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Wild Card | Thicker than Water | So there I was, bleeding quite profusely, trapped inside my own mind with the dead body of an evil warlock torturer pony lying nearby and a goddess toting a submachine gun standing over me.
Overall, a pretty standard day for me so far.
With her enemy disposed of, Lady Luck finally looked over to me, her expression suddenly going from the cold anger she had directed at Kowelth to one of great concern at seeing the state of me.
"Oh, you poor dear," She exclaimed in a tone that, had I not just seen her blast a unicorn apart with a Tommy gun made out of her own willpower, could be described as motherly. Tossing her weapon to one side she knelt down beside me and placed one hand upon my chest. "Here, let me help you with that," She murmured as I felt a strange soothing warmth run through me. After a strange tingling sensation, I felt my body become as good as new, much to my amazement.
"...Where the hell was that when I was laid up in hospital for a week?"
The Lady coughed, "Erm...Gods are not allowed to interfere in the affairs of mortals?"
I raised an eyebrow and looked over to Kowelth's body, which looked pretty damn interfered with.
"Fine," She pouted, "I was tired from using my powers to cheat Ares out of some magical arrows. It was exhausting just to manifest myself to you and berate you for being in such a state. Speaking of which..."
I winced back and closed my eyes on reflex in preparation for the verbal beatdown of my relatively short lifetime. Imagine my surprise when, instead of of a tongue lashing, Lady Luck simply grabbed my hand and hauled me up with her surprising strength.
"C'mon, let's get a drink. You look like you need one."
Still slightly dazed, I allowed myself to be led over to my mind bar, which thankfully had managed to escape the worst of the devastation. I didn't have time to fully inspect the drink selection earlier, mostly due to the whole evil psycho unicorn thing, but now that I had the time I noticed something strange about the drinks. Upon the label of each bottle behind the bar, in place of the usual brands of intoxicatingly wonderful drinks, was a date. Below each date was a short description in tasteful flowing text. I squinted at the nearest one and squinted hard:
13/04/2009
Stole a total of five wallets from CEOs of various businesses. Blew the money on whiskey and party poppers. Held impromptu drunken party in mafia den.
The next one along revealed a little more of the tale:
14/04/2009
Woke up surrounded by members of the mafia. Received three broken bones, multiple bruises and a fractured jaw before managing to escape out a window.
"They're memories," Lady Luck pointed out, "And some pretty hilarious ones at that."
"Okay...that's not creepy at all. Does this bar have any, you know, actual drinks or is it all just terrifying recollections?"
"Oh, I'm sure we can figure something out, we just have to be creative. Just look for any dates where you were particularly drunk."
That didn't take too long really. All I had to do was look for any dates around Christmas time and then start reading. Back home, on Earth that is, Christmas was always a sore time for me. Maybe it was something about a time of the year where everyone stayed snug inside with their families that rubbed me the wrong way, considering I never had that...
"Ah, here we go!" Lady Luck cried triumphantly, holding up a bottle for my inspection. The label was surprisingly concise, but exactly what we were looking for in the circumstances.
24/12/2011
Drunk.
Well ain't that just a tragic little window into my life.
Regardless, I plucked the bottle from the goddess's fingers and deftly popped the cork out on the edge of the bar. Smelling the liquid inside didn't do me much good in identifying what exactly it was, even with my rather extensive knowledge of alcohols. Memories don't smell like any drink I've ever encountered. Though they do smell very strong.
As I poured the two of us a drink of pure Memory, I felt the need to ask a question that had been buzzing at the back of my mind for a while.
"If you don't mind me asking, why do you do all this?" I began, getting a raised eyebrow from Lady Luck, causing me to wave my arm at the destroyed casino, "I mean helping me. Why do you care enough to save me when I do stupid things like getting caught? Aren't I just a pawn to you?"
For a moment, Lady Luck looked furious at the question and I feared I had overstepped my boundaries by questioning her. Then all her anger disappeared as she sighed into her glass, raising it to her lips and swallowing the whole drink.
"I've never viewed you as a pawn, you know that right?" She looked directly at me now, her eyes earnest. "You are many things Ace, more than you currently know, but you are not my pawn."
"So what am I to you? You chose me to be this 'Wild Card', your champion you said. But surely there are much better candidates? Soldiers and fighters. Tacticians and geniuses. Men and women who can command a situation just by being in it. So why me? Why some no-name thief from the streets of London?"
Lady Luck sighed again, something that she was doing with alarming frequency recently. "Have you ever heard of Hercules?" She asked suddenly.
"I think I watched a Disney movie about him once, why?" I asked, confused by the sudden change of subject.
"Well, just so you know, I blame him for all this," She waved one hand to indicate both the general area and myself, "Not just him of course, Theseus and Jason and all the others played their parts as well. Here, Drink up." And she reached over and poured some more Memory into my glass.
"Can we even get drunk here?"
The Lady frowned, "I'm actually not sure. But then, considering what I'm about to tell you, it's worth trying. Where was I?"
"You were ranting about Hercules or something."
"Oh right. Basically, back in the day, gods such as myself used to do some really stupid things. I'm talking really stupid here. A bit like those people in America who celebrate their liberty by shoving fireworks up their asses. That level of stupidity. Naturally, all this messing about ended up with something no one wants on their hands."
"A lawsuit?" I guessed.
"No, worse. Children. We had to keep messing around with mortals, which led to demigods," She took a deep gulp of her drink, "We gods were young back then. We had no idea how to raise children so we did what any young parent does. We alternated wildly between spoiling them rotten and practically abusing them with our demands. This led to entire generations of self-entitled, emotionally-damaged superheroes running around killing stuff for fun."
"I'm still not seeing where this is going."
"Hold on, I'm getting there. Anyways, the demigods. Eventually, the Big Man realised just what terrible parents we all are and chose to do something decisive. Of course, the thunderbolt throwing jarhead was was never the brightest star in the sky so his decision was marred slightly by his usual brand of incompetence. Instead of forbidding us from sexing up mortals whenever we feel like, he instead chose to ban us from raising our children. Said that they had a better chance of growing up normal if we just left them with mortals. Bastard." She spat with a level of venom that I had never seen from her before.
"So you're not allowed to raise your children?"
"Oh it gets worse. Not only are we not allowed to raise them but we have to give them over to the Big Man for 'relocation'. That's right, we don't even get to chose where our kids go!" All of a sudden, the glass in Lady Luck's hand shattered, her death grip upon it evidently proving to be too much. She stared blankly at the glass that had lodged in her hand and the blood that slowly trickled downwards.
I was a little scared to be honest. I'd never seen the Lady like this before. She was usually so...calm. The sort of ethereal calm that only a god could project. Even when she had been angry at me after the whole White Tail Incident she still hadn't been as bad as this. That anger was born out of concern for me, either as her valuable puppet or however else she viewed our relationship. This wrath wasn't directed at me, but instead was aimed at herself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this anger was born out of...
Guilt.
"Wait...what exactly are you trying to tell me here?" Worry tinged my voice as I spoke, threatening to break it as I began to get an inkling of what she was talking about.
"Ace...those years of your life that you spent alone. Growing up without anyone to hold you, to care for you. Surviving on your wits and your speed..." She looked up at me now, holding my eyes with her own tear filled ones, "Ace, I'm so sorry."
I was silent as I stared back at her. No words seemed appropriate at the moment as I tried to process what she was telling me. "Are...are you saying...?"
"Yes Ace, I am your mother."
I looked away from her, unable to stare into her pearly orbs any longer as they begged me for forgiveness. I idly noted that I had drained my drink and was unconsciously pouring another. A thousand times I had gone over what I would do if I ever found my parents. These little fantasies ranged from revenge daydreams to accepting and tearful hugs all round. Needless to say, I had not expected this to be the reunion that I had dreamed of for so long.
More than a few of these little fantasies in my head ended with me telling my true parents that I didn't need them. That I had survived without them under my own power. Now I couldn't even do that. As confident as I was with my skills, a damningly insistent part of my mind told me that my luck had saved me more than a few times. This luck wasn't a part of me, just a gift from an estranged mother apparently.
"So where does this leave us?" I finally managed to say after three glasses of Memory.
Lady Luck turned back to the bar and grabbed another glass, quickly filling it and taking a sip. "I'm not sure. It's up to you I guess..." Her tone, almost pleading as it was, clearly stated what she wanted.
"Who's my father?" I asked suddenly.
"What?" Lady Luck's head snapped up to look at me.
"My father. Who is he? I mean, unless gods can just do it by themselves I guess."
"No, no, nothing like that. He was a gambler by the name of Peter Wilding. He was one of the best players in the circuit for a while and then, one day, I decided to go against him in a game of high-stakes poker." She smiled in nostalgia, "Oh what a game that was. I was so confident that I would win I even put my heart on the line, no small move for a goddess. And then he managed to pull a royal flush out of nowhere. I'm pretty sure he was cheating...but I didn't mind."
"What happened to him?"
"After I gave birth to you, the Big Man found out and banned me from interfering with Peter's life. It meant I could do little more than watch as Peter eventually cheated the wrong man at cards...and payed the price for it."
I winced at that and took another gulp of my drink. I had seen what happened when a card shark wasn't careful with their prey and couldn't imagine what it was like to be forced to watch as a loved one went through that.
"Sorry," I murmured, getting a silent nod from her in response, "So...you're my mum eh?" She nodded again, "I'm having more than a bit of trouble believing that to be honest."
"Well it's true."
"If so then what happe-Oh sweet merciful gods!" I spat out my drink as I realised something.
Lady Luck turned around in surprise, looking half ready to blast some new threat, "What? What's wrong?"
"I just realised. When we first met and you sent me to Equestria...I thought you were sexy! That is so wrong!" I stuck my tongue out in disgust as though I had tasted something sickening.
Lady Luck stared at me for a moment as she comprehended the situation. Then she began to giggle, a light tone that tinkled in the air. Before long her giggling had gone to full blown laughter as she rocked about in her bar stool, looking danger of falling on the floor from laughter. Surprisingly, I found myself chuckling as well, before joining her in raucous laughter.
"Looks like your old mum has still got it." Lady Luck managed to say through her snickering, which prompted a fresh wave of merriment from the two of us. Maybe this Memory drink was actually managing to affect us after all.
I wiped a tear of laughter from my eye as I slowly managed to calm down, "Wow, we are one fucked up family aren't we?"
"Yeah I guess so," Lady Luck responded, managing to cease her rocking by holding onto the bar, "Not exactly the hugs-and-kisses, be in bed by eight sharp and stay in school type are we?"
"Definitely not. By the way, what do I call you? Lady Luck just seems so," I frowned before managing to spit the word that neither of us was fond of, "formal."
"How about Fortuna? Or maybe Tyche? Those are some of my original names after all." She paused as if struggling with what to say next, "Or maybe Mum? If you want to that is." She asked hopefully.
I froze before letting out a sad smile, "Maybe one day but this is all still so...new. I think I'll stick with Fortuna for now."
Fortuna responded with a sad smile of her own, "I understand." She said sincerely, not quite managing to keep the hurt out of her voice. "Anyway, we should see about getting you back to the real world. Events are progressing quickly now and it would be a shame if you were to miss them." She stood up and I joined her so that we were facing each other in front of the bar.
"Before you send me back, I just want to say..." I struggled with my words on this point as I gazed at her, deeply aware that my own eyes were shimmering with barely restrained tears, "Thanks for helping me out all these years. I understand that you couldn't interfere directly but...thank you anyway, for the luck you know."
I suddenly found myself swept up into an embrace as Fortuna buried her head into my shoulder. Surprised, I wasn't sure how to react for a moment before eventually allowing the embrace, wrapping my arms around her as well.
"Ace, I am so very proud of you." She said, her voice breaking slightly as she whispered into my ear. "My son..."
We stood like that for a while, simply enjoying the embrace of a relative we both thought we'd never be able to interact with. Fortuna was clearly unwilling to break her hold and, to my surprise, I found that I shared the sentiment.
Imagine what the gangs back home would think. The great thief Ace, a feared foe to all who possessed valuables, desperately hugging his mother and crying like a baby. I couldn't care less about my image though. For the first time in my life, I didn't need to be the suave thief or the plucky survivor. At the moment I felt like a little boy. A little boy who missed his mother. Tears happily streamed down my face and around my wide smile, slowly dripping off to dampen Fortuna's suit. I could feel a similar situation developing on the shoulder of my own coat as a goddesses' - no, a mother's - tears began to pool there.
Eventually, we were forced to break the embrace and look at each other. Years of earnest longing, of loneliness and pain, of guilt and anger and negligent showing for all the world to see. My eyelids began to feel heavy and slowly started to close of their own volition, though I managed to keep a smile on my face as they did so.
I would probably never have a proper parental relationship. But this...this was a good start.
I woke up with the bonds that held me mysteriously gone. A little help from above I guess. Kowelth was standing exactly where he had been when our mind battle had begun, except now he was staring blankly ahead and drooling slightly out the side of his mouth. So that's what the result of losing a mind battle is. Now I am extremely grateful for Fortuna's assistance.
I gingerly stepped around the unmoving unicorn and picked up my gear from the table nearby, slipping each instrument and tool back into its proper place. I was more than a bit amazed that they hadn't bothered to take my stuff more than a few feet away from me. This is the second time they've managed to capture me and they keep making the same stupid mistakes. Maybe they're just really firm believers in the phrase 'third time's the charm'?
Regardless of their faith in stock phrases, I had no intention of getting captured again. Not when I now knew I had a mother figure who would greatly disapprove of that. What if she frowned at me? Or if she told me off?
What if she was...disappointed in me?
I've heard that a mother's disappointment is a terrible thing to have to face, even more so than anger. I still remember the tale of Antonio Musumeci, who had been an Italian gangster of some fame, running home with his tail between his legs when he heard his mother's disapproving tone. I can only hope it won't be that bad for me. Poor Antonio could never show his face in the underworld again without being called a 'momma's boy'. Of course, Antonio was also a violent psychopath so it wasn't like his presence was really missed.
All these thoughts flitted through my head as I left the torture room and crept through the lower bowels of the ship, which meant that I wasn't paying the greatest amount of attention to my surroundings. I'd just had an earth-shattering bombshell dropped on me, I think I can be forgiven for being a little lax.
Although, as the crossbow bolt flew past my head, nicking my ear and causing a thin stream of blood to flow out, I kind of wish I had been paying more attention.
Being snapped quite forcefully out of my reverie, I looked up to notice the lone pony stood in front of me. He was a perfectly white pegasus with a long, almost feminine looking mane. His wings were fully outstretched, revealing the twin automatic crossbows he had strapped beneath them. An infuriatingly smug smirk adorned his muzzle, revealing surprisingly perfect teeth for a pirate.
"Ha! I knew that fool Kowelth wouldn't be able to hold you for long." Oh dear gods even his voice was infuriating. It was like someone had tried to grab every accent that could be even slightly described as 'posh' and meld them all together into one eldritch vocal abomination. "But as for moi, I am Lieutenant Hunter, Thought Hunter, and I am much better than that. I've analysed you. I know you. At heart, you're a coward who avoids a direct confrontation in favour of tricks and silly rouses. In a straight up fight, I think I alone should be able to-"
It was at about this point in his self-important monologue that my knife slammed into the meaty part of his right foreleg. For a few moments, he just looked at it in complete silence, seemingly amazed that someone would interrupt him.
Of course, then he started screaming.
"OH SWEET CELESTIA! You stabbed me! Who does that? This really hurts you know!" He continued to blubber incoherently for a moment before he seemed to remember that he had freakin' crossbows attached to his wings. "You'll pay for th-huh?"
I was, of course, not stupid enough to give him a chance to aim. In the time he spent whining about being stabbed, I had already stepped forward, crossing the short distance between the two of us. My right hoof swept up into a snap kick, sending his head shooting upwards to look at the ceiling and his eyes spinning. Planting my right leg firmly on the floor I spun my entire body around, my left leg swinging around into a vicious spinning reverse roundhouse kick that slammed into the side of the stallion's head. The force of the blow sent the pony flying to one side, his hooves actually leaving the floor for a moment before he landed in a heap, his breathing deep and his body not moving.
"Huh, that was the easiest boss fight I've ever had. If that was their lieutenant than the rest of the crew should be a cakewalk." I murmured as I retrieved my knife from the good lieutenant's leg.
As I moved towards the ladder, ready to face an entire shipful of bloodthirsty pirates, I let out a sigh. I really need a safer hobby than this. Maybe I should take up origami or something.
I pondered that for a moment.
Nah, that sounds boring. Fuck that noise, let's go poke a hornet's nest. |
Wild Card | Dead in the Water | Like so many things in life, Summer and Iron's touching embrace was broken by the horrific screech of a giant monster. The two slowly turned their heads to look up at the rising form of Rustjaw.
"How...how is it still alive?" Summer whispered in shock.
The giant serpent had changed drastically over the past few minutes, his once blue scales turning jet black and his teeth, already long and numerous enough to make any shark feel inadequate by comparison, had suddenly grown more jagged. Not only that, but his entire jaw had been twisted and mutated beyond reason, going from the normal u-shaped gums that most creatures had to a strange circular set-up. The round jaw looked uncomfortably like the entrance to some sort of terrifying cave, the effect only slightly marred by the many gleaming teeth that populated the cave entrance. Many would say that it was impossible for things to get any worse.
And then the teeth began to spin.
Against all rational natural reason, Rustjaw's teeth began to rotate around his mouth, turning the beast's maw into a whirling pit of death and fangs. Summer and Iron watched, half in fascination and half in horror, as something began to emerge from the depths of Rustjaw's throat, carefully negotiating its way past the spinning chainsaw teeth. With what sounded like a hacking cough, Rustjaw finally managed to get whatever it was out of his throat. A dozen tentacles emerged from his mouth, framed horrifically by the spinning wall of silver death around them. Each tentacle had a pair of red eyes on the end and, as their mouths split open to reveal teeth that would have been threatening where they not dwarfed by Rustjaw's own, Summer and Iron realized where they had seen this before.
"Oh...well that explains how the beast survived that." Iron muttered.
Summer grimaced in response, "Yeah, but now there is a more important question."
"And what's that?"
"How are we going to survive?"
Before Iron could respond, Rustjaw let out another screech which, amazingly, wasn't too gargled by the fact that he had a dozen tentacles sticking out of his mouth. The smaller snakeheads, seemingly in response to the sea serpent, let out a shrieking hiss of their own before they collectively darted forward, heading directly for the minotaur and the unicorn. Without even needing to communicate, the two experienced warriors dodged to the side, Iron rolling to the left whilst Summer leapt to the right, both of them quickly recovering and turning around to see what damage the creature's attack had managed to inflict.
Each of the twelve heads had struck a different part of the deck where the two had just been standing and each head had bitten down on their respective targets. Even though the red eyes had narrowed in anger and a hiss of disappointment was coming from each of them, that didn't impede the blood-chilling effect that their bites had. The wooden deck around each head slowly began to darken, going from shining wood to dark grey in seconds. With a start, the minotaur and the unicorn realised what was happening. The creature's bite had turned the wood into iron. Seemingly, the tales of Rustjaw having a magical breath attack that turned objects into iron had translated into his mutated form.
The snakeheads were far from done yet though. Each jaw clamped down all the tighter, needle-like teeth managing to dig into the solid metal. With a single shriek of protest, the tortured metal was ripped from the deck of the ship and shot upwards, moving faster than the eye could track as the tentacles returned back into Rustjaw's mouth with their meal. The various scraps of metal were tossed almost carelessly into the spinning grinder of teeth, the sound of metal being ripped apart filled the air as each piece of debris was torn apart into tiny chunks and funneled into the serpent's gullet.
Gulping, Summer and Iron managed to close their open jaws, amazed at the sheer destructive violence that had just been displayed. There was one thought that was going through their mind; a single attack from Rustjaw would be the end of them, without a doubt. No being could survive something like that. However, they both knew that they couldn't merely dodge forever and, with them being trapped on a ship in the middle of the ocean, chances of escaping the sea monster were slim to none.
Gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the mounting headache that pounded through her skull, Summer charged her horn, channeling even more magic through her body. Spots danced at the corner of her eyes and she was vaguely aware that her legs were shaking uncontrollable, yet she continued regardless. She had used up far more magic than was safe for a unicorn of her calibre, which was a fact that she was choosing to ignore for now. Even when she was practically running on fumes, she had no intention of leaving Iron to fight on his own.
Out of the corner of his eye, Iron saw several bolts fly out from Summer, impacting the beast's scales to little effect, doing little more than seeming to tickle the colossal monster. Quickly, Iron began to assess what little they had in terms of weapons. Unfortunately, with Rustjaw being situated safely out at sea, he was far out of punching range for the minotaur. Not only that, but there was very few items left on the deck that had survived Summer's rage storm and none of them looked to be weighty enough to harm the beast. Other than the two adventurer's own abilities, the only thing they had to work with was the ship itself.
"Summer!" Iron bellowed across the deck, his booming voice only just managing to carry through the wild winds that had been whipped up by the magical typhoon earlier.
"What?!" The unicorn shouted back, frustration entering her voice as the fatigue began to get to her.
"Do you think you can hold yonder beasty still for a minute? I have a plan."
"Oh wonderful, the bull has a plan." Summer muttered, before shouting back, "Maybe, but you'll have to be quick with whatever you're thinking of."
Iron simply nodded before rushing off to do whatever it was his plan entailed. Summer, for her part, simply snorted and turned back to face Rustjaw, her horn lightning up once more. The giant serpent appeared to be preparing for another attack, rearing its large head back as the mouth-tentacles danced around, tongues flicking out of the smaller mouths as they tasted the air and hissed menacingly. The razor sharp teeth continued to spin about happily inside the dark maw, promising a swift and brutal death to any who came near.
Summer had to admit, the new mutated Rustjaw was one of the creepiest things she'd ever seen. And she had once walked in on her dad in the shower when she was younger. Some small, cynical part of her mind was strangely thankful to the sea serpent for giving her nightmares some variety. So at least there was that silver lining.
Gritting her teeth and focusing her wandering thoughts, Summer began to draw in the very last of her magical essence. Her very bones ached as she drew upon the one piece of magic that all unicorns were taught never to use; her life essence. This spark of magic was within all ponies and should only be used in the most dire of circumstances. It was what gave them their great joy for life, it provided them with their abilities and connected all members of ponykind together. Even as she channeled this spark, the magic flowing from deep within her to her horn, Summer could practically feel her lifespan being cut shorter. By using up her life essence, she was practically condemning herself to an early grave. If she didn't though, then their grave would be a watery one right here and now.
With a shriek of pain and rage, the magical build up shot out of Summer's horn. Unlike her earlier attacks, this one was not the smooth attacks of a trained mage, nor the furious assault of an enraged unicorn. This attack was quite clearly a desperate one, cast by a mare who had literally nothing left to give. The lighting that came out her horn seemed to be travelling almost sluggishly towards its target and was coming out in short, ragged bursts, each one progressively shorter than the last.
Despite their pathetic looking nature, the bolts quite clearly had an effect on their target. They slammed into Rustjaw with impressive force, many scales splintering and cracking under their aggression, the skin beneath steaming and burning. The true power of the attack wasn't in it's direct power though, but in the effect it had on Rustjaw. The great serpent bellowed and shrieked in pain as the magically formed electric current seized up his muscles, preventing him from doing little more than spasming. To all intents and purposes, Rustjaw was trapped, unable to avoid any attacks that came his way.
Which meant he couldn't react when Iron Will grabbed the wheel of the ship and spun it hard.
Wooden groans and creaks issued out as the ship itself appeared to be protesting against being forced to turn. The wild winds, caused by Summer's earlier outburst, leaped onto Iron's idea with gusto, quickly filling the sails as they turned to catch the gale in their canvas embrace. Iron was forced to grab hold of a rail as the deck shifted dangerously about beneath him. The exhausted Summer was not so quick, however, and took a tumble across the deck, barely managing to grab a rope in her mouth before she tumbled overboard. She hung there precariously like some peculiar pony pinata as the ship went through its violent turn.
Turning a ship at sea is nowhere near as simple as turning a cart on land. Ships are large, and rather ponderous, meaning that they tend to have quite large turning circles. Therefore, when Iron Will attempted to execute his sudden u-turn, the ship naturally encountered some logistical problems.
Mainly, the electrocuted and helpless body of Rustjaw that was blocking its path.
Four hundred tonnes of sailing ship met one hundred and seventy tonnes of sea serpent in an epic clash with predictable results. As the wooden side of the ship slammed into Rustjaw's body, both of them crumpled under the impact. Wood around the immediate area of contact practically exploded, instantly folding under the pressure and sending shrapnel flying as they broke. The planks of wood were not the only casualties in the collision though. Scales from the serpent cracked and fell from his withered hide, some were cleft entirely in two whilst others simply fell off from the force of the impact running through Rustjaw's body.
The now partially naked monster collapsed onto the remaining deck of the ship, half of his great body still hanging in the water whilst the rest was left trapped, beached upon the vessel. It's spinning teeth now lay completely still and the mouth-tentacles hung out his gaping mouth like some sick parody of a lolling tongue. All of the beast's eyes were shut, either in pain, unconsciousness or death, Iron couldn't tell. At the moment he had greater priorities.
Abandoning his post by the wheel, he hurried across the deck, sprinting around Rustjaw's prone form to reach where Summer lay. When the ship and serpent had collided, she had been sent flying to the deck, to land there with a nauseating crunch and remain unmoving. Iron knelt down by his friend and gently wrapped his arms around her, cradling her in his grasp. Feeling the touch of the minotaur, Summer began to awaken slightly, her eyelids fluttering to look up at Iron and her eyes themselves clearly dazed.
"Iron," She whispered wearily, "Did you just shoulder barge a sea monster with a ship?"
Iron let out a choking laugh, half thankful that she was alive and half amused , "Yeah, it seemed an appropriate thing to do at the time."
"That is soooo..." Summer's woozy mind seemed to struggle to find the right words, "Awesome, yeah. It's awesome. And so are we." She let out a weak chuckle, "I'm gonna have to find some way to reward you for being so awesome later."
Iron's eyes shot open as he looked down on the unicorn, who didn't seem quite as dazed as she had a second ago, "Summer, what are you saying?"
"No more pussyhoofing around." She declared, her eyes determined and her jaw set, "Once this is all over, we are going out for a nice meal as more than just friends. I like you Iron and I'm pretty sure you like me in return," Iron nodded numbly and Summer chuckled again, "Knew it. You promise right? A nice meal, with suits...and a band...and all the trimmings."
"I promise." Iron smiled.
"Sweet. I've used up way too much magic though. Gonna pass out now." Hesitantly, she raised one leg and ran a hoof along the minotaur's jaw, "Stay awesome for just a bit longer alright?"
Iron hesitated and began to respond, but Summer had already closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness. Instead, the minotaur simply leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on the unicorn's brow, just above her horn. With barely a grunt of effort, Iron lifted Summer's prone form up from the deck and began to walk away, ready to try and signal some sort of lift and leave this damn place.
However, just as he was about to walk away, a disturbing sound came from behind him, from a place where there should only be the creaking of wood and the roar of the waves. It was a disgusting sound, like the ripping of flesh from bones. Hesitantly, Iron began to turn, Summer still clutched protectively in his arms, to behold a sight he really didn't want to see.
The skin on the great serpent was rippling and moving of its own volition. Wherever the flesh pulsated the most it seemed to begin to harden and grow outwards, ossifying at an incredible rate and growing new scales to replace those that had recently been lost. Iron subconsciously pulled Summer's form a little tighter to his chest as his jaw dropped.
This thing just would not die!
Quickly, Iron gathered his thoughts before he lost them to panic. Fact: Summer was out of the fight right for now. Fact: He had very little time before Rustjaw managed to regenerate fully. Fact: Should the previous fact be allowed to happen, then Iron would quickly find himself in a situation most would refer to as 'pants-shitting terror'.
His mind raced at a mile a minute as he considered all of his options. His gaze leapt back and forth between the unconscious form of Summer and the beast before him. Eventually, a terrible calm descended on Iron as he decided what he had to do.
Turning away from Rustjaw, he slowly marched to the foredeck of the ship, climbing up the staircase and gently laying Summer down at the top. Hopefully, all the way up here, she would be safe from what he was about to do. Iron whispered a small prayer to whatever gods could hear him, thanking them for her being asleep right now. She would not like to see what was about to happen.
With a sombre pace, Iron began to walk back towards the prone form of Rustjaw, sending one last glance over his shoulder at Summer. Some treacherous thought broke through the oppressive miasma that hung over his head, sneakily whispering to him how cute she looked when she slept. How peaceful she looked in that moment, even as a storm roared about them and a monster from the darkest depths was seconds away from awakening to devour them all. How desperately Iron wanted to run over to her, to grab her and flee this place. For a moment, he seriously considered it. He could make a raft of some sort from the wood of the ship, grab her and sail their way out of this living Tartarus.
With a slow shaking of his head, Iron banished these thoughts. He couldn't allow this monster to regenerate and escape. The strange mutations it had gained from the Black Water would allow it to become a terror to anyone who dared go near the sea. No, he had a chance to end this here and now, before the serpent could recover. Iron knew he had to take that chance.
No matter what the cost.
As he reached the stairs down to the main deck, Iron noticed something strange about the creature. Almost the entire body of the snake was rippling as he regenerated lost scales, but the head remained completely unaffected. The large cracked scale that had been caused by Sergeant Brick's final sacrifice was still there, untouched by the strange healing factor of the Black Water. Perhaps it was because the injury was caused before the introduction of the Black Water? Maybe whatever mutational effect the liquid had assumed that the cracked plate was just a part of Rustjaw and had decided not to heal it?
Whatever the reason, Iron could see that his luck had turned. Not only was the beast vulnerable now, but its weak spot, the only place on its cranium not covered by thick scales, was exposed to the world as it lay prone on the deck.
Iron frowned as he realised a problem with attacking it there. Even without scales, Rustjaw was huge. His skull would be far too dense to penetrate with anything short of a sledgehammer, and the ship was sadly lacking in any tools or weighty objects after what it had been through. Perhaps if he checked below deck?
As Iron considered this, a shiver passed through the serpent's bulk as it continued to heal. The minotaur grimaced as he strode directly towards the monster's maw, knowing what he had to do. Since he had no time to find a heavy weapon, he would just have to make one.
Standing in the shadow of Rustjaw was a nerve wracking affair, especially considering that the fiend could awaken at any moment. With this knowledge firmly at the forefront of his mind, Iron acted quickly. Striding forward and kneeling down, he grasped one of the mouth-tentacles in one hand, shivering internally at just how cold and slimy the appendage felt. Clamping his hand around the snakehead;s mouth, he pried it's jaw open with a few of his meaty fingers, revealing the needle-like teeth that inhabited its mouth.
Teeth that could turn anything into metal.
Iron had observed the effect closely earlier, noting how the immediate area around the bite, almost a half-metre with in fact, had been turned into solid iron. The minotaur knew that there was no way around it, this next part was going to hurt. A lot. Forming his spare hand into a solid fist, Iron brought it closer to the snakehead's open jaw and it's magical teeth that could turn anything to iron.
It was only as he forced the teeth into his left fist, easily breaking the skin, that Iron realised the irony.
He would have snorted at that particular pun if he wasn't already pulling the unmoving snakehead from his flesh and casting it away, gritting his teeth as he prepared for the pain that was no doubt about to hit him. Iron Will focused all of his considerable mental fortitude inwards, ready to fight of the coming pain.
It was not enough.
His mouth shot open in a bellow as the first wave of pain shot through his arm, his crouched knees immediately buckling underneath him as he fell to the deck. His eyes immediately narrowed and his breathing became ragged and forced as he focused entirely upon his closed fist. The fur there, a steely greyish-blue, had slowly begun to darken, each individual strand of fur slowly flattening down as it changed material composition and became more weighted. The skin beneath the fur joined it a moment later, swiftly petrifying as it too was turned to iron. Eventually, the entire affected area was a dull, dark grey and the curse continued deeper.
Iron's mouth shot open again as the second wave of pain hit, though the sound that came out could not be called a bellow. A strangled scream rent the air as Iron clutched his good hand to the afflicted one. He forced his eyes shut, tears of pain slowly working their way out of the closed slits. Even though he couldn't see the effect of the serpent's bite, he could still feel it. An unbearable pain shooting through his arm as the blood vessels and muscles in his fist were slowly altered, growing harder and thicker until they eventually became pure iron. The minotaur could feel his heart hammering against his chest, desperately trying to pump blood into an area that it simply couldn't accept anymore. For a moment, Iron felt like his chest was going to explode from the pressure before it eventually died down, his nervous system evidently deciding that his left arm must have been lost and, thus, didn't need blood anymore. Well, it was half right.
Strangely, the next part was practically painless, especially compared to the last two steps. The cursed bite had finally reached the bones in his hand and begun to convert them to iron as well. However, except for a slight tingling feeling and the inexplicable urge to scratch at his bones, Iron could honestly say that he barely felt a thing as the bones in his hand were altered and turned into metal.
With the process complete, Iron wearily struggled to his hooves, panting from exhaustion. Slowly, he brought his left arm up in front of him, observing the changed limb. A solid grey fist greeted him, the smoothly textured metal extending about halfway down the minotaur's forearm before cutting off abruptly as the magical bite ran out of range. As he ran one hand over it, Iron was confused by how strangely warm the metal limb was, a comforting sort of warmth rather than the cold iron that he was expecting.
Shrugging once, Iron let his new fist fall to his side as he began to walk towards the shuddering form of Rustjaw. The serpent's regeneration had continued through Iron's transformation, to the point where most of the scales had been reformed and the serpent's body was jerking around, his lower end thrashing about in the water. Iron increased his pace as he grew closer to the serpent's shaking side, slowly building up speed until he had reached a full sprint, speeding directly at the wall of flesh.
Just as it looked like he was about to impact, Iron's leg muscles tensed up underneath him and he converted his momentum into a running jump, his metallic hand attempting to pull him to the ground with its weight whilst his organic hand was raised high into the air, ready to grasp whatever it could.
The air exploded out of Iron's lungs as he slammed into the side of the creature, his right arm scrabbling about before eventually managing to seize the edge of a scale. Iron grunted in pain as the sharp scale cut into his hand but he refused to give up. The torn flesh was nothing compared to what he had just been through and he wasn't about to give up now. With a snort, Iron swung his other, more weighted hand up, even though it couldn't grab anything it was still better than hauling it up after him. Bracing his hooves against the beast's hide, the minotaur scaled his way up onto Rustjaw's enormous back, feeling like an ant in comparison to the giant serpent.
On woozy legs, Iron stumbled his way across Rustjaw's back and towards his head, almost slipping several times but always managing to correct himself before he fell. Despite his faltering gait, Iron eventually managed to make his way to to his target, the cracked plate now directly in front of his hooves.The iron-handed minotaur frowned down at it, wondering if his plan could actually work and, if it did, if it would actually put Rustjaw down for good. As he was considering this, a particularly violent shudder went through the serpent's body, the agitated shaking threatening to knock the minotaur from his hooves. Deciding not to waste anymore time, Iron Will got to work.
Silently, Iron raised his metallic left fist above his head, it's immobile shape hanging there for a moment like a terrible hammer before, with a roar of anger, the minotaur brought it slamming down. The fist crashed down directly onto the exposed bit of skin in between the cracked plate. The weak flesh split open under the force of the blow, dark blood seeping out around the broken hide. Iron wasn't done yet though. With another mighty roar, he brought the fist up, and back down again. The crack opened up further under the strike, even more blood seeping out and pooling around the injury.
The fist came up, and back down again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Iron beat out a bloody rhythm upon the beast's skull, each blow echoing out with a sickening crunch, blackened blood flying up and painting the minotaur with each beat. Iron wasn't entirely sure how many strikes it took him to break through the serpent's huge skull, nor was he certain how long it took him to stop when he did reach the creature's brain. The blood rage was upon him, all of the minotaur's great strength directed towards this one purpose; crushing Rustjaw's brain to a pulp. He carried on at it as the crunching noises changed to a repulsive squelching as bone gave way to brain matter. As he went about his bloody business, the shudders of the serpent's body increased, before eventually dying down. By the time Iron had broken through the skull, they had stopped entirely, the once powerful creature now lying completely still.
Iron stood, panting and snorting, in the middle of the carnage he had created. A pool of dark blood swirled around his ankles, whilst various splinters of bone lay about him, some of them even embedded in the minotaur's flesh. With a mighty, heaven-splitting roar, Iron plunged his arm forward one last time. But it was not his metal fist that he used this time, but his organic arm. Reaching deep inside the beast's skull, Iron grasped onto the largest piece of muscle he could find, ripping it out of its casing with a shout. Holding the piece of brain loosely in one hand, Iron stalked forward, leaving the gaping hole behind him as he walked towards the front of the creature. Not even hesitating, Iron leapt from atop the serpent's head, landing heavily on the deck and almost collapsing as his legs gave out from under him. He forced himself onwards though, towards the unmoving snake-headed tentacles.
Dropping the broken piece of brain in front of one of the snakeheads, Iron knelt down next to it and grabbed the disgusting creature with his organic hand, forcing the mouth open with his fingers just as he had done only a few minutes earlier. Unceremoniously, he slammed the beast's needle teeth into the brain muscle, watching with grim satisfaction as the brain was turned to iron in only a few seconds. As he stood up, Iron felt like he should make some clever quip, or some witty one liner that would fit the situation.
But really, what was the point? He was far too tired and he was the only one on the ship that was still awake. He didn't have to impress anyone.
Barely managing to keep himself upright, Iron stumbled his way towards the front of the ship, wearily dragging himself up the stairs to the foredeck. Once at the top, his legs finally gave out on him, sending the huge minotaur crashing to the deck. Unperturbed, Iron simply reached out with his good arm and began to drag himself forward, pulling himself over the rough deck in silence. Finally, he reached his objective and rolled onto his back next to her.
She had not stirred since he had left her and, if it wasn't for the steady rising and falling of her chest, Iron would have thought she had passed on. Gently, Iron wrapped his normal arm around her, barely managing to move the limb as he felt fatigue overwhelming him. Finally, with the unicorn that he love held close to him, a giant monster dead on the deck nearby and his left arm permanently turned into metal, Iron Will allowed sleep to claim him. |
Wild Card | Fighting Like Gentlemen | Creeeeeaaaaak
I winced as the hatch I was opening protested, hoping to whatever gods were listening that none of the pirates had heard that. I poked my head up a bit more and quickly checked around, ready to duck down again at a moment's notice. The hatch I had opened led onto the main deck of the ship and yet, surprisingly, no one was around to notice my overly cautious entrance.
Okay, that's weird. I thought this ship was supposed to be full of pirates.
I carefully opened the hatch fully and climbed out, making sure to remain as quiet as possible. Just because I couldn't see any pirates, didn't mean they weren't around. As I stood up and took a full account of my surroundings, I quickly found myself thankful for my paranoia. Clustered around on the quarterdeck of the ship was a vast array of pony pirates, all of them facing away from me and staring out over the sea. In the distance, I could see what looked like a colossal storm, a worrying sight for anyone on the sea.
"Tha' ain't natural." I head one of the pirates mutter, his fellows quickly agreeing.
"Ah, who cares? Whatever it is, it's stopped that other ship from followin' us." A commanding, and familiar, voice rung out from the throng of pirates.
Vibrant Melody was in there somewhere, probably at the very head of her little gang. Although to call it a little gang was a bit of an understatement. There had to be at least thirty ponies up there, give or take a few. A large number of them appeared to be pegasi with the rest being mostly earth ponies. The occasional sight of a horn though announced the presence of a handful of unicorns amongst the pirates, which made me even more wary. Brute force was something I was used to; magic was a game changer no matter what the situation.
Thankfully, the pony crowd seemed to be completely absorbed in watching the storm, something for which I couldn't really blame them. The drumming of thunder, the loud crack of lightning and the occasional monstrous shriek came from the depths of the storm, providing quite an interesting show. Since the pirates were so wrapped up in the spectacle, I decided the politest thing I could do would be to leave them to it. On silent hooves, I crept over to what I believed was the port side of the ship where a lifeboat was hanging. It was there I encountered a very large problem.
Ropes. There were so many ropes. They filled the area above the ship like a spider's web made of rigging. I could see that some of them were being used to haul up cargo from below deck, whilst others seemed to attach to the sails in such a way that they seemed practically occult to me. I had absolutely no idea which one of the many knots in front of me would release the lifeboat into the sea. After struggling in vain to follow the rope back to its point of origin, a task that became impossible after it began to seamlessly meld with the many other ropes that made up the rigging, I eventually decided on an easier solution.
Random guesswork.
"Eenie meenie miny mo." I whispered, pointing at the knots in front of me at random, "Catch a piggy by his toe. If he squeals, let him go. Eenie meenie miny mo."
Satisfied by my logical and efficient decision making tactic, I grabbed the chosen knot and began to untie it. The knot proved a little difficult, it being a specialised sailor's knot, but in the end it was no match for my skilled and experienced fingers. Heh, there was this one girl I knew who could do wonders with a bit of rope. The knots she could tie...
My reverie was interrupted as the rope before me, after being loosened a bit, immediately shot out of my loose grip and upwards into the rigging. The lifeboat, however, remained sadly stationery save for the slight swaying of the ship. A loud crash and the sound of shattering wood from behind me gave me a clue to what had happened.
Well that definitely wasn't the right rope.
I turned around slowly and observed the smashed crate, it's cargo of cannonballs now spilling around on the deck. I wasn't the only one observing the broken container though. The pirates had also all turned around upon hearing the crash. Slowly, I tore my eyes away from the wreckage and met the pirate's glares. A terrible silence descended on the ship.
Nervously, I cleared my throat before attempting something I saw in a movie once, "Parlay?"
The pirates continued to stare at me, expressions blank.
"I'm just your friendly neighbourhood rope inspector," I tried, before grabbing another rope and giving it a firm tug, "Yup, that looks like a good quality rope right there." I gave it one last pull for emphasis.
This turned out to be the wrong thing to do as, although the rope may have been of decent quality, the knot was fairly amateurish by comparison. The knot immediately slipped loose of its mooring and, once again, the rope shot upwards and out of sight. Across the deck, a barrel fell from above, shattering on the deck and spilling an amber liquid, presumably some sort of rum, everywhere.
The pirate's glares intensified tenfold.
Wow. I really suck at this whole diplomacy business.
There was some shuffling from the crowd as they parted to let a certain scarred pegasus mare through. Vibrant Melody glared down at me with eyes that promised only fury and violence. Now that I think about it, Violent Melody would be a much better name for her. She is quite a skilled musician, and her instrument is the pain and suffering of others. Maybe I should suggest that she change her name?
"Kill him."
Okay, maybe later then.
Practically moving as one, all thirty or so of the pirates leapt at me, Melody at their head. Pegasi simply jumped from the top deck and used their wings to glide towards me whilst the earth ponies and unicorns were forced to leap down the stairs. A cornucopia of pain and suffering descended on me, causing my survival instincts to flare. Like any reasonable human being, I chose an appropriate course of action when seeing a horde on brightly coloured, not-so-adorable pirate ponies descending on me.
I got the fuck out of there.
Grabbing the nearest rope in one hand and pulling out my knife with the other, I quickly began to whisper prayers to the only deity I knew could help me.
"Mum, I don't know if you're watching right now but if you are, could you please ask Poseidon not to drown me? That would be swell, thanks."
There, with Poseidon on my side, nothing could go wrong.
In the non-material plane, Lady Luck stared down in amazement at the being she was hesitantly calling her son. If she had a physical form in this plane, then its face would have been locked in a deadpan expression.
"Seriously?"
With a quick slash of my knife, the rope was severed just above the knot. The outstretched hooves of the leading pegasi, Melody included, were only a few inches away when whatever piece of hanging cargo I had cut away finally dropped. The rope in my hand immediately shot up in my grasp, friction burns cutting into the flesh before I managed to tighten my hold enough. With a lurch that made me feel sick to my stomach, I was pulled into the air along with it, leaving the confused pirates behind as I shot upwards.
I couldn't help but laugh at the expressions on their faces. A mixture of confusion, shock and awe that was just a delight to behold. After letting out a few short chuckles, I looked up to see where my rope was taking me.
Oh. That's not good at all.
I was now travelling with some speed directly towards one of the mast arms which the rope had been looped over. At the speed I was going, colliding with the solid wood of the mast arm offered nothing but a squishy and painful death, followed by a graceless fall to the deck below before the pirates drew straws to decide who had to clean my splattered remains off the ship. An unnaturally calm part of my mind noted that these were all terrible things to happen and, if I did not want them to come to pass, I should do something quickly. A decidedly less calm part of my mind had this eloquent response:
WELL DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING IDEAS?
Whilst these two diametrically opposed parts of my mind argued over minor things like my survival and how such vulgar language was not appropriate, whether children were listening or not, the rest of my brain decided to make an executive decision. This time I chose to pray to Sir Isaac Newton, Lord of Gravity, as well as Charles Darwin, Archangel of Natural Selection, in the hoped that they might alter my survival.
I sure am praying to a lot of gods today. That cannot be a good sign.
My prayers said and my mind set, I let go of the rope that was serving as my lifeline. The considerable momentum that I had built up in my swift ascension kept me going though, ending up with me being catapulted clean over the mast arm. For a single, beautiful moment I hung in the air at the apex of my arc. This must be what it is like to be a bird, free from the restraints of the ground, the entire sky extending out before you.
Of course, it was at that point that gravity, that forever harsh mistress, decided to take hold and began to drag me back down. Luckily, my flight had taken my right next to the rear sail of the ship and, as just as my fall began to pick up speed, I struck out and stabbed my knife into the canvas. There was a terrible ripping sound as the blade cut through the cloth of the sail, but it accomplished its purpose. My fall was steadily slowed until, with a quick yank, I extracted my knife and fell the remaining few feet to the deck of the ship, landing smoothly on my hooves and turning around to look at my attackers.
The pirates were stood, or hovering in some cases, exactly where I had left them. Evidently, they had been watching my impromptu flight turned acrobatics performance turned act of sail-based vandalism with mouths hanging wide open. I was pretty impressed myself to be honest. That bit with the sail definitely deserves some applause. I also noted that there appeared to be a broken piano on the deck now, probably the cargo that had been dropped to allow me to be pulled up.
Who is transporting a grand piano on a pirate ship though? Who does that?
Before I could wonder any further on the nature of such an individual, Melody shouted something that made my blood run cold.
"Open fire!" She screamed at her unicorn subordinates.
I barely had time to leap behind the wheel of the ship before magical bolts began to slam into the railings around me, some of the blasts managed to remove decent chunks of wood wherever they landed whilst others left mere scorch marks. I ducked down in my imperfect cover, pulling in as much of my body as I could. Maybe if I just waited long enough, the unicorn's would run out of energy?
I suddenly felt a shooting pain go through me, coming from an area I had only recently acquired and still wasn't entirely used to. With one hand I grabbed my tail and lifted it up in front of me, quickly blowing out the small flame that had started on the end before staring at the blackened section. They'd set my tail on fire...
Those bastards!
I quickly rose to my hooves, ignoring the inaccurate blasts of magic that were shooting through the air all around me. Apparently, it was quite difficult to aim a weapon that was attached to your forehead, if the terrible shooting of the unicorn pirates was anything to go by. Still, I didn't want them to get another lucky hit on me. Abandoning my plan of out waiting the unicorns, I grasped the ship's wheel in both hands and grinned down at the pirates.
"Hey! I wonder what happens if I do this?" I shouted, before yanking the wheel sharply to one side and holding on for dear life.
The ship followed the turning of the wheel, lurching to the right with a wooden moan as it was forced to turn suddenly in the water. The deck tilted underneath the pirates, causing more than a few to lose their balance and begin tumbling. The unicorns in particular were badly hit as they had been entirely focused on the admirable task of trying to blast me to pieces. However, it did mean that when the deck heaved underneath them, they were entirely unprepared for it. All five of the unicorns who had been shooting at me let out ungainly screams as they went flying overboard.
I really hope that they know how to swim.
The earth ponies fared slightly better, their strong legs meaning that they lost only two of their number who were unlucky enough to have their hooves taken out from underneath them by some rolling cannonballs.. The pegasi fared by far the best, their wings allowing them to simply fly up and ignore the tilting of the ship. All in all, my desperate move had managed to remove seven of the ponies who were trying to kill me from the equation. Math was never really my strong suit but I'm pretty sure that if I put those numbers into a calculator then it would make a happy face.
"Wow, that actually worked way better than I expected." I remarked, inadvertently drawing the pirate's attention back to me.
"GET HIM!" Melody screamed, practically frothing at the mouth now.
"But ma'am! What about the others?" A concerned - and perhaps, foolishly brave, - pegasus asked as he peered over the side of the ship.
Rather than respond verbally, Melody chose to swoop down on the pirate who dared to question her. As she flew, I noticed a glint of metal coming from her wings. Perhaps some sort of hidden blade tucked away into her feathers? Whatever it was, she chose not to use it on the unfortunate insubordinate. With a disgusting crack, her front hooves slammed into his wings at the point where they connected to his body. The poor pegasus barely had time to scream out before Melody had spun around in the air and, with a surprisingly powerful buck, sent him falling over the edge of the ship. The pegasus quickly disappeared over the side and into the sea, his wings and possibly more bones broken as the water swallowed his screams of pain.
"If you're so concerned about them," Melody taunted with a vicious sneer, "Then why don'tcha go check on them?! Now the rest of you, kill that fool!"
After that little show of micromanagement in action, the rest of Melody's troops needed no further convincing. The pirates began to approach me again, but slower this time, more carefully. Not only did they not want me to escape once more but the terrain itself was fairly hazardous to anyone hoping to move quickly. The swaying of the ship meant that various nets and ropes swung dangerously through the air, forcing the pegasi to slowly flap their way over to me, whilst the combination of rum, cannonballs and grand pianos littering the deck made a difficult landscape for the remaining earth ponies to traverse.
Eventually though, they did manage to reach me. The first of the earth ponies began to charge up the stairs just as the pegasi surrounded the airspace around the top deck, effectively cutting off all forms of retreat. Strangely, I found that the problem-solving advice I learnt from a nursery rhyme was curiously applicable in this situation.
Oh look! It's a horde of pony pirates!
Can't go over it!
Can't go under it!
Can't go around it!
Got to go through it!
Following these ancient words of wisdom, I charged directly at the lead earth pony, just as he triumphantly managed to set a hoof on the quarterdeck. After he planted his hoof, he looked up at me and attempted to smirk, pleased that he had navigated my accidental assault course. Attempted to smirk, of course, because it is rather difficult to make any facial expression when your muzzle has just been caved in by a flying front hoof kick. Such was the momentum behind my desperate attack that the earth pony's unconscious body was sent tumbling backwards into his fellows, essentially turning them into pirate pony bowling pins as I rode my living surfboard down the wooden stairs.
When we reached the bottom I didn't pause for a second, knowing that some form of retribution may already be on my slightly singed tail. Instead, I leapt off of my temporary living transportation, using the forward momentum to send me airborne for a few seconds before landing and tucking into a perfect roll. I grimaced as I stood and turned to face my attackers, noting that other than the poor fellow I'd just used to ride down the stairs, none of the other ponies had been taken out of the fight. Seven quickly recovering earth ponies were heading towards me, their pegasus counterparts moving carefully through the mass of wires and ropes above to join them. I only had a few seconds before the mass of flying ponies got into position, at which point I would be immediately overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Seven ponies. About ten seconds.
I may have to cheat a little here.
I made careful note of each earth pony's position, marking them on my mental map of the ship. This was a trick I had learnt after years of running away from both angry gang members and police officers. Always know where your opponent is, even if you can't see them. Knowing your surroundings and the locations of your enemies was an advantage that only fools ignore, to their own peril.
When I was confident in my approach, I made my move. Shouting a wild an unintelligible battle cry, I charged the first earth pony, who immediately went into a guard position by locking his legs up and hunching his shoulders, ready to take my charge full on. I chose not to do that of course. My hands flashed out of my sleeves, sending a dozen small orbs flying towards the mass of pirates. Before they could react, the pellets had exploded, sending a thick smoke to cover the environment.
The lead pony that I had charged stayed tensed up, eyes darting back and forth as he searched for an attack that was never going to come. The moment the smoke bombs had gone off, I had darted to the side, immediately changing my direction and heading towards the pirate at the back of the group. According to my mind map, he should be exactly four and a half feet in front of me. The coughing pirate emerged from the smoke in front of me and I didn't pause for an instant, immediately grabbing his dazed head and driving it into my knee before letting him drop to the ground.
Now, eight feet to my left was another one, a dark green pirate with a shaggy black mane if I remember correctly. A second later I was proven correct as a swift kick to the leg broke the green-coated pirate's kneecap, followed by a snap kick to the jaw that sent his head jerking upwards before falling to the ground.
Turn around. Another seven and a half feet on silent hooves. Leap onto the pirate's back and wrap my arms around his neck, as I quickly strangle him to the point of unconsciousness. You have reached your destination.
Roll off that pirate and dash forwards. Ten feet to the tensed up pony ready for a forward assault. I grabbed his back legs and took him completely by surprise. He let out a strangled yelp as I pulled his legs out from under him, causing him to collapse to the deck. A swift blow from the hilt of my knife put him out of commission.
Only three left now. I smiled with satisfaction.
A dark, furry form collided with me from the side, knocking the wind out of me as we were sent tumbling to the ground. A greasy maned pony stood over me, growling through his teeth at me. How the hell had he known where I was.
Shit. That last one managed to cry out. I should have already been moving. Stupid! Stupid!
If I pulled something like that back on the streets of London then I'd already be dead. Some pissed off, psychopathic gang member would be eagerly driving a shiv into my stomach as fast as he could. Instead, here in Equestria, I just had some hoof shaped bruises and a chance to fight my attacker as he stood over me, growling menacingly.
Slamming my hands into either side of his head, I discombobulated the pirate, quite possibly shattering his eardrums with the amount of force I put behind the double handed slap. I wasn't quite done yet though. My fingers dug into the pirate's dirty fur as I dragged his head down, raising my own head to meet it halfway. The infamous Glasgow Kiss landed to stunning and bloody effect. Against a human, it was usually a matter of who had the thicker skull. But against a pony, a being that was equipped with a distinctly more delicate muzzle, it could have some very impressive effects. The pirate's nose practically exploded as I slammed my head into it, the bone that made up the front of the muzzle crumpling under the force applied. I was left with a bit of a nasty headache and some pony blood smeared on my face. The pirate I had headbutted was left whimpering on the ground as he cried for his mother.
Personally, I think I won that little duel.
Two enemies left and they had quite possibly heard that last little fight. Rather than go charging off blindly into the smoke, I chose to simply wait by the moaning body of my defeated enemy for them to come to me. Quite soon, I was rewarded with the sight of two silhouettes charging out of the fog directly towards me. Reaching down, I grasped the tail of my recently defeated opponent and began to do a small spin in the spot, using my meagre might to drag the moaning body of the bloody nosed pirate along with me. Once I'd completed one full circle I released the pirate, sending him sliding along the rum-soaked deck towards one of his charging allies. The approaching pirate was taken entirely off guard when his legs were taken out from underneath him, causing him to begin falling face first towards the deck. He was taken off guard once more when, rather than a welcoming wooden deck, his face met my rising hoof, causing him to join his not so stalwart ally in bloody nosed pain.
The final earth pony was more wary than his fellow. He could see me now, close enough that the smoke screen was simply shielding our fight from the pegasi. Determination filled the pirate's eyes as we slowly began to circle each other, looking for any flaws in the other's defences. He bunched his muscles up and scraped one hoof along the deck, snorting out some air as he did so. Any moment now he was going to charge and bash my brains in with his hooves.
Or at least, he would have done, had I not cut to the chase and thrown one of my magical cards at him.
I didn't even bother to check which card it was before I threw it, simply trusting in my luck that it would be a good one. It struck the earth pony full on in the chest and, with a sharp crack of released force, the pirate was sent flying backwards into the smoke. Clubs it was then, and a fairly powerful one at that. I distinctly heard him impact against something, quite possibly the main mast of the ship considering our positioning in my mental map.
I was panting with exertion now, desperately trying to catch my breath after that fight. Taking out eight opponents in less than ten seconds is no mean feat, even with all the little tricks I had used to even the odds. Now then, the smokescreen should last another fifteen seconds or so before the sea wind managed to disperse it. That's more than enough time to get to one of the hatches and escape below deck. That way, when the pegasi follow me, the close quarters of the hold would remove their advantages and put us on a more even footing.
I was beginning to head in the direction of where the nearest hatch was when the smoke began to thin out, much quicker than it naturally should have been. I wasn't even halfway to my target when the last wisps of the smokescreen were blown away and I saw what had just happened. The pegasi, at the direction of Melody, had used their wings to create a gust that removed my smokescreen.
Clever girl.
For a moment, I considered making a mad dash to the hatch, but abandoned that thought a second later. As fast as I was on the ground, the pegasi were faster in the air. I'd be cut down before I got anywhere near the hatch door. Wearily, I looked down at the knife in my hand before raising it before me in a traditional guard stance. My other hand I formed into a fist before slowly raising my middle finger directly at Vibrant Melody. Slowly, I moved the offending finger back and forth in the well known 'come and get it' gesture. Despite being an entirely fingerless species, the ponies somehow managed to understand my gesture and were more than happy to oblige me. With an inarticulate shout of fury, the fifteen pegasi began to dive bomb me. |
Wild Card | Innocence Lost | It was after the fifth or sixth hit that I decided I would have been better off just jumping for the hatch.
Early on into my fight against the pegasi I had discovered a small but unavoidable problem. Pegasi are very fast. Individually, I could probably beat them simply by punching them before they could swoop away. But with fifteen of them attacking me at once? I had no chance of reacting in time.
One of them, a light blue stallion with a smirk on his face, shot at me from the front. I readied my knife, prepared to fend of any attack from him. At the last second though, he switched directions, peeling off to the right. I barely managed to throw myself to the left in time, feeling the displaced air as the pegasus who had flown in from behind shot past me. Even as I was rolling back to my hooves, they still wouldn't let up. I swung my arm out and just managed to deflect a blow that would have caved my face in, causing it to glance off my horn instead. My head ringing, I swung out at the offending pegasus, only to have him dodge back and join the hovering horde above me.
My hand shout out like a whip, a Clubs card flying forth to take one of the pegasi out. However, cards, whilst good for games and slight of hand tricks, aren't exactly the most aerodynamic of projectiles. Even with my best throw, the pegasus I had been aiming at still managed to lazily flap his wings and dodge over the card, letting it simply fly beneath him.
I growled in frustration as more pegasi began to sweep in for an attack run. No matter how quickly I turned or how wary I was, they could always get into my blind spots. They could fly and had me completely surrounded. As one pirate flew in from the front, I kept my eyes on him, making sure to look directly into his eyes. For a moment, his gaze wavered, looking just over my right shoulder. Instantly, I brought my right leg around in a sweeping arc, turning what looked like a roundhouse kick into a large step before bringing my other leg around and dropping my torso down. This was a desperate move on my part, more acrobatic maneuver than an actual combat strike. Regardless, it worked quite well. The moment both of my hands touched the wooden deck, I kicked off with my left leg. Combined with the momentum from my over-enthusiastic step earlier, the force of this kick allowed me to turn what should have been a normal handstand into a whirling dervish of pain and hooves.
Those years I spent as part of the circus don't seem so wasted now. Never underestimate clowns.
The flanking pegasi, not being used to such an outlandish attack, was caught completely off-guard. A single spinning hoof, moving so fast that it was just a blur, slammed into his side, stunning him for a moment. Before he even had the chance to consider recovering, a second hoof hit him, this time in the shoulder, causing him to stumble and fall to the deck of the ship as his wings gave out. The next few spinning hoof kicks passed over his head as I attempted to adjust myself to the correct height. In my defence, it was damn hard to aim kicks when you are upside down, spinning and balanced on your hands. Finally, I managed to land a solid blow to his head and he went down, slumping like a sack of potatoes. Satisfied, I flipped back onto my hooves and looked around for the next attack.
I was strangely disappointed. The pirates were all staring at me in a combination of shock and anger. Shock over the insane method I had just used to take out one of their fellows; anger over the fact that one of their fellows had been taken out, in a manner that seemed to be mocking them no less.
At an unspoken command, the pegasi began to move into positions around me, arranging themselves so that they were equally spaced to completely surround me. Simultaneously, the well-trained pirate pegasi turned to their respective lefts and began to fly forward, each one following the one in front. In mere seconds, the pirates had formed a ring around me, their forms moving so swiftly that, to me, they appeared to be little more than multicolored blurs. I began to turn on the spot, eyes darting back and forth as I tried to see where the next attack would be coming from.
I received my answer when something slammed into my back, knocking the breath out of me and sending me stumbling forward. Before I had a chance to recover another blur moved at the edge of my vision. My head exploded into stars as the hoof slammed into my jaw. I barely managed to stay on my hooves as I tasted iron. I desperately tried to draw in some air to replace that which had been knocked out of me. Maybe then I could stop seeing stars.
The moment I managed to fill my lungs, another blur shot in, slamming into my stomach before I could raise my guard. Blood shot out of my mouth as the air was once again forced out of me. I fell to my knees in pain, vision swimming. Blearily, I managed to focus on a small piece of white floating in the sea of red that had shot out of my mouth. They'd managed to knock out one of my teeth.
There goes my modelling career.
I attempted to plant one arm on the deck and push myself back to my hooves. However, the moment my hand touched the wood, there was a blur and a flash of metal to the side of my vision. My arm went limp and I shouted in agony, collapsing to the deck. Something had cut deep into my arm, which didn't seem to be responding to my commands at the moment. It had to be Melody. She seemed to be the only pegasus armed with wing blades.
I was beaten, bloody and bruised on the deck, lying in a quickly expanding pool of my own blood as the laughter of the pirates rung in my ears. I had to get out of here, collect myself and rethink my strategy for taking on these pegasi. Judging by their silent professionalism, these were probably the best of Melody's troops. My earlier plan, to lure them below deck and take them out one at a time, probably wouldn't work. If anything I'd say that, outside of tricking them with impractical and unusual attacks, I wouldn't be able to take any of these pegasi in one on one combat. So much for best laid plans and all that.
My working arm was trapped beneath my body, thankfully out of sight of the circling pegasi. Frantically, I scrambled at my coat, trying to get at my deck of cards without alerting the pegasi to my plan. Just as I thought I had moved too much and given the game away, what felt like a single card came loose from my deck and tumbled out of my pocket, landing in the blood near me. I desperately grabbed at it, clutching the fragile piece of layered paper in my grasp. The last of my hopes rested in something that could be torn up with the slightest of efforts.
That almost sounds like a metaphor for most of my plans.
Digging into reserves of energy that I didn't even know I had, I forced myself to my knees, slowly managing to regain my hooves. I swayed from side to side slightly, still very woozy from the blow to the head, and blinked rapidly to try and clear the blood from my right eye, which seemed to have developed a cut over it. Idly, I noted that the pegasi had stopped circling and were now merely hovering in place, watching me. My woozy gaze managed to lock onto the pegasi right in front of me, a victorious smirk pulling at her scarred face. I attempted to ignore the terrible stabbing pain in my chest as I looked at her, a smile of my own slowly creeping onto my face.
Time to play my hand.
Vibrant Melody watched as her crewmates swooped around the fallen form of the annoying goat-thing. Like the good little obedient ponies that they were, each pegasi was hanging back from the bleeding body, waiting for Melody's orders. She smirked as she slowly began to descend. This little pest had caused too much damage, been too much of a challenge, for Melody to allow anybody else the pleasure of finishing him. No, she would end this one herself.
Her gentle flaps brought her ever closer to the creature, still lying there in a pool of his own blood. Melody's own wings were covered in crimson splatters, her blades especially had been practically coated in the stuff. For a moment, she regretted that she had used the blades. This goat-thing - she hadn't even bothered to ask for its name - was bleeding heavily now. Even if Melody didn't bother to deliver the final slash, it would still bleed out soon.
A shame. The pirate queen would have liked to have longer with this one at least.
With a grimace, she cast these thoughts away. Twice she had managed to capture this fool and twice he had managed to escape, causing massive damage as he did so. It would be best just to end it, here and now.
Melody managed to snap out of her thoughts to look back down at the creature, who appeared to be shuffling about slightly. The last spasms before death perhaps?
Then she saw something in its claw-like appendage. Something small, and rectangular and made of...paper?
Melody's eyes shot open as she realised what the creature was trying. Immediately she ceased her gentle flapping and tucked her wings into her side, angling her body into a sharp dive. At the same time she activated the final weapon in her personal arsenal, a bracelet that was wrapped around her right hoof. Out of this seemingly ornamental accessory sprung a twelve inch long blade, sharpened to a razor point and easily capable of reaching a stallion's heart. This little gadget was one of Melody's favourite weapons, simply for the look on her victim's face when the blade shot out and impaled them.
Fun times. Fun times indeed.
The pegasus mare managed to avoid the tempting nostalgia and focussed upon her current goal; mainly, stabbing this damned annoying goat-thing through the chest and staking him to the deck of her ship. To that end, she thrust her hoofblade forward with all her might, heading straight for the creature's centre of mass.
At the last moment, her opponent flipped over onto his back and raised his card, as if desperately hoping that the flimsy piece of paper could block a blade. Unsurprisingly, it failed in this regard. The sharpened metal slipped straight through the paper and sank deep into the goat-thing's arm, causing him to yell out in pain. Melody was impressed. She had been going for a killing blow and yet, once again, the fool's speed meant that he barely managed to avoid the embrace of death. Lucky bastard.
Smirking maliciously, Melody drew her hoof back for another blow, setting her sights on the injured creature's head. As she raised her leg though, she noticed something strange about her hoofblade. The card, which she had momentarily dismissed, was stuck on her dagger. Not only that, but the card appeared to be faintly glowing. The strange symbols upon its face, showing a large diamond with two smaller ones in each corner topped by an 'A', were glowing particularly brightly, forcing Melody to wince away as it stung at her eyes. Suddenly, Melody realised what was about to happen, her mouth dropping open as she realised she was at the centre of the danger zone.
With a single powerful flap, she was in front of one of her crew members, waving her hoofblade in front of his face and screaming at him.
"Get it off! Get it off!"
The poor pegasus pirate was understandably confused by this strange turn of events. One moment, his terrifying captain was about to execute her downed opponent; then the next she was in front of his face shouting something he usually only heard from her when she featured in his dreams, usually accompanied by whips and what could only be classified as perverse amounts of latex.
"Okay!" He beamed at her with a stupid grin before he began to loosen and slip out of what little clothes he was wearing. This may have been more seductive if he had more to slip out of than a neckerchief. But then, some ponies could make even a neckerchief look sexy and alluring.
Melody stared in horrified confusion as the crewmember began to pull at his one article of clothing, looking for all the world like he was trying to garrote himself rather than strip.
"Not you, you idiot!" She screamed.
Giving up on assistance from her crew - who were definitely receiving a lashing after all this for stupidity unbecoming of the most feared pirate crew in Equestria - Melody began to tug at the card herself. First she attempted to paw at it with her hoof, but it remained stubbornly stuck on there. Next she attempted to rip it off with her mouth. However, the moment she clamped her jaws on the card, she realised something.
The card wasn't just giving out light, but heat as well.
Admittedly, it was only a small bit of heat. Next to nothing compared to the amount of light it was already giving off, which equalled some of the brightest magical lights already and showed no signs of stopping. However, Melody could already feel it heating up the knife, the warmth slowly travelling up and reacher her bracer.
Abandoning the card for now, Melody took a slightly more extreme measure. Her crew watched in further confusion as she began to tug at her treasured bracelet, eventually managing to yank the whole device off her leg. With a crow of triumph, Melody suddenly launched the bracelet, card and all, directly up into the air with all of her surprising strength.
Thirteen pairs of eyes followed the bracelet's graceful flight through the air. The moment she had realised it, Melody had immediately dived for cover, managing to get under a loose tarp that had been left on deck. The only other being not watching the bracelet was the goat-creature, who had seemingly disappeared from his prone position on the deck, leaving only a pool of blood to remember him by.
Each pirate watching the bracelet had a similar train of thought. It went a little something like this:
Oh my! Shiver my timbers! That's the boss's prized bracelet with magically augmented hidden blade. Why, she would be inconsolable if she lost such a precious prize.
Perhaps, if I saved her treasure from it's certain smashy fate upon the deck, she would be grateful?
Perhaps she would even consider not giving me a lashing?
Why, it is my most noble and honourable duty to rescue that bracelet.
There was some slight deviation in these thoughts of course, and not all of them were nearly so eloquent. In fact, one particular neckerchiefed stallion's thoughts ran more along the lines of:
I wonder if she'll give me extra lashings if I save the bracelet?
Regardless of the motivation, the reasoning or even the particular tone of thought that each stallion had, they all ended up thinking exactly the same thing at exactly the same unfortunate moment.
Isn't that strange glow getting a bit strong?
In a mercifully silent explosion, a second sun appeared above the ship. For one beautiful, horrible moment, thirteen stallions experienced something that only the Princesses had ever seen. They gazed into the heart of a star, the raw, unbridled light of life itself burning directly into the eyes and permanently scoring itself into their minds.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the false sun vanished, leaving its victims - it's witnesses - rooted where they had been left. They continued to gaze up at where the light had once been, eyes unseeing and mouths hanging open. Though their bodies remained unmoving, their now milky eyes darted round inside their sockets, hunting for any form of light that they could find, all in vain. They had gazed directly into the heart of a star, one of the strongest lights in all creation, and for them there would be no more light.
As one, the thirteen stallions fell to the deck, bodies thudding on the wood as they fell without ceremony or purpose. The slight rise and fall of each stallion's chest was the only indication that they were still alive. The rest of their bodies were completely still, mouths still hanging open, legs limp eyes closed.
As they lay there, two heads popped up from their hiding places, assessing the damage on deck.
I gazed down in amazement at the damage that the Ace of Diamonds had caused. Aside from the thirteen limp ponies on the deck, the card had caused no small amount of damage to the ship. The heat of the flare card, whilst nowhere near proportional to the amount of light produced, was still significant. The false sun had been in the middle of the ship's rigging when it had appeared, and a lot of the main mast had been caught in the blast. Now the entire sail was ablaze, a thick black smoke billowing up from the canvas, putting me in quite the position of danger.
I could only be glad that the heat to light ratio was so skewed in favour of light. If that card had carried even 1/100th of the heat proportional to the light it produced then we would have all been screwed. Along with the entire ship. And a good portion of the sea. And probably quite a bit of the Equestrian landmass as well.
So yeah, small mercies.
Perhaps I should explain my disappearing act first? Well, the moment Melody was distracted doing a good impression of Adam West's Batman with her oblivious crew, I got to work on my most intricate and cunning plan to date. I call it: Operation Don't Die Horribly.
So far, it's all going pretty much to plan.
Firstly, I had deceived my audience with a nice bit of sleight of hand. Melody believed that I had only managed to draw one card, which she had managed to get stuck on her hoofblade. In actual fact, I had drawn two and hidden the second one behind the first. Whilst Melody and the pirates were distracted dealing with the first card, I quickly applied the other one to my wounds, trusting in my luck to lead me right. Sure enough, I instantly felt a soothing calm come over me as my wounds patched themselves up. My vision cleared up as my concussion left me and feeling gradually began to return to my arm, legs and shoulder.
By this point, the pirates were completely wrapped up in watching Melody dance about like a madmare, pawing at her leg and seemingly trying to bite herself. They were far too distracted to notice little old me slip away. The moment I was sure that no pirates were currently watching me, I considered running for the lifeboat but something stopped me. I don't know if it was some divine intervention, indigestion or perhaps even one of those worrying things called a conscience that I've been hearing so much about, but something told me that I shouldn't just run away. I needed to finish this.
Two sides of me went to war. My natural cowardice battling against whatever strange new feeling had decided to take to the field of battle. On one side, the forces of cowardice brought up points such as: 'We've fled from a lot of stuff in our life, it's how we're still alive. What's one more?' On the other hand, the challenger brought weapons such as: 'You started this, you need to finish it.' The war was a short and bloody one but, against overwhelming odds, the challenger took the day with one final decisive strike.
It was called: 'What would Summer and Iron think?'
With this thought at the forefront of my mind, I changed my direction away from the lifeboat and towards the complicated mess of rope netting that I believe is called the ship's shroud. I quickly scaled the ropes, swiftly ascending into heavens above the ship whilst ignoring the shouting of Melody from below me. Reaching the crow's nest, I hopped inside and crouched down, covered myself with a rather ratty looking blanket, closed my eyes, pointed my face away and waited for the inevitable.
I was not disappointed as, a few moments later, the entire world turned white. I clamped my eyes shut and went so far as to cover them with my hands. Yet still the persistent light shone through, although at least not to a blinding degree.
Which leads me to my current precarious position; stuck up in the crow's nest with the mast below me on fire and smoke finding it's way up my nose and into my lungs. I hastily ducked back into the crow's nest but it was too late, the damage had already been done. A racking cough ripped through me, followed by an almighty sneeze. As if in answer, a scream of pure rage came from below me. Filled with a sort of morbid curiosity, I once again poked my head out of the nest, peering down through the smoke to where I could see a dot of pink glaring up at me.
Oh shit! Did she see me?
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME UP THERE? YOU'RE DEAD!"
Yeah...I think she saw me.
Abandoning my rather pathetic attempt at stealth, I rose from my hiding place and prepared to face my opponent. Only to find that she had seemingly disappeared. My eyes scanned the deck of the ship, searching for that flash of pink that might show where she was hiding. It was then that a strange sound reached my ears, a sort of high-pitched whistle.
I swung around just in time to get my knife between my neck and the wingblade that had been about to decapitate me. The blow glanced off as a snarling Vibrant Melody shot past, sending me stumbling backwards from the sheer momentum of her attack. Even though the strike hadn't been a direct one, the power behind her wings was immense. She wasn't playing around anymore. With that sort of force, a single slip up on my part could mean the loss of a limb, or worse.
I barely managed to see her coming around for a second attack run, simply catching a pink blur out of the corner of my eye. This time, I threw myself down to the floor of the crow's nest, allowing the screaming blur of pegasus and blades to fly overhead. I hastily got back on my hooves, ready for the next attack, but froze when I saw the damage her attack had done. The solid wooden circular wall that made up the crow's nest was now sporting a large gash. The wood looked to have been entirely torn away in a large 'V' shape as one of Melody's wingblades had cut into it. Involuntarily, I gulped down my fear, trying to ignore the shaking that was taking over my limbs. I could barely hold onto my knife, my palms seemed so sweaty. Not to mention my hair, which was now plastered to my head.
I swung my head about, desperately trying to spot the speeding pegasus who, at any moment, could separate me from some body parts I consider to be very vital. Such as my head. The moment I managed to spot her, coming in fast on my left hand side, I dove behind the mast, vaguely aware that I let out a very unmanly shriek as I did so. I didn't really care though, now was not the time to be focused on how masculine I looked. Now was the time to try and not be killed by a dangerous flying psychopath.
I cowered behind the mast, holding my shaking knife in front of me as though the tiny piece of metal would be enough to stop her. I've been in some very dangerous situations before, but I don't think I've ever been so close to death. Living on the razor's edge, accepting that I could get cut at any moment, that's kind of what I do. But the razor has always been sort of friendly to me, part of my lucky inheritance I guess. Now the razor was hurtling towards me at insane speeds and was capable of cutting through solid wood. I was ashamed to say that I had no idea what to do. Every clever plan, every little trick up my sleeve. What were they supposed to do against so much rage?
There was no time left for thinking. Melody had arrived. A scream filled the air, partly coming from the enraged pegasus and partly coming from the tortured wood of the mast as her subsonic speed wing blade tore through the wood. The mast-top hung there for a moment, before beginning to topple over, slowly falling away from the nest and down towards the deck of the ship. It didn't matter though, it had accomplished something at least. Going through the mast to get to me had managed to slow Melody down just enough. Enough so that, when her blade struck my knife, she didn't tear right through the metal and the satyr hiding behind it. Instead the blade was ripped from my hand and sent tumbling to the deck and I was left stumbling backwards, my arms numb as the blow rang through me.
Too late, I realized the error of my positioning. I was too close to the edge of the nest, taking cover behind the mast as I had been. The blow had stumbled me and, as I desperately attempted to regain my balance, the back of my legs impacted against the nest's wall. Slowly, I tumbled backwards, hands reaching out to grasp at thin air. All the many ropes, the sails and the masts seemed so mockingly out of reach as I fell. A small part of me was filled with the knowledge that whatever came next was going to hurt. The rest of me was filled with despair, the sort that consumes a human mind whenever they are falling.
Before I could even properly process these emotions, it was over. An overwhelming pain shot through my body as I slammed into the deck back first. Almost comically, I noted that I bounced a few times before coming to a complete rest. Every part of my hurt and I could barely open my mouth enough to let out a weak groan to express how much pain I was in. I wasn't even sure if I could move my arms and legs, I didn't even bother trying. At the moment, even sending signals to those limbs seemed like too much effort.
Things went from terribly bad to horrendously worse as my fuzzy vision was filled by a pink blur, which quickly resolved itself into the snarling visage of Vibrant Melody. I felt like I should have some witty line here, some uncornered little quip to show of my devil-may-care attitude.
Except that I did care, quite a lot. I couldn't move, blood was filling my mouth and even breathing seemed like a herculean effort. Now my would-be killer was standing over me, preparing herself for the final blow. I almost wished she would just do it already. Just slam a hoof down on this thick skull of mine and end it. Seriously, even if I got out of here, how long would it be until I was in the exact same situation with some other mobster? Or maybe some horrific creature would get me?
In that moment I was more scared than I had ever been in my life as I realised something. I was my own worst enemy. I was always throwing myself into these stupid, dangerous situations and for what? Some cheap thrill? The adrenaline rush of having my teeth kicked in?
A sob escaped from my bleeding mouth as I felt tears falling down the side of my face. I wasn't crying from the pain though, but from the realization that everything I had done, everything I did, was pointless. If I die, here and now, then who would remember me? Summer and Iron maybe, but eventually even they'd get on with their lives and forget about the fool they had once known who got in over his head.
I was a gambler of the worst sort, one who gambled with his own life.
Vibrant Melody paused as she saw her victim weeping. Not that she wasn't used to ponies and other creatures sobbing for their lives before her but this one was different. The goat-thing before her had always been so...so flippant. So uncaring in the face of danger. For a moment, the pegasus wondered what had changed. Some switch had been flipped inside her victim and it intrigued the pirate queen. She was about to lower her raised hoof when a surge of emotion shot through her.
KILL IT! KILL IT AND YOU CAN RULE THIS SEA WITH AN IRON HOOF!
With a snarl of pure rage, Melody reared up and prepared to crush her victim's skull. She didn't question the sudden switch of emotions inside her. She couldn't. At the moment, her mind was too clouded with anger to even comprehend the thoughts and curiosity that had been swirling around her head just a few seconds prior.
Just as she was about to slam her hooves down she stopped, an unfamiliar feeling shooting through her chest. Gasping she looked down, her eyes going wide as she beheld what had happened to her.
More tears escaped from me as I looked at the knife sticking out of Melody's chest, my semi-prehensile tail wrapped around the hilt. I could scarcely believe what I had done, looking at the tail like it was not a part of my body. The connection was undeniable though, my eyes followed locked onto the bloody dagger sticking forth from the wound even as my mind desperately tried to deny what I had done.
Vibrant Melody still stood there, rearing above me as the last of her strength slowly ebbed away. Sluggishly, she fell to one side, her left leg giving out beneath her as she stumbled away. My knife left her chest with sickening ease, the sharp blade easily sliding out of the flesh. My tail finally decided to unwrap, allowing the dagger to fall to the deck with a clang. I ignored it though, staring at Melody. The pirate queen had fallen a few feet from where I lay and was lying on her side, staring at me. Her eyes themselves were going glassy, but still managed to retain that vital spark of life.
Finding new strength in my limbs, I desperately scrambled my way over to her, crawling through the pools of blood, rum and seawater that covered the deck. I immediately pressed one hand to the wound, the other leaping into my pocket to go for a Heart card. I needed to heal her.
I tried to ignore the blood seeping between the hand that was vainly attempting to put pressure on the wound. I finally managed to find a card and yanked it out of my pocket, only to have my face fall as I saw the face of it.
Clubs.
Casting it to one side, my hand shot in again and pulled out another. Spades. And another, Diamonds this time. With a snarl of frustration I grabbed the entire deck and pulled it from my pocket, letting them spill onto the deck. I began to push the combat-focussed cards out of the way, desperately searching for a Heart card. It was no use though. Every single one of the cards on the deck, bobbing about in the pools of blood, was either a Diamond, a Club or a Spade. The message was clear. Vibrant Melody would not be getting healed.
I refused to give up though, even as my vision began to blur from tears. I pressed my other hand to the wound, hoping beyond hope that two hands would somehow manage to keep the blood from spilling out. It was no use though. The crimson liquid continued to seep through my fingers, staining my hands red even as it went to pool on the deck. I looked at Melody's scarred face, unwilling to look at the terrible wound I had caused.
Her eyes were even more glossy now, that spark of life slowly rescinding. Her mouth was opening and closing, looking like she was attempting to get air into her lungs through a sick parody of talking.
"I'm...I'm.." The gasped whisper sounded like little more than the sound of a gentle breeze, but it pierced straight through my haze.
"What?" I sobbed as I leaned closer to her head, "What was that?"
"I'm so...rry," Her broken words stabbed into my heart, almost making my stumble back in shock, "Cabin. Bo...book." One last sigh escaped he, followed by a ragged gasp as she tried to draw in one more lungful of air, "T-thank you."
And with that, a final death rattle escaped from her lungs as the pirate queen's eyes shut for good. I don't know how long I knelt there, staring at her in incomprehension, my hands still pressed to her wounds, even though she was long passed saving. Eventually though, I fell backwards, slowly collapsing to lie in a pool of blood. My cards floated around me, merrily bobbing about and knocking into each other like paper ducks. Beside me, the slowly cooling body of Vibrant Melody lay, looking surprisingly peaceful. Without the ever present snarl of fury on her face she looked sort of beautiful. Her relaxed face made the scar much less pronounced. The illusion that she was sleeping was ruined only by the blood that matted her fur and the wound that covered her chest.
I would have shed more tears on seeing the damage I had caused to such a beautiful creature, but I was too tired. I lay there, staring up at the blue sky, until I fell asleep. |
Wild Card | A Date with Destiny | BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Not for the first time, I awoke to the ear-piercing noise of a heart monitor happily announcing that I was, sadly, still alive. Blearily, I opened my eyes, blinking a few times to clear away the haze. Eventually, everything came back into focus and I got a good look at the room I was in. A fairly standard hospital ward by all accounts. To my left and right I could see other patients lying in their beds, asleep. Though how they managed to sleep so peacefully through the racket the heart monitors were making was beyond me.
Do ponies have selective hearing or something?
I slowly sat up in my bed, grunting as I felt the various aches that covered my body protesting. To be honest, I felt fine, other than a few bruises and pains. But those could wait, first I had to find out what happened to me and, more importantly, what happened to Summer and Iron. Maybe they had been in to visit me whilst I was asleep? I had no idea how long I had been out so they may well checked in on me a few times. Hopefully, the receptionist would know something about that.
I let out another groan as I realised something. I was currently a patient here, which meant that if I got up and went wandering around then a bunch of medical folk would start babbling at me in doctor speak. I couldn't even go pulling the heart monitor off without it shrieking and alerting the entire hospital.
Making sure the monitoring pads were secure on my chest, I slowly maneuvered myself out of the bed and crept across the room to the next patient. The earth pony stallion was sleeping peacefully, his chest rising and falling in rhythmic movements. Quick as a flash, I ripped the monitoring pads of my own chest and quickly secured them to his, holding my breath as I waited for something to go wrong. Thankfully, the machine seemed to have accepted my deception and continued to beep, now announcing the stallion's heart rate instead of my own.
And, to my credit, I barely let out a single tear after I ripped the sticky pads off my chest. Success all round I believe.
The medical staff, or perhaps Summer and Iron themselves, had been kind enough to leave all of my stuff at the foot of my bed, which saved me a lot of time that would have been spent robbing a hospital of my own stuff. I'm not even sure where that falls on the moral scale really. On one hand, it's stealing from a hospital, on the other though it is MY stuff. Shrugging away the moral quandary, I threw my coat on and strapped my belt around my waist. The only thing left on the table was my knife.
I began reaching for it, ready to secure it in place, when I stopped. Did I really want to bring it with me? As I looked at the innocuous piece of metal I could see it sticking out of Melody's chest. Could see the wound it had created.
I could also see Iron handing it to me with a big smile on his face. That day in White Tail seemed almost years ago, yet it had been little more than a couple of months.
Grimacing, I snatched the knife from the table and secured it to my belt, behind my back of course. Like it or not, that dagger was a part of me, literally made from a part of me by one of my best friends. I wouldn't let bad memories take that away.
The ward's window was, of course, locked but that didn't really stand in my way. Only a few minutes after waking up in a hospital bed I was scaling the side of said hospital, landing in a rather tasteful garden that the windows overlooked.
I then dusted myself off, straightened my coat and went back inside the hospital.
Any possible questions that the receptionist at the front desk might have had about my unusual appearance were quickly cut off as I flashed her one of my best grins and immediately began talking.
"Hey there, I was wondering if you would be able to help me with a little something." I said, leaning on the counter slightly, "A couple of my friends might have been around here, a unicorn called Summer Storm and a minotaur, Iron Will. You wouldn't have happened to have seen them would you."
The mare quickly adjusted the reading glasses perched on her muzzle and glanced down at the book in front of her. "Actually sir, we do have two patients with those names, a unicorn and a minotaur like you said. However, they're both in Magical Care at the moment and can't be seen."
They're patients?! Wait...Magical Care?
It was only a lifetime of deceiving and conniving that managed to keep the shock off my face, "Yeah, that must be them. Shame they can't be seen at the moment, I guess I'll have to come back later, Miss...?"
"Sweet Rose." She replied, a smile coming to her lips as she shyly looked away.
"An appropriate name." I chuckled at her blush, adding a bit of the ol' Ace charm to my laugh. "I don't suppose you would be able to do one more small favour for me would you? Could you point me towards a bathroom? It's been an awfully long journey to get here and I do believe I need to freshen up slightly."
The mare was happy to point me in the right direction and, just like that, I was past the front desk and easily integrated into the hospital. Now, if some nurse or doctor happened to stumble upon me, I could just get them to take me to Miss Rose and explain that I must have gotten turned around. No doubt the receptionist would be willing to bail me out, especially if I added a bit more sweet talk to seal the deal.
The moment I was out of sight of the receptionist's desk and was sure that no prying eyes were watching me, I ducked into a room and immediately shut the door behind me. I then began to remove my coat, getting ready to flip it inside out and activate its enchantment. Unfortunately, I was about halfway through the change when I was interrupted by a voice piping up from behind me.
"Oh my! Looks like it's my lucky day!" An elderly female voice crooned.
I slowly and awkwardly turned around to spot the mare whose room I had just burst into. The silver hair and the wrinkles around the eyes quickly informed me of her age, even if her mischievous twinkling eyes sought to convince me she was a much younger mare.
"Why don'tchu come over here so I can get a better look at you?"
I hesitantly approached the bed, knowing that if she were to so much as shout then a veritable army of doctors, nurses and security personnel would descend upon me.
"You're not scared of me?" I asked, knowing how the elderly could sometimes be around the unknown, "Not afraid I'm going to rob you? Or eat you?"
"Eat me?!" She exclaimed, "Oh, heavens no! Even if you were that way inclined, I would probably be taste terrible." She grinned and lifted one wrinkled foreleg to show me, "See? Too stringy. So no, I ain't afraid of you. Shucks, me and the other gals used to go down to a club called 'The Horny Bull'. I tell you, they had the best minotaur dancers in Equestria there. The muscles some of those fellers had. Not to mention the occasional griffin or diamond dog that jumped up on stage for a dance. You look a bit skinny to be honest, but I bet you could get a few of the customers pumped if you wanted to."
"Is it just male dancers there?" I asked, honestly curious about paying this place a visit before I left. My partner's gender had never really been an issue for me, so long as we were all having fun. And judging from the nostalgic look on the mare's face, 'The Horny Bull' sounded like the place for fun.
"Oh no, not at all. They'll accept anyone on stage who wants to show off a bit of flank for the crowd." She giggled then, the noise surprisingly melodic, "Why, I even once got up and strutted my stuff."
"No! You didn't did you?" I gasped, having trouble associating the grandmotherly mare in front of me with a girl who danced on tables for fun, "You did!"
I burst out laughing then. An honest, genuine laugh from deep within my chest. My jaw hurt from how much I was smiling in that particular outburst. Tears were forming at the corner of my eyes as laughter convulsed through me. I even had trouble standing upright, ending up leaning on the side of the elderly mare's bed.
Eventually the laughter died down to mere chuckles, before eventually disappearing entirely.
The tears stayed.
With barely any idea why, I found myself weeping. Wet tears streamed down my face as a sob tore its way out my mouth.
"I don't k-know why I'm crying." I blubbered, barely coherent.
Immediately, the mare spread her forehooves wide and made quiet shushing noises. With a beckoning, she urged me over to her and, for some reason, I found myself obeying. I sat on her bed as she wrapped her hooves around me and pulled me into a comforting hug.
"There there," Her soft voice whispered to me, "It's going to be alright. Everything's alright."
She repeated this like a mantra and I slowly felt myself calming down from the random emotional high I had just been on. Despite this, a part of my mind kept screaming at me. Shouting that everything wasn't going to be alright. That nothing would ever be the same again.
"Now then," She said, loosening her hug and looking me in the eye, "Why don't you tell me what that was all about?"
I knew what I should do here. I should make up some cunning lie, some crafty trick that would distract her away from prying. That is what I should be doing. But I didn't. When I looked into those caring emerald eyes, all my deceit seemed to just go out the window.
"Not long ago," I confessed, "I killed my very first intelligent being."
I expected her to be shocked. To push me away in horror and shout for the guards to arrest this murderer. Perhaps this would have been better. If she'd done that I could have just enacted some daring escape and got away from this situation. Instead, she just nodded and indicated that I should go on.
"Her name was Vibrant Melody, a pegasus mare, but she was also known as Captain Gang Plank, a notorious pirate and ruthless killer. I was taken on her ship and tortured. She even intended to put me to death, eventually. I escaped, managed to take out her crew and ended up fighting her. She died when I stabbed my knife into her chest."
Throughout the entire tale, the elderly mare's eyes never faltered. Nor were they filled with fear, or disgust, or even pity. Her green orbs, only a few shades lighter than her olive coat, were simply full of understanding.
"She sounds like a real piece of work." The mare said neutrally.
"Yeah...but did she really deserve to die? By my hands of all things?" I muttered, looking down at said hands.
"Honey. Honey, look at me." She grabbed my face with her surprisingly strong forelimbs and wrenched it back up so that I was looking at her again, "Listen to me. Sometimes, folks die. And it's sad, especially if they are folk we cared for. But at the end of the day, not everyone can be saved. Mortality is a fact of life sonny, take it from me." A sad smile split her apart her wrinkled face, "Now then, maybe instead of blaming yourself, you should take a step back and look at the choices this Melody girl made that sent her down such a path?"
"Yes," I looked away, trying desperately to call upon my memories of Melody and the ship, "Yes, she mentioned a book." My eyes went wide and my hands dropped lifelessly to she sheets, "She said she was sorry. Not only that but she thanked me. I had just killed her and she thanked me."
The mare nodded and laid a foreleg on my shoulder in comfort, "Perhaps you should look into why she thanked you?"
"You're right." Determination filled me, "I've got to find answers." I was almost readily to leap up and spring into action when I hesitated, another moment becoming clear to me. "But there's something else. I had a...friend there who could have healed Melody, could have saved her in fact, but she refused to."
"And why do you think she did that dearie?"
"Because Melody was...evil?" I shook my head in agitation, "No, my friend would know better. She...she had to know better right? Has to be better?"
"I can't answer those questions." The elderly mare responded with a sad shake of her head, "I can only advise that you look into these lady's motivations rather than their actions. It's only there that you will find understanding."
"Right, right." I nodded, getting up from the bed. "I've got to find a couple of people, a minotaur and a unicorn. They may well be able to answer a few of these questions I've got buzzing round my skull. Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help."
"Oh, it's not a problem dearie." The mare replied with a smile, her eyes lighting up with a twinkle once more, "You looked like you could use some good old-fashioned motherly advice."
I got up to leave and began to head towards the door when she called out to me again.
"A quick question before you go though. This friend of yours, what are you going to do when you meet her again?"
I halted in my tracks, the question honestly stunning me. What would I do once I saw Lady Luck again? I mean, she was supposed to be my mother, she was supposed to help me. But she had abandoned me there, left me to watch Melody die.
"I don't know." I eventually replied, turning around, "I need to know why she didn't help first, before I go accusing her of anything."
"Good boy." The mare said, approval clear in her voice, "Too many young uns go rushing in without any idea of the actual situation. Often enough, they end up making things worse. Take a step back, clear your head and everything becomes so much clearer."
"I'll have to remember that one," I replied honestly, making sure to take the advice to heart. It had certainly helped in this situation and I would be a fool to ignore it if it applied to another situation.
Not that I was above being a fool on occasion.
"I don't believe I ever introduced myself though, or got your name." I said, remembering my manners, "How rude of me. You give me life-changing advice and I don't even introduce myself." I swept into my trademark extravagant bow, "I am the Amazing Ace, Magician Extraordinaire!"
"My, what a remarkable name, almost makes mine seem dull by comparison. Name's Fortune dear, Golden Fortune."
"It's been a pleasure to meet you Miss Fortune, but I must be off. I have some friends to track down and some answers to find." I swept forward before kneeling down beside the mare and planting a kiss of her forehoof, eliciting a giggle from the elderly pony, "Once again, my sincerest thanks for your assistance.
As I left the room and the mare behind, I couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. It was like I had missed something. Something important that I should have caught. Something to do with that mare's eyes. Those green, knowing eyes, glittering like emeralds.
Miss Fortune...
I had barely made it to the end of the hall when I figured it out. Immediately, I turned around and dashed back down the hall, my hooves slamming into the floor as I bolted past various rooms, eventually reaching the one I had only just left. I burst through the door, an accusation on my lips, only for it to die there.
The room was empty. The bedsheets were completely perfect, as though no one had ever been there. Miss Fortune was gone. |
Wild Card | The Not-Quite Goodbye | A thousand and one thoughts swirled through my head as I moved through the corridors of the hospital. I wasn't sure what to feel over Lady Luck's little deception. At first, anger seemed to be the clear winner but, after applying a little thought to the situation, I realised I wasn't really angry at her. I was annoyed sure, mostly over why she didn't just appear to me honestly and just talk to me, but not truly angry.
It was only after I managed to get a reign on my emotions that I realised why she had decided on such a convoluted route to advise me. If she had appeared to me, in a dream or hallucination or whatever, to explain herself I probably would have just blown up at her. I'll admit, Melody's death had hit me hard. Was still hitting me hard in fact and would probably continue to do so for some time. I would have been too emotional, not acting entirely rationally and, when it comes to dealing with both family and all-powerful goddesses, rationality is kind of a must have.
The general theme of the whole Golden Fortune deception wasn't lost on me either. Look at people's motivations rather than their actions. The Lady's motivation was pretty clear, even to a emotionally dead rogue like myself. She did what she did out of love, that one unreachable emotion that I have always looked down on in the past. It didn't seem such a pathetic emotion now I've got to say. In fact, it seemed to be the most important one in the world.
I shook my head to clear it of these strangely pervasive thoughts. I could deal with my messed up family life later, right now though my friends are laid up somewhere in this hospital and I was going to find them. I was fully prepared to break down doors, shout at ponies and generally be very threatening until someone took me to my friends.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately since I was quite looking forward to kicking down some doors, the Magical Care ward was quite easy to find. The hospital had plenty of directional signs littered about the place, not to mention the fact that there was arrows painted on the floor that actually lead you to the various wards. Provided I looked confident and kept up a brisk stride, no one even questioned why I was there. They all just assumed that a person as determined and certain as myself must know what he was doing.
Breaking into this place was almost laughably easy. I was sort of disappointed to be honest.
Upon arriving in magical care, I strode up to the nearest bed and yanked the curtain back. Lying before me was a rather scared looking stallion absolutely covered in bandages. In fact, I was simply assuming he was male; the amount of bandages covering the pony's body actually made it impossible to tell. His eyes, the only part of him that was visible, looked at me with a mixture of fear and resignation.
"What horrors have you been through?" I muttered.
"Mfffhglghl." The pony responded with a small body spasm that could, if one was being liberal, have been called a shrug.
"You wouldn't happen to have seen a minotaur and a unicorn around here would you?" I asked, not entirely sure about the quality of response I would receive, "Minotaur's about yay tall, goes by the name of Iron Will, shouts a lot. Unicorn's called Summer Storm, she's..." I paused, unsure how best to describe Summer, "Feisty."
"Mhuhhurhshdl," The bandaged pony said with a miniscule nod of his head to the right, "Thufrhtigh."
I peered around the curtain divider and at some of the other beds, each one also closed off by a curtain. "They're in one of those?"
"Mhuhu."
"Thanks, you've been great." I prepared to back out before a thought struck me, "Here, let me help you as well."
A quick search of the ward revealed a perfect target, a young-looking nurse who, judging from the huge smile on the face of the elderly stallion whose chart she was currently looking over, was quite attractive by pony standards. It probably helped that she was wearing a nurses outfit. Not sure what it is about nurse outfits but no matter what species you are, men seem to go crazy for them. Must be magic.
"Oh nurse, over here please." I shouted in a sufficiently commanding voice. The nurse looked up from her chart and hurried over. After all, the only person who would be shouting commands in a hospital must surely be a doctor, right?
"'Ow can I 'elp you Doctor?" She asked in a sweet voice.
An accent? This is even better than I planned. Though I can't for the life of me place where the hell that accent is from.
"It's this patient Nurse. He requires an immediate sponge bath and your utmost attention." The bandaged stallion's eyes widened as he realised what I was doing. "Although it looks like a big job, do perhaps have someone who can help you?"
"Well, I do 'ave a twin sister 'ere working 'ere in ze 'ospital."
"Of course you do." I replied with a smile.
Of course she has a twin sister in the hospital. She's a young, accented nurse with a twin sister, who will probably turn out to be a maid or something.
"Why don't you go and fetch here and then you can both...assist this patient." I continued.
"Right away Doctor!" She replied with a grin before zooming off.
My work here done, I looked back at the lucky stallion and winked before setting off to find my friends again.
Wait, did I just help set up the beginning of a porno? Holy crap, I think I did.
Well, my job here in Equestria was supposed to be to spread luck. I guess that was a rather liberal interpretation of that job description but I think it works. After all, someone is going to be getting lucky pretty soon.
It was actually fairly easy to find Iron and Summer after the muffled direction's I'd received. I simply carried on in the direction the pony had indicated until I came across a curtain divider large enough to house two beds. Barring a few mildly embarrassing incidents of me poking my head into curtained beds of other ponies, it all went fairly well.
I mean, it was only after I found them that I realised I could have just asked the nurse rather than the guy who was gagged by bandages. That would have been way easier.
The moment I poked my head in and beheld my friends, my heart sank. Summer looked far from great. Her coat was paler than usual, seeming to be almost white rather than the proud electric blue it usually was. Her mane looked stringy and unkempt, seeming to have lost some of it's natural luster. What was most worryingly though was the strange machine the doctors had her hooked up to. It looked like what would happen if a crystal pony fell in love with a clockwork automaton. Gems hovered at the centre of the device, spinning of their own volition and emitting rays of light, whilst pipes and tubes led from the machine itself into Summer's body. Despite this, the strong unicorn was awake, her weak eyes lighting up the moment she saw me.
Whilst seeing Summer like that was heart wrenching, Iron was in an even worse state. For one thing, the minotaur wasn't even conscious. The machine that he was hooked up to lacked the mysterious crystals but compensated for it by having a large set of what seemed to be bellows, moving up and down inside the machine in time to Iron's breathing. With a start I realised what they were doing. They were actually controlling Iron's breathing, keeping the seemingly invincible minotaur alive. What hit me worst though was his arm. I don't know what happened to them, what they went through whilst I was away, but it must have been bad. Iron's arm seemed to be made entirely of metal, a perfect iron simulacrum of the minotaur's closed fist.
What happened to them? Maybe if I had been there...
Staring at Iron, my friend, it was difficult for me to even comprehend him in such a state. This wasn't the raging beast I had fought in the diamond dog Pit, nor was it the mighty warrior whose strength had supported us in our escape. Iron was mortal. Even with his vast strength, he wasn't invincible.
My eyes turned back to Summer, who was looking at me with a curious expression now. Like Iron, she too was mortal. Her magic was powerful and her mind was determined but she wasn't like me. She didn't have a goddess watching out for her all the time. And now here she was, paying the price for for following me.
"Ace," Summer said, "Are you alright? You're acting a bit weird."
I realised that I must have looked rather strange, coming in here and just staring at them, not saying a word.
"Sorry, sorry." I managed to mutter, "It's just...it's a lot to take in."
"It looks much worse than it is." Summer said with a smile, some strength returning to her voice. "The docs say that I'll be up and about in about a day."
"And Iron?"
Her smile fell as she looked over at the minotaur, "They'll be waking him up in a week, see if he can breath on his own then. Ace," She choked out a sob, a tear making its way down her face as she stared at Iron, "What he did...Oh Celestia..."
I was immediatly by her side, her hoof in my hands. "Summer, tell me, what happened to you two? How did this," A wave of my hand encompassed the two of them, "happen?"
Summer, to her infinite credit, managed to suck up her tears as she told me what she knew of the story. With a voice that wavered only slightly she told me of how she found Sargeant Brick, how they took a ship to pursue my kidnappers and how they were attacked by Rustjaw. I looked into her watery eyes as she told me of Brick's sacrifice, of her subsequent loss of control and how Iron held her. I barely managed to repress my anger over Rustjaw's transformation and what Summer and Iron both gave up in order to defeat him.
The Black Water. It all comes down to that in the end. It keeps showing up and hurting people, no matter where I go. Someone is going to have to answer for this.
I didn't even notice the death grip I had on the metal rail to Summer's bed, nor did I notice that the unicorn had stopped her tale and was staring at me again. When she leaned over and placed one hoof on my hand, I almost leapt back from her. Restraining myself, I calmed my breathing and looked back at her, nodding once to show her I was calm.
"When the pegasus guards managed to get their clouds under control, they navigated back to us. The fire that you started on the pirate's ship helped guide them back after which they simply picked us up and took us back here."
"And the pirate's themselves?"
"Safely locked up and facing a trial for their crimes. Not like one is really needed though, there's so much evidence against them that the entire procedure is practically unnecessary. We even got a the captain's log and personal diary, which should speed up the procedure slightly."
Summer's words echoed in my mind, resonating with another set of words that were bouncing around the inside of my skull, unforgettable no matter how hard I tried.
"Cabin. Bo...book."
My face must have revealed my thoughts to the world since Summer's face immediately dropped, her eyes filling with painful understanding. One of her forelegs stretched out and grabbed my shoulder lightly, drawing me into a hug.
Even though her touch was light and her fur soft, why did I feel like it was an executioner's blade being placed against my neck?
"Ace...we found the body."
Her voice was close, whispering in my ear as she held me tightly, and yet it seemed so far away at the same time. I wasn't truly in the room with Summer then, I was back on the ship. Vibrant Melody was staring up at me, gasping for breath as her lifeblood soaked into the deck.
"...did what you had to do." Summer finished, snapping me back to the present.
I nodded mutely, hoping that she would accept this. I couldn't tell her that her words were like poison to me, soaking into an open wound and infecting my thoughts. No amount of comforting platitudes would remove the memory of Melody's pain-filled eyes and assurances like 'self-defence' and 'it was necessary' just made things worse.
A cold, logical part of me acknowledged that it was all true, both what Lady Luck had told me and what Summer had essentially backed her up on. Melody had chosen her own path and, in the end, her death was the only option.
Yet a much louder, more emotional, part of me screamed in impotent fury over the unfairness of it all. It roared in rage at the logical side of me and, once it had expended it's supply of anger, it wept for something lost.
"So what are you going to do next?" I asked as I eased out of Summer's hug, wanting to switch subjects as quickly as possible.
Summer looked surprised by the sudden question and, for a moment, I thought she was going to ask more about Melody before she seemed to accept the subject change and continued.
"I'm thinking of staying here actually." She said, her voice filling with hope.
My heart dropped out of my chest at her words, so innocently spoken. She wanted to stay? But why? Wasn't she having fun adventuring with me?
"Manehatten needs me, now more than ever," She continued, "With Brick...gone...the Guard's don't have anyone with the experience necessary to lead. I'm now the highest ranking member of the Manehatten Guard and, as such, am now the Honorary Captain until we can establish contact with High Command again." She smiled, her pearly teeth gleaming in the hospital lighting. "Even then, I think I have a pretty good chance of getting the job permanently."
I wasn't sure whether to smile and be happy for her or weep and beg her not to stay. I'd never truly had friends like Summer and Iron before; people who are willing to go to ridiculously extreme lengths to help me, people who get along with me and are willing to accept me. Sure, I've had friends before but all those relationships have either been so weak as to whither over time or break entirely, being proved false in the end. In my line of work at least, you don't really make many friends, just contacts and acquaintances.
"I..." My mouth began, trying to fill the silence before my brain managed to compose anything to actually say.
"You could stay as well!" Summer blurted out, evidently noticing my indecision. "I mean, if you want to. We could certainly use someone of your skills, not to mention your intimate knowledge of the sort of people we are trying to catch."
Wait, did she just call me a thief? I am more than that! I...am a specialist.
Still my mind was torn. On one hand, I would get to stay with Summer and Iron, work with them on a daily basis even. On the other hand though, it's Manehatten, a city now jam packed full of way too many memories for me.
"I don't know if I can." I eventually answered, my heart tearing in two again as her eager smile slowly drooped down. "There's still so much left to see, so much left to do and this city..." I trailed off, unsure of how to explain it.
To my surprise, Summer's smile returned, this time less eager but full of understanding.
"Okay Ace." She said, "I won't say that I'm happy about you leaving...but...if you feel you have to do this then so be it. Just know that you will always have a place here, no matter what."
I nodded once again, not sure if I would ever end up accepting that offer, "What about Iron?"
Summer looked over to the comatose minotaur, her eyes full of worry but her smile hopeful, "Back on the ship, Iron and I had a little moment, I guess you would call it. I was a bit out of the loop from using so much magic and ended up demanding that he take me to dinner."
Despite the pain in my heart, I felt overjoyed at the news, a wide smile breaking onto my face. I had wondered how long it would take the two of them to actually talk about their feelings and it looked like it had only taken a giant mutant serpent to force them to confront each other.
"And?" I asked enthusiastically, "What did he say?"
"I'm fairly certain he said yes," Summer replied, "Though I would really like to confirm that when he wakes up. I hope he did say yes though, I don't know if I have the courage to ask again." Her shoulders slumped slightly as she spoke, her own neurotic worries getting to her.
This time, it was me who pulled her into a hug, "Summer, I have something really important to tell you about men. A secret that I should really not be exposing to a female."
Her eyebrow raised, "Oh, what's that?"
I took an exaggerated breath, as though preparing for some dramatic revelation, "Men...are really dense. Like, ridiculously dense."
Summer snorted, "We already knew that. This isn't really news to us girls."
"What!? How?" I demanded, whipping my head around as though searching for some invisible informant. "Who told you? There must be a mole in our ranks!"
Thankfully, this got the correct response from the mare as she burst out into giggles, which escalated to full on laughter as I joined in, dropping my act. Laughing with a friend felt really good, our worries drained away as we chuckled ourselves hoarse.
Eventually we calmed down and we both took a few deep breaths to regain some measure of control over ourselves. "Seriously though," I said through breathes, "I know that Iron likes you, and you clearly like him, so there's no need for anymore silly running around. If there's any problems, just be clear and talk to him. Like I said, men are dense, we aren't good at reading signs. Hell, we can't even read maps."
"I'll make sure to keep that in mind."
"You do that," I smiled slightly sadly, "There's one more thing though. I was wondering if you would be able to hold on to something for me, at least until I come back? Think of it as collateral if you will, to ensure my return." I began to rummage around in my pocket, my hand eventually closing around the object. Even then, I still had trouble actually drawing it out and looking it in the face, so to speak. "I don't think I can keep this with me anymore. It seems so heavy. Would you be able to look after it for me?"
"Of course I will Ace."
"Thanks Summer, you're the best." With a flick of my wrist I cast the offending object onto the bedside table. "And I promise you, I will be back one day. I just need some time to get things together."
"I understand," She leaned back, her eyes staring into the distance as she remembered something, "It was the same for me, once upon a time. I needed to get out, to find myself out there away from my father's shadow. I found more than just myself though," Here she looked at me before turning slightly to gaze lovingly at the sleeping minotaur beside us, "and now I'm ready to settle down. I hope that you can also find yourself, and maybe a little more."
I felt my eyes watering again but managed to keep myself together, "Thanks Summer, that means a lot." I paused uncomfortably, "I guess this is goodbye then?"
"More like 'see you later'."
"Right, right." I looked down and shook my head, "Give my best to Iron won't you? And tell him about my promise?"
"Of course Ace, now get out of here." She gave me a rueful smile, "Technically, I'm still a Guard and, technically, you are still a thief."
"Oh? You gonna hunt me down?" I raised an eyebrow, "What are you going to tell the higher ups about me by the way?"
"The truth. That you are an exceptionally devious individual who managed to work his way into my confidence, trick a large portion of the Guard with your superior intellect before utilising your exceptional dexterity to escape in an epic pursuit."
I glowed at the compliment, "Thanks Summer, have I ever told you how awesome you are?"
"Several times I believe, but it's always nice to hear," She grinned, "Now go. I can already feel strength returning to my legs and I'd hate to have to run a thief out of town on my first day officially back in the Guard."
"Aye, goodbye Summer." I paused, "No...see you soon."
With that I turned and strode away from my two best friends, unwilling to let them see the tears once again streaming down my face. Thus I missed Summer looking over at the Ace of Diamonds that I had left upon her bedside table and missed her looking sorrowfully at me as I walked away.
"See you soon Ace." |
Wild Card | Shuffled Away | The day was beginning to wane away by the time I stopped walking. I had been walking in a daze for a bit, an uncomfortable silence surrounding me as, for the first time in a while, I travelled without companionship. When I finally did stop, I found myself on a sun-kissed hill overlooking the port city. As I turned to look down at the city, the sun at my back, it felt almost as if the entire settlement lay at my hooves.
How ironic. I had not conquered this city. Hell, I could barely stand to look at it.
Regardless, I took a seat on the hill and reached into the satchel that I had hanging around my chest. Two objects were inside. The first could very well be described as a work of art. It turned out that the carpenter I hired did good work after all. The card shooter was wonderfully crafted, all smooth wood and bright springs. It was, to be perhaps a bit extravagant, perfect. The mechanism was smooth, the bands that strapped it to my wrist were comfortable and it was small and light enough to be easily concealed beneath my sleeve without encumbering my arm.
The second however, was far less satisfactory to look upon. Not only had I technically stolen it from the Guard house but it was also about as far from a work of art as it was possible to be. If anything, Melody's journal was the work of a mad mare, and I dreaded what I might find within its pages. Even so, I knew that I had to read it. It was the only way to get any answers about Melody.
And I had always been a curious creature.
For a moment, I wondered if I would be better off not reading the book, better off not finding out about Vibrant Melody, the mare I had killed. Perhaps I should just throw the book away? Cast it into some stream and forget about it. Get on with my life and try to put Melody, and her fate, out of my mind.
But I only thought this for a moment.
With a sigh, I looked down at the book and began to read.
Diary of Vibrant Melody
4/7/1678
Dear Diary,
Today was a wonderful day! After so long of working pubs and run-down bars here in Los Pegasus, I've finally been noticed. Seems like some the friend of a club owner had stopped by for a drink and he noticed my singing. He said that he would get in touch with his friend and arrange an audition for me. This could be my chance! Finally, I'm going to be somepony.
Filled with hope,
Melody.
Diary of Vibrant Melody
8/7/1678
I met the mare I will be working for today. Gentle Tones is, much like her name, a very sweet and caring mare. I'll be singing at her club every weekend, with a healthy wage to go with it. She even gave me my first two weeks in advance! I've never seen so many bits in once place! No more living off tips from leering drunks for this mare!
As soon as I get settled into the club, I'm going to invite the family up to see me perform. I can't wait to see my sister again, not to mention having Ma and Pa see me up on that bright stage.
Looking to the future,
Melody.
I was, of course, understandably confused by these first few entries. If anything, these seemed to be the various ramblings and recounts of a fairly ordinary mare. Struggling a bit for work sure but, other than that, perfectly normal. What could have possibly happened that caused her to become the fearsome pirate that I had met?
I began to skip some of the entries, mainly ones about her family visiting and how well things were going now that she was at the club. Finally, I found one that seemed significant.
Diary of Vibrant Melody
23/2/1679
Another astounding break for me happened today. I got another job offer! A talent scout must have been in Gentle Tones' club because one of the big club owners offered me a job at her establishment. At first, I was worried. Gentle Tones had told me about some of these big club ponies. How they would wrap a filly like myself up in legal fine print until we didn't even know which way up was. At first, I believed the older mare and was wary of the contact.
At least, until I saw the amount of zeroes on my wage slip.
They were offering at least five times what I was getting from Gentle Tones! It became obvious what was happening then. That sweet old mare was just a façade, a mask to lure young fools in and make them trust her. Gentle Tones must have been quite the ruthless businessmare. Now that those nice agents from the big club had come along, I knew how much I was really worth.
And it was far more than Gentle Tones could afford.
I start at the new club this weekend. With this, I'll have enough money to bring the entire family up to Los Pegasus, even buy them a nice house soon enough. Ma and Pa can retire if they wish! And my lil' sis will go to all the best schools!
Life's going to be good from now on.
A new mare,
Melody
To all intents and purposes, it seemed like Melody's statement turned out to be true, at least for a while. She brought her family up to the city, her wage was more than enough to give them a good life. Her mother and father continued to work, even when Melody urged them to retire they refused, stating that 'hard work's good for the soul'.
Melody declared this sentiment to be ridiculous and, honestly, I agreed.
It was then that I discovered an entry that deviated from the norm. For the last few years of entries, Melody's writing had been neat and precise, all to the same format. This one, however, was incredibly messy. It looked more like it had been scrawled onto the page by a child than carefully written by a grown mare. At first, I thought that Melody's sister had managed to get hold of the diary and scrawl in it, until I actually managed to read the near-illegible writing.
Melody's diary
28/7/1684
Tragedy. How could this have happened to me? Everything seemed to be going so well. Now who could possibly love me?
Perhaps I should explain.
I was singing at the club like usual and it was getting pretty late. Even though working at this club had been good to me, there were some downsides. For example, barely a few days into my career here, I found out something I had missed in the contract. For one thing, I had to work more nights here than I had at Tones' club and work much later too. It was a required part of my contract apparently, though of course that wasn't mentioned earlier.
Regardless, I was working my least favourite time of the whole week. Late on Friday night. The only patrons still left in the club are those too drunk or too desperate to get away from home to leave. Security itself is pretty lax, the large bouncers practically asleep on their hooves after the long work day.
Thus, they don't react quickly enough when a particularly drunken stallion decides to climb on stage. I don't know whether he was actually trying to take a shot at me or if he simply wanted to try his own singing talent. What I saw was a drunken, leery stallion climbing towards me. Naturally, I screamed.
Apparently, the drunk didn't take too well to the piercing noise cutting through his ears and he takes a swing at me. Badly aimed but effective nonetheless. I fall of the stage, seemingly such a long way down, and there's this glass, just innocently left on a table, rushing up to meet my face.
So now I'm in hospital, my face covered with bandages. The docs can't tell the full extent of the damage yet but I know it's not good just from the looks in their eyes. I wonder if they'll let me back at the club, or if I even want to go back? Will Gentle Tones let me perform at her club again? I was wrong about the old mare. She paid me what she could and always kept her workers safe and happy. My contract says I can't even sue the club or the stallion who attacked me. I even hired a lawyer to look over the legalities of it. Watertight he says. Nothing I can do.
Will my sister be able to look me in the eye again?
Fearfully,
Melody
I put down the book as I stared into the distance, my feelings unsure and my mind rife with confusion. From this account, it seemed like Melody was just a mare who had made some bad decisions. I had made much worse decisions in my life but had always managed to pull myself through it.
Then again, I realised as my heart sank, Melody didn't have a powerful goddess of luck helping her out.
Once again, I picked up the book and continued reading.
Melody's Journal
5/8/1684
I feel like a monster. No, worse than that. I feel like a freak. Every day I see perfect, unblemished ponies going about their perfect little lives and yet, when they see me and my new face, their eyes fill with pity, or fear, or some combination of the two. I tried going back to the club and they even let me go up on stage and perform, a fact for which I was immensely grateful.
But then, I couldn't do it.
Looking down from the stage at that sea of eyes filled with horror made me clam up instantly. The spotlights, which I had once loved, now just seemed to highlight every flaw. The words got stuck in my throat, and the song refused to come out no matter how hard I tried. I ended up fleeing the stage, not even looking back. I considered trying Tones' club, where maybe the ponies might be more understanding and not so horrified, but eventually decided otherwise.
The world may have taken my ability to perform, but I still had my pride. I couldn't go crawling back, not now. That bridge had been burnt long ago.
I would have been able to take all this with ease, if it were just for one thing. If only my family weren't like the others. If only my parent's eyes didn't fill with sorrow at the sight of my scar. If only my sister had recognized her own sister without having to be told who I was. She was right though. I could see that whenever I looked in the mirror. The scar seemed to twist my entire face into a scowl. I don't think I've ever fully scowled before in my life, and now it's my permanent expression.
I don't know what I'm going to do next. Something tells me I should leave town. Maybe go somewhere. I hear that Manehatten's nice.
Melody.
Well that at least explains where Melody came from but not how she ended up as she was. I began to skip forward a couple of pages at a time, quickly skimming through Melody's thoughts. Her writing got much neater after a while, I noted. Far better than when she had freshly been injured.
That was true, at least until I flipped over to the next page.
I'm not sure what day it is right now, or even where I am right now. I'm scared though. That's all I can focus on. The fear. Fear of myself.
There's a voice in my head. Not my voice, some stranger's voice. It tells me things, whispers advice to me. Such good advice. Tells me how to survive in this place. How to fight, how to kill even. The best way to break a pony's leg, or shatter a horn, or slice a throat.
It's so easy, once you know how. Why doesn't everypony do this? Surviving is so much easier now I have the voice.
Why was I afraid again? I forgot.
Feeling sleepy now, the voice is singing to me. Such a sweet voice. Nice voice.
Melody
I re-read the passage, horrified at what was before my eyes. I flipped back through the diary, my eyes furiously picking out small phrases and words that confirmed what was happening.
'I had the strangest thought today...'
'Such a curious idea came to me...'
'Something told me he was lying. Something inside my head...'
'A little voice in my head said...'
Something had been talking to Melody, tempting her and telling her what to do. Each time the voice had gave her some advice though, Melody had always followed it. She was so lost that she would accept direction from anywhere, even a suspicious voice inside her head.
And I was willing to bet I knew who that voice was.
I skipped forward again, skimming through, until I found what looked like a coherent entry.
I'm not sure how long it's been since I wrote in here. There are other entries of course, but I'm not sure if that's really ME writing them. Everything seems so hazy now. The voice is quieter now, still whispering but quietly.
These lucid moments are getting rarer and rarer. I can't tell if this is going to be my last. After this, I don't know if it will even be Vibrant Melody in this body anymore or some strange creature who obeys the voices in her head.
I'm so scared right now. I can feel myself fading away. I don't want to go.
Will anyone miss me when I'm gone? Does my sister remember me? Do my parents still think of me? It's been years since I saw them. I consider going back to see them one last time but restrain myself. What would the voice say? What would it tell me to do to them?
Oh Celestia, I'm scared. Please, if anyone reads this...
Forgive me.
Slowly, I closed the book. For a few moments I just stared at it, drinking in the dark blue covering, the little golden swirls and the various scuff marks that made up the front of the book. I then raised my thousand yard stare to look out over Manehatten.
This city had taken so much from me. I had come in a wide-eyed and rambunctious trickster and now...now I'm not even sure what I am. I certainly wasn't the same man who got dropped into Equestria so long ago. It had barely been a few months and yet it felt like years.
"What have I done?" I asked the world.
"The only thing you could do." Came the unexpected response from behind me.
I didn't even bother to turn, knowing who would be there. That voice. That cryptic little reply. That ability to get onto a completely open hilltop without me seeing. It could really only be one person.
"You keep saying that," I said, still slouching my head, "But I'm not sure what it really means."
She strode over, her light footsteps crunching grass beneath her. She then sat down beside me, laying one hand on my shoulder. I felt like shrugging her away, but didn't. Now was not the time to be angry with her. I had to let her explain herself.
"Ace, if you could see the world as I see it, you would understand my actions." She frowned, I could practically hear it, "Perhaps it would be easier to just show you."
Her other hand came around, laying gently against my jaw and turning my head to look into her green eyes.
"Brace yourself, this is going to feel very strange."
Her eyes flashed, the jade depths flaring with an inside light, and then the world exploded.
Golden light filled my vision for a moment. Just as I began to fear that I had gone completely blind, it began to die down, some of the light staying behind and forming strange strings that attached to various objects. Multiple stings seemed to be wrapped around my own body, heading of in various directions before getting lost in the gigantic weave that now surrounded me. Experimentally, I moved my arm and the golden thread that wrapped around it moved with me. I could see the thread but couldn't seem to feel it.
"What is this?" I asked, wonder filling my voice.
"This is how I see the world." Lady Luck replied, "Ace, I'd like you to meet the Strings of Probability. Strings of Probability, Ace."
"What do they do?" I was still staring at my arm, swaying it back and forth and watching the thread dance about, "These Strings of Probability? How do they relate to Melody? And more importantly, how do they relate to Ate? She was the voice right? The one talking to Melody?"
She smiled sadly and nodded, "It's not just myself who views the world like this. A whole bunch of other gods can see the Strings, Ate included. Look over there," She pointed to a spot in the grass a small distance from us, "See that rock?"
Sure enough there was a small rock in the grass, a golden thread phasing into it.
"Say that rock is a cart and that ladybird down there," She pointed slightly further down the hill to where I could just make out a small red dot on a piece of grass. It would have been invisible if it weren't for the multiple golden strings that came off its form, "is a pony. Now Ate would tug at this string and..."
She suddenly grabbed a sting near her hand and gave it a yank. The world seemed to jump sideways as the string jerked. The small rock, which had been stationary only a moment ago, began to roll slowly forwards, eventually picking up speed as it barrelled towards the oblivious ladybird. It was like watching a train wreck in miniature. Any moment now that little bug would be crushed. I found myself strangely concerned over its well-being, despite the fact that it was just a ladybird.
"And now," Lady Luck continued, "I tug at this string."
She grabbed another one near her, giving it a quick strum as though it were the string of a harp. Once again, the world jumped sideways, this time the some of the other strings began to vibrate as the plucked string resonated outwards. A stick, which I was sure had been at least a few feet to the left before, now found itself in the way of the rolling stone. The stone struck the stick and went flying into the air, heading far over the ladybird's head and landing harmlessly in the grass. The ladybird, startled by its near death experience, quickly fled, taking off as quickly as its little wings could carry it.
Slightly amazed and very impressed, I turned to Lady Luck, who simply raised an eyebrow at me.
"Do you get it now?"
"Okay, I'm not an idiot. You're saying that you and Ate have been at your little tug of war for a while. She alters probability to cause something bad and then you pull some strings to prevent it. But surely, if there are so many probabilities, something could have been done to help Melody?"
She looked down, seemingly too ashamed to meet my eyes, "Maybe if I had realized sooner. I didn't see that Ate would prepare so far ahead. I underestimated her, I'll admit. She had been at Vibrant Melody for a while, twisting her into the rage-filled pirate that you fought. By the time that I realised the extent that Ate had prepared for this, it was too late. There were only two Strings around the two of you on that ship."
"So in one, Melody dies and I walk away. And the other?"
My mother looked me directly in the eye, her gaze hard and steely, "You died. Melody finished off Iron and Summer. She then takes out the remnant of the Guard and places Manehatten back under her control, killing many ponies and carrying on her reign of terror." She sighed then, seeming so old for a moment. She had always seemed like this force of nature, always being either terrifying or exhilarating to be around. Now though, she really did look like someone who had been around for a thousand years, fighting the whole time. She looked so tired. "For me, there was only one option. I couldn't lose you Ace. You're one of the few good things that have happened to me in my life...I don't know what I would do if I lost you."
I didn't speak. There were no words to express myself properly to her. I simply stepped forward and embraced her, allowing the goddess - no, my mother - to cry into my shoulder. She had always been strong for me. Now I needed to be strong for her.
Eventually, and after much snivelling and sniffing from the both of us, we calmed down. Handkerchiefs were produced from sleeves and we had a good laugh about how pathetic we must look before wiping our eyes.
"What are you going to do now?" She eventually asked, her face magically back to looking pristine. Damn goddess magic. I bet I still look a mess. "Ate is still out there. She put up a fight over Melody but, in the end, she didn't put her all into the battle. She has other plans in the works, of that I am sure."
"Well I'll just have to keep travelling and hunting for her I guess," I frowned, "But first though, I have to visit Los Pegasus."
My mother looked at me curiously.
"There's a family I have to visit." I said, picking up the journal from where I had left it in the grass, "They deserve to know the truth."
"What are you going to tell them? The whole truth?"
"Of a sort," I replied, "I'm going to tell them that their daughter was a victim. I'm going to tell her that she died to save another. I'm going to tell them that she died thinking of them."
Lady Luck bowed her head, smiling slightly at that, "Well, I'll be off now then. We'll definitely meet again Ace. And I will be watching over you my son. I love you."
I smiled at her, feeling much better now than I did this morning, "I love you too...mum."
She looked up at me, shocked. A wide smile began to tug at her face, even as she began to fade away. A moment later, it was as though she had never even been there in the first place and I was alone upon the hilltop. Looking down at Melody's journal for one last time, I placed it carefully in my satchel before slinging it over my shoulder and walking over to where the stick that mother had conjured for her little demonstration lay.
It was a sturdy looking thing, probably could have been a thick branch if it had stayed attached to the tree. Maybe children would have wrapped a rope around it and used it as a swing. Maybe some bird would have made its nest upon it. So many various possibilities for just a branch. Seemed a waste just to leave it lying here.
I picked it up and gave it a quick once over. It would do I guess. Taking a few pouches and bags from my belt, I quickly tied them onto the branch before leaning it against my shoulder. Reaching into one of the remaining bags at my waist, I pulled out my pipe and placed it in my mouth before setting off down the hill.
The world awaits after all, and you know what they say about old gamblers. We never really die...
We just get shuffled away. |
Wild Card | Q&A | So here we go, a small Q and A session between you guys and myself. This makes me feel quite important really, like I should be at Bronycon announcing my various thoughts to a roomful of devoted bronies.
Before I go mad with power, let's get this underway.
Red Moon Levee asks:
'What would you suggest to help a new writer keep writing when there is no inspiration?'
Firstly, welcome to the business to words, you can collect your free Pen-gun over there and just remember: Pen-gun: Mightier than the sword.
I would also advise against forcing yourself to write, as you tend to come out with disappointing results to say the least. If you are having trouble with the story you are currently writing then maybe try writing something different for a bit? I have often gone off, wrote a one thousand word drabble about something silly and then come back to Wild Card refreshed and ready for round two. It can be quite a useful little tactic.
Furthermore, I'd put it to you that there is never 'no inspiration' for a story. It's simply a matter of finding the inspiration. Whether it is something you read in a book, see in a movie or witness in the outside world, life is full of little inspirations that can help push you forward.
And now I sound like a member of the Dead Poet's Society. Brilliant.
Aggro Viking asks a bunch of questions:
'What is your favourite sweet?'
Cadbury's Eclairs. I've eaten whole bags of those at a time in the past.
'Nick Cage?'
Only when he is photo-shopped onto other things. Like Miley Cyrus.
'Laptop or Desktop?'
I've been a desktop man for years and the first 40 or so chapters of Wild Card have been done on a desktop. However, now that I'm at university I find a laptop to be far more convenient.
'What is your least favourite card game?'
Anyone that doesn't take place on the back of a motorcycle. Honestly though, probably poker. Despite me writing an entire story about a gambling thief, I'm terrible at card games and don't know my flushes from my facedown trap cards without consulting the internet.
Keairan asks:
'How will Lady Luck and Ate react to Oponn's attunement to Equus?' IE Oponn is now another Luck God that can openly affect Equus.'
Hmm, difficult to say to be honest. Lady Luck would probably be fairly ambivalent towards another god of luck, providing they didn't mess with Ace or muck up her probabilities too much. Ate, on the other hand, would probably be furious at another god that specialises in luck, a domain that she feels should be hers entirely.
_Checkmate_ asks:
'What kind of plans do you have for the sequel; i.e. forming a new (possibly permanent) team, working for the Equestian Gov./Dairy?'
A difficult question to answer without revealing too much. About all I can say is that the sequel will involve two figures from Ace's past who feel that they have been wronged by our hero. There might also be a possible love interest, providing if the paramour in question can pin down our slippery satyr. That's about all I can say.
Ikiostar asks:
'Will Ace ever find new companions? What will happen to his friends from this part of the story? Marriage? Kids? ...Oh...and for the actors in this wonderful play...What was your favorite part in this story?
Ace will definitely be getting some new companions for the sequel. As for Summer and Iron, they will be staying in Manehatten and settling down together. Marriage is probable, after a certain amount of time Swift Storm would probably force a nervous Iron to pop the question. Or Summer would ask first of course. She isn't exactly the kind of pony to let someone get away once they've caught her eye. As for the final question, let's hand it over to the actors themselves.
Summer: I really like finding my dad and rescuing him. It really gave me the chance to show off some emotional depth as well as a little bit of magical flank-kicking. I usually enjoy being the calm one of the group but I confess, being given the opportunity to go completely insane on someone was fun.
Iron: I PUNCHED A GIANT SNAKE IN THE FACE! Seriously, what else can top that?
Ace: Well, this is my story so I'd say that any scene with me in it is not only my favourite scene but is also the best scene of the story. I'm just that awesome.
What's that? I have to actually pick one? But how?! There's so many good ones.
Fine. I guess I'd torn between the emotion-heavy part where I found out Lady Luck was really my mother and that one scene early on where I danced on Iron's head and showed how much of a little bitch he really is.
Iron: You little sh-!
Ace: Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with the Bull Dancing scene. That one was fun. I would say that the bar fight scene where I punched Princess Luna was my favourite but I'm about 80% sure she would hear that and throw me into the Shadow Realm.
Summer: Ace, Princess Luna does not throw people into Shadow Realms!
Ace: And I don't even know how to play children's card games!
...moving on.
Maskedferret asks...a whole bunch of questions really:
How does Iron live with his hand?
Wow. Well, let's start at the beginning. Iron's hand works in a similar way to a prosthetic limb in that it is not strictly speaking a part of him. When the hand got turned into iron, the spell cut off the blood vessels leading to the hand by turning the end of them into metal. It was essentially like the limb had just been perfectly amputated and cauterised in one fell swoop. I'm not sure of the effect this would have on the cardiovascular system as I'm no doctor but I'm pretty sure Iron could survive such a thing...though I wouldn't recommend anyone trying it at home.
Was Ate responsible for Melody falling onto the glass?
Our goddess of misfortune certainly does work in mysterious ways, and has a terrible tendency towards meddling. Is she responsible for Melody's wounds? Well, I'm not telling. I leave all speculation up to the audience. Though I warn you of the dangers involved in idle speculation. Ate has ways and means, and is not too fond of those who talk behind her back. Take care, lest you become her next game.
Any chance of a short story about how Fate fell for Ace's dad?
I confess, I haven't really thought of doing a story about the two of them. If I did, it would probably be in a bit of a different style to my usual writing. Perhaps even poetry? I know not. Darn, now I'm thinking, a dangerous hobby at the best of times. The best I can say to this question is...maybe.
Does Ace have any characteristics that differentiate him from other satyrs?
A confusing question for my confused mind. I'm unsure of what the baseline satyr is like, since I've read several different interpretations of the species and their abilities. Other than the obvious things, such as his wits, his luck and his skills, I wouldn't say Ace has anything exceptional going on. But then, as far as I know, he is the only satyr in Chessverse Equestria, so that's fairly exceptional in itself.
Do the cards in the deck regenerate over time?
The deck of cards does regenerate over time, but it does so in relation to the power of the cards. For example, a one or a two card might take a week or so to regenerate whilst a face card would take a few months. As for the ace cards, they take up to a year to be used again.
Is it possible for a minotaur and a pony to reproduce?
Can't say I've ever considered the question. Hmmm, I believe that they should be able to, but only with the assistance of a magical medical profession. Specialised magic must be used to properly mix the two species' genes without causing any deformations in the child. These hospital visits must happen at least once a week throughout the pregnancy so that the child's natural magic can be properly developed.
Anonymous asks:
Who inspired your characters? Any other fictional characters you drew from? People in real life?
One of my inspirations for my work was actually one of the works on this site, a wonderfully entertaining piece by the name of Machinations of a Trickster. The protagonist from that story, Karen, identifies himself proudly as a trickster, which was something I quite likes. A rogue who was confident in his identity of who he was.
Summer was slightly inspired by a friend of mine with an extra dollop of sass thrown in. I won't name any names here but let's just say that after 14 years of doing martial arts, she can kick a lot of ass if she wants to. And yet, she is one of the most polite and kind people I know. The sassiness was added pretty much just because I like sassy women...
Iron, despite being an actual canon character, is a bit different in this story. The retired badass aspect comes from an NPC I made up for a D&D game. Basically he was a retired adventurer that used his money to buy a noble title and sit around drinking fancy wines whilst telling everyone about his adventures. The one time he was actually forced into action ended with fifteen skeleton warriors in various pieces around the room with him barely breaking a sweat. He immediately sat back in his chair, stroked his impressive moustache and carried on drinking. That's what I imagine Iron Will be like in a few years. He and Summer spend most of their time being calm and respectful except for when they have to bust down walls and knock heads together.
Gcwg57 asks:
Will the events of your visions of the future chapter appear in the sequel? Any more crossovers planned?
A good question. The visions of the future chapter was kind of a spur of the moment thing that I mainly did because all the other Chessverse authors were doing them at the time. So, like the little sheep I am, I also did one. Even though I do like the chapter itself, I regret doing that now. Plans change as I'm writing so I doubt Ace will actually end up doing what happens in the visions chapter, even in the sequel. At the moment, I'm tentatively declaring the visions of the future chapter to be non-canon to the story. I say tentatively because I'm still not sure of a lot of things. Ace may very well end up doing that at some point.
I don't have any crossovers planned at the moment really. I'll admit, it'd been a while since I've been in touch with the other Chessverse authors. My life's a bit hectic at the moment but I'll still try and get back in touch with them. I doubt I will do a crossover in the sequel, since I'm planning for it to be a fairly linear adventure, unlike the sprawling mess that was Wild Card. I may even have a plan set out for the sequel, as opposed to Wild Card which I wrote on a week by week basis with only the barest of plans in my head.
Fugly duckling asks:
When the sequel is out, will you make a shout out chapter on Wild Card?
Yes, I'll make sure to do that in addition to the blog post. I'm not sure what will be coming out first though, the sequel or a side story featuring Wild Flower and Quick Sparks. I think I'll be doing the side story as I have that more planned out, so you may see that in a few weeks time, hopefully. |
Wild Card | The Adventure Continues | The sequel is now up, links here
Sorry for the wait. |
Planet of the Ponies | pre | Her eyes brighten while she took the muffin with her left hoof. Mark didn't think it was possible to balance a muffin that way on a hoof. Between two bites she said "Thanks! I love muffin!".
He honestly laughed. "I can see that. Enjoy it."
It was well past midnight when he woke up. Something woke him up, something nearby. It was actually close enough to breath in his face. He waited until he was fully awake before turning his head to face the intruder. On all four above him, was standing the same filly that was in the forest. She was deeply staring at him.
"Morning already mom?" he asked with half a smile.
The filly jumped back a little. "You ain't that scary!" she said with a sound of bravado.
That scary? So I'm a bit scary? Kids are the same everywhere.
He laughed. "I'm not? Don't you know I'm a big bad monster that eats foals for breakfast?" he said, trying to sound serious, but he started to laugh again.
"That ain't funny!" exclaimed the filly while punching him in the chest.
"Oww, alright, alright." he said between two laugh. Tears of laughing were starting to show up. "Who said I was scary?"
"My big sis said so. But she says the same for everything she doesn't know." she claimed. She then stared at him from up close. "You're weird, but you ain't scary."
"Thanks... I guess." he said with a big smile on his face.
I better get used to the unexpected around here.
"It just means that she loves you so much that she doesn't want anything bad to happen to you." he explained.
She looked around, obviously thinking about the statement. "I know. But I'm no foal anym..."
"Applebloom?" said a voice in the corridor.
"Oh no! Sis!" whispered Applebloom.
Mark finally understood, she went on their own to prove her worth by facing that new frightening creature in town. But she was still afraid to be caught by her sister. "Quick! Under the bed!" he whispered back.
"What?" she asked back puzzled.
He winked at her, hoping that sign would mean the same in this reality. "Trust me. Quick!"
Finally catching on, she jumped off the bed and slid herself under it. Meanwhile Mark made sure he looked as asleep as possible. Just in time as a beam of light lit the room.
"Applebloom?" said a scared voice again, almost whispering. "You're in there?"
Mark took a deep breath, and doing the deepest voice he could, he screamed "Who's there? Who's gonna pay for disturbing my sleep?!" He was sure he heard a faint laugh coming from under the bed.
The lantern felt on the floor and whoever was holding it was now running away as fast as possible. He started to chuckle. The filly came from under the bed laughing and started bouncing around, "That was funny!"
When laughing managed to get under control, he said "You should go now. I think she will be back to take the lantern she dropped. If you do it right, you can be home before she is."
"You're right! Thanks mister! Name's Applebloom by the way." replied the excited filly with a wide smile.
"Just call me Mark. Good night Applebloom."
"'Night!" on that, she was off the corridor, looking around trying to not meet her sister.
I could get used to that. he thought while falling back asleep.
The next morning he found that someone came in while he was asleep and replaced the empty tray with a full one. The breakfast tasted as amazing as it looked, composed of pancakes and eggs covered in some kind of blueberry syrup.
If hospital food was that tasty back home, I would have been sick all the time.
He was about to bite in the apple leftover from yesterday when doctor Stable and Twilight entered the room. He put the apple back on his bedside. She was wearing a kind of small saddle with a bag on each side.
"Good morning." he said, surprised to have such early visitor.
"Good morning." they both replied in tandem.
The doctor went around the bed, and lifted the bed sheets covering his broken leg. He then lowly pushed his feet aside, checking him for any reaction. Mark was ready to scream in pain, but was surprised to only feel some numbness his in leg. The doctor put the sheets back in place.
"Good. You should be good to go tomorrow morning." he said, obviously satisfied.
He was about leave the room when Mark found back his voice. "Wait! Two days for a broken leg?" he asked, skeptical.
"Well, yes. How long were you expecting? Months?" he replied with a smile. Pointing at Twilight he continued, "Well I guess it is kinda fast. But you got Twilight to thanks for it. I wasn't confident performing on your species, so I asked Twilight to assist with the healing spell. I admit she would make an amazing doctor." On that, he turned around and left, leaving a blushing Twilight facing Mark.
For the first time Mark noticed the doctor had some kind of tattoo on his flank, what looked like a crude display of an electrocardiogram.
"Spell?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
"The doctor is too modest. The spell he casted was quite complex. I only gave him some support on the power output." she said trying to stay modest.
"Spell??" he asked again. "As in... magic?"
She blinked a few time, unsure of how to answer that. "Yes. As in magic." She looked at him with a grim. "You sound like you don't believe in magic!"
He crossed his arms on his chest. "Maybe because I don't!" he said with a face that expressed he was challenging her to prove him wrong.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. She then looked beside him and her horn began to glow. The apple on his bedside floated up to her mouth and she took a bite in it. While chewing on it, the apple went back to its initial position. She didn't say anything but her face was loudly broadcasting her satisfaction.
Mark managed to stay physically unmoved by the performance, even if inside his mind was racing with the display of telekinesis. "That doesn't prove existence of any magic." She almost chocked on her piece of apple. "For all I know, it could be a trick of some kind or some unknown technology."
She swallowed. "There was no trick!"
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." he simply claimed. "Yesterday you couldn't believe we could go at twenty four times the speed of sound, and we did it without any magic."
"That kind of speed is impossible!"
"Magic doesn't exist!"
They stared at each other, not giving up an inch of terrain to the other one.
Mark had a smile on his face. "I'm a scientist, I only trust what can be explained and proved under controlled condition." He move his right hand toward her, "Can you explain what your magic is?"
A smile grew on her face. "Magic is a field generated by life. It bounds matter and energy and allows the transition between the two. Everything alive has some otherwise it wouldn't be alive." he explained by heart like if it was written in a book. "It allows transportation and transformation of matter among other things." she said, quite satisfied of her explanation, like if she was in front of a classroom.
"Bullshit." replied Mark while slicing the air with his hand. "I, for one, don't have one bit of magic, and I'm quite alive." he claimed while pointing his chest with his thumb.
"What? That's... I... I can prove it to you!" she said angry. That human was pushing her even if she didn't know what cow poo had to do with it.
"Go ahead!"
She did a step forward, looking at him. Her horn started to glow again. Slowly Mark's body started to glow of the same purple tint. At first he didn't feel anything.
Nice trick when you need to walk in the dark.
But all of sudden, it was like he swallowed some lava, his guts were on fire and it was spreading outward. He felt his eyeballs were about to be pushed out by some kind of inner pressure. He did the only thing he could, he screamed. He was sure he screamed, but he couldn't hear anything, his ears ringing madly.
She's killing me! Alright, I believe! I believe!
As suddenly as the pain came, it went away. His whole body was numb and the room was spinning in front of his eyes. He felt like he went in an electrical storm and he was sure his hairs were straight on his head. He coughed, letting out a small cloud of black smoke. He was sure he saw some kind of golden energy arcs run across his forearms.
That can't be good.
He looked at Twilight. Her eyes were wide open and she put a hoof on her mouth.
She looks more in shock than me.
"I'm so sorry... I..." she could only say before doctor Stable stormed in the room.
"What's going on? What are you doing to him Twilight?" looking concerned of the smoke coming from under the bed sheets.
"Not... nothing doc." Mark managed to say. His voice felt weird. "Just... just a little burst of magic."
The doctor looked at him like if he suddenly grew a second head. Then he looked at Twilight, which was still in shock. "Twilight, I would appreciate if you wouldn't kill him, at least not in this building. I'm responsible for his well being while he stays here."
Twilight only managed to nod. The doctor looked at the two again, shrugged, then left the room.
"I'm deeply sorry! It wasn't supposed to do that! I never saw it do that before! It's a basic spell we use on unicorn filly to help them spot their source of magic!" she explained in one breath, her eyes still wide open, having an hard time to believe she almost cooked alive this creature.
Mark could feel it. It was a valve that always been there, that he never noticed before. But even if he knew, he wouldn't have known how to open or close it. But now he knew where it was and how to work it out. Not that he wanted to do it, considering what just happened.
Maybe you need to be a pony to control that? Well, that gives some insight on spontaneous combustion.
"It's... It's alright. I kind of asked for it. Or maybe not." he said half laughing. His mind wasn't clear.
"Oh! I almost forgot." she pulled a book off her left bag. "Guide for new comers to Equestria. I thought you might want to read while having nothing to do." She quickly put the book on his bedside. "Well... hehe... look at the time! So late already!" she said nervously looking at the wall clock. "I got to go! Enjoy the book!" On that she almost raced off the room.
Mark noticed she too had some kind of marking on her flank. While the doctor's one was obvious, he had no idea what those white and purple stars meant. His head finally stopped spinning.
I will ask her next time.
He took the book in one hand, surprised to find it written in English. He was stuck to this bed; the best was still to learn more about this civilization.
What's smelling like beacon?
A pony was standing in front of the crashed pod. With precision he took what looked like a long metallic pen out of a little bag he was carrying. Pointing it at the wreckage, he pushed a button on the surface using his teeth. The tip glowed blue for a few moment. He read some kind of result out of it that only he could see.
"They really did it? How unusual..."
Then he felt it, a kind of motion from his guts, like if he was on a ship rocking on huge waves. As suddenly as the feeling came, it stopped. But it was enough, he had experienced that feeling a few time before. He turned around looking at the distance; from what he thought was the source of his discomfort.
"How unusual..." he simply repeated before leaving the burned sphere behind him.
Mark read the guide for most of the day. While it was an interesting readout on the current political system in place, it lacked information about the social structure. It listed the biggest cities and main touristic attractions, but failed to explain some basic concept like the markings he saw on their flanks. He was surprised to find many cities names to carry similarities to cities of his own reality. However there was no information about demography or social protocol, aside from a few lines about how to behave if you were to meet the royalty.
The princesses raise and lower the sun and the moon. For some reason he only wished to find a table and violently flip it.
He was especially interested in the map of the country in the middle pages. But all he could make out of it was that Equestria wasn't a huge one, a few times the size of Texas at best. There was no map of the planet and no major ocean could be seen, at least from what he could make out of it. There were only a handful of large cities, but most of the population appeared to be rural.
I need a bigger map, a way to know if it's the same planet.
He was almost done with it when he felt he was being watch. While keeping the book in front of his face, he slowly looked over it. He was right, in the corridor he could see the faces of three fillies whispering to each other while staring at him.
"Hey Applebloom, how are you?" he said while closing the guide and putting it on his bedside, while a smile grew on his face.
She simply trotted in the room, head rose, looking so courageous for her friends. "I'm all right, and you?" She stopped close to the bed, only her head being above it.
"Quite good, the doctor said they would remove the cast tomorrow morning. Who's your friends?" he said nodding toward the door. "It looks like they are afraid of something."
She let a small laugh. "Yeah, they can be a bit chicken." she said looking at the door to see if they would bite at her provocation.
The orange filly jumped in the room, her head lowered and her wings deployed. "Hey! I'm no chicken!"
Mark and Applebloom looked at each other and started laughing. "This is Scootaloo, and the one still hiding is Sweetie Belle. This is Mark. He looks a bit weird, but he's quite fine." she said while putting a hoof on his bed.
White, yellow, orange, purple, grey. I really wonder if they have a limit to the tint those ponies can take. I'm not sure I want to know. He mentally shrugged. And I'm the weird one.
The last one, a white unicorn with a purple and pink mane, finally came in the room. "Nice to meet you mister Mark." she said sounding more mature, almost noble.
"Nice to meet you too miss Sweetie Bell. But you can simply call me Mark, I'm not found of the formalities." he replied, trying to sound as aristocratic as possible.
She sounds almost like someone of the high society. What's the protocol while meeting a lady? Hand kissing? Hoof kissing... Bleh!
He noticed that the three had no marking on their flanks, unlike the grownups he saw so far. He started to wonder if they were gained from some kind of adulthood ritual. Were they chosen by the pony or decided by the society? Marked when you get your first job? He didn't like the idea much, considering his first job was in a fast food restaurant.
"Hey, I wonder if it's alright to talk about that... But I noticed you had no marking on your flanks. Twilight gave me that guide" he said pointing at the book. "But there's nothing about those."
The three fillies looked at each other. From their look he wondered if they were happy or sad. Or maybe both, he couldn't say. Applebloom looked at him and claimed quite proudly, "We are the cutie mark crusaders. We are looking for our cutie marks."
"Cutie mark?" he said puzzled by the unusual term.
They better not do any joke about my name.
Sweetie Belle took turn to explain. "It's a symbol that represents your special inner talent. It shows up by itself when you find out what you are good at."
"By itself? Like... magically?" he asked. They nodded back. He kept himself from looking skeptical. "What happen if you get your cutie mark, but later find out you're better at something else?"
They looked at each other wondering how to answer. They never thought of that before. They always assumed once some pony find his talent he would simply stick to it. They never heard of a cutie mark changing for another one. But can it happen? Can a pony find something he is even more talented in than his cutie mark or once found he can't be better at something else?
Their trains of thoughts were cut short when a voice in the corridor whispered. "Applebloom?" He noticed it was the same voice as last night.
"Sis? Oh, not again." said Applebloom in desperation.
A bright orange head wearing a cowboy hat showed up trying to stay hidden behind the door frame. "Applebloom! Come here!" she whispered louder, giving him some scared look.
A bit over protective aren't you?
He started thinking about how to get out of the situation. He wasn't used to deal with someone or somepony so scared of him. He quickly put aside any idea of simply talking it out, she wouldn't listen a word. So far he enjoyed talking with the fillies as they were giving him an insight on this society that adult couldn't give him due to their fear. On top, he had the feeling they would get a lecture about talking to strange creature. It wouldn't be right to let them be lectured without trying something.
Gonna have to be creative on this one.
While pointing at the intruder, taking his most authoritative voice, he screamed "You!". The orange mare jumped back, more afraid than ever, but she didn't flee. Her little sister was there and she had to do something. He pointed at the right side of his bed. "Here! Now!".
It took a few moments before she decided to move, but she finally made it. She was shaking hard of fear. What would that monster do to her? It was staring at her, looking mad.
Mark looked at the fillies. "Hey crusaders, can you go for a few minutes? I got to talk with Applebloom's sister." While they were leaving, he was sure he saw Applebloom winked at him. He turned back to stare at the orange pony. He noticed her flanks had three red apples. Her green eyes were wide open; she was shaking more than ever.
Going back to the authoritative mode, he screamed "Sit!". Without even thinking she sat down on the floor.
It took a few moments for her to react to the fact she followed his order without even thinking. Fear was taking most of her mind and she act without consciously knowing it. "Hey! I'm no dog!" she said, but even then she stayed sit. She was still shaking, but the awkwardness made a crack in her wall of fear. She looked about to run away.
Not an easy one? Time for the extreme measure.
Mark leaped forward as fast as he could and grabbed her, hugging her. She immediately started to push back as hard as she could, more frighten than ever, her eyes wide open. He felt he was dragged off the bed. He quickly used his left leg to grab the left side of the bed, using it as an anchor. He was in great shape as he trained hard at the NASA, but that pony was pulling much harder than he thought.
Got to hold!
The tug of war lasted a good minute. His arms were in fire from holding that crazy pony in place. His left leg was shaking from the effort and he felt a cramp coming up in his calf. That pony was far stronger than he thought. He could feel her muscles working, like strips of steel under her skin. He was about to let go when the pony stopped pushing.
She was breathing hard. What was the creature doing? Was that an attack? It sure didn't feel like one. She was confused but also surprised it managed to hold her in place. "What... What are ya doing?" she finally managed to ask.
"Hugging you, silly." Mark said between two breaths. She wasn't shaking anymore, but his forearms were.
She was more confused than ever. "Huh... Why?" was all she could say.
Mark didn't answer. He kept hugging her for another minute, letting the confusion sink in her mind and his own muscles rest for a while. When he noticed she was looking around he finally asked "Feels awkward?".
"Well... yeah." she answered.
He let her go and sit back in his bed. "Good. Now you aren't afraid anymore."
"What in tarnation?" she said staring at him, more confused than ever.
"Fear was clouding your mind. Even if I tried to talk to you, you wouldn't have listened. Am I right?" he said looking at her. She didn't answer. "Only way to crack that wall of fear is with another strong emotion. I'm not good with jokes, so I thought confusion and awkwardness might do the trick." he said with a smile. "And I was right. Now we can talk." He offered her his right hand. "Name's Mark, nice to meet you."
She looked at the raised hand, wondering if it was some kind of trick. She hated to admit, but he was right. She was still cautious, but not frighten anymore. He took the problem head-on and she could understand that. She wondered if she would have acted the same way. Probably not. "Ah shoo..." she said rolling her eyes. She grabbed his hand and shacked it hard. "Nice to meet ya. Name's Applejack."
When he finally got his hand back, he felt like his forearm was close to the breaking point. A few more shake and he might have needed another cast. "Wow, you are a strong one." he said while massaging his forearm. He could notice a smile coming up her face. "I guess I got you to thanks for those tasty apples, right?"
"What?"
He turned around and grabbed the apple resting on his bedside. He took a small bite out of it. "They are quite tasty."
Her smile kept growing. "How do ya know?" she said half skeptical. He pointed at her flank. She looked down at her flank, then back at him. "Well duh."
Being serious again, he put the half eaten apple back on the bedside. "Look... I know it's not my business, but it never stopped me from giving a friendly advice. Applebloom? She's a smart one." he said crossing his arms.
"Yah, that she is." she admitted back.
"And I'm sure you want to keep her from harm." he asked.
"Of course!"
"The more you're gonna keep her from doing something without logical explanation, the more she's gonna try to do it. I guess kids are like that across realities. She would never admit it, but she's expecting you to go ahead of the unknown and by experience tell her why something is dangerous, not only that something is. You're the big sister. If you try to block her many time without a real reason she will simply assume you don't know and she gonna try it." He sighed. "At some point, she might do something really dangerous and an accident might happen. It's something that could be avoided if she learned to trust your judgment. But trust is never implied, it's gained with time."
She was looking at the floor. "Ah! I'm not good at lecturing people. Never been. Cheer up!"
She looked up and stared at him. "You're a weird one mister."
He sighed again. "Not the first time I hear that one today. Guess I have to get used to it." He pointed at the door. "I guess she's waiting for you."
"Yeah, I guess so." She started to go but stop and turn around. "Thanks, I'm gonna think of your advice. But..."
"But?"
"Never hug me like that again." she warned him with half a smile trying to look as threatening as possible.
He raised an eyebrow. "Will I have to?" he asked back.
She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Ah... I guess not. Good day sir."
"Good day miss Applejack." he said with a large smile.
Applebloom was waiting at the entrance of the clinic. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle went home, leaving her to face Applejack alone. She did it again; she could expect a lengthy lecture from her and Big Macintosh about taking risk. But this time she was right, that new creature wasn't frightening. He was quite friendly. She was expecting to be grounded a few days and be ordered to not see him again.
Not fair.
She was looking at the ground when Applejack finally came out of the hospital. She stopped in front of Applebloom and was about to say something when she closed back her mouth. She simply stood there looking at her.
I guess I really did it this time. She doesn't even know what to say.
After a few moment of silence, she finally looked up to her big sister. She was in sweat and her mane was all messed up but she had a small corner smile.
Did... Did they fight?
Applejack finally spoke up. "Your... Your new 'friend'... He's quite a weird one." On that, she turned around and started leaving. "Let's go home." she said with an obvious smile.
That's it? What the hay happened in there?
She started trotting behind her sister, looking at her confused.
Gonna have to ask him what he did to her.
It was the second night in a row that something woke him up. But this time, no matter how hard he tried to fully wake up, he simply couldn't. He was in a thick haze and everything looked blurry. He couldn't move.
Beside his bed was standing a brown pony, holding something in his mouth. The moonlight reflected on it, something metallic, technologic. A small blue light flashed, forcing him to blink.
The moment he opened back his eyes, he was fully awake. Whatever was holding him down was gone. He sat up and looked around, the room was empty, no proof anypony was there seconds ago.
Was that a dream? Am I starting to dream about ponies?
His guts were telling him it was no dream. The memories weren't fading away like dreams used to. He had no idea what to make out of it. He layed back down, having no clue of what this visit meant. Going back to sleep proved harder than expected. |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go the way the heart wants | It was moving as fast it could, in this endless darkness. It couldn't think, didn't understand, all instinct. Hunger was the closest way to describe it. It used to have food everywhere. It used to have many like it. Not anymore. Each new source of food was further away from the last one, each new travel harder to complete. The next one was like a bright jewel in the darkest night. An entity was slowly destroying it, time. So much had passed since the last source of food that was that appealing.
It didn't wish anything or knew anything. Thoughts or even memories were a concept far beyond its abilities. Food was over there, it would go to get it, survival at the most basic form. Similar to a piece of iron attracted by a magnet, there was no decision involved, only action.
Mark woke up tired for his third day on this strange world. He quickly ate his breakfast and then proceeded to let his mind run wild. It's not like he had a wife or kid waiting for him back home, but he was starting to miss his own place and his own people. He was a scientist specialized in advanced composite materials and good chance he couldn't use any of his knowledge here. He wasn't even sure they had electricity. The chances of reproducing the event that brought him there were unlikely to ever happen.
While not his specialties, he had enough general knowledge about science to make the pony society leap forward of one or two hundred years. But would that be a good thing? While humanity was fairly young, he thought he understood the dangers of pushing an unprepared civilization forward. What if mankind had nukes in the First World War, or even before? The ponies looked like a friendly species, but he wouldn't take the chance of messing their future. They had to make their own discovery and their own mistakes.
Prime directive they call it in that sci-fi show?
His presence could be a danger for ponykind, not from what he could do, but from what they could learn from him. It made him feel that his presence was at best an error.
Was it only a freak accident?
His line of thought was cut short when the doctor Stable entered the room. "Good morning." He was carrying his suit on his back and dropped it on the bed.
"Morning doc." he replied. He looked at the suit, it had been clean. It was as white as the first day he got it. The arms were still torn off, but having it a bit more open could be a good idea while not floating in a space station.
The doctor got to the right side of the bed and lifted the bed sheets. Looking intensely at the cast, his horn began to glow of a light brown color. The cast slowly got the same tint. With extreme care the doctor made the cast crack on top following the direction of his leg. The cast broke into two on each side of his leg. The place where the bone broke was still red, but Mark felt no pain and he could move his feet freely.
"I don't know your species enough, but I would say it looks as normal as it should be." he said with a side smile. "Try to not run or jump on it for one or two more days. It's still fairly fragile."
"Thanks doc. I was wondering... What kind of payment are you expecting?" he asked, worried he would have to take a loan or something to pay him back.
"Nothing at all Mark. Healthcare is free in Equestria."
"But I'm no Equestrian citizen. Healthcare is free for every... everypony?" he asked back, surprised that such thing was even possible in a society.
"True it is not. But Miss Sparkle managed to setup something for you. Don't ask me how, but she is the private student of the princess." He shrugged. "She got connections at the right places I guess." Looking at him, he continued "If you don't mind, we would need the bed for somepony else."
Mark smiled. "You're kicking me out doc?"
"That wouldn't be nice of me, wouldn't it? Let's say I will show you the way out."
"Fair enough. Give me two minutes alone to dress up."
Mark put up his suit. While it wasn't particularly hot in the morning, the additional breathing from the torn arms of his suit helped him stay cool. He found out that whoever washed his clothes didn't remove the content of his pockets. His pen was still in good shape, thanks to some space age technology that made them immune to soap. However his cell phone was definitely gone, not that he would find a way to charge it back anyway. He shook it to his ear and heard some liquid left in it. He pocketed it back, as he thought leaving it where somepony could find it might be a bad idea. His Swiss knife was still wet. Using his suit he took time to dry it, to be sure it wouldn't rust.
He stepped out of the clinic to face his hardest challenge yet, he had no idea where to go. The doctor told him he only needed to ask and he would point him the direction, but he simply had no idea. He sit on a rock near the entrance of the clinic and looked at his bare feet. He wouldn't go far like that anyway. For that he was a bit jealous of the ponies. What would be a life where clothes or shoes are totally optional? Even with his suit he felt slightly naked, it wasn't made to be worn on a planet.
He knew he would have to move sooner than later. At some point a yellow mare came toward the clinic with some kind of pet in her arm. Seeing him, she lowered her head and slowly backed off. When she was far enough, she turned around and sprint to where she came from. He was expecting the doctor to tell him to move away to not frighten the patient when somepony tapped on his shoulder. Turning around he found himself face to face with Twilight.
"Oh hey! I didn't see you coming."
"Yeah, I took some kind of 'shortcut'." she simply replied with a proud smile. He wondered what she meant by that. There was only one road to the clinic and almost no forest around it.
"I have to thanks you twice it seems."
"Oh?"
"For once, the book; it was quite instructive. Maybe you could point me toward a library of some kind. There's still plenty I wish to know." he explained while handing her the guide. She put took it with her telekinesis. "As for the second one, for clearing my fees with the hospital." he said pointing the hospital over his shoulder. "You didn't have to."
She shied up a bit. "That was the least I could do. I managed to hurt you twice in that many day." she said with a small smile. "And it only cost me a letter to the princess. But you might have to thanks me a third time."
"Oh?"
"I found you a place to live, at least temporally." she continued with a smile growing on her face. "And it should solve your book problem at the same time." Now he was confused, maybe she found him a way to live in the basement of the some library? "I managed to get you some space in my basement."
How living at her place would solve his books problem? "I... I'm very grateful, but you really don't need to. Don't feel obligated because you hurt me, you did more than enough for that."
"Well, to tell the truth, I'm also doing it by obligation." The excuse sounded flat to him. "If you were to walk around Ponyville without somepony, everypony else would only run in fear." That was somewhat close to the truth. "And I'm the student of the princess and I have to report to her everything I learn." He finally understood on the word 'learn' as she said with much joy in her face.
Ah! Curiosity!
He rose up from the rock he was sitting on; to find out that Twilight's head only reached the height of his chest. "Thanks from the bottom of my heart, miss Twilight." he said lowering himself. She blushed at the display. "It might sound silly, but is there any place you think I could find shoes?" he said pointing at his feet.
"Aren't they made to walk?" she asked confused.
"Of course! But mine are far less resistant than pony's hooves. In a space station, I didn't need any as I was floating around." he explained.
"Well, I will check with a friend later, I'm sure she can make something up. But for now you won't need to walk." she replied with a bright smile.
She won't levitate me up to her house? He didn't like the idea of being displayed at a floating human around town.
Just as he was about to ask, her horn started to glow brightly.
Shhhhhiiiiii...
One moment he was in the bright day light, the next he was in a dark room. He felt to his knees, feeling like if his stomach was hung upside down. He wasn't hurt, but he looked like he played Santa in a rather dirty chimney.
What was that? Did we... teleported there?
Matter transport wasn't a new idea to his knowledge. Quantum mechanics were known to allow in theory the transmission of the definition of an object somewhere else almost instantaneously, in theory. The fact that to his knowledge no human ever managed to do that on an atomic scale, and much less on something as big as him, suddenly gave him a huge respect for the little pony in front of him.
"Are you alright?" she asked him, looking at him apprehensive.
He did a rapid check of his body parts. Finding nothing missing he tried to reassure her. "Yeah, sorry. Was just not expecting that." He slowly got back on his feet. "Are all unicorns able to do that?"
She thought for a moment before answering. "I guess... All unicorns have the ability. But few has the training or the knowledge to do it." she said with a part of pride.
She got my curiosity there. What is magic? What's its limit?
He looked around. He was in a small dark room made out of wood. The more he looked at it, the more he felt it was carved out of a tree. In one corner he could make out a small cot. The other corner showed some kind of piled up experiment materials and random equipments. But everywhere he looked; there were always books in his field of view. The ceiling was surprisingly high and roots were growing down from it.
"You live in a tree?" he asked looking at her.
"It's the town library." she explained. "I took it over when I came to Ponyville. I don't really know why they built it in this tree. I live on the second floor, so you just need to ask if you need anything." she finished with a smile.
He sat down on the cot, trying it out. "Thanks a lot Twilight. It means a lot to me."
She showed him her home, which was basically a small bedroom and a kitchen glued to an average size library. It had no logical structure and was instead following the curves and shapes of the tree it was carved in. Mark was surprised to find that the tree was still fully alive.
But what surprised him the most is when he stopped in front of the fridge. Of course they had to have a mean of keeping food fresh. Even in a small town that produces its own food, people might need to keep it for more than one or two days. What really surprised him was the presence of an electrical appliance. So far he didn't any electrical socket or any sign that they had an electrical grid network. He checked the back of the fridge and found no cord. It wasn't connected to anything and yet it was keeping the food fresh.
"Twilight... It might sound stupid but... What's powering your fridge?" he asked. He felt a bit stupid, was it something really obvious he should have known?
She laughed. "Sorry, forgot you had no magic in your world." She opened a small trap on the side of the fridge and pointed at the white crystal trapped in some kind of socket. "This crystal can store a good amount of magic. After that, it slowly releases it under the form of electricity. The size and shape of the crystal control the voltage it can output."
Mark was simply amazed that such a small crystal could hold some much potential current. "Amazing. And I guess someone has to refill it once in a while? How often is that?"
"Once every one or two month. Depend of the energy drawn from the crystal." she said closing the trap. "Some unicorns prefer to recharge them by themselves. For others unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies we have unicorns who specialize in charging them. It's a rather big industry."
He thought of the huge electrical framework his species built. Their solution was far better, but also useless if you had no magic pony around to charge them back. The crystal looked like basic plain quartz. Had humans managed to generate magic and store it like them, things would have been much different.
Magic... It's obviously providing much more energy than the chemistry limits, but it's not as powerful as nuclear energy. Or does it? No wonder they use it so much.
At some point in the morning, Twilight started to write list of things to buy at the market. She would obviously need more food than usual with the new one in her basement. She was writing the list like she always did, using her magic to make the quill float and write on a piece of paper, dipping it in the ink bottle every few lines. She felt like she was being watched.
"A quill?" Mark asked, staring at the pony. He was sitting on the stairs going to her room.
She blinked a few time, unsure of how to take that question. She understood his surprised at the sight of the electrical crystal, but surely his species managed to learn how to write. She let the quill drop beside the ink bottle. "Well yes, don't tell me you don't write." she said teasing him.
He rolled his eyes. "Of course we write. But a quill? That's so... special?"
She blinked again, finally understanding. "Well, what do you use to write if not a quill?"
He thought a few second, and then snapped his fingers. She was actually surprised of the sound it made. He pulled some kind of black stick off the pocket on his chest and removed the top. "Try this." he said handing her the largest part of the stick. The top was sharp like a needle. She took it with her magical grip and made it float to the piece of paper she was using.
She found that the small dark stick could write as well as her quill and it allowed for a far better control of the line. But she didn't understand where the ink was coming from, it wasn't dripping any and yet it was writing correctly.
By habit she was about to dip it in her ink bottle and Mark covered it with his hand. "Wah! Stop. No need to put my pen in that ink!" The pen floated just above his hand.
"You got to put some ink on it once in a while. No?" she asked. Suddenly she was feeling the same way he was when facing the fridge. It was so similar and so different at the same time.
"The ink is inside. As you write, it keeps flowing. You do have to refill it... Once in a while. You can write a lot of papers with the ink it has inside." he explained.
She was stunned, such an interesting concept. Eliminating the need to carry an ink bottle with her sounded like an obvious advantage. On top, this 'pen' was easy to handle with her magic and didn't drip any ink, unlike her quill.
That's amazing! I have to think about it more!
She was looking like a kid who just discovered candies. Mark smiled. "Keep it."
It was late in the afternoon and Mark was lying on the cot reading a book about the other geopolitical structure of the planet. There were about twenty other countries, bigger or smaller than Equestria, spread on three continents. They were all stacked close to the North Pole. All he could understand was that from some point south there was only huge desert unclaimed from any country. However the book wasn't keeping itself from stating that Equestria was the most important of them, on biggest part because of its princesses.
That sun and moon control again? It's the third book that make reference to that.
He was surprised to find that hooves-kissing indeed existed as the book mentioned it was improper to perform with the princesses. Actually the book claimed any physical contact with them was to be avoided and was quite frowned upon.
He felt being watched once again. Looking at the bottom of the stairs, he saw some kind of roundish lizard standing on his back claws. It was purple with a green belly, eyes and spine.
Does Twilight have a pet?
The staring continued.
Don't assume anything! You did that mistake already.
"Hey!" Mark simply said.
"Huh... hey." the lizard replied, looking confused.
Talking lizard. Great!
"I'm Mark. And... you are?"
"Spike."
"Well... nice to meet you." he said. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"
"I could ask you the same. You're nothing like I ever saw."
"I'm a human. From what I heard, there's no other like me." he replied, closing the book he was reading.
I will have to get used to that concept... Being alone, the only one.
"Ewwman? Weird name. Anyway, I'm a dragon." he said pointing at his chest.
A dragon? Seriously? I think I now fully understand how Alice felt in wonderland.
"That's... awesome. You breath fire?" he asked, partially kidding.
"Kinda." Spike replied. He scratched his head with his front claw. "Ah! You're that creature Twilight talked about. I was somewhat expecting a critter or something. With Twilight I should have known." he turned around and started to climb the stairs. "Diner will be ready soon by the way." he said over his shoulder.
At least that one didn't freak out on sight. He sounds like he is used to see weird stuff with Twilight.
After the meal that the dragonling prepared, Mark was back in the basement. He was quite surprised how tasty it was and thought it would be quite easy to get used to his new vegetarian diet. He also found out Spike had some kind of really twisted sense of humor which mostly revolved around making fun of Twilight. His ability with sarcasm was quite impressive.
It was too dark to read and Mark had no idea what to do. He kept thinking about all that magic stuff.
We always saw magic as some kind of uncontrollable supernatural story that had no place in science. Were we wrong all along? It could very well be some type of field or energy we never encountered. A whole different field of science! Maybe a fifth force?
He thought back about what happened in the hospital. He was quite sure the pain he felt wasn't from Twilight's magic. Twilight was quite clear that every living being had a pool of magic, but that only unicorn could use it in a practical way. Since that moment he could feel that where that source was. It was closed, blocked by a wall, but he knew it was there.
Damn you and your curiosity! You're gonna burn both of us!
He frowned.
Shut up brain. I do whatever I want. And why am I talking to myself.
He opened that inner valve as little and as slowly as he could, being ready to close it back at fast as possible. He felt something drip inside him. At the hospital, it was like he was hit by a tsunami while right now it felt like he was watching a rain drop dry on the ground.
He had no idea what to do with it anyway. How can you describe a new sound if you never heard before? How could you play a piano if you never had hands before? He felt like a baby with a new toy, it was interesting, but he was clueless. He felt the drop of energy vanish.
Twilight surely got some book about magic. Gonna check tomorrow.
The next morning Mark was a bit disappointed reading his first tome about magic. Twilight gave him this one to read saying it was the first one foal unicorn usually get. While he understood the thought, it was quite pointless. It was similar to explaining to a first grader what physic is. It's colorful, amazing and can do all sort of crazy things. But Mark was very patient, and he was memorizing everything he read, in hope it would be useful later.
He was about done with the book when Twilight came down with another unicorn. This one was white like snow with curled indigo mane and tail. Seeing her move and behave gave Mark a sudden idea of who this pony might be related too, but he wasn't sure.
"Good morning Mark!"
"Good morning Twilight." he replied while keeping his sight on the new pony.
"This is my friend I told you could help with your shoes problem. Rarity, this is Mark. Mark, Rarity." she said doing the presentation.
"A pleasure to meet you Mark." Rarity said with a noble voice. Mark noticed she raised her right front hoof almost out of habit.
Here goes nothing!
Mark kneeled on his left knee and took her raised hoof in his right hand before she could move back. He lowered himself and silently kissed her hoof. He raised himself back up. "It's my pleasure, my lady." he said with his most charming smile, which he knew had never been great. Looking to his left he saw Twilight was quite surprised. He didn't think her eyes could get any bigger. He thought she was blushing, but being purple was a good way to hide that. However, her mouth hanging open was a good sign.
As for Rarity, the blushing was quite obvious on her white fur. Then an uneasy awkward silence settled in. Mark kept his smile up.
Oh great. I screwed up. Should have read more before. Maybe it's not a sign of gallantry.
"Oh my!" Rarity finally broke the silence. "What a gentlecolt you got there Twilight!" she said with a small laugh. Twilight was still stunned and didn't manage to say anything.
From her way of speaking, Mark saw his theory almost proven. "Miss Rarity, would you be a relative of Miss Sweetie Bell?"
"How do you know?" she asked even more surprised.
"I must say, your gallantry and your amazing white fur give it away." he replied lowering his head.
"How do you know Sweetie Bell?" simply asked Twilight.
Sitting back on the cot, he replied "She came at the hospital with Applebloom and... Scootaloo?" He wasn't sure if that name was right. "Long story short, Applebloom came to face that new scary creature. Anyway, the play time was cut short because her big sister came looking for her." he laughed. "I had a few words with her about scaring her sister."
Twilight and Rarity looked at each other. "You talked to Applejack?" asked Twilight. She had a hard time to believe that. First that Applejack managed to overcome her deep fear of the unknown and second that they talked to each other.
"Yup! That's her name. Orange with yellow mane and three apples on her flank." he explained.
Twilight looked at Rarity again then stared at Mark. "I'm surprised she talked to you... And that you're in one piece."
He laughed again. "I didn't say it had been easy! Let's just say it took a small strength contest." He looked at them. It was obvious they didn't believe him.
Oh come on! Do I look that weak?
"I will go see A.J. later." simply said Twilight, closing the topic. "As for now, Rarity is the best tailor of all Equestria."
"Oh Twilight" said Rarity putting a hoof on her mouth.
"If someone can solve your shoes problem, she is the pony you need."
Mark took some time to think about it. "My species... got used to wearing shoes as protection. Our feet are quite soft and sensitive. In our case, shoes are needed when we walk on rough grounds or for long distance."
Rarity looked down at his feet. "Oh my!" She looked back up at Twilight. "I'm not sure where to begin. I never did shoes to fit that shape or shoes that were not decorative. I'm not even sure what they should look like!"
Twilight's eyes moved to the floor, she was deeply thinking about the problem at hoof. "And if... If you could see what a pair of those should look like, would it help? It would at least give you a base to design on?"
"Well yes. I'm not sure how I could do it without knowing what shape they should be." Rarity explained.
"Good!" said Twilight with a smile.
Mark started to be worried. He learned that this specific smile from Twilight wasn't a good sign. He knew it would ends up with magic applied to his person.
"Mark, I want to close your eyes and think deeply of what those shoes look like." she explained.
I don't have a word to say in the matter?
He didn't say a word and closed his eyes. He thought of his last pair of shoes he wore before the launch of his mission, some plain sport running shoes. He tried to visualize them with the most details he could remember. He always found the pattern on the underside to be pretty. The colors weren't anything amazing, black with a white soul. He felt something warm and familiar come in and out of his head.
When he opened his eyes he saw an exact image of what he was thinking floating in front of his eyes, up to the silver logo on their sides. Twilight's horn was glowing to keep the image floating.
She took that from my mind? I know by now I shouldn't be surprised... but... Wow.
"How interesting." she Rarity, fully focused on the floating shoes. Somehow she put on some red glasses while Mark had his eyes closed. "Quite plain... Without colors... But the shapes... the... hmmm..." she turned around and started climbing the stairs. "Yes... yes... of course!" she was still deep in her thought when she left the basement.
The floating shoes vanished when Twilight stopped the spell. "What just happened?" asked Mark.
"I think she got some ideas. You know... the artists." she shrugged and left a confused Mark behind.
Two days later, early in the morning, Mark was woken up by screams and a persistent taping sound. Still in the sleep haze he rushed upstairs as fast as he could, trying to be ready to face anything this world could throw at him. He opened the door to the basement to find an excited Twilight bouncing around and screaming.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
On the other side of the room he saw Spike had been awaken the same way. The adrenaline rush started to fade away and now he was fully awake. He checked the clock on the wall to find that it was only three in the morning.
"What's up with all the jumping and screaming Twilight?" asked an annoyed Spike.
"I did it!" was all she replied before resuming her jumping around.
Spiked sighed loudly. He noticed Mark had sit down against a wall and was yawning. "What did you do?" Seeing she wasn't answering he raised his voice. "Twilight!"
She stopped jumping around only to take Spike in her front legs, hugging him and she started spinning with him. "I did it! I made a spell!"
Spike didn't like the sudden hugging frenzy and tried to push her back as hard as he could. "What are you talking about? You make new spell all the time."
She put the little dragon down and explained "No, no Spike. I learn new spell all the time! This time I created a new one! One that didn't exist before!" She let out a squeak of excitement.
"You mean... like... totally new?" asked Spike.
"Yes!"
Mark wasn't sure to understand the scope of creating a new spell. He imagined that as time passed new spell would get harder and harder to create as somepony would have thought of them before. Or maybe she was quite young to create a new one? He didn't have much reference on the ages of ponies. Before she started bouncing around, he asked "Twilight, how about you show us that new spell?"
She turned around, finally noticing him. Her smile was as wide as possible. "Of course! It's because of you, so it's only fitting that you would be the first to try it out."
Spike was about to laugh.
Oh great. Mark mentally face palmed himself. But he kept his smile, her excitement was contagious.
Twilight levitated a piece of paper and a quill to him. With a nod of her head he took them. "And... what do I do?"
"Write!" she replied happily.
He started to write some random sentences but quickly ran out of idea. He then simply drew random shapes. He continued for a good minute before raising his head to ask "Well... and?" He was confused. The sheet of paper was full of words and lines.
She squeaked again, happier than ever. "The ink!" she let out.
"What?" Mark didn't understand, his brain wasn't fully started and he was still getting used to waking up without any coffee.
Spike trotted up to Mark and looked at the paper. "Where's the ink coming from? He filled a whole page!" Mark looked at the dragon finally understanding.
"You did a spell out of my pen?" he asked.
"Yes!" she did a few turn on herself giggling. "I linked my quill with my ink bottle. When the spell detects someone is writing, it transports a tiny amount of ink inside the quill."
Mark had no idea of exactly what was involved in creating such spell, but it did sound complex to perform. She told him the teleportation spell was a hard one that not many pony could perform. In this case it was a passive teleportation linked to a triggering event.
She's maybe a genius of magic?
"Wow, that's great Twilight! I will be able to write checklist even faster." said the dragon while grabbing the quill and examining it.
A few days later Mark finally found out what was bothering him since he started reading science book from the library. In some scientific aspect ponies were quite close to the level humans were when he left. However, on some other they were decades, if not centuries behind. He had a hard time to understand how something like that could have happened.
He finally understood when he found out that most scholars were unicorn. Every science branches that could be linked in some way to magic and spells were far ahead of others. He found out numerous ideas and concepts were simply put aside if they had no practical magic application. Advanced mathematics, for one, was terribly lacking, while knowledge about electromagnetic waves, energy or matter were far more impressive.
But even then, he found out that much knowledge that could have leaded to new inventions just never did. For one, they had no indirect way of communication even if their knowledge of sound, wave and electricity were quite beyond the limit needed to create a phone. Simply they never felt the need for such invention. When Mark first saw Spike burn a scroll with his breath, he was confused about that behavior until the dragon explained it was a special teleportation spell he could perform, sending the piece of paper to somepony else.
They had newspapers and basic mail delivery services, but no radio, phone or television. The only mean of transportation was some kind of carriage pulled by ponies. He actually laughed at the idea of ponies pulling other ponies, but he quickly remembered that in some part of his world they had people pulling other people in very busy streets where cars couldn't go. Their knowledge in mechanics and chemistry could have allowed them to perform farming task in a much more efficient way, but he found out they were still doing almost everything by hand... or hoof.
He was in the library alone, reading some book the history of magic when he heard the front door open. He was about to go hide himself as he learned most ponies were not used to his presence even if most knew about it when he saw Rarity come in, levitating a small red box beside her.
"Oh Good Morning miss Rarity. I'm sorry, but Twilight is out right now." he said, trying to sound as much as a gentleman as he could.
"Please Mister Mark, only Rarity." she said with a smile.
"Only if you call me Mark too."
"Obviously. However I'm not here to see Twilight, but you."
Mark was quite surprised. The last time he saw the unicorn was days ago when Twilight performed the mind-imaging spell. "Would you enjoy some tea?" he said pointing at the kitchen.
"With pleasure."
She sat down at the table and put the red box in front of her while he was boiling some water. "I must say" she started. "That shoes thing, it was probably the hardest challenge I ever had."
Mark looked over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't meant to cause you trouble. Might take a while, but I guess I can get used to walking outside bare feet."
"Oh no, no! Silly me, I meant it in a good way. It was a good challenge. Something I never did. It gave me so many new ideas. I hardly slept in the last few days." she said. Mark noticed she did look tired. "Using shoes to protect yourself? Such a wild idea!"
"Green leaves, blueberries or raspberries?" he asked.
"Pardon?"
"Your tea." he said.
"Oh! Blueberries if you may." she replied with a smile.
He sat down and handed her a cup of tea. "How is protecting your fee... your hoof such a wild idea?" he asked while taking a sip of his tea.
"My dear, I simply don't know! It's probably because nopony every thought of it before. We do have boots and shoes, but they simply exist to be pretty. Not that there's anything wrong with that!" she explained. "But when I saw your shoes, it was obvious it wasn't a simple piece of clothes. There were many layers and each had a role! The soul was made to protect from rock and sharp object, while the sides were obvious made to keep your... feet... warm and dry." She took a pause to drink a bit of her tea. "In winter ponies tend to stay inside, snow isn't so great for our hooves. Now imagine a whole line of fashion boots that keep your hooves warm and dry, even in deep snow!" She giggled. "A whole new line of fashion that never existed before!" she said with a huge smile.
"I'm happy I gave you some ideas." he said, impressed that such simply request may lead to new inventions.
She pushed the red box over the table. "It took me many tries, but I think I got them right."
He took the box cover off to find out a pair of shoes quite similar to what he had in mind. However, they were blue and the silver logo on their sides was replaced by a series of incrusted yellow topaz. He took them off the box to find out there were quite heavy. Looking under them he found out they had a kind of long stretched steel horseshoe blended in the soul.
Heavy, but I got the feeling I won't break them easily.
He looked at them from every angle, the craftsmanship was simply amazing. They were covered in small details but never anything that would be of bad taste. He could see the shapes of leaves embedded in the blue velvet.
"So?" she asked impatiently.
"To tell the truth... They are simply amazing. I never saw such fine details." he honestly said.
"Try them on!" she said with a huge smile.
He moved his chair away from the table and gently put the pair of shoes on the floor. He slid his feet in and tied them on, finding out they were of the perfect size. "Wow... They fit perfectly! How did you do? You never measured my feet!" he asked looking at her.
"As a tailor, I got a good eye for sizes." she said proudly.
"Or two." he joked back. He looked at his feet, they were perfect. He untied them, removed them and put them back in the box.
Rarity looked puzzled at the box. "You don't like them?" she asked disappointed.
"What? Of course I do! They are simply amazing." he said. "But I don't have any currency, and those topazes probably cost you a lot." He shook his head. "I'm sure I will find a job at some point and then I will manage to buy your amazing craftsmanship."
She blinked a few time. "Oh silly!" She pushed the box toward him. "It's a gift. A gift to a new pony around, a gift for giving me that idea for a totally new line of product." She laughed.
"But... gems... Aren't they very expensive in here?"
She laughed even more. Moving around, she pointed at her flank. "My... 'talent'. I'm able to find gems in the ground. I know where they are even without digging." she explained with a smile. "Aside, I had some left over from my last dress, and topaz matches so well your eyes." she said winking at him.
Is she flirting? Wait... my eyes?
"My eyes?" he asked. "I'm no artist... but how is a yellow topaz matching my green-brownish eyes?"
She looked at him confused. "Green? But your eyes are yellow my dear, almost golden."
"What?" he simply asked. He ran off the kitchen and climbed the stairs to Twilight's bedroom. He faced himself in front of her mirror, looking himself deep in the eyes.
Holy! She's right!
His eyes were a dark yellow, almost golden.
When did that happened? Am I sick?
He passed his hand on his jaw.
Great, I need to shave too. Doubt I'm gonna find a blade.
He then noticed his beard was pepper and salt instead of his usual dark black.
What the hell is going on with me? At least my hairs didn't change color over night! Still dirty blond.
"Is something wrong Mark?" asked Rarity from downstairs.
"I wished I knew." he simply answered.
The next two weeks passed quickly. Mark found himself reading as many books as he could. He was devouring anything related with history or geography. However his frustration and his host's frustration were rapidly building up. He wasn't finding anything related to human and the planet's land masses were not really clear. His lack of geological knowledge wasn't helping. On the other hand, he was deflecting every advanced questions Twilight was asking him. His research was going nowhere and he felt his host was about to kick him out.
He talked a lot to Twilight about the generic stuff about his species; biology, social interaction, psychology, geography or demography. But anytime the pony would ask about mathematical or physic questions, he would first check the books in her library to make sure they had first achieved that knowledge before talking about it.
One morning, he was sitting on the cot reading some kind of pony theory about continental drifting when Twilight came down. She sat on the floor in front of him and stared at him. He put down the book.
"Good morning." he said. Moments passed and he knew something was wrong as she wasn't replying. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"Why?" she simply asked. He was about to open his mouth when she continued. "Why aren't you answering my questions? I got so many! I answered all yours as best as I could." She could feel that Mark had an amazing amount of knowledge, but he wasn't sharing it with her. "Isn't knowledge made to be shared?" She wasn't crying, but he could feel she was on the edge.
He opened his mouth again, and then closed it once more. He took time to think about his next words. He knew this would come sooner or later. She was friendly with him and he was starting to enjoy her company too. He hurt her without really noticing it. But was there any other way?
"Twilight... I..." he thought he was ready to answer that specific question, but the look on her face made him understand he wasn't. "My species... Learned that knowledge can be quite dangerous." he started. "Some knowledge that looks armless can be turned into terrible things." She was confused and he knew he wasn't doing much progress. "Let me explain. One of our most brilliant scientists once found out a formula to explain... to explain the equivalence between matter and energy. The formula was simple, elegant and quite amazing. It was the result of years of thinking and math. It was brilliant." He knew from her books ponies hadn't found it yet and were lacking some of the knowledge needed to come up with it.
He took a deep breath. "Decades later, other scientists found out a way to put his formula in practice. They put it in the form of a bomb. They were seeking practical application of that specific knowledge because our world at the time was at war." he looked at his hands. "It was detonated twice in populated area. Hundreds of thousands died in a flash. There was almost nothing left of both cities." He paused. " 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.', that scientist said once he saw the result of his creation."
"It ended the war, somehow. But the cost was terrible. For decades following that, people tried to prevent countries from building more of them. But two of them continued to build them because 'the other side' was doing it too. At some point, the device had been improved so much; it was thousand times more destructive than the first two explosions. There was enough of them to completely destroy our world many time. We actually came quite close to that." He raised his head and looked at her in the eyes. She was crying.
Pat yourself in the back, idiot, you managed to make her cry.
"We learned those lessons the hard way, but it was the only way to learn them. That knowledge is now used for good, to generate energy for cities. I could propel your civilization's knowledge a hundred year forward. But would that be a good thing? If we had that knowledge a hundred year before, we would most likely destroy our self."
"But we are peaceful... We..." she tried to say.
"Can you say the same thing about your neighbor countries? What if one of them was to build one of those device bases on that knowledge? I wish I could show you all the marvels we created and invented. I truly want to show you, you're curious and it's contagious. But would that be a gift or a curse? I'm terribly sorry; I'm not made to have the future of a civilization on my shoulder."
He looked at his feet. "I'm so sorry. I truly wish I knew a way to show you everything without any danger." He did wish he could watch her eyes glow in amazement from new concepts, inventions or ideas. Some time passed in silence. He could hear her sob. His story and the two week of growing frustration collided in a flow of emotions.
He was surprised to feel his face pushed in some purple fur. She was hugging him and careful, he hugged her back. "I... I think I understand." she started. "Every time somepony found a new type of magic or a new spell, some other pony would misuse it. Sometime on purpose, sometime by accident. I guess... I guess we almost destroyed our self a few times too."
She does smell good. If back then I had meet someone like her in college...
She let him go and continued. "If I was to go in your world, and teach magic, good chance you would also have to learn the same mistakes we did, but in an accelerated way. It... it could destroy your world. I... understand."
It was the morning of his 18th days living in Twilight's home. He entered the kitchen and unrolled a map on the table.
"What's this?" asked Twilight.
"Took me a long while to understand, but I finally found out. I think." he said. He pointed at the map. "This is your best map of the planet. From what I learned, ponies aren't much going around on sea." He pointed at an ocean. "So most likely lot of islands or even a small continent might still be undiscovered."
"Yes?"
"I had an hard time. This map, from my point of view looked nothing like my planet." he explained. "However..." he said while unrolling an second map on top of the first one. "This is the map drawn by one of your scientist. He theorized that in the past, the planet had frozen poles and that the water level was much lower."
He shrugged. "My planet did have frozen poles. But even with a much lower sea level, while it does look more like my own, it's still not that." He unrolled a third map. "This map was drawn by one of your geologist to display the continental drift. While quite interesting alone, it's still not my planet."
He finally unrolled a forth map on top of the stack. "This map... It took me a while. I draw it myself, so sorry if it looks terrible." he apologized. "This one is the combination of the continental drift and the different sea level. This one is very close to what my planet looked like. The shapes in red are what would be missing to be my planet." he said, pointing at a red Australia, a missing American west coast and a good part of the south of Asia.
Twilight looked at the map. "So... you think you traveled in time?"
He sighed. "I think so. It's still no solid proof. And if I really did, with the continental drift, we are talking tens of thousands of years. Maybe more." He crossed his arms. "But I got an idea of where to go to find proof." He pointed at the south of North America. "There. We used to have a city in the middle of the desert. From what I understand, it is still a desert. The sands could have preserved something."
Her eyes were wide. "You can't go there! That desert is dangerous. It's not accurately mapped because nopony goes there. And nopony goes there because there's nothing to eat or to drink within thousands of kilometers."
He sighed again. "I got to try. I got to know. Not knowing where or when I am... It is slowly eating me inside." |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go dry | It felt itself accelerate. It finally reached the gravity limit of that system. Gravity was now pulling it toward its center. It currently helped it move but when it would try to leave it would hold it back. As weak as it was right now, it couldn't escape it even if it tryed. However, once it feed it would once again strong enough to escape toward another source of food.
It could sense other smaller gravity pits on his path. It would use them to navigate toward its target. If emotion it had, the closest thing right now would be excitement. It could smell the food, so close.
Mark was watching the full moon. It was the first time he came out of Twilight's house in almost three weeks. It was time to go and find answers. He decided to leave in the middle of the night to avoid frightening the other ponies that never saw him. Aside, he felt like a freeloader and he didn't like that. He was deeply impressed on how the ponies welcomed him and helped him understand the world he felt on. He doubted he could ever repay their kindness.
He had a fairly good idea of where to go and how to get there. He studied many maps and reports about the other countries he would have to cross. When he was in college, he did a journey across a few states on foot. He really enjoyed the experience, but it was only a fifth of the distance he would have to walk and he never tried to do it in a desert.
He knew it was silly and that it could very well kill him. He had no idea how he would survive the trip. Water and food was one of his primary concerns but he felt he would find a way. He felt he was in a world he didn't belong to and he needed this to know the past to be able to look at the future. He could stay with the ponies, but deep down his heart would be in pain for the rest of his life not knowing.
"The moon is quite pretty tonight." said Twilight behind him. He turned around to find Twilight, Rarity, Applejack and Applebloom in line looking at him.
"Hey. What are you all doing here?" he asked.
"Twilight told us you were leaving." answered Applejack. "And well... I never managed to thanks you."
"Thanks me? What for? If someone... or somepony has to thanks others it's me thanking you all." Mark countered. "You were all so welcoming and helped me more than I would ever expect. If I was in your... hooves, I don't think I would have acted like you, and I have no way to ever repay you."
Mark was telling the truth, he felt lucky to have fallen around this town and have meeting them. In another time or another place, he wouldn't have been so lucky. They helped him without asking anything in return.
"Don't be silly." said Rarity. "You did already. I never had so many requests for a line of winter boots. Twilight got a new spell recorded in the magical archives of Canterlot, few get this honor these day. As for Applejack... You know already. Just get back alive, will you?"
"Why are you leaving?" Applebloom asked before Mark could answer Rarity.
Mark kneeled in front of Applebloom and looked at her. "Why are you searching for your cutie mark?" he asked.
"I want to find my special talent!" she said proudly.
"You're seeking what defines you. It's the same thing for me. I must know the past and how I fit into all this." he simply said. He stood up.
He was about to turn around and leave when he felt himself pushed forward. He was laying face first in the dirt and grass when he heard "How could you do this to me?" from above him. He turned around, laying on his back to face a mass of pink, standing over him. He thought the new comer was talking to him, but he noticed she was looking at the four other ponies.
"There was a new pony in town for three weeks and nopony told me!" said the new one, obviously hurt. "Why?"
Twilight moved forward. "He is not really a pony, and others have been frightened by him."
"That's no reason! He should have had a welcome party like any other pony!"
"Huh-hum." coughed Mark. "If you don't mind?"
She looked down to him. "Hey! I'm Pinkie Pie!" She stared at him closer. "It's true you're a special pony. I do a welcome party for everypony who are new in Ponyville! Since you're leaving, I can do a welcome and farewell party at the same time! I never did one like that. Maybe writing something like 'Leaving so soon' on the cake? You will see my parties are the best parties. After it you won't want to leave anymore." she said in one breath.
"Mind if I stand back up?" he asked.
"Oh! Of course. Silly me!" she said moving off him.
He stood up and dusted himself off. "I... huh... I was thinking..."
Seeing him in problem Twilight finished for him. "He was leaving right now. He doesn't really have time for a party."
"Not even a tiny little 'ty?" she asked looking sad.
"When I come back, you will be able to throw the party the size you want." he said.
"You promise?" she asked staring at him.
"I..." He wasn't expecting that. This new pony was pure chaos in pink. He saw her for the first time a few seconds ago and she was already acting like they were the best friends in the world. "I... I promise." he said. He felt she wouldn't leave him go if he didn't do it.
"Pinkie promise?" she asked back.
"Huh... what?" He was confused.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." she said moving around and finishing with her left hoof in her eye.
What the hell is going on?
"Huh... alright. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." he said doing the same move. But the hand on his eye felt more like a face palm.
"Good! Now I know you will be back. Nopony break a Pinkie promise." she claimed with a huge smile.
Why I have the feeling she would find me and drag me off the desert if she has too? Why am I so scared?
Mark turned around to face back Twilight. "That being settled, Well, time to go."
"You're sure you don't want to stay a week or two? The princesses were sounded very interested in meeting you." Twilight asked. "I don't understand why, but they said they were too busy the last three weeks. It's weird but..."
"Sorry, I'm not waiting." Mark interrupted her.
"Oh... Alright. I understand." she said with a small smile. She turned around, grabbed something with her mouth and put it in front of him. It was a kind of dark blue backpack. "Walking in the desert, I still think it's a stupid idea. But this should help you." she explained pointing at the bag.
Mark was surprised. He kneeled and opened it. It was obvious it wasn't made for a pony. He saw them using some kind of saddle-bags before. This one was made for him, the straps being made for human shoulders. The blue velvet was the same as his shoes. It was made with great care and quality. "Rarity? You made this? I... I don't know what to say."
"Just say thanks silly." she replied. Mark was sure he saw a tear to her eye.
"Thanks a lot." He check inside the bag and found three items, a small metallic canteen, a red wooden box with a ruby inlaid on top and finally a purple and gold metallic star with the same red ruby encrusted in the middle. He opened the box to find it empty. He was confused by the used of the items beside the canteen. "I'm... I'm not sure what those are for." he said with a smile.
Twilight laughed. "It's normal. They are not what you would call standard objects. I made them myself and each of them is magic in some way." she explained with a smile. "I used the same spell as the auto-filling quill on the canteen. It's linked to a nearby river, so you will never run out of water."
Mark was truly stunned. She created a completely new spell that sounded really complex for a quill and quickly adapted it for a canteen. He would guess teleporting a few drop of ink everyday was on a different level as teleporting enough water for him to drink; it would require far more energy.
"As for the box, it's an old spell. I have the same box in my bedroom and if you put something in it and close the lid, it will transport itself to my box. And vise versa. Applejack offered to send you food once in a while."
Wow!
"Thanks a lot Applejack. I will find a way to make it up to you." said Mark, a bit overwhelmed.
"Nonsense." she simply replied.
"As for the star, it's a teleporting beacon. Normally self-teleportation is a bit tricky, takes time to setup and is quite limited in distance. But the beacon gives me a reference point, a kind of anchor. So I will be able to come to you if you need help." she finished with a wide smile.
Mark blushed; it was hard to stay unmoved by such display of generosity. "I know I repeat myself but... Thanks a lot." He grabbed his backpack and put it on his shoulders. "I have a feeling we will see each other again."
He was about to turn around and go when Applebloom came close to him and motion him to get closer. He lowered his head and she whispered "What did you do to my sister? She's the one who proposed that I come tonight and she offered the food on her own!"
Mark laughed silently. "You wouldn't believe it."
"Come on! She's been acting weird since she was with you at the hospital!" she prayed him.
"Alright, I hugged her." he simply explained. He stood back up and started to walk away. He waved his arm. "See you around!"
He was already far away when a confused Applebloom finally managed to ask "What?"
He first thought the first few weeks were the hardest. He was in the best shape he has ever been, but he wasn't prepared to walk weeks long without stop. His legs and feet quickly grew resistant to the long distance, but not without pain. He found out his new shoes were as resistant as they were pretty. He was afraid his lack of socks would hurt in the long run. But the inside of his shoes were soft and worked almost like it.
Every day when the sun would go down, he would sit down beside a fire and open the red box. He always found some food made out of apples in it and sometime a letter from Twilight. She was writing about her day and stuff that happened in Ponyville. Some of their adventures sounded too crazy to be true, but after all he saw and learned, he wasn't questioning those stories. He would sometime reply to her letters and send them back in the box.
He learned about two other ponies he didn't meet before leaving, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. He was sure he saw the former in front of the hospital. One letter talked how Rainbow Dash performed a Sonic Rainboom, which he understood as the pegasus breaking the sound barrier in a very flashy way.
Once every few days she would send him a book. He always let her choose the topic, and so far he never regretted it. She would send book about almost anything. He found out ponies had a great and original literature. Once done with it he would send it back with sometime a few written questions.
Sometime at night, he would open his inner magic reserve and play with it. His best achievement was to be able to move that energy around in his body. One day, in a painful flash, he managed to push the energy out of his right fingers. It did a small golden arc of energy. He quickly learned it was a bad idea as his thumbs and forefinger were left burned and numbs for days.
In some books Twilight sent him, he found out unicorn had a special brain structure. Their horns were not hollowed, but full of neural connection. They were directly linked to their brains. It was basically an extra member dedicated to concentrating and channeling magic energy. Its surface was made of a special material that would support the stress of huge quantity of energy going through. It wasn't unheard of a unicorn horn take fire under more powerful spell.
He took great care avoiding any city or town. A few time he meet ponies that would simply run away on sight. He felt no need to scare them or mess with their daily life. Sometime it would take him days to avoid larger cities, but he had time.
Not like I need to call the job to tell them I'm sick.
More than once he would stop and watch the environment. Ponies were more integrated and respectful of the nature than humans. He didn't see any pollution or trash.
He got a hard time to getting used to not being able to wash every day. He would try to wash anytime he would find a river or a stream. He knew once he would get in the desert his chance to bath would be very slim. His hairs and beard were getting long. He was only half surprised to find out his hairs were getting the same color as his beard, a kind of silver with dark streak. It was strange, but he had no idea how to find out what was happening to him. Aside from this change of color, he felt better than ever. If it was some kind of strange sickness, it had no other side effect.
He had a few encounter with the wildlife, but most of the time the animals would run away not knowing what to make out of him. Maybe he simply didn't look edible, he couldn't say, but not having to fight for his life with some of the weird creatures he met was an obvious bonus. On top, he had no idea which one was sentient or not. He knew from some books many species reached that but at different levels. Zebras and dragons were two he saw firsthand.
It took him almost a month to reach the limit of the desert. He was doing good progress before reaching it. He found out that walking in mountain of sand was no easy task, it was close to relearning how to walk. The sand would slip and move under his feet, making it difficult to keep a steady pace. The sun was burning his skin and he was happy his beard was now long enough to give his face some kind of shadow.
A week after entering the desert, his head started to spin. The sun wasn't giving him any break. That night he asked Twilight for a hat, any hat. The hat that came through the box was more suited for a lady, but at this point he didn't care. His brain was cooking inside his skull. He decided to walk mostly in the morning and in the late afternoon. It was slowing him down, but he had no choice, the sun in the day was just too hot.
However, the nights were close to the freezing point. After a few days not being to sleep correctly because of the temperature, he asked Twilight for a blanket. He received it within the hour. He couldn't write enough 'Thanks you' on his letters to her.
It was his third month of his journey when he received nothing out of the red box for four days in a row. In the previous weeks he took the habit of carrying some extra food with him but he was worried by this complete shutdown in communication.
Maybe I'm out of range? The canteen still works fine. Or I pushed my luck too far and asked one too many thing?
He was running out of food when an apple pie came in the box with a note saying they were sorry. Twilight explained him in a letter that they had some problem with a god-like creature named Discord. He was turning physic laws upside down and ponies against each other. Mark was somewhat happy to not have experienced that. He didn't know how they managed to stop that creature, but it did sound like one impressive challenger. She talked about some kind of element of harmony, but from what he understood it was similar to a magic periodic table. He took a mental note to ask her once he would be back.
It was his fourth month of his journey when he reached the place he was looking for. From his map to the position of the stars, he was sure it was the spot. However, he looked around only to see endless dune of sand. Maybe he was simply wrong from the start? For all he knew he could be at the wrong place, or simply there was nothing left to find.
He searched for a few days, turning in circles. He was getting disappointed and climbed a huge dune to have a better view around. At the top, he was welcomed with the same sight as of the last months, sand. He let himself fall on his rear. Something broke under him with a sound of shattered glass. He found himself falling deep inside the dune, sliding in a tunnel of sand.
He reached the bottom hard and felt the shock up in his back. After a minute, his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness, he found out he was in some kind of cave. The light coming from the hole he slid in was just enough to give him a view around. He tried walk around but quickly found out he wasn't seeing enough in the darkness, and the day was quickly ending. His light source would soon be gone. He was about to get out of the hole for the night when the lowering sun lit up something hung at the roof of the cave; "el ome to L s egas". A few letters were gone, but the message was quite easy to understand.
Mark found himself on his knees. It was his Earth after all. It was some kind of future, a future where mankind disappeared in some way, and where the dominant species was now some sentient ponies. His hands were shaking and his mind was empty when he put down the teleport beacon on the floor and pressed the gem in the middle. He sat down against a wall of sand and started to wait.
It was well into the night when a flash of light woke him up. "Mark?" asked the first voice he heard in four months.
"It's a cave Twilight. Sorry, I got nothing to light it up." he replied. His voice sounded weird after so long without talking to anybody.
A purple glow quickly grew brighter, up to the point he could see Twilight and she could see him. He didn't think about it much, but his beard and hair grew enough that Twilight didn't recognized him at first. But his suit, now of a dirty sand color, still had the NASA logo and his name above it.
"Wow, your mane grew a lot!" she said.
He laughed. "I guess it did." He stood up. "But I didn't call you to talk fashion, sorry. I found proof."
"Here?" she asked.
"Yes. Can you light up the roof?" he said pointing up. He saw her focus and her horned glow even brighter, sending a beam of light upward.
She looked up at the letters and asked "What's that?"
"Welcome to Las Vegas. It was one of our cities. For some reason I don't know, it was built in the middle of the desert. I was right, the sand somehow sealed part of this place and destroyed almost everything else." he said looking around. Now that Twilight was providing a source of light, he noticed the cave was much bigger than he first imagined.
There was sand everywhere, but he could make out walls and a curved ceiling in the distance. "Think you can keep that light working for a few minutes? I would like to look around." he asked.
"Sure. I'm actually quite interested too." she replied.
He started to walk around. He found out the floor was some kind of concrete but the time had taken its toll on it. It was cracked and broken in some places. When he reached the wall he saw it was had at some point ceramic tiles, but almost all of them were gone.
Along the wall, he found a flat bump covered in sand. Something was hung on the wall. Carefully, he started to remove the sand that was covering a huge glass panel. "Twilight, can you come over here?"
"Coming!" she replied.
As she was coming closer, Mark could now see that there was a kind of plastic map behind the glass. It was a crude map covered in what appeared to be colored lines. As he managed to remove the last bit of sand covering the glass, it was obvious the map was of North America. Surprisingly, a huge part of the south west coast was missing. In the top corner, he could read "North America Maglev Railroad".
"What's that?" Twilight asked staring at the map.
"A map for some kind of very high speed railroad. A maglev is a train that float a few inches above ground. But when I left, we didn't have anything like that... only prototypes. Surely nothing that covered the whole continent." A spot in the middle of the map caught his attention. All colored lines were converging toward that spot, and from what he could see, it was a huge city.
Colorado Springs? But this place didn't even have half a million people. How could it become the central point of the continent?
His sight was running around the map, trying to find some important information. His eyes finally stopped at the bottom right of the map. "2142!" he screamed.
"What?" she asked backing off, surprised by the sudden scream.
He let himself fall on the floor, his back against the wall. He tried to think for a few moments but nothing would come. "The... the map. It was made in the year 2142." he said, like if it was explaining everything. After a few moments he looked up to see that Twilight was confused by his statement. "Sorry, I'm from the year 2012. This map was made 130 years later." He shook his head. "My species only survived 130 years after I left?" He looked at his hands like if some answers were carved into them. "What happened to them? How long ago was that?" he asked aloud, like if the cave could answer him. By the look of things, it happened a very long time ago.
Twilight didn't say anything but just stood there.
After a few moments Mark sighed and stood up. "Yeah... Sorry about that little breakdown."
"No need to be. If I would learn my civilization would disappear in 130 years... I don't know how I would react." She looked at him in the eyes. "I don't think I would take it as well as you if our places were reversed."
"Thanks Twilight."
"Now, do you think you're coming back with me?" she asked.
He sighed again and stared at the map. Somehow, that central point was calling him.
Colorado Springs? What's there? Cheyenne Mountain?
He snapped his fingers. "Cheyenne Mountain! Of course!" Twilight stared once again at him, confused from this second outburst. "Sorry. Cheyenne Mountain is the name of the mountain that stand beside that city." he said pointing at the colorful middle node on the map.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Back in my time, we had a base built deep under the mountain. It was like five or six hundred meters deep. It was chosen because it was one of the most geologically stable sites on the continent." he stopped to let his brain think a few seconds. "If... If my species knew that something would happen, they would have left information behind. And this would have been the perfect spot. It already had huge infrastructures." He backed off the map and crossed his arms.
"You're going there, aren't you?" she asked a bit disappointed.
"Yes. It's not very far from here. Two... maybe three weeks at most." He looked back at her. "Don't worry; I'm not breaking my Pinkie promise." They both laughed.
"I will hold back Pinkie for another three weeks, but it won't be easy." she said with a smile.
"Don't worry. I have a feeling that if I don't find anything over there, it's because there's nothing left to find." he said. It took a few moments for his brain to actually understand what he just said.
It's true, sadly.
"Take care." she said before vanishing in a flash.
He was getting used to walking in the desert. Only two weeks after the discovery of the Las Vegas train station, he could see a reddish mountain in the horizon. He wasn't sure what to look for, but he guessed that he would know when he would see it. From what he remembered, Colorado Springs was on the east side of the mountain and there was forest all around it. Nothing was left of the city or the forest, both replaced by the same desert he saw in the last three months.
He didn't know where to look for what could be left of the NORAD base, so he started circling the mountain.
A day later, he was about the northern part of the mountain when he found it. He had no idea what 'it' was. It looked like a stainless steel wall of a dozen meters high and twenty wide. It was perfectly flat, spotless and looked somehow built directly in the mountain. The floor in front of it was black and looked like some kind of carbon fiber. Somehow, something was keeping the sand away from it. As he moved closer, he could feel some kind of static electricity pushing him away. He could feel the hairs on his arms raise and the sands on his skin being pushed away.
This is it. This has to be it.
He was about to touch the metallic surface when he heard a loud noise from behind the wall. It sliced itself in half, opening itself in two. The huge doors, he noticed, were moving silently. From what he could see, they were about two meters thick, and yet they moved side way without any apparent effort.
I guess it means I'm welcome.
Beyond the door was waiting a long corridor that appeared to be made of the same material, black carbon floor with stainless walls. Mark couldn't find any source of light and yet the inside was perfectly lit. He walked toward a wall and tried to touch it. He couldn't feel anything, like if something was in between the wall and his hand.
He walked down the corridor. About a hundred meters later, he faced a second set of doors that opened as he got close to them. Once they were retracted in the walls, he couldn't see any difference between the walls and the doors. They fitted perfectly and he couldn't see any rails or any device that they would slide on. The corridor simply continued in a perfectly straight path.
He continued to walk, crossing a set of heavy doors every hundred meters. After the second set, he turned around and noticed the previous set had closed behind him.
A kind of airlock?
He crossed a fifth set of doors when he found the corridor stopped only twenty meters from them. He went to examine the wall that was blocking the corridor when he saw motion behind him. Turning around he saw the last doors closing behind him. He tried to rush to them but quickly stopped as he was about to be crushed between them.
He was trapped in a steel box of twenty meters of sides by twelve high. He knew he wasn't really trapped, as he could probably asked Twilight to teleport him out, but he decided he would call her only if he couldn't find any way out. Why would someone build such a complex trap?
He suddenly felt lighter. He couldn't feel any motion or acceleration, but he knew he was going down. He was in a kind of elevator, which like the doors moved without any sound or effort. And he felt it was going down pretty fast.
He didn't really know how long the ride took, but it felt like hours. When you're stuck inside a metal box, time is kinda hard to keep track. At last, he felt the elevator slow down, then stop. One of the walls opened on another corridor. He walked down the corridor, which looked like a few hundred meters long.
He was about half the length of the corridor when he noticed a figure ahead. He slowed down, unsure who it was. It was obviously of human shape, and it was waiting in the middle of a cylindrical room of about thirty meters in radius. Mark took all his courage and stepped inside the room.
"Welcome. We were waiting for your return." simply said the figure. Now closer, Mark could see it was a male, about six feet tall and in a very clean and straight black shirt and pants. But he couldn't make out his races; it looked like a blend of all of those he knew about. He wasn't black, but wasn't white ether. He had Asian eyes, but not really.
Mark took his time to answer. "Hey. Sorry, I'm not sure to understand."
"It is expected. With time, we understood that memory of this complex would be forgotten." The figure was staring directly at Mark. "After all, it is our purpose. You can call us Memento."
Mark wasn't sure to understand anything. "Alright... Memento... Who... or what are you?" he managed to asked.
"We are the visual representation of the sixty four artificial intelligences linked to the four time-capsule complex." he simply replied.
He finally understood, in front of him wasn't a human, but a robot, or a hologram of some kind. It was an A.I. of some kind, built to keep this place running.
"What's a time-capsule complex, and what does it do?" Somehow, he felt like he was asking question to a quite advanced computer.
"The four complexes were built to keep knowledge and history of mankind as they left Earth behind. We were expecting human's return far sooner." He kept watching Mark as he was walking around the room. "We have two roles. The first is to remind humans of their heritage once they come back. The second is to be a source of information about humans for new sentient species that are bound to evolve on Earth. You're the first one to come since we came online."
Mark stopped walking and stared at Memento. It was hard to only see it as a computer. If it didn't tell him what it was, he would have had a hard time to know. He could see it watch, blink, smile. "How long ago was that?"
"One hundred twenty-eight thousand five hundred and eighteen years ago."
Mark felt his knees weaken but he managed to stand. He knew the number would be high, but he wasn't expecting it to be that high. "What... What happened? Why humanity left?" he managed to ask.
"Forty years before we were put online, human scientists discovered mankind had destroyed Earth's ecosystem's balance. It was known for decade before that that human were damaging the planet ecosystem. However, it is only once it was too late that advances in quantum computer was finally enough to model the damage. Humans always thought they could repair or undo what they did. However, they found out they were wrong. A planet ecosystem is such a huge system with a tremendous momentum that once it's fully pushed in one direction, it is almost impossible to stop or reverse it. Earth temperature was raising fast and wouldn't stop for the next few thousand years."
As it was talking, the curves walls lighten up, displaying information about its speech. Images of forest destruction, flooding, icebergs melting, deserts spreading over burning crops kept coming in, too fast to see details.
"Earth would become almost uninhabitable within the next fifty years, and there was nothing human could do to prevent it. For the first time in history, mankind was united under the idea of survival. Models predicted that the only way Earth could become once again fit for humanity within twenty-five thousand years is if no human was there to influence it. And so, they were forced to build massive spaceship and seek a new home."
The walls displayed huge spaceships being built in orbit, views of other planets, space charts pointing dozen of distant system.
"They knew that by the time they would come back on Earth, they would have changed or forgotten. They put massive efforts and resources into the creation of four massive complexes used to host their histories and their dreams. Right now, only two of the original four complexes are still active."
Mark was stunned. "We... destroyed Earth?"
"Yes."
He simple sit down right there in front of Memento. The A.I. didn't appear to care much for his display of weakness. After a few moments trying to catch his breath, he looked back up. "Why... Why humanity didn't come back before?"
"We have no information about this. However, we are predicting there's a good chance it is linked with our second role."
"What?"
"Twelve years before we were put online, scientists managed to model genome's evolution. It was then discovered that mankind becoming sentient was an evolution error. In Earth ecosystem, dozen species were bound to become sentient sooner or later. However, mankind becoming sentient thousand years before them put their own evolution on halt. If it wasn't of this 'error', most potential species would have reached sentience within a relatively short timeframe from each others. We think humans didn't come back to give those species a chance at evolution."
The walls showed DNA and some kind of evolution simulations. Again it was going too fast to grasp the information present.
Mark took his time to digest this mass of information. Thinking back about the ponies and other sentient species he met in the last few months, it kinda made sense. "I take you're also there in hope to prevent them from doing the same mistakes?"
"Correct."
After a few moments thinking, Mark couldn't find other questions to ask. He would need days to think of what he just learned. He almost jumped back when Memento moved toward him, so far it only stood in the middle of the room. "May we ask some questions?"
Mark somehow felt the A.I. wasn't at ease with asking questions. Was it even originally programmed that way, or could A.I. evolve on their own? "Of course, go ahead." he answered.
"We, the different A.I., are divided as to who you are, and most propose something that is logically impossible." The face of Memento twitched into a weird smile. It looked like it tried to gather his courage, which was quite weird on the artificial visage. "Are you Mark Anderson, astronaut for the NASA?"
Mark was surprised by the question. He thought about it for a few seconds. They were basically a huge database of the human knowledge. No doubt they are information about him. He thought he could lie to them, but then there was nothing to gain out of that. "Yes... I am. How do you know?" he asked back.
The walls displayed front pages of numerous newspapers, with his face on them.
'Astronaut lost in space. Unexplained disappearance. Whole ISS module vanish. Scientists can't explain.'
"Your suit, the NASA logo on it and your name above gave us a very limited number of people that could fit this description. Back then, it was theorized that a quantum displacement occurred on the ISS module, but no source or proof was ever found."
Mark smiled, he had guessed right. He was kinda proud of that, even it didn't help him one bit. Looking back at Memento, "Well... Sorry I'm not the humanity you were expecting." he stood back up. "But I'm quite sure you will have new species visiting this place sooner than you can imagine."
"Really? How is Earth? We lost our last imaging satellite over fifty thousand years ago." it asked back.
"Some parts are really going great. I meet some of those new sentient species. Some look really friendly I would say."
Memento nodded. Mark was surprised how human it looked from up close. "We are looking forward meeting them when they are ready." it said with a smile.
Mark started to walk toward the elevator. "Come back anytime you want." He turned around to see the A.I. vanish. He could have sworn that he saw sadness on his face.
How would I take being alone for over a hundred thousand years?
Mark took back the elevator and walked out the time capsule base. The more he was thinking about it, the more it made sense. Had he been there, he would have done the same thing if he would have faced the same problems. Time capsule wasn't a new concept. He knew back in his time they made some that could last a few thousand years.
Obviously, tremendous efforts were put into those so they could last over a hundred thousand years. He was wondering if he could even understand a fraction of the technology used into building them. He knew that if humanity pooled their abilities into a common goal, there was almost nothing out of reach. How would technology evolved in the hundred years after he left? Aside maybe from preventing the destruction of Earth.
'Destruction of Earth' was such an abstract concept. Even if everything living would disappear, Earth itself would still remain, and with time, could once again support life. Of course, being unable to live on it for a hundred thousand years was a pretty good idea of destruction.
The last set of doors opened in front of him. He closed his eyes, the brightness of the desert sun burning the sand. When his eyes finally managed to get used to the sun glare, he could make out the shape of someone in front of him. Whoever it was was wrapped in a perfectly white cap with a hood covering more of its face. The small part of the face he could see was also as white as its clothes.
Mark moved closer. The figure was biped and almost a head smaller than him. "Who are you?" He asked, but he somehow doubted it would understand him.
To his surprise, it answered back with perfect English with no accent. "We are." He was sure he didn't see his lips moving. He was kind annoying by the answer. He was about to dump all his frustration on this one creature when it continued. "We are all the species that managed to reach the stars into one. We are those who watch over new species and help them reach us, at their own pace." It spoke very slowly, like if it wasn't used to talking.
Mark crossed his arms. The cryptic figure didn't make him at ease. "Are you human?"
"Yes, humans are part of us." it replied. Mark had no idea if it even had a gender. The voice was genderless and what he could make of the shape under the cloths gave him no more hints.
"Do you have anything to do with me being here... now?" he asked. For some reason, the tone of its voice made him think of someone who think they know everything, and he didn't like that.
"Yes, we brought you here and now." it simply replied, like if it was reading the morning newspaper. Mark felt more emotions from Memento than from this one.
"Why?" he asked hard. He was pissed; finally he could face whoever put him in this mess.
"We are not used in making our presence known. But we had no choice, your presence would have prevented your species from reaching the stars and in time, become part of us." it said. After a few moment of silence like if it was thinking or talking to itself, "You would have created a new compound that would have drained pollution from your atmosphere."
"That would have been a good thing, no?" he almost screamed.
"No." it simply stated without an ounce of emotion. "Instead of seeking refuge in the stars from raising temperature on Earth, they would have stayed and died in a new glacial age your discovery would have brought decades earlier. A loaded system such as a planet ecosystem cannot be simply reverted without massive damage."
Mark started to walk around, he felt angry. He noticed the figure wasn't looking at him. It wasn't moving its head. He couldn't even see its eyes. It continued "Earth mended itself with time. Had it undergo a new glacial age, it would have taken close to a million years before it would come back into balance. Dozen sentient species were at stake."
"Take this." it said, as a small metallic sphere appeared in front of him. "It will help you when you will make a choice." it continued, as impossible to understand as ever. He took it in an automatic way and put it in his pocket without thinking about it. His mind was on something else.
How could his person have that kind of effect over such long term? He had an hard time to believe all that. Why him? Someone else could very well come up with the same discovery. "Why didn't you simply kill me?"
For the first time, it moved his head to look at him. Mark felt like he was watched across dimensions, picked apart by beings of powers he could not understand. "Because you still have much to do." Mark blinked, and when he opened his eyes, the figure was gone.
"Wait! What... WHY!?" he screamed, but only the sound of the wind replied.
He sat down on a rock nearby and stared at the ground. He got answers, but he felt they didn't make much sense or too much sense. How would you feel if God came to tell you; you were the one who would doom mankind, that he had no choice be to move you in another reality? His emotions felt like a tornado. He was angry at everything, but his logical mind kept telling him it made some kind of sense. He didn't want it to make sense, any sense. He preferred when his crash landing was only a freak accident, at least his future was his own.
Those... bastards without a name, they knew what would happen, or what would have happened. Had they really no other choices? He felt an headache slowly coming. The sun was slowly going down at the horizon. He didn't feel like moving off his seat. He could always call Twilight, try to forget about all this and start a new life.
He took the sphere off his pocket and looked at it. He couldn't feel it and it looked like a perfect sphere. It was about the size of his thumb and was a perfect mirror.
Make a choice? A choice about what? What a piece of cr...
His thoughts were interrupted by a shadow covering his feet. He looked up to find a man looking at him. From what he could see, he was in a blue suit with a white shirt and a brown tie. His brown hairs were a mess. He had his hands in his pockets and he simply looked like he always been there, oblivious that he was in the middle of a desert in a suit. He looked around, like he was noticing the scenery for the first time.
"Hey!" he said with a clear and joyful voice and a large smile. "I thought you could use a lift." |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go boom | "Look... My day so far has been one hell of a mess. Actually, my last six months have been deeply testing my sanity." he explained trying to stay calm. "My mind has long stop trying to piece things together. Who the hell are you?" he almost screamed.
The guy in the blue suit stared at him and then started genuinely laughing. Mark felt he would only get angrier, but somehow his laugh calmed him. He even started laughing too.
"Sorry for the outburst. I did have a rough day." he apologized looking at his feet.
"No need to." he said balancing on his toes with a huge smile. "For someone dumped in all this, you're holding pretty well, I must say." He walked to Mark and sit on the rock beside him. "I'm the Doctor." he said while giving him his hand.
Mark looked at the hand for a few moments. It looked surprisingly human. He admitted, of all the things he faced in the last six months, this was by far the least strange.
A guy in a suit in the middle of the desert is the most normal thing? Kui kui kui...
He took the extended hand and shook it. He was somewhat surprised to find a warm firm human hand in his own. "I'm Mark. Ex-astronaut. Maybe last of my species." he said raising an eyebrow.
The Doctor looked at him in amusement. "The last one? On no, no, no. Humans are a persistent bunch. Trust me, there are still plenty of them out there." he said with motion of his arm pointing at the sky.
"Are you?" Mark asked, surprised he didn't take the hint. "I have the feeling you're not human."
He looked at him in surprise. "You are an observant one." he simply said.
Mark stared at him in silence, waiting for further explanation which never came. "You want me to ask, right?"
The Doctor laughed again. "Ah alright, alright. You're not easy. I'm a timelord. And I am the last of my species." he said pointing his thumb at his chest.
Mark stopped a few moments to think about his claim, but couldn't think of anything constructive. "And... what is a timelord?"
The Doctor stood up and looked around before looking back to Mark. "What is a human?"
He thought about it for a few moments. "I... I don't know. Genetic... or historical, maybe."
"Ah! If it's genetic, then you are truly the last one. Genetic change too fast to keep track. History? Might be hard to sum that up, since humans survived up to the end of the universe. Billions of years of history, I wonder how many books it would take." He looked at Mark smiling. "Do you know why you're a human?"
Mark was confused, but in a kind of good way. He felt this Doctor had a huge amount of knowledge and experience. Somehow, he felt that not judging a book by its cover was amazingly accurate with him. Thinking a bit about what the Doctor just said, he finally understood. "I'm a human... because I call myself one."
"Ah!" The Doctor slapped his own leg. "I'm gonna give you that, you're quick." He sat back beside Mark. "I'm actually impressed. You got the Universals out of hiding and they actually directly changed the timeline by moving you here."
"The Universals?"
"Well, they don't have a name. But I like to name things." he explained. "A very weird group of people made of a melting pot of hundreds of species. If we can still call them people. They tend to influence history from the shadows. Changing very small details. They help... in their own weird way. First time I see them take a direct approach and actually interact with someone."
"And you, what's your take in all this?"
The Doctor stared at Mark, looking surprised. "I like to meet people and see new places. And people tend to be the most interesting when facing something unknown." He put his hands behind his head and he looked up at the sky. "And well, I do like the unknown."
"You were stalking me?" Mark asked skeptical.
"What?" The Doctor blinked then started laughing. "Oh, no, no, no."
"You just happened to be in the neighbor?"
"You would be surprised." he answered with a smile.
Mark sighed. He couldn't sense any bad intention from the Doctor, and somehow he felt he was always telling the truth. He sounded like a kid, amazed of everything he would discover. However, he had the weird feeling he already saw him somewhere. "You were offering a lift?"
"Since I'm around, it's the least I could do. Ponyville?"
"Sounds good" said Mark. He stood up, opened his bag and took the purple star. "If you don't mind." He went to the time capsule doors and once they were open let the star on the ground behind them. Turning around, he saw the Doctor staring at him. "I'm sure Twilight will want to explore this place one day."
"No doubt." answered the Doctor. He turned around and started to walk away. Mark didn't feel the need to ask how he knew about Twilight. He was a mystery, and his answers were only bringing more questions. Mark followed him in the desert.
While walking, Mark asked "Hey Doc, I was wondering. How comes those ponies speak English?"
Looking over his shoulder, he simply replied "They don't."
"Come on! I'm pretty sure we talked to each other just fine. Was it some magic from them?" he asked back.
The Doctor stopped walking and turned around. "Apple. Apple." he simply said.
"What?" Mark was confused. He heard twice the same word, but somehow they sounded different. His ears were telling him it was different, but his brain was convinced it was the same word.
"I said it in English, then in Equestrian. I would guess 'they' did some tweaking in your brain so you could talk to the locals." he explained with a shrug. He turned back and continued walking. "So far you only talked to me in English. However, I have the feeling you will talk Equestrian as soon as a pony is around." he started laughing.
"Should I be concerned about this 'brain tweaking'?"
"Probably." The Doctor continued laughing. "Here we are." he said pointing at a blue box somehow stuck in the middle of a sand dune. Mark recognized it as an old British police phone box. The Doctor turned around he looked at him with a huge smile, obviously awaiting some kind of reaction.
Mark wasn't really surprised, he was expecting far stranger than that. "I hope you got a bathroom in there."
"Hmm... Yes, you do need a shaving." he replied walking to the blue box with a key in his hand. He unlocked the door and made sign at Mark to enter first.
Mark was trying his best to not look surprised, but the inside was far bigger than he expected. In the center of the room stood a circular control panel that looked everything but simple. To the left and right corridors connected to other rooms. His mind was trying to find scientific explanations for this difference in size between the outside and the inside without much luck. His best guess was warping space on itself. The Doctor passed beside him and pointed to the right. "The bathroom is down two floors to your right."
Two... what? How big is this thing?
Half an hour later, Mark looked at himself in a mirror. He managed to wash and shaved himself. He found a pair of old plain scissors and cut his hairs, which were getting pretty long, down to two inches. He was surprised to not find any electric razor. Since he cut the part of his hairs that were still brown, he was left only with his new silver color.
I look old, and I'm not even thirty.
His new eye color was bothering him, he felt they were way too bright and didn't look natural. He thought they looked sick. He exited the bathroom to find his spacesuit folded on a chair with his shoes on top. Somehow, The Doctor washed them and they looked brand new, like he didn't just walk four months in the desert. He suited himself up and went back to what he decided to call the control room.
He found the Doctor sitting on some kind of bench reading a thick black book. He looked up to Mark. "Hey! You almost look presentable."
"Funny. I was wondering, know any sickness that would change hairs and eyes colors?" Mark asked with his hands in his pocket.
The Doctor blinked a few time. "Well... A few actually. But none from Earth. Why do you ask?"
Mark sighed. "You would be surprised to know yellow isn't the eye color I'm used to."
He stood up and went to stare at his eyes. "Do you feel ill?"
"Not really."
"So all good!" he cheered. "Ready to go?"
Mark looked at the ceiling. Somehow the Doctor reminded him of Pinkie Pie, only slightly less excited but as much unpredictable. "Allons-y!" he cheered back at the Doctor with a fake smile.
The Doctor stared at Mark for a good moment. Mark was surprised to have muted him. He took note to ask him later what he said wrong. The Doctor walked toward the console and started pushing and pulling things in what appeared to be a completely random order.
Does he really know how...
Mark slowly opened his eyes. He was laying on his back staring at an alien ceiling. He closed back his eyes, he wasn't feeling good. His forehead hurt. "Welcome back." said a voice to his left.
He slowly reopened his eyes and turn his head toward the voice. The Doctor was sitting on the small bench, staring at him. Mark slowly sit down on the metallic floor and put his back against the console. He touched his forehead to find a painful bump. "What happened?" he asked.
"You tell me. You just collapsed and hit your head on the commands." the Doctor replied. He crossed his arms and waited for an answer.
Mark tried to remember, the memory was there, he knew it. He put his right hand on his face, as it could contain his headache. "I... felt... I don't know. I never felt something like that before." the memory wasn't pleasant, and he started to understand why he collapsed, it had been very intense. "I felt... I guess... If I had to put words on it... Ripped off reality?" he stopped a few second to think about what he just said. "That sounds really crazy." He shook his head, trying to make a weird feeling in the back of his head go away.
The Doctor blinked a few time and pulled what looked like a long metallic pen out of his jacket. Pointing it at Mark, he pressed something on its side and the tip started to glow of a bright blue color. Look at his device, the Doctor raised an eyebrow.
I'm sure I saw that thing somewhere...
"Two on the same planet at the same time." After putting it back in his jacket, he put his hands on the back of his head and stared at the ceiling, obviously thinking. After a few moments he slapped his knees. "I think you're ready for a little physic teaching."
"What?"
"In the universe, what are the different states of thing?" he asked.
Mark thought about it a few seconds, the buzzing in his head wasn't going away. "You mean, like matter and energy?"
"Right. You got two of the five states." he replied. "Having met the ponies, I would guess you can come up with the transitional state?"
"Wait... you mean... magic?" Mark replied, shooting in the dark.
"Correct!" he said pointing at him. "The third stable state beside matter and energy is time. As for the last one, the best way to explain it... Well let's say the superstring theory isn't that farfetched. It's not right, but for now let's just say it kinda works."
Mark was confused, how is this had anything to do with him collapsing, and the Doctor was talking like if time was something that could be touched and played with. He decided to simply shut up and listen, after all it wasn't every day that he could get some physic teaching from an alien.
"Magic isn't stable. If you leave it like that, it tends to transform itself toward the stable states." he continued. "Do you know the pony princesses? Celestia and Luna?"
Mark had a hard time to follow; he wasn't used to that kind of unannounced jump of topic. "Huh... I read about them. Some crazy things about controlling the sun and the moon."
"Right." he replied. "I'm sure you also know 'Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed, and everything is transform'"
He had done it again, jumping to another thread of thoughts. Mark sighed. "Yeah. The law of conservation. I think." he replied, his head wasn't giving him a break to think clearly.
"Exact!" the Doctor cheered. "This law, at least the version written by human, was for energy and matter but it also hold true for magic, time and... 'strings'. So, can you guess how the princesses can move some celestial bodies?"
Mark waited a few seconds to be sure he correctly heard that. "What? You're telling me they really do move the sun?" he asked skeptical.
"Well... No. They control the rotation of the planet, but I guess the result from someone on the surface is pretty much the same." he replied scratching the back of his head. "So, any guess?"
Mark sighed again. "I... no. No idea."
The Doctor jumped to another topic once again. "Magic is generated by living creatures. As they eat matter and convert them in energy, a bit of that is turned into magic. It somehow regulates the transition between matters toward energy. But you can imagine the pool of magic someone has is fairly limited."
"I... guess?" Mark replied getting more and more confused.
"So, how a pony could get enough magic to change the speed of a planet?" he finished staring at Mark.
Mark looked around for an answer. He felt like a little kid back in school when a teacher would prove him wrong. "They eat a lot?" he said half laughing.
The Doctor blinked a few time and started laughing. "Oh, I will remember that one. But no, it would be impossible to generate enough magic from food alone." He smiled, keeping the suspense of his revelation. "Their magic pools are on the same frequency as another huge source of energy. They directly draw energy from the sun itself. Oh, they don't really know about it, but maybe after a few thousand years they started to guess."
Mark blinked in disbelief. "The sun? A few thousand years?" He took a deep breath, there was no point arguing. He was walking in a path of knowledge he had no idea about and questioning everything wouldn't help. "And... how is it linked to me collapsing on your floor?"
The Doctor had a huge smile. "Your magic pool is also on the same frequency as another source. Can you guess it?"
Something in his head whispered him the answer. "Time?" he said.
The Doctor raised his head back, obviously surprised. "I... well... yes. How did you guess?"
Mark closed his eyes and tried to listen to the presence in his head. It was talking, not in words or images, but in concepts. His mind had a hard time to follow, but in the mass of blurred information sometime came up some simpler idea. "Your ship..." He opened his eyes finally understanding and stared at the Doctor. "It... She? it's alive!" For one, he was happy to see the Doctor as confused as he was a few moments ago.
The Doctor started to genuinely laughing. "Yes. Yes it is. But don't listen to much to her. She can be a bit manipulative."
Mark kept thinking. "Does someone having his magic pool linked to time something common?" he asked a bit worried.
After a while, the Doctor managed to stop laughing. "No. It is not, as far as I know. You're the third one I meet who has this connection."
"You talked of a second one on this planet?"
"I think you know her already." he said with a huge smile.
Once again the voice whispered him something about a purple stars surrounded by five white stars. "Twilight?" he replied, without even thinking.
The Doctor stood up and started walking. "She doesn't know about it. She knows she can perform spells that other ponies can't do, but she doesn't really know why. Most of the time she blocks instinctively the flow from the time stream, as it can be damaging to a living body. But a few times it went... berserk. Her parents know that first hand." he said laughing. "If she were to learn how to correctly use it, she could be more powerful than the Princesses." he explained.
"How about me?"
"Well, sorry, but human can't do spells. The best you could do is probably live a bit longer than most people." he shrugged.
"Alright... I think I figured that much." he said looking at his right hand. "But how is that making me collapse?" he asked back.
The Doctor sited back. "My TARDIS... my ship, stands for 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. Basically, when you felt 'being ripped of reality', it wasn't a matter of speech.
Mark thought for a few moments. "So... You could bring me back to my time?"
The Doctor smile disappeared. "Going against the Universals? I don't think I would do that. Aside, they would probably bring you back here as soon as you step back in your time."
He sighed. "I guess you're right."
The Doctor stood up and offered him a hand. Mark grabbed it and got back on his feet. "Come on, there's some ponies waiting for you."
Mark stepped out of the TARDIS with his backpack on his shoulder, founding himself close to the market square of Ponyville. The sun was high in the sky and he couldn't see a single cloud. Looking back, he saw the blue box was stuck in a small alley between two houses. The Doctor locked his ship behind him and turned around smiling at him.
"Nice day." he said.
"Yeah. But maybe you should land closer to Twilight's house?" Mark turned around and peeked at the market. It was full of ponies going around buying and selling all kind of things. "I doubt two humanoid walking around here will go unnoticed. Scaring off a whole town of ponies might not be a good idea."
"Oh, they won't notice a thing." The Doctor said behind him.
Mark turned around and jumped in surprised. The Doctor was now a light brown colt with an hourglass on his flank. "How did you... You know what; I don't want to know right now." Mark stared at him for a good moment. "I'm sure I saw you before! You... you were in my room at the hospital one night!"
The Doctor blinked surprised. "Sorry, it must have been someone or somepony else. I never met you before running into you in the desert."
Mark sighed and scratched his forehead. "Alright, whatever." He was sure of what he saw almost six months ago, but there was no point accusing him. "So, you can go around, but as for myself, I can't just change of shape like that."
The Doctor laughed. "Neither can I. I didn't change, only you think you're seeing something different. Right now, the perception filter makes you look like a pretty nice stallion." The air flickered in front of Mark's eyes and almost instantly the humanoid Doctor was back. "Better?"
"Much, thanks." He looked back the market. "A stallion, right?" Without waiting he stepped in the open and intercepted an aqua mare with some kind of lyre on her flanks. "I'm sorry, do you know where's Twilight's home?"
She only slowed down a bit and gave him a quick look. "Of course, simply go toward the central tower, her house is in a tree nearby. You can't miss it." She got her pace back and left without a look behind.
"Thanks a lot."
"Your Equestrian is much better than mine." said the Doctor behind him.
Mark sighed looking at the sky. He didn't notice switching from English to Equestrian, for his brain he spoke the same language. "Mind if we take it slow? I wouldn't mind watching them in their social life. I don't know the next time I will be able to walk around like that."
"Sure." the Doctor said with a huge smile. "After you."
Mark was walking around, enjoying the life of the square. The ponies were mostly joyful, saluting each other and talking about nothing and everything. He wished he could stay right there at that moment and simply enjoy it forever. Of course, nothing was ever simple and his mind quickly brought him back to his current concerns.
He knew Twilight wouldn't mind him living in her basement a few days, maybe even weeks. But as much for her as for himself, he needed to find his own place and get something to do of his hands. But as much right now he could walk around without scaring off all those ponies, he knew if they were seeing him like he truly was, they would run away. It's hard to make a life for yourself if you can't interact with others.
He was deep in his thoughts with something purple caught his eyes. He felt weird, confused, like if his mind was in a haze. Nothing had changed around himself, but he was sure he was seeing everything in double. Out there, about four hundred meters away, he saw Twilight walking away.
He was about to raise his arm and shout at her when he noticed who she was walking toward. He blinked a few time, trying to remove the fog off his mind, but he was sure he saw himself over there, in the same white space suit he was currently wearing. His other self raised his head and stared at him for a few moments before leaving in a dark alley with Twilight.
Mark raced toward the alley, but when he turned the corner, it was empty of life. The fog on his mind was gone as fast as it came. Someone tapped on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" asked the Doctor behind him.
Mark swallowed hard, did he really see that? "Did you see that?" he asked while turning around to face the Doctor.
"No?"
"I think..." he turned around once again, staring at the alley. "I think I saw myself."
The Doctor crossed his arms and stared at Mark. "Alright. Time travel rule number one; don't talk with yourself. If you see yourself, stay away. Understood?"
Mark frowned and looked at the Doctor. "Why is that?" he asked.
The Doctor pointed at him trying to look mad. "Hey! You're not the one cleaning the time stream once it gets messed up!" On that, he turned around and left a confused Mark behind him.
"Huh... Ok. Whatever you say Doc."
"I feel like the maid, I just cleaned up this mess! Can we keep it clean for like 10 minutes? Alright... I'm gonna go get my paradox vacuum."
Mark was standing in front of the town's library, which also served as Twilight and Spike's house. The Doctor left him there, going back to his ship. He was slightly nervous, the first time he got in her house, she teleported him inside without asking first. He always hated to ask for help, but after six months talking and writing to each other almost every day, he felt they started to know each other quite well.
He couldn't stand there much longer; the Doctor told him the perception filter would fade off pretty quickly. He moved forward and knocked at the door. After a few moments, Spike opened the door. "Oh hey Mark! I thought you were still in that desert." he asked frowning.
"Hey Spike." Mark instinctively put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I was. Bit of a long story actually."
Spike moved off the door. "Well, come in. Twilight should be back from the market soon." Mark entered the library.
So, she was really at the market...
He stared to walk around, looking at the rows of book to see if there was some new one. He lost count of how many he read in the desert. "So... you think you're gonna stay here for a while?" asked Spike behind him.
Will I?
Mark scratched his head. He didn't want to stay here too long, but now that he knew the past and that he could probably never go back, he needed some time to think what he would do with his future. He could always build himself a home enough far away from Ponyville that he wouldn't meet random ponies. He knew for once that Zecora had her house in the forest. But he would need to come back to Ponyville to buy food once in a while; the last thing he wanted was to be dependant of some other ponies. Twilight could maybe make a spell that would work like the perception filter of the Doctor. But remains the problem of the currency, what can he do in this civilization that is not linked to advanced material or space travel?
"Actually Spike, I don't know. I was hoping you guys might have ideas for work I could do or a place I could call my own." he said while he kept looking at the books.
Spike thought about it for a few moments. "Well, I..." he was interrupted by the door swinging open.
"Hey Spike, I'm back. Anything new?" asked Twilight while walking in with an opened scroll in front of her face, obviously a checklist of some kind. With the lack of answer, she lowered the scroll and looked at Spike. He simply pointed at Mark.
"Oh, hey Mark.... Mark? How did you come back here so fast?" she asked surprised.
"And... that's about it." he concluded after almost an hour of talking about what happened to him the last five months, sitting at the table of Twilight's small kitchen. He skipped a few things, like some of his discussions with the Doctor. He was still unsure if he was real in some way. What's the chance of an alien who just happened to crash land in the middle of the desert at the exact moment you would need him?
"So... A creature just showed up and brought you back here?" she asked skeptical.
Mark sighed. If he was still in the middle of the desert, he wouldn't really question it and just assume he dreamed it. But somehow he was back in Ponyville, shaved and cleaned. "I'm not saying it doesn't sound crazy. But I am here, right?" He took a breath. "I left your teleportation beacon inside the mountain, so one day you could explore it on your own."
"Alright... So?" she asked after thinking for a while.
He took a deep breath. "I was removed from my own time on purpose. I don't know if they didn't just dump me here to not kill me or if they actually choose this moment. So... I don't think I can go back." He looked around, the idea starting to really sink in. "I... I might live and die here." He looked at his hands. "I will have to find some work to do... and a place to live. A real way to fit in, otherwise I think I will turn crazy."
She looked at him with a smile. "You can stay here the time you need to find out."
Maybe I was dropped here because they are that nice?
"Thanks. I will think hard and find something as fast as I can."
Two days later, in the morning, Mark was in the basement on the small cot. He was trying to list potential works he could perform.
Maybe I can ask Applejack for some work? I'm sure my hands could do things they would have an hard time with hooves. Maybe they got some mechanical stuff I could repair. Maybe I could build a kind of small house beyond her farm. Nopony would really notice it.
Mark never been really good with his hands, but in this reality, even his clumsy hands could potentially outdo hooves.
All of a sudden he heard a loud crashing noise from upstairs. He jumped off the cot and ran upstairs. As he opened the door of the basement, he found Twilight and Spike had come down from their room to investigate too. In the middle of the room lay Applejack, shaking and in sweat. Her mane and tail was a mess. She was crying and trying to catch her breath.
Looking around, he noticed she probably crash head-on on the front door as it was broken in half. He didn't think about it and jump forward to try to help her back on her hooves.
"Applejack!" shouted Twilight. "What's going on?"
Mark was holding the orange mare up, her legs shaking; she would fall back on the ground if he let her go. She was sobbing, tears flowing out of her eyes. She was still trying to catch her breath, like if she sprinted from her farm, which was a good twenty minutes of walk from here. He could feel her heart beating hard and fast.
"It..." She tried again to get enough air to talk. "It killed Apple Bloom!" she managed to scream and she broke again in tears.
For a few moments, everybody in the room stay silent in surprised. Twilight broke the silence. "What did?" seeing that Applejack wasn't listening, she shouted "Applejack! Are you sure?" Applejack only managed to nod between two sobbing.
Mark put Applejack down on her side with care and stared at Twilight for what felt like an eternity. No words were spoken but the mare and the man fully understood each other. They both sprinted toward the door. Mark let her take the lead as he didn't know where Sweet Apple Acres was.
His logical mind kept telling him there was nothing he could do; he was slower than the pegasi, weaker than the earth pony and could do no magic. He was exposing himself and other ponies would freak out. But he didn't care, his heart kept showing him memories of the small filly and those of the emotionally broken Applejack.
Even if his legs were in the best shape they ever been after months of walking in the desert, he had a hard time to keep up with Twilight. His legs started to hurt, but he didn't care, he accelerated. He had no idea how long the race took when he finally came in sight of the fence circling the apple farm.
He and Twilight instantly stopped in surprised. There was nothing alive left, the grass was burned and there was almost nothing left of the trees, only smoking broken trunks. A huge black cloud was hovering above what was now a wasteland.
"What happened?" only managed to ask Twilight while catching her breath.
Mark looked up at the cloud. It was black, but he could see white sparks moving inside it. As he looked, the cloud started to move and change shape. "Twilight!" he screamed afraid. He pointed at the cloud and she looked up. "I don't think it's a normal cloud."
They both started to back off as the cloud was slowly moving toward them. "What's that?" asked Mark.
"I... I don't know. I never read anything about something like that!" managed to answer Twilight with a frighten voice.
Something above the cloud started to fall down, accelerating faster. "Rainbow Dash! Don't!" screamed Twilight as loud as she could.
Mark stared up and saw a cyan pegasus doing some kind of dive straight toward the cloud. To his surprise, the pony kept accelerating, and he could see ripples around her.
Can she break the sound barrier? Incredible!
As Rainbow Dash passed the speed of sound, a prismatic explosion spread outward. Mark was stunned by that display of speed, power and how pretty it all looked. But as the blast spread, it stopped and started to shrink, absorbed by the cloud.
Seeing her plan fail, Dash tried to dodge the cloud. Somehow the cloud moved a tendril of smoke toward her, slightly touching her in flight. Her mouth and her eyes opened wide in terror as her colors were drained toward the smoke. Mark was sure she would have screamed if she could. But moment later was only left with a gray pegasus that broke down into an arc of dust, following her initial momentum.
"Rainbow!" screamed Twilight, while tears were coming to her eyes.
In a very short moment Mark saw a healthy pony die without a sound. He was stunned; there was nothing he could do against something like that. He tried to pull Twilight back as the cloud started to move toward them again, but she wouldn't move.
A double flash of light blinded him. When he managed to see once again, two huge ponies with both horns and wings stood in front of Twilight. One was of the purest white while the second was of the deepest blue. Both their amazing manes were flowing on their own, from an invisible wind. It didn't take long for Mark to understand those two were the princesses.
"Twilight!" asked Celestia. "What happened? We felt the element of loyalty die?"
Twilight couldn't answer, her eyes were full of tears and she was sobbing hard. Mark was beside her and he once again pointed up, behind the princesses. They turned around as one and gasped at the sight of the cloud.
They looked at each other, like if they were talking telepathically. After a moment, they stood by each other and closed their eyes. They horns started glowing, gaining in brightness. They moved their heads close to each other, and a huge beam of white and black shoot upward, hitting the cloud with force.
The cloud stopped moving, like if it was surprised to be attacked in such a way, but it was obvious that huge display of magic wasn't doing much effect.
Mark felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around in surprised and found the Doctor behind him. "Do you know what this is?" he said doing a motion toward the cloud.
"No time!" screamed the Doctor, taking his arm and pulling him back. Mark could see the TARDIS only a dozen meters away.
"What are you talking about? We must help them!" Mark turned his head and saw the cloud sent a tendril along the beam of magic, using it like a line to find its way. The Doctor kept pulling him toward his ship.
Moment before the smoke touched their horns the princesses opened their eyes wide in surprised and tried to back off, but it was too late. The same way colors were drained from Rainbow Dash, both princesses saw their sucked toward the cloud, but unlike Rainbow, they didn't try to scream. They turned fully grey, stopped moving and were slowly blown to dust by the wind.
Before his eyes, Twilight screamed. "No!" She started to glow white, her eyes were opened, but they were also glowing white, making impossible to see her pupils, but it was obvious she was crying all their tears of her body. She started to float above the ground, her horn turning into a miniature sun.
The Doctor pushed Mark in the TARDIS. "What are you doing?" screamed Mark. The Doctor ignored him and turned around toward the door. The moment he closed the door, the outline of the door glowed brightly. It felt like the ship was slapped sideway by a giant, Mark found himself flying toward the furthest wall.
He tried to block his fall but he crashed hard against the wall. He stayed there a few moments, like if gravity in the ship was gone. The lights blinked madly. After a few moments, he felt falling toward the floor, and his leg collapsed under him. He quickly stood back up, but found it was a bad idea. Gravity was moving madly from side to side, like if he was on a boat in the middle of a storm.
Once the TARDIS stopped rocking back and forth, he walked toward the center of the room, to find the Doctor had crashed head first on the console. He helped him on his feet; he was bleeding from a deep cut on his forehead.
"What was that?" asked Mark. His ears were buzzing.
The Doctor didn't answer but walked toward the exit and after thinking for a while opened the door. Mark could hear him sighed heavily. He moved beside the Doctor and looked outside. All he could see was the vastest of space. "Where are we?" he asked.
The Doctor lay against the door frame. "At the same place and at the same time we were." he answered softly.
"What are you talking about? Where's Earth?" Mark asked loudly staring at him.
The Doctor pointed up. As Mark followed his sign, he saw the moon out there. Its surface was burned, like if an explosion took place on it. As he watched, streaks from the center started to widen. The moon broke into a dozen fragments that slowly drifted away from each other.
The Doctor took a deep breath. "She... she managed to kill it. Which is surprising. But... I... I fear she blown up the planet in the process."
Mark stared at the Doctor, trying to understand what he just said. He slowly turned toward the blackness of space. "No. It can't be." he whispered. |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go back | Mark walked to the console inside the TARDIS. "Alright Doc, one step at a time, what was that thing?"
The Doctor followed him. "I'm not sure." He sat down and watched Mark pace around the controls.
Mark stopped and stared at him. "But you sound like you might have an idea?" he asked.
He sighed. "Maybe." he took a deep breath. "I told you only living things can generate magic?" he waited for Mark to nod. "Well, some life form doesn't. Keep in mind I never saw one before, I only know from stories. What I do know, is how the universe was formed." he looked at Mark, waiting.
"The big bang?" he asked back frowning.
"While somehow a crude idea, it is correct. But unlike what humans thought, it wasn't an explosion of energy." he explained. As he saw Mark didn't understand what he meant, he continued. "Magic. The big bang was an explosion of magic. Back then, there was literally nothing, no time, no matter, no energy. But when you leave magic alone, it tends..."
"To transform toward the other stable states?" guessed Mark, remembering what the Doctor told him.
"Exact. It's almost a constant in the universe, if you have enough of a source of something, life always show up in some way. You would be surprise of the life form that exists on eating gravity in a black hole. Anyway, the first life form that showed up were quite simple, they ate magic... But at some point, magic became rare. I thought they all died." He took a deep breath. "This one looked pretty weak, it was dying."
"What?" Mark didn't understand how it could have been weak.
"Some stories are hundred millions years old, and they talked about a huge cloud covering a whole planet and draining its magic in matter of hours." the Doctor explained. "I'm not sure this one would have survived another travel toward another star."
Mark crossed his arm, angry. "So, just back luck his last meal was Earth?" He was working hard to keep his tears inside. He didn't know the ponies for that long, but he was growing fond of them. Twilight curiosity and the happiness of all of them were contagious. Aside, Earth was also his planet, even if mankind left it so long ago. How many more species and individuals Earth could have hosted? "How do we fix that?"
The Doctor stared at Mark. "Fix that? I doubt we can!"
"Twilight! She did it once." Mark said pointing at him. "She could do it again."
The Doctor looked skeptical and crossed his arm. "Blow up the planet again?"
Mark walked toward the TARDIS exit and pointed at what was left of the moon. "We get her up there, and we intercept that thing before it reaches Earth."
"She lost it! She went berserk. It would still destroy Earth." countered the Doctor.
Mark looked down at his feet. "She did because she saw her friends and her mentor die." He sighed. "If what you say is right, I think she killed it by drowning it in magic. Too much of anything is never a good idea, if you're right and it was that weak, she might be able to kill it without blowing up the moon!"
"Drowning it in magic?" The Doctor jumped on his feet. "Alright."
"What?"
"You convinced me. Let's try it." He looked annoyed. "It will take me months to clean the paradox we are about to create." He said shaking his head. He moved toward the controls.
Mark came beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on Doc, I will help you with that."
"You better."
Mark stepped out of the TARDIS once more. It was that day at the market, sun high in a cloudless sky. From the Doctor's numbers, the creature would cross the moon gravitational pit in a matter of hours. The Doctor took his time to explain to him that as soon as he would meet Twilight, it would create a new timeline. The old one would become parallel to the new one, and to help him smooth that transition he would need to activate some kind of temporal beacon at that moment.
He turned the beacon on his right hand. It wasn't even the size of a cell phone, but knowing how size didn't really matter with his ship, who knew how much components were in there. In his left hand rested a even smaller switch, a control for the perception filter. He looked around, from his past experiences two days ago; he knew roughly where Twilight should be.
He started to walk toward the market. After searching around the booths for a few minutes, he finally found the purple mare, she was buying some fruits. He would need to wait for her to be away from the crowd, as he would need to turn off the filter for her to recognize him.
After twenty minute of following her, she finally left the market. Mark waited in a nearby alley. "Hey Twilight."
She stopped and look toward him. For what she saw, a weird colt was calling her, but she never saw him before. "Do I know you?"
"Yeah, give me a second." He turned off the perception filter and activated the beacon at the same time. For Twilight, the air flickered and in matter of second the colt turned into Mark. He put in his pockets the two devices.
"Mark! What was that?" she asked surprised.
"It's nice to see you too." he said. Not even an hour ago she was dead. He was really happy that he was given a chance to save her, and all of them.
"Huh... Yeah, it's nice to see you too." she said laughing.
He crossed his arms and stared at her with a serious look on his face. "Do you trust me Twilight?" he simply asked.
She blinked a few time, unsure of the question. "I... I think I do."
"For the next minute, I want you to follow me without asking question. It is really important, understood?" he asked her.
"O... ok. Is it some kind of game?" she asked right away.
"Twilight! Please!"
She did a motion of zipping her mouth shut. Mark started to walk toward where he left the TARDIS. Looking at his right, he saw himself, standing in the middle of the market, staring in his direction. He shook his head; meeting himself a second time wasn't any easier than the first one. He dashed toward the alley and didn't look back; hoping Twilight followed his request and simply followed him.
The ship was standing in between two houses with its door wide open. Mark ran in it, followed by Twilight. He could feel the number of questions in her head quickly growing. He turned around once she was inside and closed the doors behind her.
"Let's go Doc! My other self is running after us."
The Doctor flipped a few switch, putting the ship in some kind of temporal stasis. It didn't move nor changed time, but simply wasn't visible from the outside.
Twilight stood in the middle of the room with eyes wider than Mark ever saw. "What's going on? Other self? What is this place?"
Something broke in Mark heart. He simply kneeled in front of her and hugged her while crying. She stopped talking and starred at him. "Mark? You're alright?"
After a few moments he let her go and dried his eyes. He sat down in front of her.
"That's crazy! I don't have that much magic! Vaporize the planet? That's insane!" she shouted after Mark had explained the whole story. "And what do you actually plan to do right now?"
Mark looked up to the Doctor who was leaning against the wall. "We... we go on the moon, and you stop that thing from reaching Earth." he said with a smile.
The Doctor coughed and said "You're directly linked to the time stream. If you were to truly use it, you could destroy a good part of the galaxy. I think it would be possible for you to kill it without blowing up the moon."
"Humans are crazy! You're both crazy!" she shouted. She was starting to freak out. Mark noticed she was shutting off from them.
"Twilight!" he screamed. She stopped moving and stared at him. "I'm human, he is not." he said pointing at the Doctor. "He is a timelord." He sighed. "Please Twilight, keep it together. This is really important. We are talking about the life of everypony on the planet." He looked up at the ceiling, then back at Twilight. "If... if you don't want to try to stop that thing... it's fine. We'll... I'll find another way."
Twilight was calmer. "How about we get the element of harmony? It should be powerful enough?"
The Doctor moved forward. "It's true they are powerful. But the elements are a scalpel, they aren't really destructive. Remember every time you used them, you never destroyed anything. Right now, we need a canon of raw magic."
She looked insulted. "You're saying I'm destructive?"
The Doctor looked angry. "When you lost control at your entrance exam, you broke my ship. It crashed near Canterlot and it took me almost two years to fix it."
"Huh... Hmm... Sorry?" she apologized, unsure of herself.
"Well, no harms done I guess. I actually enjoy the time I spend with ponies. Just to say, I don't think there's any other creature alive right now that could do it." said the Doctor shaking his head.
She looked at the floor a few moments. "Alright... Alright, let's try."
Mark looked at the Doctor as he moved toward the command panel and started flipping switches. This time he was ready for the flow of feeling linked with the TARDIS spatiotemporal transition. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Twilight falling on her left flank. He dashed toward her and caught her before she hit her head on the floor. He sit on the floor and let her head rest on his leg. "Should have known Doc."
"Nice catch. My fault, sorry. Yeah, she reacted the same way as you did." He continued to flip, pull and push things. "There. We are on the moon, and in theory, on its path."
Twilight slowly opened her eyes. "What... What happened?"
Mark helped her to get back on her four shaky legs. He stayed close in case she would fall back. "The same thing occurred to me the first time."
"What... What's that voice talking in my head?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Try to ignore it."
"I kinda like it... It says you're an idiot, Doctor." she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, just ignore it." he said as he focused back on the controls.
Mark whispered to Twilight. "It's his ship; it's alive in the time stream or something like that."
The Doctor clapped his hands and looked at them with a smile. "Alright! The TARDIS is generating a bubble of breathable atmosphere in a fifty meters radius. It's also controlling the temperature and shielding us from the radiation." He looked at Twilight. "And just in case, I raised a double field of protection around my ship."
Mark stepped out of the ship, trying hard to not squeal like a little girl. He turned around, a huge smile on his face, to watch Twilight and the Doctor come out on the dusty plain. "You have no idea how often I dreamed of this. Walking on the moon, wonder if Apollo 11 is still there."
Twilight looked at him confused. "What's an Apollo?"
"It's the space program that brought humans on the moon, before I was even born." said Mark with pride.
"So this is where Luna lived for a thousand years?" she asked looking around.
The Doctor was standing beside the blue box. "Technically, not really on the moon, there's nothing to breath here. She was locked inside the moon, on a quantum level." Seeing Twilight didn't understand. "Huh... In some way, she became the moon."
Mark was jumping around, in the same way astronauts used to do it when they first came on the moon. He was surprised how instinctive it was to hop around. The Doctor was laughing watching him bounce around. "Wow" said Twilight. They both turned around to see what surprised her. She was staring at Earth, slowly rising above the moon's horizon. They both walked beside her.
"It is quite a sight. It might be a bit simple saying I became astronaut for that view... but truth is, I did." explained Mark.
"In the entire universe, it is one of the prettiest planet." said the Doctor, staring at the blue planet. Sensing Mark eyes on him, he explained "I talk by experience."
"I'm a bit envious of both of you. Seeing this kind of beauty on a daily basis." Twilight said. Mark didn't try to explain that he worked really hard for years to get on a space station very close to Earth, and that human didn't come back to the moon in his time. On top, on his first mission he was brought in the future. They simply stood there watching the blue planet slowly move in the black sky.
Something produced a bipping noise similar to a cell phone in the Doctor's pocket. He took out his sonic screwdriver and looked at a display only he could see. "It's coming. It should be on top of us in a few minutes."
Twilight had a hard time to take her sight off her planet. She turned around and positioned herself at about thirty meters in front of the TARDIS' doors, legs firmly planted on the dusty ground. Mark came next to her while the Doctor retreated inside his ship. "Don't stand there Mark, it's gonna be dangerous." shouted the Doctor.
"I know." he replied. "It's silly, I know. But... I will stand here. If only for moral support." he explained.
The Doctor had a weird smile on his face. "I understand more than you can imagine."
Twilight looked at him and nodded. "Thanks."
They stood there watching the sky, trying to find where the black cloud would come from. "There!" shouted Mark as he pointed in what looked like an empty part of the sky. "Something is hiding stars as it moves."
Twilight stared where he pointed, and surely enough a star disappeared, hiding by a moving mass. "I see it!" Instantly she lowered her head and aimed her horn at the black cloud. She focuses, doing what she did thousand times before, channeling magic toward her horns, but this time she didn't try to model it to her will. The goal wasn't to shape it or bend it, but to release as much magic as possible. She kept channeling it to her horn, which started to glow brightly in a purple color similar to her coat. When she felt she had enough to support a viable beam, she let it go forward.
Mark watched impressed, he saw her perform magic dozen time already, but this time it was different. She was using her power in their full might, in a raw and unrefined form. The beam of bright purple magic shooting toward the sky took him by surprise. He looked up and saw the beam hitting right on spot in the middle of the cloud. The beam was bright enough to light up the creature and Mark could finally see its true size. It was slightly smaller than the cloud he saw above Sweet Apple Acres.
After a few moments, it became obvious it wasn't working as intended. The creature wasn't stopping and simply continued on its original path. It didn't appear affected at all by the mare's efforts. "It's not enough Twilight!" he shouted.
"I'm just warming up!" she shouted back without losing her concentration. She closed her eyes and tightened her lips. The beam of magic grew in size and in brightness, slowly turning toward a fully white color.
She wasn't really in pain, her body was used to channeling magic, but she was feeling close to her limits. She knew she couldn't allow herself any weakness right now, too much depended on her. She remembered her entrance exam, years ago. That day, she casted dozen spells unconsciously, most of which were of levels far beyond what she thought she could perform. Days later, when she tried to redo some of them, she found herself simply unable to, having not enough magic to cast a single one of them. She knew the sonic rainboom somehow awaken something inside her, something powerful and uncontrollable. She trained hard for years to never again lose control over her abilities.
She was at her limits, but she wasn't tapping in that source. She was still afraid of what could happen if she did. From what Mark told her, her planet was vaporized by that energy.
Everypony's lives depend on you! No time to be afraid!
She reached inside, at that place she sealed away years ago. She slowly opened it, finding the golden energy she knew was waiting inside. She tested it carefully, sending only small amount of it toward her horn. After a few tries, she found out she could keep control over it. She progressively increased the flow as much as she could. The beam of magic doubled in size and took a golden tint.
Her body started to hurt; she wasn't used to channeling that much magic for so long. She opened her eyes; she could see that the creature stopped moving. But it didn't matter, as it was still there, its size and shape not changing at all. She was sweating and her legs started to shake.
"It's... it's not enough!" she managed to shout.
Mark looked at her worried, her face displaying her pain. He knew she was at her limit, more and her body would take a toll, she could get seriously hurt. He knew she was doing it in full knowledge of what would happen if she failed. In front of his eyes, he saw the beam grow even more, she was obviously going beyond her limits. Sparks on her horn showed that it could ignite at any moment.
Mark looked down at his hands, deep in his mind. He wasn't thinking, he was only feeling. He took a deep breath and let it go slowly. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Earth could now be fully see in the Moon's black sky.
You're probably about to do the stupidest thing you ever did. But...
Without thinking more about it, he grabbed Twilight's horn with his right hand. She gasped at the unexpected contact, but she didn't lose focus. He instantly felt the magic beam numbing and burning his fingers, but he didn't let go, he tighten his grip. He remembered what the Doctor told him, humans can't do magic, they can't cast, channel, shape or bend it. But like almost every living being they can generate it. His hope was that with direct contact with her horn, he could send his own to her.
He closed his eyes and reached inside at that place he learned to ignore. The first time, he remembered, back in the hospital, he almost ended up cooked alive. Every time he would try to probe it, he received burns or other painful reminder that his species wasn't allowed to play with it. He could see what he pictured as a valve blocking a flow from a dam. He took hold of it with his mental hands and without giving it more thoughts opened it as wide as he could.
The pain almost took him by surprise, but after the hospital incident, he knew what to expect. He wanted to scream, but he shut his mouth close, his jaw shaking from the effort. He felt his inside burning from the magic flow. From his personal training in the desert, he knew how to move that flow around and he aimed it at his right arm. His arm sent him message of intense pain he simply ignored.
He opened his right eye to see that the beam almost doubled in size, but he quickly noticed his right hand and arm were literally on fire, surrounded by a golden glow that was flowing toward Twilight. He looked elsewhere, trying to forget that he was losing senses in his body, that he couldn't feel anything from his right arm anymore and that it was spreading, he was beyond pain. His brain tried to tell him he should give up, every ounce of self preservation screamed at him to stop and remove his hand. He could feel his body shutting down under the assault of the magic he was streaming across it. He looked up in the sky and saw the creature shrinking on itself. His heart jumped in his chest.
It's working! But... Not... not fast enough! We won't hold that long.
He was somewhat surprised his legs didn't let him go yet, the low gravity of the moon probably helping. He looked at Twilight, and surely enough her body was at the limit of what it could do. She was shaking and it was also surprising her legs didn't let go. "One last push!" he managed to say in a whisper. She slightly nodded back without opening her eyes. He looked inside himself, at the source of magic. It was wide open, he couldn't open it anymore than that. He looked around, trying to find any source of energy left.
It was small, hidden much deeper inside than he ever went. At first he didn't understand what he found, what was that small dark blue sphere? Probing it, he finally figured it out; it was his own pool of magic. Not the one generated from the time source, but his own, created by his living body. It was puny to say the least, but right now he needed every ounce of magic he could find. He carefully took it and threw it in the golden flow of magic.
Twilight was also searching deep inside her for any hidden resources. She felt it was only moments before her legs would fail her. "Friendship is a powerful magic." once said her mentor, she remembered. Right now, she deeply wished all her friends were here with her. At the memories of her friends, a spark lit up inside her. She knew it, she saw it before. It was her link to the element of magic. The Elements of Harmony, which in front of Nightmare Moon and Discord had united them as one.
She understood, for the elements, distance had no meaning. A true friendship stays strong no matter where you are. She could feel the other five mares; they were worried about her, as they could feel her pain sent over their connections with the elements. She couldn't talk to them, only send her emotions; her deepest wishes that she needed them. They replied without questions. She could feel them sending back all their supports, smiling back and sending their own magic and strength through their bonds.
She could see it inside her like never before, a rainbow of magic from her friends; orange of honesty, yellow of kindness, pink of laugh, blue of loyalty, indigo of generosity. She pushed all their magics toward the flow of golden magic. She knew it would be enough, that it would work, because there's nothing they couldn't do when united as one.
From the Doctor's point of view, the display of magic and time looked breath taking. Timelords were gift with the ability to see the time stream, but most of the time they wouldn't notice it. Only larger perturbation could really be seen. It allowed them to track paradox and other dents that other uninformed travelers could cause. In front of him, he could clearly see two vortex of time being sucked toward the man and the mare, similar to a bath being drained. As he watched, the two vortexes started to swirl around each other, like two tornados meeting in an open field.
The two finally merged, amplifying their forces, far more than the sum of them. He was happy to be there to witness this, as he knew any other creature would have missed the full beauty of the show. He was quite sure no timelord ever experienced something like that before. Living beings linked to the time flow were extremely rare occurrence, two meeting each other and using their abilities in unison was unheard of. He could feel the very fabric of space vibrating under their combined will. He didn't know how, but he felt five other wills join the fight.
He didn't think it to be possible but Twilight's horn glowed even brighter. At this point, her horn and the beam of magic were simply painful to watch. He closed his eyes, but he could still see the beam behind his eyelids. Even behind the double shields of the TARDIS, he could feel the magic stream released, like a warm summer sun. He feared they would lose control and destroy the moon, but their focus was greater than what he thought possible for their species.
Everything went black and silent. The Doctor opened his eyes but couldn't see anything as they were trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. The magic attack was over, he could barely see Mark and Twilight standing in the grey plains, but he could feel it inside, it worked.
Mark didn't know how he managed to open his eyes as he couldn't feel anything from his body. He looked up at the sky and only saw shining stars, no sight from the dark cloud. The sky started to rotate in front of him. He understood he was slowly falling on his back, the low gravity of the moon softly pulling him down. He saw what was left of his right arm in front of him, it was burned out, black like charcoal. The fall felt like an eternity, but he was happy. Once he hit the ground, he could see it high in the Moon's sky; Earth, glowing like a bright blue gem. He tried to smile, but his face didn't answer his wish.
Was worth it. |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go inside | It was traveling toward the source of food. Suddenly, it felt food closer to itself. It altered slightly its trajectory to pass over it. The food was on a much smaller gravity well, it would make the last stretch of travel toward the bigger one much easier.
It was getting close when a container of food sent it its way. It was a lot, but nothing its current weaken state could not eat. As it got closer, the quantity of food sent kept growing. It stopped, there was simply too much to absorb. It tried to eat everything, but it couldn't. The left over started to burn it. It tried to escape, but it kept coming its way.
Even more food came, burning it faster. Something else was mixed inside the food, something toxic. It was about to disappear when the food stopped. It was only a fraction of its original size and its nodules dedicated to processing food were burned off. There was no way it could eat anymore, but instinct pushed it to find a way to survive.
There was nothing left on the small moon as it pushed itself toward the blue planet.
Consciousness slowly returned to Twilight. She was warm and she felt safe. She could feel the bed sheets wrapped around her. She didn't want to wake up; fighting to go back to sleep, but it was a losing battle. There was a noise nearby disturbing her rest, like a very slow beat that kept going and coming back. As she moved, her whole body felt of some kind of soft pain, similar to what she experienced the day after she ran that marathon a year ago.
She finally decided to open her eyes. She looked around the dark plain room. She knew that room, she was sure of it, but she found out her memory was still asleep. She raised her head to find the source of the unpleasant noise that now sounded even closer.
Rainbow Dash had her head on the foot of her bed and was deep asleep, snoring loudly. She softly pushed her with her rear legs. "Five more minutes..." she said softly before snoring louder than ever. Twilight pushed her harder. She lost her balance and started falling to the floor. By instinct she automatically started flapping her wings and her front legs rocketing and crashing head first in the ceiling. "Ouch! What?" she asked now fully awake holding her head in her front legs. Twilight wondered if it was an instinctive reaction learned from sleeping on clouds. Did she ever fall off one while in a vivid dream?
Twilight couldn't hold her laugh. "You're snoring, and I would like some sleep."
"Twilight! You're awake!" she said as she dived and hugged her.
Twilight tried to push the cyan mare away. "Rainbow! What's wrong with you? Can't... breath!" She finally managed to get free by pushing Dash with her four legs. "And why are you on my bed in the first place?"
The door of the room opened to let doctor Stable in. "Would you mind keeping it quiet? It's the middle of the night and it is a hospital." He turned on the lights. "Ah! Twilight, happy to see you're finally awake."
"Finally?" she asked. Rainbow Dash was staring at her with a huge grin, which only served at making her feel more awkward. She tried to ignore her.
The doctor took the clipboard at the feet of her bed with his magic, wrote a note and put it back in place. "Yes. You got the longest magic exhaustion induced coma I heard of. You've been out for over three days." He moved around the bed to get a better look at her. "It took our magic specialist almost twelve hours to stabilize your magic levels. To your credit, she said she never used that much magic only to bring someone back a bare minimum. I think you got yourself a fan." He took a deep breath. "Do you feel rested enough for a few questions?" he asked.
Three days? That... That wasn't a dream! Did it worked?
"I guess." she simply replied.
"Good." the doctor exited the room without looking back. A few moments later she heard galloping in the corridor and soon enough four mares rushed in the room; Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and behind them, Fluttershy. Following them all, the doctor Stable entered the room again. To Twilight's surprise, they didn't bombard her with questions.
"Darling, don't ever do that again!"
"Good to see you kicking, sugarcube!"
"Woohoo! We will do a super-duper-huger party!"
"Happy you're alright Twilight."
"They waited in the hospital for the last three days." The doctor stood clear of the circle of friends. "Now, if it's not too much asking, what did you do all? It's the first time I get seven cases of magic exhaustion at once. I also checked the medical record; it's the first time ever earth ponies and pegasi also get that kind of symptoms."
Twilight tried to remember, but her memories abruptly stopped at a particular event. "Maybe you can tell us what happened in the last three days?" she asked back.
The doctor looked slightly annoying. "Fair I guess. At around eight in the afternoon, three days ago, you and that human... Mark? 'Appeared', I guess is the best word..." he sighed. "At the entrance of the hospital. Nopony know how you got there and nopony saw you come in. While we were treating you in emergency, your five friends right here also... 'appeared' one at a time in our hall with the same symptoms, you were all passed out from magical exhaustion. However they all recovered pretty fast, unlike you."
He moved closer and pointed at her face. "I will be blunt, no magic for you for a few weeks. At least! I never saw magical burns like that before. Your horn will need time to recover." For the first time Twilight noticed her horn was wrapped in a white bandage. "Now, that was from my point of view... I would like to know your, Twilight. Your friends already told me they didn't really know what occurred, aside that they helped you using the elements of harmony?"
Twilight went deep in her thought, carefully trying to choose her words.
How do you explain something like that?
"You were on the Moon, no?" asked Pinkie with wide eyes and a huge smile.
"How... how do you...?" replied Twilight. How Pinkie could know that? She knew the pink pony had some special power, like predicting generic future events, but could she read minds?
Rainbow Dash flew over her bed. "Wow! It's true? That's so awesome!" she said doing a looping on herself.
"But... How do you know?" she managed to ask. The six other ponies looked at each other. The doctor went to the window beside her bed and pulled the curtains. Low in the sky, the Moon was slowly moving across the sky. Twilight knew it by heart; she looked at it so often with her telescope. She had map and charts of its surface.
"Oh... wow..." was all she could say. The upper right quarter of the Moon was almost black, burned off, like if a huge explosion took place on its surface. She had a very hard time to get her eyes off it.
Did I? Did I really? Oh no! Princess Luna will be mad! What did I do to her moon?!
With a lot of efforts, she managed to get her eyes off the celestial object.
"I didn't see it as I was working inside the clinic, but from what I heard witnesses from all over Equestria reported a very bright light on the Moon's surface." explained the doctor.
She was about to explain them what happened when suddenly her mind spotted something missing. "Huh, doctor? Where's Mark?"
The five mares beside her decided all at once to look elsewhere, only the doctor managed to keep his sight on her. "Twilight... I'm sorry..."
"Don't tell me he is..." she said getting a hoof to in front of her mouth.
Mark woke up. One moment there was only darkness, and the moment after his eyes were open and his mind was working. He didn't even remember opening his eyes. It was as if something had turned the switch of his mind on. He only saw white wherever his eyes looked. He thought he was blind until he put his right hand in front of his eyes.
He stared at his right hand. The last thing he remembered was the Moon, his charred right arm and Earth in the sky. His hand was spotless, even an old scar on the back of his hand was nowhere to be seen. Looking at his wrist, he noticed the arm of his space suit, it was perfect like the day he received it. And yet he remembered ripping both arms of his suit to hold his broken leg in place.
He sat down and looked around. Even if he felt like he was sitting on a floor, he couldn't see any. Everywhere he looked was of pure white with no details whatsoever. He examined himself to find he and his suit was in perfect shape. But if he thought the past six months was a dream, the shoes he was wearing quickly reminded him the truth. His dark blue shoes were shining the same way the day Rarity gave him them.
He stood up, surprised how effortless it was. He didn't remember feeling that good before. He kept trying to look around, trying to see any difference in the endless white background. He kneeled and tried to touch the floor, but while his fingers were stopped by something, he didn't feel anything.
"Welcome."
He stood back up and looked behind him. The voice came from all around him. After doing a full turn on himself, he decided to look up. Above him, a bright yellow sphere the size of a bowling ball was slowly going down toward him. It stopped a few meters in front of him at eye level.
"Huh... Hi?" he replied.
The sphere slowly changed shape, elonging itself toward the 'floor'. Within a few seconds, the sphere was in the shape of a humanoid, but its color didn't change. Details slowly appeared on its surface, like if someone was sculpting it in front of his eyes. Finally, stood in front of him a slim and short female, still in gold color, about a head shorter than him. Her eyes appeared to glow.
"Am... am I dead?" he asked.
"No." This time he knew the voice came from the figure, but he didn't see her lips moving.
"Am I... dying?" he asked once more.
"Yes."
He took a deep breath, but somehow breathing didn't feel the same, like if the air inside him wouldn't do enter his body. While staring at the woman, he stopped breathing; quickly finding out that it didn't change anything. He counted up to thirty and yet his body never asked him to take a breath.
"Who are you?"
He didn't feel threaten in any way by the golden figure, but he wasn't at ease with the new environment. It felt too strange, too different to not put him on the defensive.
"I'm the living component of the TARDIS." the figure replied without hesitation. Her voice had absolutely not inflection, like if she was stating fact without an ounce of emotion. He couldn't see her breathing or moving at all. He did a few step around, to find out she was always facing him, even if he didn't see her moving. He did a step back and he wasn't surprised to find that she appeared at the same distance as before.
He started to think about the situation. He knew the Doctor's ship was alive in some kind of parallel plan of existence, not that he really understood what it meant. He wasn't sure what to ask her, but he felt she wasn't about to hide him anything.
"Why... am I here?" he asked tentatively.
"I'm giving you a chance to be saved." she replied.
"From?"
"Death."
He sighed, it wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't hiding anything, but she wasn't making it any easier. He looked down at his suit once more. "It's not my real body, isn't it?"
"Correct, it's your mind, or what human call a soul." she answered.
He pondered her words for a few moments. "If... I... What's happening to my physical body?"
She didn't answer, instead on her left an image appeared out of nowhere. It was as if someone had cut a slice of another reality. Mark could see it was a white room with a hospital bed in the middle. As he watched, Twilight entered the room supported by Applejack.
Twilight passed the door of the small intensive care room of Ponyville's clinic. Her right leg was over Applejack's back as she supported her, she was feeling too weak to walk alone right now.
It's good to have strong friends.
She looked at the single bed in the middle of the room. The doctor Stable told her Mark wasn't dead, but it was obvious by the way he said it that something was wrong. On the bed, Mark was in bad shape. Tubes were coming out of his nose and his left arm. They ripped off the top of his suit for good reasons, the right half of his chest, his whole right arm and a part of his face were wrapped in bandages.
Stable walked in the room and placed himself beside Twilight. "How is he doctor?"
He sighed. "I'm not sure." Seeing the look on Twilight's face, he continued. "I'm not sure if we can save his right leg... arm? He also got severe burns on his chest and face." He put an annoyed face. "All that shouldn't be a problem, even with his own magic exhaustion. But all the healing spells we tried had no effect what so ever." He pointed at the bed. "Something is disrupting all our attempts."
"But even without outside healing, he should be able to recover?" she asked back.
He took a deep breath. "Normally yes, but whatever is preventing us from healing him is also killing him. I could show you the results of the tests we did, but to sum up, his cellular structure is slow breaking down." He looked at Twilight. "He is dying, and there's nothing I could do about it."
"Don't say that! There's always a way!" she snapped back.
He looked at his hooves. "Maybe, but if there is, it's outside our knowledge. I've sent the results to specialists all around Equestria and they never saw anything like it." While leaving the room, he looked back. "I'm sorry. He has a week, maybe two." He closed the door behind himself, leaving the six mares in the room.
Applejack helped her sit beside the bed. "Now sugarcube, would you mind telling us the whole story?"
She looked at her five friends, which were deeply staring back.
"So, that's it? I'm gonna die?" Mark snapped at the TARDIS.
"It is a possibility." she answered, as enigmatic as ever.
Mark felt angry at the golden woman. "Can't you see the future? You already know if I die or not!" he shouted. She turned to directly face him, for the first time he felt she was looking at him instead of pass him.
"I can see potential future, it is true. But I can't tell which one will happen. You might die or you might live. The future is never set. Each individual has the ability to change it."
His anger faded away as his mind was trying to understand what she said. He lowered his shoulder as he gave up trying to make sense of it. "I don't understand."
"The quantum structure that makes one's mind works beyond the constraint of time. Traveling to the future is visiting a potential timeline. At any moment, one can decide to change his actions, creating a totally new one."
He frowned. "What?"
A second image appeared to her right, Mark automatically recognized the Doctor. The image displayed what appeared to be a bad recording from an old camera. "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually, from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint; it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... timey wimey... stuff." the image explained before fading away, his words echoing in the white void.
Mark took all that and went inside trying to make the pieces fit together. He found before that while the Doctor sounded weird, he was right in his own special way. He felt that within his words, there was a lot of hidden wisdom, only he wasn't able to give them meaning he could easily understand. He shook his head. "Do you mean I need to choose to live?"
"No. You don't have that power. Your will to live will be tested, but what can change the balance is your faith in your friends." she answered without moving her lips.
He blinked while staring at the immobile statue. "My friends? What are you talking about?"
The five mares stared at her; they simply didn't know what to say. Rainbow Dash was the first one to come forward. "Wow! That's awesome. But are you sure it wasn't a dream or something?"
Twilight was expecting some kind of skepticism. Applejack bumped Rainbow Dash on her side. "What Rainbow is trying to say, it's a lot to accept at once... And you did stay in coma for three days."
"I didn't dream that!" she snapped back.
"I sometime have very weird dream too, you know? I often think they are real too!" said Pinkie Pie with a huge smile.
Twilight felt tired, she didn't have the energy to fight back incredulity generated by her story. She couldn't blame them; time and time travel, the moon, monster that eats magic? If she didn't experience it herself, she wouldn't have believed. Or would she? After all they lived and fighted against, after Discord, she could accept almost anything. She remembered how she reacted on the TARDIS after Mark's explanation; she actually did far worse than her friends.
"I can vouch for Twilight story." said a voice coming from an empty corner of the room.
Rainbow Dash instantly snapped in defensive position between the corner and her friends. "Who's there? Show yourself?"
The air flickered a few second to reveal the Doctor, standing against the wall in his blue suit. "Doctor! How long have you been here?" asked Twilight as she kept the cyan mare back.
"Since I brought you all to the hospital after you passed out." he explained while crossing his arms.
That explains how we all got in here. But I would really like to know how he got to find Rainbow Dash as she was probably on some clouds...
Something pink jumped in front of her. "Oh! Oh! A new pony! Or something else. You need a welcome party!" said Pinkie Pie as excited as ever.
The Doctor laughed. "No need Pinkie, you already gave me one when I first came in Ponyville."
"I did?"
"Yeah, I just didn't look like that." explained the Doctor.
"Oh. Okey-dokey!"
"So you're a spy!" shouted Rainbow Dash just before Applejack put a hoof in her mouth.
"This will wait for another time spy-hunter." She nodded at the timelord. "Sorry for that."
Twilight pushed Rainbow Dash aside. "Doctor! Do you know what's happening to Mark?" she said pointing at the bed.
He didn't answer; instead he went to the window and closed the blinds. Turning around he noticed the light switch was behind Rainbow Dash. "Could someone close the lights?" he asked. Fluttershy who were standing in the back of the mares turned around and flipped it.
Twilight was about to ask why the Doctor wanted the room to be dark when she noticed a glow coming from the bed. She came closer to inspect it and found that Mark's body was slowly releasing a kind of golden vapor. "What's that?"
"When he helped you, his body wasn't ready for that. You probably know more than any other that generating magic is like a muscle, your body got to be trained first." he explained as the six mares stared at him. "At some point, his body stopped converting the time stream into magic, and it flooded his body." He crossed his arm. "Time is separated from the physical world for a good reason; when it come in contact with matter, they both slowly disintegrate each other. Unless, of course, if you can transform it into magic right away." He moved his hands above Mark, pushing the golden vapor around. "This glow is the visible part of the decay of matter directly touched by time."
Applejack shook her head. "Can someone translate that?"
"I will explain it later Applejack. Right now I need to think." said Twilight. "If what you say is true, I can drain it and convert it into magic?" she said with sparkles in her eyes.
The Doctor looked at Mark. "Yes, you can drain it, but you will kill him at the same time." He looked back at Twilight. "His atomic structure is unstable, if you remove the time flowing in his body, he will age a million years in a fraction of a second."
Her eyes widen at what it would be if she did it. "There's no way to stabilize it?"
He sighed. "I'm sorry. Rare are those who touched time itself and survived to talk about it."
She felt tears coming to her eyes. She kept thinking about what the Doctor just explained and what she said to Stable.
There must be a way!
She tried to remember everything she learned in the past; something, anything she could use as knowledge to save him. She knew it; knowledge was the key to everything. How many time she saved the day by knowing what others didn't? The answer was there, close to her reach.
While trying to think, her memory started to flow in. She tried to push them aside; she needed a clear mind to tackle that puzzle. She remembered the month Mark passed with her in her house. How she brought him unconscious from the forest. His face when he saw Derpy fly. How she almost burned him with a spell. How happy he looked with his new shoes...
Wait! That's it!
"But he touched the... the time before and he was stable! Sure he got burned, but he survived it!" she almost screamed.
At first the Doctor didn't react, his ears heard what she said, but his brain was still trying to analyze it. He was expecting grief and to help comfort the mare. "What?" he simply said, unsure of what she meant.
"The first time he was in this hospital, I casted a spell on him to show him his magic source." she said pointing at Mark. "He got burned badly, but he survived it!" she said, trying to pass her point that he did survived a contact with time before. "Actually, I'm pretty sure it's about that time his eyes turned yellow... But I'm not sure of that." she finished, digging back in her memory.
The Doctor stood there silent, staring at the purple unicorn. "Twilight! You're a genius!" he exclaimed himself while snapping his fingers. He ran toward the door he was about to cross it when he turned around. "I will be back soon. Twilight, you get as much rest as you can. I will need your help to save him when I return." On that, he ran off the corridors, oblivious that his perception filter was offline.
They heard a scream of terror and noise of something hitting the floor. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm just passing by!" apologized the Doctor while running away.
"Twilight, dear, where did you find such weird... creature?" asked Rarity. "But I have to say, the cut of his clothes are of impressive quality!"
"I don't know." she replied while staring at the door. She didn't know what to think of what happened, but she felt there was hope.
"Friends?" asked Mark while looking at the TARDIS. He didn't remember anybody who he could call a friend before. He always felt on his own. He got to the NASA and in space by his own work, his own efforts. He knew the six ponies, but he only lived a month with Twilight. In his mind, a friend was something you get by putting years of effort in building a relationship. He never felt the need to invest himself that much into someone else. "I don't think I have any. People bails out when things get too hard."
"From your point of view, a friend is someone you know well and support you in time of need." she said. "From my point of view, it is when a magical connection is established between two individuals."
He blinked a few time. "That doesn't make any sense." He shook his head. "How can you call someone a friend if you don't even invest years in learning who they are?"
"Did you feel close to Twilight?" she asked.
Mark was stunned by her first question. "I... I don't know." The conversation was moving toward grounds he never felt at ease talking about. "I guess... I guess we are a bit alike." He closed his eyes, on the Moon he put himself at risk for others he never meet before. When he joined her effort with his own magic, he felt the presence of the six mares, but Twilight was like a bright light in his mind.
Back then, he pushed that feeling aside, thinking it was a side effect of that magical connection. But if the TARDIS was right, this connection existed way before that moment. They helped him while never asking anything in return. Sure, he did a pretty great sacrifice on the Moon, but he never felt he needed to repay them and he never took that into account while making his decision. He wished to repay them for their kindness, but he knew they would never accept it if he was thinking of it as clearing a debt.
"Maybe you're right. I don't know. I need to think more about it." he said.
"You will have lot of time to do so." she said while her form was fading away.
"Wait!" he said moving forward. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere, but the Doctor needs me now."
Mark was left alone in the big white void, pondering on what he just learned.
The Doctor stepped off the TARDIS in the middle of the night. If his calculations were right, it was two nights after Twilight made her first visit to the hospital. He checked that the perception filter was online. He didn't want to scare the nurses again. To everypony, he appeared to be that brown colt with an hourglass on his flanks. The filter that could keep him invisible never worked well with moving objects, so he was better in his pony form.
His plan was simple, get in the hospital unnoticed, get some quantum reading hoping they would be enough and get out the same way. He walked toward the hospital and stopped behind a bush, just in time as a light could be seen moving around the building. A unicorn guard walked up to the front door, his horn glowing to light his path. It stopped glowing as he stepped inside the clinic.
The Doctor followed him and entered the building. He was about to turn a corner in the first corridor when he heard a discussion between the doctor Stable and a white mare, both standing behind the reception desk. "I don't care what he is! You will do your job as if he was any other pony." The Doctor stopped to listen.
He heard sobbing. "I... I can't Doctor. It's just too weird!" replied the mare.
"I'm not asking you to chat with him and become the best friends, only to bring him meals twice a day. As long as he is in this building, he is our responsibility." Stable explained.
"But... but why did we accept it... him... in the first place?"
Stable sighed loudly. "Alright, but what I'm about to show you must stay confidential. From everypony, Twilight Sparkle included!"
The Doctor guessed she nodded because she asked "What... What is that?"
"A communication from the Princess Celestia." he explained. The Doctor moved around, trying to get a view on the two ponies. He could only see that Stable was levitating a scroll with his magic. "A courier came in a few hours before Twilight brought the human here. She explicitly requested that we take care of him, and that we don't tell anypony about it. If you want to go explain to her that you didn't follow her orders, it's your choice!"
The Doctor could see the nurse reading the scroll with her eyes wide open. "How... How did she know he would come here?"
"How the hay should I know! She's the Princess, we probably don't understand a third of what she does!" he spitted back. "So do you job! You can always bring his meals when he is asleep, I don't care. And remember, not a word about that letter!"
The Doctor started to move again. He was surprised by what he just heard. It was obvious Twilight couldn't have warned Celestia that quickly and requested for medical care. But why Celestia wished it to stay secret? He never meets the Princess before, but after his problems with a specific Queen, he had sworn to himself to never get involved with the royalty again.
At the third room he looked inside, he finally found out Mark. He was deep asleep. The Doctor quickly entered the room and closed silently the door behind him. He didn't know how long he would need to scan him to find what he was searching for.
He took his sonic screwdriver in his mouth and aimed it at the sleeping form. With his teeth he pushed a few buttons and the tip glowed blue as the device started searching for a compatible match. Mark turned around in his sleep, making the Doctor jump in surprise.
"I'm sure I saw you before! You... you were in my room at the hospital one night!" the Doctor remembered Mark telling him that.
Just as the screwdrivers biped, claiming to have found a positive stable signature, Mark moved again, trying to open his eyes. The Doctor froze; messing up with the past was never a good idea. He noticed Mark had closed his eyes again, and he took the opportunity to leave the room on the tip of his hooves. As he closed the door behind himself, he noticed Mark waking up and sitting on his bed, looking around the room.
He was right! He did see me!
Coming out of the hospital proved far easier than coming in. Ten minutes later, he was back in the TARDIS, transferring the data he collected to the computer of his ship. He was checking the data passing in his front of his eyes when he noticed something different. He quickly stopped the flow of information displayed and scrolled back.
Twilight! That pony... she knew!
In front of his eyes was glowing the graphic of a complex quantum signature, but different from all the others the screen had shown before.
How is it even possible? The degeneration from contact with the time stream is obvious, but it is not decaying any further!
By instinct, he tapped a few commands on his console, changing the display. He asked the computer to scan for any trace of magic or other unusual radiations. To his surprise, the computer took a long moment before complying with his demands. Finally, the screen changed back to the image of the quantum signature, but over it laid a complex webbing of purple lines. At last, some words showed up besides the purple marking and a line linked the two.
Does she even know she saved his life that day? Did she even do it consciously?
He put his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling, a smile slowly expending on his face. He laughed for a few seconds before slapping his thigh with his right hand.
Her friends forced Twilight back to her room, convincing her that she would be of no help if she continued to fall asleep every two minutes. She protested, claiming to be alright, but almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she felt in a dreamless sleep.
Six hours later, she woke up to find Spike reading a book beside her bed. "Good morning Spike."
"Morning Twilight! Or afternoon." he closed the book and put it on the bedside. "Are you hungry?"
"You have no idea!" He stood up and walked off the room. He returned a few minutes later with a tray of food which he put in front of her. "Any news?"
He shook his head while sitting back on his chair. "Nope."
Between two bites, she asked "Did you send a letter to the Princess to tell her what happened?"
"Sure did, the day you were found unconscious." he replied. "And six hours ago with your story."
"And?"
"And what?" he asked unsure.
"What did she reply?" she said, starting to be annoyed.
The little dragon scratched his head with his right claw. "She wished you to get well soon. And..."
"And?"
He sighed. "And that she was too busy to leave Canterlot right now." he finished.
She pondered the information for a minute. "That's weird; it's the same thing she said when Mark was living in my basement. What could be so important that she couldn't drop by for a whole month and now for three days in a row?"
"I don't know Twilight." said the dragon, unaware that her question wasn't asking for an answer.
A brown colt entered the room, diffusing the tense situation without knowing it. Seeing Twilight awake and eating brought a smile to his face. "You look better Twilight!"
Before she could answer, Spike jumped up in front of the intruder and blocked his path. "And who would you be?" he asked trying to look as menacing as possible.
"Spike!" Twilight shouted.
The colt started to laugh; he reached something on his chest with his right hoof. The air flickered a few second to reveal the Doctor in his blue suit. "You got quite a guard Twilight." he said with a smile.
"What are you?" asked a frighten Spike.
"Doctor, this is Spike. Spike, this is the Doctor. You know, from the story you wrote to the Princess?" she explained.
Spike turned around and stared at Twilight. "What? You mean it was all true?" The Doctor and Twilight nodded. "Wow, so you really went on the Moon! That's kind of awesome."
She ignored the excited dragon and focused on the Doctor. "Did you find anything Doctor?"
He nodded once more taking his screwdriver from his suit's inner pocket. "You were right. He did enter in contact with the time stream six months ago. But he should have died back then." He set his tool on some specific setting and pointed at Twilight. Between them appeared a complex blue image, floating in midair. "This is a stable signature. As you can see, it's quite orderly and doesn't move much."
Both Spike and Twilight stared at the image with wide eyes. The Doctor pressed a button and the image changed. "This is the same signature once it came in contact with the time." The image switched to the same complex image, but instead of being orderly and moving in slow motion, it was vibrating and pulsing wildly in complete chaos.
"Mark should have died six months ago. But look what I found out." he said while changing the setting of his device. The same chaotic image stopped moving and was trapped in purple webbing. "Those lines are one of your spell Twilight. The magic signature matches perfectly your." he explained. He shut down his screwdriver and crossed his arms. "This spell kept him stables for long enough for his body to heal himself and convert the remaining trace of time stream into magic."
"So I can redo it!" she exclaimed herself.
The Doctor swallowed. "Yes and no." he put his tool back in his suit. "He's been exposed for too long for your spell to be effective alone. And his body isn't in shape to transform anything to magic right now."
"Come on Doctor! You surely have a plan!" she shouted while hitting her food tray with her right hoof.
He looked around. "I do. But it's a long shot."
"Spit it Doctor!"
"Sadly, you're the only one who can do it." he put his hands in his pants' pockets. "You drain the time off his body and at the same time cast that spell to keep his structure stable. That alone won't be enough, he is too far gone. However, while you do it, my screwdriver will rewrite his quantum signature to the same reading I took six months ago." He took a deep breath. "But even then, I can't guaranty that it will work. And on top, I'm worried that you might not be in shape to do it. It will take days to drain off his body and rewrite his signature." He looked at the floor. "And even if you succeed, he might not be the same anymore. Direct contacts with time tend to disrupt the mind too."
Twilight took a last bite off an apple on her tray and pushed it aside. She jumped off her bed. "What are we waiting for then?"
Spike walked in front of her. "Twilight! You need to rest!"
Twilight looked angrily at the little dragon. "Listen very well Spike; you're alive because of what Mark did. I will accept no argument regarding this. Understood?"
Spike stepped aside, he never saw Twilight that angry before. "I understand."
She walked off the room without looking back.
Her horn didn't look in good shape to begin with, but now with the Doctor's screwdriver taped on top of it, it looked somewhat ridiculous. But right now she didn't care much as only the Doctor and Spike were beside her.
"I know I repeat myself, but you must cast the two spells at the same time. If you drain without stabilizing, his cells will age almost instantly. If you stabilize without draining, the time stream remaining in his body will disrupt your spell." the Doctor explained while finishing the settings on his device.
"I know Doctor. It's not the first time I do multiple spell cast."
"Yeah! You should have seen her when she controlled that ursa minor. She casted like four or five at the same time!" said Spike.
The Doctor looked at the small dragon. "I'm not saying she can't do it, only that it won't be easy. It might take days of casting to go over his whole body." He turned back to Twilight. "The screwdriver is on autopilot. It will do quantum rewriting as soon as it detect your spells."
"Alright." she moved to the left side of the bed and put Mark's arm in front of her. "If you don't mind?" she asked looking at the two who were staring at her.
"Come on Spike, let's go. She will need all the focus she can get." the Doctor said while pushing the dragon toward the door.
"But... but..." Spike tried to counter.
"Come with me, I will show you something funny." the Doctor said mysteriously. He closed the door behind him.
Twilight closed her eyes, trying to gather all the concentration she could. She jumped when she heard screaming from the corridor and Spike laughing hard. She rolled her eyes and went back to her spells.
Won't be easy with those two around.
"That's awesome!" said Mark while looking at the floating image of the hospital room. "She will do it!"
"Do you truly want to live?" the TARDIS asked him.
Mark stared at her unsure how to take that question. At first, she only answered his questions, but lately, she started to ask many surprising one. He started to understand that the ship was old, very old and in her own special way, very wise. "On the Moon, I gave it all. Back then, I think I was ready to die."
She stared at him, waiting for him to finish his thoughts. With time, he found out she was also very patient. "But the truth is, I felt like I started to live... Really live, only six months ago." he looked down at his hands. "Dying for peace, for survival, for honor, for a cause... That's all meaningless. I did it because I chose to do it, because I couldn't accept them being hurt."
He sighed loudly. "That's so stupid, now that I'm dying; I want to live more than ever. People who say the true heroes are the young people giving their life for a noble cause, are the worst evil. A young one dying is a mountain of potential wasted." he stared at the floating image. "So much to do, so much to learn, so much to see." He turned around and stared directly at her eyes. "I truly want to live." he said with a smile.
She stared back for a few moments. "You're like the Doctor in many aspects."
He frowned. "I will take that as a compliment."
She lost track of the time, sleeping only when she needed to, eating only when her body forced her to do it. Her friends came out after the other trying to force her to rest more. She knew of the time only when Spike told her it was the fourth day since she started.
Her horn and her head hurt more than they ever did, but she didn't care. The doctor Stable tried once to explain that if she pushed too hard, she could lose her magic ability permanently. But that only pushed her to sleep a few more hours.
She had two third of his body done when a monitor started to bip beside the bed.
Mark felt on the white floor, simply unable to stand. He felt weird, like if he was fading away. His arms were transparent, and he had a hard time to think straight. "What's going on?" he asked looking up at the TARDIS.
"You're going in cardiac arrest." she simply answered looking at the image of his body.
"I thought you removed my mind from my body!" he shouted back.
She stared at him. "Yes, but one cannot live without the other."
He looked at his body. "No! I want to live!" he screamed as hard as he could.
Twilight was staring at the heart monitor, she had no medical knowledge, but she knew exactly what it meant. She stayed stunned a few moments, passing in her mind all the knowledge she had about biology. She knew enough about a pony to help one in distress, but she had no idea what to do with him.
She could feel the adrenaline rushing in her veins. The doctor Stable rushed in the room, but he only stood there, unsure of what to do. She stared at him; she needed to do something, anything. "No." she whispered.
"No!" she screamed. Using both hooves, she smashed them on his chest. To her surprise, the heart monitor stopped its constant noise and started back to bip silently. She felt on the floor, tears in her eyes. She was tired.
Stable trotted to the right side of Mark and checked his chest and his breathing. "He don't have much longer, I'm afraid. One day... maybe. At most." he said looking at Twilight. Seeing she wasn't listening to him, he left the room.
She stood back up and wiped her tears.
I can do it!
Mark was relieved to see his heart was beating one more, but he heard what Stable said. "She won't make it. She needs at least two more days." he said closing his eyes, sitting on the floor.
"Do you have faith in your friends?" the TARDIS asked him.
He took a deep breath; he knew shouting at her wouldn't do any good, even if he wanted to do it. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I don't understand what that has to do." He remembered she already talked about faith and friends before.
"Your body is resisting her spells." she explained.
"What? What are you talking about?" he asked slowly standing up. He looked at his body, nothing could show that it was the case, but he decided to simply trust her.
She stared at him. "Your mind is set to live, but live on your own. This prevents your body from fully accepting external help."
He shook his head. "I'm not sure I see the difference. Wouldn't I die if I 'let go'?"
"No. You need to fight, but fight with her."
He sat down and closed his eyes. "Why say that now?" seeing she wasn't answering, he sighed. "Never mind, you told me about that days ago."
He sought inside himself, and found that spark of magic that was born from friendship. At first he wanted to simply ignore it, he was used to live on his own. But right now, he felt he couldn't ignore it anymore. He knew he had another choice to make.
To give up your life to someone else, not as a sacrifice, but as a gift; is there anything harder to do?
A sacrifice sounded so heroic, somehow easy, but a gift sounded so personal. That friendship was born independently of his choices, but making it grow asked of him to give part of himself.
He closed his eyes. He dived in.
He slowly opened his right eye and stared at the white ceiling. His left eye wasn't responding. His body felt terrible, like if he was hit by some lightning before being thrown around by a tornado. He didn't feel anything from his right shoulder. He couldn't move his right arm or hand. He felt like he had a broken rib or two.
He tried to look around, but the bandages on his face kept him in place. Breathing was hard and the light hurt his eye. His mouth and noise were dry. He heard someone sleeping soundly near him.
He looked down and saw Twilight sleeping, her front legs on the bed and her head resting on them. Her horn looked terrible while still wrapped with the Doctor's screwdriver. He put his left hand on her head.
"Thanks Twilight."
He closed his eye and felt back in sleep. His body hurt more than it ever did, but his mind was feeling better than ever. |
Planet of the Ponies | When things go... pony? | It slowly descended in the atmosphere of the blue planet, seeking a refuge. It used the planet as a shield against the ray of the nearest star that was now hurting it as its protective shell was gone. It needed a place to regain strength, to heal in order to be able to launch once against in the cosmos. It flew around the planet, searching.
It finally found a place to rest; a place full of food. Coming near it, it found a breach, a fissure in its integrity. It was small, but with its diminutive size, it managed to slip in. Something was already there and without knowing it, they got stuck to each other.
For an entity that never saw, never knew, never felt, the gift of sentience was a surprising one. Its previous life was over, and it was reborn as a new entity with a particular view on the world.
Mark woke up in the middle of the night. He had no idea how many days had passed since his healing. His body felt numb, as if he ran a marathon, but surprisingly the pain was mostly gone. However his right arm and hand refused to move. Removing the bed sheets using his left hand he was surprise to find out that they didn't discard his whole suit but cut off the upper part.
He put his feet on the floor and carefully stood up. His body didn't move for at least the last eight days and standing up wasn't so easy. After a few tries and a few minutes of losing his balance, he slowly walked to the windows. Opening the blind, he looked outside. The town was peaceful and from the look of it, it was almost the morning. The Moon caught his eyes. He stared at it a few minutes before letting out a silent. "Wow."
"Yeah, you sure did quite a mess up there." said a voice behind him.
Mark turned around. "Doctor? I'm surprised you're still around."
The Doctor was standing beside the bed as if he always been there. "What make you say that?"
Mark leaned against the wall, his legs were getting tired quickly. "You sound like the type of guy who doesn't stand long in one place." he said with a smile.
"Something makes me think it's not over. Beside, I wanted to check something about you." he explained.
"Oh?"
The Doctor crossed his arms. "What you experienced tends to have some nasty side effect."
He remembered what the TARDIS told him. "You mean the disruption of my mind quantum pattern?" he said while pointing his head with his left hand.
The Doctor looked surprised. "What? How do you know?"
"Your ship... she worries a lot about you. You used to talk to her more often." he said enigmatic.
"What?" The Doctor blinked a few time.
He laughed. "I'm surprised how much I enjoy knowing something you don't. You probably feel like that quite often."
The Doctor shook his head. "What?"
"Alright! Twilight saved my body. Your ship saved my mind." he explained.
The Doctor frowned. "Huh... I... what?"
He rolled his eyes. "Come on Doc. I don't know how, but your ship pulled my mind's quantum pattern off my body and... 'stored' it in the realm it lives in. It prevented it from being messed up like my body." Seeing the Doctor was staring at him in disbelief, he continued "How did you say it... 'People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint; it's more like a... big ball of wibbly wobbly... timey wimey... stuff." he frowned. "A ball of wibbly wobbly... Seriously Doc?"
The Doctor laughed. "Actually, the Timelord's shortest paper about how time works is just a bit short of a thousand pages long. And from my experience, 'wibbly wobbly timey wimey' pretty much sums it all."
"Fine, I won't argue with you on that one." he took a deep breath. "Doc, how's Twilight?"
A smile cracked up on the Doctor's face. "She's doing pretty well, considering she got a second magic exhaustion in just over a single week. The doctor Stable is pushing hard to be able to write a paper about all that; earth ponies and pegasi being able to be exhausted magically and the effects of multiple magic exhaustions. I think he got topics for years of medical writing." He looked at the ceiling. "Her horn is in bad shape, but she won't lose it or lose her magical ability. She's an athlete in that field. Well, as long as she doesn't have to fight another big bad monster in the next month."
"How long it has been?"
"Since she finished with you? Almost two days."
Mark walked back to his bed. "I think I'm going to rest a bit." While he sat on the bed, he looked at the Doctor "If you see Twilight and..." He stopped of that word that drastically changed of meaning lately. "and my friends, would you mind telling them I would like to talk to them?"
"Sure." The Doctor turned around and started to leave. "Good night."
"Going toward another adventure Doc?"
He shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I can feel my TARDIS wouldn't let me leave right now. She's stubborn like that." On that, he left the room.
"Good morning." Mark said with his eyes close. The noise of somepony putting a food tray on his bedside woke him up. Hearing no reply, he opened his eyes. A white pony nurse was staring at him, half surprised half scared. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"I... I..." she only managed to say while slowly walking backward toward the door.
His shoulders dropped, knowing very well he should be used to that reaction by now. "I passed enough time in this hospital for you to get used to my person. Thanks for the food." he said while taking the food tray and putting it over his legs.
"Is it true?" she asked, while being almost outside of the room.
Mark raised his head to look at her. "What is?"
"They say... they say you saved us..."
He raised his eyebrows. "Minute butterfly! I helped, but Twilight did the majority of the work." He looked at his motionless right hand. "And because I was reckless, I almost died and she got hurt while saving me."
"But... they said they will have to amputate your foreleg." Mark noticed that while saying that, she moved a bit in the room. He knew it would come to this, he didn't feel anything from his right arm and he understood quickly that one day they would need to remove it. It wasn't a happy feeling, but he knew it would put his life at risk to stay like that for too long.
He smiled. "I guess that's the price to pay for using magic while not being a unicorn. But I don't regret it, this is my planet too..." He looked at the window. "Or used to be. I would hate seeing it destroyed."
She nodded.
"If you don't mind, what's Twilight's room?" he asked while removing the cover of the tray. It smelled delicious, but right now he didn't know what he would give for some bacon.
"Room one o four." she said while leaving. She stopped and looked back. "And... Thanks."
"If you want to thanks me, get over your fear of me. I know it's silly and I know it shouldn't, but it hurts every time I see fear in some ponies' eyes." He said with a large smile.
"I'll... I'll try." she said while closing the door.
After eating, he stood up and did some stretching. He found out his right arm was getting in the way, flapping around without any control. Using some leftover bandages, he wrapped it against his chest. He was right handed, so everything asking for some precision using his left hand wasn't easy.
His body was screaming for some exercise and he did his best to move as much as possible inside the small room. However, there's a limit to what someone could do inside a small cube in which a bed take most of the space. Looking outside, he saw the day was going to be bright and sunny.
Enough with that. I've been in a room everyday I've been in Ponyville. If I'm to stay in this world, I better know the place.
He went to the bathroom and checked himself in the mirror. They removed the bandages of his face, but the right half was still recovering from severe burns. He hadn't shaved in nearly two weeks and it was showing. He didn't have a shirt, but the bandages on his chest covered him enough.
He exited the hospital without meeting anypony, it was still pretty early in the morning, the sun barely visible above the far mountain line. He quickly warmed up and started jogging slowly toward the village. He was going rather slowly because he wasn't sure his legs could keep up after a week in bed. Also his wrapped arm made his balance a bit harder than usual and the last thing he wanted was to fall.
He found out Ponyville was much smaller than he expected, small houses spread over without much structure. He had a quick view of it when he ran to Sweet Apple Acres in what felt like years ago.
It hasn't been two weeks. Feel like it was a different time... Maybe because it was!
He greeted with his left hands the few ponies that he came across. He got a few salute back but mostly some staring. He didn't mind much, with time they would get use to him, like he is getting used to them.
As his legs got used to the pace, he slowly accelerate.
They must think I'm terribly slow.
As the Sun started to warm his skin, he felt more alive than he has been in years. He wasn't sure what tomorrow would bring, but right now he didn't care. He came across the Cutie Mark Crusader, obviously going to some kind of school by the look of their bags. They cheered as he sprinted pass them.
It only took him an hour to circle the town and be back to the hospital. He was sweating and his hairs were sticking to his face. As he came close to the building, he saw a pony waiting outside.
He waved his arm. "Hey! What's up doc?" he said to the medical pony.
"Where were you?" Stable asked back.
Mark frowned, he wasn't expecting that kind of question. "Running around. I will go crazy if I stay inside. And I need the exercise." he explained while stretching his legs. "Is something wrong doc?"
"You're my responsibility and I..."
"Come on doc! I came too close to death to stay locked up. Beside, since I'm stuck here, I'm not gonna hide anymore." he cut him.
"...and I think your heart is not in shape for extensive training right now. You had a cardiac arrest a few days ago." he finished.
"Oh. Good point. Sorry." Mark apologized. "How's Twilight this morning?"
The doctor growled looking up at the sky. "She woke up just fine about an hour ago. But my magic specialist is requesting a month of vacation. Bringing Twilight's magic reserve back to her minimum again, really worn her out. I don't know what exactly she did to you, but my specialist had to redo it all over again."
Mark laughed. "Deeply sorry. You can always tell her she managed to bring back in shape a pony that has more magic potential than the princesses."
The doctor was shocked. "What are you talking about?"
Mark bit his lips. "Sorry, is it taboo or something? Don't talk against the royalty in any way?"
"No, no, nothing likes that. But why would you say Twilight has more magic than the princesses?" he asked in disbelief.
"Well, look at the Moon. She wasn't shooting at it, but off it. And yet the leftover turned a good part of it into charcoal. Considering, I'm pretty lucky I survived with only an arm burnt off." he explained while touching his bandaged arm. "Beside, I know for a fact that if she really wanted, she could vaporize this planet." He started walking toward the building's door. "Just saying, don't get on her bad side." He entered the clinic, leaving a speechless doctor outside.
He walked toward Twilight's room. On the way, he encountered nurse Redheart. She jumped back seeing him, but she didn't flee. He gave her his best smile, which she tried to reply to.
Coming in front of her door, he knocked hoping she was still awake. "Come in!" she said on the other side.
He opened the door. "Good morning sunshine!" he said while entering. She was in her bed, he horn once again in bandages. She looked tired, as if she studied a whole night.
"Mark! You're up!"
He smiled. "Yeah, you sure did quite a number on me." he came close to her bed. "You don't look that bad yourself." He pointed at her bed. "Mind if I sit?"
"Go ahead." he replied.
He sat down and stared at his feet. "I..."
Why is it so hard to say what's important?
"I know." she replied with a smile.
"I know you do." he said in a small laugh. "But I got to say it."
"Alright."
"I could thank you for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't be enough to express my gratitude." He took a deep breath. "You're a great friend Twilight." He looked at her with a large smile.
"See? Wasn't that hard?" she replied with a huge grim.
He stood up. "You probably have more experience with that friendship thing. Was it that easy with your first friend?"
She thought about it for a moment. "I guess not."
Mark's eyes drifted away while he took his jaw with his left hand, as if he was thinking very hard. "Hmm."
"What?"
"Since you can't do magic for a while, I would guess you will need some help. And you know, Spike is only one dragon." he explained with a smile.
"You're offering to help?"
He laughed. "Actually, I came to a decision..."
He was cut by the opening door and five "Twilight!" as four mares trotted in the room and one flew in. They stood in circle around the bed, staring at Twilight. Mark leaned against the wall watching the scene with a smile.
"You had us worried, honey! Don't ever do that again!" said Rarity as the four others nodded in agreement.
"Alright! Alright!" Twilight said with a grim. "I won't."
"Pinkie promise?" asked Pinkie Pie.
Mark coughed. "Don't ask her that." He put on his most serious face. "She would risk her life to save any of yours. You would hurt her by asking her to not act when she feels the need to." He smiled. "Have faith in each others."
They all stared at him. "That's deep, sugarcube." finally said Applejack, breaking an uneasy silence.
"Had time to think about it." he explained.
Pinkie Pie bounced around the bed and stopped in front of Mark and stared at him angrily. "And you mister, don't think you can break your promise!"
His eyes widen. "I'm not. I told you I would be back and that you could throw a party." He smiled and looked at Twilight. "You might even be able to do a double one to also celebrate Twilight's recovery."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "All that put aside, were you not saying something about a decision?" she questioned him.
All six mares stared at him. "I... it can wait, you're all here to see Twilight."
"Now what? You got our curiosity, so spit it out." pouted Rainbow Dash.
"Well, it's nothing complicated. I decided to stay in Equestria, maybe Ponyville. I'm sure I can help with some work around, if you want to." he explained. "I got some good mechanics, sciences and writing skills, I'm sure I can find something."
They all six stared at him intensely without replying.
Is it that surprising? Was I mistaken and they don't want me to stay around?
"Hmmm... Dear, what's going on in your pants?" finally asked Rarity pointing at his crotch.
"What?" he asked while looking down. Something in his pants' left pocket was moving and glowing. He put his hand in his pocket and quickly grabbed the metallic sphere. He had forgotten about it in the last week. As he removed his hand from his pocket, the sphere slipped from his grasped and hovered in front of him.
"It will help you when you will make a choice." He remembered. A choice, what choice? To stay here? To help?
The sphere shot bright ray of lights in his direction, bathing him in a glowing rainbow. He felt himself lift off the ground as if the gravity decided to forget about him. He wanted to scream and to run, but his body didn't answer his call. His mind calmed down all by itself, as if the sphere switched his fears off. He could see the six mares staring at him, too surprised to do anything. He felt himself slip asleep.
Not again! Come on, give me a break!
His eyes closed only for a moments. The next, he was lying on his side on the floor. His body felt weird, as if it wasn't his own. However, the first thing he noticed was the presence of feelings in his right arm.
"Well, I wasn't expecting that!" laughed a voice he knew well.
As he opened his eyes, he saw six mares staring at him with their jaws hanging low and the Doctor in background laughing his ass off. He wasn't surprised to see the Doctor, as he had a gift for showing up from nowhere. Automatically he noticed something was off, the colors and the shape appeared different, brighter and more flat.
"Not fun Doctor. They did something to my eyes! I'm seeing all weird." he pleaded.
Twilight was the first to manage to close her mouth. "Not just your eyes I'm afraid." she said.
"What?" he asked. But as he said that, he noticed his nose. It was longer and wider than before, but more importantly, it was dark blue. Instinctively, he tried to grab it, only to punch himself in the face with something hard. He looked down to what just hurt him and saw what looked to be a hoof. His eyes followed the leg to the body of what appeared to be a pony.
For the first time in his life, he really freaked out. "No! No, no, no, no, no, no... No! Why? No!" he screamed.
He was freaking out on the floor, his legs beating the air, eyes looking around in despair. He was breathing hard and looking around in fear. They all looked at him, not knowing what to say or what to do. It was Fluttershy who moved forward and hugged him. "Calm down. There..."
He felt his mind calm down on his own once again, but his heart was still beating hard and fast. After an eternity or two, he pushed her off. "Thanks. I think I'm feeling better." He looked down at what used to be his arms. He felt the panic come back, but he pushed it away too. He couldn't explain why he lost control like that. He was a grownup, and even if the events of the past six months were hard of his nerves, it couldn't justify his reaction. He was a trained astronaut, ready to face the unknown.
Is it those changes? I know horses of my time were easily scared... Does it mean I can't control myself like I used to? No! My mind is mine and I control it.
He looked up. "Doctor! What the hell was that transformation?" he shouted.
The Doctor took a deep breath. "I'm not sure, but it looked like some kind of quantum restructuration."
Mark felt hope coming up in his mind. "So you can reverse it!"
The Doctor looked away. "Well... without knowing exactly what it was and what it did? I'm afraid I can't."
"Can't you analyze the sphere? It should tell you what they did!" he asked back as he tried to sit down in his new form.
He stared at him. "I'm afraid it disintegrated as soon as it was done with you." he said shaking his head. "Beside, you're kinda cute as a unicorn."
Mark looked up and he finally noticed a small horn standing on top of his head between his silver manes. He was surprised that his hairs didn't change color.
He was about to scream insults to the Doctor but he closed his mouth hard in anger. He couldn't accept that there wasn't a solution to back to normal. He looked up once again. "Twilight! Do you know any spell that could help?"
She looked up at the ceiling, thinking hard. "Well, with magic the problem is different from the Doctor's. I could change your form without knowing what happened, but I simply don't know any spell aimed at changing somepony into a human." She sighed heavily. "And that's just the first part. I could probably change your visual aspect to a human and that kind of spell would only last a short while. For something permanent, I would need deep knowledge of human's biology and years of crafting for the spell. The only other way was if somepony already made such spell."
He closed his eyes in despair. They all stood in silence.
Somepony knocked at the door. "Come in!" shouted Twilight.
The grey pegasus Mark remembered as being his bed neighbor entered. She was wearing a blue cap and a saddlebag with a mail icon on it. She looked around, confused at the scene of six mares, a royal blue stallion sitting in a corner and a human in a blue suit she never saw before. "Huh... Maybe it's not a good time?" she asked.
"What is it Miss Hooves?" asked Rarity.
"Oh... I received order to deliver a letter to Miss Twilight Sparkle here at..." he looked at the wall clock. "Ten in the morning? Well, about now." she said with a grim.
The six mares looked at each other before staring back at the mailmare. "A letter?" asked Twilight.
"Yeah!" she answered while taking a scroll off her bags and bringing it to Twilight. She dropped it on Twilight's lap and trotted back to the door. "Have a nice day!" she claimed happily while walking away.
They all examined the scroll. "It's the royal seal." simply stated Twilight. Even Mark was surprised by the event and carefully managed to move toward the bed, as he quickly found out walking in his new shape wasn't given.
"Come on! Open it!" almost screamed Rainbow Dash.
Twilight pointed at her horn and looked at Rarity. "Would you mind?"
"Oh! Sure, dear." she said while her horn took a blue glow. She broke the seal of the scroll and unrolled it in front of Twilight.
She cleared her throat and began to read. "To my faithful student Twilight Sparkle. I would like to apologize for being so busy lately and being unable to come visit you while you were recovering. I've heard of your adventure on the moon and of the risks you took to preserve our planet. Everyponies are aware of the courage you showed in face of such danger. I couldn't be more proud."
Of course, Spike wrote her letters explaining everything. thought Twilight.
"I've prepared a little ceremony in your honor in a week from now. I would like you to come with the two stallions that helped you..." She stopped to re-read the sentence a few time. "... in this quest. I'm looking forward to meet this stallion you've been talking about for the last six months. With affection, Princess Celestia."
Rarity brought the scroll in front of her to read it again. The six mares simply didn't know what to say. The Doctor took his jaw with his left hand and hummed loudly.
Twilight finally broke the silence. "That makes no sense! I was very specific that a timelord and a human helped me, not two stallions. And I was very clear in my past letters about Mark species!"
"I think she wanted us to know she was aware ahead of time of the specific event that took place here." the Doctor explained.
"What?" asked the seven ponies.
The Doctor crossed his arms. "She appears to know a lot more than that. When Mark was first brought in this hospital, I overheard the doctor Stable talking about orders he received from the Princess... Orders to take good care of him, he received an hour before Mark arrived."
"That's impossible!" countered Twilight. "I wrote about Mark only after I brought him here."
"And they came in by courier. Which imply she knew hours ahead. Without magic, it takes a few hours for a rapid courier to do the distance between here and Canterlot." he finished.
Twilight thought about it a few moments. "I admit something else is maybe wrong..." she started.
"What?" the six ponies and the Doctor asked.
"Mark stayed in Ponyville a month and it's been almost two weeks since you're brought us in the hospital Doctor. In those six specific weeks, the Princess have been too busy to receive me or to come over here. But the day after Mark left in the desert, she sent a letter asked if I wanted to see each other." she explained. "It never happened before."
"Really? That's weird." said Applejack.
"Wait, wait, wait..." said Rarity, still reading the scroll. "Who is the second stallion she is writing about?"
Mark coughed loudly. "Doctor?"
The Doctor shook his head. "Oh no, no, no. I stay as far away as possible from royalty."
"No choice Doc! You're the second stallion, and you did help Twilight." he rolled his eyes. "I know very well you're dying of curiosity to know what's happening."
As everybody left the room to let Twilight rest, Mark found himself in the corridor with a heart breaking problem; he wasn't able to walk correctly. After falling face first for the fifth time, he stayed there lying on the floor along the wall. His now four legs hurt as they kept hitting each other. Someone who would end up finding him there, but at that moment he didn't care much.
He knew very well it was only the first of a collection of problems he would have to face, some as simply as picking and handling items. He saw ponies take objects with their mouth before, but he was obviously not very fond of the idea.
How such a pretty day could turn out so bad? Why did they do this to me? Why now and not before the trip to the moon, and what does that princess has to do with all this?
He wanted to cry, to scream, to punch a wall, but he simply felt like he had no energy left. He knew he would have to find a way to crawl back to his room. Right now, he only wished the universe would forget about him.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I am not 'alright'!" he screamed. He turned his head around to see who asked. "Ugh... I... I'm sorry Fluttershy." he apologized at the sight of the yellow mare that jumped back from his screaming. The last thing he needed right now was to alienate his friends. She looked about to flee and that sight made Mark felt even worst.
She took all her courage and moved forward. "huh... What's the problem? If you don't mind saying..." she asked with a soft but firm voice.
Mark closed his eyes. "I feel weak, I can't walk, I'm naked... I feel... vulnerable, manipulated." he explained while dropping his head on the floor. "I want to find a hole and disappear."
She stood silent for a few moments. "I fully understand."
"What? How can you..." Mark stopped noticing he was about to scream again.
"I'm not strong like the others." she said with a smile. "I'm afraid all the time." She put a hoof on his shoulder. "Let me help you."
"So, that's where you were the last week?" asked Twilight as the train rocked slightly to its side.
Mark was sitting on the bench in front of her. "Yeah. I stayed a week at her home. She trained me to walk... and to eat." He put a hoof on the table that stood between them. "You have no idea how hard it is to hold stuff with those."
"It's not that hard!"
"You were born with them. I had fingers to grab objects." he explained. "Anyway, she has a lot of patience, more than I will ever have. I was ready to give up about a hundred times, but she kept pushing me to try again."
"And?" she asked.
"And now I can walk almost normally. Don't ask me to run, I will need weeks or months to be able to. Pony's walk cycle and run cycle are really different. And... I can eat by myself once more, but not without dropping stuff once in a while." he explained slightly annoyed.
She thought for a few seconds. "If you were unable to walk, how did you reach her home?"
He rolled his eyes. "She grabbed me and carried me while flying. She is far stronger than she appears."
"Oh my..."
"Yeah, Fluttershy carry an unknown stallion with no cutie mark to her home." He shook his head. "I really hope the town won't gossips or spread rumors." The last thing he wanted was that Fluttershy would be ashamed from helping him. "Anyway, how are you? Your horn is looking much better."
She looked up. "Yeah. It is almost back to normal. A week without magic is pretty hard, I was used to do everything using it." She laughed. "Other ponies write with their mouth, but I never did that. I decided to write a letter to the princess without Spike's help. Not a good idea." She stared at him. "Which make me think, since you got a horn yourself, you will need to learn how to use it."
He sighed. "You make me think when I first saw myself in a mirror. Finding something stuck on your forehead that wasn't there before is pretty weird. As for magic, I'm not sure it's a good idea."
"How so?" she frowned.
"Seeing I had such a hard time to pick up object, Fluttershy thought it would be a good idea for me to learn telekinesis. I think she asked Spike a book about it or something." He shook his head. "A very bad idea. I might look like a unicorn, but normally you're trained from your young age."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure to follow, how was it a bad idea? I'm pretty sure learning some magic will help you a lot."
Mark focused on the glass of water that remained from their meals. His horn started to glow in a deep blue color. The same glow bathed the glass. All of a sudden, the water caught in fire.
"Woah!" she shouted jumping back. She stared at the blue flame that appeared to slowly consume the water. "How did you do that?"
"No idea, and that's the problem. I don't know what's going on, and objects tend to catch fire a bit too easily for my taste." he explained. "At least, Fluttershy had the presence of mind to make me try magic outside." he said with a small laugh.
"Well... it could be useful..."
"To light a fireplace." They both laughed at the poor joke. "Why you said the princess might have ideas on how to turn me back to norm... human?"
"She lived for... Well nopony know her real age, but she is at least over a thousand years old..." she started to explain.
"Impressive! Hey! Doctor, how old are you?" asked Mark while poking the sleeping brown stallion beside him.
"You don't want to know." the Doctor answered while turning around and going back to sleep.
"... and if somepony know, it must be her. She knows some old and secret spells, some dangerous." she finished.
Mark stared at the purple mare. "I see..."
"What?"
"You're in admiration." he said.
"Of course, she's my teacher and..."
"And you got a crush on her!" he exclaimed. He noticed that she blushed very hard and didn't deny it right away.
"I don't!" she countered a bit too late.
He understood his faux pas right away. "I'm sorry, I only meant to tease you. I can understand the attraction, she is quite pretty."
The red disappeared of her face almost instantly. "How do you know?"
"I had the chance to look at her when you blew up the planet." he threw a glance at the sleeping Doctor. "Even if you and her don't remember it. She is much taller than other ponies I saw so far, is it normal?"
"Frankly, I'm not sure anything is normal about the princesses." She rested her head on her hooves. "They are both very old. For what I know, over ten times what a pony is expected to live. They are both pegasus and unicorn, as they have wings and horns, and all other case of 'alicorn' are from their own children. But as far as I know, even their own children don't live as old as them and are not as powerful."
"Sounds pretty amazing. Any idea where they came from?" he asked back.
She sighed. "Well, no. They surely know, but they never said anything to anypony. Scientists of all over Equestria gave all the possible wild explanations you could imagine. We don't know where they came from, how old they are... Or even how they found the elements of harmony. They..."
"Elements of harmony? It's not the first time I hear you talk about that, but I never came around to ask you what it was." he cut her.
"You don't know?" she asked surprised.
"Should I?"
"Well..." she shrugged. "I guess you can't know if nopony tell you. The elements are..." she stopped to think. "They are... Actually I'm not even sure what they are. The best way I could sum them up is, they are powerful artifacts that symbolize harmony. From what I understand, they choose by themselves who weld them. Honesty, loyalty, generosity, kindness, laughter... and magic. I have no idea who made them, where or when they were made... Or even if they were 'made' in some way. There's not much information about them, as their previous users were the princesses a very long time ago."
"Previous?" His instincts were telling him some wild idea that his logical mind couldn't accept. "Would you be the element of magic?" he asked in a playful tone.
"Yes. But how do you know?"
He rolled his eyes once more. "Sorry, I was teasing again, I didn't know. Well... not true, my heart told me about it, but my brain couldn't believe it." He crossed his foreleg, a motion he found to not be as easy as it was with arms. "The other elements... Your five friends? I felt their presence on the Moon, somehow..."
"Exact."
"Crazy stuff." He leaned back on his seat. "Not the first time, and I have the feeling it's not the last, even if I would prefer to stay out of all that."
"You could."
"I haven't been given the chance to bail out so far." He looked out the window. "I think we are almost there." he said as he watched the city made of ivory and gold come closer. "It doesn't look very big, you know?"
"A good part is inside the mountain and other parts of the city are on the other flank. What you see is mostly the castle." she explained.
"Well, time to wake up the sleepy one if we want to get there on time."
"I was sure stallions were bigger than mares." noted Mark as they were walking in the street of Canterlot toward the castle's gates.
"They are. Look at the Doctor." said Twilight.
Mark turned around to stare at the Doctor. "We both know it's not his real appearance. Beside, what I meant is why I am as small as you Twilight?"
"Actually, she's a bit taller." noted the Doctor.
"Whatever!" he shouted. "It makes no sense."
"You're maybe not done growing up?" Twilight said trying not to laugh.
He rolled his eyes and tried to forget about that specific topic that bothered him for the past week. "Is it my imagination but ponies are staring at us?"
"Twilight Sparkle is the student of Celestia, I would guess she is well known." pointed the Doctor.
She shook her head in negation. "No Doctor, I came often to Canterlot, but I'm only one student among many. Sure, I'm the personal student of the princess, but I'm not really known. And trust me, it's fine with me." She stopped walking and looked around, noticing the ponies' stares. "Mark is right." She turned around and looked at the Doctor and Mark. "Oh."
"What 'Oh'?" asked Mark.
"A stallion of your age... or the age you look like... whatever! A stallion without a cutie mark is obviously a rare occurrence."
He sighed. "How rare?"
"Well, I never heard of something like that before." she answered with a smile.
"Great! They must think I got some kind of sickness, curse or whatever." he replied half angry.
The Doctor shrugged his shoulder. "Let's just move, shall we? You forced me to come here, how about we get over with it."
They followed Twilight up to the gates of the castle. Two stallions in golden armor stopped them at the doors of the royal court. "The princesses are expecting you in moment."
"Princess Luna is here too?" asked Twilight surprised.
The two guards looked at each other. "Yes." finally answered one of them.
"What's wrong Twilight?" asked Mark.
"Well, nothing is wrong. Just that Princess Luna tends to the night court, it's only unusual to see her in the middle of the day." she explained.
Mark shrugged. "You said she was a friend, maybe she just wants to see you."
A smaller stallion in a gold and red suit came to them. "The court herald." Twilight whispered. "I didn't expect it to be an official visit."
"Welcome Twilight Sparkle. It's good to see you again." the herald greeted her with a noble tone. "Who should I announce?" he asked looking at the other two ponies.
"Mark and the Doctor." she answered.
"Very well." The herald turned around and entered the court room.
Twilight looked nervous. "Stay close. Bow down when I do. Let me talk. Alright?" she quickly said.
The Doctor and Mark looked at each other. "Of course." they both answered. From behind the closed door, they could hear the herald shouted their names. At that moment, the two guards pushed the doors open. Twilight didn't hesitate and walked in. They two others followed her a few steps behind.
Mark looked around in awe; the outside of the palace was impressive, but not as much as the throne room. Every column, carpet, wall or ceiling pieces looked different from each other. Each wall was decorated of huge stained glassed that covered them from the floor to the roof, each of them displaying some kind of epic scenery. A dozen guards in golden armor were standing still on each side of the room.
At the far end of the room stood two massive thrones, one in gold with small waterfalls on each side, the other in black marbles with white and blue gems inlaid in it. Both had detailed engraving of leaves, clouds and other patterns Mark couldn't figure out.
But as much as the room was impressive, he couldn't get his eyes off the two massive ponies standing on the thrones. Both were far bigger than the guards, and maybe even bigger than what Mark remembered from the last time he saw them. Their manes were moving along an undetectable wind, one made of pastel colors, the other of a calming light blue.
Twilight stopped in the middle of the room and Mark had to move aside to not collide with her. He stood by her right side while the Doctor walked to her left side. She bowed down with her eyes closed. Mark closed his eyes and was about to do the same when he felt his hooves leave the ground. He opened his eyes in surprised to see that he was in fact floating about a meter off the ground. He looked around and saw that the Doctor was in the same situation.
Mark and the Doctor looked at Celestia as she walked off her throne, her horn glowing the same yellow color that was surrounding them. Twilight finally understanding that some was off, looked up in surprised at the flying stallions. "Princess?" she asked confused.
Celestia was slowly walking toward them, her eyes becoming white and her horn started shooting bolts of energy randomly around. She looked angry, some deep and old rage coming to the surface. One bolt burned off a good part of the carpet while another blasted off a column, making a guard jump back in fear. "After all you've done, you show up here?" she shouted. Her voice was amplified by magic, and the whole room vibrated enough to drop clouds of smoked off the ceiling.
Mark looked in despair at the Doctor. "Doctor, what have you done?"
The Doctor looked back with his eyes wide open. "I've done nothing!"
Mark frowned. "...yet?"
"I'm talking to you, Mark!" shouted the Princess. Mark's head snapped to stare at the angry princess as she kept walking toward him, her eyes locked on him.
"I... I..." he said, unable to formulate a complete sentence.
What's going on!?
The Princess looked away as both flying ponies disappeared in a purple flash. When she opened her eyes again, her horn had lost its glow and her face its angry look. Twilight could have sworn the Princess looked sad as her own horn was losing its own purple glow. For the first time, she noticed Luna was lying on the floor sobbing.
"Go with them Twilight." Celestia said to Twilight in a voice much tender then she was used too, as her shoulders dropped low.
"But..."
"No question, please." she almost whispered.
Twilight wasn't used to the Princess begging her for anything. She focused on the same spell she just used on Mark and the Doctor, and casted it on herself. With a flash she vanished from the court room.
Celestia turned around and walked to Luna.
"Tia... Do you... Do you think she will ever forgive us?" asked the Princess of the night as tears rolled off her cheeks.
The white alicorn looked back where the three ponies were standing. "I... I don't know Lu. Time will tell."
Luna raised her head and stared at her older sister. "But we are sending him to his death!"
"I..." she started, but couldn't finish. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "I know, but I wish there was another solution. Any other solution. We... we have to have faith in them." |
Planet of the Ponies | Allons-y! | One moment Mark was more scared than he remembered ever being, and the next he was falling head first in a haystack. He found himself stuck upside down, his four legs beating the air aimlessly. After rocking his whole body a few time, he managed to roll on the stack, hay still stuck to his coat and manes.
"Doctor?" he asked looking around. He didn't know where he was, and the dark lighting of the large room didn't help.
"Yeah. Right there." the Doctor answered while coming out of a similar haystack across the room.
"What was that?"
"A teleportation spell. And quite a complex one I must say, she is quite something." he answered while trying to shake off the hay for his body. "Teleporting yourself on a short distance is fairly simple. Teleporting others on long distance without following them is a completely different level of magic."
"Thanks for the information, but I didn't mean that." he replied back, slightly annoyed that the Doctor ignored that they almost died a minute ago.
"Calm down. I'm sure we will have..." he was interrupted by a purple flash as Twilight materialized in between them. "... more information soon." he finished with a smile.
"Twilight!"
She turned toward Mark with an angry look. "What have you done?"
He stood there looking at her, too surprised to answer. "Nothing! I swear, I've done nothing!"
"...yet." finished the Doctor with a laugh.
Both Twilight and Mark stared at him. "I don't see how this could be fun Doctor." reprimanded Twilight.
"Alright, sorry." he apologized. "I might know what's happening, but before, what the Princess told you Twilight?"
She looked away. "To follow you..."
"And?"
"It's not important." she countered.
"Twilight, please!" asked Mark.
"Any detail could help at this point." added the Doctor.
"She said to not ask any question."
The Doctor put a hoof to his jaw. "Interesting."
Mark couldn't stand in place, he jumped off the haystack and walked up to the Doctor. "Come on Doctor! Spit it out! Why the Princess tried to kill me?"
The Doctor laughed once again. "She did not try to kill you."
"What?" both asked Mark and Twilight.
The Doctor pointed at Twilight. "You know the Princess more than me, but I'm pretty sure if she wanted him dead, right now, he would be. She could have teleported him on the Sun or simply turn him into a rock. And even after Twilight teleported us away, she could have replicated Twilight's spell with ease and follow us here."
"Alright, then why she brought us to Canterlot?" asked Twilight.
The Doctor hit the floor with his hoof to show the certainty of his affirmation. "To give us a message."
Seeing he wasn't finishing his line of thought, both Mark and Twilight shouted. "Doctor!"
A wide smile light up his face, seeing how he was pushing them. "The message was in two parts. First, Mark... or us, did something in the past. Something important enough for the Princess to plant clues to awake our curiosity and summon us to deliver this message. Second, that we must not ask questions here and now, as he would influence our choices and judgments in what we are about to do."
"Or did." said Twilight.
"So, she is sending us on a quest, but cannot say what it is... Because we might refuse it?" summed up Mark.
"Or do it differently." finished the Doctor.
Mark thought about it for a minute. "That's pushing it, no?"
"Yet all the clues point toward that. She knew ahead of time what would happen and made sure to let us know that she did." explained the Doctor.
"But I don't understand... Why the display of rage?" asked Twilight.
The Doctor shrugged. "That's easy, to force us to flee and to seek answers. If she was all welcoming, she wouldn't have been able to send us on our way without a barrage of questions."
"Alright." said Twilight. "You convinced me. When do we leave?"
"We?" blinked Mark in surprised. "Aren't you afraid we might do terrible things? Doctor, I had the feeling messing with the timeline wasn't such a good idea."
The Doctor laughed. "In this case, I would say we already did. Or will do."
Mark sighed, as he felt that his destiny was written in stone before he even knew about it. "Ok. First, where are we?"
Twilight walked toward the end of the room and pushed against two massive doors. "Applejack's barn. I put a teleporter beacon in here in case I would need an emergency teleport." The sun light up the inside of the barn, showing haystacks and buckets of apples.
The Doctor took the lead and walked toward Ponyville. Mark trailed behind deep in his thoughts. Somehow, he was caught once again in a situation that he simply had no idea how he was fitting in. He felt he wasn't a doing a great pony as his hooves kept hitting each other.
At least I'm not falling on my face anymore.
Twilight slowed down and walked along him. "What's wrong?"
Mark kept his sight on the ground just ahead of him. "I feel small, weak, naked, manipulated, caught in a storm of events beyond my control, as if something decided of my faith without asking my opinion."
"At least you won't be alone in that storm." she replied with a genuine smile.
"True. But I'm not seeing you trying to walk on two legs." he said returning her small smile.
She stared at him. "Still bothered by the lack of clothes?"
"And the size, coat, manes, tail, horn, hooves and..." he listed slightly annoyed.
"And?"
He rolled his eyes. "The eyesight."
"What?"
"Ponies don't see like humans do, obviously. Colors are brighter, but now I see fewer details. Everything appears more flat as you got a larger field of view, but less of it overlaps in the middle." he explained. "How would you react if your eyesight just changed?"
"I had no idea."
Seeing she lost her smile, he decided to drop the topic. "And the flappy ears." he joked.
Surprised, she blinked at him . "What?"
"The ears! Pony's ears move around wildly on their own! It's so annoying." he said while moving his ears around. "See? Flap, flap, flap... With enough training I could probably take flight. Maybe if I was to spin my tail it could push me forward?"
Her smile returned. "You're kidding me."
"Only a bit. But I admit that's a lot to get used to at once." He looked ahead. "Hey Doc! Where did you park it?"
The Doctor looked over his shoulder. "Behind the next yellow house." he said nodding in a direction.
As the Doctor went around the house, he stopped in his track. Mark and Twilight almost collided with his rear. "Hey oh, Doc!" said Mark as he moved around the immobile stallion.
"It's about time you get here!" shouted Rainbow Dash.
Mark, Twilight and the Doctor stared at the five mares that were standing in front of the TARDIS. Each of them had saddle-bags, hats and clothes as if they were going on camping. It's Twilight who finally managed to break the silence. "Why are you here? How did you know?"
"Honey, we each received a letter from the Princess just after you left for Canterlot. She asked us to get ready to help you." explained Rarity.
"But you don't even know what it's all about." countered Twilight.
"Sugarcube, since when does that matter?" asked Applejack.
Twilight smiled. "Alright."
"I knew there was lot of things I didn't know or understand... but... I..." said Fluttershy while looking around the control room of the TARDIS with wide eyes.
"Overwhelming?" asked Twilight.
"A bit."
"There's nothing to be afraid of Fluttershy." said Mark trying to reassure her. "Besides, it's not a simple machine, it's alive." Mark didn't think it was possible for her eyes to get even bigger.
"Oooooh... I need one of those." said Pinkie Pie joyfully while bouncing around and inspecting every angle of the ship. "I could throw party everywhere!"
"So, where are we going?" asked Rainbow Dash while flying above the console.
Mark looked at the Doctor. "More like, when are we going?"
"I might just be a farm pony, but you sure sounded like you were talking about time travel." said Applejack.
Mark and Twilight looked at each other with a smile. The Doctor coughed. "The question is valid. When and where are we going?" Everypony turned around to see that the Doctor was back in his humanoid form, standing behind the ship's controls.
Something was whispering in Mark's head, something he knew very well. A little voice he got to talk with for a whole week. He opened his eyes, surprised he had closed them. He looked at Twilight to find she was staring at him. "You heard it too?" she asked.
"Yup." He turned around and smiled at the Doctor. "The TARDIS will get us when and where we need to be."
The Doctor pouted. "I hate when she does that."
"Come on Doc!"
He laughed. "You're right." He started to push and pull buttons, levers and other contraptions in what appeared to be completely at random.
"Allons-y!"
-- End of Book 1 -- |
Planet of the Ponies | Unknown Time | "There we are." The Doctor claimed after a few more pushes of buttons.
"Really?" a skeptical Rainbow Dash asked, "I didn't feel anything. This trip is already lacking some g-force." She flew around the controls. "You sure this thing is working correctly? I didn't feel us moving."
Pinkie Pie laughed. "Of course it moved, silly filly!" Her face became serious, "Quite a lot, actually."
Twilight ignored the cyan mare and Pinkie Pie being... Pinkie Pie and focused on the Doctor. "So, when and where are we?"
The Doctor looked troubled as he kept pressing buttons. Finally, he took some small glasses off his suit's pocket, put them on his nose and continued to examine the different displays. "This is odd. I know where we are but not when. There was a massive temporal disturbance. From the decay, I would say it happened a few weeks ago."
"We can always ask somepony the date!" a joyful Pinkie Pie said.
Twilight ignored her and asked "So, where are we?"
The Doctor pulled a lever and the screens went dark. "From Ponyville, we are on the other side of the Everfree forest, about a day's walk from the tree line."
"So, we're almost at the gryphons' kingdom's boarder?"
"Why so far away? I thought this was about the Princesses and Equestria?" a puzzled Mark asked, "And did I heard gryphons?"
"Of course, it's a country quite friendly to Equestria." Rarity explained.
"Wait... wait... Gryphon as in... Gryphon? Body of lion, head and wings of an eagle?"
Twilight Sparkle smiled at him. "What else?"
Mark rolled his eyes. "This world is full of crazies." he said while walking toward the exit of the ship.
All the ponies stepped outside and the Doctor locked the TARDIS behind them. It was a foggy morning on the almost empty plains, as only few trees were cutting through the fog. The only sound that could be heard was the slow beat of Rainbow Dash's wings. She gasped loudly as she didn't really believe in that whole time travel thing. Pinkie Pie bounced past her. "Told you!"
As the Doctor walked in the front of the group, everypony could see that he was back in his stallion form. "Where do we go? Walk to the Everfree forest or toward the griffins' kingdom?" Twilight asked.
"With this fog, I doubt we would know which way to go." Applejack countered.
"How about we go in the direction the door of the TARDIS was aiming at?" Mark offered. Seeing everypony was staring at him, he continued. "What? At this point, it's as good as any."
"Any of you already visited that gryphons' kingdom?" Mark asked while walking. They all answered with by shaking their head. Mark looked around at each of the ponies. "Any of you ever left Equestria before?" Once again, they all shook their head.
"Ponies are quite sedentary by nature," the Doctor explained, "Unlike humans, they don't have those urges of exploration... or the dream of stars."
"The dream of stars?" Twilight asked.
"Why would you climb a mountain?" Mark asked.
Twilight looked at him confused. "I don't understand."
"Because it's there." he explained with a smile.
"You're not making any sense sugarcube." Applejack countered.
Mark laughed. "A man sees a mountain and decides to climb it simply because it's a challenge. He wants to test himself and the mountain is on his path."
"Humans do stupid stuff only as a challenge?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack poked the side of the flying pegasus. "Look who's talking."
"As for exploration... Humans have those urges of learning what they don't know." Mark continued.
Twilight smiled. "I can understand that!" They all laughed at the outburst of the purple mare.
"When they get a new idea, they must prove it or disprove it at all cost. This include exploration, one would wake up one morning and ask himself; if the world is round, what's the best route around it? That desert to the south, humans would chart it only because it's there and that no one charted it before." Mark explained.
"That's quite odd." Rarity commented.
"Young ones would leave their family and go explore other countries, just to see what it is like over there. Dream of stars... it's the same thing. Some would gaze at those little dot of distant fire and wonder; what if?" Mark explained, noticing he had his head pointed up at the sky. He lowered it and stared at the road.
"I see someone had that dream before!" the Doctor cheered, making Mark blush. "That's why I love humanity so much. Everything in their eyes is new and worthy of going out there. They believe the risks never outweigh what could be gained from learning."
Mark frowned. "So why do you stay around the ponies so much?"
"You forgot I'm not human?" the Doctor laughed. "I need a pause once in a while and you can hardly find more peaceful species."
"Be quiet!" Rainbow Dash suddenly ordered. Everypony stared at her while she looked at the sky, her ears twitching around.
After a few second Twilight coughed. "What it is?"
"I think I'm hearing somepony flying over us." She raised her right ears as much as she could. "I think... I think they are circling us."
"Who could..." Twilight started, but she couldn't finish as a huge net made of heavy rope fell on them, forcing Rainbow Dash to the ground. It was heavy enough to prevent them from walking.
"What the...?" Rainbow Dash asked confused.
"Let me get rid of that." Twilight offered as her horn started to glow. However, as soon as her horn gained enough magic, it vanished as if absorbed by the net. "Oh!" was all she could say.
"I would say we went the right way." the Doctor joked.
At this point, everypony could clearly hear the sound of multiple wings and it was indeed all around them. A mass dropped from the fog and landed in front of the trapped ponies. It was a gryphon with its wings wide open. It was wearing blue and yellow armored plates around its neck and body. Its helmet, made of the same metal, was obviously shaped for flying, it was aerodynamic and its long lines were for speed and air control. Two slices in the front let its owner deep blue eyes see while the bottom was bent to cover its beak.
Oh my... He is at least four times my size! Mark thought.
The gryphon bent forward and removed his helmet with his claw while a dozen other gryphons landed around the net. The other gryphons were not as big as the first and sported less complex and polished armors plating. However, all of them had a golden stylized gryphon engraved in their breast plates. By how he walked and smiled, the big gryphon was obviously the leader as he stepped forward and stopped in front of the Doctor. "What have we got here? I guess we missed the ocean, but we still managed to fish out eight ponies!"
All the gryphons started to laugh, but never left their rigid stance, ready at all times to take flight or to block an attack. "They don't really look edible. Maybe we should throw them back in the ocean." offered the gryphon to the right of the leader. On top of his golden gryphon logo hanged two smaller blue wings.
The leader looked around and examined each ponies. "Three earth ponies, three unicorns and two pegasi. Quite an odd mix. Let's take them." On that, each gryphon stepped forward and grabbed with a claw a rope that was hanging around the net. Mark noticed that they each had a sheathed sword on their side. As they pulled the ropes back, the net closed under the ponies' legs, forcing them close to each other. With one last pull, the net was closed under them. Each gryphon passed their rope to the next until each had the rope of the gryphon facing them.
The leader took flight, quickly followed by the twelve others. As they lifted the net, now working as a huge bag full of ponies, it flipped upside down, the opening now being on the top. The whole maneuver didn't even last a minute, proof that they did it multiple times before. All the ponies fell on each other, upside down and stuck, unable to move.
"Whose horn is stabbing my flank?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Sorry! But someone's hoof is pushing my head!" Twilight apologized.
"I thought somepony said gryphons were friendly?" Mark asked.
"Doctor... you're crushing my wing. Would you mind?" the soft voice of Fluttershy was heard.
"Oh my! Deeply sorry." the Doctor apologized as he tried to move around, freeing her wing.
"Gryphons are quite friendly. Or will be." Rarity explained. "But those are quite rude."
The leader of the gryphons lowered himself to the level of the ponies and shouted. "Silence!"
"Why did you capture us?" Twilight asked.
"I said silence! And if you don't comply I will start stabbing that big bag of ponies randomly." he shouted again drawing his sword with his right claw. Seeing nopony was answering him, he flew back up toward the other gryphons.
Mark was at the bottom of the bag, his legs hanging between the ropes of the net. He would have a good view had it not been for the thick fog still covering the field. However, on the horizon he could see the sun slowly going up above the fog. The gryphons were flying pretty fast toward a huge brown and black mountain. The top was covered in snow. As they got closer, the flying gryphons gained more altitude and went above the mountain's top. Doing such, Mark could see that the mountain was in fact an old volcano, as the top was chopped off and the middle was a deep bowl of almost a kilometer in diameter.
Inside, he could see thousand houses and other buildings constructed along the inner flank of the volcano. Gryphons were flying around the city by hundreds as groups of guards were circling the city. A waterfall was slowly flowing inside the volcano's crater from a taller peak, providing water to a small lake in the middle. As they got closer, the guards flew toward a larger building with an opening on top. Mark could see the population of gryphons staring at them and he didn't like the angry look he could see in their eyes.
What's going on? They are afraid of us.
The net was slowly lowered inside the huge tower made of grey blocks of rock. As the ponies hit the ground, the twelve guards landed around them and drew their swords, aiming them at the ponies. Before the leader landed beside a huge wooden door, it opened and let a quite old gryphon enter the room. He wasn't wearing any armor but only a large brown bag on his side. "What are you getting me now? More ponies?" the old one shouted at the leader.
"They were deep inside our territory, walking toward one of our city." the leader explained.
"Whatever." the old one countered stepping forward. As he got closer, Mark could see he was missing his left eye as a large scar was covering his face. There was no feather around the scar that started above his skull and finished low on his neck. "You could have killed them instead of bringing them here. You know very well what will happen to them."
"Exactly, and we need the work force. Now do your job jailer."
"Then what are you waiting for? I don't have all day. Get them off the net." he spat back.
The other guards came forward and opened the net. Each of them grabbed a pony and placed their sword on their neck. They were lined up in front of the other gryphons. "At least you got some in good shape this time. They might last longer than the others." said the old gryphon as he looked at each of them.
He stopped at the first in the line, Rainbow Dash, and he took something off his bag. It looked like two plate of metal linked to each other with a metal cord. Rainbow Dash seeing the device tried to move away but the guard holding her kept his grip firm. The jailer strapped the plates on top of each of her wings and locked the device on her back. As long as it would stay there, she would be unable to open her wings. He repeated the same process with Fluttershy.
As he got to Rarity, he took a small metallic ring out of his bag. The guard forced her to lower her head as their new jailor clipped the ring on the grove of her horn closest to her head. By the look on her face, it was obvious she didn't appreciate the feeling.
He was about to do the same with Twilight when she started moving back, her eyes fixed on the ring. Her horn started to glow as she started panicking. The leader of the group stepped forward and slapped her face violently with his closed claws. Her horn stopped glowing as her eyes spun from the shock. The old one closed the ring on her horn while she was unable to think or move.
Mark saw red from the violence he just witnessed. He trusted his head backward, happy to feel the beak of his guards on the back of his skull. The guard dropped his sword as Mark jumped forward. In two steps he was in range of the leader and he gave him a punch in the face with his right hoof. His helmet was pushed off his face, but it was obvious surprise was painting his face more than pain.
To Mark surprised, he started laughing. "Well, look at that. I don't remember ever being challenged by a pony before!" he shouted. He drew his sword with his right claw.
Well, that was stupid.
The gryphon raised his weapon above his shoulder and was about to trust it down when Mark noticed the old gryphon throwing a small dagger toward him. Without thinking he grabbed it and blocked the leader's swing. The impact made his body shake violently and to his surprised he was left unarmed. He opened his eyes, not noticing he had closed them from the clash of the metallic weapons.
The large gryphon stepped back laughing ever louder than before as he sheathed his sword. "You obviously don't know who you challenged small one. But the law is the law and you confirmed the challenge. You have seven days to get ready." With that, he turned around, grabbed his helmet off the ground and left the room. The other guards followed him, leaving the ponies with the old gryphon.
Applejack coughed to get Mark's attention. He looked at her as she pointed at his hooves. "Your... hoof."
Mark remembered the dagger he was holding and he looked down to his right hoof. To his surprise, the dagger was held by a blue glow in the shape of a human hand, linked to the underside of his hoof. Just as he noticed it, the glow disappeared and the dagger felt to the ground. Still quite confused about the event, he turned around and nodded at the old gryphon that was watching them. "Thanks a lot."
The gryphon chuckled. "Don't thank me. I have the idea that you truly don't know what you just did."
Twilight managed to make her head stop spinning and she stepped forward. "I agree. That was reckless and stupid."
"What?" Mark shouted, surprised she was agreeing with the gryphon. "What exactly did I do?"
Applejack stepped beside Mark. "I would like to know too. I just don't know what's going on."
Twilight turned toward Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, I'm sure you know more about their customs them me. Care to explain?" Hearing her name, she stopped messing with the metal sheets that were covering her wings.
She looked at the floor, avoiding the eyes of the other ponies. "He put in question his honor. The captain thrust his sword to test if the challenge was valid and by blocking it, you confirmed it."
"Captain?" Mark asked.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "The markings on his shoulders identify him as a high ranked captain, of the royal guards if I'm not mistaken."
Applejack frowned. "Alright, and what will happen in seven days?"
Rainbow Dash avoided her sight once again. "They will fight to the death to see whose honor is right."
"That's absurd! How is killing one another will show any honor?" Rarity shouted.
Rainbow Dash sighed loudly. "It's an old tradition. In our... our... 'time' it's not used anymore. And if he backs down, the captain has the right to slash his throat open to wash the insult." she explained.
"He was about to slash me in half!" Mark shouted.
"No, he would have missed on purpose." the jailor countered. "Had he harmed you with his sword right after a challenge was casted, it would have been seen as dishonorable." He stepped forward with a metal ring in his claw. "If you swear on your honor to not use your magic to escape, I will not put a constraint on you. Because I would guess you will want those seven days to train yourself."
Mark looked down at the ring, unsure what exactly it was, but it was obvious he didn't want it on his horn. "I swear on my honor." The jailor smiled as much as it was possible with a beak and put the ring back in his bag.
"Follow me." he said while turning toward the door.
"You're not afraid we would try to escape?" Applejack asked.
The old gryphon laughed. "No insult, but I've handled far bigger stallions than you. Beside, even if you were to manage to hurt me, you're in the biggest fortress of this city. It's well guarded." He pointed toward Rainbow Dash and Twilight. "You cannot fly and cannot do magic. It would be pretty stupid of you to try anything." He exited the room. "Now, follow me."
The Doctor stood beside Mark. "You sure have a talent to get yourself in some impossible situation."
"Thanks Doc. I think I got a good teacher."
The old gryphon led them deep inside the fortress, following huge curved stairs. He stopped in front of a cell closed by metallic bars and opened the door. The room smelled like as if something died and rotten for weeks within its walls. "Sorry it's not the best place ever, but you will stay there." The eight ponies entered the room and the jailor closed the door behind them. "If you work well, you will get enough food. It's as simple as that." He looked at Mark. "I will make sure you don't get to the work camp. I imagine the King wouldn't appreciate the show if you were not able to stand on your legs." On that, he turned around and climbed back the stairs.
The room wasn't very large and the only source of light was a small window along the back wall. Like the other corridors and room they saw of the fortress, it was made only of grey block of rock. It was dirty, dusty and water dropped from the ceiling at a few places. Critters could be seen moving quickly in the shadows.
"Great! I'm as good as dead!" Mark shouted. He turned around and stared at Twilight. "Why did he say you can't do magic? What's that ring?"
She was obviously not happy about it. "The metal of the mage, or 'magium'. It's a special alloy, it absorbs magic and turns it into heat. The ropes of the net were also full of it. The more magic you try to use, the hotter the constraint ring would get. If I were to try to do a very powerful spell, it could burn my horn off."
"That's terrible!"
"In the future, those devices were outlawed after some treaty between Equestria and the gryphons' kingdom." she explained.
"Terrible! This dungeon is terrible! Are we supposed to sleep on those?" Rarity shouted as she pointed some very small stack of dirty hay.
"I admit, even my barn is cleaner than this." Applejack agreed.
"You're being quite silent Doctor." Mark commented. "Why I have the idea it's not your first time in a dungeon."
"I'm silent because I have nothing to say." he replied with a smile. "And yes, been in one a few times."
"Any advice on how to get out alive?" asked Mark. "Don't you have your sonic screwdriver?"
The Doctor trotted around the room, looking at everything. "I do have it, but the old gryphon is right. Trying to escape not only a cell, but a fortress and a city is something we might not be able to do." He stopped and stared at Mark. "As for you, I would advise you to learn how to replicate what you did with that dagger."
"The Doctor is right, if you can't wield a weapon, you won't last long in the arena." said Twilight.
Mark's sight passed from the Doctor to Twilight. "You got to be kidding! Are you saying I got any chance of winning this?" He turned around toward the cyan mare that was kicking in disgust a small pile of hay, forcing critters to flee it. "Rainbow! Is there any loopholes in that honor law?"
Rainbow Dash turned around. "Not really. It's a pretty straight forward fight to the death. And you know what they say, being ignorant of the law doesn't make you immune to it."
All the ponies stopped and stared at Rainbow Dash. "What? I was young and... and... And whatever."
Mark wasn't sure he wanted to know what Rainbow Dash did in her youth.
That afternoon, the jailor and a few guards came to get the ponies to bring them to the work camps. They all left Mark alone in the cell. He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not, but he intended to use that time to get as ready as he could. Mark got to the cell's door. "Guards!" he shouted.
After a few minutes the old gryphon got in front of the bars. "What do you want?" he asked with an angry look.
"I was wondering if you had a metal bar or anything I could train with." Mark asked.
The old one didn't answer and left. Mark was wondering if he would ever come back when he reappeared with an old rusty sword in his claw. "There. Try to not cut yourself with it." he said as he passed the sword between the bars and dropped it on the floor.
"Thanks a lot."
The gryphon pouted as he left. "And call me Keeper. Everyone calls me that."
Mark looked at the weapon; it was an old and short one hand sword that probably couldn't even cut bread. He tried to grab the sword with his mouth but quickly stopped to spit the terrible taste of rust.
How do ponies manage to carry stuff with their mouth? It's disgusting!
With his hooves, he managed to push the sword along the floor until it rested in the middle of the room. He placed his right hoof on the handle and focused on grabbing it. After a few minutes without any result, he sat down staring at the piece of metal. He concentrated on the telekinesis spell he trained with Fluttershy.
Maybe with something bigger it...
His thoughts were cut short when the blade caught fire. He quickly pushed dirt over it to extinguish it before the fire could spread. After stepping on the last bit of flame, he sat back once again staring at the rusty and now burnt blade.
The Sun was going down at the horizon when the seven ponies came back. They were all dirty and all in different states of exhaustion. Rarity was supported by Applejack as she brought her to one of the pile of hay and she laid her down on it. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were holding Twilight Sparkle upright and they too helped her to some hay.
"What happened?" Mark asked, quite concerned by the aspect of weakness shown by the two unicorns.
Applejack turned around to look at the blue stallion. "Unicorns ain't made to do physical work."
"That's an understatement!" Rarity said. "I can't feel my hooves!"
"What did they make you do?" Mark enquired.
"Twilight and Rarity were spinning some wheels to fuel air to a forge." the Doctor explained as he lay on the ground. "Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were carrying basket of ores. As for the earth ponies... we dragged block of rock used to build fortresses." He sighed. "I'm sorry you had to pull harder Applejack. I might look like an earth pony, but I'm not built like one."
"Ah shoo. Don't mention it. It only felt like a normal day of work." Applejack countered. "But Pinkie Pie surprised me. You sure have a lot of energy."
"Need to! Party is hard work!" the pink mare shouted with a huge smile.
"I'm actually a bit envious of Fluttershy. She almost did twice the work I did and she doesn't look tired." Rainbow Dash said as she lay on her side.
"Don't beat yourself over that sugarcube. She feeds and takes care of hundreds of animals every day. She's used to continuous physical work." Applejack explained. Fluttershy blushed at the praise.
Twilight rolled around and looked at Mark. "What's that burnt chunk of metal?" she asked trying to point at the middle of the room, but she gave up too tired to lift a hoof.
"It was a sword... Until I set it on fire." he explained with a small smile.
Twilight frowned. "Telekinesis?"
Mark nodded. "I didn't manage to replicate what happened with that dagger."
The Doctor lifted his head. "What exactly did you feel when you did it?"
Mark pondered the question a few moments. "I don't know. An intense desire to not get sliced in half? I guess it just felt like holding a sword with my hand. Everything happened so fast."
"Ghost limbs?" Twilight proposed.
The Doctor nodded. "That's what I think."
Mark looked at them puzzled. "I'm not following."
"Your body changed and it's wired differently. But your mind didn't. When your subconscious asked your body to grab that blade, it reacted the only way it could to achieve it." the Doctor explained.
Mark thought about it. "So... The only way to make it work would be to not think about it?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows?"
Mark continued to try to grab the sword, with no success at all. He tried to visualize the attack the captain did, replicating the feeling and emotions linked to that dangerous situation. However, no matter the efforts he put into it, the sword stayed on the ground. He tried to not think about it or to deeply think about it. The disgusting food they got didn't help. The others didn't mind that much the plain grass and flowers but Mark wasn't used to going that deep in the pony's diet. He knew very well horses and ponies of his time used to eat exactly that. He didn't mind much the vegetarian meals he was served back in Ponyville as they never really included grass.
As the days passed, Mark grew more and more concerned with the wellbeing of his friends. Each day, they would come back from the work camp more tired and hurt. After the fourth day, even Applejack started to show sign of exhaustion. He tried as hard as he could to focus on replicating the spell, or any spell for that matter, that would allow him to hold a weapon. However, his mind kept drifting toward their difficulties.
On the fifth day, Rarity came back with her front hooves bleeding. The Doctor used his screwdriver to remove the constraint ring off Twilight's horn so she could cast some healing spell. But it wasn't that effective as she would have hoped. She was as tired as the others and couldn't perform well the delicate spell. The only good news was that the bleeding stopped and it didn't look like infected with whatever could be caught in a dirty dungeon.
"We must escape!" Mark shouted. "Someone is gonna die in here!"
"We have been over that already." Twilight countered.
"Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash can probably escape by flying away. Twilight, you can escape by teleporting yourself a few time and reaching the outside of the city." Mark explained, feeling useless.
Rainbow Dash jumped forward. "I ain't running away!"
"I'm not leaving you." Fluttershy's smooth voice added.
"Accept it Mark, we are in this together." Applejack added.
Mark shook his head, he couldn't accept them dying for no reason. He wasn't even sharing their pains and efforts while they were forced to work for the gryphons. The week was almost over and at this point he didn't care much about his body being sliced in half as they would all die soon after.
"Listen, I got an idea, but you won't like it." offered Twilight.
Mark turned around and stared at the purple mare. "Any idea is better than none."
A small smile brightened her face. "You win the fight and ask for our freedom."
"What?" all the ponies asked.
"The captain said the challenge will take place in front of the king. It's a long shot, but you could ask for our freedom." she explained.
Mark's eyes widen. "You're mad! I can't even hold a sword!"
"Mark! Catch!" Applejack shouted.
Mark turned his head around to see what was going on. He saw Applejack taking hold of the rusty sword in her mouth and throwing it at him. It all happened so fast that he didn't have any time to say anything, even less dodge it. He only managed to raise his left leg to protect himself. He closed his eyes awaiting the impact, which never came.
After a few moments, he slowly opened his eyes. He found the sword stuck to his left hoof in the same way as he took the dagger five days ago. This time, his mind quickly got in gears analyzing any feelings or emotions he could get from the situation. Focusing on the current feelings, he was a bit surprised to find out he could keep it in his grip.
"How did you know?" Twilight asked Applejack.
Applejack laughed. "You and Pinkie Pie aren't the only one who can have a hunch you know." She sat down and pointed at Mark. "Last time he did it was while being attacked. A kind of protective reaction?"
"No..." Mark started, deep in his thoughts.
Applejack banked her head. "What?"
He raised his head to look at her. "I tried that already, that feeling of being attacked. It simply never worked. Both times I was focused on defending another pony. It's true both times it happened while I was directly targeted but my mind wasn't thinking about that." He swung the sword a few time, finding his grip to be firm. "It sounds so cheesy. I tried the whole week to focus on the attack the captain thrust toward me, that instinctive reaction of protecting myself."
He sighed loudly. "I guess that settles that." |
Planet of the Ponies | Time to Fight | "Good morning, sister," the younger one greeted.
"Good morning."
"You're up quite early today."
"Yes, I'm going to the front lines. The soldiers need me," the older sister explained while eating her breakfast.
The young one had a hard time to stand in place. "Could... Could I come too?"
She stopped eating and stared at her sister. "You know you have to stay here. We can't both leave."
"I... I know. But..."
"By the way, I like what you did with your mane. It looks... more mature," she said while standing up and leaving the room.
"Thank sis," the young one replied to an empty room. She hated how her sister only noticed her mane now. It somehow changed by itself almost a month ago. She tried to bring the issue with her many time, but she was such a busy mare. She didn't want to impose, after all there was so many things happening that were far more important.
Mark stood in a kind of dark tunnel made of very large blocks of black rock, probably cut from cooled lava. In front of him the light was too bright for him to make anything out aside the large metallic portcullis blocking his way. To his left stood Keeper, a kind gryphon in his own rude way. He learned over the week that the old gryphon always tried to make things better for the prisoners but it wasn't always possible. Behind him was the two gryphons guards that took him out of jail early in the morning. They didn't let any of his friends come with him and in some way he was happy that they wouldn't be there to see him die in this pointless fight. Not that he wanted to die or that he would make it easy for his opponent, but the cards were stacked against him.
He kept replaying the events in his mind and how he could have done things differently. Sadly, it all happened too fast and deep down he knew he would have done the same thing. He never liked pointless violence and now he got stuck directly into it. He wondered what got into him to follow blindly what the princess told them in a non-verbal manner. It would have been quite simpler to simply stay where and when he was and not move a single muscle. But he knew Twilight and the others would have made the journey even without him and he would have hated himself if anything happened to them.
"Deep in your thoughts?" Keeper asked while looking at him with his valid eye.
"Wondering how my life got so crazy in that last year. What I could have done differently that would have changed the outcome," he explained.
The old gryphon hummed. "Probably nothing. No point in crying over the past."
"Or the future." The gryphon stared at him surprised and confused. "Any advices?"
"Die with honor."
Mark kept himself from rolling his eyes. He looked at the dirty ground wondering how many other passed here asking the same questions. "No way out of it, right?"
"Not any I know of. Not if you want to save your friends."
Over the week, Mark spoke a few time with the old jailor and found out that a challenger dying in honor could have a last request. It wasn't guaranty that it would be granted, but from what he understood, as long as it wasn't against the honor or the safety of the kingdom, most were accepted. That's why the old one was standing there with him now, once he would be dead, Keeper would stand forward and express his last wish. He promised on his honor that he would do it and Mark felt he would keep it. The old one was keeping honor as a value above all else, even if Mark understood something in his past made him fall in disgrace.
The portcullis slowly raised and stopped half way, but even then it was enough to let two gryphons on top of each other pass the large opening with ease.
"It's time," Keeper said.
Mark started to walk, followed by the two guards. They didn't try to push him, they simply stood beside him. There was never any violence done toward a honor challenger as a injured fighter would invalidate the fight. Gryphon or not, nobody touched him in the last week. He thought about hurting himself, but that would only postpone the inevitable. Beside, the others didn't have time to waste, everyday brought them closer to exhaustion.
His eyes took some time to adjust to the bright midday sun. Once he could see clearly, he got his first look on the large arena. Somehow it remembered him on the old Roman's circus, similar in shape but different in color with its black stones. He could see thousand gryphons standing in the bleachers. They were mostly silent and were eyeing him, but some were whispering to each other and pointing claws at him. He could see anger in all their faces, but he couldn't say if it was because of him or they were looking forward the bloodshed.
To his left, a similar gate let his challenger enter the ring. There was no doubt he was proud and confident as he stared at Mark. He didn't try to keep his sight on the captain, there was no point in some staring contest.
In front of him, high above the ground stood on a large black throne a very old and large gryphon. Mark couldn't say how old a gryphon was from another, but it was obvious to him this one was much older than any other he met so far. The silver crown he was wearing made it hard to hide his royal status. The king casted an aura of power and strength and somehow Mark felt he was lucky to not have to fight him. Even on his face Mark could see anger, but somehow his appeared to be directed at the captain.
Mark could say the captain didn't notice any of this as his eyes were still locked on his price, the dark blue pony. Both challengers walked toward the king. In front of them, two swords were stuck in the ground. Mark did as Keeper told him to; he stopped in front of the right sword and kneeled. He noted with a glance to his left that the captain did the same thing in front of the other sword.
"You should be happy, I chose a weapon you could lift," the captain whispered to him. "There is no point in killing you if you can't even fight." The grin on his beak was quite obvious, it was one of a predator and he expected to enjoy the fight.
Mark swallowed hard, he knew the gryphon wouldn't make thing go quickly.
The king stood from his throne and walked to the edge of his balcony. He put his right claw on the railing. From up close, Mark could really see the king was anything but happy about what he was seeing, but again the captain was oblivious of the emotions displayed.
"Many witnessed a challenge being casted and confirmed," the king shouted with a deep voice that made Mark's bones shake. "The challengers kneel before me and the gryphons of this kingdom. We all shall witness their honor." Mark felt the king almost spitted the last word. "Fight well." On that, the king went back to his throne.
The captain and Mark stood up. The first one took his sword in his right claw and made a few swings with it. Mark focused to keep his hooves from shaking. He grabbed the sword with the aura of his old hand. He could feel sweat going down his face and cursed his dark coat for heating up so fast. The gryphons didn't appear to have any problem standing in the heat coming up from the dark stones. The only good thing was that his astral hand didn't sweat and his grip on the blade was as good as it could get. He did a few slow swings and found that the sword was light and well balanced, he would have no problem using it. But it wasn't a decorative weapon like he had in his room a life ago, this one was plain without any marking, but sharp and made to kill.
The two challengers faced each other.
The captain did a weak swing that Mark easily blocked. "Remember, you can alway give up. I will slice your throat. It will be quick and as painless as possible."
"Not gonna happen," Mark spitted out.
The gryphon took a step back with a large smile. "I'm happy you're taking the hard way. I will take my time with you."
"So be it." Mark used his rear legs and jumped as high as he could while slashing down with his right hoof. While surprised by his aggressiveness, the captain wasn't one to be caught off guard that easily, he blocked the slash with ease. He pushed the pony off him. Mark felt to his side but used the motion to roll off on his back and get back on his hooves.
Mark did a few years of fencing in college and while it gave him the experience needed to block, parry and counter some basic attacks, it was with a foil, not sword. It was obvious the gryphon in front of him had much more experience over him. On top, he felt very weird to fight on three legs.
He pushed his body off the floor with her left hoof and stood on his two back leg. He saw ponies standing on two legs before, and while his mind was used to standing like that, his body wasn't. He pushed his discomfort away. He put his right hoof in front of the other and moved his sword forward in a standard fencing position. He felt as stable as his new body could be.
His opponent was obviously quite amused by his posture. He trusted his sword forward which Mark easily parried to the right. He stepped his left hoof forward and slashed above the gryphon's sword. The gryphon was again quite surprised by his move but managed to use the motion of his own sword to dodge to the right. The smile on his face disappeared when he noticed a few half feathers lying on the ground. Mark had managed to cut off a few off the top of his right wing.
The gryphon took no time and slashed down on Mark. He blocked the best he could, but the attack was much stronger than he expected. He was still trying to keep his balance when he noticed the gryphon raising his left claw and slashing it in the direction of his face. Mark pushed off his sword but didn't manage to move back in time, the claw dug two deep lines on his face just above his right eye. However, he felt lucky that the attack missed his eye until some blood started blurring his sight. He was surprised the pain took so long to appear.
The captain didn't let him any time to breath, he slashed from the left, pushing Mark's sword out of the way. The gryphon moved to show his flank to Mark. The pony didn't understand the purpose of this move and quickly got his sword back ready to attack. He only noticed too late the gryphon's tail lifting his legs off the ground. He painfully landed on his back.
Human, I could have jumped over his tail. Maybe it was stupid to try to stand up on two like that.
Mark rolled off just in time to avoid an attack that slashed the ground. He stood back up, this time on three legs. "No more fancy moves?" spitted the gryphon.
"We'll see." In truth, after whole week thinking about it, Mark didn't come up with any useful idea. He hoped to score a lucky hit on his first strike, but that didn't work.
The gryphon started turning around him to his right. Mark quickly understood the gryphon was fully aware of the blood that kept his right eye from seeing clearly. He tried to blink to remove the blood, but more just dripped down. The gryphon leaped forward and Mark didn't manage to block in time. His opponent's sword dug deep in his right flank, but to his surprise the gryphon pulled his sword before it got too deep. The pain burned in his cut muscles but he refused to scream.
He has a much greater reach then me. If only I could levitate that sword and stand back. I'm sure Twilight would already be done with it. Maybe...
Mark pushed the heat and the pain out of his mind and focused on his opponent sword. While the spell was in theory a levitation spell, he knew very well it wouldn't work. The gryphon, surprised to see the pony's horn glow stopped and put himself in guard. It gave Mark the time needed to cast the spell. The captain let out a bark in surprise and dropped his weapon as the blade caught in fire.
Mark didn't waste time, he leaped forward and swung his blade downward. Once again, the gryphon was faster than him, he caught the moving blade with his right claw and punched the pony in the face with his left.
"You're full of surprise. I can't hold my own sword, so I'm taking your," the captain said calmly.
Mark did a few steps back, his head was spinning from the impact. His sight was blurred by the sweat and the blood and now he was seeing stars. It took a moment to notice he wasn't holding his weapon anymore. He got his focus back just in time to roll side way to avoid another attack. Looking around, he noticed the captain's sword, still burning on the ground. He jumped in its direction just as another attack cut the tip of his tail.
He grabbed the sword. The heat created by the burning metal wasn't comfortable, but the space between his hoof and the sword created by his magical hand was enough to keep it in grip. If he had real hands, he would have been unable to hold it at all.
He lost no time, feeling the captain behind him, he spun around and slashed downward. The gryphon easily blocked once again, but was rewarded by a rain of burning metallic shards on his face. He raised his left claw in an attempt to remove the burning bits off his beak. Mark trusted his weapon forward, but even blind the gryphon managed to dodge at the last moment. A dozen more feathers dropped on the ground, cut off the gryphon's neck.
The captain wasn't happy at all, the fight wasn't going the way he planned. Sure, the pony was bleeding and had a hard time to stand on his hooves, and in the end he would win, he had no doubt about it. However he was still as aggressive as he was when the fight started. He wanted to break his moral first, but it wasn't happening. He trusted his sword forward with all his strength.
Mark didn't manage to parry or dodge in time, he only managed to change the attack's trajectory. The blade cut deep in his left shoulder and bounced off his clavicle. This time, he didn't manage to himself from screaming in pain. Over the pain, he tried to focus once more on his opponent's weapon.
"It's not gonna work twice," the gryphon spitted as he kept his claw moving around.
The motion was too fast for Mark to focus on. Instead, he stared at the ground right behind the gryphon. The ground caught in fire and the captain jumped in surprise as his tail and rear legs were hurt. Mark hoped he would look behind to see what was attacking him, but instead the captain deployed his wing and took flight.
Right, they can fly.
The gryphon dived with his sword pointed at the unicorn. Mark knew he couldn't dodge in time so he pointed his own sword at the diving creature. At the last moment, the gryphon slashed sideway, putting both weapon out of the way. Mark was also pushed side way by the force of the impact. The captain brought his rear legs forward and attacked the exposed flank, leaving six deep bloody marks.
The captain landed on the other side of the pony and turned around. He was surprised to see the pony already trying to face him and attack. He used his left claw to attack his jaw, cutting open his left cheek. The strength of the attack made the small pony spin in the air, his weapon flying away. He landed hard on his belly.
Mark felt blood in his mouth and the heat from the black stones burning him as he laied on the ground. He opened his eyes and saw his burning blade only a few hooves away from him. His whole body was screaming in pain. He started to crawl toward the weapon, his only goal was to grab it and block the next attack.
"It's time for you to give up little one," the gryphon said behind him.
"Never!" Mark managed to answer between his teeth as he was only a few second off grabbing his sword.
"As you wish." The gryphon moved forward and grabbed his mane with his left claw, forcing his head backward and exposing his throat. No!
While the motion didn't feel natural to his mind, it was for his body. He put his front hooves on the ground and pushed his rear one as hard as he could. Much later, he would remember this equine move as 'bucking', but at this moment, his mind was only focused on pushing the captain away and grabbing his weapon. He was happy to feel his hooves connect with his opponent and he felt his mane free once again.
He felt back face first on the ground. He lost no time and crawled the last remaining distance to his blade. He grabbed it and rolled around to block whatever attack would come. He couldn't keep a scream of pain as he rolled on his wounds. His legs were shaking and he was out of breath. Only then he noticed his weapon was no longer burning as the dirt had put it off, but he didn't care much about that.
After a few moments, he noticed no attack was coming. He looked around and from his point of view, he couldn't see his opponent. He took that moment to try to catch his breath and blink the sweat and blood away from his eyes. After he was sure he wouldn't be victim of a surprise attack, he rolled around once more wincing at the pain. His left leg had a hard time to keep him up as the cut on his shoulder made it shake violently.
Once back on his hooves, he looked around and found the shape of the captain lying on the ground not really far from him. Keeping his sword between him and the gryphon, he slowly walked around it until he saw his face. His beak was cracked in the middle half and his eyes were closed. Mark poked him with the tip of his sword and the gryphon didn't react.
An upward kick to the nose... It would knock out cold a human too. One very luck shot.
As the adrenaline dropped, it took all his remaining strength to not simply collapse on the spot. His body started shaking violently. He put his sword on the neck of the unconscious gryphon.
"Do as you must," the king said, standing behind the railing of his balcony. Mark was surprise to see that all anger was gone from his face, replaced by what he could only described as sadness.
Mark managed in pain to raise his head and looked at the king. "His life is mine to decide," he tried to shout, but it didn't come out very loud. Somehow the king managed to hear his word and nodded. He stared at the gryphon before him and after a moment threw his sword away. "And I decide to spare it." He took a few steps back.
"Are you sure?" The king questioned him.
"I challenged him to defend my friends. I won and that's enough. I see no point... no honor in taking his life now that he cannot defend it. However, I do have a request great king." Mark managed to shout. After all that, he was surprise how the thousand gryphons in the audience managed to stay completely silent.
"I'm listening."
"Me and my friends were taken prisoners for reasons we are unaware of. We are from far away and are no threat to this kingdom. We would like our freedom."
The king hummed and nodded. "You spared the life of my son. I will..."
"Your son?" Mark shouted as he stared at the gryphon lying before him, completly forgetting his manner while talking to royality.
The king simply ignored the interruption and let a small smile. "You're really strange, little one. You got in a fight with another you knew nothing about. As I was saying, I will take your request into consideration. You will have my decision by the end of the day."
On that, the king took a polished metallic sphere in his right claw and smashed it on the floor. The loud noise was the signal that the event was over and the gryphons of the audience started leaving the arena. While they were silent the whole time, the moment the king announced it over, they all broke down into loud discussions.
Mark felt himself falling to his left, he had no strength left and the heat of the sun finally got to his head. However, his fall was cut short when he got his head deep in some feathers. Looking up, he saw Keeper standing beside him.
"You fought well today. Much better than what I expected of your kind."
"Thanks, I guess. Do you know why the king didn't answer my request right away?"
"Here, no king takes a decision right away. He will go seek the advices of the elders and make his mind after that. But I know the elders, they saw you fight. They won't ignore you." The old gryphon straightens himself. "Sorry, but you will have to get out of the arena on your own legs. I'm not carrying you."
Mark sighed.
The great king Stormwings was holding a cup of the best wine made by his kingdom, but today the dark beverage brought him no pleasure. How could things get out of claws like that? He couldn't say. When he was younger things was so simpler; fight for survival, war against dragons, battle against the storms and nature itself.
What he was about to do was the hardest thing he ever had to. He would face a dozen mature dragons right away instead of doing what was to come.
When he heard knocking, he put his silver cup on a table and faced the door.
"Come in."
His only son came in, his once proud face bowing down in shame.
"Father! My king," he said while bowing down.
The old one turned around and walked to a small balcony with a view over the volcano city. He didn't want his son to see his tears, even if he had cried them all a long time ago. "I'm no more your father, nor your king."
"What? But..." tried to ask the captain, confused by his actions.
He turned around once more, anger painting his face. "Had I known who you were challenging, I would have canceled the fight before you stepped in the arena," the king shouted.
His son looked at him confused. "I don't understand."
"You fought a child, not even old enough to be allowed to work," the ruler spitted in disgust.
His eyes widen in surprised. "That's impossible... I..."
"You have sharp eyes but you can't see. He is smaller than a grown mare and he has no marking on his flank. He's twelve... Fourteen at best," the old one explained without containing his fury. "For the first time in over two centuries all the elders agreed unanimously on this. You brought dishonor on yourself the moment you sealed that challenge. Winning or losing this fight would have ended the same way."
Stormwings walked to his table and sat behind it. "I questioned the guards, you captured six defenseless mares, a colt and an old stallion that isn't even able to pull a block of rock. The mares tried to cover the old stallion by doing his work for him." He stared at his silver cup. "It might be a good thing you lost. Had you win, the dishonor would have been put on the whole clan. The crown would have been taken to another one. Losing, the dishonor is only on yourself." He took time before staring at his son. "All the elders agreed, this pony now owns your life and we are releasing him and his friends."
Tears he thought dried long time ago formed in his eyes, but he didn't care anymore if his son saw them. "You are exiled from this land. You are to never return as long as I live."
"Father, I..."
"Freewind... my son. You've always been impetuous and you always acted without thinking. Maybe... maybe this little pony will be able to show you that honor isn't just about slashing your enemy down. Had you been at his place, can you really say you would have acted with as much honor as he did?" The former captain saw a broken gryphon in front of him. He couldn't remember a past moment where his father looked that weak and helpless. "Maybe one day you will come back, stronger and more mature. I hope you do. But I won't be alive to see it. You gone, my enemies' claws will soon be around my throat."
"Now go. You have a new master to serve." |
Planet of the Ponies | Time to Go | Her sister has been gone to the frontlines for weeks now. Or was it only a few days? She couldn't remember as days started to blend with each other. Her mane kept growing and while she did enjoy its new look and feel, its changes worried her. Her sister wasn't around for her to express her concerns.
She always been the lone type, this situation wasn't new. So why was she feeling that desperate? It was as if her heart was now a vast void and when she would probe it she could feel billion years of loneliness. The simple idea of such a long span spent alone was overwhelming, making her head hurt and spin. It was as if an unknown entity had taken residence insider her. Of course, that was quite a silly idea, isn't it?
When would her sister come back? She couldn't say.
As hard as she tried, ignoring it just became harder. Somehow, as her mane grew so did her powers. Spells that would require her efforts and focus were now performed in a blink and without a sweat. Others were now looking at her with far more respect in their eyes, something she didn't mind much.
She looked outside her room at the city, brightly lit by a morning sun. She always loved that sight. Something inside her twitched and hurt. She backed away from the window and hid in the shadows. Why were the sun rays hurting her? It never happened before, it was as if her head and mane were on fire.
She needed her sister.
If he wasn't close to passing out, Mark would have thanked Applejack and Rainbow Dash from keeping Pinkie Pie off him as her first reaction was to hug him. Right now, he was only happy to be there. When he came back in the prison cell, they were all happy to see him alive, even if he wasn't in an amazing shape.
"I knew you would win." Applejack proclaimed.
Mark rolled his eyes as he was lying on his unhurt side. "You know you're a terrible liar?"
She laughed, "I think I heard that before."
"He fought well," said the jailer while standing in the doorway.
To Mark's confusion, Keeper didn't look surprise and made no comment when the Doctor removed Twilight's constraint with his sonic screwdriver. She didn't waste time and start casting some healing spells on his wounds.
"Don't move," she said. "I'm not a good healer. I'm afraid you will keep some scars from that."
"That's good. He will look like a pirate," Rainbow Dash claimed.
Twilight frowned at the comment and simply decided to ignore it. "Once we are home, a real doctor will be able to remove them."
"If you don't mind, I would like to stay away from any hospital for a few years. I got my share of those."
After about ten minutes of focus and spell casting, she moved back. "Well, that should be it," Twilight said. She noticed Mark had passed out or felt asleep, she couldn't say which.
"Already? You're a far better healer than you say," Rarity commented.
She rolled her eyes and pointed at Mark. "No, his wounds weren't very deep. Only his shoulder will probably need more work later." She turned around and looked at the old gryphon. "I thought it was a fight to the death?"
She was surprised to hear the gryphon laugh. "He was playing with him. I don't think he took him seriously. The prince obviously didn't expect that little pony to have that much kick in him."
"Prince?" five mares shouted as one.
"He kicked a prince? That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash said with a huge smile. "What?" She asked seeing everypony else staring at her.
"That's bad!" Twilight shouted in horror. "Mark killed a prince of the kingdom?"
The old one stopped laughing. "No, he didn't. But no doubt he will have a shattering headache for a few days." A guard interrupted the gryphon and whispered to his ears. He looked at the guard with surprise while this one shrugged and left. "Well, that was unusually fast." He turned toward the ponies. "The king sent his decision; you're free."
"Just like that?" Rarity asked.
"Just like that," the jailor answered. "Well, you might get more than what you bargained for, but it is not my place to say. I will go fetch your bags while you wake him up," the gryphon said while pointing at Mark. He turned around and left leaving the door unlocked behind him.
Rainbow Dash pushed Mark and got no reaction. "I don't think he is sleeping."
"Maybe the heat got to his head?" Fluttershy proposed.
Twilight frowned. "He walked across the desert, I think he got a good resistance to that."
"He wasn't a pony back then," Applejack proposed.
Rarity moved closer and stared at Mark's face. "He's faking."
"No sport. Can't a guy rest two minutes?" Mark said while trying to look angry.
Twilight poked him on his hurt flank making him winced in pain. "No. Time to go sleepy head."
Two guards came with their bags and escorted them outside the city. While walking across the city, the crowds of gryphons stopped talking and shot angry looks at the ponies. Some whispered while pointing claws at them while other would keep their younglings from even looking at them.
"Why they look at us like that?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I don't know," Applejack answered. She looked at one if their guards for an answer but he only reply with a sharp move of his head, signaling to move. "And I think our friends here are the non-talkative type."
"I noticed the same thing when we were captured," Twilight added.
"And in the arena," Mark said.
"I was sure this city was much bigger than this," Rainbow Dash commented. "What?" she asked after noticing the look of her friends. "Stop staring at me every time I talk!"
"Well duh, we are in the past, silly filly!" Pinkie explained as if it was the most obvious thing.
While walking, they couldn't shake off the feeling that they were seen as dangerous monster, invaders or even some kind of traitors. All the gryphons kept their distance, the crowd letting them an empty path as if they were carrying some sickness. After a walk without any incident, they arrived at the edge of the city, which was also the wall of the volcano. A large and long tunnel was dug directly through it. The black rock, cooled lava, made the passage very dark. After a minute walking in the tunnel, the sun light couldn't reach them anymore. It was obvious that the gryphons had a better eye sight than the ponies.
At the end, two huge doors made of blackened steel were closed. One of their guards went to talk to the dozen soldiers that were keeping the entrance to the city. After what appeared to be an intense discussion, the guard came back while some soldiers disappear in smaller tunnels around the doors. Sounds of gears and chains impacting against each other reverberated in the tunnel while the doors were slowly moved apart. They stopped moving almost as fast as they started, leaving only a space large enough for a pony to go through.
One of the guards simply made a rude motion toward the doors, the message was clear, leave and never come back. The ponies crossed the doorway one after the other. As soon as the last one was clear of the doors, they started closing and shut with a loud bang. Outside, they were blinded by the sun, but once their eyes were used to the bright light, they could clearly see they were not alone. Mark was the first to recognize the gryphon.
"You! What do you want now?" He spitted out in anger.
"My life is your," the gryphon with a cracked beak whistled while slightly bowing down. The motion was clumsy as if the gryphon never really executed it before.
Mark looked at the other ponies, but he could clearly see on their faces that he wasn't alone left without any understanding. His sight stopped on the pony that looked the less confused. "Rainbow! You know gryphons better than us, what is he talking about?"
"I'm not sure."
He could see he wasn't alone with no idea how to handle this new situation. He looked at Twilight but she simply returned his own probing look and shrugged in a way that said 'your problem, deal with it'.
"Huh... Yeah, about your life... I decided to spare it, remember?" For some reason the bowing gryphon wasn't making him at ease at all. The fact that he was still much taller than him even while bowing wasn't helping. "So... Shoo... Huh, go back doing whatever a gryphon does."
"You're my master. I will follow you and do as you ask."
Mark's eyes went ballistic, that was the last thing he was expecting or wanted and from the look of thing the other ponies were in the same state. Except one, which the loud laugh managed to get everybody's sight locked on her, Rainbow Dash was lying on her back obviously having a hard time to breath.
After some long awkward moments, Rainbow managed to control her laughing enough to ask "When you spared him, you claimed his life?"
"I did not! I only said what Keeper told me was the ritual words. Something along the lines 'his life is mine to dec...'" Mark's face went cold when he understood the underlying meaning of that sentence. Seeing his face, Rainbow Dash started another round of laughing.
The Doctor put a hoof on his shoulder and with all the seriousness he could gather, claimed, "Well, now you have a new friend." The distress on Mark's face pushed the other ponies overboard and they all joined Rainbow in laughing.
"Come on! It's..." He decided to simply not say anything as nobody was listening anyway. He could see that the gryphon looked as annoyed as him. "You! Since I'm your... bleh... 'master', can't I just order you to go back to your life and leave me alone?"
The gryphon looked weak and defenseless. "I can't. I've been exiled."
"What? Exiled for losing?"
"No. For casting a dishonorable challenge," he explained.
The ponies managed to stop laughing and stared at Mark and the gryphon. "What are you talking about? You're not allowed to fight ponies?" Mark asked more confused than ever. That made no sense to his mind, if there was such a basic law, the prince of the kingdom would have known it. Remembering the reaction of the king when he stepped up in the arena, that explained the idea of a dishonorable fight, but not the no-pony rule.
"No..." The gryphon stared at the ground as if he was deeply ashamed of something and he was caught in the act. He pushed a pebble with his claw. "We are not allowed to challenge a child."
"What?" He shouted but no one heard him. The damage was done, the seven other ponies were all on the floor laughing.
At some point the Doctor managed to get on his hooves and put one back on his shoulder. Mark could see tears coming from his eyes from laughing too much. "You know... kid," was all he managed to say before going back to the ground laughing. Mark shot him an angry look.
He simply decided to wait for everypony to calm down before trying to say anything. Once the noise was almost gone, he turned back toward the gryphon which obviously didn't enjoy the laughing party. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm probably older than you. Thinking about it, the only one who's older than me here is the Doctor."
"I'm twenty one cycles," claimed the gryphon with whatever remained of his pride pointing his chest with a claw.
"And I'm almost thirty. So scram! Exile lifted!" Mark shouted back, obviously losing his patience.
"But... you have no marking on your flank and... you're so small!" The comment made Mark put a hoof on his face as the others went back to another round of laughing.
"Look, I'm not gonna argue about that. Point is, I'm older than you. That's it. Go back to your life. Now," Mark managed to say calmly but with a huge dose of irritation in his voice.
"I'm sorry, but a decision made by the king and the council of the elders is always final," the gryphon answered while looking genuinely disappointed.
Mark's right eye twitched as the others kept laughing, he couldn't find a way to get rid of the gryphon and he looked quite determined to not leave him alone. "Fine!" Mark screamed while he started walking away. "Whatever! One more crazy, I'm sure no one will even notice."
Since there wasn't any fog, they didn't have any problem getting their bearings and they walked in the direction they hoped would be the Equestrian's boarders. They were released late in the afternoon so they only had a few hours before they stopped for the night. Twilight got her magic working and soon they were lying or sitting around a bright fire.
When asked, the prince claimed the news of their released was broadcasted to all the patrolling guards and they wouldn't try recapturing them. They were all relieved as none of them wished to be caught again.
Somehow, the gryphon managed to sit beside Mark and was staring at the fire. Mark felt the gryphon choose this place on purpose, but he had no way to prove or disprove it. But one place or another, the simple presence of the creature that not even a day ago wanted nothing more than to kill him was making him nervous.
"Seriously, I have no idea how you manage to eat hay." Mark said looking at no pony in particular.
"What's wrong with hay?" Applejack asked raising her head from her own meal.
Mark dropped his bowl on the ground. "What's wrong? It's dry, tastes nothing and feels like I'm chewing on wood or something."
"I guess it's an acquired taste," Rarity commented.
He tried to get rid of some hay stuck in between his teeth. "I guess they forgot something when they changed me."
"Fried hay is good!" Rainbow Dash added.
"Wrapped in bacon maybe." Mark whispered. He looked at the gryphon who appeared confused by the discussion. "What's your name?" he managed to ask.
The gryphon moved around but kept his sight away from the pony. "It's not important," he finally came to answer.
It almost made Mark crack a smile. "Well, I can't just go around and call you 'hey, you' or 'gryphon' or even 'mountain of feather'."
The poor attempt of humor went totally unnoticed by the gryphon. "I'm Freewind, but you can call me whatever name you see fit, master."
Mark noticed that Twilight's head raised at the mention his name, but the last word made Mark go ballistic. He decided he would ask Twilight later if she knew that name. He stood up and walked in front of the gryphon. "Alright! Listen very carefully, this will be my first and last order; you will never call me master ever again. You will never act as being under me or under my command. Is that understood?" Mark shouted while pointing a hoof at him.
"Everyone is commanded by another, no one has no leader," he replied.
Mark sat down. "I don't deny that!" He shook his head. "But having a leader never meant a slave-master relationship." He felt Freewind didn't understand him, so he decided to talk in words the gryphon would understand. "Blindly following someone's order display no honor, only stupidity. Honor can only come if you communicate with your leaders, understand their motivation and truly believe in what they say."
Freewind looked down as he thought of the pony's word. He wasn't expecting any kind of wisdom coming from a pony about honor and somehow he felt his claim about being older than him was true. "Why didn't you kill me?"
Mark's hoof moved almost on his own as he slapped the gryphon. Both slightly moved back in surprise as the gryphon held his jaw with his claw.
"You truly have no idea, do you?" Mark asked angry. He remembered of how the gryphon acted in the arena. "Honor... I think I start to understand you problem. You're mixing honor and fame." He sat back and stared at the much bigger creature. "Alright, what is honor?"
Freewind looked around in surprise, he couldn't predict any of the pony's action. He was expecting him to answer that he spared him to humiliate him or to gain control over him. Instead he slapped him while it was obvious the other ponies were minding their own business. "I don't know."
"You're lying. You have you own idea of what it is. Whatever, I will give you my own point of view." Mark moved closer and stared him in the eyes. "There is only one creature alive that can tell you if you're acting with honor or not, it's yourself. The actions that bring you the most honors are those no one sees you do, because they are the only one you perform without ever thinking about what others think about you."
"The only thing you are never allowed is to give up. The only moment your death bring you honors is if you die for someone else survival. If you were to die by any other way, it would be dishonorable. Do you understand why?"
Freewind looked around for help, but it was obvious there wasn't any. "I... huh... no."
"Because when you die, you prevent yourself from performing more honorable actions in the future. You can do mistakes now, but you can always fix it tomorrow. You can dishonor yourself today, but you have the rest of your life to gain it back. Giving up is never an option, when you survive while you should be dead, you're thankful for the chance you were given and you move forward."
"It... It doesn't explain why you let me live."
"Knowing how I see honor, what kind of honor do you think I would have gained killing one that wasn't anymore a threat to my friends' lives or my own? Do you really think preventing someone else from performing potential future honorable acts would bring me any? If you want to go by the numbers, I would say I would lose as much honor as you could do."
Freewind didn't answer and only stared at the ground, but his eyebrows, which in his case were only a line of small feathers of slightly darker color, were hard at work moving around as he was deeply thinking about Mark's speech.
Mark offered him his right hoof. "Name's Mark Anderson."
He took the hoof with his right claw and shook it. "Mark... that's not..."
"A pony name, I know."
Mark left the gryphon deep in his thought and walked up to Twilight. "Hey."
"Nice speech," she replied. "But I'm afraid all that stuff about honor isn't much in ponies mentality."
"Replay the last part of my speech and replace the word honor by friends or friendship."
Twilight frowned. "That's... weird."
Mark laughed. "Probably. I saw you react at his name. What is it?"
She came close to him and whispered. "It's terrible; we are doing a horrible mistake." Her face was proof that she meant it.
"Why?"
"Freewind, I know this name because it's in the history book. He is not supposed to be exiled, he is to become king!"
Mark's eyebrows rose up. "You're sure? Like he couldn't be another Freewind?"
She shook her head in negation. "Another one who is prince?"
"Well, might be a common name in the royalty." She stared at him, obviously skeptical. "Right, not likely." He looked at the gryphon which was lying on the ground his eyes closed. "Anything else those history books said?"
"Sorry, I don't remember much."
"Wait! Do you mean you know when we are?" Applejack asked who obviously overheard their conversation.
"I'm not sure, gryphons have very long life span and most of Equestrian's books about their history are written in a myths and legends way. They never talk about dates and era," she explained. She lowered her head in shame. "And I never learned their calendars, which is quite different from ours."
"Hey!" Everyponies turned their head to look at Pinkie Pie who bounced in front of Freewind. "I'm Pinkie Pie! Want to be friend?"
"I'm surprised she waited that long," Twilight whispered to Mark.
The gryphon was looking genuinely confused by the bouncing mass of pink in front of him. "I'm sorry, but not now."
"Oh! I know this! You want some space, right?"
"Right," he replied eyeing Pinkie as if it was some kind of trap.
"Freewind," Twilight asked, hoping to divert his sight from Pinkie. "I noticed all the gryphons were giving us some angry look as we were leaving the city. Any idea why?"
"Well, you're the enemies," he answered as if it was as obvious as water being wet.
The ponies all looked at each other wondering what he meant. After a moment they all locked their sight on the gryphon that suddenly didn't feel quite at ease. "What the hay do you mean?" Applejack asked back. "I thought the gryphon's kingdom was friendly and all," she said while looking at Rainbow Dash, who simply shrugged in answer.
"Allied? We are at war. We have been for almost a decade."
All the ponies turned their head to stare at Twilight. "I... I don't know! I never heard of any war! There are no words about that in any of the history books I've read. There have been... disagreements, battles even, but no war!"
The gryphon looked at each of the pony one after the other and found the same confusion painting their faces, except for the brown stallion that was standing a bit away from the group. "Where do you come from for not knowing that war? And why you keep talking about history?"
"Oh, this is gonna be interesting," the brown stallion simply said with a smile.
"You're not helping doc," Mark replied with a quick angry look.
"We come from the future," Applejack simply answered.
All the ponies stared at her with their eyes wide in surprise while the Doctor was laughing. "Well, that's honesty for you alright," Rarity commented.
Freewind's head was moving quickly as he tried to find any sign of them trying to lie to him, but couldn't find any. "What... What are you?"
The Doctor managed to stop laughing only a short while. "It's only getting better," he said between two chuckles.
"He's human," Rarity said while pointing at Mark. "The laughing one is a timelord and for the six other, we are the bearers of the elements of harmony," she explained with a huge smile. She slightly bowed down. "At your services." She winked at Applejack. "I can be honest too."
"What is... I don't..."
"Oh, no fun! You messed up the brain of that poor Windy!" Pinkie Pie said while looking concerned about the gryphon.
"The poor thing!" Fluttershy said with a soft voice.
"And for months, I thought I was crazy," Mark said with a smirk.
Freewind, his eyes wide in panic, was stepping backward as Fluttershy and Pinkie were moving toward him. In a final step, he turned around and took flight, fleeing fast in the dark night.
"Way to go girls," Twilight said.
"He lost it," Applejack added, but she was pointing at the laughing Doctor who was now on his back trying to breath between two laughs.
"Try to get some sleep. We still have days of walk to reach Equestria," Twilight added as she pulled a blanket out of her bag. Doing so, a piece of paper slipped out of her bag. Taking it in her magical aura, she examined it and sent it flying toward the Doctor who was slowly managing to get back on his legs. "Letter for you, Doctor!"
"What?" the Doctor said while taking it in his hooves. He opened it and quickly read the few lines that were covering the paper. As he read it, his hooves started shaking. He dropped the paper in surprise and kept staring at it as it lied on the ground. Tears were coming to his eyes and he didn't bother to wipe them. They felt down and quickly started to cover the paper with wet spots.
The ponies looked at each other in shock, the Doctor passed from the happiest pony to crying rivers. "What's wrong, Doc?" Applejack asked.
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong! It's..." The Doctor said before he finally noticed the tears. "It's alright! Amazing even!"
Twilight picked the paper with her magic and glanced at it, but quickly found out she couldn't make sense of the weird symbols covering it. "What it is?"
"It's... Keeper! He's a timelord!" The Doctor almost shouted with a large smile.
"Our jailor?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yes!"
"Well... That's great," Rarity said, unsure how to take the news.
The ponies lied around the fire, each with their blankets. They didn't know how to take the Doctor's sudden burst of emotions and none felt like pressing him to say something he didn't on his own. Before any other pony managed to fall asleep, Pinkie Pie was already snoring.
Mark walked up to the Doctor, who was standing in his humanoid form in a distance of the fire. He was staring at the night sky with a huge smile on his face.
"I hate this. I almost look like a big dog compared to you now. And to know that I was taller than you before," Mark said.
The Doctor just stood there silent.
"Come on Doc! Spill the beans! You told me you were the last of your kind! What that letter said exactly?"
The Doctor finally stopped staring at the stars. "It's a long story."
"I have time and you look like you could use a listening ear."
"I do?" the Doctor asked with a small smile.
Mark pouted. "Well no. You look somewhat happy, but I'm curious."
"I destroyed my species," the Doctor simply said.
"What?"
"There was a war, a horrible one. All wars are horrible, but this one was hell," the doctor explained while sitting down, his face almost leveled with Mark. "The last great time war. Time, in some aspect, is like a road. If too many people use it at the same place, it gets worn out and can break down. Or if there are too many paradoxes or changes in it. In this war, millions traveled in some specific moment and place to try to do or undo events; two sides trying to destroy each other by preventing the other from existing in the first place. When time itself break down, we call this a timelock. Nobody can enter or exit a place that is timelocked, both by traveling in space or time."
The Doctor sighed and looked at his hands. "Imagine if you made a wrong turn, stepped in the wrong direction and you would age a thousand years in an instant. The timestream regulates how matter age and when it's damaged or destroyed... A timelocked planet is simply a place where nothing can live anymore and all that lived on it is erased from existence... from history"
"That's terrible!"
The Doctor nodded. "This war covered countless planets, hundreds of species. The enemies were numerous and without mercy, religious zealots that believed their species was the only one worthy of living. At first, we fought to protect the other species that couldn't but as the war went on, we fought to survive. At the end, my species decided to 'ascend' at the next level of consciousness to survive it. Their idea was to destroy time itself to get rid of the other side and prevent them from doing the same."
"Is that even possible?"
The Doctor let out a weak smile. "Yes. And they had the will and the means to do it. Had they done it, all species in the universe would have been destroyed, but the timelords would have survived. I understand why they came to this, the horrors I... and they witnessed were beyond what people should ever face in their lives."
Mark sat down and stayed silent.
"I used a weapon, a terrible one. It erased from history both sides of the war. Doing so, it timelocked my planet and hundred others in an instant. I... I couldn't accept what my government had decided. It ended the war. I, and another, were the only ones to survive 'the Moment'. He was dangerous and insane, but he died a while ago. So I was left the lone survivor of the Timelords."
"I know it may not count for much, but I, for one, I'm grateful you did," Mark said. "Thousands species lost... That's a lost that can't be counted. But isn't there billions in this universe?" Mark blinked as he thought he saw something move in the dark. After noticing what it was, he looked back at the Doctor.
The Doctor smiled and closed his eyes. "Yes. That's why I did it."
"So who is Keeper? Someone you know and managed to survived?"
"No. That weapon was special; it targeted every Timelords and their opponents. It was... instantaneous across time and space. And I knew no 'Keeper'," the Doctor explained.
"How do you know that letter was from a Timelord?"
The Doctor took the letter out of his trench coat and showed it to Mark. He could see the symbols glowing with golden energy. The flow of yellow particles was giving him a headache as he looked at them. "Is that..."
"Yes, only a Timelord can use time itself as ink. Well, that and the fact it's written in the Timelord language."
"Good enough I guess." Mark thought about it for a moment. "Call me crazy... But aren't you alive?"
The Doctor frowned. "Well yes, I don't..."
"As long as you survive, the timelord does too, no? Well, it's a weird idea, but how about he is your children or grand-children or very remotely grand-grand-grand children?"
"I don't have any!"
"Yet."
The Doctor let the thought sink in his mind. "Well... who know. The universe isn't done surprising me. I doubt I will know, his letter said he would leave as soon as we left the city."
"Doctor... Aren't you named like that because you try to heal or mend the time flow or something like that?"
The Doctor let a small laugh. "It's a way to see it."
"I wonder what Keeper is keeping. Or protecting?" Mark saluted the Doctor and left him too surprised to answer. The Doctor's mind was wiped clean by the pony's last comment. The implications were frightening, but it also awoke something the Doctor thought was dead inside him; hope.
Mark walked away in the dark, toward a lone tree in the plain. The shadow that was moving around froze when it noticed it had been discovered. "Come on Freewind, no need to hide."
"Stay back!"
Mark sat down. "Don't tell me you're afraid of one small pony."
"You're no pony! I saw him transform!"
Mark looked back at the Doctor, who was once again stargazing. He signed. "Yeah, but I'm as pony as one can be."
"The others said you are not!" he shouted back.
Mark let out a long sigh. "Look, I don't have time for a scared chicken. No matter how big the chicken is."
"I'm no chicken!"
"You're the one hiding in the dark and I just don't know what to tell you to snap you out of your fear. What are you scared of anyway?" Mark spitted out while losing patience quickly.
"Strange creatures like you!"
"Oh, that's priceless," Mark let out in between his teeth. "I fought you in that stupid arena, if I wanted you dead, you would be already. Should I swear on my honor that you don't risk anything with us?"
"I... I guess that would be a start," Freewind agreed.
"You lost your 'my master' quickly. Whatever, I swear on my honor that you don't risk anything hanging with us," Mark said as serious as possible. "Beside maybe madness," he whispered to himself.
The gryphon pondered his words for a few moments. He decided that it was the best he could get and stepped out from behind the tree and walked with caution toward the pony. "Seriously, there's stuff out there far more frightening then me or the others. Up to a week ago, I had never seen a gryphon of my life. Shouldn't I be afraid of you? After all, you're many times bigger than me."
"Well... Maybe."
"And you tried to kill me. No doubt, this last year made me insane."
"What?" Freewind asked.
"It's a long story and I'm not sure you're ready for it."
"And then the sphere disappeared and he was now a pony!" Rainbow Dash explained flying above the other ponies with Freewind. They were all walking, or flying, in the direction they hoped was the Everfree forest. It was almost noon and while there was no fog, the cloud level was low and hiding the sky.
"Wow!" Freewind exclaimed. He turned to face Mark. "You really went on the Moon?"
If he wasn't walking right now, he would have put a hoof on his face. "Maybe you were ready to hear that story, but I think it was me who wasn't." He sighed. "Yeah, went on the Moon. In retrospective, it wasn't the most brilliant idea." Mark was grateful that Rainbow Dash didn't try to explain where he came from, or maybe he simply didn't care or remember. It was hard to say what the cyan pegasus was thinking about. Trying to explain how this was the human's planet a very long time ago didn't feel like a challenge he wanted to take.
"If it sounds stupid but it works, is it really stupid?" Twilight asked.
"Even if it works, it can still be very stupid," Rarity said.
"You should have seen when they nailed his first shoe on. I never saw somepony being that nervous!" Rainbow Dash said laughing.
Mark sighed and rolled his eyes. Trying to explain to Rainbow how human shoes were not nailed on would obviously be a waste of time. Seeing somepony coming toward you with nails and hammer would make any human nervous, he was actually pretty proud of how he didn't just run away screaming.
"And before you looked like the Doctor?" the gryphon asked.
"Yeah, a bit like him."
"You looked weird then," Freewind said and quickly turned to the Doctor. "I didn't mean any insults."
The Doctor rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I heard far worst."
"I mean, walking on two legs and no tail to balance yourself? That's very odd! It does explain what you tried to fight me on two legs," the gryphon added.
"You did what?" Applejack asked in surprise.
For once Mark was happy of his dark coat as it hid his face turning red in shame. "Sounded like a good idea at the time."
"Did it work?" Twilight asked with a laugh.
"Would have... If I had been in my human body."
"So, it was stupid and it didn't work?" Applejack added.
Mark sighed. "Pretty much."
"I'm pretty sure the gryphons will speak of the crazy blue pony for years to come," explained Freewind. "But while it was pretty epic tail Rainbow Dash, it doesn't explain why you came back in time."
Rainbow scratched his neck. "Well you see... The princesses gave us a kind of indirect message and..."
"Princesses? What princesses?" the gryphon interrupted her.
The six mares exchanged a look. "Celestia and Luna, the two princesses who rule Equestria," Twilight explained.
"Really? You call them princesses in the future? Here the ponies call them goddesses,"
All the ponies shared a concerned look. "Well, they are powerful... and old. But they are no goddesses," Rarity countered.
"Well, the war was started in the names."
Mark got close to the Doctor and whispered to him. "Religious war?"
"The worst kind," the Doctor replied with a sigh.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Twilight shouted. "Why would the princesses start a war? And then take centuries after that to hide it only to send us here to find all about it! Ponies are no religious zealot, we are peaceful!"
"They will be. But can you really claim they never were?" Mark asked.
"I... I don't know."
"Maybe we are here to stop it?" Pinkie Pie proposed.
"Eight random unknown ponies appear and just like that stop a decade long war?" Applejack asked skeptical.
Pinkie banked her head. "Why not?"
"The ponies are conquering our lands and destroying our villages in the name of their goddesses. They refused all kind of peace talk or any compromises. Then the war turned into a long stalemate. The lines between our forces and theirs hadn't moved much in the last three years." Freewind explained. "Thousands died on both sides."
"Well, maybe it would cheer you up to know that in the future we are allies," Fluttershy said.
The gryphon didn't look impressed by the idea. "Well, I..." he started but was interrupted by a loud nearby sound. About a dozen meters away from them, a round sphere made of iron had landed in the dirt. A hole on its side was spitting sparks.
Mark stared in surprise at the intruding object. "Oh sh..." |
Planet of the Ponies | Don't Have Time For This! | Mark didn't finish his sentence before the crude device exploded. He didn't have time to dodge, duck or even move. He was only quick enough to blink before the blast would reach him.
He was expecting bits of metal shredding his body, the heat of the explosion burning him or the blast making his ears ring but nothing of that happened. By the time he understood his brain already went over all that and that was far more time than it should have taken for the blast to reach him, he opened his eyes and saw some purple glow.
He had no idea how Twilight reacted that fast, but she casted some kind of force field between the ponies and the metallic sphere. On one side the grass was burning, on the other the ponies and one gryphon were happy to be alive.
"Nice one, sugarcube!" Applejack cheered.
"Don't lose focus! They will drop more!" Freewind screamed.
Twilight didn't waste time, she rose her head and cast flow of magic upward which after a few meters felt around them, enclosing them in a purple dome.
"Who will?" Mark asked.
"It's a gryphon bomb," Freewind explained. Just as he finished, a metallic bang was heard from the dome as another sphere bounced off it and exploded before reaching the ground.
"Will this shield hold?" Rarity asked.
"Easily," Twilight replied while not losing focus. "It's a family's specialty after all," she said with pride and a large smile.
"That's pretty neat. You will have to teach me that spell," Mark said.
The Doctor poked him. "With your luck, you're gonna set the air on fire." Mark pouted at the comment.
"Freewind, I thought you said the gryphon's patrols had orders to leave us alone," Rainbow Dash asked.
The gryphon was staring at the ground, obviously unhappy. "Yes. The only way they can attack like that is if someone gave them the order. It means... it means my father is dead. But there is no way a new king was elected already..."
"I don't understand, he looked in great shape when we left," Mark countered.
"Without an heir, one of my father's opponents probably felt his position was weak enough to challenge him." It was obvious the gryphon was putting forth tremendous effort to keep his tears from flowing. "How could I mess things up like that?"
The gryphons hidden high in the clouds obviously noticed their sneak attack failed and decided to go with the brute force, dozens of metallic spheres started raining down. The shield started to show cracks and weakness.
"I thought you said it would hold?" Applejack shouted at Twilight.
"I... I thought it would!" she shouted back. She casted a second layer of magic just as the first one shattered. "I guess I'm still a bit tired from last week," she tried to apologize.
"Enough!" Rainbow Dash screamed. "Twilight, I need to be outside the shield."
"What?" asked the seven ponies.
"That's suicide. Gryphons always attack in packs of twelve, and from the number of bombs, there are two full packs up there," Freewind explained.
"Trust me," Rainbow replied with a corner smile.
With a flash of purple, Rainbow Dash was teleported above the shield. She quickly dodged a ball of metal.
"She's gonna get killed!" Freewind screamed, ready to take flight.
Applejack put herself on his path. "Woo there, big one." Freewind was surprised how the small mare actually managed to hold him in place. She was much stronger than she appeared. "She knows what she's doing." Just as she said that, Rainbow dashed upward, quickly accelerating toward the high clouds.
Freewind knew that pegasi were in general slightly faster than a gryphon, but he didn't remember seeing any going that fast. He turned his head toward Twilight. "There are at least twenty fully armed gryphons in the clouds. What does she think she can do?"
Twilight looked uneasy. "I'm sorry Freewind, but some of them might not survive."
"What?"
Rainbow Dash stopped accelerating and kept her speed, she needed to know where her targets were first. Just as she entered a cloud, she noticed one gryphon had seen her coming and was holding a long spear toward her. She dodged it at the last moment and continued her ascent.
Looking around, she found out most of the gryphons were packed in a tight circle above the ponies on the ground. It looked like the gryphons simply ignored her, they looked at her but they didn't try to give chase. No doubt a single lone mare was no threat to so many trained soldiers. Besides, she was fleeing away at speed none of them could match with their heavy armors. One high ranked soldier looked at her and gave an order she couldn't hear as she was speeding away. But the gryphons only grabbed more bombs from their saddlebags and lit them up. It was obvious their primary focus was still on the ground, they could track the blue pegasus later.
Rainbow Dash grinned at the mistake the gryphons did of not trying to catch her. She stopped at what she felt was the right altitude and aimed at the packs. She jumped down and speeded up. In the last year, after her second sonic rainboom, she had trained harder than ever to be able to perform them on command. It had been the hardest training she ever did, but it paid.
She speeded up as much as she could, only holding off as she felt the sonic threshold. Her goal was to break the barrier just as she was passing the gryphons. One of them noticed her and pointed a claw toward her. Their leader looked up, but it was too late to give any order or to try to break off their formation. Rainbow Dash pushed forward and broke that wall that would keep other pegasi at slower speed. The rainboom prismatic hue spread outward, clearing the clouds and blasting the soldiers away. She had done it perfectly and the blast happened exactly in the middle of their formations.
She couldn't see any of it as she was busy slowing down, but many of the gryphon's devices didn't react to well at the sonic boom and secondary explosion could be seen across the sky. As she came close to the others on the ground, most of the clouds were gone.
For Mark, it was the second time he saw her perform it. He had to admit that it was far more effective against gryphons than against some kind alien space cloud monster.
Twilight teleported Rainbow Dash inside the dome as gryphons, weapons of all kind and other equipments felt all around them, some of them bouncing off the shield. "I think you overdid it Rainbow," she said with a weak smile.
A very frighten gryphon stared at Rainbow Dash. "What was that?"
"A sonic rainboom for you, aww yeah!" she replied with pride. "You go very fast and when you break the speed of sound, everything goes boom!" she explain with a quick motion of her hooves. "And Twilight, I know gryphons. They are quite strong, I'm sure they will survive it."
"They might survive the rainboom, but not the fall from that height with their armors or the explosion of their bombs," Twilight explained while looking around in hope of seeing a gryphon alive. She removed the shield to have a better view.
Rainbow Dash's face went pale. "I... I didn't... I only want to knock them out."
"I see one alive!" Fluttershy shouted as loud as she could, which was still not very loud. At a fair distance from them, one gryphon was trying to stand up. They all raced toward him.
As they got closer, Rainbow noticed it was the leader of the group. Having no bombs and lighter armors allowed him to survive the fall. However it was obvious he was having a hard time getting up and his ears were bleeding. Reaching him, they could see his left claw was twisted at a weird angle.
The gryphon also noticed the racing ponies and tried to show himself as menacing as possible. "Freewind the weak, still alive. I failed my mission," he hissed.
"The weak? That's what I'm called now?" Freewind asked obviously unhappy.
The gryphon laughed. "You brought dishonor to your kind. It is only fitting that the new king would order your death."
"There's no way the council of the elder elected a new king already!" Freewind shouted. Looking at the face of the other gryphon, he finally understood. "You attacked without valid orders!"
"Thunderrage will no doubt become king! He wanted to get rid of the dishonor you brought by losing against a child!"
"I was defeated by stronger than myself." He pointed at the soldier. "Thunderrage is giving orders to the army while he is not king yet, what honor there is in ignoring the councils or ordering sneak attacks?" Seeing that the gryphon didn't want to answer, he made a motion toward the ponies. "None of them are what they appeared to be. They are exsercy, Thunderrage would be wise to remember that." The ponies looked at each other but it was obvious none of them understand the weird term.
Surprise painted the other gryphon's face for a second. "There's no such thing!"
"I saw them. And you, you will have to explain the death of your soldiers, killed by a single mare. I wonder what kind of honor you're bringing back to the kingdom."
Seeing the heated discussion was coming to an end, Twilight moved forward in order to cast some healing spell on the wounded gryphon. "Stay away from me, pony!" the gryphon screamed while trying to back off.
"You need healing!"
Freewind put a claw on her shoulder. "No, he won't have any. He is too proud for that."
The soldier turned around and took flight with pain. "You're weak Freewind!" he shouted without looking back.
As the gryphon flew away, Freewind turned around and faced Mark. "I think I begin to understand what you meant. But I feel it might be very hard for the other gryphons to understand that."
"What's truly worth it is never easy," Mark replied with a smile. "By the way, what was that word you used? Exsercy?"
To everypony's surprise, Freewind blushed, which in his case some red was showing up behind his feathers. "It's an old gryphon dialect. Very old... and it dates of the time gryphons had not a full language on their own and had problem speaking complex words."
"And... what does it mean?" Applejack asked.
"Creatures of legends. Or if you prefer in a more literal way, creatures that only exist in stories."
"That's... That's how you see us?" Twilight asked incredulously.
Freewind stared at the ground. "You have to admit you're not everyday ponies."
"Eep!" Fluttershy let out before collapsing in front of one gryphon's corpse.
Rainbow Dash became even paler as she saw first hoof the result of her rainboom. "Oh my gosh!" she kept repeating. As the others came close to her, she turned around and stared at Freewind. "I didn't mean to! I swear!"
"Hey!" a voice screamed from afar. Everypony turn in its direction and saw a large group of armored ponies of all kind and color galloping and flying toward them. As they came close two of them ran toward Freewind and draw their spears to his throat. "We saw the explosion and came as fast as we could."
"Woo there!" Mark shouted. "He's with us."
"What do you mean?" asked the same voice, which the ponies could see was coming from a bright steel blue unicorn in golden armor.
"He's my slave," the Doctor said as he stepped forward. All the ponies frowned and stared at him while Freewind shoot him an angry look.
The large unicorn came close to the stallion and locked sight on him. The Doctor returned his stare with ease. "And who might you be?"
The Doctor produced a small wallet and flipped it in front of the soldier. "I'm her Goddess' scribe. I record all events of importance for the generation to come."
The unicorn stared at the wallet in surprise. "I... I didn't know of your visit. I apologize for my rudeness," he said while quickly bowing down. "I'm Dawn Sparkle, sergeant of the tenth battalion." Without turning their heads, everypony's eyes went toward Twilight. She was quite uneasy with the captain's name, but she managed to keep a smile on her face.
"Is he your?" Applejack whispered to Twilight.
"I don't know! Sparkle is quite a common name for unicorn, like Apple for earth ponies," she whispered back.
He pointed at Freewind. "Sir, your slave has lost his collar, I would advise you to find new one or some soldiers could see him as a threat." Noticing the change in behavior of their leader, the two soldiers lowered their spears. "And... Who are they and who did all this?" the unicorn asked pointing a hoof at the other ponies and the destruction around them.
"They are my mares," the Doctor said with pride not looking directly at the soldier. Rarity put a hoof on Applejack's mouth before she could say anything. "And my son," he said while pointing at Mark, who rolled his eyes. "As you can see, we were attacked and we dealt with it," he said as if it was nothing. The other soldiers looked at each other, skeptical of the crazy claims.
"You... you did?" one of the pegasus soldier asked.
"Oh no, no, no. Not me, I'm a man of scrolls and quills," the Doctor claimed with a noble tone with a hoof on his heart. "One of my mares did it." He came close to Dawn and lowered his voice just enough that it sounded like a secret but high enough that most would hear him. "They are chosen personally by the goddesses for their... special abilities."
"Huh... one... one did?"
The soldiers that were close to the mares took a few steps back and suddenly showed a lot of respect for them. Applejack, Rarity and Twilight who silently decided to play the game raised their heads trying to look as proud as possible. Pinkie Pie did was she does best, she showed her largest smile. Rainbow Dash was still too much in shock to react. One of them pointed at Fluttershy that was lying on her back. "Is she alright?"
The Doctor nodded. "That poor one isn't used to the battlefield yet," he explained. "But she wasn't chosen for her fighting skills." He looked at the unicorn suggestively. "If you see what I mean."
"I... see," was all he managed to reply feeling more uneasy by the minutes. He blinked a few time as he if just remembered something important. "You missed the goddess by a few hours. She is going back to Canterlot."
The Doctor hummed with a hoof on his jaw. "Well, I guess we must move on earlier than I thought. We will be on our way then." He moved his hoof around in a sign for the ponies to gather up. Freewind picked the unconscious Fluttershy and dropped her on his back. Just as they started moving, the sergeant sprinted ahead of them.
"Wait!" Dawn said. "I will escort you to Canterlot."
"There is no need for..."
"It's alright, my troops are going back to the barracks for their patrol rotation and I'm to report to Canterlot for my next assignment," the unicorn explained. "It would avoid any confusion if you were to meet other soldiers."
The Doctor didn't expect it and was a bit confused by the sudden display generosity, it was obvious the soldier was hiding something and it was clear the sergeant wouldn't take no for an answer. "Well, such a kind offer, we would be stupid to not accept it. Thanks a lot."
The platoon of soldiers left them and they walked in direction they hoped would be Canterlot with their new escort. Fluttershy had woken up soon after they started walking and she said she was feeling better. It wasn't the first time she saw a corpse as she had to deal with animal feeding off others, but the reality of the battlefield took her by surprise. Twilight felt she wasn't telling everything and hoped she would talk about it later.
Rainbow Dash was a mystery, she was staying at the back of the group talking to herself. Twilight was concerned for her, but it would have to wait for them to stop for the night. She knew Rainbow, while rude, wasn't a violent pony. The death of so many gryphons happening so suddenly must had taken its toll on her mind. She actually didn't know what to say to her about that specific problem. By the past, they always managed to overcome their challenges without resorting to killing.
Twilight was blaming herself for what happened. How could her shield fail so easily? She was obviously tired from her week of enslavement and quite annoyed that she couldn't cast a protection spell properly. Had it not for that week of forced labor, her force field could have withstood all the bombs those gryphons had and far more. While not as talented as her brother, he could cast one around a whole city. She couldn't forgive herself that such a small dome shattered only after a few weak and primitive bombs. She had no doubt that if she casted it correctly, they could have walked up to Canterlot with the gryphons over them without giving them any thought.
On the other hoof, those soldiers came very quickly. No doubt they heard or saw the explosions. A fight between them and the gryphons would have no doubt happened. She couldn't shake off the idea that she was walking with her ancestor, even if she had no proof of that. Would he have been killed if he fought the gryphons?
Rarity and Applejack were walking beside each other. They didn't appear to be moved too much by the sad scene they left behind them. They were whispering to each other and Twilight hoped they were trying to cheer up the other.
As for Pinkie Pie, she was Pinkie Pie, smiling as if nothing happened. Twilight had no idea how the killing affected her. She had the feeling Pinkie was trapping her emotions deep inside and that at some point in the future she would have to help her overcome them. Hopefully it would happen before they would overcome the pink pony.
But what concerned more Twilight was how Dawn and Freewind were looking at each other. Dawn took the lead of the group, obviously knowing the direction toward Canterlot more than them while Freewind walked behind. Every time they would get anywhere near, Twilight could swear she could hear them growling at each other. She only hoped they wouldn't do something stupid.
They walked for almost two hours before Dawn suddenly stopped in his track. He drew his sword with his magic, spun around and placed it on the throat of a surprised Doctor.
"Now, no lies. Who are you and what are you doing out here?" He asked angry.
"Well, I..." the Doctor started to answer.
"I've been a guard of the goddesses for five years. There is no scribe or ponies chosen by them for some special abilities," he explained while pressing his sword harder.
"We don't have time for this," Twilight said while she continued walking. She didn't stop and the others followed her.
The Doctor pouted. "How about some help?"
"What for? I don't even know what he his pointing his sword at. For all I know, he is threatening your leg. Beside 'dad', aren't you immortal or something?" Mark asked with a large smile while walking passed them.
"I'm not immortal! I can die... Well, I would regenerate, but that's not the point!" the Doctor explain while rolling his eyes.
"As your slave, I will go seek some help. It might be back in a week of two," Freewind commented with a weird smile while following Mark.
"As your mare, I will cry on your grave my dear," Rarity added, trying very hard not to laugh.
Dawn was utterly confused by their reaction. He was expecting them to try to rescue the stallion, to flee or even to try to kill him, but they simply flat out ignored him, as if he wasn't a threat or important enough for their attention. Even his target didn't appear to care that much for the floating sword. "Alright, you had your fun," the Doctor said. "May I pass now?"
The sergeant learned a long time ago to never trust what he wouldn't understand, and right now the whole group of ponies and gryphon was a variable he couldn't explain. He charged up a spell and with a blue flash disappeared from in front of the Doctor.
He reappeared in front of Twilight who was will still in the lead of the group and aimed his sword at her. "I need answers!" he shouted with as much conviction as he could.
The mare didn't stop walking and her horn briefly flared up. The moment the sword would have touched her, it turned to ashes and was blown by the wind. Dawn was only surprised for a second and just as he was about to charge an offensive spell, he found himself stuck inside a purple bubble of magic. Shields were his family's specialty but the one holding him was far stronger than he thought possible to cast.
"I said we don't have time for this," Twilight snapped while walking. Her impatience was showing up, since they came to this time they were threaten by every living being around. The trapped soldier was following her stuck in his sphere, floating a meter above ground. "If you want answers, you will ask your questions when we stop for the night, understood?" Dawn nodded, quite impressed with the purple unicorn's abilities. If she wanted him dead, she wouldn't have to try very hard.
The sphere disappeared with a pop and the sergeant felt hard to the ground. "I'm terribly sorry, she's a bit cranky right now. But you know, having gryphons drop bombs on you can do that," Rarity apologized while passing by him.
"I'm so sorry!" Fluttershy apologized as she stopped beside the soldier. As he looked at her, she let out a small "Eep!" and sprinted to catch up Twilight.
"Seriously Doc, what's up with creatures in this time? You know, when I came here I thought everything was a bit too colorful and peaceful, but this is getting ridiculous," Mark commented to the Doctor while walking beside him. He just shrugged in a way that said he already saw far worst.
When they stopped for the night, they actually had made some good progress. Twilight thought they were only a day away from the tree line of the Everfree forest. However, she wasn't sure which Canterlot they were trying to reach. As far as she knew, 'old' Canterlot was in the middle of the forest, where they found the Elements of Harmony almost two years ago while 'new' Canterlot was beyond the forest. The fact that she never heard of a war between Equestria and the Gryphons made her believe far enough in time to aim for the old city.
She lay beside the fire and started reading a book she brought with her. It was a very general overview of Equestria's history and while she had read it a few times already without luck, she was still hoping to find any kind of clues as of their whereabouts. She was expecting Dawn to ask lot of questions, but the stallion looked uneasy and was standing clear of the others. Again, she hoped that whatever questions he would like to ask, he would have the decency to ask them before they would fall asleep.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Rainbow Dash going toward Freewind. She obviously wanted to speak with him. Twilight guessed it was about what happened today and with a bit of luck it would help Rainbow to feel better. She wanted to talk to Rainbow first but she didn't know what word to use. The gryphon was a far better choice, he lived in a decade long war and probably saw first claw some gruesome death.
"Hey, Freewind... I would like to talk a bit," Rainbow Dash said while walking toward him.
Twilight noticed how Dawn's sight snapped on the gryphon at the mention of his name. Checking her memories of the day, she remembered that noponies ever said his name in front of the pony soldier. It was a good bet that ponies new the names of the gryphon's royalty. She hoped that he wouldn't do something stupid, but just as she thought that, she noticed he was strolling toward the gryphon in the most natural way possible.
"Sure Rainbow," Freewind replied, unaware of the pony that was walking toward him from behind.
Dawn stopped when he felt close enough and drew a small dagger off his armor. He leaped forward screaming. "For the goddesses!"
Before it could connect, his dagger disappeared in a flash, only to reappear in between pages of Twilight's book. "Thanks, I needed something to keep my page," she simply said while she continued reading her book.
Dawn bumped harmlessly on Freewind's flank. The gryphon spun around and grabbed the soldier's head with his right claw and slammed it on the ground. On his back, the pony bucked hard the exposed stomach of the gryphon, which was forced to back up in pain. The gryphon and the pony quickly stood in front of each other, trying to find an opening in the other's defense. None of the ponies stood up and were simply watching them.
"Five bits on the gryphon!" Applejack shouted while lying on her side.
"Taken!" Rarity replied.
"You're not gonna stop him?" Freewind asked.
"Why would we? You were looking to kick each other's faces the whole day long. We will sit back, enjoy the show and make you feel as awkward as possible," Mark explained with a smile while laying his head on a dry trunk.
"Popcorn?" Pinkie Pie offered as she produced a large bowl of it. Nopony tried to explain where it came from or even how she managed to cook it without anypony noticing.
"Pinkie, you're a miracle worker," the Doctor cheered while taking some.
"He fooled you all!" Dawn scream. "No doubt you didn't know, but he is the prince of the gryphon kingdom! In the name of the goddesses, he must die!" He was sure his speech had work as the ponies looked at each other in surprise. All his hope went crashing down when they all started to laugh.
"Of course we know he is the prince, duh!" Pinkie Pie replied.
Dawn desperately wanted to attack the gryphon but the eyes' of the ponies looking and judging him made him feel quite uneasy. They all acted as if he was a kid doing something stupid but didn't want to stop him so he could make a fool of himself. He knew also he wouldn't stand much chance against a gryphon of this size without any weapon. He wanted to do a sneak attack and end it in one strike, but once again the purple mare got rid of his blade with ease. He could use magic, but he had the feeling the purple one wouldn't let him do much with it.
"He's chickening out," Applejack said.
Rarity raised her hooves. "Oh, come on! Throw some punch!"
"Why do you all make me feel like I'm doing something stupid?" Dawn asked.
Twilight raised her eyes from her book. "Maybe because you are doing something stupid." She closed her book. "Now, both of you, hurt each other as much as you want right now. But after that, I want you both to promise to not touch the other one after tonight."
Freewind stepped back. "I promise. It's not like I wanted to hurt him, I was just being cautious, like when somepony try to stab you. But if he truly want a beating right now, I won't mind."
"Pinkie promise!" Pinkie Pie shouted.
"What?" Dawn asked confused.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie rehearsed.
"That's silly! You're not serious, that's for kid..." Dawn tried to say.
Rarity laughed. "Darling, nopony break a Pinkie promise."
"Nopony!" Pinkie shouted with a deep voice while standing in front of Dawn, her nose touching his. Dawn backed up in fear, he didn't see the pink pony move and yet she was standing in front of him, a dozen meters away from where he thought she was. He could have sworn her eyes were yellow and red, but a shadow passed and they were back to bright blue. He was a trained soldier who survive countless battle, how could anypony manage to get up close without him noticing, an earth pony no less?
"I promise too," he finally managed to say once he managed to silence his fear.
Twilight opened her book once more. "Good boy. Now come enjoy some popcorn."
"Popcorn?" the soldier asked confused as he came close to the fire.
"Hey Dawn, I got a question," Mark said. "If you knew we were not what the Doctor pretended, why didn't you attack us with your troops instead of being alone?"
The soldier sat down. "My first duty is to protect my ponies. Somepony or something killed lot of gryphons back there. I would not put my troops in danger to face something completly unknown... I had to investigate on my own," he explained.
"Logic," Twilight agreed.
"Doctor! What's that wallet you showed Dawn?" Rarity asked.
The Doctor swallowed a mouthful of popcorn. "Psychic paper," he finally managed to say. "You see on them whatever I want you to see." He took his wallet out and showed it to Rarity. On it she could see the blazon of Canterlot's royalty.
"Impressive," she said.
"Oh! Oh! I want to see!" Pinkie Pie cheered while bouncing close to the Doctor. He showed her his wallet. "That's just white paper, silly! Aren't there supposed to be something on it?"
The Doctor stared at the pink pony in surprise and his smile faded away. "It... it must be broken." he said while putting it away.
Dawn finally got enough courage to step forward. "So... Who are you?"
All the ponies looked at each other. "Here we go again," Mark said.
Freewind and Rainbow Dash retreated away in the shadows. "I wanted to talk to you. About what happened today," Rainbow started. "But... but I don't know what to say."
"Then don't say anything and listen," Freewind replied. Rainbow looked at him in surprise and nodded. "You all make me feel very weak, and I must say it never happened before. When you flew off, I wanted to stop you. I thought you were insane but Applejack held me down as if it was nothing."
"Yeah, AJ is pretty strong. You should pray to never be on the receiving end of one of her bucking." Rainbow said with a small laugh.
"I thought you were gonna die in vain up there. Gryphons are not known to give up easily. Once they start to hunt a target, the only real way to stop them is to kill them. Had you only knocked them out, they would have come after us later." Freewind lowered his head. "You saved my life today. All our lives. Thanks."
"But I'm a murderer now! I've killed..."
"No!" Freewind almost shouted. "You're a hero, and a hero makes the hard call that no one else would. The fact that you feel bad for what happened prove that you did right... A hero would never brag... about... it..." he finished deep in his thought. He looked down at his claws.
"What?"
"Nothing. The more I think about it, the more I understand how Mark is right about honor. There's far more about it that I ever thought possible," Freewind explained.
"I'm sorry, but I never understood that honor stuff."
The gryphon laughed. "I guess you don't need to, you follow your heart and that's enough."
"Well... I..."
He grabbed the flying mare by the shoulders. "You did good Rainbow. What happened was terrible, but you did what you had to. Never believe otherwise," Freewind said sincerely.
"I... Thanks."
Even the servants stopped coming to see her. Watching herself in the mirror she could understand why, the changes that started a few months ago were speeding up. She didn't recognize the pony the mirror was reflecting. Her mane was now bigger than her and was flowing around almost on its own. Her coat and eyes also changed and now she could see clearly in the darkest places. But she was partially responsible for others not coming, she had barricaded herself in her quarters, only to come out at night where the Sun couldn't hurt her.
She had lost track of time a while ago, she wasn't able to sleep correctly. For that, day or night didn't matter, there were wordless whispers in her head and pain in her heart. There was no doubt, her sister had abandoned her. As for the other ponies, they fled from her at the only moments she could come out, the night. Ponies were never known for being night creatures, but right now it felt painfully obvious.
She always been a lone pony, why would it hurt her now and not before? She always has been in the shadows of her sister and she preferred it that way, until now. Where were those transformations coming from? She wished she could always get a partial answer but her mind was clouded by something she couldn't describe, she only knew it was old and powerful. That loneliness was a bottomless pit and there was no breaking her fall in it.
She needed a solution, a way to relieve the pain, to calm the whispers... Any way.
"Hey, Twilight," Applejack asked while lying on her back. Most of the ponies were asleep but Twilight was still reading her book.
"Anything wrong Applejack?"
"I just noticed... There's no Mare in the Moon," the orange pony explained while pointing a hoof up at the sky.
Twilight's head looked up and there was the Moon slowly moving, high in the sky. Applejack was right; the Moon's surface was clean. How could she not notice that before? "I guess it means we are over a thousand years in the past." |
Planet of the Ponies | What Time Is It? | The inspection of the troops went better than she expected, the reports of the lack of moral were obviously exaggerated. Celestia entered the temple as she did the last twelve centuries, with the guards bowing down while her escort went back to their barracks. At least it was until she noticed the gate's guards were missing, but she was already inside when her brain recorded this strange omission. At this point, the missing guards were the least of her concern as she looked around the temple.
Every window had been covered by sheets which was obscuring the inside of the old building. It was so dark she couldn't make out most of the temple's furniture. It was obvious the servants were as missing as the guards. She was about to pull the sheets off with her magic when she felt a presence nearby. She wouldn't let herself feel fear; after all she was a goddess.
"Hello? Luna, are you there?"
"Welcome back sister," a voice replied from the darkness. It was Luna's voice, but not really at the same time; it was deeper and full of emotions, different.
"Did you do this? What's going on?"
Something moved in the shadows. "You left us in the dark. All alone. Everyponies did," the voice hissed in pain.
Celestia was more confused than she would ever admit it. "What are you talking about? Is this a prank?" Something passed back her left side and she spun around to face it, but she was rewarded with an empty corner.
"You never felt loneliness. Ponies play under the Sun. But they sleep or fear the night," Luna said in her back. Celestia jumped around but once again there was nothing in front of her.
"You know it's not true!" she shouted. "There are ponies that live in the night too."
"I'm trapped. Trapped in a nightmare, in which I'm alone. Alone forever, since the beginning of time," the voice said from every corners of the room at once as if Luna was everywhere.
"You're not making any sense!"
Something was very wrong and Celestia felt the need to flee the temple. At that point, she didn't care what the ponies would think of their goddess running in fear. She could always explain it was for the best. But first she needed to see where she would run. She focused on one of the nearby sheet and pulled it off the window. Morning light batted the room and while her eyes adjusted to the brightness, she ended facing Luna.
At least she thought at first it was Luna, but the pony in front of her was taller, slimmer and darker. If it was her sister, her deep blue coat was now deep black and her kind soft look was replaced by mean green snake's eyes. But far more frightening was her mane which somehow was flowing all around Celestia similar to a vaporous mist, it was several time the size of her sister's body.
"Luna, is that you?"
The black winged unicorn winced in pain. "Luna... No. No, I'm not. Luna was a fool, trapped in your shadow, a naïve filly that for centuries hurt in her corner while her sister played god." She stepped forward. "But now I know, I know how to make the pain go away, how to make it stop."
"Luna! Snap out of it!" Celestia screamed.
The black pony roared. "Luna is no more! If I'm to be trapped in the nightmare, then everypony will be with me!" Her mane leaped toward Celestia before she could run or charge a teleportation spell. Celestia tried to move, escape or to cast some spell but something was disrupting all her attempts, she felt her strength being drained.
"If trapped... I'll become... I am the nightmare!"
"He did take it well." Fluttershy said about Dawn who was walking in the lead of the group. The tree line of the forest was now in sight and they were moving toward it at good pace.
Rarity shook her head. "Dear, I think he simply does not believe us. Or taking us for a group of crazies."
"You have to admit it's a lot to take at once," Freewind commented. Last night, Dawn sat down and asked a bunch of questions which everypony tried to explain as best as they could. It ended up with them recounting a good part of their adventures, almost from the beginning. Lot of smaller details were skipped but they didn't feel it would affect his view on the subject. They were not sure if Dawn was actually listening to them as he just kept nodding to their story. Twilight knew what was happening in his head as her brain worked the same way, he would take all the information in and let his neurons sort them all out. She was quite sure the blue unicorn didn't manage to sleep that night.
Dawn stopped and spun around. "I just... it's... I... you don't... Arg!" He turned around and continued walking.
"Well, that was enlightening," Twilight said with a smile.
"I think his brain needs a reboot," Mark said to the Doctor.
"At least he didn't do a blue screen of death," the Doctor replied. Mark laughed, surprised the Doctor would know that reference.
Twilight frowned. "What are you two talking about?"
"Computer stuff," Mark replied without thinking.
"And what is a computer?"
Mark and the Doctor looked at each other quite uneasy with the question. The Doctor looked back at Twilight and blinked a few time. "Well, it's complicated. It would take a lot of time to explain." Twilight shot him an angry look.
"Once we are out of all this, I promise I will explain it all. Alright?" Mark proposed.
Dawn stopped once more. "Look, it's not that I believe you or not," he said speaking to nopony in particular. Everypony stopped and stared at him, which didn't help putting him at ease. "I'm a soldier, it's not my role to evaluate that kind of situation. I will bring you to the goddesses and they will decide what's true or not." Twilight pouted, so much for his brain sorting information like her, he blocked it all out and ignored whatever he couldn't understand.
"Good enough for me," Rarity said with a smile.
"You could drop the nervous look, sugarcube," Applejack added while pointing at Dawn. "We ain't gonna hurt you."
Freewind walked pass them, his ears twitching around.
"Now what?" Mark asked while looking at the gryphon.
Freewind gave a quick look back. "I'm hearing a pony crying," he answered before looking once more at the forest line ahead of them. "A mare or an old filly. It's coming from the forest."
The six mares looked at each other and then sprinted or flew toward the forest without a word leaving the males in the dust. Dawn and Freewind quickly followed.
"Oh come on!" Mark shouted. "I can't run that fast!"
The Doctor started trotting toward the forest leaving Mark behind.
"Bleh!"
Rainbow Dash was without a doubt as fast as her reputation says, as she arrived to the source of the cries way ahead of the others. However, what she found made her stop in her tracks and stared at the mare rolled on the floor crying. Applejack, sprinting as fast as she could, turned around a tree and almost collided with Rainbow.
"Ow, Rainbow! Don't just stand there!"
Rainbow didn't answer and simply pointed at the crying mare. Applejack looked passed Rainbow and had to work double time to prevent her jaw from dropping on the ground. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Twilight finally caught up with them and they all stood silent as they watched what the two found in the forest.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight finally shouted.
The white mare with a pink, green and blue pastel mane, slightly smaller than Fluttershy, turned around to face the source of the shout with her eyes red of tears. "I'm a goddess and you will show the respect I deserve!" she tried to shout between sobs.
The mares looked at each other and with a silent accord bowed down in front of the small winged unicorn.
When Dawn Sparkle and Freewind caught up with them, the first one flatten to the ground trying to not look at the divine mare while the gryphon simply stood there surprised. "That's the pony goddess?" He whispered to himself. "I thought she was bigger."
"Hey Doc! At least I'm running faster than you." Mark came out running out of a bush, looking back and almost collided with Celestia. He stared at the white mare that was as small as him. "And who the hell are you?"
"I'm your goddess and you will bow before me!" she screamed very close to a nervous breakdown.
"What? I don't know what's wrong with you but you won't get anything by shouting at people's face," Mark said not knowing how to deal with the crazy in front of him. This close to the her, he was unable to see any detail of the mad pony beside her face.
The mare stepped closer to him and screamed with a voice strength Mark never thought possible. "You will bow and show me respect!" His whole body vibrated under the verbal assault and his head hurt. His hoof moved on his own to defend himself from the attack and slapped the hysteric mare in the face.
"Calm the hell down!" he screamed back with the same intensity, surprised at his own voice. The mare stepped back and sat on the ground with a hoof on her cheek, obviously more stunned then hurt. She was staring at him with tears coming back to her eyes. "I can't stand spoiled brat," he added more calmly while looking around. He noticed for the first time Dawn lying on the floor with his eyes wide in surprise and six mares displaying faces of pure horror.
"What?"
Freewind starting laughing but still managed to say "You punched Celestia!".
"You really have a way to introduce yourself," the Doctor said behind him as he finally caught up with them.
"And screaming at someone's face is better? Well, I'm not sorry, after all she put us trough, she deserved it," Mark said.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "No wonder she will threaten you in the future, Mark."
"Your name is Mark?" Celestia asked with a soft voice.
Mark looked at Twilight, who displayed the same surprise he did. "Well, look at that," he said facing Celestia. "You can be a good pony when you don't take yourself for a goddess. Yeah, name's Mark." He extended his right hoof forward, which put Celestia on the defensive. "Nice to meet you."
She stared at the hoof and after a while raised her own and bumped it. Her face took a pastel pink color as she took a few steps back. "I'm Celestia. Don't you... Don't you remember me?"
"What? Yeah, you're Equestria's ruler," Mark answered confused as Celestia wasn't acting like anything he thought she would. "Right?"
Celestia appeared to shrink down at the answer. "Yes, I am," she said with a voice as soft as Fluttershy as she looked at her hooves.
"Aren't you supposed to be bigger?" Freewind asked while leaning against a tree.
Dawn jumped on his hooves and ran in front of the gryphon. "You will show respect to her divinity!"
Freewind grabbed his head with a claw and pushed him aside. "You have a weird notion of respect. I'm a prince... or was, and your first reaction was to try to stab me."
"Will you two cut it out?" Twilight snapped with anger. "I can't believe how you're acting." The gryphon and the soldier looked away like two kids who were caught fighting. She turned around and faced Celestia. "Princess... I... I mean goddess, what are you doing alone in the forest? Why are you crying?"
As time passed, Celestia appeared to regain her composure. "I was attacked." The mares and the soldier gasped at the news. "My sister... Goddess Luna, something happened to her. She transformed in some kind of monster."
"Luna attacking Celestia, why I already heard that somewhere?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Silence! Let her finish," Rarity replied.
"Her mane... was weird, unlike anything I've seen before," Celestia continued. "It grabbed me and drained me of my power." She looked at her small body. "I guess it's the reason I'm so small now. At some points she... her mane dropped me and I ran with what little strength I had left. I couldn't find any guards or soldiers in the city, so I decided to run to the nearest camp of the army." She looked down in shame. "With the emotion... I... I guess I got lost."
"Fear not Goddess! The reinforcements are here!" Rainbow said as she punched her chest with pride.
The winged unicorn appeared skeptical. "You are very young and you are no soldier. You are obviously not fit to face this kind of challenge."
Rainbow Dash deflated in midair and was ready to say something rude when Applejack got in front of her. "What she meant is, we will only escort you to Canterlot. No doubt the guards are hiding near the city and are waiting for orders."
Dawn stepped forward. "Your highness, I agree with them. Canterlot must not be left without your presence."
Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. "Fine. But you shall take no risks," she said as she looked at the ponies. "You are not suited for this kind of situation."
"We would never do that, your highness," the Doctor said with a huge smile while nine pairs of eyes rolled at the comment.
She nodded. "Soldier!" she called while pointing at Dawn. "Take the lead."
They were all walking on some kind of small dirt road, following Dawn Sparkle who were obviously used to the path leading toward Canterlot. Celestia was in the middle of the group while Mark and Twilight was ahead of her, talking about shield magic.
"...and that how you cast a force field," Twilight finished.
"I'm surprised, it sounds easier than levitating objects," Mark commented.
"In theory, it is. The spell is simpler. However, it requires far more magic than basic telekinesis and a finer control over it," she explained.
Mark looked disappointed. "I see." He walked a bit in silence before talking about what he had on his mind. "Sounds like you know why Luna attacked Celestia."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Maybe. You know Luna was sealed on the Moon for a thousand years?"
"I think... I think I read something about that in one of your history book."
"History is a bit... vague about what really happened." She sighed. "A bit over two years ago, I found out her banishment was about to end by some kind of weird prophecy. That story only said there were two sisters ruling over Equestria and that at some point, the younger one, overseeing the night, decided to prevent her sister from raising the Sun. The eldest was forced to use the Elements of Harmony to seal her on the Moon."
"That's all?"
Twilight grimed. "Yeah, the history books has no detail what so ever on what really happened. There's about a dozen loopholes in that story. I never managed to find out what really happened."
"You never asked Celestia?"
Twilight looked away. "I did."
"And?"
She looked uneasy. "She didn't want to talk about it. I always assumed she felt terrible for sealing away her own sister."
Mark thought about it for a moment. "So you think we are living that event?"
She sighed. "I don't know. Nightmare Moon, the way Luna was calling herself, is an experience I don't really wish to repeat."
"You talked of loopholes in the story?" Mark pressed.
Twilight looked at the bright blue sky as two small birds raced each other. "Yeah. When we faced her, we used the Elements of Harmony to free Luna from Nightmare Moon. I still don't know what truly happened. Wasn't Nightmare and Luna the same pony? Didn't Luna changed by her own choice?"
"What make you say she didn't?" He asked.
"Luna is a very kind and intelligent pony. I meet her a few times after we defeated Nightmare. I still don't understand how she could decide to become that... monster. Or even how she could change that much, Nightmare was physically different from Luna too."
"Magic?" Mark said with a smile.
Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's not the answer to everything you know."
"And?"
"Why Celestia sealed Nightmare on the Moon while we managed to free Luna? Couldn't Celestia do it as she was using the same Elements?" Twilight pointed out.
"I admit that is weird."
"Also, every time we used the Elements of Harmony, we had to be six ponies that each represent an Element; kindness, honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter and magic. When we faced Discord, at some point Rainbow Dash was missing and we couldn't make the Elements work at all. How did Celestia managed to do it alone, but couldn't do it after?"
Mark blinked at the revelation. "I... I don't know."
"Luna was said to be a bearer of the Elements too. Why didn't she fight back with them? Some say when she became Nightmare Moon, the harmony was broken and she couldn't use them. If so, if the harmony was broken, how could Celestia use them at all?"
"Good question."
"On top, why the Moon? A seal spell is already complex enough without the need to teleport it that far away. She could have sealed her in a mountain, a forest or even a rock! Some say Celestia was too weak to heal her sister, but sealing her on the Moon, such a distant object is probably harder."
Mark stayed silent, not knowing what to say.
"And who wrote that prophecy? It was weird, it said Nightmare Moon was sealed forever, but a thousand years after her banishment, four stars would release her. I saw those stars releasing her, but I still don't know what they were. Obviously not real stars! I'm guessing some kind of spells, but who cast it?"
"That's... disturbing."
"Celestia knew that Nightmare would be released that night, she probably knew that prophecy better than me, and yet she pushed me to go around in some quest to make friends. How did she know I would make five friends and would find the Elements of Harmony? That's really big! Leaving the safety and future of the whole planet on six very young mares. She's not the kind to stay out of the fights for the safeties of everyponies!" Twilight almost shouted.
"Keep it down, she could hear us," Mark noted. "Alright, that's loopholes the size of a house."
"Want to know the biggest part?" She asked. Mark nodded. "She didn't fight back when Nightmare Moon was released."
"What?"
"Two unicorn as powerful as them make quite a mess when they fight with magic. Yet that night, there was no fighting, no spell casting, no fireworks, no nothing. For all I know, Celestia let Nightmare seal her in the Sun without any resistance."
"She gave up or she knew?" Mark asked.
Twilight thought about it for a while. "I think she knew, she's not the kind to give up. But she is not a prophet; somepony told her everything... wrote that weird prophecy."
Mark hummed. "You obviously thought a lot about it."
"Yeah, quite a few nights without sleep thinking about it," Twilight admitted.
"Got any theory?"
She looked down. "That's the problem; I got nothing, nothing that matches all the loopholes, nothing that makes sense of it all. Every time I get something that solves one or two of the inconsistencies, it doesn't fit the others."
"Well, if we really are to live that event, you will know what truly happened," he noted.
"I told you, Nightmare isn't something I wish to experience again. And I still don't see why we are here... or now. Right now, I just feel we are messing with the timeline more than anything else. We probably messed up Freewind's future."
Mark looked back at Celestia, who was walking behind them. "You know, Celestia doesn't really look in shape to do any kind of fighting."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because she's as big as you?"
Mark pouted. "That's low. I meant, she said Luna drained her magic or something like that."
"I guess that's why she's going to use the Elements."
"Yeah, I guess. You want another mystery?" Mark asked.
"One more... At this point, I don't think it's gonna change anything. Shoot!" she answered with fake enthusiasm.
Mark looked at Twilight and nudged his head in Celestia's direction. "Why is she staring at me?"
"She is not! She..." Twilight gave a quick look behind her. "Alright, she is."
"So?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "That's no mystery! You slapped her. On the face! She's thousands years old and rules Equestria. I doubt many pony slapped her before."
"Over such a long life, I would have guessed many did." Mark noted.
"Would have done it when she is at her normal size? You know, when she 'threatened' you? I doubt your hoof would have reached her face."
Mark swallowed hard. "I guess. So... you think she's plotting my death or something?"
Twilight gave another quick look at Celestia. "No, she is not like that. I think she's surprised. Maybe mad. Yeah, a bit mad."
Mark looked up at the sky. "Alright, I guess I need to apologize after all."
"Would be a good idea. Before, how did you manage to use the royal Canterlot voice?"
Annoyance showed up on his face. "Why do you always assume I know what you're talking about?"
"How did you shout like that, the same way Celestia did?"
"Don't tell me you don't know how to shout?" he asked, puzzled.
She rolled her eyes. "It's a magic enhanced shout."
"Really? Sorry, didn't notice. I guess I learned it from when I stayed with Fluttershy. She is pretty good at shouting too."
"What?"
He ignored her question, waved a hoof and slowed down. After a while walking slower, he ended up beside Celestia. He noticed in her eyes that she was pondering between running away and staying beside him. He also noticed that Dawn, a few meters behind Celestia, was giving him a dangerous look. No doubt the soldier didn't take it lightly that the small unicorn touched his divinity. The message was clear that he would be in a world of pain if he tried to repeat his assault on Celestia. Mark kept his sight forward and cleared his throat. "Dear goddess," he started, but the words sounded wrong to him. "I would like to apologize."
Celestia looked at him surprised. "You don't need to. I don't normally act like this and you only defended yourself from an unprovoked... verbal assault."
"Still, I want to apologize. I've been in way too many fights lately and some could have cost my life."
"Then I accept it."
"Thanks... goddess," Mark replied.
Celestia stared at him for a while. "You sound like you disapprove of my status as divinity."
"I... Hmm," Mark managed to say while looking away.
"Speak your mind. I prefer that, but nopony does."
Mark stared back at Celestia and noticed for the first time something weird in her eyes, but he couldn't place it. "Alright. You are no goddess."
She let out a soft laugh. "That is honest. And why do you say that?"
"Because I've met creatures more powerful or older than you and they are no gods."
"Really?" She asked with a skeptical smile.
"I know you're getting some extra magic from the Sun." Mark pointed at the purple mare in front of him. "Twilight, she is getting her own from the time flow itself. She has more potential power at her disposal that you will ever have. She just needs to learn how to use it properly. I saw her vaporize a whole planet when she lost control."
Celestia raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Mark nudged his head backward. "As for the brown stallion back there, his appearance is only an illusion. He is no pony, he is a Timelord. He is most likely much older than you. He traveled to countless worlds. At some point, he took part in a terrible war that devastated hundreds of worlds."
Both eyebrows were now high on her face.
"So yeah, and I doubt any of them would call themselves god."
Some time passed before Celestia spoke again. "Never judge a book by its cover. I guess that's quite true with your group.
"I'm surprise you accept my words like that."
She smiled back. "I sense no intention of deception from you. And how about you, what's your special talent?"
Mark swallowed. "Not much I'm afraid. No crazy power or... Well, I guess if I say I was born a hundred twentyish thousands years ago can be a bit impressive, but I'm not even thirty. Or am I? I kinda lost track of time with all this crazy traveling. And that I used to not be a pony." Mark stopped. "Sorry, I'm babbling."
"Not used to be a pony?"
"It's a long story."
They walked in silence for a while and she didn't push the topic forward. Something about Celestia was making Mark uneasy, as if there was something familiar with her. Someone in the back of his head kept him on his guard for no obvious reason.
"Do you think I'm bad for being called a goddess?" She asked with a weird smile.
The question caught Mark off guard. "I... Probably not if you take it only as title like any other title. But you started a war that cost the life of thousands of ponies and gryphons and nopony managed to give us a good reason for it."
Celestia's smile faded as she looked down at the ground and it took a long moment before she spoke again. "When everypony call you a goddess for well over a thousand years... I guess... I guess you start to believe it yourself. When the gryphon's king came to Canterlot and refused to bow in front of me and my sister... I... Everypony..." She looked up. "No, it's my fault; I decided that this offense could not be tolerated. Everypony accepted my decision without questions."
"And things spiraled out of control."
She stared at him. "Yes, it did."
He stared back. "How far are you ready to go to protect the lives of your population?"
She took a step back, surprised by the question. "I... I'm not sure."
"Then yes, I think you're a bad leader." Celestia looked truly shocked by his words. "You should take their lives and safety above your pride, your title or even your own life. The only war that is acceptable is to defend their lives."
"You truly believe that? How about their pride?"
"Their pride in what? Their country? In you? I've never been the leader type, so take what I have to say the way you want it." He took a deep breath. "Countries, flags, titles, names... They all come and go. People stay, always. People love to have an icon to gather under, it's normal as it put a visual representation of their feelings. But it's never for the image that you fight, it's for the people. There's no country, flag or whatever without them. You can become an icon, that's not a problem. It becomes one when it's put before the well being of the people that support it."
She gave him a weird look. "Are you sure you're only thirty?"
Mark laughed. "Yes, quite sure."
"You looked much younger."
Mark pouted at the comment. "You don't look very old right now."
"True." She looked up. "You remind me of someone I used to know, a very long time ago," she commented.
Mark looked surprised. "That's why you were staring at me?" She nodded back. "I see. What happened to him?"
Celestia looked uneasy, the memory was obviously painful. "He died, eaten by a wild beast."
He looked away. "I'm sorry."
"No need to be. After so long, I've learned to accept that other ponies would not live as long as me," she answered back. However, something in her face made him think she wasn't telling everything about those feeling she claimed to have come to accept. "I have a few other questions if you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind! From what I understood, we are still an hour of walk from Canterlot."
"Yes. We should reach the city just before the Sun set." She looked behind. "I'm not ignorant of the gryphon's royalty and if I remember well, the one following us is the only heir of the throne."
Mark nodded. "He is. Or was."
She looked surprised. "Now, how did he come to follow your group like that?"
"First of all, I would say Twilight is more the leader of the group. As for why... It appears I claimed his life after defeating him in a fight to the death."
Her look went back and forth between the unicorn and the gryphon. "Really?"
He smiled. "I was lucky and he was overconfident."
"And as for one of my army's sergeant, I don't think he would leave his duty," she asked while looking at the armored unicorn.
He grinned. "He did not. We were under attack by a large group of gryphons..."
"And he saved you," she interrupted him.
Mark laughed. "No, he came after the fight was over. Since there was corpses of over twenty gryphons and an unknown threat, he decided to protect the ponies under his command and sent them back to their base. His idea was to face us alone."
She laughed. The sound reminded Mark of birds singing. "That's an impressive feat. You got my curiosity, that should have been a impressive fight."
Mark didn't look happy at how lightly she took their death. "Gryphons are living beings the same way ponies are. Rainbow Dash didn't mean to kill them."
"You have to admit that ponies are superior to..." She stopped when she noticed anger painting his face.
His voice was dry. "They are not. Different, yes, but not superior. I'm not a pony and to the timelord's eyes, we are probably not much more than primitive beasts that can't even travel to other worlds. Compared to some species living out there, we are nothing."
"I... I'm sorry."
They walked a long time in silence.
"Rainbow Dash, I would guess this is the mare with the prismatic mane?" She asked, uneasy with the tension between her and Mark.
"Yes, she is."
"How did she?"
Mark sighed. "I guess they were very..."
"Overconfident?" She interrupted him.
"Yes. They were in a tight formation and she performed a sonic boom in the middle of their group," he explained, understanding she would not drop the topic.
She frowned. "A sonic boom?"
"She calls that a sonic rainboom. When something is traveling faster than the speed of sound, the compression of the air increases its density to the point where it's similar to the shockwave of an explosion."
Celestia stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment. "Is that really possible?"
"I thought it was impossible for a living being to fly that fast. Well, that was until I saw her do it."
She blinked a few time. "I understand now why she looked unhappy when I said she couldn't handle the situation."
He smiled. "She's quite proud and she acts before thinking, but she always has good intentions."
"I see." She raised her head. "We are reaching soon Canterlot."
Mark looked forward and noticed a wall of blocks of rock coming over the tree line, not unlike human medieval town. "I will go see Twilight. Thanks for the talk, I enjoyed it."
Celestia replied with a weak smile. "So do I."
Mark sprinted forward and reached Twilight in a few quick steps. She didn't miss the wall and looking at it. "Old Canterlot?"
She nodded. "Yes. You would be surprised the lack of information about this place in history books, even if it was the capital of Equestria for over a millenium." She looked at him. "How was the princess?"
Mark thought about it for a minute. "I guess... I don't know. Not what I was expecting." She laughed.
Dawn walked back to the town square where the others were waiting with Celestia. They had promised to defend her on their lives as he walked away to investigate the absence of guards and soldiers at the city's gates. When he came back, he found them in a dark corner, trying to avoid attention as much as possible, which proved quite hard with a large gryphon and a winged unicorn mare that shared striking resemblance with Celestia, if only for her size. Other ponies were whispering and giving them weird looks as they walked by.
Rarity somehow produced several cloaks from her saddlebags which somehow helped camouflage their more visible members. Pinkie Pie was trying to make Celestia laugh with some joke only she found funny. However, the goddess appeared to genuinely enjoy the effort and was politely laughing at some of the bad puns. When Dawn came to them, Celestia, Twilight and Rarity moved closer to him, while the others listened from further away.
"It's like we saw when we entered the city," he said. "There's no guard at the gates and the barracks are empty."
Twilight nodded. "We overheard some ponies talking. After some royal guards fled the temple, a group of soldiers entered it in formation, but they never came out."
"A merchant said he saw soldiers run out of the city. He assumed they were couriers, but was surprised at their numbers," Rarity added.
"My goddess," Dawn said his sight fixed at the ground in front of Celestia. "I'm afraid I was wrong. There's no presence of the army in the city or near it. It would be safer to go to the nearest army outpost."
Celestia shock her head in negation. "You were right back then, my place is here. I think I'm quite safe with..." She was interrupted by a loud voice that appeared to come from every corners of the city.
"My subjects, your presence is required at the temple."
The voice was loud enough to shake the glasses of the buildings' windows. Fluttershy curled in the smallest ball she could become. The other mares looked at each other, as they knew that voice before.
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie said, almost joyful. "Was that..." but she was interrupted by Applejack's hoof on her snout.
"Yes," Celestia said while looking at the sky. "It's my sister, the goddess of the night." She looked down. "Even if her voice changed as her body did, it was definitely her." She closed her eyes and sighed. "We should go see why she wants everypony at the temple."
"Your divinity!" Dawn shouted. "It's not safe! She already attacked you and..." He stopped and backed off when she shot him an angry look.
"We can always blend with the crowd," Twilight said. "Rarity, you got more of those cloaks?"
The fashionista smiled. "You know me, I'm always prepared for those situations."
They were standing at the edge of the crowd of ponies that came to the large esplanade in front of the temple. The crowd was buzzing with whispering of ponies wondering why they were summoned. Some recognized Luna's voice while others claimed it was too different to be hers. All in all, over five thousands ponies were waiting for answers.
"I thought the city had more population than that," Mark whispered to Twilight.
She looked at him from under her dark purple cloak. "And I was expecting the city to be bigger. It's only about twice the size of Ponyville."
"And I must say," Rarity said while wearing a white cloak embroidered with golden leaves. "I never saw a city so dirty. The smell is terrible."
"Well, many things we take for granted, like running water, will only come in a few centuries," Twilight explained. "But I admit, the salubrity of the city is far worse than I imagined."
"I thought you all looked a bit too colorful when I first meet you," Mark said. He noticed somepony staring at him. "No offense, Rainbow."
"None taken," the mare replied with a weird smile.
"But this... They all look grey, depressed." He noticed the soldier unicorn looking around. "Dawn, how is the war going on?"
"Well, it is..." He quickly stopped when he noticed Celestia waiting for his answer. "It's going great!" he said with a forced smile.
"Well look at that," Applejack said. "if I aint found a worst liar than me."
"I want the truth sergeant," Celestia said with a voice that could cut rock.
He swallowed hard. "I'm sure the goddess knows how the war is going more than I do."
"And I want your honest opinion," she said staring at him.
The soldier was sweating and looking around for help. "It... It's... It's terrible. We are losing, slowly but surely. Gryphons are stronger than pegasi and since three years ago, their warriors use armor plating that nullifies all unicorns' magic. The only reason we still stand is because of the earth ponies' resilience. They are cutting our supply routes one by one and it's been over a year since we managed to do any kind of successful attack," he spitted out in one breath.
"Really? I didn't feel we were making any kind of significant progress, and not just because my father was holding back," Freewind noted.
"We are great to cover our defeats," Dawn countered. "But lately, we were putting more efforts into that than into battles."
Celestia sat down on the ground and looked at her hooves. "I knew the generals were lying to me."
"But we cannot lose, goddess! You are to support us. You are testing us and we will overcome the difficulties you put on our path. We know you will make us prevail!" he said with a weak fanaticism, trying to cheer her up, not really believing it himself.
She stared at him as if she saw a ghost. She then slowly turned her head toward Twilight. "Twilight... Your name is Twilight?" The mare nodded back. "What's your honest opinion of the situation?"
"Well... After seeing both Canterlot and the gryphon's capital, I must say the ponies aren't in good shapes." She took a long breath. "The gryphons are mass producing magium alloy, no doubt that within a year or two all their troops will be armored with it."
"Seven months," Freewind added.
Celestia frowned. "Magium?"
"A metal that turn any magic that touches it into heat," Twilight explained. Some part of her brain wondered if she just historically named that metal, but she quickly remembered that Gryphons were already using it and had already named it.
"Is there anything to do against it?"
Freewind shock his head. "We are mixing it with our best steel. It makes it slightly more brittle, but you don't need a huge quantity of it to render any magic useless. The only downside is that after a long battle, the metal can become quite hot."
"So, with enough magic it could melt it?" Celestia asked.
Freewind shrugged. "In theory. But nopony has that much magic. Maybe a hundred unicorn aiming at a single gryphon could overcome his defenses."
She closed her eyes. "I should go on the front line."
Dawn jumped forward. "You can be serious!" he shouted. He stopped in his tracks once he noticed her staring at him with an angry look. "It's... It's dangerous," he managed to add in a whisper.
Celestia turned around and looked at Freewind. "Did your father ever go in battle?"
The gryphon sat down. "More times than I can count. He made sure to always be in the frontlines."
"Why?"
He let out a small laugh. "When I was assigned to a platoon, I asked him the exact same thing." His sight drifted away. "If you can't be out there and share the pain and death of those who carry your orders, you don't deserve to give them in the first place." He smiled. "Back then, I didn't understand his words. When I got a command on my own, I had lost enough friends to understand he was right about that. Besides, he was the best warrior, his presence alone on the battlefield meant far better chances of success." He looked down and his shoulders dropped. "I... I missed him."
It didn't take long before Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy rushed to hug him. He was surprised by the sudden support and didn't make him at ease, but he didn't push them away.
Celestia frowned. "The king is..." but she was interrupted by a loud shout.
"Population of Canterlot."
Everypony turned to look at the source, a tall black mare standing on a balcony, high above the esplanade. Behind her, the Sun was going down, quickly hidden by the temple. As the Sun disappeared, her mane poured out of the temple and spread around her. The crowd of ponies was now fully silent and focused on the new comer.
"Luna," Celestia whispered, her eyes locked on her sister.
Mark got close to Twilight. "Is it?"
"It is," she answered.
"Why does her mane look like the space creature we defeated on the Moon?" he asked, as calm as he could.
"What?" Twilight almost shouted while staring at him.
"Well, it's smaller and the color is slightly different. But the shape, sparkles and motions are the same," Mark explained. "Doctor?"
The brown stallion stepped forward. "I admit this is uncanny. The temporal disturbances could have been it being sent back in time."
Twilight's eye couldn't be wider. "You mean... You mean we created..."
"I am Nightmare Moon," the black mare shouted, interrupting Twilight and sending shivers in her spine.
"I remember her to be much smaller than that," Rarity noted. "Her mane could cover the whole esplanade!"
"This explains how she drained Celestia's power," Mark added.
"I'm here to bring you great news!"
"Ten bits on 'bring you eternal night'." Rainbow Dash said. Applejack shot her an annoyed look.
"From this moment forth, the night shall be eternal. We shall live under the Moon, forever together!" the Nightmare shouted as she took flight. The Moon rose from behind the temple, following the mare's altitude.
The crowd of ponies started whispering loudly, unsure of how to take the news. Some ran away, but most didn't understand what was going on. Once the Moon was high in the sky, Nightmare Moon flew back to the balcony.
"We know my ponies. It is a great change and it will take time to accept it. But in time, we know you will come to enjoy the gift we offer you today!" she shouted. After a while, she turned around and disappeared in the temple.
"Oh, this is bad," the Doctor said. Everypony turned to look at him. He standing back in some shadows in his biped form and was looking at something off his screwdriver only him could see.
Celestia's eyes went wide in surprised and she put a hoof to her mouth. She looked at Mark. "What you said was true?"
"All of it," he answered, slightly insulted that she thought he was joking.
"Quite bad..."
"Doctor?" Twilight asked.
The Doctor raised his head, suddenly aware he was speaking his mind. "Oh, sorry." He pocketed his screwdriver and in a blur he was back as a brown stallion. He gave them a fake smile.
"Doctor!" Twilight shouted.
"What?"
"What is bad?"
"Oh... Hmm... I have a good and a bad news. Which one you want first?" the Doctor said with a playing smile.
"Doctor!" Twilight shouted again.
"Let's go with the good one first," Rarity said.
The Doctor bowed down slightly. "The good news is the Nightmare didn't just stop Earth's rotation. She tilted the planet's axis."
"And how is that good news?" Applejack asked.
"It is a good news because the tidal waves will continue and there will be enough air current to mix the atmosphere a bit. Stopping Earth's rotation suddenly could have been devastating," the Doctor explained.
"And the bad news?" Fluttershy asked, still clamped to Freewind and shaking from fear.
The Doctor chuckled. "Ah yeah... The bad news." He put a hoof behind his head. "The planet's part facing away from the Sun will lose about fifteen degrees Celsius every day. In two days, snow will start to fall and in four, we will freeze to death."
"I admit, this is a bad news," Rarity commented in surprise. |
Ice and Shadow | pre | "Because the windigoes were there, duh," Sky mocked, enjoying the chance to turn the tables on his enemy. "The windigoes had never been known to bother the colony before, so they essentially had no reason to travel to it now. They had to have some way of knowing that there was a conflict worth travelling there for. And the only way they would know that is if something told them about it. And the only creature worth listening to would be a windigo. Which meant that you would need to take the form of a windigo to get them to travel to Polarmino. And there's hardly a better place to hide out than in the home of your enemies, am I right?"
"We told you, we were not hiding," the Chimera hissed.
"Oh, right. I keep forgetting that. Must be the look of fear in your eyes."
The Chimera looked like it was about to foam at the mouth after Sky's final remark. "You will die, pegasus," it growled. "But not before we have caused you as much pain as we possibly can."
Sky smiled smugly. "I accept that challenge." He quickly glanced around the chamber. "So, I guess that means it's time for me to do my thing and beat you again."
"We know as well as you do that you were nothing more than lucky to survive last time. You will not be so fortunate again."
"Said the loser," Sky replied as he shot across the chamber, leaving streams of electricity in his wake.
He closed the distance to his foe in a split second. The Chimera had barely had a chance to raise a single claw before Sky slammed into it, discharging a surge of magic as he made contact. The Chimera reeled backwards from the force of the blow, roaring in pain. Sky brought his hind legs forward and kicked, simultaneously sending the beast crashing onto its side and launching himself high into the air. He twisted into a somersault, then, calling upon his determination and will, shot towards the platform like a thunderbolt, hoping to smash the Chimera right into it.
But the monster surprised him by rolling away with startling speed, sending Sky right into the platform. It whined and cracked upon impact, opening a hole in the middle. Sky tore through the hole at an alarming speed. He barely managed to pull out of the dangerous nosedive before he crashed into the ground, then turned upwards to re-engage his foe.
He nimbly dodged a blast of searing flame that greeted him as he approached. The Chimera spewed its deadly breath in all directions, effectively creating a nigh-impenetrable grid of flame to shield it from attacks. Wow...it HAS gotten better.
Sky shifted positions in the air, searching for some way to get past the wall of flame that held him at bay. He watched every move, looking for a window to make a pass. Finally, after waiting several tense moments, he saw his chance. Gathering his wits and power, he shot straight for the Chimera, moving like he had been fired out of a cannon.
As expected, all three heads moved to intercept him as he approached. He twisted his body away from the fire just long enough to reach the Chimera's body. Instantly, he flattened himself as much as he could as his hooves made contact with the icy surface. He skidded along beneath the Chimera, popping up behind it and planting a hoof into the face of the serpent head.
By the time the goat head had managed to turn around, Sky had already gotten above it. As the inevitable inferno erupted from its mouth, Sky fixed his hooves on both sides of its head and twisted it forward, where the third head had now turned to give chase to the pegasus. In a blinding blaze, the lion's head was engulfed in the fires of its own making.
"Now THAT'S giving you a piece of your own medicine!" Sky shouted triumphantly, releasing the goat head and rising into the air. But his ecstasy gave way to disbelief as the goat ceased its flaming assault and the lion's head reappeared, looking completely unharmed (and a little peeved). Well...that was disappointing.
"Did you truly think that we could be harmed by our own flames?" the three voices said in unison, though they spoke with a threatening chill that caused Sky's stomach to clench like a fist.
He dodged to the ground as more flames erupted past him. He narrowly avoided a vicious kick when he felt something coil around his rear right leg. Looking back, he saw a serpentine body wrapped around his leg, with its head drawing in breath for what Sky could only imagine as a burst of flaming death.
Sky twisted back and smashed the head into the platform with a free hoof, causing it to release his leg. He hesitated for just a moment, trying to calm his nerves as he got over just how close he had been to an unpleasant fate.
And he realized, too late, what a mistake that had been.
Something solid and powerful slammed into his body, sending him careening through the air and sending his senses reeling. His sense of direction evaporated as the only sensation his brain registered was the pain of the sudden impact of the Chimera's paw. His trajectory came to a sudden stop when he crashed into something, but in his barely conscious state, he wasn't sure if it was the floor or a wall...or the ceiling, for that matter.
He was dimly aware of a shrill ringing in his ears. He could feel something pressing up against his stomach, so he assumed that he was lying face-first on the ground, though that hardly mattered. His mind was spinning like a top, and whenever he opened his eyes, all he could see was one big blur.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt an impending sense of danger, as though something was urging him to get up and move. He tried to bring his world into focus, though the most he could do was make out a mixture of ugly colors in the center of his field of vision that seemed to slowly grow bigger with each passing moment.
Somewhere amidst that incessant ringing in his ears, he heard a voice--no, a group of voices. "And so it ends, pegasus."
I...I know that sound.
The warning in his head burst into color as about a million red flags rose at the sudden recollection of his situation. But no matter what he did, Sky's brain simply could not make his body respond. He was totally vulnerable. The Chimera had him.
"You fought well, but it could end no other way. Farewell."
Sky saw the Chimera's blurry form rear back for a moment before a blast of yellow and orange engulfed his vision. He could feel the heat from the fire as it hurtled towards him. He closed his eyes and let his head fall.
I'm sorry, everypony. |
Ice and Shadow | Chapter 11: It's Not Over Yet | Sky felt a cool breeze blow across his neck. He opened his eyes and beheld a brilliant dazzling light ahead of him. All the colors of the rainbow danced across his field of vision as he looked on. Sky smiled sadly as the realization finally washed over him.
So, this is what it's like to be dead, huh?
He tried to rise to his hooves and approach the light (as he figured he should), but found that his legs were still not responding as he'd like. He found that a bit odd, considering that he really shouldn't be constrained by his body anymore. He down at his legs and noticed that he was still donned in his worn and torn white coat along with his white boots. He was suddenly also aware that the breeze was not only coming from behind him, but that it wasn't really cool at all: it was straight-up freezing. Sky sighed.
Okay, so apparently, I'm not dead.
Sky shook his head and tried to refocus. The light ahead of him was most certainly the death-bringing flames of the Chimera, but from what he could tell, they weren't getting any closer. As his vision cleared, he saw that a wall of ice had risen up and was holding the flames at bay. Curious, Sky twisted his head around to see a great congregation of windigoes gathered behind him, all blowing in unison to where the ice wall stood, constantly renewing it against the infernal assault of the Chimera.
Sky rubbed his eyes. Are the windigoes...protecting me?
He scanned the rest of the chamber. More windigoes were coming from all over the cavern, joining their comrades in their effort to defy the Chimera. The chamber was cast in a strangely-ambient array of colors as the light of the flames was broken by the ice and scattered against every surface. And far across the cavern, a pure white light shone like a star. He strained to see what it was, but as his vision finally returned to normal he saw the small outline of a unicorn standing regally like a queen, her horn glowing with power. With a sudden burst of comprehension, Sky smiled and chuckled.
Lily. I should have known.
Streams of light passed from her horn throughout the cavern. Even Sky felt its calming effect on him, in spite of the very real danger he was still in. She had used her power to break the panic on the windigoes, giving them a chance to regroup and rally against the Chimera. And not a moment too soon, it would seem. Just a second or two more, and Sky would have been the main course at a Chimera barbecue.
He was still trying to shake his mind free of the cobwebs when he became aware of a body beside him. Looking up, he saw the intense face of a familiar windigo looking down at him. "Well, are you just going to lie there all day? You came to find this thing; I suggest you go get it," the commander said shortly.
Sky grunted as he worked to get his legs to support him. He stretched his wings and found that they were unharmed. "What, don't you want a shot at it?" Sky said through clenched teeth.
The windigo's eyes narrowed, but Sky thought that there was a glimmer of respect hidden within them. "You have your power. Use it."
Sky's legs whined for a few moments as the feeling returned to them. The windigoes were managing to build the ice wall even larger now that there were more of them, though Sky wondered why the Chimera wasn't trying to move around it. Finally, he began to move his legs rhythmically, and he felt like his old self again.
He scanned the chamber again. Beside him, there was the gruff commander of the windigoes. Behind him, a veritable army of windigoes hovered, their icy breath constructing a shield against the deadly flames of the Chimera. And across the chamber, there was Lily, using her own magic to defy the dread of their foe, bringing them all together in a single effort. Everyone was supporting him.
He felt a tingle in his wings. Every breath sent a shiver down his spine. His legs began to itch with excitement as he felt an unmistakable energy course through his veins.
And Sky felt his power return.
He was in the air in a heartbeat, streaking like a comet over the wall. He caught sight of the Chimera, who was only using two heads to blast away at the icy barrier, while the goat head kept a lookout for anything that might dare approach. It saw Sky almost as soon as he was over the wall.
Not today, ugly.
He changed direction before the Chimera's other two heads could turn to face him. He closed the distance deliberately, giving the goat head a chance to target him and take a shot. Smiling, he made his approach. I may not be able to hurt you with your own flames, but I'm willing to bet that you can't see past them.
He passed on the outside of the fiery streak, cutting off his vision of the Chimera. With a desperate push of his wings, he sped up as he reached the tail end of the beast, where the snake head was stretching out to try and intercept him.
"Oh, hi there," Sky said as he threw everything he had into his momentum, stretched out, and caught the tail in his mouth. He felt the Chimera strain as the sudden jerk pulled its body taut. Sky summoned all the energy he had and released it in a surge of magic that sent him rocketing forward, dragging the Chimera unwillingly behind him. With a quick whip of his head, he sent the monster head over heels through the air, crashing into the bare stone wall, engulfed in a cloud of fallen dust and debris.
Sky coughed as he landed. "Ugh, you know you taste terrible?" he taunted.
The Chimera made no response. Sky waited patiently for it to reappear, but after several tense moments, there was still no sound. Still he waited.
"Come on out. I don't have all day to finish you off, you know."
As the dust cloud settled, Sky was surprised to find that the Chimera wasn't there. Well...it was, and it wasn't. The great hulk of a beast that he had been fighting before was gone. It was replaced by the all-too-familiar body of a windigo.
It stood upon the platform, legs splayed outward, looking battle-weary and exhausted. Its head was cast downward, and it was taking deep breaths to try and recover.
Sky raised an eyebrow. He knew he couldn't trust the Chimera, but how bad had he actually hurt it? "I don't care what form you take. You're still a menace to Equestria, and it's my job to see you eliminated."
Slowly, the Chimera-windigo raised its head towards the pegasus. Its eyes were closed, and as it spoke, Sky noticed that its speech was no longer made up of the blend of voices that he was used to hearing. "You can try all you want, but no pony can eliminate me. Not even you."
"Back to referencing yourself in the singular again? Man, I really need to start taking it easy on you."
The Chimera-windigo actually smiled and began to laugh. It was a cruel, thin laugh that seemed to linger in the air. It made Sky's skin crawl. "Well, you have done an admirable job here today. But do not doubt me: your day of reckoning is coming. And you cannot hide from that."
Sky snorted. "The only day of reckoning that's coming is yours."
"Oh, yours will come. You will see. There is no lasting victory." With that, its eyelids pulled back to reveal a pair of glowing crimson eyes that Sky knew all too well. He recoiled as the eyes brought back haunting memories of his first encounter with the beast. "THERE IS ONLY ME!!!"
Sky planted his hooves as the Chimera-windigo took off and headed for the exit. He could feel Lily's calming spell as it quieted his fear. He launched himself into the air and began his pursuit of his quarry as it headed for the exit. The windigoes turned and prepared to seal the exit with a wall of ice.
"No, wait! It's too--"
The Chimera-windigo was into the tunnel just before the barrier sealed the cavern exit. Sky rammed into it, hoping break through, but the seal held fast. Smiling, the fake windigo turned and sneered.
"And so we part again, pegasus," it said in a mocking voice that was muffled by the icy covering on the exit. "It was nice catching up with you."
Sky snarled and beat his hooves relentlessly against the ice. "This isn't over!" he screamed defiantly, his voice wrought with fury. He had been so close...he couldn't let it get away now.
"Oh, of course it isn't. I certainly hope to see you again very soon." A black mist suddenly wrapped itself around the body of the impostor. In a moment, the cloud was pulled back, and the windigo's body had been replaced by another. It was the body of an aged tawny pony with a white mane and tail. A head of wheat formed the cutie mark on its flank. Its eyes glowed red as its wicked smile widened across its face.
Sky could feel his teeth grinding as he watched the scene play out before him. The body changed again into another pony, looking just as old, but this one was a deep gray stallion with a light grey mane. A tall grandfather clock graced its flank as the cutie mark. Finally, the body of the windigo returned. It pressed itself right against the ice with a syrupy sweet smile that made Sky's stomach turn.
"Very, very soon," it said softly.
Sky hurled the fire-spell orb he had fished out of his saddlebags against the ice and watched as the frozen seal disintegrated. The Chimera-windigo turned and fled, laughing maniacally as it moved down the corridor outside. Sky squeezed into the tunnel, deaf to the cries of the windigoes (and Lily) behind him. All he knew was the red fury in his brain and an image of the Chimera laughing over the fallen bodies of Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock.
He tore down the tunnel, frantically looking for the Chimera. He raced along at a breakneck pace until he arrived at the mouth of the tunnel. The sun was high in the sky, and its reflection off the snow blinded Sky where he stood. Shielding his eyes, he squinted and strained to see anything, but all he detected was the sound of a cruel laughter as the wind carried it. He prepared to take off into the daylight when a voice spoke from behind him.
"No."
Sky whipped around to see the commander coming up beside him. "But it's getting away! And I can stop it!"
"Can you?" the commander asked. "Were you able to stop it on your own today?"
Sky bit his lip. He knew the answer, of course, but he wouldn't admit it. To concede the point was to allow the Chimera to get away scot-free.
"Perhaps one day you will stop it," the commander continued. "But if what you told me earlier is true, then your only chance to defeat it will come when you are surrounded by those that you love and care about."
The windigo's words surprised Sky. For a moment, he forgot about the Chimera. "Wait, what?"
The windigo looked down at Sky. There was no disdain in his eyes. In fact, if he had considered it to be possible, Sky could have sworn that he saw...sympathy. "Every creature has its strength. For the windigoes, we ride upon the chaos of our enemies. But the ponies of Equestria find their greatest strength in their reliance upon each other. It is what drove the windigoes away and allowed them to claim the land of Equestria as their own."
Sky remained silent. If the commander felt any bitterness over the legend of the Founders of Equestria, he didn't show it. "We have thrived here for ages. And in that time, the windigoes' hatred of the ponies has been allowed to fester. And yet, in the midst of a danger we were unaware of, two ponies come to warn us about it. And in the end, we ended up working together to drive the creature off." He hesitated as he stared off into the distance. "You are truly unique. Both of you. Your courage led you into the heart of those that considered you their enemies, and your compassion brought us together in a common cause. And you have forced at least one windigo to reconsider what he thought he knew." He turned back to Sky. The commander did not smile, but there was an unmistakable look of respect on his face. "Never lose that. I believe that it is a source of strength for you that will see you through many trials."
Sky found himself surprised by the windigo's honesty. "Thank you, sir," Sky managed. "And I really mean that. It means a lot to hear such words come from someone that basically hated my guts when we first met."
Sky gazed out the opening again. There was silence for a while before Sky spoke again. "So now what? The Chimera essentially destroyed your home here."
The commander shook his head. "No. It decimated our main chamber, but that is hardly the entirety of our home. We will stay and rebuild. We have not moved for hundreds of years, and I do not believe that we will move now."
"What about your King? Is he alright?"
The commander snorted. "You know little about King Icevein. Even with all its power, the Chimera could not hope to eliminate our King so easily. He will be fine with some rest."
"Ah, good," Sky replied. He was silent for another moment. "Well...what about Lily and myself? What will happen to us?"
The commander sighed. "The King will make a judgment on that. But I believe that he will release you back to your homes."
"Really? Even though so much damage was caused?"
"Are you asking to be kept a prisoner?" he replied. Sky grimaced and looked away. "But do not worry. Eventually, the beast would have destroyed our home. But it would have done it entirely. Nothing would have been left. You saved both our home and our lives. The King will not fail to see that."
"Hm." Sky looked out over the snow-covered plain for a moment, then turned around and began to head back to the main chamber. "I just wish I had one more chance to destroy that thing. I wouldn't fail."
"That chance will come," the windigo advised. "Just not today." |
Ice and Shadow | Chapter 12: Hollow Victory | The sky was a backdrop of pristine blue against which the sun sat, casting its radiance across a snow-covered landscape. No clouds could be seen in any direction. Far to the north, on the very edge of eyesight, a familiar mountain range peeked its top over the horizon, as if it were bidding a final farewell to its recent visitors.
To the south, at the base of a shallow drop-off from the snowy plain, the small colony of Polarmino sat lazily, basking in the sunlight. It was much the same as it had been just a few days before, only now, the storm that had plagued it for an entire week had vanished. It was refreshing to see.
Lily sat upon the edge of the frozen plateau that overlooked her home. Beside her, Sky and the windigo commander stood, silently inspecting the town below. Lily had been surprised by the windigo's offer to escort the pair of ponies back to their home, but Sky had quickly accepted. Lily figured that Sky must have known something that she didn't, so she hadn't argued the point. As it turned out, the commander had been quite helpful on their journey back. He had guided them quickly (yet not too quickly) from the mountains back to the edge of Equestria. And in spite of Lily's concern, he had assured both of them that the windigoes would be fine.
"It would take something much greater than that to drive us from our dwelling," he had said. "We would rather die in defense of our home than leave it."
And so, here they were. A unicorn, a pegasus, and a windigo, all gathered at the edge of the place where it had all begun.
It was Sky's voice that broke the silence. "Commander, thank you again for your help. You didn't have to do any of this."
"We are creatures of honor, pegasus. We show respect to those that have earned it, and try to repay our debts in the same way," the windigo replied.
"What debt?" Lily asked. "We all worked together to drive off the Chimera. All we did was warn you about it. It took all of our strength together to beat it."
"Your warning saved countless lives. And we can repay you at least for that much."
Sky shrugged and sighed. "Hey, whatever works for you."
Lily noticed the windigo looking coyly out of the corner of his glowing blue eye. "Before we part, I should let you know: it is still unsafe to travel into the realm of the windigoes, even for the two of you, who have done so much."
Sky didn't seem deterred by the commander's words. "Heh. Well, I don't think we expected to--"
"However," he continued, "if I should ever find you in our lands, I will speak no word of it to any other windigo. I hope you take advantage of that."
Lily couldn't help but smile. "We certainly shall, commander. Thank you again for everything."
He bowed before them, and with a shrill cry, he took off into the air and was gone. They looked back towards the mountains far in the distance for a moment, then, sensing that the time had come, they turned in unison and walked down the incline towards the town.
"So, that was fun, right?" Sky said.
"Fun?" Lily said incredulously. "Let's see: I nearly died at least four times, you nearly died at least once, an entire colony was practically annihilated, a creature of immense power is lurking out there somewhere with a really big grudge...oh, sure, that was exactly what I think of when I hear the word 'fun'." She cast a disapproving look in his direction.
"Hey, it's all a matter of perspective. I see it this way: we saved an Equestrian colony from being frozen over, averted a potential war, successfully drove off that same powerful creature, protected another colony from mass destruction, and possibly opened the door to friendlier relations with the windigoes. I'd say that we didn't do too badly." Sky flashed a charming smile back at her.
Lily sighed. "Still...we both nearly died."
Sky rolled his eyes. "Admit it...you had fun. And you'd do it again in a heartbeat."
She looked him straight in the face. And on the surface, his eyes matched his jovial, almost excessively cheerful demeanor. But behind the façade, Lily could see and feel a deep sorrow that caused her own heart to ache. "I don't know about that," she said softly.
"Sure you would. Especially if I was asking you to go with me."
Lily eyed him suspiciously. "Now you're just flirting with me."
"Of course I am," Sky admitted. "I haven't forgotten about our date."
To be fair, neither had Lily. It had been pushed to a far corner of her mind over the past few days, but she hadn't forgotten. And now that the blizzard was gone and the ordeal with the windigoes was over, she was actually looking forward to it. "Did you have a certain day in mind?"
"How about tonight?" Sky offered.
"Tonight!? But that's hardly enough time for me to get ready or anything!" Lily protested.
Sky stopped in his tracks and held her gaze. "Lily, I'd be fine going out with you even if you looked like you had just rolled out of bed (which you actually kinda do). But you don't need to try and look pretty; you always look beautiful to me."
Lily felt her face turn red. "I bet you say that to all the pretty mares," she replied.
Sky gave her his all-too-familiar smug grin as he started towards the village again. "I'll never tell."
They arrived on the edge of town walking side by side. The ponies of the colony were out and about, mostly working on cleaning up the town and repairing whatever damage had been caused by the storm. The snowdrifts across the main road through town were slowly beginning to disappear, and Lily could even see the ground in certain spots. A group of unicorns was working together on repairing holes in the roofs of several buildings. And many of the younger ponies in the town were scampering about, gathering small pieces of debris and placing them into buckets to be disposed of.
Lily's heart grew lighter as they approached. "Just look at them, Sky. This is how the colony is supposed to be."
They went unnoticed until a familiar light golden colt saw them approach. His eyes grew wide with recognition as Lily and Sky walked through the center of the road towards him.
"Miss Lily! Mister Sky Streak!" Countdown shouted excitedly as he dropped the bucket he had been carrying and raced towards the pair of approaching ponies.
"Countdown!" Lily called, feeling her heart jump in her chest as she finally saw a familiar face again. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"
The colt ran headlong into Sky, tackling him to the ground. "Oof!" Sky's breath rushed out as he hit the ground beneath the force of the colt.
"Haha, I knew you'd come back! I just knew it!" Countdown said, clambering to his hooves and jumping around excitedly. By this time, most of the rest of the ponies had dropped their own items and were beginning to congregate around Sky and Lily. The cheers and shouts made quite the ruckus as they welcomed back their heroes.
Sky quickly stood up again as the townsponies gathered around. He looked around with wide eyes for a moment. Lily thought that he seemed rather bewildered, so she decided to take charge of the situation. As her horn lit up, the crowd grew quieter. "Everypony, if you'll head to the meeting hall with us, we'll tell you what we know."
A short time later, the entire population of the town was gathered into the meeting hall. Every pony from every family was packed inside to see the return of Sky and Lily. Even the Clock family (whom Lily believed was still unwilling to reconcile with the Grain family) was there. Their curiosity was apparently stronger than their resentment.
"Well, as I'm sure you've noticed," Sky began, "the storm is gone." This drew another tremendous cheer from the group, which involuntarily brought a smile to Lily's face. When she had left Polarmino, the town was nearly devoid of any kind of joy or happiness. Now it was everywhere.
"We came to the windigo colony, where we confronted the creature that had started this whole ordeal," Sky continued. "It was a hard and terrible fight, and extremely dangerous, but in the end, we managed to drive off the creature."
"What was the creature?" a stallion in the back of the room asked.
Lily looked at Sky. He had that "I'd-really-rather-not-answer" look on his face, but she knew that he felt compelled to give the honest response.
"I'm afraid I can't give you an exact answer, because I don't know exactly what it is. But I'll tell you what I do know. The creature is a shapeshifter, stealing the forms of other creatures and claiming them as its own. I had seen it change forms before, when I fought it the first time. It had utilized part of the guise of Night Mare Moon that had fallen from Princess Luna, thereby enabling it to take on that shape. This time, it had stolen the form of a windigo so that it could hide away in the windigo colony undetected."
"But how did it start the storm if it was disguised as a windigo?" another mare asked.
"Because it took more shapes than just that of a windigo," Sky answered. Lily noticed that his lip was quivering, and his legs seemed tense and taut, like a rubber band stretched to its limit.
He's still upset, Lily thought to herself. He can hide it for a while, but deep down, he's still holding on to that anger and rage. She recalled the emotion in his voice as he had argued with the Chimera as it transformed into the bodies of the two missing ponies. It drives him.
"It...it took the bodies of Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock to cause the two largest families in the town to become hostile towards one another. It tricked you by telling each of you a different story, so that each group would think that the other was lying." He paused as a hushed murmur floated around the room. "It had planned to let the division spread and fester. That would bring the windigoes there to feed. And as the animosity grew, the bad weather would do the same. Polarmino would have been frozen and buried, and the Equestrian leadership would naturally pin the blame on the obvious culprits: the windigoes. A war would break out. And that's exactly what the shapeshifter wanted: chaos. It wants destruction. Destruction to its--"
Sky's eyes suddenly glazed over. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts for a moment, drawn to another place, or reliving a memory that took on a sudden importance. "Sky?" she asked, nudging him with her hoof.
Instantly, Sky shook his head and seemed back to normal, but he seemed deeper in contemplation now. "Sorry, just something I remembered." Turning to Lily, he whispered, "I'll tell you later."
"So what about Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock?" Barley asked from Lily's right. "Did you rescue them?"
Every pony sat up in anticipation, hoping to hear an affirmative response from the blue pegasus. But Sky simply sagged where he sat and let his head droop. "No," he managed. "The Chi--er, shapeshifter stole their bodies. And as long as it lives, those bodies will remain a part of it. I'm sorry."
The excitement in the room deflated like a popped balloon. Every pony's face faded into a look of stunned disbelief at the news. Lily discreetly cast a calming spell over the group, though she didn't think it had much of an effect.
"You mean...they're gone?" Silent Moment asked, tears welling up in the filly's eyes. "Forever?"
Sky's head rose to gaze out across the crowd. For a moment, he sat perfectly still as his eyes scanned the audience.
Suddenly, Lily felt a change in the room. It was like a charge in the air before the coming of a thunderstorm. It sent a chill down her spine. "No," Sky said at last, but his voice carried a tone of steely determination. "Not forever." He stood up on all four hooves and stamped. "It got away from me this time, but I'm not going to let it get away again. You'll see Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock one day soon." He looked past the assembled group of townsponies and out the window. "I promise you that." |
Ice and Shadow | Chapter 13: Moving Forward | Sky felt his mind ease and his body relax as soon as he saw it. He hadn't thought that his time away would affect him as much as it had. But one look at the towering spires and gently glowing lights of the royal city perched on the mountainside was enough to cause the stress to melt from his shoulders.
Canterlot. I'm back.
He circled the pinnacle of the mountain before beginning his descent onto the radiant city. The starry night sky served as a beautiful canvas for the city to silhouette itself against, as though Canterlot itself was the centerpiece of a vast collection of diamonds. Far in the distance, Sky saw the warm glow of Ponyville beside the shadowy edge of Everfree Forest. The darkness persists in that forest, but I'm not afraid of it anymore.
Sky landed smoothly on the walkway leading up to the royal palace. Several of the guards on duty stiffened as they saw Sky approach, only to raise their hooves in a salute as soon as they recognized him.
Sky sighed inwardly. "Good evening, gentlecolts," he said in greeting. He hated the feeling that everypony owed him some sign of recognition. He had been far more comfortable in Polarmino, where nopony knew him or knew what he had done.
Until now, of course.
A second pairing of guards, donned in the traditional royal golden armor, flanked the main doors into the palace. On the left stood a white unicorn with a red and silver mane. The image of a shield with a spear graced his flank. On his right, a dark green pony with a tawny brown mane stood at perfect attention. A pair of binoculars formed his own cutie mark. They snapped a hasty salute in unison as Sky's form came into view. Sky merely raised his eyebrows and nodded in greeting. It feels like I've seen those two somewhere before...
The immense doors opened, and as Sky stepped inside, he staggered as he saw a familiar trio before him, engaged in conversation.
"Twilight? Applejack? Spike? Wh...what are you doing here?" Sky stammered.
Three heads turned simultaneously in Sky's direction. Almost instantly, there were shouts and cries of greetings as they rushed up to the stunned pegasus.
"Well, howdy-do, Sky!" Applejack said in her normal enthusiastic manner. "Ain't this a surprise!"
"Sky, it's so good to see you again!" Twilight said, beaming in excitement. "Did you just get back from an assignment?"
"Uh, yeah," Sky said, trying to compose himself. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. "It's a small colony in the far north of Equestria. Polarmino, that's its name. You've probably never even heard of it."
"I have," Twilight said, her know-it-all mannerisms coming to the forefront. "It was founded two years ago right on the northernmost border of Equestria. The colony, which had a population of less than thirty at last check, was founded primarily by two families, the..."
"The Grains and the Clocks," Sky finished. His forehead wrinkled as he spoke. I'll never forget those names. And I won't stop thinking about them until I've done everything I can to help them.
"Right," Twilight nodded. "So, they were having trouble of some sort?"
"Whatever it was, I'm sure that Sky's fixed it all up by now," Spike said confidently. "Right, Sky?" He elbowed the pegasus in the ribs playfully.
Inwardly, Sky winced at the remark, but he merely smiled as he said, "Ask me again later."
Their smiles seemed to fade as his words reached their ears. "Sky...is something wrong?" Twilight asked in a concerned voice.
Sky hesitated. He had no reason to disclose any information to them. They weren't part of his mission, anyways.
But they were his friends. And Sky felt a certain obligation to share his thoughts and concerns with them.
Sky's head felt like it was going to split as the dueling opinions battled for supremacy. Finally, when he thought he couldn't take it anymore, Applejack's voice cut through the silence. "Now, let's not be nosy. I'm sure Sky's got his reasons for not wantin' to say too much." She gave him a reassuring smile.
Sky released an internal sigh of relief. He hadn't wanted to divulge anything, but he hadn't wanted to just say "no" to them without an explanation. "So, really, what are you doing here?" he asked quickly, attempting to redirect the conversation.
"Applejack needed to make a special trip here to gather some things for the coming apple harvest at Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight explained. "There are just some things that you can't get in Ponyville, and Spike and I decided to come along for company."
"And they're great company, let me tell you," Applejack agreed. "Showin' me all around the city. I'd been here before, but I ain't ever seen anything like what they've been showin' me."
"Yeah, Canterlot's certainly a special place," Sky replied. "I guess it's home for me now. And to be honest, I really don't mind."
"I remember when we lived here before moving to Ponyville," said Spike, who was gazing off into the distance, apparently lost in his memories. "Too bad Twilight was too caught up in her books to actually go do anything."
Sky and Applejack covered their mouths, trying to hide their laughter, much to Twilight's exasperation. "That's enough from you," she said, lifting the baby dragon onto her back with her magic.
"So, what are you doing in the palace?" Sky continued.
"Oh, well, we were just going to drop in and see the Princess before heading back to our rooms."
Sky caught sight of a door opening at the far end of the hall. "I think you're about to see her."
The entire group turned towards the opening doors, where not only Princess Celestia, but also Luna, Cadance, and Shining Armor had emerged. As they approached, the group of friends bowed collectively.
"Ah, Sky, you've returned. I'm glad to see you safe again," Celestia said as Sky raised his head. "And Twilight, Spike, and Applejack. What brings you to the palace?"
"Just a friendly visit, Yer' Highness," Applejack said cheerfully.
"Well, I suppose we can do more than that. If all four of you would come with us to the throne room, then Sky can give us his report on his latest mission. I'm sure you'll be interested to hear all about it."
Sky nearly swallowed his tongue as Celestia spoke. He felt a cold sweat start to break out on his forehead. Reluctantly, he followed behind the group as they headed for the throne room.
Looks like I'll have to tell them anyway.
"Now then," Princess Celestia began as she took her place among the other members of the Council, "how did the mission go? Did you manage to deal with the storm?"
"I did, Princess," Sky replied. "The storm is gone, and the colony is safe for the moment."
"Wait...Sky went to this colony to deal with a storm?" Spike interrupted, a look of confusion on his face.
"Spike! Shush!" Twilight chided.
"No, it's alright," Celestia said, smiling sympathetically. "I had forgotten that not everypony here was fully aware of the circumstances of Sky's mission. The colony had been dealing with a powerful blizzard that had crippled the town and endangered its existence. We believed that there was more to it than that, so we sent Sky to investigate."
"But the town's safe now, right?" Twilight asked, glancing at Sky.
He hesitated. "It's safe from the blizzard."
The gazes of the members of the Council were like massive spears pointing at him, making him feel terribly guilty. He looked at Princess Luna, who raised an eyebrow as she spoke. "Is there something else that threatens the colony now, Sky Streak?"
His jaw locked. Somewhere in his mind, he could feel his body trembling. Before he had returned to Canterlot, whenever he had thought about his battle in the windigoes' realm, it filled him with anger. But now, surrounded by his friends and superiors, his rage was overcome by a distinct feeling of failure and replaced with sorrow. A knot formed in his throat as his eyes began to sting. He dropped his head, unable to meet the gazes of the Council.
There was an awkward pause before Luna asked the inevitable question. "It was there, wasn't it?"
For a moment, Sky felt a wave of hatred wash over him as he saw the image of his foe in his mind. "Yes," he said at last. His voice was clearer than he had expected, but it was wrought with the pain he felt.
"'It'? What's 'it'? What was there?" Spike asked from Sky's right. He heard the little dragon's feet hit the ground as he jumped from his perch on Twilight's back.
Sky looked over and caught Spike's eyes. He noticed that both Twilight and Applejack were also looking at him with similar looks of confusion on their faces.
He didn't speak. He couldn't. He simply looked at them for what seemed an eternity, where each moment was more unbearable than the last. Suddenly, Twilight gasped and brought a hoof to her mouth.
"You mean...the Chimera? You saw it again?" she said in a hushed voice.
"Did you fight it again?" Spike asked after the shock of Twilight's revelation passed.
"Yes, I fought it. And just like last time, I barely survived. And, also like last time, I managed to drive it off."
"Well, I fer one don't understand what the problem is," Applejack spoke up. "If you managed to shoo it off and save the colony, then everything should be A-OK."
"I agree," Princess Cadance said. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning and explain everything, Sky."
Sky took a deep breath to try and calm himself. "Shortly after my arrival in Polarmino, I discovered that there were windigoes in the colony."
"Windigoes?!" Twilight, Applejack, and Spike all shouted together.
"Yes, windigoes. It turns out that they have maintained a bit of a kingdom not far beyond the northern edge of Equestria. And they had come to Polarmino to feed on the negative feelings of some of the ponies in the village. That led me to assemble the entire town to try and discover the source of the negative feelings. I had hoped that by resolving the issue, it would cause the windigoes to leave, taking the storm with them."
"A solid plan," Shining Armor commented.
"As it turned out," Sky continued, "the culprits of the argument were the town's founders, the Clock and Grain families. Apparently, the patriarchs of each family had gotten into some sort of argument that had caused a rift between the two clans. The conflict escalated until it drew the attention of the windigoes, who brought the storm. Unfortunately, when I confronted the families about it, they each gave two separate stories about what had actually happened. And to make matters worse, both Gr--" Sky coughed abruptly, cutting off his speech. The names of the settlement's founders stuck in his throat as he thought of his inability to save either of them from a grisly fate.
"Mm. Sorry," he said, rubbing his throat. "As I was saying," he paused to make sure he could say the names, "Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock had gone missing that morning. Rather inexplicably."
Princess Luna narrowed her eyes as Sky spoke. "That's rather suspicious," Cadance commented.
"I thought so, too. And on top of all that, one of the little fillies in town had told me that she had seen a 'scary black cloud' in the town. Considering all the information I had, I believed that I knew what was going on. So Lily and I left the next day to head to the windigo kingdom."
"Lily?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, right, sorry. Lily Pond. She's a unicorn in Polarmino. She was my contact when I arrived, and she volunteered to travel with me to go find the windigoes." Sky felt a little embarrassed to be talking about her in front of a pair of lovely mares like Twilight and Applejack, but he didn't let it show.
"Oh, I see," Twilight said, nodding in understanding. "Please continue."
"We managed to arrive at the windigo colony. The leader of the windigoes, King Icevein, was initially unwilling to listen to us, but I managed to find the Chimera on my own. It had been hiding there, using the disguise of a windigo to remain undetected. After I confronted it, however, it went on a rampage, essentially destroying a large portion of the windigoes' homes before fleeing."
"But what was its connection to the storm in Polarmino?" Celestia asked.
The fury once again rose in Sky's mind as he saw the scene play out for him again. There was the windigo, then it was the body of Grandpa Grain, and then it was Grandfather Clock. But each time, it was still the Chimera--simply hidden in a shell of a victim.
"The Chimera had disguised itself as"--he cleared his throat--"Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock. It had used those disguises to perpetrate rumors within the individual families so that neither side knew the truth. All it had to do then was to wait for the windigoes to come and eventually wipe out the colony. It was hoping that the destruction of an Equestrian town at the hooves of the windigoes would fuel a conflict, possibly all-out war, between the windigoes and Equestria."
"I'm beginning to believe that this creature simply desires destruction to its fullest extent," Shining Armor said, a glint in his eye.
"But wait," Cadance spoke up. "You told us that the Chimera could only take the form of something if it had possession of its body. By eating it, you said. Then how did it..." Her voice trailed off.
Sky winced and turned away as if he had just been kicked in the face. The horrific truth fell like an avalanche on the ponies in the room. A dead silence engulfed the chamber as each one of them reeled from the sudden realization.
"Oh my," Luna said softly.
Sky felt a pair of bodies come up beside him, one on either side. Looking up, he saw Twilight, with Spike having returned to her back, on his right, and Applejack on his left. All three of them had looks of stunned horror on their faces, but it was mingled with empathy and sorrow. "Sky...I'm so sorry. I didn't know," Spike apologized as best he could.
Sky found looking at his friends even more distressing than facing the Council, so he turned back to them. He found their eyes trained on him, but he saw his own pain reflected in their faces. He wondered if they truly understood the terror he had faced and the tragedy he had been subjected to.
Princess Celestia spoke again, but her voice betrayed just how shaken she was. "Is there anything we can do to rescue them?"
Sky shook his head. "Not that I know of, Your Highness. The only possibility I can think of is that if we can vanquish the creature, we might be able to release the victims." He paused. "Or, it might destroy them along with the Chimera."
The silence fell again. Sky could feel the tension in the air as everypony came to grips with the truth that had been presented to them. Finally, Celestia spoke up, a steely determination in her voice.
"This has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Not only can we not be certain where this enemy is, but it may be one of us. Shining Armor," she said, turning to face her captain of the guard, "I must ask that you once again place the protective shield around Canterlot. We must take immediate action to protect ourselves. Let the citizens of the city know that a threat has arisen, but do not give them any more details than necessary. I do not think we want to deal with a panicked population at this time."
Shining Armor nodded and galloped off, Princess Cadance right behind him. "Sister, we must tighten our watch upon the land. We must locate this thing before it can cause any more harm to Equestria," Celestia continued, facing Princess Luna.
"Princesses," Sky interjected, "there is...one more thing."
Celestia and Luna both turned to face him. "The Chimera mentioned something else during our battle. It had already told me that it had wanted to start a war between the ponies and the windigoes, but it also said that it had considered trying to get more lands involved in the war. I think it has a vendetta against everything."
"Did it mention any realms specifically?" Luna asked.
"Not that I can remember," Sky replied, playing the moment over in his head. "No, it didn't."
"Very well," Celestia said. Her face was a study in concentration and deep thought. "Your room is prepared for you, Sky. I suggest you get your rest. I believe we will have much need of your assistance in the days to come."
Sky nodded. He had expected no less. "Of course, Princess."
Without any further words directed towards Sky, Celestia and Luna turned and walked away, speaking softly to each other. Sky's ears flattened as he thought of the sudden distress and worry that his news would place on everypony.
"Sky, you know what you need?" Applejack's voice rose from beside him.
"To wake up from this nightmare," he replied without hesitation.
"You need somethin' to cheer you up," the orange mare said, ignoring Sky's remark. "How about you come down to the farm later this week, and we'll have us a good ol'-fashioned get-together? You, me, Twi, and all the gang from Ponyville can be there. We've hardly seen ya' for a few months, so I think it'd be good to see each other again."
"Yeah, that sounds great!" Twilight chimed in. "I know that everypony would love to be able to catch up with you."
"A 'get-together'?" Sky asked, his mood lightening as he talked with his friends. "I think Pinkie Pie would call that a 'party'."
"Call it what you will, but we're gonna have one," Applejack responded. "You better be there. Two days from now; we'll all have lunch together." She eyed Sky accusingly.
"Alright, alright, I'll come!" Sky said innocently. "You sure you're not becoming more like Pinkie Pie?"
"If she was, then the party would be going on already, and you'd be standing in it," Spike replied.
"That's the truth," Twilight giggled.
Sky looked out a nearby window just in time to see a large pink wave rise up around the entire city, encasing it in an immense protective bubble. "Looks like things are gonna be really different around here."
"For now, but I don't think it'll last long," Twilight said encouragingly. "We'll find a way to stop the Chimera and save everypony."
"It's becoming a bit of a routine with us," Applejack smirked.
Sky smiled in response, but his mind was still sober. "I sure hope you're right."
"We can't afford to be wrong." |
Ice and Shadow | Sky and Lily: The Date | Location: Confidential
Time: 5:23 PM, March 24
SS and LP approach a secluded location in a small grove of trees. The sky is beginning to redden as the sun falls towards the horizon.
SS: Feeling better?
LP: Better?
SS: Well...less tired, at least?
LP: Oh, yes. (pause) So, this is the spot.
SS: Pretty. Come here often?
LP: No, not really. It's just a place that I've seen from the edge of town before, and I thought it looked kinda secluded and lonely, but still pretty.
SS: That it is.
LP: And sorta romantic.
SS: (laughs)
LP: What's so funny?
SS: You. You make me laugh. It's nice to be the one laughing instead of being the one trying to make others do it.
LP: Oh, well, alright. (sets down a basket and begins to rummage through it) Feel like eating something?
SS: Heh. I wouldn't mind an apple. Or whatever you have.
LP: Good, I brought a few. (gives an apple to SS, who begins to eat it immediately) They're the freshest I had, considering we haven't gotten any new shipments since the storm started.
SS: It's fine. It's not moldy or rotten, so that makes it fine by me.
LP: (bites into her own apple and swallows) You know, I've never actually been on a date with anypony before.
SS: Really? Me neither, actually.
LP: So this the first time for both of us? (takes another bite)
SS: Seems like it. So I guess if we're doing it wrong, nopony will know, huh?
LP: (coughs as she laughs and swallows at the same time) I guess not.
SS: Well, let's just talk, then. When you're not saving Equestria, what do you like to do?
LP: What? I didn't save Equestria.
SS: Oh, you're right. Well, it sounded good in my head.
LP: (chuckles. Takes another bite of her apple)
SS: So, what do you like to do normally? Like, what did you do before you moved to Polarmino?
LP: You mean back in Fillydelphia? Well, I helped my parents run their business.
SS: Which was? (takes a large bite of his apple)
LP: They owned a jewelry store there in town. I remember that most of the items they made had a gemstone right in the middle of them. I seem to recall seeing a lot of emeralds. It was nice.
SS: How did you help?
LP: Oh, just in little ways. I would run errands for them, hold things steady while they worked on them...you know, stuff like that.
SS: OK, I gotcha.
LP: What about you? What did you do before you joined the Service?
SS: Well, I did a lot of different things. But usually I helped out with delivery services. Ones that had a certain requirement for speedy work.
LP: Is that your special talent? Being fast?
SS: Well, I've been told that I'm quick. And the special abilities I got from fighting the Chimera the first time haven't hurt that at all.
LP: I should say not. I've never seen any pony move as fast as you did back in the battle. Wings or no.
SS: Thanks.
LP: And asking a mare out on a date after knowing her for only two days indicates speed of another kind.
SS: (snorts) See, that's not fair.
LP: Oh? You just told me that this is the first date that you've ever been on. So I have nothing else to work off of.
SS: OK, now you're just being hard to live with.
LP: Consider it payback for all the teasing you did to me.
SS: Whatever.
LP: You know, you're pretty fun to tease, too.
SS: Har har. (takes another big bite of apple and places the rind on the ground)
LP: No sarcastic comebacks tonight? You must be tired.
SS: (releases a long sigh) Sorry. Got a lot on my mind right now, you know?
LP: ...Still thinking about the Clocks and Grains?
SS: Yeah. I just can't help thinking that I could have done more. That I failed to do everything that I could.
LP: Sky, it's like this is the one thing that you just can't bring yourself to understand. No pony can do everything all by themselves. It's just not possible. You can't be so hard on yourself.
SS: My head says that it agrees, but my heart just can't accept that.
LP: I think that the sooner you come to grips with that, the sooner you can put an end to the Chimera.
SS: I just wish it was that easy. But I tend to be pretty thick-headed.
LP: I thought you just told me that it was your heart that was the problem.
SS: (sighs and smiles) You know, I wondered why I found myself so attracted to you after such a short time. And I think I know why now.
LP: (smiles softly) Why's that?
SS: Because you make up for my weaknesses. Like my temper and hot-headedness. And I don't mean just your magic. You always look for a peaceful way to resolve things. And you don't let circumstances determine your outlook on life. You're really good at rising above your surroundings to maintain that steady nature of yours. And I really, really like that about you.
LP: Sky, everypony has weaknesses. You do. I do. Even Princess Celestia has weaknesses. That's why cherish friendships so much. Our friends fill those parts of our lives that we just can't do on our own.
SS: But you know, there are some ponies that don't merely help fill areas of your life. There are the ponies that make you feel more complete. And you make me feel that way. Like I'm more complete with you.
LP: (blushes and is visibly embarrassed) Oh, um...
SS: Oh...too soon?
LP: That's one thing about you, Sky. You just tell it like it is. No mincing of words with you.
SS: Straight and to the point. Guess I really am fast in more ways than one, huh?
LP: Told you. (gives SS a gentle nudge)
SS: That you did.
LP: So, what was it you were going to tell me later?
SS: Hm?
LP: At the meeting earlier, when you were talking and suddenly stopped. You told me that you'd tell me what it was later. And it's later.
SS: Oh, that. Right. (momentary pause) Well, it just struck me that when I was talking about the destruction the Chimera was trying to achieve. When I was talking to it before we fought, it told me that it might have been able to get other kingdoms and realms involved in the war it had tried to start. Which made me curious.
LP: How so?
SS: Well, mainly because I wonder if it has a specific reason to get other lands into a war. Is it just because it wants that much chaos and devastation, or is it something personal? It's just something that's bugging me a bit now.
LP: I can't help you there, Sky. I guess you'll have to ask the Council when you see them.
SS: I guess I will.
(A long pause ensues. For several minutes, they sit in silence and look into the distance as the sky continues to redden. The sun sinks steadily towards the horizon. The only sound that can be heard is the soft chewing of carrots and apples. LP leans over and places her head against SS.)
LP: They sent the right pony.
SS: I'm glad you think so. But he'll need to be sent to more places than just Polarmino in the future.
LP: Oh, I know. But if he hadn't come at all, none of this would have happened. And I would have missed out on so much.
SS: So would he.
(They look at each other. LP begins to lean in closer, but SS raises a hoof to her mouth.)
SS: Not on the first date. Not even I'm that fast.
LP: (leans back and smiles) Fine. But you need to promise to come back, then. It's not polite to keep a mare waiting.
SS: I promise. (winks)
(A sudden, soft noise arises from a nearby patch of bushes. LP and SS turn their heads toward the sound.)
LP: What was that?
SS: (smiles smugly) I don't know. I sure hope there's nopony around here. That might be embarrassing.
LP: Sky...
SS: (stands and begins walking over to the bushes) You know, that sounded a lot like a cough or sneeze.
LP: Or a snort.
SS: Could be. And somehow, I don't think it would be very much like the windigoes to be spying on us so close to town.
LP: (seemingly understanding SS's thoughts) Then what do you think it is?
SS: (slowly checking the bushes) I wonder if it's a pony that followed us out here. Maybe they were curious. Or maybe... (lowers voice) ...it was three of them.
LP: (with mock surprise) Three of them? Oh my...
SS: I'd bet it's a trio of little unicorn fillies that were just too curious to let the two of us go off alone without an explanation. And I'd be willing to bet that they followed us out of town. And that they're hiding right... (pauses) HERE!
(His head plunges into the bush. Squeals of surprise and laughter are heard as three small unicorns escape from the bush and run off. SS and LP can be heard laughing.)
---End of Transcripts--- |
Ice and Shadow | Epilogue | Journal entry, dated March 26:
"Let me start off by saying "whew." I should have been prepared for times like this, but I wasn't. Not even close.
"First off, there's Lily. After our date, she stayed in Polarmino, and I came back to Canterlot. I promised that I'd come see her again, as soon as I could. It's funny; I'm making all sorts of promises to go see my friends and family as soon as possible. I'm not sure who I'll end up visiting first.
"Anyways, she really is an amazing pony. And not just because she saved my life and the lives of all of King Icevein's windigoes. She just has a calm, pleasant, and charming personality. I tend to believe that it's not mere chance that took her to Polarmino. Her calming magic will certainly help protect the colony from any aggression by the windigoes. She may not think so, but I believe that she's one of the most important ponies in that town. Without her, Polarmino might not be there anymore.
"But she's just as important to me, too. I mean, sure, I like her. And I guess it's not unfair to say that we're a couple now. But she keeps me in check. When my temper gets out of hand and my aggression becomes overbearing, she's there to pull me back from the brink. I don't always appreciate it in the heat of the moment, but I see now that her level-headedness is her strength. And it's good that she has that, because I sure don't have much self-control. I guess it just goes to show that what everyone's been telling me is true: no one pony can do everything.
"Then there's the issue of the Grains and the Clocks. Even thinking about them makes my hoof shake. Sorry if this becomes unreadable. But I just can't get their faces out of my head. When I had to tell them that we couldn't save their grandfathers...it was gut-wrenching. I had to rip hope from them and replace it with sorrow. I've never hated myself more than I did right then. I'm a member of the Service of the Equestrian Crown! I'm not supposed to fail! So why did I?
"Sorry. Lost my head for a moment. Normally, Lily would have taken care of that for me. But it doesn't change the truth. Those two families have been robbed of their leaders, and to me, that is unacceptable. The Chimera will pay for that. And if I can't save Grandpa Grain and Grandfather Clock, I'll make sure that the Chimera hears their names as it takes its last breath.
"The Chimera. I can't help but believe that its fate and mine are connected. I've met it twice, it's got a grudge against me, and now, I've got a personal reason to hunt it. It seems that every time I meet it, I learn something new about it. And I also get a new reason to hate it even more. And if it believes that it's battled me at my best, it's got another thing coming.
"The meeting with the Council wasn't too pleasant. Twilight, Spike, and Applejack were there, so now they know all about how my mission went. They all tried to be supportive and kind. Applejack even invited me to a get-together of sorts later this week. And I'll go, because I haven't seen the girls in a few months, and I'd like to catch up. But I think even they will have a hard time getting me to think about something other than that ugly beast and the atrocities it's done.
"The Council has taken measures to protect Canterlot from the Chimera, and Captain Shining Armor has mobilized various divisions of the royal guards to be on the lookout for the monster throughout Equestria. The members of the Council were all...distraught, maybe...when I told them about how the Chimera had taken the bodies of ponies. They were concerned before, of course, but I think they're really worried now. Which makes me worried, too.
"Wow...this became quite a long entry, didn't it? Guess I had a lot on my mind. I'll take it easy on the next few.
"I miss you, Cinnamint. Tell mom and dad that I love them, too. Hopefully, I'll see you soon."
~ Sky Streak |
Friendship is Pee | pre | Rarity gave an uncomfortable look and bit her lip. "I don't have to go yet. Unlike some ponies I went before we left!"
Applejack tried not to laugh at the prissy mare. Soon enough nature would take it's course, whether Rarity wanted it or not. Then her dress would be wet with more than river water.
There was a faint cry off in the distance and the ponies approached to investigate.
"Oh what a world, what a world!" Said a purple Sea Serpent.
"Excuse me," Said Twilight, "Why are you crying?"
The sea serpent's tears rolling down his face was reminding Twilight that she had her own hot liquid that wanted to force its way out of her body.
"Well, I don't know," said the sea serpent, "I was just sitting here minding my own buisness when this cloud of purple smoke ran straight through me and all of the sudden my bladder was overfilled and I couldn't help myself, I peed all over my brand new outfit and now it's ruined!"
The serpent continued to wail, thrashing about in the water.
"Oh give me a break." said Rainbow, grimacing at the fullness of her bladder.
A trail of rainbow was all that was left behind as she disappeared off into the distance.
"That's what all this fuss is about?" Applejack said, "Can't ya just wash it?"
"Why of course it is!" Rarity approached the serpent, "Oh, just look at him. He clearly takes such care of his appearance!"
"It's true!" said the serpent.
"All ruined along with that dashing outfit." Rarity said.
"It's true, I'm hideous!"
"I simply cannot let such a crime against fashion go uncorrected!"
Without warning Rarity grabbed one of the serpent's scales and started to hack at her own dress.
"Rarity, what are you doing?!" Asked Twilight
After a moment though, it became clear. She was making a new outfit for the seaserpent, but it was far too small.
"Twilight darling," said Rarity, "Be a dear and cast an enlargment spell on this."
Twilight tried to cast the spell, but she could never focus well with a full bladder, so she ended up letting it go all over the ground behind her, much to Rarity's disgust. When it was finished, Rarity levitated it over to the sea serpent.
"Oh-ho!" Said the serpent, "This is even better than my old outfit."
"You look smashing!" Said Rarity.
Meanwhile, Rainbow had returned from her potty break.
"But your beautiful dress..." said Twilight.
"Rarity your," Rainbow snerked, "Your diaper is showing!"
"Oh it's fine my dears," said Rarity, "Besides, poofy is in this season."
"Why did it matter if he wet his outfit?" Asked Rainbow under her breath, "He literally lives in water."
The other ponies ignored her.
The serpent made a bridge with his body and allowed the ponies to cross the river, taking special care to make sure that Rarity didn't get her diaper waterlogged with river water.
"So that's why you didn't have to go," said Applejack, gesturing to Rarity's diaper.
Rarity grimmaced at the reminder of her aching bladder.
"I'll have you know my diaper is completely dry," Rarity huffed, "Unlike some ponies I know how to control myself."
Pinkie appeared out of nowhere, pressing a hoof into Rarity's diaper.
"She's right," Said Pinkie, "It's dry!"
The shock of Pinkie's public diaper check was too much for her bladder to bear. Her flood gates, after being denied for so long, burst open and she began to flood her formerly dry padding.
Rarity's front legs became weak and folded, leaving her diapered rear in the air as her bladder continued to pump out urine with a tremendous hiss. She couldn't even think as relief shuddered through her and she let out an involuntary moan, lolling out her toungue.
After nearly three minutes she was left panting as she looked around at the bemused faces of her friends and managed to regain her footing.
"Some of us come prepared." Said Rarity. "At least I didn't go in the woods like some kind of animal."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Well I hope you brought a change, because that thing doesn't look like it can take much more."
"That's the ruin that holds the elements of harmony!" Said Twilight.
Twilight ran forward before almost falling off a cliff. She emptied her bladder without hesitation this time, to make herself lighter for Applejack to haul back up. The bridge that was supposed to cross the canyon was down.
"What is it with you and falling off cliffs today?" Asked Applejack.
Twilight blushed when she realised she was still peeing a little. Applejack wished she could join her.
Pinkie sighed, "Now what?"
"I think we should have another pitstop." Said Applejack.
"No, we have to keep going!" Said Rarity, "That castle probably has toilets!"
Applejack chuckled. "Honest truth Rarity," said Applejack, "That diaper ain't gonna last until we get back, ya may as well take a pit stop with us."
Sure enough, as impressively thick as Rarity's custom diaper was it was stained yellow and sagging heavily. Her dress had clearly been designed especially to conceal it, since none of them had noticed it's bulk until she removed the dress.
"Uh, girls?" Rainbow wiggled her wings.
"Oh yeah." Said Pinkie.
Rainbow Dash flew across the canyon to grab the other side of the bridge, but found herself trapped in oddly disorienting fog, forcing her to land.
"Rainbow..." A ghostly voice called out.
The some of the fog flowed in through Dash's nose an it went straight to her bladder which was almost immediately painfully bloated. A spurt came out, but the rest stayed locked away as the pegasus tried not to writhe in pain.
"Who's there!" Said Rainbow, "Show yourself!"
She tried not to wimper. Her bladder was so full, but with the disorienting fog she couldn't fly away.
"Rainbow..." Said the voice again.
Rainbow wanted to cry in frustration as her bladder throbbed.
"I ain't scared of you, show yourself!"
"We know your secret Rainbow." A pony made of glowing purple crystal walked out of the light.
"What secret?" Rainbow was sweating profusely. Another trickle of urine escaped, but not nearly enough to grant her any relief. Her bladder was going to burst. She wished she could just pee herself, anything to end this torment.
"We know why you learned to fly so fast." The glowing pony continued, "You have a shy bladder, any time you have to pee you race back to use your own bathroom."
"Please!" Pleaded Rainbow, "I'm gonna explode!"
"We can cure your shy bladder," said the glowing pony, summoning a glowing while toilet behind them and sighing in exaggerated relief as they used it, "You'll be able to pee wherever you like - think about how much easier it will be to join the wonderbolts without worrying about being so far from home..."
"Oh my gosh!" Said Rainbow, "That's just what I've always wanted! I'll do anything! Just do it quickly."
Rainbow tried to relax but her bladder just wouldn't listen, no matter how dangerously full it was. Seeing the other mare use the toilet in front of her made it even harder to let go.
"All you have to do," said the glowing pony, gesturing to the brightly shining toilet, "is abandon your friends."
Rainbow found a new level of determination she didn't know she had. She went towards the bridge and grasped around in the fog for the rope. Her bladder throbbed, and tears began to roll down her furry snout.
She found the rope and grasped it firmly.
"Wait," said the voice from the fog, "Don't you have to pee first?"
Pain lanced through Rainbows belly as the pressure in her bladder hit levels she'd never thought possible.
"If it's a choice between my friends and pee," Rainbow said firmly, "Then I'm picking my friends every time."
She dove from the cliff, rope in her mouth and barely managed to manuver to the over side with the swollen, painful mass of her bladder weighing her down. Her rainbow trail was brighter than ever, even in the moonlight, but the small droplets were still too small to make any practical difference to her desperate situation.
She landed hard next to her firiends, and she felt her wing crumple. Applejack grabbed the rope and swiftly tied it to the post, allowing her to raise the bridge.
Twilight walked over to Rainbow to see if she was okay, and found the brave pegasus bawling her eyes out.
Rainbow!" Said Twilight, "What's wrong? Your wing?"
"N-no," wimpered Rainbow, "I mean yes it's sprained, but... I have to pee sooooo bad."
Twilight was relieved.
"Oh, alright." Said Twilight, "Here, I'll help you up so you can take a break behind those trees."
Rainbow screwed her eyes shut and just moaned.
"You don't understand, I literally can't!" Rainbow sobbed, "I have a shy bladder, I can only pee if I fly back to my house - and my wing - and I can't and- and now I'm gonna explode and die!"
Twilight looked at the blue pegasus' bulging bladder - there was no way she wouldn't have had an accident by now if she was able to, no pony could hold that much pee.
"All right Rainbow, hang on," Said Twilight, "This might feel a little strange."
Rainbow Dash's world exploded. Her vision flashed with colours and her whole body felt like it was pressed in cotton wool. Her bladder felt different, and for a moment she was worried it actually had exploded inside her, but the sound of gushing water revealed the true reason.
She was peeing!
She couldn't believe it. She could finally breathe, she let out a long equine whiny as she continued evacuate her bladder. It was going all over her hooves and her rear legs but she didn't care. Everything felt so warm. She saw Twilight looking at her in shock and grabbed her into a hug as the pee continued to flow out of her with no resistance.
It was several minutes before she felt like she was finally empty. The magic fog had really done a number on her bladder. She felt... drained, but euphoric.
"Thankyou so much Twi!" Said Rainbow, "I thought I was a goner. How did you do that?"
"Well..." Twilight looked sheepish, "I kinda use a paralysis spell on your holding muscles."
"Well whatever you did, it worked." Said Rainbow, still drunk on the euphoria releasing her bursting bladder. "You're my best friend now."
Twilight winced.
"Rainbow, with those muscles paralysed," said Twilight, "You're going to be incontinent."
"What now?"
"Untill the spell wears off you won't be able to hold your pee at all," She explained, "You'll just wet yourself before you even feel an urge to go."
"W-what?!" Rainbow exclaimed, "For how long?!"
"Err," said Twilight, "A couple weeks? A month at most. You uh, might want to see Rarity about getting some protection."
"There they are, the elements of harmony." Twilight said.
"But there's only five." Said Rainbow, "Where's the sixth?"
Rarity was doing a very noticable potty dance, her thoroughly drenched diaper swinging back and forth with her movements.
"D-darlings, let's let Twilight focus while we find a bathroom!" Rarity said.
"I'll stay with Twilight," said Rainbow, "I er, don't need to go."
Rainbow had been dripping a trail of pee for the last few minutes, so her bladder was empty.
"Come on," said Twilight, "Just one spark. The book said a spark would make the sixth element appear!"
Twilight's bladder was starting to bother her so she joined Rainbow in peeing on the floor. She had more important things to worry about than a puddle, even if Spike wasn't here to clean it up this time.
Twilight approached the elements again with a clear mind and an empty bladder, she was sure she could -
In a flash of purple she, and the elements were suddenly somewhere else, and above them towered nightmare moon.
"You annoying little foals think you could defeat me?" Nightmare Moon cackled, "You were never a match for me. All you and your friends have done is distract me from finally going to the bathroom after a thousand years of torment! I'll crush all of you and the pee will last forever!"
Twilight smirked.
"Night! I meant the night will last forever!" Nightmare Moon corrected.
She reared up and crushed the elements beneath her hooves.
A look of relization came over Twilight.
"You think you can destroy the elements just so you can take a potty break?" Said Twilight, "Well you're wrong because the real elements of harmony are right here."
"What?" Nightmare Moon took a step back.
"Applejack who told me the honest truth that I should pee myself in life threatening situations is the element of Honesty! Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore by helping it empty it's bladder is the element of, Kindness! Pinkie Pie, who made us all laugh until we peed when we were too scared to go is the element of, laughter! Rarity, who gave up her own dress to help someone who had an embarassing bathroom accident is the element of, Generosity! And Rainbow Dash, who was willing to let her bladder explode rather than abandon her friends is the element of loyalty! The spirits of these five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us, no matter how badly we needed to pee!"
"Why does everything have to be about pee?!" Nightmare Moon yelled, wishing they wouldn't remind her of her own dire need release her waters. It took her pee-addled brain a moment to do the basic arithmatic, "That's only five elements! You still don't have the sixth. The spark didn't work!"
"But it did." Twilight grinned, "A different kind of spark. I felt it so many times today, but every time it somehow brought us closer together. It resides inside all of us, but it doesn't want to stay there. The sixth element, the force that a princess and a pauper are equally powerless to resist. The element of... Pee!"
The six friends began to glow and rose up into the air. Necklaces with glowing gems formed around their necks. Something was wrong though. Rarity was writhing in the air, hooves pressed to the front of her saturated diaper.
"Twilight, we never found the bathroom!" Rarity yelled over the magically generated winds. Sure enough, her other friends looked uncomfortable as well.
"It's time to let it go, girls," Said Twilight, her eyes beginning to glow, "Friendship is pee."
Her friends sighed as urine pattered to the floor. Rarity's overloaded diaper was overwhelmed with the new rush of urine and she added to it. Her friends closed their eyes in relief, and when they opened them, their eyes were glowing too.
"Nooo!" Yelled Nightmare Moon, "Wait, don't send me back! I never even got a chance to peeeeee!"
A rainbow of magic greater than anything Dash could have produced crashed down on Nightmare Moon, before the whole room faded to white.
"Ugh, my head." Said Rainbow, feeling the stone under her to reveal a puddle she'd made in ther sleep.
"Everypony okay?" Said Applejack.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity exclaimed, realising that her diaper had magically been replaced with a fresh one.
"Why Rarity, it's so lovely." Said Fluttershy
"Yes, well," said Rarity, "The leak guards certainly do have a certain flare to them."
"Not the diaper," Fluttershy clarified, "Your necklace!"
"Oh," said Rarity, "Well I guess that's nice too. It matches yours, well, except for the cutie mark."
The six friends spent some time time comparing their necklaces, finally found the bathrooms, and after a brief explanation an embarassed looking Rainbow Dash was wearing Rarity's diaper. She needed it more, afterall.
"Gee Twilight, I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey," Said Applejack, "but I guess pee really is an important part of friendship.
In a flash of light, Princess Celestia appeared in the room with them.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight ran over to the Princess and leaned her face against her neck.
"Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful and weak bladdered student. I knew you could do it."
"But-," said Twilight, "You told me that I shouldn't pee in front of other ponies, why didn't you tell me that pee was the secret to friendship all along?"
"You- that's..." The princess looked flustered in a way Twilight had never seen before, "I sent to you to ponyville to make some friends. What in Equestria are you talking about?"
"Pee," explained Twilight, "the sixth element, the spark the binds everypony together, it's pee. Everypony pees."
Princess Celestia smiled nervously, glancing left and right. "Of course. Pee. That's was my plan all along. That's why I chose my least continent student for this task. Now there's another pony that seems to have become incontinent. My sister, Princess Luna."
The assembled ponies all looked over to the spot where nightmare moon had been struck by the rainbow. A small blue alicorn was in the center of a steaming, rapidly expanding puddle.
"We- we're sorry," said Luna, "avert thine eyes. Our bladder has decreased in size drasticly, but our waters hast not. We could contain ourselves no longer."
"It's been a thousand years since I have seen you like this." Princess Celestia said, "When you still struggled to contain your nightly waters. We were meant to rule together, little sister. Will you accept my pee- I mean friendship?"
"I'm so sorry, I missed you so much, big sister!" Luna ran to Celestia and embraced her, coat still dripping with pee.
Celestia sighed and considered what her student had said. Perhaps there really was something to this friendship peeing. Her sister was drenched in the stuff and her own bladder ached from the pee she'd been intending to release at the summer sun celebration. Celestia peed herself as well. To help her sister feel less self concious about her accident.
Pinkie jumped up behind them "You know what this calls for?"
"We do not," said Luna, "What does it call for?"
It took several hours with at least a couple pitstops to reach Ponyville. When they arried Pinkie dashed off and began knocking on doors, calling on all the ponies she knew to prepare the biggest celebration they could on short notice.
"A PARTY!" Pinkie yelled.
Princess Celestia approached Twilight who was looking disapointed.
"Why so glum Twilight?" Asked Celestia, "I've already said that the 'water damage' you caused to my castle is forgiven, you're welcome to return to your studies."
"That's just it." Said Twilight, "Just when I learned how wonderful it is to use pee to make friends, I have to go back to Canterlot."
"Spike, take a note please." Said Celestia, "I Princess Celestia hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall continue her study of the connection between peeing and friendship and report her findings from a safe distance away from the carpeted areas of my castle, from her new home in Ponyville."
Ponies cheered, but many of them seemed to be searching in vain for the portable toilets that Pinkie seemed to have forgotten to set up.
"Oh thankyou princess, I'll study harder than ever before!" Said Twilight.
As Princesses Celestia and Luna rushed back to the castle in their chariot, having given up on trying to find a bathroom locally, Pinkie jumped in front of the reader.
"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? Because I'm excited and I pee when I'm excited! I've never been so excited, except for that time when I saw Twilgiht and I peed so hard it was like a firehydrant and I flew up into the air. But I mean really-"
My Little Pony
I used to wonder when I'd get to pee
My little pony
Until I peed right under this tree
Big adventures
and so much pee
Some bladders are tough
Some not so strong
Desperate ponies
And Rainbow streaks
And our pee makes it all complete
You're all, my little ponies
Did you know that friendship really is peeeeeeeeeeee |
Friendship is Pee | Ticket Master - Part 1 | "Thank you kindly Twilight for helping me out. I bet big mcintosh I could get all these golden delicious apples in the barn before I took a pee break." Applejack said, "If I win, he has to wear one of Rarity's diapers for a week."
"No problem at all Applejack," said Twilight, I'm glad the goal is a bathroom break though. I've been drinking a lot of water working in this heat."
Twilight used her magic to move the buckets of apples that Applejack had bucked into the barn. Spike rode on her back while she worked.
"Me too," said Spike, "I've been holding it for a while."
Twilight rolled her eyes.
"Please Spike," said Twilight, "I saw you run behind that tree earlier."
Spike blushed.
"I have a small bladder okay?" He said, "I'm just a baby dragon."
I pang of urgency shot through Twilight's bladder and her hind legs crossed involuntarily. She laughed nervously.
"Eh, I guess we're done then," She said with a slightly strained expression, "Where's your bathroom?"
At the idea of going to the bathroom Spike felt a wave of desperation and a sprurt of pee came out, Twilight felt it on her back.
"Spike!" She exclaimed.
"What?" Spike asked trying to pretend that didn't just happen. When he lied by omission the curse made him pee a little more though.
Just then Spike burped out a scroll which pushed him over the edge and made him begin peeing uncontrollably creating waterfalls to run off Twilight's back. The feeling of warm pee cascading around her barrel and down between her hind legs made her lose control briefly and she leaked a little, but managed to regain control. Her bladder was distended slightly from her belly.
"Hoo nelly," Said Applejack, "It's a good thing the bet was about me being able to hold it and not Spike."
Applejack giggled. Spike took up the scroll and began to read.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Celestia of Equestria is please to announce... yada yada yada, the grand galloping gala..." Spike continued to skim the scroll, "The dress code requires ... blah blah blah, ponies with a yellow ticket wear incontinence protection whilst they are on castle grounds... Twilght Sparkle plus one is invited to attend."
Twilight grabbed the scroll "Give me that! You made that part up!"
Twilight read the scroll and as she did Spike burped again with two tickets appearing. Yellow tickets, which had the dress code instructions printed on them along with a pictogram of a diaper so there could be no confusion.
"The Grand Galloping Gala!" said Applejack.
"Well you're not going to see me at that party." Said Spike. "Too girly. Also, both the tickets are yellow, and I'm not wearing a diaper!"
"Aw, come on Spike," said Twilight, "You're always telling me that wearing protection is no big deal. I'm sure the party will still be nice."
"Nice?" Said Applejack, "It's more than nice, if I had an apple stand set up there imagine how much money I could make! This farm really needs the help."
"Well in that case," said Twilight, "Would you like to-"
Rainbow Dash zipped in from the sky and landed with a crash. There was a hissing noise as her bladder relased into the diaper she was still wearing. Apparently Twilight's spell that had let her releive her shy bladder in the Everfree had yet to fully wear off.
"Are you talking about the Grand Galloping Gala?" Rainbow Dash asked trying to distract the other ponies from the yellowing of her diaper.
Applejack looked pissed. "Ya told me you were too busy to help me harvest apples, what were you busy doing? Spying?"
"No," said Rainbow, "I was busy napping, and I just happened to hear you have an extra ticket?"
Twilight looked at her two friends. "Yes, but-"
"YES!" Yelled Rainbow, "This is so awesome. The wonderbolts perform at the Gala every year and now I can see it! I could show them my moves and maybe they'll make me part of their squad!"
Applejack bumped Rainbow out of the way "Now hold on just one pony pickin' minute, I asked for that ticket first!"
"So?" Said Rainbow, "That doesn't mean you own it. Twilight is my best friend and she'll definately give me the ticket."
"Oh yeah," Said Applejack, "Well I challenge you to a pee holding competition. Winner gets the ticket."
"No fair!" Rainbow exclaimed, "You know I can't hold anything right now because of that spell."
"Girls!" Twilight said forcefully, "These are my tickets and I'll decide who gets it. Whoever has the best pee- I mean reason should get the ticket."
"I need money to fix up the farm!" Said Applejack, "And to fix granny's hip!"
"I'll get a shot to audition for the wonderbolts!" Said Rainbow "And besides, the ticket is for a pony that's incontinent and you made me incontinent so it's perfect!"
"Rainbow by the time the Gala comes around the spell will have worn off." Said Twilight. "And with your shy bladder you won't be able to pee for the whole event."
"If it means a chance to see the wonderbolts then you can cast it again." Said Rainbow, "I'd do anything!"
Twilight groaned. Both her friends had good reasons. And she still really needed to pee.
"Those were pretty good reasons weren't they," said Twilight, "I don't know about you but I really need to pee and I can't make decisions on a full bladder. So uh, I'll be going now and I'll get back to you after I've had a chance to pee."
A beat of sweat ran down Applejack's head as she considered offering her bathroom to her desperate friend, but she was barely holding it in and she really needed to win that bet with her brother. Applejack ran off towards the farmhouse without makeing the offer that Twilight was clearly hinting she needed.
"Wow," said Rainbow, "Rude much? Come on Twilight, you can use the bathroom at my house."
"Rainbow you live on a cloud." Said Twilight, "How would I even get there?"
Rainbow thought for minute.
"I could carry you." She offered.
"Even if you did," Twilight said, "I couldn't stand on the floor. You'd have to hover me over the toilet and just... no. Thanks for offering though."
"I can give you my spare diaper!" Rainbow offered.
"I think you need it more than me." Said Twilight looking at the sagging diaper between her temporarily incontinent friend's legs.
Twilight and Spike were walking through Ponyville towards the library tree where they lived. Twilight dared not go any faster or she would lose control of her bladder for sure.
"So," asked Spike, "Who are you going to give the ticket to?"
"I don't know spike," Twilight's voice was strained, "But I really can't think when my bladder is this full. Where do you think we can find a bathroom?"
A pink blur collided with the tickets Twilight was hovering next to her.
"Ahh!" yelled Pinkie Pie, "Bats! Bats on my face! Wait these aren't bats, these are tickets to the grand galloping gala!"
Pinkie began to bounce around, peeing a little in excitement, as she often did.
"It's the most amazing increadible temendous super fun party in all of Equestria! I've always wanted to go!"
Pinkie sang a song.
"Oh the grand galloping gala is the best place for me
Even if the excitement makes me need to pee
Hip hip
Hooray!
It's the best place for me,
For pinkie!"
"And the dress code says everypony is wearing a diaper so I can pee as much as I want and never stop partying! It's a diaper party! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Pinkie-" Said Twilight
"Oh thankyou Twilight, this is the best gift ever!" Yelled Pinkie
"Pinkie," said Twilight, "Not everypony is going to be wearing a diaper, just incontinent ponies with these yellow tickets, which Celestia gave to me as some kind of cruel joke."
Beause life had great comedic timing, Rarity appeared near them at that exact moment and gasped.
"Are these what I think they are?" Rarity exclaimed.
"Yep!" said Pinkie, "Twilight is taking me to a diaper party called the Grand Galloping Gala in Canterlot!"
"Pinkie," said Twilight, "It's not a diaper party, I'm sure Princess Celestia invented these yellow tickets just to embarass me-"
"The Gala?" Rarity asked, "Why I design ensembles to conceal the diapers for yellow ticket holders every year, but I've never had the opportunity to attend myself. Oh the society, the culture, the glamour! It's where I truely belong. It's where I'm destined to meet... him!"
"Him who?" Asked Pinkie
"I would stroll through the gala and everypony would be so taken with my outfit that Princess Celestia would introduce me to him, her nephew, the prince, and we would court eachother and end up married." Rarity sighed.
Twilight rolled her eyes. She knew what Prince Blueblood was actually like.
"I can't believe you would invite Pinkie to such an event and prevent me from meeting the Stallion of my dreams." She huffed. "Of course I'll still design your outfits. Nopony will ever notice that you're wearing... ehem, protection."
Twilight was able to say that she hadn't decided who to give the tickets to yet when a white Rabbit jumped up and stole the tickets.
"Hey!" Yelled Spike.
The rabbit ran over and gave the tickets to Fluttershy.
"Angel these are perfect!" Said Fluttershy.
"Listen guys, I haven't decided who to give the extra ticket to." Twilight said. "Right now I just really have to-"
"You haven't?" Her friends gasped, cutting Twilight off before she could express her increasingly desperate need to urinate.
"Um," Fluttershy brushed a hoof against the ground, "Excuse me, if it's no trouble, I mean, if you didn't want to give it to somepony else I wanted to ask if it would be alright if I could have the ticket."
"You?" Asked Rarity. "You want to go to the Gala?"
"Oh, no." Said Fluttershy, "I mean yes, or actually kind of, you see, I want to see the palace gardens where they keep the exotic animals."
Rainbow Dash burst in from the sky and once again hosed down the inside of her diaper. The brash pegasus wasn't wearing any clothes to conceal it.
"Wait just a minute!" Rainbow said.
"Rainbow," Twilight squinted in suspicion, "were you following me?"
"No!" Said Rainbow, "I mean yes, I mean, it doesn't matter. I couldn't risk a goody four shoes like you giving that ticket away to just anypony!"
Applejack appeared too.
"Wait just another minute!" Applejack said
Twilight's hind legs pressed together as she tried desperately to hold it in for another minute.
"Applejack," Twilight felt a little faint as all her focus and will power was on holding her wee, "were you following me too?"
"No." Said Applejack, "I was following Rainbow in case she tried anything funny to get my ticket."
"Your ticket?" The other mares exclaimed.
"Look, girls," Twilight had one of her forehooves jammed into her crotch now, "This is my decision and I REALLY need to pee and I can't think straight until I find somewhere to pee, now go! Shoo!"
"Spike, what am I going to do?" Asked Twilight, "I only came to this resturaunt so I could use the bathroom but I can't find it anywhere."
Spike rolled his eyes.
"Well you could just ask somepony." He said.
"I can't do that." Said Twilight, "That would be embarassing."
"More embarassing that peeing yourself like a little filly?" He queried.
"I can hold it." She huffed, "I'll just ask the waiter where I can wash my hooves... when I see him."
After a few agonising minutes the waiter appeared.
"May I take your order madame?" The waiter asked with a french accent.
"Before we start," Twilight said, "Is there somwhere I can wash my hooves? I've been working on a farm."
"Ah but of course madame," the waiter gestured, "Right this way."
The waiter led Twilight to a small room at the back of the resturaunt. When she entered she could see a sink with soap, and a towel, a small couch and a mirror. There was no toilet.
A hair popped out of place in Twilight's mane and her eyes bulged out slightly, she could imagine it was from the pressure in her bladder but she wasn't sure that was how it worked biologically. She breifly considered peeing in the sink, but decided against it. The door had no lock so somepony could walk in on her at any moment.
Twilight returned to the table without finding relief.
"Feel better?" Asked Spike, "Cause I need to go too."
"They don't have a toilet." Said Twilight. "It was just a sink."
Spike facepalmed. "Did you even ask if they had a toilet?"
"I couldn't possibly." Said Twilight.
"Ugh, Twilight," Spike groaned, "as your *number one* assistant I'm telling we have to go right now before you have an accident."
"Spike, I'm not-" Twilight began.
"It's happened seventeen times." Spike interupted. "And that's just the times in resturaunts."
"Ehem, my I take you order?" The waiter had returned.
"Twilight," Spike wispered, "Let's just go now."
"We can't," said Twilight, "it woud be rude."
Spike facepalmed again. They were going to get banned from another resturaunt, he was sure of it.
"Something to drink?" Asked the waiter.
Twilight screamed internally at the thought of consuming more fluids.
"No thank you," said Spike, "We'll skip straight to the mains. I'll have the hayfries and she will have a daffodil sandwich.
Twilight was greatful that Spike had ordered for her. She wasn't sure she could be coherent with her bladder so full.
"What should I do Spike?" Asked Twilight.
"Go to the bathroom." He deadpanned.
"No, about the ticket." Twilight added, "How do I choose just one friend? I supose I could give my ticket away, but then there would still be three mares left disapointed. What if I-"
"Ahm," said the waiter, "Your food."
"Oh," said Twilight, "Thank you, this looks great."
The surprise of the waiter appearing made Twilight leak a little, but fortunately they were outside and her chair was a wire mesh to allow rainwater to run through.
There was a sound of water pattering and ponies started moving away in shock. Spike was convinced for a moment that the rampantly incontinent mare under his care had just embarassed herself, again, but when he looked up he saw that it had begun to rain.
"Em, madame?" The waiter asked, "are you going to eat your food in ze rain?"
"It's not raining." Said Twilight. And sure enough, the two of them were completely dry.
Twilight looked around. "What's going on."
Looking up she saw Rainbow had opened a hole in the clouds to keep her dry.
"Rainbow, you're not just trying to get the ticket by doing me favors, are you?" Asked Twilight suspiciously.
She could appreciate the gesture, but right now she desperately wanted the rain as a cover for her leaky bladder.
"Me?" Asked Rainbow, "No, of course not. Seriously, I'd do this for anypony."
Twilight looked around and saw other ponies getting rained on. The sight and sound of the water made her bladder contract, a few more drops falling underneath her chair.
"Rainbow, I'm not comfortable accepting unwanted favors, so I'd appreaciate it if you would close up that raincloud right now so I can pee- I mean eat my lunch in peace."
Twilight was sure nopony would notice her slip-up since she corrected it so quickly.
"Uh, fine." Said Rainbow zipping up the cloud.
A raging torrent of water fell on Twilight from the sky, soaking her instantly. The rainwater was cold, but her hindquarters were warm as her overtaxed bladder finally released, gushing out faster than even the pouring rain. She melted in her seat, her eyes crossing in sheer relief.
"Ahh, that's better." She couldn't stop even if she wanted to. Not that she did.
Spike facepalmed yet again as he watched his charge pee herself very obviously. If her body language didn't give it away the loud hissing noise audible even over the rain, the waterfall that existed only under her seat, the massive puddle forming under their table faster than the rain could explain would have. To make matters worse, she had loudly said that she was going to pee before she did it.
"Twilight, it's raining." Said Spike.
"Really?" Asked Twilight.
"Yes." He said, "Now lets just go before you catch a cold."
Twilight's pee addled brain was still in a daze so Spike reached into her saddlebag and left a generous tip on the table before guiding the oblivious mare away from her embarassing public accident. He still really needed to pee.
Like an angel Rarity appeared in the rain with an umbrella. She could help dry Twilight off (Spike's scales meant he never really got 'wet'), and more importantly, she'd have a bathroom Spike could use.
"Oh my heavens darlings," Said Rarity, "You simply must get out of this frightful weather." |
Friendship is Pee | Ticket Master - Part 2 | Twilight noticed she was dripping water... well mostly water, all over the floor of Rarity's boutique.
"Oh," said Twilight, "Sorry Rarity."
"It's quite alright dear," Rarity assured her, " We are friends afterall, and you know what friends do? Makeovers!"
Twilight tried to interupt before a repeat of the last time she was in Rarity's boutique, but Rarity was too enthusiastic. After her accident earlier her bladder had refilled rapidly and she wanted to at least visit the restroom before Rarity started forcing her to try on diapers and diaper accessories.
"Just think how wonderful we'll look at the gala!" Rarity exclaimed. "Nopony would ever guess the infantile garnments we were hiding underneath our fabulous outfits."
"Ow, too tight!" Twilight complained. This time she managed to hold her bladder though. Diapers and diaper covers and petticoats and dresses swirled around.
"And we should get something for Spike too." Rarity said, "I'm sure I have something in his size."
"Oh no." Said Spike, "I'm not going to the gala, so I don't have to wear a diaper. I'm going back to the library."
"Wait a minute," Twilight narrowed her eyes, "You're just trying to butter me up so I'll give you the other ticket to the gala aren't you!"
"Well..." said Rarity.
"Well it's not going to work." Twilight said assertively, "You'll just have to wait for my decision like everypony else."
Twilight's bladder pinged her urgently causing her to wince.
"Although I would really like to use your bathroom if possible." Twilight added.
Rarity sighed.
"I'm afraid Sweetie Belle is having one of her seven hour bubble baths so the bathroom will be unavailble for some time." Rarity admitted.
"What?" Twilight demanded, "That's crazy, what if somepony else needs the bathroom?"
Rarity pulled back her dress to reveal her distended bladder protruding from her belly.
"We shant disgrace ourselves by asking her to hurry up, so we shall do our best," Rarity winked, pulling her dress back a little further to reveal the waistband of her diaper, "A proper mare is prepared for any eventuality."
Twilight huffed.
"Well I'm going home." Said Twilight, "Spike never locks me out of the bathroom when he's having a seven hour bubble bath."
Twilight got up and left the boutique through the front door.
"Won't you stay for tea darling?" Asked Rarity.
"No," Twilight yelled, "I'm not staying for pee- I mean tea. I have to get home so I can finally tea... I mean pee."
"That's no problem dear," said Rarity, "You're already wearing protection."
Twilight blushed and tore the diaper off, hoping nopony had seen her walking outside in nothing but a diaper.
"Did somepony say pee?" Applejack arrived pulling a cart, "I've got camping potties, bed pans, urine bags, a jar and funnel-"
"No no no!" Twilight yelled. "I don't want any more favors! I just want to go home and pee in my own toilet! Then I can finally decided who gets the ticket."
Twilight took off at a gallop her bladder complaining the whole way about being jostled. When she finally made it back to the library she almost sighed in relief, but she didn't want to be too relieved or she would pee herself. She pushed open the door and to her surprise, she saw Fluttershy who was humming as she hovered in the air. The floor felt soft and Twilight looked down to see that Fluttershy had placed a puppy pad on the floor in front of the door.
"Oh Fluttershy not you too!" Twilight whined, "What are you even doing?"
"It was Angel's idea," Futtershy explained, "I remember last time when you really had to pee on the way to your surprise party - you ended up having an accident right when you came inside. So I have this set up so you don't feel embarassed about it."
"W-what?" Twilight stammered, increasing amounts of her brain power being diverted to keeping her bursting bladder from leaking. "How is this supposed to be less embarassing?"
"Well it works with my animal friends." Fluttershy expained.
"You're not just doing this so I'll give you the ticket," Twilight accused, "Right?"
"Of course not." Fluttershy gasped. "I'm doing this because you're my best friend, isn't that right Angel?"
Angel crossed his little bunny arms.
"Oh," said Fluttershy, "Yes, I am just doing it for the ticket."
Twilight groaned in frustration.
"Well it was a nice thought," said Twilight, "but I'm not accepting any more favors until after I make my decision, so I'll have to ask you to leave."
Twilight was about to start finally walking towards the toilet when she heard a commotion outside. Her bladder did not appreciate being denied relief when it was so close at hoof and a spurt of urine forced it's way past her defenses. The urine made no sound as it was muffled and absorbed by the absorbant puppy pad beneath her.
"SURPRISE!" Yelled Pinkie Pie, causing another, larger leak onto the pad. Her bladder still throbbed with fullness though.
Pinkie Pie grabbed the desperate unicorn, dragging her outside and throwing her onto a trampoline bouncing her into the air.
"Twilight is my bestest friend Woopee! Woopee!" Pinkie sang, "Even if she sometimes smells like pee! Woopee!"
"Pinkie." Twilight gave her best unamused expression as Pinkie continued to bounce her in the air.
"I bet if I throw her a super fun party she'll give that diaper ticket to me!" Pinkie continued singing
"PINKIE!!!!" Twilight yelled, the constant bouncing was causing tiny leaks that erroded her control of her bladder, which was now on the verge of a total meltdown.
"Yes bestest friend?" Pinkie asked.
"At least the others were subtle about it!" Twilight whined, "I can't decided who to give the gala ticket to and all these favors aren't making it any easier to pee- I mean decide!"
"Gala ticket?" Said a pony Twilight didn't recognise. "You have a ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala?"
The crowd's attention locked onto Twilight and she was forced to run. Rivulets of urine leaking down her hind legs. Eventually she was cornered in an ally. Forcing magic into her horn, she managed to teleport away, back to the safety of her library.
"Spike!" Twilight said desperately, "Quick, lock the doors and windows!"
It was only then that Twilight looked around and saw that her five friends were already inside the building. Twilight cried out in despair, she sat on the floor and her bladder could hold no longer. First a hissing noise, then gushing, then trickling and splashing as a puddle spread out from the defeated mare. The relief made her shudder and she breifly forgot where she was. All that mattered was that her bladder was emptying.
"I can't decide," she finally said, "No matter who I chose some of my friends are going to be unhappy."
"Aww sugar," said Applejack, "We shouldn't have put that much pressure on you. You don't have to give me the ticket. If it helps, I'll pee myself too so you don't feel so embarassed."
Applejack didn't wait for an answer before she began peeing. Her puddle was an impressive size, but it still couldn't match Twilight's.
"Me too," said Fluttershy, "the ticket I mean... oh why not?"
And Fluttershy released her bladder as well - even her pee was quiet as it trickled out and ran down her hind legs.
"Way ahead of you!" Pinkie exclaimed, lifting her leg like a dog and peeing into the combined puddle.
"It was wrong of me to force you like I did." A look of relief crossed Rarity's face, though there was no outward signs of her intentional accident.
"Aww yeah!" Yelled Rainbow, "That means the ticket is mine!"
Rainbow's diaper was already yellowed but since she had no control she couldn't pee herself in solidarity with her friends.
"I mean uh." Rainbow said, "I didn't want to go to the Gala anyway, I can show my moves to the Wonderbolts some other time."
"We got so gung-ho about getting the ticket we didn't think about how it was making you pee- I mean feel." Applejack said.
"We're sorry Twilight." Her friends all chimed in together.
"Hey what's going on in-" Spike entered the main floor of the library to see Twilight and her friends all hugging eachother in a giant puddle of pee. "OH COME ON!"
"Spike, take a letter please." Twilight instructed.
"You don't need to write a letter," Spike huffed, "You need a bath."
After Twilight used her magic to expand the upstairs bathtub, she and her friends were all having a much needed wash. Spike returned from mopping up the puddle downstairs and walked into the bathroom. Spike was used to seeing Twilight in the bathroom since if the door was ever locked she would definately have an accident, but her five friends being with her was a little odd. They did all pee themselves though, so he supposed it wasn't so different.
"Alright," said Spike, "I'm ready to take that letter now."
Rarity gasped. "To see a lady bathing!"
"Uh Rarity?" Applejack said, "We don't normally wear clothes."
"Well maybe you don't." Rarity huffed.
"I'm Twilight's number one assistant," Spike explained, "So it's my job to assist her after she has an accident. I think you're all in the same boat... or tub, I guess with needing that sort of help."
The mares didn't want to admit they'd done it on purpose so they just looked around awkardly.
Rarity felt the water next to her get a little warmer.
"Rainbow!" said Rarity.
"What?" Asked Rainbow, "I can't control it."
Rarity sighed.
"The letter?" Asked Spike.
"Oh, right." Said Twilight.
"[Dear Princess Celestia,
I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings, but when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. And even if I did take one of them, none... some of them wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a diaper when they're fully continent. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala."
Twilight was a little suspicious when Spike seemed to be writing a post script on the letter before senting it.
"Oh Twilight," said Applejack, "You didn't have to go and do that, now you won't get to go either."
"It's okay, girls. I couldn't possibly enjoy myself without my best friends there with me..." said Twilight.
There was an almighty splash as her friends all come togehter in the bath to give her a group hug. Spike grumbled a little about the water that sloshed over the sides.
Spike burped up a scroll.
"A letter from the Princess?" Asked Twilight, "That was fast."
"Dear Twilight," Spike read aloud, "Why didn't you say so in the first place? Please find enclosed six tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala. PS... yada yada."
Spike gave the tickets over to Twilight - they were all waterproof, yellow tickets so the bathwater wouldn't hurt them.
"Wait," said Twilight, "these tickets are all yellow, what gives?"
"Like that matters!" Exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "We're all going to the Gala!"
Spike walked out of the bathroom to read the post script on the letter.
PS thanks for the heads up Spike, if Twilight's friends are as accident prone as she is I'll be sure to give them all yellow tickets.
"How come I don't get a ticket?" Spike thought out loud. If he wasn't there, who would be keeping an eye on Twilight?
Spike burped again, producing another scroll.
And one ticket for you Spike. I've had to make yours yellow too, since I know if I didn't Twilight would switch out her ticket with yours.
Yours Truely,
Princess Celestia
Spike smiled. Everything had worked out in the end. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | pre | She was right, the yard was full of foals of all ages and races, playing and running around the large green surface of the backyard. Pegasi were trying to fly, unicorns were trying to levitate things (both of which she should keep a closer eye on), while the earth ponies were running around or crawling under bushes or climbing trees.
It always brought a smile on her face to see them all just happily interacting with one another and being full of energy. Sure, there where the rougher ones that seem to always get into trouble, but then again kids are kids, just give them a stern talk and they should behave more... for a while at least.
She didn't waste time in calling out the foals on her list; some were obviously missing, but that only meant that they were somewhere inside. With the foals behind her, she made her way to a different bedroom to find the others. With all of them eventually collected she made her way back towards the lounge where the two nobles were waiting for her. Though one was missing from the group; it was the new one she just picked from the street over a week ago, but she was sure that missing one wouldn't be an issue at the end.
In her opinion, he was the least likely to be picked; uncooperative, devious...
It truly would be strange for them to choose him.
She instructed the kids to line up and wait outside in the main hall while she went past the stairs and to the lounge to get the couple.
................................................................................................................................................
Both Brass and Camellia perked up as Deep care knocked on the side of the door frame to get their attention.
They ceased their hugging and sat up straight as Deep Care stepped into the room.
"I have the foals rounded and lined up in the entrance hall. Feel free to have a look at all of them if you still want to go through this." She announced.
Sir Brass nodded. "Of course we do, we have come here to give a foal a much better home and we are going to go through this." He answered with his new found motivation.
Deep Care smiled. "Well, in that case just follow me." She instructed.
Both Brass and Camellia got up to follow the mare out of the lounge and back out into the entrance hall beyond it. They found themselves immediately flooded by a wave of over energetic foals the moment the two groups made eye contact with one another.
Brass was forced to use his wife as a meat shield at that point.
Camellia just giggled. "Aww look at all these wonderful little foals." She commented as a couple of them were jumping up and down right in front of her.
"Is it true? Sre you going to be our new mommy and daddy?" A little white and orange colt asked right in front of Camellia.
She smiled down at the little filly and nods. "Yes, yes we are." She happily answered.
"What is your name, little one?" She asked the colt who was enjoying a little pat on the head from Camellia.
"Mystic Tune, miss. I love music." He replied happily which Camellia could only mimic. Already allowing herself to be hypnotized by all those young and happy faces.
"Oh honey, all of these foals are just so adorable. Are you sure you want to only adopt one?" She immediately asked her husband who was still using her as a living barrier.
"Well... yes, we don't want to over complicate things after all." He answered after having relaxed somewhat.
He was just surprised, that's all.
He carefully observed each and every foal presented to him, besides the obvious coloration and gender there really wasn't much difference in case of their personality and character. Which meant actually deciding who to eventually pick would just be down to just color preferences alone. Which would be stupid and unfair to some extent towards these youngsters.
"Are these really all of them?" Brass suddenly questioned out of the blue.
Both Camellia and Care perked up to that sudden question. Care in particular seemed a bit more surprised as she knew that he wasn't particularly wrong with that.
"Why are you suddenly asking that, honey? I mean, we practically have so many foals to choose from already!" His spouse questioned while giving some of the foals some gentle head rubs, which they happily accepted.
It didn't take long for the others to butt in as well, trying to get the same kind of attention.
Brass looked back up." Simple; for fairness' sake, really." He replied before switching his gaze over to the caretaker. "Are you sure that these are ALL of the foals available in the same age range as these? I would like to give ALL of them a fair chance to get a better life and be part of our family. No excuses." He continued.
Deep care was feeling a bit unsure at first before she eventually sighed. "Well... yes, there is actually one more foal similar to them... but only in age, mind you." She explained.
Brass raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, which again caused the mare to sigh.
"Well, it's... complicated. But instead of just telling you, I guess I should show him to you instead and let you decide."
Brass nodded to that. With that, Deep Care made her way back outside to seek out the last foal Sir Brass requested.
"You can be quite fair sometimes, you know that?" Camellia commented while looking over her shoulder towards her husband.
Brass simply smiled at that. "Well, I have to keep my reputation, after all. Which is why a lot of my clients trust me to begin with." He answered.
"Let's just then get to know each and every foal then." He thought before doing just that.
Unknown to him, his sense of justice and chance is going to change his and his wife's life forever. For either the better or the worse for his sanity. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 5: From Yogi Bear to Richie Rich | Chapter 5: From Yogi bear to Richie Rich
Edited by: pahnazd
"Hey, you." Someone said from right under me, which forced me out of my relaxing trance. I looked down only to roll my eyes, knowing fully well who it was.
The three stooges of this place, where one lost their balls in a previous accident many years ago.
Tetra and her two "friends". One girl, two dudes. Not only that, but they also were 5 years older than me. Well, in body at least.
She is a blue and purpled haired filly with an attitude problem so high that it is a wonder that she isn't already choking from the vacuum of space. While her two goons, which I wonderfully dubbed as "Diddle Dim and Diddle-your- fur-color-is-puke-green", since I haven't bothered to remember their names.
They were onicorns too, which turns them into the three dickateers of legends. These three stick together like some weird form of a threesome too... which just perfectly paints the future these three jokers would be having.
A perfectly justified thought process, simply because these three deserve it for being your generic and very formulaic local bullies of the orphanages.
I already had my fair share of encounters with these three stooges and so far it ended pretty much the same way how it always did.
Just either ignoring them because of my obvious flaw of not being able to verbally confuse them with my slangs or just tell them to fuck off hard core, or just scream and just go completely loco on them the same way I did towards Care the day prior.
Either they back off or Deep Care shows up afterwards to defuse the bomb.
Highly undignified, but hey, I am a kid again, so whatever.
It kind of sucks being this young and this small again, especially without the ability to openly swear like a salty sailor. We all gotta start small whenever firing up a new game. But that still doesn't mean I am willing to be patient.
CONSOLE COMMANDS BABY! Too bad I don't have access to those outside of my games... otherwise what little morals I have left would automatically go out the freaking window and onto my neighbor's garden. Chaos guaranteed and amusement to be had. I would turn my neighbor's house into a gingerbread one and spawn an army of rats onto his property. Watch and be amuse at the carnage while filming it on a 4k camera that I would have spawned in as well for future generations, especially once the pest control team arrives. Just add one extra rodent for every one they catch.
I am going off track again.
I shook my head and looking back down, only to get a small rock hitting me square on the right cheek, which forced me to flinch back against the trunk of the tree.
Oh yeah, I am also resting on a tree branch. How did I got up here? No idea, and to be honest, I don't care either. Makes me feel big and tall up here, being above all of these little toddlers. Especially towards those right below me.
I heard a series of giggles and chuckles afterwards while rubbing the sore spot on my cheek.
"Kids these days. Good thing I can't use my voodoo hacks on you yet" I thought to myself with a bit of a grimace.
"Hey, did you know? Miss Deep Care has called all of you little babies over inside because of some grownups showing up to adopt one of your group, and she did NOT call you. Which isn't really much of a surprise given how overly weird you are." She explained while I was till busy looking off into the distance and not giving her any leg room to work from.
Again, kind of sucks to not be able to properly talk. Opening my big ass mouth is one of my main weapons after all. Silver tongue and spouting complete rubbish to confuse my adversaries.
"Yeah, plus he doesn't even know how to talk yet. I think he is more stupid than weird." One of the colts beside her announced which caused another series of chuckles.
"Nah, I think he is more loose in the head than anything else. No wonder he doesn't even have any parents." Tetra said once more, which just made me frown even more.
"Look who's talking. No wonder, with your attitude.."
To be fair, she wasn't completely off the ball here. I am aware that my ways and mindset are... brow-rising to most, which obviously reflect in how people's tend to perceive me.
I blame those chaotic fevers dreams I tend to get most of the time.
It's usually the crazy ones that are the most self-conscious on who they are and what they are doing. No genius in history was ever sane. Not that I am calling myself a genius or anything. I am just...unique in my own way, something that school never accepted.
Speaking of school, I will have to go back to it eventually. Great, I can already feel my brain cells disappearing behind a backroom door already. All those physics and math problems and other stupid shit I will never use, ever, except when I suddenly decide to become a physicist or any other job that requires university levels of mathematics.
Which... no. I am too comfortable of a person for that stuff. I prefer the finer aspect of life like games, music and art, and some history thrown in here and there, and sitting on my ass all day and just not giving a damn. Like right now, just ignoring these three bullies for the sake of not removing myself from my self proclaimed throne of the world which happens to be nothing but a random branch of an oak tree. Imaaaaagination.
That, and I honestly have no idea in how to get down.
A few more rocks and stick where being thrown up my way at this point, all of them luckily not reaching or hitting me. The thick branch below me just being a perfect shield. Harmless but still rather annoying.
"Seriously, you guys are like 10 and you are picking right now on a lone 5 year old for you own kinks? At least bully someone your own belt high. But then again, all wanna be bullies are pretty much the same, no matter what world or dimension you find yourself in." I thought to myself while crossing my forelegs.
"Alex? Alex, where are you?" I suddenly heard someone call me from a distance, someone I know very well simply because all she ever does is call me.
I shouldn't have written my name on that piece of paper for her. Now all she does is call me for things I don't like, except when she is calling for breakfast, lunch and din-din.
"Oh applesauce, it's Miss Deep Care." One of the colts announced.
"Applesauce? Really? I know a lot of kids back in my world that can produce much saltier swear words than that... actually, all of them."
Tetra just laughed. "Probably just calling him to make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid or poops on his tail." She teased.
"Come on, let's just do something else." She announced.
Her two goons nod before following her, finally leaving me alone and sadly unable to get rid of the beans I had for lunch.
But then again... I already went prior to this so I have no idea where THAT idea came from. I guess I could have just thrown an acorn at them or something. But still... how the hell can I get down?
That's when an idea struck me. I picked a random acorn from one of the branches above me with my mouth and dropped it onto my right hoof. I reeled back, took aim and threw the nut as hard as my stubby forearms could at the head of one of the bullies below me.
The effects were immediate, and predictable too as I heard an "ouch" coming from the girl's muzzle before she turned around and glared up me.
Right about now I would be mentally questioning myself on the probabilities of hitting her in the first place, especially knowing that I am normally a terrible shot. But that thought had to be placed on the backburner for the moment, because now it was show time.
Or more like ass time for what I have in mind. Basically giving them a taste of there own medicine. In physical form no less.
Both her and her two Diglets immediately made their way back under me. All three of them staring up at me with glares, especially Tetra who was still rubbing the back of her head.
"Hey you little snitch, do you think that you can throw a tree nut at me and get away with it?" She shouted which just made me chuckle.
"She doesn't even know what an acorn is. How cute."
She was picking up a rock with her hoof, her intentions clear and for me my Qu on what I wanted to do.
With a leap of faith similar to the ASScreed games, but far less graceful, I flung myself right above these guys for a very obvious reason. All of their eyes widened in an instant, but it was too late as I landed right on top of both Tetra and her two friends with a loud thud.
A perfect landing to cushion my fall.
Well, somewhat cushion my fall, I don't know what type of physics this world seems to be operating on but it seems to be mostly similar to the ones my world in enslaved with, i.e. this still didn't feel as smooth as I was hoping for and still somewhat hurt myself in the process. But still a hell of a lot better than just jumping down with nothing below me.
Just rub the soreness from my back and everything should be fine, something I cannot say to the three now lying flat on the ground under me.
I honestly hope that I didn't overdo it this time, otherwise this would be....
"Ohhh....." All three of them moan almost in sync which immediately gave me the answer I needed.
Those three will fine. Children these days are allot more sturdier after all when I was there age 14 years ago.
I mean they are born in an age where lady Gaga and kanye west are ruling over the music industry, and having nothing to listen to besides stuff like these two does tend to toughen a person up. It this case childrens.
With a smile I hopped off of those three and made my way casually over to where I believe I heard Deep shout from. Well, as casually as a kid with a bit of a sore back can at least. I think my back managed to slightly graze Tetra's horn on my landing. Need to check my back on a mirror if I have the free time. But I am sure that Deeps would be able to notice something on me when I go and see what got her jimmies in a bristle.
If this place even has jimmies to begin with. If they do then they probably have James as well, or John or maybe even Jamaica.
I eventually found her just standing at the back entrance of the orphanage, looking towards the left side of the yard where most of the kids were running about.
She eventually spots me at the halfway mark..
"There you are! Where in Celestia's name have you been hiding again?" She asked while trotting over to me.
Again, I was inclined to say something, but obviously, couldn't, so I just decided to point a hoof at the oak tree I was hanging about most of the day.
She just ignored my gesture before ushering me follow her. "Come on, a pair of nobles are looking for a foal your age range for adoption. Hurry up, they wished for all of the foals to be present before they would even make a final decision." Deep care explained.
This just got me a bit salty to the fact that Tetra was actually right for once. Was she really intentionally forgetting me and just called in all of the kids in my age range except me?
"Real smooth there Deep, real bloody smooth to just dust me under the rug like that."
I would have loved to mentally criticize her further for her move when her sudden contact by pushing didn't bring a hold on that first. The lady seems to be in a real hurry with this.
I hate being rushed.
"Come on, hurry, as I said the two guests and the other foals are waiting in the main hall just for you. So please, get a move on." She urged.
Did I already mention that I hated to be pressured? First she started scheming behind my back and now she is rushing me as well?
Bloody fantastic, lady, just really likable on your part.
I pushed her hoof away from my ass and just walked myself back inside, like how she wanted. Once back inside the orphanage and past the main stairs, I was greeted with a sight similar to what I saw kids do around an ice cream truck that was having a sale... with the two adults being the aforementioned trucks. At least the mare seems to enjoy the overwhelming attention though.
Then it hit me. "Wait...these two are really nobles, judging by their clothes and over-excessive use of bling bling." I thought to myself as I looked at those two with suspicion.
Obviously, my previous encounters with these money bags were... questionable at best and just flamethrower inducing at worst. Either they were stuck up or asses, or stuck up IN their asses. At least the horns on their skulls are a true visual representation on what they truly were in my books.
Dickheads. Which is Ironic.
So, props for the guy who came up with the idea to make all of them... or at least most of them, unicorns. You nailed the visual aspect perfectly. Have a cookie and maybe some beer.
I am part German after all. Wonder if these guys have pretzels as well?
"Well, here we are, the last foal." Deep Care announced the moment we were within earshot.
All the attention was quickly shifted to me afterwards, even the kids as some of them just gave me a strange look.
"The silent one?" One of them perked up as I stopped right in front of them.
"He is not silent, he just can't speak, that's all." Another one piped in, this one actually being Mystic Tune himself, one of the foals in this place I actually come to know and like.
Also one of the few who didn't automatically mark me as weird too. Well, at least the majority are being honest, something most of us lose when we get older.
Heh, that makes me look and feel like a real philosopher. How quaint.
"He is unable to speak? Why would that be?" The stallion questioned curiously as he eyed me. His British accent and overall look immediately perking up my attention.
I love the British accent. It's really classy in my books, and that laid back and nicely oiled hair and mustache really just screams 'British gentleman'. Similar to the style's you would find in the late 19th century.
My love and interest for history showing itself once more. I just really love this kind of stuff.
Deep just shook her head. "I do not know." She responded before looking down at me. "I was planning to head to the doctors with him the first day, to see what might be the issue regarding his lack of speech, but whenever I tried to do so, Alex over here just disappears faster than I can even grab him with my magic. Which is... frustrating, I have to say." She added.
"Well that's because I don't trust doctors and their pointy needles that they constantly insist on jamming to your butt cheek. Even if they promise you some gummy bears." I thought as the British stereotype rubbed his chin in thought before a light bulb seemed to go up inside that stud.
Hey, I did a bit of a rhyme there.
"Wait, how would you know his name if you just said that he isn't able to speak in the first place? Did he have a name card on him when you either found him or he got brought here, or did the pony who sent him here tell you his name?" He questioned.
Seriously, I could listen to that accent all day. I might actually get to do just that if for whatever reason the guy picks me over everybody else.
Just trying to keep it real here.
Deep Care shook her head again. "Well, no... he actually wrote his name down for me crudely on a piece of paper. Which was quite surprising given that most foals don't even learn how to read and write until they hit six. Which by the way he seems to be true for the former as well as I caught him doing so a couple of times on the more advanced books back in our library." She explained while rubbing the back of her neck.
This alone seemed to intrigue the tuxedo wearing stallion even more, especially the mare which I didn't really gave much focus to until now. She too had that stereotypical biscuit look and feel on her. Long blond and curly hair on its tips, earrings and a long scarf.
Well, honestly, besides the hair there really isn't anything British about her. Unless her accent is similar to...
"So in other words he is quite advanced for a foal his age." She commented out of the blue which also helped me get the answer that I needed.
"Yup, totally British as well."
Her voice kind of reminds me of Jane from Tarzan.
Deep Care nods. Man, she does that a lot now, doesn't she? "Well, yes, in certain ways he does seem to be a lot smarter than he mostly shows." She answered.
"Mostly shows?" The stud questioned this time.
"Well... he does act like a child most of the time. Like the part I just mentioned about me wanting to send him to a doctor." Deep went on which again caused the stallion to rub his chin while looking at me with interest.
Don't tell me...
"Anything else that is... unique about him?" He question.
Care began to think about it for a few moments before she looked up at the stud.
Another rhyme. I should just start writing poetry if this keeps up.
"Well..." Care began. "He is also unusually quiet and distant sometimes too, not really interacting much with the other foals like you would expect for somepony his age." She answered.
She obviously didn't see the few times where I did join a little band of munchkins in their little game of seek and go hide, or building a sandcastle that actually resembled proper "sandcastles" instead of either just mounds of sand or bucket shaped towers with cuddly representations of walls in between. But yet again, unable to openly voice up my side of the story, simply because I don't have a voice.
I mean I do, but, all I can get out are either screams or utter gibberish, with some hmm's and ahh's mixed in-between. Though I am feeling that my vocals are slowly starting to untangle themselves the more I try. Could really be just be a lack of muscle memory on my part since this body of mine is still rather new and more or less foreign to my own senses. My mind knows how to speak but my body does not. That is, at least, my hypothesis.
This time it was the British mare who perked up. "Oh, how sad, maybe the poor colt suffered from some kind of trauma which makes him behave this way?" She suggested.
Deep just looked thoughtful. "Could be. I mean I found him all alone in the middle of the streets before bringing him here into the orphanage myself. It could be that he had experienced something that made him the way he is today. Foals are very fragile when it comes to that." She hypothesized which just made me smile inwardly.
I love it when people try to understand me but ultimately can't. Just so entertaining and interesting to listen to, just like that one psychiatrist in my local hospital. Even more so now as a kid. The prospect of them trying to figure me out is just ridiculous. I mean, I am just a 5 year old in their eyes, after all. What kind of a story and character can you get out from a 5 year old? In that state most kids are pretty much the same anyway.
Or at least from my own observations. I do have, or had, a lot of cousins after all. My family was quite expansive, certainly spanning continents in that regard.
Wonder if my new one will be the same if they somehow take me instead of all of these other, more likely, kids. You can't really pick wrong from them.
The mare looked especially concerned after hearing that, while some of the foals, including Mystic, looked rather surprised instead.
They obviously don't know my origin, but then again they don't need to know.
It's already good enough for them to think that I am weird. Any more perks and I might receive some issues.
Anyway, at that point I was kind of sick and tired of just standing around in one place, so I simply and casually sat down to ease all four of my legs. Even though they don't really have that much to keep off the ground anyway.
It was at that point where mister fister suddenly invaded my personal space and once again re-activated my "stranger danger" siren inside my skull. I should really start to consider tweaking the settings a bit on that thing, so that I don't run the risk of getting a headache because of it.
Anyway, he circled me a bit before stopping once more right in front of me while rubbing his chin in thought. I just kept my eye on him, raising a curious eyebrow at this walking credit card while, to my slight surprise, he did so too.
The guy was evaluating me, or at least that's what I understood.
"So honey, which one are we going to pick? They are all absolutely wonderful in my book." The mare announced with a smile.
I dozens of me, me's ranged out afterwards from all of the foals. All obviously eager to find themselves new parents for them to love. But all of that just went over my head as I was still focused on the stallion that was also rather focused on me for some reason.
Again, I can tell that the guy was studying me and most likely also evaluating everything he has heard from my care take so far.
He eventually bends down, looking at me more closely while I did the same. The guy actually had a bit of cologne on him.
"Do you know your parents?" He casually questioned me. An odd question to say the least.
I just nod while keeping my gaze on him.
He hummed. "But they are not here aren't they?" He questioned again.
I nod again as well.
"And there is no way for you to return to them yes? You were forced into the situation you are in now?" He asked further which again I answered with just a nod.
I wasn't really 'forced' into this, but at the same time it is kind of true as well. Kind of was my fault too for not paying enough attention as to what I stick my spoon in. But I will obviously never admit that just so I can say "it was all my cousins' fault".
He was in charge of the rat poison after all. He bought it.
He just nods to that, a momentary glint in his blue eyes before rising back up.
"Well, that was weird." But not as weird as to what was to come.
"Well I think I found the foal I wish to adopt." He announced which immediately got everyone's attention, even the foals'.
"Really, honey? Which one?" The mare asked curiously.
The stallion just smiled. "Him." He answered while pointy gently at me.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise."
Even more surprising for Deep Care, if her wide eyes where any indications.
"Are you sure? I mean, besides his alleged ability to read, he is rather odd for a foal and at certain times even quite a hoof-full." She pressed.
The stallion just turned his smile to her. "Yes I am sure. He is quite unique, I can tell already by just looking at him. Plus..." He paused for a bit. "There is also something... relatable about him that I cannot personally ignore, enticing me more to pick him over everypony else." He explained.
Deep Care was, of course, confused at this somewhat, same with me as I didn't fully catch on to that last part. I was too busy looking at the reactions of the other foals.
Some of course looked distraught, but other obviously seemed happy for me, especially Mystic Tune, the good kid.
The mare on the other hand seemed... knowing... but then again she IS his wife after all. Depending in how many years these two were married there would be no mare more knowing of his history and character than her.
"Maybe even knowing him TOO well?"
"But why the weird one?" One of the kids whine.
"Simple." Brass smiled. "I was once weird too when I was young." He answered before looking back to his wife. "What do you think, honey? Is my decision ok with you?" He asked.
The mare smiled. "A surprising decision I am sure. but I can tell that something about him specifically speaks to you. Though if you would ask me I would just be taking all of this foals with me if I could." She responded which in turn made the stallion chuckle.
He eventually turned back to me and lowered his head. "What about you? Are you ok with the idea of us taking you with us as your new family?" He asked me.
I just shrugged. Feeling rather indifferent about all of this than anything else. He just chuckled before raising his head and looking back at Mistress Deep care. His smile dropping somewhat.
"Well, let's just get this over with then." He sighed.
Care nodded. "Of course, but first, let me lead these foals back up into their rooms, seeing that is steadily getting late." She said which was accompanied by allot of "Aww's" from all the kids.
As more and more kids passed by me to follow Care back up to the second floor, I was suddenly tapped on my shoulder.
I was none other than Tune himself.
"Congratulations on your chance of getting a new home. I guess... this means you will be taking you magical white board thing with you, won't you?" He said.
Of course the first focus running through his brain is of course my tablet with all of those tunes stored inside. But again, can't really fault him for that as he IS just a kid and an incredibly young one at that. It's just nice knowing that he took to time to still talk to me afterwards.
Quite the role model this one.
I just smiled and gave him a nod which he accepted as an answer. He was about to say something again when a certain caretaker had other ideas.
"Mystic Tune, I said that it is bedtime so please stick with the group and get to your room." Care called out which left this one sided conversation rather short.
Tune said his final goodbye before running off to catch up with the others leaving me and my new "parents" all alone in the hall.
Well, this is certainly something new to get used to. Then it hit me.
"Wait... did I just go from poor to fucking rich in an instant?" I thought to myself with wide eyes.
I grinned. "Like this outcome already. Where the fuck have you two been this entire time?"
I am going to be drowning in biscuits in the foreseeable future. Hopefully these guys actually have some cheese and coffee on their weekly shopping list in whatever overpriced store they get their grub in, otherwise I will still be going into a tantrum none the less... before I "borrow" my new dads credit card of course.
Do they even have plastic here?
"Oh yeah I almost forgot to introduce ourselves to you." My new dad suddenly announced which automatically got my attention as I looked up at his smiling visage. His wife or "mom" moving next to him, also smiling down at me.
These horses really love to smile, don't they?
"Your name is Alex, right?" He questioned first, which I confirmed with a nod.
"Well then, it's nice to meet you, Alex." He gestured to himself. "My name is Sir Brass Silver Watch." He introduced himself before gesturing over to his wife." And this here is my spouse, Lady Camellia Harmonica." She did a little bow at the end of that before hunching down in front of me.
"We will be your new mom and dad from this day forth and we will promise to give you the same love and attention as our daughter back home." She whispered to me, which was an interesting revelation I have to say.
"So wait...they already have a child?" I wondered to myself.
This, of course, was immediately rather suspicions on my end. Why adopt me if they already have a child of their own? There is certainly more to this besides getting a child I, just know it. But, in the end, who cares? As long as I get my cheese and coffee once I am there, not to mention not having to deal with so many kids anymore.
Again, nothing against them, I just don't have to attention span to actively deal with all of them. Especially with the likes of Tetra. Getting rid of her is also a nice bonus, and getting automatically rich at the same time. Can't forget about becoming rich. It is very important and essential in forgetting my previous mentioned suspicions.
Just imagine all the cheese I can get now. I would be salivating right now if it isn't for the fact that I suddenly got a face full of a... face. Lady Camellia's face in fact.
Yeah I can't openly call them mom and dad knowing that my real mom and dad are still out there. I think... if you don't add time dilation into the whole "new dimension" thing.
Let's not even bother, my mind is already chaotic enough as it is.
Anyway, I think this move is dubbed as a nuzzle? I don't know and really don't care either as this was more awkward for me than it had a right to be. Maybe it's because I am still human inside. Which is good because I hate using my roots of origin, regardless if I am in a new world with a new body or not.
I come from a race that invented the atom bomb to blow up its own stuff. Fear my nuclear fusion and sense of self destruction. Masochism never has been so... explosive.
"Well, now that all of the youngsters are in their rooms, let's do the paperwork." The voice of Deep sounded from behind, which thankfully stopped the face grinding.
"Yes of course. Let's go sign a dozen or so papers about child safety and insurance." Brass sighed as he followed Deep to the front desk.
Does my insurance cover a lack of dairy products? Because I would seriously love some now to process this.
Like the fact that they already have a kid and that all of this smell rather suspicious in my end. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 6: Finally Some Cheese...and A New Sister Maybe? | Chapter 6: Finally some cheese... and a new sister, maybe?
Edit and Proofread by: dash446, pahnazd, and Fistfire
"Alright, we are ready to depart. Take us back to the estate." Brass called out from his carriage window after we got seated.
There was no audible reply as the carriage just started to move afterwards. Here is a funny brain twister for you; apparently, ponies pull ponies in this world. Well, not really that strange to be honest, considering the fact that in certain places in Asia humans are pulling other humans as well, as a form of public transport. But still, the concept of these colorful horses pulling other horses through the streets is still a bit of a brow raiser given the fact that their species is used as beasts of burden back in my world.
I wonder... do they use work animals here, or do they have just themselves?
Either way, I was sitting on the left side of the carriage, directly opposite from Brass, and right next to Camellia who was sitting in the middle.
Thankfully, the carriage windows were low enough for me to peek over if I cranked my neck high enough from my torso, and even completely over them if I stand up and lean my head against it.
Why thankfully? Well, that's because I have this "wanna sit next to the window" sentimentality ever since I was a kid... The first time.
"Well, this isn't going to get confusing in the near future at all... which is brilliant... no, really."
I also took my stuff with me. What, did you really think that I was going to leave both my mug and tab behind for a chance of lots and lots of round things? Well if you ever thought that then you were practically right... Maybe.
I mean, I could have maybe left my tablet with Mystic Tune if we all were in a serious hurry but my mug goes where I go. That derp face and slogan below it is just too rare to ever come across again... especially now. Plus it IS my personal coffee mug, and I had some really good and relaxing moments with that ceramic piece of art.
Cappuccino never tasted better in my entire life as the moment I first drank from it. It's all about the memes. The moment I saw the image and slogan on it I knew it was perfect for me.
It was literally speaking to me. "Buy me, and the derp will always be with you. Always." How could you say no to that?
Anyway, it's now a road trip to my new, oversized home in which I will be certainly getting lost for a very long time.
I would normally take this time to stick my earbuds into my... well, ears, and listen to some tunes while the world in front of me passed by. Except I can't because my new "mom" was so clever in placing them both in a compartment just above the rear seats where I can't reach them.
I could have protested but before I knew it, it was already too late. Ehh... whatever, I guess I can just imagine the songs in my head and stare out the window. That's what I would have done if miss flower name or some kind of harmony didn't poke me in my furry side.
"Please, sit down, Alex. It's safer and I don't want you to hurt yourself before you can even see your new home." She pleaded.
I just rolled my eyes. "Why, am I going to fall off my seat and hit my head on the carriage floor? Please, I suffered way more physical abuse than this, like the time where my cousin and I went into that Vietnamese massage shop and...." A bump in the road halted my thoughts as I got launched from my seat and slammed head first onto carriage floor.
Who knew that you could test fate via your thoughts as well? Also, fuck the one responsible for road maintenance in this city. He obviously does a really shitty job and his neglect is a danger to all children, myself now included.
Also, that hurt. Like, a lot. I guess Camy had some leverage on her statement.
I could hear both of them gasp after I hit the floor. I didn't even have time to moan in pain with added drama when I suddenly found myself losing my sense of gravity and ground contact. Most likely her using her glow stick on me to lift me back up.
"Oh dear heavens, are you okay? See? I told you to sit down so something like this wouldn't happen." She half panicked and half chided as she sat me on her lap and began to inspect my head.
At this point I was too busy trying to get my perception back under control after that sudden telekinesis she pulled on me. Not to mention the raging headache I have in the forefront of my head.
Fine, I will stay seated now.
Apparently, and thankfully, there wasn't anything wrong with it, at least visually, as she eventually sat me back down next to her, but not without giving me more reasons to not do this again by lecturing me further.
"See, this is precisely why I want you to stay seated. The roads can be bumpy sometimes, even here in the capital. You're lucky that you didn't hit yourself too hard." She continued.
"Yes, yes, I know. Sit down and don't frown, I get it. Jeez, not even a whole first day and she already reminds me of my real mother. Brilliant." I thought while rubbing the sore spot.
Thankfully, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. We passed by a lot of streets and ponies before eventually reaching an area of the city which I guess can be considered the place where most of the city's budget resides.
No wonder those bumps exist in the first place.
The street we are travelling up to is, according to the sign I read earlier, named Greenwood Boulevard, quite fitting given that this street is filled with over-decorated mansions and gardens the size of most of the homes and businesses we passed earlier.
So much for a waste of space. I mean, I am all in for a nice spacious garden, but why would you need that much greenery around your home if you just spend most of your day jerking off at the size of your own wallet or drowning yourself in all kinds of exotic food more expensive than your average house?
The only one who would even bother in the first place is the gardener. The owners would either be too lazy to leave their oversized homes or be outside of said oversized homes to make everyone not able to afford an oversized home feel bad about themselves.
Basically 98% of the population. Which is difficult because how is anyone from those 98% going to scout out enough money for such a specific item when those measly 2% are hoarding in all of the available money in this sugar invested country?
Capitalism at its finest, even here.
I know so because I have seen and experienced it myself. How can someone with that much moolah be so stingy? Even towards a fucking child?
I take it back, I take everything I ever threw at dear old Mc Scrooge. At least that duck has a heart... and balls, like, really big balls. Better borrow some of his balls for the foreseeable future if my predictions on how life as a renaissance-type noble are accurate.
Money does tend to speak louder than words... and basic morals too. If I have learned anything from all those action movies and horror wannabes, it's that you should always expect the absolute worst in any situation. That way you won't be surprised or disappointed when it does happen.
Anyway, it really didn't take too long after crossing into lazy town from simple town to finally reach the very estate that I am going to be calling my home for the foreseeable future, and I have to say my new parents seem to be just as guilty in hoarding most of the national treasury as everyone else that lives on this street. Only difference was that the front didn't feature any British style garden, Romanesque greenery or something Hellenic, but I am sure that there is at least one around the large bungalow if am given the freedom to explore it later.
Either way, the gate itself was nothing special. Just your typical iron gate you easily associated with every other mansion or estate you see in many different depictions. The only thing that was... kind of different was that the gate is actually a part of the main building itself. A perfect reason why my new home doesn't feature a front yard like all the others. I bet the whole thing circles around some kind of courtyard, which was quickly proven when the carriage stopped right in front the main gate. I could only barely peek through the bars from my position, much to my new mom's dismay of not staying seated.
Woman, let me explore, okay? I AM a kid again after all, and kids are naturally very curious... even if I have never lost that aspect.
I meant the kid part by the way.
"Open the gates! Sir Brass of the Silver Watch and Lady Camellia Harmonica have returned." I heard someone shout from outside, most likely one of the pones doing the pulley.
I could barely see another pony trotting up from behind the closed bars before stopping just in front of it. He seemed rather well dressed, to be honest. Is he maybe the butler?
"Sir Brass, what exactly brings you to this fine establishment? Do you and your mistress possess an invitation?" The stallion asked in a much defined UK accent.
"Yup, certainly the butler... I think."
My new dad poked his head out from the carriage window with a smile. "You know exactly why we are here, old friend. Don't tell me that you have already forgotten that we live here?" Brass responded in amusement, which I guess was reflected by the stallion if his own expression was to be believed.
"Of course I haven't, sir, just wanted to make sure that no nasty doppelganger would come by and impersonate you and Miss Camellia. Like in those novels you seem to like reading recently." He called back with a gentle smile on his brown muzzle.
Brass just chuckled at that. "Well, just tell the guards to open the gate now. Both me and Camellia had a long day behind us and we wish to just relax for the rest of it." He called out with a small sigh at the end.
The butler nodded before talking to an off-screen individual past the gate. There was a silent clank and rustle to be heard before the gate finally opened. The carriage immediately began to move again, giving us access into the interior of the property as the gates behind us could be heard closing.
"Well, here we are, home sweet home I guess." And what a home. Just image the entire thing had a kind of a rectangular layout with the middle being dominated by a rather large courtyard, with nicely trimmed bushes and other greenery on its side and a large water fountain in the center.
The fountain itself was rather interesting though as it depicted a pony version of lady luck pouring water down into a basin, which then splits it into five different streams running down the rocks before finally landing on the large pool surrounding it. A pool large enough to bathe in during hot summers.
I mean, I am sure that such actions aren't allowed in such a piece of art made from marble, but that won't stop me from actually trying... many times. Because indoor pools suck. Not sure if this place even has one but at the same time I don't care for a very good reason.
Everybody can smell it when you're letting something loose while being in the pool.
It's all about secrecy after all. Plus, most people are too lazy to climb out of the water just so they can answers nature's call before going back in anyway.
That's what chlorine was invented for.
Actually, I think it helps with the smell as well... haven't been in any public bath for a very long time. Specifically for that reason.
"Well, here we are. Finally. I desperately need some tea." Mister Brass sighed as the unsuspended carriage finally halted in front of the main entrance.
Why unsuspended? Because this ride was the rattiest ride I ever rode in. Either blame the roads or the wooden box on skinny wheels itself. If I get old enough... again, or finally get a hang in voicing out my un-understandable philosophies to my inmates then I shall introduce the concept of wheel suspension towards these wooden washing machines.
Because I am a spoiled man, who got spoiled by the wonders of modern automobiles. Perhaps even inventing the concept of... FOUR horse power carriages instead of just two. It will be like... this world equivalent of a Porsche. My own 'oversized home to make people feel bad about not having it as well', here I come... maybe, if I am not too lazy or just forget about it.
Brass was, of course, the first to disembark, followed by Camellia and then me, with me being levitated onto her back.
I tapped her on the head and let her silently know that my stuff, the only two items I have from my old world, were still in that stupid unreachable compartment inside the carriage.
She just smiled before telling that a maid can get them and bring them over to my new room after it has been prepared.
I do have to say, from all the ponies I have met so far, both Brass and Camellia have been the most morally focused and levelheaded individuals so far. AND they are freaking nobles. The bane of many nations and the cause of many assassinations and revolutions. Not to mention being complete asses to everyone else who isn't like them.
Wealth does turn you depraved, especially when you had it all since birth, which I believe most of them did. Geboren mit dem goldenen Loffel und so weiter. Something that can NEVER happen to me... because I am already depraved enough as is. My cousins don't call me a couch potato for nothing.
No, that doesn't mean that I was fat and all. I was actually pretty normal physically. No major fatness besides a tiny belly. No health problems or eating disorders either.
Some might say that I am BS-ing them, but really, medical wonders and oddity do exist so... yay for me. I can be lazy and not reek from the negativity of it... besides getting too comfortable with it.
But hey, that didn't stop me from freeloading off of my cousins and drinking all of their coffee.
I am mentally rambling again, aren't I? Ah yes, familiar territory, how much I love you. My mind is sometimes just so much more interesting to explore than the outside world.
I think things are finally returning to normal for me. Speaking of normal...
"Actually... where are we?" I clearly lost track of what happened. While I was having my internal monologues to some imaginary audience, Brass, Camellia and me on her back must have moved past the double door entrance and into the greeting hall, which, by the way, was just as disgustingly expensive smelling as everything else. Why wouldn't it be?
"Well, this is it, Alex. Your new home. Quite an upgrade from your previous life, don't you think?" Camellia announced, which just made me look around a bit with mild interest.
Why mild? Well, what the hell am I going to be doing with all of this anyway? It's not mine, plus some of these might be worth more than my very life.
"Upgrade? More like opening up a console window and typing in all of the instant level ups, skill level ups and spawn all best items you can think of in an instant." I thought to myself, a certain ponified "The Scream" taking my immediate attention.
Looks good, but seriously did I land in some alternative mirror universe instead of a brand new one? The cheesiness levels are so high they are seriously making me hungry ever since it started. Where is my Gouda? The cheese the orphanage had SUCKED. I need real French, Swiss or Nederland goodness, not that cheap copycat American garbage.
At this point the whole amazement of this place's baroque style interior (only in white) was really going over my radar in favor of finally getting myself something to eat. Because apparently I left the orphanage before I even had the chance to get some dinner, so that obviously sucks. This might also be my chance to finally get some good cheese in this new land, which I am sure or at least hopeful they have in stock here.
I mean, if they have the terrible American crap here then they most likely have something similar to the aforementioned European specialties as well.
Hmmmm... Gouda, Emmental *doing the Homer Simpson impression*.
"Uh... are you... are you okay, Alex?" Camy suddenly asked which snapped me out of my daydreaming trance.
Everybody was apparently staring at me, including the maid carrying my stuff on a plate on her back.
Was I publicly drooling again?
I shook my head before my stomach suddenly decided to do the talking for me.
"Well... that is one way to announce it. Another beautiful example that this world seems to function with cartoon physics from time to time. Which I honestly love and will exploit to the ALMOST best of my abilities, if I remember to do so that is." I thought to myself while Camellia just giggled.
"Well, it is almost past dinner time anyway. Good thing your tummy reminded us of it otherwise it would have been us receiving the embarassing situation later on." She teased while playfully poking my belly.
I just shoved her hoof away. I honestly have no idea why she was talking about being embarrassed. My body did a perfect job in announcing my needs without even having to bother with words. Which I still can't understand, mind you.
"Olivia, could you please go and tell the cook to start preparing dinner after bringing Alex's items to his room?" Camellia asked, turning to said maid.
The now known Olivia nodded. "Yes, of course, Miss Camellia, no problem." She responded before trotting off to do just that.
"Olivia, quite fitting for her olive green coat."
I was obviously still a bit antsy about letting her off alone with my stuff, but I guess I can trust her with them for now given that she is employed under my new equine parents.
RICH equine parents. Let's not forget about that.
"Well, if you excuse me Camellia, I will also head to the kitchen myself if you need me for something. Gotta get myself some well needed tea after this rather exhausting day." Brass announced next to her.
Camellia just nodded. "Of course, honey. Could you go tell Octavia afterwards that dinner will be ready soon? She is most likely in her room at this hour." She requested which in turn made Brass nod before trotting off in the same direction where the maid went; the left wing, to be precise.
With nothing else to do, Camellia and I left the greeting hall to the opposite direction. Why? I have absolutely no idea, but I am sure that she is going to inform me. Right about...
"I think a little bath would be a nice way to fully make you a part of our family here, Alex. Plus you do have a bit of a smell sticking on your coat and I would love for you to look clean and serene when eventually meeting with your new sister... or just a friend depending on how you view her, but I am sure the you two will get along well. She even is the same age as you." She answered, which was certainly more than I wanted to know.
Then again, knowledge is power, after all.
That still left one question unanswered though.
"What the heck was the point in adopting me when these two already have humped a daughter into existence? If they wanted another then just go get drunk in a local pub." I thought while staring at the back of the mare's head.
I would love to ask but I obviously can't, plus I don't want to risk my new rich child perk so quickly for something that could easily be just a move of laziness on their part. I mean, making babies is a lot of work after all, especially for the lady.
Plus I am absolutely positive that the answer will fall onto my lap regardless. Just make sure to keep raiding their kitchens and check my bed and closets for boogeymen.
Don't ask me how, but I do smell something shitty here, like literally. I think we just passing an occupied toilet right next to another door we stopped at.
"I told Hector to not have those expired beans for breakfast this morning." Camellia sighed before opening the door revealing... more expensive shit in overflow. The bathtub alone was already as big as your average home bathroom.
"Now let's just get you clean up a bit, shall we? I promise that this is going to be fun. Octavia herself just loves playing during baths." She explained as she gently sat me down on the pony equivalent of a toilet. Which, by the way, is similar to a human toilet, only much lower to the floor.
I just sat on of the toilet lid patiently and watched her fumble around with the bathtub faucets with her glow stick. Soon both hot and cold water began to pour, filling the tub slowly with warm water and even creating a bit of steam in the process.
I do have to say, despite the large dimension if this golden goose shittery, it had still a distinctly cozy feeling to it, even more so now that the entire space was being covered in a soft layer of warm vapor.
The other reason why might be because of the subtle lightning and the overabundance of fluffy rugs covering most of the flooring.
And this is just perhaps the guest bathroom.
"Alright, done." Camellia announced which stopped my thoughts.
I perked up and saw that the jacuzzi-sized bath was full. Well, full for my size.
"Alright, it's bath time." She announced again with a smile.
To be honest, I have nothing against the idea of someone giving me a bath. At least it's way better than having someone try and cut your hair with a pair of magically suspended scissors.
I jumped off the lid and made my way over to the jacuzzi-sized tub and jumped right in. It's rather practical that the bath was neatly low towards the floor, otherwise literally jumping in would have been impossible for my size.
There was an audible splash and a bit of a yelp. I do have to say that this felt really, really nice. I mean, the orphanage had baths too but never with that much space or bubbles.
No idea when she added those into the water, but then again I was momentarily distracted.
I heard Camellia sigh as I saw a towel being levitated towards her. A sign of success for my handy work.
"Well, besides getting me wet while still stressed, let's just focus on getting you clean quickly before dinner. Both Brass and Octy aren't the most patient individuals when it comes to food, let me tell you." She explained before levitating over a sponge and big bar of soap. The only two normal items so far. Good job you two.
"Alright, just hold still and relax. I will be doing most of the work for you. This won't take long." She said before the scrubbing commenced.
I only have one rule with this.
"You can clean everything else but my crotch. I shall do that myself, thank you very much."
.................................................................................................................................................
"Cheese, cheese, CHEESE! OH GLORIOUS HEAVEN ABOVE LOOK AT ALL THIS CHEESE!" My mind screamed as my eyes sparkled at the second most beautiful sight I have ever seen.
Why only second? Well, the first one involves high school and a little accident where I misjudged the male changing room for the female one. Who knew that jugs can get that big at the age of 15? Some real Japanese hentai shit that was.
Anyway, enough thinking because it's time for eating.
"Ah, ah, ah, Alex! I know you're hungry, but in this household you got to learn that dinner only officially starts when every member of family and staff are present. So please, be a little bit more patent while both Olivia and Octavia make their way here." Camellia lightly chided, right before I was about to literally jump onto the table and dive into the golden horde in front of me.
Well, I guess it was also a good thing that she used her voodoo to keep me seated because her chiding would certainly have been much worse. But still, damn you, woman, stop being such a cock block and let me get some damn cheese! Finally getting a chance of choking myself into delusions with some good ass gold and here you are preventing me from doing that. Right here. Right in front all of this CHEESE. Right here in front of me.
"I want some darn cheese, dammit." I thought while crossing my forelegs and pouting.
The reason why we haven't, or more precisely, why I can't jump in and get some of that golden tease is because of both their daughter and maid were still missing in action.
Everybody else is already here. Brass, Camellia, some random cook and Hector which turned out to be the butler's name which, by the way, is the most badass name so far.
Freaking Hector, all that is missing is for another stud to be named Achilles and this world would have automatically redeemed itself for me. Don't care if this place still reminds me a lot of Care Bears or not.
Let's turn everything into the Iliad, shall we? Just hope that they won't change Troy into something stupid like Trot. Then I would be mad.
Mad as in mental, not emotional. Or maybe both. Which is worse. For everyone.
Either way, I am just trying to preoccupy myself with other thoughts while waiting for the final two stars of this concert to finally step up from behind the curtains. Not to mention that I could smell the hard stench of cheese from here which was just making this whole ordeal that much worse.
"What the fuck is them taking so long? Are they masturbating or something?" I wondered, feeling more and more annoyed about this by the second.
The smell was literally taunting me at this point. My fantasies even conjuring an image of a hazy middle finger and an impish laugh.
Yes, I know that this particular line of thinking is seriously uncalled for given that one of them is just like me in terms of physical age and size. But this is MY mind and as long as I don't say it out loud it should be good, plus I just want to get some freaking cheese in me damn it. At some point even Camellia's abilities of the force won't stop me from devouring my enemies. I can already feel my pain and passion fueling the dark side inside of me in the form. Where is my lightsaber?
It was at that point where two figures suddenly poked out from around the corner of my vision. Camellia next to me smiled as a small filly with the most depressing color scheme entered the dining room.
Thoughm personally, that was not the main focus.
"Fucking finally. Can I have my cheese now?" Was my only mental response as she sat down silently right next to her father and completely opposite from me. Not that I could see her well of course, thanks to the giant eye sore in between us.
The lonely mountain of Erebor, only without the mountain.
"Well hello there, sweetie. How was your day?" Camellia asked with a smile, which went over the filly's mind, much to Camellia's dismay.
Emo much? And still just 5. Just imagine how she would be when she is hitting her puberty.
This forced her father to poke her side in order to get the little filly's attention, which thankfully did the trick.
She raised her head. "Oh... uhm, it was fun, I guess... I just spend most of my time with mister Hubsie playing in my room with all of his other friends." She answered in her innocent but still very British sounding voice.
That alone makes me like her in an instant, despite her making me wait so gosh darn long. Plus it makes her look that much more adorable as well, despite her missing horn.
"Wait... she has no horn?"
Camellia smiled. "Well, it is at least nice to know that you were having fun, sweetie. But for now, let's just eat." She finally announced the exact sentence I was waiting for this entire time.
I sighed loudly. "Fucking finally. I would have gone MAD if this took any longer. Finally... give me all the Gouda and Emmental this place has in store so that I can..."
"Oh, and sweetie, say hello to somepony new." Camellia announced before poking me in the side and interrupting my mojo.
"AWW COME ON."
"You as well, Alex, how about saying hello to your new sister?" She said with a smile, which in turn just made me frown. Inwardly, of course, don't want to risk the risk of risking my chance of finally getting something that isn't grass and flower related.
Seriously, I forgot to mention the fact that I was living off a lot of hay and daisies ever since I got here. I mean... they weren't bad and all, but still kind of thought provoking when you consider that previously, eating shit like this would have easily made me sick and gave me a one way ticket to the toilet...
"Oh shit, I just remembered I forgot to turn the faucet off back at home. Geez, that incoming water bill. I guess a good reason why I am here and not over there. Sucks to be my cousins at this point. One of them even got recently fired as far as I can remember before coming here."
I shook my head before looking up at the gray and black haired filly opposite of me. Not really surprising at all that she was staring back at me. Curiosity clear on her features. Though what I found kind of insulting in the end was that she soon looked away and started grabbing for some food that I couldn't see because of the large wheel of cheese in front of me.
I pouted. "Lady, I know that most ladies just bothered to give me a passing glance in my previous life but at this situation it is just downright rude."
I just huffed before just doing the same thing as she and reached for the cheese... only to realize that it is uncut and that I don't have a knife or hands to grab it.
My eyes went wide in horror. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! FROM ANNOYING TO RUDE, TO DOWNRIGHT NIGHTMARISH!"
SO NAH UND DOCH NOCH SO WEIT ENTFERNT.
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" I shouted out in utter frustration, which caused everybody to almost to fall of their seats.
I was not a happy camper at this point. Fuck all of their money and just give me some cheese. It's the only gold I ever wanted.
.................................................................................................................................................
"Well, this is it. Your room, Alex. Quite exciting, don't you think?" Camellia happily presented, which went over my head as some small traces of my previous euphoria were still running through my system.
The euphoria of having finally eaten some damn good cheese after all this time, and I have to say... THAT WAS SOME OF THE BEST CHEESE I HAVE EVER EATEN IN MY LIFE. Who knew that rich people can afford more than just overpriced wine and golden cocaine? You know what, forget everything I said earlier about nobles, if they can get their hands on such good dairy products then I guess it's money well spent in the end.
Plus, you would be supporting those cheese makers to make even more of their really good gold. Absolutely brilliant I would say, not to mention the jaw drops I produced when I almost managed to finish off an entire wheel all by myself.
Well... I would have loved to devour the entire thing but mister Brass gas had to ruin my plans of a world record by yanking the almost finished wheel away from me, saying things like "eating that much in one go for a foal is NOT healthy" kind of bullshit.
The outcry in both protest and despair were real at that moment. I could have sworn that someone was laughing at my pathetic display of a tantrum, but honestly, I had completely different problems back then to really give a care about that. That, and my sudden urge to go somewhere quickly as the cheese apparently was really rushing through my foal like system.
At least I kept my good feels from that trip to the rainbows, so in the end all was still well in my books... almost.
A tap on my big head forced me back to the outside world. "Uh, Alex, are you paying attention, or are you still in need to head back to the bathroom? Told you already halfway that you should stop eating so much, but you kept going regardless." She half asked and half chided, which again went over my head a bit as I looked into the room in front of me. MY room.
I was both impressed, intrigued and somewhat scared at the same time.
"THIS is my room?" I thought while darting my eyes around. "This bloody room is twice the size of my living room. Granted, my living room wasn't that spacious compared to others, but still. THIS BIG SPACE is my ROOM?" I finished my thought as I took my first steps into this new waste of space for a foal.
Like, really, isn't this a little bit too big for a kid my age and belt size? I mean, think about the boogeymen and all that wonderful space of shadows he can hide in. Not to mention under my new bed too, which again was certainly a tad bigger than I wanted it to be.
Just image all the ebony and ivory you can hide under there.
Huh... that's what she sa-not really the time for that joke. I have an oversized room problem to deal with. That, and potentially having to go grab a knife from the kitchen in order to defend myself for that pedophile son of a bitch. Not that I have met him at any point of my previous life but that still doesn't mean I shall let my guard down just because of it.
Especially now, in a world that might even stair him, voodoo hoodoo, mythological creatures and that shit. Either way, having to sleep in a much more open space than I normally would feel comfortable with would certainly be something I need to get used to. That, or just pull over the bed curtains that I just noticed.
That way I can make my space a lot smaller during the night and become less paranoid.
I heard Camellia sigh from behind me as I stepped further into the room to explore all of its new wonders.
"This might be something we have to fix at a later date; you not paying attention." I heard her mutter while moving towards the first cupboard my eyes lay on.
"Where the heck did that maid dump my stuff at."
"Oh and by the way, if you are listening, Olivia, as she was told, placed both your cup and... the white flat thing on top of your bed. Just saying." She informed, something I did finally pay attention to because of one little detail she just missed.
"It's a MUG, not a cup, miss flowers. Also, thanks for the info." I thought, my next target being the bed for obvious reasons, only to find out that the bed was a little bit too high for me to comfortably climb up on.
I thought that this room was prepared for ME and not Chewbacca.
Camellia seemed to notice my confusion. She lightly chuckled, which by the way felt a bit insulting on my part. Fine, I let her have that one, for ignoring her causing such a tantrum earlier.
"You, know it would be easier for you to get up on bed via the steps on the other side." She informed and trotted up to the bed as well, opposite from where I was standing.
I just followed her, and truth be told they were indeed steps leading up to the bed just as she said. Neat, but also why? Why not give me a bed for MY size?
Whatever, I am sure there is a logical reason for it, like maybe they don't have any other beds in stock for my size, simply because they weren't expecting to adopt a child or whatever. With that thought out of the way, I immediately got up onto my bed and testing how bouncy it really is for me to bounce on when nobody's looking.
I have a perfect excuse to be childish now after all.
"So, what do you think? A better bed than you had back in the orphanage?" Camy asked as I started to feel the fabric and texture of it, and I have to admit, not a bad bed in terms in softness but sadly no real bounciness on it, most likely because of its mattress being a full cotton one instead of those old school ones with springs in them. Which is fine I guess, simply because of my bed back on earth being almost similar to this one in comparison.
Also, my stuff was indeed on my bed, right under the pillow in fact, which I would love to point out is even fucking larger than me somehow.
That's what she said.
"Uhm... Miss Camellia? My I... have a moment?" The voice of Olivia suddenly perked up as I was busy expecting Mount Pillow of the Pillowlayans.
I wish I had a flag now to claim it.
Camellia turned her head. "Of course, what seems to be the issue?" She responded and turned towards her.
I was listening, but still had most of my focus fixed on taming this mount of a pillow and plowing my imaginary flag on it for the glory of my new Snitch Empire. The Republic of Java will envy us on this day.
Olivia rubbed the back of her head." Well... I could tell you. But you have to see it to believe it, in my opinion. So if you could allow me some of your time, that would be very appreciated, Miss Camellia." She awkwardly stated.
Camy obviously seemed confused at first but eventually nodded to the maid's request before turning back to me, witnessing my glorious achievement.
"I won't be gone for long, Alex. Just go ahead and explore your new room some more. I will be right back." She told me before her and the olive mare went together wherever it was that they were going together.
Which was good, because this gave me the chance to finally relax and be alone to reflect on everything that happened so far and my new position.
I slid down onto my bed, laid my head on my newly-claimed territory and sighed, my head almost getting devoured by the oversized nature and fluffiness of the pillow.
For once, not much was happening inside my head at this point. Just using this moment to stare up at the blue ceiling above, as I was slowly and surely getting tired.
My eyes closed, or rather, that's what I would have done if a set of hoofsteps coming from my unclosed door didn't rouse me from my relaxation.
I pushed the lump of pillow away, no longer obstructing my view to the left where the door was, only to be somewhat surprised to see a certain individual peeking her head from around the door.
It's the filly with the depressing color scheme from earlier. Well, almost depressing, her eyes at least where a rich purple which is quite the contrast to all of that gray and black she sports all around her.
My eyes met hers. We just stared at one another across the room, me in intrigue and her more in a sense of childish curiosity and even a small level of... suspicion and... envy?
Really, envy? Only a day old and we might already have a rivalry going on.
"So, are you really my new... brother just like mommy and daddy told me?" She suddenly ask and also breaking the ice.
I would have broken it myself but... well... duh.
I sat upright, giving her question a bit of thought before just mentally shrugging and nodding. Octavia in response tilted her head as she continued to just stand there.
"Why do you just keep nodding or gesturing? Can't you talk?" She asked further which again I answered with a nod and a self-pointing hoof at my throat.
She just seemed more confused after my response. I sighed before just deciding for the more complicated route of just drawing it out for her.
It's a good thing my tablet registers hoof touch as well, otherwise trying to draw and basically do anything with a stylus would just be impossible with this second pair of feet; I can't even get the stylus out of its housing to begin with.
So, the hoof it is, pressing down the power button on the top left corner and pressing at the icon to start the app I used for drawing. This though, unsurprisingly, took the little filly's immediate attention as I saw her move just a little bit closer to have a better look.
After a view moments of trying to get a decent visual representation done of my current problem I flipped the tab towards her, showing her the somewhat crude drawing about me being sick, with thermostat, ice bag and obviously a green expression.
Not truly accurate on what my actual problem is, but still, somewhat relatable giving the sore feeling I get whenever trying to actively speak or say something that isn't just noise.
That though seemed to go completely over the little filly's head as she seemed to be more fixated on the tablet in my hoof.
Not surprising, to be honest. Mystic Tune head the same reaction when I tried to communicate with him via images as well.
"Ooh what is that thing you are holding? It glows, is it something magical?" She questioned, before moving up even closer. Whatever suspicions and/or envy she expressed earlier was completely gone now and replaced with the childish wonder and curiosity most kids have at her age.
Which is good, I guess. Honestly, I am in no interest in being in some kind of attention contest with the REAL child of my new caretakers.
I say REAL because I can't get the critical detail out of my head that she doesn't seem to have a horn, despite being the child of two horny ones.
Is it maybe some kind of a biology that I am missing here? Because logic would dictate that two of the same species should give birth to a species similar to theirs. Again, either I spent too much time doodling during biology classes, or her parents lied about her being their actual child and maybe her origin is just like mine.
You know what, it's not important to be honest, plus being overly logical isn't really my thing either. I love the insane, stupid and the ridiculous. Which is why I love movies like the "Scary movies" "Epic movie" or the "Superhero movie". Stupid and overly ridiculous. It's brilliant.
I am getting distracted again.
I just scratched my head as best as a hoof could before deciding to just jump down and give her the whole thing. She can find out herself what it is. Thankfully I have no... questionable things stored inside of it which obviously makes it safe for child use.
I had all of them stored in my laptop anyway. Too bad that it couldn't come with me as well, but I guess weight limit rules via TransAfterlife Airlines are much bitchier compared to the more traditional airline companies.
She obviously looked at it curiously at first after I laid it on the ground in front of her. I decided to make her exploration a little bit easier by exiting the Paint App and going back to the home screen.
Her eyes immediately lit up at all the colorful icons and wallpaper of a deer and a gazelle that I drew myself in one of my spare times. Which I always had.
She didn't waste any time in mimicking my gesture from earlier and randomly clicked on an icon she liked the most. Funny enough, it was Plants vs Zombies, a game I had stored in it forever and completed since then. Just never bothered to uninstall it, just like most of other apps I have in it.
She immediately flinched back a bit when the zombies popped up.
"Ewww... what is that? It... it looks kind of icky." She questioned, which just made me smile.
I just pulled up an endless game, the one on the backyard, and started to casually play the game in front of her. She, of course, was fascinated immediately, watching as I planted cartoony looking plants which then fought and fired on an equally cartoony looking wave after wave of zombies.
I even let her take the wheel at some point, testing to see if she was smart enough to mimic the exact controls I used in front of her, and to my enjoyment she did as she started collecting suns and placing down plants in places that I pointed out for her.
Overall, she was having fun and honestly so was I just watching her have it while giving out funny comments about what is happening on screen... until all of those giant zombies with the little midges started to spawn and the game from that on just turned in a full on war of attrition which we quickly lost.
She seemed sad that we lost, but honestly, it didn't happen a moment too soon as I began to hear hoofsteps coming towards our direction. I quickly slid the tablet under the bed right before the image of Camellia came around. A look of both confusion, wonder and slight annoyance dotting her features.
"Alex, how... how did you manage to clog the toilet so badly? Furthermore, how can a small foal even DO that?" She asked, not really paying much attention of the fact that her daughter was right next to me.
I just smiled victoriously at those news. Feeling quite accomplished at the fact that I can just amaze and confuse people here the same way as I could over in my world.
Alexander Becker, you done it again. Normality is just overrated in my book. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 7: Back to Toddler School, At least that's how I call it | Chapter 7: Back to the toddlers school, at least that's how I call it
Edited by: pahnazd
"Octavia, Alex, are you two ready? The carriage is already waiting outside." Miss Camellia's voice echoed from the main hall, which was easily audible, even from my bathroom.
"Yeah, yeah, don't get you jimmies into a rustle there." I mutter while trying to fix my battlefront of a bed mane and ignoring my bloodshot eyes in the mirror's reflection.
A certain aspect I always hated during my school days slowly creeping back into my life - having to wake up early again.
In case someone didn't know, I am NOT a morning person. Especially when forced to get out of bed earlier and without coffee, something my own doctor has proclaimed to be an unhealthy thing for me... when I was suffering a bit from insomnia back then, or so he believed.
Anyway, it seems like yet another annoyance of my new life that I am forced to go through a second time. Still doesn't mean I have to like it. I was already happy when I finally managed to get that piece of resilient toilet paper from my college and never had to go through that bullshit system ever again.
I guess, in the end, I was the one who got shafted as an end product. All because of the irresponsibility and carelessness of a certain relative. But then again, I am no role model of responsibility either. I would have certainly left that can on the counter as well... or just thrown it towards my neighbor's dog house.
That thing just kept on barking for every little thing and even had to be aggressive despite its small breed. Goes to show that the smaller ones are always the nastiest. Goes true for me now as well, though I obviously don't go around trying to nip people on the chins; I rather sailor talk them. Should always take a salt shaker with me if that is the case.
"Alex, are you still in there? Mommy is saying that we need to get ready quickly or we are going to miss our first day in kindergarten." I heard the sweet, sweet voice and little Octy knocking on my door, taking me out of my thoughts.
I have to admit, she has quite honestly grown on me this last month I have been crashing around here, and same for her as she quickly managed to forget all of her caution and envy she had towards me from WAY in the beginning. For her I have grown to be the very first friend she ever had in her life and honestly she openly shows it all the time as well.
Always asking if I want to come over to her room and play or just bullshit around in the backyard outside.
And yes I was right in my first assumptions that this mansion also has its own over stylized green carpet. It's just hidden past the courtyard and behind a second gate. Sadly no pool which means that the lady luck fountain is going to get desecrated by me sooner or later.
I wonder if Octy would be up for some of my usual shenanigans. I honestly haven't tried yet, just for the sake of keeping her out of MY troubles. But it's still on my new to do list of things on this world. Including going all Sly Cooper on a tiara of that wanna be cliche cheesy good girl princess that this place has.
You know like every Disney princess ever... or princess figures in general.
I am certain that she wouldn't mind me taking it, I mean, she IS a fucking princess after all with her own Disney style castle, only with a bit of Russian style architecture mixed in it.
It's mostly out of spite, as I have a natural repulsion and mistrust for authority figures. I blame my high school and college teachers for that... especially my gym teachers.
After I finally managed to get my hair in a semi-decent shape despite all of my mental distractions and that I somehow managed to do all of that with my bloody limp stamps, I hopped of the little stool and wobbled over to the door and opened it.
A very well groomed Octavia greeted me from the other side, with saddle bags and all that jazz. I thought that we are going to the Garten von Kindern and not school?
She just tilted her head a bit and looking at me funny while I just stood there, feeling like a sack of potatoes... nothing new there.
"You don't look very ready to me. Also where are your saddle bags?" She asked in her usual childish curiosity.
I just shrugged. "Don't know, maybe somewhere under the bed. But I am too lazy right now to go get them... also a bit too drowsy." I muttered that last part out.
By the way, I can talk now. Neat huh? How? Well, simply, the magic of caffeine... which didn't last long thanks to a certain maid catching me before I could really leave this universe. Short story even shorter I managed to find their coffee stashes during one of my late night scoutings and just HAD to try and make some good coffee and give my novelty mug something else to do than just carry milk, juice, water, or act as a secret storage unite for all of the stolen sugar cubes that I, well, stole.
Well, I got my self-made coffee despite controller issues and took a sip from it. The entire cosmos immediately opened to me the moment the first few drops flowed down my system. I think I even meant Kefka and Willy Wonka playing poker with some stray dog from a certain Disney movie I can't place the name on now, but I am not sure if I have seen all of that right because Olivia just had to be a cunt and pull the plug on my drug.
Image the utter shock she had on her face when I started to curse and whine like a salty sailor with his finger stuck up his ass... that someone forced him to... with super glue.
Cutting it even shorter, she told my caretakers about my vocal tantrum, which they, of course, didn't believe because most of the words I was spouting out in the time didn't even exist in your typical traditional equestrian dictionary.
That and a child my age shouldn't be able to know or understand such swear words in the first place.
You can just tell how good I am at deceiving everyone for just being... me...
Who knew being an undercover spy can be so damn easy.
But I am just rambling again, aren't I? Then again, at this point, those who would even bother reading my journal should have gotten used to it by now.
My mental journal.
"Alex?" Octavia said while still looking at me, rather confused.
I blinked. I guess I must have been just staring off into space or making weird expressions as some have pointed out... mostly my other neighbors.
"Yes." I responded almost automatically.
She just pouted a bit. "I said I could go get your bags for you if you want." She explained, most likely just repeating herself.
I just shook my head. "Nah, I don't even think that my bags are really under my bed. It was mostly just a guess. Honestly, I have completely forgotten where I dumped them in the first place." I responded, which gave me a tilted eyebrow in return.
"Anyway, it's ADVENTURE TIME." I declared before just marching off past the confused little filly. Which is ironic because technically we are the same size.
"You know, you really are weird and confusing sometimes." Little Octy commented as she soon followed behind me.
I just smiled. "You don't even know a quarter of it." I thought to myself as the two of us made our way outside to "our" waiting mother. Well mostly Octavia, as I still have no idea on how to navigate these halls without just ending up back in the kitchen.
Because of the cheese closet and a second chance of sneaking in another cup of joy for myself; now that I know where they keep all of the good stuff, I just cannot resist anymore. I need to find that cosmic poker house again so that I can join these guys, and scam Willy for his chocolate factory. Even I have a raging sweet tooth that needs to be seen by the sugar dentist.
"Finally, why did the two of you take so long to get ready?" Camellia asked as we exited to the courtyard. The morning sun already being way too cheerful in my opinion. Wish I had Auriel's bow with some blood arrows right about now to slap that smile out of its face.
I casually exhaled. "Well, it's mostly because of me, I was busy trying to do my hair. Something I am sure is relatable to all mares and fillies." I remarked before hopping into the carriage.
Camellia rose an eyebrow. "First, it's called a mane, I thought we already went through that. Also, how would you know what a mare does?" She asked.
I just kept casual as Octavia followed suit. "I saw you a couple of times doing your mane in your and mister Brass' room. You sometimes keep the door slightly open." I answered as Octy took her seat right next to me.
She looked a bit surprised. "Wait... I do?" She wondered to herself and tapping her chin a bit.
She eventually just shook her head. "Well anyway, let's just get going. We are already late as it is." She said before stepping into the carriage herself and taking her seat opposite from Octy and me. She gave the two pulleys the go sign which they nodded to.
With that we were off and just reminding me again of the idea of introducing suspensions to this thing.
The carriage left the grounds of the compound behind and entered the busy streets of early morning Cant-to-lottery. I obviously just spend most of that time staring out the window, just watching all of the passing colors and buildings go by.
I would have kept quiet like this if it wasn't for Camy to suddenly notice something wrong about me at some point.
"Wait, Alex?" She asked which forced me to look at her. "Where are your saddlebags?" She pointed out.
I just scratched my head and shrugged. "Somewhere flying around my room I guess. Had no idea where I placed them so I just went without them." I truthfully answered.
Her eyes went wide for just a moment before facepalming- or facehoofing I guess- and sighed.
"So, in other words, it means that you didn't pack any of the sandwiches Olivia made for the two of you this morning?" She asked while keeping her hoof still on her face.
I just shook my head which in turn caused her to sigh loudly this time. "I guess we have to make a small stop then." She muttered before sticking her head out of the window.
"Could you two please stop by the closest cafe? Need to buy some sandwiches for one of my foals." She called out.
"Of course mam, no issue." Came the reply of a stallion.
Camellia shook her head at me. "Alex, sometimes I wonder if you do these things on purpose or not." She sighed.
Honestly, most of them aren't that intentional. I really did misplace and completely forgot about the bags she gave me, or the fact that there was food on the counter. When I am sleep deprived I do tend to be not in 100 percent working and thinking condition during morning. A perfect example obviously being me dying from rat poison.
So excuse me, princess, if I tend to be unreliable. I am more of a thinker than an organizer. I mean, monologue counts as thinking, does it not?
The carriage eventually stopped in front of a nice looking food joint that kind of reminds me of Starbucks back on Earth. In fact, after doing a double take at the ridiculous prices from here I would say that this IS in fact a horse version of bloody Starbucks. This world seems to love stealing things from mine and adding horse puns to them, so why not bloody Starbucks as well since we are here?
Normally I would be highly against spending so much money for a fucking sandwich, but given the fact that my new caretakers have more banknotes in their banks then they have blood cells in their blood banks, this philosophy just gets nullified almost immediately.
I mean, you can't really go wrong with spending your money on food and drinks right? You know, the two essential things you NEED to actually stay alive.
"You two stay here, ok? I will just go buy something quickly." She said before getting of the wooden box.
I watched her trot into the store before Octy tapped me on the shoulder. She gave me a smile when I looked at her.
"I actually have your sandwich packed my bag as well. Just had a feeling you might forget them, so I just took precautions and packed them with me as well." She whispered before opening on of her bags and showing me the two wrapped up morsels.
I smiled at that before giving her a smirk. "You sneaky little filly. Why didn't you then informe Miss Camellia that you took my double laid bread instead?" I curiously asked.
Her smile just widened at that as she closed her bag. "Just wanted to mimic some of your... what do you call them? Shi-shinanana..."
"Shenanigans."
"Yeah that big word. Just wanted to give them a try and see if they are truly funny like how seem them to be." She explained.
That really made me smile and also gave me a bit of "the feels" as well.
"That's nice I guess, but please don't try to overdo yourself. Not sure if your parents would be handle a double me in the foreseeable future." I told her.
Her smile dropped as she looked at me, confused. "Why do you constantly keep saying 'My parents'? Aren't mom and dad your parents now as well?" She perked up which in turn made me lose my smile this time.
"Smart question." I thought while looking away and scratching my head.
To be fair, I do have a pretty good reason as to why I am not identifying them as my full blown parents. One of them is because I am adopteds so... duh, and the second being that I already have biological parents living on the other side who either are still depressed or have managed to move on after my death.
Geez, that went really depressing really fast. Need to think silly thoughts, like... George Lucas actually being a competent solo film director. Yeah that one is certainly silly.
No disrespect towards my biological parents, but... what is the point in getting all emo, especially knowing that I will never most likely never see them or my home world ever again?
I just shrugged. "Because they aren't my real birth parents." I honestly told her.
She wanted to say something to that but paused before just nodding, seeming to understand my logic before just sitting back straight against her seat.
I shrugged and went back at scouting out for a certain mare inside a coffee store. Buying just a sandwich certainly does take its time. I really wish I had my tablet right about now for some time killing or music.
Because waiting with nothing else to do is boring.
Finally, the mare in question returned from the store with a rather large bag stuck in her mouth and a bit of an annoyed expression on her face. She entered the carriage and dropped the bag down onto the floor with a sigh.
"Can't believe that the cashier managed to talk me into buying more than I originally wanted to." She muttered before using her glow rod to fumble through the bag's contents.
"Bought this one liter mocha cappuccino Monday special for such a ridiculous price. Not to mention those...." And that's where my all my attention immediately halted as both my eyes and ears perked up at what she said.
"Did she just say one liter of pure cappuccino mocha?" I thought, as that one sentence she said earlier just continued to play over again and again and again rapidly in my head.
I completely looked over the fact that Starbucks was all about coffee to begin with.
I think I can already smell the smoke coming out from my old cassette player in my head from playing and rewinding so fast. I really should have upgraded it to CD long ago, but then again you can't really trust me with something as fragile as a CDs. I managed to get every CD I ever owned scratched up beyond recognition over the years.
And let's not even get started with DVD or Blu-ray players, don't have the imaginary money for them... or the read speeds.
All of that nonsense immediately came crashing to a halt when my more sensitive pony nose managed to pick the scent. A scent I know so well, because I have a normal working memory like everyone else... which only becomes forgetful on some occasions, mostly with certain things that are generally not important for me to remember anyway.
The smell of genuine, fresh and hot cappuccino, right here, in this very carriage, in reaching distance.
Human off, animalistic instincts on. The deal is sealed. I must find that space casino again so I can get my own coco factory.
With a mighty, strong, epic, but in the end pathetic battle cry that would make the Fus Ro Dah... still a million times more epic, I launched myself at my prize. The many outweighing the few as Spock would say, in which case I get many, many mugs full of coffee while the few get jack shit.
Camellia yelped in surprise as I landed directly on the foam but still rather sturdy mug. The added smell of chocolate chips inside this container of brown gold just adding fuel to my inner fire. Fuel that I accidentally misjudge as simple gasoline to water which caused the flame to be snuffed out, only to be re-ignited stronger than ever with shades and a cigar in its mouth.
"Alex... what... what in Equestria are you doing? No you can't have coffee... you're too young... now see this is exactly why you can't... would you stop being so strong... how can a foal have such a strong grip?"
By the way, I do not suffer from a caffeine addiction. This is perfectly normal, for me at least. Also, stop laughing, Octavia, this is serious business. We are talking about coffee, after all.
But still, she does seem to find humor in the most odd occasions, mostly involving me and my usual antics.
....................................................................................................................................
"Alright, here we are, and thank Celestia just in time as well." Camellia announced as the carriage stopped.
"So, is this the place where I can make lots and lots of friends like you said I can, mommy?" Octavia asked while supporting herself up the right window of the carriage.
The sound of many uncontrollable foals echoed through the air outside the carriage.
Her mother nodded while smiling down at her daughter. "Yes it is, sweetie, a place full of fun and many, many foals like you. I am sure you will find and make friends in there in no time." She answered which in turn just made Octavia somewhat excited but still a bit intimidated.
All of this though went completely over my mind as I had other issues to deal with.
"Ohh, having fun, making friends and bla, bla, bla, bla how exciting." I sarcastically thought while sitting in my seat all frowny with crossed forelegs.
Having been denied and forced to watch a 1 liter cup of perhaps the best cappuccino I could ever have in my fucking life flying out the carriage window and wasting its content on some stupid mare that just had to stand in the way of its flight path was really killing my boners right about now. Especially since Camellia over here was using her console commands to cheat her way through victory by using her glow stick to keep me still and away from my prize.
Remind me to never play something in PvP with her... or heck, even PvE. Because I might get banned alongside her for even allowing to join in in the first place.
"Bloody voodoo hoodoo cheat hack glitches." I thought further as the door opened with Octavia being the first to jump out.
Camellia looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "How about you, aren't you going to hop out of the carriage too, Alex? You are going to miss your first day if you don't." She asked.
I just said nothing, keeping my frown and pose on the seat. Camellia just sighted before using her forehead schlong to antigravity me out of my seat as she stepped out. While still keeping my fore and hind leg crossing pose mind you.
She sighed again. "I do not know how and why you are so crazy about getting and drinking coffee in the first place (perhaps because of your actual birth parents), but you need to understand that you are way too young to be consuming caffeine, it will just mess with your head and give you nightmare if you do." She explained, which, honestly, just made me huff internally.
"Yeah right, I am already getting nightmares and an unstable mind for NOT consuming enough caffeine in the first place." I thought to myself as she levitated me back on the ground.
"Just try and have some fun in there, Alex, ok? And please, for the love of Celestia, please behave yourself in there. How are you supposed to make friends if you keep acting like that?" She kept on going which honestly was just going over my head at this point.
"Easy, give me coffee and I might consider a possible friendship with the person who gave it to me."
She just shook her head in regards my silence. "Anyway, let's just get ourselves familiar with this place and meet all of the other foals and parents." She announced before trotting off towards the front gate.
I grumbled before getting up and following her just for the heck of it. The front yard, or should I say playground, was just as much of a collection of rainbow barf and living crayons as I imagined it to be. Mostly unicorns again, but certainly some flying things and grounded ones as well.
Not sure what it is about unicorns, either I am located in a city where the majority of living colors are in fact unicorns, or they are just fucking like wild rabbits and are slowly overpopulating the lands with their horns.
Hope it's the second one, because then it would certainly make more sense in the end.
Also at that point I would be most likely considered as a living HUNK. Which would be a first.
"Now, where did Octavia suddenly gallop off to? She was close by just a moment ago." Camellia wondered as we both stood in the middle of all of this mess.
"Excuse me, young lady." Someone called out from behind us.
We both turned around and found an elderly looking unicorn mare standing behind us. Judging by the bling I am pretty sure that she is one of those money hoarding cults that dominates a large portion of my home turf. From just a first glance I could already tell that I don't like her.
"Do you mean me?" Camellia asked as she turned around to face her fully.
The old-timer nodded. "Well yes, I was just wondering if that gray filly over there next my nephew is perhaps yours? I already asked a couple of parents here and none of them seem to be her caretakers." She explained, gesturing towards Octavia watching a lone unicorn colt using his magic to construct a sand castle... that hacker.
But besides that, she obviously looks and sounds very full of herself... just like everyone else of her kind I meant so far. Besides Brass and Camellia here, of course.
Camellia nods. "Well yes, she is my daughter."
She huffed. "Well then, in that case could please tell your 'daughter' to keep herself away from my nephew? I will not allow an earth pony simpleton to be near my magically gifted nephew." She subtly demanded. I say subtly because most of it was covered under a huge level of posh and arrogance.
If I didn't like her before I certainly don't like her now. It's a good thing I don't have a flamethrower... or sharp teeth.
Camellia flinched back. "Excuse me?"
The mare held her head high and huffed again. "No, excuse me. Do as I request or I shall do so myself, and trust me, you do not want me to do it myself. I have spoken." She finalized before trotting off and leaving both of us annoyed.
Well, I am annoyed but Camellia on the other hand looked more like she got slapped in the face and then kicked in the crotch as an aftermath.
"What, that arrogant, self-centered..." She wanted to rant before stopping herself. Inhaling and exhaling sharply.
"Not worth it Camellia, not worth it." She muttered to herself.
With a shake of her head she trotted past foals and parents towards the two lonely foals in the sandbox.
"Octavia, Octavia." She called out which caught Octy's attention. "Could you please stay close to me? I don't want you to get yourself in any trouble on your first day here."
Octy looked at her mother confused but complied as she got up and trotted over towards her mother. Same as me as I don't want to be alone anymore around these potential nobles in case I accidentally go chihuahua on their ankles.
Octy looked up her mother. "But why? All I was doing was watching that colt building a sand castle with his horn." She questioned, which in my mind sounded kind of dirty.
But that is normal.
Camellia sighed. "I know, but still, please stay close to me, both of you in fact. I don't want to lose sight of the two of you. You both can play around and have fun with the foals after the introductions are done." She explained a bit bullshittingly.
I know that she is trying to avoid the topic of racism towards her, but then again I am sure that her, and frankly pretty much all of these younglings, the concept of racism would easily be WAY out of their heads to even understand.
Almost crazy to think that such a colorful and sugar infested world can have such a level of racism within its mists, and I am usually all about crazy stuff, but this... this is a bit TOO realistic for my taste. Heck, it might even be worse compared to the bigotry in my world.
If only the care bears were like that, at least then I wouldn't be bitching and complaining about how overly cheesy it is to "care".
Great, now I am hungry again, didn't even have time to get breakfast thanks to this whole "wake up early" crap.
Suddenly a bell rang out which got everybody's attention.
Camellia sighed. "Well, this is it then. Let's go have a look at the inside and get a little tour around for you two to familiarize yourself here, ok?" She told us.
Octavia nodded while I just kept silent. "Will you be staying with us here mommy or are you going to go away afterwards?" Octy questioned as we followed the herd of foals and gown up filing into the building.
She looked down at her daughter. "I will actually be heading over to our store where you father is currently running it. But don't worry. You and Alex will be in good hooves while both Mom and Dad have to do a lot of grown up things. Again, trust me, you are going to have fun in here and learn a lot of new things too. Just remember to behave and everything will be ok." Camellia explained.
I did a short motorboat. "Yeah, grown up thing. Like paying taxes and getting shouted and complained at from customers if you really work at a store. Real serious and overall depressing grownup stuff indeed." I thought to myself as we filed into a large room with a mare standing on top of a small stage.
Guess this is how they do kindergarten stuff in this world. Obviously can't remember MY first day in kindergarten because it really was such a long time ago.
Except for that one time where I poured glue into the kitchen sink of my kindergarten. Because I wanted to find out if it still works after it's clogged up.
Stupid, I know, but who cares? Especially now that I am older and still doing stupid things.
"Welcome, everypony, especially all of you young mares and stallions..." At that point I immediately lost my attention as I began to think about all the crazy shit that I can get away with in the eyes of these custodians. Like wondering if they have super glue laying around here.
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"Well, this certainly brings back some long lost memories." I thought as I watched one of the grownups trying to understand how a toilet bowl can catch fire. Simply, pour gasoline into the water and throw a lit match into it.
Apparently these horses actually do possess gasoline, but it is only used as a form of dirt remover just like how it first got used back in the 19 hundreds. They do know it's flammable, but funnily don't understand that the shit can still burn even in water.
I guess experimenting a bit with chemistry isn't really a top priority with these walking crayons. But then again, they do have voodoo hoodoo on their side.
This act of mine wasn't anything nefarious mind you, I just wanted to test out a clear liquid bottle that I found in one of the cupboard during one of my "hide and seek" sections. The smell alone was already a dead giveaway, but I still wanted to be sure by testing it out personally. Which is why I chose the ceramic nature of a toilet bowl, lid up and just pour a few drops into the water and light a match with my mouth. Besides a small mat, the toilet paper and whatever else is inside that medical cupboard nothing else is even remotely flammable in there.
The results were pleasing of course, but that still alerted the caretaker the moment a small whiff of smoke come out of the senior's bathroom.
Luckily I managed to vacate myself out the area via the bathroom window long before any of the grownups got see me, which obviously meant that I was saved from chiding and lecturing.
"I don't understand. Did one of the unicorns' foals perform some curious magic experiment over here or are we missing something?" I heard one of them question from behind the backyard porch where I am hiding.
I at least also had the decency to close the window during my get away.
That statement though brought a smile on my face. "Ha, doing curious magic experiments in a toilet. How lewd."
This thought didn't last long as my attention found itself diverted elsewhere. A certain gray filly I know very well.
"Huh, wonder what she is doing there on the wing alone." I wondered to myself.
I got up and made my way over to her. There are a lot of kids running around, talking and playing with one another. The fact that nobody was at the swing set with her is kind of a dead giveaway as to what is going on here.
But I can still go over to her and check just to be sure. I am supposed to be her friend and brother figure after all.
I tapped my hoof against the rusty frame of the swing to get her attention.
"Hey, Octy, how is it hanging?" I asked with a bit of a grin at the end.
She turned her head. Looking at me in confusion before looking up at the set. I immediately knew what her problem was and answered for her before she could even ask.
"It means how are you doing." I answered for her.
"Oh..." She responded before hanging her head again and staring at the dirt below her. Again, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what might be the issue here but I am still going to allow her to explain it herself for simplicity's sake.
She sighed. "I am doing fine I guess. Just sitting here and watching all the foals play around." She explained which perfectly confirmed my prediction.
Though the reason "why" is still open for debate.
"Well then, why don't you go and join them as well? I am sure most of them won't mind." I suggested which in turn just her ears fold against her head.
"It's because I cannot play the game that the unicorns play or do." She simply answered.
This time it was me who became confused as I looked over at all the other foals playing around. Again, most of the foals here are in fact unicorns, but what really did immediately perplex me was the fact that they were all using their horns for most things. Like manipulating the shovels, buckets, and whatever else sandbox toys to their advantage.
I personally have seen things like this before when I was joining a random group of munchkins with their hiding and seeking but at the time I didn't think much of it.
I guess she feels like a bit of an outsider. Just like how a foreigner feels out of place in a school full of natives. I should know, I was one as well.
I blinked before focusing back on the gray filly. "Well then, why don't you hang out with some of the other earth ponies here? I am sure that they have no problem in you joining them." I suggested further.
To my surprise she shook her head, before sighed once more. "They say that my fur looks boring." She flat out stated.
At this point I was slowly starting to get mad. I know that kids can be little shits but not be so neglecting like they are now. I can understand bigotry when it blatantly obvious when it comes to race but judging someone because his or her fur color isn't as gay fully colorful as everyone else is just plain rude.
Even Sheogorath would just turn them into cheese for their level of buzz kill.
I snorted. "Well too bad for them. At least their eye colors don't pop out so beautifully in the same way yours do. I mean, pink fur with pink eyes. How generic and uninspiring." I announced while sounded as flamboyant as possible.
Learn it from the Filipinos, there are a lot of sexually confused people running around in that country. Most of them are barbers, funnily enough.
She smiled at that. Not enough to make her giggle as usual but still an achievement nonetheless.
She eventually giggled just how I wanted. "You are really silly and weird sometimes." She commented with smile.
I held my head high. "You know it. Been the reigning champion of weird for years. From Hamburg to Neuschwanstein I was known as the most enigmatic personality in all of Germany... and no, I did make up that title myself mind you." I declared which still made her giggle despite the fact that most of the words and names I used went completely over her head.
"Well do you... maybe want to play with me instead? You don't have to if you are having fun with the others." She asked before her enthusiasm slowly sipped away at the very end.
I blew a raspberry. "Pfff, forget about them. I don't know them anyway, which gives me a perfect excuse to listen to my inner 'stranger danger' voice." I told her which in made her smile once more.
"So does that mean you want to... hang out with me?" She asked with a smile.
I nodded. "Sure, why not. We live together, don't we? So why say no to that?" I respond before positioning myself behind the swing for obvious reasons.
"Plus, you can't swing a swing without someone swinging it for you." I added.
Before I could start though something inside the little filly seemed to suddenly click on something as she looked back at me with curiosity and slight realization. "Wait... did you mean Germane back there? I think I heard daddy mention that name before in one of his... grown up stuff. Is that where you are from, maybe?" She questioned which in turn made me pause almost immediately.
"Wait... they have a horse version of Germany as well... with the same horse pun as everything else?" I thought with wide eyes.
I feel both thrilled and annoyed at this revelation at the same time.
Yay for Brotchen and Schwarzwalde torte, and boo for butchering my home country's name.
Ich bin nicht entzuckt. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 8: Shitty relatives and business one-oh-one | Chapter 8: Shitty relatives and business one-oh-one
Edited by: Veo Skride, pahnazd
"Goodbye everypony, and have a safe trip home! Hope to see you all again next week!" Our caretaker called out as foals exited the building and joined their waiting parents on the yard.
Same with us, as we began to search for little ol' Camellia in this furry and rainbow-colored mess.
I guess, in a way, it's actually pretty advantageous to be the one with the "boring colors" in comparison to everyone else, as it is much easier to find someone in a crowd full of flamboyantly-colored horses. I guess Camellia must have noticed this logic as well, as she saw us faster than we were capable of spotting her.
She smiled as she trotted towards us. "There you two are, how was your first day in kindergarten? Did you two have a lot of fun or make any new friends?" She questioned while looking down at the two of us with a certain level of expectancy.
Too bad we have to crush that for her.
I just shrugged casually as a response while Octavia just looked down at the ground while pawning at it. Her enthusiasm quickly dropped as a result before she leveled herself in front of us.
"What is wrong? What happened?" She questioned worriedly.
Since Octy wasn't probably going to actively say much regarding the issue, I simply decided to place it upon myself to do it instead for her. Actually, I was more or less forced to do so, now that I think about it.
"The kids didn't want to play with her simply because of her gray and dark color scheme. Me, on the other end, got asked to join a game quite a lot, but denied all of them just to stay with Octavia." I explained.
Camellia's eyes went wide in shock before changing to that of pity as she nuzzled her daughter. "Oh, I am so, so sorry to hear that sweetie. I was so sure that making friends for you here would be a lot easier. I am so sorry that this wasn't the case." She apologized, even though there was nothing for her to apologize for. The one that should be apologizing would be the parents of these kids for failing at their job in being parents.
And for the kids to be so painfully biased to begin with. I knew that kids this young are capable of developing quite the stupid bias, like girls having cooties or school being the living plague... which it is. But I cannot remember even the slightest that kids back in my world, specifically during my own youth, were that openly biased about something.
Not sure who is hacking these foals' brains with such glitches, but I have an ill feeling that it has something to do with the nobility of this place, where bigotry seems to seep even into the common citizen's mind.
Bigots or not, nobles are nobles and do have a lot of power within a society, especially in a monarchy like this one. One of the many examples as to why I dislike monarchies in the first place.
It's old, uncool, and only made for dungeons and dragons nerds back home. Unless we are talking about Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, of course. Or, if I somehow get crowned as a king and have to guide and govern my own kingdom. Then monarchy would be hip and cool in my books.
Not being biased at all, of course.
Camellia eventually sighed before a smile forced its way up onto her lips. You can't fool me, woman, nobody goes from sad to happy so fast without being mentally challenged. I said nothing.
"Hey, how about the three of us go get ourselves some ice cream before heading back home? How does that sound?"
Octavia, of course, immediately perked up at that while I just stayed indifferent.
Not sure how ice cream can fix social problems, but for her, or rather kids in general, everything just works as long as it has sugar in it.
She smiled at that, which as a result got Camellia to smile as well. A genuine smile, I might add. Octavia was even the first to enter the carriage while impatiently waiting for the two of us to get in.
Camellia just chuckled at the sudden enthusiasm of her daughter while I just scratched my head. If I ever knew controlling kids would be THAT easy, then having to deal with my hyperactive nephew back when I was 10 would have been a breeze.
Just chuck an ice cream cone down his blubbering mouth and I could have easily hoarded the Playstation 2 for myself without having to hear him whine and complain all the time.
Killing Gods in God of War does require a lot of concentration after all, but I am distracting myself again. Let's just get ourselves some bloody cream on an ice and get back home.
There is far better shit waiting for me there than any ice cream dealer can ever provide for me. The cheese closet.
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Well, who knew that being a 5 year old again could be so... generic? I mean, I am basically doing the same fucking thing that I have been doing ever since my first gym class back at grade six.
Doing absolutely fucking nothing while at home, and since the earthly commodities like games and internet aren't a part of my life anymore, this does leave my choice of options pretty... mundane and bedridden. Not that it was even remotely exciting to begin with. I mean these horses don't even possess a bloody mall where I can go eat fries and totally drain my new dad's credit card for stuff that I ultimately don't need and would most likely forget about later.
These racist care bears don't even have credit cards to begin with. How am I going to be carrying my future allowance? Inside a coin bag? Yeah, that's certainly not going to be very enticing for thieves or daring hobos to rape my ass for.
I need safety, especially in a world as hippie as this. Clothes? What are those, and those that wear them do it completely wrong. The only clothes they seem to ever wear are the ones designed for your upper torso, which totally defeats the purpose of wearing shit in the first place. Why not just ditch your clothes entirely and cut off your bushy tails while we're at it?
Let's go FKK on this shit. Old DDR style.
I outwardly sighed. See what boredom does to me? It's fascinating, isn't it? No, really. Barely old enough to be considered potty trained and already having lewd thoughts. Well, granted, I am only a five year old physically... but it's the thought that counts, a thought that suddenly leads me to the realization that I have a tablet at my disposal. A tablet that I left under my bed and totally forgot about the day prior.
I shrug to myself, knowing fully well that Octy and missus Mum aren't going to return from "music practice" for a while. Because she thought that having her daughter being able to play music just like her old woman would be a great way to build up confidence regarding her... everything. That pretty much left me all alone at home with a Hector rip-off and an olive green frenchy in a mini skirt. Talking about music, this pretty much gave me a satisfying idea on how to pass my time while being self-bedridden, especially when everybody is gone, including their most likely unnecessary and mundane questions about Human technology.
The idea was simple; use my tablet as an oversized MP3 player to listen to some 80's music. Why 80's music? Well, because everything prior to the 2000's is absolute garbage in my opinion, specifically in the pop genre. Call me old school, but that's just how I roll, and besides actual ancient history I just found the 80's so fascinating. The music, the blocky games, and of course, their wild uncombed hair and excessive use of makeup that just tends to make them look like clowns or just crazy persons.
And you know how much I love crazy shit.
I guess I can thank Vice City for my affiliation to retro music, but I am just getting ahead of myself again. Let's just see what I got saved up.
Kneeling on the edge of my bed and fishing for my previously-forgotten tablet, I pulled the flat dish out of its bunker and brought it up with me to the center of the bed.
Feeling satisfied that the ear buds were still wiggled around it, I carefully untangled them before fiddling them up onto my horse ears. Not sure how I am able to accomplish certain things with thumb-less appendages, but again, I am not going to complain.
Good conveniences are good conveniences after all.
I turned the thing on and flicked the screen around in search for my music files. My smile only grew when I noticed the title of the first song that popped up.
Cheri, Cheri Lady from Modern Talking. The most 80's band right next to Nina or The Scorpions. Plus they're all German too so that works double for me. In your face, corporate America. I can hear the nationalists getting triggered already. Good, because they can't get me here in magical rainbow horse land. Your nukes are no match for the power of RAINBOWS, MADAFAKAS!
Pressing the play button and laying back down, I just let myself go as the retro filled my hearing. Not sure how much time passed after that, but I know for a fact that 10 songs had passed through the self-arranged playlist when the door to my room suddenly creaked open.
How did I notice this despite my current lack of hearing? Well, easy, a certain olive green hoof suddenly shook me out of my groove which forced me to look up to its source.
She looked a bit annoyed, which was rather adorable on her greenish face I have to say, but other than that nothing new that I hadn't already seen countless times before in my life.
People tend to either get confused or annoyed the moment I enter a room which I always liked for my own selfish sense of entertainment. Pleasing everyone is boring and downright impossible anyway, so why even bother? Just go the opposite route instead and see their reactions unfold. You wouldn't believe the power that confusion can give you. More power than any Ring of power can ever grant you. See for yourselves, I have never seen the One ring downright stun someone into silence which would give the hero or the villain the much needed chance to get a quick and precise death blow to your enemy.
Confusion, baby! Only in Europe... and maybe parts of Asia as well.
She immediately started to say something which I, of course, was unable to hear. I secretly moved my right hoof under my pillow where I stashed my tablet (because I am clever) and fiddle for a while until I managed to turn it off which also canceled out the music.
"...doesn't mean you should ignore it when somepony is calling you. Do you understand?" Olivia chided which just adds to her adorable naivety.
I just instinctively nodded despite not really knowing what the heck she was chiding me about in the first place. I managed to learn in my earlier years that just nodding when someone is looking particularly annoyed is usually the safest strategy. Used moderately during my school days and even all the way up to college years. But be careful, don't exercise that mentally too much in other situations or you might otherwise get yourself roped into something that you clearly don't want to.
Never happened to me thankfully, but then again it doesn't really take a genius to come up with that logic. Especially when TV and the internet gives us the perfect examples.
She eventually just sighs, shaking her head before just looking tired instead of annoyed. "Anyway, as I said, Sir Brass has instructed me to ask if you would like to accompany him and I over to their family business in the heart of the City. It will be only you and Hector in the house if you choose to stay though, and I have to personally admit, he isn't particularly well-suited for foals." She explained, or rather repeated herself which in turn caused me to perk.
"Hmm, a chance to leave the house and see more of this damn city with only dad and frenchy over here? Well I do like frenchy... even though she thwarted my plans for coffee that one time." I thought to myself while evaluating my options.
For one, I am fine from where I am now; just a bed, a tablet, and easy access to a toilet and a fridge. So really I am all set to waste my time as professionally as I have been since the day I was born.
But... what exactly am I procrastinating for? I am five in the eyes of these horses so I obviously have nothing to do. Which is fine by me, but I am getting off track again.
On the other hand, it would mean that I would be able to get some well-needed knowledge as to how my new step parents get all of their moolah. Plus I will be able to continue to prey on frenchy's little naivety some more, which is always fun. The strong and insane must prey on the weak.
Learned quickly during my time here that she was obviously leaning more towards the naïve and innocent side of things. Two great perks for a guy like me to take full advantage of as this type of people are just the easiest to mess around with, and since I am considered by all to be nothing more than a normal five year old, you wouldn't believe the shit that I am openly getting away with.
And, to be honest, I do kind of like her for that... or learned to like her. Maybe it's just that French accent that draws me in. I am a sucker for good sounding accents though, just listen to Brass and Camellia for example.
Also, Olivia was the one who pointed me towards that cheese closet that one time, while being the one who always helps me to cut the cheese for easier consumption... yup, I think I do really like her, which means that I am going, just to confuse her some more and make her go cross-eyed.
With my decision set and my reasons laid out I just nod, letting her know that I was in on their gig which in turn just confused her for some reason.
"What? Does that mean yes for coming along or yes for staying here?" She questioned which in turn just made me frown a bit.
"Going with you two of course. Why would I nod for saying no? I am not going to be left behind with a wanna be Hector, just in case an Achilles comes by and thinks that I am his younger brother Paris or whatever. I don't want anything to do with that, especially once they both start blaming me from stealing the beautiful Helen from Sparta myself." I explain with a raised head and hoof, which in turn just confused her.
"Uh... what?" Was all she could say as she just looked at me funny.
I just kept going. "Yes, what. What will happen to Helen after Troy falls? I am certainly not going to ship her ass back to Sparta. Eine Seefahrt ist NICHT lustig, especially during that time period." I dramatically added while crossing my hooves.
She was just completely lost at this point. She eventually regained her control and blinked, before shaking her head a bit to get the confusion cleared out. Seriously, what is it with these ponies and always suffering from a mini stroke when something doesn't click with them?
"Anyway... so you want to come with us, then?" She asked, forcing her way back into the topic without suffering too much of a brain aneurysm.
I just smiled, accidentally ripping my ear bud out of my ears as I shot up.
"HELL YEAH, LET'S FUCKING GO TO A BARKADA TRIP, LET'S GO AND MEET SOME PEOPLE." I declared with a huge amount of enthusiasm to back it up.
Olivia predictably flinched back, most likely because of my sudden tone, but from my swearing as well. She was about to say, or rather, chide me about it when I just interrupted her by hopping off my bed, passing by her and giving her a friendly slap on the hind leg.
"Anyway, time is money as they like to say, something I am sure Brass can agree on if I ever ask him about it. Let's not keep Copper, Bronze and Brass waiting then. C'mon chop, chop." I commented while making my way to the door, leaving the mare behind me stumped.
"Hey, wait up!" I heard her eventually respond as she quickly caught up to me.
I quickly allowed her to take the lead from this point forth as I had obviously no idea where the Brash boy was currently located. Even if I did, I would still most likely require some assistance regardless, simply because I haven't bothered to familiarize myself with the layout of this place yet.
Why? Well, why should I? I already know where the kitchen is, where the exit is and I even know how to get to my room from these two aforementioned locations, a room that houses my own private bathroom as well. So really why would I need to know the rest of the mansion as well?
It's not like Brass and Camellia possess some underground vault where they keep and store all of their coinage Scrooge Mcduck style or anything... on second thought, if both Brass and Camellia DO possess such a vault right under our hooves then I immediately need to know how to get there and where from.
I always wanted to see how it feels to swim in money. Those comic books do make it look very enticing.
Anyway, Olive and I where now just trotting along through the Baroque style hallways of this home. Her leading the way in front of me with me just casually following along before eventually staring up at her mini skirt out of boredom. And guess what was terrible? Well, not terrible-terrible, but more terrible as in TERRIBLE in hiding what a skirt should be hiding in the first place. It's a pony ass, no surprise there, but what eventually really ended up to be a surprise and also somewhat intriguing, was the fact that she was actually wearing something back there.
No, they were not panties like most people would think, that idea would just be too simple and generic for this current situation. Nooo, what she was actually wearing back there was a full blown, hardcore, unadulterated white thong, a freaking thong going straight through her olive green butt cheeks. I didn't even knew horses could wear those.
That my eyes went wide after THAT realization would have been an understatement.
Granted, they were still horrible, as in "they were doing a HORRIBLE job at concealing the very thing that they were designed to be concealing in the first case" kind of horrible. Why? Well, simply because of pony private parts being WAY more obvious naturally in comparisons to a human's. But still, it's the thought that counts and the fact that she is actually not running around completely nude in the house, or in public... I think.
Now that I think about it, this would be highly inappropriate for public. Not just that, but also a very bad tease as well. A really bad tease as in "it leaves nothing open for a stallion's imagination as it still perfectly outlines exactly what is actually hidden under there" kind of tease.
Zero effort, again you might actually be better off in just mimicking everybody else and wear absolutely nothing at all. You already have fur, just make sure that your naturally given drapes are doing their actual fucking job and it should be fine. I just contradicted myself, didn't I?
I shook my head before just looking at something else to either admire or mentally bitch about.
Like her stockings. Completely the wrong color in my opinion.
Why am I turning into Karl Lagerfeld all of the sudden?
I just scratched my head. With all of that said and done and me once again looking somewhere else and not at my path for future reference, we eventually stopped in front of a large single door at the end of a hallway.
Olivia knocked politely a couple of times before waiting patiently.
"Yes, please come in." I heard Brass respond from the other side, which in turn allowed Olivia next to me to open the door.
I peeked my head through. "Oh, it's just a simple office. How... simple." I thought to myself, feeling a bit disappointed.
Granted, there really wasn't anything simple about it at first glance, given the fact that everything here just screamed Victorian style in terms of furnishing. But comparing this to everything else I have seen so far inside this house, this looks and feels pretty mediocre.
How... refreshing.
Olivia smiled as she stepped in. "I did as you asked, Sir Brass, and according to him, he is very much interested in joining us to downtown Canterlot. Even though his delivery on that was... random." She announced.
Brass just smiled at that as he pulled out an envelope from a drawer. "That's nice to know, always wanted to bring my children to 'take your kids to work day', as the others like to call it." He half joked before closing said drawer and making his way to us. The things floating in his voodoo hoodoo.
Seriously, I really need to know how to do that myself, just imagine the shit I can pull with that.
"So you want to join us to our family's business? Granted it's not as exciting as Kindergarten or a toy store, but we can stop by and get ourselves some donuts and ice-cream on the way there if you want." He suggested which in turn just made me look up at him with a curious frown.
"How about a cheese sandwich, or that one Starbucks clone me and Miss Camellia passed by the other day?" I counter-suggested, which gave Brass turn to look at me curiously.
"Well a cheese sandwich is fine, but getting you coffee is completely off-limits. Camellia has already told me what happened on that day and I am also fully convinced that coffee is not for young foals." He explained which was a rather predictable answer.
I just puckered my lips in defiance and said nothing, knowing full well that I won't get any coffee from him anytime soon... or anyone else for that matter.
What does a man have to do to get some coffee around here? I need my cup of Joe.
....................................................................................................................................
"Alright, you're doing great... well, almost... actually, not at all. I guess a guitar truly is just for unicorns." Miss Soft Harp commented as she took the guitar away with her magic.
I looked down at my hooves with a frown. The constant failed attempts and trying to properly pull the string has made my hooves all hurty.
Mother behind me just sigh; not a sigh of being tired but a sigh of disappointment, which is much worse and makes me feel even more bad than I already do.
I know mommy is trying her best, and I know that she really loves me but... the problems about me always seems to be about the fact that I don't have a horn like mom and dad... or Alex.
I just looked down at the ground as my ears folded against my head. I really don't understand why everything is so unfair around me. All because I wasn't born without one of those horns.
I know that I am still a pony, but everypony just seems to treat me as if I was something else instead. It's just not fair.
"Every instrument we have tried today just seems not to work well for Octavia. We even tried the piano, but she is still too small to reach all the keys, and besides that even if she does get older she still wouldn't be able to operate the keys in the same effectiveness because earth ponies have somewhat broader hooves compared to the other races." Miss Soft Harp explained, which I guess means something bad.
My mom just looked discouraged by that as she looked at all the instruments I was asked to try out, most of them just being too difficult for me to even hold. Like that trumpet thing or that violin, or that... pipe thing I forgot the name of. To me it looked like a flute but mommy said it had a more... professional name, whatever that means.
Overall, we have tried every instrument that Miss Soft Harp had in her shop. All of them turned out to be... too difficult for me to play or even get my hooves around. Well, I can play them, but I would guess anypony could just start stroking the strings with their hooves and some kind of sounds.
And just sound isn't exactly music, as we all heard.
I just kept to myself as always did as mommy and Miss Soft Harp continued to talk to one another.
Not really sure what it was about because I wasn't really paying much attention at that moment. I was just too busy feeling guilty in how I disappointed my mom... again.
"So you really don't have anything else a foal like her could play?" My mom asked after I started to somewhat pay attention again, though my thoughts were still... not very nice.
Miss Soft sighs. "Well, yes. That's, sadly, all the instruments I have at disposal at the moment. It's just a shame none of them seem to connect with her very well, while other are just more affiliated with magic use. Again, I am sorry if I don't have more to offer." She apologized with a sorry tone.
Both Mommy and her eventually looked at me still slumping around the stool which just forced me to slump back even more. I just don't like it when ponies look at me like this... as if I was different... as if I wasn't a pony.
Maybe they are all right, maybe I am just... different. Maybe I am just weird after all.
I was really starting to feel awful. Everywhere I seem to go I just seemed to get reminded again and again that I don't have a horn like mommy or daddy. Why is having a horn so important? Is this why Mom and Dad adopted Alex from the orphanage, to have a unicorn?
"Is he going to... replace me?"
My eyes went wide of just a moment before I forced these ideas out of my head.
"No, Alex is my friend and really has been the only true friend I have. He is funny, certainly weird and silly sometimes but still funny and really friendly to me. He even plays with me when other foals won't. He is just... he just seems to understand me the most. I know that he is a friend." I thought to myself in an attempt to calm myself down.
It was actually then when my mom tapped me on the shoulder which forced me to look up. She smiled, though somewhat sadly, which was worrying. I knew that she was disappointed.
"C'mon Octavia, Miss Soft Harp doesn't seem to have anything here for you. Perhaps we could try again in a different music store with a different teacher." Mommy explained. "Let's just go take a small stop by the donut store. I will even buy your favorite flavor."
With that I hopped off from my stool and followed my mom out of the store. I do like donuts, but I just know that even those won't help me to feel better. I just feel so... lost right now. Like how I usually feel.
I just don't understand why everything just seems so hard. Why can't I just have more friends and have fun?
I just want to have fun, just like everypony else. No more of this "Bullshit" as Alex always says... whatever that means.
.................................................................................................................................................
"So, does this mean that you are still a virgin?" I curiously asked Olivia while looking up at her from her lap that I managed to occupy against her will... and won.
She in turn just looked at me, shocked, while sporting a very obvious blush on her olive green cheeks.
"Wha... what the... just because I have never had a special somepony doesn't mean that... HOW IN EQUESTRIA DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT A VIRGIN IS?" She demanded, trying to look all offended even though I knew that she was both confused and totally embarrassed to the core.
Oh, how funny it is to mess with the naïve ones.
I just looked smugly at her. "Simple..." I began. "Because of the Internet. You wouldn't believe what a guy can find with just one simple google search." I explained which just made her even more confused... if that is even possible.
"What... what the hay is an Internet?" She questioned which in turn just made me raise an eyebrow knowingly.
"Yeah, I know, right?" I stated with extended arms. "That's what I am asking myself too. I mean, couldn't they have come up with a much cooler name than just calling it the International Network? I mean, that name is just so... uninspiring, needs more finesse in my opinion." This was apparently her breaking point as she seemed to physically give up.
"Nevermind, forget it, just... are we at the store yet?" She questioned while looking at Brass seated opposite from us.
He, of course didn't pay her any attention, just like he has been this entire time since I conquered Olivia's lap and started to probe her mind with questions. He has been staring at all of his notes and documents this entire time, mumbling something every once in a while and looking like he was crunching numbers in his head.
Basically doing his job while on his way to his job. Talk about taking your job seriously, and we haven't even reached the sandwich store yet. What a great job.
I'm already getting hungry for just thinking about cheese sandwiches.
"Sir Brass, we have arrived at the Market district. Would you like us to make a stop at the closest food selling establishment, or would you like us to just continue straight to your store?" A rough sounding stallion called out, which was no doubt one of the dudes strapped onto this carriage.
Brass finally perked up to that as he lifted his head away from his papers, even going so far as to remove his glasses with his wonder wand before sticking his head out the window.
"Actually, would you two just pull over here instead? I was planning on doing a bit of shopping anyway before heading over to the family store. We might as well walk the rest of the way ourselves, it's not that far from the store here anyway." He said, which in turn caused me to look up at Olivia.
She looked back at me with a raised eyebrow. "Carry me." I casually asked while raising my hoof towards her.
She just looked at me funny. "Carry you? Why would I want to carry you? You have perfectly good legs to stand and walk on your own." She pointed out which in turn just made me pout.
"Well, if you don't then I am going to tell everyone back at the store that you are a virgin, and love wearing a thongs under your skirt." I threatened with crossed hooves.
Olivia of course didn't look too happy, despite her blush. "What? No... you, you wouldn't." She challenged, a challenge that I gladly took on.
"Oh, I will." I pressed on.
"Never." She pressed on herself while getting close with her muzzle.
"Never what?" Brass suddenly joined in which in turn caused Olivia's blush to only intensify.
"No-nothing, nothing at all sir, Alex and I are... just having a friendly game of dare... yes." She tried to bullshit her way out.
Well, I was having none of that. "Actually, I want to say that she loves to wear a se..." I tried to say before Olivia's hoof had other ideas.
She just laughed awkwardly. "Shirt... of course I like wearing shirts, they are just a lot more comfortable than most ponies would give them credit for, in my opinion." She quickly butted in, which in turn just caused Brass to raise an eyebrow.
He just shrugged it off before collecting all of his stuff, which was also the same time the carriage pulled off to the side and stopped at some random store which name I will most likely forget about later because it's not important. So why even bother?
Olivia sighed in defeat. "Fine, I will carry you. But please keep that... strange mouth of yours shut while we are trotting around the streets. The last thing I want is for you to make a scene around us." She pleaded before Brass stepped out of the box, followed by her and me now on her back.
I scratched my chin in thought. "A scene, how the heck can I make a scene without a script and a camera to work with?" I casually questioned which in turn just made her groan.
Also... "You are basically asking a mad person to be sane. It's like the coming of the four horsemen - you are just asking for the apocalypse to happen."
But fine, I will force myself to keep quiet for now, only because I don't want to lose my only cheese cutter's favor... or have her die out of redness.
Really, what is it with these horses and their emotions? It's all cranked up to eleven on them. Compliment them by saying that they are pretty and the first thing they will do is blush, face to the side and start pawing the ground awkwardly with a bit of a goofy smile on their faces.
All I did was telling that filly that she looked pretty good and BOOM, I get the "Kissing" song sang by everybody. Quite a surprise that they even know this song, let alone that it even exists in this world.
I guess they DO grow up really fast these days. I blame the internet, even though there isn't one here... yet.
Riding around the shopping avenue... no really, that's its name... on Olivia's back was... well... what the fuck was everyone expecting? I am riding on Olivia's back, around town, just because I am too lazy to do it myself. Nothing special here.
We simply visited a grocery store, a bookstore, and a supply store before we finally ended up at that one place that sells food and shit... well, food that you eat on a table, a food joint of some sort. I wouldn't fully call it a restaurant either simply because the prices here weren't outrageous.
They were all fast food level in pricing, which is nice... I guess.
Some of the ponies sitting around the tables outside the store give me and my group a curious look as we approached. I can tell that all of the diners in this decent establishment where all simple commoners. How? Well, they were all naked, that's how.
Crazy how being naked in this world is considered to be middle class. Back it my world the reason why certain people didn't have clothes in the first place was either because they are too poor, or self-justified hippies. Mostly option two, simply because even the poorest of people have at least rags to cover themselves up with.
I was, of course, forcefully removed from Olivia's back and placed on a seat the moment we found one. Both Olivia and Brass quickly took their own as well as a waitress immediately came over to our table. Some ponies were still staring at us by the way, mostly at Brass who looked as British as ever.
"Welcome to Sunny Daisies and Sandwiches. What would the two gentle stallions and lady have?" She professionally questioned as she whipped out a notepad from her apron.
I only just noticed that she had neither a horn nor wings, which meant that she must be the same race as Octy face. In fact, nobody in this joint even had a horn, with most of them being your simple normies that where both horn- and wingless. I guess I now understand why all of them where looking at us curiously with some passing noble either looking shocked or just disgusted.
Brass, a noble, was dining in a place for normies, filled with normies, and he wasn't giving a shit about it. This just perfectly drives home just how deep their racial and social divide really goes. Elites are expected to be just hanging out with either people of the same social or financial status while normies should just keep to themselves and not bother them. I can't help but fully respect Brass for this, he is just one of those very few that just completely ignored this social mindset, despite having the rights to be just as snoopy is the rest of his kind, but completely ignored it for the sake of just "DO IT".
He seemed like the golden egg on top a turd mountain, or maybe I have been watching too much "The Angry Videogame Nerd" to be quoting it like that.
Screw it, just give me my sandwich already. I have an Olivia to ride after all... well, ride as in literally riding her, and not that... other activity.
Get your minds out of the gutter you filthy people.
Brass just smiled at the young lady after he lowered his notes again. Can you please stop looking at those? Feeding a child is more important than making money. You already have a shit ton of that to begin with.
"Well, yes." He responded before fixing his tie. "We would just like three of your triple cheese sandwich adventures please, and some simple juice along with it." He ordered.
Now this should be funny. I have yet to see a non-horny to try and use a pen to write something with it. Until now all I have seen so far were either the use of a glow stick or the use of wings being mistaken as fingers. Which, by the way is normally bullshit, because feathers are feathers and not fingers. But hey, I saw it work with my own eyes, so who am I to call this bullshittery out?
She pulled out a pen out of the side of the notepad with her mouth and began to... oh, so that's how they do it. All she did was move the pen around the pad with the help of her mouth. From my angle it looked super bullshit, but I would guess that she is actually writing something on that processed piece of driftwood and not just doodling some random scribbles on it. This action of hers is funnily enough a lot more believable than the whole wing issue I pointed out earlier. I can easily believe that, with practice, anyone could be able to write with their mouth. Maybe not that classic wavy style, but good enough to actually make it understandable.
When she was done, she stashed the notepad back into its lair and trotted off, only to stop and turn herself around, her expression telling me that she forgot something... which she did.
"Oh wait, I am so sorry for not asking, but what kind of juice would you like to have? We have many flavors to choose from." She questioned.
Brass just kept his ever patient smile as he answered. "Whatever is on top of the order really, just surprise us." He responded.
The mare nodded before trotting off once more to act on his order. A lot of the strange looks have long since subsided as many have simply returned to their own minds and businesses. Well, not all, that would be obviously WAY too easy. A noble, a mare to be precise, that I immediately recognized as that aunt figure of that one kid that Octavia should not be close to, just looked like she had her own two cents to throw into this well.
Or just rocks, as I would imagine that she would be too stingy and uptight to even do that.
I could already imagine what she was about to shat out.
"How tasteless, dining in such a dirt and common-run establishment for a pony of your status. Haven't your parents ever taught you some self-respect or class?" She criticized, which was just typical.
Brass of course kept calm as he turned to the upstart hag. "Simple..." He began. "It's called enjoying the more simple aspects of life. Also, yes my parents HAVE taught me self-respect and class, which is why I am her still wearing my suit and keeping my mane well combed." He responded, staying cool and not giving her any leverage.
She just huffed before trotting off but of course needed to have the last word. "Suit yourself, though don't be surprised if the upcoming gossip about your presence here are going to impact your family's status. How you even managed to get some respect I will never know." She added before disappearing into the crowd.
Brass sighed after she left while rubbing his forehead. "Almost just as bad as my uncle." He muttered while momentarily keeping to himself.
I have to agree. Even though I have no idea who or how his uncle is, but from his expression he sounds just as aristocratic as the rest of these money hawks. Their ruler should be taxing the everlasting shit out of these guys to keep them in line. Unless she is just like them, then everybody here is fucked and I get my perfect excuse to find this "Germane" Octy once mentioned and to be with my people... well, theoretically speaking, of course.
Neither Brass nor I had the time to linger on our own thoughts for too long though as the apron-wearing mare suddenly came back with a plate balanced on her back. Brass being the oh-so-cliche gentleman that he is, used his voodoo hoodoo to free the mare of her burden and levitating the three plates of the sandy witches onto the table.
She kindly thanked him for his efforts before trotting off again to most likely get the batch of drinks he ordered.
For me it was "Fuck the drinks" especially when my sensitive pony nose quickly picked up the scent of these well-prepared morsels.
Cheese. Melted, heavenly cheese, and three of them at the same time.
My mouth just watered at the thought, even more so when I managed to identify the different smells thanks to years of experience.
"Fontina, Gouda, Mozzarella. I think my nose and my crotch are going to have an orgasm." I thought to myself as I looked at the baked sandwich with an almost-vampiric need, before doing a Homer Simpsons instead and gurgling my own saliva.
"MINE!!!" I declared loudly which shocked everyone around me.
I grabbed the sandwich in my predatory hooves and squeezed it, watching as some of the cheese leaked, out which only intensified my inner beast.
Without wasting any time I took my first bite, only to realize that this shit was still melting hot. But I forced it down as my taste buds quickly registered something else.
I was in heaven. This also meant I need to somehow bug Olivia about making something similar to this back at home, otherwise I would be searching through her drawers for those thongs and blackmail her. If I can find her room that is... or I could just ask her.
Yes, I know blackmailing this sweet little naïve thing is just unethical... but I am hungry, damn it, and as long I am not legally old enough to raid the kitchens when someone is actually looking then I obviously need a pair of second... hooves to make me breakfast, lunch, and dindin.
Plus she cuts cheese like no other. Those precise, delicate slices which she makes are just so sexy to look at; those perfectly proportioned cuts, those slow strokes make any cheese enthusiast hard... not that I got hard by watcher her, simply because of the lack of muscle memory my new young body had in regards to pumping blood into some... "Key areas".
But I am getting ahead of myself again, especially since when my vision slowly started to swirl as I enthusiastically chewed on my food. Too bad that Fontina give me a lot of gas, otherwise I would have asked for seconds.
Which... wouldn't have worked anyway if I still wanted to, because, as I said, Fontina has the tendency to give me gas, and me eating one right now does create an immediate recipe for disaster one way or another. Well a disaster for Olivia's eyes at least.
I somehow managed to unhinge a massive boogey out of my system after my 3rd bite, which caused half of the outside consumers to immediately abandon their seats. Not sure how my new body is capable of such feats of bodily wastes in such quantities, but I blame the active cartoon physics that this world sometimes operates from... which does make my normal case of "Die Blahungen" a lot more prominent. In the end I still managed to "accidentally" create a scene despite Olivia's wishes.
I just continued to happily chew on my food while Brass just looked at me funny with a handkerchief held to his nose while Olivia just buried her face in her hoof, most likely in embarrassment.
I guess I should try and make an effort to tell them what I can and cannot eat well in the future, especially with these cartoon physics coming out of hiding every once in a while.
But alas, I regret nothing. Plus its suits my needs pretty well.
Get used to my random scene making, Olivia. I can promise you more where that came from, either intentionally or unintentionally.
.................................................................................................................................................
"Well this is it, Alex, this is our family's pride and joy, and the very source and reason of our name and status within the noble community. The very symbol of the Silverwatch name but... I doubt you will have much interest in that anyway." Brass announced as me, him and a still-agitated Olivia were standing in front of a rather big and very fancy looking establishment.
Right at the very center of the city, mind you.
I have to admit that I am not very impressed with this at all, even if this store is three stories tall. But then again, I have only seen the outside of it and not the inside. Furthermore, a three story building isn't really that tall in comparisons to a three story building for humans, so there is that.
I just crossed my hooves and decided to be honest. "Not very impressive. It looks fancier in comparison to everything around it, but that's it." I answered, which in turn caused Brass to chuckle.
"Well, I will admit that from the outside it really doesn't seem very special, but once you go inside and get an understanding of what our family has been specialized in and known for throughout the land, then I am sure that you would withdraw you lack of wonder just a little bit." He responded, which in turn just made me more curious.
"We'll see, Copper and Brass, we'll see, thanks to my fever dreams and my over-exposure to the Internet I am very rock solid when it comes to my level of expectations and suspensions of disbelief, which... are almost non existent to be honest. So show me what you got." I thought to myself as I followed brass into the front glass door of this supposedly-impressive thing.
Not for Olivia thought, as she was busy with her own problems in carrying all of the shit that Brass has bought on his shopping trip prior before finally getting here, which is also why I am not riding on her back anymore as it is occupied by a large set of shopping bags.
The moment I entered through the main hall was the moment when I realized what this store was all about, and again, I was not impressed, especially with some of the customers that here. Nobles, of course.
"This is just a massive jewelry and accessory store." I commented out loud, feeling generally unimpressed by what the countless glass panels and shelves had to offer.
Again, Brass just chuckled while I was busy examining a rather simple silver necklace with a big sapphire as its highlight.
"Not just any jewelry and accessories, which would honestly be rather generic and a bit too trivial as to why our family name is so big despite the fact that we still possess the largest jewelry business in the city." Brass explained as he moved behind the counter and opened one of the panels to pull a much more delicate and well-crafted necklace out of it.
"No, what makes our family so famous and respected for almost a 1000 years of history is because of our ability and talent to create some of the best enchanted jewelry and items in the whole kingdom. Our family has always been some of the most skilled jewelry smiths and enchanters since the early days of Equestria." He finished, which he demonstrated by causing the gem in the necklace he was holding to glow in an almost fire-like effect.
I looked back down at the necklace behind the glass and saw that the sapphire-like gem also gave off a soft glow from its center, which in turn really caused my brows to arch up somewhat.
A rather pleasant surprise, but again nothing to major in my book. I just had to immediately connect this shop's specialties with services that the College of Winterhold offers. Enchanting services, and the selling of such items.
At this point I was just more focused on the possibility of getting myself a necklace with Conjuration reduction cost than the actual store itself. Just image all of those Atronachs I can let loose on those pesky nobles. Especially our next door neighbor, who I started to slowly hate thanks to his constant bachelor-esque parties that this show-off likes to host over there.
The tedious night time hours I had to suffer through because of him, and he even started to call me and Octy loud and rowdy whenever we were fucking about in the backyard.
The nerves of some people. I even discovered a batch of used condoms in one of his trash bags. What an animal.
I wonder if he could give me pointers.
I just scratched my head at that thought before just following dear old Brass past some onlookers, overinflated customers and of course a lot of bling.
Brass eventually told me that he had to head up to his office for some work that would most likely not interest me, so he offered that I could stay down here and roam around a bit as long as I behaved and didn't harass the staff or customers.
Wishful thinking, but alas, what is a boy like me to do.
Olivia, on the other hand, was carrying those shopping bags into a side room that was only meant for employees. In other words, I was finally free to do what I wanted.
Ooh, the possibilities, especially in a place like this. I wonder if there is a necklace that can make someone look super attractive to anyone. I would totally give this necklace to Olivia so that she can stop pleasuring herself in vain.
I think that those were her moans I heard coming from the bathroom the other day. But I wasn't really paying too much attention to it at the time, just like with a lot of other things in my life.
But alas, time to mingle with the jingles... uh, I mean, ponies.
I began to look around the shop at that point, trying to spy something to do, check out, or even my next victim to harass.
There was a decently sized number of customers roaming around the shop, which is honestly kind of a surprise, given what this store is all about. Granted, most of them do belong into the category of "I am too rich for this shit", but there were of course some naked ponies mixed in between them as well, most likely to just browse what this joint has to offer and dream about having something that they obviously cannot pay for.
I actually find it somewhat good that these enchanted items are so difficult to obtain for the normal masses. Not because of the possible danger of some of them reaching the wrong... hooves, because they already kind of do, but mostly because it would mean more for me down to road to experiment with and to abuse the ever living shit out of them. First I need to give Brass and Camellia some cancer though, cancer as in adorable cancer; the diabetes. Use my pwease to woo them while I still can.
Or at least that's the overall plan. If it works on mares then why not on stallions as well? Well, stallions that aren't acting like little bitches.
After a moment of just looking around I eventually managed to spot a pleasing target. A simple mint green Pegasus mare stationed behind one of the counters. What immediately drew me to her were the facts that she kind of mimicked the oh-so-cliche sexy librarian look. Glasses, a hair bun, and of course a face that is just as innocent-looking as Olivia's. A perfect target for harassment if I ever saw one.
I stopped myself as a thought suddenly crossed my mind. "Am I already going local?" I thought to myself with a bit of a surprise.
I immediately mentally dismissed it. "Nah, can't be. I mean, my balls haven't even dropped yet, so how in the living lala land can I even be producing the hormones necessary for such thoughts? Even if that is the case, then it wouldn't really matter in the long run anyway as I would just forget about it again the next day. In-built firewall protection, better than any condom." I thought to myself with a satisfied grin before making my way over to the other end of the counter. Ignoring all of the stares aimed at me and the complaining comments about letting a foal run around unsupervised within a magical bebop shop.
I sneaked my way behind the same counter the mare was occupying and pulled up a sizable stool up onto it that I managed to spot in a corner. The mare in question looked at me curiously from where she stood as I climbed up onto the stool right next to her, taking position onto the counter as if I was a salesman ready to sell something to some unsuspecting idiots.
Which I actually might, an idea immediately crossing my mind.
"Uhm... hello there, little foal? Uhm... what exactly brings you here into the Silverwatch shop all alone... and with no supervision?" The mare curiously asked beside me while I was busy making myself comfortable on the stool.
I eventually looked up at her with a businessman type look. "Entschuldigung, aber sprechen sie deutsch?" I randomly questioned which caused her to blink at me for a couple of times.
She raised a curious eyebrow as she responded. "Unzuverlassig Ja, aber leider nicht so flussig." She responded.
I just nod before looking back ahead of me before her words finally registered in my head. It was my turn to furrow my eyebrows as I looked back at the mint green mare next to me.
"Moment mal, sind sie vielleicht von Germane?" I curiously questioned.
She sadly shook her head. "No, though my parents originally come from there. I was born here in Equestria after they migrated. So basically I am a lot more equestrian than I am Germane." She explained.
I just "Oh..." as a response feeling both intrigued and somewhat disappointed at the same time. I was really hoping for a second there that she was really German because it would have meant that I had someone to share my love with Pretzels and "Schwarzwalder kirschtorte" with. UND LEDERHOSEN, don't forget about the Lederhosen... and beer.
Where is my Germany when I need it?
The mare besides me eventually smiled, before ruffling my already messy mane with her less messy wing to make it look even messier than it already was. So really, nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned.
I just shooed her wing away before retaking my business-like position on the counter, resting both my arms onto its surface and clapping my hoof together in a patient manner.
The mare beside me found my act to be somewhat amusing of course, as I heard her chuckling a bit. Too bad that this wasn't an act, otherwise it would be kind of funny. But no, I was dead serious when I mentally decided to try and scam someone in of their hard... or easy earned cash.
"Would you stop your chuckling?! I am trying to attract some customers here." I annoyingly pointed out which in turn caused the mare to look down at me curiously.
"You are? Well, in that case you can pretty much wait as long as you can sit still, because most ponies just come here to browse these wares and get immediately put off by these ridiculous prices we have in display here." She explained, which in turn just caused me to bury my face into my hooves and groan.
"Well, with THAT attitude you certainly won't sell anything. You got to be assertive, aggressive in your marketing, be literally in their faces until they finally succumb to your will and buy something from you, or until they just straight on punch you in the face for being so darn close. Because then you can file a lawsuit at them for assault and then scam them for even MORE money than you originally would have gotten from them. Its business making one-oh-one, has nobody ever taught you that in school?" I explained professionally and directly before returning to my pose.
The mare of course looked at me with confusion, and also a bit with surprise at my straightforward answer.
She was about to say something when I quickly cancelled her out by spotting my first customer; a yellow unicorn mare with an orange mane who was curiously browsing a set of rings at the same counter that me and... what her name where occupying.
"YOU THERE, GOOD AND TRUSTWORTHY CUSTOMER!" I shouted, which in turn wasn't really that necessary as she was already within earshot.
But of course I did it anyway because MY business strategy is all about being aggressive. It also gives me a perfectly legitimate reason to shout too.
This did the trick, as the mare in question automatically lifted her gaze to look at me. The mare next to me was about so say something again, only for her to get artistically thwarted once again.
"I see that you seem to be highly interested in those beautiful rings that our house has so lovingly and skillfully crafted. What kind of a price range did you have in mind?" I professionally stated which in turn caused the mare to just curiously look at me.
Mystery mare number one was once more trying to take control of the situation before I shut her down yet again. Though this time by casually throwing some nearby ads at her face while keeping my gaze fixed on mystery mare number two.
I just kept my smile. "Well, do you wish to purchase something?" I casually questioned.
The mare just looked at me dumbly before shaking her head and regaining her composure. "What, no I was just looking around. Also aren't you a bit too young to be selling anything, little colt?" She pointed out which in turn caused the sexy librarian to clear her face from all of those commercials.
"Yes that's what I was going to say this entire time." She unintelligently butted in, to which she was rewarded with another batch of ads directly in her face.
I just grinned. "Well, yes, yes I am." I boldly stated before looking back at her. "But just because I am young doesn't mean that I lack the capacity to be reasonable. You see, manufacturing all these wears does cost a lot of time and effort on our part, so much so that it is very heavy on our funds which is why these prices seem ridiculous. A higher production cost does translate to a higher selling value after all. Do you understand me?" I explained casually while keeping my perfect business aesthetic.
She just scratched her head. "Well, yeah I guess that makes sense." she responded before looking back at me. "But still, why would I want to buy any of these? I mean, I would love to get an enchanted ring for my coltfriend the same way he got one for me during my birthday, but... again, it's so expensive." She sighs at the end.
I nod. "I understand, sometimes it is our budget which is holding us back from the things we want. Same for us, we need to make sales in order to continue providing Equestria with our enchanting expertise and wearables. Just imagine what would happen if we ever would go down like that. You won't be able to get your love one the gift they so healthfully deserve and not just you, so many lovers all across the kingdom wouldn't be able to show their loved ones just how much they mean to them. Is this kind of future that you wish upon your fellow kind?" I challenged while acting both sadden and somewhat distressed as the same time.
My tactic worked, milking the overemotional nature of these living crayons. "Well..." She began "That would certainly be a shame. I have heard that this family offers the absolute best in both goldsmithing and enchanting, and personally I really don't know or have heard of anypony else being able to offer something so similar... well, the enchantments I mean. I don't think anypony else makes enchantments so commercially available like that." She explained, mostly to herself then me as she scratched her head again.
She did regain her focus though as she once again looked back at me. "But, isn't that what these noble are here for too? I bet these higher ups are your best customers." She added.
I just shook my head. "Nope, just because you are rich doesn't mean that you are immune to stinginess and greed. I bet you know what I am talking about with this one." I explained which in turn caused her eyes to light up in realization.
"Oh... well, yeah you're kind of right with that too." She agreed while turning her gaze to some of the nobles. Said nobles were just looking at some of the items and scoffing, before turning around to leave the store.
At least there is one thing that these money bags are good for; proving someone's point, and in this case making me money.
Hah, who knew that rich people can help you make money. Ironic, right?
This was my moment to ram it home. "Well, you see, we can't even rely on the rich to help us keep our expenses in check. It's smaller individuals like you that have the mindset and will to peruse our wares for very special occasions and keep our business afloat. So please, I implore you to help us keep going and continue to provide excellent quality to the masses." I explained.
She, of course as planned, was giving my words some thought. This wasn't enough though, as she still seemed rather hesitant. I could perhaps pull out my diabetes card but what would be the fun in that? Instead I kept my visage business-oriented as a thought quickly entered my mind.
For the first time I looked over at nameless Pegasus for some answers. "Hey uhm..." I began which got the mares attention, she seemed momentarily lost before understanding my meaning.
She perked up. "Oh, yeah I haven't told you my name have I?" She realized which just made me roll my eyes. Granted, I haven't told her my name either, but that's just because I didn't have a good reason to do so. Again, despite sporting a sexy librarian type of look, she was still of course "Stranger danger" situations. Even more so thanks to some of the hentais I and my my cousin watched.
It was like spying, while also spying what he was spying. Those bloody tsunderes.
She just sighed. "My name is Andrea Wind. Wind pronounced in germane, that is. A lot of ponies do love to pronounce it in equestrian, just for simplicity's sake." She introduced herself, which in turn just made me nod.
Business first, introductions later... if I remember to, that is.
"Anyway, Andrea Wind, does this store accept monthly payments when a certain individual doesn't have the funds to pay for an item outright? Like, credit or something?" I questioned curiously, which in turn caused Andrea to think for a moment.
She eventually nodded. "Well, yes, we do offer a credit system in case a customer wishes to purchase something that is currently outside their budget. Though we never fully advertise it to anypony simply because of... well, I don't know honestly." She explained, which was all the information I needed.
I turned back to the still waiting mare with a smile. "Well, there you go, miss, you can still be able to purchase something for your coltfriend despite not having enough bits on you right now. What kind of an enchantment were you looking for?" I laid out, which again caused the mare in front of me to start thinking.
She rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Well..." She began. "Something that could help him multitask better at his work. He does work as a crafts pony back in Ponyville, which means that he constantly has a lot of tools floating around within his magic. Something that will help him get some better control would be perfect." She explained which again was all the information I needed.
I turned my gaze to wanna be "Deutsches Pferd". "Quick, go fetch the enchanting that matches this kind lady's description." I ordered which in turn caused Andrea dela mhe to raise a brow.
"Why not go look for it yourself since you are taking charge of this customer?" She countered.
I just gave her a deadpan look. "Really...?" I respond while crossing my hooves.
She just looked at me strangely before realization swiftly slapped her in the face. She just sighed before trotting past me. "Fine, I'll go get them off the shelf." She responded which in turn just made me smile.
"Excuse my coworker, she can be a bit dense in the head when it comes to customers." I kindly explained which in turn caused the mare in question to look over her shoulder.
"I freaking heard that." She called out.
The mare in front of me looked somewhat amused by this, which is exactly what I wanted to portray here.
A happy customer is a good customer after all.
Andrea eventually returned, with a tray full of rings, or horn rings as they are called. She placed the tray gently onto the glass surface of the counter. The mare perked up at that as her eyes scanned over the assorted items.
"Oh dear Celestia, they are so beautiful." She commented, which again made me nod in agreement.
"They are, aren't they? Please feel free to browse and ask questions. Andrea over here will gladly answer any question you have regarding these wares." I explained.
"I am?" She asked with a hint of confusion.
I looked up at her with a neutral look. "Yes you are. It is your job, isn't it?" I countered.
She just sighed again before stepping closer to the counter where the mare was carefully browsing the accessories.
The mare eventually looked up with an obvious question glinting inside her eyes.
"These are all fantastic, but... I don't know which rings does what in terms of enchantment. I am looking for something that can help my coltfriend multitask better at his job." The mare questioned.
Andrea on the other end rubbed her chin as she seemed to think, or rather try to remember what each of these rings do.
I just shook my head. "Why not just write it all down or label them so you don't have to keep it all in your noggin'? I am pretty sure a list is laying around here somewhere." I thought to myself as she continued to collect her thoughts.
She eventually perked up... before falling off again. It seems that in the end she just didn't know in the beginning.
"I think I do have a list lying around here somewhere." She mostly told herself which in turn just made me tap my hoof against the counter impatiently.
"Well hurry up, then. Stop being so inefficient and go get them." I added which in turn just made her groan.
"Alright, alright! Geez, just just give me a second here." She responded before sticking her head in a cupboard behind her.
I just smiled back at the mare which in turn caused her to scratch her furry little noggin. Andrea eventually returned, a list held within her lips. She quickly began to scan through them before smiling.
"Ah, here we go." She announced as she placed the list down on the counter. She focused back at the rings. "Alright, these four rings here are perfect for your requirements, miss...?" Andrea asked before looking up at the still nameless mare in front of us.
The mare perked up at that. "Oh, yeah. It's Sunflower, or just Sunny as my friends like to call me thanks to my matching mane and coat colors." The now-known Sunflower answered, which in turn made Andrea smile.
"Nice to meet you then, Sunflower. I can certainly see why ponies would rather call you by that nickname. Those colors really ma..." Andrea started before I promptly interrupted her by perhaps the third set of ads that she has received in her face this day.
Call about "getting showered by commercials these days" with the way I have been introducing her to both Manehatten fashion and Trottingham watchmakers, you would assume that she is getting more ads thrown at her face that any modern television.
If I keep this up she might eventually buy something from either of these two companies, which is good. That's what commercials are for after all. They will annoy you until you finally buy something from them and be marked as an idiot for doing so, just to get even more ads later on.
Everybody wants your money, and right now I want this sunny-colored mare's money so that I can impress Andrea with my commercial-ling skills and forget about it later on.
I have completely different priorities after all, whatever they are. I let future Alex worry about that. I am sure he will be cursing past Alex for his negligence and overall forgetfulness.
Either way I gave her a hard glare after she recovered from the shock of getting another batch of paper thrown at her. She looked at me in annoyance which only increased mine.
"Less girl talk and more providing service. Go ahead, chop chop, we don't have all day, and neither does she if I am guessing correctly. What the heck is my adoptive dad paying you for?" I instructed.
Andrea just huffed before looking back at the mare who was just continuously lost thanks to our antics.
Andrea sighed before re-engaging her smile. "Well... as this... colt over here stated these here..." She pointed at a couple of rings individually. "... are enchanted with the "dual mind" enchantment, offering a gather deal of control for a unicorn's magic when worn, but only for utility skills, of course." She explained.
Sunny nods as she again looked at the presented rings with a greater degree of interest. A golden one with a blue gem embedded in it especially caught her attention.
"Hey, this one has the same exact same coat color as my coltfriend. The shape and size also looks pretty perfect for his horn." She pointed out.
This obviously made me smile as it pretty much means that I have managed to make a hit and sink at the same time.
I leaned myself right in front Andrea and took her position. "A very good choice there, miss Sunny! Not only is it a very beautiful and well-crafted peace but also..." I stole a sideways glance at Andrea's list before looking back. "...the cheapest of them all, funnily enough." I announced which again caused her to perk up.
"Wait, it is?" She questioned, sounding genuinely surprised to that.
"Seriously? Let me see that." Andrea suddenly pushed herself forward to look at the list herself. Her eyes immediately went wide as she saw the price. "Dear Celestia, I haven't even realized that these have been on sale for quite a while. Something to do with them having been sitting on the shelves since before I got hired here." She realized, which of course was all the funfair I needed.
"So, are you interested then? Do you wish to help finance our continuous production and get something for you lovable coltfriend in return?" I questioned, which in turn caused the mare to nod.
"Well, I guess, I don't see why not. Might as well do something nice for my lovable Aqua Shine in return for all the nice gifts and moments we spent with one another. Oh, this shall just be perfect." She announced happily.
I nodded before looking over at Andrea. "Well, you heard her. Write her up and pack her bag. We managed to finally make a sale while at the same time helping our a wonderful relationship blossom even further. You two can easily continue whatever conversation the two of you were about to start after you're done." I instructed.
Andrea, on the other hand, just seemed somewhat dumbstruck as she finally realized that a little five year old colt like me actually made a sale today. She eventually shook her head, before finally doing her job and helping the mare write up her purchase.
"All in a day's work." I said with a grin.
Who knew that actual business work could be so damn easy?
.................................................................................................................................................
I climbed up the stairs to the second floor where I think Brass ran off to when he ditched Olivia and me. The front of the door leading to the stairs was one of those "Personnel only" type of doors which most timid-minded individuals would normally ignore. Not me of course, since I am practically the son of the owner. That, and pulling out one of the oldest tricks in the book to the poor ass security personnel who stood there.
The old "Look over there" type of trick which in turn allowed me to quickly sneak in and look the door behind me. How? With the help of a chair of course which was conveniently placed right next to the entrance.
Thank you, mister convenience, and thank you, pony society, for having one of those indoor lock switches you could turn.
I just grinned to myself as I continued to climb the stairs in the hopes of finding my adopted money bag and trying to convince him to go and get me a soda.
Because I am thirsty, simple as that.
"I am not asking for your approval, nephew. I am expecting it. Your initiative in trying to get something out of your... hornless daughter is commendable, but still a useless endeavor. Without a horn, she will never get far in today's society." I heard a distant voice say after I finally reached the top.
My ears perked up at that. "I smell a noble." I told myself as I began to look around.
The upper level was really just your basic collection of doors and short corridors, most likely offices and one or two janitor closets for two horny employees to do in.
I should go check those closets for any white marks, but I have other eggs to fry at the moment, like following that voice so I can look at it, and complain.
"Uncle, we have already been over this. I do not care what you uphold, but she is still my daughter. I already did what you asked of me, so just let me be a normal father to my otherwise normal daughter." I heard the distinct voice of Brass shout back as I followed its source.
I kept close to the wall and slowly sneaked my way over to a slightly ajar door. Not a very easy task, given that I have hooves.
Normal feet would certainly do a much better job in Metal Gearing this shit, especially with the floors being made of hard, polished wood.
I eventually reached the narrow slit that separated me from whatever it was that's happening in there and casually let my ears to most of the dirty work.
I could hear someone scoff. "You and your sentimental side. Instead of upholding decades of tradition... it is certainly infuriating, dear nephew. I have no clue what my younger brother has done to you, but it doesn't matter anyway." I heard the old snobbish dude say with a sight before he continued. "Either way, I would like for you to focus more on the 'Development' of that second grade unicorn of yours so that he can become a grade one unicorn worth of our family's standards. That's why I instructed you to adopt one in the first place. One straight mishap of your wife is enough for me. I already warned you that marrying into a middle class mare would lead to problems." He continued to bash.
I could practically hear Brass frowning hard, given his sharp breathing and low growling. Those horsey ears are pretty great, I have to say, but I can't get distracted now, given from what I heard so far from these two.
"So... I have only been adopted just for the sake of needing a unicorn to succeed after him?" I thought to myself with an understanding expression.
I always had a feeling that there was more to this, especially the added lies in the orphanage and the later discovery that they actually do have a child of their own.
Some real low-end conspiracy shit, for more selfish reasons rather than for something grander. A pretty normal behavior for a sapient being. If it is capable to be kind and selfless, then it's also capable of being cruel and selfish.
Such is the price of being self-conscious, receiving madness... wait, that's just me.
I blinked my eyes before focusing back at the conversation, and not a second to late which allowed me to "Dishonor" this shit even further.
Now I just need rat-summoning powers.
"Yes, yes I will, uncle, I will. Just... just stop watching from over my shoulder all the time. I am aware of our family's traditions and name. Alexander will be molded into the nephew you and the rest so demand. That's why I even agreed to go through with this, to adopt a unicorn so that I can keep you all happy back in Trottingham, and to keep shelling our family's expertise here in the capitol. Nothing more and nothing less." Brass answered, which in turn just gave me a sentimental slap in the face.
It was my turn to frown at this. "So... I am basically just a ticket for Brass to keep his place and status here? I am perfectly fine to see selfishness in individuals, heck even I am perfectly fine and aware that I am doing it too, but this...? This is some real low great stuff right here, especially when considering that I am just a simple 5 year old foal that probably just wants a family of his own. Using a young rascals from an orphanage as a tool? Now that is some grade A selfishness right there." I thought to myself as the conversation within the office continued.
Like really, imagine that it would be Mystic Tune in his place. The poor lass would be devastated to hear this. Not for me, of course, I obviously still got a win-win regardless. All the cheese and future coffee that I can get... if I play nice for this overzealous none-relative of mine... which most likely will never happen because I don't like him... already.
I was about to leave when I suddenly heard a set of hoofsteps coming towards the door I was hiding behind.
Gotta love those hooves, spies and paparazzis will have a real hard time sneaking up to me without me knowing... which sadly also goes for me because... I am a tiny talking horse too.
Either way, I knew what was coming. So I did the only thing I could do, which was fucking nothing. The door opened outwards towards me which in turn caused me to be automatically shielded by whoever it was on the other side. A strange way to mount a door backwards, but hey, I am not complaining. Certainly makes this whole metal gearing a whole lot easier for me.
Just need an eye patch and a fake cigar and I am all set. Because I still need my lungs for more shouting and bullshit rambling.
"Whatever, dear nephew, let's just hope you make a wonderful job. I hate to personally travel back over here to once again lecture you about traditions and priorities. Long-flight carriages are such a drag, and nauseating. Not to mention that those Pegasi are just too incompetent to flight straight." Mister posh uncle commented.
I, of course, stayed quiet while rubbing my sore nose from the kiss it received while carefully eyeing the shadow of these two peeking out from the door's edge.
I heard Brass sigh. "Yes uncle, you do not need to worry. I will stay true to my auntie's wishes and keep this forward store running in the capitol while upholding further expectations. You won't need to travel to Canterlot anymore, I promise." Brass answered.
I could see one of the shadows nod. "Good to hear, then." He responded before trotting past the door, giving me a good view of his backside and finally revealing himself to me as he trotted away. A somewhat-fat looking old stud with light gray mane and a very light brown coat, also with a very expensive looking suit clinging to his skin.
The posh old dude eventually reached the same set of stairs that I just came from, disappearing around them and leaving me and Brass alone standing in the corridor.
Well, mostly him, as he obviously had no idea that I am hidden behind his backwards-installed door.
He grumbled, before giving the door which was shielding me a few test pulls and pushes. Thankfully not far enough to hit me with it a couple of times.
"Still can't believe that two local carpenters managed to install the new sets of doors all backwards. Need to contact them again and have them fix them all." He mumbled before stepping past the door and closing it in front of him, basically revealing me in the process.
His eyes went wide in surprise as I sat there frowning up at him with crossed forehooves.
"A-Alex... what... what are you doing here?" He stuttered.
My frown just deepened. "Playing Metal Gear, what do you think?" I answered before getting back up on all fours and casually canting away from him.
I gave him one last look before descending down the same set of stairs I just came from. "Which you ruined, by the way. Now I have to start the mission all over again without having reached any designated checkpoints yet. Thanks for your help." I sarcastically added before leaving his confused and still-surprised form still standing there.
I was actually serious. I was hoping to feel all sneaky and spy-like when he just had to ruin it by leaving the office. The nerves of some people. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 9: In the end, get a butt mark | Chapter 9: In the end, get a butt mark.
Edited by: fistfire
"...Hey can you hear me? Alex...hello...EQUESTRIA TO ALEX!!!" I continuously heard Olivia shout.
I simply didn't respond as I was too busy listening to my ear buds blasting in some more 80's hits like Billy Idol or Toto into my noggin. If that was the case, then how the heck am I even capable of hearing her shout when I am too busy listening to music that these ponies probably won't be able to understand?
Well simple, there is always a momentarily pause whenever a new song started after the last one, and then there were of course the certain sound and complexity levels that different songs had, not just that but also how many instruments were blasting into my ears at the same time.
Just one electric guitar or synth keyboard playing doesn't really result in the cancellation of the real world around you.
Music is so chaotic man, which is why I love it so much, right next to the internet, then games, then good movies (sometimes bad once too), followed up by ice cream, coffee and on the very top of course CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!
Got to love myself some cheese, without it I can certainly start packing my bags and travel to the shivering isle to take Sheogorath's place as the new mad prince, or at least that's what has been hinted at by the end of the Shivering Isles DLC.
Or scheming Willies chocolate factory right out of his gasps, which would easily be a closed second.
Either way I hid my head momentarily under my blanket and removed my in ear hidden earbuds so that thong wearing virgin of a french maid (I know, what a tease) won't notice them. How? Well I eventually remembered that my ear buds had wireless functionality in combination to being capable of connect directly to a device via cord. Which makes it a lot more convenient when trying to hide them away from any prying pones and avoiding myself some really annoying and technologically exhausting questions.
I don't feel like answering to a mare who seems to the live in the 18th century...while wearing a thong mind you.
Anyway, just unplug the plugs and turn on Bluetooth. Since whatever hibbie jibbies is working on the tablet's battery seems to be also working on the ear bud's power cells as well. Which is perfectly fine with me and has no need for any further investigations.
Because in the end I don't care really.
Convenient conveniences are convenient after all.
How convenient.
Either way, I remerged myself from my blanket, only to still see a rather irritated looking Olivia tapping her hooves in front of my bed.
I just gave her a casual grin which in turn just made her sigh while shaking her head.
"Sometimes I wonder if you either have actual hearing problems or if you are doing this on purpose just to annoy me." She mumbled.
Actually it's both, with one being related to the use of earbuds that nobody can see. Because pony ears are much larger and deeper than human ones.
That's what she said...no literally. Olivia actually said that when she was discussing how a pony stallion outside was "digging a hole" with his "shovel". I think she has a secret thing for construction workers and gardeners, who knows.
I just hopped out of my bed while shelving this idea in my mental filer drawer for future use. I looked up at the mare and waited for her mind to re-kick start which it finally did.
She quickly remembered what she wanted me for. "Now that is seems that I have your attention, I just have been informed that both Miss Camellia and Sir Brass are out of the house and have instructed me to keep an eye on the two of you while they are off on business." She explained with a smile that leans to both childish pride and sense of responsibility.
Well she is just 18 after all. Just got enlisted into this household a year before I arrived here...or so she told me when I randomly asked her.
I just gave her a questionable look." Then what about Hector. Isn't he here as well?" I asked.
Oily producing tree over here just rubbed the back of her head awkwardly while blushing. "No...no he...he is here but he is...also currently unavailable thanks to a...mistake I made." She confessed which in turn just made me smile.
Ah, yes, the good old problem of diarrhea, seems that modern medicine here isn't as advanced as I had theorized with their pills or potions taking a little bit longer for their desired effects to kick in. Which truly means that the poor old butler is definitely down for the count for today. All thanks to a little mistake that Olivia made during breakfast today...which I talked her into with my impressive charms.
Granted I had no idea that it would be THAT bad towards poor ol Hector, or even BE bad in general. I knew that cheese was universally known to be prone in giving someone bad gas when consumed, but this...this is certainly some next level shit and also somewhat sad when you think about it as a cheese lover.
The poor guy was found out to be allergic against mozzarella, the cheese that I convinced Olivia to pour more of it into the soup she was making. I mean, smaller doses are fine but bigger doses will apparently send him to the shitters.
Again, sad reality but nothing less to laugh about. Yes I know that toilet humor is somewhat stupid, but I have made it already clear that I am all about stupid shit. Mostly in just how pointless they are in the end.
Either way...AGAIN she seemed to get herself back on the task at hand.
"Anyway, as I said, not that I am taking care of you two that means that maybe we could..."I stopped her right there when I swiftly realized something.
"You said "taking care of the two you two". If that is the case then where is Octavia?" I pointed out to her. Clearly not seeing her with her or waiting outside my door.
She just smiled with confidence, which of course was ill founded. "Well she is right..." She stopped after she realized that I was right. She looked over her shoulder a couple of times before turning around completely, forcing me to frown as I once again got greeted by her questionable dress attire.
I do enjoy a good looking woman in some sexy jazz but the problem right now is that she is NOT a woman. I am still FAAAAR away from ever thinking about going native here. I mean, how the hell am I even going to start doing native when I haven't even started going local?
There is some really complicated personal social shit going on here but I just can't put a finger less limp on the word that I am looking for here.
Ahh yes, I think it's called ignorance...or something like that.
Olivia eventually gave me my vision back as she turned back around to face me. Looking rather confused and slightly panicked.
"What the...I...I could have sworn she was just with me a moment ago?" She questioned, before giving me a questionable look which I immediately blocked.
"How the heck would I know where she'd run off too when I didn't even pay you any attention when you first slid yourself in here? This is all on you." I responded which in turn just made her frown at me for a moment before panic once again kicked in.
"Oh dear Celestia, this is my first time being fully entrusted with the two of you and I already lost their daughter." She panicked talked before realization hits her." I gotta find her." She babbled before dashing off to do just that while giving me a one last parting gift of her ridiculously short mini skirt.
How someone like her is even allowed to work around kids I will never know, but at least only one of us is actually a kid.
Either way, with her gone and with me alone, that meant that I practically had a free pass to do whatever I want to do while she is busy to search for something that isn't there. Well it is there but it's certainly not where she thinks it is there.
Confusing I know, but one alliteration that certainly makes sense to me. No explanation needed.
I was about to retrieve my earbuds from under my pillow when suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a gray and black furred ball peeking from around the corner of a closet.
It was none other than Octy herself, having hid herself behind it while Olivia was too busy shouting my ears off even though they were busy with something else.
Sneaky little girl, using her focus on me to "Disappear". Not sure why she did it but I will find out soon enough.
"Is she gone?" Octavia whispered from her spot.
I just nod, which in turn made her leave the cover of the overdesigned closet.
She closed the door and carefully cantered her way over to me.
I raised a curious eyebrow. "So what's up?" I casually responded.
She just rubbed one of her forelegs awkwardly, while looking off to the side.
"No-nothing, just wanted to play with you alone." She responded sheepishly before continuing. "I mean, I like miss Olivia and all but I just...don't know...she seems kind of weird. More so compared to mom and dad during hearts and hooves day." She answered with a bit of a blush.
This just made me grin. "Ah, even she seems to recognize the child unfriendliness nature that Olive's outfit is encouraging. With that sexy french maid outfit and thong. Good job there Octy, you seemed to be growing up faster than I expected." I thought to myself with a bit of realizarion.
This could actually be thanks to me, but nobody really needs to know that now do they?
No I am not showing her any porn of anything. Not that I even HAVE any porn to show her anyway. Even a character like me has some decency in him. No I was actually just showing her some of my old "Barkada Trip" photos that I took with my tablet. Most of them revolving around beaches and chicks wearing bikinis in said beaches. One or two of them even wearing said thongs that Olivia seems to enjoy.
Granted she was more fascinated with these weird upright looking creatures that these photos depicted than anything else, but the beauty of all of this is that I can easily show her and explain my true origins to her without even completely alienating or shocking her out. She is a kid, and just with all kids at her age, stuff like this just seems really interesting, cool and new. Which were City's exact words when I told her that I was actually an alien in a colt's body.
I just smiled down at her. "So, what is it that you want then? What exactly do you want to play?" I questioned.
Personally I really had no issues to be a kid for her. (especially given that I am kind of a man child myself) I like her so why not spend some needed time with her like I was intended to do...while also molding her into a female version of me so that we can overthrow this fake ass monarchy together and instate a rule of fun, ludicracy and madness, muahahahaha.
She tapped her chin in thought, before simply shaking her head. "I think I have a better idea." She announced which in turn made my brows raise in curiosity.
"Oh, and that is? I responded.
She pointed a hoof under my pillow. "You have promised to show me some of your world music inside your magic tablet thingy. I think now is a better time than ever, especially when miss Olivia to busy running around the mansion." Octy suggested with a smile.
I looked over at the pillow, before looking back to her with a genuine smile of my own.
"Oh she is certainly going to love this, especially after her failure of learning music herself." I thought as I scrawled my hoof under the pillow and pulled out my white bodied tablet from under its fluffy confines.
Octavia wasted no time in jumping up onto my bed and sat down next to me as I woke up the machine. I began browsing through my files until I finally reached the "RETRO" section of my collection.
I am actually kinda glad that I purchased the 64 GB SSD when I had the chance. How I got the money to get anything given my normal lazy state is kind of irrelevant, let's just say that I have and keep it like that.
I immediately began to browse all the different pieces and song that I have hoarded over the years, dismissing most of them for now as I was in a search for ONE particular song that I am sure Octy over here would like.
I finally found. With a smile I selected it and let the music player do the rest. Soon the speakers on my tablet where blasting "Girls just want to have fun" by "Cyndi Lauper", like...quite literal in fact.
This was certainly surprising.
I personally never remember the speakers on this thing to be THAT good, let alone THIS loud on default. I am not sure what kind of weird voodoo hoodoo physics this place is high on but it seems to have a rather positive outcome to anything related to human tech. Which again is fine by me as super convenient conveniences are always super convenient in my book.
Do not question the Deu Ex Machina in this world. Just embrace it an absolutely abuse the ever living shit out of it. YEEEEEES please give me moooooooooore.
Either way, with the song now covering pretty much the entire room about girls just wanting to have some fun and all that Jazz, it really got me thinking as to how this song could also be interpreted. It doesn't take too much of mature thinking to realize what this song could glorify as well, but hey, she is just a kid so all she is hearing is a song about her gender just hanging out and having a good time.
As predicted she actually liked the song and style of music it produced, moving her head left and right with the rhythm and holding a very pleasing smile on her ponified muzzle. Despite being all electronic and modernized rather than the more classic stuff that is mostly common here.
Then again, that's all that they have from what I know so far.
Again, same results with Mystic Tune back in the orphanage. Either I am missing something or this world REALLY needs a musical upgrade. Which is shown by the immediate like of just two individuals. Granted it's just two and even more granted it where two foals but still...actually not I might actually just be getting ahead of myself now.
I am just a retro lover, not a musician.
After a while the song eventually ended (just like how all songs do) which brought silence back into the room.
Not for long though as Octy was rather static. "That sounded great, something I have never heard before. What kind of instruments can make such sounds? I have certainly never heard any instruments that I have seen or heard that can mimic these tunes, so many weird but still interesting sounding tunes. This is so cool." She jumped up and down in both childish wonder and excitement that was quite intoxicating to see mind you.
I might actually have to request Olivia to buy me a gas mask if that is the case, after she finally returns from her troll trip that is. Octavia certainly got her good, though in a rather noobish kind of way. But she is just 5, almost 6 in fact, soon in that end just give her some time. She has lots of room to learn anyway.
Dumbly enough I actually forgot to remove the "repeat" option from the music player in my tablet, which in turn caused it to repeat the song while I was suddenly hit with a brainstorm of epic proportion.
Octavia was about to say something when I quickly shoved my hoof into her mouth while unconsciously tapping the "pause button" on the screen.
"WAIT! I have an idea." I announced to no one in particular.
"Pfffree mhmfff daaffff muffff." I heard Octy mumble next to me, sensing her lips and tongue gracing normally clean hoof.
I say normally because now it was covered by a layer of spit. Disgusting but I guess I have to live with that, especially given the fact that I am a four-walker now.
I pulled my hoof out of her mouth and wiped it on her tail much to her silent protest (hey it's her spit after all) before grabbing her face and bringing it close to mine.
My eyes wide with expectations.
"I have the absolute perfect and totally amazing idea on how we can make ourselves the most RAD kids back in toddler school. Not to mention to confuse the ever living shit of all of those grownups at the same time." I announced again, pressing my hoofs against her cheeks and making her look like a goldfish.
She seemed surprised, but otherwise intrigued. "You mean at the kindergarten?" She responded, quite muffled given her squeezed lips.
I released her from my bond. Only to bring her close again by wrapping my left forearm around her shoulder.
I nod. "Yes, the Garden of Kinders." I repeated before looking off towards nothing. "The most epic idea in history. We are going to retro-fy our school and make ourselves the most know kids in the block. No more will you be bound to only me as your playmate, when this is done you shall be the most RAD chick the school has ever seeeeeeeeeen." I explained, waving my left hoof in front of me in a slow and dramatic manner.
Octavia followed my gaze with confusion. "You mean the ceiling. "She babbled.
I nod again. "YES, yes of course it's the ceiling. What else were you thinking I was talkin-OF COURSE NOT THE CEILING. I WAS TALKING MORE ABOUT THE FUN YOU AND I WILL HAVE WHILE ALSO MAKING EVERYONE CONFUSED AS ALL HECK." I somewhat shouted, not on her but rather at the ceiling that both of us were staring at.
Not sure where the hell she got the ceiling part, but I have to say, that is one nice looking ceiling. All those pegasi and birds flying about in between clouds. A fascinating piece of art, and yet another perfect example in how bloody RIPPED Brass and his family really are.
If this is the standard design for a simple kid's room for the rich, then I probably might suffer from the dreaded cross eye syndrome when I finally discover the master quarters of this place.
Oh wait I already know and to be honest it looks pretty much the same as this room in terms of expenses. How disappointing.
Either way back on topic.
I looked back at Octavia after a short pause of silence. "So, are you in or are you out my dear black and gray?" I questioned giving her one of my trademark grins.
She just stared at me, a subtle blush forming on her gray cheeks before looking away and fiddling with her hooves. A rather unpredictable result but one that didn't really bother me to much as I was still waiting for her input on the subject.
"Uh...hello?" I shook her a bit, which in turn did the trick in getting her attention again. She looked back at me with a bit of surprise.
"Uh...ugh yes. Yes if it's really as fun as you say it would be then I guess I would be in. I would certainly love having more friends to play with." She agreed.
This again just made me grin which in turn just made her grin as well, though in a more awkward way rather than the craze, lunatic one I always do.
Beggars can't be choosers after all. "Well then, in that case we better start practicing before returning back to toddler school at the end of this weekend. Shouldn't be too hard or take that long." I announced before finally letting go of her and grabbing my tablet again.
This made her seem a little bit sad though. But I of course ignored it for now as I was too busy searching for a song that would easily serve us as a prime entry stage for fame and fortune.
Well far less fortune and more fame given the fact that both of us are already ripped on the money department. Well mostly her as I am still being used as a tool for both her and the wishes of Brass assinite of a family.
I obviously still have that one encounter printed deep inside my mind since yesterday which still makes me feel a bit bitter towards the big British dude. But he has made steps in trying to explain himself, saying that those words were meant to appease his rather demanding and racist uncle than anything else.
I of course am still a bit sceptic about this, but hey it's a start. Plus he bought me pack of Emmentaler cheese already sliced and easy to devour for a little foal like myself. So really how bad could it be.
Not that I can be bribed by cheese to believe anything...no really.
"HA, there you....are?" I suddenly heard Olivia shout as I was still busy searching through my shit.
Both of us looked up from where we sat and saw a rather messy but still very confused Olivia standing at the doorway.
I just grinned and waved while Octy did the same, but more subtle the me and far less enthusiastic.
Olivia eventually spouted, after she got off her surprise of course. A sexy french maid with a thong and now a child head as well? How old is she, 5 and a quarter?
Stupid question I know, but one I still asked because...fuck it.
"Miss Octavia, you had me worried when you suddenly disappeared from behind me. Where in Equestria have you run off to?" Olivia questioned as she stepped closer to us.
Octy just smiled sheepishly before pointing at the closet she hid in early.
Olivia followed her hoof gesture and frowned. Muttering and most likely chiding herself for her lack of...well I like to call it too much naiveteand lack of experience on her part.
"Well anyway, since you two are here, I will not leave you two out of my sight ever again while both Miss Camellia and Sir Brass are still out of the house doing their business." She declared before a smile creeped up on her face again.
"So, what do you two want to play? I have several board games that we could try out to have some fun." She quickly suggested.
Both me and Octavia looked at each other. Judging by the lack of time we have towards the end of the week there obviously wasn't much space in playing some weird silly games about a ponified monopoly board if we wanted to...or rather if I wanted to get this amazing idea out of my system. Because god knows that an idea can linger inside someone's mind for a really long time before it is finally realized or forgotten.
So obviously, that means getting Olivia back out into a wild goose chase which in turn would give us the time needed to make some practicing moves for the big show. But how to do it?
Well, it seems that my partner of crime over here got it covered.
"Miss Olivia." Octy began innocently, which in turn gave her a very curious look from the chick in question.
"Would you be interested joining us with playing dance instead? I am sure it would be a lot of fun." She offered, giving her a big smile.
I on the other hand felt a bit betrayed by her offer of letting a "grown up" join us in our duper super-secret plan in claiming dominance over the kindergarten and all of its inhabitants for my...uhm I mean OUR glorious first step to world domination. But alas. How bad can Olivia, one of the most adorably naïve little grownups I have seen so far, joining us really be?
The answer, really bad. Like thong constantly at my face kinda bad.
It's a good thing that I lack any form of hormones right now. Because my morality won't keep me "safe" FROM myself forever. I am technically a member of their species now, and both my body and my mind are slowly waking up to that.
Where is an "actual" adult when you need one?
.................................................................................................................................................
"Alright you two, have fun." Camellia, or should I say "Adoptive MOM" called after she brought us back to where little toddlers, like us, naturally belong. I say toddler because no matter how old these kids claim to be, they are still walking around on all fours just like how a toddler does in its early years.
Same with the grownups which is just comical. I am practically surrounded by babies, both physical and sometimes even mentally.
"Will you be getting us some ice cream afterwards mom?" Octy asked as she looked up at her mother.
Camy smiled. "Of course, why not? But only if you two behave yourselves." She replied getting an even bigger smile in return from her daughter.
Guess that we aren't going to be getting ice creams today after all. Because, behavior is NOT an option for me, especially with what we are going to do today. But alas it's most likely not going to be such a huge loss, given the fact on what we might actually gain today if our...or should I say MY plan in turning ourselves into kindergarten legends is going to come true or not.
Today will be the day where everyone shall witness my smooth moves. Even though I got nerfed to be a four walker instead of a two. But it doesn't matter, because cartoon physics is back in action here baby. Because, as I did find out during our "practice" sessions, that moonwalking with nothing but hind legs is actually possible.
STILL, possible if I may add. Having a smaller and lower situated body also means having a lower center of gravity to work with. Which means that mimicking bipedal movements as I am is actually somewhat possible.
Also pony hooves are again, a lot more dexterous than normal once, so that helps too.
A lot of people might not suspect this, but I am a REALLY smooth dancer. Spending a lot of time at home and contributing nothing for society, does gives someone a lot of time to perfect their crafts.
Much to the annoyance of my old neighbors of course, as I didn't bother to use headphones for quite some time. Why? Because trying to actively find my misplaced headphones each and every time was kinda annoying, so over time, I just stopped bothering to look for them and just plugged in the base speakers instead. A tendency which really hasn't changed after my ponification, as I again managed to misplace my earbuds after a whole evening of heavy use.
Minus having access to those massive speakers but then, not too hard of a loss here.
Darn me and my lack of personal discipline. But then again it has only extended itself towards my earbuds and not anything else...yet.
But at least it means that...
"Alex, Alex...are you...spacing out again like how you always do?" Octy suddenly asked while poked my left shoulder, which in turn did the trick of bringing me back to the land of the physical.
I blinked a couple of times before turning my head to her. Taking note of the fact that the entire front yard was now mysteriously void of any activity. "Funny, the front yard was filled with overzealous looking kids just a moment ago." I thought to myself and with a raised eyebrow.
I really must have been spaced out for some time then. Wonder why Octy is still here then and not mingling with the rest of the toddlers back inside.
Well she got my answer.
"Miss Tender Hoof was wondering where you were when everypony was already inside. So, I told her that you were having one of those "spacing out" moments and still outside. She then told me to go get you. Even though..." She shuffled a bit in place."...you told me to not disturb you when you are having one of those monolug...monoluging...
"Monologuing." I corrected her swiftly.
"Yeah...uhm that one wherever you are doing that." She answered.
I just smiled. "Ah, don't worry about. Plus, you actually did a really good thing by snapping me out, as we obviously have much more important things to focus on besides playing silly games or practicing self-imposed mental isolationism on a ridiculous level. We have an act to perform." I stated, before marching off to the front entrance of the building with one simply question in mind.
"Hmmm...how to actually do this?" I thought as I pushed myself through the front door.
Yes, I am going to admit that I haven't even bothered to properly think this idea through or do any cohesive planning before this day came.
Why? Because I am the type of guy who likes to wing his shit instead of planning it, that's why. Also, I have a very erratic way, or rather tendencies of getting ideas on emergency moments, so that kinda helps to.
"Ahh, here you are. What were you doing out there all alone? Most foals even said that you were just standing still on one place while staring off into the distance. Is everything alright?" The ever-present voice of Miss Tender hoof entered my fluffy ears after I entered the building.
I say ever present, because she is the so called "teacher" of our group. I say it in quotations because, half of the time, I am the one who ends up teaching her and the kids and not the other way around. Though if any of my given information is even remotely usable or valid for such young minds, or even towards these grown-ups is of course highly debatable.
And also, highly inappropriate at times, but again, nobody knows.
In the minds of these ponies, everything is just so beautifully naïve and gullible to everything I throw at them. Getting either surprised, shocked or confused beyond reckoning whenever they see or witness something that normally shouldn't be.
This world is like the ultimate playground for me. A world filled with highly emotional and downright fuckable (in a mental sense) ponies. The world that I just left in comparison was far more logical and "mainstream" at almost everything that you can think of that such huge sense of surprise were pretty much rare at some locations. That's where the majority of white coats come in though, to do most of the explaining for us. And if no solution was made? Ehh...we would just go back in watch TV, serf the web, play games, or work our asses for someone we don't even know or like.
The last actually doesn't apply to me as should be obvious.
But I am just rambling again. Better save up my constant monologuing for another time. A time where I cannot be disturbed preferably.
Either way, I just looked up at the questionable and somewhat worried looking mare next to me and grinned. "Yes, yes of course everything is fine. I was just internally monologuing that's all. Trying to pretend that an invisible audience is watching my every step and that I need to provide them all with both the entertainment and the constant quoting of popular pop culture references, because I am to lazy as crap to be original. Just rolling with the flow and see what sticks. That is the motto of the day." I answered, kinda truthfully, I might add, which is just a super cheap way of either getting my ass out of gas, or still achieving my goal in brainfucking the peoples around me.
Seems that I have the archived the latter rather than the former here as she just tilted her head at me in confusion.
She eventually shook her head to clear it. "Colts these days, WAY too much imagination in their heads. Wonder what types of comics books they sell these foals today. Must be quite the mind turner, even for foals." Tender muttered, before quickly ushering me towards the classroom with her hoof.
"Well anyway, go on then, the other foals are already waiting and we can't obviously start without everypony present. You too Octavia." She announced before somewhat pushing us in the general direction of said classroom.
"Hmmm...guess I can pull out my dips during recess time. Better than any I guess."
.................................................................................................................................................
"Alright, you got everything set up?" I questioned Octy as we were both hiding inside a bush, right outside of the kindergarteners backyard. All set up a ready to go.
Octy nods." Yes, all I need to do is press the play button on your magic tablet thingy and it should be good to go." Octy answers, giving me a smile and another nod...for some reason.
"What is it with these ponies and their overreliance of body language. Wouldn't be surprised if they use more than just body language for their bodies. For being naked all the time." I thought to myself, completely out of context I might add and just generally rambling as usual.
Not to mention showing the obvious age advantage I have towards all of these kids....and even some of the adults too.
Either way, I smiled. "Great, now just wait for my mark and...you know what screw it, let's just do it now and get everyone's attention while the grown-ups are still overlooking the playing field from their porch." I announced, forcing octy to give me a somewhat confused look?"
"Really? Right now?" She asked, tilting her head.
"Yes right now, I am starting to feel the groove coming into my system already. We need to capitalize on it while I can still feel it. Just remember some of what we have managed to practice during the weekend and all should be smooth. Just follow my lead and the ice cream shall be ours." I responded, again giving her a grin.
She again nods. "Alright, hit play and try to dance on my hind legs. Got it." She saluted, curiously enough before dashing out the bush and leaving me alone in it.
"Well let's see if she even remembers which icon on the screen actually signifies the play bottom on the music player." I thought to myself while exiting the bush myself.
"Oh hey, what were you two doing in the bush? Where you playing hide and seek?" A random pony suddenly asked after I crawled myself out of the front porch foliage.
Turns out to be a random filly, judging by the voice and the obvious feminine looks she sported when I turned my head to look at its source.
"Well yes, but now we aren't anymore. Sorry if you wanted to join." I responded, which in turn caused the filly to frown.
I just patted her head before leaving her be. Making myself towards the center of the large playground while dodging a lot of frolicking foals and chasing adults to catch said foals for doing something stupid.
Ah kids, they never change, no matter what world or what species they are.
Anyway, I made my way over to the middle of the playground for one good reason. It was home of the only set of benches and picnic tables that were perfect for my intended purpose.
Why they are there is not important, but what is important is the good surface area and elevation they will proved for this show to be a total success. I might just be doing this for the LOLs, but then again, everything I do is really just for the LOLs. Nothing needs to really make sense for it to happen after all. Plus, I am generally just testing the grounds too. To see what sticks and what is possible in this colorful cartoon world with its weird voodoo hoodoo and all that shit.
Plus, I am a kid again. The amount of shit that kids can generally get away with is quite astronomical for someone with my antics. So total and unadulterated abuse of my second chance of childhood shall be conducted with earnest.
Responsibilities? What the fuck is that?
Either way, again most of the kids I passed by were either ignoring me, being generally lost in their own personal worlds just like how kids are, while some even gave me a tentative wave or a call. Which I returned for manners sake while also denying those that ask me if I wanted to join their little game or not.
Denying them was easy as I had my own plans to focus one as I tried to climb up onto the bench and the tall and perfectly flat picnic table beyond it. I have to say, climbing things with hooves is surprisingly simple, but that notion was already long established when I somehow managed to climb up a freaking tree with them back at the orphanage.
But alas who cares, plus being up high on top of the picnic table pretty much meant that the show was ready to begin. I could see that Octavia was inside another bush nearby with my tablet at the ready.
I gave her a long wide wave with my arm, which she returns in earnest before starting to fiddle around with my tablet. Only for me to frown and almost jumping back down to press the button myself when I noticed she was just looking at the brightly lit screen with cluelessness and momentary confusion when an adult suddenly decided to call me out.
"Hey, get down from that table, you might fall off and hurt yourself if you're not careful." I heard a mare shout, making me blow a raspberry at the ridiculosity of her reasoning to actually get down from here.
"Really, then what about the slide, the swing and the large castle thing at the sandbox over there? Especially with its lack of railings at some places." I thought to myself.
"Ahh, now I remember again." Octavia suddenly shouted, yes, literally shouted in self-imposed glee before finally remembering what the play button was.
I can tell because the song that I personally picked before coming here finally starting to play from the, again, surprisingly loud speakers of this normally not so loud device.
The song being "You spin me around" from "Dead or alive". The perfect song to literally spin in place before losing any breakfast, lunch or dinner that you might have had because you were too stupid to realize that spinning on a swivel chair so fast and for so long might actually upset the stomach that you were born with.
A true story, and one that I won't bore you with right now because, I obviously don't have a swivel chair anymore.
Either way, a large grin immediately formed on my ponified lips as the strong blast of the song quickly entered my fur covered ears. I automatically began to tap my hoofsies as the rhythm was going through me.
A lot of activity was swiftly halted around the playground as the song echoed all throughout the compound. Boys and girls, and even all of the adults who could hear it had all of their eyes and ears were quickly trained at the supposed source of the music. Specifically, on me, just like how I wanted.
"Time to move the groove." I thought to myself as I got up onto my hind legs and extended my arms upwards in a triumphant stand, grinning ear to ear before doing a single spin, Michael Jackson style, and moon walking like him with hooves and fur covered nakedness.
No white suit for me apparently. But...
...Pulling out a random eyepatch out of nowhere instead and putting it on. I began to actively groove, shake, moonwalk and even perform a split with a spin at the beginning at the song. All of the attention was now squarely fixed on me as I began to move about on the table as if the 70's and 80's where still a thing somehow. Or rather, being introduced in this ponified alien world.
And besides just dancing to the song and giving the concept of autonomy a big fat middle finger. I even began to mouth dub too the song as well, pretending and making it seem like as if I was the one actually singing the song.
Octy on the other hand was actually not too slow behind in getting herself up onto the table and joining me in my bipedal oriented dance. Basically, proving that nature, is once again, stupid.
Suck my unwashed hooves, science.
Moving my head arms and hips at the rhythm of the song and acting like the guy from the actual music video of the song. Octavia even joining me in dubbing the song once the chorus hits. Spinning a few times on the tip of my left hind leg when the "you spin me around" part of the song played. Again, being smooth as ice and moldable as jelly.
Proving that, NOT contributing to the betterment of society leads to becoming a snake at every dancing club or bar. Or in my case, in my own four walls with angry shouting neighbors.
Yeah, I am an asshole too.
Once the first chorus was over though, I began to jump off from the table and started to personally zip around and invade the personal spaces of all the little colts and filly nearby while still dubbing along. Resting my right arm around their necks or supporting myself on their backs while robotically moving my head from side to side. Even doing so to some of the grown-ups to brain fuck with them some more.
Especially when I looked up and deep into their eyes when I sang "friends now baby" and getting REALLY close to the "a little bit closer" part.
Once I starting to dub "I want your love", I immediately zipped myself back on top of the table with Octy again joining me while waving a giant golden flag above her. Again, mimicking the actions on the video. But unlike mimicking the video, I starting to point my hoof at random foal or grownup whenever I dubbed" I want your love". Shaking my hips and head as if they were made of gelatin.
They might as be, as far as I am concerned.
I starting to spin again in place a couple of times when the final moments of the song played. Pointing my hoof at the distant Tender Hoof on the porch at the guy continuously to sing 'I want your love' before doing another spin.
Once the song ended, I finished it up with another split, followed by a short moonwalk and then finalizing it with another spin before striking a pose at the end of the track. Completing my masterpiece and brainfuckery. There was a momentary flash at the edge of my vision when I stroke my pose though. Similar to someone taking a photo nearby with the flash setting turned on or something. But I obviously didn't pay much attention to it as I was busy basking in the glory of my achievements.
Another fine piece of art, and total confusion.
To say that everyone was brainfucked would have been an understatement. Though eventually, one by one, the foals started to cheer. Being the first one to re-plug their processors with the adults still suffering from thermal throttling.
I bowed and so did Octy after dropping the random flag from her hooves. A lot of kids immediately began to flood us, jumping up and down and asking all kind of exiting induced questions as to, "what kind of music that was" or "If we made it or not".
Some even asked if I was really the one who sung or not, in which I just shrugged while acting somewhat clueless myself. Obviously don't feel like having to start explaining myself and my tablet. Let alone to so many foals and their overwhelming curiosity. Though I have a feeling that I have to still explain myself to one or rather all of the adults who were still busy doing the "goldfish impression" from where they all stood.
I just ignored them for now as I focused back at our new collection of underaged fanboys and girls. All still eagerly asking question and telling us how awesome I wa...uh I mean WE were.
"What kind of music was that? I have never heard something like that before"
"The dancing was awesome, you dance even better than my big brother."
"I didn't really understand most of the song, but it still sounded great."
"Was this somehow magic related? I really didn't see any band of ponies nearby who could have possibly made that music. Is this maybe some kind of new spell or something?"
"Can you maybe teach me how to dance like that as well?"
And the questions simply and casually continued. Octavia was smiling from ear to ear at all the attention she was getting. Most certainly a first for her, given her usual lack of self-esteem she has thanks to the racism within her own family, or rather, in public too sometimes, both from snobby nobles and even some commoners.
I generally just let her bask in her shine. Which is one of the reasons as to why I came up with this idea in the first place. Just to give her better chances in making, quote un quote "friends" and that cheesy stuff.
"hmmm, I want cheese now."
But either way, I like her. But I obviously can't have her clinging on me all of the time and only me. I have my own personal missions to follow after all. Most of which are not particularly filly friendly, or rather not very well optimized for a team of two.
I prefer to play single player. There are usually a lot more interesting stories involved than in the former.
Either way, it didn't take long for the some of the adults to regain their mental and physical controls as the one that originally called me out at the beginning was also the first to shake herself out of her stubborn.
She immediately made her way to us, pushed herself past the mass of boys and girls and looking at the two of us with both curiosity and confusion.
She seemed to be on the verge of saying something, before her eyes suddenly seemed to wander off at something else.
"Is that...is that..." She stuttered somewhat. Looking at something that no grown up woman should look at a child of my age.
Well physically presumed ager but you get the point.
"You...you already have a cutie mark? That is certainly rare, especially for a foal your age." She unintelligently pointed out.
I say unintelligent because I have no idea what the fuck she was talking about. Cutie mark? Sound like something the freaking care bears would come up with, and I HATE the care bears.
"*gasp...Alex she is right. How...but...when?" Octy suddenly joined in, staring at the same spot on my body as Tender did.
I grumbled "Did my dub and dance suddenly made them all lewd or something. My glorious eyes are up here." I thought to myself before curiosity finally took over me.
And what I saw left me very, very confused.
"Huh?" Was all I got out while staring at my rump. Seeing the new addition that Tender was talking about. The Theatrical masks of both comedy and drama, one smiling and one frowning with a third being strangle nestled in between them looking quite angry. Anime style angry in fact, with those crudely circled eyes with frowning eyebrows, or of course the rectangularly shaped open mouth with razor sharp teeth in them.
To say that I WAS NOW dumbfounded myself would be an understatement. Especially that third mask in the middle really started to give me questions.
"Why the over the top anime version?"
"Whoa...look he already has his cutie mark." A random kid shouted. Pointing his hoof at rump which everybody quickly followed.
A very loud gasped emitted from the large collection of foals around me. Causing their own little...actually really HUGE eyes to become even bigger. I on the other hand just raised an eyebrow at this while still being clueless at everything.
"Seriously, what the heck is a cutie mark?" I openly asked.
My question was swiftly ignored though as I suddenly found myself flooded with overzealous eyes and smiles by the equally overzealous looking foals. Instead of asking what the hell the song was, they were now asking how I managed to get this butt mark while also asking what it could possibly mean.
I would love to know that too you know. What the hell does this mean and why on the ass. The most controversial place you can put a mark on.
Why not on a more "safe" place like the belly? There was at least ONE thing the care bears did right.
As I was thinking that though, I didn't realize that I was literally getting flooded by these foals and their over excited eyes and questions. Even going so far as to climb up the table I was perched on, much to tender hooves protest and everyone else that was quickly making their way over here.
I looked over to Octavia for help, only for me to realized that all of the attention was squarely fixed onto me. Leaving poor young octy all alone standing on the sidewalk.
"Well shit, seemed to be that I am going to be needing a plan B after all." I thought, before finally disappearing under the waves of toddlers.
Only to be eventually rescued by a grown up. If there was one thing that was good about this whole new situation, was that at least it helped the pones to miraculously forget about the first brainfuckery that I caused.
Thank you Deu Ex machina...mark. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 10: The Never-ending search for Enteraiment | Chapter 10: The never-ending search for entertainment
Edited by Mr Salespony
"No, No, No, NO. This one is boring too so, NO." I complained. Throwing more and more books over my shoulder which didn't interest me, much to Olivia's displeasure.
"Can you please top throwing all of these books around? I have brought you here so you can find something to entertain yourself with. Not to cause a ruckus." She chided. Trying to catch all of the books I was throwing over my shoulder, and failing miserably.
Because I can obviously throw faster than she can catch. Also, she IS a terrible catch as well. Let's add that reality check on the list shall we?
Either way, I kept my vandalism going as I replied. "Well it isn't MY fault that this library of yours is actually filled with the largest collection of rip-offs and fan fictions I have ever seen. I mean look at this..." I pulled out a random book to show it to her." The Masters of the Rings? That is just a rip off of "The lord of the rings" only ponified and poorly disguised with replacing "Lord" with "Masters". For shame. Poor J.J.R Tolkien is rolling in his airtight claustrophobic grave right about now after I mentioned this piece of shit to the world. You ponies should all be ashamed." I dramatically added, throwing this piece of copy-puss over my shoulder too, and causing the mare behind me to "eep" in surprise.
Must have almost hit her with it or something. But alas, I have much more important things to do then worry about that. Like finding myself some literal entertainment that doesn't consist of either fanfiction, baby books, or fanfiction baby books.
Like this other rip off of Dora the explorer that I found. It even had boots still as a monkey on the front cover. Why this shit is turned into a children's book, I don't know. Especially considering the fact that most kids, if not all, for its designated age range can't even read or write to save their lives.
Something that poor old Olivia over here was quite shocked to find out, when I told her, AND proved her that I could read and write myself.
Well not so much on writing part though. I obviously lack the five digits I need to properly pull off a written sentence, and trying to learn writing with my mouth is just...ehh.
"Ooh what is this? A book about adventures?" I announced, before perching up this new throw-able ammunition up to my eyes for closer inspection.
I arched an eyebrow when reading the title. "Daring do and the Temple of Tentacles? Looks like a really bad hentai fli...HEY I WAS READING THAT!" I shouted after the book was, disrespectfully pulled away from me.
Olivia frowned and shook her head. "ALL except THAT. This type of stories are NOT suitable for foals, No matter how mature you say you are." She chided. Keeping the book away from me while I was trying to grab it.
Not an easy feat to do when only a foot tall and having dinky little arms as...well arms.
"Says the woman who is allowed to babysit foals while wearing the most skimpy looking French maid outfit I have ever seen. While also wearing a thong underneath that same skimpy little skirt of yours and shoving it constantly into my face. What are you, a pedo?" I countered, glaring up at the mare to challenge her.
She immediately blushed, darting her eyes side to side in surprised panic before her face quickly transitioned to many different expressions instead. Ranging from dumbfounded, insulted, regret, realization, anger, back to dumbfounded, before finally landing back to an expression as if someone just told her that she was fat or something.
"What the...no I...I am not a pedophile. What in equestria made you come up with that? And also..."She trailed off a bit. Her facial features once again taking a couple of different forms before eventually landing on confusion. She stayed like this for a couple of more moments before looking down on herself and observing her outfit.
A few gears seemed to be turning inside that naïve little head of hers before a look of realization finally flashed upon her.
She looked back at me, her ears flat against her skull and looking off to the side a bit.
"Well...maybe I do look somewhat...HEY, I TOLD YOU THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE THAT!" She shouted, realizing that I had somehow managed to take the book back from her and when she wasn't looking.
To my surprise, it had some pretty well detailed illustration as well. VERY detailed illustration and facial expressions.
"Give me that." She announced before snatching the book away from me a second time and throwing it over her shoulder. Only for it to soar past a very surprise looking Brass as he entered the scene.
Even more surprised when he saw the rucked on the floor.
"Miss Olivia, what is the meaning of this?" He asked while looking at the mare in question.
Olivia ears immediately perked up. Her eyes mimicked her ear's expressions as she quickly turned herself around, her panic perfectly matching her facial expression and breathing. Not to mention the realization as to what this made her look like to be.
"N-no, sir its...it's not what it looks like I swear. I...I didn't do all of this...he did." She stuttered while pointing a naked hoof to my equally naked direction.
I just looked at her indifferently, casually looking back at a book that I randomly picked up. Arching an eyebrow at the frantic looking mare and saying absolutely nothing.
Brass raised his own eyebrows at this, looking at the mare accusingly which Olivia quickly managed to pick up.
She was about to say something again when Brass beat her too it. "Miss Olivia, as far as I know. You were the one who almost managed to hit me with one of the books which are scattered about on the floor, and as far as I see it, you seem to be the main culprit of this chaos, especially judging that some of the books of the upper shelves are scattered about as well. Places I am sure a foal like him can't reach. Even with the ladder, which would just be too dangerous for him." Calmly accused, again giving the mare a furrowed brows in the end.
Olivia on the other hand again just stuttered around, before finally sighing in defeated acceptance. "I will go clean this up right away sir." She mumbled before doing just that.
I grinned, watching her mumbling to herself while picking up all of the books that I so unconventionally, threw over my shoulders. Doing the same with the random book I picked up. Though a little bit more subtle of course, as to not to divert Brass' attention from her to me.
Unknown to him, I did climb up the ladder myself to retrieve these books on the upper shelves. Again, much to Olivia's earlier protest. But he doesn't need to know that, does he?
Either way, with my daily dose of trolling out of the way and with Olivia finally off my back for a substantial amount of time. I quickly re-grabbed the aforementioned "adventure book" and quietly scuttled myself away from the crime scene without much notice.
I am now genuinely curious as to what type of kinks these ponies are into. Given their mostly naked personality and their even more outrageous fashion choices. Mostly revolving around their tails, the only natural thing that keeps everyone safe from getting flashed.
Anyway, I have personally never read any books of such nature. But that doesn't mean that I can't have a peek now does it? And I am certainly NOT going to wait until my balls drop like how Olivia suggested.
Plus judging from the titled and the few illustration I have seen so far, this thing is mostly likely going to turn out to be rather corny in terms of trying to be "exciting".
There's only one way to find out after all, and that is to open up an actual book this time that is not made of electronics or a silicon screen.
Been a while since I had a papercut.
.................................................................................................................................................
"Well, this was certainly a bummer." I say while tossing the book off of my bed.
"All substance and no real build up or resolution. Or at least not the type of resolution I have heard a million times before. This book was even just part one for Christ's sake." I complained, crossing my hooves and hitting my head against my pillow.
I should know, because one of the cousins I was living with had an extended history browser of watching all kinds of anime. Even the ones not meant for family friendly substance.
Guessing what his desktop password were was not too hard, judging by said history and poster on his wall.
Either way with that little trip of vague descriptive detail and allot of over- excessive drama. I was once again left with nothing better to do beside procrastinating on my bed and occasionally blow a string of hair, or rather mane of my furried face.
Because Pony head hair grows like human hair apparently. A biological annoyance which even proceeds from changing from a race of assholes...to another race of assholes. Because ponies don't seem to clearly understand the very concepts of tails in the first place. Like that gardener down below my room's balcony. Who is again, a mare and had her tail tied up in to a tight bun.
It's not too hard to imagine what I was referring to. Especially considering that she is a mare as well.
There IS one point that I can give Olivia for. At least she has the incentive to actually wear "something" to compensate for her short tail.
Maybe I should lessen my trolling towards her because of that.
I grinned. Nah, her personality is just too perfect to not troll her. Such adorable levels of naïvity are just so adorable to witness. But then again, she does originally came from a pretty poor family far into the country. So at least her lack of foresight is somewhat explainable.
"What to do, what to do, take a poo." I muttered to myself, feeling the thrill of both the previous trolling and the poor excuse of a hentai flic leaving my system.
Granted it wasn't THAT bad, but still somewhat tame from where I am from. Plus, the illustrations where in black and white too, so that is a bummer as well.
"Need to make sure to toss this thing out the window or something. Can't have this bastardized version of a tree laying around with Octy constantly busting through those doors and asking all kinds of things from me. Can't have minors looking at softcore porn after all, that would be scary. Look at the son of one of my old home neighbors back home. The kid eventually developed noticeable biceps on his left arm, proving to the everyone that he was actually lefty and not a righty. Bullies these days can get really crafty with their craft. It's a good thing that I have managed to barley miss all of these "innovative" thought process of the teens these days. Otherwise I would have surely lost "ALL" of my sanity at some point. Which could have been both a good thing or a bad thing, given to who you ask." I mindlessly mumbled. Looking at the book and contemplating if I should actually toss this shit out now, or later.
My laziness knows no bound.
See, now that I have the time to just mindlessly mumble, think, or monologue as much as I want, I am going to take full advantage of it. Granted, most of my boring time is spent thinking, mumbling or just sleeping to kill of the time. But never have been generally doing so in such a consistent level as I am doing now.
I still can't personally get over the fact that this place lacks both TVs and the internet at the same time. Two main sources of my previous entertainment, if I wasn't to busy watering the plants, arguing with my neighbor, playing games, or going to the mall.
All of which where also things that I am missing too. Even the only decent job I ever had of simply watering the plants or trimming the bushes has been taken away from me. Which is now being done by a Gardener down below, with very little respect towards public decencies. I might actually just throw the book in front of her so that she can make much better use of it then I can. I might even call in quote on quote "sick" for a really long time, which in turn would force my adoptive father to get someone who is more...PG friendly and "natural".
In fact...
I immediately perked up. Picking up the book from the edge of my bed and quickly making my way over to the balcony door and opening it. Once outside, I immediately spot the very culprit that I was thinking and mumbled about before.
Miss Green hoof, the most generic name possible in regards to her talent while also being a visual threat to poor little Octy. The little filly already has someone like Olivia to lounge around and she certainly doesn't need someone else who is even more lewd with their fashion choices.
I shall guard her mental innocence, by getting rid of the physical offense down below. Or so is the plan at least. Man, I am REALLY starting to affect the careers of others, aren't I?
Welp, sacrifices must be made in order to fulfill the needs of social evolution. Plus, I'm bored and still very much testing the waters on things that I can and cannot do in this voodoo hoodoo cartoon world.
"For science, and a little tad bit of selfish curiosity. Do they even have fish here to begin with?" I mumbled while dropping the book and rubbing my chin in thought.
Remember, still a quadrupled here.
I eventually just shrugged. "Eh, whatever. I am sure I will get my answer to that sooner or later. For now. I have a book to throw." I declared, picking the book back up with my hoof, and grabbing the balcony railing with the other, I heft myself upwards. My head perfectly overlooking the fancy railing and the large garden below me. But more importantly, my victim as well.
I gave an evil grin, satisfied to know that she was still at large both in doing her job and flashing me with her posterior. A sight which no foal should normally be allowed to see, but alas, I am just a foal in body. Which is why a little R and R is going to be perfect for this mare with the need of the right material.
Softcore Tentacle porn material that is. Again, softcore for human standards, but probably fappable for these horses.
"Let's see what kind of a reaction we can get out of this horse, shall we?" I told myself, grinning as I lined up the shot before throwing the book. The tome hit true, perfectly landing right next to the bent over mare with an audible thud and an even more immediate result.
The mare yelped, jumping away from the readable projectile, and looking down at it with wide, surprised eyes. I on the other hand ducked away, to prevent myself from getting spotted of course, and taking full advantage of the thigh gaps between the supports. Which, by the way, we're made of marble too, because why not.
Everything else here already reeks of both stolen taxes and profits made of overpriced jewelries. But alas, I am just getting myself distracted, which I obviously don't want while conducting a very important social experiment.
Either way, I kept low. Watching the mare pick up the book with great confusion and curiosity.
"What is this?" I managed to hear her say, thanks to my enhanced pony ears and what not. She looked at the book on her hoof, turning it from side to side before finally turning it towards its front cover. Her curiosity immediately turned into shock when she realized what she was holding.
"Daring do and the Temple of the Tentacles? What is such a highly limited edition of a Daring Do novel doing here? Books like these are highly sought after by simple collectors and Daring Do fans alike. These things are worth a fortune and well known. Why would anypony throw THIS away?" I heard her say, which in turn, almost causing me to choke up under my own breath when she said that this "cock block" of a novel was actually worth something.
Like actual money, and allot of it. Lots and lots of it. Which I can personally use to get my own desired goods, and maybe a whole sack of coffee too. If anyone would EVEN let me. A piece of literated treasure, that I so naively threw away in front of a green hooved gardener.
Also, did I every mention that she was literally green as well? With pink colored mane and tail to boot? Yeah, those ponies really don't make it hard now do they?
Either way, with the realization hitting me like a freight train, I did the only sensible thing that my greedy little mind could come up with. I glared at her, climbing up onto the railing fully and positioning myself towards my target.
Watching her smile to herself and eventually stashing the book down into her saddlebacks. Looking from side to side to make sure that nobody was seeing her.
I immediately pointing a hoof at her and shouting. "Hey, that piece of a golden turd is mine. I found it first. Give me my dough or suffer the consequences, lady!" I challenged and pretty much getting the mare attention almost immediately.
She looked up with a raise eyebrow. "Your book? As far as I know, according to the old country rule of "Finders keepers", I found it next. So that makes me the new rightful owner of this book. And besides..." She trailed off a bit. " You seemed to be WAY too young to be owning such a piece of literature in the first place. So, I would actually be doing your parents a favor bey keeping this away from you. Today's youth is tainted by too many comics books and tabletop games anyway. Let's not add eroticas to the mix too." She answered, turning herself away and attempting to resume her work.
I on the other hand, was grinding my teeth. Ready to jump down and claim what I originally took when nobody was looking. Which is exactly what I did. Jumping down from the second-floor balcony and directly towards the oblivious garden mare down below. Cushioning my fall with her own plump body and knocking the ever-living wind out of her in the process.
She collapses, hitting the ground with a very audible thud and a "Oof" coming from her mouth. I didn't rest though, as I soon commenced the actual attack of this offense. By grabbing her mane with both my teeth and hooves, and pulled hard.
"MINE, MINE, MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE. IT'S MINE." I chanted with a mouth full of hair, pulling on her main both with my hooves and my freshly brushed teeth.
I may be rowdy, but at least I'm a clean rowdy. Even acts on assault can be done with class.
At the end of the scuffled though. I eventually managed to get back what was rightfully mine in regards to the Philippine gangster rules.
If someone takes what you stole first, then go steal it back with double the force and double the effort. Or maybe I am just making shit up.
But alas the constant pulling and rodeo riding on her back eventually lead her to capitulate. Giving me back my book while laying on the freshly cut grass exhausted.
I grinned, holding the book up high on my hoof before marching off with my head held high and my generosity low. Because the money is mine and I have stole it first. Just need to somehow find a way to cash it in so that I can start spending it all.
The age of not being able to reach the upper levels of the fridge and kitchen cabinets where truly all of the good shit is. Including my cheese. Are finally going to be over. Just need to find myself back inside and then think about my next strategy later.
If I can find myself the way back inside that is.
What is it with rich people and adding a shit ton of hedge mazes to decorate their homes with? Ridiculous, at least give the wanna be burglars a chance of breaking into your oversized shit, and lighten your purse a little.
I'm sure that they are going to have far better use of Brass' small change than he or Olivia has.
Such selfish people, even my own adoptive parents.
................................................................................................................................................
"Pfff...for fuck sake. Stupid mazes and what not." I mumbled, as I re-entered my room with a frown plastered all over my furried face.
It may not have taken as long as I originally thought It would be, but it certainly still took way too much time for it to be considered comfortable.
Like 15 minutes level of the uncomfortability of constantly hitting dead ends and having to trek back and try out different paths instead. Rinse and repeat. That is until I eventually had "Die schnauze voll" and simply crawled myself under the foliage that the organic labyrinth walls were made off. If I had done that at the beginning, then I would have saved myself a lot of time and clip clops.
Though such a drastic approach had its price.
Basically, now being nothing more than a Dirt ridden, fur raffled, sticks, leaves and branches hanging every, type of mess. If I wouldn't know any better, then I would say that a bath would certainly be a good option now in terms of entertaining myself.
Which is good, because I quite like taking baths in this home. The baths here -even mine- are just as an overkill as the rest of the mansion. Granted, they weren't exactly very large, but they did share a lot of similarities with the rest of this estate when it comes to expenses. Being just as "exotically" decorated as the rest.
Marble, gold trimming, Ivory, you get the idea.
Either way, besides that, the real fun of taking a bath really comes to the jacuzzi sized bathtub that I have, or should I say a small private pool. Giving me, and "certainly me", a lot of space to just chill out and enjoy the heated water and the over-excessive use of bathing soap. Bubbles, bubbles everywhere and almost quite literally. Not to mention the addition of scented candles, which are always kept stocked within the bathrooms drawers.
Taken a bath certainly has never felt so Zen before. Certainly, never with that tiny piece of shit bathtub that I used to have back home. That, and we mostly preferred using of the dedicated showers instead of the tub itself. But alas, the past is the past and the present is certainly a lot more exciting...and procrastination inducing.
I just smiled, thinking on the many hours I could ruin my fur covered skin while indulging myself with scented candles. I even managed to once skip through lunch because of that. Which made me both angry, and happy at the same time.
Hapgry I guess would be the term.
"First need to get rid of this book and store it safely somewhere where nobody, especially octy, cannot..."I tried to say, before the doors leading into my room abrupted me. Allowing a very disgruntled looking hector to trot into the room.
Yeah, I forgot to mention that he might actually be one of the main reasons as to why burglars have never bothered to bust themselves into this estate in the first place. He may be your typical English butler, but pony names were far more than just name similar to cutie marks or whatever that hippy shit is called again. Acting also has an extension of their actual character as far as I know.
Hector here can be a real beast when push comes to shove. Which he certainly proved during the last time when Octy and I were escorted off to kindergarten by him instead of Camellia.
That poor carriage driver never stood a chance when he bumped into ours and proclaimed that it was our fault and not his. Well, that is until Hector himself stepped into the fray made it VERY clear to him that it was, in fact, his fault and not ours. Never have I ever seen someone's sense of self-esteem deteriorate so quickly.
"I thought I was seeing things, but the obvious dirt tracks you left behind, and the fact that you also look the part very much prove me otherwise. Not sure what you did outside to become so messy, but one thing is certain. This cannot stand, especially in this household in which I am tasked to look after for. Time for a bath, and no buts and ways." He commandingly stated, giving me a look that told me that he meant what he said.
I quickly tried to hide the book behind me. A move that was quickly found out to be useless as he wasn't really focusing on the book I was trying to hide. He instead just used his voodoo hoodoo to grab me, before carrying me towards the direction of the were the bathroom is.
I raised eyebrow. "What kind of buts and ways? When have I ever complained in regards to taking a bath?" I countered while clinging onto the book.
Front cover facing away from him of course.
He stopped for just a second, before resuming his trot. "Oh, well yes of course. Force of habit I guess. Most foals would normally be against the idea of taking a bath, same with Miss Octavia. But you..."He gave me a curious look."...Sir Alex is certainly FAR from being your average, run in the mill foal. Nothing against that of course." He responded, fixing her gaze back forwards while opening the bathroom door with his hoof.
I smiled. "Well that is certainly still a debate for some individuals. But it is true, I am FAR outside the definitions of normality. Makes me look a lot more..."unique" when compared to the others." I answered before he finally sets me back down, knowing full well that I won't try to run away because...I like those baths.
He just went over to the previously mentioned jacuzzi of a bathtub and began fiddling with the valves with his voodoo hoodoo, which in turn, caused steaming water to exit from one of its outlets.
Yes, they were outlets, not your traditional faucets, just outlets. Nicely carved and golden trimmed holes in the wall with valves above them. Not complaining of course. At least it makes the whole wall look a little bit more cleaner to look at.
Eventually, he turned around. "Alright, a few more minutes and your bath should be ready. Would you like the same set of bathing soap and scented candles?" He professionally asked, in his superb British accent no less which I could easily listen to all day.
Did I ever mention that I am a sucker for accents?
I held my head high and responded. Making myself look posh while sounding the par as well. "'Well yes of course, what kind of a ridiculous question is that? You should have long memorized my bathing preferences right about now, dear Hector old house. Just preposterous." I responded, giving my own best British noble impression.
It worked, because all he did was rolled his eyes and smiled. He is one of the only cool horses so far. Someone who has no problem of going along with my antics. Granted he still get confused just like anyone else, but he chucks it up pretty well, which I should both give him respect...and a challenging expression for.
Because I prefer my audience to be a lot more like Olivia and a lot less like Hector.
He eventually stepped to the side. "Anyways, my lord..." He added that with a bow. "The bath is ready for you. Also remember to scrub your cutie mark as well as it is just as badly ruffled as the rest of your young master posterior. Don't want you to miss about the opportunity to brag about your early cutie mark towards the other foals and even adults, now would you?" He commented, raising from his bow.
I just raspberry. "As if, I am certainly not as family offensive as some of the ponies out there in the streets. So, no, I am totally fine about not shoving my ass at everyone's face. Mostly because I cannot reach that high up with my ass anyway without using the likes of chairs or tables. But the day shall come, mark my words." I responded. Climbing into the bath and simply allowing myself to drop directly into the water and causing a small, but still respectable splash in the end.
Respectable enough for Hector's suit to get hit, and for him to pull out a handkerchief, (or is it hoofkerchief?) out of nowhere and drying the spot off.
He then raised and eyebrow after I re-emerged from the water. "Huh...how come that there are so many bubbles forming on the surface of the water already? I haven't even added the bathing soap yet." He questioned, looking at me and the bottle of soap next to the bath itself questionably.
I smiled. "Well that's easy. I farted." I casually replied as more and more bubbles where collecting on the surface around me.
His face twisted with disgust, before bringing his handkerchief up to his snout. "I will just pour in the bathing soap then, and eliminate the stench that way. Your bowels really are a mystery sometimes, Sir Alex." He commented.
I just grin, letting lose another set of impulses which in turn created more bubbles.
"Well, at least the water now feels even more warmer than it did before. So at least there is one positive to this." I thought to myself.
I guess eating a lot of cheese will do that to you. But I have always treated it more as an asset rather than an annoyance. The amount of times where I was able to get some free extra seats around me is certainly a plus.
More space for me to slouch around. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 11: No more filler chapter, or at least that's the plan | Chapter 11: No more filler chapters, or at least that's the plan
Edited by Mr Salespony
"So, what exactly does your cutie mark mean?" Octavia asked, for the upteenth time ever since she woke up, and to an extent, woke me up as well by barging into my room and bouncing on the bed.
No really, she literally bounced on my bed right next to me while I was still busy curled up, half asleep.
With her around, who really needs a Wakemaster or the fucking sun anymore? She does the exact same thing, only better and a lot more infuriating with her methods. But then again, I can't really stay too mad at such a level of enthusiasm. Mostly when she is around ME.
Which is a fine sacrifice I guess, especially when you consider how much LESS enthusiastic she usually is when she is just running around with her mom somewhere. Which is almost every day for most of the day, or at least that is what Camelia told me when I actually bothered to ask her this morning. With me being generally better 'behaved' when she is walking around with her mother somewhere.
Which is rather cute to know I guess, but certainly not the best idea of staying attached to me for almost everything.
I have to admit, I was never really considered to be the best role model for young children, especially towards my younger cousins. Plus, there are also my own personal, self-inflicted quests that I sometimes partake in. Like with the lewd, grass green Gardner mare two days ago.
Such adventures are not meant for small little fillies. Especially those who are actual fillies and not just some previous grownup that got nerfed to be stuck inside a child's body.
Now THAT is a lewd thought for you, and shame to all of you for thinking those thoughts. Get you filthy little minds out of the gutters. I just cleaned them yesterday...which I would have said if I was actually still back in my world, where I sometimes did actually clean out the gutters for my cousins. Because, nobody fucking else was going to do it, but me.
Mostly because I was the only one stuck in the house for 23/7 while the rest of the brood was out for work during the weekdays.
Work...the bane of civilization and everyone with any sense of self-inflicted comfortability and laziness.
Where was I? Ah yes, Octy was still here sitting next to me while poking my muscles. Why? Because she is lew...well no, mostly because of that care bear rip off on my ass.
Everybody has it, and shockingly enough, even Olivia. And no, it had nothing to do with anything lewd or sexual like how some of these horse hookers do within the local brothel that we curiously passed by on our way to the city park. It was actually quite disappointing...and kind of predictable to say the least.
It was just a simple olive branch with a couple of olives hanging from it. Yeah, I know, shocking. Olivia, an olive green mare with actual olives on her rump, who would have guessed?
Either way, I shooed her offending hoof away while continuing my walk through the city park. Not alone of course, as missus MOM was actually chilling on a nearby bench somewhere, chatting it up with another chic next to her that I don't know.
I shrugged. "I already told you. I don't know. It's just a trio of expressions depicted with the style of three theater masks. With one at the center actually being new and depicting your typical angry anime expression that most animes like to use. Which is kind of interesting, if I have to be honest. Even though I was never really that big on anime to begin with." I answered.
I looked around at all the stuff the park had to offer, a fountain, a couple of statues of some other horse, and the large pond off into the distance. Most likely filled with ducks or geese, or whatever other things that floats like a boat.
Like crocodiles for example. Though I doubt they would even allow such animals to be roaming around with in a public park. And a park constantly filled with free meat of all ages and sizes, no less. Dark and inappropriate humor, everybody has it, and everybody expresses it in their own way.
But besides that, Octy just frowned. "But...but you should at least know what your cutie mark represents. Everypony does, even if they didn't know what their cutie mark will be at the end. Or at least that's what mom told me." She responded, rubbing her chin thoughtfully like how all the horses do with their body language.
"Well then, your mother is an idiot." Was what my trollish side wanted to say, but obviously didn't.
Again, I just shrugged. "Well whatever, not my field of interest. Even more so when it is plastered on my lower region. The worst place to slap a tattoo in my opinion." I replied again, stopping in front of one of those statue thingies and giving it the good old criticism, like those uneducated or talented individuals usually like to give.
"Hmm, could use some more 'details' in certain places." I mumbled, looking particularly at the crotch area of this pony.
Octy just gave me a tilted look. "Huh? What kind of details?" She asked, acting on her natural curiosity.
I shook my head. "Never mind, you are too young to know that." I answered before turning away from this half assed work.
She of course, quickly followed me as I made the pond to be my next destination of thing to look REALLY close at.
"Kids, don't stray away too far please. Just stay at the park's pond area where I can still see you two." Camellia suddenly called out.
"Yes mom, don't worry." Octy called back before turning back towards me as she followed me.
She again, gave me a confused look, though this time mixed with a little bit of shock as well. "How come you don't care what your cutie mark means? Everypony cares about what their cutie marks means, because it's a mark which shows the world in what you are truly special in. Or at least, that is what mom once told me." She once again commented. Digging deeper and deeper into this cute tattoo subject way more than it really needs to be.
Again, kids, no matter what dimension you are in, they are always the same. Until you need to grab a rope and pull them out from the hole that they like to dug themselves into.
"Well, remember the little secret that I shared with you in the beginning that I am really not a foal but an alien from another realm of existence entirely?" It was my time to ask, giving her a look after we stopped in front of the now known to be a duck pond.
She nods. "Well...yeah, but I have always assumed that your kind might have cutie marks too. Something to tell others what you are special in." She responded, or rather guessed while rubbing her chin once more.
I just scoffed. "Pfff no, I mean if my kind really was operating under the same rules as these butt tattoos, then making porn would have been a very big industry if someone really needed to be born to do porn. The level of social depression this would create could be staggering. Nothing to fap to and nothing to make you momentary forget in just how much of a loser you truly are with the chicks...or the dudes if you are a girl. "I commented, again enticing both Octy's curiosity and confusion at the same time.
"What is porn?" She innocently asked as she stood in front of the duck pond.
I smiled. "Something which you are way too young to know, Octy. Ask me again when you finally hit puberty and see colts in a completely different light, or fillies if you are developing into that." I answered, keeping my gaze fixed forward on the ducks in the pond.
She just puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "You always keep saying that. You know that I am not really that young as you make me out to be. I am already a big filly." She argued, pointing a hoof at herself and holding her head high to try and prove her point.
I just rolled my eyes with a grin. "Sure, sure you are, can't even pronounce most of the BIG words that I use sometimes. Not to mention that you are still making a mess in your bed once in a while according to both Hector and Olivia." I countered, giving her a big stupid grin to add further salt to the now open wound.
She blushed. "Wha-what? No-no I...I don't do that...uh...whatever both Mister Hector and Miss Olivia are telling you are lies, just...stupid little lies to under...undermen...uh...undermine me, yes undermine me. I have never wet the bed, at least not for a really long time." She stuttered, looking off to the side and basically betraying herself with her disastrous attempt in getting a lie across her point.
"Sure, whatever you say, princess." I casually responded, before picking up a rock with my hoof and throwing it into the pond. Causing several ducks nearby to scatter in a frantic frenzy.
"Hehe. No wonder Bart likes to be such a dick to animals sometimes." I mindlessly chuckled before picking up another rock and throwing it too. Causing yet another big splash and more ducks quacking in panic.
"You know, that isn't very nice." Octy commented while giving me a sideways glance.
"So, neither are ducks. I still have a couple of steaks to fry with them for what they once did back home. Those little garden hating bastards." I threatened. Narrowing my gaze on those little vermin's before picking up another rock.
Granted, those ducks that shat all over my tulips where just wild ducks flying over my house while migrating south. But ducks are still ducks no matter if they are domesticated or wild. They were all part of the same family and therefore sinful of the same mistakes the other group did.
They certainly contributed in making my job as a household gardener a lot more difficult during winter months, thanks to their need for defecations.
They even ruined my old scooter that used to always be parked right outside the gates of our property. Those handles were forever ruined, no amount of acid or bleach could fix them. In the end, I had to go buy brand new covers for them out of MY own pockets.
Nothing makes me more grimy than paying out of my own limited pockets...unless its food, drinks, or both.
Can't never say no to a good glass of ice tea, or a cup of coffee. Not to mention cheese or anything related to chocolate.
Trying to keep a balanced figure of ass. Just give me what I want and we can both walk away with all four limbs and vocal cords still intact.
Either way, I shook my head and got myself back to reality. Mostly just to prevent myself from thinking about food too much. I still haven't managed to sell that wonder book that I managed to repossess from the most unoriginal looking mare possible.
Plus, Octy was staring at me again, reminiscent to the fact that I had once again spaced out. My old psychiatrist used to call it a symptom, but I just personally like to see it as a nifty way to escape the boredoms of reality. Because I somehow managed to run low on stones already, despite of having just throw three into the pond.
Stupid park staff and their over-excessive vigilance of keeping this space clean. Its killing the mood of stone flinging maniacs like me.
"Oh hey, look at all of those foals over there." Octy suddenly pointed out at the other side of the pond.
I followed where her dirty little hoof pointed and immediately saw to what her attention was drawn too. A large flock of foals, of all possible colors, races, and genders that you can think of.
Well, only two genders, but no one have said that futas aren't a thing in this voodoo hoodoo world. Plus, the additions of Brothels and little miss Olivia pretty much displays in how...dirty this world can really be. Maybe even dirtier than mine, if all the strange fashion choices and constant neglect for clothing are anything to go by.
Yeah, I should probably stop talking so much about sex and porn for a while, and start to focus more on the scene in front of me. Particularly at the one individual who was leading this band of munchkins.
"Hey look, it's lady Deep Care from the "Klapsmuhle" I used to live in." I pointed out. Looking over at the aforementioned pedophile and slave driver of children.
It was at this time, that it was Octy's turn to follow my gaze and look at what I was seeing. "Oh, so that is Miss Deep care then from the same orphanage that mom and dad adopted you from, yes? She seems like a pretty nice lady when she is taking care of so many foals." She mindlessly commented with a smile.
"Well, not until you learn that she does indoor schooling too." I thought to myself, while looking at the gang.
But one foal in particular was really giving me a sense of dejà vu. A foal who I should know, as he was the first and only one I could generally stand in that sugar rush of an estate.
"Seems that Mystic Tune is still calling the orphanage his home. Too bad, the guy is one of the few who actually deserves a better and taller fridge to raid from." I casually commented, cranking my head a little bit to the side to spot him better behind a distant bush which was obscuring my view of him.
Octy tilted her head. "Mystic who?"
"Eh, just a wonderrous little foal I know from the orphanage. Someone that I am sure you would like, as the two of you kinda share a lot of similarities in terms of character traits and quirks. In fact..." I said, before trotting closer to the band.
"Hey where are you going?" Octy called out as she only followed me with her eyes.
"Well, closer to these foals obviously. Just want to see if some of the foals from the good old days are still orphans besides just Mystic. It has been about half a year since then." I called back, keeping my attention fixed on getting my furried ass over there while dodging the occasional grown up or pet dogs along the road.
Horses having pets, now that is something to scratch your head for.
"Alright, just remember to keep within the vicinity of either me or the other caretakers. We obviously don't want any of you to suddenly get lost, or even worst, forgotten when we eventually make our way back the orphanage?" I could hear the every so memorable voice of Deep Care say. Mostly because of the fact that her voice was the most prominent that I had to listen to for the first couple of weeks every since I was drafted into the orphanage. And mostly revolving around attempted lectures or chidings for many of my shenanigans that I have done.
A third of them actually being Thera related, but I am not going to get into those details for now. Especially when I quickly spotted the aforementioned filly and her two goons still being part of the pact. Not surprising giving her dominatrix like attitude and her incentives to lie and trick her way up to the top and out of trouble or chores for the sake of not having to go through them the normal way.
At least there is one thing that we both have in common then. Especially for the chores part.
Trouble is something I find myself in rarely, because I am just to good of a troll to get caught ...or just too lazy to be bothered.
"Yes, miss Deep care." The entire mass of children droned. Giving Deep Care and some of her 'helpers' a satisfying smile and nod in return.
"Well then, in that case, go ahead and have fun. And remember we will be returning back home when the sun crosses over the largest tower of the royal castle over there. So just keep that in mind. Now again, have fun, and do remember to stay within the vicinity of the park. Keep close and all will be fine." She announced, before the whole gang of colours were finally giving their freedom to vandalize this prestige looking establishment within their leisure.
Those poor park workers and managers.
Either way, some foals (in particularly, two certain colts and one zealous little filly) didn't waste any more time in transforming my predictions to reality. Picking up some nearby resting rocks from the ground and flinging those acorn sized pebbles at the same ducks that I just harassed. Though unlike me, both Thera and her gangbang were actively trying to hit the ducks themselves instead of just splashing them with water. Which, was of course, totally missed or ignored by any of those so called 'helpers' that Deep Care hired. Even she seemed to be oblivious on the more sociopathic behaviors some of her brood seemed to be indulging themselves with.
Well, calling them out for their behavior would obviously defeat the purpose of trying to stay anonymous behind a bench in the first place.
Metal gear folks, a game which revolves around a big robot mech, while spending most of the game trying to be stealthy. How stealth and robot mechs come together is beyond me. But hey, japan was never really known to be subtle. So why start with games?
"Alex?" Someone suddenly called me out, which in turn, pulled me out of my thought.
I turned my head, only to be met with a very surprised looking Mystic tune standing right next to me. Not sure how he managed to find me so easily. But then again, it doesn't matter.
I made myself look confused. "Alex? Who? Who is this Alex? And who exactly are you? Mother has always told me to be wary around strangers. That Includes foals." I responded, twisting my voice, trying to make myself look as foreign to him as possible.
This seems to did little besides confusing him for just a moment and making him raise his eyebrow. I never really expected for him to actually fall for that to be honest. But hey, it was worth a try. Plus, I would have told him the truth anyway if I did somehow work ...because, why not.
He eventually chuckled. "No, no, I know for a fact that it is you. I remember that 'fake bri...British voice' ...was it?" He wondered, in which I just nod. "Well yes, I remember that fake British voice you always did for jokes when talking to the other foals. Just like the same way you did just now. Pretending to being somepony else." He stated, keeping his smile and getting more and more excited with each word.
And before I knew it, I was quickly and suddenly embraced by this overactive furball and a newfound retro lover. Or so I think, if he still remembers the times when he listens to songs whenever I allowed him to borrow both my tablet and my earbuds while I was out of the house or doing my usual shenanigans to everyone around me.
Primarily to Deep Care and any other grownups working at the family friendly asylum.
But either way, the sudden violations to my rights of personal space thankfully didn't last that long. I soon found myself released from his grasps while he keeps a huge grin on his face.
Normally, I would take this as an act of gayness towards me, but knowing full well in how 'touchy' these ponies can be, allowed me to just let it slide as he is just generally being a fucking pony.
The sacrifices I have to make to keep these sapient equines happy.
"Oh dear Celestia, this is so cool. I never thought that I would see you again so soon, and certainly not out at a public park of all places." He stated, which in turn caused me to raise an eyebrow this time.
"Huh? Why not in a public park? Aren't public parks meant to be...well...for the public? Which would mean that there might be a much greater chance for two lost individuals to eventually find each other in one of these public places? So why this logic?" I questioned, which in turn caused him to rub his chin in thought.
"Well, didn't you particularly said that you are not very fond of 'going outside' for most of the time? Which you showed by staying in our room for most of the day and not really interacting with any of the foals besides being approached by them? Because of that, I just simply thought that finding you in a public park would be a lot harder when compared to most other individuals." He answered, quite cleverly in fact, which was certainly a bit of a surprise on my part.
He is certainly one of the more clever foals out of the orphanage. Or rather was, if someone else managed to snatch up that title for themselves during the time I was pissing off Hector, or Olivia respectively.
It's just so hard to act outside of your already established character, you know?
Either way, I just shrugged. "Well, now you found me, I guess. Now comes to the question as to how will you take advantage of this situation. What shall you do now?" I philosophically questioned. Sitting down on my haunches and mimicking the famous pose of a thinking Greek philosopher.
He just scratched his head. "I don't know, maybe tell me how life is going with your new foster family and talk about how my life has been going on back at the orphanage?" He more or less guess.
I just hummed, until an idea suddenly popped up inside my head. "Oh yeah, wait. Octy face." I mindlessly exclaimed, again much to mystic's confusion.
"Octy? Who is octy? You mean that gray filly who has been watching us this entire time?" He asked, pointing his hoof past behind me.
I followed his gesture. It was indeed octy, standing right next to a tree close to the pond, while giving me and mystic a very curious but also cautions look. Mostly towards mystic, because...obviously.
I smiled. "Oh yeah, that's her. The little gray girl. Also, before you are ask, she IS the true daughter of my foster parents in case you are wondering." I answered, just for the sake of getting to things straight right away.
But then again, these are all just barely six year old foals. So, such thought processing might not yet exist within their young and self conscious minds
"Oh, so they had a filly already? Strange, then why adopt somepony from an orphanage then when they already have foal?" He asked again, more to himself rather than towards me judging by his tone.
I simply ignored him before I raised my arm in an attempt to usher her over. She was reluctant at first which was somewhat understandable. Mystic here is a stranger to her after all, not to mention a unicorn too, which so far, have been nothing but bad PR towards her with the only exception of being me of course.
After a few moments of just worryingly standing there, and me still trying to usher her over. She eventually sighed and tried to make her way over to us. The key word here is 'tried' which she would have, if a random rock didn't suddenly decide to hit her in the head and force her off of her hooves rather quickly.
I think I even saw a tiny spry of blood flying to the air from where the rather sizable pebble hit her.
Time slowed down for me afterwards as I watched her dainty little form hit the ground harder than it should have. Watching her as tears immediately started to leak out of her closed eyes and with her mouth forming to an expression of pure pain and agony.
A massive cry didn't took long to follow after, as she quickly moved her hooves up to her head in hopes of lessening the pain, and to an extent, to stop the now very visible bleeding from her wound.
Time quickly returned to normal for me when the first ponies nearby finally realized what was going on. I mean how could you now, with a young little filly laying on the ground, screaming and crying her heart out wild bleeding very noticeable from the left side of her head.
I don't know how, but my intuitions quickly told me exactly who the culprits where who caused this.
I smell bullies. Sociopathic, little bullies, and one toxic little filly just filled the role.
My suspicions were swiftly confirmed when I looked over at the direction where I last saw those three little foals was making trouble at, and saw that all three of them, especially Thera herself, had expression of pure horror in their eyes.
"Thera, you...you accidentally hit her." I managed to hear one of her goon's stutter despite the distance.
So, it ACTUALLY was her now wasn't it? Ooh, this really rustles my jimmies good. Especially knowing that she has practically the same brains as her little band of wanna be bandits and rebels.
Then again, it also now makes total sense. Because from the three, she was by far the worst shot of them all if memory of my many encounters with her in the orphanage were anything to go by.
"Oh dear Celestia, the poor little filly." I heard one of the nearby adults cry out as things finally started react around me.
Same for me, but more like towards these three fuckups and their homicidal tendencies. Picking up a few stray rocks on the way while doing so.
An eye for an eye after all, and nobody had ever said that I was a nice guy either. I can and will get pretty nasty myself when push comes to shove.
Don't make a mad person MAD is my slogan for the day.
"Hey, wait a minute, isn't that...?" One of the colts tried to say before he was quickly silenced by a rock hitting him square on the muzzle, forcing him on his flank. Most likely breaking his nose, but then again, who cares. Especially not me at this current moment.
The two still left standing where of course shocked by this sudden turn of events after they finally noticed me approaching them, even more so when they saw the deep rooted glare I was giving them.
Thera in particular, had the largest eyes and the most low hanging ears of the two. Minus the guy whose ears where literally touching the ground right now.
"Alright, from all the stupid shit that you three have done, in particular you Thera..." I glared over at the taller filly which made her flinch. "...this is by far, the most careless and most irresponsible thing I have seen so far from the three of you. Throwing large pebbles at the little ducklings while somehow managing to overshoot and hitting a small little filly instead. A little filly whos life has been facing nothing but discrimination and racism since the day she was born. Primarily from her own family. And now, she is bleeding, laying on the ground, and crying her dainty little eyes out in agony because one of you can't even hit a fucking pond? Who knows what how much damage you conflicted into this little filly's head, with your taller bodies and greater strength. Just adding another item on her ever-growing shit list of things that the world has been fucking her over with." I chided, half of it through shouting while throwing and catching the pebbled on my hoof mindlessly.
Generally being the grown up for once. Despite the massive Irony of this situation.
"Wait a minute, why am I even getting intimidated by a baby foal like yo..." Thera tried to counter but didn't succeeded. Mostly because I was now flinging rocks at them like a mad man. Again, ironic, but at least it forced them to retreat almost immediately, while taking their nose bleeding friend of with them.
I continued throw rocks at their direction for a bit until they were out of reach. Only for them to be swiftly intercepted by Deep Care herself and one of her helpers. Glaring down at the trio for what they have done.
Serves them right, and now their punishment was on the way, accompanied by some serious stereo scolding from Deep Care. That only left me to quickly make my way back towards octy, where a healthy number of ponies have already gathered around her. Most importantly miss Camellia herself.
She looked frantic, panicked and scared out of her wits after she witnessed the state her daughter was in. Pushing herself past the gathered masses and in front of a stallion who was already trying to calm Octavia down and mending to her injuries.
I on the other hand, wasn't really that far behind, followed by mystic who also joined me. Why? I don't know. Kids are just generally curious after all, especially towards scenes and drama.
Or at least I was, or rather, still am.
But my curiosity wasn't really aimed to quench my first for drama, but rather, to see if Octy was actually ok.
By the looks of things, she kinda of was, mostly thanks to this stallion who swiftly managed to patch Octavia up with a bandage he probably pulled out from his saddlepack on his back.
And judging by his equipment and that butt mark he has on his ass, he was most likely a doctor, or at the very least a nurse of some kind.
"Oh dear Equestria and everything that is good, what happened? Is Octavia ok? Is she going to be ok?" I heard Camellia asked. Both her sense of fear and panic perfectly noticeable in her tone.
The stallion nods. "For now yes, but you need to bring her to a proper doctor just to be sure. Sadly, I am just a nurse and can't really do much besides covering her wound and help stop the bleeding." The stallion responded.
So, he actually is a nurse then. Pointless, but information is still information. Especially in a place where I don't have access to the fucking internet anymore.
Again, something I am just never going to get used to.
But constant playbacks aside, I was genuinely concerned for Octy's well-being. She already has been dissed by both her own family and a lot of posy looking nobles for simply being what she is and not being what she should be. Thanks to that, she obviously lacks a lot of self-esteem for herself, which in turn, makes her seem somewhat undesirable towards many foals of her own age. She is still so damned young, and already has to put up with all of this social crap before she can even properly learn how to distinguish a bloody comic from a simple playboy magazine.
But hey, it is universally known that the universe, or existence at large is a total drag for most of the times. Ridiculous, or just plane old annoying. Something she will learn eventually, not now, but one day it might click with her.
Which is why I am who I am, and generally giving one half of the world my middle finger while completely embracing the other half in all of its nonsensical and ridiculous glory. Why fight the current when you can just relax and allow yourself to be taken downstream? Flinging middle fingers and insults along every beaver built dam on the river while throwing rocks at them.
See what I did there?
"Quick, we got to bring her to the nearest hospital. Don't worry Octavia, everything will be fine, I promise." I heard Camellia say in tears as she placed Octavia's own crying form onto her back.
All physical and with no voodoo hoodoo mind you.
To my surprise, Camellia suddenly dashed off with the nurse leading the way. Leaving me behind, perplexed and a little bit insulted.
I can understand why she did it given the current circumstances. But the bitch still left me, alone, in a park, and as far as she knows, I am just a little five year old colt. Almost six in fact, if both Octy and I truly share the same birthday month. Which is around august in case someone is wondering?
"Well shit..." I muttered, when I eventually lost sight of both Octy and her mom.
"Well, seems like I have to start asking for directions if I want to go a find this hospital where these two have fucked off too. Meaning, I will have to 'socialize'." I said with added air quotes before looking around at the slowly dispersing mass to see who best to ask for directions.
"Alex...you...you have a cutie mark?" Mystic Tune suddenly shouted behind me. Which caused me to pause and frown.
"What are you gay? What are you doing looking at my ass like that?"
.................................................................................................................................................
"Ugh, fucking ponies and their terrible sense of direction. Seriously, you would think that for someone living in the city for who knows how long, would at least expect know where the closest hospital is from 'Duck pond park' (and yes that was its name, brilliant isn't it?) actually is. But it seems that most of them were actually just tourists, or simply citizens coming from a completely different district entirely. What were the odds that all of the above where true?" I grumbled to myself. Not really paying attention where I was going and almost causing a street accident with two carriages.
Actually no, I did cause it, if the sudden crash and the aftermath sound shouting where anything to go by.
See kids, this is why you always look left and right first before crossing a street. To prevent shit like this and car insurances to go sky high.
Either way, time to finish crossing the street and observing the newly dubbed hospital building in front of me.
Not that I stopped of course.
"Huh, so this is the place? Looks just as Victorian as the rest of the city so far." I thought to myself as I looked up this rather simple looking building. And by simple, I mean the overall architecture and size it shared in comparison to every other building around it.
If it wasn't for the very obvious red cross plastered right above the front entrance, I would have never guess that this was actually a Hospital.
Same thing for the brothels that I just passed by while getting here. Only making its sexual intended uses clear, by peeking your head inside and seeing all of those suggestively dressed mares capering around within its halls.
Yes, even the concept of placing a bouncer in front of a door seems to be foreign to these ponies too, besides just placing plain random old guards in front of the entrance. Which was missing too, because I bet that the dude was actually in there, getting himself all kinds of tear shaped pussy and donut looking ass.
How do I know? Biology, that is how. Also, because of that green hooved Gardner mare too, who is sadly still enlisted as the estate's local garner.
Well it's mostly because I have never told anyone of that incident, even to both Brass or Camellia. Mostly because I forgot to do so, but also to keep my re-procession of the book to be a secret.
Yes, yes, I know, it's basically stealing. But how much can you really steal, when your step parents are just filled with it? The money I mean, not their ego. That title goes to Brass' extended family over in NOT Nottingham, rather, the un-originally named trottingham.
I blinked. "Less thinking and more getting myself in there and see where the two have clocked in to. Do not worry Alex, because this time, no doctor is going to approach you with an oversized sewing needle of a syringe. It is Octy who is sick, not you." I thought to myself, before pushing through the double doors of this establishment.
The entry hall was... as expected. Large, white, with seating arrangements lining up both walls, and with a few coffee tables spread about between them. A couple of ponies where occupying the seats of course. Besides that, the entire room was also in a very hospital looking with a counter at the other end of the room and two different hallways disappearing on each side, with a stairway located right next the counter I was facing.
Why I am describing this in my head while knowing that nobody is really going to hear them without the use of some voodoo hoodoo, the force, or just plain old boring telepathy? Well I don't know and neither do I care. Shit like this has pretty much become mandatory for me.
But I guess I already said that.
"Stop, stalling Alex, go over to the counter and 'socialize'. Despite in how jarring it can be." I thought to myself, before willing myself forward.
A lot of curious eyes were immediately aimed at my way as I passed by awaiting patients and the equally perplexed looking nurse or two.
It certainly doesn't seem to be normal for these equines to see a lonely colt entering a hospital all willingly without any parental guidance or grownups accompanying them. But then again, the same can be said about my world as well.
Anyway, the mare in front of the counter gave me a raised eyebrow the moment I stood in front of her. Having to crane up my head so many times for almost everything is certainly a drag. But after all these months, I pretty much got used to it.
For the most part.
I was about to engage talk with the mare, when a certain other mare didn't just appear out of thin air to my left. The side where the illusive stairs are.
"Alex, Alex is that you?" Camellia asked as she stood on top of them. Her shock and surprise quite noticeable.
She wasted no time in cantering her ass down to embracing me. Much to my silent protest of personal space, and child abuse.
"Alex, I am so sorry for having left you behind at the park. I was just so frantic about Octavia's well being that I..." She cried out into my ears, before I shoved a hoof into her mouth.
"My lungs, Camellia, my precious little foal lungs." I muttered with puffed cheeks and a lot of strain on my part.
Thankfully she quickly understood the dilemma she putting me through and immediately released me from her death hug. I gasp a couple of times before composing myself, getting up on all fours before glaring up at the mare in front of me.
I had the tendency to ask her "what the fuck" but swiftly strained myself from doing so. I already had enough distraction for now, and really, I just wanted to go and see how gray face was doing. I may still stand to my believes that she shouldn't get too attached to me for many obvious reason. But then again, I can't really fault her for doing so.
"Well, how is Octy? Is she fine? Have you two already been visited by the doctor while I was busy asking around the city to find this place?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Wait, you actually went all this way completely by yourself without any..." She tried to say before my glare quickly stopped her.
She swiftly composed herself and sighted. "Well, sorry. Also, no we...we haven't been visited by the doctors yet. But the local nurses say that she will be fine...but...I obviously still want to hear from the doctor himself though." She answered with her ears hanging limply against her skull.
I can move my ears too, but most of the time I just forget that I even can, which in turn, causes them to stay stiff for most of the time. Which some did pointed out strangely enough.
First my ass, now my ears. See, this is the problem I have with a naked society and hippies, no sense of bodily privacy at all.
But I am just losing track again, not very good, especially now when she ushered me to follow her. I did of course, and ascended with her up the stairs and onto the second floor where things looked alot more hospital-ish than before.
Long corridors on each side, with many, many doors on each end of the wall, most likely leading to seperate hospital rooms for the sick to slouch around in.
Or to die, if they are one of those unlucky once. Dark, but such is life.
Anyway, both me and flower girl over here promptly stopped in front of one of said doors before swiftly opening them with her horn. Inside the room was just as generically white looking as the rest of the building is, with two single beds occupying most of its space. With one obviously being occupied with the filly in question.
She does look well thankfully, having long cried herself out of her situation and just lazily sitting there with a sad frown on her muzzle. Facing away from us and out the window to her right. Though, her gaze was swiftly switched to us the moment we entered the room. The bandages on her head very much obvious now.
She smiled a bit, after spotting us.
"Well how are you doing sweetie? Has any of the nurses or even the doctor come by while I was gone? Despite in how short it was." Camellia asked, in which the filly shook her head.
"No mom, nopony came while you were gone. I was just sitting here for the most part, staring out the window." She answered.
Well, she does look and sound normal though. That is of course, good to see and hear.
Flower pot just nods, before quickly moving to a chair next to Octy's bed and plumping herself down on it. I tried to do the same, though with a bit more difficulty, as to be expected.
Being so small also has its downfalls.
Octy eventually looked at me once I was perfectly sitting on my stool.
"Hey, you know...you really didn't have to go out of your way and throw rocks at those larger foals as well. They could have easily hurt you as well if they wanted to." She commented, which Camellia obviously picked up when she turn her gaze towards me as well.
I just scoffed. "Uh...whatever. I at least, had the 'weapons advantage' while also sporting a very mean glare that froze them almost instantly. You won't believe how scary and creepy little kids can be when they get really, REALLY mad." I responded while waving my hoof dismissively.
It is true though. Kids, especially the little ones, can turn themselves into tiny little devils if they want to. Screeching higher than a nail on a chalkboard and going into a mild rampage that even rambo can't mimic. And of course, that glare. A glare that perfectly mimics the children from the village of the damned movie.
Though, with a lot less paranormality.
Either way, Camellia raised an eyebrow while I was thinking all of that. "You know, she is kinda right. I personally don't approve to you throwing rocks at kids. Even though if they..." Camellia tried to chide me when the doors to the room suddenly opened.
Every eye, including mine, were naturally aimed at the door. Only to reveal and white coated stallion and a nurse mare behind him.
By the way, I was referring to his doctor's coat and not the fur he wore underneath. That patch of hair was actually in a light blue color incase someone might be wondering.
Camellia immediately got off of her 'hocker' to swiftly greet this high ranking member of modern society.
You won't believe how much a good doctor, especially where I am from, can earn each month. They sometimes spend more time sitting in a plane then actually sitting in their offices or operation tables.
But that is of course, a rant for another day.
"Well, greetings there doctor...uh..." Camellia began.
"Doctor Stitch, Fine Stitch in full." He responded, smiling towards the mare.
Camellia nods. "Well yes, sir...uh I mean Doctor Stitch. It's nice to meet you." She greeted.
"Well yes, the pleasure is all mine...Miss Camellia Harmonics, yes?" He questioned while looking at a clipboard that the nurse gave him.
Again, Camellia nods. "Well then, about your little daughter." He began which immediately got flower pot's attention.
"Yes doctor, is she...is she going to be fine? Are there no long lasting or permanent damage on her head?" She worriedly question, getting straight to the point.
Which is good, because I was somewhat impatient as well.
The doctor didn't answer, but instead moved himself up towards Octy's bed with the nurse following her. He closely examined Octavia's head. Humming to himself loudly while occasionally looking at the board of his.
I tried to steal a look at it too. Only to find indecipherable shit, and all kinds and medical gibberish that no mere mortal could understand.
Unless you went to medical school.
"Well..." The doc finally began after a long awkward and tense silence. "There should be nothing to worry about. Reading from these notes..."He presented the clipboard towards Camellia. "the only thing that the rock managed to damage was a bloodvein running across the side of her skull. Which is why she was bleeding so much previously in the first place. It is kind of luck that your daughter here is an earthpony and none of the other two races. Earthponies have generally a much denser bone structure compared to unicorns and pegasi. If she were any of the previous two, they might have actually been a high possibility for her skull to be fractured, which in turn could cause all kinds of precautions, especially for someone still as young as her. Again, really lucky that she is an earthpony and not of the other two." The doctor explained which immediately got a sigh of relief from Camellia.
"Oh thank Celestia." She sighted, which in turn caused me to arch an eyebrow.
"Celestia, celestia, celestia. The only name I always hear in both vain in thanks is bloody Celestia. Who is she? The rip off version of christ or something? Now we are treading on no, no zones here." I wondered to myself.
Did I ever mention that one half of my family were christians? Yeah, I actually know a good deal about religion and stuff...even though I might seem like the very last guy to be asked about religion.
Wonder what kind of religion these horses have to bend over for. Hope it's none of this Latin American ones like the Mayans or Aztecs. Now that would makes think...surprisingly a lot more intriguing in a twisted way.
Colorful, naked, cartoon ponies sacrifices virgins and cuts out hearts for their dark gods. It couldn't get any more metal than that.
Either way, the stallion just nods and smiled when Camellia looked over Octy with a relieved smile.
Though the doc continued. "Anyway, thanks to this she will only need to keep her head out of trouble from now on while occasionally changing the bandages a view more times. After that, everything should be well with little to no complication. In other words, you and your daughter and are free to do..." He then suddenly looked at me. "...oh and your son too. Must have been quite scary to see your sister like this wasn't it?" He asked while looking at me with a bit of concern.
I tapped chin and hummed. "Well it was concerning. But I am afraid that you keeping things mixed up here. I am, in fact, just adopted." I told him.
He looked surprised at first before softing his gaze. "Oh well, sorry then. Didn't realize that." He responded, looking over at Camellia for confirmation.
She nods. "Well yes, as a bit sad as that might sound, but he is still just as much part of the family as our daughter is. No matter what his origins are." She stated, giving me a smile.
I would like to say that her comment was hitting me 'right here'. But that would be a bit to cliche and somewhat out of my usual shenanigans. So I will say that I feel...appreciated, and just smiled back.
"Anyway, I guess it's time to go then. It is getting late, and I bet that Brass is already wondering where we are." Camellia suddenly announced.
"Well then in that case, let me no longer hold you back. Again, stay safe and remember to change that bandage again before ushering her to bed." The doc responded, which again got a nod from the mare.
"Sure, and thank you so much doctor." She offered.
"No need to thank. It is my job after all." He responded before taking his leave, with the nurse following him.
"Well, do you feel well enough to walk on your own honey? Or do you want to hitch a ride?" Camellia asked.
Octy shook her head. "No thanks...I think I can walk just fine on my own. Plus..." She looked over at me with a smile. "...I have my brother to help me out in case I get wobbly." She announced.
Well shit, it guess it really IS happening isn't it? To divert her now, would most likely just hurt her. Shit...me and my sense of morality.
And with that, we were off with me carrying a new burden on my shoulders. The burden of being Octavia's brotherly figure. |
A Canterlot for a Unicorn | Chapter 12: A Lessons about butt marks…how lewd | Chapter 12: A Lessons about butt marks...how lewd.
Proofread by: Mindful_Dreamscape
"Alex, Alex, breakfast is already done. You are the only one who hasn't come out of bed yet. Everybody is waiting for you as we speak." I heard someone shout from the other side of the locked door, more or less disturbing the once peaceful sleep I once had.
I grumbled, rolling myself to the right and lazily gazing up at the clock next to me hanging on the right-side wall.
My frown only deepened when I saw what the asinine clock was telling me.
"Blood, eight AM in the fucking morning. Rousing someone so early should be a national crime. Either being forced to pay a hefty fee, or even worse, jail time without a bed." I mumbled, silently cursing as the knocking persisted. A little drawback in having your door locked I guess.
The potential to create even more of a ruckus with that is very obvious.
"Alex, Alex, get up, and please, for the love of Celestia, return the room keys to me. I need them more than you. I work here and need to have access at all the different side rooms and storage rooms. Especially for the attic." Olivia continued to shout, while still abusing the poor woodwork as if it was her bitch.
I mean it could be, if her job really is to clean all of the messes that I leave behind on an almost daily basis.
Like yesterday, when I tried to use some very fancy looking Jam to fix the squeaking hinges of my just mentioned door. An attempt that Olivia disapproved of heartily, especially when it was "imported" Jam from Germane.
I always knew that the very recognizable language on the front sticker was very...recognizable.
Either way, I already knew that little old Olivia here wasn't going to live it up and leave me in peace. Something which I have quickly learned over my stay here, that despite her natural naivete, she can be as hard headed as a hard head on a male's penis when it comes to waiting it out.
Basically, being a dick, while not having a dick at all.
A futa basically, a reality check that this world I'm in still has to prove to me for simple science and comedic reasons. But, it shall only be a matter of time. One day, I will be old enough to look into these elusive-sounding playcolt magazines that some of the random grownups like to talk about in the open streets.
I shall one day track them down and know all of their secrets. But before that, I still have an Olivia to flip the middle finger to...if I had any fingers to flip with.
Damn you, hooves, and your lack of digits.
With that out of the way, I grumbled once more before finally pushing myself upwards into a sitting position and starting to rub the crust from my eyes.
I eventually switched my glare over at the door after my eyes had been de-crusted. I would have loved to just ignore her mindless bleating and simply gone back to sleep, but then I would risk the risk of her getting either Brass or Camellia at the door for help. A move I want to avoid, especially knowing that both of them have their own spare keys which can open up pretty much everything within this mansion.
Even Camellia's bedside drawers, which I accidentally uncovered when I was testing my stolen goods.
Seems like that big old Brass over here isn't really giving his mate the love that she craves. But then again, if he did, then I would have a lot more siblings to worry about than just Octy. Which is also why I started to lock my doors in the first place.
My bed is not a trampoline.
With that said, or rather thought, I groggily rolled myself off the edge of my bed and created myself a very audible thud for nobody to hear. Once back on all fours, I smacked my lips out of habit before casually wobbling my way over to the door and climbing up onto the chair which I had placed there yesterday to reach the lock with the keys in the first place.
Once up there and with the key finally turned, I pulled on the door handle with a hoof before jumping down from my throne and watching it as it opened under its own momentum.
I immediately glared up at the offending mare once I had the clear view to do so.
She, of course, was unimpressed, as she just frowned at me. "Alex, where are the keys?" She promptly questioned.
"In my ass, for causing such a ruckus and robbing me of my well-deserved sleep. It is obviously some kind of national holiday, which also means that toddler school is out, WHICH ALSO MEANS that I can finally sleep in until noon, like how I always wanted. I never ever get the chance to do so." I complained, causing little old Olivia here to raise a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yes, you do, you always try and sleep until noon whenever you get the chance. Like, pretty much every morning on every weekend." She responded before going back to her frown.
"'Anyways, the keys if you will. I need to clean up the attic today, which pretty much means that I will be busy for the majority of the day." She added, looking and sounding not particularly impressed with the notion of cleaning the attic.
I, of course, took heed of this as I raised my own eyebrows. Making use of this topic might give me the chance to divert the original one.
I need those keys too, because this stupid door doesn't have one of those one-sided locks that you can either switch or press to keep the door closed.
That's another innovation I need to place on my bucket list of things to introduce to these ponies. First inventing the suspension, and then the one-sided lock for doors.
I bet a lot of single mares and stallions are going to thank me for this very important invention. Birth rates will plummet or increase, depending on the situation.
"You sound as if you like cleaning up the attic at all? Why would that be?" I innocently asked.
She sighed. "Well, it's big, for starters. You won't believe the amount of dust that can collect itself up there in a very short amount of time. Hector, in fact, has to always help me out up there whenever it's cleaning season." She answered.
I gave her an encouraging smile while patting her on the chin. "Well don't worry. I am sure you will do an amazing job as always. I mean, there has to be a reason as to why Sire Brass has hired you to be this home's caretaker and not some other mare with vastly more ethical fashion tastes." I replied, before casually strolling past her.
"Hey, my fashion tastes are none of your business little one. At LEAST I wear something." She called after me, sounding not very amused with my little harmless jab.
I just smirk while keeping my gaze forward. "Yeah, but its still doing a pretty bad job in hiding what actually needs some hiding. Maybe allow that tail of yours to grow, then we can talk once more." I called back, before casually rounding the corner.
There was no quick response as I continued my way to the dining room. I have a feeling that she is going to eventually respond, or rather, remember the main reason why she came knocking on my door in the first place.
"Three, two, one..."
"Hey, you still haven't returned my keys yet!" She finally exclaimed,making me grin as I finally reached the door towards my destination.
If only she knew that the keys are literally right in front of her. Well, more like behind the door, but still close enough for my alliteration to work.
I of course didn't bother pulling them out of the keyhole. Why should I if it is needed in locking the door in the first place?
"Ah Alex, there you are. We were specifically waiting for you to finally start breakfast." I heard a British-sounding Brass say as I entered the dining room as casual as ever.
Because making a continuous scene whenever I enter a large room or place within this building is already old, boring and gray. Especially when I've so frequently done it before on many random locations and times. You can only reinvent the wheel so many times before you eventually end up with a jet engine instead of a wheel, and a jet engine isn't of course as versatile as a wheel.
Which would just make things a heck of a lot more complicated for someone of my crafts.
But either way, besides just spouting nonsense like how I usually do, I eventually looked up at Brass after I seated myself opposite from Octy's chair, where, by the way she still had her head covered with a bandage thanks to yesterday's smashing event.
Yeah, I know terrible joke and completely out of context right about now. Oh and, time to ask questions.
"What, though, exactly prevents you from starting breakfast without me all of a sudden? You have all consistently done so in the past before. So, what makes this breakfast so special?" I seriously questioned.
This time it was Camellia who answered that question as she smiled at me. "Well, very simple of course, we managed to get something very special just for you to commemorate the occasion that you finally managed to find your cutie mark. Even more impressive is how early you managed to do it. Such an event is quite rare among foals your age. Usually most foals only ever get their cutie marks once they hit elementary or even high school." Camellia answered.
This made me think. "Ah yes, those elusive butt marks that everyone keeps spouting about. Completely forgot that I even had one of those rear-brands to begin with." I mentally mumbled, remembering that had I somehow managed to get into their little cult without even trying to do so.
It's silly really, having a never-removable picture tacked onto the most private region of your body. Imagine if I were still wearing pants, then this whole sitting muscle mark concept would be just as pointless as telling your friends that you have corns on your feet. Nobody is going to see it if you are keen on wearing shoes all day. Even indoors, which is ridiculous.
But either way, I was more interested now in finding out what this mare meant when she mentioned that she had something very "Special" for me to celebrate this very mysterious, yet important, achievement.
I looked over at the chick and gave her an expecting look. "Oh, and what might that be?" I simply asked, much to Camellia's satisfaction.
"Well, we obviously know how much you love cheese and all, so we went out of our way in getting you something special. Or rather, importing, for simplifications." She announced before clapping her hooves. "Hector, dear, you can bring in the food now. We are all present and ready to begin." She called out into the room, specifically towards the door behind her, which led directly into the kitchen, if my memory serves me well.
It did, as a very finely-dressed Hector quickly emerged from the double door...doors, with a rather hefty-looking cart pushing along in front of him.
My nose immediately started to tingle. A smell I haven't smelled for a really long time. Something that I even managed to forget existed, as shameful as that sounds for a dedicated cheese lover.
"No...it can't be..."
"Ready to serve, madam. As requested." Hector oh-so-professionally added, before revealing a very large pot from under the cart, and magic-ing its steaming content directly onto the table in front of me. Followed by all kinds of breads and other wheat-based products around it.
The scent was almost intoxicating.
"We managed to import a large quantity of Fondue from Germane right here into Equestria. It might have been really expensive to do, but considering that you love cheese so much, in the end it really wasn't that much of a problem. Nothing is too expensive for our little foals after all. Even more so for somepony who managed to find his special talent so much earlier in his life that most ponies could ever brag about. Bon appetit." She announced, before lifting the lid with her magic and fulfilling all of my theories and dreams.
My eyes and ears immediately went wide. Granted, it is technically Swiss in origin. But since a ponified version of Switzerland doesn't exist in this world then Germane would be the next best thing in terms of geography and cheese products.
My mouth was watering at this point.
"CHEESE!!!" I loudly exclaimed, causing everyone to flinch around me.
"Uhm, yes...cheese, we know how much you love it. Go ahead, eat as much as you can, Alex, we certainly have a lot more of this if you ever feel the need to have more in the future. And again, congratulations on getting your cutie mark, Alex." Brass added.
This caused me to momentarily stop as a very annoying thought suddenly entered my mind. Annoying because it is preventing me from getting myself some overpriced bread and dipping it into this large pot of melted cheese.
A question, a question which I should ask before I forget again.
I looked over at Brass mid-reach and gave him a curious look.
"Wait a minute, why are we "Celebrating" my ascension to some special social status right now? I've had this butt mark for at least a couple of days? Couldn't we have had this celebration a lot earlier than now? What was the hold-up?" I casually asked as my arms and legs were slowly getting tired of keeping this "half-reaching-out" position.
But I kept strong...just because.
Again, Camellia was the one who provided the answer as she smiled somewhat awkwardly at me. "Well, it's mostly because we somehow managed to completely forget about it. Especially after Octavia's accident here." Camellia answered, looking over at her daughter with a worried motherly look.
A sad look which Octy mimicked at the mention of that memory. I mean, how can it be a memory when it literally just happened yesterday? But, then again, I can be full of shit myself, so let's not focus on that.
Let's focus more on the fact that my step-parents somehow managed to forget one of the most important things that apparently makes up a good chunk of their race's ethics and requirements for society.
I was feeling a bit hurt, not much, but just a little. Enough for me to notice it and for me to give both Camy and Brassy a very disapproving glare.
I shook my head slowly at them and frowned. "For shame, to forget your adopted sons tattoo mark..."
"Uhm, Cutie Mark, dear."
"...YES cooties mark...uhm wait, what was I going to say?" I suddenly trailed off.
"Uhm...you were about to be the first to dig into this fundo...fondou...funue..."
"Fondue, dear." Camellia corrected her, which in turn got her a little thankful smile in return.
"Yes, you were about to be the first to have a taste of this...fondue thing. Which, by the way...looks kinda icky, if you ask me." She added.
Not minding the obvious insult just made to every cheese lover alive, this still caused me to immediately perk up, though understandably for completely different reasons.
Plus, my left foreleg was really starting to cramp up on me.
"Oh yeah..." I simply replied before looking back at the pot of liquid gold in front of me. The steaming nature and scent of melted cheese almost making me want to just jump in and most likely get myself scolded for doing so.
But, I am civil, if no less patient at time. So I quickly improvised by grabbing myself a fork and impaling a piece of bread with i....
"Where are the forks?" I automatically asked as I began to look around. Seeing everything from plates, to pot, to platters filled with bread and some glasses filled with water, milk, or juice. But obviously no forks.
No coffee also, which is fine, otherwise I might have caused a scene regardless.
My step-parents are learning very fast it seems.
Either way, Camellia, on her end, quickly noticed this little error as well before quickly addressing her British butler.
Guess even British peoples can make mistakes as well.
"Uhm, Hector, you seem to have forgotten to bring out the silverware as well, Hector, old dear. How are we supposed eat without them?" She announced, which in turn, caused Hector to perk up next.
"Oh dear, my most sincere apologies madam. I have no idea what has gotten into my mind for having forgotten about them." He apologized with a bow, though not without giving me a quick look before doing so.
Oh....ooooh I see what he did there. Sneaky little bugger. A beginner's move, but still a troll nonetheless on a capital level. I will get you for this Hector, if I can bother myself to do so, that is.
Certainly not today, because today it is my day off....from school I mean.
Anyway, I just grumbled to myself before finally sitting back down. Crossing my arms and puffing out my cheeks in an impatient, childish manner.
"Well then hurry up there,Hector. I am hungry, and time is money after all." I called after him.
He then stopped, before looking over his shoulder with a smirk. "Woah there, Alex, hold onto your horses. I only have four limbs to work with after all, and a horn, in case you want to be smart and point that out too." He replied before finally disappearing behind the double doors.
I just rolled my eyes before returning to my childlike demeanor.
Someone is learning especially fast, which is bad for business of course. Competition is exhausting after all.
"Why did he say horses?" Camellia curiously asked, after which Brass just shrugged.
I on the other hand was busy waiting my ass out. Which is somewhat hard to do, especially when there is melted cheese right in front of me that. I could again just jump in, or simply use my hooves or mouth to do the fork's work for me. But I obviously don't feel like getting scolded again, and potentially fall asleep in the middle of it as always.
Getting scolded is so...boring.
"In that case, I really need to start in getting my own voodoo hoodoo under control to prevent such issues from every happening again. Also, just imagine the amount of trolling I could do with such disembodied powers." I thought to myself as I mindlessly grabbed a piece of solidified wheat and began to chewing on that instead.
"Say Alex, you have yet to tell me what exactly your special talent stands for." Octy suddenly voiced, breaking the code of silence and honor.
A really bad timing which was made even worse when you consider that she has been asking this same question to death ever since I got home with it.
"Uhm...Alex?" Octy suddenly called out, which again, brought me back into the realms of boring reality.
I blinked before looking back at her, realizing that I must have spaced out again.
"At least it's good to know that I am still capable of distracting myself without causing too much of a scene."
"Yes, Octy?" I asked, just for the hell of it.
I obviously still knew what was on the little filly's mind. But again, I simply ask just for the hell of it, and because I have no other ideas at the moment to divert this question without having to cause another scene.
Plus, Camy and Brassy where here too.
"Well to be honest, I am somewhat interested myself now that Octavia brought it up. I certainly have never seen such an...interesting cutie mark before. The two comedy and drama masks are easy to guess. But what about that strange looking third in the middle that looks...rather angry." Brass added, looking down at my rear while rubbing his chin.
I just squinted my eyes at everyone. "For fuck's sake, what is it with everyone and looking straight onto my rump? Is everybody bisexual here or something?" I mentally complained.
Personally, I was starting to get really uncomfortable by this whole rear-peeking thing that is going on right now and to be constantly asked by everyone and everything as to what this rear tattoo really is. Maybe I should start asking Camellia for a pair of pants for my next birthday. Certainly, it would solve the butt tattoo problem in an instant if nobody can see it.
Either way, I just shrugged. "How should I know what it is? It's just a random mark on a rear. No biggy. Maybe it is showing that I am really good in trolling individuals. Would make sense." I casually responded.
Brass was, of course, not really convinced with my own theory as he continued to look at my butt.
"Or, it could mean that you are good in entertaining ponies? Could certainly be its meaning, especially in how good you are in keeping everyone's attention aimed at you if you really want to." Brass theorized, which doesn't sound too far off to be honest.
"But still..." Camy began. "Then what about the third expression in the middle. The one who shows a very angry looking frown." She added, tilting her head questioningly.
Which a lot of these equines like to do. Somehow.
I again just shrugged. "Ehh...could be but in the end I personally don't care what it means as I will still continue to do whatever it is I feel like doing. Not bound to some magic voodoo hoodoo or whatever." I stated confidently while crossing my hooves.
At that point the conversation was basically over as both Brass and Camy simply accepted my answer as it was without even bothering to probe it further. If someone doesn't want to play along then why continue?
Though Octavia didn't get the memo apparently.
"Or maybe his cutie mark could signify how crazy he is. Maybe similar to some mad god or spirit or whatever." Octy suddenly announced which caused me to raise an eyebrow.
"Oh sweetie, you and your silly fantasies. I doubt that a ponies Cutie mark can show how crazy somepony is, or anything else which is seen negatively. A cutie mark is supposed to show a ponies special talent, not a disability or a quirk." Camy commented, to which her husband Brass just nodded too.
Though I personally have to say, that little miss Octy here isn't exactly too far off with her assumption. Especially when she mentioned a certain god she shouldn't be aware of.
A certain prince of madness of a certain western RPG. One which I adore and kinda relate to. I guess that this could also be a meaning behind my voodoo mark as well, symbolizing the "unique" mindset I have.
Great, now I am the one getting invested with his whole Voodoo mark thing. I need to stop, otherwise I may start creating some pretty normal thoughts for myself, which is obviously something which nobody really wants.
Because the moment I start having normal thoughts for a change is the moment where everyone will get even more lost and confused then they normally will. You can't make a mad man have "normal thoughts" for a change, otherwise the universe might implode out of computation errors. And we don't want that now do we?
There, now I certainly feel better about myself for having thought that.
"Sorry for the long wait, Sir Brass and Lady Camellia. But apparently somepony has managed to make a complete mess with every cupboard or drawer we have in the kitchen. Misplacing everything and everywhere." Brass commented before his gaze was firmly fixed on me as he began handing out the necessary utensils to everyone.
I just shrugged. "Wasn't me." I lied, even though It kinda was me now that I think about it.
I was trying to look for some coffee last night to somehow scratch the itch I have at the back of my mind for not having any coffee for so fucking long since I got to this world. An itch which obviously still persisted, now that I reminded myself of it again.
My left arm was already getting jerky as it is, just by thinking about it. And no...get your minds out of the gutters, you perverts. I don't use my right hand for such acts...mostly because I have hooves now instead of hands which obviously complicates things. But alas, who cares, especially now that I have some melted cheese to devour in front of everyone.
And devour I shall. Showing these equines just how much a widdy little child like me can swallow down when it comes to his most favorite food in the world.
A little magic trick of mine. Maybe THIS is my aforementioned special talent? Eating cheese like there is no tomorrow. Well there seriously might not be too many tomorrows for me to wake up on. Giving the fact that I have to go back to school again. A day I obviously don't look forwards too.
The school system SUUUUCKS, no matter what world or universe you are in.
......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
"Ahh...that was great." I commented to myself as I left the dining room and group of surprised grownup behind to return to my fortress of solitude. A.K.A my room and solitude. Which would be nice if that was true, but sadly it isn't, thanks to either Octy or Olivia constantly barging into my room.
"Hey Alex." A certain filly called out behind me which caused me to blow a tired sounding raspberry.
Speak of the devil.
I stopped, allowing the little girl to catch up with me. Which she did in not too long, as she wasn't as bloated as I was. Hmmmm...thinking about that breakfast again makes me hungry once more. I guess knowing my limits when it comes to either cheese or coffee is a foreign concept for me as I always get hungry when thinking about cheese. Even though I technically can't eat another bite to save my life right now. Or maybe I can, who knows, I have never been in a situation where my live really depends on how much I eat.
I shall await for this day with utmost gusto. It would certainly be interesting to find it.
"Yes, how may I help you?" I asked, sounding all businesslike, when she stopped in front of me.
She huffed for a couple of moments to catch her breath, before finally answering her piece to my question.
"Alex...you still haven't answered what your cutie mark is, besides guessing. I am still highly curious what it might be." The little gray filly asked in front of me with her usual smile and unhealthy curiosity.
My left eye began to twitch at this, especially when she stretched her head to the side to look at my rear region more properly.
"Oh for FUCK'S SAKE!" I complained loudly.
.................................................................................................................................................
"Ugh...these horses and their lust of ass-watching." I complaint with a grumble as I laid on my bed after a long and annoying day.
Why was it annoying? Well, apparently having your own adoptive family and household staff pestering you about that "rear tattoo" of yours is apparently not enough, and now a large portion of the town had to join in as well to expose their secret fetish of suggested pedophilia.
All eyes glued on my rear and asking all the same questions. All thanks to Camellia and her need to expose my "achievement" to every soul she met at the park. All I wanted to do is throw thick bread slices at those ducks in the park pond and watch them trying to murder one another to get those large slices for themselves. My idea of a Roman gladiator game. No blood or death, just bread and a squad of ducks pecking one another for the biggest bite of food in the pond.
Hey I never said that I was a good minded person myself, though in contrast I don't really start throwing solid stones at ducklings. That is a bit too much, even for my liking. But that was beside the point, because right now I was actually having a bit of trouble falling asleep this night, thanks both to my experience and to the large sum of coffee I had secretly managed to get a hold of in one of those cafes that we had visited today in order to eat some dinner.
The results of my caffeine addiction were as predicted. I got scolded by Camellia and pestered by Octy on what this adult drink even tastes like. Neither of which were nice, but it at least helped me in getting that subconscious itch away for a while, which is nice. Now I can finally focus more on the simple things of...well, things, and try to somehow get some shuteye.
I guess this body isn't exactly well equipped yet to handle my daily dose of caffeine. Which is just annoying.
I sighed, before looking over at night table clock next to me. "For fuck's sake, 1 am in the morning. Ugh, this is certainly going to be a wonderful morning when the damn alarm on this clock finally goes off at around 8 am or so. Especially when tomorrow is another day in the slammers. Kindergarten, not as bad as regular school, but still not as preferable as just...not going. I am far too antisocial and lazy for this shit." I openly complained.
I was about to close my eyes for the tenth time of this unfruitful night, when a silent knock to my door quickly prevented me from it. My eyes immediately tore themselves open at the unexpected visitor standing behind my door. The nerves of whoever knocks on my door at this hour must be immense, even though it doesn't exactly matter that much, as I am still up, but then I'm also not that much less cranky.
I grumbled. "Oh verdammt und zu zugeschissene sheisse. Was ist den jetzt schon wieder?" I complained in my native tongue as I pushed myself out of my blankets and casually made my way to the door in order to give this person a piece of my mind.
My caffeine-minded mind, which is the actual main reason why I am still up and so damn cranky about it. I love sleep, and this is just a sin for all dedicated sleepers and lazy persons. Plus I also need the energy that sleep provides in order to flirt or pester my local kindergarten teachers again. The over-expressive faces of those ponies are just too good to pass up.
"YES, I AM COMING!" I shouted before finally reaching the door and almost ripping it off its hinges while opening it. The key word being almost, as my childlike body and arms are obviously far too weak to do any ripping of any sorts.
Besides maybe ripping paper, but I never bother to do so with the threat of getting a paper cut from the damn relics of the past. Using actual paper to write something. What stone-age period is this?
Either way, the person as to whom I eventually came face to face with was certainly someone I can't possibly all bitchy about for to long. It was none other then little Octy, with her hair all ruffled up and with a pillow in between those herbivore teeth of hers. Because mine still held the characteristics of that of an omnivore, thankfully. Though personally, I have no coherent clue as to how long this little piece of nirvana is going to last for my self-confidence, knowing that I technically still have baby teeth given my age.
But alas, it didn't matter as I still had an Octy to raise a curious eyebrow to. Which I did, quite quickly in fact, when I came to the conclusion that it really was her and not some coffee-induced hallucination like the one I had during my time at the local cafe this evening. Which is one of the reasons why I managed to cause such a scene in the first place.
"Uh..." Was all I managed to get out while looking at the little filly in front of me.
She, in turn, didn't say much, as her gaze continued to be fixated at the floor beneath her. An action I would have almost mimicked myself out of curiosity, if it wasn't for the fact that she then decided to speak.
"Sorry...sorry for waking you up...Alex, but...I..." She stuttered a bit before pausing. Making me even more curious on the fact that she looked and sounded a bit frightened. Did she maybe just wake up from a terrible nightmare or something? This would certainly be a funny reality when she actually had one and somehow decided to maybe...
"...I had a terrible nightmare...and...and I thought that...maybe I could come here, especially when mom and dad's room is so far away from ours...I...I didn't want to have to go through the dark and empty hallways all alone...it's just...is this maybe okay?" She then added, giving me a blank head slate as a result.
This was so fucking uncalled for that I almost laughed...almost. But knowing how terrible nightmares can be for little children of her age pretty much forced me to just mentally accept her request for late night company. Especially with that face of hers, my own personal fatigue, and a lack of coherent thought processes thanks to said fatigue.
I am probably going to regret this in the morning but fuck it. I just want to continue laying down on my bed and being cranky.
"Fine...I mean...this bed I have as a...well bed is certainly spacious enough to easily hold two, three, or even four full grown ponies with ease with some modest room to spare. So, personally, I have no issue in letting you bunker down to escape your night terror woes. It's all yours." I responded with a yawn.
Octavias mood immediately brightened at that as she gave me a joyful smile behind that feather filled pillow of hers.
"Thank you." She simply chimed before trotting past my slumped down form and hopping onto my oversized bed. I on the other hand just scratched my head before looking back at the dark hallway outside my doorway. I have to say that it does look a bit unsettling when all lights are off and no one is in there. But alas, this is probably just my child minded brain doing its talking and nothing else.
"Eh...whatever, another event and another one spend. Now I also have to act as her personal dream psychologist when her mind starts to fuck up again. Great..." I quietly commented to myself before finally closing the door and making my way to my bed also.
With a filly next to me no less.
No...go away, you perverts, go away. |
Dear Diary | pre | You know what, I think I'll bake a cake for Rainbow.
She'd love that. |
Dear Diary | Recipe | Songbird and Porcupine
INGREDIENTS:
Songbird
Porcupine
Directions:
Three times clockwise around the table.
Inscribe her name upon flesh.
The stars will return.
They will return for my baby.
And I will deliver.
Three times anticlockwise around the table.
Hold up high the glory of they who come behind.
Forever bound in body and spirit are their names.
Sever feather from wing.
Pull spines from back.
Slit the throat and let them drain.
Gather the milk.
Serve fresh.
Season to taste. |
Dear Diary | 17th of March, 1129, Sunday (cont.) | 17th of March, 1129, Sunday (cont.)
Pinkie once told me that
anything could be cured with cake.
Maybe that's true.
It was over a maple-glossberry cake that we talked about it.
Talked about everything.
About what happened, and where things went off.
It's comforting, a little, to know that they actually were mad for a while. That they were angry. At least now I know, and I don't have to guess.
I thought I would be a bit more sad to know that I did cause trouble.
But strangely
it feels like relief.
He's long gone though. He never forgave me. This
is something I can live with. I think.
It's not that we weren't in love. But after what I did, I guess
the only way to describe it is
that I'm happy that he's moved on.
Rainbow tells me that he's found someone new, only recently. But he's happy. He's happy. And that's good.
As for myself, dear Diary, we're happy too, aren't we?
But yes. It's a relief to know that even though everyone was mad, they too eventually understood. It's nice to be on the other end for once.
It's nice to know people do actually care.
It's nice to know that you're not a murderer, isn't it?
Do we need that weight on our hearts and souls?
But it was still my fault. And you can't avoid the truth. No. You can't avoid the truth.
Loveacres Reserve Tally
Ill/sick:
Cottontails - 18*
"Mister Fwiffles" - hairball stuck in throat (Not his own hair???)
*Cleary something else is causing this. I'll have to look into it. Maybe it's a symptom and not the disease. But what causes defluffed tails?
Duties:
Flooding out the latrines (Just do it, Fluttershy. It's part of it!)
POSSIBLE army ant territorial take-over. Need to check migratory patterns. |
Dear Diary | 18th of March, 1129, Monday | 18th of March, 1129, Monday
I woke up with a strange headache today. But I can't really describe it as a 'headache,' really. It's more like a head... feeling. Too much feelings in the head. It's a strange sensation.
I must have overdone the cake last night. I definitely had way more than I usually eat, and it's doing something to my poor insides. I hope Rainbow is alright!
She was gone again today. I guess she went to the library.
Ugh, okay I have to go.
The animals are really noisy today. I wonder what that's all about. |
Dear Diary | 19th of March, 1129, Tuesday (cont.) | 18th of March, 1129, Monday
19th of March, 1129, Tuesday (cont.)
It's
Tuesday.
And I don't remember writing the previous entry.
The animals told me I forgot to feed them yesterday and they were quite upset.
But I
definitely remember feeding them, at least that much!
And then we had cake, and then I went to sleep and woke up and that's it!
There's an entry on the same day, which is yesterday and not today and
I'm so confused
Okay. I've fed the animals and apologized to them all personally.
I'll wait for Rainbow to return. Maybe I need more sleep.
The last time I lost a day was just after
I left Cloudsdale.
It's just nerves.
Dear Diary, please, take these memories from my heart. I wish I could just move on. |
Dear Diary | 19th of March, 1129, Tuesday (cont. 2) | 19th of March, 1129, Tuesday (cont. 2)
I'm at the pond again, now.
There's a strange feeling at the back of my head, like something knocking on a door. Like how squirrels scratch at windows when they want to be let in.
Everything is bothering me. Not even the stars in the pond make anything feel better.
Maybe it's time.
My therapist told me once that I'd have to face it one day.
To be honest.
Do you remember, Diary, the first day I started you?
And why?
I needed a friend. Someone who wouldn't judge me. Someone who would just listen, and be able to remember every single thing I told it.
Someone who I would share with, daily, until the point I felt that it was time to share about the incident.
Recently, I've felt more and more that maybe it's now.
I'll see how I feel in a bit.
Right now I just want to watch the stars.
You'll give me that, won't you, Diary? Give me a bit of time? |
Dear Diary | FEELINGS | FEELINGS
Dear Diary,
If she had survived, we were going to call her Clear Skies.
It was a name we both agreed on together, to represent the days we left behind. Me especially. It was a promise that we would do what we could to make sure that we would be the best parents possible.
No more cowardice from me. No anger from him.
For all those months that I carried her, things were probably next to perfect.
And then, that day came.
It was two months before the
the day she was to arrive into this world
when the doctor said there was news.
Nothing to worry about, he said. It happened once in a wihle, but there was really no reason to be that concerned.
An irregular heartbeat could have been for any reason. Sometimes, it could even be due to equipment error.
And then a month passed, and news turned to bad news.
I was healthy, though. By all accounts. There was 'nothing wrong.'
We went by, believing those words that there was 'no reason to be that concerned.'
We trusted it, because the charts and numbers and proof showed us that there was a small, tiny, impossible percentage that something bad would actually happen.
And when the day came, I pushed and pushed, and there was no cry. There was no response.
I hate I hate I hate I hate I HATE I HATE I HATE I HATE
I went into a deep depression. As you know, I still find it hard to not blame myself.
I was healthy. There was a small chance.
But there were no more clear skies.
After a week had passed, I ran.
I didn't say goodbye. I couldn't live with what I had done to him, and what I had done to my child. How I let down my friends and family who supported me and cared and didn't know what to say.
It has haunted me, every day. When I close my eyes, I can still see her face, lying there in the nurse's hooves as they held me down and took the body away.
They did their tests and they tried their best.
But I killed her.
My broken, wretched body killed her.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
Sometimes things aren't my fault.
I didn't kill her, but the pain of it is like a knife stabbing into my chest over and over and over again.
I wish I could be a mother.
I wish I hadn't abandoned my husband.
I wish I hadn't abandoned my friends.
I'm sorry.
I wish I allowed them to help me.
I wish I could have known what life would have been if anything went differently.
And that is my story, dear Diary.
Will you ever forgive me? |
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Dear Diary | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday
Good morning, Diary!
It worked. It worked a treat.
I should have done it a long time ago. But writing it all down, and getting it all out, it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my wings. I might one day even be able to fly freely again!
Last night, after I closed your cover, I must have went home in a daze.
Rainbow is still out; I guess she left early this morning again. But she left the object on my bedroom table this time.
I guess she must have come in late last night, and had wanted me to take care of it. But I was out at the pond, as you know, and she probably left it on my nightstand.
I got a good look at it for the fir |
Dear Diary | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont.) | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont.)
Sorry about that, Diary, I must have wandered away. I found myself tending to the animals. I see that you've left me some advice again from last night that I must have missed.
'Forgiveness is sought.'
I meditated on those words today as I mucked out the animals.
I guess what it is, is that deep down I know that the only person who needs to forgive me is
well me!
How wise you are, Diary! Or is it me? Since I'm writing those words!
But it is definitely the truth! I have to forgive myself. Only I can do that, before I can finally move on.
Just because I lost before doesn't mean I can't gain back again.
this
thought
Has been lodged in my head all morning.
It gets stronger and stronger the more I think about it, and it buzzes in my mind like an insect.
Strangely, I find that my thoughts are clearest whenever I look upon the obj |
Dear Diary | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont. 2) | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont. 2)
I feel amazing.
I feel like a new pony. I can't believe that all it took was to write the truth and approach my true feelings.
Diary! You're amazing! Amazing!
Thank you so much for helping me get past this. There is a clarity in my thoughts now, almost as if Clear Skies is living once more!
To the future, we look, now.
In the end, the one thing I want is just waiting for me to reach out and nab it!
I just have to seek!
Even the animals say there's a new 'aura' about me. They haven't been clamouring around me for attention and food as much as yesterday. I think I've finally been able to attend to them with the due consideration that they deserve.
Loveacres Reserve Tally
Ill/sick:
Cottontails - 32*
*I will solve this tomorrow! By hook or by crook! Dear Diary, do you have any ideas?
Duties:
Fight the army ants. |
Dear Diary | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont. 3) | 20th of March, 1129, Wednesday (cont. 3)
Oh! Late entry!
Rainbow came back. Really late, but she flew in, face pale, sweat dripping off her hooves. I'd never seen her like this before!
She thrust an old, dusty book into my hooves, telling me with quaking voice to take it and burn it. She told me that she was going to take the object that she found and fly it to a volcano and drop it in.
That sounded so incredibly unlike her.
Of course, I stopped her, calmed her down with a bit of tea, and asked her what was going on.
She told me she had been in the library for a while now. Looking and searching and seeking. And finally she found a book that was covered in cobwebs and faded yellow, written entirely by hoof that had a very strange story inside.
The story was about a pony who once lived in town much like mine, a pony who wrote books. One day, she was visited by a friend who gave her a gift. The gift then whispered the world to her and she vanished into the sea.
And the scary thing, Rainbow told me, was that the story said that it would happen in 'ten days from now' and it ended with:
'You can not save them, Rainbow Dash.'
This, of course, made no sense to me. I was never a very brave pony who enjoyed scary stories, but this one seemed to be quite tame and quite lacking in detail.
But Rainbow assured me that somehow, she knew exactly what it meant. But she didn't know what it was about.
She said it was like 'seeing the edges of things' or something like that. At that point, Rainbow had descended once more into a frantic mess of nerves and shallow breathing.
I had to be sure, and so I asked Rainbow to show me the story in the pages. But try as she might, she couldn't find a single hint of the story.
All that was left in the book were strange scratchings in a language that was unknown to either of us, and maps and drawings of odd shapes that I can't quite identify but seem oddly familiar. They almost look like shadows of shapes in the dark. Like cut-outs of reality that keep no edge and no form.
I told Rainbow that she was exhausted from three full days of busy searching. The silly girl didn't even realise it had been that long. The spookiness of the library must have gotten to her and conjured up strange stories and frightening glimmers.
She went to bed. I told her we'd sort this out in the morning. And we shall!
As for the book and her stuff, they're here with me now, next to me on my nightstand. I think she might be acting in haste, and until I find out what she's so frightened about, I don't think I should go around destroying whatever last clues we have
Okay
That's weird.
I've totally forgotten what Rainbow came here for.
I'm also very tired. I'll definitely ask her tomorrow.
Yes, let me get some sleep.
The way the moonlight bounces off the strange carved stone thing is honestly quite peculiarly beautiful. |
Dear Diary | 21st of March, 1129, Thursday | 21st of March, 1129, Thursday
Loveacres Reserve Tally
Ill/sick: -
Duties:
Prepare furnace |
Dear Diary | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday
There's something wrong with Rainbow.
Yesterday I found her.
She stood in the middle of
I can barely describe it, even after a day.
My hoof was shaking so much yesterday I could barely write.
I've locked her up in the guest room. She remains in a state. It's catatonia, I'm sure of it. I've seen animals go like that during tonic immobility or times of extreme stress, or when I need to control them. But I have no idea what could have possibly possessed her to do what she did.
I'm not sure how many were able to get away, but it was
so odd that she was able to
kill
so many
Almost as if they just stood there and let themselves be hurt.
I don't even know where to begin.
I don't know how to start describing this, but it was last evening, when I caught Rainbow after she awoke. She had gone through dozens of rabbits, one by one, snapping their necks so violently that the skin tore, causing excessive bleeding.
By the time I found her, there was nothing left.
The incident happened just behind the house, where the garden meets the Reserve.
There was blood all over her hooves and her face, and her eyes were reduced to pinpricks. She stood with her mouth open, in the middle of a ring of rabbit corpses that she had arranged in a circle. The grass almost looked painted. There was a part in the circle that had a small semi-oval line that cut through it, and at the top there was a very distinct triangular shape that intersected the circle of corpses.
From the colour of the blood, I could tell she had been standing there for at least half an hour before I found her. Maybe she only stepped there just then, but I've seen my fair share of blood and I know how it dries.
I don't know what caused Rainbow to snap like this, but it is not something I think I can overlook. I'll be sending a message to the castle in a bit. I hope they will send someone to help take Rainbow back.
For now, I'll have to go console the other animals, and lock up the book and object for safekeeping.
I am so shaken that I can barely remember anything else that happened these last two days. |
Dear Diary | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday (cont.) | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday (cont.)
I don't think I will send a message, after all!
As I was packing away her things, I decided to look into the book, and I think she's actually onto something!
The title of the book is faded, but it seems to read something like:
"A ______ on the _______ of Star-Watching"
Originally, I wondered what astrology (or perhaps astronomy in this case?) had to do with anything that was going on, but as I leafed through the pages more and more, it all became quite clear!
I think Rainbow had actually found it--a clue to realising what it is I have been seeking all this while! My mood is once again restored, Diary of mine, and yesterday's shock pales in comparison to this wonderful, wonderful revelation!
What I had always wanted was in front of me all along!
Right here!
But I shall have to cook something up for Rainbow to get her health back! It's no good to have her be undernourished. |
Dear Diary | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday (cont. 2) | 22nd of March, 1129, Friday (cont. 2)
Poor Rainbow is befuddled. I've seen it before in recovering animals. But I will be patient, for she is my friend and now a deeper part of me.
When she woke, she started ranting and raving like a madhound, asking me what I did to her yesterday and how I managed to do it.
She yelled and yelled, hurling accusations at me of how I forced her to watch and what was I doing with the bunnies how there's no way that I was 'myself.'
Oh, of course I'm not myself! I have felt more 'me' than I have ever before! I am double myself. Both in joy and contentment. But I don't see what any of that has got to do with the rest of her crazed gibblings. Poor girl. She needs a bit of rest.
As for how I removed her from the ritual circle to her bedroom, it was more than simple. I've always been particularly good at persuasion, after all! You know, when I put my mind to it!
I will consider her request to untie her, but considering how strong she is and how capable she is of violence, I decided not to at the time.
The silly dear told me she wasn't hungry when I brought her her stew, and refused to eat it! She kept yelling and yelling, asking me to let her go so that she could find help and find someone whose name escapes me at the moment.
She spilled a heaping spoonful of stew all over my precious quilted sheets when I fed her! Spat it right out!
I know she's sick. But for her own good, I told her sternly that she shall eat the stew, and after a while, she finally gave in and saw reason!
I'm so glad for her.
And you know what? After a while, she realised how delicious it was, too, for she finished the whole bowl!
Note:
I realise now that I had been using animals as a way to compensate for that which I longed for. But since I have it now, I no longer will be taking Tally. Henceforth, I will keep them all around for Rainbow's sake. |
Dear Diary | 23rd of March, 1129, Saturday | 23rd of March, 1129, Saturday
Mmm mmm.
Rainbow is getting better by the day.
Her skin is drying, and her eyes remain moist, the sign of a healthy mind and healthy heart.
She ate her breakfast with no complaints, and her chains are holding fast. After all, they were made for bulls!
The way she struggles is cute, but a few gentle lullabies and a gentle persuasion and she gets right back to normal.
Eventually, I won't have to use it on her anymore. She will be willing, and I will be able to release her.
I meditated once again by the obelisk.
Dear Diary, it is going well, is it not?
For lunch today, I researched the finest and most nutritional foods that I could possibly make. I want to make sure my darling grows up healthy, plump and happy.
I found inspiration in one of my cookbooks--Tribal Rites of the Wastelands--which recommends eating bear paw as a source of energy and great spiritual power.
It's horrible.
I have only one bear, so that means I have only four servings. I will be good for two meals, but tomorrow I will have to find something else. |
Dear Diary | 23rd of March, 1129, Saturday (cont.) | 23rd of March, 1129, Saturday (cont.)
I didn't think my cooking was that bad!
Rainbow ended up throwing up after lunch, and I'm not sure why. Everything was cooked to perfection, I'm sure, as I make sure my kitchen remains very clean.
But it's okay in the end, I made sure Rainbow got it all back down. It's good for her.
Although she wasn't able to move freely while I was suggesting her actions, the look on her face was one of understanding and gratitude.
I know she feels the love I have for her!
I, too, had some of the bear paw and it was delicious.
I don't know what to do with the rest of the bear, however. He's sulking in his cave now. I told the other animals to help feed it since we all have to do right by our neighbours, as polite neighbours do! I'm sure he'll cheer up eventually.
I feel that Rainbow might be falling ill. I'll have to monitor her closely, and make sure that if a bug is creeping up, I'll squash it.
As for the rest of the day, I will be returning to the pond. I need to start work on the nest. |
Dear Diary | 24th of March, 1129, Sunday | 24th of March, 1129, Sunday
Progress goes smoothly, Dear Diary.
The nest is built. A small cradle, out of bones. I had plenty lying around. It shall be for her. All for her. I shall move her there soon. Once she is ready. Once she submits willingly.
Today I ate the rest of the bear, and fed some to her.
I was ever so hungry.
So hungry.
I'm hungry.
Rainbow cried the whole day today.
They talked about this in the parenting books.
They will cry all day, sometimes, to get what they want.
It is the only way they have to communicate.
The trick is to find out what they want.
Tell me, Diary.
Help me. |
Dear Diary | 24 of March, 1129, Sunday (co.nt) | 24 of March, 1129, Sunday (co.nt)
Okay |
Dear Diary | 25 March Monday | 25 March Monday
Everything is pretty.
The obelisk is home, shining brightly with the stars.
My baby cries at night, singing with the nightbirds.
Her cot is ready.
It hangs from the branch of the willow tree that drapes the pond.
that watches the stars.
She is sick.
Her eyes draw tears of red.
Her breathing labours.
No living creature should bear the brunt of control for as long as she has.
For three full days.
For as the mind fights against restraint, its binds only dig deeper into the flesh.
And I must lock eyes once more.
And ask her nicely, won't she be quiet?
Ask her, please, behave.
And eat. Eat your food. It is good.
It is healthy.
She will need her strength, for her strength is all she has left.
Everything else belongs to Mn |
Dear Diary | Tuesday | Tuesday
She is ready.
Swollen with milk.
Full of flesh.
She is nourished as only a mother could provide to her child.
And now I must carry her to term.
And yet
she still yearns to be free.
She still wishes to fly away.
She wishes to break my heart.
Once more like those years ago. She
will not break my heart
Again.
My child.
My baby.
I love you.
There is no mother in the world who would let their child fly before they can walk.
She must not fly.
I will make sure you will crawl. |
Dear Diary | Unknown | It's
kicking |
Dear Diary | Date Unknown | Date Unknown
To anyone who may read this
Please. Please listen.
Do not look at the object in the storeroom.
Do not read the book on the shelf.
I beg of you. I am awake after days of being trapped in my own mind. Of being beaten down by forces beyond my command.
I do not know what came over me, nor even when it started, but the objects are cursed.
All my animals are dead. I don't know what happened to them but The Loveacres Reserve is now beyond redemption of soul and heart.
I have rend Rainb
My dear friend is dead. In a haze of mist and blood, I faintly remember what transpired. I struggle to have to describe it, but I must leave some form of proof--some form of account of what has happened here.
I believe that Rainbow Dash, proud warrior of Twilight Sparkle's guard and a good, good friend is
inside of me.
I do not know how she is in there, but it is a sight and a description that I do not want to write about in full. All I know is that somehow, she is
inside of me
In pieces. In bits.
No other reason would explain all the blood
and the axe
And the hair that clings to the walls
And my distended
I can hear her screaming inside my head
I can hear her heart beating counter to mine
She is inside me
I do not know how
And I feel now as I felt all those years before, with mere days left to go before something unthinkable crawls out of me.
To any who may read this, PLEASE.
Do not seek the items. Bury them.
I do not know why the obelisk has released its hold on me now for but a few brief hours. But I leave this journal here as warning, and as some kind of
I don't even know
what happened
But it seems I have been writing still, through my possession, due to what I can only dream of being the last remnants of my soul clinging on.
Please
Please
Please
Someone destroy it!
PLEASE!
I am leaving this book outside the storeroom door so that anyone who comes past, who ventures here for the smell and the sight and the noises and the unbearable lack of holiness, will see.
DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR!
BURN EVERYTHING!
I must go now. I will go to the pond, where I will end it.
I can not live.
Goodbye forever
I'm sorry
I'm so, so sorry |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | pre | Crash was running through a light corridor, his tongue hanging out and dripping sticky saliva down on the earth.
He was running, running for his life, running to safety.
He was almost to the door. He could use it to escape then. By the name of sapphires, he had to!
He was only a few yards away...now a few feet...almost there...
CRUNCH!
He felt his leg snag on something and Crash came tumbling down.
It was only then that he realized that his leg was being pulled into the shadow of the cave, where he looked into two green eyes that stared hungrily back at him.
"Somebody! Anybody! HELLLLLLPPPPP MMMMMEEEEEE!"
The morsel continued to fight him as he squeezed it with ease. Then the prey became still.
That's better.
Now that he was filled up, he could think clearly.
He wasn't stupid, though many would apparently be opposed to that.
Back at his home, he was the one who gave orders.
The one they feared.
The one they respected.
The one they served.
But not anymore...
The faint smell of sweet air made him stop in his tracks.
He wasn't built for the air of this world. He figured that out when he had awoken here. However, he was good at adapting, if only for a brief time.
He needed real air. Before it was too late...
Canterlot:
The Princess listened attentively to the grunt's report on who they were and what had happened to them.
Celestia never thought it was possible that a power that had the ability to turn a creature into something that resembled Discord, was also capable of deceiving so many into doing things much worse than chaos.
Yet this Covenant was just that. They believed in chaos. Frankly, they might as well be chaos as all they seemed to do was cause it.
The three Covenant soldiers who stood before her, however, didn't seem chaotic to her.
Under different circumstances, she would have sent them to the moon.
Yet, maybe...just maybe...her faithful pupil would be able to change them.
"Based on what you have told me, I should have sent you to the moon."
The mane 6 gasped in shock at the Princess's harsh words. Even Yapflip's eyes widened and his arms dropped down so that he was on all fours.
"However, I feel that as long as each of you decide to adhere with one of the ponies, then maybe you will learn to socialize and become a part of Equestrian society."
There was a sigh of relief. The Princess saw the daylight flood in. The sounds of chirping enticed her to go outside.
"Thank you so much Princess. You don't know how much it means to us as well as the aliens!"
"I know you will do a glorious job my star pupil. Now, I think I am going to go outside and get some fresh air..."
Just then, an alarm went off in Yapyap's head.
AIR!!
How could he have forgotten? They had been on this planet for at least two nights already! Sooner or later, their tanks would run out and then what would they do?
Yapyap was now hyperventilating and shaking like he was in a blizzard.
"What's wrong Yapyap?" Flipyap asked, "Aren't you happy that we get to stay here instead of the Moon?"
"AIR! Our tanks need air!"
And with that Flipyap found himself laughing. He was laughing then stopped as he fainted to the floor.
Oops... |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | Chapter 7: The More Problems You Solve...The More You Make | "What do you mean we don't have air!" Yapflip was saying as he and Yapyap followed the nurse ponies taking Flipyap to the hospital.
"What do you mean we don't have air?!" Yapflip exclaimed as he and Yapyap followed the nurse ponies taking Flipyap to the hospital.
"We have no gas! No gas means no breathing! No breathing means dying!" Yapflip was hysterical as they waited for their comrade in the waiting room. Several ponies were looking at the strange creatures as if they were some sort of rabid animals.
Yapyap couldn't blame them, though. He felt like a wounded dog surrounded by predators. Yapflip wasn't doing any better. The grunt was banging his arms against the wall and moaning to himself.
Twilight and the other ponies had followed the grunts to the hospital. They didn't know what they meant by gas, but it sounded serious.
Sitting in a chair, Yapflip's breaths turned ragged. He couldn't think straight. He felt as though the world was falling down around him.
The double doors flung open and Flipyap trotted out, his face weary. As he did so, Pinkie Pie locked the grunt in a bear hug that nearly squeezed his tank into a two-dimensional sheet of paper.
"Flipyap are you okay?" Yapflip needed to know.
His brother's eyes widened and he screamed at the top of his lungs. "We have no AIR!" Once again the grunts went into a series of spasm attacks, jumping up and down, and rolling on the floor, crying.
Diamond Dog Caves
The caves were quiet. On the ground, a few pickaxes were lying idly.
His breath came in rasps.
His body felt heavy
He didn't know how much he could take. He needed to get to the source soon.
His life depended on it.
----
Canterlot...later that day.
The dining hall of the Canterlot Castle was a magnificent room, with large stained-glass windows facing towards the setting sun. The ceiling was adorned with a large glass chandelier, and a beautiful mural, depicting the story of the princesses.
A long mahogany table was littered with decadent treats, though all were foreign to the Unggoy. They found it laborious, as they were forced to remove their masks periodically.
Princess Celestia sat at the head of the table, sipping at a floating cup of tea. Flanking her was Twilight and her friends.
"Why is it you cannot breathe our air?" She questioned the aliens at the other end of the table.
"This air is foul," Flipyap stated. "On our home world, the air is breathable to us. The tanks on our backs carry the air with us, but it's almost all gone."
Suddenly, Fluttershy spoke. "I think I understand."
The group's attention was aimed at the yellow pegasus. "How?" Twilight asked her.
"Well," she began, "it's kind of like how fish need water. The way fish work is different from ponies, and they can't breathe air."
"Are you calling us fish?" Yayap asked, slightly offended.
Yapflip spit the morsel he was eating on to the table.
"Oh, not at all," she reassured them. "I'm only saying that, maybe you work differently from ponies."
There was an eerie silence as the princess began to think about what to do next. "Would you mind if I had a sample of this 'gas?'"
"Not sure," Yapyap said cautiously. "There's not much left to give."
"I assure you that you will get it back, and if we're lucky, plenty more."
Before he could say anything, a valve along the side of his pack twisted violently, a loud hiss being the only assurance of a broken air seal. The valve quickly closed, and a small, almost miniscule pellet of opal began to materialize in front of the princess's face.
"This," she explained, "is the gas in a solid state." Then to the guard standing at the door, "Call BossomBerry and tell him that I request his assistance." The guard bowed and left the sight of the Princess. In a matter of minutes, a tan unicorn in a white coat stumbled out of the purple double doors of the dining hall.
"Your highness," he bowed.
"Good evening, Bossom. I'm sorry for rushing you in here, but I need an expert's opinion." An aura surrounded the pellet, and it was given to the unicorn, who picked it up with his blue aura.
He looked at the pellet, confused. "What exactly am I looking at?"
"A solidified gas of which, I am not familiar with."
He inspected the pellet, and looked back up at the congregation. "Though it is rather hard to read in this state, it's clearly recognizable as Methane, though an incredibly concentrated amount here. Though I suppose that's what happens when you solidify a gas. It must've taken hundreds of thousands of pounds of pressure to compress-"
"Do you know where we might find more?" Celestia interjected in the doctor's ramblings.
"Of course," he said, flustered. "It's nothing rare, I assure you. It is commonly found among the swamp regions of Equestria, and even more common in excrement."
"Excrement?" Pinkie Pie said. "What's that?" Twilight whispered something in her ear, and she went into an extreme laughing fit.
"What? What is it?" Rainbow Dash asked next. She then whispered the same definition to her, and she shot up twenty feet in the air. "Ewe, gross!"
Only then had the doctor noticed the bipedal creatures sitting amongst them. He quickly rushed to the side of the nearest, Yapflip, and gasped. "Egad! I've never seen a specimen quite like this before! Princess, have you adopted more pets? Normally I might disagree, but the abstract natural design of these creatures is so flabbergasting and foreign that it might even-"
"They are not my pets," Celestia interrupted the doctor once more. "They are our guests."
He backed away from Yapflip. "Oh, I'm incredibly sorry, sirs. I've just never seen creatures quite like yourselves. Do you hail from the land of the Zebras?"
"We are great space warriors!" Yapflip exclaimed, deciding to toy with the irritating unicorn. "We are here to collect all of your brains to use in our awesome machine!" He feigned a leap, and the doctor went scrambling towards the far wall, his heart racing at both its ability to speak, and the not-so-idle threats it delivered. Though he calmed at the sight of the group laughing, and saw that it was merely a joke.
"Why is it you needed the gas examined, Princess?"
"Our guests require it to breath. They aren't from Equestria."
His heart began to race again. They were from space after all. "I see," he stated, trying not to let the fear back into his voice. "Well, one could easily gather more at the Everfree Forest. Though it may need some refining."
"Then establish a team and retrieve more. I'm afraid our guests are running out of time."
"I see," he stared blankly at the wall for a moment. "Then I'll be off as soon as I can. You need not fret, princess." And with that, he raced out the double doors, which echoed throughout the dining hall with a loud clang.
Flipyap sighed as he sat back down in his chair, munching on an apple fritter. Princess Celestia had decided that until there was news of what could be done, the grunts would have to suffice on what they had. As they left Canterlot, the Princess did leave these last words.
"Remember, in order to stay here, each of you must stay with a different pony. I will leave the decision up to you."
As they walked down from the castle, it was decided that none of the grunts would stay with Fluttershy, as she had animals to take care of, or Applejack, who had enough on her plate already.
The grunts all agreed that if any grunt should stay with the white unicorn, it should be Yapflip. Yapflip was opposed to his idea however.
"She doesn't like us much," he had said.
That meant that the grunts had to stay with Twilight, Rainbow Dash, or Pinkie Pie.
"Are you sure you can handle one, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. "You are pretty busy with-"
"I can handle it Twilight," she interjected. "It will be like a super-uber-long slumber party! Besides, it's not like they're babies. At least, I don't think they're babies. And if they are, then they're really, really smart talking babies!"
"Well then...I guess it's up to them who wants to stay with who."
The grunts huddled and discussed how they were going to split up.
"I want to stay with Rainbow Dash," Yapflip said.
"Okay, um...I think I want to stay with the purple one. She seems less crazy than the others." Flipyap stated matter-of-factly.
"Then that leaves me with..." Yapyap contemplated the remaining options.Suddenly his eyes widened.
"Oh no, you're not putting me with-"
"Then it's settled!" The huddle was broken, and a reluctant Yapyap walked over to the energetic Pinkie Pie.
****
Cave System
He wasn't sure where he was anymore.
He needed sustenance.
He was going to die if he didn't get it.
He thought back to what had happened to his fellow kin when they had been in this situation.
Worse than corpses.
He needed to push on.
****
Ponyville
Yapflip followed the cyan pegasus as she floated above him, talking about all that they would do.
"Now you have to mind Tank, he's a tortoise. He's also my pet, not food. Got that?"
As she spoke, Yapflip saw the grand home the pegasus was boasting about. It was a white cloud, with a large tower erected among the center. Alongside it a rainbow waterfall. It seemed to defy everything he knew.
****
Spike didn't take kindly to his new guest. He laid in his basket, pretending to sleep as Twilight took the grunt through her vast collection of books.
First an owl, now an alien. Jeez Twilight, are you trying to make a pony zoo or something?
Flipyap was amazed at the vast array of knowledge being presented before him. He picked it up quite quickly, which surprised him, though it wasn't like he had ever had this chance before.
"So tell me more about the unicorns!" the grunt squealed like a little foal.
Twilight was delighted that her new guest was so interested in her books. Nopony had ever paid attention to it and the most guests she had ever had were the school fillies and colts who came to do a book report. Then there was the occasional unicorn who would come in, glance at the shelves upon shelves of books, and walk off.
****
Pinkie Pie was jumping up and down in glee. She was going to throw a party as soon as she could for the aliens on their arrival. However, she would be content with a new roommate. Just wait until he meets Gummy.
Yapyap was dragging his arms along the ground as he marched to the gingerbread house of Sugarcube Corner.
Yapflip, When I get my stinking hands on you, you're gonna pay. |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | Chapter 8: He believed He could Fly | Sugarcube Corner
Yapyap stood in awe at the gingerbread bakery of the pink pony. Inside, there was a variety of cakes, pies, and other confections.
A blue earth pony with a similar, but more subtle, mane to Pinkie gave a sweet smile at the prancing mare, but her eyes windend in confusion as to the companion she brought with her.
"Uhhhh Pinkie, who or what is that?"
Pinkie giggled and said cheerfully.
"This is an alien, Mrs. Cake, he's staying with me and Gummy if that's okay."
Mrs. Cake still didn't seem convinced, but she mustered up her reply.
"It's fine Pinkie, just keep the place neat and tidy okay?"
"Oki Doki Loki!"
As they went upstairs, his mind drifted back to the day of the crash. The Redemptive Penance was indeed an impressive vessel. It was part of the Divine Justice Fleet, a small group of assault cruisers who's sole purpose was to cut off outer rim shipping routes. Few grunts actually knew this information, but Yapyap wasn't an ordinary grunt to begin with.
His mind drifted off to home and he felt himself scowl.
I'm glad I never get to go back.
Back on Balaho, there laid a sea of memories that were to excruciating to re-live. He never told his comrades about this though for two reasons. The first being that most of them didn't get to live past 2 weeks. The second, was that all of them dreamed of home. To go back home was as heavenly a thought to the Unggoy as a promotion was to an elite. The difference however was that elites got to live that dream. Unggoy did not.
Pinkie's room was larger then his preconceptions had made him think. A bed big enough to support two brutes, if they could handle sleeping in pink sheets and blankets. Just then he felt a clamp on his stubby foot.
Turning around, he saw that a small green, scrub grub with legs and purple eyes, had just attempted to bite his leg. With a squeal, Yapyap jumped into the wall, bumping his head and trying to shake the green creature off him.
Pinkie, on the other hand, fell on the floor laughing.
"What's so funny?" Yapyap screeched at her.
"The reaction you gave to Gummy!" she giggled.
"You gave this thing name!"
"Yeah silly! He's my pet?"
"Your pet!" Yapyap said in disbelief. "That thing is big ugly pest!"
"No he's not!" and with that she gently tugged at the creature's tail.
The thing known as "Gummy" let go and Yapyap sighed in relief.
After putting the little green animal back to a bowl of food, she turned to Yapyap and pulled him up faster then he could count to 1.
"So what do you wanna do?"
"Uhhhh...rest?"
"But it's only 8:00! And tomorrow is a day off!"
"I feel tired."
Pinkie seemed to ponder on this for a while. Apparently,the idea of not doing something fun was as alien to her as the "dwarf" standing before her.
"I know just the thing!"
With that she dashed downstairs and came up with a cupcake in her hand. It was dark and covered in some sort of goo. All in all, it looked...disgusting.
"Try it," she chirped.
Yapyap stared dismissively at the unusual morsel being presented to him.
"Me no think that's good for grunt."
"You haven't even tried it." Pinkie Pie argued.
"It look weird."
"Well you can't judge something based on just looks," Pinkie explained, "you need to give them a chance and maybe that thing will show you more then you had ever thought was possible."
The words hit Yapyap like a sniper's bullet. He had never thought about getting to know any of his other comrades. Sure there were divisions in the ranks, but was it really because all those warriors did badly, or was it that they had just judged them on a race entirely. Each race was born into its duty. It was just rotten luck that grunts had to get the worst position.
"Okay," Yapyap muttered.
His hand tentatively reached out and snatched the snack. He slowly lifted his mask and took a nibble at the morsel. Suddenly, his insides seemed to burst in energy. His taste buds, that had been wore down for so long on Covenant food, seemed to leap in joy at the new and exotic flavor.
In seconds, Yapyap gobbled up the delectable cupcake.
"That was...AMAAAAZING!"
Pinkie snickered at Yapyap's reaction. "Are you ready to have the best-ultra-slumber party of the year?"
"YEEEAAAAAAAAAAA" Yapyap jumped up and down like a filly on Hearth's Warming Eve.
"Then let the party BEGIN!" and with that Pinkie produced what looked like a cannon. Suddenly confetti and balloons flew like projectiles over the room. The kaleidoscope of color made Yapyap's head ache with dizziness.
"I need more of those tasty food nipples...I mean...what do you call them again?"
"Cupcakes!"
"I needs them. NOW!"
Yapyap couldn't remember well what happened last night, except for the fact that he had scarfed down probably a whole baker's dozen of cupcakes in 30 seconds, had likely ran up the walls, tried to pin a tail on a cardboard pony, failed at it, and had more hyper reactions later on before he fell on the floor and began to snore.
The grunts was surprisingly light despite his tank.
Pinkie gently laid him on to her bed and cleaned up the confetti. She had never seen the quiet alien so happy before. In her eyes, he was just a young foal. Yet, he had the attitude of a guard. A guard who had experienced more in a few days then most ponies have to bear in a life time, if ever.
Few ponies ever met the real Pinkie. She never wanted to show it in fear of what it would make others think of her. But after seeing all that's happened, she felt like the world was crashing down. Her careful image could be shattered or she would have a nervous breakdown.
She needed to find a way to vent out this pressure.
Cave Entrance
He needed to find a way out of here.
As he dug dismissively with his tendrils, the ground began to break and light flashed down.
Ahhhhh...he thought contently.
Freedom at last
Twilight's Library
Flipyap woke up to find he had been sleeping over a dust tome on Unicorn magic.
"Uhhhh..." the grunt rubbed his head
After some amazing food nipples that the ponies called "toast" and "waffles with syrup" he decided to check up on his brother.
"Would you like me to teach you about the Zebra Revolution," Twilight called out to her new roommate.
In a perfect world, Flipyap would have said yes. However, his head was throbbing from the lack of sleep. On average, an adult grunt slept more then the younger ones. At least 10 hours, 7 at the very least.
"Not now Twilight," The grunt moaned, "I think I ought to visit Yapflip and see how he's doing,"
BOOM!
The force sent Yapflip holding on for dear life.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Rainbow Dash had just asked him if he would like to try sky sledding. Being the adventurer he was, The grunt said yes. Well...the result was anything but excitement.
"Your going to kill both of us!" the grunt pleaded after the pegasus.
"No I'm not" Rainbow spat back, the saliva disappearing in a blur.
The sled was actually a pillow tied to a harness. Yapflip was now digging his gray arms into it as if it was the lottery food nipple that the Covenant would host every now and then on the ship.
With another dash and the sound of a boom, the pegasus raced over a small hill and darted side-to-side by some of the apple trees. On the ground, Applejack and a tiny yellow filly were cheering.
Yapflip didn't care. For all intensive purposes he wanted to be on solid ground. Dear Truth and Mercy, put me on land
Soon, his wish was answered when the pegasus landed with a halt. The pillow, flew over the rainbow mane of the high-flying pony and crashed head-long into a tree.
Yapflip stumbled out, and landed face-first onto the rocky soil.
Their was a stifle of giggles that soon erupted into a wave of laughter.
Slowly getting up, the grunt stared the group of ponies and pointed a finger accusingly at Rainbow Dash.
"Never...ever...EVER...do that again."
And with that note, he sat down and rubbed his forehead.
"I have to say Rainbow" Applejack began, "that stunt sure was amazing, except for that part where Yapflip went high-flying into that tree there."
"Nopony can handle the velocity I put myself through," Rainbow Dash said with an air of pride in her voice.
"And it looks like aliens can't handle it either," the little filly squealed.
"Oh forgive me partner," Applejack motioned to the grunt, "Yapflip, I would like you to meet my sister Applebloom."
"Howdy there alien," Applebloom adressed the grunt warmly, "Applejack told me you were in this huge space thingy that crashed! It must have been scary! Wait until Big Macintosh and Granny Smith hear about this."
Yapflip only managed a chuckle before he looked onward to see his brother racing towards him.
"I was looking for you everywhere Flipyap."
The Unggoy came to a halt and saw the pillow embedded in the branches of the tree.
"Uhh...did I miss something?"
Everfree Forest
The feeling of fresh air feels like paradise after being in the caves for so long.
He was looking over a hill and at a pleasant-looking town below.
Soon...soon...
He was going to find his goal soon.
His mind drifted back to the past. It took him a while to remember.
The sound of a hum turn into a bang and his whole world tearing itself apart. And then he woke up in this forest, pieces of debris and his former masters scattered around him.
He remembered his past.
But the memory only brought pain to him.
The aroma of food filled his sense with delight and he silently followed the smell to a lovely-looking cottage.
There would be food somewhere here...he needed to find it.
So with his acute senses ready, he went up to the cottage.
And opened the door...
> Chapter 9: The Quest
The aroma of a thousand pleasant scents drew him closer. He felt...calm.
How long has it been since I felt calm? He thought.
True, he never was much of a warrior, but then again most warriors weren't good at what he did.
"Go there!"
"Do this!"
That was all they said. That wasn't at all what he needed.
His tendrils were now rubbing against the surface of the wall...the smoothness reminding him of a distant past so long ago that it was before time itself.
What was he doing?
He was doing what he had always done. Right?
What was his past?
Why was he forgetting it?
The sight of a yellow creature caught him off guard.
It was a pony by the looks and specs of it. It had a pink mane that flowed over her poppy yellow coat like a scenic waterfall.
Her teal-colored pupils gazed up at him.
"Why hello there, you look like you need a check-up...if you don't mind of course."
It would be easy to snatch this creature and bring it back to the caves. There he would have company and entertainment. He always wanted to dissect something.
Sugarcube Corner
In the warmth of the bakery, there was a mess of pots trays, and empty bags of flour as the pink pony hummed and stirred the bowl of cake mixture before putting it into the oven to be heated and eventually accompanied by a colorful assortment of sprinkles, sugar, and frosting.
However, she had an assistant to help her.
"Cooking is for girls!" Yapyap whined as the pink pony directed him to mix the flour with the water and butter.
"No it isn't silly," Pinkie laughed as she continued to stir her own pot, " Mr. Cake bakes all the time. There was this one time, where he baked this huge, ginormous cookie for his two itty bitty twins. But then I invited everypony to come and have a bite and boy did we party afterwards!"
All the grunt could do was heave a sigh and get back to mixing. After about another few minutes, the pink pony took both his and her pots and placed them into the oven.
"Now we have to wait before we add all the decorations. You know I always wanted Rairty to help me with that part of the process. But she always gets sooooooo dramatic about staining her mane and having bits of dough clinging her to her coat."
Pinkie Pie was an enigma to Yapyap. It wasn't just because she was extremely too happy and seemed to be on a hyper rush whenever she got up from bed. It was that she was just so pure and full of innocence as well as bliss. Back at home, he had only seen that kind of peace once. Then once again when he was drafted into the armada.
Both those times never lasted, could it mean the same fate for this wonderful creature before him?
Sweet Apple Acres
When Yapflip told the story of how he had taken Rainbow Dash on a bet about whether or not he could handle her speed, and how he ended up catapulted into a tree, Flipyap fell on the floor laughing as if he had overdosed on the methane gas.
"What's so funny?" Yapflip sneered at the grunt who was making dirt drawings with his body.
"Oh come on Yapflip," Flipyap managed to say without breaking down on the floor again, "you've got to admit that even you looked like big dummy for trying that."
"Oh and not like you would do it!" Yapflip spat back.
"What's going on here" Yapyap Jr. intervened along with Pinkie Pie in tow.
"Nothing Yapyap, just go back and..."
But Flipyap blurted out the entire story before Yapflip could finish. By the time his brother concluded the tail, Yapflip wanted to go into a tree and stay there for the rest of his life.
Yapyap on the other hand, found himself rolling in the dirt as he cackled madly over his fellow comrade's blunder. He was still cackling until his noggin received the sharp blast of Yapflip's palm. The other palm collided with Flipyap's head.
"How do you like that you laughing hooligans?" Yapflip 'snided'.
There was a chorus of giggles from the tiny little filly known as Applebloom, who was being joined by a bright orange pegasus and a creamy white unicorn. The three fillies shared in a warm embrace before introducing themselves.
"I'm Applebloom, and these are my Cutie Mark Crusader pals Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo."
The orange pegasus was eyeing the dwarf in front of her with an expression between disgusted and intrigued.
"Are you guys like..." she began, "...aliens?"
"Why yes little grunt," Yapflip began before he was pummeled by Yapyap Jr.
Rubbing his gray rock of a forehead, Yapflip stared down at his assailant.
"What was that for?" he chided.
"That isn't a grunt numbskull," Yapyap Jr. hissed, "she's a pony"
"Well excuuuuusseee me," Yapflip blurted out, clearly annoyed, " she look like she could make good grunt."
"Yeah," Flipyap added, "she could be good grunt who runs like coward right?"
There was another outburst of laughter as Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders joined in. Only, Scootaloo and Yapflip refused to join in. As the laughter continued, Yapflip was thinking back to the day before training. When he was little, and his older siblings told him stories next to a minuscule Flipyap about how there was once a time in the distant past where Unggoy could laugh freely and do as they pleased. Yapflip always held on to that idea when he was younger, but dropped the idea until the day he met the veterans at training.
Yapflip could only now grin at the congregation of interplanetary species before him. Was this not why he had rebelled so much? Just to see his comrades laugh once in a while? But they never did and he ended up watching the stars.
"Hey there," said Twilight as she, Spike, and Rarity traveled into view.
"Yapflip here thought he could fly higher then a goose in a strong wind." Applejack repeated the story and there were a few more laughs, until Yapflip ended up waving his arms into the air, demanding that they stop it already.
"Hey," Rainbow Dash looked around, "Has anyone seen Fluttershy?"
"I would think that she would still be at her cottage, tending to the animals you know," Twilight said.
"Well since we are all here," Pinkie Pie's sly look only made Yapyap's eyes widened in disbelief as she proclaimed the next words.
"LET'S ALL HAVE A PARTY!!"
"But we had one last night," Yapyap Jr. moaned.
"Oh don't be such a winy pony Yapyap," it was remarkable at how she had learned his name so quickly, "besides I want to throw something for the other aliens."
"Well then a party is in order," Rarity chirped, "let's all go and get Fluttershy."
The cottage looked forlorn in the sunlight that was dancing off the grass. An ominous silence griped the party of ponies and extraterrestrials as they began to march their way into the seemingly peaceful cottage.
"Fluttershy is never this quiet," Twilight murmured as the group proceeded forward.
"Darling, I feel that our dear Fluttershy is in need of some rest," Rarity said before she went on in a long lecture of how sleep made you more attractive. Most of the grunts droned her voice out, except for Flipyap, who seemed genuinely interested.
The bright, strawberry-red door stoof ajar, allowing a beam of light into the otherwise dark structure. The group stopped, and Yapflip sniffed the air for danger. Using a tactic they had seen several 'demons' do in the movies that were sold in the black market, they positioned themselves along the walls before Yapflip dived head-first, a large wooden stick griped firmly in his chubby palm.
"Show yourselves cowards!" Yapflip howled, the club spinning like a turbine.
After about a good minute of inspecting the scattered pots and pans as well as the overturned furniture, the grunts ruled the area as safe.
"Sweet Celestia!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed at the sight of the debris lying idly over the house.
"If I didn't know any better," Pinkie Pie pondered out loud as a mysterious, gray cap appeared over her head like some sort of demon helmet, "I'd say that our good-kind-never-hurt-anypony friend has been foal-napped!"
Yapyap Jr. could only stare at the pipe sticking out of her mouth, letting bubbles of gas into the air before disappearing in a pop.
"Celestia only knows where she is..." Twilight looked up at the sky, every muscle in her face contracting to hide the fear that was slowly taking hold of the entire group. They began to search the premises for any sign of their friend, but the search was fruitless, except for a pair of hoof-prints leading into the Everfree Forest.
"For all we know, Fluttershy is in there," Rainbow Dash stuck her cyan hoof towards the icky, sickening group of trees that signaled the border of that horrible...horrible woodland.
"We can't send anypony in there, maybe the police will help us," Twilight began.
"Sadly, I think it could take them days and who knows how far they would have gotten, those monsters." Rarity looked like she was ready to tear something apart.
"Well I guess then they are our only hope, cause who else is going to try and go..."
"I'll do it."
All eyes turned to face Flipyap, who looked suddenly like he was about to have a spasm.
"I said...I will go...I like that pony...we find her for you ponies."
"Really?" Applebloom suddenly shoved her way through the assembly to stare face to face with the insect-like alien dwarf. "You'll do that for good 'ol Fluttershy?"
"Yeah, we will," YapYap Jr. joined in, " and we will bring her back!"
Yapflip simply gaped wide-eye at his fellow soldiers. "Are you CRAZY! That forest is filled with bad stuff. BAD STUFF I TELL YOU! BAAADDD!"
Flipyap looked at his brother, and did something no one, grunt or pony, expected. He laid his arm over his shoulder.
"Brother, this pony saved us. We would be dead if not for she being nice pony. We need to do this. I no asking you to join."
Yapflip could have sworn that at that exact moment, his brother, looked exactly like him, when he had sacrificed his own safety to get his brother through that dastardly training course.
"I'm going." he whispered.
"And so am I," Rainbow Dash soared into view, "no one, pony or no pony, messes with the mane six and gets away with it."
"Wait!" Pinkie Pie shot her hoof up to stop the rescue party from proceeding forward onto their new quest. "I want to say a few words to Yapyap Jr."
Yapyap walked up to the mare who took him to the side.
"What do you need Pinkie?" Yapyap asked.
"Please be safe there, I know you said you were a fighter and all..."
"I said what?" the grunt inquired with a bewildered tone.
"At the party, you said you fought 'many demons and warriors on that great..."
But his palm muffled the next words before they could be uttered into the still air.
"No...I...don't want to talk about that."
"Oki doki loki then, but please," suddenly Pinkie's piercing blue eyes showed no hint of humor or laughter, "please do try not to end up...like that one alien back on the ship."
Yapyap knew she was referring to Twitchy. If only she knew though how special a grunt he was.
"I promise."
The snout suddenly transformed into an illuminating smile that made Yapyap Jr. feel something he had never felt in a long while. An emotion he was sure he had repressed.
After pulling out an impressive array of supplies for the mission, Pinkie gave Yapyap Jr. one more hug.
Twilight handed Flipyap a tiny, green notebook with a stylized flower embezzled on its cover. "Just so you know what is safe and what isn't"
Rarity gave them all a wave of her hooves, wishing them good luck and that the grunts were not as 'repulsive' as she thought they originally were.
"Don't worry," Rainbow Dash called back, "we'll come back with Fluttershy you'll see."
"In the meantime, we will get the police in case she is in Ponyville," Twilight shouted back, "We will send you a letter through Owloysius ok?"
"Who's that?" Flipyap blurted back.
But he had to turn and dash to catch up with the others.
The last thing he heard was a chorus of cheers as he, his fellow Unggoy, and the cyan pegasus dashed down into the dark, forbidding woods. |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | Chapter 10: Cliffhanger...or...what do you call those other things? | The moonlight shined through on a tranquil meadow, where a small creek was winding over a soft, carpet of wavy grass. The moon itself seemed to only enhance the image.
"This place looks niiiiicccceee," Flipyap seemed to gaze at the field, as if he could sleep on them. Yapflip was, however, busily looking over a squirrel that was just now examining an acorn it captured. It was decided that the grunts would get berries as Rainbow Dash would gather wood for a fire.
"Come check this out," Yapflip motioned for his brother to come by and observe what appeared to be several attractive blue flowers. Picking a tiny morsel of a berry, the grunt tentatively stuck it into his mouth.
"Why did you do that Yapflip!" his brother scolded, "You don't know if its poisonous."
But his brother just continued to stuff berries into his mouth until his eyes grew wide and his mouth contort.
"Brother," Flipyap looked puzzled, "What's wrong?"
At that moment Rainbow Dash did a fly by and in a pinned both grunts to a tree, her eyes wide with terror.
"That's Poison Joke, you have to stay away from that stuff," she said, her eyes wide like saucers. Apparently, at that moment, Yapflip's eyes widened and he attempted a scream, only to find that his tongue had swollen into a lumpy mass of blue polka dotted meat.
All Rainbow Dash could do was facehoof herself. for the rest of the night, Yapflip was silent, unable to speak. Yapyap had brought back some useful berries from a nearby creek, and they ate over the fire.
"Oh boy," Rainbow Dash said as she took a cloud and laid her cyan body against it, "I am poofed."
"You can say that again." Flipyap motioned.
Yapflip moved his lips as if to say he was also famished, but his vocal cords refused to make a whisper.
Yapyap had heard about the mishap with the berries and had decided that it suited him to have the most talkative grunt sitting out for a while. The moon painted platinum streams and silver slivers of grass. All in all, it had been a good day.
As the adventurers went to bed, the silhouette of a mare could be seen running through the trees until she reached a hill. From this vantage point, she could see the campfire twinkling like a lost firefly. A wide brimmed fedora hat occupied her top, as a violet and black jumpsuit covered her body. A mask with two clear, glass-like holed for the eyes seemed to be as emotionless as the surrounding shrubbery. Her source had been right. With a raise of her front hooves, she dashed off, the purple cape fluttering behind her.
****
Daylight came and the group hiked up a hill to reach what appeared to be an imposing cavern. Towering waterfalls emanated white wisps of steam as they poured into the ant-sized river below. The group hugged their bodies against the red sandstone as they inched across the turns and drops.
Rainbow Dash was about to make a turn when Yapyap pinned her to the wall.
"It's bad drop." he said, motioning to the wall ahead.
Sure enough, what had appeared to be solid rock was nothing more then a few twigs. The group gasped in surprise.
"I knew that drop was there," Rainbow floated up and flew over it, but after giving a glance back, seemed to lost the smug look on her face.
"Perhaps you should take the lead Yapyap," she said before she gave an awkward chuckle.
The group was now moving over a rock, pebbles falling into the abyss below. If it wasn't for Yapyap's surprising skill in finding the hidden traps, Flipyap was sure he and the whole group would be riding on Rainbow's back more times then they would like for comfort.
Rainbow Dash was doing well to fly beside the trio, aiding the lead grunt in discovering any drops, though she herself was surprised at how he could tell when a rock was going to fall a good whole minute before it did. They were now about to cross a bridge when she saw her.
A black figure among the sandstone. A wide-brim hat. Mare Do Well!
Normally, Rainbow Dash would be glad to accept a friend's help, but not like this. No...this was something else. This figure seemed too quiet. Too far away. Too...suspicious.
She slowly began her advanced, but before she was within a mile of her postion, the figure took off and vanished. Dashing straight towards the direction of the forest.
"Hey Dashie," Flipyap called out, "mind helping us out?"
With a sigh the pegasus returned back to observing the rocky path ahead, her mind still plagued by the thought of who that mysterious stranger was and how it had seemed so familiar. It wasn't like her to say that stuff like this happened often, but it was sure something that had triggered a memory she had never thought possible.
As she sighed, she continued to point out rocky crevices, allowing the grunts to carefully sneak by them. It was, in all respects, another job that she was willing to do. As she pointed her hoof towards another shear drop, the rumble of earth made her freeze. It continued to shake until for some reason, it abruptly stopped.
"Well whatever that was," Flipyap commented, "I'm sure glad it wasn't here."
As if answering to his cynical response, the rocky path ahead collapsed in a heap of dirt and debris. All around them, bridges of sandstone crumbled into the river below, making ant-sized splashes.
Rainbow instantly dived for the grunts, grabbing each one of them with her hooves as she dodged a bright boulder trajectory towards her hoof. She managed to grab a wide-eyed Yapflip and howling Flipyap. As she went to get Yapyap, who had instinctively clung to the wall, the surface the tiny grunt had managed to latch onto slid like melted butter. The grunt had only enough time to latch onto a stunted root that had been unearthed. His grey fist clung fiercely, but it would only be a matter of seconds before he lost his grip.
"Hold on," Rainbow Dash screamed as she tried to inch closer to the struggling alien. But alas, the whole cliff was raining down on them. If she tried again, all of them would plummet to their deaths. Yapyap seemed to stare at the pegausi for a while before sighing.
"Go on without me," he cried, "just get those two out of here, I'll be fine."
"No you won't!" Rainbow yelled back angrily. She was furious at how this grunt was willing to so foolishly give his life away.
But deep down, she knew exactly why. They would all die if she tried to rescue him. As she watched, the grunt tried to make a grin underneath his mask before his sweaty palm slipped off the splintered wood, his body tumbling towards certain doom.
All Rainbow could do was watch as time slowed itself to watch the grunt tumble down with the rocks.
Goodbye Yapyap she thought, her eyes beginning to swell with fresh tears.
...to be continued... |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | Chapter 11: YapYap's Last Hurrah | Falling.
Falling.
Maybe it wasn't really falling, just flying.
No. It was definitely falling.
Maybe falling with style?
If style involved certain death.
Yapyap Jr. was never one to fear death. He had seen it before, in many shapes and forms. He had seen friends, brothers, and comrades of all denominations fall prey to the great predator that was death. From the cold chill on his home planet that took the slightest soul, to the anti-tank round that reduced a battalion to cinders in ten seconds flat.
Death had always been with YapYap, and yet it never preyed upon him. Why it never did, was a question he asked himself several times. But alas, his answer always came up short. What was the Covenant if Death hadn't been a part of it? What was his life worth if out of an entire cruise...only him and two others survived. Why did Death always take someone, but never him?
Well, he supposed Death finally grew bored of his antics and allowed itself to finally indulge in his eminent demise. Closing his eyes, the cyan figure of Rainbow Dash growing ever smaller, he made a small prayer that the Deacon on the ship would sometimes say.
I may be optimistic. But that's okay.
Our race may be enslaved. But I am free.
And if death wishes my demise.
Then let it be.
For there is faith within me.
Yapyap could see the rocks below, closing his eyes to await the fate that would overtake him. Scenes of his life flashed before his eyes. He recalled the date of his birth, and then his induction to the military.
He had met a love that he would talk to across the fence of the training facility, but alas that too came to an end when the Blue Death took her from him.
As it turned out, his life was not filled with ups and downs, but only downs. He had survived total annihilation by the smallest of possibilities, a possibility he was sure was impossible.
"Well, I hate life, so gooooooodddd riiiiiddd--aaa...AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A purple blur suddenly whooshed past the grunt, and before Yapyap could object, it had tightened a grip onto his lower torso, heaving him upwards as the small rocks below grew smaller by the second.
The cloth-like feeling made the grunt squirm, but alas he was overpowered as the "thing" merely tightened its iron-like hold.
"Wha-what are you?"
Yapyap stopped to stare at the creature before him. It was equine in shape, with a purple piece of apparel he recognized as a hat, but the equine's face was covered by some piece of cloth with two blue goggle-like eye-holes to see through. YapYap could only gape blindly at the creature as he was lifted to the safety of the ledge.
Once they reached the top, however, the pony unceremoniously dropped YapYap onto the grass, causing the grunt to glare in the thing's general direction.
"YAPYAP!!"
Looking up, he spotted Yapflip and Flipyap dashing down the hill, arms spread in a wide "C" as to strangle the grunt in a bear hug. Well, at least Yapyap thought it was a bear hug until the two grunts nearly suffocated him with an iron press.
"I thought you were a goner," Flipyap sobbed, "don't ever do something like that to us again ok?"
Yapyap grinned at the two grunts, relieved to see they hadn't been injured. "You can count your scrub grubs I won't be doing a stunt like that again."
Rainbow Dash landed a few feet from the trio, eyes darted at the mysterious figure hovering over them. By this time, Yapyap had caught her stare and finally got a good look at his savior.
The equine had a mare's body, with a dark purple cape and wide-brimmed hat. Her face was covered by a dark blue cloth with two eye-holes to see out of. Connecting the cape to the leather jumpsuit was a large emblem with an "M" emblazoned with fierce pride.
"Mare-Do -Well?" Rainbow Dash murmured, "But...how...I thought you guys said you'd-"
But before anyone could do anything, the mare jumped over the grunts and into the woods, vanishing from sight within a few seconds.
Yapyap had time to only blink before Yapflip decided to ask the question that was on all three of their minds.
"And just who the hell was that?"
The cyan Pegasus grew red as her eyes thinned to slits, "That was Mare-Do-Well. She was the temporary hero of Ponyville till I discovered that it was just some of my friends pulling a prank. However, I was sure they had destroyed the suits. Nopony could have..."
"Perhaps it's not your friends," Flipyap suggested, eyes focused on the forest," perhaps she's someone new. Someone who's using it against you."
"And why would you suggest that?" Rainbow Dash hissed, "it's not like she's trying to make a comeback. Maybe Twilight or Pinkie thought I wasn't going to be enough for you guys and decided to hop in at the last minute to save the day."
"Well," Yapyap murmured, "she did save my skin."
Rainbow turned her gaze from the forest to the grunt, eyes red with malice, "And while I'm thankful to her for saving you, she could have done it without the disguise!"
"Maybe she's scared," reflected Yapflip, "sometimes grunts get scared, ponies get scared too?"
Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before answering, "I suppose you're right. Perhaps she didn't think she wanted me to brag about it to her, especially after what happened last time..."
"Well I don't know about you guys," Yapflip interrupted, "but we're kinda without a ravine to cross so that means the trail is gone! And I think now would be a good time to go-"
But the Pegasus held the grunt back, her magenta eyes locking with his. "Are you saying you're chicken Yapflip?"
"Chicken!?" Yapflip cried incredulously, "CHICKEN! I AM NO COWARD RAINBOW DASH!"
Then getting up, he turned to his fellow grunts, "Let's find Fluttershy and kick some booty!"
(Several hours later)
"I think my booty needs a rest..." Flipyap groaned.
The "way" around the ravine turned out to be through a cluster of hills, cliffs, and streams. The forest canopy was a labyrinth of vines, branches and leaves with no solution and no entrance. Soon, even the grand Pegasus Rainbow Dash had to reduced herself to walking among the trio of gray, sweating aliens.
They had finished plowing over the great plains and were now nearing the other side of the ravine, which was just after the cluster of small brown hills that formed the border between the plains and the edge of the red rock ravine. As they approached the end of the cluster of hills, Yapflip decided to make small talk with Yapyap.
"Hey Yapyap, did you ever...errr...talk to your uncle?"
Yapyap seemed to freeze for a second, paralyzed by the words spoken through his comrade's respirator.
"A bit, why?"
"Before I was taken away," Yapflip began, " My father said that he once fought with Yapyap, but that it had been a long time, he old now but he would talk highly of your uncle."
"I never really knew that grunt, "Yapyap sighed, "he never visited that much."
"He died on the ring right?"
Yapyap slowly nodded his noggin before gazing back at the stragglers they were leaving behind. Flipyap was barely keeping pace with Rainbow Dash following closely behind, mostly out of spite for the grunt. After all, while the pull of gravity was similar, there was some minor differences that took time to get use to.
Seeing as the topic of his uncle was disturbing Yapyap, Yapflip decided to change the subject to the mysterious mare that had saved his life. "What was it like to be saved by that masked horsy-thing?"
"Like a blanket gripping your backpack," Yapyap explained, "she was very silent too, I never heard her till she was right next to me."
"Pretty swift if you think how she went invisible in the forest."
What are you two talking about?" Rainbow Dash barked, eyes glaring at both grunts. By now, she had caught up with the pair and must have been listening intently on their conversation.
"Well," Yapflip began, "just...Mare Do Well?"
"Yeah," Rainbow Dash huffed, "well she ain't nothing compared to the hero you're traveling with." Then as an added measure, she puffed her chest.
"Hey guys," Flipyap called out, "I think I found the tracks!"
Sure enough, the ground below was riddled with hoofmarks indicating that there was a good chance their pegasus friend had been here before. As they followed the tracks, little did they know that a dark shadow among the trees was following close behind. A shadow with a wide-brimmed hat and cape.
The Valiant Crusader was a super-carrier of immense capabilities. The head of its own fleet, the ship was used among other ships to fight off the human menace, although allegiance was beginning to turn the tides. The Covenant was losing support, and the rumors of rebellion were breaking out.
With the new Jiralhanae in place, many elites feared their positions would be next. Right now they were orbiting Balaho, ready to strike if the Prophets gave the word. But sooner or later, the crew would be forced to make a choice.
The trail had ended into the mouth of a large cave, whose dark interior seemed to beg the group to enter inside. However, the groan and grumble of rocks sliding against sheer walls and the fact that there was a squirrel skull casted off a few yards away.
Whatever this thing was, it was bad. Slowly, the trio took a deep breath.
And stepped inside. |
Halo Derpy Grunts of Equestria | Chapter 12: Caves and Secrets | He was dashing towards the Phantom, the artillery already sending chunks of dirt into the air as soldiers left and right were blown into bits, their bones becoming shrapnel that impaled their comrades.
They had just made it past the first brigade when the loud honking of a warthog got his attention.
"Yapyap look out!-"
BANG!
Yapyap stood rim-rod straight in the darkness, his beady eyes already examining the sleeping silhouettes of his fellow comrades.
"Just a spook-dream..." Yapyap muttered to himself.
Seeing as sleep was no longer an option, the unggoy decided to stretch his arms and take a stroll around the damp cave. It was an impressive structure that, according to Rainbow Dash, was constructed by Diamond Dogs in order to harness the power of a legendary crystal that, as of now, was lost to Equestria.
Despite this, riches still lay hidden in the cave's depths, enticing countless explorers and remnants of the Diamond Dogs to find it.
However, instead of inspiring awe, it only brought upon a deep sense of regret. How many planets had the Covenant wiped out in the blink of an eye? All in the name of the Prophets and the Great Journey. How many secrets that were non-holy did each planet hold? How many secrets were destroyed due to religious zeal and uncontrolled fanaticism?
He barely recalled his home world Balaho, but it was filled with wonders beyond imagining. The hidden glacial caves and the methane swamps teeming with wildlife. Their planet was not a paradise like the others, but it was home. Despite its frigid temperatures and methane-filled environment, he still dreamed of home. He had had a farm back then...but alas life changes in mysterious ways. Life. The one bane of every creature's existence.
And yet here was a planet untouched by violence, or so it seemed. A planet that had no worries of large-scale invasions, slavery, or even religious expeditionary extermination. No, this was a planet free of Covenant. Perhaps it was only right that so few made it out of the crash.
He was gazing at a couple of stalactites when he noticed the fluorescent hue coming off the walls. A blue aura that caught his eye and beckoned him forward like a moth. As he slowly made his approach, he noticed the light was coming from an underground stream that ran under the mountains. In fact, the reason for the glow was because the water was flowing through some oddly shaped crystals found nowhere else except under the stream.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Yapyap nearly gave a howl of alarm before a soft hoof muffled his cry, his eyes turned to see no one other then...
"Mare-Do-Well?"
The mare simply nodded, her eye-slots directed at him so that he could see his reflection clearly. When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, like drop of morning dew. And yet it was eerie and sinister, maybe even cynical to keep a guise over such cheerfulness. Yapyap was sure that under that façade was a morning pony. One who rose early and greeted cordially. But at night, they must have changed into their polar opposite. Regardless, she was still his savior.
"I owe you life."
The mare tilted her head in confusion. Yapyap merely chuckled. "You are modest mysterious mare, but you save me and therefore I owe you life. I cannot give riches so life is all I can give."
"I do what I can because I care about others."
"If only it were so common on my world."
"So I was right to say you are not from here."
Yapyap gave a grunt in reply. "You could say that, but I've been away from home for so long I might as well come from nowhere."
"I used to feel like that too."
The grunt's eyes widened in curiosity, "How can you come from nowhere. Rainbow Dash said you were a great hero. Well, at least you seem to be somepony I met before..."
"Ahhh..." Mare Do Well seemed to grin under her mask, "Perhaps we have met and perhaps we haven't. Perhaps I am merely a shadow in the night. You seem to have the same thing."
Yapyap's blood ran cold. "You don't know that."
Mare Do Well took the moment to escalate her argument, "Oh but I have. You aren't as boastful or as, and forgive me for this, idiotic as your fellow comrades."
Yapyap nearly wanted to slap her for that, but then again, this mare could be just as scared as he was. Was he not also probing into her life.
"Perhaps both our alter-egos shall remain...at this stage at least...hidden."
"Agreed."
"So," Yapyap began nonchalantly, "what brings you here?" His face was directed at the stream but his eyes were trying to pinpoint Mare Do Well's expression.
"It seems a certain somepony was foalnapped by an unknown assailant. I am merely assisting her would-be rescuers should something happen to them."
Yapyap didn't need to hear it twice to know she was referencing to him. As if it was his fault that the seemingly peaceful ravine was a deathtrap.
"Well are you going to rest?"
"I already did," Mare Do Well chuckled, "sometimes meditation is the best rest one can get in these dire times. And I would have gotten more if a certain someone hadn't stumbled upon me."
"Well like I knew you were there." Yapyap protested.
Mare Do Well merely crossed her hooves, "Perhaps we will see each other in the coming battle Yapyap."
"I look forward to it."
And then the mare darted off, dissolving in the darkness, her cape being the last thing he saw. For a while, Yapyap just sat there, meditating by the banks of the tranquil stream. The rushing water rubbing and eroding the stones. The crystals never ceasing in the mysterious hue they projected. He had meditated before, when he had the time. What was it about his past that made him so afraid.
There was a time he thought it was justified. To leave the past as it was. But then he saw Twitchy, and the recognition on his fading eyes was a tell-tale sign of change looming over the mountains. He was a unggoy known by everyone and yet recognized by no one.
How could someone...anyone...understand it? |
Frozen Notes | pre | Arctic held back a sigh, glancing at her with a calm expression. "I know you can stand up for yourself, but we're trying to avoid drawing any more attention to you guys."
Sonata, still a bit shaken, managed a small, grateful smile at Arctic. "Thanks... for standing up for us."
Adagio sighed and put a hand on Aria's shoulder, speaking gently but firmly. "We're not here to cause more trouble, Aria. We're here to show that we've changed. Remember that."
Aria huffed, rolling her eyes but giving a slight nod. "Doesn't mean if someone is being rude I'll tolerate it." Adagio glared at Aria who sighed. "Fine. But if anyone else tries anything, I'm not holding back."
Sunset took a step forward, her expression understanding. "It's hard, I know. I've been there. People will come around eventually, but it takes time. You're strong enough to handle this. The good thing is you three have each other and Arctic." Sunset put a hand on his shoulder and he smiled.
With a heavy sigh, Aria softened a bit, her eyes briefly meeting Sunset's. She knew Sunset was right. The group continued on to lunch together, settling in with the Rainbooms, who greeted the Dazzlings cautiously but kindly. The girls exchanged a few words with their new classmates, mostly focusing on getting through the rest of the day.
The Dazzlings spent the rest of the afternoon in silence, enduring the whispers and occasional sneers from other students but managing to keep their tempers in check. Arctic stayed by their side whenever he could, lending them the quiet support they needed.
By the end of the day, the four of them were exhausted. When they finally made it back to Arctic's place, the tension was almost palpable. Aria looked more agitated than ever, pacing around the living room while Sonata sat on the couch, trying to keep her spirits up despite the rough day. Adagio stood with her arms crossed, her expression troubled.
"It's just one day, right? We'll get used to it," Sonata said, forcing a smile as she tried to comfort her sisters. "I'm sure tomorrow will be better."
Aria snapped, her tone sharper than she'd intended. "Oh, please, Sonata. Stop pretending everything's going to be okay! You saw how they treated us! We're nothing but villains to them. Why do you have to be so naïve?"
Sonata flinched, her smile fading as she looked down. "I... I was just trying to help..."
Adagio glared at Aria, stepping forward. "Hey, there's no need to take it out on her. She's just trying to make us feel better, unlike you, acting like it's the end of the world after one bad day."
"Oh, so now it's my fault?" Aria shot back, her voice rising. "Maybe if you actually stood up for us instead of playing nice, things wouldn't be so hard!"
"Are you kidding me?" Adagio's voice was laced with frustration as she met Aria's glare. "You're the one who keeps making things worse with your attitude! If you'd just control yourself, maybe we wouldn't get so much attention."
The tension between them grew, insults flying back and forth as they vented their frustrations. Sonata's eyes filled with tears, the harsh words too much for her to bear.
"Stop it, both of you!" Arctic stepped in, his voice firm but calm. He positioned himself between them, glancing at each girl in turn. "This isn't helping anyone. You're all upset, but taking it out on each other won't fix anything."
Aria scowled, looking away as she crossed her arms. Adagio's expression softened, and she let out a long breath, her shoulders slumping. Sonata sniffled, wiping her eyes as she tried to hold back her tears.
After a tense silence, Adagio was the first to speak. "I... I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking at Aria. "You're right. I could've done more. I just... I didn't want to make things worse."
Aria's expression softened, her anger fading as she looked back at her sister. "Yeah... I guess I overreacted. I just hate feeling like everyone's against us. It's... hard."
Sonata looked between her sisters, a small, tentative smile forming. "I know it's hard for all of us. But we're here together, right? We have each other."
The three of them shared a moment of understanding, each realizing that they were in this together, despite their frustrations. They wrapped each other in a quiet hug, silently forgiving each other and drawing strength from their shared bond.
Arctic watched them, a faint smile on his face. He knew the day had been rough, but he also knew that this moment was a step forward. Giving them a nod, he turned and headed to his room, leaving them to have their moment alone.
In his room, Arctic let out a sigh, leaning back on his bed as he reflected on the day's events. He'd known it would be tough for the girls to face their past and the resentment of the other students, but seeing the toll it took on them weighed heavily on his mind. The Dazzlings were determined to make amends, yet their every effort was met with hostility.
As he lay there, an idea began to form. Perhaps there was a way he could help ease their transition, to show the school that the Dazzlings were genuinely trying to change. But he couldn't do it alone.
He pulled out his phone, his mind racing as he scrolled through his contacts. There was one person who might be able to help, someone who understood what it was like to be given a second chance. Sunset had been in the same position once, and she'd managed to turn things around. Maybe, with her help, he could come up with a plan to support the Dazzlings anonymously, allowing them to rebuild their reputations without attracting more attention.
He dialed Sunset's number, listening to the phone ring as he rehearsed what he wanted to say. When she answered, he smiled, grateful for her familiar voice on the other end.
"Hey, Sunset. I have an idea, but I need your help. Think you're up for it?"
> 10. A Dazzling Promise
Dinner at Arctic's place was quiet at first, each of the four lost in thought. The day at Canterlot High had been rough, to say the least. It hadn't been a good return back to Canterlot High for the Dazzlings. Arctic knew that there would probably be kids who still harbored grudges toward the Dazzlings for what they did. But he didn't think someone would actually do what they tried doing to Aria and Sonata. As they sat around the table, the Dazzlings picked at their food in silence. Even Sonata who was normally always optimist, tried to brighten the mood by talking about how delicious the food was, but even she looked tired from the day's events. She was probably still scared after what happened at school, and then again when Adagio and Aria got into that argument with one another.
Arctic glanced at each of the girls in turn, feeling the weight of their struggles and the determination they still held beneath the exhaustion. He didn't know why he was so nervous to bring this up to them but if there was a way to help the Dazzlings then... Finally, Arctic set down his fork and cleared his throat, catching their attention.
"There's something I want to talk to you all about," he began, his voice steady but a bit hesitant. "I know today wasn't easy, and I can't imagine how hard it must be to face everything you're going through right now." He paused, looking at each of them seriously. "But I've been thinking... about something that might help you feel better. I know how much you miss your singing voices, how much they meant to you, how they were a part of you, and I want to help you get them back."
The Dazzlings looked up, their expressions a mix of surprise and disbelief.
"You... you're serious?" Adagio asked, her voice soft, almost vulnerable.
Arctic nodded. "I am. I know your voices were a huge part of who you were, and losing them was like losing a part of yourselves. I thought maybe if you got them back, it could help you feel more like yourselves again."
Sonata's face lit up with a bright smile, and before Arctic could react, she pounced on him, wrapping him in an enthusiastic hug. "Oh my gosh, Arctic! You're amazing! Thank you so much!" she squealed, hugging him tighter.
Arctic's cheeks turned a shade of red as he returned the hug awkwardly, aware of Adagio and Aria smirking at the scene. He pulled back a bit, clearing his throat to hide his blush.
"You really want to help us get our voices back?" Aria asked, her usual tough demeanor softened with curiosity. "How would you even be able to do that? We don't have magic anymore and I doubt Sunset's group can just give our magic back to us."
Arctic nodded, his gaze sincere. "Yes, I do. It's not something you can just forget about. I mean, if I lost something that made me feel like myself... I'd want someone to help me get it back too." He then turned to Aria. "And don't worry Aria, I have just the plan to get your singing voices back."
Adagio, ever the one to notice everything, leaned forward with a playful smile. "That's very generous of you, Arctic. But why are you doing this for us?"
Arctic hesitated, his mind flashing back to his conversation with Sunset earlier that day.
Earlier That Day
After the first day's ordeal, Arctic had confided in Sunset over the phone, explaining his plan to help the Dazzlings. Sunset had listened thoughtfully, her expression curious and understanding.
"Arctic," she'd said, "you're putting a lot of effort into helping them. And don't get me wrong, that's amazing. But... is there another reason why you're doing this?"
Arctic had hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. "What do you mean?"
Sunset raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in her eye. "Oh, come on, Arctic. I'm not blind. You're close to them, especially to..." She let her voice trail off with a knowing smile. "Do you have a crush on one of them?"
Arctic had felt his cheeks heat up, and he knew he couldn't hide it. "Well... yeah, I guess I do," he admitted, glancing away. "But it's not just that. I care about all of them. They're all struggling, and I want to help them in any way I can. They're my friends, and they deserve to feel whole again, even if it's in a way that doesn't involve magic or causing harm. I want to see them smile again, without any regrets. You and I both know how much their singing voices meant to them, having that back will make them feel better, feel more like themselves."
Sunset had smiled at his confession, her eyes warm. "That's sweet, Arctic. And I know they'll appreciate it. Just... make sure you're ready to be there for them through it all. This isn't just about getting their voices back--it's about helping them heal."
Despite her not seeing it, he'd nodded, his determination only growing after their conversation. Sunset was right, this was more than just them getting their singing voices back, this was to also help them heal. Heal from all the pain they had gone through, heal from losing something that meant so much to them, and heal from their past mistakes.
Back to the Present
Arctic cleared his throat, repeating the sentiment he'd shared with Sunset. "I... I do have feelings for one of you," he admitted, looking away momentarily, his cheeks slightly pink. Adagio and Aria smirked at one another, knowing who it was while Sonata tilted her head wondering who Arctic liked. "But it's not just that. I care about all of you. You're my friends, and I want to see you happy. I don't want you to feel like you're missing a part of yourselves anymore. And if I can help you get your voices back, even without those pendants... then I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen."
The girls exchanged looks, each of them visibly touched by his words. Aria was the first to speak, her usual sarcastic tone softened with gratitude. "That's... actually pretty cool of you, Arctic. I didn't think anyone would care that much."
Adagio gave him a warm smile. "Thank you. Really, it means a lot to us. We've never had anyone go out of their way to do something like this for us before. We... we appreciate it."
Sonata, still beaming, reached out to take his hand. "You're amazing, Arctic! Thank you so much for doing this for us!"
Arctic felt his blush return but squeezed her hand, giving her a reassuring smile. "Of course. And don't worry. I'm here for you all the way."
"So... how are we going to do this?" Adagio asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
"Well, it's going to take some work. Getting your voices back won't happen overnight, especially without magic. But there's a music therapist I know who specializes in vocal recovery. We'll be working on strengthening your voices and finding new ways for you to use them. It may take a while but I doubt you care how long it takes, as long as you can sing again."
The girls shared a glance, nodding in agreement. They were ready to put in the effort, no matter how challenging it might be.
"Thank you again, Arctic," Adagio said, her voice filled with sincerity. "We're willing to do whatever it takes."
Arctic smiled, feeling a surge of determination. "Then let's do this. We'll start in a few days. I'll make sure everything's arranged, and we'll take it one step at a time."
For the rest of the night, the mood around the table was lighter, each of the Dazzlings filled with renewed hope. As they talked about their plans and shared memories of their singing days, it was clear they were ready to move forward, embracing this chance to reclaim their voices in a new way--one that would reflect who they'd become.
When dinner was over, Arctic watched them with a quiet smile, happy to see the spark of excitement in their eyes. He knew this was just the beginning, and the road ahead would have its challenges, but he was ready to support them every step of the way. As the Dazzlings hugged him goodnight, he felt a warmth spread through him, knowing that he was making a difference in their lives.
> 11. Date Under The Dusk
Arctic walked home from his therapy session with a thoughtful expression, turning over the therapist's words in his mind. They'd spent the last hour talking about his feelings for the Dazzlings, particularly Sonata, who always brought out his softer side. The therapist had encouraged him to be honest, both with himself and with the girls, and to take things at a pace that felt comfortable for everyone. Relationships--whether romantic or friendly--couldn't be forced, and showing kindness and patience would allow genuine bonds to flourish. Arctic hadn't told his therapist how the Dazzlings were from another world, but she didn't need to know about that, that would make things weird.
As he approached his house, Arctic noticed Sonata sitting at the kitchen table through the window. She was hunched over her homework, tongue sticking out in concentration as she tapped her pencil against her notebook. He let himself in quietly, trying not to disturb her focus.
"Hey, Sonata," he greeted with a smile, setting his keys on the counter.
Sonata looked up, a bright smile breaking across her face. "Arctic! How was your... uh... you know, your appointment?"
"It was good," he replied, pulling a chair out across from her. "It helped me think through a few things."
"Oh?" Sonata tilted her head, curious. "Like what?"
"Just... how much I care about my friends, and how lucky I am to have them." He smiled, glancing down before gathering his courage. "Actually, speaking of friends... would you like to go out tonight? Just you and me? You know, a... uh... friend date?" He cringed at his own wording but smiled through it. 'Why can't I just ask her out on an actual date and not some dumb friend date? Friend dates aren't even a thing... I think.'
Sonata's eyes widened in surprise. "A friend date?" She paused, considering it, and then broke into an enthusiastic grin. "Yeah! I'd love that! Where are we going?"
"Anywhere you want," Arctic said, feeling a bit relieved. "How about tacos?"
Her face lit up like a firework. "Yes! Tacos! I was just thinking about them!" Arctic deadpanned a small bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. 'You always think about tacos. You eat, sleep, and breathe tacos.'
Arctic chuckled, feeling his heart lift as he watched her excitement. "Great. Let's get ready and head out in a few."
Sonata quickly shoved her books back into her bag, dashing upstairs to change, not caring to finish her homework. Arctic meanwhile, changed into something a bit nicer than his usual casual wear. Fifteen minutes later, the two of them were walking down the sidewalk, the cool evening air crisp and refreshing.
They strolled to a taco joint not far from his house, the smell of freshly grilled food greeting them as they entered. Arctic ordered for them both, and soon they were seated at a booth, a spread of tacos between them.
Sonata wasted no time digging in, savoring each bite. "These are sooo good!" she said with a dreamy expression. "It feels like forever since I've had real, proper tacos."
"You had tacos two days ago," Arctic whispered to himself. Sonata was too busy eating her tacos that she didn't hear. "Glad you like them," Arctic laughed, watching her enthusiasm. "You're kind of an expert when it comes to tacos, aren't you?"
"Absolutely!" Sonata proclaimed, a playful grin on her face. "If there's one thing I know, it's how to judge a taco. And these are top-notch."
They spent the next hour laughing and talking over dinner, sharing stories from school and memories of their favorite foods. Arctic found himself relaxing more than he had in a while, enjoying the simple pleasure of Sonata's company. She had this infectious energy that made everything feel brighter, and her laugh brought a smile to his face every time.
After finishing their meal, the two decided to walk around Canterlot, not ready for the night to end. The cool night air was soothing and calm and the moon was full, casting a soft glow all over Canterlot. The two of them found themselves walking over a bridge, taking a stop to admire the moon that stood high, lightening up the night sky along with the rest of the stars.
"This was so much fun, Arctic," Sonata said, her voice soft as they watched the moon. She glanced at him, her smile glowing in the moonlight. "Thanks for taking me out. I haven't felt this happy in... well, a long time."
Arctic felt a warmth spread through him. "I'm glad, Sonata. You deserve to be happy. I know things have been tough lately, but... I really care about you, and I want to see you smile."
Sonata looked down, fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve. After a few more minutes on the bridge, they walked in silence for a few moments, the only sound being the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze. Then, as they reached the end of the block where Arctic's house was located, Sonata suddenly stopped, turning to face him with an earnest expression.
"Thank you, Arctic," she said softly, her voice filled with sincerity. "For everything. For giving us a home, for... for caring about us, even when we don't deserve it sometimes."
Before Arctic could respond, she leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, her lips warm and light against his skin. The unexpected gesture left him momentarily speechless, his cheeks flushing a bright red.
Sonata stepped back, a shy smile playing on her lips, her own cheeks tinted pink. "Goodnight, Arctic," she said with a small, nervous laugh, and then she turned, rushing up the steps to the front door. As she closed the door she held her hands to hide her cheeks that were bright red. 'Why did I do that?'
He stood there for a moment, watching her go, a dazed smile on his face. As she slipped inside, he could just make out her hurried footsteps and the faint sound of her muffled laughter as she disappeared down the hallway.
Left alone in the quiet night, Arctic glanced up at the moon, a soft smile on his lips as he thought about how much his life had changed since meeting the Dazzlings. He'd gone from being a simple high school student to being the anchor for three girls who, at one point, had been Sunset and her group's rivals. But now... they were his friends, and maybe, just maybe, something more.
Shaking his head with a chuckle, Arctic headed up the steps and opened the door, stepping inside to find the house quiet and still. He walked to his room, his thoughts racing with the memories of the evening. Just before he closed his door, he paused, catching a glimpse of Sonata's light still beneath her door.
He knew things would get complicated, that helping the Dazzlings find themselves again--and maybe even fall in love along the way--would be anything but simple. But for the first time in a long time, he felt hopeful about the future. Smiling to himself, he closed his door and got ready for bed, wondering what adventures tomorrow would bring.
> 12. Dazzling Melodies
As Arctic sat at his desk, he flipped through the calendar on his wall, glancing at the date circled in bright red marker. Fall Formal. It was just around the corner, and he couldn't help but smile, thinking about the journey leading up to this moment.
It had been a few months since he had offered to help the Dazzlings regain their singing voices, and looking back, he marveled at how much had changed. From those initial uncertain days of making new friends out of unlikely allies to the determination he'd seen from each of them as they worked tirelessly to recover a part of themselves, they thought was lost forever.
Initially, the idea of the Rainbooms giving the Dazzlings singing lessons had seemed... ambitious. There was so much history between them, and neither group had been particularly enthusiastic about spending time together. But slowly, Arctic had watched walls break down as each session passed. The Rainbooms, especially Sunset and Fluttershy, had gone out of their way to be patient and encouraging, while Adagio, Aria, and Sonata pushed themselves harder than they ever had before.
In the beginning, the sessions were rocky, as the Dazzlings tried to find their rhythm again without the magical assistance of their pendants. There were days when their voices cracked or hit notes flat, and frustrations would rise to the surface, especially from Adagio and Aria, who were used to being confident and commanding when they sang. But through it all, Sonata's boundless optimism kept them going. Every time they stumbled, she would laugh it off and say, "Hey, at least we're getting better, right?" Eventually, her positivity began to rub off on her sisters, helping them relax in the process.
Over time, their voices returned, clearer and stronger than before. And it wasn't just a return of their vocal skills--Arctic could see how much this meant to them. They looked more happy than they had been, showing just how their singing voices meant to them. Singing had been an essential part of who they were, their way of expressing themselves and connecting to the world, and reclaiming it felt like reclaiming a piece of their identity.
The Rainbooms were impressed too, and they'd even formed a genuine respect for the Dazzlings. While they'd started as rivals and enemies, they were now working together, each group learning from the other. Fluttershy had been particularly moved by Sonata's voice, remarking one day after a session, "You have such a unique sound, Sonata... it's like listening to a memory." Sonata had beamed at the compliment, practically floating on air. Even Rainbow and Aria were getting along with one another and not at each other's throats like they once were a few months back.
And today, Arctic was about to witness something he had been waiting for with eager anticipation: the Dazzlings' first full song since they regained their voices. This would also be the first time the Dazzlings would sing since the Battle of the Bands. They had been practicing in secret, telling him that they had a "surprise" in store. He waited in the living room, clapping his hands together in anticipation, as the girls took their positions in front of him, exchanging a confident glance.
"Ready, Arctic?" Adagio asked with a glint in her eye. Her usual smugness was there, but Arctic could tell it was more than just pride--it was the confidence that came from finally feeling whole again.
"Absolutely. Knock my socks off," he said, settling back and giving them his full attention.
Adagio nodded at Aria and Sonata, and the three of them began. They had decided to sing one of the old songs they played when they had their pendants. The first note they hit was breathtaking. Their voices melded together in perfect harmony, rich and powerful, yet delicate, too. As they sang, Arctic felt chills run down his spine, awestruck by the beauty of their voices. This was the first time Arctic was hearing the Dazzlings sing and he could say for certain that they were better than any artist that he knew. It was like watching an art form come to life, the months of hard work paying off in a flawless performance.
The song was one he hadn't heard before, a ballad that sounded both haunting and hopeful. It was clear they had poured their hearts into it, channeling their struggles, growth, and resilience. As they sang, Arctic could see flashes of everything they had been through together, from their early days of frustration and rivalry to the genuine bond they had now.
When they finished, the last note hung in the air, filling the room with a sense of tranquility. Arctic was silent for a moment, absorbing what he had just witnessed. Then, unable to contain himself, he broke into applause, his cheers filling the room.
"That was... amazing!" he exclaimed, beaming at them. "I can't believe how incredible you sound. I knew you'd get your voices back, but that was beyond anything I could've imagined!"
The Dazzlings shared a proud smile, clearly happy with his reaction. Sonata practically bounced over to him, grinning from ear to ear.
"Did you really like it, Arctic?" she asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
"Like it? I loved it! You were all fantastic," he replied, glancing at Adagio and Aria, who both looked equally pleased.
"It feels good to be able to sing again," Aria admitted, folding her arms but unable to hide the small smile creeping onto her face. "And it's even better without those pendants controlling everything."
Adagio nodded, looking thoughtful. "I think... we're finally moving forward. We can be ourselves again."
Arctic felt a wave of happiness, not just for their talent, but because he could see how genuinely content they were. For months, he had watched them struggle, slowly but surely finding a way back to their true selves. And now, they were shining.
After they finished their impromptu concert, Arctic wandered back to his room, where his eyes drifted to the calendar. The Fall Formal was coming up, and he felt a surge of excitement. It was his first formal dance, and he couldn't wait to experience it with the people he had grown closest to over the last few months.
He started thinking about the upcoming dance, realizing it would be a perfect opportunity for the Dazzlings to showcase their new voices to the rest of the school. They could show everyone at Canterlot High who they truly were now, without the magic, just as regular girls with an extraordinary talent. But would the school let the Dazzlings sing at the Fall Formal? He would have to ask if they'd let them. He also thought about how he would plan on asking Sonata to the Fall Formal, he knew he was going to ask but how? And when? The thought stayed with him throughout the evening, and as the days drew closer to the Fall Formal, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to be a night to remember.
> 13. The Fall Formal
As the Fall Formal approached, the excitement in the air was almost palpable. Canterlot High was buzzing with anticipation, and Arctic, along with the Dazzlings, could feel the thrill of it building up. They were all looking forward to the dance, especially because it was one of the first school events they'd all be attending together since the Dazzlings' big return to singing. But with just a week left before the big night, it was time to sort out their outfits, and there was only one person they knew could handle the job perfectly: Rarity.
The four of them headed to Rarity's boutique after school, where she greeted them with her signature enthusiasm.
"Darlings!" she exclaimed as she pulled them into a warm hug one by one. "What a delightful surprise! Let me guess-- you're here to discuss your Fall Formal attire?"
Arctic chuckled, glancing at the Dazzlings. "You got it. We were hoping you might help us look our best for the dance."
Rarity's eyes sparkled, and she clapped her hands together in excitement. "Oh, I would be honored! I already have a few ideas for each of you, if you'd like to take a look!"
She quickly led them over to a small display of sketches she'd been working on, each design perfectly suited to their personalities. Adagio's sketch featured a bold, glamorous gown that oozed confidence, while Aria's ensemble had an edgy elegance to it. Sonata's outfit was more playful, light, and colorful--perfectly capturing her bright personality. As for Arctic, Rarity had envisioned a sleek, classic look that was both sophisticated and modern.
The Dazzlings exchanged thrilled glances. "Rarity, you really outdid yourself," Adagio said, her eyes shining with appreciation. "These are perfect."
"Yeah, it's like you know exactly what we'd want!" Sonata added, bouncing a little with excitement.
Rarity smiled proudly. "That's my job, darling! Now, why don't you all get into the fitting rooms so I can make any adjustments we need?"
As the girls headed off to try on their outfits, Arctic found himself alone with Rarity, who had her usual sly grin on her face.
"You're lucky you asked for my help with these outfits," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Because I happen to know that someone here has their eye on a certain someone else."
Arctic's face flushed as he stammered, "Uh, what? W-What do you mean?"
"Oh, Arctic, please," Rarity said with a chuckle, patting him on the shoulder. "It's written all over your face when you're around Sonata. Why, I'd even wager you were planning to ask her to the Formal, hmm?"
He scratched the back of his neck, looking away with a shy smile. "I... yeah, you're right. I was planning on it, but I'm still working on how to bring it up." Arctic turned his head as he looked at some of the other dresses Rarity had around. 'She sure is a love expert, heck she could be a master. How did she know I liked Sonata? Am I really that obvious? I thought I did a good job on keeping it hidden, but Rarity read me like a book.'
Rarity smiled approvingly. "Well, I think it's a lovely idea. And as for how--just be yourself. Sonata clearly likes you for who you are, so just let her know how you feel."
Arctic nodded, thanking Rarity for her words, feeling a bit more confident as the Dazzlings returned to the main area, each wearing their dress. Rarity adjusted a few things here and there, beaming with pride as she looked over her creations at her friends. The girls admired each other's outfits, sharing compliments and laughter as they took in how stunning they all looked. Arctic couldn't help but stare at all of them, Sonata a little longer than he intended, his heart racing as he admired how her outfit highlighted her bright, cheerful spirit. He couldn't help but blush with how beautiful she looked, she looked like a princess. No. A queen. The most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Arctic continued to stare while Sonata continued to look at herself. Unbeknownst to him, Adagio, Rarity, and Aria all saw him looking and smiled.
Once they finished with the fittings, Rarity promised to have everything ready by the day of the dance, and they all thanked her before heading home. As they walked, Arctic fell in step beside Sonata, his heart pounding as he worked up the courage to ask her to the Formal as his date.
"Hey, Sonata," he began, trying to keep his voice casual, "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure!" she replied, flashing him her usual warm smile.
"So, I know we're all going together to the Formal," he started, choosing his words carefully while Sonata nodded, "but I was wondering if... well if maybe you'd like to go with me. You know, as... as a date?"
Sonata blinked, processing his words for a moment. "Oh, we're already going together as friends, silly!" she said with a little laugh. "You, me, Adagio, and Aria." Arctic, Adagio, and Aria deadpanned. Sonata could really be stupid when she wanted to be, and that was almost one hundred percent of the time.
Arctic's cheeks went red as he realized how clueless she could be. He chuckled, gathering his thoughts before trying again. "No, I mean, just the two of us... like, as a couple. You know... if you'd want to." He turned his head as he scratched the back of his neck, a clear blush on his face.
Realization dawned on Sonata's face as it turned red. Arctic couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment she made a mistake or because he asked her to the dance as a date. Her eyes widened in surprise, and a slow, bright smile spread across her lips, as she looked up at him with excitement and a hint of shyness. "Oh! You mean... you want us to go as, like, a real date?"
Arctic nodded, his heart pounding as he waited for her response. Sonata's smile grew even brighter, and without another word, she practically threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him in a quick, joyful hug that once again made him blush.
"Yes! I'd love that, Arctic!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with happiness.
From behind them, Adagio and Aria exchanged knowing glances, each with a smirk on their face.
"About time," Aria muttered with a grin. "I was wondering if he'd actually do it."
Adagio nodded, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes. "And it looks like she finally caught on to what he was asking. They look good together, like an actual couple. Our sister has a boyfriend~"
Oblivious to her sisters' amusement, Sonata released Arctic, her cheeks pink as she looked up at him. "I'm really excited now," she admitted with a giggle. "It'll be fun going with you as my date."
Arctic couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Me too, Sonata. I can't wait."
The rest of the walk home was filled with laughter and excitement as they discussed the Formal and all the fun they'd have. Adagio and Aria teased Sonata a little, making her blush, but she didn't mind. Her excitement and happiness were too strong to be dampened by their playful jabs.
> 14. Revelations
That day at school everyone talked about the Fall Formal later on that night. Everyone was excited, ready to have the time of their lives dancing and partying with their friends or with someone they liked, like a certain someone.
When Sunset and her group found out that Arctic had asked out Sonata to the dance they were happy for him. It was obvious to all of them that Arctic liked her. Knowing that his friends cheered him on made Arctic happy. When Arctic told his mom about bringing Sonata to the Fall Formal as his date, his mom almost hugged him half to death. She was happy for Arctic, but what was most surprising was that she knew Arctic liked her. As she would call it, it was motherly instinct.
The night of the Fall Formal had finally arrived, and Arctic was getting ready. Arctic smiled to himself as he checked himself out, making sure he looked his best for tonight. This would be his first time going to an event like this. The first three years he had skipped prom, after all, why would he go when he didn't have a date or any friends to hang out with? And he didn't want to be the loner who stood by the wall and watched everyone else have fun.
'I would what dad would think of me in this suit. I wonder if he would think I look good.' Arctic messed with his hair one last time and checked himself for the hundredth time that night. 'All right, looking good.'
Arctic was ready well before the others, dressed in a sharp, black suit with a classic bow tie. He checked himself in the mirror, adjusting his tie one last time as it was starting to lean to the side, and paced a bit as he waited for the Dazzlings to finish getting ready. They were taking longer than he expected, and he couldn't help but worry that they might actually be late. He knew that the Dazzlings, especially Adagio, took a bit to get ready but not this long.
He called out to them from the living room. "Hey, are you all done yet? We're going to be late if we don't leave soon!"
From upstairs, he heard Adagio call back, "Hold your horses, Arctic. We'll be down in a minute!"
Arctic chuckled, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall as he waited. True to their word, the Dazzlings finally appeared at the top of the stairs. They each wore dresses custom-designed by Rarity, each outfit a reflection of their personalities and sense of style. Adagio descended first, her gown a stunning deep red that highlighted her confident poise. Aria followed in a bold, edgy ensemble, a dark purple dress with asymmetrical cuts and silver accents that suited her perfectly.
And then there was Sonata. She stepped forward, her dress a shade of soft blue that matched her eyes, flowing gracefully around her as she moved. Arctic felt his breath hitch--she looked radiant, her natural joy amplified by the elegance of her dress. She noticed him staring and offered him a shy smile, her cheeks faintly pink.
"Wow, you all look amazing," Arctic said, trying to keep his cool as he looked at each of them. "Especially you, Sonata."
She blushed deeper and gave him a playful nudge. "Thanks, Arctic. You look pretty good yourself."
With everyone finally ready, they headed out and made their way to the gymnasium where the dance was being held. When they stepped inside, they were awestruck. Pinkie Pie had gone all out, transforming the place into a glittering spectacle. Colorful lights flashed from the ceiling, the walls were adorned with streamers and balloons, and a massive table was set up with a spread of treats and snacks.
"Wow, Pinkie really outdid herself this time," Adagio remarked, looking around in amazement.
"No kidding," Aria agreed, impressed. "This place actually looks... cool."
They took in the scene, smiling at the groups of students scattered around the room, dancing, laughing, and chatting. Arctic and the Dazzlings drifted apart to greet friends and explore, each excited to make the most of the night. Arctic sampled the snacks, appreciating Pinkie's talent for baking, and chatted with a few friends. He spotted Sonata across the room a couple of times, laughing with her sisters or friends, her happiness making him smile. He decided he'd find her soon so they could share a dance.
However, before he could start searching for her, a group of classmates approached him with curious, smug expressions. He had a feeling this conversation might not go well.
"Hey, Arctic," one of the guys greeted, a smirk on his face. "We heard some rumors about you and the Dazzlings."
Arctic raised an eyebrow. "Rumors?"
"Yeah," another one chimed in, "like, is it true you came to the Formal with one of the Dazzlings? And that they're, like, staying with you? What's that all about?"
Arctic felt his patience thinning but decided to keep it light. "Well, yes, they're staying with me," he replied, keeping his tone neutral. "And I came with Sonata tonight, yeah."
A girl in the group shot him a skeptical look. "Aren't they, like, super dangerous or something? Why would you even help them out? It's not like they're the nicest people around."
Arctic's expression soured as he sensed the judgmental tone creeping into their voices. He could tell these classmates were looking down at him for associating with the Dazzlings. The irritation rose, and he decided to take a sarcastic approach to throw them off.
"Oh, right, because obviously, I don't care about them at all," he said dryly, rolling his eyes. "I mean, I totally didn't let them live in my house for months just to help them get back on their feet or anything. And I definitely didn't put in time to help them regain their singing voices because I thought they had any potential. I just... did it for fun."
They looked at him in confusion, exchanging glances.
"Yeah, you're totally right," he continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't actually come here with one of them tonight. I came with Sunset Shimmer." Unbeknownst to Arctic, Sonata who had been walking up to Arctic to ask to dance had heard everything. From not caring about them, doing it for fun, and most importantly... going to the dance with Sunset and not her. She hadn't picked up on the sarcasm and believed what Arctic was saying was true.
"I thought he wanted to come to the Fall Formal with me..." Sonata looked down, holding back tears as she ran away from Arctic. Not wanting to hear the rest of Arctic's conversation.
Adagio and Aria were talking when they noticed Sonata run their way. "Sonata? What's wro-" Before Adagio could finish Sonata rushed past her and out of the gymnasium. Aria and Adagio exchanged glances before heading off to Arctic, to give Sonata time to herself, but also to see if he knew anything.
Back to Arctic, one of the guys frowned, clearly frustrated by Arctic's tone. "Alright, alright, we get it. But you're seriously saying you like them? You think they deserve this chance or something?"
Arctic's tone grew serious as he looked them in the eye. "Yeah, I do. I know they've made mistakes, but they're also good people who are trying to change. They're not the same as they were before, and I actually care about them--especially Sonata."
As he finished speaking, he glanced around, hoping to spot Sonata so they could finally enjoy their night together. But instead, he saw Adagio and Aria coming toward him, their expressions concerned.
"Hey, do know what happened to Sonata?" Adagio asked, looking worried.
Arctic felt a pang of worry in his chest. "No, I was actually about to find her. What's wrong?"
Aria folded her arms, looking around the crowded room. "She looked pretty upset and left the Formal a little while ago. We didn't catch why, but we thought maybe you'd know."
Confusion mixed with concern as Arctic tried to make sense of this. "Upset? Why would she be upset?"
Adagio exchanged a quick glance with Aria before looking back at Arctic. "I don't know, but she looked like she really wanted to be alone."
Realizing that something must have happened--and that he was somehow connected to it--Arctic felt a jolt of panic. "I... I think I know why she might be upset. I need to find her."
Without waiting, Arctic turned and dashed out of the gymnasium, his heart pounding. He raced through the hallways, searching every corner, growing more anxious with every second that passed. After a few minutes, he decided to check outside, hoping she hadn't gone far.
> 15. Frozen Notes
Arctic's eyes scanned the empty streets around him, the sounds of distant laughter from the Fall Formal drifting into the quiet night. He'd checked nearly every spot he could think of where Sonata might have gone. Anxiety stirred in his chest; he didn't want her to misunderstand what he'd said back at the dance. Then it hit him--a sudden realization. There was one more place she might be, a place that held a special memory for both of them. The bridge. The same one they'd crossed together on their first date. Arctic set off toward it, his pace quickening.
When he arrived, his heart sank a little and lifted all at once. Sonata sat on the edge of the bridge, her figure silhouetted against the soft light of the moon, which shone over the calm river below. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she looked out over the water, and he could see the sadness in her posture. Seeing her like this, on the edge of the bridge, made Arctic reminded of himself and how he had been in the same situation just months ago before moving to Canterlot. He too had once been on the edge of a bridge, looking down at the ground below. But for him, he had been contemplating whether to jump or not.
Quietly, Arctic made his way over and sat down next to her, careful not to startle her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sound of the water below filled the silence, steady and calming. He looked at her, waiting for her to meet his gaze, but her eyes remained fixed on the river. 'Is she sad or mad? I can't tell. I've never seen her like this before.'
Finally, she broke the silence, her voice soft. "I heard what you said, Arctic. I know you don't care about us...about me. I also heard how you actually came to the Fall Formal with Sunset instead of me. Do you like Sunset? I should've known you would. She's amazing. But then why would you ask me? To humiliate me? We've already been humiliated since coming back to Canterlot."
Arctic's chest tightened. She had heard what he had said but she hadn't picked up on his sarcasm--she'd taken everything he said as truth. Guilt flooded him. He took a deep breath, searching for the right words.
"Sonata," he began, his voice gentle, "I was being sarcastic. Those guys were giving me attitude, acting like I couldn't care about anyone but myself. They were saying things about you and their sisters. I thought they'd pick up on it, which they did but I guess...it didn't come out that way to others that were nearby and overheard our conversation."
Sonata turned to him, her eyes wide. "So... you don't hate us? You don't hate me? You helped us because you wanted to and you went to the Fall Formal with me and not Sunset."
"Of course not!" He looked deeply into her eyes, making sure she could see the sincerity in his own. "I care about you, Sonata. About all of you. But you especially. I care about you a lot. There's no one else I'd like to go to the Fall Formal than you."
A small, hopeful smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and she looked away, her cheeks flushing under the moonlight. "You mean that?"
Arctic took her hand, his fingers wrapping around hers. "I do. I care about you more than I can put into words. I... I like you, Sonata. A lot."
Sonata's eyes brightened, and her lips curved into a shy smile. "I... like you too, Arctic. I've liked you for a while, actually."
Slowly, Arctic leaned closer to her, their faces only inches apart. The moonlight bathed them both in a silvery glow as their eyes met. In that quiet moment, surrounded by the soft whispers of the night, they closed the distance, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. The world seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them on the bridge under the vast, star-strewn sky.
When they finally pulled apart, Arctic felt his heart beating with a mix of joy and calm he hadn't known in a long time. He took a steadying breath, gathering his thoughts.
"Sonata, there's something I want to tell you. Something I haven't shared with anyone here... besides my mom, my therapist, and Adagio." He paused, looking down at the river below, gathering the courage to continue. "Before I moved here to Canterlot and met you and the others, I wasn't in a good place. I lost my dad. It...it felt like a piece of me had been torn away. I was... depressed. And there were times when I thought about giving up altogether."
Sonata's hand tightened in his, and she watched him with a mixture of sadness and compassion. He continued, her presence giving him the strength to keep going.
"Moving to Canterlot was supposed to be a fresh start, but I didn't know if it would work. Meeting the Rainbooms helped, but when I met you and the other Dazzlings..." He looked at her, his expression soft. "You guys were in a bad spot just like I had been just a few weeks ago and I wanted to help. And then something changed. You made me feel like I wasn't alone anymore. I started to believe that I could be happy again."
Sonata's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm so glad you didn't give up, Arctic. I can't imagine my life without you."
Arctic wrapped his arm around her, holding her close. "Thank you, Sonata. For being there, even when I didn't realize how much I needed someone."
They sat there in silence for a few moments, content just to be in each other's company, under the watchful eye of the moon. Finally, Arctic pulled back, looking at her with a gentle smile.
"Ready to head back to the dance?" he asked, his voice soft.
Sonata nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Yeah. I think I am."
Hand in hand, they walked back toward the school, their hearts lighter and their spirits lifted. By the time they returned, the sounds of laughter and music filled the air, and the energy of the Fall Formal pulled them right back into the celebration.
At the entrance, they spotted Adagio and Aria, who looked relieved to see them. Aria crossed her arms, a knowing grin on her face. "Well, look who finally decided to show up. What happened?"
Arctic shrugged, glancing at Sonata, who still held his hand. "Just a big misunderstanding," he said with a smile.
Adagio's eyes flicked down to their joined hands, and she raised an eyebrow. "Looks like things worked out just fine, though."
Sonata and Arctic exchanged a look, then smiled. "Yeah, I guess they did," Arctic replied.
The four of them headed back into the gym, joining the rest of their friends. They danced, laughed, and enjoyed every moment, Arctic feeling a warmth he hadn't experienced in a long time. As he twirled Sonata around on the dance floor, he felt the weight of his past lifting, replaced by a newfound happiness.
"Our next song will actually be performed by our very own Dazzlings! Come to the stage, girls!" There were a few gasps and murmurs throughout the crowd. Arctic and the Rainbooms smiled when they saw the shocked expressions plastered on the Dazzling's faces.
Sonata turned to Arctic, looking for answers. "Arctic, what's going on?"
"You have your singing voices back now, and what better way to show them off than by performing in front of a large crowd? Just like you three used to do. You want everyone to like you again, right? You can do that by giving them the performance of a lifetime. Make them adore you!" The Dazzlings looked at Arctic who smiled and pointed at the stage.
The Dazzlings made their way to the stage and grabbed the microphones. Adagio turned her head to her sisters with a smile. "You ready girls?" Aria and Sonata nodded their heads and with the count of three, they began singing in front of everyone.
The gymnasium was filled with beautiful music, and instead of falling under a spell like before, everyone smiled and sang to the beat of the music. The crowd began to cheer on the Dazzlings who continued to sing with smiles on their faces. Arctic smiled seeing the Dazzlings so happy, as well as the crowd of students who seemed to enjoy their singing. The smiles on everyone's faces were enough to tell Arctic that maybe, just maybe, when all of this was over, the students would start to light up to the Dazzlings. It wouldn't be overnight but Arctic had a good feeling this was just the beginning of the Dazzlings and their road to redemption.
Looking around the gym at the faces of his friends, Arctic thought about how much his life had changed. He hadn't expected to find so much here in Canterlot, hadn't expected to find love, support, or a group of people who cared about him. He looked back at Sonata, who was smiling up at him with such warmth, and he felt his heart swell.
In his mind, he thought of his dad, sending out a silent message. I miss you, Dad, but I'm okay. I've met some amazing people, and I'm finally happy after so long. Thank you for everything.
With that, he focused on the present, on the joy of the night, and on the future that now seemed brighter than ever. |
Universes Apart | pre | As for me though, well I decided that enough was enough. So I placed both of them in separate magical spheres I conjured up. "All right boys, that's enough of that now. We don't have time for this senselessness!" I stated, "My name is Twilight Sparkle, the newly crowned Princess of Equestria." I said, time to start off this little Introduction...
The End. |
Universes Apart | Chapter 2 | Universes Apart
Chapter 2: [Re]Introductions.
Well... This is something. I mean, here we all are, the very room that held the Elements. And the very same room that literally tried to fuck with our minds when Doc told us on what...happen...to us both. But let's leave that for another time. (Maybe never.) Right now the girls that we used to know, we're standing there right in front of us, though it still pains us two that we... That we have to start all over again.
Man, this is even more awkward then the last one. Though it seems pretending to have little to no knowledge of Equestria has pay off, I'm even more surprised that AJ didn't catch on the whole act.... Still as ignorant as before.
Right now Twi has us both locked up in two separate spheres so she could get us to stop bickering like two assholes on our first date.
"... My name is Twilight Sparkle, the newly crowned Princess of Equestria." She said to us. As if we haven't figure that part out you stupid twat! God she still pisses me off no matter what! Oh great, here comes the fucking quill and papers! "Now that I have your attention, I'm going to start asking questions about your species..."
"Why?" James asked. As stupid as it sounds, its better him than me telling her to go fuck herself.
Twi smiled and answered him. "It's just so we can get a better understanding on how your kind works: anatomy, culture, history and whatnot. So can you answer some--"
"No." I interrupted her.
She turn to me with a look of shock written all over. "No? But why!?"
I rolled my eyes. "Because I said so. Trust us when we say you're better off not knowing everything about Humanity. Save for the basic necessities we need." I told her. But she didn't let that drop.
"Oh really? Well what if I make you tell me!?" She tried to take the threatening speech to scare us into telling her. Though all that did was making me laugh... The Laughter of Disappointment. "What so funny?"
"Oh sorry, I was just laughing at how poorly executed that line you used." I said with a shit-eating grin, which I soon drop and came back to being piss off. "Seriously, do you take me for a fucking idiot!? You wouldn't even go through any of the threats you make up on the spot!" I shouted out, making her flinch.
"B-but what if...I'm not lying--"
"Because it isn't in your nature to hurt another living being!" I growled out, losing my patience to this whole bullshit excuse of befriending on one another again. "You were never trained to interrogate, or to fight... You, and the rest of your kin, are too damn nice." I stop speaking, my ire backing down to a more calmer charm. But I didn't want to talk anymore.
Twi was in a state of shock, along with every other pony on her side. Though unfortunately I have completely overlooked that FUCKING MUTANT BABY DIDLO HEAD Discord! Just what the hell is he up to now, and why is he with the girls and wearing a fucking lady's dress!?
... Fucking dickface of a dumbass whore.
James then took the spot. "Excuse me, ma'am? Could you at least let us out of here? It would make us feel a little more at ease and not too restricted. Please?" He asked, though I think that might be a tall order. But he is more of the diplomat then a fighter, so best of luck to him.
And luck it was, she nodded and let us down... Well him, really. I was still stuck in mine.
"Uh princess, what of him? Why is he still lock up?" He asked, trying to see if he can get me out. But if that doesn't work then I'll just burn this whole thing from existence.
"I'm sorry, but..." She started, "But I can't be sure if he is trustworthy like you." Whoa really? You were the one that tried to make threats to a fault, you stupid twat.
"Says the one that made a faulty threat to us both." He countered, and while he was keeping her busy, I'll start burning up the barrier.
"W-w-wait a minute, I didn't mean it to you! I would never do that to you!" She stuttered.
"Well unfortunately I was locked up in a magical bubble too. Just like him. So I don't see how that doesn't concern me." James stated.
Come on...
"Look how about I just..."
Damn her magic!
"No, that's not good enough..."
Is she this stronger when she becomes an Alicorn!?
"But what if he..."
Almost there...almost...
Finally! I'm out of there!
"HE'S LOOSE!!!" Goddammit Pinkie! Why!? "AND HE CAN USE FIRE!!!" For fuck sakes woman shut up!
Ah to hell with this crap!
The twatty princess Twilight found me out of her magic ball. "What the--? How the hay?! Since when could you do that!?"
"Um, let me think about that." I said to her like it wasn't such a big deal. "Well shit! I can't find the answer to that. All that comes up is that I'm not a normal fucking human being anymore!"
She backed off. "Okay, I won't ask again..." Good, I'm getting sick of you already. "So I guess questions will have to come later?"
"Or never." I flatly stated.
"Fenix enough." James came in between us, "Don't let your anger get the best of you."
I just scoffed at that. "Really James? Did you forget what I am nowadays?"
"No, but even you know you shouldn't go down that way."
"You know what? Screw this shit, I'm going back in the TARDIS and cool off!" I snarled, "You can go and get fucking high with these ponies for all I care!" With that said, I turn my back at them, shoved the three that did Jack-shit, because they can't interfere in anyway, out of the way, and slammed the door shut behind me...shunning away the real world to get some peacefulness and figure out what we both went through last night. That whole... Simulation of Self-Annihilation!
Just who in the ever living fuck-holes creates something so shitfucking insane as that!?
(James POV)
Well that could have gone worse. As Fenix left us to 'cool off', I stood there looking off in the distance, just thinking of...last night's episode of terror and despair. And throughout that whole thing, I couldn't even do a single damn thing to defend myself against the horrors, or help to bring an end to the twisted nightmares. Only Fenix was doing all of the fighting and saving us both from the whole hellish ordeal, but he did it all as a...monster as well. All the while I was...just...
"I'm useless..." I whisper quietly to myself, making sure the girls didn't hear. My head hang down low, with the guilt seeming to build up again. But it wasn't about what the Doctor told us, though I guess it was the start of the whole thing going haywire.
Just as I was going to face the group, my sight was blinded by a purple lavender wall of fur, as I was yet again pulled into another crushing bear hug... Man Fenix was right, this does feel more like a bear-trap then a hug. I was about to pull myself away when the rest came in and that said bear hug turned into a group hug, we'll save for the Royal Sisters and...him.
In all honesty, why is he even here and wearing something that's suppose to be worn by women only? He doesn't seem to be causing a scene... Not yet anyway. Though he is behaving himself, so maybe...
"James." Twilight whisper, snapping me out of my musing about Discord.
"Yes?" I replied, though now I felt kind of out of breath from all of them hugging me. Especially since they're all... Humanoids now. No that's not the word I'm looking for... Anthros? Yeah, that's it!
"Can I ask you something?"
"Does it involve Fenix by any chance?"
She blushed. Caught red handed, "Um...maybe!"
I nearly facepalmmed at that. "You're a terrible liar princess. And could you girls give me some breathing space, please?" She look at me, puzzled by this. But she got the message why and so did the rest.
"Oh sorry about that James." Within an instant, she and the rest cease their hugs, and gave some space. Except for Pinkie and Fluttershy. "Uh Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie...? Can you let go of him please?"
"Nopey Dopey!" Pinkie replied. I was actually surprised by this, and the same can be said with everyone else. Even their hold on me seem to have tightened just a bit and having me sandwich between their...assets. As embarrassing as this is, I wouldn't say it was an unpleasant experience - but that doesn't make me a pervert by any means! But I will say this much and I cannot believe it myself... They sure as heck are huge.
"Twilight please...." Fluttershy, even in another version of Equestria, looking more different and yet so much more beautiful at the same time... You're still the same little timid lovely mare I know.
Twilight was lost for words, try as she might, there were none coming out. She sighed and hang her head low, "James?"
"Uh...yes?"
"Are you...OK with this?" She asked, which left me baffled. "I mean... Like... I don't want you to feel uncomfortable. So..." I wasn't sure what to say about this really, but Rainbow did, only for her own amusement though.
"Oh c'mon egghead! Don't ruin the moment for the lucky stallion." She came swooping in front of me, our noses mere inches away from one another. Her looks regarding a seductive nature, "Besides, after all the things he's been through...I think he deserves a treat." Okay, I am not liking where this is going, not one bit.
And from the sound of things behind me, Uriel wasn't going to let this down. "See~! Told ya he was gonna be a hit with the ladies." Oh good lord save me...
Whooves didn't sound too pleased with this and gotten into a little argument with her. He even threaten her about telling them what she did to me, or grab Fenix to finish what she started off. Man I hope he doesn't come out here and end up killing us all, just to keep things quiet for himself.
While I was trying to listen in, Rainbow brought me back to her. "Hey James." I froze at the sound of her voice, "I got something for you. Wanna see?" It was in a very slutty manner, something I don't want to hear out of her. Though as she was about to show me, my two guardians intercepted: Fluttershy pulled me away from Rainbow within her grasp, while Pinkie Pie came up to her with a rolled up newspaper in her hand. As to how she got that in the first place, I wouldn't recommend trying to figure it out. Pinkie Pie is just Pinkie Pie, and that's all there is to it.
"Pinkie...?" Before Rainbow Dash could say anything beyond that, Pinkie held the makeshift bat over her head, and brought it down on RD's head. Hard and fast, that I think Fenix will be pleased with.
"Argh!!" Rainbow growled in pain from the impact.
As for Pinkie, "Bad Dashy! Bad! Bad!" She was going on with the assault, backing her off.
Soon she took to the air and hovers out of Pinkies reach, "Geez Pinkie, chill out will ya!" She said, but she wasn't getting a positive response from her, or the other girls.
As they ended up gang pressing her for her impolite act towards me, one of Fluttershys hands were rubbing my back, she even had one of her wings covering us from view, while holding me in that motherly embrace and nuzzling my right cheek. All I was doing was just stand there like an idiot blushing on the spot. This may have been out of character for her, she isn't one to go up to strangers and hold them as if they needed a cuddle buddy. Fluttershy is far too shy for committing that.
So why? What's making her do this? I know her, on a far more deeper meaning, but this Fluttershy does not know me that well.
"Uh miss..." I tried to strike up a quiet conversation with her, "Is everything alright?"
She didn't say anything back to me at first, but when she pulled her face away from mine. "W-well, in all honesty, I... I really don't know. I hope y-y-you don't m-mind! Oh please forgive me!" I was stunned by that answer, while she hid her face underneath my chin, her hold becoming tighter. And I think my entire face was burning hot red, that it could put red hot chilli peppers to shame, just by Fluttershy pressing up against me.
Anyways, I was having trouble trying to form a sentence while this went on. So I settled with calming her down and show that I wasn't offended, "Hey, I... It's fine. Really." I said softly to her, and it was very tempting to brush my fingers over her equine ears, but withhold that idea. Out of fear for the others. "Say I never got your name." I asked, changing the subject.
She gasped, "Oh dear, how rude of me!" She looked to me again, "Where are my manners, I'm Fluttershy." We exchanged pleasantries and she went through with telling me about her friend's names, what they are, what they do, then she told me about the princesses. I was still surprise to see Twilight an Alicorn, and I guess this is what Cadence meant by 'Ascension'. But this also confirms that she has to live up in Canterlot again and won't be able to come visit. Though, I will admit this much; Twilight is far more beautiful then when she was a unicorn. Lastly was Discord, the Spirit of Chaos. Somehow she managed to befriend him, or in this case tame him of his chaotic ways.
While we were talking, The sound of hooves came clopping towards us. "Say, Flutters, mind if Ah talk ta James?" That was definitely Applejack's voice there.
Fluttershy removed her wing to see AJ, "What is it you want to ask him about?" She asked her cowgirl friend.
Applejack's facial expression hardened, "Its 'bout that there Fenix fella. Ah don't know 'bout him, but he just gives me the willies!" She shivers, "So can ya tell us a might bit of him? It could help us understand him a little bit better."
"I don't think I'm of much help. Even if I did know him, I can't tell you. He's secretive about himself, so all I can tell you is don't go ticking him off! We all know what he is capable of." I told her, but she wasn't satisfied with it.
"I'm sorry, but that ain't enough. C'mon partner there's gotta be more to him!" She stated.
I sighed at this, I really can't tell her about it. But they'll be questioning about his powers to no end.
Fortunately though, "Now Applejack." Fluttershy came to the rescue, "Let's not pressure him into telling us everything about Mr. Ravcore. Like he said: he's not a normal human anymore, and it's probably a sensitive topic for him." A stern look was on her as she eyed AJ, which made her gulped and sweat was starting to form above her brow.
"B-but, what about...all those things--?"
"He probably said those things to keep us at a distance between us and him." I interrupted her, "Now he may say a lot of harsh things and sometimes means it. But it is nothing more then a defensive mechanism he uses, just in case for any...mishaps." Now I'm not sure if that was his intention, but it did feel like it, even if it doesn't sound like it was.
She look at me confused, "Uh... Ah'm sorry James. But Ah don't see how that's suppose ta be a means o' defence, especially when he said those horrible words. Is that even consider human in yer race?"
"... In a sense, yes. There are those who do use profanity in their sentences. Especially when we're mad as heck about someone, or something." When I answered, their jaws - along with every other pony, dragon and whatnot, all looked as if they were gonna hit the floor. But it's not like they ever knew, nor deal with it. Though, somehow, I get the feeling that Fenix is not going to be giving them a choice in the matter.
I wonder how the girls in his one handle him when he swears in their faces? Probably leave him be? I know Rainbow Dash would try and challenge him. But he's intuitive and he'll go for her wings, cutting off her very pride and joy, not giving her a chance, he'll win against her. AJ would probably stand a better chance, but he'll outsmart her, turning her attacks to his favour since she uses her legs for apple bucking. Twilight might also stand a chance, but he told me that magic doesn't exactly work against him, save for levitation, but he can burn through most magic like that. But since she's an Alicorn...
"James?" Fluttershy broke me out of thinking, "I think you should tell him to stop using those words. That is, if you can convince him." Oh boy... Fluttershy, you are asking a pretty tall order here. Especially with him!
I laughed nervously, already a multitude of series on how this will turn out: all linked to either get bedridden in a hospital for the rest of forever, or die by fire on the spot. All and all, not going to happen.
"Uh, miss Fluttershy. I really can't tell him to stop swearing." I said, "he isn't one for... Well... Listening to reasons like that. He thinks of it as more of an excuse then anything else." After saying that, the girls gasped in shock and horror, almost as if I scared them to death. Then again, this is Fenix we are talking about.
"Why..." Rarity started, "... That BRUTE! We should just cuff him and lock him down in Canterlot's dungeon!" She shouted her displeasure of Fenix, not that I blame her, but it's just that... I don't think anyone or anything can stop him.
I tried to speak, but Pinkie came in, "Rarity! Don't you think you're going too far on this!? I mean, he practically burned his way out of Twilights magic. Who's to say he can't burn his way out of prison!? He literally burns through magic itself!" Pinkie said, her insight puts Fenix's chance of escape undeniable no matter what.
Though this bit of information didn't stop Rarity, "Well how about we enchant his cell with ice? One that can keep him from using his fire to its full extent. That way, there is no way of getting out!" Oh dear, I think she might be taking this too far. She look confident when she said that, but the rest of us were more worried about this idea.
"Miss Rarity." I called her attention, hoping to snap her from going through with this, "I wouldn't recommend turning him into an enemy. Even if this plan of yours does succeed, you'll just make things worser not only for yourself, but for everyone else as well."
"But Mr. James! Surely you wouldn't let such a revolting creature like him walk around swearing in everypony's face at first glance, would you?" She... Did she just call him...
I couldn't believe this. And I'm not the only one. The girls were just as shocked as I am, perhaps a little bit more upset and mad. Especially Rainbow Dash and Applejack, those two were ready to tackle her.
Rarity looked around, seeing that they didn't like what she called him. "W-what is the matter? Was it something I said wrong?" She asked, as if she didn't comprehend on what she said before.
I wanted to express how disgusted I was with how she viewed Fenix, but yet again I was beaten to it by Fluttershy. And boy did she lay it on her. "Rarity, how could you!? You don't know of what these two have to go through!" Wait she knows!? But how...
"N-n-now now Fluttershy. I have a g-good reason f-f-for d-doing this." Rarity stutter out, shrinking under Flutter's Stare.
"Oh really! Well you don't know how close these two were to 'dying'!" Fluttershy shouted, "As a matter of fact: imprisoning Fenix would be impossible for us to do! Because it is nothing compare to the bloody fight they endured! And he had to become a monster just to survive and save James, when he was at his weakest!" Her hold tighten on me even further as she continued on, "As James head was about to get cut off from his other half, Fenix managed to intercept it. James got away from it, with only a minor wound to the forehead! After he got him to the safest place possible, he went back and faced all of them, by himself! He didn't seem fazed by the fact that he was going to die by doing this! He care not of it at ALL!" Tears were starting to form as she press on, even the others were on the verge of crying - including Rarity. "Even though it's impossible to face a force where all odds are against you, he manages to come out on top. Scathed, batter, bruised, bloodied...and still alive. It was thanks to him that they were able to survive." She stopped. The tears from all our eyes began to spill, even from behind me Derpy was crying her heart out. The Doctor holding her while she cried into his shoulder, Uriel was trying to keep a strong face, but even she was shedding tears. This also included the Princesses, and especially Discord. I couldn't tell if he was faking it, but that didn't matter, a tear's a tear right? That's good enough for me.
Fluttershy hugged me more tighter and started to sing that lullaby of hers. Somewhere during that, I managed to wrap my arms around her, this only seem to make her grip me more. I don't think she was going to let go of me anytime soon.
"James?"
"Yeah."
"I'm so sorry for what you two have to go through." She said.
I shook my head, "Don't be. You weren't the one responsible for it." I said, "Though.... Hey does anyone hear that?" I pulled away from her and started walking towards the window that overlooks the Everfree.
Passing through the Princesses, Luna grab a hold on me. "James wait!" She told me and I did, "Just stay behind me."
"Uh...why?" I asked, not quite sure on what she meant.
"For safety." She said. But that left me confused, shouldn't it be the other way around? Then again, this is Luna, Princess of the Night. She probably would know what I'm saying. I nodded and stayed behind her as we both went up.
Looking outside, there wasn't much going on, but I could've sworn... Then I heard something else. A twang noise. It was only then that it was an arrow fired. On instincts I pulled Luna down to cover, just in time too. The arrow flew passed us overhead and stuck itself in the TARDIS. Luckily no one was hurt.
I looked at Luna, "Sorry. But I didn't want any of us to get struck in the eye." I chuckled a little, and then sighed. "Bad pun." I really need to get my head straight, hanging around Fenix can make you say stuff that sounds either weird, or dark. I just hope she didn't take much offends to it.
"In all honesty..." She spoke, "I think it was suppose to be me to protect you." She said, while looking a little shameful, "I'm sorry for my untimely reaction."
I let a small smile grace my lips, "Hey, it's OK. If anything, I say we could make a pretty good team, me and you." She look at me surprised, even a slight taint of red was rising out of her cheeks.
As cute as it was, we wouldn't have the time to poke each other for fun and games. Right now, someone's out there and they mean business. Looking at the arrow, I got up and walked to it. With Luna close by me of course.
Reaching out to it, I pulled it out and started analysing, "Hmm... What do you make of this princess?" I asked, handing it over to her. But I already knew the answer of its design and quality, thanks to Fenix's training. Yes you heard me, he trained me. Only because he thought I looked pitiful. Not that I blame him, I was a mess. It's also so that I can better defend myself and others. But let me just say this: it was Hell. Almost as worse as the one we were both stuck inside of!
Anyway, Luna looked shocked, "How could this be... This is from the Royal Guards!" She shouted and went into explaining. "This arrow was made for our Guard's use of Non-Lethal takedowns. It's enchanted with a sleeping and a healing regeneration spell. As soon as it hits its target, the sleeping spell works its way all throughout your body, making you drowsing at first and then fall asleep, almost instantly. The healing regenerates any and all wounds, even the most fatal, well save for if it hits you in the head..." Well that's comforting, "Anyway, that's all they are used for. But if this was used, the that could only mean..." Before she could say it, the answer was given to us.
"Creature!" A voice called out from outside. "We the Royal Guard, demand that you release the Princesses, the Elements of Harmony, and surrender yourself into our custody! Or we will use lethal force if necessary! Do you comply!?" Oh boy.... Could this actually get any worse.
(TARDIS door kicked open)
I had to ask, didn't I?
"So... Who's looking to die?" Fenix asked, armed to the teeth, and ready to make some mayhem.
I sighed, already feeling sorry for the Guardsponies unfortunate end. |
The Count's Bride | pre | The pegasus blinked before fully opening her eyes. Once her vision had cleared she saw a male unicorn with black short buzz cut mohawk for a mane. Her mind still set on what happened last night, she tried to fly away before the stallion spoke to her in a gentle, reassuring voice.
"Now, now, I'm not going to hurt you," he said, lifting his head up to look at his carriage driver. "How much farther until we reach the village?"
"Oh, about, three miles or so."
He nodded, then returned his attention back to the mare. The stallion secured the blanket more tightly around her shoulders. "You must've had quite a fright, haven't you?"
The pegasus gave him a little nod.
He smiled. "Well, there's nothing to be afraid of now, I'm a doctor. Dr. Van Helstallion," he said, introducing himself.
The mare gave him a sly smile, her voice low and quiet. "Fluttershy."
The two ponies made their way up the stairs of the tavern in which Fluttershy had been the night before. Dr. Van Helstallion had his hooves placed on her shoulders, making sure that blanket stayed around her body, so she would stay warm from the cold winter air. Although she was still wearing her hood and cape, that certainly wasn't going to help her from freezing.
Reaching the door, the stallion used his magic to open it, letting the young filly step inside the warm building. He then closed the door behind him as he trotted inside and placed his pleather bag on the bar counter.
The unicorn then gently placed a hoof on her back, and lead her to an empty table. "Why don't you sit right here," he suggested, pulling out a chair for her. Fluttershy gladly took the seat whilst he took the blanket off of her shoulders, and placed it on the back of the chair.
Taking off his bowler hat, he set on the table across from Fluttershy. He then trotted over to the counter, knocking on it before calling out, "Landlord!!"
Sugar Belle immediately came out of a room that was in the middle of a little hallway. She was still in her work apron, but had a black scarf wrapped around her head. She turned to meet face to face with the unicorn.
"Coffee and water, please."
"I'm sorry, sir, but th-"
"Excuse me for interrupting," he apologized, "but this young lady hasn't been doing very well," he explained, extending his hoof to where Fluttershy was sitting.
Sugar Belle turned around, surprised to see the mare from last night. She rushed over, setting a hoof on her shoulder. "Oh, Miss, I'm so happy to see that you're safe and sound."
Just then, her husband, Party Favor, came out of the same room. "I'm afraid we're closed for customers for today, sir."
"Father Waddle booked me a room here, I'm Dr. Van Helstallion."
"O-oh, yes, of course. I'm very sorry, sir," Party Favor apologized.
"Quite alright," he replied. He took off his mittens and set them next to his bag.
"I'll go get you some water," Sugar Belle said to Fluttershy. The pegasus nodded slightly as she headed off to the back of the tavern.
Party Favor spoke to the stallion in a hushed tone, not wanting to fright the mare sitting just a couple feet away from them. "You see, there's been a death in the village," he explained. "Rarity's cousin. Such a fine young girl. She was found dead in the woods. Her memorial's in progress right now." The stallion pointed his hoof out to the south end of the building where curtains were drawn.
Dr. Van Helstallion furrowed his eyebrows with curiosity. "How did she die?"
"Well, no pony knows for sure, but she's dead, all right. They're going to bury her churchyard much to Father Waddle's dismay."
The grey unicorn glanced over to the direction where the memorial was taking place for a few moments. He then turned his attention back to the tavern owner. "May I see her," he asked.
"Of course. Being that Father sent for you, I think it would be reasonable." He paused for a moment before muttering, "but there's nothing to be done."
The blue unicorn then trotted away toward the room of the memorial. The doctor turned his attention to the yellow pegasus. "I won't be long." He then followed suit, leaving Fluttershy at the table.
Party Favor opened the curtain with both hooves, allowing Dr. Van Helstallion inside. Candelabras were lit and ponies from the village were sitting saying their seats, mourning the loss of one of their good friends and family member. Some were sitting, praying to dear Solaris above. Other than the praying, nothing but the sound of sniffling ponies could be heard.
The two stallions made their way over to the coffin that was placed in the center of the memorial service. Hellstallion took a good look at the mare inside. She was an earth pony who had a short blue mane that went to the base of her neck, and bangs that covered her forehead. Her creme coat was pale as snow, and she wore a light purple dress with a floral pattern. Her forehooves lay across her stomach as she laid there, lifeless.
While looking at the mare in the coffin, he stuck a hoof inside, picking up a piece of an herb. He gave the tavern owner a curious look. "Wild garlic?"
The stallion spoke softly. "It's supposed to protect against evil. Vampires and such things," he explained. "You must find these local superstitions ridiculous," he assumed. "Besides, who knows how she came upon her death?"
The grey unicorn spoke in a serious manner. "There's always a good reason for customs like these."
He looked at the mare in the coffin once again. Taking both of his hooves, he reached in and moved some of pony's hair away from her neck. When he did so, he took notice of two holes punctured in the base of her neck. Dr. Van Helstallion looked back at the stallion beside him, giving him a raised eyebrow.
Party Favor did nothing but move one of his hooves from his forehead, to his chest, to both his shoulders, in a quick manner. After doing so, he pointed over to his left. "There are her two cousins."
The two stallions made their way to a white unicorn mare with a curly purple mane, holding a little white unicorn filly with a pink and purple mane. From what the doctor could see, the two were sisters, and the eldest was trying her best to comfort the little pony who's eyes had been red and puffy from crying.
Party Favor spoke. "He's a doctor," he said simply.
"I am so very sorry," he said, giving his condolences.
There was a brief moment of silence among the four of them. "She was a great girl. Can't believe she's dead," the eldest said, as her sister held onto to her tight, burying her face into the mare's chest.
Fluttershy sat at her table, setting her cup of water down as she spoke. "It was like a living nightmare," she said to Sugar Belle. "I feel as though it hardly happened."
"Don't talk about it, then" she suggested. "It would only make you more shaken up."
The pegasus didn't look at the mare. "But the Countess seemed so kind..." She then turned to look at Sugar Belle. "And her brother-"
"Her brother?" She gave her a surprised look. "I thought the Countess said he was dead," she asked, confused.
Fluttershy looked away from the pink unicorn, and sighed. "...It's a long story."
A moment later, the two stallions returned from the other room. Neither saying a word as they trotted over to where the two mares had been chatting.
Dr. Van Helstallion went over the Fluttershy's side, giving her an assuring smile. "Feeling well enough to travel, now?"
She smiled in return. "Yes."
The male unicorn extended his hoof for Fluttershy to take, which she greatly accepted. He brought her up from her seat, pushing her chair in the process as he levitated the blanket around her body.
Sugar Belle then took this time to pick up the pegasi's half empty cup, and gave the two a smile. "Goodbye, my dear," she said to the yellow pony.
"Goodbye, and thank you very much," she responded, returning a smile.
A light blue aura surrounded the bowler hat that had been sitting on the table. It made it's way over to the young stallion and settled itself on the crown of his head.
"Yes, thank you," he said, as he and the young filly made their way out of the village tavern.
Dr. Van Helstallion and Fluttershy sat side-by-side in a carriage. They had been on the road for a good half hour. To help pass the time, Helstallion had asked the mare to explain what had happened when he found her on the road unconscious. He listened to everything she had told him from meeting the Countess at the tavern up to where she saw her dead in her own home.
"The next thing I remember was seeing you," she said, finishing up her story. "I'm sorry I put you through all this trouble."
The grey pony chuckled. "Oh, it's no trouble at all." A thought crossed his mind. "What was the name of the castle in which you stayed?"
"Castle de Shimmer," she responded. "Do you know it?"
"I know of it," he replied. The mare gave him a tiny smile. "And you say you're on your way to the Trotsylvanian Veterinarian School for Mares?"
Her eyes brightened at the question. "Oh, yes! I love animals. I especially love to help take care of them. I've gotten my first job there as a student teacher. I hope to teach all fillies and mares how to nurse animals back to health, and also about their histories."
Helstallion chuckled. "I'm sure you'll do a fantastic job."
Fluttershy blushed, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "O-oh, thank you."
Another moment of silence passed before another thought came across the unicorn's mind. "What about your luggage?"
The pegasus looked away, embarrassed. "I'm afraid that when I first arrived at the village, my stagecoach went off with all of my luggage," she explained. "And I've left the one I have taken back at the castle. Oh, I may have to send for it."
"Castle de Shimmer," he asked, needing clarification. The young filly just nodded her head in confirmation. "I don't think that would be very wise."
Fluttershy looked at him and tilted her head in confusion. "Why not?"
"Let me explain," he began. "I've been asked to study a... strange illness. A certain illness that is half physical, half spiritual."
Curious, she asked hesitantly, "May-may I know what it is?"
"Have you heard of the... 'Cult of the Undead?'"
She thought for a moment. "The 'Undead?'"
"Yes, have you heard of it?"
She shook her head. "I don't believe so."
"Are you certain?"
"Absolutely. Just by hearing the name sounds frightening," she said, shivering at the thought of what the cult could possibly be.
"Well, it mostly known here in Trotsylvania and parts of Ismareal," he explained.
"A-an-and... will it spread," she asked, becoming worried.
Helstallion gave her a reassuring smile. "Not unless somepony tries to stop it," he replied, comforting her. "That's the main reason I came here." He then took a little notebook out from an inside pocket of his brown suit. "I would like for you to tell me everything. Everything in detail about what happened at Castle de Shimmer, leaving nothing out. However, frightening it would seem to you."
Fluttershy thought it over for a moment.
"Will you do that for me?"
She looked him in the eyes. Those piercing blue eyes. She smiled sweetly. "If it's to help to stop this illness from spreading... then, yes."
The unicorn then spoke in a serious tone. "And when you tell me, I want you to forget it. Forget it entirely, and not mention it to anypony."
"If that's what you really want."
"Then it is a promise," he asked, grinning at her.
"Yes."
"Excellent."
Dr. Van Helstallion then began to levitate his notebook and began to write down everything the mare told him about her stay at the Castle de Shimmer.
The Veterinarian School for Mares was a school where all young fillies and mares were taught, played, and lived. It was a Saturday, so there were no classes to be taught. Most of the ponies were placed in the lobby, where they gossiped, played games, and studied. As this was many of them did what they wanted, one of the ponies who worked there, a maid, trotted over to the door where she opened to find a young pegasus mare and a young unicorn male to be present. She curtsied.
"This mademoiselle Fluttershy, she has come to take up an appointment," the stallion explained.
"Will you come in," she asked, stepping over to the side.
The two ponies stepped inside only to find the entire lobby to be silent and every filly and mare staring at them. Though... it seemed that they were staring more at the stallion whom was with Fluttershy.
"I'll tell the principal you're here," the maid said, trotting a few steps toward the principal's office before being stopped by an elder mare who was coming down the stairs.
"I'll see to it myself, dear," she said, rather cheerfully. The maid curtsied, as well as some of the other ponies, before leaving. The elder mare was a yellow earth pony with a blue streaked mane tied up in a ponytail, and medical sign and pawprint for a cutie mark. She made her way toward the pegasus and the stallion. "Ah, you must be Mademoiselle Fluttershy, the new student teacher. I am Therma Velvet," she introduced herself. "Welcome!"
"Thank you, Madame," she replied with a smile.
The mare then looked over Fluttershy's shoulder, grinning at the stallion. "And who is this young stallion?"
"This is Dr. Van Helstallion," she replied.
"How do you do," he greeted her.
"How do you do," she greeted in return.
"He's been kind enough to accompany me on the way here."
"Her coach abandoned her at the last village," he added.
A worried look spread across the elder mare face. Her eyes widened. "Goodness! You're alright, aren't you, sweetheart? Not injured, I hope."
Fluttershy chuckled softly. "No, I'm fine, thank you."
"But she's lost all of her luggage," he told the elder pony.
"Oh, that's just terrible news," Therma responded. She gave off a small sigh. "Oh, well, no problem. We'll treat with everything you need until all your luggage is retrieved."
"Oh..." Fluttershy said, surprised at the generous offer. "Why, thank you."
"No problem at all, deary. Now come along. You must meet with Principal Curative at once, he doesn't like to be kept waiting," she said, taking Fluttershy's hoof in hers. She then dropped into a whisper. "Between you and me, he's quite the stick in the mud," she told her, giggling.
"Well, since everything is settled I must get back to m-"
"Oh, no! No, come along as well, Dr. Van Helstallion. You can help explain everything. Mademoiselle is a bit late, and Curative is very punctuative." She then began to lead the two toward the office. "Don't get me wrong, he's a wonderful stallion," she assured them, "but he can also be a little frightening." She giggled once again as she lead the pegasus and unicorn.
As the three made their way around the lobby, Therma said aloud, "Now, now, girls there's no need for staring."
Most of the fillies and mares who had been staring at the pair stopped at the drop of a hat, and had gone back to what they were doing earlier. Those who hadn't, found themselves gossiping about the two, believing them to be a couple, or even daydreaming about Dr. Van Helstallion. After all, he was a rather handsome and attractive pony.
Once the three had finally made it to the office, Therma turned around and whispered, "Let me do the talking," before knocking and opening up the door. "Curative, my love, Mademoiselle Fluttershy has arrived," she announced, as she made her way inside, the young filly and stallion following suit.
The principal was a pegasus, like Fluttershy herself. He had a short brown mane and light green coat, and wore a red tie around his neck. "So, I heard," he said, rather bitterly.
From the way he furrowed his eyebrows together and lightly banged his hooves on his desk, he was clearly not happy. It made Fluttershy flinch.
"Mademoiselle, you're late," he said.
The young filly winced a bit at the tone of his voice. "I'm sorry."
"Punctuality comes next to cleanliness," he responded.
"But, darling," Therma intervened.
Curative lifted booth his hooves in midair. "I don't want to hear any excuses," he said, before sitting back down to his desk.
Dr. Van Helstallion took this opportunity to step in. He sat his hat down on a table nearby and made his way toward the principal. "I can assure you, sir, that this is unavoidable."
Principal Curative got up from his desk once again, giving him a disapproving look. "And who might you be?"
"A friend of Mademoiselle Fluttershy," he explained.
"I have made it a rule, sir. A rule here at the school stating that no pony on the staff is allowed no guests. NO GUESTS!"
The unicorn reached on the inside of his suit and took out a little card. "I'm a doctor." He handed the card over to the pegasus.
The elder pegasus took it in his hoof. He looked it over and a smile spread across his face. He then got up from his desk and flown over to the stallion. "Lighten University..." he said, "almost a colleague. My dear Dr. Van Helstallion," he extended his hoof to shake as he spoke, "you'd only to tell me that you were," he began to read off the card, "'a doctor of philosophy, a doctor in psychology, a professor of metaphysics,' by Solaris how could I have not have recognized somepony with as great as a profession as yours?"
"I trust here, Curative, that you will allow me to visit Mademoiselle Fluttershy during her stay," he asked, in a casual manner.
"My dear doctor, the rule has already been resided to your benefit," he responded, gesturing to the unicorn himself.
"Thank you," he replied. "Now, if you will excuse me?"
"Yes, sir," he said, bowing slightly to the stallion, "I will forever be your obedient servant."
A moment of silence passed before Therma lead Fluttershy out of her husband's office, Helstallion and Curative following suit. Opening the door to the sound of tens of mares and fillies talking all at once. The elder earth pony made her way to the lobby fairly quickly to calm the noise down.
"I can't thank you enough for how kind you've been to me," Fluttershy said to the grey unicorn. "How can I ever repay you?"
"Oh, there's no need," he responded. "However, the least you can do is remember to keep your promise."
The young pegasus chuckled. "I'll do my best."
"And don't let that old stallion in there scare you," he added.
Fluttershy could do nothing but laugh. Helstallion laughed softly along with her.
After getting everypony to calm down, Therma made her way back to the two. "Please, come back whenever you're in the area, doctor."
"Yes, Madame," he responded, taking her hoof in his and kissing it softly. He then turned his attention to the yellow pegasus. "Goodbye, dear Fluttershy. I shall hope to see you again soon."
The young mare blushed a bit. "As do I."
He gave her a genuine smile before speaking to Therma. "I'll see myself out." He placed his bowler hat back on his head and trotted his way out of the building.
All of the mares stared, once again, as he left the building. Some of them even sighing dreamily out loud.
"Such a fine and charming gentlecolt," Therma said, smiling as she watched him make his way out of the lobby.
"Yes," Fluttershy agreed. "A very kind gentlecolt."
As soon as the front door shut, the elder mare called for another young mare. "Amelia," she said, gesturing for a young pegasus mare to come over. Her fur coat was navy blue, her purple mane was tied up in a bun, and had lavender eyes. She was also wearing a veterinarian coat. Therma whispered to Fluttershy as the mare came over, "She's a student teacher, quite like you," she explained. She then turned to face the dark pegasus. "Amelia, Fluttershy has just arrived and she doesn't know anypony yet and I would like for you to show her to her room."
The pegasus bowed her head slightly. "Yes, Madame."
"Room number twenty-one," she said her, before leaving the two pegasi.
A moment of silence passed before Fluttershy spoke. "I feel so strange finally arriving here. Did you feel the same once you've arrived?"
Amelia gave her a assuring smile. "You'll settle down soon enough," she said, giving her a sly smile. Fluttershy smiled softly in return. "Come along."
The two pegasi then made their way up to Fluttershy's room. |
The Count's Bride | Slow Growth of the Cult | Dr. Van Helstallion had returned to the village tavern. He took a seat at the bar as Party Favor's nephew, Royal Pin, went to get him a drink. His ear twitched at the sound of a mare talking to somepony in agony.
"Why?! Why did it have to be her, Father?! She was like a mother to dear little Sweetie Belle!"
The young stallion turned his head toward the direction of the voice. His eyes shifted over to his left where he saw the young mare from earlier. Her hooves were on forehead and her tears were hitting the table.
Beside was an elder stallion, looked to be about in his mid-sixties. He was an lavender earth pony who was wearing black silk robe with a red sash around his waist, and a cross pendant around his neck.
That must be Father Waddle, thought Dr. Van Helstallion.
"Why must Solaris permit these things," she asked, sniffling. She wiped her tears with a tissue.
Father Waddle placed a hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Where is my child?"
The mare didn't answer.
"Where is she, Rarity? You know I must go to her."
Rarity looked at him with her puffy red eyes and tear-stained face. "It's too late, Father Waddle," she said, sniffling once more. "Coco has already been buried."
The village's bishop's eyes widened in fear. "Where?"
"In the churchyard. Where else would she be?"
"In hollow ground," he asked, fear coming out of his voice.
The mare gave him a bewildered look. "Isn't that the right every mare and stallion? Every colt and filly?"
He shook his head slowly as he spoke, "May Solaris forgive you."
"Coco's dead, isn't she," Rarity asked him. "Can't she just lie in peace like all the others?"
Father Waddle gave her a stern look. "Rarity, you and I both know that she is not like all the rest!"
Dr. Van Helstallion's head rose up, becoming interested.
"You know how she came about her death, my child. I know how much you yearn for her to still be with us but she can't lie in the churchyard!"
The unicorn mare gave him a look of hope and desperation. "Please, Father Waddle. Please let her stay."
The old stallion placed his hoof on top of hers, reassuringly as possible. "Rarity, my child, you get it out of your brain the fact that she ever was your cousin." Tears began to swell in her eyes once more. "She's no longer like the living." A moment of silence fell. "Not even... Solaris, help us, the dead!"
Rarity began to sob once again. "No... No! NO!" she shouted, as she ran out of the tavern crying harder than before.
Dr. Helstallion watched the whole scene unfold as the frantic mare ran out, leaving the old pony alone, placing his hooves on his temples. Royal Pin had returned with the doctor's drink. As he placed it on the counter, Helstallion quickly asked for another before he head off into the back of the cellar.
He thanked Royal Pin as a light blue aura surrounded both beverages, levitating them off of the table. The grey unicorn then trotted over to the earth pony, sliding the glass in front of him.
"Here, drink this," he said.
The stallion took the advice in consideration. He took a slow sip of the alcoholic beverage as the unicorn sat next to him, drinking his as well.
"Poor girl," Father Waddle muttered. "...And I am powerless against the devilish calamity!"
"Perhaps, I may be of some service to you."
Father Waddle gave the young stallion a curious look, his eyebrows furrowing together. "Who are you?"
He gave a reassuring smile. "You've sent for me; Dr. Van Helstallion."
The old pony smiled greatly, his combed-over mane bouncing ever so slightly as he shouted with relief. "Oh, thank Solaris, you've come!"
Dr. Van Helstallion and Father Waddle were inside his room, discussing all the strange and macabre deaths that had been happening in the village, recently. Helstallion was putting away all of his belongings in the drawer and closets and the two of them talked.
"You say that this.... um... vampirism passes on," Father asked, in need of clarification.
"Yes," the unicorn responded, closing his drawer shut. "The Bite of the Vampire, otherwise known as the 'Vampire's Kiss,' can just take about as much as one pint of its victim's blood, causing them to become a vampire themselves. The conversion takes a day, perhaps even just a few hours, for the transformation to be complete. Once it has been done, the Cult of the Undead begins to grow; slowly, but it grows."
There was a brief silence. Father Waddle took this silence to sink in all the information whilst the unicorn took off his suit jacket and placed it neatly on the bed.
The doctor continued. "However, a vampire can kill if chose to drink most, or even every ounce, of blood in the victim's body. Must be why you and the village haven't seen or thought of any being around until fairly recently."
"But how can a vampire survive after so many years?"
"Well, vampires are... nocturnal demons, I suppose you could say. They sleep during the day, usually in their coffin or tomb, and roam as a living form during the night, searching for their next victim. In order to do so, they would need protection."
Father raised an eyebrow. "Protection?"
Helstallion nodded his head slowly. "Yes. Protection to keep them from the hours of the daylight," he clarified. "An example would be a family member who would hide the infected. Or a servant who has spent their lives devoted to the demon that they don't realize the evil they had been doing. If it weren't for these protectors, the vampire would be out during the day and destroyed forever. Of course, there is also Holy Water. Although it doesn't actually kill them, it can do a bit of damage."
"Are there any other ways to be rid of this demon?"
Helstallion thought for a moment before trotting over to his bag. Encasing his luggage in a magical aura, he fumbled around inside the carry on until he found what he was looking for. The unicorn levitated the object, whatever it was he had found, in tow as he made his way back toward the village priest.
Placing the object in front of Father Waddle, he could now see that it was wrapped in some sort of a dark purple fabric. With Helstallion's magical aura still surrounding it, he neatly unwrapped it was that was underneath, revealing a long, circular, sharp piece of wood.
"This," Helstallion said. "A wooden stake. A wooden stake through the heart of a vampire is the most prominent way of killing one. One way, other than burning into ashes."
Father Waddle looked at the wooden stake for a long moment before the grey unicorn rewrapped it and put it back into his bag. "Do you having any idea as to how a vampire can get it's victim?"
"To be honest, I only know of one tactic and that's by looking into the demon's eyes. Looking into the eyes of a vampire makes the victim completely vulnerable. If there are, in fact, more strategies that the vampire can use to trap its victim, well, I've yet to find out."
The young stallion peered outside his room window. As he looked out, he could see a freshly place tombstone in the churchyard. "Is that the young lady's grave," he asked, gesturing toward the village's local bishop.
Father Waddle got up from his seat, and looked out the window. "W-well, yes. I believe so."
Helstallion levitated a little pocket-watch that had been in his vest and checked the time. "She won't be active until nightfall. There's still a chance for me to end this." He placed his watch back inside the pocket of his vest. He began to trot his way towards his door.
"Are you certain about this, my son?"
Helstallion turned to look Father Waddle in the eye. A moment passed before he spoke. "If our dear Solaris didn't give us the faith to do what we think is right, then... off to Tartarus where we all will be damned for all of eternity."
The elder pony gave him a sly smile, putting his hoof on the unicorn's shoulder. "Very well. I pray that all will be well and you will be closer to ridding us all of this terror."
Helstallion smiled in return, nodding his head ever so slightly before heading out of the door, whilst levitating his carryon bag and taking it along with him.
There was a full moon out in the night. The young stallion was squinting his eyes through all of the fog that was making the path to the churchyard a bit difficult to get to. He had to admit, the fog fit this sort of situation.
Ah, yes. Fog, Helstallion thought. A situation like this wouldn't be complete without a nice thick blanket of fog in the middle of the night.
As the unicorn got closer to the churchyard, the faint sound of a mare's voice caught his ear. Helstallion's eyebrow raised in curiosity. He then began to take a slower pace as he reached the churchyard iron fence. He crouched down a bit and looked through the bars to see a unicorn mare speaking to the girl's grave.
"C'mon dear, push. Don't want to keep the master waiting too long."
Helstallion furrowed his eyebrows together. He began to take notice of the mare's appearance. Her pink fur seemed faded and her purple mane was down, looking disheveled, and frizzled out. It especially showed with the teal streaks in her hair. The dirtied red-purple gown she was wearing didn't do her any favors either. All and all, the young mare looked like she had completely lost her head.
"C'mon dear, you can do it," she said the in a gravelly whisper. A faint tapping could be heard coming from inside of the coffin. "No, I'm not allowed to help you. You've got to be strong."
No! She's not doing what I think she's doing!
As the young stallion continued to watch, his eyes widening as a pale hoof slowly risen from the ground, jumping a bit in fright as the female unicorn began to cackle in frightening delight.
"Hahaha! That's right! There she is! Hahaha!"
The crazy mare began to cackle even more as the coffin opened and the once dead earth pony sat upright in her coffin, her fangs completely visible as she grinned. Helstallion's expression became solemn as what he had feared had been confirmed.
The mare took the wild garlic that the girl had been wearing off of her body and threw it onto the ground. The now newly born vampire then got up on her four hooves and stepped out onto the churchyard soil.
At that moment, Helstallion had risen from his hiding place, revealing himself. "Enough of this," he bellowed, causing the two mares to jump.
"Go little one, go!" The little earth pony then sprinted out of the graveyard and into the streets of the village.
"Not on my watch!" the young stallion only got to gallop a few steps before he felt himself collapse to the ground due to being hit by magic in the head. He groaned in pain as he hit the pavement. The hard, rough, stone cold street tearing his arm as he slid a few feet across. It took a few moments before he started picking himself up, holding his left arm with his other hoof, groaning in pain. The unicorn bit his bottom lip as he writhed in pain. Some warm and sticky liquid streaming down his arm as he stood.
Damn, I lost her! Well, no matter. I'll just use my trafficking spell.
His horn began to glow, preparing to do the spell. A confused look spread across his face as the spell he had been trying to commence, failed. "What the.." He tried once again, but to no avail. He tried to do teleportation spell, but grown frustrated as he couldn't do it either.
"Hahaha! I thought you would try to use the trafficking spell to find her, so I cast spell that blocks the ability for you to track anypony, as well as teleport," the mare said as she walked toward him. The unicorn mare stopped as she was face-to-face with him, just mere inches from his face. "The Master has big plans coming and he doesn't want anypony getting in his way. Especially, somepony like you," she taunted him, poking him in the chest so hard that he stumbled backward. She cackled a bit as she began walking the other direction. "Oh, and you might want to cover up that arm. That is, unless, you want the Master to come after you." She cackled once again, walking a few steps more before teleporting out of the churchyard.
Helstallion just stood there, breathing deeply before screaming in both agony and frustration.
Castle de Shimmer was occupied as its rightful Count was finally free. He paced back and forth waiting for his faithful Starlight Glimmer to return. The Count had sent her to retrieve his freshly born disciple from the village churchyard. He knew that she wouldn't be able to say no. She had been around him for so many years, she had basically became his slave of sorts.
Count Sombra stopped pacing once he heard the the front door open to see none other than Starlight. "There you are," he said, his tone rather stern. "Did you retrieve the girl?"
Starlight nodded slightly, a wicked little smile appearing across her face. "She should be here any moment now, Master." Her answer was soon followed by the sound of running hooves coming towards the castle. "Ah, and here she comes now."
The sound of running hooves kept getting closer every moment until the little earth pony got right to the door frame. She looked toward the two ponies before her, eyes stopping at the sight of the Count. Just by taking a look at him, she already knew who he was, and grinned, her sharp fangs shimmering in the moonlight.
Upon seeing the little mare's fangs, Sombra genuinely smiled. "Come here, my dear," he commanded, gesturing for her to come to him.
The pale pony immediately came running toward him, only stopping when she was a mere inches away from his face. Sombra examined her. Placing his hoof underneath her chin, he began to take note of her now pale fur and skin, her cold body temperature, and closer look at the newly formed fangs.
After the Count had finished mentally examining her, he chuckled. "Dear little one, I have an important job to discuss with you soon," he told the newborn vampire, "but there are some other things that I must take care of, first."
The little earth pony vampire nodded, not looking away from his eyes.
"Sunset," he yelled, turning his head toward where his room, his old prison, was. Starlight, and his new little minion, did their faces the same direction. After a few moments, the door slowly opened and an yellow unicorn with a curly yellow and red mane and tail, wearing a black and purple silk dress stepped outside.
"Wha-what do you want, Sombra," she muttered, her face downward for not wanting to look at him.
"I want you to tell me the location of that little Veterinarian school for mares," he responded, a wicked smile appearing. "I'm going to pay a little friend of yours a visit."
Sunset's head shot up in shock so quickly, that she had revealed her vampiric fang teeth. |
Equestria: The Vast Infinity | pre | Skipper tilted her head like she had rolled her eyes and now has a headache, "Even if it isn't the one you were brought into our crew from?"
I reminisced the days before I was on the Titan. I was maybe 19 and had been a part of the CSA for a year then, when I was called up from my previous assignment to be put on a crew that would work on the trade routes between Equine and Equestria, making sure no pirates or rouge ships got a hold of the valuable resources Equine occasionally requested and needed. I couldn't believe my dream was about to come true, being able to go up into space. The first time I had looked up into space, and asked my dad which stars were which, was when I had learned to love the stars, and got my cutie mark, which was 3 stars in an upside down triangle, shrouded by a veil of faint color of black, which complemented well on my dark navy blue coat of fur.
I sighed after the remininsce, despite my dream having come true, the HQ was a really nice place to be, "Any HQ is my home."
Navi choked down a scolding laugh at the cheesy reply, but Skipper simply continued walking, probably face-hoofing herself mentally, cursing she had even brought up the question.
We made way to the center of the whole facility, where we met a tan colored mare that was eagerly waiting for us.
"Glad the crew of the CS Titan could come here today," He said in a moderately tenor voice, his grey eyes scanning each one of us, "I'm Commander Net, and I'm sure we will meet each other at another time than this."
After his short laugh, and us looking at each other quizically, we then waited for him to continue, "Ah, yes, the new recruit, her name's Star Twirl, and she's your first pegasus I presume?"
At that, we all grimaced, remembering Lue. Navi and Skipper were Earth ponies, and I was a unicorn, so naturally we were helpless in trying to help Lue with her EVA duties.
Net saw our faces, and understood immediately, if not remmebering a portion of a report given to him, "Ah, yes... Well, she is your first Equinen right?"
This took us aback a little. I didn't know Equinens were a part of the CSA. And almost as if hearing my thoughts, Net laughed rather loudly and explained,
"Equinens were never banned from working with us in the CSA, they just never thought to. After all, they are already in what is considered space, the thing most of us Equestrians go after doing."
He had a point, I thought to myself as Skipper cleared her throat, "So where is this new pony?"
"She's coming out of her quarters behind us once she's got her things and is ready to go out with you guys," Net said sternly, as if he decided to go back into commander mode.
The three of us just stood there, nodding once to acknowledge and register the given knowledge. It had been a while since Lue had been aboard, so I was a little nervous as to how we might do, considering we were a little rusty with our extra vehicular skills.
Generally speaking, a crew of one of the CSA's ship would contain five members of the crew: two pilots, two gunners, and an engineer. We never actually had a second gunner for whatever reason, but Navi does fine enough job keeping bandits off of us as well as some terrorists, the likes of which we would see more often now with the Nightmare cult announcing its existence. We did have an engineer not too long ago, Lue.
The point of the engineer is that in the event the turrets are jammed or the wings on the ship are not operating as they should, etc. Ultimately, they are the EVA players of the ship. The very reason we didn't have an engineer is the very reason that we have not been on the duty we were originally created for as a crew: to patrol the trade routes as well as guard any caravans that had happened to be carrying valuable resources which Equine needs.
A few moments had passed before we had heard the distinctive thud of a satchel bag landing behind the commander, who turned around in subtle surprise, only to find the mare that had materialized there.
I was quite taken aback by her, she wasn't some pony I had expected to be in the CSA. Her blue mane sharply contrasted with her milky white coat, completed with the green eyes which looked like the shade of emerald. But it wasn't that that made me think she didn't belong there, it was her absolute cheery mood and the gargantuan smile across her face. In the CSA, a cheery innocent person does not belong.
With a big smile, she said, "Glad to be a part of the crew! I'm Star Twirl, which you probably already know by now thanks to this commander you see here," and with that she payed the back of the commander, and judging by his facial expression, it was a little harder than she had intended it to be on the middle aged stallion.
Skipper stepped up a little and said in response, intentionally stiffly, "Welcome to my crew, I'm Skipper, the captain, and this pink mare here is Navi, our sole gunner."
Navi did a simple nod, probably hoping for the apparently hyped mare to not attack her, a hope found to be lost.
As Star Twirl tackle/hug Navi, she beamed in a somehow even higher pitch, "Glad to meet you Navi! You too Skipper!" She then noticed me, and she didn't exactly lose her cheer, but rather become curious, "And who is this stallion?"
I was opening my mouth when Skipper abruptly stopped my attempt and said, "This here is our pilot, Starsky."
With that, I just shut my mouth. Thanks Skipper... I had thought to myself before Star Twirl's voice entered into my thought process,
"Nice to meet you Starsky! Try to keep the ship steady while I'm on top of the ship!"
I blinked twice, remembering that this mare was joining the trio on their ship, and with that, I merely replied with a smile, "I can't give any guarantee, but I'll try my best."
The white mare gave me a warm smile, and then went back to her hyper-ness. She might've been just what we needed, I thought to myself, and with that I smiled to myself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So you say you had experience back in the Equine Trade and Space Agency?" Navi had asked to Star Twirl as we entered the CS Titan.
The walk back to the ship from the CSA Embassy was rather uneventful, since Star Twirl apparently was temporarily in the hyper personality, and that she was actually serious when needed to be. Which I won't be complaining about anytime.
Star Twirl just nodded, which I could see since I was toward the back, "Yea, so I know the business of patrolling the trade routes, but I've never been out of the ship I was on because I never needed do."
The three of us thought the same thing, there was no doubt about it, at least she's been in space. The silence following her reply was too long.
"What?" She had said, with a hint of panic and confusion all tied up in with trying to be defensive.
Before anything else got out of hand, I quickly explained, "Before you, we had a rookie engineer on our ship, and we had to teach her how to do EVA, to keep it simple, her being green meant more than her being a rookie..."
Star Twirl could only stifle a snicker as she said, "oh."
Navi kept quiet up until that point, she exasperatedly yelled, "Oh come on!" Which forced me into a death laughter, which eventually infected the three mares.
After the laughter died down, we realized we made it back to the CS Titan, Star Twirl was the first to step out and admire what little we could see of it on this side of the airlock. This was also the first time in a while that I had thought about the Titan and how it looked like.
It was really just a standard Celestia's Ship, with it's overlapping color scheme of yellow, orange, and grey. The design was somewhat stocky, but held the impression of a Griffon Tank. The body of the ship was somewhat long and wide, and it had to be, it held the pilot compartment, armory, and the living quarters for the members of the ship. But my personal favorite part of the ship were the turrets, sweet Celestia.
There were two turrets on the Titan, as opposed to older models with only one, and newer ones with four. Anyways, the two turrets were place towards the center of the ship, one ventral, and one dorsal. They weren't round, but not all that boxy, if you will. There were two types of cannons aboard the Titan, one was the standard cannon used in the services of the Celestial Royal Army, with this version having an obscenely long barrel, to allow more propulsion of the shell, be it armor-piercing or high explosive. The second cannon was a more or less experimental design. It was the new ion cannon which allowed the production and propulsion of extremely ionized particles. I shouldn't say experimental, because it has been developed over the years, but it's far from being perfect. The Ionic Particle Discharger (IPD) would take no more than a few atoms from the air in the ship (oxygen, nitrogen, etc) and would ionize them by heating the inside of the compartment of the cannon to the point where the titanium alloy of the cannon would nearly melt, all while throwing electrons on the atoms and molecules while relentlessly thrashing them into each other while also splitting the electrons away, in effect producing ionized atoms that'd otherwise be not harmful, and these atoms are then launched at its target at near light speed with accuracy that lasers want when they grow up. We've only used it once, the IPD, and once we did, we understood why it takes up half of the turret's space (due to having to vent the heat within out into space as well as housing the compartment for the ionizing process) as well as how long it takes to cool it down.
The times when we had ever used the cannons were when terrorists were around, and that was only because the strict regulations were satisfied in those situations. That's all I know for that part of our ship, as for the engines, I only know that they're placed within the hull (we have two) and how they work is that they somehow use space to move, this in effect allows us pilots to feel as if we're driving a car on ground, the only difference is we can go up or down. I never knew much about the engines though, that was Lue's job, and now Star Twirl's. That wasn't all they did though, engineers that is, no they manned the turrets not being operated by the gunner (Navi preferred the dorsal turret), as well as went outside of the ship to check external sensors and systems.
It would be easier to have electronics do this, but it's more widespread that engineers go out and do it, this is why we needed an EVA specialist, which Star Twirl was apparently not.
After a couple moments of reminiscing, I had realized every pony else was doing the same thing, and chuckled, which brought the others out of their trance. After I explained to them why I chuckled, we piled into the ship.
"I'm not going to be the one to teach her...." Navi mumbled once Star Twirl went into her new quarters and the door had shut behind her.
Both Skipper and I looked at each other, and knew exactly what we were going to do, we rushed to the pilot compartment.
We bumped into each other a couple of times, almost tripped on my part, but after about 5 seconds of this to get to the cockpit, I beat her by a hair.
"I beat you!" She squeaked, and I defiantly stood up at her, with a "oh no you did not just say that" look, and with that, Skipper admitted defeat as I went to claim the pilot chair.
With one last set of clearances from the Equine Space Trafficking Control, we went off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So uh, how are we doing this?"
We had spent about 2 hours getting off and away from Equine, and when we did we went off a further away to prevent jamming up the space there, why? Because we had an EVA training session to do for Star Twirl. At this point, Skipper is leading Star Twirl to the airlock door, and I'm keeping tabs on the two via video.
"It's not quantum physics, it's just going to the EVA closet and pulling out a suit that is meant specifically for a Pegasus. If anything, this is rocket science. What was your grade in that back in the Equine Academy?" Skipper chided at Star Twirl's question.
After Skipper's short burst of chuckles, the poor white mare mumbled out either an A+ or A-. With that, I chuckled to myself at how she even beat me at the final grade I had, which was a B+, but the Equestrian Academy might have been harder, I don't know.
They made the corner from the living quarters to the airlock in a couple more seconds, and then Skipper directed Star Twirl with some silent gestures to the closet on the opposite side of them. A few moments with some sounds of Star Twirl's hooves transporting her to the closet and into it. Even if it is concealed, I'm just glad I out grew being a little colt. Well, mostly anyways.
A few zipping sounds here and there, and the white mare stepped out of the closet in a greyish black suit, which completely encased her body, and enveloped her wings, still giving flexibility, despite the appearance of being rigid. It also covered her hooves with black boots that seemed as if they were made of steel. Her helmet had only the front and to the side of the rectangular shape that was glass. She didn't need the back side or the full sides though, not when she had a radar that was holographically projected on the lower right of her forward field of vision. As she stepped out, she strayed over to the yellow mare within my view and stayed with her, all the way to the airlock. There, Star Twirl went into it, and once Skipper had gone in, I closed the airlock. I waited the few minutes where the air was being drained back into the ship, rather than be vented off into space. Once the air lock was but a vacuum, I opened the door which went out into space. After that, I just listened to them talk and ramble.
Skipper started by explaining how to operate the EVA suit, "It's not that hard, all you have to do is steer like you're flying, while letting the jets and thrusters do what your wings would, as for actually going forward or backwards, for which you'd lean in accordance to gravity, just think of going forward, there are little electrical receivers that pick up the brain's thoughts when you put on the helmet, that'll respond to 'forward, go, backwards, and stop'."
Star Twirl nodded a little too firmly, and perked her heard out of the ship like a gopher looking out from underground, scanning the vast field if emptiness and space around her, it was too funny. That is, until you saw how nervous she looked, or was it terrified?
Skipper must've noticed, because she consoled her, "Don't worry Star Twirl, I won't rush you out of the air lock until you feel you're ready."
Star Twirl turned around to see her temporary teacher, and realized one important detail.
"You're not a Pegasus," she said to Skipper, not so matter-of-factly, but more a doubtful statement, and could almost be mistaken as a question.
At that, Skipper chuckled quietly to herself, then explained, "Starsky will be taking me around using his magic."
At that, I couldn't help but give a smug, content look to nothing in particular, feeling for once prideful for something the other ponies did not possess, my magic.
A certain pink mare startled me by saying, "So you're prideful of being used like a chauffeur? Stallion, you're stooping that low?"
I jumped in surprise, and yelled, "GET OUT OF HERE!!!!"
After a quick trading of swearing of which sailors on the Equestrian seas wouldn't attempt, she finally left, and after what had seemed like 5 hours, probably only barely a minute, I changed my field of vision to Star Twirl who had yet to leave the air lock.
But much to my dismay, she was heading back into the ship, and I dramatically raised my hooves up as if to flip a table, "Celestia damn it!" And went through the resealing process of the airlock chamber so the ponies could come back in. Apparently, it had been as long as it felt. Although I have the feeling that Skipper mind my abscence from that session too much. |
Equestria: The Vast Infinity | 4: See the Light? | "What do you mean we're not back on patrol duty?!" Skipper asked in a fit.
We had returned to the ESS with the expectations of being able to go back to our old job: patrolling the trade routes. That didn't happen at all, at least, not according to the tan stallion in front of us.
Aster put his hooves up in defense, "Hey it wasn't me that changed your orders! I just give them to you..."
I smirked while Navi yelled at him, "bullSHIT! You have control of this station, the only person you'd take orders from are those from Celestia or the Administrator of the CSA!"
There was silence that followed, proving that Aster was telling the truth. At that, I dropped my flank onto the ground, speechless.
This has never happened before, where Aster's orders were told to be changed, and not just any orders, but an assignment.
Skipper said with a concealed tone of concern, "So what is the new assignment....?"
Aster was about say something, but we then heard a whining noise as the 10 generators on the station grinded to a halt, ceasing not only the gravitational functions of the stations, but the electricity as well. We were in such pitch black, we may as well had our eyes closed, there was no difference.
Aster sighed in frustration, "This had been going on for the last couple of days or so. It needs to stop."
As if on cue, everything went back to normal, and I grinned as I heard a thump and a groan from a mare who seemed to have a bad time with gravitational fluxes. As I turned around to see that it was Navi (confirming my suspicions), Skipper asked with panic on the rise in her voice.
"So why haven't you contacted the colony? Surely, this couldn't be unnoticed by Celestia herself?"
Aster silently retreated back to his desk, once he sat back into the chair, he replied both sternly and quietly, "Do you really think that we wouldn't have already contacted them?"
"How long ago did you?"
"Approximately 12 hours ago."
My jaw unhinged. 12 hours is a long time, they should've been able to get a message out, even if the primary com system was down.
Silence hung over us for a few seconds, each one feeling like an eternity as each of us absorbed the fact that the Celestial Space Colony might be in a very serious situation.
Skipper broke the silence with a clearing of her throat, "So we've been assigned to go out and investigate?"
Aster smiled weakly, "You took the words right out of my mouth."
A collective sigh grew within the crew, at least we were heading back out once more.
Surprisingly, Star Twirl was the one who asked first, "When do we go?"
Aster just smiled, "Whenever you're ready."
That was the first time in a while I had smiled from one side of the face to the other.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fear is something that you create, I thought to myself. Isn't it?
I opened my eyes, to see that I was staring at a ceiling I hadn't fallen asleep under. My hearing was gone, and I had virtually no control over my body. When it had finally moved, my body, it changed its position from lying on it's back to standing on all 4 hooves. The view before me with my apparent eyesight, was nothing short of both awe and horror.
I was in a white colored cabin of a shuttle, with the side to my left torn out like a meteor had hit it, which is most likely what happened, I watched as ponies flew out through there, and watched as they each exploded into millions of pieces of boiled blood, frozen flesh, and other matters indescribable.
Before me stood one pure blue mare and one pure black stallion.
No, I thought to myself as the two smiled at me, both wit pure terror in their eyes.
"No!" This time it was audible, but I still had no control over my body.
I felt the tug if the vacuum of merciless space, and I knew it was only a matter of time before "it" happened. But for the first time in this cruel event, I could finally move my body.
I slowly crept up to my parents as they struggled to stay in the ship with the same terrorized eyes and the same hollow smile. This is not real, I tell myself, this is all a dream.
But it doesn't matter, another thought came to me, almost as if on its own.
I watched my parents get thrown out into space like rag dolls rendered useless by a month old colt, and exploded into millions of pieces just like the others. But I knew them.
Right when I had seen them explode, the emergency shuttle down procedure activated. A few others and I fell down to our knees and barely wrapped our mind around what had happened.
I opened my eyes slowly, to find my ceiling, hearing, and control over my body to be functional and in place. I rolled out of bed and sat at the edge of it, recollecting the nightmare.
I had lost count of the number of times it had attacked me, it barely affects me nowadays. The first time it occurred, I wasn't on the Titan, and so I was in a private home softly weeping at the distorted memory.
When I was a colt, maybe 4 or 5 years old, my parents and I went out in a shuttle to go and visit Equine as part of a yearly vacation we did. But a meteorite that wasn't detected by the ship's system rammed the side of the shuttle, ripping the impact site off, and along with it, dozens of ponies that had been unlucky to have a sub-malfunctioning Shuttle Shutdown Procedure System on the ship, my parents were two of them.
I shook my head quietly, knocking my dark mane into my face, which I had pushed back so I could see what time it was.
0530 hours
"Ugh," I groaned to myself.
"Skipper! I told you to get me up when my shift came up!" I yelled, and then muttered to myself, "no wonder I had the nightmare..."
After a few seconds that dragged, Skipper buzzed in through the comms system, "I thought you'd appreciate the extra sleep, guess not..."
I sighed, instantly hating myself, and got up to put on my jacket. After having done so, I walked on over to the door and went through to go take over the piloting duties of the ship.
Thanks to the thoughtful design of the Titan models, I got there in no time.
Despite having an attack of dejà Vù when I entered the cockpit and nodded towards the yellow mare, I sighed as if nothing was old or new, and sat down in my seat.
After a few buttons being pushed, Skipper gave up command of the ship to me, but instead of leaving afterwards, she just stayed there, admiring the sight in front of us, which was the fiery fireball steadily growing in size.
"You know, you can just go and sleep now if you want, I wouldn't hold it up to you."
Skipper just grinned subtlety, and sighed.
Muttering to myself, I said, "Guess that's that," I just watched as the stars became dinner one by one as the Equestrian sun grew larger.
After a few moments that were probably hours, Skipper spoke, "I wonder why we were the ones asked to go to the CSC..."
I nodded slightly and chuckled, getting a slight face full of black mane, "Well, it might be a low priority thing. After all, it is us."
A deadweight fell between us after that; not an uncomfortable one, it was more of the one where a growing anxiety grew and festered. I knew why we were going to the CSC, and I'm sure she did too.
See, the CSC is the outpost near the sun, the place where we get more or less the energy needed to power up Equine and some Equestrian outposts like the ESS or some CSA or LIA. If whatever the reason may be, it shuts down, the majority of systems outside of pre-space cease to function until the CSC resumes producing power. Needless to say, it was imperative we had gone to the outpost to restart the main computers within.
I sighed, and then smiled at a thought.
"So where are they now?" I asked.
I imagined Skipper either closing her eyes and shaking her head or nodding it in nostalgia, "They're probably in their respective turrets."
A length of silence found its way within us, until she asked rhetorically, "Was that all you wanted to say?"
I just laughed at that, since there was nothing else to do about that.
I was about to say something to her, but then I had noticed the distinctive spot on the sun.
"Well, it looks like we're almost there...." I said with a level of anxiety I hadn't anticipated to exist, and her silence didn't make it any better, "Sound the alarm, yeah?"
Skipper quietly cleared her throat, and then spoke into the comms, "Personnel to their stations, we are reaching the CSC soon."
Once she had finished speaking, I heard some clicking and turning of notches, telling me she was switching channels so she could talk to the CSC station.
To say the CSC was large would do it no justice. The command center alone was three times the size of the CS Titan, the three rings orbiting the center alone could rival the ESS. The 3 rings were stacked on each other, but still had space between themselves.
The Celestial Space Colony was tilted in a way which the top ring had the most sun on its dorsal surface, which was needed considering it had the solar panels the CSC is even built for. The second and middle ring held the majority of the generators and power cores that takes the solar energy and convert it so that the other cailities of Equestria can use it. The tird ring was possibly the largest, containing all residential and life sustaining supplies and quarters which the crew and their families dwelled in. Not sure why it was made in the way that the first ring was thin, but a ways out from the Command Center, and had solar panels stretched from one edge of the ring to the other, which was miles of area, like a blanket, and therefore effectively harnassing vast amounts of energy; the second ring was 10 times wider in diameter, and brought closer to the center; the third was more in the middle of the two rings distance wise, but is similar in size to the second ring.
I'll bear any more details secluded, but you should have a grasp of the sheer size of the CSC.
"CSC this is CS Titan Model 26A, we are requesting permission to dock, over," static.
She repeated, "CSC, this is CS Titan Model 26A, we are requesting permission to dock, do you copy?"
After the reply of static, I looked back at her, and she and I knew exactly what the other was thinking in that moment of time. We both knew that the CSC had been attacked.
"I'm going to pull the Titan up to one of the docks, and see if I can't get a manual lock onto the airlocks," I had said to Skipper as I turned around and turned up the engines.
I heard her sigh as she tumbled down into her seat to the left of me, and mumbled out, "Why does this have to happen? I mean, I would've been fine with patrol duty!"
I quietly chuckled to myself, even though we were in the face of a grim situation that was about to unfold, possibly, maybe, who knows.
After falling into its shadow, the CSC, I scanned for any docks on the second ring, considering the residential ones would most likely be guarded.
It may have been luck, maybe not, but I found a dock out of the corner of my eye on the ventral surface of the solar panel ring, and what's more, it was near an emergency offshoot to the command center.
Skipper knew where I was looking, and doubt was apparent in her voice, "Are you sure it's fine to go through there?"
I remained silent as my inner-self was conflicted and at war with itself on whether to go by Skipper's caution, or to go and take the risk; I had almost decided not to.
She called my name once, and that snapped me out of my self confliction, and I shook my head affirmatively, "We'll be fine."
Sweat formed on my forehead as I worked the ship into position to latch into the dock, which was not easy considering I had to manually unlock the airlock as well, which meant I had to hit the dock in a certain way that'd trigger the automatic system to allow the ship access. I could only hope I did it right, let alone hope that the cult hadn't tampered with the system.
We had landed into the dock, maunally locking in place and safely entering the ring. Not one of us had not brought a rifle, as well as wearing an EVA suit.
Skipper had motioned Navi to take point, and we carefully, as well as quietly, moved the hundred meters to the offshoot, which was to the right of us, I had seen earlier. The only good thing about being on the top ring was that it was only a catwalk, so we could quite literally see someone else coming from a mile away. But they could see right back at us.
50 meters to go, the clipping of our hooves on the hard steel floor eventually echoed throughout the ring and back to us, at least allowing us to think we were the only ones up here.
25 meters left, we heard a loud groan of metal falling out of place, but after half a minute, we silently agreed it was of no threat, though it did further our alertness and jumpiness.
10 meters, we could see the distinctive airlock door which led out of the ring and down to the Command Center, it bulged slightly inward towards the off shoot, and had a classic sea ship hatch wheel to open it.
5 meters, the blood began to burn and pound with adrenaline as it coursed through my body.
4 meters, my hearing had been nearly entirely impaired by my heart's now powerful thumping.
3 meters, Navi could almost touch the door now, while I was in the rear, hoping my heart doesn't find its way out of my throat.
2 meters, I flinched at the sound of my hoof accidentally skirting the floor, causing an overreaction on my part and reflexively falling almost backwards.
A meter to go, I slide into position at the right side of the seal, and nodded to Skipper that I was in place, the pink mare to my left, on the other side of the door, nodded as well.
I know that the eternity afterwards was only the few seconds of Skipper waiting to call out the command, but it didn't matter, it had felt like a lifetime, eternally waiting, with each heart beat pounding in my ears.
Finally, breaking the deathly silence between us, within the ring, and within fate itself, time rolled forward once more as Skipper screamed out, "Go, Go, Go! Move it! Now!" Again and again, I opened the door and we went beyond sonic rain boom.
I couldn't help my screaming, no one could, it didn't matter, the offshoot was an emergency evacuation tube, so despite the miles of distance to the Command Center, we were there in a matter of minutes, at least it seemed like so. The tube was also very long, and very fragile, so if the cult were here and wanted to, they could destroy the tube with relative ease and pull it away from Command, putting us into space.
We had reached the hatch on the opposite side, blew through, and then stumbled into the command center.
It was bulbous, spherical, in accordance to the rings. It was , as said before, much larger than the Titan; it had two decks: Inferior Bridge, and Superior Command. The bridge held the majority of operations on the station, but the Command was where the brass were. In short, it was the Equine CSA embassy, but inverted.
The tube we had come through from, naturally, went to the lower deck.
To make the gargantuan room bigger, it was deathly silent, and pitch black.
I whispered, "Celestia, this isn't funny anymore...." Which received a collection of hushed chuckles.
I silently smiled to myself since they couldn't see me, then quickly returned to the main issue, no lights.
After a few minutes of clattering, a couple clicks, my light on my rifle emitted it's beam out into the room, revealing various railings and tables as well as consoles. Soon thereafter, three other beams helped to create an adequate amount of lighting.
I sighed after that episode of trying to get light, then moved onto the next issue, getting power back up. I trotted over to the Mai. Console, trying to find a directive towards where I could turn on the main power. Much to my disappointment, and expectation, it would be much more complicated than I had hoped. I had to go to the engineering section and check if the generators weren't maltreated, and the cores were still nominal. I then had to go to the electrical sector and check, re-check, and repeat that again and again all the miles and miles of wiring and electrical cords and power routes.
Or Skipper could just say, "Computer, activate program 'Aster 0-1-1-5-9' on the authority of Captain Skipper, code 1-8-2."
All systems came back online thereafter.
I sighed in annoyance, and muttered, "Or you could do that..."
I smiled weakly as the mares all laughed at my comment on the new found power being online.
But I didn't expect the world to go dark right after, and for me to get knocked out. |
Equestria: The Vast Infinity | 5: Traitors at Hoof | I opened my eyes to a blur. Not knowing just what was in the world yet. They adjusted eventually, my eyes, and the view before me was one I had not remembered when my eyes closed previously. The white ceiling above me was lit with a brilliant light, but it did not possess the source of it. When I had tried to turn my head, a burning sharp pain entered my thinking process, the pain being somewhere on the back of my head.
I grunted with effort, and I finally managed to turn my head around to the left of my bunk to see the lamp that brightly lit the room. I did not expect to see the teal mare in a white nurse uniform there.
"W- ow," I said after feeling the rocks grinding through my throat, but after a few gulps, I could speak freely, but she explained before I had the chance to ask.
"You're in the Equestrian Space Station's hospital, you were taken here after we found you alone in the CSC."
"Oh okay," I had said turning my head to face the ceiling again and closed my eyes, it wasn't until shortly after that that what she had said sank in.
I opened my eyes wide, and turned my head back towards the nurse violently, ignoring the pain in the back of my head, and asked with no regard for the panic in my voice, "Wait, what do you mean I was the only one there?"
The nurse looked over at me quizzically, then apparently remembered something, and nervously smiled, "I'll let the kind mare here to debrief you, to let you know what they think happened."
"Can you tell me who it is?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
"But of course."
The mare finished checking the monitors around me and turned around to head for the door. When she had gone right up to it, she turned around.
"I forgot to mention, there's a folder to the right of you, it supposedly should get you up to speed."
After she had gone through the door, I glanced over to the nightstand to my right, and discovered that she was right. The folder itself was long and slim, which didn't really matter much when the single piece of paper in it was of the same characteristics. The only interesting thing about the folder was that it was midnight blue.
A little curious, I used my magic, with tentative care as to not hurt myself more, to bring the folder over, and to see the paper within it. What it was wasn't anything I had expected at all.
"Starsky:
I understand that you work for the CSA, but as leader and head of the Lunar Intelligence Agency, I am allowed to do as I please in terms of giving information, naturally. What you are about to read is for your eyes only, due to it being extremely classified information for some simple reasons I will not discuss at this moment.
You have a decision here to make however: read the information below and become more involved in something you had thought previously to be a simple mission, or you can close the folder now, forget about this, and continue on with your life. Your choice."
I didn't really enjoy the idea of having to choose according to a paper, but I was curious as to what the nurse meant before about being the only one on the CSC when they found me. On the same token, I generally don't ignore warnings, even if they are somewhat hidden and not meant to discourage me. And I was further curious as to who wrote this letter.
There was no choice, I continued reading:
"Hopefully, you won't regret this, but it was your choice after all:"
Mission status: classified
Crew's status: 3 MIA, 1 in critical
Mission completion: unknown
Crew retrieval: CS Solrun
Report: Due to absence of crew, this report will be written by Captain Snow of the CS Solrun.
At approximately 0800 hours, about 12 hours since the crew's departure, the Solrun had come to retrieve the crew due to failing of returning at designated time. Only the ship's pilot, Sergeant Starsky, was found, the engineer, gunner, and commander were not found anywhere. When the sergeant was found, he was crippled over a console that was discovered as the main console, assumption of his being there was to power the station back up. A blow to the back of his head is apparent cause of been unconscious when discovered. Departure of the CSC was about 1030 hours, it was left with a skeleton crew maintaining it.
Assumptions aren't encouraged, but it's a viable theory that the Nightmare Cult had lured the crew there, and one of the three MIA, if not all three, are members of the organization.
Status of mission: completed
Completion of mission: unknown"
I had set the paper back onto its resting place on top of the folder, wondering how this changed anything. But then I realized there was another paper in the folder that I must've missed.
As I picked up the folder to pull out the paper, a thought came into my mind, "this was not there before."
I set the folder back down, wondering where the paper had come from, and was deep in thought until a soft chuckle came from nowhere.
I looked around, with my heart already in my throat, and my skeleton kept out from my body, frantically trying to find the source.
"Oops, I sometimes forget to reveal myself, especially since you found me out much sooner than I had anticipated."
Immediately the shadows in the room began to shift around, almost as if materializing something, someone. That wasn't nearly as strange as me not freaking out though.
Slowly the darkness swirled and tumbled around, me somehow able to tell it was moving at all, until finally a pony emerged out from it.
Not sure why, but her necklace was the first thing to catch my eye, it was pitch black, and had a white, crescent moon in the center. The next thing to be registered was her black crown rested on top of her head, slightly in front of her horn. Her mane stretched down on the left side of her neck slightly, then went back up onto her back, where it rested. And then finally, after maybe a second, a day, who knows, but I finally realized it was the princess of the night before me.
I was about to jump out of my bed and kneel down before her, but she knew I was going to do that, and deflected my attempt softly with a magical barrier, "I had heard you were hurt, I wish to see you not hurt yourself anymore than you are."
I sighed, knowing her wish was an order didn't help because I still felt obliged to give respect, nevertheless, I laid in bed, now understanding why the nurse hadn't said anything, at least partly.
I tried to ask in reverence, "What is the reason for a princess to pay a visit to see me in my condition?"
The princess of the night smiled softly, as if she was radiated by the warmth of millions of stars, "To see how you are. Oh, don't give me such a look, is that such a hard reason to believe?"
I nodded gracefully once, and with that her majesty had sighed, "I suppose it is a hard concept to believe."
I chuckled quietly to myself, but immediately regretted doing so when the princess tilted her head with a look of mild surprise.
"Y-your majesty, I meant no offense! I was jus-"
She cut me off with her hoof, and my heart had apparently still been lodged in my throat, since it thumped in it once more, "I know you meant no offense, I actually am surprised that you aren't so stiff as to be able to chuckle, few ponies actually get this comfortable."
I gulped a little, "I'm not exactly comfortable here, princess."
And with that, she began laughing, of such laughter I've never seen before. She had landed flat on her back, with her sides apparently hurting.
"Are you okay?" I said as I slowly moved across my bed to get a better look at her condition.
I stumbled a little more, and I was flat on my belly and looking down at her recovering from her laugh, "Yes! Yes I am fine! Oh, Sergeant, I've had few ponies ever try to make a joke to me in such a long time!"
I rolled my eyes a little, "It wasn't exactly supposed to be one."
She had a short burst of laughter, but then stopped herself, and got up as you collected herself. In a short few seconds, the princess of the night looked as firm as she had when she first walked in; I knew what was about to happen next, she was going to ask if I read the folder and it's contents, so I didn't waste time.
"Yes, I did read the folder."
The princess raised an eyebrow, whether in amusement or surprise I can not say, " Do you regret it?"
I shook my head once, just like I had when nodding.
"Excellent. Now I have another question."
I waited patiently, and then her soft voice spoke with concern, "Who do you think is of the Nightmare Cult?"
I shrugged as if I didn't care, although inside me, it did sting, "I can only guess it was Star Twirl, she was new, and of a different upbringing than Skipper and Navi."
The princess of the night tilted her head, confused, and then her eyes went wide as if she realized something.
"Sergeant, did you not understand the question?"
Now it was my turn to be confused, and shook my head.
She sighed, "We can figure out whether one of your friends are part of it, but right now, think about it. How did the CSC become a ghost station?"
It was like being a deer in the headlights, or maybe receiving a revelation from a being higher than the princesses, I don't know, but everything about this turn of event all of a sudden made sense, at least why the Princess of the Night was here.
The CSC had almost 1000 ponies on it, and that's just the crew, who knows how many civilians were on there. An entire station to be cleared out would require an high level position in the CSA or LIA. So that means someone of either organization is of the Nightmare Cult, and who's to say there are more?
The princess looked sternly at me as I pieced more of the puzzle together, "So you're here on a very low profile because you don't know who is the Nightmare Cult?"
She nodded, "Do you know if there are any......." I gulped hard as I said the word, "traitors, in your organization?"
This time, the night princess shook her head and replied, "I had found none to be of the NC cult, although there were a great deal of suspects in the low ranks, none of my high officials were possible to be suspects."
I nodded absent-mindedly, then it hit me that that left one other organization, "So who do you think it might be in the CSA?"
She shrugged, "All I know is that it would have to be anybody with a head position of an embassy or higher."
I let that sink in, there are approximately 56 bases and embassies under the CSA, so that's 56 officials right there, and then you add the other positions above it.
"That leaves a possibility of over 100 suspects...."
The princess nodded once, "And it could very well be one of the stations' commanders, like Aster-"
I disliked disregarding my obligations, but I rolled out of my bed and stood up right squared into the princess's eyes and firmly said, "no."
She blinked, "Excuse me?"
I repeated myself, "No, Aster would never turn his back on the CSA, nor on Equestria."
A few moments of silence hung as I moved back to my bunk and rested my flank on it, and then she spoke again, "Very well, but you must understand I have no affiliation with the CSA outside of my sister, so I do not know who to trust or not to."
"Then why did you trust me?"
That must've built ice between us because she fell silent, and even visibly slouched slightly, not the sad kind, but more of a disapproval one.
She moved over to the desk to the left of my bed, the one where I saw the nurse at. She monitored the screens that were now flatlining because I pulled off the cables and lines on me. Then she turned her head slightly so I could see a bit of her eyes.
"Call me Luna."
My eyes went wide, and she turned fully now, laughing quietly.
"I trust you because you were the only one to have been extracted from the CSC."
I sighed at the relatively stupid reason..... Luna, gave.
She noticed my sourness on that, and added, "That's not all though."
"Oh really?" I said melodramatically.
"Yes, you also were genuinely surprised when I told you to think about the bigger picture."
"How do you know I wasn't acting?"
She gave a smirk, "If that was acting, you should've made it in the film industry and not into the space industry."
I laughed as I said, "Good point."
As my laughter died down, she continued looking at me, and after a few more uncomfortable seconds, she finally spoke.
"The reason I came here....."
At this, my ears perked up and had went back on my hooves and waited for the rest, eagerly, I said, "Yes?"
"My reason was simply to ask if you wanted to temporarily be a part of the LIA."
I stood there, frozen, figuring out that she had offered me a spot in the Lunar Intelligence Agency, the equivalence of the Celestial Royal Army on Equestria.
She cleared her throat, then firmly said, "Close that mouth, sergeant, we are still on business."
I shook my head, and stood firmly again, and took a couple deep and long breaths as I decided.
She raised an eyebrow curiously, "Well?"
I thought about my friends that were now gone, as well the mystery of what the hell happened on the CSC. Then I thought about the compromising of the Celestial Space Agency. There was no choice to it.
..... Luna, raised out a hoof, and I stared at it for a little while.
"Count me...." I raised my hoof, and as it hit hers I finished off, "in."
She smiled, "Good, I am glad my visit wasn't such a waste as my adjutants suspected it may have been."
And with that, my first step in becoming a key player in what was to come was taken, and I stepped into a playing field much larger than I had anticipated. But will I regret it? Of course not, it was my choice after all. |
Equestria: The Vast Infinity | 5.5: Reality at Hoof | Soon after Luna's visit, I was released and allowed to leave the hospital. No one seemed to have noticed, or at least acknowledged, that the princess of the night had come to visit me. But with recent events, I decided it'd be better if I didn't think too much of it. So I just let the tan stallion catch up to as I strolled in the promenade.
"Starsky!"
I turned my head around to see Aster raising his hoof to allow me to spot him easier, I nodded and continued walking apace; Aster followed quickly on suit.
"How are you holding up?" Aster asked with concern as he managed to catch up with me.
I just shrugged, "I guess with everything going on, I must be faring well."
I watched him laugh, then chat away about how the station was doing, which would at least encapsulate a part of my interest, but my mind was elsewhere.
The conversation in the hospital still echoed in my thoughts.
"And it could very well be one of the stations' commanders, like Aster-"
I looked back at the stallion, wondering how he could ever betray the Empire, Celestia, or even his friends. His continual chatter continued more, and at one point he even closed his eyes in a passive contempt. How could he be traitor?
"So what now?"
I snapped back to reality, "What?"
Aster chuckled quietly after he figured out I space out, then repeated himself.
"I was asking what're you going to do?"
"What do you mean?"
He whistled long and low, "did that injury erase some of your memory? Because you don't have a ship or crew mates, you're automatically on leave! So what now?"
"Well I'm going to-"
Trust no one, the thought came like an alarm, the CSA is compromised, it's better they don't know.
Aster became a bit stiff, with a face of concern, but it seemed much more hostile without the contempt which he used to possess.
He asked slowly with transparent suspicion, "Going to what?"
My heart started to slowly work its way up to my throat, increasing its pump and pounding force. I didn't know if I could trust Aster or not, the pony in front of me was no longer someone I could or should consider a friend anymore. I wondered in the brief second which I had before my silence would be alarming. So without thinking, I tried to play it off.
"I don't know, I thought I had something to so, I'm trying to think of something to do, so what have you been up to?"
Aster didn't remove his sternness, and he asked with a little more concern than suspicion, "What was it you had thought of doing?"
I didn't realize we had stopped until this point, so I continued walking sighing, eyes closed. I knew I could play this off well, but I was so nervous that it could backfire on me horribly, which didn't help calm me down.
"Well, I don't want to say..."
"What?" At this point, Aster had risen his voice to almost a demanding an answer volume.
"Well, maybe..... Visit..... My, parents..." I was making it up as I was going along, but I did even try to look embarrassed.
Much to my relief, Aster had returned to his normal self and just laughed.
"Star, I thought you were talking of going to cause some trouble or something of the sort!"
He slapped my back with his right hoof, I chuckled, albeit nervously, and replied meekly, "I would never do something of the sort!"
Behind my voice, as Aster laughed heartily, a voice echoed right behind my words, although obviously only I could hear it.
"Trust no one' sword anymore, suspect everyone and believe anyone, but trust yourself."
The conversation came back to mind once more, "And it could very well be one of the stations' commanders, like Aster-......" |
Equestria: The Vast Infinity | 6: Interpreted Fortune | Aster left me to go about his other businesses that called for his time and attention. I didn't mind it, considering all things that had happened, and that I wasn't far from the shuttle I would be taking to head down to Equestria. I didn't care to begin with.
At this time, most of the promenade was bustling with ponies either departuring, such as myself, or arriving, such as the pink mare that was running at a rather lightning pace, right at me.
Right before it thought she was going to crash into me, she stopped within a foot of my face. It was then I had realized my eyes were shut tight.
I opened them slowly, and the first thing to see was the pink mare with her very pink mane. The next thing I noticed was that she beaming, if I didn't know better, or didn't look as closely, I could've mistaken her as Navi.
She fired off questions so fast, I was concerned that she'd break the sound barrier. Not the mention the possible space quake that could be generated by her rapid jumping up and down.
"How are you? I don't know where I'm going! Are you lost? If so, let's try to find a kiosk or something and--!"
I had enough at that point, her voice going so fast like that could've been compared to a chainsaw, and I was not in the mood for beaming innocence. I put my hoof on top of her head to keep her from jumping and replied coldly,
"I'm leaving, so leave me alone."
I walked around her, feeling slightly unsettled. What I did... I thought to myself, was it really okay?
"But Star..."
I froze, everything except my heart stopped. That voice did not belong to the mare, but another completely different one. I slowly turned around, feeling my heart in my throat, pounding, and trembling, when did I start trembling?
The lighting had diminished, as has all the ponies that had once been bustling around me. It was just myself, and Nightsky, my mother.
"You'll be safer here..." The ghost of the past said with a solemn tone to me, with real concern in my eyes.
But before I could speak, the black back drop dissolved away, like water hitting paint on a wall, into a shuttle that had a gaping hole to the left, and most everything gone, exception to a few rows of seats near me, and some more on the other side. This is my shuttle, the one where I witnessed my parents.....
This isn't a shuttle.
This is a nightmare.
"Not this, please, no!" I wanted to move my arms, legs, maybe my head, anything, maybe even close my eyes, but to no avail.
I was stuck, watching the remaining ponies on the shuttle get sucked out if the shuttle one by one, screaming, helplessly, hopelessly.
Then came the worst part, my parents.....
I observed the faint smile, deeply imprinted on my memory like it was branded there, that my mother gave to me, somehow knowing I was fine, that I was safe.
The blue mare looked up from I to the stallion next to her, Solsky, the brown stallion that was my father, and closed her eyes, with a streak of tears glistening in the sterile white light. After some seconds that could be eternity then and there, with the air rushing, and constant wax and wane of screaming, my mother turned her gaze back to me.
"We love you, never forget that..."
As soon as they lost their grip on their seats, the landscape pulled away as fast as a gunshot. I had the impression of falling, but once the scene I had been a part of disappeared, it was pitch black all around me. Then in front of me was another scene coming towards me like a light at the end of a tunnel.
It was the scene with the pink mare. I saw her jumping up and down, and then I saw me, a different me, put my hoof down on top of head, and walked around.
I'm such a bastard... I thought as I reflected in despair.
I then went back to reality through that different me.
Once the landscape had ceased moving, I could feel my entire body shuddering and shaking, while I was heaving and gasping.
I turned around to see the mare still where she was standing, still figuring out what I had just said. I observed quickly and silently the ponies walking by me as if nothing happened.
Nothing did happen, it was just a hallucination, one that was a matter of seconds, one that was unnoticed, I told myself.
I blinked several time to get the tears out, and then coughed. I looked up to see the mare still there yet, and cleared my throat.
"What's your name?" I asked as firmly as possible, though failing horribly.
She turned around hurriedly, startled at first, but then a little calmer when she recognized me.
She replied quietly, "Party Pie. That's my name."
Her surname, Pie, struck nostalgia from deep within, paving over the grief that had surfaced.
I smiled warmly, "There's a kiosk not far from here, just keep going straight, and watch the right side for it."
Pie's eyes lit up with gratitude, her suppressed smile solidifying that she has joy building up.
"Thank you, thank you , thank you!"
After a minute of her saying thank you , she finally stopped.
After a moment of silence between us, despite the chatter of the dock, she said, "See you around I guess!"
She stood there beaming, waiting, no, expecting a reply.
I sighed, closing my eyes while doing so, wondering how innocence can such a blessing as such. I looked up, and met her expectations, "Who knows what'll happen, but yea, see you around."
Party turned around with a huge smile and began jumping up and down as she went on her quest to find the kiosk.
Her joyful response to my giving directions to her echoed in my mind, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
I chuckled as I looked at her one last time, "No, thank you..."
With that, I walked off, entering the shuttle shortly thereafter.
The shuttle ride was relatively short, about an hour, so I finally got out of my seat, briefly stretching within the space I had, and proceeded to walk towards the shuttles' door.
Considering that the shuttle was a luxury one to an degree, there was only myself, and 15 other ponies or so.
The shuttle opened its doors outwards, with a blinding light that one would find repulsive, but I found it to be heartwarming. My eyes finally adjusted after a few blinks and squints, and before me was the land which I've always held admirable.
Despite years of advancements in science and technology, the land of Equestria was still natural and beautiful as ever.
I glanced near the shuttle port, and observed the long green grass flowing in the wind, glistening when the sun had hit it just right, and in a wave-like pattern that ran perpendicular of the shuttle. Out in the distance, one could see the Everfree Forest with its shrouded, mysterious, atmosphere that could still be seen as beautiful with the sun sending rays through the thick tree canopy being slightly diluted by the mist within.
The freshness of the air that which I inhaled was filled with the aroma of roses most likely hidden within the sea of grass, blended in with it was the texture and fullness of the air, filling my body with relaxation. In harmony with all of this, I could hear a cicada chirping its buzz on this warm summer day, and the chaotic chirps of birds emanated from various flocks in the sky.
Canterlot could be seen on its perch on the mountain, though miles away, with its misty fog ringing the base of its perch formed by the cascading waterfalls which fell from the magnificent and colorful city. And not too far from the beautiful city was the town which I was headed for, the calm yet energetic Ponyville. The architecture was a reminiscent design for the times when ponies had meek technology and elements of mathematics and science. The wooden sense of the town as whole was one that felt like a "no place like home" feel.
I was knocked out of my tranquil state when I felt a pushing nudge on my back, and when I turned around to see who it was, it was much to my surprise a silver mare that had a sandy white mane, with green, clear eyes. I also felt I had seen her from somewhere previously.
"Move," she stated quietly but firmly, "we need not to waste time."
I linked several times, each periodically long, then quickly trotted down from the shuttle and into the port. As the crowd began to gather within, I awaited for the mare to arrive here.
To my right, I heard her voice, "You caught on quickly."
It was all I could do to not flinch or act startled, "'Where there are many, secrets are traded by few.'"
I turned my head around to be able to see the mare, and much to my surprise, she held an eyebrow above her eye, "I'm impressed, you already know the LIA's motto."
I nodded, trying to avoid a smirk. I did hold my gaze on her however.
After a few moments had passed, she noticed I had been staring at her studiously, "What?"
I absently shook my head, "Pardon me, but where have I met you before?"
The mare expressed a face of confusion, with which I recognized from the hospital, and like dominoes falling, everything fell into place, like a light switch turned on.
"You were the nurse," I stated before I even let the mare try to explain.
Shortly thereafter, both me and her realized that the chatter within the port had died down, she nodded her head towards the door, "Let's leave."
I nodded and followed apace.
We passed by multiple groups of earth ponies conversing about the coming traditional harvest and its festival, as well as some pegasi groups debating on who they liked most on the wonder bolts. Surprisingly, only one pair of unicorns was present outside of me and the silver mare; unsurprisingly, however, they were discussing the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala. The mare that was slightly ahead of me continually scanned everything around her, much of a contrast to what we were supposedly doing, casually walking out. Nevertheless, to minimize its suspiciousness, my eyes began to aimlessly wander around the port, studying with no purpose the restaurants around.
I recalled a story of one of the Cakes from Ponyville moved out here because the Space Program had begun to more or less take off, and the Cake felt that there would be success out here. Ever since, the Pumpkin Restaurant had been open for business, bearing the name of its own founder.
Another pioneer out from Ponyville, a filly then, who was of the Apple Family, came out here with her two friends to find out if she could find herself in this frontier 80 years ago. She opened a successful restaurant that served Sweet Apple Acre's famous apple dishes, primarily pies. A more unique aspect was... Is, the Cutie Mark Crusader Academy which, needless to say, helps fillies find their cutie marks.
Speaking of Apple Acres.... I remember a wild tale of a problematic expansion of the farm, involving lack of horsepower, but distaste of external employees. And while we're at it, there's also one that is of a famous fashionista who hit it big with her business some 90 or so years ago. Maybe the creation of Ponyville's unique Rainbow Bolts would spark an interesting story? Possibly even the story of how the Ponyville Quintet sponsored the Natural Preservation Act. If I remember correctly, there was something about a company that was solely for the creation and management of parties? But why am I thinking of stories to possibly tell?
Alas, that was getting carried away about another lifetime; in this one currently, we had gone through the doors of the port and into the realm of nature, where we were alone, walking in between the tall green grass on a paved dirt road.
Although we hadn't ceased walking, I asked, "So what's your name? I'm tired of thinking of you as 'the silver mare'."
She chuckled softly, and shortly after, I heard her response, "My name's Io. I'm going to assume and hope that you realizing I was the nurse will be enough to get you going, yes?"
I nodded as the gears in my head shifted back and the pages flipped back to that train of thought, "Yes, and Luna not having been acknowledged was the first thing to click."
For a second of what I swear was silence by her out of jealousy, for whatever reason, she responded after the brief silence, "Go on, I'm curious to see what you might've pieced together."
I nodded and took in a deep breath and looked straight out onto the dirt road amongst the trees of green grass, "I was wondering as to why nopony in the hospital had even the slightest hint of excitement or anxiety of having the princess come to visit me, let alone seem to know she was there. But it wasn't that they weren't excited, it's because they didn't even know to begin with. And that was because you leaked the security and allowed Luna to bypass the patrols and even the front room."
I knew I was right, despite the silence thereafter. During the long silence, the landscape evolved and morphed from green grass and a dirt road, down to a larger, paved out road, which went through the edge of a large and thick forest about a mile or so from Ponyville. The road had been paved in such a way that trees still arched over it and formed a canopy of green and brown that shielded the path from the sun. To the left of us stretched the rest of the mystical forest, as far as the eye could see into the thickness of the trees, until the trees were so tightly wounded together that not even light could infiltrate. To the right of the road was a tranquil meadow that seemed almost untouched by animals or ponies alike. Between us and the meadow was a small, yet deep, stream that stretched from the field we left and all the way around the bend towards Ponyville. Birds could be heard chirping in call and response, much less chaotic than the screeches of the flocks earlier. It would normally be hard to not be relaxed, however, today was an exception, although I'm not sure why.
Io spoke softly, "I'm sure you already know you're right."
I was about to smile, but then she elevated the roughness and volume of her voice, "But don't give me a smirk about it."
I couldn't help it, I laughed hard, deciding that that was most likely the kind of smile my mouth was going to form.
She raised her eyebrow and asked curiously, "Well?"
It wasn't hard to figure she was wanting me to continue.
I motioned my head towards her, "You're a unicorn correct?"
She then snapped back, "I have a horn no? Or did it appear right now?"
I ignored her reply and progressed, "That's some rather interesting magic you possess, is it not?"
Now she had a smirk, "One of the reasons the princess recruited me into the Agency."
It all made sense when I realized she was with Luna, and that she was an unicorn as well.
Those thoughts appeared out of nowhere when I was talking to Aster.
"How far can you push it?"
She looked at me quizzically, "What do you mean?"
I sighed, "I mean how far can you push the magic?"
Her expression eroded into one of understanding, with her eyebrows raised, "Ah, well, the farthest I've pushed it was to insert thoughts into someone's mind or to receive them."
I slouched my shoulders. I hadn't noticed they were so tense.
"I see... That does sound useful for something like an Intelligence Agency."
I shifted my head to face her while still walking, but she caught me off guard by looking right back at me, with furrowed brows and a frown.
"That's as far as I can push it, as well as would like to... And the target can know fully well that the thought isn't theirs or that I tapped into theirs."
I recalled how, though abruptly entered my mind, the thought of trusting no one when talking to Aster felt like something I could've told myself.
That may be why I didn't notice it at first.
"No mind control?" I asked as I swung my head back forward, the previous thought dispelled
She shook her head in the corner of my eye, "First of all, you and I both know that it's physically impossible, even by Starswirl himself. Secondly, assuming we could do it, it'd be mentally impossible to stay an individual as their mind molds into mind..."
I cleared my throat, "Metaphorically speaking."
I didn't need an image of two brains splattering into themselves.
Of course, she refuted in a high pitch, "Well......."
I stared ice daggers into her, and spoke each work periodically, and with emphasis, "Metaphorically speaking."
"For Celestia's sake, I'm messing with you!" With that she laughed for the first time, with a nice sound that flowed like milk, fluid yet full. The first impression of it to me was like a mother gently laughing, though her laugh was in no way soft.
"You have a great laugh," I said without really thinking.
Io turned her face from my view, hurriedly replying, "Thanks! Though I've been complimented of that before!"
She straightened herself out, and I simply smiled tenderly. I closed my eyes when we reached a straight bend in the road, and let thoughts flow through my mind. I hadn't thought much of Io's appearance.
Her mane swept with the wind with ease and harmony of each other as well as each strand and current of the wind. The eyes she possessed held crystal gems of green that seemed to hold a thousand different versions of themselves whenever she shifted even slightly. And of course, she was a little shorter than me, but barely, I only assume so because I feel tension in my neck when I slightly bend it to see her in the eyes.
I shook my head after realizing where this could be leading to, and took a breath, albeit shaky. She didn't notice however, then focused on the road ahead, it hadn't occurred to me but the road had straightened out, the forest and meadow gone, and only Ponyville slightly growing in size in the surroundings of us.
I sighed, then muttered, "Another time, another world, another life."
Io turned her head slightly out of the corner of my eye, and asked, "What was that?"
I cursed mildly in my head, then replied, "It was nothing worth of discussion."
After a frustrated, or was it disappointed, grunt from her, we continued on in silence towards Ponyville, us nearly there.
I recalled the brief shuttle ride, and the file that was given to me by one of the flight attendants:
"In Ponyville, you will meet your new crew mates of the LS Nebula, you will pilot the ship and be under the captain: Nebulae."
Now, after all that's happened between then and now, I felt much better to meet them. |
Just Enough For Her | pre | "Bunch of haters, aren't they?" Umbra asked in a sarcastic tone, ignoring that I nudged past her to drop the log inside the tinder box. She appeared to be fine and uncaring of the town ranting for her to leave, but I was not as fooled as everyone else was. Call it a mother's intuition through my senses and experience with her staying in my house. She was not the same monster that tried to conquer the entire world. That sadistic bitch was dead. The old Umbra was gone and had left a much more sensitive mare in this world.
Don't get me wrong when I say she is sensitive; that fighting spirit of hers was still in there and burning. She was still a feisty unicorn that will tear you limb from limb if you back her into a corner.
"They're just wanting to blow off some steam today." I told her, giving the town my way of telling them to fuck off before closing the blinds. If I didn't know any better I'd say a few gasps were heard as I took my place next to her.
She scooted over and pushed me down, her intention to not just share some space but also snuggle on top of me obvious in her speed. Cadance sat and watched quietly as the unicorn abused this with levitating the blanket over us again. Shining and I had the same thought as his wife expressed disappointment.
For Umbra?
For me?
For our new relationship.
I don't care.
"Is there really nothing that will change your mind?" Cadance asked inconsolably, ignoring the mare on top of me who seemed to enjoy nestling her face in my neck--not that it was a bad thing at all, just a little weird.
And there it was. . .my anger. . .
It was rare to see me lose my temper I suppose, but I never get angry or mad at anyone or anything. After she left Sophia and I, that part of me died inside and turned to dust. And right after I found Luna with Alex, love became meaningless and unnecessary in my life. That's probably why I am who I am today.
Then why did I say yes to Umbra, and what stirred me to give her a chance?
I'd been told that Cadance can be persistent and a bit of a nuisance towards problems that relate or loop to broken love. I just never expected her to be this determined, and it pissed me off.
"I told you there is nothing. Now stop asking."
"Zane. . . please. . ."
I watched her hop off the couch and approach Umbra and I to soften my decision, but after sitting up and pushing Umbra off of me, I pointed at her and did what no one but Umbra has heard and felt.
I lost it.
"For fuck's sake Cadance, I told you to stop asking me and I meant it." I yelled scathingly without any consideration as to what this will do to her. But I just could not take anymore of her needy persistence to fix everyone's love problems. "You're just like a marriage counselor that only see the good of things. Well guess what, you cannot fix me or what I had with Luna and Celestia. You can't bring me to forgiving them or my brother or the queen. I chose to leave and shut out almost everyone to get past that betrayal. Now do me a big favor and fucking drop this bullshit fantasy you have of fixing my problems, because I don't want your fucking help!"
The silence in the living room was enough as I stood up and left the group. Walking upstairs to my room was the only thing I could think of to get away from her. It was really the best thing since I just screamed at her for the first time. I was about to slam my door when I heard Cadance crying and hooves shuffling around the house. I didn't really plan to hurt her feelings or lose my temper, I just wanted her to stop pestering me about going back.
. . .Now I felt like breaking everything I own.
I paced and muttered to myself. Hearing her go from a loud cry to sobbing wasn't enough to make me leave the room, and besides it was probably a deathtrap down there. Sophia and Twilight are definitely pissed at me now, and let's not forget how protective Shining Armor can be when someone hurts his wife.
The hour was stretched in my time to calm down and think, no one coming to my room to give me an ass-chewing or a potential ass-beating. Thankfully the town went quiet after they gave up and returned to whatever it was they had going on before bothering me.
Yeah, just me, my thoughts and a swollen hand after punching the wall seven times, no doubt of the knuckles being broken. The pain was not excruciating, just enough to keep me from going into deep thought.
The hole in the wall wasn't something I could brag about to others, but I had to admit to myself that it was impressive. It was actually shocking and a little strange. This house was built by the apple family after I asked Applejack if she had a room for Sophia and I, and there is no doubt in my mind that her family used oak.
Although. . . why am I surprised when punching a hole in the wall is common? These walls are were made with one-inch sheets of wood.
My thoughts stretched on and I kept thinking back to how easy it was for Sophia and I. I'd thought about being back home with our own people, in our nice apartment with New York to see when we wake up and go to sleep. It was easy maintaining my job and acting both roles of parenthood. I did not have to worry about the things I do now. All I had to do was make sure Sophia was happy and safe.
But. . . why is it so hard?
A couple minutes of these stressful thinking passed before I heard a knock at my door. I was still deep thinking about my self-pity before her voice brought me back.
"Zane, mind if I come in?"
I did not have to guess who that was. I gave a slight quirk of my brow as I stared at the door opening without my consent. Out of every conversation we have, this was the first time she asked to enter my room. I gave a deep sigh as I answered. "It's not like you're going to stay if I tell you no."
The door swung open and Umbra stepped inside before closing the door. She stared at me, concern glowing on her face. "Feel like having somepony to talk too, or are you still having a tantrum?"
I gave a deep huff as I looked away from the mare. "What makes you think you're any better? You get pissed off at the smallest of things; hell, you ranted about Sophia going through your things."
She came closer with intention to get some talk out of me. You could say that I know how she works during my time of distress. The two of us laid back on the bed, the sound of birds chirping at my window before Umbra ignited their tail feathers. I can't say she's wrong for getting them out of the way when we're both in need of silence, but she could have taken the better approach. The atmosphere between us was pretty heavy as we were distracted by the same thought going through out heads.
How did I know we were thinking the same thing. I didn't. I was just guessing and found my assumption correct when she rolled into my side. I was still too distracted by her methodical action to see, or feel the dark mare's hooves wrap around me. The thing that brought me back to Umbra was when her snout buried in my neck. Her warmth was nice and I hugged her barrel just as we found a comfortable position. Weird to say that I enjoyed having Umbra almost on top of me. It reminded me of when Luna did the same thing every night, but the feeling was not the same.
It was different. . . in a good way. I could honestly say that I did not feel so empty inside.
Umbra took the pillow beneath me and split the space. I felt her hind legs rub across my feet, before she settled with locking them around my ankles. "Do you still want Luna and Celestia back in your life?" She gave a heavy sigh as she looked towards the picture on my dresser. The same picture Luna and I took when we took Sophia to Donut Joe's for her birthday party.
I did not answer, so we sat in silence again. Umbra did not have to deal with me and my problems, she could leave me to vent towards myself. She could go out and find herself a stallion that's not as complicated as me, but she didn't. She stayed right here. I was starting to wonder the depth of her interest in me.
I turned away from the picture as I spoke. "I don't know what I want right now. I have so much going through my head that it's almost impossible to keep track of it all."
"I did not ask you what is on your mind, nor did I want to know how you feel. I asked you a simple 'yes' or 'no' question," Umbra said sternly.
I looked down to see the mare looking up to me with worry. "Nice to know that you don't care. But why is my desire more important than what I have going through my head or what I feel?"
I was given a small poke to my chest as she sat up. "Because I confessed to you a couple hour ago and Cadance is pressing to have you give those jerks another chance. The last thing I want is to become a rebound mare if you were to see them again."
I laughed at that one, though more hollow than filling. "Rebounds are not my style, but I guess I want them back in my life." I rubbed my forehead and exhaled my frustration. "I don't know. I guess some part of me hopes that Alex will fuck up and they will come running to me. But we both know that is never going to happen because--"
"Because he is an alicorn and you are not." She got me there, though a little too bluntly. "You're a man who refuses to change, so you became the boy toy while Alex became an alicorn for them."
I gave a slow nod as I stared up to the ceiling. "There's no better way to interpret. I get to be who I am while my brother trades his entire life for luxury."
"But you didn't," she tiled her head at me. "Why?"
I sat up and crossed my arms in thought, trying to think the best way to explain my decision. I could think of ten reasons in an instant as to why I declined becoming an alicorn, and the next answer was better than the last one. Thinking very deeply through every answer, I grasped the one that made the best of my person. "I like to wake up in the morning and see that I am still a man. Every time I look in the mirror I hear mind tell me that I am more of a man than Alex. That no matter how bad things get, I see a man who will not trade his pride for a good life."
She have out a deep giggle at seeing me smile at myself in the mirror on my wall. "I'm not one to agree, but I can make an exception on that. You are more of a 'man' than Alex, and that is what I like about you."
"You like me for my pride?" I asked, listening to the mare closely as she hugged me from behind.
She gave a warm smile as she nuzzled my cheek. "There are lots of other reasons, but pride is not the word." She put on her best duck-face, thinking aloud. Glad to say I was hypnotized by that face. "The better word is appreciation."
I raised a brow at her reflection in confusion. "Appreciation that I am still myself?"
She nodded. "Yeah, that's it. You appreciate who and what you are. You appreciate it so much that you hold onto yourself, and that is what draws me to you. You won't let anypony or anything make you think about changing."
I cracked a smile to the dark mare looking at me so happily. I chuckled lightly as we fell back on the bed, though with her as my pillow. I let out a heavy breath as I realize what is touching the back of my neck, and by god, did I feel awkward in this position. I was certain that her immortality would make 'certain' parts of her remain old, but there was no mistaking how sharp those teats were. I was only given a moment to accept this positon before she crossed her hind legs, locking me in place.
She ruffled my hair to her heart's content as I listened to her giggling. "It would be so easy to suffocate you right now. I could squeeze a little tighter and you would fall asleep with no idea what I would do to you."
I looked up to Umbra bemusedly as she used her magic to pull my arms, immobilizing everything but my legs. She licked my forehead as I let her have some fun with me. It's not like I was in danger anyway. She always does this to me to get some kind of reaction that involves fear or rebellion. Given that she was reformed but not completely purified, I'd say there is still a mischief mare underneath the kind and caring mask she was wearing.
"I could put your arms behind your back and make you kneel before me," Umbra continued in an husky sigh, licking her lips hungrily. I knew where this was going and went along with it. It's not like I did not want to have a dark unicorn being seductive with me. "Or better yet, I could strip you of your clothes and make you lick me clean. Yeah, and you could call me master."
I chuckled in thought as I imagined myself licking her clean, from head to hoof and no part of her left untouched. Not even the royal parts would be left unattended. It seemed like being in a relationship with Umbra was going to be the most interesting one I've had. I was certain that Umbra would make the relationship I had with Celestia and Luna seem like child's play. She noticed that I was thinking about her statement, but did not say anything I waited for her to react. I had previous thoughts of Umbra and I experiencing the more kinky side of things, but that's the least of what I have experienced with her.
I've seen her naked. And by naked I mean I have walked in the bathroom and caught her masturbating to the self-portrait Rarity made at the request of Celestia having my picture framed on the family wall.
Good god, that was horrifying back then; especially when she told me to get out or finish her off. Wait, that would mean had feelings for me before we became friends.
I winced at my surprise growth when I paused on her marehood fully exposed that day. I was a little ashamed, but I did not give her the satisfaction of being attractive enough to turn me on. Instead, I played her game.
"How about 'queen' or 'mistress'?" I asked in a calm tone. That seemed to have gotten through her, and in a really good way. She looked down at me with this 'Oh' look to her before releasing me. Once her legs came undone, I rolled over and took advantage of the situation by pouncing on her.
Umbra's eyes went wide as she felt my chest crash on hers. Not only did I rock the boat of our conversation, but I nearly drove my lips into hers without control. I watched as Umbra stared up to me in shock before I buried myself in her neck. She yelped as I nipped her, probably alarming the others downstairs.
"I have a better one; how about I call you 'My Monster'?" I asked, snuggling the flabbergasted mare as I held her tightly. "Because that is what you are to me. You're my sexy, adorable, and loving monster."
Strangely, my statement was not an insult to the unicorn. My spine shivered a little when I felt her hoof running up and down with no end. My conscience was still trying to tell me that I had just called my marefriend a monster. My monster, but a monster nonetheless. I was expecting her to kick the shit out of me or tell me to go fuck myself, but she did not say a word for quite some time. The only response I got out of her was laughter and her hooves tightening around my torso.
When Umbra did speak, her voice pulled me out of my expectation as she spoke softly. "Your monster?" She pondered, humming to herself as we heard what might be footsteps coming up the stairs. Finally she nodded; at least I think she did. It felt from how we were snuggling that she did. "I hate it when I'm called a monster, but I like the sound of that. It sounds strong, like you are proud to have a mare like me."
"You're a one of a kind." I laughed lightly, receiving a smack to the back of my head. It did not hurt at all, but I knew I was talking too much after that. I decided to shut my eyes and milk how long we have before someone comes looking for us. My body started to feel numb and I was certain I would fall asleep on Umbra.
Sadly, our moment of togetherness was disturbed when the door flew open. My eyes shot open as I rolled off the bed with Umbra. I was still trying to process that I had planted my face into the floor with the dark unicorn sitting on my head, but the culprit was already approaching us. I was muttering the most profane words any man can say in front of a lady, pushing Umbra off my head as fast as I could. Once I was on my feet, I shook off the throbbing in my nose, giving me a little time to see my daughter glaring at me. She clenched her teeth after taking a short step back.
I looked over to Umbra still recovering as Shining Armor entered the room with his upset wife spreading tears across her snout. I looked back to her and felt some guilt by words as Sophia clenched her fists.
"You made Miss Cady cry!" Sophia screamed furiously, frightening not only me but Umbra as well. "You made her cry even when she wanted to help!"
I gave a nervous chuckle as I stared at the pink princess. "I did not think my words would hurt you that much. I really did not mean to hurt your feelings that much, Cadance."
"Well you did," she sniffled, wiping her nose. "And it hurt alot. I just wanted to help you."
I realized that I had dropped the ball big time as her big bro. . . and that I made the biggest mistake in my life. I put my hands up in front of me and tried to approach to repair some of the damage. "Cadance, I'm really sorry for hurting your feelings. I went overboard and--"
"No excuses for hurting Miss Cady!" Sophia screamed, retracting her right arm. "Take your punishment and repent."
I looked down at her and cocked a brow in confusion. "Okay, where are learning to talk like--"
"SHORYUKEN!" She roared as her arm launched, fist tightened and fire in her eyes. I had no time to react when I saw where her uppercut was going.
Suddenly the world seemed to be gone as my legs buckled under me and every nerve in my body locked up tighter than one of Shining Armor's suits. I became disoriented and agonized quietly as the light of my day became black in an instant. Darkness seemed to consume me before I could process Twilight, Shining, Cadance, and Umbra surrounding me while my daughter stomped out of the room. I felt my breakfast trying to come back up as they rolled me onto my back, prying my hands from my groin with all their might.
"Zane, can you hear!?" Shining barked, shaking me. "Zane, you've gotta move your hands. You have to let us see!"
"Where in the world did she develop such behavior?" Twilight asked as I watched her stared at my junk. Her eyes went wide as I released the longest squeak a man can breathe.
Cadance and Umbra were too busy pulling arms apart to say anything, but I could have sworn that I was hearing angels sing as I lost conscious.
Maybe. I don't know. The last thing I heard before blackness took over was Sophia yelling. "K.O!" |
Just Enough For Her | Chapter V | "Is he. . . be. . .alright?"
"There's. . . swelling. . . over!"
"Zane. . . alright. . . pal!"
"Get. . . now. . .before. . .
"Oh no. . .of. . . burst!
I opened my eyes and shot up to find myself lying in a medical bed and wearing a hospital gown. Looking down, I noticed Umbra was fast asleep at the end of the bed, with my jacket in her hooves. I wanted to smile, but my mind brought me back to the lifeless feeling I had between my legs. I remembered Sophia punching my balls before I passed out from the pain. I drifted through my thoughts as the hollow feeling down there worried me.
I can't believe she did that to me; and all because I snapped on Cadance for trying to play 'love doctor'.
I had to add the facts together to realize that Sophia did enough damage that I had to be admitted in a hospital. The only question was "which hospital am I in?" I'm definitely not at Ponyville Hospital; if I was then I would have the same thing when I was hospitalized in the beginning for my heart condition, a sickly green room with Nurse Redheart trying to feed me a hayburger with some other junk I can't remember.
The world was spinning a little as I rubbed my head. Everything felt like a blur while the scent of air freshener and lavender in the blankets gave me a mild headache.
"I have to get up."
I made the attempt of clambering out of bed to use the bathroom. I wanted to know if any part of me was gone or altered, and the only reflective surface in this room was the bathroom mirror. Plus I really needed to get feeling back in my legs; there is nothing worse than the tingling sensation I get when sit for too long. It's drives me up the wall.
Slowly and carefully, I turned ninety degrees to my left and extended my legs to the floor. I was about to make contact with the tiled floor when my crotch flared and throbbed. I cringed and clenched my teeth while the pain travelled to my stomach. My lower half locked up as I twisted back into bed and curled into a ball. I went to press the crown jewels and quietly cry it out, but my palms slid over a thick fabric that stuck to everything that makes me a man.
The pain was still there as I realized what the fabric meant. Horror spread across my face as I lifted the bandages, the terror almost too much to bear.
These are thick gauze wraps, but that would mean I had. . .
As I feared for the worst, I quickly turned to Umbra rising from her slumber, rubbing her eyes and yawning adorably. She smacked her lips a few times and looked around the room with drowsy eyes before saying, "I guess they left with Sophia."
Finally, she turned her gaze to me, and gasped as soon as me being awake processed in her head.
"Zane, you're awake now." she said in a hesitant voice, which did nothing but make the situation worse.
All of a sudden I watched the unicorn leap at me and wrap her hooves around my torso. But before I could do anything, she pushes down and proceeds to kiss me multiple times on both cheeks.
I looked up to yell at her, but her expression stopped me.
She seemed to be. . . in tears. . . as if I had she had not seen me in months or perhaps years.
Umbra dug into my neck and nuzzled it relentlessly, her breathing breaking in joy as she whimpered.
"The doctors were not sure if you were going to make it." She stuttered, her voice stuck between happiness and fear.
"Umbra, what happened after I Sophia punched me?" I asked seriously, holding her back before she could give me rug burn. Damn mare can nuzzle third degree burn onto a dragon if she tried.
Her breathing slowed at this, and before I could shake her for giving me silence she begins breaking down in my arms. She whimpered in her own pity and bit her lip hard, holding onto my arms.
There was that shitty feeling again, the sense of dread.
It was too familiar. . .
"After you passed out, Shining Armor checked you." She answered in a low voice, her tears falling faster as I listened. "Next thing we know is he teleported with you and leaves Cadance and Twilight with Sophia and I. He came back a few hours to tell us he took you to Canterlot Medical Center."
That did not make any sense at all. In my mind I was thinking long and hard as to why Shining Armor would suddenly bring me here on his own according.
"What, was he worried that I would die?" I chuckled, though I should not have done so. Next thing I know is I'm being stared down by the mare with the most intense glare any pony could have. I'd thought Cosmica's glare was scary, but Umbra took that title in the blink of an eye with the aura in her eyes intensifying.
"You were going to die, you bucking moron!" She growled, her voice deep and as hateful as the punch to my arm. "One of your testicles burst, and that made your body flood itself with adrenaline. You were already in shock by the time the surgeons started on you. They even used Shining Armor as a conductor to amplify the spells they used to save your life!"
Before I could say something to that, the infuriated mare came forward and dug into my shoulder, her fangs sinking deep. . . until I screamed like a little girl.
Upon biting me, blood is lapped from skin as she retreats, her tongue smooth and silky. A few whimpers from the unicorn escape while I froze in shock more than I should have from the sting.
She rested on that same shoulder after licking her lips. "That's for being such a moron. . ." she whispered. "Buck, I must be desperate that I fell for you."
I snapped out of my shock when I heard her say those words. As if on cue or perhaps it being my nature, I hold her tightly and stroke her mane to take away her sorrow. I was never good at this kind of thing, however; at least not with Umbra. Comforting her is the same as understanding her; it's so damn complex and confusing.
"Having the best taste in guys does not make you desperate," I whispered in her ear. "It just makes you a picky mare that won't settle for any average stallion."
She seemed to laugh naturally when I gave her the same punishment. As if it wasn't bad enough to be humiliated by my own daughter, this piece of work decides to giggle after I bite her on the neck.
"You've got a long way to go before you can turn me on like that." She said alluringly.
We were quite content being alone in this room for some reason. It was odd that everything felt so natural between, and we could tell that we weren't afraid to be ourselves. Even if it was being in a hospital room, there was no disturbance or uncomfortable feeling caught between Umbra and I.
"So where is Sophia?" I asked casually.
Umbra seemed to snap out of her happiness when I asked that question. As if something terrible happened, she smiled sheepishly and spun a hoof through her mane.
"Well. . ." She paused, her eyes being all I need to know there was some kind of secret.
Throughout the months, I have come to understand that Umbra is very good at lying. But she has one major flaw that always gives her away, and it is undeniable. She can tell me I'm not right or I'm losing my mind, but I am no damn fool when it comes to secrets or lies.
"Umbra," I drawled. "Where is my little girl?"
I did my utmost to not lose my cool as she scooted away.
"They're down in the cafeteria. Sophia had not eaten all day. But the thing is, I kind of suggested that Cadance and Shining Armor take Sophia to the Crystal Empire for the week." She replied with difficulty, before ducking with her hooves over her head. Clearly she thought I was going to hurt her or something.
"You suggested that my daughter be sent my daughter with Cadance and Shining Armor for the entire week?" I asked a little more aggressively. It appeared that for whatever reason she was happy to send her away.
"I just thought it would be a good idea for you and I to have some time alone and for Sophia to think about what she did." She blurted in a panic before catching herself screaming. Thankfully she calmed down and used a better tone.
She hung her head as if ashamed while the door slowly opened. "I'm sorry. I saw this as an opportunity for you and I to do things without her in the picture; at least for a week."
I looked down to meet the mare's gaze and smiled at her warmly. Instinct took over as I caressed her man, chuckling at the tingling sensation that ran through my fingers as I did so. Slowly but surely I was beginning to see from her perspective how difficult it would be for her and I to have a relationship while Sophia is around. I'm not saying she is a hindrance, just a setback that will get between us whenever she wants. Relationships require time and the couple to have some companionship that goes without a third wheel.
"Just let me be awake for when you do something like." I said calmly.
Umbra scoffed at this and turned away as if disgusted by my answer.
"There you go again with your 'nice-guy' attitude." She groaned honestly. "Seriously, there must be a problem with your head. Nopony is that nice."
I looked at her with a friendly smile, making her more uncomfortable as I pulled her close. It was funny to feel her struggle as someone entered the room. I was so caught up in tormenting the unicorn I failed to see who it was that approached with a gift in magic.
"You're so easy to tease."
"Bite me." She snapped, before finding a comfortable spot in my lap to pout.
I relished the warmth of Umbra's body and her poutiness. It was like having Celestia's and Luna's magic seep into everything I was and give me a little peace.
Except it was better than the both of them put together. Much better.
I had missed this feeling so much. But I should have known that it would not have lasted with two princesses at my sides, especially when my brother always takes what makes me happy.
"You're so much better than Celestia and Luna put together." I told her in the faintest whisper, an inquisitive smile on my lips while she blushed and the visitor drew my attention to him. It was not easy to think that such a pony would be here in such a place for my well-being, but it gave me a good reminder that there is one god in this world I can call my family. And when I say god I mean he is a god who can turn the seas in the blink of an eye, but that's not how I see him.
With absolutely no regard for what Umbra and I have going on, the stallion moves from behind his gift and greets with a warm smile. Said smile was the best thing I had to look forward to in the term of family.
"Well you certainly look more chipper than the last time I saw you."
I turned to the stallion who'd draped my back with his wing, his eyes and horn swimming with an ocean of history and power. Awkward silence filled between us. The alicorn kept smiling whilst leaning in to nuzzle my cheek. Deep in the back of my own mind, joy fueled the beginning of a much needed family reunion. Once I'd thought about it, I broke the silence for my own pleasure.
"Dad?"
"Even though I separated from Cosmica you still call me that;" he said in a hardy voice, though a little more lively than I would want. I could not blame him though, not when his own daughters won't call him that. He made no reservation in self-control as he draped Umbra in his other wing, pulling us both so close that we almost fell off the bed.
"It's good to see you again Zane."
I had this very dumbfound look on my face while he released us. I was so stunned to see the only alicorn I like stand before me and act like my best friend. I had not seen him ever since he found out Cosmica was in on Celestia and Luna having an affair with Alex. He was so enraged when word spread of my leave, that he forced Cosmica to choose between me and Alex. Sadly, I was not on the good end of the stick. Neither was she.
"Dad, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I told him," Umbra chirped, receiving a confused look from me. She appeared proud to have informed him.
"What, you can't expect me to not to tell Terra." She said defensively. "He's the only one that actually gives a crap about. Plus he can keep your situation from getting out to the public."
"There's only so much I can do to keep my ex-wife, daughters, and your bastard brother from knowing." Dad added with a roll of his eyes.
That is what made me respect the stallion, his sense of right and wrong. Being a god or a king did not matter to him when Cosmica made the choice of keeping Alex. I don't know what happened between them, but while I stayed at Fluttershy's house, he showed up to tell me he was leaving and that I would be better off living my own life. As weird as it was to have Terra be the last pony I expect to help me, he came through in the end. Of course there are some complications with having a god for a father, but I keep those things to myself so Umbra and Sophia don't have to worry.
"You told my father that I was in the hospital," I said skeptically.
Umbra turned to the stallion and pat his side while he unwrapped the gift basket. I wasn't surprised to see more fruit than sweets; that's the biggest pet peeve I had with the stallion. You cannot have anything sweet, not even a damn piece of candy, without him getting in my face to tell me that I'd better brush my teeth after I finish. Still, no matter how annoying it can be, he was the only one that showed real care for Sophia and I during his visits.
Unfortunately, said visits became less and less as multiple after Cosmica announced that Terra was "attacked in the middle of the night and inflicted with a curse".
Boy, I never thought about how hard life must be for him. But that doesn't explain how he bought the gift basket. Where the hell did he get the money?
Terra approached to hand--well hoof me a red apple, though with a little force. He made sure that I took the fruit and bit into the apple before grabbing one for himself and Umbra.
"Eat that before the nurse comes to give you hospital lunch. And trust me when I say the food here is not any better than it is in Ponyville."
Reluctantly, I chow down and ignore the feeling of not being hungry.
"So how long have I been in here?" I asked through my mouthful. I had to swallow it and take another bite to not invoke his glare.
"You've been in the hospital for two days now." Umbra answered, rubbing my right thigh tenderly.
"The doctors sought to inform Cosmica of admitting you, but Umbra was quick to send a letter." Terra said as he nuzzled the mare. To my shock, she enjoyed the affection. "You should be thankful that she told me."
He leaned away from her and gave me a mischievous grin. "By the way, when did you and Umbra become mates?"
I turned a new shade of red and gulped. I had no idea what to say or how I should explain to him that Umbra and I became thing; and it did not help that he was looking at me that way while the door opened again. It would have been easier if he was around more often, but the last time I saw him was maybe a month ago. Our relationship was already so thin that it made some things very difficult, like talking to him about who I am dating. I didn't know how he would react, especially to Umbra being my. . . marefriend.
I inhaled a deep breath as I leaned over to look past him. Approaching from Terra's right side was a pony I'd never seen before, and she was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. Her entire figure was different from a regular earth pony--Shit, she was different from an alicorn! She was as tall as Terra if not shorter, her coat was similar to Fluttershy's, butterscotch if not a bright yellow. But she was not trimmed nor groomed like any regular pony, her fur was fluffed around the chest area; even her hooves had hair around them.
She was almost intimidating to me, and to Umbra the most. I barely glimpsed at the tall earth pony before my marefriend locked her hooves around my torso and groaned at the pony.
I looked at Terra without any hesitance as the mysterious pony steps too close to him.
"Dad, who is that?"
Terra does not express restraint in his enthusiasm. As soon as I had asked that question, he draped a wing over the mare and kissed her cheek.
"This is one of high council members," he replied whilst nuzzling the pony, making her giggle. "She is the speaker for Norweigh and my mate."
"A pleasure to meet you, son of Terra." She said in a deeply accent. She held her hoof out, and I took it in my hand. We shook, though my side was regretful on the account of her strength. "My name is Lady Spice, and I hope that you will come to accept what we have to offer you."
"Zane," I answered then looked up to Terra, my held tilted a little and an eyebrow raised. "And offer me?"
For the first time in my life I witnessed Terra blush and laugh nervously.
"About that. . ." he coughed to clear his throat before regaining his composure. Now he was himself, the stallion that possessed a deadly serious gaze "I was going to send you a letter sometime next month to prepare you, but since we are here now, we may as well tell you."
"Tell me what?"
Lady Spice was the one to step forward and tell me.
"Zane, I understand from what Terra has told about your situation. You are betrayed and struggling to give this mare and your daughter a good life, but nopony wishes to give her a second chance, and the hardship rests on you. Such kindness is not unseen by us, nor is it ignored."
"Which is why I have requested with the entire council to give you an audience." Said the alicorn.
"An audience for what?" Umbra asked, her eyes glowing with concern.
Lady Spice smiled warmly.
"To offer you the position of Equestria's Speaker."
I could not believe what I had just heard. I sat in silence for a couple of minutes with my jaw hanging and went to Umbra for help. She was just as shocked though, her eyes were as big as dinner as she stared at the unicorn. I wasn't sure if she had the same feeling, but I was having a serious conflict inside me as I contemplate the idea. There were some thoughts I did not have control over and those things are the reasons I fear myself. This was no different than when I wanted to murder Alex in the beginning. If this was really happening to me, then I had the opportunity to do something that would be bigger than becoming the king of Equestria.
I laugh in disbelief and run a hand through my hair, believing enough and feeling that it was not a dream. It felt so good. Oddly enough, it was as if god answered my prayers. But how could that happen? What would make me worthy of such an opportunity? Was there perhaps another reason behind it?
I looked up to both ponies and, with one big breath I found the courage and took the chance.
"You want me to be the representative for Equestria?" I asked. "Why?"
"Your actions are the reason why." Lady Spice answered. "We are looking for somepony that will step in when something foul is amuck and do what is right. You are that somepony."
"You didn't think I was going to let you work hard to survive, did you?" Dad mused while I laid back in bed. I blinked with so much uncertainty as he put his hoof on my chest. "Son, I favored you over your brother because I know you are the better stallion. I know that you do not need to be different to be great."
I laughed at him and shook my head.
"Now you're just trying to bullshit with me."
"No, I am not." He pressed on my chest, and it got my attention. "Zane, you have no idea how much the council is interested in you. They are impressed by you giving Umbra a second chance and throwing away your royalty when you discovered your brother stole my daughters from you. Your sense of right and wrong is the wisdom they want in that empty seat."
I sat there for a few moments looking at him. There were some reasons for me to decline, but the fact was I'd be saying goodbye to the very few friends I had and Twilight would be without a secretary. Sophia had some friends, but none of them would brave coming over since Umbra lived with us. How could I make a decision right now? Then again the benefit of leaving this kingdom for a better start in life did come to mind many times. I could do many things that would benefit so many ponies. I could be in a position that would put me above my brother.
I could not decide what I should do. I looked to Umbra for the answer, but she was expecting me to say something.
"Dad, as much as I want to leave this place and put all of this in Alex's face, I can't decide right now."
Terra nods his head and takes the pressure off my chest.
"I'd thought you might say something like that, which is why we're going to wait for a month. I'm sorry to say that we're mainly here on request to try and convince you. But that doesn't mean I am not worried about you."
"I know dad," I chuckled. "But I need time to think."
"No. You do not need time to think." Another voice said behind Terra, her tone aggressive and desperate. We looked towards the door and saw in the doorway the last pony I expected to talk like that.
"Twilight," Umbra and I said in unison while she approached, pushing between Terra and Lady Spice, with Cadance and Shining Armor behind her, and Sophia on his back.
She reared up and leaned into me, inches between her and I.
"You're going to that audience."
I tried to lean away, but there was no room.
"Why would I go?"
A slightly evil grin crept her face.
"Because I would love to see the look on Celestia's and Luna's faces when they see the man they cheated on is part of the council. Plus we want the same thing, we want Alex to feel inferior to you, even when he is made king."
"Hold on, the teacher's pet wants to see them suffer?" Umbra asked, stunned yet skeptic. "Are you sure you're Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight's grin shifted into a cocky one.
"Princess Celestia is a second mother to me, and Luna is practically a sister. But I lost all respect for those two when they chose Alex for his appearance."
She turned her gaze back to me.
"Also, I was planning on replacing you if we started dating. So this offer they have for you helps out as well."
"Are you serious?" I barked, receiving a nod from her.
"I'm sorry, but you mixed up my schedule too many times."
I looked up to ceiling and took in a deep breath, my eyes burning with anger as she tried to tell me that we were still good friends but she needs somepony who can do the job right.
"FUCKING HELL!" |
Just Enough For Her | Chapter VI | Umbra
The sound of nurses and doctors passing Terra and I clicked in my ears. Every sound had me turning in every direction, under the presumption of Cosmica, her daughters or that bastard, Zane, approaching. Lady Spice remained with Zane, between him and the door, while I followed the stallion to the other end of the hallway. He diverted his gaze not--surprisingly--from me but from the medical staff who suddenly went the other way.
"They're avoiding us upon my request for you and I to be alone," He told me in a serious voice. The fur on the back of my neck stood up. "You and I need to have a quick discussion."
"Over him and dating?" I called out as he rounded the corner, stopping dead in his path. It was no minor thing to me when I bumped into his plot, but he seemed unfazed by it. I shook it off and continued. "No offense Terra, but it was Zane's choice to accept me. And I've had my eyes on him since the day he took me into his care."
He turned around and cut me down with his eyes, the alicorn who was calm and relaxed now wielded a dark look with two emotions I could see. Anger and Concern I was certain. Another deep breath from him struck through my façade and sliced the tension I had with him separating me from my man. I felt concerned, if not afraid of the alicorn.
Suddenly, the glow of his horn thrust all noise around us to repel against the barrier he activated, silencing where we stood. He breathed deeply to what appeared to me as a way for him to calm down. He was not playing around, his expression never changing, reacting fast, so that I would be listening. Clearly, he did not drag me out of the room to get onto me about Zane and I having a relationship, and he seemed to come together as the king he was before.
"This is not about your relationship," he warned. "This is about Zane, and I need you to listen to me very carefully."
I nodded, but emotions were high. There was no getting around that. I didn't know what would have brought Terra like this, but it had to be important if he was acting so serious with me. He put his wing on my back. "Umbra, I need you understand that electing Zane as a high council candidate is not just out of the goodness of my heart. I love that boy and I will do what must be done to protect him. But understand that I have ulterior motives. Motives that you must never tell him."
He looked around him at the mares and stallions keeping their distance. He was not volatile, or aggressive. He didn't even show signs of aggression. He was steady, calm and deadly. He looked back at me. "Word about the position being open reached Cosmica's ears a few weeks back, and the council informed me that she elected Alex and her daughters for split-control of the position."
I looked at him, straight into his eyes, and then nodded slowly. He lifted his wing from me. "Okay. What does it matter if those three are up for election? It's not like they could get it anyway."
Terra shook his head with a soft sigh. "They could if there is not another in the royal family to volunteer. And if Alex becomes king or a joint sharer as Equestria's Speaker, then there would be nothing stopping him from hurting his own brother."
I shook my head, an incredulous look on my face. "What the buck are you talking about? Alex would not dare hurt Zane."
"Physically, he would not. Zane is the one with the survival instinct," he said. I agreed with him, before he shook his head while keeping his eyes on me. "But mentally and emotionally, he will do everything he can to destroy Zane; even take Sophia away from him. And that must not happen."
"Can you run that by me again?" I asked Terra. He took a slow descent to my ear as I became defensive. What in tartarus was this old fart talking about Alex taking Sophia away from us? I rubbed the inside of my ear to make sure there was nothing in it. "I could have sworn you said something about Alex taking Sophia away." I chuckled evilly before giving him a deadly stare. "Because let me tell you something; that little girl is not just his little filly, she's mine as well. Through the entire time of living with those two, I've come to love that child as though she is my own daughter. Zane doesn't know it, but Sophia calls me mommy when he's not around. And I will kill anypony who dares touch my filly."
Terra did not say a word, standing there in shock, eyes widening, waiting for my instincts and the flow of dark magic to disappear. He never took his eyes from me when I did put the darker part of me back in its cage. "Being so close to those two tends to bring out the worst in me."
"Being so in love with my son and so caring of my granddaughter has its drawbacks," he pointed out. I saw that he could feel the remnant of my power radiating around his spell. "But I'm serious about Alex. He's dangerous as he is right now. Imagine if he chose becoming a council member over being king."
I scoffed at the idea. It really was not a terrible thought. I was about to laugh at Terra, until I remembered there were some perks in the high council. One of these perks involved immunity to the word of other kingdoms in power. This made my skin crawl.
I took a deep breath, let it out and took a step back. The unfortunate belief of Alex taking Sophia from us brought a wrench to my chest that was horrendous, a twisting yanking sensation ripping at me that drove the air back into my lungs and seemed to pull apart my chest and heart. I felt it skip a beat, racing so hard my chest hurt.
I would have pulled back and denied the idea but I knew deep in my conscience Alex would do this to him, taking away the only thing that gives Zane reason to be happy. He wouldn't give it second thoughts, not in the slightest. He would plow forward into the only happiness Zane has and destroy while his brother falls into torn pieces.
Suddenly I was free of fear, feeling Terra's hoof under my chin, unable to look away, his eyes slowly dilating. He shook his head, glaring into mine. I kept my attention fixed on Zane. He had been with Lady Spice for too long to remain quiet. He was truly a violent person and uneasy whenever left alone with new ponies, something I say to be claustrophobic.
I tried to turn away, but Terra denied it. "And there is worse to fear than Alex taking Sophia away from us." He told me. Every muscle in my body locked up. "He is feeling deprived of a human woman and plans to use Sophia when she has matured. He has already traumatized her body and mind."
Once again I struggled to remain standing. This time he stepped back. His face, drowned and suffocating into depression, had gone pale. He looked as if he might be ill, but he forced himself to not shed a single tear, isolating the fury behind his eyes.
"On the night of Zane leaving the castle with Sophia, I found Alex in a bedroom with Sophia, alone." Terra warned, and my heart stopped. "I did not witness what happened, but Sophia was under Alex before crawling off the bed and running towards me." He looked away just as I fell to my haunches with my throat going dry. "She begged me to take her to Zane and to keep Alex away from her."
Something in my brain smacked into my conscience, a pain splintering the emotions so that burned outward into a smallest starburst on my horn.
"I don't know what he did, but Sophia would not talk about." He added with a venomous tone. "Whatever that sick monster did to Sophia, he will do it again if Zane does not become a member of the council." He was now serious, again. "Umbra, it is imperative that we push Zane to the position."
I did not say a word to him, for I had felt it, the connection of a mother and her filly, transcending my mind and soul. In that other realm of emotion I was easily lost. During the worst of that conversion, my calm demeanor was cracking. I felt my old self trying to pull me back in once the pain took hold. I did my best to fight it.
That sick son of a bitch was doing heinous things to Sophia. TO MY FILLY! There will be no corner in this world for him to hide. No nook or cranny. I will have his head on a mantle!
"And you did not tell Zane, why!?" I growled dangerously, every muscle and bone screaming for me to put this stallion's teeth down his throat. A mother's instinct, something I'd never felt before until I imagined Sophia alone with that bastard.
"What would good would it have done!?" He snapped defensively, an actual tune about him nopony has seen as he stomped his hoof. "If I had told Zane about the incident, then he would be in a dungeon rotting away while Sophia is stuck with that monster. He is not like us ponies. He will fight first and ask questions later. Even with his condition he is a fighter."
My eyes widened as the realization tickled my head, the burning pain of forcing me to accept the truth behind his reason to Zane's potential ascension.
"This was your plan all along," I accused, and he did not deny it. I pushed the matter even further. "You were going to have Zane become a member of the council so Sophia would be under divine protection." I jabbed him in the chest, said pain showing as I pushed him. "You were going to hide all this by taking them away from here. You, the stallion he calls dad, is going to hide the truth."
"No, I am not!" He barked, which surprised me since he hadn't been aggressive since the betrayal. "I am going to tell him after he takes the position. Hate me all you want, but the council knows of it. I have evidence to prove that Alex did those things to Sophia, but I cannot tell Zane about it. Not until he becomes the speaker of Equestria."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "Evidence?"
He unfolded his wing and hoofed me a black leather notebook, nothing significant or unique about it. I felt no magic radiating from the small book as I looked at it with curiosity, but the name on it gave away that it belonged to Alex. I looked up from said book to Terra, then back down at it while he opened it.
"I stole this at the time of Zane leaving Canterlot with Sophia." He flickered a strand of magic so to turn the page, and then tapped on it. "Read this page. It's the last log from Alex."
I stood there in silence as he held it up to my eye level. Part of me said to not read it, but the rest of me beseeched for a glimpse of this evidence Terra claimed to have found. I felt no shame in invading another's privacy. Still, something about reading a single page from the soon-to-be-king gave me a chill. I wasn't entirely sure if it was fear of what I may find or what I would be hiding from the man I love. My mind raced at thinking how nice it would to drop that arrogant prince to his knees, but the thought of Zane getting involved worried me more.
"Go on," he said in soft voice. "Read it."
Frustrated yet ensnared, albeit a little too much, I took a deep breath and gazed at the first sentence. Every single word led to worse details the further my eyes descended.
Journal Log: 351
Today I convinced Luna to meet me in her bedroom for a romantic evening, and she took it very well. Surprisingly, she was not as reluctant to leaving Zane for me as much as I anticipated. I did not expect her to say yes after asking a second time, but I should have known being an alicorn has its advantage. I really need to thank mom for changing me into one.
Oh yes, I just remembered that Sophia is returning from her field trip to the Crystal Empire.
Sophia. . .
She's growing up so fast that it's giving me whiplash, but she's becoming so beautiful. In a few years she will be the attention for stallions her age. None of them, however, can touch her. She will be a beautiful sooner than I think, and she will be ripe for the picking. Of course there is the fact of us being family, but an aunt and uncle is not so different from me herding two sisters.
I just hope she comes understand that the things I do are for her to be drawn to me. I don't say those things or touch her down there just for sheer joy. I care for her. I want her. I need her. I need to feel the touch of a woman. Having mares is not s satisfying, nor is it able to fill the hole in my chest.
But Zane. . . Zane. . .that selfish, one-sided prick is always getting in my way. He keeps refusing to become an alicorn and denies Sophia the same gift. Does he not realize that mother's heart is breaking from it?
Has he no consideration to the hardship of an alicorn raising a human?
Does he not realize it makes things harder for her?
It would serve the little shit if something bad happened to him. He deserves to suffer for causing her so much pain. He's always so focused on Sophia that it. . .
Sophia. . . focused on her. Perhaps things would improve if she were separated from him. Maybe if Luna and I take her in he will finally give in.
And if I do that, then Sophia would be mine.
Yes. Mine.
I leaned away to let Terra know I had finished reading. I nearly collapsed against the wall, as if the fire in my soul had gone out and I was exhausted like I had been after being reformed by the crystal heart. "How could you keep such a filthy secret from your own son!? That's his flesh and blood for fuck's sake!"
He remained silent to the question, so I pushed him.
"Why!?" I snapped furiously. "Why are you going to keep it a secret, and why not remove Alex from power now!?"
"Because the council is the only power that can remove Alex, but this is Equestria and Zane must be the speaker of this country to approve it. Without a speaker of this country, the council cannot do anything and Alex will take Sophia from him."
I felt fury, I felt murderous, I wanted to destroy Alex, oh how I wanted to paint the inside walls of the castle with his blood, that sick fucker, touching my filly with his filthy hooves.
Suddenly it went away, and while the spell was cast away by Terra and I focused on Zane's room I realized there was no incident taking place. Terra was leaning into my ear, whispering for me to keep this a secret until the time was right. I heard Zane call for me like I was his savior. . . his salvation, his guardian angel. I nodded, not because I wanted to, but for the reason of Zane giving the worst punishment to his brother. I knew he would not show mercy, especially if it involves his daughter being hurt.
I trotted back to the room with Terra next time. I took a deep, loud breath and gawked at my mate, hoping that my eyes were playing a mean trick that I brought upon myself from the all the stress I felt.
"Are you alright son?" Terra asked, a deep chuckle leaving his throat as we looked at him and Lady Spice. "You did not expect such a beautiful mare to be so affectionate. Perhaps she is starting to see you as her colt."
"You did not tell me your marefriend was a hugger!" Zane barked furiously under the mare's grasp, his face barely visible underneath her mane. "What the fuck dad, what the hell is her deal!? She's been hugging me since you two stepped out of the room!"
"You were right my love," Lady Spice cooed, her hoof stroking his rosy cheek as we approach, though my intention was to buck her off the bed rather than let it continue. "He is so adorable when he is angry. He is like a little colt having a tantrum."
"Bitch!" Zane snapped in a long howl, but it did him no good with the earth pony. There was passion in his eyes as she nuzzled him. "I am a grown man with a kid of my own. I am not a child. Now practice personal space and get the hell out of my bed!"
Terra just laughed and leaned next to me. "I told her that Zane doesn't have a mother."
If I had not been thinking about Sophia or the things Alex had already done to her, then I would have laughed with him and just watched Zane suffer this mare's snuggling. There was so much going through my head that I failed to see how close I was to Zane or what I was doing. I blinked a couple of time in my own disbelief and looked down to find myself making room between his legs. My obsession made Lady Spice laugh as I pulled his legs apart and rested between them, being on my side with my head in his lap.
"Young love," she sighed lovingly. "Such a wonderful thing to see."
I glared up to her and wrapped my hooves around his right leg. "Yeah, well don't get any funny ideas. This one is mine and I will not be sharing him with anypony."
Terra coughed at that point to get our attention, but not before I saw the insecurity in his eyes. Seriously, I was only teasing the mare in my own way. He did not have to get his horn in a knot.
"Anyway," he dragged some of his mane from in front of his face. "The council needs to be informed, so I will send a letter telling them you are interested n the position."
He proceeded to walk out of the room, but stopped in the doorway. His gaze turned and met mine as Zane went back to being distracted by the affectionate earth pony.
"Remember what I said Umbra," he said in a deadly serious tone. "This must happen for everyone's benefit. If not, then lives will suffer for it."
He left the room very quietly after that, and I was left alone to the only thought that seemed to make sense to me. I knew I was not in the right to think that, but what other choice did I have?
This is very wrong, but we are going to bring that fucker down. And when we do, I'm gonna enjoy seeing him squirm to Zane for forgiveness before I crush him for hurting my filly.
A smile crept my lips. |
Just Enough For Her | Chapter VII | I AM A BONA FIDE, not give a shit man. . . so it was very humiliating to be stripped of my gown and shoved onto a table by a heated nurse who about lost her temper at the sight of Umbra. I landed on my ass, of course, and winced as she finished with the whole procedure and crumpled and some of her papers. The only grace of this procedure was having my father in the room to keep things at a dull roar.
"Any problems?" Terra asked, minding not a damn bit that Umbra forced herself in this room.
Maybe he was enjoying how we acted around one another?
My hands were resting underneath my thighs. I had this terrible urge to ask if the nurse was going to take me to dinner after doing the turn-and-cough with me. I mean, come on--it's Nurse Redheart who has to suffer through this as much as me, but at least she doesn't have a methodical ex-queen for a marefriend.
I got to my feet as soon as I had the chance, feeling shaky and somewhat ill from the food they serve in this joint. My chest was applied with more bandages from the magical shock extremes they took to restart my heart. It was streaked with burnt blood, and my ass was itching from sitting down so much.
"How much longer until this is over?" I asked with an irritated voice, drifting to my marefriend, who was having the time of her life by gendering at the more sensitive regions you would see on a naked man.
If I wasn't nervous then, I was nervous now. This was the first time in years that I had a female see me without a shread of clothing. Not even Celestia and Luna got to see me in the nude when we were dating. The most they got was a simple drop of the pants after some foreplay.
I had an acute, innate sense of perverseness with Umbra, so after a minute of looking from her I turned and yelped pathetically with my hands flailing for a moment as the pain in my ass cheek began to sting.
"Firm flanks," Umbra said with a grin and bedroom eyes, making me and Redheart uncomfortable. "Guess all that manual labor does payoff."
Once the pain went away I reached for her ear to pull on it a little, but I realized in my moment of poor impulse that I was giving the unicorn what she wanted. A man with his hands on his junk to block the cold and a mare that has the hots for him, my brain clicked and it suddenly felt really warm in the room.
Of course, that led me to looking down where she was and see that her eyes were locked on the privates, because I had everything hanging out and flopping like there was no room for care or shame. I had gone crimson at that point and spun away with little patience for Redheart to hurry up with this checkup.
Unfortuantely. . .
"Not a bad size," she complimented, which did not help a damn bit. "Could be a little longer, but you have some girth."
This whole terrible conversatin ended with me having a moment of anger to actually retaliate with the unicorn. Terra had fallen flat on his ass and bellowed with laughter. Even the professional Redheart had a few snickers behind that clipboard.
I growled like a rabid hound after looking over my shoulder. My eye twitched, and then I grabbed my gown as the white mare held it in her hoof for me to take.
"You can forget about any intimacy after that remark," I said angrily whilst shielding the world of my naked body, scowling at the proud mare. If only the strings in the back were longer. "You don't tell a guy that kind of stuff."
"I was just being honest with you," she told me with faux innocence, pretending to be hurt. I knew better than to fall for those fake tears and quivering lip--and let's not forget that I WAS PISSED OFF!
"Can't handle the truth. . . sweetie?" Now she was going too far, and it wasn't even noon yet.
Welcome to the high life of dating an ex-criminal I suppose. I did try my hardest. I really tried to ignore the pony rubbing on me after I retained some bit of decency through my clothes.
Ignoring. I gave it my best after sitting down and shutting the mare out. But this was a pony whose main source of fun and happy-time came from the rage and misery of having her as a roommate; and what's worse is the fact that I am her coltfriend now. After a few minutes of playing the silent game--though one-sided since she can't shut her damn mouth--I'd given into the unicorn giving me the best puppy look she could muster from inside that methodical and sadistic heart of hers, and pretended to not care that was humiliating me in front of my father, who by the way, was snickering behind his wing.
"Shut the hell up!" I spat venomously at the asshole alicon.
"Nope." He draped the same wing over my back while we waited for the doctor to give me a release. I was more than ready to get the hell out of here and go eat some real food. He snickered again as Umbra rested her head in my lap, giving me a quivering lip.
"Seems to me that your marefriend is desperate for your attention. Perhaps I should leave so you two can have a some alone time before Doctor Horse comes back."
I drew in a breath and did what any man would. I looked down at the pony and cringed before my eyes widened at the idea of being alone with Umbra. As soon as he made his way to the door, I could see the horror.
"Don't leave me in here with this monster!"
"This is the only moment of peace you've had with just you and her," he said comically, receiving my glare of death. "Son, it's not going to kill you to spend a few minutes alone with your mare."
"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY." I screamed, giving the stallion his first honor of being flipped off by a human. "YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WHO HAS A HEART CONDITION!"
"Play nice~" he mused, closing the door behind him in a slow fashion.
"YOU FUCKING TRAITOR!"
I was now alone with Umbra and vulnerable and fearing for my life, but something was very wrong here. She went quiet and still with that mysterious look in her eyes as we sat there with expectancy of the doctor returning soon. I'd thought it was her turn to play hard-to-get, but then I realized how upset she was by the way she sighed in my lap.
Must have been her façade we were seeing. . .But seriously, is she really upset?
Despite my conscience relentlessly telling this is just Umbra, I decided to try the good coltfriend act and take some interest in those despairing eyes.
"Anything you want to talk about before the doctor comes back? You've more annoying than usual ever since I woke up in that hospital room."
She giggled at this and rubbed her hoof against my knee in reassurance, I think, all tension rapidly dying between us as she looked to the wall.
"You scared the crap out of me Zane," she whispered, nuzzling the side of my knee affectionately. "One minute you're on the ground with Shining Armor listening to your chest, the next minute you're not breathing and he's taking you away."
"Well it was a scary moment for everyone." I told her calmly, care seeping into my words. "Moments like these do happen often. This is the fourth time I've been hospitalized in the last five years."
"But it's a first for me!" She snarled angrily, shocking me and some nurses that were close enough to the window. I had no idea Umbra could be this angry or upset, and I was learning the hard way through the sudden tears from her.
"You may be used to it, but I'm not!" She exploded furiously, jumping off the floor and rearing up to my eye level with her hooves sliding my chair to the wall. I had yet to realize my head hitting said wall as she berated me.
"I finally have a reason to be happy. A bucking reason to smile and not hate this world for giving me a second chance. And here I saw my happiness sitting in a bed with a bunch of freaking needles in his skin and his eyes not opening. How do think I felt when I saw that!? What do you think went through my head!?"
By this point Umbra was panting quite desperately, emotional exhaustion plastered all over her face as her tears flowed onto my shirt.
"I blamed myself for it." She sobbed heavily, burying herself in the crook of my neck. "I believed that I was to blame for what happened, because I torment you so much. I bother you in the worst ways I can think of, just to get your attention."
As her breathing slowed down and the nurses continued peeking through the window, their faces pressed against the glass like some climatic romance series too good to miss. . .
A single cry of pain from her, causing for me to think how selfish it was of me to play cool about this when I should have been concerned for her.
Umbra seemed like a totally different mare from her two masks, neither the bitch she can be when around others or the caring pony when we are alone.
"I can't lose you."
Such a simple mutter in my head, yet it stabbed at my heart to comfort her.
"I'm sorry Umbra," I instinctively wrapped my arms around her, a moment that which unlocked the flood gates and her tears overflowed.
"You better be sorry. You stupid prick. . ."
I blinked at that insult in some shock, before chuckling in her mane. Perhaps it was heartwarming to hear the bitterness in her words, or how heavy she weighed her emotions on me. . . but that is something I always found comforting. Like my ex-wife, she weighed everything on me so that I could pick up the pieces and put them back together.
Perhaps that was my purpose in this world. To help a broken mare learn.
She knew I had deep care for her. . . and damn near abused it for her own amusement.
"Why does it have be you?" She asked frustratingly, wiping her tears away with my shit. My eyes were still locked and I couldn't pry from looking at this elegant mare, but I could almost feel her emotions molding my heart for reasons.
"Would you prefer it wasn't me?" I asked jokingly.
And it was with that question I gave myself the answer I did not expect. Umbra had taken me by the back of my hair and jerked me onto my knees for a kiss that shocked the crowd. She quickly rammed her tongue into my mouth and moaned, giggling somewhat when I wrestled the muscle for dominance. She pushed harder and forced me completely against the wall, yet she did not take advantage or abuse me like I expected. She explored my mouth like there was some treasure to be found. We both moaned and flicked and caressed every second of this moment to the gasps of every nurse and doctor gasping or passing out.
My hands were deep in her mane, massaging it tenderly without moving to where I wanted to touch her the most, although only by the fact that I was not going to get a handful of her ass without there being consequences.
Umbra it seemed was more sure of this relationship. She retreated her muzzle away from me and fell into my lap with my hands shaken to her back. Said fall did far more than mold us on the floor however, although I did try my utmost to find a comfortable spot. With my hands subconsciously moving to her flanks, something she seemed find enjoyable if her giggles meant anything, Umbra moved her muzzle into my stomach and started nipping the left side.
It was. . . calming, odd but better than what Celestia and Luna did.
"If you your hands get any closer to my flanks, I'll bite your penis off and give it to Twilight for her research of your anatomy."
I could only estimate that the speed of my hands retreating into my pockets must have been at least a millisecond. But as I continued to sit there with Umbra resting on me, one of her hoofs grabbed my rear and traced to my hardening bulge. She instantly stopped nibbling at the feeling and smirked evilly like the monster she becomes when entertained. She leaned up and brought her lips to mine rather seductively, her tongue lapping the upper part of my mouth so gently.
"Don't worry lover boy, you'll get to touch all of me after a few dates." She said breathlessly to my lips, licking my lower lip. "By the way, that was a nice package down there."
I growled in the mare's mane as she finished laughing in my waist, the care I had for her going out the door as fast as her ability to stand up when the door began to open. I was quickly snapped out of the growing anger to her comment and brought to my feet before the doctor entered.
A part of me was a little peeved by the hypocrisy this pony has for grabbing someone's ass while Doctor Horse made a quick slash of his clipboard. At the same time however, I kind of liked having Umbra like that; where no boundaries are met in most relationships, she made them and was intentionally doing it to make me earn her.
I wasn't the kind of guy to take up the challenge of earning a handful of Umbra's ass, but something about her sparked me, something I'd thought long dead when Sophia and I were abandoned.
To my surprise as we waited, said unicorn made an effort to irk the staff still watching. And she did it with a whimsical smile whilst curling around my waist, her tongue lashing across her lips in provocative manner.
"Sorry boys and girls," she cooed, nuzzling my side. "But your soap opera is over. My stallion and I must keep the adult stuff in the bedroom."
I merely slapped my own forehead in realization, although I was secretly overjoyed at the revelation of Umbra's intentions.
She's trying to fool them into thinking this was to give them a show. . .
It hurt me to know how embarrassing it was for them to see us like that.
"Come on doc," Umbra complained. "Don't you have better things to do than keep us here?"
Horse looked over his clipboard with a look that spoke ill will towards the obnoxious mare. Even I cringed on the inside when the click of his pen retracted it, and he hadn't said a damn word to us yet.
"Maybe I should run some more tests," he replied, his cold frown cracking into a malicious grin directed at Umbra. . .
Who exhaled annoyingly in the midst of dragging her hooves over her eyes. It was only a matter before someone got an insult or a loose cannon punch.
Well it just goes to show that dating an ex-criminal can have some consequences--some bad and some good, but mostly bad.
"I hate hospitals."
"Welcome to the club," I snipped.
. . .
"Everything go alright?" Terra asked as Umbra and I made a quick exit. I was finally free to go out and get a damn meal that did not consist of Umbra bitching to the nurses that I can't digest it.
Who am I to complain? She's just looking out for me like a real marefriend would do. I can't say the same about Celestia or Luna, they did not exactly accompany me during checkups or give me surprise visits when I was sick or injured. Even as friends I didn't have the honor of either mare paying me a visit.
Probably because of Alex. . .
"Tolerable," we said together before Terra's lovely marefriend approached me.
"He is better!" Lady Spice chirped in her freaky accent, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.
I wheezed and unwillingly listened to what must have been my spine cracking like a domino effect, from atop to the lower region, only to hug her in return so that I could pat her back. I was submitting to defeat, but I doubted that dad told how fragile the human body can be compared a pony that felt like she'd taken steroids.
He smile filled my blurry vision. Said pony was cooing to me, a very large grin adorning her hay-covered lips while Umbra yelled at her to let me go.
"I give," I wheezed dryly. "You win. . . can't . . . breathe. . ."
Finally the overexcited mare dropped me on my ass and apologized for nearly crushing, admitting that in her country the mares spend most of their days working on farms.
"No shit," I rebuked, regaining my footing when she pulled me up. "And here I thought you were on some sort of steroid."
She cocked an eyebrow quickly before tilting her head and brushing my face of the hay that she got on me.
"What is this steroid you speak of?" She inquired curiously. "Is that your dry humor your father told me about?"
"Let's go with that." I said, rolling my eyes to Terra as he looked away. His little act of playing dumb needed serious improvement. Seriously, nothing says guilty like looking away and whistling a tune.
"Dry humor?" I drawled, crossing my arms at the stallion.
He just stood there and turned his attention to anything he could find as a means of escape.
Yeah. . . good try dad, but you can't bullshit a bullshitter. I may not be all-powerful or have lived so long that dirt is young, but I can tell when you're talking behind my back.
I think the sun moved an inch before he found something to change the subject.
"Would you look at that?" He pointed at the restaurant directly across from Rarity's old boutique. "How about we go get a bite to eat? Spice and I have been snacking on hay bars all day and need some real food."
This is supposed to be the most powerful and influential alicorn in existence. . . yeah, why do get the feeling I'm not seeing the bigger picture of this pony?
"As long you're buying, I don't care." I told my father, patting him on the back. |
Just Enough For Her | Chapter VIII | "Eat the food!" Umbra ordered with a dangerous growl and a push of the spoon she levitated with a shaky mind. I had to viciously push it away and scoot my seat away from the unicorn as Terra and his marefriend left the table to pay the bill and find something for dessert.
It caught me by surprise that the alicorn was willing to pay for the meal, and by meal I mean the buffet he ordered after demanding that the manager allowed me to sit and dine. I can't say that it caught me off guard, to be discriminated for my appearance. But I was never in the good graces of most nobles, especially when the last restaurant I attended included a visit to the dungeon and explaining to Celestia and Luna why I put a waiter and three off-duty guards in ICU.
Let's just say my medicine was working great and and my daughter was not going to be insulted. Call me anything you want, but insulting my babygirl is a golden ticket to the doctor.
Anyway. . .
I finally had a moment to breathe and take a sip of the wine Terra picked out for us, but Umbra was just as clingy as she was in the hospital. She had taken up the space I made by levitating herself in her chair to sit next to me, and viciously poked my arm with her horn. . . all which came to boiling my frustration as I tried to focus on saving my empty stomach for the meal that should be cooked soon. Salad is not of my interest and I was eager for the dish Terra produced with a wave of his horn.
How, I do not know. All I can say is he's a powerful alicorn for a damn good reason.
And finally it was time to prepare for the worst.
"If you don't eat your salad I'm going to--"
"You're going to do what," I sneered, sipping on the wine again for it's high alcohol level. I planned on getting drunk anyway. "Give me hell, because you already do that."
Oh the look on her face was priceless. Pure, unadulterated rage glowing in her eyes as she grit her teeth and bent the fork in her magic.
"Oh really," Umbra began, her scowl turning into a wide grin, her hooves pressed together like a mad pony. "Need I remind you that I was reformed by the crystal heart but not stripped of my dark powers."
Eyes as wide as the plates in front of me, I swallowed the wine in my mouth and turned to Terra, who was still choosing at the dessert table. Any clueless pony would see that the former king was taking his sweet time with Lady Spice watching from the corner of her eye as Umbra continued to force more green down my throat with her magic.
"Dad~" I drawled fearfully, drawing his attention from the fat kid food displayed in front of him. The corner of his eye met with mine and he grinned, his evil as dark as the onion going down my throat while I accepted defeat and allowed my smirking marefriend put more of that shit in my mouth.
Fucking asshole can pay a visit but not save me from leafy greens. . . . fucker.
I remained flat in my chair, my back firmly pressed and shivering with each disgusting bite taking another year of my life from. Admittedly, salads are not bad or something I am against; there was just the minor predicament of dressing not existing in this damn world. Eating a plain salad was nothing different from eating freshly shat-on grass. I would know, I was drunk that night and took Rainbow Dash's dare to the max. It was that or having sex that would most likely wind me up with a very pissed off Umbra throwing her out the window and my testicles sent to the pits of hell.
Sadly, I looked around to the other ponies sitting at their tables. It was not fun to have all their attention on myself, a man forced by his marefriend to engorge in a salad, but at least most of it was gone. I shifted in my seat to slam my head against the table, splaying my arms across the table. As dull as I could possibly be, I stare at the silky white tile that makes up the appearance of said table and trace the grooves to tune out the obnoxious unicorn now nudging me to sit up and finish lunch. A long sigh of disappointment escaped my lips.
I grabbed Umbra by her mane when her horn came into contact, poking becoming a hard prodding that probably drew blood. Silently, I proceed to jerk every strand of hair out of that thick hide of hers to make my point across, but I stop at the prickling tingle of her gasp slithering into my ear. After a deep thought and recollection of how abused she was as a filly--a past she only spoke of to me, I released my grip with a serious distaste towards myself and my potential attack on her, and decided to try a more subtle approach that might calm her down.
God only knows she is doing this to keep me healthy.
I caress the area I grabbed, as tender as I could be with, and use my other hand to pull her seat next to me to hopefully ease her worries with the first step of being a couple. The gasps of every pony around us rings in mine and quite possibly Umbra's ears as I snaked my arm around her and let our bodies draw close and touch for the first time in public.
Our displays of violence towards one another was very common to the townsfolk, as they had seen on every occasion to buy groceries, but to show this annoyingly gorgeous umbra affection and care threw them off and even made some leave without paying their bill. I guess it was too much for them to handle.
Finally, I raised my head from the table and looked down to Umbra blushing in my chest. Her hooves twitched with each stroke of my fingers, a moment of pause between us while Terra and Lady Spice returned to the table with a few sweets to try. It was a sad sight when Terra got his hooves on some blood-orange sherbert. The damn stallion had no manners and stuffed himself with enough of the sweet treat that Lady Spice had to lick his chin of the residue that was dripping onto his tail.
"Not as good back home, but still delicious." He commented with a mouthful, ignoring that I was Umbra, who had already turned into a mess in my arm. Guess it goes to show that even a semi-evil mare has soft spots and embarrassing moments. I just did not think it would be hugging in public.
"Come on. Let go already." She whispers but makes no movement of escaping my grasp.
I smirked and pushed another button, nuzzling the top of her head and drawing more gasps out of the rest of ponies that were still around.
"But I can't help it," I vamped playfully, putting both arms around her now. I could watch the steam burst out of Umbra's ears as she turned red. "My marefriend is soft and cuddly."
She shook her head against my chest at the kiss I braved when dad decided to focus on us, those eyes, those scorning yet needy eyes becoming warm like the heat of her body as they bored into mine.
I chuckled uncomfortably, suddenly reminded of the intensity this pony could display in a moment's notice. Not that I ever built a thought on her actually using such a look on me, but still. . .
"You are so lucky you're sexy," she whispered, her voice shockingly gentle and defeated. "I'm not accustomed to this, but. . . it is nice to know that somepony cares about me."
The two of us had sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, unsure, and in my case, very flattered but a little sad for Umbra. We were still holding hand and hoof, the most obvious and biggest hint to our relationship for the rest of the crowd to see. There was a foal crying at the table to our left after it saw how close we sat together.
But none of those ponies mattered much to me, the only thing I felt was the complete and utter desire to hold my closest friend--well marefriend now--in my arms, the warmth filling me up long before Solaris settled down with a rapidly growing stomach ache that he immediately took care with some hay. I've seen him in the same predicament before and hay was always the next thing he ate before retiring to bed, but that was when we were still living in the castle.
I of course could not find anything to settle the hunger that was growing with each passing minute of Umbra clinging to me, my stomach growling louder and louder until I decided to ignore it and focus on the problem we started together.
I forgot that she had no one to care for her when she was evil. Maybe she would have been different if someone actually gave a damn about her.
And so with that thought in mind, I snaked my arms around the unicorn and lifted her into my lap, a sharp yelp escaping her as she was firmly planted with her barrel in my grasp. The silence and general whispering of us together all but disappeared when I kissed her cheek and pressed cheek into her mane, my affection definitely offending the nobles.
They can go to hell for all I care. She's a mare with feelings too. Despite my calm and collected mask, I was burning on the inside, resisting the screaming demand to defend Umbra from the scornful glares that surround us. Say something to us, you fuckers. Watch how fast I put you in the ground.
Even with that thought shackling my protective instincts, I could not stop myself from scowling at each and every noble that gave her such a nasty look, a loud crack of my knuckle before I felt Umbra nestle her lips in the crook of my neck.
"They're not worth the trouble. . ."
Shaking my head to clear the foggy rage, I let out a tired breath and put her down before standing up to do what should have been done when she was put under my care. I glare at each pony slowly, carefully, and rest my hand against Umbra's neck while feeling her magic tug on my arm to pull me back into my seat.
"Anybody got something to say about my marefriend?" I ask very loudly, angrily and aiming at them, intentionally. Not a damn pony answered me, and continued to stare. "That's what I thought--bunch of criticizing money whores with no backbone. Glare all you want, but it will not change anything between Umbra and I. And if that pisses you off, then you can kneel at my feet and suck on my balls."
I felt my throat constrict at that last part as I heard someone whisper, "Probably fed his daughter to her."
Unable to trust myself at that point, I stepped around Terra after he put his hoof on my shoulder and walked away from a bad situation potentially becoming the next headline in the newspaper. I could already see myself in orange and my picture on the front page for murdering a pony that didn't keep his damn mouth shut. No one stopped me, not even the overly affectionate Lady Spice calling my name, but she, Terra and Umbra were quick to follow as the rumors started to spread behind my back.
"Zane!" Umbra echoed, tugging on my arm with her magic again.
"Fucking cocks," my frustration was clear and easy for them to understand even with the bustling streets. I could my heart thumping rapidly in my chest the entire time I walked to the only place that Sophia would be right now--the train station.
"Zane, stop!" She demanded, pulling hard on my shirt with her hoof now. It was not enough to stop me though, her hooves screeched across the tiles and was evidently proceeding to put a wall of magic in front of me, as I watched happen in front of me.
Terra stopped me though, he teleported in front of me with master precision and a hoof firmly pressed into my chest. I wanted to tell the alicorn to get out of my way, but the suddenly change of pace threw Umbra into my backside and made me jump out of my skin. Her nose was deeply embedded between cheeks, and neither of us moved for a solid minute. My blush was definitely hotter than the sun.
"Zane, you need to calm down." Terra strongly suggested, as he found out what had me turning so red and his marefriend cooing lustfully from behind.
"I did not know you two were so intimate," Lady Spice giggled before stepped forward to separate from the unicorn nearly going up my ass.
I looked over my shoulder to the foreign earth pony and replied in a snarky tone: "Yeah, we like to take turns sniffing our asses. You should try it with dad."
"He is being sarcastic honey." Terra said, shaking his head at me.
With a chuckle escaping my lips, I pat the stallion's neck and put him in a playful headlock, several dirty pranks coming to mind as I looked down to my marefriend scrunching her nose.
"Well it's safe to say that you thoroughly wash yourself." she commented, standing up and fixing her mane. "I've always wondered why you take such long showers, now I have my answer."
"Washing my ass is not the reason why I take so long," I told her fervently, wiggling my eyebrows at her.
"You are disgusting!" She said with a scowl on her face, no crack or quiver of a smile forming on her lips as a plan began to mold in my mind. "Don't tell me that kind of stuff. Don't even insinuate what you do in the shower."
"Oh?" I drawl with a grit of my teeth, inward smiling as the plan started. "So you are disgusted with me. And here I thought you were itching to get in my pants and find out how well I do underneath the sheets." I began to walk away, my words most likely striking a nerve in the mare.
I listened to her sputter and growl while ascending the streets to see my daughter before she takes off with Cadance and Shining Armor, hopefully that is.
"You are so infuriating. If it wasn't for being a changed mare I would do unspeakable things to you!" She yells behind me, nudging the back of my leg with her horn. No doubt it hurt to have that thing poke me.
I tried, as hard as I could but was without the power to stop myself from laughing while rubbing where she got, nor the worries and concerns of how Sophia might react when she sees me, not that I would angry with her, but by the assumption of putting her old man in a hospital. My laughter turned into a soft chuckle as she realized I was playing the flirt game with her, only with the bold intention of doing it in public.
"Funny, I guess Sophia kicking you where it hurts jarred your sense of humor."
I turned and surprised her with a kiss, just because I knew it would get to her. "Oh, come on baby," I crooned sweetly, smiling playfully at her blushed annoyance. "We can't have you pulling the dirty stuff all the time. We have to take turns."
"Is this a custom for couples?" Lady Spice asked, only to watch dad shake his head again and curse under his breath. Finally, he had enough of us acting like a couple of horny teenagers and levitated us away from one another.
"That is enough out of you two, we have something more important to deal with." He said angrily, dropping us on our butts. Pain beyond all measure shot through my backside as I realized my ass fell on a brick that was crack and sticking out of the cement.
"FUCKER!" I yelped, landing on my feet and rubbing my poor ass-cheek.
"That's what you get!" Umbra snarked.
I simply gave her the bird. "Sit and spin on this sweetheart!"
"Let's go home and I'll sit on something else." She purred, licking her lips sultrily and grinning as Terra used his magic to take away the pain.
Sadly, that was enough of our shenanigans, all we had to entertain us now was Terra glaring at the two of us as he flared his wings. I was going to question why he was acting so strange when this kind of stuff doesn't bother him. My ears however, rang with the sound of a trumpet and scattering voices as the stallion draped a wing around my shoulders, his eyes fixated on the sky.
I cocked my eyebrow at the immortal. "Dad, what is--"
"Be quiet," he whispered sharply, which shocked me since he never talked to me like that. Never in our relationship did he act like an asshole towards me. I was starting to worry, as the sound above us grew louder and the streets went awfully quiet.
Willing my attention in the same direction, my gaze caught the source just in time for it--or them--to descend and bow at my feet while a certain someone stepped out of her chariot. My heart went silent for a minute as we watched the mare fix her mane and then smile at me warmly with those warm eyes. I wanted to turn and hoof it back home, but Terra had me locked in place while Lady Spice and Umbra took my front and other side, surrounding me protectively.
The presence of this mare had left me mute not a second later of her stopping behind the pair of guards that continued to stare at my feet. It was safe to think that we were all glaring at this alicorn as she studied me carefully, the quietest and most sickening part about her. There was so much I wanted to say to this bitch, vile statements and facts that would put any pony on the verge of tears. I had no courage though, nor the hellish energy that fuels my words when I am angry.
I was actually afraid. No, scratch that--this mare terrified me to the point of shaking. She sided with Alex when he took Celestia and Luna from me, which meant he was favorite and I was the black sheep. There was no telling what this pony will do should I say or do the wrong thing.
"Cosmica," Terra said neutrally, receiving her attention but not bowing to her in the slightest. I had almost forgotten how big this pony's balls were. Nothing scared him, not even his ex-wife, but I had a good idea what was going through his head at that time: his son might be in danger.
"Hello Terra," she said sweetly with a big smile. "It has been quite some time."
"Why are you here?" He asked, his powerful, authoritative voice making the guards take a few steps back.
Even with a godly alicorn for a step-father, it didn't make Cosmica think twice about coming down here.
Uncertainty and fear flowed through me like a poison as I felt myself losing to her gaze, and she still smiled after having Terra shift his wing to between us to keep her from touching me.
Her eyes returned to mine, and I was powerless beneath that soft stare. "Zane, we are having a gala soon. You should bring Sophia with you for the tailor to make your outfits."
"That's not happening." Umbra miffed, pressing the back of her head against my stomach as she lit up her horn. What she said was unnecessary though, as our quiet encounter with the queen became a little heated with Lady Spice speaking out of the blue in her thick accent.
"Cosmica," she drawled with a deep-seated glare. "So you are her."
Oh shit~
"That I am," Cosmica replied, never wavering that smile of hers. "But who are you?"
Suddenly I was embraced by the earth pony with a tight hug that would rival Big Mac's strength, and that says a lot considering he has the muscle to move a fucking house. She squeezed me into her soft chest with one hoof going over my left shoulder and down to the right side of my waist, her gaze still fixated on the alicorn.
"Soon-to-be the wife of your ex-husband," she admitted, pushing her lips against my cheek for a moment. "And soon-to-be what you failed at with this darling child, a good mother."
Cosmica's smile dissolved into a frown, and the fear in my chest exploded with the only thing I was good at when around this mare.
I struggled out of Lady Spice's grasp. . . and ran. |
Voyages of the Lightbringer: Episode 5: Breaking the Mirror | pre | "Add more, competent security down here." He said to the fallen officer before he crouched down to him, searching through his uniform before pulling out a small data chip. He then turned to us as he got up. "If I'm right, this'll get us inside that room with no trouble." I smiled as he turned to the console and inserted the chip into a slot on it. The console made several low beeps before finally letting out two chirps in confirmation, the door opening as David pulled the chip out.
As my friends and I stepped inside, I looked around the room. No guards, fortunately, and in the center of the large room were five strange-looking consoles around a cylindrical structure, which was connected to a large set of power tanks above it. The structure itself had eight small arms around the edges that generated a greenish-yellow force field, the dangerous Black Book residing within it.
I lifted my Pipbuck as I took a scan of the room, my friends trotting up behind me as I waited for the results. Even if there was no security, we had to be sure there were no booby traps laid by my counterpart. If there was, then we'd best not trigger them.
As my little mechanical pal from Stable 2 beeped thrice in succession, I breathed a sigh of relief as I spoke to the others. "Good, no traps have been planted. We should be good to try and get the book." And speaking of that, I looked to the consoles, tilting my head as I thought about what they were supposed to do
As I stared at the consoles, Steelhooves trotted over to the closest one before examining it. After a moment, he motioned a hoof to me as I trotted over to him, looking to the console's screen as I read the text on it. "REVEAL YOUR VIRTUE, AND YOU SHALL BE GRANTED IT'S POWER:" Under the bar where the passkey was to be entered was an image, it was my cutie mark. I finally realized how these consoles worked.
I turned around to look at my friends, all of them looking back attentively as I spoke. "Alright, we need to work at the console that shows our mark. Calamity, Velvet, Xenith, Steelhooves, find the console and enter the required passkey."
Calamity rubbed his head with his forehoof as he asked, "Uh, Lil'Pip? Ah don't mean t' make ya feel dour, but how the hay are we supposed t' work at consoles like these without knowin' the passwords?"
I gave a hopeful smile as I spoke to my friend. "Trust me, you'll know them when you see the consoles up close." My friends gave quizzical looks to each other (except Steelhooves) before they all split up, trotting over to each of the consoles several times and examining them before they finally found the ones I assumed was theirs. I then stood in front of my own console, typing the required word into the field shown. I almost jumped when I heard a booming, deep voice speak out within the room, it reverberated as it repeated the word I typed. "SACRIFICE"
The voice continued saying more words as my friends worked at their consoles, their passwords being repeated throughout the room as they were entered. "LOYALTY, KINDNESS, ACCEPTANCE, STRENGTH"
As the last word was repeated, the green force field dropped as I felt a chill pass through me. I felt.... stronger. In physical, mental, and even magical power, I felt better than I had before. As I recovered from the sudden wave of energy, I looked up to my friends, all of them looking around the room as they seemed to recover from whatever hit them. As I looked to the Black Book, I came to the conclusion that it had given us it's power (at least some of it), just as it had promised when we let it out of it's prison.
"Whoa, did y'all feel that?" Calamity asked as he looked to his wife.
"Yes, it was... an interesting feeling. I feel better somehow." Velvet replied to her husband as I spoke up.
"So do I, when I first acquired the book back in Canterlot, it tempted me with unimaginable power, but I resisted it so I could destroy it." I then looked to the book in question before continuing. "And I think it's just given us a sample of that power."
"Is that bad?" Velvet asked with worry in her voice as Xenith replied.
"I would hope not, but we don't have time to find out." I nodded in agreement as I pulled out a small cylindrical device with a button on it before pressing it. If the signal got through, then Captain Chekov and his forces would be here at any minute while we tried to either steal or destroy the book.
As I put away the small device, I grabbed the Black Book in my magic, laying it down on the floor as I spoke to it. "You can offer all the power in the universe for all I care, old friend." I then looked to Homage as she pulled out a Phaser pistol, tossing it to me as I caught it in my magic. "It won't stop me from turning you into nothing but ash." I lifted the weapon over the book before setting it to max, then pulling the trigger as a orange beam struck the book in a continuous stream of energy.
But it didn't melt, not even a scorch mark was left on it as I released the trigger. My friends gasped at the dangerous Zebra relic as Xenith spoke up. "It's as I feared, our weapons will not be strong enough to destroy that accursed book."
"Dammit!" I swore as I lowered the Phaser down, pacing for a moment as I drifted in thought. The book could be destroyed, I was sure of that. When I went to Maripony, the bomb had not only rid the area of life, but had also destroyed the book in the process. Then, it hit me.
"I got an idea! What if we leave the book here and try to destroy the ship? If a balefire bomb could destroy it in our universe, then surely an antimatter explosion should have the same results!"
Xenith gave an approving smile as she replied to me. "That would be our best option, an explosion of that magnitude is so dangerous, it can take any other ships who wander too close with it."
Our planning was interrupted briefly as I heard a klaxon go off within the room, then shaking as the ship was hit by something outside. The battle must've begun by now.
Getting my mind back on the plan, I tapped my combadge before speaking into it. "Littlepip to Rainbow Dash, do you read?"
"Loud and clear, Captain! Whatcha need?" The pegasus on the other end asked before I replied.
"Can you head to the Engineering deck and cause some havoc there? We're gonna need a big explosion in order to destroy the Black Book."
I heard Rainbow Dash laugh with excitement before answering. "You bet, I haven't blown up a ship this big since our mission at the planet Fondor in Universe #3127!"
I laughed as well as I spoke once more to the former Ministry Mare before I cut the transmission. "Thanks, I owe you for this when we get back. Littlepip out."
As I turned to my friends to speak, I stopped myself as I heard the doors at the room's entrance open. We all looked to see five faces we were very familiar with enter the room. The first one to the left was a rust colored pegasus with a crimson red carapace. His flanking ally was Velvet's counterpart, her armored phoenix sitting on her back as she grinned maliciously at us.
On the other side were two other escorts, the first being a pony in Steel Ranger armor, which bore several red and gold markings all over it. The other was a zebra with a set of saddlebags on her back. She also had a visor on her right eye and a brand mark on her forehead in the shape of the Terran emblem.
The leader of the group was a small grey unicorn with a brown mane and tail, along with a red colored stable uniform and barding, not to mention green irises as well as a scar over her left eye. Me.
"Well, well, well, look who decided to steal our key to victory, everyone!" My counterpart said with a victorious laugh as she and her friends surrounded us. "I'm so glad you could come to witness the eradication of my enemies, it's too bad that you won't be alive to see the corpses when today's over!"
My friends formed up at my sides as we glared at our counterparts, who merely returned smiles and snarls as I replied to my evil double. "You are a fool if you think you can just take the Wasteland without someone trying to stop you." I then turned my head to see the Black Book, which was still lying on the floor as I turned back to face Mirrorpip once more. "And if you want that book, you'll have to get through us."
The evil doppelganger and her friends let out laughs at us, they almost sounded maniacal as they let themselves be amused at our 'strong words'.
"Such brave words for a little filly who wasted her life letting others ruin her home instead of taking control of it all." Xenith's mirror said as several Terran officers entered the room and stopped behind them.
"Well, y'all haven't got the brains t' ensure ya win this fight!" Calamity retorted to the evil zebra as he pushed a button on his battle saddle, a section of it glowing as his body was enveloped by a flashy Enclave carapace. It was mostly the same as his old armor, but it had orange stripes going along it, along with slivers of red and gold on the hooves and helmet.
Steelhooves spoke back. "Even if you defeat us here and now, you'll still fall to our allies outside."
My counterpart laughed once more before she snorted angrily, her friends getting ready to pounce on us as she spoke once more. "We'll see about that, metalhead!" The five Wasteland conquerors then charged at us, my friends doing the same after I lifted my Pipbuck and tapped a button on it. In mere seconds, five holographic beings appeared near Cassiopeia, Homage and Commander Wiggs, three Starfleet officers and two Steel Rangers. The group then charged alongside us as we closed in with our counterparts, Cassiopeia pulling out a lightsaber blade and activating it as I engaged my counterpart. Strawberry Lemonade broke off from her group and ran next to Steelhooves as they attacked the latter's evil doppelganger. As Velvet Remedy ran at her duplicate, Pyrelight picked off her cloak and took to the air as the two fought with their mirror doubles.
We both rolled beside each other as I pulled out Little Macintosh and took aim, Mirrorpip took a different approach as she picked me up in her magic, throwing me against the left wall as I grunted in pain. As I hit the floor, I fought to hold my eyes open as my counterpart took out her own LM and aimed at me. I retaliated by grabbing her weapon in my magic, fighting her grip as she pulled the trigger. The shot missed and instead hit the ceiling as I rolled over, picking up my gun and taking aim as good as I could before firing.
I smirked victoriously as I scored a shot on my counterpart's flank, which spewed blood all over the floor as the injured mare tried to regain focus. As I charged at my double, she jumped up and over me as she took a shot, striking me clean in the back. I cried out as I tried to regain stability, rolling to my left as another shot came and struck the floor. As I got back up Mirrorpip ran at me again as I pulled out one of the detonators I still had from the trip to Stable 2, activating it before throwing it at her. She was fast enough to put up a defensive shield to protect herself, but was blasted up to the wall as the bomb exploded. I took a breath as she hit the floor, dazed. I then pulled out a hypospray and injected it into myself to numb the pain in my back.
I looked up to see Calamity engaging his counterpart, bullets being exchanged between the two as they circled around each other. Calamity rolled around as his evil double fired at him, a few of them hitting my friend's armor and one striking through his hoof. I could hear a faint grunt from my dashite friend as he did a barrel roll over his counterpart, who merely looked back in bewilderment as he circled around.
I then saw Pyrelight blasting her double with a wave of fire as the bird screeched in agony, flailing about before hitting the ground beneath her. I also saw Kage take to the air and throw one of his knives at Mirror Calamity, striking him in the flank. As his mirror counterpart tried to regain control of his flying, Calamity took the chance and fired a flurry of bullets and Phaser bolts at his double, the evil pegasus crying out in pain as he flailed to the ground.
"Ah told ya y'all didn't have the brains t' stop us!" My friend said as he laughed at his counterpart on the ground, Kage flying over to him as they both moved down to my friend's fallen double. I then turned further to my left to see Velvet dodging several magic blasts fired by her evil doppelganger. The charcoal mare was grunting with each move as she growled to her counterpart.
"You would really harm a soon-to-be mother, wouldn't you?!" Velvet's horn glowed for a moment before a shield formed around her, Mirror Velvet pulling out a shotgun and firing at the shield, which went down as she retorted to my friend.
"Oh? This makes things even better!" Velvet then pulled out her Phaser rifle and took aim, Mirror Velvet following her counterpart's actions before the rifle fired, striking the shotgun and reducing it to nothing but ashes. The charcoal mare's sinister double seemed unfazed as she pulled out a knife from a holster on her hindleg. The mare laughed maniacally before charging at the medical mare. "I'm going to enjoy ripping that foal from your carcass!"
Velvet's horn glowed once more as she fired a blast of magic at the evil mare, who attempted to dodge the shot, but the effort proved to be futile as she was struck by the bolt of magic, yelping and falling to the ground hard with a thud as Velvet huffed at her counterpart. "Perhaps don't charge at your enemies next time, that was laughable."
I turned my focus back to my counterpart as she picked up the Black Book in her magic, laughing maniacally as she yelled at me. "You are such a fool to try and fight me! With this book, I've become a GODDESS!!!" She then grabbed me in her magic, grabbing at my head before I saw a ring of green magic envelop her neck. Mirrorpip gasped for air as she was strangled by the magic ring, myself becoming free of the madmare's influence as I grabbed the book and ripped it away from her. I then charged at her, the mare recovering as I turned and bucked her hard, kicking her against the wall once more.
As I took a breath I tried to hold back for a good long moment, I looked over my shoulder once again to see Cassiopeia looking down to me with a smirk, I smiled back as the mare turned back to fight the Terran soldiers below. The alicorn spun her lightsaber around in the air, deflecting the many red Phaser bolts from the Terrans before flinging the spinning laser sword at them, cutting them into several, messy pieces in seconds.
I then looked back down to see Xenith engaging her counterpart. The zebra blocked an incoming strike with her left forehoof, then another with her right hindleg. Mirror Xenith then swung around and kicked my zebra friend into the wall. Xenith got up swiftly and pulled out a brew from her saddlebags, drinking it greedily before charging at her counterpart. The evil zebra did the same before two bat-like wings sprouted from Xenith's back, she then jumped over her counterpart, taking flight and performing a loop as her double watched in awe. Xenith then dived down, both forehooves stretching out as she made a hard turn upward, crashing into Mirror Xenith and sending her flying. My zebra friend smirked confidently as her counterpart struck the wall hard, the evil zebra looking dazed as she slowly peeled off the wall and hit the floor comically.
I heard a missile fly past me and turned to see Steelhooves clashing with his double. The Applejack's Ranger fired two missiles of his own at his evil double before a hatch opened on his armor, a grapple hook shooting out and grabbing Steelhoove's helmet in the blink of an eye. My armored friend cried out from the shock as the grapple emitted electrical beams onto his suit, electrocuting him for a good moment before another missile came at Mirror Steelhooves, the armored stallion being too late to move as he was struck by the weapon. The grapple hook was ripped from Steelhoove's helmet as his counterpart slammed into the wall with a resonating thud, the armored doppelganger crashing to the floor a moment later.
As Steelhooves recovered from the attack, he looked to where the missile had come from, Strawberry Lemonade saluting proudly as her fellow soldier nodded in gratitude for her assistance.
I then turned my head away from the sight as I tried to look for the Black Book, finding it on the floor after a moment of searching. I ran to it, picking it up in my magic as I heard a growl from behind me. Turning, I saw my counterpart charging at me, a knife held in her magic as she tried to strike me down. "You're not taking that book from my hooves for as long as I'm still breathing!"
I held the book tightly in my magic, pulling it away from Mirrorpip as Homage galloped over to where I was before stopping in front of me. I then heard a fleshy crunch and an agonizing grunt from the DJ as my counterpart stabbed her.
"Homage!" I cried aloud as my friend stood in front of me, my evil double staring at my savior in surprise for a moment.... then she began laughing, as if she had already won the battle with what she just did.
"Oh, Homage, I never thought you would go this far to ensure my failure against your little 'Resistance'!" As I tried to recover from the shocking scene in front of me, I took a peek around my lover's double, looking over my counterpart as I put Little Macintosh away. I thanked the Goddesses that my evil self had another knife in her hindleg holster.
"Do you feel satisfied? That you've given your life for these worthless mules?" Mirrorpip taunted her rival as I grabbed the blade in my magic, ripping it out of the holster as I raised it up at the evil mare. I growled in anger as my counterpart looked up to the weapon in shock, I brought it down on her neck, puncturing her on the right side. She whimpered from the pain before coughing continuously, her body falling to the ground as her wound spilled crimson liquid onto the floor.
I caught Homage in my hooves as she fell, lowering her to the ground as my friends all gathered around the two of us. Seeing my injured counterpart, I looked to Velvet. "Velvet, make sure she doesn't get up." The charcoal mare nodded as her horn glowed, a magic bolt striking Mirrorpip as her body went limp from the anesthetic spell.
I then felt the ship shake hard as I heard a muffled boom from somewhere on the ship. Either that was a weapon striking the ship, or this place was about to blow. I tapped my combadge as Commander David and the others came over to us. "Littlepip to Rainbow, what's going on?"
"Gilda and I have just sprung a coolant leak down in Engineering, and we've got five minutes to get off this ship before we're blown to bits! I've already contacted Windsheer for pickup, so you should get to the shuttlebay immediately!"
I looked to my friends with a worried frown before replying to the cyan pegasus. "Got it, we'll meet you down there shortly. Littlepip out!" As I cut the signal, I noticed Homage's horn glowing as she picked up the book in her magic, holding it in her hooves as she looked up to me.
"You a-all should go, I'll make sure no one gets ahold of this b-ook while you escape." I tried to argue with her, but she was right. We didn't have time to screw around, and even if we got Homage back onboard the ship, we'd probably lose her before we could treat her on the Lightbringer.
Taking a deep breath, I replied to the grey unicorn with a somber expression. "Okay, we'll make it there in time." I crouched down to her before finishing. "And thanks for saving me back there."
"My pleasure." Homage said before grabbing my hoof, myself staring at her intently as she gave her final request to me. "..Tell Red Eye I'm sorry I d-didn't come back." I nodded to the unicorn as I stood up, looking to Commander Wiggs as he placed a small device onto my counterpart's head. I also saw Cassiopeia's horn glowing as she put more of the devices onto Mirrorpip's allies as they were all surrounded in fields of blue energy, their bodies fading away with the transporter beams in seconds.
David then looked to us as he jogged over to the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"
"Right!" I replied as my friends and I all galloped after him, Pyrelight hopping onto Velvet's back as we made our way into the hall and back to the hangar of the Ragnarok.
(||\_/|||)
The turbolift shook violently as the doors in front of us opened, revealing the smoky, flame-ravaged hangar of the Ragnarok. As we galloped out of the lift with my friends, I took a look around the room, several officers were running to the nearby shuttles within the hangar, a few of them taking off as they attempted to flee. I didn't spot the Tortoise, though, Windsheer must be having trouble getting inside with all those shuttles coming out. With the time we took to make it back to the hangar, I guessed that we had no more than two minutes on the clock before we were all turned to space dust.
As I lifted my Pipbuck to access the Lightbringer's comms, I heard another door open over the ruckus. My friends and I all turned to see Agents Rainbow Dash and Gilda flying out of the second turbolift and straight towards us. As they stopped and hovered over us, the rainbow-maned pegasus spoke up with a smirk. "Looks like our ride's being stalled by our friends out there."
I nodded at the flying mare as I asked, "How's the fleet?"
"The Terrans sent all of their troop transports and some of their frigates to the surface shortly after the battle started. Fortunately for us, our allies are holding their ground." Gilda answered for me as I breathed a sigh of relief.
We all turned around as we heard a roar from the edge of the shuttlebay, the Tortoise flying in and circling around in front of us before lowering to the ground. We raced over to the ship as the aft doors opened, Commander Pride raising a hoof to us as he shouted, "Hop in! This place'll blow in any minute!"
We didn't waste a second as we ran into the shuttle, passing by the armored pegasi manning the turrets as the door shut behind us.
"Punch it!" I said to Windsheer as another boom sounded outside the Tortoise, the pegasus complying swiftly as he thrusted the control sticks forward. I held onto the floor with my hooves as the shuttle sped out of the fiery hangar bay, spinning in a barrel roll as we flew past the nearby shuttles.
As I took a seat behind Calamity's brother at the helm, I raised my Pipbuck hoof again as I tried once more to access the Lightbringer's comms frequency. I then put my earbloom in as I heard Andromeda speak over the transmission. "Jokeblue, damage report!"
"Hull is at 43%, major damage to decks 4 and 7! I'm sendin' repair teams to fix us up!" Homage's old friend replied as I heard Io speak over the chatter.
"I've detected Captain Littlepip's shuttle leaving the Ragnarok, shall we head to their position?"
I could hear a blast of electrical sparks burst out of someplace on the bridge as Io's sister replied. "That's very risky for the ship in this current state, but we must not let them be destroyed. Take us in closer, prepare to open the starboard shuttlebay doors!"
I pulled out the earbloom as I heard an alarming beep from the control console, Windsheer looking over it before turning his head to me. "Ah'm detectin' a huge energy signature comin from the Ragnarok, she's targetin' us!"
I stood up from my seat in a swift motion before trotting over to the door at the back of the Tortoise, getting a good view of the Imperial behemoth as the large, sun-like ball of energy glowed brightly before discharging over seven fiery projectiles from itself. They all spaced themselves out away from the ship before flying at us.
"Everyone hold on!" I heard Windsheer yell to us before I felt the ship jerk forward, accelerating as it tried to outrun the energy missiles coming at us. I gasped in surprise as I saw four blue beams of energy fire at the incoming fireballs of death, all of them striking four of the missiles as they glowed brilliantly for a short moment before dissipating. As I tried to get a better view of where the beams came from, I saw the I.S.S. Enterprise and her escort, the Excelsior, pass us before firing a volley of red photon torpedoes at the three remaining missiles, erasing them from existence.
As I watched the two ships fly in formation, I put my earbloom back on to hear Captain Chekov's voice. "Good work, Lieutenant, now that our allies are safe in the shuttle, take us back around to cover the Lightbringer, we can't let any enemy wessels reach her!" I could see the Enterprise turn to her right as she changed course, the Excelsior following after her as I heard her captain speak.
"Excelsior maneuvering to assist Enterprise!" As the two ships made a U-turn towards us, I saw two fighters come down to us as they followed behind. The ships looked like shuttles, they had a small fuselage with two pylons, both of them holding two long nacelles in between the ship.
As the Tortoise flew away from the burning Imperial dreadnought, I trotted back over to my friends and sat down before looking to the window. The Lightbringer was flying towards us fast, I could see several scorch marks and holes along the hull as it turned to the left slightly before stopping in our path. I lifted my head up to see my ship's hangar doors open, Windsheer moving the control sticks as the Tortoise flew towards the hangar bay. "Brace yerselves!" Calamity's brother said to us as the ship flew into the hangar, jerking hard as we slowed to hover over the landing pads before lowering to the ground.
As the Tortoise's exit door opened, my friends and I all stood up and trotted out of the shuttle, going around the right side of the ship as we got a good look at the Ragnarok. Several flames and explosions blew parts of the giant ship's hull apart for several seconds before the ship was engulfed in a brilliant ball of light. I covered my eyes for a moment as the light dimmed, revealing broken chunks of the I.S.S. Ragnarok drifting away from the blast before the Lightbringer shook from the shockwave. Next to the fiery ball of debris were several other explosions, indicating that some of the Ragnarok's escorts didn't get out of range in time to survive the blast.
After a few moments, the shaking stopped. My friends and I let out cheers and cries of victory as we watched the old Imperial warship burn, the remaining Terran ships turning around as they tried to retreat. As the room died down, I turned to my friends before lifting my Pipbuck, tapping it before speaking into it. "Littlepip to Bridge, report!"
I heard Andromeda breath a sigh of relief before replying. "Andromeda here, good to see you're all back with us, Captain. The Terran fleet is trying to retreat, but we've called in some reinforcements to stop them in case they have the stolen data aboard."
I grew a smile as I heard the news, my friends sharing the sentiment as I replied. "Excellent, what about the ground forces?"
"We're getting reports that the Terrans are falling back and heading back into space. Fortunately, we've only lost a few airships and a few dozen soldiers down there." The blue alicorn cleared her throat before continuing. "All in all, we've won the day, Littlepip. Is there anything I can do to help you out?"
I felt a hoof on my back as I cringed from the stinging pain, turning my head to see Velvet Remedy examining my wound. I let out an embarrassed chortle before answering. "Agh, yeah, get some medical officers down here, we've got some injuries to fix up."
"Understood, they'll be down there shortly. Andromeda out." As the signal cut out, I sat down to rest as I watched the sight beyond the shuttlebay, my friends following my actions as Pride and Windsheer trotted over to us. They were both laughing over the results of the battle before looking to us.
"That was one o' the best flights Ah've ever been a part o'!" Pride said with a smirk as Calamity replied.
"Yer damn right 'bout that, brotha. An' Ah've got quite the story t' tell ya when we're all fixed up!" As the three brothers all laughed in an embrace, I looked behind me to see the door leading to the hallway open, several medical ponies racing out to greet us. I joined in the laughing as one of the medics pulled out a tricorder to take a scan, the rest of my friends laughing with us as we celebrated the defeat of the Terran Empire and the liberation of Mirror Equus. |
Voyages of the Lightbringer: Episode 5: Breaking the Mirror | An Era of Peace | I brushed a hoof through my mane as I looked to Red Eye, the stallion finishing on his explanation about his new alliance as my friends and I listened. As we were treated for the injuries in our mission to the Ragnarok, the escaping Terran starships were disabled and taken into orbit around Equus by the U.S.S. Stratus and her escorts. As for the remains of that giant starship, the recovered pieces were sent to the surface for the Resistance to make use of. Shortly after the clean-up process, we decided to beam down to the Resistance base at Neighvarro for a debriefing on the matter. Red Eye was saddened by the loss of Homage in the fighting, but he was glad that we had succeeded in destroying the Black Book and my counterpart's ship. As for her and her friends, they were being held in the Fillydelphia prisons. Stern would ensure that they would never be able to escape from that place under her watch.
"And with these Imperial ships being dismantled for our use, as well as the recovered debris from the Ragnarok, we can clean this mess up a lot easier." Red Eye said as I lifted a bottle of Sparkle Cola to my lips, taking a sip from it as I faced him.
"Yeah, and hopefully, with everyone now united under a common goal, this place can be restored to it's former glory." I replied to the cyberpony as he gave a smirk to us.
"Indeed, it reminds me of a saying Captain Chekov had gotten from a.. colleague of his some time ago: In every revolution, there is one man with a vision." I smiled in understanding as he took a drink of his Sunrise Sarsaparilla, myself raising a hoof to speak.
"And about a few of our allies, I had wanted to take Kage and Knight Lemonade back with us to our universe. After what they've been through, they could have better lives there."
The stallion nodded in understanding before replying. "I would say they deserve a better fate than here, but unfortunately that's not my decision."
We all frowned as we took in his answer, but looked up to see Chekov heading over to us as he spoke. "Actually, I'm sure that we could make that work." He then took a seat next to us before continuing. "We may have to make a cover-up story regarding their absence, and your new friends will both have to take a history session, but I'm confident in the fact that they'll manage."
I gave a thankful smile as I looked at the former Terran Captain, my friends growing smiles of their own as I replied. "Thanks, Captain, we all owe you one for this."
"It's my pleasure." He said before standing up, a TTF officer walking towards him as he said, "As much as I'd like to stay and chat, I've got another assignment to take care of. I hope we can see each other on the field again one day."
"I'm sure we will, Sir. Safe travels up there." I replied to Chekov as he turned to head over to his allies behind him, the trio speaking to each other as I returned my gaze to Red Eye.
"And it appears that you all have duties to take care of as well." I nodded as we all stood up, myself picking up my drink in my magic before the stallion continued. "I thank you all for your efforts here, without you, we would all be slaves to an empire of conquerors and tyrants." He lifted his forehoof to me before finishing. "And Littlepip, can I ask you of one thing before you depart?"
"Definitely." I replied before the cyberpony gave his request.
"Don't let Equestria fall without a good fight."
I smiled to him as I answered. "I won't." With that, my friends and I left him to head back to the nearby elevator, it's doors opening to let out a pair of Enclave pegasi mares before we passed them.
As we all entered the large, square-shaped space, the doors shut before the floor jumped slightly. As the elevator took us back to the surface, I looked to Velvet and Calamity as I spoke to them. "Well, this has been quite a day, hasn't it, everyone?"
The two lovebirds nodded in agreement as Steelhooves spoke up. "Not only that, but hopefully with Red Eye and the Enclave leaders taking up leadership in the Resistance, they can prevent another war like the one two centuries ago."
"We can only hope, Steelhooves. We can only hope." I replied to the Applejack's Ranger as I looked up to the window revealing the morning sky of Equus, a trio of armored pegasi flying over us as the elevator came to a stop. As the doors opened, we all trotted out to see the three Enclave flyers turn around in our direction before slowing to hover in front of us.
"Hey, Calamity, Ah see y'all are headin' out!" Commander Pride said as he looked to his brother, who chortled as he replied.
"Ayep, mah friends an' Ah have t' go an' help out the others back home. Sorry we couldn't stay longer." The rust-colored stallion gave an apologetic look to Pride as he spoke.
"Aw, dun worry 'bout that, brotha. Mah boys an' Ah have a job t' do too." He laughed lightly before continuing. "Hey, before y'all go, can ya say hi to Windsheer an' the others up there fer me?"
"Ya can count on that, partner." Calamity answered with a smile before Pride spoke once more.
"Thanks, y'all have a fun trip back, now." He gave a smirk before he turned and sped off into the sky, his wingmates following suite as we continued on our path to the Tortoise, the large star-tank standing on it's small landing legs as it awaited us.
(|||||||)
The turbolift stopped slowly as the doors opened, Pyrelight flying up to us as we started to enter the bridge. Velvet let out a laugh as she recovered from the shock of her pet bird appearing so suddenly before speaking. "Pyrelight, you shouldn't scare us like that when we enter the room. Besides, we were only gone for half an hour."
The bird looked down in shame of her actions, but looked back up to her unicorn friend as she pet her on her back. I held back a chuckle as I trotted over to my seat, Calamity doing the same as I looked to Andromeda. "So Andromeda, how're the repairs going?"
"We'll need a little more time to fix the hull breaches, but for now we should be fine." The alicorn answered as Xenith trotted over to her console and sat at her seat. I then turned to see Strawberry Lemonade and Steelhooves, who returned my gaze as the latter spoke up.
"Littlepip, if you wouldn't mind, may Strawberry Lemonade stay aboard with us? She feels that we could use another officer to help with security."
"Gladly, we'd love to have you aboard with us, Strawberry." I said with a smile as the mare in question replied.
"Thank you, Captain. I won't let you down." The two armored ponies then trotted around me to Steelhooves' console, both of them standing in front of it as I heard a beep from Calamity's console. The pegasus took a look at it before turning to me.
"The Discovery's hailin' us, 'Pip." My friend said to me as I looked to him.
"Onscreen." I said to him as he turned to his console and tapped a few buttons on it. A moment later the screen shifted to show Captain Patel in her seat, Rainbow Dash and Gilda standing at her sides as the former spoke.
"Hope you don't mind the call, we just wanted to say thanks for helping us out."
I smiled at the former Ministry Mare as I replied. "Not at all, Ma'am. We're glad to have put an end to this whole mess."
"As are we." Patel said as she stood from our seat, looking to me as she continued. "When Captain Tilly betrayed us back at Pahvo, we weren't sure about our future once we got back to our universe. But when the Terran Task Force stepped in to save us, I felt we could start over and make a new name for ourselves." She gave a thankful smile to us as she finished. "And after what's happened today, I think we've regained our faith in ourselves."
I nodded in agreement as I replied to the rogue Terran commander. "I'm sure you all will, and we're glad to have had a hoof in helping you out." I sat firm in my seat as I spoke to Patel once more. "Take care, Captain."
"You too." Gilda said for the trio on the screen as the signal cut out, the image of the Discovery and the Stratus appearing once again as I looked to Velvet Remedy.
"Velvet, are we all set for departure?"
The charcoal-grey mare examined her console before replying to me. "The deflector dish is at full power and in working order, the Stratus and Discovery are ready to head out on our word."
"Excellent." I said to her before turning back to Calamity. "Calamity, set course for Equus, we've got a friend of ours to take home before going to our next job."
The stallion worked at his console for a moment before turning to me. "We're all ready on yer word, Lil'Pip."
"Take us out." I ordered as my friend turned to his console with a smirk before doing his work, myself looking to the viewscreen as a blue light appeared from the front of the ship. As a blue beam shot out from the Lightbringer, a blue portal appeared in front of us before the ship jerked forward, moving towards the portal. As we entered the portal alongside the Stratus, Jokeblue trotted over to me with a PADD in her hoof, I took hold of it in my magic as she spoke.
"That there has all the data regarding our next assignment." The blue mare said to me as I examined the information, then lowered the tablet down before replying.
"The Great Bloom, huh? Well, that shouldn't be much trouble to deal with." I said with a smile as I faced the screen once more, the blue vortex spinning around the Lightbringer as we made our way back to our home. |
The Tale of Sir Jean-Baptiste de Bittencourt | pre | "I- I made tea for everyone, I remembered the flavor you liked Princess."
The gathered ponies all said their thanks, although Rarity's thanks made the lizard blush.
When it came Jean's turn to be served, he accepted it and offered a compliment,
"Thank you, it smells wonderful."
He honestly hoped it did, small little half-truths like that helped allay suspicion. Truthfully, he couldn't smell anything. The ponies gathered all seemed confused at that, sniffing the air. They eventually seemed to decide it was nothing. All except for the Princess.
Her gaze lingered on him for several moments after the others had moved on, then she daintily sipped her cup.
Jean reached into his pack, noticing the group tense slightly, and withdrew his carefully crafted funnel. With practiced ease he popped the thin end through his visor and poured the cup of tea down the other end.
Truthfully, he forgot tea was supposed to be hot.
Spike spoke a few seconds too late,
"Careful, its . . . hot . . ."
Jean showed no outward reaction to the heat, of course. The tea simply poured into a bag on the inside of his skull. The steam rose out of his visor, however.
The group regarded him strangely. He decided silence was the best option.
Eventually the group finished their drinks, some awkward small talk came up between the ponies.
Then they began to trickle out, making their excuses.
First went Applejack, then Fluttershy, followed by Rarity, and finally a glaring Rainbow Dash.
This left Jean, Twilight Sparkle, and the Princess alone.
They say in silence for a few minutes, going over the days events in their minds. Then the Princess spoke,
"Forgive me for intruding Twilight Sparkle, but the moon will be rising soon. Would you mind if I used your guest room, perhaps you could also put up Sir Ritter?"
The librarian was sift to reply, nodding frantically,
"Of course! You're always welcome in my home, and you can stay as well Sir Ritter. Although, I don't have another bed for you . . ."
Jean shakes his head, raising a hand,
"It is fine. I am used to life on the road, I will use my bedroll."
This seemed to satisfy the Princess, but Twilight Sparkle looked a tad uncomfortable. After a few more minutes the Princess retired, followed by Twilight Sparkle.
While rather abrupt, she did leave a candle burning for him.
It was rather odd that as soon as the Princess went upstairs, the sun seemed to abruptly set. Jean passed it off as coincidence.
After laying his bedroll out he relaxed, and prepared to sit still all night in wait for the morning.
What he didn't expect was to, quite suddenly, be pulled into unconsciousness.
Princess Luna shut the door to Twilight's guest room behind her. She trotted toward the modest bed, knowing she wouldn't be doing too much actual sleeping tonight.
In her head echoed the voice of her sister,
"That gathering was certainly interesting. Do you want to go through with our plan? He seems sincere."
Luna considered that, some may consider invading a pony's dreams a breach of privacy, especially when done with the intent to interrogate. The Princess of the Night held no such qualms. Before her banishment she had kept Equestria safe with her methods, no matter how unscrupulous they seemed to the commoner.
In her mind she replies firmly,
"I am sure. You had best retire, Celly. I will begin my spell soon."
Luna received feelings of reluctant consent from her sister, then the familiar link shut.
She wasn't unused to dealing with her sister's hesitance in these matters. Celestia had always seen the best in everypony, and sometimes that could blind her.
Why, Luna has already shut down several secret noble cabals that had grown in power in her absence. It is fortunate that several hadn't gone through with their plans. Truly, some of their ideas were just preposterous. A Parliament? Utterly foalish.
She let her thoughts wander a few minutes, to days long passed that 'Sir Ritter' reminded her so much of. A familiar world that simply did not exist anymore. He was refreshing, in a way.
After about half an hour, Luna relaxed onto the bed and shut her eyes.
The room was briefly filled with a soft blue flash.
Luna came-to in a familiar wreathing, psychedelic azure ocean of dreams, thoughts, and emotions. To any other pony navigation, or even complex thought, would be near impossible. Luckily for her, the Guardian of Dreams was no normal pony.
It was a simple task to find her sister's mind, and should have been similar for the creature resting downstairs. However, no matter how she searched he could not be found.
After a few minutes, which were truly only seconds real-time, she decided he wasn't asleep. Truly it is fortunate that every mind is connected to this place, even when awake.
Casting her mind to the borders of this realm and the physical, she found his presence. It was odd, she noted, that his connection seemed faded and unused.
Grasping at his string, she flooded it with her magic. In a split second it widened and he entered a dream-state.
Wonderful.
It was foal's play to enter his dream with her sister.
Normally, when the disordered realm of the dream-world was forced into a semblance of order when Luna manifested herself, one would form as their own picture of themselves. This told much of the pony, but could be circumnavigated by being familiar with the flow of this realm.
Needless to say, both Celestia and Luna materialized as their physical forms.
Luna had a brief flash of memory, remembering when she first taught her sister how to manipulate the Dream Realm. It had seemed her cake obsession caused self-image issues.
As always, when one entered somepony's dream, the world began to slowly piece together around them. Almost as if a fog was lifting.
Slowly around them a keep was forming. Although clearly not designed for their large, equine forms there was little to worry about. At-Will incorporealism had many benefits.
As the details of the dream began to fill out, something became very clear.
This keep was under attack.
From the sky, dark bolts of magic and fire rained. Soldiers yelling echoed all around them. It was curious when a group of half-armored knights stormed through their forms.
The two princesses took a moment to absorb the destruction happening around them. It was another few moments before Luna spotted their target, clad in the same plate he wore when they spoke.
Standing on the other side of the rapidly materializing courtyard, he was barking out orders,
"Rembrandt! The gate is near collapse! Scrounge some men from the infirmary, rally the damn Initiates if you must, but do not let them breach our defenses!"
A man whose armor was less embellished than Sir Ritter's saluted with a fist against his chest, calling out as he jogged away,
"Yes, Grandmaster!"
Sir Ritter seemed to take a moment to glance around, the location they were at becoming more apparent to the pony sisters.
They were before a large cathedral of sorts. Cast from stone, it was obviously meant to be a fortified location. They stood outside the open gates, revealing pews filled with wounded. From their vantage point it was obvious that this keep was located on the side of a hill, it provided a view to the less elevated walls and small town that surrounded the church.
Outside the walls lay a heavy fog. Luna was familiar with this. His mind simply wasn't focused enough on the view to form it coherently.
Celestia glanced around. She appeared slightly uncomfortable when another stretcher bearing a soldier passed through them to enter the church.
A terrible explosion filled the air, arcs of green light spread out from the gatehouse as it seemed to crumble in on itself. Cries of pain and fear echoed out, overshadowed by the dark calls of unfamiliar monsters.
Sir Ritter gazed downward, his posture stiff and controlled. Eventually he pointed toward one of his lightly armored brethren rushing out of the church and called,
"You there, boy! Inform Rembrandt and Fusilier they are to retreat to the Cathedral!"
The boy seemed terrified out of his mind, far too young to be exposed to war, but the strong voice of Sir Ritter seemed to break through to him. He nodded and ran off.
The clash of steel and sword continued to sound from the city before.
A few knights began to trickle into the square, all their arms and armor were of similar make to Sir Ritter. They were all likely part of his Order.
When the wounded stopped coming up the path leading to this square, Sir Ritter turned and called out to inside the cathedral,
"Close the gates! We will hold them here. May Gerana be with you all!"
There were returned calls from inside, and a few other soldiers stumbled out to weakly stand with those gathered outside, then the cathedral gates slowly shut.
The faces of the Pony Sisters were grim. These people were clearly under attack from a large force, a force that could pierce their defenses at their strongest. This meager collection would not hold.
Every face seemed aware of it. No one opposed the wounded who stepped out with a sword in hand to die in battle, rather than in bed when this enemy broke through. There were hunched shoulders, straight backs, tears, grim faces, and bright eyes alike.
In the middle of it all, though, stood Sir Ritter. Similar to a beacon in a storm, he was resolute and seemed unfazed at the hopelessness of the situation. Those near him seemed to take from that, gathering themselves for a final defense.
No words were spoken between the soldiers, for what was there to say?
When the enemy came, they came swiftly. Luna could recognize the creations of necromancy, she was positive her sister did as well. Shambling corpses and skeletons made up the majority of the incoming attackers, intermixed were several resurrected knights.
The final fight started soon after, a hopeless battle.
The wounded were the first to fall under the vicious claws of the shambling corpses of former friends.
The young initiates fell to the makeshift blades of their ancestor's skeletons.
One by one the knight's fell to the prowess of their former brethren.
Finally, alone stood Sir Ritter. His shield had been lost some time ago, his helmet roughly knocked off to reveal an aging face. Far older than any of his now dead companions. His blade danced in the pale light of midday.
But no one can stand alone forever.
He was clearly aged, and the fight took its toll without a second thought. His swings slowly began to become less graceful, desperation and anger fueling his body in place of the energy it once had.
The first serious blow to strike him was the last, coming from the familiar armored form of a resurrected Rembrandt.
Sir Ritter was soon finished, falling to the ground and joining his brethren in death.
Celestia may have mistaken this for a nightmare, it was easy to, but Luna knew better. There were differences, most subtle. They were all easily seen by the Night Princess, however.
This was a memory, and Sir Ritter obviously stood before them today. She began to gain a sinking feeling in her chest.
As his body fell, so did the dream. It was dark for a few seconds, Luna held a hoof to her sister to hold any questions.
After a few moments the dream was filled with a crimson light, the world piecing together out of the darkness. It was different, though. Everything was muted, little better than grayscale. Sounds were muffled, there was no smell to anything.
Around them the cooling remains of the keep and town sat. The only corpse that remained was that of Sir Ritter. His body had been strung up inside the cathedral, over the altar to a unfamiliar god. His helmet had been caved in and sat before him, his sword and shield cast at his feet.
Something became immediately apparent, his body had no flesh left on it. Only clean bone remained.
After a few moments of nothing, Sir Ritter began to stir. He weakly struggled against his bonds, groaning almost pitifully. Soon enough he stopped, raising his head and looking around.
While he looked at the area, one could practically feel the fear from him. The confusion, shock at what has happened. How his senses had changed, remembering his death.
It took another minute of weak movements to get his right hand free, and the ropes that bound him immediately crumbled to dust.
With a harsh crumple, he hit the ground. For a few moments there was nothing except for the weak movement of metal and the clanking of bones.
Then he rose, using the altar to lever himself he struggled to his feet.
Even now that he lacked skin on his face, one could see the determination. The unwillingness to lay down and die.
Sir Ritter began the slow process of gathering his personal items, stumbling across the floor. Every movement brought a clank from his bones impacting his armor.
Eventually he reached his shield, the reflective back making him pause.
Luna could feel the emotions. The confusion, shock, and fear. To look into a mirror and see not yourself, but a monster, was a process she knew all too well.
Sir Ritter gazed at himself for several minutes before weakly stumbling to the altar and falling against it.
As he began to pray, his voice exactly as it had been in the library, the world around them began to crumble as the dream died.
Luna directed her magic to bend the dreamscape instead, forcing it into the shape of the Hall of Heroes in her and her sisters' old castle.
It was time to meet Sir Ritter.
Jean gasped as his vision came into focus, an unfamiliar stone ceiling looming above his prone form.
Immediately apparent was his lack of a helmet, where had it gone?
Then the memory of his dream hit, causing him to grimace. It had been many years since he thought of that day.
As he began to wonder how he had fallen asleep, an unfamiliar voice called out to him,
"Sir Ritter, perhaps you should get off of the floor."
This shocked him into action, rolling onto his belly he managed to climb to his feet.
When he turned around he was met with Princess Luna and another pony of a slightly larger build, about the same height.
Jean allowed himself to jump to a few conclusions. His weapons were missing, along with his helmet, and he was in an unfamiliar place. It was clear that they had figured out his secret and taken him in the night. He would have to fight his way out -
His thoughts were interrupted by Princess Luna speaking firmly,
"We are friends here, Sir Ritter. I do not blame you for your condition, not after I witnessed your dream. Dreams do not lie."
Jean saw the sympathy on her and her sister's face. There was a start contrast, though. The white one, probably the 'Princess Celestia' that had been mentioned, had a look of pity. To the contrary, Princess Luna's gaze was filled with understanding.
He decided to cling to a familiar question,
"Where am I then, why did you take me from the library?"
Princess Luna answered once again, a bit of amusement in her voice,
"You and I are still in the library, my sister is in Canterlot. We are in your dreams, Sir Ritter. This is how we witnessed your memory."
Jean considered that statement. In his mind? He had heard of stranger magic, he himself was an example of that. It wasn't out of the realm of belief for them to be inside his head.
Eventually he responded,
"This is Princess Celestia, then? Twilight Sparkle's mentor? Where is the King and Queen, shouldn't they be doing this?"
Princess Celestia chuckled a bit at that, responding with the most clear and bright voice he had ever heard,
"I am indeed Princess Celestia. There is no King and Queen in Equestria, my sister and I rule together as Diarchs."
Again, Jean supposed that wasn't the weirdest thing that could happen. He recalled encountering a cave run by children, who exiled people when they turned 20. A rather odd experience, that had been.
Celestia continued,
"As things are, Sir Ritter, I am afraid the places you spoke of are unfamiliar to me. As is the cathedral we saw. I will assign a scribe to go through several tomes and see if there are references to them, even my memory can fail sometimes."
Princess Luna shook her head at this, speaking with a hint of exasperation,
"We both know that is not true, Celestia."
She refocused on Jean,
"Neither of us have any inkling of the areas you spoke of, so I would not raise your hopes."
Jean's thoughts were racing. He had heard of planar travel, but it was whispered rumors or the ramblings of a wizard. He had always considered it to be some grandiose spell, could it be more simple? Then again, the town he awoke in didn't look like some elemental plane.
Princess Luna seemed aware that he was in deep thought, but interrupted anyway,
"I will admit, I am curious what your name is. Now that we know your secret, it should be of little consequence to tell us?"
A little bit of the internal princess seemed to shine through, he could see a sparkle of curiosity in her eyes that looked insatiable.
Jean did suppose that the rulers of this place deserved to know, he tried to tell himself he wasn't eager to just say his name,
"It is Jean. Sir Jean-Baptiste de Bittencourt."
The words rolled off his tongue, they felt good. He was sure some of his eagerness crept into his tone, but he could not help it. He was sure he would have forgotten it, were it not for the long, desperate nights of doing nothing but repeating it to himself.
Princess Luna went to speak, but the world around them began to fade and shift to gray.
Jean felt shocked as he looked around,
"What's going on?"
Princess Celestia spoke up before her sister got the chance,
"It seems that you are stirring, Jean."
He nodded, that made sense.
The last sight before his vision faded to black was looks of contemplation upon the Royal Sisters faces.
Far away, in a dark castle, a golden robed man cursed at the ragged lab he had managed to put together. How was a supposed to devise a way to conquer this place if he couldn't even make these pony corpses reanimate.
It was odd, they seemed naturally resistant to necromancy. Much more than human corpses. Reminded him a bit of dwarfs, if he was honest.
He thoughts wandered back to his old life, in Eastfen. A good place, beautiful until he had burnt it to the ground with his first ghoul. Still held that rustic ruins feel, though.
Then one of his cauldrons began to boil over, looking exceptionally volatile in its puke-green state.
Frantically he waved arms, calling out,
"Ilkorts! Ilkorts! The cauldron, get the cauldron!"
Of course, his inept minions were far too slow to stop it's inevitable explosion.
So hard to find good help these days. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | pre | "But Rarity..." Sweetie and Apple Bloom began whining, only for the older mare to cut them off.
"No buts! Say goodbye, Amethyst, Sweetie."
"Okay," Sweetie said. "See you, Apple Bloom."
"It's been a pleasure," Amethyst said.
"Bye. An' come but tomorrah, and we can all do somethin' fun!"
Fluttershy's cottage was a bit small, but certainly teeming with activity. Fluttershy served tea and cookies as she and her son entertained their guests.
"Let's go to my room," Pip suggested, seeing as he wanted to give his mother and Rarity some time to talk alone.
"Okay," Sweetie Belle replied, placing her tea down on the saucer and standing up.
"Very well."
When the foals left the room, Rarity looked to Fluttershy with new found curiosity. "So how are things with Pip now?"
Fluttershy smiled contently, looking to the direction where Pip's room was now at since its addition. "Things have gone very well thank you, can't believe it's been over half a year since he came into my life." My colt. Fluttershy squeed, thinking back to that fateful day when she took him in and when she received a wonderful foal in her life. Her thoughts crossed on Amethyst and her smile slowly dissipated when she looked to Rarity. "How's Amethyst doing?"
"Better than I expected, really," Rarity remarked as she remembered the events of today and how happy he seemed to be, albeit from the sugar consumption. "I just hope things work out in the end."
"I hope so too, he looks like a very kind foal," Fluttershy said as she furrowed her brow. "I just feel so bad for him having gone through such an awful time with that- that- meanie!" Fluttershy barked out, softly, as she remembered reading books on Sombra and what he had done to the Crystal Empire.
Rarity nodded as she sipped on her tea. "I know," her thoughts returned to Amethyst, seeing how he cried when he met her the first time. "Fluttershy, what do you think I should do if worse comes to worse?"
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy cocked her brow in question.
"What should I do if Amethyst has no family up there?"
Fluttershy hummed as she thought of an answer. "Well, I think you will know the answer when the time is right, Rarity."
Rarity tilted her head in confusion. "What in heavens does that mean?"
"You'll know the answer when the time comes for you to need the answer. It's like when I found out Pip was all alone in the world, I knew then I had to do something for him. So when Amethyst is alone or without any family, you will know the answer."
"I suppose..." she looked at the door that Amethyst, Sweetie Belle and Pip disappeared behind. "I'm glad that he and the other foals are getting along alright. At least he won't have to worry about making friends."
"Are you worried about Diamond Tiara? She bullies a lot of foals for being different, and his coat makes him stand out..."
Had Rarity been a less dignified pony, she would have scoffed. "Diamond Tiara shouldn't be much of a problem. My sister is always talking about how she has no more respect. The other foals don't like her, and her father disciplines her enough..."
Rarity stopped and thought a minute. "Fluttershy, has there been any trouble raising Pip?"
"No, none at all. He's very well behaved. I think he doesn't want to do anything to upset me."
She smiled. "You're lucky. You might be the only one of us to have adopted a foal without any trouble."
They giggled a bit, but not too much. Just thinking about Bloodwing brought along too many problems. Not the least of which was a certain jailbreak months ago.
"Any luck finding Black?"
Rarity shook her head. "Blaze, the poor dear, wants to go look for him again. And I think he's starting to get jumpy. If Twilight, Light, and Spike were taken from him..."
"Maybe he won't come after us." Rarity looked at her like she had declared that the sky was purple. "Well, didn't they say he seemed a little... crazy? Maybe he's off somewhere, thinking he's in Ponyville."
Rarity thought of the sadistic pony babbling like a madpony at rocks and squirrels, and somehow it managed to simply disturb her more than anything else. Still, six months was an awfully long time for a pony in the grip of insanity to hide.
"Perhaps... but I do wish they'd find him..."
"Me too... poor Twilight was hysterical afterward. She wouldn't let Spike or Light go anywhere alone. And Rainbow Dash... she was with Blaze on half of his trips, and the other half she went off alone..."
"Do you think he'd come after Amethyst?" Fluttershy gave her friend a look. "I suppose it's silly, but... crystal unicorns are rare. Maybe he'll want him for something... what I can't say. Bloodwing was the mastermind of the whole thing, and none of his research was stolen..."
"I..." Fluttershy sighed. "I don't know. If the guards never find him, I hope he stays far away. Very far away..."
After saying goodbye to Fluttershy and Pip, Rarity and the two foals had one last stop to make. Luckily for them, Rainbow was off today. Rarity knew exactly where she would be, and so she went off to a hill just outside of town where three pegasi were flying in the air.
When Rarity finally reached her destination, Rainbow Dash was the first one to notice and she floated down to where Rarity was standing with the unicorn foals.
"Hey Rarity," Rainbow greeted her friend before turning her attention to Sweetie Belle and Amethyst. "Heya kids. What you doing all the way out here?"
"Oh, we just decided to show Amethyst around Ponyville," she said out loud before leaning into Rainbow's ear. "And I thought of getting him to meet new ponies too, poor dear's awfully clueless."
Rainbow's mouth quirked up at one corner. "Why didn't you say so?" She then scooted Rarity to one side and lowered her head to Amethyst's level. "Say kid, were there any crystal pegasi up there?"
Amethyst simply shrugged as he rolled his eyes in thought. "They were as few as a hundred only. But most of them had been..." he trailed off he furrowed his brow and lowered his head in remembrance.
"A-anyway! Look," Rainbow pointed to herself and grinned. "If you need any help at all from the fastest pegasus there is, just holler for me." She winked at him as she gave a toothy smile.
"So," Rarity chimed in and looked to the sky and back to Rainbow. "How is your training going by the way?"
Before she could answer, Rainbow Spectrum came flying down with his granddaughter Scootaloo and stopped just before Rarity. "By the time I'm finished with her, she'll be a legend forever."
"Aww, Dad!" Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave him a light push on his shoulder, blushing a little.
Spectrum looked down to Amethyst and cocked his eyebrow in curiosity. "So this is the crystal colt you've been talking about last night?" He asked his daughter, who replied with a nod. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Captain Rainbow Spectrum of the Wonderbolts." He said proudly before chuckling. "Retired of course."
"The... Wonderbolts?" he asked curiously.
"They're a part of Equestria's defense, sweetie," Rarity explained, "but they also put on shows for ponies... it's a bit difficult to explain."
"Not really," Rainbow Dash said. "It's a club for the coolest pegasi in Equestria."
Amethyst cocked her head, then placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash's leg. "You do not feel cold. How queer."
"Uh, that's not what..." Rainbow Dash said awkwardly. "Wow. You have a lot to catch up on."
"It's a figure of speech," Rarity sighed. "Perhaps a visit to Twilight's library would be good after all..."
"Pffth, he'll pick it up." Rainbow Dash brushed it off. "There's nothing you can learn in school that you can't learn from the streets."
"Oh really?" Rarity deadpanned.
"Actually, I think she's right," Spectrum said. "At least about this. He'll pick up on modern slang and everything by playing with other foals."
"Oh, do you have him in school yet?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I'd keep him away from Diamond--"
"Um, it's a little early to be thinking of that, don't you think? I don't even know if I'm going to be keeping him. Why, we sent word to Cadance..."
As the adults droned, Amethyst found himself being pulled away by Sweetie, and toward a place where Scootaloo was busy doing wing-ups.
Sweetie Belle scratched her head in confusion, seeing her friend do such strenuous exercise. "Isn't that exercise for pegasi who want to be fast flyers?"
Scootaloo smirked as she got up from her exercise and wiped the sweat of her forehead. "Just cause I am good with dancing, doesn't mean that's the only thing I have to be good at," she said as she unfurled her wings. "Sure I wanna be a top dancer, but I also wanna be a top flyer like my mom and grandpa."
"That's quite an admirable quality you have there," Amethyst noted as he looked to her cutie, a pair of ballet shoes with wings attached to them.
"Thanks," Scootaloo replied and looked to his cutie mark. "What can you do?" She asked curiously.
"Why don't I show thee?" After he said that, he looked to the ground for a moment before a small smile spread across his face. "Observe." He then lit up his horn and closed his eyes and small grains of minerals gathered to combine in the air before him. After a few seconds, the grains seemed to meld together and solidify. What formed was a bar of shining red crystal. The finished product dropped to the ground and Amethyst landed on his haunches, catching his breath as he was now sweating.
Scootaloo and Sweetie stared in awe at the work Amethyst did before turning back to him. "That's such an awesome trick!" Scootaloo exclaimed, taking hold of the crystal. "What kind of crystal is this?"
"It;'s a garnet, nothing special," Amethyst answered dismissively, catching his breath.
"Nothing special!?" Sweetie Belle retorted with wide eyes. "You have such a cool talent and you don't think it's special?!"
Amethyst just shrugged and smiled. "I'm not exactly on par with what others could do before me. There were some who could create the finest diamonds, my own mother was one who..." he trailed off again before scrunching his lips. "Nevermind."
The fillies didn't. They were too entranced by what just happened to not hear Amethyst's words. Rarity came up towards them and caught sight of Amethyst. "Everything alright?" She asked worriedly, standing at Amethyst's side.
"I was just showing them my talent." He pointed to the garnet that Scootaloo was holding, before it was snatched away by Rarity.
Rarity's eyes glittered, speechless to what she was holding. "Did you make this?"
"Yes, but it's not really worth much."
Rarity looked it over. "I suppose it isn't the most flawless crystal I've ever seen, but it's so beautiful. You have quite a talent."
"My mother did it better," he said sadly.
"Well... maybe you'll find her soon," she said with a sad smile.
"Perhaps," he sighed.
"Well, are you ready to go? Rainbow Dash and Spectrum need to get back to training, and it's getting late."
"I suppose..." Amethyst replied as he, Rarity and Sweetie waved goodbye to the pegasi practicing flying. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 4 | The following morning started as it did with every morning, with the rooster's calling. For Rarity though, an alarm clock woke her up every morning as she was a sound sleeper with ear muffs on her. When she finally deactivated the clock, she groggily stretched her legs before climbing out of her soft bed.
Rarity gave a yawn as she marched straight to the mirror, staring at the mess that was her mane. She shook her head and took a comb out of her drawer, making her mane as curly and shiny as it was everyday.
Once she was done with her mane and coat, she stepped out of her room and gently opened the door leading another bedroom where the foals of the house were sleeping in.
Sweetie Belle was sleeping soundly in her own bed, rolled up and snuggled in her duvet coverings. A small smile was present of her face, no doubt from a dream she was having. Rarity's eyes softened at the adorable scene, before she blinked and looked to the other bed.
Thankfully, Sweetie Belle's room had another bed in it in case one of her friends came by and had to sleep over for the evening. This was the case for Amethyst, who wouldn't most likely use this bed now for more than just one evening. Said crystal unicorn was not clutching on his coverings like his roommate was, as they were on the ground and he was sleeping on his back.
Rarity bit her lower lip and softly made her way to the bed, using her magic to gently lift the duvet up from the ground and place it upon the colt's small body. Just as she was done, his body started stirring. She backed away sharply, fearing she woke him up. Amethyst merely creeped in further, most likely his instincts kicking in to try and get warm.
When he stopped stirring, Rarity exhaled and smiled softly to the foals. She made her way out of the room and down to the kitchen, preparing breakfast for all three. Before she stepped into the kitchen though, she saw a white envelope on the floor before the front door. She used her magic to pick the envelope up, and saw the royal seal on it.
That was quick...
Just as she spoke in her mind, the growling of a miserable cat came up from behind Rarity. Opalescence was not an animal of patience, and she demanded to be fed on time or whenever she wished to be.
Rarity rolled her eyes in annoyance, trotting past Opalescence and into the kitchen. She reached for a bowl and took hold of the cat food, pouring in a generous helping for her cat. "Here you go Opal, enjoy," she said and saw her cat munch down on the food, not bothering to give her master another look.
Sighing, Rarity opened the letter.
Dear Rarity,
I have received your request to look into things, and I'm sorry to say that Amethyst has caused quite the buzz. Crystal unicorns are very rare, we're not sure if any are left in the Empire. We still haven't done a proper census of the Empire, so the search will take time. In case Amethyst hasn't told you, Sombra....
Rarity skimmed the details of the Culling.
So as you can see, we are not very optimistic. We believe a crystal unicorn would be known to us by now. However, we will still look. Auntie says she filed custody papers for Amethyst on your behalf, though I'm hoping it will only be a temporary thing.
I hope to have answers for you soon.
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
Cadance
Rarity looked over the letter, then carefully took it to a drawer she kept her files in. She tucked it away, vowing not to let Amethyst see it. No need dashing or raising his hopes this soon. In the meantime, perhaps something else fun would get his mind off things.
Then something occurred to her. Perhaps the best way to help him adjust was something else fun. Another day out...
She considered herself. "All my commissions can wait another day," she decided. She pulled out some paper and a quill. She would have Sweetie run to Blaze and have him deliver the message. She needed a royal chariot.
Rarity was grateful she needed that letter delivered, because Sweetie had been planning on making breakfast that morning, and anything that prevented that was worth the effort. Rarity whipped up a quick meal of toast, oatmeal, and juice, which was finished just as the chariot landed on the Boutique's front lawn.
"Requested escort for Lady Rarity and guests," the lead driver said stiffly. The white-coated unicorn nodded, levitating a bit into each of their saddlebags before getting on. Thirty minutes of excited pratter from Sweetie later, they were in Canterlot, and the guards were given another two-bit tip.
"Well now," Rarity said happily, "here we are, the culture center of Equestria... except maybe Manehattan. Where would you like to go first?"
Amethyst looked around and was amazed at the landmark that was known as Canterlot. Back in his time, the capital of the Princesses were in the Everfree Forest where they were safe from enemy invasion should it ever arise. At least, that's what he was taught by his mother. Why the Princesses moved the capital he still had to find out. For now, he was lost in this new environment with no idea of where to go next.
"I don't know where is where, Miss Rarity," he answered plainly, shrugging as he looked at her.
Rarity hummed as she thought of an answer. "Why don't we go and walk around a bit, see if we find something interesting?" she asked the foals, both nodding to answer her. "Good, let's be off then."
As the trio walked through the streets of Canterlot, Amethyst felt a tingling of intimidation running down his spine when he saw a few of the residential ponies looking at him in curiosity and in awe, as though he were a living wonder display at the circus.
As she felt Amethyst sticking close to her, Rarity took notice of some ponies looking at him oddly. "Pay no attention to them, Amethyst, they just haven't seen a crystal pony in their lives before."
"That or he is a crystal unicorn," Sweetie Belle remarked as she saw one upper class mare looking distantly at her before sticking her muzzle high and trotting off 'gracefully'. "I'm bored, Rarity!" Sweetie groaned as they walked for what seemed to be forever.
"Sweetie, honestly!" Rarity replied as she furrowed her brow in frustration. "It's not ladylike to behave like you are now, and besides..." she trailed off as she looked down on Amethyst. "We are showing Amethyst what Canterlot is like. What do you think so far?" She asked him curiously, noticing that he hasn't said a word.
"It is awfully gigantic in size," he replied as he looked around from building to building. "Yet why are most of the ponies here foul in their hospitality?" he asked Rarity, as he compared Ponyville to Canterlot and noticed vast differences between the two.
Sweetie Belle giggled at his question, but was silenced when Rarity glowered at the filly. "Well, let's just say the ponies here haven't learned how to behave themselves as proper ladies or gentlecolts."
"I see..."
"Besides, not all ponies here are like that. There are a few who are genuinely kind and caring to their fellow pony," she said as she remembered her friend Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur de Lis. Just as she was reminiscing her stay in Canterlot, she accidently bumped into a pony. "I-I am so sorry! I didn't mean to--"
"Rarity, is that you?"
Rarity jumped a bit at the sudden voice, but brightened when he realized its source. Turning, he saw a familiar stallion before her, adjusting his monocle.
"Fancy Pants! I must say, it's a pleasure running into you here."
"Likewise. You usually announce your visits." He looked down a moment. "I say, a crystal unicorn? I've heard a good deal about the crystal ponies. How do you do, my names is Fancypants."
"Amethyst, delighted," he said, a bit meekly.
"Very nice. May I ask why you are with Rarity?"
"I'm staying with her until my parents can be found."
Suddenly feeling awkward, Fancy Pants looked up at Rarity.
"It's a long story," Rarity said quickly. "I brought Amethyst up here to experience some culture."
"Have you now?" He smiled. "I happen to be hosting a bit of a get-together in my box at today's opera. Perhaps that is what the boy needs."
"Perhaps. What do you say, Amethyst?"
"I'd like that very much. Thank you, sir."
Fancy Pants chuckled, readjusting his monocle as he smiled. "My, such a well-behaved colt. Well, come on now, the opera will be starting any minute."
Cadance looked through every record that her assistants had brought her. Again and again, she was sure there would be nothing but paperwork in her dreams tonight, and yet nothing came up. No crystal unicorns seemed to exist in the Empire.
She rubbed her head, leaning back. Her eyes felt like they were going to fall right out of their sockets. She needed to take a break.
"Your highness?"
Cadance's attention was drawn to the door, where a crystal pony with red coat and white mane stood. Shimmering Ruby was the royal advisor for Cadance and Shining Armor, often she played as steward in case of emergencies for Cadance.
"Yes, Shimmering?"
"May I enter?"
Cadance nodded and saw Shimmering enter the room before closing the door behind her. "What can I help you with Shimmering?" She asked him politely, as she was straightening her desk.
"It's not me who needs help, my Princess, but it seems that you need help," she replied, taking notice of the bags under Cadance's eyes.
She merely groaned before smiling awkwardly. "Am I that transparent?"
"Very," she chuckled before clearing his throat. "What seems to be the problem, Your Majesty?"
Cadance scrunched her lips a little as he called her that, something she didn't like one bit. Before she spoke, she got up from her desk and stretched her legs. "It seems that my sister-in-law's friend has made a discovery lately..." she trailed off as she walked towards Shimmering.
"Lady Sparkle? Her friends are the Elements of Harmony, correct?" she asked her, having been trapped for over a thousand years thanks to a certain dark spell by a peculiar unicorn tyrant.
"Yes," Cadance answered her. "Rarity, the Bearer of the Element of Generosity, seems to have found one crystal pony out in the desert not so long ago."
"Oh?" Shimmering's eyebrow cocked at this news. "What is so special about one crystal pony being found away from home?" She asked Cadance, curious how one crystal pony could bring Cadance to not barely sleep at all.
Before Cadance answered her, she used a spell to envelop the room in what seemed to be a foamish-magical layer. Shimmering knew this was the sound-proof spell, used when information of the highest level was traded amongst ponies.
"What I am about to tell you, Shimmering, is top secret and cannot leave this room, understood?" she asked her advisor, who gave a single nod with her lips sealed. "A few days ago, a crystal unicorn colt was found just outside of Ponyville by Rarity."
The vizier's eyes widened. "A crystal unicorn? That's amazing! I thought Sombra exterminated them all during the Culling."
"Apparently not. From what I can gathered, he was snuck out by his mother around the time the Culling was taking place."
"Then he might very well be the last one left," the vizier muttered with awe.
"Indeed. I suppose you don't know of any survivors?"
"I'm afraid not... still..." the pony pondered a minute longer. "Even if we do not succeed in finding any family, he should be returned to the Empire as soon as possible."
"Do you think that will be necessary?"
"Indeed. He's a national treasure. He belongs up here, among his own kind. The ponies will not like him being away once they discover him... and they will discover him, mark my words. It's only a matter of time before his existence becomes public knowledge."
"I suppose..." she mused. "But let's give it time. It's probably for the best he remains away from the Empire until we're sure of his family."
Ruby seemed uneasy. "Your Highness, I'm, not sure that's wise. He should be brought up here..."
"Why?" Cadance said. "So he can hear every false lead? So he can get his hopes dashed?" Immediately the alicorn calmed. "I'm sorry, but... after my parents went missing..." she sighed. "I hung onto every hope like that... I don't want that happening to him."
"Your Highness..."
"We'll keep his existence a secret as long as we can," Cadance replied firmly. "In the meantime, fabricate a reason he can't come up here if he's discovered too soon."
"I..." she began, then she sighed. "Of course, Your Highness," she said with a bow, then turned to leave.
"Wait, Ruby?"
She stopped. "Yes, Your Highness?"
"How much time passed between the Culling and Sombra being overthrown?"
Ruby tapped her chin thought, furrowing her brow. "About half a day at least Princess, not so long ago..." she trailed off, trying her best to remember.
Cadance let loose a sigh of relief, a little bit of hope shining down on this problem. "That's good news at least, there might have been a few survivors after all."
"I hope so, Your Majesty, I certainly hope so..."
The Canterlot Opera House was one the largest theatres in all of the world. Today's premiere was that of the tale of Phantom of the Opera, famous in Bardigiano for its drama and romance.
So it was that Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Amethyst walked out with Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur de Lis after seeing one of the most moving masterpieces ever. Rarity in particular was the most touched, as her eyes were puffy and she was blowing her nose with a tissue from crying.
"That was the most tragic and most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"
Sweetie Belle merely giggled at her sister's state, though she was impressed by the play nonetheless. "I have to admit, it was sad how the Phantom just vanished in the end and only his mask was left behind."
Fancy Pants chuckled as he adjusted his monocle and felt his wife coming closer to his side. "I say, that was quite a marvelous display of love and sorrow," he mentioned and he took notice of Amethyst. "My dear colt, what do you have to say about the play?"
Amethyst hummed as he stared upwards. "I admit, the opera was quite moving in terms of romance. Though I can't help but feel sad about how the Phantom sacrificed so much for the lady he loved and yet it seemed he never had a happy ending."
"Huh?" Sweetie Belle pondered his words and scrunched her lips. "Haven't thought about it like that."
Before Rarity could answer, Fancy Pants cleared his throat to address her. "Rarity, will you join me and Fleur for lunch perhaps? Your sister and friend are most welcomed too."
"I'm sorry, Fancy, but I have another appointment that can't be delayed any further," she replied to him, albeit sadly.
"Ah," Fancy Pants merely smiled and nodded. "I understand. Well then, I hope to see you again soon. Good day." He bid Rarity farewell before he and his wife trotted off towards the cafes of the city.
"What appointment are we going to?" Sweetie asked.
Rarity took a breath. "Well, when I sent a request for the chariot, Princess Celestia overheard and asked us to meet her for lunch. And that's exactly what we're going to do."
"The Princess!" Sweetie's eyes lit up.
"Do you mean, Princess Celestia? Or Princess Luna?" Amethyst asked. "They still rule Equestria, don't they?"
"Yes, dearie. You did know she was immortal, didn't you?"
"Well, yes," he answered slowly, "but I would have thought they were tired of ruling by now. There was always much propaganda around the Empire, with Sombra saying they were becoming weary of the throne."
"Sombra told you nothing but lies then," Rarity assured. "Celestia has reigned for a while now, and Luna... well, I'll tell you later. But one doesn't ignore a summons from either of them."
"Of course," Amethyst said. "Lead the way."
Celestia was enjoying having several casual visitors in this day and age. She found leaving the door open for any of the Bearers to visit brought some relief to the stiff company she usually kept, and getting Rarity and two foals was plenty of fun for her.
As the little ones sipped their tea, Celestia spoke to Rarity. "Are you having any trouble keeping Amethyst? Any budget trouble? I can afford a loan if you are."
"That's quite alright, I have more than enough. I daresay I might not even need to cut back on luxuries, with all the bits my work brings in."
"I'm glad to hear it," the Princess smiled. Then he turned to Amethyst. "Are you enjoying Ponyville?"
"Yes, Your Majesty..."
"Your Highness, dear," Rarity corrected. "Princesses are referred to as Highness."
Celestia smiled. "I'm no queen, little one. I stay a Princess so I may give power to my little ponies."
Amethyst merely nodded and he took a sip of his tea, which already had about five lumps of sugar in it. The colt wanted to place more in it, but Rarity put her hoof down and shook her head when he tried to reach it.
Seeing this, Celestia stifled a giggle at the colt's antics. "I see you have a liking for sugar," she told Amethyst, taking a bite of a slice of a cake she had.
"Well..." Amethyst trailed off, looking downwards guiltily gulping. "Such a delicacy was not in my diet back then."
Celestia scrunched her lips as she blinked a few times. If only I acted faster back then, she thought to herself, looking down on Amethyst's head.
"If I may be permitted to ask, Princess," Amethyst began speaking, placing his hoof down on the saucer. "What will become of me?"
Rarity looked up to Celestia, who met her gaze with her own. Both ponies looked nervous before looking back at Amethyst. Celestia cleared her throat after clearing her cup. "As we are speaking now, my niece and nephew-in-law are working at their hardest to find your family up in the Crystal Empire. Until then, I would suggest you remain in Ponyville. Maybe even make new friends there, too," She told him, with a light smile on her face. She hoped he wouldn't ask her any more questions that were sensitive to both him and her.
"But why didn't anypony know about us until now? Why were our history suddenly withheld from the rest of Equestria?"
Celestia jerked her head backwards a little, as Amethyst hit the nail on its head. She scrunched her lips before closing her eyes slowly before opening them up again. "When Sombra sealed the empire, all knowledge of the empire he took with him too. During that time, Equestria did not have a library system like we have today. Hence books pertaining to a kingdom's knowledge was exclusive only to that kingdom's. When Sombra sealed the empire, only a few books remained. Although the knowledge within those books was not as adequate, we did our best to preserve your history in our journals."
Amethyst looked to Celestia's eyes, his own crystal-like irises shining for a moment in the refraction of the sun's rays coming from the window. "I understand."
Rarity, tapping her hoof nervously, placed a hoof to her mouth and coughed a little to gain the colt's attention. "Why don't we go and see what the rest of the castle looks like?" She suggested, hoping Amethyst would agree.
"Verily."
Shimmering Ruby fumed as she sat in the luxurious room she called her own. Even under Sombra's reign she had lived richly, though every time this was brought up she was quick to insist she served him mainly out of fear, and did her best to minimize the terrors under his reign.
It was a lie, of course. But ponies were stupid beasts that way. But not her. Oh, not her.
Picking up an imported Sweet Apple Acre product and biting into it, she kept her eyes on the door, half-expecting her assistant to come through with the news she wanted to hear. He never did, but it gave her time to consider things.
A crystal unicorn... that could be big. Sombra was adamant that any pony with horns or wings meet the executioner's axe, but only in the final days of his reign. Beforehand, it had been good old-fashioned paranoia that fueled him. Anypony with a horn could oppose him, were plotting against him, and you just couldn't have that.
But it gave way to genocide eventually, and the king had been thorough. Or rather, she had been thorough, the fool was babbling made by that point. He would have taken a blunt hammer to the problem and sent the Alicorn Princesses running up to banish him even sooner had it not been for her careful planning. One simply could not have been missed. Unless... unless...
She grinned. It had to be. It was the only answer. Yes... no fault of hers.
She glanced at the door again, a nervous habit that had formed over the past two hours. She needed the records checked. To see if any unicorn had survived, the fool Sombra ordered most of them destroyed, but perhaps a scrap or two still lived in the library's collections.
She just needed to wait. She had waited this long, a few more days made no difference. Sombra was a fool, but Cadance was not much better, and neither was her incompetent gelding of a husband. They'd fall to her.
After all, Sombra would have, had she had the time...
Rarity watched as Amethyst crawled into his bed. It was his in her mind, by this point. As she levitated the covers over him, she said, "I do hope you enjoyed Canterlot."
"I did," he said, grinning. "In my time, t'was only Sombra himself that was treated to luxuries of such magnitude. Celestia is most magnanimous."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Rarity told him with a soft smile. "I hope you both have sweet dreams."
"Yes..." Amethyst mumbled, wrapping the covers over himself tightly and looking away from Rarity.
Rarity sighed, seeing the colt look uncomfortable. "Amethyst, I know what you are thinking. You must just be patient."
Amethyst merely nodded, his eyes fluttering as he was becoming drowsy.
Rarity lowered her head and kissed his forehead gently, oblivious to Sweetie rolling her eyes. "And if all else fails, you will always have a home here. I promise you."
"Thank you, Miss Rarity."
"You're most welcome, Amethyst," she told him softly, as she reached down and kissed him again. "Goodnight." She then made her way out of the room, but stopped when she saw Sweetie simply eying her sister. "Almost forgot," she then made her way to her little sister and gently pecked her on the forehead too. "For my darling baby sister."
Sweetie only rolled her eyes, but smiled none the less. "'Night, Rarity."
With that, Rarity finally went to her bedroom to flop down on her bed. She didn't bother covering herself, as her mind was too preoccupied with today's events. She merely sighed and looked up to the ceiling.
I hope everything will be alright... |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 5 | Amethyst adjusted his saddlebags, feeling the weight of the textbooks inside. Today was the day Rarity insisted he attend school.
School. Now there was an interesting concept. By the time he had entered the age of reason, school had consisted of nothing but messages of how great and wonderful the almighty King Sombra was. The education was of the things they could do to serve him better. He had received better education at most, he supposed, since his mother had worked in the palace, but nothing to the degree he'd be receiving today.
Sweetie, unfortunately, had gotten up in time to cook breakfast, and after the cereal and milk she had poured inexplicably burst into flame he decided to stay far away from anything that was prepared by her horn. A quick meal of toast and tea was all he ended up getting while Sweetie stubbornly tried downing her burnt flakes. After three gags, she gave up, with a grumble that she'd get better if Rarity would just teach her.
Nevertheless they were out the door by the usual time, both walking side by side. They were soon joined by Spike, who gave Sweetie a quick kiss, which Scootaloo, who was next, gagged at.
"Oh don't act like that," Sweetie said. "You never see us complain when you lock lips with Light."
Red formed on Scootaloo's checks. "Yeah, well..." Her comment just died right there.
"You'll like Miss Cheerilee, she's nice," Spike said, deciding to both save Scootaloo from her embarrassment and get the topic on Amethyst.
"So I've heard," he said. "Tell me, are the old conditions for being a teacher still in effect?"
"What do you mean?"
"In my time, teachers were required to be mothers first. They believed it helped them handle foals."
Scootaloo couldn't help but laugh. "Cheerilee's too young to be a mom to any of us... maybe an older sister or something."
"What?" Sweetie said. "She's older than your mom."
"Yeah, well, I'm different, aren't I?"
She noticed Amethyst looking her over. She realized it must still be strange to him, a pony that was made rather than born.
"Anyhow," Amethyst spoke, changing the topic. "A lot has changed in the time I was in slumber..." he trailed off, thinking back to the books he had read since Twilight delivered them to him.
Spike shrugged with his eyes closed. "You should speak to Princess Luna, you and her would get along just fine."
Amethyst merely blinked, confused with what Spike was saying until her remembered something. "Oh yes, her banishment." He said, but paused for a moment. "But why was she--"
"We're here!"
The foals all stopped before the entrance of an old school building, painted red with a large bell on top. Amethyst blinked as he saw how many hearts decorating the school. "Why are there so many hearts on the school?"
The others cocked their brows before inspecting the schoolhouse thoroughly and tapping their chins in thought, before Apple Bloom spoke. "Ye know, Ah dunno. Always been like that."
Amethyst merely nodded and sighed before speaking again. "Well, I suppose we should enter now?"
"Right, let's go!"
School was many things to foals, be it exciting or dull. For Amethyst, it was an awfully peculiar place. Ms Cheerilee was a very kind mare when he introduced himself to her and she was more than happy to have one more foal to teach in her class.
For the other foals, it was rather mixed. A few foals were intrigued by his heritage and how he came to be with them, whilst others were more loathing towards him. Amethyst didn't bother with them though, as he was too engrossed by what each lesson had in store for him. Math, Equestrian, and Literature were all covered that morning, but the one lesson he was most interested in was History, as it was the most productive one for him at the moment.
The school bell rang, signalling the start of recess. When the foals were outside, Amethyst was dragged by his friends to one side of the playground that they called the Jungle Gym.
Amethyst was standing on the jungle gym, finding it awfully entertaining until he felt a sharp pain on the back of his head.
"Bullseye!"
Amethyst rubbed his head, trying to dull the sharp pain. He glanced around the ground to see what the missile was that hit him, and saw the likely object, a small, sharp rock.
He looked for the one that had thrown it at him, and it wasn't long until he saw the likely culprits. Two ponies, pink and silver, whom his friends had told him to simply stay away from. The pink one, Diamond Tiara, was grinning a cruel grin, one he could tell she wore frequently and with great pride. The other, Silver Spoon, didn't look so committed, and in fact actually seemed rather offended.
"Diamond... why'd you--"
"Wretch! Foul wretch!" Amethyst cried out as he glared at Diamond Tiara.
Now Diamond looked offended. "What did you call me?"
"You committed assault upon me. Why would you do such a thing?"
"Because you're weird!"
Amethyst paused, his face scrunching up with confusion, as if attacking for such a petty reason was a foreign concept to him. He did not have long to ponder this, however, as his friends rushed to his defense, having finally looked up from their own playing to notice he had stopped.
"Can't we go through one day without you annoying us?"
"If you don't want to be annoyed, quit being so stupid! Isn't that right, Silver Spoon?"
Diamond Tiara's partner-in-crime, as much as she was these days, kicked the dirt with her hooves. Red tinged her cheeks, showing her feelings of being in this situation. "Um, actually, Diamond, I don't think you should have done that."
Diamond Tiara looked at her friend with an incredulous gape. "Don't think... what's wrong with you?"
"Wow, looks like officially nopony likes you now," Scootaloo jeered. By now, Apple Bloom and Spike had stepped between the two bullies and Amethyst, and were trying to push the latter away from the scene. However, he stood his ground, through some reason or another.
"Shut up!" Diamond yelled, but only looked at her opponents for a split second before turning back to Silver Spoon. "Are you going soft on me?"
Silver Spoon's attention was not on Diamond Tiara though, but rather on the victim. She couldn't help but look at Amethyst and his blue eyes. She felt a little heat gathering on her cheeks and started to blink profoundly.
"Hey Silver! I'm talking to you!"
Coming back to reality, Silver shook her head and gave Diamond Tiara a pleading look that seemed to silence her. "Let's just go."
"Hmph!" Diamond Tiara straightened herself and began to walk away. "I'll be back, you loser!" She snapped at Amethyst, before walking away proudly swaying her head to show off her tiara, her fake tiara.
Silver Spoon bit her lower lip and gave Amethyst an apologetic look before bowing her head slightly. "I-I'm so sorry!" she told him hastefully, before rushing off to her friend.
Light groaned as he rolled his eyes. "That filly is not going to get far in life, that's for sure."
Spike nodded his head in agreement. He then cocked his brow looking back at Silver Spoon. "There's something that bothers me, though..."
"What? You're not actually believing Diamond Tiara, are you?" Scootaloo asked him curiously as she eyed the duo leaving.
"Nah, not in this lifetime. But didn't Silver Spoon seem a little... off?"
Sweetie Belle, noticing this, scratch her mane in thought. "Now that you mention it, yeah..."
Scootaloo merely rolled her eyes and sighed. "Whatever! Let's get back to our recess before class starts again."
"Righ'!" Apple Bloom shouted out from behind, thinking of something to help ease the situation. She eyed Pip for a moment before shoving him hard. "Tag! Yer it!"
With that, all the foals began to run around the area avoiding Pip. All save for one. Amethyst stood still in place, tilting his head in confusion. Pip began to gallop towards him and shoved him. "Tag, yer it mate!"
"Oh, is that game still played? Very well, then..."
After ten minutes of tag, A new game called Stop and Go was played. It was new to Amethyst, but it simply involved running toward who was it, in the first case Pip, until they said Stop, and then moving when they said Go.
After thirty minutes of recess it was back inside. The next subject was science, and the entire class depressed Amethyst greatly. So many theories he had learned before his imprisonment were outdated, to the point he was sure he'd be laughed at for stating that animals were classified into "blood" and "bloodless" categories. Every sentence Cheerilee spoke made him feel a foal. He vowed to run to Spike's home and retrieve every science book his mother would allow as soon as class was over.
Music was next, and the day was ended with Art, a treat for the final hour. Amethyst spent a good deal of it sketching buildings from the Empire, and looking at them with a sense of longing and uncertainty. The others noticed this, but for once tactfulness won out in the group and each decided to keep his or her peace.
Once the school bell rang at three-thirty, the class was dismissed, and despite Amethyst desire to run to the library, a few words from his friends sent him running to the clubhouse.
Rarity hated silence. She first realized this after the very first "week-long vacation" her parents had taken that meant Sweetie had stayed a month. When her parents had finally remembered they still had an underaged filly to take care of and took back Sweetie for what ended up being only two weeks, Rarity found herself unable to sleep. It took her thirty minutes of contemplation before she realized why. She hadn't yet tucked Sweetie in and kissed her goodnight, and sleep was hard coming without that step completed.
The next vacation came during a school year, and Rarity found herself unable to work during those hours, with no little hooves running around or voice asking her to please teach her to sew. Silence, she discovered, was a distraction.
But this silence seemed even more silent, because now two things were missing: Sweetie practicing her singing, and Amethyst flipping through his latest book, the colt having quickly rivaled Twilight in frequency of books consumed. Rarity grinned. It seemed like Twilight would be getting another regular patron to her library.
She stopped at that. Which was bad, because she was using her sewing machine at the time, and it caused a jam. While fixing it, she reflected on what made her stop. She was already thinking of Amethyst as a permanent fixture in her new life. Schooling, plans to add a new room onto her home for him, plans on nurturing his Special Talent.
She sighed. The last time she had had this revelation was when she realized she was the one raising Sweetie, not her parents. But that had been definite, this was not. Why should she be expecting to keep him?
A knock on the door called her back to reality and she turned to face the front door, walking towards it. She opened it slowly and was greeted by a red earth pony stallion carrying a few baskets of apples on his back.
"Good day, Miss Rarity," Big Mac bowed his head politely to Rarity, standing still outside before her.
Rarity simply smiled and shook her head. "Big Macintosh, you don't have to call me 'Miss'. We are friends, are we not?" she asked rhetorically, before standing aside. "Come on in." She instructed him and closed the door once he was inside. "Could you drop those off in the kitchen table, please?"
"Eeyup!"
When they were in the kitchen, Big Macintosh started unpacking all the apples on the table. "Where shall Ah put them fer ya?"
"Oh, you don't need to do that for me, darling," Rarity waved her hooves at him, but she was grateful at his manners.
Big Macintosh merely cocked his eyebrow and smirked. "Ah know Ah don't need ta, but Ah wanna. So tell me, where shall Ah put them fer ya?"
Rarity giggled and sighed before showing the stallion where to put the apples. "Over here, please." She pointed to a large pantry and opened it for Big Macintosh to deposit the apples inside. Rarity looked on the stallion as he worked and her eyelids started to become half hooded as she started to smile slowly. She shook her head to bring her out of her daze and immediately cleared her throat. "Say, Big Macintosh. Are you busy for the rest of today?"
"Eenope. Why ya ask?"
"I was wondering, if you would like some tea?"
Big Macintosh nearly dropped some of the apples he was carrying as his eyes became wide. He was fortunate enough of having a red coat, or else Rarity would have seen the blush forming on his cheeks. "Ah beg yer pardon?"
Rarity blinked and looked away from his gaze before looking at him again. "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk a for a little?" She asked him curiously, feeling oddly nervous when he was looking at her like he was now.
"Ah... Ah'd love to."
It was a simple arrangement, to Rarity at least, but her guest might as well have been looking at the most elaborate placement in Canterlot for all he was worried about. A thousand worries ran through his mind as he tried to remember the small amount of lessons his uncle and aunt had bothered to teach him in his youth. Earth ponies took steady laps of tea, never a big gulp. The little cakes are taken only after a drink is complete, in one mouthful.
Rarity couldn't help but giggle. "Really, Darling, this isn't a fancy dinner. I truly do not mind if you slip on a few things."
Big Mac was never more thankful to have a red coat. "Um... Ah appreciate it, Miss Rarity. But I was taught to honor the table of any table I was invited to eat at."
Rarity gave her winning smile, the one that had always managed to put Fluttershy at ease when she was learning etiquette. "I truly think you have already done better than... some nobles I could mention."
Big Mac blinked. "Ah see..." he was silent for a moment. What could he talk about too such a mare that wouldn't bore her? Crops and planting were not the subject to bring to this table. "Is the colt doing okay?"
"Amethyst? Yes, he's doing quite well. The poor dear still seems a bit saddened about things. I can tell he's hoping we'll find his mother. I hope it will happen but--" She paused before turned away. "Never mind..." She left out that she was beginning to hope they wouldn't find her.
But something on her face must have betrayed this hope, because Big Mac tilted his head oddly. "Ya seem to like the boy."
She blushed. "Well... I do believe I have gotten used to him being here."
It was the most neutral answer she could give, which only told Bic Macintosh of what he already suspected.
"Miss Rarity, what are you gonna do if they do find his mother?"
"I'll let him go see her." The words were said after a telling split-second pause.
"And if they don't, you think you can take care of him?"
"Of course. I have enough money, and time... I already take care of Sweetie Belle." She thought a moment. "Why the sudden fascination?"
Big MacIntosh scrunched his lips before blinking. "It's just, ya seem to be thinkin' of him quite a lot lately."
Rarity looked down on her cup with a frown forming on it as she was thinking. "Yes, I suppose."
"Well, Ah'm sure whatever happens... he'll be alrigh'," Big Macintosh told her as he finished his cake. "Ah mean, he's very fortunate that he has ya to look out fer him. Any foal is lucky to have ya in their lives."
As Big Macintosh continued to speak, Rarity just stared at him with more wonder than she had ever before. When he was finally done talking, she giggled again and looked at him with demurring eyes. "You really are a fine gentlecolt, Big Macintosh."
Big Macintosh flustered for a moment, blinking profoundly as he tried to find his voice. "Well, Ah'm just being honest is all. Ah mean--"
"Hey Rarity, ya home?"
Both ponies ears perked at the voice calling out from the front entrance, the voice belonging to Big Macintosh's sister. Applejack.
Rarity sighed and planted her hoof to her face. She got up from the table and cantered towards the room where Applejack was. "Applejack, how can I help you?"
"Was wonderin' if ya saw Big Macintosh around? We need to finish up some apple bucking and he said he'd be back after delivering yer apples fer ya."
With his name being mentioned, Big Macintosh made his way out of the kitchen. "Righ' here AJ, was just keepin' Miss Rarity company is all."
Applejack cocked her brow and looked to her friend, who simply nodded. A mischievous grin started to form on her muzzle, before she snorted a little. "Ah see..."
"Applejack?" Rarity wondered what her friend found so funny.
"Nothin'." Applejack scoffed and motioned her head to the front door for her elder brother. "Come on Big Mac, let's go."
"Righ' righ'." Before he went outside, he looked back at Rarity with a gentle smile and nodded to her. "Thank ye kindly fer the tea, Miss Rarity."
"My pleasure, Big Macintosh."
"Will ye two lovebirds quit it?" Applejack chimed in the conversation, with the entire boutique acquiring a new silence. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 6 | The afternoon heat, such as it was at this time of year, was hardly causing a dent in the group's productivity when it came to nurturing their special talents. They reached the clubhouse in record time, and many retreated to their own corners to begin work on whatever project they had on their agendas, a short story for Spike, a new table for Apple Bloom, and the usual practice for Light...
Sweetie, however, guided Amethyst to an unused table. "This can be your place, at least until we can set up something better for you."
"Thank you," he said, sitting down. "Are there any gems here? I'd like to work without having to make everything."
"I asked Rarity if she could let you have some. I guess she didn't put them here." She turned and raised her voice. "Hey, Apple Bloom?"
"What?"
"Are there any gems in your supply closet?"
"Hold on... yeah." Confusion crept in. "How'd these get here?" Her voice got nearer as she carried the bucket of gems into the room, talking expertly around the handle in that was foals and non-unicorns learned how.
"My sister dropped them off." She turned to Amethyst. "Do you need anything else?"
"I suppose... a chisel of some sort, and a magnifying glass for another."
Apple Bloom had a chisel in her tool box, but it was big, not the delicate instrument he would have liked. She had no magnifying glass, but Granny Smith had one she'd sometimes use to read the paper, much to her grandchildren's chargin, who wanted her to just admit that the papers weren't 'bein' printed in new teeny letters' and get a pair of glasses.
Amethyst set to work, making a mental note to ask Rarity to get him better tools soon. Even with the oversized chisel he soon became engrossed in his work, creating shapes from the rigid squares, rectangles, and diamonds. All had flaws, of course, Rarity wasn't going to let him practice on perfect crystal, but soon sculptures were being made, a pony in one, a dog in another.
It was when he had begun chiseling away on his third creation, which he hoped to give to Rarity, when he was brought out of his creative fever by a peculiar sound, a dull but loud thumping sound that came from outside. It roused his friends as well, and it was Spike, whose writing desk was near a window, who looked out and saw what it was.
Spike peeked his head outside and spotted two familiar colts down at the base of the tree house, bucking it with everything they had. "Hey! What are you doing?!" Spike called out, with Light peeking his head out of the window next to Spike's.
"We're smashing this tree house down!" Snips shouted out as he bucked the tree with his friend Snails, both wearing grins on their faces.
"Yeah!" Snips called out as his friend finished his words, his short legs barely connecting to the tree.
Light and Spike looked to each other, shaking their heads before rolling their eyes. "Why the hay are you doing this, huh?!" Light called out to the duo, thinking that they normally wouldn't pull something like this unless they were told to.
"Because I told them!"
The rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to the balcony and looked over to see Diamond Tiara standing a few feet away from the two colts she had ordered to buck the tree down. She was wearing a smug look, snickering at her targets and she carried with her what appeared to be water balloons in a saddle bag on her. "Surprised?! You should be! This is something I had planned to do for so long now!"
"Seriously?" Apple Bloom asked her deadpanned, wondering if Diamond Tiara really had put much thought in this 'master-plan' of hers.
"Yeah!" Diamond Tiara replied proudly, flinging a water balloon to Apple Bloom's face. Before the balloon hit its target, it stopped and immediately fell upon Snips and Snails below. Diamond Tiara's jaw went agape for a moment before she was huffing and started barraging the Crusaders, but all her balloons were being diverted to the duo below.
"What the!?" Diamond was flabbergasted, until she spotted Spike's horn being lit from the distance she was standing from. "You! You fake!"
Spike, having learned from his mother how to repel thrown objects from enemies, shrugged and chuckled as his horn returned to normal. "You're a lousy shot, Diamond Tiara. Keep to your talent by wearing a fake crown!"
"I--it's not a fake!" Diamond Tiara stammered, her lips quivering. She then looked to her side and elbowed Silver Spoon hard. "Well, do something!"
Silver Spoon, having remained silent during the whole exchange, was also carrying some water balloons with her. Her face, however, did not mirror that of Diamond Tiara's. In fact, she seemed very reluctant to act, much less throw water balloons at all.
"I mean, seriously, did you put any thought into this?" Spike said. "I know you're getting pretty desperate to get back at us now that nopony likes you, but this is just pathetic."
"It is not!"
Silver Spoon shifted. "Come on, can't we just go to my house and do something?" she was clearly already embarrassed enough by the whole thing.
"Shut up!" she yelled, turning back to the clubhouse. "I'll... I'll tell my daddy on you!"
That caused Spike to give a look that was the perfect blend of confusion and amusement. "You're daddy? He doesn't even like you. He's one step away from sending you off to a military school..."
"He is not!"
"Yeah! It was gonna be a boarding school instead!" Snips said.
As Diamond Tiara glared at them, Sweetie just called down, "Thanks, Snips! You're much smarter than you look!"
As the colt grinned, Sweetie muttered under her breath, "But you're still dumb enough to think that was a compliment."
"Uh, Diamond, I really, really think we should leave," she said. "Your dad did say if you keep this up--"
"Shut up, Silver!"
"But I'm just--"
What happened next took only a split second, but it had a deep impact on a lot of things.
Diamond Tiara whirled around and, as hard as she could, struck Silver Spoon on the side of the head.
There were two reactions. Gasps from the former Cutie Mark Crusaders and laughs from Snips and Snails. But neither of the fillies involved heard them.
"I said shut up, Silver! I'm sick of you always siding with these losers! Maybe the reason you wear those stupid glasses is because you're as big a nerd as them!"
There was silence. Tears formed in Silver's eyes. Diamond Tiara breathed heavily.
And then an orange blur rammed Diamond in the side.
Silver Spoon gasped and saw Scootaloo standing before her, the latter's hoof raised threateningly and shaking. "Leave her alone, you creep!" Scootaloo warned Diamond Tiara, who was busy massaging the side of her face that began to form a bruise thanks to Scootaloo's sudden assault.
Diamond Tiara stood up, her eyes tearing slightly but her teeth were clenched as she glared at the pegasus standing before her. "Just you wait, you freak! Once I tell my daddy--"
"We'll tell him what you were doing and what you did to Silver Spoon!" Light cut her off as he floated down and stood next to his fillyfriend. "Why don't you get lost and get a life?" He snarked at Diamond, the latter looking behind them to her hired goons.
"Well!? What are you waiting for?!"
Snips and Snails were unsure what to do, looking to each other and shrugging before walking towards Light and Scootaloo. They came to a halt though when the other five foals from the clubhouse descended and stood before them. "Uh..."
"Why don't ye two lads sod off?" Pip suggested, cocking his eyebrow at the two before him.
"Okay," Snips simply said and both walked on back to Ponyville. Both were talking about how they never really liked Diamond Tiara, thinking that she couldn't hear them.
She did though. Diamond's irised shrank to the size of pinheads, before she started fuming. "Why, those two useless colts! Who do they think they are betraying me?! I own them! I own this whole town! I--"
"Oh shut up, Diamond Tiara!" Sweetie Belle told the fallen earth pony as she shook her head in pity. "You really need to stop acting like this, it isn't helping you one bit."
"What do you know, you useless broken voice?!"
Apple Bloom's brow furrowed and she started making her way to Diamond Tiara before she stood above her and glared down upon her. "Look, yer not wanted here on Sweet Apple Acres. Til' you grow up and think about what you done, git!" She pointed her hoof to Ponyville, being joined by her friends who also glared Diamond Tiara with distaste. The only pony remaining in the background was Amethyst, who helped up Silver Spoon.
"Are you alright?"
The filly could barely form two words. Her face was bruised on one side, and the other was covered in dirt from her fall. And both sides had tears, both from the pain of being slapped and the pain of Diamond Tiara's words. Hiccuping, she tried to speak. No words came out, so she just nodded.
She looked at Diamond Tiara. She looked away, in fright, and perhaps revulsion.
Something came across Diamond Tiara's face. It was an expression of realization. Not like she had when she realized her father or Miss Cheerilee had caught her in her bullying, but one that indicated she had realized that she had done something that was very much against her best interests. Regret, maybe, how much of it was directed at what she had done to Silver Spoon and how much of it she had done to herself, nopony could tell. They weren't willing to find out.
"Well?" Apple Bloom yelled. "Git!"
Diamond Tiara looked on a moment longer. Then, she turned, moving like her hooves were outfitted with the heaviest horseshoes in Equestria. She trotted in a daze, not running, not even acknowledging she was leaving any place or that there was anyplace to go to.
The group watched her leave for a minute, making sure she would. Only Silver Spoon's sobbing added noise, and most were too intent on seeing Diamond Tiara gone to mind it just yet. Once she was on the horizon, Apple Bloom spoke.
"Let's get her inside."
Silver was brought in. She might not have even realized it until Amethyst set her on a bean bag chair. Levitating a cloth hoofkerchief up, he gently wiped the tears and dirt off her face. The filly blushed, but did not fight the soothing action.
Spike silently thanked his mother's instinctive protectiveness, because it meant there was a first aid kit in the clubhouse at her insistence. Spike took an ice pack carrier from the box and ran to the farmhouse. Two minutes later he was back with ice, which he placed on her bruise. She muttered a small "Thank you" as she pressed it against her cheek.
"Forgive me, but... may I ask, why do you share allegiance with that cur?" Amethyst asked Silver Spoon as he removed the hoofkerchief from her eyes.
Silver Spoon looked at him with some confusion, trying to decipher his odd speech. She looked away to the ground, shuffling her hooves to try and find the best answer. "W--we've been friends since we were foals, our daddies are good friends and business partners," she told Amethyst who only nodded as she spoke, digesting all the words she was speaking.
"Kinda like ma sis and Rarity?" Apple Bloom asked Silver Spoon, listening intently to Silver Spoon's words.
"Yes..." Silver nodded, still looking down on the ground. "We've basically did everything together. We ate together, laughed together, shared our dreams... but..."
"Miss?"
Silver Spoon looked up and weakly smiled at Amethyst. "Please, just Silver or Silver Spoon, please," she told him before blowing her nose on the hoofkerchief. "But Diamond Tiara changed when she got her cutie mark..."
"Huh?" Light cocked his brow, looking to Scootaloo and Spike who were standing next to him on each side. "So Diamond Tiara wasn't always this... mean?"
"No." Silver replied, blowing her nose again. "She always dreamed about getting her cutie mark, but when she finally got it, she just stopped caring about other ponies like they didn't have their own feelings at all."
Spike's jaw went agape, blinking before closing his mouth. "Why did you follow her, though? If you knew it was wrong bullying others, why did do as she did?"
"I--I just thought, maybe I could help bring back the old friend I grew up with... but instead of changing her back, I became what I had hoped not to become."
"What made you stand up to her now, though?" Spike asked her softly, albeit a little suspiciously when he considered the history of the filly before her.
Silver sighed, lowering her head in shame. "I--I guess I had enough. I just wanted to make some friends too, other than Diamond Tiara. But every time I tried, she'd always tell me that we didn't need friends who brought us down. I believed her for a while until, until..."
"Silver?"
"Until I saw how happy all of you were," Silver looked up at each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, smiling with quivering lips as her eyes were moist. "All of you come from different backgrounds, but you still became good friends."
There was another silence, until Sweetie Belle spoke. "How did Diamond Tiara get her cutie mark?"
By now, Silver Spoon had composed herself, and was speaking calmer and clearer. "You remember how she got her cutie mark at the beginning of the school year? She earned it at a fancy summer camp our parents sent us too. We were split up in teams and told to elect a leader. We picked Diamond Tiara. She kept on telling us to do things. We won every challenge. Then it just appeared on her flank."
"Leadership," Amethyst said in a musing tone. "A shame. If she were a leader now, she might not be much better than Sombra."
"What about you?" Spike asked. "Where'd you get your cutie mark?"
"I... I don't know." They all looked at her like she had just declared her undying love for a timberwolf. "Well, I don't!" she said, suddenly defensive.
"Easy," Apple Bloom said. "We're just... surprised is all."
"My parents went out of town one day, so when I got home I was alone. When they woke me up, it was there. I must have got it the day before."
"What'd you do that day?" Sweetie asked.
Silver just shrugged. "Diamond Tiara was busy, so I just kind of wandered around. I helped some old pony carry something he was having trouble with, I did a few chores for the Cakes... I don't remember anything that would get me a spoon cutie mark."
"That's weird," Spike said, then winced when he realized the bluntness of it. Silver seemed to share his sentiments, though, so he went on. "I wonder if my mom ever heard of anything like this?"
Suddenly, Apple Bloom perked up. "Then we still have work to do."
The all looked at her. "What?" Scootaloo asked the question of everypony's lips.
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders help ponies get their cutie marks. Silver Spoon might have hers, but she doesn't have a special talent to go with it."
"I guess that's true." Spike replied to Apple Bloom's words.
Silver Spoon could only stare at Apple Bloom like she had delivered her a gift she had always wanted for her birthday. "B--but I'm just a bully and--"
"None of that now ya hear?!" Apple Bloom cut her off as she waved her hooves. "Just like ma sis' told me, let bygones be bygones."
"I--"
"What she's trying to say Silver, is that we want to be friends with you," Sweetie Belle said, beaming down on Silver's face that was displaying confusion.
Silver Spoon looked to each of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, seeing only welcoming smiles on each of them. She thought this was too good to be true, since she was so cruel to them in the past. Yet now, here they were, offering her a friendship she thought she didn't deserve. Silver's lips started to quiver again, sniffing as she suppressed a downpour of tears from her eyes. She had finally found the right words to say to the others, after withholding her tears.
"T--thank you..."
The rest of the day was passed by with a new sense of jubilation for Silver Spoon. When she no longer needed the benefits of the first aid kit, she was properly inducted as a full time member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, though hearing from Sweetie Belle she did see Spike wearing his crystal armour he received from his uncle.
When that was over with, Silver went on to watch Amethyst work on his gem sculptings. She was amazed by how he was able to create such beautiful fine pieces of crystal art. She looked back to her cutie mark, frowning a little because she didn't know what her talent was.
Scootaloo leaned to Light's ear as she watched Silver Spoon observing Amethyst at work. "She seems a little happier."
"If only a little," Light agreed as he watched Silver from the background. "Wonder what her parents are going to say about her bruises."
Spike, overhearing their conversation, joined in as he whispered, "I think that would be the final nail for Diamond Tiara right there."
Scootaloo tilted her head blinking. "Final nail?"
"You know, final nail in the coffin," Spike explained, but was met with a blank stare from Scootaloo. Spike groaned and planted his hoof in his face. "Final mistake, or in her case misdeed."
"Oh..."
"Silver won't even hang out with her anymore, and I doubt Snips and Snails are going to try anything after that."
"You think? Those two don't seem very sorry."
"Maybe not, but with nopony else backing Diamond Tiara, they might decide working for her is more trouble than it's worth." Spike said as he watched Amethyst and Silver Spoon in the distance.
"But what about Diamond?" Light asked curiously.
"She's not as brave without somepony to back her up. Maybe she'll give it up."
There was silence for a minute. They watched as Amethyst showed Silver his newest creation, a piece of crystal in the shape of a spoon. He gave it to her, promising to give it a few touch-ups as soon as he got some more delicate tools.
"You think we can find out what Silver's cutie mark is before Amethyst has to go?" Light asked. "I mean, if he ever does go at all."
Spike and Scootaloo actually jumped a bit at that. They had forgotten, far too easily, it seemed, that the crystal unicorn was not a permanent member of their group, not yet.
"How hard can it be?" Spike asked. "We just have to retrace Silver Spoon's steps and see what she did that day."
"You think that'll work? It sounds like she tried it already," Scootaloo pointed out.
"Maybe not, but we have to start somewhere. Trust me, I think she's going to be fine."
Applejack was never really one for spa days, but a back massage was worth putting up with a hot tub soak and a hooficure, so she didn't complain when Rarity and Fluttershy dragged her from the farm to get pampered.
"I'm tellin' ya, it's a waste o' time," she said with the usual muttering. "Gettin' my hooves all neat and even is gunna just mean they get messed up again when I'm back to applebuckin'."
"Maybe, but at least they'll look nice for awhile," Rarity said, though it was only a half-hearted response. As she leaned back in the tub, looking at her own hooficure, she was lost in thought.
Fluttershy sighed in relief as she layed in the tub with her friends. "It is a nice treat once in a while to relax like this."
"Mm-hmm..." Rarity replied dismissively, as she stared off into space as her mind was on other things.
"Rarity?" Applejack called out to her, waving her hoof in front of her eyes. She was brought back to reality, blinking and shaking her head slightly.
"Yes, Applejack?"
The farm pony cocked her brow as she looked onto her friend. "What's got yer mind in a bundle?"
"Oh..." Rarity trailed off as she looked down to the water of the tub, her brow furrowing a little. "Just some things, nothing really important. Really," she tried to assure her friend, but it did not work.
"About Amethyst?" Applejack asked Rarity, receiving a nod. "How is he doing? He seems to be gettin' along fine with Apple Bloom and the others."
"Oh yes, he is such a dear," Rarity concurred, smiling a little as she thought back to the crystal unicorn. "Just hope in the future he will be alright."
"We all do, Rarity," Fluttershy agreed with her friend, smiling softly. "We must just believe in him and his future."
"Yes..."
Applejack scrunched her lips a little before leaning in to look Rarity in the eye. "But there's something else, isn't there?"
Rarity nodded and sighed, before turning her head to Applejack. "Maybe you can help me, Applejack..."
"Shoot, sugarcube, yer my friend. 'Course Ah'll help you. What's wrong?"
"Well, you see..." Rarity trailed off again, looking up to the sky before her gaze landed on Applejack. "Is your brother sick by any chance?"
Applejack blinked with her jaw agaped, cocking her eyebrow before shaking her head to answer. "Eenope, Big Mac is as healthy as 'n ox. Why ya ask?"
"Well, it's just... he seems a bit flustered when I talk to him. He starts sweating. I do hope the poor dear is feeling alright."
A snicker escaped Applejack lips, but she managed to swallow the rest. Poor Big Mac. He was stoic in the worst of times, but he couldn't talk to a mare. What a shame.
"Ah think you were just lookin' too close," she said, a smile creeping on her face. "Maybe mah brother is just so handsome that ya can't take yer eyes off of him."
"A--Applejack!" Rarity blushed. "I... I..."
Applejack laughed. "An now yer as red as he is! Yer so easy."
Rarity cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. She failed. "Yes, well... perhaps he is handsome, but... I've never truly thought about him that way. Besides, I simply cannot ask him to leave the farm for me. You know I won't be giving up my dreams for any stallion."
Applejack waved her hoof. "Aw, you two can work somethin' out."
"Yes, well... why all the fascination?"
"Oh, nothing," Applejack said. "How 'bout you, Shy? Any stallions on your brain?"
Fluttershy blushed. "Um... no. I have Pip already... I'm too busy for a stallion..."
"Alright," Lotus said, coming in. "Your time in the tub is over. Since Rarity is such a big customer, we'll be offering you our new service. We want to try acupuncture."
Applejack jumped. "Uh-uh. No way. No pony's sticking needles in me!"
"Oh, don't worry, we won't be doing that... We simply use one big one."
As the other spa twin pulled in a three-meter long needle, Applejack ran and didn't look back. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 7 | The last few days were not the finest for Cadance. The bags under her eyes and her misshelved hair were indicators of such. She was for the last week going through everypony's family records in the hopes of finding out if a certain crystal unicorn had any living relatives at all.
The unicorn in question was all the way in Ponyville, readjusting to life in the present. It was fortunate that he was, because Cadance was not succeeding one bit.
As she ate her breakfast of oats and honey at the foot of the long dining table, she was greeted by her husband Shining Armor who came in after his morning exercise drills. She smiled weakly at him, before standing up and greeting him with a kiss. "Morning Shining." She said to him as she went back to her table to finish her meal, something she and the foal inside her needed.
"I take it things aren't going that well?" Shining asked her curiously and carefully, seeing as his wife became very emotional lately.
Cadance shook her head, her lips quivering a little. "No. It's not." She looked up to Shining, her eyes becoming moist. "I've looked everywhere and I can't find any living family member at all." She told Shining, her voice becoming somber as she turned away from her husband's gaze.
Shining furrowed his brow as he looked down for a moment. "I was afraid of this," Shining admitted as he chewed on his toast. "What must we do?"
"I'm not giving up," Cadance replied, finishing another bowl of oats and a batch of toast. "I'm going to see the west wing of the library and see if there isn't any family records missing there." Cadance told Shining as a smile started to form on her muzzle as she began to go into 'Twilight-Mode', something Shining was afraid of.
"Cadance--"
Cadance stood up suddenly and began to march towards the door. "Yes! I will start right now! There's a crystal pony out there who needs my help and as Princess of the Crystal Empire, I need to see to help him out with everything I--"
"Cadance!"
Halting abruptly as she was about to reach the doors, Cadance turned to see her husband standing right behind her. He wasn't smile, but frowning as he shook his head. The frown slowly dissipated as he reached out and nuzzled her softly.
"Cadance," Shining began to speak slowly. "Sweety, you shouldn't exhaust yourself like this. It's not good for you or our foal." He explained to her, standing behind her as he caressed her swollen stomach.
A kick from Cadance's stomach signaled the unborn foal's agreement. Shining Armour couldn't help but smile.
"But... he needs our help! There's a foal in Ponyville who needs a mother and father and..."
She was silenced when her husband put a hoof to her lips. "Cadance, listen. That foal is safe, surrounded by ponies that you know, as well as I do, will take care of him. Meanwhile, you have a foal right here," he said, poking her stomach, "who needs you to take it easy. I'm sure you'll find this one's needs just a little more urgent."
"I..." Cadance started to argue, but was quieted pretty quickly. This might have been the first argument in a while she had allowed her husband to win, but she knew he was right. "I'm sorry. You're right, I need to be thinking of our little one right now."
Shining Armor lead his wife down the hall to the bedroom they shared. "I understand you want to help this colt, but remember that you're not the only one trying to help him. Ruby's looking through the files, and I'll bet she's found something already.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts," Sombra began, the faux benevolence ringing in his voice, "you've come here to witness the execution of the most vilest type of criminal imaginable, the kind that will burn in the deepest pit in Tartarus: traitors. They will be dealt with, regardless of gender or age."
The crowd cheered as the offenders were dragged onto the stand. Six unicorns, two stallions, three mares, and a filly trying to nuzzle her mother for comfort, all with magic suppressing rings on their horns.
"Let the execution commence!"
The first stallion was placed on the block, and met his end by the axe. The second stallion, then the first mare, until only two were left.
The chains pulled to drag the filly toward the block, the mother screaming not to touch her. The guards held her back, but much to their surprise, a magic surge burst the ring apart. She managed to magic her foal's chains off before a guard took a spade to her throat.
The filly ran, and got to the edge of the stand, but only because Sombra found it amusing. Then she was wrapped in his dark magic, lifted up and brought swinging down, hitting the wood with a sickening crack.
Despite the horror, the crowd cheered all the more. Shimmering Ruby couldn't help but smile herself. Bloodlust was always a fun emotion to see in the masses.
Ruby sat at her desk in her chambers, remembering the old days of Sombra's rule. She was beginning to read through the records she had found in the library. Much to her chagrin though, she was not succeeding.
No family records existed with the name 'Craft' anywhere at all, not even among the falling crystal unicorns of back then. Ruby's frown suddenly turned into a malicious grin, as another thought came to her. What if he didn't have any records because his father or mother didn't want to be recorded.
Just as she was in the middle of reverie, a knock on the door was heard. Shimmering Ruby groaned and stood up from her chair, her legs going into a spasm from the amount of time she was sitting there. She forced a smile upon herself and opened the door carefully, to see Shining Armor standing at the entrance.
Oh great, it's him again. "Good day, Prince Armor. How may I help you?" She asked Shining masking her voice with as much false kindness she could muster.
Shining did not see through the mask and proceeded inside. "I hope I'm not bothering you Shimmering, but I would like to know if there has been any progress on your end?"
"Nothing unfortunately," Shimmering Ruby said somberly as she lowered her head with her eyes closed. She looked up to look into Shining's eyes. "How about you my prince? Any luck?"
"Nothing at all."
No surprise there. I bet you can't even read, you pitiful brumby. "That is a shame, if only we had Lady Sparkle here."
Shining chuckled as he rubbed his head. "Yeah, my baby sister could handle something like this. Though she would turn the whole library upside down and inside out."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah!" Shining concurred as his eyes went skywards in memory lane. He could still remember Twilight as a filly, forming her own fort made out of books when she was reading. He shook his head as he laughed. "Anyway, you let me know the second you find something. Okay Shimmering?"
"Actually," Ruby began to speak, a thought coming to her mind. "Why don't we have the Elements of Harmony escort the colt back the empire?"
Shining Armor blinked. "Why?"
"Your Highness, I must insist on it for political reasons. Amethyst Craft will be considered a national treasure. The crystal ponies will not stand for him to be with anypony but his own kind."
"Nopony knows about him yet..."
"And how long do you think that will remain true?" Shimmering Ruby asked. "A crystal unicorn is a rare thing. He might be the only one left. How long can you keep something like that under wraps?"
Shining Armor thought for a moment. "I guess that makes sense," he conceded. "But honestly, do you think it will come to that?"
"I'd be surprised if it didn't," Shimmering Ruby nodded sadly.
"Well... I'll discuss it with Princess Cadance when she awakens. Thank you for your advice."
"Anytime," the vizier said through gritted teeth. As he watched Shining Armor walk down the hallway, he muttered, "Insolent foal..."
She returned to her work. She knew now, she needed Amethyst Craft back in the Crystal Empire. Then, at long last, the years or bowing and scraping would be over.
And she was going to make the prince and princess dance like the dumb puppets they were.
Amethyst ate his breakfast with the usual politeness. Rarity had forbidden chocolate chip waffles until the colt had managed to get his sugar cravings under control, so it was oatmeal and apple juice this morning.
"I do hope you two enjoy your Saturday. I know you've been working very hard in school."
"I want to go and see a movie with Amethyst," Sweetie said as she finished her meal. "Maybe 'The Invocation'--"
"Absolutely not," Rarity said firmly as she frowned down upon her sister, "That horror stuff is nonsense. I will not have a filly as young as you seeing it."
Amethyst looked to Sweetie Belle and back to Rarity, scratching his head as his eyebrow cocked. "I hate to intrude, but what exactly is a 'movie'?"
Sweetie Belle's jaw dropped as she starred with her eyes boggled at Amethyst's question. She quickly closed her mouth and blinked a few times before speaking. "Well, a movie is just a bunch of images moving to make it look like you're watching real life but it's not real." Sweetie Belle explained as best as she could, nervously giggling. Did I even make sense?
"I'm not sure if I understand, but you have lured my curiosity." Amethyst replied as he finished his apple juice. "Though with 'horror', you mean to give a fright to those who watch?"
"Exactly." Rarity chimed in, cleaning up the table after the foals finished their breakfast. "But I strongly insist that you choose something else to watch instead. Something more within your age group."
Sweetie Belle puckered her lips as she pouted at her sister, but sighed as she lowered her head in defeat. "Fine. We'll watch something else." Sweetie Belle said as she stood up from the table. "Maybe we can ask the others if they want to come along." Sweetie Belle wondered as she looked upwards, smiling softly with a tint of red appearing on her cheeks.
Maybe Spike can hold me when a scary bit comes on.
"I wish to see what this 'movie' is, regardless of our variety available." Amethyst mentioned before looking at Rarity cleaning their plates. He scrunched his lips and made his way to her. "Allow me to help Miss Rarity."
Rarity looked down on Amethyst with surprise. She couldn't help but smile and giggle. "I'm almost finished here Amethyst," she explained to him, indicated to the already washed plates. "You go on with Sweetie Belle now." She told him as she nudged him towards the exit. "Oh!" She leaned down to his ear. "And remember, don't eat anymore chocolate or sugary food. Not until you have your 'problem' taken care off."
"Very well." Amethyst acknowledge with a nod, though he frowned slightly . "What will you be doing for today?" He asked Rarity curiously.
"Well, today I have to work on a rather large order of my newest dresses." She told him, looking to her mannequins when they left the kitchen.
Fancy Pants wasn't kidding when he told me he would advertise my work.
Amethyst saw the number of mannequins before looking back at Rarity with his eyes widened. "You have to finish this amount in a single cycle?!"
Rarity suppressed her giggle with her hoof as she closed her eyes. "Not at all! Though I have to get to work on them, otherwise the stress will be too much for me."
"Come on," Sweetie said, pulling Amethyst out toward the door, "let's get going! The theatre opens in an hour."
"Are you sure you won't need help, Miss Rarity?" Amethyst asked. "I would be happy to assist you..."
"That's nice, really, but I'll be fine," she said, levitating a large burlap sack filled to the brim with gems up from where it had been resting at the side of the table. "Fashion is my special talent, after all. I enjoy the working, truly I do."
He nodded, but before he could turn to face Sweetie he noticed something. Rarity was looking at the plain sack with a sense of regret. She seemed not to even see the gems in it, concentrating on the worn container.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, everything fine, Darling. I simply... regret losing my good bag."
"What happened to it?"
"I used it to distract a few diamond dogs the day I met you," she said, before she had a chance to truly think about what she was saying.
Instantly she regretted it. A look of guilt crossed Amethyst's face, and Rarity realized her mistake.
"Oh, don't worry yourself about it. It was a mere saddlebag. Now run along and have fun, and I'll see you tonight."
That was all the invitation Sweetie needed to resume her tugging. Within moments the pair were outside the Boutique, though the filly didn't slow her tugging.
Amethyst, however, rooted himself in the ground as hard as he could, long enough to get out his question. "Whereupon do these diamond dogs dwell?"
Sweetie stopped at that, looking at him with eyes twice their usual size. "You can't be thinking... Amethyst, it's dangerous out there!"
"I know, but Miss Rarity lost her saddlebag because of me, and I must rectify the situation. Now where are they?"
"Well from what I heard, they live in the outskirts of Ponyville." Sweetie Belle explained as they were trotting to the library. "But I seriously don't think it's a good idea to go out there Amethyst."
Amethyst cocked his brow as he smirked. "From the tales I have heard of what you and the others have participated in, I'd have thought you'd concur with me?"
Sweetie huffed as she flicked her ears. "Yeah well, back then we were desperate in getting our cutie marks. This is just being stupid, going out there where those dogs are."
"Still," Amethyst muttered, lowering his gaze to the ground as he frowned. Everything Miss Rarity has done for me, I must... He raised his head from the ground and started galloping towards what he believed was the exit of Ponyville.
"Amethyst!" Sweetie Belle called out, before groaning and following him. Rarity is going to kill us!
Amethyst finally stopped when he was standing upon what appeared to be a valley where there were hardly any vegetation growing. He looked around and saw a number of crevices, boulders and what appeared to be mounds of some sort.
"Amethyst!"
Hearing his name being called, he turned around to see Sweetie Belle coming from behind. She came to a halt, her forehead sweating bullets and her mane in complete disarray as she huffed to catched her breath. "You know you're crazy!? Let's go back now!"
"I refuse." Amethyst answered her plainly, making his way to one of the mounds. He started to dig into it with his hooves to see what was underneath it.
Sweetie Belle glared at the colt, contorting her mouth as she marched up to him. "Listen! If we don't get out of here soon, those dogs are going to find us!"
"What makes them so terrifying?"
"Well for one, they are bigger than us." Sweetie Belle remarked as she bobbed her head. "Two, they apparently enslaved Rarity just for digging up gems for them. Lastly, they can seriously hurt us."
Amethyst rolled his eyes, continuing to dig through the mound. "Your words make them appear as threatening as the dragons were back in my time."
"What? No, dragons are horrible! ...Well, except Spike, when he was a dragon... but he wasn't technically a dragon anyway... oh, they're not as bad as dragons, but they're still pretty bad!"
"Regardless, I'm going on to retrieve Miss Rarity's saddlebag. Now, do they live underground?"
"Yes. I mean no! No! Don't go down there!"
"I told you, I..."
"Well, well, well," a raspy voice stated.
Immediately, both Sweetie and Amethyst stopped, their manes standing on end. The feeling of dread only intensified with each sound of nails scratching on dirt, alerting to a new present.
Rover was the first seen, his tall frame peering from around the dirt mine. On the other side, Fido peered at them, his eyes shining under his sloping forehead. At Fido's side, Spot was the last seen, rubbing his claws together.
"It looks like some pony younglings wandered too far from home," Spot said, his voice brimming with the same kind of glee Sweetie had whenever she opened Hearth's Warming presents.
"H-hey now," Sweetie quivered as she and Amethyst backed away. "We're too small to be good slaves..."
"I suppose," Rover scratched his chin. "I guess we'll just eat you."
Both ponies eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Eat us?"
"Yes. Pony's make good meals once they no longer useful!"
"Now see here!" Amethyst protested, standing tall. "You shall not taunt us any longer! I lived through Sombra's reign, and any torment you visit upon us would be a mere--"
A backhand from Fido silenced him, and sent him to the ground.
"That's how we deal with ponies who make awful noises!" Rover said. "Now then..."
"Hey! Look!" Sweetie suddenly yelled, holding up an empty hoof. "Ball!"
"Ball!" All three dogs were suddenly on high alert.
"Wait..." Rover said. "I don't think there really is a..."
"Go get it!" Sweetie said, throwing her imaginary ball over their heads.
"Ball! Ball! Ball!" the three yelled, turning and chasing the imaginary object.
Sweetie tugged Amethyst away from the mound. "Now let's get out of here before--" Sweetie let out a yelp as she fell through the ground thanks to a crack she stepped on, pulling Amethyst with her.
The pair yelled out as they were continuing to fall through the tunnel, before both of them finally landed roughly on a whole collection of gems.
"Woah..." Sweetie Belle looked around her, seeing nothing but gems of all sorts. If Spike was still a dragon, he would go crazy for these. "Where are we?"
Amethyst stood up, balancing himself on the gems he was standing on. He dusted himself off before taking a look around. "From what I gather, we are in their treasury." He answered Sweetie, still looking around. "We need to find an exit with haste."
"Yeah," Sweetie agreed as she got up and crossed the hills of gems, squinting her eyes as she looked forward. Rarity would salvage this place clean if she knew it existed. "I think I found a way out Amethyst! Over--"
"Halt." Amethyst stopped, gazing up to a particularly large hill of gems. He spotted something that lay on top of it. "Sweetie, what's that?" He pointed to the object with his hoof, nearly falling on his face when he lost some balance.
Sweetie squinted her eyes again before gasping. "That's Rarity's bag!" She told Amethyst, recognizing her sister's work on that bag. "I never forget what Rarity wears and boasts about." She grumbled, remembering how her sister showed off the bag to her friends.
Amethyst beamed and started climbing the hill. "Excellent!" He shouted out as he was halfway to the bag.
"Oh boy." Sweetie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'm not going to follow you up there you know!"
"Just wait there will you?"
"Fine. But just so you know, I still think you're going to get us killed. If any of the other dogs find us, who knows what they'll do?"
"I'm sure they won't--" Amethyst began, but he only got that far.
"This is without a doubt the dumbest thing I've ever heard anypony do!" Sweetie said, her voice rising in pitch. "This is even dumber than when Light and Scootaloo went to rescue Spike from Bloodwing! At least that was a good reason to nearly get killed!"
"Sweetie!" Amethyst said, suddenly sounding alarmed.
"No! Don't interrupt me! You brought us down here, nearly turning us into dog food, just for--"
At that point, Sweetie was suddenly silenced with a big grey paw clasping over her mouth. Letting out a muffled scream, she was hoisted up by a Diamond Dog, grinning in the joy of accomplishment.
"No!" Amethyst yelled, only for two more to jump to the top of the gem pile he was occupying. Seconds later he was on the ground, thankfully mostly unharmed since the dog landed on himself. A large paw gripped him by the neck.
"The Alphas will give us much reward," one said, it didn't matter who.
Sweetie was gagging. Rarity wasn't kidding when she said these dogs stunk, a fact made worse by the long periods since the last time they had surfaced to air themselves out. Still, she kicked and struggled, trying to keep her wits about her.
"Um..." Amethyst tried to think. He held his hoof up. "Do you see the ball, canine?"
The Diamond Dogs blinked. "Huh?"
"Who wants to chase the bouncing rubber toy?"
"What are you saying such weird things?" the Dig Dog demanded. "You make even worse noises then Miss Rarity." The one holding him stuffed a dirty rag into his mouth. "We discovered how to keep ponies from making any noise."
Sweetie Belle panicked. She looked around frantically, her eyes leaking as she clenched her teeth. This is it, isn't! We're doomed!
She looked over at Amethyst, and then realized he was lighting up his horn as he looked past the dogs. "Amethyst? What are you do--"
Amethyst jerked his head back and a gem flew past the dogs and the ponies, hitting the wall in the back. A rumble soon followed as the ground started to quake. The tallest hill started to collapse as the number gems came flowing down upon the ponies and dogs in the room.
"Gem slide!" One of the dogs yelled out, but he was alone as the others started running away yelping to not get crushed by the onslaught of gems.
Sweetie Belle was frozen in fear, as her eyes were white and her jaw agape. She started seeing her past in front of her eyes as the gems drew nearer.
"Sweetie!" Amethyst grabbed her leg and brought her back to her senses. We are leaving!" He declared with his voice at its loudest, both ponies rushing off to the nearest entry to escape.
One of the Diamond Dogs growled and pointed to the exit. "After them! We mustn't let the Alphas know of 'em!" Even with the gems sliding down towards them, the Diamond Dogs narrowed their eyes and ran towards the entry with great haste. When the last of the three were out of the treasury, the gems filled up the hole sealing the room.
Amethyst and Sweetie were lost in a maze of tunnels. Every tunnel they travelled through looked identical to the other they had left. Sweetie could have sworn she saw a familiar rock when they passed through another tunnel.
"Are you sure we're not going in circles Amethyst?!"
"I am certain we are lost yes." Amethyst replied flatly, his brow furrowed as he continued to gallop. "Just as long as we keep our distance from those dogs, we can properly assess where we currently are."
Sweetie groaned as she pursed her lips. "And this is what I get for being with you today! Thanks alot!"
"You followed me on your own accord!" Amethyst retorted, turning his head slightly to face Sweetie Belle from his side. "You knew the risks of this endeavour, do not blame me!"
"Right and have Rarity go Twilight on me with you missing?!"
"What?" Amethyst blinked with his brow cocked in confusion. "What does Miss Twilight have to do with any of this?!"
Sweetie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Nevermind! We have to get out of here before--"
At that point, a large massive paw reached out from the ground and grabbed at Sweetie's left hind leg. Giving a shriek, she shook it off, which was easy to do since the dog had not managed a tight grip through grabbing blind. As they ran, more dogs started popping up from the floor."
"I thought I heard someone," they heard one of the dogs say.
"Ponies!" Another said. "I had one, they were right here!"
"Ponies! Goody, we eat good tonight!"
The sound of claws scraping on dirt sounded from behind them. They redoubled their pace, but they both knew it was going to be fruitless. There were several dogs, each with legs far bigger than their own.
"We must find a fork in the paths," Amethyst said through tired pants. "We might be able to lost them through--"
A flying tackle silenced him. Another dog had his filthy paws on him. Sweetie turned, skidding to a halt, and began to call his name, only to be a prisoner before the first syllable escaped her lips.
"We eat! We eat!" the dog gripping Sweetie cheered. There were several barks in agreement.
"Hold on," a new dog spoke. Another group had emerged from the direction they had been running from. "We saw them first! We eat!"
"We caught them!" a dog in the other group said. "We win. We eat!"
"You get lucky! We eat!"
"We eat!"
"We eat!"
"We eat!"
"No. We eat!"
The final argument stunned everyone. All heads turning except for those of the restrained foals, the Alphas stood there, glaring.
"I'm right to assume you are the Alphas?" Amethyst asked plainly, dangling upside down with one of the Alphas holding him.
The Alpha named Spot chuckled as he brought Amethyst closer to his face. "You are correct, little pony." He answered Amethyst, licking his lips as he scanned his body. "You are not the same as those other ponies from their town are."
Amethyst gasped in false surprise hearing the Spot's words. "My word, how did you figure that out!?"
"Your coat, all shiny like a gem." Spot grinned as he looked from his two comrades, before looking to the lesser dogs before him. "You! Wait there!" He ordered the others dogs, and they obeyed as they sat on the ground looking up to their masters.
Rover inspected Sweetie, who blushed furiously as she looked away. "We could boil them! Lovely stew!"
"Oh oh! Smash them till they all mush!" Fido suggested, wagging his tail as his licked his lips.
"Fry them! They taste good!" Spot said.
"Why don't we let them go?" Sweetie said, trying not to move her lips in a lame attempt to throw her voice.
The dogs actually seemed to consider this a moment. Then, Spot shook his head in disagreement. "Nah, too messy. Lets just eat them here and now, or we get the lesser begging!"
Sweetie Belle was bawling out in tears, hearing the dogs suggestions of consuming them. She covered her face with her free hooves as he cried. I wish Spike or Rarity were here to save us!
"Hey!" Amethyst shouted out to the lesser dogs behind him, getting their attention. "Are you going to just idly sit there and have these thieves take away your meal?!"
The lesser dogs turned to each other before looking up at Amethyst. "But they our masters. They get--"
"Finders keepers." Amethyst chimed in, shrugging as he was held upside down. "Or are you just pups?"
"We no pups!" One of the lessers dogs retorted, clenching his teeth in rage at the colt's words.
"Prove me wrong, and I will be impressed."
"Don't listen!" Rover demanded. "We're your Alphas! You don't talk back to us!"
"Oh yeah?" One of the larger dogs stepped forward. He was about two heads taller than Rover, and looked down on him with a smug smirk. "You not so tough."
Rover responded so quickly that those watching almost didn't see. Rover's claws were in his neck, small trickles of blood pouring out of fresh wounds. A punch ended any future complaint from this particular dog, audible cracks were heard, both from the punch and from the head colliding with the ground.
"Anyone else want to try?" Rover daunted.
It was a fair question, as the crowd now looked upon them with fear, but another spoke. "They cannot take all of us!"
The dogs surged forward. Rover, Spot, and Fido never even looked worried, only annoyed. All three fought with such savagery that Sweetie wanted to cry again. But Amethyst had been born in savage times, and was less affected.
"Come, let us depart!" he said, trying to pull Sweetie along. It was hard at first, her legs felt like lead weights, but slowly she began moving.
They ran blindly at first, but before long they noticed the dogs had marked the way out. After a few minutes of running, they found themselves above ground. Still clutching Rarity's bag, the pair raced back to Ponyville.
The Alphas were above ground just as they made it to the edge of the field. They had a few cuts and scrapes, but still looked very much ready to fight.
"There they are!" Fido said.
Rover put a paw to his head. "They too close to pony village now. We go there, and pony princess come upon us!"
Spot and Fido shivered. It had been three hundred years since the last time the dogs had tried to take Celestia, and it was still remembered as an unfit situation to find oneself in.
The Alphas all sighed as the lowered their heads in defeat. "Let's just go back." Spot told them, and they all slumped back to their home. "What should we do for tonight?"
Rarity was humming as she was busy with another dress order. She hummed rather loudly, hating the silence present in the boutique now. She wore her red glasses as she was working with a fine needle, sewing a few attachments on the dress. When she was finished, she levitated the dress on the mannequin and sighed.
I wonder what Amethyst and Sweetie Belle are watching now? She looked up to the ceiling, her eyelids fluttering as she was starting to daydream. I just hope they haven't gone seen an awful horror like Sweetie suggest--
The bell of the front door ringed, bringing Rarity back to reality. She straightened herself up, placing her glasses on the nearby table. She trotted up to the front entrance, wearing her professional smile. "Welcome dear, how may I help--" Her words were cut off when she saw Sweetie Belle and Amethyst before her. They were covered in dirt with multiple scratches on their body. "What in Equestria happened to you two?!"
Amethyst gulped, lowering his head as he heard Rarity's voice. Sweetie was doing no better, shuffling her hooves as she looked away.
Rarity scrunched her lips and narrowed her eyes, seeing her sister dirtying the floor even more. "Young lady, to the bath with you now." She ordered Sweetie, pointing upstairs.
Sweetie slowly nodded and walked upstairs. She paused for a moment, looking back at Amethyst before disappearing from the room.
"Amethyst," Rarity spoke slowly, lowering her head to his level. "Do you mind telling me why you and Sweetie Belle are all covered in dirt?" She asked sternly to the colt. "Please look at me."
He complied and looked Rarity in the eye before clearing his voice. "Well, I just wanted to..." He trailed off, blinking as he gulped.
"Yes?"
"I wanted to get this back for you."
He focused his magic on the item that he was carrying, lifted it up and presenting it to Rarity. He looked past the bag, seeing Rarity gasp as she placed a hoof to her mouth observing her item.
"My bag!" She reached for it excitedly, but stopped. She looked at Amethyst, her stern expression returning. "You went into Diamond Dog territory."
"I... I truly wanted to retrieve the bag for you. I owe you that much..."
"You don't owe me anything," Rarity sighed, lifting his chin up with her hoof. "What you did was foalish. No bag is worth yours and Sweetie's lives."
"But I--"
"I know what you were trying to do," Rarity cut him off. "And while I appreciate this, I'm afraid I cannot condone it." She sighed. "I wish you had just disobeyed me. I'm... I'm glad you're so thoughtful, but..."
She trailed off, trying to think of what to say. "Never mind that now. As soon as Sweetie is done cleaning up, you do so as well. I'll be giving her a lecture as well, then we'll be discussing your punishments."
Amethyst's eyes widened. "But... Miss Rarity, it was my decision alone. Please do not blame her."
"She should have gotten me, instead of running off into that dreadful place." Amethyst stepped back. It was the first time the whole conversation that Rarity had raised her voice. "If anything had happened to her, or to you..."
Her voice was breaking. Her eyes were getting misty. Ignoring the dirt and grime still covering him, she swept him into a hug. "I... I've grown to love you. I've seen you do so much since I found you." She reached out to him with her hooves, bringing Amethyst into a hug as she nuzzled him. "And to let you go off and get yourself killed doing something like that... I do not think I could survive something so terrible. Please, please promise me you won't do anything like this again."
"...I promise," he said softly. "I... I'm sorry, Miss Rarity. I only wanted to make you happy."
"I know you did." She kissed the top of his head gently. "And I'm very proud of you for that. But you still disobeyed me." She returned to her stern demeanor, pulling away. The sound of the tub draining upstairs signaled that Sweetie was finished. "Go upstairs and wash. Send Sweetie down, I need to talk to her."
"Yes ma'am," he said, slowly heading up the stairs.
As soon as he was out of sight, Rarity let go of a breath she hadn't even realized she had been carrying. She felt her heart race, trying to keep up with her mind as it went over every worse case scenario. What if he had died? What if he was enslaved? Shipped away to wherever the dogs were from?
Rarity took in a deep breath, calming herself down. She closed her eyes as she exhaled, before looking at the bag Amethyst retrieved for her. A slow smile crept onto her muzzle, followed by a stray tear escaping her eye. She quickly wiped it away, sniffing as she looked back up the stairs.
Maybe I should give them a break...
Just when the thought came to her mind, her ears perked when she heard tiny hoof steps coming downstairs. She looked up and saw Amethyst and Sweetie spotless clean, though no joy was found on them at all.
Rarity sighed as she breathed in slowly before speaking. "Now, for your punishment..." When she said those words, Amethyst flinched whilst Sweetie merely looked down. "No dessert for a whole week."
Sweetie Belle sighed, relief at the minor punishment. She turned to Amethyst and saw his mouth becoming agape and his eyes widened in horror.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 8 | Amethyst pawed at display containing the chocolate cupcake. "Sweet, sweet chocolate..."
"Amethyst, you still have three more days in your punishment," Rarity told him as she placed firm hoof on his shoulder, trying to stay stern under his pleading. "We're only here to drop off Mrs. Cake's order."
Amethyst still looked longingly at the display. Finally, he sighed and turned back to Rarity, who was handing something to the baker.
Mrs. Cake looked at every side before leaning towards Rarity's ear. "Y--You're sure nopony knows about this?" she asked nervously, holding the package with care.
"I was very discreet." Rarity whispered back to her, looking down upon the suit equally nervous eyes. "I'm sure Mr. Cake will enjoy your anniversary." She smiled broadly, looking around the room. I am so glad Pinkie Pie is not here today.
Amethyst reached for the desk with his front hooves, peeking at the odd clothing. "Mrs. Cake bought Mr. Cake a suit?"
"... Yes," Mrs. Cake said after a pause, sweating profoundly as she chuckled. "Yes... I bought a suit--"
"And that's all," Rarity chimed in, wanting Amethyst to end the subject.
"What kind of suit?" Amethyst asked curiously, trying to take a peek inside. He didn't get far though, because of Rarity's hoof being placed on his and pulling it away.
"You know what? I think four days is enough! Why don't we get you a cupcake after all?" Rarity asked with haste that Rainbow Dash would envy. nodding her head furiously to Mrs. Cake who forcefully smiling and near tears
"Truly? Thank you Miss Rarity, really--"
He was cut off by Mrs. Cake shoving the treat at him. "There you are, on the house. Now then, I have work to do, so if you would please?"
"Of course," Rarity nodded, and then lightly pressed Amethyst out the door. "Bye bye!"
In the street, as Amethyst swallowed the last of his cupcake, he spoke. "Has Princess Cadance relayed any information on..." He trailed off, scrunching his lips as he swallowed and looked away. "Nevermind."
Rarity smiled sadly as she shook her head. "I haven't heard anything since the last letter I gave you."
Amethyst was quiet for a moment as they walked onwards through the town. "I was wondering how much longer I would be welcome in your home."
"Oh Darling," she swept him up in a hug, nuzzling him softly. "You don't need to worry about that. You can stay with me as long as it takes."
"It might be forever," Amethyst said as he looked away from Rarity's eyes. "If she hasn't been found by now..."
Rarity placed a hoof on his mouth, silencing Amethyst's words. "You mustn't speak like that," she told him as she leaned into his eyes. "If it's Ponyville or even the Crystal Empire, you will always have a home."
Amethyst couldn't help but smile, hearing those words and nuzzled Rarity in return as he held onto her. "Thank you."
"That's it right there." She pointed and giggled. "You look so much cuter when you smile."
"I--I--" Amethyst blushed furiously, lightly pushing himself away from Rarity's embrace.
Rarity laughed nudged him softly. "Now go and have some fun with Sweetie Belle and the others," she told him, seeing him run off. "Remember, no Diamond Dog mine trips, you hear!"
"Yes, Miss Rarity!"
When Amethyst disappeared from her sight, Rarity let loose a sigh as she walked back to her boutique. She didn't get far though, as a white alicorn came flying towards her before landing right in front of her.
"P--Princess Celestia!" Rarity quickly bowed to the princess, having been caught off guard since she didn't receive any word of a visit from her.
Celestia waved her hoof upwards. "Please Rarity, no need to bow before me," she spoke in a soft maternal voice, the same she used with all her subjects. "I just want to let you know of the news we received so far."
"Oh!" Rarity placed a hoof to her mouth in surprise. "Please, let's talk in my boutique. Shall we?"
"Of course."
Celestia took her seat at Rarity's kitchen table and, despite her insistence that it wasn't necessary, she began brewing up some of her best tea. Within minutes she was enjoying some of the best brew she had tasted.
"Have you brought any news on Amethyst's parents?" Rarity asked hopefully. "The poor dear is beginning to lose hope."
"I'm afraid not," Celestia sighed. "And I'm afraid the news I bring has more to do with Amethyst himself."
Rarity felt her blood run cold. "Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's truly wrong," Celestia said. "At least, not yet. The Crystal Empire's vizier, however, is starting to push for Amethyst to be returned to the Empire."
"I... whatever for?"
"Amethyst would be considered a natural treasure," Celestia said as plainly as possible. "The regular citizens are ignorant of him at the moment. But once they find out, they will demand that he be returned. I don't know if we can ignore such a request."
Rarity felt her heart beat quicken. She began to breathe deeply. "I... please, Your Highness, can't you do something?"
"I'm afraid not," Celestia said. She tilted her head a bit. "Are you really so concerned with losing him?"
Rarity felt her cheeks heat up. "Well... I suppose I am."
"You were only supposed to watch him." Celestia didn't sound disappointed, however. She was merely stating a fact. "Suppose we find his mother. What then?"
"I..." She struggled to find the words. "I don't know. I keep telling him he needs to keep his hopes up, but... in all honesty, I don't think there really is much of a chance at this point, is there? I truly hope she's around, but... but I have been thinking about him staying with me... for the rest of his foalhood at least."
Celestia nodded. "I'm glad you have gotten so attached... but it makes what has to be done that much harder. We might have to relocate him regardless of whether or not he has a family here."
Rarity bit her lip as she looked down, her eyes becoming moist. The thought of Amethyst going away from Ponyville, away from her. Over the last few months that Amethyst has stayed with her and Sweetie Belle, she had really grown attached to him.
Celestia lowered her head. "Rarity, I know this is hard for you," she spoke softly as she nuzzled her softly. "But we have to do what's best for him." She raised her head and began to walk out of the boutique. "I will keep you inform about further findings and news." She told Rarity with a smile, albeit her eyes were downcast in sorrow. Celestia stretched her wings and flew off towards Canterlot, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts.
Amethyst trotted towards the Ponyville library, where he was told to meet up with his friends. For what reason, he didn't know. He was still amazed at how a tree was hollowed out to build a construct for ponies to use on a daily basis. When he finally reached the enormous tree, he reached up for the door and opened it to let himself in.
"Hello?" Amethyst called out as he closed the door behind him.
"Hey Amethyst," a voice from above called out to him from above. The colt looked up and saw Blaze Stream floating above and sorting the books in their shelves. He landed on the ground in front of Amethyst. "How can I help you?"
"Good day, Sir Blaze," Amethyst greeted the elder stallion with a curt nod.
Blaze chuckled a little before speaking. "No need to call me 'sir', kid," he grinned at Amethyst. "Just call me Blaze," he leaned towards Amethyst, pointing to his forehead. "Got it memorized?"
"Yes sir," Amethyst looked around before looking at Blaze. "Where is Miss Twilight and why are you here? I thought you were in the Wonderbolts?"
"The Wonderbolts don't train on weekends and when I have time off I help my mare with the work in the library," he leaned into his ear. "Between you and me, she hardly goes to sleep unless everything is in absolute order." He raised his head and saw Amethyst's confused look, laughing at it for a moment before clearing his voice again. "So, what brings you here today?"
Amethyst blinked and shook his head before clearing his throat. "Well, I was told to meet my friends here today. Are Spike and Light here?"
"Over here!" Both Spike and Light came from a room in the library towards Amethyst, bumping his hoof. "Looks like you're number three."
"Number three?"
"Third to arrive here." Light told him plainly before looking up at Blaze. "You sure there's no other books besides this one, Dad?" Light showed him an old book with no visible title.
"'Fraid not. I know, because Twilight made me memorize this whole place. I'm sure that's all we have."
"What are we looking for?" Amethyst piped in.
"Any other reading on cutie marks," Spike said. "We're going to spend today working on a way to find out Silver Spoon's cutie mark."
"Ah! Very well, then, when shall we start?"
"As soon as the girls get here," Spike said. "We're just going to try and find something here first."
"You have fun," Blaze nodded. "Just.. don't destroy the library. Your mother just got it well enough to relax."
"Okay," both Spike and Light said. As Blaze returned upstairs, Amethyst joined in the book reading.
"Tell me, Silver Spoon... has she been feeling better since that day?"
Spike nodded. "I think so. She still seems pretty quiet. Like she's nervous or something."
"Maybe it's just a little strange to her," Light said.
"Pray tell, do you think that Diamond Tiara would try something? As in, do you think she might try to hurt Silver Spoon?"
"I don't think so," Spike said. "Diamond Tiara is too unpopular to try anything now. I don't think even she's desperate enough to try anything."
"Have you seen her moping in class? She just looks at Silver Spoon, then looks back at her desk," Light said. It was true, all of them were beginning to wonder if Diamond was beginning to see something appear on her desktop that was invisible to them. She hardly even talked unless Cheerilee called on her, and she went straight home after school, never even going to Sugarcube Corner.
"I see Silver Spoon look at her sometimes," Spike said. "Like she actually wants to be friends with her again."
The door of the library opened slowly, letting Pipsqueak and Apple Bloom in. Both of their cheeks were burning as they smiled broadly at each other.
The colts looked at the pair with arched eyebrows. "What's up with you two?" Spike asked.
"Did you find anything out about Lady Silver's cutie mark?"
The pair jumped, as if they had just noticed that they were not the only other ones in the library. "Oh, it's nuthin'," Apple Bloom said. It was said casually enough that it aroused suspicion... then again, there was likely little they could have said in any way that wouldn't have aroused suspicion.
Before anypony could act on this, Pip spoke. "Where is th' dame, anywho? You'd think she'd be on time, it's her cutie mark we're workin' on."
As if on cue, the door swung open. Sweetie was seen first, followed by Scootaloo, but behind them was Silver.
"Good day, Sil..." Amethyst began, but he trailed off when he noticed something. There were bandages across one of her front hooves. "Goodness, what happened?"
Silver Spoon blushed. "It... it was Scootaloo's fault."
All eyes turned to her, and the young pegasus blushed. "Well... I was thinking... Silver said one of the chores she did for the Cakes that day was feeding Gummy, so I thought maybe it was for feeding animals. There were some baby birds outside my house, so I flew her up on my back. Then the mother came, and saw us too close to her young..."
Spike head hit his hoof. "Oh, you..."
"Hey, I panicked! You would, too!"
"You could have at least made sure not to drop me," Silver said in a deadpan tone. Amethyst realized it had been the first non-timid thing that she had said since that day that Diamond Tiara struck her.
"Hey, my mom said nothing was broken! Your hoof is just going be banged up for a little while."
"Whatever. Can we do something that's not going to get me killed?"
Inwardly, Silver Spoon knew it was a stupid hope, given what she had seen the group do before. But still, a smile creeped across her face all the same.
"Relax," Apple Bloom said, "Ah'm sure Spike an' Light found somethin' here. They live in a library, after all!"
Both of the colts looked at each other, before rubbing the back of their heads and chuckling awkwardly. "We're stuck here to be honest," Spike finally spoke, looking away and pursing his lips.
"But don't worry, I'm sure something will pop up soon," Light told Silver Spoon, trying to cheer up the already injured filly.
Silver could only nod, groaning a little as she rubbed her forehead. She took a seat on the cushion, twitching slightly as she felt more pain when sitting down. "You really think there's a book that can explain my..." she trailed off as she looked back at her cutie mark, "problem?"
Before any of the foals could answer, Blaze came in whistling with his eyes closed. When he opened them and saw Silver Spoon, he jerked his head slightly before flying over to the filly. "Hey, you okay?" He asked, his voice filled with concern seeing all the bandages.
"Um..." Silver trailed off again, looking away. "Yes."
"Did that Diamond Tiara do this to her?" He asked Light as he turned his head to face backwards to where the colt was sitting.
Scootaloo stepped in. "No Blaze, um..." she shuffled her hooves nervously, looking down in guilt as she retold the tale to the elder stallion.
"Geez Scoots, it's one thing to help a foal learn how to swim again. But throwing her in a shark tank is just too much." He told her, hoping she would understand his analogy. "Let's see if I can get an ice pack for that." He flew off to the kitchen, leaving the foals alone again.
Silver blinked before turning back to the others. "So what should we do now?" She asked them all, curious to see what their next move was.
"Well, if we can't find any information in these books... we might have better luck asking ponies who you met on that day you got your cutie mark." Spike explained to her, his eyes looking upwards in thought. "If that doesn't work..."
Pip cut him off as he waved his hoof. "Let's not think about that now," he said as he reached for a book. "Let's just place our attention on these books for now."
"Right," Apple Bloom replied, walking to the table and taking a book for herself to read. Soon every foal was reading a book on cutie marks, though Silver Spoon and Amethyst had to share one together. Which she didn't mind at all.
Twilight yawned as she woke up from her afternoon nap, something she had picked up from her son Spike a while ago. She covered her mouth, giggling as she blushed. Once she was off the bed, she looked in the mirror to set her hair right again. Opening the door gingerly, she heard the sounds of foals talking downstairs and made her way to the source.
Once she was on the ground floor, she saw all the foals of the Cutie Mark Crusaders with books by their side. She couldn't help but smile, happy to see foals reading in their spare time. She walked towards the group, clearing her throat.
"Hello everypony," she greeted them as she was still smiling.
Spike looked up from his book and gave a soft smile to his mother. "Hey Mom, had a good nap?" he asked her as he grinned, seeing her looking away.
"Yes, thank you."
"And you said napping was a waste of time," Spike recited her words, imitating her voice when she spoke with authority.
Twilight only blushed more when the foals were all laughing at Spike's imitation. "Yes well, enough about that..." she trailed off as she cleared her throat again. "Have you found anything yet?"
Light groaned as he closed his book and planted his face to the book's surface that laid on the table. "No! Like, they always give information about how it's an act of destiny and how you should wait. But they don't explain how to identify what a cutie mark means when you don't remember how you earned it!"
"I'm sure you all will find a reasonable explanation soon," Twilight replied before looking at Silver Spoon and gasping. "What happened to you, Silver?!" She asked with her voice becoming exceptionally louder, but silencing once she covered her mouth.
"Let's just say, we tried and failed to see what her cutie mark meant," Scootaloo grunted, not wanting to repeat the tale.
At that moment, Blaze came back to the room with refreshments for the foals. "Here you go kids, my treat." He placed the tray on a separate table, before floating to Twilight. "Slept well?"
"I did thanks," she responded, wrapping her hooves around his neck and planting her lips to his.
"Eww!" It was only Spike and Light who spoke, when a few months ago, they might all have. No matter how old a pony got, seeing your parents kiss was something that made you uncomfortable.
"Well then, I think you better get going, then," Blaze said. "We're just going to be here telling each other how much we love each other." As the sentence went on, his voice got increasingly sappy, and his lips puckered up into a kissy face directed at Twilight.
In a split second, there were only dust clouds where Spike and Light once were. The others ran out after them, less disgusted but not wanting to see the sappiness either way.
"That was mean," Twilight said.
Blaze shrugged. "Don't tell me you don't want some alone time," he grinned, kissing her on the cheek.
She giggled. "Well, you have been pretty busy with Black..."
He sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, Twi, but--"
She placed a hoof on his mouth. "I understand. Come on, why don't we just go upstairs?" She walked past him, making sure to brush her tail across his chin.
He followed up quickly. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 9 | Twilight hummed as she was busy reading a book up on the history of the Crystal Empire, before the ruling of Sombra was. She saw that there were over a dozen kings and queens who ruled the Empire, each named with a year that they started ruling and a year they were succeeded by their successor.
What troubled Twilight though was the ruler before Sombra. There was no name nor any picture, just the years. She scratched her head in thought, curious to know why this ruler was not named nor had any picture at all. If it were just an hiatus for the succession, there would have been no page at all.
Before Twilight could think of this any further, the door of the library opened and a large white alicorn entered the library. "Good morning, Twilight," Celestia greeted her student, closing the door.
"Princess!" Twilight quickly got up from her cushion and rushed towards Celestia, embracing her and nuzzling the towering alicorn. Celestia returned the nuzzle before Twilight let go of her. "What are you doing here today, Princess?"
Celestia smiled softly as she raised her eyebrows. "Can't I visit my students personally?" She asked rhetorically as she giggled. Her smile slowly disappeared as she furrowed her brow. "Plus I have something to tell you."
Twilight didn't need to ask, but she did. "About Amethyst?"
"Am I that predictable?"
"Just with me and your family," Twilight giggled, but a part of her felt a little nervous. I'm not crossing the line now am I?!
Celestia laughed as she nuzzled her student again. When she raised her head, she took a sniff as a certain aroma was lingering in the air. "Is that darjeeling tea?"
"Oh yes," Twilight looked back at the pot that held the brewed tea. "Blaze got it from a travelling merchant who came from Marwari," she looked back at Princess Celestia. "Want to have some with me?"
"I would love to," Celestia replied gratefully as she made her way to the table and took a seat on an extra large pillow. She took a sip, marvelling in the taste of the tea. It's been forever since I had such amazing tea. Her gaze landed on the book that Twilight was reading and she cocked an eyebrow. "I see you are studying the history of the Empire."
Twilight looked down on the book, shrugging. "Cadance sent me that book since all her scholars back at the Empire were occupied with others. It's fascinating, but this page troubles me." She pointed to the page showing the enigmatic ruler.
Celestia scrunched her lips, blinking profoundly as her eyes became moist. She quickly regained her composure, taking another sip of the tea. "Interesting..."
"What's wrong?"
"It's... nothing, really. The Crystal Empire's fall was a painful time for me. It was... a failure that I've carried with me."
Twilight tilted her head. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Celestia shook her head. "Not right now. I'm here to talk about Amethyst. I take it Rarity has explained to you the situation with him and the Empire?"
"Yes... are you going to take him?"
"Not if I can help it," Celestia said. She sighed. "Rarity has told me. He has friends, a school, a family... I truly wish to let him stay here. But the vizier of the Crystal Empire is insisting he be returned. She fears the ponies will revolt otherwise."
"So, what are you going to do?"
She took a deep breath. "Twilight... I think Amethyst should take a trip up to the Empire. Just a visit, mind, and at least take a tour around his homeland."
"...Yes, I think that's a good idea," Twilight said, though it was a resigned agreement. "Have you told Rarity yet?"
"No. I wanted to talk to you about something first. I think... I think you're going to need to go with her. And the other Element Bearers as well."
Twilight blinked. "Why?"
"I have a feeling. I think you're going to need them with you."
Twilight shivered. "Sombra?"
"No," Celestia said, sounding almost disappointed. "But the vizier, Shimmering Ruby. There was something about her. She almost seemed... fake."
"Fake?"
"Yes... she was friendly about everything, but it seemed manufactured. I don't know what it is. But I failed the Crystal Empire once..."
Twilight reached her hoof to place it on Celestia's. "Please Princess, you did what you had to do back then. We can't dwell on the past, we can only do what we can for the future." Twilight told her as she looked Princess Celestia in the eye.
Celestia could only nod as she sighed and smiled. "You're right," she said as she pulled her hoof away from Twilight's. "But onto the Crystal Empire's concern, I need you on your highest alert, Twilight."
"Yes Princess," she replied, taking a sip of her tea before another thought came to her mind. "What about our foals? They are all friends with Amethyst and I'm certain that they will want to come along."
"As long as they are looked after for, I see no reason why they can't be allowed to join their friend." Celestia said as she looked down on her tea cup. "It may also help Amethyst, having his friends to support him over there."
Twilight sighed in relief, knowing full well how the foals would object not to be able to join their friend. "That's good, I'll tell them when they come by here after school."
"Oh? Are they researching for a project?"
"No, they're helping a friend find out what her cutie mark means," Twilight explained as she levitated one of the book pertaining to the cutie mark. "Apparently, their newest friend Silver Spoon, has her cutie mark but she doesn't know what she did when she attained it."
Celestia tapped her chin with her hoof humming. "That is rather rare, not knowing the method of how you gained your cutie mark."
"Right," Twilight said as she placed the book back on the table. "Although, aside from that, I can only imagine her wanting to come along too."
"Oh?"
Twilight shrugged. "Since she has joined the club now, she always hangs out with Amethyst more than the others." Twilight giggled, remember how the two shared a book with each other.
"Well I'm glad Amethyst has such good friends as your son and the others," Celestia commented as she sighed in relief. "Twilight, when you are going to the Crystal Empire, I want Blaze to stay close to you and your friends."
Hearing this, Twilight jerked her head back a little. "You don't trust him, Princess?"
"On the contrary, I wouldn't have any other pony looking after you." Celestia grinned as she leaned into her student's ear. "He is quite a catch."
Twilight blushed deeply. "I suppose..."
"Is he a good kisser?"
That turned Twilight scarlet. "Princess! I... I..."
She giggled. "No need to be embarrassed. Enjoying one another physically is an important part of a relationship... not the most important, not by a long shot, but important. Besides, I would hope that he knew how to please you..."
Twilight looked like she wanted to crawl under a rock somewhere.
Celestia giggled. "I'm teasing you, Twilight. I was simply hoping the two of you could spend some time with the rest of your family. You, and your friends, and the foals. They're all an important part of your life."
Twilight blushed. "They are..."
"So... tell me about Silver Spoon. I don't think I've ever met her..."
Amethyst sighed as she helped Silver wash the last bits of mud off of her. The Cakes had been nice enough to let them use the hose outside their shop, thank goodness. Apple Bloom sat a foot away, rubbing the back of her head. "Alright, I guess that one was a bit of a stretch..."
Silver couldn't help but narrow her eyes at her. "You think? How could you get a catapult out of a spoon?"
"Well, they both scoop stuff, and you can fling stuff outta a spoon..." She trailed off when she realized how ridiculous that sounded.
"Fear not, Silver," Amethyst assured. "We still have many possibilities to try."
She huffed. "Like what?"
At that, Scootaloo jumped in. "Well, there's playing the spoons. I've seen ponies do that a few times."
"But I didn't do anything like that the day I got it!"
"Well... do you have anything left to lose?"
Silver Spoon sat in silence. "...No," she admitted. "Alright, how do I do that?"
Spike grabbed two spoons with his magic, each spoon placed together but facing the opposite way. "Like this." He said and started to tap the spoons on his knee in a fast repetition, placing his one forehoof above the spoons and going faster and faster. The clattering of the spoons that collided with his knee and hoof created a melodious effect, on par with an instrument. Spike changed his position to have the spoons tap on his lips, creating a new tone that echoed throughout the club house.
"That's neat!" Sweetie complimented Spike when he was done. "Where did you learn that?"
"Uncle Shiny used to do this trick all the time when we were all living with my grandparents still," Spike replied, giving the spoons to Silver. "Why don't you try it out?"
Silver blinked, looking down on the spoons with skepticism. She cocked her eyebrow as she pushed her lips to one side. "I don't know..."
"Well what's there to lose?" Scootaloo asked her rhetorically, taking a seat in the background to spectate what Silver would do now.
Seeing all her new friends looking on in anticipation, Silver sighed before grabbing the spoons in her mouth and placing her one knee forward. "Okay, here goes." Silver started to bang the spoons to her knee, albeit slowly as she could not go any faster. She started to lift her one hoof up, but started to sweat as she concentrated more. Without warning, she lost balance and tripped. The side of her body landed on the floor, with the spoons clattering on the ground as they were free from the filly's mouth. "Ow..."
"Are you alright?" Amethyst reached for Silver as he helped her up from the ground.
Silver blushed for a moment before shaking her head with her eyes closed. "No, looks like that isn't my talent."
Scootaloo groaned as she planted her hoof to her forehead. "This is getting us nowhere!" Scootaloo yelled out as she furrowed her brow. "Can't you remember anything from that day when you said you got your cutie mark?!"
"The only thing I remember is helping other ponies out with their daily stuff!" Silver retorted as she gave a withering glare to Scootaloo. "Honestly, I don't remember doing dangerous and stupid stuff to get my cutie mark."
"Nothing stood out? Nothing?"
"No. I was just helping ponies like I always do, and--"
There was a sudden stop. Silver was looking straight ahead. The others quickly saw why.
Diamond Tiara was a fair distance away, far enough that she likely couldn't have heard anything they said to her if they didn't shout. Her body was facing the side, she hadn't been heading toward them. Her head, however, was facing them, looking straight at Silver Spoon. And she was looking back.
For a few seconds, the pair just stared at each other, looks of uncertainty on their faces.
Then, Diamond Tiara kept walking, turning away from her former friend. She looked at the ground, studying the rocks and dirt.
"That's a relief," Scootaloo said. "I really don't want to put up with her again."
"I guess..." Silver spoon said.
"You guess?" Scootaloo asked. "You guess? After the way she treated you? She hit you for not wanting to bully us. How can you just guess?"
"We were friends for a long time," she said. "She wasn't always like that..."
"She was mean to us."
"So was I."
"Yeah, well..." Scootaloo couldn't find the answer. "Look, don't worry. If she's really sorry, she'll come to you, right?"
"Well..."
"Don't worry about it. Come on, we have a lot to try and--"
"Amethyst!"
The voice caused everypony to perk up. Rarity was running toward the the group, looking alarmed. "There you are! Quick, Princess Celestia is in town and she's requested an audience."
"Princess Celestia?" The entire group of foals asked in unison.
Rarity nodded and smiled. "In fact, all of you need to come quickly." She gestured to all the foals of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
The foals all shrugged as they looked to each other. "Very well," Amethyst answered her and with that, all the ponies were on their way to the library.
Once Rarity had brought Amethyst and the others to the library, Celestia had explained to Amethyst about his summons. She was careful to avoid certain information from the colt, namely her suspicion of the vizier.
"So there's no word of my mother at all?" Amethyst asked Celestia as he clutched his locket, looking upwards to face Celestia's eyes.
Celestia sighed, lowering her head to Amethyst's level. "Nothing has come up yet," she explained to Amethyst, her lips scrunched when she saw the foal looking down with moist eyes. "But maybe when you arrive, there might be news waiting for you."
"As long as we can come along," Spike chimed in as he stepped forward. "He's not going anywhere unless we are going with him."
"Of course, Spike," Celestia answered him with a soft smile as she raised her head. "That's why I'm all giving you all permission to join Amethyst on his trip."
The foals all cheered, the fillies especially with Sweetie Belle mentioning how she always wanted to see the Crystal Empire. All except one. Silver Spoon stood in the background, feeling intimidated by Celestia's towering figure.
Celestia took notice of Silver and cocked her brow. "Excuse me, are you Silver Spoon?" She asked curiously, with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders making way to have Celestia face her.
"Y-yes, Princess."
"Twilight told me a lot about you," Celestia smiled fondly as she lowered her head to meet Silver's eyes, but she grew concerned when Silver backed away slightly. "Are you alright?"
"Oh yes Princess! I'm fine!" Silver started to sweat a little, chuckling nervously as she shuffled her hooves.
Celestia moved her head forward, nearly touching Silver's muzzle. "Please do not be frightened of me, Silver."
"I'm sorry, Princess," she said timidly, "I just never met somepony of royalty before."
"Oh really? Nopony? Well then, this should be a treat for you. I was hoping that you and your friends would accompany Twilight and the other adults to the Crystal Empire."
"Thank you Princess, but why?"
"These are hard times for Amethyst. He's going to need some friends easily get through them. That's the role I'm hoping you and your friends will fulfill. Is there anyone else you'd like to invite?"
Silver Spoon shifted. She looked at the Princess, opened her mouth, closed it, open it again, and still couldn't find the words. "Well Princess I... I..."
"Don't be shy, Silver," the Princess assured, "What is you want?"
"I'm not really sure it's what I want. I... I've been thinking a lot about something, and I'm not sure what to do about it."
"I don't suppose this has anything to do with your friend, Diamond Tiara, would it?"
Silver Spoon's eyes widened at that,her cheeks began to warm from blushing. "H - how did you know that?"
"I had Twilight tell me all about you. I hope you'll forgive my intrusion, but I like knowing about all my student's friends, and the friends of her children. Is there something about that that troubles you?"
"You're not still worried about her, are you?" Scootaloo asked. "She hit you, for..." She trailed off, thinking it likely wasn't best to add, " for Celestia's sake" when the Sun Princess herself was present, at least until she knew for sure her stance on the matter.
"Yes, from what I've heard, Diamond Tiara has been quite a nuisance to all of you for quite a while, and I'm not going to act like forgiving her would be easy thing to do, especially after everything you've been through at such a young age. But that's the thing about doing what's right, it's not always the easiest path."
"But she's been so mean to us!"
Celestia had wondered, who would say that, and was pleased that she guessed correctly that it would be Scootaloo. "Yes, perhaps," Celestia said, "and I will not lie when I say that some ponies will never change. But you'll never know for sure unless you give them that chance. Have you ever had a non-antagonistic encounter with her?"
" Well...no," Scootaloo admitted.
"Well then, perhaps it's time." She summoned a large ball of tickets, which danced in the air for a moment. Then, one floated down to each of the foals, except for Silver Spoon, who received two. "I want you to give the second ticket to Diamond Tiara."
Silver Spoon nodded meekly as she took hold of the tickets with her mouth. "I will try, Princess."
Diamond Tiara was walking aimlessly around the market of Ponyville. Even though she had a purse filled with bits, she did not want to buy anything from any of the stalls. She stopped at a culinary stall and saw a few utensils, one of them being a silver spoon. She sighed and continued walking, biting her lip as she looked down to the dirt on the ground.
Why am I feeling like this?!
"Diamond! Diamond Tiara!"
Hearing her name being called out, her ears perked as she lifted her head and saw a familiar filly running straight to her. A soft smile started to form but was quickly dissipated when she remembered what happened between her and Silver Spoon. A frown started to appear when she saw seven more foals coming from behind Silver.
When Silver came to a halt before her, she lowered her head as she was catching her breath. When she looked up to see Diamond's eyes, she dared to beam, but could only muster a soft smile. "There you are!"
"Yeah, I'm here," Diamond Tiara answered her flatly.
"I want to give you something..." Silver looked back and Spike levitated the ticket to Silver. Silver grabbed it with her teeth and looked back at Diamond. "See--"
Diamond Tiara huffed as she snorted. "What!? You want to gloat at me for winning something?!" she sneered at her Silver, glaring daggers at her.
"No," Silver replied, tilting her head as her eyes turned moist. "You see--"
"What I see is you hanging out with these losers and actually having fun, smearing it all in my face!"
The others looked uneasy as they turned to each other. Amethyst scrunched his lips as he took a few steps forward. "Now look here Diamond, all Silver wants to do is to give you--"
"Give me what? What is it?"
"I... I just wanted..." She placed the spare ticket on the ground and stepped back with the hints of nervousness in her body language. "Amethyst has to go back to the Crystal Empire for a while, and the Princess has invited all of us up there."
"Oh, I see," she said, advancing on Silver Spoon, " you came here to brag about it. You wanted to just rub it in my face, didn't you?"
"No, no, that's not it at all! I just wanted to offer you a spare ticket. The Princess gave me an extra one just to give to you."
Diamond Tiara just stopped in her tracks and blinked. "What?"
"Yeah, you always said you want to see the Crystal Empire, so I thought... Well, now's as good a time as any. We could..."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Because we're friends, and..."
"No, don't try and lie to me!" That sentence stunned Silver into silence. " Nopony just up and forgives some pony like that! Why are you?"
"Because we used to be friends. We've been through a lot together, and... I want us to be friends again. Please?"
Diamond Tiara stopped for a minute, in deep thought. Silver Spoon took it as a sign to go on. "I miss all the things we used to do together. even though I love my new friends, I really wish my old friend was there with them. They're really pretty cool when you know them. I think you'd actually get along well with them."
"Wait, they're coming too? I'll have to spend hours on the train with those losers? No way!"
"But Diamond..."
"I said no! Now get away from me!"
Silver Spoon just looked at her old friend for a moment. Then, she sighed. "Is it really worth it?"
Diamond Tiara blinked. "What?"
"Is it really worth staying mad at me, or at my friends?"
Hearing Silver's question, Diamond Tiara was silenced. She simply closed her mouth firmly, not uttering a word in retaliation. She lowered her head a little, still remaining eye contact with Silver.
Silver placed the ticket on the ground and sighed. "If you want to come along with us, there's your ticket," she said plainly, turning around and walking past her new friends without uttering a farewell to Diamond.
Amethyst furrowed his brow slightly as he caught up to Silver. "Are you alright?" he asked her, looking to her face's side as they were still walking away from Diamond.
"I'll be fine," Silver replied softly, though her eyes were leaking as she kept on walking away. She closed them slowly, not realizing that she was leaning on Amethyst with her head touching his neck.
Feeling her head and tears on his neck, Amethyst's cheeks burned brightly as he looked nervously around with his eyes. He sighed as he nuzzled Silver, comforting the filly and seeing the others simply nodding with soft smiles on their faces.
"I will see if my librarians at the Royal Library have any books pertaining to your research, my little foals," Celestia informed the Cutie Mark Crusaders as she was exiting the library. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Twilight." She nuzzled her faithful student.
Twilight beamed as Celestia rose her head. "Same, Princess." She nodded with eyes closed, still smiling.
"Tell Blaze I say 'hello' and--" Celestia paused before she could say two more words. Sun Run. For how many months now, she has used the words to send shivers down the stallion's spine all in the name of good fun. Yet there's a limit to teasing somepony, and downright terrorizing them.
"Tell him what, Princess?" Twilight blinked, cocking her brow as she tilted her head in confusion.
Celestia chuckled as she shook her head. "Tell him also about the trip to the Crystal Empire."
"Of course, Princess. He is going, after all."
"I'm sure," she said, smiling at Twilight. "As to that, your mother wanted me to deliver a message to Blaze. I'm sorry I could not deliver it myself, but perhaps you can deliver it for me?"
"Of course. But... what would my mother want with Blaze?" Twilight asked curiously, cocking her brow.
Celestia leaned over and whispered in her ear. "She wants more grandkids. By the time she sees him next, there better be a ring on your horn and a bun in your oven."
Twilight turned as red as her coltfriend. "P-Princess!"
"It's not my message," she said, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Though honestly, I think..."
"I-I'll pass it along, Princess," she said quickly, turning to the foals. "All of you better get home, now. Now!"
Jumping, the foals scattered off, hearing Celestia's laughter even as they trotted away. Silver Spoon ended up next to Amethyst, and the two trotted in silence before speaking.
"Isn't your home that way?" Silver noted.
"It is," he said, briefly noting that they had taken for granted that Rarity and Sweetie's home was his as well. "But I worried for you. You seemed shaken when you came back."
"I... I'm just worried for Diamond. I'm really hoping it will work out. But she seemed mad. I..." She blushed. "I'm sorry. You probably think I'm stupid for all this."
"I do not. I think you are a wonderful mare for caring so deeply about your friend."
Silver Spoons cheeks warmed. "Um... thank you."
"Please, Silver, you must allow me to treat you once we are in the Crystal Empire. There were lovely places. I want to see those places with you. Will you allow me?"
Silver Spoon felt her whole face heat up. "I... um, I..."
Amethyst tilted his head. "Is that a problem?"
"No!" Silver covered her mouth quickly, giggling nervously. "I mean, no. I would love to."
"Excellent. I'm sure you'll love it." His smile slowly vanished as he lowered his head. "Just hope they are still there... what with Sombra's reign and all."
Silver Spoon smiled nonetheless as she hugged Amethyst. "Whatever awaits us at the Crystal Empire, I'm sure it will be great still," she told him soothingly, which seemed to cheer Amethyst a little. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"I hope so," Amethyst replied, leaning into Silver's cheek and placing a gentle kiss to it. "Goodnight, Silver." He bowed slightly before dashing off, hoping that Silver would not see the redness of his face.
Even when he was gone, Silver Spoon stood stock still where she and Amethyst spoke. Slowly, she turned around to face her door and opened it to let herself in. Once she was inside her house, she galloped to her room upstairs. Shutting her door, she jumped on her bed squealing out loud as she continued to bounce on her bed.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" She continued to chant those three words for a few minutes before she took hold of her pony-sized teddy bear and held it close to her. "He kissed me!" she whispered excitedly, her cheeks shining brightly.
A knock at the door brought Silver out of her jubilating moment. She quickly straightened herself as she got out from her bed. "Yes?" She called out, and the door opened to reveal an earth pony stallion with navy mane and white coat coming in to her room. He wore a tuxedo that still revealed his wine glass cutie mark.
"Lady Silver, is everything in order here?" he asked her with a posh accent, as he looked down on Silver.
Silver blinked before nodding. "Everything is alright, Clear Glass," she told her butler, failing to lower her smile even a little.
Clear cocked his brow, seeing Silver beaming. "You must have had quite an eventful day?"
"You could say that..." Silver muttered, looking away from Clear.
"So who is the lucky colt to have entered your life?"
Silver's head rocketed upwards, only seeing Clear's small smile. "H-how..." Silver lowered her head, embarrassed by being found out. "How did you--"
"My dear Lady," he walked up to her and raised her head gently with his hoof. "I have been in service to your family since you were in diapers." This only elevated Silver's embarrassment, but Clear simply continued. "Apologies for the image that must be present in your mind, but what I am saying is that I too happen to pick up on what you seem to be thinking and doing in your life."
She rubbed her hoof on her bed. "It's Amethyst. The crystal unicorn?"
He smiled. "I should have known. You've talked about him a lot, haven't you? He sounds like quite the gentlecolt.
She blushed deeper. "I wonder if Daddy will even notice..."
"I imagine he will," he said with a dry tone. "That would be quite the thing to get the family moved up in society, wouldn't it? His little filly, married to the last crystal unicorn left." He sighed. "Yes, I think your father will be quite pleased."
Silver Spoon felt her ears droop.
Clear Glass sighed. "My apologies, Lady Silver, I know that's a painful subject for you. But I feel it's best I not get your hopes up on these kinds of things. I'd change it if I could, Celestia help me, I would, you know that."
"I know you would," she said sadly. "I've been invited up to the Crystal Empire. Amethyst has to go on a trip and the Princess got tickets for all of us. Will you let me go?"
"The Princess herself? Did you meet her?"
"Yeah! She was real nice! She gave me advice, and helped me talk to Diamond, and even promised to help me figure out my cutie mark!"
He smiled. He had heard tales of the Princess's kindness, and was glad to hear they were true. "Well then, one hardly denies a request from the Princess. Even Discord himself would likely accept one, even if he would spend the entire trip planning how to prank her and get away with it. So I'll let you go."
"Thank you," she said, hugging him. "Maybe I can find my cutie mark's meaning once I'm there."
He smiled. "You know the first thing I noticed about your cutie mark? The heart. I thought it was appropriate. I've seen what a sweet filly you are. I've always hoped you would find happiness through that someday."
"Well... what do you think it means?"
"That is something all foals discover for themselves. I'm sure you'll find your answers soon."
Silver Spoon drooped. "I hate that answer."
Clear Glass sighed as he brought her in closer to hug her. "I know you dislike it, any foal would. Once you have found the answer, you will truly know who you are, Silver."
Hearing those kinds words, Silver Spoon smiled and returned the hug. "Thank you, Clear." She let go and giggled as she beamed.
"Now, I suggest you wash up. Supper will be ready in ten minutes. Your favorite, tomato bisque."
"Thanks, Clear." She hugged him again and rushed off to the bathroom, leaving behind the stalwart stallion.
Clear shook his head as he chuckled, making his way downstairs. Once he set foot on the ground below, he looked upwards to where Silver was. No smile was present on his muzzle when a single tear traveled from his grayish-blue eyes. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 10 | Taking care of eight foals was work enough when they were all in one place, even with nearly as many adults to watch them. When going to a trip to a remote location that was sure to be filled with distractions, it proved to be a nightmarish prospect.
This is why they were grateful that they seemed subdued when they arrived at the train station that evening. Silver Spoon was delivered there by her butler, of all things, who made sure Twilight had her medical information and emergency contacts before bidding them goodbye, but not before giving her a look that Twilight was sure meant that he wanted to keep an eye on her.
She had spent the entire wait staring into town, not hoping Clear Glass would come back, but hoping Diamond Tiara would show up, saddlebags on her sides, ready to go. There were so many ways she was picturing it, most of which involved her marching up haughtily, claiming she was coming just to see the Empire, or acting like she was the one who had forgiven Silver, or perhaps like nothing had happened between them at all. A small part hoped there would be a genuine apology, but she was thinking it would be too much to ask.
"Come on, you two, everypony else is already inside."
Silver Spoon gave a start, not just at Twilight's insistence, but at the fact that Amethyst was waiting behind her.
"Silver," Amethyst said, "I know you wish deeply for it, but the train is scheduled to leave in a mere ten minutes. If she were to arrive, I believe she would have done it by now."
"But..." she said longingly, looking back at the buildings.
"Silver... I'm sorry, truly I am. But I do not believe she is coming. I believe it's time we took off."
Silver looked for a few more moments, then sighed. "Okay."
It was a somber walk onto the train, even among the other foals, who had already set up their pillows, blankets, and snacks for the slumber party they were going to have on their way there.
"Hold the train," a new voice said from outside. "Hold."
Silver Spoon's ears pricked up. She knew that voice.
"I'm sorry sir, these cars are reserved for guests of the Princess."
"My daughter is one of them. Show him your ticket, Diamond."
Silver Spoon raced to the door of the car like a shot. She couldn't believe it.
Standing just at the entrance of the car was Diamond Tiara. She had her trademark tiara on her head with a saddle bag that was adored with pictures of her cutie mark. She looked up to see Silver Spoon standing before her, quickly lowering her head before turning away to the outside where her father Filthy Rich was standing.
"Bye Diamond, have fun!" He called out to her, waving to her as the conductor blew on his whistle to signal the train to move. Once it started moving, Diamond waved to her father before going inside the car and closing the door behind her. Once the lock of the door met the hinges, Diamond turned around just in time to be brought into a bear hug by Silver. Diamond's eyes widened in shock for a moment before dilating and closing slowly. She reached for her friend with her forelegs and returned the hug.
Silver sniffed before letting go the hug and beamed with moist eyes. "I'm glad you came." She told Diamond softly, sniffing again to hold back the tears.
"I-I'm glad I could come with you..." Diamond trailed off, looking away from Silver's eyes. "Sorry for being such a jerk."
"Well, Clear always said to me 'Let bygones be bygones'," Silver cheerfully replied, dragging Diamond Tiara off into the corridors of the car. "Come on! Let's go where the others are, we're having a slumber party!"
Diamond resisted for a moment. "You think they'll really just accept me to that?" she asked skeptically.
"Hey, we invited you to join us on this trip and there's no way you sleeping a car alone!" Silver pulled on Diamond with all her might. "Now c'mon! We missing out on the fun already!"
Twilight sighed in relief as she rested her head on the pillow of her bed. A broad smile was present on her face after she peered her head just enough to see Diamond Tiara arrive with her father and entering the car where the foals were in.
"Looks like everything's worked out after all, huh?" Blaze commented as he loaded their saddle bags in the closets and closing them.
"Yeah," Twilight replied before her smile vanished slightly. "I just hope this trip goes off without any surprises... nasty surprises, I mean."
Blaze sat on Twilight's bed, turning his head sideways to meet her eyes. "Well, the chances of things going peaceful are very slim since all of us are going."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Twilight cocked her brow at her coltfriend.
"Trouble seems to follow us around," Blaze said. "I bet by the end of this we end up with somepony else trying to kill us."
"...True," Twilight sighed. "How'd this all start? Before we got those Elements, Equestria was a peaceful place. The last thing that happened was the invasion, and that happened when Professor Inkwell was still young. Then, NightMare Moon returned, and it seems there's something new every year."
"Got me," Blaze said. He draped a wing around her and pulled her close. "Nothing we can't handle though, right?"
She smiled, though it was a weak smile, brought on through worry. "I guess..." She shifted and pressed her back up against his chest. He took this as an invitation to wrap his other wing, and both forelegs around her. "Still... sometimes I wonder if we just got lucky. If even one thing went wrong, we would have died..."
"It's the same for the Princesses... defeating Discord the first time, sealing Sombra... it would only take one of those guys winning once to doom us. But it hasn't happened yet. Don't think it will, either. Think the Creator smiles on us."
"Never thought I'd hear you be spiritual."
"Guess it's everything good that's happened. Getting rescued, meeting you... it's perfect. Even if we have to put up with unpleasant ponies."
Twilight smiled. "Don't worry. I'll protect you."
"I think that's supposed to be the other way around..."
"In your dreams, handsome," she smiled, planting a kiss on his lips.
"You foals okay in here?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, Rarity," the response droned.
"Rarity," Sweetie said, "I thought you told me adult ponies don't jump on beds."
Rarity looked at her sister, perplexed by the random statement. "Of course they don't."
"But Twilight and Blaze do!"
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah," Spike said. "Me and Light hear creaking bed springs coming from their bedroom sometimes, and they come out all tired. When we ask them what they're doing, that's what they say."
Rarity's face turned crimson red as her lips started to quiver, with her eyes twitching. She forced a smile on her face and started to giggled nervously as she looked around. "They're just playing a game... but I'll tell them to be more quiet. Bye!" With that, Rarity zoomed out of the car, leaving the foals behind to ponder her words.
Sweetie just shrugged as she turned back to her friends. "So, what should we do now?" she asked curiously, not knowing what to do for fun on a locomotive.
"Well, how about we play a board game?" Light suggested as he raised his hoof in the air to gain the others' attention.
"Last Ah checked, there's no board game here," Apple Bloom stated as she frowned to the suggestion.
"Check again!" Spike replied and pulled out a board game from his saddle bag, entitled 'Crusaders'.
Pip beamed at the board game Spike pulled out, taking hold of it and inspecting it thoroughly. "Nice! Where'd you get this?"
"Mom got it for me when we were in Canterlot, said we'd have fun with it in case we were on long trips like these."
"What's it about?" Scootaloo asked, peeking her head over Pip's shoulder to get a better look at the game.
Spike placed the game on the floor, with the foals encircling it. "Well in this game, you start out as a 'Crusader' and with one plot of land on the board. You roll two dice to move forward and conquer more land, each land holding certain riches and certain amount of ponies who join your cause. The goal is to reach the center of the board to gain the 'Ultimate Treasure'."
"Cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed, opening the board game and inspecting the contents. Her smile quickly dissipated when she saw how complex the game really was. "This isn't like 'Snakes and Ladders', isn't it?"
"Far from it," Spike said with a smirk.
Spike began setting up the pieces, taking longer than many thought a board game should take. Scootaloo was the only one to voice these complaints, which wouldn't have been a surprise on most days, but everypony present continued to look at Diamond Tiara, expecting her to, at any moment, crack a joke about what a nerdy game it was or that Spike was too slow.
Diamond was well aware of the glances she kept getting, stopping just short of outright stares. While she had always loved being the center of attention before, here they just made her uneasy. Even with Silver Spoon at her side, patting her on the back and assuring her that nopony was mad at her, she couldn't help but feel like she had been sent into a manticore cave unprotected.
"Only four play at a time," Spike said. "Who's it going to be?"
"I'm in," Scootaloo said, surprising nopony. "And you better be playing, Spike, I want a real challenge." That eliminated Light and Sweetie, neither of which wanted to play against their significant others.
"Right then, I'll be player number three," Pip said. "Who thinks they can take me?"
There was a pause. Then, after considering a moment, Silver Spoon raised her hoof just enough so nopony noticed, then pushed into Diamond Tiara's back, sending her forward.
"Well, looks like you're in," Spike said, "here's your development cards, and figures."
"...Thanks," Diamond said. It had been the first word she had said since getting on the train. She looked around. Spike seemed accepting, if a little wary, and Pip was trying his best to focus on his own pieces and pretend one of his opponents wasn't Diamond. Scootaloo, however, was giving her a glare so intense it seemed as if it could turn her to stone. Giving a gulp, she returned to studying her cards.
Spike blathered off the rules, and in that time the remaining Crusaders took positions at the side of whoever they were rooting for. It was only after the rules were read that Diamond realized that she was the only one with two ponies in her corner. Silver Spoon was at her side, she had hoped that, but Amethyst was there as well.
A week ago, she might have bragged about this, but she merely returned to her work. As long as she looked at the board and her cards, she couldn't look at the stares.
They all rolled and Pip got the highest, so he got to place his settlement first. Spike was next, then it was Diamond's turn.
Diamond eyed each of her opponents and their spectators, and felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead as she swore they were eying her with contempt. She cleared her throat as she rolled her dice. "Well, it sure is nice going to the Crystal Empire..." she trailed off, looking to each corner if she got a reaction.
"Mum told me how beautiful it is, and how shining the ponies are there," Pip muttered as he rolled his dice and moved his pieces.
Scootaloo grinned as she rolled a high number and claimed a few assets from the game. "The thing I want to see is the palace and those dark caves, must be so cool down there!"
"Not really..." Spike trailed off, shivering in the memory of when he was in the empire with his mother and encountering the dark crystal doorway and defeating Sombra. "The thing that's really cool though is the castle and the stadiums."
"How would you know of the stadiums?" Light asked curiously, as he leaned his head forward over Scootaloo's back.
Spike rolled his eyes as groaned. "You do remember the pictures Mom and Blaze brought back together?"
Light's eyes widened in realization before smiling sheepishly. "Right..."
"Well..." Diamond chimed in, silencing the group of foals. "I'm sure wherever we go, it will be fun at least."
"Hmmm..." Amethyst lowered his head a little after his role, looking down on the ground. He let out a sigh before looking up to face the others, who were all looking at him with interest and concern.
"What's wrong, Amethyst?"
Amethyst just shook his head, letting out a laugh as he forced a smile. "I'm just curious to know what the empire looks like right now."
Spike scratched his head as he scrunched his lips. "Well, I'm sure it doesn't look much different. Well, except for ponies being happy now, what with the Crystal Heart being found and purified," Spike told, smiling smugly for a moment as he remembered how he was a catalyst in saving the day back then. His smile vanished as he saw Amethyst's mood not lighting up.
Before any foal could speak, Amethyst just chuckled a little as he rolled his dice and moved his pieces. "Whatever has happened, I'm glad I have all of you coming with me."
There was a smile, and the game continued. Nopony spoke, but it seemed like everything was okay in that instance.
After thirty minutes of playing, all nervousness was forgotten. Diamond Tiara was talking like there had never been any strife between her and the others, Scootaloo reserved her glares for whenever one of her opponents got the upper hoof, and all in all nopony really cared who won.
After the game, it was cards, then dice. Game after game was played, until finally, the lights were turned off, and they fell asleep without a care.
Shimmering Ruby didn't sleep that night. She couldn't hold in all her anticipation. It wasn't as if she needed to sleep, she hadn't since entering Sombra's employ. All the same, she downed three pots of coffee to avoid suspicion.
She stood out on her balcony with her spyglass, looking in the distance. She could see it, see the train coming closer. Carrying the last crystal unicorn.
Her prize.
She laughed. It was like a foal on Hearth's Warming morning. Soon enough, it would be time.
Soon enough. |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 11 | The whistle of the train rang throughout the attached cars of the locomotive, waking its passengers to a new morning and a new destination. Amethyst Craft did not need to be woken by the whistle, seeing as he didn't enter the dreamscape with his friends.
He sat up straight on the top bunker, looking at each of his friends who were stirring from their peaceful slumber. Amethyst let out a sigh as he looked out the window, seeing the Crystal Empire from a distance.
Home sweet home...
As the thought entered his tiresome mind, he felt a bump on his bunker and looked down to see the others finally awake and looking up at him. "Hey Amethyst! Get ready, we're almost there!" Spike told him excitedly, beaming with the others. Surprisingly enough, Diamond Tiara was smiling with the others too.
Amethyst shrugged and jumped off his bed, landing with a thud on the ground below. He sighed and walked to the bathroom, preparing himself for the day.
The others blinked before looking at each other, concern and confusion flushed on their face. "Was it something I said?" Spike asked Sweetie Belle, cocking his brow as he looked back to the bathroom door.
Silver Spoon scrunched her lips and blinked a few times as she tilted her head. "I hope he's okay," she thought out loud before turning to Apple Bloom. "But he seemed so thrilled last night... what happened?"
"Dunno..." Apple Bloom trailed off as she shrugged. She turned to Diamond Tiara, arching her brow suspiciously at her. "You didn't do anything did you?"
"What?! No!" Diamond Tiara retorted as she pouted her lower lip. "I haven't done anything to him whatsoever on this trip, okay?" She snipped at Apple Bloom, who raised her hoof to her.
"Woah there. Just making sure."
Diamond Tiara just frowned as she looked away, meeting Silver's eyes who were staring at Diamond's intensely. "Not you too?"
Silver quickly waved her hooves as she shook her head. "No no! I didn't mean--" She paused before she sighed. "I just hope he'll be okay."
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Pipsqueak answered dismissively, walking to the door leading to the dining car. "Now, what say we lads and lasses go and munch on our breakfast?"
"Sounds good to me," Spike said. "I think that's all we have time for before we get to the Empire anyway."
"I don't like this," Shining Armor said.
It wasn't the wait that he and his wife were being forced to endure that Shining Armor was referring to, though both were anxious to see Twilight and her family again. Cadance looked at him with understanding, she had no need to ask what the "this" was.
"I know what you mean."
Shining frowned. "She's just gotten... weird lately. Ever since she found out about Amethyst."
"It's not just that," Cadance said. She gave a grunt, then clutched her now swollen belly. "Sorry, the foal kicked again. You remember when we first came up here? She was nowhere in sight until after Sombra was gone."
"Everypony said she was legitimate," he said. "Was helping to overthrow Sombra. Still doesn't add up."
"...Maybe. I don't know." She looked at the tracks. The train was close. "It could just be nothing. A lot of the ponies are pretty loopy after being away for so long. Sombra messed a lot of ponies up. Auntie hasn't had to organize so many psychiatrists since Discord."
"This is different. She seems bent on getting Amethyst back here. She nearly had a heart attack when I told her we wouldn't be holding a grand procession for him." He looked back at the long carriage, enough for all the guests. "I don't care what she says, that would be a PR nightmare if he decided to stay in Ponyville."
Cadance didn't speak. The train was screeching to a halt now. "Well, don't bring it up to him now."
The door opened, and the first one out was Spike, running to his extended family. "Aunt Cadie! Uncle Shiny!"
"There's my favorite nephew!" Cadance said, planting a kiss on Spike's cheek. She looked over at Light. "And there's my other favorite nephew! Come on."
Light was a bit surprised, but came forward, and Cadance gave him a kiss as well. "Come on, feel your baby cousin kick."
"Um..." he trailed off, looking back at Blaze who came out of the car with the others and was smiling broadly and nodded. Light gulped and complied to Cadance's request. When his hoof and Spike's touched Cadance's belly, a faint heartbeat could be felt by them with a sudden bump from inside, making Cadance let out an 'oof' as she felt the impact.
She giggled and looked down as the colts retracted their hooves from her. "Looks like my son is saying 'hi'."
Twilight walked forward as she heard the news, beaming at her sister-in-law before reaching over to hug her. "So good to see you, Cadance." She was about to perform their signature dance, but stopped when Cadance raised her hoof giggling.
"It's good to see you too, Twilight," Cadance said softly, looking down to her stomach. "Unfortunately I can't do our special 'hello' right now." She informed Twilight, reaching over to nuzzle little sister-in-law's head with her eyes closed.
"Oh yes!" Twilight blushed, feeling sheepish when she remembered Cadance's foal inside. "So you found out if it's a colt or filly?" Twilight asked curiously, looking down on Cadance's swollen stomach.
Cadance nodded as she giggled. "It's a colt."
"Though we still not sure if it will be an earth pony, pegasus or unicorn." Shining responded as he gave his baby sister a hug. "Happy you could come, Twily."
Twilight returned to the hug and nuzzled into her brother's neck. "Always for you, BBBFF." She let go of her brother, but suddenly her face contorted in confusion. "But what if the foal is an alicorn?"
"That's not likely," Cadance replied.
"But--"
Shining Armor placed a hoof to Twilight's mouth, silencing her. "I think we have more pressing matters at hoof, don't you think?" he whispered to Twilight, as he peaked over her head to see the others standing in the background.
"Right!" Twilight answered, with Blaze coming from behind her to greet Cadance and Shining Armor.
When Blaze stepped before Cadance, she immediately gave him a hug that he returned to her. Both smiled as they let go of each other. "I see you doing well, Princess."
"Please Blaze, just call me Cadance... you're literally family now to me."
"Um... thank you," he said. It was almost surreal to get a warm welcome after such problems with Shining Armor on his previous visits.
"And there's the pony of the hour," Shining Armor said, spotting Amethyst. "How are you doing, kiddo?"
"...I'm fine," he said. His heart clearly wasn't in it though.
"Well, I'm glad you could come up." He sensed his sadness, who wouldn't? But he needed to keep a positive attitude, for his sake. "We have a tour of your old home ready."
"...Thank you."
An awkward silence hung over the train yard.
"Well then, let's get to the palace," Shining Armor said, motioning to the carriage. "This should be big enough to fit everypony. Let's go!"
Shimmering Ruby was fuming. No grand procession, no parade... that meant no chance to snag the foal. She had had it all planned, to grab the child once his car had docked in the castle courtyard, following an accident with the Prince and Princess's car that would have left them delayed.
She shook her head. The best laid plans, she supposed. There was still plenty of chance. Yes, plenty of chance. She just had to be patient.
"Miss Ruby?"
She perked up. One of the guards... her guards... was addressing her.
"Yes?"
"I just got word that the foal has arrived. He'll be here in due time."
"Good, good. Make sure he gets the guest room that I marked. And is everything set up?"
"I'm not sure. They said they were having some trouble getting the supplies ready without anypony noticing. But they said everything would be ready by tonight."
She nodded. "I figured. They're starting to keep an annoyingly close watch on me. Well, I suppose it can't be helped. Tell them to be ready soon."
The guard saluted Ruby, giving off a slight smirk to her. "Yes Miss Ruby," he replied to her, before leaving the room
Ruby chuckled as she looked up towards a box decorated in dark crystal and when she opened it, she saw a few red shards that she carefully picked up with her magic. She started to snicker as she stared intently at them before gently closing the box.
"The remains of my King... soon you will be whole once again."
"And here we are."
The group finally made it to the castle, being escorted by the Prince and Princess of the Empire themselves. Amethyst stood next to Rarity and Silver Spoon as he gazed up at the colossus. His eyes shined as his crystal irises were reflected the light that shined upon the crystals. He took a deep breath, blinking a few times before looking back at Rarity.
"It really hasn't changed since then."
Rarity reached for his shoulder, pulling him in to her as she held him close. "It has changed. Sombra is gone and the ponies are free."
"Exactly!" Shining Armor cut in as he walked forward before turning to the group. "Why don't the foals explore the city with me?" He suggested as two more guards stood at his side. He looked at Cadance, winking at her with her returning the wink.
Twilight eyed her brother suspiciously, before he gave her a wink too. She jerked her head back slightly before relaxing and nodding. "I think that's a good idea." She turned to Spike and Light, leaning in to whisper. "Just make sure Amethyst is okay."
"You got it," both colts replied before they looked to their fellow foals before grabbing on Amethyst's hoof and dragging him off towards Shining Armor.
"We'll see you later." Shining waved at the mares and Blaze as he and the others walked on ahead towards the city.
Rarity cocked her brow, blinking in confusion before shaking it violently. "Hold on! Are you sure Amethyst will be alright just like--" Rarity paused when she felt a hoof on her back and turned to see Cadance looking at her with a furrowed brow.
"I would like to avoid Amethyst entering the castle until later," Cadance declared to the others, with no smile on her face.
Blaze scrunched his lips as he tapped his chin. "Does this have something to do with your vizier?"
Cadance blinked. "Yes... how did you know that?"
"Twi told me about it on the train," he said. "You found out something?"
"Well... no."
Rarity was suddenly in front of Cadance. "What do you mean, no? Why did you send them away then? Are Sweetie and Amethyst safe?"
"Relax, Rarity. They're safe for right now. We've been suspicious of Shimmering Ruby for awhile, but there's nothing concrete. If she's planning something, she's bound to be setting it up right now. We can catch her in the act. And if it turns out to be nothing... well, always best to err on the side of caution."
"Are you sure? Really sure?"
"Rarity," Cadance said more firmly. "I wouldn't have sent my nephews out somewhere where they might be hurt. I haven't sent your kids out there either."
"So... now what?"
"Now, you all need to go trail Ruby. Between the seven of you, it shouldn't be hard to keep an eye and ear on her at all times without suspicion."
"Wait, you're not going to help us?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Even if I wasn't carrying this baby, I need to be doing my job so she won't get suspicious," she answered, looking down on her stomach and rubbing it gently as she smiled softly
"So... that's it?" Twilight asked. "We just watch her?"
"Yes." Cadance's ears flicked and she turned to see her vizier coming towards them with two of her guards. "Now shh, here she comes..."
"Miss Rarity!" Ruby called out, gliding down the palace stairs to shake hooves with the unicorn in question. "A pleasure to meet you. Please, where is Amethyst? I must meet him."
"We sent the foals on a tour of the Empire," Cadance said.
Like flicking a light switch, Ruby's smile vanished. "What? Your Highness, that... are you sure that's wise? He is the last crystal unicorn, he should be--"
"He'll be fine," Cadance replied. "Right now, I want you to accompany my sister-in-law and the others to their rooms."
"But--"
Cadance's eye shined for a moment before she raised her head high and looked down upon Ruby. "Now Ruby." She told her underling calmly, though the impact of the words struck Ruby hard.
Ruby shook for a moment, regaining her composure as she bowed to Cadance. "Yes, my princess," she answered her quietly, biting her lower lip in frustration. She turned to her guards and waved a hoof at them which the others could not see. "You are dismissed," she told them, and they went off leaving the others. "Please follow me, Dame Twilight Sparkle."
"Um-Yes!" Twilight was flustered for a moment, forgetting that she and her friends were knighted when Discord was defeated. She nudged Blaze and both of them along with the others began to follow Ruby to the west wing of the castle.
I will get that foal, don't you worry... False Ruler!
"Wow!"
Silver Spoon's jaw was agape as she observed the Crystal Empire with her friends. All the foals seemed to be taken in by the sights alone. Even Amethyst was mesmerized by the view and the jubilation of the ponies around him.
"Excuse me, Prince Armor?" Amethyst called to Shining, making his way to his side.
Shining chuckled as he looked down on the colt. "Please, call me Shining."
"... Shining," Amethyst began to speak, looking around him again before bringing his attention back to the stallion. "Why is there still so much construction going on around here?" He asked curiously, noticing the arenas and other shops being built.
"We won the petition for hosting the Equestrian Games, now we're in full gear in getting all the building up to scratch for all the tourists coming in."
Amethyst blinked, tilting his head. "Equestrian Games?"
"It's like a giant sports event held once every four years in a different location," Silver chimed in, walking next to Amethyst.
Shining nodded as he smiled. "That's right." He chuckled as he closed his eyes. "It pays to have a smart fillyfriend in your life."
Both foals blushed while their friends laughed. "She... she's not my fillyfriend."
"Really?" Shining asked, noting Silver Spoon didn't speak up any protest.
"Oh, but didn't he promise to take you out to lunch?"
"What?" Sweetie said.
"Diamond!" Silver said. Then she glared at her. "That was to get back for beating you at cards, wasn't it?"
"...Maybe," she said with a sly smile.
"Well then, you're in luck, we're in front of the most romantic restaurant in the Empire," Shining Armor said with a smirk. He wasn't about to pass up the opportunity for some playful teasing.
"This... actually, this was the restaurant I was going to take her to," Amethyst said, trying to keep his voice as low as possible while still letting it be heard.
His friends erupted in laughter, and Shining Armor decided to spare the colt any further embarrassment. "Well then, come on you two, I'll get you a private table."
"What? Now?" Amethyst said. Any further protest was cut off by Shining Armor pushing him forward with his magic, into the building.
Rainbow Dash tried to look as casual as possible, and failed miserably. She was after all, leaning up against a column in the middle of the grand ballroom, whistling off-key and avoiding looking at Shimmering Ruby.
The vizier looked at the pony oddly before continuing on. She constantly glanced behind her to see if she was following. Thankfully, she was not.
Idiot... she thought. I think I'll kill her first... after the false Prince and Princess, of course.
She continued moving down the hallway, and was surprised to see Rarity trotting up to her.
"Excuse me, Miss Ruby?" Rarity asked the vizier, putting on the best fake-smile she could muster for the mare.
Ruby in turn feigned surprise and joy when Rarity called out to her. "Yes. Miss Rarity? How may I be of assistance?" she asked Rarity, forcing a smile as she narrowed her eyes to the white mare that was approaching her.
"I haven't seen it yet, but I do hear this castle has a marvelous hot spring that was recently found. I am right?" she asked curiously, battling her eyelids and maintaining her smile.
"Well, yes we did find them just over a month ago," Ruby replied with the same false enthusiasm Rarity was displaying before her. You think you're fooling me with that grin? You're an amateur, you primadonna!
I know you're hiding something, but I'm going to find out soon. "Shall we go there? I am rather curious to know what it looks like?" Rarity asked her before turning to the others. "You all want to go down there too?" she asked them, but gave a momentary frown before smiling again.
"Not for me, thank you," Twilight replied to her merrily, unloading her bag.
When the other refused, Rarity and Ruby were out the door and Ruby closed it, eying each of inhabitants with a close eye before disappearing when she left the room.
Blaze broke the silence with a whistle as he shook his head. "Talk about suspicious with capital S," he said, looking to the door still.
"What do you mean?" Fluttershy questioned nervously.
"That mare's a creep, that's what he's saying," Rainbow Dash answered for Blaze, floating over to Fluttershy. "She looks like she's hiding something, something bad."
Applejack nodded as she closed her eyes. "Exactly! And from wha' Ah could tell, she's a liar."
"Think Rarity will be okay?" Twilight asked her friends, her eyes showing concern as she scrunched her lips.
Blaze covered Twilight's back with his wing, dragging her towards him and nuzzling her. "I'm sure Rarity will be okay, think she's just going to ask some 'subtle' questions to Ruby," he told her when he stopped nuzzling her.
"I suppose," Twilight nuzzled him back and planted her lips softly on his cheek as he giggled.
Rainbow rolled her eyes and groaned. "Get a room, you two," she mumbled, looking away from the couple.
Rolling his napkin over into a tube with one hoof, Amethyst used the table surface as leverage. He then dragged his hoof back, unrolling it. Then he rolled it again.
"...Amethyst?"
He looked up at Silver Spoon's words. She was looking at him, her face the most readable he had ever seen it. "Yes?"
"We're supposed to talk before the food gets here."
"I know," he said.
She sighed. "Amethyst, please..."
"Please what?"
"You know what," she said, annoyance in her voice. She was glad they were in a private room. "Amethyst... you know what I want. Are you going to make me embarrass myself by asking?"
"I wouldn't do anything to embarrass you," he said. He took a deep breath. "I... care about you. I'll hate whatever colt acstallionly gets you, until I'm sure he makes you happy."
"You'd make me happy," she said. She was starting to cry.
"No, I would not. I am... I think I will be forced to go back to the Empire. And even if I do not... I think I should."
"What?" The sound might have pierced the walls. "Are you just going to leave us? Leave Rarity? Sweetie? Me?"
"Do not assume I want to," Amethyst said. "But... my mother, she gave up so much so I could live... she risked her life so much because it was for the best. I think I might need to stay here. It... it's what Mother would have done." He told her, clutching onto his necklace.
"What? But--"
"I'm sorry... I think it is for the best. It's going to be hard telling the others... please let me tell them, please," Amethyst told her softly, not letting go of the necklace around his neck but still looking into her eyes.
Silver sighed in defeat, lowering her head as her lips quivered. "Okay..." she trailed off, before looking up with moist eyes to Amethyst and down to the necklace. "What's in there?" she asked curiously.
Amethyst looked down and sighed, closing his eyes. I suppose I should show it, at least to her. He opened the necklace with his magic, and immediately a melody started playing. Amethyst showed her the front side of the open necklace.
"Woah..." Silver uttered, staring in awe at the picture that was inside of it. There were two ponies, one being Amethyst and the other one an adult mare holding him in her fore legs as they both smiled to the camera. What made the image stand out was the mare, who was a spitting image of Rarity when the Crystal Heart was activated. "Is that?"
"Yes... that's my mother and I."
Silver looked closer to the image, smiling slowly. "She's beautiful."
"Thank you.." Amethyst replied softly, his eyes leaving a trail of tears as he continued to listen to the melody the necklace was playing. He closed it and quickly wiped the tears away before Silver could see them. "I think we should see the other now."
When they stood up from the table, Silver walked over to Amethyst. "She looked a lot like Rarity," she commented to him. "Is that why you--"
"Yes." Amethyst cut in. "Just don't tell the others, at least not yet."
Silver nodded in agreement. "I won't," she answered him. "Oh, and Amethyst?"
"Yes? What is--"
His words were cut off when Silver leaned in to touch his lips with hers. He slowly closed his eyes as they continued to to kiss each other. When she let go, she giggled as she turned her head sideways blushing.
"I like you," Silver told him, shuffling her hooves as she looked up to his eyes. She was batting her eyelids, giving off a small smile in the progress.
Amethyst's cheeks turned bright red before he smiled in return, leaning into peck her cheek softly. "I like you too, Silver."
Silver Spoon smiled.
"And that's why I shouldn't have done that," he said. He sighed. "I think... I think we better go back to the palace."
Amethyst left the room. But Silver didn't. She didn't want Amethyst to see her cry.
Rarity trotted down the hallways, looking at Shimmering Ruby. Shimmering Ruby was looking at her, but she was being more discreet about it. "We're almost there. Ponies don't come down here very often."
"They don't, do they?" Rarity asked.
"Yes. Even in these days..."
Ruby didn't give her a chance to finish, because at that point Rarity had done something that would have shocked her friends, if they had seen it.
Rarity picked up Shimmering Ruby with her magic and slammed her against the wall.
Shimmering Ruby felt the air leave her as Rarity looked at her with deadly, deadly eyes. "Listen here, you... you.. what are you planning?"
"I don't know what you mean," Ruby said, keeping her voice level.
"What are you planning with--"
Rarity didn't get anything else out. A loud crack rang out as her vision went white.
She hit the floor, a splotch of blood forming on her mane. A guard stood over her, tapping a board against the floor.
Ruby had dropped to the ground, and was quick to regain her composure. "Good work... but this is a problem. Everypony saw me leave with her. Well, no matter, I think I have an idea." |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 12 | "Ya think Rarity is okay?"
Applejack sat on a bench, her hat on a table as she was treating herself to one of the castle's delicacies. Not on par with her family treats though, but they were quite delicious by her standards.
"If she doesn't get back in the next ten minutes, I'm going right down to wherever she or that Ruby is," Rainbow Dash replied, sitting on a couch as she stared off into space. "Just hope Rarity can get some answers from her."
Fluttershy cringed. "You don't think Rarity would really... hurt Ruby, do you?"
"Fluttershy," Twilight came up to Fluttershy, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "If Pip was in trouble and somepony was out there to hurt him... what would you do?"
Hearing the question, Fluttershy lowered her head in thought. "Oh... I would be so mad I would just teach them a lesson not to hurt my baby boy and--"
"Exactly." Twilight cut her off. "And if somepony were to harm Amethyst now, Rarity would be at their throats for it."
Pinkie tapped her chin as she looked up to the sky. "But does Amethyst really have to stay here?" Pinkie asked curiously, still wanting to throw him a party. "I mean, won't he be very lonely here?"
Twilight sighed as she closed her eyes. "Politically, he should remain here since he is now considered a 'national treasure' for being the last of his subspecies..." Twilight trailed off as she sighed again. "But morally, he should remain in Ponyville with his friends."
"Got that right," Applejack said as she got up from the bench. "Not to mention how poor Rarity would feel if she had to let go of that colt,"
Before any of the mares could speak, the door opened again and Ruby came in with her plastered smile. "Is everything in order here?" she asked joyfully, looking to each of the mares in the room.
"Yeah we're fine," Rainbow Dash snipped at her. "Wait a minute... where's Rarity?" she asked suspiciously, flying towards the crystal pony in the doorway.
"Oh, she decided to spend some time in the hot springs alone... said something about 'a lady having privacy to improve her figure'," she giggled at the saying, but none of her company were joining her.
Twilight narrowed her eyes, tapping her chin. "Really?"
"Really," she assured. It wasn't very convincing. "Alright, I can see your worries. You're a bit wary of me because I served under Sombra, am I right?"
Everypony blinked at the bluntness in her voice. "Well... yes."
"Listen, there's nothing to tell. I served the king who came before Sombra, and he let me keep my job after his coup. There was a time when I, like everypony else in the Empire, thought he was a great pony. Maybe he was, in his own way. As totalitarian as he was, life under him was better for the average pony than under our last king, with his incompetent financial spending and constant drinking. If he had died a few years earlier, you might be seeing statues of him in our square.
"But he was a monster, and he proved it, first through the Culling, then when he started trying to conquer other lands. Yes, I ate up his propaganda for awhile, everypony did. A silver tongue can be more deadly than any sword. But in the end, I was subject to his horrors the same as anypony.
"And yes, I've been pushing for Amethyst to stay in the Empire. He is the only survivor of the horror of the Culling. It's very likely that he survived because his mother died protecting him. He deserves to be back here as an example of how the crystal unicorns That's it. That's all I have to do with anything. Do you need any other convincing?"
"I... suppose not," Twilight said. "Did... Rarity say anything to you?"
"She gave me a few evil looks. Honestly, I don't blame any of you. Sombra was a monster, and I'd be equally as wary... no, more so, I actually lived through it, if our roles were reversed. I bear no grudge for any of this."
"Well... alright then," Twilight said.
"I'm glad we got that cleared. Now, when are the foals due back? I want to meet the colt in question."
"They should be along shortly," Twilight said.
"They had best. The Empire is a pretty safe place, but I still think more precautions must be taken for his sake. You never know who out there might be the proverbial snake in the grass."
Rarity groaned as she came into consciousness. Her first thought was that she was in pain. The second was that it was dark. She checked to see if she had opened her eyes. She had.
She saw carpeted wood surrounding her, and she in the company of brooms and dust sweepers too. A closet... is she serious?! She felt the opening with her hoof and tapped on it, feeling it was locked on the outside. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, focusing her magic. There was no horn ring... likely too hard to procure one without raising suspicion. A good sign.
Rarity was not skilled with magic as Twilight was, but when the situation called for it she was more than capable of using it.
Her horn started to glow brightly in a purple aura and when she released it, the closet's doors burst opened. Remains of the door slammed against the wall and she careful made her way out of the confined space.
She looked around her and saw many other closets and furniture along with sets of armor and other accessories. The castle's storage room, obviously, and from the looks of the dust on the various crates, so unused that Shining Armor and Cadance were likely not sure it even existed. Rarity flicked a bit at how filthy the place was, and of how she must have dust and Celestia knew what else in her coat and mane, but she pushed that thought aside. There were bigger thing to worry about.
She scanned the room, trying to find a way out. When she finally made her way to a door, she tried to open it but found it impossible when she tried to push it open. When she used her magic, she was met with a spark that made her jerk backwards. "Is this door magically protected?" she asked herself, sighing in defeat and looked around to find another way.
Rarity squinted her eyes and a broad smile came to her when she saw what looked like a tool box. It became clear to her that Ruby had to do some quick thinking in response to her questioning, and simply ordered her thrown into the first unused room where she would be out of the way enough. That meant no time to double check what was in it. Another plus. She rushed over there, using her magic to empty it out and looking at the tools on the ground until she found what she was looking for. A crowbar. She lifted it up the ground and rushed towards the door, hitting the bar into the opening and pushing hard.
This is where I thank Spike for not being there to carry the gems I find! She thought to herself as she used all her brute force to open the door. She heard a crack and soon a hole tore open where she placed the bar's edge in. Rarity laughed in relief and used her magic to levitate the crowbar through the hole and hitting the door multiple times on the outside until the wooden bar broke.
She opened the door successfully and exited the storage room.
"What's that noise?!"
Rarity froze and looked up, seeing two shadows in the corner. She looked around and hid herself behind a statue before two guards came marching towards the door.
"Buck!" one of the guards yelled out as he stomped his hoof to the ground. "That mare escaped!"
"She couldn't have gotten far," the other said. "Come on. The sooner we find her, the sooner we get to have our fun."
The tone in the guard's voice on the word "fun" made Rarity's blood turn cold. There was only one kind of fun that stallion could mean.
As soon as they passed, she shot down the hallway in the opposite direction. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. She racked her brain. Shimmering Ruby would have thrown her in a room near where she was captured, she wouldn't risk getting caught lugging her body through the castle. The direction the guards came from likely was the one where ponies were. She had to find somepony, if not one of her friends, maybe a guard... they couldn't all be loyal to Ruby.
Or could they? No, she couldn't risk it. No matter how many were loyal to Cadance, she couldn't take that chance. Not while Amethyst was in danger. She needed to find somepony she could trust. And she needed to hurry. She didn't know how long she had been out, and he could already be back at the Palace.
"Presenting, before Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the last of the crystal unicorns, Amethyst Craft."
Cadance rolled her eyes at the overly formal introductions, but Shimmering Ruby had insisted on it. 'It's going to be a memorable day for the Empire," she said. "Historic, as a matter of fact. You won't want it to go by without some kind of marker."
Amethyst looked equally unpleased at all the attention as he walked before the thrones, everypony watching him. He could already pictured Pip giving him a hard time, and Silver Spoon... seeing this dragged out was probably making everything harder for her.
"I'm glad you could join us up here," Cadance said. "Are you aware of your position politically, little one?"
"I am."
Cadance sighed, relieved at the words Amethyst spoken. This could have gone worse... "Amethyst, as the last of your kind, you are considered a national treasure to the ponies here in the Empire."
"What Princess Cadance means," Ruby chimed in, wearing a broad smile and her eyes glittering. "Is that you are perhaps the most precious citizen of the empire today." Precious to my plans! She began to walk up to him slowly.
Amethyst felt even more uncomfortable with Ruby's words and the look she was giving him. The look alone made him quiver.
"But," Shining called out, also making his way to Amethyst. "What Cadance and I were thinking, is that you as a pony should have a choice of where you want to be in life."
Ruby froze, her eye twitching and she turned her head slowly to Shining. Her eyes now burning in frustration but masked in fauxed confusion. "Pardon me Prince, but haven't we discussed that he ought to remain here for--"
"Well, this is something that Shining and I have considered alone," Cadance cut her off, making her way to her husband's side. "We cannot simply keep Amethyst here as some trophy when he has established himself in another location with friends and loved ones he has made in the weeks since his awakening."
"But--"
Cadance raised her hoof, looking Ruby in the eye to remain silent. She looked down on Amethyst, smiling softly to him. "Even though you are a national treasure, you are just a foal. And as a foal, you deserve to be happy."
"This is of course your decision to make, Amethyst," Shining said as he also leaned down to the colt's eye level. "What do you say?"
Amethyst was gobsmacked. He had prepared to be removed from Rarity's care and placed perhaps in the castle or in another's home in the Crystal Empire. Yet now, here he was given a choice. A choice to either return to his old home or remain in his new home.
"Well..." Amethyst gulped, blinking profoundly as he mouthed silently. "I want to be--"
"Oh, for the love of Equestria!"
Everypony's head turned sharply to the remark made and saw Ruby charging at Amethyst. She grabbed hold of him and dragged him to the front entrance. "You two!" She pointed to the guards. "Keep the false rulers at bay!"
It happened in a flash. Spears pointed at the Prince and Princess of the Crystal Empire. Right from the vizier's proclamation, the pair was already getting to their hooves, but not quick enough to escape entrapment.
Twilight was quicker. She ran forward, lighting up her horn, her eyes glowing to match, but Ruby had prepared for her as well. A sharp pain erupted in the back of her head and she went down. A guard stood above her with blood on his blade, the same blood that was darkening Twilight's mane.
Blaze and Rainbow Dash were only slightly slower in reacting, and they were in the air. But before they could go any farther, the guard pressed the blade of his spear on Twilight's neck. "Another move and I split her neck."
The two stopped moving forward, but they were both shaking with rage. "You..."
"On the floor. Get with the others. Now."
They obeyed, although they looked as if they were trying to vaporize Ruby with their looks.
"What's going on here?" Cadance demanded.
"What's going on is I'm reclaiming the Empire for its rightful king! Sombra will live again and take the throne once more!"
Two guards surrounded Amethyst, grabbing him by the forelegs and lifting him into the air. "Let me go!" Amethyst yelled. "Let me go!"
"There's only one way you could have survived the Culling is if you carried Sombra's blood, and it's that little detail that's going to be a good for me."
Amethyst stopped cold. "S-Sombra? He's... he's my father?"
"If he hadn't been, you'd be dead. He was no fool. He let you live because you were destined to be his heir. Now come on."
Amethyst was too stunned to fight back as he was led away.
"Stop! Stop, bring him--"
Cadance was cut off by a spear to her stomach. "I think you'd like to remember that it's not just your life you have to worry about."
Cadance froze, feeling the tip of the spear on her stomach, where her son was too. She looked Ruby and bit her lower lip, glaring daggers at the former vizier. "You won't get away with this!"
"I'd like to see you stop us," one guard barked at her, spitting on her face. "There's no way you will get out of here--"
The doors burst opened again, revealing Rarity. An enraged Rarity. Her hair looked frizzled and she was grinding her teeth. Her horn looked burnt as she was breathing deeply and giving off a sithing glare to the guards. "Where is he!?"
"Great! You let the dog out--"
Shining took his chance and charged to the guard keeping his wife at spear point, summoning as much magic to blast the guard to the wall. The wall broke and the guard kept on flying, away from the others.
"Why you--"
The other was even less fortunate. Rainbow and Blaze came flying at top speeds towards him, using their hind legs to hit him the gut and have him skid away from Twilight.
The other guards tried to attack Shining. When they reached him, they were repelled by his magic that formed a shield around him and Cadance. Before they could attempt another attack again; Twilight, Blaze and Rainbow rushed towards them.
Blaze's hooves and wings were now wrapped in fire, which he used to fight the one guard standing the furthest away from the others. "You made a fatal mistake making my fillyfriend bleed," he spoke calmly, his eyes phasing out before he charged at the guards with his whole body become an inferno.
The guard tried to scream out, but an explosion silenced his words as he was now lying on the ground. His whole body bruised with his legs twitching and his coat burnt. He felt Blaze pulling him up with his hoof. He looked at the red stallion with his eyes darting and his lips quivering. "H-How the hay do you--"
"Oh? You're still alive?" Blaze cut him off, leaning his face. "Since you are still alive, why don't you tell me what that crazy mare wants with Amethyst?" Blaze cocked his brow, seeing the guard's eyes closing. He was still breathing, but he was unconscious. "Tsk!" Blaze dropped him and turned to Twilight and Rainbow, both victorious from their battles. "You got something from them?"
"No..." Twilight sighed in defeat, lowering her head.
Blaze only nodded. "I guess we better--"
"Look out!"
Another guard came dangerously close to Blaze with his spear, catching the pegasus off guard. Before he could reach, his neck was grabbed in a magical collar. The caster being Rarity, who pulled him towards her.
"Where is he?"
The guard actually seemed a little put off, but it wasn't out of intimidation. It was more out of surprise. Rarity simply did not look like a mare that would act the way she was acting. "You... you won't get me to talk," he said. His voice hardened after the first word. His stunned state was over.
Rarity tightened the collar. "I'll make you talk."
"Go ahead," the guard said, his voice sounded strained but there was no quaver in his voice. "It doesn't matter what you do to me, it will be nothing compared to what Sombra would do if I betrayed him."
Rarity considered him for three more seconds. Then she turned to her friends. "Twilight! I need you to do... whatever it was you did to Yellow. Twilight?"
"Um... Twilight's a bit out of comission," Rainbow Dash said. Indeed, the lavender unicorn was being helped up by her coltfriend, only groaning.
"You two," Shining Armour said, pointing to Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, "take her and Cadance, and the foals to our tower." The pair nodded. "As for finding Amethyst, that's no problem. I was a guard before I became a Prince after all, and Amethyst was important enough that I took note of his magic signature."
Shining Armor lit up his horn. Within seconds, a thin, wisp like trail appeared in the air, going down the same hallway that Amethyst had been dragged down.
"That way, and we better hurry."
Rarity looked at the guard she was still holding for a moment, then slammed him into the floor as hard as she could before running down the hallway. Shining Armor was right behind, and the rest of the group followed.
"... wake up. Wake up. Wake up, you little colt!"
With heavy eyes and a massive headache, Amethyst lifted his head to see the gleeful eyes of the mare who foalnapped him.
Ruby grinned down on her prize as she was looking down on him, licking her lips. "Hope you had a nice rest when we were setting things up here."
Amethyst looked around himself and saw he was in a dark room with books everywhere against the walls, with the window curtains closed and dim candles around him. He found himself bound in rope and felt he was on a stone table. Another thing he saw were a number of crystals around him, all red as blood with one being shattered in front of him.
"What are you going to do me, you wretch!" Amethyst squirmed as he tried to get loose from his ropes. having tried and failed to use magic. He could feel a cold sensation on his horn, and saw he was wearing a ring of some sort.
"Magical restraint," Ruby told him plainly, as she finished setting up the last crystal.
"Just to make sure you don't try something funny," she walked up to two guards who were standing by in front of the door. "You two have this door locked and bolted?"
"Locked and bolted, your grace."
Ruby patted the one guard's head as though he were a puppy. "Good boy," she walked up to the table, using her magic to lift the shattered crystal into the air and hovering them before her. "Soon my King, you will be amongst us again..."
Amethyst continued to struggle to get out. "What are talking about?!" he demanded Ruby to answer him. "What are you going to do with me?!"
"I'm just bringing your daddy back, is all."
"What!?"
Ruby groaned as she planted her hoof to her face. "King Sombra of course!"
"Are you mad!?" Amethyst shouted out as glared at Ruby. "There's not a chance in Tartarus that monster is my father!"
"Then tell me, why did you survive the Culling, boy?" Ruby snarked at him as she a shard of the crystal in a specific place on the table. "Why are you still alive today?"
Amethyst tried to spit on her, but he missed. "My mother's the reason I am still breathing!"
"Yes, your mother. One of his Majesty's concubines obviously. Lucky enough to be bedded by him."
"Don't talk that way about my mother!"
Ruby ignored him, she seemed to be mumbling to herself. "Crystal here, another there... yes, yes, very good..."
Amethyst struggled. He tried to put on a brave face, but he failed. He was going to die, he realized. He'd never see Rarity, or Sweetie, or Silver again. He would never get a chance to tell Sweetie that she was like a sister to her, or Rarity that she was like a mother. And Silver... he would never get a chance to make things up to her.
Ruby pulled a knife out and placed it on the stand. Amethyst shivered and tried to break free, reaching even deeper into the limited amount of energy he had left. Ruby apparently was simply getting the knife ready, if she planned to use it at all. She continued to circle the stand, placing crystals
Amethyst suddenly got an idea. "Wait! Please, I know for a fact Sombra cannot be my father. Tell me, you would recognize one of his concubines if you saw their photo, correct?"
Ruby actually looked up. "Perhaps..."
"The locket, around my neck. There's a picture of her in it. That will clear things up."
Ruby considered for a moment, then set her items down and made a reach for the locket. After getting it open, she saw her.
"Yes...yes... she wasn't a concubine necessarily. She was a record keeper, in charge of chronicling His Majesty's life."
"See! It means..."
"It means nothing, boy. If Sombra ordered a mare to bed, she went, regardless of status." She snickered with a wicked smile. "If any of those mares downstairs live, Sombra could very well bed them all before killing them. Do not distract me."
"No! Don't hurt them! Please!"
"I'd worry more about you," she told Amethyst as she placed a hoof to his cheek. "This ritual won't kill you, don't worry. But Sombra will not be happy at you for trying to delay his return. And believe me, being his son won't save you. You'll wish I had killed you, I promise." |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 13 | Rarity and the others were running up the stone stairs that belonged to the library tower of the castle. "Are you sure this is the right way, Shining Armor?!" she yelled out to Shining, who was just behind her.
"I'm certain," Shining replied as he focused on the spell. "But I really suggest you let me stay in the front, Rarity! This could get very ugly and--"
"I know!" Rarity barked out as she clenched her teeth, narrowing her eyes as they continued to run up the stairs. "I may not be a guard like you, Shining, but I am far from helpless!" she said as they finally reached the top of the staircase. Rarity paused for a moment, letting the others catch up to her. "Is this where they are?" she asked Shining, pointing her hoof to a large wooden door.
Shining caught his breath, surprised that a famous fashionista had so much stamina in her, before looking at the targeted door. "Yeah, this is where the trail ends."
"Alright," Rainbow spoke as she made her way to Rarity. "I'm sure the enemy doesn't know we are here yet, we can just bust our way in there and--"
"Rainbow," Rarity cut her off, placing a hoof to her mouth. "I think we should rather do something a little more practical, wouldn't you say?" she asked her rhetorically but didn't wait for a response as she turned her head back to see Blaze behind her. "Blaze, do me a favour, yes?"
Blaze walked up to her, still feeling a little rage at what happened to the mare he loved. "What do you need, Rarity?" She asked her, as he clicked his neck a few times.
"Blast that door to oblivion, would you?"
A grin formed on his muzzle, with his wings flaring up again and his hooves burning brightly. "Stand back," he told the group, who complied immediately. He flapped his wings slowly before beating them faster. A large ball of fire starting forming in front of him that stayed intact. With one final strong flap that created a gust of wind, the fireball went flying to the door. The large explosion soon followed, with the wood from the door flying ever as a tremor was emitted from the blast.
When the smoke cleared, Rainbow Dash stood in awe at what had transpired. She turned her head slowly to Blaze. "That was awesome."
Blaze huffed as he smirked. "Thanks." He turned to a silent Shining Armor, who looked at him with darted eyes. "Twilight helped train me."
"Yes yes!" Rarity waved her hoof to in the air. "We have more important things to do now!"
Two guards came galloping out. "Halt, in the name--"
They didn't last. Rainbow Dash and Blaze had them taken care of them so quickly that their allies didn't even see what exactly they did. All they knew was that the two were know on the ground, out cold.
Rarity was in the room just as quickly. "Stop!" She was shouting before she even saw what was going on, saw what was going on with Amethyst. "Let him go!"
Ruby lowered the knife.
Rarity fired the biggest blast she could manage, hoping to strike Ruby. Sadly, her aim was off, and it went flying to the side, missing her by inches. The knife cut into him.
Then, the crystals shook. They turned red, then rose into the air, circling in a sphere above the colt whose blood made it possible.
Then they stopped.
"What?"
That single word was all Ruby had time to get out, because at that point every crystal exploded into shards, flying in all directions.
Shining Armor was in front of Rarity and quickly put his shield up. Shards struck with surprising speed, pounding the barrier. Shining was caught off guard, but still managed to keep his shield up.
And then it shattered.
The shards struck his horn, embedding deep in his horn.
He yelled in pain, rearing up in pain, and then falling on his side. He groaned, his front hooves clutching the base of his horn.
Ruby's eyes widened. "Wait! You're--"
And then Rainbow Dash slammed into her. She made sure her hooves hit her head to make absolutely sure that she was knocked out.
Rarity was up at the stand. "Amethyst! Oh, sweetie, are you okay?"
Said colt lifted his head slowly, his ears ringing and his vision blurry thanks to the explosion. He rested a hoof to his temple, feeling a warm liquid coming from a cut on his forehead. Amethyst flinched a little when he felt a sharp pain as he touched the wound, where immediately Rarity placed a cloth on it.
"There there," Rarity cooed at him, wrapping the cloth on his head as she inspected the rest of his body. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" She asked nervously, seeing only a scar on his leg.
Amethyst shook his head, his eyes becoming moist as his lips quivered. He flung his hooves around Rarity's neck and started to sob into her shoulder. He was shaking violently and he felt the gentle hoof of Rarity rubbing his back.
"You're safe now, Amethyst," Rarity nuzzled him, feeling his shaking stop and she lifted his head to face hers. "I'm just going to take you to the hospital wing, to get that cut checked on, okay?" she told him softly, only receiving a nod from him as she looked into his red-rimmed eyes. Rarity rested him on her back and she started to walk out of the room, before turning to Shining and the others. "Will you three be alright here?"
Blaze nodded once to Rarity, looking to the two guards he and Rainbow had bound with rope they found near the table. "We're all good here, just get Amethyst to the hospital and we'll meet you there once we sorted this out." Blaze told her, tightening the rope around the two corrupted guards.
With that, Rarity left the room in haste. When she closed the door, Rainbow flew over to Shining and inspected his horn. "Are you alright?" she asked him, squinting her eyes to see some shards stuck on his horn. She recalled how crystal shards were attached to his horn when they first dealt with Sombra.
"I think so," Shining answered Rainbow, forcing his magic to remove the shards embedded on his horn. He clenched his teeth as he shut his eyes, feeling pain on his horn when the crystals were finally removed. Shining turned his attention to Ruby, his face forming a scowl as he got up. "I knew something was wrong with her, but this..."
Rainbow flew next to him and looked down on the fallen crystal pony. "Hey, stranger things have happened..." She gave off a forced smile, but removed it when Shining did not return it. "What you think went wrong?"
"Once she wakes up, I think we'll know," Blaze answered for Shining. "I hate to rush things, but don't you think we should head off to the hospital wings?"
Before Shining could speak, a squadron of guards came into the room with spear and armor ready. They were all regular, garden- variety ponies, much to the group's relief, no loyalists among them. "Prince Shining! We received word from Princess Cadenza of the situation." The guard in front saluted his superior. "What shall we do with them, my liege?"
"Take them all to the dungeon. Every guard who was loyal to Ruby as well. Then I want you to prepare a roster of every guard who was on staff during Sombra's reign. We'll need to weed out any potential remaining spies."
The two guards saluted, then began doing as they were told. Shining Armor just watched the scene with a heavy heart. Ponies he trusted...
"Do you really think there are going to be anymore?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Traitors, I mean. Wouldn't they all have dropped the act when Ruby did?"
Shining shook his head. "They might have had a contingency plan in place for this kind of thing."
"You think they'll try and get Amethyst again?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, they don't know the spell didn't work yet..."
"I doubt anypony knows the spell but Ruby, they'll focus on rescuing her first. He's safe for now, at least..." The last words trailed off at Shining losing himself in thought. "And that means... we have an excuse to send Amethyst back to Ponyville!"
The group blinked in confusion, so Shining continued. "If the crystal ponies hear that Amethyst was used to try and bring Sombra back, they won't be able to send him away fast enough! It's perfect!"
"But... he isn't..."
Rainbow Dash was cut off by Applejack. "Nopony needs to know that," she said sternly. "Besides, even if it was said so, ponies might miss that detail."
Shining nodded. "Paranoia tends to overshadow facts. But we'll worry about that later. Come on, we better get to the hospital wing."
"Shh... it's okay..."
Rarity was stroking Amethyst's mane. He had calmed down a bit, but he still looked like a wreck. With his bloodshot eyes and the large scar on his foreleg, he looked like he just wanted to nuzzle into the mare that cared for him and sleep for a year. His long breaths sounded much too loud for Rarity.
"Ruby is taken care of, she can't hurt you."
Amethyst lowered his head, his breathing becoming longer. "I... I was..." He couldn't finish his sentence as he laid his head in his hooves. He felt Rarity holding him and lifted his head again. "I was so scared!" He cried out as he held onto Rarity.
"I know..." Rarity whispered to him, looking down on him with moist eyes as she nuzzled him. "I'm so sorry this happened to you..." She trailed off as she continued to hold onto Amethyst. "This should have never happened to you at all... I'm so sorry..." Her own lips started to quiver when she looked down on Amethyst.
Drying his tears off when he looked up to Rarity. His eyes suddenly widened and he looked down to his chest, finding his necklace missing. "My necklace! It's--"
"Right here." Rarity levitated it to Amethyst, placing it around his neck. The necklace was open, thanks to Ruby, and she could see and hear what laid inside of it. "Is that your mother, Amethyst?" she asked him curiously, as they both looked down on the picture. She only saw him give a slow nod to answer her. "She is so beautiful..." She trailed off as she stared into the picture. She looks like me...
Amethyst looked up to Rarity again, his eyes looking away from hers though. "Miss Rarity, I want to know... when this is all over... can we go home?"
Rarity cocked her brow when she heard his words. "Home?"
"Back to Ponyville."
"Amethyst..." Rarity uttered out, holding him tighter. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely sure you wish to live in Ponyville rather than here?"
"Yes," Amethyst answered her, placing his unscratched hoof to her chest. "I don't want to live here anymore, I don't have family or friends here..." he trailed off again as he looked away. "And I don't care if some politicians order me to stay, I just don't wish to remain here."
Rarity's irises expanded when he finished speaking. "You really mean that?"
"Yes." Amethyst mimicked his last answer. "That is... if you will have me?" He asked her when he looked at her face and saw her mouth contorting. "If you won't have me as family, maybe--"
He could not finish, his face buried into her chest as he felt her hooves tightening around him and felt her head resting on his. Amethyst could hear her crying and felt the tears on his head.
"Of course," Rarity said. Her voice was beginning to waver, but she successfully fought against it. "Of course I will. I'll be your family."
There was a silence. Rarity kissed the top of his head and he nestled into her even more. "I can get the papers signed as soon as I get to Ponyville," Rarity said. "I'm sure Celestia can get it approved quickly."
"... Miss Rarity?"
"Yes?"
"...May I call you 'Mom'?"
There was a paused before Rarity's grip tightened. "You can... if you'd like. I... I don't want to replace your mother in your heart..."
"Mother would have wanted me to move on," he whispered as he closed the necklace and held onto it. "I'll miss her, I will. But..." he looked up to Rarity's glittering eyes. "I'll love you just as much."
She smiled. "Then you can live with me. I'll be your mother, and Sweetie will be your..." She stopped, thinking a moment. "Your... sister," she said at last. "I suppose she will make a better sister than an aunt," Rarity giggled, with a river flowing freely from her eyes as she held onto Amethyst and nuzzled his head softly.
She felt Amethyst smile against her. "Thank you... Mom." |
The Last Crystal Unicorn | Chapter 14 | "Are you ready, you two?" Rarity shouted to the top of the stairs, looking to the clock at the wall to see it was just past five in the afternoon.
Sweetie Belle came rushing downstairs, wearing a pink scarf around her neck. "I'm ready," she said, looking back at the stairs. "Not sure about my 'brother'," Sweetie Belle remarked, emphasizing the word 'brother' with an increase of volume to her voice.
"I heard that."
Amethyst came rushing down the stairs, wearing only leg warmers on his forelegs. "I still don't see the point of wearing such garments, especially if it's not cold."
"When the sun sets, you will see why," Rarity answered him, before smiling broadly with her eyes becoming moist. "But you look so adorable!" Rarity reached over to Amethyst, nuzzling him before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
Seeing this, Sweetie Belle just giggled before she too was brought in the hug by Rarity. "Rarity!" she moaned, feeling her cheeks burn in that moment. She looked to Amethyst, who only shrugged with a plain smile.
"Now then!" Rarity perked up when she released the two foals from her grasp. "Let us hurry now to the town center! We do not want to be late for the Princesses." She opened the door, indicating for her the two foals to exit. When they were outside, Rarity closed and locked the door before making her way to their destination.
Amethyst looked around to see a number of unlit lanterns hanging from the trees as they passed through. "What're all these for?" he asked Rarity, scratching his head. "When did they get placed there?"
"Pinkie Pie," Rarity replied simply. "Do not ask any further please," Rarity insisted, looking down on Amethyst with a soft smile.
"Alright... I won't, Mom."
Here we go... Sweetie Belle groaned, rolling her eyes when she saw Rarity's eyes becoming teary and holding onto Amethyst, peppering him with kisses. Since she had taken the role as Amethyst's mother, Rarity had become even more emotional than what she had previously been.
Rarity sniffed as she pulled herself away from her son, wiping away her tears as she straightened herself. "It seems we're almost there, and in good time too," she thought out loud as they approached a crowd of ponies.
There was a scene of merriment. Ponies were together with their family, laughing and singing. Time Turner poured drinks with Derpy and Dinky. Cranky and Matilda were giggling and laughing as if they were a quarter their age, sneaking kisses and nuzzles.
And, finally, she saw her friends. Blaze was whispering to Twilight, nibbling at her ear, while a red-faced mare told him, through her giggles, to knock it off. Spike was currently sticking his tongue out, but when he turned to Light for support, he had his attention full with Scootaloo.
Spike's bad attitude lasted until Sweetie walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then he simply blushed.
Rainbow Dash could do nothing but smile and laugh at this. She nudged Fluttershy playfully, who was slightly giggling herself. Pip rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath about wishing his fellow blokes weren't so sappy.
"Ah hear ya," Apple Bloom muttered back.
"Ah, yer just thinkin' that 'cause you haven't found nopony yet," Applejack said.
"We are not!"
Applejack only grinned at the denial in stereo. "Trust me, eventually everypony gets their eye on somepony. Ain't that right, Big Mac?"
The stallion blushed as his sister nudged him. "Well... um..."
Pinkie giggled. "Ooh! Is it Miss Cheerilee?"
"Wha? No."
"But the Love Poison..."
"Yeah, Pink? I don't think that makes fer a good start to a relationship," Applejack said
"Ooh! Then who?"
"Pink, I ain't tellin', ' cause you told me you thought secret crushes were silly and you'd just yell it out if you knew it."
"Well duh! Why keep crushes a secret! Now who is it?"
"I ain't tellin'!" Big Mac said stubbornly.
"Please!"
"No!"
Pinkie Pie inhaled a large amount of air. "Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please--"
Big Macintosh covered his ears and closed his eyes, but the vibrations of Pinkie's voice was still penetrating his skull. He couldn't think and he yelled out.
"Rarity!"
Silence greeted him the moment he yelled out his answer. He opened his eyes and removed his hooves from his ears, seeing his sister and Pinkie Pie stare at him as though he performed a miracle. Before he could react, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Me?"
Big Macintosh gulped, looking up to the sky as though it was the very last time he would see it. He turned around slowly, and saw the mare that caught his affection standing with two foals by her side.
"Um..." Sweetie Belle said out loud, looking over Big Macintosh's shoulder. "Hey look at that! Cotton Candy!" She and the others got away from the awkward scene, with Pinkie Pie looking to where they ran off.
"Hey! There's no Cotton Candy!" Pinkie Pie said, her smile dropping as she saw no Cotton Candy stands anywhere. "Why did Sweetie Belle say--" Her words were cut off when she felt her tail being pulled on. She turned to see Twilight using her magic to drag her away. "Twilight, what are you doing?"
Twilight didn't answer her until as all ponies left the space they were occupying previously, leaving only Big Macintosh and Rarity alone.
When they were alone, with the exception of ponies passing them by, Big Macintosh could only look away from Rarity's gaze. He was fortunate enough to have a red coat, otherwise she would have seen his cheeks burn brightly.
"So, Big Macintosh..." Rarity trailed off, walking a little closer to the stallion. "What you said earlier, is that true?"
Big Macintosh pursed his lips as he nodded, looking for a moment at her eyes. "E-eeyup."
"...Well, you don't mind that I come with two foals? You'd have to learn to love them too."
"I know, Miss Rarity. I know. I can love 'em." He pushed one hoof in the dirt, looking a bit odd for a pony of his size. "I... I ain't gotta whole lot ta offer ya, but..."
Rarity gave him a peck on the cheek. "I've seen stallions with a lot to offer. I haven't been too fond of them. So perhaps we can give a relationship a try... that is, if you don't mind me working a good deal."
"I won't..."
"Even if it takes me away from Ponyville? I might be in Canterlot or Manehatten a good deal of the time..."
"I know. I can learn to live with it."
"If that's the case... then will you do me the honor of a dance once the festivities begin?"
"It... it would be my honor, Miss Rarity."
Smiling demurely at Big Macintosh, Rarity merely shook her head. "Just Rarity, please... and do find yourself a nice tux, Darling, I'd like our first date to be at a nice restaurant." Rarity told him, caressing his cheek with her hoof.
"O-of course, M... er, Rarity." Big Macintosh stammered, his face burning from the soft hoof of Rarity.
Rarity giggled, planting her lips on his for a simple kiss. "Good. Now then, I'll see you when the dances start. For now, my son needs me."
Rarity smiled and walked away, leaving Big Mac feeling lighter than air.
Silver Spoon felt her stomach tie in knots. "Please, please, let's go home," she said. Diamond Tiara was having none of it, and kept pushing her friend forward.
"What do you have to worry about? He broke things off with you because he thought he was moving back to the Empire. He has no reason not to love you now."
"But--"
"No buts. Now come on, we have to..."
Silver Spoon tried to back away, but the force of Diamond Tiara from behind was too much and they finally reached Diamond's intended target. Amethyst.
The colt in question was looking up to the decorations with Sweetie Belle, until he felt a nudge at his shoulder. He turned around and froze when he saw Diamond Tiara standing behind Silver Spoon. "Oh, good to see you two..." He trailed off, chuckling nervously as he rubbed his neck.
"You too Amethyst," Diamond Tiara answered him, walking past him to Sweetie Belle. "Can I talk to you for a moment, Sweetie?"
"Wha-Why?" She was baffled before seeing Silver Spoon, and she nodded vigorously with a sly grin. "Of course, Diamond Tiara!" She waved at Silver Spoon before walking off into the distance.
Silver shuffled her hooves as she looked down to the ground, her cheeks becoming pink when she noticed Amethyst looking at her. "I'm... I'm glad you decided to stay," she whispered, blinking profoundly as she started to lose her voice.
"I--I'm also glad, Silver," he answered Silver Spoon, scrunching his lips before he sighed. "I want to apologize for what happened on that day..." he spoke softly, looking away from Silver's gaze.
"Amethyst..." Silver trailed off when she heard his apology, but groaned before stepping closer. "Well, that was a pretty stupid thing to do, you know?!"
Seeing Silver's sudden mood change put Amethyst off guard for a moment. "E-excuse me?"
"You don't make a filly or mare cry!" she lectured him as marched closer. "Especially if it's perhaps the last time you see her!" She poked his chest hard. "Worse, you don't do that to a filly who likes you a lot!" She scowled, but her eyes were becoming moist after each second. "And you don't just--"
Her words were cut off when she felt his foreleg bringing her into an embrace. She resisted little, as she melted into the embrace and buried her head in his shoulder. "Don't leave me again, please," she said softly, holding onto Amethyst.
When they let go of each other, Amethyst planted a simple kiss on her lips. "I won't. I promise you... this is my home now."
"Y-yes, well... you better not."
Amethyst smiled and kissed her hoof. "Why don't we share a dance tonight? I want everypony to know I have the prettiest filly in Equestria."
Silver Spoon turned red and nodded. Another kiss to the cheek only deepened the color, if that was possible.
A good distance away, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle watched with smiles. "He did it... that's good."
"Yeah, I was afraid we'd have to hit that knucklehead upside the head," Diamond Tiara muttered.
"Oh, come on, Amethyst isn't like that... with how charming he is, maybe I better ask Spike to step up his game."
Diamond Tiara felt her ears drop. "I think you have all the colts in Ponyville. There's nopony left for me."
Sweetie Belle blinked. "Do you have your eye on anypony?"
"Well... no. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like a special somepony."
"So? Rarity just found her special somepony tonight, and she's way older than you. In fact, she's..."
"Sweeeeetie~" Rarity said, extra loud, "why don't you come over here and help your big sister with a few things?"
Sweetie blinked. "What things?"
"Oh, you know... thing things..."
"That doesn't make a whole lot of sense..."
With that, Rarity encased her little sister's tail in her magic and pulled her away, much to her protest.
Diamond Tiara just shook her head. "Just like my mother." Then she turned to see Amethyst and Silver Spoon approaching her.
"Diamond! You'll never guess what happened!"
"What happened?" Diamond feigned ignorance as she beamed to her friend's elevated happiness.
Silver Spoon bounced as she giggled. "Amethyst and I are back together!" She held Diamond Tiara's hooves as they both jumped in a circle together.
"Oh my word, that's great!" She looked behind Silver Spoon and saw Amethyst chuckling at the two friends. She let go of Silver Spoon, making her way to Amethyst. "I'm glad you two are back together," she leaned into Amethyst's ear, her smile vanishing in mere seconds. "If you ever break her heart, I will end you," she whispered in a calm soft voice, an eerie calm voice.
Amethyst started to sweat before nodding nervously. "N-never, ever!"
"Good!" She pulled both him and Silver in a group hug. "Why don't we go see what the others are up to?"
When all of her friends were finally together, Apple Bloom and the others decided to inspect the various stands in the town center. The aroma of baked goods and other treats was dominant in the air, as crowds of ponies were stacking up at the various stands' unique goods.
Silver Spoon and Amethyst were observing a muffin stand that was moderated by a crossed-eye gray pegasus mare named Derpy Hooves. They bought a few muffins from her, but Silver stopped in her tracks when she turned around.
Before her was a brown elderly stallion, carrying a box on his back. He was starting to lose balance of it.
"Hold on!" Silver called out, rushing towards the stallion and catching the box in time before it could be destroyed in its fall. "Are you alright, sir?"
The stallion sighed in relief, wiping his forehead clean of sweat. "Much better now, my dear. Thank you," he answered her with a wavery smile, his glasses nearly falling off from his muzzle.
"Where do you need to go with this, Sir?"
"At my stand just over there," he pointed to a vacant stand that had a ginger-pony logo on the top.
Silver Spoon smiled, taking the box on her own back. Her face contorted a little at the weight, but she smiled nonetheless. "Let me carry this for you, Sir."
"Ah, thank you, Miss Spoon," he said. His breath came out in a few gasps, his age clearly catching up to him far more quickly than he would have liked.
As Silver Spoon placed the box upon the stand, Apple Bloom came trotting over, having not looked so excited since receiving her own cutie mark. "Silver! I think I figured it out!"
She blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Your cutie mark! I figured it out! When I saw you help that old stallion!"
"I don't understand."
"It's simple. Do you remember what you told us you did during that day you got your cutie mark? You spent the whole day helping ponies! That's your special talent?"
"You... you really think so?"
"Well, you are a wonderful filly," Amethyst said, causing her to blush.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. "Well, look at your cutie mark. It's a spoon with a heart in it, right? Well, maybe the spoon means that you give ponies something, and the heart means that the something is help! You help ponies that are helpless, just like a spoon is used to feed a foal who is helpless."
Silver opened her mouth to reply, stopped, and thought a moment. "Well... maybe that is it. I do like helping ponies."
"See! That's it!" Apple Bloom cheered. She jumped around in a sing-song voice. "I figured it out! I figured it out."
"That would make sense," Amethyst said. "I must be blessed to have such a generous filly for my own."
"Come on, Amethyst... if you keep that up, I'm going to turn permanently red."
Giving a wicked grin, Amethyst planted a kiss on her cheek. "But thou looks so cute flustered."
"Amethyst..."
"I kid," he smiled. "Besides, you shouldn't be so embarrassed about your beauty."
Silver Spoon playfully punched Amethyst on the shoulder. "Stop making me blush, please!" She told him through her giggles, not bothering to hide her crimson cheeks.
Before Amethyst could reply, trumpets were heard from across the area. The foals tried to locate the source of the music, but were rather greeted by Rarity, Applejack and Silver Spoon's butler, Clear Glass.
"Come along now, we don't want to miss this," Rarity said as she beamed, placing a hoof to her mouth as she looked rather ecstatic.
"Darn tootin'," Applejack agreed with her friend, helping Apple Bloom on her back. "Yer gonna want to be on my back fer this, Apple Bloom," she said plainly to her little sister, who only shrugged and saw the other foals being deposited on the backs of their elders. "Let's go, y'all."
The crowd in the centre of town began to increase. Luckily for Twilight and her friends, they were able to squeeze their way through to the front of the crowd and stage. Every foal of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were on the back of their respectable guardian, with Pinkie Pie the only one not to have a foal on her back. She squinted her eyes, rushing off to an unknown location before returning with the Cake Twins on her back.
Pinkie Pie sighed and smiled. "Much better..." she trailed off as she looked to the stage, not noticing Pound Cake flying over to her mane and chewing on it.
The Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare, came from the side of the stage before stopping before a podium at the centre. The crowd began to cheer, but simmered down when she raised her hoof to speak.
"Welcome, Ponyville, to this very special evening!" she spoke with pride, raising her hooves and hearing the ponies cheer for her. "Now now, settle down please..." she calmly said, waving her hooves. "I cannot take all of your cheers... as we have two special guests here today with us. Allow me to present to you; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!"
When she called out the princesses' name, the curtains opened revealing the sisters standing on stage. The crowd gave a thunderous cheer to their princesses, surprising Luna slightly when she felt the force from the bottom of her hooves.
Both princesses came walking to the side of the mayor, giving off a motherly smile to the ponies before them. Mayor Mare kindly stepped away from her podium to let Princess Celestia approach it, raising her wings to silence the crowd.
"Welcome my dear ponies to Winter Moon Celebration!" she joyfully shouted out to the crowd, who responded in kind to her words.
"It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. Now, I wish to welcome you to the first night of winter. We will begin the ceremonies at once!"
With a small bow, Celestia backed away from the podium, lighting up her horn. The sun began to lower in the sky, and with the rays giving her radiance, Luna stepped forward.
Luna spread her wings and lit up her horn. As the last bit of sun dipped under the horizon, then she began lifting herself into the air. As she did, the moon began to peek out, slowly coming up as if Luna was raising it with a particularly long rope. As it did, clouds began forming in the sky, blanketing the town in shadow, and leaving only one opening, a window large enough to bathe the crowd in moonlight. The moon rose higher and higher, until finally it was at its peek.
Then Luna spun around in three twirls, letting out a bright flash of light. When it faded, snow began falling from the clouds hanging overhead.
The ponies cheered as, in moments, the ground was covered in pure, white snow. The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped from their family members' backs and immediately began forming snowballs to throw at one another. Every other foal old enough was joining in, while the older ones were satisfying themselves with making snowponies and snow angels.
Luna looked over the crowd, and Twilight could swear she could see a tear forming in her eye. Obviously, this was quite a drastic change to a thousand years ago, when winter meant hardship and night meant fear. Celestia placed a wing over her sister. Luna waited until they had turned away from the crowd before nuzzling her sister.
Apple Bloom couldn't resist pegging Diamond Tiara with a snowball. After a few seconds of scowling, her expression turned both playful and sinister. Apple Bloom couldn't run far enough before three of Diamond's own snowballs hit her.
After an hour of playing, the dancing began. Rarity took her first with Big Macintosh, and found the stallion to be surprisingly graceful despite his big size. There was a few whispering voices, the gossips of Ponyville excited at the new couple.
That made her sad. Not this gossip, she knew it was positive, but of what would inevitably happen in Canterlot. There was already those who muttered "She comes from the country... handles herself well for one of them, doesn't she?" Now there would be the added, "You know she's dating a farmer? It looks like she's going to be stuck in that backwater town. Regrettable. She has such talent."
She shook that off. She would not allow voices such as those to guide her relationships. Not like Twilight's birthday. No...
"Something wrong, Miss Rarity?" Big Macintosh asked her, seeing Rarity looking into nothingness.
Shaking her head to bring herself back to reality, Rarity looked up to Big Macintosh and pecked his cheek before resting her head on his neck as they danced away. "Nothing is wrong, nothing at all..." she trailed off, closing her eyes slowly as she felt the softness of his coat against hers.
Feeling her head resting on his neck, Big Macintosh was grateful he had a red coat. Otherwise, the whole of Ponyville would have thought his head was replaced with a tomato. Some ponies however, knew the stallion was blushing furiously at that moment. One of them was snickering from a distance where Big Macintosh spotted her. Applejack.
He furrowed his brow at her, but then smirked and brought his attention back to Rarity. Big Macintosh held onto her hoof and had her whirl around once, before catching her and leaning down as though both were professional dancers. He then brought his muzzle to hers, closing his eyes as his lips connected with hers.
Surprised by this, Rarity's eyes widened but slowly closed as she embraced Big Macintosh. She could have sworn she heard ponies gasping, even a whistle. But she didn't care, she was happy. She and Big Macintosh.
From a distance, Amethyst and his friends looked in awe at what they were seeing. After a moment of silence, Apple Bloom finally spoke. "Well, Ah didn't see tha' one comin'."
"Yeah, I always thought he would be with somepony like Fluttershy..." Spike trailed off, feeling a slight chill running down his spine. He shook it off, looking to his fillyfriend smiling. "Happy that your sister has a special somepony now?"
"It's nice, yeah..." Sweetie Belle beamed, but the smile slowly dissipated when a thought came to her. "I just hope Big Macintosh won't be all 'Shmoopy Doo' on my sister." She grimaced, her ears drooping and her lips scrunched when she remembered the day she and her other friends tried to set him up with Cheerilee.
Remembering that day, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo flinched. "Ah'm gonna make sure that ain't never happenin'!" Apple Bloom declared loudly, turning her head sharply to see Big Macintosh and Rarity exiting the dance area. She saw Applejack eying the two mischieviously with a smirk on her face. Sis might be jealous now... cause she ain't got herself a special pony yet. Maybe... She shook her head quickly, snorting. "Nah!"
"What's wrong, Bloom?" Pip asked her, coming closer to her as he stood by her side.
"Nothing," Apple Bloom replied plainly, suddenly nuzzling Pip. "Let's go do and have some fun before we gotta go!"
Rarity sat at home, watching as the newly fallen snow frosted the window. The Boutique was unusually quiet tonight. With both Sweetie and Amethyst in bed, there was a serenity that wasn't usually present.
She was glad. She had a lot to think about. There was Big Macintosh, a strong, sturdy stallion who had picked her of all ponies. He wasn't what she expected, but he was considered quite the catch by the other mares around Ponyville. There was Amethyst, tucked in his bed, hopefully sleeping soundly. The papers would be pulled through soon enough, and she'd legally be a mother. And there was Sweetie, thankfully everything that had happened had distracted her from the fact that their parents had failed to show up yet again to a holiday event, leaving her to do all the parenting.
She couldn't help but fume as she thought of that. Hopefully...
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Rarity silently went over and opened her front door.
"Hello, Rarity," Princess Celestia greeted. "I apologize for visiting so late, but I thought you might like these before I left."
"Oh, it's quite alright," Rarity said as Celestia began to lift the papers out of her saddlebags. "I wasn't..."
She trailed off when she saw it, the same kind of certificate that hung in Fluttershy's living room, and the same kind that Twilight had hanging up before the truth came out. A Certificate of Adoption.
"It's ready?" she said, losing her breath almost instantly.
"It wasn't that hard," Celestia smiled. "A few strings pulled, and we managed to speed up the process."
Rarity wanted to bend down and kiss the Princess's hooves, but restrained herself. There was something else to ask. "And my... other request."
Celestia gave a regretful sigh. "I... I sent the workers undercover to check on your parents. They were actually bragging, bragging, to the ponies there about how they had dumped Sweetie on you." She took a deep breath. "They haven't contacted you in three months, and they lied about how long they would be gone. Legally, they have abandoned Sweetie. So, it wasn't hard to get this, either."
The second paper said Certificate of Custody.
Holding onto the certificate, Rarity sighed and felt her eyes becoming wet. She quickly wiped her eyes, smiling again to Celestia. "Thank you for doing this, Princess."
"With you and your friends saving Equestria multiple times, it is the least I can do for, you Rarity," Celestia replied as she lowered her head to Rarity's level. "I hope you will be happy with your family here," she leaned into Rarity's ear. "And from what I saw earlier tonight, I'm sure you will be happy with Big Macintosh, too."
"Oh, you!" Rarity giggled, blushing as she waved her hoof at Celestia. When she regained her composure, Rarity looked up to Celestia's eyes. "I think you should get yourself a stallion, Princess. I am most certain you would make a fantastic mother, like Twilight," Rarity remarked brightly, but her smile slowly vanished when Celestia's was as dim as a candle's light.
"Unlikely..." Celestia looked away as she muttered, trailing off as her eyes gazed downwards.
"What's wrong, Princess?"
Brought back to reality, Celestia unfurled her wings a little before giggling and shaking her head. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong," she quickly answered Rarity, looking up at the clock on the wall. "I must be off now, or else Luna's going to become worried about me," she told Rarity, heading over to the door. "Have a pleasant night, Rarity." She bid Rarity goodnight, before flying off to Canterlot.
Left alone, Rarity furrowed her brow a little as she looked to the door. Was it something I said? Why did she try to avoid me when... Rarity yawned out loud, giggling a little and shrugging before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She stopped by Sweetie and Amethyst's room, quietly walking in.
She saw both foals sound asleep with smiles on their faces, no doubt dreaming pleasantly. Rarity felt a tear run down her cheek as she smiled. She quietly made her way to Sweetie Belle, kissing her forehead softly. "I love you, Sweetie," she whispered softly to her sister, who continued to smile in her sleep. Rarity made her way to Amethyst, her son, caressing his cheek gently before placing her lips on his forehead. "I love you so much, my son."
Walking out of the room, Rarity sighed in relief before entering her room and landing on her bed. So much had happened the last month, so much has changed for her and the others in her life. Although there was much change, there was also much happiness. For Rarity, her friends and her family. |
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