. He went inside with Peewee following him. Spike gasped at what he saw. The library was huge. It was bigger than the library in the Canterlot Castle. Everything was so shiny.
"Ahem. May I help you?" A voice said. Spike turned around to see a old mare.
"Do you have any history books?" Spike asked. The mare smiled.
"Yes. Of course. History, history... Ah, yes." She said. Spike smiled. After a few seconds of silence he tilted his head.
"Do you mind telling me where it is?" Spike asked. The mare frowned.
"I... I can't seem to remember. I'm not sure I actually work here." The mare said. Spike sighed.
"It's fine, I'll find it myself. Let's go Peewee, it can't be that hard."
Spike held his head in his hands with books scattered around him.
"How could I have not have found anything." Spike said. Peewee hopped over with a book in his beak, dragging on the ground. Spike took the book from his beak.
"History of the Crystal Empire" Spike read out loud. He smiled.
"This is actually helpful!" Spike exclaimed happily. He flipped through the book.
"A 'Crystal Faire'. According to this book, it was established by their first queen and became their most important tradition. The Faire was held every year to "renew the spirit of love and unity in the empire so they could protect it from harm!" Spike said happily.
"I need to tell the others!" Spike exclaimed. He ran out of the library with Peewee running behind him.
Spike showed Twilight the book eagerly while bouncing up and down. Twilight smiled.
"This might actually work!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Fluttershy, you get some animals for the petting zoo." Twilight said. Fluttershy smiled and flew out of the window.
"Rainbow dash, you're in charge of jousting." She said. Rainbow dash saluted and sped out he window.
"Rarity, you can make the flags and Applejack, find some crystal berries." Twilight ordered. They both nodded there heads and ran out the door.
"And Pinkie, go find some flugelhorns, there have to be some around." Pinkie pie smiled and hopped out of existence.
"What do you need me to go Twilight?" Spike asked. Twilight levitated a large block of blue topaz.
"At the end of the book said something about the crystal heart. We're going to carve one for the festival." Twilight said while handing him an ice pic. Spike smiled. He loved working with sharp objects. Time to get to work.
"It looks amazing! I don't know how I could've done this without you! One last check to make sure everything is in place, and then the festivities can begin!" Twilight said while looking at the festival. It looked just like it did in the book! Ponies started to join the festival. A few ponies smiled and quickly turned into crystal and played some games.
"Spike, let's go back to the castle, I know you don't like crowds." Twilight said. She looked at Spike who looked at the fair excitedly. Peewee laid on his head.
"You know what, you can stay here and have fun." Twilight said. Spike grinned at her and ran towards the fair. He walked towards the food tent.
"Howdy Spike, what can I get for you?" Applejack asked.
"Crystal berries please." Spike said. Applejack handed him a small tray of crystal berries. He stood to the side of the food tent and started to eat. He heard a conversation between two ponies.
"I can't believe they got the real crystal heart!" The stallion exclaimed.
"Once our spirits are lifted the empire can be protected from the king! I can't believe they found it, I thought King Sombra hid it forever." The mare said happily. Spikes eyes widened.
"The real crystal heart?" Spike muttered to himself.
"I have to tell Twilight." Spike said before running to the castle.
Spike ran up onto to the balcony where Shining Armor, Cadance, and Twilight stood, watching over the fair.
"TWILIGHT WE NEED THE REAL CRYSTAL HEART!" Spike exclaimed. Twilight turned around.
"What?" Twilight asked.
"Apparently we need the real crystal heart to protect the Crystal Empire." Spike explained. Twilights eyes widened and she flipped through the book. She let out a gasp.
"There's a page ripped out! How did I not notice?!" Twilight exclaimed. Cadance smiled weakly and her legs shook.
"It's alright, Twilight." Cadance said. Her eyes rolled back and she collasped. Shining Armor caught her. Her horn flickered and the bubble surrounding the empire disappeared. Cold air surrounded the empire and a loud growl echoed around them.
Sombra was coming. |
Aggressively Small | Saving the Empire | Darks shadows started to approach the Empire at a rapid pace. Sombra grinned and let out a throaty laugh. It made a chill run up Spikes spine. Shining Armor looked at Twilight.
"The Crystal Empire is under attack." He said. Cadance stood up, regaining consciousness. Shining Armor nuzzled her, making her smile. Her horn glowed brightly, causing the bubble to reappear. The bubble chopped of half of Sombra's horn, causing him to screech in pain. The broken horn fell to the ground, causing black crystals to grow from the ground. From the outside of the bubble, Spike could hear muffled growls and snarls coming from Sombra. Cadance kneeled down, struggling to keep her magic together.
"I have to find the crystal heart." Shining Armor said, getting ready to take off. Twilight shook her head and pushed him back.
"No, you stay here with Cadance. She needs you, Shining Armor. I'll retrieve the Heart." Twilight said.
"I can help, my nose is made for sniffing out gems." Spike said. Cadance leaned on Shining Armor as Twilight and Spike ran off of the balcony. Peewee clung onto Spikes tail in order to keep up.
"You look for the heart, I need to tell make sure our friends hide the heart." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head. He continued to run down the hallway as she ran down the stairs that led out of the castle. Spike slowed down. He pulled Peewee off of his tail and looked out the window. Crystal ponies were now cowering in fear from this close encounter to Sombra and a majority of them decrystalized. This wasn't good at all.
"Even if we do find the Heart, I don't think they have enough magic to protect the empire." Spike thought out loud. Peewee noticed his worry and rubbed up against his hand. He pet his head softly, letting the soft feathers stick between his fingers.
"Okay, time to find the Heart." Spike said while walking away from the window. He started to sniff around the castle, looking for any type of scent from the Heart. The whole castle was made of crystals so all he could get was a bunch of different smells.
"This is going to be harder than I thought." Spike muttered to himself.
"Girls, we have a problem." Twilight said while walking over to her friends.
"What is it darling? Did I not make enough hats? I knew this would happen." Rarity said. Twilight shook her head and started to speak in a low whisper.
"I need to find the real Crystal Heart." She said in a whisper. Rainbow dash tilted her head.
"What do you mean the real Crystal Heart?" Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight looked around to make sure nobody could hear them.
"The Crystal Heart is what we need to lift everyone's spirits so the empire can be protected. Without the real one, it won't work. King Sombra hid it and I'm going to go look for it." Twilight said.
"What do you need us to do?" Applejack asked.
"Make sure nobody looks at the Crystal Heart, and try to keep everyone's spirits up." Twilight ordered. They all nodded there heads and ran off in different directions. Rainbow Dash yanked a flag down from a pole and threw it over the fake Crystal Heart. A decrystalized stallion started to approach the Heart, but got turned around by Pinkie Pie shoving corn in his mouth. He turned back into crystal quickly and happily munched on the corn. Twilight ran back into the castle and upstairs. She turned around to see Soike on his hands and knees. He moved a large rug out of the way and his hands were pressed firmly on the floor. A large throne sat behind him. It wasn't the same one Cadance was sitting on earlier.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked. Spike looked up.
"I can smell the Heart, it's down here." Spike said. Twilight tilted her head.
"Are you sure? That's just a floor." Twilight said. Spike nodded his head.
"I'm definitely sure. It's the only thing that smells different from everything else. It smells rare too." Spike stated. Twilight walked over to where he was sitting and knocked her hoof on the floor. It was hollow.
"There's no handle or anything so I don't know how to get it." Spike said. Twilight put her hoof on her chin, pondering for a moment. She looked up at the throne to see the same type of crystal Celestia used. She let out a small gasp.
"This isn't where Kig Sombra lived in the past!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike cocked an eyebrow.
"Isn't this the same castle?" He asked. Twilight nodded her head.
"Yes, but this isn't what it looked like in the past." She stated. She levitated Spike and Peewee next to her. Twilight closed her eyes tightly and let her horn glow. Her eyes clenched tighter, her body strained as her magic got darker and she let out small grunts. The sides of her eyes revealed shadows, resembling to Sombras. Soon her magic turned completely black and a dark beam hit the crystal. Darkness burst out of the crystal and a shadow looked over the floor, making a rectangle. The floor shook for a moment before crumbling, revealing a dark stairwell. Twilight let the tip of her horn glow purple, giving a little light.
"You stay here and keep me updated on what's going on outside." Twilight said. Spike gave her an uneasy look before nodding his head. He watched her walk down the stairs before she was completely out of sight. Spike looked out of the window to see Rainbow Dash tackle a crystal pony away from the fake Crystal Heart. Applejack pulled Rainbow Dash back and pointed somewhere, as if she were telling her to go somewhere else. Rainbow Dash visibly huffed before grumpily flying off.
"Spike, whats it like outside?" Twilight asked from the deep caverns. The bubble started to flicker as King Sombra used the broken part of his to form dark crystal inside the Empire.
"It's not good! Cadance's magic must be fading faster than before!" Spike shouted back. He heard a few more hoofsteps before a series of loud thuds.
"Twilight, are you okay?" Spike asked. There was a few seconds before he heard her speak.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Twilight said. Spike let out a breath of relief before looking out the window again. A mare tried to look at the Crystal Heart. Pinkie Pie picked her up and just threw her across the fair, obviously out of breath. Spike chuckled at the sight. It had been quiet for a few minutes.
"Twilight?" Spike said, loud enough for her to hear. When he got no answer, worry washed over him. He started to think about the worst case scenarios. Spike picked Peewee up and started to walk down the stairs. Peewee worked as a small light, glowing and lighting up the way. He stayed quiet. If anything had attacked Twilight, he couldn't let it know that he was there. He made his way to the bottom of the stairs to see Twilight staring at a door.
"Twilight?" Spike asked. Her eyes were green and her pupils were red. It looked like Sombras eyes. When he got no response, Spike felt his heart rate pick up. He shook her.
"TWILIGHT!" Spike shouted. Twilight blinked and shook her head. Twilight blinked and shook her head.
"Spike, what happened?" Twilight asked.
"I know you told me to stay up there, but you were down here for such a long time and you weren't answering and I got worried so I came down here and you were just staring at that door and... I was calling your name, but I couldn't seem to get your attention, and- What were you looking at? I mean... it's just a door." Spike asked, looking into the door. Spike looked around to see that he was in the Canterlot Mountains. The bitter cold struck his scales.
"Twilight?" Spike asked. She was no where in sight. He felt himself panicking.
"Twilight would never leave me, she loves me." Spike said to himself. His claws dug into his hands, almost drawing blood. He was all alone.
"I'm alone again, I'm alone again, I'm alone again." Spike repeatedly thought to himself. A loud caw echoed across the mountains, making Spikes eyes go wide. A large roc landed on the ground in front of Spike. His breath quickened and his body locked up. The roc loomed over him, breath heavily. Spikes legs shook before he collasped on the ground, shielding his face. He let out loud, shaky sobs.
"Go away go away go away go away." Spike muttered between the sobs. He heard a door close and something touch his side lightly. Spike let out a squeak of fear before crying louder. Something soft and fluffy forcefully moved his hands from his face. He opened his eyes to see Peewee inches from his face. Peewee rubbed his head against Spikes face, trying to calm him down. Twilight levitated Spike into her arms. He nuzzled into her, happy that she was there.
"What happened?" Spike asked fearfully.
"That was King Sombra's dark magic. A doorway that leads to your worst fear." Twilight explained.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked.
"I saw that I was in the Canterlot Mountains again and I was alone." Spike said. Twilight rubbed his back, knowing how much he hated being alone.
"Again?" Twilight questioned. Spike had barely ever left her side since they met and when they were separated, he stuck with whoever was watching him.
"When I got taken by the roc, it accidentally dropped me in the Canterlot Mountains. It was terrible. I was alone in a freezing cold place with barely any food or water." Spike said. Twilight let out a gasp, she had no idea. It must have been terrifying for a five year old to be by themself.
"That was the first time I was ever alone. I was alone for months Twilight. I've never been separated from my family before and I was alone without anyone to help me. Now I don't even have a family anymore and it's my fault. I know I can't face the rest of my family after I killed my mom. If I would have listened to my mom than this would have never happened. Now you're the only family I have left and I can't lose you!" Spike exclaimed as tears started to slide down his cheeks. Twilight hugged him tighter.
"Spike, it wasn't your fault, you were young and did what any young child would do." Twilight said while wiping the tears from his eyes. Spike sniffled. A beam of magic shot from her horn and hit the crystal. The crystal turned white and the door swung open, revealing a white stairwell that was going upwards. Spike sniffed the air.
"The Crystal Heart is up there." Spike said. Twilight smiled.
"Let's get going then." Twilight said while walking up the stairs. Spike picked Peewee up and walked up the stairs. This was going to be a piece of cake.
Spike panted heavily as he walked up the stairs. They had been walking up the stairs for thirty minutes and there was no end in sight. Peewee tugged on his tail, trying to get Spike to sit down and take a break.
"What if this is just more of his magic? He makes a door that leads to your worst nightmare. Why not a staircase that goes on forever?" Spike suggested. Twilight stopped walking and looked up. It did seem like it went on forever. An idea popped into Twilights head. She levitated Spike and Peewee onto her back.
"Hold on tight." Twilight instructed. She levitated herself upside down and connected her hooves to the bottom of the stairwell above her. Without and warning, they sped upwards in a spiral. Spike closed his eyes tightly and clung onto Twilight while she laughed loudly.
"Whoooooahahaha! I actually studied gravity spells, thinking it might be on my test! Turns out I was prepared for this! Wooo-hooo!" Twilight exclaimed happily. They went through a doorway and flipped back normal. Spike hopped off of her back and placed Peewee on the floor. The stood in a large attic like chamber. It was windy and the Crystal Heart floated in the middle of the room.
Twilight walked over to the Heart with a large smile on her face. Spike looked under the Heart and noticed something. The floor under it was different. His eyes widened.
"TWILIGHT WAIT!" Spike exclaimed. Twilight stepped next to the Heart and looked at Spike in confusion. The floor flashed beneath her. Twilight jumped up and tried to Grand the Heart, only for her to push it further. Black crystals surrounded her, trapping her inside. Spike tried to get closer to Twilight , but black crystals started to grow out of the ground, causing him to back away. Twilight tried to teleport out, pit immediately got trapped back into the crystals. She tried again but the same thing happened. She looked through a crack in the crystal to see Spike trying to get towards her. Peewee tugged on his tail harshly, trying to get him to safety. The Heart was behind both of them.
"You have to be the one to bring the Crystal Heart to the Faire." Twilight said. Spike froze.
"I don't want to leave you, you can hurt." Spike said.
"I'll be fine, just go." Twilight said.
"But-" Spike started, only to get cut off by Twilight.
"GO!" She commanded. Spike turned around and grabbed the Heart. He stood at one of the openings. He jumped out of the opening without hesitation. Peewee let out a squawk of fear at he watched Spike fall. Peewee jumped out after Spike. He started to fall and flapped his wings desperately. He started to fly and grabbed Spike by the scales. He tried to lift him off the ground.
Spike landed on a crystal platform with a thud. He looked around to see crystal ponies running around in fear. The magical bubble had dropped and black crystals started to appear everywhere. Shining Armor held Cadance in his arms. She laid there tiredly. Sombra started to roam into the Empire.
"I GOT THE CRYSTAL HEART!" Spike exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him. Sombra let out a loud hiss and went into the ground. A trail of black crystals appeared on the ground, getting closer to Spike. He started to run down the spiraling crystal, trying to reach the fair. Peewee tumbled after him. A crystal burst out of the ground, revealing Sombra on top of it. He let out a loud growl and lunged at him. Spike jumped off of the side of the crystal. At this point, he didn't care if he died, he just wanted everyone to be safe. He heard ponies gasp, and one of his friends scream. It sounded like Fluttershy. He knew for a fact that she had covered her eyes so she didn't see the result. Spike closed his eyes. He lived a good ten years. He smiled at the memories of him and Twilight. "See you soon mom." He thought.
Without any warning, Spike felt an impact on his side and felt himself slowing down. He opened his eyes to see that Cadance had caught him. She levitated the Heart and landed on the ground. She placed the Heart in the center of the Empire.
The ponies bowed down and the Crystal Heart started to glow. The ponies started to smile as they turned into crystal. The ground started to glow a light blue. Sombra looked around in fear at the sight. He tried to use his crystals to destroy the Heart, but they shattered once they got close. The ground stopped glowing and a loud boom rang across the Empire. A bright light appeared and Sombra let out a scream. Spike looked down at his body to see he turned into crystal. He looked around to see that everyone had turned to crystal.
The castle let out a burst of light, letting beautiful lights. They danced across the sky. The sky around them changed from a dirty brown, to a beautiful light blue. Spike looked up to see Twilight peeking out the window, smiling widely. Peewee flew down next to Spike and nuzzled his head onto his cheek. Spike had saved the Empire.
Twilight entered the throne room nervously with Spike following her who had a guilty look on her face. Princess Celestia looked out the window, smiling at the lights from the Crystal Empire.
"It's beautiful." She said with a sweet smile. Twilights ears flattened.
"I'm sorry Princess, I failed the test. You told me to save the Crystal Empire, but I didn't." Twilight said, looking at the floor.
"I didn't mean to make Twilight fail her test, she was trapped and the Empire was in danger, I just did what felt right." Spike said.
"Twilight, as I understand it, Spike brought Princess Cadance the Crystal Heart because you weren't sure how quickly you could find a way to escape the tower. You weren't willing to risk the future of the citizens of the Crystal Empire in an effort to guarantee your own. Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice than one who only looks out for her own best interests." Celestia said with a small smile. Twilight looked up from the floor with wide eyes.
"Does that mean...?" Twilight started. Celestia nodded her head.
"You passed the test." Celestia said. Twilight squealed in excitement and hopped around in circles. Spike let out a breath of relief. He wouldn't know what he have done if he caused Twilight to fail something.
"Spike, I have something to show you." Celestia said, walking down the hallway. Spike followed her until she came to a stop. Spike looked up to see a window with him on it. He held the Crystal Heart high into the air and tiny ponies cheered in the background.
"Wow..." Spike whispered. |
Aggressively Small | A Cool Chapter | Spike walked around a forest, looking for anyone. He couldn't find Peewee, Twilight, or is parents anywhere. There was a gust of wind, causing him to turn around. To his terror, he saw a giant roc coming after him. The roc let out a ear shattering screech, causing him to fall back. Everything started to feel freezing cold. He let out a cough and few ice shards flew out his mouth, landing on the ground in front of him. He couldn't seem to move his body as if it were frozen in place. He could feel himself shrinking in fear.
The roc charged at him with it's sharp, blood covered claws pointing towards him. Spike let out a scream and covered his face, letting out a cry.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed. Spikes eyes snapped open to see that he was in his shared room, not the forest. Twilight must have shaken him awake, because her hooves were on the sides of his arms. His breathing was fast and tears slid down his face. He was shaking slightly from fear and coldness. It was odd that he was cold because it was the middle of summer.
"Are you okay?" She asked in concern. Spike mindlessly pulled his body closer to Twilights, hugging her closely. She hugged him back, rubbing his head and humming softly. That was always so calming to him. Spike felt something warm touch his leg. He glanced down to see that Peewee had leaned on his leg, trying to comfort him.
"Why is it so cold?" Spike asked, still shivering.
"You started breathing ice in your sleep, I don't think you've ever done that before. You don't even breath fire in your sleep." Twilight said in bewilderment. Spike looked around to see that the walls and floor had patches of ice on it. He thought for a moment.
"I've done this before. When Queen Chrysalis trapped me in the caves under Canterlot, I destroyed some rocks by breathing ice." Spike explained. Twilight gave him a look of surprise and looked out the window. It had to be at least two in the morning.
"I know it's still pretty late, but do you mind if I do some experiments?" She asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't mind at all, I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep anyway." He said. Twilight grinned and pulled away from the hug, walking over to her desk. Spike got hit with the feeling of coldness, causing him to shiver more. His teeth clattered together. He absolutely despised the cold. Being on the Canterlot mountains messed up snow days for him because he was to afraid to go outside for a while.
Peewee hopped onto his lap. He closed his eyes tightly, letting out a small squeak. Peewee burst into flames and leaned on Spikes stomach, warming him up. Twilight turned around holding a red sweater.
"Put this o-" Twilight stared at Spike and Peewee for a few moments. She let out a sigh. "I told you two not to start fires in the house." She said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Spike let out a nervous laugh.
"Sorry." He apologized. Peewee flapped his wings slightly and the fire went away. Twilight tossed the sweater to Spike, and he caught it with no trouble. He slipped it on and it was quite comfortable. Rarity made it for him during winter.
"Let's start."
Spike sat on a stool that was in the middle of the basement. He swung his feet off of the side because his legs were to short to hit the floor. He had small suction cups covering his body to check his vitals. He also had a metal helmet on with little flashing lights on it. There was a large metal contraption placed on the table that Peewee laid on top of. Twilight pressed a few buttons on the machine and faced Spike, holding a journal and a pen.
"Can you breath fire for me?" Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head and let a small flame shoot from his lips with ease. Twilight looked at the machine and jotted something down. Spike didn't really know what she was doing, but it had to be important science stuff.
"Now can you breath ice for me?" She asked. Spike took in a deep breath and exhaled a green flame. He looked at the flame in confusion for a second before trying again. The same result happened.
"Did you do something before to breath ice?" Twilight asked. Spike thought for a moment.
"When I did it the first time I was really angry. When I did it earlier I was scared. Maybe it happens when I get emotional?" Spike suggested. Twilight gave him an uneasy look.
"I don't want you to get upset just for an experiment, that wouldn't be good." Twilight stated. Spike crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.
"I can do it." He said grumpily. Twilight rolled her eyes. She was used to Spike being extra stubborn.
"You don't have to do, we can do this later." Twilight said, walking over to the machine to shut it off. Spike let out an annoyed huff, his cheeks puffing out. He wasn't really mad at Twilight, he was mainly mad at himself cause he couldn't do it and dissapointed her. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got at himself.
"I can do it right now!" Spike exclaimed. Before Twilight could respond, he let out a large blue flame. It covered the machine in ice, freezing it over completely. Peewee flew off of the machine before the ice could get to him. Spikes scales drooped.
"Sorry, I know that was expensive." Spike apologized. Twilight shook her head.
"It's fine I needed a new one, that was old. What you did was amazing, that was way more than what you did in you sleep!" Twilight exclaimed in astonishment. Spike smiled slightly. They both turned around when the machine started to spark. It shook slightly as bolts and screws started to shoot out. The machine started to break apart, causing the pieces to go everywhere. A sharp piece of metal made it way towards Twilight. Spike ripped the helmet off of his head and ran towards her.
"Twilight watch out!" Spike exclaimed in terror. He pushed her out of the way and the metal made contact with the bridge of his nose. It stuck into his skin, causing him to bleed heavily. He heard Twilight gasp and stumbled slightly. The impact had made him very light headed. The machine let out a loud booming noise, make Spike flinch. Twilight had used her magic to unplug the machine.
"Stay still." Twilight commanded as she ran over to get the first aid kit. Spike's knees buckled and he collapsed onto the floor with a thud. Peewee let out loud screeches to get Twilights attention. Spike felt saw everything around him go dark before he blacked out.
Spike groggily opened his eyes. He moved his eyes around to see Peewee was pressed against his side and Starry was in his hands. He felt a sharp pain come from his nose, causing him to wince in pain. He noticed that there was a bandage on the bridge of his nose.
Peewee looked up at him because of the movement and happily flapped his wings when he saw that Spike was awake. He flew out of the room in a hurry. Spike sat up to see that he was in Twilights bed. The sun was rising, which meant he had to have been out for a few hours. Hoofsteps came from up the stairs, causing Spike to turn around. Twilight rushed over to Spike and pulled him into a tight hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight exclaimed. Spike smiled and hugged him back. "You promised not to do things that could get you killed." She exclaimed, now angry and pulling away from the hug. Spike rubbed his arm, avoiding eye contact.
"I know that I need to protect you from anything that's bad, it doesn't matter if I die, it just matters if you stay alive." Spike admitted. Twilight let out a gasp.
"Don't you ever say that, your life is just as important as anyone else's and you will take better care of yourself!" Twilight exclaimed while pulling Spike into another hug. He felt himself tearing up and hid his face into Twilights arm.
No matter what, he'd have to stay alive for Twilight. |
Aggressively Small | Saying Goodbye | Spike walked around the house, looking for Peewee. He looked under Twilights bed. There were only a few books under it. It was odd because he never left his side since he was hatched. He walked down the stairs for the hundredth time that day. He approached Twilights desk where she sat reading.
"Have you seen Peewee?" Spike asked. Twilight looked up from the book that she was reading.
"Not at all, he didn't even eat his breakfast." Twilight said. Spike frowned.
"I haven't seen him since yesterday." He said, his scales drooping a little and his eyes tearing up. Twilight rubbed his shoulder.
"Do you want me to help?" She asked. Spike nodded his head, sniffling a little. That made the cut on his nose sting slightly. She got up from her desk and walked around the library. Spike walked out of the room and into the kitchen. He heard the faint sound of singing coming from one of the bottom cabinets. It sounded like Peewee. Spike opened the door to see Peewee chirping to Owlicious, curled up into his side. He had gotten older over time and it showed. His feathers turned a light shade of gray, his eyes were fading, and he shook constantly.
"There you are!" Spike exclaimed happily. Peewee looked at him with sadness in his eyes. Spike reached his hands into the cabinet and pulled Owlicious out, cradling him. Peewee hopped out and flew next to his head in concern. Owlicious looked terrible.
"Twilight I think there's something wrong with Owlicious." Spike stated while walking into the library. Twilight looked at Owlicious and her face twisted into a frown. She walked over to him.
"Well he is old, maybe it's his time to go, you two are the same age." Twilight said. Spikes heart jumped at the sound of that. He was closer to Owlicious than Twilight was. He was like his first pet.
"He can't die yet!" Spike exclaimed. Twilights eats flattened. He never yelled.
"We can take him to the vet to see if she can do anything." Twilight said. Spike looked at Owlicious. He was shivering and his feathers were ruffled.
"Let go then." Spike stated. He grabbed a blanket off of the table and wrapped Owlicious in it. He stopped shivering and let out a soft coo.
Spike stood next to the vets table, picking at his hands nervously. Peewee rubbed his head against Spikes hand to make him stop. He rubbed his hand on his feathery head. Dr. Fauna put a stethoscope up to Owlicious's chest. She let out a soft hum and wrote something down.
"How old did you say he was again?" Dr. Fauna asked.
"Ten, he'll be eleven in about six months." Twilight stated. Dr. Fauna's eyes widened.
"No wonder he looks like this, he's way older than any owl is supposed to be." She said with a slight chuckle.
"Is he going to be okay?" Spike asked. Dr. Fauna's smile turned into a frown and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry, he doesn't have the much time left. He won't even make it through the day. You should just enjoy how much time you have left with him." Dr. Fauna stated. Spikes scales flattened and he stared at the ground. Twilight put her hoof on Spikes shoulder.
"It'll be okay." She comforted. Spike looked at Twilight with determination in his eyes.
"I'm gonna make today the best day of Owlicious' life!" Spike exclaimed, his tail wagging slightly. Twilight smiled. Spike carefully took Owlicious off of the table and held him in his arms.
"You have fun!" Twilight said as she watched Spike marched out of the room. Peewee flew close behind.
Spike walked up the path to Fluttershy's cottage with Owlicious in a blue blanket and Peewee flew next to him. It was well in the afternoon so he had a few hours to spare. He walked up to the cottage door and knocked on it. The door opened carefully to reveal Fluttershy.
"Hello Spike, what brings you here?" Fluttershy asked.
"Owlicious is old and is going to die soon. I heard that you were watching everyone else's pets today, can he see them one last time?" Spike asked nonchalantly. Fluttershy blinked in surprise before opening her door to let him in. Spike walked in with a little skip to his step.
Winona looked up and started to wag her tail when she saw her friend. She let out a bark and hopped excitedly. Opal started to purr, which was amazing that anyone could make her do that. Tank slowly turned his head and smiled. Angel tapped his foot excitedly. Gummy had his same blank stare. Spike put Owlicious down in between them, were he got attack by Winona licking his cheek. Spike sat on Fluttershy's couch and Peewee sat on his lap. Fluttershy sat next to him and cleared her throat.
"You said that Owlicious is dying?" She asked in disbelief. Spike nodded his head.
"We took him to Dr. Fauna and she said the he's way older than any owl she's ever seen. I don't know why I'm so surprised, we're the exact same age. We even have the same birthday, isn't that crazy?" Spike asked. Fluttershy nodded her head in surprise. Spike looked at Owlicious who was smiling a little, enjoying his time with his friends.
"I'll be back in a few hours, I need to do something." Spike stated while sliding off of the couch.
"See you later Spike." Fluttershy said with a wave. Spike walked out the front door with Peewee flying behind him. Time to start his plan.
Spike walked into the library, making Twilight turn around from her organizing.
"You're back earlier than I expected, where Owlicious?" Twilight asked. Spike walked passed her and kneeled in front of a floorboard.
"Owlicious is a Fluttershy's cottage. I'm going to get a gravestone for him and bury him at the top of the hill." Spike explained while lifting up the floorboard. Inside of it there was a pouch of bits and gems. There was enough in the pouch to buy a small building. Twilight blinked in surprise.
"Where did you get all that money?" Twilight asked. Spike took a few half eaten gems out of the pouch.
"Everytime you pay me for chores or I don't finish my gems, I save them for traveling." Spike stated while walking over to a storage closet and pulling out a shovel. Twilight cocked her eyebrow.
"And where are you traveling to?" She asked. Spike scales flattened and he let out a nervous laugh. He stood up and made his way to the front door.
"That's not important. If you want to say goodbye to Owlicious one last time, meet us at the hill during sunset." Spike said while walking out the door. He closed the door behind him and started to make his way to the pet cemetery. Peewee sat on his head, tired from all of the flying. His eyes drooped closed as he tried to stay awake.
Spike had the shovel tightly in his hand, making his knuckles turn white. He really didn't want to lose Owlicious. He was his only friend his age. He helped Spike get over his fear of birds when he was younger. He cuddled with Spike when he woke up from a nightmare and Twilight was in the Canterlot library. He didn't want to cry about this and seem childish. Twilight didn't seemed to be worried about it at all. If she wasn't worried why should he be.
Spike arrived at the pet cemetery and looked around. He spotted a small building at the far end of it. He walked over to the building, which felt like forever. When he approached it, he knocked on the door which quickly swung open to reveal pegasus mare. She couldn't have been much younger than Velvet. She was she pale blue with a white mane. Her eyes were a deep blue and her cutie mark was of a tombstone with a pawprint on it.
"How may I help you?" She asked in a sweet but raspy voice.
"I heard that you make tombstones for pets." Spike stated. She looked at him and looked at Peewee.
"I do. Should you have your dead pet on your head?" She asked in confusion. Peewee laid on his head, sound asleep.
"He's not dead, just asleep. I need a headstone for my pet owl, he's not gonna make it though the day." Spike explained. The mare gave him a somber look and gestured for him to come inside. It looked very nice. There was a brown couch and a table with tissues. Her large desk had a plaque on it that said "Stone Chipper". Behind her desk there were blank tombstones. The nice mare walked behind her desk and grabbed a chisel and a blank tombstone.
"What would you like for it to say?" Miss Chipper asked. Spike thought for a moment.
"Thank you for being the best pet in the world." Spike stated. Miss Chipper nodded her head and started to chisel that into the stone. Spike closed his eyes and listening to the sound of the rock being picked away. It reminded him of something from the dragonlands but he didn't know what. He hadn't realized how much time had passed until he heard Miss Chipper speak up.
"Is this fine?" She asked while holding up a tombstone. Spike opened his eyes and looked at the tombstone. It read 'Thank you for being the best pet ever' in neat cursive. Under it there was a very detailed feather.
"I love it!" Spike exclaimed, causing Peewee to jolt awake. He looked around in confusion. Spike reached into his bag and pulled out twenty half eaten gems.
"Sorry that they have bite marks in them." Spike apologized. Miss Chippers eyes widened. This was way more than she needed.
"I can't take all of this, I don't need it." Miss Chipper said while pushing half of the gems towards him. Spike glanced at the tombstone the laid on the desk.
"You can't give it back if you can't catch me!" Spike exclaimed while grabbing the tombstone. He bolted out of the door and ran as fast as he could. Miss Chipper looked at Peewee who flew out the door behind him, letting out loud chirps. She chuckled.
"What a generous young man."
Spike walked up the hill with Owlicious wrapped in a blanket. The sun was going to set soon, which was perfect. His legs had started getting tired from all the walking he was doing that day. Spike finally made it to the top of the hill. Owlicious gave a look of surprise at what he saw.
There was a tombstone a few feet from a tree. Surrounding the tombstone there were candles with blue flames. In front of the tombstone there was a hole the perfect size for an owl. Peewee sat on the tombstone and Twilight sat next to it.
"Do you like it?" Spike asked. Owlicious let out a strained who and flapped his wings weakly. Spike sat next down to Twilight and handed her Owlicious.
"Hey Owlicious, you had a good run over the years but it's your time to go." Twilight said, starting to tear up. Her breath hitched. "You were my first pet and one of my first friends." She finished, now started to cry. Owlicious lifted his wing and wiped the tears off of her face.
"You're the only friend my age and you were there for me when Twilight wasn't. You're my best friend." Spike said with a smile, rubbing his thumb on Owlicious brittle feathers. One of the feathers fell off and into his hand.
"Look, the sun is setting." Spike stated. They all looked to see the most beautiful sunset they had ever seen. As the sunset faded, so did the light from Owlicious eyes. Twilight looked at Owlicious and sadness washed over her.
"He's gone..." She muttered sadly. Spike took the motionless owl out of her arms and placed him into his grave. He grabbed the shovel and started to drop dirt over him. Peewee let out a sad chirp and lowered his wings. Once Spike was finished, he placed a single flower on the grave. He looked at the candles. There was no point of blowing them out since he used ice fire, the worst it could do is make that area a little icy. He picked Peewee up and started to walk down the hill.
He and Twilight walked down the hill in silence. Spike knew that he was supposed to be sad, but he wasn't. He looked at the feather that was in his hand and tightened his grasp on it.
He would always cherish that feather. |
Aggressively Small | Broken | Spike stood in front of Luna with his armor on. He had his sword in one hand and his shield in the other. Luna glared down at him, getting ready to attack at any moment. Her legs were far apart and her ears were low. Peewee sat next to Celestia, letting out soft wines of worry. His job was to make sure Spike didn't get hurt and right now the opposite was about to happen. His wings twitched. He already got taken once under his care and he didn't want it to happen again. Celestia raised her hoof.
"One, two, three, start!" Celestia exclaimed, stomping her hoof on the ground. Spike charged at Luna. She stood up on her hind legs, ready to blast him with her magic. Spike slid on his side to get under Luna. Once he was under her, he kicked her in the stomach. Luna's horn stopped glowing and she instinctively reached down towards her stomach. Spike slid from under her and quickly stood up. Luna quickly turned around to face him, her cheeks pink from embarrassment and anger.
Luna shot a blast of magic at him, which he easily dodged. Spike slid his shield across the floor, making Luna lose her balance. He took in a deep breath and covered the floor in ice. Luna let her horn glow again and started to charge her attack. She took a step forward, only for her hoof to slip. The magic shot forward, going directly towards Spikes head. He took a quick step back, only to slip on the ice. His landed on the ground, his arm making a loud snapping noise. He let out a loud scream of pain, causing everyone to freeze. His arm was bent at an awkward angle.
"Spike!" Celestia exclaimed. Peewee flew over to him in worry. He clutched on his right arm in pain, starting to sweat heavily. Peewee put his head under his injured arm to give him some support. Luna had already flew out of the room to get some medical help. Celestia rushed over to his side and levitated him into his arms. Spike was shaking like a leaf, sweating heavily.
"Am I dying?" Spike asked between shuddering breaths. Celestia shook her head and used her magic to take some of his armor off.
"You're not dying, everything will be fine." Celestia said in a soothing voice, trying to remain calm. Spike struggled to keep his eyes open. Soon everything went black and the last thing he felt was Celestia stroking his face.
Spike stirred awake by a soft beeping noise. He kept his eyes closed, listening for any key sign to see where he was. He could hear the clack of hooves on hard tile floor, fast enough to sound like pacing. It sounded like other ponies where whispering to each other. He felt something next to his left foot. It was very warm. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a hospital. His right arm felt very stiff and was numb. He turned around his arm was in a cast. Peewee bolted up from his spot on the bed and rubbed his face against Spikes head, making him chuckle.
"Calm down I'm fine." Spike stated happily. Twilight rushed over to him.
"I'm so glad that you're okay!" Twilight exclaimed while hugging him. Spike hugged her back with his one good arm. She pulled away from the hug. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie walked over to him. They were his only friends there.
"How are you feeling?" Fluttershy asked. Spike shrugged his shoulders.
"Fine I guess, I can't feel my arm." Spike stated. Pinkie Pie handed Spike a potted plant. It was a budded flower.
"Twilight told me that you like plants so I got you this!" Pinkie Pie stated happily. Spike smiled.
"Thanks." Spike said with a smile. The doctor walked in the room, holding a clipboard. He was a yellowish orange unicorn stallion with a brown mane.
"Ah, I see that you're awake." The doctor stated. He was a doctor in Ponyville, not Canterlot. Spike must have been transferred when he was unconscious.
"Your surgery was a success and you're arm should be healed up in two months." The doctor stated while reading through the paper on the clipboard.
"You are very healthy and can go home right now. I recommend not doing anything too physical until your arm heals up." He suggested. Spikes scales flattened. That meant he couldn't sword fight for two whole months. Twilight wouldn't let him help out around the house either. He let out a sigh and removed the blanket from his body.
"I recommend getting pain killers too, and make sure you don't over work yourself. Don't get your cast wet either." The doctor stated. Now he knew that Twilight wouldn't let him do any work. He actually liked working, it made him feel like he wasn't being a burden to Twilight. Spike got out of the hospital bed, holding his potted plant. The doctor handed Twilight a piece of paper.
"That's the bill." He stated. Spike grimaced. He hated when Twilight had to pay for a mistake that he made. She levitated about thirty bits and handed it to him. Peewee hopped off of the bed and stood close to Spike.
"Let's go home." Twilight said. Spike started to walk towards the door, only to be levitated onto Twilights back.
"I'm carrying you, you had a long day." Twilight stated. Spike let out a sigh. This was going to be a long two months.
Spike and Peewee sat on Twilights bed, watching her getting ready to leave. He held a container of apple fritters in one hand. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity had came over to check on him. Applejack gave him some fritters, Rarity gave him a large gem (which he had saved under the floorboards), and Rainbow Dash signed his cast.
"Are you sure you can stay here by yourself?" Twilight asked. Spike playful rolled his eyes.
"You're just going to the pharmacy to get some painkillers, I'll be fine." Spike stated.
"It might take a while, I still need to do a few more things. Make sure to just relax and don't do any work. Your arm can get worse if you do to much." Twilight explained. Spike nodded his head and pet Peewee on the wing.
"See you later Twilight." Spike said, taking his hand off of Peewee to wave. Twilight walked down the stairs and Spike heard the front door close.
"What should I do?" Spike asked Peewee. He let out a soft chirp as if he were saying he didn't know. Spike thought to himself. He couldn't draw or write because his couldn't move his right hand, he wasn't allowed to clean, or sword fight. He read all of the Power Pony comics at least a hundred times and a new one wouldn't come out until next week. He let out a groan a flopped onto the bed. Peewee looked at Spike and let out a chirp laid next to him. He turned his head to look at the plant Pinkie Pie had given him. It looked very pretty in the sunlight.
"I know what I can start doing!" Spike exclaimed before hopping off of the bed. He rushed down the stairs and Peewee flew after him. He went to the floor boards and pulled one up. He pulled out a pouch filled with bits. Peewee tilted his head in confusion.
"I'm gonna start gardening!" Spike exclaimed happily.
"Spike I'm back!" Twilight shouted as she walked into the house. She looked around when she realized Spike didn't answer. Did he fall asleep? Twilights ears perked up when she heard someone in the house. She walked through the back door which was wide open to see Spike on his hands and knees with a hand held shovel in his left hand. He wore Twilights sun hat which was way to large for him. Peewee rolled in a dirt pile next to him, clearly enjoying himself. His vest laid next to Spike.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked. Spike looked up, the hat flopping in the wind.
"I started a garden!" Spike said happily. Twilight looked to see rows of flowers. They were plenty of different colors and types. "I realized that I don't have many hobbies but I like flowers so I decided gardening would be fun to do." Spike stated excitedly, his tail wagging a bit. Twilight smiled.
"It looks like you're having fun." She commented. Spike nodded his head. Twilight levitated the hat off of his head.
"I have a sun hat that can fit you better." Twilight stated before walking back inside. She can back a few moments later with a
dark blue sun hat. She placed it on Spikes head.
"Much better." She stated. Spike smiled. He liked this new hobby. |
Aggressively Small | The Return of Trixie | Spike, Twilight, Peewee, and Fluttershy stood in front of her cottage. A group of animals happily chittered to each other as Fluttershy shook in fear.
"Don't be scared, little friends. Twilight is wonderful with magic." Fluttershy said in a soft tone to her animals. She quickly turned to face Twilight, there noses pressing together. "If anything happens to them, Twilight, so help me..." Fluttershy started, only to be blocked by Spike. He pushed her back with his one good arm.
"Aww, don't worry, Fluttershy, Twilight's magic has gotten a lot better since she accidentally crushed me and Applejack with a giant snowball." Spike explained. Twilight blushed at the memory. Fluttershy let out a sigh.
"Of course she's good with magic. Twilight's great with magic. I guess I just don't want my little friends to be scared. Oh, oh, look how scared they are!" Fluttershy said with a nervous laugh. Spike looked at the animals to see that they were perfectly fine and not nervous at all. He chuckled a bit.
"You're being a little dramatic, they're fine." Spike stated.
"I promise, Fluttershy. Nothing bad will happen to them." Twilight said confidently. She put her magic around the animals.
"Stop, stop! They can't take it!" Fluttershy exclaimed in terror, laying on the ground. Twilight gave her a look of confusion. She hadn't even lifted the animals off of the ground yet. Twilight turned back around and started to levitate the animals off of the ground. She lifted them into the air and they all chittered happily. Fluttershy bit her hooves as she watched her animals. Spike pet her hair as he watched Twilight twist and turn the animals in the sky. The animals let out happy chitters, enjoying the ride. Twilight rocked her head, making the animals go in different directions.
"Twilight, that looks amazing!" Spike exclaimed. Twilight lowered the animals back onto the ground. She wiped the sweat from her brow and let out a breath. The animals surrounded her, putting there arms up to be put up in the air again.
"That's all for now, little ones. Maybe we can practice again later, if Fluttershy says it's alright." Twilight said, gesturing to Fluttershy. She laid on the ground, shaking like a leaf. Peewee rubbed his beak against her hair, relaxing her a bit. All of the animals surrounded her, jumping about and down happily.
"Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight. Princess Celestia's going to love it." Spike complimented. Twilight smiled.
"Thanks, Spike. I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia. I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment." Twilight beamed. Spike went to say something, but noticed a shadow on the ground approaching them rapidly. He looked up to see Rainbow Dash flying quickly. She had a look of urgency on her face. She landed next to Twilight.
"Twilight! Come quick! It's an emergency!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Twilight levitated Spike on her back and followed Rainbow Dash into Town Hall. Peewee and Fluttershy flew after them, wondering why was going on.
Twilight ran into town hall, seeing a large crowd surrounding something. Spike hopped off of her back and pushed his way through the crowd to see what was going on. Someone wearing a black cloak hit Rarity with a magic beam. A brown, lime green, and pink dress appeared on her, making her gasp.
"You beast! This shade of brown should only be used for accents!" Rarity exclaimed, about to faint. Applejack ran behind her and caught her before she hit the ground.
"Come on, Applejack. We've got to get her in a nice, soothing pink, stat!" Pinke Pie said, following Applejack. Twilight managed to push her way through the crowd, looking around in confusion.
"What's going on here?" Twilight asked. The pony took off the cloak dramatically, revealing Trixie. Spike gave her a confused look. She wasn't that much of a threat when she was in Ponyville before, why was everyone so scared?
"Well, well, well. If it isn't... Twilight Sparkle." Trixie said with a smirk. Her eyes flashed red for a moment, making Spike take a step back. Twilight let out a gasp.
"Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed. Rainbow Dash flew closer to Trixie.
"You call that great and powerful?" She asked with a scoff. Spike wanted to side with her but felt like Trixie was going to do something crazy. She hit her with a beam of magic. Rainbow Dash's right wing became humongous and she struggled to fly properly. Her magic aura was different which threw Spike off. He looked at Trixie's neck. She had a black amulet on her neck.
"That must be the source of her power, she could barely do a teleportation spell when she was here, let alone spells that could change body parts." Spike thought to himself. He looked up to see that Snips and Snails horns were connected. They were both running around in a panic as everyone stared.
"Stop picking on my friends Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed sternly.
"You and I have some unfinished business. My magic's gotten better since I was here last. And I'm going to prove it! Me and you, a magic duel. Winner stays, loser leaves Ponyville forever! Trixie exclaimed, making everyone gasp. Spike stood in front of Twilight defensively.
"Forget it, she's not going to do that!" Spike exclaimed angrily. Trixie smirked and got a few inches from Spikes face.
"Would you like to suffer for Twilight instead?" She asked. Spike nodded his head.
"Kick me out instead, see if I care." Spike stated. Twilight pushed Spike behind her and shook her head.
"Why are you doing this?" Twilight asked. Trixie sneered and made a small magical screen appear.
"Why? Because you humiliated me! After you showed me up with that Ursa Minor, I became a laughing stock! Everywhere I went I was laughed at and ostracized. I even had to take a job on a rock farm just to earn a living! A rock farm!" Trixe shouted angrily, stopping her hoof.
"Hey! You're lucky a rock farm would take the likes of you!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She continued to ramble on about how wonderful rock farms are. Trixie rolled her eyes and wrapped her magic around Pinkies muzzle. She took it off of her face and tossed it in a nearby trash can. Pinkie Pie tried to say something but it just sounded like muffled screams.
"Now I want revenge! And I'll just keep casting spells 'til you agree. Well? What do you say?" Trixie asked. Twilight looked around to see her friends suffering from Trixie's torments. "If I lose, I won't set hoof in Ponyville again. But if you lose, you're the one banished from this one-horse town." Trixie suggested. That was a deal breaker.
"Fine!" Twilight exclaimed. Trixie smirked.
"Excellent." She said. She reversed the effects on every bodies spells. She turned Rainbow Dash's wing back to normal, took the dress off of Rarity, and disconnected Snips and Snails. Pinkie Pie still didn't have a mouth. Spikes heart raced at the thought of Twilight losing. He couldn't lose her. Twilight and Trixie stood a few feet from each other. Spike could feel Twilights nervousness.
"Draw!" Trixie exclaimed, letting a blast of magic out of her horn. She levitated an apple cart and launched it into the air. Ponies scattered int different directions, trying not to get hit. A mare tripped and fell onto the ground harshly. She shielded herself as the cart approached her. Twilight levitated the cart away from her moments before it hit the mare and placed it on the side, placing the apples inside neatly. The mare ran off as Twilight let out a sigh of relief.
She turned around to see a dozen pies appear in mid air. They charged at her at full speed. Twilight thought for a moment before getting an idea. She teleported a parasprite, which ate all the pies with ease. The parasprite burped out another parasprite and Twilight quickly teleported them away before they could do any more damage.
"You can do it Twilight." Spike muttered to himself. He pet Peewees head anxiously. Trixie summoned a large pile of snow above Twilight and dropped it on her. Twilights horn glowed and she melted all of the snow. She shook the water off of herself. Twilight hit Trixie in the face with a magic beam. A long mustache grew from her upper lip, causing everyone to giggle. Trixie summoned a pair of scissors and cut them off with ease.
"Snips, Snails, step forward!" Trixie commanded. The both shakily walked towards her and bowed down.
"Wh-what is it, oh Great and P-P-Powerful Trixie?" Snips stuttered out. Trixie levitated them both into the air and covered them in magic. There was a bright light and both of them fell on the ground. Snails was an old frail stallion while Snips was a small foal. Twilight gave a look of surprise.
"An age spell? But... how could you do an age spell? That's only for the highest level unicorns!" Twilight exclaimed in shock. Trixie smirked cockily and shined her hoof on the amulet.
"Well, Twilight? Give up?" Trixie asked. Twilights ears flattened. She enveloped Snips and Snails in her magic.
"Come on Twilight you can do it." Spike said hopefully. Sweat dripped down Twilight's face as she struggled to change them back. Her magic weakened and she dropped Snips and Snails on the ground, trying to catch her breath.
"Trixie is the highest level unicorn!" Trixe exclaimed with a laugh. She faced Twilight. "And now it's time for you to leavePonyville! FOREVER!" She commanded. All of her friends ran in front of Twilight to protect her.
"That's enough, Trixie!" Applejack stated, stomping her hooves on the ground.
"You proved your point, but you can't possibly expect Twilight to leave Ponyville!" Rarity said with worry laced in her voice.
"You fools! She's already gone!" Trixie exclaimed while using her magic to throw Twilight out of town. Twilight let out a scream as she was flung away. Spike quickly ran after her, being followed by his friends. He could see Twilight laying on the ground near the Everfree Forest. Spike sped up, already way ahead of his friends. Before he could reach her, a giant glass blocked them, keeping Twilight out.
"Twilight!" Spike exclaimed, banging his hand on the glass. It glowed red whenever his fist his the glass. It must have been magic surrounding it. Spike picked him up to make sure he didn't hurt himself.
"I'll be fine Spike. I'll figure something out. Just take care of each other. And keep an eye on Trixie. There's something strange about her." Twilight said before running off. Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity muttered to eachother. Spike hopped out of Fluttershys arms and started to pace back and forth in worry. He stopped pacing when he heard the sound of something dragging across the dirt and a whip. Trixie sat in a carriage with no wheels. Snips and Snails, who we're now back to normal, struggled to pull it.
"You six, come with me, you have some worshipping to do." Trixie commanded. They couldn't fight back so they followed Trixie back to Town Hall, whispering things to each other. Spike rubbed Peewees head to get his attention.
"Let's go." He whispered. He slowed down as he watched his friends follow Trixie. Spike turned around and made his way to the library.
Spike sat on the library floor, flipping through a book about amulets. Peewee laid his head on his lap.
"There has to be something on the amulet that Trixie is wearing." Spike said to Peewee. He flipped through the pages of the book until he found the amulet that she was wearing.
"The Alicorn Amulet, and whoever wears it is blessed with untold power. Even though it provides great power, it also corrupts the user." Spike read out. He continued to skim the page.
"You can't just take the Alicorn Amulet off her neck, it has a magical lock! Trixie's the only pony who can take it off!" Spike exclaimed. He thought to himself for a moment. He stood up, making Peewee roll off of his lap and land on his back. Spike started to pace back and forth.
"I need to trick her somehow. She's not that smart so it shouldn't be that hard." Spike stated. He stopped walking and looked at a dark blue necklace that Twilight had gotten for her birthday. It had a blue sapphire in it and a thick golden chain. He picked it up off of the table and an idea popped into his head.
"Come on Peewee, I have an idea." Spike said before walking outside. Peewee followed him out the door. He looked around to see that the town was empty. It was eerily quiet, making Spikes blood run cold.
"It's like a ghost town." Spike muttered. The silence was terrible and he hated it. It made him feel like he was alone. Peewee noticed his tension and started to sing softly. It calmed Spikes nerves and made him smile a bit. They entered Town Hall to see Trixie sitting on a throne made of sweets. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash struggled to hang up some tapestries. Applejack stood in a pit of apples, trying to crush them up. Rarity sat at a sewing machine, making tapestries. Pinkie Pie was dancing with a red magical aura around her. Everyone else was either cleaning or fanning Trixie. The Mayor sat in a small cage.
"Dragon, massage my hooves." Trixie commanded, sticking out her right leg. Spike grimaced.
"Actually Trixie, I have something for you." Spike said while showing her the necklace. "It's a new amulet, much more powerful than the one around your neck." He stated. Rainbow Dash flew over to him in a rush, making Fluttershy drop the tapestry she was holding.
"What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked through gritted teeth. Spike ignored her and took a step forward.
"This can help you rule all of Equestria and you would barely have to use any magic." Spike explained. Trixie squinted at him.
"How do I know that you're not trying to trick me? Besides, why would you give me more magic?" Trixie asked. Spike instantly thought of an answer. Trixie didn't know him that well so he could say anything and she could believe him.
"I'm tired of the same boring rules the Princess Celestia makes, with you in control, it can be different." Spike encouraged. Trixie snatched the necklace from his hands and took off the amulet. Her eyes flickered red for a moment before going back to its regular purple color. Spike looked out a window to see the shield around the town had disappeared.
"Get rid of this, I don't want it anymore." Trixie said as she handed Spike the amulet. He grinned. Trixie put the necklace on her neck and looked at Rainbow Dash. She struck her with a beam of magic, making her laugh.
"Stop it! Tha-that tickles!" Rainbow Dash said between laughter. Trixie gave a look of confusion.
"Tickles?! That was supposed to make you writhe in agony! This amulet is defective!" Trixie shouted. She faced Spike. "Give mine back!" She commanded.
"I'll give it back if you can catch me first." Spike said before running off. Peewee flew after him. Trixie ran after him in blind rage. Spike glanced at the enterance of the Everfree Forest.
"Peewee, fly around town and make sure she follows you, I'll go get Twilight." Spike commanded. Peewee nodded his head and flew off into a different direction. Spike hopped over a log and entered the forest.
"If I were Twilight where would I go?" Spike asked himself. Before he could think of something, he bumped into something and got knocked to his back.
"Spike, what are you doing here?!" Twilight asked in surprise. Spike stood up and hugged her.
"I got the amulet that was controlling Trixie." Spike said while showing her the alicorn amulet. Twilight tilted her head.
"Is that why she was so powerful?" Twilight asked. Spike nodded his head.
"She's mad at me and is trying to catch me. I told Peewee to keep her away." Spike stated. She smiled and put Spike on her back.
"Let's hurry before Trixie gets away." Twilight said as she ran out of the forest.
Twilight and Spike entered Ponyville to see Trixie surrounded by the rest of their friends and Peewee. She looked at Twilight with fear in her eyes.
"What are going to do to me?" Trixie asked. Spike looked at her with cold eyes.
"Murder." Spike said with a deadpanned expression. Trixie started to shake in fear.
"We're not going to murder you." Twilight stated. Trixie let out a sigh of relief. "I don't want you to come back to Ponyville until you truly changed, understood?" Twilight asked. Trixie nodded her head before standing up and running off.
"She deserved worse." Spike stated. Twilight sighed.
"She was corrupted by the amulet and you know it." Twilight stated while walking away. Spike snarled.
"I just don't want to see her ever again." |
Equestria Unchained | pre | With so many ponies in tow, it took almost twenty minutes to make it from the city hall to princess Twilight's castle, although it normally was barely a five minute trot to reach the huge crystal tree.
When we had arrived at the gate, the ponies behind me had already gave a fair warning that we were coming. This had led to Applejack and Rainbow Dash already waiting at the balcony when I knocked at the door. I presumed that Twilight already knew about our arrival and the fact that she opened the door merely seconds after my knock further emphasized that point of view.
I had to suppress a giggle when I saw that Twilight's jaw dropped the moment she laid eye on the crowd behind me. She looked like she originally wanted to tell me off, but obviously the sheer amount of ponies present made her mind struggle. If I had to guess, she was assessing what we were here for and what she could do about it.
After a few seconds she shook her head and looked at me. "Mayor, may I ask why you and, roughly estimated, half of Ponyville are doing here?"
I, once again, pulled out the list she gave me the day before and presented it to her. "I'm sorry Twilight, but I can't proceed following the instructions you gave me. The ponies of Ponyville want to protect their families, their homes and Celestia knows how many other things. I simply can't tell them off, it would break their hearts and doing so would break mine."
Twilight chewed on her lower lip. Her eyes darted around, assessing me, the silent ponies behind me and the mumbling crowd behind them. She heaved a heavy sigh and looked at me. "Please, mayor, I don't want to see my friends wounded and dying in this war."
Big Mac pushed me aside, rose to his full height and looked into Twilight's eyes. "Twilight, ya' can't forbid us to protect everythin we love. AJ is goin to this war with ya'll, do ya' really expect me to jus' sittin here, hopin ya' bring her back fine an' dandy? Ah' ll protect ma' little sis, no matter what ya think or order."
Applejack shouted down from the balcony. "Mac, ah know ya' only mean good and ah'm mighty thankful for it, but please, stay here. Ah don't wanna lose ya in this buckin war."
Mac turned his head up to his sister and smiled warmly at her. "Would ya' let me go into that mighty fine mess all alone?"
The Apples watched into each others green eyes and stayed silent for a few moments. Suddenly a violet hoof touched Big Mac's massive shoulder and Cheerilee stepped forward, only to smile at Applejack too. "You don't need to worry, I'm planning on keeping an eye on your brother. You don't need to protect him, I will take good care of him."
I can't say for certain, but I was pretty sure I heard a few faint snivels from the crowd and Applejack concealed her face behind her Stetson. Rainbow Dash said something I couldn't understand and put her hoof on her friend's shoulder. Big Macintosh, all the while, looked at Cheerilee with eyes as wide as dinnerplates. It was obvious that he was surprised, but the reason for this was surely not the not so subtle statement Cheerilee just made, but rather the fact that she made it in front of most of Ponyville. Even though many of us sort of suspected that these two were more than simple friends, they never actually confirmed anypony's suspicions.
After a few moments, Applejack mumbled something unintelligible and marched back into the castle. Rainbow Dash looked over the railing of the balcony down at Twilight. "Hey Twi, I think you should reconsider your decision."
While her friend followed Applejack inside the castle, Twilight looked at Big Mac and doubts creeped into her eyes as well as her words. "Mac, I don't know what to say. I only meant for your best, I just wanted to protect as many of you as possible."
Before Mac could say anything, Lily Valley shouted from the crowd. "The gryphons hurt Roseluck, I want to pay them back. I don't need and don't want any protection. What I want is simple revenge for my friend."
Bon Bon stomped a hoof with enough strength to pulverize a small rock that had the misfortune of being between said hoof and the ground. Before the attention of the crowd could shift somewhere else again she started to shout out. "One of those guys burst into our home and tried to drag Lyra and me out like two bags of garbage. They started this and we are going to end it."
Lyra flicked her tounge and locked at her marefriend with half opened eyes. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are when you're furious?"
A cream colored hoof hit Bon Bon's face in an all too familiar motion and a painful groan escaped her muzzle. "Lyra, why do you have to say stuff like this in public?"
The mint green unicorn snuggled up against the still face hoofing earth pony. "You know it's all in good fun." She turned her head to princess Twilight. "Bon Bon and I are going into this together, we're going out the same way!"
Twilight's eyes started to water and her lips quivered. "You all want to do this? I don't understand. Why do you want to go to war?"
Octavia Melody was the next to speak up, somehow managing to make herself audible without even raising her voice. "We are quite aware that this war might cost some of us their lives and I am absolutely positive that nopony is willing to let those barbarians roam free in our homes."
Even though her words were nothing short of a declaration of war, her Trottingham accent still made them sound polite and refined, absolutely fitting for any social gathering of the Canterlot high society.
Next to her, a white mare with an electric blue mane threw a hoof up in the air and cheered. "Oh yeah, Tavi is right. We know we could bite the dust, but we don't give a buck."
It was typical for Vinyl to phrase everything she had to say as direct as possible. She may be a little blunt, but she is an honest pony and simply spoke what the majority of the ponies present thought.
And when the majority of the crowd started to cheer, repeating the things that were said just mere moments ago, a bright pink hoof tapped Twilight's shoulder. Behind her were her friends, lead by Pinkie Pie. "This is nooooooooooooooo party we can throw all alone, ..." Her hair slightly deflated mid sentence and her pupils shrunk. "The more friends you bring the more fun it gets."
Fluttershy nodded slightly, looked at her hooves and tried to hide behind her mane. "I, ahm, I think that Pinkie is right. These are our friends after all and they want to do is helping us. We shouldn't turn them away, that would be mean. So, if nopony minds, we should accept their help. I think."
Rarity sighed and tilted her head. "Fluttershy is right darling. Personally, I don't like the thought of dragging more of our friends into this ugly business, but what would it say about us if we turned down the most generous offer a pony can make?"
Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof and grinned like a mad mare. "At times like this you see why Ponyville is the most awesome town ever. Come on Twi, they want to help us, the Change..."
An orange hoof punched Rainbow's side and knocked the air out of her. "We don't do any talkin abou' those righ' here and now." Applejack hissed under her breath.
Rainbow coughed and threw an angry glare at her orange friend. "I know that!"
Applejack tipped her Stetson and turned to Twilight. "Ah think the others are righ' Twilight. Ah know that ah was all happy go lucky about that mighty fine list our yours, sugarcube, but Mac migh' be righ'. If he would try to go into somethin like that all by himself, hell even ya'll together couldn't hold me back. Ah would drag that sorry flank of his back from the pits of Tartarus if ah had to."
That was the straw to break the pony's back, so to speak. Up to this point princess Twilight was torn between the happiness that her friends wanted to help her and the fear of losing any of them. But now, after all of her closest friends had also sided with us, the situation tipped in our favor.
She closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. When she finally opened them again, she looked at her five friends and a huge smile dawned on her face. "I thank you for your advice."
Twilight turned back to me, still smiling. "Mayor Mare, I'm sorry that I put you through this and hereby declare the list null and void." Her voice became louder and she turned her gaze to the ponies behind me. "Please forgive me everypony, I was worried about you all, but I shouldn't deprive you of the choice. When you still want to join the military, I won't hinder any of you."
The ponies started to cheer and stomped the ground with joy. More voices than a single pony could identify screamed their allegiance to princess Twilight and with every shout her smile grew bigger and brighter.
When the screams didn't die down, even after a few minutes, she finally spread her wings and, with a bright flash of magic, teleported herself and her friend up on the balcony which overlooked the whole scenery.
The ponies seemed to register the small display of magic, but it only managed to stir up their excitement even more. Twilight closed her eyes for a short moment and suddenly her enhanced voice boomed over the crowd. "Please, calm down everypony."
It wasn't quite the royal canterlot voice, but nevertheless loud enough to drown out every other sound. Everypony looked at Twilight in awe, except for Vinyl, she had a broad grin on her face and muttered. "She could use a little more bass."
When the crowd had finally calmed down, Twilight continued. "I want to thank everypony for their generous offer to help and their unwavering loyalty to their families, friend and Equestria. I will promise that I will do everything I can to protect you all and that I will honor all of you."
Twilight went silent for a few seconds, as if she tried to feel the full weight of the situation on her shoulders. When she continued, her voice was amplified again. "As a princess of Equestria I hereby declare the conscription of my personal royal guard department. From this moment forth, all of you who volunteer are part of my personal guard. We will fight, win and survive this war together, we are friends and family."
Despite the fact that Twilight wasn't done yet, screams of joys erupted from the ponies in front of the castle, but I think she was happy to hear those screams anyway. Nevertheless, she continued, this time with a full powered royal canterlot voice. "WE ARE THE FIRST AND ONLY PONYVILLE REGIMENT!" |
She's Awful | pre | "Well yes, she is a princess too. Formerly the Princess of Love, and now, with the Crystal Empire back, the co-ruler of this place alongside her husband. She had also ascended, just like myself, but much earlier. That's a whole other story, though."
"And I am certain I do not need to hear it." Cinch said dismissively as she looked past Sparkle.
Sparkle rolled her eyes. "Alright, Mrs. Cinch, I can see that it would be irrelevant to your interests. I won't bore you."
A little too late for that, Cinch thought. No, in fact, much too late for that.
Cinch turned yet another corner and saw a big and impressive set of doors at the end of the hallway. Two guard equines were stationed at its sides. This had to be the throne room entrance. About time, too: they had gone around the palace in such a big circle that they had even managed to find the room to house the soon-to-be-rebuilt portal, and Sparkle had deposited her cargo of crates there.
As the pair neared the doors, Sparkle approached one of the guards to ask if the court had ended. When the guard silently nodded in response, she turned back to Cinch with a smile. "Alright, Mrs. Cinch, it looks like we're just on time. Let's go in!" She enveloped the door handles with her magic and forced them open.
Cinch was not quite ready for what waited on the other side. Of course, thanks to her decades of practice, her face reflected none of her surprise upon seeing the comparatively gigantic white equine with a mane that looked almost exactly like Principal Celestia's hair, waving as though caught in an invisible water current. Next to her stood a smaller one, dark blue in color, who Cinch could deduce was probably supposed to be Vice-Principal Luna, even though she did not really look that much like her. These two stood with their backs to the entrance, talking to a third one. A smaller pink equine, possessing both wings and a horn like the other two. She looked the most familiar of the three.
Cadenza? Cadenza was running the Crystal Empire?
Well, actually, it was almost expected, if Cinch was to be fair. As she had noted before, with this world working so differently from her own, it would only make sense for the same people to have achieved different levels of success in the two worlds. Cadenza's outlook on life suited this place better. Although, honestly, she was still too mature and professional for this collection of shameful parodies. Vastly overqualified, in fact.
At least, the real Cadenza was. Judging by the difference between Twilight and Sparkle, this equine Cadenza could easily turn out an utter dullard.
Sparkle entered after Cinch. Upon seeing the two CHS equines and shooting Cinch a nervous glance (was she expecting her to react violently to their presence?) she galloped towards them, clearly elated. Hearing her, the two large hybrids turned around, first noticing Sparkle herself and returning her greetings (in which the Cadenza equine joined them), and then landing their gazes on Cinch.
Their eyes widened, and Cinch was almost certain she could see Celestia quietly mouth a word that could have been "Abacus". Sparkle was looking confusedly between the larger hybrids and Cinch. Cadenza, for her part, did not really react in any way. As a result, she was the first to break the sudden silence.
"Oh, and you must be Mrs. Cinch, right? Twilight told me she'd be bringing a guest today."
"Correct," answered Cinch.
Cinch's voice snapped the white and dark blue equines out of their stupor, and Celestia ushered Twilight out of the room, presumably intent on questioning her about the situation. Another great example of incompetence on Sparkle's part, Cinch realized. Not letting the two supreme rulers of the entire land know about a guest from a different world? Sounded about right for Sparkle's intelligence.
Luna followed her and Celestia as well, leaving Cadance and Cinch alone in the large hall.
"Well, while they're busy... Twilight told me in her note that you would probably want to know about the Crystal Empire. I'm assuming she was right?"
It was even more unusual to hear Cadenza's voice coming from a horse than it was Twilight's. Mostly because the dean's counterpart talked and carried herself almost exactly like the original. Sparkle's demeanor was different to the point of being unrecognizable.
This did, however, help Cinch feel a bit more at ease with the pink hybrid. A strong sense of familiarity invaded the part of her brain that tirelessly worked on keeping the real world and the fairy-tale world apart.
"Indeed. Miss Sparkle told me that you would be the one to shed some light on the way your Crystal Empire works. I'll be honest, since I am in charge of this place's counterpart in my world, I am mostly interested in something that I could perhaps apply there. However, it is a school and not a town, so I do not expect anything substantial at this point."
Cadenza approached one of the tall windows and looked across the panorama of her town stretching beneath. Cinch joined her, but did not care to partake in the view. Her attention was fully on the pink equine.
"Well, Mrs. Cinch, there is really no big secret. This place is isolated from Equestria, in more ways than one. It's so far to the north, away from any other settlements, and it has been gone for a thousand years, so everypony is adjusting to a new world."
"What exactly do you mean?" inquired Cinch.
"This place is ancient, Mrs. Cinch. More than a thousand years ago it was ruled by an evil unicorn named Sombra. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated him, but he managed to use all of his remaining strength to place a final spell upon the empire, a spell that caused it to simply vanish for a thousand years. It only reappeared recently, and Sombra with it. We were able to defeat him for good, though."
"I see." Sombra, an evil tyrant? Of course. This world knew no subtleties.
"So as I was saying, we're an isolated community. Not too big, not too difficult to keep tabs on. Shining Armor and myself have tried really hard to help the crystal ponies adapt, to keep their spirits up. Luckily, there was already a good way to do that: the Crystal Faire. It's an annual event that celebrates everything that the Empire can be proud of, its traditions and customs. The Faire keeps the whole population of the empire together in friendship by bringing the sense of love and unity to everypony."
This again. Was there no escape?
"We're fitting in rather well, especially since my cutie mark depicts the Crystal Heart, so the ponies have taken to my presence very well. Shining and I are friendly with them and try to never make ourselves appear above the others. For example, Shining has been personally training our sports teams. I tend to just take walks and talk to the ponies, look at what they do."
"What DO they do here, Mrs. Cadenza?"
"Please, call me Cadance," Cadenza said with a placating smile.
"Very well, Cadance. What do they do? Do your subjects just wallow in euphoria every day or are they actually achieving something?"
"They... they just live, Mrs. Cinch. They lead happy, pleasant lives. What more could a pony ask for? Some go out and travel around Equestria. We've got our share of artists, we produce our own food and so on." Cadanza tore her gaze off the town and turned to face Cinch once more. "You sound rather dismissive of such a life, may I ask why?"
"I'll tell you why, Cadance." Cinch looked into the distance, furrowing her brow. "In the real world you have to put in a lot of hard work and excel if you want to live a good life. Many people settle for the meaningless existence you can achieve if you have no ambition, but I find it unacceptable." She turned back to the princess. "My school provides people with what they need to have a chance at success. In your world, it seems, everything is given to you on a silver platter! Of course I am dismissive! It is simply a mockery of reality!"
Cadenza looked confused. "Is your world really such a different place? From what Twilight told us of her visits, it seemed not unlike ours, in the things that matter at least..."
"Well, let me give you an example then, Cadance," Cinch said, levelling her gaze. "Just remember something you mentioned a minute ago. Those marks on your hips. You refer to yours quite casually, yet in the real world we do not get a magical confirmation of our destiny. Most people spend their entire lives not knowing what they could be good at or what they could enjoy in life. There is no societal pressure to figure these things out, unlike here, where you are apparently an anomaly if you don't have an understanding of your destiny by puberty!"
"But Mrs. Cinch, the portal gave you a cutie mark when you crossed over,"--Cadenza glanced at Cinch's hip--"surely that must mean that you HAVE figured out what you're good at and what you enjoy!"
"I do know what I am good at, yes," Cinch replied coldly. "Especially since the fruits of my work are obvious. But that is because I do actually work hard. Most people in my world act as though they live in yours, but, thankfully, it does not tend to work out for them."
This conversation was getting out of hand. Cinch had to remind herself that this was not the real Cadenza, Cinch had nothing to prove to her and no reason to convince her of anything. Though she found the pink equine to be a much better match for the real person than Sparkle had been, and the years of working alongside Dean Cadenza took their toll, making Cinch a bit more open to the, technically, total stranger that this Cadenza was to her. Thankfully, Cinch was able to catch herself.
"Well, anyway, Mrs. Cinch, did you at least get the answer you wanted?" Cadenza didn't seem to be put off by the hint of malice in Cinch's last sentiment.
"I believe I did. I understand the gist of your methods. You get down to their level and make your subjects feel comfortable so that they trust you." Cinch nodded. "You also keep their spirits high by evoking a certain pride they feel for their town, undeserved as it may be."
Cadenza frowned a bit. Cinch looked over the town outside and continued.
"I highly doubt this could work for my establishment, but it's something to keep in mind I suppose. Perhaps I'll let your counterpart have a bit more free rein for a while. She did always want to act towards my students the way you do towards your subjects. It could smooth things over until I can safely take back full control. And if you can do this for an entire town, she must be capable of the same feat on the scale of my school."
There she went again, telling Cadenza more than she needed to know. The equine's smile returned at Cinch's words.
Cinch turned to look at Cadenza once more. "I have just one last question, though. That Crystal Heart, as Sparkle called it. What does it do?"
"Oh, well, it's a magical artifact, as you might've guessed. The crystal ponies power it up with their emotions during the Crystal Faire, and its magic spreads those emotions not only across the Crystal Empire, but across the entire Equestria." ...
"Mrs. Cinch, are you alright?"
No, Mrs. Cinch was not alright.
Magic. Of course it was magic. It was always magic, was it not? Even her emotions were not her own, Cinch realized. The hints of happiness she had felt before were just magical equine mind control. The same magical equine mind control that was the key to this place's state. Not discipline, not the rulers' competency, not the social engagement, not the evoking of pride. No, it was the enchanted artifact that forced the feelings of "love and unity" into everyone's minds, making them content and complacent. What Cinch had thought was a working method of keeping the right mood and morale was merely a ritual to turn on the magical mind control device.
Sparkle was an idiot to think this whole interdimensional trip could benefit Cinch in any way. And Cinch was feeling more eager than ever to let her know that.
Cadenza did not even have time to say anything else as Cinch stormed out of the throne room.
Cinch's brain had registered the path to the room where the portal was to be rebuilt just as well as it had registered all of Sparkle's stories and their running theme. She walked with a purpose, paying her surroundings no mind. The beauty no longer interested her. Even as she passed the two princesses, Celestia and Luna, who looked like they wanted a word with her, she did not slow down.
Finally she reached her destination.
"Miss Sparkle, I am going home." Cinch's brow was furrowed.
Sparkle's eyes widened. "What? So soon? Did you talk to Cadance?"
"Yes I did, and that is precisely why I want to leave immediately. There's nothing for me here but a waste of time, and Cadenza only confirmed it."
"What do you mean? I thought you wanted to learn why the Crystal Empire was such a nice place?.."
"Yes I did want that. And make no mistake, I did learn. But what do you know? I'm not sure what I expected, but the secret behind everything is the same here as it is everywhere else in your world."
Sparkle lifted her foreleg and tentatively asked, "Friendship?"
"NO! No, Miss Sparkle, it is not friendship, and frankly I am appalled that you, having lived here your whole life, still have less of a clue about your world than a total stranger. The secret behind everything is MAGIC!"
"But friendship is--"
"Quiet!" Cinch all but barked. "I don't need to hear any more preaching from you, especially now that I know that you do not understand anything you're talking about! How are you so blind?"
"What do you--"
"Recall all your stories, Miss Sparkle! All, positively ALL of your world's problems are solved with some sort of magic that just happens to need friendship to work!" Did Sparkle really not see this? "This is such an absurd world that you equines being friends with each other powers up your weapons which destroy everything that wrongs you! How would your nation prosper so without those magical artifacts? You would crumple under the first mildest danger like the pathetic creatures you are! I could understand diplomacy, a heightened sense of professional or political ethics, anything, but you just convert niceness into power! Of course you would think that being friends solves all problems! In your world, it magically does just that! But the real world has NO magic, we do NOT get to make all our troubles go away on their own by holding hands! In fact, I would LOVE to see you come over and go visit the sites of any of our currently ongoing wars, just so you can get blown to BITS while trying to convince the opposing sides to just BE NICE TO EACH OTHER!"
Sparkle was speechless. Her mouth hung open. Her eyes, wider than should have been possible, began to water, although that might have been wishful thinking on Cinch's part. As much as the sight pleased Cinch after having to endure so much and waste so much time due to this equine's stupidity, and as much as she wanted to lay into Sparkle even more, she could not afford to indulge herself since it meant having to stay in this world even longer.
Cinch sneered anyway.
"So I'm sorry to say it, but the personal project you seem to have made me into is not going to work out, Miss Sparkle! You did nothing but waste my time and yours. Congratulations, princess."
And with that, Cinch approached the portal, awkwardly stood up on two legs and stepped forward...
WHAM!
...Only to find the surface of the mirror as solid as any ordinary mirror's would be, the portal not having been reactivated yet. Smacking into the glass knocked Cinch on her back. She scrambled back onto all four, whipped around to glare at Sparkle with pure rage roaring in her eyes, and practically screamed, "LET. ME. OUT!".
Wordlessly, Sparkle levitated a book into the slot above the mirror. The machine whirred to life and the mirror shimmered.
Cinch's exit from the statue base in front of Canterlot High was less than graceful, but it was late enough in the day that there was nobody in or in front of the school to witness it. Truthfully, even the rival school's building was a sight for sore eyes after these several hours.
Getting back her human body reflexes and muscle memory, Cinch stood, slightly swaying from side to side. She straightened out her coat, gave a sigh and gently rubbed her forehead.
Cinch noticed that her glasses weren't in her hand to be put back on afterwards. She looked around and spotted them in the grass near where she had fallen out of the portal. Picking them up, she recalled where her car was supposed to be parked and took off in that direction.
Arms behind her back, Cinch slowly walked through the neighbourhood that was home to the rival school. Since it was already evening, not too many people were out and about, and the ones that were didn't seem to care too much about Cinch being there. Not that she would've been in any danger from the residents, but it still made her more comfortable. All the energy left her after the impassioned speech she had delivered to Sparkle so it was nice to not have to hurry.
The familiarity of the real world calmed Cinch down. Most of her anger had evaporated, replaced by a sense of bitter regret for a day wasted so foolishly.
Then again, no disasters seemed to have happened while Cinch was out. Cadenza hadn't contacted her using that magic book. Cinch took out her phone and checked for messages or missed calls. None, as usual.
To be honest, she was not sure she even knew how the notifications for those things looked. She always had the phone on her to answer calls right away, and it was not like hordes of people were dying to talk to her all the time anyway. Thank goodness for that.
As soon as the car started up, Cinch fully lowered both front windows. The sensation of the cold evening air coursing through the salon was like the wind, and the wind was the one thing Cinch genuinely enjoyed. It was doubly appreciated after the still and oppressive heat of the horse world. As she drove, the breeze chilled her head and her headache slowly faded away. Thankfully, Cinch had never gotten a cold from doing this, and she really needed this after the day she had had.
The sun began to set, painting the dispersing clouds in orange tones. Cinch felt a new appreciation for the simple sight of the darkening city. Soon the street lights would come on, and windows all around would light up one by one. It was familiar, it made sense, and it was right.
Fortunately, Cinch did not need to stop by Crystal Prep. She had given Cadenza instructions for the entire day. Tomorrow her mind would be clear and she would tackle the situation, whatever that might be, after Cadenza's day in power. Maybe, if everything was well, Cinch would have the dean help some more with returning everything to normal.
It would also not hurt to see how Cadenza handled herself in such a situation. Just in case Cinch had to leave again. Perhaps she could afford a vacation sometime (one week tops) if she made sure Cadenza was responsible and would not turn Crystal Prep into Canterlot High as soon as she had the capability to.
Soon after leaving the suburban neighbourhood and entering the city proper, Cinch's car stopped at a red light. She felt a pleasantly sweet aroma seep through the open window. Cinch glanced outside and spotted a cafe on the street corner. On a whim Cinch parked her car on the sidewalk.
She had never noticed it before, the enticing smell of freshly baked pastries, but she could recall hearing people gush about it. It was something everyone felt the need to point out, which was normally tedious, but right now she felt like she understood those people.
As she entered the cafe, Cinch immediately felt several pairs of eyes on herself. She did not look around, though, and went straight for the counter and the pudgy blue lady behind it. The lady's smile was warm and welcoming, surprisingly genuine for a worker of the service industry. Perhaps it was not so surprising for this particular position, though.
Some of the baked goods looked nice. Cinch picked one that had a wrapper--she was definitely not going to sit down and eat her treat here, especially since she could hear several distantly familiar voices among the patrons she had ignored. A high-pitched bubbly voice, a raspy boyish one, and one with a fake posh accent among others.
Some of them even sounded like her own students, their voices still fresh in her mind after the Games. Cinch felt the need to squash what could've turned out to be the first symptoms of a friendly relationship between them and the students from CHS, but she simply could not find it in herself to care.
Cinch paid for the pastry and went back to her car.
The water was running. Cinch knew she had nearly fifteen minutes before her bath was fully drawn, so she decided to stand on her balcony and eat the sweet treat she had bought. She never used to do this. Neither the hot bath nor the pastry. This evening, however, she felt like it for one reason or another. Perhaps she thought she deserved it after suffering through the useless trip to the horse land, which was already like a distant memory.
And perhaps this bath would finish off her headache for good. She did learn that such a thing helped, after all. Relaxing in hot water calmed her restless thoughts, and the throbbing pain with them.
Cinch looked over the buildings and at the spires of Crystal Prep that could be seen above the roofs not too far away. The sun sank behind the city's skyline and a gentle breeze caressed her face.
Abacus Cinch sighed.
"Perhaps I should have flown, after all."
Cinch felt a slight discomfort on her back. She reached into her sweater with her free arm and pulled out a teal blue feather. Perhaps it came off shortly before Cinch's escape through the portal and did not get erased in the transformation, no longer truly being a part of her body.
Suddenly Cinch understood why the portal had given her wings in a state of complete neglect in the first place.
She looked at the feather, spinning it around between her fingers for a bit, then quietly let go. As the feather drifted down and away through the evening air, Cinch sighed once more, finished her pastry and left the balcony. |
The Poncho Chronicles III: Amsterdam | pre | "Do you think I did the right thing?" asked Poncho.
"Well, you did or you just got scammed out of your money," said Cannon, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
After paying, they all left the restaurant and looked at the time. Seeing how it was close to ten at night, if they started walking back to the coffee shop where Spike and Wahlburn were probably still at, they would make it back by around eleven, the time where the Red Light District is full of life.
Like they predicted, after walking through the lit streets of Amsterdam, at eleven they walked inside the coffee shop. They saw Bastiaan sitting at the bar, while Spike and Wahlburn were passed out on some bean bags in the corner.
"New friends!" said Bastiaan excitedly upon seeing the group. "How did Amsterdam fare?"
"Pretty great, but we're ready for some Red Light action if you know what I mean!" yelled Cannon.
Bastiaan smirked, "Great, well let's go!" Bastiaan led most of the group outside. Spike and Wahlburn stayed behind because they were sleeping and along with them, Clyde stayed behind seeing he had no reason to go there, and Jeb stayed behind because he was dubbed "too much of a bitch" to go with them..
Bastiaan led his pack across the small bridge to the district. As talked about, most of the buildings were lit up with red lights. Crowds of ponies gathered around the windows of the buildings, as a prostitute was usually dancing around in it.
"Alright dudes," said Bastiaan, "I want to leave here by midnight, so hurry up and go crazy!" The group gave a cheer and all ran towards the crowds, while Poncho nervously walked. Instead of taking part of the activities, Poncho decided to look around instead. Five minutes to midnight, the others met back at the coffee shop.
"That shit was crazy!" yelled Cannon. "I'll be sleeping good tonight boys."
"Same," said Fluffy.
"Dammit Spike!" yelled Wahlburn. "Why the hell didn't to stop me so we could've went?"
"Dude...," said Spike, who tripped himself. "I don't know."
After one last minute or so of socializing, they all boarded the bus again and Bastiaan drove off. Once back on the road towards the cottage, they all looked at the bright city of Amsterdam behind them. |
The Poncho Chronicles III: Amsterdam | Wasting Time | Upon the return to the cottage, since it was nearly one in the morning, most of the group decided to go to sleep in their room. While they were entering the cottage, they saw Tyrone and Junior still playing Greg the game console with a movement sensor. They were playing some dancing game and Tyrone got distracted by the group's entrance by waving at them, which Junior took advantage of. Tyrone began yelling at Junior while the others either went to their rooms or got something to eat real quick before finally heading to their room.
Excluding Tyrone and Junior, only Clyde, Patel, and Jeb stayed awake for a bit longer. Patel was on his computer looking up random facts about the surrounding country and drawing maps in his notebook for future reference.
Clyde fulfilled his daily promise to Rarity, by calling her through a video chat program since it was only seven in the evening in Ponyville time. They talked for a few hours until Rarity noticed Clyde's multiple yawns and told him to get some good rest, as she didn't want to be the source of his late night fatigue. At first he didn't want to end the call, but he soon gave in to her offer.
Jeb took the time to also doodle in his notebook, but unlike Patel, he drew random crests and emblems. He even tried drawing some landscapes, but after some unsuccessful attempts gave up.
The next morning, Junior was the first one awake. He looked up at Tyrone, who occupied the bed and stood close to him.
"Dad!" yelled Junior as loudly as possible.
Tyrone, who jolted awake, flew off the bed and crashed to the floor. "Junior! What the hell! I'll kill ya!"
"Dad! It's time for breakfast!"
"Son! Give me five damn minutes!" Tyrone jumped back onto his bed and pulled the covers over him. Junior sadly lowered his head and slowly walked into the hallway. He made his way to the main den and sat on the couch. He turned on the television and quietly watched it until Tyrone got up.
Two hours later, along with Tyrone, most of the others also woke up. Tyrone was the first one to walk into the den. He saw Junior sitting on the couch and yawned. "Sorry Junior, you still want that breakfast?"
"Ya!" Junior jumped off the couch and ran to the kitchen while Tyrone dragged himself behind. While Tyrone was getting cereal for Junior, Rivs and Sticky came into the kitchen.
"What time did the others get back?" asked Rivs, taking a breakfast bar from the shelves.
"'Bout one," replied Tyrone. He slid the cereal bowl to Junior and took out another bowl for himself.
"Did you beat him in that dancing game?" asked Sticky laughing.
"Hell no. I think Greg has it out with me or sumthing. It kept saying my dance moves didn't match the character's."
"Stop making excuses dad! I totally outdanced you!" Junior laughed while trying to eat a mouthful of cereal with the milk and cereal spilling all over the table and floor.
"Junior!" yelled Tyrone. "What the hell are you doin'?" Tyrone grabbed a towel and threw it on the ground. "Clean it up!"
"But dad...,"
"Son!"
Junior sadly hopped off the chair and began scrubbing the floor with the towel. After a few more scrubs he washed it out and continued with the table.
"Yo T," said Rivs, "that ain't the way to clean the floor and table."
"Shieet mayne. Dis is what my dad did to me when I spilled something on the floor."
"I think he was just trying to punish you real good," said Sticky, laughing again.
"Yeah, you're probably right."
After Junior finished with his mess, he ran off to the other room to play Greg the game console. Tyrone, Sticky, and Rivs, all went into the den to watch some basketball game highlights back in their country.
"You guys still play on the Crusaders right?" asked Tyrone. "With Clyde?"
"Yeah, but we're in the middle of a lockout season right now," said Rivs still watching the highlight reel. "I don't know when we'll play again."
"We only signed the basic one year contract though," said Sticky, "I know we might play more in the future, but I don't know if Clyde will."
"Why is that? He thinks he ain't good enough?"
Sticky laughed. "No, he's undoubtedly the best on the team, he even got his name for Rookie of the Year thrown around last year."
Tyrone smirked. "I taught him all I knew. Why does he want to quit then? He could make it big with those sweet contracts worth millions."
"Road games," answered Rivs and Sticky simultaneously.
"He can't handle the pressure?"
"Nooo. You know how in basketball, some teams go on a road trip with like five-plus away games before their next home game?" Sticky turned towards Tyrone.
"Yeah."
"Well, sometimes some of those trips can last two weeks."
"Does he have a pet or something he has to take care of?"
"No!" yelled Rivs, "he doesn't like leaving his girlfriend! Did you not pay attention to his shoulder sleeve?"
"Brah, I've been jail for a year almost. I don't know any shit about what you guys do." Tyrone got up and stretched. "Where the hell is the others?"
"Shit dude calm down," said Cannon rubbing his eye. Behind him were Spike, Wahlburn and Patel.
"We going back to Amsterdam today boys?" asked Wahlburn. "I'm ready for a round two."
"Calm yourself," said Patel. "I think we should stay here for today, I mean, this party in this place is what, two days away?"
"Yeah, that sounds cool," said Tyrone. "I'm definitely going to the city tomorrow so one of y'all is going to need to watch Junior."
"Have Clyde do it or something," said Cannon. "He probably won't go back anyway."
"Where is he? Sleeping?" asked Tyrone.
"Yeah he is," said Patel. "His door is still closed."
"Aight, I got him." Tyrone walked by them back into the hallway. He passed Jeb, who waved at him, but he ignored him. At Clyde's door he knocked then shoved it open. Clyde was still passed out under his covers. "Yo dawg, wake your ass up."
Clyde slowly opened his eyes and looked around. "T? What time is it?"
"It's around noon, but it's actually 'wake your ass up' time." Tyrone pushed him out of his bed.
"What the hell man? I'm trying to get rest. I didn't go to sleep until four last night."
"That ain't my problem man." Tyrone walked back out into the hallway and looked back. "We about to do something, hurry your ass up."
"Fine."
Tyrone went back to the den to the others. Everyone else, including Poncho and Fluffy who woke up during Tyrone's absence, was sitting around in the fireplace and watching some fútbol game. Fluffy and Patel were getting into it, while the others looked bored. After a few minutes, Clyde strided out of the hallway and into the den.
"Dawg," said Tyrone, beckoning to him. "Come hang out wit your boys."
Clyde walked over to the empty spot on one of the couches and sat down beside Jeb. He quickly yawned. "So, what are we doing today?"
"Good question," said Patel. "Anyone have any ideas?" Wahlburn slowly raised his hoof and Patel glared at him as he lowered it back down. "Something that doesn't involve weed?"
"Well," said Cannon, who then chuckled, "we could get 'turnt up' with all that alcohol in the basement."
"How do you know about that?" asked Fluffy.
"Oh, I was exploring this cottage just for the hell of it last night, when I went into the basement and saw a wall filled with bottles of wine, rum, whiskey, and beer."
"It's probably for that party so we aren't doing that," said Patel.
"Fine!" Cannon got up and walked into the kitchen.
"How 'bout we play some card games or some shit?" asked Tyrone.
"Like blackjack or poker?" asked Poncho.
"Nah dawg, that's pussy shit. We're playing Extreme Go Fish." Tyrone looked at everybody dead in the eyes.
"Go Fish?" asked Wahlburn. "You're fucking joking me right?"
"Does it look like I'm joking? I am for real."
"Go Fish is a game for foals."
"That's why we are playing Extreme Go Fish dawg."
"Alright, so how does one play Extreme Go Fish?" asked Patel.
"Aight, so the dealer hands two cards to each individual and then we start asking for cards, if you cannot give a card to the player that asked, the player that asked must draw a card. Three of a kind is a match which you place down, and the first to run out of cards wins."
Patel stared at him blankly. "So, it's the same god damn thing as regular Go Fish, except we start with only two cards instead of the normal five or seven?"
"Yeah mayne."
"That's fucking stupid."
"We playin' or not?"
"Yeah, I'll play."
Tyrone and the others pulled the den table and the couches to the middle of the room and began dealing out the cards. "Hey yo, Cannon, you playin'?"
Cannon stuck his head over the kitchen counter, "Yeah, give me a few." Tyrone took two cards from the deck and put them beside him for Cannon. He glanced at the other multiple two card piles he made.
"We have eleven homies playin' some Extreme Go Fish right now."
"Sweet," said Cannon sitting down beside Tyrone, "who's starting this?"
"I'll start" said Spike, who was to Tyrone's left, "Yo Wahlburn my man, you have any deuces?"
"Nah brother, Go-the-fuck-Fish." Spike sighed and drew a card.
"Alright time to win on the first turn," said Patel, who was next in line. "Jeb, you have any threes?"
Jeb looked at his two cards. "Nope."
"Fuck," said Patel, drawing a card. He looked over to his left at Clyde who was staring at him. "What do you want?"
"Hey Patel," said Clyde, "you got any threes?"
"Aw fuck you," said Patel handing over his card. Clyde smirked as he saw it.
"Isn't it weird that I win by getting my favorite card?" He laid down his two threes and also his newly acquired three of diamonds. "I win."
"Aw what the hell!" yelled the others as they threw their cards down in rage.
"Can't hate on the three of diamonds," said Clyde.
"Fuck off you bias bastard," said Patel.
"Bias? What are you talking about?"
"I know exactly what you're trying to say, and I don't like. You know you're the most bias one of all of us."
Clyde shook his head. "I don't think so, Sticky or Rivs could have me beat."
"It's true," said Sticky, "We both wear on favorite university colors everyday."
"See?" said Clyde, crossing his arms.
"You're still bias as fuck," said Patel. "Don't even say you aren't."
"Okay, prove me wrong then."
"Alright," said Patel. He looked around pondering a question to ask him. He looked at the others, who stared at him back waiting for his question, and pondered some more. He looked at Clyde this time and it struck him. "Got it."
"I'm ready," said Clyde.
"Alright 'not bias' Clyde, what is your opinion on the small town of Ponyville?" Patel leaned back to wait his answer, while the others shot their looks towards Clyde.
"I think it's a rather nice, relaxing town. I mean, you can pretty much find something to do there."
"Is that so? I have another question for you," said Patel.
"Yeah?"
"What is your opinion on the small town of Ponyville without Rarity? Like, she never lived there or existed."
Clyde looked at him with a serious gaze. "I think it's a pretty boring and lame town."
"Ha!" yelled Patel. "There it is! That was a bias remark!"
Clyde laughed. "That wasn't being bias at all! If she wasn't a part of that town, that's a damn fact that town would be boring."
"AF?" asked Cannon.
"What?" asked Clyde. "What does that mean?"
"As fuck," answered Cannon.
"Oh. Yeah, AF."
"Alright whatever 'not bias' guy." Patel stretched and looked up at the fútbol game that was still on. "What are we doing now?"
"Super Extreme Go Fish?" suggested Tyrone.
"Is that with one card?" asked Jeb.
"Yeah dude."
"Count me in," said Jeb. Tyrone asked the others if they wanted to play, which most of them decided to anyway. As he was dealing out the cards, Junior ran up to him.
"Dad!" yelled Junior in his face. Tyrone pushed him aside.
"Son, what do you want! We are trying to play some Super Extreme Go Fish!"
"Dad! Greg won't let me play the dancing game!"
Tyrone looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean? We were playin' it last night fine."
"He won't pick up my body outline or something."
"Is there good lighting?"
"Yeah! I even have extra candles and flashlights but those don't work either." Junior frowned and sat down beside him.
Tyrone put his arm around Junior and sighed. "It's because you're black son." Junior frowned harder then ran off back to play Greg the game console.
Soon a doorbell rang throughout the cottage. They all looked at the doors behind them. Soon, Bastiaan ran out of the hallway and opened up the doors.
"My friends!" he said as he waved them in. As the two stallions walked in, Cannon gave a gasp and pointed.
"No way! It's the gay pirate and the freaky puppet dude!"
"I'm not that freaky," said Clark, "well I might be in bed, but that's my little secret." Yarlin chuckled while the others yelled in disgust.
"Friends of Fluffy and Fluffy, these two will be staying here until my party in two days is over," said Bastiaan. "Make them part of your game you are doing or something, I have to keep ordering my supplies. Bastiaan trotted off back into the hallway while Yarlin and Clark stood there in silence.
"So, you guys wanna play some Super Extreme Go Fish?" asked Tyrone.
"I would be delighted lad!" yelled Yarlin, who quickly ran up to the table. "Clark, get over here you scurvy sea dog!"
"Ooohoo," replied Clark, "I'm coming!" He sat down beside Yarlin and looked at the others. "How have you guys been doing?"
"Fine, I guess," said Cannon. Cannon noticed a small name tag on Clark's coat. After a closer look, without getting too close, Cannon figured out his last name. "McIovin? Is that a 'l' as in 'idiot' or an 'I' as in 'lick'?"
"It's an 'I', as in 'I just love puppets and boys so much'." Clark giggled.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" asked Wahlburn. "Why do you have to be a flamboyantly gay dude who enjoys puppets? You just surpassed Poncho on the 'Sketchy Scale'."
"Hey!" yelled Poncho, "I'm not that sketchy!"
"Yes, you are," said Jeb.
"Look," said Clark, "I don't like judging others and you shouldn't either. Everyone on this world is different and that's what makes it fun. Especially for me and little boys."
Wahlburn jumped off the couch. "Nope. I can't do this. I'm going back to my room to smoke some weed."
"Wait, take me with you!" yelled Spike. He jumped onto his back and Wahlburn ran off back to the hallway.
For the next few hours, the remainder of the group talked to Yarlin and Clark about the past while playing random card games Tyrone came up with. Clark told them of his life changing story when he found some puppets when he was just a small colt. Throughout the weird tale, the others tried not to get completely creeped out.
"So you're saying you use your puppets to fondle young colts?" asked Cannon amazed.
"Yeah, I know it's sort of weird..." Clark turned red and frowned.
"Yeah, well, make sure you tell me where you live so I will never have to worry about you in my town." Cannon got up and returned to the kitchen to find food.
"Same," said Fluffy, dragging out the word. "What tiempo is it anyway?"
"It's already seven," said Patel. He then realized the time and acted surprised. "Holy shit, we literally dicked off the whole day."
"I'm about to dick off the whole night too, if you know what I mean," said Clark, giggling towards Yarlin.
"You sly lad!" replied Yarlin. "I'll give you somethin' you'll never forget." They continued giggling until Tyrone got up.
"Yo dawgs, cut that shit out, I'm getting freaked out."
"Sorry matey, we'll try to contain ourselves next time," apologized Yarlin.
"It's aight dawg." Tyrone walked into the kitchen and yelled back out to the den, "which one of yous are hungry like me?"
"I could go for some food," said Poncho getting up.
"Of course you could," said Jeb.
"What's that suppose to mean?" asked Poncho viciously. "You making a joke towards me, you asshole?"
"Nothing," said Jeb with a smirk. Jeb left for the kitchen with Poncho following him closely, trying to make Jeb repeat his comment.
Before any of the others could also journey to the kitchen, the doorbell rang again. Within five seconds, Bastiaan slid out of the hallway and halted at the doors. Once the door was open, the group at the den could see a delivery dude with a stack of pizza boxes. Bastiaan took them then slammed the door shut.
"Friends! I ordered pizza!" he quickly placed the stack of boxes on the kitchen counter and sorted the different kinds out. After content with the assorted boxes, he reached up in one of his cabinets and pulled out some fancy gold-trimmed plates. "My party is almost fully planned, just need a few more 'supplies' and I'll be good to go."
"What are these supplies? Some sort of secret weed or something?" asked Wahlburn, who just seemed to appear out of nowhere. Spike was on his back passed out.
"Yes!" replied Bastiaan, "there's been a rumor that someone here in Amsterdam found this secret type of bud that if you even smell it, it makes you instantly high."
Wahlburn's face gleamed. "Brother, you better save some of that for me."
"Don't worry friend! There should be plenty for my party and then some!"
"Awesome."
After everyone ate they all returned to the den and slouched down on the couches. They all had at least six or seven slices, except for Poncho who had twelve. Yarlin and Clark left after eating to go to their room. After watching some boring fútbol game in silence, Tyrone turned it off. "Fuck this shitty sport."
"Hey man, what the fuck," said Patel. "I was watching that!"
"Same!" yelled Fluffy.
"Who cares about that shit dawgs, why don't you watch a cool sport like basketball?"
Patel rolled his eyes. "Basketball is lame. It's filled with a bunch of-,"
"Don't you say that word man!" retorted Tyrone, who interrupted him. "I'm cool with you dudes so you can say it sometimes, but I won't allow you to use it with that attitude."
"Okay, but it's still a shitty sport." Patel looked at Fluffy, who nodded his head in agreement.
"Sticky, Rivs, Clyde, dawgs. You stand with me on this right?" Tyrone looked over at them in desperation.
"Of course," said Sticky, "basketball is hype."
"It really does get you pumped up," said Rivs reminiscing about some game winning shots he made in his life.
Tyrone glanced over at Clyde. "What about you man? You even have a damn basketball on your ass."
Clyde looked over at the dead television screen. "You know my stand, but since I'm apparently bias, my opinion doesn't matter."
"He's right," said Patel. " Wait, why are we even doing this?"
Tyrone looked at him with the same confusion. "I don't know dawg."
"Group hug?" asked Fluffy. Tyrone and Patel looked at each other first and shrugged. All three of them embraced for a few seconds then stepped away from each other. Cannon began a slow clap. Soon, the whole room was clapping for the hug.
"You guys are the best," said Tyrone, wiping away a tear. "I missed you guys. Other than lifting, jail has been a terrible time for a baller like me."
"We miss you too T," said Clyde, wrapping his arm around him. "You know, we haven't balled together for almost two years now."
Tyrone grinned. "You tryna hit the hoops with me tomorrow? I bet we could have some fun."
"Don't you want to go to the city tomorrow?"
"Nah, fuck that place mayne."
"We'll play you two tomorrow," said Rivs, including Sticky into his comment. "2 on 2 sounds real good."
"You're on." Tyrone grasped Rivs' hoof to accept the challenge. All four of them nodded and sat back down in empty seats like nothing occurred.
"Well, that was cute," said Cannon sarcastically, "what are we going to do tonight now?" They all sat there thinking of what to do. Wahlburn kept suggesting weed, but his idea was always shot down. Cannon's alcohol suggestion was also declined every time.
"What about 'Truth or Dare'?" suggested Jeb.
The others glared at him. Cannon began laughing. "You mean that game where teenage girls go around a circle a say pointless shit or dare another one to do something stupid. Get the fuck out of here." He began chugging a bottle of water.
Jeb crossed his arms. "I guess you can't handle it then..."
Cannon stopped his drinking and looked over at him again. "What did you just say? Fine, dare me then."
"Alright, Cannon, I dare you to stop drinking alcohol for the remainder of this trip." The room was filled with 'oohs'.
"Ah fuck that. I need to get hammered at this party." Cannon began drinking his water again.
Sticky smiled. "Pussy no balls."
Cannon coughed up his water and threw the empty bottle on the ground. "Fuck you say? Fine, I'll do it."
"Alright, if anyone catches you drinking any alcoholic beverage, you own him money," said Jeb
"How much we talking?" said Cannon, sadly.
"1000 bits."
"3,500 dollars! What the fuck you think I'm made out of?"
"Says the basketball player making 100k bits a year," said Jeb. "The PH doesn't even give half of that."
Cannon slumped down on the couch. "Well, no more drinking for me for another few days. Who's next?"
"I don't know," said Jeb. "My guess is that it's your turn to ask someone."
"Cool." He glanced around the room, looking for his prey. "My dude Wahlburn...."
"Brother."
"Truth or Dare broman."
Wahlburn stroked his chin. "Truth."
"You actually don't like weed, you only do it because someone at our school got you into it because of peer pressure and all you wanted to do is fit in with that crowd?" The room's eyes shifted towards Wahlburn for his response.
Wahlburn gulped. "You got me, it's true." He frowned and shook his head.
"Really?" asked Spike. He didn't want to believe his new best friend was a phoney.
"Nah, I'm just fucking with you. I fucking love this shit." Spike cheered while the others sighed. "Sticky, Truth or Dare?"
"Dare," said Sticky, "I ain't got no worries."
"I dare you and Rivs to switch clothes for the rest of the month." Sticky and Rivs' jaws dropped while the room was filled with 'oh shit!'
"But that means, I would have to wear...."
"Yep," said Wahlburn. "I could give two fucks about your favorite universities, but I do know you both hate each other's with a burning passion, and that you wear those damn colors every damn day."
"How long?" asked Rivs.
"Until the end of the basketball season."
"That's in freaking April!" yelled Sticky.
"Unless you want to give me 1000 bits each for drug money, you better get ready."
Sticky and Rivs looked at each other and nodded simultaneously. "Fuck that, we'll give you money." Wahlburn smiled.
"Poncho!" yelled Sticky. Poncho jumped and started to look around nervously.
"W-What?" he replied. He kept shifting his eyes around the room.
"You haven't really said that much today, so I got to ask, Truth or Dare?"
"Uh...Truth?"
"No, don't be a little bitch."
"B-But..."
"I dare you to get a blumpkin before the end of this trip."
Poncho coughed and began to spaz out. "W-What?"
"You heard me." Sticky looked him dead in the windows of his soul. The rest of them started laughing at Poncho's reactions. Poncho was zipping his hoodie up and down. "Since you're not answering me Poncho, I deca dog dare you."
The room all went crazy, like the bench of a basketball team after a incredible dunk just happened, at the mention of the deca dog dare. Poncho now was zipping his hoodie up and down at such a rapid rate, they all thought his hoodie would catch ablaze.
"Damn!" yelled Tyrone. "That's the greatest of all dares!"
"I know," said Sticky smiling, "what do you say Poncho?"
After he stopped with his hoodie shenanigans, Poncho looked up at him. "W-What do I have to do?"
"Easy, just get a blumpkin before we reach back down in Canterlot. You can get one tomorrow, maybe at this party, hell, even on the airplane if you really wanted too."
"O-On an airplane?!" Poncho began to stutter. "D-Do you know how unsanitary that has to be?"
"Then get one at the party," said Sticky. "Lots of ponies are going to be here."
"Y-Yeah but..."
"Nope, you have to do it. Like, I'm not even joking, by the law of the deca dog, you have to do it." Sticky and most of the others began snickering.
Poncho frowned and began to look down at the floor. The others kept trying to talk to him, but he refused to speak to anyone. The rest stopped their Truth or Dare game and resumed watching another fútbol game. After thirty minutes, one by one, they decided it was time to retire for the night. Poncho still sat there in silence as his friends exited the den one after another. The crew did their nightly routine before falling asleep, and except a few residents, the cottage stayed quiet all night. |
The Poncho Chronicles III: Amsterdam | 'Till the Sun Comes Up | The next morning, Bastiaan woke the others up around nine to ask if they wanted to go to the city with him. All but Tyrone, Junior, Clyde, Rivs, and Sticky, went back to the city for one last adventure. As Bastiaan, Wahlburn, Spike, and Cannon, stayed in the same coffee shop from before all day, the few others decided to split up. Patel and Jeb wanted to go take a look at the various museums in the city and learn more about past history around this section of the world. Fluffy took some canal tour boats and later, met back up with Patel and Jeb. Poncho went to try some foreign cuisines that he couldn't eat in Verona. Clark and Yarlin also went on different paths that day. Yarlin wanted to see if his Cap'n had returned and stayed near the ports all day, while Clark put on another puppet show for the young.
The others who stayed behind at the cottage set up a makeshift basketball hoop outside on the pavement in front of the cottage. After taking a few practice shots and warming up, they split themselves into two teams. One team was composed of Rivs and Sticky while Tyrone and Clyde were made of the second team. Junior sat on the side, cheering, yelling, or coaching Tyrone. Even though Tyrone and Clyde haven't played together in nearly two years, they remained on synch with each other on every possession. They played until Rivs and Sticky forfeited due to the lack of scoring against Tyrone and Clyde.
"Good game," said Rivs. He extended his hoof for Tyrone to shake.
"You quittin' now?" Tyrone pushed his hoof away and picked up the ball again. He stood in front of Rivs and threw the ball behind him. After watching the ball sail in the air, it went through the hoop on the other side of their small court. "How about we play 'PIG'?"
Rivs shook his head and laughed. "Hell no man." They leaned alongside the small garden wall near them to take a water break. "Man T, it would be awesome if you could play with us for the Crusaders. We need a guy like you."
Tyrone looked up to the sky to feel a small breeze. "Yeah mayne. I was the most badass baller I knew for the longest of times."
"Knew?" asked Sticky.
"Yeah," replied Tyrone. He glanced to Clyde, who remained silent up until this point. "I taught Clyde basketball when I first met him years ago. I can safely say he's way better than me now. I guess that quote, "Poor is the pupil who does not surpass his master", is true after all."
"Damn Tyrone," said Sticky, wiping away a single tear. "That's the deepest thing I've ever heard you say."
"Nah mayne, I heard that from a movie before. I just wanted to use it for something." Tyrone laughed.
"I guess I'm the master now," said Clyde with a joking nature. "Any of you want to be my pupil?"
Sticky waved him away. "Get out of here you tool." They all laughed and resumed their basketball actions for another hour or so. When they decided they had enough for one day, they all went inside to watch some foreign basketball game that pitted two teams near the Amsterdam region against each other.
At roughly eight at night, Bastiaan returned with the others. They all ate, played some cards, and retired early that night, for a party was coming and the trip to Amsterdam was drawing to a close.
The next morning, Bastiaan woke everyone up at noon so they could help him set up the party. After going to each room, he noticed that Jeb was missing along with his items. All that was left was a wig and a bucket of green paint. Confused, he asked the others in the den after they all gathered about his absence.
"Jeb? I don't fucking know what happened to him," said Cannon.
"You said there was green paint and a random wig just laying there on the floor next to his bed?" asked Patel. "That's not weird at all."
"It's the same green hue as his coat color," said Bastiaan. "Maybe he painted himself?"
Wahlburn began laughing hysterically. "What a little bitch! He disguised himself all this time!"
"Maybe he's trying to hide something from us?" suggested Poncho. "I mean, I would do the same thing."
"Yeah, well, at least you are more fun to be around," said Sticky, patting Poncho on the back. "Just don't be a Jeb and ditch your friends."
"Actually, that's what we call a 'Clyde' moment," said Cannon, jokingly. He nudged Clyde with his hoof. Clyde responded by a simple shoulder shrug.
"Well, you can worry about Jeb later," resumed Bastiaan, "my party is only a few hours away, and I don't have anything set up yet."
Since they did stay at Bastiaan's cottage for free the entire week, it was only fair if they helped him out. They split up into different groups to cover the party stations that would be scattered all throughout the cottage and property.
One group was in charge of all food, beverages, and trash bins in each area. Cannon wanted to be the courier to the basement to fetch all alcoholic drinks. Poncho was the food guy, and even snuck in some quick bites before anyone saw him. Spike and Wahlburn got the trash bags and bins and placed them near every door.
The second group was in charge of setting up a small stage in the backyard. Bastiaan told them a local indie band was going to play there that night and he wanted Clyde, Tyrone, and Junior to set up as many chairs out there as possible. Since it was going to be a live band, they placed the chairs near the back, close to the cottage patio with higher elevation, to see over the inevitable mosh pit.
The last group, that included Patel, Fluffy, Yarlin, Clark, Sticky and Rivs, were all in charge of security. If they saw any party guest attempt to steal, they were to be thrown out immediately. Seeing how this party was to cover the whole property, not just the cottage, they had to take them past the property gate, where Fluffy would be positioned, who took the tickets to get in.
After all was set up to plan, with only a few minutes to spare, the crew rested in the den. "Well my new friends, I can't thank you enough. I think this year's party is going to be the biggest one yet!" Bastiaan smiled and ran around the room, shaking everyone's hoof.
"How many ponies are actually going to be here?" asked Patel. "You never did tell us."
"Oh, not that many at all. Only around 100 thousand or so."
"One hundred thousand!" exclaimed Tyrone, "that shit is like a stadium crowd!"
"And then some." Bastiaan smiled. "Well, it's show time boys." He left them to go change into a more suitable outfit. The others stood there for a minute before Fluffy quickly ran out of the door to go and be the bouncer of the event. When the door opened, the group saw the huge sea of ponies waiting outside of the gates of the cottage.
"This is fucking ridiculous," said Cannon.
"I know brother. There won't be any more weed!" Wahlburn poked Spike in the side to get him to follow and quickly disappeared behind the walls of the kitchen. Clark and Yarlin decided to stay outside and patrol the grounds all night while Sticky and Rivs would be patrolling in the cottage itself.
Within half an hour, the cottage was nearly packed tight with various ponies standing around chatting to one another. Others were standing in the crowded and compact kitchen, eating food. Outside of the cottage, the grounds and garden was also being filled with company.
Soon, not even forty minutes after the first guest arrived, there were so many guests, that no one could move around freely. Ponies had to push at least ten others just to move five yards. The last guest entered the property in under an hour since the first entered.
Bastiaan had the cottage lit up, and the area around it, with different colored strobe lights. Due to the sheer amount of guests there, no one really paid attention to them. The stage also used some strobe lights while the band was getting set up to play. Most of the outside crowd gathered around the stage, but it was still difficult to move about.
Inside the cottage was no better. It was so cramped and compacted, movement was twice as hard to travel through than the outside. Also, it was so loud, no one could really understand what anyone was saying. Since the ponies of the area was used to all of the noise in previous parties of Amsterdam, most of them communicated by just moving their mouths to the words and they could understand fine. Another downside to staying in the cottage was that it was so smoky and filled with the smell of marijuana.
Cannon found refuge and was in charge of the basement bar that only he and a few, as in a hundred, others knew about. Being the bartender, he was able to try out and drink any type of beer he desired. He even was able to get some tip money for his secretive service.
The party raged on in full swing for the next few hours. The outdoor band was playing now, which made the cottage a little less crowded, but nothing too special. Patel, trying to get away from the crowd, moved his way towards the hallway towards his room. As the whole hallway was filled, he decided to enter someone else's until they left. He made it to the third door on the left side of the hallway, and shoved it open. He quickly closed it back up and turned around.
Clyde was sitting on the bed, with his headphones over his ears. Once he saw Patel, he lifted off one of the sides of his headphones and waved. As Patel got closer he attempted to talk.
"It's really loud!" yelled Clyde. "I'm not a fan!"
"I know!" replied Patel. "It's not as bad in here, but we still have to yell so we can understand each other!"
"So, how are you doing!"
"I'm good! What about you!"
"Okay! I've been trying to tune out the noise from the party and sit here and listen to some songs, but that's not really working out too good!"
Patel nodded. "I'll leave you be then! See you later!" Patel walked back to the door and turned back around for a quick glance. Clyde replaced his headphones and gave Patel a small 'good luck' salute. Patel saluted back and braced for the horde.
Once back in the hallway, Patel slid against the walls towards his own room. Lucky for him, it was only two doors down, or so he thought. As he was against the wall, some random guest shoved another one into him, which surprised him and knocked him down. On the floor, he began to crawl up the wall for support, trying to get back on his four legs. Soon, another guest ran into him, which knocked him back down. Before he could move, the band singer from outside yelled that they wanted to create a huge moshpit outside. Since the cottage had speakers that were connected to the stage, everyone inside heard the message. Excited, the horde of the crowd trampled all over him to rush outside. Patel laid on the floor for a few seconds to recover some energy, then resumed his slow crawl back to his room. He entered his room and flopped on top of the bed, hoping to just fall asleep right then and there. The next thing Patel remembered, the sound of the party instantly subdued. |
The Poncho Chronicles III: Amsterdam | Homecoming | As a beam of sunlight hit Patel the next morning, he jumped out of bed. He looked around and saw that his door was literally missing. The floor was scattered with shards of broken glass and broken mugs that even covered most of the hallway floor. He slowly stepped over them and made his way to the den. He found Sticky and Rivs sleeping on the couches.
Like the hallway scene, there were broken glass mugs all over the floor in the den, kitchen, and foyer with the main doors. As Patel walked around and looked at the carnage, Cannon slowly walked up from the basement and into the kitchen.
"Man, looks everyone really did get 'turnt up'," said Cannon. He began laughing and gave a victory hoof pump.
"I'll say." They both wandered around the cottage searching for the others. Other than those two, the others were all still sleeping. Sticky and Rivs were in the den, Tyrone, Junior, and Clyde were in their respective rooms, Yarlin and Clark were sleeping together on a pool table, Fluffy was on the lowest step on small concrete staircase to the cottage, Wahlburn and Spike were beside some bongs on the back patio of the cottage that overlooked the stage, Bastiaan was laying in the middle of the mosh pit site, and Jeb was gone before the party even began.
"Wait just a second," said Patel. He rubbed his eyes as he wasn't used to even waking up this early at all. "Where's our Poncho friend at?"
"I have no idea, we checked all around here." Cannon sat down on an empty chair beside the sleeping Rivs. "Actually, hold that thought, I got to take a shit." Cannon quickly, and quietly, ran towards the bathroom. As he opened the door, he busted out laughing. "Oh no fucking way!"
Patel ran over to him. "What?" As he peeked inside the bathroom, he saw Poncho laying on the floor near the toilet. Beside him was that one mare from the restaurant they ate in together only a few days ago, Bloem. Cannon kept laughing and Patel began to clap.
Poncho jolted awake at the sound of the noise. "What?" he asked as he rubbed his head.
Cannon momentarily stopped laughing to talk to him. "Poncho, my fucking dude! You did it! You actually got a blumpkin!"
"Huh?" said Poncho as he looked around. Once he saw the toilet he began to panic. Soon, he saw Bloem beside him. After realizing what happened, he placed his hooves on his head and began to shout. "Ahh!"
"Calm the hell down," said Patel. "You should be thankful for being this lucky."
"You know what? I don't even have to go take a shit anymore! I'll leave you two alone." Cannon closed the door and began laughing again. Patel followed him.
The two waited in the kitchen for everyone else to wake up. After waiting close to an hour, Fluffy opened the main doors and walked inside.
"I don't even know how I got there," said Fluffy, pointing to the outside stairs.
"I don't know a lot of shit that happened last night," said Patel.
"Yeah, apparently Poncho got a blumpkin last night too." Cannon sighed.
Fluffy quickly ran over to the kitchen counter and pulled out a stool. He jumped on it and placed his two hooves over his mouth and slammed his elbows on the counter. "Tell me about it!"
Before anyone could speak, Rivs and Sticky sat up and began to talk to the others. Once Poncho's blumpkin was talked about, they too ran over to learn about it. As Patel was about to speak, Tyrone and Junior walked into the den. This cycle continued until everyone was in the room, except Poncho. Once Poncho walked into the den, the others all faced him and began clapping and applauding. Tyrone even gave a whistle or two.
"How are you doing sunshine?" asked Cannon.
"Fuck off Schultz," said Poncho with a bitter attitude.
"So lad," said Yarlin, "I heard you had your first blumpkin last night. Wasn't it just as good as findin' some buried treasure?"
Poncho refused to answer and just walked past them all. He began searching for some food, but gave up after a minute of finding nothing.
"Well Clark, I think it's that time," said Yarlin sadly.
"No! Don't leave me!" Clark ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "I don't ever want you to leave me."
"I told you lad, it's time for this annual family meeting."
"Family meeting?" asked Patel. "You mean the Xarlin, Pharlin, and yourself family meeting?"
"Aye."
"Where is this at?"
"Oh, just somewhere deep in the western desert of Equestria. It's some sort of secret base, but Arlin took it over a while back."
Patel stroked his chin. "Interesting, when is this meeting?"
Yarlin took out a small pocket notepad. "It says the second month of the new year."
"That's only a few weeks away, seeing how next week is Hearth's Warming Eve," said Patel. "Do you mind if you somehow sneak me into that meeting?"
Yarlin shook his head. "I don't care matey! Seeing how we are all friends here, I don't see the harm of you being part of the annual meeting! I don't know why you would though."
Patel glanced away. "Oh, it's nothing. I just want to see how different you all are, that's all. I guess we should be starting to pack, our plane leaves at six tonight."
"Alright laddy! Care if Clark and I join your voyage in the air?"
Clark's face lit up. "You mean it? You want me to go with you?"
Yarlin gave a creepy smile. "Aye."
"Not at all," said Cannon. "We have open spots up now because Jeb is gone anyways."
"Do you think we should wait for him? I mean, he could have just left the cottage due to the party?" Poncho looked around to see if anyone cared about his opinion.
"No, fuck that guy," said Cannon. "He can stay in this city."
"Well-"
The sound of a doorbell rang throughout the cottage. Before anyone could go and open the door, Bastiaan came out of the hallway in a new set of clothes and opened the door. Bastiaan talked to the pony at the door then looked back towards the group. He have a nod and allowed the pony to enter the cottage. Bastiaan departed the den while Tyrone gave a gasp as he saw BC walk inside.
"BC? What is your ass doing here?"
"T! I had to tell you dawg, I lost your son!" BC began to wipe tears from his eyes. "I can't find that lil' dude anywhere!"
"Yo dawg-"
"No, I know you want to beat my ass so do it already! I tried dawg, I just couldn't find him."
Tyrone walked up to his homie and punched him in the face. "Calm your ass down! Junior is here with me!" Tyrone helped BC up and faced the hallway. "Junior! Get your ass out here!"
In a few seconds, Junior came running out of Tyrone's room with a game remote. He stood by the hallway entrance and started to stomp. "Dad! I was just about to beat a level!"
"Son! Don't you dare yell at me!"
Junior frowned. "Sorry dad."
"It's aight. Tell BC here, you ain't dead or missing."
"BC! I ain't dead or missing!" Junior looked back at the hallway. "Can I go back now?"
"Yeah, get outta here before I bust your ass for no reason." Tyrone gave a chuckle. Junior laughed too then quickly dashed back to the bedroom. "See BC, you don't gots to worry."
BC wiped his face of nervousness. "That lil' dude had me scared."
"How'd you get here anyway?" asked Tyrone.
"I swam dawg." Tyrone and the others gasping in shock.
"Swam?" said a surprised Patel. "Do you even know how far that is?"
"I don't know that shit. Fuck distances and shit. I didn't have any money so I just had to swim."
"You swam the whole ocean in about three days?" asked Patel, again in shock and disbelief.
"Shit nigga damn!" Tyrone walked back up to BC and hit him again. "Why didn't you just call me dawg?"
"I don't know man! I was scared of you beating me up or sumthing if I called you or waited till you got home." BC lifted his hooves to protect his face.
"Nigga, I'm beat you up anyways for being an idiot!" Tyrone lunged at him and began swinging. Since Tyrone was used to beating up others from his childhood and jail service, he managed to make BC surrender and call 'Mercy' in under ten seconds. After the beatdown, Tyrone walked away from the scene. BC laid on the ground unconscious.
"Well that was interesting," said Cannon looking at the fallen BC. "What are we going to do now?"
"I guess it's time to pack up and wish this city a farewell," said Wahlburn sadly. "I'm taking some weed with me though so it's okay."
For the next two hours, the group all packed their luggage and made a pile at the doors. While waiting for the others to finish packing, the ones who were done watched BC roll on the ground in pain. After Tyrone came back and saw BC rolling in pain, he called him a bitch and hit him again in the stomach.
"T, why do you have to be so mean to him?" asked Poncho. "All he was trying to do was help you out."
Tyrone laughed and gave Poncho a pat on the shoulder. "It's a prison thug thing."
After Fluffy walked out of the hallway with his luggage, which he was the last one to finish packing, the group picked up their bags and walked outside to the nice country air. As they walked down the steps, Bastiaan hollered at them from atop the stairs.
"Fluffy and friends! Thanks for making my party the best one yet!"
"No problem amigo!" yelled Fluffy. "If you are ever in Canterlot again, come find me for a place to stay in exchange of the service you paid us this week."
"Canterlot?" asked Bastiaan. "You're no longer in South Beach?"
"Nah man. I had to move on from there. Take my talents elsewhere." Fluffy looked up at the sun as a cool breeze hit him and smoothly put sunglasses on.
Bastiaan nodded and extended his hoof. "Until next time?"
Fluffy accepted the hoof shake. "To next time."
Bastiaan waved last goodbyes as the bus that dropped them off at the cottage for the first time those days ago returned for the trip back to the airport. After all was seated, they waved again as the bus drove farther away from the cottage. When the bus hit the main road, they returned to their normal sitting positions.
"You know, this bus ride reminds me of that bus ride from Seaddle," said Cannon looking out of the window. "Except Charles' goons aren't after us."
"Yeah except this time we don't have the dead weight, if you know what I mean...." Patel slowly looked around to see if anyone understood his statement, and stopped and smiled when he saw Clyde look at him. "Don't be salty."
"They aren't 'dead weight'," said Clyde. His tone was serious and made Patel laugh.
"Look out, we have a 'white knight' guys. Come on dude, why do you defend them so much? I can understand one of them, but all of them?"
"It's because they aren't even bad ponies to talk too. Maybe if you got a chance to talk to them, you would realize they aren't the worst thing in the world."
"He has a point Patel," said Poncho, defending Clyde.
"Shut the hell up Poncho," retorted Patel. "Why the fuck are you even in this conversation?"
"Yeah dude," said Spike. "Twilight is a major buzzkill. I don't know why you even want to compliment her."
"See?" said Patel.
Poncho flailed his arms. "Why can he be in the conversation, but I can't?"
"Because you're Poncho and since Jeb isn't here anymore, you are now the new Jeb." Poncho frowned and shook his hoof at Patel. Patel laughed and looked away from him.
The bus ride to the airport remained silent. After reaching the airport, checking in, and boarding the plane, did they speak again. Their plane was the same one they had on the way to Amsterdam so Korico was still the pilot. They each kept their default seat from before except Clark and Yarlin took Jeb's old seat while BC sat in the empty spare seat between Tyrone and Patel.
Before the plane took off, Poncho wandered to the snack cart near the doorway to the main passenger section. After taking some snacks, as they were included in first class, Poncho walked by Cannon on his way to the bathroom.
"Oh hey Poncho," said Cannon. "That's reminds me, what happened to Bloem?"
Poncho dropped his bag of snacks and began zipping up his jacket. "Oh man! She is still in Bastiaan's bathroom!"
Cannon stared at him silently for a moment then busted out laughing. Everytime he stopped to say something, he looked back up at Poncho's worried face, and began laughing uncontrollably again. Since he couldn't handle it no longer, he walked away from him back to his seat.
The plane took off at one in the afternoon back to London. When they safely arrived back at London, they saw that the time they took off and landed was the same. The next flight, which would be a straight shot to Canterlot was to take off at two. Instead of eating at the airport, they decided to quickly get on the next plane and chill out at their seat. A few minutes before the plane took off, the plane intercom crackled alive.
"Attention flyers! This is your favorite pilot, Captain Quantico Baxter, speaking. I am once again joined by my favorite co-pilot ever, Mr. Hill!"
"Now Quantico...."
"No, I insist my friend! Anyways folks, welcome to your journey home. Now, as a forewarn, even though this ride is going to take about eight hours, it'll only be five when we land down. I know that's pretty hardcore, but bear with us. It happens."
"Now passengers, you might experience some jet lag, but again, that's normal."
"Enough talk and uh, enjoy your flight!" The loudspeaker shut off and the plane began to move. After a few moments of coasting along the runway, the plane ascended into the sky and began it's long journey home.
The plane ride back was not as exciting to the group as the plane ride to London. Most of them did the same hobby to past time for the flight. Tyrone was happy that the same flight attendant from the first flight was on this one too. He made the occasion sexual advances to her, but she just laughed and ignored him. His homie BC slept the whole time and Junior played Greg the handheld game.
Wahlburn and Spike quickly smoked a small amount of bud before she could see them. They remained quiet for most of the remainder of the flight, until they had to smoke another one.
Cannon resumed his beer drinking on the plane by ordering ten this time. After feeling woozy after the fifth one, he decided to take a small ten minute break until the next one. He continued this trend until there were no more and he couldn't feel his face.
Rivs, Sticky, and Clyde watched some basketball games from the last season to get caught up with the league since they were gone all week. Normally, the league would be playing at this time, but lucky for them, there was a lockout recently so they couldn't play any games until it ended. The lockout was issued due to unfair salary negotiations.The problem with the lockout, however, was that no one knew when it was going to end. While those three were quietly studying games, Fluffy and Patel were watching some Fútbol games for enjoyment purposes only.
Clark and Yarlin both occupied themselves with a random task during the flight. Clark was fixing up and cleaning his puppets while Yarlin was looking through a 'Pirate's Life' magazine. After a few hours, Yarlin met up with Clark near the snack cart, where after the meeting, the others didn't see the rest of the flight home.
Lastly, Poncho ate his bags of chips he brought for the trip, along with the snacks he just picked up from the cart. He still had a dozen of bags since he forgot about them in Amsterdam. After eating half of his bags, he got up to find even more free food at the snack cart. Once he returned to his seat, he popped open another bag and quietly watched the channel about different types of food.
At precisely five in the afternoon, like Quantico and Hill stated, the plane landed in the Canterlot airport. They disembarked the plane and rushed over to reclaim their luggage. After dealing with the security scans and other pointless standing in lines, they finally made it to the parking lot where the three vehicles they took to get here still stood.
Clark and Yarlin decided to stay behind to just have a cab take them to Verona, as there weren't any room for them. BC was able to take Jeb's missing spot and Junior held onto Tyrone's back.
After farewells for only a few hours, the group left the parking lot and traveled the short distance on the highway back to the town of Verona, where they all first met. After reaching Patel's and Wahlburn's apartment, they all got out and stood in a circle.
"I guess this is where we go separate ways...again," said Cannon. "It's been fun. I needed a trip like that."
"Same," said Fluffy. "I think that was a lot more fun than South Beach."
"I can agree on that one, brother." Wahlburn took out a small bag of weed and handed Fluffy it. "Here, I have a small bag for everyone."
"Gracias," said Fluffy taking the bag.
Wahlburn shot him a death stare."Keep up that talk and I'll take yours back." Wahlburn continued handing out the small bags, but skipped Clyde. "Since I know you don't want this, I'll keep yours."
"That's fine," said Clyde.
"Good!" Wahlburn walked back to his luggage bag and saw another small weed bag. "Oh yeah, I had one for Jeb, but he's not here. I actually was going to ask him if he wanted it then say 'fuck you' and take it for myself, but I guess this saves me energy." He began to laugh.
"Well guys, I think it's time for us to jet," said Rivs. "Sticky and I are going to wake up early tomorrow from some shootaround."
"You coming tomorrow Clyde?" asked Sticky. He didn't know why he asked because he already knew the answer.
"Probably not. I'm going to have to recover from this jet lag first, because I'm tired 'AF'." Clyde looked at Cannon who smiled and pointed at him for using his term.
"Alrighty." Rivs and Sticky waved farewell and departed down the trail towards their apartment.
"Yo BC," said Tyrone, "do you mind if I stay witchu tonight? Junior and I ain't got nowhere to go tonight. Plus, I need to lift hardcore since I didn't all trip."
"Shit dude, I got you." BC walked over and picked up Tyrone's bags, just to help him out. "Shit nigga, how much shit you got in here?"
"It's my fifty pound weighs dawg." Tyrone walked over and pushed BC so he would drop the bag. The bag slammed to the ground and made a small crater. Tyrone effortlessly picked up the bag with his teeth and threw it on his back. "BC, you are a weak ass pussy."
"Shit nigga, don't hate."
Tyrone walked up to the others and gave each one a hoof grasp and pat on the back. "It was fun to hang out with you all again. Make sure you tell me when our next meeting is gonna be."
"Shit man, of course," said Cannon.
"Aight mayne, cool. Junior! Let's bounce." Junior happily trotted beside him, as BC and Tyrone walked down the trail towards the small ghetto of Verona. Verona really didn't have a 'bad section', as it was more of just a ghetto street. As the group watched them fade in the distance, Patel looked down at his doorstep.
"Look at this," said Patel looking through the newspaper. The main story was of a certain Prince returning to his homeland across the sea. The center of the page had a small picture of said Prince in the middle of a cheering crowd. "'Prince Apollo returns to Germaney!' He looks familiar, but I can't put my hoof on it."
"That looks a lot like Jeb," said Wahlburn after studying it closer.
"That's because that is Jeb," replied Cannon, who gave a chuckle.
"You knew he was disguised the whole time?" asked Patel.
"It's a long story, but yeah, I knew."
"Why didn't you tell us you fuck!" yelled Wahlburn, "we could have blackmailed him or something!"
"I dunno." Cannon looked at the sky to see that the sun was about to touch the horizon. "I think it's that time."
"Yeah," said Fluffy. "I had a blast. I'll be in Canterlot if you want to meet up again."
"I think it's time for Poncho to hit the dusty trial...," said Poncho with his sketchy voice tone.
"Alright brothers," said Wahlburn. "Take care."
Cannon, Fluffy, and Poncho waved goodbye and split up at different paths towards different locations, one being Canterlot, one being Poncho's home, and the other towards the main apartment building where Clyde, Rivs, and Sticky lived.
"You leaving too?" asked Patel to Clyde.
"Yeah, let me get my bags." Clyde walked over and took out his headphones. He zipped up his bag and put the bag around his back.
"Hey Clyde," said Spike. "Tell Twilight I'm not dead and I'm staying with Wahlburn and Patel for a bit longer."
"Me? Why do I have to tell her?"
"Because I know you're heading to Ponyville right now."
Clyde smiled and put on his headphones. "Alright fine. See you guys later." He began to walk away. As he walked he stopped and lifted up his left hoof in the air. After two seconds, he placed it back down and began his walk again.
"So, looks like it's us again," said Wahlburn.
"More weed?" asked Spike.
"You fucking know it!" Spike and Wahlburn exchanged a high five and quickly gathered their bags. Spike ran inside while Wahlburn followed him. However, at the door, Wahlburn looked back at Patel who was staring at the newspaper. "You coming?"
Patel looked at him, "Yeah, give me a few to get my bags." Wahlburn shrugged and closed the door to dash up the stairs to his apartment. Patel dropped the newspaper to the ground and walked over to his bags. He made sure everything was in place and wrapped it around his back. As he was walking towards the main door to the apartment building, he glanced back at the newspaper in the grass. He walked back over to it and looked down at the picture of Jeb, or now Prince Apollo.
"So Jeb, you are in charge of Germaney now?" Patel smiled and stepped on the newspaper. "Not if I have anything to say about it." TBC |
Pillow Talk | pre | "Ah'm just curious, see Ah thought Ah might invite 'em over fer dinner some night." Applejack began into the excuse she had rehearsed, but hoped not to have to use. She spoke suspiciously quickly, trying to get it all out before her conscience caught up with her. "See, Twi was writin' a letter ta the Princess 'bout couples like them, an' me an' Dashi-, err Rainbow Dash ended up havin' dinner with 'em. They're decent folks, but some ponies ain't so nice ta them behind their backs, so Ah wanted ta ask before Ah invited 'em here." It wasn't quite a lie and it left a lot out, but Rainbow Dash had convinced her it would work. Applejack silently hoped she was right.
"Oh, Ah see." Big McIntosh considered that rather long winded explanation for a moment before shrugging. "Ah ain't never gave it much thought before. Guess Ah don't mind."
Applejack sighed with relief inwardly. "And ya don't mind 'em bein'... fillyfoolers?" Somehow saying that word aloud to her brother left a foul taste in her mouth, unlike the loving feeling it brought when she was alone with Rainbow Dash.
"Ain't mah place ta say one way er the other." He shrugged a second time and turned back to pull the plow again. "But ya might ask Granny Smith just ta be sure."
"Yeah..." Applejack resumed planting seeds, slipping back into silence as she retreated into her own thoughts. It wasn't exactly the affirmative response she had held out some hope for, albeit a ridiculously slim hope, but it was far cry better than her worst fears of unadulterated rejection. On the other hoof, his mention of asking Granny Smith for her opinion did not give her hope on that score.
Unnoticed by either sibling, a pair of red-orange eyes, pale yellow ears and the filly they were attached to had seen and heard their entire conversation from behind a nearby bush. As the older siblings both lapsed into silence, Apple Bloom snuck away. She tried to piece together some of the odd things she'd been seeing and hearing lately as she moved far enough away to break into a gallop. She was heading back to the house to find a good stakeout spot to watch Granny Smith and discover what her sister was going to ask next.
The elderly light green mare was snoozing in her rocking chair, but blinked awake as she was addressed. "Soup's on.. Huh? Oh Applejack, whatcha need young'un?"
"Ah was just curious 'bout somethin', wanted ta ask." Applejack shuffled her hooves, her anxiety growing. She wished she hadn't spoken up, but now that she had, she'd better see it through.
"Well go on, spit it out. Ah ain't gettin' any younger ya know."
"Okay, uh..." Applejack started. "Ya remember what the Princess said at Lyra an' Bon-Bon's wedding?"
"Who?" Granny Smith stared at Applejack, but her eyes seemed a little unfocused.
"The Princess, Princess Celestia." Applejack repeated.
"Ah know who the Princess is, young'un. Ah mean the other two ya mentioned. Fire an' Ping Pong?"
"Lyra an' Bon-Bon. Green unicorn an' cream colored earth pony." Applejack gulped. "The two mares that got hitched."
"Oh! Them fillyfoolers!" Granny Smith blurted out. Applejack cringed and started to speak, but Granny Smith kept talking. "Ain't seen nothin' like that since Ah was a filly.
"Way back in Fillydelphia it was; before we settled down here an' got Ponyville started. Now back then Fillydelphia weren't much bigger than Ponyville is today, but as we was passin' through Ah saw they was holdin' a weddin' in the town square. An' mah eyes nearly bugged right outta mah head. There was a right pretty pegasus filly in a wedding dress at the altar, an' right next ta her in a tuxedo plain as day wouldn't yah know, another filly. Unicorn, Ah think she was.
"There was lots of ponies there an' ain't none of them makin' a fuss, so Ah just trotted along. We wasn't stayin' long anyway. Now that Ah think 'bout it, Ah think Princess Celestia might have been there too. Mah memory's a might fuzzy, but that mane of hers is pretty memorable..." Granny Smith tapped her chin with a hoof as she trailed off. "What was it ya wanted ta ask young'un?"
"Ah think that there story just answered it." Applejack was stunned, she didn't expect asking Granny Smith to go so smoothly. "Ah just wondered if Celestia was tellin' the truth about when the last time two mares gettin' hitched was. She does like her little jokes sometimes."
"Ya shouldn't talk 'bout the Princess like that, young'un! If'n it weren't for her grace and wisdom, Ponyville wouldn't even be here today!" Scolding Applejack seemed to have been a little too much for her and Granny Smith leaned back in the rocking chair and dozed off again, muttering in her sleep. "Princess marryin' two fillyfoolers... Ain't hurtin' no pony, Ah guess..."
Applejack stood stunned for a moment, wondering what to do, then took advantage of the situation to escape gracefully. Maybe more questions would have given her a better idea of Granny Smith's views, but pressing her further didn't seem like a good idea right now, nervous as she already was and Granny Smith having gone back to her nap.
Unnoticed again, Apple Bloom snuck away from her hiding place behind the sofa. Something was definitely up with her big sister. She seemed to be really curious about Miss Lyra and Miss Bon-Bon, and she had been spending a lot of time with Rainbow Dash lately, lots more than her other friends. And just what had she seen on top of that cloud?
A shadowy figure in a black catsuit perched in a nearby apple tree, watching the big farmhouse in the dim Autumn evening. Her raspberry eyes and blue muzzle sticking out of her mask reflected the light from the rising moon. Once the last of the lights went out, she spread her blue wings and flicked her rainbow colored tail. These four telltales were the only clues to her identity, but it was just as well she had no spectators as they would be unmistakable to just about anypony who saw her.
Rainbow Dash lept from the tree branch, barely rustling the leaves as if nothing but a light breeze had touched them. She glided silently toward the open window where the last of the lights had just been extinguished. She raked her wings back sharply to clear the window frame, then quickly snapped them forward into a braking maneuver and landed with a nearly silent plop on the bed inside the room. It was a great departure from her usual entrances pretty much anywhere, but she'd spent all day practicing and it amounted to a pretty cool trick.
The orange earth pony laying on the impromptu landing strip watched with a smile as the disguised pegasus snuck in. She was not surprised in the least by the intruder and leaned up to plant a soft kiss on the exposed muzzle when she landed. "Glad ya could make it, Dashie. I betcha spent all day practicing that entrance." Applejack whispered with a smirk.
Rainbow Dash just grinned in return and the two ponies spent an eternity in ten seconds flat, just gazing into each other's eyes. Unfortunately, the moment was shattered by a the soft tap of a small hoof on the bedroom door. They broke their gaze and both stared at the door in stunned silence. Applejack secretly hoped the silence would be taken as a sign that she was sound asleep, but luck was not with her as the door began to open with the barest of creaks. Quick as lightning, Rainbow Dash slipped off the bed and hid herself under it instead, leaving Applejack alone and still stunned on top of the bed.
A light yellow muzzle poked in through the barely open door. "Applejack? Ya asleep?"
The sound of her little sister's voice and her marefriend's quick action in hiding herself gave Applejack her voice back. "Ah was just 'bout ta be. Ya should be in bed too."
"But Applejack I've got a question, it's important.." Apple Bloom moaned from the doorway. The tip of her muzzle was still the only part of her actually in the room for which Applejack was grateful, she wanted to keep it that way.
"Alright, alright. Ask me quick an' git back ta bed, then." Applejack's voice was quite a bit sharper than it usually would have been addressing her sister, but she never really was herself when trying to keep a secret and to top it off, at least part of her was trying to get rid of Apple Bloom for the night.
To Applejack's lasting horror however, rather than asking her question through the mostly closed door, Apple Bloom nosed the door open and stepped inside. The young filly certainly seemed to have something heavy weighing on her mind, she kept her head bowed as she cantered toward the bed where her sister was. "Applejack..." The question had just started to pass her lips when a glimmer of moonlight caused something on the floor to catch her eye and stopped her voice in it's tracks. That something was a pony's tail and the hair came in six distinct colors.
"Well go on, spit it out so we can git ta bed." The young filly didn't know it, but she was really trying Applejack's patience by barging into her room and wasting the precious minutes the latter had planned to spend being comforted by her marefriend. Despite her harsh words at the moment, Applejack really did love her little sister and part of her knew that she would regret acting this way in the morning.
Eight words turned the situation on it's head as Apple Bloom, staring at the distinctive chromatic tail, put an entirely different question to Applejack than she had originally planned. "Why is Rainbow Dash hidin' under your bed?"
Both on the bed and under it, two sets of lungs took in a sharp breath of cold night air and felt like they had turned instantly to ice. Applejack knew she couldn't lie to her little sister when the question was put to her directly like that, but she wasn't sure she could tell her the truth yet either. Under the bed, Rainbow Dash thought to herself that she had hidden herself quite well under the circumstances and hoped Applejack would think of something quick. After a telling and altogether too long pause, Applejack decided to stall for time. "What the hay are ya talkin' 'bout?"
Apple Bloom looked up with a huff. "Rainbow Dash is hidin' under yer bed. Ah can see her tail stickin' out, ain't nopony else with a rainbow tail like that." As Apple Bloom spoke, this final piece of the puzzle fit itself into place in her head and her eyes lit up. She gave a loud gasp that threatened to wake up the other members of the household which made both Applejack and Rainbow Dash cringe at the thought. "That's why ya've been spendin' so much time with Rainbow Dash an' askin' all them questions 'bout Miss Lyra an' Miss Bon-Bon." Apple Bloom said in a loud whisper.
Applejack looked mad and had a fierce light in her eyes for a moment before her ears drooped; she let out a sigh. "Fine... Ain't no use hidin' it, Ah was gonna tell y'all tomorrow anyway. But close that door an' keep yer voice down so ya don't wake Big Mac an' Granny Smith." There was no point in denying it any further, better to give Apple Bloom the truth rather than to let her wild imagination invent all kinds of nonsense overnight. Applejack leaned over the side of the bed as Apple Bloom turned to close the door. "Might as well come on outta there, Dashie."
Rainbow Dash slid out from under the bed and started tugging off the dusty catsuit as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. She'd been almost as shaken as Applejack at being caught, but wasn't about to show it in the open. "You really should dust under there more often, AJ." She said, trying to sound nonchalant as she brushed her muzzle clean and shook the dirt out of her wings.
"Soon as applebuckin' season's over, if somepony else don't take up all of mah free time." Applejack whispered at her marefriend and stuck out her tongue. She was feeling more like herself now that she wasn't having to cover up anything. Rainbow Dash gave her a knowing grin back.
Applejack turned back to Apple Bloom who had just hopped up next to her on the bed. "Now Ah know ya weren't here ta ask why Rainbow Dash was hiding under mah bed." The older Apple sister stated. "What was so important fer ya ta barge in here?"
"Ah already got it figured out. It all makes sense now." Apple Bloom began as Rainbow Dash hopped on the bed herself and sat by Applejack to listen, curling a wing around her for reassurance. "Ya've been actin' funny every since we came back from Appleloosa."
"What do ya mean?" Applejack asked, folding her ears back because she knew full well just how different she had been acting lately.
"Ya spent three whole days away from the farm. Ya never do that." The young filly began. "Goin' everywhere with Rainbow Dash, an' you had wings! Ah saw y'all flyin' together, an'..." Apple Bloom broke off her ears drooping at what she almost said.
"And what?!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed together, barely keeping their voices to a whisper.
"An' Ah saw y'all kissin' on top of a cloud." Apple Bloom's ears drooped. She hadn't wanted to admit that she had spied on them even accidentally.
Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stared, their jaws hanging open. Rainbow Dash found her voice first as usual. "You saw that?"
"Yeah! Me an' the Cutie Mark Crusaders were tryin' ta get a bird watchin' cutie mark. Ah was gettin' kinda bored until Ah saw Miss Derpy flyin' backwards, so Ah started watchin' her instead. An' then Ah saw ya on a cloud kissin' some orange pony with big brown wings." Apple Bloom chattered. "Ah didn't know what ta think just then, but now it all makes sense!"
Applejack's ears were still down. "Ah knew it weren't a good idea ta be kissin' in public."
"What's wrong Applejack, ain't ya happy ya found yer very special somepony?"
Rainbow Dash put a hoof around Applejack's shoulders to join her wing in reassurance. "Of course she's happy, tell her AJ?"
"Ah am happy, but it ain't that simple. Ah've still got Big Mac an' Granny Smith ta deal with. Ah just don't know what they'll say 'bout it." Applejack sighed.
"What do ya mean?" Apple Bloom asked, confused.
"Ah'm afraid they'll kick me out fer being a... a fillyfooler."
"But Princess Celestia says it's alright fer two mares ta love each other." Apple Bloom's eyes lit up again. "Are ya gonna get hitched like Miss Lyra an' Miss Bon-Bon?"
Rainbow Dash chuckled nervously. "Heh. Maybe some day, sprout." Applejack smiled back at her.
"Oh man! Scootaloo's gonna be so jealous that Ah get Rainbow Dash fer a big sister!" Apple Bloom said a bit too loud.
Rainbow Dash laughed more openly and ruffled Apple Bloom's mane before Applejack shushed them both. "Ah still don't want ta wake up Big Mac or Granny Smith." Applejack turned back to her little sister. "Ready for bed now AB, or are ya still as curious as a cat?"
Apple Bloom yawned in answer. "That's what I thought." Applejack hugged her sister before gently shooing her toward the door. "Alright, go on and get ta bed like a good filly. An' Apple Bloom?.."
"Yeah, AJ?" Apple Bloom replied around a yawn.
"Thanks fer makin' me feel better." Both sisters smiled at each other before Apple Bloom slipped back into the hall and shut the door noiselessly behind her. Applejack lay down in her bed and Rainbow Dash cuddled up to her back, holding her close.
"Still nervous about tomorrow?" Rainbow Dash asked scratchily.
"Nervous as a hen raisin' ducklings." Applejack admitted. "But Ah think Ah can get ta sleep now."
"Ah ain't havin' it!" The elderly mare stamped her hoof then winced at the strain it placed on her aging shoulder. "Ah ain't havin' no fillyfoolers under this roof!"
Granny Smith looked fierce. Big Mac had on his usual unreadable poker face. Apple Bloom sat on the sofa looking worried. In the middle of the sitting room stood Applejack, facing her grandmother and looking a mixture of angry and depressed. Hovering outside the window and unnoticed by the family inside Rainbow Dash watched, her ears raked back at the way the encounter was going.
"But Granny, Pr..." Apple Bloom began but was cut short by a fierce look from her grandmother.
"You hush, child! Ain't yer place ta say nothin'!" Granny Smith would not be gainsaid. She turned back to her older, wayward granddaughter as Apple Bloom sank against the sofa cushions. "Ain't y'all given any thought ta yer family's livelihood once word gets out?"
"Times have changed, it ain't like when you were a filly..." Applejack started to say before she too was cut off by her fierce grandmother.
"Y'all care ta explain what happened with Fresh Stock? McIntosh told him he didn't believe a word of it, an' now y'all made a liar outta him." Big Mac flinched but didn't say anything. Granny Smith gave Applejack a piercing look. Applejack sank to her haunches as her grandmother continued. "That's just how it'll start, losin' business on account'a yer wild ways. This ain't Fillydelphia 'er Manehatten. Might as well just sell the farm ta them Shim Sham high faloutin' cider unicorns an' pack our bags fer Appleoosa."
Applejack's ears folded flat against her head, she had hoped to avoid the subject of Fresh Stock and now she knew she was defeated. Nothing she could say now was going to change Granny Smith's mind.
"You've got two choices young'un. Either you shape up an' change yer ways, or you git an' don't come back 'til you found yerself a stallion like a respectable mare." Granny Smith stomped her hoof again, no longer aware of any discomfort. Big Mac looked pained. Whether that was out of concern for her or for how he would manage all the farm chores without here, Applejack couldn't tell. She had hoped he might offer some defense, but nothing came. The fact that he hadn't rallied to their grandmother's old fashioned ways was no comfort to her. Apple Bloom had tried, but her objection hadn't carried any weight.
The last two weeks flashed through Applejack's mind. The quiet, slow paced life she'd been accustomed to had been leaving her dissatisfied when it came to romance and fate had conspired to dump a completely unexpected solution right into her lap. A week of unparalleled bliss with her best friend turned lover followed by three more days of stolen delight and now everything had come crashing down around her.
On the one hoof, her family, her farm, the only life she'd ever known. On the other hoof, happiness of a quality she'd never expected to find and true love that knew no bounds. Applejack looked up, looked at her family, scared, stoic and disapproving gazes meeting hers, then caught a glint of raspberry and cyan behind them, sympathetic and determined. If there was ever a time to be honest with herself, it was now. Either decision was going to cause her immense pain.
Applejack chose.
In her room, Applejack tossed a few essentials and keepsakes into her saddlebag. Apple Bloom stepped through the open door, tears in her eyes, and nuzzled against her big sister's foreleg. "Applejack..." She started to speak, but her sister hushed her with a gentle hoof against her lips.
Applejack had not said a word, had not answered Granny Smith's ultimatum verbally. She simply stood up and walked out of the room, head bowed. Nor did she speak now. Instead she gave her sister a small hug and lifted the old, but well cared for stetson hat from her head, placing it atop her sister's bow-tied mane as Apple Bloom silently dripped tears on the floor. She slung her saddlebag across her back, not caring that it snagged her mane-tie and let her long tresses fall free. She left, head still bowed with her loose mane covering her face.
Rainbow Dash met her a few paces down the path from the farmhouse and fell into step beside her. She opened her mouth to speak, to comfort her distraught marefriend, but no words came to her lips. She simply rested a wing across her back and they walked along slowly toward the town in silence.
Long minutes later, many more than the usual ten or so, Rainbow Dash tapped her hoof on the door of Golden Oaks Library. They hadn't discussed their destination, Applejack just silently followed where Rainbow Dash lead. As much as she wanted to just take Applejack home and do what she could to comfort her marefriend in peace, the only house they had to go to was made of cloud and that meant a stop for magical help.
Twilight's smile quickly faded when she saw the scene before her door and she hurried them inside. Applejack sank onto her haunches on a floor cushion, giving no sign of acknowledgement nor indication that she knew where she was. It fell to Rainbow Dash to bring Twilight up to date and explain why they were there.
"That's just awful.. Oh, Applejack.." The somber orange pony made no move, no response to the voice, the words or the lavender hoof on her shoulder. Twilight frowned harder and turned back to Rainbow.
"Sorry, Twi. I don't think anything's going to help right now." Rainbow Dash led Twilight a few paces away, but never once let her eyes leave her distraught lover. "Probably best if I just take AJ home and get a good night's sleep, which is kinda why we stopped here."
The lavender unicorn nodded in agreement. "Alright Rainbow, wings or cloud walking?"
"Better make it cloud walking, AJ's not in any condition to fly." Dash grimaced. "Oh, and we'll need a favor tomorrow too. At least, I hope tomorrow. In fact we'll need all the girls and maybe Lyra and Bon-Bon too. Lyra's pretty good at magic, right?"
"Yeah, she is. Uhh, this sounds like a pretty big favor. Am I going to need a checklist?"
"It's a promise I made to AJ, if she got, well.. If what happened, happened." Rainbow Dash couldn't bring herself to say it a second time. "I promised her I'd move my cloudominium down to the ground so she'd have solid floors to stand on. You know, in case you're not around to do the magic thing."
Twilight's eyes nearly bugged out, her intellectual curiosity getting the better of her sympathy. "I didn't even know that was possible."
"Really? Oh, I guess you hadn't moved here yet when we all pitched in to move Derpy's house after she had Dinky." Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chin trying to remember. "It's all in.. Pegasus Architecture and Engineering, volume 3... I think. You'll find it. Took us a dozen unicorns and pegasi to get it done that day. But I dunno, you might be able to do it all by yourself in ten seconds flat."
Twilight almost giggled, catching the unmoving orange and blonde pony out of the corner of her eye and stopping herself as she remembered just why they were discussing this subject. Her horn began to glow with the deeper purple of her eyes as a similar glow enveloped Applejack, beginning as an oblong bubble, then shrinking skin-tight, ending with a twinkle on the tip of each of four hooves. "All set, I'll look up that book. Good night and uhh, good luck I guess."
"Thanks Twi, for everything." Rainbow Dash carefully took Applejack in her forehooves, wings beating softly as she hovered out the door. For the first time since leaving her hat with her sister, Applejack made a small gesture of acknowledgement; she leaned her head ever so slightly against Dash's chest. It was a tiny movement, barely noticeable, but it was noticed and the blue pegasus who noticed felt a small bit of relief as she flew home.
"AJ?.." The scratchy pegasus voice cut through the silence. "Jackie, AJ, please. Talk to me..." Rainbow Dash held her lover close. From the library she'd flown straight here. Not even bothering with the front door, she'd flown straight in the bedroom window and cuddled Applejack in her bed. "I don't know what to do to help..." Somehow she'd hoped that the privacy of their shared bed, the place where they'd shared secrets no pony else needed to know, would coax Applejack out of her silence. Then it had been early afternoon, now the last rays of Celestia's setting sun dimmed out of sight behind the hills. "I.. love you AJ, please let me help..."
"Love me, Dashie." Her voice was hoarse and choked even though she hadn't yet shed a single tear. Rainbow Dash let go and sat up as Applejack stirred and rolled over. "Love me, Dashie." She repeated, sprawling on her back. Her tail-tie was gone, lost Celestia knows where. Her mane and tail alike spread out like a fan brush, every ounce of despair and helplessness that she felt was plain to see. "You're all I have now, Dashie. Love me, I need all of your love." Applejack's eyes finally glinted with the tears that she'd been denying all day.
Tears welled up in Dash's eyes as well, in some ways this was worse than the silence, but at least she knew what to do now. Tomorrow Applejack would see they still had their friends, things weren't as hopeless as they seemed, but for now... Rainbow Dash leaned down and kissed Applejack softly. "I do love you, AJ. With all of my heart." Applejack was barely responsive at first, but Rainbow Dash set out to prove that she loved AJ, mind, body and soul.
By the time they fell asleep, with Luna's moon high in the night sky, both ponies were utterly convinced of the other's love and they slept peacefully. |
For Lack of a Better Word | pre | "Interesting..." the violet pony repeats. She paces for a moment, then faces me again. "I think what you might want to do some odd jobs for now, until you can find what your special talent is. I just find it strange that you have not gained a cutie mark yet...I don't mean any offense, but most ponies get theirs at a very young age, and you seem to be at least as old as I am, if not older..."
They find out what they're meant to do in life as kids? Wouldn't that be nice. I shake my head, focusing on what I need to do.
Where can I find odd jobs to do?
"You'll want to go to the town hall. Did Rainbow Dash show you it yesterday? It's a big, white building in the center of town, you can't miss it. Directly inside the main entrance is the notice board, and ponies will put job offers up there. Just make sure to bring their flyer with you," Twilight adds. I nod in thanks, turning and waving a goodbye before heading back down the stairs.
I walk over to the entrance of the library, taking in a deep breath before opening the door, stepping out into the morning. The sun hangs at an angle towards the east, and I figure it to be around ten in the morning. A calm breeze blows over me, feeling warm. I see specks of color moving about the light blue sky; they seem to be somehow manipulating the clouds that fill the morning air, flying into and hitting the fluffy, white groups of condensed water. As they do, the clouds break apart, eventually disintegrating into the air, clearing the sky. My wonder of the Pegasi here deepens as I watch them change the weather before my eyes.
After a while, I remember my priorities, and return my focus to the ground. I squint, looking as far as I can in the distance. I spot a few buildings taller and more prominent than the others, seeing the unicorn Rarity's dress-making shop, a decorative tower of some sort, and...there it is. A clean, white building peeks out above the other buildings, not looking too far away from the library. I look to the road ahead, and begin walking in the direction of the town hall.
There will definitely be no 'blending in' for me. I stick out like a...well, like a tall human in the midst of many, many small ponies. Only the Pegasi that hover surpass me in height, but the fact that I am still eye-level with them while still on the ground draws looks from them, as well. Most of the ponies clear out of my path, parting to either side of the road. I frown, and attempt to keep my gaze on the road ahead, rather than on them. It is both disturbing and mildly aggravating to have everyone's eyes on me. I stop for a moment, again finding the top of the town hall, then continue again, turning down a new road to align myself with the building.
I see a mother pull her children closer to her, away from me. I feel like a monster; I probably appear as one to them, though. Tall, bipedal, fairly dull with my dusty blue jeans, white tennis shoes, matte black T-shirt, and short, dirty blond hair, and generally appearing different from everything else given that I lack any sort of definite outline and possess a more detailed body. Maybe they are detailed, but it's hard to tell when none will even get near me.
As if on cue, a Pegasus pony flies directly in front of me, blocking my path. The flying pony is close, but I can see even it is making sure to put a little distance between itself and I. The pony is a bright yellow in color, with a blue mane; it holds a pad of paper and a pencil in one hoof. My gaze drifts to the hoof, silently questioning how that would even be possible without any sort of balancing act.
"Juicy Story, of the Ponyville Express," the pony, a male, begins. "Ponyville wants to know: who and what are you? Are you some sort of undiscovered creature who happened to venture out of the Everfree? A guardian sent by the princess? An alien?" he fires off rapidly. Great, the media. More attention, just what I need...if I walk away, he's going to be back, though, and in force...A crowd is already starting to form around us.
I slowly raise my hands, showing him my palms, then reach towards the pad and pencil on his hoof. He pulls back for a moment, giving me an odd look, to which I return with a look of pleading. The Pegasus cautiously allows me to take his pad of paper and the pencil; I flip past a few pages of notes before finding a blank page. I write for a moment, then give his items back, waiting for him to read them.
My name is Mark, I am a human, and I don't know how I got here. I'm not here to hurt anyone.
As he finishes reading, opening his mouth to begin his next string of questions, I step around him, glancing again at the visible part of the town hall, not too far away at this point. I already know what his next questions will be, so I ignore them and continue walking. He follows me for a while, but eventually gets bored, and flies off. I smile to myself, rounding a corner. The center of town makes its way into sight.
I keep moving towards the large, white building; as I get into the center of the town, I begin looking around with curiosity. This place is very busy, with ponies milling about all around me. Various shops and vendors fill the area, from restaurants to stands selling apples. I see a familiar orange pony manning said apple stand, and give a wave to her. Applejack tips her hat back to me, apparently surprising some of the townsfolk. I step up onto a porch surrounding the town hall, then push through a door leading inside.
The interior of the building reminds me of most government buildings, very open and expansive. I look around, admiring the vaulted ceilings and decorative pillars before returning my gaze to the floor of the room. As Twilight had said, there sits the notice board, covered with various papers. I step towards the large board, observing some of the papers. A lost dog, a plow for sale, a party today...I continue to scan some more papers, slowly starting to wonder if any jobs will even be available. One flyer catches my eye, and I unpin the thumbtack holding it in place, replacing the tack on the board and holding the paper closer.
Unicorn needed for chopping wood. Unable to use tools efficiently without magic assistance. Tools provided.
I glance at the more specific details, then fold the flyer up, sticking it in my empty pocket. Magic is something I don't have, but hands are something I do. I push open the door, heading outside again. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Seven | I walk over to Applejack's stand, keeping my distance until the customer she is tending to is satisfied. Don't want to spook any potential business. I approach the wooden stand, above which hangs a sign with a trio of apples painted upon it. I crouch down, coming to eye level with the orange pony.
"Howdy, Mark. What can Ah' do yah' for?" I smile, then pull out the flyer I had recently taken. I point to the address on the paper, looking at the Stetson-wearing pony with question. "Forty-six Apple Tree Way? Uhh..." Applejack glances down, trailing off in thought. "...shoot. If Ah' remember right, that's just south o' here." She points a hoof towards a road to my left, leading away from the town's center. "Just follow that there road 'til yah' come to the intersection, then hang a right. All the houses should be marked. Got it?" I nod and smile in thanks, putting the flyer back in my pocket and standing.
I start towards the path, watching as the ponies again begin clearing out of my way. If only I could just tell them...I push the thought away, quelling it before it leads to memory. I sigh, drumming my hands against my pants. Ponies continue giving me odd looks, ones of surprise, confusion, fear, sometimes repulsion. I reach the intersection, and turn to the right.
I'm actually happy to see that this street is somewhat empty, with only a few of the creatures roaming about. I start observing the houses, finding that the house numbers seem to be neatly painted beside the doors. Thirty-eight...forty...forty-two...I pass one more house, then reach Forty-Six Apple Tree Way. I remove the flyer from my pants, unfolding it and glancing at it again to make sure I've got the address correct. I step up to the door, raising my hand, and knock a few times. I hear some voices inside, then the door opens.
"Ye--" a female pony begins, freezing upon seeing me. She lets out a shrill scream, then slams the door in my face. I stumble back in surprise. Well, that could have gone better. I think for a moment, wondering if I should knock again. Realizing I still hold the flyer for the job, I get an idea. I step up to the door again, crouch down, and slip the flyer under the door, giving another series of knocks. I move to a kneel, figuring that maybe I'll come off as less intimidating if I'm not at my full height.
After a few seconds, the door opens a crack. A different pony peeks out of the door, a dark brown one. "A-are you here for the job?" he asks. I'm tempted to stand, but tell myself to stay put, just nodding in reply. "You don't look like a unicorn to me." I smile, shaking my head and holding my hands out in front of me, opening and closing them a few times. The door opens a little further. "Well, I suppose if you can use an ax with those...just...just meet me out back." I nod, now standing. The pony watches me in shock for a moment, then recedes inside, closing the door. I walk around the side of the wooden house, passing through an alley formed between another house nearby.
Behind the house is a large pile of uncut logs and a short stump with an ax stuck into it. I go over to the ax, wrapping my hand around the handle. Upon further thought, I decide to leave the tool be to avoid scaring these people--ponies--any more than I already have, which seems to be quite a bit.
A back door opens, and a stout, dark brown pony with neither wings nor a horn, trots out. "Sorry 'bout my wife. We've been hearing some rumors, and, well..." He frowns. "Not many have been pleasant. But if you're here to help..." I nod, smiling. "...I'm not going to turn down help. I've been needing this wood chopped for weeks." He glances at the pile of logs; a look of remembrance crosses his face. "Oh, m'name's Till." The brown pony holds out a hoof towards me; I step towards him, crouching down and taking his hoof, shaking firmly. "You got a name?" A short pause, then: "Ah, never mind. Quite honestly, I only care if you can get the job done." I nod again. "Speaking of which, I'm looking for firewood. If you'd just make some small logs, then cut 'em in half, I think that'd do."
Till looks at me a moment longer, then snorts. "Well, I'll leave yah' to it. Let me know if you need anything." I nod once more, then stand again. The pony heads inside, leaving me to my own devices. Alright, time to chop some wood. I walk over to the ax, grabbing the handle and pulling it out of the stump. I let the handle drop in my hand, so that I hold the ax more near the head; running my fingers along the blade, I find that the ax is sharp and in good condition. Satisfied, I set it down on the stump, walking over to the pile of crude logs and grabbing onto the first.
As I set the cut tree on the ground, I muse that a pair of gloves might be nice. Doubt I'll find one anytime soon, given the general lack of hands on members of the equine family...I pick up the ax, placing a foot on the tree to keep it in place. I recall how to properly swing an ax, grasping in a balanced way to pull it back, then sliding my hand down the handle until it meets my other hand at the bottom. A mixture of gravity and my own force brings the head of the ax down cleanly, shearing the section of the small tree, maybe a branch of a large tree, in half. I smile, kicking one of the halves to the side before halving the half before me. Soon, a cluster of six or so logs lies on the ground; I move them into a small pile near the stump.
I'm pleased to see how clean and straight my cuts are, as the log segments balance easily on their ends. I set the first on the stump, stepping back and lining myself up. I do a few practice swings, then bring my ax up, dropping it in the center of the small log. With a pleasing thwack, the log splits in half, the two parts falling off the stump. I repeat the process with the next of my log cuts. ***
I look at my neatly-organized pile of firewood, smiling with pride at my handiwork. I had actually finished cutting, and then splitting, all of the wood around thirty minutes ago, but I had decided to organize the wood as well. The yard had seemed much messier after I was done, so it just seemed necessary. I walk over to the chopping-stump and bring the ax down into it, letting it stick. Rubbing my arm across my brow, I go up to the back door, knocking a few times. I remember to kneel down just before the door opens.
"You're done already?" Till asks. I nod and smile in reply, shuffling to one side so the pony can see. He steps out, eyebrows raising upon seeing the large pile of chopped wood off to one side of his backyard. "Wow! You did it all, no magic?" I shake my head, holding up my splinter-covered hands. "Wow," he repeats. "I really appreciate that. What is your name?" I pull out my pencil and paper, searching through my scribbles until finding my name. "'Mark'? Well, that's an odd name...suits you, I guess. But I couldn't have done a better job myself. Give me a minute, I'll get what your pay, you've more than earned it." The brown pony trots inside his home, disappearing for a minute. He returns with a small, cloth sack in his teeth, and holds it out to me. I hold my hand open, and he drops the bag into it. I find that the bag has considerable weight to it, and jingles as I shift it to my left hand.
"Thank yah' again, Mark. I don't know who designed these tools, but for us Earth Ponies, even the Pegasi, they're mighty hard to use." He chuckles to himself. "Those...erm...hooves, you got, are pretty darn useful, there." I hold up my right hand, wiggling the fingers for a moment with a smile. I push myself onto my feet, bag of payment in hand, and wave thanks to Till, who nods gratefully in reply. "Oh, and my wife apologizes for reacting as she did, and thanks you as well." He holds a hoof beside his mouth, glancing towards his house. "She's too scared to come say it herself, though." I chuckle, nodding in understanding.
Till gives me a friendly smile, then walks back into his house. I glance at the pile of wood, then at the bag in my hand. As I walk through the alley, heading back towards the road, I open the small bundle of cloth, peering inside. A multitude of golden coins, each around the size of a U.S. dollar coin, glint up at me, refracting the light of the afternoon. I pull one of them out, pausing off to the side of the dirt street. On one side is the head of a horse, or a pony, engraved in gold; from what I can see, it is a unicorn. The horn is significantly longer than those I've seen in this town, though. The mane of the horse also seems to be waving, as if wind is blowing through it. Under the engraving of the head is the name Princess Celestia. I recognize the name as that of the ruler and apparent omniscient goddess of Equestria. I turn the coin over in my palm. On the opposite side is a sun-like symbol, in the center of which are the words ONE BIT. I roll the coin around a few more times, rubbing my thumb over each side, feeling the engraved pictures and words.
So this is the currency, I muse. I wonder how many USD this thing would be equivalent to...if it went by the actual gold amount, probably a few hundred dollars. I make the assumption that gold is more plentiful here, but continue wondering what exactly one 'bit' would buy me. Looking back into the bag, I estimate there's around twenty of the golden coins in total. There's got to be a few thousand dollars' worth of gold in here...either I was way overpaid, or gold really is more common here. I slip the single bit back into the cloth, tightening the hand--or hoof--fashioned drawstring on it once more.
I look around for a moment, not really knowing what to do with the rest of my day. A look near the sun tells me that it's probably four or five in the summer afternoon. I feel a pang of hunger in my empty stomach. Okay, I know what to do now. And with that, I start walking again.
After about five minutes of walking, I realize something. I have no idea where I'm going. I frown, looking around. I recall the mass of apple trees bearing delicious, juicy, perfectly ripe fruit, out at where Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle's friend Applejack lives. Sweet Apple Acres? I try to remember the sign, and assume my fairly poor memory is correct. My frown deepens in thought as I attempt to think of the path there. Oh, wait...I remember that the farm sits on a hill that overlooks the town. I sidestep a few times to see between some of the houses lining the sides of the road I am on. In the distance I spot a very small-looking red structure, sitting atop a hill that seems to overlook a forest of trees. I set my sights, and begin in as much of a bee-line as I can manage. ***
I vault the short wooden fence, again ignoring the gate. It's way cooler to jump over stuff, anyways. I start up the path a short ways, for some reason believing the farther up the hill I go, the better the apples will be. As I turn down one of the many rows, surveying the trees, it occurs to me that I actually have some money, so I would be able to just buy some food. I don't know anything about the economy here, though. And most ponies don't seem to take too kindly to me...I decide my choice to 'borrow' a few apples without permission is a good one, at least better than trying to communicate with the locals when I can't even communicate very well.
I scale up a tree, grabbing on to a thick branch and hoisting myself up with a grunt. I pluck a nearby apple off its stem, mouth starting to water. I hungrily bite into the apple. Should've taken Twilight up on that offer for breakfast. I continue through that apple, and into another.
Though the apples are tasty, and satisfy my hunger, I think for a moment that a burger would be nice, maybe even a steak. That might be a problem...Everything I've met seems sentient, and I'm not supposed to eat things that can have complex thoughts. That's just...wrong, in some way that is inherently so. It's like cannibalism, despite the fact I would not be eating my own kind. Even the dominant sentient species is of the horse family. I snort quietly, shaking my head a little.
As I sit in the tree, I become aware of the heavy cloth in my left hand. I hold it up to my face, shaking it lightly and hearing the jingle. I recall my mainly one-sided conversation with the Pegasus, Rainbow Dash, the previous afternoon. Didn't she mention Applejack was smart with money? Maybe she could help explain the economy to me...I decide she's probably my best option, and slide off the branch, landing on my feet. I begin walking out of the row of apple trees I'm in.
A light hit on my head makes me jump. I look around wildly, ducking down and turning about, searching for my assailant. My eyes shift to the ground, and I see a stray apple. Oh. I kick the apple gently, watching it roll away. I smile, turning and walking towards the path again. I feel something hit my head again, and look up. Finding nothing, I look down, only to see another apple on the ground, separated from its brethren in the trees. Raising an eyebrow, I hesitantly turn away, focusing on the path again. Looks like these apples aren't too happy that I ate some of them. The thought that plants might be sentient as well enters my head, making my stomach flip-flop a little. I stop walking, looking around at the trees. Maybe one will move or something.
None of the trees move, but I feel another apple land atop my head, bouncing off and hitting the ground. I rub my head, starting to get agitated. I glance up at the apple-filled leaves above, staring at the trees for a moment. Okay, three apples is too much coincidence in a row--a noise interrupts my thoughts. It sounds like...laughter. An attempt to hold in laughter, more like it. I smile, deciding to play along. I continue rubbing my hand against my hair for a moment, then begin slowly walking towards the path, now only a few yards away. I keep my focus up, at the trees. There. A spot near the end of the canopy of leaves rustles ever-so-slightly. I keep walking, counting down to myself. And...now.
I stop, looking up; on cue, a bright, red apple falls from above, and a light blue hoof shoots back into the trees. I reach up, grabbing the apple as it falls. I hold the fruit for a moment, then lightly toss it back into the trees.
"What the hay?!" A voice exclaims. A quiet second passes. "Ponyfeathers..." A blue head covered in rainbow hair pops out of the trees, upside-down. A pair of large, bright magenta eyes looks at me with a smile. "How'd you know I was there?" Rainbow Dash asks, sounding bemused. I smile back and shrug. The light blue pony lets herself fall out of the tree, twisting around in the air and landing on all four hooves, much as a cat would. I clap in exaggerated amazement; playing along, she takes a bow, bringing a foreleg to her chest. After a moment, I withdraw my paper and pencil, writing a question as the pony shakes out her colorful mane.
How long have you been following me?
"Pretty much since I got off work." I give her a look. "What? I got bored, and didn't know what else to do." I nearly begin to question how she found me in the first place, then recall that I'm very, very easy to spot. "So how much did that guy pay you for chopping wood?" I open the cloth bag for her to see inside. "Not bad, you must have done pretty good for him to pay you that much!" I frown, somewhat concerned that I may have been overpaid. I appreciate the notion, but I feel that I only deserve as much as what should be paid, nothing more, nothing less.
"So whatcha' doin'? Stealing some apples for lunch?" I give a sheepish smile in reply. "Don't sweat it, Applejack doesn't mind. I don't think...guess I've never asked," Rainbow Dash muses. I write down my answer.
Yes, and I figured I would ask Applejack about the economy while I'm here.
"So you've got money, but you don't know what to do with it?" I nod, receiving a laugh from the Pegasus. "Yeah, I know that feeling. I get paid way too much to kick clouds around all day. Not that I'm complaining," she adds with a grin. "I never have to worry about missing a Wonderbolts show!" I laugh at her extreme devotion to the aerobatic group.
I approach the door to the farmhouse, knocking a few times and stepping back. The small sister of Applejack, Apple Bloom, answers the door. She nearly reacts in fear, but recognizes me a split second later.
"Well, howdy, Mister Mark! Whatcha' need?" the small, yellow pony questions. Isn't there a specific word for them? Stallions, mares, colts, and...fillies? Yeah, that's it.
"He wants to talk to Applejack, Apple Bloom." I glance down at Rainbow, thanking her with a smile.
"Okay!" the filly replies, turning back into the house and leaving the door open. I take it that I'm supposed to follow her in, and a look over to the sky-blue Pegasus on the ground beside me confirms that as she motions towards the open door. I step inside, ducking through the slightly short doorway. I stand in the entry room of the farmhouse, which also seems to be a living room, waiting patiently for the orange pony.
After a minute, Applejack trots into the room. "Howdy again, Mark, howdy, Dash. What brings ya'll?" I look down, scrawling out my question for the money-wise pony.
Could you please explain the economy here?
She pushes her hat up a little higher on her head. "Whoo-ee! That there's a tall order, partner. Ah' suppose Ah' can help yah', s'long as yer' willin' tah' listen to me run mah' mouth for a while." I nod, chuckling softly. "Well, have a seat! You too, Rainbow, if'n' yah' please."
"Uhh, I think I'm gonna' find something to eat. Egghead stuff isn't really my thing," Rainbow Dash says with a smirk at Applejack.
"This ain't no 'egghead stuff'!" the orange pony splutters. "This is important stuff, that everypony should know! You oughta' sit and listen, Rainbow, maybe you'll learn somethin'."
"Yeah, yeah..." The light blue pony begins coughing obnoxiously. "Egghead," she coughs out. I smile, laughing quietly. Applejack shoots me a look; I quickly wipe the smile off my face. Rainbow Dash grins and trots out of the room, snickering.
"Okay, now...it looks like yah' got some money on yah', already. May Ah' see it for a sec'?" I hold my coin-filled cloth out to her, and she takes it in her hooves, opening the bag and peering inside. "If yah' don't mind my askin', how'd yah' get yer' hooves on this?" I look down, seeing that the floor is made of wood. I tap the floor, then mimic swinging an ax. "Cuttin' wood?" I nod in affirmation. "Well, yah' musta' done the job right. Yah' got paid real well, here. Guess Ah' oughta' start explainin', so yah' know what Ah'm talkin' 'bout." ***
I wave a goodbye to Applejack, who responds with an "Any time." Rainbow Dash follows me out the door, and I close it behind her. We start descending down the hill again.
"So, did you almost die of boredom? I know I did, and I wasn't even listening to her!" she exclaims, laughing. I smile and give a shrug, actually not having been too bored. The economy here is simple enough, and is comparable to something like the U.S. economy in the early twentieth century, pre-Depression. A bit would be comparable to a dollar, and no other forms or variations of currency existed. That meant that usually, small things like food were overpaid-for; at the same time, it makes buying more expensive items much easier. I remember that Applejack had mentioned a house usually costs a few hundred bits, larger ones in the thousand-bit area.
At that point I had realized that the pony fellow I had done the job for had paid me quite a lot, just for chopping wood. The orange pony had suggested that that was likely either because I had gone beyond what was asked and had done the job properly, or out of fear. She believed the former, but the thought remains in the back of my head that the latter may have been more true. The money in my left hand feels more like ransom money for a moment. Maybe I should go and try to ask for a more fair payment...
I push the thought away, knowing that would have very little chance of actually working. If it was because he felt I did a more-than-adequate job, he might take my action as an insult. If out of fear, he might reject it all the same. I sigh, looking at the ground as it moves under my feet.
"Hey, what's up? You're looking down. Literally," Rainbow adds with a snicker. I look over at her, smiling at the joke. I decide to tell her what is on my mind, writing on my makeshift-notepad for a moment.
Nobody trusts me and all seem to fear me.
"Well, I mean, can you blame them? No offense," she says, then continues on. "You're really tall, don't have much hair, wear clothes all the time, walk on two legs, and don't talk. All of those are pretty much opposite of what ponies look like and do, so you stick out. They all think you're scary and weird, because that's how you look. Once they learn that you aren't going to eat them or anything, they'll realize you aren't scary. Still weird, but not scary," finishes Rainbow, grinning at me. I can live with weird, I think with a smile.
"Just give 'em some time. They'll warm up to you." I feel a friendly punch on my left shoulder. Ouch. "And if they don't, you'll get plenty of exercise from running from those angry mobs!" I laugh, picturing that image. I don't think these creatures have the capability to look very menacing, even with pitchforks and torches. "Celestia knows you need it. Granny Smith could probably outrun you!" she exclaims, laughing to herself. I laugh as well, knowing she's probably right. Four legs seem to grant an advantage when it comes to speed.
We continue to walk back into the town of Ponyville, leaving Sweet Apple Acres behind. I find myself watching the Pegasus fly beside me most of the trip; it's captivating, like being able to have a very large, very colorful bird fly right next to me. I think she notices at some point, as she starts doing little tricks here and there to keep it interesting. A loop, a tight corkscrew, flying in circles around me, flying upside-down, sideways, and even backwards. A mixture of joy and curiosity fills me, and I have to resist the urge to start laughing or clapping.
I find myself somewhat sad when we reach Twilight's tree house, then sun just about to dip below the horizon. "I'll see you tomorrow! Betcha' won't see me, though," Rainbow Dash adds with a wink. I smile and wave to the small pony, watching her jump off the ground, flying into the reddish sky. When she disappears from sight, I push through the library door.
Twilight greets me, commenting on my new-found money and that I must be as hard a worker as Applejack. I brush the compliments away, still feeling a twinge of guilt that I am still unsure whether or not it should exist. I accept an offered dinner of hay sandwiches, opting to eat just the bread. I doubt hay would go over well with my omnivore stomach. Afterwards, arms hurting, I decide to go to bed. I toss my bag of coins beside my bedroll, then crawl under the blankets, sighing at the relaxing feeling of being off my feet. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Eight | Mid-morning light seeps into the room, illuminating it; and at the same time, nearly blinding me. I bring a hand to my face, sighing and rolling away from the light. I find that it's too late, though; I'm awake. I push the blanket off of me and onto the floor, sitting up and rubbing my face groggily for a moment. Gathering my bearings, I glance around.
Noting my increased blankets beneath me, I silently thank Twilight. I don't know where she gets them from, but I won't question; I've checked and made sure they aren't her own or Spike's, so they satisfy me. I still don't understand why she won't accept any rent from me; I suppose I might be the same way when it comes to hospitality, though.
I glance over at my growing pile of small, brown-cloth bags, each filled with similar amounts of gold bits. My mouth twists into a frown; the expression 'burning a hole in my pocket' comes to mind. I find that I have little use as of yet for the currency, given that I am basically living off others at this point, a fact I despise with a passion. I've managed to start buying my own food, which mainly consists of bread, apples, and carrots. I need to find a way to get some meat...
I need to do a lot of things, I remind myself. The most important is to become self-sufficient. And to become self-sufficient, I need a way to support myself, which happens to come in the form of money. Which, in turn, leads me to my current goal, one that has been the goal for the past few days: get a job.
It pleases me that these ponies are starting to warm up to me, finally. They still avoid eye contact and directly talking to me, save for the occasional reporter, but they no longer part to either side of the street when I walk down it. It still feels like I have an odd protective bubble of some sort, deflecting the ponies around me as they pass, but it only spans for a few feet, rather than a few yards. And, best of all, there have been less and less occurrences of ponies going hysteric upon seeing me at their doorstep.
In the past three or so days, I have found myself using up most of my days doing odd jobs around Ponyville. It's nice, actually, as it's usually something different every time. A lot of carpentry, like fixing a leaking roof or patching up a wall, but also some more random jobs. I recall one where I had to climb up a tree and jump into a second-story barn window that was barely big enough for me and not big enough for anything like a Pegasus pony, just to unlock the door from the inside. I had intended on doing it as a favor, but the pony had paid me, anyways, despite my attempts at refusal. There was even a job where I had to catch some loose chickens. I actually don't like chickens very much, so I didn't really enjoy doing that one. It occurred to me at some point that unicorn magic is somewhat of a rare commodity, especially in this town, so my ability to grip things as their magic does, along with my better flexibility, in some cases, proves fairly useful.
I've taken to just strolling around town when I have free time, helping out ponies I see when I can. Some pay me for doing so, but what satisfies me more is seeing the mixture of wonder and relief on their faces when they realize I'm not as bad to be around as they thought, especially on the foals. And, if no one's around to be helped, I usually try to find Rainbow Dash. To pass the time, I'll watch her practice for her idols, or we'll go steal some apples from Applejack's farm.
I don't know why I like to hang out with her, but I do. She's just fun to be around, I suppose. Certainly keeps me on my toes; I swear she tries to prank me in some way every time I see her. That and the fact she almost seems oblivious to the fact I'm so much more different from everyone else, save for the occasional joke about how weird my face looks or how slow I run. Maybe that's why. It's nice to have someone who doesn't get all paranoid or freaked out around me.
Standing up, I twist my head around, loosening up my neck. After a moment of scanning about the quiet library, I turn and crouch down, picking up one of the small bags of coins beside my makeshift bed. I open it and withdraw around five bits, dropping them into my left pants pocket. My gaze shifts to my dark shirt; I rub my fingers along the soft fabric for a moment. I probably could not have a better host than Twilight Sparkle. She lets me use her bathroom to wash up every day--apparently pony showers aren't used too often, so she said it wouldn't interfere at all--as well as having helped me figure out a way to wash my clothes. Washing machines, even washboards, are an uncommon thing here, which is understandable since ponies only wear clothes during special events or to dress up.
And best of all, she lets me do what I want without question. If I don't feel like discussing something, she drops it; I've noticed she might try to slip it in later on, but that isn't very often. Usually about why I don't talk. I don't really mind, though, as again, she lets me do what I want, go where I want, when I want. I walk over to the door, pushing it open and walking outside.
The day is ridiculously nice, a fact that I both welcome and am annoyed by. I'm used to overcast weather, rain, sleet, fog, sometimes even snow. And a thick blanket of smog to top it all off. It's almost unnerving to see nice weather, every day; I've been told by Rainbow Dash that the Pegasi create the occasional rainy day for farmers, but those adhere to a strict schedule. I start walking along the path I have been taking the past few days to the center of town. As I walk alone through the usual sea of colorful ponies, eyes darting towards me until I look back, at which point they quickly look away, I stick my hands in my pockets. My left hand idly plays with the coins in my pocket, evoking a quiet jingling noise just audible over the general noise of the crowds in the streets.
Working somewhere from two to five jobs per day, depending on how long they take and how many pop up at town hall for me to accept, I've managed to earn something like one hundred bits in total, possibly more. Ponies continue to overpay me, I think; maybe I'm just doing more in a day than I realize. Either way, I can't do much about it.
I make my way into the town square, aiming for the town hall. I give Applejack a wave, which is returned to me. As with many of the things I do, I don't know why I do it; just something else that has worked its way into my daily routine, I suppose. I push through the door of the tall, white building, focusing on the task at hand. ***
I run the large brush I hold in my hand down the side of the shed, filling more of the outside wall with white paint. Almost done...I continue delivering concise brush-strokes, going with the grain of the wood to avoid having the paint dry in an odd manner.
A thud just above me causes me to step back, looking up in surprise. Atop the roof of the shed I'm painting perches a light blue Pegasus pony, a rainbow-colored mane streaming down one side of her neck. I smile at Rainbow Dash, not having expected her company.
She peers over the edge of the shed's roof, looking at the wall I'm painting. "Painting? That's lame." I chuckle softly, stepping forward and resuming my lame activity. "C'mon, we should go do something cooler," Rainbow informs me. I smile, pointing at the last patch of brown, wooden siding on the shed. "Laaaaaame," she groans, dragging out the word. I laugh, focusing on the wall again. A nice white slowly begins to cover the dull brown, and after a few more minutes and a thorough look around every side of the shed, I decide I've completed my task. I hold up my pointer finger at the Pegasus prancing about on the shed, indicating I would only be a moment.
I go up to the back door of the small house, knocking a few times before standing off to one side. A red Earth pony with a green mane opens the door, then sees me and trots outside, going over to the shed. Rainbow Dash quickly hops off the shed, flying over to me. The pony slowly walks around the structure, smiling to herself. After a few seconds, she trots towards me, smiling pleasantly.
"Well done!" the pony, named 'Sweet Pepper', exclaims to me. "It looks absolutely wonderful! Here, you deserve this," she continues, turning halfway around. From seemingly nowhere, she pulls out a small sack of coins, dropping them in my open hand. I ponder how she had stored that; pockets? I joke to myself. After a little more wondering and coming up with no explanation, pockets begin to seem less and less far-fetched. I focus back on reality, smiling in thanks to Sweet Pepper. The mare trots off, leaving me alone with Rainbow Dash.
"Okay, you got your bits. Let's go do something, now," she says impatiently. I smile and nod to the hovering pony, following her back onto the street nearby. We start along down it without aim, yet. I look around, surveying the area; I haven't been to this part of Ponyville as of yet. It appears similar to the rest; quaint, peaceful, and overall friendly, if a little less populated.
We continue through the neighborhood, rounding a corner every so often. As we turn onto a new street, one named Moonlight Avenue, something catches my eye. It is something out-of-place, different from the rest of my surroundings. I eventually find what it is, and gaze at it for a moment; my eyes rest upon an old, ramshackle-looking house. I realize it sticks out because of its poor condition in comparison to the other houses in the town. Boarded up windows and doors, missing boards in the walls, shingles missing off of and water damage present on the roof. It almost looks kind of sad, if inanimate objects could convey emotion.
I hear a scratchy voice saying my name, and look over. "Mark? You alright?" Rainbow Dash asks. I realize I've stopped in my tracks; I nod to the rainbow-maned Pegasus, glancing back over to the desolate house. She follows my line of sight, looking between the old house and me a few times. "Looking at that house?" I nod. "Yeah, it's been abandoned for a few years. The pony that used to live there moved to Manehattan, told everypony he was going to get rich and be famous. I haven't heard of him since," she muses with a chuckle. The gears start to turn within my head; I get out my paper and pencil, scribbling rapidly.
So it's available for someone to move into, yes?
Thinking for a moment, the light blue pony nods her head. "Yeah, I don't think anypony owns it or lives in it or anything." She pauses, then looks from the house to me with a frown. "You're not actually thinking about living there, are you?" I glance at the house again, looking at it a little more closely. I note that the house number is eleven, the fading, white numbers hardly visible beside the boards covering the door. I write down a question for my hovering friend.
What if I was, what would I need to do?
Rainbow raises an eyebrow, shrugging to herself. "You could probably just move right in, I doubt anypony would care. Might wanna' check with the mayor, though, I think she's supposed to know stuff like that." Satisfied with the response, I look around for a moment, searching for the top of a familiar white building. Spotting it in the distance, I start walking in its direction. The sound of beating wings approaches my right a second later.
"You're going to talk to the mayor, aren't you?" I nod, smiling. She gives an exasperated sigh. "Guess that's better than watching you paint a shed." Chuckling, I continue towards the center of town.
I eventually step up onto the porch skirting around the town hall, pushing through and ducking under one of the outside doors. Rainbow Dash drops down to the ground, her hooves making a clip-clop as she matches my pace on the marble flooring. I lead us around the large board in the center of the open room, not entirely sure where I'm going. I spot a door with a sign next to it, which happens to read Mayor Mare. I look down at Rainbow, who nods. We walk up to the door, and I knock lightly.
"Come in!" a female voice calls from behind the door. I open the door and slowly step inside, letting the sky-blue Pegasus follow me in before closing the door again. I look back into the room.
It is a fairly stereotypical office, upon first glance. Comfortable in size, but not exceedingly large. A large window basks the room in sunlight. Near the center back of the room is a large desk, in front of which sits four chairs. Behind the desk is a pony; she has a tan coat and gray mane, and wears both half-rimmed glasses and some sort of fancy attire around her neck. A plaque on her desk reads Mayor Mare, like the one outside the door.
The mayor looks over her glasses at us, specifically me after a moment. Her eyes widen a little, and she looks up completely. "Oh! You must be the newest member of our community, Mister...Mark, was it?" I nod. "Word has been traveling around about you quite a bit," Mayor Mare says, nodding towards a pile of newspapers on her desk. I take a few steps forward, reaching for the top-most newspaper and bringing it in front of me. It appears to be today's edition of the Ponyville Express.
Mysterious Creature Remains in Ponyville
by Juicy Story, Head Reporter
Only a few days ago, a new creature was spotted by many residents, roaming the streets of Ponyville. Upon further question, it was found this creature is called 'Mark'. When this reporter attempted an interview, Mark only stated that he did not intend to bring harm to anyone. And it seems he was not lying; Ponyville residents, over the past few days, have received help of all sorts from the creature. Many still question where he comes from and what exactly he is, though. Something from the Everfree Forest? If so, why hasn't he returned? Possibly an extra-terrestrial being? Or maybe a creature of myth, finally revealed to--
I set the paper down again, looking at the mayor. "What brings you here, Mark?"
"He wants that old abandoned place out on Moonlight Avenue, Mayor Mare," Rainbow Dash answers for me. I think to myself that I need to thank her at some point; she's been saving me a lot of writing.
"Oh, number eleven?" I nod in confirmation. "Well, that place hasn't been touched in years. Nopony has wanted it, so it fell into disarray, I'm afraid. Are you sure you want a place like that? It will be quite a hoof-ful," the mayor warns. I nod, smiling. I need something to do, anyways. Mayor Mare brings a tan hoof to her mouth, tapping in thought. "I suppose that as long as you can take care of it, you may have it. You'll be burdened enough with fixing it up, so don't worry about purchasing the property." I frown in protest, about to start writing, but the mayor speaks again. "No, no. You have been helping the town and our ponies, so it's the least I can do in return." My look of dismay remains, but I nod submissively.
"Now, is that all you needed?" she asks. I nod, smiling gratefully to her. "Alright. Good luck!" After a moment, she adds, "And though it may be a little late, welcome to Ponyville!" I smile again, then turn for the door.
Once back out in the large entry room, Rainbow Dash looks up at me. "Well, you've got a really ugly house. Now what?" I smile in reply, walking outside again. I begin heading towards the house, my house, out of memory. The light blue mare pesters me with questions along the way, usually entailing what I plan on doing or why I won't tell her. I continue to smile, actually not knowing why I don't feel like explaining to her. Fun, maybe.
We eventually reach the depressing little house again. I walk up to the place where the door should be, instead covered by worn boards. I give one of the boards a testing push. After a moment, I step back, giving the boards a kick. My foot rebounds, to my minor dismay. I'm about to give a harder kick, when Rainbow steps in front of me.
"Amateur," she says with a grin. She turns around, facing me, then bucks the boards covering the doorway with her hind legs. Fragments of wood splinter inward, and a loud crack resounds in the area. The light blue pony gives the boards a few more kicks, creating an entryway just big enough for herself. I crouch down, slipping through the hole in the boards and heading into the house.
The first thing I notice is that...well, it's dark. Light only comes in through the holes in the boards covering up windows and through a hole in the roof. "Ugh, I can't see anything," Rainbow Dash says. I nod, but realize she probably can't see me. I carefully walk over to one of the windows. I push on one of the boards; it gives a little. I push harder, and not receiving any more progress, I pull my right arm back. My fist smashes into the wood, creating another crack that echoes within the house. I hear a yelp behind me, and turn around.
Now that more light is being let into the house, I can see my rainbow-maned friend. She holds a hoof over her mouth, eyes wide in surprise. The pony quickly makes herself return to normal, giving me a wide smile.
"I wasn't scared. I just...stepped on a nail, or something," she explains. I smile slyly; tell your lie however you want to. I clear out the rest of the boards in the window, then go over to another window. I begin working away at it with hits and pushes, eventually opening that window, as well. Looking back into the room, I see Rainbow Dash following suit, bucking the boards off of a window. She clears out the last window in the room.
I glance around, a new light literally shed upon the situation. The house is empty on the inside, as expected, save for the occasional cobwebs and dust bunnies. It appears very simple in design, having one main room dominating most of the area. I spot an unblocked doorway off on one wall of the room, and walk over to it. Peering around the corner, I see that it is a full bathroom. Pony bathrooms are fairly simple, and not very human-friendly, but at least the showers are fairly tall.
"Hey, check it out!" I hear Rainbow Dash exclaim, seemingly somewhere above me. I go back into the main room, looking around. Noticing some rickety-looking stairs, I assume she's gone to a second floor. I tentatively place a foot on the first stair; it creaks loudly, but holds. I put more and more of my weight on it until I'm standing on the first stair. Repeating this process with each of the stairs, I make my way up the stairs, albeit slowly.
I place my weight on a stair only three away from the top, and hear a snap. I quickly shove off of the stairs, leaping up to the top floor. The board snaps, landing with a dull thud on the floor below. I pull myself up into the second floor, moving to my feet. I look over to see the light blue Pegasus kicking out some more boards covering one of the two windows in this room. I see that it's more like an attic, the walls formed by the slanted roof of the house. I can stand up fully along the middle, though. Stepping over to the other window, opposite the one Rainbow Dash had already opened up, I hit the boards out of it, lighting up the rest of the room. Looking around, I feel satisfied; I figure this will serve as a nice bedroom. I start down the stairs again, avoiding the top few boards.
Dash meets me downstairs, looking around with mild interest. "Y'know, this place isn't too bad. Definitely not good, but not as bad as I thought. It's not haunted, at least. Not that I thought it was," she quickly adds. I smile at her, nodding in agreement. "Well, you gonna' do anything with it?"
I step over to one of the windows, peering outside. There's only a few hours of daylight left, from what I can tell. Wouldn't be able to do too much today...I get the paper out of my pocket, writing an answer.
Not today. Will be dark soon.
She nods in agreement, then her face brightens. "There's still enough time to get some practicing in, though! Wanna' come?" she asks cheerfully. I smile, nodding. We exit out through the hole in the boards covering the doorway, back into the afternoon. We start off towards Luna Lake, both eager for Rainbow Dash to practice her flying. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Nine | I try to speed up my morning routine, knowing I have many things to do today. Twilight let me know I could stay as long as I needed, but that hasn't stopped me from wanting to move out of her home. I am very ready to resume living under my own capability. I attempt to stifle a yawn, but it comes out anyway as I crouch down near my collection of blankets. Sifting through and rearranging the contents of a few of the bags of bits I possess, I count out four cloth sacks with ten bits in each to take with me. Grabbing them all in my left hand, I stand and walk outside, quietly closing the door to avoid waking Spike.
I take in a deep breath of the fresh, cool morning air, glancing about at the ponies milling around as I clear my head. Alright, first things first. Tools, then supplies. I unconsciously frown in thought. Where would I find some tools? I doubt they have a Home Depot here...I nod in realization. Blacksmith, I need to find a blacksmith for tools. My frown returns as I realize I don't know where to find a blacksmith's shop. I look up, scanning about the ponies around the library. Here goes nothing. I remove my pad of paper and pencil, and quickly write down a question.
I walk towards a bright yellow pony who is facing away from me, wondering if catching them by surprise will work to my advantage, as I hope, or just scare them. My footsteps are nearly silent on the ground behind the oblivious creature; the trick is to roll one's feet. I reach out and lightly tap the pony on the shoulder; they turn around, facing me with a smile that quickly disappears. The pony steps back in a fair degree of panic; I bring my hands in front of me, palms facing out, and step back myself, trying to show I just want their help, not to hurt them. I hold out my paper so they can read the question, hoping they'll actually acknowledge me.
The pony scans the paper cautiously, then glances up at me. "The nearest blacksmith...? There's one in town square, I think..." she says hesitantly, still slowly backing away. I nod, looking and feeling relieved. Okay, that wasn't too bad, at least. I nod again, giving an odd mixture of bowing away and waving in thanks. I start jogging towards the center of town, passing herds of colorful ponies as I do.
Upon reaching the town square, I start scanning around. I look at Applejack's stand for a moment, my stomach rumbling a little. Later. I keep searching, then spot a sign that stands out to me; it appears to be made of metal, rusted by nature, and hangs over a dull, stone building. The sign is shaped like a hammer about to strike an anvil; bingo. I make my way through the bustle of the center of Ponyville, heading for the stone building. Approaching the front, I place a hand on the door and push inside.
A small bell above me jingles as I enter. My pace slows as I walk into the room, looking around. The walls are lined with all sorts of metal pieces, each shaped and honed very exactly. I see everything from simple tools, like shovels, pitchforks, hoes, and so on, to actual weapons, swords, axes, things of that manner. I admire them for a moment, taking a step towards the medieval weapons. The blacksmith here, whoever they may be, seems very skilled; I don't see any flaws on the metal works, and every point and blade is razor sharp, as they should be.
"Need help with anything?" a voice says, bringing me back to reality. I look over towards the source, seeing a coal-colored pony behind a counter. He shows a friendly smile and appears fairly casual, something new from a pony I have yet to meet in this town. I think for a moment, then shake my head. He nods, letting me go back to my browsing. I step over to the tools on the wall, looking amongst them for a moment. Alright, so...I begin going off a checklist in my head, grabbing a few tools off the wall. A small sledge-style hammer, a wood ax, a handsaw, a fairly large bag of good-sized nails, some other assorted objects. I set them on the counter, allowing him to figure up the cost. My eyes drift off to the melee weapons again. I frown as I eye some of the smaller weapons. I really don't need to be scaring these poor things more than I already am, but...
After another moment's thought, I decide I might as well. I walk over to the portion of the wall holding the smaller weapons. Some very nice daggers are present, a few exquisite-looking ones as well. My eye is caught by a few small tomahawks--no, hand axes. Tomahawks are balanced to be thrown, and I doubt these are actually balanced; I grasp onto the handle of one, finding I am wrong. The balance is actually quite nice, but I wouldn't ever throw a tomahawk, anyways; that would be throwing away my only weapon, as the saying goes. Spinning the weapon around in my hand a few times, I decide it shall be mine. I select a nice double-edged dagger, as well, for kicks and giggles.
As I set the two weapons on the counter beside the tools, my mind starts to wander idly. My reasoning behind getting the combination of a tomahawk and a dagger is not actually random. The Native Americans used the two in a superb fighting style that involved dual-wielding them; the tomahawk was used in the primary hand, for me, my right, and the dagger in the secondary, held 'icepick-style' with the blade facing out of one's hand. In combat, this allowed them to create a devastating attack with the more powerful tomahawk in their most powerful hand, as well as parry off an opponent's weapons or attack. When an attack was parried with the tomahawk, this rendered the tomahawk-holding hand out of action for a moment, as it was busy deflecting and redirecting another weapon. So, to solve this, the Native Americans used a dagger in the opposite hand. While the tomahawk hand parried, a second attack could be delivered to the opponent while their own weapon was disabled. It gave the upper hand because it allowed one to attack while effectively defending.
I shake my head. I don't know why I remember things like that, and don't even know where I learn them from, but I do. Half of my knowledge is information that doesn't really even help me in any way. I snort to myself. Not like I'm going to be using them, anyways. Still, just the knowledge that I have some sort of defense is nice, and weapons are fun to play around with.
"Planning on using those things?" I look at the dark gray pony, following his gaze down to the weapons. I smile, shaking my head. "Good, because if you were, I planned on raising the price." I chuckle quietly, readying my bags of bits. "Gonna' be thirty bits or so." I nod, dropping three of the bags on the counter and sticking the last in my pants pocket. I wait for him to count them out, and he nods in satisfaction. "Don't go terrorizing the town too much, okay?" he says with a grin. I return it with a laugh, carefully grabbing onto my multitude of sharp objects. I cautiously make my way out of the smithy, back into town square.
Needless to say, I get a lot of looks, most terrified. I just try to ignore them, making my way through the streets of Ponyville with my weapons of destruction. At least the ponies clear out of the way fairly quickly, making it easy to avoid poking anyone.
I arrive at my property in good time, and walk up to the door. I ponder going through the pony-sized hole Rainbow Dash had created, then realize I really don't need to. Hastily dropping my other tools, I grab hold of my ax, one hand near the head. Some smashing and chopping later, the doorway is revealed again, clear of boards. I dip my head to get under it, but it's much, much better than having to crawl to get into my new house. I pick up my other tools and weapons and bring them inside, setting them on the floor. I think for a moment, then grab my actual weapons, sliding them into the belt loops on my jeans. Maybe I could have Rarity make me a hilt or something soon...
I look at the tools and the assorted supplies for a moment, wondering if I should worry about theft. Doubt it. There are a few perks to being a big, scary creature from outer space, I suppose. Remaining bits in my pocket and shiny, new weapons at my sides, I walk outside again.
Alright, lumber...I need to find some lumber. Deciding to do what I did earlier, I pull out my paper and pencil again, writing a new question for whichever pony happens to be my victim. It seems a dark blue Earth pony will be the lucky winner; I approach the pony, piece of folded up paper in hand. Noticing me, they start to change course. I wave my hand a little frantically, holding the paper out to them. Staring at me like I might explode, the blue pony walks towards my outstretched arm, scanning the paper for a moment.
"I think there's a mill out on the North side of town, just on the outskirts." I nod in thanks, stepping away from the pony and looking into the sky. Luckily, the sun is still at an angle in the sky, and it is still before noon. I turn around, walking to what I hope is North.
It turns out the sun rises in the East and sets in the West in Equestria, as well. Nearing the lumber mill, sitting only a few hundred feet away from the town, I see a shack of sorts amidst the piles of logs and planks. I make my way towards it, slowly entering through a door upon reaching it. Another bell jingles above my head, and I see a suitably brown-colored pony sitting behind a desk, reading some the newspaper. I think they nearly jump out of their skin upon seeing me.
"M-may I help you?" the pony, a male, asks shakily. I nod, pulling the bag of bits out of my pocket and motioning towards the outside, where the wood is. "You want to buy lumber?" I nod again. "Alright, one moment," he replies, shaking his head in what I believe to be disbelief. I push outside again, looking about the mill. I see a few different piles of wooden planks, ranging from something akin to two-by-fours to wide, flat pieces of cut wood. Doing some quick estimation, I begin musing about what all I need. I pull various pieces of wood from their piles, setting them in a separate pile on a clear patch of ground.
Eventually deciding I have everything I need, I go back over to the pile, finding the brown pony peering at it with interest. Probably wondering what something like me wants with a bunch of boards. Upon noticing me, he turns.
"Is this all?" I nod in affirmation. "That's going to be..." He trails off, apparently doing some mental calculation. "Seven bits." Removing three coins and sliding them into my pocket, I toss my last bag of coins in front of the pony. He opens it with his teeth, peering inside and counting the coins. Satisfied, he looks up. "Uh...have a nice day," he says, scurrying off. I begin picking up my materials, hefting the longer boards over my left shoulder and pinning the wider boards against my side. The wood seems to be of good quality, nice and sturdy.
I walk for a few minutes, thanking Fate for the lumber mill happening to be fairly close to where I live. I bring the lumber inside, leaning it against one of the walls. I look between my tools and my materials, then around at the sun-lit interior of my house. Time for a little home improvement. ***
I grab a new nail from the group I hold between my teeth, placing it against the surface of the shingle and holding it there with my left hand. I carefully tap the head a few times with my hammer, then remove my hand, driving the nail in with a few hard hits. There we go. I survey my roofing work, having now patched up the last of the holes in my roof.
"Boo."
I jump, rocking back and losing my balance. I nearly fall off my roof, but manage to throw a hand forward and grab the peak of the roof, hanging tightly. I look behind me in surprise; there hovers a rainbow-maned pony, stifling laughter with a hoof. Unable to hold in her mirth, Rainbow Dash bursts out laughing, holding her sides as her scratchy laugh fills the fairly quiet air. Finding my balance on the roof again, I release my grip on the top of the roof. Falling off a roof or a heart attack, either way, your pranks are gonna' kill me someday, I quietly think to the laughing Pegasus. I smile and start to chuckle, shaking my head. Before I seriously injure myself, I decide to hop down off of the roof.
Dash wipes a tear from her eye, sighing merrily. "That was priceless. The way you almost fell off the roof..." She is hit by another fit of giggles. Smiling at her, I walk inside my house. Rainbow drops down, trotting inside and looking about. Noticing the stairs, she comments, "Well, it still doesn't look that great, but it's clean and the stairs are fixed. Were you fixing the roof?" I nod. She glances about again, looking at the open doorway. "Might want to fix that, next." I snort, then nod in agreement. I look over at the collection of planks against the wall, about half-depleted from making the stairs. No, I'm going to have to get an actual door. Getting out my writing material, I scribble down a question, having a feeling it might sound stupid.
Is there a furniture store in Ponyville?
To my surprise, Rainbow Dash replies, "Oh, yeah, it's in the center of town. Pretty much every shop's there." I write out another question, smiling as I hold it down to the pony.
Feel like a field trip?
She brings a light blue hoof to her mouth, feigning deep thought. "Yeah, I don't have anything else to do, so why not?" I smile to her, then head out of the doorway. Alright, need to grab some cash, first. I start off towards Twilight's tree house, the sky-blue Pegasus coming to a steady hover beside me. We walk through town, most ponies clearing out of my way a little more than usual.
Rainbow leans down towards my ear, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You shoulda' seen it earlier. When you bought all that stuff, and how everypony tried to stay away, it looked awesome from high up. It was weird, like you were using magic to force everypony to split apart or something," she explains with a snicker. I try to imagine what it would look like from above, and guess it would probably look like a zipper, or maybe a boat cutting through water. Despite the fact I would rather have these ponies like me, I can't deny that that probably does look awesome.
We approach Twilight's door a moment later, and I open the door for the rainbow-maned pony. She smiles and trots inside, followed by me. I walk over to where I've been camping out in the library, grabbing a bag of fifteen coins or so. I figure it will be more than enough for a door, which is about all I figure I'll need today. Doubt I can get much else done.
"Oh, hi Rainbow Dash, hi Mark. Can I help you two with anything?" I shake my head, holding up the bit-filled cloth in my hand. "Buying some things for your new house?" I nod, smiling. "How is it coming along?" Sticking the bits in my pocket, I grab my paper and scribble out an answer, frowning as I show it to Twilight.
Good, but I still can't sleep in it. No windows, no bed, no door, for now.
"Well, those are certainly some necessary items," Twilight comments with a laugh. "Like I said, stay here as long as you need, it's no problem." I nod and smile gratefully, then turn and start for the door. I notice Rainbow Dash hangs back for a moment; she leans in close to Twilight Sparkle, looking around nervously.
"Hey, do you have...it?" she whispers, or attempts to whisper. The violet unicorn rolls her eyes and sighs.
"Yes, Rainbow, I have the most recent Daring D--mmph!" Twilight exclaims as a blue hoof is jammed into her mouth.
"Shh!" Dash says frantically, glancing over at me. I act like I didn't see or hear anything, looking about idly as I wait for her. Twilight sighs again, then trots off to go fetch something. The light blue pony shoots me a nervous smile, looking very much like a drug addict, I think. Maybe she is a drug addict, I think with a frown. Might explain the psychedelic colors...
Twilight comes back to Rainbow Dash with a book in her mouth. The title reads Daring Do and the Lair of Ahuitztol, and shows a picture on the cover depicting a mustard-yellow pony with a gray mane standing before an odd, blue, demonic-looking creature. It reminds me vaguely of the old Indiana Jones movies. Rainbow quickly snatches the book in her mouth, storing it away on her. The idea of pockets pops into my head again.
"Thanks," the Pegasus whispers to Twilight Sparkle, who just chuckles in reply. Rainbow Dash puts on a smile and trots over to me as if nothing had happened, though there is an air of nervousness about her. Too cool for reading, are we? I start writing a note with a sly grin as we walk outside. I hold the note over for the flying pony to see.
What kind of books do you like to read?
She groans, wincing. "You think I'm a total egghead, don't you?" I smile and shake my head. "You don't?" I shake my head again to confirm that no, I do not. I quickly add a few words to my paper.
Reading is awesome, not lame.
"Yeah..." she says, trailing off with happy smile. I tap my original question, snapping her back to reality. "Oh, uh, I read the Daring Do series, mostly. It's about this Pegasus who goes on adventures in search of treasure, and old stuff. And along the way, she has to dodge traps--" she says, taking a moment to mimic darting out of harm's way, avoiding a trap that isn't there, "--and outrun bad guys, and use her awesomeness to get out of traps this crazy guy, named Ahuiztol, sets for her! Daring Do is so awesome!" Rainbow Dash exclaims, pushing her hooves against her cheeks and scrunching up her face. Oh, man, that is really cute. I smile at her excitement over the book series.
After a moment, she seems to realize I am watching her, and gives me a bashful smile. "Heh, uh...what do you like to read?" she asks, probably just wanting to change the subject. I think for a moment, then write her an answer.
Action, mostly. Sometimes mixed with government and history, egghead stuff.
I could use a good Tom Clancy book right now, I muse for a moment. We approach the town square, and Rainbow directs us over to the furniture store. She enters first, followed by me. I start looking around; the shop is very open, with various types of furniture on display about it. Some are simple in design, combinations of unstained wood and cloth, but look comfortable; others are very lavish, and look like a lot of time was put into them. I decide to take a better look around tomorrow. For the time being, I find the selection of hand--hoof?--made doors, looking at them for a moment. They all appear to be around the same size, the average pony door that is just half a head too short for me; I can live with it, though. I find the simplest door, a simple wooden base with a small, square window in it.
I turn around, and find that a peach-colored pony is approaching me tentatively. "May I help you?" the pony, a mare, asks, attempting to sound amiable. I nod, tapping the door behind me and holding up my bag of bits. "You would like to buy that?" I nod again. "Of course. It will be four bits. Can I help you find anything else?" I shake my head, pulling out the right amount of coins and dropping them into the pony's outstretched hoof. "Thank you, sir. Please come again," she says, quickly stepping away. I return my focus to the door, assuming I just take it. I remind myself that, given the practices of whatever time Equestria is in, display models don't really exist; and if they do, they can likely be purchased, anyway. I grip either side of the door, hefting it up and flipping it on its side so I can more easily carry it. Rainbow Dash follows me out of the furniture store, hopping up into the air beside me once we get outside again.
I readjust the door at my side after a minute. "Want some help?" Rainbow asks, apparently noticing. I look over, thinking for a moment. Well, I'm not going to deny help if she wants to give it. I nod and smile gratefully; she dips down, hovering just above the ground, and grabs a part of the door with her hooves. I flip the door around so that I am walking backwards, holding one side as she carries the other a few feet in the air. We travel along like this until reaching my house-in-progress.
The Pegasus releases the door, allowing me to take it and prop it up outside the house. Looking at it again, it still looks pretty bad, but the roof is decent. And the stairs inside look nice. And at least most of the cobwebs and dust are gone. There's still a lot to do, but I know it's easily doable. Dash trots inside, grabbing some nails and my hammer in her mouth and bringing them out. I smile at her, and together we begin the last work on the house for the day. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Ten | I slide my end of the couch against the wall, followed by Rainbow Dash doing the same with the other side. The sky-blue pony immediately hops up onto the new piece of furniture, sitting down with a 'whew'. I turn and do the same, letting out a sigh at the bliss of being off my feet for the first time since the morning. I glance over at the rainbow-maned Pegasus, then hold my fist over to her. After a moment, she understands, knocking the flat of her hoof against my knuckles with a grin. I look around the room, feeling satisfied. Definitely got my act together today.
While the couple of actual professional carpenters I hired installed some new windows and fixed the foundation and support of my house, I began work on the inside, cleaning up more, re-doing door frames and putting in a new door for the bathroom. Rainbow Dash stopped by, saying she got the day off because no clouds had rolled in today, and to my surprise, began helping me out. She covered new plumbing, actually gathering and positioning small clouds to create a working water system within my home. Apparently that's how plumbing works here, and it is no less effective than the pipe plumbing I'm used to. In fact, it's easier to maintain, lasts longer, and refills itself, and with a magically-operated mechanism installed in most pony homes, even I can use the system of small clouds with handles and levers.
I start scanning about the room, looking at the things I've made, mostly with the help of my colorful friend. Cabinets and counters, as well as a sink, an oven, and an icebox. I made sure we built them or had them raised up a little higher, so I could better reach them. A small table and two chairs, all sturdy enough to survive me putting my weight on them and past that. The couch Rainbow Dash and I sit on, but I bought that; lugging it here was sure a challenge, though. On the second floor, I know that now, there is an average-sized bed, more than enough for me; though my feet do hang over the edge if I stretch out. I don't really mind. The hay bedding covered by some sheets is much more comfortable than the wooden floor I've been utilizing for the past week or so; it's getting hard to keep track of time given my bad memory and the general lack of calendars.
All in all, it's livable. A roof over my head that doesn't leak, plumbing, storage, doors, windows, and a bed. It actually feels like a home, now, rather than a house. I know that I'm not done, yet; there's plenty I want to do. Bookcases, for one. And a lot of paint. Maybe even some carpet, or a rug, at the least, I'm not really sure what else I can get my hands on. But for now, it's livable. And best of all, I've managed to make it so in, what, two days? That has to be a record. I didn't do it alone, of course, I think, looking over at the light blue pony again. It's nice to have help, someone willing to help. I haven't really got much of it in the past, and it's a welcome idea to me.
Remembering something, Rainbow Dash looks over at me with a friendly smile. "Why don't we take a break? I haven't practiced in a while. Been too busy helping you move couches," she jokes with a playful roll of her eyes. I grin at her, then nod in agreement. A break sounds nice. I wonder what time it is as I stand up, trying to find the sun out one of the windows. I walk over to the door, already starting to feel sore, and open it, still remembering my manners despite my tiredness. Dash smiles to me, trotting outside as I shut the door behind us. I see that it is actually fairly late in the day, probably around five or six in the afternoon. So we've been working for, what...ten hours? Yikes. Definitely time for a break.
The Pegasus stops, looking back at me. "Hey, I've got some...stuff to do. Just meet me out at Luna Lake, where we usually go, 'kay?" I nod, starting to wonder but stopping myself. She's an adult, she has things to do, too, I internally scold. She jumps off, flapping her wings and flying away. I smile and start heading towards the distant field that I can't even see right now, speeding up my pace a little. I am tired, and also very hungry, but my eagerness to get to watch her fly overrides it all. It's exciting and wonderful to see, and I find myself always looking forward to it.
My mind starts to drift idly as I jog along at a steady clip. I suppose I can easily understand why I like to see her fly so much. For one, she's a creature I previously thought was only a myth, which is something in itself to see on a fairly regular basis. But more than that, I've always enjoyed things like airplanes and flight. Especially fighter planes. Amazingly fast, yet agile and deft, precise and deadly, a piece of machinery that somehow seems beautiful when doing what it is meant to do. Rainbow Dash isn't quite a jet, given that she's much more colorful, talkative, and...well, cute. Once you get past the abnormality of how the ponies look in comparison to actual ponies, the large eyes and color schemes and such, they're fairly adorable.
There's something different about watching her fly in comparison to watching an airplane fly, though. Possibly the fact that there is a degree of nature there, that her flight is natural, not created by concentrated gouts of flame and machinery, yet is nearly just as fast and many, many times for agile. To think that she does what she does under her own power amazes me; and a horse's body isn't even meant for flight, but she can fly better than any bird I've ever seen. The freedom she has...
It would be nice. Not just the freedom of flight, to be in the open air, but also her naivete. I've noticed that she, along with many of the others here, don't seem to be troubled by much, and if they are, their concerns usually come off as fairly petty. Maybe I'm judging too quickly; and as the saying goes, 'someone else always has it worse', or something along those lines. Everyone else, no matter how happy they are, has their own battles to fight, all of which end up being just as bad as those one already has.
I slow my pace, realizing I've jogged a bit farther than I should have, having gone all the way through the field by mistake. I find myself looking out over a calm lake, reflecting the sunlight off of its waters. The sun shines before me, hanging a few hours away from sunset over the horizon. Crickets chirp softly along the banks, nestled within the cattails. It feels serene, peaceful; I sit down, drawing my knees up to my chest and looking out over the water. I watch Luna Lake for some time, finding myself feeling relaxed.
The sound of gentle wing-beats approaches to my right. I look over, watching as Rainbow Dash sits down beside me, looking out at the lake as well. She is quiet for some time.
"Y'know, I've been coming out here for...well, I'm not really sure, but it's been a pretty long time. I found it when I was just a filly. But I've never really looked at the lake, like this." Rainbow pauses, thinking it over a little. "It's nice," she states simply. I nod thoughtfully in agreement.
"It's also boring, though," she says after a minute, her voice going back to its normal tone and volume. There is a notable change from when she was talking only a moment ago to how she talks now, like a transition between another side of her and her usual self. "Come on, I want to show you this trick!" The light blue pony eagerly stands, spreading her wings. I smile, standing as well and walking away from the lake with her. She shoots off into the air, and once she is only a mere smudge of color against the sky, calls down to me. "Watch!" she shouts. I nod, trying to make it visible to her.
She dives down a short distance, then shoots back up again, aiming straight for a big, fluffy cloud. She pierces the center, careening right through it. Dash continues up and off to one side, signature rainbow trail following her closely. The Pegasus bolts through another cloud, then one more, before heading into a dive directly down towards me. Nearly slamming into the ground, she levels out just in time, galloping on the ground for a moment before stopping in front of me. I watch as, above a grinning, panting Rainbow Dash, a small rainbow begins to form between her spread wings as the water vapor on her coat flies off from the sudden stop and hits them. My mouth opens in awe, and I step closer, staring at the semi-visible color levitating over her back. The rainbow disappears after a few seconds, water vapor shimmering as it dissipates back into the air.
Unable to control my grin of excitement, I give a stunned laugh, looking at the pony. She continues to smile with pride at her trick. "Pretty awesome, right?" I nod vigorously, feeling giddy. I can't even begin to fathom how that was possible, but it has to be one of the coolest things I have ever seen. I'm almost tempted to ask her to do it again. Rainbow glances over at the sun, face twisting in thought for a moment. "Okay, we should probably get back to your house, now," she informs me. I frown, wondering why she wants to go back so soon. But, I agree, solemnly nodding my head in submission. She's probably tired. After all, she was helping me all day. We start the walk back towards town. ***
I step up to my front door, placing a hand on it. I notice Rainbow Dash is hanging back a little, but is smiling; it doesn't prevent the odd sense of foreboding I feel. I switch hands, placing my left on the door, and the right on the tomahawk in my belt. I give the door a push inward, hand on the grip of my weapon.
"SURPRISE!"
I stumble away from my door, withdrawing my weapon and reaching for the other with my left hand. I then notice that there is no threat in front of me; rather, I would consider them all friends, to an extent. A crowd of short, colorful ponies stands within my house, grins on all of their faces on having successfully surprised me. Pinkie Pie stands in front of them all, seemingly the mastermind behind this escapade, wearing a huge smile. I look behind me, to Rainbow Dash, who is smiling as well.
"Surprise!" she says as well. I look back into my house, a smile starting to form on my face. I step inside, immediately noticing a lot of things. The first is a large banner hanging along my ceiling. It reads: Good Job on Finishing Your House and Also Welcome to Ponyville. It's a bit of a mouthful. I smile in amusement, looking about me. On the table now lies various desserts, such as cupcakes and cookies, along with assorted drinks and some salt, which I mildly question. There appears to be party games about the room, pin-the-tail-on-the-pony, something that looks like Twister, and a few others. Most notably, at the back of the room there appears to be a small setup of DJ equipment, a record player and some speakers. I also question the existence of speakers in this sort of era, but the question fades as I continue looking around.
My gaze drifts to the crowd of ponies before me. I actually recognize most of them; I see Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, as well as many of the ponies I have done jobs for, such as the pony named Till, and another whose name is Berry Punch. I don't understand why they are present, feeling like I really didn't do anything special. All I did was help them out, a lot of times in order to help myself. To think that they would take so kindly to my simple actions...I smile, feeling proud, yet humbled.
"Told you I would get this party in within a few chapters!" exclaims Pinkie Pie to me. "I just had to make sure the author remembered, didn't I, Mister Author?" she asks with a menacing look into space. Yes, Pinkie Pie, sir, I mean, ma'am! Please, no more songs about remembering that I need to add a party to this chapter.
I frown, not entirely sure what the pink party pony is talking about. I shrug lightly to myself, telling myself just to go with it. Pinkie turns, facing the group of ponies. "Alright, everypony, let's party!" ***
I shake a few more hooves as ponies slowly file out my front door, my right hand starting to hurt from shaking and my face starting to hurt from smiling; not that those are bad things, though. The next pony to approach me is a white unicorn with a spiky, blue mane and large, purple-tinted glasses. Rather than extending her hoof in a shake, she holds it back a little; I close my hand into a fist, lightly bumping it against the mare's hoof. She grins, then trots out without a word. 'Vinyl Scratch', an excellent DJ who apparently composes her own music, as well. The bass on her songs could be a bit lower and harder-hitting, but electro is electro, and I certainly won't complain. Right as the music began, I remembered how much I missed music. I had forgotten how much it had meant to me, just to lose myself within a song.
Twilight appears to be the last to leave, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie having already left; Pinkie literally wrapping up the party and taking it with her was quite the sight. Twilight glances off into my house, looking around at the new furnishings, I suppose, before smiling up at me.
"Your house looks excellent, Mark. Definitely quite a change from what this house looked like before. And to think you did it within only two days! You're almost as organized as I am," she jokes. "Oh, but before I forget. Princess Celestia has been wanting to see you personally, if you recall. She sent me a letter earlier asking you if us going to Canterlot to see her the day after tomorrow would be okay with you. Is it?"
That's right, the ruler-goddess mentioned that in her letter to Twilight a few days ago. Wow...I'm stunned by the very idea of getting to see an actual goddess. It's unfathomable. Best of all, I don't really have a schedule, so my schedule is always clear. I nod with a smile to the violet unicorn, receiving a contented smile from her in return.
"Great! Now, we can go to Canterlot in two ways. I would just teleport us there, but I haven't quite figured out how to teleport objects that far. The first is by hot-air balloon, which is the faster of the two options. The second is by train, in case you do not want to fly." I feel a grin spreading on my face. I get to see a demi-goddess, and I can fly there? I've never been in a hot air balloon...I muse, filled with sudden wonder. I look at Twilight, thinking for a moment, then making a half-circle with one hand and dragging it slowly through the air, like I'm holding a small balloon. She understands my charade, smiling in satisfaction again. "You'd like to take the balloon?" I nod happily. "Okay, I'll get on filling it up. It should take a day or so to fill and do a safety check on, so that should work out great. Can you be at the library near sunrise two days from now?" I nod, figuring nothing will come up. Not like I have a work schedule to abide by.
"Excellent," Twilight states, smiling once more as she starts trotting out the door. "See you soon, Mark!" I close the door, turning back into the main room of my house. Only then does something catch my eye. On my couch, a short distance away, lies a curled up, light blue Pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane. She snores softly as the last light of the day starts to fade away, basking the room in a reddish light. I silently d'aww to myself; she looks like a big, sleeping puppy, sort of. Not really. The level of cute present in a sleeping puppy is a more accurate description. She snores lightly, apparently completely drained of energy from the day.
I knew there was someone that didn't leave, I tell myself, recalling having the thought earlier. How did I not notice her? I give a quiet snort of amusement, watching her mane shift as her chest rises and falls peacefully. Better wake her up, I think solemnly. She should go home, sleep in her own bed, not on my simple couch in my half-renovated house. I start quietly walking over to her, the old but strong floorboards creaking a little under my weight. I approach the side of the couch, kneeling down in front of her and moving my hand towards the sleeping pony's shoulder. My hand is only a few inches away from her, when I notice something about her. My gaze shifts over a short distance.
I realize I've never actually looked at Rainbow Dash's...what was it, 'cutie mark'? I think that was the term Twilight used. Maybe because of its location. Still, it's intriguing, and I find myself unable to look away out of decency. Her mark is of a storm cloud of sorts, out of it coming a streak of lightning. The lightning bolt is composed of three different colors, red, yellow, and blue, the three colors required to make every other color in a rainbow.
I look at it for a while, mesmerized. It looks slightly different from the rest of her, like maybe it would feel different...a soft presence brushes against my fingertips. A tingling begins to spread throughout my hand, traveling slowly up my arm; as it does, my hair starts to stand on end. It feels like an electrical shock, but a mild one, one that is just large enough to be noticeable, but small enough to not be painful...
Something very soft smacks me in the face, hard. I jump back, more out of surprise than from the impact. Stumbling and losing my balance, I land on my backside. I look at Rainbow Dash, utterly stunned as I try to figure out what exactly just happened; she is fully alert, now, head raised and looking at me, eyes wide. Her wings are completely extended, flared out on her back; I realize what hit me in the face at this point. The Pegasus looks back at her wings, eyes widening a little more; her cheeks start to blush a pinkish color, but she seems to stifle the emotion quickly, looking back at me. She glances back at me, grinning casually.
"What, you're not going to take me out to dinner, first?"
I manage to gather a few of my bearings, scrambling to my feet, but my eyes remain locked on the light blue pony. I glance back at her cutie mark again. Did I touch that? What the hell was I thinking?! That thing's on her ass, damn it! I look at my hand, still feeling some remnants of the...electricity? I quickly smooth out the hair on my arm with my left hand, feeling a wave of red-hot embarrassment travel through my body. God damn it, what the hell?! I silently question, furious with myself for letting my curiosity best me. My face hot enough to fry an egg on, I start to pull out my paper and pencil, fumbling with them for a moment.
"Hey, whoa, calm down," Rainbow says, rolling off the couch and standing up. "It's okay..." she trails off, scanning a note of deep apology from me. "Mark, look at me." I force myself to look up, at her bright, friendly, cerise-colored eyes. "It's oh...kay," she says slowly. "I can tell you were just curious. You're curious about stuff like that a lot. I know it was a mistake," the light blue pony reassures me. "But you could've just asked, y'know."
My embarrassment disappears for a moment, but not from her attempts at convincing me that isn't offended. It was the tone of voice she held in her last statement. That was almost...no. I push the thought away, again scolding myself for letting my curiosity get ahead of my logical thought. I continue to hold her gaze for a moment longer.
"It's okay, Mark," she says. I nod shakily, rubbing my hand against the back of my neck. After a few seconds, she continues, "Well, I'm really tired. Need to get to bed, got a long day of work to look forward to tomorrow..." she says with a snort. "See you later?" I nod again, putting on a smile. She smiles as well, heading for the door. I open it for her, closing it behind the pony before leaning against it with a long sigh, my equivalent of a groan.
I walk upstairs, climbing into my new bed, wanting to sleep but denied it by my active mind. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Eleven | Cries of pain, cries I recognize. Panic. A yell of rage, from a voice I don't remember. Anger. Three hard kicks into my shoulder. Pain, not from the impacts, from something else. Pain.
I jolt upright, nearly jumping clean out of my bed, my eyes snapping open. The light of the room immediately blinds me, causing purple spots to dance behind my eyelids when I close them. I look down at my hands; they are shaking. I bring them up to my head, pressing them against my forehead. They feel cold, clammy. I'm drenched in a cold sweat, and my heart is pounding like I've just run a marathon. I kick the blankets off of me, turning to one side of my bed and placing my feet on the floor.
I sigh, my breath coming out shakily. Just a dream. It's okay...My mind drifts for a moment. It's okay, my memory, not my mind, repeats to me, in a voice not my own. I think back to the previous night, worry immediately filling my head. I don't want to lose a friend over a mistake like that. I ponder whether I should go find her, and apologize again, but I remember that she could be anywhere, most of that anywhere being up in the sky, where, sadly, I cannot reach. Sighing again, I stand up, walking to the other side of my bedroom and heading down the stairs.
Walking through the room, I look around, seeing it is fairly empty, lit by yellow light from outside. I ought to invest in some lanterns, or candles, or something. I realize I slept with my clothes and weapons on, and with a shrug, I walk outside.
The fresh air is nice, clears my head, allows me to think. I remember Twilight's conversation with me from yesterday, about going to see Princess Celestia in person. I brighten at the idea of a hot-air balloon ride, as well as going to see both the capital city and the rulers of Equestria. The feeling disappears after a moment as I look down at myself. My simple T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, while still all in fairly good condition, if a little dirty, don't seem suitable for presenting myself before not only royalty, but a divine being. Maybe I can take Rarity up on that clothes offer...I walk back inside, grabbing my last few bags of coins to take with me.
I get lost for a while, searching for Rarity's boutique, but eventually find it a short distance away from the town square. I walk up to the door, knocking a few times and waiting. After a minute, a white pony opens the door; she's a little too small to be Rarity, though. I recall that she is Sweetie Belle; I guess that the two are related, given their similar appearances.
"Oh, Mister Mark!" the filly exclaims. "Are you here to see Rarity?" I nod, smiling down at her. She turns around, calling into the boutique for Rarity. After a few more seconds, Sweetie Belle disappears, replaced by Rarity.
"Mark, darling!" I cringe inwardly at her mannerisms. "What brings you here?" She pauses, gasping dramatically. "Are you finally here for something to replace...those?" Rarity points a white foreleg at my clothing. They aren't that bad. I nod and smile anyways, removing my pencil and paper and starting to write.
I'm going to be seeing Princess Celestia tomorrow, and I didn't think this to be suitable attire. Could you help?
"Oh, my! A meeting with the princess? We simply must find you something more appropriate for an occasion like that!" It is at that point I wonder if I'll be able to hold on to my sanity today. ***
Barely. I walk out of Carousel Boutique, quickly. Can't believe she spent a whole two hours just measuring me...I guess I can't really blame her, though. She seems to have OCD, plus the fact I have a body shape entirely different from that of a pony's. I just hope she at least tries to abide by the guidelines I requested. Simple, not tight-fitting, not overly fancy, and most importantly, not at all decorated by sparkles, gems, anything like that. She seemed a little put-off by that, but agreed. And she said I could pick it up later tonight, which is definitely convenient.
So, now what? I question myself. I still can't find Rainbow Dash; it's usually her that finds me, anyways. Finding myself idly walking into the center of town, I look around. I see Applejack at her apple stand, as usual. My stomach rumbles, but...apples don't sound so good today. Neither do carrots, or even muffins. I know what sounds good.
Where would I find any meat, though? They're all vegetarian...I could probably manage to get some eggs, but even those don't sound as satisfying as a nice steak. I can't eat the cows, they're all sentient. And that would be wrong. I rub my hand against my short beard, which I make a note to shave tonight. Maybe I could ask someone?
Who would I ask, though? Most would probably go nuts if I asked where I could find some meat to satisfy my carnivorous needs. An idea pops into my head. Wait, isn't it...Fluttershy? She's the one that does all the animal stuff, right? I question no one in particular. I decide she's probably my best option; she probably deals with carnivores on a regular basis. I start off towards where I believe her house to be, going off of memory. ***
I rap lightly on the door of Fluttershy's cottage a few times, stepping back and awaiting a response. After a moment the door creaks open, a timid blue eye surveying me for a moment. The door opens wider, revealing Fluttershy.
"Oh, hello, Mark," she says softly. "Do you need something? Are you hurt?" she asks quickly. I shake my head, smiling as I kneel down, using my raised knee as a hard surface to write on. I show her my somewhat lengthy question after a moment.
Humans, what I am, are omnivores, we eat both meat and plants. I haven't really been eating meat for the past few days, which isn't good for prolonged periods of time. Is there any place I might be able to find or get some meat to eat?
Fluttershy frowns, moving back a few steps. "Y-you mean you...?" She trails off into a squeak. I shake my head frantically, writing quickly.
We don't eat ponies.
She sighs with relief. After a moment, she looks at me in question. "What do you eat, then?" she asks cautiously. I frown, wondering if the answer will offend her or scare her. Hopefully neither.
Usually, cows, pigs, chickens, fish, deer, rabbits, etc.
I immediately regret adding rabbits, and mentally smack myself for showing it to her. As expected, she lets out an 'eep' of terror. She nearly starts hyperventilating, but recovers after a moment, looking at the floor. "U-uh...oh my...please don't eat any bunnies...or cows...or pigs, or chickens, or deer..." Fluttershy stops listing, thinking for a moment. "Did you say you could eat fish, too?" I nod. She sighs, grimacing. "I...I suppose you could eat fish. They aren't very smart, anyways. But, please, don't eat any of the fish here, please," she adds. I raise an eyebrow in question, scribbling a note out.
If I can't eat any of the fish here, where can I find fish to eat?
"The..." She trails off, mumbling. I put a hand to my ear, signifying I can't hear her. "...the Everfree Forest," she whispers, letting out another 'eep' on just saying the words. My face contorts in some question, and I write some more.
Where can I find this forest?
"Oh, I don't know if that's such a good idea...the Everfree is wild, and unexplored, and...scary." I frown, tapping my question again. "Oh my...okay. If that's what you want to do...the Everfree is that way, nearby," she points out a window, and I notice a thick forest in the distance. "It's very easy to get lost, so stay near the path. It should take you by a river, and there are fish there. Please be careful." I nod to the yellow pony. Why is she so worried? Maybe this isn't a good idea...My stomach growls again, and I decide it's for the best. I stand up, smiling to Fluttershy in thanks. I turn for the door, placing a hand on it, when I feel something tugging on my pant leg. I look behind me and see the Pegasus pulling on my jeans with a hoof; in her mouth is a large net. I reach down and take it from her, smiling again to her. She smiles back, then lets me go.
I walk out the door, net in hand, aiming right for the entrance into the forest. After a few minutes of walking, I enter the forest, ignoring the multitude of warning signs all about me. I realize this isn't a very smart idea, but my hunger is almost overwhelming, and the very idea of having some actual meat to eat makes my mouth water. I walk for some time along the path through the 'Everfree Forest'. At one point I pass a small shack, one which seem to have activity inside. I'm tempted to investigate, but decide I'll leave whoever lives there be. They probably live out here to get away from society in the first place, so I might not be a welcome sight.
I spot the river a short distance ahead, speeding up my pace to get to it. Approaching the river, which I find to be somewhat small, and clear all the way through, I dip the net into it, holding still to await some fish. One starts to approach, coming along with the current; as it nears the net, I swing it towards the fish, catching it successfully. That was easier than expected. I hold the fish out of water for a minute, waiting for it to stop flopping so much. Once it goes almost completely still, I set it on the bank beside me, then begin the process again.
After about fifteen minutes, I've caught three plain-looking, but good-sized fish. I figure I can skin one and eat it today, then save the others in my icebox. Need to get some ice, I add to my mental checklist. Deciding I am content, I stand, grabbing the three dead fish and one-by-one placing them into the net, then resting the net over my shoulder. Smiling with satisfaction and some pride, I go back to the path, starting off down it again in the opposite direction.
As I continue to walk, I notice the forest seems to be getting steadily quieter. My pace slows to a halt, and I listen for a moment. Silence. Not a single sound. It isn't right. I slowly set the net of fish down, my hands moving towards my weapons. Turning around, I hear something; a low growl. Oh, hell...Continuing to withdraw my weapons all the way, I turn to face the source of the growl.
My heart starts to beat a little faster as I see not one, not two, but five wolves, starting to fan out from the center wolf, who growls at me. Their eyes dart to my fish; I don't think so. My knuckles turn white as I grip the handle of the tomahawk harder in my right hand, stiletto-like dagger in my left. I crouch down a little, spreading my stance over my food. This is bad, I think as the wolves continue to fan out, attempting to circle me. Noticing this, I start to back away from them, dragging the net of fish with my foot to keep myself from being surrounded. One of the wolves starts to close in, breaking from the group.
It snarls, lunging at me with open jaws, nearly foaming at the mouth. I both step and lean away from it as it lunges past me; once it is right in front of me, mid-jump, I bring the hand-ax down upon it. The tomahawk makes contact, sinking into the upper neck of the wolf. I hold the weapon in place, allowing it to be ripped out of the wolf by the creature's own weight and momentum. The wolf hits the ground with a yelp, skidding on its side.
Immediately after this wolf hits the ground, bleeding profusely from the neck, a second charges at me. I jump to one side, avoiding this one as well; as it passes me on the left, I jab the blade of my dagger into it, connecting with its back leg. It lets out a cry of pain, but circles back and jumps for my face. I can't get out of the way in time, and it rams into my chest, forcing me to the ground I raise my right arm in front of my face, and the wolf's jaws clamp down upon it. My mouth opens in silent pain as the teeth pierce my arm. With my free left hand, I raise my dagger, slamming it into the wolf's side. It yelps, releasing its grip on my arm. I bring my knees up, ramming them into the wolf's chest and sending it over my head. I roll to one side and move towards it, raising my tomahawk and embedding it three-fourths of the way into the canine's neck.
I rip the weapon out, my arm bleeding badly, but the pain not present, overcome by adrenaline. I spin to face the remaining wolves, ready to kill them all. The three wolves, including what appears to be the pack leader, watch me closely, eyes still darting to the fish every once in a while. Their eyes also move to their fallen comrades, though. After what seems to be a period of deep thought amongst them, the head wolf gives a low growl, then a whine, looking between the others. The others appear to nod in agreement. The wolves glare at me savagely, then turn away, running off into the forest again.
I realize I am panting; all I can hear is my heart beating in my ears. I look at my net of fish, unharmed, then at the two wolves lying on the ground. One is certainly dead, a huge slice in his neck and a jab wound on his back thigh. The other still appears to be breathing, albeit very rapidly. Blood pools around his head from a wound in his neck; I think I severed a vein. I walk over to the dying creature, kneeling down beside it. It looks at me with a mixture of hatred and fear, mainly the latter. Its defiance is still present, though.
Setting down my dagger, I reach out with my left hand, softly stroking the wolf's head. As I hoped, it starts to calm down, only fear in its eyes now. I continue to pet it slowly, feeling guilt welling up within me. I move back from the wolf, bringing up my tomahawk once more. The wolf's chest stops moving as I remove the small ax. I'm sorry. I grit my teeth to force down any emotion.
I grab my dagger again, observing it. Dark blood drips off of it, running down the blade. I wipe it on the leg of my pants, then sheathe it in my belt loop. The tomahawk is much more gruesome in appearance, nearly completely painted a deep red. I carefully wipe it on my pants, as well, then slide it back into my belt loop. Pain starts to rear its ugly head again, present mainly in my right arm. I look at the bite wound; it's deep, and likely infected. I need to find help.
I reach down, picking up my net full of fish, jogging down the path again. I spot the lone house in the woods again, and start making my way towards it. I bring my arm up to my face, realizing I'm actually losing quite a bit of blood. The wolf bit into an artery. My jog slows to a walk, interrupted by the occasional stumble. Black shadows are starting to make their way into the edges of my vision.
Approaching the door of the shack, I hit my fist against it a few times. Blood, possibly my own, splatters against the door. I continue to hit the door repeatedly, hoping, begging that someone will answer. My legs feel weak, and start to give out. I keep trying to attract the attention of someone inside, near desperation now. The thought of death runs through my mind. I raise my hand a last time, finding that when I swing, I hit nothing. I lose my balance, falling forward onto a wooden surface. My vision fades, and I pass out. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twelve | I startle myself awake, immediately feeling panicked. I look around quickly, not recognizing where I am. I seem to be inside someone's house; in the center of the room is a cauldron, boiling something at the moment. Lining the walls are decorations that appear African in origin. Shelves full of bottles filled with colorful liquids hang on the walls, as well. And finally, a zebra is tending to the cauldron. My focus remains on her for quite some time. She is wearing African jewelry, including a series of golden neckbands and some golden earrings. She notices that I am awake and staring at her, and walks around the cauldron to see me better.
"Ah, good creature, it seems you are awake! Do not fear, your life is not at stake," the zebra rhymes in a deep female voice. I can't help but continue staring. "My name is Zecora, potions are what I do, and if I may ask, who are you?" I blink a few times at 'Zecora', then reach towards my pocket with my right hand. Looking down, I see that there is a series of bandages covering my forearm, slightly tinted red by my own blood. I look at myself, noticing a few things. The first is that I'm absolutely covered in blood, mainly wolf blood. It smells awful, metallic and dead in scent. I see the net with three fish in it beside me, and feel some relief in being able to recover those. I continue what I was doing, grabbing my paper and pencil. Zecora the zebra peers at my note for a moment.
"Mark is your name, you who are tame?" she asks, receiving a nod in reply from me. I write down a new question.
What happened? Where am I?
"My house in the forest is where you happen to be. I heard a knock on my door, and what did I see? A creature with wounds from the wolves of this place, I took him in and healed him with fast pace." I look at my arm again, tightly wrapped in bandages. Hope she disinfected that. I look up at the zebra, smiling gratefully before standing up. I scribble out a last note.
Thank you.
Zecora smiles, bowing a little. "It is of no trouble, mysterious one; take care out there, for being maimed is not much fun," she says with a wink. I chuckle a little, bowing slightly to her before grabbing my net of fish and walking outside. That was too close. I start down the path leading out of the Everfree Forest again, ready to get back to the company of friendly ponies instead of ravenous wolves.
I arrive back at Fluttershy's shortly, noting that the day is getting late. I knock on the door, only to have it fly open quickly. Fluttershy looks a little frazzled, to say the least.
"Mark! Oh, thank goodness! You were gone for so long, and I thought that maybe...maybe something had happened..." She trails off to a dead silence, apparently noticing the blood all over me and the bandages on my arm. I immediately begin pulling out my writing materials, wincing as I see some red staining a corner of the paper, as well. "Wha...what h-happened?" Fluttershy asks, gaping at the gore covering me. I doubt she's ever seen this much blood in one go, and am afraid she might pass out. I write faster, my arm complaining as I do so.
Attacked by wolves. Had to fight off and kill two of them, the rest ran away. Zebra named Zecora patched me up, and I got my fish. Not hurt badly.
"Oh...oh my..." she whispers, looking up at me fearfully. I can't tell whether her fear is of me or for me. I'm starting to guess the latter, as she reaches with a yellow foreleg towards my bandaged arm. I crouch down so she can see it more easily, and hold it still. She starts unwrapping it; I'm not exactly sure on how she grips the bandages with hooves, but I don't care too much. I feel cool air hit my skin as my wound is revealed. Upon first glance, it doesn't look very bad too me. The wolf bit down pretty hard, driving his teeth almost all the way in, but whatever Zecora used to clean this wound up must be pretty effective, because the blood has definitely clotted and the bite marks are already starting to scab over. The yellow Pegasus grimaces at the sight of the wound, but peers at it closely for a moment anyways. After a minute she wraps it back up as tightly as before, looking satisfied.
"Well, it's good Zecora found you. That hit a major blood vessel." She looks at me sternly. "You could have died, Mark. Why didn't you just give those wolves your fish?" I shrug, frowning. There is a specific order in the wild, and humans are at the top. I want to make sure that doesn't change. She sighs, shaking her head. "You've been around Rainbow Dash too much..." she says. I chuckle softly, rotating my arm and looking at the wraps.
"Those poor wolves..." she says softly to herself. "They didn't suffer, did they?" I shake my head solemnly, knowing I made sure they were dead. I remember the wolf that did suffer for a while, knowing I did put him out of his misery, but not feeling any better about it. "Why don't you come clean yourself up a little? Fluttershy suggests. I nod, standing and following her into another room, which from there leads to a bathroom. I kneel down to reach the short, pony-made sink, turning on the water. I look up, and find that a mirror hangs on the wall in front of me.
I see someone who looks absolutely out of their sane mind. Badly needing a shave, bloodshot eyes from a bad night of sleep, hair greased with sweat and even some blood, and blood staining a lot of my face, neck, and arms. I'm a mess, I tell myself with a chuckle. I start to wash my hands and arms, watching reddish water run down the drain. After that, I clean my face and rub some water into my hair, then shut off the water, feeling slightly cleaner. My clothes are still...well, horrifying, in sight and smell, but they'll have to do until I can wash them tonight.
My clothes...oh, yeah, I need to go see Rarity. Hopefully she isn't too squeamish, but I don't have time to wash my clothes before picking up whatever she's made that hopefully looks better than...this. I start walking back towards the entry room of the cottage, finding Fluttershy waiting there for me. I notice that she has transferred the three fish I caught into some sort of wrap made from thick grasses. I look at her in question.
"Oh, I took my net back, if that's okay with you." I nod, and she continues. "I wrapped the fish up so you could carry them better." I smile in thanks, reaching down and picking up the bundle of fish. "Mark?" she questions. I look down at her. "Don't do that anymore. That was too dangerous. I know you need to eat, but at least take somepony with you next time, please?" I nod, smiling as reassuringly as I can to the pale-yellow pony. She nods as well. "Goodbye. Tell Rainbow Dash I said hello, please!" I nod happily, walking outside again. I see that I've only got a few hours of daylight left, so I set off at a quicker pace. ***
I knock a few times on the door of Rarity's boutique, going over some thoughts as I await the white unicorn. Still need some ice. My fish sit in my icebox, devoid of ice. Some salt, too...I think, recalling the proper preservation technique. Shouldn't be too hard to find, salt seems to be something ponies like to eat. I remember that it was present at my welcoming party, and more than one had indulged in it. I wrinkle my nose at the idea of eating pure salt. I start to consider that it may be harder to get than I'm thinking, given how most ponies seem to be reacting to my current state. 'Oh, sweet Celestia' is a pretty popular comment, along with a quick stumble away from me. I frown, wondering how Rarity will--
"Oh, Mark, perfect timing, if I may say so myself!" Rarity says upon opening the door. "I just fin--oh my...dear Celestia, are you covered in...blood?" I nod, frowning. To my surprise, the white pony faints dead away. In a moment of panic, I glance about, seeing that no one else is looking, and steal inside, shutting the door quickly. I start fanning my hand in front of Rarity's face, and without avail, tap the side of her face a few times. She starts to stir, and I take a few steps back. She shakily stands up, blinking a few times in surprise.
"Oh, my...I apologize, Mark, that was unexpected. If you don't mind, though, please stay a short distance away until you can get into a more...decent...state." I nod, wincing to myself. Oops. "N-now, as I was saying...ah, yes, your clothes. I finished them only a few moments ago. I do hope it is to your liking." She trots off, grabbing hold of something with her magic. She levitates some folded up clothes over to me, setting them on the floor at my feet. I crouch down, grabbing the topmost piece of clothing, unfolding it before me. It appears to be a very nice, button-up suit jacket, a flat matte-black in color. I like it immensely. I start to slip it on over my current shirt, then recall the actual condition of my current shirt. I frown, looking at Rarity.
"Would you like some privacy?" I nod. "One moment, darling..." She levitates one of those things that shields one from view while they dress, I forget the proper term. I strip off my shirt, tossing it on the ground. There isn't too much blood on my actual body, so I slip on the suit jacket, slowly buttoning it bottom-to-top. Once it is on, I start moving around, rolling my arms and such to see the flexibility; I find that the jacket offers a nice range of movement, and isn't stiff at all. It's very comfortable, in fact. I step out to one side of the folding-dressing-board-thing, allowing Rarity to see me. She observes the jacket on me with a keen eye, watching as I move my arms and torso about again.
"I must say, that actually looks quite nice. I was expecting it to be very drab, given its simplistic nature, but it is actually very fitting. Is it comfortable?" I nod and smile. "Do you like it?" I nod again, continuing to smile genuinely. She smiles as well, content. "Good. Are you going to try on the pants?" I think for a moment, then shake my head. I figure if she did as well on fitting the pants as she did the shirt, they wouldn't be a problem. Now if only I had some dress shoes...I look down at my dirty, bloodied shoes, deciding that cleaning them up would probably look okay. They are fairly neutral in color, anyways. I walk behind the dressing area and switch shirts, folding the new one up neatly and picking the entire suit up, walking out again.
"Well, Mark, thank you for the business. I may have to try some new designs because of you," she adds cheerfully. Her voice then takes on a more serious tone. "And, if I may ask, what happened to you?" I smile, setting down my new clothes and writing out a simple phrase that hopefully won't require much more explanation. Quite frankly, I am starving, and want to get some salt, maybe a lantern or two, then go home.
Wolves.
"Oh my Celestia...and you survived?" I nod, showing my arm to let her know I almost didn't. "That is quite a feat, Mark. It was also a very, very bad idea to fight a wolf." I nod again, having known that from the start. "Just don't go fighting any wolves with your new clothes, yes?" I laugh, nodding in agreement as I start heading for the door. She gives a wave, which I return before walking outside again. ***
I push open my door with my shoulder, walking over to the table and setting my goods down. The first thing I do is get my ice, taking it over to the icebox and pouring it in, burying two of the fish. The third I get out, setting it on a counter. I pour some ground salt in with the other fish, then close the icebox, storing the remaining salt away in one of my empty cabinets. Leaving the cabinet open, I grab a bushel of apples I had bought from Applejack ("What in the hay were yah' thinkin', takin' on a pack of wolves? Celestia's sake, Mark, yah' tryin' to get yourself killed?") off the table and store them in there, as well. Finally, seeing as how dark it is getting in the room and I still haven't eaten, I decide to try out my new lantern.
I walk back over to the table, sitting down in one of the chairs. I look at the lantern for a moment, then find a small knob on the side of its base. Raising an eyebrow in question, I twist it a few degrees. A small flame lights up inside, reddish-yellow in color. Sweet, magic lantern. I twist the knob a little more, sending more magical fire into the lantern and lighting up the table considerably. Satisfied, I stand again, walking back over to my kitchen area. I pull the dagger out of my belt loop with my right hand, rather than the left. Gripping the fish in my left hand, I shear off the head and begin stripping the fish.
My mind starts to drift away as I do the fairly mindless activity in the peace of my house. I think back to yesterday, my faux pas with my Pegasus friend. I mentally smack myself a few times for doing what I did. Why did I even do that? How could I let my curiosity best me so easily? I hear a snap as I accidentally break one of the fish's ribs. After a moment, I'm lost in thought again. What confuses me is Dash's reaction to it all. Like it wasn't a big deal. That seems like a pretty big deal to me. The natives are a lot nicer here, a lot more understanding, though...maybe it wasn't a big deal? She seemed okay with it. Maybe it's because I'm new here, and she knew it was a misunderstanding on my part. I didn't take her as that perceptive, but...I don't know. I frown, getting the last of the skin off of the fish. I start working on separating the white meat from the small bones.
Worry starts to enter my mind. I didn't see her at all today...maybe she really was offended, but she was just hiding it really well. I feel a desire to find her and apologize to her again. Searching my cupboards, I find a pan to fry the fish in. I see burners atop my furnace...magic-operated, like the lantern? I find that to be a yes as I turn a knob on the front of the furnace. Nice. I throw the remnants of the fish outside; it will decompose soon. As the fish starts to fry, I walk into my bathroom, stripping off most of my clothes, save for my underwear and socks. I flip on the hot water in the shower, tossing my clothes in and walking out of the bathroom. I do a few more mindless things, taking my new suit upstairs, setting my shoes on the table. I start looking around for something to clean them with, eventually finding a few napkins leftover from the party.
I scrub my shoes idly, washing off the mud and blood. I probably won't see her for a while, I realize. Going to Canterlot tomorrow morning...I need to find her before I leave, I decide. But how? I sigh in frustration, switching shoes. Maybe she'll see me on the way to Twilight's...I hope. I set my somewhat-cleaner shoes down in one corner of the room, slightly tinted red now, but it's not too noticeable, I think. Pulling out my tomahawk, I use it as a makeshift spatula, flipping the fish around in the frying pan before sitting down at the table again. I start to run my finger idly along the blade of the weapon, somehow clean from earlier.
Sighing again, I think about the wolf I had to put down. Poor guy. All he was doing was trying to survive, just like me. In a game like that, though, there can only be one winner. And I could have let him suffer. I know I couldn't have, though. Can't stand to watch animals of any sort suffer, they don't deserve it. They're hard-wired one way, not like humans. Humans are something else entirely. Maybe the fact that nearly everything is sentient here changes that, but I doubt it will ever change in my eyes.
I get the fish out of the pan, turning off the burner. Using a napkin as a plate and my dagger as a utensil, I eat my first meal of the day. Silverware, I add to my shopping list. Eating with a knife looks cool, but it's no fun when one pokes themselves in the roof of their mouth. I eat quietly for some time, watching the flame within the lantern dance upon its own free will.
Finishing my food, the carnivore half of me enjoying every bit of it, I clean up what mess I've made. I go and retrieve my clothes from the shower, wringing them out; most of the blood has drained away from them, thankfully. Hanging them outside to dry, then extinguishing my magic-powered lantern, I head upstairs for the night. I set down my tomahawk and dagger, side by side, not regretting my investment in them a bit. Crawling into bed, I shut my eyes, hoping for a better night of sleep. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Thirteen | Upon waking up, I already know that the morning has come too soon. I have never been and never will be a morning person, even if life necessitates it. I sit up and turn to one side in my bed, rubbing my eyes for a moment. Come on, up and at 'em, let's go. I stand up, plodding tiredly across the room and down the stairs, grabbing my fine clothes on the way down.
I make a bee-line for the bathroom, starting my morning routine with a shower. It feels nice, and helps to wake me up some. I put on my pants, try on my suit coat, then realize the coat would probably go better with an undershirt. I walk outside, quickly grabbing my dried shirt and jeans and bringing them inside. I slip on my black T-shirt, which still holds a mild metallic scent. I doubt it will be noticeable unless someone literally decides to press their face into my shirt. Putting the suit jacket on over the dark shirt, I find that the combination looks nice. It isn't as comfortable, but I can live with it.
I look myself over in the mirror a few times. I clean up pretty nicely. Could definitely use a shave, though, I muse, rubbing a hand over my scruffy face. Climbing upstairs, I grab my dagger, and on another thought, my tomahawk as well. It just seems wrong to take one away from the other. Back on the first floor, I lay the tomahawk down on the table, taking the dagger with me into the bathroom. As I step in front of the mirror again, I run a finger along the blade; it is fine, not meant for durability, but for razor sharpness. Perfect. I begin carefully dragging the blade along my whiskers.
A few minutes later, I'm looking at someone who looks like myself again. I wash the shaved hair down the sink, splashing some of the water on my face and rinsing my mouth out a few times. Walking back out into the main room of my house, I start rummaging through the cabinets, grabbing an apple to eat. As I work on coring the apple, I contemplate bringing my weapons with me, but decide against it. I'm going to see a princess, not a dictator.
Speaking of which...I stand, bringing my apple with me over to a window. Peering out, I see that the sun has just cleared the horizon. Ought to get going...I scan around the room a last time, deciding I've got everything I need. I walk out the door, taking a bite out of my apple along the way.
I start off in the direction of the library, as per Twilight's instructions. Along the way, I allow my mind to wander. I wonder how the hot-air balloon ride will be. Hopefully it's in working order. I assume it will be very enjoyable. Like flying in an airplane, except I'm almost completely exposed to the sky, almost like I'm really flying...flying...My thoughts turn to Rainbow Dash. I find myself missing her company. She would make walks like this one a lot more interesting. I glance up into the sky, seeing a lot of Pegasi moving clouds around, but none of them are her; and she's fairly easy to spot, given the factor of the rainbow trail and her overall color. I sigh in a mixture of frustration and sadness. I need to apologize...
The library is soon within sight. I walk up to the door, knocking a few times. Spike opens the door for me, rubbing his eyes. "Oh, hey, Mark," he says with a tired smile. "Come on, Twilight's been waiting for you." I nod, smiling to him as I step inside. The small dragon shuts the door, then starts walking out of the room, beckoning for me to follow. I do so, walking through an adjacent room before going through a back door, leading us outside again.
I blink a few times upon seeing a large, purple hot-air balloon, tethered to the ground by some ropes and fully filled. Is this hers? Where would you even store a hot-air balloon...? Twilight Sparkle holds a clipboard with some sort of checklist attached to it before her with her magic, checking off something with a quill before turning to me.
"Finally! I was wondering if you remembered." Am I late or something...? She notices my attire, smiling. "That is a very nice suit. One of Rarity's?" I nod, her doing the same in reply. The unicorn looks back at her checklist, checking off another item and smiling satisfactorily. "It looks like you were the last thing needed on the list, Mark! Are you ready to go?"
I suppress a frown, looking into the sky again. No, I tell myself, nodding anyways. Twilight begins showing me how to properly board the balloon, instructing me on proper hot-air balloon etiquette, and so on. After five very long, very boring minutes, Twilight, Spike, and myself are all inside the basket of the balloon. It's fairly roomy, and I can actually walk around a little if I want. I grip on to the side of the balloon as Twilight commands Spike to start adding heat. I find it odd that they use magical flame to heat the air within the balloon, rather than Spike's own fire. It seems inefficient to not be putting a dragon to use.
My thoughts are pulled away from the proper use of a dragon's abilities as we start to lift off the ground. Soon enough, the ropes holding the balloon down are taut, and Twilight releases them all at once, allowing us to go airborne. I watch as we begin to pull away from the area behind the tree library, then away from Ponyville itself. I watch the ponies below get smaller and smaller as we climb. The balloon passes through the cloud layer, and we come to a stable height. I can see my house from here, I think giddily. I continue looking down below in awe, watching the familiar sea of clouds roll under us, the patchwork of the farmland.
"Hey!"
I stumble back as a familiar face appears from under the basket of the hot-air balloon, surprising me. I feel that I'm about to lose my balance, but am caught by some unseen savior. Noting that my surroundings look slightly pink in color, I realize Twilight is holding me with her magic. She tilts me forward again, setting me on my feet and releasing her magical grip. She and Spike look over the side of the basket, from where I can hear a scratchy laugh. I walk over to the side and peer over, as well. Rainbow Dash clutches her sides, laughing hysterically. I realized she managed to fly under the balloon and hide there.
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaims. "You nearly made Mark fall out of the balloon!" The Pegasus continues laughing uncontrollably, starting to cry at this point. I feel a smile work its way onto my face as I watch her. She continues to laugh, then suddenly stops, interrupted by a hiccup. She hiccups again, a look of surprise on her face. It is my turn to laugh, and I am soon joined by Twilight and Spike. The four of us are grabbing our stomachs in pain after a few minutes. Dash flies into the basket, settling down near me. I sit down, smiling at her. She sighs, chuckling a little more before finding her voice.
"Oh, Celestia, that was priceless!" Rainbow gives another happy sigh, hiccuping again. "You didn't think--*hic*--that you could leave without saying goodbye, did you?" she asks playfully. I smile, shaking my head and getting out my paper and pencil.
I tried to find you yesterday and this morning, but I couldn't.
"Sorry, I had a lot of work to do yesterday. I tried to find you, too, after I got off work, but I couldn't. Where were you?"
Fighting off wolves in the Everfree Forest.
She reads the paper once, twice, three times, then looks up at me in surprise. "Wolves? You fought a wolf, in the Everfree? Are you nuts?" I scribble some more.
Five wolves. Had to kill two. Probably, but I was hungry.
"You took on five wolves for some food? I mean, I like food, but what kind of food is that important?" the mare asks incredulously. More writing.
Fish. I have to have protein in my diet, and the only place I could get them was the Everfree Forest.
She frowns. "So, you're like Gilda, then?" I raise an eyebrow in question. "A griffon. Gilda always ate stuff like fish."
"She's asking if you're a carnivore, Mark," Twilight says. Ah, alright. Griffons exist as well, then. I nod to Rainbow Dash.
"How come you're always eating apples and carrots and stuff, then?" Rainbow continues. I write out an answer.
Humans, what I am, are omnivores. We eat both plants and animals. Not ponies, or dogs, or anything like that, though. Only if we're really hungry.
She looks at me in surprise; I wink and grin. The pony smiles back, if a little nervously. Sensing a lull in conversation, I decide to show her my proof that I fought a few wolves. I pull up the sleeve of my right arm, revealing my series of bandages, in some places tinted brown. She peers at it, looking all around my arm. After a moment, she looks at me in question.
One of the wolves bit me. Zecora fixed me up.
"Whoa...so you went into the Everfree, alone?" I nod in confirmation. "To get some fish, because you were hungry...and you fought off a pack of wolves, and only got that?" I nod again. "That's...awesome!" she cries. "It's like something out of Daring Do, except you really did it! Nopony's ever went into the Everfree by themselves and made it out alive, but you did that, and fought a bunch of wolves!" Dash pauses, her grin of excitement fading a little. "Why did you go in there alone? Didn't you know that the Everfree is, like, really dangerous?" I shrug, honestly not sure myself. "Wow...and I thought I did some dumb stuff!" she jokes. I grin, pulling down my sleeve again.
"Mark," Twilight begins. I turn to look at her. "Do you realize canis lupus is one of the most aggressive creatures known to Equestria? What you did was quite a feat; the strongest of ponies have found it nearly impossible to even survive an attack from a single Everfree wolf. Don't get me wrong, it was a horrible idea, but...that's simply astounding," the unicorn muses. Humans are apex predators for a reason. Much more maneuverable, and we can use tools extensively.
I idly rub my arm as the air goes quiet for a moment. It's relaxing up here, peaceful. After a little while, I remember something that's been nagging at me for a while. The faint sound of a pencil against paper is just barely audible as I scribble out a message for Rainbow Dash, showing it to her and waiting for her to read it.
I want to apologize again for what I did last night. I let my curiosity get the best of me, and I am sorry.
Dash gives me a friendly smile. "Hey, Mark, like I said, it's cool. Don't worry about it, okay?" I look at her for a moment. She sounds genuine, and her smile reaches her eyes, a sign it is real, as well. I nod and smile to her, feeling relieved. I take back my paper and replace it in my pocket. After sitting for a while longer, I decide to stand up, looking out of the hot-air balloon.
A fair distance away, I can see the beginnings of what seems to be a city, built against a mountain range. I raise a hand to cover my eyes, trying to see it better. It looks enormous. Is that where we're headed?
"Look, there's Canterlot!" says Twilight, answering my mental question. "And right on schedule, too!"
I watch as the city steadily approaches. Not only does it look enormous, it is enormous. The metropolis has to cover at least a few square miles. The focal point is a very large castle, stretching high above all the other buildings. It bears gold and white coloring, tall spires, and many different levels, giving it a very majestic appearance. Twilight begins giving her dragon assistant instructions, helping with her own magic. A breeze brushes against my side; I turn to see Rainbow Dash hopping out of the basket, taking to the air. I watch with an unconscious smile as she flies around the balloon, looping around or spinning about every so often. As she comes around to the side I look over again, I see her mind churning. She flies out of sight, going behind the balloon. Quicker than I can realize, we are going around three times the speed we just were, barreling towards the city of Canterlot at a much quicker rate.
I quickly grab on to one of the ropes connecting the actual balloon to the basket, hanging fast. I look back, feeling a grin on my face. Twilight and Spike are hanging on for dear life, Spike seemingly enjoying himself as well; Twilight, not so much.
"Rainbow Dash!" she yells behind her. All of a sudden, the balloon slows, nearly coming to a stop, but resuming its normal speed. A head with wind-blown mane of six colors peeks over the side of the basket, nearly coming nose-to-nose with the violet unicorn.
"What? Look, we're really close now!" Rainbow points out. I look back to Canterlot, which is much, much closer now. In fact, we've nearly reached the castle. Twilight just glares at her angrily; the Pegasus gives me a small smile as I try to suppress laughter. The unicorn shoots me a look, and I quickly wipe the smile off my face, glancing elsewhere.
Twilight Sparkle gives a long sigh, shaking her head before grabbing on to various parts of the balloon with her magic. She begins the lengthy and careful process of landing the balloon. But, after a few minutes, we are perched upon a platform just outside the castle. I jump out as the violet pony ties down the balloon all at once. Rainbow Dash comes out of seemingly nowhere, landing just beside me on the platform. I look out over the city from where we stand; it's a nice view, but I decide not too look all the way down. We are on the side of a mountain, after all, hanging off of a platform attached to a castle that sits even higher up...I take a step towards the center of the landing pad. Twilight puts away her clipboard, trotting over to us with Spike following close behind.
Rainbow and I let the other two pass us, falling in behind them. I smooth out my suit jacket and adjust my undershirt a little, suddenly feeling somewhat self-conscious. I am going to see a princess-slash-goddess, I suppose. Our group walks onto a railed bridge, heading for a side entrance into the castle. Guarding a pair of large, ornate doors ahead are a pair of guards. They are dressed in gold armor, highlighted with blue accents in certain portions of the armor, and both appear very similar; white-coated unicorn stallions, nearly the same height and everything.
As we approach them, Twilight stops us, looking directly ahead at the doors. "Twilight Sparkle, here to see Princess Celestia. With me I bring my assistant, Spike, my friend, Rainbow Dash, and the creature the Princess has requested to see, Mark, who is also a friend." The guards nod simultaneously, then begin opening the large doors with their blueish magic. Twilight and Spike stroll inside; I walk a little more slowly, observing the great size and expensive decor around me. I glance to my side, looking for Rainbow; she isn't there, though. Looking back, I see her making faces at the guards. She contorts her face in a few ways without avail, the guards remaining stone-still. After a moment, she notices me staring, flashing me a quick smile before hurriedly trotting towards me. She stops mid-way, returning to the guard and sticking her tongue out quickly. To her surprise, the guard sticks out his tongue back. Her jaw drops, and she looks between me and the guard, pointing at him in shock. I chuckle, waving a hand for her to follow me.
We catch up to Twilight and Spike again, walking through the halls of the castle. It's huge, as big inside as it looks from the outside, maybe bigger. Beautiful sculptures line the paths, as well as stained-glass windows depicting various pictures. The sound of two sets of hooves and the quiet padding of both sneakers and small feet echo throughout the hallways, not in an eerie way, rather, one that exemplifies the greatness of this palace even more.
Turning to the left, I find another long hallway that lies before us. At the end of this one is another set of large doors; not only are they ornately decorated, they bear a design, as well. On the left is a representation of a large, white pony, almost actually horse-like in appearance, with a long, flowing mane. Behind the large pony is an image of a sun, like that shown on the backs of bits. On the right door is what seems to be a stark contrast; a black pony, also larger in size, with a flowing, blue mane, rests atop a symbol of a crescent moon. We seem to be heading towards these doors, given that there aren't any others in the hallway.
Our group approaches the doors, and Twilight stops, turning to face me. "Mark, Princess Celestia has requested your presence, and only your presence. To respect her wishes, we are going to stay out here until you are done. After that, I want to talk to the Princess, and then we can go back to Ponyville." She pauses, letting her words sink in. "Are you going to be okay? The Princess is the most powerful being in existence. She can have an...effect...on some creatures, not ponies, specifically, because we are used to her magic. But, don't worry. There is nopony more kindhearted in all of Equestria." I nod to the violet unicorn, then step past her, nearing the doors. I place my hand on one, looking back before I go inside. Rainbow Dash gives me a reassuring smile, and Twilight nods towards the door.
I turn back, take a deep breath, and push through the door. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Fourteen | I step into the room, closing the huge door behind me. Taking another breath, I turn around.
At the end of a very, very long path is someone, some-pony, sitting upon a large throne. The path is formed from red carpeting, very fine carpet from the looks of it. Pillar, possibly decorative but likely not, stretch from floor to ceiling, trimmed with gold. Many stained-glass windows line the walls of this expansive room, letting in massive amounts of sunlight. In fact, the entire room seems to hold a calm glow; I don't even see any shadows. My focus returns to the creature at the other side of the room; I begin slowly walking towards it.
"Mark James Collins," a voice says; it is soft, feminine, and seems to be very close. I stop moving in some surprise; how does she know my full name? I could have sworn I only told my first--"I am Princess Celestia." Oh, that's why. I start walking towards the other end of the room again. I assume the large pony, really a horse, sitting on the throne is Princess Celestia. "Yes, that is me," Celestia says with a chuckle. Wait, how did...? "May I call you Mark?" I nod, trying to make it obvious to the Princess. "Mark, you already know how. I believe you have used the term 'omniscient' to describe me, more than once."
My pace slows again. Oh, man, she can read my thoughts? Don't think of anything inappropriate, don't--Princess Celestia laughs. "Mark, it's okay. I have lived for thousands of years, not much can offend me anymore." Oh. Okay...I'm sorry, I have no idea how to talk to a Princess. I also apologize for whatever you might see within my head. I know there are...I frown. ...things that really shouldn't be seen.
"As I said, it is okay. And may I extend my deepest condolences to you. What you have gone through...I admire your impossibly strong will, Mark." Whoa...a goddess admires me? I remember that my private thoughts aren't so private. Sorry. The Princess laughs again. "Yes, I do. Please, come closer. I wish to see you." I nod, walking forward more. As the back of the room becomes closer, Princess Celestia comes more into focus.
I see that she is indeed much larger than all of the other ponies I have seen, and I agree with my earlier thought that she is more like a horse than anything. I notice she seems to be a mixture of every type of pony, having not only a large pair of wings, but a long horn, as well. Her coat is a calm white in color; what stands out more is her mane. It is very long and flowing, and somehow waves gently as if blown by winds that do not exist. Her mane sparkles with green and violet, almost looking like a liquid in essence. A golden crown is adorned atop her head, signifying her status as royalty.
Continuing along the red carpet, I begin to feel...odd. Not a bad kind of odd, rather, it's actually kind of welcome. I feel...relaxed. And the farther I walk forward, towards the Princess, the more relaxed I feel. The room starts to twist and shift before my eyes, but I don't mind. I watch as the colors blend together like paint on a canvas that surrounds me. Something keeps me walking forward, not myself, though. I start to feel as if I don't exist, yet I do. The only thing that remains clear is Princess Celestia, shining brightly, like a star I can reach out and touch.
"You are a very interesting creature, Mark," a surreal voice tells me, echoing all around. "Not only physically, but mentally, as well. I have seen the...atrocities your kind can commit, without any remorse. Truly, it is horrifying. I am glad those beings are few and far between, though, and that many are like you. If only more of them could be as you are..."
"You may be wondering why you are here, why I have requested you. Truthfully, it was not I that requested you; it was my sister, Luna. She feels she knows why you are here. I felt the need to keep this from my devoted pupil, Twilight Sparkle, whom you have met, because she would not understand. The past was a different place."
"Luna is waiting for you. Please, go and see her. Thank you, Mark." I am carried away from Princess Celestia; I do not want to leave. It is so peaceful here...I cannot control myself, though. The colors of the world melt back into place, and she disappears from sight. I find myself in a new room; everything is defined again, but still blurs over every once in a while. A sense of calmness is still present with me, a freedom from everything, even my own memory.
I see a black pony before me, who is apparently Luna. She is very tall as well, not as tall as Princess Celestia, but larger than normal ponies. She also has both wings and a long horn. Her mane seems like the very night sky itself, small, distant stars within the flowing, blue mass. She looks at me with...sadness? Why would she be sad? It is so calm, so serene...there isn't any reason to be sad.
"Thank you, Tia," she calls past me. Her voice does not fill my head, as the other's did. The dark pony looks at me, still sad. Don't be sad, Luna. "We--I apologize for my remorse, young creature. I take it upon myself for thy existence in Equestria...it is my own fault. I am sorry," the smaller Princess says. You didn't do anything wrong...nothing is wrong. "No, but it is. I...I must explain." She pauses, looking down. I do not understand why she is upset, but I will listen to her.
"Many, many years ago, while I ruled with my sister, before my exile, I...I created a spell. I was curious, and thrice curse myself for being so...the spell I created was meant to search the fabrics of time in space in search of something else, something Tia and I could not find. I did not expect to find anything, but I hoped I would."
"I did not realize the consequences of this spell when I created it. I did not realize what it would do upon finding something." She stops, looking at me for a long time. "Doth thou understand?" No, I respond truthfully.
Princess Luna sighs, looking even sadder. "The spell I created so long ago found what it was meant to find, the things that we could not, only a few moons ago. After thousands of years..." she trails off. "It found you, your planet. And it selected you, bringing you here. I do not know why it did this, nor doth my sister. I believe it had no purpose, and only sent you here as proof of existence. Possibly it came into contact with you prior to all others...doth thou possess memory of any sort? Did anything occur before you were sent here?" No. Luna sighs again.
"We have tried to find a way to send you back, but to no avail. Not even my sister can find where you once existed...I fear the time spent searching by the spell shows the distance between our worlds. It is possible the spell traveled to another dimension, even, on its quest..."
"I never suspected this would occur when I created that spell. I wanted to find another existence, to show we are not alone, but...I never wanted this. I have taken you away from your home, those you hold dear, everything. I am sorry, Mark. I am truly sorry." A dark hoof comes up and strokes my cheek sadly, then Princess Luna turns away. Something commands me to leave, that I am done here. I obey, somehow knowing where the exit is and leaving.
A minute later, I find myself back outside the doors leading into the royal chambers. Twilight Sparkle trots up to me with a smile. "So, how did your meeting with the Princess go?" I sit down, leaning my back against the wall and drawing up my knees. My mind feels empty, devoid of thought. The unicorn frowns at me, then shrugs, trotting through the large doors with Spike close behind.
"Hey...you alright, Mark?" I look up. In front of me stands Rainbow Dash, her head cocked to one side and a worried look on her face. "You're quieter than usual," she jokes, hitting me lightly on the knee with a hoof. All I can do is blink at her. I feel odd, not different, but not right. Her frown deepens. "Seriously, what's wrong?" I continue to look at her. I don't know what's wrong. Is anything wrong? I don't have an answer. Standing up, I start walking down the hallway. The light blue Pegasus catches up quickly, walking beside me.
The farther I get away from those doors, the more odd I feel. I can't quite place the feeling...it isn't sadness, or anger...memory hits me like a freight train. In a flash, I remember the past...I don't even know how long it was, all of the conversation I had with Princess Celestia, with Princess Luna. My knees buckle, and I place my hands on the floor to keep myself up. I can't stand, though, as the memory continues to come. Luna explaining what happened, losing control of everything, even my own mind...I find myself hyperventilating uncontrollably. Not being able to control my own body, guided by something else entirely, not able to comprehend anything that was said to me or react, feeling so relaxed and at peace when I should have been feeling the opposite. I wasn't me in there. Just a spectator to my own thoughts.
I turn myself over, sitting down on the cold, hard floor. Just a spectator to my own thoughts. My rate of breathing continues to speed up. I feel something warm on my back; looking over, I see Rainbow Dash has wrapped a foreleg over my back, and is now patting my back frantically, trying to get me to calm down.
"Whoa, it's okay! You're going to hurt yourself, breathe normal!" she exclaims. I nod, trying to calm myself down. I find it hard, but I eventually steady out my breathing again. "What happened in there? Is everything alright?" I don't know whether to nod or shake my head. With a shaking hand, I reach for my pocket, trying to grasp on to something I can communicate with. I start writing, erasing a lot. I eventually end up with a very simple phrase:
I don't know.
"What do you mean? Are you okay?" Rainbow asks.
I wasn't myself in there. Something else was me.
She looks at the paper in question, glancing between me and my gibberish. The sky-blue pony frowns to me. "I...just...uh...just wait for Twilight, okay? Maybe she can explain. It's going to be alright..." she says, maybe more to herself than me. She continues to rub my back, which feels really nice, actually. I try to focus on it, attempting to shut down my mind. We wait for what feels like an eternity. Once in a while, Dash will mutter, "Twilight, where are you...?" I question the same, hoping for my sanity that the unicorn will be able to provide some answers.
Twilight and Spike eventually reappear, looking worried. Rainbow Dash quickly trots over to meet them. "Twilight, you gotta' help, Mark's acting really weird. He said he wasn't himself when he saw the Princesses."
"I know," the violet pony replies. "Princess Celestia said she might have affected him, and to go check on him. I'm sorry we took so long." She trots up to me, standing a few feet away; I look up at her. "Mark? Can you tell me how you felt when you got close to the Princess?" I nod, scribbling out a reply.
Relaxed. Calm. Peaceful. Too much.
"You felt too relaxed?" I nod again. "Okay...yes, I understand. This happens a lot with creatures like griffons. Princess Celestia has very powerful magic, Mark, more powerful than anypony else in all of Equestria. Princess Luna holds the same kind of power, but to a lesser extent, because she is younger. To someone who has never or rarely been directly exposed to their magic, the effect is overwhelming. Most Equestrian natives are used to it, because we are constantly near them, on a relative scale."
"However, being that you aren't from Equestria...you experienced a massive amount of magic, all at once, and so the effects were more pronounced." Twilight pauses, thinking for a moment. "In comparison, I, Rainbow Dash, or even Spike, feel relaxed around the Princesses, but not to such an extent that it overwhelms our conscious thought. Do you see what I mean?" I nod, albeit a bit numbly. Okay, so because ponies are around them all the time, they don't feel...that. But because I'm not, it hit me full-force. I make a mental note to keep my contact with the Princesses, goddesses, whatever they are, to strictly letters. That was horrifying...
With more understanding as to what had happened, I feel more at ease. I stand up, straightening out my clothes and attempting to salvage some dignity from my mental breakdown. I take in a breath, sighing it out. I start to go over what the Princesses told me in a more calm fashion. So a thousand-year old spell brought me here, and no one else? I blink a few times. I'm stuck here. Alone.
I look down at the ponies and dragon before me. Sort of alone. I write out a note, showing it to Twilight.
Thanks for explaining.
She nods, smiling. "I could see that being a very frightening experience. If you don't mind, I might have you tell me as much as you can about the experience. A research paper entailing how the Princesses affect outsiders could help in not overwhelming them by mistake in the future, as they did by mistake to you." I nod in agreement. Might as well keep it from happening to anyone else..."Well, is everypony ready to go?" The rest of us agree that we are; Rainbow Dash mentions that the Wonderbolts are in Appleoosa, so she wouldn't be able to find them, anyways. We walk back outside again, Dash and I falling in step behind Spike and Twilight. The hot-air balloon is where it was before, now re-stocked with sandbags and other weight equipment. We clamber inside, one at a time.
Rainbow Dash sits down beside me. I look over at her, then decide to remove my paper and pencil again, writing a simple note.
Thank you.
She looks at me in question. "What did I do?" I can't really figure out a way to word 'comforted me when I about lost my sanity' in a way that would appeal to her, so I just shrug, instead, smiling appreciatively. She chuckles, shrugging as well. I sigh and lean back against the inside wall of the hot-air balloon's basket, still trying to figure out the past few hours' events. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Fifteen | I deliver a few blows to the top of the wooden fencepost, driving it further into the ground until it matches the one beside it. Having done that, I pick up a board from the small pile that lays before me, holding it against the newly driven post and an older fencepost, picking up a few nails with my free hand. I start driving them in, one at a time, until the board can hold its own weight, nailed against two different fenceposts. I start repeating this process for a board below it.
After a few minutes, I step back, admiring my handiwork. The wooden fence surrounding the Apple family's property is back to working condition, all of the breaks in the fence repaired. Smiling to myself, I turn and start to walk away, taking with me my extra nails and hammer. Alright, I ought to pick up some ice while I'm out and--
"Mark?" Applejack calls out behind me. Shoot. I turn, smiling to the orange pony. She is inspecting the fence, pushing on it with a hoof. "Did you fix the fence? All of it?" I nod. "Yah' didn't hafta' do that!" she says cheerfully, looking at the new fencing. "Shoot. You done saved us a might of trouble. Let me go getcha' some payment." I shake my head quickly, smiling. Applejack frowns. "C'mon, now, that's only fair. Yah' done all this work." I shake my head again. "Ah' ain't gonna take no for an answer, Mark." I shake my head, folding my arms with a grin. "Mark..." she warns. I purse my lips, staring at her for a while. Eventually her brow creases. "Dang it, Mark. Ah'm gonna' find a way to pay this back, y'hear?" I smile again, waving my hand dismissively at her as I turn and leave.
I've already earned enough money for a week, today, anyways. I recall having spent most of the morning constructing an entire second floor in a young couple's home. That was a bit tricky to figure out, but I just had to set up the support boards so that the floor could hold weight evenly. And the pony couple paid me a fairly hefty sum; they said it was cheaper than hiring an actual carpenter, though, as well as faster. I get the feeling that I might be stealing some business; I decide to keep the jobs to a minimal for the next few days.
As I begin heading along the route back to my house, I start going over a mental shopping list. More ice, definitely. Carrots. Maybe some other stuff...oranges sound nice. I wonder If I could find some here? Definitely some silverware. Plates, bowls, see what I can find. Rainbow Dash...wait, what? My eyes refocus, and I find myself looking at an upside-down light blue face. Rainbow Dash grins at me, cerise eyes looking friendly, as always.
"Hey, Mark!" I smile to her, and she rights herself in the air. "Been lookin' for you. You still seemed kind of...freaked out, yesterday. Any better today?" I nod lightly. I've mainly kept my mind off of it, trying not to re-live that experience. It truly frightened me, being unable to control myself in any way. I couldn't even fight against it within my own head. As long as I don't have to do it again, I think I'll live.
"That's good. I mean, I wasn't worried or anything, but...yeah." She glances off to the side before looking back at me. I smile to her. "So, I never really got the chance to ask, what happened in there? Did the Princess find a way to send you home, or something?" I think I hear a tinge of hope in her voice; not like she is hoping I can go home, rather, the opposite. I shake my head, my mouth twisting in a frown. I start to pull out my paper and pencil to explain. As I begin my reply, an idea pops into my head. She's been someone nice to have around. Why not? I erase my old answer, scribbling one anew.
Why don't you come to my house for dinner tonight? I can explain there.
Rainbow smiles happily. "I'd never turn down free eats! That sounds awesome." I smile, pleased. "What are you going to make?" I glance down in thought. Well, I know how to make a lot, but most of it involves meat...I write down a suggestion that pops into my head.
Ever had chili before?
She shakes her head. "No. Is it cold or something?" I'm not sure whether it's a joke or just her not actually knowing, but I laugh, anyways.
It's like a thick tomato soup, only spicier and with more ingredients.
"Well, I don't really like tomato soup, but I do like spicy stuff. Might as well try it, y'know?" I nod in agreement. I add a last statement to my piece of paper.
I've got some errands to run. Meet me at my house sometime before sunset?
Dash nods, grinning. "Cool. See yah' then!" I wave to her as she darts off into the sky again. I pick up my pace, starting to go over the things I will need in my head. ***
I'm stirring a bubbling pot of reddish liquid when I hear the door open. I look over to see Rainbow Dash stepping inside, using her hind leg to shut the door again. She looks a little different; after a moment of observing, I realize she must have brushed out her mane and tail, as they look much smoother than normal. It's a nice look on the rainbow-maned pony.
"Hey!" she greets, pausing to sniff the air. "Smells good." I smile in thanks. It is nice not to have my house smelling like dust, wolf blood, or fish, for once. I stir my pot of chili, then spoon out a mouthful and taste it. After a few seconds of thought, I decide to add some more salt and some leftover hot sauce from the party. Oh, wait, salt has a different effect on ponies...I stop adding salt, hoping the chili will dilute it. I keep adding the hot sauce until the chili has a nice heat to it, just the way I, and hopefully Rainbow Dash, like it.
I remove a pair of new bowls from a cupboard, setting them on the counter beside me. I begin spooning chili into one of them, then the other. I turn to flip off the burner, and see a light blue hoof inching its way towards the pan. I give it a playful smack, smiling at Rainbow Dash. She grumbles, grinning at me, and goes to sit down at my small table. She has a little trouble getting into the chair, being that I made sure it was built a little taller than the average pony chair, but eventually clambers up. I set a bowl of my chili before her, returning to my cabinets to fetch some new silverware. I turn with two spoons in hand, then glance at the pony sitting at my table, more specifically, at her hooves. Oh, right, no hands. I replace one of the spoons, grab my bowl, and sit down in the chair across from her.
She peers into her bowl for a moment; I do the same, wondering if my chili appears odd. It doesn't to me. I try to recall what all I put in. Tomatoes, kidney beans, some spices, hopefully not too much salt, hot sauce. Fairly generic chili ingredients. If I could add some honey, or brown sugar, that might make it better. After a few more seconds of observing her chili, Dash leans down towards her bowl and laps up some of it.
She clicks her tongue a few times, looking up in thought. Her eyes brighten, and she looks a little surprised. I watch as she leans down again, drinking up more of the chili. The Pegasus comes up for air after filling her mouth with chili, smiling at me.
"Thif if reawwy gooh!" she exclaims, swallowing the chili. "Where did you learn how to make this?" I smile, withdrawing my pencil as she goes down to her bowl again.
I learned how to cook a lot of things a long time ago.
She peers up at the note, nodding before eating more of the chili. I worry I might need to give her the Heimlich maneuver. I pick up my spoon and take a bite of my own chili. Yeah, some honey would make it better. I don't think Rainbow Dash minds, though. Maybe if I could add some fish to the leftovers? That might be good, I muse as I swallow another bite of chili. I see Dash grab a hold on her bowl with her forelegs, tilting it up against her face. I chuckle, scooping out some chili from my bowl.
The apparently very hungry Pegasus sets her bowl down, licking her snout with an orange tongue. She looks at me with a sheepish smile. "Um...can I have some more?" I laugh, nodding and standing up. I grab her bowl and refill it with chili from the pot on the oven, returning to her place at the table. Her face plunges into the bowl as soon as it hits the table. I smile, returning to my meal.
I finish at around the same time she finishes her seconds. With a contented sigh, she leans back in her chair, placing her hooves on the table. "That stuff's really good...I think I'll explode if I eat any more, though," she says, laying a hoof against her swollen belly. I smile, happy to see my cooking went over well with her. I take our bowls over to the sink, rinsing them out and setting them inside it before returning to the table. After looking at Rainbow Dash for a moment, I wonder something, and decide to ask, writing out a note and sliding it across the table to her.
Do you know how to cook?
She reads the paper, then shakes her head. "Nah', I've never learned how." Well, that explains why she ate it like she's never had a home-cooked meal...I smile as I scribble out another note.
If you ever want some help or want me to teach you, just ask.
Dash laughs. "I dunno', cooking seems pretty uncool..."
There's a lot of fire involved.
She laughs her scratchy laugh again. "Okay, maybe I'll take you up on that sometime." I smile to her, holding her gaze for a moment. Her eyes are so friendly, so welcoming...she looks away, seeming to remember something. "Hey, you said you'd tell me what really happened in there, when you went to go see the Princess," the sky-blue pony points out. I look at her for a while longer, then sigh, nodding my head in agreement. My pencil and paper already on the table, I write out a request.
Can this stay between us?
She nods. "Yeah, okay." I continue writing.
Promise?
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she chants, reciting a Pinkie Promise to me. I smile, then begin writing, choosing my words slowly and carefully.
The first thing I noticed was that Princess Celestia could read my thoughts. She sounded like she was inside my head, and already knew basically everything about me.
"Whoa...I didn't know she could do that! Weird..." Rainbow Dash muses. Glancing back at me, she gives an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. Keep going." I give a small smile to her, then focus on my paper again.
The closer I got to her, the more relaxed I felt. I couldn't stop walking towards her, though, and eventually, it felt like I was in a dream. I couldn't control my body or think about anything. I felt free, but trapped at the same time.
"What do you mean?" Dash asks, looking up at me. I frown, then think of a good way to phrase it.
Imagine if you were really high in the air, except you didn't have any wings.
Given the way her face changes, I think she understands. The freedom of flight, but being unable to control how you fly. I keep writing, going off of the memory that feels burnt into my mind.
She told me that she really didn't want to see me, that her sister, Princess Luna, wanted to. I met Luna, and she told me it was her fault, how I got here. She said she created a spell, thousands of years ago, that was meant to search the universe for other life. I guess when it found life, it found my planet, and somehow I ended up here. Even she admitted she didn't know why it brought me here. Just a side-effect of the spell that wasn't accounted for.
I set down my pencil, pushing the paper over to the rainbow-maned pony sitting across from me. After a minute or so, she looks up at me in shock and wonder. "So you're here because of a spell Princess Luna made a really long time ago? And it just threw you here?" I nod, shrugging a little. "Whoa...that's...whoa," she says softly, looking at the paper on the table again. "So...they don't know how to get you back?" I nod again, frowning. "And you're the only one that got sent here?" Another nod of confirmation.
Rainbow sits quietly for a while, reading over my writing again. "What about your family? And your friends?" What about them? I ask silently, looking at her. I pull my paper back to me, turning it over to a clean side. My pencil remains still for an eternity, then begins moving along slowly.
The friends I have made are here.
"But what about your family, and your other friends?" she presses. The paper sits before me, mocking me with its emptiness. The pencil in my hand starts to shake lightly.
Are you doing anything tomorrow?
Rainbow Dash gives me an odd look. "Well, no, I don't think so. The next rain isn't scheduled until...uh...the day after tomorrow, I'm pretty sure, so all I'll have to do tomorrow is clear out the usual clouds. Wanna' hang out?" she asks cheerfully. I nod, smiling. "Cool. See you tomorrow, then?" I nod again, and she hops out of her chair. As she begins trotting towards the door, I stand up, getting the door for her. She smiles to me; her smile is mixed with that odd look, though, one I can't quite place. After a moment, it disappears. "Bye, Mark." I wave to her, smiling again.
I shut the door, then walk over to my table, sitting down. I turn on the small lantern that sits upon it, watching the flames inside flicker as their light fills my quiet house. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Sixteen | I jolt awake, immediately sitting up and opening my eyes, only to find that I am in my small bedroom. It is quiet and calm, and morning light streams in through the windows behind and across from me. My heart pounds in my ears, though, deafening me, and the light is almost painful. I bring my hands up to my face, rubbing my eyes slowly. Another nightmare. Really, more of a memory than anything. I turn to the side of my bed, placing my feet on the floor. I remove my hands, opening my eyes and staring mindlessly at the floor. My gaze shifts over to my weapons, lying on the floor; I pick up the tomahawk, running my fingers up and down the smooth blade. A tired sigh breaks the silence in the air.
Going downstairs, I walk over to my table and sit down. I'm tempted to turn on the lantern, just to watch the fire, but I know it doesn't look as nice during the day. All I really want to do is just turn off my mind for a moment, stop myself from thinking. But I don't want that, not at all. I know now how that feels. I start to replay the past few days' events in my head, still absently stroking the small ax in my hands. If heaven feels like that, relaxation to the point of absolute ignorance...I want to stay here. That felt more like a hell to me.
I go over Princess Luna's words again, before I left. I am sorry, Mark. I am truly sorry. I feel like I should be the one apologizing to her. She didn't even do it on purpose, yet was taking it very hard on herself. It's not like I was sent anywhere terrible. Everyone's fairly nice here. The only thing I can complain about is the food, I think with a small smile. My mind drifts on its own, like a boat without a sail. Why did she seem to have less of an effect on me than Princess Celestia? I think for a moment, trying to remember how it felt to be under each of their presences. With Celestia, I could not even talk, only listen, take in her words, and even then I could not react to them. Yet with Luna, I was able to manage a few meager thoughts. And why is Luna smaller if they're supposedly equal in power? I continue to question other things about the two as I sit at my small table.
Eventually, I come to a conclusion: I want to know more. ***
A phrase catches my eye; I peer closer at the worn page.
Luna Lake: This small body of water, named after Princess Luna, was discovered outside of the small town of Ponyville during the one-thousand-three-hundred-thirty-second year of the Sisters' Era. The residents of the town who discovered this area claimed it had unusual properties. Legend states the lake is unable to be affected by any Pegasi weather magic, similar to lakes discovered within the infamous Everfree Forest. The lake's tides are also seemingly affected by lunar cycles, another tendency shared by bodies of water within the Everfree, despite the lake being well away from the forest. Luna recognized this lake, and has been known to converse with ponies who speak to the waters...
Huh. That's interesting. I skim the rest of the page, finding nothing interesting, and flip a few pages onward. I come across a few pages upon which the ink looks fairly new, as if the book has been added to recently.
Nightmare Moon's Return and Defeat: In the one-thousandth year of the Celestial Era, Nightmare Moon, the corrupt image of the former Princess Luna, returned to Equestria with the intent of reclaiming the throne and bringing eternal night upon the land. Utilizing the Elements of Harmony and five other ponies representing them, the unicorn Twilight Sparkle both uncovered the sixth Element, found to be the Element of Magic, and returned Nightmare Moon to her former self, Princess Luna, only in much younger form...
Wow, Twilight helped to save Equestria?I read through the rest of the page and onto the next, explaining the effects of the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna's freedom. At the bottom of the next page, I notice a familiar group of names.
The current Elements of Harmony, as of the first year of the Reunited Era, are as follows:
Twilight Sparkle, Unicorn Pony; Element of Magic
Applejack, Earth Pony; Element of Honesty
Fluttershy, Pegasus Pony; Element of Kindness
Rarity, Unicorn Pony; Element of Generosity
Pinkie Pie, Earth Pony; Element of Laughter
Rainbow Dash, Pegasus Pony; Element of Loyalty
I close the book, looking at the cover again. A Detailed History of Equestrian Royalty, Volume II: Princess Luna. I slide it back between the other books, where Twilight had retrieved it from for me. These guys are heroes--heroines. Why are they treated like normal citizens? Doesn't anyone realize that they've saved them from peril? I rub my chin as I mull over this. Maybe I can ask Rainbow Dash...oh, shoot. I was supposed to meet her sometime today. Standing up, I start towards the door of the library. I push outside, looking into the sky in search of my rainbow-maned friend.
I look around the clear, blue sky, searching for...there she is. Rainbow Dash soars along almost directly overhead. I wave my arms above my head, trying to get her attention. She doesn't seem to notice, though. I step out a little ways from Twilight's tree house, continuing to wave my arms. Still no dice. After a moment, I look up at my arms, more specifically at my hands. I bring them together hard, creating a loud clap. To my satisfaction, it even echoes throughout the air a little. The sky-blue Pegasus looks down towards the noise, and spots me waving my arms like a maniac. She dives down to greet me.
"There you are!" she says upon getting within earshot. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Still wanna' hang out today?" I nod happily. "Awesome. What were you doing at the library?" she asks out of curiosity. I remove my paper from my front-right pocket, scribbling out a quick message.
Reading about the Princesses.
"Really? Why?" I shrug. "That's kinda' lame," she comments with a chuckle. I laugh, shrugging again. "You should read the Daring Do series sometime. Way better than some egghead book," she says, grinning. I smile back, nodding. I might just have to do that.
She pauses for a moment, idly hovering before me. After a little while, she does a quick loop, much to my amusement. "So, whaddya' wanna' do?" she questions. I look up in thought; nothing really comes to mind, much to my own disappointment. I see something out of the corner of my eye, floating in the sky. I turn to look at it; it looks like a normal cloud, almost. However, I can see some out-of-place color just above it. I wonder if it's just my eyes playing tricks on me, but I wave behind me, attracting Rainbow Dash's attention. I point at the distant cloud as she comes to my side, squinting to see.
"What, that thing?" I nod. "Well, that's only the coolest, most awesome, most radical house in all of Equestria: mine! Haven't I shown you it before?" I shake my head. "Aww, no way!" Dash exclaims. "C'mon, you've gotta see my--" She stops, looking at me. She frowns. "Wait, you can't fly. Or walk on clouds...wait a sec'!" Her magenta eyes shift over to the tree house we stand in front of. "Twilight can cast a cloud-walking spell on you! And then...hmm..." Rainbow thinks for a moment, screwing up her face. "...yeah, okay! I can bring some clouds down, and make some stairs up to my place or somethin'! We can totally pull this off," she muses giddily. I grin, nodding eagerly. Are you serious?! I might get to walk on a cloud!
Rainbow Dash shoots towards Twilight's house, nearly blowing the door off its hinges. I run inside, following her. I spot the tell-tale rainbow-colored tail heading up the stairs, and follow her up, skipping every other step. I find Rainbow looking similar to Pinkie Pie, bouncing around Twilight Sparkle with massive energy.
"Twilight! Can you do a cloud-walking spell on Mark?"
The violet unicorn glances over at me, frowning in thought. "Well, I suppose I haven't done that spell in a while, and a test his size might be good practice...I might not be able to do it, though, for those very reasons..."
Rainbow Dash clasps her hooves together. "Pleeeeeeeease, Twilight?" she begs.
Twilight thinks it over a moment longer, then nods in agreement. "Alright. I think I can do it. Mark, could you stand over here, please?" She points with a hoof to a space before her. I oblige, standing motionless where she indicated. "Okay...stand back, Rainbow. Please stay still, Mark, this may feel a bit odd..." I remain still, watching as a pinkish aura begins to surround Twilight's horn. She closes her eyes calmly as the aura glows brighter. My vision is tinted pink for a moment, and I feel a tingling sensation throughout my body, like all of my nerves are responding at once. It isn't painful, but does indeed feel odd. After only a second or two, everything returns to normal. Twilight opens her eyes.
"Alright, that should do it. As a forewarning, Mark, that spell will wear off within a day or so. When it does, make sure you're on the ground; you already pushed your luck with those wolves," she adds, nodding towards the bandage on my arm. I glance at it, then nod in compliance. "Please be careful, you two."
"Don't worry about it, Twilight. He'll be with the best flier in all of Equestria, remember?" Rainbow Dash says, puffing out her chest confidently. Twilight just snorts, tuning back to her work. Dash and I race back downstairs and outside again. Once outside, the Pegasus turns to me.
"Okay, I'm gonna' go figure something out. Just head towards that cloud!" she says, pointing a hoof towards the cloud that had distracted me earlier. I nod and smile; she grins, then jets off into the air, nearly knocking me off my feet with the wind she generates from doing so. I watch her rainbow trail for a moment, then start off at a jog towards the floating house in the distance. ***
"Alright, try it out!" Rainbow Dash calls. I look before me; there is a fluffy, white cloud, a small platform only a few feet wide and long. I reach out a hand and press down on the cloud; to my surprise, I'm able to push into the cloud a couple of inches before my hand stops. I bring up my other hand, placing it on the cloud, and shove down, hoisting myself up. I step up onto the cloud, balancing for a moment. I find that I sink in a short distance before stopping, enough to almost completely envelop my shoes in cloud. It's almost like walking in deep, springy snow.
I look up again, to the next cloud. It's a little high, but I can reach. I grasp what one might call an edge, pulling up with my arms. I scramble onto the cloud, righting myself again. I begin repeating this process, one cloud after another, higher and higher into the air. I don't necessarily have a fear of heights, rather, a fear of falling; I make sure not to look down. After a few very long minutes, I finally climb atop the last cloud, which also happens to be the base of Rainbow Dash's house.
I stand, walking forward a few steps, pulling up my feet and stepping high. Really is like walking in deep snow...After getting myself away from the edge, I look up at the house before me.
Without a doubt, it is the most original house I have ever seen, and not just because it's made entirely out of clouds. The main design is that of a tall tower, multiple floors stacked atop one another, probably about three, by the looks of it. It bears resemblance to Greek and Roman architecture, featuring quite a few decorative pillars and arches.The originality comes from an almost modern design, mixed with a flair that can't possibly exist in any other world. Various waterfalls flow out of points throughout the cloud home, including from the peak, trickling down into pools; these waterfalls are not made of water, though. Rather, they are made of rainbows.
I take a few steps closer, my mouth falling open in awe. I walk towards the rainbow-falls, staring wide-eyed at them. They almost appear liquid in form, pooling at the bottom of each waterfall. I hear the familiar noise of wingbeats, and look over to see Rainbow Dash flying over to me. She grins, glancing at the rainbow we are nearest.
"Yah' like that? It tastes better than it looks," she says. I give her a funny look. "No, really. Try it." I look back to the pool of liquid rainbow. Ah, what the heck. I crouch down beside it, dipping two fingers in. I bring my hand to my face, looking at the liquid for a moment. A mess of color covers my fingers, shimmering as the liquid reflects sunlight. I tentatively lick my fingers. Suddenly, a burst of flavor covers my taste buds; it is spicy, like a hot sauce, but doesn't burn. It has perfect flavor, hot enough to let me know it is there, but only warm on my tongue and throat. I glance over at Rainbow Dash, smiling.
"Pretty good, right?" I nod happily, eyeing the rainbow pool; I'm tempted to drink more of it. Maybe bottle it up, take it home. Not only would that look cool, it would taste awesome, I muse to myself. Rainbow waves a hoof, signaling for me to follow her. "Now, c'mon, I'll give you the grand tour." ***
We climb up a spiral staircase once more, one that leads from the bottom floor of the house, a kitchen, to the middle floor, a living room, and to the top floor, to which we are headed. I find that cloud stairs are even more hard to maneuver than normal pony stairs. Continuing around, I follow the Pegasus up even higher.
I eventually come out behind her into a room the same size as the other two, which is fairly big. A large, low-set bed is the focal point of the room; on it is a blanket with a blown-up version of what I recognize to be Rainbow Dash's cutie mark. On either side of the bed are bedside tables; upon one rests a framed picture and a single book, on the other, a tall stack of novels. On one side of the room is a dresser, with some things like rainbow-colored scarves hanging messily out of it. Stepping a little farther inside, I see that there are a few other doors in the room, one leading to a bathoom, the other to a closet. And finally, all around the room hang posters depicting the Wonderbolts, the ace flight team of Equestria that Dash seems to idolize.
Scratch that, does idolize. I count around twelve posters, as well as multiple shelves filled with memorabilia related to the flight team. Well, can't say she isn't devoted...I chuckle to myself, finding the short pony again. She is lying on one side of her bed, smiling at me.
"Feel my bed." I raise my eyebrow in question. "Just do it. Jump on it or something." I shrug. Your funeral. I line myself up, begin a running start, them jump onto the bed, spreading my arms. I land face-first, and immediately sink into the bed. I hear Rainbow Dash laugh next to me, and assume I've sent her airborne a little. I pull my face out of the bed, watching it re-form itself like one of those foam mattress beds. I look off to one side of the bed, raising the blanket; as expected, the bed is indeed made of clouds, as well. I start to laugh, looking over at the light blue pony, who is as well. I sit up on the bed, still chuckling.
Eventually, the air becomes fairly quiet. Having gone through the rest of her house already, I feel this is an opportune time to thank Rainbow. I fidget with my pocket for a moment, then start writing.
Thanks for showing me your house. It's really cool.
"No prob'. It is pretty awesome, I know," she says with a smirk. I smile to her, then start looking around again. My eyes fall upon the picture on the bedside table nearest me. I look closer at it, trying to make out the details; within the photograph are six ponies, huddled together to be in the shot. I recognize them as the group of friends I've come to know, who also happen to be saviors of Equestria. Looking at the picture for a few more seconds, I decide to ask Dash about the Elements. I begin scribing out my statement as she watches me intently.
I didn't know you and your friends were the Elements of Harmony.
"Yeah, we are. You didn't know that?" I shake my head in reply. "Huh...well, yeah, like I said, we're the Elements of Harmony." She stops as I write out a new question.
Why are you the Element of Loyalty?
"I dunno'." I look at her for a moment in question. "Well, I mean, I don't know why I am, I just am. I'm loyal, I guess. When we were all in the Everfree, looking for the Elements, we came to this fallen rope bridge. Nopony else could fly across to tie it back up, so I did. When I went over there, these ponies called the Shadowbolts came up to me and asked them to lead their flight team. And, well, I said no. I mean, I really wanted to, but I couldn't leave my friends hangin', y'know?" I nod thoughtfully. "It's not really a big deal." I frown, looking at her in surprise before scribbling quickly some more.
It is really a big deal. You and your friends saved Equestria from eternal darkness. That seems like a big deal.
"Yeah, I guess. I mean, that was nothing compared to Discord, but y'know." I'm barely able to keep my mouth from falling agape. I swear my pencil nearly lights the paper on fire from how quickly I write.
Who is Discord? Have you all saved Equestria twice?
"Three times, actually. Discord was this one guy who created chaos. Made me think I was defending Cloudsdale...it was just a little cloud, though. He messed with all of us, big time. But we got him. And then, at Twilight's brother's wedding, it turned out his wife was actually Chrysalis, the changeling queen. Sort of. Chrysalis had locked away Shining's actual wife, Princess Cadance. That was pretty fun, actually. We had to fight a bunch of changelings that looked just like us, copied us and everything. It was weird, but cool. I even got to beat myself up!" Rainbow Dash explains with a chuckle.
My mouth is open, I can feel it. Three times. They've saved this whole planet three times. More writing.
Why aren't any of you recognized, or thanked, or something? You should be going down in the history books as a hero!
Rainbow frowns. "I guess that might be kinda' cool, but I don't see the point. We're just doing what we were made to do, I guess. It's like, our job. I don't get paid extra for kicking clouds faster than everyone else, but I do it anyways, because I want to do my best. Same thing, sorta'. We do it because it's who we are. And I'm loyal, so I be loyal."
My shoulders droop, and I blink a few times. I feel stunned. She knows she's saved everyone three times over, but it isn't a big deal to her...My writing slows.
I'm sorry. It just seems like you all should be honored, revered, at least recognized.
"No, it's okay," she says, smiling. "It's not like I don't like being recognized, y'know."
I smile to her, and she smiles back. "Honestly, I think you're the one that should be recognized or something." I blink hard, slightly taken aback as a look of confusion crosses my face. "Well, yeah," she continues. "You basically help everypony out all the time. Plus, you've got a ton of courage. Or stupidity," she adds with a smirk. "And you're just...really nice," she says softly. I blink again. "You always want to watch me fly, or hang out with me, or let me do stuff with you, and tell me how awesome I am, and..." She trails off. Her magenta gaze meets mine, her eyes shimmering with light as they look at mine.
In a flash, Rainbow Dash is much closer. Her face presses up against mine; I feel soft lips touching my own, her soft muzzle rubbing against my nose and cheek as she twists her head. A spicy taste enters my mouth, similar to that of the liquid rainbow. Her mane brushes against my face, almost tickling. I feel the press of a hoof against my back. She feels warm, and comforting, and soft. Yet every part of me screams no at once. This is wrong!
As calmly as I can manage, which is barely calm at all, I lift my hand and place it against Dash's shoulder, pressing lightly away from myself. She doesn't want to let go; I push a little more firmly. The sky-blue pony pulls away, opening her eyes. They dart back and forth, looking at mine in what almost looks like true, genuine fear. I continue to press on her shoulder, slowly pushing her away. I can't break her gaze, so I hold it, looking at her, not even knowing what I'm thinking, except that that was not right.
"I...I don't...I thought...you...?" Her voice is a whisper, unable to form a sentence. I hope to God it stays that way. I don't think I could keep myself together if she finished that in any way. My jaw tightens as I start to see her eyes growing moist. Please, God, don't...I slowly remove my hand, breaking her gaze to look down at the paper I pick up. I start trying to write, but every time I try to explain, it doesn't sound right. I am left with the only two words I can manage.
I can't.
I set the paper down, stand up, and walk as quickly as I can muster to the door. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Seventeen | My thumb traces the edge of my tomahawk slowly. The metal is cold and sharp against my skin. I watch the small flame of a half-lit lantern flicker before me, the magically-created plasma reacting with the oxygen in the air to keep itself alive. I sit at my table, watching the fire, mindlessly stroking my weapons that lie on the table, as I have for the past...I don't know how long. Too long. Too long to be alone with my thoughts.
My mind feels numb, like it can't comprehend anything. Even the simplest of ideas is lost on me, seeming too complicated to understand. Maybe it's a state of shock or something. The only thing I can do is nothing.
I feel the same series of thoughts that have run through my head for what feels like an eternity, but has probably only been a few hours, surface again. I don't want to think about it, but I feel as if I must.
I can't believe...she likes me in that way? A pony likes me in that way?
Damn it, stop that! I scold myself. She's not some animal! She has feelings, and emotions, and everything else you have!
But she is a pony. One that can think for herself, no doubt, but nonetheless...I can't do that. I can't go around kissing animals. That's wrong.
She isn't an animal, though. Maybe she has the body of one, but not the mind. It is not the same.
It's wrong all the same! It's not how it's supposed to work! my mind fights back against itself.
God damn it! Who said that that's how it's supposed to work? What is 'it', anyways? Life? You know very goddamn well that life will throw anything it's got at you! Life doesn't have a goddamn rulebook! You know that!
I want to scream. But you can't, can you? You can't do it, because you're a coward! That's all you are! A gutless bastard!
God damn it! I jump up, picking up my weapons. In a fury, I raise my arm and bring it forward, throwing the hand-ax as hard as I can. It lodges into the wall opposite me with a crack. My other arm jams the dagger into the table. I spin around, tossing a chair out of the way. I run towards the door, ramming into it with my shoulder and bursting outside. I notice for the first time that it's raining, hard, but I don't care. I just need to get away.
I run through the rain, knowing where I can go, knowing where solace might await me. I run as hard and as fast as I can, not caring that my legs hurt, that my lungs scream, that my heart just might explode, that I trip and fall more than once in the now-muddy dirt roads. I run, and I run, and I run.
I eventually come upon a field. It is eerily quiet, the only noise that of the falling rain, the wind blowing the grasses, my heart pounding in my ears. My pace slows, and I stumble a little on the moist ground. I know where I am, yet I don't. I begin walking forward, not caring where I end up. The rain is cold. The sky is dark. I don't care.
I don't know how long I walk. It feels like a long time. Everything hurts. But I keep walking.
Something ahead of me, something just barely in my field of view, catches my eye. I look up, squinting through the rain to see it. It is the lake, Luna Lake, its waters now rough and choppy from the onslaught of rain. I see something else, though. A small, blue form sits on the shore, rain running off of it. Her mane seems dark, almost devoid of color, and she is soaked all the way through. I approach her slowly, sitting down beside the water with her. She doesn't look over; I don't, either. We sit and look out over the lake in silence.
The rain starts coming down even harder. It almost hurts now. I stare at the waters of the lake, watching each little droplet of rain create a new ripple throughout the surface. A gust of wind stirs up some waves. Cold rain washes down my face and back.
We sit by the lake for some time. The rain grows colder and harder, mercilessly beating down upon us. I just want to curl up and die, but I can't. I can only stare at the dark, choppy waters, shivering in the cold.
A flash lights up the sky, followed by a loud crack of thunder. The rain continues on. Another flash; this one is much closer, too close, only across the lake. The thunder that follows is near-deafening, the shockwave from the lightning strike hitting us full-force.
I look over at Rainbow Dash. Rain runs off of her mane and face. Her body is completely wet, all of her colors a few shades darker from the water. She trembles violently, uncontrollably, in the freezing precipitation. I know she'll catch hypothermia if she doesn't get out of the rain soon. I probably will, as well. As if she knows I'm watching her, she looks over at me. Her magenta eyes now seem dull, lacking their friendly brightness, replaced with despair.
There is another burst of electricity, lighting up the air. This one is near us, as well, and we both look at it, wincing at the resounding thunder clap. The shivering pony looks back over at me. I place my hands on the muddy ground, pushing myself to my feet. She starts to pick herself up, as well, wobbling a little. After a moment, she sits down again. The Pegasus spreads out her wings, but they are soaked, too heavy with water to be able to be of any use. She looks up at me; there is some fear in her eyes, now.
I kneel down beside her. She watches as I slowly extend my arms and wrap them around her. I pull her towards my chest, shifting her in my arms to better hold her. I stand again, the small pony in my arms. She isn't heavy. Her shaking scares me, and the usual warmth she seems to possess is gone. I start moving as quickly as I can without jolting her around too much.
After what feels like far too long, we arrive back at my house. I push the door in with my shoulder, carrying her through the main room. It is much warmer, but not warm enough. I carry her past the flipped chair, the table with the dagger in it, the still-burning lantern, the tomahawk in the wall. I put my weight against my bathroom door, going inside. I gently set her down in the bathtub, turning on the hot water. When it feels warm enough, I flip it over to the shower. I look at the blue pony again, still shivering in the hot water. I turn to leave; something pulls my wet pants leg, and I look back. A dripping hoof somehow has a hold on me; I look at Rainbow Dash. Her eyes say enough. I slowly climb into the shower with her, sitting down. She climbs on top of me, laying down on my wet clothes.
I close my eyes, leaning back against the wall of the shower. I absently begin stroking her mane. She rests her head on my chest, trembling a little less. I hate myself a little more. I start to rub my fingers behind her ears; they feel like fine felt. She sighs contentedly. A lump forms in my throat; I feel truly awful, now. What have I done? The pony slowly rubs her head against my chest; her shivering has all but stopped. I continue to pet her, trying to comfort her, despite me being the reason she needs comforting at all.
A few minutes after she stops shaking, I go to set her aside. She opens her eyes in question; I lay a hand on her back, then stand, leaving the shower. As I hoped, she stayed inside it, settling back down. Trailing water through my house, I make my way to the second floor. I grab all of the blankets off my bed, then bring them downstairs. I take the blankets into the bathroom, setting them off to one side. Stepping over to the shower, I hold out a hand to the rainbow-maned mare; she looks at it for a moment, then puts her hoof in it, allowing me to help her to her hooves and out of the shower. I shut off the water, then go to grab the blankets, bringing them back to Rainbow Dash. She shakes out her coat and mane, spraying water about the room; she gives a small smile of embarrassment. I drape the blankets over her, pressing down a little to hold them in place as we walk out of the bathroom.
I replace the fallen chair, pulling it away from the table a little to allow her to hop up. As she gets situated on the chair, I go over to where my tomahawk rests in the wall, working it out. I remove my dagger from the table, as well, then turn up the heat of the lantern to its maximum, scooting it a little closer to Dash. I set my weapons on a counter, then take a seat at the table as well.
I fish my pencil and paper from my pocket. A few of the outer papers are wet, so I just crumple them up and toss them aside, grabbing the most dry sheet of paper I can find. I set it before me on the table, raising my pencil; no words come, though. I don't know what to say. I set the pencil down, looking at the blank page. The air is silent for a while.
"Thanks," Rainbow Dash says quietly. I look up at her, nodding solemnly. My gaze goes back to the paper; I can't hold hers.
"I'm sorry." I look up again, frowning. I slowly write out a reply, trying not to drip on the page.
You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one that needs to be apologizing.
"No, I...I did...what I did, and you didn't want that. And I'm sorry." I sigh, thinking about each and every word I write down.
You don't need to apologize. You just did what your gut told you to, and you shouldn't be sorry for that.
I pause, then continue writing.
I like you, Rainbow Dash. I really do. But I
I stop again, crossing out my attempt at explanation. I try again.
On my world, where I come from, we are the only sentient beings, the only ones that can think for ourselves. We have other animals, including ponies, but they can't think for themselves. Humans only love humans, and that's how it is. Loving something that runs off instinct is frowned upon.
"You think I'm just some...some animal?" she asks, voice filled with soul-crushing hurt. I shake my head quickly, writing as fast as I can. Damn it!
The answer is no, but I do not know how to explain. I know that you are not, that you are a smart, clever, fun, friendly being who has feelings for me and who I think I have feelings for, as well. But the only things I know that look like you are not those things, and I don't like them that way. Everything is different here, but all I can do is compare things to things I already know. I'm sorry I can't explain it better. I know it is shallow and horrible of me to think this way. I like you, but I don't know if it's in that way.
As I pass the page to Rainbow Dash, I stare down at the wooden table. Is that really how I feel? Do I really like her in that way? Can I really like her in that way?
"I...I think I understand..." she says quietly, passing the page back to me. "You mean, like...if somepony really liked a rock, or something. That'd be weird, right? But if they went somewhere where rocks could think and stuff, it wouldn't be as weird. I dunno'." Well, I think she gets it. Maybe. I hope. She pauses, looking down.
"But...you...do like me, too?" Her eyes meet mine, and I hold her gaze. My head hurts so badly right now. I nod shakily. I pick up my pencil again.
Maybe we should take it slow, okay? I don't want to lose you as a friend. I've lost enough.
She looks at a certain point on the paper for a while. "Slow..." She goes quiet for a moment, still staring at the page. "Nopony's ever wanted to take it slow with me, before. I mean, I'm Rainbow Dash. Fast is my thing," she muses with a chuckle. I take back the page, writing a little more.
It hurts a lot more when you run into something going fast than when you're going slow.
She laughs; I smile, happy to see her a little closer to her usual. I continue on.
We've only known each other for, what, a week and a half?
The sky-blue pony nods. "Yeah, somethin' like that." I look at her in question, then add some more to my paper.
Why do you like me so much? You hardly know anything about me.
The blankets around her shoulders shift in a shrug. "I dunno'. Rarity's always blabbing about 'love at first sight' and all that, but I don't really believe it. I mean, maybe..." She trails off, thinking for a moment. "I meant all those things I said yesterday, about how you're really brave and nice and stuff. Maybe that's why." I look at her, frowning as I write.
I killed two wolves over some food, and most of the time people pay me for being nice.
"That doesn't mean you're not brave or nice, y'know." I shrug, not convinced. She looks back at my handwriting again. "Yeah. Maybe I should try going slow. You don't need to try, you're already slower than slow," she jokes, grinning at me. I return the smile, quietly laughing a little. As a lull in conversation approaches, I think up a new question.
How long were you out there?
She looks out one of the windows in the room, watching the rain for the moment. "Since last night. I went to work to get the rain all set up, then I went back there. I didn't sleep." I nod; neither did I.
I apologize. I shouldn't have walked out like I did. I panicked.
"It's okay. That was kind of unexpected, I guess. I don't even know why I did it...Twilight always says I don't really think things through that well." I give a lopsided smile in agreement. Rainbow sits quietly for a while. "Could we not tell anypony about this? I don't want anyone to think I'm getting all mushy," she asks. I snort in amusement, then nod my head, smiling. "And maybe...maybe we could keep hanging out? It's...fun." I nod sincerely, smiling to the pony. I write out a new question, a smile on my face.
How about some breakfast?
Dash chuckles, looking outside again. "I forgot it was so early. Breakfast sounds awesome." I smile, standing from the table. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Eighteen | I sit at my small table within my house, a bite of apple crunching in my mouth. The shiny, red fruit tastes sweet and juicy, near-perfect as they always seem to be. I don't think the concept of a 'bad apple' exists here, quite honestly. Not that I'm complaining. I sigh softly, taking in the morning as I eat my breakfast. It's nice having a place where there is actually such a thing as peace and quiet. Back in the city, that was something rare, if nonexistent. I remember spending my weekends just walking, out to what countryside there was outside of the metropolis.
That's one thing I certainly don't miss. The noise, constant noise. I like my solace; that's not to say I don't like noise in any form, because I do. Noise lets me know I'm still alive, still there, like pain, in a sense. But in the excess of noise found in a city, not so much. It's nice to get away from that. Even the capital city is only filled with voices and rustlings, which can only get so loud. This small-ish, sleepy town is even better. Certainly my residence of choice. Except for the fact that all of the residents are ponies, of course.
Alone within my quiet house. I muse that I'm very much alone on a few deeper levels. Alone in this world, the only one of my kind that exists here. Alone because I distance myself from everyone, be they pony or not. Alone because I'm different, and I know it. And alone in the sense that I am by myself, eating my breakfast composed of an apple in my house. Alone.
Maybe not, though. I feel unusually optimistic this morning, I see. Maybe it's the tasty apple, out of which I take another bite. Maybe I don't have to be alone. I frown as I swallow the chunk of fruit. Well, I already knew that. Maybe it's time to stop trying to be alone. I sigh again. My apple is almost cored.
It's wrong on so many levels...I think with a frown, my brow creasing a little. But it's not like I'm going to find another human to be with anytime soon. I snort quietly, focusing on the apple for a moment. How does something that lacks so much detail taste so good? Another bite.
What's the point of living if I can't be happy? I'm happy being alone, I tell myself. No, I'm not, and I know it. I've been alone too long, and I'm tired of it. Far too long. My thoughts start to drift a little farther out on the sea that is my conscious being. They come upon my rainbow-maned Pegasus friend, secret admirer, pony, whatever she is. There's a nice girl in there. A girl I like. I raise my arm, resting my elbow on the table and running my hand through my hair. It's getting too long for my liking. Wonder if there's a barber anywhere around here...
Can I really like a person that doesn't look like a person? What kind of question is that? Can I get past that? I don't know. I mean, she is pretty cute. But all of them are fairly cute. I don't think it's possible for these ponies to be ugly. I chuckle quietly. My apple's done for, so I get up, walk over to the door, and toss it off to the side of the small lawn in front of my house. I close the door, padding over to the bathroom. I turn on the shower, stepping in once it's a comfortable temperature.
I still don't get it. How does she even like me? Like I told her, I killed a few wolves over some food and get paid a lot of the time to be nice. I attempt to think of some times I might have shown actual courage or kindness. I guess I do help these guys out a lot. It's about all I can do. And didn't the Princess say I was courageous, that she admired me or something? I know what she saw, what gave her reason to say that. That wasn't courage. That was...retaliation. An inability to be stronger than what I did. Cowardice. Just the opposite.
She sees something in me, though, Rainbow Dash. Guess I do compliment her a lot...and let her help me, and help her, and watch her do things, but...I mean, that's because she deserves those compliments. And I like her help, and I like her company. And she does really cool stuff. To me, not showing at least a little respect to her would be like not thanking Superman for saving you from certain death. It's just a given, it seems necessary, is necessary. She's a hero. Not flawless, of course, but a hero nonetheless.
I try thinking of a flaw I can see in her. Arrogance, maybe. I recall a quote from somewhere: it's not bragging if you can do it. That seems to apply. Anything else? I rub the back of my neck, savoring the warmth of the water for a moment. Brashness? Another maybe...Being brash or bold isn't always bad. Sometimes that's how one has to be to overcome a challenge, or fear. I nearly envy her confidence and boldness. Maybe 'admire' is a better term.
I get an odd feeling, as I sometimes do, as if I'm able to look at myself from an outside perspective. I sigh as I go over the entire conversation I've just had with myself. I really do like her...what's not to like, though? She's definitely exciting, fun, adventurous. Maybe not smart, but certainly clever, and she knows what's what. Funny, cheerful but still down-to-earth, and most of all, loyal. Quite the colorful personality. I smile at my pun; maybe it's more of a wince. Yeah, that was awful.
Who am I kidding? I question my shower. She's perfect. Is the fact she's not exactly human it? I think for a moment. That is a pretty big one, though...I sigh, turning off the water and stepping out. My head is starting to hurt; I decide to focus on something else. Well, my funds are running kind of low...better head to town hall. I put on my clothes, grab my dagger and tomahawk, and walk outside, destination in mind. ***
Looks like that storm was a little stronger than anticipated, I muse as I start nailing in another shingle on my fourth roof of the day. Somehow it seems like the torn-apart roofing on the houses of quite a few are my fault, indirectly. I feel obligated to do it, whether or not anyone else really knows it's my fault. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and when that particular woman can manipulate Mother Nature...yeesh. I make a mental note to not upset Rainbow Dash before any major storms are scheduled.
Speaking of which...I look into the air, searching around the clear, blue sky for a while on my rooftop perch. I don't see the sky-blue Pegasus anywhere, though. I frown, then focus back on the task at hand, grabbing another shingle. It's not very tedious work, I suppose, given the fact I've nearly fallen off the roofs I've been working on about six times already. These things get very slippery after rain. I continue to hammer away, only a small patch of roof still showing.
I hear a door open below me, and peer over the edge of the roof. The owner of the house, a dark-orange Earth pony mare, trots out, looking up at me. She takes a few steps back to better see her roof, and I move out of the way.
"Wow! That's looking splendid! Here, while you finish that up, I'll go grab you some bits..." I smile, nodding in thanks to the pony, who goes back inside the house. I turn back to the roof, lying down yet another shingle. I start off a few nails in the corners, but run out of nails. I shift to one side so I can reach into my pocket and grab a few more. Hearing a noise to my right, I look over. I watch as the nails I had started in the shingle are stamped into the roof with three swift, casual blows from a light blue hoof. My gaze shifts a little higher, and I smile.
"A lot faster than using that hammer, am I right?" Rainbow Dash asks with a smile. I laugh, shifting one of the nails in my palm to my fingers. I position it over the last corner of the shingle, giving it a few hard taps with the hammer before pulling away. The Pegasus takes her cue, driving the nail in with her hoof. It doesn't even look like she's putting a lot of force behind it. Ponies are tougher than they look, I reflect as I have often before. I start up the process again with the last few shingles, starting a nail in the roof and letting Dash drive it all the way in. The process speeds up considerably, given that she can even hammer down a few at a time.
After a few minutes, I look up at the pony, smiling. "We done?" she asks, receiving a nod in reply. I carefully make my way over the edge of the roof, letting myself hang before dropping down. Rainbow floats down, gently settling down beside me on the ground. As if on cue, the owner of the home walks out again, bag of coins in her mouth. She tosses it to me.
"Thank you very much, Mister Mark." I nod, smiling, then begin walking away, my Pegasus friend close behind. Once we've covered some ground between the house the job was at and my own, I look over at Rainbow Dash, feeling curious. I withdraw the paper and pencil from my pocket, trying to keep my hand steady as I walk and write.
Where were you today? The sky's been clear all morning.
She reads the paper, then looks over at me, hovering at eye-height as per usual. "Oh, I was over at Rarity's place." I raise an eyebrow in question. Another spa day, maybe? I think with a sly grin. I think she notices my expression, for her eyes widen a little. "I was...uh...asking her about...how to make my mane more aerodynamic! Yeah." I chuckle softly, shaking my head. "What? I'm serious! That's what I was doing!" Dash says, a little frantically. I raise my palms and eyebrows, giving my best look of innocence. I scribble down a note, unable to resist the grin coming back to my face.
So how do you make your mane more aerodynamic?
"I...uhm...are you hungry? I'm hungry," she says, speedily changing the subject. I laugh again, nodding. We set our sights for Applejack's stand. ***
Rainbow Dash flies along beside me while we walk further and further away from Ponyville. She does little loops and flies around me every so often, clearly still excited from earlier. I'm amazed she still has energy after flying for, what, three hours? Four? Something like that. The sun has nearly set, though. It was a nice way to finish off the day.
"I still can't believe I pulled off the Buccaneer Blaze, the Super Speed Strut, and the Fantastic Filly Flash, all one after another! That was awesome!" she bubbles. I nod happily in agreement. Her stunts never cease to amaze me; the fluidity of them all in itself is enough to bring awe. I think I'm starting to remember all the names she's created for her tricks, as well; there are a lot to memorize.
"I need to practice more...it feels like I haven't flown in ages! I mean, it's only been, like, three days, but y'know," she continues, grinning at me. I smile back to her. The rainbow-maned pony glances forward, then up, a frown touching her face. "Well, looks like we're here." She points up at her cloud home, high above us, with a hoof. "Thanks for walking home with me, Mark. See yah' tomorrow!" I grin, showing my teeth as I wave goodbye to her. I watch her fly up until she disappears over the top of the cloud that is her house. I turn, walking back along the road that leads into town.
As I continue down the path, the sky slowly darkening, an idea comes to me. I decide to change course, branching off onto another path that skirts Ponyville. I walk for some time, watching the sky change from blue, to yellow, to orange, to a deep red, listening as the birds fall asleep and the crickets come out. My head actually feels clear, a rare occurrence for me. There are a lot of times when I wish I could stop thinking, stop remembering. Be careful what you wish for, I remind myself, recalling my experience with the Princesses. I unconsciously shudder.
Maybe there's a better way to contact them, though. I keep my steady pace, now a good distance away from Ponyville, but on the side of town opposite Rainbow Dash's house. The path ends, just dissipating into open ground. I stay in the same direction, though, inherently knowing where I am and where I am going. The grass beneath my shoes grows taller and taller, eventually reaching just below the knees on my pants. Despite the area looking slightly different in the nearly complete darkness, I know I'm getting close.
I reach the edge of the lake just as the last of the sun's light disappears over the horizon directly opposite me. Slowing my pace, I sit down on the bank. It's still sort of muddy, but my pants can be washed, so I don't really care. I look out over the lake for a moment, then into the sky. A large, full moon hangs high in the night sky, surrounded by thousands upon thousands of stars. I gape at the darkness for a moment; I've never seen so many stars in all my life. It's like every star in the universe can be seen from where I sit. The light of the stars and moon actually illuminate the night so that there is not total darkness, but rather a sort of shadowy level of light; I'm easily able to see, but it's still dark.
I look back to the waters, looking at the shimmering reflection of the moon. The night feels calm; I'm tempted to spend the night here, but know I should just do what I want to do and head back to a warm bed. My mind starts to churn again as I pull the paper and pencil from my pocket. I glance at Luna Lake again, remembering the small segment from the book I'd read. Well, I can't really talk, so I guess this will have to do. I begin writing a letter.
Dear Princess Luna,
Hopefully this works. I can't talk to Luna Lake, so this is the best I can do. Maybe this is just a legend, anyways. Might as well try, though.
I would like to ask you to help me. I don't really know anyone else to ask, and I know you really won't tell anyone, except maybe Princess Celestia, but I don't mind if you do that. Recently, I found out that someone, some-pony, I suppose, has feelings for me. And I think I have feelings for her, too. But, there is something is I should explain.
Maybe you already know this, but my species is the only sentient one on our planet. We have other animals, but they are only animals, running off instinct. They can't talk and only do what they are designed to. Here, it is different. What I know as animals are sentient here, they can think, and speak, and do things that humans do.
I am conflicted. I do like this pony, I like who she is, but I can't seem to get around the fact she is not human, that it seems wrong to me. Maybe the answer is obvious, and maybe I already know it, but I want to hear it from someone else. Maybe it will help.
Thanks,
--Mark
I look at the letter, reading it over. Here goes nothing. I lean forward, stretching out my arm with the paper in hand. Just as my hand is over the water, I release my grip, letting the paper float gently down to the surface of the lake. It settles down on the water, then begins to slowly drift out towards the center of the lake. I watch the paper float away from me, seemingly unaffected by the water. Out it goes, all the way to what looks like the exact middle of the lake; I notice that the moon's reflection sits in the center of the water, as well. The letter stops moving right over the shimmering image of the moon; it promptly evaporates, quite literally. A wisp of white smoke trails up from where the paper was. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, watching the center of Luna Lake intently.
After a few minutes of unblinking observation, I sit back, resuming my old position and frowning. Well, something happened. I lay back against the bank, looking at the night sky again. If Luna really did make this, which I have little doubt she did, it is nothing short of impressive. I try to pick out a few constellations, but I don't see any that I recognize. With a sigh, I stretch out my legs and lock my hands together behind my head, lying on the ground beside the lake.
I hear an odd noise, something like a bloop. Sitting up, I look out at the lake, squinting to focus better on the somewhat distant center of the body of water. I see something obstructing the reflection of the bright moon; it almost looks like...a scroll? The object starts drifting in my direction, not visibly guided by any waves or currents. As it nears, I see that it is indeed a scroll, rolling a little in the water as it approaches me. Once the scroll is close, I reach out my arm again, grabbing it out of the lake. The scroll feels completely dry, as if it had never touched water at all.
I sit back again, holding the rolled-up paper in both hands. Twisting it around, I see that there is a seal on the scroll; it appears to bear a symbol of a simple crescent moon. I slowly withdraw my dagger from my belt, carefully cutting through the seal before replacing the blade. I unroll the scroll, laying it flat to light it with moonlight.
Dearest Mark,
Before We begin, let it be made known We have not used this system of communication in many an age. We are surprised thou hast knowledge of its existence. We thank you for reminding Us of its presence.
We--oh, my apologies. Tia has oft reminded me of using 'I' rather than the royal We. Old habits are hardest to best, yes? I am sorry, Mark, but I cannot fully answer thine query. It is not of the cause that I do not know, rather, thou must make this decision, not I.
Thou hast taken the time to compose a request from me, though. Mayhaps I may offer mine own advice?
I know what it is like to feel alien. After one-thousand years of exile, this place has changed much. I feel as if I am an outsider in my own land. It is to my knowledge this is not the case of thou, but I believe them to be similar in nature.
During my exile, I encountered many feelings. The greatest of them was that of loneliness. I have experienced loneliness in its truest form. For mine own self, however, I have many chances to change that, for my life is eternal. I am sorry to say yours is not. Heed my words, though; immortality is both a gift and a curse.
No being should spend their life in loneliness, immortal or not. I advise you to follow your heart, young creature. Love comes in many forms. And perhaps, as thou hast said, this was already known to you. Perhaps my advice will be of no use to you; this is your own choice to make, as well.
Know that the path thou doth choose shall be the correct one, no matter which it is.
My highest blessings upon thou,
Princess Luna
I roll the scroll back up slowly, sighing softly to myself. Why must such a simple decision be so difficult to make? I know Luna is right...but...I frown, staring into the water. I knew there would be no definite answer; life rarely works that way, if at all. Know that the path thou doth choose shall be the correct one, no matter which it is, I repeat in my head.
I will make the right decision. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but eventually, I will know. I stand, scroll in hand, and turn away from the lake, ready to get some sleep before morning. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Nineteen | I make my slow return to consciousness, as I do every morning. Thankfully, the ghosts of the past didn't visit me, as they sometimes do. Instead I only recall a few dreams involving the moon, a few more with a rainbow-maned Pegasus. That's about it, though. I recall hearing somewhere that the mind uses dreams to sort out what it encounters throughout its waking period. In that case, my dreams were suitable.
I sit up, running a hand across my chin. Yeah, better shave today. Tossing my bed covers off to one side, I turn and stand, stretching for a moment before making my way over to and down the stairs. Coming into the first floor of my house, I survey it; as usual, it is calm, quiet, and empty, soft morning light streaming in through the various windows. I grab an apple from one of the cupboards, then take a seat at my table. I begin my day in a fairly normal way.
As I take another bite of apple, my eyes start to drift around out of boredom. They fall upon something on the wooden floor of my house, just in front of the door. Raising an eyebrow, I stand from my chair, apple in hand, and walk over to the item. Crouching down, I see that it is a simple piece of paper, folded a few times to hide whatever is written inside. I pick the paper up with my left hand, taking a thoughtful chomp out of my breakfast as I stand again, walking back over to the table. I sit down, setting the folded paper before me; I flip it over, not seeing any markings or seals. Curious, I open the paper with one hand, smoothing it out on the table and peering at it.
Meet me at the Hay Bale restaurant, in the center of town, for dinner tonight. It's kind of fancy, so, yeah.
--Secret admirer
The writing looks like someone tried to write by putting a pencil in their mouth. Oh, wait...I have a fairly good idea of who the letter is from, at this point. I smile to myself, giving the scarcely-legible letter a once-over; what are you up to, Rainbow Dash? Asking me out on a date? It is certainly Rainbow; the mouth-writing and last line seem to make that fairly obvious. What's with the...air of mystery, though? I suppose I still haven't completely figured out the sky-blue pony; maybe just a new side of her to be seen. It seems unlikely, though...
Okay, I tell the letter. I'll play along. Town square, the 'Hay Bale'. Fancy. Should probably go make sure my suit is clean...get my shoes a little shinier, as well. My train of thought stops momentarily. Maybe after I earn some money and do what I need to do. Business first, for now. Nodding to myself, I finish off my apple, fold up the letter, and stand, intending on continuing my morning routine. ***
As I pass through the center of town, heading back home from a job that took me all the way to the opposite end of Ponyville, I catch a glimpse of the restaurant mentioned in Dash's letter. Upon first glance, it appears to have the oddest combination of fanciness and casualness. Most of the seating appears to be outdoors; bales of hay serve as seats. And yet, upon the tables sit ornate bouquets of flowers, and a well-dressed waiter walks around, tending to various customers. I wonder for a moment what fine pony cuisine actually is, being that they are completely vegetarian and the only fancy dishes I know of all include some sort of meat. Then again, I am no fine-food connoisseur.
I smile to myself, continuing on my way. I wonder why Rainbow Dash would act in such a way for the umpteenth time today; she's usually very straightforward, almost blunt, in everything. Hell, she made a move on me after only having known me a week or two. It just seems unlike her. Maybe something is wrong? Maybe it's not a date, but something else? I ponder this as I walk. I'll find out soon enough, I suppose as I glance into the sky; the sun is on its way down, and I'm feeling somewhat hungry, leading me to believe it is likely nearing dinnertime. These guys need to invent clocks sometime soon...
I arrive at my house after a few more minutes. Walking inside, I start by withdrawing my tomahawk and dagger and lying them on my table gently. After doing so, I make my way up the stairs, entering my bedroom. Underneath the bed are my nice clothes, which I retrieve. They are still in good condition and don't have any particular smells to them, so I deem them worthy. I bring them back down, and direct myself to the bathroom for a shower, and a shave, I remind myself as I go back to grab my dagger.
Cleaned and cleaned up, I put on the better of my clothes for the second time in the relatively short history of the clothes' existence. They don't look half bad on me, though I wouldn't want to wear them all the time. Suits are something I wear on special occasions, not all the time; it gives the benefit of making me feel more classy when I do wear suits. Satisfied, I walk back into the main room of my house, put on and tie up my shoes, take another look at the letter--though it's not like I don't know where the place is or have to be there by any certain time--and head out the door.
Walking through the streets of Ponyville, I feel more out-of-place than normal, but not by much. I suppose wearing a suit has always made me feel a little odd; the term 'monkey-suit' always comes to mind. I can't really fit in when I'm basically the exact opposite of everyone else, though. Ponies keep their same distance, a good yard or so, usually, but I do gain a few more questioning looks than usual.
Soon enough, I reach the center of town. I see that the Apple family's stand, currently manned by both Applejack and her younger sister, Apple Bloom, has quite a bit of business currently; I think I'm on time. I travel through the square, approaching the restaurant casually. A plain, white building, fairly small in appearance from the outside, adjoins the outer eating area. I walk up to the double doors of the building, ducking to avoid hitting my head on the just-too-short doorways designed for ponies.
The enclosed area mainly seems to house the check-in/check-out counter and the kitchen. I step up to a low counter, kneeling down to better access it. There is a brown pony in a tuxedo behind the counter; he turns to face me, looking upon me with no show of surprise or change in attitude.
"Would you like to make a reservation, sir?" he asks with a hint of a high-class accent. I raise an eyebrow, then shake my head. Need to tell him I'm waiting for someone...some-pony? Man, the puns here...Getting a hold on my pocket with my left hand to open it more, I begin moving my right hand towards my paper and pencil. I stop when the door leading out to the seating area opens; a familiar, light blue face pops in.
"He's with me," says Rainbow Dash to the tuxedoed pony. He looks back at me, then nods curtly. I smile, nodding as well, then stand, walking over to the Pegasus holding the door open for me. I give a warm smile to her, following the rainbow-maned mare outside. She leads me over to a table with two hay-bale-seats situated across from each other, a pot of flowers atop the surface of the table. She clambers up onto one of the bales, situating herself; I take a seat as well, finding I have to lean down a little ways to reach the table. I look up at Rainbow, smiling.
Something seems different about her. Oh, her mane's combed out, my mind informs me. Indeed, the streaks of color flow smoothly along her head, none of the usual tufts that stick out here and there as a result of being wind-blown. I see that a small, orange tie bunches her colorful mane together near the bottom. As I continue to observe her carefully, I begin to notice that there is actually quite a bit different about her, and not just in appearance. She seems to be wearing eye shadow, her eyelids shimmering with a slightly lighter shade of blue every time she blinks. The pony seems to internally scold herself every so often, forcing herself to sit up straighter, not fidget, and so on. My eyes narrow slightly in thought. What's gotten into you, Dash?
I can almost see her sigh in relief when the tuxedo-wearing pony from earlier trots up to our table, bringing with him two menus. He places one in front of her, then me. I look down at mine, quickly scanning over the items on the menu; I read at a fairly fast rate. Most of the menu seems to be composed of fancy dishes involving flowers, common and rare. Sunflower Souffle, Rose Petal Parfait, and Flower Mignon. I frown, searching down the page until I eventually spot a simple Apples. Might as well, I decide. Fancy food really isn't my thing, anyways. And I didn't think it was Rainbow Dash's, either...
Keeping my head down, I glance up at my dinner date. She's frowning at her menu, glaring at it with enough intensity to make the paper spontaneously combust. She doesn't have a clue what anything on the menu is, either. I conceal a smile, then push my menu a few inches away and look up. The light blue Pegasus does the same, giving me a semi-confident smile; it lacks her usual, actual, confidence. Why are you beating yourself up, Rainbow? I ought to play along. May as well see where this goes. I lean away from the table, pulling the crude paper from my pocket and setting it on the table, smoothing it out.
You look very nice. I like your mane like that, it's pretty.
Rainbow Dash reads the simple series of compliments, looking up at me with some defiance. "Pretty? I am not pre--I...uh...I mean, thank you. You, uh...look really nice, too." I smile to her. Alright, so I know you're still in there, Dash. What's the charade for, my fine, feathered friend? I pull my paper back to me, stuffing it away again before folding my hands together, pressing my mouth against the edges of my fingers. Maybe I can freak her out a little. I begin staring at her, suppressing a grin; she can only hold my gaze for a few seconds of silence before she starts to fidget. I can tell she's trying hard to be civilized. Very hard. Alright, maybe I'm going too hard on her. Poor girl's trying. Why, though? I let up with my gaze, shifting it elsewhere.
After a minute or so, the pony waiter returns, looking to Rainbow Dash, first. "Have you decided on your meal, madam?"
Rainbow looks down at her menu nervously, then, for just a moment, at me, then at the waiter. "Uh, yeah--yes. I have, yes. I would like the Sunflower...uhm...soo-full?" I bite my cheek, trying as hard as I can not to show any reaction.
The waiter looks down his nose at her. "A fine choice." He looks over to me. "And you, sir?" I hold my menu over to him, pointing at Apples. I think a frown touches his face, but he controls it well. "Yes, of course...I will return with your meals shortly," he informs us, retrieving the menus from the table before trotting off. It pleases me to see that I've basically done the equivalent of ordering a cheeseburger in a fancy French restaurant.
I occasionally sneak a glance at the sky-blue mare sitting across from me, trying to keep the intervals at which I do so long so she won't notice as much. I can tell she's uncomfortable, mainly because she usually has something to say. She seems to be repressing herself though. Not knowing why I am lacking in mercy today, I decide to let her keep up her ruse for a while longer.
A nice perk of vegetarian restaurants is that the food is done much, much quicker, given that it's really just arranged, not cooked. Within five minutes or so, our respective meals are delivered to us. I see that the Hay Bale managed to spruce up even the simplest of foods, apples; there are about three apples on my plate, each of them cored and cut into eight slices. There are actually three different kinds of apples; I see the Equestrian equivalents of the average red apple, a green Granny Smith apple, and a yellow Golden Delicious apple. Glancing up at Rainbow Dash's own meal, I see it appears to be a motley of yellow petals and green stems, possibly cooked. That certainly doesn't seem appetizing. Then again, ponies eat flowers all the time, virtually live off of apples and sugar, and are affected by salt in a manner similar to that of alcohol.
I eat a few slices of apple casually, trying to keep my pace slow. Every so often I will look up to see Rainbow tentatively picking at her food or sitting very quietly and very awkwardly. After I go through a few slices from each of the three apples on the platter before me, I decide enough is enough. I sigh, pushing my plate away a little, and resting my elbows on the table, again folding my hands together and looking intently at the Pegasus across from me. Eventually, she notices my stare; as with before, her eyes will dart off or down every so often, as if she is very uncomfortable, which she probably is. I pull out my stationary, writing simply, at first. I pass the question to her, awaiting a reply.
Okay, what's up?
Rainbow Dash looks away nervously, starting to sweat a little. "W-what do you mean? Like, how am I?" I frown at her, then focus on writing again.
You're all dressed up, you keep trying to sit up straight, you are using extremely good manners, are being very quiet, and haven't touched your food. What's wrong?
"Maybe I just like to dress up sometimes. Can't I look nice, too?" she questions, a little shakily. I look at her very seriously for a few seconds. Her shoulders and head droop as she lets out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, you got me." She rests the elbows of her forelegs on the table, covering her eyes with her hooves in what I believe to be shame. "Remember when you asked where I were yesterday, and I said at Rarity's, making my mane more aerodynamic or something?" she begins rhetorically. I nod anyways, almost subconsciously. "Well, I was at Rarity's, but I wasn't doing that, whatever I said."
She takes a deep breath, as if what she says next will knock me off my seat. "I was asking her for advice...with you..." she mumbles, trailing off. "I figured, 'cause she knows a lot about romance and all, maybe she could help...she said I should take you out to dinner, and get all dressed up and fancy and romantic and stuff." Rainbow drags her hooves down her face a little, pulling at her bottom eyelids. "Celestia, I'm so lame. You must think I'm the most un-cool, un-awesome, un-radical pony, ever..."
I watch her wallow in her worry for a moment, then sigh, smiling to myself. I begin writing, and find that by the time I pass the paper over to her, I've caught her interest.
Rainbow Dash, you are undoubtedly the coolest, most awesome, most radical pony, ever, in the history of everything. Not lame, or un-cool, or un-awesome, or un-radical. And do you know why that is? It's because you're you. Rainbow Dash, best flier in Equestria, the definition of cool, awesome, and radical, hero to many, enemy of none, Element of Loyalty, savior of Equestria, three times over, and best friend in Equestria. You don't need to try and impress me. Everything you do already more than impresses me. Even this, because it shows me that you are determined to impress me.
She takes a minute to read through my writing. As her eyes reach the end of the paragraph, she looks up at me, a small, sort-of-embarrassed smile on her face. "Really?" I nod, smiling. She smiles back, then sighs, looking down at the table. "I...I just...I dunno'. I like you, a bunch, and I've never really...I dunno'. Liked somepony this way. I don't know what to do to get you to like me back," she says quietly. Rainbow's usual self-confidence seems all but gone; this is something new for her, something she doesn't understand, and because she doesn't understand, she's scared, panicked. I can relate all too easily. I calmly start writing once more.
I do like you back. I know I do. You're the best friend I've ever had, and
I frown, unsure how to continue that. I start a new line just below that.
I want to like you in the way you like me, but I don't know if I'm ready to. There are things I need to figure out myself, first.
A frown lightly touches her lips as she finishes reading. "I know. You told me before that this was really hard for you. I...I'm sorry, Mark. I shouldn't have tried to make it faster," the sky-blue pony says softly. I give a smile, not entirely sure whether it is one of friendliness or apology, maybe both. My hand scribbles at a more normal speed, now.
You don't need to apologize, and you don't have anything to apologize for. Plus, you took me to a very nice dinner.
She smiles and snorts softly in amusement. "Yeah, I guess so." She glances down at her plate, grimacing. I lift my plate in one hand, reach out with the other and grab her plate, and switch our meals. "Are you sure? You've hardly eaten anything," Dash points out, looking at the plate before her with only a few slices of apple missing. I nod, smiling. And you haven't eaten anything. She smiles appreciatively back, then begins tearing into the apples.
The platter is completely clean within a couple of minutes. I gaze upon the Pegasus, smiling in both my own amusement and my satisfaction at seeing my rainbow-maned friend back to normal. Almost back to normal. I reach out across the table towards Rainbow Dash; it isn't very large a table, so I can do it easily. She watches my hand as it approaches her, glancing at me in question. I grasp on to the orange hair tie that holds her hair together, and slowly pull it off the bottom of her mane. Her colorful hair feels like the finest silk, and looks the part, as well, falling loose when the tie comes completely off. I set the hair tie on the table before her, then run my hand through her mane a few times to get it looking back to normal. When I sit back again, looking at Rainbow, I see that she is looking down at the table, cheeks a shade of pink, wings slightly raised.
She looks at me, still trying to force back her blush. "I thought you liked it that way?" she asks, before shaking her head to ruffle up her mane again. I write out a quick response.
I do. I like the normal Rainbow Dash better, though.
She smiles, still unable to fully hide the reddening in her cheeks and the ever-so-slight rising of her wings. "I like it better this way, too. I couldn't fly really fast with the other way, or else it would mess it up." She pauses, then closes her eyes and rubs her hooves against her eyelids, cleansing them of makeup. I smile, and she does the same in return. She looks best when she's actually comfortable with how she looks. I write out a new note, passing it to her with a grin.
Is there anything you'd rather be doing right now than sitting at a boring old restaurant with boring old me?
She chuckles, grinning back. "Well, Pinkie said she was going to try to prank Applejack today. Want to see if we can go get in on it?" I nod eagerly, standing from the table as she does and following a much-happier Rainbow Dash to the check-out counter. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty | I brush a layer of dust off of my shirt, coughing as I step out of the barn. After spending a few hours cleaning out and organizing the old tools and knick-knacks of a local resident, fresh air has never tasted better. Still, the barn looks much nicer; I think the owner is some sort of mechanic. Many of the dusty boxes seemed to be filled with train parts and tools designed for work on trains. It still strikes me as odd that this civilization has invented locomotives, but not electric lighting. Then again, what doesn't strike me as odd here?
Coughing again, I swear a cloud of dust appears from my mouth. Better out than in, I think with a grimace. My facial expression changes slightly as I approach the house of the pony who owns the barn. I often wonder if they watch me the entire time, as the door opens right as I near. An elderly stallion wearing a pair of bifocals stands in the doorway, smiling up at me.
"Y'all done, sonny?" he says, a little louder than necessary. I nod, and go to step back, holding my hand out towards the barn to show him my work. He shakes his head, raising a hoof in protest. "No, no, I trust you did the job." The pony, a burnt-red sort of color, squints at me for a moment. "Lemme' tell yah', that's somethin' we need more of 'round here. Trust." I'm not really sure how to respond, so I just nod in agreement. I agree that the world, any world, needs more trust, but I can understand that I don't really come off as trustworthy to most ponies. Threatening, rather.
I focus again, and see that he's looking out at the barn. "That barn's been a mess as long as I can remember," he says with a laugh. "Used to be an engineer, long time ago. Just mainly fiddle with what I can find, now." The pony smiles distantly in memory. I think to myself that that would be a nice way to spend my days, just tinkering with things, a peaceful but still interesting existence. He snaps out of his trance, as do I, and looks up at me over his glasses. "Well, you probably have better things to do than listen to an old stallion ramble on, eh?" I smile, laughing silently.
He turns, and begins to trot inside. "Let me go getcha' something for your work," he calls behind him. I watch him for a moment, then sigh quietly. I rap my knuckles against the door frame a few times, grabbing his attention. He turns in question, and I shake my head, waving my hand side-to-side as well. "Now, you know very well it's only right if I pay you," he says sternly. I shake my head again, smiling. He stares at me for a while, then sighs. "Are you sure, son? I've got more than I need." I continue to hold my gaze and smile. The old stallion nods, smiling appreciatively. I reach in and close his door for him, then walk away from the home.
I'm looking ahead, but not really seeing anything, my focus elsewhere. I need to stop being nice. I have groceries to buy. I sigh, running a hand through my hair. Some dust follows my hand as it leaves my head. Who am I kidding? If I wanted, I could go find everything in the wilderness. It's not like I'm in the middle of a massive city. I don't have too much use for money, I can afford to be nice. Especially to those who don't have much left in the world. I bring my hands up, looking at them; they're still very dusty. I rub them together for a moment, then wipe them on my pants. A fairly new pair of pants, actually, only a few days old. I had Rarity tailor me a new pair nearly identical to my original pair, as well as a new shirt in the same way. It made it easy for her, but I know she'd cringe if she knew how badly I abuse my clothes. The fact that most of the roads are dirt in this town doesn't help much, though.
I hear a noise that I've come to discern easily now; the sound of beating wings. I look up and to my right, where the sound is coming from. Sure enough, the Pegasus that approaches is the one-and-only Rainbow Dash. I grin, waving at her. She waves a hoof back, speedily coming to my side as I aimlessly walk down the streets of Ponyville. I feel happy every time I see her, light blue face smiling with those huge, cerise eyes that almost always seem full of friendliness.
As she approaches, the drafts of air created by her wings blow some of the dust off of my clothes and skin. She coughs, fanning some of the dust away with a hoof. "What, did you visit Appleoosa today or something?" she manages between coughs. I laugh, or cough, or both. Eventually, she blows all of the dust off of me, and we recover from the minor sandstorm. "So, now that I'm off work, and I know you can't think of anything more fun than hanging out with the most awesome Pegasus ever, whaddya' wanna' do?"
I chuckle for a moment, then rub my prickly face. After a little while, I think of something. Retrieving the crumpled up paper and worn pencil from my pocket, I use my hand as a surface to write on.
Why don't we see if Twilight will cast another cloud-walking spell on me?
Scanning the suggestion quickly, Rainbow Dash grins at me. "That sounds awesome. My tricks look way better when you're close-up, anyways," she says, puffing out her chest a little as she usually does when she speaks with confidence. I smile, and we re-orient ourselves in the direction of Twilight Sparkle's library. ***
We approach the door of the tree house, and I knock a few times before stepping back. After a moment the door is opened by a small, purple-and-green dragon.
"Oh, hey, Mark, hey, Rainbow Dash! What's up?" Spike asks happily.
"Hey, Spike, is Twilight here?" Rainbow asks. "We need her to do a spell for us."
"Yeah, I think she's just cleaning right now. Come on in, I'll go get her." The baby dragon steps away from the door, allowing us inside. I follow my Pegasus friend in, and we stand idly in wait for the violet unicorn. Eventually she appears with Spike trailing behind, both of them smiling at us.
"Hello, Rainbow Dash, Mark, what can I do for you?" she asks cheerfully, glancing between us. I look down to Dash, who takes over for me.
"Think you could do that cloud-walking spell on Mark again?" the sky-blue Pegasus asks.
Twilight taps a purple hoof against her chin for a moment, glancing up in thought. "Hmm...you know...this would be an excellent time to try out the new version of that spell I've been working on..." The unicorn returns to reality, focusing on me. "You see, when you asked me to use that spell...what, a week ago? Yes, something like that. Anyways, I realized that the spell is a very simple one, and could easily be improved. As a sort of side project, I think I've finally come up with a more permanent version of the spell," she explains quickly. "Maybe you could help me, Mark. Could I possibly use you as a control for this spell? I'm not sure of the side effects, so that's your decision to make."
I think for a moment. Well, it's not like anything can go horribly wrong, right? Another moment of reflection. Probably the last words of everyone who's died in a horrific explosion caused by an experiment. I look down at Rainbow Dash to see if she has any thoughts to offer. She shrugs, and her face says why not? I decide that's some good, solid logic, and nod my head to Twilight Sparkle, resident mad scientist.
The violet unicorn smiles happily. "Excellent. I'll go get my goggles. Meet me out back, please," she instructs, trotting away. Oh boy. I glance at Rainbow again, who gives no further help, then turn and walk back out the door, followed by the rainbow-maned pony. We round the trunk of the tree until reaching the rear of the library, where I find Twilight, who wasn't kidding about goggles. Much to my dismay, she actually does look like a mad scientist.
"Alright," she begins. "We might want to get away from the tree, in case of fire or the like. And Rainbow, you'll need to stand back." Dash and I oblige, I heading towards where Twilight moves to, a good thirty yards from the tree house, and the Pegasus trotting over to the tree. "Okay, Mark, just stand still. Sorry if this is painful; it shouldn't be, not according to my calculations." I say a quick prayer to God, Celestia, Luna, whoever might be able to keep me alive.
I watch as Twilight Sparkle calmly closes her eyes as her horn begins to glow faintly with a pink aura. It's a little hard to see in the bright daylight. Soon enough, the aura becomes much clearer. A few sparks of bright magic trail off from the main aura surrounding her horn. My vision begins to tint a pink hue as magic surrounds me, and I start to feel a faint tingling, like my entire body is vibrating, but not heavily so. Twilight remains concentrated as the aura around me grows thicker and darker in color, until--
My vision flashes a blinding white, and my ears ring with an unbelievably high tone. I feel an impact on my back, and know I've lost my balance entirely; the world spins within my own head. It's like I've put a flash-bang grenade into my mouth and let it detonate. Searing pain comes from my fingers and toes. I think I can smell something along the lines of cooked flesh.
I try to blink away the pure white before my eyes, and my vision slowly starts to return, first in black-and-white, then in full technicolor. My hearing does the same, and my orientation starts to return, the effects of whatever just happened being short-lived. I look around, finding that I am lying on the ground; above me are two familiar faces, both looking worried. Twilight, goggles pushed up onto her forehead, looks more relieved as I start to come to. Rainbow Dash looks very worried, and also angry. She looks up; I follow her gaze. High above me and to my front sits a small, dark storm cloud in the sky, atop it a gray Pegasus with a blond mane. Her amber eyes look a bit odd, crossed at different angles.
"Derpy!" Rainbow Dash yells at the aptly named Pegasus atop the cloud. "You're supposed to buck the cloud to get rid of it, not jump on it!" she says with exasperation.
'Derpy' looks down at the storm cloud, mouth forming an 'o' in realization. She hovers off of the cloud, going to one side of it and giving it a hard kick. The cloud promptly disintegrates, much to the satisfaction of the gray pony. "Oops, sorry! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" she says.
"Yeah, no problem," Dash says with a sigh. Her attention returns to me. "You okay, Mark?" I nod, my face twisting in some mixture of confusion and pain. "You got struck by lightning. Derpy did it on accident, she can be...forgetful, sometimes," she explains upon seeing my look. I just survived a lightning strike? I glance up, saying a quick thanks to whatever decides my fate out there. Then again, I just got struck by lightning...maybe thanks isn't in order. It doesn't really matter, though, because I'm still alive. I bring my hands up to my face, peering at them. The tips of my fingers seem to be burnt a little, and I assume my toes look about the same. All of the hair on my arms is standing on end, as well, much to my minor amusement.
I slowly make my way to my feet, shaking my head in an attempt to clear it. Probably just lost a lot of brain cells. Twilight steps around into my field of view, as does Rainbow Dash, hovering at eye level. "Well, that was...unexpected," the unicorn comments. Understatement of the year. "Are you still up for trying that spell? I never actually finished it, but I was close." I glance down in thought. Can't be worse than getting struck by lightning, I guess. I nod a bit hesitantly. Twilight Sparkle nods as well, turning to head back to her original position a few yards away from me. As she does, I see Dash approach her and give the violet unicorn a stern look.
"Don't you dare hurt him, Twi," she whispers angrily. The violet pony recoils back a little, obviously surprised by Rainbow Dash's sudden ferocity. She nods quickly, then shoos the Pegasus away. If only you knew, Twilight, I muse with a grin to myself. As I watch the unicorn start up the spell again, my mind starts to drift, as it always does. What would her friends think if they knew she liked me the way she does? What would everyone else think? Most of them already probably think I'm the weirdest creature in Equestria, which I likely am...
My focus returns to Twilight standing a short distance away when her horn begins to glow with an almost-blinding brightness. I clench my teeth together as I brace for some sort of unforeseen side-effect. The aura around me again begins to grow deeper in color, eventually tinting the world around me a pure violet color. I shut my eyes, wincing, preparing for...
Pop. I open my eyes upon hearing the noise. The world is back to normal color; Twilight is raising her goggles with a hoof, looking a bit winded from the use of magic. Wait, that's it?
"I think that's it," Twilight says. Okay, so that's it. My ears popped. No lightning. "You should be able to retain the ability to walk on clouds permanently, now. The original spell virtually infused a small amount of false Pegasi magic, which isn't entirely repeatable with unicorn magic, with the user. The spell I made should have infused a strain of Pegasi magic within you that lasts for around two-hundred-seventy-eight years, which, unless you have a very long life span, is basically permanent."
"Wait, shouldn't that mean he can fly and stuff, like I can?" Rainbow Dash chimes in.
Twilight shakes her head, looking back and forth between us as she explains. "No, he can't fly. He can manipulate clouds in a similar fashion to Pegasi, but not to the full extent you all can. Like I said, unicorns can only replicate a crude version of the magic found in Pegasus ponies, a simple version of it. All I did was concentrate that simple magic that allows Pegasi to manipulate clouds very basically, much like a Pegasus foal is able to. All Mark can really do is stand on and push around clouds, if the spell worked properly." The unicorn pauses, giving me a once-over. "Be careful, and watch for signs that the spell is fading or isn't working properly, and please report them to me." She glances to Rainbow Dash. "And Rainbow, please stay close to him as much as you can, in case he starts to fall through the clouds."
Dash flashes a meaningful look at me, coupled with a very quick wink. "Alright, fine..." she says to Twilight. I can tell she is much happier to have been ordered to stay close to me than she makes herself sound. Can't say I'm not happy, either, though. Yet another thought to push to the back of my mind before it starts to go any deeper. The violet unicorn gives her an odd look, glancing between Rainbow and I for a moment. It's not what you think, Twilight. Well...maybe it is? We're just friends...friends who want to be more than that and know it? Gah...
"Well, have fun, you two," Twilight Sparkle says with a friendly smile. "Thank you for letting me use you as a control, Mark. Your help will certainly be noted in my report on this spell." Thanks? I nod, smiling to her. She trots back towards the library, leaving Rainbow Dash and I to our own devices. The light blue Pegasus smiles happily to me, jumping into her usual hover.
"C'mon, I'll go get some clouds so you can get up to my house." I nod, grinning, and start off in a jog towards the floating house of the rainbow-maned pony, alone in the distant sky. ***
I lay on my back, slightly sunken-in to the fluffy cloud. I continue to watch the blue speck in the sky, trailing a perfect rainbow behind it, as I have for the past few hours. She starts to dip down, coming straight towards me. If I didn't know any better, I would probably try to get out of the way, but I do know better, so I stay where I am, watching her dive at me. With flawless timing, Rainbow Dash flares her wings, slowing herself to a stop just over me, where she settles down, placing her hooves on either side of my torso. I grin up at the Pegasus, who grins back, panting a little. Her breath smells nice, kind of spicy. She looks at me closely for a while, in an odd, serious fashion; my grin starts to fade. Please, don't try anything...
The light blue pony jumps back into the air, hovering over to one side. I stand up, feeling a little relieved, and my smile returns. Rainbow aims a hoof towards her tower-like house. "Want something to eat?" I nod, and she waves for me to follow. I do so, tailing the hovering pony into the first floor of her home, which also happens to be the kitchen. I lean against a soft counter while she fishes around in some cabinets. "You like sandwiches?" I nod again. After a moment I realize my definition of a sandwich might be different from hers, but decide not to dispute it for now. She starts arranging pieces of bread, along with flowers of varying sorts, to my minor dismay, on a pair of plates. Dash sets them on the small, low-set table in the room, taking a seat on the floor before one side of the table. I sit down opposite her, folding my legs to get more comfortable on the cloud floor.
I guess flying really shreds through what energy she has; she tears into the meal like she hasn't eaten in a week, as she seems to do often. I take a look at my sandwich, lifting one of the slices of bread. The flowers and stems don't look too appetizing; I scrape them off, then start munching on the bread. We eat in silence for a while, as it appears both of us are fairly famished.
I notice Rainbow Dash eyeing the small pile of plants on my plate as I go to finish off my other slice of bread. I push the plate towards her. "You're not going to eat those?" she asks, a little incredulously. I shake my head; I point at the flowers, then my mouth, then make the universal 'choking' sign, sticking my tongue out for show. She giggles at my display, then quickly devours the flowers that were on my plate. I wonder what flowers taste like to a pony?
Dash pushes the plates away, looking content. I smile, gazing at her for a moment. Friendly, rose-colored eyes, reflecting some of the sunlight in the room. A happy smile on her sky-blue face as she looks back at me. Her mane is messy and wind-blown, but it looks right on her. I idly begin to grin as I recall the memory of our date, sort-of, a few days ago, a little in memory of the actual date, but more in memory of the events following. Man, we nailed Applejack. The old bucket-filled-with-water-on-top-of-the-door prank, except there wasn't a bucket, there was a pie. I don't even know how Pinkie managed to balance a pie on top of that door, but the results were perfect. Applejack was actually more upset that we had wasted a perfectly good apple pie.
My thoughts turn a little more serious as I recall the actual date between Rainbow and I. I like you better when you're you, I quietly think to Rainbow Dash as I look at her across the table. Messed-up mane, bad table manners, pranks and all, I muse happily. A thought appears in my head; I decide I may as well go with it, and start to fumble with my pocket. A fresh piece of paper begins to fill with gray writing after a moment.
Why don't we try that date again?
The Pegasus looks up at me in question, passing the page back. "Whaddya' mean? Like, tonight, tomorrow, when, where?"
Here, now. Nothing fancy. I just want to know more about you. I don't even know your favorite color.
She gives me a look. "Is it that hard?" she asks rhetorically. "They're all my favorite. Duh," she says playfully, holding up part of her mane with a hoof. I smile, chuckling softly. "Okay. That sounds better than going to some fancy-pants restaurant again. So, whaddya' wanna' know about me? You already know I'm super cool, super awesome, and super radical. Is there anything else?" I laugh again, then think up a question.
What do you do for a living?
"Come on, seriously?" She rolls her eyes. "I'm head weatherpony of Ponyville. You've seen me do my job! Ask me something new, you big doof," Dash says with a grin. I smile back, then erase my old question and try again.
Do you like what you do for a living?
"I guess that's better," she comments upon reading the paper. "Yeah, I really like my job. It's kinda' the most awesome job, ever. I mean, I get to basically kick around clouds and boss ponies around every day." I smile, and see she looks like she wants to continue. I watch her, waiting. "I dunno'. I've always wanted to be a Wonderbolt, but...I dunno'. It's dumb. You'd laugh." I shake my head, trying to look serious, but I can't quit smiling when I look at her. I try to tell her with my eyes; I guess it works, because she decides to continue. "I guess I feel like if I become a Wonderbolt, which I totally could, I'd be ditching my friends and Ponyville. 'Cause, y'know, the Wonderbolts are always traveling and stuff. I'd only get to see my friends, like, twice a year...I dunno'," she repeats. I frown, wanting to help her, but knowing it's something she'll have to figure out on her own. I share a piece of advice I've taken to heart.
Whichever path you choose, it will be the right one.
She gives a small smile. "Kinda' cheesy, but I guess it makes sense." I laugh, then go to start my next question. "Hey, whoa, uh-uh, it's my turn to ask a question, now," she says, stopping me. I make a show of setting my pencil down and folding my arms, looking at her and waving my hand in the motion of go on. She smiles, thinking for a moment. "Okay, I've got one. What do you do for a living? I mean, like, I know what you do now, you just do...everything, I guess. But, do you have a special talent or something? Your cutie mark is always covered up because you guys have that weird thing about wearing clothes all the time, so, yeah." I smile at her, then put my thoughts to paper.
I don't have a cutie mark, and I don't think I have a special talent. I've always just taken the jobs that become available to me. I've worked most of my life, dropped out of high school.
"Wait, you don't have a cutie mark, or a special talent?" I shake my head. "Huh..." she observes, peering at the paper again. "What's a 'high' school? I mean, my school was pretty high up, but Pegasi can fly and all." I chuckle to myself, then explain.
It's just higher levels of schooling. I should have stayed in it, but I was much younger and much stupider then. Believe it or not, I'm less young and less stupid, now.
"Yeah, I'm going to go with 'not'." To emphasize her point, she taps my right forearm with a hoof, indicating the scar tissue from a wound caused by taking on a pack of wolves. I notice how soft her hoof is, the fur like velvet against my skin, and uncannily warm. Actual thought registers a moment later, and I laugh softly. Rainbow Dash gives me a look of curiosity, and I hold her gaze. "Why didn't you stay in school? I mean, school is lamer than lame, but still, that's kind of like, y'know, dropping out of flight school before you learn how to fly." I frown, trying to think of some way to explain it away.
Let's just say I had to grow up faster than normal.
Her cerise eyes search mine for a while. She may not be the definition of an intellectual, but she is certainly clever; as hoped and expected, she understands. "Yeah, I get that. I guess I did, too. Alright, your turn," Dash says, changing the subject with flawless flow. My mind lingers on the fact that she might somehow relate, but I push the thought away, thinking up something different.
Much of a pet person?
"Whoa, wait, you haven't seen Tank?" She looks around, then stands up. "Here, c'mon, he's probably hiding out upstairs or something." I stand, smiling as I follow Rainbow Dash up to see Tank. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty-One | I place a palm on the door to my house and push it open, stepping inside. Letting out a long sigh, I proceed to pop a few of my ligaments, each providing a satisfying crack. I decide something to eat sounds good right about now; I wonder if...oh, boy. My face twists into a frown as I open my icebox, peering at emptiness. I close the lid, stepping back and rubbing my face in thought. Can't even remember the last time my meal had any sort of meat in it...My gaze shifts to a window, and I step over to it, looking outside. I still have a good amount of daylight left, as the sun sits at around a forty-five-degree angle in the afternoon sky. Sighing again, I decide I have to do it.
Setting my jaw in a mixture of distaste and determination, I make my way over to and up the stairs, into my bedroom. Beside my bed lay my tomahawk and dagger; I walk over to them and retrieve them from the floor. Wiping the blades of each off on my shirt, I give the weapons a once-over; satisfied, I slip them into my belt loops, adjusting them until they are secure there. I traverse the stairs once more, then head out the door, preparing a mental checklist. ***
Some dust kicks up around my feet as I jog steadily along the very quiet road that leads from the town of Ponyville to the nearby Everfree forest. I look up and to the west, seeing that I still have plenty of time. Even so, I don't want to spend too much of it in the forest, and I certainly don't want to get caught in the dark. I carry a good-sized net over my shoulder; not Fluttershy's, given that I decided to get myself a net of my own to avoid bothering her too often. I found that a high-grade butterfly net also works well as a fishing net. A little on the pricey side at something like ten bits, but what's that old saying? 'Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime'? It seems to be relevant in some way.
I keep my pace, at this point passing Fluttershy's cottage, alone on the distant outskirts of the town. I don't think I could manage the existence that the timid, yellow Pegasus has. I like my solitude, quite a bit more than most, but completely separating myself from all contact except on a very minor basis would definitely be hard. Yet another odd contradiction I notice about myself; I both hate people in general, yet know that I need them and actually like a lot of them. I suppose that wouldn't really apply here, since I actually like ponies; most don't seem to like me very much, though. Easily understandable.
I feel something make contact with my back; I slow, looking behind me. I see nothing, just an empty road, Fluttershy's cottage, and the town in the distance, in which I can see a few ponies trotting about. Shrugging, I go to turn forward, when I feel the same tap on my back. Spinning around, I see nothing, again. Wait a minute. Another tap on my back; I make like I'm about to turn around, then spin forward again. I point a finger and grin at a sky-blue Pegasus, hovering before me.
"Aww, c'mon! I had you going, there," Rainbow Dash says, grinning back. She looks at my shoulder, then at my waist, then back to me. "What's up with the net, and your weap--oh, wait...you're going to the Everfree, aren't you? Getting fish to eat, right?" I nod in confirmation. Her smile widens. "I could totally come with you! We could kick some wolf flank!" I grimace. It's not as fun as it sounds. "C'mon, please?" she says, clasping her hooves together.
I look into her eyes for a moment. They're filled with her usual confidence and spunk, and a minor amount of pleading. Well, she can certainly look after herself. She's definitely stronger than I am. And Fluttershy did recommend taking someone with me into the Everfree...The thought of 'what if something happens to her' is there, but I decide to push it away. She'll be fine. She can fly, and could probably break my skull with one kick. I nod in submission to the rainbow-maned pony.
"Awesome!" she cries. "C'mon, let's go!" I smile, then start jogging along again as she pulls away excitedly. I reach the entrance to the Everfree within another minute, finding her waiting there for me. She is reading a few of the many warning signs outside the forest, then glancing into the shadowy forest. Rainbow seems a little more hesitant at this point. I give her a nudge, and when she looks at me, a look of question.
"I'm not scared, if that's what you're thinking. I've been in here loads of times," she says, attempting to look confident. She doesn't quite pull it off, though. I know she isn't going to back down, though, a fact that is probably due to my presence, and I still have no intention of wasting what daylight I have left, so I start walking in, waving for her to follow close. She does so, flying steadily by my side. The Pegasus is close enough so that her wings nearly hit me in the face a few times, actually. We quietly walk through the forest, past Zecora's hut, towards the fish-filled river.
I kneel down at the bank of the flowing water once we reach it, lifting the net off my shoulder and setting it into the water. I take a moment to scan around the area, listening closely for anything threatening. All I hear are some birds chirping in the trees above, though, so I focus on collecting fish.
A fair amount of time passes. "Ugh, this is boring," Dash complains. I look over at her and nod in agreement. Boring, but necessary if I want to remain a healthy omnivore. Looking back to the river, a fish starts to approach, traveling with the current. I wait until it's only a few feet away, then drag the net through and out of the water, capturing the fish. Glancing over at Rainbow Dash, I see her look at the fish as it dies slowly from suffocation, then turn away, looking a little green. After the fish is dead and is on the bank beside me, Rainbow peers around me, looking at the still fish. "They aren't too smart, are they?" I chuckle, shaking my head and dipping my net back into the water.
My luck turns around from there. The fish almost seem to jump into my net, and soon I've collected a four good-sized fish from the river. I lift a fifth out of the water; as it begins the process of dying, I look towards the sky, trying to see through the trees. The sky is starting to darken; I figure we ought to get going, soon. I turn my head, looking over to Rainbow Dash, who still looks sort of sickly. She manages a smile at me anyways. Her smile doesn't register for me, though; what does is movement behind her, quick, predatory movement.
Without much further thought, I spring out of my crouched stance, lunging for Dash. I tackle her square in the chest, grabbing onto her and twisting around mid-air so that I hit the ground first. I ignore her "What the hay?!" of surprise, gently but quickly pushing her off of me. As the mess of light blue and rainbow disappears from my view, I see more clearly what had just caused my last second or two of reaction.
A horrific beast of some sort skids to a halt on the bank beside the river. Upon first glance, it looks much like a grizzly bear, very stocky and covered in thick, brown fur. As the milliseconds tick by, though, more and more detail begins to register. I first notice the face of the creature; it has the snout and general facial structure of a bear. However, a set of horns protrudes from just before its ears, and a set of tusks extends from its jaws. The hind end of the beast is also very odd in appearance; it looks more like that of a bull, with much shorter fur and the thinner legs of a bull. On closer observation, I see the creature has cloven hooves on its hind legs, as well. Overall, it strikes me as a combination of three animals: a bear, a bull, and a boar. Three animals I have never had any desire to even encounter, much less fight.
Jesus Christ, you have got to be kidding me! My weapons are already in my hands; I'm not sure where Rainbow is. All I'm sure of is that she didn't get impaled by that charging bear/bull/boar. I watch motionlessly and completely silently as the beast sniffs the fish on the ground. Come on, just take them, leave us alone...It swipes the dead fish aside with a huge front paw, turning towards us, maybe just me; I still can't see Dash, especially with my increasing tunnel vision. It focuses on something to my right; I take a quick glance in that direction, and see the small, light blue Pegasus, eyes wide, seemingly as frozen as I am.
My attention returns to the unholy being before me; I start running through options at light speed in my head. Okay, can't outrun a bear, or a bull, probably not even a boar. Can't climb a tree, bears can climb. Dash can fly out of here, I can't. My only options are to fight or hope for a miracle. Fight a bear, bull, boar combination. God damn it. My grip tightens on my weapons, and I see my knuckles turn white in my peripheral. I take another look down to Rainbow Dash; her eyes remain locked on the creature a few yards away. I slowly reach down and lightly give her a tap on the shoulder with the butt of my tomahawk. She jumps a little, then looks up at me. She looks conflicted, as if she wants to do something, but she's too fear-stricken to do anything. I see the thing paw at the ground, lowering its head for another charge. I jerk my head away from the creature, signaling for Rainbow to go. She looks at me, then at the beast, then shakes her head, setting her jaw and narrowing her eyes. Damn it! I jerk my hand away from the creature this time, but again she holds her ground. God damn it, Rainbow Dash, go!
A roar tears my vision away from the sky-blue pony as the bear-bull-boar begins its charge. It nears at a ridiculous speed, and I barely have enough time to dive out of the way. I recover quickly, and spin around to see Rainbow also managed to get out of the way. Knowing my opportunity will be gone all too soon, I lunge for the creature while its back is turned. I near the neck, but it turns at exactly the wrong time, causing me to back off as fast as I can. I know that the only chance I have to kill it is the neck, given the general thickness and toughness of bears, bulls, and even boars.
It swings its head towards me, four horns aimed straight for my chest; I strafe out of the way, then throw my left arm towards it. The dagger hits flesh, then bone; I realize I've hit the shoulder. The beast rears back on its hind legs, those of a bull, raising its front paws in fury and letting loose a roar of anguish. Great, I've pissed it off. I attempt to take advantage of the opening that appears while it reacts from the wound, swinging my right arm up towards its neck; the thing towers over me by at least a yard when on its hind legs. It is just a little faster than I am, though, and swings a huge arm at my own. The tomahawk is thrown out of my hand, sticking into the ground a short distance away. Before I even have time to think, it brings its other paw around, smashing me in the chest.
I am lifted off my feet and the wind is knocked out of me. I hit the ground, hard, only a few feet away from my tomahawk. My dagger has fallen out of my hand as well. I inhale sharply, gasping in a breath as I try to get back to my feet; judging by the stab of pain in my upper-left chest, I think the creature may have bruised some ribs, possibly broken some; I'm lucky it didn't completely liquefy my torso. I quickly find my luck has run out, though, as my blurred vision catches the beast nearing me. It comes to a stance over top of me, bear's paws on either side of my shoulders, bull's legs and boar's hooves on either side of my legs. As its face approaches mine, I realize this thing's either going to try and spear my head or just start biting chunks out of it.
It comes towards me, jaws open. I'm able to get my hands up just in time to grab on to the horns protruding from its face; I get one hand on an actual horn, the other on a tusk. I push back with all my might, but know this thing is too strong for me to hold off much longer. From its throat comes a deafening roar of anger at my resistance; its breath smells of a scent I can only describe as death. My eyes dart over to one side; I see both of my weapons, fairly close to one another, and barely within arm's reach. My thoughts race, trying to determine whether or not I should risk letting go of its horns to attempt a grab at a weapon.
A blur of light blue slams into the side of the creatures face, causing it to stumble off of and away from me. Fairly stunned, I follow the beast with my eyes. For a moment I watch as Rainbow Dash darts around and over the thing, flying fast enough to create a rainbow trail around it. I can't tell if she's seriously trying to harm it or if she's just toying with it; it looks like both. Every so often she'll stop mid-air, giving the creature a hard buck to the head, back, or side. And every time she does, it gets angrier and angrier.
"Come on, ugly! Try harder!" Dash cries, giving the thing a swift kick on the nose. I'm back on my feet, knowing that it's past angry at this point. I retrieve my weapons, turning hard and dropping low as I aim myself towards the bear, bull, boar, whatever it is. I charge as quickly as I can towards where it and Rainbow continue to battle; I'm not fast enough, though. Swiping almost aimlessly through the air, a giant paw makes contact with the small Pegasus mid-air. I am filled with an unbelievable rage even before seeing the results of the attack; knowing this thing may have even ruffled Rainbow Dash's fur is enough to make me want to watch it die.
And I do watch it die. I swing my tomahawk as hard as I can towards its neck, lodging it in deep. As I tear out the ax-like blade, the creature lets out a roar of pure pain and surprise; the only thing I hear is my heart pounding in my ears, adrenaline blocking out everything else. My right arm swings down again, and again, and again; blood stings my eyes, but I don't care. Another roar, this one more of a gurgle as it begins choking on its own blood. I continue to hack at its neck, though, receiving almost no resistance from the beast. It falls away from me, hitting the ground; with all my might, I bring the tomahawk down hard into its neck a final time, then release my grip. I raise my right leg, stomping hard onto the opposite end of the small ax lodged in the creature's neck, driving it all the way through. I pull out the gory tomahawk, surveying my work for a moment; it's definitely dead, and nearly decapitated. The idea of overkill doesn't register. What does is the well-being of Rainbow Dash.
I look around frantically, spotting the light blue form only a few yards away. My entire body relaxes as I see she is standing on all four hooves, and doesn't look badly injured. I spot a red gash on her left hind leg, and her left wing looks a little bent out of shape, possibly scratched as well. I continue to do my visual check on her; she generally seems okay, except for her face. Her face isn't injured, but it's her eyes that create a spark of worry within me. She stares unblinking at the carcass of the bear-bull-boar creature, specifically at the particularly nasty neck area. Her gaze shifts a fraction of an inch, to the bloodied weapons in my hands, then goes back to the dead beast on the ground before me.
Without warning, she vomits. I drop my weapons, starting off in a slowly accelerating jog towards her. She collapses, hitting the forest floor with a dull thud. I sprint the rest of the distance to her, sliding down to my knees in front of the sky-blue pony. God, please, no...please be okay...I can't lose you, too...My head immediately drops down to hers, and I hold an ear near her snout as I bring a bloody hand to her neck, pressing lightly with my thumb against the bottom of her chin.
A slow, warm breath brushes into my ear, and I feel a steady tha-thump against my thumb. I nearly start crying with relief. Okay, she's just passed out. She's okay. Thank God, Celestia, Luna, whatever is watching over me and her. I gently set her head down on the ground again, standing up. Keeping ninety percent of my focus on the unconscious Pegasus, I pick up my weapons from the ground, wiping them on the fur of the creature as I pass by. I go to turn around and go back to get the pony, but notice something a short distance away. It's the small cluster of fish, still lying on the ground, untouched by anything as of yet. Shaking my head and smiling a little, I go over to the fish, tossing them into my butterfly-fishing net. These things are more trouble than they're worth, I think as I glance down at myself. My shirt is completely coated with blood that is not my own, as are most of my pants.
I walk back over to Rainbow Dash, still scanning the area for anything else. Everything, even the birds, seem to have gone into hiding; I notice that it's getting dark, as well. I set the net and the fish on the ground, slowly and carefully sliding my hands under the small, light blue pony. I'm grateful she doesn't weigh much, as I'm sure that if she were actually heavy, me and my likely-broken ribs would have to drag her out of this godforsaken forest. I manage to wrap an arm under her chest, grab the net off the ground, stand back up, and wrap my other arm under her. I look around for a moment, orienting myself before walking as quickly as I can manage back towards civilization.
I contemplate stopping by Zecora's or even Fluttershy's to seek some medical assistance, but I figure there's not really much either of them could do for us. Bruised, even broken ribs usually seem to heal on their own, I don't have any open wounds, and Dash's are fairly minor. Probably still need to clean them, though...I hope her wing isn't too badly damaged. I step up the pace as the shadows continue to grow.
I make it out of the forest as the last of the sun starts to dip below the horizon. Glancing down, I see that Dash remains asleep, her head now lolling against my chest. I gently shift her around a little, making sure none of her wounds make contact with my shirt; I don't want her getting infected by or having a reaction to the blood on my clothes. We pass Fluttershy's cottage, now dark and quiet. I muse for a moment the fact that ponies seem to run on a sunup to sundown schedule, and staying up much later seems to take its toll on them.
Thankfully, the roads are fairly clear, with only a few ponies milling about, likely trying to get home. Even still, I take as many alleys and shortcuts as I can, trying to steer clear of any attention. They're already scared, maybe even repulsed, by me, enough. Don't need them thinking I've gone and killed someone. I think I manage to keep myself concealed well enough so that I'm not spotted; the general darkness and emptiness of the night helps. I push in the door to my dark house, hurriedly setting down my net to free up a hand. As the door closes, I use the last outside light to find my way to the lantern and ignite it. A dim, yellow glow fills the room, giving it a very calm essence.
I grab the lantern, carrying it with me into the bathroom. Setting down the pony in my arms as carefully as I can, I turn the lantern on fully, lighting up the room. I observe Rainbow Dash for a moment; she sleeps peacefully, unaware of the blood, neither hers nor mine, that mats her fur, the cut on her hind leg that isn't bleeding very much, her injured wing that doesn't look broken, but still bends at an odd angle, or even the fact she's out of harm's way and in my house. Looking down at myself, I decide I'm probably not fit to try and clean her up, given my own state. I strip off my shirt and pants, leaving me in my undergarments,--hopefully she doesn't mind--and toss them into a corner, where I make note to clean them thoroughly later.
My mind starts to churn as I think out what to do next. I take a quick look at the unconscious Pegasus a last time, then leave the bathroom. I quickly make my way through my house, maneuvering up the stairs. I blindly stumble around for a while up there, searching for my other set of clothes. Wincing in pain as I bend down, I reach under my bed and grab the clean shirt and pair of pants, then hurry back downstairs. I decide to put on my pants, make myself at least half-respectable, but keep the shirt off.
I set the shirt aside as I re-enter the bathroom, where I pick up the small pony once more. I bring her over to the bathtub, setting her near the back so the water won't hit her immediately. I flip on the tap, getting the water fairly hot. Grabbing my clean shirt, I use it as a washcloth of sorts, wetting it down with the hot water before bringing it over to Rainbow.
Her face twists a little in her slumber as I wipe the shirt against the gash on her hind leg, being as gentle as I can. The creature in the forest hit her just below her cutie mark with its swing, as well as clipping her left wing. I clean the area as best I can, and notice it's already starting to scab over. I find it odd that a gash like that could heal that quick, but I suppose she is in excellent health, and decide to let my mind wander later.
My focus turns to her injured wing. There are a few cuts along the base; I rinse out the shirt and slowly move towards the wing. I place my free hand along its edge, intending on giving it some support while I clean it. The wing is amazingly soft, softer than anything I've ever felt; I pause for a moment, a little stunned by the texture beneath my fingertips. Shaking my head, I resume what I was doing. Carefully bringing the makeshift washcloth closer to her wing, I press lightly against one of the cuts.
Much to my surprise, Rainbow Dash jolts awake with a whinny of pain. She attempts to scramble to her hooves, finding that she can't get a grip on the slippery interior of the bathtub. Her eyes go wise with panic, darting everywhere, eventually landing on me; she blinks a few times, then relaxes. She winces, looking back at her wing. Seeing the rest of her, which is mainly covered in blood, she slams her eyes shut, the wince becoming a grimace. The Pegasus waves a light blue hoof towards me, gritting her teeth and letting me resume cleaning her wing. It seems to be pretty sensitive, given the occasional gasp or grunt of pain from her. I finish as quickly as I can muster while not beating her up too badly.
I eventually give her a tap on the shoulder, and when she opens her eyes, point towards the shower stream. She nods, and with some help from me, pushes herself to her hooves, stepping into the shower of hot water. Blood-tinted water runs down the drain, and soon her fur is back to its usual sky-blue. I switch off the water, then help her out of the bathtub. I grab a towel and dry her off, careful to avoid her injured wing. She complies with me the entire time, allowing me to dry her off and then tie my shirt around her leg as a bandage of sorts. I can't do much for her wing, given the general sensitivity of it.
I finish off the knot, hoping it will keep her from bleeding too much more and that it will keep her from being infected with anything. I crab-walk back in my crouched position, coming around to face her. She smiles gratefully to me, her rose eyes reflecting the light of the lantern.
On an impulse that comes from seemingly nowhere, I reach forward and wrap my arms around her in a tight hug, still avoiding her left wing. I pin her to my chest, pushing the side of my neck against hers; she feels warm and soft, that impossible softness that is hard to replicate in any way. I realize how close I came to losing her, how dangerously stupid it was for me to drag her into that. I realize I never want to lose her, not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I'm not going to lose her like I've lost everything else. I clamp my jaws together, trying to fight back my moistening eyes, but to little avail. A tear of happiness, sadness, determination, maybe all three, slowly rolls down my face. I'm not going to lose you.
"Uhh...it's kinda' hard to...breathe..." Rainbow Dash gasps over my shoulder. I release my grip, smiling in embarrassment as I quickly wipe off my face. "Hey, you alright?" she asks quietly. I nod, smiling to her. Her eyes search mine for a moment, then she nods, smiling as well. I stand up, picking up the lantern as I do. I see Dash look back to her wing and attempt to move it, resulting in a frown form her.
"Looks like I just sprained it real bad. It'll be good by tomorrow," she explains. I raise an eyebrow, a little confused; that fast? I decide I can ask in the morning, though. "Cool if I crash here tonight?" Rainbow asks, probably knowing my answer very well. I nod, smiling to her before beckoning for her to follow me. I lead her upstairs, helping her up the steps where I can, and offer my bed to her. I watch as she hops in, making herself comfortable under the blankets, then head back downstairs. I flop down on the couch, deciding I could probably fall asleep on the floor if I wanted to, and close my eyes. ***
"Hey, uh, Mark?" I open my eyes, letting them adjust to the darkness for a moment. Before me stands Rainbow Dash, tilted sideways from my perspective. I lift my head in acknowledgement. "I...uhm...I couldn't sleep." I see the reason why in her eyes, full of fear and repulsion at a bad memory relived as a dream. I immediately shift back on the couch, making as much room as I can for the pony. She gives a lopsided smile, seemingly both ashamed and grateful, then clambers up onto the couch with me. The sky-blue Pegasus curls up in front of me, her warmth radiating onto my chest and stomach. She smiles at me, then closes her eyes, burying her head in my chest, silky mane brushing against my skin. I carefully wrap my arms around Dash, pulling her close to me and letting sleep carry me away. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty-Two | I open my eyes in a squint, blinking a few times to adjust to the bright light that floods into the room. Once I can focus, I glance around the room; it is empty--no, wait. It isn't quite empty. A mass of out-of-place color sits just at the bottom of my field of view; I look down. A small, sky-blue Pegasus pony with a rainbow-colored mane lies curled up against me, sleeping peacefully. As her chest rises, inhaling slowly, she snores softly, and I feel her cool breath on my chest. She feels warm and soft, her fur like velvet, mane like silk. Looking a little farther down, I see that her left wing, the one I thought was injured, is tucked neatly back at her side; my matte black shirt remains tied around her hind leg.
I watch her sleep for a minute, savoring the feeling of peace that fills me. The calmness of the air, peaceful but not lonely, the warmth on my bare torso that seems to fill my whole body, the general sense that things are good. Sadly, that feeling doesn't last very long; it never does. What kicks me back into reality is the pain I feel in the side of my chest when I take in a deep breath. I stifle my jolt of surprised pain, barely. Grimacing, I slowly take an arm off of Rainbow Dash, moving my hand to my rib cage. I lay my hand against where I feel the burn of pain, then press in a little. There is a burst of pain from the area, and I grind my teeth; I know now that the ribs are just bruised, though, badly.
Carefully letting out my breath, I decide it's time to get up. My gaze shifts to Dash, who gives a little snore. I don't want to wake her up, but I'm going to anyways if I get off the couch. Figuring I could wake her up in a better way than that, I move my free hand, the one not pinned under the sleeping pony, up to her head, setting it down gently on her mane. Remembering a way my mother used to wake me up, I slide my hand from the top of her mane to the bottom a few times, then pat her lightly on the shoulder until I see her eyes open. Cerise irises, bright as ever in the light of the morning, are revealed, focusing on me for a moment. Rainbow smiles tiredly at me, and I smile back, removing my hand from her shoulder.
She pushes herself up a little, scanning around before pulling herself off the couch. Once she's on her hooves, I sit up. The Pegasus stretches, tensing up her whole body and flaring her wings. It occurs to me that she has an extremely athletic build; she reminds me of a race horse, but smaller, more colorful, cuter. And she has wings. She looks back at said wings, the left one in particular, flexing it as she admires it. The wing looks like it's in perfect health; I can't even see any remnants of the cuts that were on it. Rainbow Dash folds her wings to her sides, eyes locking onto her leg. Craning her neck, she grabs a hold of my shirt, pulling it out of the knot. I raise my eyebrows in surprise and confusion at what I see; her leg is flawless once more, not even a scar to tell the tale.
The light blue pony takes a few steps up to me, holding out my shirt in her mouth. I take it slowly, looking at her in amazement. "What?" she asks, scratchy voice filling the air. I point at her hind leg, then her wing, wondering if she understands my confusion. "My leg, and my wing? What about them? They're all better, now. Didn't you know ponies heal pretty fast?" I shake my head, eyebrows still raised. "Yeah. I broke my wing this one time, messed up a trick, got a little too close to the ground. I was good in a few days. That's when I read my first Daring Do book, y'know," she adds. "Totally worth it." She grins, and I laugh quietly.
I look down at the shirt in my hands, turning it over a few times. I don't see any blood on it, at all; I suppose her wound had healed fast enough to stop the bleeding even before I tied the shirt around it. It's definitely cleaner than my other shirt, which is probably a horrible black-red color at this point, and it probably doesn't smell too great, either. I decide I could use a shower, and stand up.
"Oh, Celestia!" Rainbow says in some degree of horror. I look down quickly, following her gaze...back to myself. She is looking at the left side of my chest, which happens to be a deep red-purple in color. Whoa. That definitely left a mark...I raise my left arm out to the side subconsciously, peering at the damage. After a moment I realize Dash has turned away out of squeamishness; I don't blame her. I carefully transfer my shirt over and pin it between my left arm and my chest, covering the bruise. I tap her on the shoulder, and she peeks over at me, fully looking upon seeing I've covered up my wound. "Bleh," she comments, sticking her tongue out and shaking her head a little.
Having grabbed her attention again, I point at the bathroom, then at her, giving a look of question. She looks at me for a moment, then I see it click. "Oh, no, I'm good. I've already had my bath, thank you very much," she says with a playful smile. I return the smile, then head off to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I flip on the shower, getting it to a comfortable temperature before stripping down and hopping in. The warm water feels nice, and is a much better way to wake up than a stab of pain in the chest. I close my eyes, sighing and letting myself relax.
"Hey, don't you always keep apples in one of the cupboards?"
I nearly slip and fall, spinning halfway around to see Rainbow Dash poking through the door to the bathroom. Panicking, I try to cover myself up as best I can, using one hand to shoo her away.
"Oh, right, you guys are weird about being naked. Sorry!" she says casually and cheerfully before pulling out of the bathroom, closing the door. I stare in some remaining surprise at the door for a while. Did she do that on purpose? Or is it really not that big of a deal? Either way, I finish my shower quickly and get dressed in fairly clean clothes.
I walk out of the bathroom, feeling much better. I'm not sure whether or not I should be upset with Rainbow or not; I decide probably not, since they really do walk around naked all the time. I wonder if wearing clothes for them is like being naked for me? I push the thought away, walking over to the table and sitting down across from the rainbow-maned mare, who has my sack of apples on the table, out of which she is eating a shiny, red apple. I pull an apple out, as well, and start biting into it. I try and catch Dash's eye as we eat, but she seems to be devoting all of her concentration to her breakfast. We each manage to scarf down two apples a piece; I recall not having had anything other than breakfast the previous day.
I finish my second apple shortly after her, setting the core on the table. Feeling satisfied, I lean back in my chair for a moment, sighing contentedly. The light blue pony does the same, extending and stretching out her wings before tucking them against her sides again. I reach out and grab the sack of apples in my left hand, and manage to grab all four cores in my right. Standing, I travel to the door, tossing the cores outside, then return to my cabinets, replacing the apples where I usually store them. I walk back over to the table, slumping down in the chair and resting my arms in a folded manner on the table.
I notice Rainbow Dash is looking at my right hand, which rests on top of my left elbow, intently. I watch her watch me for a minute; eventually she glances up, noticing I'm staring at her. She seems to think for a moment, then goes back to looking at my hand. I take my hand off my arm, moving it to the center of the table, where I lay it palm-down. A glance up to me, then back at the top of my hand. She leans in closely to it; I smile to myself. I let her peer at it for a while, then, as her face is hovering only a few inches away, I make my hand jerk quickly. Much to my pleasure, she jumps, letting out a yelp of surprise. She half-scowls, half-grins at me.
"Not cool." I grin back, pulling my hand back in. Her gaze travels with it; she seems pretty interested in my hands. I don't really question why; hands are pretty interesting in comparison to hooves. Her magenta eyes meet mine once more. "Can I hold your...what's it called? A hand?" I nod, then hold out said appendage to her, smiling to myself in amusement. To my mild surprise, I feel a pull on my hand as her front hooves 'grip' it. It's like a magnetic pull of sorts, just without magnets. I decide to brush the issue aside, assuming it has something to do with magic.
She turns my hand over, observing my palm. I hear a whisper of 'Whoa,' and feel her breath on my hand. Dash gently rubs her light blue hoof against the lines in my hand; her hoof feels oddly tough, yet is still as soft as the rest of her seems to be. I let her hoof trace my palm for a while, then smile to myself again. I close my fingers around her soft, blue fur, holding firmly but not too tightly. Rainbow recoils a little in surprise, then goes back to being curious, observing each of my fingers as they grip onto her foreleg. After a few seconds, she tries to shake my hand off; I continue to hold on, smiling. She tries harder, waving her foreleg around; I keep my grip, grinning at her.
"C'mon, let go!" she says, laughing. I hold on a little longer, then let go, finding myself chuckling as well. Moving my hand back to the center of the table, I find her attention is still on it. I idly wiggle my fingers about, sometimes correlating them, sometimes clenching my hand into a fist. She watches the show for a while, until I pull my hand back in towards me. I give her a look of question, then point at one hand with the other.
Rainbow Dash smiles sheepishly. "Sorry. Guess it's kind of weird for me to be staring at your hands, isn't it?" I shrug. "It's just...well, it's kinda' weird, but they're almost like little, tiny, featherless wings. See?" She opens one of her wings to its full length, then starts moving it about. My face twists in surprise as I watch her flex the sky-blue wing; it seems almost impossibly flexible, semi-separate parts of it bending much like fingers as well as bending like a normal wing. I realize at some point that my mouth hangs slightly open, and I clamp my jaws shut, continuing to watch the wing with interest. I recall the previous night, how her wing felt; frowning to myself, I decide being a little curious couldn't hurt.
I point at her outstretched wing, raising my eyebrows in question. She looks at her wing, then back at me; she seems a little hesitant. "Yeah, I guess you can touch it. Careful, though, these things break easily," Dash says with a grin. I smile, nodding in thanks, then push away from the table, hopping out of my chair. I step around the side of the table, kneeling down so that I'm just above eye-level with her wing, which she now holds at half-mast. I carefully reach out towards the light blue wing, feeling like an explosive ordnance disposal expert at the moment.
Her wing twitches ever-so-slightly as my fingers brush against it. I run my hand along some of the feathers, holding loosely onto one with my forefinger and thumb for a moment. It feels like a normal feather, downy and light, but is much larger in comparison to even birds of prey. The realization that, up close, the cartoon-like appearance of the wing disappears, and I'm able to see each of the feathers in detail. Thinking back, the same logic seems to apply everywhere else, from a mottled mess of what represents a treeline becoming actual, individual trees, who in turn have individual leaves upon closer inspection, to the table I kneel beside, where the lines and marks in the table can be seen if one looks closely. Maybe something with the atmosphere here, I muse, then return my focus to the wing in front of me. Wow. All in all, it is absolutely fascinating, and to say the least, beautiful. My hands have nothing on these, I think with a quiet laugh. I bring my hand up a last time, gently running my fingers from the base of the wing to the tip--
My eyes instinctively close as something soft smacks into my face at a pretty good speed. I blink a few times, realizing the soft thing is still pressing against the side of my face. I glance over, then duck down, letting the wing flare out all the way above my head. I move out from under it, going back into a kneeling position a little farther away from Rainbow Dash so I can see her. Her sky-blue face is tinted with a heavy blush, and her rose-colored eyes are filled with panic.
"Oh my gosh! I...I tried to keep them down! I'm so sorry! I--I didn't mean to, I...oh, Celestia..." she says rapidly, still blushing furiously. I wave my hand back and forth, trying to give her a look that says it's okay. Some of the panic leaves her eyes and face, and she glances down. "They'll go down soon. Sorry," Dash says quietly, obviously very embarrassed. I wait until she looks at me again, then smile to her. Behind my face, I store away the fact that Pegasus wings are pretty sensitive, in all forms of the word, into the high-priority section of my figurative memory bank. Okay, don't want to make that mistake again. Especially not in public. My stomach flip-flops a little; I know very well why her wings reacted the way they did at this point. Subject change, think of one, now! My hand reaches for my pocket, only to grasp onto nothing. Other pants...I quickly stand, heading for the bathroom, where I retrieve my pencil and paper from my pants pocket. Sitting down at the table again, I pass her a hastily scribbled note.
Want to help me out today?
Rainbow looks at me, possibly a little confused. "Just doing the random jobs and stuff you usually do?" I nod in affirmation. "Well, I don't have to work today, weekend an' all. Guess you just work whenever you want to, right?" I nod again, showing a friendly smile. Keeping my focus on her eyes, my peripheral catches her wings starting to dip slightly. There we go. She smiles back, large, cerise eyes looking happy again. "Sure, I'll help yah'. You'll be able to help everypony in town in ten seconds flat with me around!" She puffs out her chest, giving me her trademark smirk of confidence and spreading her wings under her own control. I grin at her, then stand, followed by her to the door. ***
The afternoon sun burns a bright orange, just now able to be looked at without risking permanent eye damage. I've always wondered why it is the sun changes in color during sunrises and sunsets, much as how I wonder why the sky is blue. I know there has to be some sort of scientific explanation out there, but quite honestly, it's more fun just wondering. Rainbow Dash and I walk along a familiar path; she leads by a short distance, hovering a head or so in front of me at my side. I don't really know why she feels like going to the lake, but I'm not complaining, and understand a little; it's just a nice place to spend the day, especially the end of it.
We reach the bank running around Luna Lake. Rainbow sits down, looking up at me and watching as I do the same to her left, drawing up my left knee and resting my elbow on it while my other hand lies flat on the ground. I look out over the lake, watching as a pair of ducks swim about near the center, quacking happily every so often. The lake manages to reflect the sun perfectly, as it does with the moon, as well, making the shimmering water appear a red-orange in color.
"Hey, Mark?" I look over at the sky-blue pony. "Uh...thanks," she says softly, giving me a small smile. I furrow my brow a little, blinking in question. She turns and looks back out over the lake. "For yesterday. I never thanked you. You saved my flank," Dash says with a chuckle. I'm about to protest, say that she did the same for me, but she reaches out with her left hoof and places it on my arm, stopping me. "Yeah, I know, you're gonna' say, 'but you saved my flank, too', or somethin' like that, but don't. All I did was get that thing off you. What you did..." She trails off, sitting quietly for a moment. She looks over at me again for a second.
"Oh, sorry for...uh, kinda' losing my cool. I guess I can't do blood too well, and...well, that was pretty messy." I give an odd smile that is also a wince, both proud and shameful of my reaction to the creature. It probably didn't need to have its head half-disconnected from the rest of its body. "I saw all of that, by the way. You..." Again, she stops, seemingly unable to describe what I did. "Well, it was awesome. Not what you did, but...you did it because of me. When that thing hit me, you went nuts on it," she explains, chuckling again. I laugh quietly as well, knowing that she's right. I remember the anger I felt, the pure, unfiltered fury at seeing her hurt. "I mean, I thought I was loyal, but you've definitely got me beat me there."
Another laugh, then a sigh. Her eyes meet mine again. "Sorry. I'm not real good with words. I bet Twilight could say what I want to, the way I want to, just like that," she says, stamping her hoof lightly on the ground to emphasize her point. "Just...thanks. For kickin' that thing's flank, for me. And for letting me hang out with you." She pauses, her voice softening. "For being there for me. Thanks."
I smile to her. After a moment, I bring my right arm off the ground and wrap it around her back, careful to rest my arm just above her wings. I slowly pull her against my side, wrapping my hand around her other shoulder. I see her look up at me in question out of the corner of my eye, but keep my gaze on the lake as it reflects and refracts the bright, red ball of fire in the distance. The muscles in her back shift beneath my arm, and I feel the gentle press of her outstretched wing against my back.
She leans her head against my shoulder, and I tilt my head to the side, resting it atop hers. We sit together on the bank of the lake, watching the sun settle below the horizon. Right back at you, Rainbow Dash. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty-Three | I push open the doors of the town hall, stepping out into the bustling town square with a mild feeling of satisfaction. Having accepted two of the 'help wanted' papers push-pinned to the bulletin board--one of which I enjoyed quite thoroughly, as it involved tearing down an old, unused tool shed--I returned to the town hall with the intent of accepting yet another, only to find none were left. I've had it happen to me before, but usually there are enough odd jobs to last me a little while if I take a few of them each day. Even still, there is a sense of accomplishment, as if I have beaten my own challenge to see if I can clear that board of jobs.
As I think about it, subconsciously walking along the route that leads to my house, I wouldn't want to make my living any other way. Not only is it nice to have a different thing to do, a different place to see, a new person--pony--to meet nearly every time I accept a job, but the feeling of having helped someone, having done a good deed, is there. Definitely better than the monotony of a menial labor job. I let my mind continue to wander. I realize something after a minute: not once has a specific pay been described on the papers describing the jobs, nor have I ever asked for any pay. I have rejected it a few times, though. Every pony I have done something for has offered to pay me, usually a fair amount, often more than fair. Maybe they trust me a little more than I realize. My focus returns to what I see ahead of me; a few ponies pass by me, none I recognize. The don't make eye contact, or try not to, and make sure they aren't even close to making actual physical contact. Maybe.
Certainly a nice change from the city, I suppose. Shoulder-to-shoulder with everyone on the sidewalks, be they an average joe or a street wino who smells like he hasn't showered once in his life; and maybe he hasn't. It would be nice if this sleepy little town was more active at night, but I won't complain. I glance up as I round a corner on habit; Moonlight Avenue reads a wooden sign on a pole, pointing down my road. Well, not really my road, but the road my house is on. I casually stroll down the street, turning off at my house, number eleven.
I sigh to myself once I close the door behind me, not really sure what to do at this point. Maybe Rainbow Dash is off work today? No, it's somewhere around a...Friday? I count off the days in my head, trying to remember what day it is. I'm pretty sure it's Friday; yeah, I got smacked by a bear-thing around six days ago. I look down, lifting my shirt. My ribs are looking a lot better, most of the bruising gone at this point. Still hurts when I take in a really deep breath, though, or when you press on them hard enough.
Plus, it was overcast all morning. She is good at her job, though, really good, so maybe she'll get off early. I grab an apple out of the cabinet, then take a seat at the table, propping up my legs and leaning back. I slide my tomahawk out of my belt loop and begin flipping it in one hand, concentrating on letting it do a full flip before grabbing the handle again.
I miss Dash. The quietness of my house only reminds me of that, my lack of things to do even more. I haven't really hung out with her much since the past weekend; her week's been busy, as a whole two days of rain for the farmers of Ponyville was scheduled. She explained the clouds had to be made in Cloudsdale, floating Pegasus metropolis not too far from here, then distributed here, arranged, manipulated to expand and cover a larger area, basically 'activated' to initiate the rain, cleaned up, and then the whole process had to be repeated a few days later, to prevent the soil from not absorbing all the water and flooding. And having to direct all of that leads to very long days and a very tired Pegasus at the ends of those days.
The sweet flavor of the apple fills my mouth, and I toss my weapon a few more times. Maybe I could go find her. Can't be that hard, right? Wrong, given how expansive the sky is and how limited my access to it is. And for all I know, she could be doing things on the ground, as well. I sigh to myself. I don't like sitting here, doing nothing. I would much rather be doing something undoubtedly awesome with my sky-blue fr--
A series of rapid knocks against the door across from me interrupts my thoughts. I take my feet off the table, slip my tomahawk back into my belt loop, and go to stand up, grabbing my late lunch as I do. The door opens quickly, and a very excited-looking Pegasus with a multicolored mane tumbles in. I smile big, immediately filled with happiness and some relief.
"Mark! Mark! Oh my gosh! Alright, so, I was kicking this cloud, right? And then when it went all poof, and the sunshine hit it, it made this little rainbow! And I was like, 'no way, I know what I can show Mark'! I can't believe I haven't shown you it yet! It's undeniably, unquestionably the coolest, most awesome, most radical thing ever!" she gushes, gasping in a breath. "C'mon! Let's go!" Laughing to myself, I nod eagerly and follow her outside.
She leads the way, bubbling with energy. Every so often, she'll tell me to hurry up; I keep a steady jog, knowing if I go much faster, I'll run out of stamina quicker. Rainbow keeps talking to herself, saying things like, "Can't believe I forgot", or "Yeah, this weather's perfect". After a few minutes, I find she's led us to her house. Or more, the ground beneath her house. She glances around, frowning.
"Aww, hay! Forgot that I cleared all the clouds today..." Her focus shifts to her floating house; I can see her mind working. She turns quickly to me, putting out a hoof. "Stay here, I'll be right back." I watch as the light blue pony darts off into the sky, followed by a trail of rainbow. I raise a hand over my eyes, attempting to see what she's doing. Rainbow Dash appears to tear a small chunk of cloud off of the base of her house, then comes streaking back down to me. She lowers the cloud to the ground, looking at me. "Hop on!" I look at her incredulously. "Seriously, get on the cloud," she instructs. "I'm pretty sure this'll work. If not, don't worry, I'll catch you." Yeah, thanks. I comply anyways, getting a general idea of what she intends to do once I'm on the cloud.
I clamber on top of the soft, fluffy object, sinking in a few inches. Cool, Twilight's spell is still working. I look over at Dash. "Ready?" she asks, smirk starting to appear on her face. I give her a thumbs-up, and she disappears from sight, presumably going under the cloud. Okay, yeah, like an elevator, sort of. Except elevators don't go from zero to ninety miles per hour in two seconds.
I hold on for dear, precious life, watching the ground race away at light speed. I can't tell whether my ride is enjoyable or terrifying; maybe both, somehow. It's over almost as soon as it starts, though, and I find myself scrambling onto the main cloud composing Rainbow Dash's home. As I stand up, a little shakily, the Pegasus flies into view.
"That worked great! You aren't as heavy as I thought you'd be," she says, smiling cheerfully. I shake my head, blinking a few times, then smile back. "Okay, so, uh...just, get comfortable, I guess. I need to figure a few things out, gimme' a sec..." She starts looking up into the blue sky above us, then down at the cloud we stand atop. She twists her orange tongue out to one side of her mouth in thought, squinting high; I decide I'll find a nice place to lie down. It's not hard, given the general comfiness of seemingly all clouds.
"Okay, are you watching?" Rainbow yells over to me. I give another thumbs-up. "Don't blink!" she exclaims, and I see her eyes narrow in confident determination. She lowers herself down against the base of the cloud, then proceeds to launch herself into the air, angled straight up. I watch in awe as she soars up and up, soon only visible by the trail of color that follows her. She continues to climb, higher, and higher, and soon I lose her against the sky so similarly colored with her. I search the air for a few seconds, frowning.
A small speck, which at first I mistake for the light playing a trick on my eyes, begins to grow more and more prominent. I know it to be Rainbow Dash; given the rate at which she becomes clearer, she has to be traveling extememly fast. Somehow she manages to continue accelerating, though. As she nears, I try to focus on her, but all I can make out is a blur of rainbow, shooting straight down. I wonder exactly how fast she's going, as I think I can almost make out a vapor cone forming in front of her. There's no way...
And yet, the blistering white vapor cone continues to grow larger, blocking more and more of the blur that is the rainbow-maned Pegasus. She is getting close, now, only a few hundred yards up, the white cone below her almost completely enveloping her body--
A massive ring of color bursts out from Dash, spreading rapidly across the sky. The vapor cone leading the pony as she continues to streak downwards now shimmers with color and light; she disappears from sight, meeting and going below my elevation within a fraction of a second. My eyes feels like they're going to pop out of my skull; I stare in open-mouthed amazement as the wave of light continues outwards above me. The color of it, seemingly of every single particle of the air affected by it, changes with every passing moment, creating a brilliant display of every single color in the spectrum of light.
The shockwave of sound hits me, quite literally. Compressed air hits my eardrums with a loud thump, like a muffled explosion, and a blast of wind hits my body. It hardly registers, though, all of my focus on the ring of color. It continues to spread for maybe a few seconds longer, then the color slowly begins dissipating into the air, creating an effect much like watching a ripple in water as it loses its momentum. All too soon, the show of light is gone, the trail of organized color piercing straight through its center fading as well.
Something enters my field of view; I don't think I can take my eyes off the sky, though. A light blue object waves in front of my face; I blink a few times, looking over. There stands a pony, a Pegasus, with a sky-blue coat, a very wind-blown mane of rainbow colors, and a huge grin on her face. Her cerise eyes hold mine for a moment, and she watches me, panting heavily. I can't seem to react in any way, like my mind is so awe-struck it has shut down temporarily.
"Pretty...cool...right?" she asks between gasps of breath.
I stare at her a while longer, then my brain kicks in again. My gape turns into a grin that hurts my face, and I begin shaking with silent, uncontrollable laughter, nodding frantically. She starts to laugh as well, running out of breath to laugh with quickly. My giddy excitement continues for a while longer.
"I love doing those...I call it the 'Sonic Rainboom'," she explains before resuming attempting to recover her breath. "And best of all...I'm the only one that can do them." Rainbow Dash flashes that confident smirk to me, then squeezes her eyes shut. "Whew! Celestia, those are hard to do." I suppose my face conveys my next thought to her as she looks at me again. "I've gotta' go as fast as I can to make a Sonic Rainboom. Twilight said it had something to do with breaking the sound barrier and disrupting the light spectrum at the same time, I dunno'. All I know is that it's the coolest, most awesome, most radical thing ever." I grin at her, nodding in definite agreement.
"I've only done it...uhm...four times, as of now," Dash continues, before looking at me seriously. "I know it looks awesome, but actually doing a Sonic Rainboom...it's amazing. Goin' so fast I can't even see or hear, just letting myself fall, and then the feeling when the 'boom actually happens..." she says dreamily. "There isn't much else more awesome." Her eyes look deep into mine for a while; I get the feeling she chose her words carefully.
She breaks the gaze, looking towards her house, which sits behind me a short distance away. "Well, I'm starving, now. Wanna' grab a bite to eat?" I nod, smiling to her. We stand and head for her tower-like house made of clouds. ***
The sky-blue Pegasus trots around the side of her bed, carrying a novel in her mouth. She approaches me, sitting up against the foot of the cloud bed; I reach out my hand, carefully taking the book from her. I glance at the cover: Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. "That's the first one in the series. It's really good. I mean, all of them are really good, though," she explains. "Just let me know when you finish that one, and I'll give you the next, cool?" I nod, then smile gratefully, setting the book down beside me. I watch her sit down to my left, looking at me with those big, magenta eyes, like she wants to ask me something.
"Hey, uh...I've been wanting to ask you...why is it that you don't talk?" I hold her gaze a moment longer, and she continues. "I just...well, the book reminded me of words and paper and stuff, the things books are made of, which made me think of how you always write stuff instead of talking, which made me wonder why you don't talk. I've wondered that pretty much since I met you, but I've tried not to ask, since I know you don't like it when ponies ask." I continue to stare at her, my mind churning. "If you don't want to, I understand," she says softly.
I look away from her, to the white cloud wall across from me, into a doorway I inherently know leads to the stairs. My initial thought is the usual no. It seems too quick, though, not really thought through; this leads me to start thinking it through. Maybe...maybe I could tell her. Maybe it's time. How long has it been? What, ten years? Ten years of silence, of keeping my memories to myself, trying to deal with them alone. But that's not working, is it? After ten years, it hurts just as bad. Maybe it really is time to tell someone. And there isn't anyone else I'd rather tell it to. I trust her, and she trusts me, and I know she won't leave my side, no matter what I say. I take in a slow, deep breath, sighing it out.
I turn back to the rainbow-maned pony, nodding lightly. She nods in return, looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and worry. I shift around for a moment, moving to where I can reach into the right pocket of my pants, pulling out the few sheets of paper and the recently-sharpened pencil I keep on me nearly all the time. I sift through a few of the pages, finding a nice, clean page, untouched by blood, water, or my hand. Folding the rest up and stuffing it back in my pocket, I grasp my pencil within my thumb and first two fingers of my right hand, focusing on the page. I stare at the white of the paper numbly for a while; I notice it is tinted slightly orange, and glance over to a window. The sky outside is of an orange color; there's only a few hours left in the day, only a few hours left to write. Closing my eyes, I let the memory come to me; it isn't one easily forgotten. I start a sentence, and Rainbow Dash leans nears my shoulder to read as I write.
I was asleep one night, around ten years ago, just a kid.
I was really more of a teenager, maybe thirteen or fourteen, but a kid in comparison to myself now. Before my eyes begins a movie only I can see, a distant memory that is still so vivid.
I heard a few voices, ones I didn't recognize. Getting scared, I thought our house, my family's house, was being broken into.
Tossing off the covers, getting out of my bed. Pressing my ear to the door; deep voices, sort of gruff, angry-sounding. Opening my door as quietly as I can, trying to stay quiet, trying to hold my breath. I'll go get Mom and Dad, or see if maybe it's just a friend of theirs who showed up at a late hour for some reason I don't know. Quietly, down the dark hall, towards the room where my parents sleep.
I went to go get my parents, but they weren't in their room. I got my dad's gun out of the closet, then went looking for them.
Where are they? Not in their bed, asleep. An alarm clock beside their bed reads 3:47 A.M.; they usually don't stay up past two or so. Maybe it really is just a friend who's showed up at a late time; it's happened before. A very loud noise, one I'd recognize anywhere: a gunshot. There isn't any question, now, I'm getting Dad's gun. He showed me where it is, having trained me at a young age in the proper way to handle firearms, knowing I knew guns were not things to be played with but that I could use one if the time came. I open the closet slowly, still quietly, my hands starting to shake as I grab the gun out of the corner. It's an old Remington 870, a military-and-police version of the hunting shotgun, twelve-gauge. There is a box of ammunition up high in the closet; I grab it, fumbling with a few shells as I load them into the tube. Four twelve-gauge slugs, massive bullets that put massive holes in just about anything, especially people. I slide the pump forward, hearing a click as a round is chambered. Shouldering the weapon, I go back into the hallway.
My hand stops, perfectly still above the paper. My mind continues on.
I slowly walk down the almost pitch-black hallway, moving towards the stairs at the end of the hall. The doors to my left and right are only closets and nooks that house the washer and dryer. I keep my focus on my surroundings, shotgun pointed ahead of me. Carefully stepping down, I begin making my way downstairs. The kitchen is at the bottom of the stairs; it is still dark. The voices are much more clear, now, angry, a little panicked, definitely not ones I recognize. I speed up, noiselessly traveling from the bottom of the stairs to the kitchen floor. My hands are hurting from squeezing so tightly on the grip and pump of the weapon. Light floods into the room from the doorway that connects the kitchen to the living room. Unconsciously holding my breath, I move to where I can just barely see into the room while keeping myself hidden.
Two men had broken into our house. They tied up my parents so they could rob us, but they must not have realized I was in the house, too.
I watch them in horror. One robber stands over my parents, guarding them with a pistol while the other brings in a trash bag full of stuff, setting it on the floor. They wear dark clothing, their faces covered by cheap ski masks. The guard looks over at his partner, waving his gun up.
"You cleaned the place out yet? Don't got all day, y'know," he says angrily.
"Yeah, no thanks to you. Dumbass move, giving a 'warning shot'."
"Well, these two wouldn't shut up! I asked 'em nicely, didn't I?" the first one asks rhetorically, glancing down at something I can't see. I carefully lean out a little farther; I see a head, my dad's head, he's sitting up against the couch, beside Mom, I assume. My dad tries to say something, but it sounds like there's something stuffed in his mouth. The other robber looks down at where my parents sit, tied up and gagged, I think.
"Whaddya' wanna' do about them?" the second begins. "Should we just leave 'em? Maybe loosen the ties, so they can get--"
The first levels his gun out of sight, firing once. The pistol in his hand jolts back, flaring brightly; a split-second later, he shifts his aim, firing again. A mist of blood sprays towards him, and my dad's head lolls to the side. No, this can't be real, this can't be happening, he couldn't have just shot my--
The second man stumbles back in surprise, glaring at his counterpart. "Jesus, man, what the hell?! Why'd you--"
I watched them kill my parents.
Shock and rage push me forward, push the shotgun up, lining up the sights on the chest of one. A bloodcurdling scream of anger comes from my throat; the two turn in surprise. I squeeze the trigger at the first; the gun roars, echoing deafeningly throughout the room I now charge into, slamming back into my shoulder, half-blinding me with the muzzle flash. My left hand slides back, sending an empty shell out of the chamber, then forward, replacing a new one. I turn a few degrees to the right, the front sight of the 870 coming over top of what I see only as something that has killed my family. Another kick into my shoulder, another round out and another one in. My focus comes off of the sights, scanning for more targets. I see that the first target is still standing, screaming, but I can't hear it, only the blood pumping in my ears. There is a large hole in his stomach, blood and gore painting the the beige wall behind him. The gun travels up to the center of his chest, and I squeeze the trigger a third time. The screaming stops, and his body tumbles backwards with the momentum of the bullet, hitting the ground at around the same time the third, green, smoking shell hits the carpet of the living room.
I killed them.
The shotgun's barrel travels back over to the other man; his head is splattered against the wall, now. The room is quiet, but my ears still ring with the blast of the gun. My eyes search the room until landing upon two more bodies, slumped against the foot of the couch. The shotgun falls from my hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud. I kneel slowly, my breath coming out in ragged gasps. I place my hand against Dad's chest, shaking a little.
"Dad, please...please..." I shake him harder; all it does is make more blood spill from the hole in his forehead as his head rolls forwards. I frantically look over. "Mom? Mom, Dad, please, say something, just move, please...please, no..." I stop shaking them, taking my hands off of my dad's chest, off of my mom's shoulder, sitting back, falling back, scrambling to get away from the lifeless corpses. I bump into another body, a corpse I've created, a life I've taken. I move away from it, trying to get away. I can't get away. I can't. My own body begins to shake, tears rolling down my face. I wrap my arms around the bodies of my parents, pulling their cold corpses against me, sobbing into their shoulders, alone.
I was too afraid to talk. I didn't want to remember, and talking made me remember. So I stopped. I didn't talk for a week, then a month, then a year. I never tried. I don't want to try.
Police kicking in the door, to find me, clutching the bodies of my mother and father against me, crying to the point I made myself sick, twice, amidst a mess of blood, vomit, and two other shredded corpses, one missing half its head, the other missing half its torso. A trial, I am found not guilty on definite terms. A funeral, alone, no relatives to be with me, all of them either dead or nonexistent due to a lack of siblings, cancer of the brain, a car accident, or a single nine-millimeter bullet to the head, each. Therapy, failed. Schooling, failing, dropping out. Deciding to run away. Menial, worthless jobs, paying barely enough to support a no-questions-asked apartment. Three suicide attempts, all failed because I was afraid, wanting to die so badly but unable to force it upon myself. Throughout it all, silence. No talking, laughing, crying, shouting, screaming; silence.
I let them kill my parents, then killed them, for nothing. I can't talk because I failed. I am a coward.
I set the paper to my left, on the fluffy, white cloud floor, laying the pencil next to it. My eyes remain on the last sentence, repeating it over and over in my head. I feel numb. A light blue hoof presses down lightly atop the paper, crinkling it a little as it pushes the page away, doing the same with the pencil. The same hoof then moves around me, disappearing from sight over my shoulder. I feel a tight press against my back, followed by another a little below. A soft, sky-blue cheek presses against mine, colorful hair brushing aginst my face. My arms come up, seemingly under their own power, slowly wrapping themselves around the back of the pony hugging me tightly.
My squeeze slowly grows tighter, uncontrollably. My vision starts to blur over, and I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling a drop of liquid roll down and off my face. The tears come faster and faster, and soon I am sobbing into Rainbow Dash, pulling her against my chest. It hurts; everything hurts so badly. I want to stop crying, but I can't, continuing to choke on my own breath. I want to stop remembering, stop hurting, stop crying, but I can't. I can't.
"Hey, hey...it's okay," a scratchy voice says softly into my left ear, breath brushing against it. "You're not a coward, Mark. You didn't fail..." She rubs a hoof against my heaving back, trying to calm me down. I try to calm down, but my body won't let me. I'm reduced to a blubbering mess, unable to do anything except cry into the warm, soft, light blue shoulder beneath me.
I sob until the point at which I feel as if I am about to start retching, where I force myself to steady out my breathing. My breath comes between long intervals of holding it, trying to keep myself from getting sick. Soon all that's left are the tears streaming down my face, falling off my chin and onto Rainbow Dash's beautiful wings. I sniff a few times, wiping a hand against my eyes.
"You're not a coward," she repeats into my ear. "You took on a bear-thing in the Everfree just to protect me. I remember, I was there," she says, a little happiness in her voice. "I know you're not a coward. I know you're the most brave, strong-hearted hu-man in all of Equestria, and the only one, too." I smile, sniffing again. "But you're the bravest anything in all of Equestria, in the whole universe, braver than the Royal Guards, the firefighters, and everypony else, especially me."
"I'm a real coward. I ran away from my parents when I was just a filly. They always wanted me to be the best, and when I was the best, they wanted me to be better. I hated them for it. So I ran away, to show them I was better than them. But I always felt like I had to be the best, like even though I had ran away from them, I still didn't want to disappoint them. I was afraid of nothing. I never came home, I ran away to Cloudsdale." She stops, continuing to run her hooves along my back. I find myself stroking her back, as well, just above her folded wings.
"I got a letter one day, saying they had died. Some sort of flying accident. I realized how much I missed them, how much I really loved them, but it was too late. I feel like if I fail, or let anypony down, I would be failing them, and I've already failed them too much. I'm scared of nothing, all the time." I feel her own tears soaking through my shirt, and clutch her as tightly as I can to me. I want to tell her that she doesn't have to be scared, that she doesn't need to be, that her parents loved her, that she didn't fail them...but I can't. And so I tell her the only way I can, by not letting go.
I don't know how long we sit for, hugging each other within her cloud house, at the foot of her bed; I don't care. It's just me and her, alone with each other in the reddening room, tinted by the burning sun setting far, far away. "I haven't ever told anypony that before," she says quietly to me over my shoulder. I nod lightly, the same true for me. Her embrace tightens, as does mine.
I feel the pressure against my back start to lessen as she shifts her grasp on me; I release her a little, as well. She pulls back so that her face hovers only a few inches from mine. Her rose eyes glisten with the remaining light of the day, amplified in color by the sunset and by the watery remains of tears. She gazes into my eyes for a long time, searching for something that I think she finds.
Rainbow starts to move in towards me, slowly, her eyes fluttering closed. I watch her face near my own, my heart beating a little faster. A part of me, a very, very small part, screams at me to stop her, to push her away, that everything she is about to do is wrong. And yet, another part, another, much larger part, calmly tells me to go with it. And honestly, the calm part of me sounds more reasonable. Her lips meet mine; I close my eyes, kissing her as she does me.
An ever-so-familiar taste enters my mouth, one of a warm, delicious spiciness, like the taste of liquid rainbow, only much, much better. It is almost as if the feeling of warmth spreads throughout my entire body. I inhale her breath, taking in the spice present there, as well. I feel her tongue brush against my teeth, and allow it in, meeting it with my own tongue. The spiciness is suddenly much more vivid, somehow even more enjoyable and savory. My hand comes around the back of her neck, both rubbing and pressing along her silky mane.
We pull apart simultaneously, opening our eyes. Looking into hers, I see happiness, relief, excitement, and something else; lust. Dash approaches me faster this time, pressing her face against mine. My nose presses against her snout as our lips connect once more, faster, even more passionately. Our tongues dance with one another, trading the tastes of our mouths. She wraps her forelegs around my back, pulling me as close as I can be to her. I take in her smells, tastes, warmth, wanting more of her. The Pegasus seems to want the same, kissing me furiously. She begins standing up, pulling me with her; I, in turn, pull her up as I stand, holding her against me. Rainbow Dash begins pushing me backwards, towards the bed. Whoa, she wants to take it all the way!
And so do I. The small part of my being continues to shout protest that she is a pony, not a human, an alien at the very least, that everything I am doing and thinking is horribly, horribly wrong. I continue to listen to the calmer part, though, the one telling me that this is right, that it's okay, to go with it. Dash breaks contact with my lips, flaring out her wings and hovering in the air in front of me. Her mouth drops a short distance to the collar of my shirt, and she begins tugging on it. With some help from me, she yanks my shirt off, proceeding to smash her mouth against mine again before giving me a push on the chest.
I lose my balance, as expected, and fall back onto the bed, only to be pounced upon once more by Rainbow. She passionately kisses me again as the last light of the day begins to fade to darkness. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty-Four | I slowly open my eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the blinding light in the room. I notice that I feel especially well-rested this morning, my eyelids not heavy with tiredness, my body not cramped up as it sometimes gets when I sleep for long periods of time. My bed feels perfect, warm enough to be cozy, cool enough to not be uncomfortable. It seems unusually bright in my room this morning; I eventually blink out the blur in my eyes.
I realize it seems unusually bright in my room because this isn't my room. The four white walls reflect most of the sunlight streaming in through two open windows, one on either side of the bedroom. The bed I lie in isn't mine, either; covering me is a thick, purple bedspread, bearing a very familiar symbol that I can just barely make out with how messed up the blankets are. A lump begins to form in my throat as I begin to understand where I am and why I am where I am.
A light snore causes me to look down towards the source. The snore came from a light blue face, chromatic mane spilling down part of it, eyes closed in peaceful sleep, a small smile on the face. Rainbow Dash's breath glances off of my bare chest, feeling cool and soft. Her silk-like mane is very thoroughly mussed, more so than what would be caused from just sleeping. I become conscious of a light touch against my side, what I know without looking to be her foreleg, wrapped over me. My own arms hold her close to my chest, soft, smooth fur on my fingertips. I can feel her steady heartbeat against me, every breath she takes in and lets out.
It takes everything I have not to jump out of my skin at the realization of what I know I have done. Oh, Christ, what the hell was I thinking? How many laws of nature have I disregarded and broken? What if something actually happens, what kind of horrific creatures would--
The pony curled up against me stirs, starting to wake up. I watch her motionlessly, in some state of shock. She opens her eyes revealing tired, friendly, rose-colored irises, amazingly huge. They travel up my chest, meeting my eyes. Rainbow blinks, smiling happily. After a moment, she reaches up towards me, pressing her lips against mine. I start to lose myself within the familiar taste that burns just enough to be spicy, but not so much that it is painful in any way, in the smell of her breath, her soft snout meeting my nose and mouth. We share a long, deep kiss, breaking away reluctantly after some time.
I know exactly what I was thinking. I've done nothing wrong. In fact, I've done everything right. I didn't make love to a pony last night, I made love to Rainbow Dash, someone who I have true, genuine feelings for, who I care about more than anything in the world. She snuggles closer to my chest, closing her eyes again with a blissful sigh. I move my right hand a little farther down her back, running my fingers against the edge of her wing. In response, her wing extends a little, and I continue to stroke it. After a while, my hand leaves her wing, traveling to the spot on her back between her wings. I brush my fingers down the small portion of her spine, smiling to myself as she shivers, humming a little as she sighs again.
"Last night was awesome," she whispers into my chest, her scratchy voice sounding beautiful in the morning air. I continue to smile and rub her back, transferring to her other wing. My gaze drifts lazily around the room, surveying it. To say the least, it's trashed. Pieces of clothing, most mine, are strewn about the place, among spilled books, a fallen poster or two, and a lot of dents in the malleable cloud walls. Wow. I didn't realize we tore her room up that bad. She's definitely passionate, to say the least. Spicy, in all forms of the word, I muse with a smile.
After a few more minutes of cuddling, we decide it's time to get up. I pull Rainbow out of her bed with me, holding her eye-level with me. I look into her bright, warm eyes for a moment, then give her a few quick kisses on her neck and cheek. She giggles happily, then lets me set her down on the cloud floor, where she stretches out her wings, glancing around at the messy room. She chuckles to herself, looking a little proud at having wrecked the room so thoroughly with me. I start picking things up as I see them, slipping on my shirt, pants, socks, and shoes once I find them all, re-organizing the stack of Daring Do novels on the bedside table again, putting away a pair of colorful stockings that I don't quite see the purpose in. The room is soon back in orderly fashion; nothing was broken, thankfully. Dash and I head downstairs together, breakfast assumedly on her mind as it is mine.
I come into the kitchen a second after she does, and find her greeting her pet tortoise, Tank. She grins at him, pressing her nose against his with a little laugh. The reptile smiles back to her, using the helicopter-like contraption strapped to his shell to hover over to the low-sitting cloud table, where he settles down. The sky-blue mare trots over to a counter, jumping into the air and hovering for a moment to reach a cupboard. She grabs a yellow apple in her teeth, tossing it back and kicking it with her hind leg. I catch the projectile apple, grinning at her. Grabbing her own apple plus one more, she sits down at the table, joined by me. Rainbow Dash rolls the extra apple over to Tank, then begins working on her own apple.
By the time the Pegasus and I core our apples, the tortoise is about a fourth of the way through his. I idly watch him take impossibly slow bites, not helped by the fact he isn't very big; very slow, small bites.
"What was the word Twilight used? 'Ironic'? Yeah. She said it was pretty ironic that I have a tortoise as my pet. I guess I can see it." I give her a lopsided smile, looking between her and the ridiculously slow reptile. I find myself losing focus, my thoughts drifting elsewhere.
"Hey," Rainbow Dash says, causing me to look up at her. Her cerise eyes look at me with concern. "Are you alright?" I nod my head, glancing down. "C'mon, don't lie. What's wrong?" I don't know what's wrong, that's the problem. "It's me, isn't it? Last night?" Frowning to myself, I sigh, nodding lightly. "Was it...bad, or something? Did I do something wrong?" I hold up my hand, shaking my head to stop her. I lean back so I can fit my hand into my pocket, and bring out a crumpled piece of paper, smoothing it out on the table.
No, that was amazing. You were amazing. I'm just I don't There's a lot on my mind. Last night was very fast. Maybe we rushed it, in the heat of emotion.
She frowns, passing the paper back to me. "I..." She sighs, looking me in the eyes. "Maybe you're right. You're right a lot," Dash says with a small smile. "I just...I've always wanted you to like me the way I like you. And last night, you did. I saw it in your eyes." She pauses, giving a quick snort of laughter. "That sounds really creepy, doesn't it?" I smile, chuckling a little. "But I did. And I knew you liked me back. And I guess things just...kind of went from there. I dunno'." I hold her gaze for a few more seconds, then begin writing again.
I do like you, a lot, more than a lot, as much as you like me, maybe more. And I think I always have, but I just didn't want to admit it. But maybe we should figure some things out before doing what we did again.
She nods. "I guess. But...you do like me, like me like me? I didn't do anything wrong?" I smile to her, then decide I know a better way to get her to stop worrying. I lean forward over the small table, meeting her face with a kiss. She makes a little hum of surprise, then wraps her forelegs around my neck. When I pull away from her lips, I open my eyes again, seeing a satisfied look on her face and her wings flared out. She giggles happily to me, pleased with my response. I scribble out a new note.
No, you didn't do anything wrong, and yes, I like you like you. But we do need to think some things through. Like, what will everyone else think? I don't want you to be shunned because of me.
"Who cares what everypony else thinks? If they have something to say, they can deal with me," Rainbow says, placing a hoof against her chest and flashing that confident grin. I frown, not convinced. "I don't care, Mark. And if anypony else cares, they'll just have to deal with it. You're just like the rest of us, on the inside. And it's not like you're, I dunno', a dragon or anything. In fact, you go around helping people all day!" she exclaims. "Believe it or not, a lot of ponies actually like you a lot. I don't think they'll give a pony's flank about you and me."
I smile to her, nodding lightly in agreement. I write down the next thing on my mind.
What about kids? You know if you're with me, we can't have any. I hope we can't have any.
She grimaces at that mental image. "Maybe I should ask Twilight about that...or Fluttershy. She might faint, though," she says with a chuckle. "I dunno'. I haven't ever really thought about that. I mean, I always figured kids would just hold me back, keep me from being a Wonderbolt. But then again, I thought that about having a coltfriend, too." A warm smile to me. "I guess if I ever do want a kid, we could just adopt one. There's more orphaned foals out there than you think. Scoots told me about it." Dash frowns in thought. "Poor kid. I feel her pain...still, I dunno'. I don't think I'd make a good mom." I smile to her. Probably not, but you've got me to keep you in line. My pencil scrawls out the last thing bothering me.
What we did last night still seems taboo
"What's a 'taboo'?" Rainbow Dash questions, interrupting me. I cross out the word, continuing.
like it would be frowned upon by society. I don't know if I'm okay with it. It was fun, and awesome, but maybe we should slow down before going that far again.
She reads the page, then holds my eyes with hers. "You know I hate going slow," Rainbow says seductively. I smile, chuckling softly. "You're probably right, though. Maybe when we're not crying our eyes out next time," she says with a playful grin. I laugh, nodding in agreement. Tank finally finishes his apple, grabbing the core in his tiny jaws and lifting off of the table, traveling over to what appears to be a trash bin--made of clouds, of course. Dash and I watch Tank return to the table, the whirring rotor on his back shutting down once he lands.
"How about we take Tank for a walk, go see what everypony else is doing today? Maybe we can get everypony together for a picnic or something," she suggests. I smile happily, nodding. We stand from the table, stretching. "Come on, Tank, wanna' go for a walk?" The tortoise hovers up eagerly, joining us as we head out the door. ***
We walk together--well, I walk; Tank and Rainbow Dash both hover to my side, the tortoise aviator between the Pegasus and me--through the streets of Ponyville, the day coming to a close as we aim for Rainbow's house. All in all, it was a good day. We had walked with Tank for a while, going around to each of her friends' homes to see what they were doing. It turned out nobody was really doing anything, so Twilight helped arrange a nice picnic for lunch.
Dash made it obvious to her friends that her and I are an item, now. They were a little surprised when she flat-out French kissed me during conversation, but I suppose that's Rainbow Dash at her usual. The others actually took quite well to it, congratulating us and commenting on how happy we seemed together. Rarity about lost her mind, babbling for about five minutes straight about 'forbidden love' or something like that. She ended up having to be silenced by all of her friends at once; the way she sort of snapped back into reality was pretty comical.
After leaving the picnic, we decided to go spend the day out by Luna Lake, in the field. She and Tank had a blast flying around in the nice weather of the day, and I had an excellent time watching them. I only wish I could fly with her, but watching her from atop a cloud and having her blast by me every once in a while will more than suffice. Just watching her fly is an experience like no other; the grace, yet the ferocity, with which she flies makes for a beautiful display, every time.
I feel a sudden impact on my back, causing me to stumble forward a little. Sky-blue legs wrap over my neck and around my waist, grabbing on to the front of my torso. I glance back, and receive a nuzzling on the cheek from Dash. Smiling, I turn forward again, carrying her piggy-back style for a ways. I catch many a questioning look from passersby, but I don't care, and neither does the Pegasus on my back. Every so often, a soft, light blue snout will rub against my neck or cheek. We walk through the darkening roads, approaching her house in the sky.
I slow to a stop, releasing the grip on her hind legs. She lets herself fall off of my back, going into a hover again and coming around to my side. I look over at her, then at Tank, smiling at them.
"Do you think, maybe...you could sleep with me for tonight? I mean, just sleeping, with me, in my bed, nothing else," she says quickly, smiling with some embarrassment. I smile back, deciding my house can take care of itself for another day. I nod to her, and she grins happily. "Awesome! C'mon, I'll go get a cloud." She streaks off, followed by a trail of color that glows brilliantly in the late afternoon sky. I wait patiently until she returns with a small cloud, then hop on to the makeshift elevator.
We are soon back atop the cloud that supports her floating house, and walk inside. The three of us trek up the long, winding stairs, eventually reaching her bedroom on the top floor. Tank hovers over to a small blanket on the floor, setting down and slinking into his shell. I walk over to one side of the bed, pulling off my shoes, socks, and upon a little thought, just my shirt. Pulling the covers back, I watch as Dash jumps into her bed, smiling happily to me. I clamber in next to her, pulling the blankets up again. She wiggles over towards me, still smiling. I lift my arms, letting her curl up against my chest, then lay my arms over her protectively, stroking her wings and back idly.
"G'night, Mark. Thanks for staying another night," she says softly. I smile down at her, brushing a hand through her mane. I lean down towards her, closing my eyes. A welcome spicy taste enters my mouth once more, warming me all the way through. She smells so nice, like ozone mixed with the faintest hint of chili peppers. We reluctantly pull away after what feels like an eternity. Rainbow Dash sighs happily, burying her head in my chest and closing her eyes.
I lay my head back against the soft pillow, closing my eyes while my mind continues to run. I make a silent promise to the small, soft, warm pony starting to fall asleep against me, to never let anything happen to her, to always be there for her, to never let her down. Maybe it's a promise I can't keep, but I'm going to try as hard as I possibly can to keep it.
Satisfied with itself, my mind begins going over the events of this day and the last, trying to figure out where I go from here. |
For Lack of a Better Word | Chapter Twenty-Five | I've always wondered about consciousness, just the general idea of it. How the mind has two parts, the conscious and the brain, the former to listen to one's own thoughts: the voice in one's head, that only they can hear, has to be heard somehow to be registered. Not only consciousness, but unconsciousness, as well. Perhaps when one is not aware of themselves and their surroundings, their mind does something else, rather than just go inactive. Maybe when one is unconscious, they become conscious somewhere else. I wonder to myself why I'm thinking philosophically right upon waking up, and decide to save that kind of thinking for another time, maybe when I'm bored.
My mind already fully awake and active, the rest of me slowly follows suit. I feel warm, an outside warmth that warms me on the inside as well, filling me with a peace I haven't felt for a long time, but is now sort of a regular thing, as of a short time ago, relatively. I don't think I could live without this warmth; I know I couldn't live without what generates this warmth. Already I know what it is, but the soft brush of fur on my chest, the touch of a mane like silk spilling over one of my arms and a little onto my neck, the slow, steady breaths glancing off my skin, the press of a lean and muscular yet gentle and soft against my side remind me further what lays within my grasp. An intoxicating scent of high-altitude air and a just-discernible hint of spice reaches my nose; a light, cute snore fills the air as I feel a breathing chest press against my own.
I open my eyes, looking around the room as I always do. The second floor of my house, my home, my second home, I suppose, is quiet, peacefully basked in morning light that spreads over the covers of my bed, all the way to me, where I can feel some of the warmth beaming onto my face. The room is fairly empty, save for my bed and a bookcase; atop the bookcase lies a pair of items I don't leave home without, a tomahawk and a dagger, within the bookcase are around twenty or so books, all of the same series. I'm on the eighth Daring Do book, I think, Daring Do and the Curse of the Golden Idol. It's actually a very immersing series; I can see why the pony who lent them all to me enjoys them so much.
My gaze shifts down, towards my chest; that very pony happens to be curled up against me, fast asleep. Her forelegs are wrapped around me tightly in a bear hug of sorts. I smile to myself as she snores again, not very loudly. My right arm already draped over her neck, I move my hand to reach her colorful mane, running my fingers slowly through each of the six colors in the rainbow. After a moment longer of watching her sleep, I carefully tilt my head a little farther down. I lightly rub my nose against hers, listening as her breathing quickens a little and feeling her start to shift around. Light blue eyelids open, revealing big, beautiful, rose eyes. As they come into focus, they meet my own steel-blue eyes, then close again. Rainbow Dash smiles tiredly, nuzzling me back.
I return my head to the pillow, watching her happily as she continues waking up. She stretches under the covers, her tail swishing a little so that some of it drapes over my legs. A contented sigh, the tired, but happy, smile remaining on her lips. She goes back into a state of what seems like sleep for a minute, but eventually stretches again, then opens her eyes, more awake now. The sky-blue Pegasus cranes her neck up to me, and I lean down to meet her in a kiss. Even her tired kisses have a flame of passion within them, and always manage to warm me with the ever-present spiciness. It still amazes me how such a tough pony--on the outside--can be so tender and loving; and I wouldn't have her any other way.
We slowly pull apart, smiling at one another. After a moment, I stroke my hand along one of her wings, the texture of the downy feathers caressing my fingers. My touch shifts to her back, which I gently rub. She hums happily, then together, we start to leave the bed. Once out of the grasp of the blankets, I reach under my bed, grabbing a neatly folded set of clean clothes, my usual matte black T-shirt and blue jeans, as well as socks and the like. Snatching the two bladed weapons off the bookcase, I rejoin Dash at the stairs.
The clip-clop of her hooves seems much louder in the quiet of morning as we walk across the open first-floor room. I push open the door to the bathroom, followed in by Rainbow. I start going about my daily business, as does she, eventually stripping off what little clothes I have on and climbing into the shower, flipping on the hot water. After a minute, the light blue pony joins me, taking care to step into the shower rather than fly in; if her wings get very wet, she can't fly. I turn towards her, bracing myself a little, then she leaps towards me, caught neatly in my arms. Smiling as I hold her against me, the water slowly wetting down her mane, fur, and wings, I kiss her moist, soft lips, hot water streaming down my face. We break apart, then lock lips again for a deep kiss. Pulling away after a long time, I look at her with a grin, receiving one in reply. I proceed to set her down on floor of the bathtub again, then grab a bar of soap. I'm actually the only one that needs the shower, given that ponies don't need to bathe on a daily basis to stay clean. Dash gets my back for me, getting a few kisses on the neck for her effort.
I eventually hop out of the shower, wet pony in trail. Grabbing a towel, she lets me dry her off, first, then myself, which ends up making me smell sort of spicy, not that I mind a bit. I slip on my clean clothes, sliding the hatchet into its usual belt loop and grabbing the dagger in my right hand. As Rainbow Dash begins preening her feathers, I give myself a rough shave; I don't really like being entirely clean-shaven, actually, so it suits me just fine. The portion of my daily routine involving the bathroom complete, Rainbow and I walk back into the main room.
I notice Tank lies on the couch, happily asleep; the sky-blue mare trots over towards the tortoise to wake and greet him. I decide to make some oatmeal for breakfast, because why not, it's the weekend. Getting out a pot, I fill it with water and place it on the stove, turning on the heat. I grab a bag of oats and the bag of apples from the cabinets before me, and on further thought, grab a small vial of cinnamon, as well. As I let the water heat to boiling, I turn, leaning against the counters. I watch Rainbow Dash give a light hoof-bump to the reptile, who is not wearing his aviation gear, given he's in my house rather than in the clouds.
This is how I like my home. A tired, lazy, weekend morning, cooking some breakfast that should probably be called lunch at the hour we're up, my small family here with me. I'm glad figuring out a good living arrangement wasn't too difficult. They come here for a week, I go to their house for a week. Each has its perks. Here, I have access to all of the stuff I use to cook with, so I can teach Rainbow more easily, and I can get to my job, if one can call it that, just by taking a short walk. Dash doesn't like being here all the time, though, since not everything can be napped on comfortably and there isn't much space to fly around in. So, I go to her house every other week. It's always nice up there, like a vacation every couple of weeks. Still, I have a tendency to not be able to fly, so getting to work is a lot harder, and I usually have to get up with Dash so she can lower me to the ground every couple of days or so; not that I mind. Having to get up earlier than normal is an easily disregarded compromise for getting to wake up with her every day.
I pour the oats in to the now-boiling water, turning down the heat. I pull my tomahawk from my belt, grabbing an apple, as well. Dicing up a few apples, I toss them into the pot of cooking oatmeal, along with a dash or two of cinnamon. I take out another apple, setting it aside, then put away the oats and apples. Turning again, I let the oatmeal continue to cook. The rainbow-maned mare trots over towards me, sniffing the air.
"Mmm...whatcha' makin'?" she asks, her scratchy voice that I find very cute sounding soft in the quiet air of morning. I smile, grabbing the pot by its handle and lowering it down for her to see; I know she doesn't want to hover to see it because of all the wind her wings make. Blows things around too much, especially in my fairly small house. "Oats?" I tilt my hand back and forth for a moment; sort of. She nods, smiling to me before hopping up into a chair at the table. I grab a spoon from a cupboard, given I don't have any drawers--maybe a project for later--and stir up the oatmeal, deeming it ready. The magical flame in the burner goes off, and I get out a pair of bowls, distributing the oatmeal between them. I take the bowls, and the spare apple, to the table, setting one bowl before Rainbow, the other before the other empty seat, and the apple off to the side of the table. I walk over to the couch, carefully grabbing Tank by the shell before carrying him over to the table, where I set him down before the apple. The three of us begin a late breakfast.
I'm happy to see that Rainbow Dash seems to enjoy the oatmeal. Despite the fact it's quite hot, she scarfs it down. I suppose oats and apples are a good combination, especially for a pony. I casually eat mine while Dash grabs a second bowl. Tank takes his time, as usual. It's not too bad, for homemade oatmeal. More cinnamon might have been better, but I digress, finishing off my breakfast as the light blue pony across from me finishes her seconds. I clean up the bowls, depositing them in the sink to wash later. The tortoise is still working on his apple, so I leave him be, returning to the table.
"You need to show me how to make that stuff sometime," Rainbow comments. I nod in agreement, pleased that she's pleased. She smiles warmly to me, and we just look at each other for a long time. Her magenta eyes are so easy to get lost in; the calm light in the room seems to intensify the energy, the adventurousness, the friendliness, the kindness in her eyes. Her gaze breaks after some time, flicking down to Tank. We watch the tortoise eat his apple for some time, smiling at the slowness of his pace.
The Pegasus stirs after a few minutes, snapping out of her trance. "Feel like going out to the lake today? I need to get in some more Wonderbolts practice," Dash asks with a hopeful smile. She and I both very well know that she really doesn't need any practice, at all; but getting to see her fly is an offer I never refuse. I feign deep thought for a moment, even going so far as to stroke my chin. She reaches across the table, slugging me on the shoulder. Chuckling, I nod happily to her. "Awesome!" Her focus drops to her, and I suppose my, pet tortoise. "Tank, be a good colt while we're gone, 'kay? No parties. Especially no Pinkie Pie parties, got it?" The reptile begins a very, very slow nod. "Good," says the sky-blue pony. With a smile, she quickly rubs her snout against Tank's, giving him a pat on the shell afterwards. Rainbow Dash picks him up, setting him on the wooden floor, followed by his half-eaten apple. She hops out of her chair, flaring out her wings and strutting a little for me. I give her a sly smile in reply, standing from the table as well. We walk together to the door; I wave a goodbye to Tank, who has gone back to eating his apple.
Outside, Dash jumps into the air, going into her usual hover. Despite seeming to use her wings a lot more than her legs, even for just a stroll through town, her legs are still in impeccable shape, and she can run like the wind. How did lazy old me get a catch like you? I silently question to her as I admire her. My thoughts begins to drift; maybe later. I really do want to see her fly right now, despite how much I want...that, as well. I don't remember when I decided to hell with the laws of nature, given that they're almost entirely different here. There are actually a lot of inter-species relationships, given that nearly everything is sentient. I think it was a few weeks ago I decided that. We were given the okay by Twilight; to say the least, she was grossed out, but didn't necessarily frown upon the whole ordeal. No reaction, no horrific mutants, which is certainly better than okay with me. It still took a while after that before I warmed up to the idea without a swell of what I thought to be long-dead emotion, but...well, it's hard not to be attracted to her, at least at this point.
Boy, wouldn't Mom and Dad be proud. I snort softly in self-amusement. Oddly enough, it seems like they'd understand. Especially given the whole thrown-into-another-universe-for-the-rest-of-my-natural-life thing. Maybe they would be proud, sarcasm aside. I make a living helping people, ponies, have a house of my own, made a few friends, good ones, and have someone I can call my own, even if she is a talking, technicolor Pegasus pony. I sidestep a foal trotting along with their mother, my focus returning to the world around me for a moment. I give a bashful smile to the mother in apology for nearly stepping on her kid; to my mild surprise, she returns the smile. That's something nice. It's taken, what? Two, three months? But, the locals have finally started to warm up to me. Remarkably, it seemed like when they realized Rainbow Dash and I were dating, they started to actually treat me like a normal citizen. Even having a pony simply brush past me is almost astounding, but very welcome. Maybe they thought that because the local Element of Loyalty, savior of quite a few citizens, and only pony with the capability to break the sound barrier while also disrupting the light spectrum trusted me so much, they could, too. And maybe not. I'm still trying to figure out how ponies tick. They're different from humans, mentality-wise, but only with certain things.
Has it really been three months? It doesn't feel like it, not at all. It feels like I've been here my whole life, yet at the same time, like I woke up in the very field we are headed towards only yesterday. Time, the ultimate deceiver. I shake my head a little, clearing my thoughts and looking over at Rainbow Dash. The pony catches my eye, doing a quick corkscrew for me. I smile, amused. She begins flying circles around me as I continue to walk down one of the many dirt roads of Ponyville. I watch her until my head spins.
Without warning, she latches onto my back, as she'll sometimes do. A tight squeeze around my upper and lower torso, and a giggle as I reach back and ruffle her mane with a hand. She lays her chin against my shoulder, rubbing a soft cheek against my neck. I like that she doesn't really care when it comes to public displays of affection. I figured her tough-girl attitude would cause her to shy away from anything that would make her look weak or soft, but I suppose it actually works in the exact opposite way: she's confident enough to figure she can be openly affectionate without anyone questioning her toughness. Plus, I'm sure nearly everyone realizes challenging her toughness is a death wish; and possibly, everyone suspects I might have some alien tricks up my sleeve, like breathing fire or something. All-in-all, we don't get questioned, and we like it that way.
I receive a few tender kisses on the neck, causing me to smile. I shift my grip on her legs around a bit, getting her to a position more comfortable for me on my back. I wish I could just have her like this all the time, right by my side, or on my back in this case. The irrational fears the the brain always creates constantly fill my head when I'm away from her. What if something happens to her, to me? What if the last time I saw her will really be the last? But then I see her again, and everything's okay. Maybe it's a result of what happened so long ago. Despite how much I just want to cling to her and keep her safe, I know I can't, because it would hold her back. And I don't want to hold her back. I want her to be free, to fly, to be there with me when I go into the Everfree, to be the best Wonderbolt in the history of Wonderbolts, or be the best weatherpony in the history of weatherponies, whatever she chooses. I want her to be happy, and I know trying to keep her safe would keep her from being happy.
We pass by the last houses marking the reaches of the town, entering the outskirts. Dash jumps off of my back, going into a hover beside me again. I watch as she does a tight loop before resuming flying along steadily. I smile to myself, anticipating whatever tricks she'll do today. Soon, I find the grass up to my shins, brushing off the legs of my pants as I walk along. We continue deeper into the field, and upon reaching what seems to be the center, I feel a blast of air to my side, signaling Rainbow Dash's excited take-off into the sky. Smiling to myself, I lay back in the grass, trying to resist the urge to take a quick nap as the Pegasus begins her aerobatics. ***
I awake to a light pressure on my chest, like one might feel when they go underwater a short distance from the surface. I open my eyes, blinking a few times; I don't even know why I went to sleep again, given how I felt pretty awake this morning. Before my gaze shifts down to see what is pressing on me, I note that the sky is starting to darken. I frown, scolding myself for falling asleep while watching Dash. I probably missed a lot of her tricks. Remembering the feeling on my torso, I look down at myself.
Atop me lies the familiar sky-blue Pegasus, sound asleep. The upper half of her body rests against my chest, her rump on the ground. Her wings are lazily outstretched, and her mane is astray in some areas from the wind. Maybe I didn't miss as much of her show as I thought. I carefully bring up my left hand, finding that my right lies upon her colorful mane already, and move it towards one of the semi-limp wings reaching out from her back. I gently run the tips of my fingers along the edge of her wing, admiring it. She stirs a little, her wing twitching. Rainbow makes a little humming noise of content. My hand traces over each of her feathers, taking in their light, soft texture. After a moment longer, I put my left hand behind my head, stroking her mane with my right. She cracks open an eye, revealing a sliver of gorgeous cerise. I smile warmly to her, and she does the same, opening her eyes all the way. I give her a quick scratch behind the ear, then go to sit up, letting her stand up off of me.
While I'm eye level with her, sitting on the ground, I gaze at her for a while. She holds my stare, smiling to me. A few seconds later, she moves in for a kiss, which I accept readily. My mouth is filled with the most wonderful taste in the world, my nose with the most wonderful smell, my body with the most wonderful warmth. Her tongue meets mine at one point, as we continue to kiss deeply, not wanting to let go of one another. We eventually have to come up for air, though, and break apart slowly. Working her mane in between my fingers, I rub her cheek with my thumb. She smiles happily; I push myself to my feet.
I find myself looking over towards Luna Lake, not very far from here. It seems like a good way to finish off another day. I look down to Rainbow Dash, pointing out to the lake and giving her a look of question. She follows my outstretched arm, then upon seeing what I'm pointing towards, nods, showing a warm smile. Her leaping into the air beside me, we walk through the field, heading for the small body of water that glistens with the reflection of the still-wholly-visible ball of fire hanging over the distant horizon.
We sit down on the bank together, the small pony scooting up to my side. I drape my arm over her back as she leans against my shoulder, setting her head atop it. I rest my cheek on top of her mane, savoring the silky feeling of her colorful hair against my face. Her mane smells so nice; then again, all of her does. I hear Dash emit a small giggle. She's mentioned before that I'm weird, or that the things I do are weird; but also that she likes me that way. I guess it is sort of weird that I'm always smelling her mane, or touching her wings, though she seems to like that quite a bit, or tracing my hand around one of her soft yet diamond-hard hooves, or touching her cutie mark, on occasion. It's just because she's so different, interesting, though; she smells really good, all the time, and her wings are really soft, even softer than the rest of her, and hooves are odd with their sort of magnetic powers, and the small current of electricity that flows through me when I touch her cutie mark is something else entirely. She's as cool and awesome on the outside as she is on the inside, put simply.
Watching the sun on its way down, I think of nightfall, which leads to thinking of the moon, which gives me an idea. I owe it to a certain princess of the night for bringing me here in the first place. Without her ancient spell, whether the current her meant to do it or not, I would not have been brought to Equestria. I wouldn't have been taken away from my menial, worthless life that probably had no future, given my inability to get past my memories. I wouldn't have found myself a job, in a sense, where I find myself truly happy doing, and where I'm actually doing something worthwhile. And I wouldn't have found the best girl, woman, mare, whatever she deserves to be called, in the universe, in any universe. I have a lot to thank that princess for.
For the first time today, I remove the folded paper and now-fairly-short pencil from my pocket, seeing and feeling Rainbow remove her head from my shoulder out of curiosity. There's still a good amount of light left in the sky, the sun just now changing to a red-orange hue, so I have enough time to write a nice, well-written letter to Princess Luna. I smooth out the sheet of paper, laying it against my leg for support. I lift my pencil to the top of the page, Rainbow Dash watching me intently.
Dear Princess Luna,
I pause, shifting my hand down a little ways. I take in a slow, deep breath, letting it out in a sigh of thought. Frowning, I try to think of where to start. There's so much to tell her, to thank her, to let her know she shouldn't feel any remorse for what she did long ago...but I don't know where to begin, or how to say it. I sit for some time, the Pegasus beside me looking up in question every so often. My gaze moves to the lake spanning out across from us for a moment. I figure out what I should write; instead of continuing on the page, I grab a new one from my pocket, unfolding it as nicely as I can before carefully writing as legibly and neatly as I can muster.
Dear Princess Luna,
Thank you.
--Mark
I stare at the paper, reading it over a few times. I think she'll understand. I'm about to lean forward and set the page off into the lake when a light blue hoof makes its way to my arm, stopping me. I look over at Rainbow in question.
"Can you tell her I said thanks, too?" she asks with a small, kind smile. I smile back, bringing the paper back to my leg and focusing on my handwriting again. I add a phrase to the bottom of the letter.
P.S.
Rainbow Dash says thanks, too.
The rainbow-maned pony grins up at me, nodding her head in satisfaction. I grab one edge of the paper, holding it over to Dash. She continues to smile, grabbing the opposite edge with her hoof. Together, we lean as far as we can forward, releasing the paper over the sparkling water of the lake. It floats gently down to the surface, and upon reaching it, begins its trip to the center of Luna Lake, pulled by forces unseen. We watch it as it sails out, a tiny boat upon a great, red ocean. It eventually slows to a stop in the middle of the water, then promptly vanishes with a trail of mist in its wake. I look over at Rainbow Dash, smiling to her. Her rose eyes sparkle up at me as she smiles back, laying her head against me again. I return my arm around her back, feeling the brush of an outstretched wing against my own.
For the first time in a very long time, I feel at peace. Peace that has come to me on its own, not forced upon me by sleep, death, or the magical aura of a talking pony princess. And it feels good. I feel like I understand why life is worth living; for moments like this, watching another day come to an end with someone I care about more than anything in the world. And really, that's all it boils down to, in the end; the little things in life. Or maybe it's the really big ones. Either way. It's not having a job, or a house, or being successful, or failing miserably; it's being happy. Happy because it's funny that someone thinks you're a mythical creature called 'Bighoof', happy because of the feeling that comes from helping out someone in need, happy to have survived a dire situation, happy because of spending time with those one loves. That's what counts: being happy.
"I love you."
I snap back to reality, blinking a few times and looking over at Rainbow Dash, who is now starting to look at me, as well. Did she say that to me? That didn't sound like her, though, I think rapidly, starting to get confused. Recalling the voice in my short-term memory, I remember it as sounding much deeper than her voice, not scratchy like hers is, though it did have a certain roughness to it, as if the speaker was sick or something. It sounded male, actually, a deep, male voice. Where did that come from? Why did it sound so close? I'm tempted to look around, but I know no one else is here, so--
"You...you talked," Rainbow whispers, bringing my focus back to her. My face twists in some surprise. Wait, what? I what? "Oh my gosh...you talked. You actually talked!" I did? She pulls away from me a little in excitement. "Oh my gosh!" she repeats. "You talked! You talked!" Her whole face is lit up with shock and excitement. "I can't believe it! You, you said..." she trails off for a moment, her eyes changing. "I...I love you, too." Dash looks into my eyes, hers shimmering a little with what seem to be tears of happiness. I realize she's responding to the voice, to...my voice. Something feels like it's building in my chest, something along the lines of overwhelming joy.
"I love you," I repeat, it being all I can say, feeling it in my throat now, knowing that I talked, that I really talked! I try to say something else, but find that my throat is in a good amount of pain. A laugh, or a choke, escapes my mouth, hurting a little as it has some voice behind it. Another laugh, then another, and soon, I'm laughing, and I can hear my laughing, and it fills the air with the happiness I feel. Rainbow Dash starts laughing with me, wrapping her forelegs around my neck and pressing her face into mine, kissing me repeatedly, passionately. I kiss her back, choking out laughter that hurts so bad but feels so good in between pressing my lips against hers. She is eventually overtaken by tears of joy, pressing her face into my neck as she laughs merrily, wet tears running off her face and onto my skin as she squeezes me with all her might. I squeeze back, finding tears of my own falling from my face.
We squeeze each other for a long time, crying and laughing until it hurts. I continue to hold her tightly after the tears subside, her doing the same with me. Rainbow Dash and I eventually pull back from each other; I wipe the tears from her eyes with my thumbs, and she wipes my own tears away with her hooves, holding my face on either side as I do hers and looking deeply into my eyes, smiling more happily than I have ever seen before.
"I love you, Rainbow Dash," I say hoarsely, the pain in my throat great, but more than worth it to tell her what I know I have wanted to for so long. Her brilliant magenta eyes shine brightly, sparkling with happiness, her colorful mane falling perfectly over her beautiful, sky-blue face, her majestic wings spread out behind her with glee.
"I love you, Mark," she says softly to me, her eyes gazing at mine for what feels like forever. She pulls me in for a long, wonderful, loving kiss, holding me against her, not wanting to let go. I taste her spicy taste, smell her intoxicating smell, take in her warmth that fills me all the way through, that completes me. We kiss for as long as we can, immediately pulling each other close afterwards in a tight hug.
Rainbow Dash and I embrace beside Luna Lake as the last of the fiery sun slips below the distant horizon.
The End. |
A New World, A New Threat | pre | "What are we supposed to do? They're invading other countries. They have to be stopped somehow."
"But I'm sure you could aid them somehow? So that they don't need to in the first place."
"What are we supposed to do?" Boot asked. "These dictators starve their own people. I don't think they can be reasoned with."
"Well, I'm sure you could at least send in extra money or food," she suggested.
"You can't just give them more money," he explained. "They'll just spend it on their military. You can't give them checks for food either, they'll just use money they would have spent on food and use it instead for their military. And not actual food, medical supplies, or whatever. Same problem. The only thing you can give dictators like this are a bullet to the head."
"That's brutal!" she burst out, stepping back a few steps.
Boot shrugged. "So is what they do to everyone around them."
"But does that give you the right to interfere with other sovereign nations?"
"If you saw your neighbor beating his wife, what would you do?"
"Get the police, the people who should be dealing with an issue like that," Twilight responded in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And if there aren't any police?"
He didn't receive a response from her.
"Vigilantism isn't pretty, I know, but it's not like the UN's doing anything about this. Someone has to step up."
"Vanhoover Province is acting up again, Your Majesty."
Celestia watched the visitor as he stepped into her outer chambers, where she often worked during the day. The large, determined pony clad in exquisite Royal Guard armor placed a finely-made scroll on her desk before stepping back. "Thank you, Captain," she replied. "I'll look at the reports when I'm done with another issue. I trust you can handle the matters yourself in my absence?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," came the curt reply.
He's certainly different than Shining, she thought to herself. While she was certainly confident in Stormbreaker, the new Captain of the Royal Guard, she occasionally missed Shining's amiable demeanor. She would need to write again some time soon. She waved him off. "You are dismissed, Captain."
Her thoughts turned sourly towards the Vanhoover province. Over a thousand Equestrian Infantry lives had been lost only a few years before in their attempted secession, and hundreds during the subsequent pacification period. Since then, there had been several border skirmishes that had taken a few dozen of her ponies. In each engagement more secessionists had died, but they remained determined and dangerous.
But then they began playing dirty.
Fertilizer bombs on roads hit troops when they weren't expecting it. Night raids killed them in their sleep and destroyed their food. Ungathered corpses would be left near the pass as a warning. When she had gotten reports the day before about possible secessionist movements in other towns, her stomach had turned cold. She didn't need this, especially not now.
This problem would need to be finished soon.
"Infantry spotted," Walker announced. He trained his IAR on the patrolling squad as they carefully moved down the street. From his vantage point in the upper floor of an old street corner apartment, he could see a football field and a half in either direction. "IFV-supported."
Griffin nodded. "Acknowledged." He then activated his radio and announced the enemy positions to Meyers, who was at Alpha team's location half a klick to the north.
"BMP eighty yards south-east. Second squad fifty yards further, BMP included. Hundred-thirty yards total."
From the other side of the room peering out of the south-west windows, Lopez had similar findings. "I've got one BMP squad seventy out." He took his eyes away from his binoculars and said, "They're heading west."
"Must be looking for us," Walker guessed. "That or setting up a FOB. Either way, we don't wanna stick around."
* * * * *
"This is Mobius One to Vulture Actual, over."
Clarkson hurriedly grappled the receiver and brought it to his ear. "This is Vulture Actual. Sitrep, over."
"Reporting a large Syrian formation to Vulture One's south. Advise, over."
"Maintain distance," Clarkson ordered. He had gotten the information earlier from Vulture One's own eyes, of course, but a second, bigger-picture view never hurt. "Interrogative. What is the approximate distance, over?"
"I'd say, uh, 45 to 140 meters. Over."
"Understood," Clarkson answered. "Unless directly ordered, or Vulture One is under fire, do not engage. Maintain current mission, over."
"Roger. Out." The aircraft's radio clicked silent.
* * * * *
Griffin rubbed his eyes and adjusted the focus on his binoculars. "Guys, I don't think those are Syrians." |
A New World, A New Threat | Into the Great Unknown, Part IV | "Russian, eh?"
"Or Ukrainian. Something," Ronnie answered. He adjusted the focus of his binoculars. "That's cyrillic on their unit patches."
"Get the radio up," Meyers ordered.
Ronnie leaned over towards Beckett. Beckett promptly lifted the portable radio box, handling it gently to the sergeant. Meyers nodded in thanks.
"Mobius One, this is Vulture. Over."
The radio sputtered and Beckett lightly slapped the top of the machine. The static cleared up. "-obius One, over."
"Reading you, Mobius One. Interrogative. Are the enemy tanks heading towards our position from the south? Over."
"Affirmative, over."
"Roger. Have the infantry maintained their course? Over."
"Affirmative, over."
Meyers sighed. He reached into his pocket and produced a notepad. He flipped a few pages over. "I will need support soon. We will ambush their infantry and make a break for it. I will need Mobius to prioritize heavy armor. Over."
"Roger that, Vulture. Out."
With that, Meyers turned back to the radio box. He switched to the unit frequency. "Vulture Actual, this is Vulture One, over."
* * * * *
Clarkson, upon hearing the voice coming from the radio speaker, picked up the transmitter. "This is Vulture Actual, over."
"Requesting relief. Russian forces heading to our position. No chance of evasion. Over."
"Affirmative, One," he answered. He took a look at his marked up map. The town they were in wasn't too far off. If he sent a small, simple force, they could be in-and-out while the fixed-wings ran disruption. Too large a force, and too much coordination and footprint. "Interrogative. What is the enemy disposition? Over."
"Motorized infantry. Four APCs and one tank spotted. One squad for each APC. Over."
"I am sending Vulture Two, Vulture Three, and a Weapons element. You will proceed north one klick and meet with your reinforcements. They will bring you back. Over."
"Wilco. Out."
* * * * *
High above the town, Mobius One reoriented his jet and skirted the town by a large margin. Mobius Two and Three did similar, the three of them tracking a large circle around Vulture One's position, well out of sight of the enemy forces. On One-One's call, they were to swoop in and strike the enemy armor, while Vulture took out what infantry they could. Mobius was to then strike targets of opportunity while Vulture navigated their way through the town to friendly forces coming in from the north.
That was the plan, anyway.
One of the APCs had an air defense system installed. Mobius Two and three destroyed their targets, but One was forced off course at the last second by a laser lock warning. Its Air-to-Ground missile, intended for the lumbering T-80 below, had crashed into a building as the line of sight between the jet and the tank changed.
Mobius Three took a fast, wide turn back over the city and destroyed the offending APC. By the time Mobius One had reentered the battlespace and fired his Vulcan rotary cannon, there was already a large plume of dust and a partially destroyed building near Vulture One's position.
* * * * *
Ronnie fired his rifle from the back of a second floor room, striking a Russian soldier square in the chest. The man fell to the ground as Ronnie's fireteam continued to fire. Another soldier was hit in the head and a plume of misty blood shot out through the back of his skill. The rest of the Russians found their way to cover and returned fire. One particularly brave soldier dashed out of cover and grabbed a wounded squadmate among the gunfire and dragged him to safety, while the first soldier hit stood up in wonder, feeling around his chest and finding no blood. He was soon yanked into cover by another.
One of the Russians brought a machine gun to bear. Cursing under his breath, Ronnie jumped to the ground as dozens of holes began to appear around the windows.
"Down! Down!" he commanded, and his three Marines followed. "Back to the alley!"
Gun fire flying inches above his head, he crawled to the doorway and out of the room. He began descending the stairs, quickly re-clearing the bottom floor while his teammates followed him down. Rounds began flying into the room around his head and he ducked outside the backdoor, letting his teammates through.
"Mason! Range!" he yelled over the din of the firefight. He opened up his M203 and loaded a M713 Ground Marker into it before snapping it shut. It was technically a signal smoke, but the smoke would obscure the tight alleyway effectively enough. Furthermore, it was a good indicator for the above fighters where enemy infantry was.
Mason snapped his head around the doorframe for a second before popping back into safety. "Eighty yards!"
Ronnie dialed his sight for seventy five meters. A yard was slightly less than a meter, so he eyeballed an accurate conversion and fired towards the nearest Russian rifleman's cover. It was a bit long and went just past the target. However, it was a good enough shot and successfully clouded the view of most of the enemy infantry.
Boot slapped him on the shoulder, signalling for him to get moving. He turned and began running down the alleyway, behind the other four Marines. Meyers was up front, Mason right behind covering the right flank, and Beckett third and covering the left. Suddenly Meyers dug his boots into the ground, startling the two behind him, and began to run to the side behind a building, grabbing Mason along the way.
A quarter second later, he saw why: the large treads of a large tank rolling in front of the team. Beckett followed suit, but Ronnie and Boot were not near an open passageway. Acting on instinct, they ran towards the tank, ears covered and mouth open. If the machine gun fired they were screwed no matter what they did, but if the cannon was used they were better off far away from the point of impact, likely the building behind them.
The last thing Ronnie and Boot saw was a blinding white flash. They heard nothing.
"You talk to any of them yet?"
Second Lieutenant James Werner shook his head. "No, Captain."
"I want to see them before we hand them off to the S2 shop," the captain said. He leaned back in his folding chair and looked around the bivouac. His company of Marines had set up a few large tents to hide from the sun in, while those on sentry were either wandering the perimeter or posted in a Humvee turret. One particular tent, with two riflemen in front of each entrance, housed the eleven 'guests' they had picked up in a nearby town. "Any ideas on them? Personality? Disposition?"
"Guys in armor, five of 'em, won't talk it looks like. Few riflemen tried chit-chatting but just got stares. The other five are a bit more," he explained. He handed a worn notepad to the captain. "Yellow hides behind the others and won't say shit. Cowgirl's annoyed with us. Rainbow looks like she's trying-"
"She?"
"They speak English, sir."
"I see," the captain said. "Continue."
"She looks like she's barely holding in the urge to hit someone. White keeps staring at our cammies. And pink..."
"Yes?"
"She goes on and on about the most inconsequential bullshit that would give Ronnie from Vulture One-One a headache. Reminds me of my mother."
The captain began flipping through the notebook, which contained notes casually gathered by the guards. They were called "ponies" (specifically noted in the margin not to call them "horses"), for one. Second, they had some type of monarchy, as the pink one mentioned a princess before being shut up by one of the armored fellows. A few lines down was a few observations of the white one's "magic", which was essentially just restrained to basic telekinesis. He would have to make sure any Marines around her were careful.
"Names?"
"Pink's literally named 'Pink' something, for one. Guards shut her up real quick every time she started getting to something revealing. Of course, something gets out before they catch on."
The captain nodded. "They asking about their number six and twelve?"
Werner nodded. "We're just telling them that they're on their way. No details."
"Good." The captain closed the notebook and gave it back to the lieutenant. There was no large amount of important information on it. You could only gather so much just listening to idle conversation when the talkers know you're listening. "Status on Vulture One, by the way?"
"Contact with the Russians, sir. Mobius is providing CAS, and Vulture Two and Three are moving in for extract. We should get them back in one piece soon."
He nodded. "Alright, let's get the the damn 'ponies' now."
Beckett coughed. "Jesus fuck!" he yelled. Or, at least, he intended to yell. He wasn't sure what he said. He crawled across the ground to a wall to start helping himself up. He didn't hear anything but a faint ringing. Anywhere else and he would have been fine. But the alleyway really fucked his hearing, rebounding the sound from the cannon all around him. A second later he heard another dull thud, and a series of quick taps coming from where the tank was. Suddenly Meyers appeared, picking him up to his feet.
As he stepped out into the alleyway he saw the burning husk of the Russian tank and a squad of burnt husks gathered around it. The sound of the additional cannon ammunition was probably what did his hearing in more than the actual weapon use. Machine gun rounds were still cooking, compelling him to crouch back to the ground underneath the level of the top of the hull. The turret was blown clean off as though cut by a knife and lay a few yards away upside down. In the sky above, one of the jets flew by, firing another air-to-ground missile at something.
A hand on his shoulder brought his attention away from the fire. "You alright?" he half-heard. His hearing must be getting better, he thought. He could have sworn he had ear- He did. His cheap, but effective electronic ear mufflers were firmly attached to his head. They were designed to block all sound and only transmit at the safe threshold of human hearing, but that apparently didn't work with thirty plus tank rounds going off ten yards from you in a tightly packed, hard-walled alleyway.
"You alright, Beckett?"
Better. He quickly nodded, and turned back to the back of the alleyway. The building they were just in was utterly demolished. A high explosive round from the tank had thoroughly assured that. He then saw Mason rushing towards the rubble. He began digging through it, then suddenly reached in and pulled out the limp form of one of the Marines.
"Fuck!"
He started scrambling towards them, making sure to keep his head low for fear of the cooking rounds behind him. Mason then drug him out of the rubble pile, and grabbed the other unconscious form with this other hand, and started bringing them back with no visible exertion.
"Jesus, Mason, go deadlift a car."
He then heard voices behind him. They were muffled and barely audible, but intelligible. He turned to find Charlie Team. "We heard the boom," Lewis said. "Hey, they alright?"
Meyers shrugged. "They got fucked hard. We need to get them to the extract. Find something to carry them with."
"Roger," Lewis said before running back into the street.
"My name is Captain Ronald Forge," he said to the pony across from his desk. The armored pony looked identical to the other four. Perhaps the armor itself had some kind of "magic" working in it, making them look similar. That, or there was just some freak coincidence. "Now, let me help you. I can't do anything without knowing what's going on. Obviously you came here for a specific reason, however you did that. It seems odd to have a guard detachment for a group of civilians in a different situation. Why are you here?"
"I will only speak to a representative of your government," the pony simply said.
Forge sighed through his nose in annoyance at the damn thing's stubbornness. Although, he wouldn't expect his Marines to open up about everything when questioned, either. "I am the highest ranking officer in this area. I am the commander of Kilo Company of Third Battalion, Third Marine Regiment. The next highest ranked person allowed to know of your existence is in another continent, eight and a half thousand miles away. Almost a third of the world away. I am the closest thing you have to what you want."
The pony looked around, as if searching for his words. Then he looked back at Forge. "I am not at liberty to say very much. My commanding officer is not present, so you will not get a lot of information."
Forge leaned forward, interested. "So what can you say?"
"Only that it is a mission of cooperation and friendly relations. It is very important that we establish peaceful and mutually beneficial partnership between our nations."
"Now we're getting somewhere."
"So, about our two missing..."
"They're close," Forge informed. "The team handling them is on their way back now."
"Gently, now," Meyers said. "Don't hit his head."
"Oh Celestia, what happened!?" a voice from the interior of the Humvee yelled.
"Make room, Twilight," commanded Meyers.
Beckett ran to the driver seat of the Humvee and started the engine. "It's related to the huge boom you heard earlier. Just shut up and let them get loaded." He turned back to the Marines. "Mason, get the turret!"
Becket swiveled his neck to watch the other Humvees get loaded. As Ronnie was being loaded into his vehicle, Boot was loaded into the third Humvee which was not occupied by a pony passenger. Meyers hopped into the passenger seat once Ronnie was secure and smacked on the dashboard, signalling for Beckett to go. He pulled out of the back-end parking lot the trucks were hidden in and onto the main road. So far, no Russians.
He gradually picked up speed, making sure to give obstacles a wide berth and not to make any sudden jerks in an effort to safeguard the unconscious passenger.
"Two klicks to extract," Meyers informed, before grabbing the radio and contacting the lieutenant.
Beckett sighed. He almost wished Ronnie was awake, shittily singing some old rock song or whatever.
Almost.
* * * * *
"I see them, sir."
"Alright. Fan out and cover them. Hey, isn't that Stafher guy usually in the turret?"
"I think so. New guy, Boot, right?"
"Yeah. Shit." |
Sunsets in Gravity Falls | pre | Sunset Pre-Reformed wasn't sad because even if she had liked the money, it wasn't to her that this trip had been in vain.
Suddenly, everyone saw and heard something in the water and realized it was the Gobblewonker. Dipper was happy to find the Gobblewonker, but Sunset Pre-Reformed, Mabel and Soos began to show a lot of fear on their faces, Dipper realized that and tries to reassure them, he turns to photograph the Gobblewonker, but then Dipper realizes that the Gobblewonker Gobblewonker was in front of him to attack him. Dipper drops the camera in fear and the three start to run away.
"Run!" Soos yells as she keeps running. "Get back to the boat! HURRY!"
Dipper tries to take a picture of the Gobblewonker while he was running but drops the camera. Soos grabs Dipper so he won't go for the camera and be in danger.
"Dude, if it makes you feel any better, I got tons of pictures of those beavers, dude!" Soos told Dipper to reassure him.
"WHY WOULD THAT MAKE ME FEEL BETTER?!" Dipper yelled at Soos in response.
The 4 get on the boat and Soos starts the S.S. Cool Dude and they start running away at full speed from the Gobblewonker, he also loses several cameras because he was scared. Sunset Pre-Reformed didn't carry any cameras and she also felt angry that she didn't currently have her unicorn form so she could use magic to defeat the monster.
While fleeing, Soos cannot avoid colliding where the shipwreck full of beavers was and the beavers that fell on top of the S.S. Cool Dude start to bite everything they can and one of them grabs Soos's face, forcing Sunset Pre-Reformed to drive the boat. ...
Meanwhile Stan was very upset trying to untie a knot on the fishing rod, but when he heard a couple of kids enjoying spending time with his grandpa on a nearby boat he got even angrier. He was going to yell at them, but Sunset stopped him before Stan tried to do anything. Suddenly the S.S. Cool Dude passed very fast causing a wave near them, but Sunset only noticed the wave and used a force field to protect them, unfortunately she didn't realize what caused the wave.
The Gobblewonker rose from the water and immediately launched an attack at Soos' boat. Sunset Pre-Reformed managed to dodge several of the Gobblewonker's attacks, but Sunset Pre-Reformed and Dipper realized that he had cornered them.
"WHERE DO I GO?!" Mabel asked realizing that she was at a dead end.
Dipper immediately starts flipping through Journal 3 and finds something.
"Um... uh... GO INTO THE FALLS! I think there might be a cave behind there!" says Dipper.
"MIGHT BE?!" Sunset and Mabel yelled at the same time.
Sunset Pre-Reformed had no choice and went through the waterfall where there was a cave. Her boat hits the shore, damaging him a lot, causing everyone to fall to the ground, this made the beaver that was holding Soos's face fall off at last.
Gobblewonker was going to attack them but got stuck at the entrance of the cave.
"It's stuck!" Mabel said happily.
"Haha! Yeah! Wait... It's stuck?" Dipper said
Dipper realizing that the Gobblewonker was stuck immediately began looking for a camera, while checking his pockets he felt that he had a stone in his pockets, but could not find a camera, until Mabel showed Dipper where he had a camera and Sunset Pre- Reformed also found a camera.
Dipper started taking a bunch of photos of the Gobblewonker. Dipper, Sunset Pre-Reformed and Mabel were happy because they were sure they were going to win the photo contest, but suddenly a huge rock fell right on the head of the Gobblewonker and the creature. falls making an electric sound.
Dipper and Sunset Pre-Reformed upon hearing this approached the Gobblewonker. When he touched it, he realized that it was made of metal.
"Careful, dude!" Soos said worriedly.
"I've got this! Hold on!" Dipper said after he climbed on the Gobblewonker and looks the other way. "Hey guys! Come check this out!"
"Don't worry, there's no danger anymore," Sunset Pre-Reformed said.
Mabel and Soos went to see what Dipper and Sunset Pre-Reformed was referring to and see a door. They open it and there they find Old Man McGucket piloting the Gobblewonker.
"Work the bellows and the... Huh? Aww, banjo polish," Old Man McGucket said, realizing he had been found out.
"Wha- Yo- You?! You made this? W-w-why?" Dipper asked.
"We need answers," said Sunset Pre-Reformed somewhat surprised that Old Man McGucket.
"Well, I... I, uh... I just wanted attention," said Old Man McGucket.
"I still don't understand," said Dipper doubtfully.
Sunset Pre-Reformed wondered the same thing as Dipper.
"Well, first I just hootenannied up a biomechanical brain wave generator, and then I learned to operate a stick-shift with ma beard!", he began to explain Old Man McGucket.
"Okay, yeah. But why did you do it?" Mabel asked.
"Well, when you get to be an old fella like me, nobody pays any attention to you anymore. My own son hasn't visited me in months! So I figured maybe I'd catch his fancy with a fifteen ton aquatic robut!" said Old Man McGucket. "In retrospect, it seems a bit contrived. You just don't know the length us old-timers go through for a little quality time with our family."
Upon hearing this, Dipper and Mabel feel very guilty for leaving Stan alone.
"Hesitate. I guess the real lake monster is you two. Heh heh! Sorry, that just like--boom--just popped into my head there," Soos said.
"So, did you ever talk to your son about how you felt?" Mabel asked.
"No, sir, I got to work straight on the robut! (A projector shows blueprints for the Gobblewonker on the trapdoor) I made lots of robuts in my day! Like when my wife left me and I created a homicidal pterodactyl-tron, or when my pal Ernie didn't come to my retirement party and I built an eighty ton SHAME BOT THAT EXPLODED THE ENTIRE DOWNTOWN AREA! Well, time to get back to work on my death ray!" Old Man McGucket said as he re-entered the robot, then asks. "Any of you kids got a screwdriver?"
"Well so much for the photo contest," Dipper says, feeling awful for leaving Stan alone.
"We can go back to Stan and then go to the photo contest," Sunset Pre-Reformed said, holding up the camera, but he noticed that no one was paying attention.
"You still have one roll of film left," said Mabel.
"Whaddaya wanna do with it?" Dipper said.
Sunset Pre-Reformed, realizing that no one present was interested in the photo contest, decided to submit the photos by herself. ...
After Dipper, Mabel, Sunset Pre-Reformed and Soos spent the rest of the day with Stan with many happy moments, Soos was amused by jokes from the book called 1001Yuk 'Em Ups.
After a while when everyone goes home. Sunset approached the Sunset Pre-Reformed.
"Sunset, why did Dipper and Mabel go back to Stan?" Sunset asked.
"The creature was a robot made by that crazy old man who warned about that creature and they both realized that Stan wanted to spend time with them," Sunset Pre-Reformed said.
Sunset realized that it seemed Sunset Pre-Reformed enjoy spending time with Dipper and Mabel.
Suddenly something shook the boat and everyone had doubts that it was the cause of the shaking.
"What was that?" Dipper asks.
"It shouldn't be anything," Sunset says.
Underwater the cameras that had the photos of the Gobblewonker were sinking, suddenly the real Gobblewonker appears and eats the cameras. ...
Later in the Mystery Shack, before going to sleep, the Sunset Pre-Reformed realized that the jolt they felt in Stan's boat caused him to drop the photos of the Gobblewonker that Dipper and she had taken.
Sunset Pre-Reformed felt angry, but she quickly calmed down because she remembered that she had something important to check. She pulled out what she had found on Scuttlebutt Island, hoping what the Entity that was in Gravity Falls said was true and that she had been searching for it.
She with the mist on Scuttlebutt Island she couldn't quite see what it was when she put it away and when she came out of the mist she didn't have time on her own to see it, but she was sure it was something gold and metallic.
Sunset Pre-Reformed took out what she found, looking at it she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but at the same time she confirmed what the Entity said was true. What she found was not a crown as she expected, but a necklace. Also instead of having a magenta six-pointed star crystal, she had a pink butterfly-shaped crystal.
"At least this confirms what the Entity said that there is that crown in this city, I just have to find that crown and wait to return to my world," the Sunset Pre-Reformed said to herself. ...
The Entity was looking at the Sunset Pre-Reformed and couldn't help but feel a little laugh because she was looking for that crown in Gravity Falls knowing that what happened in Canterlot Hight could end in the same way.
"Though there's no way for her to know that's going to happen," the Entity said to himself.
She began to remember that Sunset didn't say anything to the Sunset Pre-Reformed which made her change her attitude because she didn't trust her, she didn't want to remember it either and finally she didn't want anyone in Gravity Falls will find out what happened at Canterlot High, even though Stan already She had told him before she decided that and Sunset asked Stan not to tell anyone.
"All these future problems would be avoided if Sunset decided to tell him what happened," the Entity said.
The Entity figured if we counted the necklace that Sunset Pre-Reformed found, 3 out of 6 have been found. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | pre | "Christ, did you see what that thing did?" Spook screamed at Raven.
"I saw it was on your plane, how come you couldn't shake it off?"
"I don't know, it stuck to the plane, then after taunting me, it jumped off. And dude, I think it's a female, she shook her tail at me. I think she wants to play. This is all a game to her."
"Well, she's accelerating, let's see if we can catch up to her. Ladies man, even the flying horses are attracted to you."
"Shut up!"
The followed the blindingly fast pegasus. Raven was watching his airspeed indicator, they were approaching mach one as they tried to catch up to the pegasus.
"How fast can she go?" Raven asked as the pegasus looked back at them and then passed the sound barrier. They both lit off their afterburners to keep up with the accelerating pegasus.
"Holy Christ, she's still speeding up," Raven said as the pegasus passed started to pull away from their planes.
"I'm at top speed, I can't go any faster. It'll rip the wings off."
"Same here."
The pegasus was going even faster. A rainbow trail following behind her as she continued to accelerate. Both pilots were concentrating on their radars, they could see the pegasus only because of the miles long rainbow trail she was leaving as she continued accelerating.
"She's doing mach 2, 3, 4, oh Christ, how fast can she go?" They both watched in wonder as the pegasus became hypersonic and a bright rainbow explosion expanded from her as she continued her mad rush of speed. The rainbow trail becoming a full on rainbow as she reversed her course, still flying at impossibly high speeds.
"How many G's was that turn?"
"I have no idea, but no airplane can ever make a turn that tight at that speed, hell, only rockets can even go that fast."
Raven said as the impossibly fast pegasus blew between them, the shock of her passing nearly causing them to lose control, they reefed their airplanes in hard turns to follow.
"Where did she go?"
"I have no clue," Spook replied to his wingman.
"Raven to Crystal Palace."
"This is Crystal Palace."
"You are never going to believe us." ***
Rainbow Dash was in a cloud, watching the airplanes searching futilely for her. Rolling back and forth as she laughed her flank off. She sobered as a thought occurred to her.
"Hold on, they found me without seeing me. They have to have some technology to find things flying." She sat and remembered things Merle told her about humans. They had technology to do things for them, the same way ponies used magic. He did mention something called radar, perhaps that was what saw her. She would have to keep flying low, but if she flew low, she would be seen from the ground. She tapped her chin with a hoof. Then it came to her.
"Oh, crud, I'm going to have to become nocturnal. Ugh, the night's for sleeping." Well, she had to retrieve her saddlebags that Merle made for her. Taking a chance, she allowed herself to fall from the cloud, hopefully the radar can't see an object just falling, in moments she was just a few hundred feet from the ground, she leveled off and flew back to where she had left her bags. Ears rotating around, listening for the sound of jet engines.
After about an hour flying, she landed on a low cloud near the copse of trees, scoping out her resting place.
"Uh oh," She said to herself as she noticed vehicles on one side of the group of trees. And people milling about. They were all wearing multi hued green outfits, and carried black rifles. Oh crud, the military is here! She dropped out of the cloud and landed among the tree canopies. Staying well above the ground, she quickly used all of her hide and seek skills, keeping silent as she jumped from branch to branch. She got into the tree where her saddle bags were hanging. She looked around. The humans were there!
"Damn, those air jockeys couldn't find a small plane, so they have to send us out to search," she heard a voice. A man walked around with a half dozen others. All of them in the same outfit, but his had a black eagle embroidered on the shoulder. The men with him all spread out and looked around. She heard them report they weren't finding anything. It was curious to her, they didn't ever look up, they were all searching the ground.
"Oh, what do we have here." One with six stripes embroidered on his shoulder picked up Rainbow Dash's saddle bags. A couple of the other soldiers gathered around the other man.
"They look like small saddle bags." The one with the black eagle joined them, he held out his hand and the saddle bags were placed in his hands. He flipped up one side and looked inside.
"Hey, that's mine!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she dropped out of the tree on top of the man with her bags. All four hooves landing on his shoulders. He dropped with a scream as he let go of her saddle bags, she snatched them up as she used her wings to jump over the rest of the men and landed about twenty feet from them. She quickly shrugged into her bags, making sure to re-close the clasp that the man with the eagle had opened.
"You leave my stuff alone!" she yelled at the humans.
"Holy shit, is that a blue horse?" one of them asked.
"It talks!" another one answered.
"We need to catch it, grab it" the one with the six stripes on his shoulder shouted.
Half the soldiers jumped at Rainbow Dash. The trouble was, she wasn't there anymore. She took to the air as the last man was shouting and took off as fast as she could. She was tired from the encounter with the airplanes, so she was unable to go as fast as earlier, but she got away from the humans. Flying over their vehicles, she took off to the east. She wasn't going back to Merle's farm, but she needed to find a place to camp out and rest, and she remembered seeing a nice place. Keeping below the tree line she made it there in a few hours, just as the sun was setting. She landed in a large tree, and got herself comfortable for a night of sleep. She would have to stay there all the next day and take off the next night, but those were problems for later, all she immediately needed was sleep. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 7. Encounters | Night after night, Rainbow had been moving from place to place. The days had blurred together for her, summer had faded to fall, fall fell to winter, and spring is fully here now. She's explored up and down the east coast of the United States and Canada. Keeping away from population centers and people, she has been able to keep away from any more encounters with the military. She's found ways to buy food. Humans will stare incredulously at a pony walking into a grocery store, buying things, and getting out quickly. They usually think it's some kind of joke. Even as they take her money. She loved that.
Early in the afternoon she's sleeping in a wooden house in a tree. She had arrived in the outskirts of Annapolis, Maryland that morning, and upon finding this house in the middle of a copse of trees, she fell asleep. It's been a long night. She feels a poke, she shifts away. Another poke in her side, she moves a hoof to push it away. Another poke. She opens her eyes and sees a pair of blue eyes intently looking at her.
"Hey!" she screams as she scrambled back from the little girl poking her. The girl withdraws her finger.
"You're a pony."
"Yeah, and you're a little girl."
"Hey, I just turned six!" the little girl pouted at her.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile. The little girl had plenty of spirit, she could see that. Not a drop of fear in the kid's eyes, and a strong defiant tone in her voice.
"Yes, you are a little girl, and yes, I'm a pony." She struck a pose. "I'm Rainbow Dash!" The girl giggled in delight.
"You have wings!"
"Yup, I'm the fastest flier in Equestria, and apparently Earth too."
"Really?"
Rainbow puffed out her chest. "Yeah. Do you want to hear about some of my adventures?"
The little girl sat cross legged in the tree house with Rainbow Dash as the latter talked to her. She told her stories of Equestria, of Cloudsdale, of Canterlot, the city on the mountain. As the sun finally started to set, her sharp ears heard a woman calling the girls name.
"I think you need to go, your mom is calling I think."
The girl made a face, "I want to keep talking to you Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash rubbed the child's head, "Tell you what, you go home, and tomorrow, after school, you come here, and we can talk more."
"But tomorrow's Saturday, I don't have school."
"Okay, then come here when you can in the morning, and I'll tell you about all my friends. Sound good?"
"Oh yes, please. Do you like apples?"
"I love apples."
"I'll get my mommy to give me some apples, I like them too."
The next several weeks passed quickly with her regaling the little girl of stories about Equestria. She hadn't talked to anypony in such a long time, it felt good to talk to her. Ponies are social by nature, for crying out loud, they form herds because no pony likes to be alone. And Rainbow Dash wouldn't admit it to any pony, but she was lonely on Earth, especially after Merle's passing. She had managed to not break down in front of her new little friend, with her dark red hair and piercing blue eyes, she reminded her a lot of Madison, though Madison's hair was blonde. Her new friend kept bringing her fruit and other foods, and it made for tastier fare than just cropping the grass with the other farm animals nearby.
"So, we finally went to the Grand Galloping Gala, it was held in Canterlot, in the castle itself. Though it wasn't the first time I'd met either the Wonderbolts or the Princess, it was totally amazing. Poor Fluttershy, all the animals in the Canterlot Gardens were afraid of her. She dashed around the entire gardens, scaring the poor creatures, and messing up the beautiful dress that Rarity had made for her."
The little girl was rolling on the floor of the tree house, laughing while holding her sides.
"And then she burst into the main ballroom, her dress was half hanging off of her, half the animals in the Gardens had gotten through just ahead of Flutters, and she screamed loud enough for all of us to hear, "You're going to love me!"
"Stop, please stop, I can't take any more." The girl was panting so hard she was having trouble breathing.
Rainbow wasn't letting up though. "So, the entire ballroom was destroyed, the Princess and Twilight had just entered the room, and Fluttershy had just screamed. And what did the Princess say? She leaned her head down to Twilight and said 'Run' and boy, did we run, we ended up in a nice little doughnut shop in Canterlot near the castle. That was where Spike had spent the entire evening himself."
Rainbow paused for a moment to let the girl get her breath.
"Well, Princess Celestia ended up following us to the doughnut shop. We were sitting there, all sad because of what had happened. And the Princess wasn't mad at all."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she said that the Grand Galloping Gala had been a boring party for so many years, she had invited us because she wanted the element bearers to spice it up. She was actually expecting there to be something besides the old same old same old, but I don't think she expected quite the chaos that we caused though."
Rainbow Dash was surprised to find the little girls arms around her. She patted her back awkwardly.
"What was that for, kid?"
"You looked sad, and my Daddy always the best cure for a frown is a hug."
Rainbow Dash started to have trouble keeping her tears from falling, "Yeah, Pinkie Pie has said that many times."
"Lauren," an adults voice rang out clearly. The little girl stuck her head out the window of the tree house.
"Coming, Mom." She turned to Rainbow Dash. "See you tomorrow?" she asked quietly.
"You bet you will squirt," Rainbow responded.
In moments the little girl was standing in front of her mom. Rainbow Dash crept next to the window and listened, they were talking quietly, and she couldn't make out the words at first. Then she paled as she heard the final thing the woman said, "Well, I would love to meet your imaginary friend up there."
As quietly as she could, Rainbow gathered up her saddlebags and strapped them on. She could hear the woman climbing the tree, Rainbow stuck her head out of the window and found she was stuck. With her saddlebags, she was too wide to get through the small window. She put her hind legs on the edge of the window and pushed hard, crashing to the floor of the tree house.
"What's up there?" The woman's voice sounded more than a little concerned.
Oh drat, only one way out, and it's past the woman. Rainbow Dash was trapped. She tried to hide in the corner as the woman's head popped above the level of the floor, her head slowly rotated from side to side, maybe she wouldn't get noticed in the shadows.
"What the hell is that?" Drat, Rainbow Dash did the only thing she could do, she rushed the door, leaping lightly over the woman, ignoring her shout as Rainbow Dash glided to the ground in front of her friend.
"I guess we'll have to take a rain check squirt." She looked up at the very frightened woman climbing down the tree house ladder, jumping the last ten feet she bounded to her daughter and picked her up, Rainbow, for her part, was long gone, she took off straight up through the trees as fast as her wings would take her.
"Well, it might be a long time before I get back here," Rainbow said to herself as she turned west and brought her altitude to just above treetop level. She was scared of flying in daylight, but she didn't have a choice at that point. In a few minutes she found a westbound cargo train, landing on the top of one of the rail cars, she sat down and looked around. This might be a good idea. She curled up and laid down and kept an eye out ahead of her for anything low hanging. West might be a good idea for now. ***
Bill looked over at his daughter. Maddie was sitting in her seat, seat belt buckled, bouncing up and down in her seat as they turned off the paved road onto the dirt road heading to his grandfathers old farm. The last half year he had been able to connect with his grandfather were some of the best times of his life. And with Merle's unexpected generosity, Bill found himself the owner of a farm, one that was actually debt free, and fairly prosperous. Bill had been learning to be a farmer, first from Merle, then on his own. With the profits from the farm, he had been able to hire a few farm hands. He knew they had spent most of the day working on the combine he had been able to pick up third or fourth hand. His first harvest that he had been entirely responsible for was coming up soon. It's been slightly over a year since his grandfather had passed. And their very unusual friend, Rainbow Dash, had decided to leave. He looked around and noticed the only vehicles near the house were the farms, so his guys had gone home.
He missed the rainbow maned pegasus, and so did Madison. There were times he heard her crying in her room about the cyan pony. The only thing Bill could do was hold his daughter and whisper that he missed her too. He wondered every day what his friend was going through, though she did visit a couple of times while she was heading up and down the east coast. She had told him about her encounter with military airplanes, of course she covered her fear by telling him they couldn't take her, and apparently she was right, she had out flown the F-15's easily. But that encounter had disturbed Bill greatly. He was thinking about that as he parked the old truck and got out. His daughter grabbed his hand as they walked to the door of the house. An odd sound perked his ears though, he turned and looked. The wind had changed, as a new farmer, he had learned to keep track of the weather, especially because of what it meant to his crops. So, watching the wind swirl in front of the house riveted his attention. They both turned and watched the wind start whipping harder, swirling, kicking up dust in front of the house.
"What the hell?"
Any other words died unuttered as, with a huge clap of thunder, a form emerged from a bright magenta flash. Bill rushed over to the form, and saw a pegasus like Rainbow Dash, oh wait, she had a horn too, so she must be Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow's friend. The young alicorn's eyes were closed, apparently the shock had knocked her out. Bill reached down and picked up the surprisingly heavy alicorn and brought her inside. Fending off his daughter for a moment, she really wanted to help, so he sent her off to get a wash cloth wet with hot water. He set Twilight down on the couch. School had just started, so Bill sent Madison off to start on her homework, with a strict promise to the 8 year old that he would get her when Twilight awoke.
A few hours later, he was startled from his book by a low groan from the couch. He moved off and got to his knees next to the couch, grabbing the wash cloth, he passed it over the forehead of the lavender alicorn. The touch caused her to move and mumble.
"Rainbow Dash?" He could finally make out her words. A pang of sadness hit him at her words, she was looking for her friend, he knew that, but hearing the tone of her voice... well, she was going to be disappointed when she fully regained consciousness.
"She's not here, but you are with friends." His quiet words caused her eyes to open wide. When the focused on him, she gave a yelp and her horn glowed, another bright flash of magenta and she wasn't in front of him anymore, she all of a sudden was ten feet back, behind the couch next to the front door.
"Daddy?" He heard Maddie's voice from her room.
"Maddie, Twilight is awake." He called to her.
Twilight got a confused look on her face. "You know me?"
Bill smiled. "Yes, after a fashion, I'm Merle's grandson, and his great granddaughter is about to bowl you over." He said as Madison appeared from the hallway and tackled Twilight in a huge hug.
"You came, you came, you came, you came! Rainbow Dash said you would come, and you came!" The little girl gushed excitedly.
Twilight, for her part, was utterly confused. "Where is Merle? Where is Rainbow Dash? I don't remember anything about Bill or Maddie in her letter."
"Twilight, Rainbow Dash has told us all about you. You, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Princesses Celestia and Luna, your brother, Shining Armor, she's told us how you are her friends, and she told us how much she missed you. My grandfather, Merle, passed on last summer. He would have loved to meet you Twilight," Bill informed Twilight. Her eyes moved from Bill to Madison, who had attached herself to Twilight's side, hugging her as hard as she could.
"Where is my friend? Where is Rainbow Dash?" Twilight repeated herself.
Bill all of a sudden looked nervous. "I don't know, exactly, where she is. She hasn't left me a way to get mail to her. She calls from time to time, and..." He walked over to Merle's old desk, opening a drawer and pulling out a sheaf of envelopes, all addressed to him. He handed them to Twilight. "Rainbow sends us letters when she can. She said that if one of her friends shows up, to get the letters to her."
Twilight opened the letters, one by one with her magic and scanned them, committing each one to memory. After a quick look at the dates on each one, she reread the most recent one. "Hmmm, Big Sur, California, she's living on the beach. She hasn't talked to any humans since she left Maryland. Is this the correct date? September fourteenth, nineteen seventy nine?" He nods assent. "Where is California?"
Bill was ready for her questions, he had grabbed an atlas while Twilight was reading Rainbow's letters. He opened the book and set it in front of her.
"This is a map of the United States of America. We are here." He pointed, "New York state," he moved his finger, "and California is here. It's over two thousand miles from here."
"Well, I had better get started. I have a lot of flying to do." She got up and headed to the door.
"Can you please stay a little bit? We really miss Rainbow." This came from Madison. Twilight looked at the little girl. Maddie was giving her the little puppy dog look that she knew always made her dad melt when she really wanted something. Twilight looked at the little girl, at her dad, and back. Then she sighed. "I guess I can stay the night. The interuniversal teleportation really took a lot out of me." No sooner had the words escaped her lips as she was bowled over, for the second time that day, by a overenthusiastic eight year old. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 8. Leavetakings | Twilight was only planning on one night, not the weekend. But that was how it turned out. Madison, it turned out, was an excellent friend, and she missed Rainbow Dash just as fiercely as Twilight did herself. Though finding humans in this world who loved her friend as much as she did was very refreshing. Twilight spent hours telling the young lady about events in Equestria since Rainbow Dash had disappeared. Maddie was especially interested in Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. She was even able to secure a promise that when Rainbow Dash returned, that would not be the last they saw of each other. It was a tenuous promise at best, she made that clear, but knowing that Rainbow Dash wasn't going to be gone forever without any warning really made the little girl happier. But the Monday morning was here, bringing school around for Maddie. Twilight made sure to give the young girl a hug before she ran down the road to the bus stop. After her blonde curls bounced out of sight, she turned to Bill.
"Well, that was a fun weekend, thank you, Bill, for putting up with me this weekend."
"We were glad to have you Twilight, don't be a stranger now."
Twilight smiled as she responded, "I'll try not to be Bill."
Twilight adjusted her saddle bags, once again, thanking Celestia that she had brought them with her. Maddie had shown her the primary feather than Rainbow Dash had given her to remember her by, and after getting to know the young lady over the weekend, a lavender feather was added to Madison's collection. She understood perfectly how Rainbow felt for this small family that she was getting ready to leave. Her mission was why she was here. And after some research at the Bill's family farm, she had determined the best route to avoid people. Bill had cautioned her to keep her altitude low in deference to the radar keeping an eye on the sky. Twilight spread her wings and took off, looking back at Bill waving at her as the farm receded behind her. She looked forward and concentrated on covering distance. She had learned quite a bit from Rainbow's letters to her friends here on this Earth. In a short while she had found the train tracks heading west to east. After a bit, she found a westbound train and settled in for the trip. Better to let a train take her west than to fly the whole way. She was well rested, but the movement of the train, and the clickety clack of the metal wheels on the rails lulled her into sleep within a few hours. ***
Twilight woke up, the train was slowing down. She looked around. This wasn't the first time she had to deal with changing trains. She remembered the map that Bill had shown her. This must be Chicago. She was thankful for the dark night as she took off from the roof of the train as no one could see her. Heading west, she found another train, this one looked like it was carrying vehicles, all of them mottled green, most had tracks and the tops of the vehicles were very oddly shaped to Twilight's eyes. She finally found a regular freight car to land on. After a while, she was drowsy once again, she lay down her head.
"Hey, what's that?" a faint voice interrupted her slumber. She raised her head and looked around. Behind her were to men in green uniforms, they were walking on the tops of the train car. Twilight froze. She noticed that the train had slowed down. She slowly looked around using only her eyes, they were in the countryside, though behind the train she could see the lights of the city.
Please don't come closer, she thought desperately to herself, and of course, her silent prayers went unanswered.
"It looks sorta like a dog," the first voice said.
"How did a dog get on top of the train cars?" the second human responded.
Twilight's eyes went wide. They couldn't see her very well, and they thought she was a dog. Time to get away from them.
"Here boy," one of them called, then he whistled. She got up and started trotting away from them.
"It's going to hurt itself, let's get it." The two men started moving faster on the rail car. Twilight picked up the pace, looking back at her pursuit. She risked a glance forward just in time to jump over the gap between the rail cars, she rushed down the next rail car. The two men behind her started to run, calling out for her to stop. Twilight had no intention of stopping and letting them get a good look at her though. She bumped up to a canter, only to smack into something near the end of the next rail car. She landed on her rear and looked forward. Another man was there, he turned around and she was blinded by a bright flashlight.
"What the hell?" a new voice said as a pair of arms encircled her.
"Let me go!" she screamed in panic. The flashlight didn't move off from her, and she wiggled enough to see the face of the creature that had her in its arms. It turned out to be another one of those men.
"Holy shit, it talked!" the man with the flashlight said. "Hold on to it." The man holding her tightened his grip on her. She tried to wiggle free, but he was too strong. She thought of teleporting away, but she would likely accidentally take him with her, and she would be in the same situation. She decided to reason with these humans.
"Please, I'm sorry to be on your train, but could you please let me go?"
The man with the flashlight considered her for a moment. "I'm having trouble believing my eyes here. But you talk?"
"Yes, and I'm just trying to find a friend. Please, I'll leave, just let me go."
The man considered her for a moment. "I'm sorry." He looked at one of the men who had been chasing her as they came up. "Tase her."
The man holding her let her go, but she didn't have any time to move before thousands of volts of electricity coursed through her body, knocking her out. ***
"Wake up."
Twilight heard the voice, it was different than the ones on the train. She also noticed the lack of movement, she either wasn't on the train anymore, or it was stopped. She slowly opened her eyes. She was chained up. She had chains around her hooves and neck. With difficulty she was able to shift around and stand up. Her initial panic had passed, so she simply looked around calmly. She focused on the man in front of her.
"What are you?" A man in front of her said. She took a minute to appraise him. He was tall, a bit older. He had a different set of clothes on than the others. His jacket was green. He had a plastic name badge that said Sheppard on it. On the other side of the jacket was four different bars, they had many little ribbons on them, what their meaning was, Twilight had no clue. She looked at his shoulders, he had a golden leaf on each side of his shoulder. His hair was short and gray, though he didn't look that old. One other man came in the room and sat a chair down in front of the young alicorn. He sat down and continued to study her as much as she was studying him. She looked around, several other men were sitting in chairs around the edge of the room, but the man in front of her, he seemed to be in charge.
"Are you going to answer me?"
She thought about his words for a moment, being quiet wasn't going to help. "Yes, what I am is an alicorn."
He grunted. "So, it's true, you do talk. So maybe you can answer my questions."
"I would be happy to answer your questions sir, but could you please remove these chains? I promise I won't run anywhere."
"Perhaps in a short while, miss. You were found on top of a train that was transporting nuclear weapons. Do you know what that means?"
She shifted a bit. Nuclear weapons, she knew nuclear theories, but she had never heard about nuclear weapons. "No, sir, I don't."
"It means no matter what you are, you were on United States Government property, and you have made yourself a national security issue."
Her eyes went wide, he noticed.
"Yes, you are in a lot of trouble."
"I'm so sorry. My friend is lost, I'm simply trying to get to her, she traveled by rail a few months ago..." Twilight trailed off. Unsure of how much to tell this man. "Where am I?"
"You were removed from the train and taken to the nearest Military installation. You are in Fort McCoy, in the state of Wisconsin."
Twilight looked down, remembering the map, she still had a ways to go. "As I said, sir. I'm very sorry that I was on your train. Could you please let me go?"
He considered her for a moment. "I don't think I can let you go, but I can let you out of those chains. I remember you promised not to run away. Does that include you using those wings of yours? In return, I promise you will not be harmed while you are in my custody."
She slowly nodded. Fighting the sense of dread rising in her throat.
He nodded his head and one of the soldiers rushed forward and unlocked the chains, in moments she was free. She spread her wings to stretch them.
"That better?"
"Yes, thank you, sir."
"Now, what are we going to do with you?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
She decided to take matters in her hooves.
"You are holding royalty against their will, I would think that would be considered an act of war."
His eyes widened at her words, and she momentarily thought she had made a mistake. Well, nothing to do but press on. "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria. I have no desire for our nations to be at war. If you let me go so I can find my lost friend, we will leave your nation in peace and never return."
He was silent as she wound down. He simply continued scrutinizing her.
"If you release me, I will make sure that our crown Princess, Princess Celestia, will know of your mercy and will look kindly upon you."
After several tense seconds, Twilight noticed the sweat trickling down her body, still he didn't say anything.
"Princess Twilight Sparkle, huh?" He said after several agonizing minutes of silence. She nodded.
"Of Equestria, you say?" Again, she nodded at his words.
He looked at the soldiers in the room. "Leave us." They saluted and left the room.
"First off, I must remember my manners, my name is Major Sheppard. And, about your friend, does your friend have wings like yours and a very bright, multicolored mane?" Her eyes widened at his words, "Ahh, I see that I'm right. Well, Princess..." He shifted in his chair.
"Some months ago, our radar detected a fast moving object. We dispatched some aircraft to investigate, as well as some ground units to investigate. Our pilots reported a truly unbelievable story. They were lucky that a camera on one of the airplanes captured a single image of a winged horse that happened to be blue, with a Technicolor mane flying ahead of them. They reported that the horse..."
"Pony," she interrupted him. His face grew dark and she cringed, but still stood her ground, "We are ponies, not horses, horses are extinct in my home."
He growled a bit, "Fine, the pony accelerated faster than a rocket, literally. And actually went hypersonic. And when it did, it produced an explosion of color."
"That's a sonic rainboom, my friend has performed that several times."
"Well, that is interesting."
"That sounds like my friend, I've come here to get her, and bring her home. She's been missing for over a year now. Her friends, myself included, miss her very much. And I came here to bring her home."
He sat back. Apparently pondering her for several moments. After a bit, he reached behind his chair and brought out her saddle bags. He opened them.
"Well, we went through the bags you had on you when you were brought in. I am happy to say that their contents corroborate what you are saying to me. There were no weapons, no bombs, nothing but food, some gold, paper, quills, and a couple of bottles of ink."
"Can I have my bags back please? I really need to get going."
"I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle, but you are not going anywhere for the foreseeable future. I was appointed after the first incident to investigate, so imagine my surprise when I was called very early this morning and brought to the first transport out of DC to be brought here. I am glad you have been found and I was able to interview you. But you are going to be joining me on the next plane to DC, where you will be interviewed further by our civilian leadership. I have superiors that I must answer to."
Twilight stood up again. "I'm sorry, sir. But that's not acceptable. I promised to not run, nor fly away. I made no promises about using other means though." With those words she lit her horn and used her telekinesis to grab her saddlebags and brought them to her. The major yelped and jumped back. She smiled as she concentrated her magic again and teleported, one thousand feet straight up. She was all of a sudden in the pre-dawn morning, spreading her wings as gravity took hold she used her telekinesis to strap her saddlebags to her body. Then she took off, heading west, thanking Celestia the whole time that she didn't take the letters to Bill so these soldiers couldn't find Rainbow's location from them.
"Well, I guess I had better avoid the trains from now on," she said to herself as she leveled out a hundred feet from the ground, powering west as fast as she could fly. In the distance behind her, she could hear sirens howling from the base she had just vacated. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 9. Cross Country | Twilight flew for hours after leaving the base. West, always west. She was physically exhausted, but she had no choice, she had to keep going. Looking down, she looked for road signs to help her decide the direction she needed to go. She was heading to northern California, but a good portion of the southwest part of this huge nation was heavily populated, unlike up in the north-western parts where there were less people. Knowing this, she continued on the northerly route. And below her was nothing but prairies and rolling hills. She knew that the mountains would come up, and offer her an opportunity to head south to get closer, but all this rolling farmland, nothing. She despaired as she didn't see trees for miles, her wings were burning, she had to land soon. She didn't have Rainbow Dash's endurance. The afternoon sun was heaving its way towards the horizon, but there were some hours to go.
Oh no! she thought as her right wing decided to cramp. She was able to recover, but no more flapping for a while. She was able to glide to the ground, landing on the road, she looked back and forth, not a vehicle to be seen. She checked both sides, not a single tree, just harvested land, nothing above knee level. She lay down on the road for a bit, just a little bit to rest her tired body. Of course, inevitably, her ears picked up the sound of tires on pavement. Frantically looking around she noticed a car coming down the road. After a moment of indecision she dived into the ditch, crouching down she was able to hide most of her body in the low grass. She tried not to pant to hard with the amount of pain she was in. She cowered down, silently praying to Celestia that they wouldn't stop. She clenched her wings to the sides as hard as she could, ignoring the protesting pain from the abused appendages.
Her prayers to Celestia again went unanswered. As the car approached, she heard the sounds change as it slowed down, then a sharp squeal as the brakes brought the vehicle to a stop. Both doors opened.
"Dude, I'm telling you, it was a deer in the middle of the road. But it looked weird," One of the voices said.
Oh, great, thought Twilight, first I get mistaken for a dog, now a deer, can this get any more humiliating? First a dog, and now a deer?
She shifted her eyes, the sun was bright on her back, it wouldn't be long until they...
"It's over here, it looks like it's hurt," the voice said. She was able to see him. He was male, about as young as most of the soldiers that she had already met. Both of them had long hair. She didn't know why she noticed that. All she could do was freeze in terror. The human kept coming closer. He was almost able to touch her.
"Please don't hurt me," she wailed as she flared her wings and jumped back. The human, who was in the process of bending down jumped back. He landed hard on his rear and looked at the alicorn.
Tired, she was just so tired. Almost no sleep the night before, and flying most of the day, exhaustion was the only thing she felt. She felt her consciousness slipping. And she collapsed to the ground, the world going dark around her. ***
Movement, the sound of the wind, the dull roar of an engine. The sounds assaulted her ears. Then the smells pushed themselves upon her, a faint acrid tinge, the smell of dusty cloth, and the undeniable smell of the humans. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was in the back seat of the car. She could see the backs of the heads of the two humans.
"Oh man, wait till we get to town. We've got to find a university, they will flip out," the driver said. He was the one whom she had startled.
"Are you sure we should take it there, what if they want to dissect it or something like that? Remember, it talked to you."
"That had to be our imaginations, animals can't talk."
"Dude, I know I heard it, and it sounded like a girl."
"Whatever, you've smoked too much weed today."
"You smoked as much as I did."
They both laughed a bit.
"Well, I did talk. And I really don't want to be dissected," Twilight piped up.
"Wha?" the driver said as he looked over at Twilight. Seeing her conscious and looking at him, he did the only thing he could think of. He slammed on the brakes, throwing Twilight into the seat in front of her as the car screeched to a stop. He turned to look at her, then squawked as the car started rolling again, he shoved the transmission into park then again turned towards Twilight.
"Seriously? You just talked?"
"Yes, I did."
He looked at his passenger then back at Twilight. "I haven't smoked anything in hours. This can't be a hallucination."
His passenger finally got over whatever was tying his tongue in knots, "What the hell are you?"
She looked over at him, "I'm a pony."
They looked at each other. "Dude," they said in unison.
She remembered Cadence's calming exercise, she brought a hoof to her chest as she inhaled, then exhaled as she pushed her hoof out. She did it a second time, then a third, her wildly beating heart finally decided to slow down. These weren't the same humans as the soldiers that had captured her earlier. Maybe she could reason with them.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle. I came here to retrieve a friend who is lost."
Both humans looked at each other then at her. The driver spoke up. "I'm Michael, that is James."
Alright, first step accomplished, they had names. On to step two. "Can you let me go?"
James opened his door and got out, turning around he crouched down and pulled his seat forward and allowed her to hop out. She trotted a few steps before turning around. She was free and clear, she spread her wings, and then fell down as they cramped up, the pain from them shooting around all of her extremities.
"Hey, hey, you're hurt." Michael said as he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up. "Some coyote will get you, or something worse. Where are you going?"
She could only moan in pain. He looked at his friend. "There's something wrong with her, we need to get her to the hospital." He put her in the back seat of the car once again and they climbed in. All Twilight could do was lie there. She heard everything they were saying. The car accelerated again.
"Ugh." The tightness of every muscle in her body was finally relaxing.
"It's okay Twilight Sparkle, we are about an hour from Williston, North Dakota, we can find a vet, or a hospital for you."
"No, no hospital, I've had as much as I can handle of humans already today."
"Huh?"
They listened attentively as she gave an abbreviated recounting of her train adventure of the night before.
"Heavy." Michael said with James nodding his head in agreement. After a moment of thought, he reached into a cooler that was sharing the back seat with Twilight, after rooting around in the ice for a moment, he pulled out a plastic bottle and handed it to her, he was paying attention to the road and didn't notice her use her magic to twist off the top.
"What is this?" she asked after a big gulp of the sweet and salty drink.
"It's Gatorade, it's a sports drink. I think you are suffering from a combination of heat exhaustion and dehydration. If this makes you feel better in about ten minutes, then we won't need to go to the hospital." She eagerly gulped down more of it, relishing the citrus flavor of the unusual drink.
"It's pretty good." She smacked her lips. Then she sat back and thought for a minute. The first humans she met were Rainbow Dash's friends, then she had that horrible experience with the military people, and now these men. Boy, humans were certainly an odd species. As she continued drinking from the plastic bottle, her muscles slowly loosened. She couldn't fully spread her wings inside the car, but she was able to ruffle them a bit and let them hang a bit, it felt wonderful.
"Thank you," she murmured to the two humans. They started talking as he turned on the headlights as the sun was heading to the horizon. She learned that they were both college students. They were on their way back to school after summer break. Michael was pre-med, and James was pre-law. They were on their way to Seattle. Which she learned was on the west coast, that much closer to Rainbow Dash. She told them some about Rainbow. It boggled both their minds that there was a pegasus there.
They also didn't seem very surprised about her encounter with the military.
"For the last couple of decades we've been in what's been called the cold war with the Soviet Union. We are afraid they will use nuclear weapons on us, they are afraid we will use them on them. So we've been talking peace while preparing for war," James was saying.
"Why don't you're leaders just talk about your differences?" Twilight asked.
"Well, I think the main reason is we are afraid that they will lie." He then spent several minutes talking about the history of the Soviet Union.
"Wow, they don't sound very trustworthy do they?"
"No, Twilight, they don't. But the problem with setting all of them in that stereotype is the vast majority of the Russian people have no interest in harming anyone in the US, and the reverse is true. It's only a very small number of people who not only think war will actually happen, but think the other side will strike first. The trouble is, those that think that way, tend to be the ones in power."
Twilight leaned back and then looked at the lights of the small town they were passing through. She finally looked back at the two humans. "You have had a lot of wars haven't you?"
James sighed, "Too many."
Twilight sighed in sympathy, "We have had some wars in our own times, the three tribes have fought off and on for centuries, that was until the founding of Equestria, and then the Royal Sisters established their rule. We have finally had peace among all ponies for a long time because of them."
"Well, I'm glad that ponies have been able to enjoy that peace, I wish humanity could have something to pull us all together like that."
"It's not perfect in our world though, James. There are threats to our world from outside our borders. The changelings have made life difficult for ponies, the Griffon Kingdom is mostly at peace with us, but that had to be rather strongly enforced by Princess Celestia. There are a few other places that would do us harm, but we have the princesses, and they ensure the peace."
"I would love to see your world, Twilight."
She had to smile at that. "I wish I could show it to you. But the spell I used to get here took a lot out of me, and my priority has to be finding Rainbow Dash so we can get her home."
Michael finally spoke up after quite a long time of being quiet. "We are just about to pull into the hotel. We need to get some sleep."
Twilight stifled a yawn. She sat patiently as Michael went into the office to get a hotel room. After parking on the other side of the hotel near their room, she followed them into the room. She looked around.
"There are only two beds, and three of us."
"I could order a trundle bed from the office," John piped up.
She smiled at her new friends. "It's alright, I noticed there were clouds outside. I'll sleep on a cloud tonight, I'll meet you back here just after sunrise, sound good?"
Both of the humans' jaws dropped.
"Sleep? On a cloud? You are aware a cloud is just water vapor right?" Michael said.
"Of course, all pegasi can walk on clouds..." She was in her element now, she was teaching them about cloud walking, to both of their stunned expressions. She rather felt proud of herself, though it baffled her how this world could exist without magic.
Both of the humans looked at each other after she was done. "Wow," James said for both of them.
Twilight smiled at them as she spread her, now rested, wings and took off for the cloud. She settled into the cloud and closed her eyes. This was a long day, and she was glad for a good night's sleep. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 10. Them Again? | Twilight had a good sleep. She stretched before standing up on the cloud. Looking around, the eastern sky was starting to lighten. She took stock of her location, the cloud she had slept on had drifted through the night. She was about fifty miles away from the hotel. Not a problem for her though. She hopped off the cloud and took off. After flying for a few minutes she noticed something out of place. More green painted vehicles, she angled her wings and banked to check out the scene. In a field, several tracked vehicles were sitting there, men all around. Oh, no! The military had found her. She banked again and accelerated. In moments though, a flying machine rose up near her. It was green, just like all the others. She didn't know it, but it was a Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, commonly called a Huey. In moments it was following her.
"Attention Twilight Sparkle, land now or we will open fire, " she heard from loudspeakers mounted on the helicopter.
Oh dear, she thought, I need to get away from them. In moments, she concentrated and teleported as far as she could in her line of sight, ending up under a copse of trees a few miles away. She turned and looked at the helicopter flying, in moments, it turned and headed towards her. She looked at the rising sun, why did they have to follow her?
"How are they following me?" She shrugged off her saddlebags and opened them. Frantically pulling things out of them, at the very bottom, she found a small device that she had not noticed before. It was metal, about a hoof long, half a hoof wide and less than that thick. She looked at the helicopter coming closer, then took the device with her magic and teleported it about a mile away from her. The helicopter immediately changed course towards where the device had gone. She smiled.
"You found a way to track me. Let's make this interesting," she said to herself. She still had a magical hold on it. She took off and teleported to the device. Picking it up and letting it hover next to her, she waited until the chopper was close, then teleported with the device again. Dutifully, the chopper altered course to her new location. She teleported again. Again, it followed her. She focused on the chopper itself and teleported it into the chopper itself. In moments smoke started belching from the helicopter.
"Oops, I guess I accidentally put it in their engine," she laughed as the helicopter flared and landed, the roar of its engine becoming more of a cough. Four soldiers jumped out of it as it continued to smoke. She teleported to the landing site of the chopper.
"There she is, grab her," one of the soldiers shouted.
In response she spread her wings and hovered above them. "Now now, I disabled your machine easily." She was interrupted as one of the soldiers pulled a device off of his hip. He pointed the device at her. She was ready though, she took it in her magic. She could feel how the device was put together, so she disassembled the device in front of the astonished human. "I wouldn't recommend that." She was getting mad. These humans had decided they wanted to capture her. James and Michael had told her about much of the paranoia that was in the military. But this was ridiculous. She looked at the other humans. In the distance she noticed a wheeled vehicle bouncing over the terrain towards her. She looked at the human that had pulled his weapon on her. "I'm guessing you are in charge of this craft. I want you to tell your superiors, leave me alone. I have magic that you cannot counter. I know you are after me, and any further attempts will only make me angry. You don't want to make me angry, do you understand?"
The man looked at her dumbfounded, he slowly nodded. She smiled and teleported back to the trees from earlier and grabbed her saddle bags. Using a combination of line of sight teleportation and flying, she was on the roof of the hotel in minutes. She took a moment to assess the situation. In front of James and Michael's hotel room was a white vehicle with lettering on the side, she read it...Tribal Police. She heard a commotion, her friends were being led out by men in a blue uniforms, their hands were being restrained behind their backs. These men had helped her, they were kind to her, they didn't deserve this treatment.
"What would Rainbow Dash do here?" she asked herself. After a moment, it came to her. She hopped off the roof and glided to land in front of the door of the police car and faced them down.
"Leave my friends alone!" she shouted at them in her best Royal Canterlot Voice.
The men holding her friends stopped in shock. It only took a moment for her to wrap them up in her magic and hold them there. Trotting around to her friends, she looked at what was restraining them. They had a simple catch and a quick burst of magic made them fall at her friends feet.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that because of me. Let's get going," Twilight said to them as she levitated the men in blue into their vehicle. With a crunch she pulled the steering wheel off of the vehicle and dropped it on the hood. She looked to Michael, "Will that disable their vehicle?" Michael's mouth dropped open, he looked at the police car and back to Twilight. He nodded, then yelped as Twilight grabbed both of them in her magic and pulled the doors open on their vehicle. Hopping in the back she put them in gently and closed the doors. Michael took a moment to fish for his keys. In moments the car was started and they were on their way.
She turned to her friends. James was sitting there looking stunned.
"What are you?" he asked.
"I'm a pony, James."
"Yeah, but ponies can't pick up people and then pull a steering wheel off the column, then crush it. It can't be done."
She had to chuckle, she indicated her horn. "I'm an alicorn James. I have magic, didn't you see me using it yesterday?"
He shook his head.
Twilight was about to launch into a lecture on magic, but then thought better of it when Michael spoke up.
"Magic or no, this car is hot now, those police have probably got a description out on the radio right now, any cop in Montana is going to be searching for us."
Twilight smiled, "I can take care of that. Magic can be very useful." She concentrated and enveloped the car in her magic. In moments it changed from the light blue it was to a dark brown. "Now the car looks different."
"Well, the license plates are the same, can you change how they look?"
Twilight concentrated again. "I scrambled the numbers on them, will that work?"
Michael finally started to calm down. "I think so, oh crap!" he shouted as he pulled his car over to the side of the road as a half dozen more police cars screamed down the road, lights flashing and sirens blazing. They passed without a second look at the dark brown car. In moments he was back at cruising speed.
They drove for a few hours until the mountains came into view. Then Michael pulled off in a scenic overlook spot. He stopped the car and turned off the engine. Then he turned to look at Twilight.
"So, apparently we had an eventful morning. I'll tell you what happened to us, then you tell us what happened to you."
"Deal."
"We were woken up by a pounding on the door. I answered the door, and there were two police officers there, saying they had a warrant for our arrest for harboring a fugitive. They arrested us, went through all our stuff, then they were taking us God knows where when you showed up."
Twilight swallowed, then related what happened to her.
"So, you found a funky device in your bags?"
"Yes, I know I didn't bring it from Equestria."
James thought for a moment, "Some kind of tracking device, it must have had pretty good range. I wonder why they let you sleep until morning."
Michael answered that question. "They had to have had a single vehicle following us, just where we couldn't see them, but close enough to read the signal from the tracking device. Then they had to call for reinforcements, and it looks like you woke up just in time to spoil their plans. You are a lucky pony Twilight Sparkle." He put his hand on her cheek, "And thank you for saving our bacon back there."
She nuzzled his hand, "I would never leave my friends hanging, you saved me. If you hadn't come along yesterday, they might have been able to pick me up, and I wouldn't have had the strength to stop them. I owe you as much as you think you owe me. Thank you, my friends."
He smiled at her. "Well, I think our planned road trip back to school has been derailed, let's get to California and find your friend, this is the United States Military, they aren't going to give up so long as you are here. He turned back to face the road and started up his car again. "Now this is what I call a road trip." ***
In the White House, just after a turbulent re-election campaign, culminating in a failure, the President of the United States sat down to read a memo that had just been delivered to him.
Attn: President Carter
Fr: Major Jeremy Sheppard
Re: Unknown Alien Life Forms
Executive Summary
On September 14th, 1979, NORAD air defense radar picked up a fast moving signal that was not transmitting IFF. Crystal Palace dispatched two F-15 Eagles to investigate. The pilots reported an encounter with a winged horse, later identified as a pegasus. Their story was literally unbelievable, until an examination of camera footage of the incident showed a blue bodied, rainbow maned flying pegasus.(photo enclosed). On august 12, 1980, another pony was discovered hitchhiking on top of a train carrying nuclear weapons along with an order of tanks for delivery to the US Army. The pony was detained then brought for interrogation.
She identified herself as a Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria (photo enclosed) and said that if we let her go it would prevent war between her ponies and our people. I discounted her words as bravado. I interviewed her for a short time. When I told her that she was going to be brought to DC for civilian leadership to interrogate, she said that was unacceptable, then used unknown means to take her bag and then she disappeared from the interrogation room. Films were taken of the encounter via one way mirror, and can be viewable at your discretion. She apparently did not notice that we had put a tracking device in her bag, as she took the bag with her when she left. We followed her signal and a helicopter was dispatched to retrieve her off the cloud she had decided to sleep in.
She apparently discovered the tracking device, then used it to damage the pursuing helicopter. She confronted the crew and said that any further attempts to apprehend her would be met with "magic that we couldn't stop" and that we "didn't want to make her angry." Then she apparently released two humans that she apparently had befriended and they escaped Tribal Police, in the city of Wolf Point, MT, which is in the Fort Peck Indian reservation. Attempts to locate the vehicle they escaped in have been met with frustration. The search is ongoing at this time.
The President looked at the pictures included in the folder, one of a flying, pale blue pegasus with a muticolored mane, and the other of an apparently sleeping pegasus with a unicorns horn lying in chains on the tiled floor of a building. He thought about what he had seen, after a moment he pulled out a letterhead stenciled with the Presidential Seal.
To: Jeremy Sheppard, Major US Army
Cease and Desist all activities searching for the alien life forms. We might be able to find them at some point in the future, but at this time, we will need to study the information presented before anything else is done. Attempting to capture them with military equipment is apparently a futile effort. If we are able to find them, all well and good, but as of now, this entire encounter is being designated SP/SAR eyes only to the President and yourself. Any soldiers are to be sworn to secrecy and all information you have gathered will be placed in my personal files, not to be released for a minimum of one hundred years.
The President looked at what he had written. Would he give this information to the upstart actor turned politician who was to be his successor? He didn't think so. This information could rot for all he cared. He signed the memo to go to his personal secretary and then turned in his chair. What would he do afterwards? |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 11. Reunion | Rainbow Dash liked the beach. It was quiet, with autumn being in full force, she didn't have to hide from people nearly as much. Winter was on its way, but given how nice the autumn had been, she wasn't worried about a harsh winter here. She would catch fish, or she would fly inland a little bit and enjoy some of the foraging available there. California, as this state was called, had some pretty good farmland. Though she'd been chased off a few times by farmers irate about an unknown animal eating their feed, but she usually laughed about that. But then again, ponies are naturally social creatures, she missed social interaction. Almost every night, she cried herself to sleep. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie. She cried for Merle, Maddie, Bill. It was too long.
"I'm going to go crazy," she said to herself as she slammed her hoof into the sand. The sun had finally gone down for another day. Her stomach was full, the few people walking along the beach have completed their daily circuits. She lay down in the sand, looking out at the sky. Maybe I should find a candle and try to send some more letters, she thought. She trotted over to where she had hidden her saddle bags and dug them up. She sent letters every so often, but it was tiring for her to do it. Her magic was meant for flight, it was meant for speed, not performing actual magical spells. It was very draining. She pulled out a pen and a notebook. She needed to write her letter. For the next hour or so as the sun sank below the horizon she focused on the paper in front of her, not noticing what was going on around her.
All of a sudden, her attention was pulled away from the letter she was writing. She heard a car. Trotting up the sand dune she crouched down and looked at the parking area. A dark brown sedan pulled into a parking space. The doors opened and two humans got out, both with long hair and beards. She could faintly hear their voices.
"Well, this is the sixth beach we've looked at today. Are you sure this is the one?" The man on the passenger side of the vehicle reached back and pulled the front seat forward. A very familiar face stepped out of the back seat of the car.
"Well, she's got to be around..." She was interrupted by a cyan blur crashing into her.
"Oh my gosh Twilight, you made it!" Twilight had her air supply completely cut off by the crushing hug of Rainbow Dash. In moments both were in tears, just happily hugging each other.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."
"It's been horrible. I've been here so long. Is everypony okay?"
"They are all fine, and terribly worried about you."
"Did you get to meet Bill and Maddie?"
"Yes, and..."
James and Michael were standing there awkwardly as Twilight and Rainbow Dash chattered at each other. After a moment, Michael cleared his throat, jarring both ponies out of their conversation. They separated and turned to the two humans. Twilight stepped forward.
"James, Michael, this is my misplaced friend, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash folded her wing around her friend. "And now we get to go home!" She started bouncing up and down as Twilight got back into the car. Rainbow looked at her quizzically but followed her in, in moments the car was tooling down the road.
"I don't understand, Twilight, why don't we just go home?"
Twilight hid her yawn behind a hoof. "The spell I used to get here was very difficult. And to do it again I have to be in the place I appeared when I got here. It's a matter of the resonance frequency of the portal I opened when I came here. We have to head back to New York. I've already told our friends here, and they are willing to take us cross country back to New York." She looked intently at Michael and James, "The gold I gave you, it is enough for your expenses for this long trip?"
James looked at Twilight and Rainbow Dash. "I don't care how much money this is costing, the gold is more than sufficient Twilight, but we are doing this to help our friend, especially after you helped us."
Rainbow looked quizzically at Twilight, Twilight blushed and said, "It's a long story, I'll tell you as we travel."
"Oh." Rainbow couldn't keep the goofy grin off of her face. She was going home.
After several hours driving, they pulled into a hotel, Rainbow Dash and Twilight got their own room and continued catching up. They talked until very late that night, ending up sprawled out on the same bed, neither one wanting to be too far from her friend. ***
Eight days, Rainbow Dash thought, we've been traveling for eight days. She started hopping up and down as they turned down the dirt road heading towards Merles farm. The trip was, for the most part, uneventful, Twilight and her had gotten to catch up and spend time together, for the first time in a long time, she was happy. She couldn't wait. The old farmhouse finally came into view. It looked like it had gotten a new coat of paint, and some other work done, it didn't look nearly as old as before. She yelped in happiness as she saw two smiling faces as the car pulled in to park next to Bill's old truck.
"Rainbow Dash!" a young voice screamed as Rainbow exited the car. She sped forward and bowled the 9 year old girl over in a huge hug. Twilight was more reserved, but Rainbow Dash was nuzzling the girl and just giggling.
The men all exchanged handshakes.
"Thank you, Michael. Thank you James, for bringing our friends back here." Bill decided that handshakes were insufficient as he pulled the two men into a hug. "Maddie here was worried sick for both Twilight and Rainbow Dash. And, well." He stopped for a moment, reluctant to show the emotions he felt, "I was too. But they are back, and they are going home."
Tears shone in everyone's eyes as the greetings eventually concluded.
Bill once again spoke up, "Well, when you guys called and said you would be here today, we've been getting ready. I sent the help home early, and gave them the day off tomorrow. Maddie isn't going to school tomorrow. I know Twilight needs to rest before this spell. And I have a home cooked supper ready to go.
Before long everyone and everypony were sitting before a large spread of food. After a quick prayer from Maddie, everyone ate. Twilight discovered that she liked Merle's recipe for fried chicken nearly as much as Rainbow Dash did. The entire evening was filled with laughter and general merriment. Maddie finally brought out her surprise, she had baked a chocolate cake, with her father's help, in celebration. And after taking a bite, Rainbow Dash declared it to be nearly as good as Pinkie Pie's cakes, very much to the young girl's happiness. Eventually, everyone had to find their beds. Rainbow Dash crawled into the bed she had stayed in for a while when she lived here with Merle and sighed. "I'm going home." ***
"Good morning sleepyhead," Twilight whispered into Rainbow Dash's ear. The sun was just peeking over the horizon. Twilight had been meditating since she had woken up a few hours earlier. She was as ready as she could be. The normally hard to wake up Rainbow Dash jumped out of bed and hugged her friend. Together they went to the other rooms to wake up their friends to say good bye. In a matter of minutes they were all standing outside.
"James, Michael, Bill, Maddie. I'm so glad I was able to meet you. I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for your help. Thank you my friends." Rainbow Dash turned to Twilight who was drawing a circle in the dirt with a stick, "I'm ready Twilight."
Twilight closed her eyes and her horn lit up. The magenta glow intensified, then got even stronger, Rainbow Dash had to close her eyes at how bright the light from the young alicorn was. She waited for the feeling of teleportation, but after several seconds, nothing happened. After a few more seconds she heard the glimmering sound of Twilight's magic cease.
"Are we there?" She opened her eyes, Maddie's big eyes were riveted on her. She turned and looked at Twilight, who was slumping to the ground. Twilight moaned as she passed out.
Rainbow, for her part, sprang to her friend. Lightly slapping her face, and fluttering her wings in front of Twilight's face, in moments she came to. Twilight's eyes went wide. "I can't do it."
"What?" Rainbow was incredulous. "What are you talking about Twilight, you were able to get here."
The purple alicorn hung her head. "It knocked me out for hours when I got here Rainbow. I overextended myself just coming here by myself, I can feel the portal starting to open, but when I reach out to bring you with me, the entire spell falls apart.
Rainbow Dash shook her head. "What are you saying?"
Twilight shook her head. "I'm going to try something. I'm going to send just you, I'll follow in a few days when I can perform the spell again." Without waiting for an answer, she charged her horn and enveloped Rainbow Dash in a magenta glow, freezing the pegasus in place as she tried to send her friend home. The spell she was held in wouldn't even allow her to close her eyes, she watched her friend grunt in pain as she poured more magic into the spell. Twilight opened her eyes for a quick glance at her friend, and Rainbow Dash was shocked to see her eyes glowing white as brightly as she had ever seen. Seconds later the alicorn let go of the spell, panting, "I can't do it, the spell won't form around you without me in it." She stopped to catch her breath, panting like she had just run twenty miles at a full gallop.
Rainbow Dash looked down for a moment, then back at her friend, "What if I use my magic to help you, Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, Rainbow. You don't have enough conscious direction of your magic to be able to help."
"Are you saying we can't get home?"
Twilight just looked down, tears falling from her eyes. "Not both of us, no, Rainbow."
Rainbow Dash looked at her crying friend, and her new friends. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. She slowly collapsed to the ground, tears falling freely from her eyes. In moments they were both surrounded by their friends. After several minutes, Rainbow had cried herself out. She was depressingly familiar with that cried out feeling. Finally she shrugged her friends off and moved over to Twilight.
"Twilight, I want you to go home."
Twilight sniffled and looked at her. "I just got you back, I'm not leaving without you."
Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof to the ground right in front of her friend. "That is exactly what you are going to do, Twilight. You are going to go home, and you are going to tell our friends that I'm okay, and that I miss them." She reached out and took Twilight's face in her hooves. "You are going to go back home, Equestria needs you, Princess. You are going to give all of our friends a hug from me. And you are going to cry, just as I'm going to cry. We will miss each other, but I can't have you getting stuck here. One pony in this world is enough." She had thought she was out of tears, it turned out not to be the case, as her eyes clouded with tears once again. "You will go on, without me, and you will have a long life. I just ask one thing of you, my friend."
Twilight was beyond words.
"Just remember me. Remember your friend, Rainbow Dash." She let go of her friend and walked slowly to the farm house. She opened the screen door and looked back at Twilight. "And please, give Tank to Scootaloo, she would love to have him." With that she let the door shut as she went to her room and shut the door, locking it. She needed time alone. ***
Hours later Rainbow Dash was still crying. She only thought she had hit bottom, but now she was still falling. Life was dark and horrible. She would never see home again. She cried for one of her first friends in the world, poor sweet Fluttershy. She cried for Pinkie Pie, she cried for all of her friends. A soft knock sounded at her door.
"Go away," she sobbed at the door.
She heard the door knob rattle as it was tried.
"Can't you hear me? I said go away, I need to be left alone." The rattling ceased. Then smoke poured through the gap underneath the door, she shrank back from it, it was rainbow hued, just like her mane, stripes of every color in the rainbow, her eyes grew wider and wider as she watched it billow into her room, in moments it resolved into a familiar shape.
"Well, now. I would think you would look upon your rescuer with more favor Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow fell off the bed in shock at the mismatch of animal parts standing in front of her. She could only say one word.
"Discord."
The draconequus stepped forward and spread his arms. "The one and only."
Rainbow shook her head. "You can't be here, you're back in Equestria."
He shook his head and leaned down to face the cyan pegasus, "Oh, I'll admit, I'd much rather be home than in this dreary place. Too much gray, such an ugly part of the multiverse. But Princess Celestia demanded I help after receiving the letter Twilight sent home just a short while ago. So, I'm here. And I'm going to take you home, Rainbow Dash."
Anything else he was going to say was stopped by her jumping onto him and hugging him. At first he had a look of disgust, but then he finally relented and smiled at her, and hugged her back just at tightly.
"I will admit, without you pranking everypony, it hasn't been as chaotic as I like in Ponyville for the last couple of years."
She couldn't talk, she was crying, but these were tears of joy.
After finally disentangling herself from Discord, they walked into the living room, where Rainbow Dash received the second shock of the last few minutes. A party horn sounding in front of her, and her eyes were filled with big blue eyes and pink mane. "Oh Dashie, I missed you."
"Pinkie Pie! How did you get here?"
The pink party pony looked at Discord, "Oh, that meaney pants couldn't tell you? Well, fine. I will." Pinkie sat in front of Rainbow Dash, "When the letter came from Twilight, Celestia summoned Discord. But he said he couldn't find you guys with the feather she sent. Something about it not having enough of an imprint of the place she was to be able to lock onto with his magic. So Celestia looked at me and floated the feather at me. The whole time you've been gone, my pinkie sense has been going crazy, I knew you were okay, and it was like you were just out of sight, like just over a hill, or just around a corner. Princess Celestia asked me to focus on you and the feather at the same time, and I was able to feel where you were. So Discord grabbed me and we appeared here. Then he went to go get you, then he came back with you, and then I told you how Equestria was founded." She finished with a loud squee. Then she hopped over to Maddie and gave her a big hug.
Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie, then at Discord, then at a beaming Twilight. "So, we can go home?"
Twilight couldn't stop smiling, "Yes, Rainbow Dash. We will provide the direction, and Discord will provide the power."
After giving her human friends one last hug, Rainbow trotted over to Discord and her pony friends. "Let's go."
In moments Twilight lit her horn and encompassed all of them in a magenta glow. Then Discord snapped his fingers. The world faded to black and silence for a moment. Then with a rush, they were standing in the Royal throne room. Rainbow Dash only had a moment to look around before she was mobbed. All of her friends were hugging her, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. She was home. She was laughing and crying at the same time. She was finally home. |
A Rainbow in the Dark | Epilogue | "Twilight, did you ever find out what was with that storm?" Rainbow Dash was lounging on a cloud she had pulled into the library. She never understood why Twilight didn't like her doing that, she made sure the clouds behaved themselves and never rained on her precious books. Well, except for that one time.
Twilight looked up from her writing. "I told you after you were hit, I pulled the energy of the storm into myself and dispelled it. Well, by doing that, I destroyed any way to tell the origin of the storm. I was able to track it to the west side of the Everfree forest. But I have no idea why it was magically charged the way it was. It almost felt like chaos magic, but it wasn't Discord." Twilight put down her quill and looked at her friend, "I don't think we will ever know what caused that storm, it's not the first time we've had a magically quickened storm crash into us from the Everfree."
"I think I know why, Twilight."
Rainbow heard Twilight grumble under her breath, it sounded like her saying, "This ought to be rich." but her friend looked at her expectantly.
"While I was on that Earth, I noticed they had city names similar to ours, Baltimore to our Baltimare, the city of New York was on Manhattan Island, compared to our Manehattan."
Twilight looked utterly shocked, Rainbow continued. "We know there are literally an infinite number of different worlds in different universes. What if the barrier between those realms gets thin or frayed from time to time, and energy from one universe bleeds off into another, as long as the two universes are similar?"
Twilight spent a moment picking her jaw up off the floor. She lit her horn and magicked her glasses off of her muzzle. "I never expected to hear magical theory from you Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow Dash grinned at her friend, she jumped off the cloud, dispelling it at the same time and landed next to her friend. She grabbed Twilight's reading glasses off the desk and put them on. "Maybe I should apply to be a student at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns...hey!" she shouted as the glasses were whisked off her face and placed quite firmly back on the desk.
"You wouldn't last a day."
"Oh yeah, try me. I could do it. I was able to perform magic over there."
"Channeling magic to send a letter is simple."
"Not for pegasi!"
Rainbow Dash noticed that they were muzzle to muzzle, growling at each other. She smiled, then had to laugh. She laughed so hard she ended up on her back kicking her legs feebly.
"Oh, Twilight, I can't tell you how much I missed arguing with you!"
She found herself being picked up with Twilight's magic, and brought to the purple mare's arms. She hugged her friend back. She heard Twilight sniffle into her mane, "I did too."
Twilight pushed her friend away and galloped over to a drawer. "I almost forgot, I was supposed to give these to you when you got back. I kept them here for safe keeping." Three envelopes whisked from the drawer into Rainbow Dash's hooves, she recognized Merle's handwriting. Her face fell.
"I miss him, Twilight. He was a good friend."
"I know he was, and you should read his final words to you."
With a practiced flip, she opened an envelope and drew out the piece of paper.
Dearest Rainbow Dash,
Not too long after you sent these to your friends, I would eventually have had to tell you my horrible secret, that I was dying. Pancreatic cancer is never an easy diagnosis, according to my doctor. And I would have drank myself to death if it weren't for you. But for this letter, I can tell you what I could never tell you in person.
I have never had a friend like you, Rainbow Dash. I had buddies, I had comrades in arms, but never a close, true friend. You told me about those elements of harmony that you guys used to defeat your foes. And you told me you bore the element of loyalty. In the time I have known you, I have never known anyone who was so perfect to carry such an honor.
I know you miss me, and every day without me will cause you pain. My only consolation is that time heals all wounds, the pain will lessen. Wherever I am when you get this, just know that my heart is in as much pain as yours for missing you. Cherish your friends Rainbow Dash, every one of them you told me about, Pinkie Pie, the crazy party pony, Fluttershy the kind hearted lover of everything, Rarity, the lover of all things beautiful, Applejack, the honest, hard worker, and Twilight Sparkle, the bookworm princess. They have always been, and will always be, the source of your strength. Never forget that. Though I know you won't. I know you will never forget me as well. And I consider myself lucky to be included in your list of friends.
You are an exceptional pony, Rainbow Dash, and I will always love you.
Your friend,
Merle Baker
Rainbow Dash put down the letter and sat there, not looking at anything. Her mind was reeling from what Merle had written to her. She looked over at Twilight, who had just finished reading another copy of the letter. Twilight looked back at her.
"You met a very special person, Rainbow Dash."
"I know." She was able to hold back tears. The ache was there, but she could live with it. She placed the letter back in its envelope and hoofed it over to Twilight. "Please keep these for me, Twilight. I don't want them to ever get lost."
Twilight silently complied.
Rainbow Dash sat and watched her friend get back to her writing, but was interrupted by the door to the library slamming open. All of their friends poured into the library along with all of their pets. Rainbow Dash perked up, seeing Tank hovering above their friends, he quickly zipped over to her.
"Are you ready to go play with our pets girls?" Applejack said.
With a loud hoot, Owlowiscious flew down from his perch in Twilight's room and joined the rest of the pets. Twilight moved to join them, she looked back. "Are you coming Rainbow?"
Rainbow Dash nuzzled her tortoise. Since she had gotten back, he was nearly a constant companion, although today was the exception. Fluttershy had been getting him all cleaned up for playing at the park today. She was happy to see Tank again. "You bet!"
And Rainbow Dash went and did what it turns out is her favorite thing in the world, spend time with her friends. |
Bastion (Rewrite under consideration) | pre | "If we end up having to fight them then I say that's a good thing but god forbid it comes to that" Oscar answers.
Our fleet strength includes two Battlegroups Zata and Sera and a Assault-Carrier Task Force, the two Battlegroups add up to 28 ships whilst the Task Force adds another five. So if a fight did break out it would be 7 starships versus 33 Pacific Alliance Warships, which would be a very uneven fight for the defenders.
"This is Ranger Actual to all units, we are approaching Nova Tanis. Break formation and head to your entry points, once planetside reestablish comms and proceed with phase 2 understood?" Major Graves' voice boomed over the company channel by the time I got my helmet back on feeling refreshed and ready to rock.
"Yes Sir!" Came the collective reply.
The formation of Dropships were in a line formation with the Akumus in front, Ospreys in the back and the Hayabusas in the middle. Once Major Graves's order went out however the line began to disperse as each dropship adjusted their course to enter the planet's atmosphere from various different approaches.
The Akumus with their stealth Abilities will be entering the planet in places near the garrison fleet whilst the rest will enter the planet beyond the horizon from the fleet.
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: Type-35 Akumu Stealth Dropship: New Caledonia system: Approaching Nova Tanis: June 17th 2188: 2 hours later
By the time I get the feed from one of the dropship's external cameras up on my HUD I could see Nova Tanis in half of the shot, the rest is taken up by the void beyond and a large warship in the middle of six others.
"Do they have windows?" Fallon said, sitting next to me as our dropship made its descent.
Panning the camera to focus on the larger of the ships I could see there were a lot of lights, far more than just positioning lights.
"Yeah they do," I said in mild surprise and confusion.
Since the start of the first Interstellar War in the late 21st century between the SRA and NAC, Warships have always been built without windows relaying on external cameras to see out into the black void and their bridges or CICs were located in the centre of their hulls for maximum protection.
However these people judging by their lights and silhouette appear to not have learned about the finer dangers of space yet.
"On the bright side..." Fallon started as I switched off the link to the outside allowing me to see the inside of the dropship again, I then turned to my left where Fallon is sitting next to me closer to the cockpit.
"The fact that they have lights means they have eyes, which means we may not be at so much a disadvantage as with the Lankies" My best friend Avery Fallon concluded.
"Hold on BOYS!" Shadow Two calls over the comms as all around us the Akumu shakes and rattles and the thermometer on my HUH spikes in temperature slightly.
"Soon we'll be the first humans back on this planet in eight decades!" Captain Oscar says as we descend into Tanis's atmosphere.
Prism's Flank: 2022 of the Imperial Calendar:EINS Destiny's Light
"How was planetside sir?" Flintlight asked his Captain as he entered the bridge for today's bridge watch.
The Captain in question was a big stallion, about three heads taller then he and five heads taller than the average human. His coat was white as snow and his mane black as space, his eyes were blood red and he wore the standard imperial Navy uniform with Flag Captain markings.
"Same as last Ensign though the discussion about the Terrorist leader was a shock." Flag Captain Iron Raid said as he took his place on the Captain's chair in the centre of the room.
The Commander of Prism's Flank's Garrison Fleet was down on the planet for a meeting with the planetary governor and representatives of the Imperial Guard and Imperial Army.
"So it's true then?" Flintlight asks as he takes his place back next to Mint Bronze.
"About what?" The Captain asked though if Flint didn't know any better he could swear that Bronze was manoeuvring the ship a bit too sharply all of a sudden.
"About the Mud-sloggers capturing Twilight Sparkle" Flint clarified.
"Ah" was all Iron Raid said before adding "That is meant to be classified First Ensign understood?"
"Understood sir...." Flintlight said before continuing his duties.
Though as he did so he could've sworn he'd seen something outside in the area of the planet below.
"Probably just me" He thought and went back to work.
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: Type-35 Akumu Stealth Dropship: New Caledonia system: Nova Tanis Atmosphere: June 17th 2188
"Alright we're through! Get your asses ready whilst I find us a spot to land" Shadow Two"s voice booms over the Squad Channel as our Akumu settles itself in the Atmosphere of Nova Tanis.
"You heard him boys" Captain Oscar says as he gets out of his seat.
We then all got out of our seats and got ready to disembark very soon.
"Captain" I hear Avery say as I check the link between my suit and my JUMBO rifle.
"Yes sergeant?"
"Do we have any FLY drones?" My friend asks.
"About a full box of them, once we touch down we'll set up the network and get a lay of the land" Captain Oscar says as I finish my inspection of my gear.
The Firefly drones or just FLY drones are small handheld sized drones used by recon troops from all Spec-ops tiers to help map out the terrain of the Area of Operations, whilst the drones themselves were new additions the idea went as far back as the second battle of Mars during the Siege of Sol. One of the SEAL guys even has a NAT rack which stands for Naviganional Automated Tracking Drones, unlike the FLYs NATs were designed to be deployed from a trooper Combat-Hardshell this allowed troopers to either scout areas that FLYs can't reach or provide tactical support in the form of showing us were the enemies are.
Though I never understood why we needed that second option until now.
"Get strapped in again guys found us a LZ" Our pilot says and we quickly find our seats again before our Dropship does a sudden dive before stalling and then landing gently.
"Out and about gogogo!" Oscar says as we filled out of the Dropship's ramp whilst the EXO SEAL gets his AMP unclamped and moving.
As the remaining six of us got out of Shadow Two we formed into a semi-circle facing forward away from the dropship which on my HUD says east at the top where the compass is.
A few moments later the AMP came striding out and took up a defensive stance a few feet behind our screen ready to fire its "Daddy JUMBO" onto anyone dumb enough to get in its way.
Once the AMP joined us Captain Oscar and another SEAL raced back into the Dropship returning a few moments later with a small crate carried between them.
"My cue" Avery says as he moves over to the crate from our small defensive envelopment.
Opening the crate Avery pulls out one of the sixty FLY drones stored within, as he gets the drone fleet ready I took the moment to get a good look around whilst I have the chance.
The second I stepped off that Akumu I almost thought I was on the wrong planet as Nova Tanis as discussed in the briefing was a 20 year old NAC colony by the time the lankies came, which meant that aside from having a converted atmosphere the planet was mostly a world of rocks and stone and soil with a small town of 700 people with a small Marine Platoon.
The Nova Tanis I'm looking at now is nothing like that.
For one there's trees, lots of them, our pilot found us a LZ in a clearing deep within a forest somewhere on the planet under the nose of that garrison fleet we passed and secondly there's animals or at least some insects from what my suit's microphones can pick up. During the age where spacecraft cargo was sparse, transporting livestock to other worlds was viewed as too costly despite the help they would bring in terraforming the planet, however in just 8 decades since we were gone some other alien race has made life thrive on this once barren rock.
"All systems are go Captain" Avery said as I noticed the swarm of FLY drones circling our landing zone using the Akumu's own power source as fuel for batteries via wireless transfer. Since he's trained in neural networking Avery is the obvious choice to take control of a fleet of around sixty drones.
"Good, just got in touch with the others Operation Knowzone will continue to phase two" Captain Oscar says as he is most likely reviewing the locations of the rest of the STT via his TAC-LINK though I couldn't for obvious reasons.
I watch as Avery directs 40 out of the 60 drones towards four different directions North, South, East and West. Ten per direction and spreading out as they gain distance from us, the remaining 20 acting as a reserve to fill in the gaps of our growing network or to scout locations of particular interest.
"And we are away!" Avery celebrates as I watch the drones fly off into different directions.
"Good work Staff Sergeant, okay people last chance to top off before Shadow two here leaves before any of the locals can come and ask questions" Captain Oscar advises.
We took his advice and rechecked our gear and ammo whilst the drones did their work.
After two minutes of gathering extra ammo and gear as needed our pilot's voice chims over the comms again
"Well boys time I head off stay sane out there!"
With that the Akumu rises into the evening blue sky with its rear ramp raised before blasting off into the sky.
"Hey Captain, come and look at this," Avery said, holding out his data-port for the Captain to see.
"A city?" Oscar asks as the rest of us gather around the two.
"Yeah 60 klicks to our north-east from what drone 23 sees but check this" My old boot camp buddy says before tapping on his port, which must transfer what caught his attention to the Captain's HUD.
"A camp site?" he asks.
"Hard to tell given the terrain but it's worth investigating." Avery concludes.
Standing up straight whilst Avery turns the screen back to himself the Captain then says "Okay Fallon have the reserve drones fly overwatch whilst the rest continue their mission, Mike take point, Robert behind him, Jonathan and the specs behind Obama and Obama behind me. Column formation understood?"
"Yes sir!" We all replied and then we moved out into the forest.
"Man I wouldn't want to fight a Lanky in this dense shit" Mike says as we stroll through the forest at a steady pace.
"Yeah same" Robert says and I couldn't help but agree.
The amount of vegetation and cover within this forest would make fighting Lankies more of a nightmare then they already are, mostly due to the lack of visibility that comes with forests.
"Quiet!" Avery says as we halt for a moment.
"What is it Sargeant?" Captain Oscar asks.
"Movement drones overhead count 30 plus tangos in two groups to our flanks and a few more in a clearing up ahead." Avery replies before sending an update to our TAC-LINKs which update with new icons on our maps representing the newcomers.
"Keep moving but act natural, as if we didn't see anything." Oscar orders and we continue our march.
Soon enough we enter the clearing Avery pointed out.
On the TAC-LINK the mass of Tangos separates a bit and forms a circle around the clearing staying in cover as best as they could.
"What's the ROE Cap?" Obama asks as he swivels the AMPs chassis from one side to the other keeping his human eyes peeled.
"No shooting back unless one of us is wounded, we don't know if they have weapons that can penetrate Battle Armour and odds are these guys are the new owners so best we don't make a bad first impression" Oscar replies as we form a circle of our own around the AMP suit.
As per the Captain's orders, we didn't act like there was something wrong so as not to alert our encriclers but we made sure to keep our fingers close to our triggers despite the Captain's ROE.
Hey given that we've been fighting aliens that were the size of building some caution is warranted.
"FLASHBANG!" Robert shouts as a couple of cylinders fly out of the fouleage.
Immediately after they rolled to a stop they let out a harsh and violent BANG! Which is designed to both deaf and blind the enemy making them easy prey to the attacker.
Unfortunately for OUR attackers modern Battle Armour has software that is designed to counteract flashbangs by darkening our visors and cutting our audio receivers whilst still keeping our TAC-LINKs open for squad communication and retaliation.
As soon as the bangers went off we immediately sprayed the forest with our JUMBOs but arcing our shots so we don't hit any of the natives, just we could get the message that we are WAY out of their league.
"NOW listen! We didn't come all this way for a fight despite what this looks like!" Captain Oscar shouts once we were sure the natives weren't gonna try anything again.
"And what pray tell are you here for alien and why should we believe you?" A woman's voice said, surprisingly in perfect English.
Turning our gaze to a rock ledge across from where we entered the clearing we saw... humans!? Three to be precise two guys in their early teens and a woman in her late teens, the two boys have weapons that look like rifles but something tells me that they aren't your regular boom sticks.
"The fuck?" I heard Avery say and I couldn't help but emulate the statement.
Just then the other members of our welcoming committee started coming out of their cover weapons raised.
"How the fuck are there humans here!?" Obama asked over the comms.
"I...don't know" Oscar mutters and I couldn't blame him.
When a Lanky Seed ship comes in orbit above a undefended colony that colony is pretty much doomed, the Lankies deploy a nerve gas that kills anything that doesn't breathe their atmosphere and since Nova Tanis was taken back in 2108 their Marine garrison wouldn't have been equipped with Bug Suits or any Anti-Lanky gear. Even if the new owners were able to beat the Lankies off world there was no way any of the colony would've survived long enough for that to happen.
And yet here were 33 young teenage humans staring down six Pacific Alliance troopers in full Battle-Rattle and one AMP driver with nothing but the clothes on their backs and weapons in their hands.
"Well?" The Woman asks seemingly noticing our shock and from the look on her face she intends to use that.
"W-We Because-" The Captain tries to explain but well, even Spec-Ops can be surprised every now and then.
"STAND DOWN ALL OF YOU!!" A loud but old voice rang out across the clearing.
Turning towards the source I couldn't help but do a double take.
Standing there with a cane in his right hand, a young girl holding his left was an old man with grey and white hair and wearing underneath a thick overcoat was an old North American Commonwealth Armed Forces Uniform.
"Elder Maxson!?" The woman atop the rock shouted before she and everyone of her party ran towards "Elder Maxson"
Smiling at the woman Maxson said "Its alright Sarah these are friends and our salvation"
The woman looked at Maxson for a second before looking at us and then back to him before saying "Elder with respect the last time Aliens said they would help us-"
"Who said they were aliens?!" Elder Maxson interjected before looking at us and passed the rest of the teenage soldiers who were locking rifles with our Battle Rattle.
"You can lose those now, I can guarantee the air here is fine! Better than it was on Earth in any case" Maxson suggested and we did as requested.
Surprisingly I was the first one to get my helmet off and instantly there were gasps and shocks.
"T-They're!"
"Humans!?"
"The Legends were true after all!"
Those were just some of the comments that were going around the group as we uncapped our headgear.
By the time the Captain undid his helmet Elder Maxson walked up to him noticing the rank insignia on his breastplate, the woman named "Sarah" was walking close with him but she too had a look of shock and even awe.
Noticing the Elder's outstretched left hand Oscar shook it with his right saying "Captain Timmy Oscar, Pacific Alliance Oceania Defence Corps Joint Special Operations Command SEAL team Five"
Smiling with a bit of tear to his eyes Maxson replied "Private Jack Maxson, North American Commonwealth Marine Corps 35th Regiment, 4th Battalion, 3rd Company, 2nd Platoon" |
Bastion (Rewrite under consideration) | Rescue Op | Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: Nova Tanis: June 24th 2188: Seven days later
I push the cloth door of my tent open with the morning sleep still in my system and Battle-Rattle on my person, the sun peeking through the holes of the large cave.
"Time to make the rounds" I thought as I began my trek through the Rebel Camp.
When Private Maxson brought us here we were all stunned at how this place was hidden for so long until Maxson explained that this place was in the works long before the Imperials came.
The Camp itself is in a large came that was hollowed out by the crash of a NAC cargo ship back when the Lankies came knocking, the Equestrians came only a few months later but they were so busy with establishing themselves that they couldn't find the ship before the locals covered her up with mud, wood and whatever else they could find and only improved that camouflage as the years went on.
As for how there were more humans here then what was here 80 years ago, the Elder explained that the Equestrians used genetic engineering to vat grow new humans and clone the existing population which until they've done a certain term of service are treated like objects and slaves rather than people and even then those not of a certain sub-race of Equestains are treated as second class citizens which-
"Mister Grayson!" A collection of little voices brought my attention out of my mind with a smile on my face.
"Hey you three!" I say to the three little kids that came to a stop in front of me as I kneeled down to their level.
They were all nine or so years old, with one girl and two boys. The one girl whose name was Evie was the tallest of them by a head and had pale skin with blonde hair tied into a ponytail and crystal blue eyes, like the rest of the people here she wears two leather pieces of clothing with colourful knitting woven into the cloths to set her apart.
The shortest of the boys is called Blake and he has jet black raven hair, Grey eyes and slightly tanned skin whilst wearing a different styled leather outfit dyed black.
The last of the two boys was named Sam and what separated him from the other two completely is his blue skin colour, red hair and yellow eyes.
Sam was a hybrid you see, a kid born out of a relationship between a human and an Equestrian. His kind ever since humans came under the reign of the Imperium had a bad relationship with those Equestrians that were stanched loyalists to their empire, the only Equestrians that didn't view the hybrids with disgust were the ones that were either in low standing in the Imperium or are outright traitors.
"Miss Evergreen wanted your help in the med-tent, some of the hunters got into a fight with the prey and came back with some nasty pains!" Evie said her voice was a bit high for her age but I've learned to pay it no mind.
Chuckling I said "Alright I was just about to head there anyways but thanks for the urgency"
I then got up and walked towards the tent whilst the three little ones ran off somewhere else to play.
As I walked through the camp to the medical tent I noticed the residents giving me a glance, not a suspicious glance but a curious glance. Which I can understand up to a week ago things like Earth, Sol, the NAC and our technology were just kid stories and legends to them, so having a person wearing Armour unlike anything they've seen just casually walking through their camp is bound to raise some eyebrows.
The rapid FLAK FLAK FLAK FLAK of weapons fire draw'd my attention to the camp's firing range where members of our STT are training on "new" weaponry.
The M66 Flechette rifle was phased out of use by the time the Pacific Alliance was formed due in most part to the fact that the Lanky's skin was very thick and required a lot of kinetic force and explosives to even wound one hence the JUMBO but given the possibility of hostilities between us and the Imperials thanks to the information we gathered over the past week, many of us thought it necessary to have a weapon designed to hit small and fast targets.
Luckily for us Elder Maxson along with the rest of the Elders have stored and maintained a small amount of M66s along with their ammo and spare parts, the range was nothing more than a few sandbags and tables on one end of the narrow stretch of land in this corner of the cave and a couple of cardboard painted targets on the other end.
At the range were three of the SI Force Recon guys and Avery.
My Bootcamp buddy fires his M66 in rapid but single shot bursts since ammunition is in short supply and we need to get used to the weapon as fast as possible.
The rifle itself is a bullpup design with the rear of the weapon being the most angular then the front which is more curved which gives it a mean looking appearance, after he pops the magazine and places both it and the weapon on the table in front of him he turns to me.
"Hey Grayson doing the rounds again?" Avery asks
"Actually Evergreen wanted my help at the medical tent so I'll probably spend the day there" I replied.
"Well I'll be in the command tent if you need me brother" Avery said before walking off into the camp.
I look back to the Force Recon troopers for a moment before continuing my trek towards the Medical tent.
"Ah Sergeant Grayson thank goodness" The old woman with bright green eyes and greyish hair says as I enter the Medical tent.
"What's the problem Madam?" I asked, taking note of the three men on their separate beds, the beds themselves were quite thin with many small holes in them and they lacked blankets.
Kneeling over the oldest of the three Elder Evergreen explained "Mason and his group were out hunting for extra food for you and the other soldiers when they were ambushed by a ragsor"
I took note of the boy's condition before turning my gaze beyond him and Evergreen to the two younger boys behind them.
"That's the Tigerish animal right?" I ask as I get my medical gear unclipped from my webbing on my Battle Armour.
The Ragsor was an alien animal from some other planet within the Equestrian Imperium, it looked like a Tiger but with thick skin like a Rhino instead of fur and was able to....not so much breath fire but able to let out a breath so hot it was able to wear down its prey to the point of almost being immobilised.
From the looks of it all three of them were caught in the Ragsor's heat breath but only Mason the eldest of the three had any scratch marks or wounds.
"Yes that's right, I did my best for Robbin and Max but I ran out of my usual medicine before I could tend to Mason" Evergreen says as she places a wet towel on the young boy's forehead whilst giving him plenty of water.
"And the only remaining medication you do have is what we brought" I said not as a question but as a matter of fact, whilst there were many of the original colony that survived to this day they either almost completely forgotten how to use modern medical equipment relying on more basic methods or are unfamiliar with the current medication we brought.
Soon enough I found what I was looking for in my medical kit, a tube of cooling gel that is used when somebody has touched a really hot surface and needs something other than water to cool down.
Before I applied the gel however I first worked on Mason's wounds, disinfecting them first then applying skin-plasters which are like regular plasters but contain the same liquid that the human body deploys to repair damaged skin, this helps the body heal a bit quicker.
After a few moments I was able to bandage Mason up with the help of Miss Evergreen before finally applying the cooling gel being careful of his bandages.
After a few moments I was done before moving on to the other two boys, applying the gel a bit quicker this time and making sure the two each got enough water to help cool them down.
It was during this time that I began to feel at ease, not just in the fact that I saved lives today but also in the fact that I'm doing what I've always wanted to do. Despite my current occupation I never wanted to be a soldier, I dreamed of becoming like my mother Fibe Grayson who is a nurse in my home town's clinic.
It's only through a case of high school bullying and self-doubt that I chose to join the corps and even then I made sure to ace my medical exams and by the end of boot I joined the fleet as a medical officer before two years later becoming a Pararescueman.
My mother was supportive of my choice though I know for a fact she didn't like it. It was actually my Grandfather who was the most vocal against my enlisting but he soon adopted the same stance as my mother.
"Right that should about do it" I say as I finish tending to the wounded hunters.
"I'll be sure to keep an eye on them and let you or the other PJs know if they need more help, and thank you Sergeant" Evergreen replies as I pack my medical gear back into my webbing
"No Prob-" I was about to say before a familiar face came barging in.
"GRAYSON!" Avery shouted at the top of his lungs startling me and Evergreen
"A-Jesus Avery what the fu-!"
"NO TIME ASSHOLE! MAJOR WANTS THE STT IN THE COMMAND TENT LAST WEEK! CODE-346A!" Avery said before I could complain and I froze when he mentioned that specific code.
A Code-346A is only issued when a high mission critical objective has been identified, usually on short notice and has a LWO or Limited Window of Opportunity for short.
"Gotta go" I simply say to Evergreen before sprinting out the medical tent with Avery Fallon towards the Command tent.
When the news of there being humans on the planet reached the rest of the STT Major Graves decided to have our HQ in the natives camp which they call Heaven, reason being that whilst a mobile HQ is hard to find it needs fuel to keep moving and having a place to rest not inside a dropship wouldn't hurt anybody.
So with the help of the locals we turned one of their bigger tents into our command post, with small portable computers on tables lining the outer side of the tent's interior and a big table with a Holomap able to display information in 3D in real time.
When me and Fallon arrived it was packed with not just our STT but also many of the Elders and rebel leaders of the various resistance cells on this planet.
"Staff Sergeants Ben Grayson and Avery Fallon Reporting sir!" I say as me and Fallon enter the tent.
"Gather around men and let's get started" Major Graves says and thus starts the briefing.
"At 2300 hours yesterday a rebel contact within the colony capital infomed Elder Maxson that a VIP who was captured in a past operation will be executed in the next 5 hours" Graves started before tapping a few buttons on the holomap's projector.
The holomap then changes its current projection to that of the main imperial settlement on Nova Tanis.
"This is the Capital city known as City-348C" The Major explained.
The City itself was situated between a group of hills to the north and northeast whilst our own very large forest sits to the west of the settlement, the city is pretty large with a size of 26 square kilometres from the farthest building to the city centre though its actual shape is kinda like a boomerang with the western side curving up to the north along the forest and the east curving down the south.
"This is the only settlement with commercial, industrial or governmental abilities and is the largest on Nova Tanis" The major continued.
"And this is who we are extracting" The holomap then changes to show a full body picture of who we are rescuing.
SHE looks about twenty or so and her face has a soft look to it, her hair is purple with a pink strip and her eyes are sapphire coloured.
"Her name is Twilight Sparkle and she's sort of a legend amongst the resistance both here and in the wider imperial territories" I raise an eyebrow at that as she looks pretty young.
"Why's that Major?" One of the members of the SCAR teams asked.
"I'll answer that" Elder Maxson intervened.
The elder private then moved to the centre of the tent opposite the major on the table holding the holomap.
"As I'm sure most or some of you are aware, the Imperium has the ability to transform humans or any other compatible species into Ponies. This procedure is called "Conversion", however this procedure can also do the reverse and turn a pony into a human or any other compatible species." Maxson explained first.
"How does that tie into her being a legend despite her age? Is it because of her strategy and tactics?" Another member of the STT asks.
"Yes but that's not the most important part," Maxson said. "Not only was she once a pony but she was also a member of a rare sub-race called Alicorns which had the traits of all the three other common sub-races and have superb regenerative abilities"
"Which in other words, makes them immortal" The Major was the one who dropped that bombshell on us.
For a moment we were all silent well expert the rebels, looking at them I could tell they at least heard of what the Alicorns are capable of but still...
"Sir are you fucking with us?" Avery asked this time.
"No Staff Sergeant I am not though to clear they can still die from things like gunshots or organ failure just not of old age and they can still take a beating, which still makes them as close to a demi-god as they can be" The Major replied.
"If they're like demi-gods or something then that must make them pretty important right?" I ask to which Maxson nodded
"So why's she with you then?" I continued.
The Elder hesitated for a moment before saying "It's personal for her so I won't answer but I will say that "history is written by the victors" and that she has more than enough reason to be the enemy of the Imperium, as well as being friends of us"
"If there are no more questions about our VIP here's the plan" Major Graves took the lead again.
"The SEALs will go in and perform the extraction whilst SCAR team 6 will will use their "LONGBOs" to swat any enemy close air out of the sky should things go loud whilst the rest of us prepare for a retaliation because make no mistake people once we extract this VIP they'll be on us like hornets understood!?"
"YES SIR!" We all replied.
"Sir! What's the top brass's word on this?" someone else asks.
The Major was quite for a bit before saying "Due to the fact we had to use laser coms to transmit our findings to the task force we currently don't have a up-to-date situation of what's happening over on their end and thus after this mission we indeed may end up making things worse but I'll be damned if we let an opportunity like this slip by"
We spend the next hour drawing up a battleplan, discussing various points of entry, ROE and exit plan.
What we came up with was for Shadow Two to make a nuke run on the defence base north of the city as a distraction once we've located the VIP, then after we've secured her we board Shadow Two and proceed back to the camp and prepare for a retaliation strike.
Not the most detailed plan sure but it was something and that's better than nothing.
With time against us as soon as we got the plan finalised the SEAL team plus me and Avery went towards the city whilst SCAR team 6 headed to a hill to the south that overlooks the city to provide overwatch.
"Never a dull moment in the corps aye Grayson?!" Avery says as we sprint through the thick woods in our servo-assisted Battle Armour.
"You say that as if that's a good thing!" I reply as we continue our stride.
Three Hours later
"Hold up" Captain Oscar says as we neared a small stream.
To the right of our team is the stream going deeper into the forest whilst to our left the stream transforms into a small lake, beyond that are the small buildings of city-348C.
The Captain does a sweep with his borrowed M66 over the other side of the stream before turning his gaze to the city.
"Move" he said over the squad channel.
We moved along the bank of the stream for a minute before coming upon a swage exit pipe, our point of entry.
"Obama, Mike take point" The Captain says keeping his flechette rifle trained on the entry point.
The two SEALs then climbed into the pipe followed by the rest of us.
The pipe was only large enough for a two man abreast to move forward so we moved forward in a two man column formation with the Captain in the centre of our formation.
"Sarah and her team should be further in," Captain Oscar said as we proceeded deeper into City-348C's sewer system.
Earlier in the day Sarah and her crew went ahead into the city to try and rescue their VIP by themselves, fortunately Elder Maxson got in touch with her and the rebel cell in the city and told them we'd be on our way.
"Hold up" Mike said after we spent a few minutes travelling in the city sewers.
We came to a stop by a corner of an area the pipe runs by, in that area were a few guards and a ladder that leads to the surface. My guess would be that these guys were acting as security since from what we know from the rebels they make use of the sewers to both hide and attack important targets, as to why the imperials haven't yet cleared this place out yet well it probably be too much of a headache to handle with collateral damage.
"No way we are sneaking by these guys Captain" Mike says as he sends his helmet cam footage to our TAC-LINKs.
The area where our sewage tunnel and the guard area connects is completely open and the light by the ladder is able to shine into our tunnel, meaning unless we want to get spotted we can't move forward in the tunnel.
"Got eyes on five hostiles, a full fireteam. Two by the ladder, one by the hallway in the right corner, one in the centre of the room and one right next to us" Obama chimed in marking all the hostiles in the room as he calls them.
The hostiles in particular have hands and feet much like humans but they have fur in addition to skin and have heads that share a resemblance to ponies, the armour they wear reminds me of the romans a fair bit mostly in the helmets but they do have a few modern features that I could recognise such as military webbing, a visor covering the face and a couple of pouches on the chestplate.
"Don't suppose these things have a "Keep the fuck quiet" setting?" Robert says as he inspects his M66.
"Afraid not-" I say before I'm interrupted by Mike.
"Contact right corner"
Eyeing Mike's helmet cam again I could see that the hostile that was guarding the hallway was gone and in his place out of the light of the room and in the darkness of the hallway was a familiar face.
"She's good" I hear Avery say as Sarah makes a couple of hand signals towards us.
"What's she saying?" Robert asks.
"I think she wants Mike to take out that guard in front of us quietly" The Captain concludes.
"How?" Mike asks both over the squad channel and through the use of signing.
Through the feed of Mike's helmet I could see Sarah pulling a knife from her thigh and showing it to us across the room.
"Anybody got a knife?" Mike asks over the squad channel
"Do you SEE us using a knife on Lankies!?" Obama said back.
"So how the fuck-" Mike asks before Captain Oscar interjects.
"We waste them hard" He says, pulling the action on his M66 back to slide in fresh rounds.
"You sure Captain?" I ask.
"There's four of them and five of us, I'd say we have a good chance and let's face it Sergeant we're bound to get into a fight sooner or later so best get a few shots in to get used to it." Oscar says before moving up to Obama and Mike's position.
"Obama Mike, take the two by the ladder and I'll take the last two. Rest of you follow behind us and keep your heads on a swivel" He said, raising his rifle.
"Ready?" The two SEALs nod in return.
"Three. Two. One. GOGOGO!"
Immediately we charged out of our cover and began to move to different ones whilst spraying our M66s.
The one closest to us and the one in the centre of the room were the first to fall, peppered with flechettes from Captain Oscar but the two guards by the ladder were quick and took cover by some railed walls on their elevated position across from us.
Then one of them began blind fire his weapon from his hidey hole.
"Ahgh! Ahhh!" The Laser was quick and hitted Robert square in the head, on instinct his limp body fired its M66 on full auto.
"Shit!/Robert!" Jonathan and I say as I moved to Robert's body as it falled to the ground with a clang, even though I knew he was gone.
As I knelt by the Fallen SEAL I could see that the Laser blast melted through the Polymer-ceramic shell of the helmet, setting the wiring a light and completely frying his head. Through his T-shape visor I could see the aftermath and...well I never want to see that sight again if I could help it but-
"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!!" Sarah shouted as she and a couple other Rebels came out of their spot in the hallway.
The firefight lasted only five seconds but given our location I could understand why she'd be mad, for all we know we just lost the element of surprise.
"Ma'am I know this is-" Oscar tried to explain but-
"I'LL TELL YOU WHAT THIS IS! THIS IS THE MOST DUMBEST THING YOU "Spec-Ops" NUTJOBS COULD'VE DONE! IF THE IMPERIALS HAVEN'T BEEN FOCUSING ON THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE CITY WE WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD IN A FEW MINUTES FROM NOW! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINK-" Sarah's loud but justified rant was interrupted by one of the other Rebels cloging her mouth with a "Handed" gesture.
"Whilst I do agree with Sarah that your actions could have endangered our mission, might I suggest we move on before we run out of time?" He said to which our Captain just nodded and gestured us to follow the rebels.
"Fallon, stay here and keep our exit route open as planned. And make sure our fallen doesn't get into the wrong hands" Oscar said just as I got up to follow.
Before I could raise my opinion Oscar raised his unused hand and said "We'll need you Grayson in case our VIP needs medical assistance, besides there's no special training needed to bring our dead home"
I nod in understanding even if I don't like it and soon we are on our way.
"Up here" Sarah says as she climbs up the ladder.
We were deeper in the city now, about a few hundred metres away from the execution area.
We passed by many more humans on our way here, a few other rebels ready in case things go south but most were just people surprisingly. Sarah says that those who don't want to live under the imperials but can't go to Heaven hunker down here away from the patrols.
Oscar and the rest of the SEALs took turns in climbing the ladder until I was the last one left.
By the time I was up topside I could see that it was a bit past midday on Nova Tanis.
We were in an alleyway between two of the larger buildings in the city, meaning we are somewhere deeper in the city near the plaza.
"It's gonna be close" Oscar says, noticing the crowds on the street in front of our ally.
"Keep low, to the shadows and follow us" Sarah said as we moved through the city via the alleyways whilst avoiding any alley patrols if possible.
It took only a few minutes before we came upon an alley that sits right outside the plaza where the execution is supposed to happen.
"Thief to BoomDog, store in sight awaiting confirmation on the cash. Are the fireworks ready over?" Captain Oscar says using the code words for our operation.
"Thief this is BoomDog, fireworks are ready and Hunter confirms that they are at their nest over" BoomDog AKA Shadow Two with two members of SCAR team 6 replied before "Hunter" which is the codename for the last three members of SCAR 6 chimed in.
"Roger Boom-" Oscar began to reply before Obama got his attention.
"Visual on the Cash" He said referring to the VIP Twilight Sparkle.
Through Oscar's feed I could see our target as she led up the stairs towards a pole in the centre of the platform.
"BoomDog gets ready to light the fireworks, visual on the Cash over" Oscar said.
"Match ready" Came the reply.
As the VIP was tied up and blind folded I could see a team of five Imperial Soldiers match up upon the platform.
"Light!" Oscar ordered.
"Roger firing" Was the response
"Grayson, as soon as that fireball goes up you smack that group of assholes with your JUMBO and secure the VIP understood?" Oscar ordered even though I already knew that I was the one to go first.
"-READY!?" The voice of what Sarah calls the "Lord governor" calls out and the five ponies stand at attention.
"BoomDog!?" Oscar said fearing the worst.
"AIM!"
"Impact.."
Time seems to slow to a crawl for me as the stress of the whole situation tries to get to me and I look at Twilight's face, eyes closed with a face that has no regrets.
"FIRE!
"NOW!"
To the north over yonder a brief flash followed by a massive mushroom cloud appeared as the pure fusion warhead detonated over at the main imperial defence base.
"GO!GO!GO! COVERING FIRE!" Oscar shouted over the squad channel just one second later and immediately we rushed out of our alley but not before I put a JUMBO round into the execution squad, whilst the SEAL team moved to cover me and kill anyone that had a firearm I sprinted up to the platform.
By the time I got up on the platform I could see the Lord Governor struggling to maintain his balance after the nuke went off.
Without breaking my sprint I pulled my right arm back and as I was just inches away from him I thrusted by servo-assisted arm right into his face.
The force of my punch, combined with the sprint and my Hard Shelled arm send the guy flying off the platform across the plaza and into one of the buildings, if the impact of my punch didn't kill him then the impact of him crashing into a building most definitely would.
"Nice one Grayson! Now quickly get the VIP and let's book it! We won't have much time!" Oscar's voice called over my helmet and I turned back to the VIP and her would-be exactionors.
The projectile I fired that was designed to pierce the tough hide of Lankies was able to tore straight through the first three soldiers before detonating in the fourth soldier killing both him and the fifth soldier, leaving quite the mess.
"Hunter to Thief you got a flight of routers incoming from the city's perimeter-" Said one of the SCARs as I approached the VIP before hearing the sound of helicopters coming from all directions.
Then I hear a loud explosion before I hear the sounds of an aircraft losing control before hearing a loud CRASH followed by another explosion.
"Make that three" The same SCAR says as I concluded that they just shot one of those choppers down.
I then forced my attention on the VIP I.E my patient.
She was knocked out by the force of the JUMBO round but other than that she seemed fine, which given the circumstances was good enough for me.
"Incoming!" I hear over the Squad channel and look to where the threat was indicated on my TAC-LINK, down the boulevard away from the plaza were at least an over strengthened company of Imperial troops with a tank in support.
I quickly grabbed the VIP bridal style and jumped off the platform back towards the alley right as several beams sprayed the platform.
"COVERING FIRE! GRAYSON GET TO THE LZ!" Oscar shouted through the TAC-LINK as the roar of M66s added to the symphony of battle taking place.
I did as ordered and ran like hell back towards the man-hole we came out of earlier, though not literally as I have to make sure the rebels were with me as I obviously can't fight back with my precious cargo in hands and arms.
Soon enough I got back to the man-hole with the rebels right behind me.
"Captain!?" I shout back over the comms as I hand the VIP to one of Sarah's men whilst they head down and I act as a rear guard.
There was nothing but static, gunfire and sounds of agony and death. My suit can tell me how the others are doing but because of the damage to their suits (possibly from the enemy's lasers) mine can't link to theirs and display their information on my TAC-LINK, all I do know for sure is that they haven't left the plaza yet.
"Grayson!" Sarah shouted from inside the sewers.
I took one last look at the direction of the SEALs before jumping into the man-hole.
"Where's your buddies?" Sarah asked as I took our VIP from her man and let him take rear guard duties.
"Don't know but we can't wait for them, not if we want to face the whole of the garrison's remnants" I said regrettably.
"G-Gr-Grayson" I suddenly hear Oscar's voice over the comms.
"Captain!?" I shouted in surprise as I scanned my HUD for Oscar's vitals, unfortunately his BA must be in bad shape as my suit can't connect to his but judging from the warning sounds and other noises I could hear from Oscar's side he must be in bad shape.
"F-Fh-Finish the m-m-mu-miss-" Then the comms cut suddenly.
For a moment I just stood there with our VIP in my arms.
"Was that-?" Sarah began to ask before I cut her off.
"They're dead. We need to move, NOW" With that we made our way back to Avery's position.
Arriving back at Avery's position sometime later I noticed a couple of SCARs carrying the body of Robert out back through the pipe with Avery watching them before turning towards us.
"Hey Gray!" I nod to him as he greets us.
"Shadow Two got SCAR 6 after they took down that flight of helicopters and are waiting outside the sewer entrance" He explained before looking over at me and the Rebels as they made their way towards the Akumu.
"Where's the other SEALs?" He asked before I shook my head and moved past him into the pipe.
"..Goddammit" Was all he said as he stood in the room where we lost Robert, his M66 in Avery's hands whilst his own JUMBO was slung over his back.
"Come on Ave" I say to my best friend before he nods and we both made our way out of the sewer before boarding the Dropship.
The pilot then made best speed back to Haven, leaving four brave SEALs behind. |
Bastion (Rewrite under consideration) | Retaliatory Strike | Prism's Flank: City-348C: Two hours after the attack
"HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED!?!?" The commanding officer of all Imperial Army units on the planet shouted across the conference room.
Situated around the central table of the room were the various Regimental Commanders of the EIA and EIG with their staff officers along with the Captains of the defence fleet plus their aides.
As the Flag Officer Captain Iron Raid answered the general's question "I have no excuse General, it's clear that those who attacked the plaza were of alien origin and working with the humans but as to how they infiltrated the planet without us noticing.."
"Clearly the space haulers have gotten soft with no real threat to fight unlike us" One of the Army officers muttered but it was loud enough for one of Iron's captains to hear.
"You want to say that again, Mug-slugger!" He said.
"I said clearly-!"
"ENOUGH!" The General said before things can escalate further.
"Were we able to identify the attackers?" He asked, leaning back into his chair once things had settled down.
Another Officer this one in charge of the Army's intelligence branch stood up, cleared his throat before saying "I'm afraid not sir, out of the five that were in the plaza one got away with Twilight Sparkle and the rebels whilst the remaining four were killed by a plasma grenade which apparently made it impossible to salvage the technology from their gear much less see what kind of race they are."
That bit of news brought the already foul mood down even more.
"Seven Regiments.." One of the officers began.
"We lost almost seven regiments worth of Stallions and Mares we had for only four of their own!?" Another one shouted
The current strength of the Imperial Army on Prism's Flank before today was Seven Imperial Army Regiments and Seven Imperial Guard Regiments, normally a colony like Prism's Flank would only have two EIA Regiments to act as the heavy reserve for the EIG garrison but since the resistance had become more troublesome in recent times five more Army regiments were deployed.
And now some of those very regiments are gone.
"Whilst much of the 356th, 357th, 358th Line Regiments and the 708th, 910th Tank Regiments as well as the 450th and 350th Guard Regiments were destroyed along with the defence base, many of their subordinate units were out on patrol and thus with time could-" The Intelligence Officer started trying to put some light on the news before he was interrupted by another of his fellow officers.
"WE READ THE AFTER ACTION REPORT CAPTAIN! And even if there were enough survivors at best we could create a reinforced regiment or at worst two battalions!"
The Army Intelligence Officer hung his head down, not saying anything before sitting back down in his seat.
"This is getting us nowhere" The General thought as he rubbed his hands over his face to keep himself awake before saying
"Were we able to at least trace where they went?"
Captain Iron Raid then spoke up "Indeed we have General"
He then pressed a button on his end of the table before a hologram appeared above the centre of the table, it showed a 3D representation of a section of Forest with a red shape underneath the treeline.
"We were able to track the presumed Dropships responsible for the attacks to RB23, 40 Kilometres to the east of the city and judging from the activity we're seeing they appear to be evacuating" Iron said standing up at attention despite the difference in service branch.
"Evacuating? Where could these scum possibly escape to that we can't possibly reach them?" Another Army Officer asked.
"The aliens that are helping these humans are clearly an interstellar civilization, to that end it's very likely these aliens that are on planet are but a scouting force sent from a nearby starship or even a small fleet Celestia forbids" Iron Raid replied before the hologram zoomed in on a clearing near the rebel base known as RB23.
"Judging from the dropships amassing here we can tell there are fourteen dropships, not enough to transport the whole base in one run" The Naval Captain explained
"What about their magical signatures? How different are they to ours? How well do they fare against ours if you were to guess?" The same Officer from before asks.
"There are none" That statement gave pause to the whole room for a full 30 seconds before the officer said.
"But you just said they were evacuating! Given the fight those four we killed put up we can assume to a degree that they are not idiots so why!-"
"Because they have NO MAGICAL SIGNATURES COLONEL!" Iron Raid said understanding the colonel's disbelief in such a phrase.
"The reason why we didn't notice these aliens entering the planet was because they weren't using magic to power their ships! I know this is hard to believe but we must act now, once my ships have completed preparations we will-" He continued before he was interrupted by the General
"YOU WILL DO NOTHING!"
Iron Raid said nothing for a moment before saying "But sir-"
"Not only did you fail in preventing this attack from happening despite your sound if off reasoning but you also failed to realise that our weapons can destroy whatever kind of technology they use, technology that we need to secure and study if we are to stand a chance in the worst case we become at war with each other and we can only do this if we have boots on site not a lance strike!" The General countered.
"...I see General but does the army have the men?" Captain Iron Raid asks.
"The 560th Line Regiment along with some extra support should be enough to overwhelm RB25 but in case it eases your mind Captain your fleet will be ready to provide air support when called upon" The General replied.
"Humph we should be sending as much force as we can given how well those aliens fought" One of the Army officers comments.
The General looked at his subordinate for a moment before saying "Whilst that is true given the threat of these aliens we must also keep in mind that these aliens could have more elements in the system, enough to lay siege to this planet. As such we must not waste too much of our strength when the threat of invasion is not outside the realm of possibility, in light of this threat Captain Iron Raid as acting Lord Governor I want you to send a messenger ship through the warp bubble to the homeworld and inform his majesty of our plight."
With that the Navy Captain stood up, straightening his uniform before saying "I will do personality General and I've make sure the Defence fleet is ready for a attack if these Aliens do come in force"
Nodding the General then addressed the rest of the officers "Gentlecolts this is a moment many may remember for years to come, never before has the Imperium encountered an alien race that is not bound to their homeworld much less one that can stand up to us without the aid of magic if that is really the case. Conflict may be inevitable now but if we could come to an understanding and show these aliens that these humans are not worth the effort we may yet avoid a war with a powerful opponent and usher in a new age."
He then turned to one officer in particular and said "Colonel Brickfield, your Regiment must make the capture of even one of these aliens a top priority understood?"
"Yes Lord General" Brickfield replied.
"Good dismissed!"
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: Akumu dropship Shadow Two: Haven: 5 minutes after the attack
"We're coming in on Haven now, get ready to disembark" The voice of Shadow Two's pilot jolted me out of the daze I was in since we left city-348C.
I'm currently sitting on the row of seats to the left of the Akumu's cockpit with Fallon sitting to my right and the SCAR team that was with Shadow Two sitting across from us with their nuke launcher beside their feet.
Beside our feet on a medical stretcher was our VIP who remained unconscious since our fiery exist.
I gave her my best but it would be better to get her to a proper facility ASAP.
At the announcement my old boot camp buddy turned to me and said "Well grey? Let's find out what kind of ten fucks of hell are we in today"
A moment later the dropship rocked with a loud THUD and soon we were all unstraping ourselves from our seats and gathering our gear.
After we all gathered our gear the SCARs immediately left the dropship whilst Fallon and me moved to carry the stretcher and follow them.
As we all filled out of the Akumu and onto the clearing near Haven, the dropship itself closed its ramp and started to lift off from the ground.
"You guys hang tight, rest of shadow and I will be on station for CAS after we get re-armed. Godspeed" Came the voice from Shadow Two as his dropship sped off into the sky.
Then a Rebel came out of the woods near the edge of the clearing before saying "Major Graves wants you guys at Haven, follow me"
"Where's the evac zone?" I asked, intending to get our VIP on the first osprey I can find.
"Just down that way at the next clearing sir" The man said pointing behind him.
"Fallon and I will handle the VIP you guys get to the major" I said to the leader of the SCARs who nodded before his men began following the same man through the woods back to haven before me and Fallon began heading to the Evac site with our VIP in towe.
As we made our way through the woods I noticed a couple of rebels messing around the foliage, with my HUD I could see that they were setting traps both along the path and deeper within the woods.
Given that Equestrians would likely come from multiple directions in small numbers whilst the bulk of their force comes from the east it makes sense to put some defences to harass them.
"Why're they setting traps in this direction?" Fallon asked behind me as we both continued to carry the stretcher holding Twilight Sparkle.
"In case the enemy tries to outflank us, even if they can only send a few guys through these woods" I said back to him over our private channel as we continued our trend through the woods before eventually we reached our destination.
The scene before us as we entered the second clearing was one of organised chaos, all of the Ospreys were packed together being boarded by the civilians from Haven being mostly women, children and elderly.
Looking over the crowd I could see Evie, Blake and Sam with their parents being loaded onto one of the Ospreys. I sigh with relief as the trio noticed me and waved not really caring if they recognise me or not, I only spared my hand a second for the kids to see before focusing on the task at hand.
We soon made it to our destination, the flag Osprey of the whole effort where my commanding officer Lieutenant Hawkins was chatting with one of the pilots.
"LT!" I shouted over the comms to get his attention, he nodded to the pilot before turning to us as we set the stretcher down.
"Graves told me you guys got her out, good job" He said, grabbing my shoulder in the process.
"We lost five of the Alliance's best sir, she'd better be worth it." I said as Hawkins let go of my shoulder before turning to our sleeping VIP.
"I'll have her on the first bird to the fleet, she'll get the best care there" He said.
I nodded before asking "What's the status of the evacuation?"
"Since this spot is the only one that can hold more than one dropship we had to prioritise, our Ospreys will take the first batch out of here and then the Hyabusas will come in flights of fours to take the remaining civilians to the fleet. However because those same Hyabusas are busy both spreading word to the other camps about Haven's situation and getting some reinforcements we won't be able to fully start the evacuation until tomorrow" Hawkins explained.
I cursed under my breath, if the enemy mobilised fast enough they could be here as early as tomorrow.
Fallon and the Osprey pilot from before were bringing our VIP into the Osprey when I noticed some of the Pararescuemen running back towards haven.
"I asked anyone if they wanted to stay and hold down the fort, given that we need as much space as possible sending a few of our own wouldn't hurt and the guys there are gonna need them more then these fooks at the moment" Hawkins explained as two more of our PJs run past us towards Haven.
"You want to join them?" He then asked me.
I was a bit conflicted about that, on the one hand the STT will need as much help as it can get and I don't see anyone amongst the evacuees that'll need medical attention right away. On the other hand however, given that the enemy's laser weapons can melt hardshell our odds of surviving the coming battle are slim and what's worse my term of enlistment will be over in a few months and I plan on helping my mother in our family cafe.
As I pondered this Fallon came out of the Osprey with a browed M66 in hand and told both of us his answer
"Well I'm not missing out that party if their that low on helpers getting the decorations ready for the party guests"
Seeing my best friend from boot stating his intentions I sighed before saying "Make sure my seat gets used"
With that I followed Fallon as we both made our way to haven to get ready for the battle to come.
We soon entered the tunnel that leads to the main part of the camp, the tunnel itself was bare except for the support struts holding the ceiling up.
The main camp was a different story, with the help of the rebels we were able to turn much of the sanctuary into a killbox for any attacker with choke points, IEDs, and sandbags the whole nine yards.
Soon we arrived back in the command tent where the rest of the Special Tactics Team were huddled around Major Graves at the command table along with several rebel leaders.
Once the Major was sure we were all in attendance he began the meeting.
"Situation; currently we are preparing this base for a lengthy siege whilst most of our air assets evacuate all non-combatants and those who can't fight."
The Major then activates the projector on the table which lit up to show a 3D hologram of the surrounding forest with Haven marked with a blue NAC logo.
"As you know gentlemen much of the forest is too dense for any large force to advance without running the risk of being bogged down via guerrilla warfare and the terrain." The Major continued as the North, South and West areas of the forest were highlighted in red showing their density.
"However the section of forest closest to the city is less dense both due to the Imperials past efforts to expand the city and past operations the rebels under took which resulted in this area housing signs of battle and removing the density that would normally make this approach just as dense as the others in the past"
"Instead this is where the Imperials will make their push right?" One of the Force Recon guys asked as the East area of the forest is highlighted in orange.
"We're hoping they'll put all their eggs in one direction but better to expect the worst then be unprepared for the worst" The Major replied as several blue dots appear on the holomap.
"A couple fireteams of rebels will watch the few approaches from the north, south and west to make sure the Equestrians don't outflank the main defence line but if things get dicey then we'll pull them to the front and let the traps slow the enemy down." He continued.
It sounds simple enough to me but no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.
"How long do we have to hold them off sir?" Another of the Force Recon guys said.
"Once the Ospreys leave with the first batch of civilians we'll have to wait until the Hayabusas get here to fully start the evacuation and that'll take a while as they are busy with informing the other rebel camps and have to fly low to avoid being spotted and shoot down, but once those civilians are clear we and any surviving rebels with us will disengage from the Imperial forces and scatter to avoid being captured or killed until the fleet arrives." The Major replied.
"If the fleet comes" I thought, given what little I know of the wider strategic situation I doubt the Alliance or the wider United Nations Defence Forces would risk opening a second front against a completely new enemy when we are focusing much of our forces and industry to reclaim our old worlds.
"Here's our battleplan." The major said breaking me out of my thoughts and getting to the meat of the briefing.
"The SCARs will be positioned here" As he said this a deeper blue dot appeared on the eastern end of haven within one of the thicker patches of trees.
"They'll be our shield against any of the imperial's Close Air Support with their JUMBOs and most of our ammo for them, given that our targets aren't LHOs it'd be a waste of ammunition to use them against their Infantry when there are more juicy targets" The Major continued.
"Captain Andrew as the head Force Recon here you'll take the lead in the defence at the front whilst I stay back as mission control call sign Hunker One understood?" He said to the SI Captain to his side.
"Understood Major Graves," Andrew replied.
The rest of the meeting was details about our OOB or Order Of Battle, who's going where and where to fall back to ect.
Before long many of us including me and Fallon had to hit the hay, because it's gonna be a very long day indeed.
Next Day: 560th Line Regiment mustering area: Outside of the western edge of City-348C: Early Morning
The area which sits between the city and the forest was aloft with the military personnel of the Imperial Army like bees in a beehive, soldiers ran from one spot to another in order to find their parent unit, engineers checked the heavy equipment to make sure they run and vehicles moved from the city to their assigned dropoff points to off load men and material coming from the regiment's post on the other side of the city.
The Regiment itself housed five Battalions of a thousand men each, six if one counts the Headquarters and its attached assets.
Within a large tent somewhere in the muster area stood the Officers of the Regiment's battalions including the Regimental Commander Colonel Brickfield.
Brickfield himself is a big stallion standing two heads over the average Unicorn in the tent, his fur is pitch black with a short white mane under his IA helmet which allows his red eyes to survey the gathered officers.
"Now that we are all here we can begin" Brickfield starts as the last officer fills into the tent.
"As many of you know we are to mount an assault on RB25 with three operational aims." He held three fingers of his right hand up for emphasis.
"The first is finally to wipe out this threat so close to the planetary capital" He first said before lowering one of his fingers.
"The second is to possibly retrieve the rebel leader Twilight Sparkle, out of the three however this is the lowest as we have already lost many brave mares and stallions so if retrieving her is impossible then you won't be at fault" Brickfield continued lowering another finger leaving only one upward.
"The third and final and arguably most important objective is to capture any of the aliens that are embedded with the rebels or at the very least capture their equipment for study." Brickfield concluded.
"Fine by me Colonel, bout time my company and I got some action." A rough but respected voice said.
Said voice belonged to Major FlatStone, commander of the only Power Armoured Infantry Company on the planet.
PAIs or simply Stromtroopers as they are more well known are a rare sight in the Imperium due in no small part to the large amount of resources required to not only make the massive suits of Armour but also to implant the users with the necessary interfaces to properly control them.
The Implants could be seen on either side of the massive red Stallion's neck, their black material a stark contrast to FlatStone's bright red coat. His golden eyes showing little lines within their irises showing their implantations.
"Your unit will be the first ones in Major Flat-" Brickfield started before being interrupted by one of the battalion commanders
"Sir, is it wise to deploy the Stormtroops, especially since our forces have taken severe losses?"
Brickfield nodded to the stallion, understanding his concern. "Under normal circumstances I'd agree but given that we are facing soldiers that are more advanced than anything the Imperium has faced in the past it's best to be safe than sorry." He replied before looking over the map before them.
"As I was saying Major Flatstone, you and your company along with the third Battalion will be our Vanguard followed by the First and Fourth. Fifth Battalion will stay behind and act as a reserve whilst Second Battalion will split into its component units and attempt to flank the rebels from the north, south and west."
The Colonel then looked to the commander of his Second Battalion.
"Because of the density of the other approaches, your troops won't be able to bring their heavy equipment and be able to move in large groups but there is the possibility that our enemy will attempt to flee through these areas." The Colonel said to which the commander nodded.
"As such we need to cover as much of the other areas as possible to ensure maximum impact, right sir?" The Commander verified.
"Correct" Brickfield confirmed.
"What about the dragons sir?" Another of the Battalion Commanders asks.
To compensate for any lack of defence, each outer colony was given a squadron of five Adult Dragons to help with either ground support or air superiority and Prism's Flank was no exception.
"Glanorth will be stationed with Second Battalion in reserve but if things get desperate he'll be called in." Brickfield answered.
Glanorth is the second most powerful dragon on the planet, his scales were as white as snow with some silver mixed in and his eyes were a crystal blue but he was no less deadly with over 300 years of battle under his belt. He was only succeeded by Mothrul who was as beautiful to Male dragons as she was deadly like Glanorth.
The meeting continued for an hour to iron out all the too small to mention but no less important details with the various commanders giving their thoughts and conversing with each other before the Colonel got their attention again.
"Alright, head to your units and get them ready, we move out in two hours and commence the attack in one hour after that. Dismissed!"
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: Three hours later: Heaven Forest Eastern Zone
"Contact front, eight plus foot mobiles" The SI Fire Team leader said over our squad channel as eight red icons popped up both in my field of view and on my map as I took cover behind a large tree, M66 Flechette Rifle in my hand primed and ready.
Looking to my left I could see the blue icons representing the SpaceBorn Infantry Force Recon Troops taking cover in similar positions with a couple of rebels with us though without modern gear I could only see the icons of where they last were and not where they are now which may be a problem in the coming fight.
Earlier in the day the Haybusasas came and started loading the rest of the residents of Heaven which given the small landing area only allowing for four dropships to land at a time is proceeding slowly.
So slowly in fact that when our FLY drone network noticed the mass of Imperial troops heading our way, only half of the civilians were evacuated.
So here we are a force of 250 Rebel fighters with 70ish Special Tactics Team operators going up against an Imperial force of a few thousand give or take.
"Make that ten, 30 metres and closing." The same fireteam leader said as two more icons popped into existence.
Looking around my cover I could just barely make out the silhouettes underneath the icons through the vegetation and what I saw made my brow rise.
Unlike the standard Imperial Soldier which has basic armour and helmet with military webbing, these troopers appear to be encased in heavy armour, maybe even with the help of a powered exoskeleton. They carry weapons that'll look massive in the hands of a regular sized Equestrian and they appear to be projectile based not the energy based weapons that they and the Rebels used.
They look like some Miniatures that a neighbour of mine collects, I think they were called Space Marines but fortunately aside from the looks these troops don't have the genetics that the Space Marines were supposed to have.
"Shit!" I hear a whispered curse near me and I look over to see another Rebel cover right behind another tree.
"Their Stormtroopers! Second best outfit in the entire Imperial Military underneath the Royal Guard!" He explained as quietly as he could whilst I just peeked around my cover again to get a look at these "Stormtroopers".
The Squad is now in full LOS of our little group of fighters and I could see that they also noticed something ahead of them.
Reacting on reflex I aimed my rifle at one of the leading troopers, finger slowly pressing on the trigger before I heard the order over the comms.
"All Units engage!"
I squeezed the trigger and thanks to the computers in both my suit and the weapon itself, my rounds were accurate, clean and dead on.
The first shots hit my target straight in the chest through whilst they did penetrate the armour the guy was still alive to brace his feet against the ground to keep himself upright from the shots. Acting on my Drill Sergeant's words of "If they don't die in the first place, hit another place" I shifted my aim to the guy's head just as he brings his gun to bear on me.
My 66 cracked whilst his weapon boomed, my burst found their mark in the Imperial's helmet, piercing right through the thin armour and making his whole body jerk back with only the powered armour preventing him from toppling over freezing him in place like a statue.
I turned to where the deceased Stormtrooper fired his weapon, only to see the lower half of the Rebel from before on the ground a few metres away from where I last saw him, his upper body nothing more than blood and gore.
"Note to self; never get hit by one of those." I thought as I shifted my attention back to the firefight.
In the few seconds since the start of the shooting, four out of the ten Stormtroopers were already dead, their bodies becoming statues and makeshift cover for the remaining six as they regrouped and started to return fire.
Like their comrade I first killed their weapons boomed like rapid firing tank cannons, firing 60 times before having to reload, I was able to bag another Stormtrooper during such a manoeuvre his body going limp but his armour keeping him upright like the rest.
By then the remaining Stormtroopers began to fall back as regular Imperial soldiers came forward no doubt in response to the Stormtroopers calling for reinforcements.
As I duck back behind cover to reload my rifle I took stock of whose left.
We had 10 rebels augmenting our reinforced fireteam of six STT troops, out of the ten I know for sure that one was KIA.
As for the others I couldn't say without a way of linking their vitals to my Battle Armour's computers.
In terms of Force Recon team however there were no fatalities aside from one of them being knocked off his feet by one of the Stormtrooper's rifle shots.
"This Hunker One to all callsigns" Major Graves's voice comes over my comlink loud and clear despite the growing battle.
"This is it Drones are seeing massive enemy troop movements, get ready to dig in and fight hard. Let's show these fuckers how REAL human soldiers fight!"
I couldn't help but let out a small howrah as I slam the fresh magazine into my rifle before getting out of my cover again to tag another target, a quick look at my TACT-LINK shows that all of our reinforced squads are engaging Imperial units of platoon size or greater to which I'm thankful for until I noticed that we are gonna face one of those companies as well.
"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong" I thought as I returned my focus to the very much growing battle at hand.
560th Line Regiment: Fifth Battalion Headquarters Company: 30 minutes since contact with the enemy began
The atmosphere within the command vehicle was one of both optimism and frustration at the same time.
Whilst the Vanguard was able to slowly advance through the forest, they paid a heavier price then was previously expected with half of Third Battalion being wiped out in the first fifteen minutes of the battle with the First and Fourth taking a lesser beating but still enough losses that any rush advance would be ill-advised.
And that wasn't the worst part.
Because if some reports are accurate then the entire Stormtrooper company was wiped out in the first five minutes of the battle.
Stormtroopers are hand picked from the best the Imperial Army had to offer and received the best gear in return, because of that they are a rarity numbering ten thousand at any one time and are rarely deployed in anything above company strength numbering around 50 Stormtroopers.
To lose just one Stormtrooper is a blow in of itself but to lose a whole company, that would be a loss not heard of since the earliest days of the Imperium when they were still cleansing their homeworld.
On the bright side however they were killing as much as they were losing with 1-2 rebels for every 2-4 Imperial soldiers through werther that was due to the rebels own skill or the efforts of the aliens is impossible to tell at this point.
"Major! Message from the Colonel!" A computer operator shouted out, gaining the Fifth Battalion's Commander's attention.
"Send" He simply ordered.
"Message simply reads "Cloud Cover" sir!" The operator replied.
"Cloud Cover", that was the code phrase to begin sending in the reserve force. Which included Fifth Battalion and their assigned Dragon Glanorth.
"Call Glanorth's handlers and tell them to send him to Third Battalion's position, Lieutenant Gleefield! Tell Captain Star Wood to get his Second company moving as they are the closest to the fighting. The rest of you pass the word to the rest of the Battalion that we are moving to support the Vanguard clear!?" The Fifth's Commander ordered.
"Clear!" Came the crisp reply as the operators got to their work.
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: 40 minutes since battle commenced
"GET THAT MARS LAUNCHING NOW!" I shouted over the roar of battle as I spotted an Imperial Tank which bears resemblance to the ancient WW2 Sherman Tank coming into sight of our position with Infantry support.
It's been over half an hour since we've first engaged the enemy and...well things are very slowly but surely going downhill for us humans.
Out of the 250 Rebel fighters that were with us last I'd check we were down to just 37, along with 40 out of the sixty SST members though the SCARs are still in the fight and it's thanks to them that we haven't been overruned yet.
I fired my M66 into the Infantry Squad escorting the tank killing two in a spray whilst the rest dived for cover.
I paled inside my helmet as One; my last magazine for my Flechette rifle runs dry and Two; the tank is turning its main gun towards me.
"ANYTIME NOW!" I yelled at the MARS handler.
"ON ITS WAY!" He yelled back as I heard the familiar sound of a MARS Anti-Tank round leaving its launcher.
A few seconds pass by as the rocket arches skyward whilst the Tank finishes traversing its turret with its Infantry Squad popping out of their cover to suppress the squad of Pacific Alliance soldiers in front of them, completely oblivious to the Anti-Tank round overhead.
"Maybe they think it's just an Anti-Air muniton? Or they don't have guided minions yet?" I thought to myself as the MARS round slammed into the Tank's turret and vaporised the whole vehicle, the Infantry squad being killed by the force of the explosion.
"This is Hunker One to all Hunker victors" Major Graves' voice sounded over the comms as I rejoined the Force Recon team that handled the MARS strike.
"Finally" One of the FR troopers exclaimed and I could understand why, unless something bad happened then the only reason Graves would be calling all of us would be..
"All evacuees have left heaven I repeat, Heaven is now empty.."
I could feel the smiles coming off the Special Forces guys and I couldn't but smile as well until..
"..Be advised we are picking up a massive contact along with additional hostels closing on the combat zone, all Hunker victors fall back to the final defence line and pepeare to disengage Hunker One out".
"Shit!" The fireteam leader cursed as he got us together and soon we made for the final defence line.
5 Minutes later
"Holy shit!" One of the Fireteam members behind me shouted as I turned around along with the rest of the fireteam and I couldn't help but stare dumbfounded.
Hovering above us with a target maker above its head courtesy of our TAC-LINK was a dragon.
Its scales were a bright silver with some areas being a slight grey, its wingspan was probably about ten to twenty metres in length and its tail was fifteen metres in length but most importantly for some reason..
It was mad and bloodthirsty.
"COVER!!" Somebody shouted over the comms but I couldn't remember who.
Next thing I know I was helmet first in the dirt with my suit telling me that the temperature was quite high all of a sudden.
Lifting my head out of the dirt I took stock of my surroundings, I appear to be on one side of a massive wall of fire where my HUD tells me that four out of the five SI FR troopers are located. It doesn't take a computer to figure out their condition.
I turned around to lay on my back and right away I found the last trooper of the fireteam, the one carrying our MARS launcher.
He's laying flat on his face like I was, his body pointing to my right. At first I figured he was unconscious but a quick look at my HUD and a closer look at his helmet tells me he isn't getting up again.
His back was exposed to a lethal dose of fire which melted a good portion of it and the resulting micro-explosions probably killed him long before he hit the ground, even if he did somehow survive long enough to get to the ground it wouldn't help him as his head fell right on top of a sharp rock, penetrating his visor and killing him instantly if he wasn't already.
I took a look at my HUD again to see how long I was out, the fire to my left was dying down so I must have been out for a bit.
To my surprise I was apparently out for a full half minute.
"Then where's-" I thought for a moment before a loud crash brought me to the front and I froze.
Surveying its handy work directly in front of me was the same dragon from before, in its mouth a poor SI grunt trying to use his knife to break free.
But all that wasn't the reason I froze, it was who was in the dragon's maw that my suit was able to identify.
Captain Green Andrew.
He looked in my direction and I was sure he was about to say something before the dragon tossed him into the air and as he was falling the dragon opened its maw and let out a torrent of flames.
At that moment I was glad that the Captain didn't try to talk with me, as I wouldn't be able to get the nasty image out of my head otherwise.
After a few moments the dragon closed its mouth and swallowed as if it just ate a tasty meal before looking back at me.
Quickly I began to think of a way out before I noticed that between me and the dead MARS trooper was that trooper's MARS launcher.
The Multi-Armament-Rocket-System or MARS was considered by many to be the pinnacle of MANPAD development, capable of firing both Anti-Air and Anti-Armoured munitions including a special Anti-Lanky round known as a "Silver Bullet" capable of penetrating the Lanky's tough hide.
The MARS launcher in front of me had one such bullet load and ready, it just needed somebody to pull the trigger.
"And if I'm lucky that'll be m-"
"HEY UGLY!" A familiar voice boomed over the air as me and the dragon looked towards the source of the voice.
To my left beyond the fires that were now dimmed enough to cross over was Fallon and his fireteam of five SI Force Recon and two Pararescue men.
"WHY DON'T YOU GET A TASTE OF THIS!?" My bunk mate shouted as he and the fireteam fired their weapons at the massive dragon.
The vast amount of M66 Flechettes don't kill it but do wound it, making it angry and then.
"Nononono-SHIT!" I thought as the dragon pounced on the fireteam whilst letting loose its deadly flames.
For a moment all I could hear was the screams of the SI troopers, Pararescuemen and Fallon whilst I watched, my mind filling up with anger.
Avery Fallon, my best friend from Bootcamp, one who I periodically survived hell with is gone.
With that and rage filling my thoughts I quickly turned back to the MARS launcher and with adrenaline fueled reflexes I grabbed the heavy weapon and aimed it right at the dragon's head whilst he feasted on another SI trooper.
When it finally turned around to face me its face morphed into what I could guess was shock, to which I took great pleasure in.
"EAT THIS YOU OVERGROWN LIZARD FUCKER!!" I yelled with all my might as I pulled the trigger.
The round went and hit the dragon square in the eye, it then started to jerk wildly, flapping its wings and flying out of control before landing in the forest behind me.
I dropped the now empty launcher as I lay on the ground numbness from the whole experience, my mind racing with all sorts of thought trying to piece my situation back together until.
"MEDIC!" The pain but familiar voice of Fallon booms over my comm channel.
Checking my HUD I found to my surprise and immense relief that my best friend is still alive but in need of medical attention.
Springing to my feet I ran as fast as my legs could take me, up to the top of the ledge where the fireteam was.
I ignored the other melting and gored corpses and focused on Avery.
Other than his armour steaming hot from being exposed to that kind of heat he was relatively fine...except his left arm.
It was completely ruined having taken the majority of the punishment and if left unchecked he could die from blood loss or worse. Reacting quickly I used a medical knife meant to cut bone and removed Fallon's arm before bandaging the stump and applying other medical fluids.
"Fal hey Fal!" I said to him trying to keep him awake.
With a gasp and grunts of pain Fallon awakes though thanks to his armour injecting painkillers and morphine the pain isn't too much to bear.
"Yeah YEAH! I hear ya-ack!" Fallon says still in pain but alive to my relief.
"EASY there you jackass! I was able to stop the bleeding but-" I said, pulling Fallon's right over my left shoulder to get him upright when I heard a loud shriek.
Turning our gaze across the clearing both me and Fallon couldn't believe our eyes.
"Oh you have got to fucking shiting me!!" Fallon voiced my utter disbelief as the dragon I shot down began to slowly but surely rise back into the air, its left eye completely mush, blood and fluids.
"Well shit-" I began to say before a torrent of explosions appeared all over the dragon's body before it fell to the ground a second time, this time unmoving.
A familiar roar of engines greeted our ears as a flight of FA-23M8 Strider fighter craft zoomed over our heads.
"-Repeat this is California Actual to STT Washington, friendly craft inbound to provide CAS and Evac to your location please respond!" A female voice cracked over our comms links as I looked at Fallon still relying on me to support him, he was quiet for a moment before saying with no doubt a smile on his face.
"Well that went a complete 180 didn't it?"
June 25th 2188 AD: Battlegroup Sera: 10 Minutes earlier
Compasion
X2 Mars-Class Space Control Cruisers.
X2 Gwam-Class Assault Cruisers.
X4 Echo-Class Frigates.
X6 Grand-Class Destroyers.
X1 Washington-Class Battle-Carrier.
"Targets are coming into particle cannon range, ETA 70 seconds." The California's weapons officer declared as the Task Force approached Nova Tanis.
"Confirm" General Alex Adams said as his eyes were focused on the tactical orb.
When they received the intelligence from the Washington's STT six days ago High command and indeed the rest of the upper echelons of the Pacific Alliance spent the whole day arguing about what to do about the alien civilisation known as the "Equestrian Imperium"
Some say they should just leave them alone and focus on the immediate threat of the lankies whilst others in the government say they should try to seek an alliance with the Imperium.
However the one party that won out in the end was the one that pointed out three flaws in the other two approaches.
Firstly the Alliance has built up its public image as a nation for freedom and Liberty, when the public finds out however that the same Alliance allied with a nation that goes against everything they stood for whilst it may not have an immediate impact it will have consequences down the line.
The second flaw is that the Pacific Alliance has made a promise to reclaim all the NAC and SRA star systems that were lost during the earlier stages of the war with the Lankies and whilst the enemy isn't the same, they can't just leave New Caledonia in the hands of a another alien power otherwise it'll damage the PA's image in the public eye about them not being tied down by the old political landscape.
And finally according to the information the STT gathered tells of how in the Imperium's eyes humanity is their property by Imperial decree, which means that if or when they discover the true territory of mankind they'll try to fold those "Rogue" elements back in if not peacefully then by force.
And so High Command gave the go-ahead for hostile actions against the Imperium to quote "Remove the Imperium's ability to threaten the Alliance and her allies by any means necessary" and Nova Tanis is to be but the first step.
"Ten seconds!" The officer warned.
"Weapons target the second biggest vessel in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, FIRE!" General Adams shouts from his command station as the ship shudders from the firing of all four of its particle guns.
On the Tactical Orb in the centre of the CIC the icon representing one of the three largest enemy vessels turns into a second sun for a second before the heat and light dissipates.
"Hit! The enemy vessel designated as Bogie two has been splashed!" The Weapons officer shouts and a brief cheer washes over the CIC.
"Okay everyone calm down and ready for action, they won't just be sitting there to get shot a second time." The General reminded everyone as indeed the enemy garrison fleet begins to take evasive action and with them being so close to the planet as well as the Battlegroup's trajectory towards the planet means that using both the particle guns and the Orion missiles are out of the question.
"Helmsman get us within QCB range and Tactical have the cruisers focus on their size equivalents and have the frigates focus on the other ships, the Destroyers are act in support of either" He then ordered as the fleet decelerated when they got to 1,800 kilometres of the Garrison fleet.
His plan was basic true but other than facing pirates no human ship in recent memory has engaged in battle with other human vessels and since these Imperials bare the most resemblance to humans it is reasonable to assume that they use tactics similar to humans to which the men and women of Battlegroup Sera have almost no experience with.
The Cruisers began to attack their equivalents in pairs one Mars and one Gwam for each enemy vessel, the Mars being Space Control Cruisers were designed for fighting space threats with the class in particular having two batteries of seven Mk 13 railguns and two laser arrays to be used both offensive and defensively. The Gwam Class Assault Cruiser being designed to support planetary assaults didn't have lasers instead they have eighteen more powerful Mk 14 railguns and four batteries of six tubed missile launchers capable of firing both high explosive and low yield nuclear warheads.
Whilst all the Pacific ships have missiles in some form or another most of them were designed to take advantage of the openings in Lanky Seed ships left by the Battle-Carriers as such Command advised against using them, plus its unknown if missiles would even work at all especially now that the Alliance fleet was too close to launch them.
"At least we know our Particle guns work." General Adams thought as the first duo of cruisers opened up on the enemy ships.
The duo consists of the Mars cruiser Hyperion and the Gwam cruiser Texes, the Hyprion struck first with its forward railgun battery. Six of the first seven shot went wide as the enemy cruiser turned to port whilst raising its bow up in a arch but the seventh shot hit an area near the main engine block, the hostile cruiser returned fire just before it took the hit firing a barrage of what appeared to be particle beams but of a less destructive nature.
They were fired from turrets but unlike human ships most of them were on the ventral hull limiting their field of view. Though in this case much of the guns on the bow section of the ship had a clear line of fire on the Hyperion, the resulting barrage tore through much of the Hyperion's hull its armour being designed to withstand the kinetic punch of Lanky penetrators doing little to stop the energy from melting the hull. Within a few moments of the enemy weapons making contact with the Hyperion, the ship was battered, bloodied and trying to speed away from the engagement.
But her sacrifice allowed the Texes slipped behind the enemy cruiser whilst it was duelling the Hyperion and was able to send a full alpha strike into the rear of the enemy, obliterating the main engines and gutting the cruiser but not before the only rear turret on the enemy ship was able to let out a single shot that whilst didn't do as much damage as what was done to the Hyperion it did leave a nasty mark on the Texes.
Whilst that was going on the second duo of Pacific Alliance Cruisers the Mars Class Talent and the Gwam Class Luna were actually in a running battle with what would later be described as the enemy flag ship.
Four of the Grand class Destroyers were in support as the Talent opened up with three of her forward railguns before using the time to reload those guns to fire the remaining four, the Talent would repeat this process whilst the Luna would disengage after only a few shots to engage planetary targets of opportunity.
The duel between the enemy flagship and the Talent plus her destroyer escort would continue for the next four minutes whilst the aforementioned cruiser would speed away from Nova Tanis performing evasive action whilst the Talent did its best to avoid the fire of the cruiser's single rear mounted particle gun until the cruiser did an unexpected starboard turn bringing its frontal armaments to bear on the Talent and her escorts.
Three out of the four destroyers were destroyed instantly whilst the fourth was heavily damaged and forced to crash land on Tanis.
The Talent didn't fare any better, whether it was due to some divine intervention or simply luck one of the beams was able to hit the Talent directly in the reactor vaporising the Cruiser and what was left would burn up on rentrying the planet's gravity well.
With its pursuers destroyed the enemy flagship would make its way out of the planet's orbit and would later escape the system entirely to carry news of this attack to its superiors.
The four remaining Imperial ships were destroyed in good order by the Frigates with the help of the two remaining destroyers and the Battle-Carrier's secondary armaments.
Overall in the span of seven minutes the Pacific Alliance Fleet engaged and destroyed six out of seven enemy ships of the garrison fleet whilst losing four destroyers, one Space Control Cruiser and one Space Control Cruiser suffering heavy damage.
"Sir! Picking up contacts coming from the planet!" The sensor tech yelled as the CIC crew of the California went about checking in on the rest of the fleet as well as their own ship.
"Enemy?" General Adams asked as he froze rising from his seat.
After a few moments the Sensor tech shook his head "Negative sir they're Hayabusas!"
"The Washington's Special Tactics Team!" Adams realised as his comms officer chimed in.
"I can confirm sir! They're ours and they have refugees abroad whilst also requesting we give orbital support to friendlies currently engaged in a defensive action sir!"
Fully standing up now Adams turned to his flight control officer "Flight Officer get those dropships in and get our Striders down there ASAP, Comms try to get to Major Graves or anyone from the STT and tell them that Support is on its way."
"Aye Sir!" was the collective reply as within the next few minutes Striders from the California would swoop in and save the last few survivors of the Washington STT allowing them to be extracted.
EINS Destiny's light: enroute to warp bubble
"WE'RE JUST LEAVING THEM!?" Ensign Lamplight shouted as the rest of the bridge crew of the Destiny's light began to receive damage reports from the rest of the ship's crew.
When they saw the Silvercrown go up in a bright exposition the Captain ordered all ships to take evasive action and defend themselves, whilst during the fight the Destiny's Light made best speed away from Prism's Flank.
Sitting in his command chair Captain Iron Raid eyed the ensign before saying "If we stayed and tried to fight whatever fired a STAR at us we would just end up like the Silvercrown and given the amount of energy we were already producing there was no way for me to order a full retreat."
Unlike human technology Pony technology relies heavily on magic from engines and FTL to basic items like firearms and communications. Whilst magic is not limited by the laws of physics because the comms systems rely on magic beams to send information between points, it meant that in a heavy magic environment like the one they just existed communications would be limited at best or non-existent at worse.
"Furthermore Ensign these aliens don't use magic and thus we wouldn't be able to effectively hit them at longer ranges, the best thing we could do right now is to warn the Imperium of these new aliens and make sure our comrades' deaths are not for nothing." Iron Raid concluded.
Whilst the Imperium has fought against other non-magic civilizations in the past all of them haven't been able to leave their homeworld and thus never developed a space force, the only fighting the Imperial Navy has endured since it was created was pirates and rebellious worlds that tried to succeed from the Imperium.
All of which used tactics that stemmed from the Imperial Navy, not these aliens however.
They were the first truly interstellar civilization that the Imperium has encountered and the Emperor must be informed.
"Ensign Bronze maintain course and inform me when we are about to jump, Ensign Flintlight with me we're going to check on engineering. Everypony else as you were." Captain Iron Raid ordered keeping an eye on Lamplight as she and the rest of the bridge crew continued their duties whilst he and Flintlight exited the bridge.
"That was not what I was expecting today sir." Flintlight said once they were alone in the Light's hallways.
"Me neither ensign" Iron Raid replied, his eyes focused on what's ahead.
"Me neither" |
Bastion (Rewrite under consideration) | Semper Fi | Staff Sergeant Benjamin Grayson :July 1st:2188 AD: PAS California: One week later
Grunt country, a name given to a section of a ship reserved for the ship's SI complement, filled with living quarters for the enlisted, a small mess hall and a gim complete with workout gear and a sparring ring.
Said sparring ring is where I am getting my ass handed to me by my friend Avery Fallon.
Since we got back from Nova Tanis the Docs were able to give him a prosthetic left arm to replace his old one that got melted off by a fucking dragon, after a couple of days adjusting to the new limb I offed to spare with him to help speed things up a little.
You would think I would regret such a decision but I knew going into the match that I would get my ass handed to me anyway as I was never a good hand-to-hand fighter and it's not like we had any need to get up close with the lankies.
"Getting winded yet Gray!?" Avery said as he delivered a right low jab at my abbs whilst I swung my left fist towards and passed his head.
I jumped back a few feet to get my bearings, by now we gathered a small crowd cheering from outside the sparring mat. Both of us had gym shirts on plus shorts and boxing gloves, Avery was sweating and had a few bruise marks but other than that he looked way better than me.
"I'll get back to ya on that!" I said readying my stance again as I tried to figure out a plan of attack.
But before I could a voice rang out "Hey Grayson! Would just say uncle already, some of us want a turn to let off steam!" It was one of the SI grunts and he looked interested in our fight but clearly wants to have a few rounds himself.
Avery and I looked at each other for a moment before he said with a smile "Well guess I have to wait till next time to have my 70th victory in the sparring ring."
With that we shook our hands and made our way out of the ring and towards the changing room to change back into our usual fatigues.
Before long we were out of the gym and into the hallways of the PAS California.
"So watcha want to do now?" Avery asked me as we passed by a couple of SI troopers in full battle-rattle.
"Well since the Doc will want to see how your new arm's holding up we should probably head to Medbay" I said with Avery nodding in agreement as we made our way to the Medical Bay.
After Me and Avery were saved from that Dragon thing back on Nova Tanis we went to the evac point only to discover that aside from us the Major, SCARS and a few of the Rebels were all that's left of the defence at Heaven.
Since then we got debriefed on what was going on since we left the Washington, apparently the Alliance along with the other signatories of the United Nations Defence Force decided to commit to a second Front with the Imperials.
From what I was told it will be a small front, small enough that it won't take a lot of resources away from the Lanky front but big enough to fix the Imperials in place until we could spare the manpower for larger offensives and given the casualties we sustained during that last operation I can definitely get behind our current strategy.
Which leads us to today, currently the California and her battlegroup along with escort ships for transports of two full Tactical Divisions from the 7th Space Combat Army are in Orbit of Nova Tanis getting ready for the full invasion.
Spec-Ops forces like Force Recon, SEALs and SCARs are currently on missions to get in touch with many of the smaller rebel cells to both get a better idea of the terrain and defences as well as what we'd be facing and to launch attacks on the smaller outposts scattered throughout the planet whilst the main force will attack the Capital.
As for me and Avery? Well we'll be on standby, giving the hell we've gone through. High Command decided to give us a bit of time off but we will be participating in the full Invasion.
We soon arrived in the medbay. Aside from the staff, not many were in today but I did notice over the week that the Staff were busy in various things like checking medical supplies and what not, possibly in anticipation of the Invasion.
"Doctor Hillson!" I called out, catching the attention of the oldest men in the bay.
He was a tall man able to reach the top of most bulkhead doors and he had a military approved haircut, he was also sixty and had the rank of major.
"I see the new arm is working as advertised Sargent Fallon?" Doctor Hillson said as if I wasn't even here.
Giving me a glance before turning his attention to the good doctor Avery said "Yeah just as responsive as my old arm but I keep feeling this..uh buzzing feeling I guess? I wouldn't mind if you gave it another look."
Hillson nodded before finally turning to address me "I'll handle Staff Sergeant Fallon Sergeant Grayson but would you mind giving my staff some assistance?"
I nodded before me and Avery went our separate ways for now.
That was until we all heard a noise coming from one of the doors across from us.
"Ah HELP!" A muffled woman's voice came from the other side.
"GET SECURITY!" I yelled to Doctor Hillson who nodded before gesturing to his staff to leave the bay whilst Avery and I moved in with our Goodbyes at the ready.
The Goodbye was a nickname for a emergency sidearm that all combat troops have, officially it's meant to be a backup just in case the trooper in question losses his JUMBO and whilst it's capable of penetrating a Lanky's hide it only works at short range and has only one shot before needing to reload. The more common unofficially reason we use the Goodbye is because in many situations where death is all but certain it's best to go out quick as such the weapon nicknamed the Goodbye by the troops, of course the Goodbye is only used in the event you know that you'll not be making it home alive but in this very unlikely situation I'm glad we have them.
"ROE?" Avery asked me as we stacked up on either side of the door.
"Don't fire unless I say so, given who's supposed to be in this room it's likely she's confused and doesn't know where she is." I explained which got me a confused look from Avery before his eyes widened in realisation.
"The Princess?" He asked
"Who else?" I replied before opening the door and me and Avery stormed in.
Twilight Sparkle:Moments earlier
"Why couldn't you save us?"
My eyes opened as my mind recognised that voice and my surroundings soon after.
I was in a large room with stained-glass windows on either side with a large double door in front of me. The room itself was in ruins with four of its six pillars having collapsed and the floor having cracks in it from falling debris. The carpet in the centre leading from the door, once a bright red with gold highlights, was now a dull maroon colour with no sign of any gold. The windows were no better with many having holes in them and some were completely shattered, their depictions of my home's history and friendship ruined.
"What's the matter Crylight!? Tongue tied!?" Said another voice as I hesitantly turned around to face the opposite side of the room.
Standing between me and the two broken thrones across from me were five mares, all of them had some form of armour on but like the rest of the room their armour was damaged and broken whilst their bodies had many wounds such as bruises, cuts and whatever.
I breathing picked up as I stared at these mares who looked back at me with venom in their eyes, my friends those whose lives I couldn't save that day-THIS DAY right in the centre of Canterlot.
"I-I wanted to stay, to at least die with you guys b-but" I tried to say through my own emotions and the sudden shaking that tuned like a heartbeat but Rainbow, the mare whose loyalty was always to her friends yelled at me saying.
"BUT YOU DIDN'T PUSH HARD ENOUGH! YOU KNEW WE WOULDN'T MAKE OUT OF THAT TUNNEL BUT YOU LET FAITH WIN OVER REASON!"
"I-" I couldn't say anything to that either because I had nothing to counter that or that I didn't want to add fuel to the fire.
"And now our home has turned into something terrible" Fluttershy said, her eyes just as full of hatred for both me and the modern imperium alike.
I tried closing my eyes and turning away from them but they kept shouting at me as if they were everywhere. Their words becoming jumbles of sounds as I'm reminded of that day, the day I left my friends to die and the day I let the Equestrian Imperium form.
I was so lost in the noise of what I'd assume was hell that I didn't notice that same noise fading away until that same heartbeat shaking turned out to be beeping, a heartbeat monitor.
"I'm alive?" Was the first thought that came to me as my eyes opened and quickly closed to stop the bright light from killing me.
Soon enough though my eyesight adjusts and I could tell I was in some sort of hospital room laying on the softest bed I've been on in years, the room itself was small so I was probably its only occupant.
"Heart rate dropping back to stable levels, better keep the sedatives just in case." The voice was female and confirmed I was not in fact the only one in the room.
Slowly I turned my head to the right whilst simultaneously sitting myself reluctantly up upon the bed. There was a mare with a white overcoat hiding what features she has underneath, currently she was looking at something in her hand distracting her from the heartbeat monitor in front of her.
Carefully but quickly thanks to a thousand years of living I got out of my bed as quietly as I could whilst grabbing the nearest sharp object I could find.
As I noticed her looking back at the heartbeat monitor I pounced.
"AH! HELP!" She shouted before I put my left hand over her mouth whilst my right holding the sharp object went to her throat, I then turned us to the left facing the door in anticipation for the guards to come storming in.
"Listen here bitch you're gonna tell me what I want to know or.." I whispered but trailed off at the end as I noticed the mare I was holding wasn't a mare but a human woman.
Her gold eyes were laced with fear and confusion all over her pale face.
I began to slowly lower the sharp object from her throat before two other humans burst into the room with large heavy looking pistols.
The first was a man who had very short black hair and baby blue eyes with pale skin like the woman I was holding, the second human was also a man whose hair was also very short but appeared blonde and had blood red eyes.
The man with short black hair lowered his weapon slightly whilst holding one of his hands up in an open palm gesture.
"Take it easy ma'am nobody is gonna hurt you unless we'd have to" The man then said in a young voice, probably in his twenties or something.
I began to back away from the human woman to my left in full view of the two human soldiers.
"My name is Twilight-" I began to say before the black haired blue eyes interrupted by saying.
"I know who you are ma'am, I was the one who helped rescue you."
40 minutes later
"And what of possible reinforcements?" One of General Adams' aides asks the supposed Alicorn who stands next to a holo-screen across the table ahead of the General in question flanked by officers of the Oceania Defence Corps, from the fleet and Military Intelligence to the Spaceborn Infantry.
Over half an hour ago Adams was introduced to Twilight Sparkle who if Private Maxson was to be believed was over a thousand years old and an arch enemy of the Equestrian Imperium, a valuable asset to be sure though Adams himself was sceptical about the woman's origins.
Still Twilight was being cooperative in shedding some light on what the SI would be facing down on Nova Tainis. Unit compassion, how they deploy and what sorts of tactics they could expect, which painted an uphill battle even in the most favourable conditions.
The reason being that most of humanity's military forces have been geared to fight large hostile threats such as the Lankies which doesn't translate well to fighting humanoid threats.
The aide from before then clarified his question "How fast can we expect the Imperium to send reinforcements and in what numbers?"
Looking at the aide directly Twilight said "Given that the Imperium hasn't encountered a spacefaring civilization before I'd wager they send a full three squadrons one of which would be a full Battleship Squadron, as for time I can't say sirs but given current levels of Equestrian Technology I would put an estimate of about two to four months"
"On the topic of Equestrian Technology" An MI Major stated before looking at the former princess.
"We analysed several of the weapons we were able to salvage a week ago, so far we have been able to identify the lens and the power source but have been unable to get them to work despite the fact that we've quadruple checked them for any damages or faults."
"The only fault you'll find is that all high grade Equestrian Technology runs on magic and only those who can use said magic can use those weapons, we had to juari-rig most of ours to get around the problem." Twilight said deactivating the holo screen for a moment.
"Magic.." the Major repeats, despite the reports they've read and having eye witness accounts many within the California's CIC briefing room can't believe that something like Magic exists.
"Will the Lab Coats be able to learn what they can about this "Magic?" Adams said, looking at the Major as he shook his head before saying.
"Even with Miss Sparkle's help we have few samples to give them to study, unless Miss Sparkle you know where we could acquire more"
"As a matter of fact I do" Twilight says as she held up her hand before concentrating, before long a burst of light erupted from her hand and an image of crystal with some machinery appeared.
"This here is a data crystal the linchpin of most of the Equestrian electronics in the imperium, if your technology was based on Ones and Zeros then the Equestrian equivalent would be emotions and energy." She explained.
"So we get our hands on one of those we could fast track our understanding of the enemy tech, that right miss?" The MI Major asked, if the Lankies have taught humanity anything is that the faster you know your enemy the better you can fight him without suffering yourself.
Displacing the image from her hand Twilight replied "Not just any data crystal, but the one in the capital city as it has the most relevant information on the Imperium's military forces, troop deployments, fleet composition. Anything both military and civilian of moderate importance will be on there."
"Will they try to wipe it?" General Adams asked.
Twilight nodded "As soon as it looks like their position will become untenable they'll wipe the crystal, so I'd suggest a quick strike hard and fast to grab it before the imperials have a chance."
"It would be the most logical thing to do but." General Tomus Oscar in charge of the 203rd Tactical Division began.
"But most of our people have been trained and equipped to fight large slow moving targets like the Lankies, even if we had the right gear we'd still need to train them in tactics that would be best suited to combat the Equestrians which takes time we don't have." Oscar concluded before General Andrew Markulles of the 98th Tactical Division spoke up.
"Not a full division no but a company sized force could be outfitted with the M66s we have from the rebel base and be deployed during the initial landings, whilst the Equestains are distracted with the main landing force this small strike team will infiltrate the city via Dropships and secure the target."
"How long will it take to get this force trained?" General Adams asked.
"About a week and that's pushing it, especially if we want people down there who can handle the data crystal properly." General Markulles replied.
"With respect General Markulles" Twilight said, getting the General's attention.
"I think it would be best if I go with the strike team personally to retrieve the crystal, as I owe you for saving not just my life but the lives of the rebels whom I have trusted. Plus I don't like sitting out of a mission that MUST succeed."
"That's too risky!" General Oscar said, sitting up from his chair.
"Even if you're our best chance to get a treasure trove of information you're also a VIP with much needed first hand experience on the Equestains, we can't afford to lose you"
"We don't have many other options General Oscar" General Adams interjected.
"Whilst we have the enemy contained on Nova Tanis the longer we wait the more time they have to prepare and the more time we give for whatever reinforcements are coming, it's in our best interest to take the city soon preferably in the next month and as such we can't wait for miss Twilight to train up even a single specialist."
"If I may, General Adams?" Major Graves asked, stepping forward from his position to Twilight's left.
Nodding General Adams gestured to the Major to continue "I suggest me and Sergeants Grayson and Fallon form a fireteam to protect Miss Twilight whilst she accompanies the strike force."
"Given your experience with her and lack of other options I say go for it Major, we'll contact you when the strike force has been assembled." Adams agreed as he dismissed the four whilst the rest of his staff worked on the rest of the details for the invasion.
"That went well as could be." Staff Sergeant Fallon said once they were in the hallways.
"It's not ideal, but given the overall strategic situation this course of action is the best one." Major Graves says before looking over his shoulder at Grayson who had a downcasted look on his face. "Guess you'll be late for your end of service party, sorry Grayson" he says with sympathy written all over his face.
Twilight who was walking next to Grayson looked over at him just in time to see him reply "It's nothing Major, I'm pretty sure I'd be stuck in this system for a while anyway due to my experience with our VIP here what with her used to being a alien of near Demi-god proportions and the fact that she's our best and only credible source of intel on the Imperials at the moment."
"In short command are assholes." Avery Fallon said uncaring if anyone heard his crude comment.
"Heh well anyways until they decide who to send with us into the meat grinder we might as well get Miss Sparkle ready." Graves said drawing a look from Twilight.
"Ready for what?" She asked before she noticed the grin on the Force Recon's face.
"If you're gonna fight with us then you need to look like us starting with your hair." He simply said.
Twilight Sparkle:PAS California: July 1st:2188: 20 minutes later
There was something odd about seeing myself without my long purple and pink striped hair, for one it reminded me of that incident with my "future" self, the same future that no longer exists. Another thing was that despite the reverse conversion I underwent to gain the trust of the Human rebels my human form actually looked rather young, roughly twenty years old if I hazard a guess.
I was currently in the women's room (onboard the "California" as I later learned) getting myself ready for training.
Major Graves told me that if I'm to fight alongside them I'm to look like them which involves having my hair done to be about the same length as theirs and having myself dressed in their "fatigues" as they called them.
The ones I'm wearing include a grey patterned T-shirt, a pair of trousers that are similarly patterned and metal boats that are compatible with the "Battle Armour" I would be wearing during our assault on the Governmental Palace.
Looking at myself one more time in the mirror I then began to make my way out of the restroom to the hallway where the others were.
"You ready to get your Hardshell on?" Major Graves asked to which I nodded.
Apparently "Hardshell" was the nickname for the Battle Armour the humans used so with a nod I followed the three humans to the ship's armoury which was next to the hangar.
The armoury was massive, capable of housing much of the combat gear that the Carrier's two onboard SI battalions have, as we entered a couple of technicians waved us over towards one of the armour stands where presumably my suit was being kept.
"We were able to get your basic measurements whilst you were unconscious so it wasn't at all difficult to get the suit to your size but we'll still need to take secondary measurements to be sure before we help you put this on." The lead technician said, gesturing to my BA.
"No problem." I said before the rest of the "Techs" as the human crew called them sometimes began to use various lasers to measure my body, soon enough I was suiting up in what was perhaps the most advanced piece of kit I've ever seen.
Not only is it made of some very strong material but it also features systems that are only available on the Imperial's Stormtroops, the fact that the base Alliance soldier has such advanced gear makes me optimistic about our chances in the coming week.
A while later I had just about finished fasting my armour on minus the helmet when I noticed Benjamin Grayson looking at me.
"What?" I asked whilst putting the helmet on and waiting for the techs to walk me through how to use it.
"Ah nothing, just watching that awed look on your face brings back memories." He said with a small smile.
Before I could ask what he meant the techs got to work on teaching me how to work my helmet along with its many features.
"Is she up to tabs?" Major Graves asks a while later as I began to take the armour off.
"Yes sir, she'll be as ready as she can be and better once she has time in the simulators." The lead technician said after I was out of the armour he and a few other techs were storing it along with the other armours.
"What's the situation sir?" Avery Fallon asked whilst he and Grayson were checking out some sort of AT-rifles. Though I noticed that there were a lot of them onboard the ship, I couldn't tell at the time if they simply had a greater focus on Anti-Tank tactics or that the ship just happened to have a surplus of them.
"Briefing brass has selected the unit that'll be dropping with us so we have to make our acquaintance ASAP so we can move on to simulator training." The Major said as he led us out of the Armoury and back into the hallways of the starship.
"So who's dropping with us, Major?" Grayson asked as we passed through the hallways of the California.
"Third Company of the 5th Space Combat Battalion, 2nd Tactical Brigade, 98th Tactical Division." Graves said as we finally entered the briefing room.
"Also known as Reject Company." He added as I took a moment to survey the room.
To my left was a screen mounted on the wall with a slightly raised podium in front of it whilst to my right were rows of folding chairs with only a few dozen occupied by Alliance Spaceborne Infantry Troopers.
"Is this all of them?" I asked as we took our position to the group's left in the corner.
"Nah just the team, squad and platoon leaders a less complicated briefing would involve the whole company but for important shit like this?" Grayson said, gesturing to the whole room before continuing.
"It's best to have only the NCOs and Officers know so they can break it down to their enlisted." He finished.
"Officer on deck!" Someone in the room shouts and all the seated SI shot to their feet.
At first I thought they were referring to us but then a voice came from the door.
"As you were."
I looked to the door to see three men walk in, one had a more complex insignia on his shoulders so I assumed he was the highest ranking officer though it wasn't him who took centre stage, it was one of the lower ranked men with him.
"Now then introductions are in order, these lovely fleet boys and their girly guest are Major Graves SI Force Recon, Staff Sergeant Grayson Pararescue, Staff Sergeant Avery Fallon Combat Controller and Advisor Twilight Sparkle." He said his voice carried a very distinct accent which is very different from what I've normally heard here on this ship.
"These fine officers will be a critical point in our mission in the coming days, as I'm sure you're all aware we will soon be invading Nova Tanis which has been occupied by a non-Lanky race. A race that the Alliance and her allies have deemed too hazardous for our health and as such we are launching an invasion in a week to take back this colony." He stated which got some mumbling to occur amongst the seated SI troopers.
"However due to many of the Spec-Ops guys having been indisposed of for the time being Command has chosen our company to conduct a very vital raid on the day the invasion begins in the enemy HQ to retrieve enemy data and our guests will be critical in the acquisition of said data." The officer continued before one of the seated SI troopers raised his hand.
Nodding to him the Officer allowed the SI to speak.
"Sir all of us here were trained to fight Lankies, if the rumours are true then we'd be at a very distinct disadvantage when it comes to tactics and experience. Sir."
"That's why for the next six days we will be doing large amounts of training both in the simulators to relearn some old tactics and on the firing range to get used to the M66 Flechette rifle that we'll be using." The officer said.
"Why not the M67?" Another SI asks.
"Because Sergeant only the HD has those and we are a long way from Earth and Arcadia so we have to make do with the small stockpile of M66s that the Rebels were able to maintain over the years." The officer replied.
The rest of the briefing was mostly about the details of the operation, the training regime and our objective overall which I had to fill in.
After a while we were told to head to the simulator area whilst Reject Company's officer Cadra informed its enlisted personnel of the upcoming events for the next week.
"You alright Miss Sparkle?" Grayson asked
Turning to him I said "Yeah I'm fine Sargeant just getting used to..all this, and please call me Twilight."
Nodding he then said "Then call me Ben Twilight." before we resumed our walk towards the simulator rooms.
Prism's Flank: Planetary Headquarters: Same day
The mood within the HQ of both the Imperial Army and Imperial Guard was tense to say the least, ever since the failed operation to take out the rebel stronghold a week ago the entire garrison was put on high alert and preparations were being made to withstand a siege until reinforcements arrived.
The plan is to hunker down in the capital city which houses the planet's only planetary defence cannon, which can easily destroy one of the enemy warships.
City-348C has undergone much change within the last week.
Barricades were placed in key areas of the city, trenches and bunkers were built in three main defence lines outside of the city and the civilians were quickly moved to underground shelters.
Because five out of the seven regiments of the Imperial Army were rendered combat ineffective a week prior the Imperial Guard had to be the first line of defence in the outskirts whilst the remaining two Army regiments focused on defending the inner city with the remaining five that were basically smaller independent units at this point either helped with the main defence lines and attached themselves to Guard regiments or were sent out to the smaller installations across the planet to protect them.
The 560th Line Regiment had been badly mauled during the operation a week ago, out of five thousand combat capable Stallions and mares only eight hundred remained combat capable with another thousand badly wounded.
As a result the 560th is assigned to protect the Govermental Palace whilst the 549th Mobile Regiment guards much of the inner city.
Colonel Brickfield stood on the steps of the palace overlooking the plaza, soldiers were erecting barricades and setting up firing positions for heavy weapons along the front of the palace both in the structure itself and over the steps.
Despite his stoic outer appearance on the inside he was as nervous as a green recruit on his first deployment, this was mostly due to what they learned soon after the failed assault a week ago.
"Humans, we're fighting humans" He thought dreadfully as he watched a few trucks pass by.
They were able to retrieve a couple of the alien bodies during the operation on the rebel stronghold despite their best attempts to recover their dead, the following examinations reveal the advanced aliens to actually be humans or at least related to humans.
The implications were not lost on any of the high ranking officers on Prism's Flank.
"Colonel!" A voice shouted from the top of the stairs over the sound of military activity.
Turning to the soldier in question Brickfield walked up the stairs to the young stallion to better hear him over the noise.
"The Lord General requests your presence urgently!" he said before saluting Brickfield.
Nodding and returning the salute Brickfield went back inside the palace to see the General.
The inside of the palace was just as it was on the outside with soldiers guarding various points in the hallways, rooms having their furniture rearranged to provide maximum cover for the defender and heavy weapons set up at key points to hold down multiple hallways simultaneously.
"Yet it may not be enough." Brickfield thought as he arrived at the Lord General's office.
The stallion himself was at his desk talking to one of the IG officers, they both turned to Brickfield as he entered the office before the IG officer saluted the Lord General and then exited the office.
"At ease Colonel." The Lord General said when Brickfield was about to give him the same salute.
"You wanted to see me sir?" Brickfield asked.
The Lord General then got up from his seat before placing both of his hands on the table and said "Normally I'd get all the flag officers here to everything done at once as per protocol but given the fires we had to put out, from organising a defence to intercepting the enemy raiding parties I had to brief everyone one at a time which is inefficient as buck."
He then sighed before straightening up with his hands behind his back.
"But the humans won't care about our problems when they invade so we have to make do." The Lord General said.
Colonel Brickfield shifted uncomfortably at the mention of "Humans" and "Invade" in the same sentence.
"There's no use in denying it since the docs have studied the bodies we were able to recover." The Lord General continued.
"The humans are more advanced than we gave them credit for and have enough offworld resources to field twenty starships at least, on top of that we've been enslaving the ones here for eight decades. Not the kind of thing you'd just forgive were it us we would have come to the same conclusion, war."
He then turned to his left looking at a painting of Aurora the Equestrian homeworld before saying "A war that our people will not be prepared for."
Brickfield's face showed confusion before saying "Even if the rest of the Imperium has no knowledge of our enemy now doesn't mean we can't-"
"It's not just about the nature of our enemy Colonel." The Lord General interjected before continuing.
"In the entirety of our military history since the Unification Wars a thousand years ago we've only had face advisories that either the strength to contest us in the void and can barely contest us at all, this new enemy however whether they are humans or not have not only the ability to contest us both on planet and in the void but surpass us because we never had to face an enemy on equal footing before."
"We still have 55,000 or so vessels across a thousand systems and millions of soldiers of both the Army and Guard surely-" Brickfield tried to counter but-
"Doesn't matter if all those ships weren't made or organised for war and the logistical systems in place currently won't get the troops to where they are needed fast enough with what they need and that's before we get into the troops themselves." The Lord General said before he shook his head.
"The sad truth is our ancestors never believed there was a force in the galaxy that could rival us without the use of magic and this war will shatter that belief"
Brickfield said nothing, just standing there awaiting his orders.
"Enough of that however on to the actual reason I called you here, I read your status reports and whilst I share your reasons for extra time training the militia troops I'm afraid your regiment must be redeployed." The Lord General said before tapping a button on his desk and a hologram of the city and its surrounding areas appeared.
A small section a few kilometres to the southwest of the city is then highlighted before the Lord General continues.
"You and your regiment will be stationed at the Orbital Defence Cannon outside of the city, this weapon is the only thing keeping the enemy fleet out of view of this side of the planet which in turn is preventing them from simply blasting us back to the stone age."
Colonel Brickfield did a double take before saying "Sir but, what about the palace? If my regiment isn't here to defend it it'll only be the local militia and security forces, what if they strike at the palace?"
The Lord General shook his head "I doubt the humans would be crazy enough to make such a deep strike without complete void supremacy and given the state of your regiment I can't just have you split your stallions up when we need as many soldiers in the best locations as possible. Is that understood Colonel?"
It took a few moments before Brickfield straightened up and saluted the Lord General before saying "By the Goddess's name Lord General"
The old stallion nodded before dismissing the Colonel and went to look at some work on his desk.
Brickfield for his part made his way out of the office before taking out a comm-link from his pocket and contacting his 2IC.
"Major, gather the brass we have new orders."
Staff Sergeant Benjamin Grayson: July 7th:2188:PAS California: One week later
"Drop stations! Drop stations! All hands to drop stations!" The voice sounded over the PA as everyone on the Battle-Carrier began calmly but hurriedly reporting to their assigned duties whenever we have such a large drop such as this.
Me, Graves, Avery and Twilight were in the armoury getting our combat gear on, the past seven days were rough evidenced by our slightly sluggish nature. We only had six hours of sleep just before the announcement along with the rest of Reject Company, their CO Captain Jimmy Rims or Rimmy to his friends is much like other company commanders I had to work with whenever I was assigned away from my parent unit. A competent officer who takes time to know the men under them and willing to balance the line between completing the mission and getting their men home.
"Grayson help our guest would'ya?" Major Graves ordered as I noticed Twilight struggling to click the chest piece into place.
I walked over and began to help her get the chest piece on.
"Uh thanks." she says moments later as I finished getting her chest piece on properly.
"You okay?" I asked out of curiosity.
She hesitates for a moment whilst she finishes putting on her helmet before saying "I'm just a bit nervous, whilst I have fought for many centuries all those years in battle were informal at best. This'll be the first time I'm going into battle with a professional fighting force like yours."
I nodded understanding her concern before Captain Rimmy began to call us all to his attention.
"All right! You lazy gits and wits! Listen up!" He started whilst jumping onto a nearby ammo crate, his Australian accent clear as day.
"We have our orders, inserting into enemy lines and retrieve a HIO vital to this new front of the war!" He said receiving a round of "Oo-Rah"s in return.
"Everybody knows what's going on? Everyone knows where we're going?" He asked receiving a second round of "Oo-Rah"s.
"EVERYBODY READY!?" He shouted.
"OO-RAH!" We answered at the top of our lungs as the PA system announced that it was Reject Company's turn to board the dropships.
"THEN LET'S DO THIS! DIGBY! SECOND! LEAD OUT!" The Captain shouted whilst gesturing to the airlock to his left.
"You head the man! Second Platoon on me!" A posh British voice sounded over my platoon channel.
Soon enough the members of Reject's 2nd Platoon marked by my helmet began to fill through the airlock, as our fireteam was assigned to 2nd Platoon for this op we too began to fill out through the airlock behind the SI grunts.
Out on the hanger deck was the entirety of the California's SI Battalions loading into the dropships with CAS craft loading up on ordnance and fuel.
"Try to keep up fleeties." Lieutenant Digby said as our platoon filled into our Hayabusa.
As I strap myself down in my crash crouch I couldn't help but think about the LT's words.
This wouldn't be just another mission.
It would be an initiation.
For all of us.
"Charlie Actual to Alpha Actual, all eggs are in the basket and ready for frying over." The LT said over the comms a few moments later after the whole platoon was present and accounted for.
I look to my right towards the rear ramp seeing Major Graves sitting beside me with Avery on his right.
"I synced your suit's TAC-LINKs to mine so you could hear and see what's going on." Graves said whilst checking his M66.
I nodded in thanks, normally in these kinds of ops I wouldn't be able to see the wider picture through my TAC-LINK because I'm not an officer nor a Combat Controller like Avery.
With Graves giving us access through I'll be able to oversee other parts of the operation without trouble.
"All units, all units this is spaceman standby for drop, repeat standby for drop." A voice said over the TAC-LINK.
"This is bumble 2 roger." The voice of our dropship pilot responded whilst the other dropship pilots are no doubt saying the very same thing.
We're soon in one of the many airlocks of the California awaiting the clearance to detach from the Battle-Carrier.
On the TAC-LINK which shows a 2D map of the fleet with the California at the centre, I could see a few dots representing dropships and strike craft leaving the Troop ships, Assault Carriers and Battle Carriers alike.
The small craft soon formed up into small groups before heading away from the fleet. By that point the 2D map changed to a 3D map with the planet in the centre, half the space around it was covered in a red glow indicating where the enemy's defence cannon can spot and shoot down starships. Which is why the fleet is on the other side of the planet away from the cannon's line of sight, this does mean however that all those dropships and Strike craft have to travel further whilst also entering the atmosphere.
Normally during a drop op the mothership would park itself as close to the target LZ as possible so that the pilots won't have to worry as much about having enough fuel to go to and from the surface and their mothership.
When fighting against the Lankies that tactic still worked given the Lankies lack of terrestrial based ranged weapons, the equestrians however because of their Orbital Defence Cannon don't have to worry about our ships flying over their heads bringing death from above.
"This is Spaceman to all units Second wave drop in T-minus 40 seconds!"
"Forty seconds!" Digby shouted over the platoon channel as we got ready for another round of russian roulette.
"What can I expect when we drop?" Twilight asked who was sitting to my left towards the cockpit.
I hesitated for a few seconds in trying to come up with what she could expect but I couldn't think of any advice except...
"Well your stomach will probably try to claw its way up your throat and feel like your sent flying into the ceiling but other then that-"
"-TWO, ONE DEPLOY DEPLOY!!" Was all I heard before our dropship was launched into the black once again.
I looked through one of the dropship's cameras on my suit's HUD, the familiar sight of a Washington Class Battle-Carrier grew smaller as our Dropship sped away from the starship.
Other dropships and Strike craft were also launching from the Carrier, their lights and icons the only things that tell me that they are there at all.
"D-Does it get any better?" Twilight asks clearly, feeling a bit unwell from the launch sequence earlier.
Switching off the view feed I looked at her and said with a smirk "It gets tolerable, eventually."
"MUSIC PALUESE PILOT!" LT.Digby shouted over the comms.
Before me or Twilight could ponder what he meant a song began playing over the platoon channel.
"Oh yeah!" One of the SI troopers across the hold yelled.
"The Company's favourite!" Another one commented just as the whole Platoon began banging one of their boots to the music.
"More like the division's favourite!" Another SI laughed as the song continued.
"Do all these kinds of missions start like this?" Twilight asked as even Avery and Graves started to bang their boots along with the music.
"Uh sometimes? Mostly to relieve tension in the air and gives them something to do whilst they wait to land at an LZ" I replied.
"Yeah and this song is a classic!" Another SI trooper said over our channel.
"Oh please Ride of the Valkyries is more of a classic then Survival!" Avery argued.
The channel soon devolved into an argument about which song was the true classically of the two, which continued for a few seconds until just before the end of the song, where the pilot put on another song.
"Oh come on!""Traitor!""Really!?" Were a few of the comments the SI grunts made after our pilot made his opinion clear.
Sometime later I began to feel the Hayabusa shake violently which told me we were finally entering the atmosphere.
"Hang on back there!" Our pilot commented as the shaking intensified before after a full minute it stopped and just like that I was back on Nova Tanis.
"Alright, let's review the plan one more time." Captain Rimmy said over the company channel.
Soon a 3D image of the Capital city appears in my vision as I imagine the same happening to the rest of the company.
"We'll be coming in through the east and land right next to the Governmental Palace in the plaza. The 34th Drop Wing from the Cal will be escorting us along with the majority of the Fast movers from the fleet. Their objectives are twofold, reducing the enemy's capacity for defensive actions whilst also presenting more targets for the enemy's guns allowing our company to complete its task." Rimmy stated which inwardly I can understand.
The California's Air Wing consists of one Drop Wing and one Strike Wing, enough to ferry one of the Battle-Carrier's two SI battalions down in one drop and provide air support but not enough for large scale landings like what the Assault-Carriers are capable of. Due to them being designed for planetary Assaults Assault-Carriers have six times as many wings as what a Battle-Carrier could ferry, as such it didn't surprise me that fighters from other ships would be coming down with us.
The image of the city which had since been marked with various icons and arrows to give us an overview of our approach vector changed to a 3D image of the Governmental Palace itself.
"Once we land and unload, Bumble 2 and 4 will give us air cover as best as they could whilst also covering the north and South approaches." Rimmy said as the icons representing our dropships appeared above the image circling like hawks.
"Bumbles 1 and 3 will run interference with the enemy and try to buy us time as well as strike targets of opportunity." Rimmy continued, I nodded a bit understanding that the less enemies our rear guard had to face the better.
"As for us First and Third Platoons will form a defensive perimeter on the east and west sides of the palace whilst Second Platoon plus Fourth's First and Second Squads enter the palace itself and secure the package, Fourth's Third squad will divide into two fireteams and support the west and east lines."
Fourth Platoon was our heavy weapons platoon with Third Squad being made up of AMP EXOs whilst first and second squads were command and security respectively. With me, Twilight, Avery and Graves that makes the total number of boots going in to be 54 an overstrength'd platoon.
"Once Second has the HIG we fall back to the dropships by platoon and dust off towards the rest of our comrades that landed, Clear!?" Rimmy concluded as we all shouted our acknowledgement back at him.
"Hold on back there!" Our pilot said as the images used from the briefing disappeared from my view and immediately I pulled up Bumble 2's TAC-LINK.
The screen that occupied my vision was a 2D map constantly changing as we moved west from the east, the only thing remaining constant was the position of the icons that both represent our dropships and those of the Strike Craft accompanying us.
Before long however those Icons began bobbing and weaving to avoid the Anti-Air that was coming our way.
I cringed as I saw a few Icons representing the Strider blink out of existence, the FA-23M8 Strider was one of the first dedicated anti-Lanky strike craft developed by humanity. It was first rolled out in January of 2124 and saw its first combat deployment in April that same year, said deployment happened to be during the rescue of the Avenger Class Battle-Carrier NACS Washington in the Capella system where my grand-father was at the time.
Since learning of that fact I developed a respect for the craft and its pilots, to see them going out like that makes me feel bad but I steeled myself.
Better to make sure they're sacrifice is worth it then feeling sorry for their deaths.
"What's going on? Why aren't those fighters launching countermeasures?!" Twilight asked, seeing the same data as me.
"Because the Lankies didn't have any AA weapons to speak of so our current fleet of strike craft lacked countermeasures." I answered back as we were finally entering the city and soon be touching down on our LZ.
"SHIT WE'RE HIT! BUMBLE 3 IS HIT!" I hear over the channel and my stomach drops.
Bumble 3 is the dropship carrying fourth platoon, if they go down..
"Port side wing took a hit, but we can make it to the LZ; however I don't want to chance it taking off again over." Bumble 3's pilot said as I sigh in relief and then frustration, whilst Bumble 3 will be able to land with their cargo intact the fact they can't take off again meant Bumble 1 will have to pull screening duty all by themselves.
"40 seconds to land!" Our pilot said as the whole Platoon got up and checked their weapons and gear, I had long since switched off my link to Bumble two and began to check my gear.
By the time we all had our things in order the light of the hold went red.
"RED LIGHT!" Digby said and soon after there was a hard THUD before the light went green.
"GO! GO! GO!" The lieutenant shouted as the ramp lowered and we stormed out in a textbook tactical formation.
And just like that I'm back on Nova Tanis.
Attached Asset: Twilight Sparkle
I followed Grayson out of the dropship remembering the training I received in the past week. I took the M66 in my hands and swung it to the right as we all came off the ramp.
I could see just a few metres away to my left closer to the palace, the Drop ship carrying Third Platoon callsign Delta, said platoon is getting ready to move through the ground floor of the palace to the eastern side after we cleared the way.
"Charlie! Forward to the X!" Lieutenant Digby ordered as we began running across the plaza towards the palace.
Charlie was the codename for Second platoon with Digby being referred to as Charlie Actual and the squads as Charlie 1, Charlie 2, Charlie 3 and Charlie 4 whilst the two squads from fourth platoon have the callsigns Charlies 5 and 6 respectively.
As we began to ascend the stairs I looked back over the plaza just in time to see First Platoon and their AMP support setting up defensive positions around the front of the palace which faces the west.
Across the plaza I could see Bumble 1 doing some attacks on Imperial troops supposedly hiding in the buildings.
"Charlie, prepare for breach! Charlie 2 goes first and clears the lobby and then proceeds to cover the main hallway directly ahead, Charlies 4 and 5 will then go in second and break off left and right to cover our flanks and Charlies 1 and 3 will be in last. Once we secured the looby Third Platoon will move by us and set up on the east side whilst 4, 2 and 5 secure the building and set up a casualty collection point, 1 and 3 will move below to secure the objective." Digby said as our platoon stacked up on the double doors to the lobby of the palace.
Me, Grayson, his friend Avery and Graves were attached to the Platoon's Third Squad Charlie 3
The platoon got into position and I could see the members of Charlie 2 getting ready.
"On my mark, MARK!" With that the ten SI troopers stormed into the palace.
I could hear brief bursts of gunfire over the comm channel and through the access granted by Graves I could see through the TAC-LINK what was going on.
There were about 7 guards in the lobby behind some of the desks and there were two more on the second floor. Charlie 2 was able to kill 4 of the guards before heading for cover but two SIs were just seconds too slow and were gunned down.
The remaining eight SI were able to dispatch the remaining guards but not without a further four had suffered some minor wounds. Charlies 4 and 5 were able to make entry with no problems and proceeded to quickly secure the left and right sides of the lobby before holding at the hallways.
It was then that Charlies 1 and 3 entered the three story building.
The scene before me as I entered behind Grayson was one of a quick but brutal firefight, the bodies of the two dead SI troopers had the trailsigns of a laser bolt on their heads whilst the ones that were still alive had marks on their chest plates with a single medic giving aid.
We then passed the remaining three members of Charlie 2 who were holding the main hallway that cuts through the palace and made it about halfway before we again stacked up on a door to our right with Charlie 1 taking the lead.
The door opened to a spiral staircase which leads to the lower levels of the palace where the data crystal is stored.
"Charlie 1 moving to the lower decks." One of the SIs from Charlie 1 said as they opened the door and moved down the staircase.
Soon Charlie 3 was moving down the stairs at least a few metres behind with me moving behind Grayson and in front of Avery and Graves.
We spent about twenty seconds I think before I heard a voice over the main platoon channel followed by gunfire and laser blasts.
"CONTACT DOWN THE HALL!" I noticed a few steps down and away several icons that indicate enemy infantry.
"Charlie 1-1 advance on my mark Charlie 1-2 provide covering fire!" Digby says over the platoon net.
I look over the TAC-LINK and bring up a 2D map with data provided by Charlie 1, they're in an intersection with the enemy on the other side of the hallway in front of the stairwell meaning we can't move in to help without getting shot.
The enemy which were shown on the right side of the map numbered about 3-4 whilst Charlie 1 which was shown on the left had eight men standing with one of their icons glowing black with a silver outline signifying that they were dead and the other a yellow icon meaning they are wounded.
Putting my memory of the lower levels whilst I was here to good use I decided to try and even the odds.
"Lieutenant, there should be a power breaker at the end of that hallway to the right." I told the LT over the comms remembering how our very Battle Armour has built in night-vision.
"Roger! NOW!" Digby says in quick succession.
On the map I could see five of the blue icons rushing across the hallway killing three of the now confirmed four hostiles.
"Clear move up." One of Charlie 1's SI troopers said as we made our way down the staircase and into the intersection.
"Found the breaker going dark in 3,2.." Digby said over the comms before the lights overhead suddenly went out.
"Charlie 1 will clear this side whilst Charlie 3 will take the overside." Digby said as we headed down the hallway to the left of the stairwell with our night vision on.
"Keep it tight, if intel is right then we should be coming upon the prison cells." The squad leader of Charlie 3 said over the squad channel. The hallways were tight only half a metre wide so we had to move in single file, when the forward elements of Charlie 3 got to the end of the hallway the pointman held up a fist that I could barely see from my position a few soldiers behind, he looked over the right side edge of the hallway before speaking over the squad comms.
"Contacts, four setting up and one on radio probably trying to call for help."
"Smoke em." The squad leader said as a few of the SI at the front moved around the corner and I could hear gunfire as well as cries of alarm.
"Clear! Moving to secure the cell blocks!." The same voice said a few seconds later.
A team of Charlie 3 then went to the left as we were coming up around the corner towards the cell blocks.
The rest of us moved ahead, advancing through the black and picking off the Imperials one by one until we reached the main data centre.
"This is it." I began as we prepared to breach. "Behind this door is the main data centre for the whole planet, it's probably well guarded so we should be aggressive but careful."
"Nine troopers should be enough, Rico, Max, Typhoon, Zach and I will go first and get their attention whilst you fleeties give us covering fire set?" The Squad leader said as his team moved to stack up on the door.
"Set!" We replied before the door opened and the first three members of Charlie 3's alpha team moved through the door.
Only to be shredded by a fury of lasers.
"BUCK MULTI-LASER!" I cursed on reflex as we all took a step back from the doorway.
"Could've warned us about fucking that before it started firing!" One of Alpha's survivors Typhoon said as he and his squadmate Zach hunker down across from me, Graves, Grayson and Avery.
"It'll overheat in a few seconds." I said ignoring the comment from him
After a few seconds the laser fire stopped and we wasted no time in moving over the bodies of Alpha's Squad leader, Rico and Max and through the doorway into the data centre, firing as we went.
The centre itself was a squared room with one side across from us being raised slightly higher than the other. The imperials had the high ground and a heavy weapon in their favour but as I took cover I noticed that they were all staff personnel and not frontline troops, so we probably have an edge in training.
"I count seven of the bastards!" Zach said as he took cover behind a set of consoles to my right.
Facing the enemy I was in cover on the right side of the room with the two remaining members of Alpha team whilst Grayson, Graves and Avery were over on the left side.
"That turret is mine!" Avery said as he aimed his M66's grenade launcher at the multi-laser just as it was about to fire on us again.
"Fire in the hole!" He shouted before I heard a small explosion where the multi-laser used to be.
"Careful!" I shouted over the comms as I sighted my M66 on another Imperial and pulled the trigger, the computers in both my armour and my rifle then calculated the number of rounds needed to ensure in the nano-second it took for my rifle to start firing and moments later my HUD told me I sourced a kill.
"We need at least one of them alive so I can-" I said before Typhoon shouted "GRENADE!"
In a span of a few seconds I was pushed onto my back by something or someone whilst hitting my head on something so head that if it wasn't for my helmet I would have died, I could barely hear Grayson's voice over the comms before I succumbed to darkness.
Staff Sergeant Ben Grayson: 17 minutes since landing
"How is she Sergeant?" Lieutenant Griff Digby asked me as I checked Twilight's vitals once more.
It's been ten minutes since she was unconscious by that plasma grenade the Imperial Staff officers had and since then Charlie has regrouped in the data centre along with our prisoner.
Said prisoner was tied up near the corner furthest from the door with two SIs from Charlie 3's bravo team standing guard.
Standing up from Twilight's prone but still armoured body I turned to face the LT before saying "Well her suit is showing signs of brain activity so she should be waking up soon."
Digby simply nodded before reaching to the side of his helmet to activate his comms to get in touch with the rest of the company, I could understand if he didn't like that Twilight was still not waking up.
Every moment that she was asleep was a moment that we were staying in the Governmental Palace and at risk of an attack that could doom us all. The rejects had suffered greatly in the few minutes since we landed with Charlie being the most badly mauled by the Imperial defences, so far up top the Imperials have conducted one assault to retake the palace but it was repelled so far.
Digby then got off the comms before looking at me in the eyes or visor before saying.
"If she's not up in the next ten minutes we're pulling out, understood?"
I simply nodded before a certain Imperial prisoner started yelling.
"YOU WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE YOU HUMAN DOGS! ONCE MOTHRUL COMES YOU SCUM WILL BE BEGGING FOR MERCY!"
His voice was loud and definite but one glance at his eyes would tell you that he was scared shitless and thus would say anything to try and intimidate us but we know better.
Not to say he wasn't lying or telling half truths he was just telling us things we already know thanks to Twilight.
I know I would rather not go for round two with a Dragon.
"So what should we do about him if we have to bug out LT?" One of the SIs asked, referring to our prisoner as I went back to checking on Twilight.
"Smoke him obviously." I smirked a bit as I imagined the Prisoner's face once he heard Digby's answer
I then noticed Twilight's form shifting and one glance at her readings tells me that she's waking up.
"Well that was convenient" I thought as I helped her into a sitting position.
"How-How long was I-" She started before I interrupted her with the answer.
"Ten minutes and so if you don't mind we need to get what we came here for and "book it" as the LT would likely say."
She nodded before standing herself up with my help and after she got her bearings walked under her own power towards the prisoner.
"If you think I'll help you achiv-" He started to talk before Twilight grabbed his head with both of her hands and said "You won't" before her hands glowed with a purple-ish aura and I could see from my place beside her that her eyes were glowing under her helmet.
During the week of training prior Twilight explained in brief how the Imperial computers work and from what I understand magic plays a key role in the same way electronics do, in order to access the data crystal we'll need a magical signature from one of the personnel on site and once she has that all Twilight would need is time to gather all the relevant information into the crystal before disconnecting it from the "mainframe" of the imperial data centre. She says she can do this by using a spell that can copy specific memories and implanting them in her own mind. It was how she was able to learn how to pilot an AMP EXO when asked to demonstrate her abilities.
After just a few seconds the glow on Twilight's hands rescinded as she pulled her hands away from the prisoner who once again had a look of shock on his face.
"Wh-What did y-" He started to say before Twilight walked over to the crystal and started to literally work her magic much to the increasing shock of our prisoner.
"How long till-" I started to ask before Twilight's magic disappears and she tucks the crystal under her arm.
"We're good." She simply says.
"H-How!? Humans are incapable of using magic!" The prisoner said trying again to sound definite but I can tell in his eyes that the event clearly shaken him, something to remember I'm sure.
"Who says I am human Grayshard?" Twilight asks the prisoner, by his name I figured.
The now named prisoner looked at her in even more shock.
"Y-You were an Equestrian!?" He shouted as the rest of Charlie began to pack up and head to the Evac point.
In response a glow appeared around Twilight's armour and whilst I couldn't see her face I understood that she was mad, well maybe not quite mad but definitely pissed.
"NO I WAS A ALICORN AND BEFORE THAT I WAS A UNICORN IN A TIME WHERE MANY RACES INHABITED AURORA, BEFORE THE SO CALLED "UNIFICATION WARS" BEFORE PONYKIND COMMITTED THE GREATEST CRIME IN THE MEMORY OF THE SO CALLED GODDESS CELESTIA YOU SO REVIER! NOT A SO CALLED EQUESTRIAN! " She suddenly shouted and the tone and volume of her voice was unlike anything I heard before or since and in that moment in time I believed the stories about her being a demi-god for no normal being, human or otherwise could produce a voice that felt like it could shatter worlds and break souls just from hearing it.
The prisoner just sat there in silence as Digby got everyone's attention.
"Alright listen up chaps! The EZ will be hot as the enemy isn't interested in letting us go and wants to get a few more bloody noses, Alpha will board Bumble 1 alongside us whilst Bumble 4 will pick up what's left of Delta and our EXOs. Bumble 2 and some extra wings from the fleet will give us cover as we make our way out but remember that priority One is Miss Twilight here, she gets out unharmed clear!?" We all responded with a series of "Clear"s before we made our way back towards the stairwell leaving our prisoner behind with a new hole in his face.
Once we began entering however.
"SHIT! DRAGON SIGHTED WE NE-" The soldier on the other end didn't get to finish as I could hear and feel massive amounts of heat coming from the surface alongside the shaking.
"This is Bumble 2 weapons hot!" The muffled sound of a cannon firing full auto greeted my suit's microphone as we climbed up the stairs.
"This is Bumble 2 Dragon is EKIA, repeat Dragon is EKIA. Be advised Delta is KIA over." I cursed as we finally made it back on the ground floor of the Governmental Palace, despite being down there for only a few minutes it feels like I came out into another place entirely.
The entire hallway we were in was starting to catch fire which was coming from the right or east depending on your view.
"Charlie Actual to Alpha Actual! Inbound to the X what's the situation over?" The LT asked as we gathered into the main lobby.
"Approaching FUBAR Lieutenant! The enemy has MANPADs and Bumble 4 is down, Alpha's down to 7 men and two AMPs!.....Digby, anyone not on this bird in the next 50 seconds is gonna have to hope there's another bird coming otherwise." Captain Rimmy said and I felt my stomach clench.
One dropship isn't enough to get our battered company off the X in just one run and by the time it could get back...it'd be too late.
Surprisingly Digby simply said "Yes sir" before addressing the rest of us.
"Platoon listen up! Bumble 4 is down and Bumble 1 is a sitting duck the longer it waits, the enemy has MANPADS of a sort and are not afraid to use them. Here's the plan Charlie 1 and 3 will make a run for the dropship whilst the rest lay down covering fire, once we get onboard Bumble 1 will take off and hopefully take out enough of the hostile force to allow the rest of the company to break out and secure a secondary LZ. Not a good plan I know but it's a plan, am I clear troopers!?"
Again we respond with a cry of "clear"s before Charlie platoon excluding Charlie's 1 and 3 took up positions on the steps outside of the lobby.
As soon as the first SI trooper began firing his weapon our little band began sprinting to the dropship which was parched right in front of the palace.
To our left I could see one of the two remaining AMPs firing its DADDY JUMBO into the distance against unseen Imperials whilst two of Alpha's troopers to cover beside it behind some debris.
Quickly turning back to our front I was already stepping onto the ramp when I heard over the company net.
"SHIT MANPAD!" I could see through the bulkhead of the dropship thanks to the icon the position where the AA trooper was spotted.
Fortunately someone from either Charlie or Alpha was able to spot the danger and the icon winked out as quickly as it came.
"GET YOUR ASSES DOWN FAST!" The crew chief ordered as he help everyone both fit and wounded find their seats.
Surprisingly by the time we were airborne again I was sitting next to Twilight again.
"This is Bumble 1 package secured and inbound to the rendezvous point."
"Is this normal?" Twilight asks as we sit in our seats in a strange silence, the cargo hold was full of both the survivors of Alpha and Charlie platoons as well as the whole company's WIA.
"This outcome I mean, do missions like these end up like this?" Twilight clarifies and I'm suddenly confronted with the realisation that we went into a fight we weren't ready for and came out with what 80, 90% casualties?
Normally nowadays if it were against the Lankies it would at average be 40 to 60% even at the best of times and that's only at the company level.
"I, I don't know." Was all I could say as I suddenly felt the past week's fatigue finally catch up with me and I soon dozed off to sleep in my seat with many others following soon after including Twilight.
July 7th:2188: Day One
By the end of the first day of the invasion the 203rd and 98th Tactical Divisions of the 7th Space Combat Army had secured a rough perimeter around the city at the cost of 13,000 men and women from across the two forces adding to the 410 pilots lost.
For the next two months the situation on the siege would be reminiscent of WW1 with both sides constructing trenches and keeping to themselves with the occasional raid or prob, whilst back in the Sol system the Pacific Alliance HighCom is working on getting the training and equipment needed to fight small humanoid threats to the 7th Army as quickly as they can but with the Lanky front taking priority the wait will be long for the men of the 7th space army indeed. |
The Dawn Before Twilight | pre | "I'm sorry, what was that?" Something about Twilight's smile was off, and the dragon glared at it with uncertainty.
"I... aren't you not supposed to be using any magic... Twilight, to protect you from that- that thing?"
Twilight smile vanished, "Spike, I am the last remaining princess of Equestria. I have duties to my subjects, you know. I cannot afford the luxury of worrying about my own safety when the rest of Equestria needs tending to. You understand, I hope?"
"Um, yes..." mumbled Spike, not sure if it was safe to respond any other way.
Twilight let out a sigh, "Spike, i'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier. You were just trying to do the right thing, even though you may have disobeyed me. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted like that."
Spike seemed, more than anything, surprised at Twilight's words. He gave her a small smile in return, "That's okay, Twilight."
"But Spike, you have to listen. You are never to disobey me again. You are my assistant, you have a duty to me and to Equestria. There will be consequences next time. Do you understand?"
Spike's relief was short-lived. "I- I do, Twilight. I understand," But as the princess gave herself a satisfied grin, the little dragon couldn't help speaking his mind. "But, Twilight, shouldn't I send a letter to the other elements? Our friends? If the others are still-"
"No," The answer was just as forceful and angry as it had been previously. Spike ducked his head in shame, dreading what would be coming next. "We do not need the elements' help, do you understand that? I have everything under control here. We will find out what happened to the princesses, and until they recover, I will take over the role of ruler of Equestria. You are not to disagree with me again on this decision."
Spike didn't know whether to feel worried for Twilight or just plain scared for himself when she responded the way she did. He gave a small nod and began to back away from the throne as soon as she released him from her magic.
"I won't, Twilight, don't worry. Do you mind if I- uh, head back to the room?"
After her little outburst, Twilight appeared to have returned to a content state, as if their exchange had never even happened.
"Yes, Spike, go on ahead."
Spike wasted no time hopping down the stairs leading to the throne, a difficult task considering his size, and did his best not to run frantically for the doors. He managed to keep his pace a steady jog, but as soon he reached them, Twilight's voice echoed through the halls, "Oh- and, Spike?"
"Yeah?"
"It's Princess Twilight Sparkle. It's my official title, and it's time you took to using it more often." |
The Dawn Before Twilight | If Celestia does it, how hard could it be? | Twilight had begun to grow tired of sitting proudly upon her throne, and descended to stretch out her legs. Everything in the throne room, including the pair of guards positioned below her, were so still it almost seemed like time itself in the castle had been frozen indefinitely. She trotted along the many depictions of her friends, the princesses, and Spike adorning the walls. Rain pounded onto the stained glass with what seemed like the force of bullets. It almost appeared is if the colorful, transparent figures were crying.
"Your highness!" A white and blue pegasus came flying swiftly into the throne room. "I apologize for barging in like this," he came to a quick halt behind her.
"It's fine, Cloud Chaser." Twilight had not turned around to look at her guest, she was instead entranced by a colorful depiction of herself above. A smiling, bright purple alicorn, the newest princess of Equestria. "What is it, now?"
"Well, your Highness..." Cloud Chaser seemed at a loss for words. He tried a few more times to string a basic sentence together, but found it much harder than expected. Twilight eventually cast him an impatient glare, urging him to get on with it.
"It's just- Twilight..."
"Your Highness," Twilight corrected. "You were right the first time."
"I apologize, your highness, it's just that, well, with the royal sisters gone..." he rubbed his neck and turned to look out the grand window before them, "there is yet another task that needs to be taken care of in their absence. Although I fear... I fear it isn't a very simple one."
Twilight merely nodded, "The sun and moon."
"Well, yes. We aren't exactly sure whether you are, um... capable of it, Princess. But it's just, without the royal sisters, there's no one else to complete the task."
Twilight succumb to thought. Cloud Chaser had a point. She was the only pony in Equestria with anything near the amount power required to perform a task so grand, so vital. This was something her subjects needed. Something that she was required to give to them as their ruler. And if Twilight can make it known that she can do the jobs of the royal sisters with just as much efficiency...
"You're right, Cloud Chaser. I will lower the sun and raise the moon at once. Tell anypony who might arrive that i'll be with them shortly." And with that, she spread her wings and soared off towards somewhere better suited to perform the daunting task. The pegasus stared after her, shocked, "But, uh, Princess! Are you sure you can-"
"Handle it? She called back to him. "I'm the ruler of Equestria now, aren't I? I can most certainly handle it." And the doors to the throne room slammed shut behind her.
Spike lay sprawled out on Twilight's bed, completely at a loss with himself. He stared up at the dancing rays of sunlight on the ceiling, the downpour outside drowning out all but his own thoughts. Once he had managed to get himself together and back to the room, there was nowhere else for him to be and nothing else for him to do. Something was obviously very wrong with Twilight. This evil force that she had been talking about, it had her. It had her and Spike didn't think it would agree in letting her go all that easily.
He didn't even know what this thing was; nopony did. And it's not like he could just go and ask Twilight for answers, she was hardly even herself anymore. And the other princesses, the only other ponies who would know anything at all about her situation, were in comas for Celestia knows how long. Regardless of how infuriating the situation was, Spike knew he had to do something. He needed to tell somepony, to get help for his best friend. His first thought was to write another letter to the Elements of Harmony. Surely they could help him, help Twilight, help the princesses. They've done it time and time again. Picking himself up off the bed and seating himself at the desk beside it, he pulled yet another roll of parchment out and dipped a new quill in the awaiting ink jar. Only, before his claws met the soon-to-be letter, he stopped. His eyes grew wide as Twilight's furious words from earlier came barging into his brain, unwarranted.
"I gave you an order, you disrespectful little dragon!"
"We do not need the elements' help, do you understand that?"
"Spike, you have to listen. You are never to disobey me again. You are my assistant, you have a duty to me and to Equestria. There will be consequences next time."
He couldn't bring himself to do it. Never could he disobey such a direct order from her. He was scared for her, and he loved her, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Rare have been the times that Twilight had ever really been angry at her little assistant. Annoyed with him, perhaps, when he slept in too late in the morning, when he ignored her warnings and ate so much ice cream he ended up with a huge stomach ache the next day, or when one of his misadventures ended in the partial distruction of Ponyville. But Twilight and Spike shared a bond closer than even siblings could dream of. Spike had been with Twilight ever since he hatched, and Twilight with him ever since she was a filly. And Spike knew that Twilight loved him enough that she could never stay cross with him for long. Spike adored every second of being the Princess of Friendship's assistant. The two had together saved the crystal empire, the rest of Twilight's friends, and even the pony that now lived in the castle with them, Starlight Glimmer, when she tried to end the Equestria as they knew it.
"Wait, that was it! Starlight Glimmer!" Such a realization by Spike justified nothing less than a glowing light bulb to appear over his head. That was what he'd do, he'd send a letter to Starlight! It was truly a magnificent loophole, Twilight had specifically ordered him not the write to the Elements of Harmony, but she had never said anything about Starlight! And when the Princess's pupil got it, she'd tell the others and everypony would come to help! Excitement drowning out his previous fear and despair, he began to write. With a bit less urgency at hand than when Twilight was crying out in agony before him, he look the liberty of making this letter a bit more detailed than the previous:
Dear Starlight Glimmer,
Things have gotten really bad here in Canterlot. Some evil force has 'chosen' Twilight as it's victim. It can speak to her inside her head and is really hurting her, corrupting her magic and her mind. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but I know she's in a lot of trouble. She's not even acting like herself anymore. I can't reason with her. Princess Celestia, Luna and Cadance are all unconscious, and I don't know how to wake them up. Twilight's declared herself the new ruler of Equestria in their absence. Please, get the others and come help. We need to figure out what this thing is and stop it.
Her thought for a moment before adding:
P.S. Be careful when you get here, I doubt Twilight's looking forward to your visit.
Spike.
The dragon stared at the finished letter, content with himself. He had hope now, at least, that some form of help was coming. He hopped off the desk and reopened the window Twilight had previously slammed shut, raindrops beginning to patter onto the carpet. He rolled his lifeline up tightly in his claws and reassured himself for a moment, knowing that this was what needed to be done to protect everypony. He breathed in deeply, and, with a light green flame being exhaled from his mouth, the letter was gone and on its way to Starlight.
Twilight hadn't been inside Celestia's study for many years. Back when she was just a filly, she and the solar princess would have their private lessons in this room, and the place was ridden with old memories. There was the time Twilight had accidentally set fire to the couch (the charred mark was still there) or that time she had made all the books in the room sprout wings and fly around aimlessly, knocking over everything in sight, or even when she had blasted a hole right through the curtains. Actually, a surprising number of things Twilight recalled doing in her lessons ended up awfully destructive. Mostly, though, Twilight's memories of the sun princess's study were pleasant ones of an overachieving student under the watchful eye of a proud mentor.
But Twilight needn't let useless nostalgia consume her for long, for she soon found exactly what she had been searching for. A set of double doors, shaking back and forth from the violent outside winds, led to the all-too familiar grand balcony. This was where Celestia would normally raise and lower the sun, and where Twilight hoped it would be easiest for herself to do so as well.
Tearing open both doors with her magic, Twilight entered the insane state the outside world of Canterlot was in. Even though this storm may have been planned by the pegasi, she couldn't help but think that they might had overdone it a bit this time. She walked, slowly and somewhat unsurely, towards the very edge of the balcony. Rain had soaked through her mane and fur in mere seconds, and all sound was driven away by the angry howls of the surrounding torrent. Harsh winds whipped her mane around, and lightning would constantly strike somewhere nearby. She had no idea where the sun she was supposed to lower even was, the sky was so dark and chaotic.
Ok, Twilight. Calm yourself. You can do this.
She closed her eyes. Not that it did much, since her surroundings didn't give out all that much light as it was. Then, it happened again. Her head began to ache. Only, the voice that came wasn't with exuberant happiness or commanding anger this time. While it most certainly still hurt, it was not nearly as bad as the last time it had occurred, only enough the make the alicorn grimace in discomfort.
"Do it, Twilight. Then they will all see how powerful you are. Go on, now."
Twilight's magic sparked to life, and she set about locating the sun. At last, she was able to find the hidden celestial body. It was countless miles away, hidden beneath a thick veil of storm clouds, but it was there. She tried her best to grab it with her telekinesis. Though, try as she might, she just didn't have the strength for something so enormous. Twilight had managed to move the sun and moon once before, but that was will all of the alicorn magic in equestria at her disposal. Alone, she was nothing.
"Really? Must you have so little confidence in yourself, Twilight? Even with how much I have worked to shape you up? Fine, I will assist you. Just follow my lead..."
Twilight began to tug the sun again, although this time, she found it surprisingly easier. The voice was helping her, and she was very grateful. Although, even with the newfound support, it still took a great deal of strength to move the enormous sun down below the horizon. When she knew it was gone and would be out of sight once the storm passed, she let go of the sun, sighing in relief for the enormous weight lifted off of her.
But she wasn't wasn't finished yet. Scanning the areas beyond with her improved magical strength, she located a concealed moon. Then, with all the power she could muster, the great purple alicorn spread her wings, clenched her teeth, and, with difficulty, grappled the nighttime moon into the swirling abyss of a sky.
Rain soaked her to the bone, wind whipped at her face in vicious lashes, but at last, she had done it. She gave a wide smile. She had done it. Along with the help of her new friend, she had proven that Equestria needed her to rule and nopony else. She let out a cackle, which soon grew into a mighty laugh. She laughed at all the ponies who thought her incapable. She laughed at Celestia, Luna, and her dear sister Cadance. She laughed through the wind and the rain and the ear-splitting thunder. A lightning bolt crashed, dangerously close, but she only continued to laugh.
And her newfound friend laughed alongside her. |
The Dawn Before Twilight | The Loophole | Starlight Glimmer lie fast asleep in her bottom-floor bedroom of Twilight's castle, limbs sticking out in odd positions and mouth slightly ajar.
The majority of her blankets, at some point during the long night, had migrated down onto the floor, as well as her pillow. Despite the sun having already come up, the violet unicorn continued to snore soundly, the patter of rain outside lulling her calmly into slumber. She had good reason for sleeping in late, however, as Trixie's show in Las Pegasus had taken far longer than expected, thanks to her multiple encore performances, whether or not the audience had obliged to such. It was late last night when she groggily made it home, nearly collapsing a few times before finally making it to the warm embrace of her bed. She hadn't seen Twilight, assuming her mentor was already asleep. But Starlight had a feeling the alicorn would understand if she slept in a few extra hours that morning, at the cost of being a good friend.
All of a sudden, unbeknownst to the dozing unicorn, a luminescent, sparkling green flame made its way magically through a window and above the sleeping mare's head.
"No, Trixie... you know you can't pull Angel out of a hat... Fluttershy'll be so..."
With a soft plop, her eyes snapped open to find a rolled up piece of parchment sitting on top of her muzzle.
Starlight pulled herself up to the edge of the bed and yawned with great vigor, the letter levitating before her in her magic aura. Dragon fire; the only letters she'd ever known to have been sent by dragon fire were those from Spike, seeing as most dragons of Equestria weren't too fond of using their fiery breath for mere postage. Why would Spike be sending her a letter? His room was right nearby, he could easily just walk in and ask her for whatever he needed. Feeling half annoyed, half confused, and all exhausted, Starlight rubbed her eyes and unravelled the scroll. Scanning the rather brief note addressed to herself, her baggy eyes began to slowly widen, as did her mouth, from which a startled shriek came forth as she fell off the bed in a mangled heap.
Barely a second after she had finished reading, the unicorn was out the door in a flash. Running through the endless hallways of the castle that resembled more a labyrinth, Spike's words leaped out at her, baffling her sleep-deprived brain and adhering themselves permanently in her mind.
She's not even acting like herself anymore. I can't reason with her.
Starlight couldn't believe it. How could she let something like this happen to her mentor while she was away? Dashing towards the throne room, Starlight wondered how long it would take her to rally up the Elements and somehow find their way to Canterlot. She wondered whether it would be too late by the time they did.
In the end, her question was answered quite simply for her. She found all five sitting less than contently, each on their respective thrones around the cutie map. Starlight noticed that most of them were staring at the single empty throne, that of Twilight. Spike was, understandably, nowhere in sight. Starlight had to remind herself that he was in just as much danger as the Princess, trapped in Canterlot alongside her.
"Starlight, dear," Rarity put on an somewhat fatigued smile, seemingly the only one to even notice Starlight had entered. "We're glad you're up. How was your trip?"
"Rarity! Girls!" Starlight was panting by the time she reached everypony, and she wobbled from side to side, struggling even to see straight.
Rarity daintily hopped off her throne, looking concerned, "Calm down now, Darling. What ever is the matter?"
She shoved the letter into Rarity's face with her aura, and somewhat manically turned to face the others. "I just... got a note ...from Spike. Something's wrong. Really, really wrong."
"With Twilight?" five voices asked in unison, as everypony jolted to their hooves. Starlight nodded.
"Oh my, what's happened to her?" asked Fluttershy.
"Ah told her we should'a been there to protect 'er..." Applejack grumbled, stomping a hoof on the ground. "Is she alright?"
"Goodness..." Rarity was in the middle of reading Spike's letter, expression wide with shock, "Starlight, this doesn't mean to say... Twilight's been...?"
"Corrupted," Starlight finished, then swallowed.
Rarity put a hoof to her muzzle and stared back at the others, who wore similar expressions of worry and fear.
Pinkie eventually cocked her head and asked, "Um, what exactly does that mean, Starlight? Rarity?" She looked around at the others, "You don't mean- not like, when..."
"Yeah, like... like what happened to King Sombra," Rainbow began. "Right, Starlight? You know about this kinda stuff, don't you?"
"Not nearly enough, but I have studied corruption in the past. In short, it means dark magic's taken a hold of her. So, yes, like what happened to him. But dark magic comes in many different forms, and can vary in power. Depending on how bad the corruption is, I don't even know how long she'd last."
"Wait-" Rainbow interjected. "You mean, this thing'll actually kill her?"
Starlight shuffled her hooves, resting her gaze on her bed-headed crystalline reflexion, "Worse case scenario."
"Oh dear, and it seems as if all of the other princesses are incapable of helping her," breathed Rarity, her panicked gaze still glued to the letter in question. "They've been put into comas? How in the wide world of Equestria is that even possible?"
"With all that dark magic..." Starlight was still looking down at her hooves, her mind conjuring up all the countless fates awaiting her mentor that she could very well be powerless to stop. "...who knows what she's capable of. And getting the other royals out of the picture is probably the first thing on the bucket list. We're lucky that's all that's happened to them, for now."
"Ya said dark magic comes in a lot a different forms, didn't ya, Starlight?" Applejack asked. "Does that mean Twilight could be corrupted just as bad as the king? That she could go on enslavin' ponies, takin' over Equestria, all that?" a chill ran down the earth ponies' spine at the mere idea of it.
"But... but that just can't be true!" Pinkie finally pepped up once more. "Twilight would never do anything like that. She wouldn't hurt the other princesses! She's... she's not anything like Sombra was! Oh, I just knew we shouldn't of let her fly off without us!"
"And why now?" asked Rarity, rolling up the parchment once more. "Why so suddenly? Out of all the times dark magic could choose to go after our dear Twilight..."
"It's when we aren't there to help her!" barked Rainbow.
"I- I'm not sure..." Starlight staggered in her speech, at the cause of more than just fatigue. To be quite honest, being in charge of a situation, especially with ponies as important as the Elements of Harmony, was still quite threatening to say the least. "A short letter isn't all that much to go of off. But I assume, whatever this dark force is, that it wanted to strike at a time where we couldn't help. And I can only imagine it'll get worse without us there for her."
"So, what are we waiting for?" Rainbow Dash leaped into the air immediately. "Twilight's in danger! We gotta get to Canterlot and stop this whole corruption thing and then give it to her her for not listening to us in the first place!"
"Oh dear, that sounds a bit harsh." said Fluttershy "I doubt any of this is Twilight's fault, Rainbow. She just wanted to protect us."
"Twilight's always put herself before her friends, we can't blame her for that..." Starlight found it difficult to look at anypony else in the eye. There was a clash going on inside her head, a battle of sorts, where not a single emotion could succeed in taking the wheel. "In any case, Rainbow Dash does make a point. We've got to get to Canterlot as soon as we can, before things get any worse for anypony there."
That was at least something everypony could agree on. Without a second thought, the mares had spilt up in order to prepare themselves for the long journey and had all agreed to meet up at the Ponyville train station as soon as possible.
After swiftly regrouping, five worried ponies sloshed their way through the muddy roads of Ponyville, mud matting their fur and fog clouding their vision, all eager to catch the next train. Though the thunderous weather of last night had passed, the rainclouds that had rolled in from the direction of Canterlot last night showed no sign of ceasing their downpour, and neither did the mist that had somehow managed to swallow Ponyville whole. Rainbow threatened on multiple occasions to fly up there and show those clouds who was boss, but was eventually persuaded against it. Everypony needed to keep their eyes on the prize, after all.
When everypony had at last reached the platform, Dash still giving the rainclouds above menacing glares, Rarity seemed to be the only pony who had not yet returned. The barely-visible surrounding streets seemed completely deserted. Considering the dreary state Ponyville was in, it made sense that nopony would be itching to take a stroll out in the open.
Everypony was soaked in rain and mud by the time they arrived, and were pleased to find that the next train to Canterlot would be arriving shortly.
"But... um, what about Rarity?" Fluttershy asked. She was violently shaking from the brisk morning air and freezing rain, and panicked when she noticed the single no-show member of the group.
"Well, if she doesn't get here on time to catch the train, we're leaving without her. She can take the next train to Canterlot if she wants to!" It was unclear if Rainbow was yelling out of annoyance or just so the others would be able to hear her over the loud rainfall. It could very possibly have been both.
Applejack grumbled, "Quite the element of loyalty, aren't ya, Dash?"
"I am being loyal!" Dash retorted defensively. "Loyal to Twilight! She and the other princesses need us and i'm not about to let Rarity-"
"...Let me what?" spoke a familiar voice behind the hostile duo. When they turned their heads, they found the snow white unicorn, decked out in matching violet rain boots, jacket, and umbrella, her pristine coat and mane completely shielded from the harsh weather. Had Applejack and Rainbow not known the mare for years, they would have probably questioned or even berated her for almost making them late at the cost of an outfit. But this was Rarity, and there really wasn't use in doing either with her.
"Nevermind, Rarity. We're glad you're here. The train'll be comin' soon."
"Why of course, Darling. I would never be late to something such as this. This mission of ours is of utmost importance, as is poor Twilight's wellbeing." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "A little protection against the elements never hurt anypony. Look at you all, why, your conditions will be so bad by the time we reach Twilight that you won't even have the strength to help her! Come here, Darling," Rarity pulled a shivering Fluttershy towards her and attached her umbrella to the pegasus' back.
Rainbow Dash had to bite back a curse, admitting to herself that Rarity did sort of make point with what she was bringing up. The cold seemed only to get worse as they waited. Rainbow's teeth had started to chatter already.
"It's too late to go back now, here it comes." alerted Starlight, easily just as cold and uncomfortable as the rest. On the bright side, the icy water running down her spine was doing wonders to wake her up.
The train screeched to a halt in front of the five cold and soaking ponies, plus Rarity. Though even with an umbrella, Fluttershy seemed to be in the worst state of anypony on the team. Noticing this, the others were quick to let the little pegasus onto the train first. Starlight paid for their tickets with a few of the bits she had brought along with her, enough to last them a good while, she hoped, while the inspector glared daggers at the ponies tracking big, muddy hoofprints into the train car. Starlight could do nothing but offer an apologetic smile and swiftly go join the others.
The train began to accelarate, six wet and unsure mares the only ones seated in the car. For a while, nopony spoke. The chugging of the train engine and the rainfall outside the only noises that could be heard. Even though the inside was considerably warmer, Fluttershy was still quivering and had begun to sneeze frequently. Starlight feared the delicate little pony had already caught a cold. The entire vibe of the train car was identical to that of the world outside. Even Pinkie's usual smile was barely noticeable as she impatiently tapped her hooves on a window sill.
"So..." began Rainbow, sprawled out across her seat, boredom quickly overcoming her. "Once we get to Canterlot, what are we gonna do about Twilight?"
"What do you mean, Darling?" asked Rarity, caught admiring her very eye-catching violet. "She is our friend. The reasonable thing to do is to find her and then try and talk things out."
"But, you read Spike's letter. He says Twilight's not even herself anymore, didn't he? That there's no reasoning with her."
"Well, it'll be different once we're all there for 'er." argued Applejack. "When she sees the rest of us, maybe she'll snap outta it. Or at least agree to talk."
Pinkie's smile widened for a minute at Applejack's words, but then slowly faded once more, eyes still fixed on the swiftly passing scene outside.
Rainbow groaned, "But what if we can't talk her out of it, you guys? This is magic stuff, whatever's happening to her. I dunno if just talking's gonna help! Especially if this is as bad as what happened in the Crystal Empire! Even the princesses couldn't stop her! And that was all of them together, wasn't it?"
"Well, we've had luck talkin' to ponies so far to get 'em over on the right side. And the six of us know Twilight better than anypony. Wouldn't it be simpler, if anythin'?"
"No, no, you've got to understand, corruption is something entirely different." Starlight's brain felt it had just passed through the ringer after the surprise, terror and exhaustion of that morning, and she was currently doing her best to rack her memory for possible answers. A nap would have been far more preferable. "It won't be Twilight we're talking to, at least, not entirely. Dark magic... it does truly awful things to ponies. King Sombra turned into a soulless monster, there was never any hope convincing him. Dark magic strips you of the pony that you are inside, it feeds off of your hate and lust for power while increasing it still-"
"Uh, Starlight? No offense, I thought you said you didn't know too much on corruption."
"Yeah, you're rattlin' on just like Twilight over there," chuckled Applejack.
"Right, sorry," Starlight eventually lifted her head and blushed slightly. "Maybe I soak up more during those lectures of hers than I think I do. Point is, if we can't talk it out with her, we're gonna need some kind of a backup plan."
"Well, I say we if we can't get to Twilight, the other princesses are our best bet, right?" Rainbow asked. "I mean, of all ponies, they've gotta be the most qualified to handle this sort of thing."
"Just makes me wonder how it happened in the first place..." Starlight muttered.
"I very much agree, Rainbow." said Rarity. "So, that's our course of action? Try and have a rational conversation with the dear, and if that proves... ineffective... do our best to rescue Celestia, Luna, and Cadance first, and employ them for additional assistance."
"And- and Spike!" Starlight interjected, at last coming to her senses. "He sounded so scared in that letter. I can only imagine what he's going through right now, with all that's happening. We need to make sure he's safe." Having lived with the little dragon for a good while now, Starlight had grown to care for Spike as if he were almost like she would a little brother. His situation made her worry just as much as Twilight's.
"Why, of course," stated Rarity. "Though I doubt Twilight would dare to hurt him, I assume little Spikey Wikey is simply mortified wherever he is. We must take care in getting him out unharmed."
"Yeah," agreed Rainbow. "Like you said, all the other princesses are in... commas, right? Who says that can't happen to Spike?"
"Comas, Rainbow," corrected Rarity. "And yes, I suppose that is a possibility. We must do our best to ensure his safety, the poor little one."
A sniffling Fluttershy listened in silently to the entire conversation, which only succeeded in making her even more fearful and worried. She wanted nothing more than the two of her bestest friends to be alright, not to mention Equestria's rulers, and from the looks of things, such a goal wouldn't be a very easy or straightforward one. Through the shivers and small sneezes for which she was helpless against, Fluttershy promised herself that she'd help Twilight and Spike, and the rest of her friends in any way she could.
Dead silence hung on the train for a while after that, save for the occasional sneeze from Fluttershy.
Rainbow stared up at the ceiling, "Starlight, just thinking, are you sure there isn't any kind of, spell or something...."
"No, Rainbow, there is no 'spell or something'. I can't fix something if I don't know what it was caused by. Or what exactly it is, for that matter. First thing's first, we need to get answers from the source."
Rainbow retreated into silence once again with Starlight's rather vexed response. The unicorn found herself guilty over her tone, Rainbow had caught her in a moment of panic for her mentor, worrying whether Twilight would end up alright and if somehow she herself could have prevented all of this. Surely Rainbow would understand that. But before she could begin any sort of apology, Pinkie Pie gasped and pounded a hoof against one of the train windows.
"Um, you guys, is my memory sore, or does Canterlot not usually have loads of scary-looking guards circling around it?!"
The others gathered to get a look. Pinkie was right. There were dozens of royal pegasus guards in the sky, all patrolling the capital city. It seemed that reaching Twilight would be a bit harder than they all were expecting. Out of nowhere, Rarity let out a shriek and shielded her head with her hooves. A fully armored pegasus guard was speeding right towards the car.
Once she had heard the news of six very familiar ponies on their way to Canterlot, Princess Twilight was quick to place a suspect. She strutted briskly towards the guest room where she had left Spike, her face twisting into an angry grimace. She was less than pleased, to say the least, and an deep growl escaped her mouth every so often as she made her way towards her destination. Nopony dared to get in her way, all castle staff stepping aside and courtly bowing whenever the princess stormed past.
When she got her hooves on that dragon...
Spike was still in Twilight's guest room. He knew far better than to leave. Where would he go, after all? The best thing to do now was wait. He sat on Twilight's desk chair, watching his legs dangle above the beautifully carpeted floor. The miserable weather outside was doing nothing to lift his spirits. He wasn't sure at the moment if Twilight's room was a necessarily good place for him to stay, especially since he was getting rather hungry. Or the castle itself, for that matter. But Spike wanted anything but to leave Twilight behind. He feared to think of her condition worsening with nopony she cared about around her. No, he was right to stay. Even if it wasn't the real Twilight talking, she'd had a point when she said that he had a duty to both her and Equestria. She had asked him to be there for her during their time in Canterlot, and that's exactly what he was planning on doing. Until the others hopefully arrived to help, that is.
Spike quite literally jumped out of his seat when a resounding knock came from the bedroom door. He peered up at the source of the sound from behind the back of Twilight's chair, too afraid to get any closer. The knock came again, only far more intense. Far more angry. The room itself seemed to shake with every collision of hoof against wood.
Taking a deep breath, Spike reluctantly made his way towards the awaiting door. Twilight, or at least that thing that had taken over her, had apologized before, but he was still awfully wary to trust anything the mare said, and rightly so. Nevertheless, he was indeed intending on keeping his promise to be there for her, and put on the bravest face he could when he at last opened the door.
"I've got room service here, for a mister... Spike the Dragon?" The indigo unicorn servant wore a cheery, sparkling white smile and held a sizable bowl of gems in her aura of the same hue. She looked down to find a baby dragon whose heart was clearly threatening to jump right out of his chest.
"I assume that's you! You doing alright, hun?" Spike could at first only nod as he took the bowl of gems from the smiling pony. But once he came to his senses, he managed a sentence.
"But... miss, I didn't order any room service."
"Oh don't worry, dear. The kitchen staff knows you. They told me you hadn't eaten all day and to bring some top-quality gems up for you," She let out a high-pitched little chuckle, her head arching back. "I had to do a double take when they said that! I didn't even know we kept gems in the kitchen. Guess i've still got a lot to learn about this place."
"Oh, well, uh- thanks a lot."
"Anytime, Spike. The name's Silverberry. If there's anything else you might need, just let me know."
She bid him farewell and skipped off, leaving the door slightly ajar as she did so, as the little dragon let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps he'd been panicking more than was neccesary. He doubted the room had actually shook when that sweet unicorn had merely knocked on the door. Letting out a nervous chuckle, he seated himself on his bed and began stuffing his mouth with delectable gemstones. They had done it right and given him mostly the green ones. Even with the situation at hand, Spike was pleased to find that the castle staff were still worried about sustaining him. In fact, Silverberry hadn't even seemed mildly alarmed about the condition of Twilight and the other princesses. He understood castle servants were supposed to be hospitable, but he had expected a bit more of panic. Nopony even seemed to be aware of the situation at hand.
"Spike... where are you?"
The relaxed dragon nearly choked on his translucent lunch when he heard a voice just barely recognizable as Twilight's. It was a downright unsettling tone, as if the alicorn was the antagonist of some kind of horror film. Spike had seen a few of those in the past, and very much regretted that decision now. He scrambled to his feet, but hadn't noticed that the door had been left open just a crack, where an electric green eye was now staring at him with intensity. He backed up, every step a bit quicker than the next, until he had inadvertently pinned himself against the opposite wall. The glowing eye's position had not shifted. With the soft glow of a magic aura, a grayish pink now instead of her usual magenta, Twilight opened the bedroom door and stared down at Spike furiously.
The first and only thing catching Spike's attention at the moment were Twilight's unnaturally colored scleras. He had no idea when or how they had come to change color, and wasn't too comfortable with the new look. As he could back away no further, the dragon could only stand and watch as a seething princess got closer and closer. She slammed the door behind her with her magic, blocking any hope of escape. Her breathing was heavy, and the look in those horrifying things one might call eyes felt like blades puncturing Spike all over his body. Never before had Twilight looked at him that way before. The little dragon's limbs grew numb as Twilight finally reached her assistant, and looked down at the petrified dragon without a hint of pity. Her expression would have worked just as well without words, but they came anyway. They weren't Twilight's, those words. They may have been coming from her mouth, in something resembling her own voice, but those words, that tone, those were somepony else's. Each and every one of them stung the little dragon like daggers dipped in poison.
"Spike?" The voice was not particularly loud, but there was no mistaking its fury.
"Y-yes?" the little dragon said with a gulp.
"You sent a letter to Ponyville, didn't you?"
"I-I..."
"Because six ponies from Ponyville are headed this way now, i've been informed. So tell me, did you send a letter there?" Eyebrows began to narrow with the accusation.
"Six ponies from Ponyville?" Spike thought."Did Twilight not even remember her own best friends? Or did she just not care enough to speak their names?"
"I- no, I would never-"
"LIES!"
The harrowing voice echoed through the room, which did literally shake this time. Books fell off their shelves, and the ink jar spike had used previously toppled off the desk and created an expanding black stain on the carpet. Spike wished he could have been anywhere, anywhere in Equestria but here. There was no hope for him, surely.
"You sent them that letter!You told them about our plans! You disobeyed us, Spike! AND FOR THE LAST TIME!"
Knowing he'd soon regret it, Spike couldn't help but voice pretest, "But- Twilight! You told me not to send a letter to the Elements of Harmony... and... and I didn't! I didn't tell them anything!"
"Really, now? Well, can you explain to me why they are on their way here as we speak!?" Spit flew from Twilight's mouth with every word and her teeth were bared like a rabid dog.
"Because, well, I-I may have sent one to Starlight, instead..."
"Oh, so you thought if telling the Elements of Harmony about our plans isn't allowed, surely you'd be fine letting my exceeding magic student know? Who rivals myself in terms of her skills?"
"Well, at the very least she remembers who they are."
"Why in Equestria would you think that an acceptable thing to do, Spike? To disobey me in such a way after I specifically told you not to. Did you really think you'd be able to get away with it?"
The young dragon forced himself to shout back, "No! I didn't think i'd get away with it, but I had to disobey you, Twilight! I didn't have a choice! You're in trouble, and it's my job to help you! The others- the others can help! We can help you, Twilight!"
"That's Princess Twilight! And I do not need the help of a puny, worthless dragon. I don't need help from anypony! I'm doing fine on my own. I can control the sun and moon, I can make everypony love me! I have everything a good leader needs. Soon all of Equestria will kneel at my hooves. You! You're only in my way here," Twilight's dark aura sprung to life, swirling and twisting around her horn in an unnatural fashion. She pointed it right towards her faithful assistant, her soulless eyes focusing in on him. "And now-" Twilight's teeth were clenched, her body shaking with rage," You'll find out what happens when you disobey the princess of Equestria!"
Spike was dead.
He knew it. Dead.
He'd been stupid, quite frankly. And now, he was dead. And there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
He'd tried protecting Twilight, protecting himself, protecting Equestria. He hadn't succeeded in any of it. He lay curled up in a ball in the corner of Twilight's bedroom, tears beginning to leak out of his eyes, knowing that in a few seconds, it would all be over, and he would have failed in his duty to protect the Princess. Trying to talk Twilight out of whatever hold she was in had been proven unsuccessful, and now he'd never again get to see her true face. Just the seething being that that vile thing had transformed her into. All he wanted was his best friend in the world back...
Twilight's horn was pointed threateningly at Spike, a spell charged up that would leave little left of the dragon once all was said and done. But as seconds dragged on into minutes, Twilight still hadn't cast the spell. Her anger was still there, her horn still aimed and loaded, but she wasn't attacking. She could see Spike, her little assistant, curled up in a ball, scared to death, crying, for Celestia's sake, and she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Yes, he had disobeyed her, twice in fact, and yes, he did not deserve to be here, but Twilight's deep rooted bond with Spike still kept her from performing the spell she so desperately wanted to cast. With a sigh, she let her charged attack spell fizzle out and turned away from the dragon, defeated.
"What are you doing? Destroy him, already! He is of no use to us. Keeping him around will only put everything we've worked towards at risk!"
"Destroying him..." She fished her mind for a feasible excuse. "It'll cause too much of a fuss. I'll make sure he never disrupts our plans again, trust me."
Still scared out of his mind, the young dragon opened his eyes when he realized that it had been a fairly solid amount of time and he was pretty sure he hadn't died yet. He wiped the newly formed tears out of his eyes, and sat up to find Twilight, facing the other direction, her head hanging low with what appeared to be shame.
"T- uh... Princess Twilight?" Spike stood up and addressed the alicorn worriedly, but didn't dare approach her.
Twilight finally rose her head, still facing the opposite direction. The dragon wasn't going to complain, he could do without seeing those dreadful eyes again.
"Spike, you are going to follow me. You are not to ask questions, and you are not to leave my side, or there will be consequences. Got it?"
"Uh- got it! Yes- got it, Princess!" For the time being the overwhelmed dragon seemed only surprised and relieved that he was still alive. Twilight, for whatever reason, had decided not to hurt him. He definitely wasn't about to ask why. Instead, he followed Twilight out of the guest room like a foal upset with their parent, hesitant in getting too close, yet still afraid of straying too far out of pure instinct.
The alicorn wordlessly lead Spike down multiple staircases, as the world around them got darker and darker with less and less natural light able to reach them. Spike hadn't ceased to notice that far more guards than usual were patrolling the halls, wearing inexpressive and focused faces, none so much as giving him a passing glance. He was curious of this odd behavior by usually quite friendly ponies, but quickly stopped himself from asking any unnecessary questions. Or necessary questions, for that matter, such as where they were going. The act of talking as a whole was a risk, he decided.
As they walked, Twilight's horn sparked ever so slightly, and an enormous guard immediately entered the hallway and began walking at the alicorn's side. Spike looked on with pure confusion. What was wrong with these guards? Surely they know something was wrong? That neon green eyes weren't anywhere near normal! That was unless Twilight...
No, no. Spike was sure there had to be some other explanation. Sheer panic might have caused her to use mind control in the distant past, but as a Princess? He knew her better than that.
After what seemed like an eternity of hooves and claws echoing on marble, Twilight and the guard had led spike to a secluded door leading to a long, cobblestone hallway illuminated only by torches lining the walls. A chill ran down the dragon's scaly back just looking into that dark place. It contrasted from the bright and welcoming atmosphere of the castle so much it was just plain bizarre. His only hope now was to look up to the alicorn in obvious fear. Her eyes, surprisingly, had lost their unnatural hue and had returned mostly to normal. Her expression hadn't changed a bit.
"Well? Come on, now."
Given no choice in the matter, Spike started walking down the compact, gloomy hallway, which sloped downward into eternal darkness. The place had an odd smell and the air was full of dust, so much that the dragon couldn't help himself from sneezing. Eventually, his curiosity overcame his will for survival, and he asked:
"Where- um, where are we going, Princess Twilight?"
To his despair, the alicorn's mouth only shifted into a small grin. She didn't give an answer. But even as the place was so new and foreign to him, Spike felt he had a pretty solid idea himself of where they were, based on the dreary vibe alone.
The castle dungeons. Spike didn't even know Canterlot castle had dungeons.
Eventually, the three reached a barred door near the end of the eerie hallway. The alicorn swung it open and pointed a hoof inside, demanding the little dragon enter.
"Wait, what?"
Twilight only sighed and motioned to the guard standing behind her. Without so much as a moment's hesitation, he kicked the little dragon inside and slammed the door shut behind him. Not bothering to focus on the great pain he had endured from a stallion's fully charged kick, he ran up to the door and wrapped his claws around the thick metal bars, looking up at his friend with pleading eyes.
"Twilight! You can't do this! Please, I-I'm sorry!" But the alicorn was already halfway down the hallway, her guard sticking to her side like glue.
"Think of it as a blessing. You're still alive, aren't you?" Twilight faded away into the darkness, and Spike heard the loud slamming and locking of a door.
He was alone.
Returning back upstairs, Twilight was wearing a lovely smile, for she was quite pleased with herself in her decision. Now she wouldn't have to go through the emotional trouble of hurting that sorry little excuse for an assistant. He was out of the picture and now she could continue on with what was really important. Their master plan wasn't nearly complete, after all. With a simple wave of her hoof, her guard bowed and galloped off, leaving the two of them to talk.
Twilight really was impressed of these ponies' dedication. Both her and her new friend's combined magic was proving incredibly influential in controlling the castle staff. It was originally the voice's idea, but it was proving astounding at making Twilight's job all the more easy, with countless other ponies now at her beck and call.
But a hundred or so ponies was nothing compared to an entire country. They'd need to gain a lot more power before they got that kind of influence, and Twilight wasn't about to let anything get in her way of that goal.
Turning a corner and making sure nopony was near, the princess loudly boasted to her new friend of her recent accomplishment. While the pain the odd voice caused her was still apparent, it hardly affected her much anymore, more like a mild headache than anything else.
"See? What did I tell you? The dragon is taken care of and not a single pony will know of him being gone. I told you I had everything under control."
"Perhaps, Twilight, your idea did work to a degree. Not that I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing the little bastard reduced to ash. You're taking quite the risk with the mercy you give. It won't do anything to help us. You know that."
Twilight seemed unsure of herself before responding, "I... well, yes, I suppose you're right. But you know as well as I that this was the best course of action, that killing him would have made a scene, and ponies would grow worried..."
"Are you kidding? Everypony in this castle is under our complete control! We could murder every last soul they cared about just for the sake of it and they wouldn't dare question a thing!"
"But we don't know that. Our spell hasn't been in effect for all that long, it's best not to take chances. What's important now is that the dragon is out of the picture."
"Speaking of getting ponies 'out of the picture', Twilight, I'd say we're more than prepared to move on to the next stage of our plan, don't you think?"
An wide grin enveloped the alicorn's face.
"You're right. I believe it is about time." |
The Dawn Before Twilight | Home Sweet Home | "Oh no ya don't!"
Without the smallest hint of warning or hesitation, Rainbow Dash bursted out the train window like a multicolored cannonball, colliding with the armored pegasus mid-flight. More devoted guards were on their way to the train, however, speeding missiles searching for a target. Starlight jumped into action, creating a large wave of magic around the train car that blasted away everypony in their vicinity. However, the well-trained guards were quick to recover and continued their path towards the wanted intruders.
If Starlight knew one thing, a simple repelling spell wasn't going to be enough, and Celestia knows she didn't have nearly enough time to think up something more complex. She could teleport herself long-distance just fine, but six entire ponies was a stretch, even by her standards. The last thing the unicorn wanted right now was for everypony to end up rolling down Canterlot mountain on account of her lack of focus.
Frantic to find a solution, Starlight stuck her head out the window Rainbow had recently escaped out of, wind and rain drowning out most of her senses, and found that they were nearing the gates of Canterlot. She then turned to look at the pegasi, getting nearer by the second, save one member who was presumably still brawling it out with Rainbow. Looking back to the gate, only about a couple hundred feet away at this point, then back at the angry guards, Starlight had a plan. Whether it was going to work, she seriously doubted, but it was something.
Getting back into the car and planting her feet firmly in the center of the aisle, she attempting to clear her mind the best she could. She ordered the pink pony in front of her:
"Pinkie Pie, I need you to look out that window, okay? All tell me when we enter the Canterlot gates."
Pinkie looked rather panicked, but still gave a determined, "Okie dokie, Starlight."
"And make sure, the second we get through the gates, you let me know, alright, Pinkie?"
"Yes ma'am!" Pinkie gave a salute and jumped up beside the window to watch the approaching capital. Starlight closed her eyes and tried her very best to focus.
"Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy." All three jumped to attention. "Get to the front of the train, and wait by the door. When this thing stops, you need to get off as soon as possible."
With identical nods, the earth pony, unicorn, and pegasus sprinted for the first train car. Rarity turned before heading off, "But what about you, dear?"
"We'll both be fine. Go! Now!"
"Uh, Starlight, not to burst your bubble or anything, but those guards are getting awful close."
"Are we near the gate?"
"Oh- uh, yeah! We're almost there!"
"Then hang on just a bit longer!" Starlight made a mental map of the train she was on, then did her best to locate where the brakes most likely were...
The train shook back and forth as it entered the gates, as a guard got his trajectory wrong and ended up smacking right into the side of the train car.
"Ooh! That's gonna leave a mark..."
"PINKIE! Are we-"
"Oh- yeah! We're here, Starlight! We're in Canterlot!"
"Hold onto something, Pinkie!"
Starlight grabbed the brakes, as well as all the wheels themselves in her telekinesis and managed to bring the entire vessel to a halt in a single jarring second, just as she had hoped. She and Pinkie ended up almost pinned at the back of the train car, but a quick look outside proved that Starlight's plan had, for the time being, worked. The speeding pegasi hadn't expected such a quick halt from the train, and ended up crashing right into each other in a giant, aerial fray of colliding limbs and clanging armor.
"Let's go!" Starlight, with Pinkie at her heels, rushed to exit the train. When they at last got off and reunited with Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, all three looking slightly sick, Starlight was pleased to find them just within the city's walls. They had only barely gotten past the tight security of the place. Her relief was premature, however, as the angry pegasi above them, swarming like wasps, reminded her that they all needed to find somewhere to hide, and fast. Doing their best to avoid detection, the five sprinted in the direction of Canterlot's residential district, the first and lowest level of the city. Rounding an alley and cramming between two close brick walls, the five ponies were finally able to stop and breathe.
They were, for the most part, well hidden. The rain had come to a stop at some point during their fortunate escape, but the entire alley was full of mud, and the roofs above them were constantly dripping rainwater. They were far from clean or collected, but they were safe. Rarity had lost her boots during their disembarkment and nearly shrieked at the sight of mud staining her once-spotless white hooves.
"Sweet Celestia! That was close."
"Good thinkin', Starlight. Way to get em' off our tails."
"W-where's Dash?" asked a concerned Fluttershy, noticing that everypony but the very noticeable rainbow hued mare was present.
"We didn't leave her, did we?" asked Pinkie.
"No, she jumped out of the train while it was moving, right?" Starlight racked her brain for the details of the unimaginable chaos that had just ensued.
"Well, where has that tirek-may-care pegasus gone off to?" asked Applejack. Everypony looked around worriedly. Fluttershy's gaze eventually found the end of the alley. Her eyes widened and she let out a gasp.
"What is it, Fluttershy?" The little yellow pony could only point ahead with a shaking hoof. The others turned to find a seething guard pony headed right for them.
Turns out the five weren't as hidden as they'd thought in the tight alley. Everypony scrambled to back away, though they weren't getting far with how many of them there were and how little room they had. Proven by a large bruise on his forehead, the guard was in fact the same one who had slammed into the side of the car earlier. The unrelenting stallion accelerated into a gallop, focusing hard to not miss his target a second time.
When he was only a few mere feet from the frazzled and unprepared huddle of ponies, a multi colored object descended onto him with alarming speed, having dove from who knows how far up. She tackled the guard right to the ground, staring at him with a proud and absolutely thrilled look, adrenaline seeping through every atom of her body. Her breathing was heavy and voice quite louder than need be.
"Hey, what's got you thinkin' you can go and hurt my friends?"
It took the stallion a surprising amount of strength to tear Rainbow off him, and then immediately rear up for a kick. The rainbow pony was quicker, however, and landed a punch right in his exposed gut. As the stallion recovered and lunged again at Rainbow, Applejack came to her senses and descended onto him. He tried to head-but the orange pony, but missed, leaving Applejack the time to buck him right in the side. When the guard came near toppling over in pain, Starlight also finally snapped out of the daze she'd been trapped in and shot a vibrant beam of blue magic towards their adversary. In a fraction of a second, the unsuspecting guard's mouth and limbs were tied up in an unbreakable magic bond. He struggled and cried out, but there was no use. The six muddy and scared ponies had succeeded, Rainbow looking the by far the most overjoyed of the lot.
"Ha! Did you see that? Good thing I saved you guys! Right in the nick of time, huh?"
Applejack looked unimpressed, "You saved us? It was Starlight that got 'im all tied up, you were just about to get yer rump kicked!" She pointed towards the struggling stallion, only able to mumble incoherently in protest. "Where were ya, anyway?"
"Where else? I was up there holding these guys off. Managed to take out a good number of em', too. Don't think i'd be that bad as royal guard myself, you know? I've got the stuff. If I wasn't already tied up with the Wonderbolts, that is." She gave a self-satisfied grin. Applejack could only roll her eyes.
"Well, we're glad yer alright."
"Yes, Rainbow. Well done, thank you." Rarity piped up to keep the two bold ponies from starting yet another argument. "Though, I could only wish we wouldn't have to resort to violence like this. These guards are simply animalistic!" She examined the struggling pegasus before them. "I know many Canterlot guards, all quite sweet. I can't imagine any of them acting like this. And to the Elements of Harmony, no less! They know who we are!"
"But they've all gotta be under Twilight's orders now, right?" Rainbow asked.
"Yes, darling, I assume so. But even under royal orders, I simply can't imagine-"
Starlight drowned out the conversation happening beside her as she observed the thrashing stallion and tried to come up with an explanation as to what exactly was happening with these guards. Finally, she thought something up. She didn't think it likely, but with the situation Canterlot was in, it was far from impossible. Focusing as hard as she could on the stallion, she used her magic to scan him head to hoof. Rarity, Rainbow and Applejack stopped and turned to see the unicorn let out a surprised gasp.
"What is it!?" asked Rainbow impatiently.
"His mind, it's being tampered with! He's under some sort of spell!"
"Twilight's spell?"
"Who's else's?"
Rainbow's eyes grew wide, "Well... what are we gonna do?"
"Yeah," agreed Applejack. "Suppose we can't just leave him here, 'specially if he's not doin' anything on purpose."
Starlight pondered for a moment, then began searching her memory for the correct spell to undo Twilight's work on the poor stallion's mind. Rainbow eventually grew impatient with the silence.
"Well? Can you do anything about it, Starlight?"
Being a pony who has had her fair share of... experience with mind-controlling spells, the mare knew a fair deal about untangling them. Still, Twilight's spell was awfully powerful, and took her far more effort than expected to release it's hold on the stallion.
The mares were shocked to see the pony before them no longer struggling. He wasn't moving at all, in fact. The pony just looked dazed and confused. Starlight removed the magic cords restraining him. He let out deep breaths, words not finding their way to his lips just yet. Instead he just stared at the surrounding ponies, completely and utterly shocked.
"Hello," greeted his unicorn savior. "I'm Starlight Glimmer." The pegasus only nodded.
"And you are-?"
"Uh- Cloud Chaser. Captain Cloud Chaser."
"Cloud Chaser, it's a pleasure."
"Um, sorry, miss, what where exactly am I? What's going on?" Starlight looked to the others as if to prove her point. He was most certainly being mind controlled. And he was, that meant the rest of the Canterlot guards were as well.
Applejack was next to approach Cloud Chaser. The stallion shook out his legs and got to his hooves.
"Sugar, i'm afraid there's been a pony controllin' yer mind. And not just you." she gave a quick glimpse to the end of the alley to double check that there no more guards were about.
"What?! Controlling my- By who? For-for how long?"
"None other than Princess Twilight, we're guessin'. And not long, maybe a couple hours or so, a day at most."
The pegasus seemed at a loss with himself, "What did I miss?"
The four ponies looked at one another, none knowing quite what to respond. Rarity was the first to speak up.
"We're honestly not all that sure, dear," Rarity tried to sound encouraging in her words. "All that we know is that something terrible has happened to Princess Twilight, and the other princesses are incapable of helping with what she's... caused."
"Do ya remember anything at all about 'er?"Applejack added.
"Oh, of course. I've known Princess Twilight since she was a filly. But this- this isn't anything like her. She'd never do anything bad to us guards. Let's see- I remember Princess Twilight took power after the royal sisters became unconscious, therefore I was to serve her. But I- I don't remember anything after than that," he stared down at the muddy ground, his eyes searching for the answers nopony had. "Did I do anything I might regret? While I was being... controlled? You had me tied up, didn't you?"
Rarity looked back worriedly to the others before responding, "Don't you worry about that, dear. Whatever happened wasn't your fault, and is in the past. Why don't you head home, now. You've had a rough couple of hours, i'm sure. I bet your family is terribly worried."
"You-you're right, I should probably take it easy after all this. But what about the other guards? My friends? They're all under her spell too, right?"
All eyes went to Starlight, "...Well, there's no way I could cast a telepathic correction spell that large, but don't worry, Cloud Chaser, once we get to the source of this magic, we'll put a stop to all of it."
"I sure hope so..." said Chaser. He put a hoof to his forehead, overwhelmed and yet relieved. "Thank you all for doing this."
"Well, we are the Elements of Harmony! We're basically pros at saving Equestria from evil-"
"Rainbow Dash, could you go a second without boastin' bout somethin'?" Applejack cut in. "We're trying to calm the poor stallion down-"
"I'm not boasting, i'm stating a fact. We are the best at-"
"As you can see, the 'harmonious' portion of our title can be a bit misleading at times," Rarity whispered into Cloud Chaser's ear. The pegasus chuckled.
"Well... thank you all again for... whatever exactly you did..."
"Telepathic correction spell," informed Starlight.
"Yeah, that. And I wish you all good luck. Come and find me if you need anything, but I think i'm gonna go and make sure my family is alright. If you'd like, i'll get the surrounding guards to leave the area for a bit, so that you all can get out of this dirty alley where... " he looked around at the dismal setting before him, "I assume you're hiding?"
"That would be just dandy. Thank ya kindly, Cloud Chaser." Applejack said as Cloud Chaser beat his wings and began to rise into the air.
"My fellow guards will be off your backs for as long as I can manage. Try to get somewhere safe, and quickly. And please, help the rest of my friends." With a salute, he was gone.
"Hey, has anypony seen Pinkie and Fluttershy?"
Looking around the damp alley, it was now obvious that the earth pony and pegasus were gone. It was a surprising revelation to say the least, Fluttershy's quiet nature often resulted in her being overlooked, but it was normally close to impossible to not know where exactly Pinkie Pie was within a hundred mile radius of her. But indeed, she and the silent yellow mare were nowhere to be found.
"They must have gone off while we were talking," Starlight looked around worriedly.
"Yeah, but where?" asked Rainbow. "Why would they just leave like that?"
"I don't know, but we've gotta find them. It's not safe around here, and we need to find shelter while we can."
Rainbow nodded and the four of them headed off, doing their best to remain under the dreary conceal of buildings. They didn't need too hunt for too long, soon both missing ponies to be found. They were sitting beside the fogged up window of a small building, heat emanating from the source, coming from what appeared to be a fireplace somewhere inside. A tattered blanket, obviously found somewhere in the alley due to it's questionable condition, was slung around Fluttershy's back.
"Sorry we strayed a bit far, girls. It's just, Flutters here's looking pretty bad," Pinkie was supporting Fluttershy in her hooves, soaking wet and dirty pony and continually coughing and sneezing. "I knew what you all were doing was important, but I was just so worried for Fluttershy here, she was shaking so much." The thin blanket seemed to be doing little to help the yellow pony's condition, but she looked immensely grateful for Pinkie's efforts nonetheless.
"But you're alright now, right, Flutters?" she looked at the pegasus with caring eyes and gave her a wide grin.
"Y-yes, Pinkie, thank you very much." Fluttershy's teeth were still chattering and her body shaking, but Pinkie's actions meant far more than what good they actually provided the little yellow pony.
"Oh, you poor darling," Rarity ran up to Fluttershy and carefully examined her. "We should get you inside and warm, lest you get even sicker out here."
"You're right, Rarity, we need to find a place to stay tonight," agreed Starlight. "We aren't in anywhere near a good enough condition to approach Twilight right now."
"Yes, but where?" Rarity had since joined in comforting the yellow mare. "That dear Cloud Chaser said we wouldn't have long until those guards were to return."
"Well, I guess it can't hurt to look around here for someplace open. Just remember to lay low. We don't want any unwanted attention drawn toward us."
"My stars! Are you the newest Wonderbolt, Rainbow Dash?!"
The six had been trekking for several minutes, doing their very best to evade detection, and so far being met with nothing but drawn curtains, locked doors, and lots and lots of mud. That all changed when they reached a tall, odd-looking house and saw two wide eyes staring from behind a curtain. There was little time to react to the strange behavior before the pony is question came bursting out the door, causing the whole group to nearly leap out of their own skin.
She was a maroon earth pony with a long, curly black mane, and looked simply ecstatic at the arrival of the ponies. Actually, more like the arrival of just one in particular.
"Uh... yeah... that's me, Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow wasn't exactly prepared on how to respond to this unexpected kind of attention. Not that it bothered her, of course.
"Oh! I'm such a huge fan! You don't even know! My husband is as well... Skycharter! Get over here!"
The six damp ponies looked to each other in confusion. It wasn't long before the aforementioned Skycharter arrived to behold them. He was a grey earth pony himself, with a mane like new copper. He wore cracked spectacles and a scruffy beard. The stallion stared at Rainbow with the same giddiness mirrored by his wife beside him.
"Sweet Celestia, Astrid, it really is her! Can you believe it? Out of anypony, a wonderbolt decided to stay in our place for the night? Oh, I'm hoping that's what you're here for, right?" he gleefully asked.
"Actually," began Rarity "We all could benefit from a-"
"Hold on!" The maroon colored mare dashed back inside for a moment, then came back out with a clunky polaroid camera in her mouth, "Huney, do ya tink you could getta picture of me wiv da wonderbol?"
"Sure thing, Sweetheart."
Without any warning, Astrid pulled the pegasus in for a photo op, Rainbow hardly having the time to collect herself before a bright flash momentarily blinded her.
"Ack, my eyes! What- what was that?!"
"Look, hun! This is going up on the wall, for sure!"
"I- uh..." Rainbow stumbled around, cross eyed and disoriented, patches of light staining her retinas.
"Well, you see..." Starlight attempted in shifting the couple's attention from the photograph. "We were hoping you two could lend us all a place to stay tonight, if it wouldn't be that much trouble-"
"Why of course, dear!" Astrid was on the verge of Pinkie Pie levels of excitement. "Come on in! I don't know what such a well-known pony like yourself, miss Rainbow Dash, is doing in these dirty old streets, but we sure do appreciate your company!"
Applejack gave the mare an expectant look out of the corner of her eye before following the others into the dingy household.
"Yeah, but, you've gotta know who my friends are, surely." the still quite startled Rainbow asked once the door shut and everypony had been crammed into the living room. "Elements of Harmony, Starlight Glimmer, ever heard of 'em?"
Both Astrid and Sky examined the ponies seemingly far less important than the celebrity that had just entered their home, and could not seem to recognize a single thing about them.
"You know..." Pinkie began. "The ponies who saved a Equestria like a dozen million times already! And we're gonna do it again, just you watch us!"
Starlight smacked her face with a hoof. So much for laying low...
"Oh, you see, we get most of our information from these here," Astrid picked up a mouthful of cheap magazines spawled about on a table, most with headshots of rich and famous ponies. She chuckled, "Awlof it , ackally." The earth pony spit the pages back down onto the table.
All six ponies looked at the grinning couple, then to the pile of magazines on the table in front of them, none really knowing what to think. "We just love the Wonderbolts more than anything! We've read all the interviews and know each member by name!"
"You mean you get all yer news from tabloids?" asked Applejack. "Well, surely ya do go outside at some point, right? It's really not all tha' hard to miss what we do."
"Yeah," said Pinkie, "Like that time an evil army of changelings invaded the city? Remember that?" The couple looked at each other in shared confusion.
"What's a... changeling?" asked Astrid. "I don't think I remember reading about those."
Now it was Applejack's turn for a facehoof, "How long have you both been cooped up in here, exactly?"
"Oh, we've been here for a few decades!" answered Astrid with a pleasant smile, as if Applejack's question had simply been what the mare's favorite color was. "We have our studies- the stars, you see, that's exactly what we study. We work all day with our telescopes and graphs, and every week we get some nice food and some of our favorite magazines delivered, it's all we really need!"
"We've got more room than we need in this old place, and it gets a bit lonely sometimes, so we're quite glad you all dropped in for a visit! None of our neighbors seem to ever want to stop for a chat, I simply can't imagine why."
"I can think of a few reasons..." Starlight nudged Rainbow in the side to shut her up. Unfortunately, she should've known that such an act wouldn't stop the overzealous pegasus for long.
"So, wait, you two haven't left this place for decades? Why in Equestria would you-" All of a sudden, Rainbow found her mouth sealed shut by some intangible force.
She turned to Starlight with fury in her eyes, she attempted yelling in protest but found herself completely mute.
"I think what Rainbow Dash was trying to say, was that we all thank you very much for the hospitality. We've been through a lot and would appreciate a place to stay the night."
"Why of course! You all must be exhausted after your travels. You all can stay on the third floor. We've got a few empty bedrooms."
Everypony save the mute pegasus thanked the couple and waved them goodbye as they headed upstairs.
"Let us know if you need anything!... Sky, quick! Find the Wonderbolts poster. We're getting an autograph!"
After the ponies were safely on the staircase, Starlight cleared away her spell to prevent Rainbow from opening her muzzle. She regretted it soon after.
"What was THAT for?"
"I panicked, okay? I'm sorry. We just really need somewhere to stay, and I don't want to say anything that might end up convincing them to not let us spend the night here."
"Starlight, you heard them, didn't you? They love me! Ponies would never kick a Wonderbolt out! You can't always rely on your own judgement, you know." Starlight looked down at her hooves, lacking any kind of response. Rainbow was too caught up in her anger to notice the unicorn anymore, however. She found the first bedroom door, opened it, and stepped inside impatiently.
"And you can't just count on your magic to get whatever you want!"
The door slammed shut. Everypony stared. None apparently wanted to follow her inside. Then their attentions shifted to Starlight.
"Aw, don't look like that, sugarcube. You were only trynna to help, she knows that," Applejack glanced worriedly over towards the door Rainbow had disappeared behind. "It's just that she- well, this whole situation's gettin' to each of us, with Twilight being gone and all... and Dash's always had a heck of a temper." She looked the still-silent Starlight over, muddy and damp just like everypony else, and then to the several doors beside them. "Looks like there's three rooms up here, huh? I'll bunk with Rainbow, try ta get her outta this sour mood she's in for the sake of the team."
"I'll bunk with Fluttershy, of course!" The little yellow pony still hadn't left Pinkie's side, and most certainly wasn't looking any better. He face was flushed and she was constantly sniffing, her sneezes cutting through conversations on a regular basis. Pinkie nuzzled her friend gently, which Fluttershy unwillingly responded to with a cough. "And i'll take care of you too! Don't worry, Flutters, Doctor Pinkie's here to help!"
"Thank you Pinkie, i'd like that," the pegasus responded weakly.
"That leaves me and Rarity, I guess" said Starlight somewhat quietly, still a little unsure of herself after Rainbow's scolding.
"Marvelous, dear." Rarity said with a warm smile
"Yay! It'll be kinda like a sleepover, huh you guys? Except, instead of the castle or library or Sugarcube Corner, it's in a creepy old house owned by hermits! This is gonna be so much fun! Come on, Fluttershy!"
Pinkie and her sick companion were first to enter their room. Applejack was next, stepping inside with great care, and closing the door immediately after she did so. Starlight was glad. She didn't at all care to hear the coming conversation between the two. But Applejack was good at bringing other ponies to their senses, and she was hopeful.
"Well, dearest, are you coming?"
The room that Starlight could only assume was a mirror image of the ones on either side was really not much to look at. There was a bed as well as a somewhat rickety couch. A single small window looked like it had been punched out rather than built in, its curtains drawn, and there was a vase complemented with a couple dead flowers sitting on a bedside table. The room was still full of dust as well, and the corners and windowsill were decorated by large cobwebs.
"Well, it is rather bland, I must say," Rarity took off her violet raincoat, the only remaining article of clothing she had left after their troublesome journey, and laid it gently on the bed frame. "Although, I suppose it could be worse..." she examined the couch Starlight had noticed with hopeful and tired eyes. "These accents sure are... something."
The white unicorn then pulled opened the curtains and coughed as a small ray of light illuminated the large accumulation of dust she had just set free.
Starlight started coughing as well, "Yeah, it would help if this place had been used in the last hundred years or so."
Rarity sighed, "I suppose, dear. Although I must say, it's better than the street by a long shot. We're also very well hidden here, there's a good chance nopony under Twilight's spell will know where to look."
Starlight plopped herself down on the very inviting couch beside her and wanted so badly to escape into sleep, away from the mess they'd gotten themselves into. Away from the reality of what was happening.
"Ugh," a disgusted remark from Rarity opened Starlight's exhausted eyes, "I simply cannot get any rest in this state!" She was looking down at her hooves, coated in mud from their adventurous travels of that morning. "I'm going to find a shower, I simply cannot live when I am this dreadfully dirty!"
It may have sounded a bit uncaring, she loved Rarity, after all, but Starlight was happy to have the room all to herself for a bit. She was coated in mud too, of course. Her hooves, fur and even her mane and tail were desperately in need of washing. At the moment, however, her cleanliness couldn't make its way into her brain through the overpowering pull of sleep.
Twilight strutted around her new bedroom, feeling quite content with the looks of it.
Let's see now, there was her enormous bed accented by expensive drapery, a large window with golden accents, a plush purple carpet, a roaring fireplace, and several elegant tapestries hanging from the walls. There were also countless one-of-a-kind titles the Princess took great pains to keep herself from being distracted by, on an hoof-crafted bookshelf. The Princess of the Sun sure wasn't cheap when it came to decorating her quarters. What Twilight was looking for, she found rather quickly. The alicorn soon discovered a full-body mirror opposite to what used to be Celestia's bed. She didn't focus on her pupils or her aura, both slightly darker in hue than usual, nor the devilish grin that sprouted from her lips. No, those weren't important. What was important was the regalia that she was now wearing. Her own regalia was back in Ponyville, far too long a distance to travel without fear of being spotted, not to mention rather pathetic for such a grand role, so she had located the next best thing.
Cadence's golden crown, breastplate and footwear were now hers. It hadn't been difficult to locate the regalia of the three princesses, taken off them in order to better treat the ponies presumed to be sick in some way. Celestia and Luna's regalia were far too big for her, but Cadance's fit her well. Naturally, it made sense to take it as hers. What kind of princess was she if she couldn't even look the part?
"Oh, can we do it already? You're making me terribly impatient, Twilight. Don't forget who's responsible for getting you such an opportunity."
"I know, I know. But you must wait just a bit longer, my friend. I need to look my best before I proceed. Today is a big day, after all."
With a simple wave of her horn, a spell that would have taken many unicorns years of study was put into motion quickly and effortlessly. The golden regalia she wore was changed into sparkling silver. Not worth as much, obviously, but Twilight's needn't worry about riches with all of Equestria at her disposal. It was looks she was going for, and silver regalia looked far better with her color scheme, she had decided.
"Alright, i'm ready. Let's finish this, once and for all."
No guards were asked to accompany or even dare speak the princess that afternoon. Even with all the Canterlot royal guards under her spell, she still didn't trust them with a secret as important as this one. There was only one she trusted that much.
"Yes, yes. I can feel it, Twilight. Such power, their magic holds. Magic that will put a stop to our plans, mind you. We must be rid of it at once."
Be patient, my friend. It is far too dangerous to do the deed in the light of day. It is imperative that we go undisturbed with our business."
"Then lower the sun already! You have the power, Twilight! You can do it right now and get everything over with! I can only keep them unconscious for so long, after all."
"Please, hold on a bit longer. Causing the moon to rise so much earlier than its normal hour will cause a panic. If we do this right, nopony will even notice. Our plans we be unstoppable for sure."
"Unstoppable, perhaps, if you do not foolishly grant them the same mercy as you did the dragon."
Her friend finally giving in to her wishes and leaving her be, Twilight arrived just in time to her throne room. It remained just as she had left it, calm and serene. Teleporting herself up onto her extravagant throne, she immediately called for a report on the ponies who had been caught heading her way because of her maddening little assistant. Another guard, pretty beat up by the looks of it, was called in. He bowed before the princess, who was having none of it.
"Well? The ponies from Ponyville heading this way, were they stopped?"
"Well, you- uh, you see, your highness..."
"They got away?" Twilight said through clenched teeth and a furious gaze.
"I- well, we-" the guard pony looked like he would rather have been in the depths of Tartarus than within Twilight's line of sight in that moment. "We had sights on the train they were traveling in, your highness, but they proved more powerful than we thought, this rainbow-colored mare attacked me in midair, and..."
"They got away." Twilight stood up, her gaze not shifting, her expression all the more angry. "How could you have let them get away! These are the Elements of Harmony we're talking about! And my own personal magic student! These ponies are powerful, and you should have planned accordingly!"
"I understand, your highness, I understand. I am so, deeply sorry." the mortified guard sunk lower into his bow. "I can order everypony to start a search for them now, if you-"
"No." The guard was surprised by Twilight's sudden response, and regretted his counter the moment it came out of his mouth.
"But, why, you highness? If they plan to do you harm, shouldn't we look for-"
"I said no! We already have countless guards patrolling the castle. We must not waste time and resources. They are clever, you know, and will not allow ponies as incompetent as you all to find them. No, we will wait for them to come to us. It will be far easier. And if you guards prove to be just as inept in stopping them, I will take care of them all myself. Is that clear?"
The castle guard knew that if he had just agreed, nodded his head and left, everything would have been alright. But no, he just had to open that stupid mouth of his again.
"But, Princess, wouldn't it work out better if we-"
"Are you disagreeing with me!?" Twilight teleported right in front of the guard, her color-shifting eyes glaring furiously, inches from his own. "Are you saying you do not value my authority enough to follow each and every one of my orders?"
"No! I-"
"SILENCE!" Twilight's eyes burned an electric green, and her voice echoed along every empty hallway the castle held. The guard could only look on in amazement and terror as thick vines of black magic spiraled right for him and caused him to cry out in agony. He fell to the floor, Twilight still blasting her dark magic from above. She burned her dark powers into him only further, his cries for mercy only growing louder.
Twilight laughed through it all.
She hadn't expected how much she'd enjoy this.
When she felt the guard had had enough, Twilight released him from her agonising hold. He stayed knelt on the ground, crying and hyperventilating. With a flash, Twilight was back on top of her throne, many feet above him, looking as regal and emotionless as she had before he'd arrived.
"Now," she said simply. "You will follow my orders, stop the search, and remain here. That is clear, I hope?"
The guard nodded the quickest he had in his entirely life and muttered, "Yes, your highness, your every word I shall follow. I apologize for my ignorance."
Twilight gave a satisfied smile and waved a hoof, "Go on, then, and prove your sentiment." The guard galloped out of the throne room as quickly as he could, and Twilight leaned back on her throne, feeling more content than ever.
"You see, my friend? I am far from mercyful. Our business that we must take care of tonight will be simple and quick, and then we will be able to start the next phase of our great conquest."
"Good evening! Who wants dinner?"
The muffled, cheerful greeting of Astrid from behind her door eventually caused Starlight to groggily open her eyes. There was a stampede of hooves coming from outside her room, heading downstairs for a much welcomed meal, but Starlight's own legs refused to budge from their comfortable position on the couch. Far too much of her sleep had been cut short lately.
"Oh dearest!" Astrid gave a light patter on Starlight's door. "Dinner's ready! Come down and join us!" with a bright smile that Starlight could only picture but new very well existed, she headed back downstairs. Groaning, the unicorn forced her tired limbs to begrudgingly support her weight. She hated being treated like a little foal, but was far too grateful of Astrid's hospitality to complain. With a yawn, she headed for the bathroom to wash up before dinner. She was still coated in dried mud, after all, and wanted to at least seem somewhat presentable to her rather odd hosts.
When Starlight descended to the bottom floor, she found everypony but Fluttershy squeezed into the rather small kitchen and around the even more confined kitchen table, along with Astrid and Skycharter.
"Oh Starlight, you're here! Come, sit down! We've got hayburgers!" Astrid, somehow, seemed in an even better mood than when the gang had first arrived. Skycharter was preoccupied in eagerly handing Rainbow Dash piles of memorabilia to sign, while his wife placed a tray of hayburgers on the table before everypony.
"Oh, we're just so glad to have you all here! It's been pretty lonely without any visitors, you see. Oh, but now we have you all! Isn't that just great? Go ahead, eat up!" The five ponies sitting around the table hadn't eaten for a good while, and wasted no time digging into their meals.
"Um, where's Fluttershy?" Starlight asked as she sat down, crammed between the daintily eating Rarity and the slobbery and messy Pinkie. Rainbow Dash was the pony furthest from her view, still giving Starlight a death glare out of the corner of her eye. Starlight wanted anything but the get the mare yelling again.
"Oh, Flutters isn't feeling all that well," Pinkie said, mouth full. "Said she's not all that hungry either. She's gonna stay in bed for now." Starlight looked down at her food and suddenly felt a sense of guilt. Most of what had led the ponies here had been because of her. Sure, she might've managed to keep them in the clear from the guards, but a part of Starlight still felt as if their journey to Canterlot could've gone a lot smoother if she'd done things differently. Perhaps Fluttershy wouldn't even have gotten sick.
"Oh, don't feel bad, Starlight, it's not your fault." said Pinkie, presumably reading the unicorn's mind. Starlight had known Pinkie for long enough to know that wasn't entirely out of the question for her. "Her temperature isn't even all that high, I think it's mostly the stress that's getting to her. She'll be fine and dandy by tomorrow, I bet. But Doctor Pinkie's gonna take good care of her until then."
"Thanks, Pinkie, I hope so." Her spirits were lifted, even if only a little, and her empty stomach began being filled by extremely tasty hayburgers. Even while the food was delicious and their hosts were very kind and sociable, the crammed and messy state of their home was still a little off-putting. There were piles of dusty astronomy books, and almost every surface was plastered with calculations, maps, and coordinates, occasionally set apart by a wonderbolts poster or a gossipy magazine clipping. Being overly indulged in one's studies was a characteristic of Canterlot ponies, it seemed to Starlight. She was getting a very Twilightey vibe from the whole scenario. Save for how cluttered the place was, of course. Think of it, these ponies probably could use a bit of organizational advice from the princess.
"So, what brings you six lovely fillies to Canterlot?"
It was at the point when there was a great lull in the attitude of the room, with nopony wanting to say anything that might put them at risk. Pinkie was about to open her mouth when Starlight thankfully pepped up.
"Well, it's a bit complicated. We won't trouble you both with the details-" Starlight decided to tread carefully. "Um... we know you two don't exactly get out... often, but we were wondering if you've noticed anything odd happening here in Canterlot recently. Like-"
"Like, you know, an evil, corrupted alicorn taking control of the-" Pinkie was shot a look by all five of her friends and quieted down immediately.
"Like, anything off about the way things normally go on around here. The way ponies are acting, for instance."
The couple looked at each other, then to back Starlight with she'd been dreading. Blank expressions.
"So sorry, dear, but nothing out of the ordinary in the past few days, no. Other than that article on Photo Finish's new photo story not getting good reviews by critics the other day. Now that was something! Right, hun?"
"Terrible reviews! Who would've guessed? It's Photo Finish! Only the most talented photographer in all of Equestria!"
"Yes, but, you see, that's not really what I mean-"
"If you want to know about ponies we ourselves have talked to, deary, I'm afraid you're out of luck." Astrid said with an apologetic smile.
"Wait, hun. Remember that castle servant that came to deliver those charts this morning?"
Astrid gasped, "Oh yes, of course! I completely forgot about her!"
Starlight eyes widened with interest, "Who? Someone from the castle?"
"Yes yes, a young servant. What was her name? Silver something... Silverberry! That's it! You see, we get our star charts from the castle sometimes. A sweet filly, she was. There was just something... off about her."
"Like what?" asked all five ponies in harmony. It was unmistakable that Astrid had now gotten everypony's interest.
"Like, was she extremely angry and tried to kill you on sight?" asked Pinkie Pie.
"No, no, nothing like that, we can assure you," said Sky. "It's just... she was very jittery, the poor thing. When we invited her in for some tea, she told us she needed to get back to the castle so that Princess Twilight wouldn't get upset. She seemed pretty worried about it, too. We've seen this 'Princess Twilight' in a few of our magazines. She's top rated princess of the year, you know! There was even a dress inspired by her! Made the front page too!"
Starlight was growing impatient, "So, she seemed afraid of Princess Twilight? Did she say anything about the other Princesses? Like Princess Celestia or Princess Luna?"
"Princess Luna? Who's that?"
Everypony gave a flat look, and decided the explanation wasn't worth the time.
"N-nevermind, just, did she say anything else that might've been important?"
"I don't think so. She just seemed really worried about not getting back to the castle on time. Castle servants do a lot of deliveries for us, and i've never seen a single one that paranoid before."
Starlight looked to the others and silently motioned for them to head back upstairs immediately. The rest nodded.
"Well, we can't thank you two enough for the food." Starlight pushed away her plate and got up to leave, the others quickly following. "We'll probably be leaving quite early tomorrow, but we're incredibly grateful for you letting us stay. We're gonna head upstairs now, if you don't mind."
"Oh! Why, um, certainly. Sleep well, all of you!" The six ponies hurried up the stairs, the old floorboards creaking threateningly underneath them. As Starlight made her way as fast as she could upstairs to discuss with the others, Astrid and Skycharter's conversation faded out behind out her.
"You know, now that I think about it, I think I remember the name Luna on one of those 'best princess' polls."
"Oh yes, I remember now! Rated pretty highly, too. I wonder where in Equestria she came from?"
Starlight couldn't help but sympathize with the two friendly and unknowing ponies. She herself had lived secluded from the rest of the world at one point, and most of her knowledge of modern day Equestria had to come from Twilight. She still had no idea how two astronomers failed to notice the outline of a pony just randomly disappearing from the moon one day. She decided not to dwell on it too much.
"Well, that just happened." said Rainbow, once they had securely gotten to the top floor of the cramped household.
"What does this mean?" asked Rarity. "These ponies hardly know anything about Twilight, certainly, but that castle servant they were discussing..."
"Silverberry, yeah." said Applejack. "I guess Twilight's been controlling her mind? Like those crazy guards this mornin'? Sweet Celestia, gives me the heebie jeebies just thinkin' about it."
"Unless of course nopony even knows who these hermits are anymore, and she was just as creeped out by them as we were." Said an annoyed Rainbow.
"Oh hush, miss Dash," began Rarity. "We all know you can never get enough attention from fans."
"No, Silverberry was specifically ordered to deliver charts to these ponies," said Starlight, her mind racing, "And when we got off the train, there were no other ponies around. It was only the guards that were coming after us."
"So, Twi only wants to mind control her guards and servants?" asked Pinkie "How come? If I was an evil ruler, i'd want to control everypony, not just the ones already under my orders. Not that I am, of course. And neither is Twilight. Our Twilight, that is."
Pinkie had, as was per usual with her, spoken everything rapidly in one continuous breath, but Starlight had understood enough to come up with an idea.
"What if she wants to, Pinkie, but she can't?"
"What do you mean?" asked Pinkie. "It seemed pretty easy for you to mind control the five of us."
After an awkward pause and a look of embarrassment from Starlight, she finally responded, "No, I... I mean, what if she does want to control everypony in Equestria, like you said, but just doesn't have the power? A mind control spell like that would take an incredible amount, more than even the princesses have."
"Yes, darling, that does seem like a goal that would make sense for her, but her magic is corrupted by that- that thing, right? Shouldn't she be stronger now?"
"Unless she can have all tha' power, and she's just waitin' until she's able ta get it!" said Applejack.
A rather loud cough from Fluttershy cut the five ponies' concentration for a minute, as they went into her room to check on her.
"Excuse me," said the little yellow pegasus, her voice hoarse but sure of itself, "I heard your conversation and would like to add a thought, if I could,"
"Oh, of course, Fluttershy." Starlight seemed a bit taken aback by the pony's straightforward and confident tone, "Sorry, I almost forgot forgot you were in here. What would you like to say?"
After a few short sniffles, Fluttershy began, "Well, Twilight definitely has the castle ponies under some sort of spell, and it's probably a real possibility that she wants to control other ponies, too. Maybe even all of Equestria. But right now, I don't think there's any way for us to find out more information without getting it from the source. Twilight will probably only get more powerful the more this evil thing corrupts her, so the sooner we get to her, the better." Fluttershy sunk her head a bit when she finished, avoiding the gaze of the five ponies. "You- you know, if that's okay with you all..."
"No, Fluttershy, you're right," said Starlight. The pegasus smiled. "It's unlikely we'll get any closer to an answer staying here. Before the sun rises, we'll leave. We'll try to attract as little attention as possible, and then we'll talk things out with Twilight. Or try to, at least." The others, even Rainbow Dash, seemed to agree wholeheartedly with Starlight's plan. They all missed their best friend dearly, and wished to see her again under any circumstances.
"Well, get a good night's sleep, everyone." said Fluttershy.
"Yeah, Celestia knows we're gonna need it," groaned Rainbow, and she flew off towards her room without even lending Starlight a glance. The unicorn sighed as she too went to get some rest, far more worried than before about how these ponies were faring with her at the helm. Tomorrow, she decided, she'd make it up to Rainbow. |
The Dawn Before Twilight | Descisions of Deicide | The moon was much less trouble to raise the second time around, and soon Twilight's world was enveloped in darkness yet again, a state in which she felt much more at ease with herself. While Celestia and Luna's duties that day had proved slightly more challenging than the last, they were still nothing she couldn't handle. Mostly it was just angry dignitaries, some packages that needed to be sent out to locals, and a few petty arguments in need of resolving. Twilight was able to stop most of the ponies' little quarrels with ease, although a few stubborn ones had to be magically... encouraged to drop whatever they were complaining about and go home. Overall, it had been a tiring afternoon and Twilight wanted nothing more than to sleep on her silky, soft new royal bed. There was business to attend at the moment, however, and the alicorn knew she wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until it was taken care of.
Her walk to the infirmary went mostly as planned until she finally arrived at the door. Although just before she was about to enter, the castle doctor made his return, much to Twilight's dismay.
"Your highness! Your peers still aren't well, i'm afraid to say."
"Yes, I understand that, thank-"
"But i'm doing my best to figure it out, trust me. I've been working around the clock."
"Listen, I don't have the time to-"
"I've known these ponies for a long time. It hurts me just as much to see them this way. But, with time, I think I should be able to-"
Annoyed and impatient, Twilight had turned around and grabbed the doctor in her inky black grasp. She squeezed the stallion's neck, leaving him gasping desperately for air. Then his eyes turned the same shade of green as Twilight's currently were, and the gasping stopped.
"You are not to come here again, Doctor. You are of no use to me," Twilight stared into the eyes the stallion she held on the brink of life or death. She didn't even dare blink, knowing the spell would fail in an instant. "You are not to care for the princesses anymore either. You are not to check on them, to run more tests, to research any more on what might be wrong with them. They are dead. Now and forever, dead. Do you understand that?"
The limp pony gave an emotionless nod to Twilight. The purple alicorn smiled and promptly dropped him to the ground. The unnatural shade of the doctor and Twilight's eyes slowly faded, and the stallion at last came to his senses and stood up. He stared at Twilight sympathetically, she glared at him impatiently. He put a gentle hoof to her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, your Highness. Let me know if there's anything I can do." And with that, he trotted off towards his quarters. Twilight gave a relieved sigh as she reached once again for the door separating her and the other princesses. How she was possibly ever able to survive without making ponies obey her every command, she had no idea. It must have been simply maddening.
Celestia, Luna, and Cadance looked much as they did when Twilight had first come to visit them. Further investigation, however, would note that their bedsides now housed countless medical documents, attempting to find the source of such a strange and unheard of condition. The princesses also no longer wore their regalia, that was proved by the lovely silver Twilight was wearing. She looked quite gorgeous in it, she thought. Much better than that dull gold she would wear back when she was the princess of friendship. The other royalty, save for their grand size, could very well have just been normal ponies. They no longer wore crowns marking their status. No, they could have been just any old mares. Nothing compared to what Twilight was. Twilight had recognized the power she held and didn't fear using it to get what she wanted, what she needed. These ponies, they had power and were foolish enough to give it up, without even so much as a fight. The care and love that succumb their souls to weakness blinded them from what really mattered, what their true potential was.
They had promise, these ponies, sure, but Twilight knew she wouldn't be able to advance with her plans if they were still hanging around. It was time Equestria had only one alicorn princess to bow down to. It was time for Twilight to do something that should have been done long ago.
Twilight's eyes became the same sickly green, her magic coiled around her horn like living ink, and she charged up a powerful spell that would stop the princess' hearts, just like that. She needn't anything dramatic, blowing them to bits would have caused far too much commotion for her liking. No, stopping their hearts was enough. Though, despite the simple ending result her spell would have, it would take a lot of power and even greater concentration. To end the lives of immortal beings was an exceptional feat indeed. But Twilight knew herself up to the task.
"Yes, yes! Do it now, Twilight. And we shall have our glorious reward! Unsurmountable capabilities! Yes!"
Twilight did her best to ignore the mildly annoying pain in her skull and focused on the still-beating hearts of the princesses. Just one move, and it would all be over. They would stop pumping, forever, and Twilight's wish would be granted.
But unfortunately, the power-hungry alicorn made one fatal mistake in her master plan. For a split second during the spell, she opened her eyes.
As soon as those ponies, their faces, their condition, entered Twilight's head, she couldn't help but keep her gaze glued to them. Upon staring down at the mares, floodgates of memories opened up in Twilight's mind. When she looked at Candance, she didn't see a pony standing in her way of victory anymore. She saw her old foalsitter, playing alongside her almost everyday, telling her about the wonders and hardships of becoming a princess, always drying her tears whenever she got hurt, and always cheering her up when she was feeling down. She saw Cadance and her brother, happily married, loving one another more than anything in the world. She saw her niece, little Flurry Heart, and a loving mother who was always there to protect her.
When Twilight looked in turn to Luna, she saw a scared and lonely princess inside the false disguise of Nightmare moon. She saw Celestia's incredible joy, for after a thousand years, she finally had her sister back. Luna needed help readjusting to society, she needed ponies to care for her and to believe in her again. When every other pony cowered in fear of Nightmare moon, Twilight charged right for her. When every other pony cowered in fear of Princess Luna, Twilight was the only one to give the misunderstood pony a chance.
Finally, Twilight looked to Celestia. But before she saw Celestia as her mentor, teacher, or even as the reason for her royal title in the first place, Twilight saw Celestia as one of her greatest friends. Since Twilight was only a filly, Celestia loved and believed in her. Even through hard times and many, many mistakes, that faith in her student never wavered. She guided Twilight, yet also allowed her to figure out things on her own. When it was finally time for Celestia to gift Twilight her wings and the title of Princess, she reassured and cared for her former student just as much. She let her make just as many mistakes, and she did her best to guide her in the right direction. Celestia was the only reason Twilight had any of what she had today, and such a fact was impossible to forget.
"What are you waiting for? Do it already!"
Something was wrong. The pain in her head was increasing, blurring her thoughts, vision, and hearing into a foggy soup of suffering and confusion. But why?
It was the voice.
The voice was doing it to her. Her infuriated friend tore a hole right through the alicorn's head, causing her to break focus and fall to the ground from the unbearable pain.
"I... can't-"
"What do you mean, you can't? You can do it right now, Twilight! You can get everything you've ever wanted! LISTEN TO ME!"
Twilight was blind to the world, teetering in and out of consciousness with the unendurable pain the voice was causing her, but she managed an answer nonetheless:
I-I don't want this..."
"YES YOU DO! WE BOTH WANT THIS, TWILIGHT, AND WE'RE GOING TO GET IT! WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL POWER IN EQUESTRIA!"
Twilight couldn't help but blow her cover when she screamed out at the top of her lungs, begging for the agony to cease. Despite her pleas, it only grew worse by the second. The fury of her friend seeped through her, became her. Her entire body was burning. Eventually, unable to take it any longer, Twilight passed out on the cold hard floor of the infirmary, beside the other unmoving princesses.
All was silent yet again. |
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